The rivers of north-east Victoria hold a special place in my flyfishing history. Despite living in NSW all my life, my earliest and most influential flyfishing experiences all happened within 30km radius of Bright.
At age five, I caught my first trout, at the Harrietville trout farm 20 minutes up the road. From there, I experienced my first wild trout (on a spinner) in the nearby Ovens River. Then at age 13, a Scottish flyfisherman showed me a fly rod for the first time on the banks of the Ovens at our regular holiday spot in Porepunkah.
Needless to say, Bright’s beautiful surrounds hold endless nostalgia for my first trout and flyfishing experiences. These days, I generally visit the area at least once a year. Although the trips are planned as holidays with family and friends, I always ensure the fly rods are packed and I get out as often as I can. This Easter however, my experiences looked slightly different to my usual holiday fishing.
Leading up to the trip I had a quick chat with local guide, Cameron McGregor, to discuss the surrounding options. Cameron regularly guides north-east Victoria for trout and native species so I knew his knowledge was gold.
Cameron invited me to join him on the water for a few sessions and it soon became apparent that not only did he know all the best trout haunts, he was also a Murray cod addict. I was yet to chase cod in Victoria, so this became our first port of call.
Late one afternoon, Cameron picked me up from my accommodation and we made our way to the river. It was hard to comprehend chasing Murray cod in the upper Ovens system, as I had only ever caught trout. We arrived on the river with around thirty minutes left of light.
“How are you at fishing from a kayak?” Cameron said.
“Never done it, but always keen to try something new,” I said, secretly hoping we weren’t about to take on any Grade 5 rapids.
We loaded the boats and got straight to it: working the river edges with large top water popper-style flies. The moon however was bright on the water and so the action was initially slow.
After making our way into a new hole, the trees offered some shadow from the full moon, and an explosive hit on Cameron’s fly woke us up! That fish didn’t hang on for too long. Another ten minutes passed and BOOF! I was on! Not a huge cod, but still my first south of the border. I was grinning from ear to ear.
Despite our excitement, it was soon clear that our only window for the night was over and we had no further hits. Already planning tomorrow’s adventures, we decided to head home.
Our second session was something a little closer to what I was used to. We made our way to the upper Ovens and set up the 2wt. “I’ve been given a leave pass for two hours,” I said as we set up.
“No worries mate, we will have a dozen landed by then,” he said.
And I think he was pretty close. After fishing no more than a 150 metre stretch of some skinny water, we landed a myriad of stunning browns and rainbows, all on dry fly. I was quickly reminded that the trout don’t need to be huge to have fun. Cameron and I had a ball flicking around the 2wt and watching eager trout rise without hesitation – and who says the season is almost over?
I was back home in time for lunch and sheepishly asked for one more leave pass for another evening session on the cod. One of Cameron’s mates had invited us for a session to fish the legendary Lake Mulwala. I knew two things about this place: heaps of Murray cod; and even more drowned timber for them to snag to you on. Cameron and I arrived at the lake with an hour left of light. Kyle Dalrymple (Cam’s mate) was already waiting for us with the boat ready to go. What a champion!
Kyle fishes Mulwala with both fly and lure, but for fear of adding another waving rod from the boat chose to spin that night while Cameron and I threw surface flies. Awesome fishing aside, the sunset was spectacular. Drowned trees as far as the eye could see, lit up by a deep orange sky. I was reaching for my camera almost more often than my rod.
And when the lights went down it was on! The bigger fish escaped us, but we still managed eight Murray cod off the top. Cameron and I claimed five on the fly and Kyle landed three on surface lures. For every fish landed there were twice as many explosive hits as our surface flies ‘popped’ across the surface into the path of likely predators. If you haven’t tried this, make sure you give it a go.
The stars were amazing, and as a bonus we witnessed the entire cycle of the blood moon lunar eclipse. It was a night to remember. I’d like to thank Cameron for showing me some of the beautiful water he gets to guide his clients on each week. Cameron and his partner Katie run ‘River Escapes’ in north-east Victoria. Check them out at: www.riverescapes.com.au, and enjoy this exciting and beautiful part of Australia.