Drought & Flood – Talk at The Flyfisher this Thursday

Maybe I should have been a weather man. When deciding on the topic for this year’s presentation at The Flyfisher, I chose ‘Drought & Flood’ back in mid May – well before the subsequent rain event that impacted Tasmania, the Monaro and the Snowy Mountains was forecast. To be fair, I had an inkling of what might be in store as the BOM’s climate indicators were already swinging from El Nino to a possible La Nina, with a dollop of -IOD (Indian Ocean Dipolar) for good measure.

High water at Tantangara, December 2010.

High water at Tantangara, December 2010.

Anyway, that’s sort of beside the point because my motivation for choosing the topic was not to predict the future, but to recognise that over the medium to long term, successful flyfishers need to be able to adapt to dry or wet conditions – so-called ‘normal’ is surprisingly rare. And if ‘need to adapt’ sounds onerous, don’t worry. Neither flood nor drought conditions are about desperately making the most of a bad situation, they both provide exceptional trout fishing opportunities.

Trout in a drought - Tullaroop in the mid noughties.

Trout in a drought – Tullaroop in the mid noughties.

The key is to understand how to predict and ‘read’ what those opportunities will be, including where to go when it’s been wet, and were to go if it’s still dry. Despite the climate models, I still don’t know exactly how the next trout season in south-eastern Australia will play out – and I certainly don’t know what’s in store for the season after that. But regardless of what nature throws our way, I’ll have a plan to capitalise on it, and that’s what I’ll talk about on Thursday night.

Last year's talk.

Last year’s talk.

My talk starts at 6 pm this Thursday 16 June at The Flyfisher, Level 2, 383 Flinders Lane, Melbourne. If you’d like to come along, please book your seat by phoning (03) 9621 1246 or CLICK HERE as numbers are limited. The cost is only $10. As always, I’ll welcome questions after my presentation.

(The talk coincides with The Flyfisher’s end of season clearance sale. If you’re interested in the specials on offer, please CLICK HERE for more information.)