Night was falling on Lake Fyans. The trollers had headed in to the lights of their cosy camps on the other side of the lake and I was all alone on the shore. Even the corellas had ceased their harsh squabbling and retired to their nests in the skeletal red gums. The first stars were appearing in the sky and I was about to finish up myself… when suddenly the water in front of me exploded!
Evening on Lake Fyans.
No, it wasn’t Jason. Instead a 3 pound brown had smashed my Emu Bugger so hard it’s momentum had carried it through the surface. What a way to finish a very unusual Friday.
The Emu Bugger strikes again.
This trip to the Grampians had it all – a cheerfully disorganised and late start (long story…) and an early finish (again, long story… ) But in between was some exciting fishing. The Friday afternoon session was one of the best I’ve had at Lake Fyans in recent times. Big schools of galaxias hugged the shoreline and any other cover like reeds or drowned saplings. Periodically the trout attacked the schools and using first a BMS and then an Emu Bugger, I landed 3 good fish and missed a couple more – all in little more than two hours. Incidentally the lake’s at 51% and rising slowly.
Early success at Fyans on the BMS.
The next morning at Wartook was bright and windy, with the lake clear, low-ish (43%) but also rising gradually. If anything the minnows were even more prolific – this time numerous gudgeon and little redfin mixed in with the galaxias.
On the way up to Wartook. If you don’t like cloudy weather in the Grampians, just climb above it!
Surprisingly, obvious ‘smelter’ action was harder to find than at Fyans. However in the first 10 minutes I stalked (and missed) a monster brown hunting the minnows in less than a foot of water. Over the next couple of hours I caught two smaller browns of around a pound but despite fishing lots of beautiful water, I wasn’t able to redeem my initial miss. Then just before the early departure , I hooked and eventually lost a good brown of 2-3 pounds.
Wartook looked fantastic, but the activity was patchy for the short time I was there. (That’s FlyStream subscriber Ben in action.)
If I had to sum up the two days, I’d say yesterday at Fyans was better than expected, while Wartook today was somewhat tougher. However I didn’t have enough time on either lake to form a really clear picture. I guess a return trip is needed, the sooner the better.
