A tough day on a remote north-east Victorian stream a couple of days ago seemed to herald the end of the stream fishing season. Low, super-clear water and rocks jutting out of the water ‘stained’ with evidence of where many cormorants have sat through the season. You can visualise them peering into the water and picking at their victims at will. To what extent these birds have decimated our trout stocks is uncertain, but sights like this don’t inspire confidence.

In these situations when the fishing drops off, it’s easy to find blame: low flows, cormorants, overfishing? Etc, etc. And it’s easy to get caught up in all the bubbling negativity. I hate that.

So, after my challenging day with friend Matt, we came back to the cabin, and as usual, good food, good wine and good company heals all.

We thought we might take a different approach the next day. We’d forget about exploring and default to some better-known water.

The next morning, we woke to a fine, relatively mild day. Matt and I decided to fish a local stream which has been kind to me over the years and productive late season.

Whatever this faithful stretch of river may or may not yield, taking the time to sit back and absorb the magnificent views of the mountains, the explosion of autumnal colours, plus some pretty little duns fluttering around, was almost reward enough.

The water looked dark in spots, the bubble-lines vivid, yet where you could get a good vantage point, in the right light, the water was crystal clear and perfect for sight fishing.

The spot we fished saw Matt get busted off by a two pounder, only to then polaroid a fish twice that size finning in a typically impossible lie.

Encouraged and somewhat surprised to see a trout this big, we moved on to the next run. I cast to a sipper feeding in a perfect little bubble line. My fly sat high and drifted perfectly for a few seconds. The trout ignored my dry but chased down my now dragging trailing nymph and ate it! Unorthodox, but I was glad to land this nice rainbow.

The next run produced another lovey ‘bow but this time on the dry. So, the first ten minutes fishing had proved as productive as the whole day before. Go figure!

We spent the afternoon catching mainly polaroided rainbows in slow, spooky-clear water. A few browns came to hand as well.

We had a blast; we really could not have asked for better.

The best action was between midday and 3pm. Best flies were size 14 Parachute Adams and a brown-bodied dun. Nymphs that worked were size 16 beaded claret nymphs and a green-bodied caddis grub.

Leaders around 15’ were necessary and tippet in the 5X range seemed to be essential. A slow approach was important, as were long casts and trying to achieve a good drift to trout sitting right in the tails of runs in a few inches of water. (The good drift thing in these situations is highly challenging, if not impossible!)

As I write, we are contemplating sneaking back in the morning to see if that big brown is holding in a slightly kinder position. Some 4X tippet, a good drift and a prayer may just bring its ‘temporary’ demise.

Never say never! As much as I thought I could call the end of the stream fishing season a couple of days ago, as usual the trout and mother nature have had the last word.

Regardless, this trip might be it for me for this stream season. If so, what a wonderful way to finish. So now, on to the lakes and estuaries ….