I’m a bit addicted to watching YouTube flyfishing and fly-tying videos. I’ll get up in the morning, make coffee, turn on the TV and look at these videos over breakfast and, full confession, sometimes beyond breaky… until I feel guilty and a little bit silly. Like that famous Michael Leunig cartoon of a chap watching the sunrise on TV while the real sun is rising outside his window. Instead of watching fishing, I should actually go and do it!

These fishing videos have heaps of information and techniques. They can be (and some are) really helpful. But they’re quite mixed in the credibility of the presenters, and in useful content. In other words, they’re notoriously variable. But this variability doesn’t stop me watching – I just assess their usefulness and either accept or disregard it. I’m used to variability: it’s a fact of flyfishing life and ironically, it’s actually a constant.

Spring weather is famously inconsistent. To quote the Australia.com tourism website’s description of nearby Melbourne in spring, “The season is known as the most variable of the year, when weather can quickly change from calm and sunny to cold and windy. And pack your umbrella.”

This spring, in my neck of the woods around the mid-Goulburn, the weather has indeed been true to form, ranging from cold, frosty mornings, to warm days heading towards the 30-degree mark. From brilliant blue-sky days, to windy blustery conditions with thunderstorms and heavy rains.

I’ve been hearing fishing reports, particularly from the north-east streams, that the fishing has been not so good. However, at least around the mid-Goulburn River and tributaries, I’d say the fishing has been alright. It is certainly not like last the last few years, and it can be inconsistent. But it definitely is not terrible, and certainly not poor enough to put up the white flag and be resigned to just watching YouTube!

After a bit of a slowish start early season, the fishing is certainly on the improve. It is, however, variable from one day to the next.

While ‘good’ weather helps with the fishing (mostly in regard to player comfort) another unpredictable to contend with, has been river levels. On top of the weather changeability, the mid-Goulburn River itself has also been up and down, with some high environmental flows, then falling to relatively low levels, then starting to go back up. Water clarity has been everything from dirty, to opaque, to very clear.

Away from the regulated Goulburn, the feeder streams downstream of Eildon have been relatively consistent, with reasonable flows and clarity except after the odd storm or rain event – although they have then settled fairly quickly.

So this season, as often as any other, I’ve dragged myself away from the YouTube and gone fishing. I’ve had some pretty good days, and I’ve all but blanked on others. It’s been variable.

Roughly in line with the Goulburn’s flows – high environmental releases, then dropping and stabilising – the insect activity and hatches started out patchy, but have been strengthening as the season progresses. I’d think this is typical of any season. Some evenings, the caddis, mayfly duns and spinners have been off the scale; the next evening, seemingly absent. Then there are evenings with huge quantities of insects but no fish up; or rising fish but few insects to be seen. The trout were obviously feeding on something, but I had no idea what!

And of course, true to long-term form, trout have been rising in some parts (even pockets) of the river, and not others. I’ve been fishing with mates who, back at the car reported plenty of rising fish, while I’ve got zip where I am – and vice versa. The termites have appeared at times and the fish have responded. There’s that ‘V’ word again!

Yep, the weather, insect activity, and fishing has been variable. However, the season is progressing, and the fishing is getting better – developing into a more ‘typical’ spring (if there is such a thing). There are certainly fish about, even if they can’t always be worked out. While it is not up to the exceptional standard of the last few years, I think the fishing is okay; and it can even be good if you strike it lucky.

Yes, although I’ve had my expectations lowered, they’ve not been dashed – far from it.