It is getting near trout season end downunder. Last weekend was a holiday weekend so I was allowed out Sunday in between chores on Saturday and Gardening duty on Monday.
A day trip for me involves a 90 minute drive. So I headed for an old favourite spot, but as I didnt manage to leave the house till 11:00 am I was only in for about 4 hours of fishing. To maximise the fishing I took the 10 minute walk instead of the 30 minute walk (which gives a whole day fishing back to the car). this means the section i fish generally gets fished the day before. But this just means fishing carefully and maximising opportunities.
Weather was Clear skies 30 - 32 C (86 - 90 F), and a bit breezy. So I was pretty hopeful of dry fly action, especially considering all the hoppers about.
I tied on a double rig of lbd nymph and royal wulff. I worked my way up a ong fast run, fishing the shady pockets. At this time of year with such bright day it is no point fishing any where but the shade. This can make seeing line and takes a little tricky, and I almost missed the first hit on my nymph, but I managed to set the hook ok and landed a nice litt jack of about 12 inches. He gave good account of himself and even took some line. When I releaed him his condition was excellent, with a nice broad back.
I rounded the next bend and was negotiating the river and I over heard a couple of anglers coming upstream. The good natured anglers gave me a wave and left me to the river, a marvellous show of sportsmanship. They had been fishing most of the morning and were happy to let me have the river.
Not much further up the river I saw the telltale signs of a small rise in the shadey shallow tail of the pool. On my third cast the leader halted and I struck into some decent weight, far better than the previous fish, only to have the hook pull in the make-or-break first 10 seconds.
Prolwing along the bank in and out of the bush I found a few rising fish, but with the overhanging bushes there was no way to get a cast out. Later in the afternoon the light was getting hard so I tied on one of my beetles for the visully challenged. My first cast into a fast run was rewarded with a rise and a solid hook up, this time a pretty hen with crismon spots and matching fins.
I now had 30 mins to fish a delightful run, that fishes well between 4 and 5 pm... unfortunately there were a few swimmers cooling off... So I packed up my rod and heade home... after a hot autumn afternoon...
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