Angling Expeditions Victoria

The recent rain gave alpine rivers and streams a timely refresh and as a result trout are being caught everywhere this week in good numbers with sizes to match. Last week the Victoria River on the Cobungra Plains was reported as being very low and becoming a bit too warm for the comfort of trout. Lat’s hope that with the the rain it will recover soon.

Bogong High Plains: The two lakes on the Bogong High Plains are about 95% full this week and continue to provide plenty of excellent fishing opportunities. with mostly rainbow trout to 600 grams, some larger, being caught on lures and drifted live bait from around the shoreline. Anglers drift fishing along the wind lanes from low-powered boats are catching rainbow trout to 1.5 kilograms, according to reports. As well, the inflow stream to Pretty Valley Lake has seen some action in recent days as heavy rainbow trout are rising at times during the day.

Lake With No Name: The ‘Lake With No Name” on the Bogong High Plains is 100% full and producing brown trout to 500 grams on size 16 dry flies and small lures this week. Not many anglers know about this water, so if you need directions contact Geoff Lacey on (03) 5754 1466 or 0409 241 762 or email geoffl@anglingvic.com.au.

Kiewa River: The Kiewa River at Tawonga is producing both rainbow trout and brown trout to 600 grams on lures, live bait and flies this week Holidaying anglers repoert an abundance of fish in the system although catch rates have been disturbed at times, especially during the recent rain and earlier, when the river rose significantly following power generating operation further upstream.

West Kiewa River: This litle stream only gets a mention every now and then and is really firing well at the moment. Local fly fishers are reporting excellent catch rates with one 2-man team catching and releasing 35 rainbow trout during a morning’s fishing last week.

Lower Mitta Mitta River: The lower Mitta Mitta River at Mitta Mitta is in excellent condition and producing many rainbow trout and a few browns on bait, lures and dry flies this week. For fly fishers the area adjacent to the airport remains productive, especially at dusk when trout are rising. Bowler’s Lane is also fisahing well this week, with at least one rainbow trout that weighed in excess of 1.25 kilograms falling for a Tassie devil lure recently.

Snowy Creek: The Snowy Creek at Granite Flat is producing lots of rainbow trout this week with no sign of abating in the near future.Many fish are in the 450-500 grams range although several have been caught closer to the junction with the upper Mitta Mitta River that weighed around 1.25 to 1.5 kilograms, according to reports.

That’s all for now, more next week from,
Geoff Lacey P O Box 20 TAWONGA VIC 3697 Australia   Ph: (03) 5754 1466; Web: http://anglingvic.com.au

Merry Christmas everybody! Due to the season you may appreciate that the report is quite brief this week.

There is some truly great fishing to be had in all northeast Victoria’s sub-alpine rivers and streams this week, with many trout being caught (and hopefully released) by anglers using all fishing methods. Two days ago I took a beginner for a morning’s fly fishing tuition session on the Kiewa River at Tawonga. On arrival we saw several trout rising, including at least one potential keeper. Would you believe, we had to move to another location. Those darned fish kept interfering with the lesson by taking our dry flies and thereby breaking my client’s concentration for learning fly fishing technique! After all, he wanted to learn to fly fish properly, and not just catch trout without really understanding the technical aspects. So we moved to another location and continued the lesson without any interference.

Here’s another true story. On Monday this week while shopping with my wife in town I encountered one of the local accommodation operators who asked if I thought he was being dudded with the following story: A visiting fly fisher staying with him went fishing along the Kiewa River last Sunday and on returning was asked how he went. “Oh I’ve had a good day”, He said, “I caught lots of trout, thanks”. On further enquiry the angler told this guy that he caught in excess of 65 trout witht several good-sized keepers amongst them, all of which he returned unharmed to the river.

“Geoff”, he asked me with a puzzled frown, “Would that be right?”

I assured him it certainly would be, particularly in these sub-alpine rivers during summer and if the person concerned was an accomplished fly fisher who understood the finer points of fly fishing and the traits of wild trout.

Actually, I personally know of another such event. concerning two visiting fly fishers who fished the upper Ovens River over one day several seasons ago and caught (and released) 90 and 40 trout respectively.

Such results are not all that remarkable, as fly fishing is a very effective method of catching trout in summer, especially when conducted by an accomplished angler. One doesn’t hear much about high capture rates because fly fishers are mostly conservative types who relate only to captures that weight 1.5 kilograms or more, the rest being below their size standards and as such are not worthy of mentioning. Hence, a fly fisher may say, “I caught three trout today”, when in fact he may well have caught sixty-three.

And that’s no exaggeration!

Tha’s all for now, more next week from,
Geoff Lacey P O Box 20 TAWONGA VIC 3697 AUSTRALIA Ph: (03) 5754 1466 Web: http://anglingvic.com.au

All of northeast Victoria’s alpine region rivers and streams are in excellent condition and fishing is also excellent to better this week as anglers report catching and/or sighting both brown trout and rainbow trout in high numbers, with many fish in the 450 grams to 550 grams range in weight.

Bogong High Plains: The two lakes on the Bogong High Plains remain 100% full respectively, with Rocky Valley Lake in particular producing rainbow trout on lures throughout the day. Boat anglers are few in number at the moment but those who are there are catching rainbow trout to 1.5 kilograms kiolograms by slow trolling large tassie devil lures about 20 meters below the surface, according to reports. These lakes should become more popular with boaties during the holiday period as the water remains icty cold right through summer and trout caught by deep trolling are typically large, very healthy and full of fight.

Lake Guy: The lake is fishing okay this week despite some fluctuations in water levels due to hydro-electric generating operations and the two inflow streams are producing some brown trout to around 450 grams at the moment. The total number of trout caught have been affected by large numbers of anglers fishing a fairly small bit of water in recent days.

Ovens River: The Ovens River at Bright continues to produce mostly rainbow trout, a few browns, to 500 grams on live bait and lures this week. Numbers of pan-sized trout have been observed by local anglers in many popular sections of the river recently, espedcially in the runs and tails of pools.

Mt Beauty Pondage: The pondage is almost full and in great condition as fishing continues unabated this week. Anglers are reporting taking rainbow trout to 800 grams from around the shoreline during the day. As mentioned in earlier reports, some great bait fishing can be experienced in the deepest section along the northern shoreline, where some quite large specimens are regularly found.

Kiewa River: The Kiewa River from Mt Beauty and Tawonga to Mongans Bridge is producing both brown trout and rainbow trout in about equal numbers this week although many are just pan-sized, according to reports. A few nice rainbows to 1.5 kilgrams are being caught on live baits after dusk, with maggots presented under a lightly filled bubble float doing well in the pools or free drifted in the runs proving most effective.

Upper Mitta Mitta River: The upper Mitta Mittas River above Glen Wills is in ideal condition this week and fishing remains excellent. Anglers are consistently reporting taking mostly rainbow trout, a few browns, to 500 grams from all popular fishing spots on live bait, lures and dry flies in recent weeks.

Bundara River: The Bundara River at Anglers Rest is in perfect condition this week and fishing is  exciting when trout are rising to feed on moths and beetles during the day. The most effective method is to cast a delicately presented high-floating dry fly in the trout’s direction, often to an immediate reponse and a desperate fight for freedom. Ah, summer! There’s nothing like it. Of course, most, if not all, wild trout should be released unharmed after having their picture taken. That will ensure high populations of healthy fish will be there in future seasons.

Cobungra River: The Cobungra River behaves much the same as the Bundara, as both flow out of the Hotham High Plains and run through almost inaccessible country to areas that are more reachable by enthusiastic anglers. The best sections are least fished, being difficult to access and usually require the services of a local guide. Contact Angling Expeditions Victoria on (03) 5754 1466 for more information.

Angling Expeditions Victoria’s pre-paid gift certificates are again proving popular as Christmas presents this year. They can be used anytime as they have absolutely no “use by” date attached to them. For more details email Geoff at info@anglingvic.com.au anytime.

More next week and wishing you a happy and safe Christmas from,
Geoff Lacey P O Box 20 TAWONGA VIC 3697 AUSTRALIA Ph: (03) 5754 1466 Web: http://anglingvic.com.au