Macquarie River Drift

Friday 17th February 2012.

Arriving at Cressy at around 11am, we were greeted with an overcast sky, a cool temperature of around 16 degrees, with a light breeze from the southeast.

We were hoping for the wind direction to change to the forecast northeasterly and the sky to clear bringing with it some serious summer temperature and the likelihood of some much anticipated grass hopper action.

As we started down the river a few risers on the lea shore kept our hopes high for a bumper session. However the increasing breeze made it  difficult to cover the shoreline holding fish, with the oarsman struggling to position the boat close enough for accurate casting. In frustration we decided to beach the boat and walk the river edges for a while.  The  decision  turned out to be productive, the first fish coming to hand after only a few casts.

Back in the boat and with the wind still making our drift difficult, we kept at it......
As the river made a turn to the northwest, finally, luck was to be on our side, the stars aligned and our drift was made easy by the now following wind and minimal effort by the oarsman. Greg was on the rod and with  hopper pattern of his own tie, landed within a foot of the bank, was proving to be a temptation that was not being ignored. Solid takes and some nice fish followed.  I on the other hand, repeatedly had difficulty timing my strike and could not touch one.

Throughout the drift action was by no means fast and furious.  Few fish gave up their position with splashy rises or acrobatics.  They were definitely about...... choosing to lay in wait close to over hanging tussocks and undercut banks ready to ambush any errant terrestrial morsal drifting by.  Persistence was key and by hitting the likely spots we were able to enjoy consistent action throughout the day. One fish landed was around the 3lb mark.

The Macquarie River offers up some spectacular fly fishing opportunities at this time of year. Wether you have access to a small boat or kayak to drift the river or choose to wander the miles of rivers edge made available through the IFS angler access program. Set aside some time and treat yourself to a day on the Macquarie.

Lake Fergus Tasmanian Highlands

A visit to Lake Fergus in Tasmania’s Western Lakes region has always been on our to-do list.  Reading Greg French’s article in the latest edition of Flylife Magazine provided us with just the right motivation to make the trip happen. French’s article describes things that fly fishing dreams are made of: plenty of fish, tailing, rising and perfect for polaroiding – conditions well worth the 12km hike.  Best of all there was the possibility that we could have all this to ourselves for the day.

As we headed up the mountain from Launceston, our thoughts turned from the busy working week  to the trek ahead; what gear to take, clothes to wear, weather conditions and of course the fishing!  We packed our gear, set the alarms for 4am and turned in early.

A quick breakfast of bacon sandwiches (Having left the eggs on the counter at home!), and we were on our way.  Arriving at Little Pine Lagoon, we parked at the camp ground, where the track begins.  In his article, French warns that it can be hard to ignore the tailing trout as you pass along the shore of Little Pine.   So with this in mind, our rods in their tubes to avoid distraction, we set out at around 5:15am. The advice proved worthwhile as we spotted a number of good fish in the half hour walk along the shore.  These would have been extremely hard to pass up if our rods had been ready to go.

Our first check point was the foot bridge that crosses the Pine River. Water levels in Little Pine were quite high and due to wet, boggy conditions the walking to this point had been frustrating.  Arriving at the crossing we took the opportunity to have a break and shed some layers. Moving away from the bridge, the track became better defined and the walking easier.  By 7am we sighted Lake Fergus and our spirits rose accordingly – a shade over two hours and we had made it.

It was around this time that Greg spotted the first snake of the day (7:30am!) a shiny black tiger, which retreated under a rock not far from the shore. It then that we made glancing at our feet regularly a priority over scanning the water!

Having decided to walk the Northern shore and with the sun still low in the morning sky, polaroiding fish was going to be tough. It was not long before we started spooking fish, still in their lays close to the shore, prompted us to rig the rods, ready for action.  We had opportunities to cover fish however most of them stayed doggo and it proved difficult to get them to take.

My first real chance arose at the beginning of the marsh area, in the open gutter between the pin rushes and the bank. Armed with my CDC hopper I covered a nice fish cruising, my fly disappearing as the shallow water erupted! Charging through the gutter before turning and jumping clear of the water, the fish headed toward the pin rushes and relative safety. My line went slack...mentioning a few choice words to myself...I moved on to the next target.

Although the numbers of fish cruising here was in our favour, presentation was difficult. With the wind in our face, spooky fish, and a narrow margin for error, we failed to produce anything solid.  Some fish rolling over the fly, others refusing, short takes too. Changing flies didn’t improve the situation.  With our frustration levels rising Greg and I paused to discuss our next move.  It was still early but the marsh area seemed to go on forever,  both agreeing that  we would have liked to see the water a foot or so higher, in order for the marsh to be at its best. Greg convinced me that to circumnavigate the lake was the only way we would get a full appreciation of it.  We moved on hoping that our fortunes would improve.

At the western end of Fergus we found a break in the marsh where a few fish were rising consistently. They were just out of reach from the shore, but upon entering the water I found a soft bottom, thick weed beds and a water level precariously close to the top of my waders. So as the fish continued rising contently in front of me, tauntingly just out of reach, I retreated to the shore, defeated.

As we approached the Southwest corner of the mash, we noted numerous rises on the lake side. In the lea of the wind, we found some wadeable water, enabling us to use the sun behind us to scan for fish working on spinner being blown out of the rushes. Working the marsh edges we hadn’t gone far when I heard Greg holler “I’m on!”.  Having polaroided a fish cruising in close, he led it with a Daniel Hackett inspired red spinner tie and was now holding on while the fish took a run for the deep. As Greg bought the fish close to hand, I tried to get over for some pictures. The camera shy fish had other ideas shaking the hook before I got the camera out. One down.

By about 11am, there were a few gum beetles on the water so I tied on a small red tag. Spotting the next fish cruising at the eastern point of the marsh, I covered it. The fish took and the hook up was solid.

The fish started taking confidently. They were in top condition with large brown dots on bright golden flanks, full of fight. Greg French’s promise of dreams coming true was starting to take shape. As we moved along behind the marsh we managed to hook some, miss others and break-off at least two each. The ones we broke-off were large, hooked close to the pin rushes, and each knew exactly how to get rid of a hook and leader.

During a break for lunch was we decided to ditch our packs, allowing us to wade with more confidence (we were a bit timid wading with thousands worth of camera gear in our packs!). Having moved east about a kilometre or so in order to wade and Polaroid back to the marsh, a westerly wind blew in and made this difficult, only seeing a few fish, all close in and moving toward us. Arriving back at the marsh fish were moving in the same fashion as when we left them earlier.  Another wade along the same route produced similar results.

As we headed back to our bags we noticed some small fish tailing in close (At around 2pm with sun shining!!).  A couple of casts to them saw our flies drowned so we moved on.  Around the point we were again surprised to find more fish doing the same, Greg covered the first, which took and to his delight was not small at all.  Taking a shot at the next, I got a solid take only to lose the fish after a few short seconds. A quick inspection of my hook revealed a more open than usual gape, probably from one of the monsters of the marsh!  We continued back to our bags, spooking a few more fish out of the shallows along the way.

As we sat contemplating the walk home, taking in the scenery while re energising with some water and muesli bars, from the corner of my eye I see something moving along the shoreline toward us two inches off the bank.  I grabbed my rod, fired out a quick cast which was off mark, recast, the fish surged at the fly, a rise, a pause, then a commotion as the fish realised it was hooked!  As it thrashed around on the side of the lake my line went slack..... Continuing to thrash while not realising it was free, lunging out of the water only to find its way back in, finally applying the afterburners and heading for the middle of the lake.  Another few choice words on my behalf (which may or may not have been captured on video camera!!). Another rise heard a disturbance on the water, only a cast away to the left, covering the fish, the take came and this time I was not letting it go, after a huge initial run the fish came to hand, smiled for the camera and was off to fight another day.

We loaded our packs onto sore shoulders and walked the edge of the lake back to the east to complete our lap. We continued to see fish, until we reached the sandy banks near the outflow around 5pm. With the rods packed away, water bottles refilled we started toward home. We had not trudged far when a 4WD vehicle stopped on the track above, the driver seemed to be moving gear around in the car. Stopping to say hello, we were surprised by his offer of a lift out to Little Pine. He could probably tell by the smiles on our faces, and knowing that he had saved us from two hours of walking, he had made our day! Turns out that the land owner of the private property surrounding the lake had called in for the afternoon to fish (only his second trip for the year, mind you!!). By 5:30 we were back at the car...... a perfect way to end an awesome day at Fergus

I wouldn`t say it was a red letter day by any means, not the dun hatch we were expecting especially considering that the weather appeared to be perfect for it. The fish rise with confidence which is a nice change from ones that can tell you that the tie of your fly is not quite right, in heavily fished waters. Due to our persistence we had caught a good number of fish, all on dry`s and most of them were spotted before casting to them.

A fortunate encounter with the land owner had shortened our day and was gratefully repaid at the Highland Lakes Lodge for happy hour..... What a day!!

The Evening Rise.

With the weather moving in and rain in the forecast Greg and I decide to try an evening session on our favourite river, the South Esk.

Leaving our wives and children to enjoy take out, we headed out to the river........

The conditions seemed perfect; it’s 5pm with plenty of heat still in the day and threatening storm clouds moving in from the north.

With fish already showing on the surface, black spinner, caddis moth and stone fly in the air it was looking good.

Covering a few fish as we made our way up the river it was not long before the first was on.  After a solid take in the bubble line just behind a riffle at the head of a pool and breaking free of the water spectacularly before charging downstream, the little brown trout felt solid pulling against the flow.  For a while I overestimated its size. Fooled by a brown nymph under one of Dan Hackett’s fast water duns,  it  put up a solid fight, running straight downstream, turning across the river to jump several times before I could get it anywhere near the bank to be beached.

Working our way further upstream it appeared that the rise had slowed, until we got past the first weir where we found fish rising freely to black spinners on the calmer water.  Every now and then one would jump clear of the water to take a spinner which was hovering annoyingly overhead. Only one problem, the fish were out of casting range and the water was too deep to wade for a better shot at them.  As there were some good fish amongst them, we decided to make an effort to reach the far bank in order to get a shot at them, meaning a long walk around the deep pool.

The river splits at this point to form a nice shallow stream on the right hand bank so we followed it around and up to the first weir.  As we were about to cross Greg noticed a couple of rises at the tail out of a pool, they were in tough places, right where the water accelerates before exiting the pool so presentation was always going to be tough,  but rewarding if it worked out. The first couple of casts were off target slightly however another rise assured us that the fish was still there, the next cast was perfect, the fly had about ten seconds of drift before drag set in we both held our breath as we watched for the rise.  Right at the last moment, a swirl, and it was on, jumping and cartwheeling across the surface of the tiny pool before Greg grassed the fish for a quick picture and release.  Although small, this fish would turn out to be one of the most rewarding fish of the evening with its  golden flanks, bright red spots and a casting degree of difficulty of 9.0.

Arriving back to where we had observed fish leaping at black spinner, it was clear we had missed our chance with the spinner gone and the fish no longer rising. I managed to hook a small rainbow with a down and across presentation on a small caddis fly imitation however the insect activity had disappeared with the sunshine which was now replaced by dark storm cloud. We moved on to the water funnelling into the top weir.  As the light faded along with our shadows, the water started to come alive with the splashes of energetic smaller fish and the steady clopping of the larger and wiser river residents. Greg hooked a nice fish but without being able to see our fly lines or flies it was becoming increasingly difficult to hook fish, both of us dropping fish or missing takes with frustrating regularity.    It was time to head for home. 

Armed with a little more knowledge and insight, about how things work in this stretch of the South Esk, we will return to learn more about a place that is fast becoming one of our favourites. With temperatures increasing as the days draw out the activity throughout the day seems to be dropping off. The evenings of summer seem to be the best bet for rising fish on lowland rivers from here on in. JN&GH

An afternoon on the South Esk

Yesterday afternoon I spent a few hours on the South Esk at Mill Road. It was hot, muggy, and sheltered from the northerly wind. There wasn't much happening when I first got there, so I fished a team of two nymphs (leader to hand) for the fast water section up to the first weir. Caught and released three or four fish this way.
On the still water above the weir fish were sipping midge from the surface so I swapped to my floating line and used a small black spinner pattern. Took another six or seven fish on the dry. Released all but one. And, one, a good one (!) broke me off.
I was trying to get some pics to up load here, but came to the realization that it is near impossible to fight a fish AND take a picture of the fish at the same time...will have to wait for good pics.