Tough Fishing Conditions Produces A Few Trout.

[meppstas]

'' TOUGH FISHING CONDITIONS PRODUCES A FEW TROUT.'' 30-1-14

Finally after a week or more of bright clear days and warm weather conditions today I woke to overcasts conditions at last. Had a few things to do during the morning and so I didn't head off to the Mersey River at Weegena until just after 1.00pm. When I arrived at Dylan's Bridge there was already two cars parked on both sides of the bridge ruling out my fishing this area much to my disappointment. I stood on the bridge for a while watching fish rising and jumping in most sections of the river above and below the bridge which meant there were a lot of insects at water level.. With the trout rising and jumping I knew it would make for a tough day on the water any way, even more so being a spin fisher. Decided to head back to the car and go to a property further upstream that I am lucky enough to be able to fish thanks to the land owner, and have around two or more kilometres of river all to myself. It does involve quite a tough walk to the river, but once there it's always well worth the effort as it's such a beautiful area. Even if one doesn't pick up a fish it's still a great place to be. The only killer is the tough walk back up the hill to the car after being in a river for three or more hours that it usually takes me to fish this area.

Well after a 1.5km walk to where I was going to start my fishing session the clouds had decided to part letting the sun break through to hit the water, not what I wanted that's for sure. I decided to use a #00 Black Fury with a black blade today given the clear water and the fact that there were a lot of black spinners hovering above the river and that's what the trout were feeding on. There were still quite a few cloud patches covering the river so it wasn't all bad for now. The first few sections of river were all good fast waters that normally produce a few hook ups. Well after working them for close on an hour I had not had a single hit or even a follow. There were a few medium size trout leaping in this area too, so it was going to be touch and go whether I would get a hook up today.

Then the next section that I fished was a nice run of fast water on a bend in the river and this water here has always given up a fish. It didn't let me down this time either as on the forth cast I was onto a nice medium sized (440gm) brown. This was a relief as I wasn't feeling that confident after that first hour of fishing. Quick photo and this fish was on it's way and I was onto the next section of shallow fast water. After a few cast I had a hit and could feel a very light drag on he lure and knew it was a fish, but it felt like a very small one at that. It was small too, actually it was one of the smallest fish that I have ever taken on a spinner. This was a little rainbow that would have been just on 100mm in length. This was a good sign really as it shows that there has been some natural spawning happening in the system.

The cloud had now completely gone and with full sun now on the river the next kilometre of river was pretty tough going both fish wise and wading, the fish were few and far between and the rocky river bottom was like an ice skating rink. I did manage to catch four browns and a solid (510 gm) rainbow all of which were released over that kilometre of river. Round rocks that move under foot are bad enough, but when they're covered in slime it doesn't make it any easier that's for sure. I was now back at the area where I exit the river to start my walk back to the car. I thought I would have a few more casts into one more small section of fast water before I crossed over the river and headed back through the bush and up the hill. Luck was on my side in this piece of water as I hooked into another solid (490gm photo & released) rainbow which was a reasonable end to a pretty tough day on the Mersey River. Even though the conditions and the fishing were tough going today, it was all well worth the effort that I put into it, and yes I'll definitely do it again too no matter how much it hurts me.
Cheers
Adrian

[DougieK]

beautiful colors on that first rainbow. Great report mate!

[meppstas]

beautiful colors on that first rainbow. Great report mate!

Thanks Dougie, yes the colours were great, they're not normally like that either. Just the odd few of late have had some nicer colour to them.
cheers
Adrian

[DougieK]

Is it you selling those spinners and do you think they'd go well in Vic? You always seem to be getting fish ont hem!

[meppstas]

Is it you selling those spinners and do you think they'd go well in Vic? You always seem to be getting fish ont hem!

No it's not me selling them Dougie, I did get Gladiator Tackle to take on the agency for Mepps in Australia after six and a half years trying all the Aust tackle importers. I do know that you can by them in many tackle stores in Victoria and Mo Tackle sell them as well. I've used them for well over 40 yrs and they have always done well for me. Caught plenty of trout & redfin on them when I lived in Sth Aust, caught a few in Victoria when visiting the kids there and now going even better with them here in Tassie. The Black Fury (gold/copper & black blades & yellow dots) and the Aglia (black/copper & gold blades) models should do pretty well in most rivers in Victoria as will the Bug spinner in the stone fly pattern. The sizes I use are #00 (1.5gms) for 95% of the time followed by #0 (2.5gm) & occasionally the size 1 (in deeper water). I have also seen them on sale on Ebay too.
cheers
Adrian.

[Blue vlt]

Well done mate great report