G’day fishos. The weather’s certainly been better over the past few weeks in comparison to that ridiculously hot stuff we had for the previous month or so.
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Best time of the year I reckon, a bit of a nip in the air in the morning and some comfortably warm sunshine during the day.
What does all that mean to us fishos though? Well, probably not a lot just yet.
I suppose it means some of those trout in the bigger lakes might rise up a little, after being down pretty deep during the worst of the summer.
It probably won’t change our tactics toward natives too much as yet, but it will probably slow down the unbelievably good surface action we’ve been having this season. This might take a month or so though.
One of the biggest events that really keen trout fishos are all getting pumped up about right now is the spawning run.
This is the time of the year that trout spawn and anglers get excited (maybe not quite as excited as the trout). Trout only get to spawn once a year.
Anglers and fish are both waiting patiently now for the first decent rains, which will trigger “the run” upstream to do their thing and produce future stocks for all of us to enjoy.
Some streams seem to appeal more than others to spawning fish and certainly some streams are more appealing to anglers.
Thredbo River is a pretty famous one in trout fisho circles but the Eucumbene River spawning run is the biggy.
As you would imagine when fish, big fish, congregate in massive numbers like this so do fishermen.
- Russell Mason
Keen anglers come from all directions to participate in, or even just witness, the spectacular sight of thousands of trout moving upstream in one of nature’s most awesome events.
If you don’t plan your trip quite right it can be a bit disappointing.
The run always revolves around rain events. If your timing is out you might still get to see lots of big trout but might not get to witness whole pools of black, with massive trout packed in a fashion John West got his inspiration from.
As you would imagine when fish, big fish, congregate in massive numbers like this, so do fishermen.
It’s nearly worth going up for a look even if you don’t take a rod.
On a big day, hundreds of anglers line each side of the river, all chasing that trophy trout and hooking one can be a lot harder than you might imagine.
Once you’ve got a big one on, it’s then a matter of negotiating the rough banks chasing it up or downstream, or both, and hoping everyone around you does the right thing and keeps their lines clear of you.
It’s certainly the way to catch a trophy trout but if you haven’t done it before be prepared to do the right thing. You’ll need to sit back a bit and work out the etiquette before you have a crack or you might find out how cold the Eucumbene River can be at this time of the year.
