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I fished very well over the 2014 Nationals weekend with basically just two "small" problems. The first was that I blanked my first session which was on the Bundarra. As it turned out my beat on the Bundarra didn't give up 1 fish in any of the 5 sessions. Despite that disaster because I managed fish in the next 3 sessions (Rocky Valley, Kiewa River then Rocky Valley again) I was running 12th on Saturday night with only one session to go and that was on the Mitta Mitta.

Mitta Mitta River

My "all show and no go" water on the Mitta Mitta.

The session started bad with the controller not being on hand at the bell. He had apparently gone into Omeo for fuel … I was sweating on his arrival and was about to start without him and my camera to gather evidence of any landed fish, when he turned up … the petrol station was 40 minutes late opening. This late arrival had a down side in that there was no chitter chat that I could gleam any intelligence of how the beat had fished in the previous 4 sessions.

I know that controllers are not suppose to provide any information to anglers, but it is generally surprising, how much you can find out during a little friendly idle chatter.

Anyway I think I was about a quarter of an hour late starting my 3 hour session. I started at the bottom of the beat and French nymphed what I thought was the best looking water in the beat … not a touch. I then moved up to the long slow run which constituted the majority of the beat and waded up the full length from ankle deep water through chest deep water in the middle and toward the top of the beat where there was a little broken water and the very shallow tail of the next beat. The only action I had was two small rising fish and I am not even sure if they would have measured. The fist fish I spotted at from the bottom of that slow run and it was just below the running water about 50 meters away from me and splashing around an exposed rock. When I finally got in position to have a go at that fish I prospected the target water with a plume. When I did get a rise it was very quick and never looked like hooking up … bugger. I went back to prospecting and worked every inch of two very nice chutes either side of some rocks. There had to be a fish there and I was proven right on that count when one porpoised almost within reach of my left arm. I am pretty sure he buggered off then but I kept working the area with a plume on the dry fly rod. I finally gave that up when a big platypus cascaded right down between the two chutes. If the fish had still been there I am pretty confident that would have spooked him. There was half an hour to go so I put 3 size 18 BH nymphs on and reworked the whole slow run again without so much of a touch. A fish in that session would have at least held my 12th position.

Kiewa River

My controller was Phil from Albury. We got together about half an hour before the session and he told me that Jon had got 10 fish out of the run but that Mark only managed one fish in the previous afternoon.

I started where we were talking because I liked the look of that water. It had elements of a glide and slightly faster water and was up to a meter deep on the side away from me. I carefully French nymphed that water for about 40 minutes without a touch. I was happy with my technique and flies but just couldn’t muster up a fish. I then moved down to the run that followed that glide and prospected all the back waters around that with a plume, on .10 tippet and a 15 foot leader on my #4 weight dry fly rod, and still now action. I followed that by swinging flies down the next 30 or so meters of the beat through a shallow but wide section of river part of which was in the shade. I did step by step swings and again not a touch. I knew that Staggy who fished the water in the first session, and managed a wonderful 10 fish, would have been nymphing the water so I swapped over to my French leader rod, moved right down to the bottom of the beat, and methodically worked back up. I got my fist, very welcome fish, about 40 minuted before time and then managed a second 15 minutes later. That gave me a third in the session. Got to be happy with that.

The three rivers.

So I finished with 3 river fish overall all taken nymphing. On balance I was very happy with my French leader set up and technique and think that is emerging to be my strength in river fishing. I did notice two areas where I can practice to improve. Toward the end of the Mitta Mitta fiasco I became aware that when my flies began to drag and snag I picked up and recast rather than completing the drift. I think the answer is to count the flies down and once I know at what count they begin to drag to just lift the flies a little before that so that I can stay in the zone longer with a a longer drift. Bob my controller on the Mitta Mitta pointed out that there were two bits of bank side “pocket water” that no body prospected … they may have held fish so I have to remember to make sure that any potentially un-fished water is worked over. Making that choice however has to be a trade of of time it take to access difficult to reach water, the chance of being able to present flies without drag and the chance of catching fish there as opposed to easier to fish water ... there are always trade off's in competition.

Reflecting on the Bundarra session, with the value of 20/20 hindsight, I may have found a fish in that first session if I prospected from the start with #18 to #20 BH nymphs … just a thought.

I got 2 fish on a TBH orange spider on the point (a stand out fly for me) and 1 the Mayfly nymph as my heavier fly located on the dropper (always worth a try). I have also now been told that it is a great swinging fly … I have never tried it in that role but I certainly will.

Rocky Valley.

Session 2 was with John.

We both had a similar plan and worked well together with me on the pull start motor and John on the drogue. We fished along the rock wall to the RH side toward the dam wall and John got the first fish early in the session. Half an hour later I got one about 50 meters from the dam wall and a second on my very next cast. Both took a gold BBH shrek that had no coloured collar and was only 27mm long. I had a bibio on the top dropper and my little chartreuse fly in the middle. We then moved diagonally to the rock reef opposite the boat ramp and John managed a second fish. John was adamant that he had good intelligence that there were fish on the shore side opposite the pump station so we moved over there for the balance of the session. I managed my 3rd fish there and then we prospected the balance of that shore with no further fish until the end of the session which seemed to come around all too quickly for no additional fish.

Session 4 was with Glen.

He took up position in the bow explaining that he had a sore shoulder and I agreed to run the motor, a pull start 40HP. He agreed to do the drogue but as it turned out once the drogue had been deployed over board I still had to do all the drogue adjustment as the controls were at the back of the boat. I started with yesterdays line up and Glen started with a Bugger (I think basically black) on the point, a 25mm humungous in the middle and I think worked through a number of different flies on the bob. He got one fish in the first half hour and then hooked but didn’t land 2 more fish along the rock bank to the RH side of the dam wall. In the mean time I didn’t get a touch for 2+ hours even though I changed my bob and dropper flies a number of times.

It then went quiet for Glen also so we moved over to the bay inside of yesterday’s reef. As we went across I though about what to do next to change my fortunes. I decided to go back almost to basics. For me "loch style 101" is a brown bugger on the point, a dunkeld in the middle and a bibio on the top. So that is what I set up but I substituted my little chartreuse fly for the dunkeld. We only had 40 or so minutes to go so along with 2 other boats we worked the bay over. With only 15 minutes to go I took us right down the end of the bay and put a good cast into the shore and picked up a brown of 32cm which was just mm’s smaller than Glen's. That fish took my little chartreuse fly so I was chuffed I had swapped over to that instead of the dunkeld.

When we got to shore Glen had the only fish in his group he got a 1st and as several in my group had fish I finished up with I think a 4th … such are the nuances of competition fishing.

If I were picking a team of flies to fish Rocky Valley tomorrow I would undoubtedly have a small shrek on the point, my little chartreuse fly in the middle and my bibio on the top dropper.

My lake set up has stood the test of time and no change is required there.

Overall outcome

The last session dropped me from 12th to 18th. Not what I was hoping for but it is called “fishing” not “catching” and there is always next year.

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