To say I'm feeling rather relieved that the silly season has come to end is somewhat of understatement. Today was the first day in over 5 weeks where the sounds of V8 powered motorboats on the lake weren’t echoing throughout the valley and tonight was like being part of the Kerrigan family minus the burnt lamb chops, "Ahh, the Serenity".
It’s been such a busy month with Guiding and teaching people to fly fish that my personal fishing time has been kept to a minimum but I can’t complain as its part and parcel of life on the lake and without the tourists we would all struggle to make a living up here. for what it’s worth, 60% of the Mansfield shires annual income is purely from tourism throughout the district and apart from a few bad eggs who leave rubbish behind and generally make arses of themselves, I have met so many cool and interesting people throughout the holiday season that those one or two turds that I have encountered really pale into insignificance and have only helped me to appreciate how lucky I am to live up here and be part of a community that genuinely love the region which is why we all ended up here in the first place.
Apart from last weekend, it has been relatively easy to find decent stretches of water to fish without heavy angling traffic and for the next couple of months it will be pure bliss up here.
With 34 mil of rain in the gauge here at Howqua over the past 24 hours and some cooler weather to come in the next few days I’m looking forward to some superb fishing again. The recent heat wave had water temperatures soaring to levels that were even going to slow down the smallest and hungriest of trout. I had noticed that the trout that I did encounter up here over the past week were particularly spooky and even with the most careful of approaches and presentations it was hard work to get the fish to take the fly. It isn’t hard to understand why as the volume of traffic and continuous shadows and foreign objects being cast at them would have me a bit edgy also but things will settle quickly and luckily most of the holiday makers got through without getting drenched and the rain and cooler weather has arrived at a perfect time. That being said, even in my few brief sessions out on the rivers I was lucky enough to land several 2 pound plus fish and several clients also managed to land some great fish. I did notice that the fish we caught, especially the larger specimens, did take a bit more time to balance up when releasing them back into the water but I’m pleased to say that all the fish we caught did eventually swim away and looked very healthy as they disappeared back the depths they consider home.
From a Guiding point of view it has been a fantastic summer and I have really enjoyed spending quality time on the rivers with a wide array of wonderful people from all parts of Australia and different corners of the Globe. The thing that rings true, is that no matter what a person’s background or profession is, once we get onto a river with a fly rod in hand we are one and the same. Fly Fishing is a great leveller that brings us all together and allows us to share a passion that only other fly fishers can truly understand. To all my friends and clients who I have had the pleasure of fishing with during the summer thus far, I would like to express my sincerest thanks. Catching a fish myself is great fun but to be there to capture some special moments and guide others in their fly fishing journey's has been a totally rewarding and humbling experience and although guiding will never make me a tycoon or share market mogul I can honestly say that apart from my beautiful wife and adorable son, nothing makes me happier than being able to spend time on the rivers every day.
Anyway, I've waffled on enough so as promised here are a few of the highlights that were captured on the lumix over the past few weeks. I still have more pics on my I phone that I’m yet to upload but I reckon this selection of pics should be enough to whet your appetites for a bit of fishing on the rivers of Lake Eildon.
Tim with his PB rainbow

As if that wasnt enough he bettered his PB with this Lovely Brown

A well conditioned 3 Lb willow grubber

Michael with his PB to date.

John, an international visitor from the U.K, who fishes the Test, Itchen and Kennet rivers back home adapted well to the tight conditions on backwaters and after straightening hooks and getting busted off managed to capture this lovely brown.

after dropping a nice brown into the river before I could get out the Lumix, Darren managed to grass this healthy little brown.

Another International visitor, Jimmy from South africa was unlucky losing a fish that was close to 4 pound when it was almost at the net but he buttered up on the evening rise with this beautiful brown.

One of the real highlights of this seasons guiding is Sof with his PB brown, especially after being busted off by a monster fish only a week earlier... Congratulations Sof. 
definitely worth another angle.

Yet another P.B.... Rowan is one of the nicest guys you could wish to meet on the river and this is just another example of a Fly Fisher being rewarded for patience and perserverance, well done mate.

and just to finish, My first brown landed on a hopper this season.

ciao for now, Werner
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