Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Posted: Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:24 pm
Meander River fishing a little better this trip.
After having a restless night I was awake at 3:15 am and decided I'd get up and head off for an early spin session on the Meander River. After a quick breakfast I was on my way by 4:15 am and arrived at Meander Township at 5:05 am when it was still a little dark to hit the river. Today I'm going to give the long fast water stretch of river above the main road bridge a go. I reckon it's been two months since I've been here for a spin session, on that day the river was running too high and fast to wade so I didn't get to fish here. I had my wading gear on and headed down into the river (5:30 am) keeping close to the river bank because the river was running a little higher than I would have liked again today. The rocky river bottom was also very slippery and it wasn't all that good under foot. I worked the fast water for around half and hour when I made the decision to get out and go elsewhere. As much as I wanted to stay and fish this area I knew my body wouldn't stand up to it like it used to and that was the main reason for moving to a lower stretch of the river. The 1.5 kilometer stretch of river I'm heading to is a mix of slow/medium and fast flowing water, it's also another area I haven't fished for quite some time.
It didn't take all that long (6:20 am) before I was in there and in the river flicking a Rapala F3 rainbow lure around when I had a follow from a medium size brown, but that's as far as it went. It wasn't until I had reached the first small fast water run when I had my first brown take the lure and soon in the net. It was a medium 340 gram brown and like most trout this season it was in beautiful condition. After that little fast water run I headed into a wide medium deep flowing stretch of river where I picked up three more nice browns (ave wt. 440 grams each) from four hook ups as well as having a couple of hit and misses. I had now reached a very deep section of river that left me no option but to climb up a steep river bank, then do a bit of bush bashing for around fifty meters before I could get back into the river where it was at a safe wading depth. I knew I could fish at least another kilometer of river before I would have to call it a day because it's not one of the easiest stretches of river to fish. It's a challenging rocky slippery stretch of water that has shallow fast water runs and a couple of medium flowing stretches of river. It's one that really knocks me around but it used to hold some nice browns in it's day so it's always worth giving it a go.
Five minutes into the session I had a hit and miss on the Rapala, that made me feel confident I will catch a few browns if I can last the distance I'm about to cover with the fishing.. It did take another twenty minutes before I had a solid brown take the lure and after a good battle with this fish it was soon in the net. It was a nice 490 gram fish and beautifully coloured too. As I neared the end of this long slow/medium flowing run I hooked and lost another solid brown. I was about to head into one of the toughest stretches of the Meander River in this area, one that runs for at least 800 meters or more. It is a fast water run that's always worth fishing though as it used to give up some nice browns when I used to fish here on a regular basis. I slogged it out over the full distance and caught and released two more nice browns from six hook ups which was a little disappointing for the effort I put into it. I did have quite a few hit and misses plus several follows so the end result could have been better had I not lost the four that were hooked. That's what happens when fast water trout fishing, one has to take the good with the bad. I've had days when I've caught over thirty trout & only lost two when fast water fishing, that's just how it is. At least this trip was a lot better than my last Meander River visit when I only caught the one brown.
cheers
Adrian
After having a restless night I was awake at 3:15 am and decided I'd get up and head off for an early spin session on the Meander River. After a quick breakfast I was on my way by 4:15 am and arrived at Meander Township at 5:05 am when it was still a little dark to hit the river. Today I'm going to give the long fast water stretch of river above the main road bridge a go. I reckon it's been two months since I've been here for a spin session, on that day the river was running too high and fast to wade so I didn't get to fish here. I had my wading gear on and headed down into the river (5:30 am) keeping close to the river bank because the river was running a little higher than I would have liked again today. The rocky river bottom was also very slippery and it wasn't all that good under foot. I worked the fast water for around half and hour when I made the decision to get out and go elsewhere. As much as I wanted to stay and fish this area I knew my body wouldn't stand up to it like it used to and that was the main reason for moving to a lower stretch of the river. The 1.5 kilometer stretch of river I'm heading to is a mix of slow/medium and fast flowing water, it's also another area I haven't fished for quite some time.
- Early start fishing the fast water, still a little high for my liking..
It didn't take all that long (6:20 am) before I was in there and in the river flicking a Rapala F3 rainbow lure around when I had a follow from a medium size brown, but that's as far as it went. It wasn't until I had reached the first small fast water run when I had my first brown take the lure and soon in the net. It was a medium 340 gram brown and like most trout this season it was in beautiful condition. After that little fast water run I headed into a wide medium deep flowing stretch of river where I picked up three more nice browns (ave wt. 440 grams each) from four hook ups as well as having a couple of hit and misses. I had now reached a very deep section of river that left me no option but to climb up a steep river bank, then do a bit of bush bashing for around fifty meters before I could get back into the river where it was at a safe wading depth. I knew I could fish at least another kilometer of river before I would have to call it a day because it's not one of the easiest stretches of river to fish. It's a challenging rocky slippery stretch of water that has shallow fast water runs and a couple of medium flowing stretches of river. It's one that really knocks me around but it used to hold some nice browns in it's day so it's always worth giving it a go.
- First trout taken here..
- First of the morning..
- Nice wide medium flowing stretch of river..
- Another nice river brown..
- The next stretch of river to fish after the bush bash..
- One of several taken today..
- And another..
- Seventh trout picked up here..
- Tough going here, but trout were caught here..
Adrian
