Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
- meppstas
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Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
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.
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
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- Sinsemilla
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Some nice fish there Adrian! They can't resist the hard bodies!
Cheers, Anth
Cheers, Anth
-
- Bluefin
- Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Great report and pics as always mate.
Cheers :thumbsup:
Cheers :thumbsup:
- meppstas
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Thanks guys, the trout fishing has been a little up & down lately with lots of insect hatches and they're mainly concentrating on surface feeding.
Clear & lower river levels doesn't help, plus with the holiday season the rivers have had a lot of traffic on them.. It should all start to settle down in a couple of weeks.. This area I fished doesn't get fished very often because the access is tough going as is the river bottom..
cheers
Adrian
Clear & lower river levels doesn't help, plus with the holiday season the rivers have had a lot of traffic on them.. It should all start to settle down in a couple of weeks.. This area I fished doesn't get fished very often because the access is tough going as is the river bottom..
cheers
Adrian
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Jimminy Crickets Adrian
You definitely do the hard yards
Great report and photos mate
Cheers Gra
You definitely do the hard yards
Great report and photos mate
Cheers Gra
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
At least you did get some reward for your efforts Adrian - great pics as usual.
- meppstas
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Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..
Thanks Gra & Paul, the body certainly felt it the following day too... still, I'll probably have another go here another day not too far away..
cheers
Adrian
cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member
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