Opening Week — September 2026
Lake Eildon: 60.7%
Inflows: 3,500 ML/day
Goulburn release: 1,000 ML/day
River temperature: 13.1°C
Dissolved oxygen: 10.0 ppm
Rainfall, past 24 hours: 0 mm
Eildon Pondage: 49%
The trout season has begun in fairly typical September fashion: a little chaotic, a little frustrating and with enough signs underneath it all to remind us that the good fishing is not very far away. Rain on Friday afternoon and evening made a mess of the river almost immediately, with dirty water right up through the upper river below the Pondage. We deliberately stayed away from the opening-weekend circus, although we did have a boat out for a reconnaissance run. We weren’t interested in flogging the river. The idea was simply to have a look, see what had changed over winter and find out whether anybody was home.
There were fish willing to move to streamers. We had a few bumps and managed one to the net, which was enough to open the account for another season. Through the week the Goulburn crept up to around 1,000 ML/day and gradually began to clear. By midweek there was enough visibility to fish properly through the upper sections, and by the end of the week we had fishable water all the way down below Alexandra.
That extra 600 ML/day over the winter minimum makes quite a difference. At 1,000 the river covers a lot more gravel, reconnects edges and side water and gives trout considerably more room than they have at 400. It also makes them a little less exposed and, in places, a little less nervous. I am not entirely sure how long this slightly higher flow will remain, but while it does, there are certainly opportunities there for anyone desperate to get out and have a look.
The fishing itself has been modest rather than spectacular, which is about what I would expect in the middle of September. We have taken fish on nymphs and had some interest in dries (one landed), with small, slim copper-bodied nymphs proving useful. On most sessions there have also been at least a handful of fish rising somewhere, and there are a few duns beginning to appear in dribs and drabs through the day, with some evenings showing a little more activity.
It is not boiling yet.
In truth, it is not even simmering.
But the first bubbles are starting to appear.
That is often how September feels. You can watch a pot of water for what seems like forever and nothing much happens. Then one small bubble rises from the bottom. A little later there are two or three. Then a few more. Before long the whole thing is moving and suddenly it is boiling. The river feels much the same at the moment. There are a few duns, a few rising fish, water temperatures creeping in the right direction and longer afternoons beginning to do their work. Nothing has really taken off, but for the first time this season you can see the first signs that it is about to.
The river temperature is sitting at 13.1°C with dissolved oxygen around 10 ppm. Another couple of decent high-pressure systems, a little more warmth and some stable water, and things can change surprisingly quickly. My feeling remains much the same as it does most Septembers: Grand Final weekend and beyond is where I would rather have my days in the diary.
We had another enquiry only this morning asking whether I would recommend fishing in the next week or pushing the booking back. My answer is always much the same at this time of year. If you only have one available day, go fishing. There are trout to be caught now, and at 1,000 ML/day the river is in much better shape than it is at the winter minimum. But if you have the luxury of choosing, I would save the day of annual leave for a little later. September rewards patience.
What sort of spring are we heading into?
There is plenty of local speculation about the season ahead. The current climate outlook is pointing towards a warmer and generally drier spring across our part of south-eastern Australia, with the present El Niño expected to persist into autumn next year. That does not automatically mean poor fishing. In fact, for the Goulburn it could produce some very interesting conditions.
Lake Eildon is currently at 60.7%, so we are beginning the season with a substantial amount of stored water. A warmer, drier spring should also bring terrestrial activity forward, particularly ants, beetles, grasshoppers and eventually the larger summer insects. Irrigation demand is also likely to become important as the season develops. Exactly what that means for river flows will depend on allocations, demand and water-management decisions, so I would not pretend to know in September what the Goulburn will be running at in January.
What I can say is that some of our most consistent drift-boat fishing occurs when the river settles into solid, moderate irrigation flows rather than the very highest releases. A season with extended flows somewhere in that middle range can make an enormous amount of the Goulburn accessible and productive, and from a drift-boat perspective it can often produce more consistent fishing than a season dominated by the very highest water. So there are reasons to be quietly optimistic.
The smaller rivers may be the other interesting part of this spring. If the warmer, drier pattern develops as forecast, the smaller streams may come into condition earlier than they do in a cool, wet year. The trade-off is obvious. The same streams that benefit from an early warm spring can become difficult later in January, February and March if the summer turns genuinely hot and dry. For now, though, they are worth watching and they may come alive quickly.
More boats available this season
There has also been a bit happening behind the scenes. Tony Edwards has established a base here in Alexandra and will be spending considerably more time on the Goulburn this season while continuing to guide the Tumut as well. He now has a drift boat based at each location, so if you particularly want to fish with Tony on either river, sing out.
We have also had one experienced guide become available again after a couple of years away and another tell me he can give us considerably more time this season. I will introduce them properly when everything is settled, but the important consequence is that we again have considerably more multi-boat capacity. Tony and I will be available through most of the season, and with the wider guide team we can now put together two, three and, with enough notice, four-boat days.
That opens up something we have been doing in various forms since the 1990s.
The Goulburn River Journey
For a group of friends wanting something more substantial than a single guided day, we have formalised one of the trips that has effectively been part of GVFFC since the early years. The Goulburn River Journey follows the river progressively downstream from the Eildon Pondage towards Molesworth over three or four days.
The standard group is four anglers in two drift boats, although with enough notice we can organise up to eight anglers. The idea is not simply to fish four unrelated sections of river. You travel through it. At the top, the Goulburn is colder, tighter and more obviously influenced by Lake Eildon. Farther downstream it broadens, tributaries enter, islands appear and the surrounding country changes. Eventually you reach sections below Alexandra that very few anglers ever see properly on foot.
The three-day version moves through the river more quickly, beginning each morning around where the previous day finished. I prefer the four-day version. It gives us time to overlap some water from one day to the next. You see a piece of river twice, perhaps under different light or at a different time of day. You get another chance at the fish somebody missed yesterday. You begin recognising bends and runs instead of simply passing through them.
In the 1990s we sometimes camped beside the river on these longer trips. These days we have become slightly more civilised. We pull out each evening, get everyone back to comfortable accommodation, find a decent meal and begin again the following morning. For four friends looking for a proper fishing trip without getting on an international flight, it is worth considering.
Link to the Goulburn River Journey at the bottom.
New Zealand this summer
For those who do want to get on a plane, we still have some room in Southland this coming summer. At the moment there are three weeks where we could still accommodate a complete group of four.
Our New Zealand weeks run Sunday to Sunday through January, February and March, with seven nights at Dunrobin and six full guided fishing days. Five days are fished at one guide to two anglers, and every guest now gets one full day of individual 1:1 guiding. If four friends take the available places in the same week, that week effectively becomes your own small-group trip.
There is no need to put a group together before contacting us, though. Individual anglers and pairs are equally welcome and we can usually find the right group for them.
Workshops are starting again
We also had a small workshop running this weekend. The regular beginner workshops begin properly next month and will run each month through the season.
If your own fly fishing has become a little rusty over winter, or you know somebody who has always said they would like to learn but does not know where to begin, point them our way. The workshops are two days, all the equipment is supplied, and importantly Sunday includes actual river fishing. We spend the first part building the fundamentals and then begin putting those skills to work on real water.
That distinction matters. Fly fishing makes a lot more sense when the casting, flies, currents and trout are finally all in the same place.
For now…
So for the moment, September is doing what September usually does. If you are desperate for a fish, the Goulburn at 1,000 ML/day is clear enough now to make a day worthwhile, and that extra water is certainly preferable to scratching around at the winter minimum. If you have flexibility, however, keep accumulating those brownie points.
Mow the lawn. Finish the jobs you have been promising to do. Be an exemplary husband. Be unusually productive at work. Perhaps do not mention that you are doing any of it because you are quietly banking a fishing day.
There is a cooler change moving through before conditions improve again later in the week, but the river is beginning to show those first little signs. A few duns. A few rising fish. Clearer water. Longer afternoons. Magpies swooping again.
It is a little like watching that pot of water.
For ages, apparently nothing happens. Then the first bubble rises. Then another. And another.
Before long, you look away for a moment and the whole thing is boiling.
We are not there yet. But the first bubbles are visible. After a long winter, that is enough for now.
Thanks, as always, to everyone who has supported us through the quieter months. It is very good to have some sunshine again, clear water flowing out of the lake and another trout season underway.
Tight lines.
Anthony
Goulburn Valley Fly Fishing Centre
0418 995 611
info@gvflyfishing.com
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