The last week has brought a bit of everything: patchy weather, some fairly erratic fishing and, finally, signs that the Goulburn is beginning to wake up.

There were decent windows earlier in the week, but things improved noticeably as the weather began to warm. Saturday was the most difficult day. Squally belts of rain came through regularly, with some very heavy downpours lasting close to half an hour at a time, accompanied by strong gusts that made casting difficult. We had a couple of beginners out doing lessons, but cancelled our scheduled drift boat trip.

Fortunately, those clients were staying in the area for the weekend and we had guides available, so we were able to move their drift to Sunday.

That turned out to be a good decision.

On Sunday we saw considerably more rising fish, both on the upper river around Thornton and further downstream towards Alexandra. Water clarity around Thornton was approximately seven to eight feet. Further downstream towards the Breakaway it was more like three to five feet.

Mayfly duns came off throughout the day, particularly whenever cloud moved across the sun. During the brighter periods there were still occasional duns trickling through in ones and twos, but as soon as the light softened the hatch strengthened quite noticeably.

Caddis are also beginning to build. At times, simply clipping a willow branch with the boat would send clouds of them into the air. We saw quite a few grannoms as well, although I didn’t notice fish specifically rising to them.

Most of the rises we watched were delicate, soft sips rather than the obvious back, shoulder and tail rises you sometimes see when fish are taking just beneath the surface. These fish appeared to be feeding right on top.

My clients were only fishing a half day, so we didn’t have the luxury of sitting on individual fish for as long as we might have liked. We kept moving and still managed to get several good fish to eat.

The most memorable was a brown that slid about five feet out from cover to take a large dry fly.

The fishing improved as the day went on. The best period for us came after lunch and through the middle of the afternoon. Further downstream, our other guide reported the same general pattern, with more rising fish appearing through the middle and latter part of the afternoon.

Yesterday we were back on the river early, trying to sneak in another drift before the weather arrived.

For a while it worked.

The fishing was quite good until the first band of rain came through. Once it arrived, the rises disappeared almost completely. We saw virtually nothing on top until right at the end, when the rain stopped for about an hour and a few fish began to rise again.

We also got absolutely drenched from the waist down.

It remains to be seen exactly how the next few days play out, but there are certainly opportunities for anglers looking to sneak up once the Melbourne Cup long-weekend traffic settles down.

The river is about to begin rising again. The current release plan takes it from around 1,500 ML/day towards 2,000, then 2,500 and eventually around 3,000 ML/day over the next few days. We’ll be watching closely to see how quickly the river responds and what happens to the remaining colour downstream.

More importantly, we are getting very close to the point in the season when the larger terrestrials begin appearing in meaningful numbers. Once that happens, the river can change quickly.

Perhaps the most encouraging thing over the past week and a half has simply been seeing more trout.

That became particularly noticeable over the weekend. Over the past few days we have seen considerably more fish rising than at any stage since the season opened. On Sunday alone, I saw more fish looking up than I had during several of my earlier drifts combined.

That does not mean every day from here will suddenly be easy. This is still spring on the Goulburn and the river, weather and releases can change quickly.

But it is beginning to look interesting.

We’ll continue updating these reports regularly. The new format will combine what we are seeing on the water with Bureau of Meteorology forecasts, projected wind, actual river flows and Goulburn-Murray Water’s release outlook. We’ll also give each day a simple GVFFC rating based on where we think the better fishing opportunities lie.

Hopefully that makes it a little easier to decide when it is worth making the drive.

Tight lines,
Anthony

And if you’re looking to drift the Goulburn, you know who to call.

Our pick:
Today looks the simplest opportunity with pleasant conditions and most campers heading back to Melbourne. A sneaky afternoon sortie could be just what the doctor ordered. Wednesday has potentially more warmth and cloud, but the stronger wind and possible thunderstorm activity make the timing much more important.

Actual + forecast

Upper Goulburn flow

Actual upper Goulburn flows over the past five days and the current published Lake Eildon release outlook through Friday 6 November.