The area is known to fishermen as the six rivers, with; the Toorongo, Ada, La Tribe, Loch, Tanjil and Tarago rivers all within a short drive.
On Friday night the woodcutters, farmers, tree-changers, tourists and locals appear at the Tool shed Bar at the Outpost Retreat. With smiles, blundstone boots, beards and good cheers. Cackles of laughter echo off the timber as glasses collide in celebration of the week’s completion. Chicken Parmigianas arrive, as thick as your arms and golden brown, in varieties from Portuguese to Mexican layered with jalapenos and salsa, the portion sizes as generous as the hospitality is warm. Feeling like I was incomplete without a foot long well groomed beard, I made do by admiring manly things and refrained from ordering a skinny low fat latte with half an equal. “Two pots thanks mate.”
The reason we had traveled was for the trout, for the hunt, for the serenity and to unplug from the wireless, forget the battery charger, miss the city loop, permanently snooze the 6:40am alarms and realign my chi. I wanted to leave behind the news, reviews, unemployment figures, forget what the Australian dollar was doing against the US, and find the simplicity, serenity and excitement of a fly, floating along the stream. The anticipation and thrill of the catch juxtaposed with the nothingness and removal of time from the equation. Like Dali’s desert clocks, time here is different, it is broken by meals and activities rather then meetings and trains.
After the Chicken in Pajamas and a sample of a cheeky bottle of red from Burgundy we retired to the cabins (http://www.theoutpostretreat.com/). The morning light carved it’s way through the valley and heralded the start of the hunt. The rivers hold a large number of wild, small trout, averaging around a pound to a pound and a half. We started in the Toorongo River close to the town center. Wearing chest high waders, we worked our way upstream, stopping at the deep pools at the corners. Trout always face upstream, so this is the best way to approach unnoticed, similar to staying down wind of an animal on land.
Over the last few days the area had received around 20mm of rain and the rivers were a little higher and running faster then normal. There was little activity on the surface so we experimented with the beaded nymph, which sinks under the surface and mimics an insect larva. The bead gives a bit of colour if the water is anyway murky and we had success immediately. The wild rainbow trout of the area have a beautiful colour, with brilliant red spots along the side. We trialled a few dry flies we saw flying around, without success as there was no hatch and little surface activity.
I don’t know if I should publish this Blog, as I like the quiet rivers and the serenity. I guess if your reading this I have decided that fly fishers are not that common and I would like to read about new fly fishing locations through other people’s experiences and blogs.
The perfect fishing break can be had around 10:30am at the Noojee Milk Bar, where an exquisite bacon and egg roll with home made relish can be demolished with a banana milkshake and a twist of contentment. A quick flutter of the Gee Gees then its back to explore the second stretch of the river.
*No trout were killed in the writing of this blog, although a few may have had a sore lip for a few hours and a heightened fear of man.
