Autumn is truly here in the central highlands of Victoria. We've lit the fire the last few nights and when I've been fishing or guiding, it's taken until midday at least before I've removed the fleece. With the change of seasons settling in, I devoted most of today to checking out a few of my favourite local waters - Moorabool Reservoir, Hepburn Lagoon and Newlyn Reservoir.
Moorabool Reservoir, western shore.First stop was Moorabool Reservoir, just up the road from home. In the 1990s and early noughties, this pretty lake was a great fishery. Then, during the drought of the next several years, it dwindled to a muddy pool behind the dam wall and fishing - along with access - disappeared. Since 2011, good foot access has been restored and the lake has been stocked with around 10,000 trout (mainly browns) a year. However the fishing hasn't quite matched the promise the healthy, refilled lake has offered. Today I was pleased to find the lake still holding good levels for early autumn and quite clear. There were plenty of smelt dimpling the shallows, mudeye shucks on the logs, and the odd dun drifting in the breeze. But I didn't see any trout in the hour or so before the drizzle started to soak my shirt.
Hepburn, looking toward the south-west corner.Next stop was Hepburn Lagoon. Like it's neighbour Newlyn, Hepburn is holding several hundred megalitres more water than this time last year - a great result after a summer as hot and dry as the one just gone. The water temperature is down to just 15 C, and the other good news is that the summer algae bloom is clearing and the visibility is up to about 3 ft - more than enough for me to fish confidently with a Scintilla Stick Caddis and a Wet's Zonker. Also, the strapweed (which can choke this lake some autumns) isn't too bad, and there is plenty of water that can be comfortably fished with a wet fly. Unfortunately, the cloud and drizzle of morning broke up as I arrived, and I fished Hepburn under brighter conditions than I would have liked. Still, a nice 2 pound brown took the Wet's Zonker, and I watched a much bigger fish briefly chase the smelt (there are stacks of these little baitfish around) but tantalisingly out of range.
Newlyn is at 63% vs 53% this time last year, and water clarity is very good.Finally, it was off to Newlyn. This lake has been in excellent condition all season and it fished well right up to and including my previous visit in early January. It's still in great shape; clear, down a little but as per Hepburn, still holding good water for this time of year. To be honest, given the favourable conditions I expected to see more action. However I eventually found a brown of about 2 kg swirling occasionally off the western shore, and it took a slow retrieved Scintilla Stick Caddis. After about 5 minutes playing it, I eventually lost it in the weed (bugger!) of which there is a fair bit. At least I got the fly back. As I'm writing this and the sun is sinking behind the hills outside my house, maybe I should be at Newlyn now!
While overall I still think the streams will be hard to beat for a spot of Victorian flyfishing over the next month or so, if you're hankering for some lake action, the central lakes are definitely an option.
