One of the many pluses of having Ballarat as my nearest major town, is the proximity of Lake Wendouree. With a haircut booked for late morning, and a vaccination early afternoon, the 90 minute gap in between wasn’t a problem; in fact, more an opportunity. Grab a coffee and a snack, and go for a walk with the flyrod.
Unlike many local stillwaters, Wendouree has maintained a good level through our dry summer and autumn. Today, the lake was 14C and clear, though with a bit of colour up the western end. The weed cutters were busy, meaning nice deep cuts on many shores, but also a challenging raft of cut weed blowing into the shore – sometimes a few metres wide.
The competition on one of the weed cutters.When I made my first casts with a single stick caddis (a Dirty Caddis) from the bank a bit before midday, it was quite bright: good for polaroiding, not so good for any possible dun hatch. I must admit, I was really just going through the motions with a slow figure-8 retrieve, absently watching the odd stray spinner flitting around the floating weed, while keeping an eye on the open water where I could see the bottom in about 1.5 metres. I sight enough trout from the shore at Wendouree to pay attention, without expecting a fish a minute.
And then, from beneath a big clump of weed stage left, a large gold shape appeared, hugging the bottom but cruising busily. It was as big a brown trout as I’ve seen at Wendouree. I tried (and barely managed) to keep cool while I retrieved the cast I’d just made in the opposite direction. One moment, you’re having a casual fish between appointments, the next you’re contemplating one of the best browns you’ve seen all season.
The cut weed had drifted in along many shores - hard to cast past, but the trout seemed to like it.The cast to the trout was good, I let the fly start settling, and the outsized brown noticed it immediately, gliding up from the bottom and inhaling the stick caddis… or so it seemed. I lifted into nothing, and my would-be prize accelerated slightly in the way of alert but not alarmed trout which have outgrown most predators. In a moment, it was gone from sight, disappearing into the reflected high cloud drifting in from the west. Instinctively, I made a pursuing cast, while also knowing it was probably futile.
I looked for that trout, or another in the same area, for several minutes, before giving up and exploring further along the shore.
Fishing the bank at Lake Wendouree is an odd experience: traffic, suburbia and a stream of lakeside walkers on one side, contrasting with a large, clear, and healthy trout lake on the other. It takes some effort to focus on the lake and not be distracted by everything else. Even absently swinging your carried rod too far could cause a mishap.
Yet focus I did, eventually spotting two rising trout that weren’t in fact duck-diving moorhens, dabchicks or musk ducks. Just as that high cloud started to soften the light, these fished started to rise for spinners not far off a long matt of cut weed. They went back and forth, not really leaping (good); just rising vigorously. I replaced the stick caddis with a sparse orange spinner.
Fly change.Of course, the rises then stopped. But I held my nerve, and cast out beyond the weed edge in readiness for the trout to return. And they did. A few casts later, the spinner disappeared in a hearty rise, and I was connected to a speedy rainbow. It took a while to play the fish out beyond the weed raft, to the point where I was a chance to half skate it across the weed to my net.
One good thing about that procession of lakeside walkers: there’s usually a random stranger nearby offering to take a photo (although a bit perplexed that you are then going to release the fish!). 
With that taken care of, time had run out and I headed back towards the car. Right on cue, the cloud thickened further and some duns started to join the spinners. However, being due at the clinic in 15 minutes, I had to keep walking, so I can’t report on what happened next. That’s okay: I had a nice fish on the dry, and an encounter with a real beauty – not on a dedicated fishing trip, but during a break between two everyday appointments.
