September

I always know it's time to start thinking seriously about fly fishing at this time of the year. Not only do I have my wife's birthday to remind me, but in Melbourne, the heaviness of winter begins to lift. The trees break into bud and all of a sudden there are blossoms and insects everywhere. I can imagine the trout snapping hungrily at drifting beetles and getting fat and frisky.

There have been plenty of occasions when, full of anticipation and hope at the start of the season, I have packed up the trusty station wagon and headed up the Hume from Melbourne to the North East, only to be disappointed. The simple truth is that September in the North East rivers is too early.The snow has yet to melt, and in fact is probably being replenished if it is a good season. Although it may be spring in Melbourne, the news has yet to reach Mansfield, Keiwa, Mitta Mitta, Corryong and Omeo.

But in the lakes around Castlemaine, it's a different matter. There is no snow to melt, but the late winter and early spring rains will be making a difference to the level of lakes such as Cairn Curran and Tullaroop. If the increase is not too quick and you can find a gently sloping grassy bay, a remarkable thing happens: the fish tail. Just like in Tasmania. They grub around in the shallows looking for worms, black hairy caterpillars, little green frogs and a tan-and-black water beetle the size of a ten cent coin, which they get really excited about. The water will look like pea soup except at the bottom ends of the lakes (which is usually the wrong end to find gently shelving shores) and the fish will be very wary, but persistence can pay off. Look carefully and spend a fair bit of time fishing a Tom Jones, Fuzzy Wuzzy or Assassin in-close early and late in the day, and when it's overcast.

Every few years there is substantial schooling of minnows in the shallows of lakes such as Cairn Curran in springtime and the trout - known locally as 'smelters' - chase the little fish about. There is no need to look too carefully for the trout when this happens - they look like bricks being dropped into the water! The same flies mentioned above work well, as does a large Mrs Simpson. The fish are big and they are quick, so success is by no means assured, but it sure is fun trying. It pays to keep casting to the same area, even when the fish seems to have departed, because they often seem to return to mop up any injured or disorientated minnows.

Just to keep you on your toes, just on dark during still evenings at this time of year, there can be a black beetle fall. These little creatures, which are about the size of a little finger nail, come helicoptering in from the nearby eucalypts and then kamikaze into the water. The trout are happy to see them and snap them down with confident swirls.

October

The latter part of September will most likely see the end of the flood feeding, because the water level will have risen too much and there will be too much food drowned over too wide an area to bring the fish in close. But water temperatures are on the way up in the Castlemaine and Ballarat areas - starting to get above 10 degrees - so things are looking up.

October is mayfly dun time. Forget the rivers and tune yourself mentally in to lakes. Think duns. Forget about early morning sorties to freezing lakes at dawn, although you could still do this if you want to go seeking the 'smelters'.

Ideally you want a day with a bit of warmth in it. For some strange reason 16 degrees seems to be the magic number. A bit of humidity helps too. Get to the water around 11:00 in the morning and stay there until about 3:00. The regions to look for dun feeders are around Kyneton, Castlemaine and Ballarat. Each year a different lake seems to fire best, but Lauriston, Malmsbury, Harcourt, Andersons, Newlyn and Wendouree have been relatively reliable over the last five years or so. The weedy lakes seem best.

Traditional dun patterns work at times, and are sometimes refused: it all keeps us keen. A floating nymph or foam-head emerger can be excellent too. It's best to cast into the breeze, so that you get a natural drift back towards you. When you get bored or frustrated with the dun risers, look into the water and you could well notice black water-beetles swimming to the surface to snatch a bubble of air. Try casting a small, wet Black Beetle around where creeks join the lakes. Fish it as slowly as your patience can stand. And, of course, keep an eye out for those bricks falling into the water.

Speaking of bricks, don't forget about Modewarre, just out of Geelong. It's sometimes a frustrating lake to fish, but when you connect, the fish are the stuff of dreams. Green seems to be a good all-round colour for nymphs and wets. Fish them slowly or fast - when the fish are on the job it doesn't seem to matter. If it is warm and still with a few stick caddis swimming around, use a strike-indicator and a Tom Jones or a stick caddis imitation. Select a channel between the weeds and just let the whole lot bob along with the ripples. Takes can be surprisingly gentle, despite the size of the fish.

November

This is options month. There are still duns around, and the adult spinners are more and more obvious. It is well worth persisting with the lakes, but the rivers are clearing up and, to make matters even more delightfully complicated, the snow-melt has finished in the North East and the rivers have pretty much stabilised. Wherever there are duns, there are also spinners not too far away. Around Kyneton, Castlemaine and Ballarat it is usually a red spinner or a red and black version which is most common. The annoying thing is that the fish sometimes seem to zero in on spinners on the wing and ignore those on the water. Very unsporting! Use a spinner with extra long hackles and grease it up so that it floats on the tips.

Persist with all the lakes including Modewarre, although the weed and algae may now start to be a problem as it grows. Those north-eastern lakes with snow-fed streams flowing in will begin to warm and the water temperature will get into the low 'teens. The trout are happy and hungry. The rivers of the North East are worth fishing, but expect the water to be racing down. This is the time for big wets and nymphs fished across and down. If you are fishing a nymph upstream, you can afford to use a size 8 or 10. The most important thing is to get the fish to see the jolly thing. The best way to do this is via subtle movement in relation to the current while the fly is on the drift. Use a slim strike indicator so that it does not make too much disturbance as you impart life to the fly.

If you can find manageable stretches of river, the fish will be looking to the surface, too. If you can't make up your mind about fishing a wet or a dry, fish both! A big, bushy Red Tag bouncing along above a Brown Nymph will certainly tell you if something has intercepted your nymph, and, as often as not, will be snapped down instead. Don't forget the tailraces, because they will provide manageable water.

December

If you have only got a day, head for Ballarat. Modewarre is almost history, and the other low-lying lakes around Castlemaine are getting too hot except perhaps at dusk and early morning. The streams in the Daylesford and Castlemaine area may be worth a go again as they will have settled down after the spring rains. The fish are generally small, but the level of sport can be high.

If you have more than a day, or even longer, head for heaven: the North East. The rivers will all have settled down, they will be a perfect temperature - around 13 degrees - and running strong and clear. The start of December is good and things get progressively better! This is dry fly time, so expect to drift a Red Tag, a Royal or Grey Wulff, or a Geehi Beetle down the riffles and runs. The fish will be eager, especially on warm days. On evening they can be suicidal. Pick a big, flat pool for last-light and stand on the eastern side so that you can capitalise on the last glimmers of light in the sky, and then, when the moon comes up, swap sides! Royal Wulffs work well.

Head for the main river systems of the North East and their tributaries: the Jamieson, the Howqua, the Delatite, the King, the Mitta Mitta and Big, and the mighty Murray.

January

Forget the low-lying lakes and, if you are unable to get away overnight, concentrate on the highest, coldest ones. Newlyn trout don't seem to have read the rule book and still seem to fire now and then, chasing smelt, although the level of the lake can be a bit low because of the draw down for irrigation. Those lakes with gum trees around them will sometimes fire when there is a beetle fall. But if you can manage it, get up to the North East. Take the kids, there are plenty of camping spots.

All the above river systems will be firing to some degree. Dry fly is the way to go, but don't forget the nymph. High water temperatures can shut things down a bit, so fish the rivers that generally flow north/south rather than east/west because they remain cooler. If the water temperature gets too warm - above about 20 degrees - then it's time to get serious about the cooler tailraces such as the Loddon below Cairn Curran, the Goulburn, the Kiewa, the Mitta Mitta and the Murray. But don't forget that there are lots of tiny tailraces scattered around - all that is required is a constant flow of cold water and a population of trout. In tailraces, the water usually comes out of a dam at some considerable depth, so it is relatively cold - 11 to 13 degrees would be standard. The fish will be happy! Fish the edges with a grasshopper pattern wherever the grass dangles over the river, even if the water seems to be too shallow: you may be surprised.

The down-side of fishing the tailraces is that the water level fluctuates according to irrigation and power needs: it can be frustrating to fish a perfectly manageable river one day only to wake up the next morning to find a raging torrent! If this happens, it's nymph time. Get the fly down deep any way you can - use lead, ultra long leaders and sinking lines etc. The fish will be jam-packed with assorted nymphs.

Don't forget the alpine lakes. The fish are small but generally plentiful. Beetle falls are possible and nymphs fished blind will get a response.

February & March

This is full-blown grasshopper time and the place to go is the North East. Keam Poly Hoppers are good and easy to see, so they give you confidence, but a Geehi Beetle, in about #14, is just as effective. Fish the streams efficiently, covering all the likely water with two or three drag-free casts before moving on. At about 4:00 in the afternoon, drag yourself off the water and go and have a break and something to eat, because with 'daylight saving' it can be a long day. But get back on the water by 7:00!

First, there will be a few splashy rises from tiddlers slashing at snowflake caddis. Don't be fooled - be patient. Usually at the same time, 8:00 on the dot, the nature of the rise will change and all of a sudden you will notice a few hearty rises and realise that you are surrounded by spinners buzzing around at head-height. From then on it is pretty common to have every fish in the river taking spinners and duns as they drift downstream. A nymph drifted across and downstream will often outfish anything else in the early stages before the rise has really got going, but then it's over to the dry. Sometimes the emerger will succeed but often an Elk Hair Caddis or a Grey or Royal Wulff will do just as well and is easier to see. The trick is to persist and if necessary cover a fish twenty times. Odds on, the fish is just below the surface and so you have to get the fly right on his nose before he'll grab it. Half a metre upstream is no good: it has to land on his nose. Ignore this advice at your peril!

As darkness falls the rise will often stop. A big Black Nymph pulled smartly downstream will often get slammed, as will a Sunset Fly. If there is the odd one still rising, cast a big Black Nymph downstream and let the fly swing around in front. Resist the temptation to strike at all, because this can pull the hook from these lip-hooked fish. On your way back to the car, have a good look in the backwaters - looking westward into the afterglow of the sunset. Look for tiny rises. These are usually the largest fish mopping up the spinners which have got trapped in the backwater during the rise itself. The spinners are trapped; the fish know it and are in no hurry, so don't you be either!

If your car is parked near a big, black still pool, then you will be forgiven for tying on a Black Muddler Minnow, greasing it up, tossing it out into the blackness and then twitching it back over the surface. Use the reflection of the rising moon to your advantage by casting into it, and when a fish takes the fly, try to give it a moment before raising the rod.

April & May

So'ething has changed in the season since last month. The nights are now cold in the North East and the hoppers are all but gone. But don't be fooled. The fish sometimes still have a hopper mind-set and will very happily rise even in the still, flat pools to eye and then snatch one. The North East is still the place to go. Some time during April the demand for irrigation water will decrease and the tailraces such as the Murray and the Mitta Mitta will no longer be raging torrents, but will become more manageable, wadable propositions. The duns are happy about it too and if the duns are happy then the trout are too. Unlike the last few months, the duns can hatch all through the day, especially if it is a bit overcast. Get the presentation right with a half decent imitation and, if the strike is good, then some of the best fish in the river are potentially yours.

The lakes around Ballarat are worth a go once again and Modewarre could fire at any time. Cairn Curran is probably too low, but the fish will still be there, especially at dawn, probably chasing smelt or chironomids (midge larvae), which they seem to get terribly excited about, bow-waving here and there at times.

The lakes of the Western District of Victoria begin to fire in April, too. Some time during April and May, the minnows school around the shores and the fishing can be first-rate. Matukas and similar wets are the best. Keep in mind that most of the fish in Purrumbete and Bullen Merri are rainbows and so it is best to fish the deeper drop-offs between the weed patches if you are fishing from the shore. In the North East things begin to shut down and have usually done so completely by the third week of May, or a bit sooner, depending upon the season. Savour each day of anticipation and sport. Fish from about 10:00 until 3:00 when the watery sun allows some hardy insects briefly to stir.

June, July & August

Around Melbourne the winter will have set in and there are choices to be made: to hang up the rod and wait for spring or to brave the squalling wind and rain and have a chance at a trophy fish in the lakes.

Towards Ballarat or Castlemaine is the right direction. The water levels in Cairn Curran, Tullaroop, Newlyn, Hepburn, Malmsbury and Lauriston will all be rising, so look for gently shelving, grassy banks where the fish will come in to pick up worms and other titbits. There is plenty of blind flogging to be done with a Tom Jones, a Mrs Simpson or an Assassin, but the main thing is to turn the conditions to your advantage by fishing the most likely spots where there is food.

Water clarity, rather than water temperature, is now the important factor. In general, the lower end of the lake will muddy up more slowly than the top end, so try to find the right conditions and some half-clear water in these areas. The sheltered side generally has the clearer water, too. If you can find a lake with a forest catchment, then the water flowing in will be relatively free of silt and the trout tend to gather near the mouths of these inflows, too. About half a metre of visibility through the water is more than enough. Some people say that if you can still see your feet when you wade out to your knees, then the water is clear enough to catch fish.

Flies made with rabbit fur work well in the mud. Keep a close eye out for sub-surface swirls and if you see one, fish it slowly, because, given the cold water temperatures, the fish are a bit on the slow side at this time of the year. Down in the Western District things can be excellent. Purrumbete and Bullen Merri tend to remain pretty clear and as an added bonus, in Purrumbete the fish tend to come in close to shore trying to spawn, especially on the eastern shore. Often the fish come in pairs and all you see is a pair of surging bow waves.

Just when you thought that you could not stand another outing in the wind and rain, flogging big wets around the frequently lifeless shores, the weather will start to change. All of a sudden, it is no longer the end of a season, but the beginning of another.