Howqua Holidays

SPRING

September: Fishing the flooded margins is great sport in September. After the season opens on the 5th of September the streams begin to clear. Brilliant stream fishing is tempered with variable weather. River levels are moderated by controls by the lake and early hatches appear as the water warms slightly. The lake (Eildon) is rising rapidly and cruising fish can be found on the edges over new ground. The Goulburn river still has big spawners left over from winter. Best Flies; Woolly Buggers and Red & Black Matukas.
October: Frequent warm days interspersed with Spring rain. Fish become voracious feeders to restore their condition after winter. Lake Eildon fishes well as the levels rise rapidly. The small streams such as the Rubicon/Acheron begin to clear and fire up. Longer periods of warmer sunny days bring hatches of Pale Morning Duns. Nymph activity and increasing Mayfly hatches occur as snowmelt ceases and water temperature rises. Best Flies; Adams and Black Paradun.
November: Hot weather for a few days at a time sees November as the best of all months. Outstanding hatches of Black and Orange Spinners, long evenings with extended twilight. Fish rise readily throughout the day to flies cast from the drifting raft. Regular daily reports list daily hatches and happenings. Best Flies; Red, Black and Orange Spinners.

SUMMER

December: Daylight saving extends late into evening. The Goulburn river rises clean, clear and cold to supply irrigation water. Typical midsummer 40 Degrees Celsius days are abundant with beetles, cicadas and grasshoppers prevalent. Backwaters fill and fish cruise to forage. Vast caddis hatches occur accompanied by March Brown Duns, Kosciusko Duns, Sedges and multiple types of beetles, army grubs and other terrestrials. Long hot days where the middle of the day is best in the shade. Glorious early mornings and languid evenings make December outstanding. Best Flies; Orange Spinner, Black Spinners, Para-duns, Bushy?s Emerger, Ti Tree Beetles.
January: January is peak time. Extensive cold water weed beds develop because of extended sunlight and clear coldwater from Lake Eildon. Fish are now resident in backwaters and weed beds. High flows of cold water rich in oxygen fire up the metabolism. Small streams are now beginning to be warm and low but still fishable. Mountain streams are great in Jan-Feb with the upper Goulburn, Big River and Jamieson fishable all day. Best Flies; Royal Wulff, Stimulator, Dr Walk.
February: Hot and slow in the small streams but the Goulburn River comes into its own as the premier trout river of Victoria. As a classic tailwater the river runs high, clear and cold even though the air temperature may reach 40 Degrees Celsius. Grasshopper fishing is at its peak and searching the runs besides grassy banks is very productive. Backwater fishing in bays and reverse eddies calls for careful stalking to fish that can see the slightest move from yards away in the clear water. Rafting using polarising and blind searching techniques is our specialty with high speed action all day. Huge caddis clouds form on evening. Best Flies; Knobby Hopper, Elk Hair Caddis.

AUTUMN

March: March sees the first large hatches of the Kosciusko duns appearing at evening to complete fabulous mayfly hatches. Sedges and Caddis hatch all day with great fishing over wide gravel runs. Emergers and nymphs are highly effective to search the drop-off?s and stream bed structures. Best Flies; Royal Stimulator and Pheasant Tail Nymph.
April: Lower flows in the Goulburn River as irrigation demand diminishes sees weed beds and gravel runs exposed for the first time in months. Stalking fish on the margins of deep runs using nymph and sedge patterns, Elk Hair Caddis, Para-duns in brown and black or drifting the slow bubble lines with emergers such as a Klinkhammer Special or Midge patterns.
May: Cool nights and frosty mornings. The river cloaked in fog and mist until the sun burns it off about 10.30 am. Then the Blue Winged Olive hatch gets going. Fish rise leisurely all day to continually hatching Baetis. This fantastic month with cold weather and sunny days is pure fly fishing pleasure. Best Flies; Blue Winged Olive Para-duns, Adams Para-duns, Ginger Duns.

WINTER

June – August: The season closes in June but lots of fishing still exists in the Pondage and Lake Eildon. Both stillwater fisheries they demand a different range of techniques such as loch style with teams of flies or night fishing with big wets. Odd hatches in good weather patches can produce some outstanding winter fishing. Regardless of the closed season we have our own 16 Acres of lakes, waterways and pools to provide First Class fishing all year round. Midge Hatching in winter on these lakes offer the chance of rising fish even in this the coldest time of year.

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