It is an absolute pleasure to inform readers that the fishing is great in the High Country at the moment.

The rivers are all flowing well as we have continued to receive some welcome summer rain. This will mean that the fishing will continue to be good throughout autumn. As a result of the rain, the grass has still not completely dried off and it is still over the fences in places.

You would normally expect this to result in a great hopper season but not so. There are very few hoppers around on any of our rivers however the trout will still rise to a dry fly. I recently checked under the rocks in the Mitta and found a few small mayfly nymphs and a reasonable number of caddis but little else.

There was little sign of beetles or other terrestrials but the trout were still feeding vigorously.

The Mitta Mitta River, upstream of its junction with the Bundara River is in great shape. Most of the browns are around 500g in weight but there is the occasional trophy trout to be taken. In the Prenders Flat area a local spin fisher caught a trout of 1.3kg followed by another of 2.2kg. A little further downstream another spin angler caught a 2kg brown on a Celta cast into the ripples.

I also fished this section with Ross Martin and we caught about 20 browns of around 500g on a Royal Wulff in only 3 hours. The river is easily waded at present and is flowing at 17C, which is excellent for late summer. Further downstream, in the Himmomungee area, the water is a little warmer. Although the fishing is still quite good it is not as good as higher up and the fish are mostly a little smaller.

The Bundara River is also flowing well with good anglers catching their share of fish in clear water conditions. The fish here are also generally a little smaller than the Mitta River. As the water is so clear, stealth is required or the fish will see you and easily spook.

Nearby the Cobungra is also flowing well. Some good fishing is being experienced around Innisfail. There are a few hoppers here but not big numbers. Upstream of the Victoria is well worth a visit for those adventurous anglers who do not mind a fairly long walk.

Middle Creek is a small tributary of the Mitta River. It also is flowing and fishing well. Mick Rosenboom recently caught three browns up to 600g just upstream of the highway. The Gibbo River continues to fish well to small rainbows and the odd brown. The best area to fish is along the Benambra/Corryong Road. This river should continue to fish well during autumn. Livingston Creek is a little on the low side and fishing is hard but it continues to yield some small browns in the Cassilis area. The Livingston should fish well again this month now that the temperatures are dropping, especially if we get some more rain. Morass Creek is not fishing well.

As we move into March the fishing should be terrific in this area. It is normally one of the best times of the year to be on the water with settled waters and beautiful windless days.

There are plenty of fish in the rivers and they will shortly start to move up from Dartmouth when the conditions are suitable. In a year like this some of our small streams such as the Buemba can be worth fishing.

With the rain that we have received during summer they will be flowing well and will have a good head of mostly small to medium browns, all willing to take a bait, fly or spinner.