For those readers that have not fished here before, the Kiewa River is a large, fast flowing river with gin clear and very cold water.

The Kiewa River carries a lot more water than surrounding rivers during spring as it drains the highest peaks in Victoria, Mt Bogong and Mt Feathertop and it is a top notch trout fishery from Dederang upstream.

November in the Kiewa valley is a sensational time of the year with many of the days hitting 30C and the last of the alpine snow almost finished melting resulting in the Kiewa River settling down nicely for a few months of great fishing.

The first half of spring has seen some dryer than usual weather, and as a result the Kiewa River is already looking the goods. The trout have been biting pretty well around Mt Beauty and Tawonga on spinners. I have already fished it a few times, and the fishing has not been anything special, however in the quite high and fast water I have managed a few nice trout and rate the river as good.

As the water levels settle in November the trout fishing should really begin to fire up as the warmer days bring on some large insect hatches.

I will be fishing the Kiewa River myself in November, and provided we don’t get another spring deluge like last spring, I will be using small hardbodied lures and bladed spinners. I also hope to do a little bit of flyfishing on the Kiewa River this November with mayfly imitations.

There are a few small redfin in the Kiewa River which are occasionally caught while chasing trout, but I must say I have not seen any big ones in there. That’s not to say they are not there though!

Over in the Mitta Mitta valley it will be a very similar story. The Mitta Mitta River is quite a lot larger than the Kiewa River, and the water clarity is not as good. There are some very large trout in the Mitta Mitta River, and it is not as effected by high water at this stage because Dartmouth dam is still not full.

Anywhere from Eskdale upstream usually sees good trout fishing. My first real introduction to flyfishing was on the Mitta Mitta river near Eskdale back in the mid 1990s, and I still travel up there to fly fish today.

Another fantastic stream to chase trout in this area, which is very popular, is the Snowy Creek, which runs into the Mitta Mitta River at Mitta Mitta township. If you follow the Omeo highway past Mitta Mitta it passes quite a large number of top quality camping spots on this crystal clear gem of a waterway.

Although Snowy Creek gets fished quite heavily it stands up well to the traffic and continues to produce good quality fish. In fact on a rich waterway such as Snowy Creek, fishing pressure is probably a good thing because without it the creek might end up full of small stunted trout.

The massive Lake Dartmouth can also turn it on in November trolling with winged lures such as Tassie Devils. During the middle of the day the fish usually go down a bit deeper and a dual depth Tassie Devil lure is a very valuable tool to have, as you can tie it on differently and make the lure dive deeper.

Using a downrigger will help get the lure down a little bit to where it’s a bit darker for those so equipped.

The areas I report on in my Kiewa and Surrounds report are mainly high country areas which is why my reports are predominantly about trout.

In saying that there are a few options for redfin and yellowbelly angler too.

Although I have not caught redfin there myself, I have heard many reports of redfin coming from up there, and seen some photos of some rippers. Fishing Khancoban for redfin has been on my ‘to do’ list for a long time but for some reason I have never got around to it.

I might try and make a trip up there during the warm weather this year and give it a crack.

The Alans Flat water hole should be fishing well for yellowbelly and redfin by November. I have already heard of a few small redfin being caught there, and once the weather warms up a little hopefully the yellas will begin to fire up.

In November a few rainbow trout may still be present in Alans Flat water hole as a result of September stockings. There are also a few tench in the water hole too, so a real mixed bag is possible at this fantastic family fishing venue.