The first two weeks of autumn saw rain almost on a daily basis. Much of it was caused by a very big low pressure system that parked itself over a large section of Australia including East Gippsland.

This massive rain event extended from west of Darwin, through central Australia and beyond the south eastern corner of NSW. The rain finally cleared for a few days and things were looking to return to normal until another smaller, but still strong, low pressure system decided to share some more rain with us.

The result of all this rain is that we have had no fishing for the past little while and not likely to get any for a while longer. The autumn cyclone over the Kimberly in Western Australia bucketed rain down as far south as Kalgoorlie in the Goldfield Area of Western Australia.

It is not uncommon for these cyclones and their related rain events to find their way to our part of the world so who knows what is in store in the lead up to May. Anyhow the message is do not come fishing to East Gippsland until we get a little a stable weather. A phone call to the area would be a good idea.

When the weather does clear and the rivers return to normal, I am hopeful that we may still get some good fishing. This amount of rain at this time of the year often results in the brown trout getting pretty excited about spawning.

We can therefore expect a significant run of fish from Lake Dartmouth up the local rivers. Dartmouth is very high at the moment. It is almost up to Morass Creek in the Gibbo area. Boat access to the lake is available at three points on the southern end of the lake; Sassafras Gap, Gibbo River and the Lower Tablelands Road.

Whilst a tinnie can be launched at any of these spots, a 4WD vehicle is essential. Anglers should be aware that all these access points are very slippery during wet weather and sometimes unpassable and a better option may be to launch at the dam wall.

The attraction at this end of the lake is that the browns will be congregated for the next few months, getting ready to spawn, and fishing can be very good.

Excellent fishing has been had on the local rivers this year and we can still expect some good fishing in the weeks ahead. The hoppers and beetles that were so prevalent are now gone thanks to the rain.

Dry fly fishing will cease to be effective however a sunken tungsten nymph should get the job done.

Following the rain, the humble worm will be great for the bait boys and spin fishing should also be good.

This photo of the Buemba River shows how high and dirty the local rivers were in mid autumn.