The hardest part of winter fishing at Millbrook can be stepping out of the warmth of the car or the cabin. But once you’re in the open air, dressed appropriately, you quickly forget the single-figure temperatures and start thinking trout. They are of course, a cold water species, and both browns and rainbows will continue to feed even in snow. Many of the things trout eat are similarly out and about in gloves-and-beanie weather, especially midge (chironomid) which famously have anti-freeze in their blood. Some of Millbrook’s lakes also have Australian smelt, a baitfish active all winter and attacked spectacularly by the trout at times.
 
Perhaps the greatest attraction is the presence of the real monsters, the fish which, for a lot of the year, spend their time being nocturnal or feeding in the depths. For some reason (perhaps the duller light or the location of easy prey?) these really big trout seem to be more visible through winter, presenting more chances – if not guaranteed captures!
 
So don’t worry about the weather, put on some of that great outdoor gear (see, there is at least one advantage of living in the modern age) and head out for a cast and a chance at a beauty.

Well, after nearly two months of ‘look, but don’t touch’, it sure has been a relief to be able to put Millbrook’s excellent lake conditions and trout to good use! We hit the ground running with our first guided anglers on Wednesday 13 May, and we’ve had plenty of guests since. On that, we must say thanks for the heartening support of both Millbrook regulars and first-timers. As of June 1st our accommodation is open - we look forward to welcoming our guests back to the lodge.
 
To the fishing, and highlights over the last week and a half have been midge feeders (sometimes from midday right through until dark) great polaroiding, smelters, plus a few obscure hatches which we’re still trying to nut out!
 
Of course, anyone hoping that the fish would have suddenly gone all silly and obliging after an angler-free break would be mistaken: trout are trout, and they can be as exasperating and unpredictable as ever. Still, as winter approaches, we’re blessed with really good lake levels, water quality and fish stocks – it’s up to us to do the rest!  

As a guide, you learn not to talk up the fishing too much. However as these pics from the last few days show, this autumn, it's not proving easy to abide by that!
 
Take yesterday with Mick and Luke. It was warm (26C), often windier than ideal, and mostly cloudy. Yet from the very first cast of the day at Cabin Lake to a 4 pound brown, the fishing never really slowed down no matter which lake we fished. There was polaroiding the edges (yes, even in full cloud), a big dun hatch for 2 hours with every fish on them, smelters, damsel leapers, and a finale of midges so thick, the trout rose in squadrons and we literally could not turn on a torch without choking on midge. From our mid-morning start until walking off the water exhausted but happy at 8.30pm, we never went more than 10 minutes without casting to a sighted fish, and often it was non-stop targets.
 
A combination of a wet 2019 with full lakes, then a cool, wet late summer, has us blessed with lots of trout in excellent condition (that won't change); and a bug bonanza (at least for now. See? We're being cautious!)

Autumn is here at Millbrook... well, autumn of sorts has been here since the start of February!
We've had no 30C days since January, and maximum temps for Feb and March are running about 2C below average. And we've received nearly 200mm of rain for the year.
To put that in context, last year, it took until well into May to hit 200mm for the year.
 
The result is a very good head of water in the lakes for what is traditionally our low water minimum, and unseasonable trout feeding patterns.
Dun hatches and spinner falls, normally something we don't see until at least mid-March, have been a possibility for weeks now.
Smelters are more typical of autumn, but they too have been going virtually non-stop through summer. Meanwhile, damselflies are hatching in their millions, and stick caddis are abundant. And in the last few days, it even looks as if midge hatches may be starting in earnest.
 
Overall, it's a weird season with unpredictable days and a 'be ready for anything' approach necessary.
As Jim and Bill from the USA found last week though, fish size and condition is excellent, and there are moments of truly spectacular fishing to be had - just bring some warm clothes!             

​A group of half a dozen beginners from PWC visited for an end-of-week trip under conditions that weren’t as bad as forecast – for a change! The wind stayed at reasonable levels, the temperatures peaked in the teens, and the only rain was an annoying but tolerable burst for a few hours on Friday evening. Fortunately, this rain wasn’t heavy enough at ‘midge o’clock’ to stop the rise (or even a few late mayfly duns) and we spent an exciting evening out in the elements chasing some very big trout in very shallow water.
 
Speaking of mayfly, the dun hatches continue, making spring 2019 one of the best we’ve ever seen. That’s now well over 2 months of decent hatches – and the spinner falls have been handy too. Late September to early December is a remarkable run. When the hatches finally stop, they won’t owe us much!
 
But back to PWC and all anglers except Matt (who had to leave early) managed their first trout on fly. What’s more, most got at least two, and there were several caught on the dry.
 
As we report (fortunately on a guest-free day) winter appears to have returned yet again, with gales, sleet and temperatures in single figures. No doubt we’ll soon be complaining about the heat, but meanwhile, maybe the extended cool spell has helped the mayfly and we should be grateful!    
    

​We’ve just finished our latest Girls Weekend at Millbrook. The weather was cool to cold and cloudy, but the battering winds and rain of recent weeks finally eased off. The duns came out to play both days, providing some excellent dry fly fishing; the evening midge fishing was great too. In between, the girls fished up some beauties pulling wets, and dined like royalty après fishing!  
 
A feature of this weekend (as with the last few months) was the number of really big trout. Val and Brenda each caught 8 pounders (Brenda’s a PB and Val’s a technical PB) and there were several others landed in the 5 pound plus range. Strangely, there were fewer middle-sized fish in the 2-4lb range caught, although the littlies were abundant and it’s great to see some of this year’s class already pushing the 1 pound mark. (Guests think it’s very funny when we guides get all excited about these fat youngsters, but it’s always good to know next year’s trout are doing well!)   
 
All up, a really nice weekend. Special congratulations to Erynn for breaking her 10 year ‘trout drought’ with a 6 pounder on the Shaving Brush. It was absolutely remarkable that she struck and then played that fish - which was exceptionally strong – like master. Many a more experienced angler would have lost that big buck rainbow. Obviously born to fish 😊!  

​An optimistic friend says that if you wait long enough, you will in fact get the fishing weather you want. Turns out he was right: after a frustrating start to spring that’s been more like an extension of winter, we finally had the sort of weekend you hope for when the South Australian Fly Fishers visited.
 
Saturday was nearly perfect – light wind, lots of cloud, but quite mild too. The insects were out in force; in fact the dun hatch was so heavy on some lakes, the trout struggled to keep up. Spinners followed, then midge and it would be fair to say that at least some of the group went the whole day always having a rising fish to cast to.
 
Sunday wasn’t quite as spectacular, with midday sun dampening the duns and quite a bit of wind. But still, there was a consistent sprinkle of rises and dry fly opportunities and over half the trout caught came to the floater.
 
Overall, the crew landed 40 decent trout from 2 to 9 pounds (a pretty even mix of browns and rainbows) plus lots of smaller fish. Looks like winter returns later this week, but at least we now know spring weather is possible!     

This weekend’s group flew in from all corners of the country; deserving perhaps of a bit of spring weather for their travels. Instead, wintery conditions prevailed for the umpteenth trip in a row, although on the plus side, it seems the insects have finally lost patience and have decided to get busy anyway! Midges emerged in numbers on evening as usual, but there was also a decent midday hatch at Cabin Lake on Sunday, with the swallows and the trout equally active. The other remarkable thing was a genuine dun hatch on the lower elevation lakes on both Saturday and Sunday. This is the first time we’ve had a proper dun hatch in September for years. Who knows what that means for the coming mayfly season, but we’ll take it!
 
For our interstate visitors, there were a few individual firsts despite the cold, most notably, Lissie’s biggest ever trout – a 6½lb brown on a Milly Midge, and Louise’s first ever trout on fly – a 5lb brown on a red superglue buzzer. Now that our guests have departed, it appears that the start of October will finally see some mild weather, and we’re all looking forward to seeing what that brings!         

​This bi-annual gathering of flyfishing friends began with a settled Friday evening and a fair midge hatch. Then Saturday really turned it on with a mild, sunny, light wind day. The polaroiding was spectacular with dozens of good trout sighted on each lake fished. In the bright, flat conditions, it wasn’t always easy to get the trout to eat, but with lots of shots, there were still many nice fish landed, including Steve’s 7 pound rainbow which we watched bolt two metres to eat a tiny Hares Ear Nymph. Fish of the day was Cam’s 8 pounder caught fishing blind, although he wasn’t complaining about the excitement factor, given the fish took him 40 metres into the backing! The near-perfect day finished with excellent midge hatches on all lakes visited, plus some big tailers!

Sunday was supposed to be nice too, however someone forgot to tell the weather! Until mid-afternoon, it was cold, windy and cloudy, with the odd shower thrown in. After seeing all those fish the previous day, it was frustrating to search the same bays and shores with hardly a touch. But then, at about 3 pm the wind dropped out and the action started; slowly at first with the odd midge rise and tailer, ramping up to a phenomenal midge hatch towards sunset – and more tailers in the shallows. While violent thunderstorms stopped play a few minutes early, it was hard to be too disappointed given over an hour of about the best sight fishing you could hope for.
 
A mixed weekend for sure, but with enough good sessions to give it a solid pass mark.