Early Autumn update - 2023

​      ​Wow, what an eventful 6 months! When we last reported, Millbrook was coming out of a wet and cold winter. Unbeknownst to us at the time, in common with much of Victoria, we were about to enter the wettest spring on record. Being a lake-based fishery, the actual trout action largely went on as normal. If you dressed for the conditions, there were very good dun hatches (not 2021 standard, still impressive) as well as smelters, worm feeders in the flooded margins, damsel leapers – you name it. The biggest downside, practically speaking, was access. A number of tracks to the lakes which we had previously regarded as all-weather, became impassable for hours or even days at a time. Either we walked in, or fished elsewhere.
 
Fast forward to now (early autumn) and a dry-ish summer has completely altered the landscape. Where there was once wheel-deep mud, there’s now dust. Lake levels and water quality have largely held up very well, no doubt thanks to the enormous stores of groundwater which accumulated during 2022. Still, some lakes are well down on their spring highs – great for fishing and killing back choking weed, but aesthetically, not as pretty.
 
Speaking of the fishing, so far this autumn the headline is undoubtedly smelters (trout hammering baitfish). But we’re seeing pleasing numbers of duns too, and the trout certainly remember what duns are! Terrestrials have also made an appearance on warmer days, with beetle patterns in particular doing nicely in such conditions. So it’s full steam ahead for autumn, and so far, so good.