Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Last Two Trips for August

Last Two Trips for August

By Adrian (meppstas) Webb

Trip One: Sunday 30th August 2020

A poor weather forecast again today and with the larger rivers still running high, it was back to the small tannin streams for the next two days. The first trip was to my favourite one on private property, a small tannin water that really fished well last season but for some reason it's been on the quiet side to date. The other small stream is also on private property and closer to home. This one has only given up the odd trout from time to time.

It was 9:45am by the time I hit the water, in what was reasonable weather conditions given the forecast. Looking to the southwest I could see there was a build-up of dark clouds slowly moving my way, so I had to get a move on as quick as I could. The water level was down to what it was a week ago, the flow was still good and the water was a light tannin colour.

I started the session off with a small, well-used #00 Gold Mepps Aglia Mouche Noire spinner. It's an oldie and a goody, and it's also caught quite a lot of trout in its time. The first stretch of water that I fished was one that normally gives up a few trout, however after twenty minutes of working my way up it, I never saw a single fish. All I noticed was a small bow wave ahead of me from a trout that darted off as I moved into another shallow run. I could feel it was going to be one of those non-productive days in this tannin stream.

This time last season this little stream had given up eighteen trout in four trips during August, while so far in five trips here this season it hadn't given up a single fish. I know the weather hasn't been all that flash during August, however all I've managed so far has been a couple of light hits and misses. Even with the very low water temperatures I still should have come across some trout. I was hoping that the drought may be broken today, providing the weather held off long enough.

Well, the weather didn't hold off for all that long and light rain started and continued on and off for around thirty minutes, before it stopped. That's when I caught the first trout of the morning! After spotting a small ripple, close to the left river bank and near some reeds about twenty metres ahead of me, I flicked the little Gold Mepps Aglia a metre or so ahead of it. On the retrieve a small brown took it.

It was fish on (10:20am) at last! This little tannin stream had finally given up a fish and as small as it was, it was still the first trout caught here for the season. No sooner had I released that fish that the rain arrived again, causing me to bypass a couple of shallow stretches of water before hopping back in and continuing on with the fishing.

It was forty minutes after the release of that little brown before I had another take on the Gold Aglia Mouche Noire. It was another small trout that tossed the spinner as fast as it took it. The rain had started to get a little heavier, the wind arrived and that was enough for me to call it day.

With just the one small 240 gram trout caught and released, it wasn't what I'd call a good spin session at all. It was nice to at least break the drought though. I'm sure that this tannin stream will come good soon enough, I just have to be patient that's all.

Trip 2: Monday 31st August 2020

With the weather being a little better than yesterday, although the air was much cooler (5.7degrees), I decided to have one more trout session before the end of the month. It was a late afternoon start in the Dasher River, on private property close to home.

I was in the river by 2:45pm and the lure of choice for starters was the #0 Mepps Aglia Fluo (Micropigments) Rainbow spinner. The very same spinner that I had used on my last trip to this little river. The only difference was that I was fishing one and a half kilometres further upstream than my last trip here. The river was running a little lower, plus there was quite a bit of green algae on the rocky river bottom which I thought may foul up the 2.5 gram spinner seeing as it will run deeper than the smaller 1.5 gram spinners.

The stretch of river I was fishing is around a kilometre long and has a good mix of shallow fast flowing water, plus some wide medium flowing water that varies from 15cm to 40cm in depth. I still started the session with the Aglia Fluo. After using it for fifteen minutes or so I found it was too heavy for the shallow fast water runs. It was bottom bouncing and becoming fouled with green algae.

I had to go for the lighter spinner and changed to a small #00 Gold Mepps Aglia spinner. This is another good little allround lure, that had done well here before. This little river has been the one that's given up the odd trout on my previous trips to it and I was hoping it would give up a few more this afternoon as well. The change to the smaller lightweight spinner was a good one and there was no more bottom bouncing in the shallow runs.

Not only that, it only took a few minutes before I had my first take on it. A very aggressive take it was too and like most of the trout in this little river it was only a small trout. As I have said in the past, it's always a relief to catch and land the first fish of the session, even if it is a small one. This little brown was pretty skinny too and wasn't all that well conditioned, like they normally are. The water temperatures being so low, for a long time, may be taking its toll on the smaller trout due to the lack of food over the winter.

Once the air warms up there will be masses of insect hatchings and the trout will soon put on condition and fatten up. After fishing my way upstream through some beautiful looking trout waters, without a sign of a trout, thirty five minutes had passed before I had my second hook up. This one leapt from the river and it was gone. With the trout being far and few between, there's nothing worse than hooking and losing them. I still had some nice trout water ahead of me and it would have been nice to catch a couple more before I reached the area where the car was parked.

It was bad enough losing that trout, however to make matters worse the wind picked up and was blowing straight down the river. That caused a massive wind knot in my line during a long cast up the river. It was easier to cut the knotted line and remove the line, rather than sit there trying to untangle it. The one thing that I never do is toss the removed line away. Instead I roll it around my fingers and then put the line in my top wader pocket and take it home to dispose of it.

I have often found a lot of disused, tangled lines dumped next to rivers and I never leave them there either. Always pick it up and take it home to bin it. Small birds, platypus and other animals can easily become entangled in it and they will eventually die, so never toss any line away. Whether it be freshwater or saltwater fishing, take it home with you.

It wasn't all that long before I was back to fishing a few more good-looking stretches of water. Still no sign of a trout. I was within fifty metres of the car when I caught the second small trout of the session. This little brown was deformed behind its dorsal fin. It, like the previous trout caught, was also on the thin side. It was healthy enough though, it just needed a good feed.

Once released, I hopped out of the river and headed back to the car. My day was done, just one and a half hours for the three hook ups and two small browns landed. Another dismal spin session in a small stream. August ended with just a dozen trout caught and released. Well down for the same time last season with twenty seven trout caught and released.

Adrian (meppstas)

Equipment Used:

Okuma LRF Spin Rods - 1-3kg
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels - EPXT-30
Platypus Super 100 Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Pre-Test Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Boomerang Tool Products