Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Top Day on the Trout

Top Day on the Trout

By Adrian (meppstas) Webb

A very hot and humid day gave me the go ahead to fish the fast waters of the Meander River, as it is perfect conditions to fish these fast waters. The river level was down to 62cm, which was good to see, as had it been in the 70cm range I wouldn't have headed there. With a higher river level I would have more than likely fished the Mersey River instead.

It was 7:10am when I hit the river and it was the perfect height, which made me feel quite confident that I was in for a good spin session. As dull as it was, I decided to start the spin session off using a #0 Stone Fly coloured Mepps Bug spinner. The water was crystal clear, so the trout would see it, and the trout would pick up the vibes from the spinner blade anyway. It was just a matter of if the fish being in the mood for the black colour of the lure today. Trout can be fussy.

The first cast and retrieve, up and across the river, resulted in a light hit and miss straight away, as did the next four cast and retrieves. The following cast and retrieve was into a flat water, straight ahead of me, and that's when I finally hooked and landed the first trout of the session... and a small one at that. The trout were certainly here, the only problem was they were all small fish with plenty of aggression that saw them missing the treble hooks on the spinner. It had taken twenty minutes to catch that little 260 gram trout, however the next two trout were caught within five minutes of each other. They were small fish too.

The cast and drift method was getting results, with plenty of hook ups as I slowly made my way upstream. The only problem was that I was losing more than I was landing. After catching another small brown and losing another it was time to go for a change of lure. This time it was on with a Mepps #0 Aglia Brown Fluo Micropigments spinner. It wasn't all that long before I was onto another small brown, landed it and then the next cast I hooked and lost a small brown. Five trout caught from eleven hook ups was getting a little frustrating.

I was close to the cattle bridge when I flicked the spinner into a small flat water near the left river bank. A couple of turns of the reel and it was fish on. No sooner it was hooked it ran into the fast water and played hard to get. This was a decent size (340g) fish compared to what I had caught so far. It didn't take all that long before it tired, after battling away in the fast water, I had it in close enough to lead it into the net. With six trout now caught from a dozen hook ups it was all fifty-fifty and this was about average for me each time I reached the cattle bridge, from where I enter the river each time I fish here.

Once past the bridge it was one trout off and one trout on again, with seven trout landed from fourteen hook ups, still running at fifty-fifty. As I continued to slip and slide my way upstream I hooked and landed the eighth trout of the session... after hooking and losing three others on the way.

I thought it was time for another lure change and after going through my lure box I came across some of my very old Mepps spinners. When I say old, they were around 45-50 years old. These were lures that I used in my early years of trout fishing, back when I lived in South Australia. These lures were all well used, in fact I had hand painted the blades to my own specific colour, light brown with four yellow dots on it. The reason that I went for light brown was because it was the same colour as a grasshopper. They worked back in the day in the rivers in South Australia, so they should work here too. Most of the treble hooks on these old Mepps spinners, including this one, had been replaced too over the years.

With the change of lure done it was back to the cast and drifting again, and it wasn't all that long before it was fish on. It was like the majority of trout caught today, a small brown. A few casts later and I landed another small brown, followed by another two similar size fish being landed. With four trout caught in a row things were looking up. The old Mepps spinner was running hot and the colour was spot on as well.

Ten minutes on and a solid brown took the spinner. This one was a decent trout and it ran in and around every rock the river before it eventually tired and I had it in the net. Trout number thirteen was landed, a number I really hate because I have so much trouble getting off it. Two casts later I was onto another nice size brown, which was around the same size (435g) as the one I previously caught. This fish made it into the net first up, which was a first for me as I've never gotten off thirteen so fast.

Fourteen trout caught and released from twenty four hook ups wasn't my best record at all and losing so many trout does tick me off. As I've said in the past though, that's just a part of trout fishing in fast waters. The Little old Mepps spinner had done me proud in catching six trout in a row, with not a single fish was lost while using it.

My body was starting to feel the results of being in the fast water for over three hours and it was time to hop out and try another stretch of slower flowing water five kilometres downstream. By the time I walked back to the car and drove to the river it was 10:50am, then I was back in the river flicking a #0 Stone Fly coloured Mepps Bug spinner around.

This stretch of river is one of my regular haunts and one that runs a little hot and cold on trout fishing. The sun was on the river by now, so I concentrated on fishing the shaded side of the river. This time of year and onwards, with the water being warmer, it usually gives up a few trout. The only problem here again today was the green cotton like algae that is in the river. Even though a lot of it has gone, there's still enough here to foul the spinner blade on the retrieve.

After having several hit and misses on the Stone Fly I felt it was time to try a #00 March Brown Bug spinner. A smaller size and the lighter brown colour may do what the old Mepps spinner did for me in the fast water, catch a few trout. It did a pretty good job too and I went on to catch four more trout before calling it a day. Three of the trout were small/medium size fish, while the fourth one was a beautiful 525 gram, well-conditioned fish.

I was out of the river and back at the car by 12: 40pm and I can tell you now I was totally stuffed too. As hot as the day had become it was still a top day to be in a river chasing trout, in the conditions that I love fishing. Eighteen trout caught and released all up was a good result. In fact it was my best tally of the trout season so far and the last fish caught was also number 250 for the season. Reason to celebrate.

Adrian (meppstas)

Equipment used on various trout trips:

Okuma Celilo Finesse Spin Rods - ULS 1-3kg trout rods
Okuma LRF Spin Rods - Split Grip 1-3kg
Okuma Inspira Blue Spin Reels - ISX-20B
Okuma Helios SX Spin Reels - HSX-20
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels - EXPT-20
Okuma Ceymar Spin Reels - C-10
Platypus Super 100 Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Pre-Test Monofilament Fishing Line
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader
Mepps Inline Spinners
Boomerang Tool Products