Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Union Bridge Area Trout

Union Bridge Area Trout

I headed over to the Mersey River and walked down through several paddocks for close on a kilometre below the Union Bridge and then started fishing my way back upstream. I haven't fished here for quite some time, due to the lack of trout being in the river, however today I mainly wanted to see if it has improved with trout stocks.

The river was running at a nice wading height and a dark tannin colour. I started off with a #1 gold Mepps Black Fury spinner, working it in several fast water and medium flowing runs, without a sign of a trout over the first two hundred metres of river.

I changed over to a #1 Mepps Aglia Furia and the first stretch of water I used it in produced a couple of follows from brown trout that were mainly out of interest, not a sign of aggression from either fish. I then decided to try hard body lures in that same stretch of water, all to no avail as I never had a follow on any of the five different hard body lures that I tried.

Switching back to the Mepps Aglia Furia and I kept fishing my way upstream, without any signs of a trout for the next three hundred metres of river. It is a beautiful looking stretch of river too and one that fished so well each time I fished this area on previous trips.

I can remember catching 15 to 20 trout each time I fished in and around this area, but the trout just aren't here nowadays. It wasn't until I reached a small narrow back water run that I caught a small well-conditioned medium size brown in it.

This small back water run was the only area where I caught a trout the last time I fished here and that was on the one and only trip during the 2017/18 trout season. Thankfully the little back water saved the day for me once again, another reason to never bypass them.

I haven't bothered fishing above the Union Bridge for well over two seasons either, for the same reason. It's fished so poorly that it's not worth the time, travel and effort... fishing a slippery, rocky area that is scarce of fish.

The river above the Union Bridge was one I used to fish on a regular basis too and it always fished well, giving up some beautiful solid browns and rainbows. The river here has certainly gone downhill over the years that's for sure and it needs to be looked into by the Inland Fisheries Service.