For those of you who have been up that way in the last few days, or for the few like minded individuals that keep a keen eye on the Goulburn Murray Water website to be across it all, you will all be aware that the Goulburn river has come down to a meager 1250 ML/day. Yes, you heard that correct, after many months of good water flow in the Goulburn, she’s finally been pulled back and that Autumn fishing that we all know has started in earnest.

Now, I’m not looking at actual records here, but I am going to stand out on a ledge and make the claim that she has been running lower this year for the best part of Summer than what we got in the 2014/2015 Summer. That year saw some serious water coming down the valley, with 9000 ML/day not an uncommon site. What did become an uncommon site in that instance was bait and lure fishers as many were seemingly put off by these high water levels, leaving lone flyfishermen stalking the banks and getting hooked up in the backwaters. What resulted was the earlier part of that season seeing less fishing pressure and less fish taken from the river, meaning this season we have seen some cracking fish coming from the Goulburn as many got a year off hiding in high waters. So, all that said and done, this last some has seen flows going up and down and all over the place but generally reverting back to somewhere in the area of 5000-6000 ML/day, making it much more accessible all the upper lengths of the river.

But, all that talk of seasons gone can be left behind us as today I was back on a Goulburn River that was very different to the one I left only last week. With the water levels coming done each week now for the last five or six weeks, the river that we know has taken on an unfamiliar face that many of us haven’t seen in some time. Lover water, exposed weed beds, gravel bars and sightings of so many submerged trees that caused many of us grief throughout the Summer. This is when fishing on the Goulburn takes on a new life, accompanied by the stunning colours of the Goulburn Valley in Autumn.

The big problem here though, is that the lower water flow means the water generally gets a little dirtier with any sort of precipitation and stays that way a while. Many of us are used to the clear waters on this river when the levels are high and that is because cold, clear water in great volumes is being released from Lake Eildon. Any rain, runnoff or inflow from other streams is usually filtered through pretty quickly with the great amount of clean water coming downstream. This changes in Autumn though, making it harder to spot fish from the banks. Further worsening the task at hand, most of the trees along the river have all but shed their leaves, doing away with any cover we once had to keep out of the line of site of these fish. So, it is now harder to see them, but the can see us more easily. That makes site fishing a whole lot of fun and a greater challenge.

But, aside from only two fish sited today, there wasn’t much going on near the surface and it was all down to swinging nymphs. This is a great time of year for this sort of fishing in the Goulburn and as the water drops even further it changes the water patterns and currents. This also changes how we need to approach all of those familiar banks and runs we are so used to fishing. Get ready for an even bigger shock when it falls even lower though. If she gets down to under 500 ML/day, the tactics change once again and you’ll need to treat it like a small mountain stream, fishing the pockets and working the riffle runs. I hope we get a week or two of this sort of fun before the season closes out.

Which reminds me, please be aware of coming season closures in your respective state and obey the rules governing your waters. An overview of these dates can be found here : https://www.troutlore.com.au/seasons