A rundown in the aftermath of yesterday’s big wet:
Mt Wellington in the south, and Gray in the East both received around 200mm of rainfall in total. The South Esk River is in major flood—to put this in perspective, good flood fishing occurs as the river reaches about 2.4-3.0 metres; the river is expected to exceed 8.6 metres today! The Macquarie River breaches the banks around Ross at 0.40 metres, but has far exceeded this and is now running at 1.00 metre (the Southern entrance to Ross is closed due to flooding). The Meander has also flooded the paddocks, as has the North Esk River which will be re-arranging a few river-bends.
My pick for the best flood-fishing today: the Macquarie River at Cressy, which was just breaching it’s banks as of the last measurement.
Liawenee on the edge of the Western Lakes received in excess of 60mm for the downpour, which augers well for the highlands.
The flooding is great news for the health of our waterways, which will all receive a good flushing for the second consecutive year following from the previous period of drought! Keep an eye out for pot-bellied brown trout over the coming weeks, all fattened on drowned earthworms and terrestrials.
It’s back to the vice for me, time to stockpile some earthworm patterns! http://inseasonflyfishing.com/shop/fly-patterns-tied-to-order-in-tasmania/wet-flies/the-earthworm/
Daniel Hackett