DeadDrift.org :: the dead end of flyfishing

Somewhere between the Gorges

// September 15th, 2009 // 6 Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

Made an amazing hike which led us along one of the best Trout waters in the Blue Mountains.We crossed three rivers and saw heaps of fish in all of them. Caught some fish too.The weather is getting warmer and warmer each day so the bush is full of wild life…wild pigs,lizards and marsupials are all around. Had the first meeting with a Red Belied Black Snake…and the second meeting…and a third one. I have to get used to this if I want to keep fishing for Trout in Australia. Anyway that was really scary! We reached total wilderness at the end of our hike – the trees looked like they were straight out of a Tarzan movie and were surrounded by wombat paths. Then there were the steep and grey gorges, they just make you feel like one of those small rocks in the water.Probably those gorges have their own purpose to be there, maybe just to hide the fish in the river, where even the sun is too afraid to have a look…

River X

// August 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

Some pics from the last fishing trip to the river “X”…to see more than 20 decent  Trout in one pool…man , that was mind-blowing!

Short videos too:

Carp Mayhem

// August 10th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

We were looking for Trout, but look what we found! A bunch of nice looking Carp!This river has changed a bit during last couple of years. It used to be a good Trout stream, now it has suffered from the drought, and is warmer and running slower. Anyway, it is still nice wilderness in this valley with stunning cliffs and gorges which make an echo when you scream – GOTCHAA!!!Small woolly buggers in dark colours like black and brown and also small nymphs like pheasant tail or hares ear did their job. Sight fishing using dead drifting and making slow twitches from time to time  befooled those Carp. Just control your patience and let the carp suck in your fly before lifting your rod, otherwise the Carp is gone.

                                                             …..entering the wombat cave :)

Hasta la vista Jenolan?….yeah….so we’re back

// August 7th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

The Jenolan is one of the few streams open in NSW during the winter, so we headed back….and this time with better results. This part of the river doesn’t have any car access so we did a hike from a 1000m peak down to 200m with a length of around 5km each way.The water we reached was running wider deeper and faster than the trip before. The river was full of boulders and the water was crystal clear with an amazing amount of fish from small to trophy ones, sight fishing what can be better. We were sad just for one thing….the days are too short for the fly fisherman when he fishes a stream like that. Of course the hike down and up ate half of our time and our strength, it was hard, but really really worth it.

…see you next time Jenolan!

Getting twiggy

// July 7th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

Went out in the Blue Mountain’s to a little stream called the Jenolan River with couple of friends from Sydney Flyrodders. We were hoping for good size spawning rainbow trout, but it was probably too early in the season. The water temperature is still quite high after a hot Autumn, so we managed to catch just few little ones and spooked a lot of bigger trout. But what a beautiful kind of stream it is, with crystal clear water running through rainforest and cliffs, where the ferns cover every bend of the river and make a great spot for trout to hide…  So we’re going to go back there, maybe in a few weeks, with hope in our minds.

Pool of Jenolan River…but fishing is allowed only downstream of it

Im just wondering guys where are your stories, you’re having a summer over there…huh?

Chasing the Rainbow

// April 27th, 2009 // 10 Comments » // Thirsty Traveler

Had an overnight trip in lower Blue Mountains where the beautiful Fish River runs through it.Weather was coldest during all my stay in Australia at the nightime temperature reached O and in the daytime became no more than 10 degrees.Rain, strong winds and the hailstorm were changing each other from time to time, even though I had a good time fishing and hiking along the Fish River about 20km in two days.Heaps of hook offs but also caught some rainbows few bigger ones few little ones on a dry fly or nymph casting upstream and using indicator.

Morning in Sydney looked good and the sky was clear as possible

                                                               Clouds were heavy over my train stopping destination – Tarana Village which has maybe five living houses and a good pub :)

 Mine direction is the left one to the Fish River and Flat Rock Reserve

                                                     View on the way to Flat Rock reserve

Fish River Valley

Nice aussie couple gave me a lift to my camping place and offer those Anzac biscuits made from coconut, mmmmm….that was delicious :) 

Shoal of the Fish River

                                                            Rainbow who took  dry Elk Hair Caddis fly (my favourite one in Verkne river for graylings :) ) 

Just stream…

                                                                              Rocky bank

Huge rocks are all over the place                                   

                                                                             River view

Here its me  ”So damn cold this weekend”

A lot of stones in a deeper part of the river

                                                      Time to relax from carrying a rucksack

Bones of dead kangaroos ( I think…)

                                                         Echhh….an amazing stream isnt it

Another shallow water

                                                               Kind of aboriginal shrine above

Shrubs with the thorns like these grows all along the river (tore my pants into them so better not to wear expensive waders I think :) )

                                                Another rainbow using upstream nymphing

Banks are ideally for fly casting

                                                         Somebody didnt like the sign

Rain over the river

                                                        Some animal cave under the tree

A spot where I had few attacts on my Wolly Bugger, just didnt manage to hook up

                                            Going back on the main road across the hills

Some huge warm and its burrow

                                                                      Dead kangaroo

Hailstorm over the Mount Tarana

                                                                             Chasing the rainbow

                      Upper part of the Fish River next to the gold mining farm

Waiting for a train back home

                                                                           The railway