With cloud moving in making conditions quite humid I decided to head on over to the Meander River for an afternoon session. The river was running some 4-6 inches higher than my last trip here which was back on Tuesday 28th November and it was little discoloured too. By the time I had walked 1.5 kms to the river it was 3:30 PM when I had my first cast with the little #00 gold Aglia into a long wide medium stretch of river. There was a reasonably strong North Easterly breeze blowing from behind me so I was getting good distance with the light weight spinner, I was reaching the opposite side of the river with ease. I used the cast and drift method and had my first take within three minutes, it was a nice solid 460 gram brown. After it making several runs and leaps I slowly led it into the net, once in it out popped the spinner.
Two minutes later I had my second brown on and soon in the net, another solid well conditioned fish much like the first one. The same thing happened when this brown was in the net, the lure fell out of its mouth as soon as it was in the net. Not that I mind as it save me from handling the fish to remove the spinner, plus there's less stress on fish as well. I had moved onto a small fast water run that had a nice little section of flat water to the right, one flick of the spinner to the top end and a quick retrieve I sucked another plump trout into taking the gold Aglia making it three fish in fifteen minutes.
After that fish the following couple of stretches of river all I could manage was two hook ups with both fish tossing the spinner. Another wide medium flowing run of water was the next one I fished and it wasn't until I was half way into it when I hooked and lost a small brown. With three trout caught from six hook ups wasn't good enough in my books at all. I checked the treble hook on the spinner and it was fine, a little worse for wear but still no reason to change it. I had now reached the headwater of this stretch of river and it was here I picked up another brown, just a little 290 gram fish. There was a split in the river so I decided I would work the narrow run on my left as I've caught the odd trout in it before.
I didn't have a touch until I had reached the top end where the main river spilled into it and that's where I picked up another solid brown that went 520 grams. From here on the fishing was slow going as I worked my way upstream in a deepish flowing stretch of river. It was starting to tire me out pushing against the stronger flow and deeper water today, much harder work than on previous trips. I did catch a fish here and there as I carried on fishing my way up the river. After catching another seven browns all up making it an even dozen, that's when I decided to call it a day at 6:20 PM. Trout number twelve was taken from a small flat water on the opposite side of the river some fifty feet away. I was about to get out of the river when I decided to have a shot at lobbing the 1.5 gram spinner into that flat water as I felt it was worth doing and it was after all.
Adrian Webb (meppstas)
Best trout taken in the side water run Meander River
Brown taken in this flat water Meander River
