Friday Fly Day - Early Season Victorian Selections

James Norney from Wilderness Fly Fishing gives us a little rundown of his early season fly selection.

"It’s been a tricky start to the trout season over in in Victoria, with the crowds being thick, the snow fall and rain continuing making the water temperatures fluctuate quite a bit. Over the last few weeks the fish have been hard to move but as summer creeps up on us, the rivers will begin to fire. Success seems to come with a bit of trial and error and changing up our flies has helped get some nice fish to the net.

Jig Worm

Love them or hate them, my goodness they slay the fish! With the early season flows being high and cold, the worm has been killer, ensuring clients have been feeling the tug.

Simons Ugly Green/Red

With stoneflies being present in a majority of the local rivers, the Ugly is the perfect tandem rig-go-to. Double tungsten to cut those fast currents and get you down to where those fish are holding up on the bottom.

Swishers PMX

This fly is the bomb! Well, not literally but the Swishers PMX is ideal for those headwaters where the fish are always looking for a tasty top water meal. A perfect dry dropper fly that always gets eaten no matter what time of the season.

Belinda’s Bitch Slap Orange/Olive & Black/Red

For some early season turkey pulling (cause we all love stripping some junk) these rigged up on a tandem with a hover Polyleader are a sure way to get a few fish to the net. Oh, and a little tip, if you’re feeling the eats but not hooking up, simply trim the tail and you’ll start to see some conversions!"