BRIGHT

The delightful and aptly-named town of Bright has a great deal to offer keen freshwater fishers — especially those who get a buzz out of chasing small to middling trout on fly or ultra-light spinning gear in skinny little mountain streams while surrounded by gorgeous landscapes!

The pretty little town of Bright, in north eastern Victoria, is well known as a base for exploring the towering peaks of nearby Mount Buffalo and the Alpine National Parks, as well as the ski fields of Mount Hotham. It’s also justifiably renowned for its wineries, craft breweries, restaurants and stunning autumn colours, in addition to being an important hub on the Murray-to-Mountains Rail Trail: a very popular hiking and cycling path. However, with the Ovens River and several smaller streams literally on its doorstep, Bright also represents the perfect stepping-off point for keen freshwater anglers.

The upper Ovens River near Bright and its various feeder streams are all well populated with both brown and rainbow trout (stocked and wild), along with remnant populations of native freshwater blackfish or “slipperies”. A little further downstream, beyond the village of Porepunkah, the river also becomes home to Murray cod and slowly increasing numbers of trout cod, as well as the odd yellowbelly and redfin perch, not to mention carp. The dominance of these warmer water species tends to increase further downstream, towards and beyond the town of Myrtleford, while trout become much less common. Ultimately, the Ovens flows on past the regional centre of Wangaratta and eventually joins the mighty Murray River at Bundalong, near the upstream limits of Lake Mulwala’s backed-up waters. Here, in its more turbid lower reaches, it’s definitely Murray cod, yellowbelly and carp water.

But it’s the small stream fly fishing for trout in the upper Ovens and its tributaries that first lured us to Bright, and we quickly fell in love with the place!

On that first visit — and despite cool, drizzly weather that led to a near total lack of insect activity along the streams — we managed to catch a dozen and a half trout on our little split-cane 3-weight “twig-style” fly rods. They were all small fish. Some would fit neatly into the palm of your hand, and the biggest wouldn’t have been much over a pound and a quarter in the old money (500g). Not that it really mattered, as we let them all go, anyway.

For us, it had been the perfect escape in every way: some challenging and rewarding small stream fly fishing with our beloved little split cane rods, punctuated by some truly memorable meals at local eateries and all with the backdrop of the region’s stunning scenery. The fact that we were there in autumn to witness the magnificent colours of the fast-changing foliage added to the overall picture.

Another source of our deep contentment as we drove home following that initial foray to Bright was directly related to the incredibly user-friendly nature of the trout fishing we’d encountered there. Public access to streams was abundant and easy. This contrasts markedly with what we so often find in our home state of NSW. In place of the proliferation of locked gates, barbed wire and stern “Keep Out!”, “Private Property!” or “No Camping!” signs that we constantly run up against in NSW, we found much gentler instructions along the lines of “Please Shut The Gate” or “No Littering”. There were also many, many great places to camp, most of them free!

We fished the Ovens River itself, primarily between Bright and Harrietville, as well as the Buckland River, which flows briskly down from the mountainous country to the south of Bright before joining the Ovens near Porepunkah.

In the words of the Victorian Fisheries Authority’s on-line guide to this region: “The high rainfall and granitic rocks in the mountains result in clear, fast- flowing, clear-water rivers, with coarse substrates in their upper and middle reaches. These support good self-sustaining populations of blackfish and brown trout. Access to almost all rivers is excellent for conventional vehicles, with good fishing possible without extensive walking.”

Throw in good numbers of mostly stocked rainbows and you come up with an excellent fishery — one especially suited to the fly.

During warmer weather, the dry fly fishing can be exceptionally good in this region, although it’s worth bearing in mind that the sometimes intense heat of late December, January and February can put a bit of a dampener on trout activity, especially during the middle part of the day. In a typical season, October/November and March/April tend to turn on the best fly fishing. At such times, a small to very small (No. 14 to 18) nymph suspended 30 to 40 cm under a buoyant dry fly will often do the trick, with roughly equal numbers of fish coming to both flies over the course of an average day on the water.

Lure casting with ultra-light spinning tackle is also highly effective, with offerings such as small in-line spinners (Celtas and the like), tiny minnows, spoons, hair jigs or little soft plastics producing the goods.

Remember that you’ll need a Victorian fishing licence to wet a line in this part of the world. These can be obtained on-line by clicking here.  You’ll also find excellent maps and details of access points on the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) website by clicking here.

All-in-all, Bright is a destination worthy of serious consideration by anyone who loves chasing small to middling trout on light gear in skinny water. Don’t expect to catch too many whoppers in this area, but if you’re happy pursuing “pan-sized” browns and rainbows — always with the outside chance of encountering the odd exceptional specimen up to a kilo or more — this is definitely the place for you!

FACT BOX — Tried & Tested