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October long weekend 2006:
Fly fishing the Guy Fawkes
You know your onto something really special when you look down to your reel and you see a spinner hanging on for dear life in the gusty wind. I was standing bankside of the Guy Fawkes River, the sun was out but the wind was strong and being 1300 metres above sea level the wind was cold. I was to find a little later downstream, a huge brown snake curled up sunning itself while cunningly using the tussets of grass as a wind break. I could feel golden brown streaks emerging onto my underwear as I quietly stepped away.

Above: A spinner hanging on for dear life as the wind blows.

I normally wont head this far north from Sydney for a long weekend, six and a half hours travel time is daunting - especially when your only going to stay for a couple of days. But being stuck in Coffs Harbour for two weeks prior to the long weekend meant that the lengthy trip felt as though it was only one way. Two weeks of working in Coffs while counting down the days till the season started almost drove me insane, the previous weekend was spent scouting out some potential fishing spots in the Ebor area, during this time I witnessed many a fish rise but temptation didnt get the better of me and I held out.

The following week involved several trips to the Coffs Harbour fishing and camping super store, where I bought myself a set of Snowbee hip waders and a king size Oztrail self inflating mattress in preparation for the coming weekend. It was here I met Rob, one of the sales people who works in the store, he asked where I was going fishing - "Ebor" I replied, and to that he told me he was headed out that way for the long weekend and invited me along to join him in fishing the Ebor small streams. Local knowledge always plays an advantage and I wasnt going to waste this invite.

The rest of the week dragged on and when Friday finally came it was almost like an anti-climax as I drove up into the greater altitude of Ebor and then finally seting up camp right next door to Rob. It was later that evening that I met Gaz (Gary) who was almost like a local in the Ebor area, Gaz seemed to have a deep passion for fishing and as I discovered over the next couple of days was most like a guide, taking us to some amazing and unfished spots.

Quite a few beers were drank that night and by the time I heard the others getting up on the Saturday morning I was wishing for an extra couple of hours sleep. Friday was quite a warm day, but when night fell that all changed, I ended up using two sleeping bags to keep warm and was extremely happy that I had made the choice to purchase that self inflating mattress, my spare air mattress in the cruiser wouldnt have cut it in the cold.

I finally made it out of bed, the sun was up and the mist was clearing, Gaz had already claimed two rainbows from the Guy Fawkes which was only a stones throw away from our campsite. I was the only person using fly gear and I felt very out of place, the words 'soak a worm' were going to haunt me! Unlike the day before, there were no rises, but I soldiered on.

Above: Ebor Falls, second highest water fall in Australia and prime trout water above and below!

After a couple of hours with no success on my behalf we jumped into Robs Maverick, Jocks Water was where we were confidently heading. There was already someone fishing the hole so we kept driving. Gaz suggested we head to a property where only he could fish as he knew the owner - Rob promptly obliged and we were on our way. After gaining permission to fish we drove through a few paddocks that were enclosed by electric fences and then over a couple of hills to an area near the stream. This was small water and I was wishing that I had a twig to fish it with - my 8'6" 4wt felt way to big.

There were fish rising at the first hole, but naught seemed to interested in my fly - were my presentations not delicate enough or was I using the wrong fly. A habbit I have grown accustomed to is to stop for a while and have a close look at what the fish were feeding on, but from the distance I was at I could not tell and if I got any closer the fish would have spooked.

Above: Small water streams at thier best, flowing and an abundance of fish.

Gaz grabbed me and in his polite manner posed the question of if I would like to go upstream with him and just as politely as he asked the question he also included that if I didnt want to go not to feel obliged. I have gained a new found respect for country folk, these guys are genuinely nice.

Not wanting to miss out I followed Gaz as we climbed and walked through fences, he went further upstream flicking celta's and dropped a few decent rainbows, meanwhile I was still trying to find that right fly!

I spooked a few fish along the way and felt very awkward trying to cast the 4wt into sometimes metre wide stream. A few rises up ahead saw a couple of good casts but no takers - I was starting to feel depressed and the realisation of a fishless trip was starting to descend into my thoughts.

A little further upstream Gaz guided me to a really nice pool, I had crossed the stream earlier and was on the oposite side of the bank to Gaz, which was very overgrown. As I got in closer to the pool I spooked a decent sized rainbow, more fishless thoughts raced through my mind, as I regained my composure I sat down and tied on a new fly. Size 22 red tag was one of the smallest flies that I carry and from what I had seen downstream the fish were rising to some very small insects.

Gaz stood back and watched as I cast to some rising fish.... nothing! Second cast and I was on to a nice rainbow, there is nothing like a tussle with a wild fish, they leap out of the water on countless occasions and in these tight water ways you need to keep one step ahead of them or they will wrap you around a snag quicker than you can say "I got busted of by a five pound trout'!

After a small tussle I had the beautifully marked rainbow at the bank side, bordering just on the legal size of 25cm the fit and healthy trout was released to fight another day. My only regret was not taking a photo of it!

Gaz, content that I had caught and landed a fish decided to head back downstream, I tried to press on further but a solid barbed wire fence stopped any advances further into this pristine trout water. I was satisfied with my catch but this didnt stop a monster sized trout from rising a few metres further upstream of where I couldnt navigate past and the trees were too overgrown to allow for a decent cast.

Above: The lucky pool, wider than all the others but with plenty of tree coverage to provide protection from the elements.

At this point I thought it may be better to head back and see how the other guys were going, and after seeing a few snakes around, the thought of being by myself and in a very remote spot suffering a snake bite wasnt how I wanted to end this fishing session (or this life!). So I back tracked trying to keep as far as I could from the waters edge not to spook any fish, I failed dismally at this, every time I saw a fish my stalking abilities left alot to be desired. I spooked every fish that I saw!

Above: Who said there werent any brown trout in the Ebor waters?

As I arrived Gaz was having a tussle with what seemed a nice sized fish in a really nice pool (that of course was surrounded by dense foliage). To our surprise he pulled out a beautifully marked brown trout that was in fantastic condition for these tiny waters.

Ebor renound for its rainbow trout fishery had produced a fantastic brown trout and I was absolutely jealous at that catch! At this stage the sun was hard up and the fish were now laying low for cover so we decided to head back and have some brekky.

The evening session for myself was one that I dont want to remember, that afternoon the wind picked up and was blustering to a point where it was impossible to make any kind of decent cast. With the wind and the cool conditions it brought came the unfortunate realisation that there was not going to be an evening rise as there werent any insects about.

Just as quickly as the weekend had began it ended, Sunday saw me packing my gear and heading of into the yonder and back to reality. Ebor, what a fantastic place to get away from it all and have a fish in some very decent streams. If your after something different from your usual fishing ventures this is definately the place to go - keep that in the back of your mind!

Ebor images:

Above: Cool water that is fast running, sheltered by the over hanging trees, this is perfect rainbow water.

Above: Clouds up there in them hills. With the clouds came a cold change and winds that made it impossible to cast.

Date Published: 14th October 2006.

About the Author: Self confessed geek and fly fisher, read more here, contact me here.

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