The Maclaughlin River is a stocked trout river on the Monaro in southern NSW, and it is fly and lure water from end to end.
Its shape is simple. It is one river with its own creeks and tributaries, all running down to a single bottom end where it meets the Snowy River. Everything above that junction is the Maclaughlin; below it you are on the Snowy, which is a different river.
The main trip is the river itself. Browns are the fish to plan for, with rainbows also on the stocking record. Start from one of the access points on the access card and fish upstream with a dry and a small nymph from late spring into autumn, which in our experience is when tableland water like this is at its best. NSW lists the whole river, its creeks and tributaries above the Snowy junction as artificial fly and lure water, so you leave the bait at home and fish a fly or a lure anywhere on it. Take the season and the bag and size limits from the current NSW guide before you string up.
The creeks and tributaries are the quieter option. The same fly and lure listing covers them, and in our experience small feeder water on the Monaro is worth a look on a still, warm afternoon when you can creep up on a fish. Keep the gear light and do not expect much size.
The Snowy below the junction is a bigger river and a different kind of day. Make the Maclaughlin your target, and treat the Snowy as a separate trip with its own rules to read.
Pack a 4 weight, a box of small dries and nymphs, and read the NSW guide before you leave home.
Water and habitat
Monaro trout water, falling to the Snowy. The gradient chart shows how the river drops along its length, and the bank cover chart shows how much of the edge is treed and how much is open. On tableland streams that matters a great deal: across open grass a trout sees you well before you see it, while overhanging growth gives fish shade and somewhere to sit.
In our experience trout here hold where the water has depth and a food lane: the head of a pool where the riffle tips in, the seam along faster current, an undercut grass bank, the slack behind a rock. Thin, even water holds few fish and spooks them first, so move through it and spend your time on the pockets with depth.
Fish and forage
NSW stocking records list brown trout and rainbow trout released into the river, and the stocking chart shows the pattern. It shows browns going in across most recent seasons and rainbows only in the earlier years, so browns are the fish you should expect to meet.
The fly box is a guide's read. Tableland browns feed mostly on nymphs drifting near the bottom and on whatever lands on the surface. In warm weather that means grasshoppers, beetles and ants blown off the banks. A few buoyant dries, a hopper or two and some bead-head nymphs in sizes 12 to 16 cover most days.
When to fish it
Settle the season first: the current NSW fishing guide sets it, and you take the dates from there. Within the open months, in our experience a Monaro trout river fishes best from late spring into autumn. Late spring brings the first steady hatches and water with some push in it. Summer is hopper time, fished early and late when the light is off the water and before the afternoon wind gets up. Autumn often brings cool, clear days when the browns feed harder. The flow chart shows how the river's flow varies across the year, and after heavy rain you should give it a day or two to drop and clear.
How to fish it
Travel light and fish upstream. A 4 weight rod of 8 to 9 feet, a floating line and a 9 foot leader tapered to 5X is plenty, stepping up to a 5 weight when the wind blows. Keep low, stay back from the edge on open banks, and make short casts with as little line on the water as you can manage.
Start with a dry and dropper: a size 12 to 14 Royal Wulff or Royal Humpy with a size 14 to 16 bead-head Hare's Ear or Pheasant Tail under it. Put it in the head of each pool and let it ride down the seam; two or three good drifts tell you whether anything is home. In summer, swap the dry for a hopper and land it close to the grass. In the deeper, slower pools a small Woolly Bugger stripped past cover can move a brown that will not come up. If you prefer a spin rod, the listing covers artificial lures as well.
Access and safety
The access card names the access points. Treat them as locations, not a statement of permission, and respect any fence or sign you meet on the ground.
As on any bush river, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, carry water and a small first-aid kit, and watch your footing on wet rock and undercut banks. In our experience Monaro weather can turn quickly, so pack a warm layer whatever the forecast says, and never wade a crossing you are unsure of.
Regulations
NSW lists the Maclaughlin River in the Monaro district as an artificial fly and lure trout water. The listing covers the whole of the river, its creeks and tributaries upstream from its junction with the Snowy River, and does not include the Snowy itself. In practice that means no bait anywhere on the Maclaughlin or its feeder water: fish a fly or a lure.
For the season, the bag and size limits and the licence, read the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recreational fishing guide before you fish, and check its closed-waters list at the same time.
