Rouchel Brook is a small tributary of the Hunter River in New South Wales, and the reason to fish it is its warm-water fish: freshwater catfish and carp have both been recorded here.
In our experience the choice on water like this is less about which stretch to drive to and more about which pool to sit on once you arrive.
The first trip is carp in the warmer months. Pick an access point from the access card and look for fish feeding in the shallows. No water-specific rule was found for the brook, so take the general rules from the current NSW fishing guide before you go.
The second trip is catfish, which in our experience means summer evenings and the deepest, slowest pool you can find. A heavy nymph crawled along the bed, fished into dusk, is the fly angler's way in.
Water and habitat
A small brook running down to a bigger river. The flow duration chart shows how often the brook runs high or low, and the seasonal chart beside it shows how it moves through the year. Read those before you plan: both of these fish feed harder in warm water, and a small stream can drop low and clear in a dry spell or run high and brown after rain.
In our experience warm-water fish in a brook like this hold in the deeper, slower water: the body of a pool, the slack behind a log, an undercut bank with shade over it. Carp move up onto soft shallows to feed and drift back to cover when disturbed. Catfish sit deep through the day and move out over the bottom as the light fades.
Fish and forage
Three fish have been recorded in the brook. European carp are the fish you are most likely to see and the likeliest to take a fly. Freshwater catfish, the eel-tailed native catfish, are the more unusual target. Cox's gudgeon is a small native that lives on the bottom and is food rather than quarry. The survey chart shows how thoroughly fish have been looked for here, so treat the list as what has been found rather than everything that lives in the water.
The fly box is a guide's read. Both target fish feed mostly on the bottom, on insect larvae, snails, worms and small fish. Dark, weighted flies in sizes 8 to 12 cover most of it: a small Woolly Bugger, a heavy Hare's Ear or Pheasant Tail nymph, anything that sinks fast and moves slowly.
When to fish it
In our experience this is warm-season water. From late spring the shallows warm up and carp start to feed where you can see them, and through summer both fish are at their most active. Carp are often best on still, bright mornings, when you can see into the water. Catfish are a dusk and after-dark proposition in the hottest months. Once autumn cools the water, expect the fishing to slow, and in winter a brook like this is hard going. After heavy rain, give it a day or two to drop and clear, and check the gauge on the conditions card before you drive.
How to fish it
Fish slowly and quietly. A 5 or 6 weight rod, a floating line and a 9 foot leader down to 3X or 4X will handle both fish; go heavier if the pool has timber in it.
For carp, walk the banks with polarised glasses and look before you cast. When you find a fish feeding head down, drop the fly a short distance ahead of it and in its path, let it sink to the bottom, and move it only a touch, or not at all. Watch the fish rather than the line: if it tips onto the fly and stops, set. A carp that bolts at the first cast has usually seen you, not the fly.
For catfish, pick the deepest pool you can reach, cast across it, let the fly reach the bottom and crawl it back in short, slow pulls. Takes are often a soft weight rather than a hit. Fish into the dark, and keep the hook set firm and steady.
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 stream, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, and carry water and a small first-aid kit. If you fish into the night, walk in while it is still light so you know the way out, and bring a head torch. As with any spined fish, hold what you catch firmly and keep your hand clear of the fins.
Regulations
No water-specific rule was found for Rouchel Brook. Check the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development fishing guide before you fish, including its licence requirements, its closed-waters list and any rules on the species you catch, and take the limits from there.
