The Nunya (AKA Nunya business!)

I snuck off for 3 days fishing a couple of weeks ago, and made a beeline straight to my favorite location – the “Nunya”. 
 
My fishing partner was Steve, who had flown down from Queensland for his annual combined business/fishing trip. We collected the usual gourmet cheese and sourdough from Milawa on the way past, as its always important to fuel the body appropriately whilst enjoying a few refreshments around the campfire at night. Once the goodies were packed into the car fridge, we were off into the mountains.
 
There are 2 ways to get to the Nunya, and we chose what is normally the quickest and easiest route. Unfortunately there was a large tree down and blocking our way only 200m from camp, so we had to turn around (think Austin Powers 103 point turn) and then make the 2 hour journey back and around the other way.   
 
We eventually made it to our campsite, performed an express camp setup, and then we put our gear together to hit the water. The Nunya is one of those rivers that is usually pretty sleepy until the sun hits the water, so we hadn’t really lost that much quality fishing time. 
 
By now, Steve was absolutely chafing at the bit. He had just purchased a new Scott G Series 8’4” 4wt/Hatch 3+ outfit for this trip, and after travelling down from the Sunshine State, it was finally time to christen it. I suggested that he should fish the first pool, and he had the Airflo Elite Trout line onto the water before I had even finished my sentence. The smile on his face was broad, and his loops were tight.
 
We experienced 3 days of countless fish. Nothing big, but most fish were in the 10"-14" range, which were heaps of fun on the 3 & 4wt rods.
 
I fished an 8'4" 3wt Scott G Series with a Hatch 2+ on the first day. This thing casts every line I've run over it beautifully, and has barely left my hand all season. I stepped it up day 2 and used an 8'8" 4wt Scott G Series with my Hatch 3+, and it is just as impressive an outfit as the 3wt. Both rods have loads of power, feel, and are super smooth. They flex beautifully with a fish on, and in short - the Scott G's are just a magnificent rod series. Keep your eye out for a more detailed end of season review...

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Flies
​The fishing was that good, I don't think I even tied a nymph on for the trip. Most drys work well on the Nunya, but I do have have 3 standout flies that are absolute favourites:

1. Gould's Half Down Hopper
2. Para Improved Humpy Green Bottle
3. Para Adams

All 3 are dynamite anywhere, not just on the Nunya.

The Nunya?
​People are far too quick to publicly share names of rivers these days, particularly rivers that will not cope with the extra pressure of hoards flocking to it after reading an article from a magazine or the internet. Limited fish numbers, limited access, or a host of other reasons could be at play, but please consider this when penning your latest trip. 
 
The Nunya is one of those rivers that takes a considerable amount of effort to get to as a day trip, but it can be done. It used to be one of Victoria’s best kept secrets. Almost everyone I know that fishes it treats it like “Fight Club”, and the first rule of Fight Club is that you never talk about Fight Club. This is about respect for the fishery.
 
If you recognize my pictures, please be respectful and DON’T name the Nunya in the comments, as I’ll delete it as soon as I see it. 
 
Get Out There
You can’t fish from an armchair, or from behind a keyboard, but you can get out some maps, or log on to Google Earth and do some virtual exploring to help make a plan for your next adventure. You never know, you might even find your own Nunya…