Nymboida River (upper) - 'Coutts Water'

As with all New England and Northern Tablelands trout water, the Coutts Water fishery is very sensitive to drought, given its northern locale. In good years, the river flows clear and strong, and the fishing can be fantastic. In bad years, the river is best left alone to give the resident fish a fighting chance to see out the next wet season.

In the generally accepted ‘trout water’ (upstream of Tyringham road), there exists two distinct fisheries:

At its most upstream point, the river flows through open meadows and farmland, and is stocked regularly with health numbers of rainbow trout. Here, the river is narrow and shallow and is very conducive to dry fly and nymph presentations. The fish here generally aren’t big but are normally very willing. Fish can be caught of an evening quite reliably right next to the road bridge, but as with any river, the further you can get from public access points, the better the fishing will be.

The meadows eventually give way to a heavily forested gorge, which continues right the way through to Tyringham Road. The gorge is comprised of wide, deep pools and supports a population (albeit lower than the upper reaches) of both large rainbows and browns. Access to this gorge is tricky, but for those that manage to find a way in often do very well. Bigger streamers and wets are the obvious choice for the gorge pools but dries and nymphs will still catch fish in the right conditions.