Eight Mile Creek

With fingers crossed that there are no geologists, hydrologists, mineralogists or, really, any of the other relevant ologists reading this, I’m going to suggest that Eight Mile Creek may be just a bit better than a lot of the other Snowy Mountains streams I fish. Why? Because it rises on a high, flat basalt plateau with plenty of swampy bits and not the more common steep granite country.

From what I understand, the maths is that basalt weathers more easily and makes for richer, more mineralised water such as you get in Australia’s best trout rivers on the Monaro High Plains, while the granite is much harder, more acidic and way less fishy in general. Is that true? I honestly have no idea, but there’s definitely something a bit different about this place, as seen in the aqua-green tones through the otherwise gin clear water, the active and diverse insect population and the generally bigger and better numbers of fish.

All that said, calm down because this is still a very small creek and the difference might be a couple of extra inches on a 6- to 10-inch fish or a 15 fish day rather than 10. Also, calm down some more, because the fishing hasn’t been at its best thanks to whatever the hell it was that happened through the last couple of seasons where all the trout magically evaporated here and everywhere else I went. Judging by my more recent trips though, it’s definitely on the up-cycle.

THE CREEK

Eight Mile Creek flows out of Dry Dam on the Kings Cross Road, a couple of kilometres east of Cabramurra. Or, I should say, mostly trickles out of Dry Dam and then runs south through high meadows and sparse forest before starting its steeper decent to the Tumut River as it crosses the Link Road. I’ve never bothered to fish above the road as, even for me, this is too small to be anything other than frustrating.

It’s not a long creek, with a fishable length of only around 4 kilometres between the Link Road and the Snowy Hydro Intake downstream on the Elliot Way. The creek is bone dry for the remaining kilometre down to the Tumut River. When I say ‘fishable’ I should clarify that there’s a very steep section in the middle that only a particularly dexterous mountain goat could fish, if they didn’t have hooves and could hold a fly rod.

The rest of us need to be content with the still steep kilometre of water above the intake and a bit more than that below the Link Road. Some mountain goat skills still come in handy for the odd waterfall through both beats, and anyone fishing here should be ready for a physical day of boulder hopping and general scrambling.

While I would avoid the creek completely in even slightly elevated flows, it can be a good break from bad weather on the much more exposed upper Eucumbene catchment around Kiandra.

LOWER BEAT

Fishing the lower beat, from the intake up, is probably my favourite, but that would be based as much on how beautiful the creek is through here as anything to do with fish. For me, it’s a one-way trip, fishing up, then scrambling back through the creek after about a kilometre. The younger, more agile and fearless me has been higher, but the risk certainly outweighed reward.

Most of the fishing is a short cast and a quick drift through very small pockets amongst small to medium boulders and all, particularly any shaded areas, deserve at least one cast before moving on. There are also some great smaller pools tucked in tight to overhanging boulders that are challenging in terms of accuracy amongst the vegetation and managing a drift that might only last a couple of seconds.

As you climb, the boulders get bigger and there are more drops and therefore more pools. Though sparsely spaced, and not very large, these emerald pools keep me coming back. They are a stunning colour, with the deepest water having a rich emerald tone that contrasts beautifully with the light grey boulders.

Near the end of the beat, the creek flattens out for about 100 metres to mostly shallow pockets, before the first of the big drops. At only 3 or 4 metres high it’s not in any way a grand waterfall, but the overall scene with its dripping ferns and jumble of huge boulders is simply awesome. It is probably one of the most beautiful bits of trout water I’ve seen anywhere in Kosciuszko National Park.

UPPER BEAT

Access to the upper beat is via service tracks for the power lines that cross the creek downstream of Link Road, and a bit of bush bashing. To find them, look a little over half a kilometre north or south of the bridge, or make friends with Google Earth.

Compared to the lower beat, fishing here is a little easier for the gentler gradient, generally slower flow and more consistent gravelly bottom. It’s still very much on the smaller side though, and tight enough in places to limit casts to under a few feet, or even bow and arrow only. It’s a shorter day, as there’s more thin water worth walking past to get to the small pools.

For fly fishers newer to very small water or very light rods, this would be, with a little patience, the perfect classroom — and for anyone who’s been around, it is an occasionally, ummmm, humbling experience.

Not far below the road, the creek drops a few metres over the basalt cap-rock into a shallow pool broken up with boulders. Geologically, it is all very interesting, but from here up it’s as slippery as prison soap and a good place to walk out.

Through both beats, the fish have changed a lot since the fires and, for the first time I can remember, smaller rainbows feature in the catch. The browns used to be darker with bright orange/red spots, but now are more diverse with quite a few light, almost dull coloured examples. On average, fish are smaller than on my last trips in 2017/18, though numbers are encouraging. I’m not complaining of course — I’m happy with any fish or any size or colour.

RODS & FLIES

Before the last fires fried the catchment, this was definitely short 2 or 3-weight water where only the very brave, or perhaps very stubborn types amongst us would swing anything over seven-and-a-half feet. Since the fires of 2019/20, however, with the full canopy a long way from recovered and the blackberries and other undergrowth somewhat reduced, the brave (and stubborn) can find a lot more stream where an overhead cast is possible. That said, it’s still tight in places, particularly upstream, and accuracy on short casts is my top priority whatever the rod.

Fly choice is pretty much the same as anywhere in the mountains, where a selection of high-vis dry flies like the Indi Klink, Guide Chute and High-viz Para Adams in sizes 12 and 14 make seeing the fly easier, and an orange rubber legged Stimulator through late summer is always going to work.

That said, more than most Snowy streams, a more realistic mayfly pattern can be useful for hatches when the fish dial in. I’ve used simple suspended Hares Ear Nymphs or dark Parachutes in the past, and Adam had great success on a Mick Hall designed Reverse Emerging Dun on our last session. Nymphs, for the most part are a pain due to all the shallow water, but quickly adding a little bead-head under a dry through the two or three deeper pools is a good idea if the dry alone is refused after a couple of drifts.

PRACTICALITIES

Eight Mile is kind of in the middle of nowhere as far as services are concerned, though there is an excellent campground nearby at Three Mile Dam, and a cafe/general store at Cabramurra where a life-saving meat pie, Coke or Mars Bar is available. The nearest towns are Adaminaby if you’re coming from New South Wales, and Corryong or Tumbarumba from Victoria.

Locally, both Three Mile Dam and Dry Dam are worth a fish — particularly on an evening rise after flogging yourself on the creek — with the real possibility of adding a brook trout to your species list if it’s not already there. As part of an extended small stream expedition, adding a day on the upper sections of the Tumut River (FL#116) and another on the upper Eucumbene River (FL#99) could make a brilliant trip.