A trout river of runs and pools. The gradient chart shows its profile and the bank cover chart shows how much of the edge carries trees. In our experience trout in water like this hold where current meets cover: the head of a pool, a seam beside faster water, an undercut bank, a fallen log. Browns lean to the slower, shaded edges and come out to feed at the tail of a pool in low light.

The flow chart and the water temperature chart show how the river behaves through the year. When it runs low and warm, look for fish in the deeper, better-oxygenated water and at the heads of runs.

Brown trout are recorded in the river, and the stocking chart shows NSW releases of browns across recent seasons. In our experience, stocking like that tends to mean a mix of young fish and a few older browns, though no survey here sorts one from the other. Rainbow trout were released in some earlier seasons too; treat one as a bonus rather than a plan.

The river also carries native river blackfish, southern shortfin eels, redfin, and small fish such as carp gudgeons and gambusia along the margins. Those small fish are one reason a little streamer earns its place in the box.

The trout diet here is, in our experience, the usual stream mix: mayfly and caddis nymphs through the year, grasshoppers and beetles off the banks in summer, and small fish for the bigger browns. A fly box built on those three covers most days.

Spring, in our experience, is the best start, as the water warms and the insects get moving. Through summer the fishing narrows to mornings, evenings and cooler days, with terrestrial dries along the grassy edges. Autumn brings the bigger browns back into play, and a streamer through the deeper pools is a good bet in March and April.

Whether you may fish the river in winter, on either side of the border, is a question for the current NSW and Victorian fishing guides, not for this calendar.

A 4 or 5 weight with a floating line covers the Delegate. Start with a size 14 to 16 Pheasant Tail or Hare’s Ear under a small indicator, drifted through the heads of runs and along seams. Fish upstream so the fish see the fly before they see you.

When fish are rising, switch to a size 12 to 14 Royal Wulff or a small hopper and put it tight to the grass. For browns in autumn, a size 8 to 10 Woolly Bugger in olive or black, cast across a pool and stripped back in short pulls, covers water quickly and will also interest a redfin.

For blackfish, fish a small weighted nymph slowly along the bottom beside snags and shaded banks, and expect a soft, easily missed take. Keep your leader long and fine for the dries, and step up the tippet for the streamer.

The access card names the access points. Treat them as locations, not a statement of permission, and respect any fence, gate or sign you meet on the ground.

As on any country stream, tell someone where you are going and when you expect back, carry water and sun protection in summer, and watch your footing on slick rock and soft banks. Streams can rise quickly after rain upstream, so never wade a crossing you are unsure of.

No water-specific rule was found for the Delegate River. The river runs through both New South Wales and Victoria, so before you fish read the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recreational fishing guide, including its closed-waters list, and the current Victorian Fisheries Authority fishing guide. Take any trout season, bag or size limit, and the licence requirement, from the guide for the side of the border you are fishing.