The Goodradigbee is running water down to the point where it meets the backed-up water of Burrinjuck Dam, and its creeks and tributaries feed it along the way. The gradient chart and the bank cover chart show how steeply it falls and how much of its bank is treed, which is more than words can.

In our experience, trout in a river like this sit where the current brings food to them without making them work: the seam where a fast run meets slower water, the cushion in front of a boulder, the slack behind one, the head of a pool where a riffle drops in, and under an overhanging bank where there is shade. Browns favour the deeper, covered spots more than rainbows do. Rainbows will sit further out in faster water.

Brown trout and rainbow trout are the two fish to plan around. Rainbows have been released here across recent seasons, so a good share of the rainbows you catch are likely to be stocked fish. Browns do not appear in the same stocking ledger.

Twospine blackfish are recorded here too. Redfin and European carp have turned up in the records. Mountain galaxias, a small native fish, have been recorded in the river as well.

In our experience a trout stream in this part of NSW feeds on mayfly and caddis nymphs, terrestrial insects off the banks in summer, and small fish. That is why a box of generic dries, bead-head nymphs and one dark streamer covers most days.

The season is set by the NSW fishing guide, so start there. Within whatever season it gives you, our read is that the warmer months are the best bet for dry flies, with the mornings and evenings strongest once summer heat sets in. Early in the season, with the river cooler, nymphs fished deep usually do more of the work. Autumn can be a good time for a bigger brown on a streamer.

Whatever the month, look at the flow card first. A high or discoloured river fishes poorly with a dry; a river dropping and clearing after rain can be a good day for a streamer.

A 9-foot 4 or 5 weight with a floating line and a 9-foot leader tapered to 5X is a good all-round outfit here in our experience. Fish upstream, keep low and short, and cover each run with a few good drifts before you move.

Start with a size 12 to 14 Stimulator and a bead-head Hare’s Ear in size 14 to 16 on a short dropper. The Stimulator floats in broken water and the nymph finds the fish that will not rise. As the light goes, change to an Elk Hair Caddis in size 14 to 16 and fish the tails and slow edges. For a brown at first or last light, swing and strip a dark Woolly Bugger in size 8 to 10 through the deepest water you can find.

The access card names the known entry points on the river. Treat them as locations, not a statement of permission, and confirm the way in on the ground before you cross any land.

As on any bush river, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be out, carry water and a first-aid kit, and wade slowly with a firm check on each step. Check the flow card before you set off and stay out of the river if it is running high.

Before you fish, check the current NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recreational fishing guide for the licence, the season, and the bag and size limits for trout, and look at its trout waters and closed-waters listings for the Goodradigbee. Take the rules from the guide.