In spring in the Snowy Mountains, snow melt from a bumper season will put a huge volume of water between the trout – lean and hungry as tigers after spawning – and the eager anglers pursuing the prized fish.
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Four-wheel-drives, tents and wader-clad fly-casters will be out in force.
Yet the sport's top guns say the secret to extracting maximum pleasure is less, not more.
"It is ballet, not bulldozers," said senior instructor Peter Walsh, as he removed a barbless hook embedded in a damselfly pattern from a hefty male brown trout before releasing it.
Mr Walsh teaches newcomers and professionals at Rainbow Springs east of Canberra, where seeing fish glide over weed beds in a 7.6-metre clear dam is no guarantee of a hook-up as the fish see them, too.
He said people learnt in a day how to present artificial food made of fur and feather to wary trout.
"That is the pinnacle of fly fishing, particularly if you can see the fish looking at your fly in our spring-fed waters," he said.
"It's so exciting; many clients' hearts are racing even after the fish refuses the fly."
Nathan Walker, an internationally certified fly-casting instructor in Canberra, said men try too hard.
"The biggest mistake is people put too much wrist movement into a cast, causing a wide loop which catches the wind, whereas they should be using other parts of their body more," Mr Walker said.
Women have an edge.
"They swivel on their hips. They don't put all that effort in that blokes tend to do. Less is more," Mr Walker said.
Mr Walsh said women were more graceful.
He warned men to prepare to be overshadowed by a lighter touch.
The only time he saw force well applied was from rugby league legend Mal Meninga.
Diplomats, doctors, tradies, international tourists and people completing their bucket list learn fly-casting skills at Rainbow Springs.
Mr Walsh said fly fishing's popularity was like golf's a decade ago when Tiger Woods was at his peak.
Like golfers, people perfecting their fly casting became fanatical.
"That's what makes clients come back and progress to the next level; be it from beginner to intermediate, intermediate to advanced, or general river angler to top gun," Mr Walsh said.
The cast is just the start. Selecting a fly, or matching the hatch is crucial, as is finding a fish.
Seeing mayfly in late spring and mudeye (dragonfly larvae) hatching on the property's homestead's stone walls close to water show fly fishers what to look for when matching the hatch for feeding trout.
Mr Walsh said looking out of the kitchen window in the early day, the fish were a joy to behold.
An overwhelming trend in fly fishing is catching and releasing the fish, and sharing that success on social media.
