[SteveD]

Gday all,
Have just been inspired to post by two new books from my home waters, Tasmania/Australia I received in recent months. None of you would stumble across them in your local book or fly stores, since at present they aren't sold here.
But if you fancy reading about far off places, trout on dry flies, and the characters who fish in other parts of the world, these are well worthwhile.

Consider this part of my personal campaign to introduce Australian fishing to the world hehehe

The first is written by a mate, who happens to be one of Australia's best fly fishing writers, Phil Weigall. His new effort "The Call Of The River" covers essays on fishing in his home waters of Victoria, Tasmania and particularly his New Zealand experiences as well as travel in northern Europe. I was reading this in Idaho this summer, and each night I could summon up the smell of the gum trees, the call of a kookaburra and the great trout fishing down under. A great read, particularly if you have a hankering for trout fishing down under
Its published by Penguin Australia.

Anyone known to his mates as "Trouty" has got to have his priorities right eh?? I don't know Greg "Trouty" French, only by reputation, his extensive writings and authorative guide books on Tasmanian fishing, and the fact we share a couple of friends. I'd always thought of him as a very knowledgable fisherman, no-one knows the vast Tasmanian wilderness fishery as well as Trouty but "Frog Call'' shows him to be a great writer and observer as well.
This book is many things, a story of his life in fly fishing told through tales of his mates and experiences, and particularly a look at the "spirituality of wildplaces" and the importance and difficultly of keeping them.
central to this is Greg's own philosophy as a "green" committed to Tasmanian wilderness, and his love for "feral": trout in that same wilderness, a conflict exposed through his dealings with other green thinkers.

Life fishing, sex, drinking, government bureacrats, children and dogs and the trials and tribulations of life are covered in an a very Tasmanian voice. It is a voice of my homeland to me, but it will resonate with you as well.

You can track them both down on the Net, (remember the Aussie dollar is worth about half of the US $) or through the great magazine Flylife www.flylife.com.au.

Cheers all

Steve

 

[Moved to another website]

Sounds like a good read Steve. Am always looking for additions to my library. I was browsing in a picture book in the fishing books at Barnes and Noble and saw some great looking pictures from somewhere in Australia. Also remember there is some Australian fly-fishing in the novel On The Beach.

 

[SteveD]

Quite simply the fly fishing in Australia is outstanding, and probably the last "undiscovered" fly fishery in a developed country as far as North Americans particularly.

Rememember Oz is one huge island so heaps of saltwater, and some truly unique unpressured wild trout fisheries in my home waters of Tasmania.

Saltwater stuff ranges from Croc Hunter territory in the top end and Queensland fishing for barramundi (cousin to the snook) and a heap of other great flyrod species you won't have heard off, to the offshore stuff with big jacks and tunas marlin. Actually a Florida angler caught 2 flyrod world record marlin in Oz this last summer. There is also some great beach/flats fishing in the norther states. You can also catch yellowtail in Sydney Harbor on fly

As for salmonids there is trout in the Snowy Mountains between Sydney and Melbourne, but the trout haven is Tasmania. 3000 plus lakes, who know how many riversand streams and just 19k licenced anglers including visitors, you don't see many people. The water is clear as a bell, the air is the cleanest in the world and a goodly part of the State is world heritage wilderness, without roads

The rivers are good, like mid-range rivers here, (we have one tailwater I would rate alongside theRailroad Ranch of the Henrys fork) but the lakes are world class. And Im not talking trolling a streamer in lakes, which bores me silly.

But wading and skiff based fishing to rising or crusing browns and rainbows, eating big mayflies, caenids, stoneflies beetles etc etc. I fished from October to April with dries and maybe a nymph on a dropper. The skiff fishing is more like saltwater skiff fishing for tarpon, stripers etc. Except you have a 5wt and are casting a size 10 dry to a 2-7 pound trout
Also Tassie has trout that tail like bonefish in the shallow, tail fully out of the water, and hunting those fish at dawn, kangaroos in the scrub around you is something to behold.

There is a big spread on YTassie in American Angler, but it seems they went too late in the season for the best of the fishing _ and dismissed the skiff fishing in lakes as boring _ which was pretty narrow minded. Yes skiff fishing can be easy if you just fish the water _ but only as boring as doing the same out of a drift boat on a river. But get with a good guide who can help introduce you too sightfishing for individual fish _ I spent a lot of time with my own boat doing that. Some of the Tassie techniques for finding fish on lakes would work extremely well over here, but no-one is doing it.

Anyway enough from me
anyone wants any more info on fishing in Australia post a message or email me

Cheers Steve

 

[Ricardo O.]

Steve, are you currently in Australia or here in the states?

 

[Madison]

Take me!!?? I have been trying to get to that part of the world for the last four years, ever since I met and fished with an Aussi on the North Fork of the Stillie. I dream of clear water and crusing or rising trout in rivers and lakes. Can my dreams come true in Oz. UNNO

 

[wa_flyfisher]

I fished the Australia countryside outside of Melbourne with a great "Bloke". This was the backup plan when guide in Tasmania overbooked and cancelled me. I was very much pleased with the outcoume. The guided trip we did cost $200 US for two full days, breakfast and lunch each day and living quarters for the night (sleeping bag in the sheep shearers quaters at a great little ranch)

These blokes were so incredibly cordial they took us out to a private steak dinner at the conclusion of our trip. Incredible.

Oh yes, the fishing was superb. The browns there grow an avg., yes avg. three pounds per year. We caught lots on damselfly patterns.

Read 'Year of the Angler' by Steve Raymond if you can't fish much. Almost as good as the real thing.

 

[SteveD]

Gday, glad to see some interest in Aussie fishing, something for all tastes there.

Yes Im in the US Roper, have been here for 18 months working as journalist (some fly fishing writing) which had taken me to lots of places including the HF, Silver Creek, Paradise Valley, Yellowstone, Big Hole Kodiak Island for Kings, big rainbows and silvers on the Kenai, Baja for roosters and snook. Been pretty damn lucky. Seen some great fishing, some crowded fishing, met some great people both blokes and sheilas (men and women if you want a translation). Have only seen seattle airport (too many times) but one of these days Ill get up that way.

I have a mate in Seattle who sells Australian fly fishing packages. Incidentally I was talking to a guy today with an airline who was interested in me hosting a couple of trips downunder this coming US winter for the dry fly action. Could be a load of p*&^ and wind but you never know.


Very sorry to hear about the double booking _ I won't ask for names but that was pretty ordinary I would have thought he would have put you with another reputable guide. There are a good bunch of great guides in Tasmania (only 3 lodges but all marvellous) but as with every field of life you get a few bozos. Glad you got looked after well in melbourne. If you were west of melbourne you might have ended up with Mark Weigall or indeed Phil himself (who run a great operation about an hour west). Big fat fish and damsels there. There is also a great tailwater, sort of like the Beaverhead, maybe a little larger 2 1/2 hours north-east of melbourne called the Goulburn.

YThe real bonus for you characters is that the Aussie dollar is half that of the US $. So you could stay in a 5-star hotel in Hobart for about the same price as a night in an average hotel in NYC $110 US. And you don't have to tip _ anywhere in Oz! What you see is what you pay _ unless you personally feel its worth it.

Conversely that means a Sage DS costs about $500 to aussies, not much shy of an XP price to us over here.