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And now back to fly fishing "on the road". Our first stop around the world is Australia and I had heard that the island state of Tasmania is an outstanding location for brown and rainbow trout. The Snowy Mountains on the mainland were once a spectacular fishery as well, but the drastic droughts of the last decade have severly damaged the fishing in this region. As a result, I decided to wait until arriving in Tasmania before I started fishing again. Click below to "Read More"...
While traveling around the mainland for the first 4 weeks, I got in contact with the owner of a great fly shop in Launceston, The Essential Fly Fisher. Once we arrived in "Tazzie", owner Ross set me up with some gear and pointed me in the direction of local guide Daniel Packett. Daniel took me on a tour of two great local rivers and walked me through the essentials of stalking brown trout in Tasmanian rivers. I can honestly say that I have never had my casting skills tested more. Daniel mentioned that most of his North American clients ask to switch from the distinct dry-fly stalk  to their more familiar fling-and-swing. Fishing the Pacific Northwest, I knew exactly what Daniel meant, so I took his comment as a challenge to stick with the commando-style stalking and precision upstream casting so necessary to really enjoy Tazzie rivers. Well, the work payed off significantly, as I have now spent several days on several of the best rivers in the state and the rewards have been more than I could ask. Of huge convenience was the fact that I have some distant relatives on Tasmania. The family has three large farm properties in the North Midlands region of Tasmania, an area containing arguably the best river fishing on the island state. We stayed for a week with Michael and Fiona in a beautiful farm house originally built in the mid 1800's. Not more than 200 metres away is the fabulous South Esk river, a definite fly fishing must-do here in Tas. The best part? This particalur farm property made several kilometres of the river inaccessible to anyone not staying at the farm itself! I had it all to myself.  In total, I had about 4 sessions exploring this great stretch of water and every one of them was a great success. The prize for me was a 1.5 - 2 kilo (3-4+ pounds) brown trout that I stalked in the shallows for over 30 minutes. I had to be so stealthy that smaller fish actually swam around my legs in the flooded grass that I was using for cover. My casts were so soft and "fragile" (for lack of a better term) that they stuck around quite close to me. Normally, brown trout here bolt at the first sign of anything large or moving. Very, very easily spooked! The big brown was taking advantage of the flooding river to forage in the top few inches of water right at the edge of the bank. The rising water releases a lot of feed from the grassy banks and the larger trout know that it is an easy and filling meal. It took me many attempts, but eventually I landed a nymph right at the edge of the pool and waited. I had a dry emerger tied on as well as an indicator (no actual indicators at that moment), so I was going blind trying to stare at this tiny fly on the surface at the other side of the pool. I had to recast every couple of minutes to replace the fly at the edge, waiting for my brown to finally see it.  At about the point where my ass and right leg went numb from crouching for so long, I saw my dry fly dip follow the surface. Bang! and I was tied into the largest brown I had seen yet. I immediately realized that my 5 lb line was about to be severly tested... after two big jumps and three runs that I was certain would break the line, this brown finally came to a rest in the grass at my feet. I had to get a picture so I set my auto-timer and took this horrible pic. Always remember to clear any grass in front of the lens when taking auto-timer shots! Aaargh. Oh well. Outside of the excellent fishing, the rest of the blend between farming and nature makes for lots of excitement while fishing these rivers. Highlights include: - Being chased by two bull beef cattle into the Macquarie River. I still have no idea what I did that pissed them off so badly. They came from several hundred metres away just to chase me.
- Tiger Snakes. These very poisonous snakes love the river banks this time of year and creeping around stalking fish is a great way to encounter these animals. Remember: scan the river, scan your feet, scan the river, scan your feet...
- Wallabies. Small kangaroos. Initially scared off by your presence, they become quite curious after a while. Especially once you settle into crawling around the grassy banks looking for fish. A mother and her baby "joey" came to check me out one day, sitting relatively close to me while I covered this one particular pool.
- Wombats. A nocturnal marsupial most of the time, these "pig-bears" dig some impressive tunnels. Don't fall in!
- Platypus. Every tourist to Tasmania is told of how rare and difficult it is to encounter the Platypus. Well, here's a tip. Go fly-fishing on the South Esk River. No shortage of platypus sightings here, as I saw them every day. Under my feet, through my legs, behind my back... everywhere. The closest encounter? While staying perfectly still deciding on tactics for a nice 18 inch brown in the "picnic pool" (as I called it), a platypus surfaced just 2 metres away from me. It stared with it's bizarre orange eyes (probably an effect of my polarized lenses) and decided I was a tree or something harmless. It then swam up and began digging around my feet with it's bill, foraging for the crayfish and grubs that constitute its regular diet. Frozen for a moment in disbelief, I decided what-the-hell and stroked it's rolly-polly back that was floating above the surface. That got it's attention. With a big flip and splash it tore off for deeper water and safety, leaving me dripping wet and giddy with excitement about all the great opportunities I get wandering these rivers. When I returned to the hostel that night, Claire had spent part of her day at "Platypus World", a research facility that is really the only place to guarantee an encounter with a Platypus. She told me that I have been ridiculously lucky to encounter these animals and that the male has a deadly spike on it's back legs that can kill a human easily. Apparently, that spike is more poisonous than any snake venom. Message received: no more petting the platypus.
If, for any reason, you find yourself in Australia, I would highly encourage an additional trek to Tasmania. For us, it's been a huge highlight and I could happily spend another month here. If you plan to fish, here's a VERY important tip. Australia, especially Tasmania, is very concerned about invasive species. We're not just talking about frogs here. Your gear will be confiscated unless it is spotless and dry and, even then, Customs may take it for a little chemical bath just to make sure you are not packing the dreaded "didymo". To make life easier, decide to buy waders here or find a lodge that will rent you the gear. We're off to New Zealand next and that country is already infected with didymo in some rivers. Regardless, they are equally strict about fishing gear, so be sure to make your stuff look like new before heading off. Here's the rest of the fishing photos from Tasmania. Next article: New Zealand.
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