Peter adds a bit extra to his reflections on the last 3 decades – and some thoughts on the future.

My review in recent columns of the last 30 years of Tasmanian flyfishing, got me thinking about some other wins and losses – and also future directions.

Girls Gone Fly Fishing

Nine years ago, I put on a women-only flyfishing weekend at Hayes on Brumbys. We called the event ‘Girls Gone Fly Fishing’. We started a public Facebook group which now has 868 members.

The Girls Gone Fly Fishing events certainly ramped up the interest in flyfishing (and competition flyfishing for that matter) for many female participants. Fast forward just a few years, and these women have done us proud. At the Commonwealth Championships held in Scotland last year, Jules Stevens won a silver medal and Karen Brooks won the gold. This is a big deal for Australian flyfishing.

Following on from that, just recently the women’s team won the bronze medal at the World Championships held in the Czech Republic. This is the first medal Australia has won at world level since our men’s team won the bronze in England in 2000. This is really a HUGE deal. Go girls!

Cane (and fibreglass) rod resurgence

During this past decade, thanks mainly to Bamboo Dave Hemmings, and world’s best cane rod maker, Nick Taransky, there has been a marked resurgence in the making and using of cane rods. Perhaps to a lesser degree but just as interesting, is the rekindled interest in fibreglass rods.

Cressy Cane was Dave’s baby and he has nurtured this event to the point where it is truly an international event of the highest standard. Cressy Cane has attracted renowned international guest presenters like Bob Clay, Jeff Wagner and Naoto Shibuya. The event is now conducted annually not just at the Hayes on Brumbys lodge in Tasmania, but in Ohakune in New Zealand.

I truly believe that the makers involved at Cressy Cane are leading the world in the art of modern bamboo rod making.

Federation of Fly Fishers International

For me, this past decade has been one of much winter travel, where I have been teaching and examining casters for the FFI Casting Instructor program. Classes and events in Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, China, USA, New Zealand and South Africa, have meant that there are many more world-class fly-casting instructors about. This has to be good for the industry.

I am proud to say that Australia is punching way above its weight in this area, and there are now many great instructors in most states.

Windfarms

Like it or not, windfarms are coming – in fact they have come and there will be more. For several years now, the Cattle Hill windfarm has been in operation in the highlands. You can see some of the turbines from a small area whilst boat fishing on Penstock lagoon.

A further, and potentially larger development, is proposed for St Patricks Plains, and many of its turbines would be visible from most parts of Penstock. A group of anglers and Penstock shack owners are fighting this development.  But whether it’s this windfarm or others, there’s a certain inevitability about the presence of Tasmanian windfarms in general. If that’s the case, perhaps they also present an opportunity.

The windfarm companies contribute a percentage of the profit generated by each turbine to a community fund annually. What if the Inland Fisheries Service got together with the angling community, and accessed some these funds to re-establish the old Trout Habitat Fund? What if the funds were then used to rehabilitate the once famous Shannon Lagoon fishery? With the lagoon long beset by severe turbidity, how would it be if we had a greatly-improved and potentially world-class fishery smack bang in the centre of Tasmania? Would it help take the pressure of the surrounding fisheries like Penstock?

How would it be if the fishery was designed by flyfishers, for flyfishers? There could be long islands helping to block the prevailing winds, planted with native vegetation. These would form windbreaks for anglers and bugs alike. They would also provide wave breaks to reduce turbidity and give a more pleasant boat fishing experience.

There could be shallow wading bars and footbridges between some islands, so that the fishable shoreline of the lagoon would be greatly increased, thereby accommodating more wade fishers and improving personal space.

The regulations could change to ensure good quality fishing for generations to come; for example, no drifting boats dragging drogues through weed-beds. Anchored boat fishing only. Oh, and while we are on the subject, how about allowing only rowed boats or those propelled by electric motor? (It is 2024 after all.)

Perhaps gravel spawning beds in Burburys Creek could be improved, with an adjacent boardwalk and interpretive shelter. Maybe a strategic waterfall for the fish to jump up. How cool would that be for anglers and tourists alike to visit in winter. Right on the side of the main road to Hobart! It would help put a positive focus on the value of trout in Tasmania to the public in general, and give our trout some deserved reverence.

A project like this could be a win for Inland Fisheries and Hydro Tasmania, hopefully forming a precedent for great things to come.

It’s not impossible and we are not re-inventing the wheel here. It was just 27 years ago that Inland Fisheries was partly responsible for creating the Four Springs fishery just out of Launceston. This has proved to be one of Tasmania’s best-ever fisheries. Designed by anglers, for anglers. Maybe we could do it again.

Recent Losses

The last decade has been notable for the passing of some flyfishing greats.

In 2015 Muz Wilson stopped tying his wonderful, creative, practical, innovative flies.

John Philbrick died a few years back. Thankfully I’ve still got a dozen or so of his nymphs, and even some pre-mixed seals fur dubbing he once gave me. John was a thinker and an innovator, and more or less the inventor of modern day wade polaroiding. One of John’s last communications with me was via an email he sent from Spain. He said he had found the holy grail of polaroiding with a dry fly. John was catching dozens of polaroided barbel from a guide’s boat on crystal-clear reservoirs using his dry flies. He commented that it was polaroiding heaven. John was not easily impressed… by anything, and he would not have said that lightly. I must get to do that one day.

This world is certainly a lesser place with the passing of the great Bill Beck. The guided fishing industry in Tasmania will never be the same without him. He is greatly missed by those that knew him.

Just recently, Jason Garrett has gone to the dry fly fishery in the sky. Jason was a great man with a vision, and an icon in Tasmanian flyfishing. Only Jason could have created London Lakes, and he did it well.

In summary

Many clients have fished with me now for 30 consecutive years. There is very little space in my diary for new players. We are all getting older, both my clients and me. Perhaps we are getting wiser, and we are certainly more discerning. There is a focus on quality rather than quantity. Sight-fishing above all else. Preferably with a single dry fly on a lightweight rod. In some instances, with a cane rod and preferably from a more intimate, smaller wooden drift boat.

The fishing pressure in Tasmania has increased markedly and the available good fishing options/ locations are decreasing, which simply adds to the pressure I feel each day that I head out to work.

However, life goes on. It is clear that over the decades, my long-term clients and I have become wonderful, rock-solid, lifelong friends. We have matured in age and in spirit. We are better observers of nature and we fit into it more naturally, working with it. We are technically better casters and more intuitive fishers. I think we are all enjoying the journey more. Most importantly, we are better and closer friends – which might actually be the point of it all.