September 2012 - April 2013 Introducing Rod!

Rod and I fished together 30 years ago. After the Maestro taught me some tricks, I badgered Rod enough to stir the fire which had almost gone out. He's back. Casts like a ripper and now knows enough to catch a trout in the K.P. He's off his duck!

Bon Accord Track

In the afternoon I took him to another favourite strip of the Ovens and we not only caught plenty but also saw a couple of friends along the way.

Fishing Harrietville with Huddo.

Australia Day weekend we took Huddo to Harrietville for a couple of days on the river. Beautiful conditions and we had a ball. Huddo took his first fish on a dry fly and was rapt, hooked forever! 

A new season begins!

A winter of fly-tying finally comes to an end. I have plenty to use and after a number of trips with Denis to our favourite streams the pictures tell the story of a great season of fishing.

Cabin fever - year 2

After a couple of seasons enjoying some success on my two favourite rivers, I faced the realisation that winter time is really long and hard to manage. Cabin fever is a terrible thing when all you want to do is wake up to a great sunny still day and go and catch a fish. I was looking for a distraction and the footy wasn't cutting it for me. I remembered how much I enjoyed tying flies years ago, so I dug out my old vice and found some silk. A trip to the local tackle shop, another into Turville's and yet another to the Compleat Flyfisher and I had enough supplies to begin some basic flies. Royal Wulffs, Humpys and Coachman were the order of the day. Tied some horrible looking flies, but after a lot of practice I began to get it right. Proportions, whip finishes and really clumsy fingers made it difficult enough, but being old and blind made it even harder. Had to buy a magnifier as well to help. Here are some of the better ones for public display.

Denis bagged a monster !

Leading up to the Wangaratta Gift, Denis and Bev had a holiday in Harrrietville. Denis walked a stretch of the Ovens near Freeburgh and caught a large brown trout on a size 14 red Humpy. He said it was as long as his lower leg but didn't really measure it. So we were both given small tape measures to help keep track of the fish we caught. As a momento for Denis I thought I'd make him a net to help him land the next monster he caught. I tried a laminated timber net after following some instructions I found on line.

Closer to home

After enjoying the North East for quite a few trips with Denis, I needed somewhere closer to home for a quick trip. Found the King Parrot again after a long time away and this began a different type of fly fishing. Different because the creek has mostly brown trout in it and they are difficult to catch in the K.P. A range of flies are used and I found I needed to be ready to change flies more often than in the N.E.

The first trips to the river

These yielded about 30 trout between us all taken on dries. Favourite fly was either a Royal Wulff or a Humpy. Red in colour and either a size 14 or sometimes a larger size 12 was used. Most trout were rainbows which fought really well on our three weight rods, with the occasional brown thrown in. I was addicted.

Howard's Bridge, Harrietville

This is where it all started for the second time. When I was young I was very keen. Not that successful, but keen to learn and spent a lot of time wading rivers trying to catch trout on a fly. After I married I put it all away while we managed our family. My Christmas present in 2003 was a couple of days with a guide in the Tasmanian highlands fly fishing. What a sensational present. Didn't do much after that until one day in January 2008, when I met the Maestro. He introduced me to the mighty Ovens River at Harrietville and taught me a few of the finer points of fly fishing. I believe I knew 95% of what he told me, but the other 5% now accounts for a lot of fish.