Fishing Australia

After a being brought to my knees by a bout of gastro and having been attacked by leeches while I took a break on forest floor in between vomiting, I was finally on the road to recovery and my fortunes were taking a turn for the better. I was weary but just good enough to cast a fly…a leech pattern fly crossed my mind…but I had come to fish dry flies and spitefulness would’ve only slowed me down.  Tarraleah based guide, Rob Aitkenhead agreed dry was the go and given I was a little too weak to kayak properly, we used his 5 metre boat. 

The fishing at Lake King William was very interesting.  The lake was typical of any lake around the world with a drowned, timbered shoreline in that there was lots of horizontal and vertical timber along the edges.   It was a scenario that begged to be covered with lures, but never underestimate a trout's eye for something that matches the hatch and their ability to sense the vibration of even the smallest dry fly, droppingg on the water.  

A tiny little size 14 Glister Tag on the dropper, followed by a size 16 Emerger on the point had trout materializing behind the fly every 20 casts or so.  

The fly would draw them from many metres away; which was both enlightening and awesome to watch.  Most lookers had a swipe of some sort if you could maintain your stealth and cool for long enough.  

To add to the excitement, if you spotted a trout rising further along the bank a well placed cast would almost always draw a strike!  The anticipation was delectable. This was great fishing for wild brown trout in anyone’s books!

Our guide suggested much shorter, five (5) to ten (10) metre casts than I am used too; and I now agree.  So do a lot of newcomers to flyfishing who catch their first trout on fly with Mr Aitkenhead.  You can time the strike much better and it is great fun when you can see the fish so clearly thanks to their close proximity.

We caught about a dozen trout, most around 28cm with the biggest rainbow about 45cm and the biggest brown about 38cm. Apparently, this was only an average day on the lake but regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed the style and excitement of the fishing we experienced.  Add in the back drop of Mt King William and a lake we had to ourselves and we were in flyfishing nirvana.  

That night I learnt my kids back home had gastro, so now I was being treated by my crew as a disease-ridden carrier.  I could have easily had a lot of fun with this were I not so keen to spend my time sorting through the hundreds of new lures that I had planned to test on the local trout.

Early the next morning, my crew and I had a good look around the township of Tarraleah.  This fascinating place used to house some 3,000 people when it was the HQ of the Tassie Hydro Scene in the 1930’s.

When the project was finished, most people eventually left and the town became derelict despite the awesome houses and solid infrastructure.  In more recent times a developer came along and brought the whole town for half a million bucks and started polishing her up.

Now Tarraleah is perhaps best described as a sort of HQ for fishing in the Central Highlands of Tasmania with unmatched amenities such as an awesome combined general store and tackle shop, two cafes, a 5-star restaurant, the amazing Highlander Arms Hotel, a gym, squash court, playground, bbq, pavilion, hall, church, weather station and even a private flycasting lake loaded with Atlantic Salmon.  

The accommodation ranges from the caravan parks and single-mens quarters, to the charming and roomy, mid-range cottages loaded with history.  In fact, the cottage we stayed in was built in the 1930’s to house the superintendant of the hydro scheme.  It was mind blowing to read about the local history by the open fire each night.

If you really wanted to spoil your better half there is the Lodge, which is rated in the top-60 in the world; even a peek and a brief day dream is recommended.
 
To add to the town's charm everything is linked together by some golfing green like lawns that were expansive enough to give you plenty of room and privacy, yet secure enough that no one ever locks their cars.   Everyone commented that they feel welcomed by the people of Tarraleah, and I felt the same vibe.

It will probably become a heritage town due to its history, but I prefer to think of the place as a ‘trout campus’ set smack bang in the middle of the Central Highlands.  Like-minded anglers will fall in love with this place, real quick.  

Next week, I launch a kayak and explore “secret lake” in a quest to find some even better fishing that Tassie has to offer.

See you on the water.
Rob Paxevanos

Special thanks to Tourism Tasmania (discovertasmania.com), Rob Aitkenhead, everyone at Tarraleah (www.tarraleahlodge.com), Budget Hire Cars, and the Inland Fisheries Service of Tasmania