The first cast back, or is it the first back cast! Anyway it was a great moment.

To many flyfishers this may just look like a cast on a river somewhere, but to my long standing (make that wading) client Gerald it was something he had been working on for over a year. Because since his last trip down, in our previous season, he has had his left foot amputated to the heel!

Now Gerald loves fly fishing Tasmania; the small streams, light gear and delicate presentation, ‘good presentation Rog, that’ll get one out’ I can hear him saying. No easy way out on the boats for him, if he was going to fish for wild browns then it was stalking or nothing!

With a special prosthesis fitted into his waders and an oversized boot he was ready.

He was also determined to do a two-dayer if possible, the plan being day 1, warm up, day 2, action!

Day 1 resulted in a couple of little ones on the nymph and a nice one lost on the dry — but day two brought five good wild browns to hand, all on the dry, three dropped adn a couple of other misses. Well done Gerald! Look out wild browns next season!

It is pleasing to see the increase in couples enjoying flyfishing Tasmania while holidaying down under down under. Here, Noah and Sarah had a beautiful day to hone their dry fly techniques and get some nice wild browns to hand.

First up Noah gets some weight on the line early in the day on this tight spot, while later on Sarah’s big grin reflects her joy and reward for her perserverance and improved presentation skills with a good one of her own on the PB ‘hopper pattern’s.

Garry (father of Matthew) had a day out on his own with Red Tag and had a ball. There must be something, as well as the trout, in our water that brings out the best in these Queenslanders.

Not only did Matthew star on a later trip (see Matthew’s Monster below) but here Garry gets a first class wild brown (around the 3lb mark) on the trial Stalker series #2wt Red Tag is testing for Pro Angler!

With some skillful rod work, good tackle and quick thinking Garry finally got this lovely fish to hand — another one on the pink bum ‘hopper.

Very taken with this prototype from Pro Angler and the boys tell me they will have a 6’ 6” or 6’ 9” model in the next season’s range — keep your eys open for them, they are little gems!

After a cool morning start and some presentation practice, Zoe gets into the swing of things.

Having travelled all the way from southern England to Tasmania, she couldn’t resist the temptation to try and pick up a wild brown trout or two on the fly.

This one was headed for the dinner table.

I think Zoe was toast of the diningroom back at her digs with this one.

As I explained, the only way you can taste a wild brown trout in Tasmania is catch your own!

Dry fly enthusiasts Anthony and Brendan, shown casting above, ex internationals now from Queensland, had a top first up introduction to Tasmania fly fishing for wild browns with something like 30 odd fish to the fly and 15 to hand between them.

It again shows how the dry and mild autumns are extending our quality fly fishing into the last month of the season.

All fish to hand were on the dries and the majority of those on ‘hopper patterns.

Red Tag’s introductory fly fishing workshop was just what Martin had been looking for, judging by the results from his two day/two nights package with us.

After the regulation ‘on grass’ gear set up and casting session, it was onto the water at Currawong for for the first ‘still water’ intro period.

Martin soon got the ‘feel’ of both casting and trout. This was one of three good rainbows to hand and a couple more opportunities in the first water session.

He kept up the improvement and results on the next days river introduction with some five to hand from a dozen or more to the fly.

Best fish by a Red Tagger on fly (est.5+kgs) — longest tussle to hand (approx. 90mins) — biggest grin (probably still there) — over 30” or 75cms in length.

Having had a previous, quite successful, trip with me in April, Matthew and his dad Garry were so keen to go again so they bribed me out of the one-day birthday break I had planned with a rather nice red (went down very well with a roast the other night thanks guys).

Matthew had heard of the escapee salmon down south and was keen to have a go at them.

After whetting their appetite on a few wild browns on the dry pre-lunch we headed for a piece of water I thought might hold a salmon or two. Changed to a wet fly (whitebait imitation), increased rod weight to a #6 and thought it prudent to up the tippet to 2.7kg from the 5X we had been running.

Pointed Matthew (in what I thought) was the right direction and started off to help out Garry.

Had not gone a dozen paces when there is this great commotion behind me a cry of ‘Roger help! what do I now?’

Turning to see a massive fish a metre out of the water, Matt with eyes on stalks, screaming reel and a petrified grin, my first, non-uttered thought was panic!), however some sanity prevailed and ‘keep rod tip up, slightly increase drag pressure and stay calm’ actually came forth.

Then as the colour of the reel’s arbor was rapidly being exposed by disappearing backing that was followed by ‘turn after it, take off downstream to make up line, try to lead it into some gentler water’

For the next hour or more, we saw most of the 50+ meters backing for longer than I thought safe, covered something like 150 metres downstream trying to gain some sort of control with the reel literally ‘running hot’ and Matt’s right arm turning to jelly.

Finally after nearly 90 minutes we got this magnificent female salmon in the net. And, as you can see in the photo above, they released her safely.

Les from Scotland unfortunately drew the weather god’s short straw for dry fly fishing Tasmania the day after the new record.

Clear sky, 30°C+ by mid-afternoon and the hot northerlies we get with it.

No fun for us or the trout this day.

However Les still managed a lively good sized wild brown on the dry fly emerger and had other takes to brighten up an otherwise very tough day.

Hopefully he can make it back for a better day before he has to go back home.

Darby came down to Tasmania with two key goals – to get a better understanding of lake margin fishing (importance of structures, tailing fish, patrolling trout etc) fly fishing and, to tune up presentation skills on the rivers and moving waters.

I think he has got ‘onto’ the hang of things, above, quite well and soon had this good quality brown, below, shown being returned.

Then the river skills passed muster with this lively stream brownie to the net.

Early March saw Trevor, an attendee at our Geelong Pro Angler Tasmania night try his hand at our Tasmanian stream fly fishing.

I think he was pleasantly surprised, certainly got a good number of wild browns to the fly and some nice fish to hand.

He has already locked in a return trip early next season.