Swandives

What do stream fishermen do when the season’s ending, the trout are spawning and the long wait for spring and the return of river fishing begins? Why, they plan their next fishing trip and attend fly fishing film festivals!

Australia is better-known for its outback wilderness and, with a sea-girt coastline, it’s not surprising that salt water fishing dominates. But the story of the introduction of trout and salmon to the waters of the southern hemisphere is, like so many of the really interesting aspects of our history, largely unknown to most Australians.

Fortunately, Tasmanians and the good folk at Gin Clear Media have told the tale in a way that is guaranteed to have any fly fisherman drooling at the prospect of fishing in Tasmania. The Source - Tasmania is the feature at this year’s RISE Fly Fishing Film Festival. It begins at the beginning - in 1864 when Sir James Youl successfully orchestrated the introduction of more than 100,000 salmon and trout to the River Plenty. No mean feat in the days when refrigeration was practically non existant. The third time’s a charm, as they say; Youl had two unsuccessful attempts before he hit on the magic formula - packing ova in moss in the ship’s ice-house. The trip took 91 days but the surviving eggs went on to become the source of the trout population in Australia and New Zealand.

Fast forward 145 years and recreational trout fishing in Australia is big business. In the Snowy Mountains region of New South Wales alone, it is estimated to inject $70 million a year into the local economy and support 700 jobs.

But it’s Tasmania that literally shines in this film. If you weren’t planning a fishing trip before seeing the movie, you will afterwards. Corny as it sounds, it makes you realise what an incredible country we live in and fishing lets us see it at its most beautiful.

Film maker Nick Reygaert hosted the evening at the Palace Cinema in Leichhardt. His perspectives on filming and fishing were fabulous. And it wasn’t hard to tell the film festival goers from the ordinary film buffs - as we walked up the stairs, snatches of conversation swirled through the room like flies caught in a back eddy. They were all about fishing; when, where, how big, the rig, the fly, the fight. Just thinking about it makes me long for those clear mountain streams. But if your motto is along the lines of Work to Live, Live to Fish, then hopefully the clip below will help tide you over until the next outing.