FIRST REPORT
Hi Everyone,
I thought I would send you all a quick email from Europe as I had
promised I would. As you will know, the team arrived in Norway this
morning for two weeks of practice before the official competition
week.
Unfortunately, I have been unable to join them in Mosjoen as I have
been unwell and in hospital since Saturday. It turned out that I had a
bad case of gastro and my antibiotics seem to be doing the job. As I
am currently in Wales, I will join the team in the evening of the 4th of
August.
The last three weeks have been rather remarkable. I have been lucky
enough to fish in France, Slovenia, England and Wales with my very
good friend, Tim Strong. We have been lucky enough to spend time on
the water with world renowned fly fishermen and guides who have
taught us a tremendous amount about river craft with an emphasis on
Grayling fishing. The learning curve has been steep! Jean-Pierre
Coudoux was our first instructor, guiding us on the beautiful Dordogne
River. He is a dry fly purist and 'teacher' of the French National Team
when it comes to dry fly fishing. The people, food, fishing and fly life
were all fantastic. After a few days we then headed south to Yannick
Rivierre where we fished the beautiful and fish filled L'Aude River.
Grayling and trout abound in this river but they are not easy. This was
just the sort of fishing we were hoping to find. Yannick's instruction
was again first class as put into practice the techniques and theories
he had lectured us on during his November Seminars in Tasmania last
year. Once again, our level of ineptitude was evident but by the end of
our stay with him, both Tim and I had progressed markedly. I can not
help but mention that Tim broke off the largest Grayling I have ever
seen in my life on the final afternoon. It was massive!
Our final stop in France was outside Grenoble on the Italian border.
Fishing with Jann Caleri (aka. "The Gladiator") was once again, eye
opening. Jann has fished in seven world fly fishing championships or
France making the top ten five times! In his own words and with the
wonderful sense of humour he posses, he said, "I have never finished
on the podium individually and that is why nobody has ever heard of
me." Two fourth places wasn't too bad and no doubt the two gold
team medals and umpteen silvers at that level would ease the pain.
The fishing here was different again. Mostly sight fishing to smaller
fish in large rivers, this as a little closer to what the Australian Team
might find at the worlds in Bosnia in 2015. Fish were harder to locate
and the extreme heat which had followed us around France continued
with temperatures in the mid to late 30's. Only two days with Jann
was never going to be enough and many of the photos I took of our
time together are some of the best so far. He is a sight casting
specialist and a man of tremendous talent with an uncomplicated but
thorough view of how to catch fish. His hospitality was again a
highlight with he and his lovely girlfriend going out of their way to
cater for us.
To say that these guys are good anglers would be an enormous
understatement. From France we trained across Italy to Slovenia.
I could not do the fishing and scenery in Slovenia and France any
justice in an email. The superlatives would run out and this, after
having fished Slovenia three times in the past. Tim consistently caught
some very large Grayling and managed a Marble Trout of over three
pounds on the famous Soca River in front of a critical audience of
onlookers!! This was a true highlight. For me, the catching and
releasing of a Grayling 51cm long was truly wonderful. It was caught
on a small dry fly and fought into the darkness of the night on
extremely light tippet (around 2lb breaking strain). A fish of over 50cm
is considered a trophy and although I had managed many in the upper
"40's", this was a true behemoth. Catching fish alongside rafters and
canoeists was new which had a novelty value I never tired of.
We stayed at Villa Nobles with a fly tying legend called Branco
Gasparin. I may have his surname incorrectly here! HE would have to
be one of the worlds leading fly tiers and as innovative as anyone I
have ever seen. Again, Tim and I could not believe how easy he made
things look and his short cuts were impressive. If this wasn't a major
highlight then his wife's cooking certainly was. The Europeans know
how to eat! It helps if you like bread. Tim felt obliged to try some of
Branco's home brew for breakfast on the last morning. It looked like
syrup and smelt like it wasn't far off metho but Tim assures me that it
tasted very good. Perhaps this is the reason why he did not suffer
from a stomach bug a couple of days later and I did!
In England, John Horsey was also kind enough to spend a day on Chew
Valley lake with Tim and me, helping us get our heads around catching
"stocked" rainbows in bright, calm conditions. As Australia have not
been wonderful at this in the past during world championships, this
was a fabulous opportunity to learn from someone who is widely
regarded as the worlds best lake angler.
A day on a Norfolk chalk stream with English fly fishing author, Charles
Rangely Wilson brought a different pace to our otherwise hectic
schedule. Trying to learn as much as possible in as shorter a time as
possible can be draining. The fishing with Charles was somewhat
reminiscent of casting dry flies in the head waters of many Tasmanian
streams. The only difference being that some fish were well over a
pound and the water as clear and weed choked as the photos of
famous test... on a micro scale! Charles is a wonderful angler and
manages to remain the minimalist we would all like to be while on the
water.
It is a shame that it culminated in me spending five days lying on my
back in pain but was well and truly worth it.
The hotel in which the Australian team is staying in Norway has wifi. I
will attempt to send an email out as regularly as possible to you all and
let you know how things are going. A shorter, more condensed version
will be on Facebook if I do not get the time every night. If there is
anyone who you feel should be included in my reports, please feel free
to let me know and I will add them to the list.
I would like to thank Julien and Alana Thomas for their tremendous
help in organising our trip through mainland Europe and for hosting
magnificently. Thank you too to all of those I have mentioned above. I
will be back.
On a more personal level, my wife and little girl have been home
without me for three weeks trying to organise insurance after our
shack flooded. Through all of this, our little Sage has started to walk! I
am very upset that I was not there to see the first few steps but no
doubt I will be cursing it in a few months time.
Currently, I am in Wales, staying with another good friend, Phil Price.
Phil is a regular member of the Welsh Fly Fishing team and visited
Tasmania for the Commonwealth Championships two years ago. He is
looking after me very well and am presently trying to convince him to
take me out to the Wye for a few Grayling this afternoon. He is having
none of it but I will wear him down!
I hope this email finds you all well and I will be in touch whenever
possible.