FlyLife Australia & New Zealand — Winter 2017

(lu) #1

(^34) FLYLIFE
lots of time out west. Some signs of
this transition in the afflicted may
include being swamped with nostalgia
when just thinking about the reflec-
tions of twisted pencil pines on the
surface of a small clear tarn, with
verges of sphagnum moss, cushion
plants and pineapple grass. Or admir-
ing the small white flowers and red
seed pods from a sparse ground-cover
of mountain rocket, when a large
vase of flowers on the table back at
home was not even noticed. If the
feeling of spiky scoparia and alpine
heath caught up in socks and protrud-
ing from the raw band of exposed,
sun-burned legs between gaiters and
shorts brings a smile rather than a gri-
mace, then the transition is probably
permanent.
TIME & PLACE
My own search has probably been
much the same as for many dead-
enders. Every summer has been spent
keeping an eye on the weather charts,
looking for the perfect high pres-
sure systems to hover over Tasmania,
bringing clear blue skies and light
winds. Trip reports of not many fish
caught or seen, despite perfect con-
ditions, do not do much to impress
friends and family. But every now and
then a bigger than usual fish is landed
and draws a little respect. Some lovely
fish of 4–6 lb are frequent enough
when searching lots of lakes in ideal
conditions. On a few occasions, a real
monster has been seen, but perhaps in
an uncatchable situation.
It seems like everything has to go
right even just to get a shot at a really
big one. Something that has particu-
larly and repeatedly hit home is that
it is not only about finding the right
place, but also being there at the right
time. A perfect lake might be discov-
ered, but there may be no trout in it
that year. Or there may be a monster
there, but it may have cruised out
from the bank minutes too late, or
been missed as a cloud covered the
sun at the critical moment.
One example for me was spotting a
thumping big fish... in a FlyLife article
(FL#78). You probably spotted that
one too, but I recognised the very
small lake it was caught in, and had
checked it out two weeks before the
lucky dead-end searcher caught that
big one. I did catch a great fish in
that lake, but the big one must have
been hiding under one of the banks at
the time. So there is no substitute for
spending more time out west — the
more times you walk past the right
lakes, the more likely you are to one
day cross paths with a really big fish.
THE MORE TIMES YOU WALK PAST THE RIGHT LAKES,
THE MORE LIKELY YOU ARE TO ONE DAY CROSS PATHS WITH A REALLY BIG FISH.
Dead-Enders... continued
Camping beside instream lakes allows time for the dawn session on glorious days like this.
The right place at the right time.
GREG FRENCH

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