On The Fly Steve Walton

With the Tasmanian season set to kick off we were keen to chat to an expert, someone intimately connected to the Southern Hemisphere’s oldest trout fishery to get an in depth run down of the Tassie fishing calendar in anticipation of what lies ahead. Christopher Bassano has over 20 years guiding experience and has fished just about every piece of water that Tassie has to offer. He is renowned as one of the island’s most intuitive and experienced guides. He also has a long and successful career in competition angling, having represented Australia at Commonwealth and World championship level. If that wasn’t enough, Christopher now works for Tasmania’s Inland Fisheries Service on conservation and stocking programs, and he also outlines some of the great initiatives and programs they’ve been working on in the lead up to the season. For anyone gearing up for what Tassie has in store, tune in- this one’s a cracker!

Ollie jumps on a plane from New Zealand to catch up with mate Noah in Colorado. The boys hit up the rivers and lakes in the region and tell stories of their recent efforts in a multi-species competition, over-coming COVID and driving on the wrong side of the road. Listen to the yarns of the NZ River champ and the USA Youth Team member as they land monster trout and various other species on a great adventure in the US.

From the 4th to the 10th of July, History will be made in Rendalen Norway when the best female fly anglers from around the world compete in the first ever Fips Mouche World Ladies Fly Fishing Championships. Australia will field and incredibly strong team at this momentous event, and their strength lies in no small part to the experience and expertise of their team captain, Karen Brooks. Karen is one of Australia’s most accomplished fly anglers. A certified casting instructor and graduate of the Montana Fly Fishing school, Karen has spent over twenty years honing her talents around Australia and the world. You may even have seen Karen’s phot on the cover shot of the Meander River brochure published by Tassie’s inland fisheries. Along with her husband Peter, she is head guide at Driftwater in Tasmania, and when not guiding, she is mixing it with Australia’s best competition anglers in competitions around the country. She’s been on a hot run of late, with top 10 finishes in her last 3 competitions, including a 10th place finish at the recent National Championships in Victoria. With so much experience and expertise to share, we are super excited about the opportunity to chat to Karen on the pod.

We catch up with newly crowned National Fly Fishing Champ Daniel Ringer and third place Erhan Cinar as they reminisce about recent the Nationals in Victoria. This pod covers everything including tactics, teamwork, mate-ship and even how a couple of hot tub sessions may have given them the ultimate edge. Enjoy!

Gary Rapley moved to Australia from New Zealand when he was 20 and certainly adjusted to the Aussie conditions. A master casting instructor and President of Fly Fish Australia’s Victorian Chapter, Gary is well equipped to talk to us about the upcoming National Championships in Falls Creek.

Ben and Steve reflect on Ben’s recent trip to Tassie and the various water covered during his family holiday.