On The Fly

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.

In Episode 10 of On The Fly we found ourselves in the gorge country of the Eucumbene River in the NSW snowy mountains. In that episode we had some success with Dave (from the darkside) catching his first fish on the fly but the story also drifted into bagging out on Steve for his lack of match fitness. We said we would head back again so Ben, Dave, Garren and Steve headed back to that same infamous stretch of river just before Christmas.

This time with two goals:
To continue to win Dave over from the darkside and for Steve, redemption.

We recorded this pod at the end of huge day fishing. If it sounds like someone is pouring glasses of vino at different points in the pod it must just be a glitch with our mic.

Hope you enjoy a few sore, yet satisfied fishos having a yarn in the Australian bush.

As well as being an outstanding guide and fly angler, Mike Kirkpatrick is an accomplished videographer and producer, which anyone who views his work would attest to. When we had the opportunity to get Mike on the pod to discuss some of his latest films: Insight: Trophy Quest and Chasing the Magic, we jumped at the chance. Come along for a great chat, you won’t be sorry!

Josh Hutchins the Aussie Fly Fisher himself is well known throughout Australia and beyond. An outstanding flyfishing guide photographer writer and businessman Josh can certainly do it all.

From humble beginnings in the blue mountains and central west of New South Wales Josh has certainly expanded his Horizon since those early days. With fishing destinations such as Thailand, Slovenia, Germany, Iceland,
and Mongolia not to mention destinations around Australia like Tasmania, The Wessel Islands and Exmouth Josh seems to be able to do it all.

In this pod cast we talk to Josh about all things Aussie Fly Fisher, coming out of lockdown, family and where it all began.

Lubin Pfeiffer from The Full Scale Fishing Adventures is one of Australia's most accomplished all round anglers. Current Aussie Team Member and Commonwealth Champion, he is also the guy that we follow on the socials that most consistently posts photos of what you might call trophy fish. Along with his wife Casey, Lubin travels the country documenting and sharing his fishing experiences. He has just returned to his home base in South Australia after an epic trip up the West Australian coast battling all manner of pelagic and reef species in what looked like the trip of a lifetime. With so much experience and enthusiasm for the sport we love, this episode is full of great yarns, tips and tactics, as well as plenty of laughs.

Carrying on the tradition of the famous Bronte Tie In, The Great Lake Tie In commenced in 2016 and is growing from year to year. It aims to share the traditions and techniques that make for great fly tying and involves some of Tasmania's legends of the sport. This episode, we are joined by Anna Bellette from the Great Lake Tie In steering committee who previews the event, and shares stories that ooze her passion for fly angling.

There are so many great fishing options in Tasmania and at the start of their season we speak to current Tasmania champion, and 2020 commonwealth bronze medalist, Chris Medwin who shares tips and techniques for the Western Lakes through to the picturesque rivers and streams of the Apple Isle.

Logan Reid drops by from Lockdown free Tassie where waters are open and shares his thoughts on the upcoming season and his first comp.

With the Greater Sydney Area about to enter it’s fourth week of lockdown Ben and Steve are going a bit stir crazy. What’s the cure? A late night zoom session with Erhan Cinar, Fly Fishing Legend from Victoria. A few yarns about fishing, comps and children’s pets and the location of their fly tying benches should snap them out of a lockdown funk.

In this Pod, we spend some time chatting to Casey Pfeiffer from her home base in South Oz. Casey is one of Australia’s most accomplished and passionate anglers. She finished seventh overall in the open division of the most recent Commonwealth Championships in New Zealand, and is a keen advocate for youth fly fishing throughout Australia through the Fly Fish Australia Youth Development Program. Along with her husband Lubin, Casey travels Australia in their trusty van, documenting their fishing adventures and writing for a variety of well known publications. She’s a brand ambassador for Manic Tackle Project, Essential Fly Fisher in Launceston and Yellow Sally angling wear. With such a long list of credentials, we were super keen to get Casey on the show for a chat.

Howard talks about how to approach new water, the top 3 features to look for on the river, nymph weight selection and of course, his first fish on the fly.

Join Ben (and Steve as he rings in) as he embarks on his long awaited foray into competition fishing: the people he met, the water he fished and the excitement of it all!

Our previous podcast had us interviewing Chris Huston in Tasmania prior to hosting the National Championships in April 2021. In this episode Chris reviews the comp, the methods, the beats and the results just a week later.

Chris Huston, President of Fly Fish Australia’s Tasmanian Chapter drops by amidst his busy schedule preparing to host and compete at the upcoming Aussie Nationals in Tasmania. Chris has some great insights to share as both an organiser and competitor as we preview this event.

For years now Ben and Steve have been working on Dave, a legendary lure fisherman, to ditch the lures and pick up a fly rod. And with this trip to the Snowy Mountains in NSW it seems they may have finally found success! Listen in to the story that includes snakes, rogue electric blankets, drone rescues, vomit, and plenty of fish on a challenging but beautiful stretch of river. Find out what happened to convert Dave from the dark side.

The SFFNZ National Rivers Championships were held recently and we just had to chat to the new champ Ollie Bassett. While his legs were still sore and the action still fresh in his mind, we unpack the win with Ollie and hear about some of the tanks he pulled out of the river.

Tom first represented Australia in competition fly fishing at the age of 18. He has been to 4 World Championships, finishing in the top 25 in each of those tournaments. Tom is a highly respected fly fisherman and a gentleman of the sport. In this episode Tom share some valuable advice when it comes to modern nymphing techniques. You don’t want to miss this one!

Ben and Steve talk to Ollie Bassett, New Zealand Youth Fly Fishing Team member, about growing up in New Zealand. We also hear about his exciting new venture ‘Champion Flies.’

Steve and Ben chat to Erhan from Victoria who shares some insights into the competition scene.

Join Ben, Ross and young gun Logan as they hike Dixon’s Track and fish some of the Bar Lakes system in Tassie’s beautiful western lakes wilderness region.

What would you do if you saw a Water Rat swimming straight for your mate? Find out what Ben did.

Ben, Steve and Tim head to the Snowy Valleys for a day trip and take you along for the ride.

You can plan for everything on a fishing trip, but you can’t control the weather. Ben and Steve talk about those wet days and making the most out of tough conditions (sharing some laughs along the way).

Ben and Steve think back to their first fish on fly and have a few laughs along the way.