On Sunday, 18th June, 2017, I was invited to address a rally in Hobart protesting against a proposed industrial-scale salmon farm at Okehampton Bay, on the island state’s iconic east coast. You can read more about the background to this divisive issue here. Below is a transcript of my speech to the 1,000-plus folks from across the political and social spectrums who attended this powerful demonstration of people power, dubbed “FloatMo” by its organisers: “Unlike the vast majority of you here today, I’m not a Tasmanian. This is not an issue that’s literally in my backyard. Instead, I’m one of those million-plus visitors who come to this beautiful island each year from the mainland and all over the world. “I love my regular visits to Tasmania, whether I’m wading a trout stream or lake edge with a fly rod in my hand, flicking a lure for a wily bream here in the Derwent River or — as I was yesterday — trolling for tuna in the shadow of those awesome cliffs south of Eaglehawk Neck… There’s so much to love about Tasmania! “So, while this might not be my backyard, I do feel very connected to this place, especially after dozens of visits across several decades. And I feel that I’m qualified to tell you a little bit about what it is that brings people like myself to this island state to spend our tourist dollars. “For me (and, I suspect, for many others) it’s about the “wildness” of the place: “wildness”, but not necessarily wilderness. This “wildness” has been lost in so many other parts of the world. For many of us who visit Tasmania, it’s all about the feeling of being somewhere that has largely escaped the worst ravages of rampant development. “It’s the clean,...

North American-based “The New Fly Fisher” on-line magazine has given my latest feature on fly fishing for Aussie bread and butter species in our southern estuaries a wonderful and unprecedented 20-page run in their latest issue! It’s a real honour to be able to introduce fish such as bream, flathead and luderick to a huge international audience of dedicated fly fishers… This is definitely one of the best on-line fly mags I’ve ever seen. You can subscribe for free or have a preview look here with just a few clicks:...

I began rock fishing when I was just 12 or 13, casting my line from the wave-washed ledges around Tathra, on the far south coast of NSW, along Australia’s eastern seaboard. From the very first fish landed, I was hooked… I guess you could say it was love at first bite! I moved to the Nowra/Bomaderry area of southern NSW with my family early in 1973, not long before my 15thbirthday. My first visit to the famous rock ledges of Jervis Bay (places I’d already heard so much about) involved a walk into the Outer Tubes with my father one weekend that summer. It was a busy day on the rocks with a good number of anglers in attendance. From memory, we saw a nice mackerel tuna (kawa kawa) landed and a couple of good fish lost, and I marvelled at the quality and calibre of tackle in use, quickly realising that my own very basic gear fell well short of the mark necessary to take on serious land based game (LBG) fishing… But I also knew that was I wanted to do!   By autumn 1974 I was regularly visiting the rock ledges on the south side of the Bay, between Bowen Island and Steamers Beach. My favourite was a location we called “The Pimple”. Reaching it to fish at first light required a pre-dawn walk of nearly an hour and a strenuous rope-assisted climb down some crumbling ledges. We enjoyed fantastic sport there (and at nearby St Georges Head or “Corangamite”, as we knew it), mostly lure casting for salmon, tailor, kingfish, smaller tuna, bonito, trevally and juvenile Samson fish. I caught my first “big” fish here in autumn 1974… an 18 pound (8 kilo) mack’ tuna spun up on an old...