Young Gun
Lucas’s best fish to date, a beautiful brown trout from Four Springs Lagoon
Interview with a Young Gun - Lucas Loves Fishing By Lubin Pfeiffer
I
n the summer of 2019, I had the pleasure of spending a couple days with an amazing young angler named Lucas Stancombe. My wife Casey was hosting a river clinic on the Mersey river and Lucas was one of the attendees. The first thing that stood out to be was Lucas’ natural ability, this young guy could fish! At only 11 years of age he had the fishing skill of someone many years his senior, and Lucas not only fly fished, he also fished with conventional tackle as well! It was fantastic to see someone of his age so willing to learn new techniques and pick them up so easily, especially euro nymphing, which Lucas gained control with his flies, managed line and caught fish almost instantly. A feat that would take any experienced angler a long time to master. After catching a few fish on the nymph, we decided to tie on a grass hopper as there was a few fish rising in a particular stretch of the Mersey. Confidence is key in fishing and while I suggested a shorter drift as it would be easier manage the line, Lucas spied a
prime feeding zone, on the far bank, and proceeded to perfectly place the grass hopper right across the river! The fly drifted down, the fish came up right on cue and slurped the hopper down. In the sport of fly fishing we need as many new young anglers as we can get, so I thought it would be great sit down (on computers in different states) and have a chat to Lucas about why he loves fishing. Lucas is based in Launceston which is a fantastic place to be as an angler both for freshwater and saltwater fishing. Lucas, what got you started fishing? My Mum and Dad took me fishing. What is your favourite type of fishing and why? Dry fly fishing because I love seeing the trout come up and crush it.
Tell me about your first trout on fly? The first fish I caught was a brown trout out the St Patricks River at Myrtle Park. I saw someone catch one so I got the fly rod out. I saw a few fish rising as I was fishing upstream. I got frustrated because they wouldn’t take my fly until I found a nice pool of water where I watched one slowly approach the fly and ate it. Do you have a favourite saltwater fish? Australian Salmon are my favourite saltwater fish to catch. When the birds are working and the salmon are boiling at the top of the water it’s exciting to throw a soft plastic at them. Do you have a favourite place? St Patrick’s River and Penstock Lagoon. There’s lots of fish there.
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Fishing News - Page 11
