Searching for wild rainbows By Kelly Mackenzie
I
had been in Tasmania, fishing and working, for a few months when I stumbled across a unique story. About 70 years ago, fisheries planned an aerial drop of rainbow trout into Lake Adelaide, a reasonable sized lake situated within the Walls of Jerusalem National Park. The weather was bleak and visibility poor, so instead of being dropped into Lake Adelaide as planned, these fish were mistakenly dropped into Lake Meston. It was here that they continued to thrive, establishing their own population of what we now consider, wild rainbows. These rainbows now inhabit Lake Meston and its immediate sister lakes, Lake Youd and Junction Lake and from there - winding its way down - the upper reaches of the Mersey River and beyond. This is a special region for these rainbow trout, being exclusive rainbow water which is inaccessible to the below browns, and one I thought I would be very interested in taking a closer look at.
The serenity, breathtaking scenery and size of some of these wild rainbow trout are all lures for the keen hiking angler. I have read about the inaccessible banks around Lake Meston and thought this trip would be more successful if I took my packraft and hence, that is what I did! There was a long weekend approaching and the weather was looking pretty amazing. I managed to convince one of my best friends to come and join me on the adventure. Laura does not fish, but I think slowly I may convert her. I lured her in with the talk of towering pencil pines, the wilderness and the chance of not seeing another soul. It didn’t take long and she was convinced and off we went to pack. Tent, two rods, three reels, flies, packraft, paddles, food supplies, sleeping supplies, clothing, first aid. The list seemed endless. You are wondering why in a bag that nearly weighed half my body weight, did I need two rods and three reels? - who knows! I was about to find out!
www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.
Fishing News - Page 19
