Porepunkah Family Trip Report 2014
By Lucy Asquith (age 12)
Lightning cracked through the sky like fireworks as Dad and I drove to Porepunkah. The wild weather forced us to give up our preferred idea of tenting, in favour of a musty old cabin. Dad didn’t think Mum would be very happy with him if I got burnt to a crisp by the crazy lightning, so we ended up in a cabin for two nights, and sadly the tent stayed on top of the car. As usual for the first night of the WFFC Family trip, dinner that night was at the Porepunkah pub, and big Pama’s and T-bones were served as we talked fishing. I think we were all pretty eager to go fishing the next day, so we retired early to get a good nights sleep.
As the sun rose, and the rain subsided, it looked like a great day to go fishing. Everybody met up at the BBQ for a bacon and egg breakfast, discussing plans for the day. Our spirits were high as we set off fishing with our bellies full. Dad planned to go to a special river he had wanted to take me to for a while. I can’t disclose its location; otherwise I would have to kill you. The drive was long but there was amazing scenery to keep us interested. Along the way we saw a lyrebird and a wallaby. Lots of trees had fallen onto the road because of the storm the night before, so we carefully meandered our way past the obstacles and ventured forward.
We pulled our waders on and set up our fishing rods. Stepping into the water, ready to fish felt great, as I had not fished all season and was very excited. I felt my rod starting to bend as I cast the line onto the glistening water. The nymph drifted along the current as I pulled the slack from the line. On my fourth cast the nymph landed weightlessly on the water. I managed the slack line, watching intently as the fish’s snout broke the water, gulping down the fly. I over enthusiastically pulled (maybe yanked), the fly out of the fish’s mouth. Fishing was still a rush even if I didn’t get to catch a fish.
We waded further upstream, casting to likely spots as we went. Just as the nymph sunk under the current I saw a fish swimming under the fly. The fish opened its big mouth and took the fly, so I pulled up and he was hooked. The battle began; I planted the end of the rod grip on my stomach and started to wind, and the 8’ 4wt fly rod was bent to the cork. The fish swam straight into the rapids at the end of the big pool, breaking off the fly and swimming its way to freedom. This was a perfect opportunity for me to learn how to tie the knot to attach a fly.
Lightning cracked through the sky like fireworks as Dad and I drove to Porepunkah. The wild weather forced us to give up our preferred idea of tenting, in favour of a musty old cabin. Dad didn’t think Mum would be very happy with him if I got burnt to a crisp by the crazy lightning, so we ended up in a cabin for two nights, and sadly the tent stayed on top of the car. As usual for the first night of the WFFC Family trip, dinner that night was at the Porepunkah pub, and big Pama’s and T-bones were served as we talked fishing. I think we were all pretty eager to go fishing the next day, so we retired early to get a good nights sleep.
As the sun rose, and the rain subsided, it looked like a great day to go fishing. Everybody met up at the BBQ for a bacon and egg breakfast, discussing plans for the day. Our spirits were high as we set off fishing with our bellies full. Dad planned to go to a special river he had wanted to take me to for a while. I can’t disclose its location; otherwise I would have to kill you. The drive was long but there was amazing scenery to keep us interested. Along the way we saw a lyrebird and a wallaby. Lots of trees had fallen onto the road because of the storm the night before, so we carefully meandered our way past the obstacles and ventured forward.
We pulled our waders on and set up our fishing rods. Stepping into the water, ready to fish felt great, as I had not fished all season and was very excited. I felt my rod starting to bend as I cast the line onto the glistening water. The nymph drifted along the current as I pulled the slack from the line. On my fourth cast the nymph landed weightlessly on the water. I managed the slack line, watching intently as the fish’s snout broke the water, gulping down the fly. I over enthusiastically pulled (maybe yanked), the fly out of the fish’s mouth. Fishing was still a rush even if I didn’t get to catch a fish.
We waded further upstream, casting to likely spots as we went. Just as the nymph sunk under the current I saw a fish swimming under the fly. The fish opened its big mouth and took the fly, so I pulled up and he was hooked. The battle began; I planted the end of the rod grip on my stomach and started to wind, and the 8’ 4wt fly rod was bent to the cork. The fish swam straight into the rapids at the end of the big pool, breaking off the fly and swimming its way to freedom. This was a perfect opportunity for me to learn how to tie the knot to attach a fly.