Of Rivers and Rises

By Les Hawkins

The is book is written in appreciation of the many joys and quiet contentment that I have found in my
wanderings by river and lake.
These words were penned by the legendary Australian author David Scholes.
It would be hard to find a better way to introduce a collection of fi shing adventures, because fi fty years
of waving the slender rod have given me abundant pleasure, copious exercise both physically and mentally,
wonderful & lasting friendships and the enjoyment of being at one with nature.
On refl ection, it seems that centuries ago a good friend and skilled fl y fi sherman introduced me to what
became a pastime, perhaps an art, certainly a physical exercise, a method of spending the family fortune and
a lifelong pleasure. We were privileged in those days to enjoy accommodation in the heart of some of the
fi nest trout streams in Australia, as the Red Shack stood alongside Pollocks Creek at Kiandra.
Oddly, it was also known as the Poachers hut, odd because the keenly enthusiastic users were exactly
the opposite, with the tongue-in-cheek motto there are no rules and dont you dare break them.
Since those early days I have fi shed in many countries and all the states of Australia and although the
body ages the enthusiasm does not.
I hope you enjoy the ramblings in the following chapters and perhaps disagree or otherwise with some
of the theories within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Nov 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781499028188

Les Hawkins

Les Hawkins has been president of the Australian Fresh Water Fisherman's Assembly and secretary of the Australian Recreational and Sportfishing Industry Confederation (Recfish) advising the Federal Government on all matters related to recreational fishermen.

Book preview

Of Rivers and Rises

cover.tif

LES HAWKINS

Copyright © 2014 by Les Hawkins. 672753

ISBN: Softcover   978-1-4990-2814-0

ISBN: EBook         978-1-4990-2818-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 11/05/2014

Xlibris

1-800-455-039

www.xlibris.com.au

Of Rivers & Rises

I can see my footprints, the ones I’ve left behind;

A long & winding trail of steps that destiny designed.

A trail of tears & laughter, of sun & shadows deep,

Of promises I’ve broken & ones I’ve yet to keep.

"Verse from ‘Footprints in the Snow’ copyright 2004-2014 by Cloudeight Internet.

Image4766.tif

A Campsite on the Aparima River in New Zealand

Laying out long, the yellow line, with delicate fly

Plumply perched upon its hackles high,

I can with most strategic efforts probe

opaquest corners of the stream -

riffled, pocketed, baggy, deep -

Where denizens quick and mottled lie,

shadows in the shimmering glass,

a dream wherein our starkest portions dance:

then with a crash the shadow streaks

out of the dark, and cracks the dream:

and there’s the fish, wet and struggling

on the end – silver, sleek and cold

that has me in its desperate hold.

From The Seasonable Angler by Nick Lyons

Acknowledgement

My thanks for to Peter Leuver for the front cover illustration. Peter is noted for his artwork and fly tying and is the author of the acclaimed book

Fur and Feather

Mick Hall, internationally recognised fly dresser, for permission to reproduce some of the trout flies used as illustrations

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Chapter 1. Kiandra

Chapter 2. Rules Point north of Kiandra

Chapter 3. Shark Fishing in Tasmania

Chapter 4. New Zealand

Chapter 5. Salt Water Fly Fishing in Western Australia

Chapter 6. The Kybean

Chapter 7. The Hazards of Fly Fishing

Chapter 8. Random Memories

Chapter 9. What Fly is that?

Chapter 10. Mother Nature

Chapter 11. Friends

Chapter 12. Illusions

Chapter 13. A Painful subject

Chapter 14. The Spawning Run

Chapter 15. Controllingat the National Fly Fishing Championships

Introduction

"This book is written in appreciation of the many joys and quiet contentment that I have found in my wanderings by river and lake."

These words were penned by the legendary Australian author David Scholes.

It would be hard to find a better way to introduce a collection of fishing adventures, because fifty years of waving the slender rod have given me abundant pleasure, copious exercise both physically and mentally, wonderful & lasting friendships and the enjoyment of being at one with nature.

On reflection, it seems that centuries ago a good friend and skilled fly fisherman introduced me to what became a pastime, perhaps an art, certainly a physical exercise, a method of spending the family fortune and a lifelong pleasure. We were privileged in those days to enjoy accommodation in the heart of some of the finest trout streams in Australia, as the Red Shack stood alongside Pollock’s Creek at Kiandra.

Oddly, it was also known as the Poacher’s hut, odd because the keenly enthusiastic users were exactly the opposite, with the tongue-in-cheek motto there are no rules and don’t you dare break them.

Since those early days I have fished in many countries and all the states of Australia and although the body ages the enthusiasm does not.

I hope you enjoy the ramblings in the following chapters and perhaps disagree or otherwise with some of the theories within.

This mystery and challenging strangeness that the angler sets his will and wits to explore. Standing in one element, he invades another, striving to search it thoroughly. With a fifty foot finger of bamboo and silk he probes the deeps and the shallows, and feels along the riffles, glides slowly out into bays of glitter, striving toward and almost attaining a sixth sense, trying to surprise the water’s innermost secret law - but this, of course, he will never do. In other arts and crafts, and even in a few sports, we can distinguish the three stages of apprentice, journeyman, and master; but in angling few ever pass beyond apprenticeship, and masters there are none.

Odell Shepard

‘The traveler fancies he has seen the country. So he has, the outside of it at least; but the angler only sees the inside. The angler only is brought close, face to face with the flower and bird and insect life of the rich riverbanks, the only part of the landscape where the hand of man has never interfered.’

Charles Kingsley

Image4773.tif

A supermarket at Kiandra (Circa 1860)

Image4782.tif

Grizzly’s Grasshopper

Chapter 1

Kiandra

What happened to the old gold town of Kiandra is what many consider a shame and an act of bureaucratic vandalism. Why destroy some well maintained buildings which supplied pleasure to many people? Was it to turn a historic old gold mining town into a ghost town because it was part of a National Park? Many people asked this question back when the Kosciuszko National Park Trust purchased all the old buildings around the middle of the last century and after granting permissive occupancy during their lifetime to the existing landholders, proceeded to destroy all other buildings.

Today Kiandra is literally a few lonely buildings, one of which is the old Court House which later became the Kiandra Hotel. This building is now used to store equipment for road making and repairs (although as this is written some restoration work is underway). Regardless of its current desolation, there are still some ruins and enough memories to bring the whole cold and lonely valley alive.

In its heyday it was a true gold rush town and like some many other such diggings, rose and fell in less than a year. At its height it attracted over 10,000 men, women and children and saw the construction of banks, hotels and the usual services required by such a large population. In less than a year most of the gold was gone and the population was reduced to a 200-300. A hundred years later it was a ghost town standing forlornly on plains which, even in summertime, look lonely, glaciated and cold.

Kiandra which was originally called Giandara or Giandarra Plain – (the term may have meant ‘sharp stone’ in the language of the local Aborigines) - has an elevation of 1400 metres and was, until the establishment of Cabramurra, the highest township in Australia.

Kiandra’s moment of glory occurred in a few months from 1859-1860. The rush broke out after payable gold was discovered by David and James Pollock (two men who had been bringing their cattle to graze on the summer pastures in the area for some years) in what became known as Pollock’s Gully in November 1859.

People