My brother Chris, Andrew Wheeler and I arrived at Frying Pan around 1:30pm in good weather conditions that we knew wouldn’t last. We had Chris’s 4.3 metre aluminium boat in tow and we took no time in setting up “camp” in the old homestead before launching the boat.
I caught a 1.5lb brown within 15 minutes using a hopper pattern fly and Andrew dropped a nice 2.5lb brown after getting it halfway to the bank. We returned late in the afternoon to meet Paul Harvey and his wife Kay at his camp.
Around 7pm we all headed off to find a protected bank for an evening fish. Within minutes we had some rainbows taking hoppers off the surface and it was not long before Paul showed us how it was done. Chris and I both had our opportunities but it was Andrew who took the prize for the biggest fish for the trip. Just on last light, using a black muddler, he landed a very healthy 4.5lb brown trout. Andrew and Paul managed several fish for the evening.
Day 2 and we headed off to a grassy paddock with Paul’s hopper net to gather some live hoppers to attract the trout. We came back for lunch but by the time we hit the water to go fishing, the weather turned for the worst. First the wind and then the rain. Four layers of clothing (5 for Andrew) and wet weather gear was the standard attire for the remainder of our stay. We persevered with the conditions and found a spot to get out of the wind. Suing hopper pattern flies, we were surprised to find the rainbows looking for a feed. Chris, Andrew and I managed to land a fish or two, however many opportunities were lost as timing the strike proved difficult. Even Paul (the expert in hopper fishing) was having difficulty in setting the hook.
Day 3 and conditions had deteriorated even more. This did not dampen our spirits and we ventured out late morning for more punishment. We all managed to catch one or two fish each, including a 2.5lb brown that I got just on dark using a black muddler.
The last night Andrew was speaking to one of the regular fisho’s at the camp, who revealed that he had recently been busted off on big trout on several occasions. Andrew could not understand how this experienced fisherman could get busted off and Andrew declared that he had never been busted off. Well, late on the final day, Andrew was crawling a black muddler along the surface when a massive fish exploded all over it. Yes, Andrew spoke too soon and was comprehensively busted off.
In summary, we enjoyed the stay despite the lousy weather.
Leo Harding