I recently returned from my biggest Fishing Australia monster trout hunt yet – a carefully planned stealth mission deep into the remote South West Wilderness of Tasmania amongst beautiful but unforgiving country where getting lost, injured or bitten by the large tiger snakes hanging in the trees were all a strong possibility.
Being miles from anywhere, the tackle I took had to be spot on for the job at hand, and first in the lineup was a pair of the new Rapala EcoWear Reflection Waders. These bad-boys have a super cool water reflection pattern to help blend the angler into the environment both above and below the water. But they are much more than this; they proved to be extremely functional and tough. I lived in the EcoWear Reflection Waders for the best part of a week without a tear, blister rub, or malfunction of any sort
I’ve been lucky enough to have used all the world’s finest wader brands, but these new Rapala ones are at a whole new level. Other features that proved useful included: felt lined hand warming pockets, large comfortable mesh shoulder straps, a wide snug fitting waist belt for safety and comfort, back support, and water proof zippers on all storage pockets.
In fitting with the wild untouched environment we visited, the Rapala EcoWear Reflection Waders are made of renewable materials with less fossil fuel and smaller greenhouse gas emissions used in the manufacturing process. But best of all was the fact that they are truly 100% waterproof yet still breathable.
My crew had various brands of chest waders on, and I was able to remain much cooler and not sweat during midday hikes through the rainforest, and then when in the water for long periods I didn’t even need to rug up underneath. Mind you such is the versatility of these waders that you can easily slip on some thermals underneath when needed.
Little features like bent knee sections, and more, all add up; but it is the new material they are made from that makes them so light and comfortable that you actually want to keep them on; highly recommended.
Now on to the tackle; I carried one main outfit – an Okuma Vella 25 reel, spooled with 6 pound Sufix 832 braid, a Rapala T-Spec 702 SPL rod, and 6 foot of 8 pound Sufix Invisiline leader.
The second outfit for casting at the biggest trout sighted consisted of the same reel but spooled with 8 lb Sufix Matrix Pro over an Okuma Signature Series SG-S-702 L rod and 10 pound Sufix Invisiline leader.
Both outfits are sweet to use and they continue to surprise guides around the country when their first cast flies way further than expected…
I also carried (actually my producer carried this for me) the practically indestructible Fishing Australia FA 602 SPL combo as a backup should the earlier mentioned graphite rods take a big knock, and break. No graphite rod likes a knock and to have a slip/accident and not be able to fish would be devastating such a long hike from civilization… As it turned out all the rods survived and the crew also caught fish on the FA combo each evening after filming ceased.
Of course I had a bunch of other essentials – knives, multi tools, camp fire starters, etc, but what about lures??
Old favorites like Rublex Celta’s, Rapala F07’s in Perch (voted most popular lure in Taz), and my personal favourite all rounder the CD07 in Bleak (metallic silver) and Golden Alburnus (metallic gold) were complemented by new lures like the Blue Fox Vibrax Glow (already gaining a cult following amongst night spin fisho’s), and the long casting Rapala MaxRap.
But the big surprise was the new ‘Ultra Light’ Aussie range by Rapala. The name is a bit misleading; they cast like little torpedoes, yet shake wildly at the first turn of the handle. There are three models: the Ultra Light Minnow in 4 and 6 cm, and the 4 cm long Ultra Light Shad which has a deeper diving bib. I had heard some tasty whispers about these lures, especially the shad, but I can now say for myself that they are very good.
I’m happy to report that I was able to pull some very big fish out of hell country; log jams made from giant trees, some of which took an hour to negotiate around just to get a cast in the right place. I didn’t win every battle, but I caught some of my biggest river trout yet.
At one point I looked up and was dwarfed by the escarpment that could’ve easily inspired the creators of the Avatar movie. It had the trout to match. I’ll sneak in a pic or two hereabouts, but I look forward to advising of the premier of this Fishing Australia episode in due course including start of the art video footage.
Stay tuned to Fishing Australia TV for more information on this enthralling, upcoming episode.
Rob Paxevanos
Host – Fishing Australia TV
www.robpax.com
That is a serious trout and a magnificent looking stream. Would love to know more about how you managed to get into a place like this as I am an avid trout fan spending most of my time fishing the rivers and creeks in the North East of Vic. Were you able to flick flies about or is this contrary to the site as Rapala is more into lures.
By the way I have attempted to subsribe to your rss news feed and it seems broken (rs).
Cheers