After doing the rounds on national radio and print-press, including an hour-long interview on ABC Radio (available on podcast), Greg French is launching his first novel Menagerie of False Truths this Friday at Petrarchs Bookstore, Launceston:

BOOK LAUNCH INVITATION

Petrarchs Bookshop

on behalf of

Greg French

invites you to the launch of

MENAGERIE OF FALSE TRUTHS

__________________________________________________________________________________

A book about the human condition which confronts head on subjects like friendship and family, depression, faith, illness and autism.

The main character Jack’s world of doubts and depressions is tempered by a fascination for the natural world and a passion for fishing, wild places and literature.

The author grew up in a family that embraced the whole spectrum of autism disorders, and he draws upon his formative years, his passion for nature and his love of storytelling to deliver a delightfully quirky “factional” read.

When: 6:30 p.m. Friday, 30^th July, 2010

Where: Petrarchs Bookshop, 89 Brisbane St, Launceston.

RSVP: Thursday 29^th July to Petrarchs Bookshop

Phone: 63 31 80 88 Email: petlau@bigpond.net.au

Copies may be reserved for signing if you are unable to attend.

Demoiselle dragonfly, England

The famous chalkstreams…

Just a week ago I was fortunate to find myself fishing a Hampshire chalkstream, in England. These slow flowing rivers are regarded as the birthplace of modern fly fishing, and as luck would have it, I was there in time for the mayfly. It was truly marvellous, watching the large danica mayfly (size 10!) hatch off the carefully managed river.

I was lucky to be fishing with a friend and customer who owns a membership to a 4 mile stretch of water. Unlike Tasmania, most of the rivers are privately owned, and access is only available to syndicate members. Even if you want to, you cannot buy your way on to many stretches, it is strictly by invitation only.

As mentioned, the fishing was marvellous. We landed a dozen trout, each found rising to the natural mayflies (and there was three species hatching!). The river itself is managed by the owner, who in turn employs a river keeper to tend to the river. The river-keepers current goal? To replace the stocked trout with wild trout, which are now less common than stocked trout in England. It is an uphill battle.

Further highlights of the river included the lush bankside vegetation, carefully managed to suit the native insects and animals, and the surrounding land which was also managed to minimise impact on the river: cattle are kept away from the banks, and cropping is not permitted on the river’s floodplain. The river keeper and the management of the river is all paid for by the monies returned from the syndicate memberships. The result? The most cared-for river I have ever fished, all within an hour of the busting city of London.

In Season Fly Fishing – New online shop, and new book from Daniel Hackett

Last month, Simone and I were excited to put the finishing touches to our new online shop, In Season Fly Fishing www.inseasonflyfishing.com. Created to showcase and sell our feature products, such as our book In Season Tasmania and our hand tied flies, the webshop features secure shopping, and accepts credit card or PayPal. The website has been launched just in time for the release of a new fly tying booklet (Fly Cards, by Daniel Hackett), and limited edition print celebrating the Western Lakes fishery.

New ‘Fly Cards’ by Daniel Hackett, and ‘Western Lakes’ Limited Edition print

Both products arrive back from the printers over the next couple of weeks, each of which we are quite excited about.

Western Lakes is our limited edition print, featuring our most famous wilderness fishery. Click here to find out more about this limited edition print, which is the result of a partnership between In Season Fly Fishing, and local Tasmanian artist Clifford How. Measuring approx. 580x320mm, there are only 100 copies available. We recommend reserving a copy now, rrp $99.00

Fly Cards is our second new production, and is an innovative fly tying booklet written by myself. Featuring 20 of my favourite Australian fly patterns, with full-colour photos and tying instructions, ‘Fly Cards – A Series of Australian Fly Tying Patterns’ suits all levels of fly tyers from beginners to advanced. Visit the Fly Cards page at our webshop for more details and to order rrp $34.95

Would you like custom-tied trout flies from the RiverFly team? You can order these now from In Season Fly Fishing www.inseasonflyfishing.com .

Availabilities for September 2010 – Christmas 2010

We have started taking bookings for the up-coming season. If you would like to book a pre-Christmas trip to fish the mayfly hatches (From late September to Christmas), send us an Email now www.riverfly.com.au/contact

FlyLife Magazine – Free Online Magazine

FlyLife Magazine have just released their E-Magazine Winter Edition. The theme of this edition is ‘Tasmania’, with the magazine featuring a ‘best of’ selection of Tasmanian articles. Click here and select issue 2 to read the new edition http://www.flylife.com.au/emag/default.htm

Winter fisheries report

Winter has been good for the fisheries to date, with most fish across the state spawning a few weeks earlier than usual. This allows them to re-cuperate quicker, and should see fatter fish during the season as a result.

On the South Esk River, heavy rains around the start of June saw a good flush of water pass down the river, cleaning the riverbed of silt and leaving the river clean for next season. With the water tables re-charged from consistent light rain, I expect to see most rivers get a good flush over the next month or two.

That’s all for now, stay tuned for a pre-season opening newsletter next month. Thank you for supporting an Australian small business, and please feel free to forward this newsletter to your friends.

Thank you from the RiverFly Team – Daniel, Simone & Patrick.

FlyLife Magazine, Australia and New Zealand’s leading fly fishing magazine, has just launched their first online edition. The E-Mag is free of charge, and features a ‘best of’ assortment of articles from past editions, and live links to associated video clips.

 This edition is titled ‘The Wildside Collection’ and contains some of the best adventure-angling inspired articles from past FlyLife editions. You can read FlyLife’s new online magazine here ,  which includes my own ‘Walls to the Cliffs’ article on the upper Mersey River, along with ‘Man vs Machine’ in the Tasmanian Western Lakes (Rob Sloane) and ‘Wizards and Wilderness Trout’ Kiwi article from Christenson and Poppelhoj.

Menagerie of False Truths by Greg French - front cover

 Greg French is one of Australia’s most successful fly fishing authors: his guidebook Tasmanian Trout Waters is regarded as ‘the bible’ of Tasmanian fly fishing destinations, whilst his collection of short stories Frog Call was a  best seller. Other works included the well-recieved Artificial, and the contribution of a foreword to In Season Tasmania—A Year Of Fly Fishing Highlights by Hackett and Harris. With this in mind, it’s exciting news that Greg has just completed his first novel, titled Menagerie of False Truths .

What should readers expect? Well, I’m told not to expect a fishing book; expect a passionate literary work. From the media release:

Exploring themes of life and death, friendship and family, perception, societal norms and the environment, Menagerie of False Truths promises to be the most compelling book you’ll read this year.

In Menagerie of False Truths Greg French, author of the muchloved Frog Call, draws on his passion for nature, his love of story-telling and a family history that was both dysfunctional and, crucially, formative due to his growing up with autistic siblings and emotionally distant mother. The result is a delightfully quirky ‘faction’ read, which questions the very nature of reality and human relationships.

The autobiographical character Jack shares the author’s unique insights into the incredible complexity and beauty of the natural world, borne of a lifetime exploring the unforgettable wilderness that is Tasmania.

At every page the reader is exposed to alternative ways of viewing the world, often disturbing, sometimes strangely liberating. Menagerie of False Truths is an unforgettable work of genius that will leave you reeling.

Stay tuned for more news on Menagerie of False Truths closer to June, but look out for reviews in upcoming editions of FlyLife Magazine http://www.flylife.com.au

Autumn mayfly rise

We are running a mayfly season guiding special for bookings of two or more days: our normal rates are $375 ea pp (for two anglers), however our multiple day bookings for between 9 April and 23rd of April are on special for $300pp, 0r $525 for a single angler (down from $620). Enquire here for availability and more details. April is one of our best months for mayfly hatches and match-the-hatch fishing.

With the season starting to wind down, Daniel and his team are starting to again fill custom fly orders. If you would like to orders some WMD’s for hopper feeders and the Western Lakes, or perhaps some classic Shaving Brush, just visit our shop icon in the top right corner and order away. Our Paypal payment sytem will process your payment, and the RiverFly team will start tying!

Catch Magazine is an American based E-Zine (electronic magazine) showcasing some of the best fly fishing photography and film getting around. January’s edition (which is free to read) features a chapter from FlyLife Magazine www.flylife.com.au photographer and In Season Tasmania www.inseasonflyfishing.com.au co-author Brad Harris. Check out Tassie and the rest of the chapters here www.catchmagazine.net

Fishing Season by Philip Weigall

Earlier in the month I revealed that Philip Weigall, one of Australia’s favourite fishing authors, was about to release a new book. I think we may have even scooped Phil’s own website www.philipweigall.com.au  on the announcement!

Well, my pre-press copy arrived last week, and I’ve had a chance to give it a read. Here’s what to expect:

Fishing Season is typical Weigall fare, which will be music to the ears of many. The stories are short and extremely well crafted, full of creative and vibrant writing—Phil’s passion for the fly fishing life leaks through his stories, though order and strict style in his writing may leave readers feeling a little homogenised at times. I doubt it though, as Phil’s well-honed style is tried and tested, and Fishing Season is true to his reputation as a leading fly fishing author in Australia.

As the title suggests, the stories in Fishing Season are compiled and presented to a seasonal tune—winter, spring, summer and autumn. Indeed for myself, the seasonality of fly fishing is one of its great attractions (it did inspire my own book In Season Tasmania – A Year of Fly Fishing Highlights). This theme however is fairly loose, with plenty of welcomed stories slid-in to the format where appropriate. Overall, this collection of short stories is solid, and should find its way into plenty of Father’s Day gift boxes (this is when you can expect to find it in your bookstores).

My favourite story? Trout Gallery—wonderfully descriptive writing, perhaps a bit freer in its style which only helps to convey Phil’s love of trout, the world over. Most questionable entry? Rod and Line—a bit dry and instructional, it seemed out of place with the other stories.

Fishing Season is beautifully produced by Exisle Publishing, and includes an assortment of water-colour drawings by Trevor Hawkins, another Australian fly fishing icon. Read a sample chapter yourself here.

Pre-order your copy of Fishing Season through FlyLife Magazine Online Shop here

Fishing Season by Philip Weigall

You heard it hear first – Philip Weigall has a new book coming out in August, titled Fishing Season. From the publisher:

Let Philip Weigall transport you to your favourite river with this beautifully illustrated tribute to the art of flyfishing …

‘As I walked back to the car, I wondered. By the trout’s standards, I’d been fishing the creek forever, catching fish that were great-great-great-grandchildren of the first I’d hooked. By my own standards, I had clocked some serious miles here. But as far as the creek was concerned, I was a blink in time.’

In Fishing Season, acclaimed author Philip Weigall deftly captures all that makes the wonderful sport of flyfishing a passion for so many. It is a reflective book, an engrossing read that captures the heart and soul of this pastime that is so full of challenges, victories, disappointments, frustrations but, most of all, quiet happiness. So join Philip as he takes you through a year in the life of a flyfisher and ponders such important questions as why an organised fly box is rarer than a ten-pound trout, why you should think carefully before offering  to net someone else’s fish, and how it is that, sometimes, the unlikeliest waters have the most to offer.

As I type, I’m actually standing by my mail-box, waiting for my pre-release copy to arrive from our source inside the publishing house responsible. A full review will be posted here within the week, so standby.

Friend and author Greg French is about to release the follow up to his best seller Frog Call, with his new book titled ‘The Artificial’. No doubt more stories of wilderness adventures, fishing, life and all critters great and small will be included. If you like John Gierach, you’ll like Greg’s stories, so keep an eye out for it.

Speaking of Gierach, he has also just released a new title, ‘Fools Paradise’. Without even seeing it I know this will be a cracker; this is the guy that popularised the term ‘Trout Bum’ after all.

Finally, a read I really enjoyed last winter was ‘The River Why’ by David James Duncan. It’s a bit slow off the mark, but by the time the semi-autobiographical lead character is at home in the woods, the reader is well and truly hooked. This is deemed a modern classic by those in the know, and is now destined for the big screen.