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Eduhelpnet Climate Change
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Jon Hosford
I was born at Geelong, Victoria in 1947 and lived on the edge of the city near Kardinia Park until I was 8 years old, when we moved to North Shore. My Dad was a fanatical angler of saltwater, estuarine, river and lake. I guess it's no coincidence that I ended up that way as well. We spent our summers at Indented Head on Port Phillip Bay catching Whiting and Snapper enough to feed 3 or 4 families. Nothing was ever wasted, and fresh seafood including mussels and cockles harvested from the rocks around the foreshore were regular visitors to our dinner table. My childhood and adolescence were spent fishing, either with Dad or with the boys on the wharves around North Shore or at Limeburners Lagoon , Corio. We had fantastic fishing in those days. There were Whiting , Snapper and Flathead to be caught from the wharves or off the rocks. Dad bought me my own rowing boat when I was 14 and there was no stopping me then. I moved to Melbourne after completing a primary teacher's course, to become a teacher of the hearing impaired. My fishing exploits expanded to the estuaries and streams of Victoria, from the Goulburn to Mallacoota. Gipsy Point has always been my special place. The Wallagaraugh River and the Genoa have a special appeal, and I have caught more big bream and Mulloway in these waters than I would care to mention. Until now I have never made a big deal about returning fish to the water. I've always caught enough to eat and always fished as light as I possibly could. In the seventies I was a member of Oakdale Angling Club and went fishing most weekends either boat, surf or stream. I learned to fish live hoppers on the Rainbow trout of the Goulburn and spin the gravelly bends at Thorton and Yea. In the 80's I spent 12 years on the Murray, probably more on a conservation focus than a fishing one: birds and forest values; trying to get recognition of the government for the restoration of water rights for the forest; the life blood of the redgum. Just when we thought we had succeeded there was a change in government and the plan was modified to a point where it can hardly be recognised now. I spent some time selling fresh fish for Safeway before returning to the classroom at Lockington in 1992. I have conducted rod building clinics with the children from the schools I have taught in as well as fishing trips on the Gippsland Lakes. Once we hired a shack on the ninety-mile beach for a week and took a group of school children there to fish for Bream in the lakes and mullet in the surf. Needless to say they had a wonderful time. Spin fishing has always been a great attraction to me, but lately the lure of the fly has opened a special chapter in my life. My great Uncle Bill was well known for his pioneer efforts with the fly and my father Jack took a keen interest in fly tying and cane rod restoration in his later years. Now living in Launceston, Tasmania I have access to some of the best brown trout waters in the world. I can't say I've had my share of really big fish yet but I guess that time will come. Fly tying is a hobby which fascinates me and I get great enjoyment from tying flies during the winter months. Catching a fish on a fly you have tied yourself is a very special pleasure. I have a great family: a lovely wife and 2 beautiful children. Melissa is a born fisherwoman but she won't eat fish. She'll walk a kilometre or more to avoid cooked seafood. Son Jono is starting to tolerate a bit of fishing. I just need to wait until the bug hits him one day and then perhaps we'll make a team like my Dad and I used to do. You are welcome to share my ramblings and swap yarns, places and patterns. Drop me a line : jhosford@winderdoon.com  A
Day on Brumby's Creek, Cressy, Tasmania
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