ANYONE who has taken even the slightest interest in catching a fish on fly in Australia over the last 30 years will know of Peter Morse’s immense contribution to the development of fly fishing in this country either through his prolific, cutting-edge writings in magazines such as Fishing World and Flylife or as presenter of the ground-breaking SBS television series Wildfish.
In recent times Peter has authored a number of books including Saltwater Fly Fishing Fundamentals, The Wildfish Book and his latest and best offering, in my opinion: A Few Great Flies and How to Fish Them.
I first met Peter back in the 1980s at a fly fishing seminar and casting day he had organised at the old State Sports Centre in Sydney. Then in the early 1990s I got the chance to fish with Peter when he had a stint as manager/head guide at the famed Arrjim Island Lodge off the West Coast of New Britain in PNG. That trip to this day remains probably the best fishing trip of my life and I’ve never forgotten the effort Peter put in to ensuring we enjoyed some amazing fishing for those omnipotent PNG black and spot tail bass.
I recently had the opportunity to enjoy a few days of fantastic fly fishing action with Peter at one of Australia’s premier guided fishing operations, Melville Lodge on the Tiwi Islands to the north of Darwin. After a truly sensational day’s fly fishing for saratoga and barra on the legendary Goose Creek I got the opportunity to talk with Peter about his life and fly fishing career over a few quiet beers back at the lodge.
FW: Could you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in fly fishing?
PM: I inherited a Hardy Palakona split cane fly rod from my Grandfather, it had a silk fly line that was dried out and coiled like a spring and I tried to learn with that. It was hopeless; then around 1974 I bought a Hardy Jet fly rod, DAM fly reel and Scientific Angler Aircel fly line from the Fishermen’s World tackle shop in Sydney. My first fish on fly was a 4 ½ pound brown trout on a fly rod bass popper from the Maclaughlin River. I really just wanted to fly fish.
FW: Do you have a favourite fly fishing style or method?
PM: I enjoy sight casting to any species. It teaches you so much about fish, their behaviour and how they react to a fly’s presentation.
FW: How many species of fish have you caught on fly and do you have a favourite?
PM: Three hundred and three species. Barramundi are my personal favourite, closely followed by bonefish, trout and permit. Other species that I really enjoying pursuing with the fly rod include Spanish mackerel and Murray cod, and even the humble carp, which can teach us so much about fly fishing.
FW: Among the many locations you have fished do you have a personal favourite?
PM: St Phalle Flats at the northern end of New Caledonia for big bonefish.
FW: What advice would you give to any Fishing World readers who would like to get into fly fishing?
PM: Learn how to cast. Get lessons from a certified professional fly casting instructor. Accuracy is key, just like golf you drive for show and putt for dough. Practice, practice, practice, become the best caster you can, you will catch more fish for it. There is no downside to becoming a better fly caster.
FW: Regarding the development of modern fly fishing tackle are there any new fly rods/reels or fly lines that you feel stand out from the pack?
PM: Sage’s Konnetic technology has resulted in the development of ultra-light, super responsive fly rods. This means that you can buy a 10 weight fly rod today that is the weight of an 8 weight fly rod from 5 years ago, it’s a huge advance. Other significant advances include modern ferrule technology for multi-piece fly rods for travelling anglers. The development of tropical fly lines has been a significant advancement for Australian anglers. Rio’s very low stretch fly lines in particular are also a major step forward in fly line technology.
FW: Who are the fly fishing anglers/writers/guides/personalities that you admire either locally and internationally?
PM: Rod Harrison in the early days for encouraging me to write for Fishing World. Gordon Dunlop, a great friend and casting buddy who was with me when I caught my first saltwater fish on fly. In the writing side of things editors/publishers such as Alex Julius and Rob Sloane have been very important. In photography Dave Anderson has been a huge mentor. Others include Lefty Kreh for revealing what was possible, Bob Wyatt, (a great writer) and angler/guides/mates Alan “Fish” Philliskirk, Dean Butler, Craig Radford, Dan O’Sullivan, Brett Wolf, Peter Hayes, Rod Van Beek, and especially the crew at Sage, they are great people. Plenty of others, I have many great friends in the fly fishing world and have learned something about fishing and life from all of them.
FW: Can you recall for us any particularly memorable catches and what were the circumstances that made them special?
PM: A 10kg eastern cod on fly many years ago, it ate a Dahlberg off the top at first light, the take was explosive. A world record yellowfin tuna fishing with Craig Radford at Shark Bay in Western Australia. My first permit on fly is also clearly etched in my memory.
FW: How do you earn your livelihood?
PM: Writing and photography for my books and articles for fly fishing magazines. I’ve just completed my latest book A Few Great Flies and How to Fish Them. Also teaching fly casting, I’m an IFFF certified master casting instructor of which there are only 214 in the world (mostly in the United States). I’m also a Sage Ambassador and have worked with J.M Gillies locally for many years.
FW: What advice could you give to anyone looking at getting into fishing writing /photography?
PM: Read plenty! Do creative writing and photography courses. Go to galleries to look at examples of great photography/art. It’s not all about the camera. When writing avoid cliques like the plague! (Tongue in cheek comment!).
FW: Do you recall when you wrote your first article for Fishing World and what it was about?
PM: Yes. It was an article on fly fishing for milkfish after a Port Essington trip which was published back in the 1980s. I wrote feature stories on fly fishing for Fisho for a number of years.
