Lake Leake - Hospitality Plus.

[meppstas]

' LAKE LEAKE - HOSPITALITY PLUS.'' 11-9-14

After some planning and booking myself into the Lake Leake Inn a couple of weeks ago the day soon arrived when I was heading on over to catch up with the ''Lake Leake Boys.'' That being Samuel and his younger brother Connor. The whole idea of this trip was to see if I could be of any benefit to them with hints and tips on spin fishing with the Mepps lures. The forecast wasn't looking too flash as there was a couple of cold fronts heading our way with heavy rain and gale force winds. This wasn't going to stop me going and meeting the boys and their family any way. So I left home on the Tuesday (9th) morning in appalling conditions and headed off to Lake Leake.

After a couple of hours I was at their door step and could see two boys with a smile as large as life, this was followed with a ''Hi and a hand shake'' and then I met the rest of the family. Paul (father), Mellissa (mother), Ellie-Mae (youngest sister) and later on Gracie-Mae the eldest daughter.
Well what a great way to start off a short stay at Lake Leake with such a warm and homely greeting it was. I was made to feel at home and very comfortable right from the start which was great. This is one very loving and caring family which was something special and I was happy to just be a small part of their lives for the next couple of days.

After all the chit chat was over it was time for ''Team Mepps'' to head off and hit the Elizabeth River that runs from below Lake Leake. The rain had now stopped and the wind was a lot lighter too. Once at the river we noticed that it was running pretty low and we weren't too sure if there would be any trout caught here today. We did spot a couple of little ones as we crossed over an old wooden bridge which was a good sign. At least we knew there were a few browns in it. I started off with a copper Black Fury, I think Samuel did the same and Connor had on the #00 Aglia Mouche (red tag) spinner. We worked several shallow runs and a few deep holes and had a couple of follows and light hit and misses, but no hook ups. We had at least seen several small trout in the area which was great, so I knew it was only a matter of time before one of us picked up a fish or two.

Then we came across another nice run of water that was fairly shallow (130mms deep) and I was lucky enough to pull two small browns from it in two casts. These were very small (150gm -180gm) fish but it was a start at the very least. Then a little further up I picked up another small (160gm) brown in another narrow and shallow run. The boys did have a few follows and light nudges but just couldn't get any to take the hook. It wasn't long before we were where the river finishes at the dam wall. Samuel did manage to get one to hit the little Mepps black fury but it just didn't stay hooked which was a shame as this was a very nice size brown too. I also hooked another small brown but it fell of as I lifted it from the river. So that was the end of our session for the day, with just the three small browns caught and released.

It was then back to the Evans household where I was served up a great hot dinner that was very gratefully received. After tea we sat around and planned our next attack on the river for the following afternoon. This day was also Samuel's 16th Birthday and one he was eagerly awaiting as it meant he was of to Campbell Town to pick up his learners permit and drive his Toyota Echo some 34 kilometres back home. It went like a dream was his comments when he returned home. After lunch we then headed on back to the Elizabeth River. The afternoon wasn't that good weather wise as the winds was really howling making the conditions pretty tough, plus it was a cold wind too. Well we did see a few small browns once again but none of us hooked any of them. We did work the same stretch of river again too which is the one thing I normally never do. But it was the only river in the area that we could access easily for now.

Once up at the dam wall the boys decided to do a spot of bait fishing in a couple of small deep holes in the river. So it was on with a couple of worms and immediately Samuel started pulling out some very small redfin and young Connor wasn't far behind him. I suppose they would have pulled out over a dozen of those little fella's before we decided to head off back to their house around 5.30pm.
I was glad to be heading back as my hands were aching with the cold, by hell I it was freezing.
Back home and we then all sat down to another excellent meal in a beautiful warm house. Tonight we had a venison roast and it was just delicious and went down really well. After tea I sat around with the kids and we all had a go on the Playstation 2 doing a bit of petrol head car racing. In all it was another good ending to the day spending time with this great family.

I headed of back to the very cosy Lake Leake Inn for the night and had a nice hot shower and hopped into a very warm and comfortable double bed. The Inn is run by Jan & Walter Milner and they too make you feel so welcome it's unreal. Their hospitality is just great and I would recommend that if your heading to Lake Leake for a few days then please call in there. They'll make you feel right at home. The accommodation is tops too and the meals are great value and very filling. They're open 7 days a week as well and for a single it's only $40-00 a night and that includes a hot cooked breakfast with coffee or tea. So you can guess where I will be staying on my next trip to Lake Leake. (03 6381 1329) contact: jumilner@gmail.com

I called into see the boys before heading back to Sheffield this morning and let every thing get back to normal for them all. For me it was a great time spent with this family at Lake Leake and I am looking forward to catching up again with them all one day down the track. And I will be staying at the Lake Leake Inn with hosts Jan & Walter. Samuel and Connor's accuracy and retrieval methods were very good considering they normally fish open waters. There were just a few tips that I passed onto them that will hopefully help them pick up a few fish on one or more trips to the Elizabeth River one day soon.

The title of my article says it all, ''Lake Leake- Hospitality Plus.'' thanks so much to the Evans family for having me there and feeding me with the best home cooking and to Jan & Walter for the great warm bed & hot breakfast each morning.

'' Lake Leake, just another beautiful piece of Tasmania to visit.''
cheers
Adrian

[meppstas]

Added a few more photos..
cheers
Adrian

[davek]

Yeah very nice place Adrian, good to see you met up with the Lake Leake boys too, did they teach you anything , cheers davo :thumbsup:

[meppstas]

Yeah very nice place Adrian, good to see you met up with the Lake Leake boys too, did they teach you anything , cheers davo :thumbsup:

How to relax more than I normally do davo, great couple of boys that listen and willing to learn as well.
cheers
Adrian

[Lake Leake Boy]

Great write up Adrian, awesome photos too. Well Davo, Adrian taught Connor and I lots! I think we taught Adrian, how not to catch fish... Storming up the creek!! Haha

[barra mick]

Great read !! Great pics again !!

Bm

[DougieK]

Great work guys! Nothing better than spinning trout in tiny streams.