Jo Starling

I’m sitting here tonight with the gorgeous and rather excited Rebecca Bailey. How are you, Rebecca?

Rebecca Bailey

I’m good, Jo. Thanks for having me.

It’s an absolute pleasure. I’m delighted that we’re actually able to talk because we had this scheduled in for a couple weeks back, but you came down rather poorly and we couldn’t do it.

Yeah… I wasn’t well. I put you off for far too long.

<Laugh> That’s alright. I’m hoping we can still get in touch with how you were feeling. I want the vibe!
Readers, the reason that we’re here today talking to Rebecca is because she’s just achieved an inspirational feat. Rebecca, tell us about that.

So… I’m the first female in Australia to win an open round championship in a Fly Fish Australia event. So it’s pretty cool. You can’t really take that title away from me now.

No, you own that. You are the first. Tell us what the comp was.

It was a Victoria VS New South Wales competition. We call it the State of Origin Championships. I believe it’s the second one that we’ve held it. Last year, it was fished at Rocky Valley, up at Falls Creek. So it was on Victoria Waters, but NSW managed the win, which was really cool. This year, it was held at Buckenderra on Lake Eucumbene, so new south Wales waters. Once again, we managed the win. So our names will be engraved on the Kennedy and Rees Shield, which is really cool.

It was a Victoria VS New South Wales competition. We call it the State of Origin Championships. I believe it’s the second one that we’ve held it. Last year, it was fished at Rocky Valley, up at Falls Creek. So it was on Victoria Waters, but NSW managed the win, which was really cool. This year, it was held at Buckenderra on Lake Eucumbene, so new south Wales waters. Once again, we managed the win. So our names will be engraved on the Kennedy and Rees Shield, which is really cool.

Fantastic! So no pressure next year then…

<Laugh> Yeah, we have to win it! Third time Lucky. Hopefully I’m a part of it.

I’m sure you will be, Darling. So, this was an historic win, as you said, and you’re the first female to take out one of these rounds and not just in new south Wales/ACT, but nationally. Hearty, hearty, congratulations! And you’ve inspired me so much and I’m sure you’ll inspire more and more women as they hear about this. It truly does demonstrate that the only gender bias in fishing is the one that’s in our heads. Right?

Exactly. I know it feels like such a male dominated sport, but it’s actually not like that at all. That’s what surprised me when I first started… Just how welcoming it is! I must say, a lot of them were skeptical in the beginning and then when I started placing in top five, there were a lot of funny looks, but after a very short period of time, it became very welcoming.

Oh, absolutely. And it just brings so much more colour to their lives as fishers as well, just to have the lively conversation of all genders around.

I’ve been called a breath of fresh air by a few of them!

Having met you, I can say that’s a fair comment.

I’ll take that Jo. <Laugh> That’s sweet.

Tell me about these fly-fishing tournaments. What determines a winner?

It’s based on the number of fish, but also how consistent you are. I still can’t get my head around the scoring to be honest, but each session is ranked individually. You get placed in each session and your place points are added up at the end. So, it’s more about consistency. It stops people coming from the bottom of the leaderboard up to the top at the last minute. However, you can fall quickly to the bottom from the top. I ended up catching 28 fish, so I was really happy with those results.

It’s based on the number of fish, but also how consistent you are. I still can’t get my head around the scoring to be honest, but each session is ranked individually. You get placed in each session and your place points are added up at the end. So, it’s more about consistency. It stops people coming from the bottom of the leaderboard up to the top at the last minute. However, you can fall quickly to the bottom from the top. I ended up catching 28 fish, so I was really happy with those results.

28 fish across how many sessions?

Four, over two days. Each session is three hours.

Well done! Are you still riding the high?

I am. It still feels pretty good. It almost feels like I’ve redeemed myself, because about 12 months ago I placed first in a competition at Buckenderra on Lake Eucumbene… the same venue as this one. It was close and ended up being recounted, with a slight error correction bumping me down into second place. So for about 24 hours, I did celebrate a win as the first female, blah, blah, blah… and then endured the disappointment. So it feels like I’ve just got back what was taken away from me.

I am. It still feels pretty good. It almost feels like I’ve redeemed myself, because about 12 months ago I placed first in a competition at Buckenderra on Lake Eucumbene… the same venue as this one. It was close and ended up being recounted, with a slight error correction bumping me down into second place. So for about 24 hours, I did celebrate a win as the first female, blah, blah, blah… and then endured the disappointment. So it feels like I’ve just got back what was taken away from me.

Oh, well that’s only fair <wink>.

It was just a simple error, but second place is still nothing to frown at.

No, no, not at all. Not at all! In preparing for this comp, did you get the opportunity to pre-fish?

Yeah, I did once. I don’t have a boat, so I’m what’s known as a non-boater in the comps. However, I did go out with another female angler, Jane, two weeks prior. Our aim was to fish as much water as possible, covering a few different bays, see if the fish were holding in any way particular and see what flies they wanted. I remember it was like bright, sunny, clear… A lovely day. All the fish were up high in the water column, so we were using a set of two or three nymph sunder a floating line with a long leader, fishing basically static. We were fishing the flies with just a slow figure eight retrieve to keep up with the slow drift of the boat. We were catching heaps of fish, which was really surprising given it was clear, bright, sunny, usually that’s terrible fishing weather!

Yeah, I did once. I don’t have a boat, so I’m what’s known as a non-boater in the comps. However, I did go out with another female angler, Jane, two weeks prior. Our aim was to fish as much water as possible, covering a few different bays, see if the fish were holding in any way particular and see what flies they wanted. I remember it was like bright, sunny, clear… A lovely day. All the fish were up high in the water column, so we were using a set of two or three nymph sunder a floating line with a long leader, fishing basically static. We were fishing the flies with just a slow figure eight retrieve to keep up with the slow drift of the boat. We were catching heaps of fish, which was really surprising given it was clear, bright, sunny, usually that’s terrible fishing weather!

My understanding is that when it came to game day, those are not the conditions you encountered.

Complete opposite on game day! It was Cloudy, rainy, windy — great fishing weather, but exactly the opposite of my pre-fishing day.

Right. So were you able to carry through any of the insights you collected from your pre-fish? Or was it a matter of starting from scratch?

Oh, it was, that’s the beauty of being a non-boater. You can just turn up and assess on the day. At the end of the day, it’s fishing and it it’s so variable. I thought it might fish pretty well given the conditions were overcast and rainy and just cold, I thought they’d still be looking up anyway, so I started with an intermediate line and a few of the flies I used when I pre-fished. I found the fish weren’t up as high as they were two weeks prior. Two weeks is a very long time in fishing. I ended up fishing a lot deeper with a sinking line, starting with a sink three and I even went to a sink five. The fish was still eating, but there was a bit of a cold snap, so they were a little bit more sluggish. They wanted an even slower retrieve. It was very different, but I figured it out relatively early.

Oh, it was, that’s the beauty of being a non-boater. You can just turn up and assess on the day. At the end of the day, it’s fishing and it it’s so variable. I thought it might fish pretty well given the conditions were overcast and rainy and just cold, I thought they’d still be looking up anyway, so I started with an intermediate line and a few of the flies I used when I pre-fished. I found the fish weren’t up as high as they were two weeks prior. Two weeks is a very long time in fishing. I ended up fishing a lot deeper with a sinking line, starting with a sink three and I even went to a sink five. The fish was still eating, but there was a bit of a cold snap, so they were a little bit more sluggish. They wanted an even slower retrieve. It was very different, but I figured it out relatively early.

Walk us through your tournament. Did you sort that sink three line out in your first round?

In the first round, I started with an intermediate and I did catch a few fish, but not as many as my boat partner who was on a sink three or five. So I quickly changed and it produced a lot more fish… But it was unpredictable. In one of the sessions (perhaps morning session three) I felt like the fish were up a bit higher. There was a bit of cloud cover, it was raining… So I started with an intermediate line. I picked up a few fish higher up, but it was like a switch flicked as soon as that rain stopped, and they went straight off the drop offs. My boater and I were scratching our heads, wondering what’d happened to the fishing… then we put two and two together. It had stopped raining and they just went deep. So, after a quick chat, we changed lines and found the fish and ended up doing really well.

In the first round, I started with an intermediate and I did catch a few fish, but not as many as my boat partner who was on a sink three or five. So I quickly changed and it produced a lot more fish… But it was unpredictable. In one of the sessions (perhaps morning session three) I felt like the fish were up a bit higher. There was a bit of cloud cover, it was raining… So I started with an intermediate line. I picked up a few fish higher up, but it was like a switch flicked as soon as that rain stopped, and they went straight off the drop offs. My boater and I were scratching our heads, wondering what’d happened to the fishing… then we put two and two together. It had stopped raining and they just went deep. So, after a quick chat, we changed lines and found the fish and ended up doing really well.

Did you find that the boaters that you drew tended to go to the same areas or did they all have different strategies?

Different strategies. I received the boat draw a couple of days prior and I thought “this’s gonna be great!” I’d drawn a bunch of good personalities, two were New South Welshmen and two were Victorian… two who knew the lake and two who had never fished it before, with no idea where to go. So, we had to work together, based on previous experience… But we figured it out quite quickly.

In session one, I think I caught five fish and then in the second session I upped that to 11 fish. So I achieved pretty consistent numbers. One thing I did find was there were a lot of boats, so as we were steaming up the lake and we’d see six or eight boats peel off into a bay and you’d think, “oh, that’s not good. There’s not enough room in there for even four boats”. Even if that was a spot I had wanted to fish, I’d quickly change to my plan B. Those split-second decisions really paid off for me a few times.

Different strategies. I received the boat draw a couple of days prior and I thought “this’s gonna be great!” I’d drawn a bunch of good personalities, two were New South Welshmen and two were Victorian… two who knew the lake and two who had never fished it before, with no idea where to go. So, we had to work together, based on previous experience… But we figured it out quite quickly.

In session one, I think I caught five fish and then in the second session I upped that to 11 fish. So I achieved pretty consistent numbers. One thing I did find was there were a lot of boats, so as we were steaming up the lake and we’d see six or eight boats peel off into a bay and you’d think, “oh, that’s not good. There’s not enough room in there for even four boats”. Even if that was a spot I had wanted to fish, I’d quickly change to my plan B. Those split-second decisions really paid off for me a few times.

Right.

I had Wainui Bay and Rushy Plains as my preferred options for Session 2. But seeing all those boats peel off into Rushy, I ran straight to Wainui and our boat ended up having it almost to ourselves… Just drifting over and over fish all session. That was where the 11 fish each came from!

That would have been exciting! That leads nicely into my next question: Is it even possible to have a strategy as a non-Boater? It sounds to me like you went in with your backup plans in case the strategy on the boat doesn’t go according to plan. Would that be fair?

Yeah. It’s hard. You can still have your strategy. I like starting with an intermediate line. I also like starting with slightly different flies to my boat partner. You can kind of work together in that sense. You know, if I’m catching fish, they’re watching me at all times… And I’m doing the same to them. So, you’re testing the waters vicariously through each other to see what’s working. But my strategy differs every comp really. You have an idea where the fish might be based on the time of the year, conditions, etc., but you always like a plan B and C up your sleeve as well. Your boater has their own knowledge, and you can usually bounce ideas off them. But yeah, it’s very hard to strategise. There are a lot of split-second decisions to make through the day and you must manage your time as well… When to move spots so you can maximise your time and when to just change your depth with your fly line or modify your retrieve… These constant decisions through the day are crucial.

Yeah. It’s hard. You can still have your strategy. I like starting with an intermediate line. I also like starting with slightly different flies to my boat partner. You can kind of work together in that sense. You know, if I’m catching fish, they’re watching me at all times… And I’m doing the same to them. So, you’re testing the waters vicariously through each other to see what’s working. But my strategy differs every comp really. You have an idea where the fish might be based on the time of the year, conditions, etc., but you always like a plan B and C up your sleeve as well. Your boater has their own knowledge, and you can usually bounce ideas off them. But yeah, it’s very hard to strategise. There are a lot of split-second decisions to make through the day and you must manage your time as well… When to move spots so you can maximise your time and when to just change your depth with your fly line or modify your retrieve… These constant decisions through the day are crucial.

You’ve pointed out that two weeks is long time in fishing, and it’s been two weeks since your win… So, given that any patterns you discovered back then would be defunct by now, what would expect to find and what would you] advise anyone wanting to go up Eucumbene for a crack now?

I know the lake itself is still fishing really well. If I was to hit it from the shore, I would head into Middling Bank or Frying Pan and fish the edges over weed beds, through the thistles and things like that. I’d probably start with a floating line and nymphs. They’ll eat, they’re feeding up quite rapidly in preparation to spawn. Even the rainbows are just feeding up constantly. They’re in really good health. If you want to target some browns, they’re typically stacked up in the river mouth now, as they are getting ready to spawn… So there’s some good night fishing to be had with mudeye and yabby patterns. I’ll agree with other anglers saying that it’s the best it’s been fishing in a decade for sure. And I think next season will be even better.

I know the lake itself is still fishing really well. If I was to hit it from the shore, I would head into Middling Bank or Frying Pan and fish the edges over weed beds, through the thistles and things like that. I’d probably start with a floating line and nymphs. They’ll eat, they’re feeding up quite rapidly in preparation to spawn. Even the rainbows are just feeding up constantly. They’re in really good health. If you want to target some browns, they’re typically stacked up in the river mouth now, as they are getting ready to spawn… So there’s some good night fishing to be had with mudeye and yabby patterns. I’ll agree with other anglers saying that it’s the best it’s been fishing in a decade for sure. And I think next season will be even better.

Oh, that’s exciting.

You’ve certainly inspired me, and you’ve undoubtedly inspired a lot of other women with this win. What would your advice be to those thinking that they’d like to give tournament fly fishing a go?

Start by joining the Fly Fish Australia website as a member. That’ll give you access to all the upcoming comps. I know it feels like a big step… There’s a lot of self-doubt. There certainly was when I started, I thought “I’m not gonna be good enough. I won’t win it. These are some of the best anglers in Australia,” but you have to get that out of your head and go in to have fun, learn a bit, meet people. I’d been fishing solo for many years and, loving it. But as soon as I joined the comps, I made so many connections and so many friends and learned so many new techniques that I took into my recreational fishing, which made me a better angler all round.

So I recommend just give it a go. Commit to two comps. If you don’t like it, you can stop any time. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it this much, but I’m loving it. And if you’re a female and you’re a bit concerned about the male dominated aspect of it, don’t be. It may look that way, but it’s not the case. Still, I know it can be overwhelming, so I’d suggest you buddy up with another lady angler, maybe even myself… as a sort of safety net, I guess.

Start by joining the Fly Fish Australia website as a member. That’ll give you access to all the upcoming comps. I know it feels like a big step… There’s a lot of self-doubt. There certainly was when I started, I thought “I’m not gonna be good enough. I won’t win it. These are some of the best anglers in Australia,” but you have to get that out of your head and go in to have fun, learn a bit, meet people. I’d been fishing solo for many years and, loving it. But as soon as I joined the comps, I made so many connections and so many friends and learned so many new techniques that I took into my recreational fishing, which made me a better angler all round.

So I recommend just give it a go. Commit to two comps. If you don’t like it, you can stop any time. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it this much, but I’m loving it. And if you’re a female and you’re a bit concerned about the male dominated aspect of it, don’t be. It may look that way, but it’s not the case. Still, I know it can be overwhelming, so I’d suggest you buddy up with another lady angler, maybe even myself… as a sort of safety net, I guess.

Start by joining the Fly Fish Australia website as a member. That’ll give you access to all the upcoming comps. I know it feels like a big step… There’s a lot of self-doubt. There certainly was when I started, I thought “I’m not gonna be good enough. I won’t win it. These are some of the best anglers in Australia,” but you have to get that out of your head and go in to have fun, learn a bit, meet people. I’d been fishing solo for many years and, loving it. But as soon as I joined the comps, I made so many connections and so many friends and learned so many new techniques that I took into my recreational fishing, which made me a better angler all round.

So I recommend just give it a go. Commit to two comps. If you don’t like it, you can stop any time. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it this much, but I’m loving it. And if you’re a female and you’re a bit concerned about the male dominated aspect of it, don’t be. It may look that way, but it’s not the case. Still, I know it can be overwhelming, so I’d suggest you buddy up with another lady angler, maybe even myself… as a sort of safety net, I guess.

Yeah. That’s a good tip. I met you during my first ever fly-fishing comp and my big takeaway was that as a non-boater you still need to take your stuff. I knew I had to have my PFD but I didn’t know I had to take a net! I had to rock up to the boat ready to charm the boater so that he’d share his net with me! They were pretty good though.

When I started, I didn’t have anything, so for a few comps there I had people lending me things like life vests and spare rods. So don’t feel like you need all the gear. You accumulate that over time. Don’t rush into it. Everyone’s willing to lend you stuff and give you advice. So just jump in and give it a go.

I think with that attitude, everyone who enters a comp wins. Right?

Yeah.

Absolutely. So lastly, what does this mean win mean to you?

It means a lot. It’s a big title to achieve. It hasn’t really sunk in, I guess but it can’t be taken away now. It’s not all about the points, but I received 30 points for that last comp, which is a lotto get in one go. Those points go towards my bid for the Australian team to compete in the World Championships for next year. So that probably sums up what it means to me… Having enough points for the Team and being a strong competitor in that team. I’m up there on the leaderboard. They just released the updated version and I think I’m 11th place Australia-wide. I’m happy with that. Points are a big factor. That’s why everyone’s doing the comps.

It means a lot. It’s a big title to achieve. It hasn’t really sunk in, I guess but it can’t be taken away now. It’s not all about the points, but I received 30 points for that last comp, which is a lotto get in one go. Those points go towards my bid for the Australian team to compete in the World Championships for next year. So that probably sums up what it means to me… Having enough points for the Team and being a strong competitor in that team. I’m up there on the leaderboard. They just released the updated version and I think I’m 11th place Australia-wide. I’m happy with that. Points are a big factor. That’s why everyone’s doing the comps.

Wow! I didn’t realise that these competitions lead to qualifications for the Worlds.

That’s right. So next year I’ll definitely be top of the running for the Australian ladies team to compete in Canada.

I’m surprised by how much I enjoy the fly fishing comps too. There’s something different about the format that’s so much more collaborative than the other tournaments I’ve fished. So you will see me on the circuit… but in the meantime, thank you for sharing your momentous achievement.

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