Published Dec 15. 2009 - 14 years ago
Updated or edited Sep 13. 2015

Video review: The Source - Tasmania

A beautiful account of the fishing in a fairly unknown destination: Tasmania. Lots of variation, lots of fish and lots of stunning landscapes and locations. Filmed in breathtaking HD.


Info
Author: 
Nick Reygeart
Publisher: 
Gin Clear Media
Publishing year: 
2009
Minutes: 
48+15
Price: 
37.90
NZ$
Reviewed by: 

Is Tasmania the new black? A new spot on the fly angler's map replacing New Zealand, which has been on there for so many years?
New Zealand has been the place to go if you wanted fantastic trout fishing in gin clear, pristine waters, but the last decade or more these islands have been almost overrun by anglers, and even though there still is a lot of undisturbed water on New Zealand, there is no doubt that the the fishing pressure on even the less accessible waters is increasing. On many of the DVD's and videos from NZ (and there are many!) the locations are not mentioned, and those filmmakers covering trophy fish waters rarely divulge any indications of their whereabouts.

With New Zealand so extremely well covered it's nice to see focus change to other places, and in Nick Reygeart's new DVD we are introduced to Tasmania, which - judging from his material - has at least as much to offer as New Zealand.

Nick Reygeart is a native of Australia, and in a way he has Tasmania closer than New Zealand (although he has moved to NZ recently). For those not extremely strong in the geography realm, Tasmania is a large island (360 by 300 kilometers or 225 by 190 miles) south of Australia's southeastern point on the same latitude as New Zealand. Tasmania is an Australian state, and as such closer to the Aussies than New Zealand.

Still, we hear very little from Tasmania, and the island is very rarely mentioned as a fishing destination.

Nick Reygeart changes that on this DVD.
Here he tells the story of the transportation of UK trout from Britain to Tasmania and from there on to New Zealand. The DVD starts with a small but beautiful historic reconstruction of the events that led up the release of trout in Tasmanian waters and from there on to fresh waters in much of the southern hemisphere. These events have provided the basis for the title of the movie, Tasmania being the source of most trout in this region.

But of course this is about present day fishing, and the director takes us through four different fisheries on the island and certainly leaves me with the impression that there is much more to come for. We get to fish sea trout in the rivers on Tasmania's West coast, stalk cruising trout in clear highland lakes, fish for small gems in stunningly beautiful rainforest creeks and fish Tasmania's lowland rivers.
Reygeart covers each location from his own standpoint and manages very well to convey his fascination of the fishing. I personally enjoyed the sequence from the small creeks in the forest most, not least because of the enthusiasm of the team while fishing, the beauty of the locations and the seemingly easily accessed water with lowly but beautiful day-to-day fish.
If I had fishing like that in my back yard I'd be a very happy man!
Sure the sea runs a stunning, and sure the chance of hooking trophies is thrilling, but for some reason the meager forest trout and the whole setting between trees and rocks left me wanting to go to Tasmania more than the large fish of the other locations.

I won't say that the other three locations didn't leave me longing! They sure did. Reygeart knows his way around fishing as well as filming, and the whole DVD must be applauded by the tourist boards on Tasmania, because it leaves no doubt that this is a beautiful and in many places undisturbed spot with a lot of fishing potential.

The quality of the filming and production is on par with the best. The tempo is very nice, not too hectic, but certainly nowhere near boring in any sequence. The whole thing is filmed in HD, and I have had the fortune of seeing the film on a large screen in a cinema, and it shines! Any one with the right projection gear or a large high quality screen will see what I mean. The rest of us can get a good part of the way by playing the DVD on a high rez computer screen. It's awesome!

The Source earns a Global Class rating from me for it's original location choice, beautiful fishing sequences and superior technical quality.

PS: Nick has been filming in Iceland in 2009! I can't wait to see the result. The preview is promising.

PPS: You can enjoy the preview of The Source, but also a Making of, which we posted on our video channel and below.


Comments

Terriffic panoramics...

Terriffic panoramics, the air to breathe is as though you never took a breath before, the euycaliptus smell is awsome, trout are spectacular... the locals true gents

also checkout "Gree...

also checkout "Green tide" , also new-zealand but saltwater flyfishing.....there is more to discover..

Congratulations to t...

Congratulations to the filming team. Fantastic promo on Tassie Nick. Yes, it really is as good as you paint it.

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