Spawning a new generation of fishers

Julia Vahry caught her first trout when she was five and now she's persuading a new generation to have a go.

Her daughter, nine-year-old Isla Petersen, is already learning to cast, strike and land her own fish.

Vahry aims to get children who've been cooped up indoors during the pandemic out enjoying nature and learning a skill which could become a lifetime hobby.

Fly fishing also brings families together, she says.

"Two years of being locked inside, people are frightened even, re-emerging back out into society again.

"People are having a hard time either with mental health, anxiety, scared of what might happen."

Vahry is the newly installed kids fishing ambassador at the Tongariro National Trout Centre in Turangi, where children can have a go at the sport as well as learn about the ecosystem and freshwater protection.

Country Life watched as Isla, dressed in waders and under the expert tuition of volunteer Doug Stevens, cast out her line into the children's fishing pond teeming with trout.

Vahry says the controlled environment of the pond is safer for children learning, but Isla is beginning to get out and about now to fly fishing spots on easily accessible rivers.

"People don't realise what's in their backyard and so easily accessible," she says.

"A lot of these rivers we drive over every single day have fish in them and people would have no idea if they stopped, pulled over and went bush whacking or explored, that they might find a beautiful, tranquil spot and have a great incredible moment and memory together as a family."

Vahry, who spent 10 years in the police force, decided to take up the ambassadorial role after realising the benefits she had gained fishing with her father and grandfather.

"I saw it as a wonderful opportunity to give back to the community especially for those families and children that don't get to have special experiences together."

She says fly fishing is affordable. All you need is a rod. Second hand gear is available and can be passed down through the family.

There are a wide range of options for places to go to fish too, she says.

The centre has just received funding from the Ministry of Education to beef up its education programme.

It plans to hold outdoor classrooms for children and young people to learn about freshwater ecology, the role of both trout and native fish, and Māori guardianship of the waterways and their inhabitants.