We’re quite often announcing a new addition to the farm. It happens quite regularly: baby lambs, baby alpacas, baby calves, ducklings and chicks, re-homed animals and rescue animals. This time it’s a little bit different. This time we have deliberately purchased something new for the farm. In fact we purchase these – yes there are multiples- once, sometimes twice, a year.
So what did we bring to the farm? Fish: Rainbow Trout to be precise. Every year we purchase rainbow trout to restock our dam so that our guests can go fishing. It’s a great activity for children especially those who have never had the opportunity to try fishing before and you don’t need all the gear as we have it here on site.
We have had many a child that has caught their first fish in our dam amidst squeals of excitement and calls of ‘Dad, Mum, I got fish! I got a fish!’ and you can even take it back to your cottage and cook it up on your own private BBQ! It can be fun for the whole family or you can head out on your own.
It’s not just the kids that enjoy fishing in our dam. Many times we’ve seen Dad sneak off for some quiet time with a fishing rod and a beer, to sit by the dam and fish as the sun goes down. Or he’s up early while the kids are just waking up and he’s down by the dam as the sun rises trying his hand a catching a fish for dinner. Alternatively I’ve seen mum send the kids off with dad to go fishing so mum can have some quiet time and catch up on some reading. Or the whole family can head down, relax on the banks of the dam and just enjoy the time together. We’ve had fly fishermen try their hand at catching a trout in our dam and even had people take out our canoes on the dam and fish!
We’ve had some big ones caught – and re-released – those that want to frame their fish – especially if it’s their first ever fish – and those that can’t wait to wrap it in foil with some lemon and garlic and cook it up on the BBQ. And we’ve had those that come back empty-handed. I guess that’s the way it is with rainbow trout. They can be tricky to catch. It’s also the way of fishing. Sometimes you can sit for hours and catch nothing. Sometimes you throw a line in and two minutes later you’ve landed a big one. That’s the challenge and, for dedicated fishers, also the joy of fishing.
Whatever your skill level or even your level of enthusiasm, we have now restocked our dam so our guests can try their hand at fishing for rainbow trout.