Using a Rainbow Lodge guide who is based in the Tasmanian Central Highlands places you at a clear advantage.

Tasmania is an environment that constantly changes, different weather conditions and water levels can turn good fishing into great, great fishing into spectacular.

Our team live, eat and breathe guiding in Tasmania, both in the Central Highlands and on the lowland rivers, so we know how to match conditions to locations and, of course, trout!

We specialise in sight-fishing and hunting for feeding trout... brown, brook and rainbow - still and running water.

Neil Grose:
Neil has been guiding in the Central Highlands for nine years and has spent a life time chasing trout in all manner of Tasmanian waters. Born and bred in Tasmania, Neil grew up in the North East of the state fishing the multitude of streams and rivers found in the area. Educated at Launceston Church Grammar School, Neil’s love of fly fishing was fostered by fellow students and teachers who were fly fishers.

In 2001 Neil wrote his first book, Essential Fly Fishing Techniques for Australian Lakes, followed in 2003 with his second, titled An Introduction to Fly Fishing. In addition to the books, Neil writes for many magazines such as FlyLife, Freshwater Fishing, Tasmanian Fishing News and the Club Marine range of annual magazines.

Neil specialises in sight fishing on the Tasmanian central plateau lakes, especially Arthurs Lake, Great Lake and Penstock Lagoon. Neil is at the forefront of the adaptation of the English loch style technique to Australian waters, especially dry fly loch style. Neil is also passionate about sight fishing and exploiting the wonderful mayfly hatches, beetle falls and windlane and polaroiding opportunities that the Tasmanian lakes provide. As a qualified teacher, Neil loves guiding beginners on their first fly fishing experience, as well as presenting challenges to experienced anglers.

Chris Bassano:
Christopher Bassano started guiding with us in 2004 and has now become an integral part of our team. Christopher has a huge array of fishing knowledge, including a diverse overseas fly fishing experience as well as superb local knowledge. Christopher was born in South Africa and spent his senior school life at Launceston Church Grammar, where he was a champion cricketer and hockey player. He also has an applied science degree from the University of Tasmania (which I suspect has a major in fishing instead of studying).

Christopher is currently a professional cricketer, playing for English county cricket team Derbyshire. Christopher has played cricket at first class level in both Tasmania and England for some years now, sharing that passion with his love of fly fishing.

Christopher lives during our summer months on the banks of the St Patricks River, one of Tasmania’s premier trout streams. He also has an excellent local knowledge of the Western Lakes, both near and far. For anglers seeking the best the Western Lakes has to offer Christopher will unlock many secrets and uncover some excellent fishing, even on cloudy days.

Christopher isn’t just a Western Lakes and river guide, as he is also intimate with Great Lake and Arthurs Lake, as well as the numerous other lakes in the highlands. Christopher’s vast overseas experience means that he is up to date with the latest in international fly design and fishing techniques, especially boat based techniques.

Christopher is also able to access some of the best stretches of the St Patricks River. The St Pats is a wonderful free running gravel bed stream, lined with majestic willows and featuring classic streamy runs and great riffles and pools. The St Pats really fires in summer and through into autumn, with some sublime fishing in late February and early March as the grass hoppers fall onto the water.

He also is a great bream guide, with an excellent local knowledge of the Derwent, Swan and Scamander estuaries. Whether it is flies or soft plastics, Christopher can winkle out some great fish.

Christopher has a great personality, a cheeky grin and a boundless amount of energy and enthusiasm for fishing and fly fishers… as well as being a naturally talented guide. Nicole and I are very proud of his achievements in our guiding business.

Steve Steer:
Steve Steer is Tasmania’s best credentialed bream angler – his 6 career Australian Bream Tournament wins are testament to that. Steve has been chasing bream with soft plastic and hard body lures for many years, and has honed his guiding skills on the super-competitive tournament circuit. His most recent victory was an outstanding win in the 2007 St Helens round of the Australian Bream Tournament. Steve also finished an excellent 10th in the 2006 ABT Grand Final in NSW.

While Steve is primarily a bream on lure specialist, he is available for lure fishing trips on trout and other ‘non-bream’ species. If you would like to know more about Steve, call him on his mobile (0414 623 898) – he just loves to talk about fishing.

Nicole Grose:
Nicole manages the day to day guiding land lodge business and is the first point of contact for our guests and clients. Nicole is a mad keen fly fisher who is also responsible for the wonderful cuisine that is served up nightly at Rainbow Lodge andthe wonderful lunches and morning teas whilst out on the lake.

Nicole loves her fishing, and will take any opportunity to grab the rod and head out for a quick flick. Dry fly fishing is her strong preference, and if it comes down to wet fly fishing she would much rather cast a soft plastic than labour out a wet fly on a sinking line.

Nicole started fishing as soon as she could stand, going on surf fishing trips with her parents before discovering the joys of fly fishing through the Southern Fly Fishers in Melbourne. Her early mentors were Ron Penny and the late John Harrison, who both instilled in her good casting technique and the thirst for fishing knowledge.