Once out on the water, however, it’s not at all romantic, just wet and cold. Bill Brown and brothers, George and Dave Casement, own the three boats which fish the lakes of Mallacoota and the sea around Gabo and beyond.

When the salmon are running, the three boats often co-operate to shoot a school of salmon. This involves the use of sein boats, small net. carrying clinker craft, and if the salmon are unco operative enough to feed close to shore, the surf can often upset these boats and this is where the quaint seaman’s expression, ‘all wet arse and no fish’, really applies.