Ross Gilsenen can’t imagine his world without the Gippsland Lakes. A lifetime of living and working on them has provided an intimate understanding of the local waterways.
Born in 1933, Ross has always lived in Paynesville, and was a commercial fisherman on the Lakes for more than 50 years.
His father Don was a fish agent and owned the local iceworks, and his grandfather was a fish agent before that. It was their role to take charge of the catch once the boats came in to the port, ice and transport them, receive the money from Melbourne and pay the fishermen.
But when the time came for Ross to start work, it was life on the boats that appealed to him.
It was hard work, but we were young and didn’t notice,” he says.
The boats went out in all weather, and there were many incredibly cold nights spent on the Lakes, waiting for daybreak to start work.
“It didn’t matter where you fished, or what you were fishing for, you had to be there at daylight, whether it was one kilometre away, or 15kms away.”
In the early days of his career, that meant leaving Paynesville on the boat at lunchtime on Sunday, and not getting back until about 10am on Thursday. Cleaning and maintenance of the boat would follow, then a quick rest before heading out on Sunday to start again.
“In the early days, we had slow boats and camped away from home most nights. We had old car motors to drive the boats and they were worn out long before we got them.”
With technological improvements over the years, things got much easier. Worn out petrol motors gave way to reliable diesels, then outboard motors and fibreglass boats, which meant the fishermen could make it home to their families – and their warm beds – most nights.
“With the fibreglass boats, you could leave them anywhere. You could anchor them by a point and drive home for the night, before coming back in the morning to keep working,” Ross says.
“Mechanical winches were the best thing ever, and synthetic ropes and nets – they all cut down on our work loads, and took a lot of the worry out of things.”
Technology aside, Ross has seen a lot of changes in the Lakes themselves.
“When I first started, you couldn’t find a blade of grass in the Lakes anywhere – the crabs were thick and they had eaten it out. There was only Mullet – no Bream,” he says.
“But in the early ‘60s, things changed. The crabs disappeared and the Bream became thick. And the grass grew all over the Lakes. What caused that I don’t know, but it was a major change.
“Over the years, the grass has receded and come back and it seems to go through cycles.
“They tell me many years ago there was not so much salt in the Lake and the fishermen didn’t take fresh water with them, just dipped their billies over the side of the boats. It was never like that in my time though.
Paynesville has changed too.
“There used to be just a few hundred living here, nearly all fishing families. Paynesville was one of the major Victorian fishing ports for almost 100 years, now there are only a handful of commercial fishermen – but there are a lot more people getting out and just enjoying the Lakes too, so I guess it all balances out.”
Ross says the Gippsland Lakes have provided a great life for him and his family through the generations, and he continues to take great pleasure in the area.
“I’m proud of being a fisherman and I’ve loved every minute of it. In fact, I found it awful hard to give the game away, and after my licence was bought out, I still used to go out with a mate of mine a couple of days a week, just to stay in the game.
“To be honest, I couldn’t care less if I never saw another sunrise, but I do love a good sunset on the Lakes,” he adds with a laugh.
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