THE new owner of The Fishy has netted a beauty, writes BRIAN CLANCY

There is nothing fishy about The Fishy, except it's really called the Promontory Gate Hotel.

The Fishy is the only pub in the small South Gippsland town of Fish Creek.

It's a big, imposing, stark, white, two-storey hotel set in the main street of the town, which is served well by dairy and beef farms.

But more importantly, being the closest pub to the Wilsons Promontory National Park means it has a captive tourist clientele.

Like most old country pubs The Fishy is rich in history, and haunted.

"Every old pub has a ghost," says licensee Amy Robson.

And just so you won't miss it, it has a big fish or mullet lying precariously across the corner of the roof, a legacy of a 1990 sculpture contest at Mt Gambier, in South Australia.

It's the fourth pub on the site.

The previous three, dating back to 1896, were destroyed by fire. The most recent was the Wiles Hotel, which was erased in the 1939 Black Friday fires.

From these ashes was built The Fishy - a then fashionable art-deco, thick-walled building, with upstairs accommodation.

The owners wanted to call it the White House but the locals insisted on The Fishy.

Over time, a bottle shop, an extended dining room and motel accommodation have been added.

The latter, according to Amy, has been appreciated by the campers who take refuge from stormy nights on the Prom.

Since its opening at the onset of the World War II, the Fishy has had many owners, many licensees and a checkered financial history.

It was only three months ago that Amy opted for a sea change, giving up the management of the trendy Curry Family Hotel in Collingwood to invest in The Fishy.

Amy, who has spent her whole working life in hotel management, has firm ideas on what makes a successful hotel, whether in city or country.

"You have to provide good food, good service and you have to have a commitment to the local community," she said.

"The days of relying on the bar are gone because of the drink-driving rules,"

She also has seven no-no's.

"No topless waitresses, no dizzy blondes, no strippers, no fights, no pokies, no TABs and no trouble-makers," she said.

The Fishy, under Amy's management, is safe on all accounts bar one - it has a TAB.

She admits she has difficulty coming to grips with the TAB, particularly the economics.

But then she accepts that like many pubs in other country towns it does provide a service.

While Amy admits she is still getting to know the locals, she has already detected a fierce loyalty to the hotel, particularly from the Fish Creek footy club.

A row of framed local footy legends on a bar wall guarantees the loyalty is both ways.

Amy says the hotel achieves a pleasant cultural mix between the townsfolk, the farmers and the tourists or visitors en-route to the Prom.

At its peak in the holiday season, from Melbourne Cup Day to Easter, The Fishy can serve up to 200 meals a day.

No doubt in the off-season it's over to the footy club and its supporters to keep The Fishy biting.