During the trout off-season I tend to spend a bit of time chasing bream, to continue getting a fishing fix, and spend time tying flies and dreaming about the trout season to come. It’s a time to spend doing tackle maintenance, stocking up on lures and dreaming up new challenges and goals for the trout season ahead. When the new season comes around I usually spend the first few months targeting sea runners. Sea run trout are simply brown trout that spend much of there lives out to sea and come in to the estuaries for spawning and to feed on whitebait and the other small endemic fishes that spawn in late winter through spring. Mixed in with the silvery sea runners you can also expect to catch resident fish that have the typical dark colours of a normal brown trout as well as atlantic salmon in some of our estuaries that are located near salmon farm pens. Living in Hobart it is quick and easy to do a trip on the Huon or Derwent and is a more comfortable proposition compared to a trip up to the highlands with snow and freezing winds to contend with.
Read more ...A late spur of the moment decision found me out West yesterday for a spot of dry fly action.
I decided to join the boys for a wander into a lake I haven't fished in years for a look. As it had been years since I had fished it I was very eager to get in there. The plan was to meet the others at Liawenee at around 5am as they were heading up from Hobart. I couldn't sleep Friday night so I headed up around 11pm and thought I'd get a coupla hours kip in the bus before they arrived. This never happened as I found myself just driving around the highlands to see how much wildlife I could spot under the moonlit sky!
Connor, Wally and I went out on Lake Leake for a couple of hours. We were in Wally’s boat and headed out at 12:30, and we trawled up around the Big Timber Shore, only getting a few touches. We then went over to the island getting a bit of cover from the wind, and getting a few hits on Tassie devil lures. We then trawled across in to Choco log bay, where Wally had a nice hit, but dropped it. We fished in there for about 45 minutes, getting a few hits. We then started to head back to Kalangadoo Bay, where Wally hooked this small Rainbow trout.
With a big wish list for a great long weekend planned my bubble soon got burst on Friday when I checked the 4 day weather forecast. Arriving at the Great lake around 2pm finding a reasonable southerly wind coming straight up the lake and most of the fish on the fish finder at around the 7 metre mark I guess due to the barometric pressure on a down ward trend also found they weren't very hungry tried every colour of the rainbow to catch only 1browny in good condition 1 1/2lbs and a very shabby rainbow should have been over 3lbs bet was lucky to get 1 1/2lbs on the scale. I don't why this fish was in so poor condition but over the weekend talking to another angler he had caught one as well just as poor.
With all the cloud and humidity Four Springs was on the visit list today. I needn't have bothered and have no doubt I would have seen just as many rises had I stayed in Launceston! Only a handful of duns and the anglers I spoke to also saw nothing. A few guys said that there had been large dun hatches there during the week but nothing on them,. I tried everything even resorting to a sinking line in 4 metres of water.The fact that there were only 5 boats in the carpark should have hinted things would be slow.. the enigma that is Four Springs..I actually never saw one rise.
Rob Soward
Dale Howard and I organised to head up to Lake King William yesterday. I dared not back out of this trip as I let him down at the last minute on his previous excursion to the Swan River. I also didn’t want the name “big girlie man” to gain momentum.
My first effective fishing trip since I ventured to Tassie for the opening season in August , saw me head off to explore a recently discovered little gem out in the Victorian goldfields. I discovered this little reservoir on a recent weekend away. I had heard of it but had never seen it let alone fished it. It is a little expanse of water worthy of inclusion amongst many of my favourite Tassie waters.. With its undulating country side vista and its relatively clear waters, the prospects seem good based on the visuals. I went up on the Saturday afternoon for hope of catching and evening rise. Alas there was no surface movement and after speaking to a regular that was just coming of the water, there was not much action under the water either.
With a good friend from Queensland, I spent a very nice day at Woods Lake last Wednesday. We boated 8, keep 3 and had a very nice smoked trout along side the Hut side. Most of the browns were in the 1.5 / 2lb mark, not big ,but lovely condition. Lunch, with a nice cold beer was nice too.
All were on Dales red nut and red rascal, good lures. Thanks Dale.
The road in is quite good, and with a relatively nice day, a good time was had.
Reg
Given today’s the fantastic weather forecast, Mark Tapsell and I decided to head up to Lake Augusta for a couple of hours. Leaving home at 5.30am, we arrived to blue skies and a mirror- like water. We proceeded to cook up a quick egg n bacon roll and brewed a coffee before heading out. Once on the water, we weren’t there long and we had a couple of nice trout in the boat, both caught on orange bead head nymphs hung 2 feet under a dry.
My brother and I went for a fish down the lake, Connor was fishing off the rocks at the Kalangadoo Bay Boat ramp, and had a few hits from a rainbow, and then he hooked it. It was 30 cm, we headed Back home as the rain started to really come down, and at about 4:30, we went back down as the rain had eased. I had a few hits from this small Rainbow, but I cast out to where there is this stump, let it sink and worked it back. On the 3rd time I let it sink,
Went to Curries River Dam for 9am Sunday at the Dam wall. I was using Chunky Cheese power bait and caught this beauty in 15 mins. The weather was quite windy so fly fishing was very difficult. But if you were a fly fisher, then today would have been great. Fish were rising until 10:30am. Then nothing.
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Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
Bob is a professional fishing guide and guides for trout and estuary species. Check him out at www.fishwildtasmania.com
There are several things we look for in our early season trout waters. It is still winter and cold, so some of the things to consider are: Altitude as this dictates the water temperature and therefore feeding activity. Food for the fish. Availability of trout food is generally dictated by the quantity and quality of weed beds.
Quantity of fish.
Three waters which I believe fit all three requirements are:
Read more ...