and an art worth your learning.."
Presented from Issue 112, October 2014
So said Izaak Walton in the 1600s. It seems that Burnie’s Hannah Ledger has combined angling with art rather well. Hannah is a fish fanatic, outdoor enthusiast and budding, self-taught artist. From as young as she can remember, she has always had crayon in hand, colouring book under arm and as she’s grown as a painter, jars full of paintbrushes and cupboards full of ready-to-go blank canvas’.
A country girl at heart, Hannah was schooled at Yolla District High School, a small ‘farm’ school in the states North West, then went on to Hellyer College where she was given the opportunity to really grow her art skills; And by grow, that meant skipping the classes that would probably have more an impact of getting her somewhere in life, like English and Math to spend every spare minute with the art teacher, painting or drawing.
As typical teenagers do, they make poor decisions- and after being accepted in to one of the countries top art schools, turned down the offer and decided to move to the big island, where she lived for 5 years working in what seemed ‘dead end’ retail.
Read more ...Please check all relevant authorities before fishing - www.ifs.tas.gov.au and dpipwe.tas.gov.au . Don't forget issuu.com/stevenspublishing for years of back issues !
Recently contractors completed the accessible angling project at South Riana Dam.
This project was commenced in 2019 when it was identified that an easement was required to ensure public access to the car park and access area in perpetuity. The easement was created with the assistance and cooperation of the private landowner, Gary Carpenter and Tasmanian Irrigation.
Upon completion of the easement the IFS has built a new 60 m long pathway from the carpark to the waters edge via a self-closing pedestrian gate. The gently graded path provides access for anglers with mobility issues including wheelchairs with carers, mobility scooters, and walking frames. The gate is designed to permit canoe and kayak trolleys up to 1300mm wide.
The recently completed works cost $8,000.00 and was funded through the Government’s Strategy to ‘Increase Participation in Tasmania’s Inland Recreational Fishery 2021-28’.
South Riana Dam is an ideal location for passive angling with gently sloping grass to the waters edge. The IFS stocks the dam with brown trout fry annually. Anglers are catching well-conditioned trout up to 1.5kg with bait, lure and fly.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2021/dec/08/south-riana-dam-access-improvements
Yesterday (7th December) we released 50 Atlantic salmon into Brushy Lagoon. The average weight of the fish was 1.5kg. This should provide some exciting fishing for anglers that like to fish the lagoon in the lead up to Christmas.
Thanks to Tassal for donating the fish.
Scource: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2021/dec/08/atlantic-salmon-released-into-brushy-lagoon
With another storm forecast later in the day I headed up to a small stream on private property for a quick spin session before the weather turned sour. It was quite humid when I left home and on my arrival I noticed quite a few heavy clouds building up so I had to hurry on and get in the small river. The water level was still good here and there was still plenty of flow, it was a nice medium tannin colour as well so I started off using a small Mepps #00 gold Aglia. The first cast and retrieve resulted in a small brown having a go at the spinner, it missed getting hooked. The second cast and retrieve was much better when another small brown had a go at it and was hooked, the first trout of the session was landed. I moved several feet forward and flicked the spinner into the top end of this narrow stretch of water, no sooner had I started to retrieve the spinner when another little brown snapped it up, trout number two was soon in hand. Another cast & retrieve back into the same area I had a hit and miss from a trout, like the others, it was a small fish.
Tony Robertson with the tagged trout |
Keen angler, Tony Robertson, showed that the tagged fish are out there to be caught.
While drift spinning from his boat in yingina / Great Lake, near Reynolds Island, with small hard body lures he hooked and landed a brown trout. He noticed that it had blue tag. On closer inspection Tony realised it was the tagged fish from the 2020-21 Tasmanian Tagged Trout Promotion. The fish also had fishing line trailing from it where it had been hooked by another angler and lost.
Unfortunately for Tony, the 2020-21 competition finished at the end of April making the catch ineligible for the $10 000 prize. Tony has been given a consolation prize and is now on the hunt for one of this years tagged fish.
There are 45 tagged trout out there, waiting to be caught,
Each tag is worth $2,000* to the angler that returns the fish to the Inland Fisheries Service (*conditions apply). There are still five tagged fish swimming around in yingina / Great Lake and Tony has shown that these fish can be caught. Five of the fifty tagged brown trout in the 2021-22 Tasmanian Tagged Trout Promotion have been caught. There are lots more tagged fish in waters near you.
The waters and number of tagged trout still to be caught are:
Designated water |
Number remaining |
Arthurs Lake |
5 |
Briseis Mine Hole |
Was 2 now 1 |
Bronte Lagoon |
2 |
Craigbourne Dam |
Was 2 now 1 |
Curries River Reservoir |
2 |
Huntsman Lake |
Was 2 now 1 |
Lake Burbury |
5 |
Lake Leake |
Was 3 now 2 |
Lake Mackintosh |
5 |
Lake Parangana |
2 |
Lake Pedder |
5 |
Lake Rosebery |
5 |
Lake Rowallan |
2 |
River Derwent |
Was 3 now 2 |
yingina / Great Lake |
5 |
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2021/nov/17/tagged-trout-can-be-caught
After being laid up for a while with a torn muscle in my back and then giving it a short two hour workout in the Mersey River yesterday in which I pulled up okay I decided I will get a spin session in again today. With rain looming in the distance I headed off to one of my favourite small tannin streams for a morning spin session in the hope of catching a few trout before it arrives. As soon as I arrived I darted over to see what the water level was like, it was running high, much higher than I thought it would have been. The 60mms of rain we had here four days ago has really lifted the water level, it was still at a safe wading height, the downside was I'll be in for a tough time finding trout in the faster flowing water. After a twenty five minute walk I was at my entry point where I started fishing for trout, my lure of choice was a #0 Mepps Aglia Fluo Phospho (white) lure. The reason I chose this lure was because of it's white coloured blade plus the Aglia blade is a wide blade that will send out plenty of vibration through the water as I retrieve it, hopefully that will be enough to attract a few trout. As I started fishing my way upstream I couldn't believe how cold the water was, it was very cold on the legs which was something I wasn't expecting today. To make matters worse I didn't wear my thermal gear today either thinking the water temperature would have been okay. Yesterday when I fished the Mersey River the water temperature was around the 12-13 degree mark, here it's only around 7-8 degrees.
SFAC Minutes |
Calamari 2018 Analysis of Management Tools |
Calamari Discussion Paper Oct 2021 |
Calamari spawning in Northern Tas |
TARFish response to calamari management |
Another change of weather is on the way, this time it includes thunderstorms and heavy rain so I made a hasty decision to head off the Mersey River before the change arrives. I checked the river levels online and saw that the river at Weegena was down to a reasonable level that was fairly safe for wading. It was 7:40 am when I hopped in the river and the first thing I noticed was the water temperature was sitting at 10 degrees which was good to see.
The Tasmanian and Australian Liberal Governments are inviting Tasmanian Councils to apply for the second round of the Recreational Fishing and Camping Facilities Program (the Program) which opens today.
The Program, funded by the Australian Government and administered by the Tasmanian Government, provides grants to local government for the purpose of new or renewed:
boat ramps;
marine rescue facilities;
toilet blocks;
fish cleaning stations;
camping facilities; or
other infrastructure or facilities directly associated with recreational fishing, boating, or camping.
Following the success of the first round of the Program, the second round is seeking to fund larger projects with the potential of receiving council co-funding, which will benefit Tasmanians and visitors participating in camping, fishing, and boating activities across the State.
Read more: Securing recreational boating, camping, and fishing facilities across Tasmania
Tasmania’s world-leading carp eradication program is achieving very encouraging results.
In the past year, only three carp were captured in Lake Sorell by the Inland Fisheries Service and it appears that few, if any, now remain.
Extensive fishing efforts were undertaken during spring and summer 2020-21 and three carp were removed – one female and two males which were infected with the jelly gonad condition.
This year’s Carp Management Program annual report says there does not appear to be any fertile males left in Lake Sorell and juvenile carp surveys during and after the normal spawning season did not find any sign of recruitment.
All water released from Lake Sorell is still being screened as a precautionary measure and no carp were found in Lake Crescent or the River Clyde surveys.
A total of 41,499 carp have now been removed from Lake Sorell which is a 53 square kilometre body of water, and carp fishing will continue in 2021-22 focusing on specific times like key weather events and potential spawning times.
It is planned that Lake Sorell will remain open for public recreational use and angling.
Read the Carp Management Program Annual Report 2020-21
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Hello everyone, I thought it would be a good time to introduce myself.
My name is Stephen Smith and I have been managing the website tasfish.com since May 2009.
It has been an epic journey of learning and discovery and I am indebted to Mike Stevens for his help, support and patience.
I am developing a new venture Rubicon Web and Technology Training ( www.rwtt.com.au ). The focus is two part, to develop websites for individuals and small business and to train people to effectively use technology in their everyday lives.
Please contact me via www.rwtt.com.au/contact-me/ for further information - Stephen Smith.
by Sarah Graham
Many anglers are preparing for the opening of the new angling season on Saturday 7 August and it's shaping up to be another good one with the fishery in excellent health as a result of last year’s drought breaking rains. There are many great fishing locations around the State from which to choose for the opening weekend and early season fishing but here are a few suggestions.