Recently Atlantic salmon seems to be a very hot topic amongst local anglers, especially those in the south of the state in the D'Entrecasteaux area. Northern anglers should take a close look at the Tamar as there are opportunities here as well.
The recent "great escape" has provided a perfect opportunity for fresh and saltwater anglers alike to experience some truly memorable sport. Tasmania's pristine, clean and cool waters are the perfect nursery for the Atlantic Salmon and as our local fish farms produce more and more fresh quality seafood it is a fact that there are going to be tangible consequences.
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 !
With poor weather forecast over the next few days I thought I would get one more trip into the tannin water before the change arrives, at the moment the conditions were perfect for trout fishing. I wasn't sure how much lower the water level had dropped in the small stream until I arrived (11:45am) to find it was very low and it was going to be quite a challenge chasing the trout. In low water levels the trout are very alert and will dart off with the slightest bit on movement, even when using a lightweight 1.5 gram Mepps spinner is enough to send them heading for cover.
With another change due plus not having wet a line for a week I headed back to give the Mersey River another crack, this time I was there much earlier too. Still a little later than I would have liked given the conditions were nice and cool as well as being heavily overcast it was the perfect morning to be chasing trout in a river. The river level was around the same height as the last trip and it was still running nice and clear, I felt the fast water runs would be the ones that would give up the trout again today.
The Inland Fisheries Service has recently completed grading and potholing of Fisheries Lane, Brumbys Creek and Woods Lake Road.
We would like to thanks Hydro Tasmania for their contribution and support towards maintaining Woods Lake Road.
Please drive to the conditions, limit your speed to 40 KMH to help maintain the roads in good condition and use hi range 4wd when towing boats up the hill from the Woods Lake boat ramp.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/nov/07/maintaining-roads-your-favourite-fishing-spots
Woods Lake Road has been graded
Murchison Dam was constructed between 1978 and 1982 and forms Lake Murchison, which is a diversion storage that discharges water into Lake Mackintosh via the underground Sophia tunnel.
What?
Hydro Tasmania is increasing the size of the spillway on Murchison Dam in response to long-term predictions from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Why?
According to the Bureau, previously rare, very large rainfall events are occurring more frequently. The steep-sided nature of the Murchison Dam can result in rapid water-level rise during periods of intense rainfall. A larger spillway will allow the dam to safely weather the largest, most severe rainstorm event.
A reminder that the World Fly Fishing Championship is starting soon in Tasmania.
Teams from 23 countries will compete at the three lake and two river venues.
The Government is supporting the event, to ensure it is one to remember. This support includes proposed temporary regulation changes for the competition waters that aim to keep any disruption to a minimum.
The following regulation changes have been put in place to support the event:
The lake venues of Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock Lagoon and Woods Lake, will be closed to recreational fishing for the duration of the event from midnight on Sunday 1 December to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
The competition sections of the river venues will be closed to recreational fishing, from midnight on Sunday 24 November to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
The Northern Recreation Day Long Weekend has come and gone. Our Officers were out on patrol and witnessed some fantastic catches from many of our inland waters.
On the angling front, Lake Rowallan provided some nice catches, particularly around the southern end of the lake. Hard body lures and green and gold cobras appeared to be providing the best results. Good fish were also taken by bait fishermen using worms throughout the day.
Woods lake fished very well also, with all methods of angling successful. Fly anglers would be excited to know that there were quite a few duns on the water on Saturday in the south western corner of the lake. Lure anglers did well right around the lake, with gold and black cobras accounting for many fish. Lure fishing appeared to be best before 10am and after 4pm, with quiet patches throughout the middle of the day.
Thanks to Anglers Alliance Tasmania stalwart John Broomby for initiating discussion with two landowners at Porters Bridge on the Meander River near Westbury. As a result anglers access has now been established to 4km of river up and downstream of a newly created parking area on the southern side of the bridge. Ideal for bait fishing with a lightly weighted worm in spring or a grasshopper later in the season and lure casting with small hard bodies the river has deep pools interspersed with rock riffles. Steep banks in places make access challenging but the sheltering trees and quiet ambience make the effort worthwhile. As always please respect the generosity of the landowners and do the right thing!
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/nov/01/new-angler-access-meander-river
Check out the activities of the IFS for the 2018-19 financial year in our Annual Report.
View the report from this link:
Front cover artwork by Trevor Hawkins
#troutfishtasmania
The Inland Fisheries Service now has an Instagram profile, which will provide up to date information on the trout fishery in Tasmania. Follow us to see what our staff do and see while they are out and about. You will find us at @troutfishtasmania or https://www.instagram.com/troutfishtasmania/
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/oct/30/inland-fisheries-service-instagram
Peter Mervyn MUNDAY of Mella appeared in Smithton Magistrates Court on Wednesday 30 October 2019. He was sentenced on 28 charges relating to the illegal taking of whitebait from the Duck River during September 2018.
Mr MUNDAY was fined a total of $23,798. This is the largest individual fine ever imposed under Inland Fisheries Legislation.
Mr MUNDAY was caught fishing for whitebait illegally at the Duck River on six occasions during September 2018. At this time the Duck River was closed to the taking of whitebait. This penalty should serve as a warning to anyone choosing to disregard the strict regulations around the taking of whitebait.
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When you have finished for the day, why not have a brag about the ones that didn't get away! Send Mike an article on your fishing (Click here for contact details), and we'll get it published here. Have fun fishing - tasfish.com
Here is a list of all of the Article Categories. The number in Brackets, eg (13) is the number of articles. Click on Derwent River and all articles relating to the Derwent will be displayed in the central area.
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Presented from Issue 100
Considering the world class quality of our sea trout fishery, these fish are not sought after by enough anglers. Sea runners live in the salt water and run up our estuaries and rivers from the start of August to the middle of November. At this time of the year, they are here to eat the many species of fish that are either running up the rivers to spawn or are living in and around the estuary systems. Trout, both sea run and resident (Slob Trout) feed heavily on these small fish which darken in colouration as they move further into fresh water reaches.
The majority of these predatory fish are brown trout with rainbows making up a very small percentage of the catch. They can be found all around the state but it would be fair to say that the east coast is the least prolific of all the areas. They still run up such rivers as the Georges (and many others) but their numbers along with the quality of the fishing elsewhere make it difficult to recommend the area above the larger northern, southern and western rivers.
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