2021 01 20 The best trout of the morningAnother top day here in Sheffield today with a maximum temperature of 22 degrees followed up with a gusty South Westerly later in the day, a good day to hit one of the larger rivers again. This time it was the upper reaches of the Mersey River at Weegena that I headed to for the second time this season. My last trip here was quite a while ago, that trip was a real fizzer with just the one brown trout caught and released. I arrived at 7:50am and was in the river by 7:56am, the water was running very clear so I started the session off with a Mepps #0 Stone Fly Bug spinner.

2021 01 17 Small brown No 150 for the seasonAfter a forty five minute drive to the Meander River this morning (6:45am) only to find the river bottom full of green cotton like algae, it wasn't worth putting the gear on to fish the area so headed back to chase the Mersey River trout. By the time I reached my entry point in the Mersey River it was 8:55 am, not the early start I had originally planned. I started the spin session off in the same area that I've fished on my last couple of trips here, mainly because it's been giving up a few trout on those trips, so while the iron's hot stick with it. The river level was down marginally since my last spin session which was good, the river bottom was still it's usual slimy, slippery self though. The first stretch of fast water I fished with the #1 Aglia Furia was the one that's given up several rainbows, today it didn't give a yelp, not a single touch from a trout.

mastWhen is the new standard effective from?

From 1 January 2021, all life jackets in Tasmania on recreational boats will need to be approved to AS4758.

2021 01 08 Another beautiful rainbows in the netThe weather forecast wasn't all that flash for today with rain and gusty 30 kph NNW winds, that forecast kept me home for the most of the day, we did have a very light shower of rain and the wind was gusting at 30kph on and off throughout the day. At 4:00pm I'd had enough of sitting around the house and decided to shoot off for a quick spin session in a stretch of river I haven't fished for a very long time. By the time I put the wading gear in the car and hit the river it was 4:20pm and with daylight saving I had a good few hours up my sleeve to catch a trout or two. The river was actually running a little higher than expected but still safe enough to cross over and head to my starting point a few hundred meters downstream.

2020 11 22 The third trout is about to be releasedMild weather conditions again today had me heading off to the sheltered tannin water in the bush, the same little stream I was in a few days ago. This time I started fishing the stream close to where I ended the spin session last time when I managed to catch and release five wild browns. It was 3:15 pm when I hit the light tannin coloured water that had filtered sunlight on it, the lure of choice was a Mepps gold #00 Aglia. This time it's not the old well used one like I normally use, this one has only been used a couple of times. It took me twenty minutes before I had my first hit from a trout in a small pocket of water, it was hooked for a short time, it tossed the lure on the first leap from the stream. A little further upstream I had a hit and miss from another brown, not long after that it was trout on.

 Four Springs
Fisheries Officer Paul Middleton
with a brown trout from
Four Springs Lake

During May 2020 we carried out a major survey of the fish population at Four Springs Lake to assess the trout population. This information along with past stockings numbers and angler catch information collected since 1999, have been assessed and reported. A final report is now available on the IFS website at: About Us - Publications - Fishery Performance Assessment Reports.

Additionally, our hard working compliance staff have been out collecting some interesting creel data from fishers at Four Springs Lake. Since the start of the season, 675 fishers have been checked at Four Springs. Of these, 383 had been fishing for one or more hours, while the remainder were just about to start fishing or had only just commenced. The average time spent fishing by these fishers was 4 hours.

Of the 383 fishers interviewed, they caught 326 brown trout and 132 rainbow trout. Table 1 below shows the number of brown trout caught and kept, the number of sized fish caught and released, and the number of undersized fish returned.

a salmonA 5 fish daily bag limit applies to Atlantic salmon in inland waters
With the recent arrival of 'escapee' Atlantic salmon in inland waters anglers need to be aware that regulations apply.

Each person must have a current angling licence to fish with a rod, reel and line in any inland waters.
A 5 fish daily bag limit applies to Atlantic salmon in inland waters.
The two main rivers where salmon are being caught are the Huon and the Derwent. An angling licence is required to take Atlantic salmon (and trout) above the following boundaries.

Huon River- Above an imaginary straight line drawn between a white post situated on the shore of the southern side of Castle Forbes Bay and another white post situated to the eastward of that post on the opposite bank of the Huon River.

River Derwent – Above a line between Dowsings Point to Store Point.

For the seaward limits of other rivers go to the Inland Fisheries (Seaward Limits) Order 2004

For more information go to the Tasmanian Inland Fishing Code 2020-21

Source: Chasing Atlantic salmon in inland waters! (ifs.tas.gov.au)

arthur
Mike Fishburn and William Overton
with a well fought catch at
Cowpaddock Bay

Arthurs Lake is continuing to improve this season. Over the Christmas/New Year period lots of trout were caught. Spinning with lures and fly fishing were most successful.

Trolling cobra lures deep in bright conditions and shallow in dull conditions has been productive.

One angler using soft plastics had caught five well-conditioned fish from the Lilypads at the top end of Jonah Bay. There have been duns aplenty in Cowpaddock Bay also, with anglers using emerger style flies doing particularly well.

The $10,000 tagged fish that was released into Arthurs Lake is still there to be caught. If you are wondering where to go for a fish next, seriously consider having a look at Arthurs Lake!

Source: Arthurs Lake continuing to improve (ifs.tas.gov.au)

officer

Fisheries Officer on patrol in
Lake Rowallan

The Christmas/New Year holiday period was popular for trout fishing. Our officers conducted 336 recreational fishing and 101 boating safety inspections at key waters around the state. Fishing conditions were good during the period, with a mixture of sunny and overcast days accompanied with light winds and minimal rain:

Great Lake – Anglers trolling anglers caught good fish around the northern end of the lake, with cobra lures and flat fish. In bright conditions, trolling deep was more effective, whilst surface lures worked well in the evening. For the fly anglers plenty of fish were up feeding on the surface in the windlanes.

The Tasmanian Chapter of Fly Fish Australia will be organising the National Championships in February 2021, February 3 - 6.

We are seeking people interested in being ‘Controllers’ for the river sessions, which will be held on the Meander and Mersey rivers.

Please read the attached PDF if you are interested in being involved

Mesotes
Brown trout fry

Each year the IFS surveys Arthurs and Woods lakes for two endangered native fishes, the Arthurs paragalaxias and the Saddled galaxias. At Arthurs Lake, we found high numbers of the Arthurs paragalaxias across all areas of the lake, with 429 fish captured. However, the number of Saddled galaxias captured was very low, with only 9 captured over two nights of trapping.

The survey results for Woods Lake were contrasting to the Arthurs Lake results. A total of 217 Saddled galaxias were captured over two nights trapping, with only one Arthurs paragalaxias captured. The result for the Saddled galaxias was somewhat reassuring as the number of fish captured at Woods Lake over the past two years has been low. While just one Arthurs paragalaxias was captured, it is good to know the species remains in the Woods Lake, as before 2014 it was thought it may have become locally extinct.

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