• Rivers

From the Archives ...

"Angling is an art - Hannah Ledger

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.

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by Craig Rist - Presented from Issue 91

By the time the month of April has arrived, the end of the brown trout season on our rivers is steadily coming to an end. Those magic days of trout rising to a hatch of insects are all but over. To the avid dry fly fisher, this is a reality that is hard to take at the end of every season. For me, it’s time to change tact, just like the trout in a river have to do to survive. As the amount of fly life in the river starts to taper off, more and more trout in the lower Mersey revert back to feeding on the native galaxia (baitfish), just as they do at the start of the season.

Category: Mersey River
Hits: 4419

2016 03 10 Trout No 600 for the 2015 16 trout season Mersey RiverMersey River gives up trout number 600 - 10/3/2016

With light drizzle on the way this afternoon I thought I would give the Mersey River a quick session at Kimberley. I haven't fished here for quite some time as the fishing went right off. I'm hoping to pick up at least three trout today to bring up my 600th trout for the 2015/16 season. Once there I found the river to be running very low and crystal clear, being a dull over cast day it didn't really bother me all that much. In fact I thought it would probably be a good day to fish here. I headed down to a fast water run that always gives up a few rainbows and I'm hoping it will again today. I started off with a small copper black fury flicking it up and across the river and letting it drift with the flow as I slowly retrieved it. It took ten minutes of working this run before I had my first sign of a trout. It just sat some 3'' behind the spinner and followed it without any sign of aggression at all. It was off with the black fury and on with the F-3 Rapala rainbow pattern to see if it would entice the trout to take it. I spent another ten minutes in the run without a sign of that trout, so I moved on.

Category: Mersey River
Hits: 3966

2016 03 08 Trout number 15 for the daySlow start, but a good finish 8-3-2016

Humid conditions again today saw me heading off to the Meander River this afternoon in the hope of adding a few more trout to my season's tally. I thought I'd try a different area today, one that's fished reasonably well on other trips. Started off using the copper black fury without any success, then tried a Rapala, and after that a black bladed black fury. All I could manage over the first 600 meters of river was two follows and one light hit & miss. Things weren't looking all that good and I'm thinking it's not going to be a good day on the river. 

Category: Meander River
Hits: 4093

2016 03 07 Lucky find 1Top day on the Meander River 7/3/2016

After a three day break from trout fishing I thought a trip to the Meander River would be the place to get back into it. Conditions today were how & humid which makes for good fishing, but also is a drain on the body. I started off in a nice fifty meter fast water run and using a black bladed black fury I had caught & released eight browns from nine hook ups by the time I reached the end of it. The river is still higher than normal due to Hydro Tasmania running the power turbines at Huntsman Dam, this has really helped make the fishing much better than usual. Things went a little quiet over the next hundred meters or so as the trout were only following the spinner and weren't showing any signs of aggression.

Category: Meander River
Hits: 4610

Fast water best place for fishing at the moment. 3-3-2016

Headed back for another spin session on Meander River this afternoon (3.15pm) in what was pretty warm conditions. It was still pretty humid and boy there was some heat in that sun. I was fishing the fast water on the Meander River and with the sun full on the water it was like I was standing in an oven. Not a breath of wind to be had either. I used the black bladed black fury today given the bright conditions and clear water. It wasn't too long before I had my first brown take the spinner and five casts later I had another two browns caught and released.

Category: Meander River
Hits: 4753

2016 02 25 Solid river brown aShort sharp session yields eight browns - 25/2/2016

After having 23mms of rain yesterday I thought I'd check out a river that runs through a friends property around 15 kms from Sheffield to see if it had risen enough to have a spin session.. It had risen by a couple of inches and was just fish-able in my opinion.

Category: Mersey River
Hits: 3950

2016 02 17 Another solid Meander River brown Meander a500th trout in another tough day at the office 17/2/2016

The forecast this morning (Weds) was for the winds to be easing off so I had decided I would head off later in the afternoon to see if I can crack the 500th trout for the season. Well, by 2.30pm here in Sheffield the wind had dropped right off to a nice light breeze which I was happy with. I was soon on the road heading on over to the Meander River once again. Trying another area quite some distance away from where I have recently been fishing. I arrived at the river just on 3.30pm to be greeted with another howling gale. I just couldn't believe it and did seriously think about turning around and heading back home. Not being one for giving in easily I decided I'd give it a go even though the wind was blowing straight down the river. Catching the nine trout required to reach the target wasn't going to be easy at all.

Category: Meander River
Hits: 5572

2016 02 16 Meander River brown on black fury aAnd I thought fishing was tough yesterday 16/2/2016

Headed off again this afternoon for another spin session in a rocky fast water stretch of the Meander River that's fished very well on my previous trips here. When I arrived the weather wasn't all that bad. The wind was a little gusty but nothing to worry about as I could see it wasn't going to effect my casting all that much. The river was reasonably sheltered from the wind too which made it that much easier. The first fifty meters was a little quiet as I just had the one hit and miss. Then over the next eighty meters I caught three nice browns. I'm thinking to myself I'm going to have another good catch of trout in this long fast water run again today. Then all hell let loose, the wind suddenly picked up a blew a gale. It was howling and there were small branches, twigs, leaves and all shapes and sizes of bark flying everywhere. I knew then it was going to be very difficult fishing from now on. This is as tough as I have ever experienced when fishing a river in these conditions.

Category: Meander River
Hits: 5391

2016 02 15 Lovely coloured Meander River brown taken on Gold Black Fury smallFourteen trout caught in tough conditions 15/2/2016

The forecast wasn't all that flash today with winds reaching 45-55 kph during the day and I had intended to have a day at home after hearing that report. It was 7.30 am and the wind here in Sheffield wasn't all that bad so I quickly got into my fishing clothes and headed of to the Meander River to have a session before the wind picked up. After a forty five minute drive I was in the river flicking the little black fury around by 9.00am. There was plenty of smoke from the bush fires being blown across the area too, it was really thick and this wasn't going to make the day any easier either. It seemed more like 8.00pm it was that dark here and it wasn't all that warm, in fact the air was quite cool.

Category: Meander River
Hits: 4532

2016 02 12 Black fury Meander River brown Meander aBack into the trout after a week's lay off. 12/2/2016

After a week's lay off from lower back & hip problems I finally felt good enough to head off to the Meander River for spin session. Well, that was after my weekly (every Weds.) dose of around 40+ injections that help to keep me trout fishing the rivers. I had wanted to have an early morning stint but that didn't happen. I didn't hit the river until just on 3.00pm. When I arrived the sun was full on the river and the wind was howling from the north, not only that the river was running low and crystal clear. I wasn't too fussed about it because it was just great to be able to get back into a river again. 

Category: Meander River
Hits: 5100

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From the Archives ... (last chance)

Trout tips - from tackle shops

Presented from Issue 105, August 2013

We did a bit of a runaround Tasmania’s tackle stores to see what their tips for the first month or so of the tackle season were. We asked what the top three places to fish were, plus lures, flies, baits and a few other things.
Here is a rundown on their answers Whenever, and wherever you fish - anywhere, or for any fish in the world - ask the locals and especially ask at the local tackle store. They know what was caught today, yesterday and on what.

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