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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Another warm afternoon saw me head of to Merseylea for a late session on the Mersey River to see if I can add a few more trout to my seasons tally of 577 after yesterdays catch of four trout.
When I arrived to where I was going to fish I spotted a car already there so I headed of to another spot at Merseylea only to find the same thing. I was thinking about just heading of home when I thought I would try a section of river at Kimberley where I have gained the land owners permission to enter and fish there. I don't know why I didn't think of heading there in the first place as I always have this stretch of river to myself each time I go there. When I arrived at the river I spotted three trout surface feeding at the tail end of a long wide stretch of water. A quick flick ahead of them with a #00 gold black fury saw it taken in a matter of seconds by a small trout, and that's as long that small trout stayed on as well. Three leaps from the river that little trout tossed the spinner.
Read more: Two reasonable hours on the Mersey River - Adrian Webb
With a very light breeze blowing I was in two minds all day whether to go and have a session on the Mersey River or not. Finally around 2:30pm I decided I would go for a late spin session after all. I was in the river by 3:00 pm in what was really good conditions even though the river was running low and clear, not only that I would be fishing in full sun for the first 400 meters of river until I reached the shaded areas on the river. I started off using a hard body for a while without any sign of a trout before I changed to the gold Aglia spinner when I reached a 300 meter shallow fast water stretch of river that varied in depth from (4'' to 6'') 10cms to 20cms.
Presented from Issue 101
I am a fly fisher living on the banks of the Mersey River in Latrobe in northern Tasmania. Some, close to me, think I am obsessed. I get to see close hand the cycles of the river and its inhabitants throughout the changing seasons. For me the most exciting time of the trout fishing season is late spring and early summer when the aquatic insects, like the caddis flies, stoneflies and above all the majestic mayfly, are going through their hatching stages. What follows is a story of a spring morning’s fishing on my favourite stream.
Presented from Issue 96
I have spent most of my life growing up in close proximity to the Mersey River and its wonderful trout fishing. Over the years I have got to know the river and its denizens quite well and this particular season to date has certainly been one of the best I that I can personally remember. What follows is my take on the fishing action on this water for the first half of the 2011/2012 trout fishing season.
After lunch I thought I would take the trout gear and head on over to Merseylea in the hope I may finally get to wet a line in it for the first time this season. Once there I could see it was still running very high and there was no way I would be hopping in for a wade. Still on with the waders etc and off I went walking down through the paddocks to where I knew there would be some nice back water that I could hop in and wade. After a brief fifteen minute walk I was soon at the bottom end of it where it flowed back into the Mersey River. There was plenty of water running down it too and I had that feeling there would be a few trout holding in a few stretches of it as well. Just before I entered the back water I flicked the little Muzza's hard body into a small flat piece of water close to the river bank, this type of water quite will often have a fish in it. It was on the second cast when I had a nice solid brown take the lure. It headed straight out into the main flow and then off downstream for some thirty meters before I managed to turn it then slowly lead it in towards the river bank. With the river running so fast even a small brown is going to peel line off the reel once it enters the main flow. Any way, after a brief tussle I soon had this nice solid brown in the landing net. As always, after quick photo it was soon back in the river. That fish went 430gms.
After the recent floods, Adrian has mad available pictures of the damage in the Mersey and nearby rivers.
Not a breath of wind with as just a sprinkling of light rain had me darting off to the Mersey River this morning. A session that I'm hoping will last a while before the rain gets heavier and sets in for the day as forecast. The forecast is for 15-25mms across the North of the state today which is very much needed. This will also gives the rivers a lift that should bring the trout on over the last two days of the season which ends at midnight Sunday 1st May.
Low cloud and light rain had me setting off to the Mersey River again this morning in what were ideal conditions for trout fishing. This time I was fishing at the top bridge which is around three kilometers upstream from where I fished yesterday. It wasn't one bit cold this morning, probably because it was 10.00am before I was in the river. Today I'm using the #00 gold black fury, only because it's the spinner that's already set up on the rod I'm using today. I'll change it if need be.
Headed off again this afternoon for another of those late spin sessions I've been having lately on the Mersey River. The conditions were perfect once again with very little breeze and clear skies. I started off with a rapala in a deeper run before moving onto the fast water stretches. It worked out reasonably well as I did manage to pick up two nice browns on it.
Read more: Late sessions seem to be the go at the moment 23-04-2016
Only needing two more trout to reach my target of 700 before the end of the 2015/16 season I headed off to the Mersey River at 4.00pm to see if I could pick up the two required fish. I had three sections of river already picked out that I thought would give up the fish that I needed. I was certain that if one section didn't then one or both of the others would. There was a strong gusty Westerly wind blowing with plenty of cloud about as well. I started off with the black fury (black blade) as I wanted to reach the 700 on the Mepps black fury seeing as these spinners have caught around 95% of my catch this season. They've also done this over the past 50 plus years of my trout fishing as well.
Read more: Trout number 700 for the 2015/16 season caught today. 2016-04-07
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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.
Read more ...