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 ...Like most mornings lately I was in two minds whether to go chasing trout today mainly because it was cold, wet and blowing a gale. With just two days left of the 2018/19 trout season left I really wanted to go but the weather was holding me back. In the end it got the better of me and I headed of to try a tannin stream, one I've never fished before but one I've always thought about trying. Thirty minutes after leaving home.
With some good rain forecast for later in the day and with it being a dull humid overcast day I thought another afternoon trip to the small tannin stream was worth a shot. I was hoping it was still at a nice depth for a spin session. Once there I could see the water level was well down, much lower than I had expected it to be so it's going to be a tough spin session. With the water being so low is going to have the trout on edge, they'll be darting every which way at the slightest sound on the river bottom.
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Brown trout are available in the River Derwent year round below New Norfolk Bridge: photo D.Green |
The rainbow trout waters closed last weekend (Sunday 2 June) but there are still lots of freshwater fishing available over winter. Waters open all year round are:
- Brushy Lagoon from one hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset on any day
- Craigbourne Dam from one hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset on any day
- Great Lake other than Canal Bay
- Huntsman Lake from one hour before sunrise to three hours after sunset on any day
- Huon River from the Huonville Bridge downstream to the seaward limit of that river
- Lake Barrington
- Lake Burbury
- Lake Meadowbank
- Lake Pedder
- Lake King William
- River Leven from the confluence of Whisky Creek, delineated by a straight line between grid reference 422710E 5442177N and 422750E 5442142N downstream to the seaward limit of that river
- North Esk River and River Tamar from the Lower Charles Street Bridge on the North Esk River downstream to the seaward limit of the River Tamar
- Pioneer Lake
- River Derwent from the A10 Road Bridge at grid reference 504630E 5263716N downstream to the seaward limit of that river
- South Esk River and River Tamar from the West Tamar Road Bridge on the South Esk River downstream to the seaward limit of the River Tamar
Get out and have a go!
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/jun/07/winter-fishing
I had no intentions of going fishing today, then as the day went on I couldn't help myself, I just had to go even if it was only for a couple of hours. The original reason I wasn't going is because I'm having a big spin session in the Leven River tomorrow and I didn't want to aggravate the back & hips. I had placed several heat patches on my back & hips from the time I got up in the morning and I felt fine. It was dead on 2:00pm when I hit the little tannin stream, my set up was a Okuma 6' LRF 1-3 kg rod, Okuma Ceymar C-10 reel spooled with brand new Platypus Super 100 clear 4lb mono line, the starting lure was a Mepps #00 copper Aglia spinner.
The weather was fine & sunny today but the wind was still blowing at 25-35 kph with gusts up to 55 kph at times making me wonder if I should stay home or go and tough it out in the same small stream as I did the day before. I decided to do the latter and headed off to fish the stream from where I called it a day yesterday, there was still some good trout water to be fished. I was in the river by 2:10pm and boy the wind was roaring like hell. Good thing was I did have plenty of wind breaks thanks to the thick tea trees that lined both sides of the stream.
Please enjoy Adrian's latest video
Presented from Issue 117, August 2015
Every season I am asked about various ‘fishing events’ or changes that occur through different months of the year. Many people are surprised to hear about the different options that we have. You may be surprised, but some of the best fishing over the last seasons has NOT been during summer.
Last season, the early season was the best I have known and generally I find pre-Christmas is better than after. The timing of your fishing may be determined by when you can get the time, in which case, the presence of tailing fish or sea trout or massive trout will not affect your fishing dates.
For other people, the option of doing something different, going somewhere new or trying a particular style of fishing or fish may require a change in their fishing schedule.
Here is a two year summary on how I have found the fishing in Tasmania.
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Sometimes getting one in the boat can be a challenge. |
Presented from Issue 117, August 2015
For those of you who love to trout fish, there will have been a time, some stage during your fishing ‘career’, where you lucked out and didn’t catch anything! Most of you will also know that in the ‘fishing world’, this is what is commonly known as a ‘donut’! It is the same shape as a zero of course. Now while the usual ‘donut’ means that no fish were caught, it doesn’t mean that there were no missed takes or bites. While this might seem bad at the time, there is something worse. That something is the ‘big fat donut’. This is where you go a whole day and don’t even get a sniff!
Iwill be brave here and admit to having taken home many ‘donuts’ during my time as a trout angler. I have also done the same during a bream competition some time back; however, given that it is the start of a new season, our focus here will be on trout. There are many factors that can influence the feeding behaviour of trout, with weather a significant one. While rain, or any other form of precipitation such as snow or hail, does not make for enjoyable fishing, such weather events do require the presence of clouds, and cloudy conditions generally mean good fishing conditions.
Read more: Dodging the Donut - Strategies that work - Mik Rybka
A short video from Adrian Webb.
With the rivers still running high and the weather being fine for a change I decided I was going to chase the trout by hook or by crook.. I didn't have an early start either as it wasn't until 10:30 am when I finally slipped into the river. The water was running at a medium to high level so I had fished the stretches of water that I knew were safe enough to wade. After many years of fishing the rivers this is where knowing every bit of the each river I fish pays off. I never take any risks when fishing rivers as life is too short plus it's not worth drowning one's self either. One good thing was the water temp today was up to seven degrees and that's the warmest it's been since the end of the last trout season. I set myself a small target of catching & releasing five trout for the session this trip mainly because of the water flowing high & fast in most stretches if river.. I was a little undecided of what Mepps lure to start off with today, I finally made the choice of going with the Aglia Tiger Fluoro mainly because of the water temp still being a little low. Once the water temp gets to nine degrees and above then the Mepps gold or copper blades spinners will be given a good workout.
Read more: Lady lucks helps out with my best trout for this season - 21/9/2018
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Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
Christopher Bassano fishes over 250 days a year. This interview was recorded just before he headed off to fish for Australia in the World Fly Fishing Championships in Norway 14-17 August 2013.
I live on a small stream and at the start of the season I like to go off on a bit of a discovery mission and fish the headwaters of the creeks and rivers I feel an affinity with.
These small rivers include the St Pats, Meander, Forester, Little Forester and others. The further up you go on these rivers the clearer and lower the levels. They are often less affected by the rain and runoff and you get some good opportunities. Get as close to the source as you can and you will find some good dry fly fishing. Don’t limit yourself to those I have mentioned. Most headwaters will hold trout.
Read more ...