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Sea run trout tactics – Craig Vertigan
Sea run trout tactics – Craig Vertigan
During the trout off-season I tend to spend a bit of time chasing bream, to continue getting a fishing fix, and spend time tying flies and dreaming about the trout season to come. It’s a time to spend doing tackle maintenance, stocking up on lures and dreaming up new challenges and goals for the trout season ahead. When the new season comes around I usually spend the first few months targeting sea runners. Sea run trout are simply brown trout that spend much of there lives out to sea and come in to the estuaries for spawning and to feed on whitebait and the other small endemic fishes that spawn in late winter through spring. Mixed in with the silvery sea runners you can also expect to catch resident fish that have the typical dark colours of a normal brown trout as well as atlantic salmon in some of our estuaries that are located near salmon farm pens. Living in Hobart it is quick and easy to do a trip on the Huon or Derwent and is a more comfortable proposition compared to a trip up to the highlands with snow and freezing winds to contend with.
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Presented from Issue 112, October 2014
As the Spring bulbs flower, the willows bud up and turn to soft green, I get quite excited about what is to come. Last season was a little tough, but from what I have seen so far this season looks pretty good in the Highlands. Nymphs and dry flies are uppermost in my mind at the moment. For me October means mayflies on the rivers and that means dry fly fishing, which I look forward to.
But hatching mayflies also means nymphs rising through the water column. If I had to pick just one nymph it would be a Hares Ear pattern. Most importantly though is size, colour and shape. Small patterns for the start of the season and as they grown so do my artificials. I believe the nymphs vary widely in colour as well depending on the habitat.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
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Presented from Issue 111, August 2014
Writing for the start of the season is a delight and full of anticipation. What will the new season bring? As I write this I am finishing a coffee in my front room looking out over Great Lake.
Two parrots are noisily pulling the bark back on a small gum tree in front of the house and I can only assume they are looking for and finding some insects of some sort — perhaps gum beetles are on their menu. I don’t imagine there is too much else around.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
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Presented from Issue 110, June 2014
Winter is a time to reflect on the past season and contemplate the new one. In recent articles I mentioned what a hard season it was - especially for fishers of the dry fly. We had some good fishing to hatching stoneflies in November, but after that the best results were usually on wet flies with sinking lines.
I reckon this sort of fishing is hard work, but it certainly gave us some good results. Of course it makes sense, because as we all know eighty percent of a trout’s food is in the water, not on it. So with little surface activity it has been most important to find the depth the fish are at.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
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Presented from Issue 109, April 2014
This year’s fishing has certainly sorted the men from the boys - so to speak. The fly fishing sector has seen a tough year, but if the hard work is put in the rewards have come. Dry fly fishing has been tough in most areas - apart from small creeks, shark fishing on Great Lake and Western Lakes. I, like so many others, love to take fish on a dry fly, but if you want to catch trout you need to look at the whole water column. If fishing from a boat a fish finder will give you a pretty good idea of the different lines and weights of flies you need to be effective.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
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Presented from Issue 109, April 2014
This year’s fishing has certainly sorted the men from the boys - so to speak. The fly fishing sector has seen a tough year, but if the hard work is put in the rewards have come. Dry fly fishing has been tough in most areas - apart from small creeks, shark fishing on Great Lake and Western Lakes. I, like so many others, love to take fish on a dry fly, but if you want to catch trout you need to look at the whole water column. If fishing from a boat a fish finder will give you a pretty good idea of the different lines and weights of flies you need to be effective.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 4168
Presented from Issue 108, February 2014
As I write this we are experiencing some very hot weather in the Central Highlands. Prior to this though over Christmas it was cold and extremely windy. On most lakes as it gets hot the fish retreat to cooler waters. I don’t like to go boating on the very rough days, but am happy to give the shore fishing a go.
Just recently Bill and I were fishing the Bronte system and we started with a team of English dries - no fish, then small English wets - no fish. It was hot, so the thinking cap went on and I put a #3 sinking line on and some weighted flies. Bingo, we were into the fish and took a number of nice specimens – mostly on the bead head ‘Streamline Bugger’ point fly.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 4339
Presented from Issue 108, February 2014
As I write this we are experiencing some very hot weather in the Central Highlands. Prior to this though over Christmas it was cold and extremely windy. On most lakes as it gets hot the fish retreat to cooler waters. I don’t like to go boating on the very rough days, but am happy to give the shore fishing a go.
Just recently Bill and I were fishing the Bronte system and we started with a team of English dries - no fish, then small English wets - no fish. It was hot, so the thinking cap went on and I put a #3 sinking line on and some weighted flies. Bingo, we were into the fish and took a number of nice specimens – mostly on the bead head ‘Streamline Bugger’ point fly.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 3787
Presented from Issue 107, December 2013
I would like to tell you my thoughts on Arthurs Lake. Many are critical of the numerous small fish, the results of good spawning over the last few years. It does show it is a very healthy system.
If there were few fish there would be complaints as well. And it seems not so long ago anglers were complaining of low levels and no water. As I write this Arthurs is 40mm from full. It has never been that high, and has never spilled.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 5334
Presented from Issue 106, October 2013
It is time to think nymphs. Numerous trout foods have a nymphal stage as part of their life cycle and these include damselflies, dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddis and midges. All have different body shapes and colours.
There is no pattern to cover the lot, but I think it is important to get the size and colour correct. The weight depends on what depth the fish are at and as the season progresses the nymphs become larger and more active. Earlier in the season the fish are deeper and as the water warms fish and insects rise in the water column.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 6883
Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
Fishing early season is cold, but it can be very productive.
If you are fly fishing you will almost certainly be wet fly fishing - unless the fish are in very shallow water then a dry fly may work.
- Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training
- Category: Jan’s Flies
- Hits: 5581
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From the Archives ... (last chance)
Sea runners - Early Season Excitement - Christopher Bassano
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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