Sea-run trout fishing this year got off to a cracking start in most areas, with the majority of anglers employing nearly every trout fishing technique to secure fish in local estuaries statewide.
Even those anglers fishing the "off-season" lower down in our estuaries for sea-trout commented on the number of fish moving in early August.
Please check all relevant authorities before fishing - www.ifs.tas.gov.au and dpipwe.tas.gov.au . Don't forget issuu.com/stevenspublishing for years of back issues !
Fine warm weather was forecast for today but when I looked out the window this morning it was windy, very overcast and quite cool. I had intended to fish the upper reaches of the Mersey River then changed the trip to a small tannin stream. I was hoping it may still be at a reasonable wading height after the 6mms of rain we had a few days ago but I wasn't expecting too much. No sooner had I arrived the cloud started to break up something I didn't want to happen after seeing how low the water level was.
More lousy weather forecast for the next few days I thought I would get a few hours of trout fishing in today seeing most of the day was going to be reasonably good before the change arrives later on. I was in two minds whether to head over to the Meander River at Meander or to the shorter trip to the Mersey River at Weegena, I chose to head to the Meander River. I was originally going to fish at Weegena then after checking the BOM site to see that the water level at Meander had dropped to a decent wading height helped me decide where to go.
With poor weather forecast over the next few days I thought I would get one more trip into the tannin water before the change arrives, at the moment the conditions were perfect for trout fishing. I wasn't sure how much lower the water level had dropped in the small stream until I arrived (11:45am) to find it was very low and it was going to be quite a challenge chasing the trout. In low water levels the trout are very alert and will dart off with the slightest bit on movement, even when using a lightweight 1.5 gram Mepps spinner is enough to send them heading for cover.
With another change due plus not having wet a line for a week I headed back to give the Mersey River another crack, this time I was there much earlier too. Still a little later than I would have liked given the conditions were nice and cool as well as being heavily overcast it was the perfect morning to be chasing trout in a river. The river level was around the same height as the last trip and it was still running nice and clear, I felt the fast water runs would be the ones that would give up the trout again today.
The Inland Fisheries Service has recently completed grading and potholing of Fisheries Lane, Brumbys Creek and Woods Lake Road.
We would like to thanks Hydro Tasmania for their contribution and support towards maintaining Woods Lake Road.
Please drive to the conditions, limit your speed to 40 KMH to help maintain the roads in good condition and use hi range 4wd when towing boats up the hill from the Woods Lake boat ramp.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/nov/07/maintaining-roads-your-favourite-fishing-spots
Woods Lake Road has been graded
Murchison Dam was constructed between 1978 and 1982 and forms Lake Murchison, which is a diversion storage that discharges water into Lake Mackintosh via the underground Sophia tunnel.
What?
Hydro Tasmania is increasing the size of the spillway on Murchison Dam in response to long-term predictions from the Bureau of Meteorology.
Why?
According to the Bureau, previously rare, very large rainfall events are occurring more frequently. The steep-sided nature of the Murchison Dam can result in rapid water-level rise during periods of intense rainfall. A larger spillway will allow the dam to safely weather the largest, most severe rainstorm event.
A reminder that the World Fly Fishing Championship is starting soon in Tasmania.
Teams from 23 countries will compete at the three lake and two river venues.
The Government is supporting the event, to ensure it is one to remember. This support includes proposed temporary regulation changes for the competition waters that aim to keep any disruption to a minimum.
The following regulation changes have been put in place to support the event:
The lake venues of Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock Lagoon and Woods Lake, will be closed to recreational fishing for the duration of the event from midnight on Sunday 1 December to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
The competition sections of the river venues will be closed to recreational fishing, from midnight on Sunday 24 November to midnight on Friday 6 December 2019 inclusive.
The Northern Recreation Day Long Weekend has come and gone. Our Officers were out on patrol and witnessed some fantastic catches from many of our inland waters.
On the angling front, Lake Rowallan provided some nice catches, particularly around the southern end of the lake. Hard body lures and green and gold cobras appeared to be providing the best results. Good fish were also taken by bait fishermen using worms throughout the day.
Woods lake fished very well also, with all methods of angling successful. Fly anglers would be excited to know that there were quite a few duns on the water on Saturday in the south western corner of the lake. Lure anglers did well right around the lake, with gold and black cobras accounting for many fish. Lure fishing appeared to be best before 10am and after 4pm, with quiet patches throughout the middle of the day.
Thanks to Anglers Alliance Tasmania stalwart John Broomby for initiating discussion with two landowners at Porters Bridge on the Meander River near Westbury. As a result anglers access has now been established to 4km of river up and downstream of a newly created parking area on the southern side of the bridge. Ideal for bait fishing with a lightly weighted worm in spring or a grasshopper later in the season and lure casting with small hard bodies the river has deep pools interspersed with rock riffles. Steep banks in places make access challenging but the sheltering trees and quiet ambience make the effort worthwhile. As always please respect the generosity of the landowners and do the right thing!
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/nov/01/new-angler-access-meander-river
Check out the activities of the IFS for the 2018-19 financial year in our Annual Report.
View the report from this link:
Front cover artwork by Trevor Hawkins
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Hello everyone, I thought it would be a good time to introduce myself.
My name is Stephen Smith and I have been managing the website tasfish.com since May 2009.
It has been an epic journey of learning and discovery and I am indebted to Mike Stevens for his help, support and patience.
I am developing a new venture Rubicon Web and Technology Training ( www.rwtt.com.au ). The focus is two part, to develop websites for individuals and small business and to train people to effectively use technology in their everyday lives.
Please contact me via www.rwtt.com.au/contact-me/ for further information - Stephen Smith.
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.
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