Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
Bob is a professional fishing guide and guides for trout and estuary species. Check him out at www.fishwildtasmania.com
There are several things we look for in our early season trout waters. It is still winter and cold, so some of the things to consider are: Altitude as this dictates the water temperature and therefore feeding activity. Food for the fish. Availability of trout food is generally dictated by the quantity and quality of weed beds.
Quantity of fish.
Three waters which I believe fit all three requirements are:
Read more ...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 !
Beautiful warm (17 degrees) conditions saw me heading off for another spin session in a small stream this afternoon. This trip was one to a stretch of water I haven't fished since the 12th August so with the warmer temps I felt it was time to give it another go. The last trip this area only gave up two small browns, today I'm looking for a big improvement with the fishing. I had a twenty minute walk to where I started the spin session off and found the water was still running at a nice wading height. The water temp sitting on six degrees, a rise of three degrees which was good, three degrees doesn't sound a lot but it is when chasing trout.
Recently we replaced the barrier net at Four Springs Lake. The barrier net is located across the spillway at the dam and is in place to stop trout escaping in times of flood.
After being in place for several years the old net had become quite brittle from the sun, and had several holes in it. It also had few fishing lures snagged in it!
Anglers are asked to avoid the new barrier net. It is important not to get holes in it from boats and wading.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/sep/20/stopping-fish-escaping-four-springs
Due to low water levels we completed a salvage of trout in the upper River Clyde. We recovered 172 brown and 51 rainbow trout. The fish were released into Lake Crescent. There were 8 dead fish.
We would like to thank anglers for letting us know that there were fish stranded in the river.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/sep/19/river-clyde-fish-salvage
I said I would write about fly lines. I think it is Simon Gawesworth from RIO fly lines coloured string - and if you ever get the chance to listen to him, please do it. He is passionate about fly lines and helps explain them simply.
Realistically though fly lines are a hugely complex, so I will just give my very brief overview on floating trout lines.
Most fly lines sold are floating weight forward lines. There are a few double taper, spey, switch and sinking lines sold, but mostly they are floating WF. Lines are generally 90 feet, with a couple of lines used for tournament casters at 120 feet.
The dates for the 2019 rock lobster season will be:
The recreational sector will open on Saturday 7 December 2019 and the entire Eastern Region including the ECSRZ closes on 30 April 2020; and
The commercial sector will open on Tuesday 10 December 2019.
The recreational sector will open on 2 November 2019; and
The commercial sector will open on 15 November 2019.
South Riana Dam has become recognised as a boutique fishery in the north west. Since its creation in 2015 the dam has developed in to an excellent regional water with its convenient location just 20 km from Penguin.
Regular stocking with wild brown trout fry by the IFS has underpinned the existing trout population and some natural recruitment. Anglers are taking well-conditioned fish using all methods including bait fishing, lure casting and fly fishing.
Canoes and Kayaks are permitted and can assist anglers to access the northern and western shores of the dam.
The calamari and squid fisheries will be closed to recreational and commercial fishing on Tasmania's north coast from 1 - 31 October 2019 inclusive to protect spawning calamari.
During the closure period, taking or possessing calamari and other squid species is prohibited in the closed area. Squid that has been commercially purchased can be used for bait.
The conditions for trout fishing today couldn't have been better with a clear sky and hardly any breeze, it was a beautiful day. I had a few things to do during the morning so I couldn't get to the water until after 2:00pm, I was in it by 2:35, it was still running on the high side and a cool 3 degrees. This trip as like all my trips so far this season was to a small tannin stream, mainly because they're the only ones that are low enough to hop in for a spin session. Not only that, they're giving up a few trout where as reports from those fishing the larger rivers aren't all that flash.
Very cold blustery conditions today and again tomorrow had me thinking there wouldn't be any trout fishing going on for me until around Thursday or Friday. At 1:30pm the wind was only blowing around 10 kph & the air temp was hitting 11 degrees so that was enough to get me off my backside, grab the fishing gear and head of to a small tannin water for a spin session. The large rivers were still running on the high side so really the small streams are my only alternative for now. No sooner had I hit the water at 2:00pm up came the wind, and it hit with force, very strong hard wind gusts that would have been in the 25-30 kph range.
The first month of the brown trout season has started very well with excellent fishing reports coming from around the state.
In the south, the River Derwent is producing some lovely resident and sea run trout after a high water event in late August. Lure anglers seem to be making the most of this estuary fishing although not much whitebait has been seen. The Tyenna River has also fished well and is always a consistent performer for all forms of fishing at this time of year when water levels permit. Large fish were caught at Rostrevor Lagoon during the opening weeks and this should continue with the rain that is forecast.
On the east coast, Tooms Lake and Lake Leake are very low but should receive and boat anglers must be mindful of submerged logs and stumps. With a large easterly weather pattern hitting the state, these lakes could be the pick of the waters when levels rise. Expect bigger than average fish and plenty of them.
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When you have finished for the day, why not have a brag about the ones that didn't get away! Send Mike an article on your fishing (Click here for contact details), and we'll get it published here. Have fun fishing - tasfish.com
Here is a list of all of the Article Categories. The number in Brackets, eg (13) is the number of articles. Click on Derwent River and all articles relating to the Derwent will be displayed in the central area.
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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.
Mike Fry doesn’t only live on the Wild Side of Tasmania, but also goes fishing in probably the wildest boat ever to troll for trout—certainly in Tasmania.
When your mate says ‘What are you doing tomorrow, want to come up the Gordon for the night?’ it would be pretty hard to say anything else except “you bet” and start checking out your tackle box and packing your overnight bag. But if your mate was Troy Grining and he wanted to give his new 52ft, high speed cruiser a run across Macquarie Harbour, test the new onboard dory with a chance of landing a nice Gordon River Brown you would have to feel privileged. I didn’t say anything about getting on my hands and knees and kissing his feet…just having a lend of ya’ but I did feel very appreciative.