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 !
One of the greatest searches that is conducted every fishing season is the quest for the best mayfly pattern. Any keen angler will tell you that. The difficulty with that is that there are so many excellent patterns, some of them shrouded in mystery, others blatantly simple and readily available. Some excellent patterns are to be found in all good tackle stores, or within the pages of any number of fly tying or fly fishing books.
Popular Lakes and Rivers
In this second instalment of the second eleven, guide and author Neil Grose takes you to some often ignored bays on the most popular of lakes, some rivers hidden underneath the collective nose of Launceston, and a couple of lakes that deserve more patronage than they currently receive.
Game Fishing Teasers
Teasers are almost a black art when it comes to game fishing. Some anglers are so convinced in their effectiveness that they would rather take bananas on board than leave their favourite "Teaser" at home.Rivers - End of Season Fly-Fishing
Setting the Scene
In Tasmania the rivers are no doubt considered the poorer cousin of the lakes. This perception was likely started by the river fisher's who were quite happy to send their neighbours up to the lakes and keep the world class rivers to themselves! Believe or not the rivers that you have probably been passing on your way to the lakes can offer everything the lakes have - big hatches, polaroiding, tailing, the list goes on.
Poor results in fly fishing are one of those things that has always promoted lateral thinking. It has spurned better rods so longer casts can be made; a plethora of flies running to thousands of different patterns that will surely fool a trout, hundreds of different types of tippet material - including the supposedly invisible fluorocarbon. None of these are a panacea - and all fly fishers know the answer is not always available. Sometimes the fish just aren't eating. Many a lake fisher will tell of those dreaded days when stillness, sun and temperature combine to create horror conditions for fishing. As bad as a day as this might be for anglers - my wife would - for her pursuits as a sun worshipper call it perfect.
I had a lovely Easter Saturday with victorian fly tier, Muz Wilson and his mate Shaun Ash from Queensland at St Helens. Whilst we were fishing for bream on fly it seemed they were few and far between. We did find an occasional bream, but they were spooky and uncooperative. So off we went in search of some silver trevally.
The particular species of garfish that is common to Tasmanian waters, especially during winter, is the Southern sea garfish. It is found in most Southern Australian states both in the open ocean and throughout our estuary systems. They are predominantly a herbivore and feed mainly on varying species of sea grass, algal filaments and small amounts of crustaceans. They spawn in shallow sea grass beds throughout the summer months October to March.Georges Bay becomes a hot spot for big fat XOS sized garfish from April onwards and when a hot garfish bite is on dozens of boats line up to jostle for a position along the main channel leading out to the barway
A slow start to the gamefishing season has received a huge boost with some spectacular catches of 20 - 35 kg southern bluefin tuna off Tasmania's east coast. On Thursday 5th March there were reports of SBT being caught between Yellow Rock and The Thumbs on the Tasman Peninsula and during the St Helens Game Fishing Classic there were 17 SBT landed. Over the same weekend 7-8 March, plenty more were landed off the Tasman Peninsula.
No one knows what will happen to these bluefin that traditionally start a little later in the year, but it is fair to say there will be a lot of effort put into this fishery over the Easter break.
Southern bluefin tuna are a premium fish that are the most highly regarded sashimi by the Japanese. If you are lucky enough to catch one treat it properly to ensure the quality is at its best once back to shore.
Tasmanians love going fishing in the sea and are having a say in changes to the management of the scalefish fiishery planned to come into effect later this year.
University of Tasmania surveys reveal that one in three Tasmanians wets a line in marine waters each year, making it one of the State's most popular activities.
Hadley Deegan, dealer principal at Deegan Marine recently announced the upgrade of their new website.
'This will allow us to keep boaters completely up to date with the latest developments and all the boats we have available.'
'We have a huge range of boats and boaters can sit in the comfort of their home and peruse new and used boats. This is something we have been working on for a long time and it will be a work in progress" Hadley explained. "Our slogan We Take Tasmania Boating is testament to the wide range of boats and services we offer."
Check out www.deeganmarine.com.au
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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.
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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 ...