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.
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 !
Time to get your gear ready and check your licence. Recreational scallop season opens from Saturday 13 April for all waters except the D'Entrecasteaux Channel. A reminder that only the licence holder can dive for scallops.
Measuring gauges are available from Service Tasmania outlets.
Site works to replace the flood damaged pedestrian bridge between Lake Ada and Ada Lagoon will be underway between Wednesday 10 April and Friday 12 April 2019. As part of these works the carpark at the end of Lake Augusta Road and the Talinah 4x4 Track will be closed from 0700-0900 on Thursday 11 April 2019. This closure is required to facilitate the helicopter operations for the replacement of the bridge as is subject to weather.
The boat ramp at Lake Ada will be available during the closure however there will be limited parking. Once the helicopter operations are completed the carpark and track will be reopened. Access across the pedestrian bridge between Lake Ada and Ada Lagoon may also be limited on Thursday 11 April 2019. Visitors are advised to avoid the area if possible during the works period.
For further information please contact the PWS Project Manager on 6777 2255.
Source: https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/apr/05/lake-ada-bridge-replacement-temporary-site-closure
The annual Lake Crescent juvenile carp survey took place on 6 March 2019. This survey aims to make sure carp have not made their way back into Lake Crescent, and to look for any sign of spawning. We have not seen Carp in Lake Crescent since 2007, but we do surveys every year to check.
We focused on areas that carp like. These include rocky or sandy shores and spaces with lots of weed. We fished fourteen areas around the lake using backpack electro-shockers. We caught short-finned eels and golden galaxias but no carp.
Read more: Lake Crescent remains carp free, and no spawning in Lake Sorell!
With poor weather forecast later on this afternoon & with the conditions being overcast & cool this morning I thought a trip to the upper Mersey River may be worth the trip. Half way to where I was heading I came across some light fog which I didn't mind as it meant there wouldn't be any sun on the water for an hour or two. I hit the river at 7:10 am and the first thing I came across was water weeds & plenty of it. Not the ideal thing one wants to see when lure fishing that's for sure as it restricts the fishing quite a lot.
I was starting the session of with the Mepps #1 March Brown bug spinner to see if it may attract a trout or two, it did the job in the Meander two days ago so why not try it here. The water was clear and glassy, there were plenty trout feeding on a massive hatch of midges that covered the wide slow flowing water ahead of me. With thousands of these small midges floating on the surface as well as in the air, the trout were going to be hard to catch this morning.
Read more: Surface feeding trout, not ideal for spin fishing
Seeing as we had a Angling Club fishing day at Huntsman Lake at Meander I thought I'd get a few hours of fishing the Meander River in before heading to the lake. I was still dark when I arrived & headed off through the paddocks on a 1.5 km walk to where I was starting the spin session in the river.
By the time I reached the river it was light enough to hop in and start fishing where I had a couple of follows from a solid brown at the tail end of a long slow flowing run. I tried several different lures but that fish just wasn't in an aggressive mood. The next stretch of river gave up nothing and it wasn't until I reached a nice narrow medium/fast flowing run when I had my first take. A small (280 gm) brown took the Mepps Aglia brown spinner from a cast & drift under the willows close to the river bank, I had my first trout of the morning.
With some light cloud around this morning I thought I would head over to the Mersey River and have a short spin session before the sun burnt the cloud off. Conditions were quite nice with hardly a breath of wind and the river was at the perfect wading height. As I entered the river (7:40am) I noticed a few trout on the rise just ahead of me so I flicked the Aglia Furia well past the fish and retrieved the spinner back a little faster that the flow.
Mild overcast morning saw me heading off to the Meander River for a spin session in a 1.5km stretch of river I haven't fished since before the 2016 June floods. When I last fished this area I averaged 15 plus trout each trip and most trout were all in the 450 gram range with many larger ones taken as well. I wasn't expecting much today, I just felt it was time to see if the trout are back in this stretch of river. The rest of the river is slowly coming back with trout but they're mainly all small fish this season with the odd few reasonable fish taken from time to time. I hit the river at 8:05 am and had my first trout on within the first three casts up and across the fast water.
Please enjoy Adrian's latest video
From 10 am until 3pm over Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 May at the Liawenee field Station, yingina/Great Lake
Come with your family, enjoy displays, demonstrations, the ever-popular junior angling pond, and see the hundreds of wild brown trout on their annual spawning run.
There is something for everyone at Trout Weekend.
Read more on the Trout Weekend webpage.
And don’t forget the IFS Photo Competition is on again.
We are looking for photos of trout, families, kids, female anglers and scenery shots.
There are cash and gear prizes on offer
1st Place: $500
2nd Place: 1 x pair Neoprene waders (Fly 'n Dry)
3rd Place: 10 x Lures (Hueys Lures) 4th place 10 x Lures (Huey Lures).
You can submit up to six images with a maximum size of 5 MB each.
Images will be showcased and the winner announced at Trout Weekend 2019.
Download the entry form from www.ifs.tas.gov.au
We are accepting entries until 5pm on Tuesday 30 April 2019.
Source :https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/mar/29/trout-weekend-2019
From https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/2019/mar/26/lake-leake-campgrounds-and-boat-ramp-temporary-close
The Lake Leake campgrounds and boat ramp are closed until Saturday 30 March. This is so the Tasmania Fire Service can do a safe Fuel Reduction Burn.
Once the burns starts on Wednesday (27 March) it is likely to be very smokey and there may be some short road closures.
People wishing to access the Lake Leake can use the Kalangadoo boat ramp on the eastern side of the lake with safety.
Click above for current issue content. The current issue of TFBN is extensive and topical. In Tackle Stores, Newsagents and by subscription.
Delivered to your door for $48 for 2 years (8 issues). To subscribe, send Mike $48 via www.paypal.com.au . (Basic instructions are here) The email is at Contact Us. Your address will be included from PayPal.
Or phone Mike with your c/c handy on 0418129949
Please ensure your details are correct, for Mike to organise delivery.
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.
Visit https://www.windyty.com/
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.
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.