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:
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Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
The boys had been pestering me for quite some time, ‘dad can we go out to Port Sorell and have a fish off the jetty soon’. Admittedly I had been trying to put it off, I didn’t like to tell them but I was a bit out of my comfort zone with the whole jetty/saltwater fishing thing. I could happily take them anywhere in the state and confidently fish for a trout or two, but this was different. But and it was a big but, the time had come to give them what they wanted. Please keep in mind as you read on that I am merely just a fly fisherman who loves his trout with virtually no conventional gear saltwater experience. But, I am a father who wants his two boys to grow up experiencing as many different fishing opportunities as possible. Then they can decide which fishing path they want to wander thru life exploring.
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Issue 131 from February is available for free to read at Issuu
Once again Yamaha has set the benchmark in bringing innovative, big horsepower outboards to the market with the launch of the new V8 425 XTO (Extreme Offshore) outboard.
This massive 425-horsepower V8 engine has been designed from the ground up to deliver extreme power and thrust, combined with a fully integrated power and control system to create a whole new level of boating experience.
Powered by a big bore, 5.6 litre, naturally aspirated engine, the V8 425 XTO has been engineered to drive large props for maximum thrust. Jason Harris, Yamaha Motor Australia’s Marine Manager said, “This revolutionary outboard opens up a whole new class of large outboard driven boats, delivering a more reliable, fuel efficient and extremely powerful engine solution for offshore fishing, pleasure, commercial and tourism boats.”
Read more: Yamaha Takes Big Horsepower Outboards to the Extreme 2018
Seeing it's the last day of the 2017-18 trout season I headed back to the Leven River to finish off what's been a reasonably good trout season for me and maybe add a few more trout to my seasons tally. As I got closer to Gunns Plains I noticed there was a large layer of fog running along the whole length of the river so it won't be all that warm once I get there. With no wind it will still be nice in the river and hopefully there will be a few trout in the area I'm fishing today below & above Marshall's Bridge. It wasn't very long before I was there and headed of for a five to six hundred meter walk downstream where I would hop in the river and slowly fish my way back upstream. It was quite weird walking in the thick fog and the only sounds I heard was from several birds singing, magpies warbling and of course a few cows bellowing away every so often.
Read more: Trout season ends with my PB trout ever - 29/4/2018
Hit the Leven River again this morning and had a great start to the spin session. On my last trip here I had a follow and a few hits from one very nice large and solid brown. I was a little worried that day as I thought had he taken it and done the crocodile roll I would see the fine 4 lb mono giving way. It's not so much as the line breaking, it's the knot where it will break as that's the weakest point. Even it it didn't roll the size of that fish was enough to test out the knot any way.
Today I went back to the same area where I had seen that large brown, this time I have a 6 lb leader set up to the little GagaGoon MI Perch hard body lure. It wasn't all that long when that large brown came out from a shallow flat water (a little further upstream from last time here) and had three goes at the lure and like the other day it missed taking the lure.. I watched the big bugger move off and went in behind a large rock in the river. I couldn't see him at all after that so I decided to cast the lure downstream past the rock then slowly retrieve the lure up past where I felt it was sitting.
In a bizarre twist, one of the people responsible for bringing the Supertrawler to Australia in 2012 has just pleaded guilty to a role in a multimillion dollar syndicate importing drugs into Australia.
Thanks to huge opposition from the Australian public, the Geelong Star (AKA Dirk Dirk) Supertrawler recently turned tail and left Australian waters. But the Turnbull Government’s plans for our National Network of Marine Sanctuaries – currently tabled in Parliament – drastically cut back areas of high protection, leaving them open to Supertrawlers and overseas fishing fleets to wreak havoc in our oceans.
Read more: New plans remove protection from Supertrawlers 2018
Today I decided I would head on over to the Leven River seeing as I haven't given a thought to fishing it all season for one reason or another. Last season I only had the one trip here and that was early February 2017 after we had 20 mms of rain, that day I caught & released 10 browns and 1 rainbow. Since we had some good rains a week or so ago I checked the river levels and it had a reasonable flow of water in it so I felt it's worth a shot. I'm well over due for a good bag of fish so I was hoping this may be the day as I new exactly the stretch of river I'll be fishing too. It's fished well before for me and I'm reasonably confident it will do so today. The hardest thing will be the choice of lure to use, the gold & copper Aglias & Black Fury spinners have worked well here before, so have the f3 Rapala rainbow & brown trout hard body lures.
In the 90s, Rex Hunt made kissing a fish before you released it back into the waves a thing.
But that is exactly what researchers are asking Tasmania's recreational tuna fishers not to do.
The new Tuna Champions program will share the latest research with recreational fishers on how to handle tuna, whether that is to make it taste it better on the plate or to increase its chances of survival in a catch and release situation.
Read the full article here at the ABC
Another beautiful day was forecast so I headed over to the Meander River again today for a spin session in the hope of catching a few more trout. I forgot to check the river level on the BOM site before I left and after a drive through heavy fog I finally arrived at the Meander only to find it was running at the same height as my last trip here. Right away I knew I was in for a tough few hours in the river with so much water coming down. I decided to drive to another area that meant for a long walk to the river, but I didn't have to cross it, I could fish it from the side that I entered the river. There are a couple of deep stretches of water that I can bypass quite easily, the rest of it is mainly fast water with a few medium runs thrown in the mix... After a forty minute walk I reached my entry point and started casting the Rapala brown trout lure around without all that much success over the first couple of hundred meters.
Read more: High river level still making it tough for spin fishing - 23/4/2018
Another beautiful day had me heading over to the Meander River for a spin session, one that didn't last all that long. Why it didn't last all that long was when I arrived there I found the water level was pretty high and the area I was to fish wasn't looking all that safe for wading. Seeing how well I know the river here I still thought it may be worth having a go to see if I could still catch a trout or two. The hardest part was crossing the above waist deep water, a couple of times I thought of turning back but knowing it was only going to get shallower I kept going.. Where I crossed wasn't really fast water but it was deep and had quite a bit of force in the flow and that was my main concern at the time... Once I had reached the other side and using a brown trout F3 Rapala I slowly fished my way upstream.
Read more: Meander running too high and fast today - 20/4/2018
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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.
Read more ...