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 ...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 !
I left home just after 5:30 am this morning and headed to the upper reaches of the Mersey River for an early spin session in what was a reasonably cool morning with the lightest of breeze. As soon as I arrived it was on with the wading gear and off for a forty minute walk to where I would start the spin session. I was trying a new stretch of river (that I checked out on Google Earth) for the first time this trip so I didn't know what to expect.
I was originally going to head to the upper Mersey River at Liena at 4:30 am this morning when I woke up but after laying there for a while I decided not to. As much as I wanted to get up I just couldn't be bothered because of a couple of sleepless nights. As the day went on and there was some good cloud cover around I then decided to head up there around 2:10 PM.
Read more: Upper Mersey gives up a few more trout - 13/12/2017
Keep safe and check the weather before heading out. Happy Fishing !
Hear what Fletcher the fish has to say
Greetings to you. As the festive season of Christmas approaches, all of us who are fly fishers think about new rods reels and lines under the Christmas tree.
I would like to think I could help out with your wishes but I can’t .
What I can do is introduce you to the new website for the 39th FIPS-Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship 2019 to be held in Tasmania, Australia www.WFFC2019.com - Download the flyer here
In the lead up to the festive season, we have continued to pull out all the stops in the fight against carp in Tasmania. The remaining carp have been very active within inshore regions due to warm water and recent rain events. This has been the time to strike: they are very susceptible to our methods while in these shallow regions.
Please read more at https://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/not-so-carpy-christmas
With cloud moving in making conditions quite humid I decided to head on over to the Meander River for an afternoon session. The river was running some 4-6 inches higher than my last trip here which was back on Tuesday 28th November and it was little discoloured too. By the time I had walked 1.5 kms to the river it was 3:30 PM when I had my first cast with the little #00 gold Aglia into a long wide medium stretch of river. There was a reasonably strong North Easterly breeze blowing from behind me so I was getting good distance with the light weight spinner, I was reaching the opposite side of the river with ease. I used the cast and drift method and had my first take within three minutes, it was a nice solid 460 gram brown. After it making several runs and leaps I slowly led it into the net, once in it out popped the spinner.
Read more: Twelve browns caught and released today - 6/12/2017
With the Australian National Fly Fishing Championships on over the next three days I decided to give the upper reaches a fish. I arrived just after 7:00 am in what was overcast conditions, no wind and it was quite mild, really good fishing conditions. I did have a tough 1.5 km walk ahead of me to reach my starting point which I reached just after 7:30 am. With the river running very clear I was in two minds whether to go for the hard body lure or my ever reliable little Mepps spinners. I decided to go with the Mepps, now would be a black or gold blade spinner to start with. I went for the #00 (1.5g) gold blade Aglia for starters to see how that would go, if it didn't then I'd change to the black one.
for setting rock lobster pots from 17:00 on Friday, 15 December 2017; and
for rock lobster fishing and taking of rock lobster from 00:01 a.m. on Saturday 16 December 2017.
Read more: Rock Lobster Fishery PST Update - 15 December 2017
Paralytic shellfish toxin (PST) levels in lobster samples collected last week from the Central East and Maria Island rock lobster biotoxin management zones are still very high and well in excess of the regulatory limit of 0.8mg/kg. The highest results were 7.1 and 5.5 mg/kg. Whilst this is a decrease from the peak levels recorded 5 weeks ago (30 October), a much greater reduction will be needed before the zones can be re-opened for fishing.
Read more: Central East and Maria Island zones to remain closed
Well I did manage to hit the Meander River just on 6:40am this morning in what was beautiful calm cool conditions. The river was running at a nice height with very clear water, there were a few insects out and about as well as the odd trout on the rise. I started off with a gold Aglia and picked up a solid 450 gram brown in the first ten minutes of fast water fishing. The flowing stretch of water was a wide deep slow piece of river so I just worked the spinner down the shallow left hand side of it where I had a solid hit but missed it. It was all quiet over the next couple of stretches of river until I reached the top end of the second run after changing over to the small ghost brown hard body lure.
Read more: Fair session on the Meander River today 28/11/2017
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Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
We did a bit of a runaround Tasmania’s tackle stores to see what their tips for the first month or so of the tackle season were. We asked what the top three places to fish were, plus lures, flies, baits and a few other things.
Here is a rundown on their answers Whenever, and wherever you fish - anywhere, or for any fish in the world - ask the locals and especially ask at the local tackle store. They know what was caught today, yesterday and on what.