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 !

The Australian Fly Fishing Museum is a unique single subject museum housed at the National Trust Estate at Clarendon just south of Evandale Tasmania about 30 minutes south of Launceston and is open from 10am to 4pm Thursday to Sunday.

The museum houses a collection showing the history of Fly Fishing in Australia and has a well curated display of items which not only deal with the evolution and history, but also the art of fly fishing.

Early SeasonPresented from Issue 99
The early trout season is always a special time. High water levels with brown trout foraging for a meal close to the edges giving anglers a keenly awaited opportunity for sight fishing, hunting a moving quarry in the shallows as it pushes a bow wave or sends the tip of its tail through the surface as it picks up a morsel off the bottom.

There have been many developments with fly tying materials in recent years, a fly fishing shop contains more glitter and colour than a mardi gras in the fly tying section, but sometimes basic old fashioned patterns which have stood the test of time are the requirement for successful fishing. Flies that are basic in concept and design, simple but representative of life in basic dull natural colours.

98 jans flysJan's Flies Issue 99

Presented from Issue 99
I suppose everybody is geared up for the new trout season. My start was during July by thoroughly cleaning up my fly tying studio. It is so nice to have everything so one can find things. It will be some time before the fish are seriously looking up so wets will be the go for me.

Exciter flies or lure flies will be my choice for action. May I suggest the use of two flies in a larger point fly with something smaller as a dropper. The point fly really needs to be at least four feet from the dropper.

Point patterns could include Yetis, Woolly Buggers, Matukas, Tom Jones, Wigram’s Robin and fur flies in various colours. For droppers, something quite small. This may be English wets, spider patterns are good tied with a really good moving hackle, nymph patterns dressed lightly as you must remember it is really early in the season and there is not much growth in any insects for the next couple of months.

Presented from Issue 98

Over early winter I spent some time on Tasmania’s beautiful east coast. With all that water beckoning me of course one would have to go fishing. Flathead would be the target but then I guess anything that may swim past get something thrown at them. Certainly there was a lot of salmon around, but the majority of schools I saw were too far away to cast to.

Presented from Issue 98
The 29th April 2012 saw the closure of most of our Tasmanian brown trout waters. It is a time that, in a strange sort of way, many freshwater anglers look forward to after a long and “hopefully” rewarding summer.
 
 
On a personal basis, come this time of year, it is enough for me to tie up a few flies or perhaps to read a good fishing book, allowing myself to get caught up in the romance of it all — whilst in comfort of a warm home

GarfishPresented from Issue 98

Wish list, bucket list, call it what you will, I think most of us have one. They seem to come about from conversations with other anglers about different places they have fished, things we have seen on TV or articles we have read in publications such as this one. Some of far-flung places and exotic species but others a little less expensive. This is certainly the case with me; some things just stick in my mind. An article I read many years ago by a well-known fishing journalist whose face adorns many soft plastic packets was fishing for garfish on fly. This undertaking was purely about familiarisation with his fly rod, before he went on a trip to New Zealand. It started out with some burley on the water to attract garfish in an estuary close his home and culminated in him standing up to his crown jewels, in his underwear, with two garfish stuffed down the back of his jocks and a fly hook firmly stuck in his finger. It was more than just the humour of the article that stuck with me and with my interest piqued, I told myself I’d have a crack at garfish on fly one day but I’d give the fish down the back of the jocks a miss! Fifteen years later Jamie Henderson asked me if I would like to spend the afternoon on George’s Bay chasing garfish. “Here is a chance to tick one off the bucket list” I thought and eagerly accepted.

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FRDC FishFiles

Your haul of all things seafood
Welcome to the tenth edition of FishFiles!
This article has been modified in format only for Tasfish,com

This week the regular haggle of restaurant critics plumb the depths to explore everything from squid to scallop, salmon to kingfish, yabbies, prawns, lobster, octopus and mussels too.
At home, automated processing is elevating local Eastern School Whiting to the domestic marketplace, crowd-funding is helping to increase Macquarie perch populations and FRDC funding has helped connect chefs and professional fishing crews for the viewing pleasure of consumers on TV program Seafood Escape.
Meanwhile, further afield the Netherlands mussel industry is experiencing a boom borne of innovation. Global fishing vessel location data collected by satellites and run through advanced algorithms is drawing back the curtain on transshipping and the Independent explores the 'what ifs' for the global fishing industry through the global warming and nationalism looking glass.
New Zealand fisheries are exploring whether cameras will put an end to fish dumping and ensure all play by the rules, while in Australia some of the world's most innovative crime researchers are helping crab fishers put an end to theft.
Anthony Huckstep visited Tasman Sea Salt, a young company breathing life into the forgotten art of sea salt making, SBS tackled the fish pills verse eating fish health debate, also a neat FRDC video takes a look at PEJO Salt Water Barramundi in far North Queensland.

We hope you enjoy,

Peter Horvat

Lake Lynch has been closed - as quoted from the IFS website -

A small artificial waterbody in the Central Highlands will be closed for a period of time to allow the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) to manage an established population of the introduced pest.

http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/news/media-release-notice-of-closure-of-lake-lynch-in-the-central-highlands and in the news:
http://www.theadvocate.com.au/story/4539246/lake-closed-to-remove-introduced-yabbies/?cs=5312

Presented from Issue 98

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 4 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4 entree)

  • 3 (about 600g) large cleaned squid hoods
  • 1L (4 cups) vegetable oil
  • 40g (1/4 cup) plain flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground white pepper
  • 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • Lemon wedges and soy sauce with sliced fresh red chilli, to serve

98 Egi cPresented from Issue 98

What is egi?
About 400 years ago a bloke in Japan was looking at squid in the harbour, while fishing, and thought there has to be a better way to catch these things. Until then the techniques were a dip net and teaser bait, cast or drag net. He studied the squid for some time and observed that the squid would prey on fish and shrimp as they slowed or stopped. After much trial and error he created an artificial bait that would suspend or sink very slowly in the water, and hopefully attract the squid to the artificial bait.

He called this artificial bait egi.

 At that stage it did not have barbs on the lower part of the egi and was used to excite the squid to attack and come close enough to pick up with a dip net. After much success attracting squid to the egi, but still having difficulty netting squid more thought came into the design.

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