By Jon Fox
The other week I was in St Helens onboard Saltshaker having a coffee with my old friend and ex-deckie Ronnie Smith, his skipper Rocky Carosi and TFN&B's Mike Stevens. With the anticipation of the warm waters of the East Australian Current in January and February the conversation was of the big Tuna, Sharks and Striped Marlin offshore out of St Helens and more to the point, fishing techniques used for these species in other fisheries and if they will work in Tassie.
Hard Howlers
Warning: This article is not for the weekend fisherman, the tourist, the impatient - or people who don't like the dark or the cold. So if you are any of the above, please turn over now!
Chasing big snapper in Tasmania is, in my opinion, the most challenging type of fishing anyone can undertake. Many people think I am one of the luckiest fishermen in Tasmania, but I disagree - I make my own luck. I seriously concentrate on targeting big snapper. When I say, big snapper, I don't mean 5kg fish, I mean fish over 8 kg plus.
There is hundreds if not thousands of bank fishing opportunities available in Tasmania, however the poor old bank fisher gets left out in a lot of fishing location articles. Despite the size of some of Tasmania's lakes, such as Arthurs Lake and Great Lake, their smaller bays and relatively open banks can lend themselves to some easy access, exciting trout fishing opportunities. Here is six top bank-fishing spots for locals and visitors a like!
Finding feeding river fish--
Wind lanes, bays and weed beds are all fish (and fish food) producing areas well known to lake fishers. These fish producing areas are typically associated with lake fishing, and in the case of wind lanes, loch style fly fishing in particular. Whilst these features of fly fishing may appear to be unique characteristics of lake fishing, these same fish producing features are present on Tasmania's rivers and are capable of producing equally spectacular fishing oppurtunities. Add to these features some undercut banks and white water rifles and the angler will wonder why they ever ventured from their local stream!
LOW HEAD HOODLUMS--
Every year, around January to April, we receive some Northern visitors to the Tamar River. These hard and dirty fighting fish are not as common as they are further north, but for the dedicated angler, rewards can be high, particularly on that special day...
As you may have suspected, these visitors are - yellowtail kingfish.
Arthurs Lake is without the best wild brown trout lake in Australia. For that matter it would rank right up there alongside the best in the world, and plenty of international anglers would agree with me. It has a diversity of trout environments that is staggering. Weedy bays, sandy beaches, tree lined shores, rocky reefs, secluded corners and wild open stretches contain a vast amount of fishing opportunities- the majority of them basically ignored.
Little Pine Lagoon situated on the Marlborough Highway between Miena and Bronte. Declared a fly fishing only water, it is rightly regarded as one of the premier fly fishing lakes in Australia.
Local Tasmanians don't realise how good their bream fishery is. It is a fishery that has changed little over many years and in fact recent reports have confirmed in some places it is getting better. I am not sure when commercial fishing stopped for bream, but it has been many, many years.
Brumbys Creek is situated approximately 40 minutes south of Launceston, just beyond the colloquially named "gateway to trout fishing', Cressy. Brumbys Creek is an extremely interesting and typically exciting water that offers all forms of fishing hatches and methods to the fly fisher. Essentially a tailrace fishery, the major features of Brumbys Creek is its three Weirs (Weirs 1,2 and 3) that were constructed to slow the flow of water derived from Poatina power station, which in turn receives its water from Great Lake on the Central Plateau.
Well, it is spring and this means only one thing in my mind - I'll bet you can guess what that is - and it's got nothing to do with "the birds and the bees". It's big and red and howls your reel at a blistering pace. You guessed it - Tasmanian Snapper!
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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.
Please contact me via www.rwtt.com.au/contact-me/ for further information - Stephen Smith.
Mike Fry doesn’t only live on the Wild Side of Tasmania, but also goes fishing in probably the wildest boat ever to troll for trout—certainly in Tasmania.
When your mate says ‘What are you doing tomorrow, want to come up the Gordon for the night?’ it would be pretty hard to say anything else except “you bet” and start checking out your tackle box and packing your overnight bag. But if your mate was Troy Grining and he wanted to give his new 52ft, high speed cruiser a run across Macquarie Harbour, test the new onboard dory with a chance of landing a nice Gordon River Brown you would have to feel privileged. I didn’t say anything about getting on my hands and knees and kissing his feet…just having a lend of ya’ but I did feel very appreciative.