by Sarah Graham
Many anglers are preparing for the opening of the new angling season on Saturday 7 August and it's shaping up to be another good one with the fishery in excellent health as a result of last year’s drought breaking rains. There are many great fishing locations around the State from which to choose for the opening weekend and early season fishing but here are a few suggestions.
Andrew Hart recently interviewed one of Australia's, and in fact the world's, most highly respected gamefishing lure manufacturers, Peter Pakula.
Firstly, how long have you been making lures?
Over 25 years.
How many different styles are on the market today?
Depends on which day you are talking about. The range is in continious flux.
Ocean currents are nature's highways and food chain providers of the open seas. Off Tasmania, East Coast gamefisherman await the arrival from the North - the East Australian current carrying the complete marine food chain and gamefish.
Two tips that will increase your chances
With large numbers of Striped Marlin inshore on our east coast, most game fishers will be putting in some serious effort trying to get attached to one over the next 6 -8 weeks.
Line
When choosing new monofilament line there are many differing opinions on line thickness, colour and flexibility to influence your choice. Keep in mind that trolling is the main method for catching Game fish off Tasmania, therefore the high visibility fluorescent line is an advantage for placing lines and baits exactly where you want them for a tangle free pattern. A known brand of pre-tested sport fishing monofilament is the safest way to go. Line should constantly be checked for nicks and abrasion. At least every 10 trips to the top 20-30 metres should be cut off and discarded. This is where most line deterioration occurs.
St Helens is one of the most popular bases for entry into the game fishing waters off the Tasmanian East Coast. Late January heralds the beginning of the tuna season which continues through until May when the water temperature is the highest.
This year has been one of the best tuna fishing seasons that we've experienced in many years. This has resulted in our house having an abundance of tuna in the freezer.
Read more: Catch in the Kitchen - Tuna Salad with Caper and Chilli Dressing
The Yellowfin (Thunnus albacares) is now widely regarded as the ultimate offshore sportfish and has captured the imagination of Tasmania's Sport and Game fishing fraternity. A combination of blistering speed, unlimited power and incredible stamina is what sets the Yellowfin Tuna apart from other sport fish and makes it an awesome opponent.
Wade Whitelaw, Jock Young, Tim Lamb and Russell Bradford from the CSIRO Division of Fisheries recently under took some fisheries research with the help of recreational anglers. This report from them is reproduced in part from, and with permission from Gil Schott's excellent magazine Saltwater Fishing - Issue 5. Available at all good Newsagents.
Rocky Carosi profiles the popular Albacore. Rocky runs a charter fishing outfit, Professional Charters from St Helens. He can be contacted on 03 6376 3083 or 0419 383 362.
As the warm waters of the Eastern Australian current begin to arrive off Tasmania's East Coast, one of the first game fish to show is the albacore Tuna (Thunnus alaunga). Tasmania's salt water game fishers eagerly await the arrival of "˜Albies"which are the mainstay of Tasmania's temperate water game fishing season.
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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.