During the trout off-season I tend to spend a bit of time chasing bream, to continue getting a fishing fix, and spend time tying flies and dreaming about the trout season to come. It’s a time to spend doing tackle maintenance, stocking up on lures and dreaming up new challenges and goals for the trout season ahead. When the new season comes around I usually spend the first few months targeting sea runners. Sea run trout are simply brown trout that spend much of there lives out to sea and come in to the estuaries for spawning and to feed on whitebait and the other small endemic fishes that spawn in late winter through spring. Mixed in with the silvery sea runners you can also expect to catch resident fish that have the typical dark colours of a normal brown trout as well as atlantic salmon in some of our estuaries that are located near salmon farm pens. Living in Hobart it is quick and easy to do a trip on the Huon or Derwent and is a more comfortable proposition compared to a trip up to the highlands with snow and freezing winds to contend with.
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 !
Jamie Henderson
As many of us fish on a tight budget these days, what with mortgages, living costs, family expenses, kids and cars etc, owning a boat is quite often low on the list of priorities. With this in mind being able to maximise your shore fishing opportunities and make the most of your feet is as important as the tackle you use to do it with.
What follows is a quick look at shore fishing options around Georges Bay, St Helens, and the tackle and techniques needed to take home a feed of fish.
Jamie Harris
Around 14 years ago, a workmate and keen fly fisher spoke of a mighty river, where the whitebait were so thick you could almost walk across them, and as far as the eye could see there were trout of all sizes smashing them on the surface. Only in my dreams had I seen such a place. I thought he was exaggerating. He said you could stand in the one spot and catch 20 or 30 fish in a couple of hours. He also said while he had only caught fish to 5 lbs, there were fish in double figures taken there every year. This was all I could take - I said, "Right, when are we going?!" Three weeks later we were there.
Damon Sherriff
Southern calamari and cuttlefish are one of my favourite species. They are both fantastic to eat and make great bait. Although calamari are related to the arrow squid I am sure that calamari are far smarter! They can be a real challenge. They go off and on the bite at the flick of a switch. In my opinion they are far superior on the table as well.
Peter Hayes
I noted with interest recently that after more than a dozen years of guiding my most regular clients come during December January. Two clients in particular are emphatic that the best week of the season is the third week in December. In this dozen years one of these clients has never missed catching at least his bag (12) limit of trout on at least one of the days of his visit.
Tim Anderson
Fishing time and effort is often curtailed by the constraints of work and family and is further impacted with the financial pressure of rising fuel costs and the approaching festive season which in itself can lead to your credit card statement looking like an overloaded hay truck on a back country road!
John Orchard
Summer is now officially upon us and as the holiday season begins and the weather warms up, Frederick Henry Bay comes alive with boats as anglers head out in search of a fresh fish or two for the dining table; but what of those who don't have the luxury of a boat? Fear not, for all is far from lost!
Joe Riley
It's amazing how close to home good dry fly fishing can be found. As summer comes along the lowland rivers start to offer some exhilarating, and often challenging dry fly fishing. From trout cruising the slow moving glides or pools sipping minuscule offerings out of the surface film, to excited brown trout freely leaping from the water to catch mayfly and damselfly on the wing. These fish are catchable. With a little patience, intelligent fly choice, a good leader setup and accurate casting they can be brought undone, and once two or three of these fish come to the net you can really feel a sense of satisfaction about achieving a challenging task.
Trolling guru, Bill Presslor takes a close look one of his favourite trolling methods - leadline
Most freshwater trollers have at one time or another had at least some experience with lead core lines. Whether you love it or hate it, lead core catches fish!
Basically, lead core line, a lead wire covered by woven nylon, has been around for over fifty years and was developed as a means of trolling lures deeper than they could be trolled by traditional means. Used in conjunction with downriggers, planer boards and surface or flat lines, lead core lines can add versatility to any trolling spread. They are often the most productive option when you need to get your lures that little bit deeper. In lakes such as Arthurs Lake, Great Lake and Dee Lagoon lead core lines are bound to improve your catch rate.
Read more: Leadline trolling - An effective and essential technique for Tasmania
Tim Anderson
Beginnings
As spring sets in most creatures have already, or are set to begin a fornicating frenzy and all though my thoughts at times are dominated by similar images, the approaching game season is steadily turning the tide toward thoughts of chasing mako sharks from our local ramps. These mighty adversaries are available in numbers on occasions and in my experience the jumbo triple figure numbers are more prevalent in the early part of the season.
Damon Sherriff
Curries is a challenging water. It has had its ups and downs over the years but now thanks to the IFC its stocks are getting back on track. Curries is not every anglers cup of tea. The catch rate is normally lower than in other areas but the fish taken from Curries are of excellent eating quality.
Click above for current issue content. The current issue of TFBN is extensive and topical. In Tackle Stores, Newsagents and by subscription.
Delivered to your door for $48 for 2 years (8 issues). To subscribe, send Mike $48 via www.paypal.com.au . (Basic instructions are here) The email is at Contact Us. Your address will be included from PayPal.
Or phone Mike with your c/c handy on 0418129949
Please ensure your details are correct, for Mike to organise delivery.
When you have finished for the day, why not have a brag about the ones that didn't get away! Send Mike an article on your fishing (Click here for contact details), and we'll get it published here. Have fun fishing - tasfish.com
Here is a list of all of the Article Categories. The number in Brackets, eg (13) is the number of articles. Click on Derwent River and all articles relating to the Derwent will be displayed in the central area.
Visit https://www.windyty.com/
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.
Presented from Issue 100
Considering the world class quality of our sea trout fishery, these fish are not sought after by enough anglers. Sea runners live in the salt water and run up our estuaries and rivers from the start of August to the middle of November. At this time of the year, they are here to eat the many species of fish that are either running up the rivers to spawn or are living in and around the estuary systems. Trout, both sea run and resident (Slob Trout) feed heavily on these small fish which darken in colouration as they move further into fresh water reaches.
The majority of these predatory fish are brown trout with rainbows making up a very small percentage of the catch. They can be found all around the state but it would be fair to say that the east coast is the least prolific of all the areas. They still run up such rivers as the Georges (and many others) but their numbers along with the quality of the fishing elsewhere make it difficult to recommend the area above the larger northern, southern and western rivers.
Read more ...