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 !

Shore fishing - St Helens

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.

West Coast - Pieman River - Reece Dam

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.

Tamar River calamari

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.

December and January trout options

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.

Feeding the habit - Local sorty around Burnie

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!

Frederick Henry Bay - from the shore

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!

Dry fly close to home

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.

Leadline trolling - An effective and essential technique for Tasmania

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.

Makos of the North West

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.

Curries River Dam

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.

Go to top
JSN Boot template designed by JoomlaShine.com