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 ...Warm weather forecast with a cool morning saw me having an early start in the Mersey River this morning in what was beautiful conditions. I was in the river by 6:45 am and picked up a nice 530 gram rainbow with the Mepps gold Aglia in the first small fast water I fished. The next run of water I'm moving into was a long wide run that's close to one and a half kilometers in length and has a few small fast water runs in it too.. It was here I changed over to the ghost brown hard body lure to fish this clear water. As I approached this stretch of river I could see several trout surface feeding so I thought I may be in for a tough session if the trout are concentrating on surface feeding.
Read more: Great result, 22 trout caught and released 8/11/2017
Clear skies, light to moderate WSW wind and a maximum temperature of around nineteen degrees forecast had me heading over to the Mersey River for a spin session today. I didn't hit the river until 10:00 am or there about and it wasn't all that long before I had my first brown take the little Daiwa ghost brown hard body. I plucked it out of a nice clear medium flowing section of water and it was quite a nice well conditioned fish too. It had taken the lure a little deep in the mouth to what I would have liked and there was a little blood flowing through the gills. Once I picked it up and checked inside its mouth I could see there wasn't any major damage to the fish, once I removed the treble hook with the forceps the bleeding had almost stopped. I held it in the water for several minutes and there wasn't any sign of blood coming from the fish, so I sent it on it's way.
I had every intention of heading over to the Meander River this morning and was ready to head off at 6:00am. Just before I was about to leave I thought I would check the river level on the BOM site only to find the river was up by 90cms from last night which made it a little on the high side for a spin session where I was heading. So that was the end of my trip to the Meander River, then I decided to head over to Merseylea and fish upstream from the top bridge. Once there I found the wind was up and coming straight down the river, it was a pretty cold breeze too so I headed on back home. I was still feeling a little sore from yesterdays spin session in the Mersey River any way, so a rest today won't do me any harm at all.
Read more: Meander River fishes much better this time - 25/10/2017
Another warm day had me heading over to the Mersey River for a few hours chasing trout.. I didn't hit the river until 10:20 am not that it mattered all that much as it was mainly overcast conditions for now. The river here was running at a medium height and fairly clear so I'm hoping to catch and release a few browns today given the conditions were just right. I started of with the Daiwa ghost brown seeing as it worked well on the browns up at Liena yesterday in what was pretty tough fishing conditions. Well the first couple of stretches of water were very quiet, though I did manage to have a follow from a very small brown. It wasn't until I was half through fishing a back water when I finally caught my first small (270 gram) brown for the morning. That was the only brown taken in that long back water run, I did have several follows without any signs of aggression at all from them.
Read more: Trout on and off in the Mersey River today.. 24/10/2017
I had a quick trip over to Merseylea in what was cool, windy and wet conditions. When I checked the river levels online I thought the Mersey river would be low enough for a good wading session but when I arrived I could see it was a little higher that I expected. We had some heavy rain during the morning and I doubt that was enough to raise the water level. Any way I sat in the car and waited for around twenty minutes while a heavy rain shower passed over before I hit the river. There certainly was some water coming down so I was making sure I stayed in water no higher than my knees most times.
Read more: Mersey gives up a couple in windy and damp weather conditions. 19/10/2017
Well the weather this morning was no where near what was originally forecast, there wasn't any wind and now the rain isn't supposed to get here until late afternoon. I headed back to the Wilmot River seeing as the Mersey River is still on the high side and not safe enough to wade at the moment. The Wilmot River was running at the same level as it was on my last trip here over a week ago which was good to see. Today I decided on using the Daiwa ghost gill brown hard body lure as that's what got the trout going on the last spin session here. But that was a week ago and a lot can change in a week with the trout fishing, even more so in the rivers.
The first stretch of water fished was a wide slow flowing run and I had a follow from a decent size brown within the first few casts. That brown did show some interest in the lure but not enough to attack it, no matter what I tried. It wasn't until I was getting close to the top end of this stretch of water when I had my first take on the hard body. It was a well conditioned rainbow, this was the same start I had on my last trip here. The first fish that day was also a rainbow trout, this one was a little smaller than last weeks fish. Twenty meters further on I picked up a medium size brown from a bubble line close to the river bank, this fish was taken close to where I caught the rainbow last week. With two trout caught in quick time I'm thinking it's going to be a good session with quite a few trout being led into the landing net by the time I call it a day.
The next small fast water I flicked the lure into I was soon onto another nice brown, that fish tossed the lure on the second head shake. It was quiet over the following run but the next one gave up a solid brown that fought all the way into the net. I was on a high now and feeling pretty cocky that these trout are in for a hammering today.. How wrong I was, it went dead from here on with not a sign of a trout for over forty minutes as I worked my way upstream. It wasn't until I came to a long medium to fast water run when I hooked another brown, that one stayed on until I went to slip the net under it when it gave one more head shake and tossed the lure. Yes, I did have a little tantrum before moving on and continued fishing.. The strong winds that was earlier forecast finally arrived and it was really gusting now so I decided I would fish one more small fast water run ahead of me then call it a day. Good decision it was too because it was this piece of water that gave up the fish of the day. This solid brown took the ghost brown on the first cast and retrieve. It certainly gave me a run for my money too as it did everything to try and toss the lure. It made at least five of six leaps from the river and at the same time putting in some massive head shakes. I keep saying, “Stay on big fella, just stay on” and he did. After what seemed like five minutes but was only one & a half this fish was finally in the net. It was certainly a beautiful wild brown in the best of condition and colour and went 620 grams. A nice finish to what was really a short session, one that was also a bit of a let down after such a good start.. Still that's trout fishing isn't it and that's what it's all about, taking the good with the bad.
Adrian Webb
620 gram brown caught here
Best trout of the day
Brown taken here
Calm conditions on the river
Nice brown
Ready for release
Solid rainbow
The conditions this morning looked okay with a maximum of 14 degrees, mainly overcast and a light North Westerly breeze with a change late this afternoon.. Given that we haven't had rain for a couple of days I thought a trip to a tannin waters of a small stream in the upper reaches of the Mersey River was worth a go.
With another change on the way I left for the river earlier than I normally would at this time of year, with 60-70 kph winds & rain forecast I thought it best to hit the river early. Once there I could see it was running higher than normal so I'm thinking I may be in for a tough time on the water today. This trip I'm using a brand new 5'6'' Daiwa Presso ULS spin rod coupled with a new Daiwa 16 crest reel spooled with 98 meters of 4 lb clear Kast King copolymer line and a new #00 gold Aglia.. I wanted to try the short rod out today as a test run for when I head back to some of the small tight streams at a later date. The first thirty minutes of fishing was fairly quiet before I had my first small brown in the net.
Read more: Twelve trout before the weather set in - 18/9/2017
Finally after checking the online river plots one of the rivers I fish had dropped low enough for me to hit it for a spin session. That river was the Meander, this will be my first trip of the season to it. Once there it was still a little higher than expected but still safe enough for wading. The area I'm going to fish today is probably the only one that is safe enough to fish at the height it is at this stage. That's the good thing about knowing everything about the rivers I fish which has come from many years of fishing them. With rain forecast later in the day I hit the river just after 10:20am in what was cool and heavy overcast conditions with a light North Westerly breeze. I started the session off with a #1 Aglia-e red & silver blade spinner, another new one that I wanted to see if it could attract a trout.
Read more: Rain puts an end to a good spin session. 12/9/2017
I decided to have an afternoon trip to the river (private prop) in what was pretty cool overcast conditions with a very light breeze. I'm fishing a one kilometer stretch of river that runs through a friends property and I'm hoping it's running clear enough for a spin session. After a twenty minute walk through his paddocks it wasn't long before I was at the river. It was running a little higher than I had expected, but it was clear enough to spin fish and that's all that mattered. I started off with a Mepps #00 gold blade Aglia mainly because at this time of year it's the best colour to use in cold water. A silver or fluoro coloured spinner are good too and will catch fish in cold water early in the season.
Read more: A day that could have had a better result 2017/09/01
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 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.