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2017 09 01 First brown of the session 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.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 09 September 2017; Hits: 4254

2017 08 24 wild brown trout on Rapala After having physio this morning and given the weather conditions were absolutely beautiful I headed off to small stream in the upper reaches of the Mersey River near Weegena.. This little river quite often fished well early season while there's good flow in it, I'm hoping it will do so this trip too. Once the water level drops it's a tough little stream to fish, so now is the time to give it a go. I started off using a small gold bladed #00 Aglia and had a follow in the first five casts. That brown came up and nudged the trebles with it's nose a few times before it turned and moved off. I knew then and there the spinners weren't going to work here today so changed over to a gold/black F-3 Rapala to see if that would get the result I was after. Well, I had only moved upstream some twenty meters when I was onto my first brown for the session. It was a well conditioned fish that went just on 350 grams, like 98% of the fish I catch it had it's photo taken and was soon back in the river.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 28 August 2017; Hits: 3549

Mepps Agliae catches the first trout of the 2017 18 season Finally after two very wet, windy days I had a chance to go for my first spin session of the season. This trip was to the Mersey River in the Union Bridge area. I wasn't even thinking of going today even with the fine weather but I thought what the heck go wet a line. Once there I found the river to be running reasonably high and fast with a colour that was like the black coffee I have in the morning. The area I'm fishing today is one that hasn't fished all that well over the past season or two either so I'm not expecting too much this trip. Today is all about getting out and wetting a line for the first time in over three months since the trout season closed. Not that I minded the closure of the season either because it gives me time to get the old body back in some sort of working order for the start of the next one. Each year it gets that little bit tougher on the body for me. With the water still being very cold I thought it was a good time to test out one of the new model Mepps Aglia-e Fluro spinner that I had sent to me to try out on the trout here in Tasmania. I tried several deep long medium flowing stretches of river without a sign of a fish, I was starting to wonder if my trip here was going to be a waste of time. I did try a couple of hard body lures in these long deep runs too before going back to the fluro spinner.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 10 August 2017; Hits: 3901

Presented from Issue 105, August 2013
The Mersey River is now even better - with ‘Anglers Access’ project completed. Adrian Webb fishes the Mersey consistently from the start to the end of the season. Here is his guide and a few tips

IFS Links Mersey River Access and All Angler- Access Brochures

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 10 June 2017; Hits: 11094

Mersey River

2017 04 17 Great colours in this Mersey River rainbow Shot off to Weegena for another afternoon session because it's the only time I have the chance to wet a line lately. This trip was to private property where I have a decent old walk to the river which is usually well worth it. It was quite warm this afternoon and by the time I reached my entry point into the river I was already knackered. I started off with the usual gold Aglia spinner and worked a couple of fast water runs that normally give up a fish or two. They didn't give up a single fish or even a follow which was a real surprise.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 29 April 2017; Hits: 3804

Mersey River

2017 04 19 My best fish for some time 1 2kg brown Another warm afternoon saw me head of to Merseylea for a late session on the Mersey River to see if I can add a few more trout to my seasons tally of 577 after yesterdays catch of four trout.

When I arrived to where I was going to fish I spotted a car already there so I headed of to another spot at Merseylea only to find the same thing. I was thinking about just heading of home when I thought I would try a section of river at Kimberley where I have gained the land owners permission to enter and fish there. I don't know why I didn't think of heading there in the first place as I always have this stretch of river to myself each time I go there. When I arrived at the river I spotted three trout surface feeding at the tail end of a long wide stretch of water. A quick flick ahead of them with a #00 gold black fury saw it taken in a matter of seconds by a small trout, and that's as long that small trout stayed on as well. Three leaps from the river that little trout tossed the spinner.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 28 April 2017; Hits: 3814

2017 04 17 2017 04 17 735 gram brown mersey river With a very light breeze blowing I was in two minds all day whether to go and have a session on the Mersey River or not. Finally around 2:30pm I decided I would go for a late spin session after all. I was in the river by 3:00 pm in what was really good conditions even though the river was running low and clear, not only that I would be fishing in full sun for the first 400 meters of river until I reached the shaded areas on the river. I started off using a hard body for a while without any sign of a trout before I changed to the gold Aglia spinner when I reached a 300 meter shallow fast water stretch of river that varied in depth from (4'' to 6'') 10cms to 20cms.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 18 April 2017; Hits: 4085

Presented from Issue 101
I am a fly fisher living on the banks of the Mersey River in Latrobe in northern Tasmania. Some, close to me, think I am obsessed. I get to see close hand the cycles of the river and its inhabitants throughout the changing seasons. For me the most exciting time of the trout fishing season is late spring and early summer when the aquatic insects, like the caddis flies, stoneflies and above all the majestic mayfly, are going through their hatching stages. What follows is a story of a spring morning’s fishing on my favourite stream.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 15 April 2017; Hits: 5958

Presented from Issue 96
I have spent most of my life growing up in close proximity to the Mersey River and its wonderful trout fishing. Over the years I have got to know the river and its denizens quite well and this particular season to date has certainly been one of the best I that I can personally remember. What follows is my take on the fishing action on this water for the first half of the 2011/2012 trout fishing season.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Mersey River; Published: 27 February 2017; Hits: 4527

Mersey River

2016 08 22 mersey river brown taken on muzzas lure After lunch I thought I would take the trout gear and head on over to Merseylea in the hope I may finally get to wet a line in it for the first time this season. Once there I could see it was still running very high and there was no way I would be hopping in for a wade. Still on with the waders etc and off I went walking down through the paddocks to where I knew there would be some nice back water that I could hop in and wade. After a brief fifteen minute walk I was soon at the bottom end of it where it flowed back into the Mersey River. There was plenty of water running down it too and I had that feeling there would be a few trout holding in a few stretches of it as well. Just before I entered the back water I flicked the little Muzza's hard body into a small flat piece of water close to the river bank, this type of water quite will often have a fish in it. It was on the second cast when I had a nice solid brown take the lure. It headed straight out into the main flow and then off downstream for some thirty meters before I managed to turn it then slowly lead it in towards the river bank. With the river running so fast even a small brown is going to peel line off the reel once it enters the main flow. Any way, after a brief tussle I soon had this nice solid brown in the landing net. As always, after quick photo it was soon back in the river. That fish went 430gms.