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Fisheries Officer on patrol in |
The Christmas/New Year holiday period was popular for trout fishing. Our officers conducted 336 recreational fishing and 101 boating safety inspections at key waters around the state. Fishing conditions were good during the period, with a mixture of sunny and overcast days accompanied with light winds and minimal rain:
Great Lake – Anglers trolling anglers caught good fish around the northern end of the lake, with cobra lures and flat fish. In bright conditions, trolling deep was more effective, whilst surface lures worked well in the evening. For the fly anglers plenty of fish were up feeding on the surface in the windlanes.
Arthurs Lake – Anglers did very well trolling around Jonah Bay, with fish taking cobra lures. Good hatches of mayfly occurred in Cowpaddock Bay and plenty of rising fish in overcast low wind conditions.
Woods Lake – Plenty of fish caught by trolling and fly anglers, with the average size slightly down on previous seasons. Trolling is starting to become hampered in certain areas of the lake by weed growth, so if fishing here it's best to regularly check lures for weed fouling.
Bradys/Binney/Tungatinah – Lots of rainbow trout caught by lure and bait anglers, particularly around Tungatinah Lagoon. Some nice browns were also caught from the northern shore of Brady’s Lake.
Little Pine and Penstock Lagoons – Good hatches of mayfly in still overcast conditions.
Western Lakes – Fly anglers reported polaroiding good numbers of fish around the shores in sunny conditions. Lure fishing was productive on wonder wobblers in overcast conditions on the windward shores.
Lake Rowallan – With the lake level up, conditions are ideal for trolling with plenty of fish caught on rapala and cobra style lures. Good falls of gum beetles also occurred with plenty of fish on the surface feeding.
Wayatinah Lagoon – Anglers caught plenty of fish trolling cobra lures, with overcast conditions being the most productive.
Lake Mackintosh - The lake is full and near spilling. Fish were being caught casting bright coloured lures around the flooded timber.
On the compliance front, adherence to the Inland Fisheries rules was pleasing. Out of the 336 anglers inspected, two anglers were found to be fishing without a licence and one was found to be using more rods than endorsed on his licence.
Six infringement notices were issued to people that had failed to wear their PFD while boating. Several conditional cautions were also issued for a range of offences under Marine and Safety legislation. Of note is the requirement to comply with the new lifejacket standard that was made mandatory on 1st January 2021. All lifejackets must now comply with the Australian Standard 4758.1. This means the old style type 1, 2 and 3 PFDs are now obsolete.
There are plenty of reasons to head out trout fishing at the moment! Four of the five $10,000 tagged fish are still from our promotion this year are still at large. The weather is ideal for camping and most waters are fishing extremely well.
We wish all anglers a happy new year and good luck in their angling efforts for 2021.
Source: Anglers enjoy the post Christmas break (ifs.tas.gov.au)
