Sea-run trout fishing this year got off to a cracking start in most areas, with the majority of anglers employing nearly every trout fishing technique to secure fish in local estuaries statewide.
Even those anglers fishing the "off-season" lower down in our estuaries for sea-trout commented on the number of fish moving in early August.
Read more: Fly fishing in October/November - Tasmanian Northern Lowlands
Joe Riley
Anyone who has picked up an English fly fishing magazine will have read about the virtues of the Booby. This bizarre looking fly has been around the lake fly fishing scene in England for close on twenty years. In this time it has become one of the "must have" patterns in fly boxes for everyone from rank beginners to the top competition anglers. The Booby is a fly that can be fished on every line from a super fast sinker to a floating line, it can be used for very specific purposes as a sacrificial fly, but will catch plenty of brown and rainbow trout in its own right.
You would think that a fly with such abilities would be well recognised here in Tassie, however if you asked ten fly fisherman about the Booby, I reckon about 8 or 9 of them would be thinking lingerie not fishing.
"Give the fish a chance, put the fly on, or in the water"
Barry Hickman
Fly fishing, by definition, must involve a genuine attempt to capture fish. Armed with a balanced outfit and adequate casting skills the final element, fishing the water, is still not without it's challenges. This is particularly so for our ever increasing, urban based, aspiring fly fishers who, more than others need this type of outdoor activity, but have little experience to draw on to understand the aquatic and marine environment of the fishes. It is most likely unfamiliar and the mirror like surface of the water, denies vision of the fish habitat and behaviour below.
The Hedged Bet
Fishing two flies is often referred to as hedging your bets - typically the leader will consist of a buoyant dry fly such as Royal Wulff tied on the end of the tippet, and tied between 30 and 60 centimeters off its hook bend will be a nymph such as a Pheasant Tail nymph. If the fish are feeding off the of surface, then the fish may take the dry, however, if the fish is feeding below the surface, such as trout feeding on nymphs, the fish will probably take the nymph trailing below the Wulff, hence the reference to a hedged bet.
"Why do we buy the rod first and flies last?"
As a fly fishing instructor and trout guide I have had the benefit of teaching and guiding a considerable number of fly fishers. This exposes me to a significant range of fly fishing equipment, all manner of casting techniques and the ever-changing challenges of weather and water. We must get the best out of these circumstances and can only do so by focusing on the critical elements of fly fishing
I was recently asked to do an eight weight Fly Rod review and a recent trip to Weipa provided the ideal testing ground. Eight weights are perhaps the most common salt water weight used in this country and certainly in my experience in the Kimberly, the Northern Territory and now in Weipa I would suggest it is the single most appropriate rod weight for the job. If you are going to buy just one rod for salt water work - make it an eight weight.
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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.
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.
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