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Christopher Bassano reviews last season and gives some tips for the upcoming season.

Presented from Issue 117, August 2015

Every season I am asked about various ‘fishing events’ or changes that occur through different months of the year. Many people are surprised to hear about the different options that we have. You may be surprised, but some of the best fishing over the last seasons has NOT been during summer.

Last season, the early season was the best I have known and generally I find pre-Christmas is better than after. The timing of your fishing may be determined by when you can get the time, in which case, the presence of tailing fish or sea trout or massive trout will not affect your fishing dates.

For other people, the option of doing something different, going somewhere new or trying a particular style of fishing or fish may require a change in their fishing schedule.

Here is a two year summary on how I have found the fishing in Tasmania.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 04 February 2019; Hits: 220

Trout Fishing

Sometimes getting
one in the boat
can be a challenge.

Presented from Issue 117, August 2015

For those of you who love to trout fish, there will have been a time, some stage during your fishing ‘career’, where you lucked out and didn’t catch anything! Most of you will also know that in the ‘fishing world’, this is what is commonly known as a ‘donut’! It is the same shape as a zero of course. Now while the usual ‘donut’ means that no fish were caught, it doesn’t mean that there were no missed takes or bites. While this might seem bad at the time, there is something worse. That something is the ‘big fat donut’. This is where you go a whole day and don’t even get a sniff!

Iwill be brave here and admit to having taken home many ‘donuts’ during my time as a trout angler. I have also done the same during a bream competition some time back; however, given that it is the start of a new season, our focus here will be on trout. There are many factors that can influence the feeding behaviour of trout, with weather a significant one. While rain, or any other form of precipitation such as snow or hail, does not make for enjoyable fishing, such weather events do require the presence of clouds, and cloudy conditions generally mean good fishing conditions.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 04 December 2018; Hits: 325

A short video from Adrian Webb.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 13 October 2018; Hits: 430

Trout Fishing

2018 09 21 1 4 kg 3 lb 1oz wild brown trout With the rivers still running high and the weather being fine for a change I decided I was going to chase the trout by hook or by crook.. I didn't have an early start either as it wasn't until 10:30 am when I finally slipped into the river. The water was running at a medium to high level so I had fished the stretches of water that I knew were safe enough to wade. After many years of fishing the rivers this is where knowing every bit of the each river I fish pays off. I never take any risks when fishing rivers as life is too short plus it's not worth drowning one's self either. One good thing was the water temp today was up to seven degrees and that's the warmest it's been since the end of the last trout season. I set myself a small target of catching & releasing five trout for the session this trip mainly because of the water flowing high & fast in most stretches if river.. I was a little undecided of what Mepps lure to start off with today, I finally made the choice of going with the Aglia Tiger Fluoro mainly because of the water temp still being a little low. Once the water temp gets to nine degrees and above then the Mepps gold or copper blades spinners will be given a good workout.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 24 September 2018; Hits: 1066

More rain forecast again later in the day saw me head off to fish the tannin water again today in what was a much milder day than what we've previously been having. The reason I decided to fish the small stream was because the larger rivers are still running very cold & high, this little stream will be a little warmer than them. I arrived to see the level was lower than my last trip here back on 22nd August when it was cold and running at a medium height. I had a one & a half kilometre walk to where I started off the spin session & the lure of choice was a Mepps #0 Aglia tiger fluoro blade spinner.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 12 September 2018; Hits: 915

Fish mount restoration

Presented from Issue 116, June 2015
I’ve been practising fish taxidermy for several years, starting with skin mounts and fibreglass reproductions, and more recently have taken on the restoration of old mounts.

With modern day products and techniques there is no reason why a properly crafted fish skin mount should not last a lifetime. However, we’ve all seen old (and some not so old) mounts hanging on pub walls, in fishing shops or in mates sheds that have weathered badly over time . Not all old mounts need a make over. Those with least deterioration may still look rather discoloured but are best left alone with the vintage look and have a charm, character and history of their own. The worse for wear jobs with the curled fins and shrivelled heads can certainly be brought back to life.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 25 July 2018; Hits: 1265

Taxidermy

Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
As April and May progress the days are shorter and they for one thing sure are colder. But the trout angler in many of us still ‘needs’ to head up top chasing those that challenge us.

End of season trout should, as a general rule, be hungry. Either pre or post-spawn. They generally feed well pre-spawn. Feeding before they move up the many streams, creeks, rivers and canals that provide the breeding grounds. The process sees the trout with little or no food for some time hence the need to add condition for energy during this very strenuous spawning period.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 18 July 2018; Hits: 1230

Trout Fishing

Presented from Issue 115, April 2015
Well this season is passing before my eyes. Maybe I’ve been working too conscientiously, but for some reason I have fished less this last season than in recent years. There are still some golden Autumn fishing to be had, if I can make it out there, but even here on the mainland, where the rivers are open until early June, the dry fly action slows right down by the end of April. With that in mind, I’m already thinking of what I might do differently next season.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 17 July 2018; Hits: 918

Trout Fishing

Presented from Issue 114, February 2015
It’s your day off work and you’ve been awaiting its arrival, pondering thoughts of blue-sky days, huge hatches and chubby trout. Reality closes in and as soon as you awake from your slumber, the cold front arrives before the coffee is even brewed. A quick trawl of Internet-weather forecasts worsens your enthusiasm – howling winds, occasional showers and plummeting temperatures. There are still options out there but would you be comfortable? Would you enjoy success? Should you stay at home constantly checking the social media feed to fill the void of your miserable woes? No, you should fish!

Tasmania boasts a diverse trout fishery, as you might know, renown for amazing sight-fishing on shallow lakes and historical mayfly rivers but in between all of this hides some little-known gems, smaller than a river and closer to being defined as a creek. A place where wading is optimistic only due to the lack of water, not its risky depth. These are creeks and rivers on a micro- scale and they are tight enough to tangle great numbers of your flies! These are positively enticing and there are hundreds of kilometres of them winding their way throughout Tasmania - enough for you to fish for the rest of your life, probably.

I like to call them drains, though that term lacks the romance they truly deserve. Decadent drains would be more apt. Technically, some are given the name ‘river’ or ‘creek’ but some of these allocations are open to interpretation! Whatever they are called, they allegedly hold water and if they have water, there’s a good chance they have trout.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 13 April 2018; Hits: 1127

Trout Fishing

2018 04 03 Wild brown trout 6050 Today thought I would give the small tannin water stream another go today as I was interested to see how it would fish seeing it's been a week since we had some decent rain. I was fairly late heading off this morning due to severe lower back pain and couldn't do much until the pain killers kicked in. I didn't arrive at the stream until 11:15 am only to find the water level had dropped by around five inches (125 mms) to what it was on my last visit here. I knew then I was in for a tough couple of hours here today with low water and full sun on it as well. It's nothing like my last trip when the water was like black coffee, the water was now a light tannin colour and I could see the river bottom quite easy now.

: Written by Stephen Smith - Rubicon Web and Technology Training; Category: Trout Fishing; Published: 13 April 2018; Hits: 1110

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