August – October 2021
TASMANIAN FISHING and BOATING NEWS — ISSUE 146
Stocking - Were the trout are Technical - Nymphs Sink Rates Flathead - Are They at Risk Casting Lures for Tuna Western Lakes Walk Euro Nymphing
Print Post approved 100003074
Mersey River
$5.95 Lubin Pfeiffer with an early season brownie.
Tactics — Lubin Pfeiffer
3
Trout stocking — Where the fish have been stocked
8
Mersey River – Loaded with trout — Adrian Webb
10
Casting for tuna — Jarvis Wall
13
How fast do weighted nymphs sink — Kiyoshi Nakagawa
17
Shallow water snapper — Jack Gillespie
20
The fantastic four — Nathan Huizing
27
Western Lakes walk — Jayden Donohue
30
Thoughts on flathead — Craig Hedge
37
Euro nymphing — Finn McDowell
40
My ten percent boat — Craig Rist
44
Trout season is on us again, and covid19 is still with us too. Tasmania has been proclaimed by some as, perhaps, one of the safest places in the world to be. That comes as little surprise to any Tasmanian - and we are free to fish. It is around 450 days since the last known community case in Tasmania, but the impact of any case will be profound. We are fortunate we can still move around freely, and all we really have to do is scan a QR code at businesses. Fishing is open everywhere, both salt and from 7 August most trout waters are open. The month of July saw large rainfall events all across Tasmania and most of our fishing lakes were full. Rivers have had a good flush and farmers will have all filled their off river storages. We should have some really good river fishing this season. Many people tell me they did not have a good last season. I did not find this and caught fish right up until 3.30pm on the last day. I always consider carefully where to go on each trip. I didn’t fish some of the popular waters much, because
subconsciously I believe I was avoiding people. Penstock Lagoon is one of those places, and while it can be an outstanding fishery it only got two visits from me. Interestingly though I fish Four Springs quite a bit, but this is a combination of convenience and performance. It is less than thirty minutes from home and you will always see a fish – even if they don’t always play the right game.
think their input is not taken on board. I agree.
should have been dealt with after the draft Strategy was presented.
I attended two meetings in my area and the second was for DPIPWE to present the ‘draft’ Recreational Sea Fishing Strategy’. It had good attendance of perhaps 30 people including a couple of people that had some commercial fishing background.
After speaking with some of those present it was clear to me that they were there to have their views recorded. Sounds fair, but the two DPIPWE staff took few, if any, notes and I doubt if the fishers input was recorded. The fishers present were asked to go online and put in a submission, but age, and technical challenges often prevent that. Genuinely, these people wanted their thoughts recorded at that meeting and that is why they were there.
Talking about strategy, it is good to see Government working on 10 year strategies for both saltwater and the trout fisheries.
The meeting was supposed to be presenting the draft strategy, but it was evident from the start rec fishers had used this meeting with fishery managers as an opportunity to air all their fishing grievances. For me it showed a couple of things. One was the difficulty fishers seem to have with input to DPIPWE. The second was communication.
The saltwater strategy has been progressing for a while now and while it is welcoming to see this being progressed I am not impressed with the consultation and input opportunities. There has been ample opportunity to have input, but it has not really been taken up at meetings with poor attendance. I don’t know why that is the case, because everyone has an opinion. In part it seems many fishers
Fishers want to have input and many were at this meeting for that – not to hear about a strategy, but to have a say on the management and gain an understanding on what is happening. The Launceston meeting spent most of its time off subject (Strategy) and dealing with other items. It showed how passionate fishers are though. It should have had a strong facilitator to keep things on track and all other items
Before you go fishing this season have a plan for what you want, maybe it is time to visit some different waters and learn some new places. Have a strategy and stick to it.
Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Published by Mike Stevens: PO Box 7504, Launceston, 7250. Mike Stevens – P: 0418 129 949 or E: mike@tasfish.com 0r Field Editor Lubin Pfieffer - editor@tasfish.com Stevens Publishing, ABN 79 095 217 299 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Print Post approved; 100003074
Fishing News - Page 2
There was a lot of talk about rock lobster, flathead, catch sharing, diving etc. and the 10 year Strategy was not the main game. That was disappointing. Submissions are now closed. However at least there will be a Strategy. From that will come Policy and that will influence rules and regulations in the future. I welcome that. The trout/freshwater strategy has meetings scheduled Statewide. Try and get along to one and have your say. Mike Stevens
Mike Stevens talks fishing ABC Statewide Saturday mornings 6.40 a.m. Subscriptions go to www.tasfish.com, phone Mike 0418 129 949 with your C/C handy or by Paypal to mike@tasfish.com - Two years $48
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Tactics
Streamers and sinking lines will get the fish excited
Early season tactics by Lubin Pfeiffer
T
he 2021/22 trout season has opened and the trout will be very eager to start eating flies. The early season sees the fish recovering from spawning and looking to put on condition once again. One of the best parts about fishing in Tasmania is that you get to work with the seasons and change your methods accordingly as the weather and temperatures change. While I know there will be many of you waiting until the water warms a little and the bugs become more present, but if you are looking to scratch that angling itch there is some fantastic fishing opportunities available right now!
Early Season Locations With most of the trout waters open again there are plenty of options available to anglers wanting to get out and get their trout fix. On the lowlands, places like Four Springs Lagoon, Lake Leake, and the east coast lakes such as Waterhouse and Blackmans will have some excellent fishing. Every year it seems that one lake will fire over another so only time will tell in the coming weeks as to which will be the place to be. When the weather conditions allow, the lakes up the mountain can have amazing fishing early season. Little Pine Lagoon, Penstock, Authurs and Woods had some amazing early season fishing last year which
There’s some big rainbows in Lake Leake
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Fishing News - Page 3
should be a good indication of what to expect. Just make sure when venturing up the hill you check road conditions as things can change very quickly up there. While having a boat can give you more options as to where to fish, there will be plenty of great fish cruising the shallow margins, especially at places such as Little Pine and Penstock Lagoon.
The Drift
Little Pine will have some great browns early season
While the bug life will be fairly minimal for the first part of the season, the fish will be keen to chase flies and this will be the best way to fool them with a fly early on. Fishing from a boat, I like to set up a drift and work an area that way. Drifting means you can cover lots of water and also find where the fish are. To ensure the perfect drift speed for fishing, a drogue is the best tool. If you haven’t got a drogue on your boat for fly fishing, then this is the season to get one fitted as it will increase your catch rate remarkably. Trout feel more comfortable to feed when there is a bit of chop on the water and a drogue will get you working those areas at the perfect pace.
Sinking Lines for Aggressive Takes
Jules Stevens and Lubin heading out on Pentock Lagoon
Well worth braving the cold for! Penstock Lagoon will produce some amazing fish this coming season Fishing News - Page 4
Sinking lines will account for most fish early on, matched with a team of streamers on the end of them. While sinking lines may not appear all that complicated there are actually a lot to them and all of the subtle differences are there to help you catch more trout. I like to have a full set of sinking lines on hand so that I can choose the exact one I need for the water I’m fishing. Shallow water drifts say in water a metre and a half or less, a fast intermediate line is my weapon of choice. This line accounted for a stack of fish in both Penstock and Little Pine last season. Moving into slightly deeper water, or days where the wind is really blowing, I’ll move down to a Di3 (3 inches per second) or Di5 to get my flies a
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little lower in the eater column. I’ve also got sweep lines in the kit for when the fish might be wanting the flies on the hang. While it may be a little daunting to start using sinking lines, places like Essential Fly Fisher can take the guesswork out for you. If you’ve got a particular lake or area you are wanting to fish in, drop in a see the team as they have all the knowledge and lines to get you started. I fish my sinking lines on a 10ft 6wt from the boat and find the extra length in the rod makes the whole system a lot easier to use. While you are fine to use a 9ft rod, the extra length of a 10ft makes casting and landing fish a whole lot simpler. From the shore, both 9ft and 10ft rods work fairly equally so it is just a personal preference as to which one gets taken out on the day. Leader selection for pulling streamers on a sinking line is very basic. A spool of 3X 0.23mm fluorocarbon will do the job over a wide range of waters. Remember the flies are usually moving with a bit of pace so the fish have very little chance to be able to shy away from a heavy tippet. The fish will also be eating the fly fairly aggressively so the extra strength tippet will stop them busting you off. To build a leader just decide whether you are going to be using two or three flies. I personally always use three flies from a boat and two from the shore as a rule while streamer fishing and these are set five feet apart. This measurement for me is a full arm’s length which is very easy to measure anywhere any time. Rather than going exactly to the millimetre work out a system that you can use quickly anywhere, for me is just pulling the tippet out so it’s the length of both my arms and I know I can make it this length easily every time I construct a leader. This is the length I make the tippet from my fly line loop to my first fly (top dropper) and my other two flies are set apart that distance as well. While I say five feet apart, it would roughly
From there you can mix things up a bit. Last season, I found a fast-paced set of strips, say five or six followed by a set of short jabs, then strips again was a very effective retrieve over quite a few different waters. I think the fast pace strips gets them excited and then the short strips induce a take. The other retrieve worth mastering is a rolly polly or double-handed retrieve as this keeps the flies moving without stopping which is often too much for the fish to resist. In a typical drift, I will include several of these different retrieves to find out what they want. If I find one is working noticeably better, I will stick with that throughout the following drifts. If I’m picking up fish on mix drifts I will simply keep mixing it up. Remember to fan your casts fishing
both on the bank and from the boat to cover as much water as you can. Another important thing to remember is to get in contact with your flies when they land as aggressive fish will hone in on the sound of the plop and eat them straight away!
Time to Hit the Water The early season is an exciting time of the year and always gives us a good indication of what we can expect for the season ahead. As the weather warms and the bugs begin to come out again we can employ many other tactics to fool those fantastic Tasmanian trout. Until then, I’ll have my streamers moving at pace and be enjoying the wonderful lake fishing the early season has to offer! Lubin Pfeiffer
Sending a team of streamers out on a long searching cast be that, but this way of measuring just means I can do it quickly without needing to carry a tape measure around with me. Trust me, the trout do not care if the flies are not exactly five feet apart! It is worth noting that if you are finding the trout may be shying away from the heavy tippet then try to go a bit lighter and see if you get more takes. It is always best practice to start heavier though, as you don’t want to bust that first big fish of the season straight off!
Early Season Fly Selection Every season my fly selection becomes more simple as I get less caught up in all the little differences, as most of the time these little things make a difference to the angler and not to the fish. Streamers such as woolly buggers will account for many fish early season and these are usually what you will find tied to the end of my tippet. Size, colour and weight are the factors you need to consider and not the actual name or pattern of the fly. I like to have a fly box filled with olive, brown, black and gold buggers and these will be tied on hook sizes from 10 14. Some will have 3mm tungsten beads in gold, copper or orange and others will have brass beads in similar colours. I always try to start with a broad selection to see what the fish want, gold on the top dropper, black in the middle and olive on the point. This way if the fish have a particular liking to one fly over another I can find that out pretty quickly. Another great fly that might be overlooked for pulling is a blob, I caught many fish on this last year on the top dropper and think it will account for many fish in the upcoming season as well.
Retrieves To Get The Fish Excited Like I said, at this time of year the fish will be willing to chase a fly so keep that in mind while you are fishing. Several retrieves will catch fish and it’s just a matter of finding out what they want on the day. Slow, medium and fast-paced consecutive strips are a good starting point.
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Fishing News - Page 5
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Photo: Logan Summers
Fishing News - Page 6
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MSRP
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8’6”
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4
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9’0”
#4
4
A
$1195
SKY G 5904
9’0”
#5
4
A
$1195
SKY G 6904 Best 6 weight - Yellowstone Angler 9’0”
#8
4
B
$1195
SKY G 8904
#8
4
B
$1295
9’0”
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“The Douglas Sky G is astounding. I’ve been fly fishing for over 50 years and own more fly rods than I care to admit. I’ve thrown just about every brand rod there is, but I’ve never used a rod that has the characteristics that this one has. I can carry a ridiculous amount of line in the air and reach long distances effortlessly. It is a joy to fish.”
6 WT. SHOOTOUT
Dave Townsend
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Fishing News - Page 7
Inland Fisheries Trout stocking table 31 March - 16 July Date
Place stocked
Qty
16/07/2021
Four Springs Lake
2500
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
16/07/2021
Brushy Lagoon
300
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
15/07/2021
Curries River Reservoir
600
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
15/07/2021
Dee Lagoon
1500
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
15/07/2021
Pet Reservoir
1000
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
15/07/2021
Brushy Lagoon
600
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
14/07/2021
Curries River Reservoir
600
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
14/07/2021
Lake Dulverton
300
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
14/07/2021
Blackmans Lagoon
600
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
13/07/2021
Briseis Hole
600
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
13/07/2021
Pioneer Lake
500
Rainbow Trout
380
Triploid
Ff#65 - Millybrook (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
30/06/2021
Lake Sorell
2
Rainbow Trout
1000
Diploid
Fish Salvage
Wild
30/06/2021
Lake Sorell
44
Brown Trout
1000
Diploid
Fish Salvage
Wild
29/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
75
Brown Trout
734
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
24/06/2021
Lake Dulverton
150
Brown Trout
617
Diploid
Tumbledown Creek, Arthurs Lake
Wild
22/06/2021
Big Waterhouse Lake
240
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
21/06/2021
Bradys Lake
168
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
18/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
25
Brown Trout
734
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
215
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/06/2021
Craigbourne Dam
210
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/06/2021
Bradys Lake
263
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
17/06/2021
Brushy Lagoon
220
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
17/06/2021
Central Highlands Lodge
50
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
16/06/2021
Brushy Lagoon
220
Brown Trout
852
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
15/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
199
Brown Trout
734
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
15/06/2021
Bradys Lake
692
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
13/06/2021
Bradys Lake
800
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
11/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
270
Brown Trout
734
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
10/06/2021
Bradys Lake
800
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
09/06/2021
Curries River Reservoir
270
Brown Trout
735
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
07/06/2021
Bradys Lake
400
Brown Trout
530
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
02/06/2021
Camerons Lagoon
50
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
02/06/2021
Bruisers Lagoon
50
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
02/06/2021
Lake Lynch
28
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
02/06/2021
Lake Duncan
30
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
02/06/2021
Pet Reservoir
980
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
31/05/2021
Bradys Lake
400
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
31/05/2021
Craigbourne Dam
168
Atlantic Salmon
1200
Diploid
New Norfolk Hatchery (Huon)
Domestic
28/05/2021
Curries River Reservoir
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
27/05/2021
Bradys Lake
400
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
27/05/2021
Big Waterhouse Lake
220
Brown Trout
850
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
27/05/2021
Blackmans Lagoon
20
Brown Trout
850
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
Fishing News - Page 8
Type
Size (grams)
Source
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26/05/2021
Blackmans Lagoon
240
Brown Trout
850
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
25/05/2021
Blackmans Lagoon
220
Brown Trout
850
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
24/05/2021
Penstock Lagoon
119
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
24/05/2021
Bradys Lake
136
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
21/05/2021
Craigbourne Dam
120
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
21/05/2021
Bradys Lake
265
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
21/05/2021
Craigbourne Dam
120
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/05/2021
Lake Botsford
30
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/05/2021
Lake Paget
30
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
18/05/2021
Second Lagoon
50
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
17/05/2021
Bradys Lake
126
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
17/05/2021
Curries River Reservoir
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
14/05/2021
Lake Leake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Sandbanks Creek, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
13/05/2021
Bradys Lake
155
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
13/05/2021
Lake Leake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
13/05/2021
Brushy Lagoon
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
12/05/2021
Lake Leake
480
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
11/05/2021
Curries River Reservoir
480
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
10/05/2021
Penstock Lagoon
360
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
07/05/2021
Lake Leake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
07/05/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
06/05/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
05/05/2021
Craigbourne Dam
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
05/05/2021
Four Springs Lake
720
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
04/05/2021
Craigbourne Dam
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
04/05/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
03/05/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
30/04/2021
Craigbourne Dam
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
29/04/2021
Craigbourne Dam
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
28/04/2021
Bradys Lake
82
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
28/04/2021
Lake Crescent
500
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
26/04/2021
Brushy Lagoon
170
Atlantic Salmon
1200
Diploid
New Norfolk Hatchery (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
23/04/2021
Craigbourne Dam
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
22/04/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
21/04/2021
Bradys Lake
166
Brown Trout
500
Diploid
River Derwent, Lake King William
Wild
21/04/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
19/04/2021
Four Springs Lake
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
15/04/2021
Brushy Lagoon
171
Atlantic Salmon
1200
Diploid
New Norfolk Hatchery (Huon Aquaculture Group)
Domestic
13/04/2021
Four Springs Lake
469
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
08/04/2021
Penstock Lagoon
360
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
07/04/2021
Penstock Lagoon
240
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
07/04/2021
Lake Botsford
70
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
07/04/2021
Rocky Lagoon
50
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
01/04/2021
Penstock Lagoon
121
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
01/04/2021
Carter Lakes
30
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
31/03/2021
Carter Lakes
120
Brown Trout
800
Diploid
Liawenee Canal, Yingina/Great Lake
Wild
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Fishing News - Page 9
Pocket water on the Mersey that can produce big numbers of fish at times
Mersey River Loaded with trout
I
t was another top day here in Sheffield today, with a maximum temperature of 16 degrees followed up with a gusty southwesterly later in the day. It was a good day to hit one of the larger rivers again. This time it was the upper reaches of the Mersey River at Weegena that I headed to for the second time this season. My last trip here was back on September ninth and that trip was a real fizzer, with just the one brown trout caught and released.
The Mersey Alive With Trout I arrived at 7:50 am at Weegena and was in the river by 7:56 am. The water was running very clear, so I started the Fishing News - Page 10
Adrian Webb session off with a Mepps #0 Stone Fly coloured Bug spinner. One thing that I couldn’t help but notice was the number of duns that were hovering above the water. They were everywhere and this was going to make for a tough spin session because the trout will be concentrating on surface feeding. In fact, I could see trout surface feeding in most sections of the slower flowing stretches of water above and below the bridge. Three minutes later, after a cast and drift, I had the first fish in the net. It was a nice well-conditioned rainbow trout and was the first trout of the morning. That was my first rainbow trout for the season as well which was good as they’ve been few and far between in this area over the past
This brown was fooled with a home painted lure
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couple of seasons. A few more casts and retrieves drew the attention of a large brown trout. That fish sat back behind the spinner without having a go at it. Seeing that large trout made me change lures and I went for a small handmade brown trout hard body. I worked several areas off the river with it for just the one hook up from a medium-size rainbow that I lost as quickly as it hit it. I fished this area for another five minutes without a sign of a trout and then moved onto the next run of water. While I slowly made my way upstream I could see trout surface feeding everywhere. Small-medium browns in the 280-380 gram size and several larger fish around 800 grams were having a ball on the insects that were on the water surface. I tried several different Mepps models and blade colours, unfortunately, all that happened was follow after follow from the trout, until I went back to the Stone Fly Bug spinner. Three or four casts was all it took before I was onto a trout, one that took me by surprise because I wasn’t expecting a hit in the slower flowing water. This time it was a brown trout that took the Bug spinner. Not one of the larger browns that I had spotted surface feeding, just a small size 280-gram fish. It had taken thirty-five minutes to pick up the second trout of the session. Like I stated earlier, it was going to be a tough day chasing trout with them surface feeding. I don’t know how many casts and retrieves I had in between the first and second fish, but it was a lot that’s for sure. I fished shallow waters and deep waters, all with the same results. Plenty of follows but no takers until I went for a change of lure as I moved into another deep run.
Shallow riffles such as this are always worth a few casts
A Change For Success The lure I went for was an old beat up hard body. It had been broken in half that I filled with Araldite and then hand-painted. It was a small 40mm lure that had great action and has caught a lot of trout in the past. I’ve carried it in my fishing vest for a long time (two trout seasons) since I patched it up and this was its first time back in a river. Finally, after several casts and retrieves in this deep medium flowing stretch of water, the little hard body was snapped up by a solid brown. This fish would test out how well I put the lure back together. Would it part ways where it had been broken in half or would it hold out? The lure did its job and held itself
The Mersey has lots of hard fighting rainbows together, and the trout stayed on all the way to the landing net. Once weighed in the net the trout only went 320g, however, so far it was the biggest trout of the session. It was also the third trout of the morning and was caught fifty-five minutes (9:40 am) after the second trout. When the fishing is tough, like it was today, it’s just a matter of being patient because there’s always a trout that will eventually take a lure. Ahead of me was a couple of decent fast water runs and it was in those fast waters that I was
hoping to increase today’s catch rate. To cut a long story short I went back to the Stone Fly spinner to fish them. The trout were few and far between too, and all I did manage was to catch and release two small rainbows from three hookups. The first one was caught at 10:10 am and the second one at 11:15 am. The last fast water that I fished was a reasonably long one. Halfway along it, and after catching the last small rainbow and losing one other, my mind wanted to go on but my body didn’t. I could have
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pushed on and probably would have had the trout been there in good numbers, however, I knew I would struggle to catch any more, so I called it a day at 11:30 am. With three rainbows and two browns caught and released it wasn’t all that bad, given the conditions, with the trout fullon surface feeding. I knew it was going to be tough as it always is when there are massive dun hatches on any river. Adrian Webb Fishing News - Page 11
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Cast for the Blast Casting lures at targeted tuna Jarvis Wall
O
ne of the down parts of trolling for tuna is you miss out on feeling the best bit, the strike and first run! Casting lures is the perfect way to get your fix of awesome eats and screaming spin reels. It’s quite possibly the most overlooked form of Tuna fishing here in Tasmania, setting out without the trolling rods as your primary weapon and having our spin sticks in hand isn’t something we do on the normal but I’m here to tell you that some of the best fun you can have fishing is casting your lure at these absolute speedsters of our southern oceans. There is something truly breathtaking about watching a Southern Bluefin Tuna blow up out of the water and absolutely annihilate your topwater lure, it’s a sight you’ll never forget!
The fish Predominantly you’re going to encounter the Southern Bluefin variety of the Tuna clan whilst out searching for them on the cast. These fish generally range in the 10-25 kilogram area in our waters but more and more often these days fish in the 30-45 kilogram size class are showing up, and then ofcourse you have the barrels and the jumbos which are around 75 kilograms up to 150 kilograms in size. A generally slow growing fish that ages up to 40 years old or so and takes little time to reach the barrel size bracket but then the growth slows right down. They can reach sizes of 250 kilograms or so but these giants are extremely rare.
You may also encounter the Albacore Tuna, these little speedsters are awesome animals that have huge pectoral fins which stretch right back almost to the base of the tail. They can reach up to 40 kilograms but are more commonly caught around the 5-15kg range. Albacore are generally more of an offshore Tuna species as apposed to the Bluefin which tend to frequent our coastlines more readily. This makes them hard to locate at times and this is when trolling comes in handy to locate them before casting at them.
Finding fish This can be the hardest part of succeeding, if you don’t have birds bombing bait balls that the Tuna are on then how do you cast at them? Being able to read your sounder and having a good quality sonar set up is imperative. You need to have the confidence to know you’re around fish, whether it’s cruising around swiftly until you start marking the fish or pay close attention to your sounder whilst you troll then stopping when you find some likely sign. I can assure you that if you believe what you see on the screen and persist with casting in that area you will eventually succeed, it might take one cast or it could take 100 but eventually you will bring one unstuck and it’s an awesome sight to see and a great sense of achievement. Another great way is to have your trolling outfits out and search around and if you find you’re consistently hooking fish in the
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Fishing News - Page 13
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same general area you can then pull up and start casting. Just remember that persistence is your best friend, it may take some time to trust the system and get your head around a fish coming up from 20m plus to hit a topwater lure if you are sounding them a little deeper but it happens and the more you do it the easier it gets to grasp. Sounding up a bait ball or masses of bait is also a good area to start working, especially if you’ve had reports of fish being in the location you’re fishing as at some point during the day whether it’s on a tide change or whatever reason there will be Tuna feeding on that bait or be in the area with the intentions of feeding on it. Again it’s a game of persistence and you don’t know when the fish will turn up or switch on to feed but in saying that you can find yourself hitting results instantly too. Birds are a deadset giveaway of fish too, whether it’s Terns or Gannets, they’re usually not far away from fish. As a rule of thumb I go off if the Tuna are on bait and there’s Terns the bait is usually going to be quite small so keep that in mind as all it might take to get a bite is downsizing your offering. Gannets on the other hand are a dream find as they prefer the bigger baitfish which means you can throw bigger stickbaits and poppers which often ends up in some awesome blow ups and red hot action.
PRESENTATIONS Topwater This would have to by far be my favourite form of fishing. Whether it’s stickbaiting or popping, it’s seriously good fun. Once you’ve located the fish or you’re in a likely area, start prospecting around with your casts. Big long casts help as the more ground you cover the more effectively you’re fishing. I like to mix my retrieve up until I find out how the fish want it, some days they’ll want it absolutely flat out and some you have to really work the lure and sucker them in to biting. Having a sinking stickbait handy also helps incase they aren’t quite happy to hit off the surface. Profiles of around the 120-150mm size are what I generally go for as the baitfish in our waters is predominantly Redbait around this size and the fish can really key into what they’re feeding on. I’ve even had to drop back to 80mm stickbaits before to replicate the small Redbait the fish have been feeding on to get a bite out of them. Because of this it pays to have an array of size options but when prospecting I definitely find that 120-150mm sizes to be the best. Poppers can be a great way to call fish up from the depths when they’re holding that bit deeper shown by the markings on your sounder, it’s important to remember to not get too aggressive with the poppers, nice easy pops just to get some water moving from the cup face and some sound and vibrations to let the fish know there’s something up there. I’ve found if you get too aggressive and really pop the lure the fish tend to shy off and it almost seems to spook them a bit. Some personal stickbait favourites of mine are the Rapala Xrap Magnum Prey in the pilchard colour, The Ayu Bassday Bungy Cast, Nomad Riptide 125mm in Pilchard and the Jack Fin Pelagus 165mm in
Redbait. As for poppers it’s hard to go past a 135mm Roosta popper by Halco in Pilchard or King Brown. As for hooks I only ever run single hooks. It’s better for the fish when it comes time to release, it’s safer in the boat when there’s a Tuna thrashing around and you don’t have the risk of getting hooked as well which would definitely ruin your day and I believe that in prolonged fights the singles stay in the fishes mouth a lot better. I run 4/0 size singles on school fish and 8/0 or 9/0 when targeting the Jumbos. Short assists are also a handy little asset to have on those tough days too, sometimes dropping back to one assist off the back of the lure pays dividends. On my Jumbo stickbaits I always run a short assist off the back as I believe that it’ll get a better and more solid hook up. The Shout Kudako assists are an excellent assist to use on your topwater lures.
Soft plastics Soft plastics can be a great option when fish are marking down deep and you want to send something down to them fast, this can sometimes be the difference between catching fish and going home empty handed. I’ve found it comes down to personal preference on what to use in your jig head sizes. 1 ounce is about the smallest I’ll use, these big heads are more so to accomodate for the bigger plastics as the bigger the plastic the slower your sink rate and shorter your castability will be. My preference would be a 2 ounce head as it seems to be the perfect fit for the job. I like to use 7 inch jerk minnow style soft plastics but big paddle
tails and curly tails work well also. White, Pilchard and pink are my general go to colours. When it comes to retrieving the soft plastics it once again comes down to what the fish want, it might be flat out and it might take some methodical slower movements. Stick at it and you’ll eventually crack a pattern.
Locations There are many prime locations to look at targeting Tuna on the cast. At St. Helens you have Merricks Reef, Middle Ground, Pulfers Reef which are all known areas to produce Tuna as well as the Continental shelf line. Eaglehawk Neck to the Hippolyte Rocks down to Tasman island is another famous Tuna playground and probably provides the best topwater opportunities on school fish but more so on your big barrel Bluefin which are the ultimate pinnacle of topwater casting in our waters in my opinion. There are also many little niche fisheries as well, just don’t be afraid to go out and look and you could be rewarded with some epic action.
Gear of choice This is where it all comes together, it’s a very specialist outfit that requires some serious thought as you want to be using what’s best for you and for catching fish. If you’re predominantly finding school fish or targeting them in particular you’ll want a rod that’s rated PE 2-4 that’s 7’6 to 8’ long. This long rod helps you cast your stickbaits a lot further and work them efficiently. The same applies when there’s the intent of a jumbo, just beef your PE rating up to 6 or more. You have to make
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Fishing News - Page 15
sure you get a stickbaiting composite over a popping composite as most popping rods on the market are designed for GTs and the way they’re designed on a prolonged fight it will destroy your lower back and you’ll burn out. A specific “Tuna” stickbait rod is designed to have a softer tip to cast smaller lures and still buckle over easier to prevent all the leverage going onto your lower back but still have a tonne of grunt down low so you can lift the fish up. My two set ups I run are a 7’6 PE 2-4 rod paired with a 3500H Daiwa Saltiga which is spooled with Tasline Elite White PE3 braided line which I use for the school fish. I then use a Samurai X-Tracta Stickbait Special in PE6 rating paired with a 14000XG Shimano Stella which is spooled with PE6 Tasline Elite White braided line which is my upper size bracket Tuna set up. I opt for the low gear model in the bigger set up as it comes in handy when trying to win those little gains back on a fish that’s playing hard ball to budge. With my leaders it generally comes down to how fussy the fish are being, I’ve had to drop to as low as 40lb fluorocarbon before to get a bite but I usually begin with 60 or 80lb for school fish and 120lb for the bigger models. When it comes to joining my leaders to my lures I just tie a small but strong barrel swivel straight to my leader and use a simple split ring as a connection to my lures and then if I want to change lure I simply use my split ring pliers to take one lure off and attach another one. This way you’re not having to re tie knots in thick leader line which can be a nuisance to get right out on a rocking
boat. There are many good brands available for your terminal tackle but I generally go for whichever is the smallest but strongest and the smaller the terminal tackle, the more finesse you apply which all helps on those tricky days.
Hopefully this gets you pumped to try some lure casting next time you go out on the Bluewater Tuna fishing, it seriously is an awesome way to target and catch them and puts a whole new perspective on their fight capabilities and increases the fun factor by a long shot! Jarvis Wall
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Sink rates of Nymphs Testing the theories
T
he obsession we refer to as fly fishing is different for so many people; for Kiyoshi Nakagawa that obsession couldn’t be any more extreme. Kiyoshi, or Yoshi as he is known to friends, is in the enviable position of having been able to turn his passion for fly fishing into a career. Not only is Yoshi running the fly fishing department at North Shore Hunting & Fishing but he also operates an extremely successful guiding operation. What’s more, a few years ago Yoshi had also made time to further his angling knowledge in a number of scientific studies focused on generating some concrete data towards some general day to day perceptions we all have as anglers. These projects, conducted along with Professors at the Japanese Kanazawa Institute of Technology, were of particular interest to all of us as anglers. An avid fly fisher from the age of 15 Yoshi had read about fly fishing in New Zealand and at the age of 23 took the opportunity to move to New Zealand along with the 2003 Japanese America’s Cup Squad as a strategic researcher. During these early days in New Zealand Yoshi spent all
Kiyoshi Nakagawa of his spare time fishing around the North Island and in 2004, began competition fishing and working for then tackle retailer Tisdalls in Auckland’s CBD. Yoshi’s competition fishing took him to the world championships in Slovakia in late 2004 representing the Japanese team and since this time Yoshi has had a number of placings for both the New Zealand and Japanese teams. One of the highlights of his career was in 2008 when he represented his home country Japan on his new home waters around New Zealand where he finished a very respectable 18th in the world, and more recently after a long break from competition Yoshi was back representing Japan at the 2019 World’s in Tasmania. With a background in mechanical engineering from Kanazawa Technical College and further post graduate studies from the landing School of Boat Building and Design in the United States. Yoshi had always found that many of the concepts and beliefs he had been taught as a fly fisher were based primarily on assumption, versus the researched facts he had been brought up in during his academic training. As a
Lead 0.8g Tungsten 0.8g Lead 0.6g Tungsten 0.6g
The table below shows that the two flies tied with tungsten beads sink at over three times the speed of flies tied with brass beads.
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Fishing News - Page 17
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result Yoshi, along with the assistance of his original professors conducted a number of physical experiments on the performance of fly design on sink rates in varying environmental conditions. Yoshi’s research project focused around the sink rates of trout flies tied from different materials. Of Yoshi X Factor Black Yoshi X Factor Red particular interest were his findings Manic Fly Collection Manic Fly Collection on the vastly different sink rates of drive the nymphs into the water, that way the flies reach tungsten versus brass bead nymphs. their maximum sink rate quicker, and consequently get Furthermore the graph shows that there is little down faster. If the flies are feathered down to the water difference between the two flies of 0.6 or 0.8 grams they spend too long reaching their maximum sink rate. in either tungsten or lead. And in fact, the major Yoshi stated that as a result of this research he differences that occur are only due to the density has started to rethink his fly collection. Especially as of materials versus the overall weight. Interestingly over recent years where he has tended towards using enough this becomes a critical piece of information for anglers wanting to tie fast sinking nymphs whereby shortline nymphing techniques. What has been critical traditionally anglers have fished larger and heavier flies in creating an effective fly collection is a range of in order to get to the bottom quickly. This research patterns of differing weights and densities. Many of the however shows that small high density flies will in fact successful patterns designed by the French, Czech and sink faster than larger and heavier patterns. As we can Slovakian anglers are tied with much slimmer profiles see above, the 0.6gram Tungsten nymphs sink more than the more traditional New Zealand patterns leading to faster sink rates effectiveness in fast and deep rivers. than twice as fast as the 0.8gram brass nymphs. What is vitally important in fly selection is getting What is also interesting to note in the graph is an understanding of what your fly is actually doing. the acceleration that a fly goes through in reaching Yoshi’s advice to anglers is to cast your flies into clear maximum sink speed. Yoshi states that one important skill he has learnt from his shortline nymphing is to water in front of you and watch how fast they sink.
Being able to visualize the flies sinking and having an idea of how deep you are fishing will give you a better concept of the sink rate and drift. It’s not always critical to have your flies on the bottom, however it is critical to understand what they are doing so you can either repeat your success or adjust your approach. It is too easy as an angler to assume that you are fishing correctly when in fact you have no idea. Of interest to many has been comparisons between different qualities of tungsten beads on the market, as all tungsten beads are made with a percentage of steel to give them strength. Sink rates are greatly altered by the amount of steel used within the bead and often lower priced or discount beads on the market look attractive and in fact they may still be heavier than brass beads. As Yoshi points out, it is important to understand exactly what you are buying as there is often a sacrifice for paying a cheaper price and when you are looking for the ultimate sink rates, the premium product certainly makes a difference. With a clearly different view point to so many anglers and an eagerness to understand the truth behind the assumptions, Kiyoshi Nakagawa is a guy well worth booking some time on the water with so you can have your own ideas challenged and work with some real findings from the expert himself.
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Fishing News - Page 19
Shallow Snapper Targeting shallow water snapper on plastics by Jack Gillespie
T
argeting Snapper in shallow water has always been something very high on my priority list heading towards summer and through into early autumn. Tracking their movements and working out a subtle pattern can be very rewarding, not to mention catching them on soft plastics with light tackle is a lot of fun. In past years I spent a lot of time casting blind over large reefs and although I had some success catching the odd pinky I felt there were much better ways to go about targeting these elusive shallow water snapper. It’s a common misconception that you need to fish deep and in the dark, or at the rising or falling of the sun, for this species. I have found plenty of success fishing at regular times of the day, without travelling miles offshore. I’m going to talk about some of the tech, tackle and times that I have found success in landing myself some respectable shallow water snapper.
Techniques for Targeting Snapper This summer just past I was lucky enough to be hooked up with two Humminbird Solix fishfinder units for my boat. To understand what was displaying on the screen versus what was under the water, I began idling around in shallow water and referencing the bottom I could see above water versus what was happening on the screen. After some trial and error and gaining a Fishing News - Page 20
good understanding of what the units were showing, I found the best combination to be a split-screen, with Side Scan on the top half and traditional 2D sonar on the bottom half. With this combination, I found I could use the Side Scan technology on the sounder to show me structure, such as reefs and snags, and used the 2D Sonar to mark bait and display fish arches. The next important point is if or when you do find them on the sounder, you must give them some time to settle. Snapper in 15m of water and shallower will be very spooky after having a boat go just over the top of their head. I’ve had the best results by going at least 100m past where I’ve marked good
This is what you are looking for on the screen when sounding for snapper
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bottom and then slowly drifting back towards them. Doing this will give the fish time to relax and go back into feeding mode. The same is also the case for high boat traffic. If your target spot is constantly alive with boat movement and humming outboards, then the fish in these shallower areas are going to be shy and not likely to be feeding heavily. Putting distance between you and the crowds can only ever be a good thing. The landmarks I’m looking for when using the sounder to find a target area is not to concentrate on the main reef, but to look for more patchy rock and shell sand bottom. If you find large bouldery reefs, slowly idle around these areas to find where the reef transitions to fine, patchy bottom. This is where I’ve found snapper to be feeding and fossicking through the shell grit in search of food.
Tackle for Reds As far as tackle goes it can depend on where you are fishing. If you’re fishing hard in on the reefs where there are sharp edges and lots of snags and weed, you might want to opt for a heavier outfit, with a braid and leader to suit the conditions. Bear in mind that a feisty
snapper is going to immediately seek refuge in the cover of the reef, so making sure you can remain in control of the fight is important. However, if you’ve taken some of my advice so far and have chosen to drop a line off the edge of the reef in the finer patchy bottom then sometimes the use of a little finesse can trigger a finicky fish. I have managed to land fish using my ultra-light Bream outfit, consisting of a 1-3kg 7-foot Daiwa Infeet Rod, with a 2500 Daiwa TD Black reel, spooled with 3kg braid and 4kg leader. It certainly makes for a heart in throat moment when you hook into a decent fish. However, I have found a slightly larger set-up to be much more forgiving in open waters and around structure, giving you the ability to throw larger lures and put a lot more pressure on the fish to get them away from the reef. The set-up I now use in 90% of
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Fishing News - Page 21
scenarios is my 3-6kg 7-foot Daiwa TD Zero, 3000 Daiwa Freams LT reel, spooled with 7kg Braid and 5-7kg leader, depending on what the bite is like. Heavier gear is always an option but expect fewer bites, especially in shallow water. If you’re finding the fish fussy and reluctant to bite, then I’d recommend downsizing your leader.
Go-to Lures My preference for shallow water snapper is fishing with Soft Plastics, and my two favourites to use for snapper are both from the Daiwa BaitJunkie Range being the 3.2-inch Minnow and the 5-inch Jerkshad. The 3.2-inch minnow is a paddle tail style soft plastic with very natural swimming action, and the paddle tail at the rear will gently vibrate from side to side as it moves through the water. The 5-inch Jerkshad is a baitfish imitation that has a subtle swimbait type action and can be retrieved a lot more aggressively. Surprisingly, I typically find the larger of the two will have better results when the bite is tough. The larger size and more aggressive jerking action of the lure will attract the attention of the fish from a greater distance. I have no single “go-to” colour because I’ve had great results across the range on certain days, however as a start I generally go for any of the blue, pink or yellow colours. You’re going to want to rig either of these plastics up with a jighead, anything from 1/4 ounce to 3/8 ounce and I’ll typically use the TT Lures Headlokz which will keep the plastic in place throughout multiple aggressive sessions. Again, if the fish are slow on the bite, try downsizing your jighead. When fishing soft plastics, after you let the plastic sink to the bottom, giving a gentle lift on the rod with a couple of small twitches will give the best results. I’ve found the larger Snapper will mainly take the lure when it is suspending or falling back down the water column, so be prepared for that unsuspecting bite and don’t be afraid to let the lure sit for a good soak. All the stomachs of snapper I have caught in shallow water have been full of the same thing; crabs. It makes perfect sense that snapper has ventured away from the main reef area and are feeding on the crabs hiding amongst the shelly bottom. I have also found the bottom 5 metres of the water column to produce the best results.
Times to Catch Snapper My most productive time fishing for Snapper has been in the warmer months between November and early April. I believe snapper can 100% be caught at any time of the year in Tasmania but in shallow water, concentrating between these months are the best bet for a successful day on the water. I don’t generally get caught up in the hype around the barometer or moon phase and there’s a couple of reasons for that. The first reason is I go fishing when I can and when there’s a break in the weather. As they say, a bad day’s fishing is better than a good day working, and I’d rather not waste a good fishing day because there’s a full moon on the way. The second reason is mindset. If the bite is slow I don’t want to use a bad barometer as the excuse of why Fishing News - Page 22
I was unsuccessful. I want to be able to adapt to the conditions and work out the subtle patterns and tricks to get the bite. It certainly makes for smiles when you can change it up and be successful. Tide can also play a factor in where the fish will be. The lower the tide, the deeper I will prefer to fish. It doesn’t have to be a great change but a little depth variation can make all the difference. At the top of the tide is when I head for the shallower water anywhere from six to thirteen metres. My biggest snapper to date was caught over a shell grit bottom in under seven metres of water, so don’t be afraid to fish on the shallower side. The slack period in the tide at both high and low is a time I have found where the fishing slows down greatly, this is generally the time I have a bite to eat or motor to a new area. There is less movement in the water at this time, which of course means less food moving about in the tide. Rough and windy weather conditions can also bring about more aggressive bite periods, and fishing the day after these conditions when the bottom is still stirred up also makes it the perfect time for the snapper to be picking up crabs and other food and debris off the bottom. I also find that after this weather, when the water and sand are still a little stirred up and not the greatest clarity, that it makes timid snapper a lot more confident to take a lure.
A chunky Tasmanian in the net
Try bright coloured lures to get the fishes attention
Get Out and Fish! To summarise everything I’ve learned about targeting shallow water snapper, take some time to research the area you are fishing. You will want to find both heavy reefs, but also the shelly and pebbly bottom surrounding this area where the snapper will fossick for crabs and other food. Be ready for both aggressive bites and having the ability to muscle a fish away from the sharp reef by fishing a slightly heavier outfit, but also be prepared to downsize leader and lures if you’re having difficulty securing a bite or facing fussy fish. And lastly, just go fishing. Put in the hours on the water when you can, and try not to let the weather or anything else dictate your time on the water. Learning how to be successful when targeting these fish comes from getting out in the boat and putting in the hours on the water. Feel free to contact me via any of
A brace of good reds the social media platforms if you have more snapper related questions. Go light to get the bite!
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Jack Gillespie
You’re an Angler, and no matter how many times you go fishing you’ll want to go again and no matter how many fish you catch (or nearly catch) it will never be enough. There will be days when the fishing is better than one’s most optimistic forecast, others when it is far worse. Either is a gain over just staying home. You’re hooked, along with us.
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Fishing News - Page 23
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Fishing News - Page 26
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Fantastic Four Stripey, Thresher, Snapper & Yellowfin Nathan Huizing
I
n Tasmania, we’re lucky enough to have some of the coolest fish species that Australia has to offer and over the last twelve months, I’ve had the privilege of being involved with and experiencing some of the coolest captures of my fishing career so far! In this article, I’ll be giving a little rundown on my favourite four encounters from the last year.
Slow Pitch Stripey Late last year I was offered the opportunity to head wide off Bicheno to help catch some striped trumpeter for a research project being done at the time. The project aimed to look at things such as the age of the fish and the stage of the reproductive organs. As is the case with most projects of this type, a reasonable sample size was needed which meant we had to catch several fish. Due to this, the method of choice was to use the classic ‘Stripey Rig’ made up of 3 baited circle hooks to try and catch the fish as efficiently as possible. The stripey rigs proved to be effective with some nice fish hitting the deck for the first hour or so, however as time passed things began to slow down noticeably and with quite a bit of time left in the day I decided to mix it up a bit to see if we could trigger a bite from the seemingly lock-jawed fish so I snuck up the front of the boat to dig out my jig tray. Having caught stripeys on jigs down at Pedra Branca on previous trips I knew they took a liking to the ‘slow fall’ or ‘slow pitch’ style jigs so I decided to tie on a Nomad Design Buffalo Jig in the ‘Mahi Mahi’ colour. When chasing these fish on jigs I like to add extra assist hooks to the bottom end of the jig and have found the BKK Sea Ranger Assists to be the perfect candidate. Given we were only fishing in about 80m of water and the current was minimal I opted for the 80g size Buffalo. For the first half-hour or so, just about every drop resulted in a jackass morwong or ocean perch which weren’t the desired species on the day but it was enough action to convince me it was worth persisting. A few drops later
That is one large yellowfin tuna! that persistence paid off! My jig had only just reached the bottom and as I flipped the bail arm over to begin my retrieve the rod buckled instantly. This time it was definitely no perch. For the first minute of the fight I barely gained any line and the heavy weight accompanied by large head shakes indicated it was most likely the target species. After about 10 minutes slogging it out on the little Stella 5000 we finally got colour
and confirmed what we had suspected and my personal best stripey slid into the landing net! At 88cm (tip length) and eight kilograms, it was certainly a respectable fish for the area and was substantially larger than the specimens we had caught previously that day. If you haven’t already, I’d strongly recommend giving the jigs a go next time you head out after stripeys. Not only is it effective but it’s
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Fishing News - Page 27
A magnificent jig caught trumpeter. Right: Assist hooks ensure a quality hook set
Thresher Sharks are truly an amazing also an exciting way to fish and often results in some cool bycatch that is not often encountered with the more common methods. If you’re looking to get into jigging and have more questions, check out the ‘Jigging Tasmania’ page which is run by Matt Sherriff on Facebook. For anyone interested in seeing this capture unfold, search ‘Striped Trumpeter on Slow Pitch Jig’ on Youtube.
Thresher Sharks I first started fishing roughly twenty years ago and for as long as I can remember the thresher shark had been at the tippy top of my bucket list. They would have to be one of the most bizarre, majestic and coolest looking fish in the ocean. I had come across them on a few occasions while out fishing and seen their unique feeding behaviour on display as their whip-like tail slashed across the surface in an attempt to stun the baitfish they were pursuing but never managed to get connected to one. My first close up encounter with one ended up being on a day in early 2019 when I was out fishing with my mates Callum Lord and Dylan Loh. We had planned to chase snapper but needed to collect some bait first. After scouting around we stumbled across a mass of pilchards rippling on the surface and decided to see if we could find some Australian salmon or mackerel under them. Dylan picked up his lightest outfit consisting of a 1000 size reel, 1-3kg rod and a sixkilo leader. With a 3 inch Swimprawn soft plastic tied on he sent a cast into the pilchards and let it sink for 30 seconds or so. No sooner had he started his retrieve Fishing News - Page 28
his rod loaded up. With the first run nearly emptying his little reel and the fish making a run towards the surface we were a tad confused as to what was going on. Shortly after we got to witness a little creature! thresher leap out of the water and the chase was on! After a stubborn hour-long fight with what is considered to be trout gear, we finally got the fish boat side and I managed to get a hold on the tail and lift the shark onto the deck. We were all in awe as to how the leader had held on and the stoke levels were high! Fast forward nearly two years and my dream finally became a reality. After receiving some helpful info from Ashley Hallam or better known as ‘Pops’ on the Tassie fishing scene, I headed out in search of a thresher of my own. Fishing with my friend Danny Smith we arrived at the location and got set up. No more than 45 minutes after deploying the bait I noticed a slight knock on the rod tip and decided I’d better take the rod out of the holder and inspect what was going on. Before I could even get to the rod all hell broke loose. A blue missile of about 60kg launched out of the water and smashed into the side of the boat headfirst, rattling the vessel. If it had been only a couple of inches higher it would’ve speared straight into Danny’s chest resulting in a very serious situation! We were both in shock but quickly jumped into gear. I grabbed the rod and Danny jumped on the wheel. As soon as I began to put some hurt on the fish it woke up and proceeded to leap 2-3m clear of the water about 4 times while dumping some serious line of the Stella 18K! After about 40 minutes the shark had calmed down enough to the point where we could swim it up into the shallows, pop the hook out and get some shots. It was a surreal feeling to finally have my dream fish in front of me and a moment I’ll never forget! Two months later I got the offer to be involved with a research project where the aim was to
catch a couple more thresher sharks and fit them with accelerometer tags in the hope to learn more about the behaviour of these awesome fish. The trip was a complete success with two sharks being tagged within two hours. If you’re interested and want to see some of the footage of how it went down, search ‘Tagging Thresher Sharks’ on Youtube.
Big Red For quite a while I’ve followed Damon Sherriff’s ‘Tasmanian Snapper’ page on Facebook and like most, I’ve watched on with envy as he uploads endless images of trophy class snapper making it look easy! Over the last few years, I’ve been lucky enough to catch plenty of smaller fish in the 30-50cm bracket with the odd 60cm fish thrown in the mix but had never crossed paths with a proper one. That was until March this year. My mate Callum Lord and I got to the ramp before sunrise and headed out for our first look of the season. We arrived at the spot, greeted with glass out overcast conditions and the sun barely starting to peek over the hills. We were fishing relatively shallow water and to us, these conditions seemed perfect for finding some better fish. We both deployed an unweighted bait (strips of salmon and squid) with a decent cast out the back of the boat and proceeded to start flicking some soft plastics around on the lighter gear. It wasn’t long before we started to get some interest and within the first couple of hours, we had boated a good number of pinkies on both the plastics and bait. However,
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Tasmania has some cracking snapper for those willing to put in the time. Check out the motor. as time went by the sun got higher and cloud cover started to clear and the fishing slowed right down. Our hopes of finding a better fish began to decline but being such a nice day we decided to stick it out for a bit longer. After roughly 2 hours of very slow fishing, we were nearly ready to pack it in when Callum’s bait rod buckled and shortly after we had landed fish of the day, a solid 60cm snapper and Callum’s new PB! This was more than enough to convince us to persist and the next half hour resulted in some very serious smokings on the light gear until I finally got one to stay connected. With my light snapper outfit, I sent down a small strip of Australian salmon which was quickly picked up by something decent. The hook set was followed by some very serious head shakes and then a run that seemed like it wasn’t going to stop. As I watched a large percentage of my line being removed from my little Certate 3K the call was made to pull the anchor and get on the chase. A few minutes later and we were back on top of the fish. The weight of this thing had me questioning whether it was a big gummy but the aggressive head shakes told a different story and I was starting to get nervous. A couple more minutes passed and after a touch and go battle under the boat I eventually had the leader in the rod tip but we still couldn’t see colour. It wasn’t until I had no more than half a metre of leader out when the fish showed itself. A very brief moment of shock set in and some choice words were exchanged as Callum slipped the net under the fish and lifted it over the side. To say we were stoked is an understatement and looking down at those big red scales and electric blue fins is something that will stay with me for a long time! We had zero intentions of keeping her but the hook was lodged deep in her throat and after 20 minutes of swimming her she was showing no signs of life so the call was made to get her mounted for the wall and once done, she will be donated to IMAS for research purposes. At 82cm (tip length) and over 7kg, it is my biggest snapper to date. For those who are interested, the fish was caught in shallow water in South East Tasmania.
Yellowfin Tuna As it does every year, the East Australian Current pushed down the East Coast of Tasmania earlier this year and with the warmer water came some great fishing. Kingfish, albacore, bluefin and swordfish were all caught and there were even reports of marlin showing up in spreads. However, one of the more exotic species that piqued the interest of anglers across the state was the highly sort after yellowfin tuna! Yellowfin certainly isn’t a new visitor to our state although this year’s run was arguably the best in quite some time. After keeping an eye on the sea surface temperature charts for a number of weeks, good mate Harry Ross and I put a plan together and decided we would go and try our luck! Harry needed his beauty sleep and we didn’t hit the road until quite late. I think we had only just reached Dunalley when I chose to have a quick scroll on social media and sitting at the very top of my newsfeed was a video posted by the fish magnet, Lachy Barnes. The video contained footage of a cracking 71kg yellowfin that he had boated only minutes prior. It’s safe to say the footage got us excited and after stirring Harry up about sleeping in a little more we were finally at the ramp. We wasted no time launching the boat and started making a run towards the Hippolyte. Arriving at the rock we were greeted with clear water and the sounder reading some good bait and a temperature of 18.5 degrees. We deployed a spread of three skirts and two divers and began to work the area. With sunny and calm conditions as well as many boats working in the area the fishing turned out to be rather tough. It took us about 3 hours to get our first fish which turned out to be a small albacore that had taken a liking to the Nomad DTX 165 Minnow. It was nice to boat a fish but wasn’t really what we after. A few more hours passed and the number of boats working the rock had shrunk to a third. I think it was about 2 pm and we were making our way around the eastern side of the Hippolyte and I decided to make a run past the reef, in close through the wash where we had marked bait earlier. Almost instantly the Halco
Laser Pro in the short corner got smoked and the Tiagra 50w started growling. Harry jumped on the rod and I quickly cleared the spread and got him harnessed up. The fish took another big run and we knew we were attached to something decent. After letting the fish run for a bit, we chased it down and settled into the fight. I think it was about 20 minutes into the fight when I jokingly stirred Harry up calling it for a 60kg yellowfin which Harry replied to with a nervous laugh. It was now about a half-hour in and we had a few curious visitors of the brown furry type starting to show up. We decided it was now or never and put his back into it and we now had the fish just under the boat. I quickly grabbed the gaff and looked over the side. It took me a second to work out what I was looking at before I realised I was looking at the back end of a tail wrapped yellowfin with the big yellow sickles pointing straight at me! Harry took a few steps back, I grabbed the leader and swung the gaff into the shoulder of the fish while Harry quickly scrambled for the other gaff in an attempt to beat the seals. He quickly embedded a second gaff into the fish and we lifted it over the gunwale. Before the fish had even hit the deck the cheering and high fives started as we looked down at what many consider to be the holy grail of tuna fishing in Tasmania! I’m not too sure how many more yellowfin I’ll get to be involved with but just seeing one was an absolute privilege and a day Harry and I will never forget! We headed back to the ramp and arranged to get the fish weighed where we soon found out the joke of a “60kg yellowfin” wasn’t far off at all as the fish pulled the scales down to 61kg!
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That is one large yellowfin tuna! Fishing News - Page 29
Western Lakes Day walk with Jayden Donohue
G
enerally, a 2:30 am alarm is something most people cringe at but when I know I’m having a day in the western lakes I don’t seem to mind at all. It takes an hour and a half walk into the first lake so setting off early is essential. I always like to think I’m going hiking not fishing because the fish part is not always guaranteed.
The Plan Once I have decided to go on a day trip into the Western lakes, I always try to put a plan together as to where I will fish and how I might spend the day. Many hours can be lost fishing every lake or tarn you come across so I only fish the ones I have chosen for the day, otherwise, I would never get to my final destination in one day.
Midge Hatches Walking onto a midge hatch that’s in full swing can be very tricky with trout randomly rising all over the lake, making it very hard to cover fish. When the Fishing News - Page 30
fishing is tough, I sometimes get lucky blind searching submerged boulders with a tiny midge fly early in the morning, it’s always a surprise when a trout eats the tiny fly I have presented and my rod loads up under its weight. I often find fish amongst submerged boulders so they are always worth a few blind casts if you have the time to do so. If you’re lucky enough, one might come up and sip down your tiny fly, making your day before it has really got started.
Decisions When I have reached my chosen destination, I will try to make the correct decision as to which way I might fish around the lake and what areas would be worth looking at. Wind direction and speed, water levels and the position of the sun are all taken into consideration. If there is low light, I will walk along the shoreline of the shallow margins of a lake in hope of finding fish feeding in close to the bank, or even tailing trout waving their golden dorsal and caudal fins in full view, out of the water.
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Fishing News - Page 31
Finding a Cruising Brown As I walk the shoreline with the sun at my back, I find a fish moving straight towards me, I take a few gentle steps back and wait for the fish to swim past. Once I’m out of sight, I start to chase the fish down from behind until I’m in the perfect position to make a cast. With a fine 4lb tippet and a size 16 parachute dun. I make the cast from behind the fish, delivering the fly just a couple of feet in front and to the right (offshore) of the fish’s shoulder. The fish barely deviates from its initial course slowly cruising over to suck the dun down. I wait until I see the head go back underwater, wait 3 seconds before lifting the rod to get the perfect hook set, it instantly takes off, jumps and peels off plenty of line. Fighting the fish lightly on a 4lb tippet, I soon have a respectful 3lb female brown trout laying in my net. I get great pleasure catching these fish but it’s just as good releasing them.
Snakes There is one thing that will always get the adrenaline pumping, the tiger snake. The largest snakes I’ve seen have all been on the Tasmanian Central Plateau. I like to be extra cautious around the edges of the lakes and tarns as this is where I mostly encounter them. They are usually ground-dwelling, but they can swim with ease. When you don’t accidentally get within biting range, these snakes are an absolute delight to see in the wild. The tiger snakes are highly venomous, the venom contains a blood clotting agent and a nerve paralyser, making them potentially fatal to humans.
Walking into a Mayfly Hatch Moving along the lake with the sun now high in the sky black mayfly spinners start to fall, so I change my fly to a size 16 black spinner parachute style. It doesn’t take me long to find two browns picking off some black spinners in a calm pocket working around a partially submerged rock. I kneel behind some cover
and watch them carefully, taking my time and trying not to rush the cast. I presented the fly in front of the larger fish and it comes up without hesitation and engulfed the fly, it turned, so I quickly lifted my rod to set the hook but my line came back slack. I had ruined that chance as both fish were spooked. Missing a fish is a huge heartbreak for any fly fisher. Doing almost everything right, finding the fish, making the perfect cast, fooling the fish and getting the eat only to mess up setting the hook. Fortunately, the good out ways the bad and it’s what fuels me to keep coming back hunting trout. Only a few short kilometres later I stopped to have some lunch on a high bank. I could see most of the bay from my high vantage point as I sit back and enjoy my packet of noodles and tuna cooked in a jet boil. Almost instantly I could see a good size fish working a beat out in the middle of the bay. I kept a close eye on the fish while I finish my lunch which at this point had almost come within my casting range. I wait until the fish turns so I can haul the longest cast I possibly can, my cast fell short but luckily the fish must’ve sensed the spinner lightly hit the water. The fish wastes no time swimming over to the fly, eating it without hesitation. This time I make no mistakes with setting the hook, this fish was coming to the net. After a solid fight, another gorgeous looking 3 ½ lb female brown was landed. I took a quick photo and put her back into the water to continue eating mayflies.
Tiger snakes are common so be aware! Fishing News - Page 32
Chasing midge feeders as the sun begins to rise
Landing nets ensure the fish can be released in good condition.
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Fishing News - Page 33
Soon after that, I moved to a big fish lake with the hope of maybe scoring a trophy trout while the bite was hot. I covered plenty of water on this lake and sat on several high banks in the hope of seeing a decent fish feeding. Unfortunately, I was unable to find that big brown in the limited time available. I decided to continue and start to make my way back. I was lucky enough to find a few more 2-3 lb fish feeding along a shoreline whilst walking out. The first one come straight up and ate the mayfly imitation. I waited and struck but I’d broken it off. The line may have been damaged from a previous fish, I should’ve kept an eye on my leader to look for abrasions and checked my knots because losing a fish to a snapped line hurts as much as missing one. After fixing my leader, I continued on. Coming up behind a decent size boulder, I spotted two decent buck browns chasing each other for the feeding rights of a calm crystal-clear deep pocket, loaded with black spinners. The larger male fish won the right to feed on the mayflies. My next cast was another perfect shot, the fish raised its head slowly and ate the fly. I set the hook, this fish was one of the best fighters I’ve had all day taking me straight to the backing in very little time. I was starting to wonder if I would actually land this fish but I managed to bring him to the net in the end. After that fish, I struggled with refusal after refusal, unable to get another eat so I decided to pack up and start the walkout, happy. It is days like these that draw fly fishers of all ages into the Western Lakes and it’s what got me so addicted to sight fishing with a dry fly. Catching beautiful brown trout on a fly that I have tied myself, is the cherry on top.
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Thoughts on Flathead by Craig Hedge
It may be time we valued flathead in a different way. Craig Hedge puts a robust argument for the recreational sector to take stronger ownership of the Tasmanian flathead resource. Read this article carefully and question what is real, what is science, what is the actual situation and what can be done. I believe without contradiction every Tasmanian fisher that has dropped a line in saltwater will have caught flathead. For most it will have been the first fish they ever caught. For many it is the only fish they chase. Ed
F
lathead - ‘The peoples fishery’ - And the 100,000+ strong Tasmanians who have caught flathead for generations - not for ‘sport ’ - but for a feed, and as Guy Barnett recently stated himself, as an important “way of life” for Tasmanians. The way of life and the value of a feed is often overlooked or not as strongly valued perhaps by some ‘recreationals’ - and recreational representatives - who are often more aptly defined perhaps as elite recreational ‘sports’ fishers who often share very different values and seek different outcomes from that of many average everyday Tasmanians who have historically, and presently, primarily caught flathead to feed their families and support their communities. The common flathead is a fish for the common people – it’s the peoples fishery. It’s the heart and soul of most Tasmanian fishers. Even the shape of a flathead’s head is in the shape of Tasmania! “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” - Alexander Hamilton
Disclaimer This is unapologetically long, but an important one for the most historically important Tasmanian recreational fish species that isn’t getting the discussion, the respect, or the airplay it should be getting at this time.
Central topic of discussion: Tasmanian Government Brochure: Flathead Stocks What’s Happening?
My Thoughts: The brochure mentioned above should seriously concern most noncommercial Tasmanian fishers currently referred to collectively under the all-encompassing label of the ‘recreational fishers’ umbrella - as it lays blame and responsibility for the current state of the flathead fishery - the peoples fishery - squarely on the shoulders of recreational fishers. Let’s look at why and how I have come to that conclusion by directly quoting from the brochure itself: “Stock status = DEPLETING” “Recreational fishers keep over 730,000 flathead (96% are sand flathead) every year in Tasmania.” (The brochure failed to mention that Tasmanian recreationals fish responsibly for these fish in a line fishery that has negligible impact on habitat, that doesn’t destroy or constantly upset habitat, and that recreational fishers release the flathead they catch ‘alive’ with a release rate well above 50% - and in a fishery where bag limits and increased size limits have been implemented over many years now).
Google says what? And let’s just refer to Google for some information here - as a loose general guide - for some context/ perspective where currently there is very little: Dear Google: ‘How many babies can a flathead fish have?’ “Under favourable conditions, this fish could have up to five spawning events a season, which could potentially result in the production of about 31.5 million eggs annually!”
If 0.1% of these survive year on year, this single flathead has the capacity to potentially produce 30,000plus flatties each year.” I would surmise if flathead have the healthy habitat (aka ‘favourable conditions’ as mentioned above) to be able to reproduce, and if that habitat isn’t constantly destroyed and disrupted by heavy commercial netting, for generations, for example, then something is not quite adding up here. Recreationals release hundreds of thousands of flathead every year (it has been stated that flathead have been proven to reproduce at around 280mm) that are each able to reproduce up to 30,000 plus ‘little flatties’ each year. What if just 10% of those 700,000 flathead released each year by responsible recreational fishers had ‘favourable conditions’ to reproduce? That would be 70,000 reproductive fish. Let’s halve that number again to 35,000 to be even more conservative and quell any possible gender debate. The result? - Over one billion flathead!
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Fishing News - Page 37
Politics: Sounds like the recreational importance of this fishery, potentially, has a lot of votes and weight attached to it in a political climate where major parties, like the sand flathead themselves perhaps, are also declining and losing ground to nimble independent politicians in tune with the people who get things done and who don’t navigate around structural issues or dance around the tough questions to avoid getting their hands dirty - or upsetting the status quo they are very much a part of. Politicians with integrity and real understanding of the needs of the common people - the ordinary everyday Tasmanians - comes to mind. Someone who demonstrates results in achieving great outcomes against the odds and against the flow of mainstream politics maybe? Perhaps there is a politician who might see the importance of the flathead fishery to Tasmanians here and step up and do something to protect it where others haven’t? “History, in general, only informs us what bad government is.” - Thomas Jefferson
Heavy fishing environmental damage:
Every Tasmanian fisher that has dropped a line in saltwater will have caught flathead. For most it will have been the first fish they ever caught. For many it is the only fish they chase. Or to put it another way, over 1400 times more than the current recreational kept catch rate of flathead each year! Whilst a quick one minute Google reference is definitely not hard science, it certainly can be a guide at this time, and in the absence of better science data that hasn’t been considered to be important up to this point I might add, it’s the best we have for now.
Why are flathead stocks declining? “Comparing recreational and commercial catch” Sand flathead: Recreationals = 98% or 184 tonnes. Commercials = 2% (approx 3.7 tonnes) So recreationals catch 98% of the fish then? Are we counting all fish caught - or recovered and accounted for over decades and generations? Can that be effectively measured now, let alone over generations of commercial net fishing? Are we taking into consideration decade after decade and generations of habitat destroying and biomass destroying commercial catches using heavy commercial grade nets and gear that rip up and drag the ocean floor every single time they are used? Fishing News - Page 38
What about the importance of these habitats for nurseries, and breeding and feeding critical for biomass to rebuild? The heavily netted and dragged ocean floor would be unrecognisable decades and generations ago in comparison to what it is now. Are the numbers presented in the brochure representative of data that supports - or punishes - recreational fishers for unsustainable and habitat destroying commercial operations? “Flathead are targeted by most of the 100,000 Tasmanians who fish each year. 70% of all recreational fish caught are flathead.” Sounds like an all-important and predominantly recreational fishery - the peoples fishery - doesn’t it? Is a commercial catch of just 2% (note that catch is a final outcome result that doesn’t measure the process involved to catch them and the biomass multi species damage of the commercial practices used over decades where the cumulative impact on flathead (and other species) habitat and the biomass is a great big black hole).
“Stocks are under heavy fishing pressure. Over 50% of flathead are caught in the south east. Heavy fishing and environmental changes are influencing flathead biology and stock levels.” The environmental changes are about what exactly - Heavy fishing? Done ‘when’ and by whom exactly? Generations of unsustainable heavy commercial habitat destroying netting that destroy the environment and the ecosystems the fish live in perhaps? Heavy fishing influencing flathead biology and stock levels via permanently and consistently destroyed habitat perhaps? Wouldn’t commercially netting areas over and over again for generations remove the very environments and symbiotic relationships that flathead depend on for a healthy biology to reproduce? The cumulative impact on habitat of using heavy commercial nets for decades over and over again wasn’t even mentioned in the brochure.
Research: “What research is being done?” “Better monitoring of sand flathead populations and expanding research to include more areas.” Is that monitoring what’s left in the recreational fishery, or monitoring what’s left of the commercial destruction to habitat and biomass where by catch is DOA - dead on arrival catch and not required for accountability or measurement post catch? Is expanding research and buying time with 10 year plans for unsustainable practices required for what is blatantly obvious to many recreational fishers?
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Is that research time - and money - better spent elsewhere ‘after’ the important structural change of the fishery has been achieved? “More frequent recreational catch surveys.” So the answer is to monitor the recreational catch more to manage a fishery that is structurally in decline due to habitat destruction and commercial fishing practices? Is that the response recreational fishers want - let alone need - in ensuring the fishery is healthy and long term abundant? Is there evidence of mutual responsibility here...?
Climate: “Investigating whether flathead biology is influenced by climate?” We can answer the climate issue right now. The flathead are impacted by the climate. That is why they are in the declining state they are. It’s called the ‘economic climate’. A highly prized commercial fish - the people of Tasmania’s bread and butter fish - was enabled by government to be commercially fished historically for generations within and around sensitive estuaries, the mouth of estuaries, and offshore. A declining biomass means more effort and expense required to get the fish doesn’t it? More ground is fished for longer, the habitat is further upset, destroyed and disrupted, and so too is what’s left of the fish populations of multiples of codependent species. Is that sustainable or even logical in 2021 and beyond?
“What do size and bag limits do?” In isolation, they penalise and focus in on recreational fishers for a problem that is commercially historical and structural. They fail to acknowledge or understand the bigger picture and the contrast of biomass responsibility and management between recreational fishers and commercial fishers. What might be the result of not acknowledging all users and their impact when creating brochures and initiatives that work within existing failing structures? Credibility? Integrity? Trust? Transparency maybe? “Time after time, history demonstrates that when people don’t want to believe something, they have enormous skills of ignoring it altogether.” - Jim Butcher
Facts and figures and dollars: And something else to think about here: If the recreational catch is 98% and the final market ready commercial catch is 2%, then the total commercial catch of sand flathead = 3.7 tonnes. What is 3.7 tonnes - or 3700 kilos of flathead worth? Let’s be generous and say the beach price is $40 a kilogram
That comes in at just under $150,000 annually. Is the future of a 100,000+ strong - and growing - and voting – non-commercial recreational fishery where 70% of all fish caught are flathead where the dollar spend is more than $160 million annually, worth risking for 3.7 tonnes or little more than $150,000 of flathead fished by habitat destroying gear? Or more accurately, reduce the above figure to around $80 million by removing the freshwater fishers (25%) and the other 30% of recreationals who may not catch or target flathead. Whatever way you want to calculate this, the numbers speak for themselves: Unsustainable habitat destroying commercial netting operations are a zero sum game - Tasmanians and flathead lose.
Commercial fishers are not the problem here - they never have been the problem here. Commercial fishers fish legally by the privilege of obtaining a government issued fishing licence because the government support those commercial fishing practices - just like the government wanted to support Super Trawlers in Tasmanian waters several years back. The gear the commercials use is legal. They operate within the rules and regulations they are given.
in ‘talking about’ climate issues and sustainability, but are not prepared to act decisively, transparently or congruently, to stop these unsustainable fishing practices. It’s time for government to acknowledge the environmental and biological damage to the flathead fishery and restore this fishery and return it to the Tasmanian people as a recreational only fishery. The decline of the flathead fishery is a long term structural issue that requires long term solutions - not short term fixes or diversionary reframes recommending catches of other species (some already considerably depleted themselves - see Tas Gov “Five Underrated Fish Too Good To Throw Back” brochure for info on that) or promises of shiny objects (ie: the aptly named ‘FADS’, and more infrastructure etc to access declining fish populations as discussed in the draft plan) to non-commercial recreational fishers. That approach is not sustainable - it merely works within limited existing structures that do not effect real change. Less filler, shiny objects, and distractions required by representative bodies, and more substance to ensure healthy fish populations for current and future generations of Tasmanians. “The only thing new in the world is the history you do not know.” - Harry S. Truman
Remember the Super Trawlers folks?
And finally your thoughts here?
Commercial fishers:
The government was happy to bring in the big boats to fish what was a depleted Jack Mackerel fishery just 30 years prior - without strong science or evidence to support it. Commercial fishers are not the problem here - governments who issue the licences without accountability to the people and the natural resources that belong to the people are the problem. Commercial fishers just do their job, and declining fisheries tell you it’s getting harder for them to do it. More effort and less return. When commercial netting licences are abolished in the south east region in particular - and they will be - the number one priority would be to reimburse commercial fishers well above any value attributed to their licences and livelihoods by a considerable margin. They need to be looked after and respected throughout the process. In fact remunerating commercial fishers should be the first priority in all of this. All Tasmanians need to win on this one to ensure a better future for all concerned and to protect the sand flathead - the people’s fishery - for future Tasmanian generations.
I have had my say on this - just as importantly, what do you think about the flathead fishery and what can or should be done? Do you agree – or disagree? Have your say - email the Minister, Guy Barnett <guy.barnett@tas.liberal.org.au>
Government responsibility: This is wholly and solely a responsiblity of government - a government, like all governments around the world, so well and truly caught up
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Fishing News - Page 39
Finn regularly fishes the Northern rivers with great results.
Euro Nymphing An introduction by Finn McDowell
T
he hugely successful river technique, European nymphing, is widely thought of as a competition only tactic and has had little attraction to recreational flyfishers. Whilst this consensus is correct, there can be much enjoyment taken out of the complex technical aspects that are encountered through European nymphing. This technique can come under many different names such as French, modern and tight-line nymphing. However, it is most commonly referred to as European nymphing or Euro nymphing for short. First introduced to Australia through the international competition scene, it has now become a go-to for many anglers to use in their river technique arsenal. Euro nymphing opens up a multitude of new water, that would otherwise not be fished correctly with other more frequented techniques such as nymph under dry or traditional dry fly fishing.
How Euro Nymphing Works The main idea behind euro nymphing is to use heavily weighted tungsten beaded nymphs to cut through fast-flowing water to get down into slower pockets formed by boulders or other submerged obstacles that form a current break. Trout being a relatively lazy fish, tend to and prefer to sit in these current breaks and lie in wait for food to drift past. Because in most scenarios the surface water speed is Fishing News - Page 40
generally much faster than the water speed that is closer to the river bed or behind obstructions. If this was fished with nymph under dry, the dry fly would be whisked along by the fast current pulling the nymph up in the water column and ultimately making an unnatural drift. This is what makes Euro nymphing so deadly, as there is little to no surface resistance as an indicator or dry fly is not used. This means that the nymph is presented at the same current speed as what the fish are most likely to be sitting in. A long rod, generally between 9’ 6” to 11’ and between a 2 to 4 weight, is used to keep a brightly coloured leader off of the water when the fly is presented. This achieved by almost high sticking the rod and allows for almost zero drag in your desired drift, drag that would ultimately be put on the fly by a leader and a fly line sitting on the water’s surface. In the way that a dry fly would drag a nymph up in the water column. The idea behind using a lightly weighted rod is to allow for tippet protection when fighting larger fish and to not pull as many hooks, as you would if using a heavier weighted rod such as a 5 or 6 weight. The lighter weight also increases sensitivity between you and your fly allowing you to feel any touches or ticks when the fly is under a tight line but also a drag-free line. To get the most effectiveness out of your drift it is best to lead the flies down at the speed of the current
whilst keeping the leader at a 45-degree angle and maintaining contact with the fly. Because current speed and depth vary throughout a river, fishing solely with the same weight nymph is ineffective, this is why most anglers will have a wide array of different bead sizes to match the certain river conditions that may be faced. The size of a tungsten bead is generally distinguished by its diameter in millimetres. The bead sizes most commonly used by anglers in Tasmania range from 2.5mm being very light to 4mm, a good starting point when buying beads is around 3mm which should cover most scenarios from pocket water to large flowing runs.
Getting Set Up Unlike normal tapered leaders, a typical euro nymphing leader is built from a three-metre section of 0.205mm brightly coloured monofilament. A favourite leader material amongst many anglers is Sunline HIvisible monofilament. Then attached to the non-fly line end is a 30-40cm section of 0.20mm clear mono. Following the clear mono is the indicator section, of 30 - 40cm. A common choice is the HANAK bicolour indicator, however, some people find this hard to see and opt for using Sunline HI-visible in the same diameter which can be easier to see. The idea behind having a clear section of mono is to allow for the angler to get a precise location on where the flies are sitting
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IT A LL S TA R T S W I T H O U R U H C T E C H N O L O G Y O F AN U LT R A - L I G H T H E L I C A L C O R E TO S U P P O R T H O O P S TR E N G TH AN D S TA BI LI S E T H E B L AN K I N F L E X . T H E U H C I S O V E R L A I D W I TH H I G H M O D U L U S F I B R E S R E I N F O R C E D W I TH O U R AM P L I FI ED N A N O RE SI N W H I C H ST R E N G T H E N S T H E B L AN K W I TH O U T D A M P E N I N G TH E G R A P H I TE F I B R E S . IN T RA D I T I ON A L RO D M AN U FAC T U R E , U N I D I R E C T I O N AL F I B R E S A R E R O L L E D A L O N G A TA P E R E D M A N D R E L , A S Y O U M OVE T OWA RD S T H E B U T T O F T H E R O D T H E SE F I B R E S B E C O M E O U T O F L I N E W I TH TH E A X I S O F TH E R O D , R E D U C I N G POW ER, S EN S I T I VI T Y AN D E N E R G Y F L O W. AT P RI M A L WE U S E C U ST O M O F F AXI S PR E PR E G S T H AT W H E N R O L L E D E N S U R E TH E I M P O R TA N T L O N G I TU D I N A L F I BRES A RE A L I GN E D AL O N G T H E L E N G T H O F T H E B L ANK . TH E R E S U LT I S M O R E F E E L , I M P R O V E D E N E R G Y F L O W TH ROUGH OUT T H E C AST AN D L I G H T N I N G Q U I C K R E C O V E RY R ATE S . PRI M A L’ S LOW M A SS SC R I M T E C H N O L O G Y M AX I M I SE S HO O P S TR E N G TH W I TH O U T A D D I N G A D D I TI O N A L W E I G H T L I K E TRA D I T I ON A L GL A S S SC R I M S. ALL OF T H I S C OM BI N E S T O C O N ST R U C T A R O D T H AT C A N D E L I V E R H I G H L I N E S P E E D W I TH A V E RY S TA B L E TI P PATH AN D D EL I VERS S M O O T H , W E D G E SH APE D C AST I N G L O O P S TH AT A R E C A PA B L E O F C U TTI N G TH R O U G H W I N D A N D SEN DI N G LON G, A C C U R AT E C AST S W H E N Y O U N E E D T H E M M O S T.
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Fishing News - Page 41
in the water. You can then change the diameter of the leader material to suit fish size. Off the end of the bicolour, a tippet ring is tied, allowing you to easily change your tippet and also preserving your leader. Tippet size can vary between each individual angler preference and type of water being fished, Fluorocarbon is most commonly used as tippet material. The go-to size of the tippet is 6x or 0.12mm, anglers will fish anywhere from 8x 0.09mm to 4x 0.18mm. The fly line used for euro nymphing is a zero weight line with no taper, they come in braided and monofilament core options. Braided cores are favoured for those wishing to use a through-line leader knot, however, this is not necessary when starting and a cheaper monofilament core will catch just as many fish. I would encourage you to buy a specific nymphing line rather than making do with a weight forward fly line as this will sag and make it hard to keep in contact. Ultimately, reducing sensitivity and the ability to feel takes and hits.
Rods and Reels For myself and most others, I started euro nymphing with a standard 9ft 5 weight fly rod. Whilst this did the job and I caught fish, it was not the best for effective nymphing. It is hard to justify spending a hefty amount of money on a rod that is really only suited to a single style of fly fishing. The difference between a general all-purpose rod and a specialised nymphing rod is quite substantial, with the main contrast being the length. It is a general rule that with every foot the fly rod has in length, the angler will gain an extra three feet in the distance that can be fished accurately. However, in some situations, a shorter rod of around 9’ 6” is more appropriate such as in cramped rivers with overhanging trees and scrub. Whereas more open rivers a longer rod would be appropriate, to allow for longer reach. Over the past season, I have been using a Primal 10’ 6” 3 weight, which has performed very well in larger rivers such as the Mersey and Meander and has got the power to stop quite large fish whilst using light tippet. However, I fished this rod in a competition on the Tyenna River and struggled with the length of the rod in the tight quarters that this river possesses in most sections. When starting I would recommend a 10’ 3 weight as this will have you covered for most
A selection of weighted nymphs that will catch plenty of fish. river situations in Tasmania, there are many options in different price categories available on the market. Because Euro nymphing rods are generally quite long, matching them with a reel that balances the set-up is critical as this will allow you to have a full day fishing without fatigue. Because Euro rods come in such lightweights, it is a common misconception for people to want to match a 3 weight reel with a 10’ 3 weight rod, this would make the set-up unbalanced and uncomfortable to fish with. Rather, it is best to match 10’ 3 weight with a 6 weight reel to get an even balance. Because the nymphing line and leader have very little weight compared to a normal weight forward fly line, it is not a factor when balancing a setup. When choosing a reel for Euro nymphing, finding one with a smooth drag is more preferable as most of the time fighting fish is best done on the reel. You will lose fewer fish when fighting on the reel because they have the freedom to run, opposed to having the line trapped between your index finger and the rod grip.
Techniques within Euro Nymphing Like many forms of fly fishing, there are different adaptations merged within the technique. For Euro nymphing there are three main sub techniques, each being extremely effective in their own right. First, being single nymphing which is the most common way to start euro nymphing, like the name suggests it requires the use of one nymph. Single nymphing is most suited to pocket water and sections of rivers with complex currents. Secondly, double nymphing requires the use of two nymphs. One being on a dropper, tied using a triple surgeons knot off the tippet and one at the end (point fly), this technique is effective in water with even currents and deeper pools. It is most common to have a heavier fly on the point and a lighter one on the dropper, this allows for tangle-free casting. The third and final technique most commonly used is nymph under dry. Like double nymphing, a dropper is required. However, rather than using a nymph, a big dry fly is used. This is extremely effective in fast pocket
Both brown and rainbow trout will eat a well-drifted nymph. Fishing News - Page 42
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water as it allows you to let the nymph sit longer in the pocket under the weight of the dry fly giving the fish more time to make a decision. Whilst this may seem to contradict the whole emphasis behind Euro nymphing if fished correctly it can be deadly. An excellent dry fly presentation is also achieved in places where fishing a single dry correctly would be almost impossible. Apart from becoming a good Euro nymphing angler is to be able to assess the type of water best suited to each technique.
Euro Nymphing Flies Typical Euro nymphing style flies are tied on jig hooks allowing for slotted tungsten beads to sit nicely on the hook. The jig hook configuration allows for the nymph to ride hook point up through the water, reducing the likelihood of snags. A rule of thumb when Euro nymphing is to pick a few goto patterns that vary in colour and shape. Then tie these patterns with different bead sizes, bead colours and hook sizes. As for patterns, it is hard to go past a simple Hotspot Pheasant Tail, this is one of the most commonly used patterns in the Euro nymphing world and is extremely effective in Tasmania. A close
The perfect water for European style techniques. second to the Pheasant Tail for me is the Hair and Copper which has a very different profile and colour. Another popular and effective pattern is a Tag Nymph, which consists of a tail tied out of a brightly coloured
section of yarn and a dull body. A popular dry for the nymph under dry technique is called a Tabanas, which is virtually a caddis/grasshopper pattern and is extremely effective.
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Fishing News - Page 43
An electric motor powers the boat very nicely.
My Ten Percenter When one boat will not do everything just get another by Craig Rist
O
ver the years I’ve tried to find one boat that will cover every fishing situation, but it’s just not possible for me. There is always a compromise to make so the only real solution is to own more than one boat. For me, my 17-foot flats/bay boat is what I do 85% of my boat fishing from. I have a 5% need for a super lightweight one-person pack raft that I can take hiking into the mountains or stash into my suitcase for that remote New Zealand backcountry trip or that tropical flats that’s just too deep to wade out to. The remaining 10% is for a watercraft that’s easily transportable, is capable of carrying two anglers, it rows well and takes a petrol or electric outboard motor. My first choice to fit this 10% boating need was a two-person kayak. This did the job for many years, but I found them heavy and awkward to lift onto roof racks. I did use a trailer for a while, but I realised that if I was going to do that I would be better off going back to a small tinny, which I had previously used to fish estuaries and lakes. Like most people these days, I found myself searching the internet for possible solutions to my 10% dilemma. The idea of an inflatable canoe that could be transported deflated in the boot of a car or on the roof rack really got my attention. Then Fishing News - Page 44
I stumbled onto an inflatable cross between a canoe and a Zodiac, called a “Nifty Craft”. These boats are 3.6m long and are the same shape as a Zodiac, except they are much narrower and have a pointy bow like an inflatable canoe. They weigh a mere 30kg and for an inflatable that can take a 5hp outboard motor, that was pretty good. At only $1800 it looked like it was going to be the solution I was looking for. My stepson Jayden could also see the potential in a boat like this for his fishing adventures, so we agreed to split the cost and become co-owners of this exciting little boat. I clicked “buy now” and just like that, it was on its way.
PVC. A separate inflatable PVC floor provides an extremely rigid floor that is easily removed if needed. The first water test was on the Rubicon River estuary using a 3hp petrol outboard. Jayden and I threw in a couple of 6wt fly rods just in case the Australian salmon were in the estuary. The little boat handled the 3hp with
First impressions The boat comes with two alloy oars, two alloy bench seats, one hand pump, a repair kit and a carry bag. The boat is made from 1100 Denier 0.9mm PVC, two separate inflatable tubes on either side of the boat have a solid transom to take an outboard, just like a Zodiac. The floor between the two tubes is made from a single layer of
The setup and pack away is quick and easy.
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Access to difficult to fish waters is easy and as a fishing platform this little boat is tremendous.
The front position of the inflatable is the perfect ease so I have no doubt it would take a 5hp as well. The boat felt very stable and handled the small wind chop well. On the fishing side of the boat test, there were no visual signs of fish feeding so we decided to troll our flies to cover some water and hopefully find some salmon moving in on the incoming tide. With no reports of salmon being caught. We really didn’t expect to catch anything. To my surprise I felt a hit on my line, then a few seconds later my rod loaded up under the weight of a hooked fish. I pushed the motor out of gear making a mental note of our location, just in case this was a salmon. A good size Australian salmon finally showed itself as I pumped it up from directly under the boat. Jayden wasted no time scooping it up in the landing net so I could remove the fly. I pulled the motor back into gear and motored back upwind well past the area I had just hooked that fish. I switched off the motor so we could drift back towards the school of salmon. The boat was surprisingly stable so I decided to stand up to cast, just to test out the limitations of this boat. I leaned up against the seat to steady myself and made several long searching casts. I felt quite safe standing at the stern of the boat, so I continued
casting from a standing position. As soon as we drifted over the same area of the last hook up, my line pulled tight into another strong fish. These fish were your typical juvenile Australian salmon ranging between 2 and 3 pounds. Fish of this size are more than capable of clearing all of the loose fly line from the deck and then more from the reel if you let them. Jayden and I made repeated drifts over this hot spot, hooking fishing platform. and landing at least 10 of these fish until the bite stopped as the schools stopped pushing through at this location. A Nifty Boat, two fly rods and a school of salmon soon turned this boat test into a day to remember.
A boat I can paddle Another reason for buying a boat like this was to fish lakes that are restricted to manual propulsion only (no electric or motorised outboards). Talbots Lagoon is one of these lakes and would be a good test for a boat like this, especially with all the submerged timber in this lake to navigate. On our first trip, Jayden and I used the oars that were supplied with the boat and one extra-long kayak paddle. The first thing that was painfully obvious was how low set the rowlocks were compared to the level of the seats. With each paddle stroke, the handles would touch my thighs as I lifted them out of the water to clear the height of the waves. The kayak paddle was much easier to use but still took a lot of effort paddling this very lightweight and high riding boat into the wind. We caught both rainbows and browns on stick caddis, black spinner and shaving brush flies. Both of
us could stand up to fish but the height of the seats was just too low to give us the support we needed to stay balanced. After that trip, I decided to raise the height of the seats to have something a little higher to lean against while standing up to fish. I used 40mm PVC pipe and fittings to make a seat frame, similar to the fully welded aluminium frame used on whitewater rowing rafts. The PVC pipe was partially glued and partially held together by adjustable straps. This allowed it to be dismantled and retain its ability to be transported in the back of a car. The existing rowlocks were now impossible to use with the PVC frame in place so we would now use two extra-long kayak paddles. On the water, the higher seats were much better to fish from while seated and offered something more substantial to lean against while standing up to fish. The boat was also much easier to paddle using two kayak paddles, but it was still a lot of effort for one person to paddle against the wind while the other person in the front was standing up to fish. The kayak paddle still didn’t have the power or the means to effectively manoeuvre the boat around freestanding trees, so I decided to return to the oar and rowlock concept. Another addition to the PVC seat frame was needed to increase the height and width of the rowlocks to match the new seating position. The original paddles were now way too short, so a trip to Tamar Marine was needed. I found a long set of lightweight oars that would do the job nicely.
Fishing as a team Going back to using oars and rowlocks has improved the boats rowing capabilities immensely. The higher positions of the rowlocks also allow the rower to stand up to row and to help spot fish. This setup is now
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Fishing News - Page 45
One of many beautiful brown trout caught from the inflatable boat. perfect for one person to sight fish from the front seat and the other to row from the back seat. There is no doubt, there is a real advantage in having one person dedicated to the task of rowing and the other to fish freely at the bow of a boat. When hooked fish has woven themselves through a myriad of sticks and weeds, having someone on the oars is also very useful. When this happens to me I always throw the fish slack line to try and prevent that inevitable breakoff. Then my skilled rower can quickly help me recover the line back through the trees until I’m back over the fish, where I have a much better chance of extracting it or recommencing the fight. As the rower / ” very cheap guide” you get to share the highs and lows of the catch. Even though I might not have the rod in my hands, I always feel part of the catch, especially when I’ve held the boat in position for multiple shots or I have pulled the fish and fly fisher out of the sticks into open water, to safely land a big fish. Changing positions in this boat can be a bit tricky on the water because it’s such a narrowboat. So after one or two fish we usually row into shore to change positions, giving the rower the front seat to catch a few, before swapping again.
On the drift High riding, lightweight boats such as this are almost impossible to fish from on a drift without some sort of drogue to slow them down and to prevent them from turning in the wind. I initially thought I could get away with just using a small parachute drogue but the drift was just too fast. I even used two parachute drogues but these were just not as effective as the larger rectangle style drogue I usually use on my larger flats boat. A lightweight mesh style drogue, sold by the Essential Flyfisher, is now on my shopping list and will be perfect for this little boat with its limited storage and available deck space.
that “just in case I might need a boat trip” when towing a trailer boat is just not worthwhile for a predominantly land-based fishing trip or that family holiday where fishing is not the sole reason for a holiday. Now if I do find fish rising out wide on a wind lane or I need to access some bream flats, I can have this boat on the water within minutes. Then when I’m finished, I can just as easily deflate it and pack it away or throw it up on the roof racks fully inflated to drive to another location. Sometimes the fishing has been too good from the shore to even worry about getting it out, but for the times when I do need a boat, it has more than paid for itself. I have no affiliation with Nifty Boats whatsoever I just like the product. I would definitely recommend having one of
A big bluenose that took a liking to a brightly coloured clouser fly. these boats hidden away in a caravan, motorhome or car just for that one fishing moment that is always going to happen when you don’t have a boat. I am still finding more places I can take this boat and it looks like it may just fit in my checked luggage, so who knows where I might end up with it, in the not too distant future. Craig Rist
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Just in case boat One of the things I really like about inflatable boats is they are so easy to travel with. They are perfect for Fishing News - Page 46
www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.
Gone Fishing Charters
• East coast estuary and bay • Whiting, Bream, Salmon, Garfish, Flathead, Squid and more • Soft plastics, lures, fly and bait • 5.8 metre sportfishing boat.
Gone Fishing Charters St Helens
Boat trailer wheel & tyre Dunbier and early Holden pattern
around $90ea 62 Hopkins St, Moonah 6228 0274
Michael Haley 0419 353 041 mhaleycharters@bigpond.com www.breamfishing.com.au
Mark - the Miracle Worker
Mark can repair, renovate, rebuild, replace, redesign or renew just about anything to do with boats, trailers, propellers and other general engineering stuff. If it is busted, bent, broken or dinged Dr Mark can fix it.
Miracles - No problem Spongers, idiots and time wasters are not welcome.
Aluman Engineering
424 Hobart Rd, Youngtown. TAS 7249 www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.
6343 3341 Fishing News - Page 47
Life Jackets must now conform to AS 4758 These will display the following levels: Level 150 and above Level 100 Level 50 Level 50S (Special Purpose) There are some life jackets, mostly inflatable, that may be in excess of Level 150.
