Hobart

HOBART

Andrew

Large Tasmania’s bumper summer season continues to have lasting effects into early autumn, both in the north and south of the state, and across both salt and freshwater.

Kingfish continue to amaze and be highly sought-after by anglers. The average size is up, with some fish in the south breaking 700mm while on the northwest, the magical 1m mark has been broken for Tasmania. Good numbers have been caught through the Derwent River, North West Bay, Blackmans Bay and further afield along the East Coast from Port Arthur to St Helens.

Sand flathead have been biting well in good numbers, and the sizes have been larger than average in the Marion Bay Joe Mangan with an east coast Tassie kingfish.

The kingfish have been biting well.

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these waters.

Up until quite recently there seemed to be only big tuna and very big tuna following whales and dolphins into Bass Strait. Some schoolsized fish were found in late February and early March, so that’s an exciting development. These fish are in shallow water, and it’s quite strange to be trolling in 20-40m of water in full view of your home valley for jumbo tuna, very strange indeed.

Skipper Clinton Howe and I managed to hook and fight a very large specimen late last season, but through some heavy-handed work by myself, the hook was pulled out of its mouth. This was from youthful exuberance and stupidity, as we had a 60kg outfit out we use for sword fishing, and this is the outfit the tuna picked up. The fight was amazing and quite weird as the fish was on the top and moved very quickly very high in the water. Of course, this is due to the fact we were only in 25-30m of water fighting the fish. I manhandled the fish on 60kg gear and was too heavy-handed. I had the drag lever pulled back from the full strike position of 20kg set tension, but even then, it was 15-18kg of drag pressure. I had the harness on and with my weight could sit on the fish in the harness, and I pulled the hooks. Very disappointing as I know better. It’s a cautionary tale to take your time and use the drag to tire the fish. I will do that next time, I promise. RUG UP

The weather may be cold and inclement and the days a lot shorter in April here in Tasmania, you should not let that bring a halt to your fishing. Big bruising bluefin tuna are coursing our coastline and if they are back from another lap of the migration, they are bigger than last year. So, plan, rug up and gear up for the cold and enjoy what Tasmania has to offer: a world class southern bluefin fishery. and Dunalley areas.

Giant Australian salmon (2-3kg) have been caught over the last week around the Iron Pot, Denison Canal at Dunalley and Coles Bay. Try a Halco Slidog 105 or the new 85 in H50 for some awesome surface action!

There have been strong runs of sea garfish, with good reports of some decent-sized fish and numbers being caught in the Norfolk Bay, Pittwater and Derwent. Autumn runs of this species statewide can be outstanding, with fish responding well to a light mix of fish oil and breadcrumbs.

Snapper, a rarelycaught species in Tasmania in years past, are starting to appear more frequently in southern Tasmania, the north always being somewhat of a recognised stronghold. In the south, localised pockets of this species have been targeted by those in the know, however over the past few summers there have been fish in Storm Bay, the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and the lower and mid Derwent estuary.

As the water temperature falls, arrow squid are seeming to dissipate in numbers over the traditional beds they were found over in summer. This is paving the way for southern calamari, which prefer cooler water. They have been steady in the lower Derwent, Blackmans Bay, South Arm, Marion Bay, and Bruny.

Sand whiting continue to bite well state-wide and will continue to do so into late autumn and early winter. King George have been a little quiet over the peak summer months, but they should begin to run in the northwest shortly. Good fish have been caught by persistent anglers across the northwest, north and northeast coasts.

Autumn heralds peak season for tuna in our subtropical waters, which have pushed up as high as 20.5°C in the south so far this year. Southern bluefin tuna, albacore and striped tuna have all been caught inshore over the last few months. Strong rumours of yellowfin are circulating along the East Coast.

Black bream are smashing lures in the Derwent and Huon estuaries, while the east coast lagoons are continuing to produce incredibly well on topwater lures.

Tasmanian freshwater is beginning to wind down, with the brown trout seasonal closure starting on 30 April for most waters.

Great Lake has produced healthy pre-spawn browns to 2.1kg, and its exceptional run of rainbow trout continues as well. Fishing in April, unlike the warmer months of February and March, sees fish feeding right through the day and putting on as much condition as they can before spawning.

Lake Pedder is producing good quality 7kg browns. Fishing a surface lure at night has made a real comeback in recent seasons, and has been a traditional fishing method late in the season.

Arthurs Lake fished well towards the end of summer, with most anglers saying that once again this water is showing signs of recovery and an improvement on last year.

Making the most of good autumn fishing opportunities in Tasmania is paramount, and so far this year is really turning it on, with both fish and weather cooperating. Get out and make the most of these opportunities before the onset of the cold.