Hobart

HOBART

Andrew

Large As we head into the final month of winter, Tasmanian anglers are making the most of settled weather, gearing up for the 2021 brown trout season, which kicks off on Saturday 7 August. A variety of popular species are biting well too. SALTWATER

Southern bluefin tuna continue to be caught in the southeast of the state around Cape Pillar. It seemed a while back that SBT were stretching from the Southernmost tip of Tasmania to Eden in NSW. Fish over 100kg seemed to have lessened off in Peninsula waters, with only the occasional report coming to light.

Meanwhile, good fish to 15-21kg have picked up a little in recent days around Fortescue Bay. School fish continue to be caught in good numbers. Bluefin are now being caught from Mewstone in the south to St Helens.

Albacore tuna were encountered off Bicheno recently; these were single strikes but a surprise this late into winter.

We’re seeing a frenzy for southern calamari at the moment as they are still available in the lower Derwent River and Channel areas. Further afield good numbers are available. Winter is a great time for this species.

Did sand flathead hibernate this year? Definitely not. They are continuing to bite well on bait, lure and fly, and the best spots for a feed include Storm Bay, Marion Bay, Fredrick Henry Bay and White Beach.

Good-sized Australian salmon have returned, as they did last year. Alum Cliffs, near Kingston and South Arm, close to the CBD, seem to be local hotspots, while anglers fishing Cremorne in the canal to Pipeclay Lagoon have been reporting fish to 1kg. Larger specimens are available along east coast surf beaches.

Still nights are a flounder fisher’s best friend, with fish moving well for the time being. A string of settled nights recently giving anglers a chance to chase these fish in mirror conditions of a night. South Arm, Lewisham, Dunalley and Orford area reported to be producing fish.

Deep waters have produced tiger flathead, which have been taken off

A healthy brown trout caught on the wet fly from the shore at Arthurs Lake. These trout were feeding in 300mm of water, the angler taking five fish this day.

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Max at short corner, and rubber band them both down to as low as you can. Grab the line from the rod tip and secure the rubber band to the line, and pull down to a point low on the transom of your boat. Make sure that the line does not foul on anything if you turn from port to starboard. This allows the lures to swim as deep as they can at troll speed and behave themselves.

The biggest news in Tasmania over the last couple of months is the brand new and developing tuna fishery off Devonport on the Northwest Coast. This has been amazing to watch unfold and get involved in. Glen Saltmarsh from Seamaster Marine Devonport has been the catalyst for this astounding revelation, and the reaction has been fantastic. Get into their store at 37 Elizabeth Street Devonport if you need all the info on how to catch one of these big tuna. The key to success is keen eyes and a steady resolve to find birds and dolphins, and once you do find them, stick on them and don’t lose discipline. You may not get a bite in the first half hour or even the first hour, but the fish will pop up to feed a couple of times a day and you must be in the vicinity to catch them.

I mentioned glass-outs and deep drop reels earlier in the article, and I can report that there have been some very good days out wide fishing for blue-eye trevalla and gemfish. There is no limit to what you may bring up from the deep at this time of year, and good rigs and good baits will have you on the money.

One of the best things about a good electric reel is the ability to blind drop. You may have a sounder that is not quite up to the job at 300m+, so the ability to drop down and come up on a battery is gold. We have had a few trips where there has been little showing on the sounder but the rewards have been fantastic, with big blue-eye trevalla coming up to huge cheers and high fives. Even if the sonar side of your electronics is not helping you here, make sure you place a waypoint if you have a good drop. That way you can see your track, work out your drift and recreate the same conditions for hopefully the same result.

Until next month, rug up and tight lines. A Halco Laser Pro 190 XDD in colour R19, having a rest recently in the mouth of Fortescue Bay, while others on the boat battle a 21kg SBT.

the east coast wide of St Helens and Bicheno.

Limited time remains for striped trumpeter, which have been biting well on the west, south and east coasts. Settled weather has finally allowed anglers to venture out. Remember that the striped trumpeter season will close on 1 September. ESTUARY

Escapee Atlantic salmon to 4kg are beginning to reappear in anglers’ bags. These fish have been caught from the Tasman Bridge to New Norfolk in the Derwent, and Castle Forbes Bay in the Huon River to the mouth of Mountain River above Huonville.

Feisty sea-run trout continue to be caught in the mid reaches of the Derwent and Huon estuaries. Both these waters are open to angling to the Huonville and New Norfolk bridges by anglers holding a current freshwater angling licence. Spin, troll, soft plastic and fly are producing fish. Next month will see Granton firing as trout begin to chase whitebait.

Faltering a tad, black bream are still being caught in good numbers around Cornellian Bay, Store Point, Bowen Bridge and Cadbury Point. The use of bait has been effective. So too has the fly and bibbed lures. FRESHWATER

Tasmania’s new freshwater season kicks off on 1 August, with brown trout water opening occurring on 7 August. A blinding start is predicted.

For the moment Great Lake, although open 12 months of the year, is producing good fish and will continue to do so into September and October. Picking the right day early season that is conducive to good fishing at altitude is the key. Anglers are looking forward to more settled weather in the coming month.

Other waters such as Lake Pedder and Lake King William are fishing well. Easterly weather lately has seen these waters relatively calm and sheltered.

Closer to home Craigbourne Dam has received multiple stocking of both brown and rainbow trout from Great Lake. These fish have settled in and gained weight and seem to be around the 1kg mark, with scrub worms working well. Rainbows to 2.7kg are being caught.

Fishing in August can always present a challenge but as I’ve always said, “what’s good weather for us isn’t always good for the fish,” so rug up a little and take confidence in the fact that all fish – trout in particular – tend to bite well through our slightly wilder and short winter’s days. Enjoy!

There has been a fair amount of change in VRFish operations recently. Some of it forced, some of it unfortunate. Staying relevant amongst the many challenges so that recreational fishers have an independent voice has been the most important driver. A solid foundation for VRFish representation over the next two years has commenced with the new funding agreement finally negotiated and signed off with the Minister. meetings will be interesting. Other notable goings on has been the formation of a formal VRFish Law and Ethics committee who will tackle the legislative issues of the day, many of which are directly impacting recreational fisher access across the State. Finally, with end of year reporting underway, planning for our AGM and the continuing challenge of a pandemic, VRFish will turn to some of our most urgent and important issues facing recreational fishers.

Our DFRG has been busy lately with the switch from plastic tags to digital reporting, the new management planning process kicking off and an Eastern Zone rock lobster biomass in decline. This group of super keen rock lobster fishers is amazing. Understanding the data and science, developing options for recreational catch into this process will be required.

With the Camping on waterfront Crown land issue awaiting regulations before we can finally put it to bed, there is now an emerging issue that I believe is one of the greatest threats to recreational fishing ever. EVER! Put simply, there is now an increasing frequency of unused road closures that restrict access to rivers and lakes across the State. Waterfront crown land grazing licences have a statutory requirement to provide recreational fisher access, unused road licences do not. Now that unused road licence holders know that they can block an unused road leading to waterfront crown land with impunity, well you get the picture. Imagine a government election commitment to improve waterfront crown land access

Holly leaves the VRFish communications position to focus on bringing a new recreational fisher into this world. We wish Holly and the new baby the best of health. Unfortunately, it means I’ll be in charge of Facebook and our website communications for the immediate future, so anything is likely to go out especially if I manage to escape the office and smack a fish. No pics no proof, right? Recently VRFish welcomed new Board member Rita Caulfield. Rita is a talented lure fisho with a penchant for fish over a meter. Show and tell before VRFish Board

How do you fish?

Generally, how satisfied are you with the quality of recreational fishing in Victoria? management (before we are told what we get) and ultimately defending a common position across free and scuba diving segments couldn’t be achieved without the remarkable members of this group.

The Corner Inlet Fishery Management Plan process continues to gather pace. Finding the best balance between commercial fisho’s earning a crust and recreational fishers catching nothing on consecutive trips is a real challenge. The biggest question is whether the current commercial fishery regulation is providing that balance. The total commercial catch data suggests the regulations are not (see Fig 1 and Fig 2). Added to this is the Commonwealth trawl fishery currently smashing the King George Whiting that venture out of the inlet. VFA have written to AFMA proposing a trip limit but have only received lip service. Time for a stoush.

The VRFish Advocacy Priorities Survey was recently completed and turned up some surprising results. Not surprising was the reporting by the majority of fishers surveyed that they were better than average fishos, they were mostly satisfied with recreational fishing opportunities in Victoria or that aquatic and riparian habitat regeneration was the number one advocacy issue. The most surprising issue for me was that Redfin are more popular than Murray Cod. Impossible I hear you say. I’ll let Jarrod Tyler argue the toss on that one. King George Whiting came out on top across all fish species.

VRFish recently renewed our MOU with OZFish Unlimited which will see our organisations working closely to deliver improved habitat outcomes that directly benefit recreational fishers. We will also be kicking off a new State-wide Habitat Strategy and investment prospectus. Recreational fisher input

Top Targeted Fish by Species

resulting in a massive loss of recreational fishing access. This will end up being an election issue for next years State Government election.

Recreational fishing is getting shafted on the waterfront. The recent Goulburn River water trade decision to go with a flow regime that wipes out the Murray Cod and Trout Cod populations, Greens Lake Corop water levels are still falling despite the biggest Cod surveyed recently going 1.3m and the 11 recreational lakes connected to the Wimmera Mallee pipeline suddenly discovering that the high security water they were promised was not a core DELWP promise. Recreational fishers will need a strong voice if we want to get a better outcome in this area.

The much-promised Maribyrnong River boat ramp was recently scuttled thanks to some political ‘argy bargy’ and many local rec fishers blindsided by the sudden change of heart by the Andrews State government. Five years of solid work by a very large group of rec fishos and project supporter base has been rewarded with a government line of ‘lack of community support’. Words fail me. The State-wide recreational boating strategy is taking shape and the Better Boating promise got a supercharge on July 1st with the deposit of all recreational vessel egiatrati9on and marine licence fees. Keeping too many fingers out of this pie and the focus on delivering improved facilities and boater satisfaction will be a key job for the Ministerial rec boating roundtable.

Your priorities to make recreational fishing better in Victoria TOP 5: Your priorities to make recreational fishing better in Victoria

Visit the VRFish website www.vrfish.com.au