Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 139 2019 November

November 2019 – January 2020

TASMANIAN FISHING and BOATING NEWS — ISSUE 139

Trout Tips from Champions Monster Trout Tactics Calamari are Back Boys and Salmon KG Whiting Tips

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World Fly Fishing Championships

$5.95 Shaun Cooper puts in many kilometres to find trout like this. See page 38

Long Live the King — Janet Lambert

3

Mersey River - Top to Bottom — Shane Flude

5

Plan B - Australian Salmon — Gavin Hicks

11

World Fly Fishing Championships — Update

14

Tips from the Australian Fly Fishing Team — Manic Tackle Project

15

Citizen Science — Jo Starling

18

Mission Accomplished - Permit on Fly — Mike Stevens

26

From Little Things — Steve Starling

31

Dam Rewarding — Craig Rist

34

Summer Flies — Shane Broadby

37

No Better Place on Earth — Shaun Cooper

38

Calamari — Matt Sherriff

41

Inland Fisheries Service report

44

Recreational Marine Fishing News

45

THE trout TRIFECTA BULLDOG CRANK • 38mm • 10 Colours • UV Colours • Dives to 2m • Weighs 4g

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TANGO SHAD

• 50mm • 15 Floating colours • 15 Suspending colours • Dives to 1.6m • Weighs 4g

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LIVE FLASH MINNOW WRIGGLY

• 70mm, 90mm, 110mm, 130mm • 8 Colours • Fish deep or shallow • Rig weedless or on a jighhead

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From this issue we are changing to a quarterly – seasonal magazine. We have packed more in and will continue to do so. It makes more sense to us and will be much easier to manage.

If you are a subscriber your subscription will continue on just the same. Cover price will not change.

Summer is such a hoot and the fishing, no matter what you chase will reward you.

King George Whiting continues to be an outstanding fishery and we all should take care of it. There certainly seems to be bigger fish in Tasmania than anywhere else.

Shane Flude has a great piece on the Mersey River - surely one of the top 2-3 rivers in Tasmania. If you are not inspired to visit the Mersey more often I would be surprised.

We also have a whole bunch of simple and easily used tips from the Australian Fly Fishing Team. These guys are at the top of their game and will be fishing for Australia in Tasmania this December, so read their tips and use them. It is often only little things that can make the biggest difference.

Mike Stevens talks fishing ABC Statewide Saturday mornings 6.40 a.m.

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 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

The cover shot is trout of many steps.

Shaun Cooper and quite a large and diverse group of people much younger than me walk a long way to find fish like these. The weather doesn’t matter and distance doesn’t seem to bother them either. These guys, and perhaps girls don’t seem bothered by a walk of 30-40 kilometres into Tasmania’s Western Lakes — I sometimes get tired even driving that far.

But the rewards for a long walk can often be solitude, untouched waters and big fish. Not many people kill fish they catch in the Western Lakes, except for an occasional one to eat.

The fish are rarely easy to catch and mostly anglers want to see the fish before casting to them. Sight fishing is the goal and it is not rare for anglers to not even have a cast for the day. It is addictive, personal and self satisfying.

Lastly; I caught a Permit on fly. There are at least two different Permit species in the World. The Australian one looks similar to its Northern cousin, but apparently easier to catch.

It was not easy, but now ticked off.

Mike Stevens

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LONG LIVE THE KING Janet Lambert shares some thoughts on a passion passed down from her father.

Janet Lambert with a small Tamar River King George Whiting.

I

have fished for as long as I can remember, it’s a passion that was instilled in me by my late father David Locke, a wool classer by trade and avid trout fisherman.

To me, fishing is more than just catching a feed for dinner, it’s the experience of getting away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and experiencing nature in its rawest beauty.

Along with my husband Todd, many hours have been spent on the water as a family and I have been fortunate enough to catch many different species over the years.

From tuna through to trout, targeting and being rewarded for one’s efforts holds its own addiction but I must admit, of late, there is one particular species that has me getting up at unsociable hours early of a morning in pursuit of success — King George Whiting.

Whiting are truly a fish for everyone and along with flathead, if there ever was a relatively easy to catch high quality table fish surely this is it.

King George Whiting’s distribution around Tasmania is probably far wider than people realise, fond of cooler waters they can be targeted anywhere around

the state, from the North West Coast through to the Tamar River in the North and St Helens on our East Coast. I am unsure what is available in the south of our state but would be surprised if there was an absence of availability in that region as well.

Tasmanian King George Whiting can often grow well in excess of 50 cm, my husband has actually caught one 65 cm to the fork of the tail.

They truly appear to be in a different size class compared to that of their mainland counterparts.

Two high quality brands are Hayabusa whiting rigs and Whiting Whacker rigs from Black Magic, they have circle hooks tied onto them that encourage the fish to hook themselves. Prematurely striking

when you get a bite will often only succeed in pulling the hooks out of the fishes mouth. Avoid the temptation and place the rod in the holder, the hook up will take care of itself.

Where to find them The edges of weed beds, sand and mud banks are perfect locations, they are comfortable in the shallows with many of our fish landed in less than 2 metres of water. They love sandworms and these are often found spewing out of their mouths when landed.

Whiting love fresh squid and if you can source some beforehand this will definitely improve your chances.

I like to cut the squid into very small strips and thread it onto a pre-made rig especially designed for whiting and readily available at your local tackle store.

Victorian visitor Noel, trying his skills.

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Fishing News - Page 3

If you do find the fish a bit finicky, a slow lift of the rod whilst slowly turning the reel, will load the rod and see a hook-up more often than not.

The gear needed Todd likes quality gear, but it does not need to be expensive. A 7-foot graphite rod rated 2 to 4 kg and a 2500 reel spooled with 6-pound braid is all that is needed, basically it’s a trout set up. I like the Fireline brand of braid but at the end of the day it’s all personal preference really.

I like to fish with at least 3 rods in the water and space them around the boat, sometimes schools can be very localised and once located, continued casting to that area produces success when the other baits remain untouched.

When the current is strong, consider tying your bait below the sinker and fish a long leader.

Whiting will take soft plastics including grubs and fish tails; we have caught many on the Berkley green pumpkin brand whilst pursuing trevally at St Helens.

Best times to fish

An early start is an advantage.

NEW

This is a very hard question to answer actually, many will swear that the turn of the tide is the best time to target this species, whilst others say during bright sunlight and the first 2 hours of the run in.

We believe all fishing is best at both dusk and dawn and since this has worked for us consistently, will continue to subscribe to that theory.

Whatever time you choose to head out on the water, rest assured, should you find them and be successful, you will be rewarded with a fight that defies their size. But be aware there is a stringent bag limit placed on this species of 5 fish per person per day.

When a ‘whiting bite’ is on it can be fast and furious.

With the warmer weather on its way and with King George Whiting coming into our bays and estuaries in ever increasing numbers, why not plan a trip to specifically target this species and try your luck soon?

You could well be rewarded with a feed or two of one of the best tasting fish our state has to offer.

Janet Lambert

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MERSEY RIVER — A RIVER WORTH YOUR LEARNING

By Shane Flude.

Photo by Steven Ooi

T

he Mersey River begins its journey with numerous small headwater streams in the high country of Tasmania near the Walls of Jerusalem. These streams flow into several larger lakes which flow into the Mersey Valley, all snaking their way down the idyllic upper Mersey valley into Lake Rowallan. Further downstream the waters are captured for hydro use in Lake Parangana.

Other headwaters are captured here namely the Fisher River system which is dammed behind Lake Mackenzie.

The Chudleigh Lakes extend beyond. Most of the Mersey water is diverted across to the Forth system at Parangana but the river from here to the sea offers magnificent trout fishing in a variety of locations. This article will touch on the great headwaters and go finer detail on some of the better sections downstream. To confuse and annoy the purists I will describe the water heading downstream.

I encourage you to get a good map out and follow the river’s route.

Upper Mersey Valley Waters If you study a map of the Mersey headwaters you will see four large lakes comprising three major water sources. Lake Meston is the upper most lake on the Mersey River proper being stocked with rainbow trout by an airdrop in 1956. Hartnett, McCoy and Clarke Falls are three sets of waterfalls above Lees Paddocks that have prevented brown trout from venturing any further up the Mersey. The rainbow only fishery in the headwaters of the Mersey offer unique and isolated fishing and sets the stage really for the great Mersey River.

Lakes Myrtle and Bill are drained by Jacksons Creek which enter the Mersey above Rowallan. An exact stocking date is unknown but both lakes support a low to modest population of brown trout. They are rarely fished. On my last trip to these lakes I saw none in Myrtle and six in Bill, all around the two pound mark.

Myrtle plunges into the depths around most shores and is difficult to get around. Bill is shallow enough to wade around completely.

Lake Adelaide flows down an impressive valley into Lake Louisa and again via Junction Creek; their waters reach the Mersey at the head of Lake Rowallan.

I have heard reports of trout in Adelaide but cannot confirm them. I can however confirm the presence of brown trout in Lake Louisa having visited this water numerous times since 2000. In recent times with the aid of a blow up canoe and portable depth sounder I can report that Louisa plunges to around 150ft in depth. The crystal clear waters are unlike anywhere I have fished or boated in Tasmania. On a perfect summers day Louisa is remarkable. Due to its depth however the fishing is only average. 2-3 a day up to around 2.5lb is about average. Only brown trout are present.

Chudleigh Lakes Headwaters Lake Mackenzie is a 975 metre long bitumen faced rock fill dam that holds back the waters of the upper Fisher River. It was the final dam in the Mersey/Forth scheme to be completed. When full it holds 20 000 cubic meters of water. Lake Mackenzie was stocked with brown trout around 1895. These trout and others that were released later soon spread and populated the entire Chudleigh Lakes region. In past years illegal liberations of rainbow trout into the Chudleigh Lakes have now seen a moderate population establish in Lake Mackenzie. Fish of both species up to around 2lb are fairly common in McKenzie. As a starting point for anglers heading into the more popular western lakes it has been overlooked for years as an angling destination.

It is a great all round water and a long time favourite of

December view of McKenzie

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Fishing News - Page 5

mine. It is well suited to trolling, spinning, soft plastics and fly fishing. I have taken trout from October to April however at an altitude of 1120 meters, the highest hydro electric water in Tasmania, the season often gets off to a slow start. Water levels fluctuate dramatically and affect the fishing accordingly. By early December the level is usually below 6m, exposing the original lakes. My best results have been on rough days in March/April using soft plastics from a boat and on warm sunny days walking the dam wall casting a dry in front of the fish that frequent the dam wall. The numerous lakes and tarns that make up the catchment waters of Lake Mackenzie are called the Chudleigh Lakes and are among the best fly waters in Tasmania.

Waters flowing from Mackenzie are diverted via a concrete and earth canal for several kilometres before plunging the 650 meters decline to the Fisher Power station. This canal contains a moderate population of small trout its entire length. On calm days numerous rises can be seen as you drive alongside, often tempting you to stop and cast a line. Yeates Lagoon lies about 500 meters north of the canal where it is diverted briefly underground. It’s only a 10 minute walk from the main road across the open moorland. At around 2-3 ft depth it is a fly only water. Despite this depth the weedy bottom makes polaroiding difficult. It supports a modest population of well conditioned brown trout that grow to around 3.5lb. It is worth a look if you have a spare hour or two and is rarely visited. The lagoon can only briefly be seen from the McKenzie road travelling west before the underground section

Lake Parangana The waters from McKenzie flow down into the eastern arm of Lake Parangana. The lake is the lowest dam across the Mersey, some 48m high. From here most Mersey water is diverted over the hill to the Forth valley.

In recent years minimum guaranteed flows downstream have maintained the river’s health. Parangana is really boating only water and supports a large number of small brown trout and small numbers of escapee rainbows from Rowallan. There are numerous camp sites and launching spots in the main area half way along the lake. There are some good beetle hatches in summer as the lake is contained between thickly forested shores but fine conditions in summer usually

Clumner Bluff backdrop above Rowallan sees us fishing more productive lakes. The hot spot is the shallow delta where the waters from Rowallan flow in. The Arm River also joins the lake in the area and also contains plenty of small trout. Blackfish are plentiful in Parangana but anything over a pound is big. If you are intent on catching a feed of these rather nice eating fish bear in mind they actively protect small areas of shoreline like trout have their beat. You will quickly catch the fish from your chosen casting location. When the action slows down move down the shore a bit a throw in another worm then repeat the process, you will soon have your bag in this lake.

The Mersey between Rowallan and Parangana looks very inviting when the water is flowing but when they turn the water off it looks anything but. There is too much water regulation here to support a worthwhile fishery so don’t bother even casting a line. It’s a great white water rafting and canoeing location.

Lake Rowallan A local favourite for many anglers and a designated Rainbow water opening later on the first weekend in

Popular section above Kellys Cage Road Fishing News - Page 6

November. If you like fishing between drowned trees then this is the lake for you as when the valley was flooded they left them all behind. Although most of the shoreline can be reached with moderate ease and fished it is attractive boating water due to the drowned timber.

All methods are practised here, again the blackfish are plentiful and the worm will produce a reliable feed of these. There are some excellent beetle and jassid falls on this lake in the March/April period. A number of locals fare well with grasshoppers in the trees around the same time. The lake height can vary enormously but the lake is often drawn down to the old river valley by the end of most summers. Locals tell me this is the best time to fish as there is far less water between fish.

On the flip side when the lake fills quickly in most early seasons there are some great flooded shallows towards the top of the lake. The Mersey above Rowallan is regulated as a rainbow fishery and remains open to fishing up until the end of May. By mid to late May the browns begin their spawning run up the Mersey as they move upstream from the main lake. The upper three kilometres of the Rowallan Lake bed, which by

Kimberley train bridge flood carnage

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May will be exposed by low water levels, offer the best fishing. I had heard rumours of large spawners of 8- 10 pound running up at this time and after several trips now over the last few years I can indeed confirm that fish of this size are present in the river at this time of year. The leviathans I spotted eluded me so sorry, no photographic evidence. Rainbows in low numbers are also present in the brownie runs. We only had one trip in late May this year, claiming four including one rainbow up to just over two pound. Total fish seen was around forty.

Mersey downstream I will describe the Mersey in sections downstream between bridge access points, the first being from Parangana to Liena. The river here flows over gravel and large shingle/boulders. I have taken trout on nymphs in inflow rapids to most pools and a few smallish fish on dries. The Liena area fished well up until about three years ago but now appears to only support low numbers. I checked numbers with a mask and snorkel and found some great rainbows swimming mid water but only around the bridges, elsewhere very few fish. I wondered if cormorants were the reason, being scared away from the bridge pools.

Liena to Union Bridge is about a 15 klm section of river that is fished heavily around the Union Bridge area, particularly the first 2 klms or so upstream. Over the summer months it attracts many swimmers and day campers. The further upstream you walk the more solitude you will find. There are some great pools and runs and it is well worth the walk. A gravel track through old forestry past Dogshead hill finishes at a very deep pool which I am yet to see a fish in. There are several other minor access points to the river of this track and the river holds some lovely fish in this section. It is still cystal clear in this area.

Below Union Bridge as far as the Mole Creek quarry the Mersey holds some great fish both rainbows and browns. It’s only a 25 minute walk down to the quarry. A deep long pool just upstream of the Mole Creek inflow holds some bigger fish which cruise the edges. The long pool just downstream of the bridge holds good numbers.

Very keen Mersey angler, Adrian Webb, about to release a nice brownie.

The river through the Allum Cliffs Reserve area looks magnificent from above but I have not made the long trip down to the water nor spoken to anyone that has. The fish can have this section to themselves.

Next bridge down is off Kellys Cage Road. This is perhaps one of the most popular sections of the Mersey, both upstream towards the cliffs and downstream to Dynans Bridge. It is simply a brilliant part of the river to fish, easy to access, has a variety of pools and excellent nymphing runs and supports a high population of rainbow trout. 30% of the trout I caught last season here were rainbows up to 1.5lbs. The lower

Early morning view from the Kelly Cage Road area

sections of most slow pools were also home to small schools of grayling. Perhaps the only negative aspect of this section of river is the ludicrous number of European wasps that appear from late summer. They appear to have developed a taste for willow grubs.

Dynans bridge both upstream and down is also a highly productive part of the Mersey. The large pool under the bridge holds a huge number of mostly small fish, again browns, rainbows and grayling are present here. I have not been able to negotiate the huge deep pool with cliffs about 2ks upstream of the bridge but have generally caught enough by then anyway.

From Dynans down to Kimberley sees the river flowing past the old Armistead property on the west and numerous private properties on the east. There are some great pool and runs along this section but access is difficult and the river is not often fished here. For you canoe and kayak fans beware the Roaring Meg rapid just past the power lines. It doesn’t look much on Google earth but up close it’s really nasty and well worth some portage.

The section between Kimberley Bridge as far downstream through Mersey Lea to Hoggs Bridge is probably the most popular section of the entire river.

Access via the three bridges is well signposted and fish numbers are high. The odd 2-3lb monster lurks in the deeper pools but the average size here is just under a pound. The river has no large rapids in this section and has many long slow pools and long runs. The majority of the river can be waded save a few deep holes that need to be passed. There are some magnificent caenid hatches through this section commencing in early November right through until April. The action can

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Fishing News - Page 7

have been a number of double figure fish taken from this estuary over the years, I can only boast several to five pound. There is another run of larger bait fish from late march till seasons end. Again just follow the schools and wait for the exploding action before you cast.

2016 Flood

Allum Cliffs. You can walk down to the fish be fast and furious from first light until mid to late morning. A size 16 or 18 Adams does the trick. It is also a popular spinning section and set rod bait fishing near all the bridges.

Between Hoggs Bridge and Latrobe there are no more bridges but access is readily gained in the Lovetts Flats area. The river gives way to longer and more sluggish pools with several productive nymphing rapids. This access has been invaded by four wheel drivers and resembles a war zone in places. Just park where the road get rough and walk up or down from there.

The Miles Ford Bridge crosses the Mersey at Latrobe and lies just downstream from the high tide mark. As such these areas as far down as the main estuary and as far up as the new Mountain bike area on Shale Road are the basic extremes for sea trout

Hoggs Bridge after the flood Fishing News - Page 8

fishing. Action usually begins in early September when the ever diminishing white bait runs start. In years of floods the runs are naturally later as these small bait fish are pushed back downstream. When they do run it is simply a matter of watching the school make its make slowly upsteam and taking careful note of the area they are attacked by the waiting trout. White bait will shower into the air and can be seen from some distance away. I have watched several trout closely over the years in this estuary and they usually return to their favourite log or rock for the next school. In the early days I caught and used the natural fish and tidlies from nearby creeks as bait. Night time on a rising tide and a dark night were best. I have now progressed to several favourite white bait flies which I use in daylight hours.

Condition factor of the Mersey sea trout is remarkable, these fish are really worth targeting. There

An article on the Mersey would not be complete without mention of the D day flood (6/6/16). Over 450 mms of rain fell across most of the catchment in a couple of days. The level of Lake Parangana was drawn down 5 meters the day before the rain and over the next 8 hours it rose by a full 10 meters. Whether the resulting flood was caused by cloud seeding is debateable however it’s interesting to note that our last cloud seeding event occurred on 5/6/16 where a 1 hr 34 min flight targeted the Upper Derwent catchment. The massive flood that rushed down the Mersey was catastrophic. It damaged or destroyed 7 of the 10 bridges and numerous roads nearby. It literally scoured the entire river system from Parangana to Latrobe. Almost all of my favourite pools and runs were altered, many no longer exist. As expected the 2016/17 season was a poor one for the Mersey, it’s amazing all the trout were not washed away. Somehow the river has now mostly recovered and I would have to say some places are now better than before. The hatches last season were at least equal to pre flood days. Size and condition of the fish is also similar. I look forward to the remainder of this season and only expect fishing to improve. See you on the water.

Shane Flude

Not all the rainbows are giants

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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.

WE ARE TONIC!

Fishing News - Page 10

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PLAN B - B FOR BOYS Snapper was off the radar - so the boys and I went for Plan B. Gavin Hicks.

Plan B – Salmon…

T

he usual Friday arvo text messages were sent after having a look at the weather and a plan was put in place for the next morning.

An early start was going to see us meet Simsy and his daughter Ebony at the Devonport boat ramp at daybreak, take both boats out and look for some snapper. The boys were pumped with this plan because neither of them are yet to catch a snapper. So keen were they in fact that we found ourselves on the water about half an hour earlier than the planned meeting time.

It was a fair bit windier than we had anticipated on the drive down and on arrival at the Elimatta boat ramp looked a bit choppy further out. So we decided to chuck a couple of silver slice lures out the back and go for a quick troll, more to check on conditions than anything else. We got about halfway along towards Wrights Island in the time we had, but that was enough to decide it probably wasn’t going to be the day they got their maiden snapper. So we turned and headed

back to meet our partners in crime for the day. A quick discussion was had at the ramp and then we all piled in the TABS to go for a quick run so Jason could see what it was like. We only had to go to the mouth of the Mersey and he had seen enough.

All his knowledge of the local area came to the fore and he knew straight away it wasn’t going to be a snapper day. On the run back to the ramp it was decided to load the boat back on the trailer and we would all head for Port Sorell and see if the salmon were still about in good numbers and size.

With myself, Jobie and Kai in my boat and Jason and Ebony in his boat surely we could find some fish for the kids to have some fun with.

Within half an hour we had both boats on the water and tied up at the Port Sorell jetty. We then headed for the river mouth with the intention of doing some trolling to hopefully find some fish reasonably quickly.

Jason was near the break wall and us the western side.

Jobie started with a small no name brand blue skirt lure (I have no idea what brand) on his Terez/ Saragosa rod and reel combo, whilst Kai started out trawling a white soft plastic on his Penn/ Samaki set up. Me, I had to settle for my 7 weight Sage Xi3 sitting in its rod case on the boat shelf and hopefully if the boys got sick of it I would actually be allowed to have a fish.

No sooner had we got our spread set up and in the water than we looked over and young Ebony was leaning back with her rod bent, they were into the salmon straight away.

So as all good mates do I got the boys to bring their rods in and motored over to their area straight away, no use them having all the fun! By the time we got there Ebbs had shown her angling class and had a nice salmon of a couple of pounds or more subdued and in the boat. This had all the makings of turning into a real fun day for the kids.

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Fishing News - Page 11

Fantastic plastics doing the job.

The rods were put out again and the trolling re commenced. We did big loops up and down the break wall for about an hour and a half, the whole time the boys hooking into salmon with great regularity. They weren’t the biggest salmon that we would encounter for the day but averaging around 2 pounds or so they were a whole lot of fun to catch and they weren’t fussy.

We caught them on everything from skirts to hard bodies to soft plastics on the trawl. The hot colours at the time seemed to be white, blue and silver in a variety of different combinations. And every time we looked at them either Jason or Ebbs were hooked up as well, there was plenty of fish about and hardly another boat to be seen. Perfect, because I’m not too big on crowds at the moment.

There were so many fish that the boys even said I could try and get one on the fly rod, so I did. Just so happens that it was one of the smaller fish for the day, but at least I finally got a cast in on a fishing trip. Then as can happen with all things fishing the action dried up and things went strangely quiet all of a sudden. It didn’t take long before Kai chimed in and said “Dad can you put that fly rod away you’ve scared off all the fish”. Had they gone down or just moved to a different spot in the system chasing what I suspect was schools of whitebait moving through the river.

We kept trolling for a while and tried a few different spots inside and outside the mouth. Jason hooked a nice fish of about 3 pounds in his boat and we thought we had found them again but unfortunately this guy was flying solo. By now the North Easterly breeze was starting to come in reasonably hard and the swell was getting quite confused and choppy so we headed back to the river mouth and what were some calmer waters for now.

Fishing News - Page 12

Another little ball of muscle.

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We had only just got inside the mouth and Jobies rod bent hard and started losing line at a rate of knots. He grabbed it out of the rod holder and his initial comments were something along the lines of I don’t what this is but it’s bloody big.

After a couple of minutes of losing line and gaining small bits back the hooks pulled and were to be none the wiser what it was. I think we all knew it was a bigger salmon but it’s still a pisser when you lose a good fish without actually seeing how good it was.

The spot was marked on the sounder and as soon as we went back over it the action started again, this time on both rods. The boys leapt into action and were both bent double on good fish.

I was sitting back in the driver’s seat with my feet up keeping an eye on the choppy waters and listening to kids laughing and yelling and reels screaming.

A quick phone call was made to Jason to let him know we had found some bigger specimens and they were in on the action as well. When we finally got sight of these fish it was clear they were big and easily the biggest salmon the boys had caught, the weight net would tell us that the biggest models went 5.5 pounds.

We spent the next couple of hours trawling over the same area and every time on the sounder mark a rod would go off. If it was only one rod went off on the trawl the other was picked up and cast back in the general area and that would get slammed straight away. There were single hook ups, double hook ups, and hooks pulling out of fish everywhere I looked. It was pretty much fishy madness for a while and they were loving it, I believe at times they were even complaining of sore arms on some of the longer fights.

Jobie had saved some left over school money and bought himself a Savage Gear MPP2 rod. At 7 and a half foot long and rated for 5-8kg it seemed like a perfect time to break it in and it didn’t take long.

He tied on a blue and silver slice lure and lobbed it out the back of the boat. Half a dozen winds later the rod was bent double and he was grinning from ear to ear. At about $40 on sale I think it was it proves you don’t need to spend a fortune on fishing gear to catch quality fish and have a whole lot of fun, and it made it so much sweeter for me knowing he had saved his own money and bought something he wanted with it. Sure they have all their more expensive rods and reels and they all serve a purpose but it’s great to know there is so much good gear about these days for very little money.

Finally it just got too rough at the mouth of the river and became too hard for me to handle the boat and deal with kids hauling in fish everywhere safely so we called it a day. I’m not too big on counting numbers these days but the boys reliably informed me they would Fishing News - Page 13

Australian salmon are great fighters on light gear. have landed at least 30 fish and lost plenty more with only a couple for bait on future outings. When we caught up with Jason and Ebony they said they had landed the same amount if not more with plenty lost as well. I suspect they didn’t want to make us feel bad though and had caught more than that as they are both quality fisher people with plenty of local knowledge.

Plus the fact that every time I looked at their boat they were fighting a fish!

So that’s how we encountered the boys first run of big salmon and it definitely won’t be their last. So

much fun and right on our door step, we really do live in a great part of the world. For me it was just another fishing trip where I barely even touched a rod and you know what, I wouldn’t want it to be any other way.

Being out in the beautiful fresh Tassie air watching my two boys have so much fun together is what it’s all about for me these days. As I said to someone the other day “I still go fishing as much as ever, but I very rarely fish these days”.

Stay safe on the water, and enjoy it.

Gavin Hicks

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Fishing News - Page 13

39th WORLD FLY FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS — TASMANIA T

he 39th FIPS Mouche World Fly Fishing Championship will be held in Tasmania, December this year.

Who is organising the Championship?

The Championship is organised by the Australian member body of FIPS Mouche, Fly Fish Australia Inc. (“FFA”). FFA and its State committees organise State and National fly fishing competitions and selects Australian representative teams to compete in international events. To find out more about FFA visit www.flyfishaustralia.com.au Where will the Championship be held?

The Championship will be based out of Launceston.

The event programme is as follows: Saturday 30 November 2019: Registration; Opening Parade and official welcome Sunday 1 December 2019: Captains meeting and draw Monday 2 December: Competition Fishing Starts at all venues Monday 2 December 2019: Competition Session 1 Tuesday 3 December 2019: Competition Session 2 Wednesday 4 December 2019: Competition Session 3 Thursday 5 December 2019: Competition Session 4 Friday 6 December 2019: Competition Session 5 Saturday 7 December 2019: Conservation Symposium and medal presentation; Gala Dinner Sunday 8 December 2019: Farewell breakfast The Championship venues comprise three lakes and two rivers. The lakes will be fished from drifting boats.

The rivers will be divided into beats and competitors will be permitted to wade.

Lake sessions are four hours (from noon to 4 pm).

River sessions are three hours (from 1 pm to 4 pm).

Lakes are: Little Pine Lagoon, Woods Lake Penstock Lagoon.

Rivers are: Mersey River Meander River.

Fishing News - Page 14

The event venues be closed to fishing for the event as below To help manage logistics for this World event the lake venues will be closed to recreational fishing for the Championship from midnight on Sunday 1 December to midnight on Friday 6 December inclusive. Only the competition sections of the river venues (see below) will be closed to recreational fishing from midnight on Sunday 24 November to midnight on Friday 6 December inclusive.

The Mersey River downstream of the Olivers Road Bridge (on C138) to Hoggs Bridge (on C153).

The Meander River downstream from the Huntsman Lake Dam to Barretts Bridge on Long Ridge Road (on C166).

The organisers would like to thank all anglers for their understanding and support of these temporary regulations.

Will the competitors be able to fish the venues before the Championship?

The competition venues will be closed to competitors and their agents (eg team captain and managers) for 60 days prior to the Championship. As a consequence, most of the competitors from overseas will be fishing the venues for their first time when they compete.

Will the venues be stocked for the Championship?

No fish will be stocked into the rivers or Little Pine Lagoon or Woods Lake. Penstock Lagoon received its normal annual stocking of wild brown trout by the Inland Fisheries Service.

Is the championship open to spectators?

Everyone is invited to the opening parade through the streets of Launceston.

On the days of competition members of the public are welcome to watch the competitors fish. At the lakes spectators will be able to watch the fishing from the shore. On the rivers there will be viewing areas established for spectators and access will be made available subject to landowner permission. Spectators are asked to stay well back from the rivers so as not to spook fish or unsettle the competitors. The championship will provide an excellent opportunity for spectators to see the skills of some of the world’s best competition fishers.

How will boat fishing on the lakes be organised?

There will be two competitors in each boat together with a volunteer controller who will drive the boat, deploy the drogue as requested and measure and record type and length of fish caught. Competitors must be seated while fishing and are only permitted to stand when netting a fish.

How will the competitors fish the rivers?

Competitors will fish the rivers employing a range of techniques to match the water that is being fished: dry fly, nymph under dry, European nymphing, swinging wet flies and fishing streamers. Some competitors will carry multiple rods on their person and will change rods/techniques repeatedly.

A volunteer controller will follow each competitor from the bank. The competitor must present each fish caught to the controller who will measure, record and release the fish.

Are volunteers and volunteered boats required?

Members of FFA and of a number of Tasmanian anglers have registered to be controllers on the river venues and a number of boat owners have also volunteered their boats for the event. There are sufficient volunteers to run the event.

Landowners and their support!

Landowners on the Meander and Mersey rivers have given their permission for the event to be held on sections of the rivers which run through their properties. The organisers are very thankfull for their support.

Who is in the Australian team?

Christopher Bassano - Tasmania Joshua Flowers - Tasmania Jon Stagg - Tasmania Tom Jarman - Victoria Mark Bulley- NSW David Hemphill - NSW Craig Carey - Captain (Tasmania) Mischa Berndtson - Manager (NSW) Benefits to volunteers and spectators.

The Championship will showcase competition fly fishing and it is hoped that those who watch the Championship will be encouraged to participate in the sport.

Competing at State and National level or international level (eg, at Commonwealth, Oceania and World Masters championships) are opportunities to learn new skills and to form friendships with other fly fishers. The sport is welcoming and encouraging to all ages, genders and skill levels.

Contact Fly Fish Australia if you would like to know more.

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TIPS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN TEAM - by The Manic Tackle Project W

i t h t h e 2 0 1 9 Wo r l d F ly F i s h i n g Championships imminent, some of the Australian team share a few tips and tricks to become better fly anglers.

Christopher Bassano.

Christopher began fly fishing as a teenager.

He worked as a fly fishing guide in Tasmania for 24 years from 1993 to 2017 and has owned Tasmania’s leading guiding company, Rainbow Lodge Tasmania, since 2008. Christopher began competition fly fishing in 2010, winning the first competition that he entered. He has fished in eight national championships, winning three titles, coming second twice and not finishing outside the top ten.

He won individual gold medal at the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in 2012 and was part of the gold medal winning Australian team at the same event. He has been selected in the Australian team every year since he started competing and finished 6th individually at his last world championships in Slovakia - the best result by an Australian on mainland Europe.

Christopher’s top three tips; 1. Practice. If you want to be a good competitor, practice is critical. That doesn’t mean you simply go fishing whenever you can, but that when you go fishing, you are practicing for a competition and not simply having fun. Practice is rarely as much fun as simply fishing. Set goals and try to achieve them.Work on those things that you are worst at and turn your weakness into your strength. This takes singlemindedness and dedication.

2. Fish bad water during practice. Too often I see anglers run to the best water. Competent anglers can catch fish in good water, but not many can catch fish in bad water. During most competitions you fish, you will have to try to catch fish from less than ideal water.These are the sessions that will win or lose you a competition.

You don’t have to win every session in order to win a competition. Catching two fish from a beat

that most people blank is more important than catching 30 fish from a beat that most people catch 28 from. If you are not used to fishing poor water and working hard for fish, how can you expect to do well under pressure when this is the water you have drawn?

3. It is not the fly! More often than not, the fly you are using is not the reason why you did not do well. On the odd occasion, a fly might be advantageous but as long as the fly you are using is roughly the right size or shape, you will be able to catch plenty of fish with it. How and where you deliver that fly and how that fly is fished are the most important factors.

Tom Jarman Tom grew up fly fishing with his father in the UK and in Victoria. He started competition fly fishing at age 16 and by age 18 was selected in the Australian Team to compete at the Oceania Championships in New Zealand. Over Tom’s ten year competition career he has won multiple competitions in Victoria, Tasmania, New South Wales/ACT and South Australia. He has represented Australia five times internationally, and has competed in the World Championships three times. Fishing in the last three consecutive World Championships, held in the USA, Slovakia and Italy, he finished in the top 25 each time.

When not competing you’ll find Tom on the water guiding for trout or at University studying Wildlife Biology.

Tom’s hot tips are; 1. Nymph under dry fishing is great fun way to fish, it is very effective, however sometimes it is prone to not detecting takes because of slack between the indicator dry and the nymph.

To ensure you have the best control and chance to detect all of the takes, make sure that every cast you make lands with the nymph upstream of the dry, and ensure that both the nymph and dry land in the same current line. This way the

nymph sinks in contact with the dry, and remains relatively tight to you dry throughout the drift.

2. Use your boot. Everyone gets hung up on the bottom when nymph fishing, we hook rocks, sticks, anything and everything.We generally reach down and get a wet sleeve/arm when retrieving our fly. I find I often can free my fly by wading over and using the toe of my boot to lightly kick or shuffle around the rocks, timber etc. This either frees your flies, or dislodges the rocks or sticks that your fly is caught on, and you can generally lift up the stick they are caught on, unhook them and keep fishing whilst staying dry!

3. Add some float. I won’t dry fly fish or fish with a floating line and an indicator without using some form of floating line grease on the tip of my fly line, and then leader. What this does is allow superior mending, and effortless pick up of your fly line and leader off the water. By doing this once at the start of the days fishing, you’ll find that mending, picking line up off the water becomes so much more efficient all day.

Jonothan Stagg Jonothan started fly fishing at the age of 11 and has now over 30 years’ experience fishing in his home of Tasmania. He has fished a number of mainland states as well as New Zealand, USA and many countries in Europe and Great Britain. He is the current and 6 times Tasmanian Fly Fishing Champion, three times Australian Fly Fishing Champion as well as the current and three times runner up silver medallist. He was a member of gold medal winning Australian teams in both Commonwealth and Oceania Championships.

Jonothan has been an Australian team member in 10 World fly fishing Championships, finishing in the top 20 individuals on 4 occasions.

Jon’s hot tips are; 1. Choosing the length of tippet – For me the tippet is one of the most critical items in all

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Fishing News - Page 15

my fly fishing equipment. It plays a massive part in your cast as to how your fly will be presented as well as being that final link between you, your fly and the fish. For many people having a leader and tippet that turns over a fly well is all that they are looking for. But there is so much more that can aid with presentation of your flies by simply lengthening or shortening a leader tippet or even changing the diameter. My advice is don’t be scared to go longer with a tippet, sure it is not easy to cast at first but that’s why you should practice. Get used to it as the presentation of your flies will improve dramatically if you can learn to cast longer tippets. Curve casts, mending, downstream and upstream presentation will all be better with a long tippet. Experiment, adjust the length, change the diameter and find out what works best in the different situations you encounter.

2. Playing and netting fish - In competition fly fishing a fish that has been caught must be presented in the net to the controller for measuring . This means that no matter how beautiful that presentation of the dry fly was, and how well the trout ate the fly, and how you fought the fish downstream for 5 minutes, and how well you played the fish to the net. If that fish comes off as you are about to lift the net under it and it swims away, that fish does not count!......

So that being said, getting that fish in the net is pretty important! As competition fishing is with barbless hooks my first advice is keep tension on the fish at all times, be smooth and do your best to stop the fish from jumping. If the fish gets slack line this is often when it comes off.

Fishing News - Page 16

Try to play the fish in one direction. If you hook a fish striking backhand then try and play it from the back hand all the way to the net, changing the rod angle or direction you play the fish means you are pulling on the hook in a different direction which may make it come out. Don’t rush. You may think you are wasting time playing fish for too long but a fish in the net will go on the score card so be willing to take that little bit extra time.

So many fish come off when you rush them to the net, be sure they are ready and always try to bring the fish upstream of you to be netted.

Pulling a fish to the net from downstream will often end in disaster.

3. Good wading boots are essential - There is nothing worse than fishing a competition session on a river slipping all over place and spending more time trying to stand up than fishing. It is critical to have the best sole on your wading boots to suit the water. For free stone rivers I generally like felt soles as I find these grip well on the smooth rocks and are also quiet which I like.

However for long hikes, silt bottomed or grassy river banks felt soled boots are a disaster as you will be slipping over for sure. For this a rubber or studded boot sole would be recommended such as the new Simms Flyweight, these are incredibly light and comfortable boots. There are many options out there which are better for some types of water than others but my main advice is to use appropriate soles and comfortable wading boots. Being stable in the water is crucial to successful fishing in any situation.

Mark Bulley Mark started fishing the creeks and rivers of the Monaro as a boy with his uncle.

Mark developed a passion for flyfishing as a teenager and especially loved the places that it took him. Over the years Mark has enjoyed fishing all over Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. Always trying to discover new methods to trick the trout, Mark started competition fishing in 2009. Lots of time fishing and practicing has led to success at the State, National and International levels of competition.

Mark first represented Australia in 2011 at the Oceania compet it ion ( Adaminaby NSW) where he finished with

an Individual Silver and was part of the team that was also placed 2nd overall. Since that first time representing Australia, Mark has since been part of the 2013 Oceania team (New Zealand) and 3 world teams in 2013 (Norway), 2017 (Slovakia) & this year (Australia). Mark’s highest World result to date was an Individual 29th and team 5th (both in Slovakia).

Since commencing competition fishing Mark has developed invaluable skills and friendships.

Marks hot tips on becoming better are; 1. Speed: In fast heavy water, look for the softer, smooth patches in between the main currents or the edges. Fish like fast food coming to them, but don’t like to work hard for it. If you are wading this type of water and find a spot where you feel comfortable in, and the water is not pushing you too hard, you are probably in the middle of the trout’s kitchen.

2. Depth: In rivers or lakes, try to work out how deep the river or lake bed is and adjust your fly depth to suit. Each time you drift on the river, let your fly drop a little deeper, building up a mental picture of the river-bed below. In a lake, observe the lay of the land that surrounds you and predict how the lake-bed Is configured. Count your flies down each time you cast, let them sink a little longer each time until you hit the bottom, or find the level the fish are active.

3. Location: Remember the type of water you catch a fish in and look for similar locations. In lakes it could be deep water or the shallow, grassy banks, muddy edges or rocky points. Use the knowledge you gain from catching a fish to help catch the next one. Similarly with rivers, if you catch a fish on the edge his mates are probably in a similar location. Think about its position in the runs or pools: Are they in the head or tail of the pool? What amount of current are the fish comfortable with?

What type of bottom structure are they on?

A pattern will often appear about the fish’s preferred location. Use that to your advantage.

Thank you to Manic Tackle Project for these profiles and tips.

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Fishing News - Page 17

CITIZEN SCIENCE What’s in it for recreational fishers?

By Jo Starling.

A freshly tagged flathead is swum before release. Photo credit: Steve Starling

S

ince the Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation (ARFF) announced that citizen science would be the theme for the 2019 National Recreational Fishing Conference, there has been a scurry of enthusiasm, nationwide, to get ready for the biennial event. But there have also been murmurs of discomfort and expressions of mistrust, so I’ve decided to take a deeper look into the question of “What’s in this for me?” as a rec fisher.

I’m the first to admit it… I’m an “avid” — the classification applied to the 20% of anglers who make up 80% of the recreational fishing effort. I don’t fish casually. I fish fervently! I fish as often as I can! I fish for sport, for fitness, for my mental well being, for my love of nature, for a feed… I fish for every reason under the sun. I fish because I love it!

When I think back over all the years, I can’t remember a single bad day spent fishing. I know I’ve had fishless outings, but they’re not bad days (even though I can’t remember specifics). Having said that, if there wasn’t the hope of catching a fish, I wouldn’t go out.

Let’s face it… abundant and accessible desirable targets are necessary for fishing success, and it’s the dream of fishing success that inspires us to participate in our sport.

Let’s face it… abundant and accessible desirable targets are necessary for fishing success, and it’s the dream of fishing success that inspires us to participate in our sport.

In Australia, we place the responsibility of managing and maintaining our fish stocks on government agencies, both state and federal. They make their management decisions based on data, which has Fishing News - Page 18

traditionally been sourced from the commercial fishing sector through their mandatory log books and catch data, on-board monitoring, sampling of catches through co-ops, etc.

More recently, our sector has been contributing to data collection as well.

Did you know, for example, that the Game Fish Tagging Program in New South Wales has been collecting tag data since 1973? Tournament statistics and tagging programs are some examples of the fun ways we willingly participate, but there are many longstanding, research programs that anglers have been participating in too.

Increasing numbers of grassroots, non-government organizations, like OzFish Unlimited, to name one example, are taking the initiative to address questions related to the management of recreational fisheries. Our involvement in recreational fisheries research can range from simply sharing insights and catching fish to be used in studies, to direct participation in experimental design, fundraising, and project coordination and implementation.

Why do we need citizen science in recreational fishing?

Such projects enable our contribution towards the data that is used to manage our fisheries, which is important if we are to trust the data behind the decisions made.

Fishers who’ve participated in the many and various citizen science projects around the country report feeling an increased sense of ownership of fish resources. Their involvement also informs their understanding of the processes and intentions, which helps debunk community scepticism and leads to greater understanding and acceptance of management decisions, which is critical for the long-

term sustainability of our fish stocks… and therefore to the long term viability of recreational fishing, remembering that the key motivation to going fishing is the promise of actually catching a fish!

One thought-provoking insight I gained whilst researching this article came from a West Australian paper into the “Send Us Your Skeletons” project that tracked the recovery of demersal fish stocks, after the implementation of what some perceived as drastic measures between 2007 and 2010, to rescue the overfished fishery.

One of the measures included the banning of commercial fishing in some zones, posing a problem to scientists tasked with monitoring the effectiveness

The “Track My Fish” app has revolutionised tournament and personal catch data recording, building a national database on fish stocks.

Photo credit: Stefan Sawynok

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Fishing News - Page 19

The traditional method of recording catch data is very popular in tournaments across Australia.

Stacey Kellett with a tournament-caught barramundi that has just been tagged and recorded to help with Northern Territory fisheries resource management. Photo credit: Jo Starling of the imposed changes. Without commercial fishers mandatory data, they had limited avenues to collect the necessary data from the new “recreational fishing only” zones.

Citizen science programs were the answer and they worked very well.

This got me to thinking… if we refuse to participate in similar programs in our hard-fought-for, recreationalfishing-only zones all around the country, how can we demonstrate that the banishment of commercial fishing from those areas is having the positive impact anticipated? And if we don’t prove that the fisheries are rebounding, what could happen to the recreationalfishing-only status of those zones in the future?

If we refuse to participate in similar programs in our hard-fought-for, recreational-fishingonly zones all around the country, how can we demonstrate that the banishment of commercial fishing from those areas is having the positive impact anticipated?

Most fishers have a natural affinity with the environment, with many of us involved in the conservation and rehabilitation of our waterways. We are a strong contingent of outdoors people who depend on the health of the natural environment for our escape from routine, to foster a sense of true freedom and to provide a healthy pastime to share with family and mates (just to mention a few of the diverse values that come out of our fishing habit). Why on Earth, then, would we not do everything in our power to help inform the decisions around the maintenance and protection of the resources that sustain it?

Some recreational fishers don’t trust citizen science. What’s the problem?

There are a number of issues that typically agitate some fishers whenever the topic of citizen science comes up in my fishing conversations (both on- and off-line).

Fishing News - Page 20

The loudest one is that they believe the data may be used to restrict fishing access.

There are allegations of such things happening in the past, where fishers’ data of popular fishing spots was used to identify sanctuary zones. I can understand anxiety building in the face of such anecdotes.

Data is available for use, once produced and published. It can be used and, unfortunately, misused.

This is true of any data, no matter what the topic.

I’ve done a lot of pondering this sticking point and I’ve come to two realisations: The first is that, in the absence of our own data about our activities and impacts in our waterways, managers must make assumptions based on the data and assertions of others (the commercial sector and others), whose motivations may not include the promotion of the recreational fishing cause. I’d rather have decisions affecting my ability and right to fish to be made with insights that my tribe provide.

I’d rather have decisions affecting my ability and right to fish to be made with insights that my tribe provide.

In a recent conversation on this topic with Steve Morgan (founder of the successful ABT circuit and publisher of the Fishing Monthly magazines around Australia), Steve mentioned that people, who consider the practice of catch, tag and release cruel, even torturous, sometimes challenge him. Steve’s response is simple: it’s the only method of monitoring the resource that doesn’t result in the fish dying. Win! Steve let me know that this level of participation in data collecting is more accurately known as “community monitoring”, rather than citizen science, because the data is being collected for “whenever it’s needed”, rather than as part of a specific research plan.

Community monitoring data is used for surveying fish stock size, movements and health.

Such a bank of data helps with my second realization, that the best way to stop other interest groups from trying to lock us out of our favourite fishing spots is to be able to debunk their data. We can only do this if we have our own! If we have data to counteract the arguments of those who insist we are destructive, and if we have projects that are of value to the community at large, we reduce the threat of losing our permission to fish. It’s a simple but powerful strategy, and citizen science is the tool.

There is the potential for great power in collaborative research between anglers and recreational fisheries scientists, but only if a mutual understanding of each other’s boundaries is established early and maintained throughout the entire research process, and only if transparency of findings and results exists, making data easy to find.

This is the other common concern that comes up: People simply don’t understand how the data collected relates to them. Resource managers really need to focus on fixing this sticking point. More effort needs to be invested into transparency of the data and promotion of the good work that is done with it, not only to us fishers, but also to the broader community.

Being involved in citizen science programs has the potential to improve relationships and knowledge flow between members of the public and scientists and help build greater trust and more-widely accepted science and management decisions.

In addition, there are always the feel-good benefits, like making a contribution to sustainability and setting a good example to children, which are noted drivers for participation by fishers in studies to date. What’s not to like?

Want to know more?

Attend the Australian Recreational Fishing Association’s 2019 National Recreational Fishing Conference and discover the people power behind citizen science and how it will shape the future of Australian fishing. Don’t stress if you can’t make it to Hobart, there are virtual tickets available to the live stream of the entire conference as well! For more information, go to www.arff.net.au/nrfc/

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Fishing News - Page 23

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Fishing News - Page 25

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

Mike Stevens with one of the World’s most sought after fish on a fly — the permit.

Mike Stevens

Y

ou do not start fishing with a bucket list of fish to catch, but one often comes along.

Sight fishing to target species fish has always made my heart beat a little faster. Only those that choose to chase this style of fishing really understand. Tasmania’s 19 Lagoons, Western Lakes, Great Lake for ‘sharks’ and few other places are home to this style of fishing. New Zealand rivers rate highly as do other crystal clear fresh water fisheries. In salt water, think of bonefish as the most talked about species, but it is not the only one.

Giant trevally, tarpon and many others rate highly as well.

Fishing News - Page 26

If there is one place in the world Australians constantly mention it is the Republic of Kiribarti and its famous ‘Christmas Island’. This is a bonefishing and sight fishing haven.

Closer to home though, Weipa is one of Australia’s top salt water fly fishing destinations and there are tremendous sight fishing opportunities here. According to, arguably Australia’s most experienced salt water guide, Allan ‘Fish’ Philliskirk, the top three fish, if there was an Australian Grand Slam, would be Permit, Black Spot Tusk and Blue Bastards.

On a trip to Weipa in September to fish with Fish’s guiding team I had these fish in mind. Permit was at the top, followed by the Tusky and Blue Bastard. If you are a ‘sight fisher’ you know persistence is on the top of the list, time on the water, weather conditions and luck. The order varies, but weather is vitally important as only good vision will allow you to complete your task. Blue sky, clear water and some breeze all open more opportunities. Good polaroids (I use Tonics) are also needed and importantly time on the water.

Experience is essential and the more sight fishing you do the better you (should) get.

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Fishing News - Page 27

My discussion with one of Fish’s guides, Bargy (Mark Bargenquast, was ‘I want a Permit’ and am happy to watch and wait for as long as it took. Fortunately I was with my good friend Tony Stent, who has patience and generosity in his DNA. He was patient and generous enough to forgoe chasing many other fish to let me chase just a few. He is a very good angler and had caught all the fish I was chasing before, and has had many trips with ‘Fish’.

Pretty much all the fishing is from a boat, although I did have half an hour fishing from the shore. That was not successful. Fish’s boats are 6.8 metre custom made Hookers and are superb for the Weipa area. They are narrow, stable and deep vee. They ride superbly in the short chop that afternoons seem to dish up every day. A good run home is welcome rather than a bash into confused seas.

Well, mostly the first part of the fishing did not go to plan and after two days with Bargy I had managed quite a few shots, but not caught a Permit. Apparently I hooked one that fell off due to my ‘Trout Strike’, but I am not sure on that. However I had caught a Blue Bastard and a Black Spot Tusk fish. The Blue Bastard was a good fish and I had been warned to hang on and not expect to land them. They fight dirty and are rarely found too far from reef and structure. The fight is usually – hookup, screaming line burn, round some reef, bustoff……. Mine was – hookup, screaming line, round some reef, back around reef undoing itself, hang on, screaming line, really hang on and then after a short while into the net. A lot of luck and I had my first Bastard.

Now the Bastard is not just a good description, nor a common name, but also part of its scientific name Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus.

Day three we looked for Blue Bastards and hopefully Permit, but day four and five were Permit only. Tony caught a little Permit on day four, we saw plenty, presented our flies to many, but just a result for Tony - me nothing. Day five – of five and a half day’s fishing was starting to cut it fine for me to catch a Permit. Many people have chased them for years without success, whilst others seem blessed and catch one pretty quickly.

We had seen plenty on day four, so with the tide an hour later and with more run we were confident we would see plenty and get a lot of shots.

Fish’s Hooker boat is fast, stable and a joy to fish from.

Eight, nine and ten o’clock all came and went with very few Permit showing up. Most were travellers going for a casual swim and not really feeding. It was getting disheartening and the shots I got were too far left, right or too close, on top or behind, according to old mate Philliskirk.

Then we had a good sized school come and feed, heads down and mooching around close enough to get a number of casts in. The light was good and my nerves were settled as I put in cast number 1083. The school hoovered their way and the fly was put in their path.

A slow draw and it came tight. I didn’t trout strike, and gave it a good hard strip strike as instructed by the guru ‘Fish’.

‘Well that was all good’ he said, ‘but it is a Goldy’ (Golden trevally). Bugger!

It took off and I wound up the drag hoping to get it in quickly, so I could get some more Permit shots.

Then larconic ‘Fish’ says in a slow drawl ‘keep fighting it like a Goldy, but it is a Permit’. Bloody hell that man knows how to throw you off balance. He said ‘it is hooked and won’t come off now’.

And so it came to be that my first Australian Permit was landed net after a hard fight, photographed and then released, hopefully for another angler on another day.

Philliskirk thumps you when you get it wrong, gets angry and abusive in a fun way when you get your cast wrong, trout strikes instead of strip strikes, won’t eat your lettuce in the lunch, but when it goes right he is as excited as the angler. He is an outstanding guide, with first class boat, gear and advice, with extensive knowledge and great eyes for polaroiding fish. He has fished with many of the great anglers and fishing authors all around the World.

Sight fishing for three species is what I went to Weipa for. It was not easy and if we didn’t stick to the plan it would not have succeeded. Many hours went by without a fish, and that often happens with the most rewarding fishing. Persistence paid off. Thank you Tony and Allan ‘Fish’ Philliskirk.

If you want a great Weipa fishing experience check out weipaflyfishing.com.au and make sure you like lettuce in your lunch.

Mike Stevens

Tony Stent is focussed and ‘Fish’ has his eyes peeled for sudges, flashes and movement.

Fishing News - Page 28

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Extracted from an article in the Guardian (theguardian.com)

‘Blue bastard’: newly recognised fish is blue when adult and ‘a bastard to catch’

The ‘Red Cliffs’ south of Weipa are part of the Weipa Bauxite Plateau - a series of both large and smaller bauxite and kaolin deposits on the west coast of Cape York. The kaolin clay deposits can be seen clearly below the upper red bauxite layer. Bauxite is used in the production of Aluminium.

There are many species that are fun catching and awesome wildlife to see.

Queensland scientist Jeff Johnson, who identified species from photos, formally christens combative reef fish Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus.

The blue bastard’s 12 dorsal spines make it utterly different from a sweetlips species it had previously been confused with.

The “blue bastard”, an elusive and uniquely combative reef fish from northern Australia, long known only in fishing folklore, has been recognised officially by science.

Queensland Museum scientist Jeff Johnson, who identified the species from photos taken last year by a Weipa fisherman, has formally christened it Plectorhinchus caeruleonothus – a direct Latin translation of the colloquial name anglers bestowed on a fish famously difficult to land.

“Caeruleo is blue and nothus is bastard. That was the origin of the name applied by fishermen for many years and I thought, why should I argue with that?

It seemed like a perfect name for me,” Johnson told Guardian Australia.

“I wondered what the reviewers of the paper would say about it but they both agreed it was quintessentially Australian and we should go ahead.”

He used photos from fly fisherman Ben Bright to show that the blue bastard’s 12 dorsal spines make it utterly different from a sweetlips species it had previously been confused with.

The blue bastard is distinctive in that it changes colour from yellow, dark and light stripes as a juvenile, to a silvery blue in adulthood, when it can grow up to a metre in length.

But it was the adult males’ propensity for “serious combat” through locking jaws and grappling at the water’s surface, in a spectacle dubbed “kissing” by anglers, that really sets the fish apart from related species, Johnson said.

Johnson has no anecdotal evidence on how the fish tastes but ventured it would not be its finest attribute.

“I haven’t tried it myself and most of the fly fishermen practise catch-and-release so I haven’t spoken to anyone that’s eaten one,” he said. “It’s probably only fair edible quality, I’d suspect, going on the closest relative.”

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Fishing News - Page 29

Fishing News - Page 30

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FROM LITTLE THINGS

By Steve ‘Starlo’ Starling.

Soft plastics often out-fish baits on snapper — a fact that relatively few Tasmanian anglers have yet twigged to!

A

s well as being a hit at the time of its release, Paul Kelly’s 1991 protest song “From Little Things Big Things Grow” has gone on to become an iconic Aussie tune, even being picked up by advertisers to sell superannuation funds. But it’s core message has applications in fishing, too. Because little things truly can make a huge difference in our sport.

Little things regularly influence our fishing results.

Things like dropping your leader or tippet diameter by a few fractions of a millimetre, changing you hook or fly size, or varying your boat speed while trolling.

On occasions, these seemingly small shifts can spell the difference between outstanding success and abject failure: between the dreaded donut day and an absolute blinder you’ll be talking about for years to come. And

sometimes, even very subtle variations in the way we work or present a lure or fly once it’s in the water can radically improve our catch rate.

I know there aren’t any golden perch or yellowbelly in Tasmania (or at least, there shouldn’t be!), but please bear with me while I tell you a quick story about these mainland freshwater natives, as it’s applicable to many Tasmanian species as well: I’ll never forget my very first experiences with golden perch in dams during the early 1980s. I was fishing with lure maker Rob Smith, chasing yellas on the edge by casting-and-cranking hard-bodied deep divers. We were doing reasonably well, but Rob was kicking my butt… until I accidentally discovered a subtle retrieve trick that turned it around for me.

Those lures dove deeper and deeper as we pulled them away from the bank until they reached an area directly under the boat. Here they would actually swim past a point where the line was perpendicular before turning and suddenly climbing out of the depths. A lot of our strikes were coming at that moment, when the lure turned back on itself and began to rise. However, on one retrieve — just a few cranks before my lure reached that critical flip-around point — a fly managed to crawl in behind the lens of my sunglasses. I stopped cranking and raised my hand to deal with the sticky little intruder… and the rod There aren’t any yellowbelly in Tasmania, but the lesson they’ve was almost ripped from my grasp by a fired-up golden perch! taught Starlo about subtle variations in lure presentation are

certainly applicable in the Island State’s waters.

From that moment, I began incorporating a deliberate pause into every retrieve, just prior to the lure’s turn-around point, and that’s exactly how, when and where I hooked most of my fish for the rest of that trip.

Interestingly, it has also been yellowbelly that have prompted my latest ponderings on the impact of subtle variations in lure retrieves. I’ve been fishing Lake Windamere in central western NSW for this species since 1989, and the invitational tournament I kicked off there in 1992 is still going strong as it approaches its 30th year. It’s amazing to look back and observe the changes in tackle, tactics, techniques and lures across those three decades.

Today, you’re not seriously in the game at Windamere unless your either grubbing the trees with a curly-tailed soft plastic or chucking a metal blade like an Ecogear ZX or a soft vibe such as a Jackall Mask, a Transam or a Zerek Fish Trap: ideally a black one fitted with small, sticky-sharp assist hooks.

For several years, the go-to method for working these sinking vibration lures consisted of short hops off the bottom, interspersed with brief pauses. I hate to think how many goldens have been brought undone by that exact retrieve. By the way, it’s also a deadly presentation for Tassie bream, silver trevally and even trout!

However, most fish eventually seem to “wise up” to specific lures and popular, predictable presentations.

Just as surely, switched-on anglers are constantly looking for new twists to boost their strike rates.

For the past few seasons savvy golden perch anglers have been adapting and mixing up their presentations of these go-to lures, often producing results on days when everyone else is struggling doing the same old things as they did in the past.

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Fishing News - Page 31

Many of these presentations involve various forms of shake and shuffle that see these sinking lures staying in almost constant contact with the lake bed, rather than “hopping”. I’m sure the end result is very reminiscent of a foraging yabby. Bream anglers familiar with working crab imitations like the Tassie-spawned Cranka Crab will immediately relate, I’m sure.

The take-away message is that today’s “hot” techniques, lures and retrieves won’t necessarily be the best ones next season, next month or even next week.

If your results begin to slip, it really pays to mix it up and try some new twists. Sticking to the same old patterns that worked for you in the past — especially in the face of diminishing returns — really isn’t all that smart. Remember, it was the scientific genius Albert Einstein who famously said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Maybe Albert was also a fisherman!

Okay, so let’s look at a few subtle but important tweaks you can try on some of your key Tasmanian species this summer:

TROUT Trout fishers — whether they soak baits, cast lures and flies or troll their lines behind a boat — tend to be a fairly conservative mob. Many stick to tried-and-true offerings year after year, and present them exactly the same way they always have, which is often the same way their parents did it. That’s fine if it works, but if it doesn’t, why not try something different?

Steady retrieves with lures, stable trolling speeds, the rhythmic strip-strip-strip of a wet fly or the dead drift of a dry or nymph are all great when they’re fooling fish, but if they’re drawing a blank, you may need to mix it up a little. Pauses in lure retrieves, sweeps or whips of the rod tip, throttle adjustments and course directions on the troll and more erratic fly retrieves — including lifting a nymph through the water or “skittering” a dry — can all potentially push a trout’s button on the day.

Underwater camera footage from downrigger bombs of lures trolled close behind the weight typically show many more follows, feints and uncommitted nips or nudges from trout and salmon than full-blooded

Gun Tasmanian fly guide Roger Butler of “Red Tag Trout Tours” knows that a very subtle tweak of a dry fly — just enough to create a tiny flicker of movement — can sometimes be enough to trip up a stunning trout like this one. strikes. It seems these fish are attracted by the steadily swimming lure, but not convinced enough to actually eat it. A sudden but often subtle change in the speed, cadence or running depth of the lure is sometimes the trigger that’s needed to light their fuses. Think about this every time you chase trout!

BREAM Bream are one of the quickest of all fish to “wise-up” to popular techniques. I warmly remember my first sessions on the Derwent, Scamander and several other Tasmanian estuaries early in the 2000s, throwing the then-new Squidgies soft plastics that Bushy and I had designed for big black bream. It was ridiculous… A bit like shooting fish in a barrel! We racked up cricket

Paul Ellis hooks up on a Penstock brown that rose splashily to his skittering, skating dry on a breezy summer’s day.

Fishing News - Page 32

score catches and certainly attracted the interest of many local anglers.

I’ve fished a lot of these same systems again over the subsequent two decades, and I’m here to tell you that it’s no longer anywhere near as easy to catch those same bream! There are still plenty of fish in these waters, but today they’re as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. I guess they’ve seen a few lures since 2002!

Think about showing the bream you chase something different and varying the way you present it… or go back to things you haven’t used since the early days.

Chances are, the fish may have forgotten them, too.

Derwent bream are much harder to trick with lures these days than they were 20 years ago. More cunning is required to fool them today.

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SNAPPER

KINGFISH

With the range of snapper appearing to expand each summer in Tasmania and their numbers also on the increase, there’s a great opportunity for you to try some of the highly effective lure fishing techniques that work so well on the mainland (including a few that have already seen their glory days on the other side of Bass Strait, but haven’t worn out their welcome down south yet).

An 80 to 110 mm soft plastic tail — especially a straight-bodied fluke, stick, flick bait or whip bait — rigged on a jig head that’s only just heavy enough to get it to the bottom and then cast well ahead of a drifting boat is a great way to pin snapper. But again, mix it up. Try using two outfits, each one rigged with a slightly different tail and jig head weight. Cast one as far as you can ahead of the drifting boat, let out some line, engage the reel and drop the outfit in rod holder.

Then cast the other and do the same. Pick the first outfit up, work the lure and recover some line, then swap over and do the same with the second rig. Repeat this process until the lures are straight up and down under the boat, then slowly retrieve them… It works!

So too do metal lures like the various “slow pitch” and “micro” jigs, octo-jigs like the Lucanus, and newer Tiger Baku Baku from Shimano, plus many others. Try them. You might be pleasantly surprised.

These yellow-tailed hoodlums are another good news story in Tasmania these days, with more anglers chasing them each summer. But if ever there was a fish that can switch from firedup and foolhardy to sneaky, suspicious and downright uncooperative in the blink of an eye — and back again just as quickly — it’s the kingfish!

The thing to remember about kingies is that they are inquisitive, competitive and sharp-eyed. They’ll be all over something new, flashy or erratic, but they may still refuse to eat it. Try not to give them too Jo Starling with a chunky kingfish she fooled using a good a look at anything. Keep fast-moving jig on a wild and woolly day at sea. presentations fast, jerky and unpredictable. Use flash, splash and dash. But the I hope this article has given you a few things to biggest tip I can give you for kingfish is this: hook ponder this summer, and a few new tricks to try. I’ll be one and the whole school is likely to fire up, throwing down for a visit in early December, and to attend the caution to the wind. They turn into hungry seagulls National Recreational Fishing Conference in Hobart. chasing their flock mate who has the chip! One way If we run into each other on the water or elsewhere, to cash in on this competitive pack mentality is to try please take a moment to say hi! and keep one hooked fish in the water at all times.

Steve Starling

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Fishing News - Page 33

DAM REWARDING

Simon with a nice dam fish.

Craig Rist

E

ven on the cloudiest of days, a walk along a man-made dam wall can produce surprising results. Although, when you think about it, maybe it’s not so surprising. A dam wall can provide both food and shelter, which

is something that all trout want. It can also have a diverse food supply with terrestrials from the wall above and both aquatic and airborne insects accumulating against the wall on the wind.

The security of the deep water along many of these dam walls gives trout the confidence to swim right up high against the wall in search of food and then drop back down to the depth, often returning on the same beat to do it all again.

Viewing platform

Craig waiting for a fish to come along the wall.

Fishing News - Page 34

An angler with a good pair of polarized sunglasses definitely has the upper hand on these walls. The extra vision you gain from the elevation on the top of a dam wall certainly makes it easy to spot fish.

Even on those impossible sight-fishing days with that painful cloud reflection on the water, the height from the top of the dam brings sight fishing back into the game.

Because trout are often on a beat — especially brown trout, it pays to take your time walking a dam wall in search of fish. I like to stop every now and then to give them a chance to show them selves. Good places to just stop and look are those areas that look like they may have accumulated food in against the wall or when you find caddis

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or mayfly spinners flying close to the wall. Patches of weed beds or submerged timber are also worth spending some time just watching the water for a trout to materialize.

That subtle rise of a trout that delicately sips down an insect or the sight of the water surface moving in a different direction than the wind are things to watch out for. Then there will be those slashing rises that are easy to hear and see, they are the come and get me if you can rises.

The Catching Once I have found a trout happily going about its daily routine, I like to take a few seconds to work out the best approach. I really don’t like casting from the top of the wall when a fish is facing me because it can easily see me against the skyline and spook off. I prefer to get down closer to the water to setup an ambush cast or get in behind a fish and present the leader and fly out to one side where they can sense the fly land, turn, see it and hopefully eat it.

An even better way to sight fish a wall is with two people working together, one to get into position to make the cast and the other staying up high to keep an eye on the fish and calling out its location. This is a fun way to catch fish. When you finally do catch one, it feels like you have both contributed to its capture.

Sight fishing with dry flies is a lot of fun and it’s a great way to catch these dam wall fish. I like to start with a size 10 foam stonefly caddis or size 14 or 12 CDC F-Fly and then change if I needed to match a hatch.

Blind searching with a wet or dry fly is another way to pull a fish from a dam wall. Sometimes they are just not swimming high at the time you find yourself fishing the wall. They may be resting under a rock or sunken timber waiting for that opportunistic feed.

When it is cold and rough a streamer style fly can be worth a go. But I prefer blind searching with a dry fly on those warm days when insects have had the time to warm up and be on the move.

I like foam flies that land with a loud splat. Flies like this will often pull fish up from the depths when nothing else is happening.

Favorite locations I know I am defiantly not the only one who has walked along the top of

the dam wall at Lake Mackenzie on the way in or on the way out of the Chudleigh Lakes and have seen trout cruising this concrete dam wall.

From a morning midge hatches to an afternoon smorgasbord of insects at this dam, it’s always worth a look.

The wall is quite high so a long cast down the steep concrete wall is needed.

Then once you have a fish hooked, you then have to walk the hooked fish to the rocky shore to land it. This makes a capture here very rewarding and a lot of fun. This wall can save the day when I have run out of opportunities on a long walk out west.

My other go to dam walls are at Lake Binney and Tungatinah Lagoon. These two walls provide a great opportunity for a sneaky fish, to break up the drive to or from Hobart. No waders required just a fly rod, reel, a few flies and your favorite polarized sunglasses and you are good to go.

I’ve certainly done this more than once and I can truly say that it has never let me down on a warm sunny day, I have always caught at least one fish walking these dams.

The Lake Binney dam wall has Bradys Lake Road along it and I am sure the cars that drive this section of the road send grass hoppers and other insects flying into the air and into the lake below, where these Lake Binney

An easily polaroided trout from the wall. trout are waiting for a feed. Adult caddis are also common along this wall and trout can be seen taking these with a splashy rise. There is also plenty of fish holding structure along this dam, with submerged trees and weed beds close by giving these trout somewhere to live with a short swim to the wall for a feed.

Ending a trip on the Binney dam wall.

The author with a superb coloured brownie interupted on his ‘beat’.

Simon Hedditch and I had just finished fishing Wayatinah Lagoon with my boat.

We had only caught a couple of fish the previous day so we decided to pack up early to fish Lake Binney on the way home. We launched the boat and spent the morning fishing the lake, adding a couple more fish to our tally. By lunchtime we had pulled the boat out and packed it up for the drive home. I just couldn’t drive past the wall without stopping to showing Simon the sight fishing possibilities at this wall.

We parked off the road on the Western side of the lake and made our way along the wall. There was quite a bit of cloud cover with a light Westerly wind blowing along the wall. The dam wall is a little over a kilometre long and we had already walked half its length without seeing a fish. I’m sure Simon must have been thinking I had rocks in my head but I was quietly confident we would get a shot by the time we reached the end of the wall.

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Then when we were three quarters of the way across, there was our fish, happily cruising the edge in search of the odd caddis that was flying and landing on the water. I stayed high on the wall to keep an eye on the fish while Simon got into position and did his thing with the rod.

This trout didn’t hesitate, rising with confidence to Simon’s small foam fly.

Simon did the rest and was into another lively Binney brown trout.

It was my turn now and we didn’t have to walk far to find another trout eating caddis. This one was feeding hard in a small-localized area. I scrambled down the rock wall to the water’s edge and moved up onto the feeding fish. The cloud reflection at this level made it impossible to see into the water, so I relied on Simon to relay where the fish was and which direction it was swimming after the next rise. The fish took another caddis and was now swimming towards me. I made the cast ahead of the fish and waited. My fly wasn’t sitting there long when a snout chomped down over my fly. I set the hook and was rewarded with resistance we all love to feel when everything comes together. We went on to catch two more before calling it a day. Not a bad way to end a trip that was looking like it was going to be a little light on.

Craig Rist

Fishing News - Page 35

6-8 WEST TAMAR ROAD. LAUNCESTON. TASMANIA 7250 PHONE (03) 6331 6188 FAX (03) 63342681

Fishing News - Page 36

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SUMMER FLIES Commercial fly tyer, Shane Broadby shares his knowledge

Possum Emerger Hook: Tail: Body: Wing:

10-14 Partridge Dry Fly Supreme Brush Tail Possum Tail fibres Brush Tail Possum Brush tail Possum Tail fibres tied loop style Thorax: Brush tail Possum tail fibres Rib: Copper pot scrubber, wire or Uni Stretch Thread: 6/0 Black.

Use the black Possum Tail Fibres, the tail and wing of the possum emerger are tied with fibres from the tail, the body and thorax are tied with dubbing made from the Possum tail fibres. The rib can be copper pot scrubber, different colour wire or Brown or Camel Uni Stretch. When tying the loop wing add a drop of head cement to the wing butts after trimming for strength as the tail fibres can slip. Many Tyers twist the wing into a tight bud but I prefer to leave the wing as a traditional loop wing. Try to avoid making the thorax too bulky, it only needs to slightly thicker than the body. The fly can be ruffed up with a piece of Velcro as well for a scruffy look.

N

ovember, December and January are probably my three favourite months of the Tasmanian Trout season, there is a lot going on during these three months. The Trout are still freely tailing and foraging and dawn and dusk in the first half of the period, the Whitebait runs hit their peak, the mayfly are hatching on river and lake, Chironomids are in the wind lanes, the beetles are falling and by late January the Grasshoppers are along the grassy river banks .

For late spring and early summer tailers I’ve usually switched from the early season standard Stick caddis and 007 to favouring a dry and a lot that time, the fly is a Possum Emerger, one of the most versatile, robust and easy to tie patterns a Tasmanian fly fisher can have in his or her box. The Possum Emerger works well in many situations from Tailing fish, to of course Mayfly feeders for which it was designed and I remember one New Year’s day having great success with a size 14 Possum Emerger,in the bay just across the road from my shack when the fish were cleaning up an Ant fall.

Possum Tail of which the Possum Emerger is almost entirely tied from is never hard to come across in Tasmania, add a rib of various material, a bit of tying thread and you have the makings of a real killer fly, that will last for fish after fish.

One of my very favourite insects begins to hatch sometime in the first half of November in many lowland Hydro storages and rivers, the Caenid Mayfly.

Trout smutting on Caenid featured very heavily in my early fly fishing days. The third trout I landed on the fly was a wonderful three and a half pound Brown taken on an Iron Blue Dun in what was and still is favourite water, Lake Meadowbank, the last Hydro storage of the Derwent System. I still use the Iron Blue Dun today as do friends and family when fishing to Caenid feeders as well as for Chironomid feeders when they are taking the adult fly. We have tied many variations from the standard pattern over the years using different body materials and colours and different shades of Iron Blue and Blue Dun dyed hackle and wing material but really we have settled on a true Iron Blue Dun Hackle and tail and the only other variation we use is the fly tied with a paler Blue Dun Hackle and Tail. I use to tie all my Iron Blues with Grey Duck Quill wings but gave that away as a bad joke and now tie them with a much easier to tie and robust synthetic winging material.

A good general beetle pattern is a must in Tassie all through our summer; the famous Red Tag was

Iron Blue Dun

adopted and refined by Tasmanian fishing icons such as Wigram, Scholes and Jetson and fished as a dry on river and lake to tailing, cruising and rising fish or fished as a searching pattern. The Red Tag is a brilliant fly but the Glister Tag is just as good, I remember my good mate and fly fishing icon Ken Orr telling me he reckons that it’s better than the Red Tag, that’s good enough for me! The Glister Tag works well as a general searching pattern and it excels as a polaroiding fly in the 19 Lagoons, I witnessed a friend of mine land sixteen good Trout in a session at Botsford a few January’s ago, all on a size 12 Glister Tag.

Hook: 12-18 Partridge Dry Fly Supreme Tail: Dyed Iron Blue Dun Hackle Fibres Butt: Red tying thread Body: Adams Grey (or similar) synthetic dubbing Hackle: Dyed Iron Blue Dun Wing: Blue Dun or Grey Poly Yarn or similar.

For a lighter variation use a dyed Blue Dun hackle for the tail and Hackle. Tie the wing material in over the eye of the hook, prop it up with tight turns of thread so it stands up then divide the yarn into equal parts, then figure eight with the thread to form two wings, put 5-6 turns of thread around the base of each wing to define and strengthen the wing.

Glister Tag Hook: Tag: Body:

10-14 Kamasan B405 Fluro Pink Poly Yarn or similar 50/50 mix of Olive Glister and Claret Seals Fur Hackle: Dyed Coachman Brown Saddle Mix the two body materials well and form the body into an oval beetle shape. Another good variation is to use a black hackle.

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Fishing News - Page 37

James Sinnamon helping solve the riddles.

NO BETTER PLACE ON EARTH Shaun Cooper tell his story about an educative day chasing reluctant Western Lakes browns.

I am often asked if I have crossed paths with the young guru known as James Sinnamon in my travels in the western lakes. Somehow I had not, maybe because we both deliberately avoid crowds whilst fishing. But recently I did catch him perusing the aisles in our local fly store and quickly we realised we are on the same page and a trip was planned.

We arrived at the car park on the plateau at the gentlemanly hour of 5am with high anticipation of having the whole place to ourselves. It was a Tuesday, but had been pipped at the post by three other cars.

This was not going to ruin our mood as we knew the forecast was for blue skies and 22 degrees which in October is a real luxury.

After a brisk jaunt up the valley we saw the sight no fly fisher of this area enjoys seeing — tents — three of Fishing News - Page 38

them! Oh, the pain! Still, we weren’t to be deterred as we knew in this weather we could cover ground quickly with fantastic polaroiding conditions and make our way to more secluded waters.

By 12pm we had sighted at least a dozen fish and set what we thought were more than adequate traps but the fish had other ideas. We began to have the thought that many an angler has had before, imagine ‘donutting’ on a day like today. These thoughts were enough to force us to stop, have a lunch break and re-assess our plan.

We had thrown stick caddis and scud at them to no avail by this stage and decided that if we were going to be refused it may as well be on a dry fly. Our standard 9ft leaders were changed to 15ft x 5lb and lighter, in the hope that we could give ourselves a bigger window with a more subtle presentation. Hedging our bets,

James tied on a proven performer — a Black Spinner and I went with a fly I have supreme confidence in — a variant of a WMD hopper, size 14.

This was surely a winning recipe. The next fish was spotted from quite a distance away sitting stationary on the edge of a weed bed in the middle of a bay. In hindsight we should have really known that to be able to see this fish from that distance that it was going to be a sizeable fish. But being buoyed by the hope of our newly hatched plan we quickly made our way down to the lakes edge to set our trap.

We had pretty well lost count by this stage of whose turn it was at this fish after countless failures. James was given the task of showing this fish that we had figured out what he wanted. He made his way round to the northern flank of him to maximise the sun’s assistance.

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Robert Traver on trout fishing.

I think this explains Tasmania’s Western Lakes perfectly.

“I fish because I love to. Because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly. Because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape.

Because in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing what they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion. Because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed, or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility, and endless patience. Because I suspect that men are going this way for the last time and I for one don’t want to waste the trip. Because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters. Because in the woods I can find solitude without loneliness.... And finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important, but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant and not nearly so much fun.”

James and I performed our best impersonation of a statue, tying on a fly in the hope we could get another crack at him before it was too late. But as was the theme of the day, another complication was added in the form of a second fish coming to join the party.

After what seemed like an eternity they both swam slowly off together to my left out into the ripple line of the main lagoon. This did give me one last crack. I presented a size 16 possum emerger between the two fish in hope it would entice a competitive strike from the larger fish and finally, luck went our way!

A take at last, the water erupted and we immediately realised this fish was much larger than we had anticipated. This was a fish the crystal-clear headwaters of our western lakes are renowned for.

After some rock hopping, wet feet and some knocking knees the fish was in the net for a quick couple of pics before he swam off strongly.

Why did it take the Possum Emerger? Was it the longer leader, the smaller fly size or perhaps the mud applied to the tippet to reduce glare? Or perhaps the rippled section of water the fish swam into made the difference.

The light breeze was creating a slight ripple to mask Jame’s movements and his Black Spinner was delivered perfectly with a subtle, but recognisable dimple. The fish turned and made his way over and, REFUSED. The looks exchanged across the lagoon were quite animated until we realised the fish had not been spooked and was in fact swimming directly at James with what seemed like pure arrogance. This left us with the age-old conundrum and to James’ credit he passed the fish off to me as any movement on his side would spook him for sure.

Whilst the fish was parked no more than a metre away from poor old James, I laid the trusty old hopper off to the fish’s left side in hope of drawing him away and back toward the centre of the lagoon, the fish obliged and upon close inspection of the fly he again REFUSED. We were at our wits end and to top it off he sauntered back to the bay in front of us which was no more than 10m wide and began to do laps between us. the stand-off had begun!

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Fishing News - Page 39

One thing I know for sure is; the benefit of two sets of eyes and a cool head from your mate keeping you calm whilst you nervously tie another fly on helps.

After the celebrations had eased and the fish was now too far out of sight to see we continued on with the monkey off our backs. Up over the hill to the next lake we went with a spring in our steps. The next leg of the trip we knew we would have water to ourselves.

James was now on a mission to turn the tide on these fussy fish and the first fish he found was parked facing away from us with a large rock obstructing it’s view, our luck was beginning to change, James laid out a woolly worm and the result was instant, a nice wild Tasmanian brown was again in our net and swiftly released.

After checking the time we realised that we had a big walk ahead of us and began making our way back when another fish was found cruising mid-way in the water column and looking up, with the water beginning to chop up as a result of the afternoon breeze James tied on a foam beetle pattern which was too much for the hungry brown to refuse. Again a healthy brown was brought to hand and after a mandatory hand shake he was set free.

Now I could spill a load of technical jargon such as thermoclines, barometric pressures and an in-depth understanding of entomology which would be rubbish as I have a very limited understanding of any of them.

However, I do believe if something is not working, don’t flog a dead horse. Be a problem solver and back yourself to figure it out. Change tactics, tippet, flies, presentations and anything else you can think of. In time you are bound to turn around a bad day.

In my opinion there is no better place on earth to wander around on a blue-sky day and watch a trout refuse your fly. Success with these fish comes and goes. They can be the toughest fish — and the most rewarding. It can be a long walk between fish, but they are worth it.

Shaun Cooper

James Sinnamon thinks it is worth the walk.

Fishing News - Page 40

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CALAMARI GREAT TO CATCH AWESOME TO EAT Matt Sherriff’s tips on catching and cooking.

Matt Sherriff showing some form.

A

part from having the potential to destroy your favourite fishing attire with a well-directed ink blast, there’s not much to dislike about the humble squid. They’re great fun to catch for all ages, taste absolutely delicious and are one of the best baits going around!

Southern Calamari Squid live for around one year and can reach a tube length of over 50cm although the average size encountered is usually around 30 – 40cm weighing in at roughly 1 – 2kg. Sexual maturity occurs when they are approximately 7 – 8 months of age when the squid are 15 – 20cm in length. Calamari will generally spawn in water depths of 3 – 5 metres during the warmer months of the year.

With the squid season about to fire up again (North Coast closure finishes at midnight on October 31st and East Coast closure finishes at midnight November 14th) it’s time to stock up with some new squid jigs and get amongst the action. This time of year, the squid will be moving into shallower weed beds looking to

spawn and it is a great time to target them as they will aggressively attack jigs as they hang around the areas where they lay their eggs. On clear days you will often be able to see clusters of these eggs in shallow areas amongst the weed and this is a great sign that the squid won’t be too far away!

As far as jigs go, it’s a great idea to have a variety of colours and if you’re fishing with friends all start with different jigs. If you find one person is catching more than everyone else, change to the same colour and reap the rewards! If you’re on your own and things are slow, keep changing your jig periodically until you find one they’re interested in. Next time you’re visiting your local tackle store, ask them about Egi clips. These cool little clips save having tying your jigs on, allowing super quick changes and are small enough not to affect the action of the jig. When it comes to purchasing jigs, buy the best you can afford. All jigs will catch on the good days, but the more expensive jigs have much more attractive actions and sink rates and are made of

better materials. We have had a lot of success with the red head Yoshikawa jigs and also the more expensive Hayabusa models.

A 2 – 4 or 3 – 5kg rod with a medium taper, coupled up with a 2000 – 3000 sized reel and 6 – 15lb line (braid is preferred but not necessary) is ideal for squid fishing.

For many, this will be the same rod that they use for their Bream, Salmon and Trout fishing. For those more dedicated to squid fishing there are specially designed Egi rods available which are designed to impart extra action on the jigs whilst having a parabolic curve designed to absorb the lunges of the squid. Some of these rods are well over $300, but there are now a few available under $100 such as the new Crucis Tempesta which makes them a much more affordable option for those wanting to give them a try.

The method to successfully target squid is to get your lure into the zone as quickly and for as long as possible during your retrieve. Your jig must be worked as close to the bottom as practical while trying to

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Fishing News - Page 41

Darren Smith copping the consequences.

Sam Spinks with a delicious Southern calamari.

Fishing News - Page 42

avoid snagging up. I’ve started using 12lb leader instead of 8lb as if you’re fishing correctly sooner or later you are bound to get your jig caught up in the weed. This heavier leader will give you a much better chance of getting your jig back and I’ve found it has not affected the catch rate.

Once your jig is in the strike zone, give your rod two or three sharp lifts which will make it dart erratically up away from the weed. This action gets the interest of any nearby squid and they will come over for a closer look.

After imparting this action, let your jig sink back slowly to the bottom, keeping slack out of the line to maintain contact with it. Nine times out of ten, this is when the squid will grab the jig and as soon as you feel this, strike home the jags! At times when you can see squid coming up for your jig in clear water, you will see how they respond to this technique and always grab the jig as it sinks back towards them. Keeping in touch with your jig and striking as soon as you feel the hit will also save the cloth on your favourite jigs, as, if the squid get a chance they will pull them in and their beak takes no prisoners!! This is particularly evident if you leave your rod in a rod holder (I

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suggest a hard body jig with no cloth if you intend to do this).

Once you’ve got the squid to the boat (hopefully minus the ink), dispatch it quickly. This is not only humane but will stop it regenerating more ink and making a mess in the boat. There are specialised tools for doing this (Egi spike), but if you grab them between the head and the hood and squeeze hard it will do the job (they lose their colour immediately if successful). There are also tools available from tackle stores for assisting you in cleaning your catch which are great for the shore anglers but the cleanest and easiest way to do it from a boat is by towing them in a scaler bag on the way back to the ramp. Just beware though, as not all bags are designed to clean squid and many catches have been lost to the depths with basic scaler bags. Bags such as the heavy-duty Gaff-Mann and Hawk models have been designed in Australia specifically for this purpose and for those that haven’t seen them, there are instructional videos on YouTube on how to use them. Note: unless you eat the tentacles, put these and the heads into freezer bags for your own bait supply for future fishing trips!

Panko Crumbed Squid Rings Ingredients Squid Rings; 2 x eggs; Flour; Milk; 1 x pkt panko crumbs Method Combine two eggs and a splash of milk in a bowl and hand whisk.

Put some flour into a freezer bag and throw in your rings to dust them.

Dip the squid rings into the egg allowing excess to drip off.

Press the rings into the panko crumbs .

Cook the rings in a deep fryer (can be shallow fried) at 190°C for 45 seconds and then drain.

For a twist, add some chilli flakes to the panko crumbs.

Salt and Pepper Squid

When I get home, I’ll generally pre prepare the catch into portions and cryo-vac them, using them for side dishes with other meals.

There are two ways I’ll cut the squid before bagging them up, the first way is to simply slice the tube open and lay it flat. From here score the tube with a sharp knife on the inner side in a criss-cross pattern and then cut into

triangular shaped portions (this will help them curl up when cooking). The second way is as simple as slicing the hood up into rings which is the more traditional way and doesn’t need too much explaining.

Here are two quick and easy recipes to use with your prepared squid:

Ingredients Scored Squid triangles; Tandaco Salt and Pepper Squid Coating Mix 75g Method Put coating mix into a freezer bag, followed by squid and shake well.

Cook the squid in a deep fryer (can be shallow fried) at 190°C for 45 seconds and then drain.

If you find this mix too strong add a little flour into your freezer bag before shaking up the squid.

You can add a bit of chilli to this recipe as well if desired (yes, I do like chilli).

Matt Sherriff

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Fishing News - Page 43

RECREATIONAL FISHERIES REPORT

Carp Management Program Annual Report

2018-19

T

he hunt for the needle in a haystack continues as the Carp Management Program (CMP) focusses on catching the last carp from Lake Sorell. In spring, water levels and rising temperatures built nicely to provide good conditions to induce carp movement and fishing opportunities.This year all “Judas” radio transmitter implanted carp were removed from the lake prior to the carp season to limit spawning potential.

Fishing was targeted based on the extensive data set and knowledge.

December was the most productive fishing period for the season, with the surrounding months very slow.

There was a window of very hot weather in late January where fourFisheries carp were captured.

Monthly sampling for Performance Assessment recruitment throughout, and post-spawning period Report failed to find any youngTechnical of the year carp.

No spawning was seen which is vital to complete the eradication.

Lagoon – September There was Bronte no requirement to draw water from Lake2018 Sorell for downstream use, with enough reserves in Lake Crescent to satisfy this requirement.This allowed good stimulus for carp movement on rainfall events, and the lake level is now positioned well for the 2019/20 carp fishing season.

A thorough review of data and further scrutiny of effort and techniques was done at the annual carp workshop in May. Despite maintaining a high level of fishing effort there were only 39 carp caught for the year and the average weight was 797 grams.The CMP has removed a total of 41,491 carp from Lake Sorell since 1995, and it is believed that less than 20 fish now remain.

There are now so few carp remaining in the lake that winter fishing effort is not being undertaken.The battle will continue this coming spring.

In summary, the slow fishing and reduced catch rates encountered this season strongly suggests that carp are now close to being eradicated from Lake Sorell.

Despite increasing the amount of netting effort above the last few seasons, only 39 carp were caught. It is now estimated that less than twenty carp remain.This coming season the team is motivated to maintain the high level of fishing pressure, despite the likelihood of even lower catch rates. A range of fishing techniques will continue to be used to ensure all sizes of carp are removed from the lake. In addition, there will also be an equally important emphasis on stopping spawning.

Hopefully by the end of the coming spring most of remaining carp will have been caught.

Turbidity levels in Lake Sorell have been steadily decreasing since 2009, however over the last few years there have been various short term jumps and drops in the total turbidity.This can be attributed to changes in lake level, combined with wind conditions Fishing News - Page 44

Inland Fisher ies Ser vice Inland Fisher ies Ser vice

during the time the water samples were taken. Wind fetch on the lakes can cause a spike of natural silt resuspension in the water column. Despite the increase in total turbidity at times, the associated colloidal component of the turbidity is relatively stable, and is still declining slowly.

Increasing lake levels over the coming spring can result in a decrease in the overall total turbidity.

Lake Crescent No carp were captured in Lake Crescent this year despite continued annual sampling and monitoring, with the last carp caught in 2007. Since the extremely

low water levels in 2008, the average total turbidity of Lake Crescent has improved considerably.This is the direct result of high water levels flushing the lake after large rainfall events.The slight increases in total turbidity from December 2017 to the present is explained in the previous section.

This is a brief excerpt from the Carp Management Program Annual Report. A full copy can be viewed or downloaded from www.ifs.tas.gov.au

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RECREATIONAL SEA FISHERIES NEWS November 2019

Become a Fishcare volunteer Fishcare is looking for new recruits around the state.

Becoming a volunteer is a great way to do your bit for Tasmania’s fisheries and to meet other like-minded people. Volunteers attend fishing and community events around the State.

Fishcare is planning a summer fishing program to teach kids responsible fishing during the holiday period. If you have time during December to February and you’d like to volunteer contact Fishcare now. There are regular statewide volunteer training sessions.

SQUID CLOSURES REMINDER

Rock Lobster News

SEASON OPEN DATES All Waters outside the East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone Open from 2 November 2019.

East Coast Stock Rebuilding Zone: Open from 7 December 2019.

SEASON CLOSED Eastern Region (including ECSRZ) Closes 30 April 2020.

Western Region (Females) Closes 30 April 2020.

Western Region (Males) Closes 31 August 2020.

Transiting Seasonally Closed Areas You cannot possess pots, rings or rock lobster in the ECSRZ including the D’Entrecasteaux Channel and waters between St Helens and Eddystone Point during the closed season for that area.

Biotoxin Closures Fishers should check the status of biotoxin zones before going fishing.

What do volunteers do?

Help keep Tasmania’s fisheries sustainable by: Attending fishing and community events such as boat shows, fishing competitions and AgFest; Teaching sustainable fishing practices; Pass on practical fishing knowledge and information; Maintaining local fishing signs and rulers; and Assisting with the Fishcare Schools Program.

Want to know more? Email us at fishcare@dpipwe. tas.gov.au, ring the Fishcare Coordinator on 03-6165 3039 or go to: www.fishing.tas.gov.au/fishcare

The areas below are closed to the taking and possession of squid and calamari during the dates listed to protect spawning calamari.

North Coast 1 - 31 October 2019 inclusive: All waters from Cape Grim east to Cape Naturaliste.

East Coast 15 October to 14 November 2019 inclusive: All waters south from Lemon Rock (south of Wineglass Bay) to the northern end of Marion Beach (south of Maria Island) and includes Coles Bay, Great Oyster Bay and Mercury Passage.

See maps at: www.fishing.tas.gov.au Need more information?

Get a copy of the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from Service Tasmania Download the Tasmanian Sea Fishing Guide app Go to www.fishing.tas.gov.au; or www.facebook. com/FisheriesTasmania.

Phone: 1300 720 647 or 03 6165 3233 Email: fishing.enquiries@dpipwe.tas.gov.au

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Fishing News - Page 45

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The Redington Path rod has lifetime replacement warranty, so if it gets broken for any reason you pay around $100 and Redington replace your rod with a new one.

The Redington Behemoth reel that is the serious part of this combo is amazing value for money. Check out any review and you will see. Great drag and great value. We have sold hundreds. They are tough.

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Fishing News - Page 47

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