Fishing - Big week for all anglers young and old

The New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association hosted the AAT Statewide Junior Angling Day, or "Gone Fishing Day", last Sunday at its junior pond at Bushy Park.

It's always a big event, along with others held at Cressy and Taylors Dam in the North. The weather forecast wasn't too kind with strong winds threatening, but that didn't stop the kids lining the waters edge with rods in hand and keen to cast till their arms fell off.

Not that many fish were caught, but young Billy Harris scored the best with a 5.8 kg female Rainbow Trout - one of two big fish released by the IFS before the event. Zephaniah Johns caught the first fish and youngster Evie Bester was also rewarded for catching the first fish for the females.

Events like this are priceless, and the NNLAA is proud to play host with the support of the Anglers Alliance of Tasmania and the Inland Fisheries Service.

The NNLAA is running their 4th competition of the 2025-26 season this weekend on the Derwent River.

Fishing starts on Friday at 6 pm, finishing with a weigh-in at the Rotunda on the New Norfolk Esplanade from 4 pm to 4.30 pm on Sunday.

Fishing Boundaries are from the Lawitta Pump Station through to the Tasman Bridge.

To compete, you must be a paid financial member of the club before the competition starts.

The Great Lake Tie-In was welcomed back on Saturday, October 11, which was great to see, with the highlight of the day being a Tasmanian Angling Hall of Fame presentation.

Jan Spencer has a long association with trout fishing, specifically fly fishing in waters around the Central Highlands of Tasmania.

Jan was the first woman to represent Australia on a national fly-fishing team and was a founding member of the Van Diemen Fly Fishers Club.

As a member of Fly Fish Australia (FFA), she served on the board for years.

In addition to being the first woman to represent Australia in 1988, Jan was the team fly-tyer in 1999 when the World Fly Fishing Championship was held in Australia - making a valuable contribution to the Australian team's first win in this event.

Jan is a life member of the Northern Tasmanian Fishing Association and the Longford Fishing Club.

She is widely recognised for her work across the State as a guest speaker and for demonstrating and teaching the art of fly-tying.

Jan taught fly-tying at Adult Education Tasmania for many years and produced a fly-tying article for the Boating and Fishing News for around 16 years.

Jan Spencer becomes the 36th inductee into the hall of fame and only the second female inductee to receive this prestigious honour, following the induction of North-West female angler Sheryl Thompson back in 2023.

“We are delighted to induct Jan Spencer into the Tasmanian Angling Hall of Fame,” Anglers Alliance Tasmania chairperson Howard Jones said.

“Jan’s pioneering role in developing our Tasmanian fly fishing and fly-tying communities, and her contribution to angler education - along with her national and international successes - make her a worthy recipient of this honour.”

Mr Howard and Dr Ryan Wilkinson, the director of Inland Fisheries, presented the award to Jan at the Great Lake Tie-In last Saturday.

The Inland Fisheries Service have been busy during the last week or so releasing young trout at several waters in the North.

The fish supplement of fresh spawning stock with thousands of trout weighing around 1 gram and sourced from the Salmon Ponds, was released into specific rivers that have done it tough over the previous few seasons.

The Leven River and Great Forester River took 60,000 trout, and the Meander and Gawler rivers both took 20,000 fish each. 

These releases will boost and safeguard trout populations in areas that have suffered from predation and climate pressures, which in turn have affected the natural reproductive cycle.

Tip Of The Week - Buy neoprene fishing reel covers and use them to protect your expensive reels from dust or any damage when travelling.

Send in your fishing reports, pics and tips to valleyfishes@gmail.com.