Fishing - Wind coming to the aid of anglers

Easterly winds influenced fishing last week, and as they'd say back in the day, "when the wind blows from the East, the fish bite the least".

Whether that's fact or fiction, who knows?

But a bit of wind isn't a bad thing.

A no-fish day can turn into a five or more fish in an hour run with a bit of "chop" or ripple on the water.

Fish don't do much other than swim, spawn, sleep and eat - the question I think about is whether it's hard for a fish to sleep without eyelids.

Not having eyelids is hard to fathom when it comes to sleep, but imagine having sunburnt eyes.

That's why a bit of chop and wind, cloud, and fishing at dusk, dawn, or night gets results. 

After last week's report, I thought I'd quickly mention how to identify the three species of flathead we're most likely to catch when we're fishing in Tasmanian waters.

Southern Sand, Southern Blue Spotted, and Tiger or King flathead can be hard to tell apart, especially when young.

The following should help:

Sand Flathead- Solid single dark or black blotch/spot covering the lower portion of the tail, Sand coloured skin with brown spots on the body

Southern Blue Spotted Flathead- 3-4 black blotches/spots or lines also on the lower portion of its tail extending to its tip with a distinctive white coloured surrounding border. Sandy coloured skin with light blue or white spots on the body.

Tiger/King Flathead- Stockier, rounder and broader body with brown /orange skin and orange spots plus orange spots on its tail. Big teeth.

To summarise, the two species most often confused are the Sand and Blue Spotted Flathead.

Gill spikes are another way to identify flathead, but they are dangerous, so we're better off focusing on other methods.

There are also other species we can encounter in Tasmania, like rock flathead and Northern Sand Flathead, and unlike in mainland waters, we don't get Dusky Flathead there.

Dusky Flathead grow the biggest of all the flathead species, with fish up to 80 cm-90 cm+ and even over 1 metre caught from the warmer waters of Australia.

Dusky Flathead are darker-skinned and have an identifiable single black dot in the top section of their tail.

The Inland Fisheries Service released a statement last week regarding Lake Rosebury and the 2025 oil spill.

With frequent testing still ongoing, it's been confirmed that the local trout are safe to eat, with no risk of contamination from oil.

It's also been stated that other fish species, including eels, aren't contaminated and all fish from Lake Rosebery are safe to eat.

Tip Of The Week- The difference between luck and skill is seen through consistency.

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

Tight Lines until next week.