Fishing - Best of the trout season yet to come

Horrible weather again limited fishing last week, but we can't complain with more rain and snow boosting water levels in our catchments.

It's not over yet either with more forecast over the next fortnight which will continue to see catchments rise and spill.

Lookout when the weather finally does settle because trout anglers should be in for some of the best fishing of the season.

Some interesting news surfaced last week in regard to an angler fishing in the Arthur River on the North West coast of Tasmania who got a surprise when they landed an estuary perch which had two tags in it.

After reporting the catch to the Inland Fisheries Service it was noticed that the Estuary Perch was first tagged way back in January 2015 as part of a University of Tasmania/Australian Maritime College Honours Project by Bryan Van Wyk.

Back then the fish measured 303 mm and at the time it was estimated to be around 12–14 years old.

The Perch was recaught earlier in September and it measured 332 mm which in turn proves how slow this species can grow by averaging just 2.7 mm growth a year over 10 years.

This catch sets a new record for the longest time a tagged estuary perch has been lurking around in the Arthur River, equating to 3,902 days or 10 years, 8 months and 6 days.

The Perch is now estimated to be 22–24 years old which highlights the species’ longevity and the catch supports evidence that the local population in the Arthur River is small due to high tag recapture rates.

Ongoing monitoring of estuary perch populations is currently being done, as is the development of a species recovery plan.

Remember to report any tagged estuary perch if caught as bycatch while fishing for other species and take note of the tag number before release and report it to 1300 INFISH or email infish@ifs.tas.gov.au.

The New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association held their 3rd competition of the 2025-26 season last weekend on the Derwent River.

Atrocious weather conditions and extra flow from hydro catchment releases made fishing a challenge but there were still some great trout landed by dedicated anglers.

A total of 23 trout were weighed in with a total weight of 22.113 kg and an average weight of .762 kg.

The heaviest trout caught by a senior member was landed by Grant Woolley, a superb searunner weighing 2.780 kg.

Grant also landed another ripper weighing 2 kg and both fish were caught on a soft plastic below Bridgewater out of the fast flow higher up in the system.

Adam WIlliams caught another solid fish which weighed 1.646 kg cleaned using a soft plastic.

Wayne Parker had another at 1.296 kg cleaned which he caught trolling near the cliffs at New Norfolk.

I had one at .959 kg and Gerald Russell another at .924 kg.

The heaviest trout caught by a Junior went to young gun Jayden Slater with a solid searunner weighing .806 kg and Lucy Russell wasn't far behind with one at .768 kg.

Mystery Weight awards were given to Adam Williams and Wayne Parker for their good catches and Lucy Russell won the average weight with her fish which weighed closest to the average weight of .762 kg.

Considering the conditions over the weekend the results proved there are good fish around.

Taswater have released news of some angler access site closures at Pet Reservoir which came into effect on Monday 22nd September.

Work is being done to construct a new spillway at the Northern end of the reservoir and access for anglers will not be allowed here from the road that crosses the train lines around to the Eastern end of the dam wall.

This closure will be in place until the project is set to finish in late 2027.

Also Eastern access off Circular Road will be closed to anglers between Monday 22 and Friday 26 September because heavy machinery will be working at the site through the week.

Access to this area of the dam will return to normal from 5:00 pm on Friday 26 September.

Tip Of The Week - Fishing and casting into the wind is tough work.

Always look to use the wind to your advantage and cast with it or across it to reduce resistance and improve your distance and accuracy.

Casting using a side or underarm action and also keeping your rod tip low when retrieving also helps keep your line and lure out of any gusty wind.

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

Tight Lines until next week.