Fishing - Thousands of trout released into popular angling lake

The Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) is hosting freshwater angling forums in Hobart, Launceston and Devonport in September 2025.
The forums are an opportunity to chat about trout fishing in Tasmania, hear about the work being done by the IFS and have any of your questions answered.
Forums will be recorded and available on the IFS website for anyone who can’t attend in person.
After each forum people can meet and chat with the IFS staff.
Representatives from Anglers Alliance Tasmania will also attend.
 

Forum locations are:

• Hobart – Wednesday 3 September (6:00 pm to 8:30 pm) at Rydges Hobart, 393 Argyle Street, North Hobart.
• Launceston – Wednesday 10 September (6:00 pm to 8:30 pm) at Tailrace Centre, 1 Waterfront Drive, Riverside.
• Devonport – Wednesday 17 September (6:00 pm to 8:30 pm) at Paranaple Convention Centre, 137 Rooke Street, Devonport.
• There is no cost to attend but you'll need to book a spot. To do that, visit the IFS website.

In stocking news, on Tuesday August 12 the Inland Fisheries Service released 4185 Brook Trout into Lake Plimsoll weighing around 0.450 kg.
I've previously mentioned this lake specifically to target Brook Trout.
With this latest release, there's probably not a better time to make the effort to get out there and catch what is a bucket list trout.
Remember the rules and regulations for Lake Plimsoll, which are a bag limit of two fish with a minimum size limit of 300 mm.
Catch and release is also a good option, which will allow these recently stocked fish to grow bigger.
There still should be decent numbers of larger Brook Trout in the lake after the IFS released 365 fish in July 2024 weighing around 2 kg.
Some of these could be bigger now as well.

The Devonport Junior Anglers Club held their first free fishing day of the 2025-26 season on Sunday up at Latrobe.
Overcast weather saw over 60 junior anglers casting in ideal fishing conditions.
Thirteen Rainbow Trout were caught, which included a couple of thumpers weighing up to six kilograms.
The club’s next fishing day is scheduled for Sunday 14th September.
To be eligible to fish, you must be under 18 years of age and it must be on an official fishing day (the designated fishing water is closed to public fishing at all other times).
These days, as are all held by angling clubs for juniors, make for a great family experience with plenty of help and advice available for those that have never trout fished before.
They're well worth getting involved in.

This weekend the New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association is hosting the popular Derwent River Interclub Challenge.
This competition is a highlight of any season, with all Southern Licensed Angling Clubs invited to compete, plus others from Northern Tasmania like Deloraine, Launceston, Longford and Ulverstone.
Competition fishing starts at 6 pm Friday the 22nd of August, finishing on Sunday the 24th with a weigh-in & BBQ from 1 pm - 2 pm at the Rotunda on the New Norfolk Esplanade with a prize presentation afterwards.
The competition’s fishing boundary is from the Lawitta Pump Station through to the Tasman Bridge.
A prefish ban will come into effect from midnight Wednesday August 20 and finishes at competition starting time at 6 pm Friday the 22nd.
A reminder: any competing anglers caught fishing during the prefish ban will be instantly disqualified, as will their club.
Each club needs to designate a captain to lodge team entry of names and numbers by Thursday the 21st at 6 pm, either through the NNLAA Facebook Page or to NNLAA President Laurie Harrison on 0428 626 370. Each captain must also collect entry fees from all competing anglers, whether they catch fish or not, to forward through to Laurie before weighing in any fish.
All fish need to be weighed in at the Rotunda on Sunday.
Entry fees are just $10.00 for Adults and $5.00 for Juniors.
All intending competitors must be financial members of a club that's fishing before competition starting time.
There are heaviest trout awards for Male, Female and Junior, plus sashes & vouchers for winning team members, average and mystery weights.
The club with the heaviest bag of 5 trout will win the prestigious Derwent River Challenge Interclub Shield.
The annual raffle is also a highlight and, combined with competition awards, the prize pool is worth thousands of dollars.
Keep an eye out on the NNLAA Facebook page for any updates pushing towards the weekend.

Also keep an eye out for the results in next week’s report.

Tip Of The Week – Awareness is the ability to tune your senses in to the world around you to always know what’s happening in your immediate vicinity.
 In fishing, awareness is a key to catching fish because it helps you work out where the fish are, what they’re doing and also tell you what techniques to use to catch them in the conditions you're given.

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

Tight Lines until next week.