$5K payday for fisherman visiting daughter from Scotland

Allan Kelly, who doesn’t mind a spot of trout fishing, was visiting his daughter in the Derwent Valley from Scotland through October.

They say fortune favours the brave and Allan, like most of us, had to wait it out whilst the weather settled for an opportunity to go fishing.

Cabin fever set in and his daughter suggested he go fishing to shake off the boredom, going to the nearest Service Tasmania outlet to buy a seven-day licence to cover the rest of his visit.

Fishing with a soft plastic lure and a good eye for trout-holding snags, he headed out on the Derwent River between Bridgewater and New Norfolk.

His first cast downstream didn't get any interest, but his second landed hard against a snag and whack.

A feisty trout smashed the lure, and after a solid fight, Allan landed the fish and put it in his fishing bag for a feed at a later time.

It wasn’t until he got home and went to clean the fish that he noticed a yellow tag.

Unaware of the IFS tagged trout promotion, it was only when he mentioned the catch to his neighbour - a keen trout angler himself - that he learnt about the two $5000 tagged trout released into the Derwent at the start of the 2025-26 season.

Allan then wandered into the local IFS office and said “I caught this trout with a tag in it. My neighbour reckons I should check with you guys to see if it’s any good”.

The tagged brown trout was worth $5000, measured 420 mm and weighed over 1kg.

After having his photo taken Allan quickly sent the picture to his brother in WA to consolidate bragging rights over who was the better angler.

There’s still another $5000 tagged trout swimming somewhere in the Derwent River, along with another 27 prize-tagged trout in waters across the state - including the yet-to-be-caught $25,000 brown trout from Yingina / Great Lake.