Fishing - Mixed results for anglers as trout season continues

Another settled weekend of weather allowed anglers to get out and about, but reports suggest mixed results. Temperatures have risen this week, and with Spring just around the corner, I'm sure trout fishing will improve. Bait anglers have had the better rub of the green, with some good fish caught using wattle grubs and worms in our lakes and rivers. Lure fishing at Great Lake has been tough going early this season, which could be expected in the cold at this time of year, but ask Anthony Delphin how he's been going bait fishing, and he'll say the fishing's been great. Anthony's landed some cracking Rainbow and Brown Trout using wattle grubs at Great Lake early this season, and I've also seen some good brown and rainbow trout caught from Toom's Lake by anglers doing the same. A mate and I visited Lake Sorell at the weekend, where we had a "doughnut" fishing trip over two days. We did see one angler who landed 3 trout over the two days he was camped there, with the biggest weighing around 2.6 kg. Most other anglers at Sorell reported that it was also quiet, and nobody was at Lake Crescent when we drove in to check out water levels on the way home. King tides and dirty water affected fishing in the Derwent River last week, combined with seal activity. The 1.7 m high tides and slow-flowing low tides meant water clarity couldn't clear, which affected lure fishing, but some anglers were still rewarded with bait.

Craigbourne Lake has produced the goods lately with two $5000 fish caught in successive days over the second weekend of the new season. The second tagged fish for the 2026-27 Tagged Trout Promotion and the first at Craigbourne Lake for the season was landed by angler Mario Dalli on Friday, August 7. Mario caught the $5000 Rainbow Trout trolling in his kayak using an old-school flatfish-style lure and was surprised to see the winning tag in the trout when he got back to shore. Amazingly, Elizabeth Bester also caught another tagged rainbow trout on Saturday, August 8, at Craigbourne while fishing with worms with her husband Noel. Both Noel and Elizabeth have fished the lake for years, and the pair were rapt when the tagged fish was landed, but the two were just as pleased to take home a fish for the pan.

Stephen Lamprey also had a rewarding day recently fishing from his favourite spot on the shore of South Riana Lake. After already landing four quality trout, Stephen was about to call it quits when he hooked another one on a soft plastic. Stephen's day turned into a cracker when he saw that the brown trout had a yellow tag in it when he fought it close. "Things got pretty tense from that point on," Stephen said. "I just wanted to make sure I got the fish safely into the net." Once it was safely in the net, Stephen quickly called his partner to confirm the tag colour and when she told him it was a yellow tag, the reality of his prized catch set in. "I was absolutely over the moon," he said.

It's great to see four tagged trout caught so far early this season, and hopefully this trend continues over the coming weeks and months. At the time of writing this report there are still 41 tagged trout out there to be caught and remember the first tagged trout caught from Great Lake is worth $25.000. Keep an eye on the IFs website/Tagged trout promotion to know where the remaining fish are and how many there are of them.

Over 9 months of work, the Poatina penstock or pipeline that delivers water to Poatina Power Station will be internally recoated. This means the station will be shut down and there will be no water coming out from the tail race and flowing into Brumby's Creek. Recoating work is planned for over two years from July 13 2026 to September 30 2026 (potentially extending to 9 October) and also during April to September 2027. Hydro Tasmania has said they've been relying and monitoring natural Winter inflow into Brumby's Creek but water flow and levels will be lower than normal whilst the work is being completed during scheduled times.

Tip Of The Week- Tods Corner Boat Ramp at Yingina / Great Lake is currently closed and will remain closed until Monday August 24. Contractors are installing a 20-metre extension to the existing concrete boat ramp and anglers are requested to keep clear of the works area and use an alternative boat ramp while the closure remains in place.  

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

Tight Lines until next week.