Fishing - Some of the best anglers in the state face off

The New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association hosted the Derwent River Interclub Challenge last weekend on the Derwent River. All Southern Licensed Angling Association Clubs were invited to compete along with a selection of Northern Angling Clubs.

A strong field of ninety-two anglers had entered by start time at 6 pm on Friday, and although Westerly winds didn't let up for most of the weekend, some good trout were landed across all age and gender categories.

Launceston Angling Club avenged their loss from the previous year and won back the Interclub Shield in 2026 in what was a great effort by the Club. Overall, 105 trout were weighed in with a total weight of 72.030 kg and an average weight of .686 kg.

For the winners, Launceston's top five fish weighed a total of 6.984 kg, with Nathan Merriman landing the best for the team: a female sea runner weighing 1.919 kg, cleaned.

Kane Rundle also had a great weekend, landing the next two best fish, which weighed 1.533 kg and 1.523 kg.

Shane Ling also did well with one at 1.013 kg, and junior Ethan Howard rounded out the top 5 weights with a solid sea runner weighing .996 kg. Finishing in second place were the New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association with a heaviest 5 fish total weight of 6.671 kg.

Marty Evans landed the best fish for the NNLAA, weighing 1.566 kg, and good mate Tony Robertson had the next best with one at 1.534 kg.

Junior Nate Hepburn scored a podium finish with a great fish weighing 1.264 kg, with Gerald Russell next on 1.206 kg, with junior gun Jayden Slater rounding out the top 5 with a solid fish weighing 1.101kg.

Finishing in third place was the Bridgewater Anglers Association with a 5-fish total weight of 6.046 kg. Kevin Nettlefold landed four of the top 5 fish for the club, with his best, a cracker brown weighing 2.284kg.

Kevin's other trout weighed 1.013kg, 0.936 kg, and 0.684 kg, while Alistair Duggan had a solid runner weighing 1.128 kg.

Finishing in fourth position were Lake Pedder Anglers Club with a 5-fish total weight of 2.629 kg.

Dylan Loh landed a good fish weighing 1.066 kg, John Freeman one at .897kg and .383kg and Jarrod Birchall also one at .283 kg.

Individual awards were also given out, with the senior male heaviest trout awarded to Bridgewater's Kevin Nettlefold for his 2.284kg brute.

Nathan Merriman was also rewarded for his 1.919 kg fish, and so were runners-up Marty Evans, Tony Robertson and Kane Rundle.

The NNLAA's Kirstie Chalmers won the senior female heaviest trout award with a nice fish weighing .779 kg.

Bridgewater's Jessica Bester was runner-up with a fish weighing 0.532 kg.

The NNLAA's Nate Hepburn won the junior heaviest trout with his sea runner that weighed 1.264 kg.

Runners-up who also received prizes were Jayden Slater - 1.101 kg, Mahalia Robertson - 1.054 kg, Ethan Howard - 0.996 kg, and Lucy Russell - 0.670 kg.

Andrew Slater won the average weight award with his fish weighing .681 kg, closest to the overall average weight of .686 kg.

Congratulations again to Launceston for their comeback win, and to all clubs for making the effort to run.

The NNLAA would again like to thank all of its generous and loyal sponsors for helping the club to provide great prizes for the competition and annual raffle.

In 2027, the Derwent River Challenge will be a huge celebration with the NNLAA hosting the event on the weekend of its 100th Birthday in October. The NNLAA's next competition is the weekend of September 18th-20th, also on the Derwent River.

The Great Lake Tie-In is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2026.

The milestone event will be held on Saturday 10 October 2026, from 10 am to 3 pm at the Great Lake Community Centre at Miena.

The event is also part of Trout Weekend, which will be held from Saturday, October 10 to Sunday, October 11, at Liawenee, and showcases the annual rainbow trout spawning run.

The Great Lake Tie-In will feature a full line-up of fly tyers demonstrating the art of fly tying, with young people especially welcome and encouraged to try their hand at tying a fly, with guidance and assistance provided by experienced volunteers.

The Graham Blight Remembrance Fly Tying Competition will also be held at the official opening at 10 am.

Tip Of The Week- The 20 metre extension to the Tods Corner boat ramp at Great Lake) is now finished and open to the public. Before the work, the boat ramp would disappear underwater when the lake levels were high, and it's now much easier to use.

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

Tight Lines until next week.