Fishing - Mixed results as trout season enters third week

With week one of the new season done and dusted, weekend two saw more settled weather and even more anglers out and about chasing Tasmania's elusive trout.

Calm conditions again offered opportunities but ask any seasoned angler and they'd prefer a little more wind and "chop" on the water which is usually better for catching.

The lack of Winter rain and snow has delayed some trout spawning runs and a lot fish are most likely still spawning which has and will impact catch rates for the short term.

Saying that with the days getting longer and the weather starting to warm up more food will be available soon and trout will be feeding and fattening up.

Reports suggest mixed results during the week but a few standouts were mentioned with Four Springs Lake, South Riana Lake, Curries River Reservoir, Big Waterhouse Lagoon and Talbots Lagoon all fishing well in Northern Tasmania.

Stocking efforts by the IFS has seen catch rates improve at some waters with fish working fresh flooded ground as levels slowly start to rise.

Anglers throwing wet flies, soft plastics, hard bodied lures and floating baits where permitted have been fooling fish that have been patrolling the water’s edge.

These trout are looking for food like worms, frogs, slugs and grubs and they'll continually follow a "beat" or path where the majority of the food is.

In the Highlands Penstock and Little Pine Lagoon have rewarded wet fly anglers with some healthy trout landed so far and lure anglers have done ok at Lake Echo, Great Lake, Bronte Lagoon and Wood's Lake.

River fishing has been a bit hit and miss with the Derwent’s water temperature, clarity and flow effected by recent Hydro water releases.

Predators like seals and cormorants are still working which does mean there are trout around.

Smaller tributaries, rivers, streams and creeks should offer some rewards but expect to work for it and try and practice catch and release to aid in these area's recovery.

Last Saturday Bryan Paynter took his young son Memphys fishing up the Tyenna River to try and catch his first fish.

Little did Bryan know that his son was about to catch the fish of a lifetime, a 9.2 kg-20.2 lb -78.5 cm female brown trout.

Bryan said Memphys caught the big fish on a soft plastic and when he went to weigh the fish it broke his 14lb scale but it was weighed at home where it pushed the scales down over the magical 20lb mark.

Seasoned anglers will do well to catch a fish like this in 5 lifetimes let alone someone catching one for their first fish.

Big trout like this are rare, but out there and knowing the Tyenna River well sometimes these fish find it hard to navigate the river, namely through weirs which is where other big trout have been caught in the past.

On another topic and food for fishing thought, the IFS stocks a lot of lakes and lagoons with trout prior to each season and I and other anglers wonder if it's time to think about stocking some of our larger rivers.

In the past I've been sceptical on this because I thought it wasn't needed and a few years ago 400 trout were tagged and released into the Derwent as research fish after it was put forward to the IFS.

Not a lot were caught but with the increasing extremes of climate change leading to less rain and snow fall through Winter then add an increase in demand for irrigation through Spring and Summer plus the predatory pressure from cormorants and more recently seals maybe it's time to think about stocking bigger rivers to help sustain and boost wild trout stock.

Understandably a lot of trout are released into "put and take lakes and lagoons" for anglers to go and catch a few for a feed which also helps these areas that don't offer good spawning opportunities.

Naturally when conditions suit, our rivers offer great spawning grounds for trout and the thought is that our populations will recover as time goes on and history backs that up but not in our history have we seen the pressure we are now in relation to climate change.

I also wonder how stocking some prime breeding wild rainbow trout into our main rivers would go and although these fish like the cold, climate change might mean they could do it tough but wouldn't it be great if populations of rainbow trout in our rivers could also increase with annual stocking efforts if availability allows it.

In other countries with established populations of rainbow trout, just like brown trout, some migrate out to sea and form populations of sea trout and "Steelhead" or sea run rainbow trout are largely targeted by anglers worldwide.

Some would rather see this happen rather than putting huge amounts of sterile triploid rainbow trout in our lakers.

Anglers would rather see a limit in the number of triploids released and what are released tag some to use as research fish to assess statistics like growth rates.

I am not having a dig as I know the Inland Fisheries Service does a good job whilst being under-resourced, funded and limited in what is a changing and challenged world and they do need more government support and not just cash incentives to try and get anglers out and about to catch fish.

Tip Of The Week - The Great Lake "Tie In" is on Saturday October 11 at the Great Lake Community Centre, 55-57 Cider Gum Road in Miena from 10 am - 3 pm.

For more information inquire at this address: greatlaketiein@gmail.com.

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

Tight Lines until next week.