Starlo: Spinning for trout

NSW STH COAST Steve Starling

www.fishotopia.com Springtime is prime trout time across a sizeable slice of the southern part of our nation, and casting lures is a great way to target these fish in both flowing streams and still waters. of NSW, Victoria, SA and WA, as well as throughout Tasmania. They live in both flowing streams and various dams or natural lakes, although they tend to struggle if the water temperature rises above 24-25°C for more than a couple of days in a row, and are much happier in cooler, well-oxygenated waters.

There are a few different You can also fly fish for them with a huge range of cunning little fur and feather creations. But probably the most popular method is to either cast and retrieve or troll a range of lures on relatively light tackle.

Casting or ‘spinning’ for trout is very popular, especially in creeks and rivers, but you can also do it in dams and lakes, either from a boat, a kayak, or off the shore.

The same sort of gear you’d use to fish for bream, whiting or flathead in the salt is perfect for trout fishing; ideally a 1000-3000 size spinning reel, spooled scare these flighty, nervous and sharp-eyed fish. Trout will spend the bulk of their time facing upstream into the current, so they’re best bringing your lure back slightly faster than the flow to give it a seductive action.

Once hooked, trout are energetic fighters that centres. We’d arguably be poorer without them, in very many ways.

If you’d like to learn more about spinning for trout and take a deep dive into the finer details of tackle selection, rigging, presentation strategies and reading the water to find these sometimes challenging targets, scan the QR code with this column to go to my video masterclass on the subject, or simply go to my Starlo’s Fishotopia page on Facebook and you’ll also find direct links to the new Trout Spinning Masterclass.

Trout have become a rich and colourful part of Australia’s freshwater fishing tradition and folklore across the century and a half that has passed since their arrival on our shores. If you’ve only ever daydreamed about chasing a few, why not make this the year you finally give it a go? Our past couple of mild, wet summers have suited these fish rather nicely, and there are plenty out there just waiting for your lure!

A considerably younger Starlo with a lovely brown trout taken on a Squidgy soft plastic while spinning in a Tasmanian lake.

If you live anywhere near waters that hold trout, or you’re willing to travel to reach them, it’s definitely time right now to start thinking seriously about chasing these speckled ways to target trout. You can bait fish for them (where it’s allowed) using offerings such as garden worms, grubs, mudeyes (dragonfly larvae), little yabbies or even artificial putty-style baits.

There’s just something about chasing a few trout in the Aussie bush and then cooking one up on the campfire! The floating F5 Rapala Original in the RT (rainbow trout) pattern has been Starlo’s favourite trout lure for almost 40 years!

American rainbows (top) and European browns (bottom) dominate Australian trout waters.

with fine 2-4kg line (mono or braid) and matched to a sensitive, lightweight 6-8ft (1.8-2.5m) rod with a reasonably fine, whippy tip that will help flick out those light lures.

So many different lures will catch trout, but some of the time-proven favourites include little inline spinners, spoons, small jigs, soft plastics, plus various minnows and plugs. The best offerings tend to measure between about 4-7cm in length and weigh anywhere from a gram or two up to about 7g.

When spinning in smaller streams, it pays to dress in drab colours that match the bank-side vegetation and to move slowly so as not to approached from behind, by walking or wading slowly upstream and casting ahead of your position — up and across the current — before frequently jump well clear of the water and throw the lure back at you, but enough should stick to provide heaps of fun, and a lovely meal

Got ‘im on! The author hooks up on light spin gear along the lower Eucumbene River ‘back in the day’. Not much has changed, apart from your columnist’s hairline and the colour of his beard!

immigrants! The new season opened in Tasmania in early August, throughout Victoria at the beginning of September, and opens in NSW on the October long weekend. In WA you can chase them all year!

Trout were first introduced to Australia way back in 1864 and they’ve done quite well in some of our cooler waters. Brown trout, rainbow trout and even a few brook char and tiger and leopard hybrids are now found across parts of the Australian mainland states Four beautiful river rainbows destined for the fish smoker. or two, either fresh-cooked or smoked.

These days, some people question the continued stocking of an introduced or ‘exotic’ fish like trout into our waterways, but the fact remains that in many of the colder, higher altitude areas where trout do best, there are no longer viable populations of catch-able native fish. In some, there may never have been. In these locations trout provide excellent sport and a valuable addition to both the social and economic wellbeing of many regional

Scan this QR code to gain access to Starlo’s detailed video Masterclass on the nitty gritties of spinning for trout.