Go Behind the Scenery
Tasmania
Up and coming fishery HOBART
Andrew Large
June sees Tasmania slip into a little bit of winter dormancy, with warmer water species having moved away over the last month or so. That being said, many summer species such as tailor, bream swordfish, SBT
side of the Huon River, an Inland Fishing Licence will be required. The vast array of tuna we had only a few weeks back has dispersed, and where they had been in full swing over summer the action has slowed for variety and choice. The following areas continue to fish well for SBT: Storm Bay, Eagle Hawk Neck,
The author’s father with a school sized (approx. 18kg) SBT off Bruny Island in Storm Bay close to the Hobart CBD. remain while others such as seatrout, greenback flounder and garfish become more prominent. Let’s take a look at what’s happening in the salt around the state. Large bait schools and estuary shrimp are livening up bream action for the moment. These fish continue to be caught above the Bridgewater in the Derwent estuary (anglers will require an Inland Fishing Licence to fish above the Bridgewater Bridge). Further downstream, the action is really heating up with bream taking lures, bait and fly around the rocky edges of Lindisfarne, Cornelian and Prince of Wales Bays. The Huon River has also been producing good fish around Castle Forbes Bay. Please remember this too is the cut-off for salt and inland waters. If you plan to fish any further upstream of the southern end to this bay, on either 74
JUNE 2022
and Cape Raoul and the wider Tasman Peninsula in and around Fortescue Bay, Hippolyte Rocks and Tasman Island. Some good albacore are still being caught in places although there is no rhyme or reason to these fish at the moment, with larger specimens seeming to resist cooling waters. Larger Australian salmon have been widely reported, particularly along the east coast surf beaches, with smaller fish scattered throughout the Derwent estuary, South Arm and Cremorne areas. In recent weeks, good numbers of smaller snapper and a few good models from 50-60cm have been caught on the reefs and rocks off Betsy Island. At this time of year the snapper will start to move to deeper water, so the opportunity of catching in other areas may improve. Southern calamari have been building throughout
autumn and will continue to do so into the foreseeable weeks of early winter as they spawn around our coastlines. The East Coast has really started to produce fantasticsized squid recently, and the bays around Southern Maria have been the standout. Storm Bay close to Hobart and Northern Bruny Island have provided good catches. Slimy mackerel have all but disappeared with the retreating EAC, but jack and yellowtail mackerel continue to be caught under lights around coastal jetties across the state. Although the season showed glimpses of promise a few weeks back, with a few fish being caught in quick succession, swordfish have also slowed, but only in recent weeks. Many anglers have been really trying their luck on the swords, with some fish landed and missed. This year has been one of the best seasons yet. Freshwater anglers are hanging up their rods for the year and taking solace in the slower pace as our season winds down. The month of May realistically saw 90% of Tasmanian trout waters close for the season, leaving only a handful, including our rainbow waters (closing end of May) open until 31 July. Sea-run trout anglers wishing to fish the two major southern waters (the Derwent and Huon rivers) can do so right to the townships of New Norfolk and Huonville respectively.
Two Halco Laser Pro 190 XDDs or Crazy Deeps in custom R19 (Spot On psychedelic pink head) and H80 (dorado) are working well on Storm Bay SBT recently. This option has only been in place for the last few seasons. As with all 12-month open waters, a current Inland Fishing Licence is required. The Bradys Chain, which includes such waters as Bronte, Bradys, Binney and Tungatinah, fished well right up to close. The fishing really came alive over the last week, with healthy rainbow and brown trout being taken by anglers both trolling and drift spinning these waters. Bait fishers got good results on the humble garden worm and wattle grubs. As some trout action winds down, other action ramps up – in particular, the southern rivers with the Derwent and Huon rivers seeing the start of the sea run-trout activity
that realistically won’t stop until mid-November. Trout aren’t chasing bait at the moment, but instead 20% of the population is preoccupied with running upstream to spawn, giving anglers plenty of opportunity to chase these fish from the many tidal rocky points lining these rivers. The other 80% of seatrout are quite happily still searching for bait and waiting for the August and September runs of whitebait. Open for 12 months of the year (1 Aug – 31 July), Lake Pedder has been turning on the weather lately. This is due mainly to the easterly weather patterns we have been experiencing in recent times, pushing back the predominantly wet West
Coast weather this lake is famous for. Great Lake, also a ‘12-month open water’, has been a tad chilly, with reports already of -11°C nights and ice pushing up onto the shorelines of a morning. Surprisingly, it has been producing good brown and rainbow trout to 2kg. Brown trout are nearing spawning but rainbow trout are 6-8 weeks away and in prime condition. Tasmania can be notoriously cold during winter, but milder days at sea and at altitude in the highlands can still be found. Keen anglers who make the most of milder winter conditions will enjoy some quality fishing over the next few months. Good luck, and rug up!
FISHING NEWS
Tackling plastic pollution A number of inventors around the world are trilling different ways of addressing the problem of plastic waste in our oceans. One of the novel approaches being trialled to extract plastic pollution from rivers and harbours, before it can reach the ocean, is the Bubble Barrier. This device generates a wall of bubbles that pushes plastic
waste to one side and towards the surface where it can then be collected. Fish can move easily through the bubbles, so this method does not impact on fish passage. Another approach is the Trash Wheel, a conveyor-belt system powered by currents and solar energy. It uses long booms with submerged skirts to funnel waste into a central hub where autonomous rakes
scoop the collected waste onto a conveyor belt that deposits it all on a barge. Another more high-tech invention is the WasteShark, an electronically controlled boat-drone that preys on plastic – up to 350kg at a time. The WasteShark moves around the waterway, and then back to its docking station autonomously, where it can deposit the collected plastic and
recharge its battery. Of course, it could be argued that the best solution to plastic pollution is to drastically reduce plastic production and consumption around the world. Unfortunately, that doesn’t look like happening any time soon. In the meantime, scooping up our aquatic rubbish seems to be a worthwhile endeavour. - FMG
