Land Based Australian Salmon — Craig Rist

Australian salmon the two handed way on the North West coast.

LAND BASED SALMON

Craig Rist

Australian salmon are the perfect cold-water species to target on any light tackle. In Tasmania the average fish weighs between 1 and 2 kg, with a very real chance of finding a larger fish that will give the 3 kg mark a nudge. These fish fight hard and will often use a gill-rattling jump in an attempt to throw the hook, giving us the angler, an exciting aerial display.

They can be caught using bait, soft plastic, Lures and flies which are all viable options for the shore based angler. They are available all year, with the Winter and Spring runs in particular, providing a great excuse to wet a line during this slightly slower recreational fishing period in Tasmania. Salmon feeding on Krill close to the shoreline within casting range is not that common, so it’s the often unpredictable movement of baitfish into our estuaries, rocky coastlines and along our beaches that will bring Australian salmon within casting distance of a shore based angler.

Because Australian salmon are such a sort after light tackle sports fish, social media and our local papers soon spreads the word of their captures around our State. With that said, someone has to be the first to find them and this is usually those anglers who are willing to have a few fishless trips to find them. The reward of being the first is that you will have them all to yourself for at least a few weeks, before the word spreads to us all.

Rock Platforms

There are many suitable rock platforms all around Tasmania to catch Australian salmon. Here are just a few I have fished in the northern half of the State that have produced Australian salmon. There are obviously many more that are worth exploring and a quick look at Google Maps will open up all sorts of possibilities for an exploratory trip.

The rock platforms near Marrawah on the West coast always get a mention because of the larger size of the Western Australian salmon that inhabit these waters. The most famous being the rock platforms near, Sinking Rock. However not all rock in this area provide the same sort of elevation from the big swells that can roll in from the West.

Rocks that are too close to the water are usually unfishable in some swells or have too much kelp

beyond the rocks to retrieve lures or flies without getting snagged. The few rock platforms that are suitable for fishing the Sinking Rock area are very sort after when Salmon are hunting baitfish along this shoreline, so it pays to make an early start to find a spot.

Alternatively the rocks straight off Periwinkle Beach Road car park are another good option if you don’t want to walk the 3.4 Km round trip to Sinking Rock. The only limitation here is the size of the swell rolling in, which can often break over this rock.

South of the town of Marrawah you have the rocks at the mouth of the Arthur River. On the North Coast you have Doctors Rocks, the rock bars at the mouth of the Leven and Mersey Rivers. The rocky headland between Badgers Beach and Greens Beach, the rock wall and headland at Low Head.

On the East Coast you have Georges Bay rock wall and Humbug Point at the Bar way.

Because much of my rock fishing has been done in the northern half of the State, I will leave the southern half of the State to the locals in the area who have much more experience than I, to share a story or two with us all.

Rock Fishing Safety

When rock platforms are facing the open sea, you really need to keep one eye on the approaching set of waves rolling in at all times. Even when it looks to be relatively calm, without warning a larger wave can often roll in and threaten to take you off your feet. These waves or swells can sneak up on you, especially on an incoming tide when the rising sea level brings the same swell or wave height up much closer to your once high and dry location. Good footwear that have soles that will grip wet rocks are essential. Wading boots are perfect for this because they are purposely made for wet rocks.

No fish is worth your life so if conditions are a bit unpredictable and there is a chance I may slip off the rocks while fishing, I will wear an inflatable life jacket or simply find a safer rock platform to fish from.

Estuaries and River Mouths

Estuaries are full of life providing food for many juvenile fish species to grow including small Australian salmon. They are the gateway to the rivers for the spawning run of whitebait in August and September and they also see schools of anchovies and pilchards enter these systems at times. This influx of baitfish attracts schools of Australian salmon into these estuaries and river mouths. They will come into these estuaries on an incoming tide to feed and then return to the sea on the out going tide. The exceptions to this are those large deep estuaries like Georges Bay that support a huge population of baitfish that keep schools of Salmon within the bay regardless of the movement of the tide.

Land based options vary from rock platforms as mentioned to pebbly and sandy beaches that have access to the main channel, where the schools of salmon naturally use to enter a river mouth or estuary.

Targeting a schooling fish such as Australian salmon from a land-based location can be a tough game at times because if they are not swimming past your chosen location, they are simply not their to be caught. The good news is these same locations can often see by catches such as Wrasse, Couta, Pike, Taylor, Trevally and even Flathead, that can save us from having a fishless day when the Salmon are simply not there to be caught. A bit of variety and fun with fly and lure.

Lure and Soft Plastics

Australian salmon often hunt in schools, so there is always competition between them to eat that single baitfish that has left the safety of the bait ball or is showing signs of weakness. Because of this, Lures, flies and soft plastics that represent a similar baitfish profile are going to get eating.

Many lures will get the job done from silver metal slices, slugs and wobblers, white-feathered jigs, and hard bodies in 2 to 4 inch in length.

Adding a smaller fly dropper 60 cm above a larger, heavier lure is always an advantage because it allows you to fish a smaller baitfish profile that may better represent that actual size of the baitfish Salmon are feeding on, without compromising the distance you can cast a lure.

For soft plastics you can’t go wrong with a white 3 to 4 inch soft plastics with a baitfish profile. Jig heads need to have a strong hook like the Nitro Saltwater Pro, to handle the larger Salmon. I like the 5/8 oz heads and a 4-inch plastic to get some distance and cover more water.

For rock platforms, rods need to match the weight of the lure you want to fish and be strong enough to have at least some control over the fish to lead it over kelp and rocks, into a safe place to land it. A 6 to 10 kg rod in the 7 to 10 foot range would do the job nicely.

For beaches, river mouths and estuaries you can afford to go with a much lighter outfit that best suits the lure, soft plastic s or bait you want to cast. With so many rod and reel combos on the market that are suitable for this style of fishing, it really comes down to an individual’s personal preference.

For leaders, I like to use 20 pound fluorocarbon to give me that abrasive resistance against rocks, when landing fish and for those toothy critters like Pike and Couta that can often show up.

Saltwater Fly Fishing

This is by far, my favorite way to catch these fish and for anyone wanting to have a go at salt-water fly fishing in Tasmania, Australian salmon are the perfect introduction. River mouths and estuaries are a great places to get your 5 or 6wt trout outfit salty, when Australian salmon are being caught by conventional methods. Any fly reel with a half decent drag and 70 meters of backing is going to be fine for these fish.

Fly Lines

Floating lines will catch fish to start off with, but if this is something you want to do more of, you will soon be looking for cold water sinking line to cover and catch more fish. A clear intermediate line is a good start in estuaries and river mouths and will do a great job most of the time. Where as a fast sinking line will get the fly down to fish feeding or swimming deeper than 2 meters much faster, giving you more casts and retrieves to cover more fish when they are flooding past you. Which ultimately gives you more chances to catch fish.

Leaders

For estuaries and river mouths a 9 foot tapered leader with a 12 to 16 pound fluorocarbon tippet is all that is needed.

For rock platforms I use the same leader but with a 20 pound fluorocarbon leader for more abrasive resistance against the rocks and to save a few flies from those fish with teeth.

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Wet flies are usually weighted and are often 2 to 3 inches in length so because of their weight and length a single-handed rod in the 6 to 9 weight class will make multiple casts much easier. Personally I like to use an 8 or 9 weight rod that has the fly line weight and power to carry larger flies into the wind on long casts.

Double Handed Fly Rods

These rods are growing in popularity in both fresh and salt water.

I really like to use these double handers for overhead casting from rock platforms and beaches, simply because they are effortless to throw a very long line with as little as one or two false casts. These rods are longer and carry a heavier line, but because you are using two hands with a very simple casting action close to your body, they transmit tremendous power with very little effort.

When you start to talk about line weights for double handers, a line for an 8wt double hander in a Spey/Switch rod is not the same weight as a single handed 8 wt fly rod. A line for a 8wt Spey/Switch rod is much heaver and is more like an 11 weight line used on a single hander. For example, the fast sinking overhead casting line I use on my 12’8’’ Scott T3H Two Hander is the Airflo Big Game 500 grain, which would be far too heavy for an 8wt singlehanded rod but casts fine on my 11 wt single hander.

AUSSIE FLW TOUR ANGLER CARL JOCUMSEN CHOOSES TO USE MOLIX LURES.

Using a double hander has really improved my catch rate and the enjoyment when fly-fishing from the rocks or beaches. For anyone who finds it difficult casting a single hander due to an arm or shoulder complaint. A double hander that allows an effortless casting stroke may just put you back in the game.

Fly Retrieves

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I usually use two types of retrieves, one is a series of fast erratic strips to represent an injured baitfish consisting of one 40cm strip followed by a half second pause then two consecutive 40 cm strips followed by a 1 second pause.

The other retrieve that really works well is the constant retrieve using two hands with the rod tucked under one arm.

When I feel a fish eat the fly using this double hand retrieve I simply speed up the retrieve keeping the rod under my arm until the fish is firmly hooked and is pulling line from my hands. Lifting the rod too soon before the fish is properly hooked is a sure way or dropping a fish using these larger salt water fly hooks.

Hook points can and do get rolled when they make contact with rocks so I always carry a hook sharpener and check my fly regularly to make sure the hook has every chance of hooking a fish. If I start to miss setting the hook or they jump or pull free, my hook point is the first thing I check.

Line management is another thing to consider, particularly when you are stripping line onto rocks that are covered with sharp barnacles or will catch your line on the next cast or worse, when a hooked fish is taking line. A stripping basket is a very useful tool to keep the line off the rocks and out of the water where the waves can tangle up loose fly line at your feet. Both scenarios can really take the enjoyment out of fly-fishing so a stripping basket of some kind is really worth considering. Getting the odd tangled loop is all part of fly-fishing even with a stripping basket and it is something that is often hard to avoid. One big tip to avoid tangled loops is to try and cast out all of the line you have stripped off the reel so that it pulls up tight to the reel. This straightening of the fly line back to the reel will naturally untwist the line that causes unnecessary tangles.

The best ever saltwater fly - White Clouser.

Australian Salmon Flies

Very simple, white with a bit of flash is the bases of any good salmon fly. Many different baitfish flies will work. I personally like to use 1# and 1/0# flies that have the hook point riding up with weighted dumbbell eyes to give them a jigging action and make them relatively snag free. A simple Clouser Minnow does this well tied with a mixture of traditional Bucktail and stronger synthetic material to make them last a little longer when they get chewed. Happy hunting - Craig Rist Hooked up and heading west.

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