Towards 10,000 Trout — Adrian Webb

TOWARDS TEN THOUSAND TROUT

Adrian Webb

Iwas around six years old when I had my first fishing trip with my grandfather to the Semaphore jetty in South Australia. I can’t remember the fishing rod or reel I, because that was back in 1952. I do remember the first fish I caught though, it was a “Tommy Ruff”or as they’re now called Australian Herring. I didn’t do a lot of fishing with my grandfather as he suffered illness from the gas used during the first World War and he died in 1954, but it was thanks to him that got me started with my fishing.

My dad wasn’t one for fishing. He didn’t have the patience to sit on a jetty for all that long. If he didn’t get a bite or catch a fish in the first thirty minutes that was it, we were off home. It was my brother who took me fishing mostly, he loved fishing and had all the patience in the world. A little too much patience some times because we would sit on the jetty for five or more hours for just a few tommies and gar with the odd mullet being caught. Good thing was, we always went home with a feed of fresh fish.

How I started chasing trout

As the years went on my brother started work, then eventually got married and I went fishing on my own. I would ride my push bike to the Port River and fish for mullet from the wharves. Eventually I was old enough to start work (1961) and bought my first car, a 1950 Vanguard that cost me fifty pounds back in 1962, that was my wheels for going fishing.

It was sometime in 1965 when a friend asked me if I would like to go and have a fish for trout in the Finniss River at Yundi which is South of Adelaide. I did go with him and even today I can still remember that first trip to the Finniss River. I had a six foot split can fishing rod with a spinning reel and ten pound nylon line, my lure was a silver blade Mepps spinner.

On my first spin session on the river I caught a beautiful brown trout that weighed 3lbs. That was the one and only trout we caught on the day, but that was enough to get me well and truly hooked on trout fishing. I still did my salt water fishing for whiting and snapper on a regular basis, but was really getting into the trout fishing more often.

Trout fishing in South Australia was tough mainly because of the lack of rivers/streams that had trout in them, but I did find enough of them to keep me going. The more I went the better I became at it, reading a river and knowing where the trout would be holding out. The rivers/streams I fished were very challenging tight skinny waters, stalking trout in them wasn’t easy either and I feel that’s what made me the trout fisherman I am today.

What I love about trout

Catching a trout on my first trip soon had me obsessed. There’s something different about it compared to salt water fishing where fish are normally in schools and plentiful. Trout on the other hand, especially the brown trout never swim in schools in a river, they are loners. They do pair up during the spawning season and that’s it. Sometimes you’ll see juvenile trout swimming in numbers, as they mature they are off on their own. Brown trout are cunning and can be pretty frustrating at times. They will come up behind a lure and just follow it with no signs of aggression, then turn and move off not to be seen again. When they’re in that type of mood it’s then up to me to entice the trout to take the lure. It can take some time and several changes of lure before you get one to take it, when a trout does take the lure you know you’ve achieved what many other fishers haven’t.

I admit I am obsessed with trout fishing. In fact I became so obsessed we spent seven years heading back and forth to Tasmania before selling up and moving here in March 2000. I was finally in trout heaven where nearly every river and stream has trout in them. It’s not only the trout fishing I love, it’s also the beautiful peaceful surrounds one can take in. I’ve had many trips over the years when I haven’t landed a trout and not worried about because of the beauty that’s around

me. When I go stalking trout my aim is always to catch them, if it doesn’t happen then so be it, it’s not the end of the world. When fishing for trout one has to have patience, if you don’t have it then don’t go. I will often sit on a rock in the middle of a river or a log next to a river bank and take it all in. I feel lucky that I was introduced to trout fishing back in 1965. Trout fishing has taught me to be patient and it’s also got me where I am today. I only realised a few days ago after going through my full yearly trout season reports that I am just 129 trout short of catching my 10,000th Tasmanian trout since moving here.

Memories on my way to 10,000

My best day’s trout fishing has been in Tassie. One day I fished a small stream and stopped fishing when I had caught and released 49 trout. Why did I stop at 49 trout you may ask, it was to give me a challenge to catch 50 trout on another trip one day? Ten years on my best catch still sits on 49. Though I have had several catches in the high twenties.

Other good memories have been going through maps and finding fire tracks that lead to small streams and having a spin session in them. To me that’s what trout fishing is all about, finding out of the way secluded little streams that no one (to my knowledge) has ever fished. I have caught a lot of trout in those streams, many being nice solid fish in the 600-700 gram range.

My first ever Tasmanian PB trout comes to mind too, it was a beautiful male brown trout taken in a small backwater on the Mersey River back in 2006. It was fooled with a small Mepps 1.5 gram black fury inline spinner. To reach this narrow snaggy back water I had to slide down an embankment so I could get a cast up along it. It had to be an accurate cast too, one that I managed to do first up. On the retrieve I spotted a large brown move out of the snaggy zone and come hard and fast at the little spinner. It was one of the most aggressive attacks I had ever had on a lure in my time in Tassie. It seemed forever, but it was only several minutes before I had that fish in close enough to hop in the water and lift it onto a small flat piece of ground. That trout went 5lb 4ozs, the little black fury spinner was bent in half and was totally buggered, I still have that little lure today. I still can’t believe I managed to land that trout on the day given where I hooked it, plus I didn’t have a landing net back then either!

I have so many good memories over my 54 years of trout fishing my way towards my 10,000th trout I’ll just add a couple more to this article. The most memorable one was on the very last day of the 2017-18 trout season in the Leven River where I had caught and released quite a few trout during the day. I was in the middle of the river fishing a wide shallow light tannin stretch when I noticed some movement in the water to the right of me. It was around fifteen metres or more away from me and when I looked at it a little harder it seemed to me that it was just a small broken tree branch on the river bottom. I had a couple of casts upstream without any signs of a trout, then I had another look towards what I thought was the branch. It moved, I couldn’t believe it was a trout and a massive one at that. It sent shivers up my spine.

I use Australian Platypus Super 100 4lb mono line. It is thin and strong. The little Okuma reel would be tested if that fish happened to take a lure. I knew the 1.5 gram lure was way too small to handle that fish so I went for a hard body lure, the biggest hard body I had on me was only 50mm, so it had to do. Once on I turned to have a cast up and across the river I saw that the trout had moved off.

First thing that came to mind was there goes my chance. I stood looking at the water and wondered where would I hold out if I were a trout. After looking at the water for a few minutes I felt the area to my far right is where I would be lying in wait for a feed. The river bank was lined with debris, it had a nice flat water next to it and a nice bubble line to go with it, the perfect trout zone. A bubble line is always a good area for catching trout, it’s a highway for food that drifts down the river, that’s where I cast the lure.

All I was hoping for now was that is where the trout had moved to. No sooner had the lure hit the water it was smashed, I had lobbed the lure right where the trout was holding. The water exploded and old mate trout made it’s a run for freedom. It wasn’t until it made the first leap from the river I realised how big it was; it was massive! I don’t know how many times it leaped from the river or how many runs it made, all I could do was to keep enough pressure on the fish as not to break the line.

While keeping as calm as possible it seemed to be taking forever to get control of this fish, to make matters worse it did a crocodile roll and wrapped the line around itself. Now I was in trouble, the fish was holding side-on in the flow and my light 4lb line was wrapped half way along it’s body.

With the adrenalin running high I still had to keep my cool and hope the line would hold on long enough until the fish tired and stopped fighting. The brown wasn’t ready to toss in the towel as it did another crocodile roll, this time it was in my favour because it had unrolled the line. It was then I felt I was back in control, well to a certain point as the trout was still around fifteen metres from me and holding side on in the strong flow. I kept enough pressure on the fish as I slowly made my way to the rivers edge, I could see the fish was tiring, the hardest part was yet to come. Of all the times to have my shallow landing net with me it had to be today, my large deep landing net was in the boot of my car. No way was the trout going to fit into the net I’m using, and all I could do was to slowly lead it in to the shallows then grip hold of it by the tail which I did. Finally, after fifteen minutes that

Another little brownie about to be released.

beautiful golden wild brown trout was landed. It was totally exhausted, it was so tired I could lay it in the shallow net and weigh it. That trout went 8lb 8ozs, a fish of a life time for me, one I doubt I’ll better again in a river here in Tasmania.

I took a couple of photos of it then spent over five minutes reviving it in the water to make sure it was okay before letting it swim off. It was also big enough to win me the angling club trophy for the heaviest trout of the season too.

Another of my great memories was trout was fishing with a very good mate (Clint) from time to time who sadly passed away from cancer last December. We spent many years on and off having a spin session together in several rivers, he caught more trout than me on a few trips too and boy did he rub it in. When he was a fish or two in front of me he used to call out with a silly grin on his face, “Hey trout master, how many have you caught.” We had a lot of fun stirring one another on, a lot laughs were had on our trips. Memories and photos of those trips that will last me and many others a life time. Every time I fish a river in an area we fished together those memories come back. He was a great friend that’s for sure who went too early in life.

Trout tips

There are many ways of fishing for trout, lure, fly and bait so if you are just starting out trout fishing I’d advise you to read up on the general basics of trout fishing, watch videos on how to catch trout. Whether it be any of the three mentioned you’ll find plenty of info on it.

I recommend spin fishing for trout as the best way to start. The gear I use is an Okuma Celilo 1-3kg ULS 1.8 metre trout rod, Okuma spinning reel, filled with 4 lb Platypus Super 100 clear mono line and Mepps inline blade spinners.

If you know someone who is experienced in trout fishing don’t be afraid to ask them if you can tag along with them one day so you can get to see for yourself what it’s all about and how it’s done. Pay attention and listen to what the experienced trout fisher tells and shows you what to do.

You can join an Angling Club where you can pick up plenty of help and tips with trout fishing. Remember to fish with light tackle, it’s more productive than using heavy gear. The more often you go trout fishing a river the more experienced you will become, you will learn how to read a river and where the trout hold out.

If it’s your first time to a river, then don’t go alone, always go with someone who is experienced in river fishing. Do not enter the river if you are unsure of it’s depth or how fast it is flowing, one slip and it could be your last fishing trip. Do not take any risks as no fish is worth drowning for, always remember “SAFETY FIRST”.

Most importantly be patient and enjoy yourself, whether it be lure, fly or bait fishing that’s what trout fishing is all about.

One other thing I urge you to do is to keep a diary and record your catches of every fishing trip you go on. For example, name of the river and where you fished; how was the river level, was the river clear, tannin colour, a little off colour or dirty; weather conditions, sunny, cool, cloudy, raining, windy, no wind, light breeze; what lures, bait or trout flies did you use; what did the trout go for that day; how many did you catch and did you release or keep them.

When you do a trout report keep it simple, write it as you saw it, that’s all you have to do. Always take a camera with you and take photos of the river and surrounds, not just of the fish. It always good to look back on in years to come, something you will treasure when you get older. That is something I do know for sure.

I started my trout diary when we moved here in March 2000. For more info and tips on getting into trout fishing and how to catch them go to www. tasfish.com and go to “Trout Fishing” on the home page, there you will find all the info you need to catch a trout.

The Ulverstone Angling Club has been a great support since the author came to Tasmania.

Unexpected achievements

I joined the Ulverstone Angling Club back in 2006/07 and have won the trophy for most trout caught in rivers and streams every year since. Winning the trophy for thirteen years in a row was something I never imagined would happen either, but it did, so this season I’m giving it my all to make it fourteen in a row. Back in the 2009-10 Trout Season in 126 trips to various rivers I managed to catch 1167 brown trout and 89 rainbow trout, something I doubt I will ever achieve again. Please note: I do catch and release all of the trout I catch unless they have gill damage and can’t be released, only 1% to 2% of the trout are kept in a season.

How will I celebrate the 10,000th trout

Simple, this is an easy one to speak about, I’ll breath a sigh of relief when it happens for starters. I’ll be over the moon to have achieved a milestone of something I never thought would happen. Of course, take a photo of the 10,000th trout whether it’s a small/medium or large fish is not important, catching it on a Mepps spinner is. Once back at the car then I will sit back and celebrate with a can of Pepsi Max and a chocolate Freddo

Lead up to 10,000 wild trout

Finally came the day I was going for my 10,000th Tasmanian wild trout since we moved here back in March 2000 and I’m going to catch it in one of my favourite tannin waters. The weather was a cool twelve degrees with rain forecast for later in the day, the sky was mainly cloudy with patches of sunlight every now and then, the biggest problem was the gusty 20-25 kph N/NW winds. It wasn’t an early start for me either as I didn’t hit the water until 11:20am, that was mainly because of the weather conditions. The river was up slightly from yesterdays rain which was good as it meant the trout would also be feeling refreshed and in an aggressive mood. I started the spin session off with a Mepps #00 Stone Fly Bug spinner, it’s always a good trout attractor most times and it did draw the attention of two trout in the first section of water I fished. Seeing

as they didn’t attack the lure I decided to go for one that every now and then produces a few surprises, the #00 White Miller Bug spinner. It’s a spinner that sucks the trout in from time to time when conditions are suitable. I was only five minutes into the spin session when the White Miller sucked the first trout in, just a nice medium 300 gram brown. Three more cast and retrieves straight up the narrow water I had several hits and one hook up which I lost, the trout were in the right mood today. After climbing over a few logs to reach a small pocket of water I flicked the spinner close to the left side of the stream and it was taken in no time at all, two trout in just over ten minutes, it was all go today! I had to get out of the stream to go around a large log jamb then hop back in some twenty metres further up. From here on I had several hits with the trout just missing getting hooked, the aggression was still there so I wasn’t changing lures yet. Finally after fifteen minutes I had my third trout landed, ten minutes later I was onto another medium size brown, it stayed on and I had my forth trout. I hooked and lost two more trout and it took another twenty minutes before the fifth trout was landed, five minutes on I had number six in hand.

Made it to ten thousand

With just the one trout to go now I was feeling a little nervous but also confident I would soon have the trout required to hit the 10,000 mark. After having several more hit and misses, then hooking and losing another fish there was a little cursing going on. I was still confident of catching the seventh trout, it was just of the session by far. After a short tussle, I slipped the net under it, I had the fish I needed in the net! After taking a couple of photos of the 485gm trout as well as a selfie holding the fish it was returned to the stream. It took a little while to take it in and even while I’m writing this I still find it hard to believe what I have achieved since moving to Tasmania.

Wade angling is a lovely way to spend a few hours.

the frustration of hooking and losing so many that was the problem. As I moved into the next stretch of water I disturbed a small trout at the tail end of it and I thought that it’s probably spooked any other trout that’s here. I was near the top end of the pool and flicked the white miller right next to the bank that was covered with overhanging ferns. Nothing happened on the first cast there but the second cast was much better when the white miller was taken hard and fast, I had the trout hooked that I needed reach the milestone. What made it better is that it was a solid fish and the best Adrian Webb