Luring Summer Trout — Nathan Huizing

Black soft plastics are the ‘Go To’ when stalking trout on lures. Luring Summer Trout

By Nathan Huizing

With the days beginning to get both longer and warmer, now is a great time to get out and start exploring the never-ending list of trout waters throughout Tasmania. The arrival of summer generally brings lower river levels, allowing anglers to access stretches of water that were potentially inaccessible in the months prior. With the temperature rise also comes a rise in insect activity and the rivers and lakes of Tasmania come alive with fish sipping the water’s surface and cruising the shallows in search of an easy feed!

Locations

There a too many great trout waters too explore in Tasmania but listed below is a select few of some of my personal favourites during summer.

Lake Echo - This lake can really turn it on in the warmer months. Not only does this lake support a healthy population of trout, but redfin perch also call this lake home and as the water warms up the juvenile perch become more active and move into the shallows. This is when some of the larger trout in the lake are often found cruising along the driftwood littered shoreline in search of some easy protein! This lake is also known for some great gum beetle hatches and actively searching the wind lanes for feeding fish can be quite productive!

Styx River - One of the several tributaries of the Derwent River, the Styx can be a highly productive system with smaller fish being plentiful and the odd bigger fish thrown in the mix. The Styx can be quite difficult to wade and because of this, it is mostly inaccessible in the cooler months when river levels tend to be higher. As the levels begin to drop coming into summer, anglers can explore this river more thoroughly and find some great fishing to be had in sections of river that haven’t seen any anglers for several months.

Great Lake - One of the more popular lakes in Tasmania, Great Lake is a huge body of water and due to its size and a rather barren appearance, it can be a little daunting trying to figure out where to start on this lake. Fortunately, the insect life that summer brings, accompanied by a bit of wind can help you locate these fish much more easily if you know what to look for. A method called ‘Sharking’ is a very popular approach on this lake and involves seeking out fish in the open water that can be found feeding along foam lines that form on the surface of the lake during these windier periods

Western Lakes - The Western Lakes can be a great option over the summer period, particularly for anglers who enjoy sight fishing. Lakes Ada and Augusta are both great options for sight fishing with lures as the bottom mostly consists of sand and silt which makes it easy for spotting the shadow of a cruising trout! For those who are a little more adventurous, a little further out into the Western Lakes are the Julian Lakes. While these lakes are more known for their exceptional fly fishing opportunities, lure fishing out here can also be highly productive and the average size fish is often worthwhile!

The Styx River is a perfect summer option

Rod and Reel Selection

For just about all of my trout fishing, I tend to stick with a fast action 2.1-2.2 metre rod with a 1-3kg line rating. It is important that you also use a rod that has a softer tip. The softer tip is very important for absorbing the leaps and headshakes that trout often do throughout a fight in an attempt to throw the hooks. The soft tip is particularly important if you’re using small hardbody lures with small trebles which often pull out easier. Not only will the softer tip help you stay attached to a fish but it will also aid your ability to cast smaller lures tremendously. When it comes to reel selection, I run a 1000 or 2500 sized reel spooled up with 3kg or 4kg braid. When deciding on a reel, make sure to choose one with a smooth drag. A smooth drag, just like the soft rod tip, will ensure that your connection to the trout throughout the fight will remain as smooth as possible and will increase your chances of landing the fish

Lure Fishing in Summer

While the selection of lures I use throughout Summer often remains the same as the ones I’d use in the cooler months, the way I hunt trout with them can differ. Coming out of spring and into early summer, the water levels in some lakes (particularly out West) can still be relatively high. Stalking the edges of these lakes and searching for tailing fish, bow waves and moving shadows can be very exciting. Fish exhibiting this behaviour are often feeding on things such as tadpoles, frogs and Galaxia. This is when a lightly weighted soft plastic can be quite effective! A two-inch grub style or threeinch T-Tail minnow in a black pattern rigged on a light jighead (1/20th or lighter) is a great option. When stalking a feeding fish it can be important to take a moment to observe it’s behaviour and plan your attack. Ideally, you want to wait until the fish is feeding with its head turned away from you, then make a long cast diagonally up past the fish and bring your presentation across his field of vision!

Working the rocky shorelines and in amongst the timber with shallow diving hardbody minnows is a method that tends to work well throughout most of the season with summer being no exception. As mentioned, the warmer water often brings an increase in juvenile redfin activity which happens to be a favourite prey item of trout so using redfin pattern lures at this time of year can be a handy tip and has worked well for me in the past!

Another great method at this time of year is topwater fishing and there are several ways this can be utilised. On smaller rivers such as the Styx I’ve found small paddler style lures to be very effective when cast upstream and retrieved down shallow riffles with a steady wind. This technique only gives the trout a split second to decide as the lure goes over its head which often results in some spectacular hookups as the trout slashes at the lure. These same paddler or cicada style lures could also be used when sight fishing for fish feeding out in the foam lines on both Great Lake and Echo. These fish can often be very opportunistic when feeding amongst the foam and a well-presented cicada look-alike is unlikely to be refused!