Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Issue 101 2012 December by Tasmanian Fishing

Issue 101 December 2012 - January 2013

$5.95

Trout

c i t s a t n Fa r e m m Su Fishing

Squid Bream Kayaking Surf Fishing Mersey River Tackle Reviews Fly Tying and

Print Post approved; PP 702512 00027

Joe Riley admires a Woods Lake brownie. Read his story on page 14.

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31 My Say Enjoy your summer fishing, keep your boating safe and only take what you need for a feed. Be positive, not negative, spend time with your family, be kind and generous, don’t suffer fools and be enthusiastic in all that you do.

My Mayfly Box — Gavin Hicks

Kayak Setup for Fishing — Michal Rybka

Bream - Lessons from Ansons Bay — Grant Stingel

Sedgehogs and Muddlers — Joe Riley

SBT Trophy Fish — Geoff Madden

Mersey River Morning — Peter Broomhall

Jan’s Flies — Jan Spencer

Surf Fishing — Jamie Henderson

Mates and Fish — Nick Taransky

Squid – Tips and Techniques — Leroy Tirant

Reviews

Marine Fishery News

Inland Fishery News

Fishing, boating and accommodation services directory

That should serve you well for fishing and life. You will notice a slight price increase to $5.95. It is only the second price rise in 16 years and I hope you can cope with that. I urge you to subscribe to our newsletter on www.tasfish.com where we will have some great offers and tackle bargains.

Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News Published by Michael Stevens PO Box 7504, Launceston, 7250. Fax: 6331 1278 Email; mike@tasfish.com Phone: 0418 129 949 Stevens Publishing, ABN 79 095 217 299 All material is copyright and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the publisher. Print Post approved; PP 702512 00027

For subscriptions go to page 45, www.tasfish.com or phone 0418 129 949

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Fishing News - Page 3

hat time of year has finally arrived. The rivers start to settle after a winter full of cold weather and rains. The water of the highland lakes warms. Combine this with warmer weather patterns and you little beauty it all begins to happen. What am I talking about, well I reckon you have guessed it by now, the mayflies will be starting to hatch. The famous hatches from the slow, flat lowland rivers of Tasmania’s Northern Midlands area should be well under way and the mayfly waters of the central plateau should follow, if they haven’t already started. I would like to point out now that I am not a big one for scientific names when it comes to entomology. To me a red spinner is a red spinner and well you guessed it a black spinner is just that, a black spinner. All I am really interested in is whether it hatches in our waterways and if the trout likes to eat them. If that is the case then I will do my best to imitate them with fur, feather and synthetics.

My mayfly box Gavin Hicks

A lot of the patterns my mayfly boxes have been developed by some brilliant Tasmanian fly tiers and have been favourite patterns for local anglers for many years, whilst others are relatively new in the mayfly fisherman’s box. Of course as fly tiers we all love to fiddle with what is already a proven pattern to see if we can make it float better, make it more visible etc. I have also been developing a pattern for my local rivers for the last couple of seasons and have had some excellent results with it so we might even have a peak in that corner of my box as well. So grab a cold beer out of the fridge, settle in and I will show what my mayfly box consists of at the moment.

Nymphs The life cycle of the mayflies I like to target begins beneath the waters surface with the nymph. When the water temperatures and the weather conditions say things are right the nymphs start to move on

the bottom in readiness for their perilous journey to the surface where they will hatch into the beginning of the adult stage of the mayfly or as they are more commonly called, the dun. I am guilty of not putting a lot of thought into this stage of the mayflies life-cycle to be completely honest. I tend to make do with a few generic nymph patterns including a very basic brown nymph and the ever reliable hares ear/ hare and copper nymphs. Along with these I carry a few of the more specialist nymphs developed by various fly tying innovators around the state and further afield. These can and do include light and dark ostrich herl nymphs, pot scrubber nymphs and Rob Sloane’s possum nymph in green or brown. The other nymph I like to carry is called the 007. The original pattern called for a black body and hot orange butt, though I have had good success at mayfly time using a brown body combined with a red butt.

You literally could fill a thousand fly boxes with the various nymph patterns out there to imitate the different mayfly species in our waterways but with the above mentioned selection I have enjoyed plenty of success. Whilst on the subject of not needing to many flies to imitate the mayfly nymph I noticed an article in the latest edition of a favourite glossy magazine by New Zealand angler Simon Chu. He introduces us to a nymph called the String Thing which I think could be quite useful on some local waterways. Like all good flies it looks quite simple to tie, yet is still very durable. I guess another trip to the local store complete with strange looks from the women is in order.

Emergers If the poor old nymph is lucky enough to sneak to the surface without getting smashed on the way then he can enter the emerging stage of his life-cycle. He gets to struggle around in the waters surface for a period of time while he hatches out of himself and becomes the adult mayfly. This is the stage of the life-cycle that I most like to imitate and you will find my fly box full mainly of emerger style patterns. I have a preference for using parachute hackle style flies to imitate this stage of the hatch with my current favourite being a fly I have been working on for the past couple of seasons that I have recently named the Mechute. It has rarely let me down at all over a very intense testing period on some local rivers and smaller creeks around home. It is now in the second stage of its development to also make it just as effective in the more famous highland mayfly still waters, if all goes to plan that is. Other flies I like to carry include the shaving brush style of flies with local tier Simon Taylor’s possum version the favourite due to its better, in my opinion floating capabilities.

A lovely little river brown. Fishing News - Page 4

Of course what Tasmanian fly box would be complete without a few Barry Lodge emergers, Parachute Adams, Brett Wolf Emergers and the good old Possum Emerger. I was first introduced to the effectiveness of the possum emerger quite a few seasons back now on Arthurs Lake. I had just purchased my first boat so my brother in law and I decided to have a crack at some of the local dun feeders. We launched and given the weather conditions decided to head to the front of Hydro Bay and see what was happening. Man what a decision this turned out to be.

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Upon arrival the dun hatch was in full swing and the fish were all over them. Straight away it was on with a possum emerger and into some action. I have never been lucky enough to witness it again but with about a foot of chop on the water you could see the fish surfing down the front of the wave to hunt down our flies that were being stripped quite aggressively. All day, fish after fish those little possum flies kept doing the job without so much as a hint of sinking, falling apart or even the slightest complaint.. Ever since that day I have never headed to a mayfly water, or any type of water for that matter without a few in my fly box. Just like the nymph one can never have to many flies to match this stage of the hatch, but what works for you stick to I say. After all you don’t want to spend all day on the water staring at your boxes deciding which fly to tie on and not actually fishing.

Adults After all this effort and finally he is sitting on top of the water in all his glory. The mayfly has to sit there and let his wings dry before he can finally take off for the safety of the nearest bank. Unless of course he lands right next to a crow and gets picked off straight away. On some days this wing drying phase can, depending on weather conditions, take a while to happen. And well you guessed it if the fish don’t nail him from below the smaller birds will do their best from above. Who would want to be a mayfly? It is this stage of the hatch that I find the most visually exciting as the water can at times be blanketed with what looks like thousands of tiny sail boats and all you can hear is the big clopping sound of rising trout all around you. I have seen the water quite literally covered at lakes like Little Pine Lagoon and it be quite an impressive site. To imitate this adult stage I like to use palmered body/ full hackle style flies with a nice rear facing wing. The highland dun with all of its variations being a favourite. I will also fish a lot of the emerger patterns mentioned earlier for this stage of the hatch as I find they can work just as well and tend to be a lot more durable. Of course we can’t forget classic flies like the Greenwells, Iron Blue dun, Ashley Artis Ash Dun fly he developed and Jason Garret’s Little Pine Dun which I had a lot of success on in my beginner years. Finally after all that effort we get to the final stage of the life-cycle, the spinner. The spinner will in most cases fly back over the water, lay his eggs and get ready to die. I like to use either normal hackled flies with tying thread bodies or my favourite, the parachute spinner to imitate this stage. I tie my parachute flies with micro fibbett tails and seals fur bodies. Tied in this fashion they will float all day, always land the right

Occasionally a rainbow will be found sipping mayflies in the Mersey. way and will not fall apart after a couple of fish. Of course we can add in more modern styles of flies like the Spun here and we are well on the way to having things covered.

The Mechute As I mentioned earlier I have been working on a fly for the last couple of seasons mainly for my local Mersey River. A couple of mates whom I fish with regularly had got talking to a guy one day on the river. He mentioned a fly he had developed after years fishing the Mersey and gave them one to keep. They told me about this pattern and its key features so I had a play with it, as you do. By chance I ran into the same guy on the river months later and one thing led to another. Soon the conversation turned to the fact that I knew these two guys and I was generously given a sample of the same fly to keep for myself. I did what every

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Fishing News - Page 5

normal fly tier would do and set about refining it to suit my own needs. The original pattern had tail of golden pheasant tips, a greyish coloured body and conventional style hackle that had been clipped smaller all around. It was also quite small in size which I personally had trouble seeing in low light conditions on more than one occasion. So for me a few things had to change for it to better suit my needs. The golden pheasant tip tail was the key feature I believed so that had to stay. I changed to a size 12 Hanak barb-less hook which I believed better suited the size of insect I was trying to imitate with my version. The body became possum fur which is dead easy to use and floats all day along with a brown rib and I changed to a parachute hackle purely because I love the footprint it gives on the water along with the extra visibility you get from the wing post. As I mentioned earlier this fly has caught 99% of my river mayfly feeders and as an added bonus it works very well on the caddis feeders to. I also have another couple of variations I am playing with at the moment to see if I can improve its versatility even more but I think I might keep them under wraps till I do a bit more field testing. Here is the recipe for the original version.

Mechute Hook:

Hanak H100 BL

Tail:

Golden pheasant tippetts

Body:

Possum tail fur

Rib:

Brown uni-flexx

Post:

White float vis

Hackle: Whiting grizzly variant wound parachute style

The Mechute - refined over time to become a very effective fly. When tying in the parachute hackle I like to use a method seen on one of Mick Hall’s fly tying DVDs. This involves turning the hook down vertical in the vice and winding the hackle around the post in the normal fashion and then whip finishing around the base of the post. I use this method now for all my parachute style flies as it gives a very neat finish and is quite durable. If you haven’t already tried this method give it a go.

So now you know

So there you have it. I have given you an insight into what my mayfly box looks like and which flies work for me, though I should say that on some days I have Fishing for Tassie Property? seen fish not the least bit Tasmania’s Central Highlands is a unique area… interested in any of my best sometimes harsh, always appealing and a Mecca for wild trout fishermen from across the globe. Paul Kaine offerings only to completely is a local with intimate knowledge and a passion for the inhale a red tag, but isn’t that Central Highlands and is ready to help you with all your real estate (and even your fishing) needs and advice. Give what keeps us coming back. Paul a call…you’ll find his enthusiasm and know-how is One other fly that I have like a breath of fresh mountain air. recently been introduced to Paul Kaine Mobile: 0419 303 160 but not yet mentioned is Peter paulkaine@robertsre.com.au Broomhall’s Bruisers Bug. I Roberts Regional North 18 Marlborough Street witnessed the effectiveness of Longford, Tasmania, 7301 Phone: 03 6391 2999 this fly a couple of years back www.robertsre.com.au on a trip to NZ, where Pete

worked his magic with it on a few fussy big browns. Tied in a two tone brown version with orange legs it has saved the day for me a couple of times on some fussier mayfly feeders. Sounds crazy I know but I don’t think there is a trout anywhere in the world that wouldn’t eat one of those bugs at some stage. Apologies Pete but I’m sure you wont mind as I think the secret of how good this fly can be is well and truly out already. So before anyone goes crook just let me say that I know there is a million different fly patterns out there that I have not mentioned, some olden day classics and some more modern style flies that are destined to become classics in their own rights. I just wanted to hopefully take some of the guesswork out of it for those that may be starting out or finding it difficult to choose which fly to tie on when they have got duns getting chomped all around them. So fill that mayfly box to the brim with flies and get out on the water whilst the action lasts. And if we see each other out there somewhere give me a look inside your box and I will swap you one of my Mechute flies for your one of your secret killer patterns. Because as fly fisherman and fly tiers we all have that secret killer pattern, don’t we? Gavin Hicks

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Kayak Michal Rybka

Setup

Guide to the basics for fishing Introduction

kayak can be a very cost effective alternative to purchasing a boat. In terms of fish catching ability, a kayak can also be more effective than a boat. The ability of a kayak to be taken in very shallow water, combined with the kayak’s overall manoeuvrability, are the reasons for this. It is also no secret that often these shallow, hard to reach places also hold the best fish. It is no wonder that, in recent years, the sport of kayak fishing has taken off all around the world. In the United States, this style of fishing has become somewhat of a craze, and many anglers are embracing the sport with a similar level of passion here in Australia. We now have kayakfishing tournaments that are a national affair, with regular coverage in magazines and on television. Tournaments aside, many recreational anglers are choosing to fish this way simply because its a fun, cost effective and a productive way of fishing. With that said, where do you start? This is a question that I asked myself a few years ago, when I was contemplating the move from land-based fishing to kayak-based fishing. Without any knowledge on the subject, it was certainly a daunting task indeed. My quest for information started with some time spent searching for and watching kayak-fishing videos on YouTube. There were some real doozies on there and I was soon addicted to the excitement of kayak fishing. I am talking about some crazy stuff, such as catching sharks and tuna from a kayak. This excitement led to further research online on various kayak manufacturing websites. Armed with more information, I eventually ended up on a couple of Australian fishing forums. This was by far the best source of information I had found. Everything was covered - from fishing techniques to choosing and setting up kayaks. Within a few weeks I had narrowed down my choices. It was now time to go out for a test paddle.

do both. Once you have answered this questions (or even if you haven’t made up your mind), the best thing that you can do is to have a ‘test drive’ of the models that interest you. Don’t limit it to one kayak or one brand. Test-drive as many different kayaks as you can. Like me, I am sure that you’ll know when you have tested the one that you’ll ultimately end up purchasing. After my initial research, I was fairly certain that I would end up buying the Hobie. The ‘test drive’ confirmed it. Consider the suitability and ‘feel’ of the kayak in light of your fishing needs. Is it stable enough for me to fish out of? Is the seat comfortable? Is there enough room for all of my fishing gear? What specific ‘fishing’ features does it have that I like or need? Will it be suitable for the conditions that I intend fishing in? The ‘fishing’ features that are at the top of any list are built-in rod holders. Purpose-built fishing kayaks will already have holes for this purpose strategically located somewhere on the kayak within easy reach. Then there are handy things like tackle storage systems, designated fish finder/transducer mounting areas, and fish storage compartments just to name a few. Some of the features of modern fishing kayaks can be mind blowing. Expect to find everything that can be found on a boat. I chose a Hobie Outback simply because it was a stable fishing platform that I could fish handsfree from, with an effective propulsion system. This enables me to sit in the wind or current and remain relatively stationary. It means that I can fish a snag or a structure without drifting or being blown off my target. With the added luxury of built-in side storage trays and rod holders, I have ample room for many essential fishing tools. Items such as pliers, lures, my landing net, and even my lunch are all within easy reach - not to mention my fishing rods.

Choosing a kayak If you go into any reputable dealer, you will find that there are literally dozens of kayaks to choose from. But on closer inspection, you will find that there are a few that are better suited to fishing. You may decide to go for one of the specialised American-made Hobie fishing kayaks, like I did. A Hobie kayak features the patented mirage drive propulsion system that enables you to fish with both hands free. Alternatively, you may prefer paddling, in which case a kayak such as a ‘Prowler’ or ‘Viking Tempo’ might be a good choice. Ultimately, the first question you have to ask yourself is ‘paddle or pedal?’ With my Hobie, I can

Whichever option you are considering, it pays to remember some of the things that I have mentioned. They are the ‘bread and butter’ considerations for kayak fishing. You must also remember that I am barely scratching the surface with the options for a fishing kayak setup. There are new inventions all the time, so keep your eyes open. Understandably, your choice of kayak is often restricted by your budget. With this in mind, we need to remember that you do not have to spend a lot of money on getting yourself set up for kayak fishing. A standard kayak (although perhaps not ideal) can still be easily converted to a great fishing platform and, if you are prepared to do a bit of digging, you will eventually find a great second hand bargain with your name on it. Just make sure that there are no holes in it and away you go.

Preparing for fishing setup Once you have purchased your kayak, take it for a test run on some water that you feel comfortable on. Firstly, get a feel for how to operate your craft. Once you are comfortable with the basic operation of your kayak, introduce a fishing rod and a couple of bits of equipment. If you are a beginner, don’t take your best gear - just in case it happens to go in the drink (I will discuss ways to prevent this from happening a little later). With your rod in hand, you should now be able to identify the most ideal locations for your rod holders (keeping in mind that some kayaks will have already made that decision, to some extent, for you). If you plan to invest in a sounder, this is also the time to think about the placement of the screen for the head unit. Think about where the most comfortable area to store gear is. Work out where you would like to store your catch if you intend to keep it. When you return to shore and dismount, remember the side you dismount on. Ideally there should be no obstructions to climb over or get caught on. This is important. There may be an audience on your arrival back at your launching site and the last thing you want to do is to get tangled up in some of your gear and end up taking a swim. This is especially awkward in front of a load of boat-owners. As you can see, a short familiarisation session is definitely valuable. It will ensure that you work out the best setup for your kayak from the start, and it avoids possibly expensive, but definitely annoying changes later down the track.

The first question is ‘paddle or pedal?’

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Fishing News - Page 7

Fishing setup

Fish finder/sounder

In my experience, the best kayak fishing setup is one that will suit your individual style of fishing. To achieve this, the best place to start is on your garden lawn. If you don’t have one, then the lounge room floor, just don’t let the wife see you. Armed with the knowledge from your test ride, do a full set up on your kayak – that is with all of the accessories you intend to install, all of your gear and all of the other non-fishing items that you are likely to take on a trip. Now sit in the seat. Please note, that if you are sitting on your kayak in the lounge room, it is not cool to cast a line into the fish tank.

This is perhaps the single most useful accessory on my fishing kayak. Take it away and it’s like fishing blind. I don’t use the fish finder to find fish. I use it, mainly, to find depth and fish-holding structure. In my opinion, if you see these things, you will be able to work a lure more effectively using the information about what is below the surface. Most fish finders or sounders can be fitted to a kayak. You can even purchase a complete kayak kit that is ready made for the job. There are some great brands and your chandler can give some great advice. You can also purchase a cheap black and white $80 sounder and still get some good results.

Everything needs to be in easy reach. It is straight forward and needs you sitting in it at home trying things out.

A non-permanent whiteboard marker is a handy item to have in your hand at this point in time. You can mark the location of items such as aftermarket rod holders and your sounder. If you make a mistake, simply wipe off with a damp cloth and start again. Sitting in the seat as you do this will ensure that the items will be in a position that best suits your style of fishing. The key thing to remember here is that everything should be within easy reach. The process is quite straight-forward and just sitting in your fully-loaded kayak on the lawn (or in the lounge room) only adds to the excitement of your first real kayak fishing trip. Once you have the mounting points accurately marked out on your kayak, it is time to get your tools and start work. Remember to measure twice and be fully satisfied with the positions that you have chosen. If you still aren’t sure, this might be the time to take your kayak for another test run, with the positions of key items marked in pen. This way you can be sure that the positions are right for you. A kayak full of unwanted holes is an ugly sight and can be difficult to fix.

I have listed some ‘must have’ kayak fishing accessories below. These items will, without doubt, make your kayak fishing experience a safe, enjoyable and productive one.

Rod holders There are many brands of rod holders specifically designed for kayak installation. If your kayak has built in rod holders, you may not need this accessory; however, if you like to troll lures they are an excellent addition to the one already built in. A rod holder like this can help you set your rod in the perfect position for trolling (i.e. parallel to the water’s surface and at 90 degrees to your kayak). Two well-known brands that I would recommend are ‘Scotty’ and ‘Railblaza’. Both have their benefits and each brand offers several different designs. Think of your fishing style and what would be suitable for you. If you are going to be using your kayak in saltwater, then I suggest you purchase a rod holder with an extension arm to keep that expensive reel away from the saltwater spray.

Several fishing kayaks these days feature transducer mounting holes built into their hull. If yours does not have one, a transducer can be glued inside the hull. An installation like this is totally weedless and it is how I have installed mine. There are other transducer mounting options available and the choice will depend on what suits your kayak. As for the power supply, if you purchase a kit, you will have the option of a waterproof pocket containing rechargeable batteries that sits inside the hull of your kayak. I have used a small 12V sealed alarm battery. It is rechargeable and will last several fishing trips on one charge. The final thing related to installing a sounder/fish finder is the mounting bracket. The one you get with the sounder will not always be suitable for mounting on your kayak. You may need to make one or purchase an aftermarket one. My sounder is set up on a RAM mount that allows for a quick release and it is adjustable to enable you to position it for perfect viewing. These mounts can be fairly expensive, but will ensure that you get the best viewing angle possible.

Fish storage I use an old esky for this, which simply sits on the rear of my Hobie. It can be loaded with ice to keep

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Fishing News - Page 8

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branch or tree and fish in one position. You will find it especially useful when conditions are windy - the wind is usually the number one enemy for anyone on a kayak. If you are looking to go a step further and require an anchor, a heavy weight on the end of your rope is all that you need. A small dumbbell or weight plate is ideal for this purpose. For those of you that like beach fishing, a sand anchor can be made by attaching a canvas bag to the end of your rope and filling it partially with sand. A cheap canvas bag from your army disposals store is ideal for this. The sand can be emptied very quickly once you are finished using it.

RAM brackets are good to mount the sounder and a small sealed 12 volt battery will last several trips.

Personal Flotation Device

your catch in the best possible condition. Best of all - it floats. An old esky can even double as a fish ‘live well’ with the addition of a cheap aerator. If you are really serious, add a manual bilge pump to keep the water circulating. A setup like that will take some thought and a little labour, but is achievable. If you have no room for an esky, then a purpose made fish storage bag can be purchased from any reputable dealer. Bags like this are insulated and designed to be filled with ice. They generally conform to the shape of a kayaks bow and feature a zip to allow easy access to your catch. I have also seen ’homemade’ versions made from those insulated shopping bags that you get at the supermarket.

Landing net A landing net is a great accessory to have onboard, just as you would have on a boat. I sometimes have the pleasure of lifting fish out of the water with my hands while kayak fishing; however, not all species are well behaved enough to allow you to do this, and some have very sharp teeth. So the ‘fingers in the mouth’ option is definitely out of the question.

It goes without saying that safety is your number one priority. It is law to wear a PFD while operating a kayak in Tasmania. This is one of the first items that you should purchase. There are several styles of PFD that are well suited to kayak fishing. I would recommend buying a purpose made vest for kayak fishing. They have the added benefit of handy storage pockets, which will accommodate a lot of your gear. Items such as small tackle boxes and your mobile phone can be stored within easy access. My personal choice was an inflatable yoke style PFD, like you might wear on a motorboat. The reason for this was that it was a cooler option during the warmer summer month. It doesn’t have the storage capacity like the PFD designed specifically for kayak fishing, but I have managed to add a couple of essential accessories that make life on the water so much easier. The equipment that I am referring to is a pair of braid scissors and a pair of forceps - two items that I use a lot (for obvious reasons). Items such as this can be attached to almost any PFD by means of a retractable keeper. Stationery supply stores such as ‘Officeworks’ stock these nifty little gadgets. They should only cost you around $5 each and are a great investment.

No matter how small it is - make sure you have one on board. Store it in a snap lock lunch bag.

Rod leashes

Always take plenty of food and water with you. This style of fishing is great exercise and will burn up more energy than sitting in a boat all day. Most kayaks will have the room to accommodate a lunch box inside a hatch or somewhere out of the way. The hatch between my legs on my Hobie is great for storing my lunch. I can literally eat on the move without wasting any fishing time.

You can make a cost-effective leash by purchasing some thin, but strong cord. Your local outdoor or marine store has plenty of this stuff. It can be as simple as cutting the desired length of cord and tying either end to secure your item. I suggest you make a ‘quick release’ version with the addition of a snap clip to the leash. This makes life easy when assembling and disassembling your kayak.

Rope and anchor You should always have a length of rope onboard your kayak. It’s handy if you want to tie off to a

information has been useful. I must stress that this has only been a general guide on the subject. There are literally a multitude of options available out there. Talk to people first and do your research. The single most important thing to remember is to set your kayak up so that you feel absolutely comfortable fishing from it. Good luck with ‘building’ your kayak and I hope to see you on the water soon. Mic Rybka Tip If you are after more information, please have a look at the websites below. These were my starting points years ago and contain a lot of useful information: www.akff.net (Australian Kayak Fishing Forum) www.kfdu.com.au (Kayak Fishing Down Under) Don’t forget to also visit our local Tassie forum: www.tassiepaddlers.net (Tassie Paddlers)

First aid kit

Again, you can purchase several styles of landing net and, as with sounders, there are ones specifically designed for kayak fishing that float. Any net that you have will do, but the floating ones are the best for obvious reasons. Storing the net is the biggest issue for many people. A smaller net can often be stored upright in a rod holder. Personally, I use a longer handle style net with a handy fish measure printed on the handle - ‘Berkley’ make a good one. To store it, I clip it to the empty paddle keeper on the side of my Hobie. Also don’t forget that you can easily stick one of those free DPI sticker measures to your paddle if you don’t have one on your existing net.

This is a very important accessory that every fishing kayak should be fitted with. A rod leash is simply a lead that connects your fishing rod to your kayak, with the aim being to prevent your expensive gear from being lost overboard. Anything that is not tied down on deck or doesn’t float is at risk of being lost. I have had some of my best gear saved on several occasions by this simple accessory.

Getting good results is largely due to a well setup and easy to use kayak.

Mobile phone Handy in an emergency and also when the wife calls (well maybe not so handy). Either way, store it in a waterproof pouch or container and keep it within easy reach.

Food and water

Conclusion If you are contemplating setting up a fishing kayak, I hope this

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Fishing News - Page 9

Bream Grant Stingel

Lessons and memories from Ansons Bay What is it about Bream? While growing up I had the fortune of spending summer holidays at arguably one of the best bream fishing waters in Australia in Ansons Bay. Being young and eager just to feel the weight of a fish on the rod, catching bream was often derailed by chasing the abundant cocky salmon and silver trevally. While these species were on the chew, getting the buzz out of hooking and landing a fish was too much of a temptation. Often schools of bait fish would be busted up in the bay given away by the tell tail signs of seagulls and terns diving in to pick up the scraps left by the salmon as they slammed the abundant anchovies, or what the locals called “sardines”. My older brother Nigel and I would run from the shack and jump into an old 9 foot marine ply dinghy armed with our spinning rods and silver slice lures, rowing like mad until we were within casting distance of the salmon. Then it was on for all until the school of salmon went quiet as the bait fish dispersed. Out with the oars and lures were out the back and trolled until we found the school of salmon again. A hook up and away we went again. Little wonder the bream were left alone when fishing was this good.

The author with a cracking bream from Ansons Bay.

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Just occasionally while bait fishing, a fish would be hooked which took off like a train and eventually was brought back to the boat with the call, ‘It’s a bream.’ What is it about bream which causes such excitement? Maybe it’s that long run as it hits your bait and peels line off your reel. Or that big golden side as it flashes in the sunlight when you manage to bring it close to the boat….Whatever it is, the bream fishing has had me hooked since those early days. Plenty of time was also spent up the Ansons River as this is a well known area for catching big bream on bait, if you can get your through the thousands of small ‘pocket watch’ size silver trevally and juvenile bream. Again being young and easily distracted, catching those small trevally on bait was heaps of fun until the bait bucket was empty and not much to show for the efforts. I recall tying on the smallest hooks we had at the time just to teach these little fish a lesson. It was great fun at the time. And it is still a great place to take the kids these days - never a dull moment, baiting hooks and untangling lines. While all this distraction was great fun at the time, the stories of the big bream which were resident in the bay and how to catch them were often shared by some of the older fishermen. It is these stories I would have to credit (or blame) for my obsession with catching bream. I am not sure whether it was because of the patience and passion these guys had to teach us as young kids how to fish, or the ability to tell the story of how to catch that bream of a lifetime. Of the planning that went into a bream fishing trip. The bait must be fresh, preferably a spotted sand crab, or a fresh locally caught ‘sardine’ The tide must be right at its peak. Just wait for the tide to just start to run out. The cast must be made so the bait sits right on the edge of the weed of a particular deep hole. The bream, if there will pick up the crab and take off like a scalded cat. Make sure that you have some slack line so it does not feel any resistance until the hook is well into the bream’s mouth. Then strike as hard as you can with the old Jarvis Walker Black Queen to set the hook and hang on while a 5lb bream rips line from your Mitchell 301 reel. Well that was the plan anyway. And it did happen to plan on occasion. But, there were also plenty stories of the one that got away. I recall being shown some scales from the side of one bream which was hooked and spat the hook which collected some scales on the way out which were almost as big as 5 cent pieces. This definitely increased the passion and determination of trying to land one of these old and wily monster bream. Back in those days the rule of thumb for catching bream was fish a ‘secret spot’ in the bay which was a sand patch surrounded by weed around 2 -3 metres deep. Crabs, prawns, or the ‘sardines’ were used for bait. If there was some current or too much wind, a running sinker with the hook around 300-400mm below this separated using a swivel to prevent the sinker from running down the line and interfering with the bait. If conditions allowed an unweighted hook would do and was generally preferred. Cast out into a sand patch and wait patiently. This is a quite effective way to fish if you find an area where the bream are feeding. I recall being in the boat with my father and one of his old mates, who had one of these ‘secret spots’ worked out. Lining up a tree up on a hill with a fence post to the west and the shack up on the hill to the north and the big rock — no need for a GPS those days. Get the anchor in the wrong spot and we would do it all again as there was no way we were going to catch anything if we were even a metre away from the right spot. If we went up the river we would always tie up a to a certain tree and cast as far from the bank into the deep water as we could, usually getting snagged on the submerged timber and rocks, only catching the odd good bream every now and then as generally your line was towed back into

the meanest barnacle encrusted snag they could find. Try stopping a big bream with the old Black Queen when it wants to go home – mission impossible. While travelling up the river and crossing the shallower sections we would often see large bream darting away from the boat. Well it didn’t take long for the decision to start fishing these shallow areas was made. Using crabs for bait one evening I recall around 15 bream being caught on a rocky bottom no more than 1 metre deep and thought maybe there is something in this? If you fish any of the tidal estuaries on the east coast of Tasmania, you will see that there are usually shallow flats surrounding the bays at around 300-500mm deep before the dropping off into the deeper water. These often consist of open sand with patches of weed offering shelter for bait fish, prawns and shrimps and also plenty of bream looking for a feed. Fishing the tidal flats can be some of the most exciting bream fishing to be had. The by catch in the shallows can also be bonus

Madeleine Stingel shows her form

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Fishing News - Page 11

as often flathead, whiting or trevally will move into the shallows as the tide rises. Some fishermen may choose to anchor up and throw a bait into a patch of sand and wait, my preference is to actively move across the flats looking for feeding fish casting one of the many types of soft plastic or hard bodied lures available on the market. These fish are on the flats for one reason only – to eat. So if you can find the bream without them spotting you first, present the right lure and you can normally end up with a bend in your rod. Though some days bream will grab anything you throw at them and other days they will not look at anything you offer. If this happens, keep changing your retrieve or lure until something gets the bream to react and eat your lure. Once you work this out, try and remember what you did and repeat this on the next cast. Bream can be frustrating at times as what worked yesterday may not work today…finding that key which triggers the bite is what makes bream such a challenging fish to catch on lures. Another thing to observe when fishing for bream, is what kind of terrain you caught the last fish on, Is it muddy, sandy, layered with broken rocks or shellfish? Look for these areas again as your next fish will most likely be feeding on similar terrain. Don’t overlook throwing your lure across the top of weed either. Sometimes the bream will be hiding in this. A good tactic here is to have an each way bet and target sand patches within the weed, throwing a suspending hard body lure just on to the weed and drag it back just into the clear patch of sand, letting it sit for a while, and giving the occasional twitch. If a bream is in either the weed or on the sand and looking for an opportunist feed, it will generally hit the lure as it sits there suspended. Some of the best flats to fish are the ones which are exposed at low tide, this is not as common at Ansons Bay as there is limited tidal movement, but Georges Bay and the Swan River have plenty of these to look out for. The bream tucker such as crabs and sand worms remain stranded here once the tide goes out. When the tide moves in again the bream also move in and graze on this smorgasboard. A word of warning though, be very aware of what stage the tide is at if you choose to chase the bream on the flats – miss timing your run back into deeper water could leave you high and dry for quite some time with nothing to cast at but sand – not a bad excuse for being late home from a fishing trip though. Though I would recommend you only use this excuse once. Once the water starts to flow off the flats a good place to try your luck is on the drop off where the water flows back into the main bay or channel. Here look for any cut out or depression where water is being channelled back into the main flow. Often

Might need a bigger fish measure soon. bream will sit waiting in these pockets for a feed to come to them. Throwing a soft plastic or bait up onto the shallow water and letting it wash into the deeper water will sometimes do the trick. So when do you fish the flats? Pretty much when there is enough water to float your boat…. The seasons may vary as well with Summer being the best as the water is warm and the food such as prawns are more abundant. Fishing flats remains pretty good until late winter to early spring. Then the bream tend to gather in deeper water with other things, such as reproduction on their mind. If searching flats during winter, using a good depth sounder, check the temperature readout, if the water is just one or two degree warmer than the deeper water, bream can to be drawn to this and can be in the mood to eat. Particularly on a sunny winters day when the sand is dry at low tide so warms up the water on the incoming tide. They are not there all the time but these areas can be very productive on the right day. One of the big changes with fishing for bream over the years is the gear we now used. This has changed so much since using the old Black Queen and the Mitchell 301. Mind you try and convince some of the older generation anglers out there that there is a better rod on the market — no chance. These days we have high modulus carbon rods with high tech names like ”Nano Series”, which are virtually weightless in your hands and have the power to stop any bream in its tracks. The reels are also light weight and spooled with spider web thin braid or gelspun line, or near invisible fluorocarbon. The breaking strains have reduced as well. With finesse fishing using lightweight lures, line as low as 2lb breaking strain are now used.

Todd and Jacob Lambert having fun on the Scamander River. Fishing News - Page 12

The high tech braids or gelspun lines offer no stretch and high strength for diameter giving excellent distance when casting and also super sensitivity so even the smallest bite can be detected. A leader, preferably using fluorocarbon line,

needs to be tied to the end of these lines. Breaking strain and length of the leader will depend on the area you fish. On flats long leaders of 3-4lb are recommended. Personally I like to use just over 2 rod lengths of leader material as this offers a bit of cushioning when a fish hits the lure and also keeps the braid a reasonable distance from the lure so the fish are not spooked as easily. Others prefer to fill their reels with fluorocarbon lines to decrease the chance of spooking fish. On bright sunny days in clear and shallow water these fluorocarbon lines offer a great advantage. While any style boat or dinghy will do to fish for bream whether with bait or lures, the addition of an electric motor will increase your chances if casting to bream with lures. Especially on flats when searching for fish or holding position in the wind or current or even retrieving your lure from a snag. Some of the modern bow mount electric motors, such as the Minn Kota iPilot, are even equipped with GPS control to hold you in position while you concentrate on trying to catch a fish. A foot control is a must as this enables your hands to be free for important things like casting and retrieving lures. A common sight these days are high performance boats made from fibreglass and aluminium packed with the latest electronics in fish finders, GPS, fully plumbed live wells etc. These boats will float on water less than 300mm deep so are ideal for fishing flats. They are also designed with low sides so do not catch the wind and blow you too quickly across your fishing spot. These boats are pretty much designed for one purpose — catching bream. So what is it about bream that makes us dedicate so much time and effort to try and catch them? Tackle shops are full of the lures and rods which are always improving and evolving. Each year something new hits the shelf which is the latest and greatest thing to trick the old wily bream into biting your hook and we all rush out and buy it. Maybe it is because each day when fishing for bream it is never the same as the last time? Just when you think you have everything right, done all your homework on the right bait or lure and the tides and the weather the bream will just not participate in your master plan. And when it does work, these days are golden and keep you coming back for more. Maybe it is that distinct “Clunk” when a bream hits your lure then that first blistering run as it makes the drag on your reel scream as it charges off to the nearest barnacle covered snag? Whatever it is about bream and, I for one, at every opportunity will be hooking up the boat and heading to an estuary system on the East Coast of Tasmania in pursuit of these wily old bream. Grant Stingel

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Fishing News - Page 13

Sedgehogs Joe Riley

and Muddlers

t’s warming at last! The weather is becoming more predictable and water temperatures have accordingly risen. Along with this comes the hatches and falls of insects which bring trout to the surface. The sinking lines can be put away for a while and the excitement of top of the water fishing can take its place. Not only does static dry fly come to the fore, but also top of the water loch style techniques particularly on rougher days.

constructed of feather. There are two bob fly patterns which break this mould and are very successful, they are designed to imitate sedge, however they can be modified for use when mayfly or other insects are on the water. While the other bob flies will drown easily and be drawn under the surface, these will stay in the surface, even if drawn under they pop right back through, which is in itself a deadly inducement to trout.

Loch style fishing - is generally done with a team of three flies and it will produce some very visual and exciting fly fishing. Trout are drawn to the surface morsels. Loch style fishing is not new, it has been mainstream in Tasmania for well over a decade, brought to the attention through successful use by competition anglers.

The Muddler, which was originally the Muddler minnow originated in the USA in 1937. This pattern was originally tied as a large streamer to represent a bait fish the sculpin, however downsized versions are recognized as a good pattern to imitate sedge (Caddis). The Muddler can be tied in a number of sizes and colour combinations and I find size 10 14 the most valuable, (however #14’s are a bit of a pain to tie). They work well in rough water, and as a rule the rougher the water the bigger the fly. They are fished with one or two trailing flies such as traditional small wets, soft hackled spider or nymph patterns or even a small woolly bugger. The pattern is commercially available as a mini Muddler and the best colours are natural, black and orange. They are a good pattern for more than just when caddis are around. Try them as a general attractor/bob fly.

The bob fly is the top fly in the team which causes a wake in the surface and imitates a natural insect blowing along the surface of the water or attempting to fly free of the grip that water surface holds on it. There are many bob flies, however probably the best known amongst local anglers is the claret dabbler. The mixture of a claret seals fur body and palmered hackle, along with bronze mallard over and under wing makes this a very ‘buggy’ looking fly which is really successful around the mayfly lakes. There are many other successful flies such as the Clan chief, Kate McLaren, Bibio and Zulu, all traditional patterns which are predominantly

effective in the surface at creating a strong wake to get the attention of a trout. The simplest Sedgehog fly is tied with a silk underbody and small clumps (usually three) of deer hair tied in a layered fashion on top of the hook. More developed ties involve dubbed fur body and tinsel ribs, with tails of various Materials. The under body is very visible and can be tied in a variety of colours to suit your favourites, Hares fur, Bibio, and Claret are top colour combinations. A well tied sedgehog is almost unsinkable and can be pulled under the surface only to pop back up again.

The Sedgehog was the best top dropper fly for the Australian Team at the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships when getting the bronze medal at the Isle of Islay in Scotland 2009, a claret Sedgehog was also used by the Gold medal Australian team during the 2012 Commonwealth Championships on the shore beats at Little Pine Lagoon.

The second fly is the Sedgehog and this too originated in the USA. Again constructed largely of deer hair, it also represents sedge and is very

Experiment with your retrieve.

Fishing Technique Both the Muddler and the Sedgehog are fished in a similar way, prior to fishing they should be sparingly treated with floatant. Once this is done you fish the fly with a floating line with a twitchy retrieve to create an erratic slow wake in the surface. This will draw fish up to take the fly, but if the trout does not take it will still bring the fish to where your trailing and less obvious flies are following. Often they will find these more acceptable.

Ross Pullin fishing a team of flies on Woods Lake. Fishing News - Page 14

Like all techniques with fly fishing, no single retrieve is ever all you need as fish react differently in varying conditions. Some days a fast pulled retrieve will result in vicious slashing takes, while on other days it will result with fish coming up boiling under the fly excited but not willing to take.

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Make sure the deer hair sits on top go the fly and does not ‘roll’ around the hook. You can tie Sedgehogs on either straight or curved hooks. Tie some of your favourite pattern as Sedgehogs to give them extra float ability. I haven’t gone into full tying instructions for these flies are so many variations you can make. there are also dozens of video clips on YouTube as to how to tie them. Davie McPhail does many good flies including Sedgehog and River Muddler, these are on the money and far easier to follow than any tying notes I could make.

The Muddler and Segehog can add another dimension to fishing an active dry fly either solo or as a bob fly for a team of loch style flies. Their buoyancy coming from deer hair makes them perfect for keeping a fly high on the water, they fish particularly well twitched slowly in the surface around weed beds and other structure where trout may lurk. They are exciting to fish as they induce visible takes not only from small fish but larger trout which confidently ascend to the surface and take the fly. Joe Riley

Joe Riley with the reward.

In windy conditions with a big wave a floating line on the surface becomes a little problematic, the excess slack in the line from the waves makes hooking fish harder. A slow sink tip or slow intermediate line can be used in these conditions to effectively pull the flies through the waves. This can be very effective and again result in good takes and hook ups because of a more direct line to the flies.

THE INCENTIVES TO GO TROUT FISHING IN TASMANIA ARE BIGGER THAN EVER.

In calmer conditions a dead slow figure eight or hand twist retrieve just moving the fly can result in a snout appearing over the top over the fly drawing it into the trout’s mouth. I always find these takes exciting as they often occur without any sign that the trout has been following the fly and all you see is the snout appear from calm water and sink back through the surface with your fly.

Big rains – lots of water

The Sedgehog is also a very good static dry fly, it is very visible due to the bulk that is achieved above the water with splayed layers of deer hair, while it keeps a slim natural profile from below.

Big stretches of quality rivers

Tips for tying a Muddler for Tassie Use good quality deer hair, dyed or natural for both Muddlers and Sedgehogs. Choose or model the rear of the fly on known working patterns. I like chocolate hare’s fur with a palmered brown grizzle hackle, or claret seals fur palmered. Use a long shanked hook.

The Tasmanian trout fishery is in peak condition after three seasons of good rainfall. Higher water levels and the persistent inundation of fresh ground have brought an abundance of aquatic life. Weed beds have regrown in previously dry areas, providing habitat for aquatic invertebrates and excellent foraging grounds for trout. This season is predicted to be one of the best in years.

Big opportunities all year round

Big choice of fishing spots

Sedgehog

Premium wild trout fisheries in the Central Highlands such as Arthurs, Great and Woods lakes have benefited greatly from higher lake levels, and fishing there is only expected to improve. These are the most popular waters in the state, having large populations of wild trout and providing excellent fishing using all methods.

Dub small sections of the body before tying in small clumps of deer hair tips.

This year roads to Brushy Lagoon and Large Bay (Lake Echo) have been upgraded along with further work on the Woods Lake Road, incuding safety advisory signage. Boat ramp improvements have been completed at Great Lake, Four Springs Lake, Bronte Lagoon and Lake Mackintosh. Bronte Lagoon with its floating pontoon sets the standard for freshwater facilities. A rock break wall has been constructed at Woods Lake to provide protection from south-westerly winds. Carparks at Camerons Lagoon and Little Pine Lagoon have been upgraded.

Big numbers of wild fish

Don’t use Tasmanian fallow deer hair for floating patterns, this particular deer has very coarse hair which does not float at all well so your Muddlers won’t float either.

Proportion is the key to tying this fly. Getting the right proportion can take a bit of getting used to, so persist.

Big improvements to roads and ramps

Stretches of quality angling water found in several of Tassie’s renowned lowland rivers, which were previously difficult to access through private property, have now been opened up to anglers including the recently completed Tyenna River. These projects add to those already undertaken on the River Leven, Meander, Macquarie, Lake and North Esk rivers and Brumbys Creek, along with the Huon River in the south, since the River Access Program began in 2007.

Now in its fourth year of operation, the IFS modern hatchery is producing increased numbers of fry and fingerling stock from wild fish for stocking. These trout are being grown to larger sizes before their release, resulting in improved stocking effectiveness. This means better fishing in waters such as the Western Lakes,Penstock Lagoon, Lake Crescent and Four Springs Lake.

Another benefit of the increased rainfall has been a bigger range of attractive fishing options throughout Tasmania, particularly at places such as Lake King William, Lake Echo, Tooms Lake, Lake Leake and Lake Pedder. There will be plenty of un-crowded waters, banks and shores to choose from this season.

Big wild trout waters

Huntsman Lake, a new fishery resulting from the construction of the Meander Dam in 2008, has a large population of wild brown trout. It’s already a popular fishery, being easily accessed from Devonport and Launceston, and it is now open all year round. Other all-year waters include Great Lake, Lake Barrington, Brushy Lagoon, Craigbourne Dam, Lake Burbury, Lake Pedder and Meadowbank Lake, along with the estuarine sections of the Leven, Tamar, Derwent and Huon rivers.

Big rejuventation Following three years of good rain, previously droughtstricken waters in the south-east – Craigbourne Dam, Lake Leake, Lake Dulverton and Tooms Lake – refilled with water. They’ve been stocked intensively since, reinvigorating these fisheries and reclaiming their previous popular angling status. They’re well worth a visit early in the season when the weather in the highlands may be less favourable.

Big for family fishing Easy to catch adult domestic fish are stocked in lowland waters, particularly those promoted as popular regional fisheries. These include Lake Barrington in the north-west, Brushy Lagoon and Curries River Dam in the north, and Lake Meadowbank and Craigbourne Dam in the south. These stockings, particularly the periodic stocking of trophy size Atlantic salmon in some of these waters, will continue throughout the season.

For more information or to buy a 2012-13 Tasmanian angling licence visit www.ifs.tas.gov.au or discovertasmania.com

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Fishing News - Page 15

Making a Trophy Geoff Madden and John Wilesmith

147 kg Southern bluefin tuna C

imagining it was going to be no ordinary task.

atching the fish of a lifetime was one thing, but preserving it as a trophy was going to be another. Since the capture of the massive 147kg Southern Bluefin Tuna which we had now affectionately called ‘Charlie’, the desire to have the fish immortalised grew. But just how do you freeze a fish head and backbone that weighed over 50 kg and measured over 2 metres long? Most of the flesh had been shared among friends, family and neighbours and in the first week alone it was calculated that over 140 people had eaten a meal from “Charlie”. Some had commented “best sashimi ever” whilst others had preferred the taste of the smaller, tastier, softer school bluefin tuna. Charlie had been grilled, fried, curried, marinated, smoked, baked, battered, mornayed, and yes…even eaten raw.

Ben, Geoff and Chris Madden with ‘Charlie’.

A full fish mount was now out of the question, and it was decided that a head mount was going to be the best option. Finding a freezer that was big enough and empty enough to fit a fish head the size of a garbage bin in was a task in itself, but after a bit of a food shuffle we managed to locate one within the family. Once we had the head securely wrapped and frozen, we breathed a sigh of relief. The task of bringing Charlie back to life, was going to need someone who would tackle the project without it being ‘just another job’, someone who would throw their heart and soul into it, someone with patience, skill and dedication. After a statewide search to

find a craftsman able and available to tackle the project, a feature article in TFBN (issue 96 Feb 2012) about fish taxidermy led us to John Wilesmith from www.airbrushedtolife.com who now continues the article. “I have been practicing the challenging art form of skin mount fish taxidermy for a number of years now and earlier this year I was offered a challenge that I simply could not refuse. Geoff Madden and his sons Ben and Chris had caught a massive 147 kilo Southern Bluefin Tuna (featured in the 2009 issue 81 of TFBN) off the east coast of Tasmania. When I was contacted, asking me if I could make a trophy of it, the head of the fish had already been frozen for 2 years. I liked the challenge though and agreed,

It wasn’t till the head was delivered that I realised just how big a job I had taken on. The massive head dwarfed any trout I had previously worked on and I realised that I was going to have to upsize my mould making and spraying gear for starters. At first inspection the head was going to need some modeling or rebuilding before the moulding process because of the angle it had been cut from the backbone and to get its original shape back. It was also needed to allow it to fit properly onto the hand crafted Huon pine backing board. A traditional skin mount wasn’t going to be practical, so I decided that a fiberglass reproduction was going to give the best result.”

Making a mould of ‘Charlie’.

The finished mould.

The following is a brief outline of the process and challenges involved in making such a large trophy. “Once the work on ‘Charlie’s’ head had begun, I realised that it was a much bigger task than first thought. It measured 78cm long by 56cm deep and 95cm across the pectoral fins. After the head had been reshaped at the back, it was delicately set in place in the recently upsized and rebuilt mould ready for the first half to be encased in plaster Once set, the other half could be cast. The pectoral and pelvic fins were removed from the head and had their own separate moulds so that no details were lost.

Out of the mould.

After seven 20 kilo bags of plaster were used, we had the complete set of moulds for Charlie’s head and fins. Casting a mould in the middle of winter didn’t provide the best drying conditions and because of all the wet plaster, the head mould was so heavy when cast that a small trolley with casters was needed in order to move it around.

‘Charlie’ was big and heavy.

Over the next few weeks it was wheeled around the yard a fair bit finding the best place to dry it in the sun and whatever breeze was on offer. Only when the moulds were thoroughly dry could the fibreglass head be cast from them and then, when done properly, the cast would be an exact copy of the original head. Once the fibreglass cast was removed from the mould you could certainly appreciate the size of it - about Fishing News - Page 16

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Painting needed specialist paint to get a fresh look.

the fun task of painting and bringing it to life began, but not before careful scrutiny of the many photos of the original head to enable the exact colours to be reproduced. Painting and finishing was probably the most satisfying stage of the process as all the work from the previous stages seemed to finally come together and the trophy began to come to life. The air compressor and spray gun needed to be upsized for most of the painting, as the standard detail airbrush was too small to cover such a large area evenly. To give the fish a natural look, pearl paints and iridescent colours were used. The small airbrush was perfect for completing the shading and fine detail, and finally the job was finished with a gloss varnish to give “Charlie” a wet, fresh out of the water look. As with any project of this size and nature, there were many lessons to learn. There were hurdles, challenges and mistakes made along the way but the end result made it all worthwhile. It’s satisfying to now realize that this project had met all the expectations of me and the customer and to know that Charlie is hanging as a permanent reminder of that epic battle that Geoff and the boys had in landing such a magnificent fish. I hope the trophy will be an inspiration to catch plenty more in the future.” Indeed, to have a trophy such as “Charlie” is a testimony not only to the battle fought and won on the day, but also to the caliber of the craftsman we have in Tasmania who was able to reproduce to the finest detail a saltwater species of this size. It’s great to also have the evidence immortalized that puts beyond all doubt and limits any exaggeration as to the real size of “Charlie”.

Ben, Geoff and Chris Madden with ‘Charlie’ - now on permanent display. as big as a tea chest! Now the pre paint preparation work could begin in earnest. Once the cast fins were attached to the main head, the joins were filled ensuring a smooth and perfect transition to the body. A lot of patience was essential to complete the sanding required to remove the mould seam lines and any blemishes caused by the casting process.

Also challenging was the modelling necessary to give the inner mouth its detail, including the tongue and individual teeth.

So once the Everest of fish has been conquered, what more is there to pursue? If it was all about the fish, you could say “nothing” … but it’s always been more about the fishing, and that passion, once inherent, always lives on.

Finally, after waiting many weeks for custom made eyes to arrive from overseas, as standard size eyes were too small for this project, they were set into the head. Once all the prep work was complete

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Fishing News - Page 17

Tasmania’s saltwater fishing history study - you can help. A

study has recently commenced on the history of fishing in Tasmania and the impacts this may have had on stocks of popular recreational fishing species including rock lobster, flathead, flounder, trumpeter and gummy shark. The study, conducted through the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, will provide a better understanding of how the numbers, size and distribution of popular fishing species have changed over time. Using a variety of information sources, the study will also provide a clearer picture of how various fisheries have responded to fishing and other pressures. From a historical point of view, understanding the relationship between fishing and the viability of fish stocks is a growing area of research. Generally speaking, additional fishing pressures result in a reduction in both

the numbers of fish available and average fish size. In some cases, fishing pressure can also affect fish distribution. However, as scientific population assessments of fish stocks are a relatively modern tool, the state of most fisheries prior to formal assessments is poorly understood. As such, fisheries researchers are increasingly turning to other methods to get a longer view on the health of fish stocks and to complement data from scientific assessments. Such studies are often called ‘baseline studies’ as they seek to determine the state of the subject under investigation at a time predating human exploitation. In the process, many baseline studies also attempt to ‘fill in the gaps’ between the ‘baseline state’ and the present state. As fish have been exploited for thousands of years in many parts

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Flathead are one of Tasmania’s most popular fish, but little is known of the history surrounding the fish and fishery. of the world, establishing a baseline understanding of fish stocks is very difficult and based on ancient and poorly recorded information. However, as most Tasmanian fish species have been harvested for less than 200 years, the shorter time span and the existence of comparatively reliable information on local fisheries provides an excellent opportunity to conduct a study of this type. There are various means of collecting information and data to conduct baseline studies on fish populations. In a nutshell, the ways in which this is done largely depend on how far back in time researchers need to go. In some cases, ancient texts and paintings have provided information to indicate how large or abundant some fish species were. In the case of Tasmania, the composition of aboriginal middens and journal entries by early explorers may provide the earliest records. More recently, but before modern stock assessments, information on fisheries viability has been inferred through fisheries management agency reports, newspaper articles, journal articles, commercial catch data and parliamentary reports. As a local example, a Royal Commission into Tasmanian marine fisheries in 1882 provided numerous observations of how abundant various fish species were at the time.

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Another way of collecting historical information is by talking to people who have been catching or observing fish for a long period of time. These people possess a wealth of knowledge that is valuable to researchers and may have implications for the way fisheries are managed. While the recollections of some older fishers pre-date modern stock assessments, more recent recollections may be used to complement or supplement scientific data. For some fisheries however, formal stock assessments have never been conducted in which case information provided by fishers may be one of the primary means of obtaining information on fish stocks. The ‘value’ of such information is even greater if it can be supported by photographic or written accounts of fish catches or observations over the years At this stage of the study, we are inviting fishers or others with an enduring involvement in Tasmanian marine fisheries (i.e. divers) to participate. If you have been involved in fishing in Tasmania for at least 30 years and would like to know more about the study, please call Dr. Sven Frijlink on 0400 643653 and an information sheet will be sent to you. We appreciate your interest in this project and the opportunity to contribute to a better understanding of how our fish stocks and marine ecosystems have changed over time. Sven Frijlink

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Fishing News - Page 19

Flies from Mick Hall’s Fly Box

Mick Hall has been around the fly fishing and fly tying scene seemingly forever. He lives at Eildon - arguably the trout fishing capital of Victoria. He has featured in and written hundreds of magazine articles, taught many anglers to fly fish and tie flies and developed hundreds of unique patterns for Australian conditions. Over a few issues we are going to share a few of his flies with you. They are available in tackle stores.

The Chaser has crossed all boundaries, being the cross between fresh and salt water. I have not only caught both Rainbow and Brown trout on this pattern but it has worked for me on Lakes around Launceston and on my home waters around Eildon in Victoria. It and variations have also taken Bream and small Salmon in our Estuaries. For those who tie their own flies, the pattern is as follows: Mustad R50 or R74

Size:

10 to 8

Thread:

White 8/0

Gold Bead: Size to match; a black bead is another option

The Chaser © - as designed by Mick Hall circa 2003 It was back in the days of the Bronte Tie-in, around 2003, that I first put this pattern together. The reason for its development was to use not just on smelt feeders but cruisers as well.

Strip in four quick strips and let it sink again. Hold your rod tip about a metre off the water and watch the line closely. Repeat the exaggerated stripping and watch very closely as on your second set of retrieves you frequently get a take if a fish has been watching your fly. Does this fly still work with normal stripping techniques? Yes it does and again, if you come across smelting trout crashing into a small school of bait fish, cast The Chaser into the swirl and let it sink for a bit and slowly retrieve. Many times trout feeding in this manner will crash into a small school using their bodies to injure some of the small fish. They hang around and take their time mopping up their rewards before moving on. This fly has spawned a number of variants including the rubber legged Black Chaser as shown below.

Rubber-legged Black Chaser© as tied by Mick Hall Fishing News - Page 20

Rubber Legs are an option if required.

You can check more stuff on my website, www. kossiedun.com.au Mick Hall

Mick Hall Series - Pisces Flies MH1 Aussie Adams

MH2 Mick’s Scruffy

MH3 Ruby Bug

MH4 Rubber-legged Royal Wulff

MH5 rubber legged

MH6 Chaser

MH7 Laser Minnow

MH8 Woolly Frog

MH9 Rubber legged Black Chaser

MH10 Rubber legged Woolly Worm

MH11 Chartreuse Woolly Bugger

MH12 Cockchafer Beetle

MH13 Little Green Wattle Beetle

MH14 Gum Beetle

MH15 Tadpole

MH16 Chopper Hopper

MH17 Para Caddis - Green

MH18 Para Caddis - Cream

MH19 Para Caddis - Tan

MH20 Para Caddis - Black

MH21 Compressed Devonshire Dun

MH22 Comp Macca Brown Dun Rev

MH23 All - round Brown

MH24 Penstock Brown Comp Reverse

MH25 Penstock Brown Comp Dun

MH26 Para Penstock Brown

MH27 Dark Highland Dun

MH28 Light Highland Dun

MH29 Peeping Stick Caddis Small

MH30 Peeping Stick Caddis Large

MH31 Hanging Midge

MH32 Emerging Midge

MH33 Full Stop (Black Midge Ball)

MH34 All Round Brown Nymph

MH35 Damsel Fly

MH36 Green Water Beetle

MH37 Brown Water Beetle

MH38 Black Water Beetle

MH39 Highland Nymph

MH40 Black Spinner

MH41 Spent Black Spinner

MH42 Macca Red Spinner

MH43 Orange Spent Spinner

MH44 Ruby Black Spent Spinner

MH45 Compress Para Kossie Dun

MH46 Kossie Para Dun

MH47 Pregnant Scud

MH48 Water Boatman

I was looking for a special action and as you can see, I have tied the tail a little longer than normal. The idea for this long tail was for it to kick up as it was sinking, imitating an injured or dying bait fish. This fly was designed for deepish water using a simple hang and strip type retrieve. In other words tying to induce a take whilst blind fishing. The trick is to cast the fly out some distance or near a likely looking spot, let it sink for a few seconds depending on the depth of water, maybe count up to ten, then lift the rod tip as you retrieve shaking the tip a little as you go.

Body: Enrico Puglisi Sparkle colour “Pearl” - use as dubbing with dark olive green marking pen over the back of the fly Notes: Other body colour options in the EP Sparkle range are: Black/Purple, Black/Red, Chartreuse, Pearl/Olive, Root Bear and Purple/ Fuchsia. In fact there is some 28 colours available in the EP Sparkle range so the options here are almost endless and it is so easy to work with.

The Chaser © as tied by Mick Hall Hook:

Tail: Dark Olive Green Marabou tied in up to twice as long as the shank

Flies designed by Mick Hall and tied under licence for Pisces Flies - Clarkson Imports. MH49 Rusty Dun Reversed

MH50 Blue Dun Reversed

MH51 EP Spider Mudeye Brown

MH53 Clear Water Shrimp

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Fishing News - Page 21

A Merseylea Morning Peter Broomhall

am a fly fisher living on the banks of the Mersey River in Latrobe in northern Tasmania. Some, close to me, think I am obsessed. I get to see close hand the cycles of the river and its inhabitants throughout the changing seasons. For me the most exciting time of the trout fishing season is late spring and early summer when the aquatic insects, like the caddis flies, stoneflies and above all the majestic mayfly, are going through their hatching stages. What follows is a story of a spring morning’s fishing on my favourite stream.

Early start The din of the mobile phone alarm in the predawn darkness signals it is time to jump out of bed, wipe the sleep from the eyes, grab a coffee and a quick bite to eat in readiness for what I hope to be a frantic morning session fishing on the river. The fishing in the weeks immediately previous to this had seen a steady buildup in insect activity on the river and my hopes were that with the weather predictions that this foray just might be the best yet. The short drive down into the river valley at Merseylea is full of anticipation with the reddish sky off to the east heralding the breaking dawn. Mist is slowly rising off the farmers ponds that dot the countryside throughout this region and a low fog is hanging in the valley. Plentiful wildlife such as wallabies and rabbits are evident along the road verges making the most of the last hours of darkness to feed on the lush grass that grows in abundance at this time of the year. The decision on location had been decided the evening before and today’s adventure would start at a bridge access that had generally provided reliable fishing in the past. As soon as I pulled the vehicle into the parking area adjacent to the bridge which is conveniently Fishing News - Page 22

provided by the farmer. This is probably more to stop people parking in front of his gates than anything else, but we are grateful for that. It was off to check the river conditions and also to check if there are any of the “bridge fish” on the chew. A quick glance over the bridge railing confirmed a couple of vital pieces of information. Firstly the river was at a perfect height for the morning fishing and more importantly the fish were already feeding hard. The water surface at the tail of the pool below the bridge pylons was being regularly punctuated by rings of rises from feeding trout and most probably native grayling—a free rising small fish that is regularly encountered in this river system. Sometimes it is enjoyable to stand and watch the bridge fish go about their business but not this morning as I had a plan in mind.

Morning Hatch A dash back to the vehicle to grab the flyrod and associated paraphernalia and then it’s time to head downstream along the bordering paddocks for a kilometre or so. This short walk will give me plenty of water to fish on the way back upstream to the car for at least a few hours if the action is solid enough. By the time I had reached the bottom of the stretch where I intended to start fishing the light had strengthened considerably. The walk downstream had been halted a few times to survey each pool. I had been considerably heartened at what I had seen as in each likely spot a feeding trout could be observed. In fact it took quite a bit of discipline not to jump in and start fishing right there and then!! Once at the predetermined starting point I slipped into the water quietly at the tail of the long glide. Immediately a smattering of small caenid duns drifting along in the bubble lines and current seams were evident. This tiny mayfly hatches en masse in

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the Mersey during mid to late November through into December and also creates quite a bit of action in the feeding trout department. The hatch usually occurs in the few hours after first light, starting with a few individuals building quickly up to a crescendo where on the best days the water is literally covered in fly. The fishing itself though can be very technical and demanding with plenty of refusals to be expected, especially on the heavy hatch days. The caenids are known to flyfishers by a few names and amongst these are the unflattering ‘fishermans curse’ and ‘smut’ just to give an indication of the difficulties that can arise when they are on the water in numbers. In recent seasons though I have had quite a bit of success on the caenid feeders using a small, (size 16-18) F Fly tied with natural coloured CDC wing and a hares ear dubbed body with just a little UV flash mixed with the dubbing. That success has given me confidence that most of the caenid feeders can be brought undone with a little perseverance, although there are exceptions to the rule. After entering the tail of the pool I immediately started scanning the bubble lines, current seams and back eddys. These are the places where the food, such as Caenids and Baetids, another small mayfly that is common on the Mersey, often get concentrated and as such making them an easy meal for a hungry trout. A few hearty sips and clops were soon seen and just as much heard only a short distance above my position. Trout feeding on caenid mayfly are really quite noisy when they are taking the flies from the surface film but interestingly the rise forms often create very little disturbance. It

is a strange feeling when you can hear the fish rising but cannot actually see them. After ensuring my fly and tippet was ready for action a short cast was placed a few feet above the nearest noisy riser. The F Fly floated a short distance before it was sucked down in no uncertain terms. I lifted to feel solid resistance and a nice sized Merseylea brown was soon airborne. The trout put up stubborn resistance but into the net he eventually went. Landing a trout early on does wonders for the confidence and to get one first cast for the day is a real bonus. After the obligatory photos were taken the trout was gently released back into his domain and then I refocused on the next potential victim. As the light got stronger and stronger so did the caenid hatch. By about 7:30am the air was full of spinners and there was a mixture of duns and spent flies gently floating down the currents. The trout were also responding with gusto and the sound of sips, clops and slurps was music to my ears. Plenty of trout were covered in this first river pool and success was forthcoming. Half a dozen fine fat browns came to hand and as many were missed, pricked or lost after a short fight. All fish fell to the little greyish F Fly, it was certainly proving its worth today again.

Main pic: A raft of caenids like this is not uncommon on the Mersey. Inset: A few useful flies. The F Fly is shown at the bottom.

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Fishing News - Page 23

At around the 3lb mark himself he was prime river trout, in picture perfect condition with golden cheeks, large black spots and beautiful olive green back.

Mid Morning Duns As the peak of the caenid hatch came and went a few large black spinner duns started popping to the surface. These duns are among the largest of the varieties of Tasmanian mayfly and as such a marked difference to the tiny caenids that were in abundance only a short time before. A few trout started making splashier type rises instead of the gentle sips, a sure sign that at least some had switched over their feeding to the larger mayfly dun. While these duns generally do not emerge in the huge concentrations of the caenids their presence is certainly a feeding trigger for the resident trout. My fly of choice on the Mersey for these risers is a variant of the shaving brush emerger. Tied on a #14 curved shank hook, with a pheasant tail body and Chocolate Labrador underfur wing, I have dubbed it the “Brown Dog emerger”. The natural oils in the fur help to make it float nicely and you can really slap this fly down without fear of it sinking. I have found the shallow pool tails to be the hotspot for trout feeding on the larger genus of mayfly duns. The trout will line up in these spots and feed consistently when the hatch is at its peak. It is really visual and exciting fishing as the fish will lazily slurp the hatching duns from the surface in full view across the shingle bottomed shallows.

Not many rivers hold good brownies like this. A real bonus with the caenid hatch on the Mersey is that it brings most of the larger stream fish out of hiding. The sheer amount of fly on the surface makes for an easy meal for the large browns and they will be found in the prime lies in each pool taking advantage of the smorgasbord on offer. Don’t be fooled by small rise forms during this hatch, any disturbance in the prime spots should be covered as a priority. You will quite often be surprised by a huge splash and heavy weight on the strike when expecting a small fish after covering a mere dimple rise.

The real McCoy and the Brown Fishing News - Page 24

One such trout was found rising with purpose beside a willow clump dragging in the river. The current was pushing around this clump creating a very nice bubble line. A big snout could be observed coming out at regular intervals sucking down some of the constant stream of caenids being pushed around the obstruction. Getting into position as quickly as possible without spooking the trout I first ensured the little F Fly was dry, they can take a bit of floating after being “slimed” a few times. A quick dab with Frogs Fanny, a dessicant style dry fly floatant that works wonders with CDC flies, I was ready for action. It took a few tries to get the fly in the right area as these bigger trout will rarely move more than a few inches across to take. I had finally managed to get the tiny fly in line amongst the bubbles drifting past the willow clump when the big snout went over the top of it. A short pause and I lifted and then all hell broke loose. The trout first tried to dive under the willow clump and when I successfully stopped him on this pursuit he turned and went flying downstream with the little Vision reel screaming in protest. This trout really tested the limits of the 3lb tippet material before he Dog Emerger. succumbed to the net.

On this particular morning I had reached the bottom of a favourite run for dun feeders. The mid morning air was already quite warm and from a distance I had already spied quite a few hearty slurps along a shallow edge. Getting closer I could see no less than four really good sized fish lined up along an edge spaced only a few metres apart regularly taking emergers from the surface film. I tried to pick out the largest trout from the group but unfortunately the biggest was at the top sitting as to be expected, in the prime lie. By risking a cast at him there would be a fair chance that the others would be spooked and surely take him with them. There was nothing for it but to try and pick them all off one by one. By carefully measuring casts and immediately dragging the fish downstream after the take as firmly as possible with the lightweight rod I was able to achieve the first part of the aim. One of these smaller fish had come to hand and a couple came free shortly after hookup but luckily they had darted off sideways. Amazingly the target trout was still finning nicely in the current and occasionally slurping a dun from the surface seemingly oblivious to all the commotion below him. Getting into a position slightly downstream and across from the solid brown, to assist with a dragless drift, I put out a long cast. The fly, a BDE, landed slightly across from him but he had no hesitation in sliding across and slurping it down. Once again a slight pause and lift resulted in a solid hookup. This brown led me on a merry dance across the shallow pool. He had a destination in mind, somewhere deep under the willows on the other bank, and it took quite a bit of side strain to stop the trout from achieving his purpose. Eventually though he succumbed to the landing net. This beautiful brown was another great trout, so typical of this river system in recent years. After a gentle release I watched him cruise across the stream and finally make it into his hidey hole up under the willows.

Indicator Nymphing By the time I had fished my way back up to the bridge it was almost midday. By this stage the trout had almost finished looking for surface film mayflies and had started flinging themselves out of the water in frantic attempts to take spinners on the wing. While this feeding is certainly spectacular it can also be very frustrating trying to tempt the jumpers with dry flies. I have found that it is much more reliable to achieve a few hook-ups by targeting the faster water with weighted nymphs under an indicator when the

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spinner feeders are about. While there are many styles of indicator on the market these days I tend to go for something much easier to obtain and far far cheaper. A piece of sheeps wool picked off a barbed wire fence simply looped onto the leader works wonderfully well. The floatation properties of the wool, similar to the Labrador underfur with its natural oils, are superior to any synthetic material I have seen. The rest of the setup is a weighted nymph, usually a size 14 tungsten bead headed Pheasant Tail or Hares Ear nymph variant, with a smaller lighter weighted nymph trailing from the bend. A good rule of thumb is to have the top or weighted nymph set approximately one and half times the depth of the water below the indicator. The trailing nymph is usually set about 60 centimetres further back. It also pays to vary the bead head colour and size of the trailing nymph until you find a combination that works. Copper, gold and nickel beads are all reliable fish takers on the Mersey. Conveniently just below the bridge access that I had used earlier in the morning there were a couple of sections of fastwater that have some fish holding areas that are just perfectly suited to indicator nymphing. I had already had a great mornings dry fly action but the chance to drift a couple of nymphs through the pockets and seams of the fastwater was too much too resist. After quickly setting up my rig I began exploring the likely fish holding sections. It was not long before the little indicator was pulled violently below the surface as it was dancing down along a nicely formed current seam. With no hesitation I lifted the rod and felt a pleasing resistance on the line, the trout this time a lively rainbow threw itself out of the water and tried every trick in the book to release itself before coming to hand. He had taken the top nymph, a copper bead headed Cadillac nymph, one of many pheasant tail nymph variants tied today. Quite a few rainbow trout tend to fall for indicator nymphing tactics. The percentage of rainbows taken by this type of fishing is much, much higher than traditional dry fly fishing in the Mersey River. The

Occasionally a beautiful rainbow will come along. main reason for this is that the type of water targeted by the nymph fisher is also the preferred habitat of the rainbows. These fish are lovers of the fast, rippled pocket water. Plenty of browns are fooled by the drifting nymphs as well as some beautiful little grayling at times. Working my way up through the ripples I managed plenty of takes on the nymph combination. A few more brightly coloured trout came to hand, others were lost and so as sometimes is the case with the nymph fishing, many others were missed as I was just not fast enough on the lift.

Morning Summary After clambering back up the bank and then standing on the bridge looking back downstream I

had a chance to reflect on the mornings fishing that I had just encountered. From the sipping takes of the early caenid feeders, to the slurps of the trout rising to mayfly duns, through to the visual feast of the fish jumping to take spinners on the wing and then finally the watching of the little wool indicator bobbing along the current it had been a wonderful mornings sport. There were plenty of other sidelights to the day as well. Platypus feeding in the river and the myriad of native birdlife from the diminutive blue wrens feasting on the hatching insects through to a pair of majestic sea eagles circling on the air currents that call this section of the river home, there is plenty to see if the fishing was actually slow. Peter Broomhall

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Fishing News - Page 25

Jan’s Jan Spencer

ver the last couple of months I have traveled to some of Australia’s most remote red sand country where there were fish in remote billabongs. These are fed by the northern waters flowing into Lake Eyre Basin. To be invited onto a million acre station catching golden perch (yellow belly) and grunter was a great privilege and is another fishing adventure ticked off. From there we went to the Snowy Mountains, caught trout out of the upper Murray—again in breathtaking scenery. However, we were horrified at the amount of carp in the lakes and waterways of this area. It is just devastating. Back to reality trout and Tasmania though. Many boat fly fishers know of the technique of ‘hanging flies’. If you don’t know, it is basically leaving the flies to ‘hang’ when you have retrieved your wet flies up to the boat. There are a few different variations. One which has given success for me this season is a two or three fly leader. It is the point fly that is the most important one. I was given this fly some years ago for fishing for bass in NSW impoundments. It will catch bream here in Tassie, but this season I have been catching trout. This fly is called a Wiggle and it is a little different than normal as it will dive and then float to the top again. This is due to the way the foam body is cut. This fly is fished on the point.

Flies

Dub on the body, finishing back from the hook eye. Whip finish and cut thread away and varnish this. Pull the foam strip over the body not too tightly as you will pull the air out of the fly. This fly is designed to rise in the water when retrieving is stopped. Now make a small hole in the centre of the foam strip and push the eye of the hook through the foam to secure the foam. Put a nice big dob of glue on each side of the foam where the eye comes through.

About 1.2m up the leader a nymph dropper of choice is added and then another 1.2m I like to add a Claret and a Mallard. My leaders are tied off a nine foot tapered leader. I find this gives a much better turn over than straight line leaders. This will give around a 17ft leader and is not hard to handle with the wind at your back.

Wiggle Thread: Black Hook: 10-12 long medium weight Tail:

Olive green marabou

Body: Olive green – could be seal fur or a blend of some sort, it’s colour that counts Foam: Rainy’s olive evazote sheet foam in 2mm thickness

Method Thread full length of shank and tie in a marabou tail twice the length of the look shank. Cut away excess marabou. Cut a strip of foam one and a half times the length of the hook shank. Cut a V from the tail end and leave the front until the fly is finished. Tie the foam in with the V section protruding slightly over the top of the tail.

With a very sharp blade cut the foam protruding from the front of the fly back on an angle. Be careful doing this as one wrong cut and its start all over again. Now when using this fly it can be left static on the water surface with the other two flies hanging in the belly. These will be under the water surface. This is sometimes called a washing line hang. When retrieved the fly will dive taking the leader down and rise when retrieving is stopped. Experiment. You will soon get the idea when the fly is rising. Watch your leader carefully as fish will often take when the fly is rising. Season’s greetings, happy and safe fishing. Jan Spencer

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Surf’s Up Jamie Henderson

Fun in the sun - and a few fish too

or as long as people have been coming to the East Coast of Tasmania, surf fishing its beaches has been one of the most popular pastimes. Whilst not always the most productive form of fishing it certainly is one of the most relaxing. Its something that the whole family can be involved in and I have to say its quite something to see a group of families on the beach, dads with a couple of surf rods out, wives sunbaking on the white sand in the sun and the kids either playing happily, building sandcastles or trying their hand at a bit of light surf fishing. The chance to have a holiday on the beach, put a smile on the children’s face and wet a line at the same just can’t be overrated. Add to that the chance of putting a fresh feed of fish on the dinner table and you have wonder whether heaven could be better than this All that is need is a basic range of gear, some comfy camp chairs , an esky full of ice, drinks and food — and of course a separate esky for the bait, sunscreen, hat and sunnies and plenty of time to relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Many of the East Coasts beaches offer very easy access and often some great free camping facilities right on the beach as well as some light rock fishing in some areas.

Tackle Surf fishing is certainly a style of fishing that doesn’t necessarily require you to purchase the most expensive gear that’s out there. As a matter of fact if you were to drop both a $500 reel and a $50 reel in the sand you pretty much end up with the same result for both, they are both full of reel destroying sand and salt except one causes a shrug of the shoulders and ‘I will need to clean that up quickly’ and the other causes a state of hysteria, despair and often a tear or two. In saying that though always try and purchase the best gear you can afford and in the case of surf fishing choose wisely and listen to the advice of the tackle store owner.

Rods/Reels Generally surf rods in the 12 foot, 6-12kg size seem to be the most commonly used and will offer a good all round option for any angler looking to spend some time on the beach. A 12 foot rod offers the best compromise between light weight casting ability and enough length to keep the line above the breaking waves to stop them catching the line and washing the rigs back in. If the area being fished has only light surf and some light rock then a 10 foot rod may be a better option especially if there are any plans to cast a few lures as well as baits. If the surf beaches are steep, can be rough and have a heavy wave and tide action then going up to a 15-16 foot length rod is the best option. Whilst a rod of this length does not necessarily mean you will cast any further, often they will not cast as far as a shorter or lighter rod, they are designed for use with heaver sinkers and weights, this aids in slowing down the movement of baits in strong currents, as well as the longer length to keep the line well above the breaking waves.

Roger Corbett with the staple of Tasmania’s beach fishing — an Australian salmon.

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Fishing News - Page 31

When looking at reels I always suggest a model without too many ball bearings, between 2-4 is fine, this is because if the reel is dropped in the sand…..and it will happen—the less ball bearings a reel has the easier it will be to clean out. Large capacity reels in 6000-10000 sizes are ideal spooled with between 15-20lb lo-stretch monofilament or 15-20lb Braided line.

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When it comes to line choice there are a few different ways to go, traditionally a good quality monofilament of 20-30lb has always been the standard however I consider this to be a tad heavy for most situations. A heavy line is usually quite thick and a thick line with be caught by the incoming wave action and washed ashore quite quickly. A better option is one of the lo-stretch monofilaments available today. Platypus do one of the best versions I have come across and they are an Australian company so even better. The lo-stretch line is very thin for its breaking strain and will offer less resistance in the waves and being a lo-stretch mono will also offer better bite detection. The other option is one of the many braided lines available on the market today, a braided line will offer super thin profile for the least resistance to wave action, increased breaking strain to diameter ratio and zero stretch for optimum bite detection. Sizes in the 15-20lb range are more than adequate for braid but some care is needed when casting as it can cause damage to your casting finger.

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Surf fishing is one of those styles of fishing where keeping everything simple is always the best option and there really is no need for mountains of tackle. A small range of different size star sinkers will be needed for different conditions, star sinkers are the best style as they offer the best resistance to rolling along in the surf like a ball or snapper style sinker would. If conditions are extreme and there is a lot of current or tide flow then the wire surf sinkers are another good option. The wire folds out and grips into the sand and acts similar to a reef anchor for a boat. A small selection of hooks ranging from size #1 through to 3/0 are recommended, for the smaller fish such as mullet and small salmon etc. Styles like Mustad Ultrapoint Penetrator in #1 are ideal but for larger salmon, flathead and other fish longer straight shank stainless steel options in 1/0-3/0 are the best option. If large baits are being used such as whole pilchards and slabs of fish fillet for gummy shark and eagle rays then even ganging 2-3 stainless hooks together is a great option. As far as lures go a small range of silver metal casting lures such as Halco Slices and Shimano Waxwings in 20-50gm will cover and spinning action but the must have for Tasmanian Beaches are the surf poppers. These are a small painted cork or foam surface popper body with some feathers attached to the rear on a hook. Originally they were marketed as Bass Surface Poppers but have now become an iconic Tasmanian surf fishing rig being responsible for more beach catches than any other lure or rig available. Colours vary but generally the red/white and blue/ white combinations are most popular and a small range of these is a must have. There are 2 styles of rig generally used either a standard paternoster rig with star sinker on the bottom and either 2 or 3 arms above or a running sinker rig with the sinker above a swivel and then a short trace o the hook. The standard paternoster rig is used the majority of the time for general fishing and can have a combination of surf poppers and hooks with bait. Sometimes one hook with bait and one popper is the norm but

Poppers can often outfish a bait. Make sure you have one on your rig. often a three hook rig with one bait and two poppers is used. It’s amazing how often the popper is taken over the bait too. The running sinker rig is usually used when targeting shark and rays as they tend to take the bait off the bottom and the trace to the hook is usually a wire trace.

Baits There are a number of baits that will work effectively when beach fishing but by far the most popular is the Bluebait. This is widely available in tackle stores across the state and your local tackle store will have a good turn over of frozen bait so it’s likely to be a lot fresher than service stations or supermarkets. There is always some discussion over the large and small Bluebait but the facts are that it is never available in any particular size, the size of the Bluebait is very inconsistent and is determined on availability to the bait company— sometimes it’s small and sometimes it’s large. Pilchards are another option and are a fantastic bait; they are IQF (individually quick frozen) not salted or treated and offer the best as far as quality of a bait. They are usually available in small bags or up to 2kg blocks.

Rigs for surf/beach fishing are simple. The Paternoster, shown left, can be shop bought or they are easy to make. Below is a running sinker rig using an Easy Rig clip. This make it easy to change sinker weights as required. All tackle shops will have these rigs.

Beach actioncan be slow, but when a school of salmon turn up it can be hectic. John Orchard hooked these salmon on two poppers of different colours. Other baits include trevally fillets, fish pieces, squid and pippies depending on the fish being targeted.

Fish Species The main species targeted when surf fishing from Tasmanian Beaches is the Australian salmon. It is present along most coastlines around the state and can range in size from small 500gm ‘cocky’ salmon right up to 3kg full sized ‘green, or black back’ salmon. They will take the surf popper very readily, silver lures cast from the various rocky outcrops as well as bluebait, pilchard and at times squid. They are a great fighting fish offering fantastic sport as well as being a good eating fish when tossed fresh on a beach side campfire.

Depending on the location sometimes flathead are encountered, whilst not common when present in the area they can be caught quite readily. Yellow eyed mullet are also quite common close in along most beaches, whilst tricky to catch smaller hooks and smaller baits such as squid and pippies will usually bring them undone. But by far the most exciting fish to target from Tasmanian Beaches is the gummy shark. Best times to chase a gummy are usually around the full moon period every month and from dusk on into the night. They will respond well to pilchards, squid and fresh fish fillets such as mullet and salmon. They are a hard fighting fish, offer fantastic sport and are a magnificent table fish especially battered with some chips. However one of the more underrated sports fish you can catch from the beach is the eagle ray. Whilst not offering anything on the way of table fare they do put on a spectacular show once hooked, unlike a skate that will sit on the bottom, the eagle ray will give a blistering run and keep swimming and if in shallow water will sometimes jump clear of the

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Fishing News - Page 33

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Fishing News - Page 34

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01_12_ Tas Fish News_XD Dec

RU4 Reel Boat Skipper & Humminbird® Pro Team

This is the best way to go beach fishing. First; find a mate with a helicopter: Second; invite him on a trip to Flinders Island: Third; fly along the beaches until you find a school of fish: Fourth; drop in a catch them.

Above: This school of salmon is easily seen from the air, but it is more difficult from the beach. Left: The gutter between the shore and breaking waves is clearly seen here. This is where the fish are. water. They will take the same baits as the Gummy Shark but preferring the fish fillets.

Likely Areas Looking along a beach and wondering where to start can often be a daunting prospect but there are a few small tips that can help decide the most productive areas. Try and position yourself high up on a nearby dune if possible and look down on the beach with a good pair of Polaroid sunglasses, the ability to read the beach and identify the various formations is really a necessity if you hope to produce better results.

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Look for the banks, a bank is shallow sand area surrounded by deeper water and is easily identified as the area where waves rise up to crest and break, creating white water and turbulence that some fish species like to use as cover. In between the banks and the beach will be the gutters and the depth of the gutter is best gauged by colour, light green usually being shallow and darker greens and blue to almost black being much deeper areas. The motion of waves can also give an indication of depth as large waves that were breaking on banks suddenly reform and roll on as a rounded swell. Fishing News - Page 35

The gutters are where the majority of your fishing should be concentrated as this offers the best environment for the fish. At the end of the gutter and usually going around the end of the banks are the channels and outlets, these act as an access point for larger fish to enter and leave through clear water as they move from one area to another in search of food. Keep an eye out for any drop offs as well, a drop off is where a shallow area quickly falls away into deeper water. Close in banks, gently sloping beaches and spits will often have a drop-off on their edge. And never ignore a backwash; a backwash is the returning water from a wave or waves

that has run up a beach. When large waves are present and you are fishing a steepish beach the force of the returning water can be quite strong, more than enough to drag the unwary angler down from behind. This is where a lot of the smaller fish will school up and it’s always worth tossing a bait or lure into, remember here there are small fish there are often larger fish nearby. So the next time you are on the East Coast with your family or even just a few mates don’t overlook the Surf Fishing possibilities on our Beaches, you may just end up with a pleasant surprise but at the very least you will have a damn fine relaxing time. Jamie Henderson

Just north of St Helens at Swimcart Beach. It is here the Tasmanian Surf Angling Championships are held each year around April.

Tyson Harris with a good beach caught salmon.

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Mates and Fish Nick Taransky

Choose them carefully

ishing with other people is an interesting experience. Fishing with someone new can be like going on a first date, while a day out with a long time mate is more like putting on a comfortable pair of old shoes. A good thing about fishing with someone else is that you get to learn by watching, which can open your mind up to new ideas and techniques. Something else that shows through is that how personality and character can influence flyfishing style. Do you know any two people who are exactly the same? You know what it’s like. Among your friends, you might have the energetic, extroverted type, who fills in all the awkward silences, the jester, or the quiet reserved one, who doesn’t say a lot, but when they do, everyone listens (or at least should). My own circle of fishing buddies is a diverse bunch. We do share set of values and interests - otherwise we wouldn’t be friends I guess. A common love of rivers and streams, wild trout, dry flies, and of course, total catch and release binds us. There are some basics that we all adhere to in terms of technique, but

there is a lot of variation in other than key areas. We all catch our share of fish, but don’t count them, certainly not in a “I got five, he got three” type of competitive way. Here is an insight into my fishing mates, what I’ve learnt from them, and proof that there’s more than one way to skin a trout (so to speak)!

Haydn Passion. In a word, this would have to sum up what I see in Haydn, whether it’s fishing, love for his kids, music, art, or his 1958 FC Holden (which replaced his 1970’s Landrover - I can’t imagine what his next car will be). Haydn’s passion for trout fishing is reflected in his full forearm tattoo of two brown trout - talk about wearing your heart on your sleeve... His enthusiasm is infectious, and I always feel younger after I’ve been out with him. Haydn has worked in the fishing tackle industry, been lead singer for a rock band, shown his paintings in exhibitions, been a graphic designer, and had a brief stint in a morgue, so his professional life is pretty diverse to say the least.

Small streams, dry flies and bamboo are the author’s passions.

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Fishing News - Page 37

On the stream, too, Haydn is a real mix. He’s left modern fishing clothing behind - all the polar fleeces and modern fabrics have been replaced with tweed, old flannel shirts, and other natural fibres. He believes that these materials blend in with the background, and feel better on the skin. His flies are a mix of the old (Red Tags) and the new (stimulators), not that he seems to believe in changing flies on a refusing fish. He will cast over and over at a fish with the same fly - ten, twenty, maybe fifty times (no I’m not joking). Even if it looks spooked, he will cast at it with a single mindedness until it swims away. More times than I care to remember, many casts after I’ve thought, ‘one of you, please give up’, the fish will rise and take the fly as if it’s the first time it has seen it. Haydn says he does this because he’s lazy but I think he’s more patient that he gives himself credit for. It makes you scratch your head about what those fish are thinking, too.

Haydn has exhibited his paintings, loves trout, inked tributes to trout and seemingly impossible trout in tiny streams. meant to. He’ll laugh, turn to you and say ‘I love it when they prove the textbooks wrong’. No one complains about big fish, but Haydn has a special love for little streams and little fish. He can take more pleasure in the colours of a four inch trout from a little stream than a lot of people would get from a sixteen inch fish from the lakes.

Haydn has an assertive, pretty sharp, casting style, and likes to land the fly to get the fish’s attention, followed by a twitch, just to make sure. He also loves fish taking flies that drag, as they do occasionally, and doing other things that they aren’t

To complete the picture, in contrast to the traditional gear and the individual approach, Haydn has gone techno and bought a video camera, to capture some of our adventures. From Haydn I’ve learnt that you can do things the way you want, even if that’s not the way that convention or modern opinion says you should. He also brings a warmth

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and understanding to tradition that a lot of people nowadays might scoff at. Often when I catch a fish that’s smaller than I’d thought or hoped for, I take the time to have a brief look at how beautiful it really is. Sometimes it turns out being be the most memorable fish of the day.

Troy Troy is the classiest of our bunch. I don’t think it’s intentional and he’s certainly not a fashion victim, but he manages to look the best on the stream. His clothes, waders and tackle always seem just right. His fly box is organised to the point where if I didn’t know him as well as I do I would be ashamed to show him mine. Even his big hair is tied back neat and isn’t out of place. Troy is an awesome caster - he throws super smooth, powerful loops in a way that looks frustratingly easy. Likewise, his line management on the stream avoids drag in an unhurried, polished way. Troy’s love of the high country lead him to move to Cooma with his family years ago. Wild, streambred fish and tumbling mountain creeks are central to his fishing and life in general. His appreciation of wildness extends to his other hobby, keeping and breeding snakes and lizards.

Occasionally when fishing with him, he’ll drop his rod, dive into the tussocks and come up with a lizard or frog for a closer look. Troy and Haydn have spent a lot of time together on smaller streams, and share a love for these little waters. Like Haydn, Troy likes working on fish that refuse the first presentation, but he tries different patterns rather than Haydn’s ‘stand and deliver’ one fly approach. Troy seems to have found a good balance between the appreciation for the wild, natural side of fly fishing and the quest for perfection, though I think

we share a bit of psychosis over tackle. We’ve both gone through several iterations of vests, lanyards, and bags and aren’t totally happy with anything so far. My best idea so far is to have a ghillie carry everything, but as to finding one... Similarly we seem to agree that a seven foot four weight is the ideal rod for our type of fishing, but we’re going a bit crazy trying to find the perfect one. Actually, I’m starting to think that this is because there isn’t one ‘perfect rod’, or maybe that there are more than one, and we’ve found some of them already. Either way, we have a growing mountain of rod tapers between us. If we both go mad at least we’ll have each other for company.

Miri I fish more with Miri than anyone else. While I had already been fly fishing for years before we met and she started fishing, she has very much her own style. I’m really happy to say that, though I introduced her to fly fishing, there is no way I’ve taught her all that she knows. Most of our fishing (like with the other guys), is done ‘one for one’, taking turns fishing, with the other standing close on the left, watching.

Miri isn’t fussed if the fish are small, but somehow big fish eat her fly on a regular basis.

Miri has a very relaxed, the smooth, delicate casting action. She uses a fairly full flexing rod, and uses minimum effort, letting the rod do most of the work. Though she explains this by saying she’s lazy, like a golf swing, it can take deceptive skill to hold back on the power.

Miri is incredibly patient (maybe that goes without saying, staying married to me). She rarely fishes blind, and though she will occasionally have a go fishing runs with a dry, her love is sight fishing. On finding a feeding fish, she is in no hurry to cast to it. Her preference is to watch for a while (sometimes a long while), and observe it’s beat, or rise pattern, and what it is feeding on. The fly is only put to the fish after working out the best strategy in terms of pattern, casting location, and presentation. More often than not, it goes according to plan, but if the fish rejects the fly, then it’s back to the drawing board, with a change of fly and or presentation. Though she loves catching fish, Miri would be happy to work on one tough fish for a whole day, rather than give up and move on to catch a bunch more fish. When she’s made the decision to stick with a fish for a while, she gets me to move on and fish solo. Sometimes I’ll stay and watch for a while, but if I get the idea that it’s going to be a two hour fish, I’ll move on and leave her to it, which keeps us both happy!

Troy kneels and waits.

In the same way as Haydn, Miri isn’t too fussed if fish are small, as long as they’re fun, pretty, or a

challenge. Her considered approach, however, gives her a really good chance on large, educated fish. Oh, by the way Troy, come to think of it, maybe Miri looks best on the stream!

Paul Paul would have to be the hardest core stream angler I know. His long time job as a fly fishing guide, which revolves around working weekends, frees up enough of his weekdays to have a lot of river to himself. We’ve done a bit of swoffing together, mainly for pelagics down the coast, when the swell is too low for a surf, but Paul’s life revolves around trout. Anyone that spends over a hundred days a year fishing streams for trout is worth hanging around just to learn via osmosis. Seeing Paul stalk a trout is like watching a water bird hunt its prey. His dress is understated and drab, without being over the top camouflage. Keeping low, his movements are always smooth, and usually slow, only speeding up when the trout is out of sight on a beat or behind cover. He looks like he’s MEANT to be there - like he’s part of the environment. Troy and I reflected recently that when fishing with Paul, if you go your separate ways for a while, it can be hard to find him. Not because he’s far away, but because he blends in so damn well! Whether covering a fish, or working a run, his casting is easy but accurate. Sometimes, with an almost imperceptible extra movement of the rod, he will put the fly way into a really tight corner or undercut in a way that makes you think, ‘how did he do that’? Something else that really stands out to me is the number of really good fish Paul has caught casting to a little corner that I would have gone right past. There’s always time to look under rocks and identify different mayfly nymphs, and their stage of development, which he imitates with traditional

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Fishing News - Page 39

patterns as well as his own. From requirements as a guide (and the need to fish a LOT himself), he can analyse weather conditions and put in the kilometres to find the best place to fish in the whole Snowy Monaro region on any given day. He gets a lot of joy out of fish of all sizes, and both small streams and our larger rivers. His views on tackle are based on rigorous testing and experience, rather than marketing, advertising, or superficial research. And no, he doesn’t ALWAYS fish with bamboo, though I am working hard to rectify that! From all that time fishing and guiding, his understanding of trout behavior and analytical approach is almost scary at times. After all that, Paul is both generous and humble. I’ve learnt more from Paul than anyone else, but far from being authoritarian, he likes to give people the chance to work things out for themselves, offering advice when asked or if it’s really needed. For all his dedication, he still has a pretty lighthearted, philosophical view on things, and we have a heap of laughs on the river. His sense of humour is drier than a Monaro streambed.

Paul with a jack plucked from among the sprats.

You couldn’t cover Paul’s knowledge in a book, so a few paragraphs are all too brief. I guess maybe what I’ve learnt most from Paul is seeing the skill and rewards that devotion to one type of fishing can give you. The other thing is that there is no substitute to going out fishing, when it comes to learning and improving. It is also nice to see that someone that fishes that much still gets caught up in trees and misses fish now and then too.

Me and You It’s interesting, without getting overly analytical or critical, to look at your own fishing style. For the most part, I think it’s best to let your personality flow through into your fishing. If you’re a hyper sort of person, you’ll probably have a short, sharp, casting style, and want to cast to fish quickly and maybe cover a lot of water. If you’re more laid back, you might cast with a smooth, relaxed style and be happy to wait, watch, change flies, wait a bit longer, and then watch some more, just the sake of it. I guess you can reverse all of this as well, and by looking at how you fish, learn things about yourself and your wider life. Fish will teach you if you’re fishing TOO fast, slow, aggressive, sedate, or lazy.

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I’m sure I’ve been influenced, both directly, and indirectly, by everyone I’ve fished with. There are some things I know I do differently to my mates and like it that way. It’s kind of funny but the fish that stay in my mind are ones I’ve had to work hard for, and the ones I missed, usually from laziness (see, I’m the lazy one) like casting from too far away without stalking closer. And maybe at the end of the day, like in surfing, the best fisherman is the one having the most fun. Nick Taransky

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Squid Leroy Tirant

Techniques and tips for better catches

quid fishing has become hugely popular in Tasmania in recent times and the start of spring and early summer heralds a new migration of the fish and tasty squid rings on the dinner plate. Whilst we have arrow and calamari squid in Tasmania the target species I am talking about here is calamari.

The fish and the family. Calamari is what most of us are searching for in inshore waters and they can be found right around the coast – almost anywhere weed beds abound. Calamari doesn’t have a long life and spring sees them congregate and come into shallow water to spawn. Quite often if you take notice you can spot a Calamari nest because their eggs look like a pile of golf balls on the bottom attached to stems of weed. In fact the life cycle is very short under a year and after spawning they die. Arrow squid are quite different and congregate to feed, and are more likely to be found in deeper waters offshore. Squid are a great family fish. They are a species that my kids love to fish for and most of the time I am happy to be relegated to instruction and landing only. The majority of squid fishing I do is from a boat and because I don’t like my boat covered in squid ink I am happy for the kids to do the catching. When a fish is hooked and played we ensure it squirts its ink at least a couple of times then it’s brought near the boat. The kids know to not lift there heads from the water, they simply glide them along side where I lean over and grab the squid behind the head. I then remove the jig and use an Ike Jime, then pull out the head, give it a quick wash and put the body in a bucket. Because I’ve killed it quickly it no longer squirts ink. If you do cop a shot, instantly wash with salt water. This may not get rid of all the ink from clothing but it stops it setting and you’ll find it easier to wash out later. There’s nothing worse than having a bucket full of squid to clean and having to scrounge around for them in a bucket of inky slime. The way I do it keeps it neat and tidy.

Gear. Squid of course can be caught on just about any rod and reel, if you’re desperate a hand line would probably be ok but like any other form of fishing specialist tackle driven by the Japanese market has started taking over.

Rods designed for squidding are typically 7’6 to 8’6 have a softish tip but with a fast taper, these rods are designed to give your squid jig maximum action in the water whist maintaining complete control. You might scoff at the idea of a rod just to catch squid but believe me late in the season when they become wary quality tackle is what will make the difference. As an example do you remember when you didn’t think you needed a specialist rod to use soft plastics? Yeah thought that’d get you thinking. Most manufactures have a range of rods designed for squidding, I personally use the N.S Blackhole range because quite simply they are value for money and won’t break the bank without sacrificing quality in an ultra light and responsive

rod. And they have been imported in Australia by E.J.Todd whom are also the importers of YAMASHITA squid jigs which in my mind have probably the most diverse range of specialist squid jigs you will find. The staff of E J Todd have married the rods to the jig range to have a complete range of EGI tackle. Braid of course needs no introduction to its benefits but Sunline has PE-EGI MS in its stable which has been developed specifically for squid fishing, the advantage this has over normal braids is it has a medium sink rate.(Most braids float) Sunline also has a fluorocarbon leader material called EGILeader FC. EGI of course is Japanese for squid.

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Fishing News - Page 43

Technique I’ve spent a lot of time watching people fishing for squid and I’m amazed at how many people have the do nothing attitude when retrieving. Simply slowly winding a squid jig in or letting it drift around under a float isn’t going to fill your bucket. You have to remember a Squid is a very aggressive creature, especially during spawning when it fiercely protects its nest. A hopping action with an intermittent pause much the same as a retrieve you would use with soft plastics is good start. A young bloke named Bryan Todd got me onto an aggressive retrieve that was working well for him around the land based locations around hard fished Sydney. At first I could believe ripping a rod tip so violently could work so well but man the squid attacks your jig like their possessed. Basically rip rod tip in jerking motions whilst turning reel handle at the same time, Check out Bryan on YOUTUBE demonstrating this technique. Just search Squid fishing in Australia Techniques demonstrated. Also Explaining the Yamashita is another clip worth looking at. Be sure to have a smooth drag with only just enough pressure as just trying to drag the fish in will only rip the tentacles out. Squid are like any other fish and can be tide oriented quite often if the tide is slack

they can be hard to tempt I find if I let the jig sit on the weed for a good pause then rip it off the bottom with a pause it will quite often entice the bite. I guess it looks like a prawn coming out of the weed. They like a bit of tide especially the run out in my opinion.

Habitat Prior to summer squid will be found on weed beds and sometimes broken reef as these are the areas they prefer to spawn. When I say weed beds I mean that nice grassy weed we find right around the coast not so much the kelp beds. Channels into estuaries, rocky points and breakwalls are also good spots to hunt them out. Just checking out a local jetty will soon tell you if there are squid about as the ink on the deck is a dead give away. In fact local jetties such as the one I have fished at Port Sorel can be awesome as squid can often been seen directly under the jetty. At night fishing with a light suspended above the water is a great way to catch squid as they are attracted by the light.

Squid jigs As mentioned earlier I show a definite bias towards the Yamashita range but whatever jig you buy ask as many questions as possible of the store staff so you get an idea of how the particular jig swims. The weight and size you

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use will be dependant on water depth and current being fished. I try to look for a jig that drops on as near a perfect horizontal as possible much the same as a true prawn appears in the water. You want the jig to react quickly with minimum movement to maximize swimming action. And rest at horizontal on the pause again. Typically 3.5 inch jigs are the most popular in Tasmania but lately 2 and 2.5 inch have worked really well for me in water so shallow I never would have believed squid would be there, and quite possibly the smaller jig might appear more attractive to a tentative squid. Squid jigs come in a vast array of make ups with different cloth materials and smooth coatings and much like any other form of fishing you end up with a small collection of them in different sizes and colors. Which one will work best on any given day will be a life long asked question that none of us will no the answer to. Same goes for color. Color is important to me and on an outing I will typically have both dull and bright colors. We’ve all read about what color to use when and where and that squid see in a different light spectrum etc but I still make sure I have bright and natural colors available because on any given day they will respond better to one than others and I certainly cant pick which color is better when as my theories have been blown out of the water time and again. I have had bright blue sky days in crystal clear water where an angler might believe a natural color to be the go to only have the squid follow time and again and then attack something bright orange. And then have the reverse happen on a dark day in dirty water with low

visibility so be willing to change if your not getting a response with what your using. I’m sure were all guilty of buying the 4 for $10 specials from out local tackle store, and yes they make catch you some squid but believe me a jig that swims like a prawn and hovers over the weed beds perfectly horizontal and doesn’t sink like a brick will catch a hell of a lot more squid. Sure they might cost you $20 but in my mind your better off with 2 quality jigs than a tackle box full of cheap ones. In the Yamashita range one of my favorites is the LIVE series. The Yamashita LIVE series has been developed using a new type of cloth featuring a patented ‘Thermo storage’. This special cloth will transfer any light into heat and continue to so for as long as the cloth is in contact with light. With the ability to hold similar levels of heat to natural baitfish. Although fish are cold blooded there is a 0.2 to 1 degree difference in their body temp to water temp. This jig also has a slim nose design which is also patented. Its slender design gives it less water resistance when hopped which gives it more action. Definitely a jig different in design from anything else you’ll see.

Cleaning squid They are also relatively easy to clean. Start by pushing your thumb under the outer skin at the front of the hood, when you force your finger under it will separate the wings and outer skin from the tube all in one hit. I then push my finger up between the clear backbone and the body I then grab the back bone and pull slowly whilst using my index finger to push down on the top of the cone, the hood should turn inside out. When this occurs you can then give it a good clean and rinse. I prefer to do all this in salt water at the beach or ramp before I leave for home as I believe doing it in fresh water toughens them up.

Conclusion Squid are plentiful and a heap of fun to catch, you can get them from as many land based locations as you can in a boat, their great to eat and the kids will love fishing for them, as the find them intriguing creature. Fishing for them can be a simple as you want it to be or as masterful as any other advanced fishing. You can become an EGI junkie and fish for nothing else it doesn’t matter as squid are one of those great bread and butter species anybody from any walk of life can target.

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Fishing News - Page 45

Alcedo Pride Telespin II This telescopic rod is the latest offering from the Italian rod company Alcedo. It is branded ‘Alcedo – Italian Pride’ but like so much tackle these days it has a made in China sticker on the butt. It is marked 2.1 metres, 5 – 22 gm, 6 section and it has an extended butt. I already own two shorter and stiffer models of this brand of rod and have been completely happy with them. In my mind this particular rod is more suitable for the type and style of fishing that my son Lachlan and I do. The action is certainly lighter in the tip area and the added length provides a much greater casting tool. Fighting fish is a more pleasant experience. No doubt the fish feel this way about the more sensitive tip too! The quality of the build seems good. The long single foot fuji style inserted guides keep the line well away from the blank for better casting. An issue and sometimes a problem with poor quality telescopics in the past has been sticking joints. The Alcedo certainly did not have this problem. The winch fitting and butt design looks great, and is also comfortable and practical. All in all this is a great rod that will catch us loads of squid when heaving a heavy jig. It will also catch heaps of salmon, bream and trout while we flick soft plastics, cobra style and hard body lures. I now have one permanently in the car ready to go. RRP is around $89. Peter Hayes

New Humminbird Radar Humminbird have launched their new plug and play radar systems. Having radar on your boat can now be as simple as installing a Humminbird radar dome and plugging it into your Ethernet

compatible Humminbird sounder. Navigational hazards in low light or visibility can be a problem but now you can watch things like beacons, kayaks, coastlines, other boats and weather all take shape on your fish finder for maximum safety and a competitive edge. You can choose from either of the rugged 30.5cm (12”) or 53.3cm (21”) radomes to suit your boat and these will easily connect to your Humminbird Ethernet Network. Up to 4kW transmit power delivers accurate target detection at both long and short ranges; while adjustable VRM and EBL functions provide precise range and bearing information for any target. The shaded target intensity on-screen helps the user to judge weather severity and also differentiate between large and small vessels. Humminbird Radar is just another way that you can see things clearer with Humminbird. Ethernet compatible sounders are the 858cx Combo, 858cx DI Combo, 898cx SI Combo, 958cx Combo, 958cx DI Combo, 998cx SI Combo, 1158cx Combo, 1158cx DI Combo, and 1198cx SI Combo. For more information on the new Humminbird Radar and to find your nearest stockist, visit www.humminbird. com.au or www.bla.com.au

Old Town Camden 106 Angler Old Town Canoes & Kayaks®, a brand steeped in tradition and innovation for over a century have launched a new kayak in the Camden series, the Camden 106 Angler. Sit-in kayaks are becoming a more practical and easy to use watercraft

for those of us that enjoy some serious fishing or even a nice leisurely paddle on the waterways. The Camden 106 Angler boasts smooth lines, a proven design and

easy access and includes a superior seal designed to keep gear dry over the long haul. The Camden 106 Angler also features a forward thinking bungee system intended to provide paddlers with a variety of on-deck storage options. All these impressive features are packed into a kayak that only weighs 23kg so loading it on your vehicles roof racks shouldn’t be a problem. The Camden 106 Angler boasts a length of 3.2m, a width of 0.73m and a carrying capacity of 158kg.

clever features that are set to successfully deliver a superior on-water experience. It is a stable, comfortable, easy gliding watercraft built for the discriminating paddler and touring fisherman. The kayak features a front-mount Cannon® rod holder and two inclined rear flush mount rod holders. They allow for multiple rods to be accessed easily from a seated position as well as giving you the option to leave them rigged and troll.

For more information on this great Old Town watercraft and to find your nearest stockist visit www.oldtowncanoe.com.au or www.bla.com.au

The kayak also has a paddle holder and a corded anchor system which easily deploys from a seated position. The kayak features a smartly designed dashboard engineered for extra storage and to keep personal items close at hand. The dashboard includes mounting areas for GPS or rod holders, a rubberised cup holder and a 4-inch dry hatch for secure storage of smaller valuables like wallets, keys or mobile phones. Additionally, the Camden 106 Angler features the comfortable new Active Comfort System (ACS) seat. It is a seat with an intuitive adjustment system, three-layer polyethylene construction for optimal support and an enhanced seating surface for superior airflow and drainage. The four-way adjustable seat tailors to individual back-rest height, thigh and lumbar support, and back-rest angle to provide a truly customized ride. ACS thigh pads and adjustable foot pegs add increased manoeuvrability and control to the package. Additional innovations on the new Camden kayak includes the distinctive new Click Seal™ hatch system with bulkhead. This unique stern hatch is hinged for

Mini Waxwings Unusual in appearance, there is no denying that the Shimano Waxwings have captured the imagination of Australian lure fishos. The hydrodynamic body design has an upper wing that generates its unique zigzag action, while the bottom wing stops it rolling. New additions for the upcoming season are the 48 millimetre Mini and the 58 millimetre Mighty. These weigh seven and 12 grams respectively, and are a perfect bite-size meal for many estuary species. It also means that these lures can now strut their stuff in freshwater fisheries as well. All Waxwings have a premium finish, with UV reactive paint on the lateral line and deadly sharp Owner treble hooks on the tail end. Three new colours have joined the range too; Green Fire Tiger, Trout and Brown Trout, further underlining their versatility as a lure suited for both salt and fresh water environments. Website: www.shimanofish.com.au

TONIC Polaroids by Ken Orr. Some months ago, I ran into Doug Phillips of Tonic Eyewear at the Brisbane Tinnie and Tackle Show. He excitedly showed me an all new range of polaroid glasses that he had developed. Doug described to me in great detail the new and unique four colour lens. That starts with green in the back of the lens to retain colour then adding a hint of yellow to give contrast and amber tan to give definition. This was added to a full Fishing News - Page 46

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front copper photochromatic glass lens with multi coat reflective coating on the back to stop reflective bounce. My guiding business specializes in sight fishing, and Doug had really grabbed my attention. I asked him what all this would actually mean to me in the field. Without further discussion he just handed me a pair and said “TRY THEM” and if they are not better than anything you are currently using or have used in the past, I will buy you a new fly rod. The very first thing I noticed was the lightness of the glass polaroids, which have a lens that is only 1.8mm thick compared to most others that are around 2.3mm, which means lightweight and all day comfort. Doug also explained that these lenses are ground decentered meaning there was no distortion or unwanted magnification providing the user with flawless clarity. After so many years in the guiding industry and watching so many developments for the fly fisher – Split cane to carbon fibre fly rods, Silk to PVC fly lines, lightweight large arbour fly reels and gut to fluorocarbon leader material it became apparent that we could be adding the Tonic Eyewear to that significant development and leap forward list. I had told Doug that if my guiding team and myself tested the glasses and they were not as he claimed better than anything we had ever used before we could not use or recommend them and he would owe me a saltwater fly rod, but he was super confident and repeated “TRY THEM”.

A l u r e containing a flashing red LED is perceived as a bleeding baitfish which is seen as an ‘easy meal’ and is a real weakness for predatory fish like Trout. What is most unknown about the technology is when to use it, is it better at night, or during A 62 cm brownie trolled up on a Balista lure. the day? Whilst the LED is least visible during the day, it The Balista Trigger is an Australian doesn’t mean that the light is rendered inspired trout lure with two points of difference – 1. The unique LED technology. completely useless. 2. A larger profile. The most optimum time to utilize the New research has found that a flashing LED is in times of low light, which can be red LED unleashes a rapid increase in fish 1. Overcast conditions. 2. Dawn and dusk. reaction bites when LED technology is 3. After dark. 4. Murky water, and most importantly – 5. At depth. incorporated into a fishing lure.

When you can get an LED lure diving down deeper than 3 meters the visibility of the LED substantially increases. A majority of the Balista lures naturally dive greater than 3 meters, however in the case of the Trigger this model dives to 1.5 meters. This means this lure requires assistance to get down past the 3 meter mark which can be done using leadline, a downrigger, or even snap weights (see TFBN Dec 2011). If you can use one of these methods you will notice the impact the LED in the Trigger has on your catch rates. If for example you’re using a down rigger and your running 2 lures at 12 meters, you have a regular hardbodied lure and you have a Trigger that is intermittently flashing a bright red light. By combining the larger profile of the Trigger with ‘blood red’ light you can significantly increase the quality of your Trout catches. Troll a Balista Trigger alongside your favourite minnow and compare results, you might just find yourself pleasantly by the results.

NOTHING CAN WIPE AWAY THAT

BOATING GRIN

After two months of testing through a full range of weather and light conditions and taking into account the lower autumn sun. The team’s belief was that they are lighter and optically clearer working over a wider spectrum of light conditions than anything we were currently using. It was also noted by all that they are by far the best driving glasses we have ever used even in fog and snow. We are all of the same opinion that Doug Phillips and Tonic Eyewear have really raised the polaroid bar, taking these glasses to a whole new level. Our extreme guiding team have committed to using them now and into the foreseeable future. If like us you want to use what we believe are the best fishing glasses check them out at your local tackle store and if you can’t find them email, doug@toniceyewear. com.au for your closest stockist. To see the range go to www.toniceyewear.com.au I didn’t get a new fly rod. Ken Orr

Balista Trigger Whist we’re all accustomed to using smaller presentations for trout, such as winged cobra style lures and minnows in many scenarios it makes a lot of sense to use a larger presentation.

There is a saying upgrade the lure size and you’ll upgrade the size of the fish, but sacrifice the numbers of fish caught. Whilst this point can be true in that a larger presentation will entice larger fish with regards to trout, however it does not necessarily mean that you have to sacrifice the numbers.

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Fishing News - Page 47

ABU GARCIA New Website Live! Abu Garcia Australia has launched a new website to coincide with the release of a host of exciting new products. Check out the New Revo Premier, STX, Inshore, SX, and S low profile reels, winner of best reel series at iCast 2012. The all new Revo Inshore, SX and S spin reels. New Australian designed V series rods the Vanguard, Velocity

and Veritas feature the best in materials and components.

C&F Lightweight fly boxes

Smart phone friendly the new site is dedicated to all things Abu Garcia. Other features of the site include integrated social media plug ins, and product video content. We want to communicate and connect with anglers not only looking for Abu Garcia products but also for tips and techniques on how to become a better angler!

C&F Design the Japanese company who originally designed micro slit foam have just released their latest range of fly boxes. The “light weight” series features 4 different sizes with a total of 10 different models. The lightest box in the range weighs only 26g with the heaviest in the range tipping the scales at 94g.

We love what we do and want to share the sport of fishing with anglers across the country. Get to know the people behind Abu Garcia Australia and the extensive pro team and see that they are as keen a group of fisherman as you will find anywhere and are a great source of fishing information.

These boxes are ideal for traveling anglers who watch every gram when packing bags, to the local angler who requires a gym class membership to lift their fly vest. The boxes lids are held together via 2 concealed magnets which open and close with precision and the hinge test conducted by C&F Design were conducted over 10,000 times to ensure durability.

Sign up to the e newsletter to get the latest information from Abu Garcia Australia. WIN A REVO S, VERITAS COMBO! Visit abugarciafishing.com.au to enter the REVO S+VERITAS promotion. Promo closes February 1. Visit abugarcia-fishing.com.au

SS: 74mm W x 108mm L x 26mm D — 2 models. S: 90mm W x 124mm L x 26mm D — 2 models. M: 90mm W x 150mm L x 33mm D — 3 models. L: 114mm W x 194mm L x 33mm D — 3 models. Available in all good tackle stores or contact Mayfly Tackle Pty Ltd (03) 9899 0034 for your closest stockist.

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Dynamite Baits - Floating Bait From the laboratory of Rapala VMC Corp. in the United Kingdom’s comes Dynamite Floating Trout Bait. We believe we have developed the best trout dough bait on the market today, incorporating Ultrabite fish attracting pheromones – a proven fish trigger. Floating Trout Bait is soft enough for perfect shaping; soft enough to allow for

perfect hookups; yet strong enough to allow for up to 20 casts without falling off. Dynamite Baits Floating Trout Bait comes in a 60g jar ready to fish; and in seven distinguishable flavors including Garlic Nymph, Salmon Egg, Honey Worm, Prawn, Bloodworm, Mussel & Snail and of course Trout Pellet. Grab a jar today.

Doo-Gun Outdoors saltwater • freshwater • shooting and more Diplomat Fly Rods $

139.95

Rod, reel, line, leader and rod case 8’6”- 6/7wt and 9’- 7/8wt

Attack Cardinal Combos

Berkley ATTACK combos feature graphite rods with SIC guides, matched with Cardinal S spin reels. Bonus EZ braid. From light freshwater to beach combos. Fishing News - Page 48

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73 Wellington Street, Longford .95 Ph: 6391 1401 Email: doogun@longfordmitre10.com.au www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

If the number of these poly boats in Queensland is any indication we will see more and more of them in Tasmanian waters. I’ve already seen some of the 4.10m ‘challenger’ on the boat ramps. So if you’re in the market for a new boat then check them out. You might be surprised. Polycraft 4.80 m Brumby centre console Honda 75 hp Four Stroke Length: 4.80m

Polycraft 4.80 m Brumby

lastic boats have been steadily increasing on Tasmanian lakes over the past few years. These boats usually create interest and curiousity on the boat ramps and their owners are quick to point out the merits of their boat, especially when the conversation turns to comparism with the traditional ‘tinnies’. This year I upgraded my 4.35 side console tinny to a 4.8 Polycraft Brumby. Polycraft are one of the leaders in the manufacture of Polyethylene boats in Australia. Based in Bundaberg they manufacture an impressive range of boats from 3 metre tenders to the largest 5.99 metre ‘Frontier’ model. Polyethylene is a very strong UV resistant material designed to stand up to tough conditions. With a number of fit out options I finally decided on the centre console arrangement. However, this was not an impulse buy. I’ve been reading reviews, checking the online forums and chatting to owners for some time before deciding making this choice. I’ve had the Brumby for a while now and I am happy to report that this is an impressive outfit that fits my fishing and boating needs perfectly. Most of my fishing is on the lakes with occasional inshore trips around Hobart. As a part time fishing guide, I wanted a bigger, rugged, safer boat with increased carrying capacity. Additionally, this boat will be in survey which required more floatation during manufacture. The Brumby is rated up to 80 hp and was fitted with a Honda 75hp four stroke. The first thing I noticed was how easy it was to tow. I guess a new modern trailer that is correctly balanced makes a difference. Polycraft insist on the appropriate trailer. I launched at Boundary Bay on the Great Lake. No problems there. The new Honda is very quiet at rest and very powerful on the water. I opted for hydraulic steering

Beam: 2.15m Depth: 1.01m and what a difference that made. The Brumby is a heavy boat (540 kg) but we were off and running smoothly in no time. There is plenty of reserve power which is comfortable to know if you’ve been on the Great Lake on a choppy day. With the centre console, I can see whats up ahead. Sharks! The console is rounded and compact, which gives room to move around easily but still has room for those gauges and fish finder. The boat has a nice wide layout and with the fitted casting deck is free from obstructions and nicely elevated for fishing. I also fitted a Minn Kota ipilot which moves the boat around just fine. One good thing about the extra weight is the smooth quiet ride on the water. In fact this is the most obvious difference to my old boat. When drifting I often don’t need to use a drogue as the boat doesn’t get pushed around so much by the wind and waves. Due to the wide beam this is a very stable boat at rest and also up on the casting deck.

Weight: 540kg Capacities: Max HP 80 Passengers: 6 Engine: Honda 75 hp Four Stroke Dealer: Deegan Marine. 102 Eastland Drive. Ulverstone. 6425 2238 Polycraft Industries Web. www.polycraft.com.au Polycraft boats are not usually sitting in the showroom at the local boat yard so its important to trust your dealer who can answer all your questions and perhaps organise an inspection of a boat for you. I purchased this from Waine Chilcott at Deegan Marine in Ulverstone and was very happy with the professional advice and recommendations. I am happy to talk to anyone considering a Polycraft. Call Waine and he will give you my number. David Hemmings

So what could be improved? Driving the boat on to the trailer takes a bit of practice. There’s not much room for error but once you get the trailer backed in the correct distance i.e not too deep, it’s a lot easier. The Brumby is often criticised for a lack of storage but I can’t say this is a significant problem. However, with the additional foam in the rear of the boat hatches it would be nice to have had that available. Additionally, with the extra foam, the rear seat doesn’t fold away as it should. So some minor design change there would be good.

Boats ready for Summer Fun Stacer boats in stock and ready for you 359 Seasprite SS Dinghy Only $2,300 369 Seasprite SS Dinghy Only $2,400 399 Proline LS Dinghy & Trailer $4,600 449 Seahawk Runabout, Trailer & 50hp Mercury 2 stk (60hrs) pre-owned $16,000 449 Seahawk Runabout, Extruded sides & aft rails $12,800 449 Centre Console Northern Fisher, Trailer & 60hp Mercury 4 stroke $24,000 neg. 469 Seahawk Runabout, Trailer, 40hp Mercury 2 stroke $22,000 Ph 6428 7124 Shopping Centre, Club Drive, 6.6 Olympian Razerline, Alloy Trailer, 200L6 Mercury Verado $110,000 now Shearwater www.portsorellmarine.com.au $85,000 not negotiable Quicksilver Inflatable 340 Sports model $2,200 Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm, Sat: 9am - 2pm, Closed Sun.

Port Sorell Marine

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Fishing News - Page 49

Penguin Composites specialises in taking your old fibreglass boat and building it into a modern, practical fishing platform. There are many excellent boats around that just need a revamp to bring them up

to date. Yours could be one of them. That could mean a pod on the back or a total make over from a cuddy cab or runabout to a terrific little bay, estuary, lake, bream or trout boat.

From this

To this

From this

To this

From this

To this

From this

To this

From this So if you have an old clunker that you think has the makings of a modern sporty, practical boat give us a call. We also do simple or complex repairs to hulls, floors, replace transoms and

love anything to do with fibreglass and other composites. Call our manager - mad fisherman and ‘The Man of Glass’, David Mercer and have a chat.

Ph: 03 6437 2791 808 South Road, Penguin, Tasmania 7316 Fishing News - Page 50

Peter Hayes

Casting Classes

Cressy February 23rd - 24th Beginner half day; Feb 23rd , 9 am to 12 noon, $165 Live in Weekend Workshop; Feb 23rd & 24th, $500 Intermediate day; Feb 24th, 9 am to 4 pm, $230 Bookings are to be made online at www.peterhayesflyfishing.com

After Hurricane Sandy - Beware of damaged boats from USA Boaties in Australia and New Zealand are being warned against buying boats that could have been damaged by ex-Hurricane Sandy. When the giant storm hit the U.S. East Coast a few weeks ago, boats worth about $650 million were damaged or destroyed. “In total, some 65,000 boats were affected by the storm, and we’re concerned a fair few of those could end up coming down under,” said John Temple, Chairman of the Outboard Engine Distributors Association (OEDA). “It’s happened in the past. We’ve seen the heartache when boaties buy what they think is a ‘great deal’ from the U.S only to find they’ve bought a hastily repaired storm-damaged boat that needs thousands and thousands spent on it. “Unscrupulous sellers are happy to do it, of course, because they’re half a world away and virtually untouchable,” John said. For boat owners, Sandy was the most damaging storm in U.S. history, creating a four-metre storm surge which smashed into the heavily populated coasts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. Sandy’s $650 million bill surpassed the $500 million worth of boat damage created by Hurricane Irene in 2011. The waters piled boats into heaps. Some were found two miles away. “With such an incredibly large number of damaged boats now sitting in the States, it’s certain that some are going to be falsely marketed to people in Australia and New Zealand,” John said. “We strongly recommend that people buy through local reputable dealers, so that you really know what you’re getting and, if anything does go wrong, you’re not alone. “When you’re shopping on the internet keep in mind the old truism ‘If it looks too good to be true, it probably is’.”

LIFFEY WATERS T RophY T RouT F IShERY D’port

L’ton Oaks Rd

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L ar g e Br o wn an d Rain b o w Tr o u t u p t o 8 p o u n d s! ! NO FISHING LICENCE REQUIRED Fly Fishing only Water AND Bait, Lure & Fly Fishing Water No ext r a ch ar g e f o r f ish cau g h t . Adults: $30/hr, Under 12’s: $20/hr. One rod per person. Bag Limit: 2 fish per person. No Dogs allowed. 86 Bracknell Lane Bracknell Tas Bo o kin g s r eq u ir ed littlemount@hotmail.com - 0409428374

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Quintrex welcomes aboard Quintrex has appointed Deegan Marine located in Ulverstone on the North-West of Tasmania an official dealer of Quintrex boats and accessories Deegan Marine is a favourite among locals and their reputation of friendly, reliable and excellent service is widely known. Deegan Marine has over 35 years of industry experience with current Dealer Principal Hadley Deegan and wife Sandra taking over the Family Business in 2007. Hadley has been involved in the business for over 25 years and along with 9 team members have a wealth of experience, striving to match product solutions to meet their customers’ needs. Their offering now includes a comprehensive range of Quintrex and Evinrude packages.

In its recently renovated showroom and reception, Deegan Marine offers a large range of accessories and boating essentials backed up by a dedicated and experienced service team. They provide engine options including Deegan Marine Evinrude, Honda and Tohatsu with finance and insurance available to cover everyone’s needs. Quintrex National Account Manager Cameron Wood said he was excited to welcome Deegan Marine to the Quintrex family and reach a new customer base in Northern Tasmania. “Deegan Marine has been in the business for over 35 years so there is no denying they know the boating industry. I believe this will be a very successful partnership for both Quintrex and Deegan Marine” he said. Make sure you drop by Deegan Marine to check out the new range of Quintrex boats they have on offer or for more information on Deegan Marine head to www.deeganmarine. com.au

FOR SALE Iconic Tasmanian Fly Guiding Vessel “Tight Loop” • 5.3 metre Alufarm Trihull plate construction • Centre console • Wet weather canopy • 130 HP Honda 4 stroke motor • Dual batteries • Minn Kota bow mount electric • Fully carpeted • Full length rod storage • Tandem axel trailer With a shallow draft and tremendous stability this Tasmanian survey built vessel is the ideal fishing platform. Deep gunwale depth adds a feeling of safety for a sport fishing boat of this kind. This boat is at home in shallow lakes or the open ocean. $26,500 Contact Ken Orr 03 6289 1191 or by email: orrsome@skymesh.com.au

Back to Pedder – 2013

Midnight 23rd January — 10am Monday 28th January

he annual Back to Pedder comp for 2013 is set to run over the traditional Australia Day period in January. Commencing on Thursday 24th and concluding on Monday 28th with the mid-morning weigh-in and lunchtime presentations wrapping up proceedings. In the past 10 years the Back to Pedder events have grown to become the biggest trout fishing competition in Tasmania with entries regularly over 200. The hard working committees of the Lake Pedder Anglers Club have made the event one of the most respected on the season calendar also largely due to the relaxed atmosphere and the incredible fundraising efforts that are part of the event. For many years now the LPAC has formed a very close relationship with Camp Quality in Tasmania and for some years hosted families from the organisation. Campers and their families attended the events and had a chance to forget about the troubles past or ahead just for a few days. It was this link that saw the club gain a huge list of extremely generous sponsors always happy to help out when the kids were involved. Certainly not to be forgotten is the amazing scenery of Lake Pedder itself. Grandeur on the largest scale, endless photo opportunities around every corner, much like the fishing itself. Gone are the halcyon days of trout averaging close to 5kg but now a huge head of wild browns open to just about every angling method going

around. Trolling, drift spinning, soft plastics and fly fishing; Pedder can offer it all. Can’t forget the old art of fish caking, throwing large surface lures around after dark will often bring the better than average fish to the net. Once again the LPAC through the generous support of some of its major sponsors will have a boat, motor and trailer package to give away to one lucky entrant at the final presentation on Monday 28th. Tristar Marine, booked out but camping is available Channel Marine, Ullrich Aluminium, and facilities are at people’s disposal. One Steel and King Towbars and Excellent meals are available from the Trailers have combined to supply a Chalet and are hearty and reasonably custom built tournament style 4.5m priced. A full bar is also open and very runabout, 40hp 4stroke Mercury popular at the end of each day. The outboard and Dunbier Trailer to put together the best prize in the events history. This rig would set you back over $20,000 to replace and is awarded by random draw to conclude proceedings. The last two years junior members have been drawn out of the hat. The view from some of our rooms. That said the young ones have been very lucky in recent years with the major prizes.

Saturday night auction is not to be missed and a great way to support the club and its charities. Further details and entry forms can be found at the club website – www. lakepedderanglersclub.com

Lake Pedder Chalet

Accommodation is very limited with the chalet all but

- Spectacular all year Open all year. Spectacular fishing (open all year), photographers paradise, bushwalking or just a break. Family rooms. Double rooms. Self contained units. Group accom. with shared facilities (ideal for clubs). Fabulous restaurant. Heated pool (all year).

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Fishing News - Page 51

New Research Projects The present stock information on sand flathead in Tasmanian waters is derived from the commercial fishery catch trends. Recreational fishers, however, take up to five times the amount of flathead as the commercial fishery. The recreational fishery will benefit from developing a low-cost way to assess the sand flathead population.

RECREATIONAL SEA FISHERIES NEWS December 2012-January 2013

Understanding our Flathead Fishery The last recreational fishing survey in Tasmania in 2007/8 estimated recreational fishers caught just over 1.8 million flathead, with about three-quarters of a million (41%) released. These estimates will be updated when new survey results are released in 2013/14, but it’s likely that flathead will still be our most commonly caught recreational species.

Over a three year period, Dr Jeremy Lyle and Dr Sean Tracey from IMAS are conducting research fishing using standardised fishing during the peak fishing time for sand flathead (Jan-Feb) in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Norfolk and Frederick Henry Bay, Great Oyster Bay and St Helens. Flathead captured will be measured and a random sample retained for biological examination (reproductive status) and age determination. The second project, which is led by Dr Jayson Semmens from IMAS, specifically aims to relate the catchability of flathead to their seasonal activity and movement, so fishers understand that the availability of flathead varies seasonally due to dispersal from inshore areas and/or behavioural factors (e.g. reduced activity in winter, increased activity in summer, water temperatures, spawning period).

What we know about Sand Flathead Through various research projects we have general biological information about the most commonly recreationally caught flathead in Tasmania - southern sand flathead (Platycephalus bassensis). Females generally spawn from September through to February in coastal bays and the current minimum legal size appears to be set above the spawning size (~females 25-26 cm). This size is likely to vary between areas and seasons. Sand flathead can grow up to 53 cm and 3 kilos, and to a maximum age of around 16-23 years. Initial growth is rapid but slows around 3 years old (~22-25 cm). Flathead growth is highly variable e.g. a 30 cm fish ranges from 4 to 11 years old.

Flathead Stock Trends There are currently no concerns about the sustainability of the fishery for sand flathead, however due to the relative importance of the recreational catch, Fishwise is contributing funds to two research projects that will address questions often asked by recreational fishers such as “why flatties have gone off the bite”. More information will be learned about flathead population characteristics and stock trends.

Wigstons Sports Original home of the Tassie Devil Lures. Stock large range of lures, soft plastics, rods, reels, tackle boxes, general fishing accessories including brands such as Daiwa, Shimano, Jarvis Walker, Okuma etc. Fly rods including BKV, flyfishing accessories (flies, lines - brands including Cortland, Airflo)

Special - Fly’n’Dry Waders chest waders. $295. Whilst stocks last (in store stock only) Good selection of locally made lures and flies. Fishing licences and Gift Vouchers available Open Mon-Fri 9.00am -5.30pm, Sat 9.00am -1.00pm. Other times by appointment

63 High St, New Norfolk 7140 Ph: 6261 2733 Fishing News - Page 52

Researchers measure energy use of flathead at different temps in this tube (respirometer) and relate that to the activity measured in the field. Jayson’s team has tagged flathead in the Pittwater/Frederick Henry Bay area with various types of tags. Most are tagged using the standard T-bar tags, and about 28 fish have highly sophisticated (and expensive - hence the low number) technological tags embedded. These tags transmit data as they pass acoustic receivers, which have been deployed in the area. The downloaded information and biological sampling can relate physiological activity/movement (or residentiary nature) with environmental factors such seasonal temperature. What to do if you catch a tagged fish Please look out for tagged fish, as these will provide information about the movement of fish between and within areas and potentially reveal seasonal patterns in distribution. If you find a tagged fish, record the species, area of capture, fish length, tag number and date of capture. If the fish is legal, you can keep it. If you do, please look for the acoustic tag in the gut cavity of the fish and contact IMAS. Alternatively, record all the tag details you get and release the fish. Report details to IMAS on 6227 7280 or fish.tag@utas.edu. au. You may receive an entry into a prize lottery or receive a reward. Best of all, you will increase the understanding of your fishery. Learn more about flathead species, and commercial fishing methods for flathead, such as Danish Seine methods at www.fishing.tas.gov.au.

Fishcare Statewide Training Fishcare Tasmania recently conducted a prerecreational fishing season training weekend at the Woodbridge Marine Discovery Centre. Around 35 Fishcare volunteers attended from around the State including seven new applicants who learned how

Fishcare contributes to the community. The MDC teachers guided excited volunteers around the centre viewing fish in tanks and aquariums. They undertook exercises on introduced species, adaptations for habitat and survival, such as looking at the fish in tanks and recording mouth, body and tail shape to the fish’s lifestyle, habitat and food. They listened to discussions on marine debris, introduced pests and looked at plankton through microscopes.

Then volunteers went on a boat-based field trip out into the D’Entrecasteaux Channel on the MDC’s research vessel, Penghana. Discussions were held on the Tasmanian marine environment and the hydrodynamics of D’Entrecasteaux Channel. Volunteers undertook benthic sampling and looked at reef habitat with the underwater camera system. The MDC is an excellent facility and the Penghana made a great outdoor classroom. Other sessions were about social media, boat safety and recreational fishing surveys. Feedback from the volunteers was very positive both on the training content and on meeting volunteers from other regions. The camaraderie developed on occasions like this is invaluable for the Fishcare Tasmania team. Marine Discovery Centre Did you know that the Marine Discovery Centre is open to members of the public from 2.15 – 4.00pm on Wednesday afternoons during school term times. Entry is by donation, and volunteers are on hand to answer questions. The Centre is located on Jetty Road, Woodbridge, approx 40 minutes drive south of Hobart and is usually closed during school holidays. Contacts: Web: www.fishing.tas.gov.au/fishcare Fishcare Calendar of Events: Go to www.fishing. tas.gov.au and follow the links to Fishcare Tasmania.

Boat Ramps and Toilets The Department of Health and Human Services has recently requested that boaters and fishers help consider public health risks around boat ramps and adjacent areas. Many boat ramps don’t have toilet facilities nearby. If you’re returning from a fishing trip and are ‘caught short’, try not to just find the nearest bush. Human waste on shore can find its way into the water, posing a direct health risk where we all love to fish, swim and play. Outbreaks of food poisoning from eating shellfish harvested near human pollution sources can happen, as shellfish concentrate any harmful bacteria or viruses present in the water through their filter feeding. So, if you use the water for swimming, fishing, or boating, or if you let the kids play in the water, think twice before polluting it. Hold on, find the nearest toilet or if caught really short, bury it well away from the water. Need more information? Get a copy of the Recreational Sea Fishing Guide from Service Tasmania; visit www.fishing.tas.gov.au; or Ph 1300 720 647 (local call cost) or 03 6233 7042

www.tasfish.com - Get the knowledge - Get the fish.

drowning by anglers not wearing PFDs that occurred in the late 1990s and early 2000s have been forgotten. Not only is it illegal to not wear a PFD in a boat under six meters whilst under power, it is also dangerous.

phone call prior to accessing the lagoon. Contact numbers are:

Speeding boats on our inland waters are also illegal, dangerous and very annoying for anglers on and around the water.

Parking is along the side of the Tasman Highway. Please do not enter the property in vehicles or park over gates.

This weekend IFS compliance officers will be patrolling several waters of the Central Highlands this weekend on the lookout for those flaunting these laws. Failure to comply with boating regulations could result in an unwelcome fine for some anglers.

RECREATIONAL INLAND FISHERIES NEWS IFS News December Maintenance work at Arthurs Lake pump to have limited impact on Pumphouse Bay boat ramp Early in 2013 Transend will be undertaking work at the Arthurs Lake pump that will require barriers to prevent contamination of the site. The barriers will encroach on the boat launching and car park area. Whilst this should not prohibit boat launching there may be some inconvenience and delays. Anglers should plan to launch at either Jonah Bay or Dam Wall ramps as an alternative.

6257 3233 / 0407 871 967 /0427 573 233 . As mobile phone coverage at the lagoon is limited it is suggested that permission is sought prior to arrival.

Whilst IFS staff were on site installing the infrastructure they undertook some ‘market research’ and fished the lagoon late one afternoon and early the next morning. Brown trout to 1 kg readily accepted wet flies and bibbed lures particularly around the weed beds. The lagoon has also been stocked with rainbow trout. Foot access is provided right around the lagoon. Wading the northern and eastern shores is recommended or lure casting from the levee and dam wall on the western and southern shores. As with all coastal lagoons trout are susceptible to worm infestation. Fish should be thoroughly cooked prior to consumption.

Fallen trees, Tyenna River Subsequent to recent harvesting operations near Marriots Falls on the Tyenna River a number of mature eucalyptus have fallen into the river. Norske Skog are working with the Forest Practices Authority and Parks and Wildlife Service to formulate the best approach to dealing with the trees whilst taking into consideration the sensitive natural values of the river and riparian zone.

HCP-Jersey Barriers to be utilised to isolate work area from lake

During the second week of October members of the Carp Management Team and DPIPWE vet Andrew Nicholson implanted 15 juvenile carp with radio transmitters. The newly implanted carp were then released into Lake Sorell, bringing the total there to 30.

The outage works will commence on the 14th January 2013 and it planned that the total works will be completed by 20th June 2013. During this time the following periods are when the greatest impingement to the ramp access / car-parking; 14th January 2013 to 22nd February 2013 – barrier will be in place while the oil containment system is installed. During this time there will be heavy vehicles working / delivering materials within this area, this may cause some inconvenience delays for accessing the ramp or parking, but shouldn’t stop access to either, 19th April 2013 to 3rd March 2013 – during this period the new power transformer will be delivered to site. During this installation of the transformer there will be large cranes (up to 160T) and lowloaders possibly utilising this car-park area. Again this may cause some inconvenience delays for accessing the ramp or parking, but shouldn’t stop access to either.

Tasmanian Irrigation’s new website Tasmanian Irrigation, Operators of Craigbourne Dam (South East Irrigation Scheme) and Huntsman Lake (Meander Scheme) have launched a new website. The site displays current information such as dam storage levels in percentages of full that may be of interest to anglers. The site can be found at: http://www.tasmanianirrigation.com.au/index.php/ schemes/meander-valley

If boating wear your PFDs and obey the speed limits Inland Fisheries Service compliance officers are noting an increasing trend of anglers failing to wear personal floatation devices (PFDs) or life jackets as they were once called. It seems the deaths from

Carp program gears up for intensive fish down this summer

Radio transmitter implanted carp are an important tool in Inland Fisheries program to eradicate carp from the lake. The deployment of these fish at this time will assist greatly in locating schools of these sub-adult carp in order for them to be taken out of the lake in large numbers. Carp are increasingly active at this time of year with the warmer water temperatures and more likely to school; the schools will be easily located with an increased number of these “tracker fish” in the lake.

Access improved at Rostrevor Lagoon Visitors to the East Coast will be familiar with a large lagoon on the Eastern side of the Tasman Highway on the northern outskirts of Triabunna. With the cooperation of the landowners, Ian and Marcus Weeding, the IFS has installed signs and stiles identifying access points and parking for anglers and providing foot access around the perimeter of the lagoon. It is important to note that the owners require a

IFS stocking from September 19 to November 15 2012 Lake

Date

Rileys Creek Reservoir Rileys Creek Reservoir Craigbourne Dam Meadowbank Lake Curries River Dam Tooms Lake Lake Leake Little Waterhouse Lake Big Waterhouse Lake Blackmans Lagoon Tooms Lake Lake Leake Lake Waverley Lake Waverley Lake Waverley Lake Waverley Lake Waverley Lake Dulverton Craigbourne Dam Meadowbank Lake Lake Kara Lake Rosebery Lake Repulse Lake Trevallyn Brushy Lagoon Lake Barrington

27/09/2012 27/09/2012 11/10/2012 11/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 19/10/2012 22/10/2012 22/10/2012 22/10/2012 22/10/2012 22/10/2012 31/10/2012 01/11/2012 01/11/2012 07/11/2012 08/11/2012 08/11/2012 12/11/2012 13/11/2012 14/11/2012

Species brook trout brook trout Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout rainbow trout brook trout tiger trout brown trout brook trout rainbow trout rainbow trout Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon rainbow trout Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon Atlantic salmon

Stock

Number

Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Domestic Wild domestic Domestic Domestic

12,000 40,000 600 600 2,000 1,000 1,000 300 300 400 300 300 20 15 10 300 300 600 600 600 540 340 1,400 360 360 360

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Origin Snowy Range Snowy Range Tassal ‐ Karanja Tassal ‐ Karanja Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Uni Tas Uni Tas Uni Tas Uni Tas Uni Tas Springfield Fisheries Tassal ‐ Russell Falls Tassal ‐ Russell Falls Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries IFS New Norfolk Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries Springfield Fisheries

Type Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Triploid Triploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Diploid Triploid Diploid Diploid Diploid

Weight (grams) 4 1 2,500 2,500 200 200 200 200 200 200 2,500 2,500 1,500 1,500 1,000 70 100 300 2,500 2,500 2,000 3,000 80 3,000 3,000 3,000

Fishing News - Page 53

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Top Service – Top Price Fishing News - Page 54

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Fishing and Boating Directory

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Fishing News - Page 55

Issue 101 December 2012 - January 2013

Fantastic Summer Fishing

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Trout

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Joe Riley admires a Woods Lake brownie. Read his story on page 14.

Print Post approved; PP 702512 00027