$5000 trout caught on the way home

Estuary perch are a slow-growing, long living native species and in Tasmania there is only one known population of them on the North West Coast in the Arthur River.

Back in December 2023 the Inland Fisheries Service (IFS) ran an estuary perch population survey on the Arthur River and resulting from this 378 estuary perch were caught with 191 tagged and released and 31 fish kept to study age and gonad specifics.

Three strong age classes were found (5, 8 and 23-years-old) and the study also confirmed the Tasmanian population of Estuary Perch has a delayed spawning season in comparison to other mainland populations.

The study also showed that the population is still reproductively active and stable but due to their restricted distribution, variable recruitment, slow growth, and small population, further conservation efforts are needed.

The results have now been combined with the findings of estuary perch research undertaken in 2014-2015 by former Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS) Honours student, Bryan Van Wyk.

They have also been published in “Fishes”, an international, peer-reviewed, scientific, open access journal, and will be part of a special issue “The Roles of Fishery Biology and Fish Population Dynamics in Fisheries Management”.

The paper is authored by Jonah Yick (Senior Fisheries Management Officer), former IMAS fisheries biologist Dr James Haddy, and former Honours student Bryan Van Wyk.

In good news the IFS has been in recent discussions with IMAS regarding a potential research project to explore the opportunities of rearing Tasmanian estuary perch in a hatchery environment for stock enhancement purposes and for potentially establishing insurance populations in suitable habitats across Tasmania.

Funding options for this research are currently being looked at as well with specific ongoing monitoring of the estuary perch populations in the Arthur River.

 It's asked that anglers remember that due to their protected status any estuary perch caught should be released immediately and penalties apply for taking protected fish.

To assist with this research and contribute to the sustainable management of this species please report any caught,tagged estuary perch while fishing for other species and take note of the tag number before releasing it and then report it to 1300 INFISH or email infish@ifs.tas.gov.au.

The fourth tagged trout has been caught for the 2024-25 season in the Tasmanian Government’s Tagged Trout Promotion.

The lucky angler was Marion “Rusty” Mark who is originally from Oregon in the USA and he enjoys trout fishing, especially at Arthurs Lake, where he has a shack at Wilburville on the lake’s shore.

The $5000 trout was caught at Pumphouse Bay on Arthurs Lake during an evening session while fly fishing after his neighbour told him he'd been having some success fishing in the area.

After landing one fish Rusty was walking back to the car in the fading light and he spotted a big clump of weed in the shallows and thought that it would be a good spot for a fish to sit.

He then cast his fly over to it and a fish quickly left the cover of the weed and attacked his fly and obviously after landing it Rusty was over the moon when he saw the fish was tagged.

Rusty said he was unsure how he was going to spend the prize money but he said he will likely upgrade his push bike or put some cash towards his trip to Europe later in the year.

There is still time to catch a tagged trout with 12 more out there at Lake Mackintosh (2), Lake Rowallan (2), Huntsman Lake (1), Yingina/Great Lake (2), Bradys Lake (2), Arthurs Lake (1) and Lake Sorell (2).

Although the Tasmanian brown trout season closes on Sunday, April 27, Huntsman Lake, Yingina/Great Lake and the Bradys chain stay open all year round, meaning the chance to catch a tagged trout continues in the off-season.

There are also tagged trout in Lakes Mackintosh and Rowallan which stay open until Sunday 1 June 2025.

The Inland Fisheries Service is currently preparing for the second year of the Tagged Trout Promotion which will kick off at the start of the 2025/26 brown trout season on Saturday, August 2, 2025.

As a trout angler who mainly fishes with soft plastics It's not uncommon for me to take a lure off and instead of putting it back in its original packet it's put in the first that's pulled out of the tackle stash.

It's not until later down the track when looking through the gear that I've noticed that some lures have changed colour.

This has happened to me a bit and it's also meant that I've experimented by putting lighter coloured lures in with others that are a contrasting darker colour.

The picture in this report shows the changes in colour a lure can take on when stored with another coloured lure.

The top brand new unused white/transparent soft plastic lure was stored with the middle lure in its original packet for a month and the bottom lure was the end result.

It's worthwhile trying because it can give lures unique colours and earlier this season I caught a 7.8kg trout using one.

Be aware that some soft plastics won't tolerate being stored with others due to their different composites and some can have a bad reaction but 75 percent of lures aside from Berkley Gulp should give you a result.

The New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Association will hold their 8th trout fishing competition of the 2024-25 season this weekend and it's an "Open Waters" event.

Members can get out and fish their favourite spots with competition fishing starting on Friday at 6pm,finishing with a weigh in at the Millbrook Rise boat ramp from 3.30 pm-4.30 pm.

With just two competitions remaining and under a month left of the 2024-25 season anglers should be keen to get out for a great weekend.

Tip Of The Week - Holding a fish by the jaw and hanging it vertically is probably the single most detrimental act anyone can inflict upon a fish intended for release.

When the fish is hung vertically, the weight of the fish causes vertebrae to separate in their spine and their organs can then shift downward in the stomach cavity and potentially tear.

A study was done on Barramundi to measure the effects of holding and hanging them up by the jaw and 50 out of 50 of these fish that were handled that way died.

Send in your fishing reports, pics and tips to valleyfishes@gmail.com