Anglers make gift giving easy

WITH only two weeks left until Christmas Day, fishing time is limited and gift shopping is a priority even if it's usually left until the last minute. 

With a lot of rain falling last Saturday water levels have risen which should provide some good opportunities to catch some hungry trout.

As for gift ideas anglers are easy to buy for and to be honest there isn't another pasttime that provides a plethora of present options to put under the Christmas tree.

From a new rod and reel to lures and terminal tackle like hooks, sinkers, swivels or storage options to clothing and footwear or landing nets the list is endless and ask any angler if they receive anything fishing related it's always appreciated.

ANGLERS fishing in the highlands reported limited success last week with fishing proving hard work for most that made the effort.

Woods Lake and Lake King William were were again mentioned the most with anglers catching good bags on lure, bait and fly.

Penstock Lagoon has been the stand out fly fishing water.  Lake Echo is improving as is the Brady's Chain and Bronte Lagoon with water levels now higher and keep in mind Lake Pedder, Lake St Clair and Laughing Jack Lagoon which don't get the fishing pressure others do.

The Derwent River has been offering good black bream fishing through to the tidal influence and Australian salmon, tailor, barracouta, mullet and trevally are also in the mix.

Water clarity changed after the rain last Saturday which could also bring trout back on the bite. The East Coast stock rebuilding zone for rock lobster (crayfish) opened to fishing last Saturday and even with the wet conditions anglers were out setting and checking pots.

With the festive season upon us anglers will be out "food gathering" and who doesn't like a feed of seafood at Christmas.

Cray anglers are reminded about compulsory catch reporting rules that came into play back in November.

SOUTHERN bluefin tuna fishing continues to impress with fish to 120 kg still being landed off the Tasman Peninsula.

When a big tuna hits the lure it more often than not comes without warning and just like with any fishing make sure your boat is prepared. When a fish does strike all hell breaks loose and don’t stop the boat when that happens.

Tuna are a schooling fish and they feed in numbers so If a reel goes off make sure that you maintain your trolling speed for a good 15-30 metres before backing off and settling in for the fight because one hookup can lead to a double or triple.

SEVERAL  hundred Tasmanians flocked to Cremorne Beach last weekend as well calling on the Liberal Government to stop the expansion of polluting fish farms in Storm Bay,Frederick Henry Bay and Norfolk Bay.

Community groups, surfers, anglers and families made a stand protesting against salmon farm expansion namely for 50 open salmon nets  off Yellow Bluff in Storm Bay.

THE 2024 Tasmanian Trout Classic was held recently and 29 teams of two fished Great Lake on Saturday November 30 and Arthurs Lake on Sunday December 1.

Ninety Five fish were landed at Great Lake on Saturday and 60 fish were landed from Arthurs Lake on Sunday making up a total of 155 fish for the weekend.

Twelve teams filled their full bag of five fish at Great Lake on Saturday and just five teams filled theirs from Arthurs Lake on Sunday.

Team Channel Marine/Fishermens Shed of Dylan Loh and female partner Monty Garth outfished everyone at Great Lake finishing first with a five-fish total length of 231 cm followed by Ultimate Team of Tim and Zane Colegrave on just 1 cm behind on 230 cm.

In third place was team Frogleys of Brendan Ayers and Josh WIlliams on 220 cm and team Bandicoot Fever of Scott & Zane Grey sat in 4th position on 218 cm.

Team Prostrike of Tony Robertson and Marty Evans rounded out the top five, 1 cm behind on 217 cm. After some impressive results from Great Lake the heavens opened before the second days fishing at Arthurs Lake and most teams found fishing difficult.

Team Bandicoot Fever of Scott and Zane Grey backed up their first day effort to top day two and win the Classic with a five-fish total length of 205 cm to take their overall total length for the two days to 423 cm.

Team Prostrike of Tony Robertson and Marty Evans backed up their good day on Saturday with a five-fish total of 191 cm at Arthurs including the longest of the competition at 52 cm to take their overall total to 408 cm to finish in second position.

Team Frogleys of Brendan Ayers and Josh Williams finished fifth on Sunday with a five-fish bag of  172 cm to take their two day total to 392 cm to finish overall in third position.

Team Master Baiters of Liam Walters and Aiden Barnes finished overall in fourth position with 187 cm on day one and 182 cm on day to for a total of 369 cm and rounding out the top 5 was team Liquid Gold Lures of Brett Tobin and Chris Fraser with 179 cm on day dne and 186 on day two for a total of 365 cm.

Day one leaders Channel Marine/Fishermens Shed of Dylan Loh and Monty Garth did it tough at Arthurs landing one fish at 28 cm to finish 10th and Ultimate Team of Tim and Zane Colegrave also found fishing tough going at Arthurs with a 108 cm length giving them a total of 338 cm to finish in seventh spot.

Special mention to Team Wilson of Will Thorpe and Adan Tye for finishing in sixth,"Get Bit" of Ben Diebert and Damien Boehm for finishing eighth,and team Fish Tales of Brett and Tayla Smith for finishing ninth out of the 29 teams. Tight lines until next week.

Tip of the Week - It’s important to keep your fishing gear clean, including your rods, reels,  lures and flies.  Keep your hands clean too and avoid contaminating lures ,baits and flies when handling them with strong smelling substances like sunscreen ,insect repellent or fuel because the smell can turn trout/all fish off biting.

 

Send in your fishing reports,pics and tips to valleyfishes@gmail.com and keep track of the Derwent Valley Gazette Fishing page at derwentvalleygazette.com