Another Visitor to Tassie

[Ado]

I'm also heading down there early May (Edit: late April). Advice sought as I have no idea. See the following thread.

http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=44342

[Scott]

Mate i know you like to wade for trout but the season closes the end of April. If you want to yak fish one of the dams that are open, i can lend you a yak if you are not bringing one down. Give me a few weeks notice and i can scam a day or two off work if you want a guide. The East coast will still be fishing Ok for bream and the sea runners may have started. Not the best time for fishing down here however.

[Ado]

Thanks Scott. A kayak fish on a lake sounds tempting. I will definitely keep that in mind. What part of the state are you suggesting?

I had a look at a few web sites and it seemed most rivers were closed from the last weekend in April. It seems I'll need to bring my trip forward by a couple of weeks. So assuming I'll be there late April instead of early May, what advice can you give? If that still a poor time for river trout then let me know and I'll revise again.

Thanks for the response.

[vertigrator]

I've actually done well in the rivers late in the season. I think they are feeding hard to put on condition for spawning. But if you leave it too late then they've already switched over to spawning mode and you'll come across big fish in the gravel that will ignore anything you throw at them.

March and the first half of April can be awesome for the rivers.

[Scott]

Mate Craig has given good advice as usual. I just noticed you are not planning on bringing waders. i think that is a big call and one you will live to regret. There are a few trout guides down this way, possibly you could hire a set from them?

[Ado]

So it seems I need to bring the trip forward to early Aril. When does the season reopen in spring?

I also gather that it's not easy to fish from the banks. That's generally my preference, realizing that I need to bash some distance between stances and use a telescopic rod to crawl through undergrowth, etc. Even so, is it not possible to fish from the banks of most rivers? Is that why waders are paramount? I'm willing to cross 4 degree water, but I can't fish while standing in it.

Thanks for the tips. Keep them rolling.

[Scott]

You can shore bash some/most of the Tyenna, the rest of the ones i fish i tend to wade up the middle fishing upstream so my lure is traveling in the right direction. Craig (Vertigrator) fishes some different streams to me, he may be able to give you some info on shore bashing.

[vertigrator]

I sometimes fish without waders during summer and autumn. On hot days I wear shorts and wading boots with felt soles & studs to stop from slipping on slimey rocks. Also I wear gators to protect my legs from blackberries and others sharp bits.

Some of the northern rivers are much better for fishing from the shore. Rivers like the Meander, Macquarie, Brumbies Creek, Lake River, South Esk and Mersey have sections with deep pools and grassy banks through farmland. Whereas the small streams down south tend to go through thick scrub where the only way to fish most of them is by wading up the river.

A pair of breathable waders doesn't take up much space if you have some of them.

[Ado]

It seems the season re-opens in early August. Is that a better time for fishing the rivers? It's obviously VERY cold at that time, but I'm willing to take it on if it's better than late April.

[vertigrator]

Personally I prefer late April. The weather is nicer and the rivers generally are flowing at low enough levels to wade. Wheras the start of the season can see a lot of rain and flooded rivers. Though some locals have worked out where to find monster trout in the floods. Though I've not sussed that out yet.

[Ado]

Thanks again vertigrator. Looks like late April then. A quick diary check and travel agent confirmation and I'll lock in the dates.

[Ado]

OK. I've locked in Monday 11 April to Friday 15th April. I have air tickets, a small 2WD hire car and a pack with a one man tent, snow bag, sleeping mat, stove and fishing gear. Now all I need to figure out is where I'm going.

Thanks for the suggestions Craig. I started looking at the lakes and in the North. I figured the weather would be kinder and the road that little bit easier. The lakes look great, even though I rarely fish lakes. The rivers look accessible, but it seems I'd need to know a fair bit about access as they seem to pass through a lot of private property. Then I looked at the south rivers .......

I'm TOTALLY sucked in. Those southern Rivers look GORGEOUS!!! Forrested, wild, difficult access, boonies ... brilliant. The question then is how far can I go safely in a 2WD. Can you suggest any camping spots? No ameties required provided I can drink the water. If I could find a spot that would give me driving access to a few different rivers within (say) an hour or two, then all the better. However, I'm camping light, so breaking camp and moving isn't an issue, nor is walking serious distances from the camp to follow the rivers. If you can give me indications of which roads I should take to get as far as possible up each river (2WD permitting) then that would be great.

PM if you want to keep secrets from the masses.

Am I being a lunatic taking on these southern rivers by myself on foot in April?

Very excited now.

[Scott]

OK.
Am I being a lunatic taking on these southern rivers by myself on foot in April?

Very excited now.

No mate i do it often with a two wheel drive. Drive slowly down forestry access roads and i carry a PLB as you can forget mobile coverage or passing traffic down most of them. I'll point you in the direction of a few of my favourites when time gets a bit closer. I know nothing about the Northern rivers, Southern Forest streams are my love.

[vertigrator]

If you want to fish the Tyenna then you can camp at Mt Field Nat Park. But a National Parks pass is required to camp there.

As for access to rivers and lakes check out these brochures on the IFS website:
http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/ifs/goingfish ... -brochures

A few of the stiles on northern rivers were damaged by the recent floods.

[rocky]

Hi Scott & Vertigrator,
Heading down your way arriving in Devenport on 20th this month, just wondering what I should bring. I am driving with a camper & will have the yak on top. I was just planning on bringing my usual bream/estuary gear (surface, mid & deep HBs plus some Sps) most of the time I use 1.5 & 2kg braid with 2kg leader. Would this be enough to stop most of the Bream or whatever down that way. May even do some freshwater fishing out of the yak as we are planning on stopping at Mt Field Nat.park. My fellow traveller & guide grew up in Hobart but knows zero about fishing. I think the plan is that we will travel from Devenport over to the east coast then make our way to Hobart for a weekend then on to Mt Field, then maybe over to Strahan then back up to Devenport all in 14days. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

Cheers & Beers
Rocky