Catch the angling bug

THE Inland Fisheries Service is working with Anglers Alliance Tasmania, Sea Fisheries and Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation on the National Gone Fishing Day on Sunday.

An angling licence will not be required to fish in inland waters in Tasmania, so is a great opportunity to grab a friend and try trout fishing.

There will also be a number of junior angling venues, coordinated through local angling clubs, that will give kids a great chance to catch a fish. Sea Fisheries will also be co-ordinating events around the state’s coast. CARL HYLAND

Gone Fishing Day was created to encourage people to get outdoors, drop a line, enjoy time with family and friends by or on the water, and hopefully catch a fish or two.

It is well known that getting outdoors is beneficial to both your physical and mental health, and all fishers can agree that there is no such thing as a bad day’s fishing when you’re surrounded by those close to you and the glorious areas fishing takes you.

So why not have a day that recognises and promotes all of these things? To register yourself for Gone Fishing Day and be eligible to win some prizes head to gonefishingday.org/register/

You can also like the Gone Fishing Day Facebook page for updates on the day’s events and competitions.

To find out where your closest registered event is being held head to gonefishingday.org/events/ list/, or contact Cassandra at Cassandra.Schlimbach@arff.o rg.au for more information.

Sea-run trout activity is on the increase, with some solid fish being reported around the coastline.

When fishing estuaries, you will often catch trout that have taken up residence in the estuary but don’t head out to sea.

These fish are not true sea runners and are often referred to as “slob” trout. They are usually darker in colour than true silver sea-run trout.

However, both sorts make excellent table fish as they have a rich, varied and plentiful diet.

Most trout follow whitebait and the migrations take place from mid-August through to mid-December, peaking from mid-September through to mid-November.

Fishing the incoming tide with whitebait pattern wet flies will result in some great catches, soft plastic and hard body lures also take their share of fish.

Fishing hotspots for these whitebait feeders are generally bottlenecks in the animal’s migration such as river mouths, the first set of freshwater rapids on rivers, along with man-made weirs.

Basically anywhere that there are aggregations of whitebait, there will usually be hungry trout.

Specifically worthy are a few rivers on the state’s rugged West Coast.

Bait runs on the West Coast are traditionally later than elsewhere in the state, normally peaking during October and November.

The Henty River is a favourite among people who fish the West Coast but it does not see a great deal of angling pressure.

Other rivers to investigate are the Arthur, Inglis, Leven, Forth, Mersey, Derwent and Huon.