’ Tis the season for pot luck
TASMANIA’S crayfish season opened last weekend, and judging by reports coming in, many people have had a great start to the season.
Quite a few tell of having difficulty in diving at some popular spots because of the sheer volume of pots, so they have been heading more offshore, where they are finding some cray up to 2kg.
Finding a good cray spot and keeping it quiet is a bit like winning Lotto.
News of the translocation of more than 100,000 lobster will bode well for future captures along the East Coast, and with funding for another four years announced the program will boost rock lobster populations.
Tasmanian Rock Lobster Fishermen’s Association chief executive John Sansom said stocks on the East Coast had suffered because it was a popular and accessible fishing spot.
He said depleted stocks were partly to blame for an increase in the population of the long-spine sea urchin.
Rock lobsters eat the pest, which destroys kelp beds, seriously threatens marine life and has doubled in population on the East Coast in the past 15 years.
Speaking to free divers who take lobster without the aid of scuba gear, they indicated that stocks were good in the South-East, with the River Derwent also holding good populations.
Fishing for scalefish is proving productive for many, with the Derwent currently full of schools of salmon and tailor.
No doubt those kingfish I mentioned in recent weeks are still lurking and will show up at popular spots such as Bellerive Bluff and Waterfall Bay.
Kingfish are being caught at Port Sorell and at the Tamar Heads, with good water temperatures luring fish in close.
Squid fishing off the Low Head breakwall is productive, as is the fishing at the Pilot Station of an evening under lights. The appearance of couta makes the night-time fishing pretty exciting.
Freshwater action is just as exciting. I had a trip to the Great Lake the other day, and while the fish we caught were of excellent condition, most were returned to the water because of the size.
We were fishing the top three metres of water and I suspect fish were deeper. Next time we will run a leadline and see the results.
Having a sounder would also be of benefit, because it would show up water depth and temperature, both essential tools when using leadline.
Most deep-diving lures won’t reach the depths required, so either a lead paravane or the leadline is required.
The surface temperatures of most inland waters has increased dramatically.
Trout, along with other species, usually don’t like this tepid water and will often seek colder channels and only feed either during the night or at dusk and dawn, which are both prime times to try to bag a fish.
Wear it well
THE message is now starting to get out about life jackets, but there’s still a few “diehards’’ who refuse to wear them.
Let me say this: When you cop the fine, you can blame only yourself. It’s been proven that jackets save lives, so make sure you wear one. The same also goes for your family and your mates.