Great fishing all around

I AM sitting today!

I’m quite excited, as I have moved location from the North Coast to the outskirts of Launceston.

This means that I have new waters to explore — well, not new, but waters I haven’t visited for a while.

I can’t wait for the sea-run action to start.

There are so many waters that remain open for all methods of angling courtesy of the Inland Fisheries Service.

I’m getting a bit ahead of myself though, as we still have some awesome fishing all around the state with some regions just starting to fire.

Scallop fishermen are reporting of some exceptional at a new desk CARL HYLAND captures with the season opening last weekend.

Swansea has some really good patches for recreational divers, as do areas around Dover in the South.

Crayfish captures have also been really good, with some large fish caught over the weekend by divers and potters alike.

A shellfish warning was issued by the Inland Fisheries Service on March 23 and all who consume seafood should take note: do not eat wild shell- fish from the Port Esperance region in southern Tasmania.

Toxic algal blooms (also known as harmful algal blooms or HABs) are present in Port Esperance — the bay adjacent to the town of Dover.

High levels of algal toxins have been detected in shellfish from this region. Recreationally harvested shellfish from this area should not be eaten because the algal toxins are harmful to humans.

Wild shellfish include oysters, mussels, clams, pipis, cockles and wedge shells.

Abalone, scallop roes and the intestines and livers (tomalley) of rock lobster can also be affected when toxic algal blooms are present.

In freshwater news, Lake Crescent remains carp free, according to the Inland Fisheries Service.

The annual Lake Crescent juvenile carp survey took place on March 15.

This survey aims to make sure carp have not made their way back into Lake Crescent, and to look for any signs of new recruitment.

Carp have not been seen in Lake Crescent since 2007, but surveys are still carried out every year.

Officers from the Inland Fisheries Service focused on areas carp are known to favour. These habitats include rocky or sandy shores and areas with lots of underwater vegetation.

Fourteen areas at the lake were surveyed using backpack electro-shockers for a minimum of 10 minutes.

Short-fin eels and golden galaxias made up the majority of the catch.

A couple of well-conditioned rainbow trout were caught in the shallows.

Thankfully, there was no sign of carp of any size in Lake Crescent and Lake Sorell carp numbers are rapidly declining, as a juvenile carp survey undertaken on March 5-9 showed.

This survey was to determine if spawning had occurred in the past few months, and whether there are any new year class of carp.

Sixty-six fyke nets were set around the lake near weed beds and shore areas where young-of-the-year carp been caught before.

Backpack electro-shockers were used at 24 sites around the lake for a minimum of 15 minutes each. After 6149 fyke net hours and 385 electrofishing minutes many eels and golden galaxiids were seen but no new young-of-the-year carp.

This is a great outcome for the Carp Management Program.

This means the fishing effort in Lake Sorell can continue to focus on the few remaining adult fish. Light can finally be seen at the end of the long carp tunnel.

I for one wait with anticipation upon being able to fish Lake Sorell as I and many others did years ago. have