Best get the mussels out
ALOT of people including anglers of late have been asking after the word triploiding and Tasmanian fish.
What is a triploid fish? In simple terms, a triploid fish is merely a fish that is sterile. Triploid fish have three sets of chromosomes, unlike a fertile fish that have two sets of chromosomes (a diploid fish).
This means that triploid fish are more interested in consuming food than reproduction, therefore you get larger fish over a shorter time period.
The production of triploid browns and rainbows from the New Norfolk hatchery in Tasmania is now being achieved through the modern set-up of incubators and tanks, and the recent investment in a custommade trout triploiding vessel. This hyperbaric chamber was imported from France and is the first of its kind in Australia.
Although triploiding is commonplace in the industry, noone else is doing this with “wild eggs” harvested from “wild fish”, and certainly not using the iconic Tasmanian wild brown trout.
The triploids, which are sterile, tend to grow faster when they reach maturity and, having no gonads, they do not spawn and waste energy in reproduction.
They provide a new dimension to fisheries particularly those with no capacity for natural recruitment. Far from being a turn-off to the serious angler, the Inland Fisheries Service has received enthusiastic support from mainstream anglers for fisheries at Four Springs Lake, Curries River Reservoir, Waterhouse Lakes, Brushy Lagoon, Lake Crescent and Penstock Lagoon to benefit from these fish.
Stocking has been a point of debate in recent times from some sectors of the angling community. It will continue to be an essential fisheries management tool to address fisheries with poor recruitment. Other fisheries that rely on stocking, although minor, will continue to need supplementation from hatcheries. These include Big Lagoon, lakes Skinner, Plimsoll, Selina and Rolleston, and Pawlena Dam, as well as the popular program of farm dam stocking, particularly in the northern part of the state.
Reports of Bluefin tuna from the West Coast plus along the North-West Coast, St Helens, Eaglehawk Neck and further south.
Barrels have been landed at Devonport and St Helens and a couple hooked and lost at Sisters Beach and Burnie. School Bluefin are everywhere, and swordfish and sharks have been reportedly caught in the east.
Bream are running hard in most estuaries and are responding mainly to hard-bodied lures. That’s not to say they won’t take bait, as a freshly presented mussel will often bring good results.
Bream also love small strips of silver trevally skin and this “flashy” bait will often bring strikes from larger fish.
Failing that, white paddle tail type soft plastic lures will get the job done.
Try places such as the Huon River, Browns River, Lune River, River Derwent, Rubicon and Supply rivers, but be mindful of the seaward limits that are in force while the trout season is closed. If you capture a trout in closed waters, it must be released.
Don’t discount sandy beaches for bream either, as I have taken quite a few along northern beaches and I know of others who regularly take good fish along southern beaches as well.
Until next week, take care.
Don’t forget, if you’re having luck out there on Tassie waters, drop us a line at fishtas@iinet.net.au