Tasmanian Fishing Report - 26 April 2023 - Trout winding up and game firing up
by Spot On Fishing Hobart 27 Apr 2023 11:38 UTC
Nick Bax with a cracking Blue Eye © Spot On Fishing Hobart
Again, game fishing in SE Tas continues to fire and some good late season trout fishing to be had. Also a special article on recent sword captures and info on the IFS trout weekend at Liawenee.
Freshwater
With most Brown trout waters closing this weekend for spawning here are a few top spots to check out while you still can.
- Dee Lagoon - Reports of good numbers of little rainbows and reasonable brown trout have been coming through. Drift Spinning and trolling are very productive.
- Lake Echo - Trolling using lead line and deep divers have been very effective with anglers reporting some good bags.
- Brady's Chain - has been fishing well with good numbers of browns been caught spinning from the shore.
- Bronte Lagoon - has been on fire with good numbers of rainbows and browns been caught, Drift spinning and searching with small wet flies have been most productive with a few nice fish being caught in the shallows on dry flies also
- Crescent - Big fish continue to be caught with Daiwa Pressos seemingly producing the most fish.
- Derwent River - Lots of reports of sea run trout have started to flow in with bream fisherman reporting seeing good sea runners chasing bait in the shallows.
Saltwater
- Tuna - Bluefin continue to fire with good numbers of fish in all size brackets being caught at eagle hawk neck. School fish are being caught cape Raoul, dart bank, stormy bay, friars and Pedra.
- Bream - seem to be hanging in the upper Drewent River with a few fish starting to drop down into the lower reaches. East coast lagoons are running fairly brown and fishing has been poor.
- Salmon - Good numbers continue to be caught through out storm bay but have quietened down up the east coast.
- Garfish - continue to go well with flounder fisherman seeing good numbers at night
- Snapper - have been firing lately with good numbers of smaller fish throughout the channel and storm bay area
- Squid - Calamari have been around in good numbers in Frederick henry bay and the channel area but have been very patchy up the east coast.
- Flounder - people are starting to do well in any shallow sandy area
- Flathead - are fishing extremely well at the moment with a good number of fish moving inshore. Please be aware that fisheries have introduced a new limit of 10 fish and a new minimum size of 35cm.
We would love to hear your reports and see photos of your catches to help fellow anglers. Please email or send them to our Facebook/Instagram Page.
Special Sword report from Jonah Yick
After seeing the very average weather forecast for the whole of the Easter Break, Storm Eastley and I saw a small half day weather window on Thursday the 6th of April and decided that if we wanted to have a crack at a swordfish soon, this was going to have to do. The forecast was for light winds at first light, slowly building up to strong North East winds over 20 knots in the afternoon.
The alarm was set for 330am and we were on the road towing my little 5.5m (18foot) Cootacraft Gunshot "Sally 2.0" for a first light launch at Eaglehawk Neck. We steamed out to the continental shelf and had our first bait dropped down to 500m at 7am. We didn't have any bites until around 10 when the rod indicated a few taps, then buckled over. Storm got strapped into the Black Magic Equaliser Harness and the fight begun. We were able to gain around 100m of line first, before it stripped off 200m of line in a screaming run. The fish fought erratically, screaming around on the surface for the first hour, while the weather continued to deteriorate around us.
The wind continued to strengthen and the seas got sloppier and bigger making everything more difficult. We decided to continue to add more pressure to the drag on the reel in hopes of ending the fight sooner. The maximum pressure on the reel reached, we had the swordfish up next to the boat in 2.5hours but it wasn't done yet. In lunged under the boat snapping the rod in half.
Luckily, the line still held and I reached over and grabbed the leader, and began to handline it back up to the surface. After a short struggle we had the fish secured next to the boat. The next battle, was whether we could get it into the boat. Storm and I had no chance on our own, so our mate Wesley van den Herik who was on a jetski close by jumped onboard to help us, while leaving his jetski free floating in the ocean. By some form of a miracle, the three of us were able to haul this massive fish into the boat. However, it still wasn't over yet, as we now had to travel the 25km back to the ramp in rough conditions. When we finally made it back to the boat ramp, the hugs and celebrations could finally begin!
The swordfish had a total length of 3.5m and weighed an astonishing 289.3kg. We were using 60kg line and the current Aus Record for that line class is 252.2kg, while the Tas record is 208.7kg. However we won't be claiming either records. The work doesn't end when the fish is on the boat. We then travelled back home to Hobart where we bought multiple bags of ice and begun the time consuming process of butchering the swordfish. A fish this size demands respect and not a single scrap of this fish was wasted. We arrived home in the afternoon and didn't finish processing the fish until 2am the next day.
The following days were spent vacuum sealing and distributing pieces of this fish to many friends and family, of which the network of people exceeds 40 separate families. Storm and I generally do not buy meat, and we collect most of our meat via sustainable hunting and fishing practises. The head of the swordfish has been frozen, and it will have its ear bones (otoliths removed) so it can be aged, and this information will be used to better understand their biology. It should also be noted that the commercial stock status of swordfish in Australia is classed as sustainable (FRDC).
Gear used: Black Magic Tackle 15inch skirt, 400 pound tough trace, Black Magic Twin Pin Equalizer Gimbal and Harness