Dasher River, Plenty Of Trout Today

[meppstas]

'' DASHER RIVER, PLENTY OF TROUT TODAY.'' 27-3-15

Another 17mms of rain yesterday had me heading off to the Dasher River again this afternoon for another spin session. I thought it may be on the rise, but once there it was still the same height as my previous trip. Today I'm fishing another long stretch of river on private property thanks to a land owner that I've known for many years now. The only difference to the river was the water colour. Today it was much darker, just like a strong cup of black tea. In saying that, I could still see the river bottom in most sections.
Today's session was over a one kilometer stretch of river which has a lot of shallow runs coupled with a few deeper (400mms) medium flowing sections. I started the session off using the copper #00 black fury spinner today, it's not a real bright lure but it is one that works well in this little river. The first section I fished was a short 400mms deep run and I had a hit and miss on the first cast and retrieve. The second cast to the top of it resulted in a small (270gm) brown taking the lure. This was a typical Dasher River brown, bright golden colour with bright red spots. The next cast upstream the back fury was taken again, this fish was bigger (340gm) than the last one. Great start to the session with two trout taken in the first stretch of river.

The wind had really picked up now which was making casting a little difficult with the little 1.5gm spinner as it meant I now had to adjust my casting to the wind gusts. Wait for it to drop then quickly get a cast in before it gusts up again. It's not just the wind that becomes a problem, it's the leaves and little twigs etc the come with it as they get blown off the surrounding bush. Often the lure will pick up a small twig or leaf on the retrieve which results in not catching a fish. It's days like this that I don't really mind, it's just another challenge for me to get through, plus it does hone ones fishing skills. The next couple of runs were very shallow and only gave a up a couple of hit and misses. Still, the trout are still here and in an aggressive mood and that's the main thing.

Over the next three hundred or so meters I had caught and released ten more browns and lost three others. After catching the first of ten browns I lost three in a row which made for a change of spinner. The one I took of had been used for quite some time now and the trebles were pretty well worn down from continually honing them to keep them sharp. It was replaced with a brand new copper black fury, that spinner caught the next nine browns with the best fish going 440gms. The wind was predicted to get stronger as the day went on, and it did. It had reached gale force just as the BOM forecast. I fished on for another one hundred and fifty meters and caught and released another six nice river browns a lost one other, plus having several hit and misses. With the wind being like it was I called it a day. It wasn't worth fishing on any further, it was now near impossible to cast the little spinner upstream with the wind coming face on at around 40kph. With eighteen browns caught and released it turned out to be a great session in tough conditions. It has helped my tally reach 383 trout for the season.
cheers
Adrian

[Lake Leake Boy]

Great work Adrian!

[meppstas]

Was a pretty good session Samuel, thanks mate... :thumbsup:

[foggybottom]

Gorgeous little fish! I've been fishing a little bit up in the barrington tops here in NSW, haven't been having too much luck, only a few small rainbows in the warmer water but hopefully as the flows increase and the water cools, I can fish a few of the runs which are very shallow at the moment.

How shallow are you able to fish little spinners though? I normally drop down to the smallest size which affects distance, but they sit a little higher in the water, still have to retrieve them pretty quickly.

[meppstas]

Gorgeous little fish! I've been fishing a little bit up in the barrington tops here in NSW, haven't been having too much luck, only a few small rainbows in the warmer water but hopefully as the flows increase and the water cools, I can fish a few of the runs which are very shallow at the moment.

How shallow are you able to fish little spinners though? I normally drop down to the smallest size which affects distance, but they sit a little higher in the water, still have to retrieve them pretty quickly.

I have used the little #00 1.g gram spinners for a very long time, They do take a while to get to know how to work them in rivers. I have fished them in water as shallow as 75 mms in depth and picked up trout. When fishing shallow water keep the rod tip raised and retrieve the lure at the same speed as the flow of water. By keeping the rod tip higher than normal you'll keep the spinner off the bottom. It's a matter of going river fishing as often as you can, I've been spin fishing rivers for trout for over 50 years and I still learn different things every so often that helps to suck a trout in.
It's not a matter of casting long distances in rivers to catch trout, it's a matter of accuracy and knowing how to read a river to find them that matters most. Some rivers i fish are very small and you only have to cast upstream some 5 or 10 meters which is plenty of distance to catch a trout. Remember with trout fishing river to fish as light as possible, I don't go above using 4 lb mono to an anti-kink (see photo) then have a 6 lb trace to the spinner. I also paint the anti- kink as it often attracts the trout o the lure as it's the first thing they see as it comes down stream. The photo below is from a very small run off from the main river, it was around 3 meters long and 2.7 meters wide and only 120 mms deep, this gave up a 430 gram brown. I think i have an article posted on this site on fishing rivers for trout, not sure what part it's in. It may be of some help to you if you can find it, I'm sure someone else on the site may know where it is. I'll have a look as well in the mean time too. Remember to try and go as often as you can, and the best way to catch trout is to invest in a pair of waders and get in and wade the river.
Feel free to PM me for any more info, only to happy to help you if i can..

cheers
Adrian

I couldn't find it, but here's one i wrote a couple of years ago the may be of some help to you.. Copy and paste it if you wish to do so.

'' WHERE TO FIND TROUT IN RIVERS & STREAMS.'' 4-9-13

The following article is from my many years of spin fishing rivers and streams over the past 48 years and hopefully it may help those of you that have trouble finding trout in rivers whether it be here in Tasmania or mainland Australia. You may have your own ideas on finding trout and do catch your fair share of them, but these are mine and have worked extremely well for me over the years. It may take a couple of years fishing the rivers before you learn to read a river and know where a trout is lying in a small pocket or a slow run along the edge of a river. I have taken fish in pockets of fast water that most fishers would bypass and these small pockets are only around a meter in length and 600mm wide. So my point is do not bypass any bit of water no matter how small it may be. You will be surprised how large some fish are that hold up in these small sections of fast water. I have quite often caught fish of around 600gms in them. Fast water sections fish really well in the warmer weather as these sections of water a cooler and also have a higher oxygen level in them and this is where to fish during the summer months. Most of the trout I catch throughout a season are taken in fast water sections of rivers and streams.

The only way to fish them and increase your catch rate is to get in and wade the rivers, it's the best and only way to get a good catch rate. By doing this you can access more areas of the rivers as well, and once you get into a fish or two you won't want to fish from the river bank any more. You can make your way to the center of a river (depending on the depth) and work it from one river bank in a 180 degrees arc all the way to the opposite river bank. This was you are covering every bit of river around you. When retrieving the lure keep it to the same speed as the flow of the river and give the rod a light twitch every now and then. When casting across the river at different angles let the lure drift with the flow and slowly retrieve it plus giving it the light twitch every so often on the retrieve. By giving the rod a twitch every now and then often results in a strike. If you're working a shallow fast water you may have to keep the rod tip in a raised position to stop the lure from becoming snagged. After several trips you will get to know how to work the lure in the rivers. Better still if you know some one who fishes this way all the time, then see if you can go on a trip with them and pick up a few tips. Accurate casting is essential too, as you will often have to flick the lure into some tight areas where a trout could be holding. Tight areas may be between a couple of overhanging shrubs, branches or between boulders as these are all areas that more than likely be holding trout.

Once you keep going back to the same river you will get to know how to read the water and where trout will be holding. You will also get to know where it's deep and shallow and what side to work your way up in a deeper section. Some deeper sections often have a shallower side to them and you can work your way up on that side. If it's deep right across that whole section of river then get out and walk on past it until you can get back into a wade-able depth of river. Don't risk trying to go through a deep section as it's not worth drowning for. So hopefully this article has given you an insight to a few of the basics of finding trout in rivers and streams and gets you into a river some where.

[barra mick]

Nice river !!!

[muzza43]

What a great little stream, and some bonus trout to boot. Some people have to do it tough. Cheers muzza43.

[deathray]

Fine report and pics again Adrian. I was previously of the belief the 'black fury' design was a black blade with several yellow dots. Perhaps you could shed some light on this most perplexing issue?

[meppstas]

Fine report and pics again Adrian. I was previously of the belief the 'black fury' design was a black blade with several yellow dots. Perhaps you could shed some light on this most perplexing issue?

Yes it is, but there are also black fury's with Gold, copper & silver blades too. All still have a small section on the blade that is black w/- yellow dots.

cheers
Adrian