A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Tasmania Fishing Reports
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meppstas
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A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by meppstas » Fri Dec 08, 2017 5:47 am

A dozen browns in tough conditions..

After some good rain on Saturday I thought I'd head up to the upper reaches of the Mersey River above Liena and fish an area I haven't been to for at least two seasons. I have no idea what it may look like since the floods of June 2016 either but I'm hoping there may be a trout or two to be caught any way. I didn't leave Sheffield until just after 2:25pm in what was an overcast and very windy day with a temperate of only 15 degrees. Once I arrived an saw the amount of change to the area from the floods I just couldn't believe how different it was up here now. So much destruction with most of the foliage gone from the river banks, they're now all open rocky stretches where ever one looks. After a 2 km walk downstream through a few paddocks I was finally at my entry point to the river. There wasn't too much here that even looked like it once was at all, stretches of river that I knew like the back of my hand were gone. So it's just like fishing a new river which will make for an interesting session this afternoon. Not that I was too bothered as the lower Mersey wasn't much different to this after the floods any way.
Looking downstream at the Mersey River from the Liena bridge.. (Medium).JPG
What it was like last time I fished up here..
Looking downstream at the Mersey River from the Liena Bridge..212 (Medium).JPG
What it is is like know since the June 2016 floods..
I started off in a chain of small fast water runs and used a gold Aglia spinner, two casts was all it took before I had my first trout hooked and in the net. Nothing big, just a small well conditioned 279 gram fish which I was quite happy with as it meant there are trout to be had here. A few casts later I hooked and lost another small brown, that was followed up with the same result again soon after. After losing two trout in a row I changed over to a gold bladed black fury and that worked as I caught the next two trout without any problems. The wind was my biggest problem as it was coming straight down the river at around 20 kph and this made it pretty tough when casting directly upstream. It was much better when casting across it either because it carried the spinner way off line and it took a bit of adjusting to get the cast spot on. With it gusting didn't help either and I was trying to pick the right time to cast the lure in between a lull in the wind.
IMG_5216 (Medium).JPG
Some nice fast water between the rocks..
IMG_5218 (Medium).JPG
First of the day..
IMG_5225 (Medium).JPG
Another nice run..
IMG_5222 (Medium).JPG
Solid brown..

I tried fishing a couple of the slower flowing stretches of river and had quite a few follows from trout but they wouldn't take the spinners, also tried several hard body lures with the same result. I decided I would just fish the top end of these stretches where there is a faster flow. They both gave up a couple of medium size browns in between catching a few more in the fast water runs between the two slow stretches of river. The rest of the river ahead of me was now mainly all fast water runs so I changed back to the gold Aglia mainly because it has a wider blade and works really well in fast water. It was now 5:40pm and I still had at least ¾ of a kilometer of river ahead of me before I reached the car and light rain had started and with heavy rain forecast I knew I had to get a move on. I fished on as quick as possible and fished every bit of water that I felt would or should be holding a trout and most of them did. I picked up several more nice medium size browns taking my catch for the afternoon to a dozen by the time I reached where I had parked the car. Once back at the car the car became heavier so the timing was just right.
IMG_5238 (Medium).JPG
Trout number twelve, last one of the session..
IMG_5231 (Medium).JPG
Taking a breather..
IMG_5233 (Medium).JPG
Last brown was taken here..
cheers
Adrian
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happyfriggincamper
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by happyfriggincamper » Fri Dec 08, 2017 9:50 am

Nice one Adrian

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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by Lightningx » Fri Dec 08, 2017 10:01 am

A dozen trout. Not a bad session! Nice work mate :thumbsup:

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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by smile0784 » Sat Dec 09, 2017 12:43 pm

Well done
Not a bad session

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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by cantcatchem » Sat Dec 09, 2017 5:21 pm

Great looking water and very nice effort, jealous

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meppstas
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by meppstas » Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:01 pm

Thanks guys, I'm pretty happy when I can catch around a dozen or so each trip.. ;-)

cheers
Adrian
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by smile0784 » Sat Dec 09, 2017 8:43 pm

How many do you keep each trip?

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meppstas
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by meppstas » Sun Dec 10, 2017 7:43 am

smile0784 wrote:How many do you keep each trip?
All catch & release.. only time I keep any is when they have gill damage from taking the lure deep in the throat. So far I've kept 3 browns &
1 rainbow out of the 349 trout caught for this season.. They're given to an 84 yr old lady up the road who loves trout.. Years ago I used to keep a few for the smoker as I love them smoked, but now I just catch & release... :fish22:

cheers
Adrian
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by Texas » Sun Dec 10, 2017 12:42 pm

Great report and photos Adrian
Good to hear about a whipper snipper giving his trout to a mature aged lady.

Cheers Gra

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meppstas
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Re: A dozen trout in tough conditions..

Post by meppstas » Sun Dec 10, 2017 2:22 pm

Texas wrote:Great report and photos Adrian
Good to hear about a whipper snipper giving his trout to a mature aged lady.

Cheers Gra
:rofl: :rofl:
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