Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Tasmania Fishing Reports
Post Reply
User avatar
meppstas
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:32 pm
Location: Sheffield, Tasmania
Has liked: 903 times
Likes received: 444 times

Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by meppstas » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:24 pm

Meander River fishing a little better this trip.

After having a restless night I was awake at 3:15 am and decided I'd get up and head off for an early spin session on the Meander River. After a quick breakfast I was on my way by 4:15 am and arrived at Meander Township at 5:05 am when it was still a little dark to hit the river. Today I'm going to give the long fast water stretch of river above the main road bridge a go. I reckon it's been two months since I've been here for a spin session, on that day the river was running too high and fast to wade so I didn't get to fish here. I had my wading gear on and headed down into the river (5:30 am) keeping close to the river bank because the river was running a little higher than I would have liked again today. The rocky river bottom was also very slippery and it wasn't all that good under foot. I worked the fast water for around half and hour when I made the decision to get out and go elsewhere. As much as I wanted to stay and fish this area I knew my body wouldn't stand up to it like it used to and that was the main reason for moving to a lower stretch of the river. The 1.5 kilometer stretch of river I'm heading to is a mix of slow/medium and fast flowing water, it's also another area I haven't fished for quite some time.
1-Meander River at Meander, 5.52 am (Medium).JPG
Early start fishing the fast water, still a little high for my liking..


It didn't take all that long (6:20 am) before I was in there and in the river flicking a Rapala F3 rainbow lure around when I had a follow from a medium size brown, but that's as far as it went. It wasn't until I had reached the first small fast water run when I had my first brown take the lure and soon in the net. It was a medium 340 gram brown and like most trout this season it was in beautiful condition. After that little fast water run I headed into a wide medium deep flowing stretch of river where I picked up three more nice browns (ave wt. 440 grams each) from four hook ups as well as having a couple of hit and misses. I had now reached a very deep section of river that left me no option but to climb up a steep river bank, then do a bit of bush bashing for around fifty meters before I could get back into the river where it was at a safe wading depth. I knew I could fish at least another kilometer of river before I would have to call it a day because it's not one of the easiest stretches of river to fish. It's a challenging rocky slippery stretch of water that has shallow fast water runs and a couple of medium flowing stretches of river. It's one that really knocks me around but it used to hold some nice browns in it's day so it's always worth giving it a go.
2-First trout ,Meander River above Barretts Bridge, 6.30am (Medium).JPG
First trout taken here..
2-First trout, Meander River.(Medium).JPG
First of the morning..
3-Meander River on Longridge Rd.. (Medium).JPG
Nice wide medium flowing stretch of river..
3-Second brown, Meander River. (Medium).JPG
Another nice river brown..
Five minutes into the session I had a hit and miss on the Rapala, that made me feel confident I will catch a few browns if I can last the distance I'm about to cover with the fishing.. It did take another twenty minutes before I had a solid brown take the lure and after a good battle with this fish it was soon in the net. It was a nice 490 gram fish and beautifully coloured too. As I neared the end of this long slow/medium flowing run I hooked and lost another solid brown. I was about to head into one of the toughest stretches of the Meander River in this area, one that runs for at least 800 meters or more. It is a fast water run that's always worth fishing though as it used to give up some nice browns when I used to fish here on a regular basis. I slogged it out over the full distance and caught and released two more nice browns from six hook ups which was a little disappointing for the effort I put into it. I did have quite a few hit and misses plus several follows so the end result could have been better had I not lost the four that were hooked. That's what happens when fast water trout fishing, one has to take the good with the bad. I've had days when I've caught over thirty trout & only lost two when fast water fishing, that's just how it is. At least this trip was a lot better than my last Meander River visit when I only caught the one brown.
8-Long medium depth stretch of Meander River.. (Medium).JPG
The next stretch of river to fish after the bush bash..
9-Fifth trout, Meander River. (Medium).JPG
One of several taken today..
10-Sixth trout, Meander River. (Medium).JPG
And another..
-Seventh trout taken here, Meander River.. (Medium).JPG
Seventh trout picked up here..
10- trout caught here, Meander River. (Medium).JPG
Tough going here, but trout were caught here..
cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw

User avatar
Sinsemilla
Rank: Gummy Shark
Rank: Gummy Shark
Joined: Fri Apr 29, 2016 2:35 pm
Location: Northern Subs
Likes received: 272 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by Sinsemilla » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:54 pm

Some nice fish there Adrian! They can't resist the hard bodies!

Cheers, Anth

Lightningx
Bluefin
Bluefin
Joined: Wed Oct 01, 2014 4:21 pm
Has liked: 72 times
Likes received: 976 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by Lightningx » Tue Jan 16, 2018 4:56 pm

Great report and pics as always mate.
Cheers :thumbsup:

smile0784
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Thu Apr 26, 2012 5:16 pm
Has liked: 39 times
Likes received: 356 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by smile0784 » Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:11 am

Another great report

User avatar
meppstas
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:32 pm
Location: Sheffield, Tasmania
Has liked: 903 times
Likes received: 444 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by meppstas » Wed Jan 17, 2018 8:37 am

Thanks guys, the trout fishing has been a little up & down lately with lots of insect hatches and they're mainly concentrating on surface feeding.
Clear & lower river levels doesn't help, plus with the holiday season the rivers have had a lot of traffic on them.. It should all start to settle down in a couple of weeks.. This area I fished doesn't get fished very often because the access is tough going as is the river bottom..

cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw

Texas
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 10:41 am
Location: Hoppers Crossing
Has liked: 221 times
Likes received: 460 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by Texas » Wed Jan 17, 2018 11:52 am

Jimminy Crickets Adrian
You definitely do the hard yards
Great report and photos mate

Cheers Gra

Paulanderson
Rank: King George Whiting
Rank: King George Whiting
Joined: Mon Jan 20, 2014 10:18 pm
Has liked: 51 times
Likes received: 131 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by Paulanderson » Wed Jan 17, 2018 2:07 pm

At least you did get some reward for your efforts Adrian - great pics as usual.

User avatar
meppstas
Rank: Premium Member
Rank: Premium Member
Joined: Sun Sep 08, 2013 8:32 pm
Location: Sheffield, Tasmania
Has liked: 903 times
Likes received: 444 times

Re: Meander River fishing a little better this trip..

Post by meppstas » Wed Jan 17, 2018 4:58 pm

Thanks Gra & Paul, the body certainly felt it the following day too... still, I'll probably have another go here another day not too far away.. ;-)

cheers
Adrian
'' Brand Ambassador for Mepps Lures in Australia '' Tackle Tactics, Okuma, Mepps & Platypus lines Pro Team Member

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UClk58e ... m8yelCSKCw

Post Reply

Return to “Tasmania”