Change of seasons – April
With a mix of weather from t shirts to beanies, the season has really turned in Tasmania. Days are mixed between good baetid hatches, the last of the black spinner mayfly, baitfish feeders and very good nymphing (if you know where to look). Highlights have been larger than average trout in the smaller streams 🙂
Fly Fishing Tasmania Report – Feb 2021
The Tasmanian weather has been wet and mild since Christmas, with La Nina playing the prominent influence along with regular easterly patterns. The result has been atypical fishing and hatches; we’ve focused on tailers and terrestrial feeders on the rivers and lakes, and done pretty well. All fishing has been on the dry, with our 1864 Blue Damsel, Scruffy and Mini-WMD Hoppers being our regular successful go-to patterns. The rivers have excellent levels currently, and many of the lakes are...
Tasmanian fly fishing hatch chart 30/10/2020
Tasmanian fly fishing hatch chart 19 Lagoons – Fish have switched from frogs to mayfly nymphs. Little Pine River system is fishing ok, with good conditioned fish, but a little hit and miss according to weather systems. Arthurs Lake – The return and rise of Arthurs has continued this season, with plenty of solid 2lb fish now coming to hand in the old haunts. Cowpaddock and similar areas had solid frog feeders earlier in the month, and fish are switching...
Glass rod rundown
Epic 370 on a tight Tasmanian stream For the past season or two we've been using Epic glass rods as our personal creek rods (myself, Sim, Peter and Beevs). Most of our small stream and up-close fishing (willow grub fishing) is on overgrown tussocky streams, or within willow swampland, so we choose glass as the most resilient rod material. Why? You can accidently whack an overhead willow branch, or double-down on a solid willow grub feeder,...
Spring fishing report
The Tasmanian fly fishing season is off and racing, and the fishing in general has been great (despite some big freezes early on!). The season kicked off with galaxia feeders in the 19 Lagoons, quickly followed by a comparatively early run of whitebait in the north and southern rivers. Whitebait feeders to 4lbs were common. The north-west has had three of four minor flood events in the river catchments, leading to great flood fishing on the 1864 Earthworm fly whenever...
Mates rates for locals, supporting locals – 30% off
If you're keen to experience Tasmania's best fly fishing, and want to support local business, get in touch with RiverFly and we can build you a custom fly fishing trip at 30% off. Beginners are welcome, and for the more experienced anglers, we'll guide you to the best sight fishing found on the island. You'll be helping to keep Tasmanian jobs, while experiencing some amazing hidden gems in your home state. Here's the options: RiverFly day trips: Fish the...
1864 flies – tied in Tasmania
Over the past winter, we've set up a private fly tying studio in Launceston, to supply our famed patterns for Australian fly fishers. Featuring 1864 classics such as the Faswater Dun and Mini WMD Hopper, we've also released a few of our secret guiding patterns, including the Blue Damsel and Woolly Caddis. All orders are online, with free delivery for local orders, or orders over $95. Check out the patterns here
Planning for October 2020 re-opening
Like every other Australian, we have no idea how long we'll be off the water, but rest assured we'll be back as quick as we can. It may be sooner or it may be later, we're leaving that up to the experts to determine. In the meantime we're tying flies, and working on a few side projects you'll hear about soon. For now we are planning for an October 2020 return, just in time for the reliable springtime mayfly and...
Tasmanian fly fishing Hatch Chart – 5 February 2020
Summer has seen a steady mix of heat and rain, producing great fishing conditions across the board. It's been dry fly conditions just about everywhere, though a few die-hard nymphers are still luring up big numbers amongst pocketwater on the Meander and Leven. Mayfly, damselflies, terrestrials and tailers. You name it, we've had it 🙂 Hatch Chart Mersey - Excellent terrestrial fishing. Huge caterpillar falls on the very hot days, otherwise the 1864 Damsel has been an exceptional fly. North...
Fly Fishing Tasmania Hatch Chart – 11 January 2020
Tasmanian fly fishing update 11/01/2020 Happy new year! Summary: The small streams of the east feature low and clear flows, with plenty of sight fishing to single dries. The menu has been mixed, with caddis and the first hoppers of the season, though soldier beetles have been making appearances. Into the midlands and further west, damsels are a consistent target for better than average trout, and since flowing at medium & clear flows for the past week, red spinners are...
What gear are we using for 2020?
We don't generally do many gear posts, but we do get asked a lot about what gear we are using and why. So here's a rundown of some of the key gear we are using this season: Epic Fly Rods - Epic fly rods are built in New Zealand by our mate and casting guru Carl McNeil, through his business Swift Fly Fishing. We've been using his rods for a while now, and their versatility is a key attraction. By...
Beetles and mayfly…fly fishing Tasmania update
A quick update. Mayfly, willow grubs and damsels are on the streams, with excellent dry fly conditions. River levels are mixed, with some ideal flows along headwaters and bottom-of-the-catchment runs. Hoppers are only a week away! Gum beetles and afternoon spinners have started to consistently fall out west at the wilderness camp, with some cracking fish to hand. Water levels are brilliant. The next three months should be excellent.
Tasmanian fly fishing update 26-09-2019
Tasmanian fly fishing update 26-09-2019 September has been a great month for spring weather: predominantly warm, interspersed with a number of frontal systems to top up the streams. The South Esk headwaters received a very welcome 150mm+ of rain, and the north east creeks are flowing at steady medium & clear flows. The Upper Macquarie has also received a few pulses of medium flows, running a banker last week which bodes well for the mayflies which are just about to...
National Waterbug Blitz
John Gooderham, co-author of the Waterbug Book is coming to Launceston on October 13! If you want to learn more about waterbugs (aka trout food!), hatches, and want to be part of the National Waterbug Blitz and Mayfly Muster, then this is the event for you. John has asked us to get together a dozen of so fly fishers who are willing to help test the new waterbug app, and in his own words, find any bugs 🙂 . The...
Hatch Chart 20/08/2019
Happy new season! The fishing is now underway in Tasmania, and it hasn't disappointed. For the (rugged-up) sight-fishers out there, there has been some great shallow water action, with fish hunting smelt on one lowland stillwater, while the 19 Lagoons has given up really good conditioned fish already. The Fuzzle Bugger has done the trick, as usual. Fish on the streams had a late spawn, so many are still recovering, but rivers west of Deloraine have experienced higher than average...