Summer has been great on the rivers, with excellent flows and warm temperatures. We’ve experienced our first hopper falls of the season, more than a month earlier than normal, and currently have damsels, hoppers and mayflies on the menu. Best flies have been the 1864 Blue Damsel, and size 14 Scruffies.
Cormorants have been hitting the rivers and lakes quite hard, but there has been no shortage of fish and sightfishing to be had if you know what type of water to avoid. (Hint, look for structure, weedbeds, and avoid long straight runs).
The Western Lakes have had a mixed year, with strong numbers of young and healthy fish in most lakes, while older fish have slabbed-off. We fished a great beetle fall the other day, followed by black spinners in the afternoon, where simple 1864 Pheasant Tail Black Spinner patterns caught 90% of the trout. Again look out for cormorant flocks, and avoid areas where fish have schooled up (this is a response to cormorant attacks).
If you are interested in a Tasmanian guided fly fishing trip, contact us via email here thank you www.riverfly.com.au/contact