Where are they?

Find the food and you will find the fish. Is the wind pushing food along shorelines and out to points, or into corners and against the shore. Are the birds collecting insects in the air or off the water? Is it calm and warm, or windy and cool? In what combinations are these things happening?

Hmmm. Which fly?

On arrival at the water, have a good look around to get an idea of what sort of food is available. What's in the "cappuccino" (the wind driven frothy scum that collects along the shore and in little bays)? How about behind you in the grasses and leaves? Even spider webs often give us a hint or two. More obviously, are duns peeling off and trout rising? Maybe they are bulging, taking the emerger and the nymphs as they ascend. A good poke through the fly box should yield something functional. Imitate what you've seen. If you're not sure, hedge your bets and put a dry or emerger on top and perhaps a nymph a meter away on the point. Of course, don't be afraid to experiment!

I saw. I cast. I hooked.

Many fish are tracked and cast to and seen engulfing the fly. When watching the fish take the fly it is very important to allow the mouth to completely close and the fish move on or turn away before tightening the line and setting the hook. A quick reflex strike often results in these fish being spooked, missed or pricked.

Some Polaroiding Facts

Polaroid sunglasses reduce the effects of glare on the water surface providing a better view of objects within.

The best polaroiding time is approximately between 10am and 2pm.

The best position to be in when polaroiding is to work a line between the direction of sunlight from behind and the direction of the wind from behind. Try to find a happy medium.

Polaroids are treated to enhance contrast and this is probably where spending a few more dollars on a pair will pay larger dividends when you go trout fishing.

Safety. Protect your eyes while fishing from wayward flies, hard to see or low hanging twigs and branches as you stalk through the undergrowth.

Some polaroids come with photochromic lenses, which mean they adjust according to light conditions.

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Polaroiding

Take a closer look!

Sight Fishing! Polaroiding trout is the core of the Tasmanian trout fishing experience. Seeing clearly through the glare into the world of the trout is an amazing experience!

Trout show up well against light colored backgrounds, like sand, but sometimes they blend into their surroundings very well indeed!

Is that a fish or a rock?

A much asked question for sure. There are a few things you can look for to help you decipher rocks and sticks from a trout, and with practice, you'll be casting to more fish than sticks in no time!

If you see a suspicious looking object, like a rock, a branch or swaying weed, it is often well worth taking the time to look closer or longer, or even from a different angle. You could try crouching down as this gives you a different line of sight through the refracting light in the water. Look out for things such as.....

Window. Lean, step or move sideways - with polaroiding you carry a window of visibility with you.

Movement. Is it moving? Look closely, maybe only the tail is moving very slightly.

White. You may notice a flash of the white of its mouth as it opens.

Flash. Many times the sun will catch the side of a trout as it turns.

Color. Upon looking very closely, it may become noticeable to you that there is a different hue of color in a particular spot.

Shadow. Over lighter backgrounds like sand and light colored weed, in very good light, shadows show up very well. In mediocre light, a hint of a moving shadow may well be the trigger that brings your attention to the possibility of a moving fish.

Clarity. Remember to take into account, that in the varying degrees of water clarity, fish will become harder to see the more discolored the water gets.

The ideal polaroiding conditions are clear skies, good light, middle of the day, clear water, light, sandy bottoms, sun over your shoulder, wind over your shoulder. It's not too much to ask for really!

Well lucky for us, days like this do occur in Tassie, more often in the settled weather months of March and April.

When conditions are not as ideal as we'd like, we put some of the above mentioned tips into practice.

Some days are simply not suited to productive polaroiding, and on those occasions, i.e. overcast, we still sight fish, only now we are looking for the insect hatches, rising fish and trout tailing in the shallow weedy margins.

Let's please keep Tasmania a disease free fishery

Please keep Didymo and other diseases out of Tasmania

This information is sourced from Tasmanian Inland Fisheries Service www.ifs.tas.gov.au. For more detailed information please visit the IFS site.

Below is a description of the Didymo algae and how you can avoid it's spread.

Didymo (Didymosphenia geminata) is a freshwater diatom (algae) that can cause massive algal blooms on the beds of streams, rivers and occasionally lake edges where wave action exists. Didymo has recently been identified in the South Island of New Zealand and consequently the potential for translocation to Tasmania is vastly increased. Didymo can adversely affect freshwater fish, plant and invertebrate species by reducing the number of suitable habitats available to these species.

The algae attaches to the streambed by stalks. These stalks can form a thick brown mat that smothers rocks, submerged plants and other aquatic materials. Established mats form flowing streamers that can turn white at their ends and look similar to brown tissue paper. Although the algae appear slimy, it feels like wet tissue paper.

Didymo is made up of diatom cells that cannot be seen with the naked eye until large colonies form. It takes only ONE of these cells to survive and be transported to other water bodies for Didymo to spread. Didymo cells thrive in freshwater and as such, the cleaning of equipment in freshwater helps to keep them alive.

How YOU can help prevent the spread of Didymo to Tasmania

When travelling to Australia from New Zealand, anglers should soak and scrub all fishing related equipment for at least one minute in either hot water (60oC), a two percent solution of household bleach or a five percent solution of salt, nappy cleaner, antiseptic hand cleaner or dishwashing detergent. If in doubt increase the strength of the solution and scrub well.

Do not use felt soled waders in Australia that have been used in New Zealand (or elsewhere overseas)!! Please clean thoroughly and treat as above any other waders. Waders have been shown to be a very likely cause of didymo transfer.

Within Tasmania, before leaving a river, remove all obvious clumps of algae and look for any hidden clumps. Leave this material at the river site. If you find any material later, do not wash it down drain. Treat it with the appropriate cleaning methods and place any material in rubbish bin. If cleaning is not practical, completely dry the item and then wait an additional 48 hours before contact or use with waterways.

Help protect Tasmania’s inland waterways and report any unusual algal bloom sightings.

For our clients, we provide all the gear that's needed, and for those anglers who want to fish without a guide, we have gear for hire or purchase.

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