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As a result of fishing in competitions I have got used to measuring the length of fish that I catch, rather than weighing them, and then releasing them to fight another day. It's quick and simple and of course if you keep the fish wet and handle it carefully it puts little extra stress on the fish…

31/8/11 Just a short report from the Snowy Mountains. Three outings last week resulted in 37 trout. The first trip was polaroiding Lake Jindabyne with regular fishing partner Chris Mills. Plenty of rainbows in the margins and for the first time we are seeing some bows hunting and other groups…

Flies catch more fly-fishers than fish To the uninitiated getting started with flies can be a real hit and miss exercise. I know that when I started purchasing flies, well before I tied flies, I purchased many flies that I never caught a fish on. Some of those flies were flies that others said I…

October 2011. Well the river season has opened with a blast and there have been great reports in relation to most of our local rivers and lakes. I have spent quite lot of time fishing the Eucumbene River either side of Providence Portal. It has been fantastic with plenty of double figure days. Most…

[map state="QLD"]There are many rivers and creeks surrounding Gladstone, as well as a couple of close by dams, many of which offer great fishing at the right time of the year. Gladstone is a major Queensland city located approximately 550 kilometres by road north of Brisbane and 100 kilometres…

Well its been one of those seasons where it looked like it was going to be a better than average summer. In the local lakes Rainbows and Browns started off feeding fairly freely both around the edges and of course in the shallow bays with plenty of drowned vegetation producing plenty of midge and…

Sorry about the hiatus in the regularity of my fishing reports. Over the last few months I have been thoroughly occupied preparing and attending the World fly fishing championships in Slovenia. Anyway I'm back on deck now and having a ball fishing my local lakes. Water levels remain fairly high…

Round 1 of the NSW fly fishing championships was held over the weekend of 15th to 16th September 2012. For full details follow this link: www.flyfishaustralia.com.au/cms/ffa-nsw-act-201112-3 There was a lot of interest in this competition and a strong filed of competitors including 2 from Tasmania…

I can't help but fear that something has gone wrong with both Lake Eucumbene and Lake Jindabyne. My Winter and Summer 2012 reports spoke of better than average fishing in both lakes. The highlights in Eucumbene were in that period running up to Christmas 2012 when large numbers of browns and…

After a some of the best fishing for years in late 2011 expectations were high and most of us anticipated a really good fishing in 2012 … how wrong could you be. The fishing started off very good with the midge/damsel season extending well into January but as the midge and damsel settled down so…

Thompsons Creek Dam near Lithgow in NSW is a water storage for the Mount Piper and Wallerawang power stations and offers some of the best lake-based fishing for trophy sized rainbow and brown trout in NSW. It is managed by DPI as a trophy fishery and access to this private property is granted for…

Ever caught a fin-clipped trout in Eucumbene or Jindabyne? If you have, you can determine its age by the position of the clipped fin. Every year thousands of trout are fin-clipped by volunteers at Gaden Trout Hatchery so that the age group can be identified. Different fins are clipped to indicate…

On 5 March the Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Amendment (Snowy Advisory Committee) Bill 2013 passed the NSW Legislative Assembly. It establishes a new Snowy Advisory Committee but dissolves the previous Snowy Scientific Committee which was first established by the previous Labor government in 2008….

Some of the undersized kingfish seized by DPI fisheries officers during the operation. A recent compliance operation targeting fishers retaining prohibited size kingfish in the Sydney region, has resulted in the apprehension of a number of fishers and the seizure of many small fish, says DPI…

Fishers are invited to attend a public forum on the Snowy Mountains Lakes trout fishery with Department of Primary Industries (DPI) managers and scientists in Cooma on 29 May 2014. DPI Inland Senior Fisheries Manager, Cameron Westaway, said some fishers have reported reduced catches of rainbow…

Fishers are reminded that the annual trout spawning season commences in the Snowy Mountains from 1 May 2014. Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Inland Senior Fisheries Manager, Cameron Westaway said: "The annual trout spawning season fishing rules apply to the Thredbo River and its tributaries…

Fisheries Victoria would like to hear your ideas! Join Fisheries Victoria for a public forum with VRFish to learn more about what they are doing to improve recreational fishing across the state. Go along and share your ideas or, if you cannot make it along on the night, email your ideas to…

'This is the busy time of the year at the Hatchery, with egg picking commenced for this production cycle. 403,000 Atlantic salmon ova were laid down. After egg picking there were 275,000 eyed ova left, a 68% fertility success rate. The Hatchery currently holds 400 1 year+ Atlantic salmon, 155 2+,…

This summer's fin clipping at Gaden Trout Hatchery, Jindabyne is scheduled to start on Tuesday the 13th January 2015. As usual there will be 37,500 rainbows to clip (which is 25% of the 150,000 to be stocked into Lake Eucumbene). Fisheries will provide lunch, morning and afternoon tea on the day(s)…

A total of 861 wild rainbow trout have been trapped this year at Gaden. Along with rainbow trout broodstock held on site, the rainbow trout allocation target for this year has now been reached and the permanent fish trap has been removed. A total of 152 litres of rainbow trout ova have been laid…

With 3 courses to pick from there is a fly tying course to cover each type of fly fishing. The first fly you will tie in the trout fly tying course is the quintessential dry fly the red tag but from that fly alone you will be able to learn 9 different skills. In the estuary course its the iconic…

Crown roads to some of your favorite fishing locations may well be under threat. photo photo photo Deputy Premier Andrew Stoner has announced the launch of a new online service to make consultation over the closure and sale of Crown roads easier. Mr Stoner said this was a big step forward for…

FISH is the official newsletter of the Fisheries Research & Development Corporation and is now available online. FISH is published quarterly in March, June, September and December. To obtain a copy of FISH mazagine by mail, please fill in your details on the Subscription page. Download the FRDC…

1st January 2018 NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers report Watch out for Tilapia. Anglers are encouraged to be on the lookout for Tilapia, an introduced pest fish that is widespread throughout coastal Queensland and parts of northern NSW. The Murray Darling Basin and further coastal areas of NSW are…

Fishing in the Snowy region is often tough at this time of the year but if you put the time in and fish well you will find fish My suggestion for Tantangara is to concentrate your efforts loch style fly fishing the Tantangara hot spots. For Eucumbene polaroiding the rocky and timbered shores and…

Operation TEMPUS, a major enforcement operation on Corio Bay, begins today to ensure all commercial and recreational fishers are aware of Victoria’s fisheries regulations and are obeying bag limits and legal catch sizes. The compliance activity also coincides with the start of a major survey of…

Earlier this year, after some local encounters with big barra that did take me into the backing and left me wishing I had a better drag system as well as a planned trip to Christmas Island, where I plan to target some seriously big GTs, I decided to upgrade the reels that I use in my salt water…

"AUSTRALIA’S waterways could be rid of carp by next year as moves to import a virus targeting the pest gain ground. Scientists at CSIRO have wrapped up almost a decade of testing to prove the bug kills only the so-called “rabbit of the river” clogging the Murray Darling Basin, The Weekly Times…

Hi Jon, Yours is a good question. (Full question is at the end of the blog) There are 3 reasons why I have gravitated to my set of six fly boxes as set out below: My "trout" lake fly box My bass EP & perch fly box – lake and river My booby fly box My dry fly box My nymph fly box My salt water fly…

Above Benaraby bridge and fish the water from there to Pikes crossing. Below Benaraby bridge – fish: Benaraby Creek which is the first branch off the main river to the South directly below the bridge The water below the bridge down to below the next two gravel bars. Lower to middle Boyne – launch…

Yesterday I had an outing chasing King Salmon on the Calliope Rive and the most thought provoking thing that came out of the outing was the hundreds of sandfly bites on my legs and the back of my hands. After a little research I found out that the insects concerned are part of the Diptera (fly)…

Generally at this time of year there is an expectation that the midge would be starting to move and that there would be plenty of fish feeding on them and mayflies nymphs in Jocks, Cobrerbald, Coppermine and Wainui bays. Well on my latest visit I saw no evidence of that so I had to go to plan B….

I fished very well over the 2014 Nationals weekend with basically just two "small" problems. The first was that I blanked my first session which was on the Bundarra. As it turned out my beat on the Bundarra didn't give up 1 fish in any of the 5 sessions. Despite that disaster because I managed fish…

NSW national parks are now no smoking areas. The smoking ban applies to almost all areas throughout NSW national parks and reserves, including picnic areas, camp-grounds, accommodations, beaches, lookouts, walking tracks, and on national park roads. The ban doesn't apply to some commercial lease or…

Over the last 48 hours you may have seen quite a lot of activity on http://www.fishonfly.com.au. I just wanted to bring you up to date and let you know that www.troutflies.com.au has been WITHOUT CONSENT using our site as a source of fly information. This was brought to our attention when wording…

In 2015 Australia will be the host country for the 10th Oceania Fly Fishing Championships. I'll be there representing Australia as a member of the green team. Go to the FFA web site for information on the Ociania's and of course follow the event on the FFA Facebook page. If you have any gems of…

On Monday this week I fished a deep snag in the Boyne River and made contact with a big barra that came out of the snag and took my fly. Unfortunately the 24lb fluorocarbon leader wasn't up to the shock and as the fish took of in panic the fly and the leader parted … what can you do. Whilst the…

Each time I go on a major fishing trip I modify my packing list to make my packing for my next trip as comprehensive, as efficient and light as possible. My latest trip was to Christmas Island in the Pacific. The first list is my revised lists for my High Sierra bag for when it is used as my carry…

Work in progress This 2/0 9cm fly is a barra variant of my mud prawn that I am testing. It is different to the original mud prawn in that: Bib added to impart movement I have swapped the flash over to gold as this is a favourite colour for barra lures. I have swapped over from epoxy to UV cured…

This fly has turned out to be a fantastic point fly for bass in Lake Maroon. I have fished it for two years in a row in the Variety Club competition with a MKII olive or black woolly bugger on a dropper and achieved two podium finishes. For the recipe see: Rubber tail – Chatto’s original

A good outing on Awonga today and managed two fish. It was 25C/1020 BP when I left home at 6am and 35C/1002 BP when I was chased off the water at 1:30pm by an electric storm. Despite the storm I really enjoyed the trip because it was a chance to give two articulated swimmer flies that I tied on the…

Here is an interesting email from Steve Samuels that I wanted to share with you regarding access to the Eucumbene River at the Denison Campging Area. To all our supporters As you will be aware, anglers have been concerned about the environmental damage being caused to the Eucumbene River and its…

Here is an interesting email from Steve Samuels that I wanted to share with you. Redfin are prolific breeders They are carnivores that will eat trout Text3 From: Steven Samuels Date: 21 March 2017 at 14:15 Subject: Pumped Hydro = Pumped Redfin Dear Supporters, As you are aware the Federal…

Every cloud has a silver lining so I am told. The silver lining for the horrendous weather and damage associated with cyclone Debbie is that Awonga dam has started to spill taking heaps of fish into the Boyne River. Over the next short while as the river flow settles down the barra fishing should…

There are very few fish our there that wont eat a prawn or a shrimp. This Juvenile Queensland Grouper fell to my prawn fly. As usual the fish was released to fight another day. photo3

Dear Supporters As you may be aware Snowy Hydro Limited has announced that it will soon begin geotechnical surveys of the landscape between Tantangara Dam and Talbingo Dam as an initial part of the feasibility study for the proposed “Pumped Hydro” concept. This will involve the use of heavy…

[map state="QLD"]Lake Maroon is one of South East Queensland's best freshwater fly and surface fishing destinations It lays close to the base of the Great Dividing Range on Burnett Creek, a tributary of the Logan River. It is a relatively small impoundment with a surface area of 350 ha and an…

Researchers and government officials were given an update on the National Carp Control Plan (NCCP) in Canberra in late July. The NCCP is looking at the release of the carp virus cyprinid herpesvirus-3, with $15 million funding from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC). At the…

500 rainbow larger-than-usual trout have been released in Oberon Dam in the hope the large fish will slow the population growth of redfin. Ray Tang from the Central Acclimatisation Society helped carry out an experiment in July. “Basically, it’s a pilot release. An experiment to try and combat the…

Based on my diary what I call spring for the Boyne River in Central Queensland arrived about 20th August last year and the year before. This tear I reckon that it arrived a week earlier. The criteria I bases that on is a dramatic change in the weather patterns and the behaviour of budding fruit…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

On 27 October 2017 at 20:10, Tim wrote: Hi, I was watching a fly fishing show of the Willow Grub being used in NZ waters. Any idea of the success rate if used in the Snowies around Thredbo area? Regards, Tim     Reply: Chatto 28 October 2017 at 06:41 HI Tim, I can remember going through a…

30th October 2017 Record numbers stocked in NSW A record 429,000 Australian Bass have been stocked into dams across NSW throughout 2017. NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Inland Fisheries Manager, Cameron Westaway said the record number of Australian Bass were produced at the Port Stephens…

Cania Dam has been on my bucket list now for a couple of years and consequently I have been undertaking quite a lot of research so that when I do get up there hopefully this year I have enough information to make a reasonable job of that fishing trip. This is what I have found so far. Lake Cania is…

It's not a difficult or complicated process but it is an important requirement and one that may save your or someone else's life in the future. With that in mind if you feel confident in your ability to service your own manually inflatable PFD you can do that. Alternatively you can take your…

I have a couple of Fly Fish Australia competitions coming up which I am keen to attend so it's time to top up my fly boxes. The first competition includes sessions on the Tumut Rive which would have to be amongst the best of the NSW trout rivers. My bead head fly box has around 300 flies spread…

For the sake of clarity I just want to note that there are two Christmas Islands. The first is very well know as the Australian detention centre in the Indian Ocean where illegal ‘boat people’ heading mainly from Indonesia to Australia are housed and process when intercepted by our boarder security…

Fantastic event that was well organised and mostly equally well executed. My rotation for the competition was: DENNETT RIVER On day one my departure time for my Dennett session was 7am. Competitors were supposed to be dropped of at their beats with at least 1 hour of time available to set rods up…

The bass season is now very close and I’ll be heading off on my first outing for the season which is an outing to Cania Dam later this month. . bass Don’t forget the old British Army adage “Proper Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance” So here’s a few snippets of information that…

I am cranky with myself for not taking up Spotters 2018 Fly Fish Australia teams sponsorship offer for the 2018 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships (N. Ireland). I didn't take it up because I still had my original Spotters and my Spotters that were sponsored to me via Fly Fish Australia for the…

Hi Kerry, Thanks about your email looking for information on Lake Maroon. I love Maroon and have had a couple of podium finishes there in Fly Fish Australia competitions. I am not aware of any guides that fish the Lake Maroon area so I cant help you there but I have set out a little information on…

Want to know what we’ve learnt from our tagging studies on southern rock lobster? 83% are caught within 1km of their release site, and 94% stay within 5kms. The few that do move tend to head in a south to south westerly direction, with some travelling more than 50kms! The map to the right shows the…

1st January 2018 NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers First Estuary Perch stocking at Brogo Dam On 4 December DPI carried out its inaugural stocking of Estuary Perch fingerlings into Brogo Dam near Bega. NSW Department of Primary Industries Recreational Fisheries Manager, Craig Watson, said that…

1st January 2018 NSW Council of Freshwater Anglers report: Closed seasons for popular fresh water species in NSW for 2018. Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater…

Fishing has been very patchy and from a fly fishing perspective the number of fish being sighted around the margins is probably lower than its ever been in the time I have fished the lake. Here are a couple of snippets of information from the draft minutes of a meeting of the NSW COUNCIL OF…

I tied up a few extra coral and white booby blobs today. I'm hooping that they will work as well in N.Ireland at the Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships as they work on rainbows here in Australia. Head off on 24th August.

This is one of the flies that I have tied for an impending trip to N.Ireland to fish in the 2018 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships. My research shows that there can be Autumn hatches of caddis and occasionally olives and midge. Those sort of hatches often occur in relatively shallow water and…

Since my very early days of fly fishing I have always carried in the corner of my fly box a couple of flies which I called anchors. Those anchors were flies that had been tied with a lead body covered with just a very thin thread or dubbed body and they were there for the occasions when I need a…

Shared post 1 hr Facebook/Australian Team 2018 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships Ireland Stephen Chatterton has been selected to represent Australia in the 2018 Commonwealth Fly Fishing Championships in Northern Ireland. Chatto (as he prefers to be called) describes himself as “a journeyman…

Well, that is just my personal opinion. Please find following a notice from Snowy Hydro on possible delays on Tantangara Road over the next month … I think this is the beginning of the end for our Snowy Mountain trout fisheries.   26.10.20 – Construction Notification – Site establishment at…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

Freeing the rivers The Upper House has passed legislation to legalise camping on Crown Land with river frontage and grazing licences from September 2021, complementing recreational activities already permitted on Crown Land like fishing. This is a big step forward in delivering the State…

Fishing a stream and seeing a platypus how good is that … well it seems that unless our politicians stop passing the buck and get on with the job of protecting them from "opera house yabby traps" our kids and grand kids may never experience that. The NSWCFA has been asking questions for many…

A further 200 Murray Crayfish have been successfully relocated in the Murray River, as part of the NSW DPI Murray Crayfish conservation stocking program. NSW DPI Senior Fisheries Manager, Threatened Species, Dr Trevor Daly, said the success of the stocking program is providing a great benefit for…

National Waterbug Blitz is Australia’s first nationwide waterway monitoring event, funded by an Inspiring Australia grant. This Spring, Australians are encouraged to become ‘citizen scientists’ and investigate how healthy their local waterways and wetlands are, simply by exploring and identifying…

Dear Stephen, I am forwarding this email to extend an invitation for your group members to consider the South Island of New Zealand for your next fly fishing trip. We are located in the quaint village of Lumsden which is only an hour away from either Queenstown’s international or Invercargill’s…

Snowy Hydro continues to work closely with the recreational fishing community to minimise issues associated with the possible transfer of redfin perch between reservoirs by the Snowy 2.0 pumped-hydro project. Snowy Hydro and the Monaro Acclimatisation Society have agreed to work together to look at…

Because the 2019 trout river season due to open across our eastern states I have started a review of my various fly boxes that will come in to play. For me My "trout" river wet fly box is the most important fly box in the open season so that has been my first fly box reviewed. These are the changes…

Latest climate outlook for the next few months from the BOM is not good. Main points are: – Drier than average likely, but may start to ease for some in early 2020. – Rainfall is likely to be below average across most of the country for November. – The likelihood of drier conditions in eastern NSW…

Every now and then it's worth going through your fly boxes and resorting them. Not only does it give you a chance to re-establish some order in your fly boxes but it also helps identify where you need to tie a few and which ones you can discard. Even if you have decided to discard some flies keep…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

Originally posted on January 9 on https://boynetannumhookup.com.au/news/ For the 2020 Boyne Tannum Hook Up as well as there being the GT Fly Fishing Category that was introduced in 2019 there will also be new separate fly fishing categories for both seniors and juniors for flathead, yellowfin…

MEDIA RELEASE – Monaro Acclimatisation Society Inc on 25 May 2020 Monaro Acclimatisation Society to work with NSW Fisheries for Snowy Hydro 2.0 Recreational Fishing Offset.

The NSW government has given planning approval for the multibillion-dollar Snowy 2.0 pumped hydro project, prompting warnings the move will cause the extinction of a rare native fish species. Mark Lintermans, an associate professor at the University of Canberra, resigned as chairman of the NSW…

https://fishonfly.com.au/articulated-bugger Garfish articulated bugger I started making soft plastics in garfish colours about a year ago in response to identifying that a lot of the buffing of big barramundi that you hear at dusk and into the night is barra targeting garfish. I have now added gar…

So, how good is this ? For more information about Angler Access, and to view the map, visit the DPI website at this link. The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has officially unveiled the Angler Access website, which provides recreational fishers with thousands of locations across inland…

Spent a bit of today topping up my #10 weight fly box with a batch of Large Mud Prawns. It’s hard to believe just how many salt water species will take a well-presented prawn bait. If your looking for a great all round salt water fly this one, in one of the sizes below, is more than worthy of…

This Articulated Swimmer fly, when dressed in Qantas colours is like candy for Rock Cod. Have a look at the recipe here it’s relatively easy to tie and it’s caught everything from Barra to Bream. If you’re having trouble getting started with your salt water fly fishing journey, or just need a…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

North American red-eared slider turtles are spreading in the Sydney region, threatening native turtle populations by competing for food and nesting sites. They are considered one of the world’s worst invasive species of waterways, breeding rapidly and carrying exotic diseases. They can spread…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

One of the things I still enjoy about fly fishing is tying a fly and then catching a fish on that fly … it's a fantastic sense of achievement. Unfortunately fly fishing options around where I live in Central Queensland are limited by strong prevailing winds and strong tidal flows so more often…

We don't get many days in Central Queensland when we get a break from persistent winds but when they come around it's nice to take advantage of them and target one of my favourite species on fly … in this case barramundi. So with winds forecast in the 10-15 km/h range it was an early start and on…

When I did my coxswains ticket 20 or so years ago as part of the learning curve I was introduced to “the rule of twelfths”. Tide charts tell us high and low tide times and water levels and for those in the know the rule of twelfths provides a pretty good estimate of what the water level will be…

We are very lucky around Gladstone in that we have a healthy population of different species of fish that spend much of their time scrounging for food. These species include Mangrove Jacks, Fingermark, Barred and Silver Grunter, Flathead and of course rock cod in our local waters and all these…

One of the things I always promote is the importance of limiting the flies you carry in your fly boxes to just those flies that you are confident work for you, you understand when to use them and you know how to fish them. Ask yourself these two simple questions every time you’re considering adding…

Bass Zero bag limit for bass and estuary perch starts 1 May and ends 31 August. Catch and release is allowed. The zero bag limit does not apply to fish in stocked freshwater impoundments, including Glenbawn Dam and Glennies Creek Dam in the Hunter Valley, Brogo Dam near Bega and Clarrie Hall and…

This article builds on concerns previously published on this website: April 2022 edition of the NSW Freshwater Fisher There is continuing concern that Snowy 2.0 is a $10 billion white elephant, despite the project being well underway. From a recreational fishing point of view, it will introduce…

Friday 17 JUNE 2022 The NSW Government is introducing new recreational fishing rules for Rock Lobster and Dusky Flathead in NSW, which will see the bag limit for lobsters increase. The new rules were developed with the Recreational Fishing NSW Advisory Council and follow a comprehensive community…

The local buzz is that he new hatchery in Gladstone that is located at Lake Awoonga is now up and running and has in fact done its first stocking of Barramundi fry in recent weeks. My sources tell me that 200,00 fry were stocked in May and the intention is to stock 1 million fry by Christmas. Being…