Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Tasmania Fishing Reports
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meppstas
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Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by meppstas » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:50 am

Snow water puts a dampener on the trout fishing. 30-8-18

Rain was forecast for later in the day so I thought I'd get a quick spin session in before it arrived. Not sure where to head today with many rivers still being a little on the high side and running very cold I finally decided to head off and try another small stream I've fished last season. It's a lovely scenic little stream that often fishes well early season, so I thought it would be worth the forty kilometre drive. Even with the forecast being eleven degrees here in Sheffield I knew it would be cooler where I'm heading so wore a jumper with me on this trip. Once I arrived there at 11:00am I checked the air temperature and it was sitting on seven degrees, I was glad I had the jumper on. The stream was running at a nice wading height and a little cloudy but still good enough to see the bottom in the shallower runs. I also came across a Platypus in the water which wad good to see.
Platypus.. (Medium).JPG
Always good to see these little fella's on the water..
Small shallow run.. (Medium).JPG
Shallow run, reasonably clear too..
A little deeper & cold here. (Medium).JPG
A little deeper & bloody cold here..
As soon as I hopped into the water I felt the cold hit my feet and legs straight away, even with thermals on the cold came straight through them in a flash. I then remembered that this little stream flows down from the Great Western Tiers where there's been a lot of snow and it's been melting over the past few days, hence the water being so cold. I spotted a few trout just ahead of me but they weren't on the take at all. I tried eleven different Mepps spinners plus a few hard bodies, they didn't show one bit of interest in any of them. I reckon the water temperature was too low & that's more than likely what's shutting them down. My legs and feet were burning from the cold water so I checked the water temperature with my fishing thermometer to find it was only three degrees. After being in the stream for forty minutes with no signs of any trout I decided to give it another twenty minutes before I call it a day. In that time I did manage to catch and release a small 330 gram brown on a rainbow pattern hard body, that was the one and only trout that had a go at a lure for the session. Let's hope the Spring weather will turn things around in the next few weeks..
Water temp.. 661 (Medium).JPG
The thermometer says it all...
The one & only brown was caught  here..(Medium).JPG
My one & only trout taken here..
One is always better than none..(Medium).JPG
Just a little 330 gram brown..
Small brown.. (Medium).JPG
The same little brown & the strike pro lure..
Called it a day after fishing this stretch of water.. (Medium).JPG
Called it a day after fishing my way up here..
cheers
Adrian
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Kimtown
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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by Kimtown » Fri Aug 31, 2018 11:14 am

Nice! Your legs will be thanking you for the coldness later on

Looks like leech paradise there though lol the worst thing about trout fishing.

Lightningx
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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by Lightningx » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:17 pm

Top report and pics as always mate.
Hopefully some nice spring weather in the up coming weeks will make for some better fishing for you with less cold conditions!
Cheers.

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Jay375
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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by Jay375 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:31 pm

Fantastic report, makes me want to head down that way. All those different streams to explore not just for the fish but the beautiful scenery and wildlife. One day I may by a little shack on a river down there and live like a mountain man.

mpharris66
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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by mpharris66 » Fri Aug 31, 2018 12:58 pm

Top report, never see a wild platypus so that’s quite a sight there.

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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by Whiskers » Fri Aug 31, 2018 9:17 pm

mpharris66 wrote:Top report, never see a wild platypus so that’s quite a sight there.
There's a lot of platypus in the Snowy River at Orbost right now. I was down the river yesterday watching a group of three just a few minutes walk from the main street.

Yesterday was this years first environmental release of water from the Jindabyne Dam into the Snowy, the first of the Spring releases. There's another couple scheduled for September and then the biggest release this year is scheduled for October 17th.

The releases are to try and simulate the natural Spring melts that used to happen before the Snowy was dammed back in the early seventies.

The river needs a good flush.
:water:

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meppstas
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Re: Snow melt slows down the trout fishing..

Post by meppstas » Fri Aug 31, 2018 10:46 pm

Always good to see Platypus in the waterways as it means they're normally healthy rivers, Rivers that are have the dams on the always seem to silt up a lot more than the natural flowing rivers. I've noticed it happen with the Meander River that I fish before the dam was on it it was always a clean river bottom, since the dam there's heaps of debris and silt in it.. The only good thing is the regulated flow from Hydro Tasmania, there's always a good cool flow of water right through the Summer months now and I must admit the trout fishing did improve quite a lot as well.. But it too could do with a good flush out like many other rivers here that have the Hydro Dams on them..

cheers
Adrian
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