Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Searunner?
I added to my score last night by 1, with a nice 2lb trout caught at the Latrobe bridge, and my competitor was luckily on hand to view the spectacle. But was it a Searunner?
In Tasmania we have 3 species of Trout: Rainbow; Brown; and Brook. So why does the GTA rules list 4 species of Trout including sea-run trout (Searunner)? As I understand it, some brown trout that live in river estuaries reach a stage in their development, when conditions are right (and don’t ask me what those conditions are), when they decide to swim out and live in the sea. These trout take on a more sliver appearance, and due to the change in diet, are usually in excellent condition, and can grow very large.
Around spring time, Tasmania experiences a “white bait run”. This is when schools of small fish (smaller than tiddlies, pilchards, galaxia, minnos, or what ever people call them), swim up the river estuaries to lay their eggs and die a wonderful death, knowing they have fulfilled their mission is life. During this time the Searunners return to feed on these schools of bait fish, as do many other species such as salmon, bream etc. While searunners are brown trout, they change to a much more silver colour, and the scales fall off very easily when the fish is handled.
So the trout I caught last night was in the upper regions of the river estuary, there was white bait in the river system, but the fish is not very silver and did not lose its scales when handled, so no, nice fish, but not a searunner.
In Tasmania we have 3 species of Trout: Rainbow; Brown; and Brook. So why does the GTA rules list 4 species of Trout including sea-run trout (Searunner)? As I understand it, some brown trout that live in river estuaries reach a stage in their development, when conditions are right (and don’t ask me what those conditions are), when they decide to swim out and live in the sea. These trout take on a more sliver appearance, and due to the change in diet, are usually in excellent condition, and can grow very large.
Around spring time, Tasmania experiences a “white bait run”. This is when schools of small fish (smaller than tiddlies, pilchards, galaxia, minnos, or what ever people call them), swim up the river estuaries to lay their eggs and die a wonderful death, knowing they have fulfilled their mission is life. During this time the Searunners return to feed on these schools of bait fish, as do many other species such as salmon, bream etc. While searunners are brown trout, they change to a much more silver colour, and the scales fall off very easily when the fish is handled.
So the trout I caught last night was in the upper regions of the river estuary, there was white bait in the river system, but the fish is not very silver and did not lose its scales when handled, so no, nice fish, but not a searunner.
Sunday, November 13, 2005
Andrew makes a come back!
Facing an increasing deficit in the race for the trophy, I finally had an opportunity to get back to the lakes. The weather conditions were spot on with a return to a westerly flow after a period of easterly weather over the last 4 – 6 weeks. Based on my current form, I was not sure how things would pan out and I was hoping for anything between 1 to 4 trout. But in an amazing turn of events, I managed to land 8 trout! Hopefully this boost will add some extra interest to the race for the trophy.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
The Thumper Award
Created by Andrew, the thumper award has been running for the same time as the Golden Trout Award, 2 years. This award is open to other fisherman within our trout fishing circle, and is awarded to the person who catches the biggest trout in a season. Also like the GTA, this trophy has been in Andrew possession for the past 2 years. While offering bragging rights of a different type, this award also gives the fisherman running behind in the GTA some hope that if he can just hook the big one, at least the thumper will be theirs!
The above photo is me holding an 8 pound trout caught last week from Lake Echo. No….I didn’t catch it, my Father-in-law did, but I am the better looking model to photograph! It was my first trip to Lake Echo and it is a very interesting lake with plenty of potential. Stocked this year with fingerling rainbow trout, the fishing was very hot, but the fish very small, but the next 6 months or so should see these fish getting to around a pound and well worth it. The browns were a better size, but harder to find. I will be back!
