Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Hunsman
So enough of the rhetoric, you probably want to hear about this new lake.
Panorama created from 4 photo's using Hugin Photo Stitcher
First, getting to Meander. From Devonport there are 2 options. Once at Deloraine you can go straight ahead at the first roundabout, and turn left into Montana Road, and then left again onto Cheshunt Road, or go through Deloraine and take the lakes highway to Meander. I can’t say yet which is quickest because when I went the Montana way I missed the first turn and ended up at Daisy Plans (don’t go that way). From Meander there isn’t any signage I could see, but just keep going right though town and the lake is about 5-10 minutes further up the road. The access road into the boat ramp is good and follows the northern edge of the lake, so there is plenty of access for the shore fisherman. The western end is open grassy banks, and should fish well with the fly when things warm up a bit. There are tracks that continue along the western and southern shores, but when I inspected some of these last summer there were gates blocking vehicle access to the lake (this may have changed).
On Sunday I drove to the boat ramp, and then fished my way back towards the western end on foot with a spinner. I started with a green and gold squidgy, which had a good take but didn’t hook up. Anyone who has been fishing with me knows of my contempt for the wondrous “soft plastic” so I took it off and tried the good old Ashley 14 (if you don’t know what this looks like you really should). After another good take which failed to stick I tried a black and gold spinner (because it was brand new and I figured at least the hooks will be nice and sharp). I then managed a nice 2lb brown which was full to the eye balls on worms. It was good to see the fish had been feeding hard, however the flesh was still very pale, so I suggest they might need another couple of week before they recover from the spawning run. So in the end lure types and colours was a bit inconclusive, but that’s OK, there are some waters I have fished for years that I still say that about. Other fisherman I overheard hadn’t faired much better, and I was surprised to only see 4 boats on the water (though the weather was freezing).
Some short comments on Huntsman Lake.
It’s new. So if you’re walking the shore expect the dirt and rocks to be loose, especially if it’s raining. I slipped a couple of times. Also because it’s new there is a lot of growth/logs in and around the waters edge, so it does tend towards snags when fishing the shore. Thankfully most of these are ferns, so I didn’t lose any gear.
No bait fishing. This one goes out to the friendly fisherman I saw close to the main road who had a lovely spot picked out with his favourite chair setup.
Boat ramp. This is excellent and should not be affected by low water levels. Plenty of parking in the car park and the road is good. Open water with very few submersed obstacles to avoid (other than floaters).
Conditions. It may not be up the central highlands, but it can still be bloody cold so do not be fooled.
Stocking. IFS put 1000 mature trout in the lake during the off season, so these should have spawned and be well on the way to fattening up. They probably wont be big fish, but they should be in excellent condition. There should have also been a good number of resident fish in the river when it was dammed.
Fishing times. According the handbook, the lake can only be fished from one hour before daylight to one hour after dark, however there was a sign on the gate that it is open from 8:30am- 5:00pm, and there was a number you can ring to be let out after hours, for the bargain price of $30 (the gate looks very sturdy).
