Weekly Report – 17 April 2020
With some fishing restrictions still in place for Tasmania - https://www.mast.tas.gov.au/covid-19-updated-recreational-boating-guidelines/ there are still plenty of good local options and it is also a good time to do some gear maintenance. This week we also look at fishing reports closer to home, new gear in store and snapper as our feature species.
Are We Still Open - Yes!
Yes we are! With reduced trading hours for the moment – but it’s business as usual at The Fishing Connection! For the moment our open hours are 9am to 4.30pm MF and 9am to 3pm Sat. Mail and Phone Orders are available for anyone who may be in self isolation and for those choosing to stay at home with free PH and Deliveries if need be within 30km for orders over $100.
In store COVID-19 customer safety
In store we are still very committed to ensuring customer and staff safety:
In store “social distancing” is in place with a limit of 10 persons (including Staff) in the store at any one time.
Sanitiser at the counter and conference room / office that we encourage all customers and visitors to use when entering and leaving the store.
All major contact surfaces – doors and door handles (inside and out, front, internal and rear doors included), phones, PCs, scanning guns, touch pads, Eftpos machine and other heavily touched and visited sites BLASTED with ETHANOL 2-5 times a day or as required.
The store is continually undergoing a general clean on a day to day basis.
Exciting New Stock
Its business as usual at The Fishing Connection …. With stock turning up as per normal…. We are experiencing slight delays with Couriers and Australia Post but all things we can live with for the moment.
Check out the following key items:
Yeti, Yeti, Yeti – “Built for the Wild” – the Rambler series will keep your beverages hot or cold for 2-3 hours – great for winter coffee on the go a 10oz Lowball (approx. 300ml) will set you back $24.95. Three new summer colours are on order and on the way!
JB Lures – it’s very rare to have good stocks of these notorious tuna lures on the shelf – the Micro Dingo has proven itself over the last 5-6 years – come in and choose one while you can.
House of Hardy – Charles Jardine (graphic design) – Ltd Edition – Perfect – Fly reels are on the way – The brown trout graphics on these reels have to be seen to be believed. A few are already sold – but a couple will hit the shelf – selling for $1799.
Halco - Custom Spot On – Laser Pro 190DD in the very popular H65 – Blood Nut (see picture)
Fishing Report
SBT are available from the Peninsula to the Friars and we are tipping a lot further south than that – fish are ranging in size from 20kg through to 60 -70kg.
Snapper are biting well in Storm Bay … some great captures have taken lately size ranging from 200mm – 440mm.
Australian Salmon have returned to the River Derwent. Chrome silver Halco lures in the 20 – 30grm size the best.
Calamari have returned as water cools …. Lower Derwent estuary, Storm Bay, Bruny and Channel areas are the best.
Fishing and COVID-19
Keep fishing responsibly while we are allowed to do so.
Remember until at least the 27th of April – boating restrictions are in place …. Pretty much launch only form your Municipality, two persons and or family bubbles etc and distancing wherever possible on the boat.
In general, continue to fish from the beach, rocks and jetties – remembering if your chosen spot looks too crowded to social distance properly-move to a secondary location for the trip …. No more than 2 people or family bubbles …. And be home at the end of the day.
Stay safe, respect the laws we have in place for the moment and use good judgement – but above all HAVE FUN in these challenging times.
Species in Profile:
Snapper
Snapper are becoming increasingly more common around the coastline of Tasmania particularly in the South. These days snapper are a great daytime target species. In Tasmania snapper have a size limit of 30cm, a bag limit of 5 and a possession limit of 10.
Areas in the south to have a look include Storm Bay, Bruny and D’entrecasteaux Channel …. Although these fish are turning up over broken bottom throughout most of our coastline in 8 – 15m of water.
Size varies with juvenile “pinkies”, making up most of an anglers bag however larger mature 450 – 600mm fish weighing in around 3-4kg are available to the persistent fisher. Large specimens over 6kg have been caught on occasions.
In the last few years snapper fishing has evolved from simply using a fresh squid bait to, in the last season, micro knife jigs, soft plastics and one of an assortment of specialised snapper rigs with accompanying jigs..
Anchoring can be beneficial but so too can be a slow drift. Add a bit of burley to entice fish but not too much as other unwanted species such as dog sharks will begin to turn up.
Snapper have been taken from rocky shorelines and Jetties by land based anglers … in the Derwent – Howrah Point and Taroona would be great spots to look.
Matt Bax with a nice little Storm Bay pinky.
