2013 - February Testimonials
Adrian Webb – Meander River, Meander. Tasmania Australia
Lure: Thunder Bug
Fish Caught: Trout, Brown
'' GREAT START BUT A POOR FINISH'' 14 Feb. 2013
Could not have asked for a better start to a spin session in the Meander River this afternoon in warm and sunny conditions. Clear water and a light Nth Easterly once again didn't stop me having a great start as I hooked and landed a small brown on the first cast into a fast water section. This little fish took the gold beaded black nymph that I had as my drop fly today. There were quite a lot of dragon flies about today so I was equipped with a #00 March Brown spinner set up below the anti-kink once again, as this spinner worked reasonably well here on the last trip. Seeing it was going to remain bright and sunny for some time I decided once again to stick with the fast water stretches of the Meander. This time of year when the weather has warmed up considerably and so too has the rivers, the trout will be found in these stretches of river. It's always a little cooler plus the water has more oxygen in it, where as the long slow flowing sections are the opposite. The long slow sections are better fished at first light when the water has cooled over night, or on dusk when the sun is not on the water. I would prefer the morning out of the two.
The next area of fast water gave up two more small browns from three hook ups, so it was looking like I was in for a very good session, hoping for a catch of at least 20 plus fish by days end. Onwards I went working my way up and into the fast water not missing even the smallest bit of water that I though would and should be holding fish. Three trout taken in a row, a hat trick of trout some thing I haven't done for quite a while now, and that 20 plus was looking good. With the sun now a little lower in the sky there was more shaded areas on the river now which was great, as not only was it better for fishing it was nice to get into it and cool of a little. The shade was covering around a third of the river so I just kept working those areas of it and finished up landing another seven browns from nine hook ups.
Over the last 600 meters of the Meander that I fished all I could manage was two hit and misses and they were the only two fish that I came across. What a fizzer this last stretch of fast water it was! To make it worse was the fact that this last stretch has always been the best to fish as it has always given up a number of fish. So what was a great start to the session early certainly didn't finish that way in the end and the 20 plus went right out the door.. but hey! That's fishing isn't it.
The best fish went 290 gms the rest of them averaged 260 gms. The Meander is really holding a large amount of small fish this season, as last season fish were averaging 360 gms plus. Rainbow trout have been few and far between too as I have only caught one so far. I feel that when the Huntsman's Lake turbine broke down last season in March causing the river level to drop so low, then with the influx of many flocks of cormorants on the river and its tributaries took its toll on the whole system.
cheers Adrian
River: Meander. Browns: 13 ( all released )
Adrian Webb – Meander River, Meander. Tasmania Australia
Lure: Thunder Bug
Fish Caught: Trout, Brown
"SMALL REWARD FOR A LOT OF HARD WORK" 2/13 Adrian Webb
Another 3 hours were spent on the Meander River this afternoon fishing in sunshine and a north easterly for most of it, not my favourite type of condition to fish in. Still there were several areas that had shade on it thanks to the many Eucalypts along the river and this was where the fish were holding. The river seemed a little higher today which was a good sign, because the last trip here it was way too low. Hydro must be releasing more water for irrigation purposes and I was hoping this may give the river a much needed lift for fishing. Started off in an area much further up than my last trip here and it was a stretch of river that I hadn't fished before, so I was hoping it was going to produce a few fish. So I started off with the usual black Aglia spinner that has been so successful on most of my past trips here and began to spin my way upstream working every bit of water. After spinning my way up the river for around 25 minutes all I could manage was three follows, this was not a good sign! The trout were just sitting about 50 mms back from the spinner and I tried every trick in the book to get them to strike to no avail. Slow retrieves and letting the spinner drift with the flow, a little twitch and then let the spinner drop a little before slowly winding again. Still couldn't get them to have a whack at the lure. It was now time to try another type of spinner and this time I changed to a March Brown Thunder Bug spinner in the hope this may entice them into taking the lure..
So when I moved into the next stretch of fast water I flicked the Thunder Bug spinner across to the opposite bank and into a small side pocket of water that I thought should be holding a fish. How right I was as no sooner had the spinner hit the water and after one turn of the reel it was fish on, not a big fish but at least it was a fish. Wasn't too long before I had this little brown (260 gms ) landed and then quickly released. After several more casts through this small bit of fast water without a hit, it was then on to the next section of river.
This next stretch of water had quite a few good pockets in it that I thought would hold trout and I did manage to pick up two more small browns here ( one taken on the fly dropper ), these were only around 240 gms plus I also hooked and lost one other around the same size. I had now been in the river for nearly one and a half hours now and with only three browns landed I knew it was looking to be a small reward for a lot of hard work today. But it was still enjoyable being here in a great river with beautiful surrounds I couldn't really ask for more than this, except maybe a few more fish! At least the change of spinner worked so I was still in with a chance of picking up a few more hopefully. Kept on working my way upstream for another hour and finished up catching and releasing another four small browns with the best going 270 grams. Also hooked and lost six others in that time too, and these were not big fish either. So another few hours on the Meander River did prove to be worth while once again, but one still had to work every bit of the river for success at days end even if the fish were small..
River: Meander..Browns : 7 all released 270gms)Cheers Adrian
Adrian Webb – Meander River, Meander. Tasmania Australia
Lure: Aglia Ultra Lites
Fish Caught: Trout, Brown
'' MEANDER STILL GIVES UP A FEW FISH IN LOW WATER '' 22-1-13
Cloud cover this afternoon made for me to head off to the Meander River for a session of spinning the fast water once more. Arrived around 3.15 pm and once again as soon as I put my waders on,bingo! Out came the sun again. Not deterred I still hit the river full of confidence and it wasn't too long before I had my first fish on the line and it was a small solid brown of some 240 gms. The river seemed a little lower today than last week when I was here, but the good thing was that the river bottom was still clear of slime & algae. Still hard going scrambling over the rocky bottom though. With the water being crystal clear the fish weren't to be seen in the open areas that had the sun on them at at all. Had a few more hook ups from small browns which I lost as quick as they hit the Mepps Black Aglia spinner before I finally picked one up that tipped the scales at 650 gms. This fish was a nice solid river fish too and it had to get the donger I'm sorry to say as it had swallowed the spinner and damaged it's gills. Fished on for another hour and a half for a catch and release of 4 more browns that were all around 270 gms, plus losing another 5 as well. Called it a day here and decided to go and try the section of river above Barrett's Bridge on my way home. Started from just below the bridge actually and the river here was very low and had quite a lot of green cotton like algea in it plus the river bottom was a little slippery too. Most times that I've fished here the water is normally around knee deep, not today as it was below the knees for most of the 600 mtrs that if fished. Picked up a nice solid little brown (280 gms) in a small piece of fast water just below the bridge and then another right under the bridge. This was a real small brown and would have only been around 140 gms if that.
Caught another brown ( 260 gms ) some 100 mtrs above the bridge and then did not sight a fish from that point on. Finished up calling it a day at 7.00 pm and headed for home. Not the worst day that I have had that's for sure as I did at least pick up a few, and had several hook ups as well in the time I was on the water. Hopefully the Hydro do not let the water level get any lower than it is at the moment as I reckon it will have a big impact on the fishing if they do.
Cheers Adrian
Adrian Webb – Meander River, Montana. Tasmania Australia
Lure: Aglia Ultra Lites
Fish Caught: Trout, Brown
''TOUGH STRETCH OF RIVER RELEASES A FEW BROWNS'' 29-1-13
Fished on of the toughest stretches of the Meander River this afternoon from 2.45pm to 6.15pm in mainly overcast conditions and low, clear water. This stretch of river that I fished is around 1.5 kms in length and always gives up a few fish, but it's tough going and you earn every fish that one catches. It full of every size rock and boulder that can trip you up at any time if your minds not on the job. The thing is to take time and make sure you have good footing under you before taking the next step forward. It varies from water depth below the knees to waist deep in many sections in fast and slow sections of it and one slip and could be a few bruises or a wet backside. This stretch of river has many fast water areas along it which I love to fish especially at this time of year and it does give up some nice medium browns that usually average around 360 gms.
I started off with the ever reliable Mepps Aglia Mouche (black) that I have had set up on the rod for the last few trips since retiring the other Aglia and once again it produced the goods. When fishing this area I flick the little spinner into every bit of river as you'll be surprised were the trout lay in fast water. Many people would bypass some of the water that I flick a spinner into and that's one of the reasons why they don't have a good catch rate. I have and did today catch 13 browns from 17 hook ups in a three and a half hour session in this river as well as many hit and misses. When I had caught eleven browns I thought I would get to a dozen and then call it a day, and then when I caught number twelve I decided to go for thirteen. Well trying to get number thirteen took me another 45 minutes in the end. After several hit and misses I finally had one hooked, and boy was I glad when this fish stayed on the spinner. I was a much worse for wear after going for that last fish that's for sure. In all it was still a great time on the water today and there will be many more ( hopefully )before the season ends that's for sure. The best fish went 480 gms today with the smallest being 270 gms, all fish were released for another day.
River:Meander Browns: 13 (all released)
Cheers Adrian. Webb
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