Paul Middleton an IFS Fisheries officer based in Devonport shares one of his favourite fishing spots, the Henty River.

Whilst having a boat is quite useful for this water, there is a reasonable 4wd drive track from the B27 Henty (Zeehan to Strahan) road.  The track which is roughly 3 km long is mainly sand so there is little risk of getting bogged.  If you don’t have a 4wd vehicle it can be walked in a bit over an hour.

There are several grassy flats which makes for good camping.

The main attraction of the Henty River is the shallow sand flats, where sea-run trout frantically chase schools of bait fish right up into 10 cm deep water. The result is massive splashes of frightened baitfish and crazy seagulls as the trout gorge themselves. Activity peaks at first and last light, particularly when these times align with an incoming tide.

It makes for incredibly exciting sight fishing, and the best way to catch these fish is to cast your fly straight away exactly where the bait showered and just let it sit. The trout will smash the schools, and then return to that point to pick up any dead/wounded baitfish resulting from their attacks. Blind casting the main river channel will also result in catches of strong sea run fish. Keep an eye out for groups of cormorants – these will give you an idea of where to focus your angling efforts.