Over the weekend the 2018-19 angling season took off with a bang!

The weather was reasonable for this time of year. Saturday morning was fantastic until some rain moved in at lunchtime.

Thousands of anglers around the state tried their luck with some fantastic fish caught.

Our Officers were out with five teams patrolling 46 waters right across the state. We inspected 699 angling licences, 546 brown trout and 195 rainbow trout.

There were some absolute stand out waters. We highly recommend you consider visiting:

Tooms Lake: The fishing here was unbelievable. We inspected 69 anglers with some outstanding catches. All fish were in marvellous condition. Six fish inspected were in the 2.5 kg bracket. Trolling and drift spinning accounted for the most of the fish taken. Bait anglers around the edge of the lake were also taking nice fish.

Blackmans Lagoon: Wow! Our Officers attended this water on Sunday morning. The 28 anglers inspected caught 97 fish with roughly a 50:50 ratio between brown and rainbow trout. All were in outstanding condition with fantastic flesh colour. Our officers saw fish up to 2.5 kg. Lure and fly anglers accounted for most of the fish.

Four Springs Lake: As usual, this water was extremely popular. We inspected 178 anglers, with 261 brown trout and 53 rainbow trout caught. Again, lure and fly anglers caught the bulk of the fish, although bait anglers did have some success.

Penstock Lagoon: We visited Penstock Lagoon on Sunday afternoon, and spoke with six anglers who reported a catch of 27 brown trout and 6 rainbow trout. Wet flies accounted for all of the fish, with nymphs fished deep working very well. We were very happy to see that anglers released a large percentage of their catch, ensuring that there are plenty of fish left for all for the rest of the season.

Mersey River: The Mersey was in flood because of high rainfall last week. Bait anglers did extremely well, with some very large bags taken in the Merseylea area around Railton. Worms used for bait in flooded backwaters were the best method, with plenty of fish foraging for food over flooded pasture.

Lake Kara: Lake Kara was very popular on the opening morning. Anglers using lures and Powerbait caught plenty of rainbow trout.

Compliance with IFS and MAST regulations was generally very good. Our Officers did detect and deal with 23 offences:

Please follow Inland Fisheries and MAST regulations while you spend time fishing our inland waterways. They are there to ensure your safety and to protect our valuable fishery resource.

Overall, it was a fantastic weekend enjoyed by many. The signs are that it is going to be another great trout season in Tasmania. Plenty of rain has filled our rivers and lakes. The fish are hungry and in excellent condition. With so many waters firing over the opening weekend, why not plan a trip for this weekend!