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2022-23 Trout Season Report

By Adrian (meppstas) Webb

Another Tasmanian trout season has come and gone, so it was time to sit down and get this 2022/23 season report done. For me it was a season of ups and downs, with some rivers fishing poorly some days and good on others. Across all the rivers/streams that I fish, that's always something that must be expected when chasing trout. As I always do, at the start of the 2022/23 trout season I set myself a target and this season the target was the same as the last, 500 trout was the task I set myself. With my lower back being what it is, I wasn't sure whether I had gone a little on the high side with the set target.

Thankfully, after a season of ups and downs with lower back problems, and some very poor weather, I did manage to reach the 500 mark. In fact, I went one better passing last season's total catch of 536 trout with a season catch of 562 trout. Below is my report on the rivers and streams that I fished throughout the 2022/23 trout season, broken down to a monthly basis.

Poor weather conditions and high water levels certainly made a difference this season, however I found that when it did settle down there was some good fishing to be had. The majority of the trout in the rivers were still small/medium size fish. Sadly, I never had the chance to fish the River Leven this season due to the water level running on the high side for the majority of the trout season. Hopefully I will get to fish it sometime during the 2023/2024 trout season. A variety of Mepps inline spinners caught 98% of the trout throughout the trout season, as they have done since March 2000.

Season 2022-23
August 2022	Trips: 6	Total Trout: 16
Mersey River	Trips: 6	Brown Trout: 16		Best Trout: 465g
September 2022	Trips: 9	Total Trout: 36
Mersey River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 5		Best Trout: 455g
Meander River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 2		Best Trout: 325g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 7	Brown Trout: 29		Best Trout: 785g
October 2022	Trips: 8	Total Trout: 28
Mersey River	Trips: 3	Brown Trout:8	Rainbow Trout: 1	Best Trout: 500g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 4	Brown Trout: 11		Best Trout: 345g
Dasher River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 8		Best Trout: 285g
November 2022	Trips: 9	Total Trout: 78
Mersey River	Trips: 2	Brown Trout: 6	Rainbow Trout: 6	Best Trout: 340g
Meander River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 9		Best Trout: 525g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 5	Brown Trout: 44		Best Trout: 515g
Dasher (Private)	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 13		Best Trout: 285g
December 2022	Trips: 12	Total Trout: 146
Mersey River	Trips: 2	Brown Trout: 10	Rainbow Trout: 2	Best Trout: 320g
Meander River	Trips: 4	Brown Trout: 48		Best Trout: 1.8kg
Streams (Private)	Trips: 4	Brown Trout: 67		Best Trout: 625g
Dasher (Private)	Trips: 2	Brown Trout: 19		Best Trout: 385g
January 2023*	Trips: 3	Total Trout: 8
Mersey River	Trips: 1		Rainbow Trout: 3	Best Trout: 315g
Meander River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 2		Best Trout: 470g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 3		Best Trout: 465g
February 2023	Trips: 7	Total Trout: 57
Mersey River	Trips: 2	Brown Trout: 8	Rainbow Trout: 14	Best Trout: 914g
Meander River	Trips: 3	Brown Trout: 22		Best Trout: 540g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 2	Brown Trout: 13		Best Trout: 1.08kg
March 2023	Trips: 12	Total Trout: 58
Mersey River	Trips: 6	Brown Trout: 22	Rainbow Trout: 21	Best Trout: 530g
Meander River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 1		Best Trout: 365g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 5	Brown Trout: 48		Best Trout: 610g
April 2023	Trips: 13	Total Trout: 101
Mersey River	Trips: 6	Brown Trout: 15	Rainbow Trout: 9	Best Trout: 695g
Meander River	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 13		Best Trout: 635g
Streams (Private)	Trips: 5	Brown Trout: 40		Best Trout: 525g
Dasher (Private)	Trips: 1	Brown Trout: 24		Best Trout: 410g

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* January 2023 - Due to chronic lower back problems Adrian could only manage three trips total for January.

All up I had 79 trips to the rivers and streams, for a total of 562 trout caught. Of the 562 trout caught (506 browns and 56 rainbows) throughout the season only 5 were kept, due to gill damage.

So, there you have it, my full 2022/23 trout season and as I stated earlier, a better than expected one at that. The following focus on the rivers that I fished and what I thought of them for the 2022/23 trout season. This is a short run down on the rivers, streams/creeks that I fished throughout the 2022/23 trout season, kicking off with the Mersey River,

Mersey River

All up I had twenty-nine trips to the Mersey River during the season, of which several trips were very productive, with a few decent size trout being caught. Most trout caught were small/medium size fish however, which I found very disappointing. The size of the trout hasn't changed all that much from the past couple of trout seasons and even though they were in good condition, the size was the big letdown fishing the Mersey River.

My total catch from the twenty-nine trips to the Mersey was 146 trout, with 56 of them being rainbow trout which was good to see. The river itself was in fair condition in most areas that I fished, though there were several stretches of river that weren't all that good, with the river bottom being in poor (silted and algae covered) condition. Once again, the flood that we had before the new year didn't help with the trout fishing either and the river and fish did suffer quite a lot from it. There's probably not a lot more that I can say about the Mersey River, apart from the trout being mainly small/ medium size fish, which does put one off fishing this river often.

Average catch per trip: 5.03 fish.

Meander River

The Meander River has to be the favourite of the large rivers that I venture too, not that there's all that many I travel to nowadays. Throughout the trout season the water level was running at 70-80cm, which to me was on the high side and not all that good for wading. I only ventured to it on twelve occasions this season, for 97 trout being caught and released. This river did give up some nice solid, well-conditioned brown trout on a couple of trips, however on most trips the trout were mainly medium size fish that averaged around the 300g to 350g size.

The upper reaches, where the fast waters are located, did give up quite a few trout when the water level was low enough (60cm) and safe enough to wade. Once again, the size of the trout was mainly small/medium size fish. The river bottom there was quite free of algae, much different from the lower slow/medium flowing waters that were covered with a green cotton like algae that ruined many a fishing session.

The one good thing that did come from fishing the Meander River was the three beautiful, solid browns that I caught in a nice clear stretch of medium to fast flowing water. One of them weighed in at 1.8kg, which turned out to be my best trout of the season. The Meander River is a great river; however, I feel that it's being overfished nowadays and it's time that the fly fishing competitions should be held on some of the other rivers around the state. There's plenty of them to choose from that's for sure, however I rarely see them used for major competitions.

Average catch per trip: 8:08 fish.

Streams/Creeks

These little out of the way small streams/creeks are one of my favourite waters to fish. They are out of the way and can take some time to reach, as there's quite a bit of bush bashing to be had to reach them, however to me it's well worth the effort. Yes, it does knock me around getting to and from them, but they do hold some of the best coloured trout that I have ever seen. The tannin-coloured waters have a lot to do with it too and not only that, they do also hold some solid trout from time to time.

Occasionally, I do happen to catch and release a nice solid trout in them, however most fish are small, 20cm to 30cm trout. This season was one that fluctuated from good days to really bad ones that only gave up one or two trout during the season. I mainly fish these small waters early and late throughout the season. Once the weather warms up the water levels drop, water temps rise and the trout become very stressed, so it's best to stay well away from those waters. Not only that, the slightest noise is enough to send them scurrying off.

Average catch per trip: 7.7 fish.

Dasher River (Private Property)

This little stream is one that can run hot and cold. There's good days and bad days, but that's what trout fishing is all about, whether one's fishing a large river or a small stream. This season I didn't fish this little river all that much, due to the damage and erosion that was caused by the massive flood we had back in October. The five trips that I did have weren't all that bad. I did manage to catch a mix of small to medium size trout and that was enough to make the trip worthwhile. The river itself has sustained quite a lot of flood damage and it will take some time before it recovers. It's a small and tight stream, that I mainly use to hone my casting skills and to test out my Okuma fishing gear, Platypus fishing lines and small Mepps inline spinners.

Average catch per trip: 12.8 fish.

Equipment Used During the 2022/2023 Trout Season:

TT Red Belly Spin Rods - RBS702L, 7’, 1-3kg
Okuma Celilo Finesse Spin Rods – CE-S-662UL-1, 6’6”, 2-6lb
Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels – ITX-1000
Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels - EXPT-20
Okuma Ceymar HD Spin Reels – CHD-1000HA
Platypus Pulse Mono
Platypus Super Mono
Platypus Pre-Test Mono
Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader

Adrian (meppstas) Webb’s Trout Seasons - 2000/01 – 2022/23

Here's my stats since moving down to Tasmania back in March 2000. The first 4 years were a little on the low side (catch rate) due to me getting to know the rivers and where I could get in and fish them. After that, and getting to know several farmers and landowners, along with the purchase of a better pair of waders, the fishing really went up from there. Having access to many more sections of rivers and wading them really triggered some great fishing seasons.

Season	Total Trips	Browns	Rainbows	Other
2000-01	76	57
2001-02	54	63	2
2002-03	66	93	13
2003-04	48	98	2
2004-05	96	347	35	1 Blackfish
2005-06	107	652	24	1 Blackfish
2006-07	87	354	83	2 Blackfish
2007-08	109	629	74	1 Blackfish
2008-09	106	599	67	2 Atlantic Salmon (7kg/15lb 7oz)
2009-10	126	1167	89	2 Blackfish, 1 Australian Grayling
2010-11	91	819	52
2011-12	81	481	33	1 Atlantic Salmon (9kg/19lb 13oz), 1 Brook
2012-13	75	318	52
2013-14	65	320	77
2014-15	91	405	78	1 Redfin Perch, 1 Australian Grayling
2015-16	106	744	78
2016-17	79	575	71
2017-18	92	586	62
2018-19	76	549	24
2019-20	63	407	12
2020-21	89	443	58
2021-22	90	504	32	1 Redfin Perch
2022-23	79	506	56	2 Australian Grayling (not applicable)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Average full season catch to 2001 to 2023 =  513 trout

These season stats are updated at the end of each trout season and only trout are counted in my seasons catch. Less than 1% of my catch is kept and all blackfish and Australian grayling caught are released. Only trout are counted in my total catch and averages.

Biggest Trout: Brown trout, 3.85kg (8lb 8oz) on April 27, 2018, River Leven.

Since moving to Tasmania to live (March 2000) and trout fish I've had 1952 trips to the rivers for a total catch of 10,716 brown trout, 1074 rainbow trout, 1 brook trout, 3 Atlantic Salmon, 6 blackfish, 6 redfin perch and 4 Australian Grayling.

Average for trout caught (11,790 in total) over the 1952 trips = 6.04 (6.04)

Average catch per season = 513 trout

Since moving to Tasmania in March 2000 I caught my 10,000th trout on November 3, 2019, and on January 14, 2022, I caught my 11,000th trout. I am now only 210 short of my 12,000th trout. Mepps inline spinners have caught 98% of the trout during all the trout seasons listed on this report.