Opening of the 2010-11 Trout Season

The 2010-11 angling season starts on Saturday 7 August, with the traditional opening of brown trout waters. Rainbow waters will remain closed until Saturday 2 October this year.

Get a Licence!

You require a current angling licence to fish at any open inland water in Tasmania (including farm dams on private property), except at a registered private fishery where you generally pay to fish. You can purchase or renew an angling licence by visiting a licence agent (at major tackle stores or any Service Tasmania shop). Licences can also be purchased or renewed online at www.ifs.tas.gov.au.

Angling licences range in price from a full season adult licence at $66.50 to a short term weekend licence for $20. The full season licence offers anglers the best value for money; being a 12 month licence with the opportunity to fish every day of the year; and with significant discounts for juniors (80% less at $12.00), pensioners (45% less at $36.50) and seniors (25% off at $53.00).

Other benefits include the convenience of being mailed a renewal form each year before the start of the season, which contains a durable licence card. The Service also targets full season licence holders with information and special offers such as the automatic entry into competitions to win prizes.  This year, we are repeating the offer of free entry to the Salmon Ponds on presentation of a full season licence card and also a Voucher, mailed out with the renewal notice, for a free weekend licence to ‘Take a Mate Fishing’.

Know the Rules!

There are rules and regulations that govern inland fishing in Tasmania and apply to individual waters. They cover seasons and times, bag and size limits, angling methods and boating. The general rules that apply to most waters are:

·         an open season in line with brown trout waters from 7/8/10 to 1/5/11

·         open to all methods of  angling (fly, artificial lure and bait fishing)

·         a bag limit of 12 fish

·         a minimum fish size limit of 220 mm in length.

Waters that are an exception to these rules, such as waters open all year round, rainbow waters, waters closed to fishing at all times, and all waters in the Western Lakes area are listed in the Tasmanian Fishing Code 2010-11, which is provided for free with your licence. You can also search the regulations applying to individual waters by visiting the IFS Waters Database at ifs.tas.gov.au.

Of special note is the closure of Lake Sorell this season under the Inland Fisheries (Delay or Prevention of Spread of Controlled Fish) Order 2003. This is due to an outbreak of juvenile carp in Lake Sorell in 2009-10 and to assist the Service in intensifying its effort to control the population during 2010-11.