Talbots Lagoon

Leighton Adem and Thomas Cramp had been to Talbots Lagoon a month or so earlier and seen plenty of big trout around the shores, but for a variety of reasons they didn’t manage any to the net on the day. A return bout was planned and they were now calling in reinforcements for the new foray. As my guiding obligations opened up closer to the day, agreements were made to meet in the Devonport Bunnings carpark at 7.30am to ‘car pool’ for the one-and-a-half hour drive to the lake.

Leighton was flying in from Victoria, landing in Devonport on the morning and hiring a vehicle for his stay, and Tom was driving through from his hometown of Deloraine. Anglers flying in for a weekend or even a day’s fishing is quite common during the Tasmanian season. Planning to catch the first flight in of a morning and the last flight out for the day is very do- able, and visitors can often be fishing sooner than on many of their ‘local’ waters on the mainland, especially if a guide is waiting at the arrivals gate.

TALBOTS FACTS

Lying around 700m above sea level, Talbots is a fantastic stillwater fishery boasting huge mayfly, damselfly and dragonfly hatches during the late spring, summer and early autumn months. The shoulder seasons also provide plenty of action with creatures like frogs, caenids, corixids and midges all on the menu. The trout average around 3lb in weight and for the most part are in very good condition. Fish up to 6lb are certainly achievable and in fact quite common, depending on the methods used to target them during the season.

The lagoon is quite extensive at around five square kilometres of open water and has plenty of heavily wooded bays around the shoreline. There wasn’t much logging done before the upper Wey River was dammed in the early 1960s to divert water to the APPM paper mill on the coast, and as such there is a lot of standing dead timber right across the lagoon. The timber gives the water an ethereal quality and also creates some interesting obstacles for the angler, both before and after hooking a trout. Another feature of Talbots is that it is for the most part quite shallow, with emergent weed across much of the lake, particularly in summer and autumn when the water is at lower levels.

Access to Talbots Lagoon has changed over the years with the lagoon initially closed to most anglers. To be able to fish the lagoon you had to be a worker at APPM and also in possession of a clearance ticket to get past the weighbridge at Hampshire. Access provisions were fairly sketchy right up until Gunns Ltd went into receivership in the early 2010s. At this point Forico took over ownership of the Gunns plantations, and in conjunction with the Tasmanian Inland Fisheries Service provided access via Guildford to any angler with a Tasmanian fishing licence. Kayaks or manually propelled watercraft (carried a few hundred metres to the water) were allowed, and a new era on Talbots Lagoon began.

FROG FEEDERS

During late September and early October each year, frogs (mainly Tasmanian Froglets) make their way into the shallow margins to spawn. On a good day the sound of the male frogs is almost deafening and the trout respond with gusto. Any corner that has a vocal frog population will be likely to have more than a few trout on the hunt for a bigger meal.

Woolly Buggers, Fuzzle Buggers and Rabbit Fur Flies presented to the often visible trout are likely to be taken with a rush. The trick with Talbots frog-feeders is that you need to look for structure, whether that be logs, small points jutting out, or simply clumps of tussocks. These spots will have spawning frogs, and trout on the hunt close by. Placing casts around these areas on a good frog-day is super fun, with the anticipation of a crashing take keeping you on edge.

RED SPINNER MAYFLY

Atalophlebia australis, better known as the Red (or Orange) Spinner was introduced to the lagoon in the 1980s and undoubtedly these days provides the feature fishing event. The hatch generally begins around the start of October each year and the resident trout can be found hoovering down the duns and spinners pretty much each suitable day for a few months thereafter.

Whether you are fishing from a kayak, small boat or shore-based, the fishing can be full-on when the mayfly is up. The spinner hatch on Talbots is equal to anything across the state, with the air full of red spinners on suitable days along sheltered shores.

Anglers afloat should look for concentrations of rising fish out across the lagoon and use Possum Emergers or Shaving Brush dries to get the eat when the duns are emerging. When the spinners are up, usually in the mid to late afternoon, any one of the multitude of imitative patterns available these days will do the job.

The rising trout out wider are often rainbows, which on some occasions will only take an artificial presented below the surface. In this situation, attaching a dropper nymph, usually a Pheasant Tail or Ostrich Herl pattern, can be a very reliable and successful method.

Shore based fishers can look for trout rising on the duns or later in the day find fish leaping at the hovering spinners. The fly patterns are much the same, but the angler on the shore will be more likely to encounter brown trout, which are generally much more reliable eaters of the dry fly.

Caenid mayflies also provide good fishing on calm mornings during November and December. These diminutive insects can form large rafts across calm corners and the trout will feed on them slowly and selectively.

CORIXIDAE (WATER BOATMEN)

From the beginning of August through to the last week of April, corixids will be on the menu. Talbots Lagoon is teeming with these tiny aquatic insects and the trout are always on the lookout for a meal. Corixid feeders cruise slowly along looking for movement, and as soon as something is detected they surge forward to engulf their fleeing prey.

Anglers looking for this feeding behaviour need to work extremely slowly along the shore, keeping an eye out for swirls, tails or simply shadows. Basic fly patterns like the Black & Peacock Spider or Ostrich Herl Nymph presented immediately in front of any sighted trout will often be accepted. A short draw of the artificial to get the fish’s attention is often required, but as soon as the trout has noticed the fly a stationary presentation will come up trumps more often than not.

DAMSELS & DRAGONFLIES

Damselflies and dragonflies can be found throughout the warmer months of the year. Trout will leap spectacularly at the adults and can be successfully targeted with large dry flies, though the best fishing is often when imitating the damsel nymph or mudeye. The trout will be hunting along sunken logs and emergent weed fronds looking for nymphs, and a well-presented artificial will often result in a frantic fight amongst the timber and weed. Once again the humble Ostrich Herl Nymph, tied in natural or olive, is a good representation of the damsel nymph and can be used to great effect.

A DAY ON TALBOTS

Calm and sunny conditions greeted us on this autumn morning. After quickly changing into our waders, assembling rods and gearing up day- packs we made our way down to the water. There are tracks aplenty encircling the lagoon throughout the surrounding plantation eucalypt forest and these aid in getting around the shoreline. After walking down one of these tracks we found ourselves on the shore of a large, shallow corner. Full of standing and fallen timber, this particular bay had previously been a profitable spot to find cruising and feeding brown trout.

We staked out the shoreline and waited. Soon enough a swirl out wide caught my attention. This fish swirled a few more times before it finally made its way within casting range and I took my shot. A short surge towards the fly and a twitch of the leader. The strike met with a small parcel of resistance before the Ostrich Herl Nymph came free. A huge swirl and departing bow-wave signalled round one to the trout!

Muddy shores can be a daunting experience for fishers, and today was no exception. Soft mud and logs and weed beds create awesome conditions for cruising trout, but are not so great for the angler. Clambering around logs and around creek inlets while on the lookout for feeding trout is not for the faint hearted but the ever present likelihood of seeing a tail or swirl certainly kept us at it.

Tom was the next to find a feeding fish. This trout was moving quietly around some partially sunken timber. Waiting patiently he was ready to present his Black & Peacock as soon as the trout hit open water. The fly was still sinking when the fish accepted it and Tom was on. This trout put up a great fight trying to wrap him in the sticks and weeds before the net was slid under the three-pounder. That’s more like it! After their previous fishless excursion it was as though a weight had been lifted, and there were yahoos, backslaps and general frivolities aplenty.

A few red spinner mayflies had started flying as the air temperature warmed during the morning and an occasional rise across the lake signalled that the trout had awakened to this as well. It can often be hard to distinguish between fish taking water boatmen and true surface feeders, but on went the dry flies anyway. After a couple of refusals to the dry, Tom again scored a well-conditioned brown that accepted his mayfly spinner pattern without hesitation and I took a couple of fish that finally ate an Ostrich Herl Nymph slowly sunk in their path. These trout were all in the 3 to 4lb range, superb examples of Talbots trout.

As the walk or clamber around the lagoon continued, we found trout feeding industriously on mayfly nymphs, water boatmen and the occasional mayfly dun and spinner. The only challenge remaining was to get Leighton a fish. Call it ‘mainland syndrome’ or whatever you wish, but a series of unfortunate events had stopped him from getting a trout to the net. A couple of missed eats, a few short takes and plenty of refusals to his artificial had circumvented the ultimate joy!

The new corner had plenty of trout feeding. Leighton had positioned himself in close proximity to a few of these showy feeders that were displaying plenty of tail above the water as they gorged on hapless corixids. A couple had been spooked by unwary casts, but finally Leighton got a tight cast across in front of an industrious trout. A quick draw of the fly, a bow- wave to it, and he was solidly into his first fish of the day. This trout, like the others before it, put on a lively fight, attempting to wrap itself around the logs strewn across the bay. Safely in the net, it was celebration time for Leighton.

With the pressure completely off, the hunt became more of an amble. A few more opportunities presented themselves without result until I found a group of fish feeding around an emergent weed-bed some ten metres out from the edge. These trout would occasionally eat something close to the surface and then disappear for a short period of time.

After a few presentations I came up tight on a strong fish that peeled off plenty of line in a long, straight run. I fought the trout back, only to have it take more line again. I thought I’d foul hooked the fish until finally it rolled in close, revealing itself to be a good rainbow up around the 5lb mark.

A relative rarity when fly fishing from the shore, it was great when Leighton slid the net under the big hook-jawed buck. A perfect way to finish the day on Talbots Lagoon.

For anglers looking for a challenge I highly recommend this place for a foray. Don’t expect big numbers of fish to hand, rather embrace the often technical style of fishing. Whether it be frog feeders, mayfly munchers or corixid crunchers, the trout are there in readiness. Bring your A game and you are in with a chance of a memorable session.