In Tasmania, larger Australian salmon (Arripis trutta) are often called blackback salmon while the smaller models are known as cocky salmon. They are available in all of Southern Australia and are a valued and much loved light tackle sports fish enjoyed by both land based and boating anglers. They are a common catch in
southern estuaries, along beaches and rocky headlands, and around the many small islands. They are a schooling fish that are constantly on the move, feeding predominantly on krill and small baitfish. They can be found in an estuary or along a particular part of the coast one week and then gone the next, as they move with the changing tides that influence the food they eat. Their presence rarely goes unnoticed when they turn up, as reports of anglers success quickly filters through the local
angling community who gather in large numbers to make the most of these fantastic fish.
Salmon hot spots
Some of the most reliable places to target salmon are where the major rivers and estuaries meet the open sea. Here salmon will target schools of baitfish such as the run of white bait entering the rivers to spawn in Spring. Salmon will also use islands, reefs, sand bars, raised weed beds and
smaller creek mouths within estuaries and along the coast to intercept and hunt down baitfish. These locations are good places to start your search, especially if they are adjacent to main tidal channels.
Prime times are two to three hours before and after high tide, particularly when they coincide with the early morning or late afternoon high tide. Overcast days also offer the same low light conditions that salmon favor. When krill are abundant, salmon
can be found feeding off shore right at the surface, sipping down large quantities of these tiny shrimp like creatures. This feeding phenomenon is visually exciting to see, although at times, it can be very frustrating to try and catch these fish using traditional methods. The best approach in this situation is to set the boat up to drift down onto them from up wind, with the motor turned off. Then when you get within casting range you can deliver flies ahead of the approaching
school.
Reading the signs
Locating salmon can be as easy as finding a flock of birds diving into a bait ball, but that is often NOT the case. Other more subtle visual signs are often used to locate a school, like a single salmon slashing or leaping out of the water which is a sure sign, that there will be more salmon in the depths below. Often a slick on top of the water from chopped up
baitfish will be a giveaway. You can usually see which way a school of salmon is moving by taking note of the direction diving birds are flying or the way pelicans are looking down into the water as they follow after the bait ball below them.
When salmon are down in deep water with no bird life above to give away their location, a good fish finder is invaluable to locate the bait ball and salmon. Salmon will also hunt their prey in relatively shallow water
only 1 or 2 metres deep. Again, their presence in this shallow water is not always obvious. Your fish finder is of little use in this situation as the salmon will usually spook away from a boat before they intercept the beam of the fish finder. When the water is clear enough, you can see these fish fleeing the shallows as they spook.
Even though these fish are fleeing off the shallows, they will still take the opportunity to attack a passing lure/fly that
is being trolled well back behind the boat. These shallows will often have some form of shelter like weed beds and rocks to offer baitfish that have been forced to take refuge from the relentless onslaught of these voracious fish. You can sometimes identify where the raised weed beds and rocky reefs are by looking for the surging current and upwellings as the tide pushes over and around these under-water obstructions. Google Earth can also be a good way to find shallow reefs.
When the tide turns and starts to flow out of the estuaries, salmon will quickly move off these shallows and back into the safety of the deeper channels to intercept any baitfish leaving the shallows before they all head back out to sea. The exception here is if there is an abundance of baitfish living in the estuary they will keep the schools of salmon inside the estuary. Georges Bay, at St Helens, Tasmania is renowned for this at times.
Fly fishing tips
If you want to try fly fishing – these can be way easier than trout. They are a great fish to cut your teeth on. If you trout fish now you can use the same gear. A six weight rod is okay, but fight the fish with the lower half of the rod and not the tip. Pound for pound these fish would pull a trout backwards and they are renowned for their sudden burst of speed straight back down into the depths.
Keep the bend low. The rod should be no higher than your head. I am always ready to lower the rod down below my head if they put on another last minute burst of speed. Using side strain will also drastically shorten the fight so that you can land the fish quickly and get your fly back into the water to hook another fish. In terms of fly reels, your basic none drag clicker style trout fly reel is probably going to be okay on fish up to two pounds but beyond that, you really want a reel that has
an adjustable drag. I’m not saying it can’t be done; it’s simply easier than trying to use your hands to palm the spool or your fingers to apply some pressure on the line to slow such a strong fish. With fly lines, you can use a floating line, but I find a full sinking or sinking tip line to be a much more versatile option. Leaders can be as simple as a couple of metres of 12 pound line or a basic tapered leader constructed with a heavier butt section like a metre of 20 or 16 pound line,
followed by a 12 or 8 pound tippet, to help turn over larger flies.
You can’t go wrong with a white fly to represent a salt water baitfish. Flies such as the Clouser, Deceiver, Surf Candy and jig heads will all work if they have white and a little bit a flash. Retrieving a fly using an erratic fast strip or by gripping the rod handle under your arm and ripping line in using both hands, are two reliable techniques to get a strike. I also like to keep
an eye on the fly line after the cast when the fly is sinking, just in case a fish takes it on the sink. When this happens, instead of lifting the rod to set the hook I just start stripping in line. That way if the fish has already dropped the fly I don’t pull the fly out of the water and it can stay in the strike zone to get eaten. There are no real hard and fast rules when fly fishing for Aussie Salmon, just treat them as you would any other fish. If you want to fish light, using light tippet
and ultra light trout rods, you can. It might be like hooking a Marlin on much heavier fly gear, but it will be a lot of fun in the process.
If you are using bigger or heavier flies there is no doubt a heavier outfit is better. You might ask why? It is simple physics and a heavier line is better if you are casting bigger flies. Think of it like a vehicle towing a trailer – big trailer needs a big towing vehicle. To cast heavier flies though you will also
need a heavier rod. An 8 weight is perfect for estuarine fish.
Preparation
When salmon are holding over structure or continually passing a certain area, it is often better to anchor the boat within a comfortable casting distance of these fish. Finding a place to anchor can be as simple as trolling a lure to first find the fish and then go back and anchor the boat close to that area. Anchoring a boat in the
tidal flow of an estuary allows you to cast across the flow of the tide allow a lure, plastic or fly to swing around and back up to the boat during the retrieve, which is a technique they find hard to resist. Combined this with some frozen minced up fish berley that is hung out the back of the boat and you can hold a school salmon for quite some time. This method can be so effective at times that you really need to restrain yourself from catching too many. Only keep what you want for a feed and
look after the released fish by handling them with quickly and with care.
They are best bled immediately, kept iced and eaten within a couple of days.
Edited and reprinted form Tasmanian Fishing and Boating News - Craig Rist
