North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Very wet in Tasmania this spring, perhaps the rain will rejuvenate the rivers a little, as the previous two years were dry, with bushfires.

But Tasmanian rivers are in decline, according to a study, and the study was hushed up, says the ABC.

ABC story ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3aub0h ... stralia%29

The government report in question ... https://dpipwe.tas.gov.au/Documents/RTI ... e%201).pdf

Things are done in interesting ways down here. Our local Huon Valley Council hired a recruitment agency to find a general manager, a job worth $1.2 million over the five-year contract. No doubt the council paid several thousand dollars for the recruitment agency to find suitable candidates. Who got the job? The recruitment agency's boss's partner/lover. There was a subsequent public outcry - substantial legal fees were then incurred by the council, which is now looking at spending even more cash on "training" so senior council staff "understand" conflict of interest. The bloke who got the council's top job is still there. Regardless of his qualifications, the process was a joke and ratepayers will pay for the bungling. It was implied that just a few troublemakers were angry about what happened, in other words there wasn't really an issue!

Anyway, sad about the rivers. Fishing writer Rick Huckstepp told me almost 20 years ago that "Tasmania is already f....d" in terms of trout fishing. There are still plenty of trout to be caught but he was probably right when you look at how things were historically. The lakes are more reliable than rivers these days.

Things are worse in NZ where the dairy industry has wrecked some of the famous trout rivers.

But there is good news! $120k more MDF tagged trout in NT waters for the Xmas season

Disgraceful example of nepotism at its worst.

What astounds me with this stuff is that the public service then goes on to argue that its OK when challenged.

“Grow agriculture by 50% by 2050!” Clearly some only have a short term vested interest which is concerning and that has changed my thoughts about the whole Tassie ideology that I held/thought.

But there is good news! $120k more MDF tagged trout in NT waters for the Xmas season
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I’d probably bag a good Trout before a good Barra in the harbour.

Tasmanian fishos lament the decline of their trout waters in comments on this FB thread ... https://www.facebook.com/share/WCehUamP ... tid=xfxF2i

The "lack of insects" comments struck a chord because when I moved here in 2011 I put out traps for the summer blowflies the first two or three years, there were hundreds of them and the traps would constantly fill up.

No need for traps now. The blowies are still around, but nothing like they were. Bumble bees and honey bees are few but native bees may have picked up a little. We had a hatch of crickets around the house in 2012, hundreds of 'em, but none since. Recent years have been dry, annual rainfall may be the same but a lot of rain now falls in spring rather than a consistent spread through the year.

Meanwhile, today's national rain radar suggests it might be another one of those years where much of the rain goes down the East Coast.

Or maybe it won't. Here's hoping.