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Tasmania has a rich trout fishing tradition which is maintained by
thousands of enthusiastic wet and dry fly exponents. This State
pioneered the introduction of trout to Australia and New Zealand in 1864
when the first brown trout were hatched at Plenty, near Hobart, from ova
transported by sea from England. From the small original stock to which
this fish belonged, the waters of all Australasia received their first
liberations of brown trout and from these thousands upon thousands
subsequently were artificially reared in hatcheries all over Australia
and New Zealand.
Rainbow trout first came to Tasmania in 1896 from California.
Successfully released in Lake Leake in 1905 and then in 1910 in the
extensive waters of Great Lake, the rainbow has since done well in
almost every Tasmanian lake or reservoir into which it has been placed.
The release of rainbows in Tasmanian rivers, however, has not been
successful because they quickly move downstream to the sea. A few
streams have small rainbows in their cold and swift upper reaches but
otherwise Tasmanian rivers carry brown trout only. Tasmanian anglers
seem happy enough with the situation as it is.
Eastern brook trout are also present in some Tasmanian waters. The
initial introduction of this species took place early in the century but
self-maintaining populations failed to become established. In 1962 a
further introduction was made after the consignment of 50,000 eyed ova
arriving by air from Nova Scotia in February of that year. Since the
brook trout spawns earlier than both the more aggressive brown trout and
the rainbow trout, it is preferable to keep it separate if possible to
allow the spawning grounds to remain undisturbed once the brook trout
have used them. Further, this species, like the rainbow trout, would
quickly migrate to the sea from Tasmanian rivers.
The 'brookie', as it is commonly called, is faster to grow than the
other trout, is a free biter, a good fighter and is considered by many
as the best of the three for the table. Moreover, it provides just a
little more variety for anglers. All in all there is much to be said for
its reintroduction. Although it was introduced in the past in New South
Wales, Tasmania is the only State at the moment where the brook trout is
found.
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