Brown trout out and about ahead of season opening this weekend
THE low Australian dollar is helping drive growing international interest in trout fishing in Tasmania.
Tasmania
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THE lure of a low Australian dollar is helping to drive growing international interest in trout fishing in Tasmania.
Tour operators are buoyant ahead of the latest brown trout season, which opens tomorrow.
Upbeat Trout Guides and Lodges Tasmania spokesman Roger Butler said lodge bookings were starting to fill up and there was strong demand for two- and three-day guiding packages.
“We’ve certainly seen an increase in international visitors due to the dollar, particularly from America, but the UK as well, and we think that will continue this season,” Mr Butler said.
“It is shaping up to be an extremely good season and an excellent opportunity to further grow in tourism.”
He said the industry had gained valuable traction off last year’s 150th anniversary of trout in Tasmania and his group would launch a new website in coming weeks.
Tourism Tasmania figures show about 20,000 visitors to the state reported they went trout fishing in the year to March, up 8 per cent on the previous year.
Tourism Research Australia figures show Tasmania had a 28 per cent increase in the number of international visitors in the 12 months to March, with 197,600 arriving.
Director of the Inland Fisheries Service John Diggle said the lodges and guides were “quite excited”.
“Last year we had about 27,000 licences sold, with close to 6000 mainland and overseas anglers – about 80 per cent Tasmanian and 20 per cent mainland and overseas,” he said.
There were a range of fishing licences, ranging in time and concession, but the general full-season adult licence cost $73.50.
Thousands of adult brown trout have been transferred from highland spawning streams to other Tasmanian fisheries since April, the Inland Fisheries Service says,
Bradys Lake, Four Springs Lake, Penstock Lagoon and Tooms Lake have each had about 4000 adult brown trout added since April.
Visit www.ifs.tas.gov.au for further details.
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