Ultimate Salmon Fishing Bible: How to catch an escapee salmon in the Huon this weekend

Everything you need to know to catch some of the thousands of Atlantic salmon that escaped into the Huon, including licensing rules, the best lures, catch limits + ultimate hot spots map >>

Tassie anglers have been busy at local fishing hot spots, hoping to hook one of the 50,000 Atlantic salmon that escaped from one of the Huon Aquaculture fish pens.

More than 50,000 4kg Atlantic salmon escaped in the early hours of Monday morning last week after a fire damaged pen infrastructure in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel.

The news spurred a fishing frenzy as anglers rushed to the Huon in the hope to land a salmon or five.

And now, another 120,000 salmon — albeit a bit smaller at 550 grams in size — have escaped from their Yellow Bluff pen.

The Mercury has compiled somewhat of a ‘Salmon Fishing Bible’ with everything you need to know before grabbing your fishing rods and heading to the Huon River.

The rules

Fisheries Tasmania has asked all anglers targeting Atlantic salmon in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel Area to take a note of the gut contents of any catches, as DPIPWE and IMAS may contact you later so they can learn more about the fate of escaped Atlantic salmon.

There are different rules on the landward side of the seaward limits. Notably:

• An Inland Fisheries Angling Licence is required. You can buy a licence here.
• In inland waters the daily bag limit is 5; and the minimum size is 220mm;
• In Marine waters the bag limit is 12 and possession limit is 24 with no minimum size.
• NO GILL NETTING IS ALLOWED IN INLAND WATERS

Inland Fisheries Service reminded anglers that a seaward limit separating State waters from inland waters exist on both the Huon and Esperance Rivers:

Huon River:

An imaginary straight line drawn between a white post situated on the shore of the southern side of Castle Forbes Bay and another white post situated to the eastward of that post on the opposite bank of the Huon River.

Esperance River:

An imaginary straight line running southwest to northeast across that river extending along the western shoreline of Chale Bay, the southern boundary of that river’s seaward limit at grid reference 498500/5202400 and the northern boundary of that river’s seaward limit at grid reference 498600/5202700.

Fishing for Atlantic salmon on the landward side of these seaward limits have different regulations to State waters, including:

• an Inland Fisheries Angling Licence is required and can be purchased on our website, Service Tasmania shops or an authorised licence agent / tackle shop;
• netting is restricted to a landing net used to land a fish that is controlled with a rod and line;
• a daily bag limit of 5 fish;
• a minimum size of 220mm;
• open to all fishing methods (bait, artificial lure and fly).

Please also note when travelling by boat launched above the seaward limit, that fish at or on the bank of inland waters are deemed to have been taken from inland waters, therefore the above regulations will apply

Trent Clifford shared this snap of some salmon caught around Middleton.

Using a net in marine waters

The bag limit is 12, possession limit is 24 and there is no boat limit. You cannot sell, buy, barter or raffle recreationally caught fish but you are allowed to give your catch away.

If you are using a net Fisheries Tasmania reminds anglers:

• The net soak time is no longer than 2 hours if you are in a Shark Refuge Area. This includes the D’Entrecasteaux Channel (including North West Bay River and Huon River), the River Derwent and Frederick Henry and Norfolk Bays. See maps here.
• Night netting is not allowed other than in Macquarie Harbour (night is between one hour before sunset to sunrise).
• Your net must be adequately weighted so it doesn’t roll up or get lost and become a ghost net.
• There must be buoys at each end of the net marked with your licence code and ‘G’.
• Set over sand and not reef to avoid catching species such as bastard trumpeter that have a depleted stock status.
• Don’t set nets near seabird rookeries or popular swimming beaches.

Where to catch them

The Mercury has compiled an interactive map of reported catches, as anglers rush to fill their eskies after news broke of the escape.

Mercury readers have reported catching the salmon near Petcheys Bay, Waterloo Bay, Sturges Bay, near Cygnet at Gardeners Bay, at Deep Bay, off Partridge Island and near Garden Island.

The blue ‘fish’ icons are where anglers have reported to have caught some of the 4kg Atlantic salmon, north of where the salmon escaped near Zuidpool Rock (pink star icon).

Have you caught a salmon in a spot not listed on the map? Leave a comment below of where you caught it and we’ll add it to the hotspot map.

What kind of lures are best

Veteran fisher Dave Condon recommends using soft plastics.

“I use Moore soft plastics which is a locally-made kind and I have found these are very successful in pumpkin seed colour, white and bright pink,” Dave said.

Mr Condon said the best size soft plastic he uses to land sizeable salmon was 3-4 inches.

He predicted a reef at Zuidpool Rock as the best place to fish for the escaped salmon.

“When they have escaped in the past they’ve been there and they do eventually come into the Huon River and behind the rapids of Judbury,” he said.

“They like to head to fresh-running water and I expect they will be there in the next day or two in the Huonville area. I dare say people will be targeting them.”