Tackle Tactics » Tips-Techniques » Adrian-Webbs-Trout-Tips » Perfect Trout Setup
By Adrian (meppstas) Webb
Very strong and gusty winds were forecast for later in the day, so I headed off to the tannin waters for another spin session. The main reason that I wanted to go, was to try out the new Okuma ITX-1000 spinning reel. This is the latest addition to the great range of Okuma reels that are available from many tackle stores around Australia. I filled the spool with another new product, this time from Australian owned company Platypus, Pulse Mono in the Ghost Clear colour. This is a high quality, Premium Monofilament line that I know will be well suited to trout fishing the rivers/streams here in Tasmania. Even better, like all Platypus braids and nylon lines, it is made here in Australia.
The Okuma IXT-1000 reel was coupled with an Okuma Celilo Finesse 2-6lb ULS 6′ trout rod. Together they’re a beautifully lightweight and balanced setup. No sooner had I arrived at the tannin stream and the wind arrived. To make matters worse, I saw that the water level was higher than my last trip here a few days ago. Seeing that and with the wind gusting at 25-35kph, I knew I was in for a tough spin session. Now, all I had to do was choose where to fish. I had to work out the best area, that had the most protection from the wind and I felt that the long stretch of water downstream would be the best protected area to start with. This would be the first time that I’ve fished it this season too, so I was interested to see if there were any trout to be had there today. This is a stretch of water that runs hot and cold with the trout. Some days they’re on and other days they’re nowhere to be seen.
On the walk to the stream I came across a small and open, twenty-metre stretch of water, that I thought was worth flicking the Mepps Bug spinner into. The wind was blowing hard from my right hand side, so I had to cast the spinner a metre and a half to my right to allow for the wind and the first cast was spot on. The wind carried the spinner right to where I was hoping it would. On the retrieve a small brown came out of nowhere and had a go at the spinner, however it missed taking it. I had a few more cast and retrieves without seeing another trout, so out I hopped and continued on my way to where I was originally heading to. It was 10:25am when I reached my entry point, a waist deep stretch of water that was very cold. Even with thermal clothing on under my waders, it didn’t stop my legs from being cold. The only good thing here was that it was reasonably well sheltered from the wind. As for the trout, they weren’t in this stretch of water. I didn’t have a touch or follow from a fish.
The Okuma ITX-1000 reel felt great and it was so smooth on the retrieve too… so far so good with this little spinning reel. The next pool that I moved into was also a deep one and here I managed one soft hit from a trout and that’s as far as it went there. The stream from here on was mainly narrow, shallow fast runs, which I had to bypass. They were too shallow and fast flowing to be holding any trout in them.
It wasn’t until I came across a wider, slower flowing run of water that I had a couple of hits from trout. Both fish missed taking the little 1.5 gram Mepps Bug spinner. The wind was still howling like hell and several times it hit just as I had cast the spinner. That was enough to carry the spinner into the tea trees that lined both sides of the stream in most places. It was near impossible to gauge when to and when not to cast the lure. I would wait for a lull in the wind and then as soon as I made the cast, a wind gust would hit and carry the spinner offline. I was becoming a little frustrated with it and several times I was ready to call it a day, then decided to push on a little longer. Besides, I still hadn’t christened the new Okuma ITX reel with a trout yet. I replaced the Bug with a #00 Mepps Aglia Mouche Noire, to see how that would go as I continued to slowly make my way upstream. I moved into a long, narrow stretch of knee deep water that was well sheltered from the wind. It was a run that had never let me down and one that I have always caught one or more trout in.
On my first cast and retrieve here a nice brown came up behind the spinner and followed it to where I was standing, before it slowly turned and moved off. Once I was halfway into this stretch of water, I had another trout follow the spinner. Not once, but three times it sat behind the Mouche Noire, without taking it.
In the meantime I was giving the ITX-1000 reel and the ultra-thin 0.15mm diameter Platypus Pulse Mono a good workout. They were both standing up to it really well, in fact much better than me as I was getting frustrated and ready to spit the dummy. It wasn’t until I was around fifteen metres from the top end of this stretch of water, that I took the punt and cast the spinner into a narrow wooded pocket of water. The cast was good and as soon as I started to retrieve the little Mepps #00 spinner, it was taken by a trout.
The first thing that came to mind was… please stay on. It did. That was after it made several runs and leaps from the water, tired and I finally slipped the net under it. Once it was in the net I started to breathe again. It’s always a relief to catch the first trout of the day and even more so when they’ve followed the spinner so many times. After taking a photo and weighing the trout, while it was still in the net, its total weight, after deducting the weight of the net, was 460 grams. This was well above the average size trout for this small stream. I knew that the stream from here on was mainly all narrow, fast water, except for one small pool a little further upstream. It was in that pool that I hooked and lost a small brown in quick time. My day was just about done and dusted. I did try another nice stretch of water, above where I had parked the car, however it was a time waster fishing there as I didn’t have a follow from a trout, let alone see one.
I do know that once the weather becomes more settled and the water temps rise, it will be fish on more often than not. One good thing that came out of the spin session today was the performance of the new Okuma ITX spinning reel and the new Platypus Pulse Mono line. It was great to use and they both stood up to the test today. They will get a much better workout in a few day’s… once the weather settles and water levels in the rivers/streams drop.
Adrian (meppstas) Equipment Used for the Season: Okuma Celilo Finesse Spin Rods – ULS 1-3kg (2-6lb) trout rods Okuma LRF Spin Rods – 5’6″ 1-3kg Okuma ITX Carbon Spin Reels – ITX-1000 Okuma Inspira Blue Spin Reels – ISX-20B Okuma Helios SX Spin Reels – HSX-20 Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reels – EXPT-20 Okuma Ceymar Spin Reels – C-10 Platypus Pulse Premium Monofilament Line – 4lb Platypus Super 100 Monofilament Line – 4lb Platypus Pre-Test Monofilament Line – 4lb Platypus Stealth FC Fluorocarbon Leader – 4lb Mepps Inline Spinners
