The North Esk is a brown trout river on the doorstep of Launceston, and the reason to fish it is how close good water sits to the city.
The river forms in the Northallerton Valley, winds through forest and farmland with plenty of willows, and runs through Launceston's suburbs to meet the Tamar. FlyLife also describes a rainforest section where the trees close over the water.
Start on the suburban water above the city early in the season. Corra Lynn, Blessington Road and Camden Road are the named starting points, and high early-season flows are described as fishing well there.
Come back in summer and autumn for the hatches: caddis, hoppers late in summer, small mayfly in autumn. Fish the rainforest section only if you enjoy working out a drift under the trees.
Check the current Inland Fisheries Service guide first.
Water and habitat
FlyLife describes the river as forming in the Northallerton Valley and winding through forest and farmland, with many willows, before running through the Launceston suburbs to form the Tamar. It calls it a predominantly freestone river, with sandier, flatter sections lower down and easy wading.
The rainforest section is described as generally shallow, with bright green weed patches over a gravel bottom. In water like that, fish tend to sit where the weed and the gravel give them cover, so look at the weed edges and the seams beside it before you look anywhere else.
Fish and forage
Brown trout are the fish here. FlyLife describes the rainforest section's browns as fit and dark-coloured.
A small number of rainbow trout have been stocked, and the stocking chart shows the one season they went in. Plan for browns and count a rainbow as a bonus.
Forage as FlyLife's writers describe it runs through the year: caddis through summer, hoppers in late summer, and small mayfly in autumn. Their fly table lists a Copper John in sizes 14 to 16 and an F-Fly in sizes 16 to 18 for browns and rainbows, which is a fair pair to start with.
When to fish it
Early in the season, high flows are described as fishing well just above Launceston in the suburbs. That is the time for the easy, close-to-town trip.
Through summer, FlyLife's writers describe good caddis fishing, and late summer brings what they call terrific hopper fishing. In autumn the small mayfly take over.
How to fish it
On the tree-tunnelled rainforest stretches, FlyLife's writers say the challenge is less finding fish than getting a natural drift in among the trees. That is a casting and mending problem more than a fly problem, so plan your position and your line before you step into the water.
In our experience a Copper John under a small dry is a sensible way to cover a run, and an Elk Hair Caddis is the natural dry for the summer caddis fishing. When the hoppers are on in late summer, land one tight to the bank and let it sit. In autumn, switch to small mayfly patterns and fish them to rising fish.
Access and safety
FlyLife names Corra Lynn and angler access along Blessington Road and Camden Road as places to start on the suburban water. Treat them as locations, not a statement of permission, and respect any fence or sign you meet on the ground.
As on any bush river, tell someone where you are going and when you expect to be back, carry water, and watch your footing on wet rock and weed. After heavy rain, give the river time to drop and clear before you wade.
Regulations
Before you fish, read the current Tasmanian Government Inland Fisheries Service fishing guide, under the Inland Fisheries Act 1995 and the Inland Fisheries Regulations 2019, and take any season, bag and size limits, licence requirements and closed-waters information from it.
