MARCH 2023 WILLIAMS OUTDOORS REPORT & PHOTO COMPETITION
The month of March has been very busy for us here in-store, with April now upon us and Stag season almost at a close, we hope all our deer shooters are tagged out with a successful season under their belt. We are also expecting all our keen fishos to be making the most of the Easter break and the next couple of weeks before the close of the fishing season. Make sure to check out our Shooting and Fishing reports below for news and updates from the month of March.
Our team has been bustling behind the scenes and are excited to announce we are now a stockist of YETI products. With our order expected in the next couple of weeks, make sure to get in-store to check out the range.
In other news, keep an eye out for the expansion of our Archery and Darts selection due this month in-store.
We are now starting to gear up for the beginning of the cooler months with the new Hunter’s Element, Spika, and Ridgeline clothing lines now in stock.
Our team is excited about a busy month ahead and looks forward to seeing you in-store.
WHAT'S NEW IN-STORE
We are excited to announce Williams Outdoors is now a stockist of YETI products. We have selected a large range of ramblers, tumblers, and esky’s as well as lunch boxes and dog bowls just to name a few accessories. Our order is soon to arrive, make sure to keep an eye out for updates on our Facebook page.
Miroku ML-11 Limited Edition
Here at Williams Outdoors, we are proud to be a Miroku authorised dealer. Having one of Tasmania’s best ranges of Miroku shotguns on display, we found it fitting to put the all-new Miroku ML11 Limited Edition II on the shelf.
This firearm features a Nitride Action with an Invector plus chokes system, along with a detailed deep-cut engraving.
With limited stock, we suggest you get in quickly to take a look.
New Hoodies in-stock
As mentioned above, we have a range of new clothing lines in-stock from Hunter’s Element, Spika, and Ridgeline. Some of our personal favourite items are the hunter’s element hoodies.
Men’s Croaker Hoodie and Stamp Hoodie
Women’s Origin Hoodie and Divide Zip Hoodie
HOT FISHING PRODUCTS
We are excited to announce the expansion of our Keitech range in-store.
We now have the entire range of the Easy Shiner Minnow's in 3 & 4 inch sizes.
Also introduced this month is the Swing Impact FAT range, which we believe are going to be fantastic searching patterns for trout.
As well as the Swing Impacts we have also stocked Noisy Flapper Frogs in the two most suitable colours for Tasmanian waters (Watermelon Red Pearl & Green Pumpkin Chartreuse)
The last couple of new lines brought into the Keitech range are the 2.8inch Crazy Flapper’s and the 3inch Little Spiders which we believe will be a hit in rivers and streams.
For all our pelagic fishos, we are excited to stock 300m spools of Dangan Braid in heavier line classes for a true budget performance pelagic braid.
THE FISHING REPORT
We hope you have enjoyed the Summer fishing season, what a cracker we had with some great trout fishing. The lakes have produced some fantastic polaroiding this season with some good Beetle Falls and the odd Jassid Beetle hitting the water. There have also been reports rolling in of some good fishing in the Brady’s chain of lakes since stocking, with some nice sized rainbows in the mix. Likewise the lowland streams and rivers have turned on some beaut days with good numbers of Caddis Moth’s and Hoppers hitting the water, keeping those feisty little trout looking up.
We have now moved into early Autumn and temperatures are starting to drop below 20 degrees daily on average. This weather change can drastically change the fish behaviour and enables the keen angler the chance to hunt some sizable trout before the season ends. Anglers should now be taking the chance for some evening/night fishing with early sunsets and long nights that can reward persistent anglers the opportunity of a decent trout before the season ends.
Trout caught in the Derwent by staff member Ewan Dillon pictured below. Caught on a Duo Rozante 63sp, available in-store now.
We have seen a large increase in keen anglers specifically targeting Kingfish with a multitude of fishing styles being successful. Well done everyone who has managed to get one on the deck. Nothing like pulling string to get the adrenaline pumping! Hopefully with the correct management of this fishery it won’t be long until we start seeing the magic meter, plus kings in abundance on the apple isle. We have added a large selection of saltwater lures and gear specifically for kings, so come in and have a chat before your next Kingfish mission.
We have also seen a great year out wider on tuna with spectacular results all throughout Summer. Southern Bluefin have been running in good numbers as well as some large Albacore getting around. This has provided anglers with some amazing fishing, with constant reports of sight casting to busting schools of Bluefin and Albacore alike. A few stand out lures being Jaz Guardian 170’s and So-Run Heavy Minnow’s. As the weather cools down we are anticipating a good season for barrels, with quite a few already successfully landed. Light blue lumo skirts and the trusty Halco King-brown reportedly doing the damage.
Staff member Shannon Orr pictured below with a couple of Bluefin Tuna taken on a Jazz Gardian lure, available in-store now.
In other news, the Southern Game Fishing Club held their Power Solutions Tasmania East Coast Classic competition on the weekend of 25th and 26th March at Southport. Most boats brought back fish in what were at times challenging conditions. Well done to all that participated. Anyone that is keen on a bit of saltwater fishing with their family or friends would be well worthwhile making contact to become members of this Club. Look them up on Facebook for membership details.
Locally the New Norfolk Licensed Anglers Club held a competition at Lake Leake from Friday 3rd to Sunday 5th March. Summer was trying to have its last little say with hot days with stormy nights. Fishing was tough and the old blokes brought home the goods and knocked all the young fellas of their perches which was great to see.
Last months winner Darcy called in to claim his prize and it was great to meet the little fella who pulled in a mako shark that was a massive catch for such a young lad. We look forward to seeing what he gets up to next!
(photo soon to come of Darcy collecting his $100 voucher)
Staff member Ewan has been making the most of the Derwent River before the end of the 2022/2023 season. Ewan is pictured below with a decent Redfin taken from the Derwent. Caught on 3" smelt soft plastics.
HOT HUNTING PRODUCTS
Browning BPR 17HMR Performance Rimfire (Hunting) ammo is designed for smooth feeding, reliable extraction, and consistent performance.
Featuring;
- Fragmenting Bullet – Rapidly transfers energy for consistent performance on vermin.
- High-Velocity Bullet – Increases downrange energy extending effective range.
- Black Oxide Bullet Coating – Reliable functioning and performance.
Don’t forget we have bulk buy discounts when purchased in cases.
Fiocchi 222Rem V-Max - 50 pack
222Rem is still one of the most popular varmint calibers on the market. Over the last couple of years, ammunition has been hard to get but we are happy to say we have received Fiocchi 50 packs in-store.
Currently priced at $65.00, we predict these will not last long!
Meopta Meosport R 3-15 X 50 Scope
Meopta has recently introduced the new MeoSport R 3-15x50 RD with an illuminated 4C reticle. Designed for hunters seeking value and performance well beyond its price, the new MeoSport features a 30mm main tube with European-quality optics that performs in low-light situations when hunters need it most.
THE SHOOTING REPORT
Stag Season;
With the end of Stag season and the transition into Doe season, we hope our shooters have filled their freezers.
There were testing weather conditions seen on opening weekend, leading to a slow start to the season.
Our shooters found it hard to get onto quality Stags in the south due to inconsistent weather patterns. The intense heat in the summer weather leading into the season saw a lot of Stags still being in velvet later than expected.
In the last few weeks of the season and a few touches of frost later, the stags were out chasing the does. Perseverance showed from our shooters with a lot of lands walked and glassed along with quite a few Stags shot.
We saw an increase in stags shot much later in the season than usual and are interested to see if this pattern will continue in the coming years.
We hope everyone is tagged out and has had an enjoyable Stag season for 2023.
Duck season;
Whilst Stag season has kept us busy, Duck season has opened and reports of people filling their bag limit in record times have been coming in red hot.
There are reports of hunters having one of the best seasons in years due to the number of birds and the quality being very healthy, in particular teal.
There have been ideal breeding conditions this past year and there are indications of strong flock age diversity.
The ducks pictured below were bagged by Plinio Taurian this season.
Photo Credit to Plinio Taurian; Sourced from Facebook.
Kangaroo;
As it moves into the colder months we are in high anticipation for kangaroo shooting to start. The amount of kangaroos has grown in the last few years and they are in high numbers all over the state.
Get prepared for the spotlighting a day shooting to come with these products suggested by our experienced team;
Day shooting;
- Spika Go Classic Hoodie Biarri Blaze
- Spika Neoprene Gun Belt
- Hunter’s Element Boonie Hat Desolve Fire
- Ridgeline Polar Fleece Beanie Blaze Camo
- Spika Leather Shotgun Belt
- Eley 3” 410GAU NO.6
- Winchester Super-X 3” 410 NO.4
- NSI PM40 40GR 0-SHOT
- NSI Percorso Caccia 36GR 2-SHOT
- Winchester Varmint-X 3” 42GR BB
- Winchester Super Ranger 32GR BB
- Aguila Minishell 1.5” Buckshot
Night shooting;
- Spika Trigger Spotlight
- Powa Beam 9” Spotlight
- Olight Javelot Pro 2 Hunting Kit
- Olight Array 2S Headlamp
- Winchester Varmint-X 223REM 55GR
- Winchester Super-X 22 Hornet 46GR
- Winchester Varmint-X 204 Ruger 32GR
- Fiocchi 222REM 50GR V-MAX
- CCI 17HMR V-MAX 17GR
- CCI 22LR Stinger 32GR
- Hornady 22WMR 30GR V-MAX
- Agulia 22LR Subsonic HP 38GR
Make sure to keep an eye out for future Shooting reports, we would love to hear and see your personal stories and photos from the shooting world.
MARCH 2023 PHOTO COMPETITION
We are excited to announce the winner of the March photo competition...
Josh Whyte
Josh is welcome in-store to collect his $100.00 Voucher from Williams Outdoors.
Check out Josh's winning photo below along with some of the other photo entries sent in this month!
Well Done Josh on a sucsessful 2023 Deer season!
A great photo sent in by Jamie Blackwell. Well done Jamie!
A great shot sent in by Josh Christian! Fantastic Fishing!
Photos sent in from Caitlin Graham. Great fishing guys!
Photo of Grace Robertson with a Bluefintuna caught out of Southport on the weekend just gone. Weighing in at 11.2kg. Well done Grace!
Don't forget to send in your photos of your gear from Williams Outdoors in use, or pictures from your fishing and hunting adventures to go into next month's draw to win a $100 Williams Outdoors voucher.
We hope you enjoyed the March edition of our monthly report. We appreciate your support :)
- The team at Williams Outdoors
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