BNB Fishing Mag | January 2025 by bnbfishing

Happy new fishing gear 595

Includes GST

January 2025 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 36, Number 1

New life jacket laws

Mangrove jack mayhem

Spotlight on spotty mack

Moreton Bay spoils

Fun holiday fishing tips ISSN 1832-4517

01 Proudly produced and printed in Australia

Summer species action

9 771832 451001

Estuary • Offshore • Freshwater • 4WD • Camping • Touring www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 1

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 3

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing editor

APPY new year! Hopef ully the next 12 months will be a little less windy… or at least less windy when I have days off. Unfortunately, opportunities for ducking off for a fish whenever I want have become increasingly less frequent, especially with kids’ sport taking up a decent chuck of time. Thankfully both my daughters enjoy fishing and boating, so it isn’t too hard to coax them out for a day. Though realistically, this happens mainly during school holidays now, which are generally the busier times on the water. This also makes the fishing a little harder, so you really need to fish smarter and maximise your time on the water. Life jackets After being the first to publish about the new lifejacket laws, Maritime Safety Queensland was a little slow informing the general public. If you were unaware, new life jacket laws

came into effect on December 1, 2024, with some major changes for boaties. Details of the changes are available in this issue on page 24, on bnbfishing.com.au/ new-regulations-sur rounding-life-jackets or msq.qld.gov.au/ About-us/News-andstories/New-rules-forwearing-lifejackets Please check them out and make sure you are up to date with what’s happening. As the skipper of the boat, it is you who is responsible if anything happens. The changes have been made to increase public safety and are now more in line with our NSW counterparts. New year resolutions It is that time of the year again – aside from the usual eat and drink less and exercise more, I really want to try spending more time with family this year. As mentioned, my family loves the outdoors, so the plan is to mix family time with the recreations we all enjoy. I haven’t pushed my

Ducking out for a fish is less frequent these days. However, I did manage to get a few days in on the Swain Reefs aboard Carlo II - thanks Peter.

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kids too hard into the fishing scene as I don’t want them to resent it, though now they are both at the stage of asking to go out in the boat – winning! Ghost crab pots With crabbing season in full swing, it is important to make sure you label your crab pots correctly, have the right float and, most importantly, have enough rope on your pot for the high tide. Regarding enough rope, you need about 20-30 percent more rope than the water depth. This allows for wind and wave action and reduces the chance of your pot dragging. Unfortunately, a few people don’t use enough rope. On the flip side, it’s also important to not use too much rope because it may get cut off by a passing boat propeller. A tip, I write the length of rope on each of my floats, and they’re all a little different, which means I can put the pot with the correct amount of rope in the right spot. Another trick is, if you use extra rope, add some weights to the rope so it isn’t floating on the surface, where it is likely to be cut off. It’s also a good idea to not put your pot directly in the middle of a channel – if there’s lots of boat traffic, you can be assured of losing this pot after the rope has been cut. If you label your pots, have the correct floats and rope length,

crabbing on the water can be a very enjoyable pastime. Unfortunately, the ‘share farmers’ are still stealing pots and/ or the catch – much steeper fines are need-

ed – so try to keep an eye on your pots. If leaving overnight, I put a mark on the GPS, so I know if the pot has been moved or checked. Ben Collins

OUR COVER Happy new fishing gear

595

Includes GST

January 2025 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 36, Number 1

New life jacket laws

Mangrove jack mayhem

Spotlight on spotty mack

Moreton Bay spoils

Fun holiday fishing tips ISSN 1832-4517

01 Proudly produced and printed in Australia

Summer species action

9 771832 451001

Estuary • Offshore • Freshwater • 4WD • Camping • Touring www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 1

TROY NEWMAN caught this impressive mangrove jack on a paddle tail soft plastic. Read more on this species on page 46.

NEXT EDITION: February edition will be on sale in newsagents from January 31. JANUARY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: See the subscription form on page 68 to subscribe this month and go in the draw to win a white MX500 5W VHF marine radio from Oricom valued at $250 RRP. NOVEMBER PRIZE WINNERS: Congratulations to A. Hyker, Thornlands; B. Stagg, Dalby; J. Whitehill, Windsor; J. Arthur, Maryborough; J. Blake, Maroochydore; J. Thorley, Kingaroy; L. Kinivan, Biggera Waters; L. Moore, Clayfield; M. Osko, Capalaba and W. Schulz, Durong who will each receive an essentials pack – includes a Rapala buff, Z-Man 3" Electric Chicken MinnowZ and a pair of braid scissors, each pack valued at $40 RRP. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 5

January 2025 contents

Targeting warm weather species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Sean Conlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Brissie systems fire up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . P10 Spoilt for choice in Moreton Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . P12 Tips for fun holiday fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Justin Willmer . . . . . . . . . . . P16 Tide Times - Brisbane Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 Pelagic Gear Australia at Tackle Tactics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 New life jacket regulations in Queensland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P24 Surfers Paradise targets after rain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . P28

Spotted mackerel season. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mitchel Zygnerski . . . . . . . P30 Plan for rain for less pain. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . P32 Boating & Fishing Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P33 Can’t keep an old fisho down. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P34 Critical safety reminder for recreational boats . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P38 OzFish welcomes new Queensland Government. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P39 Bait gathering in estuaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Dean Galpin . . . . . . . . . . . . P40

Mangrove jack mayhem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Chris Rippon . . . . . . . . . . . . P42 Learning finer fishing techniques. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P44 Tide Times – Waddy Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P45 New year, new me. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P46 Welcome to Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P48 Targeting tips for Gladdy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . P50

Aquaculture Gladstone celebrates sea mullet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P52 East on Gibb River Road – Part 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 Heading home via Alice. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Craig Tomkinson . . . . . . . . P57 Forgotten art of fly fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . P60 Great fishing at Cania Dam. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Helen Abdy . . . . . . . . . . . . . P62 Dam Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P63 Changes required and lure makers comp. . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P66 Readers’ Forum ��P67 Subscription Form ��P68 Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

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The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins PRODUCTION: Tiffany Brown Lisa Jones

Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine is published monthly by Collins Media Pty Ltd ABN 43 159 051 500 ACN 159 051 500 trading as Collins Media. Phone 07 3286 1833 Email: ben@collins.media PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178 PRINTER: SpotNews DISTRIBUTION BY: Wrapaway Max. recommended retail price $5.95 (includes GST).

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CORRESPONDENTS: Editorial contributions are welcome, as is news from clubs,associations or individuals; and new product news from manufacturers. Entire contents copyright. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers and contributors to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 7

Victor boated a 45cm squire, caught when drifting rubble grounds with soft plastics.

Trolling hard-body lures such as the Zerek Ripper Diver is a great way to hook quality summer southern bay snapper.

Targeting warm weather species

W Solid cod can be caught around isolated structure in the bay.

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Page 8 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ELL, summer is definitely here, and things have heated up dramatically, with consistently warmer temperatures. And of course, the water temperature has warmed up as well. So, with this, I have noticed that fishing the flats and shallows has not been producing at all. What this means to me is, the fish that would usually inhabit these areas have moved into slightly deeper water, where it would be somewhat cooler and the temperature more consistent. So, when I see this happening, I fish water depths from 3-10m. I look for rubble grounds, isolated pieces of structure and wrecks that are in deeper water. One species I do

Southern Moreton Bay by SEAN CONLON

target and catch a lot of in summer is our snapper. I would rather target them in the warmer months than the colder weather, as I find that while there may

be less fish about, they are of better quality and I don’t have to fight my way through the small fish to get the bigger 40-60cm models. * continued P9

This Moreton Bay squire was caught when drifting soft plastics.

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Targeting warm weather species * from P8

When targeting snapper, either on rubble grounds or isolated patches of structure, you’ll generally encounter cod, grass sweetlip, sand and dusky flathead that have moved to deep water, as well as goodsized bream and trevally. One of the downsides to this is that you have to look out for the nasty beasts in grey suits because they are definitely about in warmer water. As you know, I prefer to always fish light but, if the tax men turn up, you will definitely need a 3-6kg rod and a good 3000 spin reel spooled with 15lb line, as a minimum. When working rubble grounds, one of the techniques that works very well is drifting with soft plastics.

And a method I’ve used for years for snapper is trolling hard-body lures in these areas. Both of these techniques are great ways to cover a lot of ground, avoid smaller fish and pick up larger models. Also, when undertaking this type of fishing, keep your eyes on the sounder, particularly if you have side scan. These are the types of spots you will see sunken boats, extra large pieces of rock and debris – areas we all know will hold good fish. I’ll come back to these locations to fish on the turn of the tide with some bait and soft plastics, which helps us pick up cod, squire, grassies and such, contributing to a mixed bag at the end of the day. Another thing to

consider at this time of the year is, when we get large amounts of rainfall – which will definitely dirty up the southern end of the bay – try to avoid the dirty water if you can. One way is to fish on the big summer incoming tides, this will ensure you’re fishing in cleaner water. And, if you’re going to try the technique of drifting with soft plastics or trolling hard-bodies, you’ll want to do this when there’s maximum current flow and again when the current slows. Move onto the isolated patches of reef and wrecks, then cast some bait, and perhaps throw a few soft plastics around while you’re waiting for the better fish to take the bait. I find summer * continued P10

A quality southern bay flathead.

A 41cm southern bay squire for Ash.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 9

Targeting warm weather species * from P9

fishing is always a little harder. You may have to cover more ground, you may have to go further out to find deeper cleaner water, yet if you put the effort in, good quality fish can be found. Also try not to miss your opportunities, the weather windows and bite times are smaller, so try fishing around the good moons. Try to get an early morning start, coinciding with a nice incoming tide, to give you that clean water – all of these little things can make a big difference. Above all, have your tackle and fishing gear in good order, so that when you do hook fish, you land fish. With reduced opportunities in summer, it can painful losing fish due to gear failure. This year, we’re going to trial fishing tuition in your boat. So, while I’ll still be doing my charters, I will also be available to do tuition in the comfort of your own vessel. This will cover things such as working out good tides, better moon phases, how sounders work, how to identify fish on your sounder, how to find rubble

grounds, how to drift with soft plastics, how to troll a hard-body lure for snapper, techniques for bait fishing including correct bite presentation, what size hooks, line, sinkers, rods and reels – everything that will help you to be more confident on the water and catch more fish. Also, for lure fishos, we still have stock and will be making plenty of Fish Goop – the ultimate fish attractant – into 2025. If you’re interested in any of the tuition and Fish Goop, my details are below. Let’s hope it’s a good year for everyone. As we all know, with our jobs and lives we are time poor, so if you can learn more to optimise your time on the water, why not – remember knowledge is key. Until next month, stay safe on the water and, if you’re interested in our fishing tuition or want to do a fishing charter, give me a call on 0432 386 307, send an email to seanconlonsfish ing@hotmail.com or check out the Facebook page Seano’s Inshore Fishing Charters and Tuition. And check out the new Fish Goop page on Facebook.

Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

The author hooked a good mangrove jack from a rock bar.

Brissie systems fire up

NOTHER year has flown by and what a great year it was for fishing in southeast Queensland. We had such a good winter and spring was also excellent, with plenty of flathead, jewfish and mangrove jack showing up in all of the systems around Brisbane. The waterways were very busy during December, with school holidays and plenty of travellers from down south making their way to the greatest state in Australia. I prefer staying away from the busier areas at that time of year. I also like to fish at night or very early in the morning to avoid the large numbers of boats and jet skis. The fish can shut down during the busier times of the day, so being on the water outside of these periods will increase your chances of landing a few fish. Mangrove jack will

Local Luring by KEITH STRATFORD

be heavily targeted this month. As the weather heats up, so do the jacks. We received a good run of storms during November and December, which got the angry red dogs super fired up.

The good downpours of rain that fell with the storms kept a little colour in the water. I find this helps considerably when targeting jacks on lures. * continued P11

Phil caught a decent mangrove jack on a 3” paddle tail plastic.

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Brissie systems fire up for summer * from P10

They can be very shy when the water is clean. This season has been really good for mangrove jack so far, with good numbers of fish turning up in southeast Queensland. To date, most of the jacks I’ve caught this season have come from rock bars. Fallen trees are normally a favourite of mine, but they haven’t been producing as well as the rocks have. A lot of small prawns are also getting about in the local rivers. The cod population gives the abundance of prawns away, es-

pecially after being caught, when they regurgitate them all over the front deck. Even though school prawns were on the move, most of the jacks I’ve been landing were taken on 3-4” paddle tail plastics. The old saying ‘match the hatch’ certainly works on most occasions, though if the fish aren’t biting on a certain style of lure, it’s worth trying something else. Flathead generally slow down at this time of year, yet there have been plenty around the mouths of rivers recently. With big schools of bait holding up in these areas, flatties

have been gorging themselves. They hold in the deeper water at low tide and push right up into the shallow water on the flats as the tide pushes in. My son Luke and I have been catching them in the Pine River and Hays Inlet in big numbers. In only a couple of hours, 20-30 fish were caught, so the action has been fairly hot. Flathead aren’t the only species hanging around these bait schools. Some nice giant trevally, tarpon and big bream have also been getting in on the action, with 2.5-4” paddle tail plastics rigged

* continued P12

Trevally were feeding on the bait schools at the mouth of the Pine River.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 11

Spoilt for choice in Moreton Bay

Catch the train to either Sandgate or Shorncliffe, it’s only a 10-minute walk to the ocean.

Ivy nailed a great little fringefin trevally off the wall near Shorncliffe.

ELL, 2024 seemed a bit shy. It stuck its head in the door and before we knew it, boom, it was gone! So, the kids have been home for a few weeks now, they have done everything, been everywhere and they are looking for more ways to get under your feet. So, take them fishing and give yourself a break. You deserve it, and they need a bit of vitamin sea. The upside is that most of the best places to venture to are only a maximum 30-minute drive away, and you should be wetting a line. For those in the Moreton Bay region, your escape destination is literally at your back door. This area has so many destinations that you are literally spoilt for choice.

Northern Moreton Bay by MARK TEMPLETON

From Toorbul, Bribie Island, Sandstone Point, Beachmere, Redcliffe, Brighton and Shorncliffe down to Nudgee, Moreton Bay is literally your personal childcare facility. At this time of year, cash flow is under close scrutiny for most families, so pack the kids, the dog and the fishing gear up, grab some bait and let them loose on one of the local piers, riverbanks or even the beach. Don’t go wasting your hard-earned savings on theme parks and attractions where you’ll blow your budget only to get sunburnt kids and the latest cold, flu or stomach bug that makes you realise you should have gone with the second toilet option.

If you’re relying on public transport, both Shorncliffe and Sandgate have stations, so you can come visit us. From where we are in Sandgate, it is a 10-minute walk to the ocean and it’s the same for Shorncliffe. Every year at this time, I go through the following information – I know that families are well organised when it comes to outings, but a time-saving idea is to have a stow bag packed with the essentials waiting for you in the car. Bottled water, sunscreen, spare hats, a basic first aid kit, another bag with a change of clothes, a couple of towels and, of course, an emergency toilet roll. * continued P13

Brissie systems fire up for summer * from P11

Luke Stratford landed a nice flathead on a paddle tail plastic. Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

on 1/4oz heads doing the damage. The fish have wanted various presentations on different days, dependent on the wind direction and tide. Some days they respond to an aggressive flick and other days they prefer a slow wind, keeping it close to the bottom. Casting into the current and letting it bring the offering back has worked some days, yet on other days they prefer

it coming across the current. I have noticed that some anglers think you must bring the lure back with current at all times. This isn’t true. Trying a variety of different angles will open options up and have you catching more fish. Vertical jigging in the deeper water has worked well, particularly with quality prawn imitations such as the Pro Lure Clone Prawn 92mm.

January is shaping up to be a very good month for catching a variety of species. Remember to get out there early to beat the boat traffic and keep an eye out for the big storms rolling in during the afternoons. Lightning and graphite rods don’t go well together, so remember to keep on eye on those electrical storms. I hope to see you out on the water with the new gear you found under the tree in December.

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Ashton showing off his first ever fish, a cracking little whiting. Big brother Hugh guided Ashton through the catch.

Spoilt for choice in Moreton Bay * from P12

Kids will always find some water to fall in or need to find a loo 10 minutes after you’ve left home. If you leave these small bags in the car over the holidays, it may save having to make for home early or get you out of an embarrassing situation. If you are new to fishing and aren’t sure where to start, go to tackleland.com. au – we’ve put together a website with fishing locations and techniques aimed at new fishos, or those who would like a refresher. If you need some more ideas on taking the kids fishing, jump onto our website and

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have a read of the articles written by our customers, this could save you a little of the headache. Almost every year, I rehash some old but still relevant advice. Before you hit the water, double check your safety gear for serviceability and check the dates on your flares because, if your gear is not up to speed, it will not save you or your family when it needs too. We get asked a lot: “Should I have an emergency position-indicating radio beacon?” Well, the default answer for this EPIRB query is: “If you need immediate help and

your phone is not working or you’re out of range, then flick the switch.” They are not cheap, and they are not required in all waterways. Though ask yourself, could it save a life if someone was having a heart attack, an allergic reaction or an emergency medical episode? Food for thought! No, we don’t sell them but if you decided to get one, do a bit of research on a reputable supplier. Also, there are new laws regarding life vests, which effect so many boating applications, so take five minutes to read up. * continued P14

Ken landed an awesome blue swimmer at Baxters Jetty recently.

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We will come to you if you have bulk gear!

0402 703 519 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 13

Spoilt for choice in Moreton Bay * from P13

Try our ‘Bream Bites’. They are like candy to local bream and other species.

If followed, it could save you a fine. Ivy is back on the fish. Well actually, she’s been catching cracker fish all year round. I thought I’d share this one with you… Ivy nailed a great little fringefin trevally off the wall near Shorncliffe. We don’t see this species very often, and there is no one better to show off her catch using plastics than Ivy. Well done Ivy, another one off the bucket list.

We have some new juniors to introduce this month. Ashton took a moment to show off his first ever fish, a cracking little whiting. In the photo with him is big brother Hugh, who was guiding Ashton through it all. It was an awesome experience for Ashton, and a proud moment for their dad too. Thank you so much for sharing this great catch and memory with us, I know there will be more to come! Now to one of my regular fishos, Ken. He is always out wetting a line and whenever I come across him, we take the mickey and stir each other. I caught up with Ken at Baxters Jetty recently and, while giving him a hard time, Ken landed a cracker

blue swimmer. Being a nice buck and a good size, it went home for a feed of crab sandwiches. Well done Ken, thanks for being a good sport and friend. When you decide to head out for a fish, if you want to give a new bait a try, drop in and grab a bag of our ‘Bream Bites’. They are like candy to the local bream and other species too. We will even share the goods on how to use them to maximise your experience. As it’s the festive season, we have started to supply bulk ice at great prices. From one standard 5kg bag to 40 bags. We are also doing 10kg bags for boaties, campers and party animals. Stay safe and enjoy the time spent together, maintain the passion.

We now supply bulk ice at great prices. From a 5kg bag, 10kg bags for boaties, campers and party animals or 40 bags. Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 15

Exploring your land-based fishing options can produce quality fish, including this solid whiting for Slade. For the author, holiday time is all about getting family and friends onto a few fish.

Tips for fun holiday fishing

H Kids love gathering and fishing a few yabbies. Josh with a whiting on the Okuma Barbarian rod.

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Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

OW good is the feeling of knocking off for some holiday time. The upside is often more opportunities to fish, while the downside is that this fishing time is frequently shared with more people. In this article, I wanted to share some tips for getting the most out of fishing the holiday period, escaping the crowds and catching more fish in pressured environments. Let’s fish! Peak bite periods Low light periods of dawn and dusk have long been regarded as peak bite periods. Less light penetrating the water means less visibility for the fish and less shadows cast by vessel, angler and even birds. This will allow you to fish shallower areas and get closer to the fish before they realise you’re there and get spooked. Stealth is still an im-

Tackle Tactics by JUSTIN WILLMER

portant factor when it comes to noise from motors, movement in the boat and anchoring. The old saying is the early bird gets the worm. Getting out before the crowd, noise and disturbances on the water will catch you more fish, while also allowing plenty of time for other family activities during the holidays.

One of my favourite times to fish is the afternoon/dusk bite, when most of the boats have headed back to the ramp and the bait, and in turn fish, come back to life. The last couple of hours of daylight can produce a hot session on a stack of different species. Night fishing If your vacation days * continued P17

Downsizing your plastic can catch a mixed bag of species that feed on small bait, including this trevally on the Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ.

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Tips for fun holiday fishing

410 Challenger

Fish will often have an area where they enter and exit key structure, such as flats, rock walls, mangrove lines and jetties. So consider key points of travel, such as deep water, drains, weed edges, shadow

Low tide is a prime time to fish the channel edges, drains and structure that is out of reach on high tide.

* continued P18

Early morning and late afternoon can produce some hot bites and memorable wildlife encounters.

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night fishing, I’m a fan of soft plastics – with their single hook simpler and safer in low light and the ability to change jig head weight to effectively fish the entire water column, minimising the amount of gear I need to carry with me. I generally select darker solid silhouette colours for night fishing, with added glitter to catch the available light. A few Z-Man favourites would include Gold Rush, Calico Candy, New Penny and Houdini. Whether fishing day or night, it’s important to think like a fish and consider where the fish might be travelling and why.

LOW

are busy with family activities, night fishing is a great option and it can be cooler and more comfortable than the summer scorchers, just make sure the bug spray is packed. A couple of hours after dark may be enough to get a few fish and scratch the itch, with a prime starting point being around artificial light, such as bridges, streetlights and boat ramps. Artificial light attracts bait and in turn predators, so casting your bait or lures around the shadow lines can be extremely effective. When it comes to lure selection for

* from P16

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Kayaks are a great way to escape the crowds and access less pressured waterways.

Tips for fun holiday fishing * from P17

the tide can often be the toughest because fish transition from one area to another, so you may be waiting a while between bites. I have found the peak bite times to be around the tide changes in many areas – when considering ‘high tide spots’, focus efforts on the last hour or two of the incoming tide and first hour or two of the outgoing, and when fishing ‘low tide spots’, focus on the last of the run-

out and start of the run-in. This can often give you two cracks at it too, with the fish firing on one stage of this change, the run-in or run-out, and you having both covered. High tide spots I like to fish include areas that are exposed at low tide but hold enough water for your target species on the high. Fish will move up onto these areas to

Flathead are a holiday favourite that love eating plastics. Ron hopped a Z-Man 2.5” PrawnZ across the flats to get the bite.

lines, ridges, channel edges and other variables that may concentrate fish or have a continual influx of them throughout the tide, and focus in these areas. Tides If you have limited windows of time to fish or are wanting to get the kids onto a fish over the break, remember to check the tide times for the areas you’re fishing. The middle stages of

Light spin gear is perfect for fishing soft plastics for favourites such as flathead, bream, grunter and trevally.

There’s an old saying that big fish eat big lures and all fish eat small lures. Finesse soft plastics have produced some trophy fish on pressured bites.

Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

* continued P19

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Tips for fun holiday fishing * from P18

feed, meaning they are generally actively hunting and will readily accept your lures and bait. Other high tide areas include key structure that holds bait and in turn attracts fish. Low tide favourites include channel edges, the mouths of drains and structure that is easier to access when the tide is out, especially if it is in close proximity to deeper water. Bait is great If you’re a lure angler, don’t forget the bait-fishing option. Kids love gathering the bait – sometimes more than fishing it – so this can make for a great holiday activity. It can also be relaxing to drop it back a gear, cast out a couple of bait and kick back. The best bait is locally sourced live or fresh bait, which is often now available from local tackle stores. Alternatively, quality

frozen bait are available. Favourites for the river and estuary include yabbies, worms, pilchard, chook gut and mullet gut, with fresh mullet and garfish flesh bait also a winner. A key with bait fishing is to ensure you have a rod with a nice soft tip, allowing the fish to bite and eat the bait, without feeling too much resistance. My go-to bait rods are Okuma’s LRF GEN2, Barbarian and Barbarian Pro ranges, with a decent spinning reel and Platypus Pulse mono line. The stretch in the monofilament is beneficial when bait fishing and I will always select a quality Australian-made Platypus monofilament. Especially when fishing with kids – to avoid the tangling and casting issues that come with cheap stiff line that resembles whipper snipper cord. * continued P20

Sometimes finding a bit of space is all that’s needed to find a few fish.

Barry put his dad Pete onto this nice flathead, fishing yabbies on the edge of a sand bank.

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Slade with a cracker whiting from fishing land based with yabbies and the Okuma LRF GEN2 Spin rod.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 19

The wind and stormy weather kept the crowds away and fired up the fish. Always remember, safety first. Sheri, doing the miles and getting the smiles, landed her first impoundment barramundi on a weedless rigged Z-Man 5” DieZel MinnowZ.

Tips for fun holiday fishing * from P19

Will with a land-based whiting on the Okuma LRF GEN2 rod and JAW reel, loaded with Platypus Pulse mono, from a productive session fishing yabbies.

The little Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ produced another cracker flathead for the author’s father Ron. Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

Lure fishing tips Most of my fishing involves lures and I help a few kids catch fish over the holidays, so I often stick with the simplicity and versatility of soft plastics. The single hook minimises the chances of snagging, tangling and hooking people, which is perfect when fishing with children. Here are a few tips for fishing soft plastics in the holiday season. Jig head weight Increasing your jig head weight by one size, for example 1/8oz to 1/6oz or 1/6oz to 1/4oz, will allow a long cast and get the soft plastic down in the water column, which is perfect for kids who want to continually cast it out and wind it in, or have you doing their casting for them. This will allow each cast to be out there a little longer and the

plastic to spend more time in the strike zone for most species. If the area is weedy or snaggy, check out the range of TT weedless jig heads. Downsize Downsizing your soft plastic will often produce more action

for a wider variety of species, which can be great when fishing with children or simply targeting fish in the more pressured vacation period. I commonly fish a 2.5” plastic, with favourites being the * continued P21

The author’s crowd-dodging machine, the Hobie Outback kayak can be launched virtually anywhere and is perfect for accessing shallow and skinny water fishing spots.

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Tips for fun holiday fishing * from P20

Z-Man GrubZ, Slim SwimZ and PrawnZ, commonly rigged on a size 1 or 1/0 TT jig head. All three of these plastics will catch bream, flathead, trevally, grunter and more, while also punching well above their size and accounting for some trophy captures. Scent Adding scent to your lures, and even bait, can mask foreign odours such as fuel and sunscreen, while also attracting fish and triggering strikes. My go-to is ProCure Super Gel Scent, which I apply every 30 or so casts. It sticks on well and it contains bite stimulants, ultraviolet enhancements and real ground bait. This maximises your chances of getting fish to eat and hang on longer, even if you don’t have the retrieve techniques spot on. A couple of go-to flavours for me are Mullet and Sardine/ Pilchard. Do the miles, get the smiles Holiday periods can mean busy boat ramps, so I commonly spend more time fishing land based and from the standup paddleboard or kayak, which I can launch and retrieve anywhere to access less-pressured water and beat the boat ramp lines. Google Maps is a great starting point for locating fishable water and access points, with bridges, parks

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and forestry tracks often allowing access to areas that are less pressured. Even when fishing in the boat, I will try to dodge the crowds by fishing earlier or later, as mentioned previously, but also by exploring new water and getting away from the crowds. This could mean travelling a little further, getting up onto the shallow flats and weed beds that people often avoid or sneaking further up the creeks in the area. By finding less-pressured water, the fish will often respond more aggressively to your presentations, and you may just discover a new area or technique that you can fish throughout the year. I have also found that on good days, boats will often travel further away from the launch point, creating some good opportunities much closer for you. Being prepared – seizing those average weather days can also produce the goods, with less anglers fishing and conditions that can encourage the fish to feed more aggressively. Walking or paddling further, preparing for bad weather days, exploring alternative launch points… there’s no doubt that by doing the miles can definitely result in you getting the smiles. Bait, structure and bust ups Don’t forget the basics. Whatever you de-

cide to do to avoid the crowds or find the fish, don’t forget to keep an eye out and pay attention to what the environment and conditions are telling you. Make note of the key man-made and natural structure in the area, as well as of the secondary structure on offer that may hold bait or fish. Find areas that are holding bait and attempt to match this bait and mimic its movement. Finally, keep an eye out for bow waves of bait being pushed along by fish, bow waves from fish themselves, nervous bait flicking or shimmering on the surface and predatory fish sipping down bait or busting them up on the surface. If you have time off, enjoy your break – hopefully these tips will help you get hooked up to a few more fish while dealing with the holiday crowds. If you’re not holidaying, I hope you found a tip or two to help you work around the crowds that you might find fishing some of your favourite spots. The vacation period can be a great time to explore some new areas, target different species and experiment with some different techniques that may not only catch you more over the holidays, they may in fact become a favourite in your day-to-day fishing adventures. See you on the water.

Plenty of grunter will be caught over the break. This one ate Sheri’s Z-Man 2.5” ST GrubZ.

Don’t forget your local freshwater options for escaping the crowds and targeting some different species.

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Bait Fishing • Okuma Barbarian Pro Spin Rod – BNP-S702NT • Okuma Epixor XT Spin Reel – EPXT-30 or 40 • Platypus Pulse Mono Line – 10-15lb • Platypus Hard Armour Leader – 10-15lb Supple Lure Fishing • TT Rods Red Belly Spin Rod – RBS701ML, 7’ 2-4kg • Okuma Ceymar HD Spin Reel – CHD2500HA • Platypus Pulse X8 Braid – 8-10lb • Platypus Hard Armour Leader – 10-15lb Supple • Z-Man 2.5” GrubZ, ST GrubZ, Slim SwimZ, PrawnZ • TT HeadlockZ Jig Heads – 1/8-1/4oz Size 1 • Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent – Mullet or Sardine/Pilchard Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 21

Tide Times AUSTRALIA EAST COAST AUSTRALIA, EAST – BRISBANE BAR BRISBANE BAR COAST LAT 27° 22’ S LONG 153° 10’ E JANUARY

LAT 27° 22’ S LONG 153° 10’ E Times and Heights of High and Low Waters FEBRUARY MARCH

m m

Time Time

0355 0355 1035 1035 1721 WE WE 1721 2239 2239

0.37 0.37 2.55 2.55 0.60 0.60 1.84 1.84

0443 0443 1114 1114 1759 TH TH 1759 2328 2328

0.43 2.52 0.62 1.85

0436 0436 1115 1115 1803 TH TH 1803 2325 2325

2025

Time Zone –1000 APRIL

Time

0515 1136 SA 1818 2359

0.33 2.63 0.45 2.11

0534 0.59 1142 2.30 SU 1808 0.57

0420 1032 SA 1709 2255

0.30 2.65 0.36 2.31

0443 1039 SU 1700 2303

0.57 2.26 0.51 2.24

0545 0.49 1127 2.15 TU 1743 0.38

0532 1104 WE 1712 2341

0.73 1.88 0.56 2.33

0.37 0.37 2.57 2.57 0.58 0.58 1.86 1.86

0.42 0005 2.06 0518 0.50 2 0559 17 0518 1147 1215 2.52 17 0608 0.69 1147 2.44

0506 1111 SU 1745 2340

0.34 2.55 0.35 2.36

0.63 17 0515 1106 2.16

0005 0636 WE 1212 1819

0.80 17 0608 1138 1.78

0518 0.39 0.39 0518 1156 2.56 2.56 1156 1845 0.57 0.57 FR 1845 FR

0003 1.86 2.13 0041 2.05 18 0003 3 0045 0554 0.58 0554 0646 0.54 18 0645 0.81

0551 0.43 1150 2.39 MO 1818 0.39

0012 0012 0604 0604 1237 SA 1237 SA 1927 1927

0040 1.86 2.13 0121 2.01 19 0040 4 0135 0631 0.69 0739 0.70 19 0730 0.93 0631

0025 0640 TU 1230 1853

Time Time

2 3 4

1.87 1.87 0.46 0.46 2.51 2.51 0.56 0.56

1829 0.64 FR FR 1829

1219 2.35 SA 1219 SA 1858 0.65 1858

1251 2.23 SU 1251 SU 1927 0.66 1927

SU 1855 0.45

MO 1254 2.36 1931 0.48

TU 1338 2.15 2013 0.53

MO 1210 2.17 1834 0.59

TU 1240 2.02 1903 0.64

WE 1314 1.85 1937 0.72

2 3

MO 1723 0.52 2334 2.25

1 2

2.56 0.62 1.94 0.48

TH 1741 0.63

0548 0.71

0055 2.48

0015 2.27

TU 1749 0.56

TH 1304 1.73 1900 0.62

FR 1215 1.68 1814 0.71

WE 1204 1.89

FR 1413 1.58

SA 1304 1.60

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Queensland life jacket regulations have changed, effective December 1, 2024.

New life jacket regulations in Queensland ensure safety when on water

ECEMBER 1, 2024 was the start of new life jacket regulations that took effect to increase maritime safety. You must understand and abide by these changes to stay safe and compliant on the water. Maritime Safety Queensland will be focusing on education, with enforcement delayed until July 1, 2025 to ensure all boaties are aware of the change. Further communication and on-water education will be provided to support the roll out. Mandatory wearing of life jackets What’s changing? To increase water safety, new regulations will make wearing a life jacket mandatory when: • Boating alone or only with children

under 12 years on an open boat less than 4.8m in length while underway • Crossing designated coastal bars on an open ship and on an open area of a boat of any length and on certain craft • Children one year or more and under 12 years are on an open boat or an open area of a boat of any length while underway • Nighttime boating, between sunset and sunrise on an open boat less than 4.8m in length while underway. These rules apply to a wide range of boats and craft and you must wear a life jacket when crossing a designated coastal bar in the following types of craft: • Small sail boats (funboats, lasers, herons) • Pedal boats

• Rafts (including inflatable rafts) • Rowboats (excluding those operated by Surf Life Saving Australia clubs) • Sea and surf kayaks. Note that this requirement does not apply to users of: • Body or boogie boards • Surf boards • Wind surfers • Kite surfers • Stand-up paddle boards. The lifejacket rules for riding a jet ski (personal watercraft) remain the same. Why the change? The law is changing in the interest of public safety, to ensure you, your passengers and loved ones get home safely. In the past five years, there were 64 boating fatalities in Queensland, and only five were known to be

wearing their life jacket at the time of the incident. Data shows that the people who are at the highest risk of drowning at sea include children and those boating alone or at night, or when crossing coastal bars. This law change will also bring Queensland in line with the safety standards of other states. Life jackets A life jacket is a vital piece of safety equipment that could save your life. The best idea is to make sure you wear it. Put the life jacket on as part of your pre-trip preparation. It is a lot harder to put a life jacket on in the water during an emergency. All life jackets must be marked with the appropriate label indicat-

For use in open water, Level 100, Level 150 or Level 275 for life jackets made to AS 4758. Page 24 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ing the life jacket level. This label is marked by the manufacturer and should be on the life jacket at the time of purchase. For use in open waters ‘Level 100’, ‘Level 150’ or ‘Level 275’ for life jackets. You can wear this type of life jacket in smooth and partially smooth waters as well. For use in partially smooth waters ‘Level 50’ for life jackets. This type of life jacket: • Helps keep you afloat but does not have a collar to keep the head above water • Can be worn in smooth waters as well • Can be used by skiers or people being towed in smooth or partially smooth waters • Can be used by personal watercraft riders in smooth and partially smooth waters or beyond those waters. For use in smooth waters ‘Level 50 special purpose’ or ‘Level 50S’ for life jackets. This type of life jacket: * continued P25

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New life jacket regulations in Queensland * from P24

• May be a specified buoyancy wet suit • Is for use in smooth water and only where the user is likely to be in the water for a short time • Can be used by skiers or people being towed in smooth waters • Can be used by PWC riders in smooth waters. Coastal and SOLAS life jackets These life jackets have more flotation than a Level 100 life jacket. They are bulky life jackets designed to keep the body afloat for long periods. They have reflective tape and a whistle to attract attention. These life jackets are mostly carried by commercial boats and recommended to be carried by boats operating long distances offshore. Inflatable life jackets Inflatable life jackets must comply with the same standards as

foam life jackets. They must be gas inflated and not rely on oral inflation only. Inflatable life jackets are also required to have markings that show the level of buoyancy that the life jacket will provide. Inflatable life jackets used on a recreational boat must show an expiry date and be serviced by the manufacturer or authorised service agent before the expiry date. Servicing inflatable life jackets The emergence of affordable, comfortable and stylish life jackets is a major step forward in boating safety. Inflatable life jackets are rapidly gaining popularity because of their convenience and increasing affordability. As life jackets spend so much time in a harsh marine environment where they are often exposed to heat, sun and salt, they are subject to damage. One aspect of inflat-

ables that boaters are often unaware of is that Queensland regulations require inflatable life jackets to be serviced in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications. Manufacturer’s servicing Some manufacturers require you to have your life jacket serviced by them or by an authorised agent. This will ensure it remains in good working order and functions properly. When the life jacket is serviced, checks will be carried out to ensure the bladder, reflective tapes, buckles and straps are in working order and that the inflation system and oral inflation tube are operating correctly. Contact the manufacturer or the place of purchase for further details. * continued P26

You must understand and abide by the changes to life jacket regulations to stay safe and compliant on the water.

SAVE THE DATE

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SIGN-ON DAY

For use in partially smooth water, Level 50 for life jackets made to AS 4758.

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For use in smooth water, Level 50 special purpose or Level 50S for lifejackets made to AS 4758. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Come and be a part of a club with lots of action throughout the year Inshore and offshore competitions - weigh ins Sportfishing competition - photo entries Beach fishing competition Stradbroke Island trips (member discounts) Somerset Dam trips (member discounts) Ladies and junior categories Member social days Christmas trophy night

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 25

New life jacket regulations in Queensland ensure safety when on water * from P25

Self-servicing Some manufacturers allow you to ‘self-service’ your life jacket, provided you do so in accordance with their instructions. If the manufacturer allows self-servicing and you feel competent to do so, follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully. If there is a service record on the inside of the jacket, sign and date the service record with a permanent marker.

Otherwise, you should ensure that the date of service is marked on the life jacket in line with the manufacturer’s requirements. If you do not feel competent to self-service your life jacket, you should get it serviced professionally. This is a higher level of inspection and replacement of parts than ‘self-service’. Keep all servicing receipts and certificates of servicing as documentary evidence of

Examples of inflatable life jackets.

the service occurring. You do not need to keep this on the boat. Keeping a safety equipment log for your vessel is a good way to record service or replacement dates. Guidance on how to self-check your inflatable life jacket Self-checking a life jacket can be done at any time to ensure the jacket is functioning properly. If you want to self-service your life jacket, follow the manufacturer’s instructions for your specific life jacket model. Generally, these will follow the below steps. Step 1: • Check for visible signs of wear and damage • Ensure all fastenings and buckles are in good working order. Step 2: • Following the manufacturer’s instruc-

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tions, reveal the inflation system and oral inflation tube • Inflate the bladder using the oral tube and leave overnight in a room with a constant temperature • If the bladder loses pressure, immediately take the life jacket to an accredited service agent for further tests • Do not attempt to repair your life jacket yourself. Step 3: • Use the cap attached to the oral inflation tube to deflate the bladder • Invert the cap and press down on the valve at the top of the oral tube • Do not insert other objects into the top of the tube as they may damage the valve • Roll or press the life jacket to deflate fully. Step 4: • Remove the CO2 cylinder and inspect it • The cylinder should be intact, with no rust or corrosion

• Weigh the cylinder on kitchen or letter scales and ensure its weight corresponds to the minimum gross weight engraved on the cylinder +/– 2g • If the cylinder is rusted, corroded, has been pierced or is not the correct weight it should be replaced immediately • On auto inflation life jackets also ensure that auto components are armed and in date • Refit the cylinder to the inflation system, tightening it by hand until firm • Do not over tighten. Step 5: • Repack the lifejacket as per its manufacturer’s instructions. • Ensure the manual inflation toggle is accessible and unlikely to be caught when being worn in general activities. Scan the QR codes on the main photo to review the new life jacket laws.

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Coastal and SOLAS life jackets have more flotation than a Level 100.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 27

Take boated a nice mulloway in the Tweed River with Brad Smith.

Surfers Paradise targets after rain

H Eddie caught a number of juvenile mulloway on worms.

Mulloway are a common by-catch when fishing for whiting with beachworms after rain. Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

I everyone, we are in the busiest month of the year for our estuary fishing charters and, if the weather is kind, we will be out fishing nearly every day. January is usually hot and wet, peak time for chasing big summer whiting. The great thing about the Gold Coast, and particularly around Surfers Paradise, is the large and diverse area that big whiting can be found in. We’ve already had a very wet start to our summer season, which makes it harder to target species such as mangrove jack and trevally, but easier to target whiting and mulloway.

Broadwater Guide by CLINT ANSELL

It looks likely to be another wet summer, so that is why I will continue to chase these hard fighting and tasty fish. During the cooler months, whiting can be found upstream, but as the weather gets hotter and wetter, they tend to venture downriver for their breeding season. As I’ve written about previously, I go wading for them a lot on the shallow broadwater yabby banks. This is basically every second week when the tides are low in the mornings, we can pump yabbies then wade.

Every other week, the tides are high in the morning, which makes fishing by boat easier. Using either or both beachworms and yabbies, we will fish anywhere from the council chambers bank to the western side of Wave Break Island. I move a lot and often until I find the whiting schools, then make shorter moves to stay with them as they graze and slowly move with the tide. I have a few favourite boat whiting rods including Samaki and Shimano, which are all about 7’6” in * continued P29

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Surfers Paradise targets after rain * from P28

length and 1-4kg. I spool 2500 or 3000 sized reels with 10lb Platypus Platinum monofilament line, then use a 6lb fluorocarbon leader of about 1.2m in length, a #2-3 ball running sinker, a small swivel and a #4 short baitholder hook for yabbies, with a #4-6 sized hook for worms. Once anchored over my favourite depths of 1-3m, I will cast the bait out as far as I can, then sit the rods in holders and wait for bites. This is essential because whiting can be timid feeders and if you strike too early you will miss a lot of big fish. Wait until the rod fully loads, then pick the rod up, strike once

to set the hook and wind the fish in. If you catch one whiting, there will usually be more nearby. If you don’t catch whiting in 20 minutes, move 50-100m and start again. The same goes for if you’re being pestered by toadfish and bream, keep moving until you find a whiting school. My favourite spots to fish for whiting in summer are near the council chambers, Budds Beach and the western channel in the broadwater, including the Southport and Labrador areas. In Queensland, sand whiting have a minimum size limit of 23cm and a possession limit of 30 per person.

Happy new year and tight lines! To book a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, visit goldcoas trivercharters.com, text 0432 990 302, email fishingwith clint@gmail.com or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.

Kardell with a solid giant trevally caught in the Tweed River with Brad when the water had cleared.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 29

The author captured an early morning spotted mackerel.

Jye was happy with his first spotted mackerel of the season.

Spotted mackerel season

Joe with a couple of healthy spotted beasts.

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Page 30 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ELL, here we are in January and the pelagic species have been firing on the local reefs. With spotted mackerel coming down in big numbers, the larger models are always the first to show up. And with the average-sized spotty being above 80cm in length, any fisho would be over the moon. With a solid week of southerly wind and nice warm water making its way down, it was a recipe for success and that’s exactly what we had. My first session out on the local produced a bag out before 6am and saw me heading off to work by 7am. I will say that filleting 10 spotted mackerel after a full day of work was a mission in itself. The spotties were on fire that morning, with a slight westerly wind in the morning that glassed off by 5.30am – creating a muggy and overcast morning – which was the icing on the cake. Just drifting the reef seemed to do the trick on this particular morning.

Gold Coast Broadwater by MITCHEL ZYGNERSKI

Having two half pillies out the back underneath a float, spinning with metals and a slight trail of berley turned them on for a crazy session, with double and triple hook-ups. The rig I run for mackerel is quite simple. A swivel with 28lb seven-strand wire down to a 3/0 Mustad Hoodlum hook is a very effective rig that I’ve been using for years, with zero faults. It’s always a perfect hook-up and the hook is small enough to hide in the pillie if the fish are being skittish. Running 20lb mono on an old-school 4500 Shimano Baitrunner is a spotted mackerel catching machine – a nice rod with a soft tip to allow for stretch in the line and the right amount of pressure is essential. The beauty of a Baitrunner is having the reel set with a light drag to allow the fish to run freely, feeling little to no resistance. And, once they are

running, you flick the switch and the reel is back to normal drag pressure. When spinning for these line burners, I like to run a 5000-size reel or an old-school Shimano TSS4 with 30lb braid and 30lb leader, which is then tied to a Halco Twisty, Nomad Metal or a Gillies lure. I use a range of sizes, from 20-50g to give myself maximum chances to land a fish or two. There have been many sessions where the fish are so zoned in on a certain sized lure that they will only eat that size and colour. A silver or gold colour is always my first choice, giving off a strong flash that represents a fleeing baitfish at high speed, this will catch the attention of any pelagic. With Currumbin Bar still being dredged, it is a tricky bar to navigate – sand banks are constantly changing the direction of the chan* continued P31

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Spotted mackerel season * from P30

nel and surfers are out early with the sunrise. Tweed Heads has been very good lately, particularly after the recent dredging, which has created quite a safe passage for this time of the year. Seaway is still the pick though, being so deep and close to all the main reefs mackerel will congregate at. Mermaid Reef has been producing nice numbers of mackerel recently, as seen from the charters’ social media pages. Which allows for recreational fishos to see the fish arriving, then get out there and score some fish for themselves. Towing a pillie behind the boat is always

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the best option at the start of the season. There are plenty of towing rigs on the market, but the most efficient and easiest rig would have to be the Reaper Rig from Lure Us In, with more time spent fishing and less time mucking around rigging the bait up, it allows for all anglers to catch a mackerel. With its simple but effective design, the Reaper Rig takes all of 10 seconds to rig the pillie up and start fishing. A single-head spike locks the bait in place behind the moulded design and a rig of two trebles that hook into the underside of the bait creates the awesome swimming action and lifelike perfor-

mance that will trick any fish into eating. At the time of writing, the northerly wind was kicking around, making it harder to get mackerel in large numbers. I find the northerly shuts them down, turning the water green and cold. Not to mention the amount of rain the southern parts of the Gold Coast had, which turned the water cold and brown. The best option for right now would be to have all your gear ready and get yourself keen because they aren’t too far away from any reef on the Gold Coast. Let the fun and games that spotted mackerel bring every year begin!

The author boated two solid spotted mackerel.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 31

Plan for rain for less pain

Fishing the shallows this month is all about the beginning of the mackerel season, but don’t forget, there will still be some snapper looking for a feed.

ELCOM E to the January edition. 2025 is upon us and it looks like it’s going to be wet. At Brunswick Heads, at the northern end of the Byron shire, we had the wettest spring we’ve had for a long time. Sometimes it was showers, sometimes it set in and there were storms aplenty – it felt like the heavens were dumped on us. We recorded 100mm in only 40 minutes and the run-off was tremendous, as you can imagine. Some houses, that were still being rebuilt from the enormous flood of a couple of years ago, copped flash flooding again. So, with that being said, instead of writ-

Tweed to Byron Bay by GAVIN DOBSON

ing an article with no rain in mind, I’m just going to assume that this month the estuaries are going to be full of fresh water and plan for that. This isn’t such a bad thing for those chasing mud crabs over the holiday period. They will most definitely be concentrated in the lower reaches, as will most other species trying to survive the fresh conditions. Trevally haven’t really shown up this year, again I think there is simply too much fresh water. Small jewfish are abundant though and revel in the fresh conditions.

There aren’t many legal ones among them, but at between 40-70cm, they’re still good sport. Mangrove jack were starting to fire before the last fresh, now they will definitely be a lower reaches proposition once again. Whiting and flathead seem to be sick of the fresh too and are getting harder to find. For some sport, why not try fishing for the juvenile bull sharks that will be hanging in the bottom half of the Tweed River this month. Obviously, they hate the river being com* continued P33

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Manu with a cracking kingfish.

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Competition Winning Performance

Ethan kept big flathead coming over the side. This one was an 88cm beast.

Plan for rain for less pain * from P32

pletely in flood mode, though as soon as the tide starts pushing in again, they’ll make their way into the lower arms of the river. If the water’s really dirty, they be getting into the shallow bays looking for mullet and small stingrays. They are great fun to catch, going nuts and often jumping, and they’re good chewing too. Offshore will be interesting this month. A couple of mackerel came in during November and early December, but I dare say it will be another year of trying to find mackerel in dirty water. They will start to show up during January and will increase as the month goes on. Lately, the wider reefs have been where the action’s happening. Windarra Banks has housed some great kingfish of good size and they’ll still be caught here this month, along with a few of their amberjack relatives. Windarra has also

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been holding some early season rat wahoo to about 8kg, with most being about 6kg. The boats trolling the shelf have also been catching these same fish, along with a few good mahi mahi and the occasional marlin. Yellowfin tuna were the standout on the shelf in spring, with great numbers of 30-40kg fish being brought in. If the inshore mackerel season isn’t firing this month, then this will be the fall-back option for me. I can see the fishing trips starting out with a bit of mackerel fishing and bait collecting. If the mackerel don’t co-operate then I will be heading out a bit wider for a kingfish, or perhaps a mahi on the fish aggregating device. Then, if the weather’s OK, I reckon a troll down the shelf for a couple of hours might be on the cards. Sounds like a plan to me, though honestly, I hope the mackerel fire and I don’t have to go burning fuel.

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Thankfully this jewfish didn’t shake its head during the battle because if it had, the plastic lure probably would have dislodged.

Mischa with a nice luderick that somehow took a 5” lime green soft plastic meant for a jewfish. Go figure.

Can’t keep an old fisho down

After a nice fight, this 20.8kg jewfish hit the rocks along the Iluka breakwall.

Mischa Porter with a typical pan-sized flathead, which can be taken year-round in the Clarence River. Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

E C E N T LY, a decrepit old fisho parked at the Iluka breakwall before dark, just as he’d done 100 times before over the past year. As usual, he had his soft plastic setup for jewfish onboard, which consisted of a Live Fibre rod fitted with a 6500 Daiwa reel, loaded with 30lb Platypus braid, a 40lb Platypus leader and his lure of choice, a 6” Storm Shad. Now normally, the old codger would sit watching the water for a while, thinking of where he should be fishing, then head back home without even getting out of the car. This day however was different. Whether it was the fact that not another soul was fishing the wall or that there was a lot of white bait along the inside of the wall or, more likely, he had had enough of being stuck in a totally worn-out body with a still very active mind that kept tormenting him about what he

Just Jew by TYE PORTER

would or could do if only he was well enough. Either way, this day was going to be the day that he finally wet a line on his pet rock. He finally bit the bullet and headed along the wall, stopping every couple of hundred metres to catch his breath, then setting off again. On finally reaching his spot, he slid and stumbled down the side of the wall in the now inky darkness and settled his butt down on his rock – a little over a couple of metres from water level at low tide – and began slow rolling his soft plastic. After about 10 minutes, a solid jewfish of about 15kg busted into the bait on the surface, no more than 2m from his feet, which brought a wry smile to the old fella’s face, as he knew for sure he was in with a chance. While the low tide had just passed, the

river still had two hours of run left in it before the current began to run back in. Suddenly an oversized jew nailed the lure and headed along the wall at a rate of knots, finally busting the braid 90m down the wall. By the time he fumbled around, cleared any frayed braid and re-rigged, the tide had begun to slow considerably and was then only an hour off turning. Another 15 minutes of slow rolling went by before yet another solid bump was felt as a jewfish hit the lure. And while this fish initially felt like a good schoolie, it soon hit overdrive and, like the previous fish, began to use the current to its advantage. Shining a strong pencil beam light along the very edge of the rocks steered the fish into the river, just enough to keep * continued P35

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Can’t keep an old fisho down * from P34

it clear of any rocks, and after 10 minutes or so, a beautiful jew surfaced ready to be gaffed, with the hard part about to hit home. As the old timer sank the gaff home, a big dose of reality smacked him in the face. Two years ago he would have lifted the fish out with one hand, he now had some difficulty, which rattled him. However, given that he had lost more than 12kg over the past year – most of which was muscle tone – and he was out of breath as he had only 40 percent lung capacity left, he was pleased with his efforts. After finally getting it onto the wall, he messaged his son that he’d landed a solid fish – 20.8kg – and in a flash his son was there to give him a hand, carrying the fish back to the car. Alas, even though his health will continue to deteriorate and such a simple thing as catching a fish will get harder, I’m fairly sure that won’t be the last time the decrepit old man waddles out to the wall to chase those smelly old jewfish. In fact, it can’t be, I won’t let it be – fishing has been my life, it’s who I am. Around the traps, the annual run of mackerel is now in full swing, with both spotted and spanish varieties providing the offshore brigade with plenty of fresh fish each day. And while the vast

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majority of boats put to sea early morning, the smart ones leave it until the late afternoon because there’s less boat traffic and you get just as many if not more fish. For some unknown reason, the big spaniards don’t begin to show along the local breakwalls until February, which is the same time longtail tuna make an appearance, so the countdown is on. Inside the Clarence River, whiting and flathead have definitely been on the chew, keeping the landbased anglers well fed. Meanwhile, out along the beaches, tailor, whiting and the occasional school jew are to be had. Ipswich angler Slaine Dodrill went to the huge effort of carrying live mullet

into Back Beach near Woody Head to chase jewfish, and while the jew didn’t want to play, he did snavel a cracking 82cm tailor. A handful of jew were taken from both the Iluka and Yamba breakwalls in recent weeks, while the Iluka Bluff was fishing well for chopper tailor around the 1kg mark on metal slugs, along with a few school jew to 10kg on soft plastic lures. Most of the beaches have had fairly good formation along them, so there’s no reason a feed can’t be had – whether you’re after bream, whiting, dart or a chopper tailor. Let’s hope Mother Nature is kind this season and no floods are encountered along the coast. Happy 2025. Until next month, safe fishing.

Ipswich angler Slaine Dodrill landed a cracking 82cm tailor on Back Beach using a live mullet that was meant for a jewfish.

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/25. The $4,390 (GST Inc) free rigging shown is X6 key switch, large fuel filter and harness. For mers may upgrade rigging at an additional cost, with any other offer and cannot be redeemed for maha Motor Australia Pty Ltd ABN 88 002 556 989. www.bnbfishing.com.au

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Carrying hazardous cargo, Fairchem Restio was forced to take evasive action twice after a catamaran crossed into its path.

Critical safety reminder for recreational boats and shipping lanes to save lives

ARITIME S a f e t y Queensland has issued a critical reminder to masters of recreational boats about the dangers of breaching collision regulations in busy shipping lanes, following the prosecution of a catamaran skipper in the Sandgate Magistrates Court. The skipper of the 15m sailing catamaran Sensation was fined $6000 for causing a near miss with a 146m chemical tanker Fairchem

Restio in Moreton Bay. The incident highlights the life-threatening risks posed when small vessels fail to maintain a proper lookout in designated shipping channels. Carrying hazardous cargo, Fairchem Restio was forced to take evasive action twice after the catamaran crossed into its path when returning from Moreton Island to Manly Boat Harbour on May 21, 2023. Despite attempts by the tanker’s marine

pilot to contact the catamaran via VHF radio, the skipper of Sensation failed to respond, leading the pilot to suspect the vessel was on autopilot. The court heard that the skipper remained unaware of the imminent danger he had created, endangering not only his crew – including four children – but also the tanker and its crew. The $6000 fine was deemed appropriate to serve as a deterrent and reinforce the need for compliance with the Transport

Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Kell Dillon. Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994 and international collision regulations. MSQ urges all vessel masters to maintain a proper lookout and exercise caution in busy shipping channels to prevent such dangerous incidents. Maritime Safety Queensland general manager Kell Dillon said, “This court outcome should serve as a reminder to skippers of small vessels they should keep a proper lookout and avoid shipping lanes in our ports.” “Large trading ships can take up to 2NM or 10 minutes to stop and cannot change course quickly. “If forced to alter course, they could run aground, with potentially very serious consequences for the ship and the environment. “More importantly, lives are put at severe risk, most particular-

ly those onboard the smaller vessel,” Mr Dillon said. “MSQ has grown increasingly concerned that some skippers of recreational vessels do not appreciate how difficult it is for large ships to see and avoid them if they get in the way. “The collision regulations exist for a good reason – to save lives and property.” He added that it was important to understand that the onus to obey the collision regulations is on the masters of vessels, who must know and understand their obligations. For additional information on safe navigation and shipping lanes in most of Queensland’s major ports, visit msq. qld.gov. au /sa fet y/ ship-navigation-ar ea-warning Note, chartlets for Cairns and Abbot Point major ports are not available.

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OzFish urges new Queensland Government to focus on fish habitat restoration

USTRALIA’S key fish habitat restoration charity OzFish Australia has welcomed Premier David Crisafulli and the newly elected Queensland Government. It looks forward to working with them to continue to support and inspire recreational fishos and all Queenslanders to take action for their waterways and habitats for native fish. OzFish chief executive officer Cass Price extended her congratulations to Minister for Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation Andrew Powell and Minister for Primary Industries Anthony Perrett. She also thanked former Premier Steven Miles, former Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef Leeanne Linard and Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner for their contribution and support towards OzFish’s critical work. OzFish run a range of on-ground project works in Queensland to restore local biodiversity, improve water quality, boost fish populations and mitigate climate change. These projects include restoring saltwater creeks in Cairns and on the Gold Coast, rebuilding crucial oyster reefs in Moreton Bay and the Nerang River, and more. Ms Price said, “We congratulate Premier David Crisafulli, Mr

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Powell and Mr Perrett, and the incoming Queensland Government on their election win, and look forward to working with them to ensure Queensland’s waterways, fish and fishing stay on the agenda.” “It is crucial that processes in Queensland for on-ground work approvals are streamlined to reduce red-tape for environmental restoration. “This will support us to hit the ground faster, and we will be working with the government to convey the importance of this step,” she said. Adding that to have thriving fish populations, functional fish habitats are required, especially nursery habitats in rivers, coastal wetlands, saltmarsh, mangrove and seagrasses. “We’re finding that pulling catch levers with commercial and recreational fishers isn’t fixing the problem of declining stocks, because up to 70 percent of their habitats have been lost and aren’t being restored,” Ms Price said. “Gaining true nature-positive progress for fish can only be solved when people come together – and get to work. “We know that Queenslanders love the ocean, and their rivers and creeks, and are very connected to them. “We need government support to empower Queenslanders with the tools and opportunities to pitch in

and improve the waterways, and fishing, they love.” OzFish will be reaching out to Mr Powell and Mr Perrett to arrange a time to discuss the key priori-

ties facing waterways, native fish and fishing in Queensland, and their fixes. The Restoration Decade Alliance, of which OzFish is a member, recently re-

leased a position statement warning that Australia has only six years left to restore ecosystems and prevent biodiversity collapse and catastrophic climate change.

OzFish Australia chief executive officer Cass Price.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

CREATING BETTER HABITAT FOR BETTER FISHING Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 39

C ASTfrom the past

Bait gathering in estuaries F

E AT U R I NG a great article from the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing mag archives, welcome to Cast from the Past. If you have a hankering to read about a certain topic, drop us a line and we’ll do some deep diving. Here’s a piece by Dean Galpin from January 2015 with some tips on catching bait in various situations. Having a consistent live bait supply is an

Fishing Tips by DEAN GALPIN

awesome way to increase the amount of time spent doing what we enjoy most – targeting quality fish. Occasionally locating bait is difficult but there are some little things you can do to reduce the time taken to gather live bait. Over the years I have come to see the absolute value of wearing

Having two people to unload a net is very handy. Check in with Fisheries for rules on using a net in your area. Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

polarised sunglasses on the water. The number of times they have helped me spot bait and fish in the water when the person next to me cannot see a thing is beyond coincidence. I’ve had experience with expensive and cheaper polarised sunnies and, while both have their comfort and quality attributes, I find they work just as well as each other at reducing glare to see baitfish in the water, which is a big advantage when bait gathering. Knowing what fish moving in the water looks like is important. Being able to spot moving bait as you approach in shallow water or from a distance is vital to reducing the time spent gathering bait. Sometimes it’s small bow waves, other times small flicks of water on the surface and occasionally a shower of water as fish are spooked. My favourite is called ‘nervous water’, which occurs when a congregation of fish is close to the surface and makes little waves on top of the water. Certain geographical

features will hold different baitfish, so being able to recognise these is a sure way to reduce the amount of water you have to cover while throwing your cast net. Exactly where you target will depend on the tide at the time. Small drains and channels coming off or running beside sandbanks will often draw a congregation of poddy mullet and other baitfish at low tide. Remember, baitfish are also predators of smaller fish and crustaceans. So, in the same way large predatory fish will feed on draining banks, baitfish will feed on draining mangroves and shallow banks. A few centimetres of water over a sandbank is often enough to hold baitfish. Spooking fish in these types of conditions is easy, so a long cast with the net and a stealthy approach is always a bonus. Herring will often sit in little melon holes right next to the banks when all the water around them is shallow. Spotting these areas allows you to use the bank as a carrel to cut off baitfish escape routes. As with fishing spots, you will also

have go-to bait gathering spots. Most locations where you find bait will be holding it for a reason, so keep a list of good spots to enable you to put your boat in and efficiently check each area on the way to your destination. I prefer to stealthily walk the shallow banks as it’s quieter and keeps my boat free of the extra debris the cast net picks up. It also helps to have a partner with you so that one person can be on net duty while the other carries the bucket. Having a partner and a well-oiled plan for removing bait from the net is important, especially when you get a net full of herring because they often get their heads stuck in the cast net and die very quickly. Once you have your bucket of live bait, it’s important to do a complete water change when you get to the boat or fishing location. Also remove any dead baitfish from the bucket as leaving them in seems to start a chain reaction of baitfish dying. Though keep these, just in case you run out of livies on a hot bite and find the fish are also taking dead bait, or otherwise use

* continued P41

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C ASTfrom the past Bait gathering in estuaries * from P40

them for strip bait or berley on your next trip. Before having a live bait well in the boat, I found the square or rectangular bait-holding tanks seemed to work better than simply a small round bucket. I use an old 25-litre Esky with a single handle across the lid, so I can carry more than one thing if my bait gathering includes a long walk on the sand. Having a partner who is experienced in gathering bait is a real bonus in reducing the time it takes. So rather than letting your partner or kids sit in the boat, train them in little jobs that can help you out, such as emptying the net, carrying the bucket or even casting the net. A technique we discovered by accident – now our number one bait gathering method – is throwing cast nets almost simultaneously next to each other. Just as the first net hits the water over a spied school of bait, have the second net leaving the hand of the other caster. So many fish that spook early and are missed in the first net are caught in the second one, especially if you’re using a geographical feature such as a bridge pylon or bank as an obstacle

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for channelling fish towards your nets. If casting from the boat, I like to have a driver who can manoeuvre it quietly and away from a thrown net. This allows the net to fall flat in the water, which stops the escape of frantic fish from within the closing net much better than pulling it up vertically. Alternative methods of bait gathering are important to know when working the estuaries. A bait trap is a handy way to get a few livies and these can be bought or homemade. A 3-litre juice bottle cut and folded at the top and stuffed with bread is a cheap way of collecting bait, and you can see how to make these setups on YouTube. I also like to keep a couple of bait jigs in the tray of my boat, just in case bait is holding in a place where I can’t get my cast net. When it comes to herring, which stress and die very easily, I find the bait jig gives them a much better survival rate than a cast net. Good bait jig locations may include between bridge pylons, deep water and over rocky ground. Knowing what your cast net is going to land on when it hits

the bottom is vital for its preservation. Once you have gathered a few bait in the net or on the jig, handling them correctly is the next vital step to ensuring they survive the day. Always use wet hands when handling baitfish and treat them like you would a kitten or puppy – with light hands. I always prefer to use my best bait first because there is nothing worse than saving a good bait and then looking down to see it belly up in the well. If possible, once you get a livie, throw it out while you are gathering more bait. Quite often there will be predators about hunting the same baitfish you are chasing. Similarly, have one of the livies out while cleaning your fish too. Continuing to train yourself on what geographical features and movement in the water to look for is the most important factor in reducing bait gathering time. Train a partner or develop roles when gathering bait to improve efficiency and enjoyment. Treat the bait with respect when alive or dead to maximise freshness and put a livie out as soon as possible after catching it. Best of luck.

A school of mullet spooked as the boat came close. This is a good sign if you have a cast net in hand.

Notice the disturbed water beside the author’s right leg, this highlights how effective a second cast net could have been.

Mangrove jack will hit all types of lures but also love live bait. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 41

Steve and Louis had some successful father and son time.

Mangrove jack mayhem

Tahni caught a decent mangrove jack out fishing with boyfriend Jacko.

Louis was all smiles with his bream. Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

’DAY crew and hello January, you gorgeous humid sticky month you. I did say to my wife this time last year that we should just leave the tree up because it would be Christmas before we knew it – but it’s 2025, already! Last year flew by so quickly, now it’s time to bring on the new one. So, with these hot and balmy days, you know we are going to be talking about catching mangrove jack, don’t you? Name a better thing to do than spending a day fishing a mosquito and midge-filled creek catching a swag of red bream. From all reports, the fish are firing. There have been some absolute belters caught over the past few weeks.

Tin Can Bay by CHRIS RIPPON

With a number of fish over the magic 50cm mark. As always, if you wish to soak a bait, fresh and local is going to be the best approach. Whether you grab some of our locally supplied flicker mullet or catch your own, fresh is best. Some 4/0-8/0 suicide hooks (or a circle hook of the same size) and a 60lb fluorocarbon leader to a main line of 20-30lb should see you in with a good chance of boating a few jacks. But, as most of you know, you will need to be on your toes because by the time they’ve hit the bait, they are halfway home. When lure fishing, I believe you can fish

a little lighter on your leader. This is mainly because you have the rod in your hand and are already retrieving your offering. When skip casting, I prefer to run 30-40lb Sunline FC Rock fluorocarbon leader. But when skipping frogs, I tie a mono leader, due to its buoyancy properties. For most of my lure fishing, be it soft plastics or hard-bodies, I will always use fluorocarbon in the salt – unless I’m fishing topwater with frogs or poppers. For most of my hardbody fishing for jacks, I’ll run 40-50lb fluoro. On the leader front, * continued P43

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Mangrove jack mayhem at TCB * from P42

if you weren’t aware, fluorocarbon will sink and mono will float, or very slowly sink through the water collum. Fluorocarbon is a denser material and has better abrasion resistance than mono leaders. As always, mixed in with jacks are the good old estuary cod. These fish are not fussy, as many of you know, and if it will fit in its mouth, cod will have a crack at eating it. Good catches of blue salmon up the creeks were also reported, with fish in the 5060cm range being caught. While not thought of as the best eating fish, if you bleed, brain spike and put them straight into an ice slurry, they are pretty

good chewing when fresh. I tend to find catching them on vibes a great way to target this species. I’ve been using plenty of 85mm and 100mm Samaki Vibelicious lately. Vibes are a great way to prospect a creek, especially in slightly deeper holes. For those who have managed to get offshore over the past few weeks, the fishing was good from all accounts. Anglers had catches of snapper, pearl perch, big grass emperor, loads of tuskfish and good hussar. Fishing the Taipan Star saw some nice numbers of cobia come from the midwater, along with some nice jewfish and nannygai. Back inshore, the crabbing has been red hot.

Selwyn Potter got his bag of crab in one go from his local waterway. www.bnbfishing.com.au

A-grade quality mud crab bucks have been in abundance in most of the local creeks and out on the flats. We spent an evening walking one of the local flats close to spot X a few days after the full moon and managed to pick up a nice feed of premium crab. It was also good that we caught a heap of not full but legal crabs, meaning that there’s good recruitment in our local systems and the future is looking good for a feed of muddies. Norman Point has also been fishing well for the land-based fishos. Pumping a few yabbies on the falling tide and fishing them with the making tide has resulted in some nice catches of whiting, golden trevally, flathead, bream and tarwhine. If you’re here on holiday, this is a great place for a fish with the family and, if the kids get bored, they can simply chase a few soldier crabs to burn off some energy. Another good place to sit and soak a line is Crab Creek. Like Norman Point, you can pump a few yabbies on the sand flats and chase a feed of bread-and-butter species. There are also barbecue facilities, toilets and a playground to keep the kids busy if they’ve had enough of fishing for the day. Anyway, that’s it for me for this month. The team at The Chandlery Bait and Tackle thank you for your ongoing support in 2024 and wish you a happy new year. Tight lines.

Jacko was out harassing the local mangrove jack.

Tahni showed off another nice mangrove jack.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 43

SCAN QR CODE

Chad started on some tuna and caught this cod when hiding from the wind.

Jono got his first tuna.

Learning finer fishing techniques Brooke wished for flathead and got her personal best.

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> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

ELL, I took a break from writing last month, it is often hard to think of something different to pass on. I feel as though I’m just repeating myself over and over. Even posting via social media gets a bit dry. But it’s the nature of the beast.

Get into the best fishing action! Full and half day tours All levels of experience Experienced guide

www.fraserguidedfishing.com.au > 0427 230 261 Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

Fraser Guided Fishing by TRI TON

And it’s not common to find something new, especially when your job is to be predictable and reliable. I probably whinged about the weather last time I wrote and that won’t change this time either. The weather has been rubbish! Luckily, I had copious tuna inside the strait. While it wasn’t totally smooth sailing in a moderate northerly, it was possible to turn a reel or two with a degree of success. Pure speed was the undoing of these fussy tuna because they were gorging themselves on tiny fry. We went from tuna desert to jungle in a very short space of time.

And they are still there daily, since late November. With, as I have regularly stressed, the basics putting the runs on the board. Now for many an angler, tuna are a bit ho-hum, particularly mack tuna. And the longer I do this job, the more offended I get for the poor old mack. The only thing a longtail has over the mack is palatability. Both tuna fight equally hard, with longtails getting more merit because they grow bigger. If size wasn’t an issue, I would give the trophy to the mack. And I am sorry everyone, no fish beats tuna in a straight-out battle – they fight to the death. * continued P45

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Tide Times AUSTRALIA EAST COAST -

AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA, COAST EAST COAST––WADDY WADDYPO P WADDYEAST POINT JANUARY JANUARY

Time mm Time

Learning finer fishing techniques * from P44

Others maybe faster, more acrobatic and destructive on a line but if you want a sore back, tuna cannot be beaten. The vermin label given to tuna I believe comes from offshore fishos targeting other fish and getting their lures and bait stolen by them, plus the time needed to boat them. Now the sports fisho should not be overly concerned because they give the best bang for buck. Yeah, OK, there may be some more ‘desirable’ species, though if you were to be objec-

tive – yes, please get a dictionary and look the ‘o’ word up – it is very hard to argue. Where is my rant heading? Ah yes, as for many previous rants, tuna are excellent subjects for learning the many finer points of fishing on. Such as how to ‘angle’ a fish… and don’t think it’s only novices – I am constantly reminding people of what to do. Learning how to subdue a fish efficiently should be more important than that glory photo of a rarer more desirable species, especially in

this sharky day and age. Anyhow, with a few novices happy to hook these fish onboard recently, it has been great for me – apart from the crossed lines, wind knots and regular lure dodging behind the helm. At times, it is very rewarding. Teaching a child how to spool their reel correctly or instructing them on how to tie my FG knot, as well as all the other experiences a more open mind is ready to soak up. I had a young woman * continued P46

Time mm Time

Time Time mm

Time Tim

0153 0.45 0.45 0252 0.56 0252 0153 0.56 0853 2.18 2.18 0942 2.15 0942 0853 2.15 1538 0.59 1618 0.69 0.69 WE1538 0.59 TH TH1618 WE 2058 1.39 1.39 2156 1.44 2156 2058 1.44

0337 0314 0314 0.49 0.49 0337 0.75 0.75 1007 1002 1002 2.18 2.18 1007 1.85 1.85 1630 0.49 0.49 SU 1628 0.75 0.75 SA SA1630 SU1628 2237 2225 2225 1.61 1.61 2237 1.60 1.60

021 110215 0849 084 1511

SA SA 151 2115 211

0236 0.47 0.47 0328 0.65 0236 0328 0.65 0936 2.18 2.18 1016 2.04 0936 1016 2.04 1621 0.57 0.57 FR 1652 0.74 0.74 TH1621 FR1652 TH 2147 1.41 1.41 2232 1.42 2147 2232 1.42

0359 0416 0359 0.59 0.59 0416 0.87 0.87 1045 1037 1045 2.07 2.07 1037 1.74 1.74 1710 0.53 0.53 MO 1655 0.77 0.77 SU SU1710 MO1655 2315 2321 2315 1.63 1.63 2321 1.61 1.61

0259 025 0932 093 154 SU SU1547 2202 220

Alex had a request, and the bay granted it.

LAT LONG LAT °° 8’8’ LONG153° 153°21’ 21’ Times Timesand andHeights HeightsofofHigh Highand andLow LowWate Wat FEBRUARY FEBRUARY

16 16

17 17

Time Time mm

11 22

16 16 17 17

0321 0.53 0.53 0403 0.75 0506 0.75 0451 0.74 0.74 0506 0.99 0.99 034 180403 330321 330451 330347 18 1022 2.14 2.14 18 1047 1.92 1047 1109 1022 1129 1016 1.92 1129 1.91 1.91 18 1109 1.62 1.62 101 1704 0.57 0.57 1724 0.78 1724 1727 0.79 1704 1752 0.59 1624

0.78 FR SA FR SA 2241 1.41 1.41 2312 1.41 2312 2241 1.41

MO MO 1752 0.59 TU TU 1727 0.79

MO MO 162 2251 225

0409 0.61 0.61 0442 0.86 0409 0442 0.86 1109 2.06 2.06 1119 1.81 1109 1119 1.81 1749 0.59 0.59 SU 1759 0.79 0.79 SA1749 SU1759 SA 2337 1.41 1.41 2337

0013 0012 0013 1.66 1.66 0012 1.62 1.62 0554 0612 0554 0.90 0.90 0612 1.10 1.10 1216 1.72 1.72 WE 1143 1.50 1.50 TU TU1216 WE1143 1837 1802 1837 0.65 0.65 1802 0.82 0.82

0445 044 1101 110 170 TU TU1703 2346 234

19 19

0500 0.72 0.72 0003 1.42 0115 1.42 0124 1.69 1.69 0115 1.62 1.62 060 200003 550500 550124 550600 20 1157 1.95 1.95 20 0534 0742 0534 0.97 1157 0719 1150 0.97 0719 1.03 1.03 20 0742 1.16 1.16 115 1835 0.60 0.60 1155 1226 1.38 1155 1.69 1835 1310 1.54 1749 1.69 MO MO 1837 1837 0.80 0.80

WE WE 1310 1.54 TH TH 1226 1.38 1846 1930 1930 0.72 0.72 1846 0.84 0.84

WE WE 174

0040 1.43 1.43 0040 0111 0111 1.44 1.44 0600 0.84 0.84 0600 0642 0642 1.07 1.07 1247 1.82 1.82 TU 1234 1.57 1.57 MO1247 TU1234 MO 1923 0.62 0.62 1923 1920 1920 0.79 0.79

0249 0230 0249 1.77 1.77 0230 1.65 1.65 0918 0933 0918 1.07 1.07 0933 1.15 1.15 1429 1.38 1.38 FR 1328 1.28 1.28 TH TH1429 FR1328 2035 1944 2035 0.76 0.76 1944 0.85 0.85

0054 005 0742 074 125 TH TH1256 1849 184

SU SU

21 21

0155 1.50 1.50 0340 0230 1.51 1.51 0404 1.87 1.87 0340 1.72 1.72 022 220230 770155 770220 770404 22 0716 0.94 0.94 22 1049 0716 0809 0940 1104 0809 1.13 1.13 1104 1.01 1.01 22 1049 1.06 1.06 094 1340 1.68 1.68 1502 1.23 1340 1323 1439 1601 1.30 1323 1.45

1.45 TU WE TU WE 2016 0.62 0.62 2016 2008 2008 0.77 0.77

FR FR 1601 1.30 SA SA 1502 1.23 2100 2147 2147 0.77 0.77 2100 0.84 0.84

FR FR 143 2007 200

0315 1.62 1.62 0315 0341 0341 1.60 1.60 0849 0.99 0.99 0849 0952 0952 1.13 1.13 1444 1.54 1.54 TH 1426 1.34 1.34 WE1444 TH1426 WE 2110 0.61 0.61 2110 2100 2100 0.75 0.75

0506 0440 0506 1.98 1.98 0440 1.81 1.81 1209 1139 1209 0.91 0.91 1139 0.94 0.94 1720 1.30 1.30 SU 1624 1.25 1.25 SA SA1720 SU1624 2253 2221 2253 0.74 0.74 2221 0.77 0.77

0338 033 1103 110 161 SA SA1615 2136 213

23 23

0422 1.77 1.77 0530 0439 1.71 1.71 0558 2.06 2.06 0530 1.92 1.92 044 240439 990422 990558 990444 24 1029 0.97 0.97 24 1253 1029 1110 1219 1155 1110 1.06 1.06 1253 0.83 0.83 24 1219 0.80 0.80 115 1556 1.43 1.43 1821 1.35 1556 1540 1735 1.31 1728 1540 1.26

TH TH 2204 0.60 0.60 2204

1.26 FR FR 2154 2154 0.72 0.72

SU SU 1821 1.35 MO MO 1735 1.31 2348 2322 2348 0.67 0.67 2322 0.67 0.67

SU SU 172 2249 224

0517 1.93 1.93 0527 1.82 1.82 0643 2.13 2.13 0613 2.03 2.03 053 100517 250527 10 100643 250613 100538 1147 0.90 0.90 25 1147 1204 1229 1255 1326 1204 0.96 0.96 10 1326 0.75 0.75 25 1255 0.67 0.67 10 122 1703 1.36 1.36 FR1703 FR 2257 0.57 0.57 2257

1647 1.24 1.24 SA SA1647 2249 2249 0.67 0.67

1906 1.42 1.42 MO MO1906

1827 1.41 1.41 TU TU1827

181 MO MO1815 2341 234

0605 2.07 2.07 0607 1.92 1.92 0036 0.60 0.60 0010 0.55 0.55 062 110605 11 260607 110036 260010 110621 1245 0.81 0.81 26 1245 1247 0724 0652 1257 1247 0.85 0.85 11 0724 2.16 2.16 26 0652 2.13 2.13 11 125 1805 1.35 1.35 SU 1746 1.25 1.25 SA1805 SA SU1746 2348 0.53 0.53 2348 2338 2338 0.61 0.61

1358 0.69 0.69 WE 1330 0.55 0.55 TU TU1358 WE1330 1945 1909 1945 1.49 1.49 1909 1.51 1.51

185 TU TU1852

0651 2.19 2.19 0645 2.02 2.02 0118 0.55 0.55 0052 0.46 0.46 002 120651 12 270645 120118 270052 120023 1333 0.73 0.73 27 1333 1325 0730 0657 0803 1325 0.75 0.75 12 0803 2.16 2.16 27 0730 2.20 2.20 12 065 1901 1.38 1.38 MO 1838 1.30 1.30 SU1901 SU MO1838

1432 0.66 0.66 WE WE1432 2022 2022 1.55 1.55

1403 0.46 0.46 TH TH1403 1949 1949 1.62 1.62

132 WE WE1324 1924 192

0038 0.49 0.49 0024 0.54 0.54 0156 0.54 0.54 0133 0.41 0.41 010 130038 13 280024 130156 280133 130100 0736 2.26 2.26 28 0736 0721 0839 0730 0809 0721 2.11 2.11 13 0839 2.12 2.12 28 0809 2.23 2.23 13 073 1417 0.66 0.66 MO1417 MO 1951 1.42 1.42 1951

SCAN QR CODE

1402 0.65 0.65 TU TU 1402 1923 1923 1.37 1.37

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1436 0.40 0.40 FR FR 1436 2031 2031 1.73 1.73

135 TH TH1351 1956 195

0126 0.48 0.48 0106 0.47 0.47 0232 0.58 0.58 140126 14 290106 140232 0820 2.28 2.28 29 0820 0758 0911 0758 2.18 2.18 14 0911 2.05 2.05

013 14 140133 0800 080 1417

0211 0.50 0.50 0148 0.43 0.43 0304 0.66 0.66 150211 15 300148 150304 0903 2.24 2.24 30 0903 0837 0939 0837 2.23 2.23 15 0939 1.95 1.95

020 15 150205 0827 082 1439

1459 0.63 0.63 WE 1439 0.56 0.56 TU1459 TU WE 1439 2038 1.45 1.45 2038 2006 2006 1.45 1.45

1540 0.64 0.64 WE 1540 WE 2119 1.46 2119 1.46

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1536 0.69 0.69 FR FR 1536 2128 2128 1.58 1.58

FR FR 141 2026 202

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SA SA 143 2057 205

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Copyright •• Copyright Commonwealth of 2024, Commonwealth of Australia Australia 2024, Bureau Bureau of of Meteorolo Meteorolo New Moon First Quarter Datum of Datum of Predictions Predictions isis Lowest Lowest Astronomical Astronomical Tide Tide

Max wanted a marlin, Naomi was happy to help out after they caught some tiddlers. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Full Moon

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Last Quarter

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 45

Mitchell Roberts caught a banger fingermark land based.

Causeway Lake is a popular spot for targeting big mangrove jack. Mitchell with a fine beast.

Mitchell with a cracker mangrove jack from the local waterways.

New year, new me F IRST and foremost a massive happy new year to all Bush ‘n Beach readers. I hope the jolly old fat man delivered all your dreams and desires – new reels, rods and cool gadgets to make fishing and boating that much more enjoyable. I have written about this in past editions, but now is the time to get those new year’s resolutions in order. Set yourself some goals and work hard to achieve them. Set a few long-term goals that might take most of the year to accomplish and also set a high number of short-term goals that

Capricorn Coast by JOHN BOON

can be easily achieved. The mind absolutely loves ticking off achievements, no matter how great or small. It really is pure dopamine. So, now that we are into January, what should you be setting your sights on around the Capricorn Coast? It would be hard to go past a mangrove jack and fingermark trip. They both really are very handsome fish. If I had to choose only one purely for sportfishing… sorry fingermark but jacks

would win hands down every time. Fingermark don’t play anywhere near as dirty, which is mildly disappointing for this fisho. However, if I was targeting the pick of these two species to eat, my choice would be fingermark. There are many people who would disagree with me, and that’s more than fine as everyone is welcome to an opinion. Even though these two fish are from the same family, in my * continued P47

Learning finer fishing techniques * from P45

Jono put some new skills to work on a flathead. Page 46 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

choose my charter because she saw a big dusky flathead on my socials, something she would like to catch. She then came aboard to catch multiple fish on lures, as well as her personal best dusky.

And, of course, there are always the blue-sky occasions when I know it is a big ask, but that’s what I have been hired to do. And they are terrible casters and struggle to hook a tuna, but they are so in the moment and experienc-

ing something new. We are rewarded with a few tuna, which makes their morning. I can tell my job has already been accomplished. But then you hook a fish of their dreams, and it’s the cherry on top.

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New year, new me in 2025 * from P46

opinion, you still need separate techniques when targeting them with lures. There are methods that overlap, however if I was to put my money on a way to catch each species, they would be completely different. When targeting jacks, I prefer shallow mangrove overhangs, drains, rock bars and deep timber. For fingermark, estuary wrecks would be number one, followed by isolated structure and then rock bars. Fingermark techniques are definitely a little more relaxed than what I’d use for jacks. A good old soft vibration-style lure is a great choice. Samaki Vibelicious, Zerek Fish Trap and Nomad Vertrex Max are all good options. If the water clarity is fairly clean, then I like to use natural colours. If it’s a bit cloudy, I’ll try bright colours first and then go for more contrast, such as a darker colour. For me, nine times out of 10, a soft vibe will get the bite. But, if that technique doesn’t work, I will mix it up to see if there’s a better alternative. Slow rolling soft plastic prawns, slow rolling paddle tails and a hop and drop with a Berkley Gulp Swimming Mullet are all good choices. If none of those work, I will resort to trolling a hard-body lure, such as a Classic Barra.

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One thing I have figured out is that jacks like a bit of speed. I find that this really helps with getting them to commit, and I’ll get fewer short strikes. It’s more of a reaction-style technique, but it works very well. Burning small paddle tails, such as the Molix RT Shad, would be my number one choice. As long as it’s got a tight action, a tail kick and swims straight, it’s worth a try. I’ll slow it down a little if I’m flicking under mangrove fringes, though if I’m out in the open on rock bars and deep timber, then it’s burn away. Hard-body lures, such as the Lucky Craft Pointer, work well and track very straight out of the packet. I think I’ve only ever had to adjust one so far. However, I definitely upgrade the trebles and rings – I learnt that the hard way in the early days. I prefer the smaller profile of the 78XD over the 100XD. The 78XD has a tighter action too, which I favour. Hopefully a few of these tips and techniques will help you get more jacks and fingers on deck. And remember, we have one more month to go in our local $10,000 king threadfin salmon competition, Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch. There are 29 purple-tagged threadies swimming about in

the Fitzroy River delta. The first person to catch one will win a cool $10,000. I can’t stress this enough – make sure you are properly registered before you hit the water. Registration is free and runs for the barramundi closed season. If you search ‘Frenchville Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch’, you’ll be taken to the registration page. Make sure you read the rules because there are a few different photos you’ll need to take to claim the prize. Well, that’s it from me for the start of the year. Only one more month to go and we can get back to chasing my favourite species, which is saltwater barra. Stay safe when on the water and make sure to get the family involved.

The author with a solid estuary fingermark taken on Molix RT shad.

Troy Newman with an impressive mangrove jack taken on paddle tail soft plastic.

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www.bnbfishing.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 47

Welcome to Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch

The first angler who catches the ultimate prizetagged fish will take home a whopping $10,000.

Simply by joining Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch, you have a chance to win. Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ET ready to experience the thrill of fishing like never before at Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch! Proudly brought to you by Frenchville Sports Club and set against the stunning backdrop of Rockhampton, this new fishing competition invites anglers from all over the country to test their skills in the pristine waters of the Fitzroy River. Prizes Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch offers a range of incredible prizes that make every cast worth your while. The first angler who catches the ultimate prize-tagged fish will take home a whopping $10,000. This is the big one everyone’s after, so make sure you’re in it to win it. If you miss the tagged thready during the competition but land it outside the competition

period, a bonus $2500 awaits. And, every participant automatically enters the draw for a $1000 prize at the end of the competition. How to enter Simply by joining, you have a chance to win. Fill out the registration form to enter the comp. Registration must be completed before you start fishing. The competition is open to all ages, but those under 18 need parental or guardian permission to participate. How to claim Should you capture a fish that you believe to be a tagged thready, in order to claim the prize, you must: • Call 1800 077 001 as soon as possible and quote the serial number that can be found on the tag • Take a photo of the whole fish with the tag still inserted, prefer-

ably on a measuring ruler • Take a close-up photo of the tag so that the serial number can be clearly seen in the photo • Take a photo of the method you used to capture the fish along with the surrounding area to show the location the fish was caught • Take another ‘glory shot’ of you holding the fish for media opportunities • Submit all photos by emailing admin@in fo-fish.net • If InfoFish grant verification of the tagged fish, you will be required to retain the fish and the tag for a final verification process. Rocky’s Ultimate Cash Catch commenced November 1, 2024 and ends January 31, 2025, so get out there and hit the water. To register for free, go to frenchvilles p o r t s club. c om. a u / rucc-registration

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 49

Sam with a large mack tuna that couldn’t resist a jig. Plenty of this species around at the moment.

Targeting tips for Gladdy

C Phil with a nice coral trout from Rundle Island captured on a prawn imitation plastic.

Fingermark will be about. This fish ate a 95mm Zerek Fish Trap in the Calliope River. Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

HRISTMAS has been and gone, we have seen the new year in now and it’s time to turn our attention to the fishing year ahead. What does January bring on the fishing front? Well, the hot humid conditions with afternoon storms will see mangrove jack on the chew. Fishing before and after a storm and into the early evening will see them biting at their strongest. Start by targeting any rock bars or rocky drop-offs in both the Calliope and Boyne rivers and any fallen timber is worth a crack too. They will respond to most fishing methods,

Gladstone Region by GARY CHURCHWARD

from a popper worked on the surface, plastics and hard-bodies cast around rock bars and timber, vibes in deeper areas, as well as a good live or fresh cut bait. Whatever your preferred method is, you need to make sure you’re getting it as close to the structure you’re fishing as you can – jacks won’t move too far from home. Flathead should be sneaking around the flats in the harbour and mouths of the rivers and creeks. The last hour of the run-out and the first two hours of the run-in

are prime times to target them with plastics and hard-bodies. Whiting are another option on the flats, though they tend to fish better as the tide is incoming and starts to flow over the flats, with yabbies and fresh prawns doing the trick. Port Alma will fish well for threadfin salmon. Finding a school can be the easy part, getting them to react and take a lure can be more difficult. Vibes, prawn and minnow-style plastics all work, yet if they’re playing hard to get, try * continued P51

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Targeting tips for Gladdy * from P50

collecting some live prawns – these are rarely refused. There are a few black jewfish, fingermark and grunter around the deeper holes and rock bars in the port too. Fingermark have been hitting lures fished over deep structure and I’m having the most luck with 3” Berkley Gulp Shrimp plastics when the fish size is ranging from 30-60cm. These lures don’t have much action, however between the Berkley Gulp Scent and a slow hop along the bottom, they catch a wide variety of fish. Grunter are thick, with large schools of small fish throughout all systems, with the larger fish tending to be more isolated and moving about in smaller groups. Small vibes and again Gulp Shrimp have been accounting for these fish and light lines and leaders will see your bite rate increase. Awoonga is firing for barramundi over summer, with reports of catches of up to 10 per season common and at a great average size. In saying that, don’t expect to rock up to the dam and catch fish straight away, the people who are consistently catching them are spending many hours figuring out where they are and when they are going to bite. On the reef fishing front – and when conditions allow you to get out – coral trout, redthroat emperor, grass sweetlip, tuskfish and

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stripies have all been biting strongly. Both an array of lures and fresh bait have accounted for all of these fish. And plenty of the speedsters of the ocean have been about, with mackerel, tuna and cobia all being caught on a wide variety of techniques around the region. Crabs will be available throughout January, especially if we get some much-needed rain to get them moving. Unfortunately though, people checking pots that don’t belong to them has become more common. Now is the time to set up some fishing goals for the year, whether it’s chasing a certain species or travelling to somewhere different, it’s always good to have an objective for the year. Cheers and happy fishing from Gladstone.

Cobia are showing up. This nice school-sized fish took a plastic jigged over one of the many wrecks around Gladstone.

Tips for catching your own bait

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 51

Aquaculture Gladstone celebrates sea mullet results on World Fisheries Day

Opened in November 2022, GAWB’s Aquaculture Gladstone has bred one million barramundi fingerlings.

N a significant milestone for Gladstone Area Water Board, Aquaculture Gladstone has successfully released 68,000 sea mullet fingerlings into Lake Awoonga. GAWB chief executive officer Darren Barlow said the release was significant for fisheries throughout Australia. “This is a huge step forward, not only for Aquaculture Gladstone but for the entire industry, showing large-scale production is possible in controlled environments, so it’s only fitting we make this announcement on World Fisheries Day,” Mr Barlow said recently. “Sea mullet are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, with several challenges in-

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THERE’S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO VISIT LAKE AWOONGA!

cluding their sensitivity to environmental conditions and extremely delicate nature through the rearing process. “The successful release is a testament to the hard work and innovation of our team. “They are setting a new benchmark for sustainable aquaculture practices,” he said. The fingerlings were 4cm in size when released and are expected to grow to at least 40cm in the coming years, contributing to the ecological balance of the lake. “Sea mullet are not only prey for larger fish such as barramundi but also play a vital role in maintaining water quality and supporting the long-term health of the Lake Awoonga ecosystem,” Mr Barlow said. Sea mullet are one of three fish species bred at Aquaculture Gladstone, GAWB’s fish hatchery located at Lake Awoonga, and another sea mullet spawn is scheduled for 2025. Aquaculture Gladstone is a multi-species native fish hatchery, which is part of

Gladstone Area Water Board. Opened in November 2022, Aquaculture Gladstone has bred one million barramundi fingerlings and released them into Lake Awoonga in the 2023 stocking period. In addition to its successful fish breeding program, Aquaculture Gladstone opened the interpretive display at the hatchery in November 2023. The display creates an accessible experience for visitors to learn about the different fish species being bred at the hatchery, the aquaculture industry more broadly, biosecurity and biological pest species. GAWB, as a Queensland Government bulk water supply authority, delivers safe and reliable water services, which promote economic development and enhances the lifestyle of regional Queensland. Gladstone Area Water Board owns and operates Awoonga Dam, along with a network of delivery pipelines, water treatment plants and other bulk water distribution infrastructure. GAWB

Just 30km south of Gladstone in Central Queensland, Lake Awoonga offers something for everyone - whether you’re casting a line for Barramundi, enjoying a peaceful campsite, or exploring scenic hiking trails. All Lake Awoonga and Boynedale Bush Camp facilities are free for visitors to enjoy. For more info, please visit www.gawb.qld.gov.au

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Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

The fingerlings were released into Lake Awoonga in the 2023 stocking period.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 53

TOURING& exploring

Manning Gorge would have to be one of the prettiest gorges in the Kimberley.

East on Gibb River Road – Part 2

Getting to Manning Gorge required an adventurous walk and started with swimming across a river crossing. Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

ACH year the condition of the Gibb River Road is mostly unknown. Factors such as rain and traffic impact the road dramatically. Generally, it is better to hit the Gibb either early in the season or when it has reopened after the wet, as it will have been recently graded. Though it should still be attacked with caution. We passed two camper trailers on the side of the road that were broken and had been left by their owners. I feel we were relatively lucky in that the road conditions weren’t too bad. That didn’t mean we were impervious to any issues – a bolt

Family Adventures by BEN COLLINS

did come out of the suspension of our JB Scorpion caravan. Thankfully, Drysdale River Station had a mix of spare parts, which allowed me to rectify the situation, enough so we could continue and then have it replaced in Kununurra. Manning Gorge Located on Manning Creek in the grounds of the 283,280ha Mt Barnett Station, Manning Gorge would have to be one of the prettiest gorges in the Kimberley. The vivid colour of the rock cliffs and the crystal-clear water produce a picture-perfect postcard

that typifies the Kimberley region. Getting to the gorge requires an adventurous walk, starting with a river crossing at the end of the caravan park. We needed to swim across the creek because there had been plenty of rain. Thankfully blue drums were available for putting our gear into, keeping it dry when we were crossing the creek. Once across, we were then faced with a 3km hike to the top of the gorge. At the start of the hike, the trail was relatively informal * continued P55

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TOURING& exploring East on Gibb River Road – Part 2 * from P54

and required a bit of thinking to keep moving in the right direction – there were occasional markers to help guide us, but a keen eye was needed to spot them. The trail was overland and encompassed uneven terrain and rock climbing, with a steep decline at the end of the hike to get to the base of the gorge. This was a s em i- ch a l le ng i ng trek, yet the rewards were definitely worth the effort – particularly the dip in the water and the massage from the waterfall. This track was exposed with no shelter from the sun, so it is important to take plenty of water. Drysdale River Station If you are after some

creature comforts, Drysdale River Station is the spot for you. We stayed in the caravan park for a night, however if required, rooms were available. As we were more than happy living in our van, with all the basic comforts of home, we didn’t need to stay anywhere else. However, we did meet other travellers who were having issues with pumps, batteries and fridges, so a night or two away from their van was appreciated. In addition to accommodation, there was a beer garden and dining area, plus fuel, a small general store and a tyre repair facility. If you are on the Gibb and need something, Drysdale River Station is the place to

go – if it’s not available there, you will have to make it the rest of the way along the Gibb without it. Munurru (King Edward River) Campground One place we were all excited to see was Mitchell Falls. In order to visit the falls, you need to either drive in – which is not recommended with large caravans – or stay at Munurru (King Edward River) Campground. We chose the latter. The road in from Drysdale River Station was rough – make sure to keep an eye on your tyre pressure. It was also fairly dusty, so I advise taping your vents up. Our JB Scorpion had a dust reduction system fitted, which * continued P56

The rewards were definitely worth the effort of the semi-challenging trek into Manning Gorge. www.bnbfishing.com.au

The conditions of Gibb River Road weren’t too bad for us. While we did lose a bolt from the suspension of the van, it wasn’t a deal breaker. Others had to abandon their broken camper trailers. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 55

TOURING& exploring There were a few creek crossings on the way to the campsite.

East on Gibb River Road – Part 2 * from P55

A fairly informal affair at Munurru (King Edward River) Campground. Our base for visiting Mitchell Falls.

The large pool at the campground. Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

was a great investment because it kept 99 percent of the dust out. Yet we still taped up a few sections, just to make sure we weren’t treated to a red interior after the drive. I’d highly recommend getting a DRS if you’re planning to travel on dusty roads – it is worth the money. The booking system at Munurru Campground is relatively informal – you put cash in an envelope. We also had to pay a cash fee at Drysdale River Station to use the road, so make sure you have physical funds with you. Thankfully not many people were at the campground, so we had our pick of camping spots. The plan was to stay a couple of nights and do a massive day travelling Mitchell Falls without the van. It is worth noting that there were a

few creek crossings before reaching the campsite, with one a little deeper than expected, so make sure you get out and check them before attempting to cross. It is also a good idea to do most of your driving during the day because it makes creek crossing a lot easier, plus there are less animals on the road. One feature we missed when researching this campground was the large pool you can swim in. This was a welcome relief after being on dusty roads – just

what the girls and I needed. And it meant we used less water for showering – a winwin situation. Wandjina and Bradshaw rock art I am sure there would be many places within the Kimberley that have spectacular rock art by Indigenous people, however most are possibly never seen by white folk. This is understandable as quite a few scared sites cannot be visited. However, there are two areas in Munurru where you can walk * continued P57

One creek was a little deeper than anticipated. Make sure to get out and check them before crossing.

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TOURING& exploring Munurru has two areas you can walk in search of Aboriginal art.

East on Gibb River Road * from P56

around the Kimberley and search for Aboriginal art. Apparently, it is also possible to organise a tour, however we were not sure how to do that – information regarding it was limited – so we embarked on the trails ourselves. It was still great to see a number of paintings at both places, yet it would have been good to have an indication of the meaning behind the artwork.

There are no signs, apart from a fence with an opening, so you follow what resembles a trail as you go in search of the art. On our adventure, we saw plenty of Indigenous rock paintings, though I was always keen to see more. Next month, the adventure continues to Mitchell Falls and remainder of the Gibb, as we make our way to El Questro Station and cross the infamous Pentecost River.

We saw plenty of Indigenous art on our adventure. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Wyndham’s Five Rivers Lookout.

Heading home via Alice

I, it’s Tonk here. With all my gear nearly packed and only a few things to put in the next day, I pumped all the tyres on the boat trailer and four-wheel-drive up and checked the oil and water. I said goodbye to my new friends at McGowan’s and paid my money to camp hosts Tarhnee and Shawn Rafter – awesome people, so friendly and helpful. Next morning on daylight, I loaded the last of my gear and headed off. I was trying to get back to the Pentecost River because it’s a designated free camp, but it was at least a 10-hour drive, dependent on road conditions. I poked along as the road was rougher than the route up. Though because of the way the Toyota LandCruiser 80 Series and trailer are set up

Kimberley Key by CRAIG TOMKINSON

on coils – the 4WD front tyres down to 26psi and 28psi in the back, with 26psi on the boat trailer, cold temperatures – they just go along, no troubles. Before I knew it, I’d reached Drysdale River Station, where I fuelled up, had a rare treat of a can of Coca-Cola and headed off. I did stop to take photos of things and also to see if three separate groups of people needed help. One stop was for a 4WD that had either snapped the back left wheel studs off or the diff housing. Another groups’ 4WD had a flat tyre and they were fixing it in the middle of the road – yes, that’s what I thought. And the third stop was for two people

with their 4WDs, one had a flat. Because they’d previously used their spares, plus their tyres and rims weren’t interchangeable, they had a problem. So I gave the owner of the HiLux one of my spares, which fitted. They said they were going to drive to Home Valley Station to get some tyres. I made it to the Pentecost River and pushed on to the turn off to Kununurra, camping there. Next day, I was away early and headed to Wynhdam, so that I’d be at the Five Rivers Lookout for the sunrise. I towed my boat up – the sign said no caravans but nothing about boats. * continued P58

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 57

TOURING& exploring

Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater off Tanami Rd in Western Australia.

Heading home via Alice * from P57

Green budgies drinking at a watering hole on the side of the road.

Two red-tailed black cockatoos on the Plenty Hwy. Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

And while I missed the sunrise, it was an awesome spot. I really enjoyed Wyndham. I spent a few hours there and headed to Kununurra, where I filled up with cheap fuel – the 4WD had 135 litres and I had 180 litres in the boat in 20-litre drums, enough to get me through to Alice Springs – and stocked up on tucker. I then headed to Halls Creek, where I topped up with fuel. From there, about 15km out of Halls Creek, I turned into the Tanami Rd. I headed down the road, which was in good condition, and nearly got to the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater, but I pulled up because I needed a shower, a feed and a sleep. Early the next morning, I headed towards the crater and again

missed the sunrise – the drive was bit further than I’d thought. After arriving and walking up, I was very impressed – what a lovely spot. I stayed a little while, taking videos and photos. Later, as I headed out on the road south, I saw many birds and my first wild camel – how cool was that! I also saw the huge gold mines on the side of the road. I drove off and on overnight, having a sleep in the 4WD for a few hours at a time – it was freezing outside. I made it to Alice Springs slightly after daylight. After refuelling again, I headed north up the Stuart Hwy, turned off onto the Plenty Hwy and headed to Boulia. Along the way I saw six head of cattle on the roadside, killed

by a road train. I came across a waterhole on the side of the road and stopped for lunch. I watched thousands of budgies and finches come in to drink, and they didn’t stop coming and going for the hour or more that I was there. I drove all day and again off and on throughout the night, stopping for a sleep in the 4WD, until reaching home. What an awesome trip I’d had. I did about 10,000km in nearly six weeks, using almost 1800 litres of diesel and 230 litres of petrol in the outboard. And I caught some awesome fish! I cannot wait to take my family back there in a couple of years’ time. Be safe on our roads and rivers.

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The current generation of the Schultz clan, Violet honed her skills on snub-nosed garfish.

The author 20 years younger with one of many fly rod spotted mackerel from Moreton Bay.

Forgotten art of fly fishing

Saratoga are perfect targets for a fly fisho due to their surface-feeding habits and penchant for small prey items.

The species for which fly fishing was designed, a chunky brown trout. Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

HEN I look in the mirror, the grey whiskered fellow looking back is old enough to have witnessed quite a few trends come and go in the Queensland sportfishing scene. In saltwater, we’ve seen techniques such as high-speed trolling for Moreton Bay tuna, vertical spinning and jigging with large knife jigs peak and wane in popularity over the past forty years. Casting soft plastics for flathead boomed in the late 1970s to early 1980s, only to fade into the background, then exploding in popularity again this century. Similarly, fly fishing has seen several peaks in popularity over the course of the past four or five decades.

Fishing for Sport by NEIL SCHULTZ

During the 1970s, saltwater fly-fishing pioneers – such as Ron Pearson in Western Australia and local Darryl Steel – made headlines with their impressive captures of mackerel, kingfish and tuna. Interest in fly fishing in both freshwater and saltwater in Queensland peaked again around the turn of the century. On the freshwater scene, in 1999-2000, tournament bass anglers followed the lead of impresario John Schofield, using fast-sinking flies to hook schooling bass in stocked lakes. The following year saw the inaugural Longtail Tuna World Fly Fishing Challenge staged on

Moreton Bay, with 30 anglers landing a total of 98 tuna of mixed species during the weekend. Interest appears to have decreased slowly since those highlights, with fish caught on the ‘long wand’ seldom appearing in local magazines. Since purchasing my first fly rod in 1979, my participation has waxed and waned, peaking during those heydays of the late 1990s, early 2000s. When fishing the briny, species as diverse as longtail tuna, queenfish, spotted mackerel, shark, flathead and various trevally regularly found themselves on the end * continued P61

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Forgotten art of fly fishing * from P60

of my fly line. Less commonly targeted but willing takers of a fly for us in saltwater were tarpon, luderick, estuary cod, mangrove jack and surprisingly flutemouth. Being closer to home, freshwater environs are regular haunts, so naturally the fly rod was put to use, almost exclusively for several years, chasing the popular angling species. Bass in streams were the first sportfish I caught on fly, many years before they were being hatchery reared and stocked. During the 1980s, long time fishing friend Ian Salmon and I took bass on surface flies, from tiny Sunshine Coast rainforest streams and south to the Northern Rivers in NSW. A self-maintaining population of southern saratoga only three hours’ drive from home provided regular and spectacular fly fishing for us and a growing band of enthusiasts. Sadly, that fishery has declined since the introduction of large numbers of another surface-feeding predatory fish. Murray cod became a favourite fly rod target in the rivers west of the Great Divide, most often in the high-altitude waters of the granite belt.

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The sight of one of those green thugs charging from cover to run down a surface fly always gave a shot of adrenaline, and still does. We mentioned earlier about impoundment bass on sinking flies and in a parallel to that fishery was the targeting of golden perch using the same flies and technique. Schooling goldens in springtime provided great action for us in local lakes, from Borumba in the north to Leslie Dam on the Darling Downs. Naturally, a fly fisher south of the tropics is inevitably drawn to trout streams at some point during their angling career. I’ve been lucky enough to have bent the long wand on salmonids from the

streams of far northern NSW to Tasmania. During recent years, a new fishery has become popular with a small band of local fly fishos. Wyaralong Dam near Beaudesert offers sight-fishing opportunities for large carp and tilapia, both easy fly rod targets. Both are also classified as pest species and must be killed upon capture and disposed of in the bins provided. As you read this, I will be walking or wading one of my favourite western watershed streams, enjoying the sights and sounds of the bush and the satisfaction of a well-executed cast. As the old expression goes, any fish will be a bonus.

Mackerel tuna are willing takers of fly, if you can get within casting distance of a feeding school.

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Haley Pick from Mundubbera with her 55cm saratoga.

Great fishing at Cania Dam

Cody Wilson’s overall best saratoga at 77cm.

Vanessa Balazek with a very healthy yellowbelly. Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

T’S that time of year again, when we can get away and spend time with family, and I sincerely hope everyone is safe and making the best of their holiday time. Cania Dam has always been a very popular destination during summer. It’s a great dam for fishing and has two caravan parks close by, both of which have plenty of activities for every member of the family. The two parks are stepping out points for bush walking to some very spectacular spots, plus there are also two cottages for rent right at the dam – it’s not surprising it is so popular. The town of Monto is only 20km away and has everything you might need for a longer stay, and the locals are very friendly

Outback Fishing by HELEN ABDY

and welcoming. The Cania Dam Fish Stocking Association Inc do a great job of keeping the dam stocked and hold the family fishing competition on the second weekend of November each year. For the 2024 event, the weather was extra warm for that time of the year, with very sticky days during the comp, yet the evenings were quite pleasant, which was a great relief. For the contest weekend, competitors are allowed to camp on the oval at the dam, which is the only time this happens – it’s such a great spot. Tents, swags and caravans are all welcome, with the stocking

group suppling toilet and shower blocks, as well as great food and drinks. In all, 280 anglers nominated for the competition, with many camping at the oval right at the dam and some making the short drive back to the caravan parks. The fishing started off well, with a lot of fish coming into the waterside measuring station, where a scoreboard was updated regularly. I helped on the fish-measuring station for the weekend and saw plenty of good fish come in. Anglers would keep an eye on the updated scoreboard throughout the weekend and * continued P63

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Great fishing at Cania Dam * from P62

release smaller fish beforehand, as the stocking group prefer to have smaller fish released quicker rather than stressing them out unnecessarily. A quick phone call between anglers kept everyone updated. There was a mixture of bait and lures used over the weekend. On the bait side, it was probably locally caught shrimp that was slightly better than worms. And for those using lures, it was a mix of casting spinnerbaits and trolling Jackall, blades or timber lures around the 2-3m depth that caught most of the fish. Not a lot in the deep-

er water but more towards the drop-offs. There were three sessions for fish categories, plus an overall biggest of each species award on the final day. So, at the end of the day, the largest of the targeted species were: • Spangled perch 30.5cm • Eel-tailed catfish (jew) 53cm • Silver perch – none caught • Yellowbelly (golden perch) 51.5cm • Australian bass 50.5cm • Saratoga 77cm. The winner of the junior nomination draw was local Jordan Grub, who won a kayak package from Koastal Kayaks. The winner of the

senior nomination draw was Billy Osbourne, who walked away with a Quintrex tinnie and trailer package from the Cania Dam Fish Stocking Association Inc and Ship & Sail Gladstone. There were plenty of lucky draws and raffles, some of which were supplied from local tackle makers, as well as some great sponsors who helped make the weekend the success it was. It is a great family event, so if you’re in the area next year, I’ll see you there. Take care and stay safe on our roads over the holiday season. Happy fishing.

Thomas and Kelly Eyles with a nice bass and eeltailed catfish.

Billy Osbourne won the boat package. Supplied by Ship & Sail Gladstone and the CDFSA.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 10/12/2024

DAMS Atkinson * Awoonga Bjelke-Petersen * Boondooma * Borumba * Burdekin Falls * Callide * Cania * Coolmunda * Dyer/Bill Gunn * Eungella * Fairbairn * Glenlyon * Hinze * Julius * Kinchant * Leslie * Macdonald * Maroon * Monduran/Fred Haigh * Moogerah * North Pine/Samsonvale * Peter Faust/Proserpine * Somerset * Teemburra * Tinaroo * Toonumbar Wivenhoe * Wuruma * Wyaralong *

PERCENTAGE AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

77 52 87 87 99 93 16 26 70 95 100 36 63 96 90 84 70 100 100 89 94 63 65 78 100 101 101 80 78 99

76 52 87 88 100 90 16 27 69 98 100 34 64 97 88 82 69 99 100 93 94 64 64 79 100 100 100 80 78 99

72 51 85 87 99 84 16 26 64 95 99 32 61 96 85 74 69 94 99 92 91 62 62 79 98 97 101 79 77 99

69 50 83 85 98 77 16 26 61 91 98 29 60 96 83 66 68 73 100 90 89 60 61 79 97 91 101 77 77 101

74 48 84 85 100 75 16 26 59 99 94 26 60 104 87 66 69 97 100 89 98 67 61 79 96 91 102 79 77 101

For updates on dams, visit sunwater.com.au or seqwater.com.au *This symbol indicates that a Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish these dams.

Another saratoga for Haley, this one at 55.5cm.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025 – Page 63

The winning yellowbelly caught by Joe Urquhart.

Changes required and lure makers comp

Hyper Lures’ Brian Harris boated this 57.5cm yellowbelly. Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

VER the past 36 months, the words ‘world class freshwater fishery’ have been bandied about in conjunction with what Queensland has to offer in 2032, when the influx of tourists and visitors arrive for the Olympics. Yes, we are right at this moment looking at putting new species of catchable fish that survive in freshwater. They also survive in brackish water, which is what the species use to breed in, usually found below freshwater storages and weirs. In the northern regions of Queensland, the catch 22 to this line of thought is the fact that, with large

Glenlyon Dam by BRIAN DARE

floods, the storages and weirs overflow, enabling these species to move out of the locations they were stocked in… to breed downstream! The upshot of this is that funding would be required to again stock these fish in the locations they were stocked into previously. Given this could well be the case every three to five years, where the special facilities for these fish to breed will be built and by whom needs to be addressed now. It is all well and good for such a bold

project, though we have only eight years to achieve this goal. Right now, given the need, funding of about $35 million dollars would be required to complete such a format, along with further annual funding. It’s achievable, if we were, as freshwater recreational Queensland anglers, prepared to pay $0.10 a day for 18 years and over and have a weekly $10 permit. Because only $0.10 a day equals $36.50 yearly locked in at that cost for 10 years. Food for thought. * continued P65

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Changes required and lure makers comp * from P64

Now, the good stuff… my wife (and boss) has once again put in motion, the bi-annual Lure Makers Invitational Fishing Competition. We saw 44 lure makers turn up. Of course, it’s timber lures only to be used and it’s each lure maker’s best six selected. You can guess the pride taken in making the lures and each angler showing off the best selected of their styles produced in their workshop dens. Friday night saw the makers turn up for the cooked barbecue meal and listen in to how the comp would be run. It was a 5.30am start and a 5.30pm finish. You could stay on the water all day or return for lunch and head back again to outgun the rest. We also had a lure board raffle, which was put together by Mick Smith. The winner was Graham Davis from Goondiwindi, grinner. Thanks was given to all those lure makers who put forward a lure for the draw, $2910 was raised. To top off the event on the Saturday, the lure makers each put up one lure from the selection of the six lures made for a raffle. There was a good selection donated for restocking the dam at Glenlyon. The winners were

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Mark Leal of the first prize and Paul Dooner of the second prize, with $1394 raised. So, both raffles raised $4304 in total, a great result. The stocking group at Glenlyon would like to thank the lure makers for such great support, which we get from them twice a year. The competition results The winner for the overall day on Saturday was Kerry Ehrlich of Kezza Lures. Biggest cod went to Jason Say of Armory Lures. Biggest golden perch, Brian Harris of Hyper Lures. Biggest silver perch, Diane Smith, Macquarie Lures from Dubbo NSW.

Biggest catfish went to Brett Cain of Caino Lures. The Sunday recovery comp of three hours went to Joey Urquhart of Jollip Lures. It was good to have an awesome turn out, no doubt with many ideas and paint secrets being exchanged during the event. It was also a great get together, and awesome to see Brian Harris out and about with the anglers soon after his major operation. Okay 2025, new government, new changes… for the better we hope. For freshwater in the north and south of this big state of Queensland, it’s time for new blood within Fisheries.

Winners of the recent Timber Lure Makers Competition.

Joe Urquhart was the winner of the three-hour event, with Glenlyon Dam Fish Restocking Group Inc president Kaye Bullard.

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK A great place to fish! • Powered and Unpowered Sites • No Domestic Pets or Generators • Kiosk • Ice • Gas • Petrol • Amenities Blocks and Laundry • BBQs • Hire Boats • EFTPOS • Fishing Permits

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Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, January 2025

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ADVERTISERS – To organise a classified ad in the Trading Post, call 07 3286 1833 or complete the form and post it to the address provided or email it through to design@collins.media

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A recently caught Hervey Bay golden trevally using a 5” Z-Man My personal best redthroat emperor caught at Swain Reefs on a StreakZ. Big Cat Reality Fishing charter a couple months ago. Megan Fah Luke Kenny

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