BNB Fishing mag | Mar 2018 by bnbfishing

Angling advice for autumn

450 Includes GST

March 2018

What's hot in Moreton Bay

Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 29, Number 3

Prawning tips & techniques

Mackerel mayhem

Offshore options Boat review FEATURE INSIDE

• Horizon 485 SunRunner

Brisbane River action

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Inside this month Brisbane River

Mahi mahi

P31

P12

Giant trevally

Monduran barra

P57

Moreton Bay Mackerel have been a popular target again this year and most who have put in a bit of time have been rewarded with good catches of spotted mackerel. As usual, finding surface-feeding schools and spinning metal slugs, soft plastics and small sinking stickbaits into the frenzy has been the most popular and very

OUR COVER

Phone (07) 3286 1833 Fax (07) 3821 2637 Email: ben@bnbfishing.com.au Internet: www.bnbfishing.com.au PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163 Unit 2, 39 Enterprise Street, Cleveland, Qld 4163 AFTA PRINTER: Rural Press, Ormiston DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax Max. recommended retail price $4.50 (includes GST). 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 to ensure the correctness of their claims and statements. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the publisher. G IN

FISH ING ’S

☛ continued P4

Ben Collins Daniel Tomlinson Ben Collins, Kacie Hubbert Jo Hendley

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EDITOR: SUBEDITOR: ADVERTISING: PRODUCTION:

AUST

APRIL edition will be on sale in newsagents from March 30. See subscriber offer on Page 72 to go in the draw to win a Lox Yoshi travel rod, Lox shoulder bag and Lox cap valued at $383!

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.

E TUR FU

LEVI BELL (main) nailed this quality jewfish on a 110mm Zerek Fish Trap, photo: OWEN MCPAUL. PAUL LEWIS (left) landed his first Brisbane River threadfin salmon, LACHIE BAKER’S article Page 6. STEVEN MURPHY (right) with a rare southeast Queensland barra, JORDAN KOSCHEL’S article Page 47.

productive method. This is exciting fishing and the old spotties sure taste good when eaten fresh, so it’s really worth having a go. Hopefully the mackerel hang around for a bit longer but if they don’t, longtail tuna should be about doing the same thing. Searching for surfacefeeding fish can be a touch trying at times because you may have to do plenty of kilometres to find the fish, but the way you catch them and the fight they give can make for great fishing. Sharks can spoil the party when chasing longtail tuna in Moreton Bay, so try to use as heavy a combo as you can because the longer they are in the water, the greater the chance of jaws finding your fish. Bottom fishing has also been very productive during the late part of summer. Jewfish and snapper have been popular targets and several quality fish have been around to provide plenty of fun and a great feed of fresh fish. Using your electronics to find and target the fish or just fishing likely fishholding structure is the first step in this style of fishing. If just fishing a large structure on the bottom, I recommend focusing on the up-current section. By this I mean targeting the bottom column of water from about 30m in front of it all the way to it. Either drifting towards it or anchoring above it will see you in the zone that seems to hold fish most of the time. I like to use my sounder to find fish, then position the boat so I can drift over

ATI ON

by PETER HERBST

Some days have almost been too hot to actually go fishing, and adding the ultra-early starts to get on the water before light has made it a real struggle at times. If you are able to pick those days with a light southeasterly wind, cloud cover and of course, the right tides, fishing has been very productive.

Luring Moreton Bay

FTER the heat of summer, most of us look forward to the slightly cooler days of autumn, and for me this year is no exception.

FIS

Moreton Bay and estuaries producing

Luring Moreton Bay....................by Peter Herbst....................................P3 Brisbane River & bay action....by Lachie Baker ..................................P6 Prawns aplenty ...........................by Sean Conlon ...................................P9 South Passage Bar update.......by Bill Corten .....................................P10 Mixed bags on the menu ..........by Keith Stratford..............................P12 Seeking out the small stuff ......by Brian Webb...................................P14 Guide to prawning ......................by Adam Foley ...................................P16 Trying different things................by Sean Conlon .................................P18 Moreton Bay mackerel .............by Mick Clutterbuck ........................P20 Great fishing on Gold Coast .....by Darren Rama ................................P21 Extra species appearing .............by Wayne ‘Youngy’ Young ..............P22 Lots on offer in March ...............by Brad Smith ....................................P23 Pelagics on the chew................by Heath Zygnerski ..........................P24 Tidal Talk .......................................by Peter Layton..................................P24 Mental mackerel mayhem .......by Gavin Dobson ...............................P25 Bountiful Ballina ............................. by Brett Hyde ...........................................P26 Bread and butter species .........by Gary ‘Squidgie’ Palmer..............P28 Clarence Coast ............................by Tye Porter ......................................P29 Lake Macquarie ..........................by Nathan Palmer.............................P30 Mahi mahi and more..................by Wade Qualischefski...................P31 Sunshine Coast trip ....................by Sean ‘Skip’ Thompson ...............P32 Catches off Sunny Coast ...........by Craig Tomkinson .........................P34 Outdoors ........................................by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson ................P35 Fraser Guided Fishing................by Tri Ton .............................................P36 Fishing at 15 Mile........................by Brad Young ...................................P37 Concern for 1770..........................by Mati Bats.......................................P38 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo..............P40-44 Kayak fishing ...............................by Mathew Kouimtzis......................P46 Yakking for SEQ barra ...............by Jordan ‘Grinner’ Koschel ..........P47 Horizon SunRunner review ......by Daniel Tomlinson........................P48 Insights into insurance..............by Nautilus Marine ..........................P48 Readers Forum.............................................................................................P50 Wilson Fishing puzzle page .....................................................................P51 Charter Directory ................................................................................. P52,53 Gladstone Region....................... by Gary Churchward .......................P54 Recipe ............................................by Melissa Frohloff ..........................P54 Capricorn Coast...........................by John Boon .....................................P55 Stanage Bay .................................by Von Ireland....................................P56 Going ga-ga for GTs....................by Todd Eveleigh ..............................P57 Torres Strait tackle tips.............by Matt Potter ....................................P58 Cape York 4WDing guide......... by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon ................P59 4WD Trip ........................................by Greg Bell .......................................P60 Monduran barra ......................... by Donna Gane .................................P63 Freshwater fishing......................by Mitchell Townsend ....................P64 Freshwater Impoundments ..... by Matthew Langford......................P65 Darling Downs ............................by Noal Kuhl ......................................P67 Competition Report.....................by Lex Irwin .......................................P68 Fishing for Sport .............................. by Neil Schultz ........................................P69 B.A.S.S. Australia........................by Drew McGrath .............................P70 Glenlyon Dam...............................by Brian Dare.....................................P70 Trading Post.................................................................................................P71 Subscription form ......................................................................................P72

PRO TE CT

Quality spotted mackerel were captured in Moreton Bay over summer.

P64

HIN G T R A D E

NCE again, the start of the year has passed in a bit of a blur.

Thankfully, many people have been able to enjoy patches of awesome fishing, prawning and crabbing when the weather has played its part. The weather has been unpredictable of late, which has made getting out a little harder. I can personally attest to that because I’ve considered taking the family out for a day on Moreton Bay several times but the forecast hasn’t been favourable enough to lock it in the night before, only to wake up to glassed-out conditions. Weather forecasting isn’t an exact science but with plenty of websites detailing various weather readings and predictions, it is a good idea to check more than one to make an educated guess. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong. I have mentioned this before, but on our website you can find a Useful Links page with heaps of direct links to weather sites, marine parks maps, dam levels, fish regulations (size and possession limits) and a host of other handy stuff. It is well worth jumping on and checking out, and it would be advantageous to bookmark the page on your phone or computer for a quick reference guide. As well as being unpredictable, the weather can have other impacts on our boating experiences, such as coastal bars. Our resident bar expert Bill Corten has this month detailed a few changes to South Passage Bar, which I highly recommend all offshore boaties read. Bars are continually changing and with the recent large swell and movement of sand, a high level of care and preparation is necessary when heading offshore. Aside from writing articles in Bush ‘n Beach, Bill also conducts bar crossing courses, which I strongly recommend newcomers to offshore fishing and boating partake in. If you have an offshore boat and want to learn about or just become more comfortable crossing these treacherous pieces of water, book in for a course with Bill. You won’t be disappointed and your level of confidence and skill is sure to increase (check Page 71 for Bill’s ad and phone number). On the fishing front, prawns have certainly been playing the game, though I’m not sure how the recent heavy rain will affect them – only time will tell. I shouldn’t have to say this, but remember your possession limits because the authorities will be out checking. Even if the prawns are on fire, stick to your possession limit of a 10-litre bucket, which includes what you have in the boat as well as at home in the fridge or freezer. While on the topic of prawns, a movement control order is still in place for raw prawns, so make sure you are aware of the boundaries. You can find information in this edition and on our website pertaining to this order. For all the latest catches and tips, it is worth checking out our Facebook page and Instagram (@bnbfishingmag). We are continually posting new information and photos on both social mediums, so jump on and give the pages a like or follow. Ben Collins

January prizewinner

Congratulations to Bruce Jones, Rothwell who has won a Rod Armour Complete Solution 6 pack and 8 pack valued at $400.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 3

Help stop the spread of white spot disease Deepwater threadfin love a hard vibe such as this Maria Slice.

Moreton Bay and estuaries producing ☛ from P3

“Do not move prawns, yabbies or marine worms out of the white spot disease movement restriction area.”

Sunshine Coast

QLD Moreton Bay Somerset

Threadfin salmon have been on the chew this summer as well. Some anglers have had great results of late but threadies are one of those fish that can be biting like crazy one day and then not at all the next, and even schooled very thick one day and then completely gone the next. Knowing where and when to look or just being lucky can see anglers landing plenty of these great fish in a day. Soft and hard vibes have again been the lures of choice, but it’s worth trying soft plas-

tics if the fish can be seen but aren’t taking vibes. If you are going to have a go for a thready, make sure you use appropriate tackle and carry a release weight because at times they can be hard to release in deep water. If I’m catching a few, I will not bring them into the boat and just release them in the water because I find that can make a huge difference. I’m looking forward to autumn, with more sleep in the mornings and cooler days. Let’s hope for no cyclones and floods.

A Lucky Craft Pointer worked over a rock bar accounted for this cracker mangrove jack.

This nice jewfish took a Palms Slow Blatt jig.

White spot disease Brisbane

Lockyer Valley

them and present my lures. Mixing up the type of lures you present can get results because fish can reject one lure style, then smash another. Fishing the deeper water structures for jewfish and snapper, I like to rotate between jig head-rigged soft plastics, soft and hard vibes and metal jigs. The actions of these lures vary greatly, so if the subtleactioned soft plastic doesn’t get a bite, then the more aggressive actions of the vibes or jigs may. Estuaries Water temps have gone up and down with the weather we had over the latter part of summer. I usually find fishing can get a bit tough if the water temp reaches about 30C. It looked likely to get up there this year but luckily a bit of cooler weather in the middle of summer kept the water temps reasonable. Mangrove jack are always a popular summer target if conditions allow. This year hasn’t seen too much rain, so jacks have been on the cards all summer. Most anglers have had their best results rolling soft plastics through structure but diving hard-bodies, surface lures and even newer-style lures such as jointed hard and soft swimbaits have accounted for plenty of jacks. I think half the fun of lure fishing is trying out a new lure you think will work and going out and having success.

Redland

Ipswich

Movement Restriction Area

Logan

Scenic Rim

Gold Coast

White spot disease could have a devastating impact on our natural waterways and ﬁsh stocks if it spreads.

www.daf.qld.gov.au/wsd or call 13 25 23

Page 4 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Paul from Jones’s Tackle with a night-time threadfin salmon.

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Fishing restrictions in place on the Logan River

NYONE fishing in southern Moreton Bay and the Logan River should be aware of new fishing restrictions which prohibit all forms of fishing in and around prawn farms in

southeast Queensland. The fishing restrictions have been designed to reduce the risk of introducing diseases such as white spot disease into prawn farms along the Logan River. This means all fishing, including crab potting,

A prawn with white spot disease. Photo: Dr Ben Diggles

cast netting, line fishing and bait gathering is prohibited within 100m of water intake and outlet channels and in drainage channels used by landbased prawn farms in the Logan River region. Signs are being erected to help you identify the locations where the restrictions apply. The restricted areas are relatively small, so should not have a big impact on fishers. While you may need to change where you fish, these restrictions will help protect Queensland’s natural waterways. Please familiarise yourself with the areas that are now closed to fishing, as heavy penalties may apply.

Why are the fishing restrictions in place? Prawn farms and the waterways around them are high-risk areas for aquatic diseases. Fishing in these areas may increase the likelihood of a disease being introduced to the farm if contaminated bait is used. How long will the restrictions be in place? The fishing restrictions are in regulation and will be in place indefinitely. Where exactly are the restricted areas? A map showing the locations of where fishing is now restricted is available at daf.qld.gov.au/wsd What is white spot disease? White spot disease is a

highly contagious viral infection that affects crustaceans such as prawns, yabbies and marine worms. When found in highintensity production areas, such as prawn farms, white spot disease results in the rapid mortality of prawns. The virus that causes white spot disease does not affect humans at all, so all prawns in Queensland are completely safe to eat. How do I report illegal fishing? If you see illegal fishing, please report it via the 24-hour Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116 or the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries on 13 25 23.

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Crab pot surveillance nets 25 offenders

12-MONTH Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol surveillance operation in north Queensland has resulted in 25 people being charged with interfering with crab pot apparatus.

QBFP north Queensland district manager Glenn Shiels said the operation, which finished in January 2018, targeted Ingham, Townsville, Airlie Beach and Mackay following complaints from recreational and commercial fishers alleging interference with crab pot apparatus. “This surveillance operation demonstrates QBFP’s focus on the detection of interference with crabbing apparatus across Queensland,” Mr Shiels said. “The operation resulted

in 22 infringement notices being issued, with fines totalling $27,490 while three offenders received official cautions. “A total of 10 offences were detected in Townsville, nine in Mackay, five in Airlie Beach and one in Ingham.” Mr Shiels said it was an offence for a person to interfere with crab apparatus that do not belong to the person and this included disturbing or lifting the apparatus. “Under Fisheries regulations, stealing fishing apparatus you didn’t set, including crab pots, is a criminal offence and those caught will be referred to the police,” Mr Shiels said. “On-the-spot penalties for crabbing-related offences include fines ranging from $252 to $504 for undersized

crabs and exceeding possession limits to $1261 for interfering with crabbing apparatus. “Maximum penalties can exceed $126,000.” Mr Shiels said interference with crab pots was an issue across Queensland and a high percentage of fisheries complaints received by QBFP related to crab pot interference. “The problem occurs in waterways across Queensland and an increased incidence of crab pot interference occurs near higher population centres,” Mr Shiels said. “QBFP conducts targeted operations, which include the use of sophisticated covert camera technology, to ensure compliance with fisheries regulations in response to community

concerns and specific intelligence information. “Crab fishers are also encouraged to take responsibility for monitoring their own fishing apparatus and to ensure pots and dillies are marked correctly with the owner’s name and address.” If you suspect illegal fishing, whether seen in person or online, report it to the Fishwatch hotline on 1800 017 116.

Don’t engage with the person, as this can compromise an investigation. For more information on Queensland’s fishing regulations, visit fisher ies.qld.gov.au, call 13 25 23 or download the free Qld Fishing app from Apple and Google app stores. You can follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@FisheriesQld).

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Using the right bait helps stop the spread of disease

O ensure the ongoing health of Queensland’s extraordinary marine habitat and to protect local industries, Biosecurity Queensland is urging fishers to ‘Be a mate, and check your bait’. It is really important that fishers only use Australian wild-caught prawns from a quality bait supplier or catch their own bait. Imported prawns could potentially introduce serious diseases into Australian waterways and as we have seen with white spot disease, these diseases can have devastating consequences. It is not yet known how the white spot virus was introduced into Queensland, however a possible pathway for disease to enter our waterways is through imported prawns bought from the super-

market and used as bait. If you are planning to use prawns, marine worms or yabbies as bait, catch your own or make sure your bait is Australian wild-caught from a quality bait supplier because using imported raw prawns as bait may introduce diseases into our natural waterways. Also, make sure you properly dispose of unwanted and uncooked bait, seafood and prawn waste in the bin and not into waterways. Lastly, it is illegal to move raw prawns, worms and yabbies out of the white spot disease restricted area in southeast Queensland. Catching fresh bait is a great way to improve your chances of enticing fish and can be a fun activity for the whole family. The fresher the bait, the

more appealing it is to fish. Have a look at some tips for catching your own bait at daf.qld.gov.au/checky ourbait If you buy or catch

Quotes over the phone

prawns or crustaceans that you think may have white spot disease, report it immediately by contacting Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or via the online

reporting form at daf.qld. gov.au/wsd – you can also find out more information about white spot here and view a map of the movement restricted area.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 5

CONTACT YOUR NEAREST DEALER

The author with his PB threadfin salmon pulled from the Brisbane River.

Awesome action around Brisbane

HOPE everyone has been able to smack a few fish since last month’s edition hit the shelves.

Lately I’ve had a really good run, putting in a couple of productive fishing sessions around my local area of Brisbane. I have been chasing bottom fish such as sweetlip and snapper around southern Moreton Bay and surface-feeding pelagics including mackerel in the northern bay. Chasing threadfin salmon has long been a passion of mine and I have been getting back into fishing the Brisbane River for these awesome fish. Threadies are one of my favourite fish to catch because they pull like freight trains and aren’t super difficult to target. The bay bottom fishing scen-

Moreton Bay Young Gun by LACHIE BAKER

ario is much the same as last month, with the only difference being a few more spangled emperor around and their size has increased slightly. I managed two in two drops around 45cm in length, which are decent fish for Moreton Bay. The same style of fishing I covered in last month’s article worked well for my dad and I during that session, with floatlined fresh baits hit almost every time they were sent down. Due to the pumping tidal flow, we decided to stick to baits because plastics and vibes were struggling to get to the

A quality snapper taken on a Zerek 95mm Fish Trap.

Paul Lewis was stoked with his first Brissie River thready.

Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

bottom in the run. We managed 40 fish in that session including 13 tagged fish recaptures. The fish hadn’t moved from the area where they were originally tagged, and for one unlucky cod it was its third time being recaptured. It goes to show being caught doesn’t really faze fish too much. Northern Moreton Bay I recently had a fun session with fellow Bush ‘n Beach writer Grinner Koschel chasing spotted mackerel in the northern bay. Once we found a school of feeding fish, it was as easy as a fish per cast. We kept three out of a dozen caught because we both had fish in the freezer at home and weren’t in any great rush to eat spotties over coral trout. These speedsters go like rockets, with line-burning acceleration and ferocious appetites. I eagerly watched packs of them charge down the stickbaits and slugs we were casting. Being relatively easy to catch, mackerel can provide hours of fun for people of all fishing capabilities. I chose to cast a 115mm Zerek Zappelin sinking stickbait as well as 30g slugs. We got sick of catching mackerel, so decided to start looking for tuna but to no avail except for a perfect live bait size mack tuna. We did get a shot at a school of longtails, only for them to be spooked by another boat charging straight into them and casting what looked to be a dropper rig. I can’t stress enough how inconsiderate this is! If you see a patch of pelagics busting the surface, please remember that boat noise will send them scattering in all different directions. A slow approach with low revs and minimal wave slap on the hull will ensure you can hook into some awesome fighting and eating fish. Brisbane River The Brisbane River has been fishing exceptionally well. I have had a couple of rewarding sessions on the river and one included landing my PB threadfin, which measured ☛ continued P8

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 7

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We saw one lone fish sitting in front of a pylon, so I lobbed a vibe to it, hopped it once and was on. It was in the boat within a few minutes, tagged and successfully released with the help of a release weight. The tide was starting to run a little too hard by this point, so we decided to head off. The next weekend, I headed back to the river with Grinner with threadies on our minds. We couldn’t find any in our normal spot because the tides were much larger, so we decided to head to the mouth and cast plastics and vibes towards the pylons targeting jewfish and snapper. We struggled but I did manage to put away a cracking squire for the river, coming in at 68cm. Prawns Loads of prawns have been getting around Brisbane of late, and one Friday afternoon after school Grinner and I dumped my tinnie in at the Redland Bay boat ramp and ran over towards Macleay Island. We mucked around for an hour or so and managed to put a couple of kilos of prawns in the boat before racing home just before dark. We cut it fairly fine because the Creek Masta is not yet equipped with navigation lights. As soon as we cleaned my boat, we jumped back in the car and started

prepping Grinner’s boat for what was meant to be an exciting day of game fishing on Saturday. Game fishing I loved every minute of my first taste of light tackle game fishing aboard Shortbill. We were planning on targeting juvenile black marlin on 8kg line and skirts. After reaching the grounds off Mooloolaba, we dropped the gear in the water and had bites within 20 minutes. An inquisitive dolphinfish came up in the spread but quickly disappeared after a look or two. Not long after, the short rigger went off and a black was on! We cleared the other gear and I was ordered to the rod by captain Grinner. Much to our annoyance, the marlin shook the hook before we got a chance to really start fighting it. We dumped the gear back in the drink and made another pass around the area where we had seen the action, and sure enough the long corner was belted while nobody was looking. Again the boys said the rod was mine, and I wasn’t arguing. The fish was stealing plenty of line off the Shimano TLD 20, and after about 10 minutes I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere quickly, so stuck the rod under my arm and began to pump and

wind instead of using the straight cranking technique Zac and Grinner had recommended. Big mistake. I pulled the hook within about five seconds of pumping. Feeling gutted, I apologised to the boys but they told me that’s just how game fishing goes and we’ve all got to learn somehow. We trolled around for another couple of hours for nothing but a skipjack tuna. On the way home we saw decent ground on the

sounder with stacks of bait holding on it, so on went the micro jigs and after a drift or two we were rewarded with a decent little kingfish. We were all pretty defeated by this stage, so continued home. I can’t wait for the next session though, and hopefully we’ll have more luck on the target species. This is an awesome time of year to get out on the water, so I hope everyone can get out and make the most of it. Tight lines and smoking drags.

The author hooked up wide of Mooloolaba.

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Make sure you have the net ready to go, so when the skipper gets you over the top of the prawns you’re ready to make that cast.

Prawns aplenty around southern bay

ET’S jump into something a little different for me.

I hadn’t done much prawning because chasing prawns with 100 boats around me is not something I thought I would enjoy. However, I had started to consider giving it a go so had bought a net. Then, when recently asked by a couple of mates to join them on a midweek excursion I was ready to get out there. Our motley crew comprised me, who had only thrown a 6’ cast net for bait before, fellow BNB scribe Joe Cormack who had only prawned a few times, and Colin from Bayside Boat Licensing who was willing to teach us how to throw properly. We went out in 20 knots of southeasterly on an incoming tide and headed to where everybody else goes prawning, the Saltworks. After sounding around and finding what we thought were prawns on the bottom, Joe positioned the boat correctly and

Southern Moreton Bay by SEAN CONLON

Colin proceeded to teach us how to throw a 10’-12’ cast net. Now I should mention I looked at a lot of videos on YouTube showing how to throw one of these bigger nets but once you’re on the boat it’s a bit trickier. If you haven’t gone prawning before, I’d advise you watch some YouTube videos to find out which method suits you. Practice on the driveway or lawn and when out on the water stay away from other boats and have some initial trial casts. Once you think you’ve got it right, move into the pack with everybody else and enjoy the chaos or do what we did and find your own school of prawns. They weren’t as thick as what everybody else was on but enough were there for us to catch a feed. We had an enjoyable couple of hours on the water, with each of us having a go at throwing the net.

We weren’t breaking any records but were catching our fill with five to 10 prawns a cast. Over the two hours we easily got 2-3kg of prawns each, which is a fantastic feed. We weren’t breaking our backs to catch them either and we left plenty for others. This is just another example of using the right technique at the right time of year when the prawns are around. We also had a goodquality cast net with a top pocket and between us had a bit of knowledge about Moreton Bay. I will definitely be chasing prawns over the coming months. I probably won’t be out there on the weekends with hundreds of other boats but I’ll sneak out in the mornings or afternoons during the week. As I said, none of us were professional prawn-

ers but we went out and got ourselves a feed. If you ask me, you don’t need your limit. A few kilos of prawns each is absolutely plenty. Why not get a cast net and give it a go? We certainly left loads there for you to get into. So there’s something I don’t usually do but maybe I’ll do a little more often. It was very enjoyable even with only limited knowledge. Give these things a try in an effort to bring home a

feed of prawns. If you want to go out on a charter, give me a call on 0433 732 310. And don’t forget about our tuition nights and onwater courses where I can teach you everything you need to know to master fishing the southern bay. Check out the Moreton Bay Fishing Charters Facebook page to see our recent catches and more tonbaycharters.com.au for more information. Until next month, stay safe on the water.

The author didn’t buy a big net or a really expensive one, just an affordable model, and being a 10-footer means it’s not too hard to cast when you first start.

If you haven’t been prawning before, be aware that when they’re on it can look something like this. Practise casting your net before you move into the pack.

The result of a couple of hours spent prawning.

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Big swells change bar channels S INCE my last report was submitted I haven’t done any fishing because we went to Tamworth for the Country Music Festival. Sadly it coincided with good fishing weather, which I missed. Since then I’ve been keeping busy with bar crossing work, as we are now into the swell window of the year and have had cracking days for training on South Passage Bar. The big swells have already made for interesting changes around the various channels, with the most important one being the silting up of the northern end of the bar. Where once we had a pretty stable channel, we now have nothing but sandbanks blocking the way. The area that was showing promise over Christmas as a replacement channel at the north has also become blocked with sand. I checked that one out on a recent glassy day with a cracking 2.1-2.4m swell running and could not find a safe way through. That’s not to say that on a high tide with a tiny swell you won’t get through, but it is definitely out of bounds as far as channel access is concerned. The middle channel on the bar is still the safest option, with reasonable water depth and the shortest distance to a good safe depth on the outside. It has moved further north again and is easily identifiable. However, on a big runout tide and the above swell, it was closing out badly and worsening by the hour, with surf break-

Bar Crossing

by BILL CORTEN

ing all the way across the inner and outer sections on the sets. It was a place for very experienced skippers only. As the tide got lower, the pressure waves on the inside of the channel were horrendous too and it was an interesting game of sit, watch and wait before charging at it when the time was right with the occasional long-enough lull in the sets. Definitely not for the faint hearted or anyone with a boat that is not very manoeuvrable. Succinctly, middle channel is no longer safe near the bottom of the tide whenever a pretty decent easterly or east-northeasterly swell is running. If you have a heavy boat, it is doable on the return trip but you’ll need to be watching over your shoulder keenly and keep the revs up. Further south where the false middle channel is, the sand island that had

been there marking the start of the run no longer exists at low or high tide. The swell action has really chewed the sand off the island badly, but adjacent to it, anyone not familiar with their way around that area of the bar would consider the inside entrance enticing, with the channel starting off nice and deep. Be wary though, as it fans out quickly into a broad expanse of shallow banks with the only escape route to the southeast. Again, this route is a longer way out of the bar and with greater risk than the middle channel a kilometre or so further north. It is very advisable to not charge out over the outer banks when heading east through the false middle channel too because they are very shallow and the other side has a steep drop-off that makes the swells stand up quickly as they come out of deep water onto those very shal-

low sandbanks. Interestingly, that channel is still used by the two local trawlers at certain times of the tide. With a friendly swell direction, it better suits their displacement hull shape than it does flybridge cruisers and trailer boats. The southern channel around the corner from Amity Point has had its fair share of change too. The best way out is still next to the surf beach and getting to that point has become a little bit more of a trek. Remember, once you pass the surf beach there is still a big bank across the middle of the entrance to negotiate safely. I have shifted my best guiding marks more to the south to reflect the movement of the sandbanks, but regardless you just need to have a good look at where the surf is breaking and go anywhere you need to where there is no break on the day. The southern end of the bar is shallow, narrow and when the swell is moderate from the east to northeast it is a very hairy place for people in small boats and the inexperienced.

With all the changes around the bar, I just can’t stress enough the importance of using your radio to log on, calling to advise of a safe crossing once on the other side, and insisting your crew wear lifejackets when crossing. Remember that the sandbanks on bars are constantly shifting. We have no breakwaters and/or sand pumping bypass out on South Passage and never will, so please don’t rely totally on your electronics. Instead use your eyes to identify where to go and pick your way through safely while avoiding incoming swells. While it is great to have updated GPS marks, they are only a guide and you must have a good look at where the swells are breaking and avoid those areas, even if that is where the GPS track is recorded from your last trip out over the bar. We are well and truly into swell season now and if you have concerns about the size of the swell on the bar, it is simpler to stay away and do something else instead, heading out on a better day.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 11

WIN A FISHING TRIP WITH YOUR BEST MATE... AND TV’S AL MCGLASHAN! Jarryd Corney caught this queenfish in Pumicestone Passage.

Mixed bags on the menu

ARCH is an excellent month to be fishing the estuaries in southeast Queensland.

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It’s a great time to secure a mixed bag, with a variety of fish species and crustaceans on offer. The prawning season has been very productive so far. All the rivers and creeks around Brisbane have produced good numbers of these tasty treats. Most of the prawns have been a bit smaller than usual, but they’ve been big enough to provide a decent feed. They haven’t been hard to find due to the number of boats out there chasing them. I use my sounder to find the better schools that the other boats are missing. The larger rivers including the Caboolture, Kedron Brook and Pine tend to be a lot easier to cast net than the smaller creeks running off Pumicestone Passage. Creeks such as Glass Mountain, Hussey, Coochin, Bullock and Ningi are quite muddy, which can leave your boat in a terrible mess after a couple of hours of cast netting. Many small unwanted critters also live in these creeks and they often get caught up in cast nets. Bullrouts are one of the more common, along with happy moments, leatherjacket and even the occasional stonefish. These nasty little things can ruin your day very quickly, so keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary when prawning places like this.

Local Luring by KEITH STRATFORD

Bream Bream are in full swing in the rivers and creeks around Brisbane. They can be found hanging around a variety of structure

and also around the prawn schools. Bream love eating prawns, so it’s a good idea to match your bait or lures to what they ☛ continued P13

Luke used his sounder to find this solid jewie.

Luke Bubb landed this threadfin salmon at night in the Brisbane River.

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Plenty of jewies have been extracted from the Brisbane River recently.

Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

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Mixed bags on the menu ☛ from P12

are feeding on. A huge range of prawnimitation soft plastics are on the market and having a good range of sizes and colours can come in handy when the fish are a bit fussy. Jig head selection is very important and it also

pays to have a good lineup of sizes and weights to choose from. I like to cast soft plastics around structure for bream, but vertically jigging deep holes can also work really well. Bream love hard structure such as bridge pylons and rock walls. Both these areas can

vary greatly in depth, which is where a wide variety of jig heads is handy. Using a jig head that is too heavy will make the lure look unnatural and you will get fewer bites. Trialling different weights in a variety of depths to find what works will see more fish sliding

Lindsay Stevenson landed this quality jack recently.

into your net. Brisbane River The Brisbane River has been on fire this year, with large numbers of threadfin salmon and jewies caught regularly. Threadfin have been schooling at the mouth of the river at different times. Being on the water regularly will help you work out a pattern, but it has been pretty hit and miss at times. It can get boring driving up and down the wharves watching your sounder, but it’s worth it when you find the fish. Jewies have also been hanging around the same area and plenty of solid fish have been mixed in. Many have been in the 90-100cm range, which are good-quality fish for the river. Soft vibes have been doing the damage, mainly because that is what a lot of anglers primarily use for this type of fishing. Soft plastics also work well, but the hook-up rate in deep water isn’t as good as a soft vibe with two sets of trebles. March can be a real lottery because you never know what will turn up next. Get out there and enjoy it for yourself. I hope to see you on the water.

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This was a decent catch of squid and divers.

A squid mid-fight.

Seeking out the small stuff I

T’S generally about this time of year when I stow the heavier gear for a couple of weeks, except for my trusty Shimano TSS4 setup because you never know if you’ll run into a boil of spotted mackerel in your travels across the paddock.

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The only other gear on board includes my light rods and reels because I am looking for three of the smallest edible species Moreton Bay has to offer: diver whiting and tiger and pencil squid. My aim is to stock the fridge with a few feeds of whiting and squid as well as blocks of frozen squid for my winter supply of bait. Most of my fishing is done on the western side of the bay and weather permitting I’ll stay into the evening chasing the squid. You’re also a chance of landing squid while fish-

Moreton Bay by BRIAN WEBB

ing for divers. Diver whiting can be easily identified from sand whiting by the dark blotches over their back and sides, paler belly and pale horizontal band running along their sides. Sand whiting are more uniformly silver with pale yellow pelvic and anal fins. There are no size limits for diver whiting but they have a bag limit of 50. Sandies have a minimum length of 23cm and bag limit of 30 but you’ll find most of the whiting in the bay are divers. The two common species of squid are tiger, with a bigger and browner body, and pencil, which are smaller and much lighter in colour. If you’re lucky you’ll find both in the same area.

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My favourite areas for diver whiting are the deeper waters off the Sandhills on Moreton Island and the shallower water in the Rous Channel around the entrance to Fishermans Gutter and the nongreen zone areas on the Amity Banks. Divers can be found right through the bay, from the shallow waters off Nudgee and the Cockle Banks all the way down to the southern bay around the Pelican Banks. If you find an area where dugongs are feeding you will usually come across divers hanging around and picking up the scraps. When arriving at my desired spot, I will look for clearer patches of sand among the ribbon weed. I like water depths of 3-4m but if the water is too clear the whiting often move deeper. I also have a few waypoints from past trips that aid in finding the schools. First, I will drift through the chosen area until I find where the fish are holding. You often see some of the older brigade using floats if not too many boats are around.

These fishos will drop over a float with a heavy weight attached to mark the point where they caught the first fish and then another at the point where they caught the last, working the area in between. Once I’ve found the fish, and using my sounder’s GPS to plot a track, I’ll drift an area until I stop catching fish. To go back to the start, don’t motor back through the area where you just caught the fish, drive around to avoid spooking the rest of the school. I will throw out chicken pellets on the drift too, which helps hold the fish in the area for further drifts. My favourite rig when drifting is the good-old paternoster. When anchored, I use a ball sinker above a swivel and trace. The paternoster rig consists of a swivel, a 1.5m trace with two dropper loops and red Mustad size 5 long-shank hooks and a sinker on the bottom. I use two 8’ Pacific Composite Angler rods, one running a Shimano R4000 with 12lb braid, the other an Okuma ED30 with 10lb braid and both with 8lb leaders. They’re not expensive reels but do exactly what

I require of them. For bait, I usually take worms, small bay prawns (they have to be fresh and not turning black) and some of the squid I caught on one of my squid trips to cut into strips. If the worms have been frozen too long they break up easily when putting a hook through them. Plastic worms work well on sand whiting but don’t seem to work as well when chasing divers. When launching from Whyte Island at low tide, you’ll see a small area in the boat passage where you can catch a bucket of soldier crabs and a few yabbies to nicely supplement the bait line-up. On the way home, I often use a scaler bag, which I place the fish in and then let loose in the ‘V’ of the wash behind the boat once on the move. The bag doesn’t entirely descale the fish but it does get most of the soft ones off. If you haven’t used one before, they’re worth the money. Squid Catching squid in Moreton Bay is quite easy and can be achieved from land or a boat. There’s even a Moreton Bay Squid Club for those fishing land based and ☛ continued P15

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A couple of whiting rigs.

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Seeking out the small stuff ☛ from P14

can be contacted on 0411 644 214 (northside) or 0431 978 015 (southside). The anglers in this club have a wealth of information to share about catching squid.

They also have a Facebook page at facebook. com.au/squidclub For squid, I use my whiting rod and reels, except I increase the leader to at least 12lb. Squid jigs made by YoZuri and Yamashita are

Squid jigs.

ideal in sizes 1.5-2.2 (pink or orange) for pencil squid and 2.2-3 (more natural colours) for tigers. I have both prawn and small fish shapes. When the weather is not suitable for boating, I go land-based squidding at night and use two LED headlamps, one on my cap and another around my waist to leave both hands free. I also take my beach fishing bag to hold the squid and a box with my jigs. Squid can be caught all year but they move around fairly constantly. To start with, you want the clear water that occurs when the westerlies blow over the western weed banks, and you want a big tide that forces the squid to move up

A freshly caught squid.

into the shallows. They generally hang around areas with seagrass beds close by. Any place that has weed beds, mangroves and rock walls is a good area to start. I’ll work the areas from the Wynnum foreshore right down to Cleveland Point (usually from April to November) because these are quite accessible by road and most of the jetties and rock walls have lights shining on the water. Quite often you’ll find squid darting into the light from the darkness as they chase small baitfish and prawns attracted to the light. So how do squid jigs work? The jigs are either designed as prawns or small fish, and squid will usually only hit a jig on its downward motion. The best areas for landbased squidding on the northside are Redcliffe, Clontarf and Woody Point and on the southside Victoria Point, Wellington Point and the Manly and Wynnum foreshores. Most of these areas have jetties and lights on the water, which is ideal for attracting squid. For land-based walking or wading along the shoreline (making sure you have decent foot-

wear), once you see a squid in the beam from your light, move the light off it and cast your jig past the spot where you saw the squid, slowly winding until you feel weight on the line. Then it’s just a matter of lifting the rod to sink the hooks. Generally I stop pulling squid in shortly before landing them to let them get rid of a bit of ink. From a boat, make a long cast over the shallows and begin a quick retrieve before slowing down to see if you have any followers. If you find a school of hungry squid, it usually doesn’t take long to get a few. And if you intend on eating the squid, make sure you put them onto ice straight away because once squid start turning pink they are only good for bait. Any squid placed on ice and later frozen at home will serve you well for bait. A single hook in the hood of a pencil squid will look enticing to any bay snapper. On a final note, congratulations to the two winners of the mystery location photo comp from last month! To see the winners and their stories, head to Page 50.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 15

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HE northside of Brisbane saw a great number of prawns caught before Christmas and from all reports a lot of people were targeting them.

Now the prawn action is kicking on in southern Moreton Bay and this is the time of year heaps of people look forward to. The prawning crowds around the southern bay islands on the weekend of writing this article went to the next level, with 120150 boats on the Saturday and almost the same number on Sunday. Even with this number of boats, most people were getting their limit of prawns. So, averaged at two people per boat and a limit of 10 litres per person, that is 4000 litres of prawns at the very least over those two days in an area about as big as a football field! I’d love to see some underwater footage of what it looks like but unfortunately the water around the bay islands is about as clear as the Brissie River. While most people have their prawning method down pat and each has a different way of throwing a net and bringing it in, I still see and talk to fishos out there struggling to get a feed when a lot of boats are bringing in kilos each cast. So I’m just going to explain the method I use in the hope it may be of some help to those new to prawning or struggling to get the net on top of them. First you’re going to need a net, preferably one with a large top pocket and no bottom pockets. Bottom pockets pick up too much weed, sticks and baitfish that will see you sinking too many beers picking it all out. You can find a wide variety of nets and people making them, and while they will all work, some work better than others. My favourite nets are made by Ben Stabler out of Mount Cotton. Benny makes a pizza

Moreton Bay Prawns by ADAM FOLEY

net, which is a number of pizza slice-shaped panels joined together to form a circle. He uses 27mm mesh and line 3 mono, which is great to throw but also very strong. His net weights vary from 6-8.5kg. A lot of nets I have used twist at the top pocket and make it difficult to empty the prawns quickly and get back in the water. Ben’s nets never twist, instead they open beautifully at the top pocket and you’re ready to cast again in no time. Net weights are very important. A 6kg net is fine in shallower 3-5m depths and will still work in deeper parts of the bay but the difference between the 6kg and 8kg nets in deeper water (15-20m) is chalk and cheese, with the 8kg net catching twice as many prawns. Tides are the most important factor to consider when targeting prawns. You will get prawns on the low tides but I find the high tides more productive. Prawns can be captured on all moon phases but you will find they school up for longer on the neap tides away from the full and new moons because the current is weaker. On this weekend I got there three hours after high tide and still managed 20 litres in no time thanks to the neap tides. Your sounder and GPS are your best friends out there. While you always need to pay attention to your sounder, it is also beneficial to watch what is happening on top of the water. The first thing I will do is pull up and drift, taking note on my GPS what way I am drifting and how fast. If you see someone pull up a good pocket of prawns, knowing what di-

rection and speed you are drifting allows you to easily find that patch. Prawning is organised chaos. It can be very daunting for a new prawner to get his or her boat into a tiny gap between other boats to get on top of the prawns, but nobody minds. Anyone who gets mad at a fellow boatie giving their boat a kiss should probably be prawning up a creek because rubbin’ is racin’, Harry! Baitfish spotted on the sounder can often be mistaken for prawns by a new eye but once you sit in your boat for an hour picking out herring while 80-odd boats laugh at you, you will soon distinguish between prawns and bait. Check out the sounder pictures: bait will often stack up vertically, while prawns will usually be scattered along the bottom as speckles up to about 2m thick. When you are picking up prawns more than 2m thick on the sounder, you know you’re in for some fun. If the current is running or the wind is blowing, you are going to have to compensate for these factors and go a bit further up from the patch. I like to sound over the school of prawns, pick them up on the sounder and cast straight over the back of my motor, making sure it is in neutral. This way I know the transducer has just passed over them and a good spread right behind the outboard should land straight on the school. If you have just sounded over them and you give your mate the nod to throw from up the front of a 4m tinnie, he’ll throw his net 2m out the front and suddenly his net will be falling at least 6m away from where the transducer picked them up.

This could be the difference between 10 prawns and 1kg of prawns. If you are running two nets, throw them both off the transom, one out the port side and one off starboard. I try to use the motor to ensure the rope stays slack until the net hits the bottom, trapping the prawns. If you allow the wind or current to put tension on the rope, your net is going to close before the chain hits the bottom. Once your chain is on the bottom, keep tension on the rope and hopefully you will feel the force of a hundred prawns flicking into your top pocket. Allow your net to stay on the bottom until the flicking of prawns stops and then pull them in. Be aware that the legal prawn limit in Queens-

land is 10 litres per person. Fisheries officers are often out there checking and they are very strict on that 10-litre limit. If you don’t have a 10-litre bucket, you can use a two-litre bottle and fill and empty it five times into the usual 12-litre or bigger buckets, marking a line around the bucket so you’ll know when you are spot on your limit. If you would like to get in touch with Ben Stabler for a new net or repairs on damaged nets, just look him up on Facebook. Wait time on repairs is one week and a bit longer for new nets. I hope in some way this article has helped you in your quest for prawns. Hopefully your catch will improve.

Sounder pic of a 2m-thick school of prawns.

Baitfish can often be mistaken for prawns.

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Early season small to medium prawns from the southern bay islands.

Young Bohdi with a nice pocket of prawns.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 17

An average Moreton Bay spotted mackerel.

Tane with a Moreton Bay spotty mackerel caught by casting metal slugs into a bust-up.

Trying different things pays off M

ORETON Bay is a large body of water with a diverse range of marine life and an array of different species to catch throughout the year.

A few flathead are still around on the right tides in southern Moreton Bay.

In winter you can be chasing snapper, winter whiting, bream and flathead and then in summer mackerel, tuna, snapper, summer whiting and prawns just to name a few. Even though I’ve done a bit of fishing in the bay, it’s mostly concentrated around the bay islands. I don’t go north that much and don’t go too much further south but one thing I know is if you chase the species on offer at the time, it makes life a lot easier and allows you to mix up your fishing techniques. Especially in these summer periods, one day you can be in the northern part of the bay casting stickbaits and metal slugs or trolling paravanes with hard-bodies for species

Moreton Bay by SEAN CONLON

We thought maybe the mackerel had been pushing the bait into the wind and would be to the east, so we headed towards Moreton Island to an area where the mackerel congregate near the Sandhills. Bingo, we started to see birds and bait and a couple of bustups. such as mackerel and tuna and then the next you could be further south trolling hard-bodies, casting soft plastics and soaking fresh bait for a mix of snapper, tuskfish and

grass sweetlip. You can also get the cast net out and when they are around chase a nice feed of prawns. Moreton Bay has a really diverse range of species to

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be targeted all year round, weather permitting. When you’re chasing a certain species, if all the stars align Moreton Bay can be a fantastic fisher. But as with so many other fishing locations, if the stars don’t align and you’re chasing the wrong species at the wrong time or in the wrong place, things can be pretty tough. It pays to do a bit of research and find out everything you can about this local bay of ours so you can fish it better. Over the past month or two I have not been very well, so haven’t done too many charters but I’ve been able to get out when I’ve felt well enough. This has allowed me to do a bit of fishing I wouldn’t normally because I would usually be doing charters in my regular areas with clients. One different method was chasing mackerel in the northern bay. It’s not something I do a lot of but it’s heaps of fun and I will definitely be trying to do a lot more of it through summer when the weather permits. So how did I go about chasing these spotted mackerel? First I looked at the weather and found a day with a low tide at 9am when the weather was looking quite favourable with light wind. I picked up my mate Tane and we left the Cleveland boat ramp at 5.30am. We had a bit of informa-

tion on where the fish had been the week before, so we had a little look around those areas but with different tides to the previous week the fish were not there. So we went in search of our mackerel. With the tide still running out, we headed north. For the first couple of hours we didn’t see any birds diving or bust-ups, so we stopped and had a think about where the fish could be. The tides were not very big that week with not much run in the water, and the wind had been blowing from the east for the previous two days. We thought maybe the mackerel had been pushing the bait into the wind and would be to the east, so we headed towards Moreton Island to an area where the mackerel congregate near the Sandhills. Bingo, we started to see birds and bait and a couple of bust-ups. By having a little think we were no longer aimlessly driving around, landing on some fish. We had been told before we went out that the mackerel had been eating small bait, so we had already rigged up 2040g slugs on 5-8kg rods spooled with 20lb braid and 30lb leader. We had a few goes at chasing the schools of mackerel but they were moving too fast and were going deep before we ☛ continued P19

e be We won’t b

Caloundra Marine 8 BA L DW I N STRE E T, CALO U N DR A Q LD 4551 | PH 07 5491 1944 Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Home and washed down before lunch with a nice feed of average size spotty mackerel between 65cm and 75cm.

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Trying different things pays off ☛ from P18

could get a cast at them. Moving away from the schools, we came up with a different plan. Because we had a 10-knot breeze blowing from the east, we waited for a school of fish to bust up and then drove towards them from the east, getting within casting distance and shutting the engine down to let the wind push the boat towards them from there. Having the wind at our backs also allowed us to make longer casts. This approach immediately changed everything and we hooked up on mackerel straight away.

We basically kept doing this for the next couple of hours, catching fish, losing fish, sharks eating fish, mackerel biting us off and all the usual mayhem that goes with mackerel fishing. When chasing this species, try to stay calm and take care to not drive straight over the schools of fish. Think about where they’re moving, how they’re moving, how they’re feeding and be aware of other people’s proximity to you and how they’re fishing. The idea is for you to make fewer casts in total but more worthwhile casts that catch fish.

This is one of the keys to hooking mackerel. You also need to be chasing them at the right time of year with the right equipment and right technique. Make sure you think about the tides, the previous week’s weather and the wind direction on the day. Stopping to reconsider your approach might change what ends up in the Esky. Tane and I each took a couple of mackerel home for a feed, which was plenty for me because I don’t have a big family and we left lots more mackerel there for you to go and chase.

Movement restrictions apply this prawning season

ITH the prawning season kicking off in southeast Queensland, it is important to remember movement restrictions are in place in Moreton Bay.

To help protect Queensland’s beautiful natural waterways, fishers must not move raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms out of the white spot disease movement restriction area in southeast Queensland. The restrictions are in place from Caloundra to the NSW border and west to Ipswich and they also apply to uncooked, frozen crustaceans because freezing does not destroy the virus. What is white spot disease? White spot disease is caused by a virus that affects crustaceans such as prawns, crabs, lobsters and yabbies. The disease was first detected in prawn farms along the Logan River south of Brisbane in December 2016 and then subsequently in prawn and crab samples collected from the Logan River, Brisbane River, Moreton Bay and Deception Bay. In some situations, white spot disease can cause mass mortalities in prawns. While white spot dis-

ease does not affect fish, it is not known what impacts the disease could have on the marine food chain and local fish stocks. Prawns infected with white spot disease do not pose a risk to people’s health and are completely safe. What are the latest results from white spot disease testing? The last round of testing for white spot disease was conducted in October 2017 and all samples returned negative results for the virus that causes white spot disease. This doesn’t neces-

sarily mean white spot disease is gone, but it does indicate the disease may not be established in Moreton Bay. To confirm white spot disease has been eradicated, Biosecurity Queensland will need negative test results consecutively for two years. The next round of testing is scheduled for March and April 2018. What does white spot disease look like? Prawns with white spot disease may have a loose shell with numerous white spots on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.

However, please note infected prawns and yabbies may not display any symptoms and white spots may appear for a range of reasons including freezer burn and bacterial and fungal infections. How do I report white spot disease? If you find a prawn you think may have white spot disease, it is important you take a photo of the prawn showing the spots, keep the prawn chilled and contact Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or report it through the white spot disease reporting form online at daf.qld. gov.au/wsd

Pan size snapper have been getting about. This one was caught on a fresh prawn.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 19

Rob’s 20-year-old secret weapon.

Moreton Bay mackerel trip

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Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Saturday was looking the goods early in the week but as is always the case, things changed and Sunday it was. Five boats had shown interest but as Sunday rolled around it was down to three boats and crew willing to give it a crack. With a 4.30am meeting time at the ramp, no one really needed a stiff coffee to wake them up after receiving the jolt when filling up at the bowser that morning. As they launched and departed the ramp, rain caused a few other boaties to wait it out and see if it would stop. Toughen up petals, it’s only water and in summer too. Heading out, Salty noticed Queenslander 2 was lagging behind, so did the right thing and slowed down to wait. Though I’m pretty sure he won’t bother next time because Queenslander 2 roared past, leaving Rob struggling to keep up. First spot to hit was the M3/ M4 area and there were good signs of life. Salty and Queenslander 2 stayed around M3 while Fang 3 was on M4 and after many drops Pete finally hooked up to what seemed like a local train. After a strange fight, he pulled in a mackerel head and then saw Flipper on the surface with a smile from fin to fin. It was a mother dolphin and her calf and it looked like she was teaching it the finer art of fish stealing. This is something you usually see the older dolphins doing, so let’s hope it’s not the start of a new trend. Salty soon left Queenslander 2 and Fang 3 and headed for Western Rocks. The guys sounded around and anchored on a good show but try as they might they just couldn’t get a bite. Slugs, pillies, livies: nothing worked. Darren was a bit gun shy because the last time he was at this spot with Rob he broke

Power Boat Anglers by MICK CLUTTERBUCK

$1000 worth of rods. Understandably, he was being very careful with the replacements. They received a call from Fang 3 saying they had boated a couple and after some confusion about location found them inside Comboyuro Point. The boys had been doing the work drifting pillies and getting nice mackerel, so Rob decided to not crowd them but rather leave them to it and try elsewhere in the bay. Travelling only a couple of hundred metres, they noticed some birds in the distance and as they approached cautiously there seemed to be about an acre of activity. Unsure of what they were, they threw slugs until Rob finally got a follow to the boat by the big brown back of a spotted mackerel. Now the guys knew they were mackerel, they cut loose with all manner of lures. Unfortunately, despite plenty of follows, none would convert to a strike, which was very frustrating. Rob eventually hooked one and after spending too much time stuffing around with the net managed to drop it at the side of the boat. This will come as no shock to anyone who has followed this column over the years as dropping the first fish of the season seems to be part of the Rob Schomberg annual spotty ritual. Thankfully Darren knows how it’s done and quickly hooked, landed and dispatched his spotty to the Esky in quick time. By now they had company and the schools were thinning, so it was time for a change of tactics. Rob had floated out a pillie and had it snipped off, so decided to dust off some bait trolling lures he used to make 20 years ago. They rigged the pillies on them

and put the motor into gear. Queenslander 2 called and just as Rob went for the microphone, Darren’s rod went off, followed in quick succession by his own. This time he didn’t muck around and with both fish safely in the boat, they again threw out the rigs and put the boat into gear. Just as they moved off, Rob again went for the radio but was halted once more when both rods screamed into action. Both fish were dealt with quickly and with a brief lull in proceedings Rob had a chance and made the call to Queenslander 2 to find they had called it a day and were heading in with Fang 3. The boys on Queenslander 2 had managed a fish each while the lads on Fang 3 had nearly bagged out all round on good fish. Salty continued to troll around the small twitchy schools and bagged out in under 30 minutes. Darren had put a small pink squid skirt on top of his Quicktroll and was using 50lb braid and leader, with this rig landing all his fish. Rob on the other hand had used 20lb braid and leader and landed four fish, so maybe the pink skirt does work. In the wash-up the results were: Darren with 4.34m of mackerel; Bernie with 4.11m; Rob with 2.87m; Colin with 2.23m; Paul with 0.7m; Peter with 0.7m; and Stefan with 0.7m, leaving Darren the winner and taking away the carton. Next meetings The next Power Boat Anglers club meeting will be held on Monday, March 5, followed by Monday, April 9 – a week late due to Easter Monday. Meetings are held on the first Monday of the month at the Bulimba Bowls Club located in Quinn St, Balmoral. Please feel free to come along and meet us. Safe boating.

Honda Marine launches new V6 range

ONDA Marine powers into 2018 with a redesign of its flagship outboard motors, the BF175, BF200, BF225 and BF250. Targeting the heart of the boating market, the refreshed Honda V6 models mark the newest evolution in the company’s product line, integrating innovative design, a sleek new style, enhanced reliability, streamlined maintenance and an expanded number of rigging options for ease of use. Whether boaters are weekend cruisers or commercial (including government and law enforcement) users, these enhanced V6 motors deliver what every marine enthusiast wants – maximum time on the water. Honda Marine sales manager Rod Day said, “It’s a new design and now one engine platform powering the BF175,

BF200, BF225 and BF250.” “With multiple rigging options and Honda’s legendary durability and reliability as standard, these new Honda Marine engines will provide the best power and performance from the initial blast to top-end speed.” The new Honda Marine BF175, BF200, BF225 and BF250 incorporate more than cosmetic appearance changes. The revamped Honda V6 engine also features a number of enhancements for improved reliability and ease of maintenance. All four of the refreshed Honda Marine high-power outboards have an expanded number of rigging options, including top-mount binnacle or side-mount controls, for both electronic and mechanically controlled engines; newly designed push button and key

start configurations; and a multi-function display to provide boaters with a customised onthe-water operating experience. A standard tilt limit switch has been added to all four models. Rounding out the rigging options, models with the nextgeneration Intelligent Shift and Throttle offer a one-push button start and theft-deterring immobiliser unit for added security. All four units are joystick compatible for boaters who want to add this feature. Honda Marine offers the BF175, BF200, BF225 and BF250 in silver. The new outboards are backed by Honda Marine’s industryleading seven-year domestic and three-year commercial factory warranty and are arriving in November 2018. marine.honda.com.au www.bnbfishing.com. au

Great fishing opportunities on Gold Coast

UTUMN is here and so are the great fishing opportunities that come with it. Offshore fishing has been going well when the weather permits. Spotted mackerel have been popular targets for anglers using metal slugs, smaller stickbaits and trolled live bait of slimy mackerel. A few more spanish mackerel are starting to pop their heads up and trolling out wider for dolphinfish and black marlin on skirts has produced as well. Estuary fishing is on fire for trevally, cod, mangrove jack, flathead and bream. Trevally are being caught on smaller surface stickbaits and poppers early of a morning and late of an afternoon, which can be a load of fun. They are often seen busting up little baitfish on the surface, easily giving away their location. When trevally are in a feeding mood, they look for the easiest meal possible, so casting in their proximity is usually enough to get a bite. While they don’t carry the same prestigious reputation as mangrove jack, they can be very hard to catch and once hooked do everything they can to bust you off. They are really underrated target fish but in the past few years the interest in jack fishing has significantly increased. The added pressure of more anglers trying to

Nerang Rooster Report by DARREN RAMA

catch them just heightens the difficulty, so it’s a great achievement when one is landed. Lately I’ve heard reports of jacks being caught on a variety of techniques, from weedless plastics cast at natural structure and pontoons to live baits fished at night. This time of year is one of the best for using surface lures to target them. Surface fishing for jacks is exciting for the visual aspect of the strike. After observing these fish feeding, I’ve found they try to get alongside their prey and turn on it to attack the first third of the body, making the feed a guaranteed thing. So when they attack a soft plastic, most of the time they will have already turned around and are on the way back to the structure they came from. Using surface lures gives you a greater opportunity because hitting a surface lure will usually mean they are further from their structure, which gives you a few extra seconds to turn their head and reduce your chance of getting busted off. Lately rods of 4-6kg and baitcasters with 5kg of drag and about 20lb braid have been enough to stop these fish. Smaller bull sharks have been feeding heavily in the canals and upper reaches of rivers until they grow big enough to

head out into the ocean. Catching 10 bull sharks a night isn’t uncommon in the Logan and surrounding rivers. I have been using a 5000 size Shimano Stradic FK loaded with 30lb braid and connected to a 15kg rod, which has been enough because the sharks have ranged from 70cm to about 1.5m on average. But as with all systems, some of the sharks present will make you think twice about going for a dip. Bait wise, live mullet and eel have worked well on about 1m of steel trace

crimped to an 8/0 circle hook. Unweighted or floated out baits seem to be equally effective. Time of day isn’t much of a factor. I find it’s more to do with the level of boat traffic than anything. Bass fishing has been firing in all rivers for anglers using cicada imitations and walk-the-dog lures in low-light periods. And don’t be afraid to try fishing in shallow pools because lately I have had great fun trying to pull fish out of pools with about 30cm of water or less. They seem to travel a little further for a meal in really shallow water and you can often watch the

hit because the water is so shallow. As they approach they’ll produce a small bow wave and you can watch the wave home in on your lure. Then when they strike you get to watch the whole thing, so the visual aspect is awesome. When the sun is higher in the sky, using small chatterbaits and jig spin combinations can be deadly. The additional vibration and livelier presentation of something like a small jig spin can significantly affect your fishing trip. Hopefully you get out this month and try a few different things to step out of your comfort zone and possibly find something you love.

A bass hooked on surface while walking the bank.

An estuary cod caught while trying for a jack.

Average size sharks are plentiful in the canals and rivers.

Nate with a bass taken while fishing smaller pools.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 21

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This means a couple of extra species to chase too. While not the biggest fish in our estuaries, garfish can be fun to catch, great to eat and make excellent bait. March will see big numbers of garfish on the top of the tide over the weed beds at the back of Wave Break Island and the weed beds around Crab Island. An early morning high tide around 8-9am is ideal for chasing these fish.

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Berley is essential but that just means leaving a loaf of bread out to go stale. Scrapping the stale bread so you have a steady trail of breadcrumbs out the back will have plenty of gar behind the boat. A cheese grater on a block loaf works well. A light whippy rod, 6lb line, pencil float and size 8 hook with a small piece of green prawn for bait is all the tackle required. Bigger gar are great eating, while the smaller ones make excellent tailor bait for the surf fishos or can be used as surf and estuary bream baits if filleted. This month will see the first schools of tailor turn up in the Broadwater as well. These fish will show up in the same areas as above for a feed of garfish. Tailor can be caught using many different methods. My two favourites are trolling hard-bodied lures and using surface lures. Tailor will move up onto the weed beds on the top of the tide to feed and will attack medium size surface walkers that resemble the small garfish they are feeding on. It can be spectacular fishing, with lures attacked as soon as they hit the water and sometimes having three or four tailor fighting over your lure on the retrieve. Tailor is another species that can be used as either food or bait. If you’re eating them, bleeding them will improve their flavour. As a bait you can use them in many ways. Never bleed tailor that are to be used as bait because this will decrease the amount of scent dispersed in the water from their flesh. Whole tailor are excellent as slow trolled baits for big spanish mackerel. Slow trolling on a downrigger is the best bet at this time of year on the Gold Coast. Whole fillets of tailor are very good jewfish bait, whether fishing in the Seaway from a boat or the surf. Large strip baits work really well for snapper offshore and smaller cut pieces make great baits for big bream in our estuaries and the surf. I am afraid the weather over the past month hasn’t been great for offshore fishing, especially for those of us in smaller boats. The odd spotted and spanish mackerel is around but it certainly hasn’t been a great season so far. Spanish mackerel numbers will be good this month but the spotties will be less active in the cooler water. An unweighted livie out

the back of the boat is irresistible to big spaniards if they are around. Snapper are an all year round option, and several good fish have been taken on the 24-fathom reefs. While not a great eating fish, a lot of mack tuna will be in close offshore this month. The smaller ones can be good flesh baits for snapper. The bigger mack tuna really put up a great fight and even though they aren’t good eating they are quite OK as mud crab bait if you want to keep one. Otherwise just enjoy the fight and release them. In the rivers, we are getting to the end of our summer spawning season for whiting but plenty are still biting at night between Isle of Capri and Sundale Bridge in the Nerang River. This month the whiting will start to head back upstream. I have already taken a trip in the Sorrento area and we hooked good size fish in the afternoon between Cotton Trees and Bundall Bridge. Numbers will increase in this area this month and it will be our main area for fishing until the start of spawning again in September. Bloodworms will always be the best bait to use, and just a reminder they can now be bought on the Goldy at The Bait Shop Gold Coast at Kendor St, Arundel. Phone 0406 737 773 to order your worms. If you’re keen to chase flathead, the upper reaches of the Nerang River are well worth trying. Flathead move upstream into the rivers and canals at this time of year. A morning trolling for flathead and an afternoon whiting fishing is a great way to spend a day in the Nerang. The Sorrento area around Hickeys Corner and nearby canals are definitely worth a look. Small lures such as Lively Lures Micro Mullets

and Taylor Made Nippy Shrimps work well. As I write, I am hearing about multiple possibly severe storms by the end of February for southern Queensland. While in the short term this may not be good, the long-term benefits to our local fishing will be great. Just remember to keep those mud crab pots handy if it happens because the heavy rain will

get them on the move in big numbers. Lots of government meetings and inquiries are occurring at the moment regarding our fishing – let’s hope some good and fair decisions come out of them. If the rumour mill is correct, major changes to fisheries legislation are on their way. ‘Til next month, fish for the future.

Grahame with a quality snapper from the close Gold Coast reefs.

Pete and a lure-caught tailor from the Broadwater.

Rebecca and Jessica held part of their whiting catch from the Pimpama River.

Jacob scored a mangrove jack in the Nerang River.

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This small bigeye trevally put up a great fight for Luke on very light line and a surface popper.

This is a great month to target whiting on surface lures. This one took a Bassday Sugapen.

March has a lot to offer anglers G

’DAY everyone, at the time of writing we are getting a bit of much-needed rain for our land and rivers after a parched and hot summer.

This small amount of rain will definitely contribute to the success of the fishing this month because March usually has a lot of variety to offer anglers. The lower reaches of our rivers and creeks, especially the mouths, can often produce a bit of pelagic action in the form of giant and big-eye trevally as well as queenfish. The key to locating these fish is to find bait on your sounder and keep an eye out for any bird or surface activity. Tide changes provide the most consistent bite periods. Small metal spinners cast and retrieved at speed as well as small hardbodied minnows trolled around the edges of the feeding frenzy are the

Gold Coast Guide by BRAD SMITH

best options for success. Fly fishers will also do well with deceiver-pattern flies. The water temperature should start to cool marginally this month, which will help your chances of catching flathead as the water often reached 29C over summer and sent the flatties off the bite. The fringes of seagrass beds and the deeper channels running between shallow sandbanks are always likely ambush areas for the flathead to wait for their unsuspecting prey on the run-out tide. Flathead are not fussy and will respond to all types of lures and baits as long as your presentations are worked close to the bottom in their feeding zone.

Whiting should be plentiful this month, with the weeks leading up to the new and full moons usually coinciding with their peak bite periods. Anglers who take the time to collect quality live baits in the form of yabbies, blood and sand worms give themselves the best chance of catching quality whiting, especially if fishing as lightly as possible. My favourite way to target whiting is with surface poppers over shallow sandbanks in the rivers. Try to fish as shallow as possible when targeting whiting on surface because they are reluctant to rise in water any deeper than about 70cm. My favourite surface lure is without doubt

the Bassday Sugapen in MB16 and C95 colours, which never let me down. The deeper holes in our rivers might also provide the opportunity to target jewies this month, with the key to success being locating bait in the bottom of the holes and fishing around the tide changes. Live herring and poddy mullet are great jewfish baits, while soft plastics and vibes are the choice lures for enticing this hard-fighting species. March is still a great month for chasing the much sought-after and highly aggressive mangrove jack. In fact, this month has often turned out to be my most consistent time of year for catching them. Look for very heavily structured areas, and like most species, jacks peak in feeding habits around the tide changes, so time your trips around the top

or bottom of the tide. As with the jewies, gather live baits of herring or even better poddy mullet, with fresh strips of mullet and salted tuna good choices for jacks too. Hard-bodied and soft plastic lures are also proven performers on jacks but must be worked with precision in order to keep them in the strike zone, which is as tight and close as possible to the chosen structures. There is no point fishing too light for this species, with 20lb braid and leader as light as I would recommend. Jacks will have you dusted in the snags in the blink of an eye if you don’t get them away from structure in time. Well good people, that’s it for me for another month. I hope you do well and I look forward to speaking to you again next month.

Nathan was thrilled to catch his first mangrove jack and this 51cm model was a great start.

Australian music icon Russell Morris with a nice flathead caught on a hard-bodied lure in the Tweed River.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 23

Joe held a nice spotty caught off Burleigh Heads.

Mitch with a stonker giant herring during a steamy early morning session.

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Mitch and a not-so giant herring that took a lure almost too big for its gob.

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Page 24 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Over the past few weeks the fish have really turned it on, with just about every pelagic you could imagine on offer. Spotted mackerel have been around in good numbers but some days we’ve had to work hard to find the fish, and even then we’ve occasionally had to try several methods before finding one that works. Pilchard baits have been working best of late. Spanish mackerel have also been caught with regularity and some monster fish have been among them. The spaniards prefer big live baits or lures, especially hard-bodies towed at about seven knots. They will also make a menace of themselves by taking baits set for spot-

Gold Coast by HEATH ZYGNERSKI

ties, which makes for a good fight on lighter gear. Out wide, plenty of mahi mahi and wahoo are still being captured. The wahoo should start to move in a bit closer as the season goes on. Good numbers of marlin are about, with some great blues and blacks being caught. Numerous small blacks have been hooked in very close around the bait schools by the fishos chasing mackerel. It’s interesting as you see them get towed off towards the horizon by a jumping marlin, especially the anglers in kayaks. The creeks and rivers are still firing for man-

grove jack, jewfish and flathead. Mixed in are giant herring and the odd trophy fish for southeast Queensland, the barramundi. Again this summer more than a few have been caught, with their capture locations kept a tightlipped secret. Remember though, we are bound by the same closed season as the regular barra fisheries further north. With that small drop of rain we had in early February the muddies went on the march for a few weeks. Fantastic catches were had in all creeks and rivers, with fresh mullet the gun bait for the pots.

As we head into March, we should see the fishing improve even further as schools of many species congregate to spawn. The size of the fish at this time of year tends to increase as the fish have had a chance to fatten up. Be wary of the big spanish mackerel because they may carry the dreaded ciguatera virus, which will make you crook as a dog. There is no way of testing for it, so it’s a roll of the dice if the fish carries it or not. The local bars are all in fairly bad shape. Tweed River Bar is getting very shallow inside the walls, causing pressure waves on the run-out. That back bank seems to be getting shallower every month. Currumbin Creek Bar is a right mess. There is a small channel

around the wall and then a shallow gutter that runs down the beach for a few hundred metres. On a half tide you’ll be pressed getting over the back bank and coming in you will need to be sitting on the back of a wave at the narrowest section to the north to get back in to the gutter and then jump back on the plane as you run along the beach back to the wall. Tallebudgera Creek Bar is shallow and should only be used on the calmest of days. A bank has built up in front of the Seaway and it is catching the swell and causing pressure waves on the run-out. Keep an eye out when using any of the bars and ensure you log on and off with volunteer marine rescue services. ‘Til next month, bent rods to you all.

Why the tide didn’t come in and other puzzling peculiarities pertaining to predictions

’DAY, Fred, we’ve been thinking about your phone calls to us over the years – the ones where you want to know why some of the things you have experienced haven’t been exactly as the Tide Guide predicted they would be.

How can it be the top or bottom of the tide if I can still see the tide running? We remember that occasion too, Fred. That was when you were anchored near a beacon just inside the mouth of a river. You were fishing what the book said was the top of the tide (without much luck, if we remember correctly). Not having much else to do, other than crack the occasional tinnie, you noticed the water was still streaming in past the beacon and did not stop running until almost an hour after the time which the book said should have been the top of the tide. I know you reckoned we were out by more than an hour on that occasion, Fred. Or was it when you were fishing off the old bridge across the sand flats (again, you weren’t having much luck) and you could see the water was still running out along

Tidal Talk by PETER LAYTON

the channels and draining the banks well after the time which the book said should have been low tide. It doesn’t matter which instance we talk about, Fred, because the reason is the same. The tide rises or it falls. It does not run. What you were seeing was a tidal current, and that’s a different thing altogether. You are confusing slack water, the time when the tidal current stops flowing in one direction and begins flowing in the opposite direction, with the top or bottom of the tide. The times of slack water do not always coincide with the times of high and low tide. This is especially apparent when the ocean is connected to a large area of land-locked water by a relatively narrow channel. The Southern Ocean funnelling through Port Phillip Heads into Port Phillip Bay is an excellent example. The same thing can be seen to a lesser extent where the Pacific Ocean channels through the Southport Seaway into the Broadwater on the Gold

Coast and in through the northern end of Pumicestone Passage near the Sunshine Coast. The tidal range on the ocean side will be greater than the tidal range in the basin behind the channel. When high tide occurs on the ocean side, the water level there will be much higher than the level inside the basin, so water will continue to stream in long after the time of high tide. Only when the two water levels equalise (the falling tide outside drops to the height of the water inside) will slack water occur in the channel itself. The tidal current will not stop until long after high or low tide has been and gone. The Broadwater is different to Port Phillip Bay in that it is also linked to the ocean through the southern end of Moreton Bay and Jumpinpin Bar. But at the Southport Seaway, or the Noosa Bar for a third example, another peculiarity of tides occurs – tidal currents pass one another in opposite directions at the same time. The water police would have their work cut out

directing tidal traffic here, Fred! Water held in a large shallow basin behind a narrow entrance is heated by the sun and the land mass beneath it. Even though the warm water will continue to flow out across the top of the entrance channel for some time after the low tide has been reached, the cold waters of the incoming tide will be flowing back in under what you see as the outgoing tide. Confused, Fred? We’re not surprised. All it means is the tide has changed and is coming back in, even though it looks like it’s still going out. And if there’s been a lot of rain in the catchment

area of the basin, the effect will be even more pronounced. So the next time you’re fishing an area similar to one of those we described above and you think you see the tide still going out an hour or so after the time when the Tide Guide said it would be low tide, please don’t ring us and tell us we got it wrong. We didn’t. You simply misunderstood what you saw. Your eyes have been telling you porkies, Fred. The Tide Guide managing editor Peter Layton has responded with this article to the people who’ve rung him with complaints over the years. Cartoons by the late Mac Vines and McGookin.

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Mental mackerel mayhem M

ACK ER EL madness is upon us big time.

Many years ago when I started fishing offshore, a mate of mine who was a legendary mackerel fisho said: “Tell me the truth or tell me nothing at all, just don’t lie to me.” Rumours, lies, secrets, gossip and bum steers… The other day I heard a rumour that a boat got 15 mackerel on the Brunswick local reef. I pinned the bloke on exactly what day it was (definitely ‘yesterday’). I didn’t tell him, but I knew for certain no boats went out ‘yesterday’ because the bar was too big. My advice is to trust those who you know tell the truth and as for the rest, well if you didn’t see the fish, it didn’t happen. Go and do your own thing. A few spotted mackerel were caught mid-January but since then they have disappeared. When the water is good, spanish have been hooked from Black Rocks to Byron Bay but after a day or two of northerly wind they have been much harder to find despite the water temperature only dropping slightly. The local reef at Brunswick has been as good as anywhere. As I reported last month, quality bait has been hard to find and still is.

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Tweed to Byron Bay by GAVIN DOBSON

Even yellowtail (yakkas) have been scarce some days, but in the week leading up to writing this report they have been reliable. Slimy mackerel have been nonexistent thus far and good-quality dead baits are rare. I haven’t caught a bonito of trolling size for months and small tailor are very patchy at best. The good news is in the absence of something better, the mackerel are taking yakkas but if you can get a better bait it will get hit much quicker. On a very recent trip, Lewan and I fluked two pike, and these are up there with mackerel’s alltime favourite food. Needless to say, they didn’t last long. With a shortage of good bait this year, I have rigged some unusual fish for use as troll baits. I procured half a dozen giant herring about 45cm long and got mackerel to bite them. A big milkfish took some convincing to swim like it was alive again and when I finally got it going a shark ate it. Digging down to the bottom of the freezer, I found an XOS flying fish that jumped aboard our

local prawn trawler one night. It seemed a funny shape and I wasn’t sure if it would swim but once in the water it showed an enticing wriggle. A mackerel ate it but unfortunately the hooks didn’t stay in for more than a couple of minutes. A few big sea mullet are in my freezer, and it’s only a matter of time before a mackerel gets to look at one of those swimming by. Spanish mackerel can be caught using a variety of techniques. I like trolling big dead baits and I also like anchoring and drifting live baits out the back. Trolling live baits is a very popular technique and while not my preferred option, I end up doing quite a bit of it throughout the season. A live bait on a downrigger is a good technique later in the morning when the fish start to shut down on the surface. One reason I like anchoring for mackerel is it gives you the option to fish the bottom for reef fish or perhaps a snapper or jew. My dad loved bottom fishing for the variety and colour of fish he dragged up.

He found trolling for mackerel very monotonous. I guess I’m a bit the same because I like filling in the time between mackerel bites with a few reef fish. The FAD off Cape Byron has been loaded with small but just-legal dolphinfish over the past couple of weeks. The bigger models we were encountering over the previous three months have gone a bit quiet. Wahoo are also a bit on the quiet side, with a few getting caught early and now nothing. March to May is traditionally the best period for a wahoo, so I’m not giving up on them yet. You know how I’ve been complaining cobia are extinct? Well I have heard of two being hooked in the past month! One was 8kg and the other one was ate too (by a great white shark). Speaking of sharks, they are again really bad this year. Big bull sharks are taking their toll on hooked fish. A mackerel leaping out of the water after it has been hooked is a sure sign a shark is chasing it. While it’s a fantastic sight watching a mackerel jump, the resultant loss of the fish is a great frustration. Torakina Beach in the

Brunswick River was recently buzzed by about five small bull sharks and 50 people exited the water quick smart. While on the subject of the river, a few fish are getting around. Whiting have been good, as have mangrove jack and mud crabs. Trevally to 2kg continue to be caught on spinners and live herring in the lower reaches. The upper river water is bath temperature at the moment, so now is a great time to be chasing all the summer species. Back offshore, March is also a good time to start thinking about a night fish for jewfish on the close reefs. If we can get some good weather this month, there should be plenty of fishing options.

Sunrise on the water is always an exciting time. Will you catch the fish of your dreams or will you go home empty-handed?

When mackerel fishing at anchor it never hurts to drop a bottom basher. You might catch a big fat moses perch like this one.

Lewan with a quality spanish mackerel, known locally as a ‘barree’.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 25

Bountiful time at Ballina H

ELLO and welcome to this month’s edition of BNB.

Ches Lennon put his bream gear into overdrive with this Richmond River jewie.

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This is a fantastic time of year for any angler. Flathead and whiting are in full swing in the Richmond River and often plenty of mud crabs are around too. Offshore we usually see good numbers of pelagic species such as mackerel, marlin and mahi mahi, along with quality kingfish out wide. With all these upsides there has to be a downside. The downside is we usually see wet weather at some point, which can lead to flooding and a discoloured river. The past couple of months have been fairly dry for the most part. Rain has come in the form of severe thunderstorms, which have dumped reasonable amounts of rain in short periods. At the time of writing, the river is still discoloured from the last batch of storms. My concern is that given the warm ocean temperatures at this time of year, we are yet to see our really wet and windy period. Watch this space over the next couple of months and we shall see if I’m right or wrong. Hopefully I am totally off base with this prediction, but only time will tell. Let’s have a look at what’s biting around the place. The mackerel are finally here! That’s right, it’s the phrase every offshore angler has been waiting to hear. As is usually the case,

Ballina Bait & Tackle by BRETT HYDE

they have been very inconsistent in their frequency and numbers. They have shown up on a number of different reefs in good numbers one day, and seem to have completely vanished without a trace the next. This will probably remain the case for another month or so, until the bulk of the schools make their way down the coast. Live slimy mackerel have been the best bait but a number of fish have also fallen to hard-body lures trolled between five and 10 knots. Given the large number of boats that can be out targeting these sharptoothed speedsters at this time of year, it may be worth trying an extradeep-diving lure or running your live bait on a downrigger because the extra boat traffic can cause the mackerel to sit much deeper in the water column. Lennox Head, Black Head and Riordans Reef will all be likely spots to try over the next couple of months, especially of an early morning or late afternoon. A number of other species are around too. We have been seeing good numbers of mahi mahi around the FAD and wave-rider buoy. Skirted lures, metal spinners and live baits have all tasted success of late, so it will be worth making sure you have at least a couple of these options in your tackle box the next time you head out, just in case the mahi mahi are a little off their dinner and on the picky side.

If you are not into pelagics, flathead, snapper, kingfish and pearl perch are still on offer. The northern 32 and 42-fathom lines have been the best places to start, but there is plenty of current out there so you will need to pack plenty of lead. Slow-pitch or micro jigs can be a difficult proposition at this time of year because of the current, so I recommend instead looking at soft plastics, baits such as mullet or squid and octopus-style jigs because these can all be used with plenty of weight to contend with that heavy current. Back in the river, whiting have been a little disappointing of late. This has partly been due to the recent influx of discoloured water brought on by the latest batch of storms. A number of betterquality whiting have taken a liking to surface walkers and poppers in North Creek and the lower reaches of the main river. The usual locations such as Pimlico Island have not produced the expected numbers of fish for those trying their luck with worms and live yabbies, but we may see an improvement over the next month as the larger tides continue to push clearer water back into the river. Flathead on the other hand have been quite reliable, with plenty of eating size fish taking prawns, white pilchards and 3” or 4” soft plastics. The bigger models have been happy to grab a live

herring, poddy mullet or larger soft plastics. Some better than average school mulloway have fallen in the same way as the larger flathead, but as you would expect, the bulk of these have been captured on the change of the tide. Pleasingly, a significant number have been captured during the day, which may be due to the dirty water. Over the course of summer we have also seen trevally in North Creek and the main river between the Burns Point Ferry and Wardell Bridge. Unfortunately, they have been a little hard to nail down because they tend to move very quickly from one location to the next. It will pay to have a surface lure tied on and ready to go at the drop of a hat the next time you head out. The beaches have all produced a few fish over the past month or so. We have finally started to see reasonable tailor in the surf as well as plenty of whiting, dart and flathead. With any luck, these numbers of tailor will continue into winter and we’ll actually have a tailor season this winter. The dart and whiting have been taking the usual baits such as worms and pipis, while the flathead have been much the same as their cousins in the river and showing plenty of interest in white pilchards. South Ballina and Seven Mile beaches have been the pick of late, but most of the beaches with some half-decent formations have produced fish. That’s all from me this month. ‘Til next time, tight lines!

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Lachlan with his PB bass of 44cm taken on a Tiemco Soft Shell Cicada.

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Bush â&#x20AC;&#x2122;n Beach Fishing, March 2018 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Page 27

Evans Head Deep Sea

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Damon and a good size bass. Some very nice bass are caught in skinny water. Never think there are no fish in small ponds – you will be surprised.

One of the better bream and bass lures, the Atomic Prong. The author used this lure in the smaller version when it first came out and bream were all over it.

Bread and butter species the best bet

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HE year is marching on but I have not caught up at all.

My boat has cobwebs on it from being in storage and I think I have a few on me as well. I know the fish are there, it’s just getting to them that is my biggest problem. Not being well can really stuff you up and I have been away from the water for so long I feel like a dried prune, and an old one at that. Luckily I have mates who still get out and fish often and I get a lot of feedback from them. Thank you guys, I could not do it without you lot. So from what I’ve heard, bass, bream, flathead, jewfish, tailor and whiting are the go for the next couple of months. The whiting are big fish, with models over 35cm the norm. Most have been falling to hard-body lures such as 50mm poppers, Lucky Craft Sammy 65 surface walkers and Bassday Sugapens. Bream fishing on the beaches has been really good and numerous big specimens have been captured. Most of the larger fish have fallen to cut baits such as herring and mullet but if you can get a hold of some garfish they will outfish most other baits. The bream have been in the better gutters, so if you can find a long gutter with an entry and exit, that is where the bream will be. Whiting and flathead will also be there and worms will be the best bait for the whiting. Jewfish are being caught off the beach too but night-time is best on the run-in tide with squid or mullet baits. Some anglers have been using big Halco lures in either Qantas or gold colours. You will need a good 12’ rod with a bit of whip in it to cast far enough to reach the areas best for the jewfish. Wilson Fishing makes

Evans Head by GARY ‘SQUIDGIE’ PALMER

great rods suitable for this situation. Just drop into your nearest tackle shop and talk to the folks behind the counter who should be able to put you onto the best rod for the job. I have written about this before but I just don’t use big rods these days due to my ill health. If you find me wandering along the beaches, I’ll have a 7’ flick stick, shoulder bag and Alvey bait bucket around my waist to hold soft plastics, hard-body lures or both. It depends what I’m targeting on the day. Most times I’ll have both in the bucket because you never know what will turn up on any given day. There’s nothing like a wander along the beach for a fish. Sometimes a walk helps clear the head and gets you ready for another day in the office. I always like to take a rod with me, even if it’s just for show. We have been getting good reports of blackfish turning up a bit early this year, and some very big fish as well. At Evans Head, they will always be caught on the walls a couple of days after a big swell. I have captured so many after big seas it’s not funny. I always check the weather and if it says we can expect rough weather in a couple of days I will collect my weed and cabbage that day in readiness for the swell. Then after the swell I will hit the walls or Bream Hole on the last of the run-out and fish the entire run-in. This method will normally see you catch a feed but fresh bait is best, don’t use crap bait. I have seen it so many times where fishers use weeks-old weed or weed that has not been looked after and wonder why

they are not catching fish. Look at it this way: if it was food for your consumption, would you eat it if it was old and mouldy? No? Well hello, neither will the fish! Fresh is best. Flathead have been caught around the bridge at Evans Head and out the front of the surf sheds. They have been taken right where the surfers are swimming; you just need a bit of swell to churn up the sand. This will dislodge the food for the flathead, and in this case pipis, worms and whitebait would be the pick of the baits. Whitebait has been in short supply of late, so anglers have been using herring cut down to look like whitebait. Just cut their belly out to make them a bit thinner and use a two-gang hook rig, cast out into the suds and slowly wind them in just like a soft plastic with a few lifts and drops. The flathead grab them without any trouble. You will also get very big bream using this method. I have even caught a heap of shovelnose rays on the same bait. Please don’t kill the rays if you are not going to eat them. Put them back in the

water because they are part of the ecosystem and deserve to be there. Some grubs over the holidays killed shovelnose rays and left their mutilated remains on the walls. I really don’t see the reasoning behind this. One, they are great eating if treated right, two, they put up a fantastic fight on light gear, and three, they are really good-looking fish. I have caught hundreds of them and if by chance you get onto a white-spotted shovelnose you will be in for the fight of your life. I caught one that weighed about 100kg – what a fish. If you venture out to the headlands, big bream and tailor are still being caught, along with a few jewfish. But as I’ve said so many times, be on the lookout for snakes. Out in the deep blue, snapper, kingies, dollies, parrotfish, pearl perch and several northern fish are venturing down from Queensland as our waters warm. I’m not saying it’s global warming but the warm water does bring us southerners some nice fish we don’t see very often. Anyway, I’ve had my say for this month. I hope by next edition I’m back on the water. It’s been a long dry spell. ‘Til next month, remember: limit your kill, don’t kill your limit. Tight lines and smelly fingers.

Damon with a bream that was smiling for the camera and released after the picture.

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NSW Clarence Coast continues to impress

ISHING along the Clarence Coast of northern NSW continued to vary between good and excellent over the past month and so long as we do not experience any major weather events during March this trend should continue. While the bulk of offshore catches have been dominated by spanish and spotted mackerel, a few small black marlin and big cobia have also been boated along with the usual snapper and trag. The close northern grounds off Woody Head and Black Rock tend to see the most mackerel taken each season, however, due to the sheer numbers of boats on the water on any given day quite a few boats are starting to head south to the less-popular waters off One Man and Minnie Water. A few solid land-based spanish mackerel have been captured from the south wall at Ballina and 40 Foot at Evans Head along with several longtail tuna, so here’s hoping those toothy critters turn

Just Jew by TYE PORTER

up along the Iluka wall very soon. Inside the Clarence River, the usual run of sizeable summer whiting and flathead has continued, with flathead to a tad over 70cm being taken as far upstream as Ulmarra on lures and green prawns, while whiting have been biting freely on surface lures and baits such as live yabbies and worms. Though it is quite easy to catch a feed of flathead year round here at Iluka, whiting numbers will start to drop off towards the end of this month as we slowly edge towards the cooler time of year. Both the Iluka and Yamba breakwalls have fished reasonably well for school jew to about 10kg as long as you can get a bait past the vermin. Ashby angler Ted McLean fished the Iluka wall over the high water recently and got his arms stretched by everything but a jewfish.

His first hook-up was on one of Iluka’s famous giant flounder (huge stingray), which was closely followed by a nice little estuary cod (protected species) then a bloody great wobbegong shark. Thankfully his arms had time to recover a bit before slack water because as soon as the tide began to slow a mega school of stinking, rotten big dogfish (blue catfish) turned up and every bait that hit the water was ☛ continued P30

Ashby angler Ted McLean with a little estuary cod, which is a protected species in NSW and must be released.

Ted in action getting his arms stretched by one of Iluka’s giant stingrays.

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Mischa with one of many nice bream taken on a Strike Pro surface lure along the sand flats at the old ferry approach at Iluka.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 29

A nice catch of flathead.

NSW Clarence Coast continues to impress ☛ from P29

devoured in seconds by these hard-fighting vermin. With the average fish going about 6kg, I was surprised that Ted had so many throws, however he continued to hope in vain that a jew might be quick enough to beat the doggies to the bait, but it was not to be that night. I had a ball watching Ted get stretched because it reaffirmed my decision to only be his gaff man for the night and not to fish myself. A few weeks ago, one of Ted’s friends scored a solid 21kg cobia on the Yamba wall during the day on live bait meant for a jew. I reckon it would have been an interesting conversation when they were comparing outing results. Main Beach at Iluka and Back Beach are both still producing good size greenback tailor on cut baits when conditions al-

low, as is the Iluka Bluff, especially late of an evening and early of a morning. The Bluff is also fishing OK for sizeable bream and school jew to 11kg along with the odd turrum. The beach along Shark Bay has been a bit hit and miss lately due to the big seas changing the formations almost daily, so here’s hoping this month will see settled conditions for a while so anglers can enjoy the excellent fishing this beach is famous for. On the local freshwater scene, big bass and estuary perch are being boated at the top end of the Esk River on surface and diving lures. Not having a fourwheel-drive for over 12 months has really curtailed my fishing opportunities, however I hope to be cruising the beaches again in the very near future. ‘Til next month, safe fishin’.

With a full treble in its mouth, this whiting was not going to throw the hook.

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This 68cm flathead was caught in the shallows of Lake Macquarie.

A 1kg squid from off Moon Island.

Loads of action in Lake Macquarie H I and welcome to this month of BNB Fishing.

Loads of green-eyed squid are being caught in Lake Macquarie, along with cracker flathead, whiting and bream. The fish have been taken all over the place but if you head to the sand flats across from the airport and most deep holes near sand bars you will find good numbers of all the treats mentioned above. The run-out tide has been fantastic for chasing flathead, with people landing their bag limits very quickly and a big girl in the mix almost every time. Monster bream are being caught in the lake and these fish look so healthy and very chrome plated. It’s like they have just come back from the carwash, they look that clean. I haven’t seen bream like this for a long time. They usually have a gold or green tinge but so far they have looked so bloody good and the fight is even better. Targeting bream has been great fun in the shallow waters around Belmont Bay, Cams Wharf, Murrays Beach and anywhere you can find weed beds in water of 1m or less. The first thing to do is get your berley trail going. You need to bring these fish to you and I’ve found tuna oil, chook pellets, bread and oily baits such as pillies and choppedup old prawns make for prime berley. I’d suggest picking up baits of fresh prawns and small squid from Tackle World at Marks Point. I like to use little to no weight, so basically just a GT knot connecting mono to braid and a 6-10lb leader. With not much current running and the berley just floating around, I simply sit and wait to enjoy the rewards. Whiting are in good numbers all around the lake and they’re not too hard to find. I’ve found some schools with bigger models in the mix but most are in the high-30cm to mid-40cm range, which ensures a

3WAYSFISHIN – Newcastle

by NATHAN ‘NATH’ PALMER

nice family feed. The sand bars towards Moon Island just out the front of the marine rescue tower and near the rock walls are perfect for targeting these fish. You will get some thumpers in here too. Even the exposed rock wall that sits across from Blacksmiths boat ramp is a fantastic spot. I enjoy targeting them and if you can fish this spot on a run-out tide I’ve found they hit really hard for some reason, which is loads of fun on light gear. The setup I use when drifting for whiting is very simple and works a treat but you have to watch sinker size. I like to tie on a sinker and watch how it sinks through the water column because I don’t want the sinker to hit the bottom, I just want it to flow along on the drift with the boat. When you get the correct size sinker sitting above your swivel and about 80cm of leader you want the sinker and leader drifting along in line with each other, not the sinker lower and your bait higher

or your bait drifting way out the back of the boat. You want the rig at the side of the boat and running straight down as you drift, making your presentation look as natural as possible as you go over a pack of hungry fish waiting to smash your bait. I’ve caught loads more fish this way than with any other rig I’ve used in the past. Give it a go and see if your catch rates improve.

This setup can be used with baits including worms, prawns and yabbies. Flathead are still being caught throughout the lake and not too many spots won’t hold lizards waiting for a well-placed plastic or bait. All the sand bars have been a big hit. Drifting past deep holes and weed beds on a runout tide is a good bet. They’re not terribly hard to find even though the water throughout the lake has been really clear. Pulbah Island, Marks Point, out the front of the marine rescue and all the sand bars are worth checking for flathead. You can’t go past drifting with poddy mullet at night, with some crackers being landed. If you know where Squids Ink is (just out of Belmont heading towards Marks Point), there

is a little channel running under the main road and loads of poddies are being captured through there. It won’t take you long to get a few baits in your bucket. Prawns are still hit and miss in the lake and Hunter River at the moment but I went for a look the other night at 2am on a small run-out tide and scored 2kg in an hour and a half with a few good size ones in the mix. They were very tasty and I didn’t even share them with my partner this time haha. Usually at this time of year I hear of massive numbers being caught up and down the coast but it’s been very slow. Fingers crossed it picks up as the weeks go by and we get some good weather with the prawns on in big numbers.

The author’s prawn catch cooked up.

Navico and Garmin resolve patent disputes

AVICO, parent company to the Lowrance, Simrad and B&G brands and Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd, have announced they have ended a three-yearlong legal dispute relating to sonar and auto guidance patents.

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other intellectual property, which will allow both companies to bring new innovations to the market faster and benefit all marine customers. Navico CEO Leif Ottosson said, “Research and development of game-changing technologies such as our DownScan Imaging is the lifeblood of our business and the marine electronics industry.”

“We are very pleased with this resolution, which includes guidelines for the future cross-licensing of technologies for the benefit of both our customers.” Garmin president and CEO Cliff Pemble said, “This is an exciting time as new technology is bringing positive change to the marine market.” “This resolution allows us to focus all our

energy to bring even more innovation to our marine customers.” For more information on the Navico brands, please visit lowrance.com, simrad-yachting.com, pro. simrad-yachting.com and bandg.com, and to find out more about the Navico Group of companies, visit navico.com. For more information on Garmin, please visit garmin.com www.bnbfishing.com. au

Mahi mahi and more in March M

ARCH is shaping up to be one of the best months on the Sunshine Coast, with offshore anglers reporting everything from pelagics right through to reef fish including some of my favourites, the magnificent coral trout and delectable pearl perch. The pelagic catches have been more abundant than usual due to the high concentrations of baitfish present over the past few months. I have not seen such quantities of baitfish in a very long time, and recently I passed over six bait balls between Mooloolaba and Old Woman Island, all holding tuna and spotted mackerel. The upside to all this has been increased catches of mahi mahi or dolphinfish. Just for the record, these fish are in no way related to the mammal dolphin and no angler would ever wish harm to a dolphin. Mahi mahi are fast growing and feed on a wide range of baitfish. Males are generally bigger than females and have prominent heads that protrude forward. Mahi mahi are currently being caught all over the place from North Reef to Gneerings Shoal, the Barwon Banks and around any floating structures such as the blinker off Mooloolaba. Water depth ranges from 30-60m and live or dead

Sunshine Coast by WADE QUALISCHEFSKI

baiting on the current lines near the above reefs and structures will land you a good fish. Mahi mahi respond well to berley and will at times follow the trail right to the boat. Coral trout are still on the chew, with top spots being Sunshine Reef and the Outer Gneerings. The best catches are coming on both live yakkas and big pilchards rigged on a two-gang of Mustad 7766D 7/0 or TruTurn 711 6/0 hooks. Tides play a big part in our trout fishery, so try hitting these spots on a run-out tide about seven days before the new moon. One last trout tip is to get the reef firing, meaning drop down your smaller baits such as squid and pillies, allowing other species to be caught first because this entices the trout to start feeding. Out wider on the Barwon Banks, anglers have managed good catches of redthroat emperor, pearl perch and snapper. I have found the bigger pearlies are coming from 60m-plus of water on the eastern side halfway up the banks. Perfect baits are slimy mackerel with the tail section butterflied. Use a three-gang of 5/0

Tru-Turn hooks. Letting the last hook lay loose in the tail is the key to snaring the bigger fish. The Maroochy River has seen trevally firing, with most fish hovering around the dog beach, just inside the mouth and around the Twin Waters weir. Atomic’s Hardz K9 Bulldog has been the standout lure, with the trevally finding it irresistible. The motorway bridge is the mangrove jack hot spot and the bigger fish have been taking live bait and fresh mullet strips. A good tip is to let your live baits drift right back against the bridge pylons because this is where the bigger fish are lying in ambush. Further upriver, fishing in and around the mouths of Eudlo and Petrie creeks will see you land a feed of flathead. Slow rolling plastics and drifting small blue pilchards on a snelled rig have been the proven methods. The Noosa River has produced great fish and towards the end of March we will see water temperatures cooling and days getting shorter, which allows the tailor and trevally to school in good numbers, especially around the Woods Bays

and the sandbags. Surface lures such as walkers and poppers are the perfect way to hook up to these fish. Most anglers get good results by finding the schools of bait on the runin tide and casting popular lures such as Bassday Sugapens and Ecogear PX55s. Flathead are still being caught in good numbers around the lower reaches of the Noosa River. Drifting along the channel and sandbar edges while throwing prawn imitations and paddletailed soft plastics is seeing anglers pick up good size fish.

The Flick Prawns from Fish Candy have been dynamite and are the most realistic prawn imitations yet, with the 95mm model perfect for flathead. Even though the jacks are a little slow, the odd one is still being caught around the pontoons and pylons that line the banks of the river and upriver around the submerged timbers and deeper edges. Boat traffic on the coast slows down in February and March and this gives mud crabs a chance to get out of the quieter areas and into the main river and start feeding. Both the Maroochy and ☛ continued P32

Kalani Love scored a mangrove jack while fishing land based. Photos: fishingnoosa.com.au

A big bull mahi mahi impressed Richie Harmon.

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@frogleysoffshore Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 31

Throwing plastics in front of a creek drain near the Twin Waters jetty saw the author’s eldest son hooked up.

The author’s family about to hit the water on a catamaran.

Twin Waters Resort: a great family and fishing destination

S most keen anglers with young families would know, choosing holiday locations with decent fishing options nearby can be a challenge.

The author’s son enjoyed one of the many slides at the Aqua Fun Park.

Shore-based soft plastic fishing is a great way for kids to learn the art and catch a few fish.

A respectable flathead hooked in the yabby berley trail.

Good fishing is normally at the top of my criteria, but other activities and things to see and do are at the top of my better half’s list. So, looking for a few days’ break recently, we were pleasantly surprised to come across a great family fun bed and breakfast package at Novotel Twin Waters Resort. Location The resort is nestled among native flora on the northern side of the Maroochy River and is only a short stroll to the beach. The drive took less than two hours with the boat in tow from Brisbane’s bayside, but the location is also conveniently close to the Sunshine Coast Airport at Marcoola for those coming from further afield. With a very handy boat ramp, pontoon and fish cleaning facilities less than five minutes’ drive away, this place has something for everyone in the family. Unfortunately, during the time we were there big swells saw the beach blown out. Usually I would have

Fishing Trip by SEAN THOMPSON

been down the beach in the low tide gutters chasing whiting and targeting jewfish and tailor in the deeper holes and gutters at dawn or dusk and into the night. Activities and bonuses What we loved about this resort was there was simply so much for the kids and my wife to do in the times they didn’t want to come fishing with me. This included sailing catamarans, paddling kayaks, playing mini golf and enjoying the pool, trampolines and games room. There is also a kids club for children up to 12 years old. The best fun of the lot though (for kids and kids at heart) is the Aqua Fun Park Twin Waters with a bunch of inflatable slides, jumping pillows and runways. On top of all that is an internationally recognised 18-hole golf course and a corporate and group ‘experiences package’ that includes adventure training, a ropes course, archery and much, much more. Out the back of the resort near the overflow carpark (where you can park your car with trail-

er hitched on) is a fullsize football field, which means sporting teams can come and stay. My boys were very excited to be rubbing shoulders with the Brisbane Broncos around the resort during our stay. As an added bonus, a quick phone call to reception will see a staff member in a golf buggy come to cart you from your car and trailer with your gear as required. The fishing As mentioned, unfortunately the beach was out of action during my stay but I did manage a couple of sessions in the boat. The Maroochy River features a variety of species from whiting to mangrove jack and mulloway. Due to the prevailing conditions including big tides during my stay (along with a bit of boat traffic), I found throwing plastics and trolling hardbodies in my usual locations in the river harder going than normal. While I still managed to land a few fish using fluoro green and pink and darker colours (due to their silhouette effect) in the discoloured water upstream, I decided a change

of plan was in order and switched to bait to chase whiting on my second morning on the water. I’ve spoken about this previously, but fishing the busier periods can require a change of fishing plans. Added to the equation was the forecast of 15-20 knot wind. I therefore tucked up in the shallows over some yabby banks on the lee side of Goat Island on the rising tide.

This had the benefit of being closer to the entrance and thus meant cleaner water coming into the river with the incoming tide. It was also shallow enough to ward off the jet skis and ski boats. With the big tides, the flats were covered only two hours into the run-in. I looked around for some slightly deeper drains with my polarised ☛ continued P34

One of six whiting, some bream and a flathead caught before breakfast in the Maroochy River.

The author’s floating sieve setup.

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☛ from P31

Noosa rivers have delivered crabs in the deeper sections near the mangroves on river bends and drop-offs. Fresh mullet is still the best bait and don’t be afraid to add a little tuna oil into the mix for extra scent. Beach anglers have been blessed with quality gutters right along the open beaches. The strip between Peregian and Mudjimba is definitely the hot spot for big whiting. The best way to secure the larger fish is to use Tru-Turn 063 size 6 red worm hooks baited with live beach worms. Dart are the other fish in

plague proportions, which is great because they keep the whole family entertained. All you need is pieces of pilchard, pipis, beach worms or peeled prawns on a size 2 hook fished on a run-in tide. You’ll be busy as soon as your line hits the water. Noosa’s North Shore has produced large dart from the third cutting to the start of the campgrounds, with pipis and worms landing the bigger fish. Yaroomba Rocks is the place for snapper and grass sweetlip up to 60cm. Fresh strip baits fished on snelled rigs on the runin tide should see you land a trophy fish. Don’t forget to check in to fishingnoosa.com.au for all

the latest up-to-date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s

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Craig Mullet picked up this cracking trout off Noosa.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 33

A great sunset out near Coominya on the way to Toowoomba.

Classic catches off Sunny Coast ■ Prawns ■ Reef fishing ■ New vinyl for van

H A client on Trekka 2 with a lovely snapper from North Reef.

The author’s old van with new vinyl.

I, it’s Craig Tomkinson here.

During March the weather should start to cool and we might be in for a colder winter. We have not had a really cold winter for a fair few years here on the Sunshine Coast. My wife, our four kids and I previously lived in the higher frost-free country at Cootharaba and 18 months ago moved to Cooroy to the flat, lowlying cold country where it frosts, so things could get very chilly for us. America has also had a severe, cold winter and some years we follow suit. It’s about time it happened. We have had a good run of school prawns in the Noosa River, with the local pro fishers getting a payload. If you believe the rubbish the Noosa Parks Association has been touting for years, there should be no prawns! They blame the old pioneering pro fishing families for wiping the prawns out. What a load of BS. If anything has upset the natural flow of the Noosa

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Noosa to Fraser Coast by CRAIG TOMKINSON

River, it was the moving of the lovely deep river mouth at the end of Hastings St to its present-day position. The money spent on dredging sand for Noosa Main Beach and the dog beach is unreal but council will not dredge the river mouth every now and then for the local boaties. It is a disgrace. There should be a levy on our rates to pay for dredging the river mouth once or twice a year for boaties to go in and out near the rock wall. The prawns come and go. They have always been around and always will be, but some years the conditions are right for the prawns to grow and go to sea to do their thing. Because the school prawns have been running, the fishing in close on Halls Reef has been very good. Tony Zarn has been slipping out early in his boat and fishing Halls for five or six mixed reef fish in a couple of hours, making it home before the river is busy. I have skippered one charter in the past month on Trekka 2. Brad was deckie and it was a seven-hour trip with five clients on board. I headed up to North Reef, anchored on the first mark and within a few minutes three moses perch had come aboard, followed by a just-legal

Twin Waters Resort: a great family and fishing destination ☛ from P32

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snapper and then nothing. I checked the GPS and found the boat had pulled anchor. So we moved to another mark, anchored up and the same thing happened. When we moved again I noticed the anchor chain looked shorter than usual, so I asked Brad if it was the big chain and he said no, the weather had been so calm that they put the shorter chain on. So at the next mark out a bit wider I got Brad to run out another 40m of rope and this time the old girl did not move. The fishing was steady, with a good snapper and a few sweetlip boated. We had floaters out at every spot but never got a hit. Brad said the mackerel and cobia had been thick for about three weeks over Christmas but then they just stopped and moved on. The day went quickly and soon it was time to come in and clean the clients’ fish. In October last year I booked my 1983 pop-up van in to get the old torn canvas replaced with new vinyl in January. The day came and I took the van out to DJY Upholstery at Coominya (0438 255 194). Darren did a great job replacing the old torn canvas with lovely white vinyl. Several other places quoted me $4000 to do

the job but Darren did it for $1800. Darren was also open to changing around a few things that I hated with the old canvas setup. All the zips are on the inside of most vans of this age, so when you zip open the canvas flaps to let some cooling breeze in, the canvas drops down everywhere and if it rains when you are away everything gets wet. Darren said he puts all the zips and opening flaps on the outside like a tent, and he made the vinyl flaps bigger than the flyscreened area, also putting holes in the corners so I could tie the flaps up or put a tent pole in there to have the flap up halfway to let air flow in but keep the rain out. It’s flaming marvellous. He also reinforced all the corners and where the bars go to hold it up just like a truck tarp. When the job was done, we hooked the van up, I shook Darren’s hand and said thank you and headed for Toowoomba to my mate Dave Kowitz’s place. I stayed the night there and headed home around 11am the next day. The drive home towing the van was great. The van only weighs 620kg because I took the stove, sink, cupboards and gas bottles out. It is all beds inside because we cook outside and have a shower tent. I will fit LED lights and a 120A AGM battery to the van and it will be ready for a big trip somewhere in the next 12 months. ‘Til next month, be safe on the water and roads.

sunglasses and then anchored within casting distance of them. I pulled out my yabby sieve with a pool noodle float and rope to keep it close to me. In the first couple of pumps I had a handful of yabbies, so straight away I rigged up two rods, cast them out and set them lying low and parallel to the water so the fish would feel little resistance. It seemed the berley trail created from pumping more yabbies in the water, combined with some fresh live yabbies in the right lo-

cation, drew results. The fish were coming up over the flats looking for food and I soon had a feed in the Esky and was back at the ramp and the resort before the delicious buffet breakfast closed. Later that day we also took advantage of the boardwalk from the resort down to the river and the wife and boys had a fish near the jetty and out the front of a small mangrove creek/ drain to the west of the jetty. The hole in front of the jetty is a good spot for fish including grunter and trevally at the top

of the tide, while the flats either side will get you whiting and bream on yabbies or worms as the tide rises. The boys also hooked up to a couple of flatties as the tide was falling by throwing plastics in front of the mangrove drain. Wrap-up All in all, it was a great location for a fun family holiday with a bunch of good fishing options nearby. We will definitely be back. Finally, for more of my tips, reports and articles jump on my Ontour Fishing Australia Facebook page. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bunya, bass and staying safe H

I all, I tend to find my inspiration to write from scenarios that occur in my day-to-day experiences.

Many times, we shrug incidents off and minimise an event when in fact we should take heed and learn. Country roads will always have unique elements of danger not common on suburban roads. At this time of year, drivers need to take several factors into consideration. I find most people like to break camp early in the morning and hit the road. Some will undertake a final check of securing their load, checking their boat or trailer and a quick tyre kick, but there is one absolute necessity that needs to be addressed, and that is the state of your windscreen. Previous days of driving the dirt roads of state forests and stock routes has left a film of dust that you didn’t quite notice and the end result could be fatal. So your vehicle is packed, the standard check is done and off you go with the family all buckled up. A few kilometres down the road you turn a bend into blinding light from an early morning rising sun.

Outdoors by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

You grab for the sun visor, which has no effect, and you subsequently have no vision on an unfamiliar road. The country road has no side markings to distinguish the road’s edge and suddenly you have no idea of which side of the road you’re on. I don’t know about you, but to me this sounds like a recipe for disaster. Nowadays I religiously clean my windscreen before setting off, and a decent pair of sunnies can also help you bring the family home safely. A simple message but one that is often overlooked. With that out of the way, I’ll get onto the fishing. The past month has seen great numbers of anglers in all types of craft fishing Borumba Dam and many of our inland creeks. It appears many kayak anglers are taking advantage of the Gympie Council’s initiative and frequenting the new launch areas provided on Yabba Creek in the heart of Imbil. One is situated beside the Imbil town bridge while the other

The author picked up a 38cm bass on a 50mm Zerek Tango Shad.

is just out of town about 4km past the Mary Valley Traders rural store. You will find a substantial carpark with an easy path down to a launching spot. Paddling left from the launch down a narrow creek you’ll cross a small gravel bar that opens into a protected area of snags, various rock walls and undercut bank features to target. There is a healthy population of feisty bass in this area but be prepared for the protected lungfish, which tend to surface beside you and gasp for breath. These are sizeable specimens and can take you by surprise. The hot conditions at this time of year will see the bass pushed deep into the Mary Valley’s creek systems in the skinny water and holding deep in the snags. Lures with a gold/red/black colour scheme tend to work well. One of my favourites is the Ecogear SX48 in colour 305. On a recent trip to a Gympie tackle shop I bought a couple of Zerek 50mm Tango Shads. They seem of a sturdy construction with a 4g weight, 1.6m diving depth and suspending properties. Their action appears similar to the SX but when it comes to the hip pocket you’ll have a bit of change. I’ve found the best success using a stealth approach. Be very aware around your target area and use gentle movements of your paddle, easing yourself into position without disturbing the surface of the water too much. Think about where you’re casting and where the fish will run, taking note of the positions of any obstacles you may encounter. The presentation of the lure is critical and the accuracy of the cast is paramount. Most strikes occur within the first few cranks of your reel’s handle, especially if your lure falls deep into a tree snag or within millimetres of the water’s edge on deep drop-offs or undercut banks.

It’s just a short carry from the carpark to the water’s edge at Yabba Creek.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Reaction time is critical, so put as much hurt on the fish as your tackle allows while bringing it out into clearer water. Fish size varies drastically from very small fish to those in the 35-40cm range. Bigger bass can put on a show in those tight skinny waters, especially when using fluorocarbon leaders of about 6lb. I can say for sure I’m addicted to bass. If you’ve been camping around the valley you may notice large bunya nuts on the ground at the base of the trees. The Indigenous tribes of the area previously celebrated each year with a harvest of this fine bush tucker. This year seems to be a bumper crop and the locals are gathering a bounty for various recipes or enjoying the nuts simply on their own merit. The bunya pine is native to southeast Queensland. This tree only fruits after it has reached the grand old age of 100 years. I mention the locals using them in their cooking, but the nut can also be eaten raw or roasted and is similar to the European chestnut. One thing worth noting for the outdoor enthusiast is many of the older locals believe a bumper bunya nut season usually coincides with a bumper cyclone season, so keep an eye on the weather. We could certainly use the rain. Until next time, enjoy our outdoors and I hope to see you around the Mary Valley. Cheers, Chief.

The author with a great source of bush tucker: the bunya nut.

Plenty of parks at the Yabba Creek kayak launch area.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 35

Lorinda got her first trout. Tasty!

A nice cobia.

Sneaking stonker fish past the sharks Little man, big fish! Young Mawson with a cracking golden.

Allan picked up his first longtail. More of these school-sized fish should show up in autumn.

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

HAVE said farewell to the big schools of spotted mackerel that were a feature of late December and January.

Fraser Guided Fishing

Mack tuna still featured, with the odd longtail coming to play too. Goldens were biting well in late January but the biggest player of early February was the windy weather! I guess we had some fantastic weather for a while and it needed to balance out. Hopefully when it cools a tad more those rampaging tuna will come back like they did last year. Last year, massive schools of ‘mongies’ (micro longtails) made for crazy fishing for the majority of autumn. Unlike their shiny striped cousins the mack tuna, longtails are nowhere near as fussy. I also hope the big numbers of tuna will spread the shark effort more thinly. The sharks always seem to

The school mackerel we were spinning for wouldn’t sustain a shark for too long but it must have been pretty hungry to expend that amount of energy chasing the mackerel over the brief fights.

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Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

by TRI TON

concentrate where the fish concentrate. So a slow tuna season might mean sharks concentrating around the few available food species. The fewer tuna, the higher the shark to tuna ratio. Let’s see how much I whinge about sharks in the next few months! I know they have definitely arrived. Schools of four or more are often stalking us around tuna and it’s hard to land anything when it’s like that, so I just move. At times I don’t get an indication of their presence and still lose fish. We had a small whaler harass us recently, chasing fish all the way to the boat. The school mackerel we were spinning for wouldn’t sustain a shark for too long but it must have been pretty hungry to expend that amount of energy chasing the mackerel over the brief fights. School mackerel are small, agile fish and on the heavy tackle I run we don’t often get sharked. Had we not seen the shark on

the surface chasing the mackerel, I would have been ignorant of its presence. I moved when I realised the shark was there to stay. Anyway, back to the tuna. If you want to chase them, please consider the equipment required. Make sure it’s heavy enough to both boat the fish quickly and cast and work the lures with ease. A nice plastics rod might not launch and work a stickbait well at all. Bigger hard lures are heavier and bulkier. A stickbait rod tends to be much more powerful. If you choose wisely, certain rods will do both jobs rather well. Just don’t expect the same rod to be a nice stick to finesse fish for snapper and still pull cupface lures for GTs. Get up to date with the best knots that allow you to really push the limits of modern super lines. Take five minutes to load up the outfits to see exactly how hard you can push the entire setup.

Having a relative idea is much better than no idea. You at least have the memory of how it felt in your hands and the load bearing on your upper body and legs. Don’t waste the money on the best gear if you are ignorant of its capabilities. Make the most of it, and if it’s capable, harness it. If the stick has a long butt section, then use it to lever against the fish and to help catapult the presentation into the next ocean. Best gear is relative. Appropriate is probably a better description. A Shimano Stella 4000 may be top-notch gear but it is probably not a good choice for medium to large tuna. A Stella 6000 or Daiwa Certate 4000 would be much more appropriate. If you cannot afford these options, then look at other wellbuilt and affordable choices. Daiwa and Shimano 4000 size reels are actually very different in size, so please consider this when deciding. I like to use the Daiwa 4000 size as a benchmark for tuna in Hervey Bay. Something of similar size is optimum. Alloy bodies are also very rigid and are a highly desirable feature. High-speed reels are important when the fish get fussy. A good fighting technique will make up for the lack of torque in the reel during the lifting stages of the battle. Move away from the balltype ‘power knob’ handles if you can. The T-paddle handles make it much easier to generate speed when trying to entice a strike. Again, a good fighting technique will mean you rely less on the reel when overwhelming the tuna in the closing stages.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Fruitful fishing at 15 Mile ■ Bottom bashing ■ Estuaries ■ Prawns

by BRAD YOUNG

He had to cut it in half to fit it on the ice. With autumn upon us, I hope the strong northerly wind patterns begin to change and provide more offshore fishing opportunities because it would be great to enjoy an overnighter to add more fillets to the freezer. Estuaries fishing well The estuaries around Bundaberg have been fishing well, with good catches of prawns reported around the last moon tides.

Prepare for Easter By the time this edition hits the shelves, Easter will only be a few weeks away. Do not get caught on the water without the correct safety gear or with flares and an EPIRB that are out of date. Start your checks now and ensure all your lifejackets are in good condition. As always, I can be contacted via the Bush ‘n Beach website bnbfish ing.com.au, by email at fishnboat@bigpond.com or post at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland 4670. Until next month…

The sharked spanish flag.

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of escape with the three hook points coming clear of the bait in different directions. Tony was first to land a fish and we added a nice squire to the box, shortly followed by another. Tony also hooked a larger fish but was soon sharked and I found myself suffering the same fate with what appeared originally to be a decent fish… again taken by the taxman. After a couple of drifts, we anchored with a good idea of the tidal stream and wind. The fishing was pretty slow but Tony added a tuskfish to the box, avoiding the taxman on this occasion. Chris was not enjoying the best of days but kept plugging away. There was a period when we hooked some quality fish but had them sharked, with one ‘lucky’ stripy/spanish flag being grabbed by the head and then released. I was able to add this one to the box after retrieving only the head of a very nice squire just prior. The best bite period was around the turn of the tide and I landed a trout together with a few more large spanish flag. When the fishing slowed, we made the decision to move around a little to search for new country to see what we could find. Unfortunately, things did not pick up and a sweetlip landed by Tony was the only significant addition to the box. We moved several times but it did not make a difference. As the pace of the tidal stream picked up, things quietened even further and at about 11am we pulled the pin and headed home. After we pulled anchor, I called over to see how another mate, Chris on Old Silver, was going. He’d had a slow start but had just added a very large spanish mackerel to his box.

As well as being great eating, live prawns are excellent bait and difficult for any predator to ignore. I’ve also heard reports of flathead from the Kolan and Burnett rivers. At the moment the water is fairly clear and temperatures are high (25.4C at 15 Mile). I have not had my crab pots in lately and have not heard of any great run of crabs, though I know a mate who scored a few from the Elliott River over the Australia Day long weekend. The crabs would probably become a little more active if we had a small fresh.

E MI

The high humidity has really been the killer as most days the temperatures would be bearable… but not with 70 percent humidity! A short (and one of the few) break in the weather provided an opportunity one weekend to get the big boat out of the shed and head offshore for a morning of fishing. A quick group text seeking crew saw Tony and Chris available for the early start and keen for a fish after a few quiet months. We headed out of the harbour into the Burnett River at about 4am and were one of the first boats out. We travelled to a spot along the 15 Mile and when we arrived sounded around for some bottom action after deciding to give mackerel trolling at dawn the skip for the day. As its name suggests, the 15 Mile country lies about 15 miles offshore from the Burnett River. It is a relatively large area that can be explored and fished successfully with good results. The relatively close location means it is not uncommon to find a small open dinghy fishing among the larger boats when the weather is good and seas calm. Because the water is relatively shallow, it seems to fish better early of a morning, in the evening and overnight, and in favourable weather it is a location where boats will sometimes anchor for an overnight fish. We had pilchards and squid for bait and were looking to see what species we could find. A couple of drifts saw us bouncing our baits along the bottom. Tony and Chris used traditional paternoster rigs with two single hooks while I used my favourite gang of three swivellinked hooks on the end of the line with a ball sinker above, ideal for fishing pilchards and a rig that provides little chance

Bundaberg Region

AU ST

HOPE that by the time this edition hits the newsstands the continual hot conditions will have abated, at least for a few days.

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The author’s coral trout from 15 Mile.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 37

Tide Times Sponsored by

AUSTRALIA EAST COAST - BRISBANE BAR

Pete nabbed this red on a Shimano Talica 16 and Wilson Venom combo with a strip of fresh mack tuna.

Ciaran managed two pearlies in two drops, with this fish falling to a mullet fillet.

Sincere concern for 1770 A

WADDY POINT - FRASER ISLAND

Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

TOWN like 1770 is hard to come by.

A place that in reality can be quite far, but in your head is always quite close. You might ask why you would travel six hours from Brisbane or wherever you live to visit this magnificent place, so I’ll explain why. Arriving at 1770 after a long drive, you instantly forget about the travel because it feels like home. When you get to the boat ramp you’ll find everyone talking to each other, whether they know each other or not. If you don’t have a boat, you can jump on one of the great charters and be guaranteed an awesome day out. People travel from all over the world to visit 1770. No one will judge you on your skin colour, boat size or how good a fisher you may be. Interestingly, 1770 is also the birthplace of Queensland, a major part of Queensland history and a place that my mates and I call paradise. We’ve only been visiting 1770 for the past five years, but in those five years we have travelled there and back more times than you could imagine. In this time we’ve seen a significant change in the Round Hill Creek Bar and now something needs to be done as the channel steadily gets shallower and shallower. I would not want to be stuck outside trying to come in on a dead low tide during the day, let alone at night. It’s a dangerous gamble and you may or may not make it through, depending on how well you know the bar and how frequently you traverse it. I guess the matter of dredging the bar or not comes down to whether it’s worth the cost? I just don’t think those in positions of power know

Comment by MATI BATS

how many boaties actually head out from 1770. The discussion of this topic has become quite heated online, with many mixed opinions about whether the bar should be dredged. I am a strong believer in ‘nature’s way’, however if nature doesn’t play its part in the next couple of years and the creek does not get flushed from heavy

rainfall, the Agnes Water/1770 region could be in a bit of trouble. I believe there should be a back-up plan and not just the standard response of “work around the low tide”. That is not a fix. Many boaties have stopped visiting 1770 due to the dodgy bar, as sometimes you simply cannot work around the low tide,

especially in an emergency. Decision-makers should consider that in just one long weekend, fishos like ourselves bring a lot to the location we decide to fish from. We regularly pay for 350 litres of fuel, $300 of food, two meals at the local café and much more. And sometimes we stay at the caravan park for a few nights too. Realistically, if the bar sanded up and we couldn’t get out, it wouldn’t affect us in terms of fishing.

We fish north of Sykes Reef, meaning we could easily leave from Turkey Beach or Gladstone and reach our fishing grounds in similar time. But we don’t do this because we love the township of 1770. Those who fish south of Sykes would likely be even more concerned than me. On the other hand, we’ve also seen comments including: “If the place gets dredged, the fishery would just be like fishing ☛ continued P39

This little 8kg red fell to a pilchard while the author was chasing trout.

Ciaran landed this schooling red with a large strip of mullet on a set of Elkat ganged hooks.

Trying to land cod in the shallows can make for an interesting fight because 90 percent of the time they know exactly which hole to go back into. Fortunately for the author, this cod came up for a pic and was released back home for a swim.

On the author’s latest trip off 1770, Pete caught a squid at night in the shallows of Sykes Reef and guaranteed Ciaran it would lead to a good fish the next morning. Sure enough, Ciaran landed this 75cm pearl perch using the fresh squid.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Study exposes misperception of poaching on the GBR and its remedy

EW research has revealed the tiny minority of fishers who poach on the Great Barrier Reef think the illegal practice is justified because they believe ‘everyone else is doing it’.

Researchers at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University asked nearly 700 recreational fishers at boat ramps in Townsville about their perceptions of poaching (fishing in notake zones). PhD candidate Brock Bergseth led the study and said the results were overwhelmingly encouraging. “97 percent of fishers thought poaching was personally unacceptable, and most supported enforce-

ment of the rules,” he said. “But a small number did not.” Mr Bergseth said the 21 self-admitted poachers thought poaching occurred much more often than did non-poachers. “People involved in illicit activities such as illegal drug use and drink driving are more prone to overestimate the prevalence of their behaviour in society,” Mr Bergseth said. “This ‘false consensus effect’ often allows offenders to justify their actions – they think it’s OK because everyone else is doing it. “Our data suggests this effect may also be occurring among poachers in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.”

He said it was a dangerous trend, because fishers who know poachers can also be ‘contaminated’ if they begin to think the bad behaviour is widespread. “People who know a poacher have significantly higher estimates of the level of poaching compared to fishers who don’t know poachers,” Mr Bergseth said. “This implies that these fishers believe poaching is more common than fishers who do not associate with poachers.” Mr Bergseth said 13 percent of fishers reported knowing someone who had poached within the past 12 months. “In all, this study showed how numerous misperceptions are probably supporting the continuation of poaching on the GBR,” he said. “If left unchecked, these misperceptions could lead to a cascading effect that encourages further poaching.” Mr Bergseth said the research pointed to a way of addressing the problem. “There are three specific messages that could be communicated to poachers,” he said. “First, that nearly every

recreational fisher thinks poaching is socially and morally unacceptable. “Second, it is really important for everyone to know that almost all recreational fishers follow the rules – poachers are just a small minority that people don’t respect. “And lastly, the likelihood of getting detected while poaching is high, as are the consequences – the fine for poaching in a no-take zone is $2100.” Data gathered from the research The average fisher in the GBRMP: • Is male and spends about 34 days a year fishing. • Makes $90,000$135,000 a year and has a tertiary education. • Most (73 percent) fishers said fishing was the most important activity they undertook in the GBRMP, and most (78 percent) had previously been inspected by marine parks personnel. • 57 percent believed fishers they did not know had poached in the past 12 months. • A moderate level (1621 percent) of fishers reported not caring about whether others would approve of them poaching.

COMPETITION DATES COMPETITION

DATE

LOCATION

2018 ABBT* Bass Singles

Mar 10-11

Boondooma Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

Gamakatsu Team Series Round 4 Mid

Mar 11

Forster, NSW fishingcomps.com.au

ABBT* X-Factor Teams

Mar 24-25 Dam TBA – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

Moura Muddy Water Classic Family Fishing Competition

Mar 31Apr 1

Dawson River – Graeme McGreevy 0428 195 362 or Zelma Lewis 0428 971 932 E: m.a.f.s.g@bigpond.com

Gamakatsu Team Series Grand Final

Apr 7

Bribie Island, QLD fishingcomps.com.au

Normanton Barra Classic

Apr 18-20

Norman River – 07 4745 1218 E: barracomp@hotmail.com

ABBT* Bass Singles

Apr 21-22

Cania Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

ABBT* Bass Singles

May 19-20 Borumba Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

ABBT* X-Factor Teams

Jun 9-10

Boondooma Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

Taroom Fishing Competition

Jun 9-10

Glebe Weir, Taroom – Harry Johnson 0427 361 631

Tweed Coast Marine Greenback Fishing Comp

Jun 9-10

Cabarita Beach – Stephen Duffield 0421 052 135 W: lionsgreenback.com

VMR Bundaberg Family Fishing Classic

Jun 29Jul 1

Burnett Heads – vmrbundabergfishingclassic.com.au

ABBT* X-Factor Teams

Jul 28-29

Cania Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

ABBT* Bass Singles

Aug 18-19

Somerset Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

Catch a Catty Family Fishing Comp

Aug 25-26 Mingo Crossing – John or Ruth Rokesky 07 4127 7252 or 0429 689 821

Sincere concern for 1770

ABBT* Bass Singles

Sep 15-16

Wuruma Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

WTF Women That Fish Barra Classic

Sep 21-22

Rockhampton – Shara Vanhaeren 0429 923 243

off Brisbane or the Gold Coast and you won’t catch anything.” While you could literally hand someone a GPS coordinate and tell them to go and fish there, they won’t necessarily succeed. Fishing isn’t exactly that easy. Yes, 50 percent of the task is being in the right place, but much more is involved in achieving success, which is why it’s called fishing and not catching. Plenty of anglers fish off Brisbane and the Gold Coast and do extremely well despite all the boat traffic, and that’s because they put in the hard yards and learn the techniques that catch fish at different spots. While I’m only 23 years www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bowen Family Fishing Classic

Sep 22-23 Bowen – Russ McCabbin 0428 776 653 a/hrs 07 4786 3899 bowenfamilyfishingclassic@yahoo.com.au

ABBT* Bass Singles

Oct 13-14

BP Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

ABBT* X-Factor Teams Grand Final

Oct 27-28

Dam TBA – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

ABBT* Bass Grand Final

Nov 24-25 Cania Dam – Russell Nowland a/hrs 07 4165 4286 or 07 4167 8183

Coral trout is the most-targeted poaching species on the Great Barrier Reef. Photo: ARC CoE for Coral Reef Studies/Molly Scott

13th VMR Bundaberg Family Fishing Classic

FTER running another successful Family Fishing Classic in 2017, VMR Bundaberg has announced dates for the 2018 Classic. The event will run over three days from June 29

☛ from P38

to July 1 from an area adjacent to the VMR Base at Burnett Heads, near Bundaberg. The 2017 Classic attracted 1479 registrations, with hundreds more at the lucky draws and raffles on the Sat-

old, my old man had my brothers and I on a boat almost every weekend since we were two. I’ve got memories of leaving preschool early because my dad picked me up to go chase squid in the afternoon around Raby Bay. So while I don’t have the years of experience of some older fishos, I cer-

urday and Sunday. This year’s Classic will be run along similar lines to last year, with fishing running from 6am on Friday to midday Sunday. There will again be three fitted-out Quintrex

tainly have the passion and more importantly want to be able to raise my future children in the same way my father raised us. Currently we can work around the sand bars and still get in and out of 1770 on fairly low water, however I’m thinking about the future and what it may hold.

boats up as lucky draw prizes and plenty of hot food available throughout the weekend. The program, conditions and entry form will be available on the Classic website vmrbun dabergclassic.com.au

When I raised this issue on Facebook, I had numerous people message me asking about the condition of the bar and what we do to get in and out safely. I didn’t put this article together to cause a protest or drama. I am just concerned for the future of 1770.

*Australian Basstasstic Bass Tournament To have your competition listed in the calendar please phone (07) 3286 1833, email design@bnbfishing.com.au or fax (07) 3821 2637

This drone shot of the Round Hill Creek Bar was uploaded by VMR Round Hill on Facebook as a warning to boaties to be mindful of its condition.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 39

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 | BRISBANE RNA SHOWGROUNDS

National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo goes big in 2018

HE National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo has been Brisbane’s leading event for outdoor enthusiasts for over two decades and is back in 2018, bigger and better than ever before. Held from March 16-18 at the Brisbane Showgrounds, the event will feature thousands of the most exciting 4x4, fish-

NATIONAL 4X4 OUTDOORS SHOW, FISHING & BOATING EXPO

ing, boating and outdoor products from Australia’s industry leaders, as well as a great range of demonstrations and access to some of the country’s best-known experts. The massive 2018 event is also set to be bolstered by an exciting new partnership with the Boating Industry Association. The collaboration will see the BIA and its mem-

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bers take over the John Reid Pavilion with a marine display reminiscent of the old Tinnie and Tackle Show. The BIA was last involved in the show in 2014, and demand for exposure in the Brisbane area has led to a new partnership for this year’s event. With Queensland laying claim to more registered boats (256,000) and boat licences (694,000) than any other state in Australia, the partnership makes perfect sense. The Waeco CFX Outback Stage presented by Dometic will also return this year, offering the best and brightest of Australia’s off-roading television personalities. Get up close and personal with stars such as Rick from the Offroad Adventure Show, Roothy, Jase Andrews and Simon Anderson (All 4 Adventure), Spida and Sheree Everitt (Great Australian Doorstep), Shaun and Graham (4WD Action) and Pat Callinan from Pat Callinan’s 4x4 Adventures. For the off-roading enthusiast, the Eagers Holden proving ground is a must-see, offering visitors the chance to put the latest Holden Colorado through its paces and test their own skills behind the wheel of a 4WD on a variety of surfaces. Following its successful debut in 2017, Base Camp will also return, with its

interactive campsite simulation tripled in size. Base Camp provides families with the chance to truly experience all the great Australian outdoors has to offer, from traditional summer sporting activities to lazing around enjoying live music and bush tucker. You can also hone your culinary skills by learning from those in the know, including Paul Burt and Spida Everitt on the Catch and Cook stage at Base Camp. The Action Arena will also be back in 2018, bringing an incredible range of adrenalin-fuelled entertainment for the whole family. The All4FMX ATV show and Cam White Pro BMX Team will be testing limits across the weekend in a series of death-defying performances that cannot be missed. With thousands of bargains and brands on sale, industry experts on hand for the best advice and inspiration for all your outdoor adventures, the 2018 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo truly has something for every enthusiast. To buy tickets and for further information about the show, visit 4x4show. com.au/brisbane Don’t forget to enter the promo code BEACH for 15 percent off adult tickets!

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Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

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FRIDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 | BRISBANE RNA SHOWGROUNDS

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IN 2017, Savwinch introduced the world’s first and only complete 316 stainless steel winch in the SSS range. Like the SS winches, the SSS models feature fully sealed 316 stainless steel motors but also full 316 stainless steel gearboxes. Our SSS winches are the Rolls-Royce of winches – you cannot find anything better! Savwinch is also proud to have the world’s first electronic fast fall system with a patented world-winning design. It is mechanical clutch free, which increases the speed of the motor on the way down, comparably as fast as you can freely drop your anchor. Other winch brands go up just as fast as they go down, which draws more current and could lead to overloads, battery drainage and winch failure. Regardless, the Savwinch Fast Fall system drops significantly faster than a fixed-speed winch. For more information, visit savwinch.com. au or to see the winches in person, swing by Stand EB40 at the show.

Brisbane Yamaha will have two huge displays at the 2018 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo.

New Savwinch stainless steel winches on show

AR K

BRISBANE Yamaha has a huge range of fishing boats on display at the 2018 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo across two locations! The first in the John Reid Pavilion and the second display in prime position in the main street. On display will be the best brands Brisbane Yamaha is known for, including the bestselling Baysport range of fibreglass boats and the Australian-made Quintrex line-up of aluminium boats, in addition to Yellowfin plate boats and Yamaha outboards. Dealership owner Aaron Goodchild said, “Brisbane Yamaha is famous for its genuine show deals and we will have massive savings across the entire range, available only at the show.” “Yamaha is the world’s leading outboard for a reason. “It offers reliability and performance and Brisbane Yamaha backs this with a six-year warranty on four-strokes when bought and

“We offer unbeatable prices and once again we will have the biggest display of any brand of boat at the show.” Brisbane Yamaha also offers in-house Yamaha Motor Finance and Yamaha Marine Insurance, making Brisbane Yamaha a onestop shop for expert advice and servicing on boats. Come and see the huge display at the show, call 07 3888 1727 or visit brisbaneyamaha. com.au

Huge range of boats at Brisbane Yamaha

serviced at Brisbane Yamaha. “This is to give buyers peace of mind. “We have come up with some unbeatable value on drive-away packages with the 2018 range of Baysport boats.” Every Baysport has a purpose-built fishing or weekender model available and all Baysport boats feature a full composite transom. “Combined with the proven foam-filled fibreglass stringer system, this ensures peace of mind for the life of your boat against any chance of structural failure that you would find in other brands with wooden transoms,” Mr Goodchild said. “This attention to detail is why Baysport is the largest-selling fibreglass boat range in Queensland for the past five years! “I say ‘ask the question when you are buying a boat’. “Before you buy any other brand of boat, do yourself a favour and water test a Baysport with the Brisbane Yamaha team – you will be impressed, I guarantee it.” Brisbane Yamaha is Australia’s biggestselling dealer of the award-winning Quintrex range of aluminium boats. “And there’s a reason for this,” Mr Goodchild said.

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The Cruisinator is the superior Pop Top Conversion for your Toyota Land Cruiser Troop Carrier available worldwide. Easy setup: just unbuckle the roof, lift it up and relax, grab a drink, sit down and enjoy the day. At night time, just pull back the bed board, align the comfortable and thick mattress, grab your pillow and doona and have a good sleep on the widest and longest bed in a Troopy. With the well-designed ﬂoorplan, even in adverse situations there is plenty of space to be inside and still have room to enjoy the day/ night. Various lockers give you ample storage for everything.

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Your Cruisinator will be equipped to your speciﬁcations and will satisfy your needs. We have LED lighting, fridge/freezers, hot water systems, outside showers, ﬁltered drinking water, a variation of awnings and much more available. We repair KEA Campers and we are the only business who stocks parts and has factory-trained staff. We do repairs and conversions on all kinds of Campers, Caravans and Motorhomes.

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We’re happy to discuss your future Adventure Camper. Call me on 0401 914 496 or write me an email: stefano@bonetticampers.com

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 41

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 | BRISBANE RNA SHOWGROUNDS

Cool new products from Evakool EVAKOOL’S products are synonymous with quality and performance and the two new product releases from Evakool are no exception. New Elite range of upright fridge/freezers Following the success of its Platinum range of upright fridge/freezers, Evakool is proud to release its new Elite range. The Elite range is the culmination of two years of research to design an upright fridge that ensures ease of access but importantly quiet, efficient and reliable operation anywhere in Australia. The Elite range is available in three models of 81, 145 and 208-litre capacity. Special features include: • A fridge in the top section of the unit with

a separate pull-out freezer drawer below, allowing for ease of access to the freezer, particularly in confined areas. • Secop (formerly Danfoss) compressor ensuring whisper-quiet operation. • The two larger models (EL 145 and EL 208) are both powered by two compressors. One operates the fridge and the other the freezer. Separate compressors ensure the unit offers maximum performance at all times in both the fridge and freezer compartments. • Competitive pricing. The Elite range is ideal for use in caravans, motorhomes, boats and homes relying on 12V and solar-generated power. Evakool 40-litre Drawer Fridge/Freezer The all-new Evakool DC 40 Drawer Fridge/ Freezer is the only unit in its class that operates as either a fridge or freezer. Measuring only 325mm in height, the DC 40 is designed so that unused areas of a caravan or motorhome (under the beds, for example) can be

converted into a fridge or freezer space. Enjoy the convenience of a fridge accessible from the outside of the caravan or motorhome, thereby reducing the need to continually enter the van to access the main fridge. The DC 40 is not limited to use in caravans and is also ideal for fitment in camper trailers as well as the back of the family 4WD, thereby avoiding the cost of a fridge slide. Tailor-made solutions Evakool is a local manufacturer and distributor of arguably Australia’s largest selection of 12V camping and caravan fridges and iceboxes. The full Evakool range of products can be viewed at evakool.com However, if you are unable to find the product you are after, contact Evakool on 07 5492 7777, who also offers advice on tailor-made refrigeration solutions and custom-made iceboxes. For more information and to see all the new releases in person, come and see the team at Stand 830 at the show.

New Toyota CRUISINATOR Pop Top Camper on display BONETTI Campers was established in 2012 by Stefano Bonetti, who started his business repairing the ex-KEA Campers fleet which were sold to private owners after their start as a rental fleet. Due to the large parts stock he was able to buy after KEA went into liquidation and the insight and knowledge gained as National Fleet and Operations manager for KEA Campers, Stefano is still the only accessible person in Australia who can assist and help owners of the aging ex-KEA vehicle fleet. While building campers and converting vehicles, a mighty Toyota LandCruiser 6x6 pop-top camper has been designed and built. Over the years, a loyal and good customer base has been built up, with happy customers all over Australia who appreciate Bonetti’s open dialogue and trustworthy information. In 2015, Bonetti Campers moved to the beautiful Sunshine Coast in Queensland and set up business near Coolum Beach where a new workshop was built in 2016. Now Stefano is very excited to present his new Toyota CRUISINATOR Pop Top Adventure Camper, which is a conversion that excels everything seen worldwide. It’s a parallel pop-top, with the bed above the driver and passenge seats, the widest available measuring 145cm wide and 210cm long. The interior is designed to give best comfort and allow great storage and useability. The equipment is well chosen for long-term travelling around the globe to withstand all challenges ahead. Depending on the owner’s needs, the vehicle will be converted to customer specifications with options of an EZA lithium battery system up to 130Ah; one or more 140W solar panels; a pressurised hot water system (heat exchanger 12V or 240V); outside shower system; custom dual-zone 75-litre fridge/freezer; toilet system; a variation of awnings and shades; and LED lighting for inside and outside. An additional version for traffic pilots with engineered fixing points for ‘oversize’ or other traffic guide signals, hazard lights and so on is in development. Versions for emergency services are in the designing stage. For more information, see Bonetti Campers at the show on stand A148 or visit bonetticampers.com

Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

www.bnbfishing.com. au

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 | BRISBANE RNA SHOWGROUNDS

SuperPro 4x4 control arms – a fully adjustable 4WDing solution

on steel from moisture, salt air or acid rain, ERPS comes to the rescue by replacing lost electrons back into the steel, neutralising the effects of the electrochemical reaction of rust. Used successfully by commercial beach fishers, Surf Life Saving clubs, government departments, the mining industry and thousands of private and commercial clients, ERPS has proven itself to extend the life of the vehicle and save valuable dollars in maintenance costs. How does the system work? In simple terms, rust or corrosion is a loss of electrons from the steel’s surface. By charging the couplers, which are attached to the body of the vehicle or steel object, an excess of electrons is supplied to the surface of the steel, neutralising any losses. For a more in-depth explanation, visit erps.

com.au/information/how-it-works Certified to both Australian and European electromagnetic compliance standards, the ERPS system will not interfere in any way with the on-board electrics or electronics. As the system only draws about 20mA, it is able to operate 24/7, thereby constantly protecting the vehicle without flattening the battery. So if you want to keep your expensive investment in good shape or simply wish to extend the life of ‘old faithful’, if you want to keep the paintwork looking shiny or stop those stone chips developing, then you need to install the latest in electronic rust prevention technology and fit a genuine ERPS system. For more information, phone 1800 332 899, go online at erps.com.au or drop by Stand F50 at the show and speak to the team.

FULCRUM Suspension stocks SuperPro’s upper and lower control arm kits. These kits have been designed to cover a large range of vehicles. Don’t waste time with any other control arm – get the perfect alignment solution from Fulcrum. When you get a lift kit installed, you deserve the best. Why only have half the job done to correct your wheel alignment with a control arm that merely offers static caster correction? Get the job done properly with SuperPro’s fully adjustable 4x4 control arms! These arms come with complete camber and caster control and are designed to give your 4x4 the best wheel alignment settings and increased clearance. Both upper and lower control arm kits are available in the SuperPro range across a wide variety of vehicles. These arms are supplied with the camber and caster adjustable ball joints and are fitted with SuperPro bushings. The design of these control arms has removed the common issues usually faced with getting the correct alignment and clearance. SuperPro 4x4 control arms deliver up to 3 degrees of caster along with extra camber, allowing for the optimum alignment setting for a 2”-lifted vehicle. So not only do these arms provide better wheel alignment settings, they have been designed to include increased clearance between the arm and strut at full droop. Don’t waste time with any other control arm, get the perfect alignment solution from Fulcrum with these SuperPro arms that are built tough in Australia using high-strength, OE-grade Australian steel. Key features: • Increased articulation, perfect for the off-road environment; • Provides for camber and caster adjustment using an adjustable ball joint; • Increased clearance between spring and control arm at full articulation; • SuperPro bushings; and • Made in Australia. SuperPro has this full adjustable solution for almost every 4X4. Visit fulcrumsuspensions.com.au today to get yours or visit the display at Stands F2/F4!

Protect your car from rust with ERPS WITH an unmatched 20 years of manufacturing in its facility on the Gold Coast, Electronic Rust Prevention Systems (Australia) Pty Ltd has led the way in the evolution of electronic rust prevention. With the design, research and development and manufacturing all performed in-house, ERPS has accumulated a wealth of knowledge and has been the innovator of a number of technological advancements. These include the multi-coupler system, the closedloop coupler supply line, moulded waterproof fusing and injection-sealed wire joints. Combined with constant improvements and updates to the company’s tried, tested and proven capacitor coupler technology, ERPS continues to forge a path for others to follow. Over the past 20 years ERPS systems have been successfully used on everything from cars, trucks and buses to earthmoving and mining equipment, piers and buildings, even air-conditioning plants, locker systems at water parks and Coca-Cola vending machines. Wherever there is a need to hold off the inevitable attack www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 43

FRIDAY, MARCH 16 – SUNDAY, MARCH 18, 2018 | BRISBANE RNA SHOWGROUNDS

Isuzu UTE and Team D-MAX headlining at the 4x4 show

SUZU UTE is proud to exhibit at the 2018 National 4x4 Outdoors Show, Fishing & Boating Expo, with exceptional offers across the range of Isuzu 4x4 models, alongside Australia’s premier precision driving team – Team D-MAX.

Team D-MAX, revered as the most experienced precision driving stunt team in Australia, will be performing throughout the show. For more than 50 years, this team of dare-devil drivers has starred across the country with their tyre-smoking drifting,

hair-raising stunts and mesmerising precision driving. The vehicle of choice is none other than the three-litre turbo diesel Isuzu D-MAX – preferred by the team for its high torque output and proven durability. Two unique Team D-MAX driving experiences will be on offer at the show. The first is ‘two-wheeling’, which gives passengers the opportunity to ride shotgun in a D-MAX as it drives up onto two wheels – pushing the limits of balance and sidewall durability! The second experience,

dubbed the ‘Iron Summit’ is renowned as the world’s steepest four-wheel-drive ramp. This passenger ride highlights the MU-X’s supreme off-road ability and axle articulation as it climbs towards the sky at an impressivelysteep 45-degree angle. In conjunction with Moreton Island Adventures, Isuzu UTE is scheduled to give away a Moreton Island glamping weekend at the show, including accommodation on the island in the glamping tents, permits and ferry transfers, with a total value of $560. Simply take a ride with

Team D-MAX at the show and visit the Isuzu UTE stand to be eligible to enter this competition. For full terms and conditions, see Team D-MAX at the show. It wouldn’t be the National 4x4 Show without deals on 4x4s – and Isuzu UTE has come to the party with exceptional retail offers across the range of D-MAX utes and MU-X seven-seater SUVs. For full details on experience times and retail offers, see your friendly Isuzu UTE team member on Stand 116 at the show.

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Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

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GO YOUR

OWN WAY

SAY HELLO TO THE 3-LITRE, 430Nm, 6-SPEED ISUZU D-MAX The Isuzu D-MAX is a stand out performer on or off-road. With the legendary Isuzu 3-litre turbo diesel engine, a beefed up 430Nm of torque and an intuitive 6-speed transmission. Coupled with a Terrain Command 4WD system and 3.5 tonne towing capacity+, the D-MAX has everything you need to pump up any adventure. GO YOUR OWN WAY! Discover the Isuzu D-MAX at your Isuzu UTE Dealer or isuzuute.com.au

5-star ANCAP safety rating on 4x4 D-MAX Crew Cab models built from November 2013 onwards and 4x2 D-MAX Crew Cab High Ride models built from November 2014 onwards.+3.5 tonne braked towing capacity on D-MAX 4x4 and 4x2 High Ride models when fitted with an optional genuine Isuzu UTE tow bar kit. ^5 years/130,000km whichever occurs first, for eligible customers. Excludes trays and accessories. >The Capped Price Servicing Program (“CPS Program”) applies to Eligible Vehicles with a Warranty Start Date on or after 1/1/15 at Participating Isuzu UTE Dealers only. The 5 years Capped Price Servicing covers the first 5 Scheduled Services for 16.5MY and later vehicle models for up to 5 years/50,000km (whichever occurs first). CPS Program is subject to change. For full terms & conditions and current pricing visit isuzuute.com.au/service-plus.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 45

K AYAKING & canoeing Richard Orchard was the Queensland Pro-Am winner and also picked up the Biggest Fish prize.

Queensland Elite class winners.

Queensland Pro-Am class winners.

Elite and Pro-Am series round one I T’S safe to say that round one of the 2018 Yak Hunters Australia Wilderness Systems Elite and Perception Pro-Am series was an absolute success.

Chris Thompson from Dragon Kayaks with Richard and his Biggest Fish prize of an awesome Dragon kayak.

Steven Dee with a saratoga from round one at Ewen Maddock Dam.

NSW first placegetter in the Elite section Greg Rigby.

South Australian winners.

SA’s Biggest Fish prizewinner Chad Soper.

Page 46 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Queensland saw the largest group of Yak Hunters with a total of 64 kayakers and over 70 people attending the event. All were there to join in on the fun on the water, with Yak Hunters from both classes getting out there to compete. The target species for Queensland anglers in round one was bass on the pristine waters of Ewen Maddock Dam. The day was filled with interesting results and quite a variety of fish were caught. Catches varied from a monster 50cm bass to golden perch, tilapia and the pleasant surprise of a behemoth saratoga hooked by Steven Dee, though there were some doughnuts as well. Congratulations to Stewart Hansen for taking out the first round in the Elite category and Richard Orchard for scoring the win in the Pro-Am division. Richard also picked up the Biggest Fish prize with a 50cm bass. NSW Round one for NSW anglers was held at Lostock Dam and again bass was the target species. With water levels lower than any angler had experienced, Lostock produced a few challenges, one being difficulty in launching the 40-plus kayaks. Despite everything, some great fish were caught, and Greg Rigby persevered to take out first place in the Elite component while Bruce Tozer cleaned up in the Pro-Am section. The Biggest Fish of the event was a cracking 47cm bass landed by Greg. South Australia Heading into the Great Australian Bight, the South Australian leg of the competition was held at Goolwa where anglers chased mulloway. At first things were a bit tough but once the fish were located everything

picked right up. Congratulations to Chad Soper on taking out the biggest fish with a very respectable 81cm mulloway caught on his first cast, which saw him walk away with the Hurricane Biggest Fish prize pack. Neal Palmer did well to score the win in the Elite section. Pro-Am results were very close, with just 4.5cm between the placings, and if Matthew Gorne hadn’t been given the slip by one of his mulloway he may have just taken it out instead of the victorious Chris Miller. And congratulations to Mathew Bini for catching his first mulloway on his way to third place in Pro-Am. Victoria Last but not least, Victoria. Conditions were tough for Saturday’s pre-fish, with high winds for most of the day troubling anglers as they struggled to hold position while trying to cast into the snags. The bass were also playing hard to get!

Only a few bass were landed during the prefish, with plenty of bustups on surface lures but no hook-ups. Anglers prayed the winds would settle down overnight, which they sure did. A beautiful morning with 5-10 knot wind for Sunday’s official comp saw everyone breathe a sigh of relief. However, the fishing was still tough, with only one contender from the Elite class, Tony Meletis, catching any fish. In the Pro-Am division more fish were captured and it was Benjamin Hotchkin who topped the podium. Across all states, all anglers were respectful, professional and showed a high level of mateship both on and off the water, which is such a big part of what makes our community so great. We’d like to give an enormous thankyou to the following sponsors and supporters of round one in Queensland: Drazen Djuric, Davor Boskovic and the team from

Freak Sports Australia for hosting the event; Steve Bolin and Graham Foley from Ewen Maddock Fish Management Inc for enabling the event and for providing support with a muchappreciated barbecue on the day; and Christopher Thompson from Dragon Kayaks for the awesome prize contribution for the Biggest Fish title. A huge thankyou must go to Drayton’s Family Wines and Deez Nutz

Lures for hosting round one in NSW and to Deeper for the fantastic prize for the Biggest Fish. We also thank Northside Doors and Windows along with Peter Nord from Hurricane Lures for hosting the first round in South Australia. And an extra-special thankyou to Peter from Hurricane Lures for his awesome contribution of some amazing lures for all the Elite series rounds. Mathew Kouimtzis

ROUND 1 PLACINGS Queensland ELITE 1

Stewart Hansen

Mark Mckay

Steve Bolin

Richard Orchard

Adam Lawnton

Derrick Thompson

PRO-AM

Biggest Fish Richard Orchard

50cm bass

NSW ELITE 1

Greg Rigby

Ethan Hugo

Will Kleinshafer

PRO-AM 1

Bruce Tozer

Geoffery Barry

Ben Reay

Biggest Fish Greg Rigby

47cm bass

South Australia ELITE 1

Neal Palmer

Jimbo James

Chad Soper

Chris Miller

Matthew Gorne

Mathew Bini

PRO-AM

Victorian Pro-Am winner Benjamin Hotchkin.

Victoria ELITE 1

Tony Meletis

No winner

Benjamin Hotchkin

PRO-AM

Victorian Elite class winner and admin Evanos.

John Rao

Tyler Hotchkins

www.bnbfishing.com. au

K AYAKING & canoeing Mythical SEQ barramundi mission A NOTHER month has flown by and as usual I hope everyone got out amongst it and banged a few fish.

I didn’t get a whole lot of fishing in but I had one very memorable trip doing something I’d never done before and will definitely never forget. A lot of you probably know a fisher or two who doesn’t ever want to share their spot X, and unfortunately I’m going to be that guy in this article. Some mates and I chose to chase the elusive southeast Queensland barramundi and to say we found them is an understatement. I thought this fishery was a myth but it’s now up there with one of my favourite experiences. Several weeks of planning went into this trip and it would never have been successful without a few key people. I would like to thank Mr Jack Kruger – he’s not a fisheries officer but he is a big deal and has done plenty of research and mastered the art of finding the mythical SEQ bazzas. With Jack’s information and research, Smurf, Lambert, Keats, Slater and I planned the trip, taking into consideration moons and tides for when we were going to be fishing to improve our chances of finding these fish. Being so excited to go on the hunt for the barra, the weeks felt like they took forever to pass but finally the dates came around and it was time to pack the trucks and head to spot X to have a look for these fish. As we pulled up on our hunting grounds, we looked at each other and

Kayak Fishing

by JORDAN ‘GRINNER’ KOSCHEL

We were all just waiting for someone to hook up, and within 15 minutes Smurf was hooked up to what we had come looking for but unfortunately the hooks pulled. After that, everyone was really into it. commented how good it looked and how good the conditions were. A high tide had just started trickling over and it was late afternoon with a summer storm rolling over the hills. “We have to get one now, everything is perfect” was the call. Without hassle we launched and started casting as the sun steadily set behind us. We were all just waiting for someone to hook up. Within 15 minutes Smurf had hooked what we had come looking for but unfortunately the hooks pulled. After that, everyone was really into it. We were casting our hearts out. I’ll be honest, my eyes were hurting from concentrating so hard on my surface lure as I waited for a fish to come and have a sniff at it. We put in cast after cast and were gifted with a number of hook-ups on these special fish, with Lambert eventually putting one in the kayak.

Lambert picked up a healthy one.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

I was amazed at the fish everyone had spoken about. It was the first time I had seen a wild (non-impoundment) barra and I was blown away. It felt so good that all the planning we put in was finally paying off. With the summer storm getting closer, we decided to get off the water and figure out where we were going to camp for the night. We found a pretty nice campground a little way from the waterway and had started to set up camp when without warning this small summer storm turned into what felt like a cyclone and we were soon tying down all our gear so it wouldn’t get lifted into the air. For some reason the little Smurf had gone missing, and the other boys and I were shocked to see him running down the grass hill with a large pair of underwear, trying to use them as a parachute. Rumour has it he stumbled across them where we launched and he wanted to bring them back as a joke, but I’ll let you decide what he really wanted them for. All the laughs had to come to an end as we were pretty knackered, so it was off to bed. It felt like I got no sleep because I was so excited about what tomorrow might have in store for us. At 4am the alarm went off and in no time we were back at the fishing grounds and casting away. We had another high tide, so it was perfect conditions once more, and it didn’t take long to find what we had come for, with Lambert and Keats getting a couple of fish between them. We continued along and found a spot that looked perfect for barra and on his first cast Lambert was monstered by a surface

lure-eating bazza. We all looked at each other in amazement and knew we had to keep casting because more than one had to be there. On my first cast I got a hit and one crank later I got freight trained. My thumb went straight down on the spool of the baitcaster to try to slow the fish but I was unsuccessful and it busted me off in the timber. As I was retying an FG knot, I happened to look up in time to see Smurf get soaked by a huge explosion of water about a metre in front of his yak. He had just hooked a proper one and was locked in battle with a beast, getting towed around like it was nothing. The barra had him in the snags before he could do anything and he was sitting over the snag offering me 20 bucks to jump in and get the fish out for him. I didn’t want a bar of it! He persisted and finally the beast came up off the snag and I got the lip grips in its mouth. Smurf was shaking like a leaf and everyone was stoked for him. Our session kept getting better and better, with everyone landing a fish except Slater. I’ve never seen someone work so hard for a fish and unfortunately he couldn’t keep the hooks in them, even with expert advice from his brother behind him in the canoe. However, he was frothing for more, so give it a week or two and he will be back slaying them. With the tide well into the run-out the fishing slowed and we called it a day. It was an unreal session

on SEQ barramundi. While I told you at the start I wouldn’t reveal spot X, I’m feeling generous and seeing as you’ve read right to the end of the article I’ll reward you by telling you we fished the Coomera River on the Gold Coast. Fish hard and you too could get one of these special fish. Remember, if you would like to go fishing with me, give me a call on 0413 128 056 and come out on a charter. Moreton Island Fishing Charters will be stoked to have you.

The author with his first wild-caught barra.

Keats with a nice model and one of many he scored.

Smurf’s big boy!

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 47

BOATING & marine

Overall stability at rest was impressive considering the SunRunner’s relatively small stature.

Yamaha’s venerable 90hp four-stroke provided ample punch to effortlessly move the 485 SunRunner from rest to 63km/h.

Horizon SunRunner sure to impress

RECENT stormy day saw me on the water in the Tweed River checking out the latest iteration of the Horizon SunRunner, this particular boat being the 485 model that measures 4.9m from bow to transom.

The 485 SunRunner was happy to turn on a dime without cavitating.

First impressions were that it was a good-looking rig, especially from a side-on profile. The SunRunner is a run-

Boat Review by DANIEL TOMLINSON

about but initially gives the impression of being a cabin boat, with a raised foredeck and ‘cabin’-style structure as well as an elevated seating position at the helm. That side-on profile is quite a sleek one, with a

Insights into boat insurance

USH ‘n Beach has brought Nautilus Marine Insurance on board to expand the fine print and provide readers with clear, easy-tounderstand and helpful tips on protecting their boating assets.

Your duty of disclosure Truth is your best ally when it comes to insuring your boat. Its importance is wrapped up in a short but vitally important phrase, “duty of disclosure”. That phrase means you must disclose all relevant information to the insurer before you enter in a contract. What sort of information? Well, most insurance forms will assist you to identify relevant information by asking questions on the insurance application form such as: “Have you ever had any insurance refused or cancelled?” “Have you made any boat or any theft claims in the past five years?” “Have you been convicted of any offence in the past five years?” But your duty of disclosure extends further than the three questions above which are typical of those asked on an

insurance application form. Your duty also includes you telling the insurer everything you know and that a reasonable person in the circumstances could be expected to tell them, in answer to the questions they ask. Let’s use an example from left field. Say you answered “no” to the above three questions because at the time of writing your answers, that was the case. However, if at the time of answering them you also knew you were going to court in a week’s time and would be pleading guilty to having committed an offence, then your answer of “no” clearly would be a failure on your part to be acting in good faith. Such an answer may be ruled to be fraudulently keeping information from the insurer or held to mean that you deliberately misled the insurer. Were that to happen and some time down the track things went pearshaped with your boat, that omission might provide sufficient grounds for the insurer to deny your claim or cancel your policy and treat it as if it never existed. But what if you per-

haps forgot to mention that eight months ago you failed a roadside alcohol breathalyser test and subsequently were convicted of exceeding .05 by the slimmest of margins. Your insurance policy again could be at risk if you fail to inform your marine insurer. It is your responsibility to disclose all such information each and every time you instigate or renew an insurance policy. The good news is a specialist marine insurer such as Nautilus Marine is willing to discuss the circumstances of your particular case with you. You can phone Nautilus Marine and talk through your query and get a response on the likely impact that an event may or may not have on your insurance. If you are in the process of completing a form and are not sure what you should write in response to a question, it could be a good idea to attach an explanatory note detailing the circumstances. For example, say two people jointly owned the boat and the insurance policy was in joint names. Further, one of those

two policy holders was convicted of a drink driving offence but the other wasn’t. On a form that gives you a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ tick box, it would be difficult to explain the reality. Therefore, attaching a note explaining the circumstance would mean you were putting ‘all relevant information’ before the insurer in your application. For people who own a boat together and are seeking insurance cover, it would be a good idea for them to fill out the form together. You don’t want to find out about your joint owner’s conviction only when the insurer advises you that your answers, filled in solely by you and in good faith, nonetheless have invalidated the policy because ‘old mate’ didn’t declare im-

portant information. Finally, as with all insurance policies, always check your product disclosure document and if you have a query, ask for clarification. If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements. Win a Nautilus Prize Package Nautilus will also be answering your boat insurance questions of a general nature and will be offering a great bimonthly prize to the best questions received. The prize is a Nautilus Marine merchandising pack comprising a collapsible chiller bag, a handy marine sports bag and a cap. Just email your questions to qld@nautilusin surance.com.au

Any advice contained in this article is of a general nature only and may not apply or be right for you as it does not take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any advice provided in this article, you should consider the appropriateness of the advice having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

‘swept back’ design theme carrying through from the bimini to the optional rocket launcher and bait board. Having already jumped in a Horizon 485 Scorpion Cuddy powered by a Yamaha 60hp four-stroke, I was eager to see how this same size but slicker-styled and lighter rig would perform with 90 of Yamaha’s finest horses bolted to the stern. Very well, as it turned out. The 1.8-litre, single-cam Yamaha F90LB proved the perfect partner for this sub-5m rig, winding out effortlessly and bringing the 485 SunRunner onto the plane almost as soon as the throttle was touched. This thing seriously accelerated out of the hole, and previous Yamaha testing of this outfit showed a 0-40km/h time of 4.95 seconds, achieved in 31m, which is downright impressive in my books.

I love having plenty of power behind a boat as long as it doesn’t impact too heavily on fuel usage, and though 90hp is the maximum allowable for the 485 SunRunner, the boat’s light dry weight meant the 90hp Yamaha wasn’t raising a sweat while punching along. And it goes without saying that even at speed the motor was barely humming, making for easy conversation to be held throughout the boat. Flat chat, the setup recorded a top speed of 63km/h at 6000rpm while using 38.95 litres of fuel per hour (1.63km/L). Throttling back to 3500rpm saw speed almost halved to 34km/h, but fuel range improved markedly to 11.25 litres per hour (3.02km/L). An 80-litre underfloor fuel tank as standard results in a cruising range of about 230km, based on 95 percent fuel capacity, making this mediumsized boat a viable big bay or even offshore fishing proposition. Indeed, high sides, solid ☛ continued P49

Dash layout is clean and functional and perfect for flush mounting electronics.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

BOATING & marine Horizon SunRunner sure to impress ☛ from P48

3mm construction, Horizon’s Hydro Lift hull and plenty of fishing space enhance the idea of the SunRunner as a fishing weapon, but this is a boat

built with the family fisho firmly in mind. A fully carpeted floor from stem to stern, a very comfy seating arrangement including fold-away rear lounge with padded backrest, grab rails all

Luggage rack-style setup under the dash prevents items sliding around while under way yet still affords access to the anchor well.

Very comfy seats help round out a seriously tidy overall package.

round at the helm and a great under-dash storage arrangement as well as underfloor storage mean the 485 SunRunner will readily cater to the family boater as well as the hardcore fisho. At the helm, the comfy seats provide a great view of the water through the sleek curved windscreen and the dash area has loads of space for flush mounting today’s bigscreen electronics. Four flush-mounted cup holders are a nice addition (plus two in the bait board), as are the four flush rod holders (plus two more on the bait board) arranged neatly around the gunwales and angled perfectly for bait fishing. The gunwales are at a comfortable height for leaning against too, which is ideal when tackling solid fish offshore. As mentioned, the cockpit is seriously generous in size for loads of fishing space, afforded by the cab-forward driving position and healthy 2.4m beam. Entry and egress is a cinch thanks to a swinging rear door, checker

plate internal step and non-slip external step with folding ladder. Getting to the anchor well has been made easier for 2018, with the windscreen opening in the centre and the raised foredeck also featuring a centre door that encloses the anchor well for a sleek design and allows you to walk right up to the well once opened. Ease of use and value for money are two core concerns for Horizon Aluminium Boats when designing and updating new models, and these are two boxes very well ticked by the 2018 485 SunRunner. With drive-away packages starting from about $38,000 (from Chelsea Yamaha Melbourne), this well-equipped and beautifully laid-out rig should fall well under budget for most shoppers on the hunt for a new boat to suit both the family and the fisho. For more information on the Horizon Aluminium Boats range and to find your nearest dealer, visit horizonboats.com.au and to learn more about Yamaha’s ever-evolving outboards, head to yama ha-motor.com.au

New Navionics+ Regions available for Australia and New Zealand

AV I O N I C S , the leader in content and location-based services for the recreational boating market, recently announced the release of Navionics+ Regions in seven coverage areas throughout Australia and New Zealand.

At the affordable price of $165 per region, Navionics+ Regions offers tremendous value and includes Nautical Chart, SonarChart 0.5m HD bathymetry map and Community Edits. Daily chart updates and advanced features a re included

for one year. Navionics Australia sales manager John McDonald said: “For the vast majority of boaters and anglers, the coverage of one Navionics+ Region preloaded with Nautical Chart and SonarChart allows them to take full advantage of the outstanding capabilities of Navionics+ at a more affordable price point.” Navionics charts are updated every day with official information, while SonarChart and Community Edits are continuously enhanced by regular contributions from fellow boaters.

To keep their charts current, customers can download updates anywhere within the coverage area from navion ics.com Available coverage areas include Queensland, NSW, Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania, the Northern Territory and New Zealand. Availability Navionics+ Regions is available for $165 each (including GST). To learn more about Navionics+ Regions or Navionics and its complete product offerings, please visit navionics. com

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 49

Cody caught this beauty on a soft vibe under the Gateway Bridge. Leah Walker

Mystery location winners My daughter Georgia landed a 41cm bream at east Ballina. You can’t beat live bait. Neal LeProu

Hi Ben, This is my PB yellowbelly, one of many we captured in an afternoon at Cooby Dam. Cheers, Hugh Ford

I got this Gold Coast trevally fishing land based on the run-in while throwing the old faithful Lucky Craft G-Splash at bust-ups. I saw the bow waves change direction as soon as I gave it the first bloop... then boom! Jade Gibb

G’day Ben, My son Ethan caught this great mangrove jack on a recent trip to Burrum Heads. He was using a live mullet for bait and it was the first jack he had ever caught. Cheers, Shannon Petticrew

I landed this shark on a 6-10kg rod, 40lb mono, 50lb leader and a huge bit of squid. Zac Sutto

This was my first mangrove jack over 50cm. I got it on a Zerek popper in the Coomera River. Levi Bell

BNB subeditor Dan enjoyed a great session on Moreton Bay mackerel and left them biting.

Thank you for all the submissions and guesses of the mystery location in Brian Webb’s February article. Congratulations to the winners below and thanks for the great stories. You have each won a prize pack consisting of a Tide Guide, Angler’s Almanac, Techniice ice pack, two BNB Fishing stickers and a pack of Berkley Gulp soft plastics. Hi BNB, The mystery photo published in Brian Webb’s February article was of Bishop Island and your photo brought back great memories – thank you. I spent a lot of time in my mid-teens in the last house on the eastern end of the island. My family was friends with an American (Ken Criscione) who used to have a lease on the shop and cabins on the jetty end. When he gave up the lease he moved to the house on the end before returning to the US circa-1981. I spent weekends and school holidays there and fished and crabbed non-stop. It was great fun. Professional fishers lived in the cabins at times and regularly used to run their nets in the bay near the wrecks. I fished off the wrecks at times and remember a fall through a rusted section that luckily just resulted in a few scrapes. Plenty of mud crabs could be found around the wrecks and mangroves, as well as flathead and whiting along the rock walls. We used to walk across to Fisherman Island on the low tide to dig worms and in winter there’d be mullet everywhere and bream and tailor off the jetty at times. I still often think of the place and would visit if only it was still there. Thanks for jogging the memory again – I am sure there will be other readers who have similar memories. Scott Meredith

Hi Ben, My name is Ross Hall and I’m from Ipswich. About 32 or 33 years ago I owned a 15’6” Lewis runabout with a 140hp VRO Evinrude on the back. It did a genuine 50 knotsplus! Anyway, around that time I recall putting the boat in at the Goodna boat ramp, loading some extra fuel, an Esky and a couple of friends for a trip down the Brissie River. We motored all the way down to the mouth to a beautiful little place called Bishop Island, beached the Lewis, had some lunch and drinks and a bit of a look around and then returned to Goodna. A great day out! Bishop Island was a popular destination in those days and I recall day trips were run out of the city as well. Unfortunately, years later Bishop Island was swallowed up in the Port of Brisbane redevelopment/ extensions. It’s hard to stop progress. I believe Brian Webb’s mystery photo is indeed Bishop Island. These days I own a 5.5m custom-built plate alloy centre console with a 135hp Mercury Optimax pushing it. It’s nowhere near as fast as the old Lewis but a much nicer fishing platform. Love the mag mate. Kind regards, Ross Hall

To have a photo of your catch featured in Readers Forum, simply email ben@ bnbfishing.com.au with a good-quality picture, your name and details or hop onto our Facebook page and send us a message.

■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

www.bnbfishing.com. au

PUZZLE PAGE wil s o nf i s hin g.c o m

Luring for words

Spot 10 differences

Words can run vertically, horizontally, diagonally and back to front.

D S

A J

M Z

H V Y

K O F

K G O Q A A E

A S

A C

O F

K A A

O C

G P

N U A I

N K T

U J

A J

G A A N V Z

N E

O V T

H S

V H R

A D F

O T

M S

A P

A R

W O W X

G H D E

N O M L

O Y

A W O

W H I

A H P

H V A D Z

H E

K E

H A T

A M U N D I

Catch F N G W Rme S S V D O C N Y K B if you S N I F D A E R L L U M Vcan! H M E

BARRAMUNDI BASS BREAM COBIA COD DOLPHINFISH

D G R

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FINGERMARK FLATHEAD LONGTAIL TUNA MACKEREL MANGROVE JACK MULLOWAY

A B Y

H T P

A W Z

W M V V

SARATOGA SNAPPER TAILOR THREADFIN SALMON TREVALLY WHITING

WIN a Wilson Fishing prize pack worth $50! For your chance to win, simply solve the puzzles, take a picture and message our Facebook page or email design@bnbfishing.com.au before Thursday, March 22, 2018. GOOD LUCK! Congratulations to Paul McGuiness on being the winner of the February puzzle competition. T&Cs: One winner per month. One entry per person.

GO FOR SOME QUALITY TIME. Time spent out on the water with your family is far too precious to risk with anything other than the absolute best in marine engineering. And that’s exactly what the Mercury MerCruiser V8 delivers. Efﬁcient, powerful and backed by Australia’s largest dealer network. You know you want to go. Learn more at mercurymarine.com.au

See your authorised Mercury Marine Dealer today. AIRLIE BEACH | Whitsunday Outboard Centre 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au W: whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH | Coorparoo Marine 57 Cavendish Rd, Coorparoo Q 4151 P: 07 3397 4141 E: info@coorparoomarine.com.au W: coorparoomarine.com.au

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GOLD COAST | Onshore Marine Horizon Shores Marina, Woongoolba Q 4207 P: 07 5546 2480 E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au W: onshoremarine.com.au

BRISBANE NORTH | Brisbane Marine 306 Dufﬁeld Rd, Clontarf Q 4019 P: 07 3889 3033 E: info@brismarine.com.au W: brismarine.com.au

IPSWICH | Ipswich Marine Centre 45 Huxham St, Raceview Q 4305 P: 07 3294 3944 E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au W: ipswichmarine.com.au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 51

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www.ﬁshncruisecharters.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 53

Some good tarpon have been around. This one took a vibe fished along a rock wall.

Phil caught this solid blubber-lip in the Calliope River. These fish pull hard.

March madness ■ Blue salmon ■ Grunter ■ Barra

UMMER definitely kicked in during the middle of February, with temperatures consistently reaching the mid-30C range.

Serves 6 Prep time 15 minutes Cook time 100 minutes

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Braised mango chicken Ingredients

en in oven and brown sides.

• 1 large chicken (2.5kg)

3. Mix French onion soup in five litres of water and add to camp oven.

• 2 x 40g French onion soup mix • Salt and pepper • 2 mangoes, diced • 1 tbsp rice bran oil • 6 potatoes • 6 pieces corn • 6 pieces pumpkin • 6 pieces sweet potato • 6 medium onions • 2 tbsp cornflour • 3 litres water Method 1. Preheat a 15” camp oven. 2. Add oil to oven. Place chick-

4. Place lid on oven and slowly simmer for 40 minutes. 5. Add potatoes, onions and mango and cook for 30 minutes with lid on. 6. Add remaining vegetables and simmer for a further 30 minutes. 7. Add two tablespoons of water to cornflour and mix until combined. Remove lid and stir in cornflour. Simmer until liquid starts to thicken. 8. Remove oven from fire and serve.

Tips Don’t skin the vegetables. When you cook in a camp oven the skin holds the vegetables together and retains the goodness. Cook this dish on a slow simmer by using a small bed of coals. If you require more heat, add small pieces of kindling a few at a time as needed. Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

March should see temperatures a bit more bearable during the day, allowing for more time on the water. As the water temperature drops towards the end of March, expect to see numbers of blue salmon increase. They will become more active and school as they move towards their breeding season. Start looking at the deeper sections of Gladstone Harbour and in the Calliope River for these schools. Feeding fish will also be seen along the edges of sand and mud banks and around drains; they just won’t be in the same numbers as the schooled fish in deeper water. They are willing lure takers and a vibe or plastic fished around the schooled fish in deep water will get a reaction. For shallower water, a hard-body of about 90mm will work, as will a paddle-tail or prawn-style plastic. A live mullet, gar or prawn won’t last long, however these will attract a bit of unwanted by-catch to annoy you. Grunter have been in great numbers in the Calliope River, though their size has been a bit disappointing, with only the odd legal-size fish caught. Better size fish have come from the harbour, with the channel markers attracting big schools of herring and the grunter subsequently sitting under them. Vibes, plastics, live prawns, herring, fresh green local prawns and mullet strips will entice these fish. Barra season started with a bang around the region, with metre fish being hooked within hours of the season opening.

Gladstone Region by GARY CHURCHWARD

Numbers have been good too, and many fish are being caught during a session on lures and bait. The bigger fish are coming from deeper water in Gladstone Harbour and both the Calliope and Boyne rivers. Rockhampton’s Fitzroy River and Port Alma are fishing extremely well for barra and threadfin salmon and shows the net-free zone has really started to work. Fish are being caught through the entire river, from the rocks in the city right to the mouth and Port Alma. Target the shallower timber for smaller barra or deeper rock piles and holes for bigger fish. Barra will still bite well during March and into April, and in fact they are really a year-round option in central Queensland and will only slow during the colder months but will still be a viable proposition. Awoonga Dam has been home to hot fishing of

late, with some sessions producing up to 20 barra. The average size of these fish is not what it was five years ago but trying to stop a mid-80cm fish in heavy timber still gets the blood rushing. Even though the dam is not tidal, the tides nonetheless have an effect on when the barra will bite, along with moon phases, wind direction and speed. Fingermark are still being taken from rocky areas in the harbour and in the Calliope River. Most are falling to vibes fished in deep water. Mangrove jack are hitting well-presented lures around trees and rock bars. Weedless soft plastics and 90-110mm hard-bodies are doing the damage. If you’re on the water early, try a popper or stickbait for some awesome surface strikes from jacks along with by-catch of the odd barra and trevally. Big tarpon are being caught around the mouths

of rivers and smaller fish can be found upstream. No matter the size of these fish, they are great fun to catch and put up an awesome fight. Mud crabs are being captured in the rivers and feeder creeks thanks to the small bit of rain in early February that helped get them moving. Sand crabs can be found in the harbour over the sand flats, around South End and at the mouth of the South Trees at Lillies Beach. While you won’t get a heap, you can usually get enough for a feed when they are moving around. Whiting and bream have been hit and miss. One day you can get plenty and the next they are not on the chew or have moved. Persistence and constantly moving on these days will help you put a feed together. With Easter holidays at the end of March, if you haven’t already thought about it, now might be a good time to think about a long weekend away exploring our region. Cheers and happy fishing from Gladdy.

Plenty of estuary cod have been taken. Sam caught his on a 3” Z-Man MinnowZ.

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Chasing weather windows on Capricorn Coast

HASING the decent weather windows is the story of our lives here on the Capricorn Coast. We regularly scan the week’s forecast and search through the synoptic charts for glimmers of hope to get out onto the big blue. A few opportunities have arisen but they’ve been tight windows because the high-pressure systems keep rolling through. At the time of writing we have about a day and a half of good weather coming up, with a substantial blow either side, so I’m sure the swell will still be rolling through. It’s the norm that when we get good weather I’m stuck at work. Checking the observations for offshore of Yeppoon, the wind has dropped out but has unfortunately swung around to the west. The barometer is also not ideal, slowly decreasing to about 1000hPa. Regardless, it will be interesting to speak to the fishos who manage to make the most of the short window. Last month I talked about a central Queensland barra mission with the opening of the season. Unfortunately, I’ve submitted this article before

Capricorn Coast by JOHN BOON

the trip, so you will have to wait until next month for an update. The great news is the Fitzroy River is on fire. Tides and weather weren’t ideal for the February 1 opening, with 5m-plus tides, strong wind and rain but that didn’t deter the locals from getting stuck into the chromies. It appears live bait fishers are the ones getting the best results in the large tidal run. When the weather has eased, several anglers have been getting offshore to try their luck at turning over a few red fish. Large-mouth nannygai have responded well to slow-pitch jigs. I have found nannies are by far the most willing to take slow-pitch jigs, I believe because they feed through the entire water column. I have seen them stacked at all different depths including just under the surface. Slow-pitch jigging has been around for a long time but I feel the subject has fallen into the shadows. It’s such an effective

Dan Lynam at heartbreak hotel. Would have been a quality red on a jig.

technique when used in the right areas at the right time. However, I have seen people fall into the same trap as with soft plastics, pulling them out when outside of bite times and when nothing seems to be working. They will drop them down, give them a few jigs and then write them off when they fail to raise a scale. It’s a technique that requires trial and error with both retrieve and areas fished. Isolated structure is a great place to start jigging because the concentration of fish will be in one small area. Wrecks, wonky holes, bommies, rocks and small fern patches are a great start. I was pretty lucky on my first outing with slowpitch jigs. I had done my homework on the subject and talked to a few gurus in the know. We had already caught a number of solid fish for the morning on bait, so the pressure was off. On the very first drop I nailed a goldspotted cod of about 3kg. While not an impressive fish by any means, what it represented was confidence. Confidence that my newfound technique was going to work. We kept jigging for the rest of the day and it was one of the best sessions we have had to date. We caught more goldspots, nailed multiple large-mouth nannygai up to 10kg and also jigged some solid grass sweetlip. A dream start for the slow-pitch jigs and we haven’t looked back. My first slow-pitch jig was a Storm Gomoku Koika in a bluey-green colour. To this day it’s still one of my favourites. On our first trip I didn’t have any specialised jigging rods or reels. My trusty old barra combo would have to do. It consisted of a 5000-size Shimano Stradic FJ reel, 10-20lb Samaki Zing rod and 30lb braid. While not ideal, it was all I had that would be

capable of doing the job. Now I have a fair bit of jigging under my belt I have since upgraded my gear. I’m now running a Shimano 1500 Ocea jigger on a Zen Zagan PE2-4 jigging rod. It’s amazing how much difference a quality setup specifically suited to slow-pitch jigging makes. Another noticeable difference was going from spin gear to overhead. I found the spinning reel a bit painful in terms of opening and closing the bail arm. When using a spin reel, if you get hit on the drop and have a lot of line peeling off the reel it’s difficult to flip the bail arm over to set the hooks. I believe an overhead is much better suited. Clicking the reel in and out of gear is much more comfortable and a lot easier. The Zagan rod I’ve been using is equipped with spiral guides. The first guide near the reel starts on top of the rod in a conventional manner but each guide thereafter starts to wrap around to the underside of the rod. This design is intended to keep your braid from touching the blank, which is a fantastic idea. I still use the Gomoku Koika jigs regularly but another quality jig I’ve been using is the Volante slow-pitch from Extreme Anglers Australia. This jig has been going great guns for me over the past 12 months. I still experiment with other jigs both cheap and expensive but the two brands I’ve outlined would be my favourites thus far. Another question I’m often asked is: “What retrieves are best?” My answer is: whatever works on the day. Trying a range of different retrieves will identify what the flavour of the trip is. Try short hops, long hops, quarter and half turns of the reel, jig and burn and so on. On YouTube you’ll find plenty of videos outlining a variety of retrieves and when to use them. This is where I learnt and checking out YouTube is a must before hitting the water.

What’s happening locally With the bad weather, Keppel Bay has turned brown and chased the majority of quality fish out to the islands. We will need a run of good weather to bring the water clarity back and the likes of mackerel back in close. Grunter are still running well. The cockle and gravel beds in Coorooman Creek have been turning over some absolute horses. A few quality fingermark are amongst them too. Mud crabs have been a bit slow but those caught have been big and full. The fishos regularly changing baits and moving pots have been picking up the better catches. Mangrove jack have been fairly active, with Ross Creek and the Causeway the most reliable spots. Reports coming through say 3” and 4” grub-style soft plastics have been the go for the jacks. A few have also fallen to live mullet 4”-5” in length. Offshore, good numbers of cobia have been moving around the wrecks. Red fish have been playing the game but the bloody sharks have been breaking hearts in all directions. Check out Daniel Lynam’s jigged red that got bitten off just behind the head. A red on artificial bait is a special capture because it’s quite hard to accomplish, but to have the taxman take a share nearly rips your heart out. Speaking of reds on jigs, Troy Newman is the winner of our Secret Spot Bait and Tackle photo of the month comp. Troy has won a $50 gift voucher to be spent in store. A big thankyou to Gregg Chapman of the Secret Spot for donating the vouchers each month. If you would like to be a part of our photo competition, jump onto the Fishing Central Queensland Facebook page, request to become a member and post your best fishing pics – it’s that easy. Well that’s it from me this month. Hopefully I’ll have a few barra tales for next month and maybe a sneaky trip out the front if the weather plays the game.

Morgan McIntyre held a 107cm Fitzroy River barra just two hours after the season opened on February 1.

Nathan White with a healthy Fitzroy River thready.

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wrightﬁshingtackle.com.au E: contactus@wrightﬁshingtackle.com.au The author lifted the result of being in the right place at the right time. Large-mouth nannygai hooked on Volante slow-pitch jigs.

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Troy Newman with a ripper red taken on a slow-pitch jig and the winner of the Secret Spot Bait and Tackle photo of the month.

0427 729 688 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 55

Hungry fish haunting Stanage Bay

BIG welcome to the township of Stanage Bay and the fishing and crabbing areas of Thirsty Sound and Quail, Tide, Egg and Long islands to name a few.

Tony did well to entice this cracking barramundi.

An awesome feed of monster muddies.

Maps and local charts are available at Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation in the boatyard. If you’d like more information on what’s available, simply phone 07 4937 3145. Now let’s go fishing and crabbing, shall we. The Stanage Bay turnoff is about 74km north of Rockhampton and a day’s drive from Brisbane or Cairns, so two drivers sharing the load from those last two cities can get you straight to the Plumtree boat ramp, the only ramp at Stanage Bay. The driveway into Stanage Bay is mostly unsealed and running through pastured, family owned and run cattle properties with a series of grids, some double and others single. The trick is to slow down when you see a grid sign. Please stow your rubbish, cans and bottles in your car until the tip at Stanage to keep our driveway clean. The black cattle love to sleep on the road too, especially in mozzie season, while wallabies, pigs, echidnas, emus and occasionally freshwater turtles

Stanage Bay by VON IRELAND

cross the road, so drive to conditions and watch out for the wildlife. There has been no rainfall to speak of and certainly no run-off rain, with once again the name given by Captain Cook “Thirsty Sound” seeming quite apt. In saying that, rain from years past has helped with the growth of mud crabs and all species of fish in the area. Huge monster muddies have been pulled from places that are generally barren. ‘Onya Bowen visitor Buddy and crew (couldn’t use your pics because they were too unclear, sorry!). Barramundi have been milling at the mouths of creeks waiting for the storms and huge rainfall, and when it didn’t happen they moved either upstream in the creeks or to the headlands. They will definitely still be waiting around the area. It’s up to you to come and explore and catch them. The mud crabs have proved a hit in most spots, giving up multiple muddies per pot in some instances. Try pulling in one of our

extra-heavy pro pots with four 2.5kg muddies taking up space. It takes serious muscle to get one of those pots over the gunwale. Some super wasp nests the size of dinner plates are in the mangroves at the moment. If you are allergic, take medication and/or an EpiPen in the boat with you, in the event of being bitten. The reef fish are on the chew on the closer reef and islands such as the Dukes, Hexham group and Collins group. When the weather allows, bigger boats have been venturing out wider but no one has popped in with gossip, so it’s anyone’s guess whether they did exceptionally well or exceptionally poorly. We rely on tackle shop gossip to share the love of fishing, not just pub talk. A big thankyou to Brendon Douglas for wanting to be fishing and exploring the Stanage waterways forever more with his ashes, and thank you to some of his mates who did the right thing and took Bren fishing and crabbing for the week before setting him free to fish in peace. Get the vibe going

again and weigh in a fish or two. I can use boat names and do group pics, which are awesome mementos for now and the future. Facebook is good for some but it’s not for all, so come on, keep the old timers going and share your pics with the tackle shop and magazine. Until next time, email

me at stanagebaymarine@ bigpond.com or phone 07 4937 3145 for any information, whether it be local, road, fishing, crabbing or tackle. No question is silly and nothing is too hard. It’s the same old story – don’t let the truth get in the way of a good yarn, so give me a call.

The author lifted an early season barra.

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY: Gulfland Motel, Atherton Bait and Tackle, DC Quirk Contracting, Tom's Tonkas, Carpentaria Shire Council, Bynoe CACS Ltd, Gulf Concrete, Castaways Trinity Beach Resort, Il Palazzo Boutique Hotel, Rexair, Hudson Contractors, End of the Road Motel and Gobble N Go.

THE 2018 NORMANTON BARRA CLASSIC (ORGANISED BY THE NORMANTON SOCIAL FISHING CLUB)

Friday, March 30 – Sunday, April 1 Over $25,000 worth of prizes and raffles plus a $10,000 cash raffle up for grabs. REGISTRATION FRIDAY, MARCH 30, 2018 Heaviest Barramundi $6000 2nd Heaviest Barramundi $2000 3rd Heaviest Barramundi $1000 Plus junior section The Albion Hotel in Normanton hosts the annual Normanton Barra Classic over the Easter long weekend every year. The Classic is held on the Norman River, just outside of Normanton. Competition is stiff and popular, so be sure to book your accommodation early! ABOUT THE ALBION HOTEL • • • •

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GTs of this size put up one of the hardest fights in the ocean and take some serious stopping.

This little black GT hit like a steam train.

Going ga-ga for giant trevally

E finally had a bit of a break in the weather and it coincided with some days off. What’s a fishing guide to do? Go fishing, of course. After taking an overseas holiday and going camping with the family I was itching to get out wide for great bluewater sportfishing action. Billy Dee from Zeikel Fishing Australia sent me a text message asking how the weather was and when I replied “amazing”, he said he’d booked his tickets and was on his way. A plan was hatched to run out wide to try to find new areas to fish. Billy arrived the day before we planned on heading out, but the weather looked so nice we decided to go out at 4pm that afternoon and spend the night on the outer reef. Billy recently bought a Stabicraft 2050 Frontier NT fitted with a 150hp Honda four-stroke and it was a great little rig, riding up over the chop on the way out with a bit of an afternoon blow. We first stopped at the islands to have a cast at GTs while waiting to see if the wind would drop off a little for us to venture out further. I managed a nice GT

Hinchinbrook News by TODD EVELEIGH

around 20kg and Billy had a couple of swipes and follows but no luck. We decided to head out wide because the wind had dropped a bit, so we ran about 100km out looking for new country on which to find reds. On the way we kept an eye on the sounder and found fantastic pinnacles and rocks but unfortunately no fish were showing or biting, so we kept pushing out. After sounding all over new country for no result we were both quite tired and decided to anchor behind a coral cay for the night. As we were looking for an ideal anchorage we came across good bommies in about 30m of water where we caught a variety of sweetlip that gave us a bit of fun for an hour or so before we finally anchored and crashed for the night. We were up at first light, pulled up the anchor and had a few quick drifts over some coral bommies where we managed to jig up a few trout on micro jigs. We then headed into

some other coral cays to try to find bait schools around which to throw poppers and stickbaits for GTs and spanish mackerel. Upon coming to our first coral cay, we immediately found masses of bait schools balled up on the surface and showering everywhere. We knew we were going to have a fantastic session. Our first casts with poppers resulted in a double hook-up on GTs and we landed an unbelievable 15 GTs in about an hour and a half along with numerous hook-ups and dropped fish. I even got busted off in the reef by a big fish. Man, it was a hot session! Even though so many fish were around, if we didn’t land our poppers right in the middle of the fusilier schools we wouldn’t get a bite. We also found after numerous hits and hook-ups on the surface poppers the fish quietened down a little, so I changed to a Lively Lures Slick Stick and was rewarded with immediate success. I captured quite a few GTs

Australia and Vietnam working together to combat illegal fishing

USTRALIA and Vietnam will commence an in-country public information campaign to educate Vietnamese fishers about the consequences of illegally fishing in Australian waters and the Pacific.

The campaign is being run by the Australian Fisheries Management Authority in partnership with the Vietnamese Ministry for Agriculture and Rural Development. Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Anne Ruston said Australia and Vietnam had signed a Memorandum of Understanding in August 2017, outlining the need to collaborate to deter illegal fishers from entering and operating in www.bnbfishing.com. au

Australian waters. “The AFMA-MARD education campaign is the next step and will focus on educating fishers on the consequences of fishing in the Exclusive Economic Zones of other countries,” Minister Ruston said. “Illegal Vietnamese fishing vessels continue to be sighted in Australian waters and across the Pacific region, therefore discouraging this illegal fishing remains a high priority. “Community information workshops will be held in Sa Ky, in the Quảng Ngãi Province, which is the home port for many vessels apprehended for illegally fishing in Australian waters and the Pacific. “Translators will

help AFMA officers deliver information in local languages about international fishing laws and the risks and consequences of illegal fishing.” The Vietnamese Government has previously also conducted domestic education campaigns to address illegal fishing in Vietnam’s 28 coastal provinces. While Vietnam’s efforts have produced short-term success towards preventing illegal fishing, high demand and strong prices, in particular for sea cucumber, continues to incentivise illegal operations. For more information on how Australia is combatting illegal fishing, visit afma.gov.au

on the Slick Stick and even had one bust me off on the reef, losing my favourite fusilier-coloured lure. As the tide eased to the change, the fishing really slowed and to be honest I think Billy and I were relieved because our arms and hands were killing us after fighting big GTs. It was great to fish out wide and enjoy such fantastic surface fishing in new country. I hope this inspires you to get out and do some trailblazing of your own, finding new areas in which to try new techniques. Until next month...

The new Lively Lures Slick Stick did the damage for the author.

Billy Dee from Zeikel Fishing Australia with a brute black GT hooked wide of Hinchinbrook Island on a popper.

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Matt Arkell with a solid spanish mackerel caught while trolling a gar on a mackerel wog.

A double hook-up of trout on the paternoster rig for Joe Latham.

Tackle and techniques for the tropics The author with a nice fingermark. These fish were coughing up whole crabs on the deck.

A spanish mackerel that didn’t beat the sharks after hitting a Rapala X-Rap Magnum 30+.

T was late January when we stepped off the ferry at Thursday Island.

While we have experienced many wet seasons, the wild weather we arrived home to was something else. A severe weather warning was issued as a monsoon low hung over the Torres Strait and Cape York for more than a week. Northwesterly wind up to 80km/h was recorded and many Torres Strait and Cape York communities were inundated as heavy rainfall and king tides combined with storm surges. Local ferry services ceased operations because docking was too dangerous in the conditions and several large vessels broke their moorings. Apart from a trawler that drifted aground on Horn Island, all vessels were

Large-mouth nannygai are always welcome.

The author with a fingermark taken on fresh squid.

Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Torres Strait by MATT POTTER

secured before too much damage was done. While the storms passed, the fishing was certainly going to be tough for a few weeks until the milky water quality improved. We opted to enjoy the nearby waterfalls and downsized our gear to chase squid, which are about in large numbers during the wet season. We target them around the protected beaches and rocky headlands at the top of the tides. Tackle for the tropics that won’t blow your budget There is no denying quality tackle is a must for taking on the fish and conditions of the tropics. However, there is no need to spend a small fortune. While we would all like to own Shimano Stellas or Daiwa Saltigas, we have found a couple of cheaper reel options have stood up to the challenges of this harsh environment over the years. The 850SSM Penn Spinfisher is a great spinning reel with a quality drag system that we can attest to knocking over some impressive tropical species. It can often be bought for under $100 and the 850 size is perfect for trolling, spinning and bottom bashing. Another quality reel that won’t stretch the budget (about $130) is the FinNor Lethal 100. This reel is a beast and has knocked over GTs to 30kg without a problem. It has a large line capacity, tough aluminium body and multi-stack MegaDrag (20kg-rated) with carbon fibre washers that are sealed against water intrusion. We spool our reels with 300 yards of 50lb Platypus Super Braid or P8 braid. While you could go heavier, there really is no need because it always stands up to the task. Match either of these reels with a medium/ heavy action 10-15kg rod of 6’ to 6’6” length and you are set. The slightly longer length certainly helps with those long casts. Ugly Stik Gold rods are a great option for just over $50.

Now to lures. They come in every shape and colour imaginable. As the saying goes, most lures are designed to catch the fisher. Like all keen fishos, I’ve been sucked into buying my share of fancy lures. While I won’t go into the lures we use for creek fishing, I have a handful of lures I swear by in the far north when heading offshore. The first is the Halco Gold Twisty, and yes, it has to be gold. The gold has out-fished other colours repeatedly. I usually tie on the 55g model. Just cast this lure out, let it sink for a few seconds and wind it back as fast as you can. We have used it to spin up coral trout off reef tops, jigged it for largemouth nannygai and regularly catch queenfish, mackerel, tuna and GTs with this little gem. Having one rigged and ready is a must in the tropics because you don’t know when the surface action will erupt. When trolling for mackerel, we use a wog head rigged with garfish. It’s surprising how effective this rig is, yet not many people use it. It is easy to make, requiring a weighted head with witch’s hair, a bait spring, 140lb single-strand wire and three ganged Mustad 7766 10/0 hooks. This rig lasts forever and is used religiously by many professional mackerel fishers. You can find instructional videos on YouTube on how to make and rig mackerel wogs. They can also be bought ready-made online from Downunder Fishing Supplies. Another favourite lure for trolling is the Rapala X-Rap Magnum 30+ rigged with a short singlestrand wire trace and solid snap swivel. We troll this lure at about seven knots in a spread with the wog heads and it usually isn’t long until a reel is screaming with a mackerel or GT attached. Trout also climb all over the X-Raps when trolling reef edges. On bigger trips when we

fish wider, I enjoy playing around with plastics and will often send one down while the crew is dropping baits. Z-Man Scented Jerk ShadZ (5”-8”) rigged on TT Head Hunter jig heads are personal favourites for targeting coral trout, nannygai and big fingermark. Pearl and Smokey Shad are two colours that seem to be extremely effective. Adjust the jig head size to suit the current and depth. I’ll do a few short sharp cranks off the bottom and then let the lure sink back down. Occasionally a faster retrieve is thrown into the mix too. Knife jigs are worth a try in water over 20m. These things not only get the attention of any nearby pelagics but big coral trout absolutely love them and the trophy trout of the trip is often caught on a knife jig. Other tackle we use in the tropics includes Mustad Big Gun and 7766 hooks. I adjust the hook size to the species we are targeting. When chasing bigger reefies out wider, we will increase the size to 10/0 and pin them through large flesh baits. Fishing the shallower reefs around Thursday Island is effective with 7/0s on a floater-style rig. This is simply a bean sinker running on the leader straight to the hook and it is particularly effec-

tive on coral trout. The trick is to ensure your lead lets the bait waft down naturally. Sometimes when there is little or no current, lead isn’t required and I’ll just flick the bait ahead of the boat so it drifts back and reaches the bottom in line with the stern. When I head wider, fishing waters from 15-40m, we change to a double paternoster rig with a 10oz snapper lead. I always use 80lb Black Magic Supple Trace on both these rigs. A lot of our catches are taken on fresh bait. Our crew spends a bit of time collecting and packaging bait to freeze for reef trips. Squid, sardines (which we catch around the local jetties in the cast net) and freshly caught spanish mackerel are gun baits and don’t last long before something shows interest. We also use large whiting heads. Whiting can be caught easily in a cast net and they are certainly not targeted by many in far north Queensland, yet they are found in large numbers around the Torres Strait and Cape. If you’re planning a trip to the tropics, please remember you don’t have to spend thousands on tackle to catch quality fish. You can follow our fishing adventures on our Fishing Missions- Northern Australia Facebook page. Tight lines.

Floating logs are a real hazard during the wet season and are why the author avoids night-time travel.

Tackle mentioned in the article.

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4WDING & off - road Cape York 4WDing FAQs W

ITH March, the last official month of the wet season now rolling along, many people are preparing for that exciting Cape York trip.

Each year, the northern tip of the Cape (and Australia) is the holy grail destination for thousands of Australian and overseas visitors alike. Others have a special destination somewhere on the ‘Big Finger’ where they might spend a week or three (or more!) just to enjoy the camping, fishing and nature. While some roads on the Cape are being gradually improved (particularly the Peninsula Development Road), there are still plenty of rough tracks to test the skills and patience of travellers – and the durability of their rigs! And even the PDR gets thoroughly corrugated over long stretches each year. Anyway, I’ve put together the following thoughts on frequently asked questions about travelling the Cape, based on over 30 years’ experience living in the region. These are based on the premise that people are at least doing part of the Telegraph Track or travelling some other rough ‘off the beaten tracks’. Do I need a modified four-wheel-drive to travel the Cape? No. However, any vehicle needs to be reliable and have high clearance or there will be trouble. Modifications such as suspension lifts and differential locks will improve performance, but remember people have been successfully driving the Cape for decades in fairly basic but competent four-wheel-drives. A snorkel is a must for deepwater crossings; a bull bar great for protection and mounting driving lights; and a roof rack is invaluable for storing bulky equipment such as swags and the faithful dinghy. A cargo barrier certainly makes packing easier and in an accident can save lives. An LED work light at the rear is priceless in camp or while making camp if you arrive late. Should I upgrade my vehicle’s suspension? If it is at all old and tired, or the springs sag under load, yes. Suspension cops an absolute hammering on the Cape and needs to be in first-class condition. One kilometre of jolting www.bnbfishing.com. au

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

corrugations is probably the equivalent of a few thousand kilometres on bitumen in terms of work for the springs, shock absorbers and bushes. And good shock absorbers are critical for good vehicle handling, not just providing the best possible ride. Ensure all suspension bushes are new or near new before leaving home. Should I travel with another vehicle? Not necessarily. However, it can be great fun to experience the Cape with family and friends, and you are there for each other in the event of a breakdown or bogging. Travelling alone is best suited to more experienced four-wheel-drivers. Having said that, except in more remote areas, someone who can help in the event of trouble is usually nearby. Should I carry extra fuel? Very rarely, if ever. Truly, most, if not all vehicles can make it between the various roadhouses and towns on the Cape without needing to cart jerry cans. They add weight and take up valuable space. The exception would be if you are going somewhere remote for a lengthy period that involved a fair bit of local driving. If the budget can handle it, look at getting a longrange fuel tank, which is well worth the expense. Do I need a winch? If you are going somewhere rugged, yes, or at least have one in your travelling party. Along of course with a tree protector, gloves, tackle block, winch extension strap and cable dampener. Front-mounted winches are great in that they are there, housed within the bull bar, ready to go. Hand winches are hard work, but they can be used to winch backwards or sideways very easily – which on occasion is more than handy. Using a snatch block with a hand winch is pretty much essential because it halves the effort needed to operate the unit. Having a winch is also useful to pull large fallen trees off the road, something that can be encountered along any bush track.

What is the minimum to carry in terms of recovery gear? A long-handled shovel, rated tow strap and D shackles, and preferably some MAXTRAX (they are great!) or similar traction aids. I also carry a high-lift jack, however it is not easily used on some modern vehicles without damaging them. A base plate is also needed for the jack to prevent it sinking into soft ground. I use my (home-made) fire stand, however a solid piece of timber or plate steel is ideal. What about tyres? As with suspension, your tyres need to be in top condition. Highway-tread tyres might get you there, however they provide minimal traction and their sidewalls are prone to damage. I reckon they’re a no-no on the Cape. Fitting good-quality allterrains or mud-terrains with tough sidewalls is the go. Do I need a second spare tyre? I carry one, but mainly because I live and work on the Cape and am almost continuously on rough roads. It provides great insurance. Having said that, only once over the past 20 years have I needed that extra spare, and that was while driving cross country making a new track. One hidden stake punctured both a front and rear tyre. Four-wheel-drive tyre construction has greatly improved in recent times. If you are sticking to better tracks, a plug kit and compressor will generally keep you out of trouble. Anything more rugged, and it’s a yes. What spares should I take? Fan belt(s), radiator and heater hoses and a fuel filter as a minimum, spark plugs and other electrical items if your vehicle uses unleaded fuel. Cable ties, duct tape, electrical tape and a can of WD-40 or similar often come in handy, and I also carry a bottle of radiator repair gunk just in case. What about gas, a 12/240V fridge and Esky? If your budget is limited, an Esky will do just fine except for extended trips away from ice-selling outlets.

All towns and some roadhouses on the Cape sell ice. Gas fridges are fantastic for extended stays. Set it up and you’re away, and a 4kg gas bottle can last up to three weeks. However, they are much less suitable for fairly constant moving around – needing to be levelled each day when you set up camp. Plus, for safety reasons they can’t be run on gas in a vehicle. A 12/240V fridge along with a second battery is brilliant for constant travelling, not needing to be kept level. For extended stays you’ll need a small generator or solar panel(s) – we use the latter. A guide book on Cape York is invaluable too! Cape York local Kat Holmsten has published two books: Cape York Travel Pocket Guide and the larger Destination Cape York – An insider guide to Australia’s Cape York, which are excellent. They are available via Kat’s website: cape-yorkaustralia.com Cape York – Travel and adventure guide by Ron and Viv Moon is also a great guide. It has been around for decades but is regularly updated and available from some bookstores and online from various outlets. What else is useful? A UHF radio allows you to warn travelling companions or others of hazards and talk to truck drivers about passing. Don’t forget a fire extinguisher, first-aid kit and ample fresh water. Even in winter this is thirsty country. Exciting times ahead! Enjoy those preparations and see you up here soon!

The corrugations on the Cape can really test your vehicle’s suspension.

All the preparations and rough roads are worth it when you have a sunset view like this from your camp – Horseshoe Lagoon, Rinyirru National Park.

Cape York has some pretty special landscapes. This is Nifold Plain, Rinyirru National Park.

The sand here on the track into Cape Melville is deceptively soft – carrying adequate recovery gear is essential in such remote areas.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 59

4WDING & off - road Road trip to Rockhampton G

’DAY again everyone, I hope you’ve had a fun-packed February and I trust you attempted to keep as cool as possible in this steamy weather.

The view from the top of Big Sandy.

Here at Flexible 4WD Solutions, for some silly, silly reason we decided to plan a trip heading north during one of the hottest months of the year. With an opportunity to catch up with old friends in Rockhampton, we made the decision to drag ourselves and the dogs up to the beef capital of Australia. Knowing we had 39-41C days ahead of us, we figured it was time to finally recondition the air-conditioning in the Patrol, and somehow I also convinced my partner Sammy to let me get an ECU remap done by Diesel Australia before our trip. Soon enough we were leaving Brisbane with cold air-con and a fresh 140whp and 400Nm coming out of the ZD30! Those who live in Rockhampton and love to get out in their fourby would know Farnborough Beach well. For those who don’t, Farn-

The author and the Milk Carton at Stockyard Point.

4WD Trip by GREG BELL

borough is a four-wheel-drive and dog-friendly relaxation paradise. Located only 40 minutes from the centre of Rockhampton, Farnborough is a quiet little area with a pristine beach, perfectly suited for those who haven’t driven on the beach before. In an attempt to convince our friends to bring their BT-50 on the much more challenging trip to Stockyard Point, we decided to head to Farnborough so they could get a taste of beach driving. When we arrived, we took a quick look at the entrance and became extremely eager to jump onto the beach and get the dogs into the water. With a quick glance at the entrance and the sight of perfect, hard beach, we knew neither locking the hubs nor dropping tyre pressures would be needed for this trip – very nearly a rookie error! With our quick glance we neglected to notice the short yet very steep drop just before the soft sand. Well as you can guess, we were caught out and had next to no momentum heading into the 10m patch of soft sand before landing on the hard stuff. Thankfully the Milk Carton was able to push through and our travel companions got a front row seat and a quick lesson of what not to do. We pushed on and found this beach was pure heaven, with perfect conditions on the sand, perfect conditions in the water and not a cloud in sight! You can bet your bottom dollar we locked the hubs to get back up the cut-in. After the successful trip to Farnborough, we managed to convince our mates to bring their rig along on our trip to Stockyard Point, so that’s where we headed the very next day.

Stockyard Point is located within Byfield National Park, and landing our wheels on dirt took about an hour from the centre of Rockhampton, with the track to Stockyard Point taking another hour to traverse. As we all know, domestic animals aren’t permitted within our national parks, so with the day looking to reach an easy 39C, we set the dogs up in our friends’ backyard with plenty of shade and water before heading off for the day. The track to Stockyard Point is extremely easy for the first 20-odd minutes, with just a few shallow creeks to cross and a generally hard and sandy track. The fun begins once you reach a small opening with a sign telling you it’s time to drop your tyre pressures and use channel 40 to call ahead before heading up the track. From this point the track starts to climb a long and steep dune called Big Sandy. Big Sandy is about a 300m stretch of soft sand, with deep ruts and plenty of twists and turns. This challenge allowed the new ECU tune to show its true colours. The Milk Carton absolutely ate this track for breakfast. In third gear low range we simply cruised up the dune

without any concerns of not making it to the top. After finishing the last of the sand driving, we popped out into a small fishing community at Stockyard Point – location, location, location! Pushing through to the point, we were welcomed by one hell of a view. The trees opened up to reveal bright blue skies, views of crystal-clear water and stunning beach as far as the eye could see in both directions. This was the perfect spot for photos and a small celebration of making it to our destination. But it didn’t last long because the sun was beaming down and we could feel ourselves turning into Sunday roasts. Not long after jumping back in the cars, we were on our way to the beach we were just admiring. We set up for the afternoon on the side of a freshwater creek, less than 500m from the entrance to the beach. This little creek was the perfect spot to cool off and smash down some tasty lunch. It reminded us of Eli Creek on Fraser Island, with an opening perfect for lounging around on the beach and then weaving its way through the vegetation just behind the sand dunes. After a gruelling trip back through the hot, soft sand it was time for us to air up and escape the heat. We pulled up at Water Park Creek rest area and shortly af☛ continued P61

The road surface melted at Byfield National Park.

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A sandstone block pathway at Stockyard Point.

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C AMPING & outdoors 4x4 convoy to raise funds and awareness for Autism Queensland

ALLING all fo u r-wh e eldriving and camping enthusiasts – the Southsiders 4x4 group wants you to join in for its firstever convoy from Browns Plains, ending with a family fun day at the Janowen Hills Camping and 4WD Park.

Sammy relaxed in a freshwater creek.

Road trip to Rockhampton in ridiculous heat ☛ from P60

ter jumping out of the car our thongs began to stick to the road. Looking down, we realised the road surface was so hot it was melting to not only our thongs but also our tyres. We moved to the shade and set up the compressor but that was short lived because the compressor overheated and shut off – this was probably the longest we’ve ever taken to pump up eight tyres! While waiting for the compressor to cool, we gave the rigs a quick check and noticed our radiator expansion tank had cracked around the barb (a common issue in ZD30

cooling systems) and we were forcing coolant into the overflow bottle. Knowing we had a major problem, a massive trip back to Brisbane coming up and a 41C day to deal with in a reasonably remote area of the world, we were dreading our chances of a quick fix. However, by using some epoxy we were able to create a temporary fix, allowing us to source parts – which leads us to a massive shout out and thankyou to Queensland Patrols for hooking us up with the only expansion tank and hose in Rockhampton! We arrived back at the house in Rocky just as

our temporary fix let go and we spewed coolant all over the road. With a quick parts change and bleed of the cooling system we were back up and running and ready to head off the following day. The next morning, we set off for 1770 but not before one massive detour to ensure we took in as much scenery as possible. Leaving from Rockhampton, we travelled to Yeppoon, following the coast road through Emu Park and out to Keppel Sands before jumping back on the Bruce Highway and heading south. We spent the night in the swag sweating profusely

– what a mistake organising a trip in the middle of summer! Due to the heat, we decided to head straight home the next day. However, we can’t wait to visit Byfield National Park again!

Follow Flexible 4WD Solutions on Facebook to check out all the photos and videos from our trip, and don’t forget to contact us for all your accessory needs and the latest deals. Keep cool and until next time, adios.

Farnborough Beach is the perfect place to set up for the day and let the dogs have a swim.

Cancer Council partners with Australia’s Rhino-Rack

VERY Australian summer is a scorcher, but the harsh Aussie sun won’t be able to stop keen adventurers from hitting the road and exploring the great outdoors.

Not all awnings can shield you from UV radiation, and that’s why Rhino-Rack is proud its sun-safe awning range

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is endorsed by Cancer Council and offers maximum UV protection. Innovation and RhinoRack are synonymous! The team at RhinoRack takes great pride in seeing its community get out there without having to worry about the consequences of being exposed to the elements, especially when it comes

to the hard-hitting sun. With a UPF50+ rating to provide excellent protection from UV radiation, Rhino-Rack’s brand-new Batwing and revamped SunSeeker are both Cancer Council-endorsed products, meaning you will still be sun safe while relaxing in the shade at your chosen destination. Head of marketing for

Rhino-Rack Matt Hankin said, “We’re excited to be partnering with Cancer Council, a leading charity playing a crucial role in helping to reduce the prevalence of skin cancer in Australia.” “Having Cancer Council’s endorsement on our Batwing and SunSeeker gives our consumers confidence when buying our awnings, reassuring them they’ll be sun safe when combined with other sun protection measures.” Cancer Council CEO Prof Sanchia Aranda said Cancer Council is delighted to have a company of the calibre of Rhino-Rack as a product licensee partner. “Both Rhino-Rack and Cancer Council share a commitment to education and innovation, especially when it comes to protect-

ing Australians against the damage that can be caused by exposure to UV radiation,” Prof Aranda said. “Our partnership with Rhino-Rack not only brings innovation in sun protection, but the income generated will make a valuable contribution to our vision of a cancer-free future.” Every purchase of Rhino-Rack’s Batwing and SunSeeker will support Cancer Council’s work in cancer research, education and support services, helping the charity take a step closer to finding new and better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer. For more information on Rhino-Rack, visit rhi norack.com.au, and to learn more about Cancer Council, head to cancer. org.au

Launched in January 2017 as a Facebook group of 20 friends to organise weekend getaways, the Southsiders 4x4 page now boasts over 1100 members. The group’s main event of the year will be a 150km convoy from Auto One Browns Plains to the Janowen Hills 4WD Park at Goomburra on Saturday, March 24, 2018, followed by a family fun day and raffles valued at over $6500. The group has already raised $765 for the March event since December 2017 when the group hosted a sign-on day at Boss Hogg’s Steakhouse. Southsiders 4x4 convener Karissa Page said 100 percent of all money raised from the two events will go to Autism Queensland. “We’ll be holding raffles on the day, with everything from 4x4 products and accessories to pamper packs and gift certificates being given away, as well as six underbody washers and rust-proofing vouchers from 4x4 Mega Centre valued at $900 each,” she said.

“People can also donate on the day, or if a business wants to get behind the cause they can supply raffle items prior to the event. “Autism is very close to our hearts – my eight-year-old son Leland was diagnosed with autism in February last year. “Many friends also have children with autism. “Southsiders 4x4 member Karen Wilson is on the spectrum herself, together with her five sons, twins Lawrence and Robert (13), Daniel (11), Mark (nine) and Matthew (six). “We all just want to give back and say thank you for all the work and support Autism Queensland provides.” The Southsiders 4x4 group is currently taking registrations for the Janowen Hills convoy and family fun day at southsiders4x4@ hotmail.com Registrations can also be made at Auto One Browns Plains, Village Square Home Centre, 18 Commerce Drive, Browns Plains. You can find and follow the fundraising event on Facebook by searching for Southsiders 4x4 Autism Fundraiser. All proceeds from the event will go to Autism Queensland, the state’s longestserving and mostexperienced provider of services to people living with autism and their families.

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New Queensland Recreational Boating and Fishing Guide now available

HE new Queensland Recreational Boating and Fishing Guide is now available, with the release of the 2017-18 edition.

Fisheries Queensland executive director Claire Andersen said the comprehensive booklet provides up-to-date information on boating and fishing rules and regulations in Queensland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The guide is the perfect companion for the tens of thousands of Queenslanders who enjoy recreational boating and fishing,â&#x20AC;? Ms Andersen said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It provides information on fish size and possession limits as well as the restrictions that apply to fishing apparatus to protect our valuable fish stocks from overfishing in Queensland. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Dates for closed seasons are included so fishers are aware of when they are not allowed to take

certain species.â&#x20AC;? Ms Andersen said the guide also includes comprehensive information on boating safety, rules and regulations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We want to ensure our waterways are as safe as possible for all users, so the guide features detailed information about on board safety equipment and safe navigation,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Information on marine park zoning has also been included with a map identifying the Great Barrier Reef, Great Sandy and Moreton Bay marine park zones.â&#x20AC;? Ms Andersen encouraged people to get a copy of the 2017-18 edition to ensure they were across the current rules. Bulk orders of the guide can be ordered direct from the publisher by calling 07 3891 7793 or online at transtasmanmediagroup. com (postage and hand-

ling fees apply). Single copies of the guide will be available at bait and tackle shops, local Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol and Maritime Safety Queensland offices or can be ordered through the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Customer Service Centre on 13 25 23. A digital copy of the guide will also be available to download from the Fisheries Queensland website fisheries.qld.gov. au Queenslandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s recreational fishing rules and regulations are also available on the free Qld Fishing smartphone app from Apple and Google app stores and online at the Fisheries Queensland website. You can follow Fisheries Queensland on Facebook and Twitter (@FisheriesQld).

New-era Mercury expands V6 FourStroke and SeaPro outboard families

E RC U RY M a r i n e is excited to introduce its allnew V6 FourStroke outboard family and the expansion of its SeaPro commercial line.

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space for storage, new consoles, casting platforms, bunks, upholstery and transoms (depending on the model). Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve also added thicker and higher topsides and raised the deck, for more freeboard. You get more room to cast and a better chance to catch a bagful. And thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gotta be a good thing!

The new Quintrex APEX Hull gives you more room, more features and more stability. Check it out at your nearest dealer:

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Bundaberg | Boats Galore 142 Enterprise St, Bundaberg Q 4670 T: 07 4152 6744 boatsgalore.com.au

Page 62 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Bush â&#x20AC;&#x2122;n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Gold Coast | Surf Coast Marine 50-54 Brisbane Rd, Labrador Q 4215 T: 07 5563 7733 surfcoastmarine.com.au

Sunshine Coast | Caloundra Marine 8 Baldwin St, Caloundra Q 4551 T: 07 5491 1944 caloundramarine.com.au

Tweed Heads | Tweed Coast Marine 32 Machinery Dr, Tweed Heads South NSW 2486 T: 07 5524 8877 tweedcoastmarine.com.au

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Just unveiled at the 2018 Miami International Boat Show, the new engines include 175hp, 200hp and 225hp FourStroke outboards and a V6 200hp SeaPro commercial outboard. Precision engineered from skeg to cowl, all four outboards are built on Mercuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new 3.4-litre V6 platform, which is designed to be powerful, light, compact and fuel efficient. It employs a largedisplacement, naturally aspirated powerhead and proven midsection and drive-system designs. Mercury Marine president John Pfeifer said the new platform will position Mercury to advance product leadership in the 175225hp outboard category and deliver across the board on consumer needs. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These new outboards address applications across recreational and commercial sectors, strengthen our core product line-up by building on the success of our recent programs and delivering on the requirements of our global customers.â&#x20AC;? Additionally, the 3.4-litre V6 outboards are exceptionally versatile, offering the option of mechanical or digital controls, hydraulic or power steering and black or white cowls on FourStrokebranded products, as well as a variety of accent panel colours. This versatility makes the new V6 an ideal engine for repower applications. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These outboards set a new benchmark in the marine industry,â&#x20AC;? John said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are the quiet-

est, lightest, smoothest, quickest and most fuel-efficient engines we have produced in this range.â&#x20AC;? The new FourStroke engine not only provides large displacement at 200hp but is also exceptionally lightweight at 215kg â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the lightest in its class by more than 4.5kg. Lean and mean, the 3.4-litre V6 FourStroke platform boasts Mercuryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best acceleration and 20 percent more torque than the closest four-cylinder competitor at cruise. Fuel efficiency is also unmatched â&#x20AC;&#x201C; calibrated to maximise fuel economy at cruise, the new platform yields an advantage of up to 15 percent compared to the closest four-cylinder competitor. Other innovations that further differentiate the 3.4-litre V6 are: â&#x20AC;˘ A top cowl service door that provides easy oil check and fill (if needed), making routine maintenance easier than ever before; â&#x20AC;˘ Idle charge batterymanagement capability that protects against battery drain while operating multiple electronic devices, and best-in-class net charging output of 20A at 650rpm; and â&#x20AC;˘ Adaptive Speed Control that maintains rpm regardless of load or condition changes, improving the driving experience. Mercury Marine vice president North and Central America and Asia Pacific Randy Caruana said, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Based on what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m hearing from our customers, we feel like we hit a home run with the new V6 FourStroke outboard line-up.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x153;What a great addition to the portfolio. â&#x20AC;&#x153;These engines are light and quiet â&#x20AC;&#x201C; to have a V6 thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lighter than a four cylinder is just incredible.â&#x20AC;? www.mercurymarine. com.au www.bnbfishing.com. au

CATCH BARRA

at Lake MonDuran

Casey with a very healthy Lake Monduran barra.

A huge barra picked up on the sounder â&#x20AC;&#x201C; even bigger barra are in Monduran.

Contrast key to catching barra T

HE weather at Lake Monduran has been a bit stormy and unpredictable these past few days but with autumn now here we should move into much more comfortable boating and fishing weather. Over the next couple of months we will see some magical days, with the conditions much more favourable for fishing and the water temperatures reaching ideal levels. The barra have come from the deeper water to now be found cruising in the backs of bays and around the points, from the first cut-through to south and north arm B and right up the back of the dam. Another worthwhile location is the bay behind White Rock. Working the points with the wind blowing onto

Monduran Dam by DONNA GANE

them has accounted for a few solid barra. If you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t find any barra in these areas, maybe take a trip to the back of the dam to the area known as â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. With its shallow bays and weedy timbered points, this is prime barra country and can be worth the hike. When it comes to lures, colour is only a skin-deep characteristic. Some of the key qualities of a great lure are running depth, shape, size, action, noise and vibration. Lure colour more than anything else attracts the anglerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eye and sometimes drives the decision to buy, not unlike the influence of the colour of a new car. I will touch on what

barra do and do not see in lure colour. Sound and vibration travel long distances in water and are very important to barra for both hunting and evading predators. Light, however, does not transmit as well in water and this is important for how barra see colour and your lure. On a perfect day, barra may be able to see up to 45m but in murky or turbulent water the lack of light in the water can reduce their visibility to a few centimetres. The colours visible to barra depend on the penetration of light and Lake Monduran has seasonal cycles that are linked to both physical and living systems.

Lake Monduran has seen some big fish caught of late.

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Summertime means longer days with the sun directly above and this is when the maximum amount of light enters the water, encouraging the growth of algae, which loves the wavelengths of light and soaks up all but the green waves. Most colours are visible near the surface, with green being the most visible. As you go deeper, most colours begin to look greyscale. In autumn, the angle of the sun and cloudiness of the water causes most light to be bounced off the surface, making colours other than green even less visible. With winter come shorter days and the algae dying back, leaving the water crystal clear and allowing light to penetrate the depths and colours to become more visible to barra.

Spring sees water temperatures warming and more daylight, with the cycle of seasons starting over again. Our knowledge of how barraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eyes work tells us they are better at detecting changes in light or contrast than colour. In fishing, there are two types of contrast. One, between the colours within the lure. Some great examples would be a dark back with a lighter belly such as the Bomber in Gold Chrome/ Orange Belly or F18 Bobby Dazzler Silver/Purple; bands on the sides including the Killalure Barra Bait in Elton John; spots on the sides like an F18 Elton on Chrome; white eyes on a dark lure as in the Killalure Barra Bait in Bobby Dazzler Gold; and gold with black stripes. The second contrast is between the background and your lure. White or pale lures against a background of logs, for example, will really stand out. A couple of lures would be the Reidyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s B52 in Albino or Bagley Rumble B White with Orange Belly. Pinkish lures against the green water lilies and plant life in Lake Monduran could also entice the barra, so in this instance, try a Reidyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Goulburn Jack in EJ. Make sure you pop in to see us at Barra Havoc on your way to Lake Monduran and get the most up-to-date fishing report â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it is free! We also stock all the lures and tackle you will need to hopefully catch that big barra, or you can buy from our website bar ratackle.com.au Our Facebook page is regularly updated with the best places to fish too. A big thankyou to Jamie Bien for the great sounder pic. His best advice is to explore our beautiful Lake Monduran. If you are looking for a charter, give Jamie a call on 0407 434 446 or check out his website lakemon duranbarracharters.com and Facebook page. Until next month, tight lines and happy fishing.

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Dennis Harold with his world record 44.62kg, 134cm long, 107cm girth barra caught from his kayak at Lake Monduran in 2010.

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www.barratackle.com.au Bush â&#x20AC;&#x2122;n Beach Fishing, March 2018 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Page 63

Lake Monduran fishing on fire

HIS month has been a bit quiet for me on the fishing front, however I did manage to sneak up to Lake Monduran for a few days.

The author’s old man with a lovely barramundi.

A monster bass caught while fishing for barramundi.

It is such a beautiful place to fish and being only four hours’ drive north of Brisbane allows me to get there between work. After the large rain event in January, the water level in the lake rose and saw the dam spilling water yet again, which is not ideal for fishing there. Considering the barra already lost in the last flood, we feared the worst, but the water level receded quickly and the barra loss was minimal. This was evident only days after the rain as keen anglers were still hooking barra throughout the dam. The best places to look after such a weather event are bays and points close to the dam wall with the wind pushing into them, as well as the original riverbed. The water will naturally flow down this riverbed and if you can find a point where the depth rises quickly, you are in with a better chance. Make sure that when the water is flowing over any dam wall you stay well clear and check relevant websites to ensure the dam is open for recreation because they can be closed if deemed not safe. Now the dam has had time to settle, it is fishing fairly reliably. If you are able to get to

Fishing Trip by MITCHELL TOWNSEND

the dam during a few days of consistent wind, you should be able to find fish. Getting them to bite is a whole different ball game. It is important that you learn the dam and how the fish behave in the vast array of weather patterns Mother Nature throws at us. In order to learn these things, I strongly recommend you follow the Lake Monduran Sponsor a Barra Facebook page. This page is constantly updated with photos and fishing reports. It is also raising money in an effort to have an electric barrier installed so the fish are deterred from swimming over the spillway in a flood. However, the best way to learn the dam is by booking a charter with Rob from Guidelines Fishing Charters. Rob owns the caravan park and has been fishing the dam for most of his life. He lives on its shores and there is no better way to understand the dam than by spending time on it. It is vital that when planning a trip to Lake Monduran you are correctly prepared in terms of fishing gear. I like to have a combination of low-profile baitcasters and spin outfits in my arsenal.

I use the baitcasting outfits when I am searching for fish in weed or timber. Certain winds will shut the barramundi down and therefore rather than moving around looking for food, they are sitting in cover waiting for a feeding opportunity. The baitcasting setup allows pinpoint accuracy into the likely spots where the barramundi will be waiting. I like to use spinning gear when I am fishing points where I have sounded barramundi. The spinning gear allows me to cast further, which is key when the fish aren’t as keen to bite. I like to run 50lb braid with a 1.2m-long 80lb leader. This sounds very heavy but the amount of struc-

ture in this dam means you need strong gear so that if you do hook the fish of a lifetime, you are able to stop it in time. The lures I like to use are Jackall Squirrel 79s, Jackall Smash Minnows, Lucky Craft Pointer 100DDs and an array of soft plastics. What you use will depend on conditions and the spot you are fishing. If you are after extra advice on lures and soft plastics, you can find me at Tackle World Lawnton. I am more than happy to give you advice and show you exactly what lures and techniques I use at the lake. Hopefully this month allows me to spend a bit more time on the water in search of great memories and stories to tell. Don’t forget to like Pine Boys on Facebook so you can keep up with my adventures, and feel free to message the page if you have any questions.

Ryan with his biggest barra on a recent trip to Lake Monduran.

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H O R I Z O N B O AT S . C O M . A U Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

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William Langford held a cracker bass hooked on a deep flat using a spinnerbait.

Chris Achillies with a monster 53cm bass from Boondooma on a spoon.

Summer fishing fun in the South Burnett

HE Christmas and new year holiday crowds have come and long gone but the fishing has remained consistent.

Both dams in the South Burnett are fishing well despite the low water levels. Boondooma is producing big quality bass and golden perch while Bjelke-Petersen is yielding large numbers of fish of varying species on numerous techniques. If you’re thinking of coming for a fish, you can’t go wrong with either dam. The South Burnett is the place to be for fantastic freshwater fishing. Boondooma The dam at this time of year is beautiful early of a morning and there’s plenty of wildlife to watch and enjoy throughout the day. With the summer bite patterns continuing, it makes for exciting fishing on Lake Boondooma, particularly later in the afternoons as the water temperature warms. Lately the trend has been to fish the timbers of the Boyne and Stuart arms early in the morning with 5/8oz Bassman Spinnerbaits or lipless cranks. Then during the afternoon, target the deeper

Freshwater Impoundments by MATTHEW LANGFORD

As you read this, the river system is full of life again after the floods. The good news is that spangled perch, silver perch, catfish and yellowbelly are back again in bigger numbers. It’s good to see some locations that were clogged up prior to the floods clear of weed and rubbish. sections of the dam near the dam wall and rocky edges with 1/2oz-rigged Ecogear Power Shads and Nories Wasaby Spoons. If I’m fishing Boondooma during the heat, I’ll start in the timber early because the fish are in among the trees looking for an easy meal of passing bony bream. In the arms the fish will hold very close to structure and you’ll need to get your lures in as close as possible to get a bite. Look for spindly timber – trust me, there’s a lot of

it in the arms. Lures of choice for this scenario are 5/8oz and 3/8oz Bassman Spinnerbaits and any sinking lipless crankbait. Give your lure up to five seconds to sink to 3-4.5m and start a slow wind. It’s important to make sure you have a lure retriever with you because you will get snagged on the trees now and again. Keep moving from tree to tree or structure to structure and persist because with the right technique your lure will be

eaten by a hungry fish. In the afternoon when the water heats up, the fish tend to bite better in open water. Those fish in the timber tend to move further into the snags as the day progresses, so the fish in deeper water are easier to target. To find fish in the deep water, I’ll use my sounder to pick up the fish sitting in the optimal depth of 4.5-7.5m. When I’m happy I’ve found a good concentration of fish, I will pull up and begin casting 3”-4” soft plastics rigged with a 1/2oz head or 18g Nories Wasaby Spoons. With a big long cast over the areas where I’ve found the fish, I let the jig head or spoon sink for seven to 10 seconds before starting a slow retrieve back to the boat with a couple of twitches mixed in. Continue this technique until you start to feel a few taps on the plastic or spoon. When you feel a tap, it’s important to keep that slow wind going (without striking) until you feel some weight on the line, then slowly lift the rod tip until you feel the full weight of the fish. Ensure you keep your drag fairly loose so the

hook doesn’t pull as the fish makes its runs on the way back to the boat. Trollers are picking up bass and yellowbelly in the deeper sections of the dam by targeting those suspended fish. Make sure you have plenty of deep divers handy. Lures that dive from 4.5-6m will be the ones that get you onto fish. Bait fishers are consistently getting mixed bags in the timbered arms using worms and fresh shrimp. It may even pay to move to the main basin and let your bait suspend under the boat in that 4.5-7.5m range. Drifting with the wind is a great way to cover water with your bait under the boat. Eventually it will cross paths with a hungry fish or two. Red claw numbers are picking up and some really big ones have been mixed in, so make sure you pack the opera house traps if you’re coming to the dam for a day or two. Bjelke-Petersen If you’re keen on trolling, then I can suggest trolling heavy 5/8oz spinnerbaits, 3/8oz blades or ☛ continued P66

Chris with the rewards of a great session in the deep water at Boondooma.

A nice golden caught on a 3/8oz Bassman Spinnerbait cast around the flats at BP.

y Guided b g f o rd n a L t t a M

Australian Freshwater Fishing Charters 0408 658 592 | australianfreshwaterfishing.com www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 65

February 2018 Boondooma Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition results and wrap-up

OONDOOMA Dam Yellowbelly Fishing Competition spokesman Terry Allwood said the lake fished extremely well for the 2018 event, with 278 fish going through the catch and release section and another 252 in the gilled and gutted section.

Terry Allwood with catch and release winner John Francis.

Summer fishing fun in the South Burnett ☛ from P65

any deep-diving hardbody in front of the main dam wall at Lake Barambah (Bjelke-Petersen Dam) and around the island at Lightning Ridge and at Bass Point. If you’re not familiar with these areas, drop into the kiosk and ask the team members who are always happy to help. Red claw are moving and we’ve had reports of a few good catches coming in. Most are being taken near any rocky walls or ledges and soft vegetables are the key to getting big red claw in the pots. If you’re a lure fisher like me, I’ve been finding a lot of fish hanging off the deeper edges and steep dropoffs in the main basin early of a morning and

late of an afternoon. If the steep edge has timber on it you’re doubling your chances of scoring a good fish. Casting 1/2oz spinnerbaits into these areas seems to be the most productive method. Cast your spinnerbait tight against the bank and begin a slow retrieve, also targeting the areas either side of and in between any spindly trees. I’ve caught good bass using this method. Not only are the edges producing quality fish, but later in the day when the sun is higher in the sky I’ve found the bass move out onto the deeper flats. Long casts, letting the plastic sink to the bottom and using a burn and kill retrieve are the keys to getting the fish to hit hard. Lightning Ridge and

Bass Point have been the most productive areas for schooled fish, so give it a go if you have the chance. Park news As I write, both dams have quite low water levels but there’s still plenty of water for activities. You’ll find heaps of room for skiing and fishing, so don’t let the water levels deter you from visiting. On a final note, I have started a fishing charter business on BP and Boondooma dams. If you’d like a great day out and all the info and knowledge to catch bass and yellowbelly in our two dams, make sure you give me a call on 0408 658 592 and I’ll be happy to take you out for an awesome day of fishing. Until next month, tight lines and bent rods.

March 31 to April 1

Lots of prizes t o be won!

WHERE: Moura Apex River Park (Dawson River, Moura)

ENTRY FEES: Senior: $20 Juniors: $7.50 • $100 early bird entry draw • FREE camping

BAR & BBQ • LUCKY DRAWS • RAFFLES • THOUSANDS IN CASH & PRIZES TO BE WON!

For further information please contact: Zelma Lewis 07 4997 1932 or Graeme McGreevy 07 4997 2244 AH: 07 4997 2010 OR email: m.a.f.s.g@bigpond.com Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

The biggest yellowbelly of the event weighed in at 2.215kg. The competition set new records for the third year in a row with a massive attendance of 1123 entrants including 272 juniors. Cash and other prizes were presented at the end of each of the three sessions, with overall competition winners revealed at the conclusion of the event. The water level in the lake was 44 percent, which together with the clear blue skies set the scene for a great weekend of camping, fishing and family activities. Profits from the event are used to supplement

fishing permit funds from the Queensland Government and to date about 5.1 million fingerlings have been stocked into Lake Boondooma. The catch and release category of longest native targeting Australian bass and yellowbelly was won by John Francis of Kingaroy with a bass measuring in at 535mm. John took home over $500 in cash, prizes and a trophy, proudly sponsored by Thug Lures and Shimano Fishing Australia. Chloe Manthey put in a solid effort under some guidance from her dad Shaun Manthey to walk away with the most fish (bass and yellowbelly) caught and released throughout the competition with a total tally of 10 fish presented to the weighmaster. The heaviest yellowbelly title was claimed by Scott Johnston of Proston with a yellowbelly of 2.215kg. Scott took home $410 cash plus prizes and a tro-

phy, sponsored by Corey and Nikki Goldie of the Lake Boondooma kiosk. The winner of the heaviest bass section sponsored by Wondai Accounting and Tax Services was D. Rutch of Mooloolah with a bass of 1.37kg to secure a paycheque of $350 plus prizes and trophy. Hanwood Fish Hatchery champion junior angler for yellowbelly was Lucy Stead of Kingaroy with a yellowbelly of 1.8kg, while the bass title was claimed by Benson Graham of Wallumbilla with a bass weighing 1.315kg. The 3.6m Quintrex boat, motor and trailer package was won by Ryan Daley of Clifton and proudly sponsored by South Burnett Regional Council. The Dragon Kayak was won by Keith Smith of Highfields. Congratulations to all the winners and thank you to everyone who attended and made the event such a success. All profits from the

weekend go back into buying more fingerlings. The future for the Lake Boondooma fishery is looking very healthy. Next year’s annual competition will be held on February 9 and 10, 2019. Entry costs will remain at $20 for adults and $5 for juniors aged 16 and under. The ongoing support of our many generous sponsors ensured a wide range of prizes and lucky draws were available for all competitors this year, with over $40,000 worth of cash and prizes given away. Food and drinks stalls were provided by local community groups over the weekend and the great camping facilities provided by the South Burnett Regional Council were put to good use by those staying at the lake. Additional information on the local area and past fishing competitions can be found on the Proston Online website proston online.info

Overall winner Scott Johnston with Mayor Keith Campbell and fellow councillors.

Sampling for peacock bass under way

AMPLING of the Pioneer River at Mackay is under way to determine the extent of the reported incursion of the freshwater pest fish, peacock bass.

Fisheries Queensland Deputy Director General Scott Spencer said initial investigations indicate a single peacock bass was caught and released below the Dumbleton Weir in December 2017. “The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries has engaged environmental research group Catchment Solutions Pty Ltd who recently commenced sampling,” Mr Spencer said. “The aim of the sampling is to confirm whether there are peacock bass in the Pioneer River, and if they are there, to ascertain the extent of the incursion to inform whether further response actions may be effective. “Initial sampling will focus on the area below

Dumbleton Weir and extend to Marian Weir and Mirani Weir upstream. “The sampling is expected to be completed quickly.” Peacock bass are considered non-indigenous fish under the Fisheries Act 1994 and are not known to exist in Queensland waters. Once they become established in large, open waterways it can be very difficult to eradicate them. The source of the peacock bass reportedly in the Pioneer River is unknown. It is an offence to release non-indigenous fish into Queensland waters as it can have detrimental impacts on

native fish populations. Anyone with information about suspected illegal fishing activities is encouraged to report it to the Fishwatch hotline by calling 1800 017 116. Mr Spencer said the public played an important role in helping stop the spread of pest fish. “The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries encourages people to help by learning how

to identify pest fish, not facilitating their spread between waterways and to report pest fish sightings,” he said. “Anglers who catch or spot peacock bass in the Pioneer River can assist by taking a photo and reporting it online at daf. qld.gov.au or by calling 13 25 23.” If caught, peacock bass should not be returned to the water.

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Freshwater angler Jim Harmon sampled the joys of catching Murray cod in the streams of the Darling Downs.

A run-of-the-mill golden perch extracted by the Martin family with a diving lure retrieved next to the shaded side of submerged timber in clear water.

Dry times on Darling Downs T HE past few months have been testing on the Darling Downs, with very little to no rainfall in the area.

This can impact the headwater streams in the form of little run-off to keep the water fresh. Waterways become isolated pockets of elongated lagoons and pools, and while targeting native fish may seem easy at these times, part of a natural cycle will see fish shutting down from normal feeding patterns as well. Yellowbelly for instance, can survive without food for up to 200 days if need be while they wait for waters to be refreshed and refilled with food. When native fish shut down, it can be difficult to get them to take live baits and chase lures. Fish such as Murray cod are territorial creatures of habit and instinct and they can be tempted to hit lures because they see them as unwelcome visitors entering their zone. A lot of ‘strikes’ can actually be side swipes from the cod telling the guest to bugger off. Hooks embedded on the cheek or gill area can reveal this being the case. One of the bonuses of fishing dry times is when the water is low it can expose any usually submerged structure, making for a great reference to know where fish might hold during normally higher levels. With the water generally clear, native fish tend to hide in the shadows of structure and coaxing

Fresh Water

by NOAL KUHL

them out in bright sunlight takes a lot of patience. Precision casting is key, and 2cm can be the difference between a strike and no interest from the fish. Recent fishing sessions have brought surprises as well as remodelling previous theories on how native fish react during low water. Late afternoons on the Downs seem to have greater potential in rewarding the angler due to the low-light conditions creating longer shadows. Casts don’t have to be as accurate and you will notice tell-tale signs if a native fish is present. During normal elevated water flows, native fish will hit a lure with full gusto. But lately during the dry, carefully watching the retrieve of your lure can show hints of interest from fish. The first is a bow wave following the lure and then receding near the bank. This means follow-up casts will either get another look or a hit. Another is a tell-tale swirl on the surface at some point during the retrieve. If this happens, recast to that point or better still, several feet beyond it. Surface lures present a great method for triggering these bow waves and swirls.

Adjusting the retrieve pattern has a big effect too. During low water, when the lure slaps the water it’s a good idea to let the concentric rings dissipate altogether before moving the lure. This imitates an animal that has accidentally fallen into the water and is somewhat disorientated from the liquid landing. It generates interest from fish to move in and check whether what is on offer is a meal or an unwelcome visitor. Several short stop-start bursts of the lure will imitate the animal getting its bearings and adapting to the unfamiliar aquatic situation. After this, a standard slow retrieve is in order and usually it’s the start of the standard retrieve when the strike occurs. A downside to low water levels is fish can reach cover more quickly once a hook-up is achieved.

However, walking out and retrieving the fish and lure should be easier as well. If there is bugger-all timber in an isolated pool, target whatever area of timber you can find. If your line is strong enough, you can move the fish to more open water and play it out your way until landed. There will always be pros and cons in dry times and it is a matter of the angler adapting to get better results.

Talea Ingram with a lovely Murray cod primed and ready to be tagged and released.

Targeting native fish in low water levels can be challenging, though the usually covered snags that are now exposed can reveal insights for future fishing trips.

Skills still need a lifejacket.

Our lakes and dams are still some of the best spots to enjoy water sports. But still water can still be dangerous. So when boating, make sure you have the following: - Lifejacket(s) - A signalling device - Fireﬁghting equipment

- Sun protective gear - Oars & bailing equipment

- An anchor - Drinking water

Play it safe on our lakes and dams and always wear the proper safety gear. Water dragons are a common sight in freshwater streams and can be a menace to lure anglers when casting next to structure such as hollow logs.

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seqwater.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 67

Seqwater warns fishing is off-limits in restricted areas

O U T H E A S T Queensland paddlers are putting their personal safety at risk by entering restricted areas on Seqwater’s recreational lakes. Seqwater field ranger Rhiannon Reardon said too many kayakers, canoeists and paddle boarders were being caught in buoyed-off areas at lakes that were offlimits for people’s safety. “While our lakes offer a great range of on-water activities for the community to enjoy, it’s important people play it safe and abide by the rules,” Ms Reardon said. “There are good reasons why some areas on the lake are restricted to public access, and those trespassing could find themselves in danger. “Some of the restricted areas are located around water intake towers, which draw in water from the lake. “These towers can create hidden underwater currents from the intakes which you cannot see or hear but affect your ability to swim if you are in the water. “If a swimmer is caught

in an intake tower current, they could easily drown before help can arrive.” Ms Reardon said paddling near dam walls or spillways was also dangerous and strictly prohibited. “Spillways can cause flowing water to act in ways that can be very dangerous to paddlers of all skill levels,” Ms Reardon said. “If the water is flowing over the spillway, currents in that area are very strong and could end in fatal consequences.” Ms Reardon said it was important visitors to Seqwater lakes took responsibility for their own personal safety because even though Seqwater rangers regularly patrolled its lakes, they couldn’t be everywhere to help. “We urge visitors to use common sense, observe the direction of signage and staff working at the site and stay out of the restricted buoyed-off areas at sites to make sure they have a safe and enjoyable visit, on and off the water.” For more information, visit seqwater.com.au/play itsafe

Seqwater is reminding lake users to stay clear of intake towers and other restricted areas when on the water.

The author was lucky enough to take the win in the first round of the 2018 B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Kayak Series.

B.A.S.S. Australia Kayak Series T HIS year I’ve decided to fish the B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Kayak Series.

The first tournament in the series was held on Lake Macdonald on the weekend of January 20 and 21. Located close to Pomona on the Sunshine Coast, it was a relatively short drive from my home on Brisbane’s bayside. Being new to bass fishing, I pre-fished the lake three weeks prior to the event and found a couple of schools of fish that would provide a good starting point on the tournament weekend. On the official pre-fish day, those schools were still in the same area and I was fortunate to locate another two areas holding good numbers of bass. I caught the fish using a number of methods including hopping 1/4oz Atomic Hardz Metalz blades and 40mm SemiHardz Vibs close to the bottom and slow rolling jig spinners baited with 3” Atomic Plazos Fat Grub plastics in Motor Oil Gold colour on a 1/8oz Atomic Seekerz jig head. Competition day Come session one on the first morning, I hit one of my prefish areas only to come up empty – not a good start!

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 23/02/2018

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB Atkinson 5 6 18 18 14 10 Awoonga 97 118 100 100 100 98 Bjelke-Petersen * 19 18 18 19 19 17 Boondooma * 51 49 47 46 45 42 Borumba * 75 83 99 101 100 101 Burdekin Falls * 86 81 82 82 74 79 Callide * 85 86 85 84 83 80 Cania * 92 104 100 99 98 97 89 Coolmunda * 86 83 79 67 52 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 7 7 7 7 9 4 Eungella * 98 97 93 95 92 92 Fairbairn * 38 36 34 32 28 26 Glenlyon * 74 72 73 72 68 58 Hinze 98 98 99 100 100 99 Julius 84 80 78 77 74 72 75 Kinchant * 66 67 77 54 52 Leslie * 17 15 14 14 13 12 Macdonald 84 106 101 103 98 120 98 Maroon * 98 98 98 98 97 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 97 141 102 101 101 102 Moogerah * 94 92 92 92 92 89 North Pine/Samsonvale * 67 70 75 76 75 72 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 75 73 72 72 68 67 Somerset * 75 78 79 80 77 77 Teemburra * 98 97 97 99 92 91 Tinaroo* 44 41 41 40 36 47 Toonumbar 98 101 101 100 99 99 Wivenhoe * 66 68 71 72 71 68 Wuruma * 95 104 100 100 100 100 Wyaralong 97 97 97 97 98 97 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.

Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018

Competition Report by LEX IRWIN

I moved to my second area, which was a creek channel up the back of the lake lined on both sides with heavy weed. I only had about 3m of clear water to fish, so very accurate casting was required. It was seriously tight fishing but I was rewarded with a number of legal fish including two upgrades on the 40mm Atomic Semi-Hardz Vib in Black Beauty colour. Back at the weigh-in, my bag of two bass weighed 1.99kg, putting me in second position 70g behind leader and local from Mount Coolum Matt Williams. The second session that afternoon saw the wind blowing, providing completely different conditions, so I decided to hit another of my pre-fish areas, a more open finger of the dam that would be easier to fish in the wind. I also knew Matt had caught his fish in that area, so I was confident the fish were still there. Three anglers, Matt, Jonathan Chen and myself, worked along this area and were onto fish straight away, with Jonathan and I bagging out while Matt was cursed by the leader’s Garmin Live VIRB camera, only able to catch undersized fish! I left that area and went searching back up the lake to my original spot that had failed me in the morning, scoring a 1.33kg fish for a good upgrade. I caught all fish in this session on the 1/4oz Atomic Hardz Metalz blade in Hay U colour. At the weigh-in, my two fish weighed 2.23kg, giving me a total of 4.22kg and a lead of 280g over Matt. Some cracking fish were landed in that session, with two anglers weighing in 1.43kg fish that eventually took out heaviest fish for the tournament. The third session on Sunday morning saw overcast conditions with little to no wind and I thought it might be tough to get the fish to bite. I commenced fishing in the area that produced my upgrade the pervious afternoon, only to have my suspicions confirmed – it was going to be a tough grind to fill my bag. I moved to the area where I’d

caught fish in the first session, hoping they’d be more responsive after I’d rested it in the session the previous afternoon. While I caught two legal fish fairly quickly, they weren’t big, and when I lost two sizeable fish to the snags in two casts I was starting to curse the Garmin Live VIRB camera I had mounted on the kayak as leading angler. After a couple of hours of catching small fish, I decided to head back to where Matt was fishing to see if any bigger fish were there. Matt told me he only had the one small fish, so I wasn’t confident.

I moved up as far as I could, fishing the weed edge up the back. With only 15 minutes of fishing left, I landed a 40cm upgrade. I’d again been using the 1/4oz blades in Hay U and Muddy Prawn colours. Both my blades and SemiHardz Vibs were equipped with size 6 Gamakatsu Assist 59 Light hooks. My bag of two fish weighed 1.41kg at the final weigh-in, giving me a tournament total of 5.63kg, which was enough to score my first win in a B.A.S.S. Australia Nation Kayak event by 760g over Matt. This tournament was run superbly and I encourage anyone interested to come and give the series a go because the information and mateship gained makes it well worth the effort.

A couple of the author’s bass from Lake Macdonald.

The Atomic Semi-Hardz Vib and Atomic Hardz Metalz blade, both rigged with size 6 Gamakatsu Assist 59 Light hooks, did the damage during the comp.

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The other barramundi A

T the dawn of the sportfishing movement in Australia, lates calcarifer, the fish we now call barramundi, was commonly known as giant perch. Bringing the name barramundi into common use was largely driven by renowned fishing and hunting writer Vic McCristal. Obviously that movement was hugely successful, though it did create some confusion at the time. This wasn’t because anglers couldn’t grasp the fact that their old giant perch was now a barramundi. What was confounding was there was another tropical angling species already known in some areas by the common name barramundi. We all know how unreliable common names can be, with the same species of fish bearing several different names in different localities (rock blackfish for example) or with several different species being assigned the same common name. How many ‘black bream’ do we have swimming in Australian waters? Strangely, in some northern areas, anglers refer to two different species of fish by that name. In estuaries, the pikey bream (acanthopagrus berda) is often known as black bream by the same anglers who also call sooty grunter (hephaestus fuliginosus) a black bream when fishing fresh water. But I digress, let’s get back to barramundi. Also commonly called barramundi were the two saratoga species. The southern saratoga (scleropages leichhardti) was for many years known as the Dawson River barramundi, a name seeing little use today. The northern saratoga (scleropages jardini) was at the time often going by the pseudonym of ‘spotted barramundi’. The fish formerly known

Fishing for Sport by NEIL SCHULTZ

as barramundi has long been and remains one of my favourite freshwater target species. My first encounters with saratoga were in the rivers of the Fitzroy/Dawson system including the Comet, Isaac, Mackenzie and Nogoa rivers. Saratoga were then quite plentiful in those rivers (and may still be today) and were easily caught on small, shallow-running lures fished while idling along in the canoe. That was during the years before the boom in Aussie-made freshwater lures, so imports filled the tackle box. Nils Master lures were in vogue at the time and many of my early riverine saratoga were caught on the 4” Invincible. I still enjoy lure casting for toga but my lure choice has changed significantly from those early jaunts to central Queensland. I now rarely use any diving lure other than the tiny Predatek MinMin, a slim 50mm lure equipped with tiny size 10 trebles. Apart from the fish-attracting qualities of the lure, those small hooks are why I like the MinMin. Larger lures carry larger hooks that can damage the eyes of a leaping toga. Being sight feeders, losing the use of an eye is a very real handicap. During the 25-plus years I’ve been using the MinMin for saratoga I’ve not had a single fish sustain eye damage. In their natural riverine homes, the prime spots are under overhanging bankside trees that provide both security in the form of shadows during the day and a free feed of fallen terrestrial insects. During midmorning on a recent trip to the Mackenzie River, we flogged a length of river that was full of snags, all prime-

looking toga habitat. After casting for about three hours it was evident that the only strikes to be taken were in the shadows of overhanging trees. Togas may have been in the sunlit snags but if they were there they sure as hell weren’t feeding. This love for shade is less obvious in impoundment fish, possibly due to the lower ratio of bankside cover per hectare of water. Lake-dwelling toga seem to hang nearer to the shadows of standing timber and bankside features as the sunlight intensifies during the day. Some years after pursuing these elegant fish in the rivers of the Dawson, I began to frequent a couple of Queensland’s best toga lakes. Borumba Dam is just three hours from my back door and has been the venue for many hundreds of hours of sight fishing during the past 30 years. The same small, slender shallow-diving lures are good medicine for impoundment saratoga. Here, we often use a ‘secret’ technique consisting of casting the lure to where a fish has been seen and just leaving it sitting stationary on the surface. This has been a winning tactic on days when a normal, stop-start retrieve goes untouched. Saratoga are quite used to taking immobile food from the surface, so it seems as long as a lure looks like a potential food item it doesn’t need to be moving to attract their attention. I’ve always been in the habit of being on the water at first light – it’s a magical time of day, not just for fishing, but for seeing nature at its best. By a fortunate coincidence, it is also when surface fishing for toga is the standout technique. Later in the day when

the sun is higher and especially if a breeze starts, impoundment saratoga don’t feed so enthusiastically and many anglers call it quits and head back to camp. The fish are still there, just swimming deeper, and can be caught by simply changing lures to go down after them. A couple of mates who were then new to saratoga and therefore unfettered by old habits began doing very well by casting their impoundment bass lures when the sun was high. Smallish deep divers have worked well on all the local toga impoundments, with a personal favourite the Predatek B65D Boomerang. Other midday fish foolers have been the Flicks Cobra 15 and Halco’s tiny Poltergeist 50 in Brown Trout. The technique for fishing deep divers is essentially the same as that used for shallow runners. Cast among the standing timber, around weed beds and along the banks, particularly where there is heavy terrestrial vegetation. It initially came as a surprise to hook saratoga with a lure bumping the bottom in 3.5m of water. Rather than a standard cast and crank routine, greater success can be achieved by incorporating an added twist. When the lure splashes down, use the rod tip to manipulate the lure in a pseudo ‘walk the dog manner for about five seconds before commencing the retrieve. By adapting this technique you can extract every last possible surface strike while searching for less-active subsurface fish. This technique also works on shallow-water bass and is positively deadly on barra. We haven’t even mentioned fly fishing. Ah well, that, as they say, is another story.

Kevin Clark with a nice impoundment-dwelling example of the southern saratoga taken by spinning with a Predatek MinMin among standing timber. This fish shows the typical colouration of the species, including twin pink spots on each scale of its flanks.

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Casting lures among the drowned forests in the upper reaches of manmade lakes is the method of choice for finding a saratoga or two.

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www.issuu.com/bnbﬁshing Bush ’n Beach Fishing, March 2018 – Page 69

Sizzling start for B.A.S.S. Australia Nation season W Justin Evans with his winning bag in the Pro section from Lake Glenbawn.

Dave Lane came second in the Pro division.

E had a massive start to the year at B.A.S.S. Australia Nation, with three tournaments to really get things going and some major announcements including a $10,000 prize for first place at a tournament later in the year. Competitor numbers are way up at the events and the amount of excitement is through the roof. With 96 anglers turning up to the Berkley Glenbawn Challenge, tournament bass fishing is alive and well on the east coast of Australia. Justin Evans is new to the Pro circuit but took the title on Lake Glenbawn in NSW and walked away with a massive $3400 payday. In the Co-Angler ranks, Cameron Ley landed the largest six-fish bag limit and also claimed his

B.A.S.S. Australia Nation by DREW McGRATH

maiden title at this level of competition. The predominant technique involved fishing Berkley Gulp Minnow Grubs vertically to suspended bass that mainly stayed offshore in the cooler, deep water of the Glenbawn basin. The anglers used their electronics to locate the bass and sit directly on top of them, working their lures up and down to irritate the fish and entice a bite. This is a deadly technique and over the three sessions we weighed 475 live bass on the stage, with 100 percent of anglers catching fish. Dave Lane ended up in second and Mark Fergu-

son rounded out the top three for the Pro division, both taking home very healthy cheques. In second and third in the Co-Angler section were Cameron Jones and Jake Schwerin who used a combination of Berkley

Gulp and skirted jigs to secure their limits in what was a super-tight competition. Winners Evans and Ley both instantly qualified for the Berkley Championship to be held later in the year in NSW and they will be tough to beat on their home grounds. Matthew Langford now takes over the lead in the ☛ continued P72

Cameron Ley with his prizes for placing first in the Co-Angler division.

All the western rivers run A

S I write, heading downstream at a great rate of knots are thousands of megalitres of water in the form of irrigation going out to crops west of the Great Dividing Range.

Peter Griffiths with a small cod caught in the river.

Peter enjoyed one of his many swims for the day.

This is a yearly event, with people getting up at 4am to work paddocks and crops before the heat sends everyone into rooms with air-conditioners running full blast. That’s if you’re lucky enough to work close to buildings with this sort of you-beaut gear. Otherwise it is a dip in a river, creek or channel of water. During this event, anglers sometimes forget the rivers will be running

Glenlyon Dam by BRIAN DARE

with cold and fast flows and this will in some cases lead to accidents. Although it is not law in Queensland to wear a lifejacket in rivers and streams, I would highly recommend it. It is not that much of a hassle to buy one of those self-inflating or pull-cord vests to save a life if you’re the one who tips over in your canoe or kayak. As I said, it’s a yearly event and all too often we anglers forget about it when it comes to planning a fishing

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK A great place to fish! s 0OWERED AND 5NPOWERED 3ITES s .O $OMESTIC 0ETS OR 'ENERATORS s +IOSK s )CE s 'AS s 0ETROL s !MENITIES "LOCKS AND ,AUNDRY s ""1S s (IRE "OATS s %&40/3 s &ISHING 0ERMITS

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trip for a few days. We’ve either got no water due to dry summer conditions or too much. The photo says it all – either falling in or just plain cooling off. Where is that bloody fishing rod? It sometimes happens, hey Pete! So when to fish the river? In our case, any time after mid-March. The reason being possible rainfall from good monsoon rain up north, which gives us solid falls of rain down south most years, except in drought conditions. You can also give local water storages a ring asking about conditions, or the tourist information office asking for local fishing clubs’ phone numbers. In some cases, coastal fishing clubs and bush township clubs have formed a friendship and take trips to the coast or bush, showing the visitors how to fish their regions. Use this period to hit coastal creeks. While all the above is taking place, on the storages you will find the water levels dropping as flows head downstream. For me that means lure shopping time. That 20kg cod that got away from Billy Smiff is a log with a near-new lure hanging up for someone to find and it is not the only one out there. I spotted 14 lures in one day and a rod and reel too. To wash these lures, use

some washing liquid in the sink and an old toothbrush to clean them up like new. Bait anglers will have a ball as the water is moving off the banks and weed beds, making the fish move to new locations as they start to feed up ready for winter. For lure anglers it’s a bit tough, though some anglers do well while others struggle to crack the dam they are fishing. As a rule of thumb, wait for the large releases of water to finish, say two months from January 6 through to the start of the second week of March. That time sees a reduction in water use due to crops being ready to pick. With some luck, we may get good rain from up north to refill the dams during this two-month period of big outflows. So with water flows slowing from the start of March, it will be river fishing time again and we will see 300-400 megalitres running downstream, whether from river flows or minor water releases from storages. This will mean canoe and kayak time on the rivers for the next nine months, which is when I start to grovel again to get the handbrake off. During the past two months, 240,000 golden perch have been released into Glenlyon Dam. Given it takes up to 14 months for these fingerlings to grow up to the 35cm legal length for eating, that really is not a long wait. This being the case each year, last year’s released fish are now ready to catch.

We are seeing heaps of silver perch being caught and some of these fish are up to 48cm in length and fight like hell. Spinnerbaits are now being made as heavy as 4, 6 and 8oz in weight. You can use these by trolling them about 20m behind the craft. Or you can join the mob who cast lures and spinnerbaits with the chance of your arms going down to your knees and making it a lot easier to pull your socks up. This is the world of pain, abuse and effort we anglers go through to catch that big Murray cod. I would like to wish Terry Marshall a speedy recovery from his time spent in hospital. It will be a short while before you get to see the return of Terry’s lures on sale because the doctor has put a hold on his lure making. With lure competitions starting to kick off again for 2018, new shapes and colours to catch fish and anglers will be on rods flogging water to froth. The Lure Expo at Ipswich will be on again too, newer, bigger and better than previous years. In the lead-up to the event you will see shed doors closed with lure makers carving wood to new shapes and no doubt mind-blowing gear that will make your wallet lighter come expo time. It is the one event of the year that my wife loves, with lollies lined up for Debbie to buy along with deals done on old lures changing hands or being put on show. A great time of year. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Lex Irwin won his first Kayak Series title in his maiden event.

Sizzling start for B.A.S.S. Australia Nation season

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Angler of the Year Pro title race and Jake Schwerin leads the pack in the Co-Angler division. The Pro winner will be heading to the US to represent Australia on the global stage and compete against the best 60 B.A.S.S. Nation anglers in the world for a shot at getting into the Bassmaster Classic and a chance to take home part of a $320,000 prize pool. The Co-Angler AOY winner will walk away with a Tabs boat and Honda motor package valued at about $20,000, which will give them the opportunity to step into the Pro division for 2019. The top 12 in the Pro Angler of the Year table at season’s end will have a chance to fish in the Motackle AOY Invitational where one angler will win a massive $10,000 cash first prize. If you are interested in competing you still have time to make the top 12 for the 2018 season. This type of tournament with this sort of prize pool has never before been run in Australia. In the Native Watercraft Kayak Series, we held the Garmin Lake Macdonald Kayak Open and another newcomer took the major prize of a Native Watercraft kayak and the title of best angler on Macdonald for 2018. Lex Irwin is relatively new to bass fishing and he used a combination of Atomic vibes to land a solid limit and upgrade through the three sessions. Matt Williams ended up in second place and Daniel Holder rounded out the top three. For the final of the Barra Series we headed to Lake Proserpine. Rick Napier and Dustin Sippel claimed the title in super-windy, tough conditions by landing a solid 10 out of 10 bag limit measuring 7.99m. The lads used Samaki vibes fished in the 4.5m

range to entice the bites and were stoked to take home the title against really stiff competition. As I said, the season is off to a great start, with lots up for grabs for the anglers and some really rewarding tournaments spread evenly

throughout the year. If you are keen to get involved in the numberone bass tournaments in Australia, head over to bassaustralia.com.au to register and have a shot at beating the best anglers in the country.

Cameron Jones was the second-placed Co-Angler at Glenbawn.

Matt Williams walked away with second place in the Kayak Series.

Daniel Holder finished third in the Kayak Series event.

Mark Ferguson brought home third in the Pro division at Glenbawn.

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$24,000

Side Console

DELIVERS UP TO 14% BETTER CRUISE SPEED ECONOMY

300

290

280

270

260

PREVIOUS MERCURY FOURSTROKE 1.7L

BSFC dyno testing; data is an average of 60%-80% rated MERCURY PREVIOUS NEW MERCURY engine speed based NEW OPTIMAX MERCURY MERCURY OPTIMAX on standardMERCU ICOMIA emissions test. FOURSTROKE 115hp 1.7L 2.1L 115hp 115hp 2.1L 11 Photos for illustration purposes only. SU SC N ATA

IPSWICH ROAD

DS T

IPS

WIC

D ROA

SERVICE RD

Randolph St

WIC

IPS

Blackd own St

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