BNB Fishing mag | Apr 2021 by bnbfishing

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Page 4 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Editor

LITTLE over two months is all it took for black jewfish to become a no-take species for recreational anglers, until the east coast fishery reopens on January 1, 2022. Currently, there is a 20 tonne commercial catch limit for black jew on the east coast, and once reached this fish is then off limits until next year. The government has stated it has done this to ensure the stocks of black jew, but I do question the management of this species. If the commercial sector is catching their limit within three months, it indicates to me that stock levels aren’t too bad. This then poses the question of the research into stock levels. Thus, why can’t the recreational sector continue to take their reduced bag limit of one fish per person with a boat limit of two fish? If the issue is the sale

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of this species’ swim bladders on the blackmarket, maybe that should be targeted, with large fines imposed if recreational anglers are caught in breach of the regulations. Since swim bladders are meant to be very valuable, extra fines or penalties such as boat confiscation could also be imposed. Alternatively, it might be an idea to have a reduced monthly quota for the commercial catch, this would give recreational anglers a better chance of catching and keeping a fish for a feed. I understand it’s easy to preach from the sidelines, but I do wonder what is currently being done to manage this fish, apart from a commercial quota? In other news, it’s great to see both the NSW and Victorian governments move full steam ahead with their restocking efforts. More recently, both states released thou-

sands of juvenile flathead back into their local waterways. These fish are expected to reach around 36cm in 2-3 years, which is a great boost to the systems there. It would be good if Fisheries Queensland had the same or a similar objective, especially with the current strategic plan for 2017-2027. Not only are flathead a great sportfish, they are a nice table fish. And the amount of money recreational anglers would put back into the economy chasing these fish should make it a no-brainer for the Queensland Government. Though if it were to happen – particularly in southern Moreton Bay – there would need to be a major review of current commercial netting in this area, which I think needs to happen regardless. A Queensland fishing licence might be a great way to buy back these net licences? It is no secret, I am in favour of a recreational fishing licence, as long as the money is put back into the fishery and not ‘consolidated revenue’. Dave Donald actually raises a few good points on this topic in his article on page 60, check it out. Fishing On the fishing front, prawns have been the main target species for many anglers. It’s amazing how many people are out there at times, with good hauls of prawns coming from a host of places. As I live southside, the Redland Bay area is my

home ground for targeting them, but there are a host of places you can get a feed. If you are looking to research how to catch a few prawns, make sure to check out bnbfishing. com.au There are plenty of hints and tips on there

to get you sorted. But please remember to stick to your limits, which is 10L per person and a boat limit of 20L. That means even if you have three in the boat, you can only take 20L – which is a monster feed for anyone! Ben Collins

OUR COVER

BRAD caught this 6kg red emperor on a recent trip to 1770. Picture by Mick Clutterbuck. You can read his article about targeting these fish on Page 36.

NEXT EDITION: May edition will be on sale in newsagents from April 30. APRIL SUBSCRIPTION PRIZE: See subscription form on Page 81 to go in the draw to win one of one of 15 Venom UV Delux Head Scarves valued at $19.95 RRP. FEBRUARY PRIZE WINNER: Congratulations to the 40 lucky subscription prize winners, your Techni Ice Heavy Duty Reusable Ice Packs valued at $8 RRP each will be posted shortly.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 5

April 2021 contents Easter means family time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A tribute to Peter Conlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Land-based prospecting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fever pitch action predicted. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Transition time on Gold Coast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Fishing from the shore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . April variety will spice things up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A surprising spool-spinningly session. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not much luck with rain so far. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seagrass transplant project declared a success . . . . . . . Iluka pelagics fire up. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Not all raw prawns can be used as bait. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Break out the high-speed gear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rainbow Beach red emperor trip, take three. . . . . . . . . . . Filter paper can reveal species under the sea. . . . . . . . . . Spectacular Seventeen Seventy sortie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2021 Catch and Release Mangrove Jack Comp. . . . . . . . . Tuna casting tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A change of season sees a change of species. . . . . . . . . C-MAP launches new chart range. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Testing times on Swain Reefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Insights into boat insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SeaPro a winner for Reef Sprinter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Product News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Goodbye summer species, hello autumn varieties. . . . . . Exiting artificial reef project of Mackay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Shimano King of Kings a great success. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black jewfish east coast fishery closed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Putting a price on paying to fish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Catch and release barramundi this season. . . . . . . . . . . . . Wet season opens opportunities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chasing dogtooth tuna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Exploring the Cape and all it has to offer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Recipe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . All go on the Coral and Discovery coasts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Readers’ Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Charter Directory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Something completely different. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Warwick fish stocking news. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lack of cyclone rain impacts on Queensland storage. . . Imported prawn risks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Subscription Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 by Sean Conlon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P10 by Chris Raimondi . . . . . . . . . . . . . P14 by Heath Zygnerski . . . . . . . . . . . . P16 by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P18 by Sean ‘Skip’ Thompson . . . . . . P22 by Brad Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P24 by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P27 by Brett Hyde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P30 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P31 by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P32 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P33 by Grant Budd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P34 by Mick Clutterbuck . . . . . . . . . . . P36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P38 by Craig Tomkinson . . . . . . . . . . . . P39 by Chris Rippon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P44 by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P47 by Brad Young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P48 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P48 by Greg Lamprecht . . . . . . . . . . . . P50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P52 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P55 by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . . . . . P56 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P57 by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P58 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P59 by Dave Donald . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P60 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P62 by Brett Parks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P63 by Matt Potter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon . . . . . . . . P69 by Melissa Frohloff . . . . . . . . . . . . P70 by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson . . . . . . . P71 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P73 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P74 by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P76 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P77 by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P78 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P79 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P80 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P81

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The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins ADVERTISING: The BNB Team PRODUCTION: Adrian Cardaci, Lisa Jones, Bob Thornton

Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine is published monthly by Collins Media Pty Ltd ABN 43 159 051 500 ACN 159 051 500 trading as Collins Media. Phone 07 3286 1833 Email: ben@collins.media PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178 PRINTER: Spotpress DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax 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.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 7

Glen scored a few big bream but for the most part, the fish let him know who was boss!

Easter means family time

Drew managed a very nice 63cm flathead and topped the day off with an impressive 82cm model, which was released to breed for another day.

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OR most people, travelling distances is still a little way off. Luckily there are so many places in the Moreton Bay area to spend a day or even a few hours of quality time with the family. Pumicestone Passage, Red Beach, Skirmish Point and even Surfside Bribie Island should be on the ‘to do’ list over the holidays. You don’t need a fourwheel-drive to have a great time on the island, as these places can be easily accessed in the family car and are mostly sealed roads. Get the kids to chase down pipis – check possession limits – as they can have a lot of fun catching them, and you get instant fresh bait. Whiting, bream and dart are all great fun for kids when using light gear and the beach is an untapped resource when it comes to fun for the kids. Red Beach is possibly my favourite haunt – easy access, a great area to watch the kids and the views of the mainland and Moreton Island leave you wondering why you don’t do this more often. Redcliffe and Woody Point jetties are two great places to visit

Northern Moreton Bay by MARK TEMPLETON

too – there’s plenty of baitfish on tap, which are great for bream, cod and moses perch, to name a few of the species available on these ideal fishing icons. One jetty proving to be a Pandora’s box is Shorncliffe Pier – you don’t know what it’s going to produce next. Glen certainly found this out when he chased big bream. He got a few but for the most part, the big bream and grunter let him know who was boss! We see a lot of bread and butter species being caught by kids from this pier – bream, whiting, flathead, cod, butterfish, toadfish and my favourite… garfish. Gar would have to be one of the easiest fish for kids to chase. Light gear, a small float – pencil or bobby, it doesn’t matter – a No. 12 Mustad long shank hook, a tiny bit of beachworm, bloodworm or prawn and you are set. Use small bits of bread as berley and gar will follow it to your fishing area. Once hooked, these

guys perform acrobatics that could put them into contention for gold at any Olympics. The bigger guys can be cooked up for a great meal and the smaller ones make awesome cut bait for bream, flathead and snapper… even mangrove jack have found it hard to resist over the years. Luke managed a great day out past the Cape, and a nice little longtail tuna was just one of the great fish bagged that day. A good thing there were no injuries reported on this trip! Drew and his dad Wade hit Moreton Bay recently and there was no doubt about Drew getting the job done and bringing home fish for the table. Drew managed a very nice 63cm flathead and topped the day off with an impressive 82cm model, which was released. I think young Drew is fine tuning his skills, so keep an eye out for a few more great photos and stories. Keep up the great work Drew!

* continued P9

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Easter means family time * from P8

If piers are not your thing and you want a spot that’s a little quieter, give our local creeks and rivers a go. These areas often offer less shade for the kids, but with the help of a broad-brimmed hat a great day out can still be achieved. Harrison had a great time at Cabbage Tree Creek with mum Liz chasing cracker whiting. Harrison invited me down to the boat ramp for a cast net lesson. He ended up showing me a technique that had me wondering ‘how’, but it worked. Well done Harrison, keep going. Cabbage Tree Creek and the Pine and Caboolture rivers have a few great areas that are

family friendly and easily accessible by family vehicles. Deep Water Bend Reserve has family facilities, barbecue, playgrounds plus plenty of shaded spots. I have found the best way to fish this area is with light tackle – a No. 4 or 6 long shank hook and a No. 0 or 1 ball sinker, which will hopefully prevent a lot of snags. Dohles Rocks, Brighton Foreshore Reserve, Margate Beach and Queens Beach are a few awesome places to unwind for the day or a few hours, and generally plenty of whiting, bream and flathead are in targeting range for kids. Even at low tide, there are so many things for kids to see while fishing.

Remember to always wear enclosed shoes when walking around rock pools or on the reef areas, as there are plenty of sharp things waiting for small feet! Chloe and Bella certainly know how to get out and enjoy the fantastic weather. They both love their fishing and showing mum Tammy how to fish at the same time! Well done ladies, glad to see you having fun! If you need more ideas on taking your kids fishing, jump onto our website and have a read of the articles written by our customers – this could save you bit of a headache, visit tackle land.com.au/posts Enjoy the time spent together and maintain the passion!

Harrison had a great time at Cabbage Tree Creek chasing cracker whiting.

Luke managed a nice little longtail tuna, just one of the great fish bagged that day.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 9

A tribute to Peter Conlon

W George with a nice 70cm flathead caught on a Zerek Hot Legs Live Shrimp lure.

The author with a 38cm southern bay squire caught on a Zerek Ripper Diver.

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Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

OW, unfortunately another month of interesting weather, with no work done trying to line up conditions and days clients could go out. I did manage a couple of days on the water myself where I basically did a little bit of trolling for snapper, which is a technique I usually do in summer. I picked up a few nice fish ranging from those just legal around 35-40cm to nice squire around the 60cm mark, and all of those were caught trolling Zerek hard-bodies on rubble ground. Nothing too technical and nowhere special – just sticking around the bay islands. So, it’s been a pretty quiet month for me. On a more sombre note, I unfortunately lost my father in February. Anyone who knew him would know he battled a heart condition for many years. Sadly, it got the better of him and he is no longer with us. So, I thought I might write a little bit of an article on him, as he’s definitely my fishing mentor. He taught me everything I needed to know about how fish behave, how they feed, where fish would sit in the river system, how to read the beach and gutters for catching fish such as tailor and dart, and taught me a lot about

Southern Moreton Bay by SEAN CONLON

offshore fishing too. We chased species such as snapper, teraglin, jewfish and all sorts of different reef fish. The list of things he told me are endless, including how to catch beachworms, how to find pipis, areas baitfish congregate, how to use a cast net, how to tie knots

and rigs for all different types of fishing. He even taught me in my younger days how to make fishing rods out of Rangoon cane… all that sort of stuff and much more. This is the knowledge he passed down to me, which has allowed me to evolve my fishing * continued P12

This 60cm fish could not resist a trolled Zerek Ripper Diver.

One of the earliest photos of the author and his dad. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 11

A tribute to Peter Conlon

Dad loved chasing these fish, this was one of the first he caught on a lure.

Peter Conlon lived to go fishing. You couldn’t get the smile off his face. He loved it.

The last trip the author had on the water with his father and son. They had a great day. Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

into what it has become today and is my career. I know my dad was proud with what I’ve done with his knowledge, but he said one of the proudest things was that I was prepared to pass the information on – not only to my son but also to my friends and clients, and people who wish to learn about fishing. He would also say to anyone prepared to listen, to talk to me about fishing because I loved it so much it’s all I talk about. The reason he said this was because when his father taught him, it was very hard to get fishing information out of people, as everything was a little bit secret. It doesn’t mean he handed me all his knowledge on a silver platter. Occasionally he was rather secretive too. I remember a time when I was growing up, we were bream fishing down at Tweed and he held the sinker in his hand to hide it from me, and I had to work out what sinker size I needed to put on my line to catch the fish he was catching. This might not seem much, but these are the things that make you think about why you’re catching fish. There were times he would hide the way he was preparing his bait and the way he was putting it on his hooks, so I would have to think about how I was going to prepare mine. People may feel this was a bit petty, but these things made me a better fisher – they made me think. He used to say fishing

is just not about driving out there and chucking a line over the side beside five other boats – you need to think about what you’re doing. That’s why I love what I’m doing now… there’s a thought process behind going fishing and being successful at it, and my dad taught me this in his way with a few lessons. My dad was into jewfish in his day and many people ask me how to catch one. I tell them, ‘with a lot of patience and perseverance’ and about the times my dad went out to catch jew at night. Sometimes he was back in an hour or two because he didn’t catch the correct size live bait he wanted – if he didn’t get the right bait, he didn’t go jew fishing, simple as that. To me that’s dedication. Then he might go out the next night and wouldn’t come home until the early hours of the morning, with the back of the four-wheeldrive full of jew, simply

because he got the right live bait to target these fish. My father told me stories of how he’d put me high up on the rocks at Bongar near Cabarita Beach in my bassinet, and he would head down and catch tailor one after the other with his fisho friends. He said I would just sit in the bassinet watching them. He always said there was something a little bit different in me, because no matter when he was going fishing, I wanted to go – rain, hail or shine. He liked all forms of fishing, and it didn’t matter if it was in the boat in the Tweed River chasing bream or heading offshore around Cook Island to chase snapper, jew and reef fish. The multiple trips we had to Fraser Island as kids catching beachworms and pipis, chasing tailor and dart… all the memories I have of my father revolve around fishing and the * continued P13

Dad caught a few squire or snapper, this was back when we kept all of them for a feed. www.bnbfishing.com. au

A tribute to Peter Conlon - my best friend * from P12

angling lifestyle. In his later years, he still loved fishing and I was able to pass on a bit of knowledge to him about lure fishing, which is something he didn’t do earlier because we just used bait. So, I was lucky enough to teach him how to catch a few squire or snapper trolling hardbodies, catching mackerel on surface lures and soft plastics, but Dad’s true love was the same as mine – for whatever reason, we both loved catching flathead. When I brought the element of lures in and targeting these fish on light line and light rods, it was a totally new ball game, and he loved it. I was lucky enough to get a fair few trips in and was able to watch him enjoy catching these magnificent fish using a technique he never knew existed. Ironically, the last fishing trip we all did was with my brother, my son and my dad

chasing flatties in the Broadwater. We had a cracking little session and it’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, not long after that his health deteriorated quite rapidly and we didn’t get out on the water again, but we got to have a few good chats about fishing… basically that’s what he and I always talked about. My fondest memories of my dad will be of our fishing and camping adventures. I could go on and on about this man and could probably fill this whole magazine with the crazy things we did. Heading across the Nullarbor Plain when it was 1000km of corrugated dirt road, with no water or fuel stations on it, and seeing the last whales dispatched at the whaling station in Western Australia. Leaving Darwin a couple of days before Cyclone Tracy devastated the area.

Holding onto the outboard engine and keeping it in gear as we punched our way across the Tallebudgera Bar through 1.5-2m waves because the engine kept jumping out of gear. With my dad, no mat-

ter what we did, everything revolved around the water, adventure and fishing. That’s a small snippet of what he taught me, and the things we did together that helped me become the fisher and

Dad with a nice flathead.

person I am today. Rest in peace Dad. I will always remember you, as my father, my mentor and my best friend. Peter Conlon - January 1, 1944 to February 21, 2021.

Will with a nice 72cm flathead caught on a Zerek Hot Legs Live Shrimp lure.

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0432 386 307 My dad in his younger years chasing a few flathead. He loved catching lizards. www.bnbfishing.com.au

seanconlonsfishing@hotmail.com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 13

This solid queenfish nailed a live bait.

Kane’s 63cm mangrove jack on whiting gear no less.

Kenton with a cracker of a flathead.

Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

Land-based prospecting

F you’re anything like me, you spend far too much time monitoring weather websites waiting for the perfect opportunity to head offshore. Of course, when the weather comes good, that thing called ‘work’ often gets in the way. Then there are current conditions, swell and a stack of other variables to consider if you’re running with a smaller boat as I am. Anyway, while there’s nothing better than when an epic offshore session comes together, there can be a lot said about getting back to basics and hitting the estuaries on foot. When the weather didn’t play fair on a recent trip to Central Queensland, we did just that and it turned into an awesome few days. When prospecting for great land-based locations, Google Earth is your best friend! It always pays to check out the area you’re keen to fish and locate the best places to access it on foot or by car. By using Google Earth, you can also assess the biggest stretches that you’re thinking of accessing by foot as well as locate deeper

Fishing Tips by CHRIS RAIMONDI

holes, sandbanks and other structure where you expect fish to hold. On a trip recently, we identified about 2km of estuary that we thought we’d have a good chance of covering during the bottom half of the tide. The plan was to load up with light spin gear and soft plastics and walk the creek, flicking the mangrove and sandbank edges for flathead and anything else we could entice. Arriving at half tide allowed us to get a good view of the area and assess where the water level got to at high tide. Flathead lies were identified immediately, which certainly piqued our interest and suggested that we’d have a good chance of nailing a few as the tide receded and the water drained into deeper holes. I’ve always been a strong advocate of a low tide when fishing for flathead because I feel it’s common sense that with less water coverage there are less areas for the fish to be and hence they can be tar-

geted more easily. Others swear by fishing the shallow flats on a peak tide as flatties get up on the sand banks to feed. Each to their own I suppose. We were almost at the first stretch of river and there was a nice deep hole with a little tidal flow through a deeper drain and a few tree branches scattered around – the perfect looking scenario for a flathead. Sure enough, it didn’t take long to hook and land one in the mid50cm range – we were off to a good start. There was an absolute abundance of bait present as well, which made for more excitement. A group of us were fishing and we all went our own way, so we covered quite a bit of ground by chipping away, with a few nice flatties caught. While fishing, we also scouted a couple of nice areas we thought would hold good whiting at night. * continued P15

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Land-based prospecting * from P14

I persisted with a 5” Z-Man StreakZ curl tail in Bad Shad, convinced it might be the lure that enticed a bigger fish and I wasn’t disappointed! As I slowly skipped my plastic back over the edge of a deeper drain, it was greeted with the customary clunk of nice flathead engulfing it gleefully. The strong initial run into the shallow water followed and a few minutes later, after a nice fight on the light gear, I was sliding a nice 73cm flathead up the bank. A few pics and off she swam to have a sulk before harassing more bait. With the flathead ticked off, we returned the next night just on dark with whiting gear

and yabbies in tow. My plan for the evening was to rely on the fishos catching a few legal whiting, which I would use as live bait in the deepest part of the creek. The whiting weren’t prolific but there were certainly enough around to keep us busy and to scratch my ‘live bait’ itch. I rigged up a legal whiting on a set of snelled 4/0 BKK hooks and deployed it in the deepest part of the creek. There were several massive surface ‘boofs’ in the vicinity of my bait and within seconds, the 20lb braid was screaming. A massive queenfish got aerial straight away

and made a beeline for the sticks as I held on for the ride. I managed to gain a bit of control of the fight and after a great battle, I was holding up a beautiful queenie just shy of the 1m mark. Apart from a few nice whiting, that was the only real highlight for the night, but we had certainly uncovered a great little land-based spot, which will no doubt be visited again in future! So much can be said for prospecting new areas and simply getting bait and lures in the water! Only a couple of weeks before this trip, my friend Kane was drowning a few yabbies along a surfside rock wall chasing whit-

A nice 73cm flathead from new ground.

ing when his Alvey was sent spinning by what he initially suspected was a stingray. After a fair battle on 8lb line, he was guiding a 60cm plus mangrove jack onto the sand – a capture of epic proportions.

Morale of the story is… if it’s blowing a gale offshore, think outside the square and get a lure in the water, because it’s certainly harder to catch a good fish from your lounge room! Catch ya.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 15

This spanish mackerel smashed Mitch’s slug.

Andy was all smiles being back on the water and nailing a few spotted mackerel.

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Gold Coast by HEATH ZYGNERSKI

enough for them. The mackerel have been on the chew all through summer and they don’t seem to be slowing down. Even with dirty cooler water, we still had a hot bite, though we did have to move around to find fish. I haven’t seen so many rat spanish mackerel as I have this year, they’ve been in plague propor-

tions, which hopefully means we’ll be having a few fantastic sessions in coming weeks. One thing to look out for with the big spaniards is the dreaded ciguatera poisoning. You run the risk of getting it with any spaniard over 10kg, and the bigger the fish the bigger the risk – at this time of year span-

* continued P17

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Fever pitch action predicted * from P16

iards over 30kg do turn up on the coast. Spotted mackerel have steadily been getting bigger and fatter as the season progresses. Those lucky enough to be able to pick their days have been rewarded with their bag in under an hour. The fish have been hitting almost anything you throw at them – bait, slugs, hard-bodies or skirts. Out wider there have been a few good catches of marlin with several fishos having insane sessions. Mixed in with them are also mahi mahi and wahoo. In the creeks and estuaries, good catches of flathead have been scored around the shal-

low weed beds, and mangrove jack near any structure. My favourite way to fish for them when I have time is live baiting. There is just something about the whole process – catching your own bait with the cast net, keeping them alive and then sitting back looking at the stars waiting for the rod to scream off – love it. The local bars are all in a varying state. The bank out the front of the Tweed River Bar is getting wider. The last time I was out, I had to check I was keeping the correct heading because it seemed to take ages before I was across in 4m of water. This bank will catch

the swell, so keep an eye on it if there’s any sea running. Currumbin is changing daily, with the banks moving and gutter closing off. Choose your tide and don’t hang outside for too long, otherwise you might find yourself stuck out there for the change or worse, on the sand bank. Tallebudgera Creek is what I would call dangerous – shallow and you have nowhere to run. The Gold Coast Seaway is good as per usual, though watch out for the dawn surfers paddling across to Stradbroke Island – in dark wetsuits, they are near impossible to see. Until next month, smoking drags to you all.

Mitch with a stonker spotted and a small spanish mackerel.

Andy was all smiles being back on the water and nailing a few spotted mackerel.

Jett gives the thumbs up. His first of many spotted mackerel. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Stu was back in action after getting a new Honda fitted to the Tracy-J. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 17

Squid are arriving and this one was caught by Chris on an Ecogear jig.

A lovely autumn day on the Nerang River.

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At 70, Harry caught his first mangrove jack, a 56cm model.

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month, while bigger flathead will return to the rivers to feed. This is the start of my favourite time for fishing the Gold Coast Broadwater and the Nerang River. From April until September we are spoilt for choice in local systems, with an abundance of school-sized flathead, mulloway, tuskfish, arrow squid, tiger squid, flounder, winter whit-

ing, sand whiting, tarwhine, bream, luderick and more. The weather is often great for fishing too, with sunny days and light winds, and there is less water traffic. Here are a few tips for getting in on the action over the next month. Arrow squid will suddenly increase in size and numbers. My favourite areas to * continued P20

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Brody with a school jewfish that was released. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Transition time on Gold Coast * from P18

Bob with a flathead caught on an Ecogear ZX 40 lure.

Josh about to release this solid mangrove jack.

target them are Runaway Bay main channel, Currigee Reef, Lands End channel, and the main channel markers from Sundale Bridge to the Spit. They are suckers for Ecogear ZX 40 blades jigged along the bottom, and when conditions allow, I always throw a Daiwa Emeraldas Nude or Ecogear Egilee Dartmax squid jig in 2.5 or 3.0 size. Cast the jig about 5m out and let it slowly sink, then either leave the rod sitting in a rod holder or wind in and repeat. Use 6lb fluorocarbon leader tied onto light braid. For all the fish species mentioned above, my favourite areas this month are the deeper water around 6m all along the Southport main channel, the Western Channel along Labrador on a run-in tide, Lands End and Runa-

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way Bay channels on a run-out tide, south and north Currigee reefs in 5-7m on either tide but close to the change, and Ephraim Reef at 3-4m depth just east of the buildings on Ephraim Island. Drifting through all of these areas while jigging Samaki Vibelicious 70mm vibes – try Whitebait, Pearl Shrimp and Ginger Squid colours – Ecogear ZX 40 and 43 blades in colours 411, 440, 441, 447, and Pro Lure V42 blades will usually guarantee a little fun. Yabbies are a priceless bait in the Broadwater and rivers. If you can’t get them, look in bait shops for good quality river prawns and white bait. For bait fishing, use a 7’ 2-4kg bait rod with 2500 size reel spooled with 6lb Platypus Platinum mono line and a sliding ball sinker between No. 2-4 – just heavy enough to reach the bottom in the conditions. Then tie a small swivel and 1m of 6 or 10lb fluorocarbon leader with a No. 4-6 Mustad Baitholder hook, de-

pending on bait size. Rig all bait as straight as possible so they don’t spin and twist your line, then simply drop the bait straight to the bottom while drifting and wait for the rod to load up before striking and setting the hook. Don’t lock up the drag or you will lose good fish. Also don’t let too much line out or you’ll snag and lose tackle. It’s also worth wading the banks this month for a feed of sand whiting and dusky and bartail flathead. Hope this helps you catch fish, but even on slow days, the Gold Coast is a wonderful place to be on a boat. To book on a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, SMS 0432 990 302 or email f ish i ngwit hcl i nt@ gmail.com, or find us on Facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters. We now have our own app available free on Apple App Store and coming soon to android. Search ‘gold coast river charters’ on App Store.

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GET plenty of people asking me about shore-based fishing tips, thinking you can't catch much without a boat. They couldn't be more wrong. I may be biased, though I enjoy both, shore-based fishing can be especially satisfying without the technology of a boat. But to maximise your success from the shore you need to be prepared and either be mobile or bring the fish to you. Here are a few ways to increase your chances from the shore. Cast and retrieve For fish such as whiting and flathead, a moving bait can substantially increase your odds compared to the set and forget technique. You will also cover more ground and make the bait look as though it’s alive. Using a cast, lift and drop retrieve technique – a bit like lure fishing – is a great method for flathead. Bait such as whitebait or small pilchard work

Fishing Tips by SEAN ‘SKIP’ THOMPSON

well on 1/0-2/0 gang hooks for flathead from the shore. Use attractants These might be red tubing above your hook, a glow bead at night or additives on bait or your lure. Attractants also mask human-related smells such as sunscreen or smoking. This stuff really works – I’ve had fish come back again and again on lures covered in scent and out-fished others nearby with baited rods and no attractants. Natural attractants that work include blood from a bled tailor on your pilchard and the scent or slime of a fish you’re keeping rubbed on your lure. Use light line Leave the whipper snipper cord for the garden. Perfect for whiting and bream in open areas is 6lb line. A trace of 10-14lb is

good insurance for flathead whether bait or lure fishing. For fish such as barramundi or snapper, I’ll drop my leader strength during the day but increase it at night because it’s much harder to see then. Use fluorocarbon traces Due to its unique properties – FC traces have the same refractive index as water – this stuff is much harder for fish to see underwater and sinks, perfect for cast and retrieve fishing. For topwater fishing though, use a short heavy leader of monofilament to allow your lure to track straight and for the line not to sink – as is the case with fluorocarbon. Berley Berley is a great option whether off rocks, beach or estuary. Carry a bucket and use a mix of bran, tuna * continued P23

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Fishing from the shore * from P22

oil and sand – this gets the fish in feeding mode without over-feeding them. Make sure the current is not too strong or it will take fish with it. Striped tuna frames are perfect tied to a rope off the rocks, as it is pushed around in the wash, creating a berley trail. Cabbage and string weed are good berley if you’re fishing for luderick. Move If you aren’t catching fish after say 20 minutes in an area… move. You should also cast at various angles and depths to find fish. Use polarised sunglasses These are a great tool

to help you spot fish, the edge of weed banks, potholes and drains or other structure. Flat featureless hard sandy areas will be devoid of bait and much less productive, so if you spot them, keep walking. Bait Use live, fresh bait available from the area such as yabbies, worms, prawns, weed or poddy mullet under a float. Be prepared Surprises can turn up, so have a few different sized hooks and sinkers or jig heads and lures to cover your bases. Be portable Small portable tackle boxes and a sling bag over your shoulder are great options to carry a variety of spools of

leader, scissors, lures and other accessories. An Alvey deluxe wading shoulder bag is another great accessory, for not only your fish but it has compartments for tackle boxes, a rag, ruler, knife and pliers. Other essentials are water, a headlamp at night and a snack or two depending on how long you are fishing. So, there you go. Shore-based fishing can be very productive if you plan well, are mobile and use your eyes, and fishing techniques to find the fish or bring fish to you. For more fishing tips and reports, be sure to follow and like my Facebook, Instagram and YouTube pages, Ontour Fishing Australia.

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April variety will spice things up

’DAY everyone, April can be one of the most exciting months of the year for anglers because it offers a lot of variety. The reason this particular month can be so

Gold Coast Guide by BRAD SMITH

rewarding is that it’s a transitional time, which normally provides good weather. It can also produce

an overlapping strong bite from summer species and winter species about to start their campaign.

This is the last month that I target mighty mangrove jack, until September when the water starts to warm up again. I have had seriously strong jack assaults in April – as though they feed up hard before going dormant through winter. Fishing the lower reaches of the river near heavily structured areas around the tide change with either lures or live bait are the way to go for jack. One of my favourite techniques is topwater fishing for whiting, and this month is probably the last shot at them before the water gets too cold and slows down their metabolism. In saying that, they are very targetable, and

the same shallow water with yabby banks and broken seagrass beds will produce a heap of bream on surface lures. Fishing deep holes in rivers, especially holes holding good bait schools close to the bottom, will be worth trying for one of our biggest estuary species – jewfish. Once again fish around the tide change with either live bait or lures – my favourite lures being soft vibes. You can also expect to catch nice flathead in these same deep holes, and it will be worth trolling hard-bodied minnows or drifting the edges of the channels on the run-out tide for flatties as well. When trolling for flat-

* continued P26

Shaun scored a nice mangrove jack trolling a Samaki Redic.

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April fishing variety set to spice things up * from P24

ties, try and troll with the tide when possible, and make sure your lures are running free of weed and are con-

tinuously hitting the bottom for best results. This month is without a doubt my favourite time of year for targeting a wide variety of

pelagic species in our rivers. When I mention variety, the list would include giant, bigeye, golden and tea-leaf

Golden trevally are one of the many trevally species active in April.

trevally, as well as the occasional queenfish and tailor. These fish all prefer the lower reaches of our rivers, especially the river mouth and 1-2km upstream of the mouth. All these fish are fast free-roaming critters that are constantly searching for food, so the key here is to find the bait to find the fish. The best way to find bait schools is on your sounder but just as importantly keep a constant lookout for any bird activity, with gulls and terns dropping down and grabbing bait off the surface. Find this bird activity and you’re practically guaranteed success if you have the right lures and techniques,

because predatory fish will be balling up the bait, feeding on it and at the same time forcing it to the surface where birds are diving and also feeding. The best techniques to try in this situation are fly fishing and casting small metal slugs to match the size of the baitfish, as well as trolling small minnow lures around the edges of the surface action. Always work away from the surface action and cast back to it, preferably casting downwind because your motor noise can often shut things down if you get too close. Well, everyone that’s it for this month… I can’t wait to see what April has in store.

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Omri and Zohar with a double to start the trip off.

A surprising spool-spinningly successful Sunday session

HE forecast was for a 15-20 knot sout heasterly wind and a 2-3m swell. As you can imagine I didn’t set the alarm and, being a Sunday morning, I rolled out of bed at the leisurely hour of 7.30am. As I was munching my cereal, I looked at the webcam site on my phone and, to my surprise, the bar was fairly flat, considering it was halfway through a runout tide. A check at Cape Byron revealed a gentle southwesterly wind. In recent weeks, I’d been discussing with Omri the possibility of getting him onto a mackerel, and after a quick text to his dad Zohar, we met at the boat ramp 45 minutes later. Due to the forecast, there were only a couple of other boats out on this almost dead calm Sunday morning, www.bnbfishing.com.au

Tweed to Byron Bay

Toby continued his mackerel season with another fish out of Brunswick Heads.

by GAVIN DOBSON

a rarity in these conditions. The previous Sunday had seen 112 cars with trailers parked all the way out of the car park and halfway down the road to Brunswick township. The previous few days live bait had been scarce, so my first couple of stops were at the places I’d managed to find a few. The first spot was a doughnut and the second was not much better. I ended up finding them where there had been none for weeks, but I wasn’t complaining as we now had enough bait to at least see if there were a few mackerel around. It didn’t take too long, about 20 minutes I guess, before a rod went off and Omri was

set to the task of fighting his first mackerel. I went to clear another line but noticed it wasn’t in the way so I left it there, commenting it might get another one. Sure enough, Omri announced the second rod had a fish on it too and I indicated for Zohar to get onto it. What a great start – father and son hookedup side by side on a mackerel double. Omri’s fish came to the boat first after a couple of spool-spinning runs, and I gaffed a 7.5kg spanish mackerel. Zohar’s pumping and winding efforts had a similar fish at the boat until it decided it wanted to be at least 40m away, then it hit the turbo.

* continued P28

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 27

Omri fished like a seasoned professional playing nice mackerel to the boat over the course of the morning.

A surprising spool-spinningly successful Sunday session * from P27

“All my efforts!’ exclaimed Zohar jokingly, but he soon had the fish back and on deck alongside his son’s. After a couple of high fives and a handshake,

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we resumed trolling, hopeful for another quick bite. From memory the next bite was a double too and while Zohar got his fish to the boat, Omri’s spat the hook. We chipped away for the next few hours, and though the bites weren’t thick and fast we were putting a few fish in the Esky. When the southeasterly wind picked up to about 12 knots, I anchored up and we floated bait out. We managed a couple more mackerel, in between Omri catching an assortment of reef fish off the bottom, the best of which was a beautifully marked goldspot pigfish. For a late start it was a fun and successful trip and as we came in the bar, I pointed out a wave breaking behind us. Nothing to be con-

cerned about for us, but I wondered if the swell that was forecast was beginning to come through. Sure enough, my friend came through the bar around four hours later and phoned me commenting that the bar was a solid 1.8m. I turned the surf camera on and the bar was closing out, putting an end to thoughts of fishing the next day. I know one thing for certain, Omri was glad the swell arrived 24 hours later than forecasted! Coming into April, I’ll be looking for mackerel, with the possibility of a little night jewfish angling on close reefs. On good days, boats will begin heading out wide with reef fish in mind, though I can’t get past the idea that I’m using a lot of fuel to drive past fish by going wide.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 29

Mackerel are starting to show up off Ballina on lures and live bait.

Even though mackerel are here, Adam managed to find a quality snapper off Ballina.

Techniques to tackle trying conditions

ELLO all and welcome to this month’s edition. I’m not sure who broke a mirror or walked under a ladder, but it would appear someone has. We’ve had more bad luck this year as far as the weather goes. Another sizable

Ballina Bait & Tackle by BRETT HYDE

amount of rain fell in the Northern Rivers region again and, at the time of writing this article, the river was a lovely shade of brown. My fingers are definitely crossed that this

is the last rain we see until well after Easter. I must admit that after the volume we’ve had, I thought it would spell disaster for our mackerel season but as it stands, we‘ve seen

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reasonable numbers of both spotted and spanish mackerel coming from the close reefs. The main difference is that fish have been caught using a number of different techniques. Slow-trolling live bait is usually the most common method, but a lack of live bait lately has made this very difficult. So, a few anglers have resorted to trolling dead bait such as slimy mackerel or small bonito, while others have gone the speedy road and have been high-speed trolling with either skirted lures or bibbed hardbodies. Lennox Point, Black Head and Riordans Reef have all produced fish on different days, so be prepared to do the miles to get the smiles. Out wider, mahi

mahi have been a bit hit and miss over the past month, but bottom species have been fairly active. The current has tapered off to a degree and this has made getting bait or lures to the bottom a much more attractive proposition, but on the flipside it seems to have slowed the mahi mahi. Mullet and squid have been the best types of bait to use for bottom dwellers, while the better fish have been taken using slow-pitch jigs in brighter colours. The current slowing down has made it possible for a few boats to head to the shelf, with mixed results. A few very nice bar cod and bass grouper have been landed, along with plenty of green-eyed sharks and a handful of other species, but there have * continued P31

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Seagrass transplant project declared a success

ARINE ecologists say an experimental project to repair underwater seagrass meadows using shoots that wash up on the beach has been a huge success. For the past two and a half years University of New South Wales researchers have asked locals in Port Stephens to collect seagrass shoots as they walk along the beach. Researcher Dr Adriana Verges said, “We’re getting good survival rates of the transplants, somewhere between 50 and 70 percent – that’s kind of the gold standard.”

“We’ve shown that with the help of citizen scientists we can collect enough shoots and restore them effectively and get good survival. “The next step is to take this project to other estuaries.” Seagrass meadows may not have the appeal of the Great Barrier Reef, but marine ecologists say they are just as important. “They basically underpin a lot of the diversity of estuaries,” Dr Verges said. “They are incredibly productive habitats, they provide food for a lot of animals and they are

Adriana Verges and her team in Port Stephens. Photo: ABC News

nursery habitats for important species.” Reversing the damage Seagrass species around the world are under threat and there is a global push to find solutions. On average, seagrasses are declining at the same rate as coral reefs — about one soccer field’s worth every half hour. Coastal development, dredging, pollution and boating activities are the main problems. “It’s fair to say that in the past the focus has been on preserving what seagrass we have, but that’s changed,” Dr

Verges said. “It’s still a priority, but we’re now in an era where we’ve done so much environmental damage that we’ve had to start focussing on restoring and reversing that damage.” Dr Verges’ team is working to save posidonia, which is now endangered in six estuaries in NSW. At the current rate of destruction, it could become locally extinct within decades. Boat mooring threat In Port Stephens, the team is rehabilitating what are known as mooring scars.

These are large patches of bare seabed caused by block and chain boat moorings that rip the seagrass out of the seafloor. Envi ron ment a lly friendly moorings designed to prevent dragging are available, but they are typically more expensive and not as popular. The technology and design of environmentally friendly moorings have significantly improved in recent years and encouraging government to play an increased role in mandating their use would be beneficial.

UNSW researchers have been painstakingly transplanting seagrass shoots to restore damage caused by boat moorings. Photo: Grumpy Turtle Creative

Techniques to tackle trying conditions * from P30

been a few super quiet days too. Back in the river, the discoloured water is beginning to be pushed back on a larger run-in tide. Bream have been fairly active, with good quality fish showing up on bait as well as lures. Poor visibility at the moment has resulted in hard-body lures having success, as the vibrawww.bnbfishing.com.au

tion and noise coming from the internal rattles makes them a little easier for fish to find. Most fish are staying fairly close to the rock walls because this is the safest place for them, with a few toothy critters cruising the murky water. Flathead have been a little harder to tempt, but mullet, pilchard and prawns have all been good bait options.

The hard-body lures and vibes such as Samaki Vibelicious, Nomad and Zerek Fish Traps have also been worth trying in the muddy water. The brighter colours have been the best bet, with pink, white and chartreuse being a few of the better options. With Easter around the corner, it has been good to see quality mud crabs being

caught after the last lot of rain. Both creeks have been producing a few, along with the main river from the ferry up to Pimlico Island. If we don’t see too much more rain by the time Easter rolls around, you’ll have to start looking in the main river between Pimlico and Broadwater and up as far as the double bridges in

Emigrant Creek. Don’t forget we have the 2021 Daiwa Bream Series Atomic Ballina qualifier here at the end of May. So, get along and check out the best bream anglers in the country – and pick up a few hints and tips – on May 29-30. Well, that’s about all from me this month, until next time – tight lines!

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 31

Gold Coast angler Warric Johnston paid a visit to Iluka during March chasing tuna and was rewarded with this nice fish.

Warric Johnston and Mischa Porter had a ball spinning up a feed of chopper tailor from the Iluka Bluff on lures.

Mischa Porter of Iluka with a solid longtail tuna taken from the break wall on a surface popper. Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

Iluka pelagics fire up

OW, I’m not sure about you but I for one find it hard to believe that it’s April already, as it only seems a few weeks ago we were celebrating New Year’s Day. For myself, April 2021 has a special feel about it because it marks the beginning of my thirtieth year writing monthly columns for this great publication. When I first started way back, all my articles were written with an old ribbon typewriter on A4 plain paper that I would either post or occasionally fax to the office. Photographs were taken using a Minolta SLR camera with 400 ISO film that I would have developed and then mail the actual photos to the office for each publication. All diagrams of rigs, how to rig bait and mud maps of fishing spots were all hand-drawn

Just Jew by TYE PORTER

with no editing or special touch-ups and as for the articles, these were faxed to the office and published as drawn. The internet as we knew it back then was really available only to government agencies and emails were yet to be introduced to the general community, and as far as a mobile phone... well, Motorola’s pride and joy was actually the size of a house brick and had to be carried in a bag with handles. Each month I would get paid by cheque… yes folks, I am that old. For many years I covered the coastline from Minnie Water in the south and north to Lennox Head before Gary ‘Squidgie’ Palmer and Brett Hyde came on board and covered the Evans Head and Bal-

lina areas respectively. Anyway, enough of that because the important news is that the Iluka area has been firing for solid tailor, mackerel and longtail tuna over the past month and, as long as we don’t get a major flood this month, these species should continue to dominate catches. Main Beach has had an awesome narrow gutter on it right beside the Iluka Break Wall carpark, and anglers have been having a whale of a time during the day casting surface poppers into it for tailor averaging around the 2.5kg mark, then at night switching to flesh bait for even bigger fish. Similar fishing is to be had further north at Iluka Bluff on lures with choppers under * continued P33

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Iluka pelagics fire up * from P32

4kg being spun up from the southern end of the headland, while on the northeast corner of the rocks many smaller sized fish have also been falling to lures. The break wall has been reasonable, with small longtail tuna around the 7-10kg mark and the occasional bigger fish to 17kg, while the best spanish mackerel to be landed so far weighed 17.5kg and was taken on a live garfish. Also, plenty of large schools of bonito are coming along the wall, so if catching big tailor is your thing, it’d be well worth the effort to spend a few hours on the wall catching these little critters for bait. Gold Coast mangrove jack guru and good friend Warric Johnston paid a visit for a few days and returned home happy as a pig in mud after landing a few tuna

from the wall spinning with lures, though I did promise not to mention the broken rods and lost lures, so I’d better leave it at that. Several nice spotted mackerel were also spun up off the wall on lures, so with April being the best month for big pelagics in this area, the fishing should only get better… if that’s possible. Sure, there are the dead days where nothing gets hooked, but by and large the days when it’s on definitely make it worth putting in the time and energy, which applies to all forms of fishing really. Catches of both spotted and spanish mackerel have also dominated offshore catches, with excellent bags of each species being taken every day the swell allows. Both the southern grounds off Minnie Water and the northern

waters off Woody Head are fishing well. Inside the Clarence River things have gone a little quiet again due to another flow of fresh coming down the upper reaches, however a feed of bream and flathead is not too hard to come by in the very bottom end of the river around Iluka and Yamba, as even on the smallest of tide, clean water pushes back upstream on the bottom. Towards the end of the month mullet should start showing up in good numbers and this in turn will see good numbers of large jewfish move into the river to meet them on their yearly run, so keep an eye on spots such as the T-Piece on the break wall at Yamba because this is one of the first spots in the lower river that will start to hold mullet at night. In the Evans River, start looking for mullet

into other areas, impacting trade in the region. The disease also shut down all seven farms and put them out of production for almost two years. That is why it’s important to stop disease introductions, such as white spot. Imported raw prawns sold at supermarkets may carry diseases which, if introduced into our marine environment, could have devastating consequences on our prawn populations. Australian prawns only make up 40 percent of consumer demand in

Australia, which means prawns are imported from other countries to meet demand. Even Australian prawns from the supermarket pose a risk of cross-contamination with raw imported prawns and, if used as bait, may introduce diseases into our waterways. Buy bait from a bait shop or service station – these are safe to use – or catch your own. If you do catch your own bait, remember movement restrictions are in place for raw prawns, yabbies and marine worms caught

Talk about a smorgasbord of bait, part of the stomach contents of Warric’s tuna included white pillies, herring and garfish.

at night at the Bream Hole, while up at Ballina scout around the banks at night from the boat harbour behind the police station to upstream as far as the Burns Point Ferry during the slack high water. At the risk of sounding like a cracked record, when you’re out and about, keep your lights off the water and use your ears to listen for rustling mullet or even better, jewfish chopping into the mullet because on a still night feeding jew can be heard from over 500m away, if you only

take the time to listen. The water off Ten Mile Beach at Shark Bay has fished really well for tarwhine and swallowtail dart on worms and pipis, and if you strike it lucky and find a few shallow deadend gutters to cast a small soft plastic or blade lure into, a feed of pan-sized flathead has been available. April is sure to provide another good month of fishing, so get out and enjoy the cooler evenings as we slowly make our way towards winter. Until next month, safe fishing.

in southeast Queensland. This means you can’t take these animals out of the area, unless they are cooked first. If you suspect white

spot disease, take a photo of the prawn, collect a sample and refrigerate, then report it to Biosecurity Queensland online or call 13 25 23.

Not all raw prawns can be used as bait

HILE most know, the reason behind buying bait from a bait shop or service station and not from a supermarket is due to the risk of spreading disease. In late 2016 and early 2017, white spot syndrome virus, the causative agent for white spot disease, was confirmed on seven prawn farms in southeast Queensland, and then in waterways around the Logan River and Moreton Bay. Movement restrictions were subsequently put in place to stop the spread of the disease www.bnbfishing.com.au

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Break out the high-speed gear n It’s longtail tuna time n Noosa River options

O you remember this time last year? With COVID-19 closing many areas including freshwater dams, lakes and parks as well as beach access and restricting charter operations, this year is very different… with no closures. We sure are lucky to live up here in paradise! April is one of the best months to catch pelag-

Sunshine Coast by GRANT BUDD

ics with North, Halls, Chardons and Sunshine reefs off Noosa the more popular areas. With a great variety of fish such as yellowfin and longtail tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, spotted and big spanish mackerel on offer, it’s no wonder they’re popular

because they all fight hard. On the bottom, snapper, pearl perch, cobia, coral trout, sweetlip and many more are available. Pilchard floaters claim the fish feeding higher in the water column and traditional

Roy Helling with brace of longtail tuna taken on small slugs. Photos: fishing noosa.com.au Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

paternoster rigs are getting the best of reef fish. This is especially true for those on anchor with mackerel, a species that loves a good berley trail. If you’re chasing a feed of spotty mackerel, a great way to find them is to look for birds. Mackerel will hang under feeding tuna, so it’s always worth casting at them. Increase your chrome slug to 40g to get the faster sink and then rip it in after 10-20 seconds for the bite. Easter is a great time to break out high-speed and diving lures, as the cooler water attracts bigger spanish mackerel and longtail in stronger numbers. It pays to mix up colours and dive depths to see what works on the day. The Red Head and Pilchard colours are generally more popular, with many options from Nomad and Rapala. There will always be a debate over the use of wire or not. If in doubt, use single strand wire but only around 6”, which will offer you a little resistance to razor-sharp teeth. The Easter holidays are a great time of the year to dust off the camping gear and head up to Noosa North Shore. Not known for huge fish during the day, you can always fish light and target the small

bream, dart and whiting from the shore. One spot that does well, particularly for those with kayaks, is the stretch along Teewah Beach heading north. Be on the lookout for gutters with a good entry and exit point, as this will bring the better-quality fish in and make beach launching easier. Spanish and longtail tuna are often caught offshore and you don’t need to paddle very far. Trolled bait and lures work best here, especially during an early morning high tide. Trevally are hot on the bite in the Noosa River, with anglers getting in on the action in Woods Bay and around Munna Point Bridge. Surface poppers have been working well at dawn, in particular the super fun sized Zerek Poparazzi and Jackall Chubby Popper 42 lures. Tailor have also been coming into the river system and the mouth is the place to be. Pillies rigged on a set of 3/0 gangs is one of the most effective ways to target them. Look to fish during periods of big swell and a spring tide because this often pushes large amounts of bait into the river and predatory fish follow close behind. Large flathead will also take this rig, so if you’re after them try using a snell rig. This is far better for flatties, particularly * continued P35

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Lake Borumba is the perfect inshore option should conditions blow up offshore. Before the water temperature drops, using small surface lures will work a treat early morning and towards the end of the day for bigger bass. Another great option is the Rapala XRap Twitchin’ Mullet, which is a slow-sink lure that swims during a slow retrieve and gets those fish not committing to a surface strike. Most bass seem to be coming from timber, so slow-rolling soft plastics or hopping blades have been producing the goods. Tail spinners and vibration lures are also great options. These often entice

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Brad and Rob, there was a bottle of Merlot for the largest fish, so there was plenty of banter on whose was the best.

John Hooker’s first legal red emperor of the trip coming in at 8kg.

Rainbow Beach red emperor trip, take three

LUB member John Hooker has finally moved to Rainbow Beach to enjoy his retirement and has asked Commodore Rob out on a number of trips that have all been ill-fated to say the least. Motor issues and the weather were the main players in the nonevents, but this time with a great weather

Power Boat Anglers by MICK CLUTTERBUCK

window and everything serviced on the catamaran, they along with ‘No. 2’ deckie Brad, were all good to go. In an effort to get Brad onto his first red emperor, John had decided to do the big miles, so they

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were up at 4am and had a quick breakfast before setting off. Once loaded, they drove to the Bullocky Rest ramp where John assured them sandflies weren’t a problem, so no chemicals were applied. On arriving, they went about getting the big Noosa Cat ready and noticed one or two sandflies. These were soon joined by numerous friends, leaving Rob doing a type of German beer dance while Brad ran for the Bushman repellent. Once in the water they headed to the bar then out through Fishermans Gutter. First stop was about 50km out, with the drop bringing up a few tuskfish and a nice pearl perch.

After what seemed to be 60 minutes, John said they were 5km off the mark… though they arrived an hour later – not sure he actually had a watch. The sounder lit up with a good show on a little bump, so they kept looking at other close marks and set up a drift. The current was good, which was a surprise because it was after a dark moon. Brad was the first to get a red emperor, albeit a junior model. This was followed by a slightly larger one, while John and Rob got in on the act landing a few nice tuskies. Brad was into it again and set the hooks on a good fish, but as it hit the deck, he realised that once again his red was slightly short on one end. Next John got a subtle bite that put a bend in his rod, producing the

first legal red of the trip at 8kg. Rob then got hit and, not knowing whether the sharks were around, went hard on a good red, only to have the hooks pull just below the boat. On the next drift, Brad was on big time and after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, John slid the net under another 8kg fish to join the other in the Esky. There was a bottle of Merlot for the largest fish, so there was plenty of banter on whose was the best and with Rob not on the scoreboard, he was copping it. He got another hit and was again onto a good fish, but this time took it a bit easier producing a 6kg specimen for the box, slightly down on the size of the others but welcome all the same. John was back on again, this time a 7kg * continued P38

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Filter paper can reveal species under the sea

NEW study from Australia’s national science agency CSIRO in waters off the Western Australian coast has shown that floating a special kind of filter paper in seawater can reveal which species are present in an area.

The study detected environmental DNA, which is shed by plants and animals in aquatic environments, leaving behind unique traces from each species. Until now, collecting eDNA was time consuming, and required pumps and other equip-

Dr Cindy Bessey uses a special filter paper to collect samples.

ment to filter seawater samples. The discovery means suspending cellulose filter papers in sea water could be a lowtech way to survey the fish species present on reefs, monitor biodiversity in Australia’s remote marine parks or provide early warning of biosecurity pests. CSIRO Environomics Future Science Platform marine scientist Dr Cindy Bessey said, “Our new method means it is no longer necessary to filter sea water to collect eDNA – saving time and opening up the technology for use in places where access to equipment or power is limited.” eDNA is recognised as a humane alternative to trawling and safer than using divers to detect species and assess biodiversity. Passive eDNA collection using filter papers

enables more samples to be collected, increasing the range of ecological questions that eDNA can address. “Many studies investigating biodiversity or species distribution require more samples than it’s possible to collect if you need to filter eDNA from water,” Dr Bessey said. “It would take me nearly 30 minutes to filter water through just three filter papers at one site.” The inventive use of filter papers was inspired by spending many hours at sea in a small dinghy with a water filter strapped to her back. “I knew I needed to find a more efficient way if I was going to survey 100 sites,” she said. The study drew eDNA samples from contrasting Western Australian marine areas – tropical

Ashmore Reef and temperate Daw Island. The results have been made publicly available on the Atlas of Living Australia. CSIRO Environomics Future Science Platform director Dr Olly Berry said, “We’ve given people open access to a visual representation of the species we detected, as well as the eDNA sequences we observed during the study.” “This means our results are available for anyone who wants to access eDNA information from our study areas. “It’s amazing how much information about biodiversity can be collected from simple filter papers dipped into the sea.” The team is now developing a simple device for passive eDNA collection in marine and fresh waterways.

Rainbow Beach red emperor trip, take three * from P34

red hit the deck. Rob was happy the skipper was doubling up but couldn’t help thinking that this rarely happened on his boat. The fish went a bit quiet, so they tried out wider and found a steady bite, landing more decent parrotfish and gold spot wrasse, with one of John’s pushing 5kg, which was fairly impressive. Needing fuel and ice, and with a twohour plus run back to the ramp, they left the

fish biting and headed west, vowing to return the next day. Monday’s alarm went off, so after a quick brekky and a bath in Bushman’s they were straight out to the mark from the previous day. Rob’s first drop with the same rig couldn’t find the bottom. The current that was missing the day before had turned up in spades. Using 16 and 24oz sinkers only got to the bottom for a couple of seconds and if

Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

they didn’t get a bite straight up, they had to let as much line out as they dared hoping for a fish. Rob was getting good tuskies by letting out more than 300m once they got a bite, just to let them swallow it. Fishing was tough, almost near impossible, so they elected to move 12km south. On arrival, the current was the same and unfishable, so they headed into the 40km mark and finally got out of the run.

There were no reds around but it was fishable and the fishers were able to get their bag of tuskies and add a few more gold spot wrasse. By mid-afternoon, all a bit worn out, they decided to call it early and head home. The red mission was a success after two previous failed attempts. It was also good to finally get to John’s new red spot, which looks promising for future takes. Brad and Rob sent

a big thanks to John Hooker for a great couple of days, and the lack of sharks was a godsend. Next meetings Meetings times have changed and now occur on the first Wednesday of every month at ‘The Club Manly’ (bowls club), 26 Faine St Manly, from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Upcoming meetings are Wednesday April 7 and Wednesday May 5. Until next month, safe boating.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Spectacular Seventeen Seventy sortie

I, well Easter isn’t far away and soon my part of the country will have lots of tourists around – all having a great time, I hope. We may just pack up and do a four or five-day trip out west, to get away from the busy coast over the break, because Easter is a great time to travel west if it’s not wet. Fishing-wise, good mackerel should still be around, and the current might start to back off out wide and it will start to get cooler at night. I haven’t been fishing or crabbing recently, as I’m in full Cape York sortie mode. The boat is finished, I just have to service the outboard and fit a new water-pump impellor. The four-wheel-drive is ready, and the plan is to head off up the Cape after Easter, once the wet season rain up at the Cape has stopped and the road is open. I have two trips planned this year, with ‘Plan B’ on one of them. The first trip is to head up to Weipa and fish with my friend Dave for four to six weeks, and hopefully fish 120km further up the west coast a few times during this jaunt. If we’re lucky we may even jag a legal red emperor and largemouth nannygai, as it’s been many years since I caught legal size of these species up at the Cape. Hopefully, I’ll do a good job of filming the catches on my Gowww.bnbfishing.com.au

Noosa to Fraser Coast by CRAIG TOMKINSON

Pro for this publication and YouTube. Once home from that trip, if all states are open to travel, I’ll unload boat, pack the camping gear away, then I’ll pack our wind-up Jayco, service the 4wd again, hook the van up and on June 19 – after weeks of getting all our relevant exemptions and permits to access traditional owner lands – Donna, the kids and I will hit the road for eight weeks. Our first stop will be Nhulunbuy to visit my friend Nathan, stay there for a few days and maybe go fishing if the weather allows. Then from Nhulunbuy head back to Katherine and across to Kununurra, Wyndham and up to Kalumburu – we plan to stay a day or two at each and perhaps four

at Honeymoon Beach. Then back to Derby, down the Western Australian coast to Perth and work our way home. But if state borders are shut and Queensland is open, we’ll go for four weeks and do the Cape and Gulf of Carpentaria. A trip Donna has been trying to organise for a while was to book the six of us on the LARC Paradise tour out of Seventeen Seventy. Well, it finally happened and to top it off the date of the trip was on my lovely wife Donna’s fiftieth birthday! The tour was booked for the Saturday, so on the Friday evening after our son Gavin finished work, we had the wind-up van hooked up and our gear packed.

We drove to about 20 minutes out from Agnes Water and free camped on a back road at an old council gravel pit – to ensure we would make it for the early start of the tour the next morning. We got up early and drove around 1770, then got a car park, signed in, and at 9am with 16 others, we headed off towards Bustard Head to see the lighthouse and everything in between. I must say the LARC is an awesome machine. It goes anywhere with ease – across rivers, on beaches, over rocks, it surfs… it does it all. We even drove on beaches that only a few government departments are allowed on.

The LARC Paradise tour was an unreal day. We saw shore birds, white-breasted sea eagles, sea snakes, stingrays, turtles and the amazing restored Bustard Head lighthouse and buildings. Skipper Macca and deckhand Kev with their local knowledge made the trip even better, and the tucker was great. My teenage sons loved the sandboarding and I managed to give it a go a few times. I would say it’s the best tour I have been on in Queensland, maybe Australia. There was not one moment on the tour that I thought I’ve had enough of this trip – my whole family loved it. Until next month, be safe in your travels.

The view from Bustard Head back towards Round Hill and Seventeen Seventy.

The Bustard Head lighthouse.

The LARC has a Cummins V903 motor and is 80 percent alloy. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 39

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2021 Catch and Release Mangrove Jack Comp wrap up

’DAY crew, I hope you have all been keeping well over the past few weeks and keeping those rods bent! By all reports most of you have been out wetting a line or two and there have been plenty of stories told in the store lately. A pretty common one has been the number of squid people have been catching. As I said last month, the squid are here and they are in good num-

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bers – all you need to do is get out there and toss a jig around. The staff, affectionately known as the ‘Chanfam’, have been getting out among them too and are more than willing to show you how to target these yummy critters. As you all know, our 2021 Catch and Release Mangrove Jack Competition has been running

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for the past two months and wrapped up at midday on February 28. 68 anglers fished from January 2 for the comp duration. The aim was to get three legal fish to make up a bag, get on the scoreboard and upgrade from there with the next biggest fish… and wow, there were great fish caught! Competitors could fish the whole of the Great Sandy Straits, from the back end of the Tin Can Inlet, Mullens Creek, up to Urangan Pier, over to Moon Point and back down the western side of Fraser Island to Wide Bay Bar. We had a total of 120 fish caught to make up the full bags including upgrades and there were another 65 fish recorded that didn’t make

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up a full bag. Then there were the fish that weren’t counted by anglers because there wasn’t an upgrade for them. That’s a lot of angry red fish if you ask me and it’s a good sign of how healthy the population is. Results • Winner of biggest bag: Mal Kay with a total of 155.50 points • Largest fish: Hairs Had ziosma novic, 550mm • Mystery length: John Maslen Jr, 400mm • Photo competition: Jed Lee. Along with lucky door prizes, our total prize pool was valued at over $2,500! We would like to thank our generous sponsors – without their support this comp wouldn’t be possible. So, a big thank you to Wilson Fishing, EJ Todd, Spotters Sunglasses and BJS Custom Rods. Mixed in with mangrove jack were of

course good catches of cod, grunter, bream and quite a few barramundi too. Most of the barra reports have come from Kauri Creek over the past couple of weeks, with fish of more than 80cm being caught. Now, if you want to improve your chances of snagging a Tin Can Bay or Great Sandy Strait barra, it will help to actively target this iconic fish. I say it all the time to customers, if you want to catch a certain species you need to ‘target’ them. This will increase your catch rate of the particular fish you’re after and decrease the by-catch. There’s no point throwing barra lures if you are targeting whiting. Speaking of whiting, there have been reports of good catches from the Straits, fishing the flats on a flood tide with live yabbies.

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Nadia out catching a good feed of local Tin Can Bay squid.

Jed Lee and a bit of by-catch for the competition.

2021 Catch and Release Mangrove Jack Comp wrap up * from P44

Fishing on the beaches a few days before a full moon has also been producing good numbers. Again, fresh yabbies and worm fished on a light whiting rig in flooding gutters are a proven winner. Working a small clear popper across the top of the shallow gutters has also resulted in nice summer whiting and by-catch of flathead, bream and tarwhine. Crabs have been patchy again this month, but fishos putting in the effort have been getting the rewards. We need a few big rainfalls to help flush out the creeks. In saying that, the creeks have been fishwww.bnbfishing.com.au

ing fairly well for the past couple of months. Flathead have been very productive around creek mouths on a bigger run-out tide. Working 4-5’’ grub tail plastics has been a winner along with lightly weighted whitebait or a live herring. Offshore fishing has been on fire when the weather and swells allow. Mixed bags of pelagic fish such as amberjack, spanish mackerel, longtail tuna and cobia have been keeping anglers stretched and the reef fishing has not disappointed either. Swags of big red emperor, good trout, tuskfish, parrotfish and nannygai have all been coming home for dinner.

Don’t forget, if you don’t have a boat that can get you over the Wide Bay Bar, there are a number of local charter crews who operate out of Carlo Point Marina most days ending in ‘y’. Keely Rose, Baitrunner and Double Island Point Fishing Charters to name a few offshore charters. Well, that’s enough from me this month. So, take care, get out there and explore our great part of the world – fresh or salt. Oh, and in case you haven’t heard, we now have kayaks for hire! The Chandlery Bait and Tackle for all your boating and fishing needs. Cheers and tight lines.

Mal Kay with one of his winning fish for largest bag.

Wyatt Lee and a nice mangrove jack for the competition. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 45

Tuna casting tips I

Justin smiling with a new personal best longtail tuna.

Bader with his first longtail. A typical sized autumn schoolie.

Pete with his first queenfish.

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

T’S tuna time! Plenty of tuna are around but that doesn’t necessarily guarantee success. Tuna, as for any fish, can be fickle and I find the mack tuna are the worst. Throw shark attacks into the fray and what could have been a five fish day turns out to be a doughnut. There are many things you can do to help tilt the success scales in your favour and they don’t have to involve a $1,000 combo, $2,000

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Fraser Guided Fishing by TRI TON

drone, the latest and greatest stickbait or a GoPro. It’s just basic simple things that usually bring success. Yet we find time to watch all the latest social media fads and often ignore the simple things. Step one has to be casting. It amazes me how often people who call themselves anglers have very poor technique. Casting is one of the most basic things a lure fisho does every fishing trip… unless you only drop jigs deep to the sea floor. I have seen so many styles of casting, but I don’t think you can go past the method I teach, or something similar. The physics of a tuna casting outfit doesn’t allow for much variability in technique. If you are a poor caster, it won’t matter if

you have a $1,000 combo, it will only make you look more foolish. Poor technique not only means short and inaccurate casts, but also damage to your braid and leader knot from slapping around rod guides and bail arms. At times it can slap the bail arm shut and snap the line clean off. The worst case I’ve seen… the bail arm shut, the line didn’t snap but the power of the dud cast ripped a brand-new Shimano Terez/Stella combo out of the fisher’s hands and into the loving embrace of King Neptune. Start by winding in the line and leave the lure about 50-80cm from tip – a little room here for personal preference – but beginners shouldn’t be short or too long. Your dominant hand should now grip the * continued P47

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Jacko and a monster missile longtail tuna.

Paul with a big queenfish.

Tuna casting tips * from P46

rod, reel seat stem between the webbing of the ring and middle fingers, thumb pointing up to the rod tip for stability. Grip is firm but not choked and inflexible. Point the index finger towards the spool. Rotate bail or rotor with the other hand until the line roller is next to the pointed fingertip. Lift the line off the line roller with the pointed fingertip – if your finger is too short, use your free hand to assist. Line tension created by the lure’s weight will prevent the line from slipping off a slightly bent index fingertip. Do not clamp the line to the rod with your fingers. Now and only now do you open the bail arm over. There should be no tangles on the reel or rod. The line should be taut from spool to fingertip, from finger to stripper guide. Face your target, lever the rod back over the www.bnbfishing.com.au

casting shoulder. Support the butt of the rod at its base with your weak hand – this becomes your anchor point. With a sword or axe chopping motion propel the lure, release the line when the dominant hand passes your ear

by straightening your finger. This is the basic technique for spin gear with medium to heavy lures. You can learn more on tour with me as I don’t have the words here to do it. I will continue with more tips next issue.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 47

A change of season sees a change of species

ITH the beginning of autumn, the change in season will see water temperature begin to drop and a corresponding change in species. The highwater temperature we experienced over summer saw the stocked barramundi active in Lake Monduran and good catches of wild stock in a few of our local rivers and creeks, as well as hardfighting mangrove jack making a regular appearance in keen anglers’ Eskies. While the water temperature remains high, these species will continue to be active feeders and targeted by anglers. As we move through the full moons of March, April and May, keen whiting anglers will be targeting this species as they move into our estuaries to spawn. With many of our waterways busy with boat traffic during daylight hours, the keenest anglers will be heading out in the quieter evenings to target their fa-

vourite whiting haunts under the cover of darkness. The Elliott, Burnett and Kolan rivers and Baffle Creek are all ideal areas to target whiting, especially on the edges of banks using fresh yabbies for bait. If you’re looking at gearing up for whiting, look for a slightly longer rod of around 8’, with a soft whippy action especially in the tip. Using a rod of this style ensures the occasionally subtle bite of whiting can be detected by the angler, with the whiting not being aware of the angler on the other end of the line. The lightest line possible is my recommendation and a 6lb is a great start. Go lighter if you’re fishing on sand, where there are fewer larger bream. If you are fishing over a rubbly bottom or where you may encounter a flathead or large bream, you can either

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simply add a heavier leader of 9lb, or up your entire main line to this size. The best reels are either the Alvey, a Queensland favourite, or a spinning reel. The ideal rig is simply a running ball sinker sitting atop a small swivel, a trace of up to 1m and a long-shank hook. Hook size will reflect the size of bait you are using. Another species that will begin to make its presence felt as water temperature drops is the humble but popular bream. Bream are usually recognised as a winter species because this is when their main spawning runs occur. Don’t be surprised though if a few goodsized early season bream begin to appear as soon as the water temperature drops even a little, and particularly around the full and new moon phases.

The outfit used for whiting is also suitable for bream, as they can be finnicky when on the bite. Again, with a light tip the angler will detect the fish biting but not alert the fish to the angler on the other end of the line. The only change necessary is a possible move up to a 9lb line, and occasionally an even heavier 15lb trace if you’re fishing around rocky areas or oysters. The Burnett and Kolan rivers each have classic bream territory present – rock walls and rock bars, which are prime bream habitat. If you’re fishing along the North Wall in the Burnett at night, don’t be afraid to drop an unweighted prawn roughly at your feet among the rocks. Often anglers will cast out as far as possible, actually taking their bait away from the best bream habitat… the rocks at their feet. Rigs for bream are usually of two types, a running ball above a long trace usually with a larger sinker or a ball

sinker sitting atop the hook without a trace or swivel. The first rig is often used in deeper water, with a larger sinker to hold the bait on the bottom and the long trace allowing the bait to move in the current. The second rig is ideal for shallow water with less run. By far the three best types of bait for our local area are fresh yabbies, fresh mullet flesh or gut and live or fresh sprat. I prefer the lead-up to a full and new moon when the tide is bigger, and I’ll often target either the last of the run-in tide or the last of the run-out. Fishing at night or pre-dawn if land-based are prime times, and try to be as quiet as possible because bream can be flighty if there’s a lot of noise or movement, especially in shallower water. As always, I can be contacted via email at f ish nboat@big pond. com or via mail at PO Box 5812, Bundaberg West Queensland 4670. Until next month…

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Sharks were a huge problem at Swain Reefs and the author watched as this giant trevally ate a trout he’d hooked and then as a shark came through and bit the trevally. Chasing giant trevally on the pressure points of reefs with Zerek Zappelin stickbaits was great fun and accounted for a huge amount of them over the trip.

Testing times on Swain Reefs

W The author spent a little time in deeper water away from the main reefs to locate red emperor. Unfortunately, sharks made it extremely difficult to land any.

ELL, it’s been a while between articles but after a crazy 2020, which I’m sure many experienced, I’ll endeavour to try a little harder this year. I did manage an epic trip to Swain Reefs in my 7m boat and followed

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Offshore - Part 1 by GREG LAMPRECHT

this up with a drive to the central Queensland coastline near Yeppoon, where we fished from the Shoalwater Bay area for a week. The fishing was exceptional, and we filmed both trips – which will be available on DVD and digital download in coming months. Speaking of Swains, I was lucky recently to be invited by Wilson on a 10-day trip to the Swain Reefs on board Big Cat Reality Fishing Charters. This was a producttesting exploratory trip into the middle and upper regions of the reefs, where we would selfguide our way around 25-plus different reef systems. We had Mark Berg and winning member Phil on board filming a TV show, and also a great bunch of talented fishos to share the trip with. Being a 10-day trip with six days fishing, it would be impossible to cover the highlights over one article, so I’ll break

it into two or three parts so I can go into a little more detail. The 30-hour trip from Bundaberg was a little rough, but we woke to glorious conditions for our first day of fishing around East Cay. For this trip, I was teamed up with Dane Radosevic from Fisho’s Tackle World Hervey Bay, which was great as we had similar ideas and plans of what we wanted to achieve. We headed off in one of the 4.3m tenders supplied by Big Cat and went looking for pressure points, where the current hits the frontleading edges of the reefs. This is where bait often congregates and giant trevally love to inhabit. It didn’t take long to find what we were looking for and in no time at all we caught a few nice GTs, got busted up and had an awesome aerial strike from a spanish mackerel, all on 220mm * continued P51

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Testing times on Swain Reefs * from P50

Zerek Zappelin stickbaits. When the topwater action slowed up, we got into coral trout on Mustad Wingman jigs before heading to another reef in perfect glassed-out conditions. The next reef looked even better and we could see bait being pushed up against the leading edge of the reef and predatory fish feeding on them. The next hour was insane and a moment Dane and I will never forget. We had GTs and mackerel swimming around and under the boat in crystal-clear calm water. Dane nailed a nice GT on the second cast and it wasn’t long before the 220mm Zerek Zappelin stickbait I cast was smashed on the surface by a huge GT. I had the Wilson Venom PE 8 Popping rod loaded right up – as the fish pulled plenty of line against a heavy drag, I had a feeling it was a special fish. When it finally hit the surface, we saw its true size and celebrated with cheers and high fives. I was well and truly worn out, with zero wind it was easily the hottest temperature we’ve ever fished in, so catching big GTs definitely took its toll. Once again, we moved to another reef to get a little air flow and to find a fresh spot to fish. More GTs were caught on Zerek Zappelin stickbaits and also a few coral trout around the reef edges on Mustad Wingman jigs and Zerek Live Shrimp lures. One trout I was pulling up was eaten by a GT under the boat, which made for a long fight on www.bnbfishing.com.au

the lighter tackle I was using. Unfortunately, a shark took a bite out of the GT directly under the boat before I could land it. Talk about a fish eat fish moment. The next day we fished another new location and I marked out an area I thought would be suited to red emperor. It was a fairly large area of flat-looking country in deeper water of around 60m or so. After catching trout, red throat emperor and green jobfish around the main reefs, we went sounding in our chosen area. A couple of hours later, I found a great show on an isolated rock and was confident we’d found what we were looking. I had caught a hussar on a jig earlier and decided to take the fillets off it and drop it down on a paternoster rig. Dane opted to use a Mustad Wingman jig and it wasn’t long before both of us were hookedup on a few big fish. Unfortunately, Dane

pulled the hooks on his fish but soon hooked-up again only to be sharked not long after. I was still pulling mine up when a shark bit its tail off under the boat, but I was still happy we’d got the majority of the fish back and confirmed they were indeed nice red emperor. That’s where the fun stopped however, as every red we hooked got eaten by sharks and after several attempts we decided there was no point wasting good fish and drove away from them. The afternoon was spent chasing trout, redthroat emperor, green jobfish and coral cod on plastics and jigs around the reef edge, but once again the sharks found us and ruined all the fun. The first two days of fishing was crazy on so many levels and this would continue for the remainder of the trip, which I’ll cover in Part 2. Until next month, tight lines.

Dane Radosevic with one of many beautiful coral trout caught on Mustad Wingman jigs.

The author with a big Swain Reefs giant trevally caught on a 220mm Zerek Zappelin stickbait and a Wilson Venom PE 8 Popping rod.

The Mustad Wingman jigs accounted for a huge range of fish including many double-ups on the same jig. Dane showed off a nice double of coral trout and redthroat emperor. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 51

BOATING & marine Insights into boat insurance

Check your value in booming boat sales

OAT sales are booming in Australia and that’s a very good reason to check exactly how your boat is insured, and for how much money if things were to go pearshaped. Anecdotally, the increase in sales is being attributed to a variety of reasons. Many say boats are being purchased rather than overseas holidays as a result of COVID-19. In other instances, COVID has resulted in problems in the marine industry supply chain, so there are less new boats to meet the demand which in turn drives boat prices up. Boat builders simply can’t get their fixtures and fittings from suppliers due to COVID’s impact on factory production schedules.

People are looking to reconnect with family members through the enjoyment of boating. There are a myriad of reasons driving the market, but the bottom line remains that more boats are being ordered and bought today than in recent years. The prices also have risen as dealers struggle to secure stocks of high-quality used boats. The end result is that boat prices have risen, but have you sought to ensure that the insurance coverage on your boat is adequate? Many boat owners fail to understand that there are two main streams to boat insurance in terms of covering loss. The first is the ‘market value’. That is the figure which appropriately

qualified specialist boat retailers in the marine industry regard as a fair and reasonable price for your boat. It may be a higher figure than you paid for your boat. It may be a lower figure. It’s the ‘market value’ amount – today’s fair and reasonable retail price for your boat in its current state. It is not the value of the boat when it was new four years ago. Market value is the saleable price of your boat in today’s market. The second mainstream is ‘agreed value’. That is a price agreed between you and your insurer. If you purchased a brand-new boat today from a well credentialled professional boat retailer, the

‘agreed value’ would most probably be the amount of money you paid for the boat before towing it out of the dealership. Certain policies state they will pay the full replacement cost if any total loss is suffered within a certain time frame from purchase or policy inception. However, after that time frame they automatically default the sum insured to ‘market value’. This is despite the fact that your policy might note the words ‘insured value’ and a price on the documentation. That’s the price at the time the boat was originally insured – it is not the price you will be paid out. It therefore is important, particularly in a rising market such as now, to confirm the actual market value of your boat and to set that as an ‘agreed value’ with your insurer. Check your policy thoroughly. If it defaults to market value after a certain time, go to a respected marine dealer – probably the one you purchased your new boat from – have them

inspect it and appraise its true value and prepare a market valuation form. Then when you renew the premium, attach that accurate market valuation form to your policy renewal form and get your insurer to double-check the premium. You might be paying a few dollars more because the value of your boat is recognised as being higher, but when it all goes pear-shaped, you can expect to be paid the ‘immaculate condition’ figure, which you now have agreed with your insurer, rather than a depreciated market value figure that was based on average values for that make and model. When it comes to marine insurance always check your Product Disclosure Statement and if you have a query, ask your insurer for clarification. Any special conditions and excesses should always be explained clearly in your insurance policy’s PDS. If you need further information, contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements.

Advice in this article is general and might not apply or be right for you. Before acting on it, consider its appropriateness having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. Nautilus Marine Insurance is a business name of NM Insurance Pty Ltd ABN 34 100 633 038 AFSL 227 186 (NM Insurance), the issuer of Nautilus Marine Boat Insurance. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement at nautilusinsurance.com.au before deciding whether to purchase a policy.

Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

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www.tohatsu.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 53

BOATING & marine

SeaPro a winner for Reef Sprinter

TEVE and Cathy Sherwell opened Reef Sprinter in Port Douglas in 2005 after spotting an opportunity to provide tourists with fast, fun snorkelling trips. The company now boasts a fleet of three custom-made rigid inflatable boats, offering visitors a range of tours

to experience the beauties of Low Isles Reef and the Great Barrier Reef. A case of trial and error led to the decision to repower with Mercury V8 4.6L 300hp SeaPro. “We started with one brand, which had good gearboxes but the engines were a problem,”

Reef Sprinter 3 has just been repowered with three SeaPro 300 V8 Verados.

The SeaPro V8 Verados can cruise comfortably at 34 knots using about 140L of fuel an hour, about 20-30L an hour better than the boat’s previous. Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

Steve said. “Then we swapped to a brand that had good engines but weak gearboxes, so we tried again and found Mercury SeaPro. “With Mercury we’ve finally got the combination of good engines with good gearboxes.” The Mercury SeaPro is engineered from the skeg to cowl to withstand the rigours of commercial use. Built using heavy-duty components, SeaPro engines are backed by a dedicated commercial warranty that includes protection against corrosion. Reef Sprinter Reef Sprinter is one of Port Douglas’ leading tourism operators, with a fleet of three custom-built 12m vessels that are now all powered by Mercury: • Reef Sprinter 1 has two SeaPro 300hp V8 Verados • Reef Sprinter 4 has three supercharged 350hp Verados • Reef Sprinter 3 has just been repowered with three SeaPro 300hp V8 Verados. Reef Sprinter 3, the company’s main boat weighing about nine tonnes fully loaded, was custom-built to take 14 passengers to the outer reef in 45 minutes, where they can enjoy an hour and a half of snorkelling before heading back to shore. “To make that work

and be exciting for our guests, we want to cruise at about 34 knots,” Steve said. “These SeaPro V8 Verados can give us a top speed of 42 knots, but we can cruise comfortably at 34 using about 140L of fuel an hour.” That’s 20-30L an hour better than the boat’s previous engines and, with Reef Sprinter 3 scheduled to do two trips a day during peak periods, those fuel savings add up – without factoring in reduced maintenance and repairs. “The new V8s were first fitted to our twin rig about a year ago and proved to be impressive, which is why we repowered our triple rig about a month ago,” Steve said. “With 60 hours of operation, they’ve proven to be reliable and economical… and they sound like a V8 supercar, which is always nice. “Reef Sprinter 4, which is a very similar boat, has three 350hp supercharged Verados that have notched up about 1900 hours and have given us no problems – the gearboxes are fine, everything’s fine – I’m not expecting any issues with these new SeaPro V8 Verados.” Before selecting the new engines, Steve spoke to Gus Bonner from Aussie Marine in

Cairns, the man who’s been looking after the Reef Sprinter boats for about 10 years. “I’d been impressed by the Mercury 350s, so when Gus told me about these new naturally-aspirated V8s, I did my research, read the reviews and decided they were the way to go,” Steve said. “Gus employs a great mechanic who did a very neat job of repowering our boats, given they were originally designed to suit another brand.” Mercury V8 4.6L 300hp SeaPros are specifically designed for go-fast boats and commercial offshore operations – perfect for Reef Sprinter’s fleet. “The engines are going really well so far,” Steve said. “They’re reliable and, now that we’ve got the props right, they are providing better economy – 20 or 30L better every hour. “The tourism industry up here still has a long way to go to recover from COVID-19, but the downtime has given us the opportunity to do the repowering. “With business slowly coming back to normal, it’s nice to have all new engines for when tourism recovers fully.” To watch a video about this business and their Mercury engines, visit the Mercury Marine Youtube Channel. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Shimano Poison Adrena

THE Poison Adrena range of rods are here to set a new standard of what a rod feels like. Perfect for all sorts of estuary and freshwater lure fishing, you won’t want to use another rod again. With six models in the range – two baitcast and four spin – there’s a model for you. The Poison Adrena range utilises Shimano’s Spiral X Core, which uses carbon tape spiralling up the inside of the rod. These blanks are stronger in all directions, all the while reducing blank twist and ovalisation in the rod. With Fuji K Stainless SiC guides and a Fuji Titanium SiC tip, you’ll experience incredibly trouble-free and accurate casting. Perfect for those who love to flick lures up into snags and around structure. The full carbon monocoque butt is an upgrade on the normal carbon monocoque butt, as the rod handle from the reel seat down is now all carbon. This increases the vibrations put out from the rod, meaning you can feel everything from rolling over snags to the slightest taps on your lure. With a Ci4+ reel seat, it’ll be one of the most comfortable rods you’ve held. Paired perfectly with a lightweight finesse reel, these rods will change the way you fish. For more information, visit shimanofish. com.au

www.bnbfishing.com.au

Thunder’s new DC-DC charger

COMPACT in size and easy to install, the new Thunder DC-DC charger is the smart way to charge your auxiliary battery, no matter your vehicle. Utilising a unique pulse charging algorithm with the intelligence to determine the best charge rate for your auxiliary battery, this charger is the perfect addition to any vehicle, requiring the management of a dual battery setup. One of the greatest features of the new DC-DC battery charger is the new remote Bluetooth LCD screen – giving you better visibility on your battery’s state of charge. The new charger also features modularsense technology allowing you to link multiple units together, giving you a 20, 40 or 60A output without having to outlay for a larger unit upfront. Suitable for gel, AGM, calcium, lead acid and now lithium batteries, Thunder’s new DC-DC charger is an ideal addition for caravans, camper trailers and fourwheel-drive vehicles. Features • Sleek new heavy duty aluminium case • Easy to read remote mount Bluetooth LCD screen • 12-24V system input with 12V output • Upgraded operating temperature of 0-90C allowing under bonnet mounting • IP67 rated – water and dust proof, ready for harsh environments • New linkable design to easily increase amperage outputs using modular-sense technology • Microchip monitoring and control fully automates high frequency multistage charging • Pulse mode technology that reduces oxidation and minimises temperature equating to longer battery life

• Unit will automatically change charge rate mapping for gel, AGM and standard lead acid • New lithium battery charging profile option • Internal charger temperature monitoring and power output control • Over charging, short circuit and over temperature protection • Reverse polarity protection • New 50V solar input with MPPT regulated output allowing 300W of solar. For more information, visit thunderauto. com.au

Shimano Stradic SW

THE new Stradic SW range takes the Stradic family of reels to the next level. Purpose-built for offshore saltwater fishing, the Stradic SW features several of the top reel technologies found in our top end reels. Drawing on the Stella SWC, both Infinity Drive and Silent Drive are included, which provides improved pinion gear support and less wobble inside the reel – translating to more powerful and smoother cranking. Improving on the Stradic FL series, the SW series incorporates all the same water resistance technologies, but also includes X-Shield, an internal structure that helps keep water out and protects the internal gears. Coming in a 5000XG, 6000XG, 8000PG and 10000HG size, the Stradic SW range will be perfect for those looking for a lighter offshore reel. For more information, visit shimanofish. com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 55

Sam with a nice mangrove jack on the surface from the Boyne River.

Blue threadfin salmon will start schooling and they love a vibration lure.

Goodbye summer species, hello autumn varieties

Y the time this publication hits there should be a chill in the air as we move well into autumn. The change of weather means the fish species we target will slowly change from barramundi and mangrove jack to blue threadfin salmon and grunter. If we’re lucky enough, we’ll still be able to actively catch all species until the weather really starts to cool down. Even though threadfin salmon can be caught year-round, they will start to school in larger numbers as they get ready to spawn. I have found good schools moving through

Gladstone Region by GARY CHURCHWARD

the anabranch and deeper sections of the Calliope River. They have been in these areas for a while now and will move through in schools and the numbers in these schools will increase as we move into cooler weather. Trolling deep divers through the schools will often result in multiple hook-ups, alternatively a soft plastic or vibe jigged around the schools will also entice a hook-up. Otherwise fishing

Abby caught her first fingermark in the harbour on a live herring around one of the many rocky drop-offs. Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

with live bait over a flat on an incoming tide will see schools of salmon moving up to feed. I find either a live mullet or garfish to be the best bait, but if you are struggling for time or it’s hard to find, a pillie with its strong oily smell will get their attention. Fingermark have been around in acceptable numbers and any bridge pylon or rocky drop-off that extends into deeper water will be a good place to start. Both the Calliope and Boyne rivers have bridges that are in deep water, as well as deep water filled with rocks – great for cover. The harbour is a more consistent area to target fingermark, with numerous headlands dropping off into deeper water. You can still pick up fish around shallow fallen timber and rock bars, but consistent fish will come from deeper locations. The best lures to use

for chasing fingermark are soft plastics between 100-125mm such as Berkley Gulp Shrimp rigged on either a 3/8 or 1/2oz jig head, depending on depth and current. A soft vibe such as a Zerek Fish Trap or Samaki Vibelicious will also work because they resemble a herring – one of fingermark’s favourite food. When fishing with bait, a live herring or mullet will not be left untouched for long if they’re around. Grunter are another fish that will start to school in good numbers and spots with broken rocks or gravel banks are the best places to start looking. They can be a hard fish to actively target with lures, but a small blade or prawn imitation soft plastic worked over these types of areas can be effective. Fresh bait is the best way to catch good numbers of grunter – a butterflied herring or good cut bait works best. It will be time to break out the bream gear as soon as they school, and while this fish doesn’t usually get much of a

thought, they can be great fun to catch on light gear. Considering you target them in the same areas as mangrove jack but only use gear a third of the size, when you hook a good bream you need to work hard to keep them out of structure. My preferred way is to throw small hard-bodies around fallen timber or mangrove roots and work them slowly out. A small plastic or Prawnstar Shrimp is another good way to tempt a few fish and if you’ve never actively targeted bream on lure before, it can be quite a buzz. Flathead will also be around in numbers. I’ve found Lilley’s Beach to be the most consistent spot around here to catch a few. Their size will not be big, with most fish between 45-55cm, though at this size they’re perfect for keeping a few for a feed. Barramundi will still be around – they won’t be too active, but you’ll find them still feeding, though their bite time will be shorter. This is where live bait

* continued P57

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Exciting artificial reef project of Mackay

ETTING anglers from all over the world “hooked on Mackay” is one step closer due to an exciting artificial reef project. The project aims to enhance recreational and tourist fishing experiences via complex marine habitat installations adjacent to three popular fishing platforms in the Pioneer River. Mayor Greg Williamson said the Bridge Road, Brisbane Street and Carlyle Street fishing platforms would all benefit from having the underwater installations within casting distance. “These platforms are already popular with local fishing families and tourists,” Mayor Williamson said. “They are easily accessible to children, families, retirees and persons with disabilities. They are also all connected by the Bluewater Trail,” he said. The Mayor said increasing the habitat complexity at these sites by installing artificial reefs would attract greater numbers of larger fish and more desirable species to these platforms. “The habitat reefs are made from environmentally-friendly concrete, and over time the habitat reefs will become indistinguishable due to the rapid growth of

reef-building marine organisms, adding further habitat and biodiversity.” The Pioneer River artificial reef project tender has been awarded to SMC Marine. Work will be completed in two stages, with stage one at Bridge Road and Brisbane Street set to be completed by the end of April and stage two at Carlyle Street set for completion in early May. This COVID Works for Queensland project is delivering jobs for Queensland and is funded by the Queensland Government and Mackay Regional Council. Mayor Williamson said the reefs were just the latest outcome of council’s Recreational Fishing Strategy that had been delivering key actions since 2017. He said the strategy’s aim was to increase the economic contribution of recreational fishing and help the Mackay region gain Australiawide recognition as a premier fishing destination. “We have invested heavily in marketing campaigns to promote the fact that anglers have access to tremendous fishing options in our region for 365 days of the year,” he said. “From the Great Barrier Reef and Cumberland Islands to our three

stocked impoundments with world record size barramundi and our Cape Hillsborough to St Helens Beach Net Free Zone, there is somewhere to chase a trophy fish at any time of the year. “To promote this, council’s marketing strategy has included the creation of the ‘Hooked on Mackay’ brand. “Hooked on Mackay has a Facebook following of more than 4000 anglers, with about half of those coming from outside of the region. Through viral marketing, posts on that page have reached up to 300,000 people. “The website has racked up more than 5000 visits and Instagram and YouTube offerings have also recently been created, all highlighting how amazing fishing is in our region. “To further encourage the fishers of Australia to become ‘Hooked on Mackay’, council has taken 23 magazine advertisements in popular Australian fishing and travel magazines. “We have also facilitated 22 magazine feature articles, two high profile television specials and secured the Australia Fishing Championships (AFC) to be held and filmed in our region. “We’ve partnered with the AFC since 2016 and

Goodbye summer species, hello autumn varieties * from P56

will out fish lures, a livey in the face will encourage them to hit it, even if they’re not hungry. Mangrove jack will slow right down with the cool weather – they’ll still be around, but you’ll need to throw www.bnbfishing.com.au

more casts into the same spots to get a bite. Tarpon are moving though the systems, and this is due to the large bait schools of herring that are around at the moment. A good sounder will show up the bait schools and tarpon will usually

be around these. As we move into cooler seasons, the weather should be more fisherfriendly, allowing us to spend more time on the water and hopefully catching more fish. Cheers and happy fishing from Gladstone.

that competition, featuring our barramundi and sooty grunter fisheries and some of the world’s best anglers, is broadcast nationally and internationally to China, South Korea, Japan and Pan-Asia and has an audience of 38 million.” Mayor Williamson said council had also invested heavily in infrastructure including artificial reefs, promotional signage for Mackay’s Net Free Zone and improvements to our landbased fishing and boat ramp facilities. “There are considerable boat ramp upgrades being undertaken this year, including lighting and CCTV installations, parking expansions at Victor Creek and more than 30 new car parks at Murray Creek,” he said. The Mayor said that council was also working with stakeholders to improve the region’s fisheries through fish stocking, education and

waterway improvements. “This includes sponsorship of Mackay Area Fish Stocking Association and their vital stocking programs, the installation of 194 fishing attracting structures deployed at 36 locations in Kinchant Dam, oxygenating key pools in the Gooseponds catchment to prevent fish kills and developing, improving and maintaining more than 20 councilowned fishways to facilitate fish migration and recruitment,” he said. “One of our earliest outcomes was the introduction of a Voluntary Code of Conduct for the Cape Hillsborough to St Helens Net Free Zone. “This encourages our local and visiting fishers to pledge to adopt sustainable and responsible fishing practices to conserve our fisheries resources. “So far, almost 600 anglers have taken the pledge.”

The fishing pier at the Bluewater Quay will be enhanced with an artificial reef.

TURKEY BEACH 2 Bedroom Villa Holiday Rental • Outdoor BBQ and pergola For • Fish cleaning facilities enquiries • Large yard with room and for the boat bookings • Undercover carport phone • Close to boat ramp 07 4974 2153 • Linen available Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 57

Shimano King of Kings a great success

There were a few huge horse-sized threadfin salmon caught during the competition.

Have a look at the perfect conditions. The weather gods certainly turned it on.

T the beginning of February, the second Shimano King of Kings tournament was held. I’m pleased to report that it was a raging success and a lot of fun was had. The biggest kicker to the competition was that they managed to jag the weather. Yes, perfect conditions to fish were welcomed with opened arms from all 96 teams that registered. The beauty about the King of Kings is that there are so many different species you can target to win a prize, and you only need to catch two of any species to qualify. The three major prizes of a cool $5,000 each were for giant trevally, barramundi and king threadfin salmon. The rest of the categories ranged from red emperor, nannygai, coral trout, mackerel and such in blue water to flathead, bream, whiting and fingermark and more in estuaries.

Anglerholics with one of their winning barramundi. Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

Capricorn Coast by JOHN BOON

If you managed to come first for any of those and other categories, you would receive a $500 Shimano gift pack. With this style of competition, the big driver behind it is research and sustainability. It’s a top family friendly event with a relaxed atmosphere. It almost feels as if it’s a catch up with like-minded fishos. So, what exactly happened during the competition? I believe the biggest battle was in the giant trevally category. It was back and forth between Coastal Chaos and Cast Fishing. Every time you looked at the scoreboard, the lead had changed. In the end it was Coastal Chaos that came away with the win, by only 30mm with a two-fish bag of 2390mm. Only 30mm between taking home $5,000 or not… now that’s a close finish. We were expecting to see a few big barramundi caught during the competition and weren’t disappointed, with plenty over 1m and a 127cm beast being the biggest. Team Zerek came out strong and were leading for most of the comp but got rolled towards the last day and

Anglerholics took the crown, with a two-fish bag of 2080mm. The threadfin salmon comp started off as slow as I’ve ever witnessed. We fished the set of neap tides before the comp and big threadies were everywhere, schooled up hard. Come the comp, the numbers were scarce and spread out. It definitely made them hard to cast at. The Wasted Seaman team showed all class, getting their two-fish bag for a combined length of 2770mm and took the crown by 50mm. There’s a massive list of other species category winners that can be found on the King of Kings website or on the Facebook page. I’ll run through a few of the more popular species: • Fingermark: Pascoe Boys 1640mm jack: • Mangrove Gone Nuts 830mm • Javelin: Pascoe Boys 1300mm • Nannygai: Full Send Mode 1940mm • Emperor: Choppy Seas 1730mm • Mackerel: Choppy Seas 2720mm. The briefing and presentation were held at Beaches Restaurant at the Rosslyn Bay Marina. It was such a magic spot with Class A

* continued P59

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The master of ceremony and captain Dean Jackson in action during the event.

Friendship and celebration on show during the competition.

Shimano King of Kings a great success * from P58

views, and I don’t think another venue could have been better to catch up and talk fishing. The Argentinianstyle parilla they had for dinner and again for lunch at the presentation was so good. Mario, who cooks the parilla, is well known around these parts for his smooth talking and high-class cooking skills. By the end of the comp, we had caught up with many old friends and made a few new ones too. The committee needs to be given a big thank

you for how the competition was run. There was a massive fuss over the juniors and just about every junior angler walked away with a prize. Talk about looking after the next generation. Our team decided to do a mixture of everything for the comp. We ran around everywhere on the first day trying to put a barra or king in the boat but failed miserably. We went out front for the glorious weather on the Saturday and had fun with jigs. Teammate Matty had never jigged before and

popped his cherry with a nice large-mouth nannygai of around 80cm. The sharks gave us hell for a while before they eased off on the tide change. We ran across an old wonky hole mark and the sounder lit up with what can only be described as a February Christmas tree on the Humminbird Helix 12. We thought we’d found the motherload of nannygai, but it turned out they were big golden trevally. There were bent rods and aching muscles everywhere. Our two biggest went

towards the trevally category where we finished in second place. It wasn’t the run we were hoping for but to spend it with great friends during a top competition and good weather is a win regardless. If you’re keen on

pen on January 1, 2022. The fishery remains open in the Gulf of Carpentaria, where recreational fishers are reminded that possession limits of one per person and boat limits of two per vessel apply. Fish must be kept whole while on a boat. The black jewfish fishery is the only fishery in Queensland that will be closed to recreational fishers, as a result

of commercial catch limits being reached. This is because of the extremely high risk of

the black marketing of this fish. Research is underway to better understand the

fishing the comp in February next year, jump onto the King of Kings Facebook page or kingofkings.live to stay up-to-date with all the details. Catch you next month to talk about big barra that have been going off.

Fish were photographed on the supplied brag mat then entered via the King of Kings app.

Black jewfish east coast fishery closed

LACK jewfish are now a notake species on the east coast. The black jewfish fishery on the east coast is closed to commercial and recreational fishing for the remainder of the season. Strong penalties will apply to any commercial or recreational fisher found to be taking black jewfish. The season will reo-

www.bnbfishing.com.au

sustainability of this species and inform future changes to fishing rules.

Black jewfish are a no-take species on the east coast. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 59

Charter fishers often have as much invested in their vessels as the average commercial fisher, yet they are largely ignored by the Queensland tourism department.

A pink-bedecked crew prepares for the Weipa Billfish Ladies Gamefish Day sail past, fund-raising for breast cancer research. Other states encourage more female participation in recreational fishing, here it’s not even on our government’s radar.

Putting a price on paying to fish

OULD you be prepared to pay for better fishing? I’ll bet that as soon as most fishers are asked that question, they immediately think of a fishing licence imposed by the government, then imagine the funds for that licence disappearing into government coffers as per most of our other taxes. Well, what if we were guaranteed that any monies collected were managed and administered by an independ-

Comment by DAVE DONALD

ent board, composed of recreational fishers statewide? It’s the stuff of fishing fairytales I hear people say, but are the naysayers aware that this arrangement is already established in NSW, Western Australia and Victoria? In fact, the question they should be asking here is why the heck is it not happening in

Queensland! Well… how much would it cost? Let’s look at what the other states charge. In Western Australia it’s $40 per year, in NSW $35 and in Victoria $37.20. That’s about the cost of half a carton of beer, depending on what strength or brand you drink. And here’s some-

Like Shayden, kids who love fishing deserve to be encouraged. Queensland is so far behind other states in supporting this healthy social activity, which was so vital to our COVID-19 recovery. Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

thing else to consider… Queensland already has the stocked impoundment permit – a $50 a year fee that fishers pay to visit most of our dams. This scheme was established to help fund the introduction of fingerlings into these man-made water storages and – in spite of several attempts by certain bureaucrats to get their greasy fingers on the proceeds – the scheme still works fairly well. But why should I pay for something I’ve been doing for free all my life? How about we approach this from a positive point of view. Let’s not look at it as an imposition or another tax but rather as a personal contribution to making our fishing better – and the bottom line is that most of us would jump at such an initiative, if we were guaranteed our hardearned cash was being used to improve fish stocks. Generally, as soon as we hear the word tax or levy, our government-

seeking beacons start flashing big time, so selling it as an enhancement contribution rather than the usual recreational fishing licence might be better understood and accepted. Hasn’t all this been hashed over many times before? Yes! In fact, I’ve been involved in this debate since the 1980s through my participation in the now defunct Sunfish organisation. Bill Sawynok and I were tasked with presenting a paper on the subject and we delivered our findings that a recreational fishing licence seemed the best way to go… way back in 1986! I then followed this up 10 years later with a further report, which was openly applauded at the 1996 annual general meeting. Still nothing happened. Then came the inquiry in the early 1990s by Deputy Premier and keen fisho the late Tom Burns. * continued P61

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Putting a price on paying to fish * from P60

Tom was of the opinion that a recreational fishing licence was too hot a potato politically to be imposed by the Labor Party. In its place a surrogate fishing licence – called the private pleasure vessel levy or the PPV – was imposed on all boat registrations, with the money collected to go toward enhancing fishery and boating infrastructure. Unfortunately, the PPV levy ended up being hijacked in an interdepartmental powerplay, disappearing into government coffers, with rival ministers overruling Tom’s good intentions. What is most interesting – and should be very concerning to every fisher and boater in our state – is that this fee is still being charged on boat registrations to this day! It’s now known as the ‘use component fee’ and costs each owner of a boat or personal watercraft $23.05 per year. With around 260,000 registered craft in our state, this equates to nearly $6 million that is being spirited away annually – a grand total of around $120 million since Tom and his committee acted in good faith all those years ago. Well, you’ve blown your argument to bits, I hear you say – you can’t trust politicians and public servants to keep their hands off any money that comes their way. But… most of the other states have trusts that cannot be rorted. Why is it so hard to www.bnbfishing.com.au

get a suitable ‘set in concrete’ agreement in Queensland? What does that say about the quality of our government? As the TV salesman is always reminding us, “But wait, there’s more.” When you consider the average boat used regularly burns much more fuel than the family car or four-wheeldrive, the question asked a million times is why isn’t the fuel tax generated from boating activities used in maintaining and upgrading marine infrastructure such as boat ramps and marinas? With fuel tax revenue estimated to be $15 billion per year, if only 10 percent of this amount were targeted at the marine sector, our occasionally overcrowded and – in certain cases – dangerously inadequate facilities could be upgraded, or new boat ramps established to enhance access by both community and tourism traffic. The economics here just do not add up. Better facilities and better fishing equate to more people being involved more often and spending more dollars. The significant social issues concerning physical and mental health that currently cost our health departments billions each year also factor in. The role access to recreational fishing played in providing a major positive community activity during the recent COVID-19 pandemic must be considered by the powers that be. The obvious question continues to flash like a

giant neon sign… why do the politicians in Queensland continue to ignore an activity that nearly all other states realised was an economic and social winwin years ago? I haven’t mentioned the Northern Territory situation yet. They don’t have fishing licences there. In fact, they don’t even have boat licences! Yet, from all reports, the Northern Territory has one of the best recreational fisheries – not only in Australia but in the world. Plus, they still have the best performing commercial and aquaculture fisheries in the country. Under the guidance of the late Mike Reed, the Territory took the unprecedented step to cut its commercial barramundi licence numbers from around 100 in the 1980s to under 10 currently, as well as establish a heap of ex-

* continued P62

The Northern Territory Million Dollar Fish promotion has given fishing tourism operators a significant boost in what was traditionally a quiet part of the season.

Billions of dollars are invested in boats by recreational fishers and every registration since 1993 includes a fee supposedly to benefit recreational fishers.

Western Australia and the Northern Territory are currently rolling out multimillion-dollar artificial reef programs. In Weipa their material was donated and voluntary labour used to construct the modules. A levy could be used to fund more of these with proactive government support. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 61

Putting a price on paying to fish * from P61

tensive net-free areas in more accessible waters without impacting the amount of product ultimately produced for the market. On the opposite side of the ledger, the economic value to the state from recreational fishing has increased more than tenfold in the same period – a huge boost in relative terms. But wait, there’s more! While Queensland barra fishers sit around for 3-4 months twiddling their thumbs because the season is

closed, since 2015 the Northern Territory has run its Million Dollar Barra competition – giving away tens of thousands of dollars each year to anglers who capture a tagged fish. This has given a massive boost to Territory fishing charters that would normally have substantially reduced business as the dry season winds down. More recently, another $50 million has been allocated to rollout the RecFishing Futures Program – an initiative

that has seen the establishment of a network of fish aggregating devices and artificial reefs at many popular access points along the coast. This program also includes a strong message concerning ‘fishing responsibly’, with the reminder that “Tomorrow’s fishing starts today!” Western Australia has a similar theme, “More places to fish, more fish to catch, healthy habitats, abundant fish stocks!” Of course, the Northern Territory tourist

Queensland has the highest number of registered watercraft in the country yet boating access via boat ramps is severely lacking or overcrowded in many areas.

season suffered significantly because of the COVID outbreak, but even that event was handled positively by its forward-thinking tourism department. Members of the community were invited to apply for a $200 voucher to be used to support local tourism businesses, and millions of dollars were handed out, with much of that money supporting local charter guides. Back in Queensland, it’s glaringly obvious that recreational fishers make a very significant contribution to our state and country’s economy. Personally, I still think that an enhancement fee is urgently needed – provided the money is placed in a trust fund that is solely administered by fishers. We need this independent representation to adequately secure our future and we should be prepared to support such a body. Even blind Freddy can see that we have major problems here. Rec fishers in our

state are so far behind in the enhancement stakes that we haven’t even made the straight, while our neighbours have already crossed the finish line! Boating and fishing are worth more than $4 billion a year to our state economy and provide over 30,000 jobs. Why isn’t somebody in George Street falling over backwards to hear our concerns and give us support? It really is about time our state government fisheries and tourism departments moved into the twenty-first century! Correction: Dave’s article in the February issue referred to National Parks Australia – our error… this should have been Northern Peninsula Area. NPA is made up of five communities – Bamaga, Seisia, Umagico, Injinoo and New Mapoon. The NPA Council administers the area, which includes all the mainland north of the Jardine River.

water, the better its chances of survival. Hold the fish horizontally. Holding a fish vertically or by the jaws can cause a lot of damage and decrease its ability to survive when released. Do not place the fish on a hot, hard surface, as this can cause trauma to the fish. Barramundi have a possession limit of five per person, with

a maximum of 10 per boat when more than two people are on board. They have a minimum size limit of 58cm and a maximum size limit of 120cm, but you can take one bar ramundi over 120cm at select dams. For more information, visit qld.gov.au/ recreation/activities/ boating-f ish ing/recfishing/fish-speciesguide

Catch and release barramundi this season

ERE are a few tips to give your barramundi the best chance

at survival after release. Always support the body horizontally and

get it back in the water as soon as possible. The less time the fish spends out of the

Tips to give your barramundi the best chance at survival after release. Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Wet season opens opportunities

HE rain finally arrived, and as soon as the water cleared up, I was making my way to the top of the river. The clear water of the upper stretches of our river systems offer unique fishing opportunities, and it is with much anticipation that I await this time of year. The increased water level allows you to head up into water that hasn’t seen a boat for a few months. Of course, a band of younger anglers venture out and walk up the creeks, but this section of the river is still inhabited by many crocodiles, and a few of them are a size you wouldn’t want to encounter when flicking lures. My knees are a bit past a full day of walking through creeks and rainforest, so I have to be content to wait for the rain to arrive. But when it does, the rewards are definitely there to be had. The first thing you’ll encounter is the change of landscape from the previous year. On my first trip this

Fishing Cairns by BRETT PARKS

year, I came across a number of fallen trees, a few quite large, which will provide plenty of cover for fish in coming months. The first trip up the river is a bit tenuous, navigating submerged timber, moved or new structure and channels that have moved from one side of the river to the other. Many a prop has been irreparably damaged on these first encounters of a new season. But the rewards are what make it all worthwhile. Fishing water that possibly hasn’t seen a line for months. Finding new locations where fish are now holding. Relearning secrets the river is hiding all over again. But most of all, getting that first hit and landing that first fish. Sight casting for sooty grunter and jungle perch has to be one of the best angling experiences going. Getting hit on topwa-

ter lures is again fantastic. All in crystal-clear water at times only a few centimetres deep. Finding holes full of tarpon, and of course coming across the occasional barramundi and mangrove jack just sweetens the whole trip.

The author with a healthy grunter.

The author and his daughter enjoy a day on the water.

Planning a trip to North Queensland?

Book a charter today! From barramundi to marlin, jungle perch to jacks, we’ve got you covered. Freya with a solid jungle perch.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 63

The author and Ritchie Lawrence hold up a solid dogtooth that took both lures.

Chasing dogtooth tuna

HILE longrange trips exploring remote areas are what I live for, to get a shot at our target species this sortie – the mighty dogtooth tuna – we would have to push further than ever before. These fearsome predatory fish have been on my bucket list for a long time, both on line and spear. Their brutal fighting abilities and the fact that they can be caught using a range of methods – particularly topwater – makes them a premier sport fish.

The author with a solid dogtooth tuna on spear.

Cape York & Torres Strait by MATT POTTER

Finding these fish is one thing, but actually stopping them is a challenge in itself. If they don’t brick you on the reef, the packs of hungry sharks make short work of them. Usually this sort of fishing is limited to live-aboard charter operators, so I was certainly excited by the opportunity to have a crack at a few serious fish from my own trailer boat.

Covering some serious miles. The hardtop is great for storing additional jerries out of the way on long range trips. Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

We would need to upgrade a lot of our gear to give us a decent chance at stopping these fish on line and spear. I hit up a couple of experienced fishing and spearing friends Matt and Ritchie, who were just as keen to chase the elusive dogtooth tuna as I was. A month or so prior to the trip, the planning and gear prep began,

* continued P66

A doggie that made it past the sharks. Just.

Matt was stoked to bag a nice yellowfin tuna. Amazing eating qualities. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 65

Chasing dogtooth tuna * from P64

Ritchie Lawrence with a green jobfish nabbed while jigging.

It didn’t take long for the action to start with red bass coming aboard.

Red Bass were a common by-catch. Due to ciguatera poisoning they are a no take species.

What a way to end the trip. A double on red emperor back in close in just 14m of water. Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

first with purchases of new fishing tackle that would be up to the task. Between the crew, the gear for stopping these brutes included two Daiwa Saltiga 20000s matched to Shimano TCurve Deep Jig 300 rods, a Shimano Talica 50 matched to a Shimano Tiagra Ultra A and a Maxel Rage 90 Jigstar Twisted Sista Overhead Jig combo. Apart from the Talica 50, all setups were spooled with 100lb120lb Nomad Panderra 8X braid and an assortment of leader from 150lb to 250lb. A few dollars were certainly spent but there was no point travelling to our dream destination without the gear to catch our dream fish, and it was significantly cheaper than a charter operation. Now the lures… we had an assortment of Nomad lures for topwater and trolling including the Chug Norris Popper, Riptide Sinking Stickbait, Madscad Stickbait, Maverick Roughwater and DTX Minnow lures. We also had a mix of jigs including Nomad Gypsy and Streaker. I have to say the lure boxes came back somewhat lighter. For the spearing side of the things, we had our usual gear including Rob Allen 1.3m Railguns, but Matt bit the bullet and bought ‘a cannon’ specifically for stopping doggies, which we would take turns in using. It was a Riffe 1.7m Midwater with a breakaway setup, 30m foam float line and two OH 3 Atmosphere floats.

With the gear rigged and ready, the boat serviced, packed and fuelled-up – 980L – the weather smiled on us and we set off in my 7m Fisher on a glassy ocean. After a solid 6.5 hours of steaming, we finally reached our first destination. We watched the sounder drop off the reef from 5m to 55m to 300m and then stop reading altogether. Not really knowing where to start, I worked out which way the current was pushing and then started trolling the pressure point of an isolated reef that rose from the depths. It didn’t take long for the action to start with bluefin trevally, giant trevally and red bass coming aboard. As this was a sportfishing trip and due to the risk of ciguatera in this area, most of the fish would be released. We then switched to casting stickbaits across the reef top, which got the heart pumping with great surface strikes from red bass, bluespot coral trout, GTs and a couple of solid spanish mackerel that were unfortunately vaporised by the plague of sharks, which seemed to be on every reef system. As the day went on we worked further afield picking up more of the same species, but still no doggies. With crystal-clear water, we jumped in to check out the reef and it was like an aquarium with huge varieties of fish and plenty of sharks. Teamwork is important in this sort of coun-

try when diving and we took it in turns diving down and keeping an eye on each other. Apart from a couple of coral trout we didn’t spear much and jumped back in for an afternoon of fishing. We decided to again explore further and hit a couple of isolated reefs, and this is when things escalated on the fishing front. Ritchie had mentioned that early morning and late afternoon were when doggies would fire up and feed closer to the surface, and he was on the money. I won’t forget the sound of Matt’s drag screaming as the call was made, “That’s definitely a dogtooth.” There was no chance of turning this fish… within 30 seconds it was all over and he was busted off on the reef. This happened again and I was beginning to think we were under gunned. Ritchie managed to get a smaller doggie of about 12kg past the sharks and after a few pictures sent it back in. The next troll run both DTX Minnows got smashed, Ritchie and I did the over and under dance trying to pass rods before realising we had the same fish on. We both had our drags locked up and we were still losing line. A couple of minutes later a big dogtooth hit the surface with a pack of hungry whalers chomping on it. We skull dragged it aboard and, despite it missing a few pieces, celebrated what was an

* continued P67

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Chasing dogtooth tuna * from P66

epic fish it was. Even though I positioned the boat on the pressure point and gunned it to deeper water, we were still bricked by a couple more unstoppables. The tackle supply was diminishing quickly. We decided to have a crack on topwater and had dogtooth taking stickbaits at the side of the boat only to again bury us in the reef. I’ve never experienced such power on a line – awesome and equally frustrating. As the sun dropped below the horizon, we anchored up in a shallow lagoon, cooked a feed, re-rigged gear, refuelled and reflected on an epic day. The weather had been magnificent and thankfully, it stayed that way for the next two days. After a reasonably decent sleep, we woke up at first light, cooked bacon and eggs and were on our way, pushing even wider. We put on the dive gear and jumped in at a seamount that rose from 700m to just a few metres below the surface. We were hoping to

spear a doggie or even a wahoo. This place was wild and somewhat daunting, as the edge dropped away to a sheer cliff into the deep blue abyss. As we were loading the guns, several dogtooth tuna of about 1015kg came in to check out the flasher – a device used to attract fish – but by the time we were ready they had disappeared. In hindsight we should have been ready before throwing in the flasher. With no more doggies sighted and the local population of oceanic whitetip sharks getting seemingly more curious, we jumped back in and pushed on. It wasn’t long before we came across a school of yellowfin tuna busting up on the surface. Out came the smaller Nomad stickbaits and we had a frantic session with a triple hook-up on yellowfin tuna. Unfortunately, both Ritchie and I got sharked, but Matt managed to land a solid yellowfin that was released into the Esky. Ritchie managed to get another yellowfin

Matt Arkell with a solid lure munching bluespot coral trout. www.bnbfishing.com.au

in before the oceanic whitetips became too much – even chasing down our lures – so we pushed on again. I must say yellowfin sashimi is the best I have eaten! We fished a series of small reefs casting stickbaits. I decided to jump in for another spear and shot a very solid spanish mackerel, which hit the afterburners and took off into the depths with a dozen or more sharks in pursuit. I passed the gun to Ritchie in the boat and jumped in. The line was ripping off my reel at a rate of knots as Ritchie tried to put the hurt on the sharks that had my fish. Within seconds, 150m of line from the reel on my speargun had been spooled and it was time to move on again. We jumped in on another isolated reef. Matt had the gun for the first three drifts and we continued to see dogtooth tuna come in, but they were just out of range. With his sinuses playing up, I took the 1.7m Riffe from Matt, jumped in and watched several sharks as they bit the flasher. Matt called out “big dog” and I turned to see a solid dogtooth tuna rise up to the flasher. I dove down following the fish and as it was headed deeper, I opted for a long shot. The shot hit the fish mid-body and it powered off. As I turned to swim back to the surface, the two floats were heading down straight past

* continued P68

Big doggie! Dreams can come true.

This GT chased down a ‘butterknife’ across the reef top.

Matt Arkell with one of several doggies he boated towards the end of the trip in a red hot session. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 67

Chasing dogtooth tuna * from P67

Matt Arkell with a nice bluefin trevally, which were a common catch.

Ritchie with a yellowfin taken on a Rapala X-Rap.

Red bass put up a good fight, pity they may carry ciguatera.

Ritchie with a diced up doggie. Shark numbers were insane. Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

me, which was a sight to behold. The floats popped back to the surface 30 seconds later and Matt passed them to Ritchie in the boat, who proceeded to pull the fish up. Matt and I stayed in the water to defend our catch but surprisingly there were only a couple of small sharks following it up, so we boated another awesome fish. I was elated and as the saying goes ‘teamwork makes the dream work!’ With this sort of diving, everyone has a part to play in order to safely land fish. Late that afternoon we went trolling in the hope of a wahoo or possibly more yellowfin. We landed small yellowfin around the 5kg mark before trolling a reef edge, which produced a huge bluespot coral trout and a couple of GTs on the homemade butterknife lures. To see these fish chase the lure down 20m plus with their mouths open and shoot out of the water was something else. We headed back to where we had caught the dogtooth the day before and it was on again. We seriously could not stop the bigger fish but still managed a couple of smaller doggies. It was another wild day with several firsts. We anchored up for the evening and I must admit, the body was aching.

We were all feeling very sore but satisfied. For the final day, the plan was to fish until lunch and then steam home. We were trolling at 6am and the day started with a double hookup on dogtooth tuna. While Ritchie managed to bag his fish, Matt’s was much bigger and absolutely destroyed him on the Saltiga, nearly spooling him in the process. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a reel sing like that and, what was even more remarkable, it was completely locked – 30kg. The reel was burning hot afterwards – we couldn’t even touch it… another first. We pushed on further and what followed were a couple of hours of madness I will never forget. We started jigging in 50m of water because I’d noticed a lot of bait and solid fish on the sounder. Matt was stoked to finally land a nice 15kg doggie, as he had been busted off all trip. After that, he was on fire and landed another two of similar size. Ritchie also bagged a nice green jobfish while jigging. As per usual, the sharks became too thick and we couldn’t get a fish past them. We hit one more spot and this is where we experienced the best fishing of the trip. We pulled up and were looking at all the sharks in the water, when I noticed the distinct white dot on the tail of a dogtooth tuna under the boat

swimming among the sharks. Within seconds everyone was grabbing their rod out of the rocket launchers and casting stickbaits. This would be a topwater session to remember, with epic surface strikes from solid doggies. Ritchie had a dogtooth hit the lure only to spit it, and another doggie quickly followed to smash the same lure. I had a dogtooth hit my Nomad Madscad metres from the boat and within 20 seconds it’d bricked me while I tried to stay inside the boat. Matt had a bow wave trailing his lure as a monster doggie chased it to the boat before turning away. The excitement on the boat was hard to contain. Matt had a great surface strike we initially called a doggie but within 30 seconds he had a 25kg spanish mackerel at the boat that narrowly escaped the sharks. It goes to show the drag setting we were fishing and how powerful the doggies were. The action continued for about 30 minutes – we boated a couple of smaller doggies, but more battles were lost than won. This topwater session had certainly exceeded all of our expectations. It was hard to leave such an epic location with incredibly good weather, but we headed home on glassy water having achieved our goal of bagging dogtooth tuna.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

4WDING & off - road

Eliot Creek is a cracker example of a spring-fed creek of the so called ‘wet desert’.

Exploring the Cape and all it has to offer

APE York is so many things to so many people! Exploring, camping and fishing in a wonderfully remote tropical region with hugely diverse landscapes, the four-wheel-drive challenges and corrugations, the fantastic fishing, the amazing culture and history and so on. Underlying everything

Cape York - Part Three by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

of course is the unique nature of the Cape, that is what makes this remarkable region the paradise it is. As a former ranger and bush guide of the area – and resident – I’d thought I’d pass on a

little knowledge of the more notable natural features of the region. First up, heading north from Bramwell Junction on either road, you’ll soon enter large expanses of low shrubby heath country.

Camped among the majestic corypha palms beside the Normanby River. www.bnbfishing.com.au

This is occasionally known as the ‘wet desert’ because of the abundance of creeks interlacing the countryside. I should mention that the Bypass Rd does just that – it runs along the higher part of the sandy heath country and so bypasses the abundant crystal-clear streams you encounter on the Telegraph Track. Where does this water come from? Well, one theory is that water flows from New Guinea beneath Torres Strait to reappears in northern Cape York. The reality is the vast area of sand and sandstone that makes up the ‘wet desert’ is a huge sponge during the wet season and absorbs much of the monsoon rain. The water then flows out of literally thousands of beautiful springs, which then become the magical crystal-clear

streams you see. Eliot Creek, on which you’ll find both Fruit Bat and Eliot falls, is a great example of a substantial spring-fed creek. Eliot Creek is one of the many spring-fed streams that feed the mighty Jardine River, Queensland’s largest perennial river. Anyway, if you walk downstream from Eliot Falls, even a little way, you’ll spot various small springs and soaks bubbling out of the sandstone, often festooned with carnivorous pitcher plants. The pitchers of these plants contain a liquid that attracts insects, which the plant then digests. The sand the pitcher plants grow in is so poor that they need the extra sustenance from insects in order to grow! Have a look inside a pitcher and you’ll often find ant heads, which * continued P70

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 69

4WDING & off - road Carnivorous pitcher plants are a spectacular feature of the spring-fed streams of the ‘wet desert’.

Exploring the Cape * from P69

apparently aren’t so easily digested. Another stunning but much bigger plant you’ll come across if you travel through Rinyirru National Park – formerly Lakefield – is the majestic corypha palm. Growing along the riverbanks and flood plains, this tree is awesomely wild. It grows to about 35 years old and then, for the first and only time in its life, it flowers, with the biggest flower head of any plant on Earth. Then the tree sets fruit and dies! Corypha palms are also able to endure the hot baking dry season and then have their roots inundated by water over the dramatic wet season. You’ll also see these palms along various riv-

ers of the Cape, mainly on the flood plains of westward flowing rivers. Something to look out for – in fact, you can’t miss them! Travel-wise, we’re waiting to see how the wet season finishes off this month. Much of the northern and inland Cape has had a cracker wet season, and the Peninsula Developmental Rd has been officially closed for a few months. If the monsoon season winds up in late March or early April, then the roads will start opening shortly afterwards. They will be a mess as usual, until the road crews get to work. It’s a wait and see situation. Until then, enjoy Easter and the bush and beach, wherever you are.

Corypha palms in seed. This plant has the largest flower head of any plant on Earth. Page 70 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Nanna’s Chow Mein

Ingredients • 500g beef mince • 1 /2 sugarloaf cabbage, finely sliced • 1 large brown onion, diced • 2 packets chicken noodle soup • 1 large carrot, grated • 1 tbsp of curry powder • 3 cups of water • 1 clove garlic crushed • 1 tbsp olive oil

Method 1. Heat oil in pan on medium heat, sauté onion and garlic. 2. Add mince and cook, stirring to break up until browned. 3. Add sliced cabbage, grated carrot, chicken noodle soup and the water to the pan. 4. Bring to boil, put lid on pan, allow cabbage to steam, simmer until cabbage softens. 5. Remove lid, stir in curry powder, reduce until reaches a thick consistency.

Prep time: 10 min | Cooking time: 30 min | Serves 4 www.bnbfishing.com. au

C AMPING & outdoors

All go on the Coral and Discovery coasts

I all, for the past four weeks we’ve been enjoying the hospitality and beauty of a stretch of coastline from Bundaberg to Agnes Water, and what a month it has been. We were lucky to be invited to the re-opening of the Pacifique Surfriders clubhouse in Bargara and to view the members’ restoration of the once old Country Women’s Association hall. They have done an excellent job, from the polished wood floors to the fantastic mural above the club’s entrance. The club was originally formed in 1963 and holds a wealth of Australian surfing history. It was second only to WindanSea in Caloundra, which has the title of the oldest Queensland boardriding club. Times have changed

Outdoors by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

since the early days of surfing, but the club is still active and afloat. It has been beaches, beaches, beaches for us over the past month – whether surfing, fishing or trolling outside the breakers on the kayak, it’s been basic grassroots fun. I’ve never enjoyed my fishing so much as the past month. Blue threadfin salmon have made an appearance on the stretch of surf around Moore Park Beach and have surprised more than one unsuspecting angler. The evening high tide around the full moon was most productive. And the recent run of local prawns would be an important factor in threadfin being so active. Sharks have been ex-

tremely vigorous too, particularly just outside the shore break, with whalers and juvenile hammerhead making fishing that little bit harder. My early morning surfs have been a little interesting, especially after a few solid hookups in the shallows on previous evenings. My right hand has had a hammering because of not getting it clear of the Alvey handles when palming the spool. I don’t know who’s more surprised – the shark when you sink the hook or the angler * continued P72

The author enjoying a laugh with original Pacifique Surfriders member Ricky.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 71

C AMPING & outdoors

Keith Drinkwater opened the refurbished Pacifique Surfriders clubhouse.

All go on the Coral and Discovery coasts * from P71

when they realise the brute force of the fish and its instinctual explosion of energy. I mentioned earlier that I’m enjoying my fishing more than ever and part of the reason is due to targeting surf whiting on soft plastics. Walking the beach flicking into the gutters and shallows and coming tight on good fish in centimetres of water, even sight casting to fish passing as you wade, really is a fun way to enjoy a few hours and to me it’s almost a noble experience. I don’t have to carry a lot of gear and often you’ll find me bare-

foot, wearing a pair of boardies, with a wading shoulder bag and my light spin combo. My choice of fishing outfit is a 6’ Shimano Ian Miller-designed Raider Yak 601 spinning rod and a little 2000 Daiwa Sol spooled with 4lb braid and 4-6lb leader. A small 1/12 weight jig head loaded with an 80mm Shimano Squidgy Wriggler in Bloodworm colour is a deadly combination for whiting in the shallows. In my experience, whiting will savagely attack the plastic by zeroing in on the pulsating movement of the curly tail. It’s common to find

Page 72 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

yourself in a tug-of-war situation without actually having the opportunity of setting the hook. A little creative customising to the plastic – by taking about 8mm off the front with your braid scissors – really does improve your strike rate and stops the fish grabbing the plastic too far behind the hook point. Wading in knee-deep water, casting towards the sand and hopping the wriggler out through the shore wash provides unbelievable fun. Small minnows also work a treat, especially with two sets of pinpoint size 12 trebles,

typically situated on the mid and tail area of the lure. I feel both of these approaches take the humble surf whiting fishing to what I call ‘action filled little sessions’. It’s the aggressive nature and explosive leaps on hook-up that truly excite on a visual level. The older I get, the more I realise that our coastal areas have many alternatives to offer and it’s up to us to decide how we simply enjoy them. Over the next few articles, you’ll notice we’ve added a 4.2m Horizon 420 Allrounder to the stable. I’ve had the pleasure of organising a new

Garmin sounder, electric trolling motor and tricking up the boat with a few Railblaza products. Railblaza offers a variety of mount systems, including interchangeable rod holders drink holders, bait boards and extendable sounder mounts. Go and check out the range at Road Tech Marine – you’ll be presently surprised. We’ve just arrived in Agnes on a building swell and a few fish on the chew at Seventeen Seventy, so life just keeps getting better. Don’t forget… get out on the beach and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Took this pic of the South Passage Bar in Mid-February. Note the new channel at the end of the Rous. Amanda Vardanega

Lee caught her first golden trevally on the Maroochy River using prawn for bait. Johnny

FISHING EVENTS COMPETITION

DATE

LOCATION

2021 Boyne Tannum Hookup

Apr 30- May 2

Gladstone region www.boynetannumhookup.com.au

Greenback Fishing Jun 12-13 Pottsville, NSW – Comp www.lionsgreenback.com Evans Head Fishing Classic

Lockie landed his first mangrove jack on 6lb line while chasing bread and butter species on the Maroochy River. Unbelievable! Johnny

Jun 25- Jul 2

Evans Head – www.evansheadfishingclassic.com.au

Theodore Family Jul 2-4 Fishing Competition

Theodore, QLD

Gold Coast Flathead Classic

Gold Coast, QLD – www. flatheadclassic.com.au

Sep 28- Oct 1

To have your competition listed in the calendar please phone (07) 3286 1833 or email design@collins.media

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

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 73

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seanconlonsfishing@hotmail.com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 75

Kassie’s thick woollen jumper is the only indicator that she’s not in Queensland. Oh, and the rainbow trout is a bit of a giveaway too.

Graham found that using standard bass gear and Predatek MinMin lures was no handicap on trout.

Something completely different n Warm-water native species topping the list

EING from the sunshine state means our main freshwater targets are warm-water native species, with bass, barramundi, sooty grunter and golden perch topping the list. A novel change can be had by heading south to flick a lure or fly for a few of the acclimatised salmonids from the northern hemisphere that can be found through much of Victoria and eastern NSW. We Queenslanders usually associate trout fishing with icy water, frosty ground and biting air temperature. I vividly recall fishing with numb lips, toes and fingers in the valleys of the Ebor district when the air temp dropped so low that fly lines froze to the guides while casting. We don’t need to endure those unpleasant

Fishing for Sport by NEIL SCHULTZ

conditions to dabble in a spot of trout fishing if we time our southern visits during the warmer months of the year. When I visited the lower end of New Zealand’s South Island – as close to the Antarctic Circle as I ever plan to be – in January a few years ago, the fishing was brilliant. In what the locals described as heatwave weather, with daytime maximums climbing to 24C, wading was pleasant in thongs and shorts, and the trout were very active. Closer to home, I was sneaking along the banks of Tasmania’s less well-known trout streams in late March 2019. Again, the weather was very comfortable

Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

– even for a Queenslander – and the trout and tiger snakes took advantage of the plentiful food sources available in the warmer air temperature. During recent years, we’ve spent quite a few successful days fishing the streams and lakes on the northern side of the Victorian Alps during autumn. Conditions varied from comfortable shorts and sleeves sunshine, through to teeth-chattering scuds of sleet blown horizontally. The point to which I'm heading, in my own scatterbrained way, is that if we time our visits to trout water with thoughtful planning, we stand a good chance of fishing in

conditions similar to those of home. This means we don't need to visit the local mountaineering outfitters to kit out with waterproof and windproof jackets, thermal underwear or electrically heated mittens for our angling outing. Similarly, we don't need to buy a stack of specialised gear to be successful on lakes or streams in the deep south. When I fished New Zealand, I went armed with one four-piece fly rod – the same one I've used for yellowtail kingfish on the Gold Coast – and a threepiece plug rod from my bass, sooty grunter, mangrove jack gear. My deference to the local tradition was to purchase an New Zealand-made Kilwell Kwiksilver salmon spoon in the white

lightning bolt pattern, though I did cast it using my extremely untrout-like plug-casting outfit. When fishing streams from the Victorian Alps or the Snowy Mountains, we habitually use our favourite jungle perch lures with great success. While it’s true that hard-fished trout in almost unbelievably clear water can be hard to tempt, by targeting areas where their vision is hampered by fast water or tannin staining, they'll certainly fall to a variety of lures. As I write this, my eldest son and his wife are wandering the streams of northern Victoria, throwing Predatek MinMin lures into foamy cascades and bubbly flotsam lines, and are doing very well. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Warwick fish stocking news

HIS year Warwick District Recreational Fish Stocking Association will have stocked over 5 million native fish fingerlings in the dams and rivers around Warwick, Allora and Killarney since the association was formed in 1986 and the first stocking in 1987. The first stocking of fingerlings for the current season started recently, with the delivery of 500 Murray cod fingerlings for the Condamine River, 500 for Connolly Dam and 10,000 for Leslie Dam from Nick Donges of Granite Belt Fish Hatchery at Severnlea. There were five boxes of 100 for the river, which were distributed by Ken Martin and Shaun Page who started putting them in at Lyndhurst Lane. They proceeded to the Mill Hole and put more in there, then moved to Queen’s Park to place

fingerlings, with the remaining fingerlings going either side of Scots Weir. Connolly Dam was stocked by Ed Kemp and Bob Koina who released the cod fingerlings among the weeds growing in the dam, which is excellent protection from predators. At Leslie Dam three boats were used to spread the 10,000 cod fingerling around different parts of the dam. Thanks to Len and Lin Bryant, Tom Graham, Roger Martin, Bill Fearby and Bob Reid for doing this important job. Also, thanks to the other people at the dam who helped load the boats with fingerlings from the bulk tank mounted on the back of Nick’s utility. The club’s golden perch order of over 125,000 fingerlings for Leslie Dam, about 8000 for Connolly Dam and about 8000 for the

Condamine and other rivers around Warwick will start being delivered in around six to eight weeks according to Nick. Our clubhouse is being opened every third Sunday of the month from now on from 9am until noon, so drop in, say good-day and have a yarn about fishing and suggestions for stocking native fish.

Nick Donges putting a scoop of Murray Cod fingerlings into a waiting bucket of water with Bob Koina at Leslie Dam.

Ken Martin, Nick Donges and Shaun Page.

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Bob Koina with a bag of Murray cod about to be put in the weeds at Connolly Dam. www.bnbfishing.com.au

07 4157 3881 or email info@lakem.com.au www.lakemonduranhouseboathire.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 77

Amy Rosser’s first trip to Glenlyon Dam and she scored this 1m Murray cod using Yogi’s Swimbaits.

Cooper Burt from Warwick caught this 90cm casting a McCod Spinnerbait.

Lack of cyclone rain impacts on Queensland storage

HE water held in Glenlyon Dam is earmarked for town water supplies in the local region for late June or early July. This is also the start of the breeding season for cod in Glenlyon and local streams in southern Queensland. We missed out on rain and storms in our area and now about 300mm of rain is required because the storage is

Glenlyon Dam by BRIAN DARE

looking a little worse for wear at 14 percent. The weed level in the storage is good and fish released this year should do well. Doctors Gavin Butler and Leo Cameron from Grafton Fisheries Centre have had good success with purple spot-

ted gudgeon collected in our region. The results were so good that a large release of these endangered fish will be put back into local rivers and creeks. This is the start of better things to come, as more small fish of the

Murray Darling system are produced to get levels of small native fish back into our regional waterways. In fact, the small fish have a better chance of survival with low levels of water in our headwater system of the Murray Darling than catfish, bony bream, silver perch, golden perch and cod. As you head out west of the Great Dividing

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

14 CABINS bookings necessary

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK via STANTHORPE 4380 Contact Debbie or Brian Dare for more information or for bookings

Ph: 02 6737 5266 E: glenlyondamtouristp@bigpond.com Page 78 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

Range, you’ll see the lack of flow in rivers. The pressure being put on our catchment area is increasing each year, with new types of crops being grown on the edges of rivers – once sheep and cattle produce locations, as well as tobacco on several farms years ago. The sooner we see the new water pump-site meters put into action, the better off our rivers will be. Then it’s a case of having all the bore sites registered and locations marked, keeping extraction levels metered and water use in mind. The local rivers, streams and creeks have had so much pressure put on them that they are now ‘take’ systems. Questions about the Mole River Dam site and collection of water needs to be watched. When asked, those present were advised that no further allocations would be forthcoming. I wait with bated breath on the above statement. Out west of Glenlyon, * continued P79

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Impacts on storage * from P78

one third of all water at full-supply level is earmarked annually for use by one corporation to grow crops. The building of the Mole River Dam would have to be looked at – 250,000mL in capacity. Once at full-supply level, releases from that storage should be operated on a ‘what comes into the storage is released daily at the same flow level’ basis, seeing as there are no further allocations. Lack of rain in our region has caused a major problem for our stocking group, with regard to our fish-stocking format. We have been able to release 65,000 golden perch, 10,000 cod and 10,000 silver perch. We had a further 120,000 yellowbelly ordered but these could not be supplied. This has been the case for two years in a row and means we will look further afield for stocking yellowbelly – or golden perch – to the level we require for this storage. The funds we have sitting in the bank are from raffles and such, to the tune of over $35,000 – hard work and public funding went into gaining this total. We need rain in our region as we go into another drought period for the southeastern region of the Great Dividing Range. With the river low and no major storage increase in water intake, more pressure is put on our river people – farmers who breed sheep and cattle along with winter hay during www.bnbfishing.com.au

the summer growing period. If they’re lucky these graziers have allocations of no more than 800mL for growing lucerne hay. Most have 200400mL allocations, not the 1000’s used to grow mega crops or other water-sucking plantations. With winter around the corner, cod fishing comes to mind, and the period from April through to July is the peak time to fish for them. Come the end of July, these fish start to look for nesting site locations in rivers and dams. In Queensland period we have closed season to cod fishing on rivers is from August through to the end of October. You are still able to fish the stocked dams for Murray cod and it’s your choice to either release or keep the fish caught. The only reason our storages are open to the taking of cod or fishing for them is because our storages are ‘put and take’ formats. We ask you to take into account the lack of water in our rivers and the pressure you are going to put on our cod breeding in small streams and river systems in the headwaters of the Murray Darling catchment areas. A list of locations to go and fish include Copeton, Pindari, Coolmunda, Leslie and Glenlyon dams, and a few weirs that hold town water supplies. It would be good to see autumn rainfall coming into the fish breeding season… we can but hope!

Imported prawn risks

SC I E N T I F IC advisory group will independently evaluate the assessment of the biosecurity risks posed by imported raw prawns. Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud said that protecting the health of Australia’s $3.4 billion seafood industry was a top priority for the government. “Imported raw and uncooked seafood can bring in a range of pests and diseases of biosecurity concern, such as white spot syndrome virus, and the government is fully committed to protecting our industries from these critical threats,” Minister Littleproud said.

“Given that white spot has entered Australia previously and continues to cause disruption to Moreton Bay seafood farmers and fishers, the seafood industry must have complete confidence that we have the best possible import requirements in place. “The independent panel of scientific and technical experts will evaluate whether the conclusions of the review of prawn and prawn products that is currently underway, will protect Australia from the threat of white spot syndrome virus and other significant known and emerging diseases. “They will provide

their report to the Director of Biosecurity. “The panel will include individuals with expertise in biosecurity, economic assessment, risk analysis, as well as aquatic animal diseases. “Australia’s enviable biosecurity status underpins our international agricultural trade – however we cannot be complacent when it comes to protecting the health of our food and fibre industries. Visit awe.gov.au for more information on current import conditions for uncooked prawns and other prawn products for human consumption and the review of prawns and prawn products.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 18/3/2021

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

FEB JAN NOV DEC MAR Atkinson 3 5 5 5 3 Awoonga 47 49 61 60 46 Bjelke-Petersen * 10 11 12 11 8 Boondooma * 25 26 30 30 25 Borumba * 79 79 82 78 78 Burdekin Falls * 104 114 73 65 105 Callide * 21 22 24 23 21 Cania * 37 37 43 40 37 Coolmunda * 18 20 29 25 15 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 3 3 3 3 2 Eungella * 82 82 83 78 83 Fairbairn * 12 13 9 8 14 Glenlyon * 13 14 14 14 14 Hinze* 100 101 87 85 101 Julius 104 98 80 77 99 Kinchant * 83 82 71 66 85 Leslie * 10 11 12 12 10 Macdonald* 99 105 94 87 100 Maroon * 56 55 42 46 60 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 47 46 52 49 41 Moogerah * 14 15 20 17 12 North Pine/Samsonvale * 71 72 53 51 70 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 61 62 61 58 63 Somerset * 78 78 75 74 76 Teemburra * 97 99 95 94 98 Tinaroo* 64 58 57 50 74 Toonumbar 100 101 61 54 103 Wivenhoe * 37 38 42 40 36 Wuruma * 42 43 50 45 38 Wyaralong* 90 91 93 91 90 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.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 79

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Page 80 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021

ARVOR 605 SPORTSFISH – Fully optioned and in stock! Mercury 150Hp EFI 4S, Dunbier tandem trailer 4 wheel braked, Simrad 7” NSS GPS/ Sounder, Fusion stereo, Mercury Vessel View link interface, Lock up wheelhouse, windows and hatch, Cockpit seating for 5, Cockpit table, Ext. sun awning, Qld Regos and so much more $118,837 tow away – John Crawford Marine - Queensland’s Arvor Boat Specialists since 2001 www. johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322 GLACIER BAY 2670 ISLE RUNNER - Incredible buying opportunity! Sensational reef and blue water package with 2020 fitted Mercury 200Hp 4 strokes with Magic Tilt TRI axle 4.5t trailer included. Loaded with features for comfortable family friendly reef fishing trips. Too numerous to list all accessories - call today! $159,995 tow away – John Crawford Marine – Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www.johncrawfordma rine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322 JOHN CRAWFORD MARINE have numerous genuine buyers on the books for quality brand-name, latemodel trailer boats. If you are looking to sell, avoid the pitfalls and hassles that come with a private sale, have the trusted and experienced team at JCM handle the sale for you – John Crawford Marine – Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www.johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322 QUINTREX 420 ESTUARY ANGLER (2003) – This is a terrific all-purpose aluminium boat. A terrific runabout, with low engine hours, suited to a mixture of fishing and family adventures. It’s easy to store, clean, maintain and handle, is an affordable boat to run and easy to tow. Comes fitted with Mercury 40Hp. Priced at $11,990. This will not last long in the yard! For more information visit amcboats.com.au REFLEX CHIANTI 485 (2018) – Are you looking for a boat that you can fish from with a few friends or take the family out cruising and perhaps enjoy some water sports? Then the Reflex Chianti 485 with a 75Hp 4-stroke Yamaha would be ideal.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 81

MERCURY

NO SACRIFICES NO COMPROMISES NO APOLOGIES

BETTER ECONOMY

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*Based on testing done by Mercury Marine’s Product Research & Development team. Torque data collected on a Dynamometer at cruise speed, an average of 3500-4500 rpm. Fuel economy testing done using a 23 foot Centre Console boat for both 200hp engines, while a 21 foot Bass boat was used for the 250hp testing.

Go online or contact your nearest Mercury Dealer to find out more about the Mercury V6 / V8 range, taking performance, efficiency and reliability to the next level.

Page 82 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 MM0725 V6_V8_BnBFishing_210x297_v3.indd 1

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Contact or visit us for more information.

AIRLIE BEACH Whitsunday Outboard Centre 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au AIRLIE BEACH Whitsunday Outboard Centre BRISBANE 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 Coorparoo Marine P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au 57 Cavendish Rd, Coorparoo Q 4151 www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au P: 07 3397 4141 E: info@coorparoomarine.com.au BRISBANE www.coorparoomarine.com.au Karee Marine 1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea Q 4106 BRISBANE P: 07 3875 1600 Karee Marine E: sales@kareemarine.com.au www.kareemarine.com.au 1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea Q 4106 P: 07 3875 1600 BRISBANE NORTH E: sales@kareemarine.com.au Holt Marine www.kareemarine.com.au 25 Queens Rd, Everton Hills Q 4053 P: 07 3353 1928 BRISBANE NORTH E: info@holtmarine.com.au Holt Marine www.holtmarine.com.au 25 Queens Rd, Everton Hills Q 4053 BRISBANE P: 07 3353 SOUTH 1928 Australian Marine Centre E: info@holtmarine.com.au 3491 Pacific Highway, Slacks Creek Q 4127 www.holtmarine.com.au P: 07 3808 7333 E: info@amcboats.com.au www.amcboats.com.au www.bnbfishing.com.au

CAIRNS Aussie Marine 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Q 4870 P: 07 4033 8800 E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au www.aussiemarine.com.au BUNDABERG Adrians Marine Centre CAPALABA 28 Ritchie St, Bundaberg Q 4670 Mike’s Marine P: 07 4153 1819 E: Smith adriansmarinecentre@bigpond.com 9 St, Capalaba Q 4157 www.adriansmarinecentre.com.au P: 07 3390 3418 E: admin@mikesmarine.com.au CAIRNS www.mikesmarine.com.au Aussie Marine 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Q 4870 GLADSTONE P: 07 4033 8800 Ship & Sale Gladstone E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au www.aussiemarine.com.au Gladstone Marine Centre, Gladstone Q 4680 P: 07 4972 7111 CAPALABA E: sales@shipandsail.com.au Mike’s Marine www.shipandsail.com.au 9 Smith St, Capalaba Q 4157 P: 07 3390 3418 GOLD COAST E: admin@mikesmarine.com.au Nitro Marine www.mikesmarine.com.au 167 Currumburra Rd, Ashmore Q 4214 GOLD COAST P: 07 5532 5812 Nitro Marine E: sales@nitromarine.com.au 167 Currumburra Rd, Ashmore Q 4214 www.nitromarine.com.au P: 07 5532 5812 E: sales@nitromarine.com.au www.nitromarine.com.au

GOLD COAST Onshore Marine Horizon Shores Marina, Woongoolba Q 4207 P: 07 5546 2480 E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au www.onshoremarine.com.au GOLD COAST Onshore Marine IPSWICH Horizon Shores Marina, Woongoolba Q 4207 Ipswich P: 07 5546Marine 2480 Centre E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au 45 Huxham St, Raceview Q 4305 www.onshoremarine.com.au P: 07 3294 3944 E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au IPSWICH www.ipswichmarine.com.au Ipswich Marine Centre 45 Huxham St, Raceview Q 4305 ROCKHAMPTON P: 07 3294 3944 Rifen Boats E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au www.ipswichmarine.com.au 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Q 4701 P: 07 4927 9150 ROCKHAMPTON E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com Rifen Boats www.rifenmarine.com.au 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Q 4701 P: 07 4927 9150 YEPPOON E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com Sea Breeze Marine www.rifenmarine.com.au 150 Scenic Hwy, Yeppoon Q 4703 YEPPOON P: 07 4933 6366 Sea Breeze Marine E: info@seabreezemarine.com.au 150 Scenic Hwy, Yeppoon Q 4703 www.seabreezemarine.com.au P: 07 4933 6366 E: info@seabreezemarine.com.au www.seabreezemarine.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021 – Page 83

’ DRIVE AWAY

DRIVE AWAY $

125,000

98,988

YELLOWFIN 7000 SOUTHERNER HT

YELLOWFIN 6500 PLATE CENTRE CONSOLE

Package includes: alloy trailer, 225hp Mercury, 6yr warranty

Package includes: alloy trailer, 200hp DTS Mercury, 6yr warranty

DRIVE AWAY $

430 TOP ENDER PRO

430 FISHABOUT PRO

Package includes: alloy trailer, 60hp Mercury, 6yr warranty

28,296

27,498

DRIVE AWAY $

25,332

11,110

420 RENEGADE SIDE CONSOLE

400 TRIGGER TILLER STEER

Package includes: alloy trailer, 40hp Mercury, 6yr warranty

Package includes: alloy trailer, 20hp MLH Mercury, 6yr warranty

40-60HP FOURSTROKE

Finance & Insurance available

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROVEN RELIABILITY POWERFUL PERFORMANCE

A POWERFUL PACKAGE * Mercury Finance terms and conditions apply. Photos for illustration purposes only.

Can’t make the yard? Shop online! For quality new and used boats! www.kareemarine.com.au

1776 Ipswich Road, Rocklea | Call 07 3875 1600

Page 84 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, April 2021