BNB Fishing Mag | May 2024

Have your say on fishery reform

495

$

Includes GST

May 2024 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 35, Number 5

Luring whiting

Snapper on soft plastics

Exploring Exmouth Moreton Bay muddies ISSN 1832-4517

05 Proudly produced and printed in Australia

9 771832 451001

Freshwater features Run-off fishing techniques Keeping shallow options open

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

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 1

Page 2 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 3

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Page 4 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing editor

I

’M struggling to comprehend how fast this year is going.

Life must be getting busier – which was the opposite of what I had hoped for.

While this is probably the same for many readers, one thing all we anglers need to do is prioritise having our say on the current fisheries management reforms.

As much as some people seem to think the decision has already been made, this is not the case.

You need to have your say… and not complain after the fact.

You have until 5pm on May 9, 2024 to lodge your submission.

The easiest way to voice your opinion is to provide feedback with the online survey, here’s the link – daf. engagementhub.com.au/ recreational-fishing/use rinfo/recreational-fish ing-in-queensland-sur veyOr you can scan the QR code below, which will take you directly to the form.

www.bnbfishing.com.au

You do need to fill in your name and email address, but don’t let this scare you off – have your say!

In this edition, Klim Martin has put some interesting information and data together pertaining to his thoughts and first-hand research of nannygai numbers and breeding patterns.

It is very interesting and opens your eyes to different management options, which may in fact provide a more sustainable option for the fishery.

It would require anglers to do the right thing, yet I feel more than 95 percent do that already.

Unfortunately, this means the management is catering to the 5 percent who don’t.

Included in the survey is the possibility of increasing the possession limit of black jewfish.

I’m still on the fence a little here because it’s not a fish I catch or target regularly.

Alternatively, I’m in favour of expanding the Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme in its current form, however I believe an all-water licence would be even better.

In line with this, I’m also of the opinion that recreational anglers should record and

lodge their catches.

This isn’t going to sit well with some, yet it’s the only way we can get accurate data on what the rec sector actually catches.

Without this data, it’s all pie in the sky as, while good, the boat ramp surveys only get a small portion of anglers.

Isn’t it better to know than not?

Some are worried the catch numbers may be more than estimated, however they could be a lot less.

If it’s more, that needs to be addressed so the fisheries can be managed in line with the data.

Conversely if it is less, other areas may need to be looked at in more detail.

Also, it would be good to know where all the commercially caught fish are sold.

The commercial sector is meant to have this information, so Fisheries Queensland could obtain and disclose it.

When reforms come along, you can guarantee the commercial fishers will be spouting they catch fish for the locals who can’t catch their own.

But is this actually the case?

If the information was disclosed, it could be used to better manage the fishery – which is the end game all after… sustainable fishing!

I feel like a broken record, but it would have been good if the shark issue was part of the current fishery reforms.

It needs to be as it’s becoming an ever-increasing problem with no sign of going away.

It has literally been put into the too-hard basket for now, I’m afraid, especially with the chang-

es to netting across the state.

Unfortunately, Fisheries Queensland is limited with what it can do, and I’m sure the department is stretched to capacity with all the current fishery development.

The government should action a special taskforce to address the issue sooner rather than later because shark depravation could actually become the biggest factor in managing fish biomasses.

Ben Collins

OUR COVER Have your say on fishery reform

495

$

Includes GST

May 2024 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 35, Number 5

Luring whiting

Snapper on soft plastics

Exploring Exmouth Moreton Bay muddies ISSN 1832-4517

05 Proudly produced and printed in Australia

9 771832 451001

Freshwater features Run-off fishing techniques Keeping shallow options open

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

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 1

A great Lake Monduran Barra Classic 2024 for ANTHONY PELLING, pictured with his 110cm barramundi. Helen Abdy gives highlights of this comp on page 76.

NEXT EDITION: June edition will be on sale in news­agents from May 24.

MAY SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: See the subscription form on page 84 to subscribe this month to go in the draw to win a pair of Mako sunglasses, Mako cap and Mako sunglasses’ strap valued at $351.45 RRP. MARCH PRIZE WINNERS: Congratulations to the first 50 subscribers who subscribed in the month of March, you all received a Rapala fishing buff, valued at $19.95 RRP each.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 5

8

May 2024 contents Flat out on muddies and flatties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Fishing Events Calendar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P9 A smorgasbord of species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . . . . P10 Inshore snapper on soft plastics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Justin Willmer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P14 Tide Times - Brisbane Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P15 Cape Moreton deep dropping in depth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Jason 'Birdy' Bird . . . . . . . . . . . P18 Keeping shallow options open. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Chris Raimondi . . . . . . . . . . . . . P20 Proposed nannygai management changes. . . . . . . . . . . by Martin Klim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 Have your say on rec fishing in Queensland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P24 Luring whiting and other species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P30 Dead bait for solid spanish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mitchel Zygnerski . . . . . . . . . . P32 Caring for your catch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Andy Melville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P34 Spanish, spotted and schoolies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P36

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Reduced visibility targets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brett Hyde . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P37 Hooking big catches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P38 Product News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P42 Charter Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P46 Hot barra action at Bli Bli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Sean Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . P48 Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic 2024. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P52 Tide Times – Waddy Point. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 Weather to go fishing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 Raffles, Baffles and Theodolites. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mick Clutterbuck . . . . . . . . . . . P56

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VMR Bundaberg 2024 Family Fishing Classic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P58 Alpha Lures and so over sharks.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Paul 'Chief' Graveson . . . . . . . P58 Cold temps and cool catches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gary Churchward . . . . . . . . . . P60 Garmin Anaconda King of the Pin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P61 May is fishing magic month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P62 Whitsundays sortie – Part 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 Exploring exciting Exmouth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P66 Supporting local manufacturing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P70 Key causes of fish kills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P71 Tips on run-off fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by 'Billabong' Bazz Lyon . . . . . . . P72

54

Unlocking paths for fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Geoff Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P74 Big barra at Lake Monduran. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Helen Abdy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P76 Good rainfall at Glenlyon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P78 Dam Levels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P80 Trading Post. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P81 Readers’ Forum ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P82 Subscription Form ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������P84 Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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Check out our YouTube channel BNBFTV for boat tests, product reviews and other interesting videos.

21

Follow @BNBFISHINGMAG on Instagram to see cracking catches from all around the country.

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Subscribe to the FREE BNB e-news on our website to receive email updates packed with the latest fishing news and important information.

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Our website bnbfishing.com.au is updated several times a day with the latest news and handy fishing articles.

The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins ADVERTISING: Chantal Rimmington PRODUCTION: Tiffany Brown Lisa Jones

Bush ‘n Beach Fishing magazine is published monthly by Collins Media Pty Ltd ABN 43 159 051 500 ACN 159 051 500 trading as Collins Media.

Phone 07 3286 1833 Email: ben@collins.media PO Box 162, Wynnum, Qld 4178 PRINTER: SpotNews DISTRIBUTION BY: Wrapaway Max. recommended retail price $4.95 (includes GST).

CORRESPONDENTS: Editorial contributions are welcome, as is news from clubs,associations or individuals; and new product news from manufacturers. Entire contents copyright. Nothing may be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission from the publisher. It is the responsibility of advertisers and contributors 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, May 2024 – Page 7

Tarpon were feeding on bait schools recently.

Ashlee Stratford landed a nice flathead when fishing near a bait school.

Flat out on muddies and flatties

T

HIS year has been one of the wettest we’ve had for a

Luke Stratford landed a decent flathead casting soft plastics.

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Page 8 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

while.

Constant downpours have kept the rivers browner than we would like.

The fish don’t seem to know whether they’re coming or going.

As soon as the water looks to be clearing up and the fish start pushing back in, it rains again and we are back to square one.

Mud crabs have been plentiful and the quality is generally very good in May. There is always someone out there who wants your crabs or pots more than you, so expect to have your pots checked or stolen at some point.

I do my best to make it hard for the average person to find my pots, but it’s impossible to hide them from everyone when you’re following the rules.

We have invested in a trail camera to catch the oxygen thieves that keep checking our pots.

I’m looking forward to finding out what sort of people think it’s OK to mess with someone else’s gear.

Mud crabs really aren’t that hard to catch at this time of year, so I don’t

Local Luring

by KEITH STRATFORD

understand why everyone can’t just catch their own in their own pots.

Fresh bait is always best.

I prefer to mix it up with a combination of fish and chicken frames.

There are some excellent quality pots on the market currently.

The best I have found are the pop-up pots from Crab’n Gear.

These pots don’t need to have uprights put in and they work a treat.

They’re quick to set up, have a good bait bag and catch more crabs than any other pot I’ve used.

The crabs will continue to move about over the next two to three months, then they tend to slow down a little.

I put the pots away towards the end of August and won’t get them back out until late November or early December.

The months of spring are hard work when chasing mud crabs.

Even though there are still a few getting about then, fishing during those months is excellent, so it takes preference for me.

March and April are generally the best months of the year to chase a few prawns around Brisbane, however so far this year, it has been very difficult to find them consistently.

I don’t chase a lot of prawns these days, * continued P9

Excellent quality mud crabs will be on the move during May.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Flat out on muddies and flatties * from P8

though I do look for prawn schools when I’m fishing.

I like to have a cast net in the boat at this time of year, just in case I find some good numbers.

Just as we humans do, fish love eating prawns too.

The saying ‘find the bait, find the fish’ never gets old.

When I’m fishing, I’m always looking at my sounder for bait schools down deep and also for any surface activity, whether it be mullet rippling or prawns flicking.

Sometimes it can be the smallest indication that lets you know there’s something under the surface.

Not all fish will push bait to the surface when they’re feeding.

Flathead can be gorging themselves under the surface with little or no indication that the bait is even there.

I was fishing an area recently when I saw a prawn flicking across the surface being chased by a nice little giant trevally.

My son Luke and I had a few casts at it for no result, so I let my plastic hit the bottom and was instantly rewarded with a nice flathead.

During the next hour, we landed over 30 flathead in the same spot.

The next day, I took my wife Ash to see if the flatties were still there, and we had a very good session.

We landed 65 lizards in two hours, with most being legal.

Though there weren’t many big fish among them, with the biggest only measuring 56cm.

It’s shaping up to be a great winter for flathead and a variety of other species.

The bait has also been attracting numerous species such as tailor, trevally and tarpon.

Tarpon aren’t that common around Brisbane compared to areas further north and south.

I assume it’s due to the water quality and the shallower entrances into rivers such as the Pine and Caboolture.

The southern end of Pumicestone Passage has a lot of them in the deeper water near the bridge, especially at night.

That’s it from me this month.

Next month I’ll go into some detail on what lures I use when chasing flatties in Brisbane’s waterways.

Prawn imitations have been working well on flathead recently. The Fish Craft Dr Prawn has been brilliant. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Competition Winning Performance

FISHING EVENTS EVENT

DATE

LOCATION

2024

King of the Pin May 31-Jun 2 Alberton, Qld

kingofthepin.com.au Womens Fishing Classic

May 11 - Jun 8 Southeast Queensland womensfishingclassic.com.au

Sanctuary Cove May 23-26 Gold Coast, Qld International Boat sanctuarycoveboatshow.com.au Show Rainbow Beach Jun 2-8 Family Fishing Classic & Expo

Rainbow Beach, Qld rainbowsportsclub.com.au

Evans Head Fishing Classic

Evans Head, NSW evansheadfishingclassic.com.au

Jul 5-12

Isisford Fishing Jul 26-28 Competition

Isisford, Qld https://www.facebook.com/ groups/276743562394366/

AFTA Tackle Show Aug 15-17

Gold Coast, Qld afta.net.au

Catch a Catty Family Aug 17-18 Fishing Competition

Burnett River, Qld facebook.com/Paradise-Fish-Stock ing-Association-105544657844248

Moreton Island Fishing Classic

Aug 28-31

Moreton Island, Qld moretonislandfishingclassic.com.au

Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival

Sep 16-21

Baffle Creek, Qld bafflecreek.com.au

Flathead Classic

Sep 24-27

Gold Coast, Qld flatheadclassic.com.au

Fitzroy River Barra Bash

Oct 9-12

Fitzroy River, Qld fitzroyriverbarrabash.com.au

Tackle World Bundaberg Family Fishing Classic

Oct 19-20

Lake Monduran, Qld masa-fishstocking.org.au

To have your competition listed in the calendar, please phone (07) 3286 1833 or email ads@collins.media Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 9

Hooking a fish was not only a challenge but also an adventure for the Sandgate Scouts and Venturers.

Jessie and son Ozzy had an awesome fish on the platform at Nudgee recently, with Ozzy catching his first bream, which came in at 15cm.

A 57cm grunter caught by Lilly.

–WANTED– Pre-trained old fishing gear!

We will come to you if you have bulk gear!

0402 703 519 Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

A smorgasbord of species

W

E’VE had fairly ordinary weather over the past three months – so much rain and wind.

Some people look at it in negative way, but I see it as Mother Nature enforcing her own closed season.

Almost all species have had a chance to recover, so now they should be ready for the picking.

All that rain floods our waterways with much needed nutrients for the smaller species to feed on.

So look at bad weather in a good light – more healthier fish to be caught!

Now that we’re all super keen to get out there and make up for lost time, stop and check this out… some cracking money saving ideas!

A heads up: • Out-of-date flares or no flares – a fine of $309.00 (that’s a new Shimano Stradic reel) • No life vest, unserviceable or unsuitable – a fine of $309.00 (a new G. Loomis rod) • Not having your 360 light on while underway or at anchor after dark – a fine of $309.00 (a new Daiwa Saltist rod) • Driving unlicenced – a fine of $619 (a new Daiwa Certate reel).

Northern Moreton Bay

by MARK TEMPLETON

These are only a couple of the things Water Police frequently charge people with – don’t be one of them going forward, particularly when it can so easily be avoided.

Now, the fun stuff.

We recently had the opportunity to help the Sandgate Scouts and Venturers out with gaining skills on fishing for their achievement badges.

Plenty of fish were caught and most of the team achieved their goal.

This was the first time that most of them had been fishing, so baiting a hook and catching a fish was not only a challenge but also an adventure.

We all had a cracking time and I think a few will go on to more fishing activities.

So, thank you for allowing us to be part of this activity and we look forward to the next great night out.

Jessie and son Ozzy had an awesome fish on the platform at Nudgee recently, spending quality time together and learning new skills.

Ozzy caught his first

bream, which came in at 15cm!

Not bad at all for his first one, I am sure it will be the first of many to come.

At this age, the young ones take in so much information, it’s a great age to learn how to do things right.

Thank you for the photo, Jesse and Ozzy.

A couple of young female anglers, Lilly and Vivian had an awesome day on the water with the family.

Vivian was armed with her infamous pink rod, which out fishes everyone else five to one.

We all need a rod like that in our collection!

A 57cm grunter was caught by Lilly – an awesome effort because at that size they can really test your weaknesses.

Well done Lilly!

Another great catch was a 40cm grass sweetlip, taken on Vivian’s pink rod.

Well done, you’ve both made some awesome memories there.

Please check your safety gear, do your maintenance on your trailer and motor and prepare yourself for what you * continued P12

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Email: admin@wynnummarine.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 11

Vivian was very happy with her 40cm grass sweetlip.

Winston was very excited with his catch, and it was a little bigger than his dad’s.

A smorgasbord of bay species on offer * from P10

hope does not happen while you’re out on the water.

Be safe out there, lose lots of lures and make memories.

A young gun in the making is a junior angler called Winston.

He took his dad Brodie out for a session on Moreton Bay tuskfish recently and came home with a couple of crackers.

Even though Winston wasn’t able to complete the mission without help

from his dad and Captain Jack, he still got the prize in the end.

Winston sure looked excited with his catch.

And not only were they both great fish, but Winston’s was a little bigger than his dad’s.

Well done Winston, an awesome catch and an even better smile!

There is nothing better than sneaking out of the office and ducking down to Cabbage Tree Creek for a quick session to try out some new lures.

Harvey is always proud of his catches and it’s an absolute pleasure to be out-fished by him, again.

Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

You’re in the process of lining up your third cast and you hear, “Mark, what are you doing?” yelled from above.

You look around knowing you’ve been busted yet again by Harvey.

I love fishing with this youngster, he always brings a positive vibe to the session.

Well, that was the end of lure testing for me.

Harvey has the distinct knack of getting you to rebait his hook, and take his fish off for him.

I know he’s more than capable of doing it all himself, yet he still manages to get you to do it for him.

Anyway… he totally out-fished me and most of the others in the area, again.

Harvey is always proud of his catches and he is an absolute pleasure to be out-fished by.

Thank you Harvey.

Young gun angler Guy Lambert, who wrote his first piece for me in last month’s issue, is keen to share more with you.

This month, he talks about his techniques and ideas on catching whiting on lures, which I for one am struggling with.

Thank you Guy. How to tame whiting on surface and subsurface lures Gear Whiting are near the bottom of the food chain.

With their smaller size, you need look no further than a 1000 or 2000-sized reel, which will have the weight capacity and best gears for fishing the lighter lure weights and will handle common by-catch.

The 1000 Shimano Sedona and a step up 2000 Daiwa TD SOL display a good arrangement of gears, with a faster paced rotor that will improve comfortability, smoothness and ease to fish faster retrieves.

Both reels incorporate strong designs to prevent corrosion and last longer due to the lighter stronger materials.

The step up with the

TD SOL has a great Magseal system through the bail and internal gears that seal, preventing the internals from getting salt crystals and silt in them, which can deteriorate and corrode reels.

Rods in the 7’ range help when facing a headwind and frequent strong wind gusts.

A bit of length assists penetrating the wind, making for seamless casts, and a soft tip allows fast-paced actions that tempt whiting with surface lure retrieves and to get the lighter lures working with a more natural action.

The Atomic Arrowz Bream Surface and Whiting Tip come in that length and a lightweight 1-3kg, with a soft backbone to prevent resistance against hook ups, giving a more natural hook set with the whiting’s softer lips and capabilities to spit hooks.

Braid gives an advantage over monofilament * continued P13

www.bnbfishing.com. au

A smorgasbord of species * from P12

as it is generally thinner in diameter and rounder, which increases casting distance.

Due to both reels I’ve listed having long-cast spool designs, line will evenly disperse off the reel for a more accurate long cast, which is helpful to cover more ground and find fish.

The lighter the leader the better because it’s less visible to the fish, so 6lb is my staple when it comes to whiting and in a mono leader, which helps elevate the lure presentation.

When fishing surface, this ensures a belly isn’t created in the line causing more drag, which makes the lure nosedive with an unnatural action.

As whiting generally inhabit shallower pock-

ets in the rivers, a faster sinking material is not needed.

Lures and retrieves Atomic Hardz K9 Walker hard-body lures stand out in the surface category, matching the natural fleeing patterns of jelly prawns in the shallows as they dip, dive and cause a commotion, making it easy for fish to locate and feed more aggressively.

Due to its natural profile and surface movement, a larger lure with more dominant splash and better fished as a slower retrieve is the 70mm MMD Splash Prawn.

For a freer livelier take on whiting fishing with lures, try micro plastics.

It’s hard to go past the subtle beating vibrations of 2.5” Z-Man Slim SwimZ and the Ecogear

Maryuku Isome Worms fished on a jig head weight suited to weather conditions.

A good surface retrieve is a ‘walk the dog’ action, which consists of constant sideways twitching of the rod to make the lure swivel, duck and dive or a simple twitching of the rod tip.

To get the Splash Prawn working, fish the soft plastics in the lower reaches of the water column using smaller bumps of the rod tip to get the tail dancing and the fish interested in striking aggressively.

The speed of the retrieve depends on what the fish want on the day, so don’t be afraid to mix it up.

Hope this helps, Guy. Maintain the passion.

How to tame whiting on surface and sub-surface lures with Guy Lambert.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 13

Snapper have powerful jaws that can crush jig heads, so the TT HeadlockZ HD is our go-to for snapper.

The author with a quality inshore snapper pinned on a TT HeadlockZ HD jig head and Z-Man 3.75” StreakZ.

Inshore snapper on soft plastics

A

Ron boated a nice pan-sized snapper that ate a Z-Man 3” Slim SwimZ paddle tail on a 1-4oz 2-0 TT HeadlockZ HD jig head.

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Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

LOT of anglers start their soft plastics fishing journey chasing bread and butter species such as bream and flathead, with the perception that snapper are a more exotic species reserved for anglers with big boats travelling long distances.

This is not the case.

Over the years, improvements in fishing tackle, electronics and watercraft have seen small boats and even kayak anglers getting stuck into larger numbers of snapper, including quality fish in the 60-80cm class.

Let’s take a quick look at where to locate these fish and the gear and techniques that will get you hooked up.

Where to fish Snapper favour deeper water and love structure, so these are two starting points to use to locate them in your local river, estuary or bay.

Don’t get me wrong, you will catch snapper in shallower water, and this is how I first started catching a few, however I soon realised that the shallows I caught them

Tackle Tactics

by JUSTIN WILLMER

from had weed and rubble to attract fish onto them and they were also in close proximity to deeper water.

Once I realised this, I began to move off the flats into deeper water and soon located ledges, drop-offs and structure in the deeper sections of my local waterways in 3-6m of water that held large schools of bait and numbers of snapper.

This was all from a kayak using a basic sounder and, over the

next few years, I explored more areas and began to crack a pattern, landing more and larger fish.

When anglers head wide offshore in search of snapper, they are looking for structure such as ledges, pinnacles, reef, wrecks and rubble, while also paying attention to the structure that is holding bait and fish.

In the river and estuary, we are looking * continued P15

Jacob Iedema landed a 55cm snapper from his kayak on light spin gear and a Z-Man paddle tail plastic.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Inshore bay snapper on soft plastics * from P14

for the same things but generally on a smaller scale, so a single rock or tiny patch of rubble in deeper water can be enough to hold fish.

Don’t forget available man-made structure, such as rock walls, bridge pylons and wrecks created to attract fish also.

When to fish From my experience, snapper will bite yearround, with numbers and sizes increasing throughout the cooler months because of an influx of larger bait in the systems.

As with many species, peak bite times are dawn and dusk, however the tide seems to play a more important role.

As we are fishing deeper sections of water, the tidal flow can be heavier and fish will hold out of the flow until the current slows around the tide changes.

A couple of hours either side of the tide change will see the flow ease, the fish move out

from cover to scout around and feed more, while also giving us the opportunity to present our lightly weighted soft plastics more realistically and effectively.

Moon phases also play an important role and I have found that the fish feed best a few days prior to a full or new moon, with the day of and the day after the moon commonly a tough bite.

There’s an old saying though, ‘fish are where you find them’, and if these factors don’t line up with the fishing time you have available, get out there anyway because fishing can be unpredictable at times and you’re not going to catch them at home.

Combo selection The bulk of the fish we’re catching range from undersize through to 55cm, so I prefer to fish light with a 7’ 2-4kg or 3-6kg rod paired with a 2500 size spin reel loaded with 10lb braid and a 10-15lb leader.

You can up or downsize your gear based

on the average size of the fish and the type of structure you’re fishing.

Plastics and jig heads Though you will catch inshore snapper on larger 5” and even 7” soft plastics, in my local southeast Queensland area I’ve had the most success fishing smaller 2.5” to 4” plastics.

Often the bait are small, so in turn the fish are zoned in on smaller prey.

If you find the bait are larger, then upsize, however we have caught plenty of 50-60cm fish on smaller plastics and this would be my starting point.

These smaller plastics will also keep you busy, with plenty of by-catch such as bream, grunter, flathead, tailor and a mix of trevally species that also like to hold around structure.

If you want to hedge your bets in terms of species, it’s hard to go past 2.5” soft plastics, with my go-to being Z-Man ST GrubZ, Slim * continued P16

Tide Times

AUSTRALIA EAST COAST AUSTRALIA, EAST AUSTRALIA, EAST COAST COAST –– BRISBA BRISB BRISBANE BAR LAT LONG LAT27° 27°22ʼ 22ʼSS LONG153° 153°10ʼ 10ʼEE Time Time

MAY MAY

mm

Time Time

Times Timesand andHeights Heightsof ofHigh Highand andLow LowWate Wate JUNE JUNE

mm

0338 0338 2.06 2.06 1044 1044 0.83 0.83 1647 1.67 1.67 TH TH1647 2219 2219 0.99 0.99

Time Time

Time Time

mm

mm

0428 0424 0428 1.92 1.92 0424 2.27 2.27 1110 1115 1110 0.66 0.66 1115 0.52 0.52 1744 1.95 1.95 1725 2.05 2.05 SU SA SA1725 SU1744 2344 2320 2344 0.96 0.96 2320 0.74 0.74

Time Tim

0235 0235 2.25 2.25 0944 0944 0.82 0.82 1519 1.63 1.63 WE WE1519 2100 2100 0.81 0.81

11

16 16

0350 0350 2.26 2.26 1054 1054 0.73 0.73 1642 1.76 1.76 TH TH1642 2226 2226 0.77 0.77

0440 2.04 2.04 0525 2.22 2.22 0523 1.87 1.87 002 220525 220024 17 170440 170523 1132 1207 1157 0556 1132 0.76 0.76 1207 0.44 0.44 17 1157 0.60 0.60 055

0500 2.32 2.32 0500 1156 0.60 0.60 1156 1750 1.94 1.94 FR1750 FR 2343 0.69 0.69 2343

0034 0.70 0.70 013 0534 2.04 2.04 0046 0.89 0.89 180534 180046 18 330034 330136 0622 2.14 2.14 18 070 1215 0.68 0.68 0615 1.84 1.84 1215 0622 0615 0700

22 33

1744 1.81 1.81 FR FR1744 2330 2330 0.94 0.94

11

16 16

1825 2.23 2.23 MO 1834 2.10 2.10 SU SU1825 MO1834

11

122 TU TU1221 1902 190

1242 0.54 0.54 TU1242 TU 1919 2.24 2.24 1919

131 WE1314 WE 195 1956

0602 2.37 2.37 0030 0.87 0.87 0602 0030 0622 2.04 2.04 1250 0.49 0.49 1250 0622 1255 0.60 0.60 1848 2.13 2.13 SU SA1848 SU1255 SA 1914 2.11 2.11 1914

0141 0.65 0.65 0142 0.80 0.80 0141 0142 0704 1.82 1.82 0716 2.06 2.06 0716 0704 1324 0.49 0.49 1344 0.36 0.36 WE TU1344 WE1324 TU 2002 2.36 2.36 2009 2.53 2.53 2009 2002

44

19 19

023 0238 075 0759 140 TH1403 TH 204 2044

0052 0.60 0.60 0121 0.80 0.80 0052 0121 0658 2.38 2.38 0704 2.03 2.03 0658 0704 1338 0.39 0.39 MO 1331 0.53 0.53 SU1338 MO1331 SU 1940 2.32 2.32 1952 2.24 2.24 1940 1952

0241 0.61 0.61 0241 0809 1.96 1.96 0809 1427 0.35 0.35 WE1427 WE 2057 2.61 2.61 2057

033 0232 0.73 0.73 200232 550331 20 085 0751 1.80 1.80 0751 0852

145 FR1450 FR 212 2129

44

1831 1.96 1.96 SA1831 SA

19 19

55

20 20

0155 0.53 0.53 0155 0747 2.34 2.34 0747 1421 0.33 0.33 MO1421 MO 2029 2.47 2.47 2029

66

1257 0.39 0.39 MO1257 MO 1919 2.40 2.40 1919

0451 045 1126 112 180 MO MO1803

55

0335 0.58 0.58 041 0209 0.74 0.74 0320 0.67 0.67 210209 210320 660335 660418 21 0900 1.88 1.88 21 094 0744 2.00 2.00 0837 1.80 1.80 0900 0940 0744 0837 1407 0.48 0.48 TU1407 TU 2030 2.35 2.35 2030

1508 0.36 0.36 TH1508 TH 2142 2.64 2.64 2142

0250 0.49 0.49 0253 0.69 0.69 0250 0253 0834 2.25 2.25 0822 1.96 1.96 0834 0822 1501 0.30 0.30 WE 1441 0.45 0.45 TU1501 WE1441 TU 2115 2.59 2.59 2107 2.43 2.43 2115 2107

0427 0.59 0.59 0427 0948 1.80 1.80 0948 1547 0.40 0.40 FR1547 FR 2225 2.62 2.62 2225

77

1406 0.45 0.45 TH1406 TH 2045 2.45 2.45 2045

44

22 22

77

1446 0.42 0.42 FR1446 FR 2126 2.52 2.52 2126

153 SA1532 SA 221 2210

0407 0.63 0.63 050 220407 22 770500 0924 1.80 1.80 102 1023 0924 1528 0.40 0.40 SA1528 SA 2208 2.57 2.57 2208

161 SU1612 SU 224 2248

0343 0.49 0.49 0343 0920 2.14 2.14 0920 1539 0.31 0.31 WE1539 WE 2159 2.65 2.65 2159

88

0515 0.62 0.62 0453 0.60 0.60 053 0335 0.67 0.67 230453 230335 23 880515 880537 1035 1.75 1.75 23 110 1011 1.81 1.81 0900 1.91 1.91 0900 1035 1011 1101

0433 0.52 0.52 0433 1005 2.00 2.00 1005 1615 0.35 0.35 TH1615 TH 2243 2.66 2.66 2243

0417 0.66 0.66 0600 0.66 0.66 0541 0.58 0.58 061 240417 240541 990600 990611 24 1120 1.70 1.70 24 113 0940 1.87 1.87 1100 1.81 1.81 1120 1139 0940 1100

99

1515 0.44 0.44 TH1515 TH 2145 2.48 2.48 2145 1548 0.45 0.45 FR1548 FR 2222 2.50 2.50 2222

1625 0.46 0.46 SU 1610 0.39 0.39 SA1625 SU1610 SA 2307 2.56 2.56 2251 2.59 2.59 2307 2251

1703 0.54 0.54 MO 1654 0.41 0.41 SU1703 MO1654 SU 2347 2.47 2.47 2335 2.59 2.59 2347 2335

164 MO1648 MO 232 2324

172 TU1724 TU 235 2358

0523 0.58 0.58 0500 0.67 0.67 0643 0.72 0.72 0628 0.57 0.57 064 100523 250500 100643 250628 100642 10 1050 1.87 1.87 25 1020 1.82 1.82 10 1204 1.66 1.66 25 1151 1.82 1.82 10 121 1204 1151 1215 1050 1020 1649 0.42 0.42 FR1649 FR 2326 2.60 2.60 2326

1623 0.47 0.47 SA1623 SA 2301 2.50 2.50 2301

1742 0.63 0.63 MO1742 MO

1741 0.45 0.45 TU1741 TU

180 WE1801 WE

0027 2.36 2.36 0019 2.55 2.55 003 0613 0.66 0.66 0545 0.69 0.69 110613 260545 110027 260019 110030 11 0723 0.76 0.76 26 0715 0.56 0.56 11 071 1136 1.74 1.74 26 1104 1.77 1.77 11 1136 1104 0723 0715 0713 1725 0.53 0.53 SU 1700 0.51 0.51 SA1725 SU1700 SA 2344 2.48 2.48 2344

1248 1.64 1.64 WE 1244 1.83 1.83 TU1248 WE1244 TU 1824 0.73 0.73 1831 0.52 0.52 1824 1831

125 TH1256 TH 184 1843

0107 2.26 2.26 010 0009 2.49 2.49 0632 0.71 0.71 0106 2.48 2.48 120107 270106 120104 120009 270632 12 0804 0.79 0.79 27 074 0703 0.75 0.75 27 1153 1.73 1.73 12 0802 0.55 0.55 12 0804 0802 0747 0703 1153 1223 1.63 1.63 MO 1743 0.56 0.56 SU1223 MO1743 SU 1802 0.65 0.65 1802

1337 1.63 1.63 WE1337 WE 1912 0.83 0.83 1912

1341 1.86 1.86 TH1341 TH 1929 0.61 0.61 1929

134 FR1342 FR 193 1930

0054 2.36 2.36 0030 2.44 2.44 0150 2.16 2.16 0156 2.38 2.38 014 130054 280030 130150 280156 130143 13 0757 0.83 0.83 28 0725 0.73 0.73 13 0847 0.79 0.79 28 0850 0.53 0.53 13 082 0757 0725 0847 0850 0826 1317 1.56 1.56 MO1317 MO 1846 0.78 0.78 1846

1248 1.70 1.70 TU1248 TU 1833 0.63 0.63 1833

1434 1.65 1.65 TH1434 TH 2009 0.92 0.92 2009

1444 1.91 1.91 FR1444 FR 2032 0.71 0.71 2032

143 SA1437 SA 202 2026

0142 2.23 2.23 0121 2.40 2.40 0238 2.07 2.07 0249 2.25 2.25 022 140142 290121 140238 290249 140227 14 0854 0.87 0.87 29 0823 0.71 0.71 14 0933 0.76 0.76 29 0941 0.51 0.51 14 091 0854 0823 0933 0941 0912 1422 1.53 1.53 WE 1353 1.71 1.71 TU1422 WE1353 TU 1944 0.90 0.90 1935 0.70 0.70 1944 1935

1540 1.71 1.71 FR1540 FR 2117 0.98 0.98 2117

1551 1.99 1.99 SA1551 SA 2145 0.79 0.79 2145

154 SU1542 SU 213 2137

0218 2.36 2.36 0237 2.12 2.12 0330 1.99 1.99 0348 2.11 2.11 032 300218 150237 150330 300348 150323 15 0922 0.67 0.67 15 0950 0.87 0.87 30 1022 0.72 0.72 30 1032 0.48 0.48 15 100 0950 0922 1022 1032 1003 1537 1.57 1.57 WE1537 WE 2058 0.98 0.98 2058

1506 1.77 1.77 TH1506 TH 2047 0.75 0.75 2047

1645 1.81 1.81 SU 1659 2.12 2.12 SA1645 SU1659 SA 2232 1.00 1.00 2304 0.82 0.82 2232 2304

165 MO1651 MO 225 2259

0321 2.32 2.32 310321 31 1019 0.60 0.60 1019 1618 1.89 1.89 FR1618 FR 2204 0.76 0.76 2204

Copyright Commonwealth ofAustralia Australia 2022,Bureau Bureauof ofMeteorolo Meteorolo ©©Copyright Commonwealth of 2022, New Moon First Quarter Datumof ofPredictions PredictionsisisLowest LowestAstronomical AstronomicalTide Tide Datum

Josh Dow managed a decent snapper fishing a man-made rock wall and surrounding rubble.

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Full Moon

MoonPhase PhaseSymbols Symbols Moon

Last Quarter

NewMoon Moon New

FirstQuarter Quarter First

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 15

Jerkbait-style plastics have long been a favourite for snapper, including the Z-Man 3.75” StreakZ and 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ.

Snapper pull hard, so it’s important to turn their head quickly and get them away from structure.

Inshore bay snapper on soft plastics * from P15

Stepping up in profile size, with the Z-Man MinnowZ, StreakZ Curly TailZ, StreakZ and Scented Jerk ShadZ all proven fish catchers.

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Specialising in: n Canopies n Side Curtains n Seating n Bimini Kits n Storm Covers Unit 2/19 Thorne St Wynnum Ph: 3396 1617 • Mob: 0402 755 189 www.moretonbayboattrimmers.com.au Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

SwimZ and PrawnZ. These are all bitesized snacks and I fish them on a size 1 or 1/0 jig head.

Snapper are jig head destroying species, with their strong teeth, powerful jaws and aggressive battles around structure.

The TT HeadlockZ HD jig head is my go-to for snapper because it is built on a brutally strong Mustad black nickel chemically sharpened hook.

I will fish the PrawnZ if prawns are currently active in the system, Slim SwimZ paddle tail if I want to fish faster and the ST GrubZ curl tail if I want to slow things down.

It’s worth mixing your presentations up to find what the fish want on the day, while also sussing out by-catch species that may be in the area.

Because snapper are notorious for eating the presentation on the drop, pay attention as the plastic sinks.

If it doesn’t get eaten on the drop, allow the plastic to pause briefly on the bottom before giving it a few twitches and hops, repeating this action then pausing to replicate injured

or dying prey.

With the natural buoyancy of the Z-Man ElaZtech plastic, fish will often pick the plastic up off the bottom, so if you feel a bite while paused, set the hook.

If you want to avoid some of the smaller species and focus on larger snapper, then upsizing your presentation is an option.

A couple of favourites in the next size range include Z-Man 3” MinnowZ and 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ, both of which are still a bitesize profile but are more attractive to larger predators and anglers chasing snapper, flathead, jewfish, trevally and more.

These are rigged on a 3/0 TT HeadlockZ HD jig head and, as with the smaller plastics, I will commonly carry a selection of 1/8oz, 1/6oz and 1/4oz jig heads.

This is generally

enough weight to get down in the 3-6m depths that I fish, especially around the slacker stages of the tide.

A couple of 3/8oz and 1/2oz jig heads can be included in the kit, just in case more weight is required in strong currents, and these also come in handy for casting at schools of mackerel or tuna that may pop up in the bay areas we target snapper.

The great thing about these plastics is that many anglers will already have them in their bream and flathead kit, it’s then simply a matter of putting them to work in some deeper water with a focus on structure and bait.

One profile that’s worth adding to your kit for snapper is a jerk bait profile.

Jerk bait profiles are slender tapering baitfish profiles that have min* continued P17

A couple of proven jerk bait profiles, the Z-Man 3.75” StreakZ and 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Inshore bay snapper on soft plastics * from P16

imal built-in action and in turn reduced drag.

This allows them to cast long, even in windy conditions, and sink faster through the water column on a light jig head.

Jerk bait profiles glide down through the water column, representing a dying baitfish and then come to life with a few twitches and flicks of the rod tip.

They also have the versatility of being able to be retrieved at speed for pelagic species, when they’re encountered while chasing snapper.

My two go-to jerk bait profiles are the Z-Man 3.75” StreakZ and 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ. The latter is perfect for when you want more bulk and presence in the water to match larger bait, while the 3.75” StreakZ is the ultimate small bait imitation.

A 2/0 TT HeadlockZ HD is perfect in the StreakZ, with a 3/0 or 4/0 the go in the larger 4” Scented Jerk ShadZ. When rigging plastics for snapper, it’s often about selecting the lightest jig head you can get away with, to present the plastic on a slow natural fall, giving the snapper plenty of time to locate it on the sink, while also reducing snags around structure.

Retrieve techniques When the current is

flowing more heavily, the fish will often hold tight to structure out of the flow, so when holding position, your casts need to be made to bring the plastic back into the strike zone.

If you miss the zone, you are less likely to get a bite and, if you do get a bite during this stage of the tide, you need to be prepared to wrestle the fish away from cover.

As the flow decreases, the fish will spread out and hunt away from the structure, and the reduced flow allows you to fan your casts around, covering more water rather than concentrating as much on the key structure.

Where possible, I like to bring the plastic back naturally with the flow when holding position, either directly or across current, targeting fish that are feeding around and over the structure.

As mentioned previously, when holding position, generally we simply make a long cast upcurrent and allow the plastic to free fall to the bottom, while keeping the bulk of the slack out of the line to detect any bites.

From there it’s a matter of mixing up the retrieve, hopping, twitching and pausing the plastic on the bottom, or near the bottom in extremely snaggy areas.

If not holding position

Light 2-4kg and 3-6kg spin gear is fun for chasing inshore snapper and perfect for finesse plastics. www.bnbfishing.com.au

with the electric motor or anchoring, another option is to drift and fish the structure.

When drifting, the retrieve is similar, however we will generally cast ahead of the drift – which could be a drift that is driven by the wind or tide – and fish our way to the plastic, while still allowing it to fall naturally to the bottom before commencing a twitch, hop and pause retrieve.

Additional tips It’s important to keep the noise to a minimum, especially when fishing shallower reef and rubble.

We generally prefer to stop the motor away from the structure and then use the electric motor or a drift to carry us over to it.

Noise will transfer through the boat hull and spook the fish also, so try to keep the banging about to a minimum.

Scent is another important element when fishing soft plastics, especially when fish are picking them up on the drop and we want them to hold on long enough for us to set the hook.

My go-to scent for targeting snapper is ProCure Super Gel in Mullet or Sardine/Pilchard flavour.

I will apply a small amount and smear it over the soft plastic every 30 or so casts.

It’s time to investigate the snapper options available in your local waterways and gear up for a hot winter bite.

Hopefully, the tips and techniques included here will help you get connected to your first snapper or a new personal best trophy fish.

See you on the water…

The author and his dad had an hour of snapper mayhem fishing around the tide change.

Sean Bekkers landed a 49cm fish on a Z-Man Slim SwimZ cast and hopped through a deep drain.

A few Z-Man 2.5” finesse favourites, the PrawnZ, ST GrubZ and Slim SwimZ. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 17

C ASTfrom the past

Cape Moreton deep dropping in depth

F

EATU R I NG a great article from the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing mag archives, welcome to Cast from the Past.

If you have a hankering to read about a certain topic, drop us a line and we’ll do some deep diving.

Here’s a piece by Jason ‘Birdy’ Bird from May 2016 covering deep dropping offshore in southeast Queensland.

We had a perfect forecast for several days of light wind and low swell off Moreton Island, so the call was made to load up the electric reels and head wide.

While I fish out of Scarborough, the end location is sometimes

Fishing Tips

by JASON ‘BIRDY’ BIRD

100km away, and it’s worth mentioning when planning a wide run that the wind prediction for the area you want to fish may be different to that of your launch location.

This is particularly true for the Redcliffe and Moreton Bay ramps, where an inshore wind can blow while it’s actually calmer further out.

Fuelled up and ready to roll, we dropped into the water and started to make our way across the bay at a good pace.

I had left our run a little later than usual because it was a long

weekend with perfect weather and the amount of small boat traffic between Redcliffe and Bulwer on Moreton Island was the reason we waited for sunrise, as wearing a tinnie was not part of the plan.

We stopped at some pearl perch ledges on the way through the 90m contour to break up the trip – who doesn’t want a few pearlies in the box?

After an hour and a couple of legal fish, we continued east on a perfect ocean.

With a small swell and no chop, the trip to

Tony held the author’s second fish for a photo.

Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

the wide grounds was quite easy.

About 20NM east of Cape Moreton in 250m of water is where reef fishing ends and deep dropping starts.

The first area was full of huge schools of bait that the blue marlin fishos to the north of me would have liked to see.

The bait was holding from the bottom – 260m – to about 200m.

It was one of the biggest bait schools I’ve seen in that depth.

We drifted through half a dozen times for a couple of dogfish and nothing else, so headed south along a soft ridge line I’d driven over and marked on a previous trip.

As we searched south, we came across a 10m gradual rise which maintained that depth for a distance and then dropped back off.

To me it looked like a gravel patch on mud or sand but in 270m of water I couldn’t make out anything except some life right on the bottom.

When you discover life over nondescript flat ground in this depth, fish it.

The chances are that not many others would have due to the lack of serious structure, and only anglers with good sounding gear who watch the screen intently will pick any fish up.

On our first drop in near-zero current

and wind, I had two 16/0 circle hooks on crimped 150lb droppers with big mullet fillets below a set of ganged 12/0 hooks running more mullet.

Most fishos will run heavier gear than this for bar cod and I completely agree that this was light but I like to hedge my bets on a ruby or flame snapper or eastern nannygai when first dropping on a location.

I do carry 250lb and 400lb rigs for when things get a bit serious.

Though while fishing for bar cod for the table, you can generally get away with 200lb leaders and changing the rig to a single-hook setup.

Tony was onboard and got to the bottom first.

He soon had the reel whirring and was on the way up with something of moderate size.

I hit the bottom while this was happening and almost instantly got mauled by a big fish but failed to make the hook stick.

So, it was back to the bottom and bang – I was on tight.

It may have even been the same big fish from the previous hit.

The power in the bite and head turn of a bar cod is unmistakable once you know it.

As soon as I had the electric reel in go mode, I spun around * continued P19

www.bnbfishing.com. au

C ASTfrom the past Cape Moreton deep dropping * from P18

and reached over the helm chair to hit ‘mark’ on the GPS. Never forget to mark a bite when fishing newfound ground in deep water.

I lost a bit of line but by that stage I was back to even, according to the counter on the reel.

After a while, I was comfortably winning the war as Tony lifted a big eastern nannygai over the edge and onto the ice.

In the glassy-calm conditions, the sight of a good bar cod rising from the depths amid a cloud of air bubbles was a welcome sight.

Along with the nannygai I had on the other hook, it was a good start.

We came around and lined up on the same line as the first drift.

As we approached the mark I had entered, I got hammered on a whole 25cm mullet and instantly started giving up line on a heavy drag I’d cranked up after the first fish.

Tony was also monstered and started losing line on a heavy drag.

Both fish were winning and well on the way to 300m from the boat after a 270m-deep bite.

Tony lost a heap of weight off his line and the old Miya Epoch electric reel began reclaiming lost line, but I was still bent over and having to work the rod

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with the reel going just to lift the fish off the bottom.

Some people might think that fishing deep with electric reels is lazy or boring.

Well, if you have winches capable of 100kg plus of lift, it may well be boring.

But when fishing with smaller reels capable of only 30kg of lift and drag, you really need to work the fish off the bottom because putting the rod in the holder and sitting back will result in burnt-out reels and no fish.

Tony got his fish to the boat first and we found he’d hooked a nannygai of about 2kg that had been eaten by a seriously big bar cod and then spat out.

This fish was busted up as if it had been run through a garbage compactor, with bones sticking out through the flesh and big rip marks down both sides.

Note to self – don’t let a bar cod bite you.

My fish worked me hard for the first 100m off the bottom and then, as often happens, barotrauma set in and the fish was soon boatside for another bar cod into the box.

At this stage, I’d caught two bar cod and Tony had landed a bag of nannygai and the obligatory dogfish or four, so the next drift I packed up and let Tony have the deck.

We loaded three whole mullet on the rig

and sent them straight onto the mark on a short drift.

Things didn’t happen quickly and we were well south of where we had hooked the previous fish when the 24kg stick buckled over and line started leaving the reel.

This was a stronger fish than before and, under heavy drag, it ripped 50m of line off the reel and stuck hard to the bottom for at least 15 minutes, while Tony worked as hard as he could to pump some line back on the reel.

With 350m of braid out, we started to win and gain line.

This fish gave its all and hugged the bottom but, once we got it 50m off the bottom, it weakened and started rising quickly, which induced barotrauma and made the last 15 minutes of slow winding on the electric much easier.

A 20kg bar cod next to the boat after Tony’s long stint on the rod was a welcome sight for both of us.

After a few photos, it was into the ice.

We had a look at the box and decided we would leave them biting because we didn’t need any more fish for the day.

It was only 11am but we pointed the sharp end west and headed in.

The trip home was glorious – I don’t think I touched the throttle from the continental shelf to Scarborough Marina.

Tony with an eastern nannygai.

A 20kg bar cod boated by Tony.

The author boated the first bar cod for the day.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 19

A trophy grass sweetlip for the author.

Tuna time for Matt.

Four fish in four drops.

Keeping shallow options open

A

QUICK scroll through your favourite YouTube fishing channels will show that the further north you go, the better Queensland fishing gets.

That said, there are still plenty of decent fish to be caught offshore in southeast Queensland as well as in and around Moreton Bay. To catch consistently in an area that cops such high boat traffic and fishing pressure, you need to keep your options open.

Being versatile is a

The smile says is all, a southeast Queensland nannygai for the author.

Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Fishing Tips

by CHRIS RAIMONDI

highly underrated skill among anglers.

Typically, we’re a fickle old bunch who seem to get set in our ways and all too often allow our egos to get in the way of trying new things.

As someone who has fished around Brisbane their whole life, I learnt long ago to leave the ego dockside!

Quiet days are common in this part of the world, yet the days that make you work the hardest often unlock patterns for future success.

One of the keys to maximising your shallow water southeast Queensland sessions is to have a solid game plan.

When I use the term ‘shallow’ water, I’m referring to depths of about 15-35m.

Leave home with a clear idea of where you’ll fish, what you’ll target and how you’ll go about it.

Having plan A sorted is a great start, but also having plans B, C

and D organised… even better!

My most recent trip was a good example of needing those back up plans.

I launched the boat slightly before sunrise with the intention of fishing with vibes and soft plastics during the low-light period.

I consciously decided to leave the bait at home, rejecting the temptation to pack a few pilchard, squid or flesh bait.

Dead bait certainly have their moments in the shallows, though I find the vast number of small fish they attract negate their effectiveness.

On this day, I wanted to give the lures a redhot crack before turning to plan B, which was to locate and catch live bait.

Plan C – hoping I’d not have to get to it – was going to be to source fresh flesh bait in the form of a tuna or school mackerel.

Plan D was a swim at Tangalooma! * continued P21

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Keeping your shallow options open * from P20

It’s fair to say that it was a slow start.

The vibes attracted a few small fish but nothing significant in what was meant to be the best bite period of the day.

My friend Matt got us on the board with a couple of legal fish – a grass sweetlip and moses perch – however the lures were proving ineffective.

After persisting for a solid couple of hours, we made the call to look to live bait and initially found them tough to find.

We tracked down a school of small yakka and picked away at them until we had enough to deploy.

Our little yakka were converted into a lot of small squire and several undersized red emperor – a great sign for the future of this great species of reef fish.

Every little red we caught and released made me think more about where they might head when they grew bigger.

Anyway, plan B certainly wasn’t setting the world alight either, until we found what looked like some bigger bait schools.

Matt dropped the bait jig down and, to my joy, was rewarded with a full string of much bigger yakka.

A glance at the sounder showed what clearly looked like predatory fish feeding on what was a massive school of bait, so we promptly spot locked the Minn Kota in place and dropped down a few livies.

By then it was the middle of the day and conditions had glassed out, not normally the recipe for a hot session in the southeast Queensland

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shallows, yet for some reason this day was different.

We were still harassed by a few small fish but between those we started to get slammed by some nice grassy sweetlip and moses perch.

After a while the bite slowed, so I turned off the spot lock, which allowed us to drift over a different patch of rubble.

After a few minutes I was slammed by a really good fish.

The customary head thumps throughout the fight suggested it was a big grassy sweetlip and that proved true as I elatedly slid the 3.5-4kg model into the net.

A fish like that in these shallows really was a trophy and whatever happened after that fish that day was simply a bonus.

We remained committed to the plan and luckily enough it continued to work.

More quality grassies and moses perch were split by a fish that I’ll remember for a long time.

On this occasion, my live yakka was nailed and line immediately peeled from the reel at a rate of knots.

I’ve recently fallen back in love with using monofilament line and honestly, there is no better feeling knowing you’ve got that stretch and a bit of give when you’re connected to a quality fish.

Given I was only fishing 35lb though, my drag wasn’t set super tight and this fished proved fairly tough to get off the bottom.

Initially I had thoughts of it being a pelagic of some sort but after the initial run, the strong thumps through the rod signified it was

a nice reef species.

The water was super clear and, as I leaned over the side and saw colour, I knew straight away it was a cracking nannygai.

I must admit, the stakes grew a little higher on identification and I did think to myself that no one would believe me if I lost this fish.

Lucky for me, the trusty BKK 6/0s stayed pinned in the jaw and my 66cm southeast Queensland nannygai was in the boat!

Two absolute trophy fish on an awesome day I won’t forget.

I have never been so happy about not going for a swim at Tangalooma!

Catch you.

Quality fish nail live bait in the shallows.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 21

It is almost impossible to find anyone in central and other parts of Queensland who believes nannygai stocks are in serious decline.

Critique of and alternatives to proposed nannygai management changes

I

N his paper entitled ‘Critique of and alternatives to proposed changes to the management of saddletail and crimson snapper’, Klim Martin discusses the proposed modifications by Queensland Fisheries to the managing of these species on the east coast of Queensland, as at March 2024.

Saddletail and crimson snapper have a number of common local names, including red jewfish, large-mouth nannygai and smallmouth nannygai.

For the purposes of this paper, we will use the most common names – being largemouth nannygai, which are saddletail snapper, and small-mouth nannygai, which are crimson snapper.

They aren’t true nannygai but members of the lutjanid family, which also includes red

Point of View

by Martin Klim

emperor, mangrove jack and fingermark.

Nannygai stocks It is almost impossible to find anyone who has fished for nannis for decades in central Queensland specifically, but almost certainly in other parts of north Queensland as well, who believes stocks are in serious decline.

In fact, many are reporting seeing more schools and catching more nannis than ever in recent years.

How can this be?

Fishing effort has undoubtedly increased, with bigger boats and better technology, so intuitively you might expect to see a reduction in stocks.

Think about it… we have had extensive green zones cover-

Page 22 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

ing large expanses of prime nanni habitat since 2004, affording protection to spawning aggregations and stocks in general.

On top of that, nanni habitat was traditionally trawled relentlessly, destroying critical soft coral habitat and breaking up the schools of fish that call that habitat home.

The trawl fleet has been significantly rationalised over the past couple of decades and we don’t see the level of habitat destruction we used to.

The combination of these two positive impacts for large-mouth nannygai and smallmouth nannygai are the most likely explanation for the resurgence of stocks of these species.

As a consequence, recruitment must be better than it has been for many decades and reports of extensive juvenile nanni schools in inshore areas along the coast are coming in all the time.

The abundance of juvenile schools along the coast and clear success of recruitment in recent years appears not to have been included in departmental stock assessment calculations.

What a critical oversight.

Effectiveness of minimum size limits Every thinking and responsible recreational fisher wouldn’t argue that minimum size limits are a good idea and should provide a measure of protection to ensure fish have an opportunity to spawn at least once.

However, there are exceptions and nannis are a classic example.

Large-mouth nannygai suffer terribly from barotrauma, only equalled by tuskfish in the offshore reef fishing environment.

Barotrauma is essentially the fish getting the bends due to being quickly pulled from deep water to the surface.

Typical offshore nanni habitat is soft coral plains and wonky hole country in water depths between about 25m and 60m.

Lethal barotrauma in large-mouth nannygai occurs as soon as the water depth you catch them in exceeds about 15m.

So, that clearly means pretty much 100 percent of current undersized fish caught in offshore waters will be discarded dead or dying.

Quite apart from the obvious waste of a resource, it is also a * continued P23

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Alternatives to proposed nannygai management changes * from P22

significant contributor to the shark depredation problem everyone is experiencing.

Of course, sharks have learnt quickly that nanni fishers are a great source of free food, with all the dead undersized fish tossed back.

I know of many thinking fishos who now keep their undersized nannis onboard until they have finished fishing, move off the grounds and then discard the undersize fish so as not to train the sharks in that area.

While a very common-sense idea, it is technically against the rules.

The bottom line is these fish are dead, and dead is dead whichever way you look at it.

From a sound fisheries management principle, this is plain stupid.

Let’s examine what might be a typical offshore recreational fishing trip targeting largemouth nannygai – few fishos actually actively target small-mouth nannygai.

If they found a school to fish, two fishers in a boat would likely catch between two to six undersized (<40cm) largemouth nannygai in the course of the fishing session.

On a good day, they might also expect to catch up to their current individual bag limit of nine legal-sized nannis too.

Now think about this – if the two fishers manage to catch close to their bag limit of large-mouth nannygai, they will probably have killed around 23 fish, and unfortunately some trips may be

many more, if there are a lot of small fish in the school.

Most responsible fishers deplore killing fish they don’t intend to keep and hate having to throw back perfectly good dead fish.

But what if we changed our paradigm?

If the bag limit for large-mouth nannygai also included all undersized fish, say above 35cm, our two fishers above would kill around 18 fish instead of 23 plus for the trip – a reduction in mortality of around five to six fish.

Surely that is a good outcome for the fish stocks?

If the minimum legal size of large-mouth nannygai is increased to 55cm as proposed, and even if the bag limit was reduced to four per * continued P24

With barotrauma lethal for large-mouth nannygai caught in more than 15m of water, almost all undersized fish caught in offshore waters will be discarded, dead or dying.

If the minimum legal size of large-mouth nannygai was increased to 55cm as proposed, and even if the bag limit was reduced to four per person, that same trip would see the killing of as many as 30 plus fish in the course of catching four fish larger than 55cm.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 23

Have your say on rec fishing in Queensland

F

ISHERIES Queensland is seeking your feedback on fishery reform options for recreational fishing in Queensland.

The management reforms for consideration are: •Recreational fishing gear changes – banning Opera House-style traps, banning lightweight crab pots and new minimum gear specifications • Size and possession limit changes and new closed season – separating possession limits for crimson and saddletail snapper and other considerations, new black jewfish closed season and increasing possession limits for black jewfish • Expanding the Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme • Banning recreational take of coral.

Read the Discussion Paper at afta.net.au/ wp-content/uploads/ F I NA LRecreation alfisheryDiscussion paperMarch-2024-fi nal_1710371923.pdf Have your say The fastest and easiest way to provide your feedback is to complete the online survey at daf.engage m e n t h u b. c o m. a u / recreational-fishing/ userinfo/recreation al-fishing-in-queens land-surveyYou can also provide feedback though the online ‘Submission’ form on the right of that page, email fish eriesmanagers@daf. qld.gov.au or print the survey questions at the end of the discussion paper and post

your submission to: Recreational fishing discussion paper Department of Agriculture and Fisheries GPO Box 46 Brisbane Qld 4001 Answers to these questions will be used to help develop options for fisheries management action and provide an insight into the preferences of all stakeholders.

Submissions close 5pm, May 9, 2024.

Survey We recommend registering on the eHub site so you can save your answers as you complete the survey, to ensure you don’t lose them if your computer times out.

Your say matters and we want to hear from you about which management measures you prefer.

The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries is collecting the information on the form to inform the future management of Queensland’s fisheries under the Fisheries Act 1994 and subordinate legislation.

This information is being collected for the purpose of obtaining feedback on proposed changes to management actions.

Your personal information will not be disclosed to any other parties unless authorised or required by law.

Take the survey at daf.engagementhub. com.au /recreation a l -f i s h i n g / u s e r i n fo/recreational-fish ing-in-queenslandsurvey-

Page 24 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Few fishos actually actively target small-mouth nannygai.

Alternatives to proposed nannygai management changes * from P23

person, that same trip would see the killing of as many as 30 plus fish in the course of catching four fish larger than 55cm.

Seriously?

Currently, a typical two fisher large-mouth nannygai trip would see no more than 50 percent caught being larger than the proposed 55cm minimum size, in central Queensland at least, and often far less than this percentage depending on the school you find.

So under the new proposals, instead of killing possibly 23 fish for a trip as it now stands, we could be forced to kill well in excess of 30 fish just to keep four and get a decent feed.

To repeat the blinkingly obvious – that makes no sense!

In the scenario where large-mouth nannygai fishos would be required to keep the undersize fish and count them towards their bag limit of nine fish, the total fish killed for the trip would be only 18.

That is five to six less than the current situation and quite significant in the greater scheme of things.

Now which has the best outcome for fish stocks?

It’s a no brainer.

Social media has a lot to answer for Stupidly, people are

posting pictures of very large catches of nannis taken by crews of four to five people.

The total catch is probably within the existing bag limit, yet it looks awful.

In truth, it probably isn’t having a huge negative impact on stocks but still, it looks bad and is being used against recreational fishos by fisheries managers and others outraged at what they are seeing.

The possible solution and easiest way to address this without creating a world war is to put a boat limit in place.

That means no matter how many fishers are onboard, once the total catch of the boat reaches a certain number, no more can legally be caught.

This concept is already in place for spanish mackerel.

Such a large-mouth nannygai boat limit could be somewhere in the region of 18-20, for example.

This would allow larger crews to still catch a decent feed and the perception of excessive harvesting would be addressed.

Question without notice Do you think there are more coral trout or nannygai off the east coast of Queensland?

Apart from a few delusional people in Fisheries, almost nobody who

regularly fishes offshore waters would say coral trout.

The majority of fishos canvassed responded by being extremely confident that there would be far more large-mouth nannygai and smallmouth nannygai off the coast than coral trout.

The rationale is that nannis aggregate in large schools across vast areas of suitable habitat and are only targeted by line fishing, which is one of the most inefficient ways of catching fish.

Also, nannygai habitually move around often and probably over fairly large areas, making it quite difficult to confidently predict where they are going to be on any given day or tide.

And, to top it off, nannis have a distinct ‘bite time’ during which they are readily catchable, however after that limited time they appear not to feed, regardless of what is presented to tempt them.

It is because of the combination of factors affecting catchability that experienced fishers do not believe line fishing poses any serious threat to stocks at this point in time.

So, what is the significance of the question?

Fisheries currently allow an annual total allowable commercial harvest of coral trout of * continued P26

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 25

Of the 274 saddletail snapper recaptures (about 23 percent), there were 208 fish used for growth, with an average annual linear growth of 74mm per year.

Part of the solution could be to set the minimum size limit at 35cm to apply in offshore waters and all fish caught above this size must be retained and counted towards the bag limit.

Critique of and alternatives to proposed nannygai management changes * from P24

slightly over 900 tonnes.

Add to that the guestimate of the collective recreational catch and the overall harvest is probably well north of 1200 tonnes per year.

Apparently, even with that annual harvest, coral trout stocks are supposedly at a healthy 60 percent of unfished biomass.

Now we’ve just speculated that there are more nannygai in the water than coral trout, with Fisheries’ best guess at harvest levels for nannis currently being about 180 tonnes per year by the recreational sector and 80 tonnes by the commercial sector, totalling only 260 tonnes all up.

Compare that to the coral trout harvest and… you should be scratching your head by now.

Blind Freddy can see there is something radically wrong with Fisheries’ argument and rationale here for screwing back the recreational share of the catch of nannygai.

Fisheries will respond by claiming that their stock assessment of only 23 percent for sad-

dletail is accurate and that’s why we aren’t catching thousands of tonnes of nannis.

Solid grade three logic, but it doesn’t stand up in fisheries management, except for in Queensland of course.

Simple to refute their logic though.

All we need to do is ask for the hours spent targeting coral trout and saddletail by the commercial sector and the folly will be abundantly clear.

Commercial line fishers spend the greater part of their time targeting coral trout!

Is the supposed 23 percent stock assessment credible?

Unfortunately, no.

There were high hopes that the latest and greatest stock synthesis model for stock assessment was going to finally provide consistent and credible stock assessments, though sadly this simply wasn’t the case.

How can anyone who has been involved in our fishery for decades accept that the model is delivering reliable and credible stock assessments when it states our east coast king threadfin stocks are at

Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

a healthy 70 percent of unfished biomass, while saddletail are at a disastrously low 23 percent?

And we won’t even touch on what’s happening with spanish mackerel.

Everyone knows that threadfin stocks are but a shadow of what they were even as recently as the 1950s and anything north of about 25 percent at best is simply laughable.

So, let’s simply bin the 23 percent for saddletail and talk about what we should be doing to ensure current harvest levels by both sectors don’t have the capacity to rapidly increase.

Why this is being inflicted on recreational fishers The answer is twofold.

First, as indicated earlier, rec fishos are by and large incredibly socially conscious and, because rec fishers go fishing for a variety of reasons – none of which include making money – the sector has always been quick to put up their collective hands and accept ‘responsible restrictions in size and bag limits’ in the name of looking after fish stocks.

Nothing wrong with that and rec anglers should be congratulated for it, but sadly those good natures and intentions have brought the sector undone repeatedly over the past 30 years.

Fisheries have taken advantage of rec fishers’ good nature and general apathy to progressively screw down the sector’s catch, while maintaining or increasing the allowable commercial harvest of the same species.

This is called ‘resource reallocation’ in Fisheries speak.

“You get this much and I get this much of what you used to get on top of my bit already.”

“Good deal for me, eh?

“Not so good for you though.”

It always seems to end up with the recreational sector being screwed down and more of what we’ve historically caught being reallocated to the commercial fishers.

Whiting, bream, tailor, school and spotted mackerel and black jewfish are a few classic examples of how the recreational sector has

been swindled out of their majority share of species that were always theirs.

Second, some rec fishos naively poop in their own nest by posting photos of large hauls of fish.

Uninformed viewers and others with an axe to grind grab these images and use them to lambast all recreational fishers who they now believe regularly go out and rape and plunder the fish stocks.

Of course that isn’t the case, though the media never lies, does it?

There are the pictures to prove it.

Fisheries love this too because they have data that confirms there are 800,000 or more rec fishos in the state and they look at large catch photos and do some dodgy multiplication that shows suddenly rec anglers are overfishing the resource.

I bet most of you only wish you could catch enough fish for a decent meal for the family.

So, if you really want to help the cause, stop posting skite photos of your once in a while good catches. * continued P27

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Alternatives to proposed nannygai management changes * from P26

Solution Here’s a solid proposition: • Set the bag limit for large-mouth nannygai (saddletail snapper) at eight per person and an 18-20 boat limit for more than three people onboard for offshore waters deeper than 10m • Set the small-mouth nannygai (crimson snapper) bag limit at four per person – no need for a boat limit as most fishos don’t keep many, if any • Minimum size limit of 35cm to apply in offshore waters and all fish caught above this size must be retained and counted towards the bag limit • Minimum size limit of 40cm retained for large-mouth nannygai caught in estuaries and along the coast in water less than 10m deep, with a bag limit of four fish – undersized fish can be successfully released in shallow water • Put in place an overall commercial total allowable catch of 100 tonnes per year for the east coast to ensure there is no significant movement towards these species in future.

Everybody will be fairly happy and stocks will continue to grow without a doubt, and shark depredation might even decrease over time in this fishery.

Fast facts from tagged nannygai Over a period of years in Head Creek, at the very southern end of Shoalwater Bay, CAPTAG members caught and tagged no less than about 1200 saddletail and 550 crimson snapper.

These are the results of saddletail and crimson snapper tagged in lower Shoalwater Bay

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by CAPTAG 20052015.

About 1200 saddletail snapper (large-mouth nannygai) were tagged.

About 550 crimson snapper (small-mouth nannygai) were tagged.

All these fish were tagged in water between 5-10m deep only.

Barotrauma was not an issue.

A total of 190 individual saddletail snapper were recaptured, which is a recapture rate of 22.7 percent.

A total of 59 individual crimson snapper were recaptured, which is a recapture rate of 14.6 percent.

A total of 70 saddletail and crimson snapper were recaptured twice, while four saddletail snapper were recaptured four times.

Of the 274 saddletail snapper recaptures (about 23 percent), there were 208 fish used for growth, with an average annual linear growth of 74mm per year.

Of the 83 crimson snapper recaptures (about 15 percent), there were 51 used for growth, with an average linear growth of 55mm per year.

A total of 257 fish had sufficient data to determine movement.

Of these fish 246 (95.7 percent) were caught in the same area they were tagged, with movement of less than 1km.

A small number (seven) of fish that were tagged at Cockatoo Island were recaptured about 2km further down the creek at the other location where fish were tagged.

A saddletail snapper tagged on trip 14 in Head Creek was recaptured in the same area on trip 16, then was recaptured 881 days from when tagged in December 2008 at High

Peak Island, 80km to the north.

It was 330mm when tagged and 550mm when recaptured.

Another saddletail snapper tagged on trip 23 in Head Creek was recaptured 200 days later at Red Clay Island, 125km to the northwest.

This fish was 240mm when tagged and 250mm when recaptured.

Head Creek and other creeks in Shoalwater Bay are used by juvenile saddletail snapper and crimson snapper and they do not move significantly while in the creeks.

Movement is likely to be associated with fish maturing and moving to adult habitats offshore, though one movement was by a juvenile fish.

Distances moved to adult habitats are generally substantial and often in excess of 50km.

Of the 83 crimson snapper recaptures (about 15 percent), there were 51 used for growth, with an average linear growth of 55mm per year.

A total of 257 crimson snapper had sufficient data to determine movement.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 27

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 29 25/3/2024 4:09 pm

The new Fish Craft Dr Prawn soft plastic lures are catching a lot of fish both in and offshore.

Dave scored his personal best 40cm whiting and plenty of other quality fish on charter with the author.

Luring whiting and other species

H

Raelene caught some big whiting on a Nerang River charter with the author.

I everyone, as we’re heading into cooler weather, this month I’m going to talk about some great new lures.

First though, let’s look at the latest local fishing happenings.

It was definitely one of the hottest and wettest summers in southeast Queensland memory.

This has continued into autumn and has resulted in the waterways staying quite muddy.

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It has also coincided with one of the best runs of sand whiting fishing I have ever seen.

These tasty and hard-fighting fish have been prolific and big, and we will continue to catch them through to winter.

Also, there were huge schools of grunter, bream and tarwhine feeding in the same places as the whiting.

Looking ahead, the nights are getting cooler and during the day is not as hot.

This will entice dusky flathead to enter the picture and this is a fish we’re definitely looking forward to targeting on our charters, particularly from the months of May to November.

On this note, some new lures are now available in tackle shops that I’m very excited to use when chasing flathead.

The Fish Craft brand is one I’m already familiar with and use successfully on my estuary charters.

These lures are very well priced for their quality and have great strike rates on a wide variety of fish.

In particular, Dr Prawn and Dr Flex are the two I most want to focus on to use for flathead as the water clears and cools.

Dr Prawn comes in three sizes suited to all fishing needs.

The 3” is the one I use most on the Broadwater * continued P31

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Page 30 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

A day of family fishing on the author’s charter produced a great feed.

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Luring local whiting and other species The erratic action on this lure means it looks like a dying struggling baitfish and predators will have no sympathy when they attack.

It will be a killer lure on big bream near structure but also effective on the flats.

I do like how it dives just below the surface when worked over flats, then suspends, then slowly floats back up with a pause.

It will be popular among flathead in shallow water!

To book on a charter with myself or Brad, or if you have any fishing related questions, visit goldcoastrivercharters. com, SMS 0432 990 302 or email fishing withclint@gmail.com, or find us on Facebook – Brad Smith Fishing Charters.

A nice school jewfish for Ollie with Brad Smith.

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A method that will work well is cast, sink, small double twitch, then pause, then repeat.

The other lure that I can’t wait to use is the Dr Flex, which is available in two sizes, 90mm and 112mm, and also comes in an awesome range of colours and at an attractive price.

This is a unique design, being a soft-bodied version of the bent minnow-style of lures.

F

flats and rivers for flathead.

This durable soft plastic can be easily rigged on a jig head with the 1/4oz 3/0 size my pick.

Add some prawn scent such as Sax Scent and you have an ultra-realistic prawn imitation that comes in a great range of colours with an impressive action in the water.

This one is a must in the tackle box.

UV

* from P30

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 31

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The author with a decent local longtail tuna.

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Dane scored a spanish mackerel on a dead bonito.

Dead bait for solid spanish

H

ELLO everyone, I hope you were able to catch a break in the weather and head out for a mackerel or two.

On the Gold Coast, the wind and swell were non-stop for at least two weeks straight, making it very difficult to get out.

Finally, there was a nice window of good weather that created a great opportunity to head out to get among some mackerel.

find us on facebook • Win prizes • Post your brag • Chat to readers shots and writers • Join in on the fun • See who’s catching banter what • Have a laugh

www.facebook.com/bnbfishing Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Gold Coast Broadwater

by MITCHEL ZYGNERSKI

As we get into the later months of the season, the spanish mackerel really start to fire up and become more consistent, especially the good 10-15kg models.

I was lucky enough to get out and into some solid spanish, regularly bagging out with a friend on the boat in Queensland.

Slow trolled dead bait have been the go-to on the local reefs lately.

And luckily, it doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s in the morning or afternoon, any early finishes at work turn into an afternoon session and consistently come up trumps.

Slow trolling dead bait has its ups and downs at the best of times, but when this species wants a bonito or tailor, they hit it hard, causing an amazing sound that all fishos live for.

When towing the dead bait, I tend to keep the speed at a constant 6-8km/h to ensure the bait is swimming correct-

ly and looks the most lifelike.

As with all mackerel fishing, once you find the bait, the fish tend to be not too far behind – this goes for any reef you fish at.

It doesn’t really matter where the fish are sitting, whether it’s down deep or on top, the dead bait always finds a way to get bitten.

There are various rigs you can buy at your local tackle shop – a TT Fishing chin weight, a Reaper Rig, Head Start rigs or you can buy the chin guards and add your own hooks.

I prefer to make my own rigs instead of buying pre-made mass produced versions.

Some rigs come with single hooks, some come with trebles and some come with both – it really depends on how you like to rig the bait and what action you’re wanting out of the bait.

The wire I usually run is 60-80lb single-strand, which is at* continued P33

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Dead bait for spanish * from P32

tached to my rig, with 2-3 hooks on the rig.

There are unlimited videos on YouTube that show how to rig up dead bait and how to tow them to successfully to get a fish to eat.

One downside to using these bait types is that spanish mackerel are notorious for biting the tail off bait, without you even noticing, so I regularly check my bait every 30 or so minutes to see if they’re still performing correctly.

A growing problem that has become quite apparent is the number of sharks that are ‘taxing’ fish.

While this has been going on for many years, it has become so bad recently that once you hook a fish, the sharks are onto it instantly – you don’t have a fighting chance of boating it.

The number of fish getting sharked from the Seaway all the way to Tweed Heads is starting to get concerning, whether it is tuna, mackerel or even a giant trevally, fishos don’t stand a chance.

No matter what gear you have or how good at fishing you are, like it or not they will get your fish.

Another dramatic way to get spanish

mackerel is by throwing big stickbaits and poppers.

The aerial strikes from spanish are absolutely awesome – jumping a few meters in the air – and while it’s a rather expensive way to catch them, it is impressive.

Find the pressure edge on local reefs and start throwing big long casts with nice consistent sweeps and hold on.

The rougher the water, the better it is to get a fish.

And while doing this, you have the chance of catching tuna, wahoo, even a giant trevally.

The past few weeks have been fishing very well locally.

Though it usually fires up later in the season, most people can get them on various techniques, which is the greatest part of fishing.

Anyone, young and old, can learn and get into the amazing sport of fishing.

It can take you all over the country and the world – plus, the sunrises and sunsets you witness when on the water cannot be beaten.

Well, that’s all for me for this month.

Hopefully you get a few things out of this and get out to get into some fish.

Tight lines!

Cory managed a solid local spanish mackerel.

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The author and a sharked giant trevally.

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www.custommarinewelding.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 33

Caring for your catch n Ten top tips for filleting with finesse

M Venus tuskfish are easy to fillet. I prefer a stiffer style of knife with a single bevel edge to run along the backbone.

Using a longer knife and keeping the scales on makes for a much easier skinning process with better results.

AY is finally here, woohoo!

With the water current about to take a swing and mornings staying cooler for a touch longer, it’s the ideal time of year to spread your targets out and enjoy a variety of species on the table.

Snapper are in good condition, bottom species are easier to target and spanish mackerel are kicking about in decent numbers, with spotted starting to shift northwards and hopefully taking a some of those bronze whalers with them.

Not forgetting the fish aggregating devices for a bit of fun when you’re out there.

Without getting distracted on the actual

www.suncoastskutes.com Flashers and pre-made rigs focused on SEQ water all year round Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Sea to Plate - Part 2

by ANDY MELVILLE

fishing, it’s all about filleting tips this month.

Last month I talked about the initial process of brain spiking, bleeding, ice slurry and whether or not to scale and gut your catch, depending on what you had planned.

Now let’s assume we can all fillet – though for those who aren’t too confident, there’s tonnes of YouTube content on each species for visual examples to follow.

In no particular order, here are my top 10 tips to keep in mind next time you visit the filleting station, whether it’s at home or on the boat ramp.

Boat ramps, needs must and a clean beforehand doesn’t go a miss, but make sure you cool the table right down to avoid cooking the flesh, the temperature change will be enough to spoil and turn your fillets to mush.

Sharp knives to reduce the temptation to hack and cause waste or injury.

There’s a great expression in the kitchen and it rings true for this sit-

uation too, ‘go slow to go fast’.

Tracing the outline of the backbone along the edges of the dorsal fins and underneath through to the belly will leave a perfect start to filleting after a quick wipe of the knife.

Wet the chopping board – thank me later when you don’t need to scrape the dried mess off before rinsing and washing up.

For larger fish, such as cobia and red emperor that have big wings and plenty of belly meat, it’s best to aim to keep the belly whole so the wings can be taken off and butterflied.

If not, definitely don’t dive straight in and chop the fillets off, only to trim the belly off afterwards.

Keeping the head on smaller fish?

Fillet one side but leave the fillet on the rib section and flip the fish to do the second fillet.

That way you maintain the natural shape to follow with your knife.

Otherwise, using the chopping board with the * continued P36

Trim the rib cage out after leaving it attached to the fillet, and easily recover the scrap for fish cakes and the like.

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With a little scrap removed from the shoulder, tail and belly, cut even-sized portions that will cook consistently.

Caring for your catch * from P34

head off the side on the bench is easier to straighten the fish out.

Taking the head off?

Sometimes it’s way easier to simply knock the head off and run a knife straight along the spine, carefully trimming the rib cage from the fillet to reduce waste – particularly for novice filleters dealing with smaller fish.

A spoon – yes, a spoon!

The meat closest to the frame is the best tasting and is very easy to scrape off with a spoon.

Personally, I mix a few Asian flavours through it and enjoy sashimi on seaweed crackers.

If you are skinning your fillets, leave the scales on for a better finish – the scales offer protection from nicking the skin.

You can take the outer edges of scales off to make it easier for cutting along the skeleton.

Take an inch of flesh off the tail, leaving the skin on so you’ve got something to pull against when you start skinning, and use a scraping motion with

your knife edge pointing on a downward angle.

Keeping surfaces clean and frequently wiping your knife will stop the blade getting sticky while you fillet.

A couple of damp Chux cloths folded next to you on the bench will do the trick.

Depending on your preference, there are plenty of knives that can do the job.

I prefer a longer carving-style knife and a shorter Japanese-style knife with a single bevelled edge to deal with tougher bones and structures such as those of snapper and pearl perch.

I’ll swap between the two on the same fish and don’t mind using kitchen meat shears to go through the ribs, which helps maintain my knife edges.

That’s it from me this month.

I hope this will be useful for you to put into practice next time round.

In the meantime, stay tuned for part three next month, summarising all things cooking.

Happy fishing team!

Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Gary with a decent Easter spanish mackerel.

Spanish, spotted and schoolies

E

ASTER was reasonably kind to fishos in this re-

gion.

We had quite a bit of rain in the lead up but it mostly cleared for the long weekend.

The Brunswick River was very brown, limiting fishing to the lower reaches and making swimming less desirable.

Yet, all four days of the long weekend were fishable offshore and plenty of people made the most of it.

The fish cooperated too, with plenty of mackerel caught.

I declared I wasn’t going to be part of the fishing crowd over Easter, though by the Monday it got the better of me and I towed the boat down to the ramp at first light.

The first indication I had made a mistake was when I joined the queue of cars and trailer boats along the harbour ramp road on the main drag into town.

They were lined up from the town side on the main road in the other direction too – it was bedlam.

Finally, we launched

Tweed to Byron Bay

by GAVIN DOBSON

and the main comment heard over the radio was people joking that they had accidentally gone to Palm Beach instead of Brunswick Heads… boats were everywhere!

However, the mackerel cooperated with an early bite, which was all over by 8.30am.

Everyone I spoke to caught at least one spanish mackerel, with some boats catching a rapid fire six or seven.

Seeing as the bite was over early, I headed

home instead of travelling further afield.

I decided instead to do an afternoon run, hoping most boats would be back in by then.

I was right!

At 4pm, it was only myself and one other boat and I scored a few nice spanish without the chaos.

Since Easter, we’ve been deluged with more rain and the water on the local reef isn’t the best colour. * continued P37

Despite looking like a spanish mackerel, this is indeed a school (or doggy) variety.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Spanish, spotted and schoolies * from P36

Despite this, mackerel are still available, with a mix of spanish, spotted and school (or doggy).

And school mackerel will become even more prevalent during May. Mostly doggy mackerel are confused with the spotted variety because schoolies present with spots on their flanks most of the time – check out the picture of Gary holding a small doggy.

They can however disguise themselves as small spaniards, with bars down their sides like their typically larger cousins.

For positive identification, lift the dorsal fin up.

Doggy mackerel have a black leading edge followed by a large oval-shaped white section and lastly, some more black.

They are fairly easy to distinguish from a spotty once you get used to looking at them, but the spanish colour phase can throw you, which can lead to problems because of size limits on the different species.

Look for the white in between black on

the dorsal and, if it has this colouration, you can be certain you’re holding a school mackerel.

May is always an interesting month because the offshore current usually starts to wane, meaning you can mackerel fish in the morning and head out wide later in the day to do some deep dropping.

This month is when pro fishos enjoy the shelf, with blue-eye trevalla coming into shallower water.

By shallower, I mean they come up the ledge to between 370-400m deep.

Yes, it’s still a long way down, but this is about as shallow as a blue-eye gets… in this area at least.

Thirty years ago, the shelf was the domain for larger recreational boats and commercial fishers only.

These days however, trailer boats line the shelf, so if you’re confident in your vessel and your skills, get yourself an electric reel and have a crack.

If the deep is calling you, now is the time to be looking at the weather patterns and current charts.

Reduced visibility targets

H

ELLO all, by the time this edition hits, I’m hopeful we haven’t had too much follow-up rain since the recent deluge.

The water level at Lismore was slightly under minor flood height, and we have seen plenty of discoloured water pouring from the mouth of the river.

As you would expect, there was a heap of debris, both natural and man-made, making its way downstream.

As per usual, I would expect it to take a couple of weeks before it begins to push some clearer water in at the mouth – during the next fullmoon phase of tides.

While all of this may seem a little doom and gloom, there were a few silver linings in the dark clouds that may have been overhead.

At the time of writing, the river water was very discoloured, however we’ve had reasonable numbers of bream holding hard to structure such as walls, jetties and bridges from the ferry to the mouth.

This was obviously for safety due to the re-

Ballina Bait & Tackle

by BRETT HYDE

duced visibility, so most anglers were fishing very close to the structure with oily bait such as mullet, pilchard, mullet gut and bonito.

These will help fish to find them in the murky conditions, but make sure you have plenty of gear with you because structure can account for loads of lost tackle.

One of the downsides to discoloured water can be the fork-tail catfish (or dogfish) that turn up.

They have a great ability of finding bait when visibility is reduced and they possess some very nasty spines – if stung, the pain can be excruciating for hours.

The only relief is to immerse the affected area in very hot water.

If you do catch one, I suggest using a set of long pliers to take the hooks out and, at all costs, try to keep your hands away from them. * continued P38

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Still a few late season bass about even with the discoloured water.

Ballina West Shopping Centre Pacific Hwy, Ballina NSW A westerly wind and flat bar crossings are signals that it’s time to start on jewfish. www.bnbfishing.com.au

02 6686 2527 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 37

Reduced visibility targets * from P37

Flathead were a little on the quiet side with the discoloured water, though the flatties that were caught seemed to come from some of the deeper channels in the river, from the mouth to Pimlico Island.

These deeper channels will be holding saltwater, which will be sitting under the freshwater on top.

Most anglers reported pilchard and mullet were the best of the bait choices.

And as far as lures go, metal blades, vibes and paddle tail plastics have been the pick of the bunch, particularly brighter colours.

While vibrant has been the best bet, don’t discount a black gold or even something in white to stand out.

These types of lures generally work better because of the vibration coming from them, which aids the fish to find the lure in the reduced visibility.

Given the water conditions, adding your favourite scent would also be a great idea, if not essential at the moment.

While the conditions have slowed some of the species in the river up, mud crabs and mulloway have still been fairly good.

The discoloured water combined with a few bigger tides have had the crabs moving.

Good numbers were caught in both Emigrant and North creeks and in the main river as far upstream as Pimlico Island.

If the water temperature remains fairly

high, I expect to continue seeing decent numbers for at least the next couple of months.

As for mulloway, well the discoloured water is a dinner bell for them.

With plenty of potential prey pushed out of the river congregating near the mouth, or looking for potential food themselves, they become an easy target for mulloway.

In conditions such as these, with the large volume of water moving through the bar area, it can be incredibly difficult to get a bait to sit on the bottom, so large soft plastics or hard-body lures in the 6-7” range are ideal.

Colour choice is up to the individual, however white or a white with a red head is definitely popular, along with anything similar to a mullet pattern.

With water pushing out from the river mouth, at these times the beaches further away from this area will generally fish a little better because they’ll be less affected by the fresh water.

Over the next few weeks, try your luck on beaches such as Patchs, Skennars and Seven Mile, as fish from some of the beaches closer to the river mouth may be pushed onto these.

Bream, flathead, tailor and possibly a few whiting should all be possible during this time, using bait such as pilchard, mullet, bonito and worms.

Well, that’s all from me for this month, until next time – tight lines!

Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Mischa with a better class of fish taken on a surface lure.

Hooking big catches

I

F there was one single fishing related thing I hate seeing, it’s a hook or lure randomly lying on the ground waiting for someone to step on it.

Such was the case when my daughter inlaw to be Rebekah Ellis walked into our garage recently and trod on a 10/0 treble that had been lying in wait for its victim.

Now, one thing’s for sure and that is when Bec does something, she does it well.

The accompanying photo shows the large 10/0 embedded as far as it could go, and what made things a whole lot worse was the angle the hook when into her foot at.

Instead of the hook going upwards into her foot, it had gone lengthways between her toes, which meant cutting the hook off and pushing it through was out of the question.

Our first port of call was the local district hospital but, after three hours of deliberation on how to remove the hook, we were told to drive to Grafton Base Hospital.

At one stage, it looked as though Bec was going to have to return home and go back the next day for surgery,

Just Jew

by TYE PORTER

which would have taken things to a whole other level.

Thankfully as a nurse and I wheeled her towards a triage room, she caught the eye of a surgeon who was getting ready to go home after a long shift.

He looked, he ummed, he ahhed, then commented that he would be happy to have a go at getting it out there and then, which Bec jumped at (so to speak) because going back the next day wasn’t an ideal scenario.

A young male nurse arrived with a battery-operated ring cutter and

proceeded to attempt cutting the thick hook… without anaesthetic.

This sent waves of vibrations through her foot and made the pain unbearable.

Up to this point (no pun intended), it’s worth noting that Rebekah had shown only minimal signs of discomfort since walking on the hook.

Finally, a good dose of local anaesthetic was administered and the cutting continued until the piece in her foot was separated, then the doctor took over. * continued P40

Oh, what a pain. A 10/0 treble embedded into Iluka angler Rebekah Ellis’s foot.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 39

Hooking big boofy catches * from P38

So far this season there’s been an usually large number of small ‘jellybean’ longtail tuna around, which is a good sign for the future.

Ipswich angler Slaine Dodrill was ecstatic to land his first longtail tuna, which Mischa had the pleasure of gaffing for him.

Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

The doc freely admitted that he was going to ‘wing it’ as he went, given that the hook had a huge barb on it and it had to come out the same way it went in.

He turned the barb around in her foot then pressed it down as he tried to pull it out, cutting small pieces of sinew away as it was caught.

Nine hours after walking on the 10/0 treble it was all over and, after a tetanus shot and a script for antibiotics, we were on our way home.

The over-worked staff at both of the hospitals were amazing and caring, and a special thanks goes to the doctor who went the extra mile when he could have simply gone home.

Now, onto the fishing scene here in the amazing Clarence Valley…

The great news is that the land-based season has been going off big time, with plenty of longtail tuna and quite a few nice spanish mackerel coming to play.

My youngest son Mischa and his friends have had a ball with tuna along the Iluka breakwall, with fish being taken most days on both live garfish and lures.

Ipswich angler Slaine Dodrill had put in long hours chasing his first tuna and was finally rewarded with a beautiful fish, which Mischa had the great pleasure of gaffing for him.

Even the small amount of freshwater that came downriver from the minor flooding on the Orara River in early April did little to stop the hot bite.

If anything, it briefly concentrated the smaller baitfish along the ocean side of the walls, which turned out to be a bo-

nus rather than a hinderance.

Every four to five years, we get a run of juvenile longtail tuna of 7-10kg, and this appears to be one of those years, which hopefully augurs well for the species in years to come.

The offshore brigade has also been getting among the mackerel and tuna off our coastline, from Wooli’s Minnie Water in the south to Black Rocks near Esk in the north.

Local boatie Shane Upton has been taking his son Codey out and having a ball, landing both spanish and spotted mackerel along with the occasional tuna, when sea conditions permitted.

By all accounts, May should continue in the same vein before the cooler weather sets in towards the end of the month, with big pelagic returning to the north’s warmer waters until next year.

Main Beach Iluka has continued to yield quality tailor on flesh bait, while good choppers are also to be had spinning metal slugs from the headlands, with the Bluff and Frazers Reef being the two most productive locations recently.

Mischa spun the southern end of the Iluka Bluff with a 14cm Rapala X-Rap lure and 30lb Platypus hi-test line and was rewarded with a solid 24kg jewfish.

Going by the quantity of scales on the walking track, it’s obvious that many anglers have had success there too.

All things being equal, we hope to have landed our first river jewfish of the season by the first week of May, as the mullet spawning season should be in full swing.

Decent whiting catches in the river are far and few between, which is to be expected at this time of year.

However, having said that, those in the know have their secret spots on most of the rivers here on the far north coast, which enable them to catch honker whiting year-round.

Off the beach at Shark Bay, good bags of pansized tailor have been taken near the second wash-out, while further north towards Black Rocks, nice school jew of about 7kg have been landed using beachworms.

Swallowtail dart are also in decent numbers at both Shark Bay and Back beaches, along with the occasional big tarwhine and bream, with the best tide being a making in late evening.

This month, have a few casts with a 14cm shallow-running minnow lure at the T-Piece on the Yamba wall on any slack high water after dark.

This spot holds large numbers of flat tail mullet all winter and it is without doubt the number one spot to fish off the rocks.

I say it every year, but the best way to find where the jew are feeding at night during winter is to keep all forms of light off the water and let your ears do the work.

Trust me, you will hear them boofing from miles away.

All in all, if you can’t get a feed this month, I reckon you’re not trying.

Just about every species will be on the chew before winter comes, so get out there and get among them.

Until next month, safe fishing.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 41

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Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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In fact, it’s virtually impossible to keep this tail still in the water!

Available in a range of natural colours – such as favourites Pearl, Shiner and Watermelon Red – the 4” Finesse ShadZ has accounted for a variety of species, including snapper, flathead and bream.

Adding to its versatility, the bulbous end on the tail creates a tight swimming action when retrieved at speed, making this plastic an effective option for targeting tailor, salmon, mackerel, tuna and other pelagic species.

Along with the micro ribbing on the back of the plastic, a belly slot makes rigging simpler – especially when rigging weedless – while also holding scent well.

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EZ EggZ are impregnated with natural shrimp scent for added attraction and perfectly mimic a favourite food of many fish species.

Available in Red, Salmon and Translucent Pink colours.

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Featuring three or four funnel entrances and four 320 poly legs, it is reinforced with hot dip galvanised 12mm bottom and 10mm top rings and 6mm chafe rope on the top and bottom ring.

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Z-Man FrogZ New Colours

THE popular range of Z-Man FrogZ has received a boost with the addition of three new colours – Beer Run, Gold Rush and Calico Candy.

Not only a favourite for saltwater barramundi, the 4” Hard Leg FrogZ and 4” Pop FrogZ are also impoundment barra favourites and dynamite on Murray cod and other larger surface feeding predators.

The new colours will also be available in the smaller Z-Man 2.75” Finesse FrogZ, a favourite for barra, mangrove jack, bass and other surface feeders that might prefer a more compact presentation.

Z-Man’s proprietary ElaZtech material has many benefits when it comes to frog profiles, including natural buoyancy to assist with keeping the plastic on top when weedless rigged on a TT ChinlockZ jig head, along with 10X Tough durability for simpler and stronger rigging, and a reduced chance of tearing the plastic on aggressive strikes and stubborn fights.

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When it came to selecting new FrogZ colours, we worked closely with fishing

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The Beer Run colour provides a pearl top for excellent visibility, with a clear belly and gold glitter for added attraction and strike triggers.

Gold Rush on the other hand is all about a solid profile, with its black body and gold glitter belly making it ideal for fishing low light, night applications and dirty water.

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The 2.75” Finesse FrogZ rigs perfectly on a 2/0 TT ChinlockZ jig head, with the 4” Pop FrogZ pairing with a 4/0 or 5/0, and the 4” Hard Leg FrogZ a 5/0 or 6/0.

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Visit berkley-fishing.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 43

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 47

The author and a mid-80cm fish.

Hot barra action at Bli Bli

H

The author baited up a live prawn with a light gauge circle hook.

Grab some tiny blackened hooks from the park to try disguising them in the pellet bait.

Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

I folks, this month I’m pleased to report on a recent trip to the Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park with my son and some friends.

It had been a little while since I’d been to the park for one reason or another, including major surgery during the peak fishing season last year, so it was good to be back.

On this particular day, we had a great session with about 15 nice fish landed, a number in the 80cm range and one spot on 90cm.

Though we lost almost as many through worn leaders and turbo-boosted runs towards the mangroves and side creeks.

I continue to learn from each session at the park, and like most

Fishing Tips

by SEAN THOMPSON

things fishing, that’s why it’s simply so good.

So in this article, I’ll give a rundown on the park, gear and techniques we used.

Location The Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park is located at 367 David Low Way, Bli Bli, a 10-minute drive across the Sunshine Motorway bridge from Maroochydore.

It is also about an hour and 45 minutes or so from Brisbane, depending on traffic and originating location.

Right next to the park is the Bli Bli Watersports Complex, otherwise known as Aqua Park.

This is a series of inflatable slides, runways and other bouncy inflatables, which are a heap of fun.

If you or your family don’t want a full day at Barra Fishing Park, you can take both in.

Or alternatively, those who don’t want to fish, can go to Aqua Park while you fish.

Catch and release Some people associate and dismiss fishing parks as way too easy, that is, you throw in a line and catch a fish.

This may be the case with some catch and keep parks, but the Barra Fishing Park is a * continued P49

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Hot action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park * from P48

catch and release facility only.

What this means is that with age, the fish start to wise up a bit and become harder though far from impossible to catch.

This makes it a little closer to the challenge you might face in the wild, though these fish have a very different diet, with fish pellets being a large source of their daily diet.

Still, it isn’t quite as easy as throwing in a pellet and catching a fish.

But more on that later.

Opening hours From March 1 to May 31, the park is operating in winter hours.

That is Wednesday to Sunday 10am to 5pm.

From June 1 to September 15, it is open Thursday and Friday 12pm to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 10am to 5pm.

During summer, the park is open seven days a week from 10am to 5pm.

You then have the option of a session for 2.53 hours or a full day.

At the time of writing, winter memberships for June to August were available at only $99 per person.

Rod hire was also included in the cost, with the rods set up for pellet fishing.

Bait, including pellets, was an additional charge.

You’re also welcome to bring your own gear, which we did, provided all lure trebles are debarbed.

You can also bring your own food and drink, though no alcohol, and even use the free barbecues.

Alternatively, you can purchase food and drinks from the kiosk or full service café and licensed bar at the adjoining Watersports Complex.

The park also has a kids’ playground and a few shelters for shade.

The fishing While barramundi are by far the main catch, you can also score some extra-oversized bream, mangrove jack, cod and assorted others.

I’ve even caught a massive mud crab on my line, which I duly returned.

The park is also divided into Barra Creek, which has about 1500 fish of an average size of 50-70cm, and Big Boy’s Pond, which has over 100 fish from 70cm to over 1m.

That said, on our trip we caught several fish in the plus 80cm range in Barra Creek, so this is probably the best spot if you want to target numbers.

Of note this year, Jedd from the park advised the fishing had been very good for the past couple of months, after the introduction of about 350 fish between 30cm

A hard fought capture of an 80cm fish from Barra Creek. www.bnbfishing.com.au

(one year) and 60cm (two years) in mid to late-December 2023.

This led to more competition for food and, on those very warm days particularly, the fishing has been very good.

We certainly found that to be the case on the very warm day we visited.

A little cloud and small bit of chop on the water can also be good for the fish – for them to be more active and also to disguise your line and hooks in the floating pellet bait.

If you arrive on a clear glassy day, my tip is to throw some pellets as berley and cast towards the shadows and or around the aerated corners of the park supplying a bit of cover for the fish.

Bait and tackle As mentioned above, fish pellets are the barras main source of food, so they also make great bait.

The best way to present them is in a tiny size 10 or so baitholder hook, with the park having these available to purchase.

You also want to be * continued P50

Barramundi aren’t the only thing you can catch at the park. Gary with an extra-oversized bream.

The author’s son Josh with the best fish of the day, a 90cm barramundi.

The barra park is a great place to bring interstate visitors to catch their first barramundi, as Sue did.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 49

The author’s son Josh with fish that fell to a live prawn.

Hot action at Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park * from P49

Going with a group with everyone catching fish, as we did, makes for a special day out.

It’s recommended you kneel when holding and supporting a big barramundi, in the event you accidentally drop it while getting a quick picture.

Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

using a fine light fluorocarbon leader of 8-10lb to present them as naturally as possible.

I then use braid of about 6lb, but you can go heavier if you use a super thin braid such as Shimano Grappler.

I match this on a 25003000 reel and about a 4-7kg rod.

The trick with the pellets is to try and bring the fish to the surface by tossing four to five in first as berley, then when they start ‘boofing’ or gulping them from the surface, throw your unweighted pellet in among the others.

While pellets can be very effective, probably the hottest bait and action you can get is by taking your own live bait, such as prawns, mullet or herring.

For our day out, I’d caught some banana prawns in a cast net the day before in my local creek and kept them alive by regular water changes and with an aerator.

On a number of occasions, as soon as these

hit the water and started to flick, bang you were on, if not very soon after!

Scan the QR code on page 48 to watch the video from my Facebook page.

Fresh refrigerated prawns are your next best option, with frozen prawns a distant third.

Live mullet and herring are also great options as mentioned.

Alternatively, a whole pilchard with a 3/0 or 4/0 circle hook through the tail, positioned 1m or so out from the edge can also be a good option on the bigger fish, particularly late in the day.

When it comes to live bait such as prawns, you can step your gear up a little because the fish are less cautious.

Likewise for sunk bait such as pilchard.

For prawns, I use a light gauge circle hook so as to not weigh the prawn down and about a 16-20lb leader and 1520lb braid.

Again, Grappler is a super-thin braid and casts unweighted bait beautifully.

You can also put this

on a heavier rod and reel if you wanted to – I use a 4000 reel on a 7’ 5-10kg or 7-15kg rod.

We have also used soft plastics successfully before, such as Z-Man 4’ StreakZ Curly TailZ with light 1/6 jig heads on a heavy gauge hook.

Hard-bodies will also work, particularly early or late in the day, but not as effective as live bait or pellets at times – make sure you crush the barbs though.

So, there you go.

Whether you are going on your own, with a group of friends, with family or for a birthday party, the Bli Bli Barra Fishing Park is an awesome location for a great day out.

Give it a go soon if you haven’t already.

Good for trying to catch your first barramundi, testing your skills on this species again or to prepare for a barra trip further north.

Until next month, follow along on my social media pages @ Ontour Fishing Australia on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

PERFORMANCE

X RELIABILITY +

BRISBANE STONES CORNER MARINE 117 Old Cleveland Rd Stones Corner (07) 3397 9766 stonescornermarine.com.au

GYMPIE WATSONS MARINE CENTRE 52 Wickham St Gympie (07) 5482 2135 watsonsmarine.com.au

HERVEY BAY BAY CITY BOATING 55 Islander Rd Pialba, Hervey Bay (07) 4124 6988 baycityboating.com.au

www.bnbfishing.com.au

BUNDABERG BUNDABERG MARINELAND 95 Targo St Bundaberg (07) 4130 0500 bundabergmarineland.com.au

MACKAY REEF MARINE 26 Prospect St Mackay (07) 4957 3521 reefmarine.net

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 51

Be in the running to take home a Stacer 429 Outlaw SC boat with trailer, safety pack, F50LB Yamaha motor, Lowrance Elite FS 7 sounder and transducer, including registration.

Surrounded by great enthusiasm, toasty warm fire pits, cold beverages, hot food, barrels of laughs and camaraderie.

Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic 2024

I

This event is one not to miss, so make sure you enter by 5pm, Saturday June 1, 2024 to be in with a chance.

The event will have major draw down prizes for juniors, teens and adults, nightly random draws, nightly category wins for juniors, seniors, ladies, teens and teams and on Saturday June 8, the grand finale.

Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

F you want to be part of the $200,000 cash and prize action at the 2024 Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic and Expo, the time to enter is now.

In its thirty-seventh year, this epic event is on everyone’s fishing calendar and from June 2-8 this year, whether you’re an adult, teen or junior, you need to get among it.

Last year, 506 entrants competed for a share of the prizes and in 2024, they will be chasing more than a massive red emperor, with the major draw down prize of a boat and trailer!

You could be in the running to take home a Stacer 429 Outlaw SC boat with trailer, safety pack, F50LB Yamaha motor, Lowrance Elite FS 7 sounder and transducer, including registration, sponsored by Rainbow Beach Sports Club, Hervey Bay RSL, Wynnum Marine, Master Floors Group Queensland and Intafloors.

And that is only one of the prizes.

The event will have major draw down priz-

es for juniors, teens and adults, nightly random draws, nightly category wins for juniors, seniors, ladies, teens and teams and on Saturday June 8, the grand finale.

Surrounded by great enthusiasm, toasty warm fire pits, cold beverages, hot food, barrels of laughs and camaraderie, this event is one not to miss, so make sure you enter by 5pm, Saturday June 1, 2024 to be in with a chance.

The week-long family friendly competition and expo attracts huge sponsors, including Wilson Fishing, Hervey Bay RSL, Carlton & United Breweries (Great Northern Brewing), Kevlacat Power Boats Australia, Wynnum Marine, ARB 4x4 Accessories, All Coast Tyre Solutions, Cooper Tires Australia, Gardiner Fisheries, Diablo Co, Rainbow Beach Sports Club, Sunshine Mitre 10, PromoPal, together with a mass of other local sponsors who return every year to give us a hand and the many volunteers who we cannot do without.

The project also receives support from the Gympie Regional Council through its Community Grants Program 2023-24.

The classic is proud to announce two special new awards this year, with the Levi Hanna Spirit Award and the Levi Hanna Flatty Award.

Enter online through trybooking.com or register in person at the Rainbow Beach Sports Club.

Registration day for collection of competitor cards is on Sunday June 2, 2024 from 1pm to 5pm, where we welcome our regulars back and meet our new competitors.

Weigh ins are held Monday to Friday from 3pm to 5pm and the grand finale on Saturday from 2pm to 4pm.

Thanks to our media partners – Bush ‘n Beach Fishing Magazine, Zinc 96.1 FM, Gympie Today and Noosa Today – for helping us get the word out.

To enter or for further information, contact rainbowsportsclub.com. au

www.bnbfishing.com. au

SUNDAY 2ND JUNE – SATURDAY 8TH JUNE 2024

OVER $200K WORTH OF CASH & PRIZES TO BE WON SPECIAL CATEGORIES EVERY DAY MONDAY – JUNIORS DAY TUESDAY – SENIORS DAY WEDNESDAY – LADIES DAY THURSDAY – TEENS DAY FRIDAY – TEAMS EVENT SATURDAY – GRAND FINALE

ADULTS | TEENS | JUNIORS

Major draw down prizes Grand Final cash prizes

MAJOR SPONSORS

This Project Received Funding Assistance from the Gympie Regional Council’s Community Grants Programme 2023/2024.

MEDIA PARTNERS

w w w. b n b f i s h i n g . c o m . a u

For further information or to register online, go to: www.rainbowsportsclub.com.au | www.trybooking.com.au TERMS & CONDITIONS APPLY Entries close 5pm Saturday 1st June 2024 www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 53

SCAN QR CODE

Tide Times AUSTRALIA EAST COAST WADDY LAT POINT LONG LAT 24° 24° 58ʼ 58ʼ SS LONG 153° 153° 21ʼ 21ʼ EE

2024

AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA, EAST EAST COAST COAST –– WADDY WADDY POINT POINT (FRASER (FRASER ISLAND) ISLAND)

Time Time

MAY MAY

mm

Time Time

Times Times and and Heights Heights of of High High and and Low Low Waters Waters JUNE JULY JUNE JULY

m m

0229 0229 1.77 1.77 0951 0951 0.90 0.90 1556 1.39 TH TH 1556 1.39 2049 2049 1.04 1.04

Time Time

m m 0314 0314 1.82 1.82 0957 0957 0.67 0.67 1623 1.57 1.57 SA SA 1623 2147 2147 0.89 0.89

Time Time m m 0326 0326 1.54 1.54 1011 1011 0.77 0.77 1701 1.57 1.57 SU SU 1701 2241 2241 1.02 1.02

Time Time m m 0353 0353 1.52 1.52 1009 1009 0.69 0.69 1708 1.76 1.76 MO MO 1708 2324 2324 0.95 0.95

Time Time m m 0326 0326 1.29 1.29 0950 0950 0.77 0.77 1719 1.65 TU 1.65 TU 1719 2344 2344 1.00 1.00

Time Zone –1000 AUGUST

Time Time 0101 0101 0619 0619 TH TH 1139 1841

m 0.83 1.27 0.72 1.98

Time 0017 0523 FR 1103 1809

m 0.83 1.14 0.70 1.84

0123 0123 1.87 1.87 0844 0844 0.88 0.88 1415 1.28 1415 1.28 WE WE 1905 1905 0.93 0.93

11

16 16

0236 0236 1.88 1.88 0944 0944 0.77 0.77 1534 1.37 1.37 TH TH1534 2041 2041 0.89 0.89

0431 0.76 0054 0.70 0327 1.72 1.72 0411 1.76 1.76 0417 1.47 1.47 0458 1.43 1.43 0431 1.23 1.23 22 0411 2 0458 17 2 0139 170327 17 0417 1039 1055 1034 1042 0709 1.31 17 0624 1.21 1034 0.83 0.83 1039 0.60 0.60 17 1042 0.71 0.71 1055 0.67 0.67 17 1037 1037 0.73 0.73 1715 1759 1.90 1648 1744 1802 1.75 1227 0.66his first 1155 0.60 Josh with longtail tuna.

1648 1.48 1.48 1715 1.73 1.73 1744 1.68 1.68

22

FR FR

2204 2204 1.00 1.00

11

SU SU

2258 2258 0.84 0.84

16 16 MO MO

2340 2340 0.97 0.97

1

16

TU TU 1759 1.90 WE WE 1802 1.75

1

FR 1227 0.66 1924 2.03

16

SA 1155 0.60 1849 1.96

Weather to go fishing

0503 0036 0.70 0130 0.58 0340 1.93 1.93 0418 1.68 1.68 0505 1.69 1.69 0503 1.40 1.40 0034 0.89 0.89 0036 0.92 0.92 330340 33 0505 3 0034 3 0208 180418 18 1033 1117 0600 1105 1112 0749 1.37 18 0706 1.30 1033 0.65 0.65 18 1105 0.75 0.75 1117 0.55 0.55 18 1112 0.67 0.67 0600 1.37 1.37 18 0533 0533 1.20 1.20 1637 1.52 1802 1.89 1140 0.65 1729 1.58 1821 1.78 1123 0.69 1312 0.60 1240 0.49 1637 1.52 1729 1.58 1802 1.89 1821 1.78

FR FR

2204 2204 0.79 0.79

0437 0437 1.96 1.96 1114 1114 0.54 0.54 1728 1.68 1.68 SA SA1728 2306 2306 0.70 0.70

44

SA SA

2301 2301 0.94 0.94

MO MO

WE WE 1140 0.65 1845 1845 2.02 2.02

TU TU

SU SU

2346 2346 0.88 0.88

SU SU 1812 1.84 MO MO 1838 1.80 2358 2358 0.63 0.63

66

TU TU 1155 0.52 WE WE 1144 0.63 1846 1854 1846 2.04 2.04 1854 1.88 1.88

WE WE 1233 0.51 1930 1930 2.16 2.16

TH TH 1218 0.60 1928 1928 1.97 1.97

0158 0026 0.84 0.84 0155 0.74 0.74 0158 0.81 0.81 66 0155 21 21 0026 0736 0612 0612 1.56 1.56 0736 1.49 1.49 21 0713 0713 1.32 1.32 1314 0.53 1214 0.56 1255 0.57 TU TU 1214 0.56 1909 1909 1.90 1.90

TH TH 1314 0.53 2015 2015 2.23 2.23

FR FR 1255 0.57 2003 2003 2.05 2.05

0243 0049 0.61 0.61 0107 0.81 0.81 0252 0.74 0.74 0243 0.75 0.75 7 0252 770049 22 0107 0827 0656 0646 0656 1.83 1.83 22 0646 1.51 1.51 0827 1.45 1.45 22 0758 0758 1.34 1.34 1337 0.56 1358 0.59 1258 0.39 1241 0.53

TU TU 1258 0.39 WE WE 1241 0.53 1940 1938 1938 2.14 2.14 1940 1.99 1.99 0140 0140 0.63 0.63 0740 0740 1.73 1.73 1333 0.42 0.42 WE WE 1333 2022 2022 2.24 2.24

88

FR FR 1358 0.59 2101 2101 2.24 2.24

SA SA 1337 0.56 2043 2043 2.11 2.11

0328 0149 0.79 0.79 0347 0.75 0.75 0328 0.70 0.70 8 0347 23 23 0149 0917 0723 0723 1.48 1.48 0917 1.41 1.41 23 0848 0848 1.36 1.36 1311 0.52 0.52 TH TH 1311 2014 2014 2.07 2.07

1441 0.66 0.66 SA SA 1441 2146 2146 2.20 2.20

1422 0.57 0.57 SU SU 1422 2128 2128 2.14 2.14

0415 0236 0.69 0.69 0235 0.78 0.78 0437 0.79 0.79 0415 0.66 0.66 990236 9 0437 24 0235 0827 1.61 1004 0827 0803 1.61 24 0803 1.45 1.45 1004 1.37 1.37 24 0940 0940 1.37 1.37

1410 0.50 0.50 TH 1410 TH 2107 2.27 2107 2.27

1344 0.54 0.54 FR FR 1344 2051 2051 2.11 2.11

1524 0.75 0.75 MO 1510 0.61 0.61 SU SU 1524 MO 1510 2230 2217 2230 2.11 2.11 2217 2.13 2.13

0338 0.76 0523 0503 0.76 0324 0.78 0.78 0523 0.85 0.85 0503 0.66 0.66 10 0338 10 25 0324 0914 1.50 0914 0848 1.50 25 0848 1.42 1.42 10 1049 1049 1.33 1.33 25 1035 1035 1.37 1.37 1447 0.61 0.61 FR 1447 FR 2153 2.25 2.25 2153

SA 1312 0.60 2004 2.06

SU 1240 0.49 1927 2.06

0029 0118 0204 0.47 0500 1.65 1.65 0000 0.80 0.80 0029 0.92 0.92 0130 0.82 0.82 0118 0.82 0.82 19 44 0000 4 0130 4 0239 0.66 19 0500 0555 0657 1.42 19 0745 1.40 1129 1129 0.68 0.68 0555 1.62 1.62 19 0548 0548 1.35 1.35 0657 1.36 1.36 19 0629 0629 1.21 DON’T want0.63 to 0827 1155 0.52 1226 0.62 1353 0.56 1805 1144 0.63 1208 1322 0.40 1805 1.69 1.69

0115 0526 1.96 1.96 0537 1.60 1.60 0057 0.77 0.77 0115 0.87 0.87 550526 55 0057 20 0537 1149 1150 0645 1150 0.45 0.45 20 1149 0.61 0.61 0645 1.55 1.55 20 0631 0631 1.32 1.32 1838 1.80 1218 0.60 1812 1.84 1233 0.51

0612 0612 1.91 1.91 1224 1224 0.40 0.40 1855 2.01 2.01 MO MO 1855

I

TH TH 1123 0.69 1840 1840 1.85 1.85

1422 0.59 0.59 SA SA 1422 2133 2133 2.12 2.12

1608 0.83 0.83 MO MO 1608 2312 2312 2.00 2.00

1600 0.67 0.67 TU TU 1600 2308 2308 2.08 2.08

TH TH 1226 0.62 1930 1930 2.10 2.10

FR FR 1208 0.63

SU 1353 0.56

MO 1322Fraser 0.40 Guided Fishing

2042 2.04 1916 2006 2.14 1916 1.94the whinge about

by TRI TON 0215 0.76 0312 0.64 0.39 0157 0.73 0215 0.76 0157 weather, but seri5 0749 5 0901 1.44 20 0239 0824 1.50 0749 1.37 1.37 20 0718 0718 1.25 1252 0.57 1314 0.61 1431 0.57 1404 0.35 1314 0.61 FR TU the entire SA FRously Mother Nature? MO 2118 SA 1252 fall 1.99 is over it a struggle to get a run 1954 2.04 2015 2046 2.16 2015 2.15 2.15 Wind, rain and huyear. or two from a mack or 0258 0.63 0.66 0314 0.36 0258 0.71 0.71 6midity, 21 0235 6 0345 somehow Honestly, my 1.58dams longtail tuna.

0933 1.44 21 0907 0837 0801 1.31 0837 1.40 1.40 yet 0.60 WE 1448 0.38 1401 0.61 0.61 SU 1336 0.51 SA SA 1401 the my 2.12 block TU 1504 aren’t As usual, the small 2150 1.91even half 2059 2.15 2059dams 2.15 on 2033 2128 full.

2.11 The fishing however are not full. chrome lure or heavy 0340 0.71 0314 0.56 0415 0.70 0351 0.37 0340 0.71 7 0921 22all 7 1004 1.40 0846 1.38 1.43 22 0921 1.40 0952 1.65 all is OK, so it isn’t They were full this soft plastic does the 1446 0.64 0.64 MO 1420 0.47 SU WE 1536 0.67 TH 1535 0.47 SU 1446 2142 2.10 2116 maybe 2.17 2218 1.82and gloom.

2142 last 2.10 year…

2213 1.98 doom time deed.

0420 0.73cycle0354 0.51 0.74 good 0420dry 0430 enough 0.43 With is actualOther chrome crunch8our 8 0443 1001 1035 1.42 23 1041 1.69 1001 1.39 23 0932 1.44 numbers of 0.62tuna ers are mackerel. here?

1525 0.69 TU 1507 0.48 0.75 FR 1628 1525 MO TH 1611 MOly 2221 2201 2.15 1.72 2221 2.02 2258 1.81 throughout the bay, and Anyhow, that is what I 2247 Late season spotted 0457 0435 0.51 0510 0.76 0511 0.52 0457 0.78 they aren’t ridiculously everyone when1.47 they 9 1113 1.42 24 1134 mackerel have taken 9tell 1035 1.36 24 1020 1035 1.71 1602 0.75Bureau 1602the TU WE 1554of0.55 TUsay SA 1734 0.79 fussy0.85either.

Me- FR 1653 their time this year, a 2317 1.61 2254 1.92 2247 2.08 2346 1.60 So most days, we are teorology got it wrong. nice bonus for those 0.83 0518 0.54 0540 0.78 0555 0.61 10 0532 25 interesting 1110 1.34 be 1110 1.49 10 1159 boating some tuna.

1.43 25 1239 1.72 It will wanting an easy feed.

WE 1639 0.82 TH 1644 0.65 SA 1746 0.95 SU 1904 0.93 Windy to2327 note the 1.95 rain- 2348 1.82what2334 * continued P55 1.50 days can make

0441 0.84 0.84 0607 0552 0607 0.85 0602 0.60 0613 0.79 0043 1.41 0417 0.78 0.78 0607 0.90 0.90 0552 0.68 0.68 11 0441 26 0417 11 1002 1.40 1.40 26 1002 0936 0936 1.38 1.38 11 1136 1136 1.31 1.31 26 1132 1132 1.36 1.36 11 1153 1.33 26 1207 1.50 11 1258 1.44 26 0649 0.71 1524 0.73 0.73 SA 1524 SA 2239 2.17 2.17 2239

1504 0.67 0.67 SU 1504 SU 2219 2219 2.08 2.08

1656 0.90 0.90 WE 1652 0.74 0.74 TU TU 1656 WE 1652 2355 2355 1.89 1.89

TH 1724 0.89

FR 1742 0.79

SU 1858 1.05

MO 1401 1.74 2103 0.97

0542 0.90 0.90 0513 0.80 0513 0652 0000 0003 1.72 0023 1.78 0.80 0652 0.92 0.92 0000 1.99 1.99 0024 1.38 0208 1.26 12 0542 12 1052 1.33 1.33 27 1030 1030 1.33 1052 1.33 12 1234 1234 1.30 1.30 27 0642 0642 0.70 0.70 12 0645 0.86 27 0650 0.66 12 0650 0.81 27 0757 0.79 1607 0.85 0.85 MO 1550 0.75 0.75 SU 1607 MO 1550 SU 2327 2.06 2.06 2311 2.02 2327 2311 2.02

1751 0.96 0.96 WE WE 1751

1233 1.37 TH TH 1233 1749 1749 0.82

FR 1251 1.34 1819 0.97

SA 1313 1.53 1856 0.92

MO 1414 1.47 2041 1.09

TU 1524 1.79 2252 0.90

0641 0.95 0.95 0610 0.82 0.82 0610 0043 0052 0043 1.62 0116 1.60 0043 1.80 1.80 0052 1.89 0109 1.26 0350 1.20 13 0641 13 1154 1.29 1.29 28 1133 1133 1.30 1.30 13 0742 1154 0742 0.92 0.92 28 0734 0734 0.72 13 0728 0.85 28 0741 0.71 13 0735 0.82 28 0918 0.82 1704 0.95 0.95 MO 1704 MO

1642 0.83 0.83 TU 1642 TU

1348 1.31 1.31 TH TH 1348 1852 1852 1.01 1.01

1342 1.41 FR FR 1342 1855 1855 0.91

SA 1407 1.37 1928 1.04

SU 1436 1.60 2040 1.01

TU 1530 1.53 2228 1.05

1.84 WE 1635 1.84 0.82 2358 0.82

0021 1.95 1.95 0009 1.96 1.96 0009 0136 0147 1.77 0129 1.50 1.22 0224 1.43 0136 1.70 1.70 0228 1.16 0517 1.22 14 0021 14 0744 0.97 0.97 29 0709 0709 0.82 0.82 14 0840 0744 0.79 0840 0.89 0.89 29 0827 0.72 14 0814 0.83 29 0839 0.75 14 0837 0.81 29 1032 0.79 1321 1.28 1.28 WE 1247 1.29 1.29 TU 1321 WE 1247 TU 1817 1.02 1.02 1746 0.89 0.89 1817 1746

1505 1.37 1.37 FR 1505 FR 2003 1.04 2003 1.04

SA SA 1500 1.49 2019 0.97

SU 1523 1.45 2057 1.08

MO 1554 1.70 2239 1.00

WE 1634 1.62 2333 0.95

1.89 TH 1733 1.89

0124 1.85 1.85 0111 1.90 1.90 0232 1.62 0111 0232 0248 1.64 0223 1.39 0039 0.74 0.74 1.62 0347 1.31 0400 1.12 0039 15 0124 15 0853 0.95 0.95 30 0810 0810 0.79 0.79 15 0931 0931 0.83 0853 0612 1.29 1.29 0.83 30 0919 0.71 15 0902 0.80 30 0943 0.77 15 0956 0.78 30 0612 1446 1.31 1.31 WE 1446 WE 1931 1.05 1.05 1931

1404 1.33 1.33 TH 1404 TH 1900 0.92 0.92 1900

1610 1.46 1.46 SA 1610 SA 2125 1.05 1.05 2125

SU 1611 1.62 2157 0.99

MO 1628 1.54 2234 1.07

0213 1.86 1.86 31 0213 0907 0.74 0.74 0907

TU 1659 1.81

0005 0.92 31 0512 1.26

1519 1.43 1.43 FR 1519 FR 2024 0.92 0.92 2024

WE 1044 0.76 1755 1.91

TH 1725 1.72

1129 0.73 0.73 FR 1129 1819 1.92 1.92 1819

0107 0.69 0.69 0107 31 0651 0651 1.35 1.35 1214 0.65 SA 1214 0.65 SA 1857 1.93 1.93 1857

© Copyright Copyright Commonwealth © of First Australia 2022, Bureau of Meteorology Quarter NewCommonwealth Moon Datum of of Predictions Predictions is is Lowest Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum

Full Moon

Moon Phase Phase Symbols Symbols Moon

Last Quarter

New Moon

Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

First Quarter

Full Moon

Quarter Last Quarter

Ryan and a stubborn bludger trevally.

17 17

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Great weather to go fishing * from P54

School mackerel were marauding deeper in the water column too.

Both species are often overlooked by meat fishos, I personally do not understand why.

Remember if you are catching and releasing these fish, use single hooks only.

Release them boat side with a de-hooker tool and keep the injured fish with mangled jaws and gills.

They will only be eaten by sharks, encouraging them to keep taxing us.

Trevally and queenfish have mostly been on soft plastics.

Queens are not in huge numbers and a good fish is between 90cm-1m.

The trevs I’ve been getting are mostly smaller to – great fun if they are somewhere that isn’t rampant with sharks.

A 20lb line and 30lb leader will still subdue these fish in good condition for release.

I like a rod that is about 4-8kg, especially throwing lures 20g and under.

Pretty much a snapper plastics rod, but one with a bit of length

in the bottom end.

The length in the bottom end is what helps you subdue a fish more efficiently.

The trevs and queenfish are a bit harder to catch than tuna.

The skills and techniques to catch these might not be acquired in an hour or two though.

So be prepared to work a bit.

Usually those with some experience with deep soft plastics for bream pick it up fairly quickly.

Queenfish however will still fall for a fast-moving lure, as will mackerel and tuna.

The humble slukk spun deep or across the surface still entices strikes from the acrobatic speedsters.

Again, I encourage the use of lures with less hook points.

Queenfish have huge mouths, with all their gill work very exposed to nasty hooks.

It’s not uncommon to see well-bloodied throats where two sets of trebles have torn the gills to pieces.

That fish is unlikely to live, so don’t be ‘that fisho’ – #catchandrelease, yes… preferably

with steady tail beats.

The fish that don’t look likely to make it back, I’ll often take home.

If not for me, then perhaps for my pets.

The dogs eat raw fish, bones and all.

If the bones are raw, they pose no risk to the digestive tract of your feline or canine, as long as they take time to chew.

Choking is still a hazard for greedy guts pets.

I take extra sharp teeth out, for example those of mackerel, and spines of fish such as catfish should probably be avoided.

I also remove the digestive tract because I fear hooks may be embedded in there.

I have seen a fair few healthy fish with hooks in the gut or partially out of the anus.

Often there are hooks in the head and gills too, so it’s worth checking there also before feeding raw fish to your pets.

Which, let’s face it, is better than feeding the sharks!

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

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Stella scored her first queenfish.

Aiden put some mackerel on the table.

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Joey caught some small stuff with his friends.

Get into the best fishing action!

Full and half day tours All levels of experience Experienced guide

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Mel boated her first longtail tuna.

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www.fraserguidedfishing.com.au > 0427 230 261 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 55

Matt and Pat Trubshaw headed over to ‘the spot’ to chase flathead on plastics.

Raffles, Baffles and Theodolites

T

One of the Baffle Creek unders. At 38cm it was typical of what was taken on the Atomic Prong.

HE weather has been playing up lately…still.

This has restricted official club trips, though has allowed a number of members the time to sift through their fishing gear collections and toss a few things out… going by the amount of

Typical of the legal Baffle Creek dusky flathead at 45cm.

Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

PBA Spin

by MICK CLUTTERBUCK

gear up for grabs at the recent club ‘Buy, Swap and Sell’.

Most would have been given instructions not to buy anything new and return with nothing, but who can resist another spare spool of braid or a new 35lb rod and reel outfit that neatly fits in between the 30lb and 40lb ones already in the rack?

We’re also running a club raffle for the first time in ages, with some fantastic prizes on offer, including a Honda 1kW generator, $1000 rod and reel combo, Stradbroke Island Beach Hotel prize and a voucher of your choice.

A big thanks to Stewart Butler from Seawasp

Marine who kicked the idea off by donating the generator.

Baffle Creek camping trip I recently received an invite for a camping weekend at the Rocky Point Retreat at Winfield, located on Baffle Creek.

For those who don’t know, it’s roughly halfway between Bundaberg and Agnes Water.

Friend Neil’s son Matt was heading off to the United Kingdom for a couple of years, so Neil arranged the trip with his other son Pat and his sons-in-law, John and Chris.

The camping area was very open and well set * continued P57

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Raffle, Baffle and Theodolite creeks * from P56

up, with each site being around 280sq m.

Amenities wise, if you needed to, you could hire the toilet/shower combination, which comes complete with a chemical loo and hot water for the shower, plus it’s delivered to your site.

Camp wise, we had two large tents with a pergola set up in between.

Weather wise… it was blowy and overcast, but that wasn’t about to stop us from having an enjoyable weekend.

Our camp was set back a small distance from the creek, though we had easy direct access to it and there was no problem launching my kayak or throwing pots in from the bank.

We caught stacks of crabs, however all were way under, with the closest still being 2mm shy.

To fish you really needed a boat or kayak, however in a few spots you could see from the big scales on the bank that some decent fish had been caught – I’m guessing grunter or mangrove jack because it looked to be that type of country.

There’s a small island in the middle of the creek, so once the tide dropped and exposed some sand, I took the opportunity to paddle out and flick some plastics around it.

There were flathead everywhere and I would have caught at least 20 between 35-38cm, with only one legal on the first session.

I missed plenty more, including some decent fish, and put it down to the rod being a bit stiff for the very shallow water and not letting

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the fish take the plastic.

The following day I used a rod with a softer tip and it made all the difference, and while still dropping a few, the hook-up rate was way higher.

I kept four to complete my bag and released everything else.

I was using Samurai Reaction 302 with a Daiwa TD Sol spooled with 6lb braid and 6lb leader.

On the sharp end, I was using a TT 1/12oz 1/0 jig head and Atomic Plazo 3” Prong in Old Penny.

It was a great weekend, though it did get very wet and windy at night.

In saying that, I’ve never been at a campground that drained so quickly – it’s a great place and I highly recommend it.

Theodolite Creek – Easter weekend I was up at Woodgate at Easter, so I took the time to head up to the creek and try topwaters and plastics because I hadn’t been up there in ages.

The first thing that got me was how much it had changed, in particular the sand bank that’s developing in the middle of the area.

Mangroves were starting to grow there and with yabby banks all around, it’ll be interesting to see how this progresses over time.

As it was overcast and the tide was on the rise, and because the yabby banks had flooded, my intention was to flick topwaters in the shallows for whiting then head down a nearby branch of the creek and flick the banks with plastics.

To my amazement, I hooked up to a very nice whiting on my first cast, which had me thinking

this was going to be a great session.

From then on unfortunately, I was plagued by those spiny black striped grunter things, and while I could see the whiting cruising the shallows, I just could not get a lure to them.

Next, I paddled to the creek branch as planned, working a few banks and drop-offs along the way, which produced a couple of short dusky flathead.

The spot I like to fish has a shallow sandbank on one side that allows me to walk it while being able to cast a short distance to the deeper bank on the other side.

I spent an hour or so working the bank up and down, landing goldspotted estuary cod, moses perch, stacks of juvenile barred grunter to 35cm and the occasional flathead.

While I didn’t get any keepers, it was good to see the quantity of fish in there and hopefully that will translate to some good-sized legals in years to come.

The outfit in action was the same as the above but using a 65mm Austackle topwater lure (whose name eludes me) and 3” Berkley Gulp Jigging Shrimp in Swamp Gas... love these plastics.

Meetings Any interested parties are invited to come along to our monthly meetings that 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.

The next meetings will be Wednesday May 1, then on Wednesday June 5.

Until next month, safe boating.

The author’s fishing kayak.

A 32cm goldspotted cod taken from Theodolite Creek.

This was typical of the many barred grunter caught in the creek. Hope to see them again when bigger.

Offshore reef fishing fanatics WANTED One of Brisbane’s oldest deep-sea fishing clubs has vacancies for new members.

Owners of suitable vessels encouraged.

All levels of experience. Those without own vessels also invited to apply. Approximately 15 deep-sea trips per year. One week-long fishing holiday to town of 1770.

Monthly meetings, video shows, guest speakers and free nibbles. 4WD beach fishing and camping. Inshore fishing also on the agenda.

Interested? Then call Dave (0455 125 358) or Tim (0436 625 590).

POWER BOAT ANGLERS REEF FISHING CLUB INC Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 57

A previous goody.

VMR Bundaberg 2024 Family Fishing Classic

P

R E PA R ATIONS for the sevent e ent h VMR Bundaberg Family Fishing Classic are well advanced for the event running over three days from June 28-30, 2024.

An attractive prize pool of over $60,000 will be on offer in lucky draws and fish prize categories.

The Friday night program includes a $2000 Harvey Norman voucher and a $1000 cash lucky draw prize, while on Saturday the lucky draw will be a 3.5m Quintrex boat, motor and trailer package, valued at $9746.

And on Sunday, the lucky draw is a 4.2m Quintrex Busta boat, motor and trailer package, valued at $18,579.

The classic includes estuarine and offshore categories for senior and junior registrations (see accompanying QR codes) and a catch and release category for estuarine fish.

Full details and competition rules can be found on the classic website, vm rbundabergfishing classic.com.au Online registration is also available by scanning the relevant QR code below.

Juniors

Seniors

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 0458 742 153 • Linen available www.turkeybeachfishingvilla.com Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Success achieved.

Alpha Lures and so over sharks

H

I all, to say the weather has been ordinary is quite the understatement.

When the wind and swell make popping outside unachievable, fishing the creeks is a good back-up plan.

Unfortunately, consistent rainfall has dampened enthusiasm to fish the creeks due to the run-off fresh, which brings with it poor visibility and sudden drops in the water temperature.

As the conditions improve, look for areas where the incoming clean water meets the dirty water lines, and even change your ideas on lure selection.

I’ve salvaged a number of sessions by concentrating on using topwater lures or heavier action lures that create more noise than usual.

These days, you walk into a tackle shop to find a world of innovation and new products, especially on the lure front.

Matching the hatch has always been an important factor in my approach to luring, so imitating the local bait source makes sense.

Josh from Agnes Water 1770 Bait and Tackle brings many new products to my attention, with one a local product from the crew at Alpha Lures.

My initial introduction

Agnes Water

by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

was to the OG Yabby and wow, did it catch my attention from the very first glance.

Size and colouring – particularly the large pink nipper – looked closer to any yabby reproduction I’d ever seen, so I brought a pack on the spot and was left chaffing at the bit to give them a run.

Flathead was my first thought, so I grabbed a spinning rod and decided to walk the flats casting the shallows.

I found a number of dusky and bartail flathead eager to play.

Josh had done the same thing, testing the OG Yabby in a number of local creeks and provided pictures of unsuspecting lizards deceived by this lure.

I have noticed numer-

ous tackle shops stock Alpha Lures but if you can’t find them near you, try going online to alphalures.com It’s another option to add to your arsenal of fish-taking lures, especially when targeting estuarine species.

Now on to a more concerning issue… sharks!

In my world, I believe they are getting completely out of hand.

This summer alone surprised me with many encounters on the Discovery Coast.

If you look to scientific studies, you’ll soon find that no one knows how many sharks are in our waterways.

I’m not talking about the great white or grey nurse varieties, but whalers and reef sharks. * continued P59

Check out these Alpha Lures, the OG Yabby and Albino Yabby.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Alpha Lures and so over sharks * from P58

My thoughts are based purely on personal experience and what I see as an everyday angler.

Agnes Water main beach was closed for two days with massive amounts of sharks chasing baitfish into the shallows in a feeding frenzy.

Sure, this happens along our coastline on a seasonal basis and is a natural occurrence, however during this time we also had a young man attacked at Seventeen Seventy, which you may have heard about on the Queensland news.

There was another attack reported in Bargara, slightly south of here, and other incidents that are simply conversations in coastal communities which don’t make the media.

One such incident involved a local surfer who had a shark attempt to bite him, luckily tearing through his boardshorts only, leaving a light cut along his thigh.

Now if I was him, I’d have brought a lotto ticket on my way home.

How many encounters or close calls are not reported?

Over the recent summer, I was surprised at the number of sharks I took on trolled lures when targeting mackerel.

At one stage, I had at least one shark hook up on Halco Laser Pros trolled at about seven to eight knots for every session.

Added to this, the most common conversation I hear at the ramp is about the number of sharks that are taking quality reef fish from disappointed anglers.

It’s a case of if the sharks turn up, pull up the pick and move on.

Look at the new spanish mackerel legalities of one fish to be taken per angler, with a maximum of two fish per boat.

I’ve done the right thing and taken one mackerel for the Esky, but what about the previous two I hooked that were ripped apart by sharks?

How much impact does shark depredation have on the species biomass?

The author’s son Garrett loves the Alpha Yabby.

www.bnbfishing.com.au

Is it a case of an increase in shark numbers or have sharks simply developed a habitual response to targeting boats?

Due to the small amount of time spent between actually hooking a mackerel and having it ripped to threads, I believe these sharks are following boats and waiting for hook-up opportunities.

On one occasion, I remember having a metal slug come loose, swinging about precariously as I crossed the bar.

Once outside, I pulled up in about 6m of water to untangle the line and secure it before moving on.

In that short time, I had three sharks circling, looking for an easy feed around the stern of my boat.

For these events to happen, my thoughts are that there has to be an overabundance of sharks.

I know my evidence is non-scientific but sometimes personal observations can assist in painting a picture.

I understand a number of tagging and other studies were recently undertaken in southeast Queensland and I look forward to any light they may shine on actual shark numbers.

I’ve heard it so many times as a surfer – when you go into the water, you are in the sharks’ domain, not yours.

However, if we do have an imbalance in our coastal ecology and it does indeed affect other species, I consider that an important issue, and measures may need to be taken.

I’m sure a viable monitored industry could provide a solution for the future, if need be.

Just a thought.

Josh with a dusky flathead on the Alpha Lures.

Couper enjoyed Easter with a Seventeen Seventy bream.

Local angler Judah with a solid giant trevally.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 59

Cold temps and cool catches

M

Blue salmon are willing to take trolled lures. This fish ate a Killalure River Rat trolled in 6m of water.

Good redthroat sweetlip will be about if we can get some good weather to head out. Phil scored a nice sized fish on a 5” plastic jigged on the bottom.

AY has arrived!

The temperatures are dropping, days are getting shorter and we can expect longer periods of good weather.

By now the water temperature will have dropped a few degrees and will continue to as we get further into the month.

This will affect fish that prefer a warmer water temperature, such as barramundi and mangrove jack.

They will still be a viable target, though to target them, your techniques may need to change.

Barramundi will spend more time moving through the shallows chasing warmer water, particularly on the high tide.

Slowing the retrieve and repeated casts into the same locations can be required to get the bite or changing to a live bait may be needed.

Brodie has nailed good regional saltwater barramundi, with a 107cm fish taking a 79mm Jackall Squirrel hard-body lure.

Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Gladstone Region

by GARY CHURCHWARD

Bite times will also decrease because this species don’t need feed as often in colder water, as their metabolism slows down.

Awoonga Dam will still fish okay for barramundi through winter and fishing points where the wind has pushed the warmer water and bait onto will give you the best chance of finding numbers.

Mangrove jack can still be caught and again, it will be a case of finding snags or rock bars and repeatedly casting into the same spot to get a reaction bite or try a long soak with a live bait.

I tend to target these fish in the afternoon, with a slight rise of water temperature during the day helping to trigger them to feed.

Blue salmon numbers will start to increase, as they school and move into their spawning season.

They can be seen feeding over shallow flats as the tide rises, however my best results come from schooled fish in deeper water.

Finding them on the sounder can be the easy part – some days they are moving fairly quickly through the system chasing herring schools.

A good side scan sounder will help you stay on the schools for longer, though be prepared that some days they are moving too fast.

If you can track which way they are moving, you can often move in front of them and catch a few as they move past.

Bait wise, if you can find good size live gar-

fish, these have tended to be the best bait I have found over the years.

Alternatively, live mullet, prawns and bigger herring will all catch fish, or a fresh cut bait and pillies can be good options too.

Fingermark will still be a common capture.

If you find schools of salmon in deeper holes, often you will pull a fingermark from under them.

Commonly, target deeper sections that have a rocky bottom or some sort of structure as these will hold more fish.

Using a mixture of vibes and soft plastics will get good results and, depending on water depth, a trolled deep-diving hard-body will also work well.

Go-to bait are large live herring, mullet and prawns – none of these will last long if there are a few fingermark about.

Hopefully black jewfish will start to become more common with the colder weather.

Gladstone Harbour gives up a few during winter but for consistent results, the rocky outcrops and headlands on the outside of Curtis Island and the pylons along the shipping channel hold better numbers.

Grunter have been biting extremely well and their numbers will only increase over the next few months.

Smaller lures such as 50-70mm vibes and plastics will see you get among them and, if you’re getting a lot of smaller fish, upsize * continued P61

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Cold temps and even cooler catches * from P60

your lure size to about 100mm.

Fresh cut bait such as mullet, garfish and a butterflied herring work well, and a live prawn won’t last too long before it’s taken either.

Most gravel and rock patches attract bait, and the fish won’t be far behind.

Larger fish typically come from deeper water, with the pylons in the harbour holding good sized fish at times.

With the barrages in the Fitzroy River having been open for a while now, the river continues to run dirty.

The city is still giving up a few barra, mainly on live bait, though there were a few keen anglers getting a few on lures.

As the water condition improves, most fish have been coming from

downstream and into Port Alma.

As the flow stops, the clean water will begin to push back up and the schools of threadfin salmon will move up with it.

It will still be worth fishing the Fitzroy as the temperature drops, as it now fishes well yearround.

Queenfish are going strong around the entrance to the harbour, so look for good current lines and changes as a starting location.

If you find some working birds or a bait school, you’ll have a chance on just about anything, with tuna, mackerel and trevally all possible.

The wind has kept trips offshore to a minimum, with the short weather windows usually only available during the week.

If you were able to crack a trip, coral trout

have been about in good numbers and sizes on most reef systems.

The occasional red emperor and largemouth nannygai came from deeper isolated lumps and drop-offs.

The usual reef species, such as both grass and redthroat sweetlip, tuskfish, hussar and spanish flag all helped to make up catches.

Hopefully, as we move towards winter, the weather and conditions become more stable and there are more opportunities to head out to the reefs.

The Boyne Tannum HookUp will be held over the May long weekend, running from the Friday to Sunday.

If your about or looking for something to do, drop in, grab a feed and a drink, wander around and see what’s on.

Cheers and happy fishing from Gladstone.

Sam caught a school sized 60cm jewfish in the harbour on a 4” Berkley Gulp Shrimp. Hopefully bigger fish will show up as the weather cools.

Garmin Anaconda King of the Pin

W

E are gearing up for another great year of King of the Pin in 2024, with over $100,000 worth of prizes to be won!

Tickets are on sale now for this year’s event, held from May 31 to June 2.

The adult major prize is a 4.2m wrapped Quintrex Renegade tinnie with a 50hp Mercury on a trailer and the junior major prize is a 3.1m wrapped Quintrex Dart tinnie with a 6hp motor on a trailer.

Fishing for King of the Pin commences at 5pm (local time) on Friday May 31 and concludes at 10am on Sunday June 2, 2024.

The fishing bounda-

www.bnbfishing.com.au

ries extend from Potts Point, Macleay Island to the Nerang River.

Fishing in land-locked lakes, creeks and dams is prohibited, as is offshore fishing, however fishing from the beach is permitted.

Fish species eligible to be weighed in are bream, whiting, flathead, jewfish and tailor, noting that all flathead are to be a minimum of 40cm and maximum of 70cm.

The weigh in will take place on Sunday June 2, 2024 at the Gem Hotel Arena, located at 287 Stapylton Jacobs Well Rd, Alberton 4207 and will be held between 11am and 1pm sharp.

Entrants must be present with their ticket to

successfully claim any prizes, otherwise the prize will be redrawn.

The boat packages will be the last draw of the day.

Lucky random draws will be conducted throughout the day starting at 10.30am.

All competitors must enter via the website, kingofthepin.com.au Entries will close at 11.59pm (local time) Thursday May 30, 2024.

Adult entries are $40 per person and $15 per entrant for children 15 years and under, and booking fees apply.

Only one registration ticket may be purchased by each entrant.

For further information, check out kingoft hepin.com.au

A highlight from King of the Pin 2023.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 61

May is fishing magic month

I

Live prawns are highly effective when the water temperature starts to cool off.

The best part about cooler water temperatures is that flathead start to fire up. There’s nothing like light gear sportfishing for this species.

Bream will start to fire up, Mick Slade released a solid Corio Bay bream.

Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

S it just me or does time seem to be flying by?

We were only recently celebrating bringing in the new year and, in the blink of an eye, it’s May already.

A few more casts and I’m sure the jolly old fat man will be burning that sleigh around the corner.

It’s a timely reminder that, with the year getting away from us quickly, we all need to utilise our time on the water wisely.

How do we utilise that time?

The answer is quite simple… by having fun and being happy.

What makes an angler happy and enjoying being out on the water will vary from one person to the next, but if we aren’t enjoying our time on the water, why are we even doing it?

It could be casting poppers for whiting on the flats, live baiting for barramundi or even dragging some fish heads across the sand looking for beachworms.

If that’s what you’re into and you enjoy it, then that’s all that matters.

The going does get tough at times, believe me.

Like when you’re taking the kids for a fish in the boat and you are doing everything in your power to get smiles on their faces.

If what you’re doing isn’t making anyone happy or they’re not enjoying the trip, then it’s time to change.

Pull that anchor up and go for a boat ride.

This may sound a little strange, however there are a few things you can do to get the morale back in the boat when the chips are down.

The first thing is to

Capricorn Coast

by JOHN BOON

simply go boating, and this is especially important during summer.

When it’s 100 percent humidity and the fish aren’t biting, nothing puts a spring back in the step like having a nice breeze on your face.

It can be a soul-cleansing moment.

Pulling up to a new spot that you haven’t fished that day will have all the anglers keen to find out what might happen.

If you can combine a boat ride with food, it’s worth double points.

Getting food in your belly helps to reset your stress meter, I reckon.

Watch a boat where anglers are having an ordinary day and they grab something out of the Esky such as crackers, dip and a soft drink.

I can assure you, by the time you’ve finished eating, everyone will be chatting again.

At the end of the day, you want to look back and say to yourself, “I

really enjoyed today.”

Remember, it’s not all about catching fish – the fish are a bonus.

Now, let’s have a look at what’s been happening locally.

With the conditions cooling, it’s no surprise that the changeover has started to occur.

The summer species are starting to slow a little and the winter species are starting to wake up.

While the Fitzroy River is recovering from minor flooding, the top half of the river is still fishing tough.

Though on neap tides, the bottom half – from the cut through to the mouth – has been fishing fairly well for barra and king threadfin salmon.

And with the cooler weather, massive schools of blue salmon have been spotted already, both on electronics and feeding towards * continued P63

School mackerel will start to move into the bay with the cooler conditions and stable weather periods.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

May is fishing magic month * from P62

the top of the water column.

A few of the bait specialists highly recommend live yabbies when targeting blueys.

If you don’t have a yabby pump, securing live prawns can be just as effective.

If you’re out and about chasing blue salmon, there may be a couple of other species you run into too.

When looking at them on side imaging, sometimes tarpon can be mistaken for blue salmon.

Don’t ever get disappointed if this happens as tarpon are absolute nutters once hooked.

If you’ve got the kids onboard, this is exactly what you want.

Using plastics such as small grub tails would be my pick for

targeting tarpon.

Make sure you use a small gauge very sharp jig head because they have very bony mouths.

Jig heads such as small TT and Harpax inshore are my pick.

Bream are another species that should start to fire up this month.

The best place to start looking for bream are around rock bars and also mangrove roots, once the tide starts to drop.

Small grub tails, crab imitations and vibration lures are a good start.

The lighter you can keep your setups, the more bites you will get.

Hopefully, with the water temperature dropping, we’ll start to get a few better weather periods.

Once the bay cleans up and the herring schools start to move through,

school mackerel should become very thick.

If you can find a dense hungry school of macks, the kids will have a ball.

Floating pilchard and garfish on ganged hooks is an easy technique.

Make sure you leave the wire off though.

You do run the risk of a few snip offs but you’ll get a lot more bites.

I’ve actually proven this.

We had macks swimming around the boat that weren’t touching a bait connected to wire.

We took the wire off and they ate it straight away.

Always observing and always learning.

Well, that’s it from me this month.

Stay safe on the water and be sure to get the kids out every chance you get.

The Humminbird Apex displayed blue salmon schools in their hundreds. The cooler conditions get them grouped to make easy targets.

Tarpon are a great cool weather sport fish. If you can find good numbers, it’s a good time to get the kids into lure fishing. It can be a fish a cast at times.

tourismwhitsundays.com.au/fishing

www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 63

Whitsundays sortie – Part 2

P The author dragged a golden trevally out of a rocky headland.

Fingermark were about in good numbers offshore from Bowen.

Shaun dragged a giant trevally out of the pylons of the jetty at Abbot Point.

Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

ICKING up from Part 1 in the April issue, the forecast looked a lot better for the following day so, as none of us had been to Bowen before, we decided to give that a run.

I’d done a heap of research on the Bowen area before this sortie and had a few marks that sounded quite good.

We also wanted to check out the jetty at Abbot Point, which was a fair run from Bowen.

We didn’t want to launch too early in Bowen because we had no idea what we were in for.

When we put the boat in at first light, it all looked fairly open, though the wind was already blowing at about 10 knots.

The run out was good, so we started heading out to one of the wrecks I’d plotted into the Garmin.

It was about a half hour run out with the tail wind.

By the time we got there and had a look around the wreck, the wind had picked up a little more and we were facing directly into it.

The electric motor was working hard on spot lock to hold us in position.

Luckily, we didn’t have to wait long, though the first bait to get to the bottom were no match for these fish.

We upgraded our leaders to 50lb, which did the trick and a couple of nice trout were welcomed to the Esky.

The trout were close to 65cm, which we were happy with.

We also had a couple of good smokings by bigger fish that were in among the trout.

By this stage, ‘Blowin’ Bowen’ started to live up to its reputation and, as the tide turned, the

Fishing Trip

by KEITH STRATFORD

wind got stronger.

Getting a plastic down to the bottom took a lot of effort, yet it was rewarded with either a fingermark or trout.

The Berkley Gulp 7” Jerk Shad always gets the nibbles in these situations and this occasion was no different.

Once the tide turned, it was even harder to stand up and get a plastic to the bottom, so we dropped more pilchard back near the wreck.

This produced a decent trout, a fingermark and a nice small-mouth nannygai.

We got drilled by a few bigger fish and, with the wind ramping up even more, we headed to sheltered water.

I still had a couple of shallow marks in my sounder, though as the trip back in wasn’t much fun, we put the boat on the trailer and drove to our accommodation in Cannonvale.

We decided to stay close to home and give Airlie a go the next morning.

We went back to the spot where Benny had caught the maori wrasse and tried fishing a little shallower with hard-bodies and plastics.

Straight up I scored a nice trout on a Samaki Redic, but it was a bit quiet.

We persisted in the shallower water and my plastic got eaten by something bigger, that ran along a rock ledge without busting me off.

After a short but brutal battle, a nice golden trevally surfaced next to the boat.

We moved around after that fish and threw everything we had at

all the rocky points and ledges without a bite.

By then the wind had started to pick up again, so we travelled further north to look at some other headlands.

We found a big rock clump in the middle of the channel that was called Edwin Rock.

This was a serious piece of water – we marked some big fish sitting mid-water as we sounded around it.

We trolled a couple of lures without a touch.

By this time, the tide had turned and everything turned ugly.

The wind was blowing about 15-20 knots and the tide was running hard directly into it, causing some fairly uncomfortable waves.

We made the long trip back to the ramp and decided to have another look at the Proserpine River.

That turned out to be a mistake.

The current was running so hard across the boat ramp, it was nearly tearing the pontoon away.

We put the boat in anyway and went for a run upstream to have a look for a crocodile.

With the tide being so high, we didn’t hold much hope.

While there is a lot of structure in the Proserpine River, it’s a river that definitely needs to be fished during a smaller tidal run and a lower tide.

We made the call that afternoon to head to Bowen for the remainder of our trip.

The constant wind at Airlie made it impossible to get out to the better islands to find decent * continued P65

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Whitsunday sortie sorted – Part 2 * from P64

fish, so Bowen looked to be the next best option.

We arrived at the Bowen ramp early the next morning.

Leaving the marina, we came across a feeding frenzy inside the end of the rock walls.

There were fish busting up everywhere, gorging themselves on small baitfish.

We hooked a couple briefly but they were zoned onto the baitfish and were simply too full to take any interest in our lures.

They appeared to be a variety of trevally.

We went to the same wreck we had caught good fish at previously and were straight back into them.

A couple of nice fingermark and a few quality trout were in the boat in the first half hour.

They were caught on a mixture of bait and 7” Berkley Gulp Jerk Shads.

Once again, the forecasters made a meal of the weather prediction and the electric couldn’t hold us on the mark.

We decided to head back in close and check out a couple of the other marks I had in the sounder.

They were only shallow areas, so we didn’t hold a lot of hope.

It turned out that the depth didn’t matter because the spot was loaded with fish.

I dropped my leader back to 30lb to get more bites but was instantly smoked by grass sweetlip and trout.

Even the 50lb leaders were getting shredded through the coral.

A couple of pieces of coral were pulled up and it was so sharp, we could barely hold it, which made getting the fish out a real mission.

We did end up getting

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some good trout, grassies, spanish flags and a range of other smaller trout and cod.

The next morning started off windy and, on arrival at the wreck, we quickly realised we wouldn’t be able to hold position.

The Abbot Point Jetty was about 20km to the north of where we were and was in closer to the bank.

The plan was to get in to the jetty comfortably using the following sea and then hope the wind dropped out a little once we were there.

I had a mark in the sounder close to the jetty that claimed to be a large bommie holding good trout and lippers.

It wasn’t lying.

This big lump of reef was loaded with fish and we spent an hour pulling all sorts of species from it.

I did hook something very large on a 7” Berkley Gulp.

I’d say it was a big cod or groper that barely knew it was hooked, so I popped him off before the pain started.

We finally got to the jetty and were keen to get some bait and lures in around the pylons to see what sort of reef fish lived near it.

The water was about 21m deep out at the end, so it’s likely nearly everything lives there at certain times.

We struggled to lose a bait in tight to the pylons.

We did get busted off a couple of times, but it was quiet.

Shaun hooked a good fish out a bit wider, which needed to be towed back out into the open.

It ended up being a nice little giant trevally.

None of us were keen to catch trevally or queenfish, so we moved

to a different area.

Shaun was on again, this time a small golden trevally.

Then he was on again shortly after and landed a small mackerel.

That was our queue to make the long trip back to the ramp.

Thankfully the wind had dropped off a little, making things slightly more comfortable.

The next morning was the windiest day we had at Bowen, so we went south to look for some new water.

We tried a new mark but the water was a terrible colour, and we couldn’t get a bite.

We kept moving around looking for better water, however we struggled.

We went back to one of our other marks, where the fish were straight on the chew!

More trout, grassies, flags and cod were caught.

The next day was forecast to rain a little and blow harder, so we didn’t bother even putting the boat in.

We had a bit of a fish around the beaches in Bowen chasing barramundi.

I hooked a decent fish about 70cm close to my feet, though unfortunately the hooks didn’t hold.

There are plenty of good-looking areas to target fish from the shore in Bowen.

It gives you more options when the wind is blowing and you can’t get offshore.

The weather was against us for the rest of the trip, so we cut our losses and headed back to Brisbane.

We will definitely be going back to Bowen again in the near future.

Hopefully, the weather gods are a bit friendlier on the next trip.

The beaches at Bowen have plenty of structure that are worth fishing for barramundi and other species.

Coral trout and fingermark are excellent eating fish.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 65

TOURING & exploring

Nothing better than a silly family photo. You know you’re having fun when you can laugh at yourself.

Exploring exciting Exmouth Known as the gateway to Ningaloo, Exmouth didn't disappoint.

We certainly did a little work on our core strength, with lots of balancing.

Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

B

EING able to go off the grid was very important to us – we wanted that down time, which in turn led to family time.

Our setup with the JB Scorpion allowed us to easily spend a week in remote areas, which we did along Cape Range National Park.

Water and power are the main constraints when planning extended time off grid.

Though if managed well, a couple of weeks away without too much concern is certainly possible, particularly if there’s plenty of sun.

We made the conscious decision to not take a generator because it meant an additional fuel type, extra oil and extra weight.

Instead, we opted for a couple of solar blankets to add to the 510kW we had on the roof of the van.

Family Adventures

by BEN COLLINS

As much as it’s great having lots of solar on top of your van – and I would consider ours as adequate for the 300amp/h lithium battery – the drawback is that they work only once the sun gets to

a certain angle in the sky.

Conversely, there’s plenty of sun they don’t catch, hence the need for solar blankets and a couple of extension cords. * continued P67

Obligatory photo in front of the big prawn in Exmouth.

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TOURING & exploring Exploring Exmouth and surrounds * from P66

We would often have our blankets either hanging off the side of the car or the awning of the caravan to catch the early morning sun.

These would then be moved as the sun rose higher, ensuring we had plenty of power on hand – which, as it turned out, we needed to run our big thirsty Thetford 274-litre fridge.

As this fridge is on the large side, we didn’t need a second one, however it likes to drink, so we needed to keep the battery supply up for it.

Thankfully, there was heaps of sun, so it wasn’t a major concern.

Exmouth As explained previously, the basis of our travel was some time off the grid followed by a little time in a town.

This meant we could restock and attend to any issues, plus it gave

the kids time to meet new friends.

Our next stop was the beautiful resort-style town of Exmouth, which is on the western side of the Cape Range National Park and the eastern side of the gulf.

For a little tourist town, Exmouth has plenty to keep you busy.

Our base there was the Ningaloo Caravan and Holiday Resort, which had a pool and onsite restaurant, both of which got a bit of use.

The town also has various watering holes, with our picks being Froth Craft Brewery and Whalebone Brewing Company.

Aside from the refreshing drinks, both places had awesome food and a warm atmosphere, and were very popular with tourists and locals alike.

However, our time in Exmouth was not all spent simply lazing by

the pool or dining out, we also had one of the best experiences of our trip – swimming with whale sharks.

When we set off, this was a bucket list activity of ours, and thankfully the weather played the game so we could get out.

While there’s no guarantee you’ll see a whale shark, our captain and crew were very confident – there had been a few around the day before and, on the morning of our trip, a couple had been sighted by plane.

To say the excitement level was high was an understatement.

In order to gauge how competent at snorkelling we were and to get used to the gear, our trip started off at a shallow reef, which held a host of fish life and a reef shark. * continued P68

Even with the breeze, we had an awesome time on our whale shark adventure.

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Great food, refreshments and atmosphere at the legendary Whalebone.

Despite appearing to move through the water slowly with a slight waft of their tail, you need to put the afterburners on to keep up when snorkeling with these magical creatures.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 67

TOURING & exploring Exploring exciting Exmouth * from P67

Amaya’s selfie with a whale shark.

Once the formalities were done, we went off to find a whale shark.

Thankfully we didn’t have to wait too long and, after hearing cries from the captain, the first group of snorkellers were escorted on their magical encounter.

The way it worked was everyone had to stay in a line and keep a set distance away from the whale sharks.

You couldn’t go in front of them, though once these majestic creatures had slowly glided by, you could swim after them.

Our whole family was able to enjoy this amazing experience – a memory that will last a lifetime.

Exmouth is also a great place to wet a line.

There are loads of land-based possibilities or, if you have a tinnie,

the options are endless.

If you don’t have a boat, there are some you can hire if the weather is good.

Unfortunately, due to wind and availability, my fishing was strictly land based, which consisted of throwing lures at a few different places.

On the top of the Exmouth Cape, there are various shallow rocks that house small reef fish.

I didn’t manage to land a keeper here, but it was still fun.

The highlight of my land-based action came from the ocean side of the marina wall, when throwing a surface lure.

After seeing a school of bait shower the Berkley Pro-Tech Slurp lure, I cast to the edge of the school and it was instantly engulfed by a nice mangrove jack – * continued P69

The author and a whale shark.

Matia’s selfie with a whale shark. The crew were amazing and ensured the kids got the perfect photo.

Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

The author with his surface-caught mangrove jack.

Unfortunately, the fish swam into the rocks and cut the line off. Thankfully one of our touring friends was happy to dive in and grab it!

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TOURING & exploring

From the peak there is a magnificent view.

Low range is needed when climbing Jarndunmunha.

Exploring Exmouth and surrounds * from P68

the water was so clear, I could easily make the fish out.

It was always going to be an interesting battle because I was a little under gunned for a jack.

Long story short, the jack was eventually landed – not without a fair amount of carnage between hook-up and photo, though I’ll leave that tale for another time.

Tom Price Known as the Pilbara’s ‘top’ town, due to the fact is it 747m above sea level, Tom Price can be used as a springboard for exploring Karijini National Park.

However, we used it as a base for a couple of days before heading to the national park.

The caravan park in town was very clean and had the necessary facilities, which meant we could catch up on any extra washing and top up the water tanks before hitting the road again.

While in Tom Price,

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we drove up Jarndunmunha, also known as Mount Nameless.

You need a fourwheel-drive to do this and while the track itself wasn’t too bad, it has loose shale-like rocks on it that move a lot as you drive on them.

The peak of the mountain, which provides a spectacular view of Hamersley Range and Tom Price, is 1128m above sea level.

If you’re a train buff, it’s possible to buy a pass and check out the world’s largest private rail network, which consists of 1400km of tracks connecting the mines at Tom Price and Pannawonica with the ports at Dampier and Cape Lambert.

Hamersley Gorge free camp Our first night before exploring Hamersley Gorge was spent in a free camp off the side of the road.

We were one of the first there, so had the pick of the spots, though

there were only about three to four other campers in this area – who we had to look to find because there was plenty of space between everyone.

Fondly referred to as the bush television, we were permitted to have a fire at this spot.

After a long day, either exploring on foot or behind the wheel, a good feed and a fire is just the tonic to unwind.

Jumping for joy!

Our free camp at Hamersley Gorge – not a bad view either.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 69

Supporting local manufacturing

F A nice surprise taken when throwing lures for tailor from the rocks on the Alvey gear and yes, it’s an Australian lure.

Pioneer lure maker Kevin Clark with a cod caught on the original wooden Boomerang.

A snap of the author’s reloading bench – Simplex press and dies, Rexem projectiles and Hillver reloading block, all locally produced.

Page 70 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

OR as long as I can remember, I’ve been a practicing advocate of buying Australian-made whenever it’s been practical.

I bought my first Holden car second hand in 1978, a 1966 model HD sedan, followed later by an LX Torana hatchback – a car I would dearly love to still own.

At about the same time, I purchased my first .22 rifle, manufactured in South Australia by the then giant of the Aussie firearms industry, Sportco.

That old model 62 bolt action .22 still resides in my gun safe, being called into active duty culling feral cats as required.

Joining the .22 in the safe were a model 33 chambered in .222 and their aptly named Hornet model, not surprisingly chambered in .22 Hornet (both rifles are still in my possession).

Sadly, Sportco succumbed to market pressure from cheap imported rifles from the Philippines and the US and closed its doors in the early 1980s.

Australian Made

by NEIL SCHULTZ

Owning a couple of centrefire rifles opened up the hobby of reloading, so I purchased an Aussie-made press and dies from Simplex Reloading in NSW, a family-owned business that still manufactures firstclass reloading gear today.

Most recent on the scene is Queensland-based projectile manufacturer Rexem Australia, making copper-jacketed bullets equal to the very best of the imports.

Current production Australian-made rifles in my safe include a trio of Lithgow LA102 centrefires, plus a great little .223 chassis rifle from Southern Cross Small Arms in Sydney.

During those early years, I was into surf fishing, mainly for tailor but would also haunt low-tide gutters for flathead as well as partaking in a spot of land-based shark fishing from the beach.

Naturally, being a Queenslander, my gear

for those pursuits were Alvey reels spooled with Platypus lines, mounted on Butterworth rods, and yes, I still own a few of those early outfits… does that make me a hoarder?

At the time of writing, Alvey reels were still being made in Queensland, as are Platypus lines.

When casting lures for tailor from those big Alvey reels, we used metal creations from Wonder Lures in Victoria.

John Nowak’s Wonder Surf Rider and Wonder Wobblers accounted for thousands of tailor and flathead for my fishing crew and I during the 1970s and very early 1980s.

I fondly recall, while still in high school in the early 1970s, my best friend and I being berated by a fellow on Burleigh Beach for throwing lures into a school of tailor because we would scare the fish off. * continued P71

A product from the times when we manufactured almost everything you could imagine, the all-Australian designed and made Boomerang fighter.

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Key causes of fish kills

F

The author roughly 40 years ago with one of the new polymer spool Alvey reels and a Butterworth MT7144 surf rod. Those white spotted guitarfish are surprisingly good tucker.

Supporting local manufacturing * from P70

Ignoring the fact that we found the school and others came along only after seeing our bent rods, maybe the fact that we were catching more fish than him should have been a hint that perhaps his logic was flawed.

Once warm-water fish stocking kicked off, the unique fisheries it created saw a vacuum in the design of imported lures suitable for our native species.

Enter Aussie ingenuity and a host of backyard lure makers began turning out timber diving lures, catering specifically to Australian fish in local scenarios.

A select few of those early pioneers went on to become mainstays of the freshwater scene and are still thriving today – Predatek (formerly Downunder Lures) and Oar-Gee Lures come to mind. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Sadly, many of the most innovative designers of the era are no longer with us or have stopped making lures for the mainstream market.

Wandering around the workshop in my Mongrel boots sees a couple of Dawn Tools vices, a large Robbo’s bandsaw, plenty of old Stanley woodworking tools and boxes of Sidchrome spanners, all still Aussie made.

I’m old enough to have owned Australian-made whitegoods, televisions, a Mixmaster and sewing machines, all of which are very hard to find now.

Why buy Australian made?

Quite simply, to invest in jobs for our grandkids.

Buying cheap imports when locally manufactured products are available still will see more manufacturing going the way of our automotive industry.

ISH kills are defined as a sudden mass mortality of wild fish.

Fish kills can occur at any time, though data indicates fish kills are more likely to occur in summer or following sudden changes in temperature.

Some of the key causes of fish kills are outlined in the information below.

Blackwater Blackwater occurs naturally over time when leaf litter and woody debris build up on the floodplain and then get washed into the river system during a flood.

It’s an important part of the aquatic food web, as it provides food for insects, which feed fish, frogs and other aquatic wildlife.

When there is a prolonged dry period, the leaf litter and organic matter on the floodplain builds up until the next flood event.

This can result in a significant amount of organic matter returning to the river with any big flushes of water after prolonged drought, making blackwater events more likely.

Hypoxic blackwater When there is a lot of organic material washed into the river, its rapid decay can consume dissolved oxygen from the water.

If dissolved oxygen drops to very low levels, this can cause ‘hypoxic’ water, which can be stressful for native fish and can lead to fish kills.

Bushfires Bushfires can also influence water quality and cause conditions similar to blackwater events.

After a bushfire, rain can carry ash and burnt material into waterways.

The cover offered by plants and trees is lost, meaning the soil is more easily eroded and can be washed into rivers.

This can contribute to unpredictable changes to the water chemistry, including to blackwater events.

More information on blackwater can be found on the MDBA website, mdba.gov. au/climate-and-riverhealth/water-quality/ blackwater, and in the ‘About blackwater’ factsheet from DPIE Environment, Energy and Science, environment. nsw.gov.au/-/media / OEH/Corporate-Site/ Documents/Water/Wa ter-for-the-environment/ about-blackwater-factsheet-200209.pdf To notify the department of potential blackwater events, email waterqualitydata@dpie. nsw.gov.au or to report a fish kill, contact the Fishers Watch Phoneline on 1800 043 536.

Stratification Stratification is when the surface of the water heats up more than the deeper water.

That warmer layer tends to be warm and well-oxygenated compared to the deeper water that is colder and oxygen-depleted.

Thermal stratification Blue green algal bloom • Algal flourish in warm and still conditions, particularly in the absence of high flow.

Surface water layer • Warm high nutrient

load from run off • Dissolved oxygen by day, depletion overnight • Limited fish habitat.

Deep water layer • Cooler low light penetration • Low dissolved oxygen (hypoxia) • Poor fish habitat.

Decomposition of organic matter • Depletes dissolved oxygen.

De-stratification (‘Turn over’) Sudden weather events or small increases in flow can mix the warmer surface water and cooler deep water – essentially breaking down the temperature stratification.

These changes can mix the warmer surface water with cooler deep water.

Algal blooms may also be disrupted, potentially increasing decomposition, and further depleting oxygen.

This means that even at the surface, dissolved oxygen levels can become critical, killing fish.

Simple things you can do Be on the lookout for any changes in water quality – that includes changes to the colour or odour of your local waterway – and report them to the Fishers Watch Phoneline on 1800 043 536.

And call the phoneline if you observe any dead fish or fish starting to gasp at the water surfaces.

Fish kills are defined as a sudden mass mortality of wild fish.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 71

Josh Lyon with a lovely run-off saltwater barramundi from the Weipa area.

Tips on run-off fishing

Y

Josh and a good haul of prawns. These are often concentrated in small areas in autumn and are a favourite food for most predatory fish.

Page 72 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

ES, it’s that fabulous time of year again.

Run-off fishing for barramundi and, in places, other predators such as mangrove jack, sooty grunter and saratoga.

Small drains, creek junctions and around cascades and small waterfalls are prime focal points for predators targeting the small fish and prawns that are being flushed out with the residue of the wet season rain.

And this applies in freshwater reaches, brackish estuaries and even along some coastlines where swamps or lagoons are draining into the sea.

Cape York Peninsula is famous for its run-

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

off fishing, which can be had in lower coastal plain country in an abundance of places, from Cooktown north through to the Escape River and Jackey Jack-

ey Creek near the Tip. I’ve found it useful to always carry surface, shallow and deep-diving lures and soft plastics, as each often * continued P73

At this time of year, sooty grunter are prime targets in the freshwater reaches of most gulf rivers as far north as the Dulhunty.

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Tips on run-off fishing Cape York * from P72

works in the same location.

Soft plastic prawns can be particularly productive.

Some barra may be actively hunting the surface or just below, while others are lurking deeper.

It’s also worthwhile targeting snags and ledges slightly down from any junction or cascade.

Often predators are resting there out of the current, though they are still keen to snavel any passing fish, crustacean or well presented lure!

This is particularly true of mangrove jack – the ultimate lovers of snags and ledges.

And it’s always worth targeting those areas of

water that feature colour changes – both bait and predators lurk here.

Where to go?

In May, conditions cape-wide are still fairly wet and many places and roads are not yet open, for example the magical Rinyirru National Park northwest of Cooktown.

There’s the Endeavour River at Cooktown, the Annie and North Kennedy rivers, when those areas open, the fabulous Weipa river systems, the Ducie and Wenlock rivers near Mapoon, and as previously mentioned, the systems in far north Cape York Peninsula.

The beauty of run-off fishing is that it can be boat based and or land based too, with many places such as

the Hann River near the roadhouse and the Dulhunty River and Cockatoo Creek on the Old Telegraph Track offering fabulous walking-based fishing.

Exciting time of the year!

Happy fishing and safe travels.

Saratoga can be caught in freshwater run-off situations too.

Snags down from drains or cascades are well worth targeting for fish lying out of the current.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 73

Thousands of physical barriers around Australia limit the ability of fish to migrate.

Unlocking paths for fish

W

To determine whether a fishway is functioning as intended, OzFish Unlimited assess a range of factors, including the number of species passing through, the size of fish, water quality and water velocity.

HEN we’re out fishing, most of the fish we catch – and many we don’t – need to migrate at some point in their lifecycle, due to resource limitation or to breed.

Around Australia, there are thousands of physical barriers to fish movement and passage, limiting the ability of fish to migrate, reducing the total amount of habitat available and placing further pressure on fish stocks that are often already under stress.

Some of our fish migrate strictly within

freshwater environments, however many also need to migrate between freshwater and saltwater habitats.

To take an example from the rivers and wetlands of north Queensland, barramundi, mangrove jack, tarpon and jungle perch migrate between freshwater and saltwater at least once as part of their lifecycle.

These are the more visible species because they’re popular for recreational anglers, yet many of the smaller species that underpin the food chain – including many of the gobies and gudgeons – need to undertake similar migrations.

In an ideal world, we would simply remove all the barriers to fish passage and restore the hydrology back to its original state, however this is rarely possible or feasible.

In most cases, the physical infrastructure contributing to this issue is essential for things such as transport, water storage and municipal stormwater conveyance.

Fishways provide a solution to this issue by retaining the function of essential infrastructure, while also providing passage for fish.

Fishways come in all shapes and sizes, and their design depends on the location and height of the barrier.

For instance, a fishway built on a large dam or weir will be very different in design to a fishway built at a small culvert or causeway.

In practice, most of the physical barriers to fish passage are small (that is, a vertical drop of <1m), and therefore many of the fishways we see in places such as coastal north * continued P75

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

CREATING BETTER HABITAT FOR BETTER FISHING Page 74 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

Fishways provide a solution by retaining the function of essential infrastructure while also providing passage for fish.

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Unlocking paths for fish with fishways * from P74

Queensland are either rock-ramp, cone-ramp or vertical-slot designs, as they are the most fitfor-purpose.

OzFish’s north Queensland team complete monitoring work at local fishways each wet season.

Observation of these structures occurs soon after the fishway has been constructed and the results are reported back to the state government agency responsible for permitting and assessment.

To determine whether a fishway is functioning as intended, we assess a range of factors, including the number of species passing through, the size of fish, water quality and water velocity.

Thousands of fish have moved through these structures over the past few years and were it not for the construction of a fishway, they would not have been able to access the habitat upstream for the infrastructure, such as roads and culverts.

The results from our monitoring work demonstrated the importance of providing fish with migration corridors and increasing the total amount of habitat available to them.

Equally evident from the monitoring work was the need to continue to improve the condition of the habitat that fish are migrating to.

Some of the habitats we work in (creeks and wetlands) are in good condition, with healthy riparian buffer zones, deep refuge pools, minimal aquatic weeds and good water quality.

However, many are of very poor quality and are suffering from issues such as erosion, loss of physical habitat structure, sedimentation, build-up of aquatic

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weeds and poor water quality.

To provide the best benefit to fish stocks, remediating fish-passage barriers must go handin-hand with improving the habitat.

Our assessments of fishways provided a first-hand glimpse into fish migration, highlighting the dynamic movement of fish within our waterways and the importance of remediating physical barriers to fish movement and passage.

OzFish are always happy to discuss the results of this important work with anyone interested

in fish migration and improving fish habitat.

This wet season, the OzFish team in north Queensland is working with project partners Terrain NRM, Catchment Solutions, Lower Burdekin Water and NQ Dry Tropics to monitor fishways in the lower Herbert, Cardwell and Burdekin regions.

Monitoring is being completed between February and May 2024 and we again expect to see thousands of fish migrating to habitats that were previously inaccessible to them.

Dr Geoff Collins OzFish Unlimited

d r o f s i s I

Fishways come in all shapes and sizes, and their design depends on the location and height of the barrier.

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A great competition for Anthony Pelling, pictured with his 110cm barramundi.

Big barra at Lake Monduran n Lake Monduran Barra Classic 2024

M

Kris Lassig and the 105cm barramundi.

Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

O N DU R A N Anglers Stocking Association – also known as MASA – held the 2024 Hummingbird Barra Classic at Lake Monduran on March 22-24.

This year, the weather gods did not listen to our wishes of ideal fishing conditions for the classic.

Twelve months previous, you set a date and hope the weather will be as good as the moon phase you choose – pity that doesn’t always happen.

This year it rained… a lot, and the wind blew, and the temperature was all over the place.

The anglers who were able to get to the dam

Outback Fishing

by HELEN ABDY

a few days earlier for a pre-fish, spent time moving around the points and bays just looking.

Not casting but checking out where the fish were holding, to save time finding them on the actual day or night.

Friday afternoon was the time to get official, pick up the nomination team bag of goodies, have a briefing on the rules for the classic and get to the water.

With the weather coming in, anglers launched and gathered around the starter boat, which sent

them on their way for an all-nighter session as the rain came in and the wind gusted.

The rain was cold, and fishos tried to huddle under rain jackets or anything they could find while waiting for their turn to get underway.

Not ideal fishing conditions at any time, though just another challenge these top anglers had to deal with.

No one looked very comfortable, but off they went, one at a time, for a long wet cold night of barramundi fishing. * continued P77

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Big barramundi at Lake Monduran * from P76

Session one finished the next morning with some cold tired anglers, yet they did have some good fish recorded.

And of course, some sad stories too, with not all managing to land fish, but they still lined up a little more enthusiastically for session two because at least the rain had let up.

Session two was only an eight-hour night in more comfortable fishing conditions, unfortunately the cooler water temperature made the fish a little quieter.

So, a big Sunday morning brekky was ready for the anglers who emerged after 24 hours of fairly hard fishing.

All seemed to have a great time and some better than others, but that’s fishing.

I can’t tell you the secret spots because I don’t know myself, though here are some of the lures that worked well – Zerek Live Mullet swimbait, Molix Shad 140 barra swimbait, Pristine PT150, Halco Laser Pro 120 and 140 and Zerek Fish Trap 110mm.

Monduran is a huge dam and it’s impossible to fish everywhere, so having a few likely spots and working them, changing lures, depths and retrieves will be your best bet for targeting barra, and hopefully

landing some magic 1m models.

This year it was tough going for the teams who fished a total of 24 hours in very ordinary conditions, yet they still managed a total of 137 barra, of which 26 were 1m fish.

Well done to you all.

Here are the results: • First place winners were team Tracker – Kris Lassig and Anthony Pelling – with a total length of 534cm, their five scoring fish measured 110, 109, 106, 105 and 104cm • Second place went to team Hot Bite – Jason Ehrlich and his son Blake – with 476cm total length, their scoring fish measured 113, 103, 100, 81 and 80cm • Third place went to team Schwerin Concreting – Jake and his father John Schwerin – with a total length of 460cm, their scoring fish measured 111, 110, 80, 80 and 79cm • Fourth place went to team Daiwa Bait Junkie – Callum Munro and his father James – with a total length of 452cm, their scoring fish measured 106, 104, 81, 80 and 79cm • Fifth place went to team Mondymen – Sam Rowley and Justin Allen – with a total length of 450cm, their scoring fish were 103, 100, 91, 79 and 77cm • Sixth place was team

Winners Anthony Pelling and Kris Lassig from Team Tracker. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Atomic – Terry and Paul Allwood • Seventh was team Halco – Jason Medcalf and Paul Kuplen • Eighth was team Zerek – Liam Robinson and Marc Edmonds • Ninth was team Old Dogs – David Wollard and Shane Anderson • Tentj was King of Roys – Brett Turner and Dylan Brandley.

The longest barra for the classic was caught

by Dylan Mott from team Garmin, with a chunky 115cm horse caught in the first session in the wet windy cooler conditions.

An awesome effort by everyone.

Luke from Queensland Computers won the competitors’ raffle of a lithium battery, kindly donated from Boating Lifestyle Adventure and Humminbird.

A big thank you goes out to our sponsors for this event – Humminbird, Boating Lifestyle Adventure, Impact Post Tensioning, Pristine Lures, Lake Monduran Barra Charters, Wilson Fishing, Halco Tackle, Queensland Computers and Barrier Reef Corals.

All in all, it was a great weekend with a great bunch of anglers and club members, and again a huge thank you to Humminbird.

Lake Monduran will continue to be stocked with barra fingerlings, with events such as this and the Family Fishing Competition – which will be October 19-20 this year – helping to raise money to purchase more.

More information on Lake Monduran, the fishing guides, accommodation and Monduran Anglers Stocking Group can be found via Facebook, search Monduran Anglers and Stocking Association.

Best fish for the classic, Dylan Mott from team Garmin and a 115cm barramundi. An awesome fish.

Anthony Pelling’s 109cm barramundi.

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07 4157 3881 or email info@lakem.com.au www.lakem.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 77

Ben Wheeler from Casino NSW caught a 95cm Murray cod in 4m of water on a Barambah Swimbait.

Good rainfall at Glenlyon

W

Oscar Daly from Tenterfield managed a 51cm yellowbelly when fishing with his grandparents.

Page 78 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

ITH Easter over and great fishing at the dam, the rivers will also pick up.

So, over the next two and a half months, it should be fabulous fishing throughout the region.

Those who work lures will do well with surface lures, spinnerbaits and hard-body tackle.

And for the bait-fishing anglers, it’s time to put pen to paper and write your letter to Mr Thomas Hart, Fisheries Manager Freshwater, GPO Box 46, Brisbane Queensland 4001.

You are asked to express your thoughts on… banning Opera House-style traps.

Currently, Opera House-style traps (funnel traps including round traps), shrimp traps (concertina traps),

Glenlyon Dam

by BRIAN DARE

dilly (hoop) nets, pyramid traps and canister traps can be used in Queensland freshwater systems.

Now think about the tourists who head up north to catch red claw crayfish on storages that hold large amounts of these good eating species.

I want you to look at 40mm circumference Opera House-style traps.

This sized hole will still catch red claw crayfish and shrimp.

You have to make comment on this subject or miss out.

You’re sitting down reading this and thinking ‘they won’t do that’.

Sit on your hands and

do nothing and you’ll miss out.

Go to daf.qld.gov.au and look for recreational fishing gear changes banning Opera Housestyle traps – daf.en gagementhub.com.au/ recreational-fishing Read all the way through, then draw a 40mm circle… this you will find is large enough to let red claw in and not turtles, platypus or water rats.

In fact, 50mm is still safe for these to not get caught in these traps.

Think about both sizes and write your letter with your thoughts to the above address or online.

This is an important * continued P79

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Good rainfall at Glenlyon * from P78

subject if you’re an angler who fishes with bait or enjoys eating red claw.

Do something about it or we’ll suffer from the apathetic angler approach!

No science, just fisho advice and experience from many fishing trips and recreational angling.

Do something about it.

At the dam over the Easter weekend, we ran two raffles.

Some boxes of cheer were the three prizes.

These were won by Sean Vidler (first prize), Tanika Murray (second prize) and Mick Smith (third prize).

We also had a large selection of timber lures carved by some very special lure makers.

This collection was

arranged by Mick Smith, many thanks to these lure makers.

The lure board was won by Josh Wenzer from Casino and second prize went to David Wheeler, also from Casino.

In total, $2070 was raised for fish restocking.

Many thanks to all for spending $2 over the Easter break.

At last, the old grid has been removed at the turn off at Tenterfield – keep in mind to give way to the right.

At a later date, we will no doubt see the turning point laid with extra bitumen, thanks to the Southern Downs Regional Council for the updated work.

At a previous zoo meeting, the question was raised about the * continued P80

Ryan Halliday from Casino in NSW scored a monster 97cm Murray cod on a Barambah Swimbait.

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 Visit our new website at glenlyondamtouristpark.com.au www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 79

Good rainfall at Glenlyon * from P79

Kevin Birch with a whopper.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 16/04/2024

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

PERCENTAGE DEC

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

50 54 76 75 75 73 17 25 74 40 95 30 75 79 85 60 82 60 91 86 77 46 63 75 94 70 88 62 76 93

48 55 76 75 91 90 18 25 71 43 99 28 68 103 84 70 76 104 97 87 84 50 66 82 97 105 101 64 80 101

73 57 84 85 100 109 18 25 72 80 100 39 65 101 100 72 75 103 100 89 100 65 66 80 100 103 102 70 81 100

75 54 85 84 100 106 18 25 69 98 101 42 63 101 100 83 73 106 100 89 100 67 68 80 101 104 101 74 80 99

81 54 87 86 100 103 17 25 68 100 100 39 63 101 100 86 73 102 100 89 100 67 67 79 100 105 101 81 80 100

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

Page 80 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

subjects that need to be put forward for comments during the freshwater fishing workshop.

Again, this is your chance to put forward suggestions regarding your thoughts for improvement of your freshwater fishing experience on waterways and storages in Queensland.

There are many things that need to be reviewed and changed with this, including the struggle of encouraging younger recreational anglers to join local fishing clubs.

You’re thinking only old seniors run these shows or ‘I practice catch and release, it doesn’t apply to me’.

Well, at some stage, the new guard will need to step up to the plate.

With ‘oldies’ falling off the perch each year, we need to maintain our fishing requirements at all times.

Note – the only time an angler tells the truth is when he calls his friend a liar!

Stocked Impoundment Permit System 2000 to 2024 It has been 18 months since the freshwater fisheries workshop in Mackay.

After dinner, Gary Fitzgerald was given the chance of presenting an overview of the permit system as we know it.

It is now 25 years since the permit system was introduced and put into place.

Back then, the permit cost was $15 each for those over 18 years of age for a 10-year period, so about 80,000 anglers would have paid in total $12 million for 2000 to 2010.

From 2011 to 2020, at a cost of $25 for 80,000 anglers equates to a further $20 million.

So for 20 years, that totals $32 million collected.

From 2021 to 2025, at a cost of $36.50 per year for the permit and about 120,000 anglers, the return would be $22 million.

The total from 2000 to 2025 equates to $56 million raised over those 25 years.

Not a bad return at a cost of $0.10 per day to fish in freshwater in Queensland.

Question – how much has been raised in total from the permit we now pay for?

That total should be on record, as it is a trust fund format.

What needs to happen is that the consumer price index rise is taken off the cost of the permit.

The funds are going into a public trust fund and should not incur that extra cost annually, as it is a fixed cost for 10 years we need put in place.

At the moment, we are paying $60.42 for a yearly permit, $43.46 for a concession permit and $12.72 for a weekly permit.

All to receive a CPI increase at the end of July 2024.

Bring in $36.50 for an annual permit and $10 for a weekly, then 10 years from now, increase the annual permit to $45.

Note that if it came about that an all-waters permit was introduced, $36.5 million would be raised from the 1 million recreational fishing community in Queensland.

Elections?

Politicians may want to consider the voting power of those fishos.

Also, $365 million over 10 years at $0.10 per day is not a tax, it’s a requirement!

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Cost per insertion: 2 lines $15, $1.10 per line thereafter. Contact details must be included in ad.

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GLASSCRAFT FISHERMAN – A terrific little first boat. Easy for a couple or small family to get around the local river, dam or protected waters. This boat is a gem! $3,500. Contact AMC Boats on 07 3808 7333 or visit amcboats.com.au

ADVERTISERS – To organise a classified ad in the Trading Post, call 07 3286 1833 or complete the form and post it to the address provided or email it through to ads@collins.me dia Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 81

Isla caught her first squire in Moreton Bay over the Easter holidays.

Jeremy managed a solid golden trevally on a Tweed River charter She was able to wind the fish in on her own, along with a few more on the day. with Brad Smith.

Trent Brown Clint Ansell

Redland Bay Amateur Fishing Club recently presented winners for Round 2 of the Sports Fishing Competition. Species winner of whiting was Adam Neeson, junior members’ choice was a huge bream from Cooper Spittle and senior members’ choice was David Holman with a nice mangrove jack. More info and images have been recently uploaded to the Facebook page facebook.com/rbafc.org.au RBAFC To have a photo of your catch featured in Readers’ Forum, simply email ads@collins.media with a good quality picture, your name and details or hop onto our Facebook page and send us a message.

Page 82 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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My first barramundi – 80-90cm in far north Queensland using a Lilly Richter with her first fish on a lure, an MMD Soft Prawn on the paddle tail soft plastic. They sure do put up a good fight.

Gold Coast.

Verena Caltabiano Mick Richter

Pretty excited to score two personal bests within a week. A flathead at 80cm and a mahi mahi at 1m.

Joanne Martin To have a photo of your catch featured in Readers’ Forum, simply email ads@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, May 2024 – Page 83

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• 13% lighter than previous model • Battery-free EFI for fast, reliable starting • New exclusive multi-functional tiller handle, adjustable for left or right handed operations Page 86 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024 – Page 87

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Page 88 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, May 2024