BNB Fishing Mag | June 2022 by bnbfishing

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Preparing for snapper Guide to catching winter whiting

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From the Bush ‘n Beach Fishing editor

ITH three recent deaths, the past few weeks have been very sad for Queensland fishos. A body of a kayaker was found offshore near Noosa and another man died off Townsville when his boat capsized. While there were no suspicious circumstances around these deaths, they do highlight the need to be extra vigilant when on the water. As much as being on the water can be a most beautiful and enjoyable experience, it may also have devastating consequences, which can be felt by family and friends for years. Another recent tragic event was the passing of famous Australian cricketer and passionate fisho Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds after a car accident. The larger-than-life character was an entertainer who loved life, cricket, a beer and fishing. There are many of us who were fortunate enough to have met him and we each have our own special story or memory to share.

Roy, you will be missed. My thoughts and well wishes are with all who have been impacted by these tragedies. Without trivialising these events, it does make you take stock and think about your own actions and how sometimes pushing the boundaries or having a ‘she’ll be right’ attitude may not be the best way to go. Planning Recently we have experienced atrocious weather – with wind gusts to 40 knots and waves over 6m recorded off Stradbroke Island. While I don’t suggest going out in these conditions, it is still important to be prepared when hitting the water. As the captain of the vessel, it is your responsibility to make sure you have the correct safety gear, and that it is current. You also need to let anyone on the boat know where it is, before you head out. I can’t stress enough how important it is to be vigilant regarding the weather – this is not only before you hit the

Larger than life - Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds, RIP. www.bnbfishing.com.au

water, but when you are on it as well. Too often an unpredicted change can come through and, if you are unaware, it could mean you end up in a very dangerous situation. There are several mobile apps that give live wind, wave and swell forecasts. So, if you have reception, it is easy to check. Alternatively, checking weather changes by radio with your local volunteer marine search and rescue service or Coast Guard is also possible. It’s good practice to get in the habit of logging on and off when heading out on the water, especially if crossing a local bar or heading offshore. Spanish mackerel Submissions for the spanish mackerel survey are now closed with around 1400 received. Of these, about 80 percent are from recreational anglers – so it was great to see that people had their say. These submissions are currently being reviewed and assessed. The Australian Marine Conservation Society also submitted a response, which can be viewed on their website at marineconservation. org.au To save you the trouble of going there, I’ll outline what they recommended: • Close the fishery for two years • Once the biomass is over 20 percent, reintroduce fishing with considerably lower Total Allowable Commercial Catches • A one-fish possession limit and two-person boat limit for recre-

ational anglers • A 12-week seasonal closure for all sectors • Better recreational catch data. I do not agree with the closure for two years or even the seasonal closure, but there definitely needs to be a significant reduction in the TACC and I’m also OK with a review of recre-

ational fishing possession and boat limits. However, I think a possession of two per person and a boat limit of four – with two or more people on board – is about where it needs to be to ensure fish stocks rebuild and the recreational sector is catered for. Ben Collins

OUR COVER Estuary • Offshore • Freshwater • 4WD • Camping • Touring

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June 2022

Line-peeling jigging action

Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 33, Number 6

Flathead trolling tips

How to lure a mulloway Winter options on Moreton Bay ISSN 1832-4517

Proudly produced and printed in Australia

9 771832 451001

Preparing for snapper Guide to catching winter whiting

FERRY

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RYAN with a solid threadfin salmon. Picture by Keith Stratford. Read his article about targeting these and other species on page 14.

NEXT EDITION: July edition will be on sale in newsagents from June 24. JUNE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: See the subscription form on Page 84 and subscribe this month to go in the draw to win one of seven packs from Top Dog Tackle valued at $50 each. APRIL PRIZE WINNERS: Congratulations to C Jeppesen, Bracken Ridge; D Boman, Fortitude Valley; K Crosby, Murarrie; M Keogh, Burleigh West; P Prior, Riverbend; R Alterator, Hope Island and T Williams, Holland Park who each received a Top Dog Tackle fishing shirt valued at $50 each.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 5

June 2022 contents

Winter in Moreton Bay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Webb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P8 Persistence pays off. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by David White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P10 Winter flathead fishing tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P14 Passing of friend Bill Spring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton . . . . . . . . . . . . P16 Tide Times ��P20 Jigging tips for AJ and kingfish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Dyllon Schulz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P20 Preparing for snapper. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P22 Flathead trolling tips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P26

Catching bream from a jetty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P28 Heavily taxed jewfish. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tye Porter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P30 In memory of Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds ��P31 Daiwa’s Bob Mercer retires ��P34 How to lure a mulloway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P36 Custom snapper rod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Smith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P37 Tackle, bait and tactics for chasing winter whiting. . . . . . by Sean Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . P39 Quintrex 430 Fishabout Pro ��P44 Insights into boat insurance ��P46 Tips from Move Boat Trailers ��P48 Product News ��P50 Crossover season on Sunshine Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Grant Budd . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P54 How to win fishing battles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P56

More than bream in winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ryan Dixon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P58 Rainbow Beach Squid Rowe Trophy 2022. . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mick Clutterbuck . . . . . . . . . . . P62 Muddies and red claw at TCB. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Chris Rippon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P64 Changing tack for winter species. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P66 Charter Directory ��P68 Life through the lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson . . . . . . . P70 Recipe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Melissa Frohloff . . . . . . . . . . . . P71 An overview of our estuarine crocodiles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by ‘Billabong’ Baz Lyon . . . . . . . . P72 Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P74 Mini Qld lap – Following the coast home. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Collins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P76 Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic 2022 wrap up ��P78 Dam Levels ��P78 Competition Calendar ��P79

No change to funding format. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . P80 Origin and fishing club partnership ��P81 DAF stocking groups message ��P81 Trading Post ��P82 Readers’ Forum ��P83 Subscription Form ��P84 Page 6 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

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The Team

EDITOR: Ben Collins ADVERTISING: Tiffany Brown PRODUCTION: Vyvyan Black 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: Spotpress DISTRIBUTION BY: Ovato 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, June 2022 – Page 7

Winter in Moreton Bay

Claire Blaser captured a nice bay longtail tuna.

Tim Dunn with a good size grass sweetlip.

Cory Jay Andaloro scored a brute of a threadfin salmon. Page 8 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

ITH the cooler months upon us, it’s time to dust off the beanies and jumpers because Moreton Bay can get quite cold early in the morning and evening. Fish species go through some changes in the bay during winter, with snapper stocks increasing and larger fish up for grabs. Offshore species enter the bay and you can usually tell the difference as offshore snapper having brighter colours compared to the resident bay snapper. Early morning even before the sun rises over Stradbroke Island is the time to hit the bay and again when the sun starts setting. During winter, we usually have better weather conditions and the northeasterly wind is less prevalent. Places to target winter snapper are the usual haunts around the bay islands, starting with Mud Island’s eastern contours and in close in the evening. If fishing an evening tide, it’s best to get in early and set up for fishing into the evening – the same applies to fishing an early morning tide – and getting a berley trail going will also help. When fishing for snapper, it’s a good idea to have a floating rig out with very little weight because tailor numbers increase too. If coming out of the river to hit the Coffee Pots, try to jig up some yakka, as tailor love nothing better than a good-sized livie drifting around the 10m contours.

Moreton Bay by BRIAN WEBB

Or if you’re leaving the river, target some poddy mullet, herring and prawns because snapper love live bait – you can also jig some squid up around the rock wall at the entrance to the river. If not, a fresh pillie will do the trick too. You also have a good chance of hooking up to bay jewfish that patrol the contours, especially if there is a bit of structure about. Some of the best contours are around Mud and Green islands and the Wellington Point drop-off from the entrance to Manly down towards Raby Bay. Peel Island fishes well on a rising tide, while Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef fishes better when there are less boats about because too much noise usually turns fish off, particularly larger snapper. Another place to try is the isolated structure around the Measured Mile and the entrance to the Pearl Channel. If they’re not biting there, head up the shipping channel and fish the coffee rock areas along the edge of the channel – this applies to areas from Tangalooma right up to the Bulwer ledges. Coochiemudlo Island fishes better in winter, so hitting the artificial is also not a bad idea. The Redcliffe shallow reefs are also a good option as snapper numbers have increased over the past couple of years. One of the best places to target winter snap-

per is the lower end of the Brisbane River, especially from Clara Rock down towards the container terminals, remembering the 30m exclusion zone around the terminals. Sweetlip emperor numbers also thin out in the cooler months, but there are still a few areas that will get you a feed, such as Green Island’s eastern and western shallows. But one of the better places to try is the coffee rock around Bulwer and the Bribie Island side of the channel. Tuskfish numbers are still available, with green purple tuskfish in the Rainbow and Rous channels, the bottom of the drop-off on the northern side of Peel, and occasionally around Mud. If targeting the big blackspots, Rainbow and the northern side of Peel at the bottom of the drop-offs, or head north and fish the dropoff from Curtin Artificial Reef up to Bulwer, making sure your bait gets down to the bottom. You will need to increase your gear with 30lb braid and a good lengthy leader around the 30-40kg mark, because once hooked they head for overhangs or into the reef and will easily cut you off. If you mean business targeting big tuskies, go out the night before with a headlamp and torch around the rocky shorelines and catch some rock crabs. continued P9

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Jacki Newton with a pair of quality mud crabs.

Zach Flora was stoked with this great jewfish.

Winter in Moreton Bay from P8

Otherwise, get a few sand crabs minus the nippers and a goodsized hook around 7/08/0 in a circle or penetrator. The best way to put a sandy on your line is to put a skewer through the back of the shell bringing it out between their eyes, then place the hook on the end of the line and pull the spare line out. There are flathead at the mouth of Boggy Creek and up the creek itself, and also around the bottom end of the boat passage towards Wynnum, at the mouth of Bulimba Creek and the flats around Pinkenba Boat Ramp. There should be plenty of bream around in the river near the sunken wall and in Boggy Creek itself, otherwise Mud’s eastern side in close – and I mean in close, where you can actually cast onto the mangrove shoreline. Nudgee Creek and Macleay Island also produce some good www.bnbfishing.com.au

bream during winter as spawning season approaches, and the Pine River and Hayes Inlet hold good bream too. Squid should be around in good numbers, particularly the weed bed at the entrance to the Rous and Fisherman’s channels, and the rocks walls around boat harbours and jetties are good areas to try. While fishing the weed bed around Rous, there are plenty of diver whiting around or from Cockle Banks off Scarborough, and you can get some yabbies on the Lota flats. There are also a fair few sandies about – try from Pearl Channel towards Cockle Banks and around the Measured Mile towards Mud, or between Green and St Helena islands to the mainland. Mud crabs are also around in good numbers. The places I try are up Boggy Creek, Nudgee and the mangroves op-

posite the Whyte Island boat ramp on a high tide – as it gets fairly shallow there on a low, so it pays to put your pots in before sunset and check them early the next morning. Spotted mackerel have left the bay on their migration north and, while doggy mackerel numbers decrease, there is still a resident population left in the bay around the Measured Mile across to the four beacons and down towards the Sandhills – otherwise look for bird activity in the paddock or jig the beacons. Longtail tuna will be patrolling the drop-offs from Peel towards Amity Banks and around the Sandhills, otherwise drop a paravane and slow troll the shipping channel or other drop-offs around the central bay. Remember to organise your trip as to what species you intend to target and also have a backup plan.

Tim Dunn with a green island snapper.

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Persistence pays off

Jewfish are always a welcome by-catch when snapper fishing. This little one was released to fight another day.

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Page 10 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

HE temperature dropping across southeast Queensland means one thing for many Brisbane anglers… snapper time! Keeping in mind of course that snapper are a no-take species from July 15 to August 15. Apart from the closure, snapper can be targeted year-round in Moreton Bay. However from June through to September numbers will increase and condense – coinciding with cool water and their annual breeding cycle. When these conditions occur, the process of catching these beautiful fish becomes a little easier. Mind-blowing sessions of screaming drags and multiple hook-ups aren’t uncommon. Knowing where to be and what time to be there is half the battle. Chasing snapper in Moreton Bay has been a real challenge for me. I first started chasing this fish 25 years ago and being able to catch them consistently has been hard work and very frustrating. It’s taken many years of trial and error – pulling the dreaded doughnut more times than I care to remember. Though perseverance eventually paid off. I cracked the code and now enjoy the spectacular snapper-fishing Moreton Bay has to offer. Taking notes of tides, moon phases, wind direction, bite periods and such will certainly point you in the right direction. Patterns will slowly begin to emerge and give you a great insight into

Moreton Bay by DAVID WHITE

these smart and sometimes fussy feeders – particularly the big ones. Piecing the puzzle together of your desired species while arduous is extremely rewarding and exciting – results will start to flow in dribs and drabs and make you even more determined. I am a strong believer that snapper feed more aggressively around particular moon phases and tides. Paying attention to these subtle points will certainly help and at times can make the difference between maximising your chances or missing out on a very narrow bite period. At the time of writing, some quality early season snapper up to 80cm have been boated. If this is anything to go by, we should be in for a cracker season! Areas of interest will involve finding structure first. Structure comes in

many forms – reefs, ledges, drop-offs, wrecks and artificial reefs. Many overlooked areas are less pronounced – gravel beds, broken ground, muscle beds and wire weed. These low-profile areas also hold large snapper that readily roam while foraging for their next meal. It’s worthwhile spending time in these locations because you’ll benefit also from a little less fishing pressure and traffic. Understanding your sounder of choice is paramount – another important tool to have in your arsenal – and learning how to interpret bottom hardness, fish schools and bait will put you ahead of the pack. There are many techniques and rigs for catching snapper. All have their time and place and catch fish. continued P12

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 11

Persistence pays off from P10

Bill with a quality early season snapper.

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Page 12 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Many a debate has been had over what style, rigs, rods, reels, bait or plastics work best, so I will touch on my personal preferences. Predominately, I fish bait and enjoy float lining. For my setup, I prefer to use a rod around the 7’ range, medium to heavy action, with enough grunt down low to set the hook and play the fish while also allowing enough finesse. I’ve been using a Daiwa Saltist-X 70MH rod with a Daiwa Saltist 4500 spinning reel for years and they have served me well, without hurting the hip pocket. Having a chat with your local tackle shop is always a good option if uncertain of which way to go. As for many outfits, it can all come down to personal preference of brand and budget. Though always strive for the best you can afford, not the cheapest available. Buying better quality sees a great outfit last for years and will have a much smoother drag – this certainly helps when landing bigger fish and sees less gear failure. I always try to upgrade my drag system with Carbontex Drag Washers – not a necessity but for a little extra money, I believe they add great benefit. My main line is 40lb braid and about 2m of 40lb Sunline FC Rock leader attached by an FG knot, a set of 3-6/0 gang hooks, with swivels in between each hook for better movement, or a single 9/0, depending on the bait being used.

Sinker size is constantly changing to suit the conditions and water depth I’m fishing. Having an assortment of ball sinkers ranging in sizes 0-6 will see most situations covered. Too heavy a sinker and your bait will plummet to the ground, too light will see it surfing on the surface – neither of which will produce a great result. When it comes to bait, fresh is best. If not fresh, then freshly frozen! Kicking off a session at the local service station trying to pry a sixmonth-old bag of pillies from the freezer with a crowbar is far from ideal. If possible, try and collect bait before any session. Though if time doesn’t permit, another great option is to do dedicated bait trips and have vacuum-sealed packs in your freezer. There are also quite a few quality bait shops around that have great ranges. Many of the beacons and artificial reefs hold healthy numbers of bait – with a bit of searching and a bait jig, you should see yourself with a few in the bucket. Be mindful that some baitfish have bag and

possession limits. It’s always a good idea to freshen up on the rules. I’m not overly fussy when it comes to the type of bait I use. As mentioned, if it’s fresh and in season, chances are in your favour. Herring, yellowtail pike, winter whiting, scad, slimy mackerel, squid and cuttlefish have all accounted for snapper. With Moreton Bay having numerous pickers and little fish trying to destroy your offering, using softer smaller cut bait will usually see you de-baited fairly quickly. Use bait whole – it allows those tiny fish to tap away yet enough time for that larger model to come over and see what all the commotion is about – hopefully resulting in a hook-up with a trophy fish. Regardless of the bait being used, pay attention to how you rig it. It must be lying flat, not spinning, and looking as natural as possible when deployed. So, keep your eyes on that forecast and get yourself out on the water. Keep a diary, mix it up, remain persistent and results will follow. Good luck, see you next month!

Loaded up on a quality fish in central Moreton Bay. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 13

Chris ‘Squiddy’ O’Donoghue landed his first mangrove jack on a live herring.

Ryan Holdsworth sight-casted this nice threadfin salmon on a Duo Realis Jerkbait.

Winter flathead fishing tips

Small paddle tail plastics will work very well on a wide range of species in June. This mangrove jack belted one on a rock bar recently.

T’S winter again! Cold mornings, calm days and lots of fish should be on the cards this month. The floods that hit southeast Queensland earlier this year gave the rivers and creeks a good flush out. This has left them looking very good leading up to winter. Plenty of flathead have been eating lures, especially around the mouth of the Pine River.

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Local Luring by KEITH STRATFORD

Most of the fish have been between 40-55cm. I haven’t come across any bigger ones yet but they shouldn’t be too far away. As the water cools, the quality and quantity will hopefully improve. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen a good winter flatty season, so with any luck we have one this year. The flatties that I’ve been catching at the mouth of the Pine River recently have been very fussy. The type of lure and the retrieve have had to be exactly to their liking to get a bite. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been the same on every trip, so experimenting with different angles and retrieves has been getting the results. A lot of the baitfish I have been targeting around the area are small herring, so smaller paddle tails and vibes have been getting the bites. I’ve also been using a lighter jig head than I normally would to get

the bite – giving the action of the plastic a lot more time to work on the drop. It’s worth carrying a wide range of plastics on each trip and trying each style several times. And it’s also worth mixing up the retrieve. Some days they favour an aggressive flick and other days they prefer it doing virtually nothing. Dead sticking the plastic on the bottom and not moving it for about 10 seconds can produce surprising results. I personally hate fishing this way, as I get bored easily, but it can work very well. I used to fish a lot of clean shallow water at Bribie Island for flatties and the amount of fish that would follow the plastic all the way back to the boat and then turn away was an eye opener. Every time we flicked the plastic, the fish would move closer but never eat it. We quickly worked out that leaving it sitting there for five seconds continued P15

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Winter flathead fishing tips from P14

worked nearly every time. The fish would slowly move over the top of the plastic while it was dead still and then suck it up. Most times you wouldn’t feel the bite and the only way you knew the flatty had eaten the plastic was by watching the bright colour disappear. Mangrove jack will be a bit slower this month. They will still be available for catching though if you’re addicted to these red thugs. I’ve caught plenty during winter as by-catch while chasing jewfish and threadfin salmon around deep holes and rock bars. They are also very fond of small bream lures.

I used to chase bream a bit in the Caboolture River many moons ago and the number of mangrove jack that ate those small little plastics was a real surprise. I quickly realised that casting around fallen timber for jack never ended very well. Rock bars and steep shady banks were a lot easier to pull a jack out of than a crusty old tree with branches sticking out everywhere. The past few years have seen heaps of trevally push up the local rivers. Some of these fish have been stretching the tape to 70cm, which can be a handful. The Pine and Caboolture rivers have been very consistent.

Trevally are a great target when jewies and threadies aren’t chewing. There have been plenty of small jew getting around the rivers, which is a good sign for the next few years. The Brisbane River is full of them at the moment and they should continue to bite well during June. A few bigger fish should be around too, along with threadfin salmon and good numbers of snapper. That’s it for me this month. Grab the jumpers and beanies and get out there and enjoy the great winter fishery we have on our doorstep. Hope to see you on the water.

Mangrove jack can turn up while chasing flathead around structure this month.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 15

Bill Spring – friend, gentleman and fishing legend.

Passing of a friend, gentleman and fishing legend Bill Spring n Options for northern Moreton Bay

F Will getting in on the flathead action.

–WANTED– Pre-trained old fishing gear!

We will come to you if you have bulk gear!

0402 703 519 Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

AREWELL to a true gentleman and friend Bill Henry Spring, August 5, 1929 - April 4, 2022. On April 4, 2022 I received the news that my friend Bill had cast his last line. Bill had been coming to the shop for as long as I can remember, drinking his coffee in the corner and telling yarns that spanned his 90 plus years to everyone he met. Bill will not be forgotten – every time we pick up a customer’s Alvey reel that is missing a washer, a screw or has the parts around the wrong way, we will remember Bill! Bill was my personal sparring partner. Every Friday we would see who could take the mickey out of the other and tell the worst dad joke. Bill managed to get a few in and, just quietly,

Northern Moreton Bay by MARK TEMPLETON

I think he gave a couple away! We will miss that cheeky grin, the hidden giggle when he had a win, the spilt coffee, the biscuit crumbs on the floor and the cracking yarns. I did not have the heart to tell him that the photo of the massive whiting he carried around was actually a mullet, but then I think he knew that already! Carry on Bill, keep telling those stories to the fishos who went before you – know you will be missed. For you now there no such thing as a last cast. Rest in peace, my friend. June is a month we look forward to every year – the days and nights are cooler and

the water temperature is dropping too. Time to drag out the winter gear, salt down some pillies or bonito fillets and get into the tailor run! We have seen some good-sized tailor being caught already – from around the bottom of Stradbroke Island and a few beasts from the mouth of the Pine River. Woody Point and Shorncliffe have also seen a few being landed and, after the floods, we should have a cracker season, all going well. Flathead have certainly been on the menu throughout the Moreton Bay Region, from Straddie, Bribie Passage and Newport – continued P18

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Coral trout

Common coral trout stock assessment: 2022

in the spotlight We know you love ‘em. We do too! Coral trout is one of Queensland’s most iconic species, and the latest stock assessment estimates that stock levels are at around 60%. Stock levels have recovered thanks to a total allowable commercial catch limit, closed waters and seasons that protect peak spawning, and size and possession limits. In addition to the data we have collected from commercial and recreational fishers, the coral trout stock assessment is informed by over 15 years of fishery independent scientific surveys. The Australian Institute of Marine Science conducts these surveys, and the results are consistent with our fishery data. With compliance rates above 90%, we would like to thank all fishers – commercial, recreational and traditional – for helping ensure this species is in great shape for future generations to enjoy! Visit fisheries.qld.gov.au and search ‘common coral trout stock assessment’ for more information.

Consider yourself a keen angler?

Years 1953 to 2022

Our Keen Angler Program is a citizen science program that relies on voluntary contributions of fish frames and catch information from recreational fishers. Members of the program donate fish frames of species monitored by our fishery monitoring team. We use the biological information from the frames and other information provided by recreational and commercial fishers to assess fish stock health and evaluate the effectiveness of fisheries management arrangements. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the program. If you’re interested in becoming a ‘keen angler’, visit fisheries.qld.gov.au and search ‘keen angler program’ to find out more.

Glenlyon gold Glenlyon Dam continues to produce some nice golden perch (or yellow belly). Keen fisher Sam recently made the trip up from Victoria and was amazed by the beauty of this spot. Glenlyon Dam is stocked with golden perch, Murray cod and silver perch by the Glenlyon Dam Fish Restocking Group Inc. Head to qld.gov.au and search ‘SIPS’ to purchase your permit to fish in Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme dams and weirs.

Caption: (L to R) Fisheries Technicians Jack and Shannon and Fisheries Biologist Jonathan holding pearl perch frames donated to the fishery monitoring team via the Keen Angler Program

Yellowtail

fisheries.qld.gov.au 13 25 23 FisheriesQueensland

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 17

Passing of a friend, gentleman and fishing legend Bill Spring from P16

Joseph landed a cracker flathead from his local hot spot at Newport canal recently.

Levi had a cracker day on the water, topped off by landing this little tuna.

Page 18 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

fat, healthy flathead are being caught. Joseph was at his local hot spot at Newport canal recently and landed a couple of cracker flathead – he lost a few as well but that’s all part of fishing. Joseph does well in this area – from cod and bream to his favourite… flathead. Well done Joseph and thanks for the photo! Also getting in on the flathead action was Will. Not the first time, Will has starred in this publication. Will and his brother Finn are ones to watch and I am sure they are going to have many more fishing adventure to share. Well done Will – I am sure dad Tony would have done this one proud. I love it when we hear stories about parents getting their kids out fishing and making awesome memories that they can take with them through life. ‘Grandie’ did just that… she certainly showed her grandchildren how it’s done when it comes to bringing in a feed of bream! Well done Grandie, sharing your time and making awesome memories with your young ones is priceless. We have had a few great windows of opportunity to dust off the boat and get out to Moreton Bay to put a feed on the table and stretch the arms a little. Levi had a cracker day on the water, which was topped off by land-

ing a little tuna. Levi was so excited to share this with us and, while he had a great time with the family, boating this little brute topped it off. There is more to this little tuna story than meets the eye. Levi, his brother Josh and even mum Rebecca have all caught a tuna, but poor Dad can’t seem to land one! We do like to remind him of this whenever we get the chance and I dare say we all know someone who has had the same problem! Hopefully this month the weather will play the game and the wind and rain will ease up so we can hit the bay and bring home a few great feeds, and of course lose a bit of tackle while we’re at it. There will be plenty of species to chase out there, though remember that there is a snapper and pearl perch closure coming up.

Whiting are still being taken in good numbers, with a mixed bag of summer and winter being caught. The summer whiting sizes have been really good, with a number of them over the 35cm mark. Most people we speak with are using either live bloodworms, beachworms or striped squid as primary bait, a small long-shank hook in size 4-6 and a piece of pink tubing as an additional attractor. If you are out in a tinnie, you don’t normally have to travel far. The grounds between Scarborough and the Caboolture River produce well and Nudgee Beach is up there for good fish too. Whiting are also a great teaching species for the kids as you don’t have to cast out very far to get good fish. Stay safe out there, make memories and maintain the passion.

Grandie showed her grandchildren how to bring in a feed of bream. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 19

Tide Times

AUSTRALIA EAST COAST BRISBANE BAR BAR STRALIA, EAST COAST – BRISBANE

ime

LAT 27° 22ʼ S LONG 153° 10ʼ E Times and Heights of High and Low Waters JUNE JULY Time

Time

345 917 537 200

0.50 2.14 0.31 2.63

0457 1020 WE 1618 2255

0.69 1.77 0.49 2.43

436 005 616 247

0.49 2.04 0.32 2.67

0531 1055 TH 1651 2330

0.72 1.72 0.55 2.38

529 055 657 336

0.51 1.93 0.37 2.66

3 0607 1132

Time

0.68 1.74 0.50 2.40

17 0621 1145

0.47 1.82 FR 1733 0.40

0550 1116 SA 1711 2345

0.69 1.74 0.54 2.36

17 0649 1222

0.76 1.68 1726 0.61 FR

18 0016 0715

3 0626 1157

0.70 1.73 1749 0.59 SU

18 0042 0731

2.25 0.55 1304 1.87 WE 1901 0.69

625 0.55 149 1.82 742 0.45

0006 0645 SA 1214 1804

2.32 0.79 1.65 0.69

19 0107 0807

0022 0703 MO 1241 1832

2.32 0.69 1.73 0.67

19 0125 0814

0107 0745 TH 1356 1956

2.13 0.55 1.89 0.79

028 725 248 831

2.59 0.61 1.73 0.57

0045 0730 SU 1302 1850

2.26 0.82 1.62 0.77

20 0159 0858

0100 0745 TU 1331 1922

2.26 0.68 1.74 0.75

20 0209 0855

0152 0830 FR 1459 2106

1.99 0.55 1.93 0.87

123 829 355 932

2.49 0.64 1.68 0.68

0131 0821 MO 1401 1946

2.20 0.81 1.62 0.84

21 0253 0947

0144 0830 WE 1430 2021

2.19 0.65 1.77 0.82

21 0258 0940

223 930 509 046

2.38 0.65 1.70 0.77

7 0223 0916

2.15 0.78 TU 1511 1.67 2055 0.88

22 0349 1037

7 0233 0920

2.11 0.61 TH 1537 1.85 2131 0.87

22 0355 1030

329 030 622 207

2.30 0.63 1.79 0.81

8 0321 1014

2.13 0.70 1622 1.78 WE 2210 0.88

23 0447 1126

8 0332 1015

2.02 0.56 1647 1.99 FR 2250 0.86

23 0501 1122

433 126 728 322

2.23 0.58 1.93 0.79

0422 1108 TH 1727 2323

2.12 0.61 1.95 0.83

24 0000 0544

0438 1.94 1114 0.49 SA 1753 2.16

24 0045 0607

533 2.18 216 0.53 824 2.08

10 0521 1200

2.11 0.51 FR 1823 2.14

25 0102 0636

10 0010 0545

25 0143 0705

029 627 300 913

0.76 2.13 0.48 2.21

11 0032 0616

26 0157 0725

11 0124 0648

26 0230 0755

125 714 340 956

0.72 2.07 0.45 2.32

12 0137 0711

27 0245 0809

12 0230 0750

27 0311 0836

215 755 415 035

0.69 2.01 0.43 2.40

13 0237 0804

28 0328 0850

13 0330 0850

28 0348 0913

300 833 446 112

0.67 1.94 0.42 2.45

14 0334 0859

29 0406 0928

14 0425 0946

29 0422 0947

342 911 517 146

0.67 1.88 0.43 2.47

15 0430 0953

30 0443 1003

15 0515 1041

30 0455 1023

420 945 547 221

0.67 1.82 0.45 2.46

4 5 6

0.75 2.10 SA 1250 0.42 1916 2.32

0.66 2.06 SU 1338 0.35 2007 2.49

0.58 2.02 1425 0.30 MO 2057 2.63 0.51 1.96 TU 1511 0.28 2146 2.71

0.47 1.90 WE 1557 0.29 2236 2.75

2.65 0.50 1241 1.79 SA 1826 0.50

2.53 0.54 SU 1340 1.79 1923 0.62

2.40 0.56 MO 1442 1.81 2026 0.73 2.25 0.57 TU 1547 1.87 2136 0.82

2.11 0.56 WE 1651 1.96 2249 0.87 1.99 0.54 1751 2.08 TH 0.87 1.90 FR 1212 0.51 1843 2.20

0.82 1.83 SA 1255 0.48 1930 2.30

0.77 1.79 SU 1336 0.46 2011 2.38

0.72 1.76 MO 1414 0.45 2050 2.43 0.68 1.75 1450 0.45 TU 2127 2.44

0.67 1.74 WE 1524 0.46 2202 2.44 0.67 1.73 TH 1559 0.47 2237 2.42

5 6

0.79 1.89 SU 1211 0.43 1853 2.34

0.69 1.86 MO 1307 0.36 1950 2.51 0.57 1.84 TU 1402 0.31 2044 2.64

0.48 1.85 1456 0.27 WE 2135 2.73 0.41 1.86 TH 1547 0.25 2225 2.76 0.38 1.88 FR 1637 0.27 2312 2.73

0.41 1.90 SU 1815 0.43

2.50 0.46 1312 1.90 MO 1904 0.57 2.32 0.50 TU 1405 1.90 1958 0.72

2.12 0.54 WE 1503 1.91 2059 0.86 1.93 0.57 TH 1607 1.95 2212 0.95 1.77 0.58 FR 1713 2.03 2333 0.95

1.66 0.58 1813 2.12 SA

0.88 1.62 SU 1215 0.56 1904 2.22

0.79 1.62 MO 1305 0.53 1949 2.31 0.70 1.66 TU 1350 0.49 2030 2.36

0.65 1.70 WE 1431 0.46 2108 2.40 0.62 1.73 1510 0.43 TH 2144 2.42 0.60 1.77 FR 1545 0.42 2217 2.42

0.59 1.80 SA 1622 0.42 2250 2.41

31 0528 1100

0.58 1.83 SU 1659 0.45 2322 2.39

monwealth of AustraliaNew 2021, Bureau Moonof Meteorology First ns is Lowest Astronomical Tide

bols

0.39 1.90 0.33 2.64

Time

0516 1039 FR 1634 2311

0604 1131 SA 1726 2358

Time Zone –1000 AUGUST

0.46 1.86 0.33 2.72

0527 1048 TH 1645 2326

2022

Full Moon

New Moon

Quarter

Last Quarter

First Quarter

Page 20 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Full Moon

0600 1138 MO 1737 2355

0.56 1.85 0.51 2.33

0632 0.55 1219 1.86 TU 1816 0.59

Time

0009 0647 TU 1240 1841

17 0045 0720

3 0029 0707

18 0122 0755

2.36 0.40 2.02 0.57

2.16 0.46 WE 1325 2.00 1927 0.74 1.94 0.53 1415 1.96 Benny TH 2021 0.89

19 Jigging tips for AJ and kingfish 0204 0835 FR 1515 2133

1.73 0.60 1.94 0.99

it to fishing the 1.84 1.45 ‘fight hard0425and bite 6 0252 0927 0.55 21 1032 0.69 2.02 2.02 two SA 1614 SU 1738fish, even harder’ 2232 0.88 species are 0031 on 0.89 the top 0408 1.72 7 1033 22for0551many 0.53list 1.46 anof the SU 1729 2.16 MO 1141 0.67 1836 2.11 and glers – amberjack 0002 0.80 0126 0.77 yellowtail kingfish. 8 0528 1.68 23 0653 1.54 And to 0.48weTUare 1241 lucky 0.61 MO 1143 1838 2.33 2.21 have both 1924 of these in 0.67 huge0.66 numbers south9 0122 24 0209 0642 1.70 0740in1.63 TU 1249 0.40 WE 1331 0.53 east 2.49 Queensland! 1938 2006 2.29 Though there are al0.51 0246 0.60 10 0226 0748 1.77 25 0818 1.72 ways good schools of WE 1352 0.32 TH 1415 0.46 2033 2.35 these2.62fish 2044 year-round, 0321 0.40 0321 now that the water tem11 0846 1.84 26 0854 0.55 1.80 0.26 is 1454 0.41coolTH 1449 FRgetting perature 2122 2.69 2119 2.39 er, the next0354couple of 0411 0.34 0.51 12 0938 1.91 27 1.86we’ll months are 0928 when FR 1541 0.22 SA 1532 0.38 get bigger fish off the 2208 2.70 2152 2.40 Sunshine Coast and in 0455 0.31 0426 0.47 13 1026 1.97 28 1003 1.92 Moreton Bay. 1629 0.23 1610 0.38 SA SU 2251 2.65 2224 2.39 My go-to fishing style 0535 0.32 0458 0.44 for these brutes has to 14 1112 2.01 29 1041 1.97 0.30 MO 1647 0.41 SU 1714 be jigging. 2331 2.53 2255 2.35 While 0613 0.35 they 0528are 0.43suck15 1156 2.03 30 1118 2.01 ers for a well-presentMO 1757 0.42 TU 1725 0.47 ed live bait,2327a 2.26 fast-re0558 0.42 trieved jig is absolutely 31 1158 2.03 0.57 irresistible to feeding WE 1804 AJs and kingies. Jigging for these fish is generally a little easier because the ground Last Quarter or reef they’ll be feed8

Glass with a yellowtail kingfish.

0300 1.55 20HEN 0927 0.66 comes SA 1627 1.95 2310 0.98

Top Dog Tackle by DYLLON SCHULZ

ing on will be a pressure edge that has to have current running over it. So, positioning your boat over the ledge you want to fish is a bit harder – when trying to feed a live bait into the depths with current pulling your boat away – compared to dropping a heavy slim-lined knife jig into the bite zone.

Generally, the grounds we search that will be holding AJs and kingies is hard ledgy bottom in around 50-100m. These ledges can be as small as 1-2m in height or up to 20m, as long as you can see bait on the sounder tight to the ledge and you’re in the middle of the tide window, there is a good continued P21

Benny Glass and a solid yellowtail kingfish. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Jigging amberjack and kingfish from P20

chance a predator will be in the zone. And more often than not, our jig-eating friends amberjack and kingfish will be around and in feeding mode! If you haven’t targeted these species before, a good starting point is humble deep-water snapper grounds. These species all haunt the same type of grounds, so it’s a pleasant surprise when a solid snapper eats your jig too! Always have a good sound around the ledge you want to fish. I start on the zone – if there are no fish or bait, always have a good look upcurrent of the ledge. I have found bait sitting up to 50m away from the edge on the flat bottom and fish arches all around it. Sometimes it pays to be a little patient when looking around, rather than blasting off to your next mark. As for the gear, at this time of year we can get fish well over 1m in length, so a PE 5-6 jig rod with a 2kg overhead or 6-8kg spin reel

will be light enough to jig with all day, yet turn these brutes when they bite! The jig I prefer to use without fail is a knife jig. My preferred weight or size is about 150g in up to 100m of water. I rig mine with a single-assist hook on the top of the lure – tie the line to the top of the jig to prevent the jig from fouling when being retrieved erratically. I use Top Dog Tackle knife jigs in this depth because they have a whole side that glows and, in water over 50m, I think it makes a huge difference to the bite rate, as fish can see the glowing from far away. Basically, I make sure I have my jig tied on when searching for fish, so I know that the glow side of the jig is fully charged and sometimes, if the fish are feeding hard, you can’t get the jig to the bottom before the fish has swallowed it and line is ripping from your reel in free spool! If you haven’t fished for AJs and kingies on a jig before, the technique is a fast retrieve with a lot of short sharp jigs.

Depending on where the fish and bait are showing on your sounder will dictate the depth you retrieve to before dropping back to the bottom. There is no right or wrong here – I have had pearl perch hit my jig 20m under the boat in 100m of water – if they are hungry, they will chase it! But to save energy, if the bait is only up to 15m off the bottom, I will try to stop my retrieve at about 30-40m off the bottom if I haven’t got a bite, then drop it back to the bottom before starting the retrieve again. A lot of local anglers see these species as sportfish only, and I do agree that our warm water kingfish don’t eat well at all, but I am a sucker for a good-sized AJ. They cook up nicely and surprisingly are one of my favourite fish to have as sashimi. With that said, now is the time do go out target these beasts – you will not be disappointed when your arms are being stretched! Happy jigging.

Double the fun, Bryce and Oska with a couple of amberjack. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Marlise Gregson with a nice amberjack.

The author scored a decent amberjack.

The author’s jig of choice, Top Dog Tackle knife jigs. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 21

The author used a Berkley Gulp to entice this quality snapper into biting.

A nice pair of Gold Coast mulloway caught by Bailey on live scad.

Page 22 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Preparing for snapper

AM guessing that like me, many of you will be wondering when this windy and rainy weather will stop. Though it may seem to be a bit of an inconvenience, it is in actual fact creating a wonderful and very strong fish population for winter. These weather cycles do two things in particular. First, they prohibit the amount of fishing pressure on the waterways by limiting the number of people physically able to go fishing due to the weather conditions – though this is bad for us, it’s great for the fish. In addition to this, the rain washes out nutrients and stirs up the waterways, creating the start of a cycle from where plankton and very small sea life flourish on the extra nutrients in the water and in turn become food through the chain for bigger fish to feed on. The larger predatory fish move in from

Gold Coast

by BEN SMITH

offshore during these periods and it becomes a very exciting time of year to target a range of species including jewfish and snapper. The Gold Coast Seaway has held an abundance of baitfish for the past couple of months, feeding on these nutrients, and large predators are also starting to move in. Moreton Bay has seen significant captures of large snapper in close and as we move further into June, the Gold Coast will see an increase in those big pink predators on the 18 and 24-fathom reefs. Planning in advance is crucial though because the weather changes day by day. So, having all of your equipment and boat ready is important as sometimes the decision to go on a fishing trip is made the night before

due to the prevailing weather conditions. As a little bonus, in this month’s issue I’ve included an article on how I built a custom snapper rod. This is going to be a major target species for myself and many others over the next few months. The other article goes into detail as to what sort of blank I used, the guides, grips and other components. I’ve done this to give you an idea of what sort of equipment I use when targeting snapper during winter and hope you find it informative. Snapper should start to come on as the weather cools and the water temperature drops below 23C. Quite often many boats drive over the top of snapper to get to wider ground, so it always continued P24

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GEN III

The Ultimate 115HP & 140HP Outboard Motor Range Suzuki’s third generation 115hp & 140hp outboard motors boast more torque, quicker acceleration, and improved top speed thanks to revising the cylinder head and piston design and increasing the compression ratio to 10.6:1. The new cowling and semi-direct air intake greatly reduce intake noise resulting in quieter operation. Lean Burn fuel efficiency has also been significantly improved by as much as 10% across mid-range to high-end cruising speeds. Available in both Suzuki Precision Control (Drive-by-wire) and mechanical-drive variants and backed by Suzuki’s 3+3-year recreational warranty.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 23

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A good top pocket net is what’s needed for a feed of bay prawns.

Preparing for snapper season from P22

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pays to use a sounder over well-known spots in close – to see if you can see any large archers before travelling out too far. Having a good selection of bait is also critical because snapper generally prefer to feed on squid earlier in the season and move on to fish such as pilchard, slimy mackerel and

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yellowtail scad as the months progress. I always include some soft plastics in the mix as these can be cast ahead of the boat and let drift down while you float line bait at the back. As well as snapper, mulloway should start to move in and inhabit the closer reefs including the Seaway, artificial reefs and the blocks north of the Seaway, as well as the coffee rock areas around the 12 and 18-fathom grounds east of Sea World off the coast. I find live bait and in particular yellowtail scad to be the most productive bait for jewfish. A 10-ball sinker and a couple of 7/0 hooks snelled together is a perfect formula. Drift down close to the bottom and work the contours, using the sinker to feel where the bottom is as you move will be very productive. Keep the line vertical so you can apply pressure the instant you get a hook-up. Generally, a tight drag is recommended so you can get the fish to the boat as quickly as possible to prevent sharks leaving you

with only a head. The bay has also been producing extremely good quality prawns in decent numbers this season. Most prawns are quite large, and at the right times of the tide – around a high, a low and two hours after the change – is when most netters are bagging out. A good-quality cast net is crucial, and it has to be one with the top pocket specifically designed to catch prawns. This year, there have been significant catches, even up as far as Coochiemudlo Island and extending south all the way down to Jacobs Well. It’s a matter of finding the other boats that are casting and getting in among it usually, though it is a good idea to keep your eye on your sounder as you may drive across a honey hole that no one has cast on yet and bag out quickly. June is one of my favourite months due to the number of winter species coming on, so get your gear ready and, as soon as we get a break in the weather, get out there and hit the water.

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www.tohatsu.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 25

Harry caught this flathead while using hard-body lures on the flats with the author.

The author with a solid flathead caught in the Nerang River.

Flathead trolling tips

I everyone, can you believe it… June already,

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Broadwater Guide by CLINT ANSELL

This month I’ll focus on some flathead trolling tips. Flathead are a fish we never tire of catching – they can be lazy fish to fight but so often their strike is ferocious. We catch a lot of flathead on vibe lures and soft plastics, but there are times when trolling hard-body minnow lures will outfish everything else – on windy days when it’s hard to cast as an example. Brad Smith has long been a master of estuary trolling and has taught me everything I know, but we both learn new things all the time. To troll for flathead, you’ll ideally need a 6'6", 2-4kg spinning or baitcast rod and reel – 2500 size spinning reels do the job well. We use about 100m of monofilament line backing, then top shot with PE 0.6 8-strand braided line. The Japanese multicoloured ones are the best for trolling, as you

can easily measure how far you want the lure out. Seaguar is a brand we prefer and use a lot for trolling. You then need to tie on about 1m of 6-8lb fluorocarbon leader to the end of the braid with an improved Albright knot, then tie the lure on directly, with no swivel clip. We have tried and tested many lures over the years and rounded them down to a few favourites. Pontoon 21 Crackjack 48mm SP DR These little beauties swim to about 1.8m deep, making them ideal for shallower flats. They catch a lot of flathead big and small, and all sorts of bycatch. Brad’s favourite ever lure. Comes in a range of dynamic colours. The best colours are Bloody Tiger Prawn, Spanish Red, Green Tiger Prawn, Ghost continued P27

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Flathead trolling tips from P26

Tiger Prawn and Bleeding Tiger Prawn. Hurricane Slam 47 These lures dive deep – reaching close to 4m down when trolled with the tide. Stand out colours are Demon Suji, Natural Prawn and Natural Minnow. Daiwa Infeet Spike 44 EXDR A new release that we have only recently started using, these gems catch a lot of fish when trolled – diving 3.5m deep. Stand out colours are Brown Suji, Suji Berry and Sand Crab. Trolling the edges of sand banks and on flats works very well. Use the shallower divers on the shallower

side and deeper divers on the other side of the boat. Always check the lures are swimming straight before you let them out. To tune them, bend the tow point very gently the opposite way to the direction they’re swimming. Then let them run out the back of the boat with the motor just in gear and around twoknots speed. It is essential for the lures to be tapping bottom, so keep a close eye on the rod tips, allowing the lures further back to get deeper. Remember to keep the drag light enough to withstand the strike from a bigger fish. Always troll with the

tide if possible and if the lures catch weed and stop swimming, wind them in immediately or they won’t catch fish. Trolling is a great way to locate schools of feeding flathead. If you get multiple strikes in an area, repeat the run. The fish will often keep moving with the tide, so keep trolling to find them again. Besides flathead you will often catch trevally, whiting, bream and tailor when trolling in winter. Keep checking that the lures are still swimming straight after catching a few fish. Every day different colours work best, so keep trying various continued P28

David did well to land this nice tarpon on a charter with the author.

Hamish did well catching his first jewfish on a Samaki Vibelicious soft vibe lure.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 27

Flathead trolling tips from P27

Oscar caught some lovely flounder on a Broadwater charter.

colours to crack the code. Often solid red and gold colours will work during a dirtywater run-out tide or cloudy day, while on the opposite end of the scale, you’ll find more neutral and transparentcoloured lures work best on calm days and clear water. Place the rods in trolling rod holders out to the side so that the rod tips are close to the water – to get the lures swimming deeper. You can hold the rods while trolling but don’t strike too hard on a hook-up because the boat and fish are already moving in opposite directions. Be careful handling flathead in a landing

net – they will thrash wildly, so use long-nose pliers to gently remove sharp treble hooks from their mouths. Always keep an eye on your fish finder to learn your local depths and so you know where the best spots to troll are. Depths ranging from 1-4m are ideal. Also look for signs of bait on your finder, which show as patches on the screen – this can indicate where flathead will lie to ambush food. If you are using the deeper divers and travel over a shallower bank, bring the lures in closer to the boat so they don’t plough into the bottom too much. When using shallower divers and there is a bit of a drop-off, let more

line out to get more depth. A big part of trolling is paying attention constantly, it’s not a set and forget method. Occasionally something works that shouldn’t, so don’t be afraid to experiment with lure colours. If you haven’t tried this deadly technique, get out and have a go. All you need is a kayak or small boat to have loads of fun! 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 f ish i ng wit hcl i nt@ gmail.com, or find us on facebook at Brad Smith Fishing Charters.

Catching bream from a jetty

Keira with a big 44cm bream from the Brunswick River. Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

S I sit here and write, I can feel winter trying to creep in, but as yet we haven’t had a proper cold snap or westerly wind, which is very late. I also had a look at next week’s forecast and wished I hadn’t. Rain and more rain with possible flooding for the southern Queensland coast. Great… what a year! Our rivers – the lower reaches at least – have returned to some sort of normality. I’ll let Brett speak for the Richmond River but I can report that the Brunswick and Tweed rivers are fishing fairly well at the moment. If this rain eventuates next week, it could be a game changer… again.

Tweed to Byron Bay by GAVIN DOBSON

Mullet are in force in the lower river systems now and are milling around waiting for the right weather conditions to head out to sea. Other schools are heading up the coast, hanging around headlands and travelling through beach gutters. This of course signals jewfish, so for those who are inclined you’ll be out there doing your thing. If working the beaches, headlands and training walls isn’t your thing, there have been good numbers of jew in both the Tweed and Brunswick rivers. The vast majority of

them are undersized soapies but some are a bit bigger and worth the effort. Soft plastics and vibes are accounting for most of the fish, with a live herring being a worthwhile option too. Bream are around in massive numbers at the moment and are hammering bait in the lower rivers. For Keira and myself, there hasn’t been much point heading any further than the jetty at Brunswick Heads Boat Harbour. It’s very easy fishing and, as you can see by continued P29

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Catching bream from a jetty from P28

the pictures, there were some quality fish there. We recently returned from a quick sojourn to the harbour and Keira was excited to catch a 44cm specimen in great condition. It put up a hell of a fight on 8lb, but she fought it out well. The funniest part was watching me trying to net it at low tide. Lying on my stomach with the front half of me hanging over the edge of the jetty, I could only just get the net a couple of centimetres into the water. Keira had to lift the head of the fish over the lip of the net and slide it in. It was touch and go on a couple of accounts – the first being get-

ting the fish in the net and the second being me hanging on by my toenails and not falling in. It was a bit of a show for onlookers for a while, but we got there in the end. Offshore fishing has been okay recently, however getting out there isn’t easy. Even on the rare days with no wind, the bar has been pumping. With the weather and filthy water, it’s been a very tough mackerel season. June always sees a few stragglers being caught, though they will definitely taper off this month, which indicates it’s time to start thinking about a few reef fish. We are blessed in

these parts with a great array of eating fish. Other parts of the world are not so lucky. I’m the first to admit that I wish coral trout came this far south but pearl perch, parrotfish and similar species are hardly a poor consolation. Weather you fish wide or shallow this month, the reefs should yield good catches. If you still need that pelagic buzz, June can be a good month for wahoo if you can find some warm blue water. I hope winter brings an end to this incessant rainfall and the weather patterns stabilise into something a lot more workable than what we’ve had for the past six months. Time will tell.

Keira with a solid bream on a rainy afternoon. Standard weather this year it seems.

A berley trail for bream brings in other species too. Keira caught this big rusty buck on a line.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 29

Heavily taxed jewfish

Guy Stewart snared this tasty little blacktip shark off the beach using mullet fillets as bait.

FTER three months of not having access to the Iluka breakwall, Main Beach and Iluka Bluff, the vast amounts of standing water have finally receded enough for anglers and visitors to now visit these locations. But don’t be too surprised if we get more rain events in the form of east coast lows, which will take us back to square one. Every time the upper reaches of the Clarence River get a few showers, there is an instant rise in the tributaries and, while only small, they are a sign that the catchments are still very much waterlogged, and another major rain event would be disastrous.

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Just Jew by TYE PORTER

On the fishing front, while the annual sea mullet run is in full swing here on the mighty Clarence River, somebody forgot to tell the jewfish – very few large fish have been reported taken however, given the number and size of sharks that have been smashing into the travelling schools, I suppose it’s little wonder. The river is refusing to clean up – apart from a few hours either side of a king tide, the little neap tides are not bringing the clean line more than a couple of hundred metres into the river mouth. This seems to have affected the yearly run of the smaller flat tail mullet that are usually around in their millions by May each year, but finding where they are hiding has become quite difficult to say the least. I was sitting at the breakwall carpark one evening when I saw a nice patch of sea mullet come in the river along the Iluka wall. They slowly made their way along the little beach in front of me when the water erupted with sharks and what I thought were jewfish. I grabbed the rod off my vehicle – rigged with one of my homemade lures – and went down and had a few throws, only to hook a stinking shark which finally bit me off after about 10 minutes, taking my lure with it. I’ve been back numerous times since

and have not caught so much as a cold, but I suppose the upside is that I have not lost anymore lures either. My son Mischa, his girlfriend Rebekah and I have been haunting the beach up along Shark Bay, fishing for both jewfish on bait and flathead on lures. And while we have been getting doughnuts in the jew stakes, the excellent run of pan-sized flathead has continued to keep us amused, with a lot of the fish spewing out white pillies as we land them. Rebekah has been showing Mischa and I up by not only succeeding with flathead, but by also landing solid bream and a couple of chopper tailor on a variety of different coloured 4” soft plastic lures, all on 6lb line mind you. A few nice school jew and tailor to 3kg have been taken a couple of hundred metres south of Black Rocks by anglers using bonito strips, but they’ve had work hard for them because beach conditions have been changing daily due to persistent large swells. While bream continue to be a dime a dozen along Shark Bay, the same is starting to apply inside the river as we head into winter, with excellent catches of fish being reported from both boat and offshore around Browns Rocks. The southern end of continued P32

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In memory of Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds, fisho and all-round legend.

Pictures from Instagram

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 31

Rebekah Ellis of Iluka with a nice pan-sized flathead taken on a soft plastic lure on Shark Bay beach.

Bec got a few nice bream while targeting flathead off Shark Bay beach using 4” Berkley PowerBait Pumpkinseed soft-plastic lures.

Heavily taxed jewfish from P30

Lismore angler Guy Stewart watched in disbelief as the 30lb Platypus Low Stretch line disappeared from his Penn Slammer reel while fishing for jew. The fish finally spat the hooks.

This 36cm chopper tailor gave Bec a good fight on 6lb Platypus mono when it took her soft plastic lure meant for a flathead. Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Iluka Bluff has been fishing reasonably well for chopper tailor around the 1kg mark and the occasional nice school jew to 10kg, but it’s only a matter of time before reports start filtering in of bigger fish getting in on the action. Both Main Beach and Back Beach have produced reasonable numbers of bream and tailor and if you happen to come across a bit of water with mullet holding in it, you’re in with a shot of getting a nice jew as well. Lismore angler Guy Stewart fished Shark Bay with us for a few days last month, trying to catch a big jew on whole mullet, to no avail. However, he did have numerous hookups and finally landed

a little blacktip shark that was quickly turned into crumbed fish fingers. One evening Guy fed three butterflied mullet into a nice rip, with his first bait getting eaten by a shark which left him with only the tail of the mullet and one of his two hooks. As he began to rig up again, I offered him one of my rigs that was ready to go with two 10/0 Eagle Claw hooks, but he insisted on using his own that had two 10/0 octopus hooks on it. His second bait would have been in the water for no more than 15 minutes when he hooked a decent fish that duly spat the hooks after a short fight and he wound in an almost totally scaled mullet with all the hooks attached, which meant

without doubt he had just dropped a jew for sure. I convinced him to use my rig, which he finally did, but by this time it had become dark and started to rain, so while he used his third and final bait, I sat in my car listening to the football. A short while later and over the noise of the radio, I heard what sounded like a whip crack, a few words a sailor wouldn’t use, then Guy appeared out of the darkness. He had hooked up again, only this time his line snapped during a run for absolutely no apparent reason, as it broke along his rod that had perfect runners – the fact that the fish was taking line freely proved that the drag was not too tight. continued P34

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 33

Daiwa’s Bob Mercer retires

Changing of the guard, Greg Seeto replaces Bob Mercer as Daiwa Australia’s managing director.

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ia, stewarding the company to development and successes in all areas of business. From successive years of growth in sales and the greater acquisition of industry market share to the evolution of product development and the championing of design and product trends, Bob played a leading role in Daiwa Australia’s development and evolution over the past two decades. It’s Daiwa Australia’s fostering and strengthening of its relationships with its partners that Bob is perhaps proudest of. “Relationships that develop trust, allow growth and enable parties to realise their goals are the keys to success in life and in business,” Bob said. “As a company, we’ve worked hard to develop these and they’ve been

integral to our success and development as a business.” Bob leaves behind a strong legacy – a legacy that sees Daiwa Australia occupy a leading position in the fishing tackle industry and an ever-strengthening reputation for innovation, evolution and quality. Daiwa Australia’s managing director position has been appointed to head of sales and commercial Greg Seeto. An impassioned advocate of the Daiwa brand, Greg is excited for the future and what it has to offer for Daiwa Australia and its customers. “Bob’s achievements have been significant and many,” Greg said. “Daiwa Australia has a bright future ahead thanks to Bob and I’m excited to step into the role and help the company continue to prosper.”

Heavily taxed jewfish from P32

To add insult to injury, we went back a few days later only to see Guy get spooled first cast by a rather large shark of sorts – a photo shows him watching his line vanish. On the upside, at least he got bites and a feed of fresh flake, and his hunger to finally snare a big jew off the beach has only intensified. As for what to expect this month… well, surely the rain has to stop sooner or later and let the rivers return to some form of normality so we can finally have a winter jew season, even if it is a month or two shorter than normal.

Bream and luderick will finally come into their own this month inside the rivers, even with dirty water continuing to linger, while the headlands and beaches should continue to provide good catches of tailor and bream, with the occasional jew if you’re lucky. As for me, I reckon I won’t be far away from whatever patch of mullet I can find with my trusty lures at the ready, be it in the river or off the breakwalls. Bottom line I suppose is that you have to be in it to win it, so get out there and get among it. Until next month, safe fishing.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 35

How to lure a mulloway

Kevin Clark with the result of knowing the target species, picking a reliable spot and putting in the hours. The lure was a Predatek SandViper.

Even if mulloway don’t appear, big greenback tailor are a common by-catch for the lure-casting angler. Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

NE of the species high on the bucket list for estuary and surf anglers of temperate Australia is the enigmatic mulloway. Success with this species – as it is for many other less common angling targets – is perseverance. Sticking to the task, spending as many hours as necessary and studying the fish’s habits are part of the journey to the desired result. Some readers may ask, “Catching mulloway is tough enough, why make it more challenging by using lures?” The answer for many is pure convenience. While live baiting is perhaps the most popular and certainly a very effective way to snare a big jewfish, the task of obtaining bait then keeping it alive can be as difficult as catching the mulloway itself. The lure angler carries all their ‘bait’ from home and need not worry about it dying en route to the fishing spot. There’s no need to allow for hours of bait collecting… rock up, check the sea conditions and start fishing – simple! Possibly the most difficult aspect of tangling with a mulloway for all anglers, whether bait or lure, is pinpointing a location most likely to produce results. As in the real-estate game, location, location, location could be the catch cry of the mulloway angler. When starting out, choose a spot with a proven history of producing frequent captures. Local tackle shops, fishing columns in regional newspapers if

Fishing for Sport by NEIL SCHULTZ

they still exist and, of course, the pages of Bush ‘n Beach Fishing are sources of good information on reliable fishing spots. When targeting jewies on lures, I have a preference for breakwalls for a variety of reasons. Man-made rock walls at river mouths have a proven track record for mulloway with decades of history. Access to those walls is usually quite easy, with parking nearby and a flat walking track along the top of the structure. Finally, though most importantly, they provide a safer fishing platform than most ocean rocks, especially if fishing in less than ideal weather. Let’s list a few dot points to help novice mulloway-luring anglers along the path to success. • First and last light are the witching hours for mulloway luring • I prefer to fish the top of a tide and the first half of a run-out, but that may be due more to personal habit than science

• Autumn and winter can be very productive because mulloway will follow spawning schools of mullet, tailor, salmon and luderick into estuaries • Large lures that run shallow with a strong action but not too much water resistance are a sensible choice • Lure colour doesn’t seem to matter to the fish, but bright and fluoro lures can be more easily seen in the wash by the angler • Fish with a friend • Equip yourself with a good head torch, even better footwear and a long-handled gaff or net • Use sharp hooks and strong leaders – a rabbit’s foot or four-leaf clover won’t hurt either. The method is fairly straightforward – cast and retrieve those big lures through the wash or in areas where bait can be seen and keep casting. There’s no need for fancy twitching or stop start retrieves, the lures’ inbuilt action will trigger a strike from any hunting mulloway.

Another mulloway that was fooled by the ever-productive Predatek SandViper. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Custom snapper rod

well as where I was going to be fishing for them. In this case, the target was going to be snapper and I was going to be boat fishing in water between 40-80m deep. For this reason, I chose a rod blank that was going to be around 7’ long so it could be worked around the outboard motor and give me room to keep clear of other obstructions. It also had to comfortably hold a small to medium-sized overhead reel. We went through all the blanks that were

410 Challenger

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United Composites CE700L with the 5” cork foregrip for better control.

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Custom snapper rod from P37

Sea Guides Premium stainless-steel guides with the protective outer frame to stop the zirconia ring from being damaged.

Under and over-bound threadwork in black, silver and blue to match the reel.

in three separate line classes and the one I chose for my build was the United Composites CE700L, which has a 15-30lb rating. United Composite blanks are very highly regarded worldwide. The tip of the blank has a nice soft rolling curve that’s so important when float-lining a bait down the in to the water column. The midsection starts to stiffen up but still retains a good curve under load and helps take the pressure off the angler. As you get into the butt section, you find that the rod really strengthens and the final third of the rod gets to that lockout point where it won’t go any further when fully loaded. For me, this lockout point is very important because when you’re fighting a big snapper that is close to wire weed or structure, you need to be able to put the brakes on them quickly. The guides on the rod were the next consideration, so we chose to use a specifically designed guide where the frame protects the zirconia ring from damage. I wanted to use guides

Bailey putting the rod under load to demonstrate the perfect curve of the blank. Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

that were not overly obtrusive in size – to keep the slender appearance of the rod yet still be large enough for a 60lb leader and connecting knot to pass through without obstruction. We chose Sea Guide Premium 316 stainless-steel and zirconia ring double-foot guides, which sit beautifully on the blank without changing its curve formation too much. The grips on any rod are very important and, in this case, I chose to go with cork grips. The fore-grip is a FCG5 5” long grip, which enables you to have a full hand on the grip without touching the blank. This is crucial for those long fights on the lift and wind. The rear is a SCB12LD 12” grip that spaces the rod far enough away from the butt, so that the butt section can be comfortably tucked under your arm. That spacing also places the reel at the perfect distance away from your body when fighting a fish with the rod in front, so as to be able to wind the reel in a natural position. Finally, the reel seat I chose was a Sea Guide CTS18 trigger-grip style seat, so that the angler can control the rod and reel perfectly. It fits easily into one hand due to its slim design and you are able to thumb the spool of your reel to vary the speed of the outgoing line while still holding on securely. The butt cap is one of the best features on this rod – it’s a soft gimbal, which means you can fight a fish without it

digging into your hip yet still place it in the rod holder on your boat and have the ability to lock it in a particular position. It’s a Sabre Rubber Gimbal SABRG22. Good friend Sam assembled the rod for me and when doing so, added a couple of extra little bits of bling to dress it up. Some blue and silver anodised rings and black, blue and silver thread allow it to match the colours of the reel perfectly on the black blank. Mounted to it is a Daiwa Saltist Black LW20H-C overhead reel – a perfect match with a spool full of blue multi-coloured 30lb braid. The rod has already done a terrific job on snapper up to the 6570cm mark, and I can’t wait to hook-up to one of those big knobby-headed monsters over the coming months. I’ve listed all the parts for the build below, so chat to your local rod builder about putting one together for this season or check out the United Tackle Australia website. • Blank – United Composites CE700L • Grips – Sabre SCB12LD and FCG5 • Reel seat –- Sea Guide CTS18 • Butt – Sabre Rubber Gimbal SABRG22 • Tip – XL2T #8 3.2mm • Guides – XBZG 8mm x 4, 10mm x 2, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm • Guide spacing from tip – 80mm, 170mm, 265mm, 375mm, 495mm, 635mm, 800mm, 975mm and 1185mm.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

When the fish are on, try the trick mentioned in this article of catching two fish at the same time.

A nice bag of above-average sized winter whiting from this season.

Tackle, bait and tactics for chasing winter whiting

INTER whiting would have to be one of the best fish to target for either kids or anglers new to fishing. In fact, most keen whiting anglers – young and old – absolutely love chasing them too. They have no sharp spines or teeth, when they school-up they can be in big numbers, they fight hard for their size and they are absolutely delicious in a frying pan! Features Despite their common name, winter whiting are around throughout the year – though they tend to be more dispersed and in slightly deeper water over warmer months. Winter whiting are also quite easy to distinguish from their yellowfin or summer whiting cousins. Winter whiting back and sides have dark blotches or spots, the pectoral fin has a black spot at its base and they have a thick pale lateral line that is very distinct and easy to see. While there is no minimum size for a www.bnbfishing.com.au

Techniques and Tactics by SEAN THOMPSON

winter whiting, any fish under about 23cm is hardly worth the trouble of filleting, though they make great snapper bait. While they are often found around 25cm, this season we have landed some thumpers around the 28-32cm range. Where to find them Winter whiting prefer a mix of silty and muddy bottoms. They can be found in the deeper water of Moreton Bay, with some smaller fish entering the mouths of rivers and creeks. I look for small undulations in the bottom in clear patches of sand between ribbon weed with the sounder. In the 18 years or so I’ve fished the bay, I’ve developed a diary of GPS marks that I rely on to find fish at a certain time of year. Over the years, I’ve waypointed the fish when they are on, then rename one of the middle points with ‘Win-

teries XXXXX’ – with the Xs representing the month and year – JUN22 for example. This then makes it very easy to do a search and find a month when the fish have been aggregated in an area before. Of course if all else fails – similar to chasing banana prawns – head out and look for the gathering of boats drifting in a location. Depth wise, I generally find them in the range of 2-3.5m deep. But good fish can be in water as shallow as 1.5m up to 4m or so. While some people fish even deeper, I find in deeper water you catch too many grinners or small reef fish, and once I start catching them, I move. I’ve found that after the recent floods and a southeasterly or southwesterly blow, the shallower water can be discoloured, which they don’t seem to mind at all. On the other hand, in

very calm conditions when the water can become very clear, the fish must get spooked and tend to move to deeper water between 3-4m. Drift or anchor While this is a personal preference, I generally prefer to drift for winter whiting. By doing this, you can cover more ground and the fish prefer a moving bait. What I do is waypoint fish along this drift and then when you start to find the fish have gone

quiet, you motor back up to the top of your drift – ideally in an arc so as not to spook the fish you’re chasing. That said, if you find that on a rising tide the fish are moving towards the shallows of some of Moreton Bay’s green zones – such as Amity Banks – it can pay to anchor slightly outside of casting range of the green, making sure your lines do not go in there of course. When at anchor, I try to keep the fish in the continued P40

Note the thick pale later line on the winter whiting and the Tru Turn offset shank hook. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 39

Tackle, bait and tactics for chasing winter whiting from P39

area by dropping a berley bucket over the side with some pre-mixed berley along with a couple of capfuls of tuna oil. Type of bait and lures Bait I’ve tried a number of bait types over the years but from my

experiences the best bait are worms first, then peeled uncooked prawns and yabbies. While live bloodworms are a fantastic bait for winter whiting, they are expensive to purchase if you don’t have the time or the back for digging them yourself!

My preference therefore is to use firm red-dyed frozen beachworms. The red dye seems to make the worms look more natural. They are available from good local tackle shops or you can ‘make’ your own – use your caught beach-

Light rods and small reels are perfect for winter whiting.

The double-dropper rig in action.

Perfect whiting bait of red-dyed frozen worms and Berkley Gulp 2” sandworms. Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

worms and give them a quick dip in methylated spirits and red dye. Otherwise, if you have the time, you can pump some yabbies. Lures An imitation bait I strongly recommend and use on my double-dropper rig – along with a frozen worm – is a 2” Berkley Gulp Sandworm in Bloodworm colour. You simply feed them on to the hook, so they sit straight, similar to a worm. I find they work very well when drifting– provided there is a bit of ripple on the water creating enough movement on the rod and line. However, on glass out days or at anchor, I prefer to use two frozen worms, as the lures are less effective. Rods, rigs and tackle Rods Another great thing about winteries is that you don’t need to spend a fortune on tackle. My personal preference is a Wilson 7’6” Live Fibre rod and an Alvey Orbitor SR60 reel filled with 6lb Platypus Super 100 line. I also use a long whippy 9’ Synder Glas Contessa rod coupled with either a 5-5.5” Alvey or a 1000-2000 spinning reel. But I also use smaller Jarvis Walker specials in 6-7’ as spares for friends and they seem to work nearly as well. My preference is to use the longer soft whippy rods as my set rod, so whiting can grab the bait and swallow it without feeling too much resistance. Rigs My favourite rig for

winter whiting is a double-dropper paternoster rig. I attach a 1-1.2m trace of 6-8lb fluorocarbon to a small No 10 swivel, then tie two tagless dropper loops of about 10-15cm and then a fixed sinker on the bottom. You can also use a loop on the bottom to make it easier to change sinker sizes. I only use small sized 1-3 ball sinkers. I also carry some spare rigs wrapped around a piece of pool noodle. Hooks I absolutely love Tru Turn Shank Hooks due to their offset shank and fine wire hooks – I use either the Blue Aberdeen or slightly studier Red Worm baitholder hooks in size 4 or 6. Another little trick is to add a small piece of red tubing or 2-3 red beads on top of your hooks for added attraction. This way, when you do hook a fish, keep the line tight to the fish but let it sit and fight around for a little while to attract another fish to the moving bait and associated red tubing. You will often feel another pull, so you lift and strike… and wham, you have two at once! I hope these locations, tackle and tactics help you in your quest for a lovely feed of fighting winter whiting. For more tips, reports and giveaways check out my Facebook page OntourFishingAustralia. Until next time – bag your friends, not your limit!

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 43

BOATING & marine

The new design launched to consumers takes the 430 Fishabout to another level, as the brand continues to raise the boating standard by meeting the needs of all customers.

Quintrex 430 Fishabout Pro n Perfect first-time boat owner package inclusive of all the frills

S the Australian aluminium boating powerhouse, Quintrex delivers an unparalleled experience for every boatie, while making any new customers buying journey easier than ever. Popular among thousands of Aussies and ranking as one of the most sought-after models in the Quintrex collection, the 430 Fishabout delivers on the promise of ‘boating made easy’ as a stress-free product that is perfect for the whole family. Carefree boating at its finest, the Fishabout is a multi-purpose vessel designed to suit any style of boating – including fishing ventures with its spacious open deck,

water sports thanks to the sturdy transom design featuring ski pole mounting capabilities, a leisurely cruise due to its industry-renowned soft ride and more. In a commitment to making the boat-buying process easier to help continually bring in new customers to boating, Quintrex launched its inaugural boat bundle strategy crafted to deliver clean-cut packages suited to several common on-water lifestyles. The 430 Fishabout Pro is the apex of boating, delivering the industries best package inclusive of all the frills to redefine all on-water expectations. An easy first choice, the Fishabout comes

Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

standard with every boating must-have, including a bimini and envelope to keep passengers and drivers out of the sun, upgraded seats for extra comfort, a marine radio for added safety, premium finishes and much more. Crafted with the brand pioneered stretch-forming technology to create the iconic blade hull, the Fishabout delivers an unmatched ride performance that has become a famed selling point of Quintrex boats. In addition to the perfect feature setup, all Quintrex boats come available to purchase as a fully packaged driveaway boat, motor and trailer unit that is configured from the Gold Coast factory.

All trailers are built specifically for its paired boat, fitted together within the factory by a specialist team before continuing through the manufacturing line. Quintrex has been delivering unforgettable boating memories to countless Australians since 1945, providing a private platform to explore their backyards and discover secluded areas inaccessible without a boat. Thanks to its ongoing commitment to meeting the needs of all customers, both new and old, the brand has upheld its position as the leader in aluminium boating since being founded. Invested in upholding the highest standards

of safety, quality and customer satisfaction, Quintrex owners can be assured that their vessel will last generations to come. With a rich history of innovation and reinstating the standard of boating – and now owned by BRP, global leader in powersports – Quintrex paves the way for an exciting future ahead. For a versatile vessel that makes boat buying easy thanks to its readyto-go stress-free configuration while delivering a premium ride experience at an affordable price, contact your local dealer to discuss how you can own a 430 Fishabout Pro quintrex. com.au/buyingaboat/ makeanenquiry

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Here’re the new, two easy steps to buy a Quintrex with everything you could want. Choose an entry level, cost effective model like the Hornet, Fishabout, Ocean Spirit, Top Ender or Cruiseabout. Then, depending on your boating lifestyle, choose the options bundle that’s best for you.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 45

BOATING & marine Insights into boat insurance

Finders keepers it ain’t T

HE term ‘finders keepers’ is about as judicially substantive as the nursery rhymes, songs and writings from centuries ago where the term first appeared. It’s an entertaining phrase but doesn’t stack up in a courtroom. The last time we had floods that washed all manner of items including boats and pontoons into Moreton Bay and beyond, a number of social media warriors asked whether they were entitled to keep things they had ‘found’, including one person who thought an aluminium dinghy might now be his. Without contemplating for even a moment about how he might feel if the positions were reversed – if he had lost the dinghy

rather than found it – he used terms such as “finders keepers” and “salvage” in an effort to justify his claim. Perhaps using social media to ask legal questions of unqualified people is a good enough indication of the person’s intellectual capacity in the first place. However, as an overview, you can’t automatically keep something because you ‘found it’ and that’s before we even enter into considering what ‘found’ might mean. As a responsible citizen, you have a moral and a legal obligation to seek to find the original owner of anything you are claiming that you have now ‘found’. You can’t just hitch it up and take it home. Similarly, if you are on the water and find a boat drifting free, the

first thing before rushing in to recover it, is to consider the capabilities of yourself, your crew and your vessel to undertake the rescue plan you are considering. Apart from the safety factor, you could also be jeopardising your boat insurance policy if your vessel and motor are not designed to undertake such a recovery. Logically, many marine rescue groups have the training, the equipment and the vessels built specifically for undertaking such rescues and recoveries. Back to your ‘find’ and ownership claim – in many cases, formally contacting police and reporting the find may be your most logical first step. They have access to resources that can increase the odds of finding the rightful owner and facilitating the return of the asset. In a related vein, that pontoon or boat you ‘find’ might not technically be the legal property of the registered owner. A finance company, another person, a com-

pany, the insurer of the vessel – any number of entities could potentially have a lien or legal right over that property before the ‘finder’. And it’s not only boats and pontoons – kayaks, canoes, tenders, expensive safety equipment and a myriad of other items might be doing laps of our waterways for some time. Our responsibility as boaties is to seek to ensure they are returned to their rightful owners and to minimise the likelihood of them causing damage to other vessels in the meantime. Contacting the authorities therefore is your first step. In terms of salvage law, it’s a complicated process and it varies from region to region, as do the laws. Even back in the swashbuckling pirate days around Key West on the southern extremity of America and the Bahamas, there were strict rules. Rescuing the crew of stricken vessels was in many cases a mandatory precursor to being

allowed to undertake the rescue of the goods it was carrying, and in turn secure a right to ownership of a proportion of them. So, if you want to head down this line, you would perhaps be best advised to consult a maritime lawyer, because you can rest assured that if there is an item of value missing and it’s in your possession, then someone is going to campaign the option of getting it back. In terms of your own vessel affected by floods and rainfall events, what is covered and what may not be covered in terms of losses will be interpreted in accord with the terms of insurance as defined in your insurance policy’s Product Disclosure Statement. Similarly, any special conditions and excesses should always be explained clearly in your insurance policy’s PDS. If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements.

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

Page 46 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

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BOATING & marine Tips from Move Boat Trailers n Part 1: Choosing the right trailer - 10 expert tips

OVE Boat Trailers may be the newest loose-boat trailer brand on the block, but it boasts decades of design expertise – quietly championed as the wheels under leading aluminium boat brand Quintrex since its inception in 1945. Filling a gap in the market for a durable and high-quality trailer range that suits a wide variety of boat sizes and materials – including fibreglass, aluminium and plate – Move also seeks to fill a demand for better access to information that answers the common trailering questions of everyday boaties. Kicking off the howto series is Move Boat Trailers expert Adam Crossley’s top tips to choosing the right trailer, with the following 10 pieces of advice. But for the best advice when looking at buying a trailer, contact your local Move Boat Trailers stockist, who will help you find the best option that suits your needs.

Trailer definitions There are several common terms and acronyms used when discussing boat trailers that are handy to know. • Australian design rules or ADR – rules instituted to regulate the compliance and construction of boat trailers in Australia • Aggregate trailer mass or ATM – the total weight of the boat when laden, motor and trailer when hitched • Gross trailer mass or GTM – the total weight of the boat when laden, motor and trailer when unhitched • Gross vehicle mass or GVM – the tare mass of the vehicle combined with its maximum allowable load or the maximum a vehicle is allowed to weigh while in transit • Tare – trailer only total weight • VIN – vehicle identification number, same as a car • LOA – Length over all • WOA – Width over all.

Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Boat trailer suitability Broken into three simple elements – the boat design, material and weight are key dictating factors of trailer suitability. Trailers are classified by length and weight, therefore identifying the following elements will help narrow down a buyer’s options. Length The length is easy to figure out – using a tape measure, measure the boat’s overall length or contact the boat manufacturer. Weight The weight needs to account for not only the boat but also the engine, fuel, water and gear. Design Is the material aluminium, plate or fiberglass, and is the hull mono or multi? Aluminium or steel One of the most common questions when buying a trailer is regarding the build material. There are several im-

portant aspects that sets aluminium apart from steel. • Rust resistant – resulting in a longer-lasting product, aluminium triples the lifespan of steel • Malleable – reduces stress on the trailer frame when traversing rugged Australian roads • Easily maintained – rust resistant, aluminium trailers require a simple soap sponge and rinse with fresh water after use • Lightweight – resulting in easier manoeuvrability and more economical towing • Aesthetic – aluminium is naturally more appealing to the eye and maintains its aesthetic for longer • Durable – due to its malleability, resistance to rust and strength – Move Boat Trailers are resilient. Multi-roller or skid Multi-roller setups are typically built to suit fiberglass or plate-alloy hulls. They commonly have rear cradles that are de-

signed to catch and correctly position the bow. Skid trailers are best used for pressed-alloy – plate – or roto-moulded plastic hulls. Skids are carpeted or Teflon timber to reduce hull flex while trailering. Overall, multi-roller trailers are recognised as being more versatile, easier to operate when launching and retrieving, and can be customised with added options to improve vessel support while trailered. Drive-on capability – catch and release If the size and style of your boat allows for drive-on capabilities, it’s worth investing in. The biggest benefit of a catch and release system is achieving a simple solo boat ramp experience. The process is easy: • Reverse the trailer down the boat ramp • Drive your boat on to the trailer and the mechanism will ‘catch’ the towing eye • Disembark the boat and winch it up. Contact your local continued P49

www.bnbfishing.com. au

BOATING & marine

Tips from Move Boat Trailers

* from P48

Move Boat Trailers stockist to discuss how you can own a trailer with catch and release capabilities. Single or tandem axles Single-axle trailers are designed to suit smaller boats – typically those up to 6.1m with a maximum weight of 1900kg. They cost less, require less maintenance, are easier to move around manually than tandem axle models and can be towed by a variety of vehicles. Tandem-axle trailers are built for medium to large boats. They tow better on the road, tend to be safer and can accommodate to a wide range of boats, of which can weigh up to 3500kg with a standard 50mm tow ball coupling. Professional advice is always recommended when choosing a trailer to ensure it is correctly suited to the paired boat and towing vehicle. Lights Choosing a trailer with waterproof marine-grade LED lights – such as Move Boat Trailers – is highly recommended. The key benefits are: • Long lasting – for added safety on-road and at the boat ramp • Waterproof – to allow for seamless and stressfree launch and retrieval, LED lights are fully submergible • Bright – producing www.bnbfishing.com.au

greater light intensity than traditional bulb lights, they make for safer reversing at night • Durable – resistant to vibrations, shock and impact, you will have assurance your lights will last. As with all Move Boat Trailers, a one-piece wiring loom harness should come standard with your trailer to ensure the safe connection of tail lights, turn signals, brake lights and other necessary electrical systems. Brakes Laws that govern how many axles have brakes vary by state. Generally, the braking system on your boat trailer is a disc-brake system, either a mechanical override – cable operated – or hydraulic – fluid operated – braking system. Australian legal braking requirements for boat trailers are: • GVM less than 749kg – no brakes required • GVM 750-1999kg – mechanical or hydraulic override brakes required • GVM 2000kg and over – breakaway brakes required, that is hydraulic electric, as an example AL-KO iQ7. Your local Move Boat Trailers specialist will be up to date with all legal requirements as per your state and can advise the best trailer option to suit your needs. Trailer wheels and tyres Ultimately, the most

important thing when choosing a trailer wheel size is load capacity. All Move Boat Trailers are built with the correct wheel size as per their rating, which is clearly outlined on the specifications through the tyre manufacturer or advised by the trailer dealer. Generally, the most common trailer wheel and tyre sizes are 13” or 14”, however your dealer will advise the best model for your needs. Dealer recommendations should be followed, with excessively large tyres resulting in added difficulty when launching and retrieving a boat. A beneficial optional-extra to always consider when buying a trailer is a spare wheel – providing extra safety while on the road. Boat fit up All boats should be specially fitted up to its paired trailer.

Boat fit up entails the correct adjustment of trailer rollers and skids to correctly fit the boat, making it safe to tow and easy to use. It is also essential to successfully driving on and off the trailer, if appropriate. Always look at a trailer that can handle the environmental conditions it is intended to be used in. Count down from these one to ten tips and you should be on your way to choosing the right trailer for your boat. Thanks to Move Boat Trailers, thousands of Australians can rest assured that their boat has a safe journey on the road due to a sturdy build crafted around a sound structure of marine-grade aluminium. The aluminium build also means Move Boat Trailers triple the lifespan of steel structures, while the chemi-

cal properties result in a rust preventative, durable and lightweight product that makes towing a breeze. With the number of new boat buyers soaring as more people find thrilling ways to redefine travel, it is as important as ever to ensure safe towing, so the tip series from Move Boat Trailers looks to help new and old boaties feel comfortable with trailering on-road and at the boat ramp. Designed to meet the needs of all Aussie boaties living in all Australian terrains, Move is derived to go the distance. Get on the move by purchasing a top-quality trailer at an affordable price for your new rig, or to upgrade your old wheels, by contacting your local Move Boat Trailers dealer today at moveboattrailers.com. au/dealers

The first of a series of trailer tip articles by Move Boat Trailers, aimed at answering the most frequently asked questions by everyday boaties. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 49

Available in 4” and 5” sizes, HerculeZ comes in eight proven Z-Man colours – including light and natural, dark silhouette and ultra-violet reactive colours – to cover a wide variety of species and conditions. HerculeZ 4” – built on a 3/8oz zinc weight, overall weight 22g HerculeZ 5” – built on a 5/8oz zinc weight, overall weight 37g Zinc is a harder metal than lead, ensuring your internal weight maintains its shape hit after hit and your HerculeZ retains its beautifully balanced swimming action, even at dead slow retrieve speeds, attracting predators and triggering strikes. Tie one on and buckle up! Standard retail price, $12.95. Visit tackletactics.com.au

The Stowaway Cutting Board fits easily into kitchen drawers, boat boxes, tackle bags or travel packs, and is constructed from solid non-porous high-density polyethylene material for safe food-handling, and features a built-in two-stage knife sharpener – carbide section and ceramic section – and anti-skid bottom. Check out the Stowaway Fillet System and other innovative products, including seafood tools, non-tipping drinkware and more at www.toadfish.com.au

Z-Man HerculeZ Swimbait

READY to get your arms stretched? The new Z-Man 10X Tough HerculeZ pre-rigged soft swimbait is here! Built for barramundi, Murray cod, mangrove jack, flathead, mulloway and other larger predatory species. A collaboration between US Z-Man Fishing Products and Tackle Tactics Australia, the HerculeZ has been developed and refined over a couple of years using sketches, CAD drawings and eventually samples travelling back and forward between countries, with COVID restricting travel and face-to-face meetings. A detailed natural shad body has all the features to represent a wide variety of baitfish, drawing aggressive strikes from predatory species. The unique boot-tail design puts out plenty of thump and vibe, while upturned three-dimensional eyes provide an additional strike trigger. Best of all, this swimbait is made from Z-Man’s amazing 10X Tough ElaZtech material – soft, life-like and supple, buoyant for a natural presentation and virtually indestructible. Built on a tough extra heavy-duty Mustad hook, the HerculeZ is ready to take on the big hitters, with an additional through-wire stainless-steel belly attachment point that is ideal for adding a treble or stinger for additional hook points, or blade for added flash and vibration.

Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Daiwa 21 Lexa TW

Toadfish Stowaway Fillet System

THE Toadfish Stowaway Fillet System combines both the folding fillet knife and folding cutting board in a neoprene case that is designed for ease and safety of transportation. All items are available individually or as a Stowaway Fillet System in two sizes – a 7” knife and standard board, or a 8.5” knife and extra-large board. The clever Stowaway folding fillet knife combines the high-end performance and ergonomics of a full-length fixed knife, with the safety and versatility of a folding knife. Features include a full-length ergonomic handle, salt-tough titanium corrosion-resistant components, titanium coated salt-tough blade, non-slip raised rubber grip and stowaway carabiner.

A REEL that’s synonymous with strength, power and value, the Lexa line-up welcomes a new arrival with the 21 Lexa TW. A step forward in design and performance, the new Lexa features many of the technologies that have made Daiwa baitcaster reels industry leading, with CRBB bearings, EVA knob, UTD drag, and now the T-Wing system leading the roll call of design features. TWS delivers a new level of performance and control to the Lexa, while a stainless-steel pinion gear, high grade brass gears, aluminium frame, side plate and swept power handle provide ultimate strength and power. The Lexa WN features 13kg of drag, eight CRBB and is available in two sizes – 300 and 400 – and four models. Whether it’s targeting the giants of the estuaries or muscling offshore species, the 21 Lexa TW is the ultimate heavy-duty baitcaster. Visit daiwafishing.com.au

www.bnbfishing.com. au

McArthy Tiddler

THE McArthy Tiddler is a traditional jerkbait plastic with all the great features that have made the lure genre so well loved. Available in 4.5”and 6” lengths, the Tiddler is hand poured in South Africa with a number of design parameters that make it simple to use and effective on many different species. For starters the head of the Tiddler is flat ended, making it ideal for rigging on a jig head or to easily locate the centre for rigging with a weedless worm hook. The body thickens from the head to form a bait profiled belly section with belly flaps that help anglers rig more easily. On top of the flat back are some guidelines that help further with straight rigging before the tail wrist thins out and into a forked tail. This is a classic jerkbait that lends itself perfectly to short and sharp rod work, which will see the lure dart from side to side before gliding back to the bottom. A retrieve that is especially deadly for flathead however other fish such as snapper, salmon, trout, tailor and bream love this jerk and glide retrieve as well. Visit wilsonfishing.com

It combines all the elements of a traditional oyster shucker with a modern look at ergonomics and the physics of shucking an oyster perfectly and safely. This artfully crafted multiple-purpose knife will shuck raw or steamed oysters and its sharp blade will cut them out of the shell with ease. The Professional Edition was designed for opening thicker shelled oysters, use in commercial-volume kitchens and for the experienced shucker – the Toadfish Professional Edition Oyster Knife is for serious oyster people. This commercial oyster knife features a thicker blade design than the Put Em’ Back Oyster Knife, and features a stiffer blade, more shucking power and increased leverage. This knife also sports a sharp-blade edge for easy entry, so please use caution when handling. Once you shuck an oyster with a Toadfish oyster knife blade, you will know why folks call these knives the most thought-out oyster shuckers ever created. Priced at around $49.90, visit www. toadfish.com.au for more information.

Certate SW New Models

Daiwa Pro Double Clutch IZM 48SP-G Toadfish Oyster Knife

THE Toadfish Oyster Knife is available in two styles – the Put ‘Em Back and the Professional Edition. The Put ‘Em Back oyster knife was developed from generations of oyster producers. www.bnbfishing.com.au

pivot differently with each movement of the rod tip. Perfectly suited to both fresh and saltwater, the DC48 will suspend in freshwater and slowly rise in salt. Fitted with BKK Spear 21SS treble hooks, it is ready to fish straight out of the package in a variety of fish catching colours. Retails for about $24.99 each. Visit daiwafishing.com.au

THE Double Clutch 48 has been designed specifically for Australia as the ultimate finesse twitchbait. Featuring Daiwa’s patented silent gravity oscillation weight transfer system, the Double Clutch 48 exhibits unmatched responsiveness when twitching. The key to the S-GOS system is that it shifts the centre of gravity of the bait on every twitch, making the lure shift and

THE rockstar of the saltwater spin reel world, the Certate SW range welcomes two new smaller models with the release of the 5000 and 6000 Certate SW. Tailor-made for the angler who wants the power and precision of 20 Saltiga but in a smaller package, the 5000 and 6000 Certate SW features all the design and features of their big brothers with a monocoque body headlining the list of features. A large G1 Duralumin drive gear, Zaion air rotor, Magseal line roller and body, ATD drag, infinite anti-reverse, air bail and Eva Power knob help complete the reel’s extensive list of design brilliance and technologies, and combine to make the new smaller Certate SW models the ultimate pocket rocket powerhouse. Whether it’s muscling kings from cover, terrorising the local snapper and fingermark population, or jigging and spinning for tuna and mack, the new smaller-sized Certate SW is the reel to get the job done. Visit daiwafishing.com.au Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 51

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

INTUITIVE

CONTROL

The game has changed… The ALL NEW Mercury 15-20hp FourStroke battery-free EFI range changes the way you will think about portable outboards.

• 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 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Available now from: AIRLIE BEACH Whitsunday Outboard Centre 17 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 4802 P: 07 4946 7286 E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au

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

BRISBANE Brisbane Boating & Leisure 1743 Ipswich Rd, Rocklea Q 4106 P: 07 3875 1600 E: sales@brisbaneboatingleisure.com.au

GOLD COAST TR Marine 167 Currumburra Rd, Ashmore Q 4214 P: 07 5532 5812 E: shaun@trmarinegc.com.au www.trmarinegoldcoast.com.au

BOWEN Reef Side Marine 34 Don St, Bowen Q 4805 P: 07 4786 2944 E: enquiries@reefsidemarine.com.au www.reefsidemarine.com.au

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

BRISBANE NORTH Holt Marine 25 Queens Rd, Everton Hills Q 4053 P: 07 3353 1928 E: info@holtmarine.com.au www.holtmarine.com.au

MACKAY Sugar City Marine 11 Victoria St, Mackay Q 4740 P: 07 4951 4711 E: goboating@sugarcitymarine.com.au www.sugarcitymarine.com.au

BRISBANE SOUTH Australian Marine Centre 3491 Pacific Highway, Slacks Creek Q 4127 P: 07 3808 7333 E: info@amcboats.com.au www.amcboats.com.au

ROCKHAMPTON Rifen Marine 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Q 4701 P: 07 4927 9150 E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com www.rifenmarine.com.au

BUNDABERG Adrians Marine Centre 28 Ritchie St, Bundaberg Q 4670 P: 07 4153 1819 E: sales@adriansmarinecentre.com.au www.adriansmarinecentre.com.au

SUNSHINE COAST North Coast Boating 22 Enterprise St, Caloundra West Q 4551 P: 07 5493 9376 E: sales@northcoastboating.com.au www.northcoastboating.com.au

CAIRNS Aussie Marine 5 Hannam St, Bungalow Q 4870 P: 07 4033 8800 E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au www.aussiemarine.com.au

YEPPOON Sea Breeze Marine 150 Scenic Hwy, Yeppoon Q 4703 P: 07 4933 6366 E: info@seabreezemarine.com.au www.seabreezemarine.com.au

CAPALABA Mike’s Marine 9 Smith St, Capalaba Q 4157 P: 07 3390 3418 E: admin@mikesmarine.com.au www.mikesmarine.com.au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 53

Kalani Love with a cracking diamond trevally.

Coby Thomas with a pigeon pair of amberjack.

Crossover season on Sunshine Coast

AST month I mentioned how great the weather was, with April seeing some beautiful glass out days, cracking surf and great fishing! With a break in the storms and rainfall, we now have a great range of places to go and a large variety of fish on offer – no matter what your style is. The rivers are clearing up and from Easter onwards lots of bait have been flushed out and with that, longtail tuna arrived in numbers. All along the coastline we have had big pods of tuna, and even mixed mackerel species at times, busting through the bait. Of course, this tends to be mid-week when most of us are at work and conditions are calm! Those of you who go offshore should try to make the most of the next few months, as we are going to be in a period of crossover. A few times a year we see summer and winter species on the catch list and it makes for great fishing. Once across the Noosa Bar, you can go left and fish the shallower waters of Halls Reef.

Sunshine Coast by GRANT BUDD

This is well-known tuna and mackerel ground and it goes to show you need not go wide to score big time. You are best to approach this area slow trolling and casting lures. Set a few whole bonito up for a slow troll because seriously big spanish are found here. If you are new to this, then using the TT Fishing Bait Trolling rigs will take the guesswork out of rigging big bait. The tuna will also work along this stretch, especially up toward Teewah and Double Island Point. You can decide to go with stickbaits from 120180mm to suit your style here. For those who like to sit and wait, floated pilchard while sitting on anchor will see you hooked up. Be sure to use a small berley trail – to create enough interest without bringing in the sharks. Sunshine Reef gives the option to fish light with estuary or light-jigging gear, for the best fun and a few smokings along the way.

Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

For those looking to start up slow pitch or light jigging, a wide range of rods and reels is now available to suit most budgets. The Oceans Legacy Slow Element PE2 is the perfect lightweight rod with enough backbone to pull out bigger snapper. Sunshine holds good pearl perch, coral trout, sweetlip, snapper, cobia and cod – it’s definitely worth drifting around here. Coral trout were still getting caught in May, so don’t be surprised if you land one of these superb table fish. Best bait have been fresh mullet, pillies and live yakka on heavier gear with 50-80lb leaders. For those with big boats, Barwon Banks and the Hards tend to hold monster pearlies, big snapper and cobia. As the water starts to cool down, you can expect to see 90cm plus snapper moving through these areas. In an ideal world, these over 30-years-old fish should be returned

for a smaller fish. For those out of the loop, don’t forget the boat limit – with two or more recreational anglers, it is eight fish. Bait anglers will find success with whole squid and big flesh bait rigged on snelled 7/0 octopus hook rigs and 10 ball sinkers. Live bait get the attention of the bigger amberjack but you better have some serious gear to stop them. Double Island Point is also a great destination when the swell allows, especially if crossing through the bar or using Fishermans Gutter on the Rainbow Beach side. This area is a great place to try slow and high-speed jigging, as well as dropping some bait for some reds. Be warned, this area does hold some behemoth-sized sharks, so heavier tackle will certainly help you get those fish turned. Beach fishing tends to come and go, as does the weather. At this time of year, many anglers will be waiting for the first cold snap before heading out after dark for jewfish and tailor. As well as the head-

lands and river mouths, there are a multitude of gutters and deep holes all along the coast. A drive along David Low Way may yield a few good places to start. Bigger jewies around 15kg plus patrol this part of the coast and will require some medium to heavy tackle to turn them toward the shore. We hold a wide range of rods for spin and Alvey reels, and have long cast reels for those looking to achieve maximum casting distance. Bait anglers will find they’ll have to sift through the sharks and shovel nose rays before the jew show up, so ensure your reel is spooled with a quality line and packed on super tight to prevent break-offs. Chopper tailor catches are set to improve, with most fish taken around the Noosa and Maroochy River mouths during first and last light. If wanting good-size tailor, try using bonito or a flesh bait on a strip bait rig after dark. Bigger fish tend to hold around the deeper holes at night and cruise up and down the gutters looking for a feed during lighter tidal flow.

continued P55

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Crossover season on coast * from P54

Using a simple Halco Twisty can yield great results if you aren’t keen to use bait. These will also catch queenfish and trevally, so you never know what you’ll find. For those on lighter tackle, you could have fun with some dart in the shallows, which also make a good feed. Speaking of trevally, the Noosa River holds a huge array of this species as the seasons change. Autumn is the time for golden and diamond trevally, which can hit 80cm at times and will melt most drag washers. These fish are suckers for prawn soft plastics and micro jigs. Look at the many small jigs from Majorcraft and Rapala Storm and aim to work these around Woods Bay, the current line and Munna Point. Surface presentations have been the way to go early in the morning, especially with a westerly wind. Tailor and queenfish should start to show up along with giant trevally. When using surface lures, be sure to upgrade to 2x-strong hooks. These will hold larger fish and not bend out after more than two fish. A word of warning though, don’t go too heavy with the hook gauge or your lure will sink. Keep leaders short if using fluorocarbon and around 6-12lb, depending on what’s out there. Flathead are one of those fish that lend themselves to lure fishing and are a great target for beginners.

www.bnbfishing.com.au

Drifting slowly down the edge of a banks, fishing prawn profile plastics, soft vibes and paddle tail plastics will get the best results. Great places to try this are the current line, Frying Pan and various channels around the mouth. Big breeding female flathead will also start to feature and must be released when they are 75cm and longer. Most anglers now understand that at over 60cm, these fish are ready to breed and because of this, fishos tend to keep the 50-55cm fish. Always ensure you never hold big fish up by their jaws with only lip grips or worse, pliers. Fish marked for return need to be landed in a net and supported around their belly because this is where their main weight or bulk is. Keep fingers out of gill plates and be quick to photograph and return them to keep the fishery growing from strength to strength. If freshwater fishing is your thing, before things get cold you could shoot up to Lake Monduran or Awoonga Dam to try for a 1m plus barramundi. These fish can be extremely hard to figure out but with a bit of basic assistance, we can certainly help you land a big one. We hold a wide range of suitable casting rods and braids, as well as leaders and lures. For those staying on the coast, try to locate the warmer bays. Watching your sonar will show you water temperature spikes and drops. In general, fish prefer

warm water and areas where the sun hits the water first will often hold good fish. Dam fish love stability and if we have this, always give surface lures a try. Smaller offerings are often best during cooler months because fish do not want to use precious energy digesting a big meal, so try small bent minnows and poppers from the Berkley ProTech range. If working weed beds, consider smaller diving options such as the Jackall Squirrel 61SP. These suspend well on lighter 6-10lb leaders and regularly get smashed by big fish. Be sure to approach with stealth and have everything ready to go. The last thing you need to be doing is scrambling for a net when you catch a prized fish. Look at the many options from the Berkley Catch and Release range. These nets feature a rubber mesh which not only protects the fish but does not hold hooks. Finally, don’t forget June 1 is the start of the wild Australian bass closure for tidal waters, so be sure to check your local area. Now, for all the latest information log onto fishingnoosa.com.au for up-to-date bar and fishing reports, don’t forget to drop into Tackle World Noosa, Noosa Boating and Outdoors and Northshore Bait & Tackle in Marcoola for all the right equipment, bait and advice to get you catching. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and remember, tight lines and bent spines!

Pierre Guillemen with a colourful shovel nose ray from the surf.

Cory Scholes with a nice brace of dart from the local gutters. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 55

Ewan with a lovely diamond trevally.

How to win fishing battles

Phu with his first longtail tuna.

> Hervey Bay > Fraser Island > Sandy Strait

HE weather is cooling fast and we might get to experience a real winter this year. Though the weather is still rough, with wind and rain wreaking havoc on tours and my aging body. My friends tell me snapper are starting to move and that in close a few squire are lurking ready to smash you on the drop.

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

www.fraserguidedfishing.com.au > 0427 230 261 Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Fraser Guided Fishing by TRI TON

The tuna are still here, with some monsters around. Diamond trevally are moving in – it would be good to crack a few more of them this winter. Occasionally, days of hot queenfish action mark cooling water temperature. And hopefully with that, the sharks are slowing too! Snapper put up a fair battle, however lack the endurance of a pelagic. And generally, the sheer size and weight of the pelagics make for a more testing battle. I prefer to run 20 and 30lb leaders for snapper. They are usually a little more wily than a pelagic. And the smaller tides and cooler weather will create conditions with higher clarity, therefore leader size may impact

on your success. Cooling water triggers a slowing in the taxman’s metabolism, so they become more lethargic and slower. Our target species are less likely to get monstered. Therefore, a lighter tackle change up may be advisable. Fishing at this time of year can be a bit more technical but it can still be good if you can get your skills up to scratch. It’s essential to learn how to perceive the bottom, estimate the position of your lure in the water column and sense those light bites. I prefer 20lb outfits – they are lighter in power and will most times run a 3/8 or 1/2oz jig head. I favour grubs or sometimes soft vibes on these sticks. continued P57

www.bnbfishing.com. au

How to win fishing battles * from P56

The 30lb sticks are my pelagic spinning sticks, with a switch down from a 40lb leader to 30lb. Run metal jigs mostly slow pitched on 3/4 and 1oz heads with soft grubs, prawns or jerk shads. Heavier lures will give more bottom contact and a much more accurate presentation when targeting the fish revealed with my Lowrance sidescan sonar unit. There is a good chance tuna will play a strong role in charters perhaps as far into the year as June. That would be great, because they are often a great way to start your lure fishing career. And even in winter, we catch longtail tuna when targeting snapper. I get the feeling the species may even school together at times. So it is important in these waters that your 20lb outfit is a nice balance of feel, sensitivity and power. Other species that will continue in to winter will be trevally. Both golden and dia-

mond trevally are another fish that definitely school with snapper. Brassy trevally should get thick on certain areas, and while most of them are smaller, some will rival the much larger goldens in terms of pulling power. The first run of a brassy or tea-leaf trevally will often have you thinking it’s a fair-sized golden or a big snapper. Another great thing I find about the cooler water is the battles are less taxing on the fish. I spend less time reviving fish – but in saying that, I still try to be fast when fighting fish. You will see queenfish jumping less, with their battles being probably a tad more dogged, as opposed to frantic and airborne. I am keen to get into winter because hopefully we’ll get those cold mornings with an offshore wind that will turn into flat warm afternoons. The runs home are lovely in this type of weather and it is sometimes the highlight of the day, for me at least.

Mattai had a fun session on mackerel but also got his first queenfish. www.bnbfishing.com.au

The fishing is more difficult with less surface action but if those fish school up strong, the Lowrance unit will make life easier by displaying them on the structure scan. And an accurate drop of a lure into a huge school of fish may result in a tiny pluck on the line that buckles the rod over when you set the hook. Hervey Bay’s winter-time lucky dip is fun.

Phu with his first capture on a jig, a tasty tuskfish.

Dan with his first golden trevally.

James with a quality queenfish off a topwater eat. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 57

The author with a threadfin pushing the magic 1m mark.

More than bream in winter

N Bream are available in good numbers in winter and they love a Z-Man GrubZ.

The author with a nice threadfin pinned on a TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jig head and Z-Man plastic. Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

OTHING quite compares to watching the sun rise on a glassedout winter morning over Moreton Bay... with the sound of a screaming reel as a snapper swims off with what it thought would be its breakfast. Winter in southeast Queensland is easily my favourite time of year for fishing, with a wide range of species on offer for all types of fishos. Flathead move into rivers and creeks, bream start their spawning run at the river mouth and in the bay, tailor and bay snapper become easier targets and trophy fish such as threadfin salmon and jewfish become more concentrated in our river systems. Making the decision on what to target is not always easy, however letting the weather be my guide tends

to work – good days I head into the bay to chase snapper and tailor, while on not so perfect weather days, I target the other species mentioned in my local river. For people wanting to chase snapper, hours of low light seem to be best in shallow water and, as the sun rises, they will move deeper. Shallow reefs, rubble banks, cockle beds and drop-offs are good starting points to cast soft plastics and small blades, with lightly weighted plastics being the best option. Z-Man 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ are a favourite for pan-sized fish, with the Z-Man 7” Scented Jerk ShadZ being the go-to for big fish. By matching these two baits with a light jig head and a heavy-gauge hook such as a TT Lures HeadlockZ HD, you’re sure to get tangled with

a bay bruiser. Finding areas away from heavy boat traffic is very important when chasing snapper, with mid-week sessions providing the best results. Both bream and flathead are species I target at the same time and are awesome fun once you have found an area where both are in numbers. When targeting bream and flathead, I use a bait that is small enough for bream to eat yet still a bait that a flathead won’t hesitate to take. I find the Z-Man 2.5” GrubZ and Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ perfect – matched on a TT Fishing HeadlockZ Finesse light-wire hook, and with plenty of ProCure Super Gel Scent Inshore Saltwater or Mullet Super Gel applied every dozen casts or once a fish has been hooked. continued P60

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PERFORMANCE

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

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

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

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 59

More than bream in winter * from P58

Z-Man 7” Scented Jerk ShadZ are a favourite for snapper.

A Z-Man StreakZ Curly TailZ accounted for this jewfish.

Flathead love a Motor Oil coloured Z-Man Slim Swim.

Early morning is a great time to target winter snapper. Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Areas worth trying for bream and flathead include rocky shoals, bridge pylons, weed flats and drop-offs. In hours of heavy sunlight, I find places with plenty of shade are best. Most people associate tailor fishing with casting 12’ rods into surf gutters on Fraser or Moreton islands in September. I find from June through to August the best time to target tailor in Moreton Bay, with good numbers of reasonably sized fish on offer. Late afternoon into the evening and early morning are the best times to target tailor and choosing a plastic similar to the baitfish in the area will yield the best results. The most common baitfish encountered in Moreton Bay are hardyhead and the Z-Man 3” MinnowZ in Opening Night colour are the perfect imitation. Z-Man 3.75” StreakZ are another favourite of mine, both matched on a TT Lures HeadlockZ jig head. Tailor tend to feed high in the water column, so a light jig head works well for a slow retrieve and a heavy jig head works well when making long casts and using a fast retrieve. When a school of surface-feeding fish have been located, Z-Man Pop ShadZ are the best option, rigged on a TT Fishing ChinlockZ hook with plenty of Pro-Cure scent added. Fishing for jew and threadfin salmon in southeast Queensland’s rivers and

creeks is becoming increasingly popular, as the thought of catching fish between 80120cm is a major incentive for lure fishos. Though both can be finicky feeders, having patience once locating a school will eventually show results. Having a good depth sounder and spending plenty of time driving around trying to locate fish is often boring, but this is the best way to get confidence in the spot you are fishing. It’s no secret that deep holes are a good spot to fish for jew and threadfin, with bridges, drop-offs and areas that hold plenty of bait being as good. Paddle tail style plastics are perfect for both species, with Z-Man 4” SwimmerZ and 6” SwimmerZ being hard to beat. Z-Man 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ are equally as good as pad-

dle tail plastics, with Z-Man 3” Scented ShrimpZ and the 4” version not far behind. By interchanging your lures, you will maximise your chances of a hook-up. Retrieves should be changed quite regularly, with small hops, a simple slow wind and a burn and kill all working on different days. Though fishing in winter may not be the most comfortable time of year to fish, the chance of catching a trophy fish will soon have you forgetting your frozen fingers. So, pull out the Ugg boots, whack on a jumper and get out on the water to give yourself a chance at tangling with one of the many species on offer in southeast Queensland and other parts of Australia. Ryan Dixon Tackle Tactics

Walking the banks can produce plenty of flathead around river mouths. www.bnbfishing.com. au

www.bnbfishing.com.au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 61

Pete Rimmer with a longtail tuna.

Rob Schomberg scored this decent mack tuna.

Rainbow Beach Squid Rowe Trophy 2022

NFORTUNATELY the 2022 Rainbow Beach Squid Rowe Trophy was hit by bad weather, causing the initial fleet to drop from 10 to five boats. Outside fishing was definitely off the table, however a weekend of socialising, crabbing and fishing the Great Sandy Strait was going to be ‘Plan B’ on this occasion. Day one saw the mud crab competition kick off with a $10 buy for the biggest crab and you

Power Boat Anglers by MICK CLUTTERBUCK

had to be up early to get to the best spots over the mud banks on the tide. Rob Schomberg and Helaine Wilesmith tried a morning to afternoon soak that drew a blank before repositioning the pots for an overnight soak. One of the other crews did way better, coming back with a good feed, including seven crabs in

Offshore reef fishing fanatics WANTED One of Brisbane’s oldest deep-sea fishing clubs with a 100 percent safety record 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 Darren (0413 511 436) or Robin (3269 5013). POWER BOAT ANGLERS REEF FISHING CLUB INC Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

one pot for three good keepers. The final tally for their first drop was 10 but they got ahead of themselves and had cooked and cleaned their catch without measuring the biggest – rookie mistake. Rob and H checked their pots on the morning high, finding two bucks, with the biggest measuring 175mm – game on. After jigging up some live bait, they hit the Teebar Ledge but could only manage one bite off. A call from Dave, saying Dilligaf had got a nice bluefin tuna, saw them off to have a crack themselves. With a bucket of livies, H and Rob thought they would show the others how it was done, but they didn’t get a touch and were even jealous of the anglers catching sharks because they were at least having some fun, not just getting wet in the constant squalls.

The next day was much of the same, checking the pots then off to the straits to chase tuna, with more rain squalls. They finally got a hit on the smallest rod in the boat and it was panic stations when the backing on the spool of the little Penn Slammer came into view. With the motor started, they managed some line back and started the chase all around the straits, until finally a big mack tuna came into view. Thoughts of sashimi were dashed but at least they had some fresh bait for the pots. The fishos on Little Bit had again found sharks for a bit of fun until it was time to again check the pots. Numbers had dropped from the previous day with the crew only getting two from seven pots and H and Rob managing two from their four. The next day was Groundhog Day, with the same wind and showers but this time Chris got a bluefin away from the sharks and Rob

landed the biggest golden trevally he’d seen. The little Penn Slammer 360 was down to the gold spool on more than one occasion, with 15lb braid and 6kg leader, and took a good 20 minutes to land the fish. After a quick photo, it was released but came back to the top on its side – luckily it selfrighted and swam away before it landed on the sashimi menu. Sunday was looking as though it was going to be the only day to get out to contest the trophy but, as the window started closing, a decision was made to pull the pin on offshore and head out on a glassedout sea in the straits. The crew headed home on Monday but H and Rob decided to hit a little bit of country they’d found after getting a nice grass sweetlip the day before. The tide was slack at the spot, so they waited for the driving rain to slow up a bit before anchoring. Once they could see more than a couple of hundred meters, they

continued P63

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Squid Rowe 2022 * from P62

located on the area and dropped the pick. With lines down, it was again the little Penn that was smashed and soon bricked after pulling a fair bit of drag. It was blowing about 25 knots and was raining fairly steadily but the thought of landing a feed on the new spot was keeping them there. Once it started gusting to 35 knots and the rain was falling horizontally, it was a different story, and clearly time to head in. They arrived back at the ramp and, as luck would have it, the wind disappeared and the sun came out. However, being well and truly beaten, it was time to pack up and hit the road for home. While the weather hadn’t allowed the fishing they had all wanted, other activities had made up for it over the weekend, particularly on the eating front. It was remarked that the crews had been treated by Robin to one of the best ever

seven-course meals – prawn, crab, special whiting and sweet potato patties featured, along with Chris’ limoncello desert to finish the meal off. Dave complained that the dryer was shrinking his shirts, but I’m told Robin’s cooking and the fact that Dave’s wife Anita made $23.20 at the bottle recycler might have had more to do with it. Guaranteed there’s never a dull moment on these trips. And the winner of the crab contest… well, that was a draw because the crabs were quickly made into a chilli crab meal or a sandwich before there could be an argument. Anyway, there’s always next year. Please note that the meetings occur on the first Wednesday of every month at ‘The Club Manly’ (bowls club), 26 Faine St Manly from 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Upcoming meetings are on Wednesday June 1 and Wednesday July 6. Until next month, safe boating.

Rob Schomberg and a nice model golden trevally. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Rob Schomberg was pleased with this grass sweetlip.

Rainbow Beach mud crabs.

Chilli mud crab on. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 63

Amber Moy put the pots in with husband Neilo and brained some great red claw over a long weekend camping up at the dam.

William and Cooper Hallas had some holiday fun onboard a Great Sandy Straits Sport Fishing charter.

Muddies and red claw at TCB

Local legend and all-round nice guy Floyd Barber with a couple of nice Queensland lollypops.

‘Mudflat’ Mat Kruger with a nice pair of Tin Can Bay mud crabs.

The obligatory tinny shot. Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

’DAY crew, I hope you are all well and have been able to get out on the water when the weather played the game. It was a nice change to have a relatively dry Easter this year. Though when it was wet, the rain seemed to fall mainly in the afternoons and evenings – allowing for an early morning windy but dry fish. By all reports there were some good fish and crabs to be caught. The town seemed to have a real buzz about it over the string of long weekends and the holiday makers seemed to be in good spirits. I guess if you had four days off and got to come to Tin Can Bay to spend them, you’d have to be… right? I know I’d be damn happy! Mud crabs have been out and about and there have been some great

Tin Can Bay by CHRIS RIPPON

catches this month, with anyone fishing the lead up to the moon doing well. Still, there’s a bit of fresh pushing out, which had crabs on the walk again and, as always, fresh bait and a good soak saw the best results. Teebar, Snapper Creek and up the back of the bay have all been fishing well for a feed of muddies. We did hear there was a bit of share farming going on, which was disappointing to hear. Unfortunately, this type of grubby behaviour seems to escalate during holiday periods. If you do happen to be the victim of someone’s greed, report it to the Queensland Fisheries Fishwatch Hotline on 1800 017 116. It’s the old chestnut –

if you don’t report it, they don’t know what’s going on. Advice from Fisheries is, if you see someone tampering with your crab pot, take a video or some pictures and get the registration number of the boat. These days, most of us carry a good quality camera in our pocket in the form of a mobile phone. Photographic evidence is hard to deny if you catch them red-handed. In saying that, make sure you report any tampering of your trap – whether you caught them in the act or not. For the crew chasing a feed of whiting, there have been some great fish around and fishing an afternoon high tide during the month saw the best fish being caught. continued P65

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Muddies and red claw at TCB * from P64

All reports said the windy days produced the better fish up on the flats. Sharp long-shank hooks, light fluorocarbon leader and our fresh local beachworm all making for a successful day’s fishing. Winter whiting are starting to get some decent size about them too, and 25cm models have been a common catch in the bay – you just need to get past the toadfish. Queenfish have been on the chew throughout the Great Sandy Strait over the past few months, and April and May have been no exception! Most of the fish we saw and caught were over the 1m mark, with live pike seeming to be their poison in Tin Can Bay. Inskip Point and the Bluff on big tides have been the places to catch one of these giants. Using lightly weighted or unweighted live bait will be your best bet to catch one. Or if throwing around lures is your preference, you can’t go past a 90-100mm soft vibe. Nomad Vertrex Max, Samaki Vibelicious and Zerek Fish Traps have been my go-to lures. I work them off the bottom with a long hop, followed by two or three quick hops, then let them sink back to the bottom. Queenfish are speedsters and love a fast-moving and occasionally erratic-moving lure. I’m also a fan of the 5’’ Z-Man StreakZ rigged on a 5/0-6/0 www.bnbfishing.com.au

TT Fishing HeadlockZ and I rig these heavy – heavier than you would think for some of the water we are finding queenfish in – 3/41.5oz. I want to be able to get the lure down to them quickly because a lot of the time I pick them up on the Garmin sidescan 20-35m away from the boat. So being able to cast the distance and get the lure down to the fish quickly is paramount. You just cross your fingers and hope they were swimming in the direction you sank your offering and not the other way! At the dams, fishos made the most of the warm weather while it lasted and chased a few saratoga on topwater. Toga and bass are both very susceptible to being caught on lure or fly, and toga are a great visual fish to sight cast to. Surface poppers and walk-the-dog lures are a great way to gain the interest of a saratoga working its beat. But with cooler weather on our doorstep, it’s only a matter of days before the westerly wind kicks in to shut them down until summer. You will still catch them in deeper water, but you will need to work a lot harder. For me, toga are all about seeing the eat. Chasing bass in deeper water on metal jigs can also be a bucket load of fun in cooler months. They school up en masse in the basin looking to spawn – only one problem for

them… the dam wall gets in the way. Anyone who bothered to put pots out while at the dam did exceptionally well. Reports of 20-litre buckets overflowing with solid red claw have been coming in thick and fast. Now, everyone has their preferred bait, but rockmelon and honeydew are winners in my book, and Amber and Neilo from Facebook’s The Moysty Crew Fishing Adventures proved it the other week when at the dam. Well, that’s a wrap from me this month, so until next time, tight lines and get out there and enjoy our beautiful Great Sandy Strait, and if you’re in Tin Can Bay, swing in for a yarn. You can also keep up to date with us by following our Facebook page, The Chandlery Bait & Tackle. Tight lines.

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Dell with a good-sized grass sweetlip from the Teebar Ledge onboard a Great Sandy Straits Sport Fishing charter.

ol c tackle Store Neilo Moy scored some great red claw when camping over a long weekend.

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Kelly Manns with a new personal best barramundi, coming in at a massive 120cm.

Changing tack for winter species

Big tiger squid will be on the hit list this month. Ben Newton with a couple of Great Keppel Island models. Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

HE temperature is dropping, so I suppose it’s time to hibernate during the colder weather… what do you reckon? That’s a big, “Heck no!” Just because you have to put on an extra layer of clothing doesn’t mean that the Capricorn Coast action can’t be smoking hot. First of all, some of the more prominent summer species can still be caught during June. We have had good success on inshore fingermark, if you can get a decent weather window. The wrecks and headland heading north from Yeppoon are the most reliable places. If you can find isolated structure that’s less pressured up this way, that would be the best bet.

Capricorn Coast by JOHN BOON

Some of the best mud crabbing we have seen has been during the lead up to the full moon of this month. We had a cracker of a bag out session at Port Alma. It would have to be the most reliable area for bigger models too – as in over 2kg. If you can manage a crab or two, they generally are chock full at this time of year. Species such as barra-

mundi and threadfin salmon will slow a little but will still be catchable up until the first proper cold snap. If you can locate good numbers in a school holding stationary, then down-sizing lures and working them slow is key. If you’re a bait fisho, some live prawns bounced on their noses are a sure bet. continued P67

Quality crabs are still on offer this month. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Changing tack for winter species * from P66

The first species we usually target this month are tiger squid around the Keppel Island group. We are heading into breeding season, so the squid are generally big, hungry and angry. There have only been a handful of times when it’s been hard to get them to take a jig. They are opportunistic feeders, so generally if you can find them and get a jig in front of them, they will have a go. The technique is pretty simple – don’t overcomplicate or overthink it. Stick to shallow rock, weed and coral. Work the area thoroughly and, if no squid are landed, move on. Sometimes you will hit them straight away and other times it may take three to four hours to locate a school. Keep persisting and the rewards will come. The next species on the winter hit list are flathead, and I’m itching to get out for another session. There’s something very relaxing about light-gear fishing. Targeting shallow drains with lightly weighted plastics is probably the easiest technique. Also look for structure such as snags in deeper water because flatties will position themselves around it. I’m also going to try throwing some bigger plastics this year – after doing a little research and watching a few videos of how fishos down south target them. Not a lot changes when we head wide for an offshore fish during winter. My main target is alwww.bnbfishing.com.au

ways red emperor and they can be caught all through colder months, and large-mouth nannygai because they tend to frequent the same areas. I find coral trout to be a bit hit and miss in winter. One particular species that shows up wide when the water temperature drops are snapper. This might open up a can of worms but in my opinion the snapper we get up here aren’t that great to eat. I’ve asked a few other fishos and they agree. Speaking with southern anglers from NSW, Victoria and South Australia, they reckon the snapper down that way tastes fairly good. The research I’ve done has come back indicating that the colder the water the snapper come from, the better they taste. I’ll let you be the judge of that one.

Also keep in mind that the snapper closed season is next month from July 15 to August 15. I’ll leave with a quick mention about the importance of on-water safety. Recently, another life was lost due to an on-water accident. A few anglers were returning from a fishing trip at Port Alma when their tinnie struck one of the markers. Tragically, three of them ended up in hospital with severe injuries, while the skipper was found many hours later by emergency services and several kilometres from where the accident took place. It’s a timely reminder to be safe and responsible while enjoying your fishing and boating. Accidents happen when you least expect them. Stay safe and catch you next month.

Jessica Manns with an impressive king salmon from the Port Alma area.

Trolling deep rock bars is a great technique to catch fingermark. This Port Alma model took a liking to an Halco RMG Scorpion Crazy Deep.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 67

C HARTER directory GOLD COAST

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TOURING & exploring

Agnes Water’s Darcy Pearsall in action.

Life through the lens

A classic dawn shot of local surfer Pixie.

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 70 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

I all, what I love about living in a rural Queensland town is the strong sense of community. There is never a shortage of creative characters who live in these special towns and many have entwined their craft with the everyday existence of local families. Here at Agnes Water, you don’t have to look far to find youngsters spending their mornings before school shredding the waves, hoping to take their passions to a future professional level. My story this month is about a talented photographer who enhances the profiles of these

Outdoors by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

up-and-coming surfers. Anthony Wilson has been a long-time surfer and local identity who specialises in photographing the beauty of our Discovery Coast, but his true abilities are apparent when you view his action surf shots. Engage in conversation with Tony and a strong sense of pride flows as he speaks of the emerging local surfers and each moment in time that he captures of the crew driving their boards into critical situations. That exact photo-

graphic moment doesn’t come with an explanation of the hours put in watching for swells, thinking of light and reflection and anticipating what the subject is about to do at any split second – the background, the horizon and the connection between the human form and nature. It’s Tony’s own surfing background that provides the foundation to read each wave on its merit and anticipate each rider’s next move. It takes a special abilcontinued P71

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TOURING & exploring

Life through the lens from P70

ity to turn photography into an art form. Tony’s association with Agnes Water started nearly 50 years ago when his family moved here to run a sand-mining operation. The sand-mining operation has been long forgotten but thankfully the Wilsons remain. For many years, Tony surfed and worked on the islands and beach areas of Queensland and NSW but always managed to find his way back to his unique coastal home. He is now is a permanent fixture in the community and easily recognised by his old faded cap and the huge 400mm Canon lens protruding from one of his many cameras. You may find him standing on the beachline looking for angles to capture the exact framing required or even in the water, in the firing line wearing waterproof gear. Keeping up with technology, he also employs the use of a drone to capture different perspective shots and something a bit out of the ordinary. Due to the amount of time Tony spends refining his craft, it seems he knows everyone who meanders along our beautiful beaches. He has a wealth of information on local history and is always open for a chat. It’s these grass-roots characters who have www.bnbfishing.com.au

helped make Australia what it is today. From the station hands of western Queensland through to our coastal legends. Tony provides his quality shots to Queensland surf apparel brand The Stoked Surfies and many of his shots feature on its Instagram page. Having a special action shot of yourself in the surf is something you can take with you into your golden years. The importance of pictures that capture a moment in time and help provide a record in surfing history is crucial. Where would we be without the classic shots of the 1960s, the people, the surfboards of the day and the locations. We can sit and look at pictures of places such as Agnes Water or other southern Queensland beaches with awe and wonder, and compare how much the landscapes have changed. Tony Wilson is available for private photographic sessions, where he will help capture a surfing shot you’ll cherish into the future. You can view Tony’s work and wave art on his Instagram page or, if you’re visiting our town, contact him for a tailored photographic session. Go to imagemaker_ photo_1 Tony really is one of our Queensland country characters.

Tony Wilson’s trademark image. A tough life when this is your office.

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Soy and Sesame Chicken Wings Ingredients • 12 large chicken wings • 1/4 cup honey • 2 tbsp soy sauce • 1 tbsp brandy • 1 tbsp sesame oil • 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated • 1 tsp fresh garlic, crushed

and garlic. Stir together to make marinade. 2. Place wings in a container. Cover with marinade for 1 hour in refrigerator. 3. Pre heat the barbecue to 200C. Place wings on oven tray and bake for 20 minutes.

Method

4. Turn the wings and baste for a further 20 minutes until brown and crisp.

1. Combine honey, soy sauce, brandy, sesame oil, ginger

5. Garnish wings with sesame seeds and serve.

• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Prep time: 75 min | Cooking time: 40 min | Serves 4 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 71

TOURING & exploring An estuarine crocodile cooling its head by lying with its jaws agape. This animal is in a freshwater billabong and probably feeds largely on feral pigs that come to drink.

An overview of our estuarine crocodiles

HE saltwater crocodile is a large and opportunistic hypercarnivorous apex predator. It ambushes most of its prey and then drowns or swallows it whole. It is capable of prevailing over almost any animal that enters its territory, including other apex predators such as sharks, varieties of freshwater and saltwater fish including pelagic species, invertebrates such as crustaceans, various reptiles, birds, and mammals, including humans. The following was prepared by Barry Lyon in April 2022. Barry has a master’s

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

degree in Wildlife Ecology, a diploma in Conservation and Land Management and was a ranger with Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service and Australia Zoo. Distribution The estuarine crocodile – crocodylus porosus – is the world’s largest living reptile and has a coastal and sub coastal distribution across northern Australia, from approximately Broome in Western Australia to the Gladstone and Mary River area in Queensland. ‘Salties’, as the species

A crocodile impersonating a log on the bottom, waiting to ambush anything swimming past the point. It’s about 4m long. Page 72 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

are sometimes known, live in both salt and freshwater habitats – including river and creeks, billabong, swamps and dams, and along coastlines and around islands. Physiology Males grow larger than females and may reach 6m or more in length, females up to 3.8m. Crocodiles possess a number of features that make them superb predators. These includes a transparent eyelid that helps with underwater vision, a body design that creates minimal disturbance when swimming, highly sensitive scales that can detect nearby movement in the water and an even more sensitive organ along the jaw, and possess extremely powerful jaw pressure. Salt is excluded by lingual glands in the jaws and the scutes along the back and tail act as solar panels, heating blood

vessels contained within that are then moved around the crocodile’s body. Crocodiles may lay on the bank with jaws agape to maintain a steady head temperature. A gular fold or flap at the back of the throat remains closed when the crocodile attacks prey underwater – they must come to the surface to actually eat. Estuarine crocodiles are distinguished from the much smaller, and generally harmless unless interfered with, freshwater crocodile crocodylus johnstoni by a much broader head. Habits and behaviour Crocodiles will eat any prey they are able to catch and overwhelm. This ranges from small fish and other aquatic animals with juveniles, to large fish, wallabies, pigs, dogs and even cattle with large crocodiles. While hunting maybe opportunistic, crocodiles are also adept at discerning habitual behaviour of their prey, for exam-

ple recognising where animals come to drink at the water’s edge and targeting them. Recent research in the Wenlock River by the University of Queensland and Australia Zoo has shown that many large mature male crocodiles occupy distinct home ranges, while others are nomads, continually moving around, even between different river systems. Mature females generally have a distinct home range, which they will leave however to nest. Nesting involves laying eggs in a mound of soil and grass and other vegetative material scratched up near a river bank or within a swamp. The female guards the nest during incubation, carries the juveniles to the water’s edge upon hatching, and also stays near the young for some weeks to provide a level of protection. Crocodiles are apex predators of their habitats, and though the recontinued P73

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TOURING & exploring

An overview of our estuarine crocodiles from P72

lationships involved are not yet fully understood, they are vital in maintaining the ecological health of the habitats they occupy. Croc wise protocols • Obey all crocodile warnings signs, bearing in mind that many areas where crocodiles live do not have warning signs • Because you cannot see any crocodiles does not mean there are none there • Never swim or wade in known or suspected crocodile habitat

www.bnbfishing.com.au

• Wait for the boat skipper or delegated crew to advise on when and how to embark and disembark a vessel • A boat is your barrier from crocodiles – do not lean or dangle limbs over the side of a boat • Should a crocodile approach your vessel, move away to a safe distance • Never use a canoe, paddle board or similar craft in crocodile areas – these are easily upset and the crocodile may think these are some sort of threat

• When fishing or otherwise active along a bank, remain at least 5m from the water’s edge – do not ‘loiter’ near the water’s edge • It is best practice to have someone ‘on watch’ when launching, retrieving, entering or leaving a vessel • Never discard or bury fish frames or other animal products near where people are active or potentially could be, as crocodiles are scavengers and readily attracted to animal remains, they will leave

the water and travel overland to find and feed on animal remains • Always camp well back from the water’s edge, preferably at a location with a high bank • Avoid any earth or vegetation mounds

adjacent to the water, these may be crocodile nests, which are actively guarded by female crocodiles • Rangers can typically provide advice on local crocodile populations.

Spot the crocodile! It’s always fun searching for these amazing animals.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 73

C AMPING & outdoors

Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit

Get all fired up with the Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit from Lifestyle 4x4.

Salivating over open-fire cooking, an optional spit rotisserie kit attaches directly to the Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit.

The main fire box is constructed simply of four sheets that interlock together – two ends and two sides. Page 74 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

ITH more camping areas and caravan parks requiring visitors to maintain their campfires in a purpose-built fire pit, it is worth considering having a collapsible fire pit in your collection of camping gear. The Ironman 4x4 new collapsible fire pit has been designed with practicality and functionality, front of mind. Size always matters The two sizes that matter are packed and assembled. The Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit packs down nicely to a modest 530mm long x 400mm wide, meaning it will take up barely any room in your vehicle and fits nicely into the Ironman 4x4 Drawer Systems laying down. When assembled, the measurements are 530mm long x 400mm wide x 300mm high and packs in a heavy-duty carry bag. The Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is the ideal size for a group of two to five. Large enough to get a solid campfire going, radiating good warmth from the top and sides, while not so big that is eats firewood at a rate faster than you can feed it. With the collection of firewood also becoming increasingly difficult in many areas, the Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is a great size

for pre-cut firewood – often purchased from a local service station. It can also be used with other fuel, including lump charcoal and heat beads. Construction counts The Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is precision cut from 3mm steel and is designed with ribs to improve overall strength and reduced warpage. The main fire box is constructed simply of four sheets that interlock together – two ends and two sides. Clean and efficient heat is aided by the inclusion of ventilation points around the body and base, and all pieces are treated with a heat-resistant coating. Feature packed Embers and dropped coals are one of the greater dangers of raised fire pits. To reduce this risk, the Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is supplied complete with a steel ember tray on which the fire pit can be positioned, protecting the ground underneath. And while we all enjoy getting cosy around a fire, there’s also nothing quite like a meal cooked on one. So, each Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is supplied with a flat barbecue plate that sits across the fire and features a non-stick surface. In addition, there are a series of slots located along the sides that al-

low the fitment of the two supplied pot rails. This holds a frypan, kettle, small camp oven or saucepan – not included – over the fire. The nature of the beast results in you unpacking or storing some dusty steel plates, so to keep your vehicle clean, each Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit is sold with a sturdy PVC carry bag included. Spit roast If the idea of settling in for a day by the fire and spinning some lamb gyros or chicken over some hot coals has you salivating, you’ll be happy to know that Ironman 4x4 are also offering an optional spit rotisserie kit that attaches directly to the Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit. Powered by two D-sized cell batteries – not included– the rotisserie is rated to hold up to 4kg of meat, threaded and secured onto a stainless-steel skewer with two prongs. To keep the rotisserie turning evenly, a counterweight is supplied to balance the rod, and a handy meat thermometer ensures you will always be able to serve perfectly cooked meals to all. The rotisserie is a great feature – not only for camping, but for catering at home too. For more information, contact Lifestyle 4x4 on 07 3000 9898 or visit lifestyle4x4. com.au

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 75

C ARAVANNING & adventure Watching the sunrise at Cape Hillsborough with the locals.

Mini Qld lap – Following the coast home

FTER leaving the crystal blue waters of the Whitsundays, the plan was to spot-hop along the coast until we reached Gladstone, where my wife and daughters would fly home and I would spend a few days fishing with Team Cruise Craft. It’s moments such as these that having a very understanding wife is great… though my stay in Gladstone actually was ‘work’… at least that’s what I tried to pass it off as. However, before I managed to wet a line,

Exploring Queensland - Part 8 by BEN COLLINS

we still had a few places to visit. You could literally spend weeks or months exploring up and down the coast, but we only had a few days so opted to check out a couple of places we hadn’t visited before. Cape Hillsborough was one these places and we planned to stay a couple of nights – not that there were heaps of things to do there, but having a lay day occasionally makes these types of trips much more enjoyable.

The kids enjoyed this makeshift house on the beach. Page 76 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

It may be a little harsh to say there wasn’t much to do because there were walking trials, fishing, bird watching, swimming pools and sensational sunrises with kangaroos on the beach. Kangaroos on the beach were one of the hooks that led us to this remote location and, while the experience was extremely enjoyable, it wasn’t as ‘natural’ as we had thought or imagined it would be. As we wondered down to the beach prior to the

sun popping its head above the horizon, we saw a ranger marking out a line with cones for everyone to stand behind. The ranger was also putting some food in the sand for the kangaroos to dig up and eat. Regardless, it was great to see these native animals on the beach with the golden glow of the sun in the background – albeit a little staged. I guess this ensures the kangaroos make an appearance every morning. However, if you sleep in, there are usually a few kangaroos feeding on the grass around the

Exploring Capricorn Caves.

campsite, so you can also get your fix sitting in your camp chair under your awning. One highlight of the Cape Hillsborough Nature Tourist Park that the kids loved was the large swimming pool with slides. Despite the weather cooling, the kids enjoyed the pool and spent plenty of time in it – relaxing pool side wasn’t too bad either. If you can’t get into the tourist park, there are other places nearby that are worth checking out, such as the Halliday Bay Resort, Golf continued P77

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C ARAVANNING & adventure

Mini Qld lap – coasting home from P76

Course and RV Park. If time permitted, I would have played a round or three and spent a heap of time exploring the rivers and headlands with the hope of some remote fishing action. Another spot on the list to spend more time at! Unfortunately, I didn’t have the cartopper for this trip, so fishing was limited. There is obviously a limit to what you can and can’t take on these trips, especially due to weight constraints when towing large vans, though the unladen JB Scorpion does allow for over 500kg of payload. However, if you plan on going off-grid for extended periods of times and don’t have water, that’s when things can come unstuck. Add three 90-litre cans of water and it doesn’t leave a lot of ‘room’ for much else. Thankfully, the JB caravan can be upgraded with a couple of modifications to carry a bigger load – now we only need

Queensland Transport to sort out their regulations and come in line with other states, so the Toyota Landcruiser can be upgraded a little more. Revising the regulations would make touring with big vans and boats much simpler and safer. Our next stop was on the coast again, at a place called BarraCrab Caravan Park at Clairview. There are no designated spots and no power, so you need to get in early to get the waterfront sites that have power and water. Even though we didn’t have a beachfront site, it was easily visible from most of the park, and allowed us to have some space to sit around a fire. While the view was great, this was one of the more expensive places we stayed at. Once again, a boat would have been the go – it felt as though the blue water was teasing me. Thankfully, we had only one night in Rock-

hampton left on the plan before I would be wetting a line. The Riverside Caravan Park sits on the Fitzroy River, and despite our ‘riverside’ camp being unavailable – due to a booking error – our ‘roadside’ one was fine. Regardless, this was only a place to get some rest after a tasty dinner at the Criterion Hotel, which was a short stroll away. The next morning, I dropped my Collins girls off at the airport for their flight home, the Bocks continued on their trip down the coast and I headed to Boyne Island to wet a line and put some fish in an Esky… but that’s another story. I would like to thank my wife Greta and Kylie Bock for all the planning they put into this trip before we set off. It made the time away flow much better, allowed us to see heaps of things and also encouraged some rest and relaxation. Well done ladies!

Cleaning the vehicle and van after our off-road adventures in Mackay. www.bnbfishing.com.au

Kids planning our Capricorn Caves jaunt.

A tour through Capricorn Caves was well worth it.

The ancient water course that formed Capricorn Caves. Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 77

Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic 2022 wrap up

HAT a weekend! The Miles District Fishing and Recreation Club would like to thank our sponsors, visitors, competitors and volunteers for

making the Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic a great success. We had 115 people register to compete in our fishing event, held at Karingal Reserve in Miles over the Labour

Day long weekend. Competitors fished throughout the Western Downs Region, with daily weigh-ins and prize draws, along with kids’ activities and demonstrations, from

Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic - a family event.

DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 18/05/2022

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY Atkinson * 27 26 100 100 104 Awoonga 58 57 57 54 57 Bjelke-Petersen * 101 100 102 100 106 Boondooma * 99 98 100 98 102 Borumba * 100 100 101 100 102 Burdekin Falls * 96 105 98 89 123 Callide * 74 68 63 63 63 Cania * 27 27 27 27 27 Coolmunda * 100 100 100 99 98 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 67 81 95 100 101 Eungella * 73 74 73 73 81 Fairbairn * 25 22 20 18 22 Glenlyon * 100 100 100 100 100 Hinze* 102 101 103 101 108 Julius * 93 101 97 92 93 Kinchant * 74 74 74 68 82 Leslie * 99 99 100 100 100 Macdonald* 102 107 103 101 109 Maroon * 100 100 100 100 103 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 46 46 54 53 87 Moogerah * 77 83 105 101 106 North Pine/Samsonvale * 68 67 67 67 66 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 53 54 54 53 54 Somerset * 79 79 81 80 81 Teemburra * 90 91 90 88 95 Tinaroo* 71 83 85 88 97 Toonumbar 101 101 101 101 102 Wivenhoe * 54 56 89 89 115 Wuruma * 68 70 69 67 68 Wyaralong* 100 99 100 100 102 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 78 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

spinnerbait making to professional fishing experts. Yabby races and the Miles Devils Rugby League Club kept us entertained on the Saturday night and our Master of Ceremonies Pat Staines made sure the kids were up to date with local fishing regulations with ‘Pat’s Q&A time’. The classic was held to provide a community event to raise awareness of noxious fish in our region, provide an outdoors adventure for families and friends, and to help boost the local economy through tourism. We believe we successfully achieved our goals and look forward to locking this in as an annual event. Proceeds from the event will be used to further develop Karingal Reserve and the local waterways, along with provide funding for our club’s monthly fishing events. Again, thanks for the support from our sponsors and we look forward to a bigger and better event next year. Results Juniors yellowbelly Girls, First Olivia Foxlee with 37cm and Second Ruby Steinberg with 34cm Boys, First Axel Smith with 46cm and Second Dallas Brown with 42cm Juniors eel-tailed catfish Girls, First Ruby Steinberg with 41/.69cm and Second Hayley Honnery with 41/.63cm Boys, First Dallas Brown with 50cm and Second Lewis Forsythe with 48cm Juniors blue claw Girls, First Amber Brooker with 24cm and

Second Natalie Brooker with 23cm Boys, First Axel Smith with 26cm and Second Ashton Johnston with 25cm Juniors carp Girls, First Kendall Camm with 59cm and Second Ruby Steinberg with 53cm Boys, First Tennyson Camm with 58cm and Second Bodhi Stuart with 53cm Seniors yellowbelly Ladies, First Kristen Forsythe with 55cm and Second Jossie Tattam with 42cm Mens, First Bryson Austin with 41cm and Second Andrew Austin with 38cm Seniors eel-tailed catfish Ladies, First Krystal Brown with 49cm and Second Kristen Forsythe with 48/1 Mens, First Barry Green with 48/1.27 and Second Paul Forsythe with 48/.95 Seniors blue claw Ladies, First Kristy Steinberg with 25cm and Second Kayla Smith with 24cm Mens, First Kev Steinberg with 24cm and Second Steve Brooker with 24cm Seniors carp Ladies, First Jossie Tattam with 70cm and Second Isabella Stonehouse with 65cm Mens, First John Stonehouse with 69cm and Deon Matthee with 65cm Junior Girls Carp Princess was Kendall Camm with six carp. Junior Boys Carp Prince was Bodhi Stuart with 16 carp. Senior Ladies Carp Queen was Jossie Tattam with 12 carp. Senior Mens Carp continued P79

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic held at Karingal Reserve in Miles over the Labour Day long weekend was a great success. 115 people registered to compete.

Miles wrap up from P78

King was John Stonehouse with 68 carp. Our club works hard at helping eradicate carp by holding dedicated carp events and focussing on carp in the Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic. Our fishing events are run under a strict biosecurity permit to allow us to handle, record and destroy all carp caught at events. This data is then passed on to biosecurity to help better understand the volume of carp in our waterway and work on a plan to reduce their numbers. At this year’s Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic, we removed 215 carp with a total weight of 267.98kg and total length of 94.96m. Over the three days there were more than 150 lucky entry prizes handed out to participants, 44 winning categories and multiple raffles, with our major prizes saved until the last event. Third prize consisted of a ‘Stay in the Downs’ accommodation package, consisting of a onenight stay in four difwww.bnbfishing.com.au

ferent motor inns in the Western Downs Region, won by Luke Abbott. Second prize was for a Kayaks 2 Fish Pro Fishing kayak, won by Harriet Brown. First prize, donated by Chinchilla Container Cash and the Windsor Pub, was won by Ann Smith from Toowoomba. Ann is a long-term club member, travelling each month from Toowoomba to compete in our club events. Ann also generously donates multiple prizes to the lucky draws, so a well-deserved winner. When travelling west to events, Ann ensures she stays at our sponsoring accommodation providers in return support. With Ann’s generosity, she had to put one last spin on our event… as Ann has retired and was not able to use her new boat, she shocked us all by offering a swap with our third-place winner for the accommodation package. Goosebumps from us all, Ann is a truly amazing person. Peter Delaforce Club President

FISHING EVENTS COMPETITION

DATE

LOCATION

2022 Weipa Fishing Jun 10-12 Classic

Weipa, QLD https://weipafishingclassic.com/

VMR Bundaberg Jun 24-26 Family Fishing Classic

Bundaberg, QLD vmrbundabergfishingclassic.com.au

Evans Head Jul 1-8 Fishing Classic

Evans’s Head, QLD evansheadfishingclassic.com.au

Isisford Fishing Jul 29-31 Competition

Isisford, QLD longreach.qld.gov.au

Australian Fishing Aug 4-6 Trade Association

Gold Coast, QLD afta.net.au/trade-show

MBTBC Aug 21-28 Fishing Classic

Manly, QLD https://mbtbc.com/

Woodgate Beach Sep 16-18 Hotel Fishing Classic

Woodgate Beach Hotel, QLD https://www.woodgatebeachhotel. com/wbhfc

Kurrimine Classic Sep 16-18

Kurrimine, QLD https://kurriminebeachfishingclub. com.au

Baffle Creek Family Sep 19-24 Fishing Festival

Baffle Creek, QLD bafflecreekfishing.com

Flathead Sep 27-30 Classic

Gold Coast, QLD flatheadclassic.com.au

Boondooma Dam Sep 30-Oct 2 Sportfishing Festival

Boondooma, QLD ansaqld.com.au/event/boondoomadam-sportfishing-festival/

Kingaroy Sep 30-Oct 2 Sportfishing Festival

Kingaroy, QLD ansaqld.com.au/events

Fitzroy River Oct 16-19 Barra Bash

Fitzroy River, QLD fitzroyriverbarrabash.com.au

To have your competition listed in the calendar, please phone (07) 3286 1833 or email ads@collins.media Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 79

No change to funding format Glenlyon Dam

A letter from Dan McIntyre on behalf of the Hon Mark Furner MP.

Page 80 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

by BRIAN DARE

HE image accompanying this is of a letter I received, written by Dan McIntyre on behalf of the Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries and Minister for Rural Communities, the Hon Mark Furner MP. Have a read of the letter and then continue reading this… Well, I guess you could say they are still not listening. So folks, it’s clear to me that we will never see the $1.25 million goal for fish restocking in freshwater reached under the present funding format. The water and stock reserve changes are close to being put through the house. Will the following groups be advised as to when comments should cease on their ‘Last Say’? Landcare Australia, the Conservation Council, bushwalkers, bird watchers, camera and photography clubs, horse riders, bicycle riders, bush campers and anglers who stock the rivers and streams will all be looking at a user-pays extra cost format by October this year. More rain and the rivers run, it’s getting to the point where I will be putting my small canoe into mothballs and start to look at the 15-footer and electric motor on the dam.

Over the past 12 months, it’s been a case of strong water flows out west. This being the case, a lot of angers arrive without first checking. Any flow over 370 megalitres a day in our upper river reaches is dangerous when it comes to rapids. Also playing the hero is not a good idea. Put an extra-long lead on your craft and walk it up or downstream when fishing. Back when we did our research trips in our river sections up in the high country, one trip forced us all to fish only downstream. It was just too fast a flow to have a safe result and anchors were used to hold the craft in a steady casting format. As for fishing the storages, well it’s a case of looking and fishing areas on the dams where small streams run into the main flow areas. You will find all fish will grab a feed that flows down to them. Try these areas and watch the results. This season will be one to talk about for some time. With the on-going rain, flows will give fish in the Murray Darling systems a possibility of coming back to previous 1970 conditions, with breeding season only three months away for 2022. www.bnbfishing.com. au

Origin and fishing club partnership

RIGIN Energy has announced a new multi-year partnership with Miles District Fishing and Recreation Club Inc to proactively support waterway rehabilitation efforts and help more people get involved in recreational fishing in the region. President Peter Delaforce said the partnership will help the club support the community through projects such as fishing clinics, environmental research, recreational fishing events and fish habitat improvement. “Fishing is an important way of life for many people in the Western Downs Region and beyond, and this partnership will help more locals experience the joys of recreational fishing for many years to come,” Mr Delaforce said. The official partnership announcement coincided with hundreds flocking to Miles over the May long weekend to participate in the annual Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic. With live weigh-ins, kids activities and daily prize draws, the three-day event highlighted the importance of recreational fishing to the local economy, with everything from bait and tackle sales through to tourism and accommodation receiving a boost. Origin Energy general manager asset east Steve Thatcher said Origin, as upstream operator for Australia Pacific LNG, was pleased to be able to help build a legacy of sustainable fisheries for the community now www.bnbfishing.com.au

and into the future. “Origin’s funding aims to help deliver several positive environmental outcomes, including the development of a strategic rehabilitation plan to improve the quality of freshwater recreational fisheries in Dogwood Creek,” Mr Thatcher said. “This partnership highlights Origin’s commitment to contribute to regional economies. “We are proud to invest in an environmental project supporting our waterways, which are part and parcel of our way of life in Queensland.” The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries will support the Miles District Fishing and Recreation Club and Origin partnership by leading development of the strategic rehabilitation plan and assessing current fish stocks, habitats and threats to local fish populations.

The partnership also includes support for the preparation of a Karingal Reserve masterplan. Helping to build a strategic outline for future development of the area, which focusses on improving suitability for community activities and fishing adventures, safeguarding and expanding development into the future is a core goal of the agreement. The club is looking for community support in sharing ideas about the future of Karingal Reserve and the Dogwood Creek rehabilitation plan and hopes that this partnership will help swell club membership and entice more visitors to the area. Sponsorship of the popular Hooked on Miles Fishing Classic, Carp Busters events at Condamine and Chinchilla and club member camping and fishing events are also included in the partnership package.

DAF stocking groups message

S you may be aware both the stocked impoundment permit and freshwater working groups occurred in mid-May, with a number of discussion topics. Communiques will have been released for your information. Fisheries Queensland is also on the lookout for opportunities to promote fishing and stocking around Queensland. You may have noticed more of our articles appearing in fishing publications over the past few months. So, if you have any good stories, let us know. We are also after good quality photos of our impoundments for use in a variety of media to help promote the SIPS scheme and

stocking in general, so if you have a shutter bug in your group, pass this on. We will generally need images in a large file size of about 3-5mb and will need the express permission of the image owner. We can use images of people as long as they are unrecognisable. Contact Christelle or myself if you are interested in providing photos. Finally, as we come to the end of the financial year, I thank all the stocking groups that have provided us with their stocking records. Any outstanding reports can be sent to sippermits@daf.qld. gov.au Thomas Hart Fisheries Qld

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 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 81

TRADING POST inshore safety gear and so much more! $34,995. John Crawford Marine, Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 – johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322

QUINTREX F390 EXPLORER OUTBACK – 2019 package, 4-stroke 15Hp outboard, aluminium Quintrex trailer, inshore safety kit for two adults, glove box, two large bench seats, presents like new and only $9,995 tow away! John Crawford Marine, Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 – johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322

QUINTREX 450 FISHABOUT PRO – Delivered new in 2020, Yamaha 60Hp 4S, Quintrex 1100 braked trailer, Lowrance GPS/Sounder, VHF radio, bimini/front/side clears and storm cover, seating for five,

SMARTWAVE 4800 CENTRE CONSOLE – Made from polyethylene, this boat is exceptionally strong and durable. For those who enjoy their fishing, the 4800 is a great choice. It has the ability to absorb knocks and bangs that would chip the gelcoat of a fibreglass hull or dent a tinnie. Its large open cockpit with plenty of storage and effective drains makes for a great dry platform for you and your fishing family and friends. This is a terrific family boat and the safest ride you will ever experience. Nothing to spend, the first service has been done. All that is required is to get out on the water and have some fun! $32,990. Contact AMC Boats on 07 3808 7333 or visit amcboats.com.au

HAINES HUNTER 495 PRO FISH – This immaculate boat has the family that enjoys cruising the waterways, water sports and fishing in mind. It is also an ideal model for anyone new to boating or someone wanting to downsize but not miss out on a quality boat with plenty of inclusions. The cockpit is roomy for a boat this size and the well-laidout interior has ample storage for bait, food, drinks and fishing rods. Storage in the cabin is also ample with full-length storage shelves and three under cushion storage compartments providing plenty of room for safety gear and all your extra bibs and bobs. If you are in the market for a great value, terrific all-round fishing family boat, do yourself a favour and visit our yard today and jump on board the 495 Pro Fish, you won’t be disappointed. $46,990. Contact AMC Boats on 07 3808 7333 or visit amcboats. com.au

July Edition Copy Deadline – Advertisements must arrive NO later than June 8, 2022

POST TO PO BOX 162, Wynnum QLD 4178 or EMAIL with a photo to ads@collins.media When completing this form please leave one square of space between each word (Hyphens, full-stops, commas, word spaces count as one letter) ALL ADS MUST BE PRE-PAID 1 1 2

Cost per insertion: 2 lines $15, $1.10 per line thereafter. Contact details must be included in ad. NAME: ...................................................................................... PHONE NO. ................................................... MONTHS OF INSERTION: ...................................................... AMOUNT: $ ................................................... CREDIT CARD NO.: ___ ___ ___ ___

___ ___ ___ ___

EXP DATE: ..................................................................... SIGNATURE: ..........................................................

Page 82 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

LATE MODEL TRAILER BOATS WANTED – We are seeking premium condition boats including Signature, Quintrex, Cruise Craft, Stacer, Haines, Stessco and Seajay. Make selling your late model trailer boat simple and hassle-free through John Crawford Marine, Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 – johncrawfordmarine. com.au Call Matthew or Jim on 3890 2322. ADVERTISERS – to organise a classified ad in theTrading Post, call 07 3286 1833 or complete the form and post it to the address provided or email it through to ads@collins.media www.bnbfishing.com. au

Tim Burley with a golden trevally caught on the coffee rock off Bribie Island. Phill from Ecofisher

Fishing has been hard in Ballina, no thanks to the floodwater. But fish are slowly coming back. Big bream are getting around, now that flathead are coming back, which is good. Serena Sullivan

An 85cm snapper caught on a 1-4kg rod in 4m of water at Pumicestone Passage. Luke Turnbull

The first good fish for the season. Blackfish from Iluka NSW. Shane Jeffrey Upton

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.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 83

Subscription offer for June! Subscribe this month to go in the draw to win one of seven $50 packs from Top Dog Tackle!

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Send your cheque, money order or credit card details for $50 or $95 (inc. GST) to Bush ’n Beach. We’ll advise you when your subscription runs out. Return completed form to: Bush ’n Beach Fishing PO Box 162 Wynnum 4178, ph 07 3286 1833 or go online www.bnbfishing.com.au Name: ..........................................................................................Email: �� Address: �� .......................................................................... Postcode: .............................. Phone: ......................................... Date: �� PAYMENT DETAILS

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Page 84 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

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Page 86 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing June 2022

Rifen Marine 6 Dooley St, North Rockhampton Q 4701 P: 07 4927 9150 www.rifenmarine.com.au

SUNSHINE COAST

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BESPOKE HAND-CRAFTED FIBREGLASS FISHING BOATS

AUSTRALIA’S BEST HARDCORE FIBREGLASS FISHING BOAT • Built and designed by experienced anglers for anglers of all experience levels • Highest quality materials and manufacturing practices • Hand-laid fibreglass constructions

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, June 2022 – Page 87

DRIVE AWAY $

DRIVE AWAY

29,000

$35,448

420 RENEGADE S/C - 50HP

430 TOP ENDER PRO - 60HP

Includes: Thruster bracket, fishing rod holders, live bait tank, safety gear, registration, alloy trailer

Includes: Pro Features, GME VHF, deck lights, bait board, ski poll, safety gear, registration, alloy trailer DRIVE AWAY $

DRIVE AWAY $

61,500

54,422

520 OCEAN SPIRIT - 115HP

510 TERRITORY LEGEND - 115HP

Includes: underfloor 95L fuel tank, upgraded seating, safety gear, registration, alloy trailer

Includes: 92L fuel tank, 115hp Pro Xs, Elite FS9 sounder, safety gear registration, alloy trailer

DRIVE AWAY $

65,411

88,000

540 OCEAN SPIRIT - 135HP

5800 YELLOWFIN FOLDING HARD TOP - 135HP

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Includes: Platinum pack, registration, offshore safety gear, alloy trailer

40-60HP FOURSTROKE

Finance & Insurance available

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY PROVEN RELIABILITY POWERFUL PERFORMANCE

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

Can’t make the yard? Shop online! For quality new and used boats! www.brisbaneboatingleisure.com.au Page 88 – Bush ’nIpswich Beach Fishing June 2022Rocklea | Call 07 3875 1600 | Formerly Karee www.bnbfishing.com. 1743 Road, Marine au

BNB Fishing Mag | June 2022

Articles inside

Readers’ Forum

Trading Post

No change to funding format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Dare

Competition Calendar

Ironman 4x4 Folding Fire Pit

Mini Qld lap – Following the coast home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Collins

Recipe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Melissa Frohloff

An overview of our estuarine crocodiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by ‘Billabong’ Baz Lyon

Life through the lens . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson

Charter Directory

Changing tack for winter species . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by John Boon

Rainbow Beach Squid Rowe Trophy 2022 . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mick Clutterbuck

How to win fishing battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Tri Ton

Product News

Crossover season on Sunshine Coast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Grant Budd

Tips from Move Boat Trailers

Insights into boat insurance

More than bream in winter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ryan Dixon

Quintrex 430 Fishabout Pro

Custom snapper rod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Ben Smith

In memory of Andrew ‘Roy’ Symonds

Passing of friend Bill Spring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Mark Templeton

Flathead trolling tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Clint Ansell

Winter flathead fishing tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Keith Stratford

Catching bream from a jetty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Gavin Dobson

How to lure a mulloway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Neil Schultz

Winter in Moreton Bay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by Brian Webb

Persistence pays off . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . by David White