BNB Fishing mag | July 2019

Your guide to cool catches

4

$

50 Includes GST

July 2019 Print Post Approved PP100001534 Volume 30, Number 7

Superb squid on Gold Coast

DI offshore adventures Snapper in the cold Large lizards galore Mixed species in Moreton Bay Boat review

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Targeting tailor Barra still biting Bar crossing information Proudly produced and printed in Australia

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 1

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Page 2 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

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Inside this month Double Island

Moreton Bay

P34

P9

Barra Bash

P52

most freezing to death on Lake Tinaroo in January, so extra-warm clothes, beanies and Ugg boots made it into the duffle bags for our winter sojourn.

I’m sure those fishing the southern lakes for cod and trout would be shaking their heads in shame at us but I’m a warmblooded Queenslander

OUR COVER

DARREN RAMA caught these two big squid in the Gold Coast Broadwater on 2.5 size Yamashita squid jigs. Check out DARREN’S article on Page 41 for more squidding tips.

Ben Collins Daniel Tomlinson Kacie Hubbert Jo Hendley, Lily Rochelle

Phone (07) 3286 1833 Fax (07) 3821 2637 Email: ben@bnbfishing.com.au Internet: www.bnbfishing.com.au PO Box 387, Cleveland, Qld 4163 Unit 2, 39 Enterprise Street, Cleveland, Qld 4163 AFTA PRINTER: Rural Press DISTRIBUTION BY: Fairfax Max. recommended retail price $4.50 (includes GST).

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

G IN

FISH ING ’S

E TUR FU

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* continued P4

EDITOR: SUBEDITOR: ADVERTISING: PRODUCTION:

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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.

AUST

AUGUST edition will be on sale in news­agents from July 26. See subscription form on Page 68 to go in the draw to win one of two Barz Optics prize packs valued at $180 each.

through and through, and layer upon layer of clothing is mandatory.

Leaving home early on Friday morning to make a long weekend of it, I called into the Wilson Fishing factory to pick up some of the just-released colours in the 95mm Zerek Fish Traps.

These lures are pretty much a go-to in the barra impoundments and we were looking forward to swimming the new colours over the course of the weekend.

After picking up Luke and his boat just outside Maryborough, we made our way up to the dam, basing ourselves at the Lake Monduran Holiday Park on the lake.

Getting a bit on the older side now, we gave the option of camping a miss and instead stayed in the comfort of a cabin with heating.

What else could you wish for!?

Of course, powered and unpowered camping sites are available and there is also the option of staying in a house.

Winter is low season at the holiday park, so accommodation rates are discounted during this period.

I really don’t know where our hopes lay in the fish catching department, but if you’re out there with a lure in the water, you’re always going to be in with a chance.

The bite over the weekend was pretty tough because we had to deal with the cold setting in and variable winds.

We began our fishing adventure casting the shallow bays and points (warmer water), however the fish weren’t responding to the hard-bodied lures being cast.

ATI ON

by ROBERT PAYNE

CI

Most would probably say no, but good mate Luke Fallon and I decided that if we went, we’d be fishing and not stuck at home working, so it was an easy choice.

Memories f licked through our minds of al-

Fishing Australia

Fishing Monduran in winter.....by Robert Payne...................................P3 Brisbane River..............................by Brian Webb......................................P7 Southern Moreton Bay...............by Sean Conlon....................................P9 Jewies and flathead...................by Keith Stratford...............................P11 Tackling tailor...............................by Sean ‘Skip’ Thompson................P13 Luring Moreton Bay....................by Peter Herbst...................................P15 Northern Moreton Bay...............by Mark Templeton...........................P16 Broadwater Region.......................by Wayne ‘Youngy’ Young...............P18 Gold Coast......................................by Heath Zygnerski...........................P19 Tailor in estuaries........................by Brad Smith.....................................P20 Finding game fish........................by Barry Alty.......................................P22 Good variety offshore.................by Gavin Dobson................................P23 When is winter coming?............... by Brett Hyde............................................P24 Salt water moving upstream....by Gary ‘Squidgie’ Palmer..............P26 Just Jew.........................................by Tye Porter.......................................P27 Cool change brings knobbies...by Grant Budd.....................................P28 Camping and crabbing...............by Craig Tomkinson..........................P29 Tin Can Bay offshore...................by Rick Waugh...................................P30 Bar Crossing..................................by Bill Corten......................................P31 Rainbow Beach offshore...........by Mick Clutterbuck.........................P32 Hervey Bay.....................................by Tri Ton..............................................P33 Deep off Double Island Point....by Lachie Baker.................................P34 Bundaberg flathead......................by Joel Johnson.................................P36 Bream fishing the Burnett.........by Brad Young....................................P37 PNG fishing trip............................by Warren ‘Wazza’ Morgan............P38 Crabbing Baffle Creek................by Melissa Frohloff...........................P40 Recipe.............................................by Melissa Frohloff...........................P40 Fish hunting in the cool..............by Darren Rama.................................P41 Puzzle page....................................................................................................P42 Boating & Marine..................................................................................P42-47 Yellowfin boat review................by Daniel Tomlinson.........................P44 Insights into boat insurance.....by Nautilus Marine...........................P47 Charter Directory.................................................................................. P48,49 Readers Forum..............................................................................................P50 Blue salmon a winter target.....by Gary Churchward.........................P51 Barra Bash wrap-up...................by John Boon......................................P52 Stanage Bay fires in July..........by Pee Wee.........................................P53 Fishing the topics.........................by Jason Kidd.....................................P54 Hinchinbrook News....................by Team Crackajack.........................P55 Illegal fishing................................by Dave Donald..................................P56 Trinity Inlet at Cairns...................by Brett Parks.....................................P57 Guide to Cooktown......................by ‘Billabong’ Bazz Lyon..................P58 Drains on Cape York...................by Ryan Jamieson.............................P59 Classic Characters......................by Paul ‘Chief’ Graveson.................P60 Caravanning adventure..............by Todd Eveleigh...............................P61 Monduran Dam.............................by Les Gane.........................................P62 Impoundment bass......................by Neil Schultz...................................P63 Big natives in South Burnett.....by Matthew Langford.......................P64 Muddy Water wrap-up...............by Helen Abdy....................................P65 Glenlyon Dam................................by Brian Dare......................................P66 Trading Post..................................................................................................P67 Subscription form.......................................................................................P68

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F you had the chance to go barramundi fishing in one of southern Queensland’s dams after the first cold snap of the year with southwesterly winds changing to southeasters and rain, would you go?

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Fishing Monduran Dam in winter

Big bass

PRO TE CT

The author landed a nice barra. Note the lure retriever in the pic. These are a godsend in snaggy country.

HE old proverb ‘good things come to those who wait’ has certainly come to fruition this month.

HIN G T R A D E

And I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a big grin on the dial as I penned this month’s editorial.

The reason for the smile is I’m about to start packing my bags and camera gear for a trip north to Bundaberg where I will join the crew from Wilson Fishing on board Big Cat Reality Charters and set sail on an exploratory trip to Swain Reefs.

Over the years a number of BNB Fishing scribes have received the call-up for these trips as I’ve sat on the sidelines.

But just like a young Kalyn Ponga, the incumbent Queensland fullback, I’ve been patiently waiting in the wings and now I’ve got the call I’m more than ready to pull on the jersey, or more appropriately the Zerek fishing shirt, and tangle with the big boys in the deep blue yonder.

Patiently waiting may be a stretch because there have been a few winks and nudges each year to the Wilson Fishing team.

Either way, I’m thrilled to be going on this trip and will be able to test and review a heap of new gear, which will be featured in upcoming editions.

On a side note, I believe Greg Lamprecht left a nice combo out there last trip, so Greg, I’ll keep an eye out for it mate.

A few people have been telling me to remind you about it, just in case you’d forgotten.

Back on the mainland, a few fishing comps are on the horizon including the Rainbow Beach Family Fishing Classic, Evans Head Fishing Classic, Western Downs Carp Busters Family Fishing Comp, Garmin Downtown Toyota Moreton Bay Fishing Classic, Borumba Campout & Chasebaits Challenge and Gold Coast Flathead Classic.

It is great to see fishing competitions are alive and well.

I still miss the old Straddie Classic and Toyota Fraser Island Fishing Comp as these weren’t just fishing comps but a great opportunity to catch up with fellow fishos, tell some tales and enjoy a refreshment or three.

While these two events are just memories, it’s great to see new comps taking their place.

If you haven’t had the pleasure of fishing any competitions, I’d strongly suggest giving one or two a go.

Not only are they a great way to hone your fishing skills and test them against other anglers, the events are very social, which is a big part of fishing (as John Boon alludes to in his article this month).

These days the events are increasingly focused on family and kids so they can be enjoyed by the whole gang.

If you want more information on these or other events, you can find them all listed on our Competition Calendar on Page 35 this month.

In other news, it is great to see several people tagging #bnbfishingmag when they post pictures on Instagram.

Keep tagging as we are running a monthly comp where you can win great prizes each month.

Make sure you also subscribe to our free e-news, which comes out every Friday with all the latest tips for the weekend ahead.

To sign up, head to bnbfishing. com.au Ben Collins

May prizewinners

Congratulations to Jeffrey Rashleigh, Glenore Grove; Eddie Cadwell, Kalbar; Louis Watts, Mountain Creek; and John Stevens, Morningside who have each won an essential outdoor Gear Aid pack valued at $84.80 each!

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 3

Some good-sized bass live in Monduran and are often caught when targeting barramundi.

Several bite periods through the mornings were productive.

Fishing Monduran Dam in winter * from P3

The deeper water within the timber held the most fish.

Rugged up for winter. It’s not only the southern dams that get cold!

As we ventured out of the shallows into deeper water, we noticed a good showing of barra on the sounder.

Having left my boat behind in Brissie, I was able to check out Luke’s new Garmin Panoptix LiveScope and it was mind blowing to first find the fish with relative ease and then watch their reaction to lures on the screen.

Finding fish was simply a matter of manoeuvring through the timber in 4.5-9m of water to locate where the schools were holding tight to the structure of the drowned trees.

The sounder certainly proved to be a valuable tool and if you want to check out some of the footage taken, go to my Facebook page.

If you fish in the lakes without a sounder, you really and truly are fishing blind.

With a sounder, we found fish and have footage of a lure going through the fish without them biting.

If you didn’t have a sounder, you’d just presume no fish were there and move on.

With the sounder, we were able to witness the barramundi hugging the bottom while in lock-jaw mode, and every lure we sent down to them was ignored.

Once the fish started moving off the bottom, we were able to watch the sounder as the fish took the lures.

I made up a transducer bracket prior to leaving

home and put it to good use on Luke’s boat.

The transducer was set up so it could shoot from port to starboard as per the norm or be turned so the beam was shooting from the front to the rear of the boat.

Tying off the boat on the timber instead of anchoring, we lowered the Fish Traps to the bottom and simply jigged the lures among the schools of fish.

Some of the fish were shut down as mentioned, but when we found an active school, we were able to experience a number of double hook-ups.

All in all, across the couple of days of fishing we managed a pretty re-

spectable 28 barramundi, a 53cm bass, an eel-tailed catfish as well as a handful of fork-tailed catfish, all on the new Fish Trap colour range.

So if you have the

chance, don’t discount the dams as a fishing proposition over winter.

Generally with stable weather patterns the fish should be a bit more predictable.

Both dark and light-coloured Fish Traps produced the goods.

The 4kg Venom baitcaster worked a treat with the 95mm Fish Traps.

The boat ramp at Monduran.

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Last chance to have a say on proposed changes to Fisheries Regulation

C

REATING more sustainable fisheries for future generations is at the heart of a discussion paper released for public comment by the Queensland Government.

Minister for Agricultural Industry Development and Fisheries Mark Furner said anyone with an interest in Queensland’s world-famous fisheries could now have their say on proposed amendments to the Fisheries Regulation 2008.

“The Queensland Government is committed to leaving a legacy of a sustainable fishery for our children and grandchildren,” Mr Furner said.

“Both the commercial

and recreational fishing sectors have a strong vested interest in maintaining healthy fish populations, and we are right behind them on that.

“We have been consulting on landmark reforms for over two years and the consistent message that comes through to us is we can’t just keep things how they are.

“We have listened, and this discussion paper is one more chance for fishers to have their say on these proposed changes.”

Member for Lytton Joan Pease said fishing was a way of life for many Queenslanders.

“Whether you make a living from great-tasting Queensland seafood or

just love dropping a line in every now and then, it is important you have a say on these regulations,” Ms Pease said.

“There is so much to enjoy along Queensland’s coastline, and these reforms are about making sure Queenslanders can continue to do that for decades to come.”

Mr Furner said the proposed amendments focus on long-term sustainability and profitability; urgent sustainability actions to take the pressure off snapper and pearl perch; standardising fishing rules, supporting compliance and reducing red tape.

“The discussion paper outlining the proposed amendments is available until Monday, July 8, 2019 for all fishing industry stakeholders to provide feedback on,” he said.

“Stakeholders are encouraged to visit fisheries.qld. gov.au to read to discussion paper, see the results of previous consultation and provide feedback on the proposed amendments.”

Key changes include: • Splitting fisheries into regions; • Establishing sustainable catch limits for crab, east coast inshore and trawl and snapper and pearl perch; • Allocating quota and effort units to individuals; • Adjusting size limits from pearl perch and king threadfin;

• Introducing a onemonth seasonal closure for snapper and pearl perch to rebuild overfished stocks; • Reducing the mud crab in-possession limit from 10 to seven; • Introducing boat limits for priority black market species; • Introducing a new general possession limit of 20 for any species that doesn’t have a current limit; and • Banning lightweight crab pots that ‘ghost fish’.

North Queensland second-generation trawl operator Neil Mogensen, with 25 years’ experience in trawl fisheries, said the proposed reforms would be a huge step forward.

“The east coast trawl fishery has been sitting stagnant with no direction for almost 10 years,” Mr Morgensen said.

“I believe the package that has been put forward will give industry a clear direction that outlines future access to sustainable stocks.

“This will help industry influence management arrangements for better results.”

Gulf of Carpentaria crab fisher Ben Day said the introduction of quotas was world’s best practice and would bring economic viability back to crab fishers.

“The value of crabs in recent years has driven up the number of crabbers, and with no catch limits

this means poor profitability for those sharing the resource,” Mr Day said.

“While some fishers may have to invest, they can do so with confidence of the fishery being economically viable into the future.”

Mr Furner said the proposed changes were the result of a comprehensive consultation process over the past two years as part of the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy.

“The Sustainable Fisheries Strategy is paving the way for Queensland to have a world-class fisheries management system,” Mr Furner said.

“In January 2019, the Queensland Government released the Directions Paper for the fisheries reforms, which outlined the direction for reforming some of the state’s most important fisheries – the trawl, crab and east coast inshore fisheries.

“All feedback has been considered by the relevant working groups and the Sustainable Fisheries Expert Panel and a number of changes have been made as a result of feedback.

“Those changes are outlined in the discussion paper, which is now available for public comment.”

Feedback will inform the remake of the Fisheries Regulation 2008, which is due to be completed by September 1, 2019.

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Garmin Downtown Toyota Moreton Bay Fishing Classic n August 11-18, 2019

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HIS August, swap those smart handheld devices for the only one that counts… your fishing rod!

The Garmin Downtown Toyota Moreton Bay Fishing Classic is back and bigger than a fisher’s brag mat.

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The comp is perfect for all types of fishers, from the pros to amateurs and even those who don’t catch a thing.

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Kain Bells scored a bass in the upper reaches.

Fishing the Brisbane River

I

FISH the Brisbane River quite a bit, especially on windy days because it gives you some protection.

I’ll admit I don’t fish it as much as some of the writers in this mag, but following are my thoughts on what the river produces.

The water is a lot cleaner now than it used to be.

People tell me I shouldn’t eat muddies caught in the river or boat passage due to metal contaminants in the water, but I’ve been catching crabs in the river for years and they haven’t killed me yet.

You can target a wide variety of fish in the river, from saltwater species in the lower reaches to bass in the upper reaches towards Colleges Crossing.

Some potential target species include threadfin salmon, snapper, bream, trevally, tailor at times, jewfish, whiting on the banks near Koopa Channel, cod, mud crabs in selected areas towards the mouth, flathead, a few bait species, catfish, bull sharks, shovelnose rays and bass.

Fishing the river is getting more popular anywhere from Breakfast Creek out to the Coffee Pots.

River fishing is convenient because you can fish out of a tinnie or along the banks.

If you’re land based, you can find numerous casting spots

Brisbane River

by BRIAN WEBB

along walkways, banks and rock walls all along the shoreline.

Bring 6-10kg rods spooled with 10kg braid and 10kg leader.

If chasing sharks I’d upgrade to heavier gear, though a spinning or baitcaster reel in the 3000 range will handle most other species.

Many lures can be used with success, from vibes to plastics and minnows.

The good old bait will see you through a session too, and if you can throw a cast net you

can gather a few species of bait in the lower reaches.

As for eating what you catch, there has never been a health report about the ill effects of eating fish from the Brissie, but it is up to you.

It may be wise to avoid bottom feeders because they supposedly absorb the heavy metals that are apparently still in the river’s lower reaches.

It is always great to find a quiet spot to try your luck with a rod, whether from the * continued P8

A productive rock wall in the Brissie.

This flathead came from the lower reaches.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 7

Fishing the Brisbane River * from P7

Alex Reeves was happy with this river mouth jewfish.

Rob Johnstone pulled a chunky bull shark from the river.

shore or a boat.

Most of the local tackle shops will have the lures and bait required to fish the river, as well as some info on the best areas to fish.

The writers in this magazine also supply quality information on fishing the river.

Our river offers more opportunities than a lot of people realise.

In fact, I reckon it’s a good place to find some big specimens that will test your equipment.

Bull sharks are now a common catch and the reason I wouldn’t swim in it.

Target these bruisers at night with 10-15kg rods, 50lb braid and 50kg leaders, size 8-9 hooks and a good size bait, especially an oily one that leaves a scent in the water.

Berley up and hang on.

Bream are the staple species of any river.

They fight hard and you can find them just about anywhere.

Getting them on lures is easy too.

All you need is a good collection of soft plastics and small hard-bodies as well as your normal baits like squid, mullet strips and bait from the river.

I recommend starting around the structure along the banks, especially where there is some current and on dark moonless nights.

A slow and erratic retrieve is the best way to entice bream.

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The mouth is home to decent fish at certain times of the year.

It is deep, riddled with currents and full of structure, but remember the 30m exclusion zone around the ships and terminals.

Getting out in a boat with a good sounder is the best way to find fish around the mouth, or you can look for surface action in the cooler months.

Closer to the banks, try deep edges beside industrial structure.

These edges often hold jewfish of various sizes, threadies and plenty of bream.

A few big jewies can be found in every river mouth, and for every jewie you catch in daylight, you’ll catch three times that number at night when you learn the secret of catching these bruisers.

Big jewies hunt mullet and the mouths of rivers hold a lot of mullet.

The winter run of mullet is the best time to target big jewies.

A big bait will attract the larger ones.

Find where the mullet are schooling and you’re in with a chance of a jewfish.

Flathead are similar to bream in that they put up a good fight and you can find them just about anywhere, especially where creeks join the river in the lower section.

Using the same lures on sandbanks and mud flats will often yield flathead of various sizes.

Picking your tides is vital with any river fishing.

When fishing the river, I recommend an incoming tide in the upper reaches and an outgoing tide towards the mouth and in deeper holes.

Fish follow the tide, so keep an eye out for pressure points and back eddies.

Moon phases and tides are closely linked, and when you’re night fishing, moon phases can make the difference.

If you’re night fishing the river, I suggest going on a waxing gibbous or full moon during the last third of a run-in tide.

As the current increases, so will your catch.

Threadies are one of the river’s big drawcards, so how do you find them?

The most consistent way is to look for sweeping banks with deep mud holes and a lot of current.

Structure is key.

You don’t want too much structure, but the bottom needs to have some shape.

Trial and error is the best way to learn.

Kayak fishing is an exciting way to fish the river.

Much like land-based fishing, exploration is the best way to find good spots.

Just watch the wake caused by some of the bigger ships.

Look for bank structure and unusual currents to get you s tarted, but beware, currents can be powerful.

Finding the right structure is only possible with a good sounder, because let’s face it, you can’t see the bottom.

If you haven’t used a sounder before, ask a tackle shop for a quick lesson on how to use one properly.

Cracking the code to using sounders will improve your success rate.

Seeing the river by boat is a unique and interesting experience, but add in some fishing and you’ve got the perfect day.

My best tip for fishing by boat is to head downstream because there’s more likely water to cover.

The river mouth out to the Coffee Pots and even the boat passage will see you with plenty of ground to explore.

When you get a bit more confident you can head upstream and give it a try.

Colmslie, Pinkenba and Whyte Island ramps are close to the river mouth.

Just watch out when going under the boat passage bridges in a half cab.

Make sure your radio aerial and rocket launcher rods are down or you could find yourself with some broken gear.

River bream from the mouth of Bulimba Creek.

A Brisbane River thready.

A school jewfish from the lower reaches.

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The river at night.

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Rob caught this 71cm lizard on a trolled Zerek Tango Shad.

Roman landed this 67cm flathead on a recent charter in southern Moreton Bay.

Good to be ‘back’ after a break n Crazy capture in southern Moreton Bay

W

ELL I’m finally on the water again after another few months off with my dodgy back.

It’s great to be back.

You don’t realise how much you appreciate going out on the water several times a week until it’s taken away from you and you’re pretty much stuck in bed watching telly.

First day back I was lucky enough to do a fishing charter with Rob from Sydney.

It was a bit wet and windy but it was good to get out there and before we knew it we picked up a couple of flatties on the troll and casting.

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Southern Moreton Bay

by SEAN CONLON

I had been off the water for about eight weeks, so I just went to where the fish were last year at around the same time, targeting them on the right tide.

This shows the importance of keeping a diary, especially if you are not on the water as much as you would like to be.

The tide turned and started to run in, and once too much water was on the banks we moved out wider and cast plastics over isolated wrecks.

We caught a few small

fish but nothing of any size.

Once the tide had come in and put even more water on the banks, we ran south among the mangroves and targeted more flathead.

Luckily the tide had come in because the wind was starting to pick up and it started raining, so we found some protection around the mangroves.

We drifted down the bank, casting in front of ourselves with soft plastics but weren’t able to raise any fish, so decided

to rig a couple of Tango Shads and see if we could troll a flathead.

It didn’t take long and on the first pass Rob was hooked up to a nice fish.

It made a couple of good runs towards the mangroves but Rob soon had the fish under control and before we knew it Rob’s personal-best 71cm lizard was in the boat.

Being a nice big girl, we took a couple of quick pics and sent her on her way to fight another day.

If you work a bank with one technique and it doesn’t work, that doesn’t necessarily mean no fish are there or they won’t bite.

Try another technique

and you could get the result you’re looking for.

We did a few more runs and picked up a couple of bream before heading home.

Since I’ve been back, I’ve also been trying to catch up on getting a few of my tuition clients out on their practicals.

I have to thank everyone for being so patient waiting for me to get better.

One of my first practical sessions was with Dave and he wanted to learn how to chase lizards.

Previously he did the off-water tuition course, so now we were going to have a little practical ses* continued P10

A Moreton Bay longtail pulled from the southern bay on a Zerek Maniac Vibe.

Even though it was a bit wet, this flathead wasn’t deterred and hit a trolled Zerek Bulldog Crank.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 9

Good to be ‘back’ after a break * from P9

This flatty was hooked while casting a Zerek Live Shrimp Hot Legs.

sion chasing flatties on high tide.

We put into practice what he learnt in the classroom.

First, we went to the areas where we would target these fish on high tide, looking at the depth and colour of the water, selecting the lure we would use, which in this instance was the Zerek Tango Shad for trolling.

We also selected a few soft plastics to cast around the mangrove lines in the form of Zerek Live Shrimp Hot Legs and Live Flash Minnow Wrigglys.

Using these techniques we didn’t brain the fish

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but picked up a couple of flathead in the 50-60cm range for Dave to take home for dinner.

We also did a bit of sounder work and I showed Dave a couple of areas with a bit of rubble ground and structure for him to explore another time.

Remember, if you do a course with me, I can tailor it to suit your needs, what you want to target and your level of experience.

I have people with very little fishing experience right up to fishos who have fished all their lives but are new to the area.

I can help fast-track them to get a handle on where the fish are, how they feed and the areas they like to inhabit in southern Moreton Bay. I have also been lucky enough lately to head out and have a recreational fish with some of my mates while making sure my back handle working again.

We picked up a few nice fish during these sessions and while fishing with mate Adam I landed a fish I wasn’t expecting.

We were casting soft plastics around but weren’t able to raise much action, even though the Lowrance sounder said a few fish were sitting on the bottom.

So I decided to cut off the soft plastic and tie on a Zerek Maniac Vibe to see if the extra vibration might create some action.

I had it on a 3-6kg rod

NEW

with 10lb braid because with the fish being shut down I had a nice light presentation to see if that would help.

I put in a few casts with the Maniac Vibe and on about the third cast as my lure was making its way to the bottom I felt a solid clunk and the rod loaded up.

I knew it was a solid fish and it had a bit of weight but I wasn’t prepared for what was about to unfold.

At first the fish moved away at a reasonable pace but kept down deep.

Then I started the usual pump and wind to make a bit of ground on it and thought OK, not a bad little fish, probably a squire or something around the 50cm mark.

Then when I got it to about 3-4m under the boat the fish decided to take off.

Now you have to remember we were anchored and my 10lb braid was ripping off at an alarming rate.

Adam figured we should probably pull up the anchor at this stage but just as the mono backing was appearing, the fish stopped and changed direction, which allowed me to get more line back on the reel, then it took off in another direction tearing off a heap of line right down to the backing again. lt repeated this process a few times and then went deep and started doing big circles around the boat.

At this point I wished I was fishing with heavier gear and I had probably called it for every fish under the sun, from a trevally to a shark to a mackerel.

Eventually, after a cracking fight the fish came to the surface and revealed itself to be a Moreton Bay longtail tuna.

The fight wasn’t over yet as the old longtail made a dash for the an-

chor rope and got to it.

Luckily I had tied a double in my braid before my leader and it only rubbed one of the doubles through, so I still had a single 10lb strand of braid left.

I got it out of the anchor line and before long Adam had the fish by the tail and under control.

Believe it or not, that was my first-ever Moreton Bay longtail tuna on a lure, and to catch it on really light line and in southern Moreton Bay was great fun.

We got a few good pics and some video to record the moment then watched the fish swim away strongly.

So all in all, after be-

ing off the water for a fair while it’s good to get back out there and into a couple of nice fish.

As we all know with our jobs and lives, we are time poor, so if you can learn more to optimise your time on the water, then why not?

Remember, knowledge is the key.

Until next month, stay safe on the water.

If you’re interested in any off or on-water tuition classes or just want to do a charter, give me a call on 0432 386 307 or email at seanconlonsfish ing@hotmail.com You can also check out the Sean Conlon’s Fishing Charters and Tuition Facebook page.

Dave got this flathead while out on his practical day using a trolled Zerek Tango Shad.

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Simon with his personal-best 75cm flathead snagged on a Zerek Tango Shad and released quickly and unharmed.

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A typical jewie found feeding in a deep hole and taken by the author on a Berkley Gulp Crazy Legs.

Ashlee Levy landed this Pine River trevally while casting plastics for flathead.

Jewies and flathead frequent Brisbane region

J

ULY is a great month to be on the water in southeast Queensland.

Temperatures generally reach their lowest point in July and with this comes excellent fishing.

Flathead, bream, tailor, snapper, trevally, jewfish and threadfin salmon can all be regular catches this month.

All these species can be caught on lures in the rivers and creeks close to Brisbane.

The Pine and Caboolture rivers hold most of these species in good numbers.

Pumicestone Passage has a wide variety of species to target, with the inclusion of a few reef species including snapper and sweetlip.

Local Luring

by KEITH STRATFORD

For some reason, threadfin salmon don’t seem to frequent the passage in any numbers.

The odd fish gets caught, but it doesn’t compare to the numbers found in the rivers to the south.

The Brisbane River will be well worth a look this month, with jewies, snapper, flathead and threadfin salmon all on the menu.

A lot of the threadfin push upstream into the city reaches during winter, but enough fish are around the mouth to make it worth targeting them.

Jewfish numbers will be

high in the Brissie River during July.

Good schools can be found feeding along the wharves towards the river mouth.

These fish show up well on a quality sounder, especially models with a side-scan feature.

Scanning 30-50m out each side of the boat saves a lot of time when looking for these schools.

The fish can be there one minute and gone the next, so if it’s a big jewie you’re after, it might take a lot of sounding until you see one.

Plenty of small jewies

in the 60-80cm range are willing to eat a well-presented lure.

Any of the rock ledges and bridge pylons are worth a cast or jig.

My favourite plastic for fishing the river is the Berkley Gulp Crazy Legs in New Penny or Watermelon.

These plastics catch everything in the river, with jewies and threadfin being particularly fond of them.

They also work well on the same species and a stack of others in the smaller rivers around Brisbane.

Flathead As I mentioned last month, winter spells flathead time!

Good size fish started turning up at the start of

June and this month will see the action at its best.

Flatties are lots of fun to catch in winter.

They are very aggressive and can belt a lure, often making anglers think they have been hit by another species.

Large numbers of lizards can be found during winter and my favourite way to catch them is to cast and jig soft plastics.

Casting is the most popular technique for chasing flatties and I find it to be the most productive.

It allows the angler to cover a wide range of depths with the one lure.

Flathead are bottom feeders, so it’s important to keep the plastic close to the bottom for the best results. * continued P12

Ashlee with a typical winter lizard.

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The author landed this jack just before winter started.

Jewies and flathead frequent Brisbane region * from P11

Choosing the correct jig head for the depth of water you are targeting is very important.

Casting a heavily weighted plastic into 30cm of water won’t see you hook many fish and casting a lightly weighted plastic into a deep hole that doesn’t reach the bottom will also catch very few fish.

The two most common jig head weights I use for targeting flathead are 1/4oz and 3/8oz.

Occasionally I will go a bit lighter to 1/6oz or 1/8oz, but that is normally when I’m fishing over the top of weed beds or casting into cobbler’s pegs where I need to keep the plastic just above the bottom to avoid snagging and fouling.

The amount of current also needs to be taken into consideration when choosing a jig head.

Most shallow areas don’t receive as much current as the deeper water in the main channel, so the flats aren’t impacted as much.

When targeting the deeper channels and holes,

you are normally able to do so with a 3/8oz head, but occasionally it might need to be upgraded to a 1/2oz in strong currents.

Choosing a plastic to target flathead is a personal preference.

A lot of good brands and models are out there to choose from.

I like to carry a wide range of styles and colours when chasing flatties because they can have a favourite on any given day.

I like to make sure I have some fish-imitation plastics in a couple of sizes.

These are generally 3”4” in length and can go right up to 6” when targeting bigger fish.

I always make sure I have a couple of prawn imitations to choose from as well.

Another handy type of plastic when chasing flatties is a curl tail.

The curl tail is an excellent flathead catcher and it has a lot of action in the tail, even at low speeds.

Choosing a colour is always a good topic of conversation.

I like to carry a couple

of different bright colours and a handful of natural colours.

Keep mixing it up until you find what the fish are switched onto on the day.

Targeting flatties in the deeper holes is one of my favourite ways to get among them.

The by-catch can be excellent, with jewies and threadfin calling these areas home as well.

The odd mangrove jack and estuary cod will also turn up in these holes, particularly if a bit of rock or fallen timber is close by.

I like to find the holes that have bait present.

The bait needs to be close to the bottom to hold good numbers of flathead, so if a stack of bait is sitting high in the water column, it’s most likely just mullet and not too many flatties will be in the area.

Once I find the bait, I like to motor upstream of

where it ends and start drifting through it, keeping my lure directly under the boat.

Soft vibes and blades work well for this style of fishing.

A simple lift and drop technique will work, but I prefer a double flick before letting it sink back to the bottom.

Most of the time you will feel the fish eat the lure or notice a twitch in the line as it falls back to the bottom.

Make sure you strike hard if you notice anything unusual because big fish will sometimes bite very softly.

It can be a very productive way to get a few flatties in the boat and hopefully a jewie or another surprise will also turn up.

That’s it from me this month.

Get out and enjoy the great fishing on offer and I hope to see you on the water.

The Pine River has been full of small trevally like this one.

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Shaun McDonald jigged up this flathead in a deep hole.

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Tackling tailor in southeast Queensland

F

OR most Queensland and northern NSW beach anglers, winter is a favourite time of year, and I am no different.

Tailor are very high on the list of most Queensland beach anglers but not all anglers get the results they should.

Others are always on the lookout for new tips or tricks to outfish their mates, or simply to try a new rig, lure or technique for a bit of variation or to test their skills.

Find the right water The first place to start in terms of catching tailor is to find the right water.

For those who don’t mind jumping in a picket line of anglers catching fish, go for it.

If it means catching your first or the only tailor of a trip, why not?

But if you want to find your own gutter for the challenge and experience, then see below for a few tips.

Ideal tailor gutters – what to look for: • A gutter with an entry and exit point (north and south).

• Deep water close to shore as evidenced by darker water, a steeply shelving beach or a sand shelf visible at the high tide mark.

• A back sandbank within casting distance.

• Swell of 1-1.5m with a nice foam cover coming off the back bank.

• A high sand dune behind you for the ‘shadow effect’ on the water at dusk (bringing the fish on earlier).

If you are on foot, the best way to find this kind of gutter is to get up to an elevated position (like a headland or the top of a sand dune).

Some popular surfing locations also have surf cams where you can jump online and access a network of live streaming beach cameras.

If your beach allows four-wheel-drive access, you can do some trial and error by throwing a couple of casts from gut-

Fishing Tips

by SEAN THOMPSON

ter to gutter.

Choosing whether to stay or move to the next gutter can be tricky.

Sometimes in the hour or so before dusk we might ‘hit and run’ from gutter to gutter by having a few casts (five to 10 minutes) and then moving if no fish.

Another option when the fish are in thin numbers is to cut up older pilchards and berley the gutter to attract or keep the fish in the hole/gutter and feeding.

The bonus is you can also attract a flathead or two.

Be aware though, a mistake anglers can make is to return to the same gutter at the same time day after day, even as the tides change throughout the week.

On our longer trips (say 10 days), we often need to change gutters after a couple of days as the fish may not be there or the formations might have changed.

Often not enough water is in the gutters at low tide around the peak fishing times.

Cast and retrieve bait fishing Without a doubt, casting and slowly retrieving gang pilchard baits is a very productive method for catching tailor.

This simply involves casting towards the back bank of the gutter with a suitably sized sinker (depending on the swell, a 5 to 9 ball) and slowly retrieving your bait.

Tailor love a moving bait.

Sometimes the fish will be feeding in closer to shore, so in this case, throw your casts shorter to the area where you caught your last fish.

Be sure to turn your bail arm (or Alvey) quickly into place and take up the slack because the fish can hit as soon as your bait lands on the water.

A refinement I have made to my cast and retrieve rig is using gang hooks with swivels in between.

You can either make these rigs yourself or use Tru-Turn’s fantastic premade rigs.

Another trick is to run a soft bead between the sinker and bottom swivel to help prevent knot breakage from the pressure of the sinker on the knot, particularly after a few casts.

For night fishing, you can also add a fluorescent glow bead or tubing above the gang hooks and charge these up with

a headlamp (keeping the light off the water in the gutter while you do).

This is an added attractant for the fish.

Best baits are IQF (rather than block) pilchards, or for bigger fish at night, strips of bonito or whole gar.

Star sinker bait rig At times, strong sideways sweep mid-tide can play havoc with the cast and retrieve technique.

One way to deal with strong sweep is by using a star sinker on a paternoster rig to hold you out in the strike zone.

I like to run three droppers off it, each about 10cm long.

On these droppers I run a mix of a ganged pilchard as well as a small surf popper on a 2/0 or 3/0 hook and a

surf fly on a 3/0 hook.

What I like about these rigs is apart from your bait being held firmly in place in heavy swell, you get two more bites at the cherry if a fish hits your bait and you miss it.

Leave your rig there for a minute or two if it does, as often tailor will come back and hit the fly or popper straight after.

Occasionally, you can also catch two or three tailor at once on this setup.

Lure fishing for tailor Probably the biggest mistake I see inexperienced tailor anglers make is throwing lures into water that is too choppy to get the best action out of the lure and maximise the chances of the fish * continued P14

This gutter with deep water close to shore produced a number of tailor.

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Bigger tailor come into the gutters late at night, like this nice fish the author scored a few years ago.

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A nice feed of tailor ready for filleting on the Ice Box Bloke filleting table.

Having a group of mates and finding your own gutter and fish can be more enjoyable than joining picket lines of anglers.

Tackling tailor in southeast Queensland * from P13

When the tailor are on, sometimes they are really on! Two fish on the one Duel Adagio lure!

Steeply shelving sand is a giveaway of deeper water close to shore.

seeing the lure.

Choosing the best gutter or hole to throw lures requires even more specific conditions than bait fishing.

Best gutters for lure fishing for tailor: • For topwater lures like poppers – a back sandbank that throws a good cover of foam over relatively clean and flat (not choppy) water.

This allows the lures to skip over the water more consistently, making them easier for the fish to see.

• For casting or bibless lures – similar water to above, though you can have a little more in the way of swell that rises over deeper water and breaks closer to shore, provided it is not too heavy.

• Tailor will avoid heavy surf, so I don’t bother in these conditions and instead find protected water behind a headland.

Lure types Metal lures in the 40-

65g range are great for catching tailor in the surf.

These are best used with a spinning reel that can achieve a fast retrieve.

The ideal scenario is you want to be able to throw the lure onto the back sandbank and retrieve it back into the deeper water of the gutter at a medium-fast rate, throwing in the odd pause to let the lure sink or a change of speed and a few sideways rips of the rod to appear as if the baitfish is injured or acting erratically.

Best times are late afternoon and dawn, but keep an eye out for dark patches (tailor schools) on rear sandbanks during the day.

These banks can sometimes be reached at low tide with long casts.

When using metals, it is wise to replace the rear treble with a single hook.

Treble hooks can often tear from a tailor’s mouth then they jump or fight with wild head shakes.

Weighted bibless lures

Black size 12 swivel

Tru-Turn fine wire hook size 4 or 6

60 - 80cm 6lb fluoro

Soft green bead

Black size 12 swivel

Tru-Turn fine wire hook 4/0

60 - 80cm 6lb fluoro

Soft green bead

Black size 8 swivel

2 x 8/0 snooded octopus hooks

70 - 80cm 50lb fluoro

Try two on the rear or two on the rear and one on the nose for slower lift and drop actions.

Poppers are fantastic for visual action.

It is important you choose the right gutter with plenty of clean, green water covered by white water from regular wave action.

Poppers are best retrieved at a speed so the popper pushes water out the front of its cupped face without going so fast that it is skipping on top of the water.

In all types of lure design, when you hook a fish and it jumps or is close to shore, a trick is to drop the tip of the rod low and sideways to reduce the angle on the fish and its likelihood to jump under the pressure.

So there you go.

I hope these tailor tips help you get among them this winter/spring.

For more tips, jump on my Ontour Fishing Australia Facebook page.

See you on the beach!

Tackle box 2-4 ball sinker

Main line

25cm 6lb fluoro

2-4 ball sinker

Black size 12 swivel

Tailor/bonito fillet Green fluoro bead

such as the Kingfisher Onda or Duel Adagio have a few advantages over metal lures including the fact you work them at a slower ‘medium-paced’ swimming action making jewfish a possibility when targeting tailor.

Their sleek design means they have an outstanding casting distance and the fact they have three flat flashing sides means they bring fish in from all directions.

Interestingly, they also seem to attract larger fish from the school compared to those being caught by bait fishers.

A range of other useful lures on the market include metal jigs, big vibes and plugs like those from Kingfisher Australia.

Metal jigs are a good option because you can pause them to allow a natural flutter every now and then to imitate a wounded baitfish.

You can experiment with stinger hooks on these jigs.

30cm 50lb fluoro

Bait fishing: • 4000-6000 spinning reel or Alvey 600-650 (6” to 6.5”) • 12’-14’, 7-10kg fibreglass or composite rod • Big sinkers • 20lb mono, 30lb fluorocarbon trace Lure fishing: • 2500-4000 spinning reel • 10’-12’ graphite rod • 15lb braid • 20-30lb fluorocarbon leader

Sliding sinker clip Star sinker

Black size 8 swivel

Tailor/bonito fillet Green fluoro bead

2 x 8/0 snooded octopus hooks

Page 14 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Black size 8 swivel

80- 90cm 50lb fluoro

Some light and heavy surf rigs for tailor.

Gang hooks with swivels in between make rigging pilchards so much easier.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Go light to get the bite in clear winter water

B

Y the time this edition hits stands we will be in the middle of winter and the species active in the cold should be in full swing.

So far this winter we have had some cold windy days, and at the time of writing we’re enjoying glorious warm calm days.

I sure hope these continue because I’m not a fan of the cold.

Those calm sunny days

Luring Moreton Bay

by PETER HERBST

when it gets up to 25C are really hard to beat and make me almost like winter... almost.

Snapper Snapper have been the best target in Moreton Bay for me this winter, with good numbers and decent size fish.

No really big fish but plenty in the 50-60cm range, which are a heap of fun in the bay shallows.

I’ve found success fishing over rock bars in about 5m of water.

The fish mostly hold on the up-current side but do move around, so don’t get

The author with a mid-50cm snapper that took a new LiveTarget Fleeing Shrimp soft plastic.

fixated on just targeting one spot.

A quality side-scan sounder will show schools of snapper quite well, especially with a narrow range of 20-30m.

I scan around an area I like to fish under the power of my electric motor so I don’t spook the fish.

Once I locate the fish, I cast small paddle-tail plastics and prawn imitations.

As the water has cooled, it has become cleaner and the bite periods seem to have become shorter as the fish possibly become warier.

Dropping leader size can help but shallow water snapper can be tough to catch once the sun is higher in the sky.

Looking in the deeper areas of the bay during this time of day can be worthwhile.

I haven’t had much success on any decent-sized fish in the deep as yet but I’ll stick with it because cracking snapper can be on offer in the bay at this time of year.

Squid Squid have been about in fairly good numbers this year, both in the shallows and deeper water.

My preference is to sight cast them in the shallows around rocky areas.

Watching a squid chase and eat a jig is a tonne of fun and few things that live in the water taste better.

Squid are also a great bait option if chasing snapper.

Anglers have various ideas about the best jigs to use for squid in the shallows, in terms of size and colour.

In general I would recommend smaller jigs that are lighter, to help not snag the bottom, in a variety of natural and bright colours.

Once you have located the squid, they often pop up in large numbers so focus on that area and perhaps try a couple of different jig colours.

Rocky areas with current and some bait flick* continued P16

Kasey Herbst with a small squid that hit a pink 2.5 Yamashita jig on a shallow rocky bank.

This nice Moreton Bay snapper ate a 4” paddle tail Biwaa soft plastic over a 5m rock bar.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 15

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Zack’s land-based snapper was a total surprise.

Moreton Bay a magnificent fishing resource

W

ITH the colder days and nights we are seeing great numbers of flathead coming within reach of land-based fishos from Manly to the upper Pumicestone Passage region.

Boaties have also been

Northern Moreton Bay

by MARK TEMPLETON

cleaning up on goodsized flathead and I’ve heard reports of tagged fish being boated as well.

With tagged fish, it is

important to take the time to collect the details on the tag and send it through to the number on the tag.

Martin’s Alvey setup did the damage on these sizeable tailor.

A lot of people re-release these fish so they can continue providing useful data.

Of course, flathead also make great table fish.

We have been out chasing flathead on the flats in the guise of R&D and we’ve seen a significant number of lays at low tide.

In about 100m of foreshore we counted at least 70 lays in various sizes.

Ganged blue bait, whitebaits and hardyheads are a must for bait fishos.

Z-Man Curly TailZ, 120mm Squidgy Bloodworm Wrigglers and Tiemco Creepy Shrimp plastics have been doing a lot of damage.

I have found the Creepy Shrimp also produces good numbers of bream and estuary

cod as a bonus.

If you want recommendations on a hard-body, the Daiwa Double Clutch would be a leader, followed by the faithful TT Blade range in about 1/8oz.

Dave was throwing the Tackle Land-designed Atomic ‘Yo Mumma’ for flathead and came up with a nice bream as bycatch.

Young Phoenix has been getting into the action with dad Duane, catching the fish of the night in the form of a nice 43cm flathead on a piece of pillie.

The smile on Phoenix’s face tells how proud she was.

Well done, Phoenix!

The best thing about flathead fishing is people of all ages can get out * continued P17

Go light to get the bite in clear winter water * from P15

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ing on the surface are worth a look.

Bream The best winter bream runs often coincide with a good autumn flush of rain, which didn’t happen this year and as a result it has been a slow start.

Plenty of time is left for a good season of winter bream, with Jumpinpin and the Broadwater great areas to try.

Targeting different structures like channel markers, rock bars and mud clump ledges

with either lures or baits can be very successful, but importantly, both approaches should be fished with light lines and weights.

Light fluorocarbon straight-through lines or leaders with as light a weight as possible will see a lot more bites and fish landed than if using heavier monofilament lines.

When I say light, I mean as light as you’re comfortable with, but I recommend 2lb through to a maximum of 6lb.

With the school holidays approaching, chasing bream with the kids is a very productive option.

Small to moderatesized tides will make it easier, with the big tides best fished in lowcurrent areas or on the change of tide.

When lure fishing, I prefer to drift, but when bait fishing with the kids, anchoring is easier.

Prawns, worms and yabbies are all good baits fished on baitholder hooks or long shanks.

Prawn-imitation plastics have worked well on the snapper so far this season.

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Page 16 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Moreton Bay a magnificent fishing resource * from P16

there and soak a line or flick a lure in a few feet of water and come home with a feed.

They are reasonably easy to catch and certainly fill a hole at the dinner table!

Winter whiting have

Jono Hall nailed a mighty cod.

shown up, with great numbers taken from around the Caboolture River mouth, Pumicestone Passage, Skirmish Point and the Sandhills.

Quite a few other areas are firing, with good numbers and sizes recorded around the place.

Live bloodworms, preserved beach worms, stripped squid and peeled prawns are the baits of choice.

Don’t forget to add a piece of pink or red tubing for better results.

Even when chasing flathead and tailor, we were picking up legal summer whiting at night while using small blue baits on a small gang.

Not what we expected, but still a feed!

The weather has been nothing but perfect, which has allowed the offshore fishos to get out there, clear the cobwebs from their boats and relive getting their arms stretched.

Young Luke spent a bit of time with his dad Tony out in the Moreton Bay area and nailed an absolute cracker jewfish that gave as good as it got.

Well done, Luke and we look forward to more great fish from you.

Jono Hall spent a day on Moreton Bay with Joe and decided to check out new grounds.

Before long he was

hauling a cracker cod on board.

They nailed a few other fish but this was the fish of the day.

Well done Jono, and enjoy a few great feeds from that whopper!

If you are chasing a feed of tailor this season, they can be found in most of the popular haunts, from the Bribie Island surf beach through to the bottom end of South Stradbroke Island.

Large tailor have been reported around the Redcliffe, Woody Point, Sandgate and Brisbane River regions.

Moreton and Stradbroke islands are not being shy when it comes to producing quality fish in numbers for those putting in the hard yards.

Martin has scored well this season, landing tailor anyone would be proud to throw in the Esky.

Martin really puts his Alvey to the test every season and as you can see, he is not let down!

Now we have showed you a couple of stonker cobia caught by Christopher from the Shorncliffe Pier over recent months, and it just keeps getting better.

Zackery Woodward recently threw out a live herring from the pier and the last thing he expected to take home was

an 85cm Moreton Bay snapper!

This was a PB landbased snapper for Zack and he certainly is proud of it.

It goes to show you never know what is under your feet or boat when you drop a line in.

I believe this beast was responsible for the loss of countless rigs, baits and much venting before anglers would re-rig and try again.

We have an unbelievable resource in Moreton Bay and there are many more stories to be written, so get out there and start your own chapter!

Phoenix was chuffed to land this flathead.

Martin held a stonker tailor.

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Presentation particularly important when fishing

H

I everyone, we are finally starting to see some periods of decent weather here.

Calm seas and not much wind, but it can be a bit cool in the early mornings.

Ever wondered why you have mates who always seem to outfish you?

I always hear stories about how lucky some guys are with fishing but I’m sure there’s more going on.

It’s likely your mates are doing a better job with their bait and lure presentation.

This can make a major difference to your catch rate regardless of the species you are chasing.

Whether it’s float lining for snapper or fishing for whiting, how you present your bait is extremely important.

Always make sure the hooks are hidden in the bait with just the barb showing.

Nothing is worse than having bait in the water that’s not rigged properly and spins in the current.

You always want your baited hook to look like ‘food’ not bait.

Always match your hook size to the species you are chasing and the bait you are using.

Small short-shank hooks are best for whiting, and for worms, I prefer small size 4 baitholder hooks.

The barbs on the shaft of the hook help keep the worm covering the whole hook, making a much more attractive bait.

If you’re using prawns for your bream fishing, always peel them.

Bream will take the bait more aggressively, which means a better hook-up rate.

For bigger fish like snapper and jew, snooded hooks and ganged hooks with swivels in between each hook are best.

This allows baits like pillies and flesh to be rigged nice and straight.

I prefer 4/0 or 5/0 Mustad 7766 hooks for my gangs and always place the top hook through the top of the pillie’s head, not

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Broadwater Region

by WAYNE ‘YOUNGY’ YOUNG

through its eyes like most fishos do.

They’re great in the surf for tailor as well.

If you’re fishing in areas with a lot of sweep or current, cutting the tail off the pillie will prevent it spinning.

Now that we have our bait set up right, we had better catch some fish.

Last month saw some big jewies caught both in the Seaway and offshore.

This will continue into next month.

Offshore the jew tend to be more of a by-catch but in the Seaway you really have to target them.

This means spending time getting live bait, perhaps by trolling with small lures for pike on the weed beds in the Broadwater, or heading out to the close reefs and using bait jigs for yakkas.

The sand bypass pipe under the Seaway is the most popular location to fish.

Anchoring here can be difficult and having a Minn Kota i-Pilot with spot lock is a big advantage.

Anchoring so you can drift your baits back to the pipeline is essential to finding the fish.

The pipeline is easily found as large signs mark both sides of the Seaway.

The pipeline attracts the fish to the area, but it also makes it difficult to get hooked fish to the boat.

No light gear here – the fish need to be turned away from the pipe as quickly as possible.

An hour either side of the tide change is always the best.

While the lead-up to both full and new moons are popular times to fish, the bigger tides during these times can make fishing more difficult, with the smaller tides in between moons easier for first-timers.

Offshore this month should be snapper heaven and I can’t wait.

Nothing is better than slowly dropping a bait down through a berley trail and having the line strip through your fingers as a big knobby snapper grabs it.

Even better, these fish for the next couple of months will be on reefs as shallow as 30m.

Big flesh baits are worth trying if they aren’t biting on pillies.

We are having a great time this winter fishing for whiting in the middle reaches of the Nerang River, landing good-quality fish in great condition and over 30cm in length.

The best area is between Bundall Rd Bridge up to Cypress Gardens, with the fishing good on both run-in and run-out tides.

One thing that has been noticeable while fishing for whiting is the bigger flathead have started

moving downstream towards the Broadwater.

They have even been taking our worm baits.

This is a good sign for the coming weeks as flathead fishers start their preparations for the biggest flathead competition of the year, the Flathead Classic.

This is a great comp but don’t get the impression it’s an easy one.

Three days of hard fishing is required to do well and for a lot of fishos it is more of a social occasion.

Early season tailor fishing has been very disappointing but in the past week some good bait schools have moved into the Broadwater and a few tailor with them.

Here, a morning high tide between 8am and 9am is the best time for chasing tailor.

Finding tailor can be difficult in the Broadwater as they can turn up anywhere between Sundale Bridge

and the southern mouth of the Coomera River.

Keeping one eye on the sky looking for birds diving into bait schools and the other eye on your sounder is the best way of locating them.

Trolling 20g metal lures or 8cm to 10cm hardbodied lures is best, with white being the top colour.

This matches the white pillies in the Broadwater at the moment.

A few trevally are around chasing the bait, and so many species of trevally are around you never know what you will catch – but they all pull hard.

‘Til next month, have fun and fish for the future.

Gary got a pleasant surprise with this diamond trevally from the Broadwater.

Gerry with a good jew from the Seaway caught on a live pike.

The author and a jewfish hooked while float lining for snapper.

Pete held a quality whiting in winter from the Nerang.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The fish magnet Willo landed a healthy slab of jewfish.

Snapper, spaniards, spotties and squid

W

ARM days and cool nights are what the great southeast calls winter and that is exactly what we have at the moment.

Out on the water, you could be forgiven for thinking we are in late spring, with the sea surface temperature sitting at 23C or more in some cases.

The eastern current has backed off and is allowing anglers to head to the wider grounds chasing snapper and pearlies while also being in contention for pelagic fish such as marlin, mahi mahi and mackerel.

Massive schools of frogmouth pilchards are moving along the coast as well as big schools of slimy mackerel.

While the bait is hanging around the Gold Coast, the pelagic fish will too.

Doggy mackerel and some spotties are still being caught on the wider grounds in 30m of water and on the local reefs,

Gold Coast

by HEATH ZYGNERSKI

large spaniards are still lurking, but they are few and far between.

The spearfishers have been doing OK on the spaniards, picking them off as they come by in dribs and drabs.

The fish on everyone’s mind is snapper, and a few decent ones have been caught.

Nothing consistent yet, with the odd fish here and there despite good shows on the sounder.

Lately we’ve had a lot of wind against current making it hard to line fish at anchor because you inevitably end up fishing down your own anchor rope, which is not ideal.

Drifting is a much better option in this case and the use of a parachute will slow your

A couple of pinkies that were boated when the author was lucky enough to get past the barracuda.

Mitch caught this nice knob on a Chasebaits Ultimate Squid.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

drift enough to allow your baits and soft plastics to get to the bottom.

But there is one thing I haven’t seen before.

Huge schools of rat barracuda have taken up residence on some of the local reefs, making it impossible to keep a livie down or float a bait before getting snipped off just as your bait heads out of sight.

Any use of berley just seems to make them worse, and moving doesn’t seem to help either.

I suspect this has to do with unseasonably warm water and the abundance of bait.

Some jew have been around for those lucky enough to dodge the dreaded cuda, with really nice fish taken on livies.

When getting livies, keep an eye out for squid, as really good schools have been hanging out on the shallow bait reefs.

I stole several off my young bloke who was hoarding them after a trip out for bait.

However, I reckon they are better in the pan.

The local bars have been pretty good of late due to the small swell.

Tweed River Bar still has a back bank that can catch the swell, and inside the walls remains shallow at about 3m.

Currumbin Creek Bar is very messy.

Even getting to the bar is a mission, with a massive sand spit building up inside the creek before you get to the walls, and if you manage to pull your boat over it, when you get to the bar itself, it is almost like a small island to the south towards Flat Rock and massive sand bar to the north with a blind gutter in close.

Crossing is best done on a half tide or better and if you plan on coming in on dead low, forget it.

Tallebudgera Creek Bar is also ordinary, with a gutter along the wall on the southern side, but once you get to the bar it is just straight up sand where the swell breaks.

You need plenty of water to get in and out.

The Seaway is the pick of the bunch, but as usual keep watch to the north to ensure you don’t head across the shallow sand bar.

‘Til next month, stinky fingers to you all.

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Mulloway like this one caught by Des are one of the variety of species available this month.

Taking five with keen fisho Chaz Mostert

W

ITH the Superca rs Century Batteries Ipswich SuperSprint running from July 26-28 at Queensland Raceway, we took five minutes to quiz Gold Coast local, passionate fisho and Supercars Mustang driver Chaz Mostert on a few things fishing.

BNB: How long have you been interested in fishing?

Chaz: Since I was a little kid.

Where did you do most of your fishing growing up?

From a jetty near my house.

What’s your favourite species to target?

Bream on bread out the back.

Bait or lures, which do you prefer?

Bread.

Do you have anyone who is a fishing

inspiration?

Rex Hunt, of course!

A Sunday arvo in summer; would you rather be lapping a racetrack or lapping up the waves with a fishing line in the water?

Lines and waves all the way.

Do you have a boat? If so, what is it and why did you choose it?

No, no boat. Still a struggling race car driver!

Any bucket list fishing destinations/ trips you’d love to see and do?

Bradh's Smited Guiding Fishs Tour

Darwin barra fishing.

Most memorable fishing moment to date?

Catching many bream from the backyard.

Any other info you’d like to add?

When I get a free minute, I love nothing more than to fish.

Thanks, Chaz, good luck at QR! For more information on the upcoming race weekend and to see how Chaz is faring in the championship, visit supercars.com Tickets to races are available at Ticketek.

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This tailor was caught on a Bassday Sugapen surface lure, which is perfect to cast into surface activity.

Targeting tailor in midwinter

G winter.

’DAY everyone, here we are in the middle of

Fortune favours the brave, and those anglers who are prepared for chilly morning and late afternoon and night sessions will do well because July has plenty to offer.

From June to August a huge biomass of fish moves along our coastline from south to north.

It starts with huge schools of baitfish in the form of pilchards as well as massive schools of sea mullet.

Also part of the migration are schools of bream, tailor and mulloway, which of course are great target species for anglers.

The three big waterways in our local area, the Tweed River, the Seaway and Jumpinpin, are the places to focus as the bream enter the mouths of these systems to spawn.

The spawning activity for bream always occurs just inside the entrances and not too far upstream, on the week leading up to the full moon, and to a lesser degree the week leading up to the new moon.

These big plump bream are ravenous during this period and aggressively territorial, which means they will hammer lures and baits with glee.

The best baits for bream are yabbies, whitebait and fresh cut mullet.

Lure fishers like myself can’t go past using small, well-weighted soft plastics and metal blades hopped across the bottom.

Catching these fish in the deep, hard-running entrances on lures and very light spin outfits is addictive and provides good sport.

Here’s a tip: over many years of guiding, I have noticed that bream seem to spike in their feeding pattern on the first two hours of the run-in tide.

If you decide to keep a feed, please respect the bream size and bag limits because this spawning period provides future

Gold Coast Guide

by BRAD SMITH

Tailor are often easily found as they give away their location with surface activity by busting up schools of baitfish on or just below the surface. fish for our rivers.

Tailor will also be found in huge schools in the same areas as bream and on the same moon phases because they too are in spawning mode.

Tailor are often easily found as they give away their location with surface activity by busting up schools of baitfish on or just below the surface.

We keep our eyes in the sky looking for birds bombing baitfish and picking up scraps left by the tailor’s carnage.

It pays to be very alert for any bird activity around the tide changes and be prepared to race towards an area and get straight into action because sometimes the feeding activity can van-

ish as quickly as it starts.

Trolling small hardbodied lures around the surface activity works well, as does casting small metal spinners with a reasonably fast retrieve.

This type of activity also offers anglers with fly rods a chance to get among the action.

When trolling, go around the edges of the surface activity because your boat and motor can spook the fish and break up the feeding pattern.

I like to use small, slender-bodied minnows up to 100mm long because these lures match the small pilchards the tailor are feeding on.

I use cheap bargain bin lures that I collect through the year because

tailor are not fussy when feeding and their razorsharp teeth can result in bite-offs, which gets costly when using expensive lures.

The bait and fish activity present this month draws the attention of one of our apex species – the mighty mulloway, or jewfish as they are more commonly known.

Jewies can be caught during the night or day and without a doubt favour the slack water periods that occur during the tide changes, which means your preparation must be good to take advantage of these narrow windows.

Live baiting with herring and poddy mullet is very effective and these baits are easily accessible with bait jigs and cast nets.

Lures take less preparation than live bait and are highly effective for targeting jewfish.

Standard 5”-7” soft plastics with the correct jig head weight that ensures they reach the bottom are the go for most anglers.

Over the past few years 50-100mm soft vibes have become very popular with jew anglers and deservedly so, as they have accounted for a lot of fish.

Rug up and hit the water this month because it offers great action and variety.

Quality bream like this should be in good numbers leading up to the full and new moons this month.

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Finding game fish and using modern technology

F

IRST, we know a lot of things about the movements of marlin.

Black marlin spawn along the Great Barrier Reef in northern Queensland from September to early December each year.

Thus, an aggregation of the large females and small males occurs.

This is an obvious place to fish for big numbers and giant fish.

The GBR now produces more ‘grander’ blacks (over 1000lb) than any other location in the world.

Their ideal water temperature range is regarded to be 20-28C Blue marlin spawn off Hawaii, making it a good fishing location.

Having said that, most of the fish present are small males not often larger than 110kg, interspersed with bigger females that can be over 450kg.

However, the latter are not plentiful.

Even in Kona, Hawaii with its large charter fleet only up to three will be caught in a year.

To put this in perspective, the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament has a 50-year history and there has only been one grander recorded; Gil Kraemer on Uhi Nui in 1986, 476kg (1049lb) on 24kg line.

Possibly some have been lost because the line classes are 24/37kg.

Black marlin is regarded as a land-associated species.

They are generally found close to land and in relatively shallow water outside reef drop-offs and on shallow banks or reefs.

Obviously they do transit the deep oceans while moving from one place to another in their migratory patterns.

Little blacks or juvenile blacks are also land associated but are primarily bait associated.

They’re eating machines that grow rapidly so will invariably be found near bait (slimy mackerel, yakkas and pilchards) and usually this is in less than 100m of water.

An adage obviously applies here: get big quick or get eaten.

They do not seem particularly concerned about water quality.

I have caught them in pea soup if that’s where the bait is.

Blue marlin is a true oceanic species.

They’re rarely found in less than 150m of water and more often outside the edge of the continental shelf at 200m and deeper.

They travel in the world’s oceanic currents, which are like superhighways with warm and highquality water.

Blues will only be found in high-quality water.

They seem to be quite intolerant of green and murky water.

Most people regard temperature as an important issue in finding blues.

It is, but it’s relative.

For example, I lived and fished on Bougainville Island for three years.

It’s five degrees south of the equator, so it’s very hot.

Game Fishing

by BARRY ALTY

At the beach the water temp is 29C year-round.

About 8km offshore is the 100-fathom line and 11km offshore is the main reef.

Then 500m outside the main reef the water depth is 1km.

The only thing you find in either location is sailfish.

Where are the blues?

About 32km outside the main reef the water depth is 3km and the temperature ranges from 31C to 34C. That’s where the blues are and absolute wall-towall schools of yellowfin tuna.

Thus when fishing for blues, look for oceanic currents and eddies that are spinning off those currents.

FADs also attract blues and many are deployed off Kona, Hawaii.

The Perth Gamefish Club also deploys several each summer near the Rottnest Trench.

FADs attract dolphinfish and all sorts of small baitfish in a relatively short period.

I’ve never caught a blue right on top of a FAD but have caught plenty within 500m to 1km of one.

Striped marlin is a shallow water fish.

Obviously they transit across open oceans to get there.

They are found relatively close to shore and on banks that rise from the depths such as the Kings Bank in New Zealand and the Wanganella Banks in mid-ocean.

The temperature range is 18-23C, an interesting fact in itself.

Striped marlin are in plague proportions in Port Stephens in February and March each year.

One assumes that to get there they would have to travel from the Central Pacific via the Gold Coast, but they are a rare catch in summer.

Are they travelling wide in the east Australian current?

Unlikely, because the water temps would be too high for them.

Or are they travelling at depth in the cooler water?

Who knows?

Stripes are not particularly concerned about water quality.

They are frequently caught in cold ‘green’ water Another interesting observation comes to mind when talking about stripes.

We fished from Perth in my custom charter boat Gold Strike from 1993 until 2000.

While there we caught the first stripe that had been landed off Rottnest Island in 18 years.

In 1998 stripes off Rottnest were in plague proportions.

Four to five would come up into the spread at once!

In the meantime, I was doing quite a bit of fishing in the bay of New Zealand.

About 50 percent of the

fish caught were blues and we wondered where the stripes were.

There is a hell of a difference between the east coast of NZ and the west coast of Australia.

It seems these fish had no imperative to be at a particular geographic location outside their spawning period.

They just followed currents and bait.

The biggest fish of a species can travel to the extremes of their temperature range because their body weight can tolerate the changes.

Even though more blues are caught in southeast Queensland than anywhere else in Australia, the biggest was caught in Batemans Bay and for many years the record was held in Perth where temperatures are marginal for blues.

In fact, some years none are caught because the warm Leeuwin current bringing blues down from the north doesn’t make it as far as Perth.

Similarly, atlantic bluefin tuna caught off Gloucester, Massachusetts seem to average about 135kg, while big ones at 315kg and granders are rare.

In Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, which is the extreme northern end of their range, few if none under 225kg and lots over 455kg are encountered.

They go there because the area provides school herring, which is highvalue food full of oil and blood.

In the Bahamas, if 70 boats fished four days for a total of 280 boat days, they might get one blue up to 225kg.

Yet in Bermuda at the absolute end of the Gulf Stream, some 1500km north, 225kg fish are common, with plenty caught.

Skipper Alan Card has weighed six over 455kg.

Why are big blues there?

Well once again it’s the quality of the bait.

Running parallel to the island of Bermuda are the Challenger and Argus Banks.

They’re teeming with bait (tuna, rainbow runner and wahoo).

It’s so thick I jokingly say you could get out of the boat and walk on it.

We also need to think about the tools available to help us find fish.

Depth sounders These days most sounders will mark baitfish and the marlin feeding on the bait school.

Sounders have lots of features and you need to learn to tune the settings correctly to get a good reading.

A marlin on the sounder screen should show up as a red inverted banana shape.

Chartplotters These have obvious uses in marking reefs and locations where you have caught fish.

Some of the top-end models chart your track in different colours according to either depth or water temperature.

Both features are useful.

Charting temps allows you to delineate temperature breaks and define the limits of hot patches of water.

Radar Most mid to top-of-therange radars will mark birds at considerable distances depending on model and power.

Flocks of birds will appear on the screen as a smudge.

I think most anglers would recognise it for what it is when they see it.

Satellite sea surface technology Infrared tech is used to map water surface temperatures in various colours, with the red end of the colour spectrum indicating the warmest water and blue the coldest.

A SST service costs from $200 per year upwards.

Image: researchgate.net

Most services also record chlorophyll, current directions, water colour and salinity.

We always check a SST report before we leave the dock.

It gives us a guide to where fish might be.

We are looking for temperature breaks and areas of hot water, particularly eddies that have spun off the east Australian current.

The current is usually at least 80km offshore but fish-rich eddies often spin off and come within our fishing range of up to 50km offshore.

We sportfishers don’t need to go to the levels of longliners.

When my son, captain Brett, was chief engineer on the 138 longliner Santa Rocco, the SST service they were using cost $1000 per month.

An interesting piece of trivia is it was the American military who developed SST and used it to track Russian submarines, which did not have good cooling systems and left a trail of hot water and thus red on the SST behind them.

When the Russians worked out how they were being tracked, they improved the cooling systems, making SST tracking redundant for military use.

They then gave it to the public.

It was the same with GPS. Developed by the military, given to us in the early 1990s but with satellite clock time fudged so we were getting plus/ minus 100m accuracy.

This fudging has gradually been reduced to, I think, next to nothing, because we now get accuracy of plus/minus 1m.

I wonder what they have now that is better than GPS? I also believe they have underwater motion-sensing capability.

Wouldn’t that be a boon to us anglers?

Stay tuned for part two of finding fish next month.

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The gemfish, a second-rate eating fish (by author’s opinion).

A small bar cod. First-rate eating fish (by popular opinion).

Good variety on offer offshore

A

S I write, spotted and spanish mackerel are still being caught south of us.

The water here is 22Cplus but the spotted and spanish variety of mackerel will not venture near.

I said last month I wouldn’t give up on the mackerel and I haven’t.

My persistence has paid off in the form of a good number of doggy (school) mackerel being caught most days.

While not as glamorous as their bigger cousins, doggy mackerel have been quite abundant and fight and taste great.

Hopefully they hang around for another month yet.

To catch them, employ the same techniques as you would for spotties.

Bait wise, always have a live bait out because when they are in the mood they will tackle big livies.

Pilchards are the best

Tweed to Byron Bay

by GAVIN DOBSON

baits most days, with whole and half pilchards under corks working well.

Some days they can be ultra-fussy, especially when the sun gets up, so light line is necessary.

I downsize from what I use for spotties, with 12lb main line and 18lb wire leading to a half pillie.

No wire with whole pillies is the go and I use four 2/0 hooks in a pilchard instead of the usual three 4/0s.

It sounds like a bit of bother but you can rack up quite a few fish in a morning with a bit of finesse.

On 12lb line the little buggers put up a decent fight too.

Always spin with a small metal slug if things are a bit slow.

With the absence of bigger mackerel, these little doggies have added a bit of interest to an otherwise dull season in these parts.

They have been averaging 2kg each, with the biggest I’ve caught so far a petite 3.5kg, but at least they have been making up for it with numbers.

It’s hard to know what to do sometimes at the end of mackerel season, so the other day I headed out with a number of options covered.

I started on the local reef and caught a few doggies.

By about 9am the wind started dropping out, so I headed out to Windarra Banks and caught a few trag jew, but no kingies or amberjack wanted my livies.

Heading wider again, I stopped on the 32-fathom line and had nine goodsized parrotfish in the boat in no time.

Moving even wider, I stopped on the 45s for no result so headed to the 50s for strings of undersized squire.

This was a bit disappointing and I didn’t stay long because they don’t release well from this depth and hurting more seemed an unnecessary waste.

I tracked wider and found a good show in 74 fathoms.

A solid bite turned out to be a large pigfish.

Despite the good show, I couldn’t get another bite and this continued for a while.

The 90-fathom rock was dead except for one kingfish and a squire.

Searching around for a while, I found a show of fish on the outside edge

of the 90-fathom rock and pulled up a few squire, nannygai, a small bar cod and a gemfish.

NSW Fisheries considers gemfish to be a true deepwater species but I got this one in only 92 fathoms.

Mind you, it wouldn’t worry me if I didn’t catch it because I don’t rate them in the eating department.

Just on dark, a northwesterly wind came up so I had a slower trip home but was happy and contemplated how lucky we are with variety.

I started in six fathoms of water catching mackerel and ‘mark hopped’ my way out to 92 fathoms pulling fish off nearly every spot.

At the end of the day I didn’t have a huge catch but it was diverse and tasty (except for the kingfish and gemfish) and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. * continued P24

The deep water has some colourful fish. This is a long-finned bullseye.

A doggy mackerel from the Brunswick Heads shallow reef.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 23

When is winter coming? n Snapper in close n Continental shelf n Mixed bag in the river

H

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

Glenn Macintosh with a solid estuary perch.

Zac caught a winter bream in the Richmond River.

Well isn’t the year just flying by.

I hate to say it, but the older I get, the quicker it goes and I’m sure plenty of you feel the same way.

The only thing that isn’t flying by is winter.

It really doesn’t want to show up this year.

Now don’t get me wrong, we have had a few what I would consider cold days, but overall this winter has been fairly mild.

I guess this can certainly change, and it could change quickly over the next month, but the water temperature offshore is still hovering above 22C and the days on the Northern Rivers are absolutely spectacular.

Even though the water temperature is quite high for this time of year, good numbers of snapper have been taken on the close reefs.

So close in fact, that after the last lot of extremely rough weather, we had a number of snapper taken on the beaches and a couple from the breakwalls.

The close reefs should continue to produce good-quality snapper for the next few months, but with the late and mild start to winter, I am betting we won’t see any of the extra-large models until August or September.

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Given the really clear water, I would definitely be sticking with more natural colours.

The run-in tide has been the best bet for bream, but flathead have been a little more active on the runout tide.

The better numbers of flathead have been found from Pimlico Island up to Rileys Hill.

Cooler weather has meant the flathead have been a bit of a struggle on some days, but if you can fish the run-out tide and concentrate on the shallow sand flats, you should be able to find fish.

Lightly weighted soft plastics and shallowrunning hard-body lures such as the Daiwa Double Clutch have been great options.

Once again, with the super-clear water I would stick with more natural colours including Ghost Perch, Brown Suji Prawn, Ghost Ayu and Ghost Gudgeon.

Winter is always a great time to target mulloway on the beaches, rock platforms and in the river.

The top of the tide in the lower reaches of the river is always the prime time to target these silver ghosts, but the bottom of the tide can also be productive.

The high tides at night will usually fall on the new and full moons every

Ballina Bait & Tackle

by BRETT HYDE

The best advice I can give for fishing these shallow reefs is to fish as light as you possibly can.

The current has dropped and the wind is usually slight in winter, so keep it light and get the bites.

Floating live baits, pilchards and strips of mullet are always great options, as are 4” and 5” plastics rigged on 1/6-3/8oz jig heads.

Out wider between the 32 and 48-fathom lines, good numbers of snapper can be found both north and south, but the quality has been down.

Hopefully we see this improve over the next month, but until then plenty of flathead, pearl perch and tusk fish are keeping most anglers busy.

A mix of baits, soft plastics and slow-pitch jigs have worked, but the brighter colours such as Nuclear Chicken, Pink Shine, Blue Pepper Neon and Lime Tiger have been more productive.

Slow-pitch jigging is becoming a really popular way to target these species, so try a jig in the 80150g range depending on line class, depth of water, and wind and current on the day.

This is the time many anglers eagerly await every year.

This is when the current on the continental shelf really slows and makes fishing the 150-400m range a lot easier and more enjoyable.

Though the weather this winter has not been terribly kind so far, conditions now are generally more stable and milder, which makes the long trek out to the shelf much safer and more comfortable.

The current has already slowed in this super-deep water and a number of good-quality bar cod and blue-eye trevalla have already been taken.

Baits such as mullet, squid and bonito are all good options in this deep water, and it is also a good idea to run some sort of glow stick or light to help attract the deepwater predators.

Back in the Richmond River it has been a real mixed bag, with good numbers of quality bream in the lower reaches.

Curl tail soft plastics and prawn imitations are a great option during winter on the bream, and this winter has been no exception.

month, so aim to try your luck a couple of days either side of these moon phases.

Live baits are usually the best bet in the river, but the fish will also respond to lures.

At the time of writing, a few quality fish have been taken behind the CBD and on the walls.

I suspect things are going to improve over the next month and we should see the numbers of these elusive fish improve.

Winter also signals the start of the tailor run on the beaches.

The tailor showed up about a month ago but have been a little hit and miss over recent weeks.

Some likely looking gutters can be found on most beaches, and these have been stable.

The usual baits such as pilchards, garfish, mullet and bonito have all been better options late afternoon and into the night.

Some better numbers of fish have been taken during the early mornings using metal spinners and surface walkers, especially from the rocks.

I’m looking forward to a few cold nights on the beaches this winter, so hopefully I’ll see you out there.

Well that’s all from me this month.

‘Til next time, tight lines!

Good variety on offer offshore * from P23

I had one near disaster during the day.

This article deadline was looming and I didn’t have any photos.

With no one to go fishing with me, I was resigned to the task of taking selfies through the day.

Not the “wandering around not watching where you are going with the latest iPhone held at arm’s length” sort of selfie, but one using the self-timer function and the camera sitting on the dash of the boat.

This worked with varying degrees of success throughout the day but when the northwesterly came through the camera rocked itself off the dash and landed with a thud while trying to photograph the gemfish.

I thought it would have busted for sure but everything seemed OK until I tried to focus it.

I was a bit ticked off because it wouldn’t focus and I thought I had wrecked a near-new camera.

Fortunately, when I got home I had a look and no-

ticed the fall had bumped the little switch on the side of the lens from automatic focus to manual focus.

Camera’s still working for the time being.

It’s good we’ve had a few tailor show up on the beach.

Down south has been a bit better but the north wall of the Brunswick River has fished OK and good fish have been caught around New Brighton.

Mullet season really kicked off, albeit late, after some big westerlies recently.

The mullet hung around the river mouths for a bit and then went straight to sea for the most part and didn’t head up the beaches.

There’s still more to come though, so we’ll see what they do.

Bream are beginning to increase in number and size and considering their late start they might just be hitting their straps by the time you read.

I reckon the fishing will be good this month.

Some cracking winter days will top it off.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 25

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The north coast of NSW has had bugger-all rain, and the rivers are very salty all the way to Lismore.

You can catch bream and flathead mixed in with the bass but remember bass must go straight back in as it’s closed season for both them and estuary perch.

It’s funny how right up into Lismore, the guys are hunting black-tip sharks, and you can get some very big sharks behind the Italo Australian club.

I don’t know why dog owners let their pets swim there.

A dog would make a tasty meal for a bull shark.

I’ve just got back from a day in Brunswick Heads.

Gee it’s a lovely spot and the fish and chips aren’t too bad either.

We seem to go there a bit as nothing’s better than a drive around to visit nice spots and have lunch or even just a cup of coffee.

I’ve driven to Kyogle

Evans Head

by GARY ‘SQUIDGIE’ PALMER

just for a coffee and to have a look at the rivers to see how they are faring.

I go to mates’ places just to have a chat about the fishing and the river and find out how it’s all going.

I’ll wander down to Cawongla and see how the water is flowing and even head up to some of the waterfalls.

You can see the bass playing at the bottom of some falls, but I never fish these spots; I wait for the fish to venture downstream.

I lost a mate not long back.

He took me under his wing and showed me the art of bass fishing north coast style and I’ll never be able to thank him enough for that.

Reggie, you weren’t everyone’s cup of tea but you were a mate to me and I’ll miss you.

Bream fishing is an art unto itself, just ask the comp boys who fish for them.

One day the bream will be all over your baits and

lures, the next day it’s hell on wheels and they hate you and by the end of the day you bloody hate them too.

I like a baked bream.

They need to be over 30cm to get one or two meals out of them, but if you catch them after they’ve been feeding on prawns for a while they’re lip-smacking tasty.

My computer blew itself up and I now have a new one and boy I hate trying to learn new programs; it’s like pulling teeth.

Writing this article has taken me all day and my head is all over the place.

If you’re reading this, you’ll know I mastered it.

It’s a bit like fishing in that way, you learn something every day.

Not being the healthiest bloke on the planet, I’ve had to do the ring around to find out what is happening in the Richmond River area.

Things aren’t too bad if you’re fishing for jew as a few big ones have been caught on the beach.

The mullet are out in droves.

The netters in Ballina have been getting some good fish and the jew are chasing them as well.

Alive or dead will work, you just need to pick the gutter that will have a few jew and tailor in it.

Yes, I did say tailor.

They’re here; not in huge numbers, but as the weather cools more should pop up.

A few choppers are being caught and I love a feed of tailor.

Having a little wander over the headlands could be a good idea.

Take two rods, one for jew and bigger fish and one for blackfish and bream.

Blackfish are here and by the time this hits the shelves, they will be aplenty.

The Evans River is fishing OK. So many fishers complain about the Evans, but just like us, it has good days and bad ones.

You need to get over it and use fresh bait.

Don’t cast out while sitting in your chair and hoping that a fish will catch itself.

I say this a lot: it’s great

to have a beer, sit in your chair and get a suntan – but that’s not going to get you a feed of fish.

If bait fishing, I would get hold of some white pillies and a set of size 1 gang hooks to suit the bait.

Then I’d work the bait, casting out and slow-winding in with a few hops.

I’d let it lay for a while then repeat, and hopefully catch a feed.

With bream, flathead, tailor and jew around Evans Head, and a caravan park, great little shops and friendly staff, it’s not a bad town to visit.

Just one thing: if you are bringing your boat to do some deep blue fishing, please watch the bar.

We have had a few boats roll on it, and two in one day.

Call the Coast Guard before departing to see how the bar is working, or even go up and have a look.

It might be great out in the blue but the bar can be a real bitch.

Well that’s me for this month.

Remember: limit your kill, don’t kill your limit.

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Page 26 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Halfway Creek angler Phillip Mitchell snared this fish at the old ferry approach at night on a lure.

The odd small longtail tuna could still be found along the Iluka wall during June.

100 percent strike rate for the jew whisperer

F

ISHING along the Clarence Coast in beautiful northern NSW was only ‘fair to middling’ during June, as while the more noted winter species such as bream, tailor and luderick have begun their spawning runs, no notable catches of either species have yet been made.

Even the trusty old jewfish has been a tad hard to find inside the Clarence River so far this winter, however that is largely due to the vast numbers of sharks in the lower reaches of the river.

Out along the beaches, walls and headlands, jewfish have been taken in good numbers but until

Just Jew

by TYE PORTER

the shark numbers thin a bit catches inside the river will continue to be a hit and miss affair.

Jew to 26kg have been taken from Main Beach at Iluka on strips of bonito by anglers targeting tailor, while up along 10 Mile Beach at Shark Bay, jew to 22kg have been hitting live mullet during the falling tide late of an evening.

Both the First and Second Bluffs are fishing well for schoolies around the 8kg mark on shallowdiving minnow lures as

well as the occasional 20kg-plus fish.

The breakwall at Iluka has fished really well for school jew to 11kg on a variety of baits including whole and stripped squid, live yellowtail and mullet, and soft plastic lures.

Guy Stewart of Lismore was just one of many anglers getting among the fish.

Over on the Yamba breakwall, the T-Piece has been the only spot in the river consistently producing good jew on lures and live mullet, however the word is out, so you have to get there early for a spot.

I finally got the energy to have a throw with a live mullet one afternoon up at the old ferry approach during the low water and

surprised the crap out of myself by snaring a 23.5kg jew.

I have gone back into retirement now, quite happy to have a 100 percent strike rate of one throw, one fish for the year.

That night my son Mischa and his mate Phillip went for a fish on the high tide with live mullet and lures, which saw Phillip land a fish on a black hard-bodied minnow.

The lads have since been giving the main arm of the river a try from both the shore and the boat, on many nights, for only the odd fish, but everywhere they go they are hearing and seeing sharks jumping all tide.

As late as the second week of June the odd, and I mean odd, longtail tuna was being taken from the Yamba and Iluka breakwalls, mostly by anglers spinning for tailor.

Speaking of tailor, a handful of quality fish have been hooked from the top end of Main Beach on strip baits, while the headlands are holding reasonable numbers of kilo-plus fish on lures.

This month should see Back Beach come into its own in the tailor stakes.

This little beach is famous for monster tailor.

Bream and luderick numbers are slowly building inside the river, with July and August traditionally the best months.

Offshore catches have been dominated by snapper and sand flathead, along with the odd nice jew and trag.

July will see species such as bream, tailor, luderick and jewfish dominate catches, so get out there and get into them.

‘Til next month, safe fishin’.

The author hooked this 23.5kg jewfish on live mullet at low tide just after noon at the old ferry approach.

Warric (don’t backchat me I know lures) Johnston of the Gold Coast managed to not only hook his first longtail tuna during a recent trip to Iluka on this garfish stickbait, but himself as well.

Guy Stewart of Lismore made the trip to Iluka worthwhile by snaring this nice jewfish on a live mullet at the Iluka breakwall.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 27

Cool change brings on the knobbies

W

ITH the spanish mackerel almost gone this is the time where the main target species is the hard-hitting, big, red, head-shaking snapper!

Don Gallespie with a jewfish from the surf. Photos: fishingnoosa.com.au

The author landed a Borumba bass on a Jackall Squirrel.

These fish certainly know how to fight, especially when they hit the 80cm-plus mark.

There are many ways to target these old fish and now is the time to break out baitrunner-type reels and load them up with mono such as Platypus Lo-Stretch for the best floated pilchard presentation.

Another great way to target them is with soft plastics.

Chasebaits, Z-Mans and Gulps have been some of the best options in the larger 5”-7” sizes.

Nuked Pilchard, Nuclear Chicken, Pink Shine, Pink Pearl and Pearl Prawn are some of my favourite colours in the Jerk Shad style.

These are best used for getting to the bottom quickly, especially when drifting over a mark.

If moving slower in shallower waters, then break out Chasebaits Ultimate Squid and Gulp Squid Vicious.

It is no secret that snapper love creature-style soft plastics, especially if lightly weighted and allowed to drift down.

Light jigging is becoming more and more popular and with PE2-3 gear,

Dylan Versteegen captured a Noosa River flathead on a Jackall Dowzswimmer.

Sunshine Coast

by GRANT BUDD

20-30lb leaders and 60110g slow jigs, it’s a great way to get a PB. Slow-fall jigs like Blue Blue SeaRide and Palms Slow Blatt Oval work the best with upgraded 3/0 hooks.

When you’re after these bigger fish, it is better to use one set of assists so the second set does not swing around and get caught in the face of the fish, which makes fighting the fish a lot harder.

Don’t be too surprised if you hook a big coral trout when jigging because they love these jigs too.

Areas to target include Jew Shoal, Sunshine Reef, Chardons and North Reef as well as further afield to Double Island.

You can also expect to find pearl perch, sweetlip, jewfish and cobia.

Double Island is the place to head for amberjack, big trevally and of course, reds.

We are also seeing a few straggling longtail tuna around, so keeping a slug ready could get you connected to a big longy.

The Noosa River is holding great trevally and tailor, both reaching up to 60cm.

On the days when the winds are blowing from the south or southeast, the Woods Bays are one of my favourite places to fish during early mornings from the boat.

Surface lures can be tried as the sun is coming up, with Zerek Poparazzi poppers and the Bassday Sugapen 95mm two great options sure to raise a few quality fish.

From here you can head to the current line and have a shot at golden trevally and flathead.

These fish will take a wide range of lures, with 3” grub-style soft plastics and small micro jigs like the Jigpara in 7g and 10g sizes great options.

Be sure to up leaders to 12-14lb if targeting flatties and strike at the slightest bump on your braid as they often come off the bottom to hit a falling lure.

Other areas to fish include the ski run and up towards the mouth of

Lake Cooroibah.

As you near the mouth of the lake you can expect to pick up jewies, trevally and flatties.

Mangrove jack will still be about and live baits are best when fished around any decent rock bar or jetty.

For jacks you will need to up your game in all aspects, so don’t go to a gun fight armed with a knife!

Around the river mouth, Frying Pan and along Gympie Terrace, the smaller bread and butter species can be found and are great family fishing targets.

In the Maroochy River, the water temperature has definitely started dropping.

Winter bream and winter whiting are very prevalent.

Bridge pylons and jetties are a great place to start when chasing larger bream.

If you catch one over the magic 40cm mark, it should be returned as it is likely to be over 30 years old and a big breeding fish.

Smaller lightly weighted soft plastics like the Squidgy Wriggler are perfect for the job, especially when the prawns are running.

Whiting can also be targeted with a small Zipbaits Skinny Pop popper worked across the surface, which can get some amazing results.

Areas like Chambers Island, Black Banks and Cotton Tree have all produced nice fish on the incoming tide.

Trevally are in good numbers in the river.

The most common has been giant trevally with the occasional diamond trevally in the mix.

Flathead are also in good numbers, with goodquality fish taken on the run-out tide around Goat Island and drifting the banks between Eudlo and Petrie creeks.

Off the beaches, solid bream to 40cm have been caught on the top of the tide around Peregian, Castaways and Sunshine beaches.

Fresh mullet and small

pilchards rigged on a small set of gangs work well in preventing biteoffs.

Tailor have been coming from the gutters and mouths of the Noosa and Maroochy rivers, with fast-retrieved slugs, whole pilchards and bonito fillets on a set of gangs the best methods.

For best results on big tailor, try fishing around the full moon because they are known to come in to feed when the light makes it easier for them to hunt down potential prey.

During this time you can also expect to find a big jewie or two.

These fish, though often thought to feed in the black of night, are also regularly caught in the lead-up to a full moon.

Lake Macdonald and Borumba Dam are still fishing well, with afternoon the prime time for bass.

Locating the bass with your sounder is important, so pay close attention because they tend to sit deep during the cooler months.

Once found, you need to tempt them into hitting your lure.

Taking a range of spinnerbaits, vibes, blades, smaller grubs and paddletail soft plastics will help you.

For those working the edges, suspending hardbodies like small Jackall Squirrels and Bassday Sugadeeps are great options to leave in the face of a hungry fish.

If on the troll, grab a couple of options such as the O.S.P Dunk and Rapala Jack Deep.

Don’t forget, if you are planning a trip to the dams you will need a Stocked Impoundment Permit, available online or call into Davo’s and the team will help you out.

There is a closed season on Australian bass running from June 1 to August 31, which applies to all Queensland tidal waterways.

Check in to fishingnoo sa.com.au for all the latest up-to-date information on fishing and bar crossings.

The knowledgeable teams at Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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Page 28 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

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The author captured a nice muddy.

The author’s camp in the same spot as three years ago. A great spot for shade and solar.

Camping and crabbing at fantastic Inskip Point

H

I it’s Craig Tomkinson here.

With July upon us, what can we expect the weather and fishing to be like?

Hopefully better than the past couple of months for those fishing out of smaller 5m boats like I do these days.

The whales have started heading north but they are in close, so the run could be still roaring out wide on some days.

It should start to back off out wide when more of these boat-scaring things are around.

I know most people love seeing them but I don’t when on the water.

Over the years I have found if they come up to my boat when I am at anchor and will not bugger off, I start the motor and in neutral give the motor three or four good revs.

It puts a sonic boom through the water and they leave quickly.

These days with hundreds more whales in the water, I travel just a bit slower in case one surfaces in front of me.

I’ve recently had a month’s holiday.

I was planning on going to Weipa come hell or high water but with the wet season hanging around and a late cyclone coming through, the planets did not align.

Instead, I visited fantastic Inskip Point for the third year in a row.

Inskip has everything fishers and campers need.

Dogs are allowed on leashes, you can have a fire, and you can stay in one spot for a month with

Noosa to Fraser Coast

by CRAIG TOMKINSON

generators running 7am to 9pm.

For me it’s not camping unless I have a fire for camp oven cooking and heating my shower water.

Free water is available at Rainbow Beach on the left-hand side of the road near the horse-riding operation.

You’ll find a free dump site for your portable toilets there too.

You can fish inshore for flathead and whiting, offshore for snapper and pearl perch and beach fish for tailor and dart.

Weather permitting, you can go mud and sand crabbing and squidding or just relax at a beachside camp watching the boats coming and going over the Wide Bay Bar night and day.

I must point out the Queensland National Park rangers are fantastic.

On a Tuesday I loaded up our old 1983 Jayco pop-up camper I rebuilt and our 80 Series LandCruiser wagon.

My boys Troy and Gavin and I headed up to Rainbow Beach on the Wednesday because midweek you have a better chance of getting a good campsite.

I pulled up at the Queensland National Parks office to get a permit but it was closed.

Over the next three weeks I visited that office several times trying to update my permit and it was

shut every time.

Thankfully, many places in town can provide a permit if you have not already done it online like I should have, but two or three of them charge a fee.

The 7th Wave Surf Shop on the main street of Rainbow Beach doesn’t though, and they’re lovely people.

Once we had our permit, we headed out to Inskip to find a good campsite.

Choosing a campsite at Inskip at this time of the year is tricky.

You can camp on the bay side, down the end not far from the roundabout with the coconut tree.

It’s great because you can have your tinnie in the water and go fishing once the tide comes in.

But if we get a 30-knot southeasterly, southerly or southwesterly wind like we do at this time of year, it’s freezing cold and the wind flogs your caravan and annex.

It’s rough as guts, and your boat could pull its anchor and get full of water at night, so we chose not to camp there.

If you camp on the east side of the Wide Bay channel markers road out to the beach you can find a great campsite for solar power and it’s right on the beach.

If you get a northwesterly wind, which I have seen up around 40 knots at this time of year, it blows your setup to bits, so we didn’t

camp there either.

We camped near the last toilet block going to the barge on the right-hand side of the road.

It’s out of the strong wind among the cypress pine trees and gets good sun for five or six hours a day.

If it’s raining, make sure you camp on a little rise where the water does not pool up to 30cm deep like it does right next to the last toilet block.

Once we found a good site, the boys and I put up the pop-up caravan and set up the 9x9m silver tarp right over the top as an annex and to keep the turkey poo off the pop-up van.

We set up the gas fridges on a ply and timber frame to keep them out of the sand.

Then we headed home for the 5m tinnie.

Once home, I loaded the 4WD with blocks of firewood I had kept dry in our shed and loaded more gear in the tinnie before heading back to Inskip.

At the camp, I started the old 90-litre ex-caravan gas fridges and checked all the connections with soapy water for gas leaks.

I then unloaded the firewood and covered it with a tarp to keep it dry.

That next day Troy, Gavin and I put our crab pots into the bay baited with raw chicken and reef fish frames.

You can buy your chicken frames from the butcher at Rainbow Beach for $12 per 20 frozen frames.

After putting the crab pots in, we went squidding.

We caught 20 squid in a couple of hours.

No colour jig worked better than another, with orange, pink and green jigs in 2.2 to 2.5 sizes catching squid.

Over the next five days we checked the pots and squidded a few times, catching over 20 big full mud crabs and a heap of squid.

‘Til next month, be safe on the water.

Troy and Gavin with a solid mud crab and tasty squid.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 29

The author’s big amberjack proved a great way to break in a new fishing reel.

A bit of swell and you’re on your bum with a big samson fish on top.

Bring on the big winter bite H I all, it’s been a great month of fishing offshore from Fraser Island.

This chunky goldspotted cod smashed a legal squire just off the bottom in the first five minutes of fishing.

The clients always like catching grass sweetlip.

We’ve had a few good trips and while the ocean current has been a bit strong over the past couple of months, it should be settling now.

A recent day offshore started with a legal squire hooked on the bottom.

About 5m off the bottom it was slammed and up came the great goldspotted estuary cod pictured: happy days all round.

That lucky angler sure had to hang on and pump and wind.

On the closer reefs, we kept checking the fivemile country and pulling in nice fish ranging from grass sweetlip to a cracking amberjack.

The boys took a while to get their sea legs and acclimatise to using braided line for the first time with mutsu circle hooks.

I will admit up until a few years ago I was a total mono man but as I trialled braid, I started to realise the advantage with the mutsu circles.

With more feel through the braid you don’t need to reef the rod, rather employ a steady lift and wind.

Most times the hook catches the fish in the corner of the mouth.

Join in on the fishing fun • Full-day and extended evening trips, specially catering for smaller groups of four.

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Big Dolphin Fishing Charters Page 30 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Tin Can Bay

by RICK WAUGH

Once you feel the weight of the fish hook up, you can start pumping away.

I think the most common reason for the hooks not connecting is bouncing them out of the fish’s mouth too quickly.

If you’re too greedy with your strike, the hook just bounces out with the remaining bait and the bigger fish will know what you’re up to.

A steadier application of pressure is the key.

I get better hook-up rates on bigger fish by using a good-sized flesh bait such as mullet fillet and a snood rig with two hooks and an 8 ball sinker.

Once set up, leave it in the rod holder on baitrunner mode.

I use Shimano Ocean Series Baitrunners, both the 8000 OC and the bigger brother the 12000 OC. I run 30lb braid on the smaller reel and 50lb on the big boy, along with about a metre of 55lb Super Schneider leader.

The first 12000 OC reel I bought was slammed by the big amberjack pictured, and if you have ever hooked one of these brutes, I’m sure you will remember it.

With big strong runs and endless energy, amberjack

are true warriors, but the 12000 OC with 50lb braid made it easier.

By leaving the rods in the holder on baitrunner mode we let any smaller fish have a play without reefing on the line and blowing the trap.

About eight times out of 10 a big sweetlip or red emperor will barge in and the ratchet will go off.

Just calmly walk over and start winding while it’s in the holder and these great fishing reels will lock straight in, and it will be time to get the rod out and start pumping.

Always set the baitrunner on the bottom of the reel to suit the tide movement and ensure the little ones have to work to make the ratchet run.

Then make sure the main drag is set for the game.

Keep inspecting your leader for damage because that one cracker red will pop a scuffed leader.

I did a run along Fraser Island recently for a recreational exploration, catching some big moses perch, cracker tuskfish, goldspot wrasse, snapper and hussar.

The continental shelf current was screaming south, making the best wider red emperor

grounds impossible to fish.

I have set up a couple of Alvey Reef Master deck winches with overhead arms and pulleys for 150lb braid.

These are aimed at big 30lb reds, so bring it on.

Lately I did a 120 nautical mile run exploring everything starting at the Maheno wreck area and working up another 12 nautical miles to the 44s and then back in towards Fraser for a few nice squire and snapper.

The photos in this edition are an example of the great reef species we have on offer offshore from Fraser Island and Double Island Point.

Thanks to everyone who has been out this season and I look forward to meeting all the clients already booked in for later this year.

Just a quick note on accommodation at Tin Can Bay – I have access to a three-bedroom home at reasonable rates for my clients when they come up for extended or multiday trips.

All linen is supplied.

A hot shower and clean bed are always great after a big day offshore.

Give me a call to discuss this option.

It’s within five minutes’ drive of the main boat ramp where I depart.

Bring on more winter fishing.

• Get on board and catch a few yourself!

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Bars, bum steers and sandbanks

I

RECENTLY saw a marine industry presentation about the potential for using technology from satellite-derived photography to determine bathymetry around mobile seabed areas like coastal bars or other navigable waters.

I was very impressed with the potential safety benefits.

The example being used was the Wide Bay Bar, the notorious gap between Inskip Point on the mainland and Hook Point on Fraser Island, which is popular with a lot of keen recreational fishers and cruising boaters alike.

It is a relatively stable bar in terms of movement over a period of years compared with many of our other natural coastal bars that don’t have rock breakwaters.

The Wide Bay Bar is being considered as a site for a virtual buoy using the automatic identification system to aid users crossing the bar.

In other words, anyone who can receive AIS would potentially pick up the location of the virtual buoy on their GPS as a guide to access the best water on the bar and as the bar changes, updated information could be placed on AIS, all as a desktop exercise using satellitederived information.

Maritime Safety Queensland is already using some virtual buoys in Moreton Bay to aid ships entering the port and extending the use of bathymetry via satellite information to recreational users would see a massive improvement in safety around Wide Bay Bar. There is a reasonably strong likelihood this may happen in the near future.

All this started me on a journey to determine the adequacy of existing arrangements on the Wide Bay Bar, as the last time I went through there the sandbanks had changed considerably and I made my own way through based on sight.

The banks have changed so much that late last year, MSQ made the call to remove the sector light at Hook Point on Fraser Island because it was no longer viable and replaced it with a day mark that is lit for night use with an all-round white light visible to 9 nautical miles, flashing every three seconds.

It gives an excellent landward reference point but sadly does not provide the level of guidance of a sector light and I wish to state here that the decision to remove the sector light is totally justified.

This was communicated to the public by a Notice to Mariners on the MSQ website and they also published a small chartlet of the outer banks area of the bar based on a hydrographic survey when their www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bar Crossing

by BILL CORTEN

survey vessel Norfolk was returning from a northern ports surveys last September.

What users who aren’t aware of this need to know is the sector light references for access in and out of the bar that appear as lines drawn on our electronic charts are no longer accurate.

Anyone entering the bar can contact the Tin Can Bay Coast Guard and the staff will provide you with the MSQ chartlet and three of their own GPS waypoints with lines between waypoints as a guide for users.

The Coast Guard document dated 4/1/2019 that claims their waypoints should keep you in 5m of water are only a guide and are not issued by MSQ. However, the MSQ chartlet the Coast Guard provides where they have added their own waypoints states the waypoints are recommended

by MSQ. Seems there is some poetic licence and arse covering here and the Coast Guard needs to seriously update their two outer waypoints that are now inaccurate.

The Power Boat Anglers found the waypoints were well out of whack on their recent Rainbow Beach weekend in about a 1.2m swell and the same was conveyed to me by some cruising boaties at a bar crossing talk I recently did at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

In the interim, if you want an accurate view of the bar, there is a free access satellite imagery service on Land Viewer (eos.com/landviewer) that can be viewed on your computer.

The attached photo showing the area around the bar is from Land Viewer, dated May 25 and taken on a day of negligible swell.

If you compare the satellite photo and the chartlet, you can see how the bar around the outer banks has changed compared to the survey chart data that is now nine months old and how Coast Guard waypoints one and two need to be altered to reflect the changes.

Coastal bars are very mobile places and change regularly, hence the need for a better regime of disseminating information to users.

One of the good things about Land Viewer is you can pinpoint latitudes and longitudes and crunch some numbers to create your own waypoints if you have some understanding of and experience with navigation.

Otherwise, use the existing Coast Guard way-

points as a loose guide and be aware it is necessary to only work your way through their route in the best water you can sight on the day.

I was curious to know what the locals do and spoke to a keen recreational fisher from Gympie and a present day commercial operator who is well respected in the area and has used the bar for many years.

Their responses were very similar.

They either use Fishermans Gutter next to the beach at Inskip or head straight out pretty much on a line a bit south of the leads at Inskip and don’t worry about using the Coast Guard’s dog-leg route.

Coming home, they tend to line up somewhere a bit south of the leads and head on in.

They say in reasonable conditions this gives them good access across the bar.

My advice is to only tackle that bar in good conditions if you don’t know its vagaries very well, and only head into clean water, avoiding crossing the surf break at all costs.

Hopefully there will be some AIS assistance to users of the bar in the near future and in the interim, it would be good if the Coast Guard updated their waypoints because a considerable amount of coastal traffic uses that bar during winter when the weather is good.

Compare the chartlet and recent satellite imagery and draw your own conclusions as to which provides a more accurate picture of how to tackle Wide Bay Bar.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 31

Swift return to Rainbow Beach

H

AVING only been back from Rainbow Beach for a couple of weeks, Rob Schomberg was a little surprised when he received the suggestion a wild card trip to Rainbow was looking like a distinct possibility.

Brett with his Rainbow Beach red emperor.

Rob Schomberg held a solid grass sweetlip.

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POWER BOAT ANGLERS REEF FISHING CLUB INC Page 32 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Blackers was keen to take his latest boat out for a run and other Power Boat Anglers Bernie and Brett were also heading there for the weekend.

Rob got the nod to go and jumped on Amity with Helaine behind the wheel, along with Pete as the other deckie.

They left Brissie at 5.30am and did the usual Wild Horse Mountain service station stop for coffee and a check of the bearings and tyres before stopping again for cheap fuel a bit further down the road.

Blackers and Dale were just leaving the servo as they arrived and met again at the ramp to head out together.

The bar looked good and conditions were great as they travelled towards Fishermans Gutter, and all crews crossed without issue.

The plan was to head out wide, return to Double Island Point in the afternoon and anchor in the bay for the night, then head out Sunday morning and fish to about midday before heading home.

Well it’s always great to have a plan but they have a way of going pearshaped, and this one was no different, with squalls hanging around and keeping up a solid 15 knots all day.

With conditions not great, Amity decided to stay in closer and fish local marks, moving out slowly and hoping to see it get a bit better.

It didn’t happen and they stayed 30km or so out, getting reasonable tuskies, a good grass sweetlip around 3.5kg and a few other bits and pieces.

Later in the day they headed in towards the DI headland to see what conditions were like in case they had to go back thorough the bar and stay the night in the Great Sandy Strait.

Conditions were good in the bay, so they rafted up for a weigh-in.

While doing this, a couple of other boats came in and went behind a sandbank out of the swell.

Ever curious, the PBA crews upped anchored for a look and went into a large bay with a high sandbank.

This offered great shelter from the swell and waves and was the perfect spot to spend the night.

Getting to sleep, however, was a bit of a problem due to the rave party on one of the boats nearby.

Finally, about 12.30am everything died down and everyone finally got to sleep.

Power Boat Anglers

by MICK CLUTTERBUCK

The sharks for once mostly left everyone alone, making for a much more relaxing trip. Getting to play the fish instead of dragging a skull up sure makes a difference.

The slumber was abruptly interrupted around 3.30am by someone on the radio saying they’d better get out of the lagoon or they’d be stuck.

All hell broke loose for a few minutes.

They realised the voice was Ian on Mad Dog who had come in later from fishing the Pinnacles for pearlies and stayed in the bay.

Ian was now heading out to fish the continental shelf.

With everyone awake, they decided to have a coffee and breakfast before heading out in the dark to get an early start.

As the sun broke they saw huge clouds nearly sitting on the water and resembling a scene from Independence Day but thankfully that was as bad as it got.

As it turned out, there was no wind and just a little rain on a glassy sea.

Heading northeast, they found a couple of boats at the 40km mark, and with not much action they kept going to a promising spot another boat had kept them from last trip.

Being only a small mark, they had to do multiple short drifts, landing reasonable fish including grass sweetlip, moses perch and tuskfish.

On the fourth drift, a couple of boats started heading over, so they quickly upped lines to

get back to the start of the drift before the others arrived.

Unfortunately, they arrived at the same time, with one intruder dropping his electric to lock up the spot.

Not exactly what you’d call fishing etiquette.

The next move was heading further northeast to find less-occupied ground.

The crews bagged out on better-quality tuskfish, with a few other fish

thrown in for good measure.

After catching and releasing more tuskies, it was obvious they had to move away and look for another species.

They headed in 10km and found snapper and pearlies, and while most were undersize, enough legal size fish topped off the Esky.

Fang 3 with Bernie and Brett aboard showed up soon after and explained they’d been silent due to intermittent radio problems.

They’d caught reasonable fish on Saturday, which was the nominated club day, with Brett bagging a nice red emperor to boot.

Unfortunately, they didn’t make the weigh-in but got a red emperor, so it wasn’t all bad.

The sharks for once mostly left everyone alone, making for a much more relaxing trip.

Getting to play the fish instead of dragging a skull up sure makes a difference.

However, Dale and Pete hooked and fought some big sharks they thought

(or rather hoped) were extra-oversize cod.

They all made their way through Fishermans Gutter and back to the ramp without a hitch, though it was pretty shallow in parts.

Once the boats were on the trailers and secured, all crews headed off back to the big smoke, getting safely home around dark.

Everyone came home with a good feed, and despite no record-breakers it was a great weekend with good mates and everyone looking forward to doing it again soon.

Next meetings Jason Bird will be coming to the July meeting to pass on some of his vast fishing knowledge.

It will be well worth dropping by and you’ll be guaranteed to learn something new.

The next club meeting will be held on Monday, July 1, followed by Monday, August 5 at The Club Manly (bowls club) at 26 Faine St, Manly.

All interested parties are more than welcome to attend.

Until next month, safe boating.

Helaine Wilesmith caught a nice grass sweetlip.

The boats rafted up for the night.

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Dan got stuck into his first tuna session.

A nice golden trevally for Arthur.

Terrific winter tours throughout the big bay

W here.

INTER and its milder weather are

At the time of writing I am enjoying flat seas and cooler water temperatures that ease the metabolism of the prowling sharks, which means much more relaxed fishing.

I’m still losing a few fish to sharks, but their intensity has well and truly dropped off.

Surface feeding action has dropped off too, so we turn our focus deeper.

With the use of modern electronics, we hunt with scanners and sonar to target species like trevally and snapper.

Trevally have shown up, but snapper not quite yet.

A few squire are around but nothing bigger so far.

Snapper are generally targeted with baits and soft lures.

On tours we usually employ soft lures, though they can also be targeted with a well-presented deep diver trolled at a slow pace.

I rarely troll, except during marlin season.

Many believe lightweight soft plastics are gun, but I also like heavy heads that plummet to the zone or hang deep for long enough to trigger a strike.

Each has an advantage, but it is often easy to fish both methods in one vessel.

Heavy-head plastics are better suited for less advanced anglers.

A strong darting action and movement are not as important as getting into the strike zone and staying there.

Squid of the tiger/local variety are also something we get into throughout Hervey Bay. I have had limited sucwww.bnbfishing.com. au

Fraser Guided Fishing

by TRI TON

cess with the egi this season but that will change once the temps drop even further.

Shallow water squidding can be fun over weed and rock.

Clean water and forage species need to be present too.

Use bream or flathead gear and a squid jig up to size 3 depending on depth and current.

I like aggressive jerks of the rod with long pauses.

Others like a very slow and subtle retrieve.

When you get a bite, strike firmly to turn the jig barbs into tentacles.

Squid can grip the lure and if you haven’t pronged them, they can just let go.

Wear polarised sunglasses too, because sometimes you will see the squid following the jig.

When they get right up in the shallows, sometimes you can sight cast to them.

Small surface lures can be useful in ultra-shallow water.

When trevally are playing the game during winter, they are great fun to chase on jigs.

Jigs sink fast and allow you to accurately hit a school of fish.

If the fish are fussy you can downsize the jig or try plastics.

Vary the retrieve until you find the most productive for the day.

They can come in big schools that are large in area and depth, so make sure you present the lure to as many fish in the school as possible.

Among these trevally at times you may encounter big cobia.

Keep this in mind when you choose your tackle.

Big fish like cobia are difficult to boat.

I recommend using an extra-large rubber net such as the one I prefer from Wilson Fishing.

Sure you can gaff them, but big cobia and other big species can carry ciguatera, so damaging them unnecessarily must be avoided.

Their health upon release is a priority.

The net will cradle the weight of the fish evenly, reducing pressure points along the vertebrae.

I have felt tail vertebrae ‘pop’ in my grip on fish under 10kg.

Lifting large fish from one point, either just the tail or head, is a no-no in my opinion.

A handful of leader and a handful of tail can work if there is a solid hookset in the corner of the jaw and the fish is well subdued and won’t thrash around.

A net will hold the fish, and if it thrashes in the confines of a rubber net it will cause very little damage.

Leave it in the water but secured in the net, and lift it in when it calms.

Be quick dealing with hooks and photos, and avoid hot carpet, which is another advantage of the thick rubber netting, as it is like a cushion of wetness protecting the slimy skin.

As always, support the full weight of the fish for photos and lowering back into the water.

Just imagine someone swinging you around by the neck or the little toe – yeah you wouldn’t like it, would you?

Katey scored a PB.

Joey got his first giant herring and it cracked the metre mark.

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Page 34 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Putting the Double Island Point puzzle together

T

HERE is nothing quite like the feeling of your alarm going off at some stupid hour of the morning (like 1-2am).

For most people, they would grunt and groan at the thought of getting out of a nice warm bed at such a time, but for fishos, especially the ones like me, excitement gets the better of us.

When I have a trip wide of Double Island Point planned, there is not a minute of hesitation, no “five more minutes”.

All I can think about is getting on the road because the sooner I can get going, the quicker I will be at DI targeting the elusive red emperor.

From the anticipation during the three-hour drive up to the eagerness to get the boat in the drink, and then the moment you finally get over the Wide Bay Bar and out into the deep blue – there is nothing quite like it.

Recently I had an awesome day trip to DI with fellow BNB scribe Jordan Koschel.

We are both still relatively new to the fishing the area has to offer, but with some help from a few mates, some marks from my old man Glen (who once upon a time did very well off DI) and persistence, we managed to get a really good box of quality fish.

Grinner arrived at my place not long after 2am.

We had the big Sea Jay Striker loaded and were on the road just before 2.30am.

Close family friend Jason and his two lads Liam and Patrick weren’t far behind us, and I could tell by the excitement in Liam’s voice over the phone that he was busting to get out there.

It was the boys’ first time fishing DI and I was really hoping we would be able to get them onto the fish.

We arrived at the ramp just before 6am, and as the weather was supposed to be good, another 100 or so boats were queuing up to put in.

We only had to wait about five minutes, which gave us time to get the boats ready and gear set up.

Before we knew it, we were hammering through the Great Sandy Straight on our way to the ‘bar’, which was flat as a tack.

On our previous trip we were very limited by the weather and had to play in close to Rainbow Beach, but this time the water was glass, so I blasted out to some marks about 18km due east of the bar.

I was hoping the spot would be loaded with livies so we could fill our tank and get out wide.

It was, and we spot locked the Minn Kota and deployed bait jigs.

I couldn’t help myself, so decided to float out a live yakka to see if any spanish mackerel were hanging around.

It was in the water for about 30 seconds before being nailed by a longtail tuna.

Moreton Bay Young Gun

by LACHIE BAKER

Not exactly the start I was after, but it was a fish.

I shook the hooks out beside the boat and decided to deploy another yakka.

This one got nailed too but was bitten off above the hook – grr!

We kept donating tackle to bite-offs and pesky longtails, so instead I floated a bait to the bottom.

This was intercepted by a solid goldspotted cod that suffered from barotrauma on the way up, so it graced the Esky with its presence.

We persisted for a while longer but kept catching longtail and mack tuna between getting a live bait tank full of yakkas, so out wide we went.

This was the first time I had been out to these marks since I was about 10 years old.

Back then, all I had to do was sit there and copy Dad. Gee, how times have changed.

We pulled up on the first mark, dubbed ‘good show’, and it did not disappoint.

Grins and I had a double hook-up on big grass sweetlip straight away.

It was a blur of action between the two boats, with both of us starting to put a few nice fish in the box.

We kept picking away until the action slowed, so made a quick move to another mark just to the south.

Straight away we were on the fish again by dropping live and flesh baits.

Grinner’s livie got nailed and he was hooked up to a solid fish.

This spot used to produce honking big pearlies, so I was quietly confident as to what it would be.

Sure enough, a bucketmouth beast surfaced and Grinner and I were squealing like little kids.

It measured an incredible 74cm and we were stoked.

A PB for Jordan and a PB for the boat.

We released it safely into the Esky and had another drop.

Both boats pulled a few more fish off the mark before they went off the bite.

We had another spot within 3km but I wanted to save it for the afternoon moon rise because I knew the fish there would bite well in those conditions.

We wanted to stay wide, so moved around to a few marks I had never fished before, kindly gifted to me by mate Lochie Reed.

However, we bombed out on those spots except for a couple of tuskies.

By this stage I was keen to get back up to the moon rise mark.

Dad and I had enjoyed awesome results at this spot, so my hopes were high.

I was not disappointed when we arrived, locating masses of bait with preda-

tors hanging everywhere from the middle of the water column.

The big Humminbird Helix 12 wasn’t lying, and the first few drops saw Grinner and I getting stuck into nice pearlies and squirey-snapper.

Jordan really wanted to achieve a bag on snaps because he had no fish in the freezer at home, so he continued to float line baits, whereas I really wanted a trophy fish.

I started plastic fishing with the same techniques I use off South Passage Bar. It was a bit slow to start but I ended up catching a few squire and mixed reefies.

I decided to try something completely new, which was offshore fishing with soft vibes.

These lures have proven very successful in river and bay scenarios, so I thought ‘stuff it, I’ll have a crack!’

I tied on a 110mm Zerek Fish Trap vibe and sent it down.

It was floating back with the rod in the holder when I noticed line flying off the spool, so I threw the bail arm over and let the Venom Spin rod load up.

I called it for a snapper straight away, but when it came up I was surprised to see such a quality fish.

It was safely in the net and on the deck, marking the first knobby caught on the Striker.

Hopefully there will be many more to come.

I saw the quality of the fish we already had in the box and decided I needed some good karma.

I grabbed the tag needle from the console and pinged it in the back of the snap, much to Jordan’s horror.

After a few pics I returned the fish to the drink and it bolted with no sign of barotrauma.

We continued to put fish in the boat, and Jason and his boys were also doing pretty well.

We had three live baits left in the tank and Grin-

ner said they were all mine.

I sent the first one down with an 8 ball sinker and gang of two 7/0 Mustad Big Gun hooks, but unfortunately a dirty big longtail managed to get a hold of it before any other fish had the chance.

I shook the hooks out boatside, grabbed another yakka and sent it down.

This time it got nailed on the drop by what felt like a decent fish.

It had a big runa nd then dogged it down deep like a tuna.

That was my call until I felt a very distinctive spanish mackerel head shake. * continued P35

A cracking grassy taken while float lining.

Liam with a PB snapper. How to make a kid’s day!

The author scored a nice knobby on a soft vibe.

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COMPETITION DATES COMPETITION

DATE

LOCATION

2019 The author landed his PB spanish mackerel.

Putting the Double Island Point puzzle together * from P34

I called it for a spanno, which was a big call because we were 40km offshore in 50m of water, not a typical mackerel area in my experience.

Sure enough, colour down deep revealed it was in fact the deep sea racing zebra.

Grinner had no problems on the gaff and just like that it was safely in the box.

I was rapt because spanish mackerel are my favourite fish to eat.

After we sorted out the chaos in the boat I deployed another livie and this time it made it to the bottom.

It wasn’t there for long because a reef fish of some description smashed it to pieces.

Unfortunately I wasn’t quick enough on the rod and missed a really good bite.

I cut off the biggest mul-

let strip I could find and instead of using my 8 ball live bait rig went back to a gang of three Mustad 7766 6/0 hooks separated by swivels, similar to TruTurn hooks.

I cannot stress how effective running gangs made up this way is – I will not use them any other way.

Dropping back to a 5 ball sinker, I floated the bait down slowly.

With no interest on the way down, I left it on the bottom with the overhead in free spool with ratchet engaged.

The second I turned my back, my favourite Venom buckled over with line disappearing at a rate of knots.

I clicked the reel into gear and let the fish hook itself, which led me to believe the rod holders were the best anglers in the boat.

Once I got the rod out of the holder, I realised the

A surprise spanish mackerel hooked on a live bait by the author.

size of the fish.

It was heavier than the earlier spanno but wasn’t really doing much, mainly just a dead weight at first.

It then woke up and realised what was going on, taking a pretty decent run and ripping off all the line I had just gained.

The fish was hammering back towards the bottom, which made me think I might have hooked a vermin fish like an amberjack.

Mid-fight it managed to take enough line to entangle Liam, Jordan and I in a big circle of messy line.

Things weren’t looking good and I was extremely grateful when Grins sacrificed half a spool of braid for me, cutting his own line to free it from mine.

I was yelling at Liam in the other boat to go into free spool on his reel.

Once again the fish began hauling back towards the bottom, and I was almost certain it was an amberjack.

I told Grinner not to worry about the gaff and just be ready with the net, as if it was an AJ I had no interest in putting it in the Esky beside the likes of pearlies and spanish mackerel.

Deep colour revealed something I was not expecting – it was a monster mackerel!

I was squealing for the gaff when I saw it was only just pinned, and after a few heart-in-mouth

Grinner with a stonker pearlie. That smile says it all.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

moments beside the boat Jordan swiftly ended the fish’s days with a perfect head shot.

I was thrilled.

After untangling Liam’s line from my reel, we decided that would be it for the day, focusing on taking some good photos of the mackerel and correctly bleeding and icing it.

It didn’t help that it was far too big for the Esky, but we did our best to jam it in there.

I peeked over at the other boat and saw Patrick was connected to a very solid fish.

He fought it really well for a 10-year-old but unfortunately the razor teeth got the better of his 40lb leader and snipped him off.

While he was occupied fighting a spanish, Liam managed to nail a 70cm snapper on a float line.

He was pumped as it turned out to be a PB. Well done mate, you deserved it.

The sun was beginning to set and I made the call that we should head for the bar.

I would’ve loved to stay out for a night bite but we had a three-hour drive ahead of us and two boats to clean.

It was a magical afternoon and I hammered the big Sea Jay back at 30 knots.

What an unreal day.

Even though we didn’t land a legal red, we tagged multiple undersized models and found a few new little haunts I am very keen to get back to check out next trip.

I am sure it won’t be long before we start putting the pieces of the puzzle together and nailing those elusive red fish.

I think I may have an obsession.

Stay tuned for next month’s article, as I have a trip to Turkey Beach planned in July as well as two weeks of holidays where we will hopefully be graced with more fiveknot variable winds and can get out to land those offshore fish I hold dear.

Until next time, tight lines and sore arms.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 35

Tactics for targeting flathead in winter

T

HE humble dusky flathead is a prevalent and prized species in the rivers and creeks of southeast Queensland.

Zane Read with a great-sized flathead.

Known to grow over the magic metre mark, big fish are a hot target for many die-hard anglers.

I’m yet to crack the metre mark, let alone anything close to be honest, but I’m slowly but surely narrowing my odds this winter, with good numbers of fish coming over the side of our boat during recent trips.

Because the mangrove jack and barramundi have gone quiet due to the cool

A healthy dusky flathead caught using soft plastics.

waters of winter, it’s been time to dust off the light spin tackle and hit the old faithful river haunts in hope of some action, trying some new territory along the way.

When it comes to targeting species such as mangrove jack, your options are limited to river and creek systems riddled with snags, structure and deep water.

So if you’re as keen as we are and rarely go a weekend without a fishing fix, it doesn’t take long to explore most of your jack options in the local area.

Flathead, however, inhabit everything from sand and mud flats to deeper holes and rock bars, meaning they can be found throughout a huge area, even in small creeks.

When it comes to targeting flathead, especially with lures, you need to spend a lot of time casting and exploring for fish.

Typically speaking, flathead are ambush species similar to mangrove jack, but instead of using structure to their advantage, flathead use camouflage.

A flat, elongated body with a sandy/brown colouration and the ability to almost completely bury

Leeah Bahr landed a whopping 84cm flathead on a prawn-imitation soft plastic.

Bundaberg Estuaries

by JOEL JOHNSON

Fishing with only 12lb leader, she played the fight very gently to give us the best chance of landing a fish that may have swallowed her lure and had raspy teeth wearing away at her leader. After a nerve-racking few minutes we got our first glimpse of the fish, and it was an absolute cracker of a flathead. themselves in the sand is a killer combo for an ambush when unsuspecting prey drifts by.

By taking into consideration their favoured habitat, anatomy and method of hunting, it becomes fairly easy to choose what to tie on when targeting these lovely lizards.

In a sandy or muddy estuarine environment, all kinds of food is on the menu for flathead including hardyheads, prawns, mullet, whiting and so on, and ‘matching the hatch’ is a must.

My go-to flathead lures are small yabby and prawn-imitation soft plastics or small fish-imitation plastics around 3” in length and weighted so they are sure to be working the bottom of the water column.

When it comes to colours, many people opt for bright colours and though they are known to be effective, I always like to base colour choice on the conditions and stick to natural colours where I can.

When the water is dirty or it is an overcast day, it is a good idea to try some brighter colours, but in especially clear conditions natural colours are best at

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Page 36 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

300 Tuffy 410 Challenger 450 Drifter 480 Brumby 530 Warrior 599 Frontier

convincing fussy fish that your lure is the next meal.

With this in mind on a recent adventure up a local river system just to the north of Bundaberg, we headed upriver by boat to an area where we had done well previously but were keen on testing out more fishy-looking areas.

With an incoming tide, we were casting onto shallow sand flats that weren’t long submerged, knowing the fish in this area would be on the hunt.

It didn’t take long to land our first small flathead, ensuring we were in the right spot.

I was casting a 3” flicktail soft plastic while my fishing partner in crime Leeah was casting a prawn-imitation lure.

As we drifted over a prime-looking sandbank, I was getting hits and small fish almost every cast, whereas Leeah was getting nowhere near as much action.

It became apparent that it wasn’t just luck getting me the bites when a flathead I’d just landed regurgitated the contents of its stomach onto the floor of the boat.

The fish had coughed up two small whitebait that

almost perfefctly matched the lure I was using.

After making an easy decision to change lures to something that matched what the fish had in its stomach, Leeah didn’t take long to hook up.

After having great fun on good numbers of fish measuring 35-45cm, we decided to fish a deep hole on the run-out tide before heading home.

With a fairly large muddy creek running out into the deeper water, Leeah changed back to her prawn-imitation lure after seeing a couple of prawns skipping nearby.

We drifted over the drop-off, working our lures close to the bottom when bang, Leeah was on and her reel was screaming.

Solid head shakes thumped through her line, giving us the indication this could be the big flathead we’d been targeting.

Fishing with only 12lb leader, she played the fight very gently to give us the best chance of landing a fish that may have swallowed her lure and had raspy teeth wearing away at her leader.

After a nerve-racking few minutes we got our first glimpse of the fish, and it was an absolute cracker of a flathead.

The fish took one last run before we had her in the net and on the deck.

Measuring in at 84cm, Leeah and I were ecstatic to have landed such a beautiful big breeding female.

Some photos put the proof in the pudding of what will be a very hard PB to beat.

Leeah quickly sent the fish on its way to continue populating the system with flathead for years to come.

What an end to an already great day chasing this iconic species.

By finding where the fish were likely to be hunting and matching our lure choices to their prey, we had great success.

Following these key steps could see you too on your way to finding a monster flatty.

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Bream fishing the Burnett B

by BRAD YOUNG

as well as tying terminal tackle when you lose your gear.

When walking the wall, you will often locate the bream in patches, usually where you have come across a school of fish as they are making their way along the wall.

Best baits for Burnett bream The best baits for targeting bream in the Burnett are live yabbies (usually pumped the day before on the low tide), fresh prawns and fresh sprat.

To rig the fresh sprat,

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10 Morgan St, Gladstone QLD E: sfmarine@tpg.com.au

WHITE WATER MARINE 07 5532 4402

10 Hinde St, Ashmore QLD E: sales@whitewatermarine.com.au W: whitewatermarine.com.au

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Reflecting upon the conditions along the North Wall now, the major difference I note is the large build-up of sand along most of its length in the lower reaches of the river.

Now, rather than rock below the waterline along the length of the wall, there is often sand.

This has reduced the appeal of this area for bream.

All is not lost though, and the Burnett still produces some nice hauls of bream.

Applying the lessons of the ‘90s The lessons learnt in the ‘90s still apply and will see you successful in catching great feeds of bream.

If you are a boat-based angler, use the same method to anchor close to the North Wall because this is still the best structure available for this species.

Anchor your dinghy with one anchor towards the middle of the channel and then place your second anchor in the rocks on the North Wall.

This kellick style of anchoring places the centreline of the boat across the tidal stream, more effectively enabling two or three anglers to fish.

There is also the opportunity to cast up-current using an Alvey reel and slowly retrieve your line to keep in touch with your bait as it makes its way back towards you in the tidal stream.

This can be a deadly way to target bream when they are finicky.

One method to help increase your catch rates when fishing this way is to use berley to bring the fish to your boat and hold them there.

My favourite berley is pellets of laying mash laced with tuna oil.

The pellets sink readily and bream will follow the berley trail to your boat.

Another still-successful method involves beaching your dinghy, making sure you can access it later when the tide has risen or fallen, and then walking the wall.

Use a longer rod with a light action but still heavy enough to lift a fish from the water over the rocks to your grasp on the bank.

As in the past, a lightly or unweighted prawn will usually yield good results and often your bait only has to be dropped close to the wall.

Make sure you have a fish shoulder bag to carry your catch and some spare tackle, as well as a wet rag to help grasp the fish to either bag or release them.

At night, for both these styles of fishing, a headlight is an excellent accessory, helping you to walk along the wall with one hand carrying your fishing rod and the other free to help keep your balance,

start to fillet them from the tail on one side, stopping before you reach the gills.

To rig this bait, pass the hook through the eye of the sprat and then fold the flap of fillet back towards the head and pin it there when you pass the hook through its body.

I prefer fishing full moon tides and also the bottom of the tide.

I hope this information helps you enjoy some great fishing.

As always, I can be contacted via the Bush ‘n Beach website, by email at fishnboat@bigpond.com or post at PO Box 5812 Bundaberg West Queensland 4670.

Until next month…

E MI

As a young boy, I remember the famous bream fishery close to where I grew up in Brisbane: Jumpinpin.

I especially remember the lines of timber dinghies towed to favourite haunts to fish into the night.

The Burnett had a similar history and was once recognised as one of the state’s foremost bream fisheries.

I sometimes speculate as to what has changed over the years to affect bream numbers and the status of the fishery.

I am sure many would consider the construction of the Burnett Barrage, separating the fresh water of Sandy Hook from the brine of the now upper tidal Burnett, no doubt had an impact.

Some long-time local anglers will remember the early changes noted after the construction of the barrage.

Breaming in the past I moved to Bundaberg in 1993, which is not that long ago when considering changes in fisheries, but even in that time I’ve noticed changes in the Burnett and bream fishery.

In the ‘90s I spent many a winter evening fishing the rocky edges of the North Wall.

At that time the North Wall was an ideal bream habitat, with the rocks of the wall dropping into the water.

This structure was ideal for bream as they hunted for prawns and sprat while making their way along the edge of the structure, which also provided them cover and security.

In those days, we fished in two ways.

Sometimes we would kellick anchor along the wall, laying one anchor towards the deeper water of the channel and then placing the other into the rocks of the wall, usually above the high tide mark.

This would see our dinghy sitting at right angles to the wall, enabling us to fish two or three anglers.

The other approach we used was that of beaching our dinghy on the small beach (much smaller than now) at the corner of the North Wall.

We would then make our way along the wall, either towards the mouth or further upstream.

Here we would use either a lightly weighted or unweighted prawn, dropping it close in against the rocks along the wall where the bream were usually feeding.

This was often the most enthralling way to fish, as in the quiet of the night you could hear the ‘plop’ of your prawn drop into the water, only to be hit almost immediately by a large bream attracted to it by that same sound. www.bnbfishing.com. au

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ream fishing the BurnFOR longtime Bundaberg locals, the Burnett River will be remembered as a prolific bream fishery.

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 37

Baia Sportfishing Lodge – Papua New Guinea

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I folks, it certainly has been a long time since I last wrote an article – over two years in fact!

The PNG black bass were a fan of the author’s old StumpJumper lure.

What better way to start than by writing about my recent trip to Baia Sportfishing Lodge in West New Britain, Papua New Guinea.

This was a trip I was lucky enough to win at the opening of TV presenter Mark Berg’s Addict Tackle in Tweed Heads and yes, I only bought one ticket.

The guy who was drawn first wasn’t there and I was the next drawn, so in this case it paid to run second.

The hardest thing for me to do was choose some-

A hot giant trevally session saw about 50 fish landed in an hour.

The author’s first black bass was also his PB and weighed a whopping 9kg.

Page 38 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Fishing Trip

by WARREN ‘WAZZA’ MORGAN

one to join me on the trip for two with all expenses paid.

This was tough because I gained about 600 new friends that day.

After a lot of sleepless nights I chose a real old mate and lifelong friend Gary, who studied karate with me many years ago.

He turned out to be the right man for the job because he had fished the Fly River before and was right up there as far as this style of fishing goes.

To get there, we flew from Brisbane to Port Moresby, which was about a three-hour flight, then flew from Port Moresby to Hoskins Airport and then a 45-minute drive to Liamo Reef Resort in the town of Kimbe, which was sensational.

Next morning we were off again with a five-hour boat ride to Baia Sportfishing Lodge.

The scenery was sensational, especially going past Mount Ulawun, which is an active volcano.

The boat ride was more than a little tedious, especially when the boats were having continuous fuel problems, but make it we did and after a quick hello and feed we were off in our 25’ banana boats.

It was two fishos per boat, so the six of us on this expedition paired off.

I was with Gaz, Paul with Micah and Mike with Heyden.

The only thing that came into our boat was a small cod for Gaz, while I was still trying to get past the learner stage on the baitcaster outfit, which I might add ended up in my room and never saw daylight again until we

packed up to come home.

The afternoon seemed to drag on with endless casts and seemingly longer troll periods.

We used a number of different lures including Duo FangPops and FangBaits, soft plastics and swimbaits.

Gary was the master of walking the dog across the surface.

We arrived back at the lodge buggered but still fired up and had a few cold beverages and a nice feed.

The next morning saw us on the water at 7am and our guide decided to fish the Pande and Langi Langi river systems.

Gary’s second cast was nailed but the fish spat the hook.

My attempts at using a baitcaster outfit were woeful.

If our guide Chris was getting paid 10 kina for every cast that ended up in jungle, he could have bought Air Niugini.

While the fishing was slow, the scenery made up for it and as we motored upstream, I sort of expected lost Japanese soldiers to appear.

Gary was on fire with his casting, putting casts within centimetres of targets.

It was a pleasure to watch.

We nailed a few hungry GTs, which were ever present and broke up the boredom.

Our guide tried hard to find the fish, with every snag looking the goods, but cast after cast drew a blank.

We had the odd follow and boil but it was a tough bite and we rocked up back at the lodge for a well-earned beer, feed and a bit of a brainstorming session with the other lads who were having the same problems, apart from scoring a nice jack and the odd GT. Wednesday saw us heading for the Torio River system in search of clearer water and better fishing.

After reaching the mouth, Gary nailed the first black bass of his long fishing career, with a nice fish of about 4kg coming into the boat.

With much backslapping and high fives it was released to fight another day.

I was pretty stoked for the big fella but I wasn’t there to make up the numbers.

After retiring my baitcasters, I ended up using, don’t laugh, a 5500 Daiwa Saltist mounted on a 10kg Gary Howard stick.

Chris suggested we go to the rock bar where the water was brown and boiling.

I brought out the secret weapon: an old StumpJumper lure in a pink/ green colour.

This lure was probably 20 years old but on the first cast I got bumped.

On the second throw I got another bump, then on the third throw, nothing, but as I was about to lift the lure out of the water,

bang, I got smashed and in a flash this beast had my rod buckling over the gunwale.

I had Gary yelling out “Lift ya rod Wazza, lift ya rod!” while I yelled back “You bloody come lift the rod!”

Well this beast had other ideas and tied me up like a pretzel.

I managed to get the rod up and gain some sort of control, and it was only then I felt the awesome power of the legendary black bass.

The fish took three runs under the boat before coming to the surface.

I was lucky no snags were around because my eyes were spinning.

I had finally landed my first-ever black bass, and on a bloody StumpJumper!

This beast went about 9kg.

A few quick pics and back into the water it went.

I needed a Bex powder and a lie down after that.

We left the rock bar after a few more casts and were about 100m downstream when I got my second fish.

After a brief flurry of runs it came to the net and we were all surprised when it was a nice spot tail bass of about 3kg.

I thought ‘how easy is this lurk?’

Some quick pics and we continued to troll downstream.

About 100m from the mouth, bang, I got smashed again and after a good little battle another black bass of about 4kg was netted.

The fins were clipped and this beast was coming home with us.

We trolled up and down 500m stretch and I got absolutely smoked by a brute of a fish that just about ripped my arms off.

I felt the ultimate power of this huge beast for about three seconds as it smoked me big time and my trusty StumpJumper was no more.

Gone, finito.

There’s probably a 20kg beast running around with my Stumpy hanging from its mouth.

I caught all my bass on that old StumpJumper worth about $5.

I only had the one and now the bugger was gone.

While I probably had $1000 worth of lures, they couldn’t get a touch.

Gary had another fish boil up behind his lure on the first snag at the river mouth but just couldn’t get a hook-up.

We left this section for a crack at the Sai River system, but it was turning a chocolate colour from all the logging, which occurs almost everywhere, legally or not.

After an hour-long boat ride we were home for beers, tubs, a feed and bragging rights.

My bass, a jack and some mackerel were cooked up native style and were sensational.

Larry and Moe, aka Paul the sparky and Micah the builder, kept us entertained for hours with their comedy routines.

* continued P39

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Baia Sportfishing Lodge – Papua New Guinea * from P38

These two rough heads came from South Grafton and were bloody funny buggers and top blokes.

Everyone except me, Gary and hostess the lovely Tiana went to bed.

About 10pm the earthquake hit.

It registered about a 7.1 on the Richter scale and the building shook itself stupid.

The plates in the kitchen were smashing and we were just sitting there while Tiana said, “Don’t worry guys, it’s just a small one.”

Small one, my arse.

That was my first-ever earthquake and I was bricking it.

It lasted about eight minutes and caused about $20 damage.

Young Heyden from Sydney woke up and he was absolutely terrified.

The next couple of days proved to be slow going fish wise, with Heyden, his dad Mike and Paul getting a bass each while Bob the Builder Micah was the only one without a bass.

I did manage a nice spaniard over 20kg on the troll in the blue water, while Heyden and his dad got among some good GTs. During the trip I had achieved PBs for spot tail and black bass, spanish mackerel, wolf herring and mangrove jack, so I was stoked.

I ended up using a 2 Deadly red and white shallow diver and it got smashed.

Our trip was fast coming to a close.

We had cast, trolled and popped our way through every creek and river system we could in the vain hope that we could get Micah his first-ever black bass.

We tried the Sai, Langi Langi, the Pande, little Pande and the Torio, and it was at the mouth of the Pande that Micah struck gold and nailed his first bass.

Everyone was pumped and happy for Micah.

We drifted around the mouth and I got absolutely smashed by a monster and it was goodbye to a FangPop. I couldn’t even get a turn on the reel.

Our guide Chris said he spotted some GTs smashing a bait school about 300m away, so we slowly motored over and threw poppers at them.

It was on for the next hour or so as GT after GT between 3kg and 7kg came over the side.

It was an absolute blast.

We lost count of the number of fish hooked.

The other boat with Paul and Micah on board was into them as well.

Nothing went back because these were all going to the villagers.

Paul’s boat ended up with 51 fish and we probably had similar numbers.

Saturday was our last day and to be honest I was looking forward to going home.

The days had been long and the fishing pretty slow.

The previous day was the only time we had real action.

It was strange for a place like Baia as our thoughts were the creeks should have been loaded with jacks and fingermark at least.

Looking at all the snags in the systems we felt there should have been a lot more bass action, but it was a mystery.

We motored back to the lodge with Chris munching betel nut like it was going out of fashion.

The locals mix it with a paste made from crushed shells and it gives them a high.

Though we were offered it, we said pass as it looked disgusting.

We packed our gear and sat down with Tiana for a few well-earned cold ones and reviewed the past five days.

We had landed eight

Rubber landing nets ensured those fish released left in good condition.

bass between six of us, with myself getting three as well as a 6kg mangrove jack, a few smaller jacks, my big spaniard and another of about 7kg, tonnes of GTs on the Friday, a couple of wolf herring and that was about it.

However, we all achieved our dream fish and I was lucky enough to get the daily double of black and spot tail bass within 10 minutes of each other, which is apparently a bit of a rare feat.

The local school put on a performance for us and it was sensational.

They had spent all week preparing for us by making hats and dressing up in traditional costumes and giving us a traditional welcome and dancing.

We had brought some small gifts along for the villagers and the big hit was a football Gary had brought.

We all felt humbled by the children and the work they had put into the costumes and efforts.

Finally, we were given a guided tour of the school and the local boat builder.

It takes about a week for the finished product to be built, all by hand.

The people lead simple lives, basically hunting and gathering, with vegetable crops in the mountains where the pigs can’t reach.

That night Tiana dropped a bit of a bombshell on us, saying, “You should have been here last week when the whitebait run was on.”

We were grumpy for about 10 seconds before going to bed with smiles on our faces.

Sunday was a long day.

It was hard to say goodbye as the people are so shy.

We were looked after like kings and formed little bonds with all the staff.

The guides were funny buggers when they were not stoned and our boy Chris could do stand-up comedy if his English was better.

It took us nine hours to do a five-hour trip because we were transporting a young girl with a broken femur back to Kimbe.

Fuel problems plagued us too, with boats breaking down left and right, and we ended up as tow boat.

Gary scored a red-hot souvenir when we came across a dugout canoe in the middle of the ocean with no one around.

This black bass put up a memorable fight.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Chris said it had probably drifted out to sea, so Gary scored the paddle and I got the spears.

My excitement was short-lived as Gaz said he’d like to see me get them through customs.

We made it back to Kimbe and after showers and dinner, Tiana took us to see her pet crocodile, all 4.5m of it.

The bloody thing just sat there keeping an evil eye on us.

Then Tiana took us on board the Ultimate One, which is 72’ of pure luxury.

It’s a Craig Loomes-designed wave piercer and was being geared up for its next charter with some prince from somewhere.

Talk about doing it tough.

Anyway, I was glad to get on the plane and even more happy pulling into my driveway and sitting down to a steak dinner We all agreed we’d probably do it again, but not any time soon.

My arse is still recovering from the long hours of sitting on a boat, plane and another plane.

For any more information on the places we went

or to organise a trip for yourself, email baiafishingpng@gmail.com, call 0498 173 196 or visit baiafishingpng.com If you’re planning a bucket list trip, this is definitely a place to cross off, just make sure it coincides with the whitebait run, which is the start of the new moon.

Hone your casting skills and make sure you have plenty of StumpJumpers!

See ya next time!

WAZZA’S TRIP RATING

Fishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Baia Lodge . . . . . . . . . 10 Company . . . . . . . . . . 10 Scenery . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Villagers . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Beer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The experience . . . . . 10

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 39

Michelle, Katrina and the author with a handful of Baffle Creek sand crabs.

Three in one a culinary delight

The hairy back crab is a swimming crab and as the name describes, the carapace is covered in short hairs.

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

Smoky lime chilli crab Ingredients • 4 hairy back crabs, green • 10 sand crabs, green • 6 shallots, finely sliced • 6 garlic cloves, crushed • 1 cup white wine • 1 lime • 1 cup chilli and mango sauce (Appetite 4 The Wild recipe) • 1 tbsp butter

Method 1. Light the fire in the choofer (camp oven cooker) and get a good bed of coals to cook the crab.

2. Clean the crabs and cut into quarters. Fracture the shells on the crab claws and legs.

3. Heat wok over fire. Add butter, garlic, shallots and cook

until lightly sautéed.

4. Add white wine, juice of the lime and crab to the wood fired wok. Place lid on the wok and steam for 15 minutes.

5. Remove lid and toss crab, add chilli and mango sauce.

Cook for a further 10-15 minutes depending on the heat of the fire.

6. Indulge in the crab straight from the wok, which will leave you with sticky fingers and a smile.

Comments The chef was fortunate to have caught sand crabs and hairy back crabs to make this dish into a real crab smorgasbord.

Mud crab is a great substitute.

Prep time: 30 min | Cook time: 30 min| Serves 6 Page 40 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

O

N a recent trip to Baffle Creek we lifted our crab pots and at first glance it was an assortment of mottled purple and blue, reddish brown and mossy green.

They were the colours of blue swimmer, hairy back and mud crabs all scampering around the bottom of a crab pot.

To me this is nothing but a culinary delight.

Catching three species of crustaceans in the same pot is not something that happens every day.

Setting your pots at this time of year along a dropoff will reward you with a feed of sand crabs (blue swimmers) and if you are fortunate you will catch the occasional hairy back crab.

Hairy back crabs inhabit similar grounds to sand crabs.

The recent rain has also pushed the mud crabs out of the creeks into the deeper channels where the salinity is higher.

We couldn’t have planned our trip any better, with the weather and water temperature ideal.

We were lucky to have caught three species and good-sized males for the cookpot.

Fresh bait is the key to catching crabs, and every morning when we pulled the pots we changed the bait.

It’s a good idea to have an assortment of bait to keep the crabs interested.

We like to use whiting frames, mullet heads and fresh chicken.

Keep the old bait aside and don’t throw it back over the side near your set pots because you want to catch the crabs, not feed them.

Dispose of the old bait

Fishing Trip

by MELISSA FROHLOFF

further down the system.

Legal sizes, bag limits and information on crabbing apparatus can be found at daf.qld.gov.au and if you are out on the water you can also download the Queensland Fishing app.

Make sure your mud crabs are hard shelled, as the meat in the body will not be properly formed otherwise.

A soft-shelled mud crab will taste awful and it would be a shame to waste a crab that is at this stage of its growing cycle.

Which way do you like to eat crab?

We enjoy crabs freshly steamed in ocean water and eaten warm from the cooker or chilled in an ice slurry and washed down with a beverage.

We like to clean our crabs before they go into the crab cooker to avoid the strong flavours of the

guts going through the meat during cooking.

Though some may beg to differ, cooking a crab with the carapace intact is not the only way.

It is simply a matter of choosing what flavours you want.

To cook the crabs cleaned, we break the body in half and put enough water in the boiler

to cover them, then bring the water to the boil and add the crabs before bringing the crabs back onto the boil.

Mud crabs we cook for 10 minutes and the blue swimmers and hairy backs eight minutes.

This month’s recipe was devoted to the sweetness of sand crabs and hairy backs.

Mud crabs work well for this recipe too.

Who can resist the flavour of big red muddy claw straight from the boiler?

A typical mud crab that had moved from the estuary to the deeper water to feed. The mossy green colour of the shell is a good indication.

Blue swimmer crabs have to be the prettiest of all swimming crabs. The body of these crabs at almost any time of year is full of the sweetest meat you’re likely to taste.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Fish happy to hunt in the cool

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E are just past the halfway point of yet another fast-paced year.

This month will see a good result for those targeting most southern species both offshore and inshore.

Offshore we have heard good reports of jewfish and cobia for anglers fishing the closer reefs

Nerang Rooster Report

by DARREN RAMA

leading into the night with live baits.

Hopefully this continues.

Whales are starting to make their presence felt, so if travelling at night,

This schooled bass hit a Damiki Axe Blade.

ensure you are always careful and keep a watchful eye.

Snapper have started biting at the 36-fathom marks on soft plastics and float lines, with pearl perch being taken with them too.

Flathead are pushing up onto the flats and in creeks and taking a variety of techniques, but one of the most successful seems to be trolling.

Trolling 50-100mm hard-bodies that dive from 60cm to 2.5m seems to be best, with pink and gold the preferred colours.

Bream will begin to spawn in deeper sections of the Broadwater and Jumpinpin Bar, and if you come across these fish they can be a load of fun because you can get cricket scores while they are schooled.

This schooling will also see people catching them in the Seaway on micro jigs.

Trevally will be holding a little deeper in the

Rodney with his first 50cm-plus Hinze Dam bass.

Brandon with a school-sized longnose trevally.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

cooler inshore water.

A wide variety of trevally species will be on offer as we see the likes of longnose, brassy and pennant trevally showing up.

Lately I’ve found the best presentation to be a small 3” paddle tail such as the Damiki Armour Shad.

Squidding on the Gold Coast has been quite successful because with very little rain the water visibility is awesome and squid love clean water.

It is also recommend to chase squid on a high tide because this will see the water at its cleanest.

Finding areas with a gravel or weedy bottom is ideal, and working your squid jigs in the same way you would a plastic for flathead should see a bent rod or two.

Fishing with light drags is a must because the jigs haven’t got hooks as such, so the squid can come off if you’re not careful.

Half the fun of catching squid is trying not to get the boat covered in ink!

When people are buying squid jigs, the most common question is what size and colour works best.

I believe colour is a personal preference but size depends on the current and depth where you’re fishing.

Most of the weed beds I target are only about a metre under water at high tide, so I use a 2.5 weight jig, but if fishing the Seaway I’d move up to a 3 or 3.5 weight to compensate for the extra current and depth.

Bass fishing in Hinze Dam is still firing, with the schooled fish sitting tight together and meaning tailspinners and spoons work well when jigged through the schools.

Because Hinze Dam’s wall height was raised a few years back, most of these schools are in deep water, meaning heavier jigs and plastics are a much better option because you can get down faster.

The tailspinner I use is a 30g Damiki Axe Blade.

It has a stinger on the trailing hook too, ensuring a higher hook-up rate.

Fishing around the timber is slowly improving, with bigger fish hiding up in the sticks early of a morning and late in the afternoon trying to source a bigger meal without having to move so much.

Shallow jerkbaits and topwater lures will become more successful as the month goes on.

Get out there this month with the thermals and Uggies because the fish won’t mind the weather!

A nice golden trevally caught hopping a plastic off the bottom.

A big bass taken on a 110mm jerkbait.

A good size squid caught on a 2.5 weight Yamashita squid jig.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 41

BOATING & marine Quintrex improves its runabouts with the release of the Fishabout Pro

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U S T R A L I A’ S favourite runabout just got better with the release of the Quintrex Fishabout Pro.

the boat to deflect more spray away from passengers.

The greater internal space is immediately noticeable in the new Fishabout Pro. As a result of a wider beam and more space between the dash and the transom, boaties can enjoy more elbow room.

To add to the increased space in the Fishabout Pro, each boat no longer comes with a motor well that intrudes into the rear lounge area.

Instead they are fitted with a pod transom that allows the outboard to

The Fishabout Pro is offered in three sizes of 430, 450 and 470, and each has a maximum capacity of five people and horsepower ratings of 60hp, 60hp and 75hp respectively.

Maintaining tradition, the new Fishabout Pro will feature the current Blade Hull with a new and improved Flared Bow. The stretch-formed aluminium side sheets have more curve that will run further down the length of

be mounted further back, with useful duckboards on either side of the engine.

Quintrex has also reconfigured the dash and bow space to be more user friendly.

The Lean Through Dash and Step separates the captain and navigator panels, allowing for easy access to the bow anchor or optional drum winch.

Every Fishabout Pro now has a bimini, fully welded side decks, two transducer brackets and Premium Hookless carpet as standard, in addition to current features like rod holders, folding rear

lounge and side pockets.

Going above and beyond, the Quintrex Fishabout Pro can be optioned up with a ski pole, sounder and stereo.

This means the Fishabout Pro is perfect for any day out fishing, cruising or simply lazing about.

Quintrex national account manager Drew Jackson said, “The first Fishabout dates back to the beginning in 1945, so as you can imagine improvements are incremental on a boat that has been a best seller for years.”

“Making improvements to a basically perfect product is hard, but once we focused on what is most important to the customer, we believe we made great leaps to enhance the everpopular Fishabout Pro. “From families to fishos, the Fishabout Pro is my favourite all-rounder.

“This boat has a great use of space for everything from fishing to water sports and cruising.

“It is the memory machine – boaties will never forget a smooth ride in a Fishabout Pro.” Quintrex, boating made easy since 1945. www.quintrex.com.au

WIN a BNB prize pack worth over $50!

Mercury Racing’s new 450R delivers unrelenting outboard performance

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E RC U RY R a c i n g’s new 450R outboard is a supercharged 4.6-litre V8 thrill machine that provides unmatched power density and the latest in engine technology.

In other words – it’s purpose designed for people who crave highperformance and unrelenting power.

Steeped in Mercury Racing DNA, the 450R’s 4.6-litre V8 FourStroke powerhead is boosted by an exclusive Mercury Racing supercharger to produce 450 peak-propshaft horsepower with 40 percent more torque than its predecessor, the powerful 400R. An amazing 136kg lighter than its nearest competitor, the new 450R delivers an industry-leading power-toweight ratio in a compact, efficient package that combines extraordinary acceleration and top speed potential with rugged reliability and the latest technology.

And its outstanding performance can be

matched with outstanding looks, with Mercury Racing offering multiple gearcase, control system, tie bar and styling options to create the ultimate customised outboard performance package, ready to run wide open all day long.

Best of all, the Mercury Racing 450R delivers

all its performance on premium unleaded 95 RON fuel.

Mercury Racing’s new 450R is a dedicated race product and will have limited availability locally from early to mid2020 via Mercury Racing dealers only. www.mercurymarine. com.au

PUZZLE PAGE Spot 10 differences

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

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Page 42 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

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BOATING & marine 2019 Brisbane Boat Show from August 23-25, 2019

P

LANS are well under way as the Brisbane Boat Show returns to the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre from August 23-25, 2019.

The show, one of the largest recreational boat shows in Queensland, fills more than 20,000sq m of floor space across four halls at the South Bank venue.

Considering the show’s history spans over 50 years, this three-day celebration of recreational boating is much anticipated and always satisfies both committed boaties and those new to the boating lifestyle.

While plenty of visitors come to the show from across the state, locals from the city’s surrounds also enjoy this show where industry comes together to display and offer the best in recreational boating.

While the boats are naturally the show’s heroes, all the boating gear you might need or just want plays a big part too.

It’s the one place in a convenient location where all your boating needs can be met.

Boating Industry Asso-

ciation Queensland Council Chairman Andrew Fielding said given Australia’s recreational boating manufacturing powerhouse lies at Brisbane’s doorstep, visitors can be assured of seeing the best and latest designs at this show.

“Boat manufacturing plays a big part of the Queensland economy and this event showcases the quality and innovation Australia has to offer,” he said.

As Andrew notes, given the Brisbane Boat Show holds the honour of taking place nearby Australia’s boating manufacturing epicentre, the show promises to present a combination of excellent Australian-made rigs, together with brilliant products from overseas showcasing all the gear and gadgets you need for a superb day aboard.

The Brisbane show always features the latest electronics, safety equipment, fishing tackle and other gear, with worldclass aluminium and fibreglass boats.

Over 60 organisations have booked exhibition space, and they will bring more than 500 vessels that

will present an excellent array of boats catering to various interests.

They include fishing, water skiing, wake boarding, personal watercraft, canoeing, kayaking, stand-up paddle boards and more.

Once again, family cruisers are proving as popular as ever.

While the show is the best place to see and buy boats, the BIA also aims to entertain and educate at the show.

With a commitment to safe boating, show organisers have pulled together an excellent line-up of government agencies to ensure visitors have the opportunity to better understand how to stay safe and maximise their time on the water.

On stage will be a mix of educators and entertainers, and the fishing masterclasses make a welcome return.

Learn how to fish like never before at these masterclasses, which are included with the cost of entry.

A massive 83 percent of people visiting the show express an interest in fishing.

The fishing clinics reflect that interest, with

presentations ranging from inland waterway fishing to the more adventurous offshore competitions, presenting videos, photos and stories to match.

BIA president Alan Blake said fishing represents the great Australian pastime of enjoying the outdoors with friends and family.

“The Brisbane Boat Show brings together the leading dealers and manufacturers from across Australia and beyond, ready to present the latest in fishing, boating and marine technology,” he said.

“This is the show where all your questions about spending more time on the water and catching bigger and better fish can be answered.”

Transport – parking The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre provides undercover parking for up to 1500 vehicles.

The carpark has direct lift access to the centre’s multiple convention floors and exhibition facilities.

Carparks 2 and 3 are best for the exhibition halls.

Rates are as follows:

• 0-2 hours: $15.00 • 2-3 hours: $20.00 • 3-4 hours: $25.00 • 4-plus hours: $35.00 • Maximum daily rate: $35.00 Train The South Brisbane Railway Station adjacent to the Convention Centre on Grey Street or South Bank Railway Station are the most convenient stations to the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

Bus services The Cultural Centre Station on Melbourne St and the South Bank Busway Station, on the corner of Colchester and Tribune Sts, are the closest bus stops to the show.

CityCats and ferries The public transport ferries CityCats operate every day and stop at the South Bank River Terminal on the Clem Jones Promenade.

The inner-city ferry travels between the CBD, North Quay and Kangaroo Point, stopping at South Bank Terminal 1 and 2 on the Clem Jones Promenade.

Taxi Taxi ranks are located outside the main entrance * continued P44

Create your adventures

485 SUNRUNNER Featuring a Hydro Lift hull, wide beam and live bait tank.

Built tough with 3mm bottom and sides.

BRIBIE ISLAND | Bribie Boat Sales 143 First Ave, Bongaree Q 07 3408 4621

HERVEY BAY | Barney’s Marine Shed 3A Nissan St, Pialba Q 07 4124 3170

TOWNSVILLE | Townsville Marine 943 Ingham Rd, Bohle Q 07 4774 3777

GOLD COAST | Gold Coast Boating Centre 64 Kortum Dr, Burleigh Heads Q 07 5576 7388

ROCKHAMPTON | Bluefin Sports 57-59 Musgrave St, North Rockhampton Q 07 4922 2211

WHITSUNDAYS | Whitsunday Outboard Centre 1 William Murray Dr, Cannonvale Q 07 4946 7286

SPRINGWOOD | Neptune Marine Unit 1/3361 Pacific Hwy, Slacks Creek Q 07 3290 6370

H O R I Z O N B O AT S . C O M . A U

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 43

BOATING & marine Yellowfin Plate 7000 Southerner HT a serious offshore setup

Y

ELLOW F I N Plate is hoping to make a big impression with its recent brand relaunch.

You may not be familiar with the Yellowfin Plate name, yet the brand has a 35-year history in Australia.

Think of the Yellowfin family tree in a similar vein to the Hemsworth

The 7000 Southerner is right at home offshore.

Boat Review

by DANIEL TOMLINSON

family and you’re on the right track.

So you’ve got Quintrex (Chris), Stacer (Liam) and Yellowfin (Luke).

Basically, it’s the lessrenowned brother of well-

more room, More room, more features, more stability.

More of everything for a great day on the water… all thanks to our revolutionary Apex Hull.

The radical, variable flared bottom sheet extends to the bow gunnel as does the wide chine. It’s a clever design that means more internal space for storage,

new consoles, casting platforms, bunks, upholstery and transoms (depending on the model). We’ve also added thicker and higher topsides and raised the deck, for more freeboard. With the new Apex Hull you get more room to spread out and enjoy your day on the water.

Who could ask for more?

*Size and features comparison made with 2016 Quintrex models.

The new Quintrex APEX Hull gives you more room, more features and more stability.

Check it out at your nearest dealer: 9423-QX100FM002-FishMonthly-ApexMore.indd 1

Brisbane | Brisbane Yamaha

174 Eastern Service Rd, Bruce Hwy Burpengary Q 4505 T: 07 3888 1727 brisbaneyamaha.com.au

Brisbane | Brisbane Quintrex 3775 Pacific Hwy, Loganholme Q 4129 T: 07 3133 3468 brisbanequintrex.com.au

Page 44 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

10/07/2017 6:22 PM

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

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

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

* continued P45

The helm can accommodate 16” electronics. Steering wheel looks awesome.

QX10FMAPEXMORE002

less squeeze.

known sibling brands.

However, Yellowfin Plate doesn’t want to fade into the background and let its siblings garner all the fame and attention, no, it wants to kick serious goals with serious offshore boats hand built in southeast Queensland.

Apart from being hand built, what has the brand done in relaunching itself to pop up on your radar?

A focus on customer comfort is key, with increased spacing between helm seats, dry storage, massive fuel tanks, increased dash space for up to 16” electronics and more helping to make stepping into a Yellowfin

for an offshore fishing trip an inviting proposition.

On a recent test day leaving from Manly on Brisbane’s bayside I was able to step aboard a number of new Yellowfin Plate models, but I spent the most time on the 7000 Southerner HT. This 6.98m boat certainly isn’t lacking in visual impact, especially not as tested with deep, gloss grey paintwork covering the majority of surfaces including the h-u-g-e cabin and hard top.

Designed to comfortably punch through a coastal bar and then spend at least a night offshore, cabin space and comfort were clearly priorities during design.

These two boxes are well and truly ticked by the big

2019 Brisbane Boat Show from August 23-25, 2019 * from P43

to the centre on Merivale St and a taxi drop-off is located at the Convention Centre Grey St entrance.

From the airport Flying in to see the show?

Both Brisbane domestic and international airports are 30 minutes’ drive from the centre.

The AirTrain connects South Brisbane Station to Brisbane’s international and domestic airports, with stops in the Brisbane CBD and Fortitude Valley.

Tickets and a timetable for this service can be found at the information desk at the airport.

On foot The Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre is a short stroll across from the Brisbane CBD connected by

Victoria Bridge.

Hotels, restaurants and bars, South Bank beach and its parklands are all within walking distance from the show.

Tickets Adult tickets are $15, children (six to 17 years) are $5 while under fives are free.

A family ticket for two adults and up to three children is $35.

Seniors and pensioners tickets are $12.

The popular ‘5 after 5’ deal returns this year, with individual entry after 5pm just $5 when you buy the ticket at the show (family tickets excluded).

The show opens at 10am daily, so bring along your family and friends and plan your next big adventure at this year’s Brisbane Boat Show.

See brisbaneboatshow. com.au www.bnbfishing.com. au

BOATING & marine Yellowfin Plate 7000 Southerner HT a serious offshore setup * from P44

Southerner, with loads of walking room between the helm seats, masses of headroom (even for six-footers and above), a panoramic glasshouse and enough cushioned sleeping room to comfortably accommodate two adults.

The joy of a 7m platform is a massive cabin does little to impede on fishing room, and the 7000 Southerner has no problem fitting three fishos along one side of the boat.

Handy with a rated capacity of seven people!

Looking at the spec sheet, the options list is mighty tempting but this is no bare-bones special, with standard features including carpeted cabin storage, live bait tank, outrigger mounting plates, windscreen wiper, self-draining treadplate (checker plate) deck, Zipwake trim tabs and more.

Our test boat was understandably plumped with a few tasty extras such as the aforementioned grey paint, an electric motor bow mount plate (spot locking is the new anchoring, duh), driver’s seat with suspension and a few other niceties throughout the cabin.

I tell you what, you absolutely feel like the ocean is your oyster when sitting in the driver’s pew.

The expansive wraparound windscreen, high seating position and just that feeling of security in a hard top provide the perfect platform for oceanic exploring.

The test boat was fitted with the maximum horsepower in the form of an Evinrude E-TEC G2 225hp HO.

I remain a sucker for the maximum rated horses on a boat and damn, every time I jump back in an E-TEC-powered boat I’m reminded of just how bloody punchy these motors are.

Acceleration is genuinely savage, especially when hitting the throttle from a cruise, with the motor responding without hesitation and rocketing the bow towards the horizon.

The rolling acceleration is truly addictive (perfect for bar crossings), and I felt the 225 HO was well matched to the hull, able to settle into a comfy 46km/h cruise at barely 3500rpm, just humming along out the back.

Despite all its fury, the big E-TEC showed its direct-injection tech isn’t all for show by returning impressive economy numbers when matched to the 1250kg hull (dry).

That 46km/h cruise speed saw the Evinrude drinking 24.4 litres of fuel per hour, which thanks to a 320-litre fuel tank equates to a range of over 600km!

As I said, the ocean is your oyster.

Flat out during testing with one person on board, the 7000 Southerner HT and E-TEC 225 HO combo topped 82km/h at 6000rpm, which is more than enough to ruffle your feathers in an open boat but feels barely half that speed when cocooned in the comfort of the big hard top.

With a bunch of other Yellowfin Plate models getting about on the test day, I took the opportunity to run amok over their wakes in order to give the 7000 Southerner

Ride at speed is smooth and hull slap minimal.

something of a challenge.

The big plate boat just ate up whatever I threw at it, with the Zipwake trim tabs ensuring the hull ran straight and true even when surfing a sizeable wave.

Its 6mm bottom sheets dissected any smaller waves with aplomb and nudging the nose up once on the plane, I found the ride to be incredibly soft for an alloy boat.

A little bit of alloy slap permeates the hull when copping a wave on the

front quarters but apart from that it’s a remarkably quiet boat under way.

And boy does that suspension seat ensure you remain comfy no matter the conditions.

Overall, the Yellowfin Plate 7000 Southerner HT is an easy boat to like.

Big, beamy and comfy as a lounge chair yet able to explore the farthest reaches of most offshore fishing grounds, you’ll want for nothing, especially after taking a quick trip down options lane.

You can get into a 7000 Southerner HT as tested for about $95,000 from Brisbane Quintrex, though prices start at $85,625 with a 200hp ETEC. For more information on the Yellowfin range, visit yellowfinplateboats. com.au To see the boats in person and find the one that’s right for you, drop by Brisbane Quintrex at 3775 Pacific Highway, Loganholme or head to bris banequintrex.com.au

Agressive hull design perfect for decimating chop.

Yellowfin.

Crushes Everything We hand build every Yellowfin with a perfected and balanced layout so you get the ultimate ‘soft and dry’ ride. So we fly over waves, we don’t plough straight into them like a submarine!

We can only do that because our superstructure is superbly balanced and designed. And with 6mm bottomsheets we can take any landing.

With the sharp entry point of our Offshore HD hull and reverse chine design our captains always experience a predictable and stable journey.

‘Soft and Dry’. ‘Safe and Strong’. ‘Australian Made.’ Take your pick.

To find out more visit yellowfinplateboats.com.au To have your mind blown, visit your local Quintrex Yellowfin dealer.

With a 2.4m beam and loads of deck space you’re spoilt for fishing room.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

YFMelbprO 001

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 45

BOATING & marine SCIBS 2019 declared ‘best ever’ as bigspending boaties descend on Sanctuary Cove

M

ARINE industry veterans have declared the 2019 Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show the best in the event’s 31-year history, with huge crowds, glorious weather and multi-million-dollar sales proving a winning combination.

With 47,243 people attending the event, a 3 percent increase on last year, exhibitors were united in their assessment that SCIBS 2019 had delivered for them after motivated and well-informed boaties came out to play and pay on the back of positive consumer sentiment.

SCIBS organisers said 2019 was one of the biggest shows yet, with 182 boats on water and 423 boats on land across the Marine Village precincts, along with 334 individual exhibitors on display.

Princess Yachts dealer principal Greg Haines, who has attended every SCIBS since the inaugural edition in 1988, said this year’s instalment topped all those that came before it.

The marine industry veteran had three new

Page 46 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

models on display and the Asia-Pacific launch of the Princess V65.

“It’s the best boat show I can remember,” he said.

“We had plenty of sea trials lined up for the week following the show and things were looking very positive.”

Palm Beach Motor Yachts hosted the premiere of the Palm Beach GT50, along with the PB50 classic and 2019 PB65 Fly. PBMY CEO Mark Richards said SCIBS 2019 was the company’s best show for “a few years”, which he attributed to “excellent product and people, and good election results”.

“It has been very positive for us, with a few sales and a lot of leads to follow up,” he said.

Leading luxury cruiser manufacturer Maritimo also announced SCIBS 2019 as a major success, with multiple sales across its product line, including a couple of X50s and a few flybridge models.

Maritimo CEO Garth Corbitt said the total number of sales would not be known for several weeks as current deals are negotiated and finalised, and buyers conduct sea trials.

“With many millions of dollars of deals finalised and more pending, our forward order pipeline is extremely healthy.”

At its purpose-built Riviera Yacht Club, luxury motor yacht builder Riviera hosted owners and guests for its annual Riviera Festival of Boating, which attracted about 700 attendees from across the world for three days of education and socialising.

The massive 12-boat line-up included four world premieres – the 54 Enclosed Flybridge, Riviera 4800 Series II, 5400 and 6000 Platinum Edition Sport Yachts – all of which attracted a slew of new owners.

Riviera’s Stephen Milne said, “We are extremely happy to welcome lots of new owners into the Riv family.”

“There was a great response to our new product and a positive sentiment among visitors.”

Bentley Brisbane & Gold Coast general manager Scott Newland said the long-time SCIBS sponsor had hosted more than 300 customers at the event.

“SCIBS 2019 marked our seventh consecutive year of Bentley Brisbane & Gold Coast major sponsorship,” he said.

“We met many new customers to Bentley as we showcased the new Continental GT Convertible and celebrated 100

extraordinary years of Bentley.”

A spokesperson for The Haines Group, the exclusive distributor of Suzuki Marine outboard motors, said SCIBS 2019 had been a great show for the company.

“We’ve sold boats with many, many leads to follow up,” he said.

“It’s been a great show.”

Whitehaven Motor Yachts and Integrity welcomed hundreds of visitors to their stand, showcasing the brilliant blue Harbour Classic 40, along with two Whitehavens and a line-up of Integrity Motor Yachts.

Whitehaven co-owner Bruce Scott said, “We have been pleased with the numbers and quality of the crowds.”

“There has been great interest in our offering and we have several sea trials planned for the week ahead, which we’re confident will convert to sales over time.”

Multihull Solutions launched the Iliad brand of premium, long-range power cats to a tremendous reception.

Director Mark Elkington said, “The show was an outstanding success for Multihull Solutions, particularly with the highly anticipated launch of the new range of Iliad Catamarans.”

“The Iliad 50 showcased at SCIBS was sold five minutes prior to its official launch on Friday night, and two additional orders were placed on the 50 the next day.

“In addition, an Iliad 60 was placed under contract at the show and strong interest was registered in the Iliad 70 and 90.”

Multihull Central’s Brent Vaughan said the response to the Australian launch of the Seawind 1600 was outstanding.

“We had four boats across different segments

and we’ve been so busy,” he said.

“I can’t believe how busy we were.

“We recorded close to 750 leads over the weekend.

“We’ve had strong interest overall – no confirmed sales but plenty of leads across the range, with good, strong, proper inquiries.”

Leopard Catamarans’ Wayne Richards said he was ecstatic with the feedback to the company’s Leopard 45.

“We’ve never had so many people through,” he said.

“We’re back in our favourite spot under George’s Paragon (restaurant) and we had a great response, excellent interest and some possible orders.”

In the Marine Village, Nitro Marine enjoyed sales of several smaller model Sea Jay and Polycraft boats and “quite a lot” of Mercury engines, as well as interest in bigger models.

Sirocco Marine North, representing BRIG RIBS, Williams Jet Tenders and its own brand, Sirocco, had “an absolute ripper of a show”, according to dealer principal Dylan Lopez.

“This brilliant weather brought the people out and they were super enthusiastic,” he said.

“It has been a brilliant show for us.

“We have sold 17 BRIGS, 15 Siroccos, three Williams and the Sealegs 9m Interceptor, with around 50 strong leads to pursue post-show.”

RIB Force, representing ABInflatables and Aurora RIBS, was prominently positioned at the SCIBS entrance, with dealer principal Mike Orsmond saying the team had been “very busy”.

“We have had plenty of sales and orders to June next year, so we’re satisfied with this year’s

SCIBS,” he said.

“The weather was good and the consumer sentiment was very positive, which is great for boat sales.”

Fusion Entertainment’s Chris Soeters said SCIBS 2019 had been the best for the company in “a number of years”.

“We’ve had a fantastic show – it’s been flat-out,” he said.

“We’ve had a huge amount of interest in the new Apollo Series of stereos that we’ve launched at the show.

“We launched the first Apollo Series products last year and followed up with the Apollo 670 this year.

“This would be about my 13th year at SCIBS and I’ll absolutely be back next year.”

Garmin Queensland/ NT manager Gordon Triplett said the trade and consumer response across the entire four days of the event had been “really positive”.

“Thursday and Friday were great, with all the big boys doing sales down on the marina and it’s been really positive with all the mums and dads across the weekend,” he said.

“One of our retailers who is here supporting us has done really, really well, including selling out of some products.”

The four-day festival of boating was also a winner for Sanctuary Cove Marina, according to general manager Steve Sammes.

“It’s been an exciting four days at the boat show and the team has been overwhelmed with the level of interest at berthing at Sanctuary Cove Marina and with customers excited to reap the benefits of our new platinum program,” he said.

SCIBS will return to Sanctuary Cove in 2020, with the event set to be held from May 21-24.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

BOATING & marine Insights into boat insurance

B

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

The scenario Here’s a heads-up from specialist marine insurer Nautilus for couples who have a boat – consider conferring an ‘authority to act’ on your partner.

This simple procedure can make life far easier in a whole range of circumstances.

The authority to act in relation to your boat insurance can enable the other partner to seek amendments to the policy such as increasing or decreasing the sum for which the vessel is insured; changing details in the policy such as the address where the boat is stored; removing the ‘under finance’ notations on the policy once the boat

has been paid off; and noting that a new trailer is now under the boat or a new motor or electronics have been added.

Without an ‘authority to act’, only the registered insured can make the changes.

And if that person is perhaps not quite as focused as the other on matters such as household finances, insurance and prevailing obligations, then problems can potentially occur.

The authority to act simply allows the other partner to advise the marine insurance company of any change to required details.

It can be set up as an either/or, meaning only one of the partners is required to authorise changes.

But to ensure protection of both parties, specialists like Nautilus Marine require an authority from both partners to cancel the policy as might happen after a boat is sold.

As another protection,

specialist marine insurers do not regard registration information or an authority to act as proof of vessel ownership.

The authority to act simply enables updates to be made to policy information.

Similarly, insurance companies are aware of instances where people have tried to change the names on a policy from one person to another, during acrimonious separations.

As a protection, such a change would require authorisation from both parties and furthermore, the proof of ownership is legally determined outside the boundaries of the insurance policy.

But for one partner to be able to telephone the insurer on behalf of the other who is perhaps too engrossed watching the closing stages of a televised cricket match, could be a relationshipsaving move.

As well as creating a

greater level of convenience through an authority to act, marine insurers can also be of great assistance when other administrative circumstances arise.

For example, if the owner of a boat passes away unexpectedly, Nautilus can keep the boat covered against theft and other events by simply registering the policy in the name of ‘the estate of the late…’ followed by the name of the person.

Such a change ordinarily would simply require a certified copy of the death certificate and/or a letter from the deceased’s solicitor.

That will ensure proper insurance protection for the boat while family members and executors sort through what should ultimately happen to it.

Making a preliminary phone call to ascertain your rights or obligations about a potential situation before it occurs is obviously preferable to trying to deal with it

afterwards when there is the added stress and strain after the event.

Pen an email or pick up the phone and ask your insurer what you’d like to know.

There’s no charge (other than the phone call).

As always, any special conditions and excesses should always be explained clearly in your insurance policy’s prod-

uct disclosure statement.

Always check your PDS and if you have a query, ask for clarification.

If you need further information, you can contact Nautilus Marine Insurance on 1300 780 533 for any boat insurance requirements.

Win a Nautilus Prize Package Nautilus will also be answering your boat in-

surance questions of a general nature and will be offering a great bimonthly prize to the best questions received.

The prize is a Nautilus Marine merchandising pack comprising a collapsible chiller bag, handy marine sports bag and cap.

Just email your questions to qld@nautilusin surance.com.au

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

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 47

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Page 48 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

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Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 49

I boated this flathead on a 6lb Shimano outfit and 3” Z-Man soft plastic in Calico Candy colour.

Aaron Blacksell A nice 78cm flatty captured on a recent morning.

Jarryd Parkinson Bob Lamb caught this sizeable threadfin salmon in the Logan River on a prawn.

A 95cm queenfish taken while trolling a Classic red and silver shallow-diving minnow lure at Turkey Beach.

Jordon Elliott

Thought I would share a picture of a quality 52cm bass I caught at Somerset Dam on a 20g Storm Gomoku Koika lure.

I also landed a nice 48cm bass.

Justin Eames

When fishing on the Tweed River our daughter Dannielle caught this brilliant tailor.

Her biggest catch ever.

Love your mag.

Lynnette Kee

I recently captured this PB 92cm flathead while trolling a Zerek Tango Shad in about a metre of water.

Lex Neal

My husband and I are currently in Lucinda on a fishing adventure where I caught this beautiful golden snapper/fingermark.

Sorry to say we kept this one for dinner.

Leona Ryan

My wife and I travelled to Lucinda to fish such a magical place.

On our first trip we came across this amazing GT that measured 1010mm.

It took us 15 minutes to get it on board where we managed to get some memorable photos before it was released for another angler to enjoy.

Terry Ryan

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

■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum ■ Readers Forum Page 50 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Phil with a nice tarpon that fell to a prawn-style plastic.

Blue salmon are around. Find a school and it won’t take long to boat one. This specimen hit a Zerek Fish Trap in the Calliope River.

Blue salmon a brilliant winter target

W

E are in the second month of winter and the air temperature has dropped, bringing the water temperature down with it.

Now’s the time to be on the water chasing winter fish such as blue salmon, bream, flathead and black jewfish, with longer periods of little to no wind allowing for more time on the water.

It might be hard getting up before the sun rises on a cold winter’s morning but it can be worthwhile.

Feeling the warmth from a rising sun while fishing a blue salmon school soon has you forgetting how cold it is.

The days are still warm and usually by smoko you’re back into shorts and a shirt for the rest of the day.

Fishing late afternoon and early evening will see the water temperature jump a little, especially if low tide has been around midday and let the sand and mud banks heat up.

This is the best time to target barra and jacks because the slight jump in water temperature can trigger them to feed.

Live baits present a good way to actively target fish that prefer warmer water.

Expect to spend a bit of extra time in each location because it may take a while to get a reaction bite from these fish.

If you’re using lures, persistence is key.

It will take more casts in the same spot or more passes over the rock bar to get the bite.

On the other hand, blue salmon will be firing with the cooler weather and will be easily found feeding on the schools of herring moving through the systems.

They will be moving around in schools of both good numbers and size.

They really are exciting fish to catch when actively feeding.

I no longer chase salmon with bait over shallow flats, tending to target schooling fish in deeper www.bnbfishing.com. au

Gladstone Region

by GARY CHURCHWARD

Flathead will become more common as they school and get ready to spawn for winter. When you encounter a school, expect to catch plenty of smaller male flathead as they gather around larger females. water on lures.

Salmon will take just about any lure when feeding, but in deeper water a 3”-4” plastic or soft vibe works best.

Deeper sections of the Calliope River and Gladstone Harbour tend to hold the best schools.

Find where the herring are and the salmon won’t be far away.

That’s not to say you won’t find them in schools on shallow flats.

If you come across a school, a 100mm hardbody can have great results on these little torpedoes.

Flathead will become more common as they school and get ready to spawn for winter.

When you encounter a school, expect to catch plenty of smaller male flathead as they gather around larger females.

They are easy lure fishing options at this time of year, with a 65-100mm soft plastic or hard-body lure worked around a sandbank edge rarely bypassed.

If you’re a bream fan, they are biting well and taking lures when targeting other species.

By downsizing your presentation slightly, you can expect to catch more fish.

Small 2.5” prawn or grub-style plastics are dynamite.

If you’re fishing deeper or in fast-moving water, a

small vibe will also work.

Expect to come across grunter while using smaller lures.

However, if you want to actively target grunter, look for gravel banks.

Tarpon are popping up in schools around the systems.

These fish are a great distraction in a day’s

fishing and fight hard on lighter gear.

Winter whiting will be worth a shot over the next few months, with yabbies and fresh prawns the best baits.

The entrance to the harbour has some good sand flats with decent yabby banks, which present the best spot to start.

Fingermark will still be around, so don’t be surprised to get the odd fish from under the salmon schools.

For more consistent results, rock bars and headlands will produce the best numbers and size.

Don’t put the crab pots away because you will get a few over winter.

Crabs found now are typically of better quality and full.

Hopefully we can all take advantage of the better conditions and get out more often to find some fish.

Cheers and happy fishing from Gladdy.

instagram COMPETITION Wayne landed a coral trout. He has been taking advantage of the good weather and getting out to the reef.

Congrats to our June winner!

big.burne

r

#bnbfishingmag Join our Instagram competiton to WIN! Tag us in your fishing photos on Insta for a chance to win a Bush ‘n Beach prize pack each month!* *Conditions apply: $50 prize pack given away each month. The winner’s photo will be printed in BNB each month.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 51

Craig Griffiths with a solid chunk from the comp. Many consider Griffo Australia’s best barra tournament angler.

Young Quinn Warren with a beaut Causeway bream.

Frenchville Barra Bash wrap-up B

REAK out the winter woollies because it is now officially July.

Karim De Ridder fishes just as well as his teammate Griff. Together they are a lethal combination. Karim held the results of a short bite period.

Before we get into all the good oil from the Frenchville Sports Club Fitzroy Barra Bash, we’ll take a sneak peek at what’s been happening locally and what we can expect to see.

In the estuaries two species have ramped up.

The first is blue salmon.

These guys can be found in schools of hundreds and are suckers for an erratic soft vibe.

This would be the number-one technique that an-

The Milners sure know how to bag a feed. How’s this for quality from a recent patch of good weather?

The author’s best barra for the comp came in at 92cm.

Page 52 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Capricorn Coast

by JOHN BOON

glers target them with.

If they aren’t responding to the old lift and drop technique, then throw in a few wild kicks.

You’ll be surprised what will get them fired up.

Coorooman Creek has been the most reliable for blueys.

Brendan Warren recently visited Coorie with his young fella Quinn.

They had a ball catching blueys off the rocks right beside the ramp.

The other species that’s started firing is the humble bream.

As soon as the temperature dropped, the bream action heated up.

The favourite spots for bream have been Coorooman, the Causeway and Corio Bay, with oyster rocks and gravel bars the most reliable ground.

In saying that, Brendan and Quinn went and worked some of the snags in the Causeway after their Coorooman visit and did very well.

Light line makes good fun for the youngsters.

We had our first dose of good winter weather recently, with some positive reports.

All the bottom species bit well including red emperor, large-mouth nannygai and trout.

Some hefty goldband

snapper were also in the mix.

Most of the guys I chatted with said putting in the extra effort to get fresh bait made the difference.

Catching your own fresh baits and securing live bait like yakkas will improve your chances tenfold when heading out onto the big blue.

Big spanish continue to run well, with the pick of areas being Flat, Perforated and Manifold.

Reports from around the islands are that spanish, school and spotty mackerel have been very sporadic.

School mackerel were being caught at places like Iron Pot one day but were gone the next.

One thing is for sure, a bad day on the water is better than the best day at work.

There’s only one way to find out if the mackerel are there and that’s to go and check it out for yourself.

Fresh baked mackerel with a few chips would be one of my favourites.

I might have to have a go myself.

Frenchville Barra Bash First, a massive thankyou to all involved in making the Barra Bash a success.

So many people work behind the scenes, and every single one of them needs to take a bow.

It’s only in its second year but anyone would think the event had been running for decades.

With so many awesome giveaways, even a few of my mates walked away with the likes of Edge Rods and Daiwa Zillion reels.

Steve Lill had the MC duties once again after a stellar performance last year, and the crowd was delighted with his performance.

On registration night, Steve highlighted how hard the comp was going to be.

Most competitors had been out pre-fishing and the grapevine was buzzing with the news that

plenty of barra were out there, but the bite was tough.

This year, because the Fitzroy River was still recovering from minor flooding, organisers decided to include the rest of the Rockhampton net-free zone.

It was a wise move, with 30 more teams competing than last year.

The rego night went well with everyone brought up to speed and loads of prizes given away.

Rego night activities were kept brief, as organisers were well aware that everyone would be keen to get some sleep before the two big days ahead.

The first day was tough.

With water temps falling, the Fitzroy was the place to be; unfortunately, most of it was unfishable.

Other areas like Corio Bay, Coorooman and Port Alma came to the fore.

Throughout the entire area only a few spots hold barra.

Technology has made these spots available for even the newcomers.

Moving between spots was hard.

Getting on a productive area at the right stage of the tide was even harder.

I said, ‘hard, not impossible.’

The local gurus were in the know.

The Lill and Spyve brothers had chosen to dodge a few crowds and head up to Corio Bay. Craig Griffiths and Colin Brett are two very talented anglers who do well on a tough bite, and both chose to fish from the Port Alma area.

We made a few unproductive decisions from day one but were rewarded

with one solid bite from a 92cm barra on the deck.

Team Edge Rods of Griffo and Karim boated three.

Colin Brett and Mick Slade from Edge Rods/ Lucky Craft also caught three.

The Spyves did well, boating four from Corio.

Team Hazard came in second with five, but the Lills were the shining star with five whoppers.

After day one we were sitting at 17th.

We weren’t feeling too bad as more than half the field hadn’t boated a barra.

Yep, that’s how tough things were.

We had to refocus for the final eight hours on day two.

We had some serious discussion about what we needed to do from what we had seen on day one.

A plan was hatched and we stuck to it.

It was a wise move and it paid off.

We caught five barra on the final day, with our last one boated and photographed one minute before knocking off.

Edge Rods hit the turbo button and landed seven on day two.

Edge Rods / Lucky Craft were solid as always, landing five.

The Lill and Spyve brothers landed three each.

We were confident about the top three but the fourth and fifth place would be a tough call.

The best part about any competition is the hype and excitement.

No scoreboard updates on the final day just builds intensity.

* continued P53

After a technical glitch, Shane Petty took out the biggest king threadfin for the comp at 140cm. What a beast.

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Fishing action fires in July

H

APPY July everyone!

You could say we really do have Christmas in July because we are finally gifted with beautiful weather and outstanding fish.

Stanage Bay is being spoilt this month, with endless fishing options and the ongoing development of our new boat ramp.

The ramp is still single-lane access for your

Stanage Bay

by PEE WEE

safety, so patience is key, but boy we’re in for a treat upon completion.

As for fishing news around the area, you can get out wide again and venture among the Hexham and Marble islands and further out to the Percy Isles and return with

some great reef fish.

Red jew (nannygai), coral trout, sweetlip and spanish mackerel are high on the catch list around these locations.

All species are going for nicely presented fresh baits, with squid a big winner.

Trolling for mackerel using a spoon will get you the best results, but as always, if they go off the spoons, definitely take other options to test.

Areas south of Stanage towards Shoalwater may be out of bounds due to the current Department of Defence Exercise Talisman Sabre.

Listen out for coast guard notices for confirmation on where you can and cannot go.

The boat ramp works at Stanage Bay.

Inside the bay, mud crabs are still coming in, so it is worth bringing the crab pots.

The cold weather is yet to deter them.

Bream are being caught off the rocks on the Stanage Bay side and Quail Island.

Barra and salmon are tapering off and the Jew Hole has been a little quieter.

Always have a fish at the Jew Hole because you never know what monster you might bring in.

Referring back to Talisman Sabre, please be mindful of this occurring in July.

The road in to Stanage Bay will be restricted to residents and genuine guests.

The road may become quite rugged and traffic will be heavy, so please drive accordingly and follow any instructions.

Camping at this time of year is fantastic.

The campground is always open and generally there is a spot for all.

If you’re chasing a little extra comfort and warmth, be sure to contact Stanage Bay Marine & Accommodation to inquire about a holiday home.

Not that you’ll have time for rest with all the fishing action going on!

Anyway, enough reading and a little more go-go.

See you on the water!

Taryn and Flanno nailed a couple of quality spanish mackerel.

Taryn and Flanno with some lovely reef fish.

Frenchville Barra Bash wrap-up * from P52

For the presentation night Steve Lill was joined by the Honey Badger himself, Nick Cummins.

These pair absolutely killed it on stage.

The jokes were coming thick and fast and the crowd loved every minute of it.

With Iron Jack the major sponsor, everyone was rewarded with Iron Jack on tap.

I know I had my fair share and it’s a pretty good drop if you haven’t

checked it out.

The Frenchville Sports Club put on a great buffet dinner.

It’s one of our family’s favourite places in Rockhampton to drop in for lunch or dinner.

It was now getting down to presentation time.

The biggest surprise to everyone was the quality of king salmon caught.

Even on the first day three threadies over 1200mm in length were caught, with the biggest 1280mm.

The overall king thread-

fin champion after a minor electronic glitch was Shane Petty with a monster coming in at 1400mm.

Boden Spice was next at 1390mm.

Four threads cracked the 1300mm bracket and another five were in the 1200mm range.

The most metres of king threadfin saw a hotly contested field.

The Spice Brothers were the most consistent over the two days and took out the category’s first place, with a bag consisting of

It took a lot of hard work to get here especially with a tough bite. The author’s team Downtime took out 5th place.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

12.235m of king.

Barra Havoc came in second with 9.910m.

The next prize was for the biggest barra.

Ben Fulton was out on his lonesome with the only metre barra for the comp, which won him a cool thousand dollars.

Boden Spice came second with a 950mm specimen.

Most metres of barra for teams was up next.

I’m glad to report our team Downtime managed to grab fifth place with 3.93m.

In fourth place was the River Rats with 3.94m.

Third went to the Idnumarrab Brothers with 5.02m.

Second place was taken by Edge Rods/Lucky Craft at 5.1m, and Edge Rods convincingly kicked butt with 7.77m.

Once the presentations were done it was time to live it up.

Not many people went straight for the door.

Most hung around to talk fishing and drink beer.

Morale is very important with most comps and the Frenchville knows how to cater to it very well.

Everyone fished their butts off and the overall captures highlighted that it was in fact a tough competition.

Only 95 barra were

caught for a total of 63.37m and 42 king threadfin for 44.235m.

This was well down on the previous year, with conditions having a lot to do with it.

The Sunday after the comp was an all-new family fun day competition.

Families were encouraged to have a go for free at trying to snag a barra.

I dragged myself out of bed with a proper headache to take part.

We didn’t manage a barra but caught some goldspotted cod and one hell of a flathead.

Some cool prizes were given out and the draw of a mint Polycraft boat had the crowd buzzing.

Unfortunately, I didn’t win the boat but I had a marvellous time over the entire weekend.

If you’re a keen angler who wants to jump on board the fun, then make sure you look up the Frenchville Barra Bash next year.

I can promise you will have the time of your life and make some new friends.

A massive thankyou to all the sponsors that make the comp what it is.

Fishing the Rockhampton net-free zone should be on everyone’s priority list.

The top 3 from the barra bash starting top left.

Karim De Ridder and Craig Griffiths from Edge Rods, Colin Brett and Mick Slade from Edge Rods/Lucky Craft, Jonathan Lill and Steve Lill from Idnumarrab Brothers.

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stanagebay.com Call 07 4937 3145 Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 53

Snapper and whiting fishing in the tropics

H

I all, it’s that time of year in the Mackay area when the water temperature drops below 20C and snapper arrive in our waters.

A 70cm snapper for the author taken on a live herring.

Mitch and a snapper landed using plastics.

f

Jason Kidd

0457 254 740

Page 54 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

This decrease in water temperature is the trigger the locals have been waiting for to get among some snapper action.

Along with snapper, the big winter whiting turn up in estuaries, providing plenty of great fun and more target species.

Our window for chasing these awesome southern fish is small and only lasts a few months at best.

The fish however, are anything but small, with mostly bigger models of fish journeying up the east coast.

Catching a small snapper in the Mackay region has become a rarity in recent years, with most fish measuring 70cm-plus.

Fantastic for anglers but it can make it difficult to find a second fish for the table smaller than 70cm.

This is a good problem though, and if we have to take the one big unit per fisho we usually put the rest back.

I am sure fishos will deal with it, especially considering the enjoyment of battling these awesome fighting fish.

From May and all through winter, massive schools of baitfish get pushed in against the coastline and estuaries.

Following this biomass are many predators such as multiple mackerel species, tuna, cobia and snapper.

Find these bait schools on good grounds and you are in with a great chance.

Often these locations can be only a few kilometres offshore, allowing even small boats the opportunity to get into rodbending action.

A soft plastic slowly bounced across these sites will often result in success.

On other occasions you may be required to mix it up using strip baits and live bait to fire them up.

Ticking off a good snapper in winter is a challenge many local hardcore fishos take on and with the numbers of fish migrating our way at this time it’s a challenge that can be easily achieved.

As the cooler water makes it into the estuaries, things can slow for species like barra, making them more difficult to get a bite from, but the prolific numbers of winter whiting it brings into the creeks makes up for that.

The winter whiting season in the Mackay region is as good as anywhere on the east coast.

Our large tidal variance and strong current flow in creeks stirs up the sandbanks and bottom.

This exposes crustaceans, worms and other critters, creating a perfect feeding location for the whiting and great fishing

Fishing Mackay

by JASON KIDD

spot for the angler.

Identifying these locations in the creeks is a matter of looking for squeezes or areas where the current is increased due to a bottleneck or bend.

Shallow yabby beds where the tide scours away the banks are good locations to find schools of feeding fish.

Night fishing with fresh beach worms has provided the best results so far this year, especially on the bigger fish.

Fishing the in- and outgoing tides is equally productive as long as you have enough run to bring the fish along.

Good catches during the day are still achievable, though the fish are a little shier and harder to entice to bite.

During the day, get your baits as far from the boat as you can and

cast at 90 degrees to the current flow, allowing the baits to roll around naturally.

And when you start getting a few, ensure you have a bait in the water to try to keep the school around and fired up.

Fishing as light as possible with 8lb leader at the most will definitely increase your catch rate.

On a recent whiting trip two of us picked up 32 fish over 30cm, with most over 35cm and the best going 39cm.

Throw in a dozen bream and a few small grunter as by-catch and you have an action-packed fishing session and fantastic fun.

A 35cm-plus whiting on a 1000-size spin reel and light line makes for great fun in strong current.

All fish were caught during the last three hours of the incoming tide on fresh-caught beach worms.

The results of a night spent fishing for whiting.

Marius with a good snapper caught on a Z-Man paddle tail.

Kahu and a 38cm whiting hooked on a beach worm.

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Ben boated a mack tuna.

Chris held a nannygai.

Working around the weather to find fish

F

IRST, a big g’day to everyone and we hope you are all happy and healthy.

The fishing this month finds us very similar to last month, with the most consistent thing being the wind and rain.

I tell you, it’s nothing if not relentless, with clear blue skies and less than 20 knots of wind a rarity.

Oh well, it is what it is, so we move on and try to enjoy the fishing, which we certainly love!

The Hinchinbrook Channel has fished pretty well, with a good variety of fish caught there.

Species we came across included a mix of trevally, goldspotted estuary cod, good size grunter, fingermark, mangrove jack, bream, batfish, whiting, nannygai, large catfish and even a few juvenile hammerhead sharks.

A surprise catch was a blubberlip bream, which was the first we have encountered in these waters, but others must be present.

Hinchinbrook News

by TEAM CRACKAJACK

Unfortunately, the salty barra have remained elusive, with only scattered catches.

Up in the fresh we’ve seen better numbers, with plenty of barra, sooty grunter and mangrove jack feeding aggressively and smacking lures.

We have used a variety of lures, live and dead baits, live herring, prawns and poddy mullet with squid, pilchards and mullet flesh also acceptable.

Lures that produced this month were from the Lively Lures range.

Lively Lures used included the Ziggy SD 70 Pink Dancer and Mad Mullet 2.5” Deep in Pink/ Yellow Barra.

The crocodiles are starting to show themselves

a bit more in the cooler water and sightings will surely increase as the months progress.

Remember, we share the waters with these apex predators, so stay vigilant and be aware.

Offshore has been good when the winds have permitted.

On these occasions the carpark has filled and the ramp has become a hive of activity, with all manner of craft hurrying to take advantage of these wonderful but short-lived windows.

It is almost like the start of a grand prix race on the water, with boats pouring out of the channel and racing off to their favourite fishing spots.

We found the fishing

good but the sharks were around in numbers, so the race was on to get the fish past them to the top.

Sometimes we won, sometimes we lost!

I think some extralarge GTs pilfered a few hooked fish because the rods loaded up with extra weight and lines screamed off at a great rate, breaking lines and straightening hooks.

Endurance was tested and arms were stretched, with some anglers pulling up a bit sore the next day.

It was fun but furious fishing that saw us concede defeat and move on, but not before boating nice tea-leaf trevally, good size golden trevally and a feed of decent nannygai.

Spanish mackerel, a few grey mackerel, cobia, mack tuna and coral trout also came aboard.

When trolling, we used the Blue Pilly and Purple Slimy from Lively Lures.

Jigging, they fell to Gypsys and Streakers in the 80g range.

Baits were pilchards and squid.

If you’re ever in this neck of the woods and plan on doing a spot of fishing and find yourself in need of tackle, bait, rods, reels or pretty much anything to do with spending time

Two full-time local guides!

on the water, do yourself a favour and drop in and see Lachlan at Halifax Homebrew and Tackle.

He’s a top bloke and will be able to help you out with whatever you’re after, or at the very least point you in the right direction.

Well that’s all for this month as we wait rather impatiently for the weather to break and more days on the water.

Until next time, from the team at Crackajack, stay safe.

May the winds remain low and the fish count high.

Joseph landed a mangrove jack.

Joseph with a spanish mackerel.

Full-day inshore or offshore charters Come on a Hinchinbrook wilderness fishing holiday and tick some of those trophy fish off your bucket list – barra, mangrove jack, coral trout, GTs, sooty grunter, spanish mackerel, black marlin, queenies, nannygai and more!

• Two boats available catering for groups of 2-8 • 3 to 7-day packages including accommodation T: 07 4777 2968 M: 0417 192 318 E: barra@crackfish.com A little freshwater barra caught by Brandon.

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CheCk out our website >>> CraCkfish.Com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 55

Bassday Backfire a superb surface lure Illegal fishing an omnipresent issue B T

Every fish caught by a commercial or recreational angler is precious and should be treated in an ethical and respectful manner. Every fish caught in an illegal manner is a fish stolen from a public-owned resource and the pockets of commercial operators. Perpetrators are thieves, pure and simple. This message needs to be at the centre of our current reforms. A fundamental requirement of our Fisheries department, wholeheartedly supported by commercial, recreational and Indigenous representatives.

A S S D A Y makes some of the best Japanese lures available anywhere.

Their expertise in the surface lure market is second to none, with the Sugapen one of the deadliest and best surface lures available.

The brand’s newest creation, the Backfire, was originally designed for black porgy on Lake Hamana in Shizuoka, Japan, but it has proven itself in our

local conditions.

And like the Sugapen, it is sure to be a favourite for keen anglers.

The Backfire is 65mm long and through wired, making it strong and dependable.

It weighs 7.5g and casts exceptionally well for a small lure.

The large cupped face is capable of both dramatic pops and subtle, ripple-inducing pops when using a slow and light touch.

The slim profile pro-

duces little wind resistance.

The action is that of a classic popper and will be excellent for bass, bream and other surface feeders.

It works best with a pop, pop, pause technique.

The new model comes in eight colours, all but one designed exclusively for Australia.

Visit bassday.com.au or facebook.com/Bass dayAus for more information.

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www.issuu.com/bnbfishing Page 56 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

HE Fisheries Minister Mark Furner recently announced greatly increased penalties for ‘black market’ offences, including jail terms of up to three years as part of the ongoing reform process.

Such measures are certainly long overdue and must be applied across all sectors involved, including both recreational and commercial users.

Every marine species that is undersized, protected, taken by illegal methods or sold on the black market is an object stolen from the resource that we, the public, effectively own.

Any person who engages in or condones such activities is therefore complicit in the plundering of our fishery and it could be argued that those who cause the deaths of marine animals by pollution are just as culpable.

It’s all very well to be altruistic but in terms of practicality, the waters are very muddy indeed (please excuse the pun).

Our Fisheries enforcement officers are very thin on the ground, their equipment is often inadequate for the job and operating budgets way too small.

A ‘job’ may have to be canned for the simple reason that an exhausted budget does not allow them to fuel their boat!

The problems don’t end there as many Fisheries regulations are poorly written and, occasionally, seemingly unenforceable.

In the case of commercial fishing breaches, many don’t even get to court because the industry provides expensive legal representation for accused fishers that can threaten the outcome of even the most carefully presented evidence.

Losing a case can mean having to pay the legal expenses of the alleged offender.

Those court costs eventually come directly from the pockets of you and me, the public purse!

So even when a fisher is caught red-handed fishing illegally, one small error in procedure by enforcement officers can lead to the legal action being abandoned and the perpetrator getting off scot-free!

Fighting for Fish

by DAVE DONALD

I’ve recently read a fascinating book entitled The North Queensland Fishing Eldorado – Memoirs of a Gulf Fisherman by Ralph De Lacy.

He spent 25 years as a commercial fisher in the Gulf of Carpentaria and for most of that time was regarded as the top barramundi producer in the area.

At the end of the 1980s, he became disillusioned with the way the industry was being managed, sold his business and went gold mining instead.

De Lacy’s criticism of the culture of fisheries management in Queensland at that time is scathing!

His anecdotes regarding the frontier-style plundering of the Gulf’s barramundi and threadfin salmon stocks with no regard at all for their future are heartbreaking to those of us who have experienced near-pristine areas.

Some of his anecdotes demonstrate how prolific our Gulf fishery once was.

He tells of working a patch of king salmon for three months at the mouth of a river not far from Karumba where he filled his freezer with three tonnes of fillets every week before the numbers started to drop.

One memorable day on the salmon, he landed 92 fish that produced 540kg of fillets, an average of 17kg whole weight!

In the Nassau River in 1983, during the wet season run-off, his crew in one night caught 42 barra, the largest weighing 37.2kg, the smallest 19.5kg!

He maintains the introduction of monofilament nets signalled the first nail in the Gulf inshore fishery coffin but that was critically exacerbated when net sizes were dropped to allow smaller fish to be taken.

The number of fish now required to produce a tonne of fillets doubled and the reduction in the numbers of large breeding fish caused a radical drop in the size of breeding females.

That area will never be as productive again.

As representatives of Sunfish, Bill Bowtell of

Yeppoon and I attended the first Barramundi Fishery Management Conference ever held in Queensland in 1985.

We were both amazed at the information revealed at that meeting.

The fishery state-wide was obviously in serious trouble commercially at that time.

One Gulf fisher regaled the gathering with the story of grabbing a senior fisheries manager by the lapels and dragging him over his desk to let him know that operators in that area were not happy!

Something was obviously drastically wrong with the culture of the Fisheries department in our state, something I have experienced for over 30 years since as a member of various government management groups.

Much of that stems from the enormous bias towards the commercial fishing sector.

Politicians, it seems, are only interested in the figures showing how many tonnes of dead fish have gone to market each year – the more the better!

An integral part of this concentration on the size of the harvest has been the ‘protection’ of those who fish commercially.

Even today, operators who are prosecuted and fined for illegal activities are not permitted to be named in government press releases.

Even more worrying is those with histories of multiple offences over many years have not been subject to any sort of licence reviews.

One long-time commercial operator in the Mackay area has been fined on numerous occasions for a wide range of offences over three decades, has ‘sold’ his licence for large sums on at least three occasions during government-sponsored buyback schemes, and yet is still out there plundering the beaches and rivers with almost complete disregard for fisheries regulations.

The only way his name or photo reached the local papers was through the efforts of local reporters

rather than court reports.

The question must be asked why this serial abuser of fisheries regulations (and others like him) continues to be allowed to own a commercial fishing licence!

But perhaps, even more importantly, why a supposedly ‘responsible’ Fisheries department and the state commercial fishing industry body allows him to continue to blatantly rob the resource.

One Gulf fisheries officer told me of an occasion when the budget allowed the hiring of a helicopter for a surveillance exercise.

Normally they would have used a boat and, in that case, would invariably find fishers having a beer on the bank with their nets stowed on their arrival due to the activity of the so-called marine grapevine.

When they used the chopper to drop in, almost every fisher was found breaching regulations and a bucketful of offence notifications issued.

Money for further helicopter trips dried up after that, rumoured to be as a result of vehement protests from the fishers’ hierarchy.

This appears to reflect departmental support for illegal fishing activities.

But what really concerns me, as a responsible, ethical fisher, is the almost complete silence from the commercial fishing industry regarding its illegal operators.

Rather than regarding such practices as stealing from the resource, the attitude seems supportive, even in the most serious of cases.

Industry social media platforms certainly trend in that direction.

If you owned a cattle property and your neighbour came and rustled some of your stock, you’d be on the phone to the stock squad immediately.

But find a fellow commercial fisher stringing a net from one side of a local creek to the other and the reaction is likely to be a thumbs up rather than a call to the Fisheries hotline.

Until commercial fishers take responsibility for cleaning up their own industry, they can never be * continued P57

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Rejuvenated Trinity Inlet at Cairns

T

RINITY Inlet has enjoyed netfree status for about three years now.

With the nets out of the picture, local anglers have seen a boom in fish stocks and local catches.

Fishing in the inlet improved significantly in a remarkably short time.

Locals and visitors

Fishing Cairns

by BRETT PARKS

alike rejoiced as fish numbers returned to levels not seen for many years in the area.

Trinity Inlet is on Cairns’s doorstep, so

Sharyn beat all comers with the most fish.

The author with an estuary cod.

for visitors staying in the city, it’s only a short walk to Marlin Marina where they’ll board their vessel to visit the inlet.

Several operators run full and half-day trips around the inlet’s estimated 90km-plus of waterways.

Visitors, some who are first-time fishers, are often rewarded with a pleasant day on the water among beautiful surroundings catching stunning fish that are cleaned and prepared for them to take home.

Prime summer species include barramundi, mangrove jack and fingermark, while GTs, queenfish, flathead, estuary cod, bream and grunter are more prolific during the cooler months.

Fish breeding cycles should always be considered by conservationminded anglers when deciding when to go fishing, and remember to take only what you need for a decent feed.

A prime attraction of

Tourists in a stranded hire boat.

Illegal fishing an omnipresent issue * from P56

regarded as truly professional in their craft.

Their hierarchy should be pounding on the minister’s door demanding better regulations, more enforcement and the removal of all the rogues from their midst.

Instead, they tend to defer the blame for all illegal activity onto supposed recreational fishers who are abusing the system.

It’s as though having a fishing licence gives them a right to fish any way they want.

My recent reports on the jewfish swim bladder black market told of a sector of the fishing industry seemingly out of control.

New measures have www.bnbfishing.com. au

been introduced and it will be interesting to see if they affect this insidious trade.

While Fisheries officers have inferred the problem revolves around so-called ‘recreational’ fishers selling the bladders, the information I’ve received points mostly in the opposite direction – a black market dominated by rogue commercials.

The Fisheries department has been sent comprehensive information gleaned by concerned recreational fishers over many months including the names of the major players and the people doing the buying.

This ‘surveillance’ has been carried out at considerable personal risk by a core group of concerned individuals

who fear for the future of black jewfish in central Queensland.

Let’s hope the new regulations and their vigilance are supported with heavy fines and possible jail terms.

We, as responsible recreational fishers, all need to pursue our fishing in an ethical manner, having regard for the future of our marine environment.

This should also be the expectation of both the commercial fishing industry and our fisheries managers.

Reminding both parties of these responsibilities needs to become an urgent message if we are to expect our fishery to recover to anywhere near its former state.

Trinity Inlet for a number of anglers is it is close and protected, making it a great option when conditions make it hard to fish on the reef.

Most guides start the session in search of live bait, which can produce some surprises at times.

Once the live well is full, the skippers head to their favourite locations throughout the region, with a wide variety of options available to anglers.

All bait and quality tackle is provided, making for an enjoyable day on the water.

If joining a charter is not your thing, you have a number of other options for wetting a line in Cairns.

Shore-based options abound, including the northern wall of Marlin Marina and a number of fishing platforms including the one at the Tingalpa Street boat ramp.

And if you’ve got all your own gear, you can hire a boat and explore the inlet on your own time.

If you decide to go out on your own, it might be a good idea to not go on the day you’re also flying home.

I was out on the inlet a few months ago when I came around the corner and found a hire boat high and dry on a sandbar.

The four occupants were terrified of crocodiles and the boat was at least half a metre out of the water with the tide still dropping.

I went over to assist in whatever way I could and the occupants told me they had a flight in four hours’ time.

Considering the state they were in, I suspect they missed it.

I’m yet to catch a barra over a metre in the inlet, but one fisho who works for a local tackle shop boasts of catching them regularly.

And while as a lure fisher I prefer fishing the river systems, I have found myself spending more time exploring the inlet and learning its secrets.

Trinity Inlet is well worth exploring for many reasons other than fishing.

A small population of crocodiles calls it home, you can catch mud crabs, and plenty of birdlife is around.

The net ban has been the single-best thing to happen to the inlet in living memory.

It has sprung back to be a healthy and vibrant system for both locals and visitors to enjoy year-round.

Visit fishingcairns. com.au for a comprehensive overview of the system in the ‘Locations’ section.

Juvenile fingermark can be found throughout Trinity Inlet.

Peter landed a small queenfish.

Marlin Marina, Cairns.

The beautiful Trinity Inlet.

Planning a trip to North Queensland?

Book a charter today!

From barramundi to marlin, jungle perch to jacks, we’ve got you covered.

www.fishingcairns.fish 0448 563 586

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 57

Strawberry coral trout are prime and colourful captures off Cape York.

Hope Islands make a great place to stretch the legs and have a snorkel.

A comprehensive guide to Cooktown

N

ESTLED on the banks of the Endeavour River lies the absolute gem of Cooktown.

Beautiful bush camping at Endeavour River Escape just north of Cooktown.

Looking south along the stunning coastline from Archer Point.

Page 58 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Arriving here really makes you feel like you are on Cape York.

Frontier architecture dating back to the heady goldrush days, alluring views out to the Coral Sea and the rugged Cape York Outback beyond and the laidback locals that are the cherry on top.

Cooktown of course is famous for its rich history.

Lieutenant James Cook limped his ship the Endeavour into the river here way back in 1770 after running aground on a coral reef.

Repairs took many weeks and then gales prevented them leaving for some time.

That visit is an amazing story on its own, particularly the interactions with the local Guugu Yimidhirr people who called this area home.

Then there was the learning about the local plants and wildlife by scientists Banks and Solander.

In fact, this is where Europeans first saw kangaroos, and that name comes from the local language name for this animal: ‘gangurru’.

One hundred and three years after the Endeavour left, ‘Cookstown’ as it was then called was established as a thriving port for the newly discovered goldfields along the Palmer River.

As gold reserves declined, so too did Cooktown, to become almost a ghost town after World War II. Since the 1970s, however, the town’s fortunes have rebounded as it has become a favoured destination for four-wheeldrive travellers.

Cooktown is now home to about 2600 people and offers a great range of services.

The best spot to get an appreciation of this magic place is atop Grassy Hill.

Hold onto your hats here and check out the superb 360-degree panorama, which includes those enticing, fish-laden coral reefs to the east.

In fact the Great Bar-

Cape York by ‘BILLABONG’ BAZZ LYON

rier Reef lies closer to Cooktown than any other town along the Queensland coast.

One undeniable truth about Cooktown is it can be windy enough to blow a dog off its chain at times.

However, the calmer wind gaps between those passing high-pressure systems often allow you to access the reefs.

Coral trout are the premier catch, but red emperor, sweetlip, jobfish, mackerel, longtail tuna and cobia are also about in good numbers.

Off the headlands you’ll also catch fingermark, goldspotted cod and mangrove jack.

From September onwards the trade winds begin to abate, though there will still be windy periods.

Typically, from November onwards into summer there are many days of morning calm followed by brisk afternoon northeasterly sea breezes, and this is a prime reef fishing period.

To head reefwards on one of the glassed-out days with the scenic backdrop of Cape York is a truly unforgettable experience.

Many locals fish the morning, have a snorkel and then head back home

before the sea breeze gets too carried away.

Both Egret and Boulder reefs fish well and are only half an hour from Cooktown on a calm day.

Plenty of other great reefs lie beyond, and the Hope Islands are a great place to land and have lunch and a swim in the shallows with the family.

Both the Endeavour and Annan rivers offer good fishing for barramundi and all the usual estuary species.

Be mindful that the Annan downstream of the boat ramp (adjacent to the bridge) is fairly shallow and best navigated along the northern side on at least half tide (this can change, of course).

The river deepens closer to the mouth and into Esk Creek on the southern side.

A boat ramp is in town, near the mouth of the Endeavour, and also near the little township of Marton about 8km up the Endeavour Valley Rd. This ramp is the best option should you want to fish the upper estuary because it allows you to avoid the often rough and exposed ‘Mad Mile’ between the lower boat ramp at town and the first river bend near Two Mile Creek.

Otherwise, the iconic Cooktown wharf produc-

es good fish most days, including spanish mackerel from about August onwards, until the wet season starts and the river runs fresh.

The Lure Shop just opposite the bowls club is stocked with an amazing array of fishing, diving and hunting gear.

It’s a great place to pick up anything you might need and get some local updated knowledge on what’s been biting and where from the knowledgeable staff.

As far as accommodation goes, there are three camp/caravan parks in town, and a good range of motels should you be chasing a room.

However, if you are keen on a more natural setting and somewhere where you can leave your boat in the water ready to go river fishing, I highly recommend the Endeavour River Escape about 20 minutes out of town.

It has beautiful and spacious campsites, clean, well-designed amenities and great river fishing.

Using yabby pots you can catch cracker cherabin (freshwater prawns).

Turn down Barretts Creek Rd just past the airport on the Endeavour Valley Rd and it’s only a few kilometres further out.

Other great out-of-town options include the lush Endeavour Falls Tourist Park about 25km north of Cooktown on the EVR. * continued P59

The view from Grassy Hill up the Endeavour River, with the Cape York Outback beyond.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

The deal with drains on the Cape

T

HE western side of Cape York is definitely feeling the benefits of a longer than normal wet season.

The rivers are clearing and the fishing is firing.

Those lucky enough to snag the good weather windows and head offshore have encountered great pelagic action, with northern bluefin tuna and queenfish busting up on the surface and making for a fantastic topwater bite.

There are also reports of big spanish mackerel showing up and plenty of large fingermark getting around.

For those after a feed of crabs, it’s worth the effort, with good numbers caught in the Hay, Pine and Mission rivers.

Fishing in the creeks has also been productive, with quality fingermark congregating on rock bars and in deep snags.

Blue and threadfin salmon are also around, keeping both lure casters and live baiters on their toes.

If you have looked at the Weipa tide chart in the past couple of months, you may have noticed we are starting to get very small low tides during the day

Weipa Wonders

by RYAN JAMIESON

around the 0.5-8m mark.

These are my favourite tides to fish for barramundi, because it means the water is low enough for the bait drains to start to flow out of the mangroves and into the main channel.

This is a very productive way to target barra and the focus for this article.

Bait drains are channels of water that run out of the mangroves, across the mud flats and into a larger body of water such as a creek or river.

These drains bring small baitfish, crustaceans and nutrients down from the mangroves.

This in turn attracts smaller fish such as mullet and bream, and of course it’s only a matter of time before larger predatory fish including threadfin salmon, mangrove jack and barramundi turn up.

The best way to find drains in any system is to head out on a falling tide and do some reconnaissance.

Mark up banks with multiple drains so you can move from one to the next

Drains like this are barra magnets.

while working the bank, or mark individual large drains, so you can pepper them with multiple casts.

Drains with a snag in front are definitely worth a look.

Timing is fairly important when doing this style of fishing.

I like to get to the location I intend to fish a couple of hours into the runout tide and fish nearby snags or flats while I wait for the water level to drop.

When the bait drains become visible, you will notice a cloud of dirty water will develop in front of them.

It won’t be long before a line of dirty water is also along the adjacent bank, which signals the drain is ready to fish.

Once it is time to start working the drains, I simply position the boat just upstream of the drain and 10-12m from the bank.

Start by casting towards it and aim at the drain and 5m either side.

After I’ve put about 15 casts into it, I move the boat downstream of the drain and repeat the process.

All I’m doing here is working the drain at different angles.

Depending on how the fish are positioned, they may not bite the first time the lure swims past, but having the lure swim past at a different angle can sometimes trigger the fish into attacking.

After I’ve thrown what I feel to be a sufficient number of casts around the drain, I move onto the next.

If your next drain is close, it’s a good idea to cast at any snags or nervous bait you see because it’s not uncommon to hook fish between drains.

I like to have three or four rigged rods on hand with a different style of lure on each.

I find this a great way

to work out what lure the fish are hitting on the day.

If a fish hits a lure a couple of times and goes off the chew, it can sometimes be coaxed back into biting by working something different past its nose.

For example, if a fish swipes at a hard-body and then stops interacting, it can be brought back on the chew by hopping a prawn imitation through the same area.

I tend to have the most success around drains with paddle-tail lures such as Z-Man 4” SwimmerZ and Berkley Power Bait Hollow Bellys.

I rig these on 1/4oz to 3/8oz jig heads depending on the depth of water and simply cast and slow roll them back to the boat.

It’s also handy to have a Bomber-style lure on hand such as the trusty Gold Bomber or Reidy’s B52.

Using a twitch and pause retrieve is best but sometimes all it takes is a steady slow roll to bring on a bite.

It’s also a great idea to have a surface lure on hand because the action and splash from a surface lure can bring fish on the chew.

Nothing gets the heart pumping more than watching a barra smash a lure off the surface.

Cultiva Tango Dancers, Tango Props and Rebel Pop-Rs are all great lures for surface fishing around drains.

Not only barra like drains.

Saltwater crocodiles congregate in these areas and you are almost sure to come across these awesome prehistoric predators when fishing drains.

Remember to exercise caution and keep your camera on hand because they make for a great photo.

If you would like to follow my fishing adventures here on the western Cape, find me on Instagram @ jemo.in.the.cape See you on the Cape.

The author with a school-sized barra pulled from a snag in front of a drain.

Parker with a drain-caught barra.

A comprehensive guide to visiting Cooktown on Cape York * from P58

Then there Eddie’s Camp at Elim Beach about 30km beyond Hope Vale Aboriginal Community, another truly beautiful place to explore with coloured sands to the south.

Good boat-based barra fishing can be had in the lee of Cape Bedford, and the waters just offshore are famous for big spanish mackerel.

The coloured sands are only accessible at low tide and it is vital to keep to the highest part of the beach if you are driving.

Countless vehicles have come to grief with people driving down low.

The Cooktown area is not just about camping and fishing though.

Back tracking south about 11km is the turnwww.bnbfishing.com. au

off to Archer Point.

At the point, a track takes you north up to the lighthouse, which again offers wonderful views out to the Coral Sea and along the wild, uninhabited coastline.

Other side tracks lead to small beaches and good fishing can be had around the old wharf.

It is also possible to camp on the southern side among shady trees, and you can beach launch in good weather to access the magnificent Cairns and Osterland reefs and Hope Islands.

Keatings Lagoon just south of town is a great place for the nature lover and photographer, with a bird hide that overlooks the waterlily-dotted billabong.

In fact, everywhere around Cooktown is great for the photographer!

Don’t forget to visit the riverside parks in town with the statue of James Cook, cannon, musical ship and the excellent Milbi Wall.

Created by the local Guguu Yimidhirr people, it tells their stories of how the Endeavour and Annan rivers were created, of the meetings with the Endeavour’s crew and the history since, with a strong emphasis on the reconciliation the Cooktown people are noted for.

Even if you’re not heavily into history, a visit to the James Cook Museum, the Cooktown History Centre and nearby boathouse adja-

cent to the post office will not disappoint.

Now, where to from Cooktown?

West to Lakeland and

then north to Laura and the famous Quinkan rock art country?

Or northwest through the Battle Camp Range

and into the magnificent Rinyirru National Park?

For those who are more adventurous, you can punish your vehicle (and

yourself) by tackling the rough Starcke coast road to Wakooka, and then potentially Cape Melville.

Your choice!

The Cooktown area is fabulous for photography. A spectacular sunset view from Grassy Hill.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 59

4WDING & off - road

Graham about to unload his scooter using the winch.

The simple and cost-effective customised HiLux.

Getting back over country

H

I all, these days our outdoor adventurers have access to technology that makes travel so much easier.

A bit of self-taught engineering.

Simple housing for the Waeco, slide-out drawer and cooking area.

Communication, vehicle reliability, solar power and energy-storing batteries are only a few of the mod-cons enabling us to crisscross our country looking for adventure in comfort and safety.

I’ve taken the opportunity this month to share a story that is a little closer to home and may in fact inspire a few or simply provide ideas on overcoming physical problems while travelling.

I’m talking about Graham Willmington, who just happens to be my father-in-law.

Graham is one of our Aussie characters who began his days working with his hands as a builder in the ‘60s, before moving on to clearing land to graze cattle, and eventually farming sugar cane and other crops.

Classic Characters

by PAUL ‘CHIEF’ GRAVESON

You can see he has had a relationship with the land.

Farmers constantly battle Mother Nature as she tries to reclaim land.

Unfortunately, the land’s resilience doesn’t carry over to our human bodies.

Graham has been dealt a few nasty health cards and with that in mind has decided to take a road trip to check out the majestic beauty of far western Queensland.

Many at this stage of life wish to sit back and smell the roses but here’s one who wants to push through to smell the red dirt and watch a few more of those magical western sunsets.

Outback Queensland has had its best rainfall in years and places around Winton and Longreach haven’t seen such greenery in a long time.

If you look at the Janu-

Vast areas of grassy western country were previously red dust.

Page 60 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

ary to June rainfall totals for 2019 you realise the quality of rain that fell.

Winton recorded a total of 388.8mm, consisting of 28 wet days.

Mount Isa recorded 337mm over 22 wet days and Charleville recorded 197mm over 17 days.

If you take Winton as an example, the past six months have seen the equivalent of over 10 years of regular rainfall.

I’ve included a picture my son sent me of a region between Longreach and Winton where you can see the vast area of green grasses.

My son Clint recently spent his holidays at our property before heading home to Mount Isa. Being young, he throws out the swag and sleeps wherever he finds a patch of dirt.

For Graham, the simple act of throwing out a swag under a million stars becomes a memory from a time when that thin foam mattress on the earth beside a fire felt like heaven.

Due to health, Graham’s accommodation will have to consist of hotel and motel rooms.

I’m sure his recent conversations with Clint rekindled those feelings because he plans to head to a remote cattle property and visit friends in the tiny town of Dajarra just southwest of the Isa. I’ve watched Graham customise his Toyota HiLux 4x4 to accommodate his needs and thought many of his ideas could help someone else overcome physical problems that stand in the way of outback travel.

Graham has lost the ability to walk distances longer than a shuffle around the house, and depends on a mobile scooter.

He was after an aid that offered him the ability to travel over a bit of rough terrain, not just concrete paths, and of course the first obstacle was getting such a scooter on and off his fourby unaided.

You’ll notice the remote lift he has installed into the purpose-built enclosure on the back of his truck.

Solar panels on the roof of the aluminium structure recharge the deep-cycle batteries that run the winch that lifts the 200kg-plus mobility scooter on and off the tray.

Two carabiner-style clips hook onto lift points on the scooter and a simple remote control allows the operator to singlehandedly manoeuvre without stress or need for muscle.

This simple apparatus has opened a world of independence to Graham and I’ve watched him load and unload the scooter easily in a few minutes.

Making use of solar power, Graham has installed a Waeco fridge and slide-out drawers as well as an area to prepare a roadside cup of tea and meals.

Cooking utensils in the slide-out drawer and a simple gas cooker on a slide-out shelf offer a substantial food preparation area and all under the shelter of a sidemounted awning.

He may not have that swag under a million stars, but he has the opportunity to sit under the shade of a tree having a cold drink or cup of tea

and steak sanga in the middle of nowhere.

Sounds fantastic.

It just goes to show with a bit of compromise and thought you can overcome obstacles to do what makes you happy.

Too often we come up with excuses to stop ourselves achieving those little goals.

Just remember, when undertaking a self-built project similar to Graham’s truck, you have to account for the overall weight distribution and positioning of load over the rear axle.

The position of payload such as the scooter may change the handling performance of your vehicle.

A 100mm variation in position can balance the vehicle and provide you with a comfortable and safe ride.

The thought and planning that goes into what some see as a simple exercise is commonly overlooked.

Graham has transformed his vehicle and customised it to provide what he needs to tackle Outback Queensland on his terms.

Good on ya, Graham.

Go and enjoy yourself.

There is probably no better time to get out and venture into western Queensland than right now, with a swag of upcoming events.

The Wandoan Camel Races run in July, the Mount Isa Rodeo is huge and starts on August 9 and the Cunnamulla Festival kicks off on August 30.

That’s just a few events worth visiting as well as the normal everyday attractions.

Until next time, get outdoors and enjoy yourself.

Cheers, Chief www.bnbfishing.com. au

C ARAVANNING & adventure Sea change from the dusty red centre

A

FTER a long time in the hot and dusty centre of Australia, we were craving a sea view, so we decided to go through South Australia to the Eyre Peninsula.

The LandCruiser was due for a service, so we booked it into Toyota at Whyalla and stayed at a beautiful free camp at Fitzgerald Bay. This was a truly amazing slice of paradise where you could park the van and have your own little piece of beachfront where the kids could wander, explore and have a dip in the ocean.

We even watched some of the locals raking up blue swimmers with funny-looking aluminium rakes at low tide.

Fitzgerald Bay was also a geological site – the only natural pebble dune deposit in Australia.

We ended up staying here for three nights and enjoyed every minute of it, but due to the car service we moved into Whyalla Caravan Park on the water.

This was a great caravan park and being school holidays plenty of other children were running around for our kids to play with.

Kite surfers were taking advantage of miles of

Caravanning

by TODD EVELEIGH

waist-deep water and extremely windy conditions.

Whyalla is an industrial town with a number of steel manufacturing plants.

It is very clean and scenic, with lots of touristy things to see including great lookouts, dolphins coming into the marina daily and HMAS Whyalla in a naval maritime museum where you can pay to wander through and learn a little about its history.

After the car had been serviced and the van hooked back up, the plan was to head back along the east coast to Port Lincoln.

We also needed to repair the step on the van, which I happened to bend on a track back on the West MacDonnell Ranges, and resolve an issue with our fridge not staying cold.

After booking the van in for the repairs and dropping it off to the fantastic people at Port Lincoln Caravan Centre, we took the kids to Port Lincoln.

We found a little jetty along the foreshore and a park the kids absolutely loved.

Coffin Bay National Park.

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Oysters from Coffin Bay.

We also came across a nice wooden jetty popular with fishos, a swimming enclosure and a life size statue of Makybe Diva, the first horse to win the Melbourne Cup three times.

Makybe Diva was owned

by Tony Santic, one of the iconic tuna fishers of Port Lincoln.

Port Lincoln is the base for a huge Australian tuna fleet, and the home of the Tuna Toss.

We thoroughly enjoyed Port Lincoln, as a wonderful indoor aquatic centre had amazing indoor slides and a blow-up obstacle for the kids to climb over and play on while we indulged by soaking in spas and saunas to relax our rigs after all the miles we had done.

We ended up spending a few days at Port Lincoln just unwinding and enjoying the laid-back atmosphere.

When all the van repairs were done it was off to Coffin Bay National Park, where we had booked a site on the National Parks South Australia website.

I really have to say how

pleasant, easy and informative the website was to use and access, which included details of the sites and even photos.

Why in the world the other states and territories haven’t adopted this format has got me baffled, as it is so user-friendly.

Then we drove about 40 minutes west from Port Lincoln to the beautiful and sleepy little town of Coffin Bay. After setting up at the national park we headed back into town in search of a feed of Coffin Bay oysters, which are renowned for their uniform shape and great eating quality.

The trick was to drive around the industrial area, where all the oyster processing sheds were housed, until we saw someone unloading oysters and hit them up to see if we could buy a few dozen.

This seemed cost-effective and also ensured the freshest oysters, as they had just come off the boat out of their holding pens.

Boy did the Eveleigh family put a dent in the population, with all of us having a good crack at them.

Now, we thought the oysters were good but, boy, how beautiful was Coffin Bay National Park?

We did several day trips looking at different areas and bays of the national park.

I had an absolute ball taking the V8 LandCruiser through the big sand drifts and the whole family enjoyed the magnificence of the crystal-clear water of the bay, the sheer rock cliffs looking out to the ocean with seals swimming by and the abundance of wildlife in the form of emus, chicks and wallabies.

We absolutely loved Coffin Bay but it was hard to get used to the four seasons in one day.

We experienced a beautiful, sunny day, which changed to a 40-knot sea breeze, to no-wind with rain and finished up cold.

Having said that, we really enjoyed the area, exploring everything it had to offer, the sites, food and even catching our own mussels which were amazing in the Weber with diced tomatoes and a little bit of white wine.

As a keen fisho, it really was a tease for me to be surrounded by these amazing waters and bays and not have a boat to fish and explore them.

I cracked a bit of a tanty and decided to head off for the Murray River.

I vowed to come back for another crack at this area but with a tinnie to dive for crays and scallops, have a fish for those king george whiting and a few blue swimmers, and also head up Streaky Bay way to explore what it has to offer.

Makybe Diva – Port Lincoln.

Fitzgerald Bay.

Sunset at Whyalla.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 61

An awesome estuary haul.

CatCh barra

at Lake MonDuran

Family fun fishing around Gin Gin.

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Winter perfect for daytime fishing on Monduran

W

INTER is here and we’ve had several cold snaps over the past month to prove it.

One day you can be dressed in jeans and a jumper, the next shorts and shirt.

Our climate is unpredictable but it’s classed as sub-tropical.

The good thing about winter in the Gin Gin area is we get sunny warm days following the cold nights and mornings.

Today for example with an overnight low of 13C, it’s now 9.30am and has already reached 20C with an expected high of 25C by 2pm.

It’s easy to understand why our southern state visitors enjoy travelling to Queensland for the winter where it’s 10C warmer.

These days are great for fishing, especially as the sun gets to its high point and penetrates maximum light into the water, allowing lures to collect the light and achieve the best result.

Possibly one lure that is and should be in everyone’s tackle box is the Gold Bomber.

This lure works on barra and several fresh and saltwater species too.

Other lures with large amounts of gold colour that are great barra lures

Monduran Dam

by LES GANE

include the Classic 120 Golden Streak, which comes in a wide range of depths.

The RMG Scorpion King Brown has a high success rate in landing some monster barra.

The Jaz Lures Flat Jak 140 with its gold internal holographic foil is very versatile in the water around the metre mark and has a high catch rate for mangrove jack as well as barramundi.

Last of the five Golden lures I recommend for winter fishing is the Killalure Barra Bait Bobby Dazzler Gold, and the name says it all.

Gold is a very reflective colour and when the light penetrates the water and hits the lure it sends out flashes that catch the eye of the roaming barra and creates attention.

The holographic imagery adds to the effectiveness of the flash from the sunlight and broadens the visual impact of the lure.

Highly reflective metallic colours simulate the flash of a baitfish in panic mode.

In clear water the sparkle can be seen for a distance and in coloured water the light reflected

from the lure illuminates suspended silt particles.

Lures have come a long way over the past decade and we have found a number of big names in the lure business are now manufacturing in China.

Most companies stand by their product but do watch the hardware that is fitted to the lure.

Some of the trebles that were supplied on hard-bodied lures were being straightened with force of less than 50kg straight pull, but a Classic Barra 120 took 150kg to straighten.

To retain the beasts that you have hunted and hooked, check the hardware fitted and remember that maintaining your gear pays off.

If you are sure your tackle is in good order, it’s one less thing to worry about when you are hooked up to a mighty barramundi.

When heading away on your fishing expedition remember the three Ps: planning and preparation is paramount!

You will see from the photo of Lake Monduran I took yesterday afternoon that not a boat is in sight.

Only five trailers in total were parked at the boat ramp: is Lake Monduran still one of Queensland’s best-kept secrets or are we just not getting out and wetting a line?

Put some time aside and get those rods cleaned of dust and visit one of the most scenic places you could find anywhere.

Lake Monduran is calling you and remember we stock 100,000 barra-

mundi fingerlings into the lake each year.

Be one of the anglers who catches one or more of the thousands of fish caught each year in this pristine waterway, halfway to everywhere but only 25km north of Gin Gin. For more information, call into Barra Havoc, southbound on the Bruce Highway between the fire station and Tyrepower or call on 0427 880 826.

Quick Dad take the photo, it’s heavy.

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

NEW LOCATION Pop in on your way to Monduran Dam for all your tackle needs – easy parking with boats!

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Page 62 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Who said you can’t catch barra in winter?

Lake Monduran is one of Queensland’s best-kept secrets.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Cool time for impoundment bass

A

S a freshwater angler, much of my fishing calendar revolves around the warmer months of the year, with hiking trips for cod, surface fishing for saratoga and sojourns into the tropics chasing sooties all being more enjoyable with higher water temperatures.

One freshwater fishery that remains productive during the coldest months of the year is our local impoundment bass scene.

Old hands need no introduction to this cold weather fishery, but with new anglers turning their attentions to the stocked lakes every year, let’s take a quick overview.

Two scenarios provide good bass fishing opportunities during winter – one in open water, the second in the fringes.

Fishing for Sport

by NEIL SCHULTZ

Open water angling tends to be most successful in our larger (that is, deeper) lakes, usually requiring depths greater than 10m to be at its best.

The ecology of large freshwater lakes is quite complex, with much of the aquatic fauna’s movement revolving around tiny microcrustaceans.

Several wee beasties we’ll collectively refer to as zooplankton, just for convenience, make up the microcrustacean communities in temperate lakes in eastern Australia.

These zooplankters mass together and move up and down in the water column in response to sunlight penetration.

Forage fish species, mainly gudgeons and juvenile bony bream, feed on the zooplankton, so follow their movements, congregating in the same areas.

Next in the food chain are the bass, which in turn zero in on the forage fish’s locations to harass them whenever hunger strikes.

As anglers, armed with that knowledge we can reasonably expect to find our target species, bass, in close proximity to the aggregations of zooplankton.

For some reason, bass schools tend to become consolidated after the sun has been on the water for a few hours.

We’ll usually fish the

Tony slipped the net under another open water bass taken on his favourite purple B65UD Boomerang.

fringes of a lake in the early morning, looking for a golden perch or two before heading out into the depths at about 9am to chase bass.

Your sounder is your best friend when searching for bass in open water, but don’t despair if you don’t have the latest, most expensive unit on your boat.

My little colour Lowrance unit is more then 10 years old but is quite capable of marking plankton aggregations as well as baitfish schools and weed beds along with the more obvious bass traces.

In search mode we troll a couple of small deepdiving lures well back to pick up any mobile bass with which we may cross paths.

Any strike is marked on the GPS so we can circle around for a follow-up pass in case we’ve clipped the edge of the action.

Once a school is located, the options open up to dropping sinking lures vertically to the fish or casting out and letting the lures sink into schools away from the boat.

Depending on the mood of the fish, either metal baitfish profiles such as the ever-productive Lazer Lures, soft plastics and vibes can be used with great success.

The second scenario that can yield great results on winter bass is flicking lures into the sun-warmed shallows.

This can be especially productive immediately following a slight rise in water level (something we don’t see often enough).

Small floating lures are a personal favourite but sinking lures such as spin-

ners and blades will work too.

I like having the ability to float a lure over vegetation when fishing recently flooded ground.

Bass will feed in very shallow water when foraging for terrestrial insects flushed out by rising levels.

Even at stable water levels, a percentage of the bass population can be found feeding the sunwarmed shallows where shrimp and crayfish make up a major part of their diet.

While we must suffer through a few cold months, a session on a bass lake during a sunny afternoon can certainly make winter more tolerable.

The perfect tracing on the sounder. Big bass harassing a bait school suspended over deep water. Note the chilly water temperature.

Cold weather doesn’t mean the fishing can’t be hot. Lake-dwelling bass caught in winter are often in stunning condition.

Borumba Bassmaster Campout weekend n July 27-28

N

OOSA Fish Headz has partnered with two of its major sponsors, Chasebaits Australia and Davo’s Tackle World Noosa to bring you the second Borumba Bassmaster Campout weekend, being held on the last weekend of July (27, 28).

Borumba Dam, just past the township of Imbil, is one of the region’s most beautiful freshwa-

www.bnbfishing.com. au

ter fishing systems.

During the event you have three bites at the cherry: Individual Bassmaster Champion for the angler who catches the two biggest bass over the two days, Saratoga Champion and the Chasebaits Teams Challenge.

You fish with your mate in the Teams event, against him or her in the Individual titles.

Plenty of prizes are on offer, with first prize a

marine wrap for your boat or kayak, an Untapped Fishing Charter with Callum Munroe, lures and apparel.

Noosa Fish Headz will provide breakfast and lunch on the Saturday and a cooked brekkie on Sunday at the boat ramp.

The full competition site setup will be based in the Borumba Dam Camping Ground.

Angler numbers are capped at 100 for this year’s event.

Full competition rules and tickets will be available on our website (noosafishheadz.com. au) from July 1.

Most of all, Noosa Fish Headz comps are about fun and community spirit and the love of fishing.

You can book your campsite at campborumba.com.au Anyone is welcome to compete, with all levels of anglers catered for.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 63

Cold mornings and big natives in the South Burnett

T

HE past few weeks in the South Burnett have seen the water temps slowly drop as winter moves in.

The Ecogear ZX40 is a real standout when the water is cold and the fish are close to the bottom.

The fish are still active and hungry but it pays to be smart about the way you approach your days fishing on our dams.

Both the edge and shallow flats bite have really fired up and you should be able to bag really healthy bass and yellowbelly over coming months.

The great thing is at this time of year bass and goldens are getting fat and healthy and a whole new array of lures can be used to target the natives.

Freshwater Impoundments

by MATTHEW LANGFORD

Lake Boondooma Recently, the best areas to hit have been the shallow edges early with lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

Rocky and weedy edges are the prime spots to target.

Early in the morning when it’s quiet and still is the best time for this type of fishing because the water temps are at their lowest and the dam is at its quietest.

Awesome yellowbelly fishing can be had at the start of winter along the edges, so if it’s yellas you want, this is where I would start.

Cast your spinnerbaits up to the weedy or rocky edge and begin a slow roll back to the boat.

Later in the morning, I would be moving off the bank and looking for active fish in 6-12m of water.

When a school is located, position the boat towards the school and cast 1/4oz or 3/8oz Ecogear VX, ZX or Little Max blades.

Let the blade hit the bottom and use a slow hopping or rolling retrieve.

Occasionally change it up and use a slow roll and kill tech-

nique because the fish will hit the lure when it’s close to the bottom, while falling or just after it has rolled off the bottom.

Later in the day when the water heats up, I’ve found the bigger bass can be caught using Nories tailspinners, with 12g being the best.

Send the tailspinner out with a long cast and let it sink to the bottom, wind up the slack and slowly lift the rod tip before dropping it back to the bottom, keeping in contact with the lure at all times.

The fish at this time of year love a bait that is falling in their face and the tailspinner suits the bite perfectly.

The fish will generally hit the tailspinner as it’s falling after the lift, so be on your toes for the bite.

Trollers are getting good yellowbelly in the arms of the dam using spinnerbaits.

Troll in close to the timber near the rocks in the Boyne arm but make sure you have a lure retriever handy because you will get snagged occasionally, however your hard work will be rewarded.

Bait fishers, your best chance is to fish the trees in the arms

of the dam in 6m of water with live shrimp.

You can catch the shrimp using opera house pots with a bit of steak set just below the kiosk or around the lake’s edges.

However, it pays to get live bait and it’s even better when you can get it from the dam you’re fishing.

Lake Barambah The fish have been up on the edge early when the water is cool and I’ve been catching good bass and yellowbelly using 1/2oz-rigged grub-tail plastics, ZX blades, skirted jigs and jerkbaits.

Look for edges with broken rock or pebbles because these are likely to hold bait and fish.

As the sun gets higher, I always move to the deeper flats and target areas around points and flats.

Around the outside of Lightning Ridge, Bass Point and the Quarry are good places to find fish in deeper water.

If the regular deeper areas don’t produce, it’s a good idea to sound around the outskirts of the dam and find those fish sitting in 3-6m of water.

Once located, target them with the techniques I mentioned for the Boondooma flats.

Blades and tailspinners are the go-to lures when the fish * continued P65

The boys from a recent charter with a couple of cracking winter bass from the shallow flats of Boondooma using 3/8oz blades.

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DAM LEVELS CURRENT AS OF 17/6/2019

DAMS

PERCENTAGE

JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN Atkinson 5 5 5 5 5 5 Awoonga 85 84 82 80 79 78 Bjelke-Petersen * 15 10 8 8 8 7 Boondooma * 41 37 35 34 32 31 Borumba * 99 96 94 95 95 95 Burdekin Falls * 83 114 104 105 100 100 Callide * 84 56 54 52 50 48 Cania * 60 79 77 75 74 72 Coolmunda * 28 18 14 12 10 9 Dyer/Bill Gunn * 6 4 9 4 4 3 Eungella * 86 101 100 99 100 100 Fairbairn * 15 13 12 17 21 20 Glenlyon * 43 16 12 12 9 9 Hinze 97 94 94 93 94 93 Julius 75 100 99 99 96 93 Kinchant * 70 85 87 86 86 87 Leslie * 8 8 7 7 7 7 Macdonald 100 98 96 103 102 102 Maroon * 89 82 79 79 78 76 Monduran/Fred Haigh * 90 85 82 81 80 78 Moogerah * 78 71 68 66 63 60 North Pine/Samsonvale * 76 73 73 72 71 69 Peter Faust/Proserpine * 60 81 81 81 81 80 Somerset * 77 75 76 75 77 76 Teemburra * 83 101 101 100 100 100 Tinaroo* 82 102 100 102 100 97 Toonumbar 90 79 75 73 71 67 Wivenhoe * 67 63 60 59 58 56 Wuruma * 97 94 89 88 87 86 Wyaralong 93 90 92 92 91 90 For updates on dams, visit sunwater.com.au or seqwater.com.au *This symbol indicates that a Stocked Impoundment Permit is required to fish these dams.

www.livelyluresonline.com.au

Page 64 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Harry Turner held a cracking yellowbelly from the edge of the Stuart arm on a 3/8 Bassman Spinnerbait.

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

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

A released saratoga was attracted to the flash from the camera.

Hodgie with an amazingly coloured saratoga.

Muddy water not so muddy

T

HE Dawson River in midwest Queensland is my favourite piece of fresh water.

It’s a huge system that travels over hundreds of kilometres and winds its way down to meet the salt water at Rockhampton.

Long-time mining town Moura is situated around halfway along this river and by road is a couple of hours west of Rockhampton/Gladstone.

It’s a quiet country town with great community spirit.

Moura Fish Stocking Group held the famous Muddy Water Family Fishing Classic over a recent weekend and it was a great event, as usual.

It has the best atmosphere with great people and is run by awesome people who just love that river.

A few kilometres west of town right on the river is the Moura River Apex Park where you’ll find shady trees to camp under, fruit trees producing fruit for the public, undercover picnic tables by the water, hot showers, a toilet block and a cement boat ramp for the fishos.

This free camping facility is frequented by many grey nomads year round and this was where half the town turned out to help set up and stuck

Competition Report

by HELEN ABDY

around later to help dismantle everything after the fishing classic.

The grey nomads who stayed at the park joined in for some fun, great food and lucky draws.

Friday arvo was when the nominations tent opened and it was also movie night.

A huge blow-up screen with the river in the background attracted a big crowd of all ages who settled into their camp chairs to watch the movie.

It really went down well.

A total of 293 senior and 152 junior anglers had an absolute cracker of a weekend catching catfish, saratoga, black bream or Barcoo grunter, golden perch or yellowbelly, spangled perch, sleepy cod and banded grunter as well as sharing in a massive array of prizes, raffles and lucky draws.

Each junior angler received a rod/reel fishing combo pack from Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union Moura branch, and weren’t there some happy smiles?

For many years now Dave Hodge, aka ‘The

Barefoot Fisherman’ has ventured out to share his knowledge and tips with everyone.

I joined him this year to disseminate some of my fly fishing knowledge.

It was great to see just how many people of all ages were interested in the fine art of waving the long wand and we had our hands full answering lots of questions and demonstrating techniques, including how to reel in a fish.

When you think about it, if you are used to having all your line on a spin or baitcaster reel, fly fishing can seem a bit overwhelming.

What do you do with all that extra line around your feet and what do you do about it when you hook a fish?

A fun and informative time was had by all.

Between talks, Hodgie and I headed for the water, of course.

This river is a natural saratoga fishery and has been for as long as we know.

These prehistoric fish just flourish in this water-

Cold mornings and big natives in the South Burnett * from P64

are sitting deep.

Both dams are reasonably similar but sometimes it pays to experiment with your lure selection.

The bass are getting bigger, with models up to 45cm caught recently off the edges and flats.

Trollers are getting nice yellowbelly but be very wary because the water is starting to get shallow.

Try to stick to the middle of the dam and create a troll run from the Quarry to Bass Point.

Bait fishers have also had success.

They’ve been catching mixed bags of yellowbelly, silver perch and bass from the edge of the dam.

Drop your bait to the bottom and slowly jig it.

If your first spot doesn’t produce, don’t www.bnbfishing.com. au

be afraid to move several times until you know you’re sitting on active fish.

Red claw are still around but you’ll have to put in the effort for a feed.

Target rocky edges or spindly timber and use soft vegies for bait.

Fishing charters Don’t forget you can book a fishing charter with me on BP and Boondooma dams.

If you’d like a great day out and all the info and knowledge to catch bass and yellowbelly in our two great dams, make sure you give me a call on 0408 658 592 and I’ll be happy to take you out for a great day’s fishing.

You can also check out our website australi anfreshwater fishing. com Until next time, tight lines and bent rods.

The author with a big fat bass taken wide of Bass Point on a skirted jig.

way, which tells you the river is very healthy.

Armed with an assortment of flies, spinnerbaits, fizzers and plastics, Hodgie and I were hoping to tangle with some of those Dawson River toga.

The water in the river was not its normal muddy self, instead a metre of clear water gave the river a different colour.

It looked absolutely wonderful.

I’d only seen it like this once before and the locals say it happens at times but they’re unsure why.

The fishing is no different though – it’s just an awesome waterway.

The surface activity was minimal, with no takes on anything surface.

That was a bit disappointing, but the lures and flies we threw only had to sink slightly before being attacked.

This river has a lot of timber lining both sides for most of its length, and right in among the timber is where the fish were.

If you didn’t put your lure right in there, you didn’t see any action, so weedless flies and plastics and precise casting were the go.

It really made me put ‘practice casting’ on the list of things to do more often.

I will say I am much better at putting a fly in those spots, but with the spin rod… well.

The saratoga were holding in their usual top metre of the water column and bait fishers were putting all sorts of baits under floats at that level, with some really good fish weighed in.

The catfish were another matter because they usually hold near the bottom, but I found they were very attracted to surface disturbances and willing to come up to take offerings.

They also seem to come up from below for a look when you’ve got any species of fish on.

I’m not sure if they want to help or are just curious.

It was a full moon over the weekend and Hodgie and I were a bit dubious, believing a few days before and after are best for fishing.

Well we needn’t have worried about moon phases or boat traffic because the fishing was just fantastic.

The stocking group had all bases covered with great entertainment, really good food including cooked brekkies, hot and cold lunches, takeaways and hot and cold dinners, with plenty of refresh-

ments to help it all go down.

All in all it was a fantastic weekend and it’s well worth venturing out that way at any time.

See you there next year.

The author with another great toga.

Movie night was a hit.

Kate Baines landed a 1.8kg saratoga.

A fantastic saratoga.

Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 65

There’s something fishy in Cressbrook Dam

C

R E SSBRO OK Dam is fast becoming a dream location for fish and fishers alike, with more specially designed fishing habitat structures going into the water.

Developed by Department of Agriculture and Fisheries researchers, the ‘fish attractors’ replicate natural underwater habitat such as fallen trees and rocks.

DAF biologist Michael Hutchison said the attractors lured fish to a parLOCATIONS BAY 8 Cubes BAY 11 PVC trees, cubes & spiders

BAY 17 PVC trees & cubes

BAY 23 Brush bundles BAY 27 PVC trees & cubes

POINT L PVC trees, spiders and cubes

BOAT RAMP BAY PVC trees & cubes

OPEN WATER 5 PVC trees & cubes

ticular area, making them easier for anglers to catch.

“Last year and again this year, community volunteers have helped us construct and install the attractors, which are generally made of recycled poly pipe,” he said.

“We’re conducting regular electrofishing surveys and monthly creel surveys to track their effectiveness in terms of catch rates and visitor numbers.

“We’ll be rolling out more of these structures in Cressbrook Dam over

the next two years.”

Signage will be installed at Cressbrook Dam showing the location of the fish attractors, and details will be available at daf. qld.gov.au so fishers know exactly where to go.

The Habitat Enhancement Research Program is a collaboration between DAF, Toowoomba Regional Council, the Australian Government’s Fisheries Research and Development Corporation and local angling and fish stocking groups.

CLUSTERS CENTRAL MARK Bay 8A Bay 8C Bay 8E CENTRAL MARK Bay 11A Bay 11C Bay 11E Bay 11H Bay 11J CENTRAL MARK Bay 17A Bay 17B Bay 17C Bay 17D Bay 17E Bay 17F Bay 17G Bay 17H Bay 17I Bay 17J Bay 17K CENTRAL MARK Bay 23A Bay 23B Bay 23D CENTRAL MARK Bay 27A Bay 27C Bay 27F Bay 27H CENTRAL MARK Point LA Point LB Point LC Point LD Point LE

COORDINATES -27.26919 142.19968 -27.26908 152.19951 -27.26919 152.19968 -27.26914 152.19986 -27.25632 152.20248 -27.25629 152.20257 -27.25637 152.20291 -27.25644 152.20259 -27.25645 152.20215 -27.25621 152.20224 -27.25201 152.1864 -27.25245 152.1864 -27.25225 152.18636 -27.25205 152.18623 -27.25189 152.18615 -27.25163 152.18611 -27.25171 152.18622 -27.25175 152.18634 -27.25181 152.18641 -27.25191 152.18651 -27.25199 152.18659 -27.25205 152.18667 -27.25376 152.17875 -27.25366 152.17849 -27.25356 152.17863 -27.25381 152.17895 -27.25759 152.19054 -27.25772 152.19066 -27.25783 152.19016 -27.25735 152.19025 -27.25697 152.19046 -27.26023 152.19172 -27.25318 152.18897 -27.25384 152.18953 -27.25383 152.19004 -27.25338 152.19005 -27.25312 152.19027

CENTRAL MARK BRA BRC BRE BRG CENTRAL MARK OW5A OW5B OW5C

-27.26023 -27.25952 -27.2599 -27.2606 -27.26145 27.25856 -27.25883 -27.25856 -27.25808

152.19172 152.19131 152.19156 152.19178 152.19188 152.19387 152.19422 152.19387 152.19388

STATUS IN PROGRESS IN PROGRESS IN PROGRESS FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED IN PROGRESS FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED IN PROGRESS IN PROGRESS IN PROGRESS IN PROGRESS FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED FULLY DEPLOYED

Shane Clarke from Kyogle in northern NSW caught this 90cm Murray cod using a DT Bassman Spinnerbait cast towards the rock ledges.

It’s about fishing I

HAVE to start by saying Debbie bought a boat.

Yes folks, a timber clinker hull silky oak boat not for me to use but for lure displays, and the only bloke grinning is Bills Boxes.

Of course, I have to mention the Australian Lure, Fly and Tackle Show.

And boy, were there some lures.

Stacks were mulled over and purchased.

Once again the show was a hit with the public.

Great lures, magic stands and grins galore from both customers and lure makers.

Again we had the pleasure of seeing many friends and folk from up north, with historical lures, photos and the like shared around.

We would like to take the time to thank many of these friends who set time aside to help with the gear that had to be taken upstairs for the lure collectors’ section and then back down again.

Thanks to Robert and his dad who fish Glenlyon Dam, Mick, Don from Lobby Lures and his

GLENLYON DAM TOURIST PARK

Glenlyon Dam

by BRIAN DARE

family, as well as all the collectors who put time and effort into those great displays.

What is not understood by many who attended the show is the time it takes to get a collection set up.

It can take 20 years of saving funds for special lures and info.

You need to do lots of planning, finding, making contacts, research and have accurate info about the lure maker and lure itself.

Then what happens?

You go to one of these lure shows and some new maker on the block throws a spanner in the works with magic lures and you start collecting all over again.

I know one woman who wouldn’t change for quids.

As for me, well over the past 20 to 30 years I got to meet a lot of people who I have formed good friendships with, as well as helped out with projects put together to study cod and their future in the Murray-Darling system.

These projects carry on

each year, though things are a bit tough in the bush for all concerned of late.

Glenlyon Dam is down to 9 percent capacity, Copeton is the same, Pindari is at 4 percent and many other dams to the south are desperately low as well.

And they’ll remain that way for a while.

It’s heartbreaking for those who try to survive on the land as there’s no likelihood of water allocations for the next growing

season for farmers.

Everything is under pressure at this stage.

With breeding season due soon along river systems, the native fish in small deep holes on the rivers and streams are doing it tough too.

I ask anglers during winter and early spring to please keep in mind the fact the fish are hungry but the added pressure of lure fishing on what’s left of waterholes will be detrimental.

Only the fittest of fingerlings will survive.

It’s a tough ask, I know, but you have to think about our country’s future fishing requirements.

A 78cm Murray cod hooked by Shane.

A great place to fish!

• Powered and Unpowered Sites • No Domestic Pets or Generators • Kiosk • Ice • Gas • Petrol • Amenities Blocks and Laundry • BBQs • Hire Boats • EFTPOS • Fishing Permits

14 CABINS bookings necessary

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

Ph: 02 6737 5266 E: glenlyondamtouristp@bigpond.com Page 66 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

Debbie Dare with lure makers Shane Murphy and Peter Griffiths at the 2019 Lure Show.

www.bnbfishing.com. au

Bush ‘n Beach merchandise HOLIDAY RENTALS BUXTON – Modern brick home, fully s/c sleeps 7.

Fish the Burrum, Gregory, Isis & Cherwell Rivers & Hervey Bay from one Great Location, OS $350 p/w Ph 0428 262 976.

RUSSELL ISL FOR FAMILIES OR INDIVIDUALS – 3 bedroom $350/week or $30/night. 0404 866 571.

FOR SALE & WANTED 420 QUINTREX RENEGADE SIDE CONSOLE (2013).

White paint, 40hp E-TEC with 125 hours, live bait tank, fully plumbed live well in front casting deck, underfloor fuel tank, navigation lights and bilge pump, isolator switch, electric motor mount and more. Be quick at $14,980. Call Brisbane Yamaha on 07 3888 1727 or visit brisbaneyamaha.com.au BROOKER 4.1 DELUXE open tinnie in very good condition. Great starter boat that can be handled by one person and won’t break the bank. Powered by a Yamaha 30hp two-stroke that’s done very little work. This boat rides on a very good Brooker trailer and has mostly seen freshwater use. Minn Kota electric motor, bimini, spare wheel, low carpeted floor and front cast deck. Ready to go at $6990. Call Trevor at Karee Marine today on 07 3875 1600.

LATE MODEL USED ALUMINIUM BOATS WANTED from Quintrex, Stacer, Ally Craft, Stessco, Bar Crusher, Bluefin, Brooker and Clark – Make selling your boat simple and hassle free - Cash or Consign – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www.johncrawfordmarine. com.au Ph. 3890 2322 MAKO CRAFT 440 ESTUARY TRACKER (2007).

Wooden floor removed and replaced with alloy and carpet so it will never rot. Also features Lowrance Hook-5 colour sounder/GPS with map card, marine radio, nav lights and bilge pump, cup holders, stereo, padded seats, Mercury 40hp two-stroke XR lightning oil-injected and a good trailer. Price down to $8990 drive away! Call Trevor at Karee Marine today on 07 3875 1600.

QUALITY USED FIBREGLASS BOATS WANTED from Haines Hunter, Signature, Cruise Craft, Baysport and Whittley – Make selling your boat simple and hassle free - Cash or Consign – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www.johncrawfordmarine. com.au Ph. 3890 2322 QUINTREX 420 BUSTA CC - Suzuki 30Hp serviced May 2019, Ruhle boat trailer, Alloy T-Top w. new rag, Sounder, Inshore safety gear, Millennium hull = soft ride, Bargain priced crabbing and estuary package! @ $8,995 tow away – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www. johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322 QUINTREX 420 ESTUARY ANGLER (2003) with Yamaha 40hp outboard. For more info please call our dealership and chat to Brent or Justin. Big price drop to $10,990. Call Wynnum Marine on 07 3396 9777 or visit wynnummarine.com.au RINKER CAPTIVA 192 (2006). Custom Rinker bimini and sock, front bow cover, storm cover (not

shown), MerCruiser three-litre with 369 hours and just had an overhaul, stainless steel prop, 2006 Redco tandem-axle trailer, alloy wheels, spare wheel, stereo, icebox, huge sun pad, rear lounge, swivel seats and removable front bow cushions.

Ready to go at $18,900 drive away. Call Trevor at Karee Marine today on 07 3875 1600.

SEA JAY 4.68 AVENGER SPORTS - Mercury 60Hp 4S, Swiftco braked trailer, Lowrance Structure Scan colour GPS/Sounder, VHF radio, Bimini top, Live bait tank, 8 rod holders throughout and so much more. @ $24,495 tow away – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www. johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322 SEASWIRL 2601 STRIPER WA - One owner since new, Yamaha 300Hp V6, alloy trailer, Dual Raymarine touch sounder/GPS, Radar, Huge 600l fuel tank, Electric winch, Galley etc. Ideal family and reef fishing package. @ $146,995 to away – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www.johncrawfordmarine. com.au Ph. 3890 2322 STACER 399 PROLINE (2007) with 15hp Suzuki four-stroke (2015). This is the perfect little creek/ dam fishing boat. It has been completely fitted out with full cast decks, two folding seats, bimini, galvanised boat trailer and Suzuki 15hp four-stroke with very low hours. $6500. Call Brisbane Quintrex on 07 3133 3468 or visit brisbanequintrex.com.au

ORDER FORM Item

Size (S-3XL)

Qty

Cost

Polo Blue/White

x $35

Polo Blue/Gold

x $35

Polo Navy/Red

x $35

Polo Navy/Gold

x $35

T-Shirt Stone

x $18

T-Shirt Lt Grey

x $18

T-Shirt Blue

x $18 adjustable

Cap Blue/Grey

x $15

one size Beanie Black Subtotal $

x $10

+ $7.95

Postage & handling per order

Free postage for orders over $80 TOTAL

$

PAYMENT DETAILS Cheque

Money Order

Visa

Mastercard

__ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __ / __ __ __ __

TABS 5100 TERRITORY PRO CC - Near new Yamaha 115Hp 4S low hrs & warranty, Redco braked trailer, Garmin Striker SU w side & down view image, VHF radio, Hydraulic steering, Bimini top, NQ here I come! @ $35,995 tow away – John Crawford Marine Queensland’s Used Boat Specialists since 1964 www. johncrawfordmarine.com.au Ph. 3890 2322

Phone:_____________________________________

WANTED – LATE MODEL USED BOATS. Cash or consignment. When you buy a used boat from Karee Marine you know it has been through our workshop and checked over. A RWC is given with each boat sold. We have a fully insured undercover showroom so your boat will not be left out. Call Trevor at Karee Marine today on 07 3875 1600.

YALTA CRAFT 535 ALL ROUNDER (2007) powered

by Yamaha 115hp Saltwater Series with only 124 hours. Brooker galvanised trailer with mechanical brakes, GME VHF marine radio, Raymarine A65 colour fishfinder/GPS chartplotter, Humminbird fishfinder, Ritchie compass, cabin cushions with infill, bait/cutting board with rod holders, bimini top, rocket launcher, dual batteries and stereo system with two speakers. Priced to sell at $22,990.

Call Wynnum Marine on 07 3396 9777 or visit wyn nummarine.com.au

ALL ADS MUST BE PRE-PAID 1

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2

2

3

3

4

4

5

5

6

6

Cost per insertion: 2 lines $15, $1.10 per line thereafter. Contact details must be included in ad.

NAME: ...................................................................................... PHONE NO. ...................................................

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www.bnbfishing.com. au

Free e for postag ver o orders $80

• Online at www.bnbfishing.com.au • Post to PO Box 387, Cleveland Q 4163 • Phone 07 3286 1833

STACER 429 RAMPAGE (2018) powered by a Yamaha F40LA four-stroke and sitting on a Stacer aluminium trailer. Very low hours, electric start, power trim and tilt, four rod holders, removable rod racks, Lowrance Hook-5 sounder/GPS, custom made bimini top, two custom-made bench seat cushions, removable bait/cutting board, transducer bracket, extruded side decks, stainless bow roller, universal storage cover, white painted hull and package still under factory warranty! Great price at $14,790. Call Wynnum Marine on 07 3396 9777 or visit wynnummarine.com.au

August Edition Copy Deadline – Advertisements must arrive NO later than July 15, 2019

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Easy ways to order

Credit Card Number: Expiry Date: _______ / _______ Signature: Name: _____________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ __________________________________________ State: __________ Postcode: __________________

Do you want to know more about bar crossing & offshore fishing?

Tuition with Bill Corten – successful offshore fisherman and commercial skipper

Bar crossing courses: • Hands-on experience crossing coastal bars safely • Direct supervision mastering all bar crossing skills • Fine-tuning of skills in breaking swells and white water • On-water training in the safety of a Cruise Craft Explorer 685 filled with upright buoyancy to naval architects’ specifications • Overcome your fears and learn vital skills as part of an onwater course

Offshore fishing courses: • Comprising a night of theory and a full day’s practical training on offshore reefs • Finding reefs • Locating different fish species • Bait rigging • Shallow and deep reef fishing techniques • Using a full range of rods and reels • Sounder and GPS instruction • Offshore anchoring • And much more

Contact Bill Corten T: 07 3286 3647 M: 0447 233 247 0447 ( a f f a i r ) E: reel_affair@yahoo.com Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019 – Page 67

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Page 68 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, July 2019

www.bnbfishing.com. au

UNBEATABLE 150hp FourStroke

The Mercury 150hp FourStroke is the largest displacement and lowest weight outboard in its class.

The perfect partner for powering trailer boats.

UNEXPECTEDLY COMPACT MERCURY

HONDA

YAMAHA

217kg

223kg

SUZUKI

206kg 232kg

THE MERCURY 150HP FOURSTROKE COMES IN AT AN INCREDIBLY LIGHT 206KG* MAKING IT THE LIGHTEST IN ITS HORSEPOWER CLASS.

*Based on Mercury’s 150hp (L) model. Information based on all manufacturers’ claimed horsepower and weight figures.

Contact or visit us for more information.

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MERCURY DEALERSHIP TODAY!

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

BRISBANE EAST Manly Harbour Marine 570 Royal Esplanade, Manly Q 4179 P: 07 3893 2199 E: info@manlyharbourmarine.com.au W: manlyharbourmarine.com.au

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

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

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

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

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

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

BRISBANE Karee Marine 1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea Q 4106 P: 07 3875 1600 E: sales@kareemarine.com.au W: kareemarine.com.au

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

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

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

SENSATIONAL DRIVE-AWAY DEALS

FROM JUST

91/week*

$

Mercury 50hp 4-stroke

• Front cast deck • Live bait tank • Dunbier trailer • QLD regos • Best value boat!

Mclay 441 Fortress TS

$27,500 SPECIAL!

Mercury 60hp 4-stroke

• Full plate construction • 45-litre fuel tank • Alloy rod holders • Live bait tank

Tournament 1900 Bluewater 1 ONLY!

$64,500 SPECIAL!

Mercury 150hp 4-stroke

• Stainless targa • Bimini and clears • Dual batteries • Electric winch • Offshore safety gear

Stessco Renegade 440

FROM JUST

105/week*

$

$25,500

Mercury 60hp 4-stroke

SPECIAL!

• Live bait tank • Live well • Front and rear cast decks • Dunbier braked trailer • QLD regos

FROM JUST

146/week*

$

Stessco Gulf Runner 550

$

FROM JUST

Mercury 135hp 4-stroke

• Bait board • Live bait tank • Redco dual-axle trailer • Front cast deck • QLD regos plus more

Mclay 611 Crossover HT

Mclay 591 XL Sportsman

226/week*

FROM JUST

164/week*

Mercury 90hp 4-stroke

• Front cast deck • Kill tank • Live bait tank • Full pod transom • Painted • Stessco trailer • QLD regos

$

Mercury 60hp 4-stroke

• 4mm bottom • 4mm checker plate floor • Alloy cast deck and hatch • QLD regos

Stessco Gulf Runner 490

$POA

Mercury 150hp 4-stroke

SPECIAL!

• Extended fishing deck • Live bait tank • Deck wash • Offshore safety gear • Dual-axle trailer • QLD regos

UNBEATABLE UNBEATABLE

Mercury 4-stroke

• Plate alloy • bait board • Live bait tank • Deck wash • Dual-axle trailer • 190-litre fuel tank • QLD regos

115HP CRUISE SPEED 115HP FUEL CRUISE EFFICIENCY SPEED FUEL EFFICIENCY MERCURY’S NEW 115HP VS. CURRENT FOURSTROKE AND OPTIMAX VS. CURRENT FOURSTROKE AND OPTIM FOURSTROKE g/kWh

MERCURY MERCURY 75-115HP 75-115HP FOURSTROKE FOURSTROKE RANGE RANGE

Stessco Platinum TS 440

340

340

330

330

320

320

310

310

300

g/kWh

Stessco Fisherman 449

300

290

290

280

280

270

270

260

DELIVERS UP TO 14% BETTER CRUISE SPEED ECONOMY

260

PREVIOUS MERCURY FOURSTROKE 1.7L

BSFC dyno testing; data is an average of 60%-80% rated MERCURY PREVIOUS NEW MERCURY engine speed based NEW OPTIMAX MERCURY MERCURY OPTIMAX on standardMERCU ICOMIA emissions test.

FOURSTROKE 115hp 1.7L 2.1L 115hp 115hp 2.1L 11

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

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

1776 Ipswich Motorway, Rocklea | Call 07 3875 1600