Fishing Monthly Magzine | August 24 by Fishing Monthly

• LAST CHANCE FOR A WINTER FISHING TRIP • TESTED

Stacer Wildrider 589 SE with Yamaha 150hp

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Features

Winter action in Mallacoota • South East Queensland squid • Starlo: it’s called fishing, not catching! • Bone Drago 610M review • Boat Test: Stacer Wildrider 589 SE • Local area reports •

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Matt Young shines a spotlight on fishing Mallacoota this winter

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Our Cover

Contents

From the Editor’s Desk... I have been to Japan at least half a dozen times in the last 20 years. For me, it used to be a trip of awe and wonder. Checking out a tackle show or a tackle store presented me with a massive variety of lures and tackle, most of which I had never seen before. Fast forward to 2024, and a family holiday landed us in the Land of the Rising Sun. Of course, I took the opportunity to check out a variety of tackle stores. This time, however, it was really difficult to find Japanese

lures that we use in Australia on the shelves of the local shops over there. I was actually very happy about this. The Australian industry has evolved to a level where local designers tailor local baits for our local fish. No longer do we need to use lures designed for other species in other parts of the world to catch a bream, bass and barramundi. It’s taken a while, but we are starting to grow up as an industry. In unrelated news, the Australia

Post price rises kicked in for this issue. Thanks to all of the readers who reached out after last month’s editorial. I don’t mind sharing the challenges of bringing a high quality, glossy publication out each month, especially when readers can relate to the spiralling costs. Rest assured, we still produce and print in Australia (in Brisbane) and won’t offshore anything – even if we are being crushed by the boot of our national postal carrier.

A Matt Young image.

QLD NSW

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FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE Published by:

INSIDE This Issue

Qld Fishing Monthly Pty Ltd

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance

Bunbury

Tathra

Gold Coast

New England Rivers

Jumpinpin

Hunter Valley

Brisbane

Batlow

Northern Bay

Albury/Wodonga

Sunshine Coast

Canberra

Bundaberg

Mackay

Townsville

Hinchinbrook

Cairns

Port Douglas

Cooktown

Cape York

Freshwater

Sydney Rock

Sydney South

Ballina

Coffs Coast

South West Rocks

Forster

VICTORIA Portland

Warrnambool

Cobden

Geelong

Port Phillip

Phillip Island

Lakes Entrance

Port Albert

Gippsland Lakes

Marlo

Mallacoota

Robinvale

Bendigo

Wangaratta

Shepparton

Augusta

Metro

Mandurah

Lancelin

Exmouth

Karratha

Freshwater

REGULAR FEATURES

Winter action in Mallacoota 8 South East QLD squid

Starlo: art of ‘catching’

Tagging Tales

What’s New Fishing

Bone Drago 610M

Sheik of the Creek

Phases of the moon

Tournament calendar

Fun page

100

Tournaments

102

Ballarat

Tide page

106

Port Macquarie

Gippsland Freshwater

Stacer Wildrider 589 SE

108

Port Stephens

Eildon

Trades and Services

110

Swansea

Crater Lakes

Central Coast

Illawarra

TASMANIA

Batemans Bay

Hobart

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FISHING MONTHLY MAGAZINE PUBLISHED AUGUST 2024

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ISSUE: VOLUME 5 NO. 4

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Crystal clear water makes casting and fighting salmon an exciting visual experience!

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FEATURE

Location

FMM

Winter action in Mallacoota VICTORIA

Matt Young

The summer coastal fishing getaway— it’s about as Aussie as meat pies and thongs. Sweaty, zinc-covered skin, desperate barefoot dashes across scorching sand, mozzie welts

tarnished by a handful of less memorable experiences. Expensive accommodation, crowded beaches, busy boat ramps, and some very overfished waters are just a few downsides. Heavy boat traffic, water skiers, and jet ski enthusiasts can churn your favourite calm-water fishing spots into wash-muddied white water.

plastered across global news media outlets during the devastating 2019 Black Summer bushfires. Thousands of trapped residents and tourists fled to the lake and beaches to escape the raging fires that eventually destroyed 120 homes in the area. Sadly, the town is still recovering from the impacts. It’s not hard to see why Mallacoota was so vulnerable during the bushfires. A quick search on Google Maps immediately reveals the town’s isolated location. If that’s not convincing enough,

Above: A typical Mallacoota blurter or silver trevally taken around the main inlet into the bottom lake. Main: The Mallacoota foreshore is a great place to visit at sunrise and sunset. After arriving back at the ramp, the boys usually rig up the bait gear and fish around the town wharves.

During winter, huge schools of Australian salmon make their way into the estuaries to feed on baitfish. Keep an eye open for surface bust-ups or diving birds. and saunas disguised as tents. For generations, the iconic Australian coast trip has sparked passions for fishing, surfing, camping, and boating, fostered quality time with family and friends, and formed the foundations of many warm memories. Yet, like most things in life, the pros of a summer getaway are occasionally 8 AUGUST 2024

At times, summer holiday fishing is frustrating. A few years back, we decided to cancel our usual summer coastal holiday. Instead, we replaced it with a mid-winter fishing trip to the magical Victorian border town of Mallacoota. This spectacular seaside township is notorious for the apocalyptic scenes

Kem Young with a superb shallow water bream. The deep, muscular profile gives these fish plenty of fighting power.

the 25-minute drive down GenoaMallacoota Road (the only entry and exit to the township) through the thick shadows of Mallacoota State Forest hits home. Mallacoota is a quaint coastal oasis hidden deep within a vast expanse of dense bushland. MALLACOOTA MAGIC In winter, Mallacoota transforms into a relatively sleepy town with numerous businesses closing shop for the slow season. A handful of locals greet each other as they pass the bakery on their morning stroll, but otherwise, the streets are empty of the hustle and bustle of summer. It’s a refreshing

Location FEATURE

FMM fun at the main public wharves in town! WINTER ESTUARY TARGETS Our primary winter targets in Mallacoota are bream and flathead. However, we also look forward to encountering winter schools of Australian salmon for explosive fun on light tackle. Additionally, dropping baits at the local public wharves for bream, flathead, leatherjacket, salmon,

subtle bite and lacklustre battle. For black bream, fish deep and slow along shorelines with steep banks or drop-offs and in areas with deeper weed beds. In contrast, the winter yellowfin bream in Mallacoota are often aggressive and fight like firecrackers. The deeper body profile and larger surface area of yellowfin bream might help them sustain a tougher fight. The

Numerous stunning creeks branch off the bays and rivers, providing plenty of fishy terrain to explore. contrast, and although the centre of town is quiet, a handful of eateries and small grocery stores provide all you’ll need to sustain your fishing days. To explore the lake foreshore and encounter empty boat ramps and sparse water traffic is invigorating. You’d be hard-pressed to cross paths with any more than half a dozen active boats in an entire day during winter. There are no ramp queues, the banks are unfished, and the fish are eager to eat! It is angler bliss. The only downside at this time of year is the temperature— especially in the morning. A sunrise launch is often greeted with chilly winter temperatures in the vicinity of 6°C or less, so rug up and pack a thermos for a warm cuppa or two. Mallacoota lies on a vast estuarine coastal lake fed by the Genoa and Wallagaraugh Rivers. The lower system is an expansive open area known as the bottom lake, which opens to the sea via a maze of sandbars and channels. The smaller top lake is another open area separated from the bottom lake by a deep stretch of water known as TIPS FOR WINTER • If travelling from NSW or further afield, don’t forget to purchase a Victorian fishing licence. • Layer up! The mornings are freezing, but it can warm up fast once the sun is out. • Keep your eyes open for surface action or bust-ups! Winter salmon schools provide action-packed fishing. • Pack a variety of jigheads to target different water depths. • Fish slow for bream in the deeper water and stay ready for timid bites. • Target flathead around sandbars and sand spits, especially as the tide drains out. the Narrows. Further upstream, past Gypsy’s Point, the river splits into the two feeder rivers that wind inland and into the freshwater reaches. Numerous boat ramps provide easy access to the estuary system, and a ramp at Bastion Point offers a launching platform for

those who wish to fish offshore. We usually launch from the ramp that provides the quickest access to our intended fishing spots and use multiple ramps during a trip. You’ll appreciate the shorter run-out on the freezing winter mornings! Research shows Mallacoota is also home to hybrid black and yellowfin bream. This suspected hybrid took to a small hardbody minnow.

An enormous salmon school balled up toward the estuary floor. In these conditions, the action comes thick and fast. Drop down a jig and hang on! There are plenty of areas that offer estuary access for shore-based anglers. These include tracks to bushland banks, estuary and coastal beaches, headlands, open foreshore areas and several public wharves. All these locations can produce fish and a variety of species at times. We’ve had hours of family fishing

and silver trevally keeps my sons entertained for hours. I love watching them experiment with baits around the wharf pylons—it’s an incredible learning experience on fishing fundamentals and reminds me of my childhood. Bream Mallacoota is home to southern black bream (Acanthopagrus butcheri), yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis), and hybrids between the two species. The average size of bream at Mallacoota is larger than anywhere I’ve experienced, with plenty of 40cm plus models lurking. Our trips usually bag a combination of both species depending on the locations fished and techniques used. We predominantly capture black bream in deeper water (4-10m) by sinking small soft plastics to the bottom and working them slowly with pauses. The bites can be excruciatingly timid and even the fight may be a little subdued during winter. We’ve been shocked to slide a sleepy 40cm plus bream into the net following a

Double and triple hook-ups are the norm when the salmon are around!

other factor that could contribute to their powerful runs is that most of the yellowfin bream we have encountered in Mallacoota have been found over shallow weed beds in 1-3m of water. The yellowfin bream will hit the same grub and minnow-style plastics that work on the black bream, but generally, the bites are less subtle. We target the yellowfin bream along shallow shorelines covered in patchy weed and seagrass. Bream commonly patrol seagrass beds and

The town wharf produces salmon when schools move through the channels. explode onto small lures that enter their attack zone. Flathead Mallacoota and most of the estuaries in south-eastern Australia are famous for monster dusky flathead. This is the land of giant lizards, and 90cm plus specimens are a real possibility. We’ve captured many flathead across tidal sandbars and on sand spits surrounding the numerous islands. However, flathead are also hooked close to the shoreline throughout the estuarine reaches of the system. The flatties eagerly inhale plastics and lures intended for bream, so they are a common and welcome AUGUST 2024 9

FEATURE

Location

bream bycatch. However, to specifically target flatties, it is best to work larger 3-5” paddle tail plastics, hardbodies, or vibes around sand, silt, or mud drop-offs. Flathead usually nestle

FMM include the feisty silver trevally and the versatile luderick. Now and then, a head-thumping silver trevally or a chunky luderick will snatch a lure intended for bream or salmon and

From left to right: black bream, luderick, and yellowfin bream. into the sediment and face the current, waiting for baitfish to pass into their attack zone. To generate strikes, work your lures across the shallows and along drop-offs to imitate sick or escaping fish. Mallacoota offers endless terrain for serious flathead anglers, so those dedicated to the cause have a good shot at a trophy specimen. Australian salmon Although we enjoy catching

flathead comprises a 2-4kg, 7’ spin rod matched to a 1500-2000 size spin reel. I spool the reel with a 4lb braid and tie on a 4-6lb fluorocarbon leader with an Albright knot. I’ll tie on a 1/8oz, size 2 jighead, with a 3” grub or minnow soft plastic for fishing deeper waters. I switch to a 1/16oz jighead or run small hardbody lures in shallow water. This versatile outfit is perfect for bream but will comfortably land flathead, salmon, and trevally. A slightly heavier 3-6kg, 7’ spin outfit is also ideal for targeting flathead and salmon. Match the rod to a 3000-size reel spooled with a 6-10lb braid and tie a rod length of 10-15lb fluorocarbon leader. At the terminal end, rig on a 1/4-1/2oz, size 2/0 jighead with a 4-5” paddle tail plastic for targeting flathead. Alternatively,

A yellowfin bream (top) and black bream (bottom). The yellowfin has a deeper profile, steeper forehead, and distinct yellow fins, while the black bream has an elongated body, an oval shape and grey-tone fins.

provide a pleasant surprise. Mulloway are also captured in the deeper waters of the Narrows, while further upstream, estuary perch inhabit the snag-lined banks and deeper river bends. Bait fishing the town wharves and foreshore also produce bream, flathead, and occasionally Australian salmon. However, the kids will also experience hours of fun catching leatherjackets and other species off

The town wharves offer great fun for the kids. They’ll lose themselves for hours, catching bream, leatherjacket and any other species that pass by.

An action-packed session on salmon will teach the kids about drag pressure and fighting fish. many species in Mallacoota and the surrounding estuaries, the most exciting experience for my sons is when the sounder blacks out on an enormous school of Australian salmon. Every winter, large schools of Australian salmon enter southern estuaries to fatten up on baitfish, and this presents an opportunity for young anglers to experience some incredible actionpacked fishing. Although salmon aren’t renowned for their eating qualities, they are aggressive fish that hit metal and plastic lures with gusto. The battle that follows on light tackle will ignite a fire for fishing in even the least enthusiastic kids. On a good day, cricket scores of fish may be caught and released, and you won’t be able to wipe the smile off the kids’ faces. Other Species Other species encountered in and around Mallacoota during winter 10 AUGUST 2024

the wharf pylons. Peel some prawns or crack a few mussels and you’ll land plenty of these fascinating fish. TACKLE ESSENTIALS Our primary outfit for bream and

tie on a 40-60g metal lure to cast at Australian salmon. When bait fishing the wharves or shoreline, we switch our bream outfits to simple running sinker rigs. Tie on a size 2-6 hook below a small running ball sinker. The sinker weight varies depending on the current and conditions, but the general rule is to use the lightest possible. Leatherjackets have powerful beak-like teeth that can easily bite through lines, so it’s a good idea to use long-shank hooks if they are on the chew. Peeled prawns, local mussels and beach worms are our go-to baits along the foreshore.

A BRAVE NEW WORLD Winter fishing in Mallacoota is a refreshing and productive experience that has become an annual winter pilgrimage for our family. We love the quiet coastal experience, the incredible fishing and contributing to the town’s economy during the off-season— especially following the devastation

Bream and flathead are the most common catch in Mallacoota estuaries.

Kids love catching leatherjacket. Use small, long-shank hooks to prevent the fish from biting through the line, and fish close to the wharf pylons.

of the Black Summer bushfires. It’s a beautiful coastal fishing town with plenty of places to explore and fish. For an alternative coastal trip to escape the summer holiday chaos, rustle up the courage to embrace the cooler temperatures of a winter coastal trip. It’s a brave new world for most families, but you’ll be rewarded with plenty of fish and wonderful, albeit chilly, new memories.

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FEATURE

Species

FMM

Sight casting to South East QLD squid NORTH QUEENSLAND

Joe Nugent

Squid are one of the most accessible species in Australia, with at least one species inhabiting every part of our coastline. Three main varieties are targeted by coastal anglers: northern/tiger squid, arrow squid, and southern calamari. Northern and southern squid generally spawn and start their lives amongst shallow reefs in spring and summer before following the cool, clean water closer to shore in autumn

and winter. Arrow squid spawn in similar locations before travelling further out to sea, spending much of their adult lives in deeper water. Squid are very active hunters, often travelling along weed edges, shallow reefs, rock walls and piers in search of prey. At night, they are often observed swimming along the surface between artificial light sources adjacent to piers, rock walls and walkways. SEQ SQUID In the southern states, where the water remains cool and clean most

Above: A quality tiger squid that fell victim to a small, brightly-coloured jig. Main: Well-lit piers are a great spot to target squid at night. 12 AUGUST 2024

of the time, squid can be an all-year option. In Queensland however, the local ‘squid season’ tends to coincide with the influx of cool, clean water between April and September. You can still catch squid at other times of the year, but the cooler months are generally better. In South East Queensland, squid can be found in a variety of locations, most of which are accessible by land-based anglers. Weed beds, rock walls, piers and jetties are all popular starting points when in search of SEQ squid. Using Google Maps is the main way to locate potential squid fishing spots. When searching for a suitable fishing zone, it’s important to consider two main factors: structure and water clarity. Look for areas that directly join the ocean, with access to weed beds, rocks or artificial structure. Locating an area with artificial light is also a good idea. If you plan on fishing at night, focus on areas where light hits the water, as this tends to concentrate bait and attract squid. In winter, most of the piers and marinas will hold good numbers of squid. You’ll know you’re in a productive location when you notice ink stains on the walkways and rocks from previous anglers’ success. TECHNIQUE AND TACKLE My favourite way to target squid is sight casting with a head torch.

The author with a tiger squid that took a liking to a size 2 jig. It’s an effective and exciting way to catch them. This method is simple – all you have to do is walk along an area known for holding squid at night, and use your torch to locate squid hunting along the surface. A few hours either side of a high tide provides the perfect opportunity for using this method, as the squid are able to concentrate in shallow water, and in areas typically exposed during other phases of the tide. Once I’ve spotted the squid, I cast

Species FEATURE

FMM small, lightly weighted jigs over or in front of the squid and begin a slow roll retrieve. When using this method the jig should remain slightly under the surface the entire time (in contrast to most other methods of catching squid, which require the jig or bait to be close to the bottom or mid-water). If you have caught the squid’s interest, they should follow and aggressively attack the jig as it moves past. In cases where the squid are not feeding as aggressively, or are hesitant to attack the jig, a quick pause may be enough to trigger a strike. Set-ups for squid fishing are nothing fancy, and often come down to personal preference. Most 6-7ft rods paired with an appropriately sized spinning reel and some light line will be suitable to catch squid. There’s a good chance the bream or flathead set-up you already have will do the trick. It’s important to remember to keep the drag extremely loose. Due to the design of squid jigs, the barbs/ hooks do not penetrate deeply like a traditional fish hook. Rather, the barbs on a squid jig will penetrate just under the skin and secure the squid by the legs/tentacles rather than the mouth/beak. Your drag needs to be very loose to avoid pulling too hard and causing the squid to fall off the jig.

Obvious colour change after correctly and humanely dispatching a squid. Like any lure, the size and colour of squid jigs are a topic of much debate. In my opinion, a squid jig’s purpose is to gain the attention of a squid, and it’s not necessary to perfectly mimic a natural food source. As such, when using the sight casting technique, I deviate from typical squid fishing norms. During the early season, when the squid are smaller,

I use smaller jigs than most. In my experience, brightly coloured red, orange or pink jigs, in sizes 2.0-2.5, usually work the best. AFTER THE CATCH In Queensland, a general possession limit of 50 applies for squid and cuttlefish, and 20 for tiger squid specifically. Unlike most popular angling targets, squid don’t have a minimum size limit. After you have caught a squid, it is important to process it correctly in order to preserve its eating qualities. Immediately after capture, squid should be killed and kept cool. The most humane way to kill a squid is by using the ‘karate chop’ method or by spiking between its head and body. I prefer the ‘karate chop’ method as it is quick and requires no additional equipment. For this, simply use the bottom of your hand to firmly strike the squid between the head and body. If done correctly, the squid should immediately turn white. When handling a live squid or processing dead squid, be aware of the ink. Squid ink is highly concentrated and will stain anything it touches if not cleaned immediately – and this includes your skin. Processing squid generally includes removing the head and innards, including the ink sac, and

The author’s favourite way to enjoy fresh squid is flash fried with salt and pepper.

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removing the skin. From there, the body and tentacles can be cooked to personal taste. Popular methods include marinating and grilling, crumbing, battering, or even eaten raw with soy sauce or lemon. In South East Queensland, we anglers are spoilt for choice, but the humble squid should not be overlooked. An hour or so spent after work casting a line off a well-lit pier is cheap entertainment, and it’s a great weekend activity, too. Squid fishing is relaxing and easy, and will usually result in a tasty calamari treat for the family. You can’t say no to that.

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FMM

BACK TO BASICS

Remember, it’s called ‘fishing’ not ‘catching’! NSW SOUTH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Sometimes, a bit of a reality check can be rather helpful when it comes to keeping us all “grounded”! These days, most of our social media feeds and YouTube watch suggestion lists are full of amazing fishing sessions at magical locations, often undertaken in near-perfect conditions. However, as we all know, reality frequently falls

Anglers have notoriously selective memories. We vividly recall the red-letter days, while our abject failures vanish quickly into the fog of history, eventually slipping off our cerebral hard drives completely, never to be spoken of again. This selectivity of angling memories is the bane of bean-counting statisticians seeking to measure recreational fishing effort and total harvest. Almost without exception, fishers like you and me overestimate our catches and underestimate

That expression says it all: dud spot, wrong conditions, no fish! We’ve all been there.

well short of these dreams. The fact is, fishing is (or often can be) quite hard. There, I’ve said it! Fishing is hard. I reckon that’s something we should all probably hear — and say out loud — a bit more often than most of us actually do, especially in this brave new world of social media and its insidious spread of FOMO (fear of missing out), where almost every “look at me!” post and video tells of sunny days, calm seas, prize catches and happy memories. Don’t get me wrong. Fishing isn’t always hard. If it was, we probably wouldn’t stick with it. Fortunately, we’ve all enjoyed those magical days, when everything works and the fish seem to queue up for a chance to jump onto our lines. But be honest: how common are they?

the effort involved in achieving them when we’re talking to our mates — or responding to surveys. At first glance, this selective memory thing sounds like a fairly harmless fisherman’s foible Even a bit cute. But in reality, it can come back to bite us all on the metaphorical bum. When these overly-optimistic recollections are collated by statisticians, and then used to craft management policies, the results can be unexpected and alarming. As a graphic example of this, rec’ fishers in the southern states of the USA nowadays face extremely tight seasonal, bag and size limits on their highly-prized red snapper (very similar to our red emperor). Many agree that the current limits are overthe-top and unnecessarily restrictive.

sunrise and sunset posts on Instagram, in place of eye-catching grip-and-grin fish pics. We’re all more than capable of mouthing the usual platitudes about it being “a pleasure just being here”, or claiming that “catching a fish is a bonus”, as well as my all-time favourite: “that’s why it’s called fishing, not catching”. While there’s a grain of truth in those well-worn homilies, there’s also a degree of self-deception. Because, let’s face it, we primarily go fishing to catch fish! Otherwise, it’s just a nice walk on the beach or along a river bank while carrying an awkwardly long stick. In my opinion, there’s much to be said for embracing the truth about fishing, and accepting that it will frequently frustrate and foil us. For me, this acceptance simply magnifies the sheer, unbridled joy of the good times, and the heartfelt celebration of our occasional victories. The best most of us can honestly hope for — and strive towards — is that those events will come along just often enough to keep us hooked. YOUTUBE

Starlo shivers (and catches nothing) on a windswept, sleet-lashed lake shore in Tasmania.

But the fact is, they were based on catch rates extrapolated from surveys of anglers almost all of whom apparently over-stated their successes on these fish. Optimism has its downsides! Other examples are less dire, but just as illuminating. Back in 1992, when Robert Redford’s wonderful movie “A River Runs Through It” first came out, there was a global surge of interest in fly fishing, and a major spike in sales of everything from waders to expensive graphite fly rods. Ironically, this was followed across the next couple of years by a similarly large uptick in the appearance of those very same items on various second-hand markets — many of them carrying sad descriptions such as “hardly used” or “used once”. It seems that a lot of those budding Brad Pitts who “discovered” the romance of fly fishing through “that movie” soon learnt it was much harder and more frustrating than it looked on the silver screen. In the real world, the wind blows, bugs bite, mud sucks at boots, leaders get tangles, flies whack into ears, and fish frequently refuse to play our silly games. I always try to keep it real in my writings and video work, but I’m as guilty as any other angler of gilding the lily and slipping on those rose-tinted spectacles. Fact is, few viewers want to watch long, boring videos in which no fish are caught, or to see endless pretty

Scan this QR code to watch Starlo’s latest video about keeping it ‘real’.

These are the days and the experiences that keep bringing us back but we need to accept that they don’t happen every time we hit the water. 14 AUGUST 2024

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QLD Southern

FMM

Anglers set their sights on elusive LB mulloway THE TWEED

Leon McClymont

A cold snap is great for firing up the winter species for the Tweed and surrounding regions. The Tweed has been hit with a strong inshore cold current, which has the snapper, trag, pearl perch and even the mulloway feeding hard. The snapper and

A great thing to keep in mind is the location of the school in the water column. Let’s say you’ve arrived at a spot and sounded up fish on the sonar, and the school is hanging high in the water column. In this scenario, it’s best to use a float line technique to keep the fish high in the water column, comfortably feeding, rather than dropping a heavy rig through the school. A heavy paternoster can drag the school away from their comfort zone to chase the baits to the bottom, where they may not feed as aggressively. This will also break the school up and may bring the bite time to an end much quicker. A light, constant berley trail is also great to keep the snapper feeding in mid-water in the area. Slow-pitch jigging is very productive, too. Start with the lighter weight jigs and work your way up to the heavy jigs, and work the whole

Mutunga Pritchard with a solid mulloway taken on a soft plastic. pearlies have been abundant on the 24s right out to the 50s, along with a mix of other species. Float lining and paternoster rigs with heavy sinkers are the two most used techniques to target snapper and other reefies. You can use both techniques simultaneously most days, covering the whole water column and catching a great range of mixed species. Using both methods can also tell you where the fish are feeding the hardest, and which technique works best – and then you can focus on the more productive one.

Tweed to avoid the QLD closed season for snapper and pearl perch (the closure runs from 15 July to 15 August in QLD waters). There are plenty of other great species to target on both sides of the border, including tuskfish, mulloway, cobia, amberjack, kingfish and more. Further out, beyond the 50s, there have been good reports of nannygai, bar cod and the odd ruby and flame-tail snapper on the deep-dropping scene. LAND-BASED FISHING Recent rough weather has kept a lot of anglers on land, and many have set their sights on a different target: mulloway. The elusive land-based mulloway has been the flavour of the month, and it’s been great to see a few local anglers ticking that box. The headlands and break walls have been holding good water lately, with mullet laying up most nights in these areas, attracting the mulloway in to feed. Most are caught either by soaking baits or casting lures. The beaches have been fishing well, with good numbers of tailor being caught at dawn and dusk (and sometimes all day when it’s overcast). Plenty of dart, whiting, bream, and tarwhine are also in the gutters, along with the odd school-size mulloway. Some good gutters to consider would be the northern end of Fingal Beach, Wommin Bay off Murphys Lane and Maggie’s Hole at Hastings Point.

Nathan Dodd with his first land-based mulloway, taken on a live mullet. water column. We can expect more anglers to fish our waters this month, as Queenslanders travel over the border to

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Morgan Henderson with a beautiful flame-tail snapper taken deep dropping off Tweed. A few Australian salmon have turned up, which is unusual; it would be 8-10 years since an Australian salmon was caught this far north. On the rare occasions they have turned up here in years gone by, they’ve arrived in big schools, driving the tailor out. This year, however, the salmon were in small numbers, and their arrival coincided with the cold snap that hit during mid-July. The very unusual

high-pressure system down south in their usual habitat may have had an impact, too. ESTUARY FISHING The river and estuaries have been particularly clear, considering recent rain in the area. At this time of year, plenty of tailor and trevally move into the river, feeding on schools of bait on the incoming tides. Amongst the action,

A 120kg black marlin for the Henderson family. Mum pulled it in, and the kids filmed the action while Dad drove and leadered it. flathead have also been feeding on the bait schools. Boyds Bay Bridge and Chinderah have been the best places to find the action. The sand flats around the bottom end of the river between the back of Tweed Golf Club through to the old hospital provide easy fishing for the kiddies. There are plenty of breadand-butter species on offer, including bream, whiting and flathead. Anglers fishing further up the river, in some of the deeper holes between Chinderah and Tumbulgum, have been catching soapy-size mulloway in recent weeks. There have also been some decent legal-size school jew in the mix. Plastics and vibes are good options, but if you’d rather fish with bait, these fish will happily feed on cut mullet, prawns, beach worms, and live bait. 2024 AFTA SHOW August is a great time of year for anglers in our region, because that’s when the AFTA Tackle Trade Show comes to the Gold Coast. This year’s show will again be held at the Gold Coast Convention Centre, and the doors will open to the public on Saturday, 17 August from 9:00am-3:00pm. You can check out all the new products, and perhaps some you have forgotten about, under one roof.

QLD Southern

FMM

Snapper are stars of the show GOLD COAST

Doug Burt’s Tackle World

The main attraction before the closed season was the snapper fishing. Snapper moved in offshore and in close from the 18 fathom reefs right out to the 50 fathom reefs, with most of the bigger fish coming from the 36, 24, and 18 fathoms. The early morning and late afternoon bites have been the best.

Out wider, deep dropping has been very productive. The current has been up a bit, which is unusual for this time of year, but we’re still seeing good catches. Anglers fishing in depths from around 260-340m have been catching flame snapper, bar cod, snapper, and kingies. A good place to start is east of Point Lookout. Just inside the Tweed Canyons, in around 280-300m of water, we’re seeing catches of good-size bar cod. Moving a

been around 10kg. INSHORE The Jumpinpin area has been fishing well for flatties, from the back block of Cabbage Tree Point and the western end of Tiger Mullet Channel and Jacobs Well Channel. A popular way to catch flatties is by casting hardbodies on the high tide on the top of the banks. Then, as the tide starts to drop and the water comes off the sand banks, you can switch to soft plastics. There will still be heaps of tailor around in the coming weeks. The northeastern corner of Crusoe Island is the best area to fish for them, all the way south to the Tipplers Channel entrance. You can also get flatties around the Tipplers banks on 60-80mm trolled lures, diving down 2-3m, along the deep edge of the sand banks. There are still whiting on the edge of Kalinga Bank, especially the western area. They can also be caught in the lagoons at

Pearl perch are always a welcome catch. Once the sun comes up, you can switch from bait to soft plastics, such as 4-7” jerkshads. Tuskies and trag are always a welcome bycatch when targeting snapper. There’s also been good fishing for pearl perch over the past month. The back of the 36 fathom reef and the outside of the 50s have been really good, from east of Tweed Heads to east of Jumpinpin on the outside edge, between 90-120m. Look for the wire weed and off you go. Lure fishers have been getting heaps of pearlies on 80-150g Lucanus octo jigs. The best approach is to work it very slowly, but you can still catch fish if it’s in the rod holder, as the current wafts it around naturally. Other good options include the Daiwa Kogha and Shimano Baku Baku. Snapper and pearl perch are off limits in QLD waters until August 16, but there are plenty of other targets to chase during the closed season. At the 50s, kingies and AJs have been caught by anglers high-speed jigging with knife jigs. Look for the bait along the 50 fathom reefs, and focus your jigging there. There have been fish caught on the 36s as well, but most are out wider. There are still some mahimahi (dolphinfish) on the 36 fathom FADs and the 50 fathom FADs. The smaller models have been plentiful, with the odd bigger dollie in the mix. The large fish tend to hold down deeper, and using live bait or slow pitch jigs will increase your chances. Guys trolling skirts about 400m away from the FADs have also been catching their share. A few striped marlin have been getting around as well. 18 AUGUST 2024

bit deeper, down to 400m, there are some quality blue-eye on offer. In close on the 18-fathom and 12-fathom reefs, east of the Seaway and Surfers Paradise, some good mulloway have been caught over the past month. The best times are mornings and evenings, and the best baits are live slimies and yakkas. We’re also seeing cobia caught during the day on live baits, and a couple of guys have been getting a few big snapper that way, too. Some Spanish mackerel are still being caught. At the time of compiling this report, the water temp is around 22-23°C, which the pelagics tend to like. There have been a few spanner crabs east of Q1 in the 48-50m depth range. Live baits/pillies have been taking longtails anywhere inside of 50m, and if you find the bait you should find the longtails. They’ve been down deep as well as on the surface, and the average size has

A lovely mixed bag of flathead, bream, tailor and crabs.

Some nice mulloway have been caught this winter. Anglers have also been getting whiting up the Nerang River around the arts centre at night, and live yabbies and beachworms have been the best baits. There are plenty of arrow squid around, and they should be a decent size this month. You can target them anywhere from the front of the Runaway Bay marina down to Bayview Harbour. Good locations include in front of Charis Seafoods, in front of SeaWorld in the east channel, and land-based at night off the new jetty at the end of Bums Bay (Marine Stadium). You can also try for flatties along the north wall of the Seaway where it wraps around into the Broadwater, on the southern end of South Straddie. BEACH FISHING The tailor fishing has been good lately. Some anglers have been getting them off the Seaway wall on metals early and late

A few cobia have been caught during the day on live baits. the end of South Straddie. Mulloway have been caught at the high and low tide in front of Swan Bay (outside the green zone), on livies (pike, legal tailor and mullet) in around 15m of water with big sinkers. Sharks can be a problem, however. On the surf side on the northern end of South Straddie, you can get dart, whiting and flatties. On the beach side, opposite Tipplers and Couran Cove, you can get good tailor in the early morning and late afternoon. Heading down to the Broadwater, the flatties have been good around the Aldershots, Browns Bay and Crab Island. Again, a good way to catch them is by casting hardbodies at high tide and soft plastics once the tide starts running out. Work the drains where the water runs off the banks. Tailor have been caught in the Broadwater late in the afternoon and at night. Try opposite South Currigee in the main channel fishing pilchards at night on the run-in tide. There are still whiting at the back of wave break over the top of the sand banks, with most taken on unweighted yabbies.

Snapper are being caught from the 18 fathom reefs right out to the 50 fathom reefs. in the day and, of course, pillies have been catching their share. You can also get tailor off the beach adjacent to Philip Park, Narrowneck, and further south down to Mermaid, Tugun, and Fingal. Fingal in particular has been fishing very well off the rock platform. If you’re land-based with the kids, try fishing for whiting at the foreshore at Labrador and Runaway Bay, where the canals come out. • Doug Burt’s Tackle World stocks over 40,000 tackle items, and will match any Australian website pricing on stock. You can find them at 8 Centre View Drive, Biggera Waters, or give them a call on (07) 5563 8746. You can also contact them via email at tackleworldgoldcoast4@gmail. com or look them up on Facebook for the latest fishing info, news, and special deals.

QLD Southern

FMM

Whitebait are accounting for good catches JUMPINPIN

Bo Sawyer

Hello everyone; I hope you have had another great month out on the water. The Pin is still firing at the

moment and there have been hardly any tough bites lately, which is great to see. At the time of writing, the weather has picked up a little, but hopefully this will be short lived. The water quality is still excellent and the whitebait are getting around in massive numbers. The bait has

pushed further up the system and spread out a little more, but it’s very easy to locate. Bird activity is the biggest sign that there’s bait holding in an area, and that’s a good place to focus your efforts. The bream have pushed in a little further but I’m still catching plenty around Crusoe Island and Kalinga Bank, although the size has dropped off. Look for areas that are holding lots of bait through Tipplers, Tiger Mullet Channel and Millionaires Row. As mentioned in the last report,

A nice double hook-up. These guys went on to catch some much bigger fish on that trip. A cracker flatty for the author’s client on a recent charter.

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Peter with a flathead caught on a soft vibe. you want to be fishing whitebait, or lures that mimic them. Lightlyweighted presentations with 4-8lb leader are the go. Let the current gently flow around your offering for a more natural look. Small tailor are still everywhere at the moment, chasing the whitebait schools. You could catch over 100

Some nice juvenile snapper are getting around and they pull hard on light gear.

Southern QLD

FMM of these small fish very easily at the moment with either small spinners or plastics. We are getting the odd legal fish out of these schools, but I think there are so many small ones around that they usually beat the bigger fish to the punch. Anywhere around the Pin that has bait and bird activity will almost guarantee a hook-up, and you can catch big numbers when they are feeding. Tide doesn’t seem to matter much at the time of writing, but the last of the incoming will usually yield bigger specimens. Mulloway are a prime target at this time of year in the deeper areas of the Pin. Try using big live baits on a snelled rig, large plastics or vibes.

perfectly. I’m running 1/6oz jigheads with 10lb line, and that’s been getting the job done. • That’s it from me this month. If you’d like to book a charter with us, now is a great time to chase flatties

Peter caught this 75cm school mulloway on a soft vibe.

Gail with a monster flatty that won her the Biggest Flathead title in this year’s Women’s Classic.

Park up in the Pin bar around the tide changes and leave once the current starts running too hard. Flathead have been chewing hard on whitebait schools, and I’m fishing bank edges that have bait flowing past. I’m finding the deeper drop-offs holding more fish in slacker tides and shallower ones when it’s running quite hard. Pearl plastics in a slimmer 3” size have been effective and mimic the bait very well. I’m not flicking my plastics very hard as the water is clean (more of a visual bite) and also because small whitebait don’t flick hard. Subtle rod tip lifts and small flutters will get your lure dancing

There’s some awesome flathead action at the moment. These anglers landed over 40 flathead, along with a few tailor and trevally. and we’ve been getting some really good numbers of them. Don’t forget to see Brett from Jacobs Well Bait and Tackle before heading out. Until next time, stay safe out on the water and tight lines.

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QLD Southern

FMM

School mackerel and snapper biting in the bay BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Although often a rather windy month, August offers anglers plenty of opportunity for success. Westerly winds, whilst cold, still allow anglers plenty of options to fish inshore waters. Westerlies can often make water clarity high. Some fish species will become a little more wary in the shallower waters at this time, and the anglers who adopt more finesse techniques are most likely to get the rewards. Anglers can expect to tangle with flathead, snapper, bream, mulloway, school mackerel, squid, luderick, tailor, cobia and several other species over the coming month. SCHOOL MACKEREL Whilst schoolies can be found throughout the bay during any month of the year, August heralds the start of a seasonal influx into the bay. These early-season fish are initially noticed filtering in through the main channels such as the Kianga, Rainbow, NorthWest and Rous but can be encountered almost anywhere. The rising tide often has them swarming along the channel edges as they await rising water levels to filter upon the flats to feed. Anchoring or drifting whilst deploying gang-hook rigged pilchards is a reliable way to score. Small live baitfish like herring, yakkas and slimy mackerel can also work well. Commercial fishers have historically trolled spoons behind paravanes along the channel edges to score good numbers of school mackerel, especially on the first few hours of the rising tide and the first few hours of the falling. In the last decade, this approach has also become a popular way for recreational anglers to target school mackerel. A simple paravane and spoon rig can be fished on a 40-60lb handline or using a rod sporting line heavier than 30lb. The heavier line is more able to withstand the pressure and resistance of the trolled spoon than the fighting ability of the mackerel, which can be handled on much lighter line. Handline fishers are additionally advised to use a glove to avoid line burns and cuts. Small deep diving minnow lures can also be used successfully, but I personally have a better strike rate with spoons, such as the Halco Kimberley and Barra Drone in size #3 and #4. Even when fishing up on the flats and along the channel edges for whiting, anglers are advised to drift a pilchard aft in case a mackerel lurks by. This can offer a welcome addition to the day’s targeted catch. This pilchard bait may even attract the attention of a tiger squid or arrow squid. If you slowly wind in your rod, the squid will generally 22 AUGUST 2024

stay attached. A quick scoop with a net may secure an additional prize. School mackerel numbers should be good for some months to come, so get yourself set up and ready to target a few. SNAPPER It has been a great snapper season so far, with a healthy influx of quality fish into the bay. Plenty of 50-80cm specimens have been caught, with even a few eclipsing 90cm. Often anglers will need to catch multiple smaller fish until they score the big one, and it’s important to release these fish carefully to sustain future snapper stocks. Bait fishers are often advised to fish a larger bait when there are hordes of smaller fish about. These ‘pickers’ will ferociously attack the bait, creating a berley cloud and some commotion. This flurry of activity doesn’t go unnoticed by larger fish lurking nearby. These wary predators will soon succumb to the activity before them and come in to join the action. In shallower areas anglers will often achieve the best results during low light periods such as dawn, dusk and the darkened hours when they feel less conspicuous in the shallow, clear environs. Additionally, using lighter line and fluorocarbon leaders, minimal sinker weights, and streamlined baits with hooks well hidden will greatly increase your chances. Quality fresh baits of tuna and bonito fillet strips (even salted), whole banana prawns, squid, grinner fillets, mullet strips, and whole fish baits such as gar, herring, yakkas, and slimy mackerel will all increase your chances. That said, the humble frozen offerings of pilchards and squid will still work surprisingly well at times. I like live baits for larger snapper and regularly use herring, yakkas, slimy mackerel, pike and others. A live squid or cuttlefish is a prime offering if you

August is always a great month for flathead, with plenty of quality fish to be caught in the estuaries, creeks, and rivers on baits and lures. can keep them away from the pickers. Snapper numbers will be healthy for many months yet, however, August is a great month to get amongst them. CEPHALOPODS With westerly winds creating clear water conditions throughout inshore areas, August is a great month to target squid, especially for those fishing via Shanks’s pony. Land-based locations around Manly, Wynnum, Wellington Point, Victoria Point, Scarborough, Dunwich, Amity Point and any canals are always popular and reasonably productive. Due to the clear water conditions (which squid favour), anglers can often see the squid before they cast at them. This is especially the case when using high-powered headlamps or torches at night. The silhouette of a tiger or arrow squid is quite obvious at times, even when they are several metres below the surface. Casting your egi well past the squid and then retrieving with a series of hops and pauses, or a slow wind

Anthony Johnson with a solid estuary mulloway he caught and released on a 4” Gulp Minnow in nuclear chicken.

with pauses, will generally get some attention once the egi passes within the squid’s immediate area. Refusals are common in the more hard-fished areas and several jig changes (trying different sizes and colours) is often required to get the squid’s approval. However, sometimes persistence is not enough and the squid will fade away back to the depths. Further out into the bay, squid can be found at a broad array of locations where clean water flows over reef, rock, rubble and weed. The upper reaches of the Rous Channel, numerous bank edges in the Rainbow Channel and the surrounds of the bay islands (Mud, Green, Peel, Goat, Bird, Macleay and Coochiemudlo are popular) are all good locations to check out. You can catch the ferry to Coochiemudlo to fish anywhere around the island if you don’t have a boat. In these areas, anglers commonly cast and retrieve egi using abrupt hops and sizeable pauses to allow the egi to sink. Another approach is to use a squid skewer baited with a pilchard. If drifting, this can simply be dragged aft, but when tidal flow is minimal, you will need to use a float to keep it up off the bottom. This is an ideal approach to score a few squid whilst drifting the banks chasing whiting or casting plastics and vibes around the bay islands. Adding a few squid to the day’s catch can provide a great entrée or entire meal. Drifting the deeper channel out the front of Wellington Point with weighted egi can provide a good haul of cuttlefish. Anglers commonly fish egi on a paternoster rig or add weight directly to the egi using an Agorig sinker or similar. You need to have the egi close to the bottom without it fouling with weed as you drift along the channel. The junction of the Rous Channel and Small Ships Channel is

Southern QLD

FMM another great spot to try, although there are numerous areas throughout the bay where cuttlefish can be caught. MULLOWAY Plenty of quality mulloway have been caught over the recent months. Personally, I think August to October is a prime period for mulloway throughout the bay as a lot of larger fish that have been up in the estuaries spawning will begin to make their way back to offshore waters. The artificial reefs, deeper edges around the bay islands (Mud, Peel, Macleay, Russel and Lamb), isolated wrecks and numerous spots along the shipping channel will all hold respectable fish. These can be targeted with a host of soft plastics and vibes. Anglers will often locate schools of mulloway using their marine electronics and then present the lure ahead of the school. Strikes are often instantaneous and numerous fish can be hooked with this method if you can continually locate the school. However,

greatly increase your results. Anglers bait fishing almost anywhere throughout inshore zones are likely to score a flathead or two. However, understanding the basic movements of flatties can boost your catch rates considerably. These fish like to venture up onto the flats towards the top of the tide and then move to the edges of the banks as waters begin to recede. The larger flatties often take up the best ambush locations, where most of their prey items pass as they are forced from the flats with the receding tide. Once the flats drain, flathead commonly move into the channels and deeper holes. This basic movement will give you a general indication of where to fish, although some areas will often work slightly differently. Getting to know your chosen fishing zone is a lot easier if you investigate the area at low tide. This will allow you to identify where the last water leaves the flats (which will also be where the most water flows) and any little gutters

School mackerel numbers will increase dramatically during August. They can be caught in numerous ways, including trolling spoons. sharks are a major problem in some areas and will steal every fish hooked. Live baits will also work well on mulloway and offer a more relaxed approach. I personally think they are more likely to produce those larger specimens when fishing the channel edges and deeper holes at the mouth of the Brisbane River and around the artificial reefs. Almost any live offering is worth using, with herring, mullet, squid, pike, yakkas and grinners being easy to locate in Moreton Bay. Most of these can be caught on a bait jig around shipping channel beacons and the artificial reefs. FLATHEAD At the time of writing, good numbers of quality flathead have been caught around the creeks, rivers and estuaries. Anglers have reported a better than average season so far, and hopefully this will continue for several months yet. While flathead are a very opportunistic species a lot of the time, specific targeting them can

or drains that are worth investigating when the tide is higher. You may even locate some flathead ‘lies’, which are indentations in the sand or mud where flathead were lying when the tide was higher. Such spots are generally worth trying at a later stage. Trolling deep-diving minnow lures or cast and retrieve fishing with soft plastics and vibes along the edges of the banks on a falling tide is a proven approach. Drifting with baits will also work well. Small whole fish baits such as hardiheads, frogmouth pilchards, whitebait, diver whiting, herring, and bluebait can be presented on a snelled hook rig with a 30cm fluorocarbon leader and just enough weight to keep the bait near the bottom. Whilst drifting, this is a great way to cover a sizeable area and score a few flathead and other species. COBIA August can be a good month for cobia, especially in the southern bay. The Curtin Artificial, coffee rock areas in the Kianga Channel and Pearl

Channel, around the shipping channel beacons and any other areas holding good concentrations of baitfish are worth a look. Large live baits are ideal offerings, with grinners and fusiliers being easy to obtain. Any species is worth using also but remember you need to adhere to size and bag limits on these. Whole sand crabs are also ideal offerings, especially when presented live. Cobia will eat most food sources put in front of them and can reach weights in excess of 35kg in Moreton Bay. Fish of this calibre are a tough ask on any tackle and a good degree of luck is involved in every capture, especially when fishing around structure. BREAM Bream are probably the most caught species in any inshore area, and their numbers and sizes will be peaking throughout many areas during August. Large silver bream (often called snowies) come inshore to spawn during this time, often around the full moon. These fish are a lot more silver and cleaner looking than the usual inshore bream. Anglers can often score good numbers (as well as tarwhine) whilst fishing baits in the estuaries at night. Good baits can include worms (beach or blood), yabbies, whitebait, frogmouth pilchards, chicken fillet strips, fowl gut, mullet gut (preferably with the onion), green prawns and any fillet strips. Light fluorocarbon leader, super sharp (preferably chemically sharpened) hooks and minimal sinker weights will increase your chances considerably. Small minnow lures, blades, topwater offerings and numerous soft plastics can all be put to good use for targeting bream. This form of fishing has become an art form and a serious pursuit for some tournament anglers, with purpose-specific boats and tackle used. However, in some environs, quality bream can be caught on rather crude tackle, rigs and baits, even by inexperienced anglers.

CONCLUSION Whilst conditions can be a little difficult on some days due to strong westerly winds, there are still a lot of inshore areas that can be accessed. A broad array of species are on offer during August within the bay and other inshore waters. On any given

Pete Griffiths recently caught this quality golden trevally while chasing flathead in the shallows. day, you can target several species if you plan your attack well. Nights, evenings and early mornings will still require a few extra layers, but the days will get warmer throughout the month, especially if you can stay out of the wind. The angling opportunities and variety are quite exciting over the coming month so get out amongst the action soon.

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The unpredictability of fishing in August BRISBANE

Bob Thornton tackleworldlawnton@gmail.com

Although the cold arrived a little later than usual, we’ve had plenty of positive reports from customers on our ‘winter species’ in the last month. The weather has been exceptional at times, with solid weeks of cool, sunny days with virtually no wind. With that said, there have certainly been days when offshore fishing was absolutely off the cards.

reachable by trailer boat, such as Murphys, Sunshine, Currimundi and the Caloundra Wide reefs, should be holding plenty of snapper and pearlies when the season opens. Snapper are a near guarantee at the moment, but pearlies have been a little harder to predict. If you’re having trouble finding pearls around the abovementioned spots, heading wider to any hard-bottomed ground in 80-100m can be fruitful. If the wind and swell restricts offshore activities, closer reefs and rocks

Mac tuna have been thick through the bay for several months now, and they’re good sport on light tackle. This one had the author’s 1000 size reel screaming!

Most of the mulloway caught in the region have been under 70cm, but there are a few areas consistently producing larger fish, like this one caught by Drew Edwards. Image courtesy of Drew Edwards. August is a month when things can get unpredictable. Anticipating the weather and therefore fish habits is often difficult at this time of year, so keeping your options open is the key to success. Remember, there are no guarantees that the fish will be doing the same thing you saw last August. This rule applies to every calendar month; just because the fish were doing ‘a’ or ‘b’ last year doesn’t mean the cycle will repeat itself exactly 12 months later. As we transition into spring, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to the current weather and how it’s affecting our marine environments. Anglers willing to play the course they’re on rather than trying to force a square through a circular hole will fare best in August, and the fishing over the past month is probably the best indicator of how things will shape up this month. So, without further ado, let’s see what’s been happening! OFFSHORE A lot of locals are anxiously waiting for the snapper and pearl perch closure to lift on August 16, and when it does, we should see plenty of action. After a month of being left alone it shouldn’t be too hard to get a bite out of the fish, providing you can find the schools. Most of the offshore grounds 26 AUGUST 2024

like Halls Reef, Raper Shoal, Mudjimba Island and the gravelly edges of North West Channel can be a good alternative. The good run of weather has made it easier for the tinny brigade to hit these locations where snapper are often schooling in late winter, with grass and spangled emperor, cobia, Moses perch, hussar, tuskfish and various cod species likely to help fill the esky. The currents should still be gentle during August, even out wide, so deep dropping will be on the cards for those that way inclined. Big pearlies and goldband snapper will be prime targets in the 100m zone, while bigger prizes like

blue-eye trevalla, bar cod, Bass groper and flame snapper will be on the hit list for those willing to venture out deeper. The flamies in particular have been something of a ‘white whale’ for many deep droppers in recent years, but they are most certainly out there and will reward the crews that do their homework and spend time searching. Good-size Spanish mackerel have been showing up periodically around the major reefs that still receive a bit of current in winter, with Hutchison Shoal and Sevens Reef two local hotspots. Like last year, anglers have been choosing to throw poppers and stickbaits at these larger Spanish, which are most likely resident fish that didn’t migrate. While not in big numbers, the fish succumbing to these techniques are usually on the big side, with multiple Spanish over 30kg reported to us over the past few months. In the same areas, GTs are prone to demolishing any large lures, making plenty of commotion on the surface. It’s important to run good-quality gear in the PE6-8 range, with super strong trebles or inline singles on all your lures. BEACH AND ROCKS A splashing of rain and big seas through July was good news for those chasing big mulloway from the sand and

A quick morning session yielded four keeper-sized luderick, with the biggest going 46cm.

washes, with big tailor also making the most of the washy conditions. While not an area known for this style of fishing, the headlands along the Sunshine Coast, as well as the seaway entrances at Caloundra, Southport and Tweed Heads are excellent spots to try for a big mulloway land-based, especially during or just after large swells. Large paddle-tail soft plastics around 120-170mm are good presentations for covering lots of water under the washes, day or night. When the light fades and the mulloway start looking up, though, that’s when big shallow-diving hardbodies come into play. Jew-specific hardbodies imitate the foot-long mullet big mulloway snack on, and in late winter the few mullet left after their spawning run are at a premium! In the same areas, big tailor often hunt under the washes for any disorientated prey, so keeping a lighter rig with a few metals between 40-60g is a good idea. On the calmer days, the shallow gutters along Teewah and Peregian beaches, Bribie’s eastern side, as well as the main beaches along Moreton (Mulgumpin) and North Stradbroke (Minjerribah) have been teeming with whiting and dart, with decent flathead showing up at times as well. As for beach tailor, it’s been very stop-start. We’ll receive word of a run along a particular beach, but the week after the action has dissipated. It’s a similar story along most beaches. So far this season we’ve seen fairly scattered schools, with no consistent reports of large fish. With that said, August is usually when people start making serious trips up to K’gari (Fraser Island) in search of ‘greenback’ class tailor. Once that wind starts to blow from the north, which sometimes happens in August, you can almost be sure that the big tailor will be running up toward the Fraser Coast to breed. MORETON BAY June and July dished up just

Southern QLD

FMM about everything you could imagine weather-wise, with calm and clear days with mirror-like images rippling on the water’s surface, to dreary days characterised by choppy conditions and rain blowing in sideways. Both types of conditions produced excellent fishing, the trick was knowing what was biting and where. August should be much the same. The calmer days were much appreciated by anglers chasing diver whiting on the Cockle Banks. As usual, a range of baits have been effective. Squid is as good a bait as any, and one piece of squid will stay on the hook for at least several fish. Soft plastic sandworm imitations cut into pieces are surprisingly effective as well, and don’t stink up your boat as much as bait does. If after pelagics, the windier days with a bit of cloud cover will be your friend. When the weather turns on the bay, these usually fickle fish are much easier to approach without spooking them. One trade-off (in addition to it often being wet, cold and difficult to drive in) is that it can make spotting the feeding schools from a distance harder,

This 1kg+ Moreton Bay specimen was Dezzie’s first ever squid. Talk about beginner’s luck! so good eyes and plenty of patience are needed. Late winter often sees tuna schools get smaller, with larger fish in single-digit packs more common than the frenzied masses of 5-6kg fish. If they aren’t busting up, look for any commotion on the surface, including boils, splashes, bait fleeing or birds hovering low over the water. The bay snapper have been on fire again this winter, with the deeper marks like Harry Atkinson, Caption Nielsen and Bulwer Ledge holding schools of big snapper upwards of 70cm leading

up to the closure. On August 16 they’re back on the cards, and they should be hungry. Below them are usually mulloway, coming out to feed around the tide changes before ducking back into their cave to rest between meals. In the rubbly shallows and reef edges around the bay islands there’s been plenty of action as well, especially on the cloudier days with a little wind chop. While better done in the early morning, cloudy days can see this action extended through the day, even in 2-3m of water. Even if it’s calm and clear, hitting the shallows early and gradually moving deeper to around 6-8m as the sun climbs higher can see you hooking into keeper snapper all day. I firmly believe that light gear is most effective for snapper in the shallows, so keep your leaders around 8-12lb and your jigheads in the 1/121/8oz range. Tiger squid are a great option while the snapper are still off-limits, especially on the calmer days. I recently hit the bay islands with friend of the shop Deon ‘Dezzie’ Smith, with the goal to get Dezzie his first squid. It was a cool morning, and the exceptional water clarity meant we could see the bottom 5m down! We eventually found them holding in about half a metre of water on the edges of Mud Island, and in quick time we’d both caught several squid around 1kg apiece. Jigs in size 3.0 twitched close to cruising squid we spotted did the trick. The highlights of the day included Dezzie sight-casting the biggest squid of the day, me hooking and landing a 6kg mac tuna on my bass gear, and both of us narrowly avoiding ink to the face. The tailor that were so prevalent during early winter have slowed up a little, though schools are still popping up occasionally, mostly in the northern half of the bay. Late winter usually sees better tailor action on the beaches, so I suspect many of these fish have left the bay and headed for the ocean. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES Rain during July stirred our estuaries up slightly, though solid reports of school mulloway, threadfin salmon, big flathead and bream continued to dominate reports. The rain seemed to encourage movement from the fish, especially the mulloway and threadies, which often hold in particular spots for long periods during stable weather. School jewies have been thick in most rivers, with the Caboolture, Maroochy and Logan rivers definite highlights. While most of these fish are under legal size, once a school is found anglers have regularly been able to rack up half a dozen of these hard-fighters on light gear. Soft plastics around 3-5” and soft vibes have done most of the damage, with bridges, sunken rock bars and any holes deeper than 4m with some structure good spots to try. Bigger fish have been taken from the Port of Brisbane and Jumpinpin,

with a handful cracking the metre mark. Finding these fish on the sounder, presenting something to them and finally, getting them to eat can be a huge challenge. Anglers chasing the larger fish can expect fewer jewies per session, but those who do it will argue the trade-off is worth it. Threadies are also active in the same areas, but where they turn up in August will depend primarily on water clarity. If the rivers clear up, the threadies will likely head upriver to find the turbidity that they like. Threadies have evolved to hunt in murky water, with their long

August, though I reckon they have already wound up in Brisbane and most spots north of here. I recently enjoyed a solid session on the luderick around the Port of Brisbane, catching half a dozen fat specimens to 46cm, but these fish are usually gone by August. Jumpinpin and the Gold Coast Broadwater should still be hosting breeding aggregations of both species, though, and once a school is found it can be on for young and old. The Gold Coast Seaway, the end of Short Island at Jumpinpin and the Sundale Bridge at Southport are a few spots where bream and luderick are

Spanish mackerel over 30kg are something of a mythical beast, but Anthony knows how to get these aquatic missiles to bite. Image courtesy of Anthony O’Leary. tassels transmitting important sensory data to their small brains as they feel their way around. If the water clarity starts to deteriorate though, deep holes closer to river and creek mouths will be the places to look, with the Port of Brisbane, Logan River mouth, the Caboolture River around Beachmere and Jumpinpin being productive areas. The flathead fishing has been gradually building to a crescendo, with these fish providing reliable fishing regardless of the conditions. By now, there should be a number of local anglers targeting the flats with big lures in search of crocodiles. August, September and October is often when we see the biggest flathead in our part of the world, and areas such as the lower Noosa River, Pumicestone Passage, the western side of Moreton Island and Jumpinpin are showing good early signs. If you’re just chasing flathead for a feed though, virtually any flat or adjacent channel near the mouths of an estuary will hold fish. Trolling with hardbodies is successful, but with weed often infesting our creeks in August and September, it can get annoying having to constantly wind your lures in to remove the slime. Casting soft plastics, suspending hardbodies, vibes, and even topwater lures is far more enjoyable, and makes avoiding the weed a little easier. Bream and luderick will be making their last spawning efforts during

known to spawn. Even if they aren’t spawning in your local area, bream will probably still be feeding somewhere nearby. August presents a challenge for bream anglers, because it’s difficult to work out whether to fish deep or shallow, fast or slow. The variable conditions synonymous with August mean you will have to prepare for a range of scenarios, though most bream sessions can be navigated with a selection of 35-40mm crankbaits, 2-3” soft plastics, vibes, crab imitations and 50-70mm topwaters. FRESHWATER Even the freshwater isn’t free of the August curse, and working out the habits of bass, yellowbelly and saratoga in our lakes can be hard work at this time. The transition from winter to summer sparks significant changes for most freshwater species, with yellas coming out of their winter slumber, saratoga feeding aggressively ahead of their spawning in mid-spring, and bass often changing their focus to different prey items. Any slightly warmer days will be a good time to work any steepsloping banks for yellowbelly, either by trolling deep-diving lures or casting spinnerbaits, crankbaits, small soft plastics or vibes. The warmer days will also see a spike in saratoga activity, especially in the backs of weedy or timbered bays. Toga aren’t in huge numbers in any of these dams, but the ones AUGUST 2024 27

QLD Southern

FMM

that get caught are often trophy fish. Spinnerbaits are probably the number one searching tool for saratoga anywhere, but even more so in the vast expanses of water in Somerset,

Wivenhoe and Samsonvale. Samsonvale, Wivenhoe and Somerset can sometimes fish at their best for bass in August, but success is never guaranteed. They can often be found schooling in open water between 6-10m in late winter, but they won’t always want to eat. Employing trial and error with spoons, tailspinners, paddletail plastics, vibes, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits can provide a clue as to what they want. The trick is to be flexible and to try different presentations in different spots until you get a response. September and October can sometimes see these fish come on the chew seemingly out of nowhere, so if August provides lousy fishing it can be worth trying again when it warms up a touch. The smaller dams should have bass switching on around the edges, particularly if we experience an early warming. When the temperature starts to climb, bass will prefer more ‘reaction’ style baits like spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and topwater lures. Once again though, they may still be in ‘winter mode’, in which case they’ll respond better to suspending jerkbaits and small soft plastics, which are easier for the coldblooded bass to chase down winter. Carp aren’t hugely popular in southern Queensland, or anywhere else in our sunburnt country, for that

The author enjoys winter squid sessions in the shallows. With chunky models like this, who can blame him?

matter. Despite this, we have a few excellent carp fisheries nearby, with Lake Wyaralong near Beaudesert, the upper Bremer River and various streams on the Logan and Tweed rivers systems holding good numbers of mud marlin. I really enjoy walking the edges of a lake or shallow creek during early spring, looking for the carp as they forage around in the shallows. It’s so much fun trying to present a fly to one without spooking it. As far as fly fishing goes, this is about as good as it gets! Sight fishing to a fish that strips you to your backing on the first run is a fly angler’s dream. Even better is the challenge involved in getting them to bite; they don’t always accept your offering and will often swim right past it without a second look. For anyone wanting to chase bonefish, permit, bastards or any other saltwater flyfishing bucket list fish on the flats, carp are the absolute best fish to practise on. WRAP-UP August can be a frustrating time for anglers in SEQ, as winter begins its slow and often erratic transition to spring. Staying in tune with the conditions and adapting accordingly will make all the difference though, so be prepared to fish outside your comfort zone if something isn’t working. Fortune favours the brave, as they say.

Tagging Tales

SUNTAG AUSTRALIA

Tag and Recapture Certificate This certificate is awarded for the contribution to our knowledge of fish in Australia to

NATHAN PAULL TAG DETAILS: Species

Tagger

Date

Total Length

Y88466

Mangrove Jack

NATHAN PAULL

25/11/2023

380

Fork Length

Tag Location

Map

Rocky Dam Creek

LTLG

Grid

RECAPTURE DETAILS: Recap No. 1

Angler

Date

REECE HATELEY 25/06/2024

Days Out 213

Total Growth Fork Growth Length Length 420

Recapture Location

Map

5 STAR REEF

LTLG

Grid

Movement

Released

175KM DOWN CREEK EAST TO REEF

Yes

Suntag coordinator

Proudly supported by

©Nicole Penfold image

28 AUGUST 2024

Image courtesy of Corey Warrell.

• Thanks to all our wonderful customers who send us photos and give us intel over the counter. If you’re in the Brisbane North/Moreton Bay region, make sure you swing by Tackle World Lawnton on 640 Gympie Road and check out our range. We stock everything you need to chase local species, plus a great selection of fresh bait as well.

Brought to you by

Suntag is a world leading citizen science volunteer fish tagging program that is part of an Australian program that has tagged over 1,000,000 fish and was the first volunteer program in the world to reach that milestone. Data collected through the program is used to improve our knowledge base of recreational fishing by providing near real time information on the status of coastal estuaries and inland impoundments. Thanks to the fish, we can provide you with some interesting stories that they tell.

Tag No.

Corey has been taking any opportunity he can to get into the bay to chase big winter snapper. Fish this size are readily available if you know where to look.

A FIRST FOR SUNTAG As you can imagine there has been thousands of mangrove jack tagged by our taggers over the years. As many of you would know, mangrove jack breed in our estuary systems and then when they get to a certain size or age they relocate to our offshore reef systems. This is what has occurred with this mangrove jack which was originally tagged in the upper reaches of Rocky Dam creek, but then recaptured out on the Swains Reef system. Never have we had a mangrove jack recaptured on one of our outer reef systems. Our tagged fish never stop amazing us.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU CATCH A TAGGED FISH The information you will need to report your recapture is. The length of the fish and the location it was captured. Get a photo if possible. To report the details of your recapture you have two options: Call 1800 077 001 or go to crystalbowl. infofishaustralia.com.au/suntag/ re captures /re capture_ form_ 1. html and fill in the form. In return you will receive a certificate providing the details of the tagging and recapture of your fish, as a thank you for providing the information.

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QLD Southern

FMM

Looking forward to more great snapper fishing SUNSHINE COAST

Tackle World Kawana

Before the closed season started on 15 July, anglers were getting good bags of snapper from Murphy’s Reef off Mooloolaba. There were plenty of quality snapper to 7kg reported, with the best method being floating pillies on 3-hook swivel gangs. Good numbers of fish have also been caught on 7” Jerkshads rigged on 3/4oz jigheads, with the favourite colours being pink and nuclear chicken.

Soul Starling smashed this 7.4kg snapper on a Nomad Squidtrex on the close-in reefs off Mooloolaba.

Plenty of pearl perch have been reported from the close-in reefs, taking soft plastics and slow-flutter jigs in the 60-80g range, such as Cast OTDs. Amberjack are being caught at Caloundra Wide, with most fish being caught on live bait. Lure fishers have also been catching them on knife jigs up to 250g. There have been plenty of tuskfish on the western side of the Barwon Banks. The standard way to catch them is with the good old paternoster rig with 5/0 circle hooks and flesh baits, and work the drop-off on the western side. Moving to the beaches, anglers fishing along the Currimundi stretch have been reporting some great whiting. The most reliable way to catch them is with live beach worms on a no. 6 long-shank bloodworm hook. There have also been tailor at Point Cartwright taking 25-40g metal slices. Off Point Cartwright, we’ve seen some nice mulloway catches in recent weeks. Good baits include fresh mullet and bonito, and the prime time is around the full moon. In the river, over the last month there have been lots of garfish caught in the basin at Mooloolaba. Using a peeled

A nice 6kg snapper caught before the closure. prawn on a no. 10 long-shank hook with a balsa float has been getting the best results. The Maroochy River mouth has been producing plenty of great flathead east of the motorway bridge. If you want to target them with soft plastics, I recommend the 100mm Wriggler in bloodworm colour. Bream have started to show up as well, and you can catch them on peeled prawn baits with a lightly weighted sinker. If you’re using lures, I’d suggest a 2.5” grub tail plastic.

Finally, remember that it’s prohibited to keep snapper and pearl perch until the spawning closure ends on 15 August. • Tackle World Kawana has been servicing the Sunshine Coast for over 30 years. The store stocks the most up to date tackle, with staff skilled in its use and able to meet all your needs in product and advice. For local advice and the right gear, see the team at 8 Nicklin Way, Minyama or give them a call on (07) 5444 0714. You can also find them on Facebook.

Plenty of species to target during the closure SUNSHINE COAST

Smithy’s Fishing Charters

We’ve had some good weather this winter, with great catches in June and early July. We are now in the middle of the closed season for snapper and pearl perch, but there are plenty of other species to chase. One option is deep-dropping with electric reels on the shelf, chasing bar cod, flame snapper, etc. There have been a few striped

marlin over the shelf as well, and the odd Spanish mackerel around Flinders Reef and Cape Moreton. Hussar and tuskfish are also good stand-bys during the closure. We can expect some great fishing when the season opens on 16 August. Weather-wise, August and September can be the best months of the year. The Barwon Banks and the Hards are good areas for quality and numbers. Floatlining is the traditional way to catch snapper, but these days a

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Shaun with a 54cm pearl perch caught on an octo jig.

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Neil and a kingy he caught after getting a bag of AJs with the author. Neil also got dusted by a bigger one.

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QLD Central

FMM

Nothing wrong with fishing in a northwesterly BUNDABERG

Luke Truant

The fishing has been off the charts for trout and red emperor this winter; I’ve had record-breaking trip after record-breaking trip. I would be hardpressed to say this wasn’t the best winter fishing I’ve ever seen in this area, and it’s occurring right now.

at the moment it’s 19°C+. It’s possible that’s contributing to the red-hot bite, because it’s the same temperature as when the fish go red-hot at other times of the year. We also haven’t had anywhere near the number of southwesterly days we’d usually have by now. As I write this report, it’s blowing southeast at 15-20 knots in the middle of winter, and tomorrow it’s forecast to be northwest, which is a summer wind. The vast majority of local anglers believe that northwesterlies are bad fishing days. However, the northwest days we’ve had recently have had epic fish bites! Don’t write off those days with a 10-knot northwester, because

There are still some Spanish mackerel getting around. Image courtesy of Tackle World Bundaberg.

To give you an idea, we’ve had trips with up to 20 trout and five red emperor on a single trip – all big fish. We’ve caught hardly any smaller species such as hussar and tuskfish. Even the grassy sweetlip (grass emperor) have been very quiet, with only two or so grassies per day. The standout bait has been live yellowtail scad; the fish can’t get enough of them. This year, the bait schools

The fishing has been excellent for both reds and trout. appear less numerous than in previous years. Maybe the fish have been biting more readily because fewer baitfish are around? It’s hard to know. The fish continued to bite almost 100% on live baits until early July. After that, their obsession eased a little. We are transitioning to that period when live baits may swim around for an hour untouched, and large flesh baits can get more bites. It happens like this every year, and should continue until around October. It’s best to fish both live and dead baits simultaneously to cover all your bases. Strangely, the water temperature is about a degree warmer than normal for this time of year. By this time, it would normally be below 18°C, but 32 AUGUST 2024

Belinda with a nice grassy sweetlip. chances are you’ll catch good fish. In my experience, we catch fewer small fish and about the same number of large fish. Plus, you don’t have to wait in line at the ramp, and often don’t have to share your favourite spot with other boats. Inshore, school/doggie mackerel have been almost thick enough to walk on. You can catch them from all the fringing reefs along the coast, and out to about 10 miles on the rubble patches, including the FADs. If you throw a chromie out, let it sink to the bottom, and retrieve it at high speed, you’re pretty much guaranteed to catch fish – that’s how thick they are. We’ve been getting them regularly around the 2-3kg mark, and they’re a lot of fun. Spanish mackerel have continued to bite. You can troll the reefy areas and all their usual haunts and still get mediumsized Spanish, which is great for this

Bailey with a ripper coral trout he caught on a trip with the author. time of year. ESTUARY FISHING The estuaries have been absolutely firing for flathead. The flatties have been averaging around 50cm, which is a great plate size. A great way to catch them is on soft plastics, with as light a weight as you can get away with. I recommend using a grub-tail soft plastic, and the colour can be bright or natural – just use what you like because it’s going to work. Retrieve with a slow lift with pauses, because flathead don’t eat when the plastic is moving, only when it’s stopped. I like to fish an hour either side of high tide, on the bars near the river mouths. Just pick the little eddies, like you would if you were barra fishing up north. Some days people catch over 40 flatties in a session, so please only take what you need and stick to the bag limits. Another good option this month is chasing whiting. You can catch them on the incoming tides over the shallow yabby banks, with the best bait being beach worms. You want to be at the location just as the sand is about to cover the flats, and fish in 10-20cm of water. Your bait should be lightly weighted with a long trace (I use 10lb fluoro but you can go lighter if you want to). I make the trace about 60cm long so the bait gets to move more freely. I believe the sight of a sinker puts many fish off, especially whiting. If you watch them swimming in the shallows

There are plenty of good-size trout on the chew.

and you’re using a short trace, you can see them get spooked by the sight of your sinker moving. At the time of writing, the crabs are still firing like you wouldn’t believe,

The flathead fishing is very good at the moment. Image courtesy of Tackle World Bundaberg.

and it’s still worth putting your pots out. I’ve heard of all sorts of weird and wacky baits being used, and everything seems to be working. THE MONTH AHEAD The trout bite will slowly subside in the coming weeks, and we’ll start catching more red emperor instead. Mid-August through to September is red time locally, and you can get great results fishing the deep rubble patches in 35-45m of water. • Truansea Charters specialises in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef targets such as coral trout and red emperor and arm-stretching pelagics like Spanish mackerel. The maximum number of anglers is 6, so you’ll never feel crowded. The price is $370pp (or $350pp if you book the whole boat), which includes all gear, fuel, bait, ice, chilled water/soft drinks and laughs! You’re welcome to bring your own reef fishing gear if you prefer. Other charter options include half-day reef trips, half-day river trips, and private guiding. To learn more, visit www.truansea.com. au, look them up on Facebook, or call Luke on 0423 015 490.

QLD Central

FMM

Mackay anglers blessed with good weather MACKAY

Tackle World Mackay

There’s nothing quite like standing down at McEwens Beach in the early morning with the tide coming in and the sun rising. I couldn’t think of a better place to be on my day off in winter, chasing a few whiting that have been on the move throughout the Mackay region. We have had a great winter so far. Our winter whiting have been in plentiful supply with great numbers and sizes being caught. We have a number of beaches that feature long

more consistently. Of course, fishing along our beaches isn’t restricted to catching whiting. During winter we also get a good run of blue salmon along our beaches in great numbers, and other bycatches like spotted and barred grunter and flathead. Blue salmon and flathead are two species that can be targeted on a range of lures, such as 65mm Westin Swims, 10cm Rapala X-Raps or metal Flasha lures. Blacks Beach and the south wall of the harbour have seen our run of school mackerel starting to show along the coast. Fishing near the

Tackle World staff member Hayden with a solid trout.

Billy Wilson with a healthy flatty caught on a nice winter afternoon. Image courtesy of @wilson090. gutter systems, and following these gutters from low tide to high is a great way of chasing whiting if you are restricted to walking. Areas such as Far Beach, Town Beach and Shoal Point are all great spots for the family. I recommend using a long-shank

northern end of Blacks Beach near the rocks is a good place to target. Pilchards of medium size fished on a 2-hook gang and cast out to the shallow reef just off the beach will see some results. Anglers fishing the harbour wall have been getting some good catches using the winter run of pike and herring as live bait. Golden trevally, cobia and Spanish mackerel have

been making up the bulk of the catches. You can catch your live baits on a bait jig or small lure, then throw it out on a bigger outfit on a float or running sinker rig. We have finally been blessed with some periods of good weather, and anglers have had heaps of opportunities to head out wide for a fish. Offshore anglers have been having success on a range of species. Red emperor, large-mouth nannygai and red-throat emperor haven’t been shy of taking baits, and many anglers were able to provide a good feed for their families. Not only have these fish been caught in great numbers out in the Shipping Channel area, there have been plenty caught in around the islands not located as far. Good locations include Cockermouth Island and Wigton Island if you are travelling from the harbour. Those who chose to travel from

the Seaforth area, launching from Victor Creek, have been catching plenty of good quality fish like coral trout from fishing the close inshore islands such as Rabbit Island and Newry Island. They have also been catching fingermark (golden snapper), black jewfish, grassy sweetlip and Spanish mackerel. Anglers who skipped these islands and travelled out the Goldsmith Group were able to catch red emperor, large-mouth nannygai

Dylan recently moved to Mackay, and went to Tackle World to ask for advice for his first trip to Kinchant. It turned out to be a great trip!

Andy Webster was stoked to catch this 57cm grassy sweetlip. hook from size 4 to 1, red tubing and beads for extra attraction to lure the fish in, lightweight sinker appropriate to the tide on the day. Pumping yabbies to use as fresh bait, or buying frozen sand worms if you’re short, should help you catch fish 34 AUGUST 2024

Renee with a beautifully marked bar-cheek trout.

and red-throat emperor throughout the island group. Spanish mackerel have been heavily stacked up around Blackcombe Island. Kinchant Dam has had a few barra on the chew for those who have fished the warmer days. Winter barra can be a bit fickle, but fishing days with constant weather will see them on the chew. Find the warmest water on the day, and you’ll maximise your chances. If you don’t have a sounder to check the temperature, you can usually find the warmer water on the side of the dam where the wind is blowing onto the foreshore.

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QLD Southern

FMM

Enjoying the beautiful winter days on the water TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

As I write this, we are coming into the second week of some reasonable weather, wind-wise. It’s a welcome change, as the last 7-8 months were bad for anyone wanting to head offshore.

every offshore angler I know is saying the opposite. Even hooked sharks are being eaten by bigger sharks now. When the sharks have depleted some fish populations, no doubt the blame will get pointed at rec anglers, instead of admitting that shark numbers are out of control. Mind you, it seems to be the bull sharks and whalers that are the most

This trout couldn’t resist a Prong hopped amongst the shoals in 5m of water. You won’t land them all, but it’s great fun. One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the amount of sharks encountered by offshore anglers and the percentage of hooked fish being

Tannhym Hodge with his first flycaught jack, taken on a prawn imitation along a ledge at low tide. eaten. A couple of weeks ago, there was a news story on TV painting this picture of how the sharks have declined in numbers and size, when 36 AUGUST 2024

commonly interacted with. The odd tiger or hammer have never been a problem; it’s just the bullies and bronzies that are on the rise. Electric reels have been increasing the catch rates for anglers having issues with predation. You won’t beat every shark, but you’ll certainly notice a significant improvement. At the Fishing Warehouse where I work, we get plenty of anglers wanting to buy an electric reel after seeing a mate use one and land more fish. With retrieve speeds of between 140-210m per minute and no need to stop for a breather, it’s understandable why the catch rate increases so much. At those speeds, many fish don’t have the opportunity to turn their head and send out the vibrations that trigger a shark’s instinctive reaction to attack something. CATCHING FISH IN WINTER Wintertime is usually when the water is clearest, and a few different techniques can be used. The clear water is more conducive to using the smaller lures required to ‘match the hatch’. Often, this means using tiny prawn imitations in wintertime. Lighter lines and leaders, soft-tipped rods and small lures commonly used in Southeast Qld for bream, account for some impressive barra every year. The 3” Atomic Prongs, 4’ Halco Paddle prawns and the 3 1/4’ Plazo Paddle tails are just some of the lures that are successful when the barra want to eat jellybeans.

Many people aren’t confident enough to go light, which is a shame. Yes, you’ll hit the odd unstoppable on light gear, but you’ll catch more fish overall, and there’ll be lots of surprise captures along the way. It’s well worth it. At the moment the jacks are still playing the game nicely, and grunter are also smashing lures in the deeper water at this time of year, so get ready for some fun if you’re up for it. If bait is your thing, a live prawn lobbed back near a snag holding fish will rarely be refused. Rigging your prawn on a 4/0 or 5/0 kahle hook will give you the best hookup rate, and leaders are only around 40lb. Another winter phenomenon is that a live mullet can be placed right in the middle of a school of barra and not get eaten. It’s not until the livie is killed and filleted, and then lobbed back in there, that it’ll be taken. Try it and it just might surprise you. If you’re heading north for some croc spotting, your camera will get a workout, that’s for sure. There are plenty of the big, toothy buggers sunning themselves on the mud banks at low tide. Many of the locals are surprised at how many there are in our local waters at the moment, compared to the warmer months. Keep your wits about you when launching because it’s not the croc you can see that will have a go at you. It’s the one you can’t see that will get you. PERFECT TIME FOR THE LONG WAND Fly fishing in the north is becoming more and more popular, and if you’re up for the challenge, you’re sure to have a ball in the rivers. Barra and jacks will readily take a small Deceiver or prawn imitation, as will flathead, bream, and even whiting at times. GTs and queenfish are always going to love a flashy,

Rigged weedless, the 4” Halco Paddle Prawn in raw prawn colour is effective when cast around drains and mangroves when the jelly prawns are running. reflective, sparkly fly stripped quickly just under the surface, and doggie mackerel will smash a Clouser or Deceiver sunk down on a sink tip or full sinking line. You won’t need wire for any of them except for the doggie mackerel, and 100mm of light Staybrite or piano wire will do the job. A great all-round rod weight would be a 7-8wt for the flats and creeks, and this will also work well for the mackerel. If it’s more the bigger GTs and queenfish you’re after, a 9-10wt will give you a bit more leverage during the fight. Schools of golden trevally have been seen on the sand flats and along

Atomic Prongs in 4” are dynamite on trout in shallow water. In this scenario, a 1/2oz head weight is a good starting point.

Southern QLD

FMM the local beaches, and these things really know how to pull, so they are well worth chasing. Some simple things you can

A small Deceiver stripped slowly across a sand flat will put you amongst the flatties. A 15-20lb tippet is all that’s needed.

do to increase your chances are to keep as low as possible to reduce your silhouette, once you’ve spotted some fish you wish to cast at. Move slowly and don’t cast directly on top of the fish you’re chasing or you’ll spook them. Try to determine which direction they’re going and then cast a couple of metres in front of them. Allow the fly to sink and then strip it back as they get closer to the fly. Approximately 15-20lb tippet will do the job. Permit (snub-nosed dart) are quite common around these parts and are considered the Holy grail of flats casting, so be prepared to have this opportunity arise for you. I don’t really chase permit, and have only landed a couple in my years of fly casting. They weren’t very big, but that’s one aspect of life where size doesn’t matter. STAY SAFE AND BE CAREFUL There has been a spate of boating accidents in recent weeks, some due to bad luck and others due to incompetence. The last place you want to go for a swim is in North Queensland coastal rivers, that’s for sure. Remember that the rules and laws are in place for a reason. Grog and baiting don’t mix well, and neither do drugs and water. Drive according to the conditions, whether in the rivers or at sea.

Having a working bilge pump is also important, even in small boats, because it can pump out water quicker than you can bail. With a bilge full of water, you can’t even get on the plane. The rest of the rules are pretty self-explanatory so I won’t harp on, but nobody wants to hear about another death on the water. When someone steps onto your boat,

you are in control of that person’s safety, and ultimately responsible for anything that goes wrong. If you take unnecessary risks and there’s an accident, you are liable. Something to think about every time you take someone for a run in your vessel. Until next month, stay safe on the water and enjoy the beautiful winter days.

Isaac Chaplin with a nice jack that grabbed his Atomic Real Baitz Mullet as he manoeuvred it through a drowned tree.

W E N

AVAILABLE IN STORES 15.08.24 Rapala Australia

@rapalaaustralia

www.rapala.com.au AUGUST 2024 37

QLD Tropical North

FMM

Look for structure during the hard bites a few schools of approximately 50-80 fish have taken up residence on a few old GPS marks of mine. That becomes a real pain when you’re trying to target fingermark in around

HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

Hinchinbrook has been very up and down and all over the place this winter. One minute it’s cold, and the next it’s warm. It tends to play havoc with inshore species. Generally, it’s a good time to head into structure where you will often get a result. Other species besides barramundi, such as blue salmon and grunter, have still been readily taking baits and lures. Looking for those ledges and drop-offs near the edges of channels usually produces some good grunter and fingermark – particularly areas of shell grit/mud. However, the smaller neap tides I’ve had to work with so far have made me venture to deeper water, and I have found quite a few large schools of winter fingermark in the channel. Hugging shallow to deep drop-offs,

Grunter have been taking baits and lures.

Isaac Hubert had fun catching this barra.

Patience is the key to catching more fish CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

August is one of the months when you never know what you will get. Being a shoulder month, things can either continue to get colder or begin to warm up quickly. Either way, patience and persistence are required for success in the Trinity NFZ. August is certainly the month where weird and wonderful catches take place. Over the last couple of years, several legal-sized Spanish mackerel have been taken in the Cairns Inlet as these fish seem to push up with the clean water. Whilst it may seem unusual, there are plenty of doggie and grey mackerel on the leads coming into the inlet at this time of year as well. These

It’s your last chance to get into the muddies before they sneak back into their holes.

winter in Cairns stills sees temperatures in the mid-twenties so there is always a chance. Your best bet is to find a patch of barra grazing on your sounder and just annoy them with a range of lures until they bite. Smaller presentations like 3” prawn-style soft plastics will get the best results, and they need to be worked very slowly. Bite windows will be short, so make the most of tide changes. The last of the run-out and the first of the run-in will be your best chance.

Grunter (javelinfish) also seem to pop up this time of year over the flats, especially on the bigger daytime tides. They love an unweighted squid bait drifted out the back of the boat, especially in a metre of water. You can also get them on lures, and they are a very underrated fish in terms of fighting ability. August will be the last month of the good crabbing so it will pay to put in a few pots. The crabs won’t be

fish do frequently move into the creeks which can be a pain for lure fishers as they can quickly separate your lure from your leader. There is no denying that the barra are harder to convince in August due to the set-in colder weather. In saying that,

If you want to catch barra this month, you need to be persistent.

Even with the cool weather, I’d still be fishing 30lb leader for jacks around the snags. 38 AUGUST 2024

The Barron River should now be well and truly settled, and this is good news as it has been raging all year thanks to our prolonged wet season and flooding events. The other good news is that plenty of the barra that escaped from the barra farm upstream should still be hanging around the mouth and snags. These fish have been found all over the place in the river and are certainly worth catching.

running really hard, but you should still manage a feed. Next month we should hopefully see the warmer weather return and water temps making their way back up into the mid-twenties. The water typically takes a while to get moving, but even the slightest change can get those barra and jacks moving especially if we can get a few afternoon storms.

Tropical North QLD

FMM 7-9m of water. Fingermark don’t release very well when caught in over 10m of water, so once we have enough for a feed we usually move on to do something else. I have seen a few anglers catching some good mangrove jacks around the boat passage/deluge area of late, with most being caught on snagless plastics cast deep into overhanging mangrove lines. For those who can skip-cast

weedless swimbaits or frogs up into the mangrove root structure, that’s where you will get most barra bites at this time of year. It’s also a challenge getting them out! Winter Spanish mackerel have been around in good numbers, with most anglers getting their quota in a very short time (the limit is one Spanish per person or two per boat). For a species that’s supposed to be in decline, their numbers seem quite

Salmon are always on the cards.

It can be a challenge getting the barra out of the mangroves.

healthy each year. Try to avoid gaffing smaller ones if you think larger models are present in the area. This month, you will notice quite a few of those early afternoon low tides getting down to 0.3m, which will trap you in certain parts of the Hinchinbrook channel. Be wary and prepare for that unless you want to be trapped in an area for hours (which is sometimes not a bad thing!) Those low tides also present a problem for the Port Hinchinbrook marina boat ramp, where you need a minimum of 1.4m to get out for a flat bottom boat, and up to 1.8m for the bigger boats. Fortunately, the emergency

dredging is showing signs of coming to fruition, and it should hopefully be done before Christmas. If you’re using the Fishers Creek boat ramp, work on needing 1.4m of tide to launch and retrieve. Watch the Lucinda end as well because markers have been removed, and it is silting up badly. • If you’d like to go on a charter trip, there are still a few good dates for August, September and October, so get in quick to get the best tides left. Gift vouchers can still be purchased if you’re looking for birthday gifts. You can email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone us on 0402 339 459.

The Duo Fumble 230F will change your topwater game. Built tough and ready to dart and flash, the Fumble 230F will trigger bites from brutal bluewater species. The Fumble 230F is bad to the bone. Length: 230mm Weight: 65g Type: Floating Hook: Treble #4/0 - #5/0

Available in 5 colours

Available at Wilson Retailers

AUGUST 2024 39

QLD Tropical North

FMM

Escape to the Far North for ‘reel’ therapy PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

A more stable winter pattern has been a common feature up in the Far North. This has provided more opportunities for anglers to explore the region, and it’s a welcome change after months of inclement conditions. At the moment, heading out to the reef, for all manner of craft, is more viable. Sure – we are getting south-easterly blows, but they tend to be short-lived. All varieties of reef species are on the chew, with a southern current and wind direction providing the perfect ingredients for this time of year. You name it – locals and charters are catching them, including large-mouth nannygai, red emperor, coral trout, golden trevally, Spanish mackerel, spotted mackerel, gold-spot trevally, cattle dog cod, cobia and spangled emperor, to name just a few. It depends on who you talk to, but anglers have had success on most moon phases and tides on the day. This shows that the fish are in a very

This giant trevally took 45 minutes to land. generous mood, and they can even be suicidal at times. The ever-growing problem of sharks taking prized fish is frustrating. Pretty much any school of quality-size fish will attract some toothy critter activity.

The shark population explosion can be a menace and a waste of a precious commodity, namely our fish stocks. The warm days are offering up barra within our rivers and creeks, with low tide being the prime time. Our bigger

systems, such as the Daintree River, have some ripping 1m queenfish active on the incoming tides in the main channels, with fingermark fishing well right on the top of the tide. Golden trevally and javelinfish (grunter) are also busy around the entrances on an incoming tide. There have also been a couple of surprises, including blue salmon to 80cm and some cracking giant trevally to 30kg. If you are lucky enough to hook up to one of these behemoths, hang on because they go like the clappers. The GT in the photo with this article took 45 minutes to boat before being released, with a lot of hot shoe shuffling around the deck and ‘reel’ patience using relatively light gear. We all have our fingers crossed that the good weather will extend through winter, following a tough start to the year. Our local charter lads are primed to showcase what many consider to be the best fishery in the world. The weather temperature certainly will entice many southerners to visit us in the tropics.

Winter chills bring some fishy surprises COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

The weather has been more than a little cold recently, but the mud crabs have been out and about. Though a little unexpected for this time of the year, it was great to get a nice feed for the school holidays with the kids at home. The crabs were full and healthy, and we mostly caught males in the pots, so we can’t complain about that. It was nice to smell the aroma of chilli mud crab for dinner and everyone’s mouth was watering. Fortunately, I had some nice reef fish heads to use for bait, but they didn’t last long. There’s no more good crab bait left in my freezer now, and it’s probably going to be a while before I can head out to the reef, as the south-easterlies are hammering the coast at the moment. Over the next few months, there won’t be many opportunities to venture out wide,

but there’s still plenty of action in the estuary and freshwater. The river is still producing some exciting barramundi fishing, with lots of barra moving through the river systems, and the action doesn’t look to be slowing down despite the colder temperatures. With the amount of rain we had this year, most of the

A good haul of mud crabs.

A beautiful morning on the Annan River.

A couple of young fellas having fun catching trevally. 40 AUGUST 2024

river levels are still high, and barra can move through easily. I suspect that this movement is making them hungry. The fish will settle down as the water levels drop and the barra become trapped in the larger waterholes. The ends of these holes can produce good catches, as the fish seem to congregate around the last snag and wait for

the rains. So, if you’re looking for a good spot to try in the drier months, concentrating around the downstream ends can be more productive. The wharf area is fishing slowly now, but it will get better towards the end of this month as the mackerel will start to move through the Endeavour River mouth. September will even be better. Hopefully, the large schools of herring will turn up and the fishing will go ballistic. The herring schools bring so much activity with them, as predators look for an easy feed.

Mud crabs are out and about. Herring are also great fun for the kids on a bait jig and can provide some early fishing experience for youngsters. My kids loved

Tropical North QLD

FMM

The Cape is the place to be this August CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

August in the Cape is the chilliest time of year, and it’s the one month when a few of us will be donning a jumper – or at least, two T-shirts, one on top of the other! With the southeast trade winds now well and truly up the east coast of the Cape, much of my report this month will focus on the west coast of Cape York. The whole west coast provides a buffer to the breeze heading across the broad Cape. As the coast shapes from

the southwest up to the northeast, the prevailing wind tends to stiffen each morning. However, this same wind blows across the shoulders of most fishers, especially those standing on the coast. Even anglers in small craft can fish the inshore areas in relative comfort, despite any stronger trade winds. August presents the full range of possibilities for the Cape. Despite the slowing barramundi fishing at this time of year, they can still be caught in their dry season haunts, which tend to be a little more narrowly defined and predictable. Rock bars, deeper snags and holes will

Cape York is a great holiday destination in winter. Image supplied by Luke Truant.

hold better populations of fish during this settled period, although getting them to bite can be tricky. Fishing a little deeper in the water column can help, and you also need some patience and persistence. Trolling can also be effective in targeting fish at a defined depth. The inshore reefs and shoals can also be very productive along the west coast. Many of the fish which were farther out into the Gulf will have moved to more inshore locations, taking advantage of all the baitfish schools. Small mackerel and trevally species will be going crazy, trying to stack on weight before next year’s wet season. As we transition from winter into spring, this whole process pushes into overdrive as every crustacean, mollusc and baitfish tends to think about getting’ it on! Spanish mackerel tend to fire up in winter, and continue to feed hard into spring. August will be at the mid-point for their run, and these fish will be schooling and feeding voraciously. Finding the weather to head out and pursue them will be the greatest challenge. Over on the west coast, this is once again easier due to the favourable conditions. If you are chasing larger models, a garfish rigged on an old-school wog-head or trolled dead bait

can be deadly. Wire is normally needed to stop bite-offs, but this can make the fish a touch more fussy. Grey, school and broad-barred mackerel add to the list of toothy critters on offer. A few of the of the trevally ripping into bait schools will include bludgers, yellow fin, tea leaf, golden and giant trevally. Giant herring, wolf herring, tarpon and blue salmon can also be found at times, cruising the inshore gutters. Most shallow, rocky patches will attract schools of tiny baitfish on the high tide, and these predators will be cruising around the huddled fish, choosing the right moment to move in and attack. Queenfish can be thick on the northern west coast, and huge packs of metre-plus queenies tend to show themselves within a kilometre of the shoreline ñ often where the tide rips across a shoal, gutter or bank. When you see a few terns or gulls with frigate birds hovering high overhead, it’s time to investigate with a popper or metal slice. Sometimes the queenfish packs will be visible as they slash bait on the surface. At other times, the tell-tale signs of fleeing baitfish will only show part of the picture, i.e. hundreds of massive queenies balled up under the surface.

FISHING NEWS

Trevally trial for stocked impoundments

Two iconic sportfish will be stocked into a Queensland dam as part of a 4-year project that could boost recreational fishing opportunities and tourism in the state. While barramundi dominates most northern Australian impoundments, giant trevally and bigeye trevally could be introduced should this project prove successful. Renowned for their speed, power and size, trevally are considered one of the world’s greatest sportfish. A survey indicated trevally was among the top three species Queensland stocking groups wanted added to the permitted list for impoundments. Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) researchers will collect

fishing for herring when they were young, and there was always the opportunity to catch a big fish on the live bait they caught. Having lots of bait around keeps the kids occupied while you try to catch something for dinner. It’s worth the visit if you are travelling through with the kids on holiday up the Cape, and want to do something fun for the family. With the limited reef fishing opportunities at this time of year, it’s best to do the maintenance on your boat, fishing gear and ensure all safety gear is functioning and

broodstock from the wild and breed the fish at the Bribie Island Research Centre, before releasing the fingerlings into Kinchant Dam, south-west of Mackay. A small number of sub-adult and young adult trevally will also be released in a central Queensland dam to enable researchers to track any movements upstream and downstream. The trials will: • Evaluate survival and growth rates • Assess angler satisfaction levels • Evaluate whether stocked trevally have adverse impacts on existing fisheries and the abundance of prey species • Assess the proportion of trevally that remain in the impoundment (rather than run up or downstream). DAF principal fisheries biologist

Michael Hutchison said if the trial is a success, these fish will be added to the permitted species list for stocking into suitable impoundments in central and northern Queensland. “This is an exciting opportunity because as well as improving fishing opportunities for locals, it could attract anglers from interstate and overseas, boosting tourism and benefitting local communities,” Dr Hutchison said. This $1.14 million project is a partnership between DAF, the Australian Government through the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC), Mackay Regional Council, and Daiwa Australia. For more information visit daf.qld.gov.au. - FMM

A nice bar-cheek coral trout.

flares are in date. You don’t want to be caught out at the start of the season when the weather finally drops; trying to do some last-minute prep can make it a risky trip, and potentially a costly one. The old winter window can occur when the high-pressure systems move off the coast, so having all the servicing done and prep ready lets you quickly get out on the reef to catch some nice winter reds. Some great fishing can be had on these limited wind breaks, leaving you with sore arms at work the next day. AUGUST 2024 41

QLD Freshwater

FMM

Settled weather has the fish biting hard QLD FRESHWATER

Peter Jung

Before I get into the fishing reports I just wanted to say a big thank you to all the people who took the time to come and say hello to me at the Fishing Monthly stand at the Australian Lure and Outdoors Expo at the Fernvale showgrounds. It was nice to get people’s feedback on my take on this report and plenty of information about the freshwater fishing here in South East Queensland. It was great to see so many passionate freshwater anglers all in one place. Well done to Fitzy and his team that put the show together. Although I was working, I did get around and see some of the amazing offerings that were on sale at the show. Our Australian lure makers certainly are a talented bunch of people. I did purchase a few things that I am really looking forward to getting on the water and using. I will highlight them in a couple of videos on my YouTube channel (PTP Fishing). Keep an eye out for them if you’re interested. SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND LAKE KURWONGBAH Reports out of Kurwongbah are that the extended settled weather we had in late June and early July has settled the fish nicely into a more consistent winter pattern with anglers finding large schools of fish sitting off points and along the drops offs into the old creek bed. These areas tend to be well wide of

Tye Laverick with a lovely Somerset golden perch. Rolling blades and vibes around the timber for these guys is a great option if the bass aren’t playing the game. the weed lines, making the fish easier to be targeted. The other good news is that the weed growth explosion does seem to have stopped and likely fishing zones within the weed and on its edges are becoming easier to spot and fish along. You would certainly suspect that 42 AUGUST 2024

The Australian Lure and Outdoors EXPO was a great opportunity to catch up with a bunch of likeminded anglers and to pick up a few new lures to try as well. Back to the fishing and some recent settled weather has really got things moving in our local freshwater waterways. It is great to see so many of the waterways mentioned in this report producing more consistent fishing and August tends to be the month for anglers who love targeting schooled fish that will sit on the contours and drops offs in the majority of our the month of August will be well worth checking Lake Kurwongbah out as where these fish have settled is unlikely to change until the weather begins to warm and their food source takes to the weed for protection and for the warmer water. If you are planning to fish Kurwongbah I would have some paddle tail soft plastics, some medium weight spoons and some metal vibes on board that you can focus on the schooled fish with and either a spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait to test the weed edges with. There will always be good fish to be caught on the drop offs out of the weeds, it is just a matter of finding that edge and fishing it thoroughly. Also keep an eye on the weather. Another thing that did happen when we had that settled stretch of weather was the saratoga present on Kurwongbah fired up. It is always a nice bonus to your bass fishing when a toga comes along. I winter toga is always a bonus. Lake Kurwongbah is a paddle craft only fishery. There are launching and zoning rules in place. To find out more about these rules go to the SEQ Water website and look up Lake Kurwongbah. SOMERSET DAM It has been an interesting transition into the cooler months and cooler water temperatures at Somerset this year. As soon as you think the larger schools of bass are forming up, they seem to then disappear again. The usual zones like Queens Street, the Kirkleigh Flats and Pelican Point are starting to produce some good fish, but finding fish in the same areas day in and day out is yet to happen. Will August see this change. I suspect it will certainly

lakes. This open water fishing can be some of the best fishing you will ever enjoy and certainly in lakes like Somerset, Moogerah and Wivenhoe there are some very big bass to be caught. It is also prime time in our Murray cod lakes. The cooler water temps will get the cod moving into the shallows to feed. This makes them a little easier to target

and certainly gets people out to place like Leslie dam, Lake Glenlyon and Connolly dam hoping they will catch a fish of a lifetime. Don’t forget if you have any news you would like to place in the news section of this report please email it to pjung@ fishingmonthly.com.au and I will do my best to get it into the report. Until next month, see you later from PTP Fishing. FRESHWATER NEWS Jungle perch trial announced by fisheries. Rumours having been going around for many years that QLD Fisheries have been looking at doing a trial stocking of jungle perch into some of our SE Queensland impoundments. It is a rumour no more as fisheries have now confirmed that Lake Kurwongbah and Enoggera Reservoir will be stocked with jungle perch. Although details are limited, it will be a three-year trial and if it proves to be successful, jungle perch will become another option to be stocked into our impoundments. Great news for all those that have been asking for this for many years.

A quality Somerset Dam golden perch. improve and as the water temperature drops into that 15-17oC zone it will only see fish numbers increase and the fishing getting better. Having said that Somerset is a big waterway and there are plenty of other opportunities/options to pick up a fish or two. One of the best options is structure orientated. Zones where you have rocky banks leading into deeper water, points with a nice drop off at the end of them or standing timber are all areas likely to hold golden perch and of course bass. There are a number of different ways you can target these zones. I prefer a spinnerbait or a lipless crankbait. They are great to explore and search these areas and tend not to be constantly getting stuck on the structure. Deeper diving hardbody lures can also be very effective searching tools, but need a bit more touch to navigate them through the structure without hooking up to it. A highly effective method and one that you see get mentioned a lot throughout this report, is using a small metal blade. They can be worked down rock walls, fished vertically around timber and they just seem to be that

bite sized snack that the fish cannot resist. There are plenty of options out there, but here are just a few to look out for in your local tackle store. TT Switch blade and Switch Prawn Plus, Ecogear ZX40, 7 and 6 blades and Profishent Vixen blades. They are great in the areas mentioned, but also offer another option on the school fish if they are a little finicky. • For up to date information on what’s biting and where to go see Somerset Tackle and Boat Hire at Kirkleagh (right near the boat ramp). You can hire a boat or just pick up some tackle. Open 8:30am – 5:00pm Friday to Sunday. MOOGERAH DAM Moogerah remains the standout waterway amongst our SE Queensland impoundments. Due to this it is seeing increased angling pressure and even with that, most anglers will pick up a fish or three. As mentioned last month the fish at Moogerah have schooled up nicely and are concentrated in areas like The Spit and the timberline leading into the creek channel. Not surprisingly the key to targeting them has

Freshwater QLD

FMM been lures that will hold closer to the bottom like 10-14g metals, soft vibes, jighead rigged paddle tail soft plastics or if the fish get a little harder to temp, small blades fished vertically just above the bottom. With the fishing pressure this lake is currently receiving, the fish will eventually get a little shy at times. Things that can help to keep that bite going can be to not release the fish are catching back into the school you are fishing. If you can, put them in a live well, move away from the fish and release them there. Using fishing scents can also make a different. Garlic or aniseed-based scents are preferred by many freshwater anglers. Changing up lures at times can also make a difference.

MAROON DAM I always enjoy a trip to Maroon at this time of the year. It tends to be only anglers on the water and far more peaceful place to fish. I also enjoy the fact that although you can go in search of schooled fish, you also have the option of casting suspending hardbodies to the edges, rolling lipless crankbaits or spinnerbaits to those same edges or in amongst the timber or if you happen to get a nice clear windless morning or evening, you can flick a surface lure around. Every option has a chance of catching a fish, so your options are endless. The one question you will have is what sort of fishing will I have today? The reason I say that is Maroon has proven to be very temperamental over

the last month or two. You can have days where it seems the fish want to jump into the boat and others where it feels like there are no fish in the dam and this

can be from one day to the next. With that said, you will see me there at least for a couple of days this month.

DARLING DOWNS AND GRANITE BELT

deeper edges with either the baits mentioned or hopping small blades or soft vibes from the shallows into the deeper water. If you can find some isolated structure in the form of timber or even larger rocks, it is well worth spending some time fishing around them. This isolated structure can concentrate the fish that may be in the area. Even better if this structure is not too far from the bank. • Cooby is open to paddle and electric motor-powered craft. The gates are open from 6am-8pm. Fish’n’Bits tackle store in Toowoomba can help you out with all your bait and lure fishing needs.

LESLIE DAM Some rain in late June and early July seems to have fired up the fish in Leslie with some nice golden perch being caught in the Sandy Creek area on lures and bait. Although the water is cooling and this usually shuts the golden perch down to some degree, it is not unusual to have periods where the fishing for them is above average. This usually relates to the weather. I little bit of rain or an extended period of good weather can get them fired up for short periods of time and a lot of fun can be had. Saltwater yabbies continue to be the go to bait while blades like the 7 and 6 or vibes like the Zerek Fish Trap hopped around structure or down contours

continue to get their fair share of fish. Trollers should continue to also pick up their fair share of fish. Trolling medium to deep divers lures along the edges of the creek bed will always be a chance of picking a fish or two. Cod anglers should also continue to pick up the odd cod in the shallower margins. Swimbaits, mumblers and even surface lures fished in the low light hours of the morning have been producing some fish and in theory this should continue to improve. • The local blokes at Warwick Outdoor and Sport in Palmerin Street can point in you in the right direction and hook you up with the good gear and bait to catch the fish at Leslie.

COOBY DAM The fishing in Cooby has been consistently good and my expectations are that this will continue unless we an extended period of bad weather. Shore-based anglers will find that it is better to fish the mid-morning to mid-afternoon period. The small increase in water temperature during this period will bring the fish within casting distance with lures or have them foraging for food in the shallower water. Saltwater yabbies and worms will be your best bait options. For those fishing from a boat or kayak, it will be best to fish the

Moogerah Dam has by far been the most consistent fishery in the region. This beautiful fish caught by Nicki Sticklen on a Hot Bite G2 lure went nearly 50cm and was 2kg.

CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA DAM Although my catch ups with Cory from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing are only short to get the information for this report, they always leave me with the urge to get up to Awoonga to chase a barra. This time was no exception and it seems the big fish have been out to play recently, with a 1.2m fish caught on one of his charters only a couple of afternoons before I spoke to him. A fish of a lifetime for any angler. Having said that, it seems the

Who would have thought that the barramundi fishing could be this good in the cooler months of the year?

A fish of a lifetime for this angler. 1.2m of Awoonga barramundi caught fishing just after dark on a Zerek 8” Live Swimbait. cooler weather pattern for the fishing will continue with the best fishing later in the day and in areas where the water might be a degree or two warmer. The only thing that may change is if you come across an extended period of calm weather. This tends to clean the water up and make the fish a little spookier than normal. Should this happen it may help to extend your fishing session into the first few hours of the night when the fish may be less likely to be spooked by your boat or your lure flying over their heads. Corey’s go to lures have been either the 8” Zerek Live Swimbait or the 5.5” Live Mullet in the dark ale colour. The bigger lure is always the

first option and then he downsizes if he thinks the splash of the bigger lure is spooking the fish. Looking at the photos of the fish they have been catching, it looks like Awoonga is well worth visiting to get your barramundi fix. • Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing (0407 273 221) run guided trips on the lake. Both cater to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. It is hard to beat time on the water and a guided trip is a great way to learn more about this lake and its fish.

Gary’s Marine Centre

3201 6232

217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL AUGUST 2024 43

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

MERCURY AVATOR 75E AND 100E

The Avator 75e and 110e electric outboards from Mercury feature industry-first transverse flux motor technology, which generates high torque with minimal effort, maximising battery life, and ensuring quick acceleration. The 75e generates 7,500W (the equivalent of a 10hp engine), while the 110e generates 11,000W (comparable to a 15hp outboard). Both models are available with digital remote controls for boats with console steering. The 75e has a multi-function tiller handle, while the standard power tilt system makes it easy to trim or raise the outboard. Engineered for marine use, the Avator lithium-ion batteries provide reliable and efficient power, and have modular and portable designs. The outboards connect to an Avator 5400 Power Centre, which facilitates seamless battery integration and lets you connect up to four batteries. The Power Centre delivers singlepoint charging for multiple batteries simultaneously. A full-colour display offers comprehensive info, including speed, distance, time remaining, battery level, power output and alerts. The 75e and 110e come with a preinstalled Mercury SmartCraft Connect module that wirelessly connects to the Mercury Marine app on a smart device. This app allows users to monitor range, battery state of charge, a GPS map with range estimates, and more. www.mercurymarine.com.au

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ZMAN MULLETRON

The ZMan Mulletron is a realistic mullet profile that appeals to a variety of fresh and saltwater species. It comes in a range of proven colour options and its rounded, wedge-shaped tail activates a realistic swimming action at all retrieve speeds. From faster retrieves for aggressive predators, to those super slow retrieves that are required to get the bite when the fish are sluggish, or the bite shuts down, the Mulletron makes them eat. Other true-to-life body design features include natural gill plates, eyes, and fin detail. ZMan’s ElaZtech construction makes Mulletron naturally buoyant, allowing it to be rigged for fishing from the surface to the depths, while back and belly hook pockets simplify weedless rigging and perfect jighead alignment. Available in 3.3” (4-pack) and 4” (3pack) sizes, this realistic presentation will be a favourite for mullet-loving predators such as barra, jacks, flathead, mulloway and more. Price: SRP: $13.95 www.z-man.com.au

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SHIMANO STRADIC FM

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The Samaki Redic SF110, the latest addition to the renowned Redic series, has a diving depth of 0.8m (2.5ft) and weighs 16g. This versatile floating jerkbait is ideal for fishing in shallow water. The SF110 features the cutting-edge LongCast Magnetic Transfer System, ensuring impressive casting distances and precise accuracy. Its robust construction includes a one-piece stainless-steel wire-through design and sonic welding, providing excellent strength and durability. Equipped with Decoy YS-81 treble hooks, the SF110 guarantees superior hook-setting power and reliability. The signature Redic durable paint finish not only offers a stunning visual appeal but also withstands the harshest conditions. Whether you’re targeting barra, jacks, mulloway, bream, salmon, or tailor, the Redic SF110 is up to the task. It’s available in the beloved original Redic colours, along with six new colour options. www.samaki.com.au

The Precision Xtreme Pencil range from Rapala features three models: the Precision Xtreme Pencil, Precision Xtreme Pencil Saltwater, and the Precision Xtreme Pencil EXO. Ranging in size from 87-127mm, there’s a model to suit most inshore topwater fishing applications. The Precision Xtreme Pencils all feature a full wire construction, durable impactresistant plastic body and an internal sliding casting weight that doubles as a dual frequency knocker that drives the predators crazy. This allows for maximum distance and increased accuracy when casting around structure. Designed to walk-the-dog effortlessly, the Precision Xtreme Pencil glides from side to side with the slightest rod twitch. The ability to walk-the-dog on the spot is deadly on ambush predators like Murray cod, barra, jacks and bass, as you can keep the lure in the strike zone longer than other lures. The Precision Xtreme Pencil range features Rapala’s new holographic eye, printed scales, and a huge array of fishcatching colours. Price: $23.95-$26.95 www.rapala.com.au

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SAMAKI REDIC SF110

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

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TESTING BOOTH

Bone Drago 610M is definitely worth the wait FISHING MONTHLY

Peter Jung

I say the Bone Drago 610M was worth the wait, but in reality, it is the six models of the Bone Drago rods that have been worth the wait. In late 2021 the Bone Drago

range of rods was discontinued awaiting new models and a new configuration to be released in 2022. The latest iteration hit the ground running, winning the “Best Rod in Show” award at the 2022 AFTA Trade Show. However, this ended up being a little bit of a tease, as Bone Lim (the

Somerset Dam was the first location the author used the Bone Drago 610M. Once the first golden perch hit the deck, several others did as well. PROUDLY BROUGHT TO YOU BY 46 AUGUST 2024

designer and manufacturer of the rods) wasn’t 100% happy with the for-sale production of the rods and wasn’t prepared to release them until he was satisfied that they met his standards. He wanted what is one of his marque rods, within the ranges he does, to be as close to his vision as possible. Production issues sorted, the Drago range of rods was released through Wilson Fishing towards the end of 2023. I wanted to get my hands on the Drago 610M as soon as they were released, however I needed to be patient, as tackle stores had customers who were as keen as me to get their hands on the new rod. My patience was rewarded and I eventually got the opportunity to put the new 610M through its paces, as well as the 6’5” medium light model for more finesse baitcast applications. Here is what I think of the new Bone Drago rods. What is different I will base this on the 610M as the 65ML is a new model. It has a slightly lower line rating, changing from a 1020lb to 8-16lb. The Fuji K-SIC guides remain, however the guides on the top third (the last 5 before the tip) of the rod seem to be one size bigger. Only a small change but one that those fishing heavier leaders will appreciate, as slightly bulkier knots

Above: The author isn’t necessarily superstitious, but the first fish on any new rod is a very important one. Main: The latest iteration of the Bone Drago 610M has a space-aged carbon look to it. A truly modern version that is a positive twist on the original. will now pass comfortably through the guides. The biggest change from a visual point of view is from the reel seat down. The EVA grip has been replaced by a full carbon fibre option. It has a real space aged look to it and is very comfortable to use when fishing, which further enhances the feedback the angler gets

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

TESTING BOOTH through the rod. This is a point I would like to expand upon. Looking back at my review of the original Bone Drago 610M, I emphasised how good the feel was through the rod. This is something anglers have now all grown to love and you cannot underestimate the importance of being able to feel what is happening at the end of your fishing line. Rod feel comes through the blank of the rod, in the case of the Bone Drago rods a 100% TorayCA M40 T110G graphite blank, the rod guides and then finally the reel seat

different? Would I like it as much as I liked the original model? Would it meet with my expectation? Way too many questions and unfortunately it took me way too long to get on the water to find out the answers. My first opportunity on the water to play with the new Drago 610M was at Somerset Dam. I love getting up into the 6-knot timbered zone casting spinnerbaits around the standing timber and log piles. The importance of being able to feel what your lure is bouncing through or over is vital, and having the power to move the fish out

Versatility is an important feature for the author. This saratoga ate a DUO Boostar Wake soft plastic rigged on a 1/4oz jighead with jig spinner attached. No worries for the 610M.

The author loves throwing lures like this Live Target Sonic Shad using the 610M. He can feel the weed he is rolling the lure through, while having the confidence that the rod has plenty of power to stop the fish from returning to the weed when they bite. and handle. Each component used in the Drago rods are premium quality and I am happy to say the feel in the new models has improved from the original version. Time to get on the water No matter how much you wobble a fishing rod or have someone load it up for you, it is not until you have that

of harm’s way is just as important. Within a few casts I was already impressed by the sensitivity (feel) of the new Drago. It felt lighter (weight) in the hand and the sensitivity was impressive. It’s definitely a step up from the original. I had big expectations of the new Drago, particularly when it came to the types of lures I cast with it and the range of cast weights within the

lures I use: 1/4-5/8oz spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits that start at 1/6oz and then some larger crankbaits. It was the lower end cast range that was impressive with the original, would this new version (with the lower line class) still have that ability as well as deal with the heavier lures? The answer was yes, although I felt anything over 1/2oz began to test it too much. Back to Somerset and the fish were playing hard ball. The fish mojo my original Drago 610M has is second to none, amongst my favourite rods and so far, the new version was yet to have a bite after a full day on the water. Not that I am superstitious, but the first fish on any rod is important and thankfully very early on the second day a solid golden perch smashed my spinnerbait as I bounced it through a log pile. Three others followed and any questions about mojo had disappeared, as well as any about the power of the rod

The author’s Bone Drago 610M has been used for many different species. On this occasion he was casting spinnerbaits for Murray cod on the Murrumbidgee River in Canberra. first cast or hook that first fish that you can really offer a true opinion. And I was keen as mustard to give the 610M a try! Would it be very

Bone Lim and Kord Luckus celebrate the latest iteration of the Bone Drago 610M winning the AFTA Best Rod in Show award.

to deal with fish in structure. It was simply fantastic. Final thoughts Quite a few trips have occurred

Although the author predominantly uses spinnerbaits when using the Drago 610M, it will also cast smaller hardbody lures like this DUO Kabuki 48MR. since that initial test at Somerset Dam. Many from my kayak playing with my local bass. It took me a little while to get used to how light (weight of rod) the rod feels, but you truly appreciate it at the end of a full day’s fishing. The sensitivity and power balance is also first class. It has definitely been worth the wait. The new look Bone Drago 610M (and the other rods within the range) are well worth checking out and well worth spending a few extra dollars on. For more information on the Bone Drago rods you can go to www. wilsonfishing.com or you can check them out at your good local tackle retail outlet.

AUGUST 2024 47

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AUGUST 2024 49

NSW

Sydney

FMM

Late-season surprises turn up for lucky anglers SYDNEY ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

Despite the cold, the fish are still biting if you put in the effort. Some days, the weather is mild in August, but if you have any wind from the west – especially from the southwest – you need to be prepared. If you can find a place out of the wind, somewhere facing towards the northeast, that’s great. If not, be sure to layer up to keep warm! Wearing the right clothing will give you the mileage to spend some enjoyable hours on the water. Now, let’s look at what’s biting off the rocks and beaches. OCEAN ROCKS Kingfish are pretty much at the end of their season, with only the odd fish around; they don’t like the frigid 17-18°C water. If you get a lengthy period of westerlies and very flat sea conditions, that’s when the water is typically the coldest. Conversely, a southerly swell can raise the water temperature for a short period. An increase of just a degree or two, up to around 19°C, can make all the difference. In these conditions, I recently caught a 55cm king, followed soon after by a 107cm specimen. The bigger fish smashed a sea gar ganged on a set of 6/0s, with 60lb Expedition braid and 80lb leader. It’s never easy gaffing a metre-plus king by yourself, and it was particularly challenging this day as there was a sizeable swell washing the fish around. I had to have my wits about me because there was a hell of a lot happening. It was a relief to finally land the fish!

The early morning bite can be short, especially when the seas are flat, so get in early. This is one of the snapper up to 48cm landed by John Halford on a recent trip, using a 3” Bait Junkie Prawn. My experience that day goes to show the importance of using heavier gear, because the next king you hook may be large enough to completely hammer you. Spots to try for kings are the deeper headlands, preferably. Try Old Mans Hat Manly, North Curl Curl and South Whale rocks. 50 AUGUST 2024

I have been picking up a few tailor lately, and these fish will still be available this month, especially after dark. Snapper are one of those species which are current dependent. When the current licks the coastline, and the water isn’t too cold, we land-based anglers can encounter

and can attract the bait evaporators. Still, it works well at the right time of the day (low-light periods), concentrating fish into your wash. If you want to target snapper or other wash species, I recommend South Curl Curl, Dee Why and North Whale rocks. These spots are also worth a shot for a king. And how can I not talk about rock blackfish and luderick? They’re in good numbers at most headlands. Some days have been producing fewer fish than others, but the rewards are there for those anglers who persist. Sydney still has good numbers of rock blackfish, and luderick are also in good numbers, with fish up to 1.1kg. Locations to target pigs and

Is this an out-of-season bag of whiting? Yes! Husband and wife Jason and Bianca Camellari had lots of fun getting these fish, with the biggest measuring 34cm. You can still catch them off Manly and South Palm Beach.

Aeric Lee with a beautiful 54cm snapper caught on a three-quarter pilchard. Moving around was key to finding the fish that day. some sizeable snapper. My clients have been catching them up to 54cm over the past month, and I’ve heard reports of the odd 70cm+ fish being landed, too. The average size is around 33-38cm, which is a great size for the plate. A common bycatch for wash snapper anglers are ‘blurters’ (silver trevally). If you’ve never eaten them as sashimi, you should definitely try it. They have a mild flavour and firm flesh, and taste sensational. If you want to try trevally as sashimi, make sure the fish is smaller than 1.5kg (ideally no more than 1kg). The larger ones get drier and they can have microscopic worms when they’re above 1.5kg. When filleting the fish, you may notice some honeycombing on the flesh that is closest to the backbone. I normally cut out that section and cook the fish, and it’s safe to eat. Bream and tarwhine are another common bycatch while targeting snapper. The tarwhine are normally caught on prawn baits, crab segments and squid strips. Tarwhine aren’t often caught on fish baits. Soft plastics have been working well lately. The Bait Junkie 3” Prawn has been a winner for me, catching quite a few reddies. The good thing about the plastics is that when the sweep, mado and yellowtail are going nuts in their thousands, your lure can withstand these bait evaporators. Alternatively, if you prefer to stick to bait fishing, I recommend using firmer baits such as salted pilchards or salted fish baits like tailor or yellowtail. Other robust baits include fresh squid, fresh trevally and salmon strips, which all catch their share of snapper. Berleying for snapper is not essential,

Antonio Khoshabian with his last beach mulloway for the season, estimated to be around 20kg and 124cm. Antonio wanted it released, so the author waded into waist-deep water to release it. It swam off strongly. luderick include The Hat Manly, Long Reef Collaroy, South Avalon, and Barrenjoey Head. OCEAN BEACHES At this time of the year, especially from mid-August onwards, you will find the tailor numbers are pretty thin off the ocean beaches. You can get a quick bite

The author hooked this late-season king while spinning XL sea gars off the ocean rocks. This 107cm fish absolutely hammered the author’s bait, about 30m out from the rocks.

on the crack of dawn up to nearly sunrise, or some after dark, but usually off the ocean beaches in Sydney, it’s the tail end for tailor. Whole pilchards are a great bait for tailor and Aussie salmon, baited on a set of 3x 3/0 to 4/0 gangs. You can make your own gangs, but purchasing a set from your local tackle shop is an easier option. A half pilchard on a 2/0 to 3/0 hook is great as well. If you bait up a half pilchard on a 2/0 hook, you are more likely to catch the medium-size bream and trevally. Too large a hook and you may miss out if the bream and trevally are a bit smaller. When you’re fishing with pilchards, try to use the best-looking pillies that you can. A frozen pilchard should still have its blue/silver colours. When defrosted, it should have a hint of slime, and its eyes should be clear and only slightly sunken. This tells you it was snap-frozen on the trawler while still alive, and it’s the best quality pilchard you can get from a tackle shop, as far as frozen bait is concerned. There might be an early run of tarwhine off the beach this month. As I mentioned in the rock section, crustaceans are the better baits, such as pink nippers or prawns. This month, there will still be some whiting on tap. Many anglers think the whiting have been gone for months, but that’s not entirely true; there are whiting colonies on some beaches. A few bream and trevally are in the mix as well. Getting live beach worms from tackle shops can be a challenge at this time of the year; a few stores may have them, but the supply is generally unreliable in August. Your best is catching your own. Alternatively, if you’re not real handy at catching

Sydney NSW

FMM

Berleying up a tasty mixed bag in the washes SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

There have been numerous reports coming in from as far as the Nepean River, the lower Hawkesbury River, the rocks off the National Park, out wide off Sydney and down to the rock shelf at Coalcliff. Over the past month or two, a number of trout have been caught on both lures and bait at Ebenezer Ponderosa Corner, and downstream from the weir at Penrith. The best baits are worms, bread and corn. Remember that fishing is currently prohibited in the general trout streams, artificial fly and lure streams and trout spawning streams, until the start of the October long weekend. Mixed in with the trout have been a few bass and estuary perch. Please remember there is a closed season for bass and estuary perch during winter. At this time, bass form large schools and

Try fishing off the shore at Warumbul in the RNP for bream, trevally, leatherjackets and luderick on a rising tide. migrate to parts of estuaries that have the right salinity to spawn. It’s important that we anglers abide by this closure, which runs through to 31 August. If you happen to catch a bycatch bass, quickly put it back in the water. I had a picture

of an estuary perch sent to me that had been caught while chasing mulloway in Woolooware Bay. Salmon, tailor and the odd kingfish or two can be caught while fishing off the eastern side of Bare Island, The Cobblers, the point at Marley Beach, Wattamolla

The author had a flick with live nippers off the end of the boat ramp at Wharf Road and caught a nice bream.

This nice red morwong was caught on a squid bait on a trip with All at Sea Charters. Beach Burning Palms, and the rock platform at Coalcliff. Try using whole pilchards or garfish on ganged hooks that can be cast out and slowly retrieved, or 20-50g metal lures like the TT’s Hard Core metals. You could also try suspending the pilchard and garfish underneath a bobby cork and cast it out into the edge of the wash. Plenty of bream, drummer, snapper and trevally can be berleyed up in the washes that are found at the above places. I use a mixture of white bread, pilchards and sand in my berley. The go-to baits are half pillies, peeled prawns, red crabs, and live nippers. Botany Bay is worth a shot for bream, trevally, tailor, salmon, whiting and flathead off the end of the third runway, the oil wharf, Yarra Bay, the end

of the Cook River break walls, Dolls Point and both the Captain Cook and Tom Uglys bridges. Upstream from the Como bridge you could try drifting with mullet for bait, with the chance of tangling with bream, flathead and mulloway. If drifting is not your thing, you could try anchoring up near Lugarno, Picnic Point, the Milperra Bridge and Chipping Norton. Remember to have a steady berley trail going. The Woronora River is worth a shot with either live poddies or pink nippers for whiting, bream, flathead and trevally. Try drifting along Mangrove Island, the entrance to Bonnet Bay, downstream of the old Woronora Bridge and upstream of the walk-across bridge at Prince Edward Park. Remember to anchor out of the channel. Even though the Port Hacking can be harder to fish at this time of the year, there are always luderick and leatherjackets that you can target for a feed. To locate them, all you need to do is look for a rock wall or a weed bed and you will usually find both luderick and leatherjackets. Lilli Pilli Baths is not a bad spot to try on the run-out tide for luderick and the run-in for leatherjackets. The only problem is that it may get a little bit crowded on the weekends. You could also try Gymea Baths and Wally’s Wharf. Over the past month, the beaches in Bate Bay have copped a hammering from the big seas, and this seems to have put

the fish off the bite a bit. Hopefully this month it will have settled down and the bream, dart, whiting, salmon, and tailor will come back on the chew. There have been a couple of reports of the odd mulloway, salmon and tailor being caught at night by anglers using fresh whole squid and yellowtail while fishing off Burning Palms and Stanwell Park Beach.

When fishing with bait in the Port Hacking River, you need to have a steady berley trail going. From this month onwards, I will be giving out a small prize for the best catch of the month. It doesn’t have to be the biggest fish – just the best photo of someone with a fish they have caught in the southern Sydney area. The prize will be a couple of packets of TT jigheads and a couple of packets of ZMan plastics. Send your photos to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

COHOE MARINE PRODUCTS Brad Chinn with a couple of nice bream caught on Atomic hardbody lures. worms off our surf beaches, get the yabby pump and hit the estuary sand flats. Yabbies are a great second choice, and work well on whiting. Until next time, have a great month and remember to challenge yourself! • Alex Bellissimo is an experienced rock fishing guide with proven teaching formulas. If you’re an experienced angler,

he will bring your abilities to new heights. And if you’re new to rock fishing, Alex will teach you all the fundamentals so you can consistently catch fish -- and stay safe at the same time. All tackle and bait is supplied. To find out more, visit www. bellissimocharters.com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au, or call Alex on 0408 283 616.

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AUGUST 2024 51

NSW

Byron Coast

FMM

All signs are pointing to a good snapper season BALLINA

Anthony Melchior

The Richmond River and surrounds have been fishing well of late. The water clarity in the river has been pristine from Broadwater to the river mouth. The beaches of South Ballina and Seven Mile at Lennox Head have seen plenty of tailor being taken on blue pilchards and metal slugs. Anglers have been finding some mulloway in among the same gutters,

Offshore fishing around Ballina has been consistent over the past month, for those anglers who have been able to get out on the flat days. The action should continue in the coming weeks, with all signs pointing towards a good snapper season. In-close areas around Riordans Reef, Black Head, Lennox Point and the close reefs around the Ballina beaches are all holding plenty of quality snapper, with some specimens up around that trophy size of 80-90cm. There are some big girls out there now

Josh with a cracker mulloway. Further offshore on the wider reefs, along the 32-42 fathom line, there are pearl perch, amberjack and kingfish. There have been a lot of great fish caught on octopus jigs and knife jigs over the past month. Using big knife jigs is a very active way to fish, and it’s a lot of fun. Try to get

in early before the wind gets up and it becomes too hard to hold your position on the fish. Surface fishing for bream in Emigrant and North creeks, and out on our sand-flats along the river, will be worth a shot this month. You may

A decent bag of bream caught on lures. as well as tailor. These guys are chasing the mullet that are getting in the shelter of these smaller gutters. There are still plenty of bream getting around in the gutters, too. The mulloway have been red-hot in the river as well. You can catch them on live mullet and yellowtails (yakkas) on either floating baits or on some bigger weights to get to the bottom. Moons and tides are very important, so keep an eye on the forecasts. READER’S

PICTURE

around the Evans Head region, too. The best baits to throw are live yakkas/slimies, fresh squid, and bonito, either floating or very lightly weighted, depending on the current. While baits have been catching good numbers of snapper, soft plastics have been accounting for the bigger fish. Try big plastics around the 6-8” size in the natural baitfish colours, and even give those vibrant colours a go. Use as light a jighead as you possibly can, as this will definitely help your catch rate. At this time of year, the big girls are here to breed, and that’s why they are in such good numbers. Only keep what you are going to eat and let those trophy ones go so they can breed.

This snapper was caught from a close shallow reef.

Mel and Carter with a nice Port Albert snapper. The author with a nice bream caught on a surface lure. 52 AUGUST 2024

not get huge numbers, but you will likely encounter some thumper winter whiting. Lures such as Bassday Sugapens and Bent Minnows can be very effective on these fish. The river mouth has been producing plenty of quality bream along the break walls on light finesse gear. You can get good catches throwing lightly-weighted soft plastic grubs along the walls, from the mouth all the way to Wardell. Cranka Crabs have also been working quite well; be sure to get these tight to the structure for best results. The flatties have been cruising around the flats in large numbers, too, and we have been catching quite nicesized ones of late. With that in mind, it will definitely be worth a look around the mud and sand flats in the coming weeks.

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NSW

Coffs Coast

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Weather gods shine on snapper competition COFFS COAST

Rob Taylor

The Trophy Hunter Snapper Bash has been run and won for the second year out of Coffs Harbour. The weather had everyone wondering whether the event would be cancelled, but fortunately it went ahead, and a huge number of teams scoured the local snapper reefs in search of that winning big red. There were some epic snapper caught and no doubt plenty of dustings as well, as this is a plastics-only competition and most of the fishing is done in close at this time of year. It was great to see the number of visiting teams sign on, and it just shows how popular our snapper are, and reinforces Coffs’ long-held reputation as a great place to chase these iconic fish. Well done to everyone who stuck it out in strong

While the water may have cooled, there are still big lizards on the sand flats looking for warmer water. Cameron Hall knows where to find them.

targeting of your chosen species and sticking to a game plan, because this time of year can be a bit slow for fishing in our local creeks and rivers. The water temperatures cool right off and the summer species are either gone or in shut-down mode. There will still be some flatties around in the shallows though, and plenty of bream and luderick around the rock walls and mouths. School mulloway are slowing up but they are a viable target all year round, and there are plenty of larger models getting about now to make it interesting. If you’re looking to get a feed and have some fun at the same time, I

winds, rough seas and the high stakes drama that is competitive snapper fishing. It was a tough comp for tough teams looking for one of the toughest

OFFICIAL DEALERS FOR We sadly farewell the pelagics this month. We won’t see fish like this North Solitary wahoo until next year. of fish. As you’d expect, the competition is timed to coincide with best time of the year to chase big inshore snapper around our local waters, so now is the time to be out there looking for them. CREEKS AND RIVERS Fishing in August requires precision

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A barrow load full of fish. It’s a good example of the fishing on offer in winter off Coffs.

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The author’s mate sent him this pic to show his setup for his first ever deep dropping session. His excitement was palpable!

recommend walking the rocks where our creeks meet the sea, and drifting weed around for luderick. There’s plenty of cabbage and horse hair weed in the tidal rock pools off Gallows and the southern side of Muttonbird Island. Always keep an eye out when you’re bait gathering off the rocks because it only takes a split second for it all to go wrong. ROCKS AND BEACHES The rocks and beaches are firing at present for tailor, drummer and bream, and it’s simple to get a feed on either

Coffs Coast NSW

FMM

Lots of reasons for anglers to stay motivated SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Vic Levett

There’s been plenty of fishing activity in the Macleay River and offshore when the winter weather has allowed. Mulloway, snapper and drummer have been the main focus. Despite the cold land temperatures, the ocean has remained quite warm at around 21-23°C.

Winter is the time of year to look for trophy mulloway. OFFSHORE While there have been some good snapper around the inshore reefs, we still need the water temperatures to drop below 20°C for most of the big fish to come in close to spawn. August should provide this and we will welcome those big reds. While we have been targeting the snapper of late, we have been getting plenty of longtail tuna, with some sessions exceeding 20-plus fish. Wherever there’s bait stacked up, the tuna and snapper won’t be far away. Standard soft plastic techniques and berley trails on anchor will be the most effective methods. Further offshore, there have been good numbers of venus tuskfish (‘tuskies’), with some fish well over the 2kg mark. Blue mowies have also been quite prevalent. Winter is a great time to target the offshore sand flathead. Any broken reef baits or lures. Tailor in particular have been shoulder-to-shoulder at times, and metal slugs, stickbaits and ganged pilchards have proven to be surefire ways to bag out on choppers. Using stickbaits is a relatively new way of catching tailor, and it can be just as effective as some of the old, tried-and-true techniques. It’s one way to mix up your fishing so it doesn’t feel stale, and I have to admit I’ve been having a ball with little stickies off the rocks. Try the walk around the rocks from the south wall to Gallows, and spin as you go. It’s good exercise

areas in around 40m of water will hold plenty of these tasty fish. As I write, Fish Rock is still plagued with sharks. Hopefully, by the time you read this report, the temperature will have dropped and the sharks will have moved off. There are plenty of kings at the rock but it hasn’t been worth the stress of trying to land one with all the sharks around. There’s been the odd Spanish and cobia being caught. Ian ‘Dark Lord’ Black recently scored a late-season Spanish of around 13kg. Kai and his dad have also been getting amongst the tuna, landing several fish over 10kg. Tailor sizes and numbers have been excellent. All the ledges and headlands will be holding plenty of fish in the coming weeks. Casting garfish and pilchards on ganged hooks, and slowly retrieving them through the washes, will get great results. The DPI FADs and the fish trap have been holding huge numbers of mahimahi, but unfortunately nearly all of them have been just legal or smaller. There have been striped marlin feeding on abundant mahi, and we had three stripers belting mahi while on charter recently. A great sight to witness. Last year, August saw good numbers of offshore yellowfin tuna in and around the Canyons. Hopefully, they will return this year. ESTUARY The river has been very busy with

There have been good numbers of longtail tuna over the past month. people targeting mulloway, and the best time to fish is the tide change around dawn or dusk. Large live baits and big lures have been accounting for most of the big fish. Whiting, bream and flathead have been caught along the beak wall over the past month. The Tavern and the southern wall have been the best shorebased options. Luderick fishos have been scoring plenty of good fish, and local weed and weed flies have both been working well. Rock and Beach Small mulloway have been belting soft plastics off the ledges and corners of the headlands. Most fish have been just legal, but I’m sure if you persevere you will bump into some bigger models. Drummer, bream, tarwhine and rat kings have been loving the washes

There have been plenty of these guys mooching around the shallows. and I can almost guarantee you will find the fish. Other spots are Moonee, Charlesworth and Sawtell headlands. Beach gutters are also full of tailor. Drive down Boambee Beach with one eye on the ‘road’ and the other on the water, and once you see the birds working a gutter, that’s where the tailor are. There will generally be good-sized bream feeding under the tailor schools, so letting baits sink down will find bream and the occasional flathead. OFFSHORE August can be hard going offshore, aside from bottom fishing and deep

dropping. The pelagics are all but gone but there will still be kings at the Light, and samsonfish and amberjack on the deeper reefs. Trying dropping livies on the 30m-50m reefs before sun-up if you want these brawlers. It’s also a good way to stumble onto mulloway schools. Billfish are quiet but there should be yellowfin out past the 100m line. As always, looking for current breaks, bait activity and birds feeding is the way to find ‘fin, or pull up in good water and start cubing. As mentioned, bottom bashing is great in August, with snapper, pearl

lately. Bread and pilchard berley has been getting them on the move, and lightly-weighted baits are the key to some great fishing. While it’s hard to stay motivated throughout the winter months, it can have its rewards. Apart from the fishing,

Jodes with a fat winter king taken on Oceanhunter Sportfishing Charters. winter is a great time to catch up on all the boat and fishing gear maintenance that we tend to forget in the midst of summer. Get amongst it and stay bent! • Vic Levett and his son Zane run Oceanhunter Sportfishing charters out of the beautiful South West Rocks. They target all manner of sports fish from king fish, mackerel, cobia and all way through to the famous black marlin of Trial Bay. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced angler, the boys will put you onto the best fish available. To find out more visit www.Oceansportsfishing. com.au, Insta Ohsportfishing, Facebook Oceanhunter Sportsfishing. Email vic@oceansportsfishing.com.au, or call 0414 906 569. perch, trag, jew and tuskies firing up. I always find the deeper, 50m+ grounds produce better fishing at this time of year, except for the big winter reds, which move right up into the shallows. The deep droppers get excited at this time of year, as the east coast current tends to slow up allowing for deep water prospecting for bar cod, trevalla, and all sorts of tasty oddballs. The increasing popularity of electric reels is transforming these sessions, and we’re seeing more and more anglers going deep dropping every year. AUGUST 2024 55

NSW

Macquarie Coast

FMM

Hot fishing action along the Macquarie Coast current during the start of July, I would expect deep drop fishing to really fire throughout August. Take advantage of the winter glass-out conditions and put those electric reels to good use. • Kate Shelton is the proud owner of Bay Explorer Marine Services,

PORT MACQUARIE

Kate Shelton

The crisp mornings of August are a prime time for fishing on the Mid North Coast. Don’t let the slight chill deter you – fantastic catches are being reported across various locations, making it a month to remember for anglers of all experience levels. This August, grab your rod and head to the rocks for an unforgettable

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56 AUGUST 2024

Ned Kelly’s Bait ‘n’ Tackle owner Jim Gardner with a fantastic drummer he caught using cunjevoi near Oxley Beach. fishing experience. July had some of the best hauls of the year, with reports of enthusiastic anglers reeling in impressive catches. Drummer seem to be particularly plentiful, with their numbers surging off the rocks between South West Rocks and Seal Rocks. Local ledges are also worth exploring – South West Rocks Gaol, Queens Head, Tacking Point Lighthouse, and Crowdy Head all offer excellent spots protected from both calm and rough conditions. Soak up the beautiful coastal scenery while you wait for your line to go tight. The rivers are packed with life this August. Bream are practically begging to be caught, readily accepting bait and lures in both the Camden Haven and Hastings River. If you’re after a different challenge, flathead fishing remains excellent, with live bait and all types of lures proving equally effective. July even saw some lucky anglers in the Camden Haven land mulloway exceeding a metre in length, shattering personal bests. For luderick enthusiasts who faced a slow start earlier in the year, worry no more – catches from the break walls in all the local rivers have shown steady improvement in recent weeks, bringing smiles back to their faces. If you prefer the feel of sand between your toes, August’s beach fishing won’t disappoint. Consistent hauls of bream and tailor are being reported at Lighthouse and North Shore beaches in Port Macquarie. Beachgoers casting a line at Lake Cathie and North Haven beaches are also in for a treat, with reports of larger mulloway joining the usual presence of school-sized fish. Lake Cathie, recently reopened to the ocean after a much-needed cleanse, is showing all the signs of a healthy ecosystem. This is fantastic

news for anglers, especially young enthusiasts who are having a blast catching bream, school mulloway, and flathead around the bridge and ocean side. Lures of all varieties are the go-to method for many, but traditionalists can still rely on yabbies or prawns for effective bait. As August progresses, the seas should calm down and light westerly winds will become more frequent, making it the perfect time to venture offshore for a thrilling fishing expedition. Snapper fishing is particularly promising, especially off Port Macquarie and Lake Cathie. While bait has been the most productive method recently, expect soft plastics to take over soon as water conditions change. Offshore enthusiasts seeking a true challenge can set their sights on pearl perch and kingfish lurking in the deeper reefs off Crescent Head and Point Plomer. With a challenging split

Zayne Cassidy reeled in this beauty of a pearl perch recently. Image courtesy of @zaynecassidy.

and she specialises in making deep-drop fishing rigs for blue-eye trevalla, bar cod, king fish, and bass groper. For more info look up ‘Bay Explorer Marine Services’ on Facebook and Instagram, or find her store on eBay.

Ben Hill and Brett Main with big smiles and even bigger blueeye trevalla. Image courtesy of @kegrocks and @nuggettbrett.

Macquarie Coast NSW

FMM

Good reports from anglers fishing with bait FORSTER

Luke Austin

Things are slowly starting to feel a bit more like spring out there! I don’t think I’m alone in saying that I’m loving these warm days (although it does feel a bit weird given it should be more ‘wintery’), and with plenty of fish getting about, there isn’t any reason to not go fishing! Our estuary is chugging along perfectly, and there have been loads of fish caught lately. The luderick are about

week, but the flats and weed beds should really start to fire up with this warm weather. It’s definitely worth heading up for a bit of a look! Local flathead are really starting to move about now, and reports of good sessions are filtering through every day. Most of the better reports have still been coming from a little way up the river, but there are more and more fish being caught down along the rock walls and around the bridge each day. Hitting the jetties and rock walls down around the Fish Co-op with a handful of soft plastics

Matt with a cracking snapper from the shallows.

Riley had a ball tangling with the local tailor on a picture-perfect winter’s day. in huge numbers and there are a lot of big fish mixed into the schools. The big bronzies that like to sit along our rock walls have really had anglers on their toes, and short bite times and a bit of fussiness when it comes to bait has made the fish a little difficult to fool. Anglers using fresh cabbage weed and weed flies have been faring the best by far, so if you’re keen to have a go for some big luderick get to the beaches and track down some cabbage first. Further up into the oyster leases around The Paddock or Wallis Island, you will find the fish much easier to fool, particularly if you fish on the run-out tide. There have been some monster bream caught lately, with plenty of fish up in the high 40s coming in on the rock walls. The fish haven’t been fussy when it comes to bait. Something like mullet, chicken or bonito that holds onto the hook for a while is always a good option. Fooling these big blue-nosed beasts has not been so easy for the lure fishos, though. The fish are in a post-spawn state now, and in the super-clear water they are much more calculated in their actions than they were a month ago. In saying that, if you fish a nice light outfit with light braid and leader (4-6lb), matched up to some super light jigheads and small plastics, you will almost certainly get a few fish. I haven’t heard much from further up the system this

is very easy fishing, and you will almost certainly land a handful of nice 50-70cm fish, with a really good chance of snagging that trophy fish we all dream of. Our local beaches are still fishing well for big tailor. It’s been a great season

until about an hour after it gets dark. Those low-light periods are when tailor really fire up and will smash your baits or lures on every cast! There are still some good bream sitting under the tailor in the gutters, as well as the odd mulloway. Reports from the stones have been a little thin on the ground of late; we need a good bit of swell to get the drummer fired up, and also to clean out the huge amount of sand that has built up in a lot of places. In saying that, those anglers who know of spots that only need a little bit of swell to get churned up have been finding a few nice fish. The best results come to those who toss a good bit of berley into the suds. Along with drummer, there are some great luderick, bream and even snapper getting about. The weather has been very nice for heading out over the bar lately. On the fishing front, things have been challenging for many anglers, but there are definitely plenty of fish out there. With regards to snapper, the single biggest factor at the moment is water clarity. The shallow inshore reefs are ridiculously clear, which means that the fish are wary of anything that shouldn’t

be in their environment. What does this mean for anglers? It means we need to fish in low-light or darkness, use as light a line and leader as we dare, and our bait or lure presentations need to be perfect. Boats choosing to head out onto the deeper grounds have been faring much better, with good numbers of fish schooling up on reefs in depths of 40-90m. These same reefs (particularly up north) become loaded with trag once the sun sets, with some boats ‘bagging out’ in a matter of minutes! Heading to the wider deep drop grounds has been worth the travel time of late, with plenty of solid pearl perch, cod and kingfish about – and you never know when you might run into a pod of yellowfin tuna or some striped tuna out there! • Luke is the owner of Great Lakes Tackle - your ‘local’ bait and tackle store. We only sell the best brands and offer sound, friendly advice on where to land your next trophy fish while visiting the wonderful Great Lakes region! We’re open 7 days in the main street of Tuncurry, and you can call us on 02 6554 9541 or find us on Facebook to see what we have been up to!

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Luderick are on the chew all over the place, and are loving the weed flies! so far, and the fish should hang about for a little while yet. While you can snag the odd fish throughout the day, to give yourself the best chance at getting stuck into them, try to fish either really early in the morning or late in the afternoon

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AUGUST 2024 57

NSW

Hunter Coast

FMM

Spinning the beaches for tailor and salmon your eye out for any suspicious-looking dark patches moving up the beach within casting range. These fish are loads of fun on light gear, and stickbait-style lures and

PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

Inside the estuary, you can always bank on luderick from the Nelson Bay rock wall during winter. Fresh green weed or sea lettuce fished around the tide changes is almost a sure bet to catch a feed of these reliable winter species. If you want somewhere less crowded to chase luderick, try the Torpedo Tubes or Shoal Bay jetty. The rock wall at Nelson Bay has also been producing stacks of stud bream, both on the outside and the inside around the marina. Fishing with lightly-weighted baits is the key to success, as it limits the snags and allows bream to take the bait as

There’s some good bream fishing in the estuaries.

There’s a good chance of catching yellowfin at this time of year. it’s slowly wafting down the water column. Bream have also been holding in great numbers further up the bay around the structure towards soldiers point through to Garden Island. Bait fishing these areas with the above methods will work a treat. Alternatively, lure fishing with small 2-3” plastics or hardbodies is fantastic fun and just as productive when done correctly. It’s good to see a few salmon inside the bay. They have been giving anglers plenty of entertainment on light 1-3kg rods. They have been a bit fussy though, with 2-3’’ natural-coloured plastics the preferred weapon of choice over metal lures, despite the casting deficit. Early morning and late afternoon schools of tailor to 40cm have been working baitfish around Shoal Bay from the Wharf to the Torpedo Tubes, with small metals around 20g the go-to lure. ROCKS Luderick have been on the chew, with plenty being caught around Boulder Bay

through to Barry Park. It’s the prime time for drummer off the ocean rocks, and if you fish with them using lightly-weighted prawns or cunje you’ll end up with a mixed bag of bream, squire-size snapper, and leatherjackets. Some monster green-eye calamari squid are lurking in the protected kelpy bottoms bays and coves from Boat Harbour to Barry Park. Off the rocks I prefer size 3.0 squid jigs in pinks, oranges and greens, with quality brands like Yamashita or Yo-Zuri worth the extra money. Spinning the beaches is a great way to catch fish like tailor and salmon during the winter months. You’ll find better catches of tailor coming from first and last light, especially when it corresponds with the high tides. Good old-fashioned ganged pilchards are super effective on tailor when cast out with a slow to medium retrieve, or you can use a metal around 20-30g. When targeting salmon, always keep

Schools of salmon are patrolling the ocean beaches. metals around 20-30g are ideal. If you can brave the cold nights, mulloway are an excellent target from the beaches in the winter months. While you can’t beat a live bait such as a tailor or salmon, a fresh squid or XL-size beach worm are good back-up options. Snapper reports have been flowing in the last few weeks, with a heap caught around the islands from Fingal to Broughton. Both lure and bait fishing techniques have been doing the job. As always, the best times to target them are at first and last light, but if you are fishing outside those windows, look for a tide change. It will often trigger a daytime snapper bite to take advantage of.

Big schools of salmon throughout the lake SWANSEA

Jason Nunn

During July, we started to get a few weather opportunities to venture out wide, looking for the elusive yellowfin tuna. There haven’t been many caught in recent months. In early July, a couple were caught out wide in around 1500 fathoms, but when I went to the same location a few days later, they were gone. However, further south off Sydney, they have seen one of the better bluefin tuna runs for several years, with fish ranging from 40-70kg. This month, as the change of season gets closer, we can only hope we see a few of these tuna off Swansea. Of course, it will all depend on the water temperatures, currents and weather conditions. Back on the deepwater Farm area, throughout this winter snapper have been caught in relatively good numbers. Most have been around that 1-1.5kg size, with a few bigger models 58 AUGUST 2024

up to 3.5-4kg. Further south, towards Texas, kingfish numbers and sizes have varied, with patches of 55-65cm fish interspersed with a few donkeys. Live baiting is a better option than jigging

A Swansea Channel salmon. These fish are a great target at this time of year.

at the moment, but as we get into late August/early September, jigging will become more successful. Back along the coast, there are plenty of small snapper in the 35-45cm size range, generally anywhere from the 25-35m line. Outside of this, we’re starting to see increased numbers of blue-spot flathead, which is typical for this time of year. We can expect to see a real increase in flatty catches in the coming weeks. The balmy westerlies will allow people to drift for them, which is something to look forward to. Salmon have continued to be the mainstay for most anglers off the beach. This will continue into spring, with big between Redhead and Blacksmiths. Blacksmiths breakwater has seen relatively good numbers in recent weeks, with both salmon and tailor being caught off the rocks. As winter moves into spring, luderick and drummer numbers will start to increase off all rock platforms, and there’ll be a big build-up of luderick throughout the estuary system

of Swansea. Green weed is still hard to find due to our wet winter, with most anglers going down to the rocks to try to get weed, as most drains have been washed through. In the lake, our winter flathead season has continued. Good numbers of fish are being found throughout the deeper water, in particular the Pulbah Island and Myuna Bay areas. Once again, the key is to locate ragged bait schools being worked over by tailor or salmon. If you find a big, calm bait school, it’s probably not worth fishing because there are no predators harassing it. You can catch the flatties on vibes, such as Samaki Vibelicious, Jackall Transams and Zerek Fish Traps. I particularly like the Fish Traps in this scenario, as they have a good sink rate and don’t spin as they go down. Don’t forget the soft plastics, either. Large white soft plastics, particularly 7” Gulps, have worked well around the bait schools for anglers targeting mulloway. There are still some

Hunter Coast NSW

FMM

Flathead and salmon along the beaches

Bream and salmon are the most likely fish to be found on our beaches this month. Bait like strips of mullet, pike or tailor, or pilchards on ganged hooks, will score more bites than lures will.

yet. Normally, the sambos tend to be thicker from this month onwards, through to late October, so I’d say we’ll see more of them in the coming weeks. Tailor, on the other hand, don’t appear to be as abundant this year. Yes, they have been caught in all the usual rock and beach spots from Pearl Beach up to Catherine Hill Bay, but they’ve been inconsistent this winter. We are well past the peak period for tailor now, but they’ll still be a possibility for anyone fishing the surf zone this month. Flathead have been going well on the beaches. It can be a bit hard to find a few good-size models on our local beaches, but if you specifically target them with soft plastics or other sinking lures in the gutters around low tide you may run into a couple of better-size flatties. Although catch and release is the norm these days, it would be almost impossible to find a sweeter tasting fish for the dinner table than a flathead caught from the surf. Silver trevally and mulloway are

difference I’ve seen is that salmon have returned in bigger numbers this winter; in 2023 we didn’t get as many. I live pretty close to a good beach that always has some sort of fish cruising along. Bream are perhaps the most common species. They can be caught year-round, but the cooler months definitely see more bream here. Salmon are another very common winter species, and this year I’ve been seeing them in reasonably good numbers. However, I haven’t struck one of those ‘fish a cast’ sessions

Luderick are one of the more reliable targets along our ocean rock ledges at this time of year. Present your baits close in around the washy spots rather than further away from the rocks.

CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

Some people are saying this winter has been colder than usual, while others are saying it’s been warmer or wetter. Personally, I think we’re enjoying quite a typical winter in this part of the country – some rainy periods, plenty of nice sunny days, and of course, windy days. The biggest

nice mulloway mixed in with the bait schools, but their numbers will drop in August and pick back up in September. Big schools of salmon are still prevalent throughout the lake, and there has been a particularly

Patrick Nunn with a nice flathead.

large school in the centre of Swansea Channel, directly west of the airport. Over the last few years, Salts Bay has been a haven for salmon at this time of year, but the lake side of the bridge now tends to hold more salmon. The run-in tide is the best time to fish. Good size tailor are still being caught throughout the lake. At this time of year, trolled deep divers are the better option. The go-to lures are Rapala Tail Dancers and Halco Crazy Deeps, which can get down to around 8-9m, where a lot of bigger fish can be found. At the moment the better tailor are often found off the bait schools rather than in amongst them, although it’s unclear why that is. Overall, we’ve had a great winter for bream, with good numbers caught throughout the lake, particularly at night. Areas such as Nesca Park and Marks Point dropover, have been fishing well on the big, nighttime high tides. Oily baits are very effective, such as pilchards, mullet strips, mullet gut, and bonito. Fish your baits down a berley trail for best results.

The author with a typical winter flathead. Try the deeper channels with soft plastics, sinking vibes or good quality bait this month and you should run into a few fish like this. the other two main winter species here, and both are likely to be caught from the beach this month. Aside from the flathead, which can be caught in calmer conditions throughout the day, it’s always best to fish the surf zone when there is noticeable whitewash, and try to time an outing closer to sunrise or sunset. Of course, some diehard mulloway anglers will also be fishing into the night this month. Beach fishing in winter isn’t as cold as some people may think; ocean temperatures remain warmer than the air temperature at night, so simply being rugged up and active while fishing will keep you warm. Salmon should be abundant along the rocks this month. All the popular rock ledges from Avoca to Norah Head and up to Catherine Hill Bay will be worth a shot. If the swell is up a bit, try

The author with a lake salmon. It was one of many caught on a nice winter afternoon. With spring just around the corner, we’re already starting to see reasonable numbers of blue swimmer crabs. This will increase towards the end of August and improve further in September.

the beaches. If it’s too big for the beach, head to Swansea Channel or inside Broken Bay, where it’s more protected. Normally, I would also recommend groper as a species to target this month. However, I’m sure most readers are well aware of the angling ban on groper in NSW. I’m reasonably confident that we’ll eventually have that ridiculous ban reversed, but for now, I suggest chasing other common late winter fish like drummer, luderick, bream and silver trevally. August isn’t the easiest month of the year to extract a few fish, so berley and thoughtful tactics are generally necessary to get results. A bit of bread-based berley can be sufficient to get a few fish moving in. It becomes a bit hard for offshore anglers at this time of year, mostly because this is the windy season. Westerly winds mean it’s often best to fish in closer rather than head out wide. If the weekend rolls around and it’s blowing too hard to head wide, you’re better off using similar tactics to rock fishing. In other words, lighter tackle and some thoughtful use of bread-based berley. Fish closer into the headlands or inshore reef and you may score a mixed bag of trevally, snapper, flathead, drummer and maybe a few morwong, kingfish or salmon. Estuary anglers may also find the fishing a bit tough this month. Luderick are by far the best and most popular species in Brisbane Waters and the lakes at this time of year. Once again, a bit of berley can help, in the form of some finely chopped weed mixed with some sand and a little bread. If you’re not into luderick, the next best suggestion is to target flathead in the deeper channels around The Entrance or Brisbane Waters. If the water is clear, it may also be worth looking for a fish up Narara or Erina creeks. A few bream will also be on the cards, but realistically, this isn’t the best time of year for estuary bream here. AUGUST 2024 59

NSW

Illawarra Coast

FMM

Good catches as reds zero in on cuttlefish ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke

Snapper will still be on the bite this month but not for long as they thin out, and the cuttlefish move on after the full moon on the 20th of the month approaches. The first three weeks from the new moon on the 3rd right up to the full moon should see great fishing. I recommend that you fish the same as last month, anchoring and berleying your chosen shallow reef and fishing unweighted pieces of cuttlefish in the berley stream. Alternatively, you can look for the floating dead cuttlefish and cast unweighted baits while staying as far away as possible from the target. The great thing about catching snapper this month is they have been feeding on cuttlefish for the past six weeks or so and will be very fat and in great condition and fabulous on the plate, almost tasting as sweet as the food they have been eating. Many anglers prefer eating the bait more than the snapper, and

6/0 hook in the bait will cover that situation. Kingies, mulloway and even big snapper don’t mind a whole fish either. Further offshore we may see a few bluefin and yellowfin tuna move in if the currents are favourable. It was quiet on the tuna front last season and so far this winter it has been much the same but that can all change overnight. Let’s hope a few show up late. Back closer to shore, the salmon have been on the move, working in schools on the surface all along the coast. They are feeding on small clear baitfish at this time of the year so very small baitfish lures and light lines are needed if you are to be successful. While salmon are excellent fun they are not on the same level or as fast as the striped tuna that are about at the moment. They show up at this time each year and are usually extralarge ones for the species and they really go on light tackle. You need the light tackle to cast the small lures a longer distance as they can prove very difficult to get close to as they

Champion angler Garry Cass with a cuttlefish-munching winter red. freshly caught cuttlefish crumbed and quickly cooked in hot oil is a pretty good entrée to snapper fillets. I wouldn’t go eating a floater though, as it could have been dead for some time; the cuttlies don’t all get eaten by predators quickly. Catching cuttlefish isn’t that hard. While anchored, drop a dead whole yellowtail or mackerel to the bottom on one of those squid fish skewers and if there is a cuttlie about it will grab it and you wind it in. The baited skewer will also score any squid in the area. Win, win. Sometimes a bigger fish will grab your whole fish bait, so a stinger 60 AUGUST 2024

move at speed and are easily spooked. The seagulls will show you where the salmon are, while the terns moving fast over a school will show the way to the stripies. Sometimes just keeping up to get a cast away at them is a real challenge. At other times, they’ll find a few extra baitfish and stay smashing the surface to foam in the one spot, allowing you to get a cast right in among them. Sometimes there is the odd small yellowfin swimming with them as a bonus. You can troll for them but they are usually only in small schools and very spooky, going down whenever you get too close.

A pretty standard winter catch: salmon, snapper and trevally. Working the washes with pilchards on ganged hooks is another way to get a few salmon, with tailor, bream, trevally and even a few snapper getting in on the act, too. Don’t bother trying if the westerlies are blowing and the water is gin-clear, as the results will be pretty ordinary; you need some white water. For the bottom bouncers there are plenty of nice little snapper and a few big ones grabbing baits on the bottom on the drift. The flatties are quiet with only a few fish finding the energy to grab a bait as it passes by. Kingies have made a bit of an appearance on the deeper reefs grabbing knife jigs and live baits set deep. Some have been nice fish to 10kg but they are here today and gone tomorrow. They should get better next month. Just beware of the dreaded barracouta as the bigger ones can cut through your leaders with those razor teeth, easily taking your jigs with them. Throw in the leather jackets and it can get expensive in just a few drops before you move on. It is not that great on the rocks, with westerlies making the water crystal clear or a ground swell making it dangerous. If you can get some consistency, there are plenty of salmon on the deeper ledges around Bass Point and Kiama, with ganged pilchards scoring most fish. A bit of berley will bring in any bream and trevally in the vicinity, while casting lightly weighted prawns or crab pieces into the washes will get more of the same as well as some smoking big drummer, both black and silver. About the only thing that pulls harder than a big silver is a groper and they are about too, and don’t mind the clear water. They taste good but you aren’t allowed to take them

anymore so shake the hook out and let them go. The fillets off a silver drummer would carve up into a nice pair of thongs – they are that tough! They are a great-looking big fish though, so just take a quick pic and release them back into the drink. On the beaches, it is not too bad with quite a few school jewies getting along the local beaches lately. The odd bigger fish is being caught but the majority are 5-7kg, which is better than a poke in the eye. Salmon as always are the mainstay at this time of the year with good numbers of winter bream getting about the gutters as well. Some very good-sized tailor have been popping up here and there along the beaches and they just seem to be random schools with fish to 3kg grabbing fresh mulloway baits and not so much the pillies. Bigger fish get a little more selective, it seems. Fresh mackerel or yellowtail fillets have been doing the trick. It is still very quiet in the estuaries, although the feeder streams to the lake are producing some nice bream if you work the snags with unweighted peeled prawns. Lures don’t seem to be getting many results except in the lake proper, where the water may be a tad warmer. The odd mulloway has been spotted around the bridge and along the front of the lake break walls, along with a few salmon and tailor. Minnamurra has a few resident bream around the bridges if you can outsmart them, while there are a few salmon about the entrance on the top of the tide during the evenings. If all else fails, you could chase a few calamari squid around the place. They seem to be in good numbers over the kelp beds close to shore and in the harbours during the evenings.

Batemans Coast NSW

FMM

Big chills and big tuna BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

The last of the big chills is here. August is the month when we start to get over the cold weather, and no longer wake up to frosty mornings with a chill that bites your fingers and face. August is one of the last months when we can typically find large tuna out over the continental shelf, before maybe seeing them inshore like we have in the last five years. Winter started slowly offshore in regards to yellowfin, although anglers with electric reels didn’t mind too much, with good catches of blue-eye trevalla, ling and ocean perch. The yellowfin didn’t start coming on properly until July, and they started slow and patchy. Then the bluefin started migrating in big schools. The bluefin are usually found out extremely wide by the commercial fleets, and this year was no different. The bluefin were found out at the 152 line, about 150-180km wide, making it difficult for the recreational boats to reach them. However, as July went on, some fish started pushing in and moving north. Recreational boats started catching them, along with some yellowfin, around the sea mounts and in even closer. The yellowfin were ranging from 30-60kg, which is a decent size, and the bluefin were around 40-90kg, which is big. This trend can change, however; we may start seeing smaller school fish, or vice versa. August is known for its larger models, and hopefully that will be the case again this year. By the looks of it, a lot of fish are pushing north, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Sydney gets a good bite this month. Fingers crossed we maintain a good yellowfin bite, and plenty more bluefin will keep migrating up along our coast, so we can get a continued bite off Batemans. So far this season, most of the tuna have been caught on the troll, and the old ‘cube and berley’ approach is becoming a thing again. This is probably because we haven’t seen the tuna chasing thick schools of sauries yet, but that could change. For now, trolled Halco Laser Pros and Nomad Madmacs have been doing the damage. It’s also worth trolling the ever-faithful Bluewater Livie, or Profidgie as they are called these days. Then there is the new Nomad Madscad, meant to be the hardbody version of the Profidgie. It’s effective on species like Spanish and wahoo, but will it catch fussy yellowfin? I have my doubts. Madscads sway from side to side, while the Profidgie swims with a tail beat, which could be the difference. We’ll have to wait and see. INSHORE If you can’t get out on the tuna this month and your boat is built for inshore fishing, that’s great because the snapper fishing hasn’t stopped. It’s been great,

and we’ve had a great run of gummies as well. Mowies, flathead, gurnard and nannygai are also on the chew, and the action doesn’t look like slowing down. If it seems slow, move around and you should eventually catch something for the table. Rock fishing is a great option if you want to save money on fuel and still catch some fish for dinner. We have some of the best ledges on the south coast to find drummer, the most reliable winter fish, and they can be caught on free bait like cunje, which you can collect at low tide. The other prize fish in drummer territory is snapper, which is a massive

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Andy Ryan reeled in this yellowfin aboard Alley Cat. bycatch bonus. Other species off the ledge at this time of the year include salmon and tailor. Salmon and tailor are also on our beaches at the moment, and you can’t go wrong catching them at this time of the year, especially using pilchards on gang hooks, or spinning metals. There’s still a good amount of bream, flathead and trevally on our beaches, as the freshwater has been dominating the estuaries with all the rain, and fish are looking for more salinity. That makes the beaches the place to be. That said, the estuaries aren’t entirely dead, as bream and mulloway don’t mind the dirty water and continue to feed. Plus, it’s not always that dirty. It has its moments after a lot of rain, but the tides clear it up somewhat, and species like estuary perch and flathead can still be on the cards. Winter probably hits the estuaries the worst, but it’s still worth a try – unlike upstream, where everyone gives up on bass until it warms up again. • Anthony Stokman is the owner of Fish Batemans Bay, your one-stop shop for tackle, bait and valuable advice on how to catch more fish. The crew are always happy to chat about what’s been biting and where, so drop in and say hi. You can find them at 65A Orient Street, Batemans Bay, or give them a call on (02) 4472 2559.

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AUGUST 2024 61

NSW

Eden Coast

FMM

Go deep to catch a bigger variety of fish there are plenty of them. If you choose the conventional drift fishing, try the wider Four and Six Mile reefs. The area out off Goalen Head has sharks, too. Closer to shore you could anchor and berley the snapper, drifting baits back at varying depths, or try casting soft plastics around. This can be done in depths from 20m to right in close to the rocky outcrops. Not only will you catch

BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

More and more anglers are discovering the rewards of fishing deep water, armed with excellent sounders and electric reels on first-class rods. When fishing out over the Continental Shelf in depths of 300-400m, you can catch species like hapuka, ling, gemfish and blue-eye trevalla. You can also get great results using this same technology on some of the shallower areas, like along the edge of the Continental Shelf or one of the many reefs just inside the shelf, like the Twelve Mile Reef. These locations can produce

A quick troll around Horseshoe Bay can often produce salmon, which make a tough bait for deep water fishing.

A few tasty red fish caught in deep water. some very large tiger flathead, snapper, nannygai, ocean perch and morwong, along with quite a few oddballs. While doing this, keep an eye out for some surface activity, as there is a big chance of a southern bluefin tuna or two passing by, and often where there are tuna, there are mako sharks. Closer to shore on the shallower reefs, snapper are liking the conditions, and

Check out these winter conditions for beach fishing. snapper, but a whole host of other species will be willing to get into the act. Tiger flathead catches offshore are also on the improve, with better fish coming from deeper waters. 60-70m is a good depth to try, although if you are after some very big fish, try the Twelve Mile Reef,

as you may encounter those tasty Tassie trumpeter mixed in with the flatties. The Bermagui River and Wallaga Lake around the bridge have seen a good run of luderick, with some exceptional fish amongst them. The better fish seem to be at Wallaga; a result of the entrance staying open from the winter rains. Tailor are in good numbers in the lake, and the terns will reveal where they are. Trolling lures is an effective way to find tailor, and once found you can switch to surface poppers for something special. For the kids (and the big kids) check out the Bermagui Harbour for schools of trevally. They are great fun, and there are some monsters that will keep the best of anglers honest. All those lovely rough conditions this winter have really stirred up the rock species. Drummer and luderick have been excellent, and should remain so for some time. Some very nice bream, trevally, groper and wrasse have also been stirred up by these conditions, with some nice salmon up on the surface. These salmon are along the coastal beaches, making regular visits to the deeper gutters, providing anglers with some very good winter shore-based fishing.

Fish light over the inshore reefs TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Out at sea, calm conditions have made it possible to anchor up on the inshore reefs. However, very few anglers do this, due to the tedious job of dropping and retrieving the pick. Instead, people generally use the spot lock feature on their electric motors, which takes all the pain of anchoring away. Using spot lock also lets you work an area over with lures or bait with lighter tackle, adding to the fun. With offshore winds, you can

Spot locking on flathead grounds will allow you to work an area over. 62 AUGUST 2024

get close to shore and work soft plastic lures on the inshore reefs for snapper. The fish may not be as big as those that come up a berley trail, but they are great fun, and other species are always willing to get into the act. When fishing around rock or gravely areas, you’re likely to obtain a variety of reef fish from morwong, perches, jackets, and wrasse or on the wider reefs fish like Tassie trumpeter. Those anglers working the sandy areas out from the beaches will encounter reasonable numbers of sand flatties with the odd gummy shark thrown in. Water depths around the 30m mark are a good place to start, with the grounds both north and south of Kianinny Bay producing. On shore, there is plenty of fun to be had on and around the wharf. One species that’s attracted to this area is arrow squid, which can move in during the evening. Sometimes they are so thick you can’t miss, while at other times you can work hard for very little results. Smaller species you may encounter this month include yellowtail, slimy mackerel and garfish. Trevally, salmon and tailor will make up the bulk of the larger species, while close to the rocks there are some nice luderick to be taken on green weed. Those blackfish are not just hanging around the wharf – plenty can be found around the rocks. Mixed in with them are some excellent drummer, which are in good numbers

at the moment. Cabbage weed and cunjevoi will account for most, and berleying with bread will bring the fish to the surface. The beach fishing has been OK, with reasonable schools of salmon around to keep anglers entertained. One of the best ways to catch them is by casting lures with an offshore breeze to passing schools. You may also find the odd tailor with this method. Bait fishos will also encounter these species, and may also catch excellent bream along with some nice trevally. The most productive beaches have been Bournda to the south, and Gillards and Cowdroys to the north. The main beach at Tathra near the entrance of the Bega River is also well worth a look. South of Tathra, Wallagoot Lake is still land-locked, even after the rain, but it’s hosting some very large snapper and tailor. Soft plastics have been working on the snapper, while metal slugs and minnow diving lures (trolled

Don’t forget the beaches with calm conditions, there are plenty on offer.

Hard-pulling wrasse can be caught around the inshore reefs. or cast) will work on the tailor. There has been a little action in the Bega River in the form of bream and estuary perch holding tight to structure, but extracting them takes a fair amount of effort. Anglers have been catching some good luderick on weed from the rock wall adjacent to the boat ramp, and around the bridge pylons. Those anglers wanting to target flathead have been pleasantly surprised with the odd thumper. Finally, the floods earlier in the year have opened the mouth of the Bega River to a record level, which is great news for anglers leading into the spring months.

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NSW

Freshwater

FMM

Make the most of the final weeks of cod season be too far away. Casting surface lures or suspending swimbaits up into the shallows, while covering ground at the same time, can be an effective method for targeting Murray cod that are active and willing to eat a bait. However, if you see baitfish feeding in certain areas, it would be a good idea to just keep hammering a heap of casts into that one area, hoping to create a reaction bite. The inlets and points are good areas to focus your time on,

NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

We can’t be too far away from taking some layers off as we approach the end of winter in just a few weeks’ time. There isn’t much time left to target Murray cod before the official spawning period starts on 1 September. If you want to catch a cod before the season closure, now is the time to be out there, making the most of the final weeks to fish the rivers and certain impoundments across NSW. The New England Tablelands area copped some pretty heavy showers in mid-winter, which helped a handful of the larger waterways. However, it was the smaller creeks and rivers that benefited from the rainfall the most.

DAM LEVELS

A Copeton Dam giant. You know you have a problem when the brag mat isn’t big enough.

Big lures usually equal big cod, and surface lures such as the 180mm Megadog can be very effective, especially in low-light conditions. Not only did it give the rivers a bit of a flush-out, but it’s well-timed to provide consistent flows for the Murray cod READER’S

PICTURE

River Heath caught this cracking EP throwing blades on the lower Clarence on 6lb Sunline and leader.

64 AUGUST 2024

and golden perch spawns in weeks to come, as well as the trout spawn, which is happening at the moment. Copeton Dam seems to be busier during the winter months than in years gone by, especially during the school holidays. Still, as long as everyone cleans up after themselves and looks

after the environment, the increase in visitors can only benefit the area for years to come. As always, there have been some quality fish being caught. Several Murray cod over the metre mark have been landed in recent weeks and some awesome conditioned golden perch. Both the air and water temperatures will gradually start warming up as spring approaches, and this is when the golden and silver perch become very active and start schooling up. This can make for some pretty awesome fishing opportunities. Fingers crossed we’ll get some high barometers and stable weather for a few days; it might just be enough to get the big natives fired up as winter draws to a close. Glenlyon Dam, Pindari Dam and Split Rock Dam, located only a few hours away from each other, also fish quite well at this time of year, and cannot be forgotten about when it comes to targeting Murray cod. If you approach most impoundments the same way, with a slow and steady approach, you’ll find the Murray cod often won’t

Getting on the kayak and casting surface lures and shallow-running swimbaits can be a challenge. However, once you’ve worked an area out, the rewards are worth it, and the bites are hard to forget.

DAM

JUNE

Copeton Dam

67%

Pindari Dam

52%

Malpas Dam

92%

Glenlyon Dam

63%

Split Rock Dam

97%

Lake Keepit Dam

43%

Chaffey Dam

87%

* Levels current at the time of writing

Trout breeding season is underway, and the 3-month closure is in place. If you plan to target redfin or other species, make sure it’s not in a listed trout stream. especially after some rainfall. The new moon will fall early this month, on 4 August, while the full moon will be above on 20 August. Just a reminder, the Beardy River and many other streams are fully closed for trout breeding season now, and local DPI Fisheries officers have been present, making sure people are doing the right thing. You can check the DPI website for more information. Trout season will re-open on the October long weekend. Until next time, stay warm and comfy for the rest of winter, and good luck on the cod before the season ends.

Freshwater NSW

FMM

Finding fish on the flats and edges HUNTER VALLEY

Nick Price

August is when things finally start to warm up. The grass starts to grow, phytoplankton begin to reproduce in the lakes, and the food chain gets a kick along. The nights are still cold but the days are often beautiful, with fish taking plastics and jerkbaits. The weather at this time of year makes fishing very enjoyable.

The rivers are currently closed for catching bass and trout but there are plenty of carp about. Carp are a fantastic fighting fish. There have been a few local carp competitions this year already, with lots of prizes, encouraging kids to fish. I highly recommend these comps. Carp are hard fighters and they’re great fun to catch. The fish can still be found on the flats and on the edges. Keep an eye on the water temperature as you move

The bass get hungrier as spring approaches.

around the lakes, taking note of where the warm pockets are. These warmer areas are good places to start looking for fish. At this time of year, the bigger fish can often be found in the back of bays, particularly at Lake St Clair. When fishing Lake Glenbawn, don’t be afraid to head right up the back and fish around the Eagles Nest in amongst the timber or along the rock wall. A small jerkbait fished tight to a rock wall, particularly on the windward side, is very effective at any time of the year and it’s definitely worth a try in August. Fishing plastics and jerkbaits together is a good way of edging your bet. Sometimes the plastics will fire the bass up, while at other times they’ll prefer the easier meal – a slow-moving jerkbait. At this time of year, I also like to try small crankbaits. Both Rapala and Daiwa make really good small crankbaits in colours that the bass find irresistible. Try different colours, fish in timber, along weed and tight to rock walls. When fishing rock walls don’t be afraid to bounce the crankbait off the rock wall. If the wind is blowing towards the rock wall, with waves crashing into the rocks, the bass can be very active. Fishing any bank that is being smashed by waves can be very productive. If the

Look for warmer pockets of water to find the fish. water next to the bank is dirty, that’s even better! September is a great time to fish both Glenbawn and Lake St Clair. The bass are getting hungry as the water warms up, but it’s not quite a reaction bite yet so plastics and jerkbaits are the most reliable options. More and more fish will move to the edge and amongst the timber as winter draws to a close, and September is a great time to fish! • If you’re heading up to the Barrington, Glenbawn, Hunter River or St Clair, drop into the shop and talk to Nick or Cooper, and ask about the different techniques and what they are biting on. The store is located at the turnoff to Glenbawn in Aberdeen, and they stock all the quality tackle that you need.

FISHING NEWS

Ferry Wharves – the good and the bad During the school holidays, throwing a line around the Sydney Harbour ferry wharves and piers is a popular activity. A NSW Fisheries Fishcare Education Officer got to meet two teenagers on one of the wharves recently and was really impressed

right thing on our Sydney Harbour ferry wharves. Many people don’t clean up after themselves and often clutter commuter seating with their gear. They also make a smelly mess by cutting their bait and cleaning their fish on the ferry wharf floor. NSW Fisheries would like to

that everybody’s access to these ferry wharves is respected by fishers using them, given they are a shared facility for public transport around the Harbour. Please be respectful to commuters and ferry staff, and keep your gear compact and tidy without obstructing others. When cutting bait or cleaning fish, use a cutting board or bucket lid, and wash off any mess with some water. Be sure to place all rubbish in the bin or take it home with you, so we can keep these great fishing areas clean. Again, thank you to those fishers doing the right thing and using these great facilities assets responsibly and respectfully. – NSW Fisheries

These two anglers had a nice surprise when a Fishcare Officer gave them some lure packs for fishing responsibly. how tidy they were with their fishing activities. They received some lure packs for their great effort! Of course, not all anglers do the

remind all young fishers heading out to please make sure you are mindful of other wharf users, especially ferry staff and commuters. It is important AUGUST 2024 65

NSW

Freshwater

FMM

Fun visual fishing as natives cruise shallows BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

During August the water level in Blowering Dam is generally slightly on the rise. It is common knowledge that slowly flooding water over new ground, weed beds and snags is normally associated with fantastic fishing, no matter what species you are targeting. These sorts of conditions draw fish up into the edges of the dam to hunt for food that has just been submerged and swamped by the rising water levels and these fish are normally very active and can be quite easy to catch at times. GOLDEN PERCH I personally cannot wait for this time of the year, as the fishing at Blowering Dam is about as visual as you can get. Watching trophy golden

perch and Murray cod cruise around in the shallows, looking for easy pickings, sure gets the heart pumping no matter how seasoned you are. These shallow-water golden perch can be targeted successfully in a number of ways, and my preferred technique is to cast to these fish with lures. Lipless crankbaits are my first choice when targeting these fish, but these generally active fish will attack most lure presentations when cast and retrieved in the right areas. The key to success is to use something that doesn’t dive too deep, as most of these fish are in 6ft of water or less. Shallowrunning hardbodies are definitely worth a chuck, and shallow-diving suspending lures work brilliantly in the shallows and can turn on even the most shut-down fish. This early in the season, the goldens aren’t too flighty, and the

August is a great month for land-based anglers. Rising water brings the fish up to the edges of the lake, making them easily accessible. READER’S

PICTURE

above-mentioned lures will do plenty of damage, but towards the end of the month onwards, these fish will have seen a lot of pressure, and it can pay to change to lures that are much more natural in their colour, shape and

If Blowering is on the rise, the Murray cod won’t be too far from the bank. action. Lures that have no rattles and no flash become the best lures to use, and it is very hard to beat soft plastics as they tick all of these boxes. I personally love 2-3” paddletail plastics, but I have also done very well over the years on twin-tail plastics. The reason the twin tails work so well is that they look a lot like frogs, and at this time of the year and all the way through spring, the majority of what the goldens eat is frogs, so it only makes sense to throw something at them that looks like what they are mostly eating. When they aren’t eating frogs, they are eating yabbies and the twin-tail plastics also resemble them, so it is easy to see why the twin-tail plastics work so effectively. Don’t think you have to own a boat either; as I said, these fish are concentrated around the margins of the lake, so if anything, you have an advantage by fishing from the

bank, as this is where the majority of the fish are. Trolling is another way to target these fish at this time of the year but it pays to stick very close to the bank. It also pays to have your lure a long way back, especially if you don’t own or use an electric motor. The above-mentioned casting lures will work just as well on the troll, so after you’ve had a casting fix you can simply cast your lures out the back and start trolling straight away – no need to change lures. This is a good way of breaking your day up, and it also helps to find active fish. Once you come across some active fish, pull up and start casting again or continue to turn around and troll the area that has the active fish. Bait fishing can be sensational at this time of the year at Blowering Dam because it is not just the golden perch that take advantage of the smorgasbord of food on offer in the shallows. Trout, Murray cod, big hybrid carp and even the odd redfin occasionally gets game enough to come into the shallows for a feed. The best baits at the moment are definitely

Lipless crankbaits, like the flashing red LED Balista Juggernaut, are ideal reaction-style lures for targeting golden perch in the shallows at this time of year.

Jason D’Silva with a beaut Spanish mackerel from Roko Island in Queensland’s far north. The crystal-clear shallows of Blowering Dam will be a fish soup this month, with golden perch being the main target for most anglers. 66 AUGUST 2024

soft baits like worms, grubs, maggots and PowerBait, depending on what species of fish you intend to target. In saying this, if you are specifically after a good Murray cod, then large yabby baits or bardi grubs will be your best bet. Until next month, good luck, good fishing and tight lines.

Freshwater NSW

FMM

August is our last chance at a river beast! ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

Well, that cod season went by fast. It’s now the last month of the season, which is our last chance to get that trophy fish, unless you fish a year-round open season impoundment. For river fishing, this is it, and we really are spoiled for choice this season! In the past few months we have seen some really nice flows in terms of clarity

so long as we don’t see huge amounts of rain or big dam releases. Some good reports have been coming out of Lake Hume for trout and redfin. If that is something that interests you, anglers in the region have been starting to get consistent results on both species again. There are some monster trout in Lake Hume, so it’s always worth a look, and catching a good feed of redfin is always achievable in the lake as well. For keen cod anglers, things are really exciting. With flows this good, it’s hard to

A solid 90s model for Cam on the Kuttafurra Mudhoney.

A nice 80s model from the river. They are built well during the winter. and heights, and moving into August these flows should be the same, which is a huge advantage to fishing success for Murray cod. Like usual in the wintertime, it is slow going and hard work. However, the results are well worth the effort, and every cast could be the bite from that special fish of a lifetime. We have so many good options around our area, including the Murray River, Ovens River, Mitta River, Kiewa River, and the Murrumbidgee. All of these rivers plus many more are all within a couple of hours of each other. They hold great numbers of cod, and are well worth the effort to fish. The Murray and the Murrumbidgee rivers in particular are my favourite places to fish at this time of year. It has been tough going at times lately, but that’s to be expected. Some days are still better than others, and there will always be days where you don’t catch anything at all. That’s all a part of fishing during the wintertime - it’s generally tough wherever you go. A lot of my focus this winter has been on the Murray River locally in the Albury area, and also the Murrumbidgee around the Wagga area. Flows have been fairly decent for much of winter, and some really nice fish have been caught. This is the first winter in around four years where the flows haven’t been constantly upset by huge rainfall events that make the water really dirty, which makes it more difficult to lure fish. And as stated before, these flows should continue throughout August,

turn it down and not fish while it’s there and looking so good. You can expect it to be slow, but if you fish slow, break structure down and you’re as accurate as possible with your casting, the results will come. Spending time on the water and honing your skills is the key to success. So, get out there – it’s our last chance! Good luck!

A beautiful trout cod from the Murray River locally. FISHING NEWS

Night fishing closures at Lake Mac Anglers planning a trip to Lake Macquarie are reminded that seasonal closures are now in place at the Eraring and Vales Point

Power Station hot water outlet canals. All forms of fishing are prohibited within the closure from 6pm-6am until 31 August, 2024. It has been a disappointing start to the 2024 seasonal closures, with an unacceptable number of fishers apprehended since the closures began in May. Fisheries Officers will continue targeting illegal fishing within these seasonal closures on Lake Macquarie. The closures aim to protect juvenile fish stocks which aggregate in large numbers in and around the warm waters of the outlet canals. Angling in these waters, particularly at night, causes a high rate of mortality among fish that are yet to recruit to the recreational fishery (Lake Macquarie Recreational Fishing Haven). NSW DPI Fisheries Officers are

taking a hard-line approach to deter illegal fishing at the two locations this winter. Fishers are reminded to adhere to the closures and vacate the area between 6pm-6am the following day. Anyone found fishing within the closed times will face hefty fines ranging from $500 for on-the-spot fines, to prosecution of serious offending, which may lead to a court attendance notice being issued and fines of up to $22,000. For more information on the closures, including maps of the exclusion zones, visit www.dpi. nsw.gov.au and search for ‘Lake Macquarie map’. If you see any illegal fishing activity please report it to the Fishers Watch Hotline on 1800 043 536 or online at www.dpi.nsw. gov.au/fishing/compliance. – New South Wales Fisheries AUGUST 2024 67

ACT

Canberra

FMM

Brave the cold to cash in on short bite windows CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

The freezing conditions here in Canberra over the last month have kept a lot of anglers off the water. In previous winters, on my daily drive to work, I’d spot at least two boats

and look for a quick feed of yabbies or an unlucky redfin. Casting large 20-30cm soft plastics in this location can result in a hit. Just be prepared to work hard for the fish because they are sluggish and won’t move too far when chasing down a slow-rolled plastic cast from the bank or from a boat. Lake Ginninderra has been fishing

Lake Ginninderra has been a bit hit-and-miss lately. among a plethora of local lakes that aren’t performing at all. At the time of writing this report, the fishing has been especially productive, with plenty of redfin and the odd golden perch coming to the

net. Most of my success has come from throwing 2-3” wriggler-style plastics in motor oil around the half-submerged reeds just along the point from the boat ramp. I crank the plastic in rapidly before

Low-light conditions are the best times to fish. combing the willow-lined banks along Lady Denman Drive and several landbased anglers throwing large surface lures – but not this year. I completely understand why so many ACT anglers steer clear of the water in winter, especially this year with temperatures dipping well below zero. However, I view July as an opportunity and a challenge because while many fisheries do slow up, a select few waters fish just as well in winter as in spring and summer. One such fishery is Lake Tuggeranong which, at the time of writing, is producing really good numbers of redfin during low-light periods. The bite window is quite short, with only 30-60 minutes to fish between low light and dark. Still, the ferociousness of the redfin during this period is worth braving the icy winds. The message here is to keep at it rather than shy away from our local lakes because there are some wonderful opportunities. LOCAL LAKES The fishing action has slowed up on Lake Burley Griffin, with even the larger redfin seemingly shutting down. The same can be said for the golden perch and Murray cod, with both species moving into the deeper water and ignoring anything put in front of them, from soft plastics to surface lures. That said, there are exceptions and I want to make mention of the fishing just behind Lennox Gardens. This area leads to a point opposite the yacht club, and in the morning the cod move in 68 AUGUST 2024

much the same as Lake Burley Griffin. While some anglers have found pockets around the dam containing feeding fish, most of the better fishing areas across the lake have proven fruitless hunting grounds for anglers in recent weeks. I fish the lake once a week and have found it very tough, with even my go-to creaturestyle plastics failing to elicit a strike from redfin or golden perch. In fact, this is my longest fishless run at Lake G for many years; I could usually count on it to provide something right through July. I am hoping that the natives switch on but it is looking like this fishery could well remain sluggish until the middle of spring. Lake Tuggeranong is a shining light

The occasional big winter red has popped up to hit a plastic.

The big winter cod have yet to really switch on at Googong.

‘killing’ the plastic about 2m out from the bank, and letting the fish pick it up. The spillway is also worth a look, as there are some big golden perch hitting lures in this location. Murray cod are hitting surface lures along the length of the dam wall at both dawn and dusk. The Murrumbidgee River is not fishing particularly well. The strong start to winter has given way to what we now have: a river that has settled (to an extent) after significant flood but a fish populace that’s unwilling to eat a lure. A few good fish have been caught by some anglers fishing the slower, wider pools, but on the whole, this winter has been one of the slower winters in terms of cod fishing that I can remember. SURROUNDS Googong Dam is definitely worth a look if you’re fishing from a boat.

Hobart TAS

FMM

Persistent anglers score good catches in lakes HOBART

Andrew Large

Tasmanian fishers, both salt and fresh, have been pleased to see that most fish species are still in good numbers for this time of year and are biting well. There are plenty of southern bluefin tuna right around the east coast, with great catches being taken at St Helens, Maria Island and further south at Eaglehawk Neck and the Friars on Bruny Island.

Anglers fishing offshore on settled winter days have been getting good bags of sand flathead. The odd tiger flathead has graced bags as well. Fishing with fresh bait on the top of the tide has produced the best results in most areas. Seatrout are now starting to become active in most of our larger estuaries. These fish will continue to liven up as post-spawn trout return to tidal edges to feed and put on condition. The first of the whitebait runs won’t be too far away. For the moment, tailor have been quite large, with some reaching 1.8kg.

Arthurs Lake has been fishing well, and spinning amongst the sticks has been producing the best results.

A Great Lake brown hits the net. This year, Australian salmon have been very patchy, but they are once again in huge numbers and good sizes in and around the Tasman Bridge in the Derwent River and all the way to Betsy Island outside the river mouth. Chrome/silver lures have been the go-to for most anglers, and the Halco Outcast jigs in 40g have been working well lately. Spinning with a jig spin retrieve has been working well, and so too has trolling.

They are still being caught throughout the Derwent estuary and further around the east coast. Any lure that resembles a small baitfish has been working well. If these fish are thick, it pays to use a black wire trace, or to go a few line classes up on your regular tippet if you’re fly fishing, to avoid too many bite-offs. Jack mackerel have been fairly thick at night, mainly under marine lights on jetties. Fishing with small bits of bait (e.g. squid or pilchard pieces),

The fishing down the river has been very slow.

unweighted on a hook, is a very effective way of catching these fish. Spearing greenback flounder has been popular on windless, dark nights, and they’re definitely back on the menu for many of our customers. The fish have been in very good condition. Early darkness, calmer weather and good tides have allowed people to get out and back at a reasonable hour in the evening. Make sure you pack some good possum gloves and a beanie, as the nights have been very cool. Southern calamari continue to be caught along the east coast and throughout the D’Entrecasteaux Channel. The action depends on the water condition; lately the water has been a bit stirred up and brown, making some of the usual hot spots a fraction quiet. Finding clear water is the key to success. School and gummy sharks can be a fun winter option, and these fish The huge redfin have moved into the deeper parts of the dam but they are tailing bait schools and so can be targeted using small jigs fished vertically in amongst the feeding fish. It is possible to land a 50cm specimen at this time of year, and while jigging for reds, there is a chance of hooking a cod or golden perch. These larger natives tend to follow the redfin around when the water is at its coldest. The Murray cod fishing should start to kick off in the coming weeks, with overcast conditions being the best excuse to visit the dam and fish surface from a boat or from the bank in search of a giant greenfish. There are also a few rogue yellas cruising the edges near the main carpark, and sight-casting for these fish with an unweighted plastic is a really exciting way to spend an afternoon at Googong.

should be outside the shark sanctuary in Storm Bay this month. Berley for best results, and ideally use a fresh squid bait. Make sure you check the boundaries of the many shark reserves to avoid a fine. Winter heralds the arrival of sand whiting. These fish have shown up in reasonable numbers around Lewisham, Carlton, and wider Storm Bay. I recommend using a Black Magic whiting rig with strips of squid as a teaser off the hook. Freshwater anglers have had a tough time, with sub-zero temperatures freezing many lakes, and making general fishing conditions unpleasant. That said, persistent winter anglers have done well at Great Lake and throughout the Brad’s chain of lakes. The IFS opened those lakes under a special exemption permit because of the low winter levels in many of our waters, resulting in limited access points for boating. Patrolling the shore of Great Lake with either a fly or spin rod has produced rainbows and browns to 2kg. Craigbourne Dam, close to the township of Richmond and Hobart, is low but has given up browns to 2.6kg and the odd rainbow to 1.9kg. Lake Pedder has seen many settled days due to the easterly air streams we have experienced lately. In recent weeks, anglers have been taking healthy 0.5-1.1kg brown trout, and trolling has been the most popular method. Tasmania is not renowned for its winter fishing, but things seem to be ticking along reasonably well for the moment. The good conditions have been giving anglers a deserved chance to get out on the water, and hopefully we’ll see that continue in the coming weeks. AUGUST 2024 69

VIC

West Coast

FMM

Deepwater fishing in Portland PORTLAND

Nigel Fisher

We have had a strange start to winter here in Portland. We have seen lower winds and swells than usual, and with that our winter tuna run has been

This always attracts many people to the town to see such an amazing sight. One thing we anglers have been lucky with is the deepwater fishing, which has been in very good form. When I say ‘deepwater’, I’m talking about depths anywhere from 30m right

25kg. Big snapper to 70cm are also being caught, with an average size of around 40-50cm. The guys who have good knowledge and fishing skills on the Tassie trumpeter have also had great success this winter. We have had some great days this winter for the big boys to make the trip out to the shelf, and most times they’ve had successful results. When fishing in 300m+ of water, the main targets are big blue-eye exceeding 10kg, pink ling, gemfish and blue grenadier. She should also start seeing some big makos cruising around these deep waters. So, if you have a good-size boat and all the big gear to chase big fish, Portland is the

Some great deep water snapper and shark from a recent session. us at Portland Compleat Angler at 61 Bentinck Street, or contact us on 03 5521 1844 (we are also active on Facebook). Call in and say g’day and we’ll get you onto the fish.

Local guru Lochie with some nice blue-eye. very poor, with little to no real action during this time. I certainly hope that by the time you read this article, the situation will have changed – which it very well can do, if we get some good winter storms and large southwesterly to southeasterly swells so that the ocean can get a really good stir-up. Sometimes, we only need a slight change in currents and temperature to bring it all back to life. In saying this, the whale and dolphin activity has been incredible all around the bay and in the deep water.

out to the continental shelf. In around 30-50m we have seen some very good size flathead around Bridgewater Bay, and some good feeds of flake heading back towards Cape Nelson Lighthouse and Lawrences Rock. The 50-80m depth range can also produce the same varieties, plus some bigger winter snapper, nannygai, morwong and so on, to provide a good feed. The fishing has been on fire in 80-140m of water over the last couple of months. Anglers have been catching great-size gummies and schoolies over

Sharkmen Fishing Charters with one of the last bigger tuna. place to be at the moment. • Remember, if you are looking for any information on these areas, or an up-to-date weather report, you can find

The bottom fishing doesn’t get much better than this for the boys that went with Matthew Hunt Fishing Services.

FISHING NEWS

lllegal net fishers in Port Phillip

Two men from Altona Meadows have been convicted and fined nearly $16,000 for illegally netting fish in Port Phillip last year. Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) Director of Education and Enforcement Ian Parks said the men, aged 78 and 43, had pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates Court to several charges including the unauthorised use of commercial fishing equipment, illegally selling fish, and dealing in the proceeds of crime. “The older man, who was fined $5500, is one of eight remaining commercial licence holders in Port Phillip, permitted to catch fish on long lines, but not with nets, which were phased out from the bay in April 2022. The younger man was fined $10,300,” Mr Parks said. The six-month investigation, 70 AUGUST 2024

code named Operation Dybrin, began in June 2023 when Fisheries Officers located a large quantity of mesh net hidden along a remote section of shoreline on the western side of Port Phillip. Following months of surveillance

and probing, officers identified one of the men as a licensed commercial long line fisher in Port Phillip, working with his son. In an effort to remain undetected, the duo had been fishing with up to 844 metres of net under the cover of darkness, often traveling dangerously without navigation lights visible on their boat. Having launched their vessel, they would collect hidden nets from the shoreline, catch a variety of fish, then stash the nets back ashore before returning to the boat ramp with their haul, which included snapper, gummy shark, and bream. The men were apprehended in November 2023 as Fisheries Officers executed a search warrant at their residence to secure evidence and seize the commercial fishing vessel used to commit the offences.

Officers also determined that the illegally caught fish had been sold at least five times to a seafood wholesaler in Melbourne. If you see or suspect illegal fishing in Victoria, call the VFA 24/7 reporting service, 13FISH (133474), to speak directly to a Fisheries Officer. You can remain anonymous. – VFA

West Coast

FMM

VIC

Offshore takes centre stage in calm conditions WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

Things have remained very similar since my last report. The winter chill has definitely kicked in, but the wind and rain have not. As a result, most of the action has been offshore, with the calm conditions giving anglers plenty of opportunities to head out. As mentioned the offshore fishing has been the stand out performer recently. Despite the tuna pretty much disappearing locally, anglers have been cleaning up on the bottom

species. Anglers fishing in 50-80 have been catching plenty of gummy sharks, snapper and nannygai amongst other things. Heading further out blue eye, pink ling, knife jaw and even a few Tassie trumpeter have been the main target species. Dropping jigs in the deepwater is definitely becoming a popular way of catching some of these have species, whether it being your number one technique or something to do while waiting for baits to go off. Other angling options have been rather poor, due to the lack of flow in the rivers. However, by the time you read this report, surely some decent rains will

A nice upper Merri brown caught in clear water.

Calm conditions have been ideal for offshore jigging.

have affected the conditions and fishing in the local rivers. In the meantime, the estuaries have been cold and clear, making fishing tough. This was evidenced in a recent Vic BREAM tournament held on the Hopkins River, where only one team out of the 47 teams fishing was able to bring in a full bag of 10 bream over the weekend. Mulloway have continued to be conspicuous by their absence; even the usually reliable Glenelg River has been producing very few fish. Yambuk Lake, which can be a good bream option at this time of the year, has been affected by a pretty severe blue-green algae outbreak due to the lack of flow. Trout fishing is still allowed in local

rivers during the winter months and it’s always a popular option at this time of year. Some fish are being encountered but the most aren’t in the usual good condition. It seems we humans aren’t the only ones struggling to get a feed in the cool, clear water. This month, regardless of whether the water is clear or (hopefully) dirty, always fish your lure right the end of the retrieve and watch behind your lure. With a keen eye, you can spot a trout following or notice a slight bow wave coming behind the lure. Then you can hang and work the lure in the fish’s face to elicit a strike, rather than wiping the lure out quickly for the next cast only to see a big swirl as the unseen trout takes off.

The challenge of tempting finicky fish COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Calm seas and reasonable weather have seen many boaters head offshore in search of a feed or three of fish. Barrel southern bluefin tuna over 120kg have been targeted over on the South Australian border around Port Mac, so it won’t be long until these leviathans make their way eastwards into our local waters. They have been smashing schools of small redbait so any lure, popper or skirt that imitates this bait has been working quite well at times. Our local waters have school tuna averaging around 6-10kg but they are very hard to entice into biting. So many boaters are bottom bouncing for school and gummy shark to 20kg in depths from 30-50m. Whole fillets of freshly caught salmon, slimy mackerel, wrasse and mullet are attracting bites. So too are whole small squid.

All baits have been presented on ganged hooks or a sliding snell rig suspended just off the bottom. Bycatch has been wrasse, nannygai and pinkie snapper to 35cm along with the odd leatherjacket to almost a kilo. Mid-June saw the Hopkins River

mouth opened which should fire up the fish in the system but also probably scatter them once they have ventured down to the mouth for a taste of oxygenated and fresh salt water. Prior to that most bream and estuary perch were found right

This Curdies bream was taken in the middle reaches of the river right off the bottom in 4m of water.

upstream at Tooram Stones, which is the upper limit of the estuary. The Curdies remains quiet as its mouth remains closed. The much cooler weather we have recently experienced hopefully has killed off the algal bloom that formed (once again) in the lake and river. We have finally received some rain but still not enough to make a real difference. Hopefully, that will change for the better in the near future. The fish have been found way upstream here, not unlike the Hopkins prior to the mouth opening. Some huge perch were taken on large soft plastics and jointed lures fishing just below the surface. The uglier and more colourful the better when it comes to grabbing the fish’s attention. Local bait has been hard to gather, but you can catch fish on frozen river whitebait, with line noosed around the tail. If the bait can be fished unweighted, all the better, as the fish are finicky. Rather than swallowing, they are mouthing and then trying to run with the bait, so back off the drag and keep the weight off. AUGUST 2024 71

VIC

Central

FMM

Having a ball on quality whiting and calamari GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com

Break out the beanie and thermos – we’re having a brisk winter! There’s been a bit of rain and the Barwon in Geelong is looking like coffee. The best bet this time of year for the Barwon in Geelong is to soak some white bread or corn kernels for carp.

off Leopold in 4-5m of water, with a few lucky anglers bagging out in a short time. As much as I hate buying pipis, they are doing well, along with squid and mussels as bait. Fish sizes have varied a bit, with lots of small fish biting in the morning while the arvo and closer to dusk has seen the larger fish around 35-40cm come on the bite. This appears to be the common trait with anglers fishing

Ray nabbed this quality school shark while fishing on Apollo Bay Fishing Charters.

Josh fished with Matt out off Barwon Head where he caught this ripper gummy.

been consistently producing quality whiting and calamari, with angers enjoying good numbers, but from all reports, you need to move a few times to get a bag limit. The Geelong waterfront has been

A few anglers have landed carp to 3kg during the day, so it’s worth getting bankside. Wurdiboluc reservoir near Moriac has been producing quality redfin over 40cm for anglers casting metal spoons and using a slow retrieve to keep the lure near the bottom. Whiting have been going nuts

bagged out on solid snapper to 3kg and quality gummy sharks. Matt sent me a pic of Josh Trevares with a cracking gummy the lads caught out off Barwon Heads recently. Speaking of Surf Coast beaches, solid salmon either side of 50cm have been caught at Bancoora, Jan Juc and Fairhaven to Eastern View. Moggs Creek Beach is along this stretch and as barren as it is, it always seems to

Matt McDonnell recently took the kids out off Clifton Springs, catching whiting a few times. Now they’re all hooked!

Mick Lane from Corio Bay Anglers helped install a few fishing line bins around Corio Bay. These are not for general rubbish – fishing line only please. 72 AUGUST 2024

Point Wilson and Avalon as well; the afternoon bite has been the best. Matt McDonnell has been doing well off Clifton Springs with his son Toby and his mates Xavier and Teddy. The lads have been ripping into the whiting and calamari and having an absolute ball. Most of the whiting have been 33-40cm, and there have been some solid calamari amongst them so it pays to have a jig over the side when whiting fishing. Matt has caught most of his fish around the 5m mark off Leopold, but they have been spread out along that stretch from Point Henry to Portarlington. Find yourself a sandy patch with a bit of weed about and you’re in with a chance. If you land on weed, the mini leatherjackets and wrasse with strip your bait in seconds. St Leonards to Queenscliff has

fishing well for salmon over the last month with solid fish to 55cm being caught on soft plastics and metal lures. They have been smashing baitfish and cruising deep, so even if there is no surface activity, it is worth a cast. When they’re on the surface, try stickbaits for some high-end fun and shouting. If there is no activity, a popper ripped across the top can bring the school up, or you can fish slow and deep with a plastic. We can expect salmon numbers to hold steady over August, and don’t forget to hit the Surf Coast beaches! There have been a few reports of X XL tuna around the 100kg mark out off Barwon Heads. The bigger fish have taken trolled skirts around the 40-50m mark. Matt McDonnell has also been offshore from Barwon Heads and

Father-son team Matt and Toby McDonnell with a Clifton Springs whiting. fish well for salmon this time of year. Bait fishers have been doing well on raw chicken and pilchard pieces, while lure casters have caught a few walking the beach and flicking 40g metal lures into likely-looking gutters.

Central

FMM Salmon have a strong, fishy flavour that does not appeal to everyone, but when smoked or pan-fried in butter, they go OK. The Barwon estuary has seen some solid silver trevally caught by anglers fishing soft plastics in the deeper sections. The incoming tide has been best, and motor oil singletailed grubs or pilchard fillets will give you a good chance at a bent rod. August can see some ripping salmon enter the lower reaches of the

estuary. In the last few years, some of these salmon have been up around 60cm, offering a great opportunity for fly and lure fishos to nab a solid sportfish. Again, incoming tide is best. Commodore of Lorne Aquatic and Angling Club, Keith Millar, said the fishing has been excellent when the weather has allowed. There are goodsized flathead biting offshore with plenty of great pan-sized snapper about. Keith notes that there haven’t been many larger snapper caught for

There are some big tuna off Apollo Bay with little fishing pressure due to the big seas. Calm weather should see a few boats get out.

a while. King George whiting are still about, but Keith says they tend to go quiet over the colder months. There have been a few big gummy and school sharks being caught and the number of schoolies coming in has been steadily increasing over the last few years. Keith says members have been catching a lot of baby school sharks caught and released so that’s a good sign. Good news for salmon fishos with salmon up to 2.5kg all over the place! The Lorne Pier is continuing its great run with good numbers of salmon, trevally, King George whiting, mullet, snapper, calamari, and the odd gummy shark being landed. Further west, Daniel Kent from Apollo Bay Fishing Charters says there are some whopper tuna out off Apollo Bay with not a lot of fishing pressure. The seas have been nasty, keeping most people inshore, but those that get out have caught the odd tuna up over 100kg. Dan says that those getting out have been working pretty hard for them but have reaped the rewards. Inshore around Apollo Bay, Dan says there have been some big salmon cruising about, which have been great fun! Daniel has been bottom bashing and caught a few school and gummy sharks, pinkie snapper and nannygai for his clients over the last month.

Dan says nannygai and pinkie snapper have been the mainstay of the cooler months off Apollo Bay. Fish hard, die happy! • Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send a report to slaterfish@gmail.com with “FMG” in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997 348. Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish. Pictures are always great.

Manning River Marine

www.tournamentboats.com.au 1/11 Knobel Ct SHAILER PARK QLD 4128

514 Canterbury Rd VERMONT VIC 3133

(02) 6552 2333

0427 326 464

(03) 9874 4624

13 Victoria St TAREE NSW 2430

VIC

Regal Marine

AUGUST 2024 73

VIC

Central

FMM

Thank you! It’s goodbye but not farewell estuaries. The mornings are freezing cold and some of our bread-and-butter species go off the chew. This is because the water temperature is now at its peak low for the year. Still, there are adjustments you can make to allow you to hit the water regularly and catch good volumes of fish. The obvious change is dressing appropriately for the cold. I generally wear a warm jacket, beanie, gloves, face shield, and even thermals if needed.

PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.aua

I started writing for Fishing Monthly back in 2017. It was a magazine I had bought and read for many years, and I was so excited to contribute as a fishing journalist, taking over the reins from well-respected anglers including Brent Hodges and Andy Smith. Eight years on, I’ve contributed around 80 monthly articles and connected with many brilliant journalists and local anglers. Thank you so much to everyone who has regularly read my articles, contributed photos, sent reports, and followed my journey. It’s been great to follow Fishing Monthly’s journey, too, as it transitioned from several state-based papers to a single, glossy national magazine. It’s a move that will see this publication continue to play an important role

Australian salmon love soft plastics. has grown as well. It started as a hobby, beginning with a simple website with how-to guides. Years on, the site now has millions of visitors annually, along

The author with a silver trevally caught from his kayak. in the fishing community for many years ahead. I’ve grown as an angler and a journalist in that time, and FishingMad

with a YouTube channel with 50k subscribers, and a top-rated TV show on Channel 31 and Channel 44. I never would have believed my old hobby

project would become so popular; I sometimes have to pinch myself. I’m extremely humbled and thankful to be in this situation, but I also recognise that I got here because of relentless dedication, hard work, and many sacrifices. I was recently asked to co-host an additional TV show and was happy to accept this exciting opportunity. The downside, I realised, was that my schedule was nearly full already, what with juggling a website, TV shows, a YouTube channel, product testing, events, writing reports, and social media demands. It’s been a difficult decision, but I have handed the Fishing Monthly baton to Jordan Matthews. I’m excited for Jordan, who is very active within our local fishing community, and I’m sure he’ll do an outstanding job. I wish him all the best. WHAT’S BITING On the fishing front, we’re now moving into the most challenging time of year for fishing around Port Phillip Bay and surrounding lakes and

There are decent-size winter squid about. I even have a heated jacket, which is amazing on those mornings under 5°C. Fishing later in the day can also be a helpful strategy. It’s more comfortable, and the water temperature has risen because the sun has been out longer. You can also home in on those species that will still be active. At this time of year I still catch good volumes of King George whiting, squid, flathead, Australian salmon and silver trevally. I’m also really pleased at the volume of pinkie snapper

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Picture-perfect days and super clear water PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

And just like that, we have entered the last month of winter, thank goodness. Overall, the fishing this winter hasn’t been great, but the weather conditions certainly have been. The consistent, fishable days have been nearly perfect – the kind of days we desperately desired over summer – and hopefully this trend will continue. Many people have taken to the water from kayaks and boats, and f from the jetties and the land. One reason for all this activity is that Westernport Bay and Bass Strait around the Eastern Entrance have been incredibly healthy. The water clarity has been exceptional, there have been very few days where the weed was a problem, and no rainwater flooding the river, turning the water brown. There’s also a HUGE amount of baitfish. There are plenty of balls of pilchards offshore, and hordes of slimies and mullet in the bay. It’s a wonder that any predator would take a bait when they have this much bait to envelop themselves in. Those anglers who have taken advantage of the bounty have a nice freezer full of fresh baits. Overall, the salmon fishing hasn’t improved much over the past month; they’re still in small numbers and most fish are no more than 1kg. The usual 3kg ones we see this time of year must have all been caught last summer, as they aren’t anywhere anglers can find them – boaters and beach fishers included. Those anglers being caught. This is a real testament to the work done by the VFA, and the reduction of commercial netting, which is really starting to pay dividends. I have caught more pinkies between 30-50cm this winter than any other year, and the statistics are showing record numbers of these fish in the bay. I do the majority of my fishing at this time of year in shallow waters between 3-6m deep. I focus on sand holes between thick weed and reef for King George whiting, the surrounding areas for squid and pinkies, shallow flats for flathead, and closer to the entrance where there is tidal movement for Australian salmon and silver trevally. I fish primarily with soft plastics on the move, allowing the conditions on the day to come to me, and making adjustments as needed. I find this style of fishing to be productive and fun, and it’s also a good way to stay warm during winter. The estuaries are fishing well, and the silver trevally are thriving in

A quality calamari for the dinner table. who have had the most success have been using baited paternoster rigs or baited sliding rigs. The salmon have tended to shy away from traditional lures this year. Whiting can be a good option this month, although you have to work for them some days. Many anglers have reported having to change their location several times in a trip to get their bag’s worth. There are still plenty of them around the usual places in the bay. Dickies Bay

has been best in the middle of the day, while Rhyll Bank and Cleeland Bight have been firing best during the mornings and the evenings. The whiting have been varying a lot in size, both in length and thickness. The snapper run has changed over the last few years, starting around a month earlier than it used to. This year is different again, as there’s been only a handful in the bay so far, with anglers reporting a mixture of new and resident fish. The

the cold. Silver trevally and Australian salmon are my favourite species to target at this time of year because you can catch them in big numbers, and their fighting qualities make them a lot

of fun to target – especially if you enjoy targeting them with soft plastics and light spinning gear. Offshore, the barrel tuna are quite active, while anglers fishing freshwater

The author with a salmon he caught while pier fishing.

strange thing about this year (probably due to the direction of the wind this winter) is several people have headed offshore looking for flathead and were surprised to find plenty of snapper. It’s something you’d expect to see at the other end of the snapper season, when schools of larger fish leave the bay and smaller pinkies come in. The sizes have been mixed but all new fish, with several areas producing good numbers. These include Kilcunda on the reef, approximately 5km offshore, on the rough bottom off Cape Woolamai, and the rough ground off the racetrack. These offshore schools haven’t ventured into the bay in any numbers yet. It will be a weather or temperature change that will bring them in. This year, local anglers have been focusing more on whiting, gummy shark, flathead and/or calamari to stock their freezers, instead of chasing tuna. Many people got their fix of barrel tuna last year and are less keen to chase them again this year. A single barrel tuna may provide a lot of meals, but chasing these fish is a costly exercise with no guarantees. At the moment, there are plenty of sightings and a few catches, but there’s no real pattern to the tuna’s behaviour. There’s no particular lure that stands out, and no specific times. It’s disheartening when finally get some decent, consistent weather, only to find the fishing is slow. On the upside though, the water clarity is the best it’s been for a while now, and we are on the back end of the cooler water temperatures, which generally sparks a better feeding spree. And anyway, a bad day’s fishing is still better than a good day’s working. are setting their sights on fishing our local lakes for trout, which are very active in cold conditions. There are freshwater crays and isolated redfin at this time of year, too. You won’t catch them in big numbers, but you’re more likely to encounter bigger models. It’s also the time of year when big Murray cod can be caught, especially those metre-plus size fish of a lifetime. Of course, with all freshwater species, keep your eyes on the closed season dates and regulations, which can differ depending on the waterway. Well, that’s me officially signing out. Once again, thank you so much to the wonderful people who followed my articles and provided images, and the team at Fishing Monthly. I hope you have all found my articles helpful. Please continue to follow FishingMad adventures on YouTube and Channel 31. I have so much exciting content on the way, and the production is really going to new heights. Until next time, stay safe and good fishing everyone. AUGUST 2024 75

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Late winter salmon and estuary perch PORT ALBERT

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

August is one of the toughest months of the whole year, and you have to love the humble Aussie salmon. Winter fishing can be a real challenge, and the salmon often save the day. The estuary perch numbers have slowly started to recover, and there’s some positive news from keen surf anglers. AUSSIE SALMON Every year in late winter, I see more anglers embrace the sporting attributes of our salmon that pour into Corner Inlet and the entire Gippsland

plenty of salmon around, and it just takes the right tide to get them firing. That’s usually two hours each side of high tide. Next month there will be heaps of salmon of all sizes at McLouglins entrance or Manns and Port Albert, and they can turn up in deeper channels almost anywhere in between. Even from jetties, you can find salmon running, and even a few trevally or small flatties. 90 MILE BEACH We have had yet another winter where beach anglers have noticed the average run of salmon are a bit bigger than years gone by with plenty of 2kg fish. But mostly the schools are mainly

this year have done some strange things to the perch. I reckon they have gone for a ‘big swim’ somewhere. I have seen it all before; just when I think they are gone for good and I go into major depression, they mysteriously turn up again – sometimes in numbers and sizes that are better than ever before. I hope that’s the case this time, and they’ll reappear soon. For now, a few winter perch are lurking around and I hope they call in all their mates for the spring and summer ahead.

Salmon are suckers for small soft plastics and surface lures.

The best thing about estuary perch is that cold weather doesn’t slow them down. coastline. They provide hours of lure fishing fun when a lot of other species are shut down or have relocated until the warmer months return. The best thing about them is they faithfully turn up in huge numbers every year without fail. And even when they are quietly schooled up and not feeding, you can cast lures into the vast schools and get them all fired up and even ‘hangry’. They will aggressively eat just about any lure or bait you launch their way. This is when I get the fly rod out or cast surface lures in front of them to get that visual fishing fix for hours on end. The fish are so easy to catch that after a while the novelty can wear off, and that’s when I take the hooks off my lures. It’s a whole new level of fun. At times I’ve seen up to 10 big salmon constantly attack a bare, hookless lure, with some fish clinging onto it for ages and even pulling serious drag. Some even launch themselves clear out of the water when hitting the surface lures. It’s so entertaining and sometimes even more fun than struggling to haul hooked fish all the way to the net. Without hooks the fish never get harmed and I find myself laughing out loud while watching them battle frantically over the lure! In recent weeks, there have been 76 AUGUST 2024

fish just under the 1kg mark. Quite a few solid tailor are also in the mix and I suggest you think about using at least 8kg leaders or even stronger because both species are hardly line-shy. Surf rigs using the standard bluebait or half pilchard will work fine, but always try surf poppers if the crabs get out of hand. I reckon the best option is to cast lures if the surf conditions permit, and quite often we get light winds during this month. Use a long spin stick around 9ft long and toss small metal slugs or 3” soft plastics on heavy jigheads. Braided mainline around 10lb will allow a super-long cast. Just use a very short but heavy 14lb leader and ensure the leader knot won’t have to go anywhere near your rod guides while casting. Another handy tip is to superglue your soft plastics to the jighead so they don’t get ripped off or pulled apart. You want your plastics to last for many hook-ups. Some very keen drone anglers are already out on the surf beaches, and they know all about how big gummy sharks can turn up in late August and early September. ESTUARY PERCH I always worry about perch when they disappear from well-known

hotspots. Have they moved on for good? Are anglers like me putting too much pressure on them? Have they been netted? The biggest changes come after floods, when EPs can disappear for months or even years. In the Port Albert and Welshpool area, perch have just about disappeared for some unknown reason (at least to me). I’m thinking those three massive floods around Christmas last year and into

Drone fishing from the beach can return some big gummies at this time of year.

NEW PRODUCTS

Daiwa new releases Daiwa has released an impressive range of new products so far this year, and two of the latest arrivals are the Saltiga Over There lipless minnow and Wilderness X Refresh travel rods. SALTIGA OVER THERE The Saltiga Over There has been specifically created to cater to the rigors of Australian saltwater fishing. A heavy weight lipless minnow that excels at long-distance casting, Saltiga Over There is a standout choice when chasing fish that always seem to be just out of reach. A centre-balanced weight ensures that the Over There produces an enticing shimmy action whilst sinking, allowing anglers to use it at varying depths. The Over There is a multi-use lure, whether it’s burning it across the top to imitate a skipping gar or saury, or worked with long sweeps and pauses to produce an enticing lift-and-fall action. The Over There features a full through-wire construction, while belly swivels ensure a higher landing percentage as the middle hook always has free movement thanks to the swivel. BKK Diablo inline singles are rigged straight out of the box so you can

simply tie it on and get casting. The 80S features a single rear hook, while the 110s and 130S feature a belly and rear hook. The Over There is currently available in three sizes (80mm, 110mm and 130mm) and eight colours.

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The fishing can be hit-and-miss for tricky bream GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

If you are up for a challenge, the Gippy Lakes are for you! Winter is traditionally the toughest time of the whole year, but I have some tips on how and where to beat this trend. Before we get to that, though, let’s review the year so far. THE YEAR SO FAR Most of us know the prime time for hooking big bream here in the Gippy Lakes is from early February until the end of June and boy, this season was one of the best. The first real signs of big bream showing up were a bit late this time due to massive floods late last year. Bigger bream around 40cm started firing at the end of February from around Metung to Paynesville. Eventually, by the middle of March they turned up at the Mitchell Flats, Hollands Landing and Lake Wellington. The greatest stand-out action was the shallow lake sport, where we all found thumping big bream in skinny water on the edges of Lake Victoria. I’ve never caught so many big fish in water just half a metre deep. During those months I caught six bream measuring 47cm, four at 46cm and dozens of fish between 43-45cm. Just incredible and mind-blowing sport, and amazing tallies of between 20-50 fish a session. They were caught on hardbody lures, lightly-weighted soft plastics, and WILDERNESS X REFRESH Now is the perfect time for a mid-year fishing getaway, and the Wilderness X travel rod series from Daiwa is the perfect rod to pack. Wilderness X takes the popular 3-piece models from TD Hyper and TD Black and upgrades them into a single, dedicated travel series, with more models and more joints than ever before. Wilderness X rods come in 4-piece and 5-piece versions to significantly reduce packed length, allowing them to easily fit into backpacks and small suitcases for local or international travel. Daiwa’s V-Joint technology eliminates the old-school flat spots and weak areas associated with multi-piece rods, producing actions akin to those of single piece rods. Packability and portability doesn’t come at the expense of performance and quality, with HVF Nanoplus and X45 blank technology. Stainless-steel Fuji Aluminium Oxide Ring guides deliver classic Daiwa strength and performance. The range features six spin and three baitcast models. Whether you’re flying into Tassie for a sneaky trout session, heading to the NT to chase barra and toga, or taking a long-haul flight to the US or South America to catch tarpon, there’s a model in the Wilderness X range that has your baggage tag and

Nikki Bryant continues to score some of the biggest bream almost anywhere in the Gippy Lakes. even on surface lures like Hurricane bent minnows. When the word eventually got out, it was nothing to see a dozen boats searching skinny lake water and exploring far and wide. It’s fair to say many very experienced bream anglers found a new PB or two. When a few bream comps were held, teams were dumping five-fish bags of 7kg onto the scales each day, and often netting up to 30 bream a session. MONSTER FLATHEAD As for the duskies, the last two years have gone down as the best on record.

big tally of fish of all sizes from 30-44cm, using live baits like crab, shrimp and soft shell. Look out for the show, which should air late this year. I fished lures that day with two mates, Ben and Havo. We scored about 40 bream between us, with Ben being the real star, releasing two 45cm brutes. Bryan and son of a gun Isaac had a cracking day out with about 50 fish caught on blades, including perch and a new PB for Isaac in a 45cm truck bream. About a week later I scored 22 estuary perch and 13 bream to 42cm one trip and then a few days later an amazing 60 bream, mostly 40-45cm, all on blades. That was one of the last days when the bream were around in good numbers. Sadly, they have really thinned out now, and the big fish are almost totally gone. My

Cricket scores of big flatties were caught and released from 65-80cm, along with an ever-increasing tally of even bigger dino crocs going 80-95cm. This year a lot of switched-on anglers used huge lures, 15-22cm long, to tempt the very biggest fish around. It worked brilliantly. I won’t go into more details now but look out for what turns up in summer. No doubt it will be a race for the first fish pushing a metre or more. To celebrate, the Victorian Fisheries Authority are offering a $1000 tackle prize to the first person who catches a metre dusky flathead in the Gippsland Lakes (the comp started in March this year). You need to provide photos of the fish as proof

Merv Hughes and Frank Aloisi recorded a fishing show recently in the Gippy Lakes and caught bream of all sizes.

The Gippy Lakes are full of estuary perch around 36cm, and gun angler Isaac Lazzaro knows how to trick them on blade lures.

name on it. For more information on these and other new releases from Daiwa, visit www. daiwafishing.com.au.

of the capture, so make sure you take a clear photo of your dusky on a brag mat or other measuring device. Go to the VFA website to check out more details. HIT-AND-MISS BREAM ACTION I was lucky to bump into Merv Hughes recently, and he recorded another fishing episode with big Hollands Landing bream on show. Merv and Frank Aloisi scored a

last two 6-hour trips have sadly resulted in few fish, with only three caught on the first trip and five on the second. That’s the hit-and-miss nature of the Straits, and it’s likely the bream won’t be back until early next year. LOOKING AHEAD The rivers will now become the real focus for bream and possibly even large flathead action. Nikki Bryant is proving that right and always finds big bream in the Nicholson River. They are schooled up anywhere from the entrance and about 2km above the highway bridge. Another gun angler in Ruth Beeby has found bream to 46cm in the lower Tambo River. The Mitchell River between The Cut and right up to the town bridges is holding flathead to 70cm, scores of perch all around 35cm and bream anywhere from 20-47cm. These areas will become the main focus for all serious anglers and the trick is to fish any of your lures super slow. The best baits are live shrimp or sandworm. AUGUST 2024 77

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Plenty of fish and no crowds MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The past month has been typical winter weather for Mallacoota and the Gippsland region: cold with plenty of rain. This time of year sees few visitors to the area, with only keen anglers making the trip to Mallacoota to fish the lakes and rivers, and they have been rewarded for their efforts. The winter months allow you to catch plenty of fish and spend the day on the water virtually to yourself. Of course, warm clothing is needed, and don’t forget the wet weather gear. Typically speaking, very few people fish the beaches at this time of year. However, it’s a good time of year to catch salmon, with no shortage of fish moving up and down all the beaches. When it comes to offshore fishing, there is little to report as the cold water temperatures and rougher winter weather have put a halt on things. The fishing will start to fire up as we head

into spring. Winter is the time of year for fishing the lake and upstream into the rivers. Plenty of fish can be caught in the lake without venturing too far, but heading upstream adds another style of fishing to the day in great surroundings. During winter, the fishing revolves

A big black bream in top condition caught on a hardbody lure.

heavily around using your sounder to find the schools of baitfish that move about in open water. Find the biggest concentrations of fish, and you can be sure the bigger fish won’t be far away. These schools drift along with the slow movement of the lake, and with local knowledge you get a feel for how the schools move about, so you can anticipate where the fish will be. Still, just because you find the baitfish doesn’t mean the fishing will be easy. The toughest days are when it’s bright and sunny with no wind; things can get a lot easier when there is a bit of wind riffle on the water. The main thing is to be persistent, as fish that seem to be uncatchable can flick a switch and come on the bite, providing plenty of action. Tailor, trevally and bream are regular catches, along with the odd blackfish. The flathead like to sit underneath, cleaning up the scraps. Some flathead are caught up higher in the water column as they rise up to the bait. The magic water depth is usually around the 12ft mark.

It’s not uncommon to catch blackfish while tossing soft plastics for bream. This one was caught in the Bottom Lake. When fishing the rock walls and structure upstream, the action is not as fast, but it adds a bit of variety to a day on the water.

Despite the rain, fishing continues to shine MARLO/ORBOST

Marlo Ocean Views

No sooner had the school holidays hit than the heavens opened once again. Although this slowed down many people’s appetites to get outdoors, it didn’t deter the anglers too much, and the fishing continues to be good.

A 49cm luderick is a quality fish in anybody’s books.

Do we expect it to slow down? Hopefully not. As long as the rain doesn’t turn into a significant rain event, you expect that the positive reports will continue. The star of the show has been the luderick fishing, and there are some real clunkers in both the Brodribb and Snowy systems. Worm baits have been best, and fishing for them around hard structure (rocks, etc) has been the key. There have been a few “fish that got away” stories to go with the quality catches. It is always a good sign for anglers when the luderick fishing is good in the area. There are a few bream mixed in with the luderick, and there are still plenty of tailor towards the mouth of the Snowy to keep any angler occupied for a few hours, particularly at first and last light.

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be plenty of salmon and tailor to play with and for those interested in targeting them, sharks from the sand as well. So there you have it. It may be a little cooler at the moment, but there are still plenty of fishing options around the area. • Les and Kathy Heyne are the owners of the Marlo Ocean Views Caravan and Camping Park. It has 13 acres of beautiful grassed parkland just

Les Heyne loves his luderick fishing and when the quality of the fish is this good, it’s no wonder. The offshore grounds like Marlo Reef have been quieter, and while the water is cold this will not change too much. There are enough snapper about to keep people interested, and with a bit of persistence a feed of sand flathead is possible. The exciting thing has been the run of tuna and marlin on the shelf. This is about an hour’s run in good conditions from Marlo. Some very good tuna have been caught, and enough marlin as well to get anglers interested. We can expect this to continue in the coming weeks. For our beach anglers, there will

The result of a couple of hours on the water. a short stroll from the beach, with both powered and unpowered sites, and cabins available. There are two undercover BBQ areas, a full kitchen, and an onsite kiosk and LPG refills. For more information, visit marlocamping. com.au or call 03 5154 8268.

Your fishing licence fees at work Upgraded jetty on the Gippsland Lakes

Better fish habitat in the Goulburn

There’s now more space for anglers of all abilities to wet a line from Kalimna Jetty thanks to your fishing licence fees and the Gippsland Ports Committee of Management.

Life is looking better for native fish in the Goulburn River near Mitchelton. Timber, donated from several local projects, has been placed into the river to provide refuge habitat for native fish such as Murray cod, golden perch, Macquarie perch and trout cod.

The jetty has been extended by six metres and now boasts new seating, handrails and an entry ramp. It’s a great spot to chase a bream, flathead, tailor, trevally or pinkie snapper in the Gippsland Lakes, which has been free of commercial net fishing since 2020.

The large native timber, mainly logs and root balls, will provide areas for these species to shelter, feed and breed.

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Freshwater

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Winter’s cool water whoppers are back ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

It’s the dead of winter, and while you might expect most fishos to be tucked up all warm and cosy, there seems to be no shortage of boats on the water. It’s the promise of big cod that persuades this new influx of super-keen anglers to brave the winter chill, and for some fishos, the bite has uncovered some true giants.

While the smaller cod seem to slow down in the dead of winter, the bigger fish often become more active. A change in diet now sees a pelagic-like feeding pattern adopted by large free-swimming fish. Bony bream school en masse in the deeper holes, and the cod actively hunt these baitfish, picking them off at random. It’s nothing to find several big cod working together to carve out a meal. Trolling lures midwater through the bait now

This big Murray cod inhaled the Bassman Scope Bait mid-water in a large bait ball. Bolt cutters are a great tool for removing deep-down takes like this one.

Anglers braving the winter chills have been treated to some truly giant cod, like this one caught by Clinton Hann on a Bassman Scope Bait.

becomes a great option that often produces good fish. Casting is also very effective, either blind or on the scope, and this past month we have landed some true giants fishing amongst the clouds of bait.

Perch are also amongst the carnage and they’re an ever-present catch on lures, especially on smaller vibes and soft plastics. Around the traps, the Wakool River at Kyalite has been

Phases of the moon August 2024

The best moon phase for fishing typically revolves around the new and full moon phases. During the new moon (when the moon is not visible in the sky), and the full moon (when it’s fully illuminated), the gravitational pull of the moon is at its strongest, resulting in higher tides. This increase in tidal movement often triggers feeding behaviour in fish, making them more active and easier to catch. Additionally, during the new moon phase there is less moonlight, which can make it harder for fish to detect anglers, providing a stealthy advantage. Use this calendar as a guide to help choose the best days of the month to increase your chances of a catch.

SUNDAY

Brought to you by BEST FISHING DAYS BASED ON LUNAR PHASES

MONDAY

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

August 2024 1

FRIDAY

SATURDAY

B A A 8

0 0 0 Z Y X W NEW MOON

V U T S R Q P 18

FIRST QUARTER

O N @ @ M L J 25

FULL MOON

H G E D C B A LAST QUARTER

• This calendar is brought to you by Crackerjack Lures Australia. Whether you’re chasing bass in freshwater or targeting snapper in the open ocean, trust Crackerjack Lures Australia to elevate your fishing experience to new heights. Crackerjack Lures support and encourage sustainable fishing practices to ensure more fish for the next generation of young Aussie anglers. For more information visit www.crackerjackluresaustralia.com. 80 AUGUST 2024

KEY: BEST GOOD FAIR POOR

Freshwater

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Don’t hesitate, just embrace the challenge! BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

Going fishing during the coldest months of the year is never easy, and good preparation is important. If you are planning an extended trip, or just a day trip, you need to get yourself organised. It pays to keep a close eye on the weather forecast so you can make educated decisions on when best to go fishing. Ensure you are prepared with suitable clothing and suitable food for the cold conditions. At this time of the year it’s also is a good idea to keep an eye on river flows and river levels. It’s no good going to a destination to find out that you can’t get a boat in because of low river levels, or the river is high and dirty due to rainfall. LAKE EPPALOCK Water levels in Lake Eppalock are at 90% of capacity, which is slightly lower than last month. The region has received some rain over the last couple of months, but it’s been below average. The producing some solid golden perch on bait the biggest up over the 50cm mark. The best baits have been scrub worms and shrimp, if you can get a few. The cod have gone quiet in this area with no reported captures of late. The Murray River at Swan Hill has seen the bite slow, with just a few smaller cod and golden perch on bait. It’s a similar story at Robinvale down through Wemen to Nangiloc. Some Bigger cod and perch begin to show on the Murray from Red Cliffs downstream through Mildura, Curlwaa and Wentworth. Most of these fish are being caught on trolled lures wide of the bank or in the deeper holes where they are feeding on the bait. A few cod

Kelvin Miles caught this Murray cod casting a hardbody lure just before sundown. catchments are becoming wet but still need significant rainfall to become saturated enough to produce good run off into our river systems. In the to 80cm are also biting on bait in these areas, with chicken and or grubs being best. A flush of dirty water coming from the Darling has seen the bite drop off downstream around locks 8 and 9, with no reports coming in. How long these conditions will prevail is anyone’s guess, and while it has shut down the fishing, it’s something the lower Darling needed badly. This water will make its way slowly down the Murray into South Australia and beyond, so I would expect the fishing to slow in that state as it moves through each lock. With the promise of spring just around the corner, I look forward to the warmer weather and great angling opportunities it provides.

Kelsie Gull caught this solid Murray cod on the cast using a number 1 StumpJumper.

short term we are more likely only going to see small fluctuations in the water levels. Not many anglers have been fishing at Eppalock lately. Those who have fished the lake have been targeting the redfin population, but finding a good concentrations of redfin has not been easy. The best concentrations of fish continue to be in deep water, with most fish coming from the 7-10m depth range. Good bait options for the redfin have been worms and small yabbies, and the best lures have been ice jigs, soft vibes and soft plastics. Trolling hardbody lures for the redfin hasn’t been turning up many fish. Slow rolling soft plastics up and down the standing timber is your best option if you are chasing golden perch with the current conditions. Trolling large hardbody lures, casting large lipless crankbaits, or fishing swimbaits during low periods of light are good lure options when targeting Murray cod. CAMPASPE RIVER The river flows coming down the Campaspe River have been low, so the water clarity is currently pretty good at most locations. However, the water is very cold so the fishing has been slow. Experienced anglers have been fishing all day with only a bump or two, and not a single significant strike from an aggressive fish. Still, if that happens to you, don’t let it stop you planning your next trip. Persistence is important, and if you don’t have success just keep trying and you might be pleasantly surprised. When fishing the Campaspe River at this time of the year, I recommend focusing on in the

deeper sections of river. These sections are often where you will find the best concentrations of baitfish and predators. Slow your fishing down, and spend a good amount of time at key structures. It’s also important to retrieve your lures slowly. Many anglers make the mistake of retrieving their lures too fast at this time of year. CAIRN CURR AN Cairn Curran is currently at 70% of capacity, with a small drop in water levels over the last month, and not many anglers have been fishing. There has been a slight improvement in the water clarity but it’s still pretty poor. Bait fishing around the standing timber has been the most productive option, with a few redfin and golden perch being landed. Small numbers of redfin have also been caught on soft plastics and ice jigs. I haven’t received any reports of Murray cod being caught at Cairn Curran recently, probably because most cod anglers have been fishing elsewhere. LODDON RIVER Water flows coming down the Loddon River have been low. The water clarity has improved slightly in the deeper sections of the Loddon River at Bridgewater and Serpentine, but it’s still dirty in the section between Newbridge and Laanecoorie. If you are planning a trip to the Loddon River, your best option is fishing above the weir at Serpentine and above the weir at Bridgewater. Not only are these deeper sections the clearest, but they’re currently holding the best concentrations of bait. Again, I cannot stress enough how important retrieve speeds are in winter. Whether you are trolling or casting lures, fishing very slow is critical. I have had good results in winter fishing larger Twin Spin or DTs model spinnerbaits at this time of year, and I prefer purple or black blades. When fishing with lipless crankbaits, I tend to use larger profile models (80mm or bigger) in winter. Fishing with large soft plastics can also be a good option when targeting large Murray cod, and the best colours are natural colours such as white, black and purple and redfin patterns. I have also gotten good results on chrome lures in winter. I also prefer to use lures with little or no rattle during the brightest times of the day. A lure with a rattle can become a good option during periods of low light. AUGUST 2024 81

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It’s worth heading out for a fish in August WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

August can offer some surprisingly good fishing in the Wangaratta area. Growing up, I used to write August off as “not worth fishing”. Now, in my late 40s, I have mastered the art of patience, which is vital to success when fishing in August.

YELLOWBELLY I often catch a yellowbelly or two during August. Usually, I will fish the Ovens River with two fishing rods. One baited with cheese and the other baited with worms. The cheese rod is my dedicated Murray cod rod. The worm rod is my “yellowbelly and everything else” rod. Worms will catch cod too, but usually not the bigger ones that

August is the last month to catch a feed of crayfish before the Murray crayfishing season closes. was very cold, but the scenery was stunning with all of the golden wattle out in flower, and we managed to catch a feed or two of nice redfin. We will definitely be up there again this year, trying to replicate last

year’s success. Occasionally, I might catch a small redfin or two on worms while fishing from the bank at Lake William Hovell in August. I have never caught any bigger specimens doing this in

Yellowbelly can be caught in the Wangaratta area in August, although not usually in great numbers. COVID restrictions also helped improve my winter fishing. The restrictions forced me to stay within 5km of home, pushing me out of my comfort zone and teaching me how to fish my local area better during the cold months. So, what can we expect this August? MURR AY COD I usually catch a few Murray cod each year in August, particularly towards the end of the month. Angling with bait is usually my preferred method, with cheese being my preferred bait. In drier winters, when the rivers have been lower, I have also had some late-season success casting lures into the Ovens River for Murray cod. The reason that I say “late-season” is because the Murray cod season closes at midnight on 31 August each year and does not open back up until 1 December. If bait fishing, the key ingredient to success is patience. Don’t just throw a line out and expect to catch a Murray cod. While this can sometimes happen, August is usually a game of patience, which is often rewarded. Cheese is my favourite bait, but more traditional baits of yabbies, bardi grubs, and worms will all work. If lure fishing, any of your favourite cod lures will be worth trying. The good old tried and proven StumpJumper is as good a lure as any. 82 AUGUST 2024

cheese and larger baits might attract. Each year a yellowbelly or two will turn up in August, but I would not travel to Wangaratta on a dedicated yellowbelly fishing trip. Live shrimp are the best yellowbelly bait there is, although they’re usually hard to find in the winter months. REDFIN The redfin fishing is usually quite slow in August, although my dad and I had some great winter redfin fishing success at Lake Buffalo last winter. It

Lake Buffalo produced some nice redfin last August.

This carp and many others were caught on worms in Lake Moodemere just before this fishing report was written.

winter, and I never catch very many, but I do pick up the odd one. TROUT Trout season is closed throughout August in Victoria. The lakes remain open though, and Lake William Hovell is the pick of the crop in the Wangaratta area. In August, the water is very cold and the trout are very active in Lake William Hovell. Some of the larger brown trout will have swum down to the lake from upstream in the King River, having just finished spawning. They will be looking to feed and gain some condition out of the current. If you are fishing Lake William Hovell for trout in August, try using winged lures such as Tassie Devils. My favourite colour is pink. Tassie Devils and blades are great options if you are casting lures from the bank, as they are both quite heavy and

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Frosty, foggy mornings chasing lake trout The Goulburn River has been running high, and the fishing has been very tough. There have been a couple of reports of carp being caught in Shepparton up shallow on the freshly flooded banks. Worms and corn have been the best baits for those chasing carp. Cray fishing in the flowing water has been a little difficult lately, and I haven’t received many reports. Before the river rise, the craying was amazing, and once the levels settle, we would expect this to be the same. Make sure you keep an eye on the levels and get back on the water as soon as they do settle. Up towards Murchison, I have received several reports of yellowbelly being caught on scrub worms. A couple of cod have even been reported, with Jackal TN60s being the lure of choice. BROKEN RIVER Plenty of local school kids were fishing on the banks of the Broken during the holidays, with a handful of fish reported by these young fellas. Some catches included cod on chicken

near the footbridge to Kialla lakes, yellowbelly on small spinnerbaits closer to Archer Street, and a heap of carp all along Broken River Drive. It’s been great to see, especially with the Goulburn running hard. Up towards the weirs, a few crayfish have been caught on chicken while anglers have been targeting cod. Plenty of carp have been caught around the edges on night crawlers. SHEPPARTON LAKE The lake is now stocked full of trout, and lately, the weather has been perfect to target them. The frosty, foggy mornings are perfect for the trout, with a heap being caught at the time of writing this report. Floating PowerBaits and worms near the grass hill has been working well lately for trout, with many people targeting this area. Those using lures have been casting small soft plastics around both boat ramps, and also the stretch between the grass hill and the skate park. Trolling from a kayak with Tassie Devils has also been a great way to target the trout, with the rowing lanes being the best spots to chase a trout on the troll.

cast long distances. If you are fishing from a boat, try trolling a small minnow lure. During the day when the sun is high in the sky, the trout will often move down a bit deeper to feel safe. During this time, try small minnows that dive down deep. Another great option is the dualdepth Tassie Devil. Try trolling it

where it is deeper. OTHER SPECIES There will be carp biting in August. Broken Creek and Lake Moodemere will be the best spots to go carp fishing. Lake Moodemere has been fishing exceptionally well for carp lately. The main attraction to the region during August will be the Murray

SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

BOTANICAL GARDENS DAM The Botanical Gardens Dam in Kialla was a great location to take the kids during the school holidays, with the banks easy to access for kids and adults. I have only ever heard of carp being caught from the dam, but don’t let that put you off because you can catch 4-5 fish in a session fishing the edges. Unweighted baits in the shallows are a great way to target these carp, with worms and corn working well. Those who want to use lures can find plenty of active fish on the edge using small jerkbaits and small Bent Minnows. The key is to go super shallow, or sight cast the carp followed by super slow and subtle movements of your lure. Don’t be scared to pause the lure for 3-5 seconds between movements, as the carp will cruise and eat the lure on the pause. WARANGA BASIN The Basin is still producing good numbers of redfin, with some promising reports coming in lately. Like previous months, the soft plastics bite has been great, with some nice fish being caught slow rolling 2-3” soft plastics from both the bank and in a boat. If you’re fishing from the bank, it’s best to keep your rod tip higher to

keep your soft plastic from dragging along the bottom of the entire retrieve. Small spinners and jerkbaits have also worked on the edges off the bank, with redfin being caught around bigger rocks and submerged trees. Trolling DT14s in around 12-15ft of water has been a great way to target some bigger redfin, with fish up to 35cm reported using these lures. Smaller profiled lures, such as the 10ft Old Mate and Codgers, have been accounting for plenty of fish. The average size has been around 20-28cm, with the odd 30cm+ redfin being caught on the smaller lures. ARCADIA FISH-OUT POND The pond at the Arcadia Hatchery had recently been stocked with trout for the busy school holiday period. These trout are still on the bite, with PowerBaits and worms working well around the edges, and small spinners working well out deep. A couple of cod have been caught over the past month, with spinnerbaits around the trees working well. Scrub worms were the best baits earlier in the year, with yellowbelly loving a big, juicy scrub worm. You don’t need to cast super far at the pond, so focus on the structure and about 6ft from the banks.

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This small Murray cod was caught on cheese in Wangaratta on 14 August last year. on its deep-running setting. For the hard-core trout angler, downriggers will work well, but only in the main body of water,

crayfish. Cray season is open all of August and closes at midnight on 31 August. August can be a great time to get that last-minute crayfishing fix in. AUGUST 2024 83

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The winter bite has continued around Ballarat BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Just when we thought the winter fishing might slow down, the action has ramped up, with many waters fishing exceptionally well. The weather around Ballarat has been generally milder than in other years. We are currently in the El Niño weather pattern, which produces drier than normal conditions, and most of our fisheries’ water levels are very low. Fingers crossed, we’ll receive a very wet end to winter, and heavier than normal spring rains to top our fisheries up. In the meantime, conditions are perfect for anglers to have a look at our lakes and reservoirs, and see what the

Mick Fanning has been getting amongst the redfin at Moorabool Reservoir using Ambush plastics in the Rhubarb colour. Image courtesy of Mick Fanning.

The author has been catching some excellent-sized rainbow trout at Greenhill Lake using orange, olive and pink-coloured Woolly Buggers. banks and shorelines look like before they’re covered by rising water. Take note of all the deep gutters, nooks, crannies, structure like rocks, tree stumps and drop-offs where fish might come out of the deeper water to feed in the shallows. Baitfish and other prey can also use these areas to hide or take shelter. By taking a mental note in your memory bank, you can target these areas when water levels are higher, and increase your catch rate. Last month, I mentioned Lake Wendouree was on fire, but now it has finally slowed down. Anglers are still catching some nice brown trout, mainly on hardbodies, Bent Minnows and soft plastics. Mornings and evenings are the best times to fish, but you need to wear warm clothes. Wendouree will bounce back after the fish finish their spawning focus in the coming weeks. Moorabool Reservoir has been the standout water over the past month for both trout and redfin, with anglers catching them on flies, lures and soft plastics. 84 AUGUST 2024

Mick Fanning and his fishing mate Donnie Rogers have been getting in amongst the redfin in good numbers and sizes. They’ve been catching a lot over 40cm, including some pushing 50cm. The boys have been catching their redfin casting soft plastics, with Ambush plastics in the rhubarb colour being the flavour of the month. Mick and Donnie have been focusing on the deeper areas of Moorabool. Those anglers targeting trout at Moorabool have been catching some absolute rippers on flies and lures when the weather conditions have been right. We’ve had some very cold nights this winter but beautiful blue-sky days with little wind, which doesn’t tick the box for anglers. Blake Herrick , who fishes Moorabool weekly, has been getting amongst some nice-sized browns up to 4lb on flies. Orange Woolly Buggers and olive Magoos have been the best fly patterns. Blake said his most successful days were when there was some wind and clouds. I’ve fly fished Moorabool several

times over the past month, catching some rippers. On one trip, I started off fishing in an area where I’d had good results in the past. I fly fished along a shoreline and had a follow, but unfortunately the trout didn’t eat the fly. I persisted for an hour before moving to another shoreline. There was a fairly good breeze blowing along it, and I started to work my team of flies, consisting of an orange Woolly Bugger and olive Magoo, with a medium to fast roly-poly consistent retrieve. When using the roly-poly retrieve, you can cover plenty of water. Before long, I saw a very big fish following my flies, and it appeared as if it wanted to eat them but unfortunately, it didn’t. This got my heart going a bit, and I continued working along the shoreline when my flies got hammered by a big brown trout that launched out of the water. Now my heart was really racing, but I took my time and played the fish out, eventually landing a magnificent buck brown trout. It measures 66cm, estimated to weigh 6-7lb, and after a few happy snaps the big guy

swam away. On another trip to Moorabool, I was greeted with ideal weather conditions -- a good, steady, northerly breeze and intermittent showers of rain and full cloud. Frustratingly, there were quite a few opportunities when trout ate my flies and the hooks pulled out, or they just followed them. I persisted anyway. At least they were looking at the flies, and I hoped that eventually one might eat one. I decided to change the colour of my Woolly Buggers, switching to a pink one on the dropper and a black orange bead-headed Woolly Bugger on the point. It didn’t take long before I had a grab when lifting my flies out of the water, but unfortunately, they didn’t stick. I put the flies back in the same spot, and a brown trout of around 4lb ate the black one straight away. I continued fishing along the shoreline with a stiff breeze at my back when the flies got eaten once again. This time, another nice brown of 52cm ate the black fly. The weather played a big part that day, with clouds, wind and rain. Not ideal for some people, but for anglers like me it was perfect, and the results speak for themselves. I expect that Moorabool will fish well for the remainder of the year, but it desperately needs some water in it moving forward. Tullaroop Reservoir is crystal clear, but around the shorelines it’s very barren, with no weed etc. I suspect this is due to the water being so high and discoloured for so long. With the water being so barren, there is no reason for trout to come in around the edges, as there is no food for them there. However, this will change when the weather warms up and a few insects start to hatch. Hopefully the water level drops a bit to expose the weed beds, which will be holding food and attracting predators.

The author caught this 66cm brown trout fly fishing at Moorabool Reservoir.

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Rainbow trout are the catch of the day CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

Unlike last year, when above-average rainfall kept all our rivers flowing and the water levels in our lakes and impoundments sitting close to full, this year is best described as a green drought. We got just enough rainfall to keep the grass green, but the underlying soil is as dry as it comes. River flows have slowed to a trickle, and the water level in our lakes is dropping. As we are in the midst of winter, water loss has slowed right down. However, once we approach summer and possibly hot weather (the last three years, our summer in the southwest has been mild at best), we could be heading for trouble if decent rains fail to eventuate. Whilst writing this article we finally had a decent overnight downfall that saw over an inch (25mm) fall across much of Western Victoria. This will be great for the grain farmers looking to sow winter crops, but our waterways will require many more reasonable

rain events like this one before the end of the year. Despite this, Lake Elingamite’s level remains relatively high, and the main catch of the day sees plenty of rainbow trout taken in two release sizes with most methods working well on a given day. Casting and trolling lures and

Ballarat Fly Fishers Club members Doug Kimberley and Bill Reddick have had a couple of looks at Tullaroop over the past month, with Doug landing a very wellconditioned brown trout that was feeding on smelt. Doug said you need to be prepared to cover plenty of shoreline, as opportunities have been limited, but eventually you will see one. Steve Angee and his son Nathan had what Steve described as the most unbelievable 3-hour fishing session on Tullaroop in his over 40 years of fishing. The day started as a very cool morning with ice all over Nathan’s boat as they launched

from the Gulloways Bay ramp area. The boys searched around, looking for schools of redfin with Nathan’s fish finder and Live Scope, which proved to be the winner. Steve said the modern technology of the Live Scope, and knowing how to use it, provides a massive advantage. Using Live Scope, Nathan was able to home in on the schools of redfin, which weren’t showing up on the sounder. When the fish moved, the boys followed them around for nearly three hours until they stopped biting. During that time, Steve and Nathan caught around 50-60 redfin in varying sizes. One patch of fish was particularly good, with fish consistently over

A trio of rainbows taken on the troll on Lake Elingamite in 3.5m depth just off the weed line. Two of them were released.

Steve Angee with a nice-sized Tullaroop redfin caught on a soft plastic. Image courtesy of Nathan Angee.

plastics, as well as waving the fly wand about, have all caught fish. A few good redfin to 1.1kg have also been taken employing the same methods. One species that has been quiet is brown trout. I looked up the stocking of Lake Elingamite for the last two years on the Fisheries Victoria website, and

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more browns were stocked (23g and 33g fingerlings) than rainbows. The total was 4000 browns compared to 3000 rainbows. Strange. On a slightly different note, two stockings of Australian bass have taken place here for the first time ever in the last two years. The first saw 5000 fry released, then almost a year later, 10,000 were let go. No doubt many will be predated upon in the meantime, but give it two to three years and anglers will soon tell us whether or not it has been a success. Lake Purrumbete has been quiet, and the water level has dropped, making launching large boats difficult at the ramp. Still, plenty of school redfin are being taken at depth using bait suspended off the bottom or by jigging soft plastics, ice jigs or blades. Bullen Merri has seen plenty of tiger trout taken on lures and soft plastics by simply working the shoreline drop-offs around the northeastern fringes of the lake. Another huge bass has also been caught here recently. It must be a grand daddy fish as they haven’t been stocked here for many years until 2022/2023, when two releases of fry entered the lake.

Blake Herrick, a regular flyfisher at Moorabool Reservoir, landed this golden-colored 4lb brown trout on an orange Woolly Bugger. Image courtesy of Blake Herrick. 40cm. Steve said it was unreal. “At one point, I reckon we had six or eight 40cm+ redfin flapping around on the deck,” he said. “The redfin were eating whatever we threw at them, including vibes, bobbers and plastics.” The boys kept about 20 fish to eat and the rest were thrown back. Greenhill Lake at Ararat continues to fish well, with excellentsized rainbow trout around the 3-4lb mark being caught on flies, lures, plastics and PowerBait from the shore and boats. I have had several trips up to Greenhill over the past month. It has fished very well for me, averaging four rainbows every trip. I have been

fly fishing with Woolly Bugger fly patterns in the orange, pink and olive colours, with pink and olive being the standout performers. I have also been using intermediate and sinking fly lines fishing along the weedy shorelines, which have proved to be the best for me. It’s not easy fishing up there though; I have been putting an average of eight hours on the water each session to catch my fish. There have been quite a few other anglers out on Greenhill lately, getting amongst the trout and redfin. Most of the fish have been caught by anglers trolling lures and casting hardbodied lures and soft plastics. AUGUST 2024 85

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Night sessions turn up some quality Murray cod EILDON

Daniel Piazza

Lake Eildon keeps delivering giant Murray cod catches to dedicated anglers, with most fish coming off the spotlight scope at night. The water temperature took longer than expected to drop to 10°C, which delayed the trout run up the rivers. However, Mother Nature

Tom with a healthy Murray cod. played the game and the big river has been firing this year. Strong water flows mean strong foundations for the circle of life in Lake Eildon. Recently, the big river has been producing more catches of trout cod and redfin as well.

Cod have been most productive early in the morning and at last light. On foggy mornings, the surface bite is the way to go; when the sun is lower in the sky you can find the banks with long shadows most of the day. Be prepared to change lures from surface to sub-surface until you get an inquiry. A white soft plastic around 25cm works well for large Eildon cod. Don’t be fooled by all the mainstream lures and swimbaits – just because they get lots of flashy marketing doesn’t mean they’re the best choice in all waterways. And remember, the true giant Murray cod are rarely publicized. I’ve heard a few stories from long-time Delatite River locals near Mansfield of some monster cod around the Ford Inlet, and I can confirm there were a lot of cod active on three rock walls when I recently went scoping there. I fished the walls in a 30km headwind and it wasn’t pleasant, but I found the cod. I fished the area for an hour with two reactions but no take. Oh well, that’s why it’s called ‘fishing’ and not ‘catching’! One Eildon local, Dylan, has been doing some hours on the lake this past month, and he sent me a photo of a 106cm cod caught in the bay before the entrance to Big River. Those heavily timbered areas make good spots for bait to hide in, so it’s worth familiarizing yourself with them. Another area worth wetting a line is high up the Goulburn River, near

the stunning town of Jamieson. This is where the river starts filling the lake, and it’s a quiet, picturesque spot. It’s where my buddy Tom fishes a lot of the time, and he has had great success on the green fish. The new moon falls on 4 August, and I predict it will be at its strongest on 2 August. I’ve gone back through my Eildon journal (over 10 years’ worth of scribble and notes from blind casting sessions), and this has been a good time of year to fish. I recommend hiring a houseboat for five days, and covering as much shoreline as possible. I’ll be based somewhere in the south end of the lake. Fishing from the bank is also an

a good place to start. Most were released but some were destined for the smoker. Small bibbed hardbodies would also work.

Elsewhere, intrepid anglers will have been out targeting river blackfish to get their freshwater angling fix. The waters south of the

Dylan with a whopper 106cm cod taken on the scope. option, and you can have success on a range of baits, including worms, chicken, or even a cooked sawdust snag. Most of the big, old cod were raised in hatcheries, and will eat just about any edible morsel when they’re hungry. • The Primal Spinbaits website is now live, so check out primalspinbaits. com to support this local lure maker. New lures are added regularly, and you can also go in store to check out all the stock. Every store carries different stock styles and colours. Current stockists include Fat Rat Trading in Kilmore, CH Smith Marine in Fairfield, Summit Outfitters in Mansfield, and Compleat Angler in Dandenong.

A new season is just around the corner WEST/SOUTH GIPPSLAND

Martin Auldist

This will be a short report because July and August are typically very quiet months for freshwater anglers in South and West Gippsland. With the season for river trout in Victoria closed until September 7, local options for those in need of a trout fix are limited to either Bluerock Reservoir or privately stocked dams and impoundments. It’s actually a great time to be out trolling on Bluerock when conditions allow. Flatline trolling along the shoreline or around drowned timber can be very effective during the cooler months, especially early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Willow Grove local Steve Haughton reports recently landing ten pan-sized brown trout on white and pink Tassie Devils, so that would be 86 AUGUST 2024

The streams south of the Great Dividing Range provide a much better class of river blackfish than those to the north.

Great Dividing Range produce a much better class of fish than those to the north so it is worthwhile spending the time required to target them in the slow, deep pools of just about any river in the region. Similarly, local streams and dams can turn up any number of other species including carp and redfin. There are some massive reddies available for those able to find some out-of-the-way water where angling pressure is low. For the trout purists, the good news is that by the time this issue of Fishing Monthly hits mailboxes and newsstands, the new season will be just around the corner. What better time, then, to start getting ready to hook in come September 7? If you’re anything like me, there will be plenty of reels to be respooled and serviced, rods to be repaired and tackle boxes to be sorted out. If you can’t actually be trout fishing, then spending some fireside time preparing is the next best thing, right?

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AUGUST 2024 87

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MANDURAH OUTBOARDS

Stirred-up conditions deliver good fishing ESPERANCE

Murray Johnson

Esperance has been enjoying a reasonably calm winter, with plenty of chances to go fishing between the storms. Additionally, with the storms stirring up all the water, plenty of fish have been caught. The beaches around Esperance have been producing plenty of smaller schools of salmon, along with herring, decent size skippy, and the occasional mulloway. Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach have both been fishing well, and areas such as 14 Mile, Roses and Thomas River have been the prime spots to catch the big skippy. A couple over 4kg have been caught over the past month. Whiley Bay has been producing plenty of decent flathead, kilo skippy, the occasional salmon and good numbers of bull herring. There have also been plenty of solid sand whiting caught at the start of the beach in the weed banks. Further out of town, guys heading out to Poison Creek have still been getting plenty of salmon, with the occasional tailor being caught and also plenty of skippy and also bronze whalers. When conditions have allowed, Israelite Bay has also been producing plenty of mulloway, the occasional gummy shark, big flathead and some big King George whiting off the rocks. Anglers heading out west have been getting good results out of Munglinup, with some skippy around the 4-5kg mark, scattered salmon, and more whalers. Bandy Creek Boat Harbour has been producing plenty of King George whiting, with sizes on the improve. Plenty of samples around the 30-32cm mark have been caught in recent weeks, along with lots of herring and some flathead. At the Town Jetty we’re seeing heaps of squid being caught with tube lengths up to around 40cm. The choice squid jig at the moment is the Harimitsu orange SP in the 3.5 size. The bream lakes are still firing, with plenty of fish over 40cm. We’ve also had reports of good bream out at Quallilup. There are heaps of squid on offer for boat-based anglers in the bay, along with large sand whiting. Areas around Observatory have been producing well for whiting, and there have also been good catches around Lion Island. Areas around Charlie and Cull have seen plenty of queen

salmon being caught, as well as the occasional nannygai. Smaller samsonfish have been coming in close, putting them within reach of smaller boats. When the weather has allowed, anglers venturing out wide have been catching plenty of nannygai around the 60-65cm mark, along with plenty of breaksea cod. A lot of cuttlefish have been caught as well. If you want to get your arms stretched, there are plenty of sambos around the 20kg mark and smaller yellowtail kingfish. THE MONTH AHEAD At this time of year, the samsonfish come in closer in bigger numbers and bigger sizes, so anglers can target them out of tinnies. You can catch them on bait, but jigging is more fun. The sambos like to chase knife jigs wound in at high speed. They will also take a Vexed Dhu Drop if you retrieve it fast all the way to the boat, as opposed to just working the bottom 10m. In the coming weeks we should also see species like nannygai tend to come in closer. Bait fishing with a paternoster is standard, but they will also take plastics. One popular option is the Bait Junkie Minnow 6.2” in pearl or blue, rigged on a heavy 4-6oz jighead if you’re fishing in around 70m of water. You can also catch them on a slow jig, such as the Ocean’s Legacy Rovens 120g in #6 colour. READER’S

PICTURE

Peter Wilson caught this nice parrot fish just off Evans Head, Ballina.

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Pristine waters and eager fish for local anglers BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping

When people think of big fish, Bunbury and Australind may not be the first place to come to mind, and we aren’t complaining! As locals to the area, we are spoilt with an abundance of areas to fish that are barely ever visited. Our surrounding waters aren’t as immediately deep as that of our neighbouring towns, meaning it can at times take longer to get to the optimal depths during certain times of year, however those who do the

accessible to small tinnies or even kayaks. Bunbury beaches, including Backbeach, Belvedere and Buffalo are all prime local land-based spots to have a crack at the trophy fish. Reports of multiple fish captures are really starting to roll in over the last few weeks. Drone Fishers have also been cleaning up recently on the demersal species, with massive numbers of snapper being caught, and the odd dhuie and breaksea in amongst them! Herring, squid and cuttlefish have been the winning baits for the drone as they are hardy and last

Ash with an aquatic pig caught on a whole cuttlefish. sessions being had on weightless mulies my personal favourite. Yes, the weather has been rougher on the water and, yes it’s been very cold in

around this time of year with the redfin spawning and working up a big appetite they really come onto the chew and become even more

Jake with a rare daytime beach snapper. yards receive the rewards. Fortunately, this time of year is not one of those times that you need to go far. With all the winter storms rolling through, snapper move inshore to depths that are

much longer. An always welcome by-catch at this time of year are the mulloway and tailor that frequent our beaches and the last few weeks have been no exception with some horse tailor

Harry with a nice pink snapper caught casting off the beach.

Kristy with a nice pink on the drone to break a dry spell! 90 AUGUST 2024

the mornings, however those that are watching the forecast and taking advantage of the breaks in the weather are being greeted with immaculate conditions and huge snapper and dhu within a quick steam. Land-based fishes have had a heap of fun lately with the hordes of salmon trout and herring in our estuary as well as some excellent reports of mulloway passing through the cut. Winter is also the best time of year to get into some big squid. The most productive way being by boat however the dedicated fishos targeting the calamari land based are picking them up in small numbers from local rock walls and jetties. The freshwater scene peaks

territorial than they already are. Huge numbers are being caught assisting in cleaning them out of our waterways with some solid brown and rainbow trout being pulled up along side them. Depending on location the Redfin can be targeted in multiple different ways for example trolling deep diving lures past timber in the dams, bouncing plastics along a stream or fly fishing to name a few. • For any info, tips or advice on anything you have read, heard about or dreamt about or to have a brag, duck into Whiteys tackle and camping, 1/143 Grand Entrance, Treendale and say hello, we are always more than happy to help and love a good story!

South Coast

FMM

Winter conditions are persisting AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

Winter has decided that it wants to stick round and have some fun in the lower half of Western Australia with some really obnoxious conditions prevailing for most of this month. With a couple of tornados hitting Bunbury, just to the north there were certainly some hairy conditions had throughout the southwest that didn’t make for very good fishing during the month. Top it off with a thunderstorm or two and only the most dedicated spent time fishing. With conditions not favouring heading out on the water, most fishing was done land-based with jetty fishing a pretty safe option, also allowing for a quick retreat to cover if needed. The night fishing and early morning sessions off the Ellis Street and town jetties were actually pretty productive as the numbers of herring, skippy and squid were pretty good. Herring size

hook eye as possible, it will rust away in no time and they have a good chance of surviving. Try to remove it from their stomach and it will certainly result in their death. Black bream continue to be the most prevalent fish throughout the Hardy Inlet and Blackwood River appearing

Yellowfin whiting are not only fun to catch they are also great eating.

A nice little flathead taken using an unweighted hardihead.

This tailor is a great example of what hunts in the Hardy Inlet, taken on a fresh slice of snook fillet. has been above average with a number of bull herring hitting anything that was thrown in the water near them. There have been plenty of squid lurking around the Ellis Street Jetty sitting just on the perimeter of light cast by the pole mounted LED’s that run the length of the jetty. They will take most prawn style jigs, however, generally the smaller sized jigs get more hits. Quite a few have been landed in small groups so it pays to get a lure straight back in the water once you have landed one to increase your chance of getting a good feed. Reports indicate that there are still big numbers of juvenile pink snapper and tarwhine in the river and these are easily injured so care must be taken when releasing them to ensure they swim away unharmed. They are quite aggressive feeders and often will swallow a hook down into their stomach. Just cut the line as close to the

shallow diving lure to whatever bait is around and troll it behind your boat around 6 knots for most hits. Once you have located the school they will often follow the hooked fish allowing you to then cast for them while the boat drifts. They are an excellent fish to put in the smoker as they take smoke really well

to have chased all the whiting off. There are some decent fish to be had if you look around a bit. As usual if you have a watercraft the ability to cover large areas of riverbank you will up your chances of landing a trophy fish. They favour river or coral prawns, squid, soft plastics and hardbodied lures but will also take pieces of fish or surprisingly they love chicken. Concentrate on areas with overhanging branches, rock structure and deeper pools. All the freshwater running into the system has ended the crab season. There were crabs caught from October to June gradually petering out ending one of the longest runs for years. The average size in the peak of the season rivalled those caught in the Swan River which are generally the largest in the state. Out in the bay the snook (sea pike) have turned up as they do each winter and have been menacing all the bait schools they come across. Match a

and are then surprisingly good eating. There hasn’t been much in the way of beach fishing lately, however, salmon continue to show up especially around Hamelin Bay and Boranup Beach on the days worth fishing. The main track to get to Boranup Beach – Bob’s Track has been absolutely smashed by the number of 4WD vehicles using it lately. With the increase in off road pages on social media, You Tubers and the like promoting its existence has unfortunately been copping a heap of damage. So, should you want to take that track looking for a fish, take your time, reduce your tyre pressure and drive slowly. The salmon run continues to be an epic marathon with fish still being caught in schools right through from Albany to the metro area. It has

in the fish numbers making their way up the coast annually and successfully being able to spawn. The rockwall at the marina is fishing well for the usual species such as skippy, tarwhine and herring with the occasional squid and cuttlefish also making an appearance. Demersal fishing is currently closed until midway through September with the poor weather conditions making it a moot point anyway. Commercial reports are that demersal and rock lobster numbers remain very good. Rock fishing other than the sheltered marina rock-wall remains a dangerous pastime with conditions generally not suitable for even contemplating it. Don’t risk it if the conditions are wet or windy as the slick rocks and swell surges are just downright deadly! • Should you decide to give rock fishing a go please remember that it is dangerous at times and careful consideration of where and when you fish must be done. Unpredictable weather can quickly affect the fishing conditions and slippery rocks are a recipe for disaster. Please remain vigilant when rock fishing; wear a life jacket and tie off to something solid. You can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66 Blackwood Avenue Augusta -the local tackle shop, boat hire

Black bream are great fighters on light line. This one took a coral prawn. become the longest run I have known in my almost six decades of life. The reduction in commercial catch over the last decade has had an obvious increase

and font of all local fishing knowledge. Look for the big green sign on the roof, it’s right next to the BP Service Station in the centre of town. AUGUST 2024 91

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The rewards are there for persistent anglers METRO

Jacob Crispe

As much as I love fishing in remote locations and rarely-fished waters, I still get a thrill heading down to my local rock wall, or one of the bridges on the Swan and enjoying what our backyard has to offer. We are lucky in Perth to have so many options to wet a line, whether you are shore-based or fishing from a kayak or boat, so I challenge you this month to get out and check out your local. SWAN RIVER There has been enough rain to put a decent amount of freshwater into the Swan, pushing food sources towards the mouth of the river, where many predators will feed. Most anglers will focus on the area between the Canning Bridge and East Fremantle this month, but you can also fish in deeper water – even better if the deeper water has some structure. For

success is finding good concentrations of baitfish. Another exciting option at this time of the year is the influx of samsonfish into the system. It is not unusual for

Anthony Axcell is no stranger to big pinks while casting from the sand.

Isabell Tan with a absolute beast squid she caught using Tsuriou jigs.

in these cooler months, with snapper anglers fishing during inclement weather or just after. The water gets stirred up and brings the snapper in looking for a feed, making them accessible from the shore. The odd mulloway is caught by these anglers as well. Again, a good berley trail will improve your catches. Our beaches also tend to fish quite well in these cooler months. The tailor tend to be slightly bigger and their activity tends to bring a few mulloway and snapper within casting distance. Using fresh baits and having a berley

Image courtesy of @castawaybell.

Phil Derwin, all the way from Ireland, couldn’t leave without hitting the sand with his son. He landed this lovely looking pink snapper using a drone. lure anglers, this means fishing their plastics on heavier jigheads, or using metal blades or slugs. For bait fishers, it’s all about adjusting sinker weights, and wherever possible, fishing baits like river prawns, coral prawns, sandworms or bloodworms in the deeper channels or drop-offs in the river. The main target species will be bream and tailor, with the chance of picking up a flathead or yellowfin whiting. You may not know that the bridges of the Swan (Canning, Narrows and Causeway) are great options to fish around. They hold good concentrations of food for the fish, and offer anglers some protection from the weather. Mulloway are also an option this month, with areas like the E-Sheds and North and South Mole rock walls good places to try. Remember these fish are following the food, so the key to 92 AUGUST 2024

20-40kg sambos to be hooked, with the areas around the traffic bridges being hotspots. This is heavy tackle fishing and it’s a lot of fun. ROCK WALLS AND BEACHES During the clear weather periods the rock walls are all about bread-andbutter species. Skippy, herring and King George whiting will be most anglers’ targets. As always, the key is setting up a good berley trail and fishing around the tide changes. The better squid fishing will also occur when the water is cleaner during better weather periods. Snapper are a major rock wall target

Chris Straw with top shelf fish caught on a trip with Jazz Chatters from Freo. Baldchin groper are second to none.

squid are very curious, and all the activity created by a berley trail can attract them to your boat. Another key target species this month will be pink snapper. The better fishing is always just before first light and just after last light, so be prepared to be in your favourite location at these times. Berley and fresh baits will maximise your chances. Most exposed reefs are also worth checking out. Tailor love hunting in the washes and it’s not unusual for kingfish and sambos to be in these areas, too. Drifting the shipping channel for sand whiting is another great option to pick up a feed of fish. OFFSHORE When the weather allows, the key to success this month will be to fish structure in 25-40m of water. Most structure will hold fish, and I urge you to consider fishing any structure you see – even if it looks less obvious. It is not a matter of fishing each spot

This would have to be the ultimate double-header of dhufish, caught by Paul Coelho. bag set up in the wash will improve your chances of putting a bend in your rod. There can be a few skippy mixed in with the tailor, along with the odd ray and shark. It doesn’t hurt to have a squid jig with you as well; any weed patches you find within casting distance can hold squid. INSHORE Our inshore reef areas are fishing well at the moment, and there’s no reason why this won’t continue. Reefy structure in 8-12m of water will hold fish like herring and skippy, while any sand patches around these areas are great places to target King George whiting. Berley will be the key to getting some activity around you. Make sure you have a squid jig handy because

A prime example of a metro mully caught by Travis Newland while braving rough conditions. The fish took a herring fillet only 10m from the rocks. for hours; it’s more about cycling through the spots until you find the better locations. The reward is species like dhufish, baldchin groper, breaksea cod and, at this time of the year, queen snapper. All are well worth the effort. For many anglers, the prime target species is dhufish, which are fun

West Coast

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Plenty of inshore fishing action MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

August, much like previous months, can be a great time to target certain species particularly when anglers are hoping to find action in the form of land-based or inshore fishing. Although some targetable species are very specific to the weather patterns we encounter during the month, there is a lot going on around town for those looking to satisfy their urges.

weighted river prawns or mullet cubes and fishing them closer to the structures like snags, jetties or drop offs where the water starts to deepen. If you are fishing lures, you will generally want to target the same areas, fishing primarily with baitfish or grub profiles and adjusting your presentations according to what is prolific in the area to give yourself the best chance at catching. Weight choices are ever so important when attempting to fish artificially in the river, so be sure to fish to your conditions and seek to lengthen the drop rate of your lure

Rock fishing success will quite often come down to the time you choose to fish, with first and last light often being your best options to catch a few fish. Daytime should not be overlooked when it comes to fishing as it can produce some excellent quality fish, although it is often regarded by anglers as the time of day where fish tend to become less active. Fishing during a light change is often preferred, as it is a universal feeding period where knowledge of species and their movement habits aren’t particularly required to achieve some results. If you are planning to try your luck at catching a trout or redfin, any of the bodies of water around Harvey or Waroona will produce quite well during August. Despite there being great numbers of trout in these systems all year round, they can be both easy and difficult to come by depending on so many environmental factors. If you are unable to find one of the many trout

Redfin can lack a good fight at times, but all of them are impressive on the eye with their colours. The river is always a good option for fishing as it always offers some sort of entertainment, whether from grunter, bream or mulloway. If you are fishing from a kayak or a boat, your best option is to start fishing at the middle reaches of the river and changing your game plan according to how responsive the fish are or how little action you are encountering. Quite often when fishing the rivers, you may get less interest the further downstream you head and making the change to head upstream can lead you to far more activity. If you are bait fishing, it is worth trying your luck with very lightly

without losing too much contact. Fishing any of the local rock structures, from walls or the beaches will yield great results depending on your target of choice. Most of Mandurah will produce your smaller, more prolific species like herring and whiting with the occasional by-catch thrown in. If you are chasing some of the bigger more elusive species, like silver trevally, snapper or mulloway, they can be harder to come by but will bless you with their presence when you are persistent and conscious that you are only fishing for one bite in most cases.

Pinks are still a viable option if you are willing to spend some time using berley and fresh baits.

Good golden chunks are scattered throughout the rivers, so be sure to explore your options to give yourself the best chance to catch one. in these systems, you will just about always come across a few redfin perch to keep you entertained and sometimes their size can be quite impressive. Regardless of the species you intend to catch, most anglers will find that artificials work quite well when targeting redfin or trout that reside in these systems. Although these fish will forage for an easy meal, they are far more inclined to respond to a presentation that is being actively worked through the water column. When you are fishing dams, you will generally want to systematically fish shallow water with your presentation of choice, then switch to deeper water to see what is likely to produce the most results. Quite often fish in these systems will go deep or shallow to seek warmer or cooler water that is more suited to their living habits, current behaviour and environmental conditions on the given day. Whether you are opting to fish boat, rock, beach, river or freshwater – it can be highly beneficial to work through an elimination process, opting to learn from your mistakes which ensures that you spend more time smartly targeting your chosen species.

is particularly popular. I always like to mention deep drop fishing because the target species are

Paul Coelho with a lovely pink plucked from the back of 5 fathom bank. to catch and great table fish as well. These anglers focus their efforts in slightly deeper water (50m+) and generally use big paddle-tail soft plastics. I would say the bigger, the better. The Vexed range of soft plastics

An excellent winter greenback tailor caught by Anthony Axcell on a stickbait.

Tony Cardosa with a freight train of a fish! Samsonfish are great fun on any gear.

some of the best eating fish in the ocean. The zone is 150-500m of water, with species like blue-eye trevalla and bass grouper some prized captures.

So, there you have it. I hope you take up my challenge and check out your local this month, and I will catch you next time. AUGUST 2024 93

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Sensational bay fishing available LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

August is a slow boating month at Lancelin. Due to the extended closed demersal season many locals pack up and head off up north, while visiting anglers mostly bypass Lancelin. Big swells make it hard to launch larger boats, with demersals off the table there’s not a lot of upside to the effort involved. Active boaters are mostly

are found in shallow water of the bay the slow sink of a lightly weighted plastic works a treat. Fish inside the bay will be mostly around the 400-700g and give a good account on the light gear. Outside the bay, skippy form breeding aggregations on the inshore reefs and can be 50-60cm, those fish can really go hard and often you will need to upsize the gear to handle them. The deeper waters outside the bay, small metal jigs work effectively. A great bait is cubes of pilchard drifted into the berley.

use of bait, a small piece of squid suspended under a pencil float cast into a berley trail is the traditional and still the best way to gather a feed. If you are fishing land-based in the bay, try the southern shallows for flathead, skippy, KGW, herring and flathead. At night you can hand spear cobbler too. The north end of the bay is best for larger game sharks, snapper and mulloway. While the demersal ban is in place samsonfish can provide a bit of fun, with good numbers schooling over lumps and coral 20-30m. Use knife jigs, my favourite is the Black Magic in pilchard, or live herring sent to the depths – don’t go all the way to the bottom as you may hook a demersal species. There are also plenty along the inshore reefs, even inside the bay they will often turn up in the berley trail or the jetty. It’s not a great time for chopper tailor, look for the big greenbacks in the reef wash or gutters with fish to 60cm not uncommon and the odd

Skippy can be great fun along the inshore reefs this time of year.

A nice gummy from the tinny. the smaller dinghy’s who can manage the beach launch with ease at low tide when the outer reefs take the energy out of the shore break. The bay is sensational fishing at this time of year with crystal clear waters and spoilt for choice with so many species on offer. Flathead can be targeted on a calm day so the drift speed allows casting to where seaweed or reef meets a sand edge. Preferred lures would be soft plastics or vibes that can be worked close to the bottom. Alternately a live sand whiting will prove deadly too. Herring schools set up station in certain areas often around sand holes in weed beds or where the currents bring food to them. The best way to find out where schools are holding is to troll small lures around likely looking spots. Once a school is found you can anchor up, wind for casting assist and keep catching fish. Small lures work best so ultra-light line is the go for the longer casts. Small plastics 6-7cm work extremely well, otherwise Halco Twisties 10g cast a mile and get the bites too. Nighttime herring school under the town jetty lights, soft plastics work here or unweighted piece of prawn drifting in the current can be irresistible. Skippy are a great little sports fish, weight-for-weight pulling as hard as any other fish you might imagine and will smash all types of lures. Skippy are a sucker for a good berley trail or trolling can find the schools 6-8cm diving minnows ideal once the schools 94 AUGUST 2024

Snook school over the seagrass and are very aggressive feeders, troll 7-10cm diving minnows around likely spots until a fish is found then double back and often more will be in the same area. Some fish don’t seem to put up much of a fight while others will tear off in blistering runs and jumps. Casting whole pilchards is the best bait. While they are great on the chew, it’s best not to over fish an area and it will continue to produce for future trips. King George whiting are best caught with fresh squid or prawn for bait, casting to the sand to weed edges. Garfish are also best caught with the

The bay’s crystal autumn waters are ideal for light tackle lure casting. one 70-80cm. It’s a great time to chase the silver ghost with a lot of the smaller schoolies in the gutters 60-80cm fish can be right

A cracker blue spot flathead caught by Elizabeth while participating in a Lancelin Angling Club comp.

in tight in near shore beach gutters, no better time of year to try catch one on a soft plastic or diving minnow. Larger fish more commonly caught from the deepest of gutters or the open beaches soaking mullet baits. While there are stacks of pink snapper along the inshore reefs, we are limited to catching land-based only during the demersal ban. Any spot there is reef within casting range can produce fish, but it is best to cast to the very edge or even onto the reef as it can be costly on tackle with snags. To reduce losses, use 1m of lighter breaking strain to a grapnel sinker so it can be sacrificed should it snag and a short dropper with circle hooks is much less prone to snagging. Once the cast goes out don’t move the bait or it will likely drag into a snag. On retrieval give the rod a big heave to start the bait moving and don’t stop winding until it is out of the reef. A drone will bring many more reefs into range of the shore fisher using the same methods.

North Coast

FMM

Fast-paced INTUITIVEpelagics CONTROL LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE… EXMOUTH

Barry Taylor

This month’s report has been supplied by Murray. The bill fishing has been good over the past month when the weather has allowed. Sailfish, black marlin, and striped marlin have all been getting caught, and a fair few grand slams have been reported. There have been a few off-season blue marlin around as well. The inshore black marlin and sailfish action has been particularly

pretty well, with good catches of ruby snapper reported. Some good spangled emperor have been caught by anglers casting at bommies on the inside of Ningaloo. Stickbaits such as Halco Slidogs and Nomad Madscads have been working well. There have been some solid longtails getting caught, including a nice one caught by my mate in the Gulf close to the marina. The most common way to catch them is by casting metals like Halco Twisties and Armas, and retrieving as fast as

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emperor on bait. During the school holidays, plenty of kids came down to the MELBOURNE marina each day, catching all sorts TRIPLE M MARINE of They’d come into 117 estuary Northgatespecies. Drive Thomastown the store every morning, buy some P: (03) 9465 8787 soft plastics, and then head to the F: (03) 9466 1418 marina. Nearly all of them bought W: triplemmarine.com.au exactly the same plastic – the Daiwa 2.5” Minnow in blood worm UV – and had a great time catching bream, mangrove jacks, flathead whiting, and queenies. • For the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop in to Tackle World Exmouth at 3 Maley St, Exmouth or call them on (08) 9949 1315. You can also view the range at www. tackleworldexmouth.com.au, and see the latest catch photos on their Facebook page. This family business stocks a large range of tackle, from light spin to big game. The staff have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise, and are always happy to help.

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AUGUST 2024 95

North Coast

FMM

Matching lures to natural baits for success DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

Fishing in the Karratha region throughout late June and July has once again delivered the goods with plenty of great catches of a variety of local species. Late June saw a

on unknown flatter areas proved a winner with us landing rankin, red and spangled emperor, crimson snapper and coral trout into the boat in no time and not a sign of a shark. Those big lumps holding fish really do hold the most sharks. We are slowly coming towards the end of the blue swimmer crab

Cobia are a hard fighting sports fish and superb on the table too. John Palermo shows how it is really done with a great specimen on fly.

and the rest of the shell peelings to mash up and use for berley. Works an absolute treat on the bluebone. August will be great for offshore anglers with all the usual species of demersals on offer, as well as the billfish peak period and combined with the great weather at this time of year. Red emperor, coral trout, rankin cod, black spotted cod, just to name a few are all around the islands and beyond. The 40m mark is still the better starting point for bigger specimens but you will find the odd good fish in close and it is not uncommon to see large reds come from good ground as little as 20m deep. Goldband snapper continue to be caught in the waters beyond 60m and a few caught last month were solid fish in the 700mm range. For such a superb eating fish that is a great way to fill the esky. Also, out in the same waters you will find green jobfish. These are targeted by both spearfisherman and anglers and highly regarded as a trophy fish. Jobbies can also be found in coastal rocky areas and deep channels with fast moving tides. Areas such as the Montebello Islands or Glomar Shoals Tiger squid are plentiful in the archipelago right now. The author is holding one of many caught exceeding half a kilo in weight.

few good showers pass through the region which was much needed, and the only impact was a day or two that crab fishing shut down. Besides that, there has been the standard few windy days between plenty of ideal fishing weather allowing everyone to enjoy the region. Challenges from the shark population have been manageable with moving around being the best option. On a recent day out, we encountered sharks straight up on the good and popular lumps. Moving early and finding fish on the sounder

mackerel comes from matching baitfish size to your lure size as best as possible. All too often anglers stick to their same size lure throughout the

John Palermo with a brute of a chinaman fish. You need serious gear to stop these fish and physical fitness to match.

They don’t come much better in table fare than the coral trout. Kody Bernard landed a perfect 610mm example on jig in 40m behind the islands. 96 AUGUST 2024

peak season. There are currently still plenty of crabs out there, however we should start to see the numbers drop off by the end of August and into September – but their size will make up for volume during this period. Most crabs caught are currently exceeding 160mm across the carapace. While on crabs, mud crabs are plentiful and keeping the tourists to the region happy. Full moon periods have been producing the majority of big bucks for both netters and hookers. Remember to keep your cooked crab legs for bluebone bait

are the perfect spots to start. Squid are plentiful around the islands as well as all along the coastline from 40 Mile to Point Samson. Times of clear water are fishing the best for them, such as on the neap tides and low wind days. The tiger squid being caught at the moment are big, with most going over a half a kilo so it is worth upping your tackle size slightly when compared to fishing for the smaller calamari down south. Spanish mackerel can be found in good numbers albeit size is generally smaller at this time of year as the schools grow. Success targeting

Local Angler Kody Bernard found plenty of solid rankin cod in 40m last month. year and experience mixed success. I highly recommend getting amongst the bait schools/bust ups and seeing the bait fish size. Make sure you take a range of sizes of lures out with you and match the size as best as possible. I am sure you will find more regular success.

FMM

TOURNAMENT NEWS

2024 Bemm River Boys Trip comp The Real McCoy Fishing Team headed down to Bemm River for our Annual Bemm River Boys Trip comp. We had an awesome turnout this year, with 34 guys joining for the weekend. The competitors met on Thursday night at the pub and received their new Real McCoy fishing shirts, hats and

stubby holders. Everyone was keen to wet a line in the morning! The fishing was good on Friday morning until the rains hit. This made it hard, especially if you didn’t have a cover on your boat! Some really nice bream were caught in the shallows, plenty of tailor were taken on the troll, and the

WINNERS Biggest Bream 1st: 2nd: Heaviest Salmon 1st: 2nd: 3rd: Best Winner: Jarryd Pester Special Mentions Glenn Hall: James Baglin: Best Salmon Haul: Best Team:

Sean Quinlivan Dean Craven

37cm (850g) 37cm (760g)

Glenn Hall Jason Shaw Graeme Buck Other Species

2.8kg 2.54kg 2.52kg

63cm flathead Sole on the troll Gummy (pre comp) Paul Whitty Sean Quinlivan, Jarryd Pester, Dean Craven and Ben Garago

surf fished well between the Entrance Beach and Binn Beach, producing some quality salmon. That night, the Bemm River Men’s Shed outdid themselves, putting on a superb meal of local venison. Saturday was a cracking sunny day, with most competitors fishing the lake to try to snag a bream and win the comp! On Saturday afternoon, a big crew hit the entrance beach for a run at the incoming tide, hoping to rip into a few salmon. Overall, the fishing was slow, but some excellent fish were weighed in. The biggest one measured 67cm! Saturday night was the final weigh-in at the pub, and then it was time for the prizes to be given out. The winner of the Biggest Bream division was Sean Quinlivan (37cm), the Heaviest Salmon winner was Glenn Hall (2.8kg), and the winner of the Best Other Species category was Jarryd Pester (63cm flathead). Thanks to everyone for getting

The winner of the Heaviest Bream division was Sean Quinlivan. around the raffle/auction, which raised $670 for the Bemm River Angling Club. Some generous members also donated $370 for the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Centre. Thank you to the Bemm River Hotel and our sponsors: Aussie Disposals, Australian Fishing Network and Bait Tackle Direct. An amazing weekend was had by all, and we are already looking forward to next year’s competition. – Peter McCoy

AUGUST 2024 97

Freshwater

FMM

Quiet bays will yield good results FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

This month normally sees a transition in the weather pattern with a warming trend towards the end of the month. This can increase insect activity in our dams with rising water temperatures around the shallower areas. Trout tend to move into these locations that correlate with rising water levels. If

night fishing with the fly-rod, I still get it wrong on occasions. Rivers are totally different this time of the year because they can be very high in August and virtually impossible to fish. This may not be the case this year as the continuing dry conditions has resulted in very little inflow into catchments. REDFIN If there is a positive to come out of our dry season then it would have to be

It’s very rare you see a rainbow in this condition come out of the Warren River these days. The full tail would indicate that it’s not a large hatchery stocked fish. Andrew Thomas was lucky to land it without a net. I’m pleased to see he released it and spotted it the next day swimming nicely. the area happens to be well grassed it can result in good fishing towards the evening and early morning. If you can find a nice quiet bay you could be in for some exciting fishing, especially with the fly. I tend to concentrate on these areas and on occasions have caught up to a dozen trout fly-fishing well into the night. You will normally find the rainbows hang around until just after dark, however, if there happens to be browns around it pays to persist as they feed well after dark. This theory worked on a recent trip with two nice browns coming to the fly a couple of hours after dark. You need to be handy with the wand at night as it’s not for everyone. It can be unpleasant if you get into tangles in the dark and, even after four decades of

Some impressive redfin are coming out of our dams. The low water is concentrating them to a smaller area. Alex Vermeulen nailed these two beauties on a recent trip fishing hardbodies over the deeper areas. photo of two dead browns laying on the bank recently, I can’t stress enough how important it is to practice catch and release than in this particular water. I spent a few days here recently and found it tough trolling with most of my fish coming from the bank at night fly-fishing using my favourite fly the Craig’s Nighttime in a size 8. The

One of the author’s two browns that fell to a Craig’s Nighttime fished slowly well after dark in one of our dams. Most anglers give it away at night but it pays to persist.

This brown trout has an injury from a possible cormorant attack. It was still healthy enough to take a flyfished deep on a sinking line from the boat. 98 AUGUST 2024

the redfin fishing. It seems they love the low water with plenty being caught in all bar a couple of our waters. Some of our dams got so low that it concentrated large numbers into small areas with some nice specimens being caught over autumn and early winter. The rivers around Pemberton have turned on some great fishing as well, with one YouTube regular having a cracker of a session off the bank. AUSSIE NATIVES Things have been quiet with the exception of a few Murray cod being caught in metro areas. DAMS Waroona Dam Unfortunately, this has been the worst start to the trout season since the recommencement of the stocking in 2018. This could be the result of the lack of stocking because of the extreme weather conditions, which caused fatalities and slow growth rates at the hatchery over summer. Whatever the reason it seems unlikely to improve anytime soon. Luckily, the redfin have filled the gap to some extent however, not everyone has been successful with those on boats and kayaks having most of the fun. Drakesbrook Weir The same can be said for this water with trout being hard to find. I fear, with

all the anti-outdoor government attitudes being projected recently, that if the green movement was to have their way, it could result in excessive pressure being applied on trout stocking in this state. This would be devastating for our small band of dedicated freshwater anglers and country towns throughout the South West. This would leave redfin as our only option as a freshwater sportfish. For those that think this is far reaching then look at what they have done to the gun laws and proposed marine parks already. Logue Brook Dam As our only sole trout water it’s very important that we conserve the stocks in this fragile waterway. After seeing a

The boys having a field day on the Warren. Photo courtesy Andrew Thomas. lower water levels have resulted in the rear section being closed to skiing so it was pleasant to have the dam to myself. The only negative is they removed all the boys and 5 knot signs from the back section,

Freshwater

FMM so unless you are up near the Caravan Park closer to the wall you would be unaware, especially if you launch up the back like I did. Harvey Dam A few trout have been rumoured on the socials however, I can’t confirm this. Low water levels and delays in stocking has most anglers returning home empty handed. There are a few redfin getting caught with many failing to make 30cm. Wellington Dam Low water levels has prohibited myself visiting this water as the banks

visit as good redfin can be had at this time of the year. Big Brook Dam The dire lack of decent rains can be measured by the current level of this dam that sits in a reliable rainfall zone. It was only 40% capacity as at the time of writing. Since its construction in 1986 to supply water for the trout hatchery this dam normally fills by July in any average year. This very small storage is the most important for the 10,000 freshwater anglers in WA. It’s not because it provides a limited trout

A few winter cod are getting caught but locations are kept secret.

A good boat equipped with a sounder and an electric motor is handy as you can find where the fish are holding. However, better success was had fishing the shoreline on a recent trip.

to my Celtas in the deeper sections, however, it wasn’t until I swapped over to a Berkley Black grub when the action increased. I couldn’t get any of the larger models that I know inhabit these areas. Northern Jarrah Streams The lack of decent rains have delayed any real movement of trout upstream this year. I am sure it will occur once we get a decent rain. A word of warning if you happen to explore these streams, you must be careful as some are patrolled by Watercorp

are extremely soft in many areas making launching difficult. No reports of trout recently however, a few redfin are turning up in isolated areas. Glen Mervyn Dam Very low with a few nice redfin still being caught. The lack of rain is a concern for future irrigation if we don’t get good rain in the next couple of months. Lake Kepwari No reports recently but it’s worth a DAM LEVELS South West WA Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 33.3% at the end of June compared to 51.1 % as of the same time last year. Apart from a few good fronts coming through its still not enough to increase dam levels. Things are getting very desperate with Glen Mervyn being basically empty and Waroona, Harvey and Wellington dams in need of decent rain over winter. Even the ever reliable Big Brook Dam is suffering from low rainfall. The previous predictions were well out, which rarely occurs this time of the year so I’m being conservative. WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM

40% 85% 58% 47% 33% 15% 58%

Extremely low rainfall may result in redfin being our only freshwater species. The Pemberton Hatchery relies on Big Brook Dam which was only at 46% by the end of June. Modern chilled recirculating ponds may carry a small amount of trout through the hot summer but good rains are needed urgently. fishery but, it provides the only water source for the trout hatchery that sits 10km downstream. If it doesn’t obtain at least 70% by summer then we could see massive problems with water flow to this facility and jeopardising over 50 years of selective trout breeding. RIVERS Murray River Low water levels have resulted in some ideal fishing conditions although, the perfect conditions haven’t increased the numbers of trout caught. I gave this once famous trout water a fairly good go but, unfortunately didn’t manage to raise a single trout. A few redfin fell

and are in prohibited areas with heavy fines if you are caught fishing or, in some cases even being in the area. Please release any trout as most are self-sustaining with no stocking taking place. Collie River below Wellington Dam Water is very low so I would give it a miss. Collie River above Wellington Dam Reports have been hard to come by however, good redfin are available as long as the flow isn’t too fast. Capel River A few redfin are still being caught from kayaks upstream of the bridge.

Soft plastics are the go- to bait with any of the paddle tails working well. Blackwood River No reports of trout with only redfin being caught well upstream of Bridgetown. Warren River A superb trout was caught in this river of a standard I haven’t seen for a couple of decades. It was a rainbow in superb condition and judging by the tail it wasn’t one of the large trout from the Hatchery. It was caught in a very popular spot that gets a hammering by locals and tourists yet still managed to produce this quality fish. The redfin fishing has been outstanding with most anglers managing to get a good feed on most occasions. As with most redfin waters they tend to take a variety of lures so my advice is to change it up if one particular style isn’t working. Lefroy Brook There still seems to be a good head of trout in this stream that meanders through a gentle valley adjacent to the town of Pemberton. The heavy traffic it receives can make the trout wary so a stealthy approach is required. This will vary with water levels, as higher water tends to mask your presence. Fly-fishing or using small lures can produce good trout however, I would seek out the hard to get to areas with those that don’t mind a bit of bush bashing getting better results. Donnelly River A few trout are getting caught however, this river needs good rains so the trout push up from the bottom section where they seem to hold out. Some of the feeder streams might hold trout. Please release the them as they are normally up there spawning. As can be seen the trout fishing has been inconsistent recently however, if you persist in the right areas you should tangle with a few. Leave only footprints and please practice catch and release, you may be surprised of the feeling. AUGUST 2024 99

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BREAM SERIES presented by

Slater breaks BREAM drought at Hawkesbury Daiwa and Maui Jim are two of the great ABT BREAM event sponsors, so it was no surprise that Tom Slater, fishing Daiwa gear and wearing Maui Jim shades took out a close fought Maui Jim round of the Daiwa BREAM Series on the Hawkesbury River. In a strong, talented field of BREAMers from Sydney and beyond, Tom and Canberrabased Joe Darmody had their own competition going over a kilogram ahead of the rest of the pack. The pair were separated by a mere 15 grams when the dust settled. To put it into perspective, that’s around three teaspoons full of water. And although their weights were similar, their approach to the arena was totally different, with Tom fishing big, Cranka crabs way upriver and Joe crankbaiting washes in the Hawkesbury’s confluence with the Pacific Ocean. Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winner’s Interview

SLATER’S FIRST WIN IN 8 YEARS Tom’s last ABT Qualifier win was in 2016 on the Clarence River in northern NSW. He amassed some of his bag that event on a 50mm Cranka Crab lure. The lure stayed the same, but the size changed this time around. He upgraded to the 65mm version and the big fish came thick and fast. Day 1: 5/5, 4.460kg Day 2: 5/5, 4.335kg Total: 10/10, 8.795kg Each day, Slater travelled out of Pittwater and up the main river as far as Spencer. Concentrating on a short stretch of steeper bank with broken bottom up to 40m offshore, Tom repeatedly drifted the stretch of river. It was a small stretch Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 102 AUGUST 2024

Tom Slater waited eight years to secure his second ABT BREAM Qualifer win - earning him a spot in the 2024 BREAM Grand Final. of rocky bank that Slater assumed would be left alone by fellow anglers, given its diminutive size. “I could see all of the broken bottom and fish on my Humminbird Mega Live and there country is so varied I don’t reckon that you can ever drift the same line twice. Your crab is always drifting over a different rock or different shelf. We did the same drift around 20 times each day,” Slater said. Tom didn’t pre-fish on the Friday and was confident that his favourite stretch of river would hold quality fish. He wasn’t mistaken. The tides were perfect for his style of fishing - high early and running out all day. He would painstakingly drag the large (65mm) Cranka crab (in Olive) across the rocks and rubble, detecting bites on a Daiwa INFEET ‘crab rod’ (Z 782LFS-ST) and Certate 2500 reel spooled with PE 1.2 Expedition J-Braid and 14lb Daiwa X-Link leader. Even the heavy line setup didn’t stop three fish roasting him on the Sunday. Tom recounted the upgrades that did it for him after hearing of the narrow winning margin.

BOATER RESULTS Angler Fish Tom Slater 10/10 Joe Darmody 10/10 Steve Morgan 10/10 Liam Carruthers 10/10 Paul Langley 10/10 Dane Tomaszewski 10/10 Jamie Johnson 10/10 Mark Crompton 10/10 Matt Vaccaro 10/10 Jamie McKeown 10/10

“Each day, I’d pull in at Bar Point on the way home and one each day, this was good for one, crucial upgrade. I wouldn’t have won without those fish,” he said, which proves that it’s always worth maximising your time in the water. DARMODY DROPS 15G SHORT In reality, Joe Darmody doesn’t live in Canberra - just a little town of Bungendore to the east of the nation’s capital. It’s a couple of hours’ drive to the nearest bream. Joe fished the 2023 iteration of this event in a borrowed boat and landed in 33rd place after running out of fuel on the first day and dropping just

under 3kg of bream on the scales on the second. He turned his Hawkesbury fortunes around massively, dropping an event-biggest 4.61kg limit onto the scales on Day One and another 4kg+ bag on Day 2, falling just that tiny bit short of his first ABT win. Here’s how it went down. Day 1: 5/5, 4.610kg Day 2: 5/5, 4.170kg Total: 10/10, 8.780kg

Dragging a large Cranka Crab across rocks and rubble was Tom’s go-to technique for the weekend.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 8.795kg 8.780kg 7.610kg 7.270kg 6.945kg 6.765kg 6.930kg 6.240kg 6.215kg 5.980kg

Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

Payout $4,000 + $250 Merc bonus $2,000 $1,400 + $125 Merc bonus $1,200 + $75 Merc bonus $1,100 $1,000 $900 + $500 Big Bream $800 $700 $600

Joe fished a lot of his favourite spots in the river, Pittwater, Mullet and Cowan Creek in the prefish, yet nothing gave him the feeling that he was on any kind of quality. He had a hint from his travelling mate, Adam Kennedy, that there were some fish on Lion Island and after getting a few on the wash edges, he decided washes were, indeed the go.

BREAM SERIES presented by Starting the comp around various washed in Broken Bay, he eventually ended up on Lion Island and immediately started catching better quality fish. The bite improved when the dirty water started flowing out of the river proper and hit the island. Joe’s biggest fish came not off the edges, but a deeper, rocky ledge in over 10 feet of water, and his biggest fish of the event, a 1.26kg beast, hit the lure right next to the boat, showing that they would leave the bottom to chase a lure. His gun bait was the Jackall Chubby Deep on Brown Suji colour that he fished on a Millerods Brawler, Shimano Sustain 2500, 10lb Sunline Castaway braid, terminated

Joe Darmody found the right fish on the Hawkesbury, missing out on his first ABT win by 15 grams. Scan the QR code to watch the Non-Boater Winner’s Interview

- a 34cm fork length fish - on a curly tailed grub in the racks. Sunday, though, is where he shone, averaging nearly a kilo per fish on a day where the Boater AOY leader didn’t catch a limit. “We used the same tackle, but I think I was working the

lure more slowly than Mark. I tried to touch and feel the rock with the lure and leave it sit for longer and this is where I was getting the bites,” he explained. He fished the crab on a Millerods Brawler, Daiwa Revelry 3000 reel, 15lb Daiwa Expedition J-Braid and an 8lb fluorocarbon leader. “The trophy at home will remind me of the good times at this event,” he concluded.

MAUI JIM BIG BREAM PRIZE Cristian Bermudez secured his first ABT win - averaging nearly 1kg per fish on day two of the tournament. with 8lb Sunline FC Rock leader. Like Slater, he figured that heavy line and leader would give him the best chance of extracting the kicker fish he needed to win. Eventually, Darmody spothopped other washes in the area, but the money spot was always the southern side of Lion island at the time when the dirty water rolled in. “Like everyone, I did lose a fish that would have gotten me over the line. There was a lot of debris in the water and one fish ran around a floating stick. I didn’t think that this was much of an issue until it somehow caught me solidly around it and got off,” Joe said. Indeed, it’s when the story ends differently on fish like that that you end up taking hime your first bit of ABT BREAM hardware. BERMUDEZ DELIVERS FROM BACK OF BOAT Sydney BREAMer Cristian Bermudez is a pretty quiet bloke. We can imagine him asking Mark Healey very politely for

the net time after time on Day 2 of the event where he boxed 2.8kg for three fish and nearly doubled his Day 1 catch. Cristian had what his fellow non-boaters called the ‘dream draw’ for the weekend, with two previous winners of the event in consecutive days - Michael Colotourous on the Saturday and Mark Healey on the Sunday. “It still depends if we are able to fish well together,” Cristian said, “it’s definitely not a given that I’m going to catch them.” With Michael on the Saturday he caught his limit on Cranka Crabs with an upgrade

The Hawkesbury Maui Jim Big Bream of 1.365kg was caught at the end of a retrieve while fishing a rockwall in 4.5m of water, up river. It ate a Jackall Chubby Vibe 40 in pink eye suji. It was a double hook up with Jamie Johnson and his non boater (Kevin Lin) on Day 2. Jamie had to pull rank for the net and made Kevin pole his in.

NON - BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Cristian Bermudez Jacob Kelly Duncan Jameson Neil Kelly Scott Scicluna Van Ho Nguyen Allan Morrison Lance Marsh Grayson Fong Mitchell Simmonis

Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 4.355kg 4.340kg 3.965kg 3.790kg 3.700kg 3.600kg 3.550kg 3.460kg 3.280kg 3.255kg

Payout Daiwa pack Daiwa pack Rapala pack Daiwa pack Samaki Pack Tackle Tactics pack Cranka pack Cranka pack Ecogear pack Atomic pack AUGUST 2024 103

BREAM OPEN presented by

Bonaccorso’s Big Day 3 Takes Out BREAM Open It’s taken him near a couple of decades to do it, but Sydney BREAMer, Daniel Bonaccorso finally fulfilled his dream of winning the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open. Fishing 7 events since the inaugural one in 2004, his 2024 campaign was a lot more comfortable than his first attempt, where the boat he fished from didn’t even have an electric motor - instead the team used oars to position the craft for a cast. Day 1: 5/5, 3.275kg Day 2: 5/5, 3.710kg Day 3: 5/5, 4.610kg Total: 15/15, 11.595kg It what has become common over the years of the Open Daniel started with a 3kg+ bag and built weight every day until he rose from 4th to 1st of the final day with the biggest bag of the event. Such a come-from-behind win was reminiscent of the late Greg Lee (after whom the Greg Lee Memorial Trophy is named), who famously dropped a 5.5kg bag on the final day of a previous Open to move from 10th place to first. Although the weather improved over the the duration

Sydney’s Daniel Bonaccorso has fulfilled a dream of winning the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open. Scan the QR code to watch Daniel Bonaccorso’s Interview

quality fish from certain spots day after day - usually a tactic that doesn’t work that well in the three-day event. He relied on one main presentation over the competition days. Fishing the middle section of the Harbour,

Daniel favoured the nasty weather as it helped his fish recover each day. on a TTT HWS 1/28oz jigheed and fished on 4lb Sunline Bream Special FC leader and 4lb Daiwa J-Braid (4 strand) delivered on a Shimano Zodias 270UL rod combo. “I love that bait because it skips easier than other baits and I can get it where it needs to be,” he explained. For Daniel, light leaders were the key. “I always fish 4lb in the Harbour, no matter where I cast, I reckon that it gets the bigger bites. Don’t get me wrong - I lose a few fish on it, but I don’t use anything else,” he said. There were times when he

Daniel improved his bag each day - putting the biggest bag of the event on the scales on day three. of the event, Bonaccorso favoured the wind and the rain, because he said that it helped his fish recover each day and we has able to milk Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 104 AUGUST 2024

he targeted isolated structure that the thought would be overlooked by the majority of the field. He used a 3” Gulp Craw that he cut down and rigged

BOATER RESULTS Angler Fish Daniel Bonaccorso 15/15 Jamie McKeown 15/15 Steve Morgan 15/15 Kris Hickson 15/15 Mark Crompton 15/15 Liam Carruthers 15/15 Tom Slater 15/15 Steve Lampsakianos 15/15 Matthew Perry 15/15 Dane Tomaszewski 15/15

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 11.595kg 10.545kg 10.305kg 10.210kg 9.765kg 9.465kg 8.760kg 8.445kg 8.315kg 8.310kg

Payout $6,000 $3,500 $2,500 $2,000 $1,500 $1,000 Daiwa gear Daiwa gear Daiwa gear Daiwa gear

Scan the QR code to watch the Field Day 1 Highlights

Scan the QR code to watch the Field Day 2 Highlights

lost fish - especially on the final day - where he thought that the escape would cost him dearly, but ultimately he landed over a kilogram ahead of two-time champion Jamie McKeown and three-time winner Steve Morgan. “That trophy will live on the mantelpiece for the next year for sure,” Daniel concluded, “so I can look at it every day when I get home from work. It’s pretty special.” MCKEOWN MISSES THIRD TITLE Showing Sydney Harbour as an arena where anyone in the country can excel, Jamie McKeown again put up a strong showing in an event that’s 1000km away from his home waters.

BREAM OPEN presented by Famous for winning the event twice on Sow and Pigs reef in the lower Harbour, this time McKeown used his expertise in crankbaiting moored boats with a de-tuned Zipbait to turn up the heat on day 2 (with the biggest bag of the day). Day 1: 5/5, 2.935kg Day 2: 5/5, 4.115kg Day 3: 5/5, 3.485kg After a sub-par Day 1, he boxed over 4kg on the second say and put himself very much into the running. That bag was anchored by a 37cm fork length fish that are a crankbait and stuck. “I had a few decent fish eat the crankbait and not hook up and I told my observer that when you land all of those bites, that’s when you win the Open,” McKeown lamented. Jamie started the first day on the reef, but baled on the plan after an hour. “I have learned my lesson

Jamie McKeown weighed a sub-par bag on the first day, followed by a limit of over 4kg on the second. His key to success was refining his boat crankbaiting pattern. Scan the QR code to watch Jamie McKeown’s Interview

Jamie’s worst finish in an Australian Open has been 6th place, which he recorded in 2023. not to stay there if the fish aren’t around and it wasn’t until late in the session that the boats showed themself as the pattern to be on,” he said. Jamie used a ZipBaits Khamsin Jr in colour 473 that he would slightly de-tune with a pair of pliers to run either left or right after splashdown. “ You just tweak the towpoint and it means that the lure will swim sideways into the boat hull. It also means that if your cast is a little off, that’s no problems as sometimes the lure landing away from the boat is good. It means that it doesn’t spook the bream,” he continued. His outfit of choice was a Samaki Zing Xtreme C12 paired with a Daiwa Freams 2500 spooled with X-Brais PE 0.6 and a short, 6lb fluorocarbon leader. He also retrofitted the hooks on the lure with Decoy trebles. Riding the pattern on Day 2 yielded his biggest bag of the event.

“Queenslanders do well down here because it suits our style of fishing,” Jamie concluded, “and there’s so many fish in here. I would have caught 10, 29cm fork length fish in the last hour. This place is full of fish.” MORGAN CLAIMS ANOTHER OPEN PODIUM 2023 Australian BREAM Open Champion, Steve Morgan, continued his love affair with Sydney Harbour, boxing over 3kg every session to again end up on the podium in the iconic event. Having landed all the fish that mattered in 2023 in Middle Harbour, it was no surprise that he again milked that corner of the waterway for a string of 30cm+ fish, albeit on a greater variety of baits and techniques than the previous year. Morgan used the 65mm Cranka Crab in Olive, the Outback Breamer Baits mussel, a fishin.com.au stick minnow

and a weightless Ecogearaqua in salt and pepper to collate his bags, varying the baits and techniques to suit the conditions on the day. Day 1: 5/5, 3.17kg Day 2: 5/5, 3.645kg Day 3: 5/5, 3.49kg “Because I only get to fish Sydney Harbour a handful of days a year, I find it’s better to pick a part of the Harbour and learn that bit well, rather than try to do everything at once. Each year I put a bit more of the puzzle together,” he said. For Morgan, that puzzle is to avoid weighing bream smaller than 30cm fork length at all costs. “If you don’t weigh a bream smaller than 600 grams (30cm fork) the whole event, you’ll always be up there. Each morning, Morgan would start in the Eastern Harbour to try and assemble a quick limit on moored boats before junk fishing up Middle to upgrade the catches. “For the first two days, it seemed like I could only get bigger bites late in the session as the tide started to run in. Some of those were on the edges and some off structure like navigation markers and

I’d catch most of the upgrades on the larger Cranka Crab. I’m getting really confident in that bait as an upgrade lure,” he said. Fishing the baits on a variety of Daiwa INFEET rods and spinning reels, it was a full straight-through fluorocarbon presentation for everything except the big crabs. “I fished those on braid and 7lb Daiwa X-Link leader to give me the confidence to throw them into some truly nasty structure,” he said. With anglers being tracked through the Estimator scoreboards while live on the water, the Daiwa BREAM Australian Open has become Australia’s premiere, spectator friendly event. A heap of volunteer observers add to the coverage with mobile phone footage from out on the water. Make sure you scan the QR codes hereby to see the interviews, highlights and Daiwa’s Pursuit video coverage links. Scan the QR code to watch the 2024 Daiwa PURSUIT Video.

Steve Morgan always seems to be haunting the podium at the Open. The 2023 Champion finished 3rd. AUGUST 2024 105

New South Wales Tide Times

Victorian Tide Times

2021 2024 Times and Heights of High and Low Waters20212021 Local Times andLocal Heights of Time High and Low Waters LONG 151° 14ʼ ELONSDALE and Heights of High and Low38° Waters 18ʼ SWALES LONG 144° 37ʼ ETime POINT POINT – VICTORIA VICTOR SYDNEY (FORT LONSDALE DENISON) ––NEW SOU SYDNEY Times (FORT DENISON) – LAT NEW SOUTH

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALESPOINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA SYDNEY (FORTLONG DENISON) – NEW LAT 33° 51ʼ S 151° 14ʼ E SOUTH WALES LAT 38° 18ʼ S LONG 144° 37ʼ E T DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES POINT LONSDALE VICTORIA LATSOUTH 33° 51ʼ S WALES LONG 151° 14ʼ E SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW POINT–LONSDALE – VICTORIA

T 33° 51ʼ S LAT 33° 51ʼ S LONG 151° 14ʼ E LAT 38° 18ʼ S LONG 144° 37ʼ E ES SYDNEY DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES JULY MAY AUGUST MAY JUNE JU and Heights of HighJUNE and(FORT Low Waters Local Time Times and Heights of High and Low Waters and Heights of HighTimes and Low Waters Local Time FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL JANUARY and HeightsTime of High and Low Waters LAT 38° 18ʼ S m LONG 144° 37ʼ E51ʼ LAT SS LONG LAT 38° 33° 18ʼ 51ʼ LONG 144° 151° 37ʼ 14ʼ EE LAT 33° S Times LONG Time 151° 14ʼ Em LAT 33° 51ʼ Time m m Time m Time m Time Time MAY m Time m JUNE AUGUST m Time mTime m Time m JULY mTime Time m MAY m Time Time m and Low TimeTime m TimeWaters m JULY TimeJUNE m Time m Heights JUNETime JULY AUGUST Times and of High LocalTime Time m Time Times Heights and Times and and Heights of High High and Low Low Wate Times Heights and Low Local m Time MAY JUNE Times and and Heights m Waters Time m Time m Time m of HighTime Time m Time Time mm Time m JULY Time m Water Time m Time m m Local Time Time m of

2024

0633 0.53 00061.36 1.68 0519 0.58 0145 1.34 0150 1.40 1.26 0554 0.36 0037 1.78 0057 1.60 0557 0452 0623 0034 0.51 0052 1.4816 02081 1.63 1.41 0134 m1.71 0205 16 1.57 0046 0.69 0122 1.60 0034 1 1.26 0113 1.39 0028 1.52 m Time Time Time m0.49 Time Time m0.54 16 16 1 1 MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST OCTOBER SEPTEMBER 1155 m1.39 AUGUST 0740 0744 1238 1.30 0646 0.43 m 1117 m1.28 0750 Time 0.51 0807 0.62 OCTOBER SEPTEMBER N OCTOBER SEPTEMBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER Time m0835 Time m 1 0735 Time Time m Time m Time Time m 0735 OCTOBER SEPTEMBER 16 1 1 16 16 1 16 1 16 1 1 16 1148 0.55 1.30 1041 0.38 1158 0.58 1.47 0821 0.65 0637 0.48 0.56 0825 0.55 0923 0.65 0601 0.67 0706 0.68 0642 0.62 16 1 1 1 16 1 16 1 16 1SA0037 16 1 16 1 16 17251.78 0.65 SU 1345 1.33 1358 1.38 1804 0.76 1303 1.43 16400.53 0.75 1225 TU 1430 1.59 1446 1.43 WE TH FR SU MO 0006 1.68 0633 0145 1.34 0150 1.26 0057 1.60 14121904 1.18 0034 1.79 14301748 1.31 0623 1.22 0.69 1.18 1.42 1.36 1.37 1900 1.50 0.80 0.58 1.58 1.54 0.75 MO TU 1257 1.41 TH 1307 FR FR FR 12381.40 SA 14160046 TU 1533 0.51 SA MO TU 1245 WE 1245 0207 0557 0452 1848 0.66 MO 23141.30 1.71 2110 0049 0.56 0.76 23590.49 1.8816 1238 1911 0.79 19400.62 0.78 1 1.62 16 16 1 2319 0740 0744 0.54 0646 0.43 0807 1935 2114 0.78 1932 0.32 2028 0.60 19490.51 0.71 2042 1.47 0.88 1935 1910 0.51 1928 0.56 0.55 183516 0.59 0750 0.74 1.54 1.44 1.35 1928 1 1 1 16 1 16 0938 1148 0735 1.30 0748 1041 0.38 1158 0.58 0735 160.760.61 0118 161.58 11.43 16 1446 1WE 1804 1 1.54 16 1345 1.33 1.38 1.59 1.43 16 1 16 16 1 1 16 1 TH11358 FR 1303 SU MO 1430 16 1 16 1 1 1 16 1427 1900 1.50 1245 0.80 1257 0.87 1748 1904 1245 0.75 0608 0030 1.68 0255 1.18 0301 1.25 0138 1.66 0148 1.47 0100 1.58 0700 0.43 SA SA MO FR TU WE TH 0146 1.50 1.27 0158 1.41 0307 1.60 0108 1.52 0233 1.63 0225 1.58 0317 1.52 1848 0.56 2114 0.76 17 0.7917 17 1940 0.78 0023 0.74 0135 0.65 0.47 2 171928 172 0130 2057 20.6208281.38 2 1.44 2 0.68 2 2 0648 2 17 20801 0.66 20.67 17 221911 20043 17 20534 172110 1207 1.25 0.52 0858 0.65 0.56 1.42 0.54 0.45 1300 1.31 2319 0.74 1.54 17 1717 170733 220938 20.58 0739 0.541720724 0.710835 0.73 0955 073317 09411935 0.61 0.65 17 102117 0.65 0853 1922 2 0656 1.29 0842 1.32 1121 0.42 0735 1.40 0849 1.50 1726 0.80 1335 1.34 1542 1.47 1538 1.64 1447 1.35 1451 1.41 1359 1.49 1825 0.74 1350 1.62 TH 1.31 SA 1544FR 1.17 1.13 1531 1.17 WE 1636 1.24 MO TU SU FR 1353 1.58 SA 1323 1.27SA SU 15341.25 TU MO 0030 1.68 TU 1305WE 0255 1.18 0138 1.66 0148WE1.47 0100 0301 1231 0.65 0.89 1836 1.52 0.68 0.85 SU WE SA TU TH 1345 0315 0023 0.74 0135 0534 1.38 0043 0.65 1906 0.77 2227 0.72 2230 0133 0.50 0.57 2019 0.82 2045 0.81 1957 0.67 0.68 2021 0.40 1948 0.54 2007 0.61 2126 0.68 191317 0.66 0853 20530.56 0.79 20521256 0.81 0130 2157 0.47 0.85 1336 2 221.54 17 0858 0.65 0835 0.54 217 0724170.52 0828 0.58 0733 0.45 17 17 2 17 2 17 17 17 2 17 2 2 2 1947 1.44 2019 1.40 17 1959 1.51 2023 1.50 17 2 17 17 2 2 2 2 17 17 2 2 2 0656 1.29 1043 0842 1.32 0848 1.37 1121 0.42 0735 1.40 0849 1.50 1335 1.34 1542 1.47 1447 1.35 1451 1.41 1359 1.49 1538 1.64 MO FR 1.290239 SA TU 181345 18 3 3 0.890342 0406 3FR 1347 18TH 1906 3 3 0206 3 18 3 18 3 2019 0243 1.53 0248 1.42 0415 3 1.58 015618 1.50 WE 03431336 1.56 1.59 0421 0.85 1.52 0422 00000.77 1.66 1.56 0245 1.37 0200 1.48 1.16 1.22 0.95 01000.82 1.77 0126 1.63 1231 0.65 1542 1836 1.52 1256 0.68 SU SU SA18 TU TH 2227 0.72 2045 0.81 1957 0.67 2230 0.50 18 08470.570.601830815 18 3 18 3 0116 0.75 0.65 0001 0.75 0144 0.59 0.43 0.750925 0908 0.75 11193 0.62 08361.51 0.70 11002019 0.64 1053 0.59 18 1109 1.50 0.63 0230 3 18 3 18 3 0809 0.49 18 0702 0.62WE 0742 0911 0.61 0825 0.47 1.40 0953 0.66 1001 2009 0.57 1.38 0230 2205 0.50 1947 1.44 1959 2023 3SA0628 3 0958 1.55 1.45 1450 1.45 FR 1451 1.48 1.22 1.12 142118 1.18 17051.22 1.13 1656 1.22 1.44 172318 1.32 0808 1.26 TH1.37 SA1433 SU 1.46 MO TH 13031.63 1.24 1349 TH 1544 1.40 15431.34 1458 1.57 WE3 1637 1.52 1645 1.36 1.72 14141.56 1.28 1.41SU 1712 TU SU TU0858 WE 0945 MO 0406 1.16 0422 0239 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23 1.50 1138 1310 0.38 1915 23 1.67 231.57 81.96 23 2339 8 1.81 2314401.90 23 8 0611 0.42 0.47 0.25 1347 0.31 0.52 0254 1429 0.45 22 0.30 1407 0.28 2017 80.688 230505 FR 1518 SA TU TU23 TH0047 MO 1857 FR 1840 1.71 1850 1935 1.79 23 8WE 23 81835 23 8 0649 1.39 0711 1.29 0732 1.39 0.92 0601 1.55 23 1125 0.40 0641 1.50 1.45 23 0811 1.33 1755 0.89 1456 1703 0.73 1844 1353 1329 1.65 211581.38 20451844 1.47 2011 1.85 2009 1.75 1.71 0852 2019 1.2423FR 2027 1.36 20060.82 1.46 FR TH SU MO TU 1.55 0040 1.43 1.50 0533 0603 0.50 10 SU0053 251915 25 0123 2036 10 10 1237 0.59 12420.37 0.6125 FR 13060.22 0.46 12170.61 0.53 SU 1228 0.44 17480.39 1.72 1435 1856 0.39 0.85 1344 0.50 0.81 TU MO10 2350 1.388TH 2339 1.50WE 0124 0.54 0139 0.27 0254 0216 0.37 8 8 23 0SA0104 2523 0047 10 25 10 25 10 0729 0.33 1242 1300 1.60 02341.45 0.55 0142 0.60 0200 1.39 0.46 0031 0.58 0147 0.43 0852 0252 0.53 02210657 0.28 0.25 022723 0.51 0644 2015 1.84 1910 1.74 19191.71 1.77 1944 2.01 18361.39 1.59 1903 2.01 25 2100 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1411 1.84 1840 0.86 SA FR MO TU WE TH SA 1SU0144 11 26 26 11 26 26 0032 1.54 0144 1.56 0128 1.46 0213 1.50 0033 1.42 13110.48 0.60 TH 13190.22 0.45 1322 0.60 12490.56 0.53 MO 12100.30 0.37 1519 0.41 1425 0.46 1359 0.45 WE FR TU MO SA 0202 0145 0253 0.32 0331 0.25 0230 2115 1934 0.870315 0.27 2005 0.75 1942 0.769 0121 0.541945 0226 0.57 0251 0.38 0.51 02400.78 0.33 0642 03091926 0.52 030524 0.50 0724 99 0629 2141 0.37 1.76 205325 1.86 1.79 1956 2.07 0328 19570.26 1.81 19111.38 1.6624 0740 18361.48 1.86 2033 2.02 109 0746 0.26 0815 0.36 0.44 9 07522525 24 24 0826 0730 1.31 0849 1.37 1.41 10 25 0800101.85 0900 1.79 10 0923 2.04 25 0948 1.73 10 0903 2.00 0933 09191.47 1.65 10 0922 1.6925 0901 1.47 10 10 10 25 25 10 25 10 25 25 10 25 10 25 25 10 10 25 1338 1.81 1459 1.84 1434 1.75 1522 1.73 1339 1.68 SA TU WE TH SU 1311 0.60 TH 1319 0.45 WE 1451 13220032 1425 0.46 0.45 0326 0144 1.56 0128 0213 0157 25 1.49 1.54 0033 1.42 TU SA 1359 12 1.46 27 12 1545 0.39 1603 0.15 161512 0.40 153427 0.16 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1704 SA 1634 WE 0544 0425 0.52 1.56 0528 0.38 1.49 0527 0426 0.33 03451.99 0.25 2310 1.43 0417 0.50 0519 0.32 0437 0.40 03161.83 0.51 0254 1.58 0400 0236 1.48 0524 31 31SU 1704 2332 1.39 2300 1.72 2229 2154 1.84 2250 1.78 13 28 13 28 13 28 32133 28 2127 0.67 2235 0.70 2212 0.66 0.62 2110 0.76 12 27 12 12 27 27 12 1210 1.45 0.47 2256 1133 1.4014 1142 1.51 0945 1.50 14 1015 1.32 1120 1.39 1036 1.35 0913 1.41 0856 0.21 1000 0.44 0929 0.40 1016 0.54 0830 0.36 1006 1102 29 14 29 29 29 14 0024 1.65 0557 0.57 0616 0.36 0541 0.54 0004 1.76 0610 0.58 0445 0.41 0458 0.56 14 29 14 29 14 29 14 29 290.50 14MO 1652 141724 140708 2915210.320.51 140.62 31 FR0519 31 31 1820 0.64 29 1715 0.59 1.71 1737 1540 0.68 1649 0.61 1608 0.59 14500.50 1603 1.82 1704 1.68 1634 1704 1.61 1532 1.75 1.68 SA WE FR TH 0527 0.33 0544 0.52 0417 0437 0.40 0528 0.38 14 29 14 29 14 29 14 29 TU FR SA SU WE WE 0627 0.40 1200TU 1.47 1221 1.54 1139 1.40 0.55 1206 1.26 1116 SU 2.01 1120 1.69 MO 29 14 0446 14 2245 0338 1.55 0315 1.48 1.42 0430 1.49 29 0510142331 1.40 2331 1.64 0.66 2347 1.60 21541.39 2.08 2213 1.81 2318 1.87 2235 21191.32 1.7928 1120 28 WE 13 2127 0.67 2235 0.70 2212 0.62 2110 0.76 0.43 1.51 1015 1036 1.35 1133 1.40 1238 1.69 1804 1142 0.53 181728 0.47 1210 17241.45 0.60 1.20 2256 172528 0.76 1759 0.19 1751 0.44 TH TH 1.81 FR SU 13031042 MO SU 13 MO 13 28 13 13 0942 0.28 0906 0.37 0.52 1014 0.46 1053 0.62 © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology 1737 0.50 1820 0.64 1540 0.68 MO 1649 0.61 1608 0.59 1715 0.59 1855 0.36 2352 1.66 1818 0.80 2356 1.37 FR SA 1611 WE 0015 0519 1.28 1.55 0609 0.38 1.40 0500 0.51 0610 0.40 0518 0.45 03551.81 0.52 04431.87 0.28 TU 2235 1.75 1.73 1.61 1.68 1.56 WE 1647 TH 300606 SA 1743 SU 1714 MO 1735 0607 0338 1.55 2331 0315 1.48 0446 1.42 0430 1.49 0510 Datum of 0.41 Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide 2347 1.60 2213 2318 1.81 1.64 30 15 30 15 30 15 15 29 29 14 14 29 14 4Copyright 30 of1.43 3006261014 15 29301044 1513 300.28 150906 30 15 Commonwealth Australia 2020, Bureau Meteorology 30 151141 15 15 0619 0.59 30 1232 1.54 1059 1.30 1213 1.37 1122 1.36 1218 1.40 0.46 0952151.37 2209 0.67 2146 0.75 2318 0.70 2257 0.61 2332 0.60 0100 1.65 or 0006 0.62 1.71savings 0000 1.46 0114 1.64 0043 1.77 0.58 0537 0.59of 28 13 28 13 28 13 0942 0.37 1053 0.55 1042 0.52 1053 Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) daylight time (UTC +11:00) when in 15 15 30 15 15 30 1254 1730 1.43 30 0.55 1622 0.71 1744 0.67 1656 0.61 1804 0.66 1.68 1524 0.66 0.59 30 15 15 atum of 0.51 Predictions is1614 Lowest Astronomical Tide 0816 0.62 30 0713 1.56 0.59 0540MO 0.43 0727 0.48 07161.61 0.46TH 12211.28 1.32 1154 1.62 TU SU 15 SA 1838 FR SA 0015 0500 0610 0.40 0518 0.41 0606 0.45 0609 0.38 1647 1.75 1611 1.73 WE 1.63 1759 1743 1714 1735 WE TH TU TH SA SU MO Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter 0421 1.50 0355 1.46 0534 1.37 0521 1.47 0558 1.37 1919 0.69 2254 1.78 2319 1.76 2155 1.78 2246 2.01 1416 1.17 1310 1.24 1206 1.93 1330 1.49 1315 1.36 1757 0.66 1821 0.47 29 14+11:00) 29standard 14 29savings MO TU TH 2146 FR SA TUor mes in local time MO (UTC +10:00) daylight time (UTC when in effect 0619 0.59 1059are1.30 1213 1.37 11222209 1.36 1218 1.40 1232 2318 1.54 0.67 0.75 2331 0.39 0.70 2257 0.61 2332 0.60 14 0041 14 1131 0.70 0.86 0.61 182729 0.80 1101 0.54 1845 1939 0.66 0.48 14 190029 0.60 1254 0.36 0943 Last 0.39 1.43 1622 0.71Symbols 0.67 1656 0.61 First 1838Moon 0.55 SU TU 1744 WE 0.24 TH 1804 SA 1025 New Moon Quarter Quarter19241120 oon Phase Full 31 31 1.46 0007 1.74 0013 1.50 0542 0.34 0545 0.53 0601 0.42 0435 0.54 0106 1.17 31 1731 1.67 1650 1.69 1819 1.55 1754 1.63 1.51 31 31 31 TH FR SU MO TU 1806 0006 1919 0.69 2254 1.78 2319 1.76 0421 1.50 0355 1.46 0620 1.53 0534 1.37 0521 1.47 0558 1.37 0032 1.64 1.3830 0658 0.47 152252 5 1033 1.32 30311143 1.38 15 0657 0.45 30 2344 0645 0.52 15 14 1146 0033 1.29 12110.69 1.39 30 0703 0.65 2225 0.74 0.56 14 29 14 29 29 14 1025 0.36 0943 0.39 1141 0.65 0658 1120 0.61 1101 0.54 1131 0.70 31 31 31 0717 0.62 0619 0.64 1.56 MO 1346 1.42 13051.50 1.36 13041.17 1.40 17091.74 0.66 17100.42 0.73 WE 17491.46 0.64 FR 16000.53 0.71 SU SU 1328 1806 TU SA 0013 0041 0545 0007 0601 1731 1.67 1650 1.69 TH 1.55 0106 TH FR WE 1813 FR 1220 SU 1819 MO TU 0.70 13101754 1.24 1229 1.53 SU WE 1948 0.57 1.51 0622 1839 0.73 1859 0.72 1.63 0001 23410.47 1.91 15 1211 2339 1.73 22321.29 1.7530 0658 2030 0.70 1.58 0010 15 30 30 0507 1.43 0437 1.44 1.46 0.59 0645 0.52 0657 0.45 1146 1.39 0703 0.65 2252 0.69 2225 0.74 1836 2344 0.56 1838 0.73 1853 0.51 15 30 15 30 15 © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 1107 0.45 1023 0.43 0630 1.32 1151 0.64 0650 1.35 1304 1.40 1328 1.56 1710 0.73 © WE 1305 1.36 1749 0.64 1346 1.42 © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Bureau of Meteorology FR SU TH MO Copyright0642 Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Bureau of Meteorology © Copyright Commonwealth 0213 of Australia 2023, Bureau of Meteorolo 0.42 00580.70 1.37 1.10 1859 0.72 1.44 1948 0001 0.57 0.70 2339 1.73 0.73 2030 1.58 1731 1.64 1200 0010 0.70 0.59 1838 0018 1.58 1212 0045 0.79 Datum of Predictions Predictions Lowest Astronomical Tide FR 1815 SA MO TU WE 0507 Tide 1.43 0437 0.37 0622 1.46 Datum of isis Lowest Astronomical 31of1839 31 31 1244 1.34 0723 0.58 0800 0.70 Datum Predictions is©Lowest Astronomical ©Datum Copyright Commonwealth of30 Australia 2023,Tide Bureau1842 of Meteorolo of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2023, Bureau of Meteorology 2336 0.71 time 2305 0.72 1857 1.49 1.35 1.47 15 30 15 30 15 15 1107 0.45 1023 0.43 0630 1.32 0650 0726 1.51 0753 1151 0.64 Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings (UTC +11:00) when in effect 1807 0.73 Times 13531.10 1.41 1448 1.42 are in+10:00) local standard time (UTC +10:00) SA TUtime 0058 1.37 0213 TimesMO are in local standard time (UTC orLowest daylight savings time1.64 (UTC +11:00) when in effect Datum of Predictions is0.79 Lowest Astronomical Tide Times are in 1212 local standard (UTC +10:00) or daylightSA savings ti 1:00) when in effect 1815 1.58 1731 1200 0.70 1230 0.75 1304 1838 1.58 Datum of Predictions is Astronomical Tide FR SA MO WE TH TU 2001 0.76 2148 0.68 31 New Moon Moon Phase Phase Symbols Symbols31 First 0723 0.58 0800 0.70 Moon Full Moon New Moon Quarter Last Quarter 0526 1.42 Moon Phase Symbols FullFirst Moon Quarter Last Quarter Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00)1.52 or daylight tim Moon Phase Symbols New Moon Firstsavings Quarter 2336 0.71 time 2305 0.72 1857 time 1.49 1842 1.47 1900 1921 ull Moon Last Quarter Times New are inMoon local standard (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings (UTC +11:00) when in effect 1353 1.41 1448 1.42 31 SA TU 1107 0.49 Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter 2001Moon 0.76 1.42 1815 1.59 Moonof Phase Symbols 2020,New Full0.68 Moon First Quarter SU 2148 Last Quarter 0526 0110 0.37 © Copyright Commonwealth Australia Bureau of Meteorology 2351 0.69 31 31 0832 1.50 Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide 1107 0.49

0557 1.26 1.36 0046 0.69 0452 06231.34 1.40 0034 0.51 0006 1.681.41 0633 0.53 0519 0.58 0145 0150 0554 0.36 0037 1.78 0057 1.60 1148 0.55 1041 1158 0.58 0735 1.47 0646 1.30 1117 0.51 0.49 m m1238 0744 m0.54 m m0.430.38 Timem m0750 m 0.62 Time1.30 Time m m Timem mm 0735 Time m m TimeTime m mm Time Time Time TimeTimem0807 Time Time Time me1155 m 1.39 Time Time Time Time m 0740 m m1.28 TimeTime m m TimeTime m1748 TimeTime m m Time TimeTime m 1900 1.43 1.50 MOMO 19041.59 1.54 TU 1245 0.80 1303 1.431.58 SU 1430 SA1446 WE 1245 0.75 TH 1358 1.38 FR FR TU 1345 1.33 WE 1804 0.76 A 1725 0.65 SU 1640 0.75 1.44 2319 1928 1.54 0.57 0.38 0.76 0005 0.50 0144 1848 0.660.74 2314 1.71 2110 0220 0.56 2114 1911 0125 0.790545 1940 0.78 0.27 0.19 0259 0.48 02330039 0.340.45 0039 0.27 0.540.51 0.39 0.40 02260125 0.45 0125 0.39 1935 0117 0.64 0.40 0145 0.45 0306 0356 302359 1.23 1.88 0013 0414 0518 0506 1.16 1.39 0.49 1.44 00390003 0.270.71 0117 01440006 0.19 0125 0.39 1.43 0039 0117 0.40

1.40 08500855 1.51 09010800 1128 0700 1.51 0754 0637 1.40 1.67 1.99 1.981.40 0043 08561038 1.781.31 0935 1.31 1.45 1.670023 0637 1.40 0720 0937 1.34 27 0.66 0.65 0.53 0720 0601 1011 1.21 0.35 1044 1107 06370632 1.401.33 0724 07540653 1.67 0720 1.31 0.57 0724 1.45 0.74 0.68 0534 0.65 1.37 0135 0030 1.68 06081.62 0.61 1815 1.53 0255 0301 1538 1.25 0700 0.43 1.661832 0148 1.47 0100 1.581.38 0.86 1302 0.95 0.93SA1.18 1214 0.76 1218 0.41 0.28 1624 0.24 1539 0.400.92 0.48 1514 0.43 1218 0.41 1256 0.52 WE 1719 TH 1.67 0138 SA 0.52 SU 1200 MO TU 1211 TH 1339 FR 151300 1.54 1.31 1729 0.62 FR 1430 0.90 1541 1218 0.410.78TU 1358 0.28 1256 0.52 1.58 1317 0.48 MO WE MOMO SU FR SU MO SU TH 1124 SU MO TU 1317 WE 1358 SU 1256 1121 0.42 0735 1.40 0656 1.29 0.19 0853 0842 1.32 0724 0.52 1207 1.25 0858 0.65 0.56 0835 0.54 0828 0.58 0733 0.45 2338 0.78 1921 1.48 1.52 1908 2001 1.44 2138 1850 1.58 2010 1.471.36 2129 1.311.26 1845 1.88 1.79 2221 1.33 1.41 1845 1.88 1921 1.72 011825 0.71 0.74 1807 2247 1.77 0.78 2104 1.26 2205 18451843 1.881.49 1927 20101830 1.79 1.72 1335 1927 1.59 1836 1256 0.68 1231 0.65 0.89 WE 1336 SA TU 1.34 1726 0.80 1542 1.47 1538 1.64 1447 1921 1.35 1.72 1451 1.59 1.41 1359 1.49 2108 SU MO

1947 1.44

1959 1.51

2019 1.40

1906 0045 0.77 0.69 2227 2230 0.50 2019 0.820012 0.66 2045 0.81 1957 0.55 0.67 0.42 0.72 0120 03180124 0.400.45 02570423 0.560.53 0.520.48 0.18 0145 0.38 02550224 0.48 0120 0.17 0157 0.37 03470302 0104 0455 0.43 1.41 0025 0555 37 1.21 0.45 1.32 0157 0120 0.17 0.17 0157 0.37 0.37 01450056 0.380.46 0225 02250044 0.18 1.41 1.49 1.16 0905 0812 1.52 0839 0116 0.75 0.65 0001 0144 0.59 0722 1.53 0949 2.001.39 0933 1.811.39 1023 1.96 1.80 1.37 1.51 09220959 1.71 0722 1.53 0755 1.37 0230 07220738 1.531.33 0754 0755 1.37 1.42 0754 1.51 08390749 1.80 1.25 0.39 170100 0.66 1.77 0655 1050 0614 1146 1.23 0.62 0000 1.66 0406 0422 1.22 0239 0755 1.560654 0126 1.63 0245 1.37 0200 1.480.75 1045 1.38 1142 0628 1.34 0858 1.44 0808 1.26 1.36 0.95 0.98SU0.66 1357 0.87TH 0.30 1633 0.201.00 1617 0.380.86 1713 0.28 0.20 0.48 0.44 1551 0.41 1310 0.30 1335 0.48TU 0945 FR 1857 MO WE FR 1444 SA TH 1804 SU 1222 TU 1307 0702 0.62 0953 1001 0.57 0925 0.57 0815 0.50 0911 0.61 0825 0.47 13101245 0.300.88WE 1335 0.48 0.68 1354 0.44 14511256 0.20 0.59 1.56 060809 1.62 0.49 1141 0.57 1.47 TU MO MO SA TU 1554 MO 0.82 1710 TU 1310 MO 1335 WE 1354 TH 1451 FR 1218 SA TU MO 1209 1402 0.78 1321 0.75 0.96 MO TH 1438 1909 1.43 2106 1.38 1.52 2006 1.32 1.53 1939 1.53 SU 1932 1.93 2233 1.39 2210 1.301.71 2311 1.31 2100 1.74 1.71 1.57 2145TU 1.37 1303 1.24 1637 1645 1.72 1.401921 1433 1.41 1543 1.46 1458 1.570.48 1932 1.93 1957 19321920 1.931.44SA 2000 1957 1.71 2000 1.57 2100SU 1.74 1.81 0.78 0.62 1.28 1857 1820 1.79 TU2327 WEWE O591414 TH 1544 1957 FR 2236 1.32 1930 1.47 2058 2318 1.48 1.28 2108 2036 1.38 1.37 1934 0.80

1822 0.83

2129 0.81

2015 0.75

2155 0.79

2114 0.64

2330 0.65

2341 0.41

0.54 0.74 0.45 0405 0223 0.46 0252 0435 0.55 0.36 0.12 0.39 03250332 0.510220 03360530 0.570.52 0.21 0227 0.36 0329 0201 0.12 02270109 0.36 0.60 0201 02010130 0.120.66 0211 02110151 0.390.43 0306 03060125 0.21 0147 0544 0.39 1.38 0109 0025 37 1.22 0.33 0.79 0227 0426 0.49 0.75 0.48 0534 0.61 0052 0.51 0056 1.62 0513 1.25 0339 0827 1.490817 0228 1.59 0344 1.31 0310 1.41 09551103 1.42 1.49 1.17 1015 0918 1.55 0924 1109 1.89 1038 1.971.40 1014 1013 1.821.43 1.41 0806 1.64 1.56 1.89 1.73 0827 1.41 1044 0806 1.64 0827 1.41 1.44 08060843 1.641.36 0824 0824 1.56 09240848 1.89 1.29 0.46 090209 0.64 1.68 0740 1135 0700 0655 1.32 1.27 0922 1.27 1.42 0735 1.33 1.53 1235 1144 1.44 08001.50 0.61SA 1230 0.73 1046 0.66 1106 0.54 1009 0.59 0905 0.48 0954 0.62 0919 0.49 0914 0.53 FR 1855 1346 1.02 SU 0.99 1508 1759 0.34 1727 0.251.02 1700 0.380.76 0.46 1401 0.23 0.43 0.17 1630 0.411422 1412 0.46 1401 0.23 1412 0.46 0.80 1401 0.230.97TH 14301407 0.430.96FR 1545 0.17 TU 1336 TH MO SA 1602 SU MO 1323 WE MO1.58 TU WEWE TU WE 0.56 SU 54 1.71 1233 0.47 1633 0.83 1550 1.00 1307 0.57 1517 0.85 TU WE TU 1412 WE TH 1430 FR 1545 SA 1306 TU FR TH 1816 1713 0.68 TU 1407 1.26 1728 1746 1.80 1.47 1530 1.52 1632 1.52 1558 1.66 WE WE TH FR SA SU MO U 1525 1.30 1940 1.41 2003 1.40 1955 1.39 2216 1.35 2120 1.30 2015 1.50 2033 1.49 2358 1.29 22541.48 1.281.69 2200 1.69 2020 1.91 2033 1.53 2151 1.64 2225 1.332126 2328 2030 2020 1.91 2031 1.44 2200 1.35 1.31 1.36 2030 20200.70 1.91 2033 21512230 1.64 1.82 0.84 1908 1.91 2234 2030 2354 1.44 0.78 1.69 2128 2300 1.53 0.74 0.56 2050 0.82 1941 1929

0330 0.71 0157 0.70 0402 0.43 0.56 0.52 0336 0252 0.42 0348 0.45 0.57 0453 0.550.44 0417 0.591.33 0523 0.60 0.36 0243 0.12 0.41 0.28 03580443 0.55 03480214 0.28 0254 0.36 0.53 02430221 0.120.63 0236 0236 0.41 0254 0.36 0426 0243 0.12 470320 0.52 1.62 0226 0015 0152 0119 0.23 0.78 0.37 0.77 0020 0039 0.32 0433 0254 1.450213 0333 1.56 0442 1.28 0422 1.361.35 0158 1.61 0022 0541 0.47 1030 1.32 0900 1122 1.64 1.51 1.45 1123 1023 1.59 1011 1.52 1.20 1128 1.901.45 1055 1.810.50 1153 1.80 1.44 0851 1.73 1.60 1.94 10301206 1.74 10110951 1.94 0859 1.44 1.52 08510945 1.731.41 0854 0854 1.60 0859 1.44 1137 0851 1.73 301012 1.26 0.55 0819 0646 0746 0813 1.41 1.25 1.32 1.35 0607 0633 1.31 1049 0859 0.590935 0956 0.46 1038 0.62 1016 0.500.66 0858 0.58 0625 1234 1.51 1539 0.89 1418 1636 0.88 1701 1.00 WE TU FR SA 0.90 1.01SA 1720 0.95TU0.63 18211628 0.32 1744 0.391.48 1843 0.410.50 0.46 0.19 0.42 1641 0.18 1711 0.42 1641 0.181.07 1447 0.46 14551438 0.191.04MO 1506 0.42 1447 0.46 1455 0.19 SU 1320 WE FR 1448 MO SA TU 1432 TH 1516 SU TH WE TH 2255 WE TH FR MO 1136 1206 0.49 1718 1.54 1626 1.64 1717 1.59 1658 1.77 1512 1.33 0.61 1.36 1323 0.38 0.53 0.55 SA TU WE 1447 TH 1455 FR 1506 WE TH 1814 FR0.97 SA 0.83 SU E591626 TH1229 MO SU 1349 1316 2215 1.35 2137 1.43 2300 1.50 1.37 WE TH 2135 1.45 2245 1.35 1.652245 1.32 1.65 2109 1.83 1.47 1.28 1.270.66 1.51 22452050 1.511.35 2101 1.65 1.48 21092053 1.831.38 2107 2107 1.47 2101 1.65 2109 1.83 1814 1842 2340 1.87 2331 2101 0.732112 2240 0.61 2357 0.68 2342 0.46 23062325 2043 0.81 422203 1.81 0.79 2021 1952 1955 2025 1.98 1.37 1.82 1.45 1903 0432 0.64 0313 0.62 0507 0.34 0516 0.50 0102 0522 0321 1.420319 0438 1.54 0536 1.27 0531 1.351.44 0129 0.25 0304 1.62 00450323 1.270.17 0022 1.250.41 0503 0.610.38 1225 0.38 0323 0.17 0.44 0.37 04340545 0.59 0.50 0358 0.40 0431 0.44 0.49 0450 04310313 0.37 0321 0.38 0.46 03230316 0.170.59 0303 0303 0.44 0321 320423 0.42 1.59 0300 0115 0.37 0.73 0233 0224 0.16 0.76 1129 1.40 1025 1224 1.74 0115 1.40 00591.59 1.58 0652 1.24 1127 0.59 1046 0.44 1121 0.62 1115 0.49 0724 1.37 1100 0.55 0950 0.52 06110937 0.65 0544 0.63 1139 1.79 0930 1.47 0937 1.80 0925 1.62 1059 1.93 1109 1.72 0930 1.28 1044 1.48 1056 1.49 0808 1.34 1044 1.61 1126 1.62 1302 1.55 1221 1.52 1059 1.93 0930 1.47 0937 1.80 0925 1.62 0930 0.50 1.47 1.80 0.86 0.96 20 1.30 0857 1.34 0831 1.49 TH 1656 0.90 WE 1541 0.72 SA 1746 0711 SU 1758 0642 0.46 1221 0.59 1758 1.61 1719 1.78 1800 1.65 1755 1.87 1300 0.43 1.44 1609 1.44 FR SU MO TU WE SA H471716 FR 1236 1.69 1217 1.80 1831 0.40 1524 0.47 1549 0.21 1545 0.44 1737 0.23 1755 0.46 1424 0.92 1551 1.07 1601 1.08 1334 0.66 1548 0.95 1631 1.01 1827 0.87 1740 0.85 2304 1.36 2240 1.46 2359 1.52 2349 1.39 1737 0.23 1524 0.47 1549 0.21 1545 0.44 1524 0.47 1549 0.21 FR WE TH TH FR SA SU TU MO 0.32 SU 0.52 TU 1414 MO TU SU SA TH WE FR TH SA FR 0.55 MO 1429 TH FR 1320 1.57 1350 1.51 FR 1856 1.72 2346 0.50 1931 TH 1.91 2307 0.74 21541.43 0.74 2113 1.35 2133 1926 0.48 1917 0.41 1.58 2159 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0223 0230 0.43 0754 1.34 1.51 0839 1.800.55 0725 0922 1200 1.39 1152 1.55 TH 1743 0949 1354 0.65 0.44 1451 0.201.40SA 1551 WE 0958 SA 1315 0.48 1749 TH WE 0.92 SA 1449 MO FR 1453 2000 1.57 2100 1.741.01 2145 2124 1.47 2102 1.35 1925

0306 0.210.53 0219 0211 1.34 0.39 0325 0045 1.53 0016 0320 0338 0.39 0924 1.891.46 0801 0824 0.62 1.56 0955 1050 1103 1.61 0622 0.62 0607 1545 0.171.02SU 1430 1.38 0.43 1630 1600 0.94 FR FRSU TH 1608 SU 1352 SA TU 1254 1.45 1232 TH 2151 1.641.34 2000 2033 0.54 1.53 2225 2229 1.46 2203 1844 0.32 1830

0422 0445 0.36 0236 1.44 0.41 0348 0.280.48 0253 0358 0147 1.68 0104 1147 1205 1.67 0854 0.60 1.60 1011 1.941.52 0835 1030 0725 0.60 0651 1709 0.99 1720 0.92 MO W SU 1506 0.42 1641 0.181.35 1711 FR 2331 SA MO 1429 1343 1.51 1306 1.41 1.47 SA 2308 FR MO

2107 0.45 1.47 1905

2245 0.18 1.51 2306 1936 2033 0520 0.43 0431 0.371.59 0326 0434 1240 0242 1.79 1059 1.930.93 0909 1109 1807 TH TU 0815 0.59 1545 0.44 1737 0.23 1755 SA 1336 1.44 SU SU 1429 1.55 TU 1505 SA TU 2143 1.40 2339 1.38 2351 2025 0.10 1.39 2107 1937 0.38 0030 1.49 0010 0639 0.31 0611 0431 0.49 0516 0.480.38 0515 0331 1.84 0317 1.60 1.75 WE 1329 1.65 0400 TU 1353 FR 1058 1.63 1148 1.870.85 0943 1152 1915 0.81 1856 0900 0.58 0900 0.60 1725 0.47 MO 1837 0.32 WE 1845 SU 1505 1513 1.57 WE 1541 1.46 SU 0123 1.50 MO 0105 1.44 2321 1.32 2113 0.07 0.35 2140 2108 0.33 0729 0.33 0659 1.75 TH 1414 0502 0.55 0037 1.261.70 0043 S WE 1440 0418 1.83 0349 1.64 2005 0.75 1942 1133 1.61 0606 0.590.76 0435 0602 0945 0.58 0933 0.60 1016 1808 0.51 1241 1.771.49TH 1241 MO 1536 TU 1556 1.50 TU 0157 1.56 1.47 MO 0213 1941 0.41 TH 1617 1943 0815 0.36 0745 2200 0.10 0.34 2213 2140 0.31 1522 1.73 1456 1.73 SU TH FR 0141 1.170.67 0141 0003 1.24 2052 0.71 2027 0503 0421 0513 0701 1.77 0.69 0537 1.65 0.61 0700 0.59 1005 1.49 WE 1027 0246 1338 1.661.53FR 1050 1214 0.61 1.58 1337 TU 0259 1.53 1608 0.41 WE 1638 0831 TU 0859 2050 0.490.35FR 1654 1859 1.47 0.56 2045 1.70 SA 1535 2245 0.17 1.73 2245 2211 0.30 FR 1600 MO 2136 0.67 2113 0051 1.17 0254 1.130.58 0249 0454 1.64 0548 1.67 0552 0619 0.67 0808 0.751.55 0810 0343 1.46 0335 1039 1109 0.61 1301 0.64 1.54 1.560.40SA 1125 1443 WE 0939 0.47 TH 1444 0918 1641 1.45 1721 1.47 WE 1633 2000 0.60 2158 0.531.71SA 1733 2148 1.66 THSU 1614 TU SA 2243 0.31 2330 0.26 2322 2217 0.64 2159 0.50 0152 1.12 0408 1.15 0358 0426 1.43 0425 0530 0635 1.56 0923 0.771.56 0634 0926 0715 1.60 0.73 1006 0.54 1112 0.64 1555 1.490.47SU 1202 1553 1400 0.67 1.50 TH 1016 FR 1151 1652 1.68 1704 1.61 SU W 1714 1807 1.39 TH 2256 FRMO 2257 0.550.43SU 1820 2245 2112 1.41 0.60 2245 0.62 2314 0.32 0510 1.211.55 0459 0307 1.10 0510 1.40 0519 0014 0.37 0611 1036 0.750.55 0005 1040 0827 1.53 0.75 1053 0.62 1053 0725 1.46 1145 0.71 1.56 SATU 1730 1700 1.471.63MO 0720 1659 1512 1.51 MO TH FR 1735 2332 0.60 2331 0.39 1236 0.68 1246 1748 1.37 FR 2225 0.54 SA 2345 0.53 MO 2334 1859 1.30 1917 2346 0.34 0620 0558 1.37 0559 1.281.53 0551 0427 1.15 1141 1131 0.70 0656 0059 0.48 1139 0.700.65 0057 1147 0948 1.46 0.72 1.51 WE 1813 1.58 FR TU 1806 1753 1.37 1.47 1759 1627 0.75 1.56 SU 0819 TU 0812 SA 1220 2326 1.33 0.45 SU 1327 0.72 SA 1828 TU 1340 0010 0.59 0018 2004 1.22 0.37 2032 0531 1.25 0025 0.501.51 0021 0650 1.35 0726 1212 0.79 1230 1102 0.63 0639 1.370.75 0159 0640 WE 0027 0.38 TH S 0148 0.59 1842 1.47 1900 1732 1.65 1232 0.631.52WE 0911 1249 SU 0747 1.40 MO 0915 1.31 1838 1.47 1855 1300 0.78 1431 0.74 1445 SU MO WE 0110 0.37 1921 1.28 2130 1.18 1.50 2203 0832 0059 0.48 0105 0016 0.35 FR 1324 0.84 0715 1.461.47 0313 0727 0623 0.43 1.38 0250 0.69 0115 1954 1317 1.27 0.57 1348 1206 1.35 0.51 TU 1012 TH 1013 MO 0848 1917 0.72 1.47 TH 1600 1950 1828 0.78 1.73 TU 1555 MO 1354 2252 1.20 2324 2032 1.25 0101 0.26 0130 0.45 0149 0709 0.51 1.53 0747 0.76 1.53 0814 0410 0436 0217 1302 1.33 0.39 WE 1105 1359 1.26 0.51 1445 TU 0956 FR 1113 1919 0.74 1.79 WE 1711 1955 0.65 1.46 FR 1712 2044 TU 1504 2202 1.27 0158 0.45 0819 1.28 1.61 0000 1436 0.78 0.46 TH 0533 2031 1.45 TH 1154 1.27 1805 0.56 0545 0.33 0303 1.53 0.44 1301 1.72 0144 0925 0.60 1.62 0.87 MO 1822 0728

SU 1815 1.59 FR 1324 0.84 ustralia 2020, Bureau of Meteorology Times Tide arepredictions in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time Australian (UTC +11:00) when in effect 2351 0.69 1954 is1.47 for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material supplied in © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology stronomical Tide New Moon First Last Quarter Moon Phase Full Moon good faithSymbols and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition thatQuarter no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) whenDatum in effectof Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian of Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss © Copyright Commonwealth Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology w Moon First Quarter Quarter Full Moon Times are inLast local standard purposes. time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (U or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions shouldAstronomical not be used for navigational Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to Datum of Predictions is Lowest Tide Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter include acceptance of the above conditions. Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effec Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter 106 AUGUST 2024

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Stacer Wildrider 589 SE with Yamaha 150hp FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

When it comes to Bowrider boats on the Gold Coast, Steve Jenkins from Whitewater Marine summed it up nicely: “The husband comes in looking for a fishing boat, then he returns with his wife, and they end up driving out with a Bowrider,” he said, confidently, on a sparkling Gold Coast winter’s morning. We were standing next to the Stacer Wild River 589SE Bowrider – a locallyproduced model that’s popular on the sun-drenched Gold Coast and, more broadly, around Australia. It was the shop’s demo boat (that was looking for a new home at the time of testing) that the staff use to take potential customers out on test drives. When we suggested that the boat’s design was a good compromise between fishing and leisure, Steve politely disagreed. “This boat will do everything,” he said. The rig was supplied on a twin-axle

SPECIFICATIONS Length ............................................. 5.95m Beam ................................................ 2.30m Max HP...................................................150 Capacity.................................8 persons Fuel .........................................................110L Hull weight....................................750kg Top Sides..........................................3mm Bottom Sides.................................4mm Transom ............................................4mm Stacer trailer, which has a few advantages over a galvanised steel, single-axle trailer, which is also an option for this boat. “The aluminium trailer is considerably lighter than the steel version,” Steve said. “This lighter weight, plus the second axle, mean that you can safely load up this boat with all the things you need for your holiday. Lots of people use their boat like a box trailer.” Indeed, with the Telwater ‘Catch and Release’ system, this boat is dead simple to launch and retrieve single-handedly, which will keep dad happy when he heads

out on a solo mission. The angler of the family will also appreciate the front casting deck, which simply converts to a bow lounge with the addition of the floor infill and some cushions. Add an electric motor base plate and you’re ready to take on some lure casting from the bow. At the stern, the ski pole converts into a bait station with the addition of the custom tray, and the rear lounge folds away to let you get right up against the transom. There are a couple of underfloor wet areas that can be used for fish boxes at a pinch, so on paper, Steve’s correct. This boat can be set up to do most kinds of fishing, and do a great job at it. From the amenity side, the split windscreen and twin consoles offer plenty of shelter for the family when you’re travelling, and an extended bimini gives you shade at rest – even though the bimini on the test boat was a little short to walk under without having to stoop over. Powered by a Yamaha DEC150XCA motor (which is HelmMaster compatible), this is the maximum horsepower that the boat is rated for. The economy was pretty good across a range of revs; anywhere between 3,000 and 4,500rpm saw economy in the 1.8-2.1km/L range. Couple this with a 110L underfloor fuel tank, and theoretical ranges over 200km PERFORMANCE RPM Speed

(km/h)

The Wild Rider 589SE was fitted with the maximum HP allowed – a Yamaha 150 4-stroke. 108 AUGUST 2024

Economy

(km/L)

600 ................................ 6 ......................... 3.1 1000 .............................. 9 ......................... 3.1 2000 ........................... 13 .........................1.6 3000 ...........................27 ......................... 2.1 3500 .......................... 38 ......................... 2.1 4000 .......................... 44 ........................2.0 4500 .......................... 49 .........................1.8 5000 .......................... 56 .........................1.5 6000 .......................... 68 .......................... 1.1

on water are entirely possible. Drive it at wide open throttle, and this figure drops to just over 1km/L at 68km/h and 6,000rpm. This is standard for a modern 4-stroke outboard. At the dash, a small sounder will fit flush-mounted, and there’s a mountain of storage space under the consoles,

Main: Steve from Whitewater Marine says the Stacer Wild Rider is very popular with couples on the Gold Coast. He says it can do everything! Above: The most economical cruising speeds were between 3,000 and 4,000rpm. although placing your feet underneath is a little awkward, and there’s nowhere to really wedge them in. Getting in and out of the craft is easy both on and off the water, with a transom door and drop-down dive ladder working on the trailer and on the water. Pricing for this model Wild Rider starts at around $75K for a boat/motor/ trailer package, although as tested, the demo boat would cost you $82K if you wanted the identical model. It’s always worth a call to Whitewater Marine if you want a deal on this demonstrator. They’re ready to sell it. Visit www.whitewatermarine.com.au for more information.

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Top: An alloy I-beam, twin-axle Stacer trailer is made in the same factory as the hull – at Coomera on the Gold Coast. Above: The Catch and Release launching system means you can easily launch and retrieve the craft by yourself.

BOATING TEST

Top: With the deck infill, the front deck can be a casting deck (without cushions) or a lounge (with cushions). Above: The Wild Rider had deep gunwales, which helps keep smaller kids onboard.

Top: The Yamaha gave this rig a top speed of 68km/L while delivering 1.1km/L at 6,000rpm. Ease up to 4,500rpm and 50km/h for significantly better economy. Above: The Wild Rider features a rotomolded dash insert that will flush mount a small sounder.

This rear lounge folds away for when you’re fishing with your mates.

The ski pole doubles as a base for the bait board on this boat.

Top Left: There are some long side pockets to swallow up your day gear. Top Right: Egress from the water or into the boat is easy with the folding dive ladder and transom door. Bottom Left and Right: Tuck the dive ladder away and shut the door for a full-height transom.

Left: There are two of these underfloor wet storage areas that can double as fish boxes. Top Right: The bimini is large, but in the test boat it was a little low for an adult to walk under. Bottom Right: There’s plenty of room in the console box for all your valuables. AUGUST 2024 109

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