Fishing Monthly Magazine | July 2020

TOP TARGETS IN JULY • HOW TO CATCH MORE FISH THIS WINTER

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Boating & Kayaking Doggone dugongs and pesky pike • Storing your kayak • Clark Cod Catcher 410 •

Features

Going old school for luderick • Safe storage for plastics • Vic’s rec fishing program • Fishing on the far side • Testing Booth: Cutless rods •

Species Spotlight

Bob Thornton discusses all things luderick

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CONTENTS

OUR COVER July 2020, Vol. 1 No.3 TAS

QUEENSLAND Tweed 16 Gold Coast South 18 Gold Coast 20 Brisbane 24 Northern Bay 26 Noosa 28 Hervey Bay 30 Lake Monduran 31 Yeppoon 33 Mackay 34 Whitsundays 36 Townsville 37 Hinchinbrook 38 Cairns 39 Port Douglas 38 Cooktown 39 Freshwater 46 QLD Kayaking 44 NEW SOUTH WALES North Sydney 52 Pittwater 52 Sydney Rock 54 Sydney South 56 Ballina 57 Yamba 58 Coffs Harbour 60 Hastings 62 Forster 64 Port Stephens 65 Swansea 68 Illawarra 70 Batemans Bay 71 Bermagui 72 Tathra 73 Batlow 76 Hunter Valley 77 New England Rivers 78 Canberra 74 VICTORIA West Coast 84 Warrnambool 85 Apollo Bay 84 Cobden 85 Geelong 86 PPB West 88 PPB East 90 Western Port 92 Phillip Island 93 Gippsland Lakes 96 Bemm River 95 Lakes Entrance 94 Mallacoota 95 Robinvale 99 Wangaratta 98 Shepparton 100 Bendigo 101 Ballarat 102 Eildon 103 W/S Gippsland 103 6

JULY 2020

From the editor’s Desk...

WA

Mati Bats from Bats Fishing with a beautiful mulloway.

An Andy McKinstray image.

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TASMANIA Hobart 105 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance 108 Bremer Bay 108 Augusta 109 Metro 112 Bunbury 113 Lancelin 116 Geraldton 117 Kalbarri 118 Broome 118 Karratha 119 Freshwater 120

With further easing of COVID restrictions, it’s feeling like we are getting closer and closer to normal. In lots of the country, fishing and boating businesses are reporting that they’re busy and, in some places, it’s never been this hard to get a car park at the boat ramp in June!

Maybe it has something to do with the reduction in community sports and events and maybe it’s just that a lot of us are appreciating the socially distant activities more, but let me say that the industry is appreciating that you’re getting out on the water.

Even the more southern states that are used to parking the gear for winter have seen increases in activity.

What we hope is that all of the new-tofishing and returning-to-fishing anglers stick with us and keep enjoying their time on the water.

Increasingly, government is listening to the fishing and boating narrative. It’s a healthy pastime. It’s good for kids and mental health and anglers seem to become more and more aware of their impacts in the fish and the marine environment.

We’ve always said that there are no better custodians of the marine environment than anglers.

Maybe it’s a selfishness from us that recognises that someone doing the wrong thing impacts our enjoyment in the future?

Regardless, you only have to look at an enforcement agency’s post on social media where a boat and gear has been seized and

25

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Has COVID changed how we work here forever? Time will tell. Regardless, it’s good to finally have some space to move around. And I think that Mick Molnar’s carved fish have finally found themselves a permanent home.

SHIRT OFFER To celebrate the new magazine breaking into iSubscribe’s Top 20 magazines (across all categories), we’re offering a $130, 2-year subscription deal that gets you a free FM fishing shirt and neckscarf. See the details inside this issue or call the 1800 number listed below. Kym will be happy to take your call!

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REGULAR FEATURES Freshwater 120 Going old school: luderick 8 How to store plastic lures 12 Starlo’s back to basics 14 What’s New Fishing 48 Testing Booth: Cutless rods 49 Sheik of the Creek 79 Vic’s rec fishing program 82 WIRF 104 Recfishwest 106 Trades and Services 122 Track My Fish 124 Storing your kayak 126 TEST: Clark Cod Catcher 410 128 Tide page 130 COMPS AND OFFERS Find the logo Sub page Fun page

destroyed to see the level of support these guys have for throwing the book at those doing the wrong thing. It’s off the charts!

OFFICE RENOVATIONS With nearly all of our staff working from home (I’m pretty sure that some of them don’t want to come back) we’ve taken the opportunity to do a few renovations around the office. At the time of printing, we’re just finishing up on the reception and new studio areas. These facilities will help us create more digital content that advertisers and consumers seem to want.

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No school like the old school BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

In recent years, luderick, otherwise known as blackfish, seem to have taken a back seat to other saltwater species. There are probably a number of reasons for this, but I still get excited by the prospect of tangling with these

style of fishing may be due to the knowledge we’ve built up about other species, and the temptation to move our focus elsewhere for a feed or some sport has never been greater.

Another reason may be the misconception that luderick fishing is too technical and involves too much specialised gear, and is therefore best left to the old-timers who fish for luderick and nothing else.

Luderick Rig

Coloured float line or braid mainline Float stopper

Pencil float

Rubber beads for shock absorbance Ball sinker

often I find myself stopping at pontoons and boardwalks to see if there’s weed growing when I’m meant to be headed somewhere else...

If you want to have a go at luderick, I’m going to provide everything you need right here. I am, however, only going to be covering estuary luderick fishing.

Fishing from the ocean rocks is a different game, and best left to someone who does it more often. The estuary, in comparison, is far safer, but by no means any less productive.

Estuary luderick can be targeted either from the shore or a boat, and this style can be extremely relaxing compared to the constant washing of the waves and rearranging of the feet that comes with ocean rock fishing.

RIGS This is an area that deserves the most attention.

‘Can I use a spin reel?’ is

fibreglass rods, however, will become more apparent once you start doing it!

In the estuary, the trick is to run your rig naturally in the current (what luderick buffs will call a ‘drift’) and having a reel that allows line to run freely off the reel without resistance or tangling is a huge asset. Centrepin reels aren’t hard to come by, with many different types available around the world, and local manufacturers like Alvey still making centrepins specifically for blackfish!

On this reel, you want a mainline that floats. This is very important. If your mainline sinks, you’ll have a hard time controlling your line on the drift, striking, and it may also sink down and catch on structure. There are many monofilament lines made specifically for float fishing from trusted brands like Yo-Zuri, Sunline

4-8lb Fluorocarbon trace - 60-80cm from swivel Swivel

Splitshot

No. 6-10 Panfish or Sneck hook

little weed grazers as the temperature starts to drop along the East Coast.

A FORGOTTEN ART Luderick have been targeted with centerpin reels, long fibreglass rods, handcarved floats and weed baits for over 100 years in Australia and, amazingly, these tactics still work an absolute treat.

Despite this, there aren’t many people targeting them anymore.

The shift away from this

While this is partly true, it’s far more accessible than you might think, and with a bit of know-how, it’s actually quite simple. One of the nice things about luderick fishing is that once you have the right gear, you won’t need to replace it very often, if at all! In fact, many blackfish anglers have been using the same setups for 30+ years!

One downside is that once hooked, you can become insatiably addicted. Quite

Battered or crumbed and then fried, they make a great meal with a side of salad or chips. It seems chips were a bit too much to ask on this occasion...

eyelets) and a float stopper sits on the top of the rig.

Floats can be bought and even made quite cheaply. I use floats that my dad made 25 years ago! Stoppers can be just a bit of cotton wool or heavy mono uni-knotted onto the mainline, however these days most anglers use proper rubber stoppers. These are easily adjustable, and this is handy, as you’ll want to adjust your depth as the tide changes throughout the session.

Below this you’ll have your bulk weight (usually a simple pea sinker). The weight of this will depend on your float, and you may need to experiment a bit to find the right weight.

I like to have my bulk weight sandwiched between two little rubber beads. This may seem strange, but they actually prevent your float getting

Andrew Thornton inspects a good luderick taken from a rock wall under a bridge.

Like the California point break it was named for, the Rincon has a classic West Coast straight bridge, wrapping style lines and edgy curved temples.

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mainline. This also works very well, but keep in mind that you’ll have to account for the fact that there’s no stretch.

I have found myself having to cup my hand around the bottom of the centrepin to let them run. Hooking up at close range is always an interesting time with braid!

A purpose built blackfish rod between 8-11ft is fine for estuary work. If you can’t find something that specific, surf style bream and whiting rods should be fine. Something on the shorter end of the scale for the boat and longer on the land is the general rule of thumb for me. I like to have a bit of extra reach when I’m standing on a rock wall.

Now down to the nittygritty. Arguments about rigs have raged on for decades, and I’m not about to throw

probably going to be the most common question, and the answer is yes! The reason luderick anglers traditionally use centrepins and long

RINCON

8

Some chunky luderick come into the estuaries during their breeding season, which varies up and down the coast but usually falls in the cooler half of the year.

OPTIMAL USE: • Sight fishing in full sun • High contrast

and Maxima, and anything between 10-15lb is perfect.

Bright fluoro colours will also be a huge help, as you want to see your line and mend it with your rod, just like in fly fishing. I have experimented with heavy braid (around 30lb) for a

any strong opinions into the ring. I will lay down the basics, the rest is up to your own experimentation! I’ve provided a rough diagram so you have a general idea of the layout.

Starting from the top, a pencil-style float (with two

knocked around while you’re striking at tentative blackfish all day. The sinker banging into the float can damage the eyelets and give it a short life, and the rubber beads (available at any tackle shop) will simply give you a bit more bang for your buck!

Below this I have my swivel – a simple size 12-14 is fine. This will connect my mainline to my trace, which for estuary blackfish can be anything between 4-8lb. In the age of fluorocarbon, I think you’d be mad to use

only put the final touches on the float’s balance, but they’ll also get your bait down to where it needs to be. I usually end up having 2-3 on my trace, and I like to stagger them along the length, as this seems to prevent tangles.

green colour to disguise the rig! These peculiar hooks are still available, however I believe any small panfish style hook is fine. Just keep it small, around size 6-10 – luderick have small mouths, and your long soft rod will

There are two main types of weed that reliably tempt luderick – sea cabbage (also known as sea lettuce) and green weed (also known as hair weed). Finding this stuff can be a challenge, and when you find it, it’s worth keeping your supply close to your chest! One peculiarity of blackfish anglers is that the secrecy is not in where they catch their fish, but where they collect their weed!

Off the ocean rocks weed is often available onsite, and if you live nearby one of these locations it may be a good place to collect it, but if not you may have to do some homework.

Once collected, it will

This berley mixture of cabbage and wet sand is perfect for a morning session! Having a consistency that allows you to shape it into balls and plop it into the water is important. The sand helps to get the bits of weed down to where the fish are feeding, as without it the weed would float.

Like other firsts, your first luderick is always special, and will probably result in an incurable fascination with these little weed munchers. Being an avid fly angler, Elliot took to luderick fishing like a duck to water. anything else, given that luderick have good eyes and can become leader shy in clear water. I only make my trace about 60-80cm long, and somewhere along it I have my splitshot. Splitshot will not

On the very bottom is the all important hook. In the old days the Mustad Sneck hook was all the rage with its square configuration, which prevents slimy weed baits from sliding off. They also came in a weed

keep them pinned even with such a small hook.

LET’S TALK WEED! Once you get into luderick, your life seems to revolve around weed and where to get it!

Luderick and centrepin reels go together like bacon and eggs... or maybe avo and sourdough toast these days. This 25-year-old Alvey 475B Luderick Special has seen its share of solid blackies, and the good news is Alvey still make some great centrepins!

keep in a bucket with some seawater for a few days, and up to a week if wrapped in wet newspaper and kept in the fridge. I usually get my weed the day before, and seldom need to use the fridge.

Whatever you do, don’t forget about your weed once it’s in the fridge. I’ve heard a few horror stories of people having to throw their fridges out because the rotting weed left such a stench in there! I certainly don’t want to be the unpopular housemate.

The first places to look would be the sides of pontoons, jetties and moored boats, retaining walls at low To page 10

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9

From page 9

tide, and in amongst the mangroves. Realistically, it can grow anywhere, so you may need to move around a bit to collect enough. You’ll need a good handful to make up your baits for a session, then a good 4-5 or more handfuls to make up your berley.

When fishing off the rocks, a natural stream of berley is created by the constant waves crashing over the beds of cabbage, and as it

worth talking about baiting up. As luderick have good eyes and can sometimes be quite fussy, setting up your bait to look as natural as possible is key. With cabbage, I like to grab a small pinch and fold it over a few times, thread the hook once through the strongest part (usually the root) and once more down lower. Some anglers like to put a few half hitches around the bait with their trace, but I’ve never felt the need to

Once your berley starts to work, double hookups can be common if fishing with a partner. gets washed off the ledge the luderick are there waiting. In the estuary, we don’t have this luxury, so we have to make it ourselves.

With the weed you’ve collected for your berley, chop it up as fine as you can (I usually use culinary scissors, but a good sharp knife and a cutting board will work) and throw it in a bucket. Then I’ll throw in some wet sand (not too wet) and mix it to the consistency that allows me to scoop up balls of weed and sand that hold their shape. The sand is important because it helps get the weed down to where the fish are ESSENTIALS Blackfish rod Centrepin or spin reel Floating line or braid Pencil floats Sinkers and Swivels Splitshot 4-8lb trace Panfish or Sneck hooks Bucket for berley Scissors or knife Long-handle landing net feeding. Without it the weed would float.

The ratio is another point of contention amongst old-timers, but I prefer to have a lot more sand than weed, as it allows me to spread out my berley further and fish for longer! I have also heard of people using lawn trimmings in their berley when unable to find sufficient weed.

While we’re on weed, it’s 10

JULY 2020

do this. Cabbage will come in many shapes, from long sheets to small crinkly clumps. You’ll just need to get good at rigging whatever you can collect.

With the hair weed, the best trick is to tease out a few strands, about as long as a finger and half as thick, and lay it over the shank of the hook, or just above the eye on the trace, and wrap each end in different directions. It’s not easy to achieve a good bait that stays on the hook, and I still struggle with it. My dad could probably do it with his eyes closed.

Something I have experimented with lately is weed flies fished on float rigs. Believe it or not, they work really well, sometimes just as well! The convenience of not re-baiting or even having to check your hook after each drift gives you a lot more fishing time, but it’s still important to have a berley trail.

FINDING LUDERICK Finding somewhere to begin your search isn’t a difficult task. Luderick hot spots are usually well known within communities, but if there are none in your local area, don’t worry.

In the cooler months luderick tend to school in channels with a bit of structure near the entrances to estuary systems. Break walls and any other artificial rock walls are classic places to find schools of luderick, particularly at the mouths of rivers and

creeks and under bridges. In failing to find these areas, collapsed mangrove banks are another go-to.

In any case, if you can see them swimming around, no matter what the area, it may be worth pulling up there and throwing in some berley, even if it doesn’t look like a great spot.

DRIFTS AND DOWNS Blackfish nuts can be a strange bunch, so it’s not surprising that they seem to have their own language.

When you hear them talking about ‘drifts’ and ‘downs’, a drift is where you run your rig without tenison with the current to appear as natural as possible, and a down is when the float is pulled under by a fish.

So once you’re stood on a likely wall, or anchored up along a nice bank, it’s worth taking note of which way the current is going, and how fast.

On a side note, I’ve never worried too much about the stage of tide, as each spot is different, and they will tend to feed when food is there rather than on a particular stage of the tide anyway. Assessing the current direction and trajectory simply gives you an understanding of where your float will drift, and generally you want a drift that will take your rig near the structure, and not way out into open water or up into shallow water where you might foul up. This can also give you an idea of how deep to set your float

then start to freely let out line with the reel as the float drifts away from me downcurrent.

This task is much easier with a centrepin, but can be done with a spin reel.

You can let your float go downcurrent as far as you like, but bare in mind if it goes down when it’s more than about 10m away, you’ll struggle to pull tight to the fish. If you do manage to hook a fish at that distance, the fish then has the upper hand and can easily brick you.

On the subject of downs, no two downs ever seem to be the same. Differentiating between the float going down from a snag and a genuine down takes a good eye, and a bit of experience.

This is made harder by the fact that a lot of the time, luderick won’t just rip the float down, but rather just take it softly, which sees the float barely slide under the surface.

When this happens, and you’re convinced a fish has grabbed your bait or fly, stop the centrepin running with your thumb or forefinger, and gently lift your rod until there’s tension. Sometimes, you have to wait 1-2 seconds before lifting, and other times, you have to go straight away. As a kid, I remember my dad teaching me to say ‘God Save the Queen’ before lifting. Yes, he is old.

When fishing with weed flies, I have found it much

and once your berley starts working, you can be in for a treat. I’ve had luderick so keyed into my berley

Cabbage (left) and green weed (right) both work equally well. Some days the fish seem to have a preference, but most of the time you have to use what you can get. Sometimes it’s clumped together like this, other times it comes in long strands. What’s important is whether it can be put onto a hook! trail before that balls of sand without weed tossed into the water was enough to keep them milling at my feet!

Once hooked up to a blackfish, the fun really begins. For something that eats aquatic weed almost exclusively, these fish put up a great fight, and with the long rods and light leaders required to hook them, they can be a handful. You may need to play each fish out for

They fight hard, they taste great, and they’re challenging without ever being impossible – what’s not to love about luderick? stopper. For me this can vary between about 3-10ft.

Once this is established, I like to toss in a few handfuls of berley to get the trail going.

After this, I like to just do one every 10-15 minutes, depending on activity.

From here, I like to lob my rig slightly upcurrent of myself (information on casting with centrepin reels is widely available), and let it drift back toward me. All the while I am collecting up loose line with the reel, without putting any tension through to rig to disrupt the float. Once it reaches me, I

more beneficial to strike sooner than with real weed or cabbage. My theory is that once they grab the fly, they’re quick to realise it’s not the real thing and reject it, and waiting a few seconds just gives them time to spit it.

With all this in mind, it’s worth knowing that on a normal day, you will miss a lot of fish, and some days you’ll have way more missed downs than hook-ups! Just keep experimenting with wait times, and you’ll soon find a rhythm. The hardest fish to catch is usually the first,

out, you can simply buy or improvise an extension for a shorter net you already have.

A major drawcard

a few minutes, allowing the rod to absorb the lunged and tire them out. With bigger models, you may even need to brace the centrepin with your winding hand and give them some line.

On the ocean rocks, anglers usually wait for a wave to wash their fish up onto the ledge, but in the estuary we don’t have that luxury. Nets are an important part of your kit, and from the bank, a long rod will require a long net. Longer nets for land-based anglers are available anywhere, but if you don’t want to fork

of luderick is their eating qualities, which I rate as top-tier for an estuary fish!

Just be sure to bleed them straight away and put them onto ice, or to keep your bag of fish alive until the end of the session and do the same. Luderick have a black gut lining, which is not very appetising, but once removed everything is very tasty.

Luderick are fairly stocky fish, and provide a lot of meat per fillet. You won’t need many for a feed, and in the areas I fish where models between 1-2kg are common, I find I can provide two meals per fish.

BY-CATCH By-catch will vary like crazy up and down the coast. In my home of South East Queensland, yellowfin bream are the most common by-catch, as they like to go after the small invertebrates that live in the weed. I have also seen butter bream, sickle fish and mullet taken on blackfish rigs in my area.

Further south, other players such as zebrafish and black drummer (both in the same family as luderick) show up to the party.

By-catch is fairly uncommon where I fish, and I find I catch about 95% luderick, however there are little oddities that show up every now and then to keep it interesting (not that it’s ever boring!)

A NEW CHALLENGE Anyone searching for a new challenge should definitely consider luderick.

They test every aspect of your angling, from the preparation to the mechanical, and everything in between. What’s more, it costs very little to get started!

Fishing in this way can lead to other challenges too, such as fly fishing for luderick, but that’s for another day...

A better way to fish

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11

Plastics that don’t play nice BRISBANE

Stephen Booth

Thermoplastic (TPE) lures are one of the most used plastics these days because their properties give them increased durability and a freedom of movement that most anglers desire.

problems as we do.

Let me be clear from the start: your lures interacting with other plastics is not a manufacturing fault. It is the end user not understanding the specific needs of TPE lures in regards to storage that is the problem. So, to solve that, I’ve been asked to write an article on the best way to store TPE plastics.

them for any length of time (sometimes as little as overnight).

My first heartbreak was over 10 years ago when two Transams and a Mask Vibe used for targeting threadfin in the Brisbane River were recklessly chucked in a tray with other plastics.

About a week later we were hitting the river again

about the mess a couple of years later and having a laugh about it after I eventually got over it, but I remembered that lesson well.

More recently I noticed some spinnerbait skirts had started to come away from the head. The rubber collar had deteriorated. Again I was saddened but had a chat to one of the spinnerbait makers and discovered that the plastic trailers often added to the lures could, over time, interact with the collar and cause it to expand and eventually break.

I looked through my spinnerbaits, especially those that I had put TPE trailers on and discovered potential disaster. Most of them had collars that were about to break or had already broken.

I then looked at some bass jigs that I had put ZMan CrawZ trailers on and exactly the same thing was

While this doesn’t kill the lure and it still works, the tail has melted off this glide bait and it looks unattractive. also said it was much harder with spinnerbaits, but most of the makers these days were aware of the issues and used trailer plastics that were fairly inert and did not react with the collars.

Even the more recent

looking set of fins or tail! Yes, I’ve had this happen too.

Over the last 15 or so years I have learnt the hard lessons. These lessons are presented below so you can use them to ensure your

These Zerek Fish Traps have been stored together for over two years without any damage whatsoever to the plastic. Store like for like and you’re on the way to having safe and useable lures.

But TPE has one massive drawback – the material is not very friendly with other plastics and, occasionally, not very friendly with other TPE lures from different manufacturers.

My work at Wilson Fishing sees us deal with a lot of comments from end users who don’t understand what is required to keep these lures and other lures safe from turning into a gluggy, useless mess. I don’t have to ask other TPE lure suppliers to know that they have exactly the same

MY EXPENSIVE LESSONS When they first hit the market, products such as soft Jackalls, ZMan and Terminator were must-have lures. The lures made from thermoplastic were as tough as nails, and stretched and wriggled like nothing else on the market. For every three flathead we would catch on a standard soft plastic before it was destroyed, a TPE lure would catch dozens! From an economic point of view, they simply made sense.

That was until we stored

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before work and as I went to rig up… and all three lures had ‘melted’ together with an Old Bayside 5” Shadlyn, which was the contaminant that started the ugly process.

I was super sad to find out that my actions had caused cross contamination and the destruction of three rather expensive soft vibes. It wasn’t the lures’ fault, or the supplier’s, it was just my sheer laziness and lack of knowledge. I immediately bought some replacements and still have them to this day.

I remember telling the Jackall importer Harry

My spinnerbait box and the lesson is that plastic trailers can and do impact on the skirts and rubber skirt collars. You can easily re-skirt the spinnerbait but if you can avoid prolonged storage of spinnerbaits with trailer plastics, it’s a better option. happening. I had a chat to Glen at Bassman and he suggested I remove all the trailers on the bass jigs, only adding them when I was about to use the lure. He

trend of swimbaits with soft tails and fins are impacted by this. I can tell you it’s a real heartbreak when a $75 swimbait comes out of the box with a cauliflower

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My spinnerbaits are more commonly stored in a worm-proof binder these days.

Again, if you’re storing for any length of time, be cautious of the trailer plastics.

valuable and sometimes expensive TPE lures don’t suffer the same fate that mine did.

USE A WORM PROOF TACKLE BOX/TRAY These days, it’s difficult to find a tackle box or tray from any larger supplier that is not worm proof. You can still find cheap and nasty ones that are not, but if you stick with the larger names, you’ll be fine.

Worm proof tackle boxes were designed not to react with soft plastic materials and allow anglers to take plastics out of their sale bags and have them stored within tackle trays.

This is the single most important thing to ask if you are buying a tackle storage tray or box if you are planning on putting soft plastics in it, regardless of whether they are TPE or standard plastic.

KEEP IT CLEAN If you are using an old box, do yourself and your plastics a favour and

clean the box thoroughly to remove any residue from other branded plastics.

This residue is a silent killer of new plastics and it takes surprisingly little ‘other’ plastic to melt your new plastics into a very unappealing blob.

This is the gremlin that got me and cost me half a dozen soft plastic vibes that were not cheap! It was not the fault of the lure, but the fault of the idiot who didn’t clean his box. You only ever do this once!

KEEP PLASTICS SEPARATED This is the biggest killer of plastics in modern times: storing unlike plastics together.

Plastics essentially hate one another and will refuse to play nicely together.

Always keep plastics stored that are of the same type together and do not mix them up.

For example, I will store my Zerek Fish Traps only with other Zerek Fish Traps – there will be no other soft plastic vibe that goes anywhere near that box!

The same goes for my Live Shrimp and Live Shrimp Hot Legs, and my Live

I find it best to store soft vibes from different manufacturers in individual, like for like, compartments. I’ve destroyed more than a few Lake Police Trans Ams in my time. These lures have been safe in this box for over 5 years!

Flash Minnow Wrigglies.

I will concede this takes up a lot of space and you may not have enough boxes to do this, but it is the only way I have found to be totally fool proof when it comes to storing plastics and avoiding disaster.

At work we have a

This is a lesson from the early Gulp days which saw a lot of jigheads wasted because a dry, shrivelled-up Gulp was like a rock around the hook shaft. The lesson is easily transferable to TPE plastics, as the sale container is the single best place to keep your plastics if you can.

In many cases this can’t be done because the plastics are sold in a way that makes it impossible to do this. However, there are plastics that this can be done with easily, and an increasingly large number of trays and boxes are built to accommodate plastics in packaging.

HEAT Most petroleum-based soft plastics hate heat and can melt together, with colours running and creating some very

However, if you can get them just warm enough and just a little bit expanded, well then you’re starting to talk about a good plastic!

TPE lures are not so dramatically impacted by heat, but it’s just a good idea to keep your plastic trays or bags out of direct sunlight such as on the deck of the boat or in your car. I haven’t had a TPE plastic destroyed by heat, but some of the people I have talked to say it’s an issue – one which can be easily avoided with a little care.

PROTECT YOUR LURES These are a few tips on keeping your plastics in good working order. If you have stored other plastics in a container I cannot guarantee there will not be damage done, even after you’ve washed it out.

plastic sandwich bag that has had about 30 Live Shrimps in it for at least the last five years. They are still in perfect condition as no contaminants were present when they went in.

PACKED FOR LIFE If it is at all possible, or practical for that matter,

Two glide baits from the same box stored in different compartments. One compartment was infected with other plastics and the tail is now gone. These are around 10 years old when glide and swimbaits first started making an impact on the barra lakes, well before the cod anglers discovered them.

A classic destroyed lure from being stored in a tackle tray that was ‘dirty’ from other plastics. I’ve had much worse disasters and I bet a fish would still eat this one though!

storing your plastics in the sale container they came in is the best way to ensure your plastics never get destroyed by other plastics.

It also means your plastics do not usually get bent out of shape.

interesting ‘new’ colours to use. Bio-baits such as Gulp are terrible in direct sunlight and heat. They expand and suck up all that lovely Gulp juice and become too soft to use – yep, I’ve done this too!

The moral of the story is that plastics, particularly thermoplastics, should always be kept separated.

Do this and your plastics will last you a very long time – or at least long enough to hook that monster!

JULY 2020

13

Fishing on the far side www.fishotopia.com

It’s interesting to gaze into the crystal ball and wonder about the possible shape of our lives — and our fishing — beyond the current COVID pandemic…

So quick has the pace of change been through this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that I’ve frequently found the things I’m writing for this column to be a little dated by the time of their publication, despite the relatively short lead times for the magazine. Who knows exactly where we’ll all be at by the time you read this? We may be almost back to “normal” (fingers crossed!), or we could be in the midst of a second or third “spike” in infection numbers, with our activities once again severely

about how the fishing world might look this time next year, or even the year after that Gazing into my personal crystal ball, I can see five significant trends in Australian recreational fishing that

An empty beach with nothing but seagulls for company… bliss!

Busted up finger or not, it’s hard to conceal the simple pleasures of getting back to basics and catching a couple of fish on bait to take home and eat. Photo courtesy of Andrew Mayo.

Species like Australian salmon have been overlooked and even denigrated for far too long. It’s high time we celebrated them. curtailed in the interests of public health. It’s impossible to know for sure.

So, rather than look at the short term situation, I thought I’d step back a little and make a few “big picture” predictions

our deep love of solitude and Castle-style “serenity” will only grow following this global pandemic. I expect to see lots more savvy anglers fishing alone or with just one or two companions in

I believe will far out-live the current COVID-19 pandemic. Here they are, in no particular order: 1. Crowd avoidance: Most keen fishers have never been big on crowds, and I reckon

future, while actively avoiding those spots such as popular, accessible jetties and rock walls that have tended to draw big mobs of eager hopefuls in the past… We’ll value our space more.

2. Reduced air travel: For at least the next few years, I suspect many people — anglers included — will be much less keen on travelling by air, especially internationally.

This may also be compounded by increased airfares and reduced competition on some routes. The exceptions for Aussies will likely include New Zealand and some of our other near-Pacific neighbours, who’ve come through the early waves of the pandemic extremely well, just like us.

But overall, I expect to see a lot more fishos taking local holidays and driving to their chosen destinations instead of flying.

3. Increased emphasis on fishing for food: Shortages,

queues, high prices and a reluctance to go shopping any more often than we absolutely had to made many of us appreciate catching a feed of fresh seafood even more through this pandemic than we did before it. I’m guessing this newfound respect and appreciation for the very important ‘hunter/gatherer’ aspects of recreational fishing will linger long after the crisis.

I expect to see more anglers fishing for a feed more often, and also embracing ways of preparing and cooking the so-called ‘B-Grade’ species that have been less highlyprized as food fish in the past.

4. Efforts to reduce our reliance on imports: I also expect to see a little more in

the way of locally-produced tackle on our shop shelves and mail order sites in coming seasons. Unfortunately, this is unlikely to extend to complex, high-volume products such as spinning reels or baitcasters, but it will definitely be reflected in a lot more homegrown lures, flies, rods, boats, apparel and angling accessories… and that can only be a good thing! So will be a reduction in our reliance on just one or two sources of imported equipment… It’s time to look further afield and to question exactly where our tackle comes from.

5. Greater willingness to embrace science: Throughout this pandemic, the sources we’ve come to trust were

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mostly scientists, doctors, health workers, chief medical officers and other ‘experts’ in their fields, and with good reason. Overall, we found the information coming from these front-line people to be far more reliable than that offered by the media, politicians and ‘Karen on Facebook’. Hopefully, this return to a deeper respect for science, reason, facts and logic will continue long after the pandemic, whether it involves the management of fish stocks, habitat protection, responses to climate change or a myriad other issues.

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JULY 2020

15

Southern

OLD

The chills are multiplying THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

The water temperature has dropped and the current has finally slowed to 0.5-2 knots on most close reefs. This has allowed anglers to fish deeper reefs and opens up a lot of different styles, with finesse fishing techniques doing the best.

Light weighted plastics,

holes in the river and around the river mouths. Bream and trevally species are really starting to thicken up in packs around most rock walls, wrecks, submerged structure and around bridges. Chopper tailor are starting to run in the rivers, and working light gear in current lines is producing really well. Tailor, mulloway, bream and flathead are sitting in most gutters along the Tweed Coast.

choice. Anglers have been finesse fishing offshore using 15-20lb or a 20-30lb set up with 1/4oz jigheads on close reef, and up to 3/4oz jigheads for out around the 24 and 36 fathom reefs.

The 5-7” plastics that are working best are the pearls and bright colours, such as nuclear chicken, around sunrise and sunset. Natural colours, such as pumpkinseed, bloodworm and blue pearl, are working well

Beau Riding with a metre reef jack. smaller micro jigs, octa jigs and drift baits are producing off Tweed this month.

Mulloway are sitting in most

OFFSHORE It’s snapper time! With the easing of the currents, anglers are overwhelmed for

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on the 24s and deeper. Style is everything with the flutter jigs – a smooth action and double and triple lifts off the bottom, then allow them to flutter back to the bottom. Staying in contact with your jigs is crucial. Lighter main braid will allow you to get to the bottom quicker and fluorocarbon leaders will protect your jigs from any rough bottom.

Use 15-20lb and 20-30lb for close reefs, and 30-40lb and 40-60lb for bigger jigs and deeper depths.

Drift baiting is one of the most productive way to catch fish on close reefs, but judging the current and depth is crucial in sinker size. Once you find your sinker size, there are a few different rigs you can run: Sinker straight to hook; swivel, leader, sinker, then hook; swivel, leader, sinker, swivel, leader, then hook.

Double snelled or stinger rigs work well for larger baits.

Most of the mixed pannies that get caught are on just sinker to hook and a half pilchard.

Remember you want your bait to look as natural as possible.

Kingfish, cobia and mulloway have moved onto our close reefs and isolated wrecks and bommies. Live baits such as yakkas, mullet, tailor and pike are your best baits.

Finding bait with arches sitting around them is crucial.

Slow trolling live baits is working well too.

The odd pack of tuna around the close reefs react well to high-speed metals, jet heads and trolled Hardz. Find the working mutton-birds and you will find the tuna. You’ll find the occasional squid around Fido, 5 Mile, Cook Island and Kingy. Fishing heavy jigs and drifting bait spikes will work well out there.

ESTUARY This month is all about the mulloway in the rivers.

The author with a 7kg Spaniard caught on a plastic from a Tweed reef.

Soaking live baits such as pike, mullet and tailor at night will catch the better fish in the river.

They are also being caught on plastics, vibes and blades, with big Hardz fishing well around the river mouths. Try the various holes in the Tweed, the rock walls in the river mouth, around the bridges and isolated rocks in at least 4m of water for the best results.

Bream will be thick anywhere that holds bait in a bit of water, you’ll find schools of bream throughout the whole system. Drift baits and small artificial lures are fishing well.

A good selection of bait is a must when targeting bream – strip baits, yabbies, crabs, worms, prawns, mullet gut and pilchards will see the fussiest feeders biting. Berley should trigger them into a bit of feeding frenzy, but make sure the berley is thin as you don’t want them to fill up on it.

Trevally are getting thick in the river mouth and around the bridges that hold good schools of bait. Lures

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Indi Quin with a solid pearly.

are working well for these speedsters – blades, vibes, tiny micro jigs, Hardz, and small metals are catching some good fish. Try Boyd, Barney, Jack Evans anchorage, the wreck near the red marker, Nusic’s Hole and around Green Bank Island rock walls for a bit of trev action.

You’ll find the chopper tailor sitting in the current line throughout the river. The run-in tide is fishing better for these toothy critters, and small metals, blades and small plastics are getting the results.

We used to make metals out of metal butter knifes, the blade of the knife makes a great size and shape lure for targeting choppers in the river. A little shaping a couple of holes in each end and a slight bend in the blade and away you go. Second-hand stores have heaps of these knives for about 10c each.

There will be some good flatties up in the skinny water sunning themselves. Plastics are still fishing the best for these shovels.

Winter whiting or diver whiting will be sitting in the deeper channels and holes around the Tweed. Drifting bloodworm and beach worms have worked the best, but it can be hard to get past the bream in some holes.

BEACHES Most beaches and headlands are really starting to fire up. Westerlies and no swell have seen great conditions on the beaches this month.

Mulloway, tailor, bream and flathead have moved into most gutters up the coast.

Mulloway in particular are sitting in the deeper gutters, headlands and rock walls waiting for the mullet and tailor to run up the coast and into the gutters. Soaking a large live bait at night, a whole beachworm, ganged pilchard, a couple of white bait or large strip bait, should put you in the right area for a big mulloway.

Berley into these draining

OLD

gutters as it will hold any fish in front of you and will drag any fish to you from down the beach. This will also bring up all the beach worms, which is what most species are feeding on in these gutters and will add to your berley. However, be prepared to wait.

Tailor are starting to run up the coast and are best targeted from the headlands and rock walls with metals at dusk and dawn. The 20-80g metals have worked the best, and I like to run a single on most of my tailor metals as it increases my landing rate 10 fold. Good locations for tailor are Snapper Rocks, the Tweed rock walls, Fingal headland and the causeway, Kingy rock wall and Black Rock at dusk and dawn.

Soaking a ganged up whole pilchard at night in the deeper gutters is also producing. The smaller gutters have been producing some great bream, dart, flathead and whiting. Targeting these smaller gutters on the last of the run-out with light gear and small plastics is great fun,

Southern

Joel Graham with a nice river soapy. when fishing a skinny gutter I re-scent every 5-8 casts.

NEXT MONTH Most anglers will still be on the hunt for big snapper and mixed reefies over the next month. The first few days after the full moon will fish better than before the full moon. The

and over the close reefs, the mulloway, cobia and kings will hunt these schools on the close reefs. Fishing live baits over the next month will produce some beasts.

Mulloway will start to sit more into the deeper holes in the rivers and on the beaches

A nice mixed bag from the close Tweed reefs. and you would be surprised at what actually sits in the skinny gutters. It’s always handy to have a few worms or a bag of white bait with you, just in case they aren’t interested in the artificials.

I like to start at one end of a beach gutter and work from one side of the gutter to the other. Don’t be scared to cast right up in the back bank and into the skinny water and work your lures and baits off the sand banks and into the drop off. Most fish will sit in this area waiting for prey to drop in front of their faces and a well-placed bait won’t last long. Light spin gear is perfect for these skinny gutters and, because you’re not fighting fish in waves, you don’t need your big beach rod to fish them. In fact, a 6-10lb main on a 2-8kg range 7ft spin rod with 6-15lb leader allows you to use 1/6-1/2oz jighead with 2.5-5” plastics, which are dynamite for these skinny gutters. Increase how often you re-scent your plastics as the sand will quickly steal the scent off your plastics.

Fishing the river, I normally re-scent every 10-20 casts but

reason is they spawn on close reefs on the full moon. So a few days before the full moon they will slow their feeding down and start really filling

and headlands. Tailor will come through in large schools so timing is crucial. Having a ‘beach’ set up in the car with a small box of lures means you

Mark Bennet with a 73cm flatfish from a beach gutter. their gut cavities with row and melt. After the spawn on the full moon they are starving and will have a longer bite period.

As the schools of tailor and mullet run up the coast

are always ready for them. We should see nice conditions in most systems, but it will be very chilly at night with crisp cold mornings, so remember your warm ones.

JULY 2020

17

Southern

OLD

Toughen up and go fishing SOUTHERN GOLD COAST

Mark Ward markward222@bigpond.com

It’s officially freezing when I get up for a flick early in the morning, but I’m not complaining because I love winter and the fishing on offer.

been well spread out with good fish in the Terranora Lakes and around Ukerebagh Passage as well as up towards the Tweed Broadwater. In the Nerang river, the fish have been all throughout the canals with some big fish landed from around the casino and around the pontoons in the

Terranora arm of the Tweed, fish the draining sand bars and weedy edges at low tide and fish the shallows at the top of the tide.

Bream have been spawning near the river mouths and some big bream have been landed from the Tweed, Nerang and the creeks of the Southern Gold Coast. Bait fishing has been very productive at night. The bream will move into the shallows to feed and will take a bait

art to learn, but it’s worth the time and effort. Fishing with very light leaders and working a plastic slowly but realistically is very tricky.

Bream will sometimes bite very lightly and will be quick to drop the plastic if it doesn’t present well.

Trevally have been around in good numbers and my son and I have landed lots of small GTs, a few tea-leaf and a couple of diamond trevally. Lots of options and these fish

Sam Swanson with a good flathead from a deep edge at low tide. The hair tells the story. The wind was blowing hard but the flathead were still biting.

Ethan Hobbs with a nice flounder landed while chasing flathead. Cooked well, they are superb on the dinner plate.

It’s time to rug up and toughen up to hit the water and enjoy some great fishing.

ESTUARIES Flathead is what we have been chasing but there have been good numbers of bream and lots of trevally around as well.

Flathead have been responding well to soft plastics and trolled hardbodies. They have

sandy canals.

It’s hard to pinpoint flathead this month because the fish will be so spread out. Look for areas that have baitfish moving around, yabby holes or weed edges. The bottom of the tide the best time to fish as the flathead will be hanging around areas where the baitfish move off the flats as the tide drops.

If you’re fishing places like

The author with a big whiting landed on a soft plastic. Winter still sees some big whiting on the beaches as well as around the canals.

have all been caught from the same rock wall. I have even landed a couple of big golden trevally from the northern end of the coast, fishing the walls of Sovereign Island. Not a lot of anglers realise that trevally are a great species to target in winter.

They respond to surface fishing better in the warmer months but fishing deep with plastics is a great way to target trevally in winter.

BEACHES Tailor are the main target this month. They

fished close to rock walls and weed edges.

Targeting bream on soft plastics is tricky and a real

Cody Ward with a great flathead caught on a ZMan paddle-tail on the weed edges.

18

JULY 2020

have been very patchy but hopefully they will be more consistent this month. Fish the deeper gutters that have good deep-water access.

Fishing at first and last light is the smartest option.

They do bite through the night and can be caught at any time but by far the best time is during low light.

Tossing pillies has been productive for many years and not much will change there. A pilly on a gang hook is simple and easy. However, using lures like Raiders or Halco Twisters will produce some great fish as well.

It’s my preferred way of catching them because the tailor nail lures and seem to fight harder. Plus, you can move around when using lures. Ten minutes of no fish in one gutter means moving on. They are either there or they are not.

You’ll still see plenty of whiting, bream and dart on the beaches throughout winter. Mulloway are also a good option throughout winter with either live baits or large beach worm baits.

FRESHWATER Bass have been found on the edges in Hinze Dam where they will take spinnerbaits and plastics.

They will school up during the day and can be found off the points and out from the timber but their mood has varied. I like to fish late in the day on the edges to pick up those fish that have moved in to feed.

Trolling the weed edges can also be very productive, and schooled fish might respond to a spoon slowly rolled through them.

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Southern

OLD

The estuaries come alive GOLD COAST

David Green

This month the water temperatures will drop and the predominant winds will blow from the west.

The wider grounds can be very rough in a westerly, and while it may be calm inshore any forecast of 1520 knots from the west can make things very difficult on the 50 fathom line or beyond. When the weather is good, however, there is still the chance of catching blue marlin this month, particularly if the water stays over 22°C. In some winter seasons there can be quite reasonable numbers of striped marlin and the odd yellowfin tuna that can be caught trolling on the continental shelf.

In closer to shore, the snapper should improve this month as the schools of spawning fish move into the 36 and 24 fathom reefs. Float lining, soft plastics and octa jigs all work well. A few fish over 8kg should turn up this month. Pearl perch should become more abundant on the 50 fathom line as well as amberjacks, pigfish and kingfish. Remember that the closed season for snapper and pearl perch commences on 15 July and runs through until the 15 August. This very controversial piece of legislation makes it hard for the charter boat industry to recommence work after being virtually locked up due to the COVID restrictions.

At the end of the month it is probably best to target other species such as mulloway,

teraglin and kingfish.

The close reefs should see good catches of cobia and mulloway this month.

Cobia start to migrate north at this time of year and tend to move along the 18 and 20 fathom line and will hold in any area that has a lot of bait. They also love to feed around isolated wrecks. To catch cobia the best method is to anchor and berley using

large chunks of fish. These fish have massive mouths and will eat a wide variety of baits. They are also partial to large soft plastics such as 7” Gulp Jerk shads.

My favourite baits for cobia are live tailor, large slimy mackerel, pike and bonito. I fish one bait mid-water and another about 2m up off the bottom. Cobia also respond well to floating

Peter Washington with a nice Jumpinpin flathead.

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pilchards and love plenty of berley. It is amazing what you can find in the stomach of a cobia. I’ve had one fish that had a pile of stingrays in its gut and another with half a dozen sand crabs.

Mulloway should be in good numbers this month.

The artificial reef north east of the Seaway in 23m of water has been producing a lot of fish around a metre long on a pretty consistent basis. Live baits fished close to the structure on dusk through to dark seems to be a very reliable method.

They also seem to be more active on tide changes. Palms Slow Blatt jigs are also very effective at times.

ESTUARIES As the westerlies start to blow a lot of fish begin their spawning run. Large schools of sea mullet, tailor, bream and luderick congregate in the Seaway, Jumpinpin Bar and around the river entrances in preparation for moving out along the beaches to spawn. These attract quite a few bigger predators such as mulloway and sharks.

Most of my biggest estuary mulloway have been caught in July on live mullet.

In general July is a dry month, and for this reason the water should be pretty clean. Flathead fishing can be excellent with good numbers of fish from 40-60cm turning up in the central Broadwater from around Crab Island through to Tipplers Passage and also up Whalleys Gutter.

Good lures to try include ZMan Curl-TailZ plastics, Zerek Fish Traps, Daiwa Double Clutches and, when trolling, Micro Mullets and Tango Shads in water depths of around 2m. With flathead fillets going for over $40 a kilo it’s a good way to catch a feed of prime fish. Fried in panko crumbs they are hard to beat.

Unfortunately the 2020 Flathead Classic has been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic but plenty of locals are already

The author with a decent mulloway. practicing for 2021! Lately I have been having good success casting small minnows such as the Daiwa Double Clutch and various bent minnow-style patterns over the top of weed beds.

The Ecogear ZX 40 blade is another good lure to try, with the added bonus of being an effective squid catcher. July often produces plenty of squid and it’s a good month to always have a squid jig rigged and ready.

So far this season there have been plenty of big northern calamari squid as well as the smaller arrow squid.

Mulloway fishing in the Seaway and Jumpinpin entrances should be good this month. Most of the bigger fish are caught at night on live mullet fished in the eddies around the Seaway on the change of a high tide.

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A strange fringe-eyed flathead.

as these fish tend to be quite shy. Mullet can usually be caught with a cast net along the rock walls of the south wall of the Seaway.

In daylight hours soft plastics and live baits fished in the Jumpinpin Bar and in the hole at the end of the north wall of the Seaway are usually effective. Big swimbaits fished in the back eddies at night are also worth trying. Tide changes and the run-in tide fish best. Work the back eddies when the current flows hard and the deeper holes on the slack period of the tide. At times when the mullet are thick the mulloway will chop on the surface.

Overall, July is a good month to fish the Gold Coast and there are a lot of options.

The estuaries seem to come alive in the middle of winter and it’s a great month to chase quality table fish.

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OLD

Warm days for cool captures BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With winter well and truly upon us, anglers will need to rug up for those early morning starts. I am not a fan of cold weather, however it does promote some quality fishing options. Species such as squid, mulloway, snapper, luderick, bream and tailor are in heightened numbers and there are also plenty of other options.

nice day in the warm sunshine can be expected. Let’s look at a few of the more common angling targets.

SQUID

There has been exceptional numbers of squid available throughout many areas of Moreton Bay over the last few months. With westerly winds increasing inshore water clarity, land-based anglers have been getting good results from a host of locations.

The Wynnum and Manly foreshores have been popular areas, especially for those

Anglers live baiting in the Brisbane River will still catch a broad array of species. Billy got this tasty estuary cod recently while targeting threadfin.

Westerly winds promote high water clarity, which is great for species such as squid but will also dictate more finesse rigging to score results on many species in shallower water. Often early mornings can be plagued with windy conditions but as the day progresses conditions commonly improve and a

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venturing out at night. Squid can be caught right along the length towards the high tide with anglers casting from the various jetties, rock walls and concrete pathways.

Wellington Point Jetty and areas adjacent to this can also produce squid during the darkened hours. For anglers heading up to the Redcliffe

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Peninsular, there are a lot of different spots that can produce squid and a plethora of positions to cast from.

Being mobile with a just a rod and a backpack or waist pack containing your tackle will make it a lot easier and allow you to cover a good area.

Headlights with a powerful, direct beam are ideal for helping to locate squid close to the surface during darkened hours. Most of these spots can still produce squid during the day however they will be a bit deeper and hanging tighter to structure such as rock walls, weed beds, rubble patches and reef.

The majority of squid taken from these inshore areas will be tigers although arrow squid are also sometimes caught. The arrows are more common further out in the bay, especially in the deeper channels adjacent banks systems including the Rous and Rainbow. Whilst they will take egi, they definitely have a liking for natural baits. A pilchard rigged on a skewer can often produce good numbers.

This bait can be trailed behind the boat whilst drift fishing the flats and channels for whiting or casting plastics around the bay islands. Once the float dips you simply need to keep the rod tip high and wind in your prize.

SNAPPER Decent numbers of snapper have been around throughout various locations in the bay and Brisbane River over the last month. Those getting the most consistent results have been putting in the hours and fishing prime times around the extremities of the day and the darkened hours. I have heard of numerous quality fish taken on both baits and lures with several decent ones over 80cm being reported.

The artificial reefs have been especially productive despite getting a lot of fishing pressure from heightened numbers of anglers on the water lately.

Decent amounts of bait have

been around at times which has increased numbers of snapper, mulloway and several other species.

The Harry Atkinson, Bill Turner, Coochie and Peel artificial reefs have all produced quality snapper for anglers employing both baits and lures. Fresh and salted fillet baits (mullet, tuna, bonito, pike etc), pilchards, squid strips and heads, yakkas, whole pike, slimey mackerel and several other baits will produce when fished with a minimal lead.

Casting baits upcurrent and allowing them to drift as they sink will often entice some of the better quality fish. Some anglers will continue to feed out line once the bait is aft so it can continue to drift across the bottom. Baits will need to be lightly weighted or unweighted to present well with this technique. Good hook presentation, with the majority of the hook in the bait and just the points proud, will increase hook-ups and decrease snagging.

A wide array of lures can work well however for those new to this pursuit a 5� jerk shad is a good choice. This is commonly fished on a 3/8oz or 1/4oz jighead with a 4/0 or 5/0 hook (dependant on hook brand). Other good plastic choices include paddle tails and curl tails, although there are a lot of styles that will work. Cast these upcurrent and retrieve back with the current in a fairly slow, yet sometimes erratic, manner. Soft vibes can also work well when hopped through the water column or rolled across the bottom. Snapper are relatively opportunistic feeders and will eat a wide range of baitfish, cephalopods and crustaceans therefore a great array of baits and lures will produce when presented and fished well.

LUDERICK At the time of writing, I had yet to go and target blackfish however some anglers had met with success throughout the Jumpinpin

Chris with a solid 110cm mulloway taken on a Gulp jerk shad from the outer margins of Mud Island. area, Brisbane River and many canals and harbours. Wherever aquatic weeds grow on rocks and walls in the saltwater, there is a great chance that luderick will be found. Drifting weed baits beneath a pencil or stem float will allow you to cover a length of water adjacent to the structure.

Luderick will be picking vegetarian morsels off the structure so putting the bait close by will heighten results.

The float needs to be close to neutral buoyancy to avoid them detecting the resistance as they mouth the bait. This is achieved by placing split shot sinkers of varying sizes on the leader until the top stem of the float is the only part visible above water. Centrepin reels, such as the Alvey 47GZ model (previously 475B) are ideal for this pursuit as they allow line to freely play out as the float drifts away with the current. These are often spooled with an 8-16lb floating monofilament such as the Sunline Fine-Float. Soft actioned rods between 3-3.6m

There have been healthy numbers of pan-sized snapper like this throughout the bay over the last two months, as well as better quality knobbies.

are desirable as they absorb the lunges of the luderick and prevent breaking the light fluorocarbon leaders or tearing out the small, yet strong, #12 to #8 hooks.

Luderick fishing is a bit of an art, yet a lot of fun. If bled and filleted soon after capture the white fillets are very tasty. We should have a few months of quality luderick fishing ahead of us yet so there is plenty of time to get set up and go and chase a few.

MULLOWAY Already there have been some good captures of mulloway in the bay and rivers. Metre-plus specimens are not that uncommon and these can be taken on pretty much the same baits and lures as snapper. They are always a welcome by-catch for those chasing snapper in the bay around the artificial reefs, wrecks and bay islands.

Some anglers will sound around to find schools of mulloway, especially in the southern bay around the Peel and Coochie artificial reefs and other islands. Often several fish can be hooked in a session however sharks are often a problem and will tax a good portion or all of your catch.

In the Brisbane River, mulloway can be found in pretty much the same areas as the threadfin, which generally correlates with places where baitfish gather. A wide array of lures can be put to good use with soft vibes and jigheadrigged paddle-tail plastics being good choices. Quality fresh baits work well but you cannot do better than a live offering such as a mullet, banana prawn, herring or pike.

These are best fished close to the bottom with just enough distance between the sinker and hook to allow the bait to swim without wrapping back around the leader and tangling up (commonly 30cm

OLD

to 40cm). Suicide pattern hooks are ideal although some like circle hooks. A twin snelled hook rig is best for larger baits, such as mullet and pike so you have the leading hook through the nose and the rear hook in the tail. Areas such as the dredge holes at the mouth, adjacent any of the dock systems, the Oil Pipeline, Clara’s Rocks, underneath the Gateway Bridge and several spots further upriver can all produce mulloway. These same spots may also produce an estuary cod, threadfin or large flathead. Casting lures around lighted areas at night can produce but are fairly hit and miss.

TAILOR It seems to be a slightly better year for tailor so far with good captures coming from Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River. Many have scored from land-based locations such as the Manly Harbour rock wall (end of Trafalgar Street), Woody Point Jetty, Hornibrook fishing platform, Scarborough Jetty, Shornecliffe Jetty, Amity Rock Wall and around lighted areas in the Brisbane River.

Many of these specimens are less than 45cm in length but still offer a lot of fun and a few tasty fillets for the table.

Mixed in with these there have also been a few larger greenbacks and school mackerel, which are also preying on the hardiheads and

herring in these areas. Late afternoon and early morning sessions from the eastern facing beach at Bribie are well worthwhile at times, especially leading up to the high tide.

Tailor, flathead and big bream can be taken on pilchard baits in the deeper gutters and if you are really lucky you might even hook into a mulloway.

Out in Moreton Bay, tailor have been caught around the bay islands. Early morning sessions up in the shallows at Mud and Green have often been productive for those casting walk-the-dog

style topwater lures, burned (retrieved fast) blades and shallow diving minnow lures on the higher tide stages.

Tailor have been caught on all manner of baits and lures around the artificial reefs, mostly as by-catch by those chasing other species. Schools of tailor can sometimes be found busting up in the lower Rous Channel, Kianga Channel and northern end of the Rainbow Channel towards the South Passage Bar. BAY PELAGICS Schools of bonito (Australian and Watson’s)

can be fairly common in the channels and even up on the banks during the higher tidal stages. These schools can be evident from some distance and a stealthy approach, and cast with a small profiled chrome slug will generally see you hooked up.

Australian bonito are generally only good for bait.

The fillets can be salted and used for bream, tailor, snapper and the like, whilst a whole bonnie rigged correctly to swim makes an ideal offering for Spanish mackerel and wahoo. Watson’s bonito have

It has been a bumper year for squid with arrows and tigers regularly being caught in good numbers.

a much lighter coloured flesh and the fillets go well on the barbecue and are great when brined and smoked. Obviously they are also great baits for a range of species. On light spin tackle bonito can be a lot of fun and a great way to teach the youngsters the art of catching pelagics.

School mackerel have been fairly consistent right throughout the year. Last year in July there were good numbers in the eastern end of the Rous Channel and also in the Kianga Channel.

Recently I have been scoring them on trolled spoons and other offerings at a range of locations throughout the bay including the eastern side of Mud and Green, along the 7m contour that runs from Wellington Point to Ormiston, around the beacons in the shipping channel (including the Measured Mile) and also in the Small Ships and Rous Channel. There has been plenty of 60cm to 70cm specimens and a few even larger. Unfortunately dolphins have been annoying and will regularly grab a hooked fish.

Virtually every hooked fish will be taken by them when they’re around so you might as move elsewhere instead of just feeding them. Pilchards drifted at the artificial reefs have also been producing a few schoolies and even the occasional spottie over the

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last two months. School mackerel should be around in varying numbers over the next month or two.

Longtails will still be on offer during the colder months however they are more common in small numbers.

Individual fish may smash the surface but the concentrated schools of feeding fish are usually rare. Once some surface action is found, drifting the area casting pencil poppers or stickbaits will often see you getting stretched. Live baiting along current lines and around beacons is usually fairly reliable if there are any around.

CONCLUSION From my observation there have been more people than ever fishing Moreton Bay over the last few months since many have been excluded from their normal leisure activities, and kids have not been doing weekend sports.

Some normality will hopefully be returned to life by now, however the quality fish will still be out there for the catching.

Warm days in the sunlight are a perfect reason to get out for many and the added bonus of a seafood meal makes the experience even more rewarding. Get off the couch and out into the great outdoors during July as there is a myriad of prime angling targets in Moreton Bay and the Brisbane River to target.

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Consistent catches in the cold NORTHERN BAY

Steve Nash

There have been good reports of quality fish being caught right around the northern bay last month, and this should continue through July.

been caught in areas around the mouths of the Pine River and Cabbage Tree Creek. The Redcliffe Peninsula is having a red-hot winter for squire as well, with many numbers hitting the deck which has been a very promising start to the season.

If you love your calamari,

Pine and Caboolture river systems, taking small soft vibes and jerkbaits. Bream numbers around bridge pylons are still good, but you’ll need to pick through a few undersized ones before finding the legal ones.

RIVERS AND CREEKS While bream, flathead

teeth and slicing through fishing leaders like butter! So be prepared to lose a some tackle. The standard setup for these fish is a medium length 3-5kg rod paired with a 2500 size reel loaded with 10-20lb line with some 16lb leader.

Tailor are a great sportfish to chase on lures whether that be topwater stickbaits, chrome slugs or small plastics. While personally I don’t rate tailor as a top table fish, freshly filleted shallow-fried fillets are tasty. Immediately bled, placed on ice and cooked not long afterward will make for a delightful meal.

MORETON BAY Good numbers of snapper will continue to be caught over this month at the artificial reefs of Bulwer wrecks. It has been constantly producing table fish on live baits or fresh strips. Fishing at night around the new moon will improve your chances, with less light

Metal slugs thrown into feeding schools will not go unnoticed.

A juvenile snapper caught at the mouth of the Pine River.

There have been some great quality snapper that have been caught in the lower reaches of the passage and areas around the Bribie Island bridge. Small squire-size snapper have been showing up in local estuaries and have

then there is some good news for you as good reports of squid have been landed too, and this should continue over the next month or so.

Flathead in the 50-60cm range have been schooling up at the mouths of the North

and whiting will still be a worthwhile target during winter, and it is also a prime time to chase tailor in the rivers and bay. Tailor are hard fighting, line cutting brutes, chopping up schools of baitfish with their razor sharp

Dante Sollazzo with a trophy-sized bass from Lake Samsonvale (North Pine Dam).

A quality tailor taken on a fast-retrieved soft plastic.

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allowing the larger fish sneak up into shallower water.

The sand banks around the bottom of Bribie are producing good numbers of winter whiting.

While traveling around the bay keep an eye out for birds working bait, because the tailor schools won’t be far behind them.

FRESHWATER DAMS The winter bite is well and truly on, with big schools of bass sitting in the 10-15m depth range, gorging themselves on bait schools.

This is a great time of year to hook into some bass. When targeting schooled up bass, jigs, spoons and large vibes have been had the best results.

It’s good to make long casts and retrieve back through the school using two different retrieves. The first retrieve is the ‘burn’, where you cast a jig as far as possible in front of the school, let it sink to the bottom and retrieve it back at speed through the school. The second retrieve is the ‘large hop’, where you let your lure sink to the bottom, then wind

up the slack, then lift sharply whilst winding up the slack, keeping in touch with the lure as it sinks again. Most of the time this will get the fish’s attention, usually getting hit on the fall.

Alternating between these two retrieves has been very successful and it’s bound to get you onto some freshwater brutes this winter!

So now as the cool season comes into full swing, get on the jumpers and trackies and enjoy getting into the winter fishing for all it’s worth.

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27

Southern

OLD

Mid-winter means big tailor NOOSA

Peter Wells

With the cooler months upon us, many anglers are heading to the beach in search of big greenback tailor. Good numbers of tailor are starting to show up on the Sunshine Coast’s lower beaches.

Reports at the moment are the fish are just over chopper size and the schools have been a little small.

Keeping plenty of baits in the water is a good thing when it comes to chasing tailor so make sure you hit up your mates and get plenty of anglers down there with you. Pilchards are the number one bait but you will also get good fish on cut baits of mullet or bonito.

If you get onto a good school switch to slugs like the Halco Twisty or the Arma Slugs.We use silver in the 30-55g range to get the right profile. In previous years the tailor have tended to follow the cooler water and swim that bit further out to sea and then come in around the Teewah Double Island area.

With a bit of luck we will see cooler waters onshore and the fish will come in closer to the southern beaches of the Sunshine Coast.

Mulloway this year have been in good numbers off the beach, with most fish around

Lochie Watts with a great 63cm flathead, one of four that he caught on a fun day fishing Coolum Creek and the upper reaches of the Maroochy River. the 80cm mark. We tend to see the bigger fish as the mullet start to run. Fresh mullet is the ideal bait but these fish have a rather diverse diet and are happy to take bonito fillet, pilchards, squid and even worms. The best mulloway anglers are the ones who leave the rod in the rod holder.

Mulloway tend to mouth the baits and a lot of the time an excited angler will strike and pull the hooks free. If you let the fish pick up the bait and then run you have a much

Johnny Beck got this thumper sweetlip while fishing at Coolum Reef.

better chance of hooking the fish in the jaw as it runs.

In the closer gutters there is a good mix of bream, whiting and the ever-present dart. Good baits have been worms, prawns, and smaller fish baits like whitebait and frog-mouth pilchards.

Bream numbers have really improved in the creeks and rivers of the Sunshine Coast with the cooler waters.

These fish will soon be schooling up as they get ready to spawn. Fishing for those bigger crafty fish is always a challenge, as most of these fish have seen a hook or two in their time. Having your bait or lure looking and acting like a live bait is the only way you will pin a bigger fish.

Anglers who fish the shadow lines of pontoons with lightly weighted baits and lures seem to have more success that those who pin their baits to the bottom. The fish will be holding just in the darker water looking out into the brighter water and feeding on passing baitfish and prawns.

Flathead will be up on the banks sunning themselves in this cooler weather, and if you look for the tell-tale slides on

the mud banks you’ll be able to gauge how many fish are in the area.

Flathead are a one of the easiest fish to catch on plastics. Plastics that have a long tail like the Powerbait Nemesis are perfect for the job. Casting up onto the banks and slowly rolling the plastic back into deeper water is a great approach from a boat.

Another option is to troll deeper diving lures that will get close to and touch the bottom. A favourite hardbody with QLD flathead anglers is the Tango Shad from Zerek.

There are both floating and suspending versions, as well as a range of dive depths and colours.

Winter whiting numbers are starting to improve, with the Frying Pan and the Dog Beach fishing well in the Noosa River. The morning incoming tide seems to be the best time to fish with yabbies, pipis, worms and soldier crabs.

With light breezes and little swell, July is one of those months where the offshore fishing goes off. There have been heaps of quality fish around the reef, with snapper and pearl perch very sought after. North Reef, Chardons Reef, Barwon Banks and the Hards have all been firing and producing some outstanding fish.

Sweetlip have been widespread throughout most of the major reefs, with some bigger fish caught during the lower light periods. Berley is key when it comes to chasing those reefies but don’t overdo it as all you will do is bring the sharks.

Sunshine Reef has fished well for pearl perch right on dusk, and there have also been good cobia, tuskfish, big sweetlip and of course snapper.

This reef is a favourite with Noosa locals and is a great place to collect bait and drop a line. The odd coral trout is also being taken by anglers fishing hard to the reef. This means a big ball sinker all the way down to the hook.

Ethan Wrack with a solid diamond trevally from the Mooloolah area. It went 65cm on the lie detector.

With the whales coming through we always see an abundance of cobia. If you are fishing a floater and a pod of whales swim by, that floater will more than likely be picked up by a big cobia.

These fish love to swim with other creatures and have been known to swim with sharks as well as whales.

Overnight trips to Double Island Reef have also been

or yakkas has proved to be worthwhile as they seem to be getting inhaled as soon as they get to the bottom. Large strip baits have also been popular, with fresh mullet and hussar working well.

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29

Central

OLD

Fab fishing when temps fall HERVEY BAY

Dane Radosevic

Winter is not all bad, especially when it brings some fantastic fishing.

Despite being greeted by stiff southwest winds of a morning, you can still enjoy the spoils of a glamorous afternoon glass out.

as local squid heads, bonito, mullet or hussar fillets have resulted in the better quality fish, as the larger baits offer more bottom time, withstanding the unavoidable pickers. Try rigging these larger baits using a set of three ganged hooks, like the Mustad 7766 in 7/0 or the pre-made Elkat gangs with a bit of that added flash, this

Green job fish pull hard and taste fantastic if taken care of properly – brain spiked, bled and iced!

The offshore reef fishing this season has been exceptional with many crews seizing the opportunity to venture out wide as the weather permits. There have been plenty of quality captures reported, especially from those putting in the effort to target red emperor and large mouth nannygai.

Not to mention the plethora of sweetlip, hussar, cod, Maori cod, trout, snapper, tusk fish and jobfish to help fill the box.

Large fresh baits, such

will make the rigging a lot easier and present a much nicer looking bait, with plenty of exposed hook points.

With the currents typically subsiding this time of year, opt to downsize your lead and try drift fishing your baits, this technique can result in some s try dropping a rather large knife jig down over a patch of life and hold on, as these fish pull like freight trains.

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to snapper and pearl perch throughout Queensland tidal waters from the 15 July to 15 August. Targeting both species will be prohibited, however they are almost unavoidable out in the deeper waters. Anglers should try their best to avoid fishing in commonly known areas that hold both species and abide by the new rules and regulations to ensure that we have healthy snapper and pearl perch stocks for the future.

Typically this time of year we have a run of juvenile black marlin that turn up out the front of the bar and generally in really big numbers. This gives not only experienced crews but also people new to targeting billfish the perfect opportunity to chase them.

Do yourself a favour and head into your local tackle store for a teaser and grab a handful of 5-6” skirted lures. You can also opt to tease and switch them using bridle rigged gar or live yakkas, both are very successful techniques. Fish numbers will be driven by the bait aggregations in areas, so keep mobile until you locate a good bait ball and then focus your efforts around working that area to try and raise a feisty little black. If venturing north for a look towards the 13Mile you can expect to possibly cross paths with some sizable sailfish.

The Gutters systems have been firing for trout as it often does before the temperatures cool down and the bite tapers off. Tea-bagging soft plastics and dropping down a live pike is accounting for the best catches, with nannygai, red emperor, cod, sweetlip, hussar and tuskfish amongst the mix all readily available. Trevally and cobia will almost be unavoidable throughout most of the Gutters, especially if fishing the more prominent ledges and they will gladly intercept a soft plastic, jig or live bait on the way down.

Snapper have started to appear across a few areas, with most fish coming from

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up on top of the flat country sporadically throughout the day. It is not until nightfall that they then look to congregate and move towards the ledges to hunt and feed. This is ideal timing for those on anchor to position themselves with a berley trail and have their baits floating down ready to intercept. You never know your luck night fishing, you may even stumble across a school of reef jacks and they will test your angling ability.

With limited time to get your snapper fix before the closure (as highlighted above), the 25 Fathom Hole will be worth a prospect, especially pre-dawn or late afternoon.

Bait is the underlying key to this area and word is that the yakka schools have turned up.

Sporting anglers will be able to enjoy some exceptional soft plastic action as they are suckers for a well presented 5-7” ZMan Jerk Shad or 5” Curly Tail StreakZ, with the favoured colours being coconut ice, pearl or electric chicken lightly weighted on a TT jighead and worked through the water column.

Alternatively, positioning

Jamie Lineburg enjoyed some great action on the nannygai, scoring some decent models! baitfish darting out from the school to draw their attention.

Do not be surprised if you score yourself a big queenfish or even a late season longtail tuna while doing so.

XOS cobia will be on the cards and can make for a serious battle on light gear while targeting the species listed above, however if you stay calm and take it easy on the fish coaxing it up to the surface, you’ll be surprised how placid they can be.

exceptional inshore fish to 2-3kg being caught. Cod, blackall, bluey and still the odd trout have been coming from either side of the tide change and your chances will always be improved if fishing with live baits.

The points of the inshore islands will be worth a prospect over the larger building tides for the light tackle sport fishos with a variety of trevally and fun-sized queenfish often

The author with a solid 9kg red he scored while prospecting out on the flat country. yourself on anchor and set up a berley trail and drift yakka, pike, pencil squid or as a last resort pilchards down this trail, should result in some rod bending action.

Moving east towards the vicinity of Roonies Point and into Platypus Bay the reefs and wrecks holding aggregations of yakka should fish quite well for snapper, especially evening with sweetlip, nannygai, cod and some large grunter all possible by-catch using techniques as mentioned above. A variety of trevally species from golden, tea leaf and diamond will be quite easy targets throughout these same locations and are suckers for smaller jigs or soft plastics. Try opting to use an erratic short and sharp jerking technique to imitate a fleeing

Inshore, and especially over the neap tides, the water visibility has been incredibly clear, making the fishing a little tough for those wary fish up in the shallows. The deeper gnarlier reefs such as the Channel Hole, Boges Hole and artificial wrecks have been producing the better quality fish. Juvenile snapper have been a regular capture with plenty of small fish being caught throughout the day on baits, albeit the better quality knobbies have been coming from those targeting them at night. Large mulloway can appear over these same areas and fish to 30kg have been caught on both soft plastics and live baits. Although the sweetlip have slowed down in numbers they have made up for it in size, with some

found schooled up in the current lines and can be suckers for a hopped jig or soft plastic. Go light to get the bite.

Although the local anglers have put a serious dent in the local squid population there are still good numbers to be caught throughout the bay and down the straits. The typical haunts around the bay’s inshore islands will be worth a shot, however, think outside the box a little to try and find fresh country for better results. Think jetties, sea grass beds and rocky outcrops – Yamashita 2.5 warm jacket jigs have been the definite standout lure this season.

Expect to find schools of tuna working the main To page 31

Central

OLD

Barramundi aren’t spooked around boats LAKE MONDURAN

Rob Howell

Due to the recent restrictions on travel and recreation, Lake Monduran has seen little to no boat traffic. This is the only time in recent history that Mondy’s barra haven’t been chased by anglers and boats for a length of time. So the main question is how will these fish react to boat noise after the lake has beeng so quiet? Will they be spooked?

My answer to this question is that these

Paul Boswell from Brisbane caught this beautiful 89cm barra.

Mark Berg with one of 20 barra he caught while on charter with Guidelines Fishing.

From page 30

shipping channels as they feed on tiny ‘rain baits’.

This can make them exceptionally tricky to target, having to downsize your offering to match the hatch and fly can be a great option in this scenario. You can often pick the species of tuna before catching them by watching their feeding patterns and, in turn, steer away from the mac tuna to keep looking for the more prized longtail.

Schools of bonito will also be present throughout the bay’s waters and western bay, making great fun for the kids on light spin tackle, not to mention they make exceptional fresh reef baits.

With gin clear waters, now is the picture-perfect opportunity to enjoy some bread and butter fishing targeting big dusky flathead and bream across the western flats on Fraser Island and down the straits.

This can be done using soft plastics, small crankbaits, top water lures or even soaking a hardihead or prawn bait. Fishing the creeks and rivers on the neaps or smaller tides will produce better results, with Coongul Creek South all common fishy areas.

Whereas, around the moon on the larger tides on the last of the ebbing tide focus your efforts

across the flats themselves targeting the creek mouths and drains as they appear with the receding tide. The fish will move into position to feed on all the bait that is forced out and off the flat by the tide. This same scenario stands for fishing right down throughout the entire straits with endless country to explore.

True to form this time of year the River Heads pontoon has been getting a workout with good catches of quality mulloway well over the metre mark, with best results achieved when using live pike or squid that are quite easily caught from the pontoon.

Alternatively, try hopping a soft vibe or slow rolling

barra are not, and have never been, spooked by boat noise. From their very first day of release as fingerlings until now, they have been exposed to boat traffic noise, therefore nothing should change now we are allowed back on the water.

Over the past few years winter fishing at Monduran has been very successful.

I would even go as far as saying that given the right wind and weather patterns it can produce better than the warmer months. Mild weather temperatures a larger swimbait profile soft plastic. Floating a fresh strip bait down along the rocky outcrops will near guarantee yourself a bream with some snodgers to over a kilo being caught. Don’t be surprised if you hook a few nice flathead while doing so. The barge ramp has been getting a work out during daylight hours from locals spinning metal slugs and floating pilchards for the school mackerel, with the odd larger broad bar mackerel appearing from time to time.

With the lack of grey nomads permitted to travel north for their annual run to escape the cold, there has been a little more room to move on the whiting

Kurt Ensbey with a ripper trout he tempted on a slow fall jig while fishing the bay’s central reefs.

coupled with constant wind will produce great bite times throughout the whole of winter. The prominent winds throughout this time of year come from the southwest, south and southeast.

The lake has many points, bays and banks that are influenced by these wind directions, which can seem daunting especially if you haven’t fished here before. To make your job finding barra as easy as possible, there are a few essential tools needed.

The most important is a sidescan sounder and a detailed map of the lake.

A sidescan sounder will allow you to scan areas and find barra in a relatively short amount of time. Use the compass icon and look up the predicted wind direction from any weather information site, you will be able to apply theses wind directions to the map to find yourself a handful of likely fishing areas before hitting the water.

LURE SELECTION It is always advisable to mix your lure selection up.

A good range of soft plastic paddle-tails, hardbody, swimbaits, soft vibes and surface lures should always grounds, however locals have definitely made up for them on occasion. It appears the best results have come from out of Gatakers Bay and over towards Dundowran Beach and Toogoom. Over the coming weeks it will be worth prospecting areas south of Round Island and throughout the main channel down towards the bottom of Big Woody as schools start to move. The Jarvis Walker 3 hook jigs have been extremely popular again this year making rigs super quick and easy to prep, with squid and yabby baits preferred or the Gulp bloodworms working their magic.

The Urangan Pier has been lined with anglers dropping small cut baits parallel to the pylons as they target the annual bream spawn. The deeper waters of the second channel are always worth the walk and the best results have come from those persisting on fishing the tide changes late into the evening. Flathead will be gearing up to position themselves up on the flats on the making tide and can be sight cast to with a soft plastic or live bait, this can be a very visual way of fishing for them. The pelagic activity has been a little hot and cold with school of tuna, school mackerel and bonito screaming in to gorge themselves on the herring schools before moving on quite quickly.

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Central

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A cold snap in June usually brings the snapper in to the shallow waters of Keppel Bay. Although we don’t get the massive schools they get in southern areas, we do get a few quality fish at times.

Snapper move into the various rubble grounds between Conical and Quartz Rock. They seem to prefer depths of 12-14m and either dark, overcast conditions or at night. They definitely like the period either side of a tide change as the tide slows, but not stopped all together.

The best option is to slip out on the quiet afternoons when the wind has dropped out.

We head straight to one of the well-known squid patches to get enough live squid for a snapper session.

If you get a few in the livewell and you don’t use them all, they won’t go to waste. Pillies are the other go-to bait. I like to mash some pilchards with a little tuna oil and half a loaf of bread. I drop the berley pot to the bottom and then lift it up about a metre. This stops it getting caught in the reef.

We use the lightest weights possible to get the bait down in the water column. I try to get up current and float the baits back down gently with the current. Snapper are pretty easily spooked and this takes them away from the noise of the boat.

This method can produce some very welcome by-catch in the way of grunter and fingermark, when the snapper don’t show up.

Snapper go into closed season at midnight on the 15 July until midnight the 16 August. This allows them to spawn in peace when they are most easily caught in numbers.

The cooler weather has turned on many of the winter

Mark Thompson scored this fine trout at Keppel. species. Large bream have been hitting the rock walls, rock bars and oyster banks in the estuary mouths and bays. They respond well to slow release berley. Just on daylight and dark are the best bite periods, although they can be prompted with well placed lures or baits during the day or night. Prawns, small live baits, flesh strips, pippies, yabbies and mullet gut are all taking fish. Plastics and small hardbodies are also working fairly well, when you get the speed and action right. In the cleaner systems, like Corio, the lure boys are sight casting the schools as they move over the flats and along the mangrove stands.

Flathead have come on in reasonable quantities a bit earlier than usual. Reports from all of our local systems have been growing of late.

The better fish seem to be around the drop-offs near creek mouths and channel edges. We often walk the banks over low tide to find where they come up and where they move back down again. The lies will give you their direction of travel and tell you approximately when they move through. There have been a lot of small bait schools in the estuaries and this is dictating the size and colours of lures, for those who prefer them over bait.

Hardiheads, greenback herring and poddy mullet are the most available and are producing quality flatties. I

use the old Atomic prongs as my go-to flatty lure. White through to pumpkin seed all work well. The smaller lures are working best at present and the natural type colours are the pick. Lately whenever we walk the banks there has been a chance of bream, cod or small barra in the same areas we would usually target flatties.

King salmon are coming back into form in the Fitzroy River. As the water has cleaned up a bit since the last fresh flow, the bait schools and the predators have moved back into town.

From The Casuarina Cut through to The New Bridge has a number of locations for the big salmon school to lay low before moving up and back with the tides.

They will take prawns and small live mullet when you can get them. The majority of king taken here are on either vibes, small paddletails or prawn imitations.

The retrieve can change slightly from time to time so keep varying style and speed until you get the strikes.

Recent times have shown that we get barramundi all year round in Central Queensland. Even those chilly mornings where we all have beanies and jackets, can still produce decent fish.

The deeper holes in the river and up close to the rock bars are good places to try with To page 36

VICTORIA ECHUCA

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Tony Smith caught this top nanny out wide.

JULY 2020

33

Central

OLD

Close-in bait schools bring the predators MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

July finds us deep in our ‘winter’, and while some overnight temps dip into single figures, the days are usually warm from the mid-teens up, so it is not altogether unpleasant.

There will still be plenty of fish around, but the main issue governing how we anglers fare will be the wind. Our area normally has either strong southeasterly winds, very light northerlies or total calm. The northerlies and calm days are the ones we hang out for.

Winds from the north/ northeast are beauties as they always signal bait schools moving close inshore, and by close I mean right into the harbour and the mouth of the Pioneer River – two good fisheries right here.

As always, where there is a large concentration of bait, there will always be larger fish eating them.

During July we can expect to have plenty of queenfish on tap right

to a variety of cast lures, from plastics of all types, to barra-style hardbodies, poppers and fizzers. If it moves and might be food, they will hammer it! Great fun can be had on medium spin tackle. Fly fishos will often pick them up blind casting with weighted Deceivers, Clousers and articulated streamers with white and a bit of bling being a great colour to get their attention. Naturally if there is balled-up bait with predators smashing them, a fly cast around the edges is likely to be eaten.

The close-in islands like those in the NFZ or off the mouth of the river will often have golden trevally in the same area as queenies, and often working the same bait schools. Goldens respond to all the queenfish methods as well as metal jigs in the deeper waters. Again, on medium spin tackle they are a great sportfish, and if you bleed them quickly and thoroughly, and ice them down, they are pretty fine tucker.

Another species synonymous with winter is the snapper, which migrate

Izabella Greenhalgh fished the Pioneer River for whiting with her grandad and turned up a rare catch for Mackay, a fringe finned trevally. Good fun on light whiting gear. to be the most popular. You best bet is to get into one of the local tackle shops and have a chat to the staff as they are all keen anglers and have the latest on what’s

Great weather gave Achille Zoile the chance to get on the water. He caught this 98cm queenfish on a deep diver near Slade Point. through the region and out around the close handy islands. Queenies of course will follow the bait schools, and metre plus models will come right into the river, and up as far as the fishing platform near the hospital.

Live herring, gar, mullet or whiting will nearly always get attention from queenies if they are around. I am quite partial to a feed of fresh queenfish, panko crumbed and lightly fried, so I am happy to keep one. Trolling minnows or ‘shinies’ around is a good way to pick up queenies, and once located there will usually be a few in the immediate area.

Queenfish will respond 34

JULY 2020

here to spawn. Mackay seems to be about the northern limit and most locals chase them around Hay Point and further south.

Early pre-dawn starts or night time are the favoured times, and smaller tides will have a bit less tidal run so baits/lures can be more accurately positioned once fish are located on the sounder. With the quality of modern sounders, snapper and bait show up pretty well on even fairly basic units.

Baits for snapper include pillies, squid, live baits such as herring, fish strip baits and large fresh prawns. Lures are many and varied, but plastic jerkbaits or stickbaits seem

biting where, and on what.

This month is also a pretty good month to score a feed of squid, and there are usually plenty around Flat and Round Top islands off the mouth of the river.

The harbour is also a fairly reliable spot to target squid at night by fishing around the pools of light on calm evenings. Squid jigs cast and slowly retrieved will do the trick. While squid can also be caught on bait they will often not hook up properly. While they can be a bit messy, a feed of fresh squid is something to look forward to.

More mundane species will include whiting, bream

and flathead. We have had a great run of whiting in the Pioneer River and in the Bakers/Sandy/Alligator creek areas as well as the huge flats in Sarina Inlet.

Mid 30cm whiting are quite common, and yabbies are by far the preferred baits and good beds can be found throughout the district. For those anglers with bad backs who can’t pump yabbies, thin strips of squid can be used and dipping in some scent won’t hurt either.

Worms are usually able to be bought from the tackle shops. The whiting should be around for a while yet.

Pikey bream will be coming into spawning mode and are a welcome catch around the creek systems, and when schooling up can be caught in large numbers.

Remember though they are breeding, so keep a couple and then go look for other species. Pikeys like rocky areas in creeks and will go right in amongst the mangrove roots where it is almost impossible to chase them. A small plastic rigged weedless and weightless will likely get eaten, the problem then becomes one of extraction from among the mangrove roots. A decent pikey can pull pretty well over a short run. The pikeys can be seen milling around freshly fallen mangroves with plenty of leafy branches and again will respond to a well-presented bait, lure or fly.

Flatties are a fish of the wide open flats and can often be picked up when whiting fishing, particularly on the drift. They will smack yabbies, prawns, squid strips, strip and live fish baits and are always a welcome addition to the icebox. Lure

and fly anglers can have a wonderful time prospecting the flats chasing flathead, and two of the best areas are at Sarina Inlet and the Pioneer River/Basset basin, both of which are readily accessible with a small boat, or even wading, provided you keep an eye on the tide so you don’t get cut off.

Good size flatties over 50cm will often be in less than 30cm of water and they can hit lures or flies pretty hard.

Another winter species that creek anglers often come across is the queenie salmon, or steelbacks as they are also called. Steelies are a schooling fish and can be caught in numbers, usually around slack water. They are not well regarded as an eating fish, but bled straight away they are acceptable, and can turn an ordinary day around. They are easy to catch on light gear and will take yabbies or prawns, but some real fun can be had with smaller lures or flies.

Small plastics and Clousers/ Crazy Charlie style flies get hit with gusto.

Winter time is also prime time for blue salmon and because they also tend to school, they can be caught in numbers. Baits as for steelies will work, along with strips and small whole fish, and again the blues respond well to lures and flies. Small shinies like

towards the mouth of the creek systems for blues, and they can be up to almost a metre long. In the larger sizes these fish give a good account of themselves.

In the freshwater, just like last month, the sooties are king. The barra have gone into lockjaw, but persistence can still see some coming to the boat in Kinchant and Teemburra dams. However, the much colder temps in Eungella have put them right off the chew. Your best bet is to downsize your gear and lures/flies, and start hammering the heavy timber in the shallower, warmer waters. Sooties are on offer in all of our dams and the Pioneer River/Cattle Creek system which has a number of access points.

If visitors are now allowed to travel some distance, and if you’re considering spending time here, Mackay Regional Council have published a free fantastic booklet titled Mackay Freshwater Fishing under the ‘Hooked on Mackay’ banner. This is a very well researched and illustrated booklet, and a must-have for visitors.

There is good information for locals also. Go to Council’s website or www. hookedonmackay.com and check it out.

Presumably by the time this issue is out, there will

Mackay anglers are having a ball with plenty of whiting around, like this 30cm+ specimen. Balin Tweddle caught it on a small stick bait in the Pioneer River. the old chrome Pegron lure work wonders on them, as do many of the new style small metal vibes. Clousers and that style of fly work well, but it is essential to get the fly down to the depth the fish are feeding at. I like to work the run-out tide down

have been significant further lifting of restrictions, and hopefully we are back to near normal.

That’s a run down on fishing in paradise during July, with plenty of options for everybody. Hopefully I will see you at the ramp.

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JULY 2020

35

OLD

Winter bounty winner WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

I don’t know about you but I for one am glad to see the back of last month, and not just because of the COVID carry-on! It blew the oysters off the rocks, was colder than my bait freezer, rained like it was the wet season and the fish all went and hid under a rock somewhere with a serious dose of lock jaw.

Normally May is one of my favourite times when we typically experience long runs of calm balmy days and fish snapping their heads off, but not this year. In the few short good weather windows that we did get, a lot of anglers tried to make the most of it by venturing offshore to the shoals and the outer reef. The bite out in these areas generally wasn’t too bad but most trips were spoiled by ravenous sharks.

Sharks have become a serious issue over the last couple of years and unless they get put back on the menu the situation is only going to get worse. The balance in our eco system is currently way out of whack and something

big fat rusty coloured bucks caught. As I am writing this, they are still willingly climbing into pots and hopefully this will continue. The good bite that we were experiencing for species such as barramundi and mangrove jack has now tapered right off but that is typical for this time of the year as the water temps have declined considerably.

Getting into July now and as we are in the guts of winter it’s all about what bites in the cooler months. Here in the northern Whitsundays it’s time to get out around the outer islands and the shipping lanes and getting stuck into some Spanish mackerel and the deeper reef species.

I’ll start with the Spanish mackerel first, and I’m pleased to report that they have already showed up in good numbers and so far it’s shaping up to be a bumper maccy season. Last year unfortunately, it was a shocker fishing for these guys in around the islands, they all hung wide in the shipping lanes and at the outer reef, which is just out of range for a lot of small boat anglers.

The favoured technique locally for catching a few

advice is to use something highly reflective and shiny, and when jigging make the jig move quick and erratically.

More often than not, it’s a bit of pace that turns these fish on and gets them to bite.

Getting into the deeper reef species, July is prime time to target fish such as grunter, nannygai and hopefully a big fingermark or two. These fish can be located out around the outer edges of any of our local islands on any deep reef, rubble or fern patches in pretty much the same areas that the Spanish mackerel are lurking.

This is cool as it means that

This Spanish mackerel was caught while jigging off the bottom with a chatterbait.

Local guru Dan McNally had a ball trying to wrestle this thumper golden trevally to the boat on 10lb string. you can switch from targeting mackerel to reef fish or vice versa without moving the boat or changing tackle. As with the mackerel they love a jig bounced around in their face, it drives them nuts.

I get to experience a lot of days where lures will out-fish fresh bait, much to From page 33

The author with a solid fly caught tea-leaf trevally. needs to be done to restore it.

I know that it is a contentious issue but I believe that both the commercial and the recreational sectors of the fishing industry should be able to take sharks.

Back inshore around the islands, the bite has been intermittent and hard to predict.

Some days good fish have come to hand with relative ease and on others it was like trying to catch a fish in the Simpson Desert. On the better days there were some nice bags of coral trout, sweetlip and suchlike coming home, but those days were rarer than we would all like and hard to predict in advance.

Up in the estuaries the mud crabs have been the star of the show, there were plenty of 36

JULY 2020

mackerel is to slow troll wolf herring, which works like a little beauty but it is by no means the only way to get into these guys. When they are turned on they are a voracious predator and will respond to a variety of sport fishing techniques. If you happen to locate the fish up high in the water column try casting poppers and stick baits at them, they love it and, as with any form of surface fishing, it’s a lot of fun. If the fish are sitting down somewhere deeper in the water column, bust out a few jigs. There is almost a limitless array of jigs that will turn them on but I am a fan of micro jigs and chatterbaits for these guys. Whatever jig you decide to use, the general

live baits or lures when the tides slow down. Vibes, paddle-tails and prawn imitations in the same sizes and colours as for the king salmon are doing the trick.

We have been getting quite a number of small barra on little lures in very shallow water among oyster rocks.

I head there just before low tide and fish each patch as the water rises around the sun heated rocks. Corio and Coorooman Creek both have a number of these spots and they all are showing fish. When the weather cools down, I go down in lure size.

At the moment my bigger captures have all been on lures under 100mm. Water clarity dictates the colours as usual.

Over winter the lesser mackerels move into the area and right through Keppel Bay whenever the wind drops out and the water

the bemusement of most dedicated bait fishos. As an added advantage, the lures will quite often single out the quality fish from the vermin. This leaves any bait anglers on board to deal with the sharks and other undesirable species, which I always get a little giggle

out of. As with jigging for mackerel I am a fan of micro jigs and chatterbaits, they are both dead set winners.

Other offerings such as buck tail jigs, big soft plastics and soft vibes will have their moments of glory as well, but it’s amazing as to how often micro jigs and chatterbaits

cleans up. We usually have runs of Queensland school mackerel and grey mackerel that can last for weeks if the weather conditions hold at the right time. They just started to come in prior to the last blow. This sent them packing out to the patches on the outside of the islands.

We have been getting them at the rubble patches and bait spots in recent weeks. The calm mornings are the time

that they come right in to the headland and reefy areas from Quartz right through to Corio Heads. Spots like Farnborough, Bangalee, Findlays, Forty Acre, Ross Reef, Ironpot, Double Heads, Stevensons Rocks, Pelican, Wedge, Ritamada, Quartz, Little Quartz and Keppel Rocks are all worth a shot at times.

The ribbonfish schools have started coming through

Ashley Green with a decent golden trevally he caught near the islands.

claim the trophy fish.

Whether you decide this month to get into either the Spanish mackerel or nannygai and grunter, they need no introduction from me as to how good they taste or how much fun they are to catch.

So make the most of it, the bite won’t last forever, get your backside out there and be in the draw to claim your fair share of the winter bounty that’s on offer.

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Combined fishing charter and accommodation packages are available. For more information, contact Mick Underwood on 0413 882 153 or email mick@reeladdiction. com.au. Resort enquiries can be directed to Julie Houston on (07) 4945 7242 or at info@capeg.com.au. To stay in touch with what’s biting, check out the Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Whitsundays page on Facebook. and it always pays to have a bag limit in the freezer for the big Spanish mackerel that are at many of the well know locations this month.

They are regular catches on floaters at the isolated reef and rubble patches just outside the bay. It pays to drop a just legal hussar or stripey under a float at the back of the boat. Many times the Spaniards follow fish on their way in before taking a tail off near the boat. We’ve found that a decent floater often gets the bigger Spannoes.

This year some of the better reefies have come from the closer offshore grounds. The main guys benefiting from the long runs are the guys chasing nannies. The boats going north of the green, have been continually bagging out at each opportunity.

Trout, sweeties and tuskies have been all fishing pretty well lately.

OLD

Small lures catch sulky barra TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

As temperatures plummeted in May it was inevitable that the fish were going to be a little lethargic. The lead up to the cold snap was very good fishing, and while the mackerel anglers were embracing the cooler conditions, barra and jack anglers were mourning the end of the warm stuff.

You may need a small length of wire such as Staybrite added into the rig if lure losses get a bit too high. From the tow point to the knot, the wire only needs to be around 75-100mm long to add enough protection from the fang gang. Our most productive outfit for the doggies is a light 6-10lb spin outfit, 20lb Unitika FC leader around 2.5m in length with 75-100mm of wire to the lure.

The channel marker pylons are always a prime spot

Mick Rennie has a passion for the creeks and river species, and catches fish all through the coldest months. This jack ate an Atomic Prong 4” in radioactive rooster colour rigged weedless and fished tight to structure.

In reality though, the fish really don’t shut down and stop eating, and while their diet may change, they still have to eat.

If you add in the unseasonal rains that drenched the north as the cold snap arrived, the drop in temperature really was quite extreme, and instead of a slow transition, it was more of a hard and fast sort of thing, and in a couple of days water temps and clarity took a serious dive. Crabs and prawns will undoubtedly be on the move big time, and this will turn into a banquet for the fish, as everything eats a prawn.

Whiting, bream and flathead anglers have awaited this seasonal phenomenon with high expectations also, and towards the end of May the reports of winter species was increasing on a daily basis.

Reliable sources have reported strange events; one regular customer at The Fishing Warehouse told of a school of big Spanish mackerel up in 60cm of water smashing doggies they’d herded into the shallows, and went about cutting them to pieces. Then there were the spotty mackerel over 10kg that were a surprise catch on 190 and 160mm Laser Pros.

A proven technique that brings the macks undone is casting 20-40g metals, such as Halco Outcasts and Twisties.

doggies that were the biggest concern, it was the big silver queenie slabs that attacked the mackerel as we attempted to land it. It was very frustrating but also a spectacular display of nature.

Most mackerel anglers find it easy enough to anchor up just out of the channel and drop the berley bucket over the side with some pellets, pillies or whatever their favourite concoction might be. I recommend using unweighted or slightly weighted small pillies or whitebait and set them out the back to waft down through the water column. If you do this, it usually won’t be long before a screaming drag will spring you into action.

Easy fishing, really.

CREEKS AND RIVERS Barra and jacks are still the main focus of our efforts, but with a few changes in how we fish for them. Our lightest outfits become a very important part of a our tactical approach to the barra efforts, and every year it surprises us how big barra will eat tiny little lures. The Atomic 3” Prong, the Plazo 3.75” Paddle Tail minnows, and the 3” and 4” Halco Paddle Prawns become our main lures of choice, and these little lures just keep on catching good sized fish.

Line and leader, rod and reel also need to be adapted in order to be able to fish them appropriately and effectively, so tackle normally set aside

My two favourite rods for this tiny lure stuff are the Samurai Refraction or Infinite spin rod in 6-12lb rating, and the Atomic Arrowz 3-10lb. This is basically the same as we use for doggies.

There’s actually more to the rod and line choice than you may imagine, and shock absorption to reduce the rubbing of the leader really helps eliminate most bust-offs.

Winter time often has barra clamping down hard on the leader as they sit on their bum thrashing their head from side to side, and a stiffer rod and heavier line fished on a firm drag will have the sandpaper jawline of the barra quickly rubbing through any leader.

Longer, softer rods, on the other hand, actually move with the head shakes, reducing the rubbing effects of the barra’s jaws. This is a key part of our success rate with winter barra.

Keeping your eyes open

Shannon Hanson with a nice jack that ate a weedless plastic skipped into the snags. Shannon leaves no stick, twig, gap or overhang untouched with his lure, which contributes to his impressive catch rate.

Keeping an eye on the sounder is a good way to find extra fish when casting the snags. The lure is an Atomic Semi Hardz soft vibe, and this colour is an absolute cracker when the water is a bit dirty.

It may be cold but the barra and jacks still have to feed. The 5” Paddle Prawn is as big a lure as we use during winter, and we downsize to 3” when they’re feeding on small bait. to hold doggies, but regular by-catch is Spanish and spotty mackerel, so be prepared for the unexpected, and a potentially quick chase to stop yourself getting spooled if this happens.

Apart from the sharks and bigger mackerel, queenfish also show up to feed on the doggies. A couple of years ago it wasn’t the sharks eating our

for sooties, whiting and so on become our barra tackle for a few months. Taking into account that bigger barra can often be found in 5-8m of water, lines need to be light to fish the smaller lures properly at depth. I have found that 6-10lb braid, 20lb FC leader, and 1/4oz heads to rig the smaller plastics on make the rig easy and straightforward.

is imperative to being able to make the most of every opportunity that may present itself over a day on the water, and the often much clearer waters that are another winter blessing give up the presence of plenty of respectable fish, particularly in the shallower areas. Warmer, shallower water often holds the jelly prawns that barra gorge themselves on as the tide pushes in, and just out from that dirty water line you’ll often see what we refer to as ‘mud puffs’, and are a sure sign that something is feeding in that immediate area. As the prawns are sucked from their muddy sanctuary in a lighting fast jaw movement, the extra mud is ejected from the predator’s gills and upwards, giving away what’s happening just below the surface. A thinking angler will deliver his or her tiny lure just past the ‘mud puff’, and with short sharp upward jabs of the rod tip, hop it through that area, and hang on. Obviously, stealth in this sort of shallow situation is critical, as fish in the shallows often spook quite easily.

The by-catch for this scenario is reasonably sized grunter, and they are

often visible in big schools swarming the flats as they make the most of the small crustaceans’ predicament. If you’re lucky enough to find an exceptionally warm piece of water, you’ll sometimes need to upsize your lure a bit

not catch you ‘more’ than the subsurface approach, the bite is much more exciting.

Just a little on accessories that will be extremely important for you to have if you’re to attempt this sort of fishing and apart from a sidescan sounder that gives away fish’s presence, a pair of top notch sunnies is going to open up a whole new world.

The photochromic copper lenses in my sunnies allow me to differentiate the colour changes that are highlighted with these glasses. Subsurface snags, fish, mud puffs and so on are so much easier to find.

I use Tonic sunglasses, and if you have a big boofhead like me, I highly recommend the Shimmer model.

To be honest, after the initial shock of the cold weather both for the fish and us, I think things will heat up considerably and the fish will fall into their normal routines

The author has been having fun documenting his fishing and showing how easy it is to do. Look for ‘Hodgie The Barefoot Fisherman’ on YouTube. to get the bite. Surface bites are also a common in this scenario, and a small popper or stickbait is worth having at the ready. We get good results on Halco Roostas and Bassday Sugapens. Even though it may

again for winter. We can only hope, because contrary to popular belief, the barra and jacks are still going to feed, and we’ll try every weekend to throw whatever it is that they’ll climb all over.

JULY 2020

37

OLD

Persistence will get productive results in July reports from out the reefs on coral trout and nannygai for those who have gotten out there. As usual though, inshore around the Lucinda sugar jetty has seen the big queenfish on the chew, along with a few Spanish mackerel.

Those anglers fishing within the Hinchinbrook Channel can often find good schools of golden snapper (fingermark) on deep ledges and holes during July. Soft vibes like the Samaki and Quickcatch 95 and 120mm size work well on these

HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

Some real wintery weather arrived last month, with the mercury falling to below 10°C on some mornings.

Usually this makes for a big drop in the water temp, and the transitional change can make the barra fishing a lot tougher. I try to avoid too many bookings for barra charters in May-June for this reason.

However, now that the temps have settled down for a few weeks, the barra are becoming more settled and used to it and will go back to more active feeding habits. I recommend looking for schools of aggregated fish sitting in deeper areas during the neap tides on either live baits of 3” mullet or big live mud herring which are generally easily caught near the Port Hinchinbrook Marina

that they are a no-take species for the rest of this year. As the commercial quota was reached for them in a single month (January this year), they became no-take for everyone.

It’s a very controversial and not a well thought-out rule in my opinion, considering they are a species that don’t release very well at all.

At this time of writing, charter fishing or tourism experiences are set to commence on 12 June. I plan to have my vessel back in the water before next month’s

Anglers are having fun catching queenfish around the jetty. on the way out from the boat ramp. Pinning them through the back on a dropper rig and placing them on the fish’s nose is one basic technique that usually gets a bite. However,

sometimes changing it up can work better. Use a mixture of live baits and swimbaits or prawn imitation lures very slowly retrieved to the boat, just remember to spot-lock the

King threadfin salmon are a common catch at this time of year.

boat to the side of the school and not on top of them.

Sometimes you may have to wait it out longer than usual.

The fish may have a more favourable time on a certain part of the tide during the day.

Threadfin salmon are also common during July on live baits. Generally during late June and into JulyAugust, the late afternoon periods in shallow water on the flats will see them feeding from the surface and taking shallow hardbody lures. I use various brands that are around 80-120mm and have a contrasting colour. Certain colour combinations will work better in different light conditions, but the main thing to do this time of year in the cold is to slow retrieves down a lot.

With the lighter wind conditions recently, the boat ramps have been full to the brim with parked boat trailers.

We’re hearing plenty of good

Anglers often find good schools of golden snapper in July. species. If you’re fishing for them in deeper than 9m of water, it’s best you take only what you need and move on.

They don’t revive very well in water any deeper than that.

Even at 9m they may die.

Also, I’ve heard that there has been some good numbers of black jewfish showing up in the channel recently. If you know what these look like on sonar equipment, it’s easy for you to help avoid them now

column, and will have lots more reports and photos to share. I’m now taking or rescheduling bookings from July onwards.

• We are taking bookings from July 2020 and for next year.

Gift vouchers can still be purchased if you’re looking for birthday gifts, and can be used when operations continue.

You can email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone us on 0402 339 459.

Tap into great fishing offshore PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

The Far North has been in hibernation waiting for QLD state politicians to open up our borders. To be frank, circumstances couldn’t be any more dire for our heavily reliant tourism trade.

All signs indicated a bumper dry season winter trade in regards to tentative bookings on accommodation and extra activities such as fishing. However, forward cancellations have just kept pouring in for our charter fleet.

Frustrations have reached boiling point as the region hangs on by a thread. When this all began I predicted we would be the first area to 38

JULY 2020

come to a standstill and the last to come back. This is never so true.

On the fishing front with literally no charters in operation as I write, it has been up to the locals to provide the reports. We have seen a real change in season and for the first time in a few years have experienced some cooler weather, the night times especially. This has consequently shut some species down and fired others up. The shut down has been mainly in the rivers in regards to barramundi, and to a lesser extent mangrove jack and golden snapper (fingermark).

On the bright side the mud crabs have been very much on the move and big fat bream have been highly aggressive. Mid sized golden and giant trevally don’t mind the mercury drop, and there are some big queenfish in

our bigger systems like the Daintree. Live bait is gold if you can source it, and bright sunny days will also allow for some good results on soft plastics and surface poppers.

If the days are sombre and overcast, fresh dead bait such as prawns, mullet strips and squid definitely will attract attention. Other species such as blue salmon, grunter, sickle fish and dart/ permit across the shallower flats will come into play.

Offshore the mackerel are now turning up in numbers by the day. The chill in the air, water temperature and cooler southern currents have seen them turn up earlier than normal.

Naturally, trolling hardbody lures and wog head garfish rigs are your easiest option to cover the ground necessary to find them in schools.

South-facing pressure points on main reefs are a great

place to get the ball rolling.

Just keep in mind your bag restrictions on the various species such as Spanish, spotted and school mackerel.

Other significant catches have come off the bottom, with coral trout, small and large mouth nannygai and red emperor really hitting their straps. The first stages of the dry season with the current change allow you to tap into some quality fish in generous quantities.

Some locations which can be relatively dormant at times are now worth targeting in this initial push.

It is also time to start exploring the wide grounds south of Port Douglas for small black marlin with the current conditions. This could just be the injection of excitement desperately needed. It’s recommended to make the trek in calm conditions and focus on

The mackerel have turned up earlier than normal. concentrated bait schools you find on the sounder. You can troll surface 6-8” skirted lures in your preferred colours, but I personally think that skipping gar are more appealing.

Let’s pray with fingers

crossed we see some interstate movement and get this country going again. I can tell you categorically we are ready, COVID safe and raring to fire on all cylinders up here in Port Douglas.

OLD

Cool weather can still equal hot fishing CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

The cooler months are not the best months to chase those iconic Net Free Zone species like barramundi and mangrove jacks, but that doesn’t mean the fun is all over. There are

grunter (javelin fish), and at this time of year you can get some rippers up to 60cm out on the flats. The Hospital Flats out the front of the Trinity Inlet are an ideal spot to target these fish, especially if you can get a berley trail going.

Fishing the top of the tide with lightly weighted strips of mullet and squid is a

blue salmon, which will move into the creeks at this time of year in big schools.

These little blue speedsters love hanging out at the mouths of creeks and can be caught easily on both lures and bait.

While it may be harder to snare a barra or jack in winter, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible. When lure fishing you just need to persist a bit longer with your casting on snags and work that lure slowly or suspend it for longer periods of time.

Using smaller imitations is also a very good option, so dropping down to 3” softies and smaller hardbodies is a must. Shallower water will be warmer water, so try to find those pockets where the fish are feeding.

Small, slowly worked paddle-tails are a very good option during the cooler months.

Spicing up your lures with a skirt or blade never hurts at this time of year. plenty of other species around this time of year, and they are just as much to target and put on a plate.

To start with, the cooler weather brings on the

productive way to snare these fish. If you’re not keen on fishing bait, I recommend fishing soft plastics or soft vibes.

The other species that will be around will be the

Big barra can still be caught over the cooler months, especially on small lures.

I find the jacks still bite well over the cooler months and it’s just a matter of getting that lure right in the thick of the structure.

They will still slam a lure, especially if you can get it right in its face, so get your casting on point.

Try blinging up your plastics and lures at this time of year as well.

Blades and skirts added to presentations can get the fish fired up or at the least a bit curious, so mixing it up is a great idea.

Next month will see much of the same, so honing your skills this month and working out a few reliable patterns in the cold weather will put you in good stead.

Remedy to the barra fever COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

Fever, chills and expectations – I’m not talking about coronavirus but barramundi fever with the onset of the cold weather.

The waterways are populated with a huge amount of small barramundi, and the occasional monster thrown in to get the heart pumping and the adrenaline levels up.

These large numbers may also be due to the fruits from net closures in Princess Charlotte Bay. With lots of small fish

feeding. The only period when this doesn’t occur is when the water temperature drops during winter – it can be very hard work to entice barra to feed in July.

Looking for their likely ambush spots and repeatedly throwing your lure can get a reaction but it can be

some amazing areas in our Cape York National Parks, can be rewarding in itself. There is always an opportunity to scout for some more areas that might be worth coming back to later in the year as the weather improves.

Barramundi still have to feed, so start your search for them in shallow ambush areas.

Fishing later in the afternoon as the sun heats the water up a little can also be productive.

The southeast winds are back in force with little chance of letting up this month, which is also likely to continue next month. Any chance of a small drop in wind will see keen reef fishos heading out to sea.

Winter time can be productive for red emperor. The break from fishing pressure can have your favourite coral trout spots fire up again, as new fish would have moved in to fish holding structures.

Light winds are a blessing at this time of the year, so it’s

Sam Ryder with an average sized specimen.

They are in big numbers in the rivers with the odd larger model amongst them. worth grabbing hold of the opportunity as it can be a wait until the next chance arises.

Having less time out on the water means time can be spend working on and servicing your boat and gear ready just in case. More likely then not, if you put it off you

Isolation restrictions have been great for the barra population.

The isolation with restrictive movement of people has been great for the local fishing spots, as large numbers of fish have been caught and released recently.

The fishing hasn’t been this good for as long as I can remember.

in the river systems, it looks like the fishing is going to be exceptional in years to come.

Barramundi are well spread throughout our waterways and attack so aggressively that almost any lure can be used to capture them when they are actively

frustrating work. Most of the time you have to work out if it is worthwhile. If the weather bureau is forecasting rain and an overcast day ahead then staying home and doing jobs around the house is a better option. However, being able to go out camping and see

Beware the cold weather will cause barra fever!

will be kicking yourself when the short weather window arrives. So get it all done now and be ready.

The opportunity is wasted if you don’t prepare. Taking time now can also make sure everything is in top shape and your boat is in a safe condition when needed.

Trickle battery chargers are a great way to make sure your boat battery is ready to go.

This time of the year is definitely tough to fish, but options are there. Get ready to make use of any opportunity and put time in preparing and organising for adventures ahead. All the best with your plans and hope they come through as restrictions lift and you’re able to venture out to your favourite areas.

JULY 2020

39

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Dear Ms Palaszczuk Queensland and have been reforms are legislated. We Firstly we want to take waiting to be legislated since have not taken the decision to the opportunity to thank the end of 2019. We plead boycott your working groups the Queensland Labor for you to demonstrate strong lightly, but feel there is no Government for originally leadership and get this last key other option for us to send a committing to long overdue piece of enabling legislation clearer message at this point fisheries reform consistent passed before the caretaker in time. If reforms are not with your published election period commences prior to the regulated, rest assured that promises and subsequent October election. we will hold the Queensland Sustainable Fisheries To actively pursue our Labor Government Strategy 2017-2027. When participation, engage with responsible. the Queensland Department us, draw upon our volunteer There is an opportunity of Agriculture and Fisheries efforts to help the Queensland right now for you and your called for volunteers to the DAF work through the various government to take credit for various fishery working fisheries management issues a key piece of Queensland groups we were convinced that only to see the implementation fisheries history by passing our efforts would be rewarded of agreed measures stall at the these critical reforms and in and that our time commitment political level is a betrayal of doing so maintain political to the Working Group process the good faith we placed in you integrity in keeping Labor’s would bear fruit. and your elected colleagues. election promises. The choices Unfortunately in recent Volunteer efforts shouldBRAESIDE be and associated consequences ALBERTON months we have been cherished and not squandered. sit entirely on your shoulders.

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43

Kayaking

OLD

Angler’s tale: doggone dugongs and pesky pike BRISBANE

Troy Brown

During the coronavirus lockdown, the Queensland government was unable to define exactly what ‘local’ meant with regards to fishing for food or kayaking for exercise, and many keen anglers risked the wrath of authorities to hit the water. I wasted hours chatting fruitlessly with the office of one of our honourable ministers, and walked away confused after being provided a litany of mixed messages.

I decided to go fishing.

The wise people who lead our state (insert

The pike at Raby Bay were in massive numbers, and they also plagued the Logan River.

A 58cm Logan River grunter. On light gear, there are few fish that provide a better fight. hysterical laughter) told us we should exercise ‘common sense’ in determining what is local.

Knowing that a police officer could not rule on common sense and that such a thing does not exist in law, I decided to simply choose my nearest waterway. Using Google Maps, I found that by road, the Brisbane River, Raby Bay and the Logan River were all roughly equidistant from my home. Unsure which location Minister Common Sense would choose, I decided to try a different site each week and risk the fine if Constable Confused misinterpreted the government’s directive.

Over the coming weeks, I hit all three waterways.

I need not have worried, as my address was never checked by police, nor was I even given a glance by the Fisheries patrol.

Anchoring roughly 50m from my kayak, I watched as a patrol stopped possibly 20 boats, while ignoring me completely. Despite thoroughly questioning every boater who dared being on the waterway, 44

JULY 2020

checking their catch, boat registration, safety gear and the most hilarious cavity searches, the officers totally ignored me.

It wasn’t fair. I wanted my kayak inspected. Are kayakers so tiny and laughable that the fisheries patrol simply assume we are incapable of doing wrong? Was my kayak so insignificant, even with the ridiculous number of rods I carry, the livewell I never use (I don’t like to eat fish) and the 35 tackle boxes? I want my strip search!

Putting my disappointment aside, isolation and social distancing as a kayaker has actually been quite simple.

Even when kayakers launch in group, which we obviously have not done recently, you simply don’t get close enough to become super spreaders of COVID19. My psychiatrist friend, who has an issue with kayakers, says it’s an isolationist’s sport. This is not a game for team players, unless you are one of those weird people with a tandem kayak.

He has a point. Clearly,

kayak fishing is a solo sport and is the ultimate form of social distancing. While kayakers are notoriously friendly and will always lend a hand, we keep a healthy distance between ourselves and fellow anglers while we’re fishing. Despite paddling or pedalling metres apart and swapping stories of monster fish won and lost, when you’re fishing

the last thing you want is another kayak drifting a few metres away.

What we lack in size and power (yes, I’m talking to you Mr Fisheries Patrol), we make up for in stealth and shallow water capability. We get closer to the water, tighter into the fish’s lair, and are at one with the water. If we were to fish too closely together, that stealth factor would be lost along with our only advantage over boat fishers.

Well Mr Fisheries Inspector, the joke’s on you, because for the fish time in recent history my livewell was full of fish, unlike those tinny rats you pulled over.

At this point I have to admit that although many fish went into my livewell, I released them before heading home.

Why? The livewell was just for show, just in case Constable Confused decided that pedalling a big kayak loaded with gear was not exercise. Anyone who doubts that kayaking is exercise obviously hasn’t experienced the muscle burn after a 25km round trip on the water.

But back to the fishing.

Marks Rocks typically delivers modest bream, but we can expect larger specimens over the cooler months.

COVID restrictions had meant that instead of fishing new locations for the magazine, I instead fished my ‘locals’ for the first time in over 12 months, and it was a blast.

The Logan River never disappoints. With its chocolate poo colour and an aroma which would make a sewerage worker blanch, it surprisingly offers up some amazing catches. The area around Marks Rocks is a known mulloway haven, but for me plucking a bream from 20cm of water and skilfully extracting them from the razor-sharp rocks is far more fun.

Casting the edges for these little maulers can offer up some fun surprises, with the occasional bonus of a monster flathead testing the limits of your light gear.

However, the real attraction in the Logan lately has been some horse-sized grunter, which require the most sneaky of tactics to catch. If you want to catch a grunter in that river, you need to employ a sneaky combination of a

I drop the sandwich when my reel starts screaming!

On my isolation visit to the Brisbane River, I spent only a few minutes testing some new soft plastics, and the rest of the outing letting a fellow kayaker test my two Hobies. My trip to Raby Bay was much more memorable. It’s a location which has given me some amazing kayak fishing memories, plus one moment which I’ll forever be reminded of by my ‘friends’: the dreaded Dugong Attack.

Now, this is where things get a little weird.

People look at you strangely when you say dugongs are pure evil. Yes, those big dopey dugongs, who everyone goes “oooh” and “ahhh” over, are the most evil mammal in the ocean.

Don’t be fooled by those lazy eyes, the face which looks like it is etched with a permanent grin, because those harmless looks hide the true nature of these horrible creatures.

Picture this – someone new to kayaking, having

After the first dozen, the author stopped counting and started cursing the impenetrable layer of pike. kayak, a sandwich, drink bottle, one fishing rod and an extremely heavy jighead with a curly-tail grub.

The technique (read this carefully and absorb it, as this is the most difficult technique you’ll attempt) is to sit in your kayak, open your cooler to extract your sandwich or drink, toss a heavily weighted grub lure into the water, let your kayak drift while dragging that lure through the muddy bottom, then chomp down on your sandwich. Fish on!

I kid you not, this is my go-to technique for grunter in the Logan. You may extract the odd catfish, but the grunter seem to love that 1/2oz jighead stirring up the mud, or maybe they love the look on my face as

just met some fellow kayakers for his first trip into the bay on a brand new kayak. There is a little bit of chop around a kilometre offshore, but conditions are actually quite calm and it is a perfect introduction to kayak fishing.

The friendly kayakers that you arranged to meet go home, while you decide to have just one more drift in your new pride and joy.

You look around, see a couple of dugongs nearby and smile at how wonderful it is to be out on the water.

Admiring the view, you feel a massive bump under your kayak and suddenly the water you were sitting on is all around you, as the evil dugong has surfaced under your kayak!

OLD

At this point, there are a few things going through your head as a new kayaker.

The first is unprintable, but there are others such as “how do I flip the kayak back over”, “there goes some new gear into the water”, “glad I have the PFD on” and “are there any sharks below”. The last one spurred me into action, but re-entering was not as simple as I thought.

I’d watched the YouTube videos, knew the theory and it all looked simple.

However, with a brand new kayak, a super slippery hull which refused to provide a handhold and no handles on the outside of the hull, it proved to be a challenge.

I was in the water for a long time before I finally managed to right the kayak, then flipped it again, attempting re-entry from the side. After another attempt to flip the kayak was successful. I discarded the idea of a side entry, flipped the esky from the rear and hauled myself over the stern. Success!

I learnt a lot that day.

First, tether your gear.

Second, PFDs are great, but the wrong one can make it harder to re-enter the kayak. Third, practice flipping and re-entering.

Fourth, stay with other kayakers on your first

fish on the bottom, but up top there was an army of pike, mercilessly attacking any lure thrown their way.

I tried every lure in my box, hoping they would leave something alone long enough for the lure to find something worthy of my attention. Instead, 95% of my casts resulted in those toothy vermin being landed, or my lures returning with only a small part of their body remaining.

I assumed that if the pike were so difficult to breach in the deeper drop-

offs, an aggressive bream on the flats may be fast enough to defeat the speedy pike. This also proved fruitless, with only one bream and a flathead on my sounder.

Frustrated, I needed a fresh tactic to find some better fish. Knowing that I couldn’t get to the better fish I could see on the sounder, my best defence would be to go where there were NO fish on the sounder. Yes, no fish. I know Raby Bay very well, so if it were true to form,

Butter fingers! This bream decided it did not want its photo taken. few trips. Fifth, that new iPhone really is waterproof.

And last, dugongs are evil.

Having managed to get back on-board, my first instinct was to go home. However, with my confidence shattered, I knew that if I didn’t get back on the horse, I may never ride again. I forced myself to fish for another couple of hours, but I was constantly scanning the water for vigilante dugongs.

A week later I returned to the same spot with outriggers fitted to my kayak, only to have another dugong bump the side of my

kayak, but a dozen of these maniacal clowns could not roll over a kayak with a set of stabilisers fitted. I’ve not seen a dugong since then, so I assume they’ve found other victims for their cruel practical jokes.

Let’s return to the fishing. Raby Bay was one of my favourite fishing locations, despite my poor experience on the first visit. It has always been productive, with even poor days producing some action. This time, the pike formed a below water forcefield which was nearly impenetrable. I could see

SUNSEEKER 620

The author’s technique for grunter involves a sandwich, a cold drink, a soft plastic with a heavy jighead and a short wait!

Kayaking

finding a featureless area of water with no fish would get me away from the pike, but I would also pull some random fish that were using the area as a thoroughfare.

Success! In short order, a few modest snapper were boated, along with a small mackerel, a sweetlip smaller than my lure, a lovely tusky and another bream. This was a very modest haul, but after wasting a few hours losing lures to pike (plus the odd massive toadfish and grinner), it was a win.

Heading home, apart from having an amazingly large turtle surface beside me, I had no other surprises.

The dugongs must have decided to pick another victim, or maybe they tried the same trick on a boat with a spinning propeller... karma will get you, even if you are a dugong.

The lesson in all of this is that being ‘forced’ to fish near home can be a great thing. Pre-COVID, most of us found our passion for kayaking and fishing near home, then moved on to other areas in search of variety. Over time, we forgot what we have in our own backyard. If you didn’t get on your kayak or boat during the restrictions, it’s time to get off your lounge and reignite your passion for your local waterways.

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45

OLD

Rug up and enjoy the chilly winter action TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

We are back! When the lakes and weirs closed due to Covid 19, it felt like I hadn’t fished for six months rather than just two. I’m sure a lot of others felt the same once the restrictions eased, as there were plenty of boats

out trying their luck.

Success has really depended on the area being fished, the exact approach and an understanding of the emerging winter patterns. I have had one of the best lead ups to winter for bass fishing I can ever remember.

A bunch of the Hot Bite Team have been doing the final testing on a new lure that was meant to be a huge success at the start of spring.

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook Dam was closed well before Covid and took a little longer to reopen. This was due to high levels of blue green algae. On reopening we all thought the place would offer some insane fishing but, to be honest, it was pretty tough.

of the dying algae. Several anglers made comments about the colour of the water but the visibility was still quite good. Only a few weeks later, the water had cleared right up. Another observation was the growth of some very impressive weed beds. Some of these come all the way out to 4-5m before they drop away to the bottom. They look

Nobody told the bass that and we have seen some impressive captures with dozens of fish over 50cm in the last couple of weeks.

Stay tuned as everything is still on track for this lure to be released around the end of winter or start of spring.

While some lakes are firing, others have been pretty tough. This is standard for winter and as it cools down even more, things will

change again. I do have a feeling that this winter is going to be a good one but you will need to be prepared to travel and time your trips to find the best success.

It’s not just bass fishing on offer. Winter seems to draw out the bigger cod.

Northern NSW is well within reach for Queensland anglers based in the South East corner. If you are heading that direction,

prepare for some cold torture as it can be bitter during the winter months.

Barra anglers shouldn’t give up hope either. If you time your trips around the warmer weather and nicer days, you can have some great barra sessions.

Monduran is well known as a good winter barra fishery and Awoonga Dam flew a little under the radar last winter. You just need to

change up your approach to get the bites.

With plenty of winter options if you are willing to plan a trip, there is no need to pack the gear away in a corner. Stay at home if the wind is howling and it is bitterly cold. If you can see a window of good weather on the way, take advantage of it and bask in the sun. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel!

they would be up in 4-5m of water and others they would drop back in to 10m+. The weakening thermocline was allowing them more range and it seemed as if they couldn’t make up their minds as to where they want to be in the water column.

Due to this movement, they were responding to different presentations on different days. The cooling of the water even more should help them decide where

for some big bass over 50cm. This should be a more common occurrence when the water cools more.

The cold water clears right up and a bass will rise a long way to take a suspended jerk bait. The ideal edges to fish will have the occasional fish on the sounder out deeper. The trick is to keep moving and work heaps of good-looking banks while searching for fish. I had the most success up Cressbrook Creek arm on the southern side of the dam but last trip I didn’t even spot a fish there. Be prepared to make a lot of casts and cover a lot of water. The old discontinued Cultiva Rippin’ Minnows are a local favourite. Other alternatives are Jackall Squirrels, Zipbait Trickshads and Lucky Craft Pointers.

When schools are found, numbers can be caught. I have been fishing an area known for schooling fish.

Some days they are there and others they are broken up and hugging the bottom.

When the fish are schooled and on the sounder we see at least 5-6 swimming around off the bottom, you can expect some action. On these days we have been casting a new prototype jig and Gang Banger G1 spoons at them. They aren’t fussy when they come on the bite and you can catch a fish a cast until they decide they have had enough.

Some days the action might last 10 minutes and others it can be hours. Locating these schools is the tricky part and even though the lake is small, I can take hours to find them. I have only spotted five different areas in the last four trips that have had fish in them.

When sounding around, don’t be fooled by the size of the big bony bream.

These fish must be huge and they are showing up just like small bass holding high in the water column.

Just remember there is a speed limit of 8 knots and a restricted area around the pump tower. Check out the signage to ensure you stay out of trouble and abide by the rules. The gate hours for the boat ramps and day use area are 7am-6pm over the winter months.

SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY The action has been a bit steady at Somerset.

Trollers are still catching a few smaller bass and the casters who know what they are doing are pulling some big ones. The schools might be a bit mobile for the first half of winter until they bunch up prior to the spawn time. Isolated fish on the flats could be picked off with ice jigs and small blade baits hopped over them. The better schools can still be caught using spoons and metal jigs. It will pay to mix it up as the bass may prefer a bigger or smaller presentation depending on what bait size they are eating. The Gang Banger G2 spoon and G1 give you two options to play with in attempt to get the bites.

Some of the Hot Bite Team have had some success on a new jig and I have been toying with a technique that seems deadly on the fish.

It was never meant to be a winter technique but the bass are climbing all over it.

Stay tuned.

The schools can be very frustrating and often aren’t worth trying until mid-morning. Working the edges is a good way to pull a few earlier in the day.

Harry Watson had some success flicking suspending jerk baits around the edges in the main basin. He said the trick was to stand off the weedy grass just enough so you weren’t fouling the lure in it. He chose 67 and 76 Jackall Squirrels for this approach. I have also heard of a few bass falling for Jackall TN60’s as well.

If these fish are on edges, it will pay to mix it up a bit and experiment with spinnerbaits as well. In past years, blade size has made a big difference when fishing the edges in winter. Don’t be afraid to throw bigger spinnerbaits as sometimes the fish will prefer them over smaller offerings. The main basin edges close to the usual schooling fish haunts are the ones worth investigating.

• Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is

open over holidays and otherwise from Friday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online. They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch.

WIVENHOE CLOSEST TOWNS: FERNVALE, ESK Wivenhoe has been attracting quite a few fishermen lately. The fish are a bit hit and miss for the lure casters but trollers seem to be doing well.

It is one of the few lakes where trolling is a good winter option for golden perch and bass.

Boats fishing the flats and edges in the Billies Bay areas have had a lot of success when trolling deep diving hard bodies.

Golden perch numbers were good last month but they are likely to taper off a bit as it cools down. The bass will still be willing to play if you can find them.

The big flats out between Billies Bay boat ramp and Platypus Cliffs are a good place to troll for bass.

Covering heaps of water is the best way to locate them as sometimes they will be well up on top of the flat rather than being near the old creek bed.

If you locate some schooling bass, they should be keen to eat soft plastics, spoons and metal jigs. Try to keep your distance and use long casts to work your lure through them. If it is windy, drifting over the fish and dragging the lure with the drift is an effective approach.

The shallow edges in the lower part of the lake weren’t producing well last month. More fish could venture up to the shallows as it cools more and it could be worth flicking for an hour or so just to see what’s happening. Further up the lake, the rock walls out from Logans Inlet are definitely worth a cast and a troll.

HINZE CLOSEST TOWNS: NERANG, GOLD COAST Hinze Dam has really started to make a name for itself as a great winter bass

The Hinze Dam bass love to eat Gang Banger G2s. This is the perfect time of year to be using them.

I hit the lake on the first weekend of reopening and the water was discoloured. I am not sure if the water had rolled a bit or this was just a result

perfect for luring fish but last month, they were quite barren of predatory fish life.

I watched the fish over about 4 trips and they were changing a lot. Some days

they want to hang out.

Suspending lures worked for a brief period last month. Flicking to the weedy edges with 1-3m diving jerkbaits accounted

Gary’s Marine Centre

3201 6232

217 Pine Mountain Road, BRASSALL 46

JULY 2020

To page 47

OLD From page 46

fishery. Schooling bass can be found out from the major lake points. If you launch from either ramp, head towards the dam wall and explore each point as you travel up the lake.

The edges still produce a few bass but with a big influx of bait fish, more fish are being found out in the deeper parts of the dam where they will love spoons, metal jigs and soft plastics over the winter months.

A lure retriever is a handy investment as there are plenty of submerged trees in this dam. Even upping your line size to

10lb and leader to 14lb can help get a few more lures and fish back.

Hinze is an electric motor-only lake so keep that in mind. Outboards can be left on the boat but must not be used and fuel should be taken out where possible.

MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, BEAUDESERT Hopefully the weed beds, which were coming back in Maroon, stay healthy over winter. This will be the place to start your session flicking suspending lures over the tops of submerged weed beds. As the sun brightens,

the ramp through to The Junction will be worth investigating. The smaller fish will tend to hold up on the flats and the bigger models will find their happy place closer to the drop offs. Working out the depth these big fish are frequenting will ensure

you are putting better sized fish in the boat.

Mix up lure selections to see what they are chasing.

Blade baits like the Smak Fire Blade, spoons like the G2 Gang Banger, and soft plastics like 3” Slider Grubs can all produce the goods. Borumba has a

reputation for fish wanting to eat bigger spoons too.

The Nichols range of flutter spoons are great for this lake.

It really depends on what the fish are chasing as to what works the best.

Let them decide for you by offering it all.

• Davos at Noosaville has all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers.

They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas Streets.

up and try a few different techniques.

In the mornings, the edges are a great place to start fishing. Suspending lures like Jackall Squirrels are ideal for searching for actively hunting fish.

Twitching and pausing these around any healthy aquatic vegetation is the gun approach. Lipless

crank baits, blades and soft plastics can also be used on the edges of the lake.

Rotating through these on the fish can make a huge difference and keep the bites coming. Bass will be most common but there will be a few winter golden perch getting around too.

The schools will be better fished later in the day. Around lunchtime and through to the afternoon,

schooling fish can be found on the sounder. These fish should now be in the lake’s middle reaches in areas like The Islands and the Junction. Smaller spoons like the Gang Banger G2, Smak Fire Blades, ice jigs and soft plastics are worth a run on the schooling fish.

• Boondooma is a great place to camp right near the water and sit by the fire while enjoying the view. You

could also stay in more style and comfort by booking into one of the cabins overlooking the dam. The kiosk at the main office does hot food and other basic items including an excellent range of proven fishing tackle. For campsites, cabins and bunkhouse rooms call (07) 4168 9694.

• For help catching Bjelke and Boondooma fish, call into Bass 2 Barra. The store

stocks an awesome range of gear suited to chasing our freshwater fish and the boys have all the knowledge to guide you on how to use it. You’ll find the stores at 119 Youngman Street Kingaroy. Matthew Mott also runs fishing charters on the dams and you can reach him through the store for bookings and enquiries on (07) 4162 7555.

push up in to the shallower parts of the lake in the weed beds are likely to be more active. Last year the weed died right back in winter but I have a feeling it will hold on a lot better this year. Healthy weed is the key and the barra will love basking in the sun and foraging through it. Big open bays that receive plenty of sun are ideal fish habitat.

If the water is shallow and weed blocks wave action it should get a lot warmer than the open parts of the lake.

This is where you should start looking. Don’t be afraid to go

deep, especially if there is an opening in behind the weed.

Look for the tell tail signs of barra moving causing bow waves in the shallows or even the sight of a tail fin sticking out in the air.

Weedless rigged soft plastics are the best way to entice them in the thick stuff. Out in more open water, you can slow things right down with a floating or suspending hard body lure.

Keep presentations slow and use extra stealth and you are in for some winter barra action.

The biggest key to winter success is to time your trips.

Watch the weather in the area

closely and hit the water a couple of days after some pleasant, stable weather. This is exactly what I will be doing this winter to time a trip or two to get my barra fix I missed at the start of the year.

• Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake.

He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to

target the lake’s barramundi.

He successfully guides clients onto fish right through the year and has a good understanding of fish movements. It is hard to beat time on the water and this is a great way to learn more about this lake and its fish.

You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyandsportfishing. com.au.

• Mark from Awoonga

Gateway Lodge always has a few productive secret spots to share. The Gateway lodge is on the way in to the dam after turning off at Benaraby.

The accommodation is great with plenty of boat parking space right beside the comfortable air conditioned, self-contained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 4975 0033.

SUNSHINE COAST REGION BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA The lake fished well last month so hopefully the bass continue chewing as it cools down more. The edges of the dam were

producing quite a few bass on suspending lures, blades and lipless crankbaits earlier in the day. As the day wears on, it is time to move deeper and look for schooling fish.

All the points from

WIDE BAY AND BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY Boondooma has been fishing well over the last month. There have been plenty of smaller bass getting into the action with a few models up to 50cm mixed in. Winter is a good time to mix things CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Barra fishing in winter is not stupid and you can catch them. Despite popular beliefs, the barra continue to bite right through winter. You will need to change your attack as the fish venture up into the warmer areas.

Looking for warmer water pockets is the key. Sure there will still be deeper staging barra on points and in the trees but these fish are pretty hard to fool. The fish that

Kerry Ehrlich mixed up his techniques until he found the bass wanted to eat blade baits at Cressbrook Dam.

you may need to switch your approach and use a soft plastic twitched through the tops of the weed and down the face of it. Jighead selection will depend on the depth you are fishing so have an assortment from 1/8oz through to 3/8oz.

Spinnerbaits are more of a warm month option but you may still get away with a beetle spin rigged soft plastic. Using a 1/4oz jighead, Slider Grub and small blade will allow you to probe the pockets and face of the weed beds.

The vibration of the blade (or lack of it) lets you know when the lure is fouled with weed.

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47

WHAT’S NEW ZING XTREME V2 TELESCOPIC

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The Samaki Zing Xtreme V2 Telescopic is here, with a reel seat design that lets you adjust your rod length to any increment from 6-7ft. There are no limitations!

This innovative technology has been tested and refined over 10 years to deliver a rod that excels in a wide variety of situations. When you’re fishing in the scrub and need short, accurate casts, you can run at a standard 6ft length. If you’re fishing open rivers or dams that require distance casting, you can extend the rod out to 7ft. The blank extends from your arm with no loss of action, as all the work is done in the butt of the grip.

Zing Xtreme V2’s blanks give precision casting, great action and enough grunt to get you out of those sticky situations.

The multi-directional carbon layer offers improved strength and power, complemented by the X Power weave construction and light weight guides.

There are three baitcast models available: a medium 8-14lb, medium heavy 10-17lb and heavy 12-20lb stick, all of which adjust with a flick of the wrist. www.samaki.com.au

200-225HP JOYSTICK PILOTING 2

The joy of joystick piloting is now available to even more boaters across Australia.

Mercury Marine’s latest joystick technology is now available down to 200hp, so even more boat owners can enjoy effortless, intuitive piloting when fitting either V-6 3.4L 200hp and 225hp FourStroke outboards with DTS, or V-6 3.4L 200hp SeaPro outboards with DTS. Mercury’s joystick technology delivers effortless, intuitive boat control. With only a single hand needed to control throttle, shift and steer, you can simply and efficiently move your boat in any direction – sideways, diagonally, forward, backward.

You can even rotate in place.

It means beginners to boating can dock or manoeuvre in tight spaces with confidence, despite wind and current.

In addition, the system allows the driver to hold a boat in position, hold its heading, or hold its position and heading simultaneously (which is particularly useful when fishing around a structure, or preparing the boat to dock).

Importantly, the new system is perfect for a wide range of hulls. www.mercurymarine.com

DAIWA STEEZ LURES

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The famous Steez names makes a welcome arrival to our lure range with the release of its new Steez baits. They all feature the advanced design detail and the ultra refined finish that’s made Steez famous, and are sure to get anglers’ casting arms twitching this spring and summer.

One of the new releases is the Steez Spinnerbait, which comes in two weights (3/8 and 1/2oz) and features thin tandem blades, and tapered wire for enhanced vibration and pulsing action, while a hand tied skirt means there is no rubber band to deteriorate over time.

Freshwater anglers will also love the Steez Cover Chatter (1/4 and 3/8oz), which is an Australian bass’ worst enemy.

It features an ultra thin blade, that reduces drag in the water allowing the blade to vibrate at a higher rate, allowing you to retrieve the lure at a slower speed than

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JULY 2020

PRODUCT GUIDE others on the market. Like the Spinnerbait, the Cover Chatter has a hand tied skirt for enhanced durability. www.daiwafishing.com.au

NEW X-RAP OTUS SIZE

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Strike Pro has released two new fishcatching colours in its range of Rack Popper lures.The new colours are going to be great additions to this popular range of miniature poppers. The Rack Popper has been designed especially for fishing over oyster racks, and it features fluted holes above the gills to create extra noise and bubble action. This little popper is deadly on bream, whiting, bass and estuary perch.

Strike Pro has also released three new colours in its Slinky Minnow 75 range of lures. The Slinky Minnow is a surface slide bait that darts and swims like an injured or fleeing baitfish or prawn. The Slinky Minnow floats at rest with its tail underwater at 45° and can be worked with an erratic swimming action, skip like a fleeing garfish or prawn or can also be worked like a more traditional diving minnow. They are deadly on bream, bass, estuary perch and mangrove jacks. www.jurofishing.com

PRO-CURE BAIT SAUCE

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The Rapala X-Rap Otus combines Rapala’s fish-catching X-Rap construction with a beautifully colour-matched curl tail to create a seamless hybrid lure.

Originally available in only one size (25cm, 90g), it now comes in a smaller version (17cm, 40g) to target even more species. There are also two new colours: PGG (pearl ghost gold) and SMB (smelt on the beach).

With its slow sink rate and wide, wafting tail, X-Rap Otus is the ideal choice for cold water and challenging conditions. The body rolls side-to-side as the enormous curl tail pulses behind when retrieved.

When paused, the tail acts as a parachute, stabilising the lure as it slowly swims into the depths.

The soft tail is firmly secured to the body with a 6-point stainless plate, and a replacement tail is included. The X-Rap Otus is fitted with VMC Coastal Black hooks, and is currently available in 10 colours. www.rapala.com

NEW STRIKE PRO COLOURS

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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Pro-Cure Scents have become a go-to for many Australian lure and bait anglers looking to attract fish and trigger strikes.

Made from real bait and fish oils, ProCure Tinted Bait Sauce is super sticky and ideal for boosting the attraction of your bait and lure presentations. Bait Sauce is charged with powerful complex amino acids to intensify the natural scent and increase the scent trail, attracting fish and triggering strikes.

Each flavour Bait Sauce is a different colour, which can be used to highlight baits and lures, assisted further by the added bite stimulants, fish oils and UV enhanced formula. A 4oz squeeze bottle means value for money and the applicator nozzle makes scenting up simple and mess-free.

Pro-Cure Scents are available in four flavours: tuna (0550), shrimp (0551), sardine/pilchard (0552) and garlic (0553).

Price: SRP $27.95 www.tackletactics.com.au

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visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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PRODUCT GUIDE

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING

An affordable range for a variety of applications With everything the world has had to endure over the last few months, it’s nice to know that many of our fishing tackle suppliers are still out there producing equipment for our passion when we need it most. There are still small Aussie businesses making local products for local anglers!

Cutlass have only just come on the scene in the last year or so, but they have already earned some recognition in the angling community. Their affordable range of rods, apparel and accessories will endear them to anglers who just want to go out and catch fish!

CUTLASS RODS In the last few years, a lot of local rod builders and suppliers in Australia have gravitated toward technique-specific rods.

These days it’s possible to buy a locallymade spin rod designed specifically throwing topwater lures at bream, or a long baitcast outfit purpose-built for dragging skirted jigs over cover in a bass impoundment. I own a few rods like this, and get a lot of use out of them, however being someone who likes to mix up their fishing, it gets to a point where it’s difficult to buy and own that much gear!

Having different rods for every sort of fishing you do is spatially impractical for some, and not financially possible for others.

Cutlass has gone the other way, producing just four rods in their range to cover everything from bream to big pelagics offshore, but you don’t have to save up several rod’s worth of dosh to buy one!

small vibes very comfortably, and at exactly 7ft long, it’s an appropriate length for both land and boat-based fishing. Matching the Deadlite with a spin reel between 1000-2500 will provide the best economy.

Of course, all rods have their limitations, and I think with this rod having a maximum lure weight recommendation of 10g, it’s wise to stay under that. Heavy spinnerbaits, metals and larger squid jigs are best fished on rods designed for them.

Bayslayer Baitcast My opportunities to fish with the two Bayslayers was impacted heavily by the travel bans and the strong recommendation to stay indoors, but I did get a feel for these two brute stoppers.

I did want to make one last trip north to a barra impoundment and a few ventures to the Gold Coast chasing jacks before winter, but they both lay more than 50km from home.

I believe the Baitcast is every bit as versatile as the Deadlite. As a casting rod it would be fantastic for short range ‘knockem-down’ style fishing, and a great tool for extracting powerful fish from cover like jacks, barra, cod, mulloway and more. As

Deadlight

Bayslayer Baitcast

Bayslayer Spin

This 70cm flathead from a bass creek was a surprise. The author had to jump into the creek to land it, as his 6lb leader was never going to manage lifting this croc up the bank!

In the range are the Deadlite Spin, Bayslayer Spin and Baitcast, and the Trident Spin. I was given the Deadlite and the two Bayslayers for testing in February, but quickly found myself restricted to local activities. This meant that the Deadlite was going to be my main weapon of choice. Being designed for a wide range of light tackle applications, I decided to test it out on a variety of species in a variety of locations.

Deadlite Fishing local creeks and dams I was able to catch everything from undersized bream to oversize flathead, and quite a few popular and not-so-popular sportfish in between.

I found I could work jerkbaits, plastics, crankbaits, squid jigs, topwater offerings and

Bass are a perfect match for the Deadlite, and it was a great tool for working jerkbaits around the edges of an SEQ impoundment. rod in the barra dams, this stick will handle those tasks just fine.

The only testing I was able to get done was having a few casts land-based to get a feel for the stick, and it cast lures up to 30g with no trouble at all. Using a soft toy on the end of the line I got a feel for the fish-fighting ability going toe-to-toe with the family dog.

The lightweight and sensible butt length of this stick means you could fight a fish off in the distance or directly beneath you and not feel uncomfortable.

VERDICT Working with what I could in testing these three rods, I found them to be great for anyone like me who fishes for a variety of species! Having a single rod for a range of purposes is great way to save time, money and space, and you’re certainly not compromising anything in quality.

The three rods I tested are all under $200, and are purpose-built for Australian species and techniques.

Do yourself a favour and jump onto www. cutlass.com.au and check out their range of rods, apparel and accessories. An affordable range of versatile rods couldn’t have come at a better time! - Robert Thornton

a deepwater tool, it’s excellent for jigging anything you want to jig with! I found it particularly comfortable for working soft vibes vertically. My opportunities to test out this rod were impacted further while doing just that!

I decided to have a night fish in the Brisbane River for threadies and mulloway.

I pulled up to a likely spot, dropped my vibe onto what I believed was a couple of threadfin, and started aggressively lifting and dropping the Bayslayer. I turned to say something to my girlfriend, and felt the tell tale ‘doink’ of a threadfin bite. I struck to set the hook, the fish took off, and a momentary lapse in concentration saw the Bayslayer zoom into the water, with my dignity trailing close behind it. This has never happened to me before or since, and I blame my lazy onehanded jigging approach...

Bayslayer Spin Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to bend the medium size spin rod on any fish, but I could see huge potential for this stick as a general purpose bay and light offshore tool. For anyone looking to work soft plastics and jigs for snapper, mulloway, coral trout and emperor, cast stickbaits and poppers for small to medium pelagics, or fish with a spin Despite not being welcomed on most boats, tilapia put up a great fight and further tested the Deadlite’s capabilities.

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au JULY 2020

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Recreational Fishing Update Interested In Citizen Science?

It’s Easy With RAP!

FAD To FAD Recapture!

A dolphinfish originally tagged and released on the Port Hacking FAD off southern Sydney has been recaptured ... on another DPI FAD 70 nautical miles further south!

Gun Sydney angler Gianni Lo Guidice originally tagged the dolly on 13 March 2020 while fishing near the Port Hacking FAD with livies. The juvenile fish was measured at 71cm (about 2.5kg in weight) before release. It was then recaptured just 35 days later on the Jervis Bay FAD by angler Hugh Harrison.

On recapture, the fish measured 83cm (and about 4kg in weight), highlighting the explosive growth rate of this species. Search the DPI website for more info on our FADs program and the Game Fish Tagging Program.

Both programs are great examples of your fishing fees at work!

IMAGE: Dylan Hannah Photography.

Fisho Catches Fish … Twice!

Do you know where your nearest Research Angler Program (RAP) drop-off location is?

We currently have 31 locations along the NSW coast, making it easy for you to contribute to this key citizen science program. Many local tackle outlets – such as Brent Hancock’s TackleWorld shop in Port Stephens (pictured) – are great supporters of the RAP and are happy to take your frames and store them in their bait freezers until one of our staff can pick them up for processing.

Big thanks to the tackle industry for getting behind the RAP! If you’re interested in contributing to citizen science and are lucky enough to catch a mulloway, kingfish, snapper, dusky flathead, tailor, black bream, Spanish or spotted mackerel of any legal size, donate the frame at any participating tackle shop or at a Fisheries office. Your donation could win you a $50 tackle voucher.

As a bonus, you’ll also find out interesting information about your catch. Search the DPI website for more info on RAP, including drop-off locations.

The RAP is yet another great example of your fishing licence at work!

Tackle Tips Vids Online!

A snapper originally tagged and released by angler Jordan Crisp has been recaptured … by Jordan … after only six days at liberty!

The 79cm snapper was caught on 28 May 2020, while Jordan was fishing off the North Coast of NSW. After a couple of quick photos, it was tagged and released in

excellent condition. Just six days later, Jordan recaptured the snapper about 200m from where he originally caught it.

It was once again released in top condition. This double recapture highlights that snapper are a resilient species well suited to C&R, provided they’re handled with care.

Nice work, Jordan!

New Tweed Reef Designed For Multi Species Appeal!

DPI is developing a series of instructional videos to help angling novices fast track their skills and hopefully catch more and better fish! The first clip in the “Talking Tackle” series covers off on fishing basics including simple rigs, tools and baits.

Check it out on the DPI Fisheries Facebook page!

We’re currently working on additional videos covering topics such as key knots you need to know, using circle hooks, the best baits and heaps more!

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au 50

JULY 2020

NSW’s newest offshore artificial reef will feature a 10m high “fish grotto” as well as innovative “arrowhead” reef modules boasting unique habitat features to attract and hold key sportfish including mackerel, cobia, kingfish, amberjack and samsonfish.

DPI has awarded a contract for Pacific Marine Group to construct and install the new reef off Tweed Heads. The steel and concrete reef will be deployed 7.5km south-east of the Tweed Heads river entrance in about 25m of water.

The centre point of 28° 13.446’ S, 153° 35.508’ E lies about 2.5kms off the coast of Wommin Bay. Construction of the various modules is underway.

Stay tuned for more info on the installation! The Artificial Reefs Program is another great example of your fishing fees at work!

dpi.nsw.gov.au/artificial-reef

DPI’s ground-breaking approach to artificial reef design is providing reef structures that will not only last for decades but which are scientifically shown to be among the most productive habitats in our coastal waters.

A series of reefs of varying designs have already been installed, with two off Sydney and others off Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Wollongong, Shoalhaven Heads and Merimbula Bay. More are being planned for the Tweed coast, the Batemans Bay region and off Jervis Bay. The reefs are designed to provide habitat for key recreational sportfish such as kingfish, snapper and mulloway, as well as abundant bait species.

A key goal of DPI’s artificial reefs program is to increase recreational fishing opportunities for current and future fishing generations.

Download the DPI FishSmart App or visit the NSW DPI website for GPS coordinates to our artificial reef network.

These reefs are built using funds from the Recreational Fishing Trust.

JULY 2020

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Sydney

NSW

Outsmarting winter royals SYDNEY HARBOUR

Steve Winser

Last winter we enjoyed the best harbour kingfish bite in living memory, with numbers of large fish taken in the upper reaches of the harbour.

With an apparent El Niño style weather cycle appearing , correspondingly the fish will be more prevalent inshore as we saw last season, and if this pattern holds, we’re

cautiously optimistic of a another great season this winter and that’s where we will focus our efforts.

When it comes to catching harbour kingfish, it’s all about squid. You really must put the time in to get the squid. Yes, you will catch a few kingies on soft plastics or livebaits such as yellowtail and slimies, but if you really want to be in the game you need squid that you have caught that morning.

When you’re targeting

kingfish in the harbour, anywhere you can find current run is a good place to start. Mid-tide seems to be best.

In recent weeks there have been very good catches of large bream and blackfish in the lower reaches of the harbour. The biggest bream on our last trip was 45cm, and 1-1.5kg blackfish have been just about everywhere along the shoreline. We have been catching most of our fish on bread bait fished in

Every once in a while an amberjack will show up in the cooler months. This fish was caught by regular customer Keith.

bread berley trails.

Good numbers of blackfish are taken on the standard weed approach, but a bread berley trail in close to shore around a kelp bed will attract bream and trevally as well, potentially giving you a nice mixed bag. We use a little bobby cork about 1m above a size 4-6 hook baited with bread or peeled prawn. The top of the tide is the best time to fish.

The bream and blackfish action should continue until the fish move to sea to spawn.

Due to the late-ish start of the summer season, we’re expecting the winter season to run late too. If that happens, the bream and blackfish run might continue right through until August.

Anglers are also catching some very nice drummer and groper around the rocks of the harbour area and the ocean rocks, with some of the black drummer reaching 4kg.

The surface fishing for salmon, bonito and tailor in the harbour has been hit-and-miss; some days they’re there and on other days you can strike out. A good way to catch them is by trolling 70-110mm hardbody lures, preferably in baitfish imitation colours. If you find the

It’s time to rug up and chase some kingfish! fish on the surface in schools, you can get good results using soft vibes like the Samaki Vibelicious, soft plastic jerkbaits, and surface walkers like the Bassday Sugapen.

As water temperatures continue to drop we can

expect the dusky flathead to slow up in the harbour, but bluespot flatties will come on offshore in the 30-60m range. They are good targets offshore at this time of year, along with the smaller snapper and To page 53

Top 10 tips to catch kingfish PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Kingfish are a species that can be very gullible one day and elusive the next, but there are things you can do to catch them more consistently. Here are 10 tips for targeting these big, dirty fighting, and tasty fish.

1. Catch fresh live bait To give yourself the best possible chance at tangling with a big kingfish it is always better to be prepared. Before you get to your chosen area to target kingfish, make sure you have caught some live bait.

2. Have a variety of baits Kingfish will eat a variety of baits and are opportunistic feeders, eating most things in the water at different times of their life. When targeting kingfish though the standard is to catch live squid and/or live yellowtail or slimy mackerel.

3. Big baits for big kingfish Don’t be scared to use big live baits when 52

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Find the baitfish and stick with them so you get a chance at a fish like this. targeting kingfish, as you will be surprised at the size of kingfish that will eat big baits. Quite often smaller

fish will scoff down a large squid while you’re targeting those bigger bad boys, but hey – big baits are easier to

see and will entice the bigger fish if they are around.

4. Locate baitfish As obvious as it sounds, you should go to areas that kingies are renowned to visit, and these areas usually have a couple of things in common: structure and a food source close by. Once an area has been found to have reef and/or structure, the next step is to find the baitfish. The baitfish should be balled up and appear as a soccer ball on your sounder.

If the baitfish is balled up mid-water there are normally predators not far away, and a lot of the time if you are fishing the headlands those predators will be kingfish.

5. Working seagulls and seabirds These are the angler’s gift from above. Seabirds will often give away the location of any fish feeding on the surface. In spring and summer along our part of the coast, kingfish can often be found feeding on the surface at first light and over the first few hours of the morning.

6. Stealth approach Approach the surface To page 53

You’ve got to cover ground to find those bigger fish.

NSW

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

From page 52

morwong. We’ll be looking to see more consistency with the larger reds come September/October.

FISHING IN JULY July is a good month for chasing kingies, and you can also have a lot of fun catching salmon and tailor around the headlands on trolled lures. Keep an eye out for birds to find the schools. Although it’s possible to catch these fish at any time of day, morning is probably your best bet.

Bream and blackfish will also be on the chew in July.

• Fishing Sydney Tours takes pride in tailoring every trip to the customer’s preferred species of fish, style of angling, and level of expertise, all within a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at competitive rates. There are some excellent fishing spots that can be accessed straight off of Sydney, and we will show you where. We offer harbour, wash and offshore fishing for species ranging from kingfish and mulloway through to snapper and mahimahi.

For more information go to www. fishingsydneytours.com.au.

From page 52

activity from upwind and if possible, turn off your motors. Drift back towards the school with the wind while casting lures and retrieving them along the surface.

INTUITIVE CONTROL

NSW MERCURY DEALERS

There has been the odd mulloway caught in recent weeks, but they have slowed right down.

Catches will pick up when the water warms. have the ability to move around and stay with the moving schools, which of course gives you more chances of catching them.

9. Anchor and berley If you are lucky enough to find an area that is

10. Take a lot of lures with you Quite often when you hook up to a kingfish there are normally others that will follow it back to the boat.

By casting lures around while the fish is being

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Big kings like this one love a big bait.

7. Use live bait When you are in an area that has surface activity, remember to place out a live bait to tempt the fish that chases your lure back to the boat but doesn’t attack it. This live bait will normally attract their attention and often be smashed by the same fish that chased the lure.

8. Downrig or troll for best results When targeting kingfish it is better to

Sydney

holding kingfish and they are not moving all over the ocean, throw over the anchor upcurrent of their location and start a berley trail. The berley should consist of preferably oily fish pieces such as pilchards, slimy mackerel, bonito and even Australian salmon. This type of oily berley will normally attract any kingfish that are in the area, and quite often they will follow it back to its source: your boat.

played on the other side of the boat you can normally get a second hook-up. If you get a follow do not remove your lure from the water.

Instead, start making the lure do figure eights on the surface. This can quite often trigger a bite.

• I hope these tips get you onto some lovely big kingfish this season. If you don’t have a boat or would like to see how we go about our successful charters, just give me a call on 0410 633 351.

COFFS HARBOUR COFFS HARBOUR MARINE 311b Pacific Highway Coffs Harbour P: (02) 6652 4722 E: info@coffsharbourmarine.com.au W: www.coffsharbourmarine.com.au

JULY 2020

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Snag a snapper from the stones SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

Hi to all! We’re in the deep heart of winter and it’s looking good. Normally at this time of the year the residential species reign supreme while the travellers like mulloway, kings, whiting and bream are well and truly gone,

and you should take advantage of that.

Below is a report of what’s happening off the ocean rocks, ocean beaches and a little in the estuaries.

OCEAN ROCK FISHING ‘Snapper’ is the word at the moment. Even though you may have put the gear away for the next few months I would recommend that you take it straight back out and get onto the stones for a

baits like cut crab and prawns.

Easy to access rock locations on the Northern Suburbs of Sydney are Queenscliff headland near the swimming pool (preferably fish it in a swell under 1.2m) and also Freshwater Headland’s northeast face and North Narrabeen headland in front of the swimming pools.

Always take into account that just because these spots are easy to get to doesn’t mean there’s no danger.

Lifejackets are mandatory!

Always have your steel spike boots, hi-vis rain coat, and seek the right safety advice.

I suggest you contact me on my mobile number at the end of the column.

The baits I recommend using are salted slimy mackerel fillets, fresh squid strips or cuttlefish strips, or you can go to your local jetty or wharf and catch yellowtail which makes a great strip bait. When you’re targeting snapper I recommend bringing a minimum of two different types of baits, to see what the fish prefer on the day.

Snapper from 33cm to an impressive 58cm have been

encounter luderick, trevally, bream and the odd groper.

King, banana and endeavour prawns are good baits, and should be available at tackle shops. White sliced bread is a great bait too, as well as berley. The cheap 1kg bags of oats work great for berley – just mix the oats with some white bread, soak it with water and mush it all up together. It works a treat.

It seems that most anglers have put their king gear away, but it’s still worth a shot for these super tough fish. If you can find eastern sea gars you can use a 2-hook snelled or a set of four gangs to bait them up with. They are used as a spinner bait rather than just casting them out. Yes, gars still work well when allowed to slowly sink in the sudsy white water, or when suspended under a float.

However, they certainly work better as a spinner bait.

Live baits like yellowtail and small mullet which you can catch in the estuaries, or whole/strips of squid are enticing the kings also.

It’s getting towards the peak of the salmon season so

You can catch reds up to 58cm distance casting over the reef edge onto a sand/ gravel bottom. Archer Huang caught this fish on a salted slimy mackerel strip.

A 55cm snapper that the author caught distance casting. The bait was a fresh squid strip, and the outfit was a Wilson Regal 7177 15.6 2-piece rod matched with an Alvey 650B, spooled with 25lb Daiwa J-Thread Nylon. but it’s not quite the case this year. You may assume that your favourite target species is out of season, but remember that fish don’t have calendars! Your favourite species may still be around. The autumn/ winter period in the fish world has more variety compared to winter/spring,

snapper session. Distance casting for snapper is one of the oldest forms of rock fishing that still produces great results.

Other species that are common while distance casting for snapper are trevally, bream, tarwhine and even the odd groper, especially when you’re using

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Mark George with a double header of whiting on the Bellissimo Two Hook Paternoster. You can check out the rig on the Alex Bellissimo YouTube channel. caught. If you are a more experienced rock angler you can fish North Whale headland, North Newport and Manly’s Bluefish’s east front as well.

Rock blackfish have been readily caught on most rock locations lately. Fish up to 50cm+ are available in amongst the sunken boulders and submerged shallow ledges where the cunjevoi, weed and assorted crustaceans are on tap for the pigs to feed on.

When fishing for these black bruisers you may also

expect some of these as well on your outing. In fact, if they are really thick at your fishing spot it often pays to use some large 130mm+ stickbaits, which will more often deter the salmon from biting.

OCEAN BEACH FISHING Some late season mulloway can be caught this month providing you are prepared off the ocean beaches on those cold nights.

Make sure you are rugged up and you have some surf type boots rather than bare feet or

sneakers. Gumboots aren’t ideal because if you need to bolt down to grab your prize fish you might end up with boots full of water. The surf boots will keep your feet warmer and it doesn’t matter if they get wet.

Regarding the rod/reel and line set-up for beach mulloway, you’ll want a 7-15kg or 10-20kg rod that’s 3.5-4.5m long. The slightly heavier rod allows you to fish the strong current and rougher nights with sinker weights of 6oz or even slightly heavier. Having that

outfit that won’t load up the rod tip too much while casting will enable you to get the bigger baits/rigs out there. Also, that sinker weight will hold bottom with the rippy current. A large bait, 6oz+ sinker and rig combined can weigh around 250g (this is the upper end of weight you might use in a moderate swell), and it’s important to have a rod that can cater for that. The line class is 15kg braid or mono, and I also use 40lb Wilson fluorocarbon leader, a Daiwa 6000 Windcast or 650B Alvey.

Good baits include live yellowtail, butterflied yellowtail, large slimy mackerel fillets, squid strips and whole squid up to around 150g. With the smaller baits, 5/0s are fine and for the large baits I use 8/0-9/0 Mustad Penetrators. Clients have caught mulloway ranging from 70cm up to solid 12.5kg specimens. Dusky whaler sharks, Aussie salmon, some relatively big tailor to 1.8kg and the occasional greedy big bream are falling for the mulloway baits.

When it comes to the best time to fish, you can get good results fishing the high tides between 6pm and midnight. If you’re really keen you can fish the really late high tides in the early hours of the morning, which offers some good results, but be prepared for the cold.

I mentioned earlier in the rock fishing report about anglers putting their gear away for kings, and that also applies for mulloway and

NSW

whiting at this time of year.

Although it is not the cracker time of the year for whiting I still have good results fishing for this succulent fish. The usual baits like live beach worms can be hard to purchase from most bait/ tackle shops so you will have to either catch them yourself or use pink nippers, which are a great alternative.

Small peeled river prawns

bream, tarwhine and the odd flathead too. There’s also the occasional tailor, which you might land if it has not sawed through your leader.

The baits I like to use for trevally are more the softer variety – peeled prawns, pilchard fillets, slimy mackerel fillet and even white bread. To make berley, chop up pilchards fairly finely and put it in a

Sydney

they arrive.

Luderick are also available around a lot of the rock headlands and structures as well. You can get hair weed in a lot of areas in the harbour, especially where there are drains or in and around the ocean rock swimming pools.

Some big luderick to 1.2kg are around. A long-handled net is necessary, especially

A cracker mulloway caught by Joe on a full moon night. The best time to chase them is at high tide at night, regardless of whether it’s a full or new moon. work OK too.

For all of the species mentioned above try Manly to Queenscliff area, Dee Why, Collaroy to North Narrabeen and Mid Palm Beach.

ESTUARY FISHING Trevally are without doubt one of the most delicious sashimi fish there is. The trevally you catch in the harbour are generally around 30-40cm, which is

10L bucket. Add a loaf of bread and approximately 1L of water. Let it soak for a couple of minutes and get your hands in there mulching away. You will notice the colour change of the pilchard and bread combined, which means it’s ready.

When you’re fishing, bait up with a pilchard fillet or a peeled river prawn and throw out small amounts of

if you’re fishing at least a couple of metres above the waterline.

For trevally and luderick try Balmoral wharf and Clifton Gardens wharf for good results this month.

You should fish the low light periods for the trevally, but this isn’t necessary for luderick as they can be caught throughout the day.

That’s all from me this

Tim Tribisonna and Daniel Lottey with part of their bag of groper. Flat seas, the middle of the day, perfect for a lazy weekend winter fish off the rocks. the best size for sashimi.

Fishing the many wharfs, jetties, and the deep rock foreshores of the harbour will produce this hardfighting fish. You will often encounter other species like

berley. A quarter of a handful is enough, providing you berley up fairly frequently.

Berleying every two minutes will be enough to create a trail and keep the fish interested in your area once

month. It’s time for you to fish for those species that you would have considered to be off the bite this month, as they are still around.

You could be pleasantly surprised!

JULY 2020

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Anglers be prepared for different scenarios BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the past few months, I have found that there have been more anglers out on the water mid-week than normal. I assume that’s because fewer people have been going to work due to the Coronavirus.

However, as I put this report together, I have just come in from being out on the Port Hacking chasing leatherjackets and we only came across a few boats.

We were only on the water for a few hours and even though we moved around a fair bit (six different spots) we only managed to get a luderick and a leatherjacket.

Both were caught on peeled prawns while using a

Jodie Myers and her PB blue swimmer crab.

The squid fell for a Fish Inc. squid jig while fishing off the rocks at Windy Point. paternoster rig. The luderick was around 900g (sorry no pics), and the leatherjacket was used to film a ‘How to clean leatherjackets’ video that you will be to view on the Tackle Tactics website.

I have also been out filming how to target trevally, bream, leatherjackets, squidding and drummer, and these videos will be uploaded to the same website over the coming months.

Shane Myers and his daughter Jodie ventured out onto Botany Bay a while back, and even though there was a little bit of a chop on the bay Jodie managed to get her first ever flathead of 55cm. She also got her first blue swimmer that measured larger than a legal mud crab.

Even though you can still get a few blue swimmer crabs, I have found that there is not as much meat in them and the flesh can be a bit soft. If you are going to put a few traps out I would stay within sight of them, as there have been a few reports of 56

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other anglers pulling them up and stealing the crabs.

Trevally are being caught at Trevally Alley, the Bare Island bommie, the end of

the third runway, wide off Towra Point in about 5m, and the drums. Both the run-in and run-out tides have been producing fish on pink

Jodie Myers recently managed to get her first ever flathead of 55cm.

nippers, peeled prawns, half pillies, fillets of pilchard and preserved beach worms (you can get the worms from Macs Bait Bar at Blakehurst).

Drummer, trevally, bream, salmon and tailor have been caught off the northern and southern ends of Bondi Beach on peeled prawns, cunje and pilchards.

Fish as light as the conditions will allow, or try suspending your baits under a bobby cork. Maroubra and Coogee beaches have also been producing at dusk and at dawn, yielding a few bream trevally, dart and tailor.

Little Bay is worth a shot after big seas for snapper, bream and trevally. Make sure that you have a good supply of bread for berley, as this will keep them around and on the chew. You will need to make sure that you have a few squid jigs in the bag as there may be some squid about, especially after the seas have calmed down a bit.

For those of you going offshore there are plenty of sand and tiger flathead about, as well as morwong, snapper, trevally, pigfish and leatherjackets. Try in 20-40m of water off Coogee, the Wedding Cake Island, the hospital at Maroubra and the entrance to Botany Bay. If you are heading south from the entrance of Botany Bay you could try trolling your way down for bonito, kingfish, salmon and kingfish.

Merries Reef that is situated just off Boat Harbour in Bate Bay can be a dangerous place to fish. Many an angler has been caught out fishing there in a north-easterly, only to find out that when a southerly comes it will blow you back to the reef. For that reason you should keep an eye on the weather forecast when fishing there. It’s a great place for bream, trevally, snapper, bonito and kingfish.

Even though the water may be colder, this will not deter the bream, dart, whiting and flathead from biting while fishing off the beach from Boat Harbour and right around to South Cronulla. It’s just a matter of been mobile

enough to be able to move from gutter to gutter. That’s why I only use one rod and carry everything I need in an Alvey shoulder bag.

Drummer, trevally, bream and luderick are worth a shot off the rocks from Jibbon Point and down to Coalcliff.

Inside the Port Hacking you will find luderick, bream, trevally, leatherjackets, pan-sized snapper, garfish, mullet, bonito, salmon, tailor and even kingfish at this time of the year. You will just need to be prepared to move about a fair bit to find them. What may be at one spot today may change the next day.

I can’t stress this enough: if you are fishing while at anchor you must berley to get the best results.

When I fish in the Port Hacking my three favourite baits are peeled prawns, live pink nippers and beach or tube worms. Sure, you can use mullet, chicken breast and pilchards, but the first three are my favourites.

Don’t forget to keep sending in those reports and pictures to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

Planning and preparation are the key to success when going fishing. Even though we were targeting luderick there were a couple of squid jigs tucked away in the backpack.

Look at the 42cm monster Aiden Martin caught in the Hawkesbury River in a little tinny with a bit of chicken.

NSW

Catch bigger and better bream BALLINA

Joe Allan

The fishing has been red hot of late. As the water temp has gradually gotten cooler, the snapper have been coming more consistently and been getting better in size. The best areas are the close-in reefs in approximately 10-15m of water.

Floating cut baits like squid and blue pilchards with the current are very productive if you want to soak some bait. If you’re into throwing lures, try 60mm to 80mm lipless crankbaits around 1/2oz in weight.

Grant and Izaac Clements on the beach collecting some worms.

On the soft plastics side of things, try 4” Atomic Prongs in white, ghost pearl or electric chicken.

Use 1/2oz weights or even lighter if the current will allow, with up to 4/0 hook. Alternatively, if the currents running harder you might need to go heavier.

The tailor are really biting well now with catches coming more consistent over the last month. Metal

Adrian Melchior with a decent bream caught on a crankbait.

slugs are key if you’re chasing them on lures, or ganged pilchards if you’re a baito. The gutters along 7 Mile Beach are worth a throw and the best thing about this time of year along this beach is the stud bream that you can come across. These bream are in beautiful condition and taste amazing. Remember a big bream is a very old fish so only keep what you’re going to eat in the next few days.

The cooler westerlies can bring on the black fish or luderick so if this cold snap keeps on going for a while, don’t be afraid to try for these guys a little earlier than you normally would.

The flathead will start to become patchy in the river along the Ballina town stretch while the bream will really start to fire in the deeper drop-offs. The top of the tide is the pick to chase the big sea-run specimens that come into spawn. Try throwing blades and plastics off the end of the south wall, or hardbodied lures such as Atomic Hardz Cranks 38 Deep over the porpoise wall.

Bream are still active off the rock walls and this one ate an Atomic Crank 38 is silver wolf.

Brad Atley with a nice mulloway caught on a live bait off the town stretch.

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The winter whiting will be kicking off over the next few weeks. Try the bigger tides over the sand flats along the town stretch, the area out the front of the oyster farm in North Creek and possibly up as far as Pimlico Island if the water stays clear. If you know how to worm, these are by far the best bait for whiting. If you can’t get live worms, preserved worms are also pretty good and still worth using.

The size of the mulloway being pulled out of the river of late is nothing short of amazing. There are some beasts caught at night time, mostly on live mullet in the deeper holes or a shallow diving 200mm crankbait off the walls. Hold on because these things are beats.

Until next month, tight lines.

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NSW

Too excited to feel the cold YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Winter is setting in, and water temperatures are dropping to the level fish need to spawn in our part of the planet. Fish like snapper seem to like the water to drop to between 16-18°C. When this happens the shallow

winds blowing off the frosts in Armidale.

Heading south from Yamba, all the close reefs from One-Man to Brooms Head will hold fish. Try to find the edge of the kelp line if you can, somewhere between 10 and 15m deep.

You should have a few lightly-weighted bottom lines down with the standard paternoster rig and big flesh

preferred bait is a strip of mullet flesh cut lengthways, about as thick as your finger and around 150mm long.

Leave the reel completely out of gear and just let the fish run, controlling the run with thump pressure until it slows enough to put the reel in gear.

You will get the odd big fish run you into the kelp, and if you keep trying to pull it out, the result will nearly always be a break-off.

Instead, you should put the reel in freespool and the rod in the holder. Let the fish have a couple of minutes, and nine times out of 10 it will swim up out of the kelp, freeing your line.

The close water fishing will start to slow around 9am; as the sun starts to penetrate the water, the fish will move out into deeper

grounds. I like to head down between Redcliff and Brooms Head in around 40m at this time of the day, and if the cold morning breeze has dropped then drifting this ground will see your ice box steadily fill with pearl perch and Venus tuskfish. Once again, standard paternoster rigs and about a 6oz sinker is the best for this, with pilchard and mullet flesh baits. Keep your float lines out as you would in the shallows, but add a small 00 or 0 ball sinker to the top of the glow beads.

This month usually sees the return of the piranha of the sea, the Chinaman leatherjacket. These fish can get to a pretty good size, and are regularly caught over 60cm. Females are bright yellow while the males are a dull grey with

Anne Lloyd with a late run spotted mackerel off One-Man. our shop at Yamba Marina and I’ll show you how.

The northern grounds up around South Evans Reef this month will be trag city. We do quite a few night charters up here in the winter, and most nights you find yourself running away from the trag because the in-possesion limit is five per person. With a legal

James French from Belatta with a nice pearl perch from the Redcliff grounds. reefs off this part of the baits (these will get those coast light up with big big pearl perch that hang numbers of fish. Snapper in there at this time), but are one of my favourite your main weapon should fish to catch, so I love this be unweighted float lines. time of year. The chance I fish two of these out of getting a good haul of the back all day on very these pink fish in the early small overhead reels and awn Blagoes light onPrfloatlines line, using two circle m ba des”light “Yasome way to helping with hooks snooded about 50mm the discomfort of those apart and a couple of glow freezing south-westerly beads on top of them. My

Eddie Kell from Ulmarra with one of the biggest bonito the author has ever seen.

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size here of 38cm, we rarely keep trag on a night charter under 50cm. It’s nice to be able to be so choosey!

These very fertile grounds are also great for catching mulloway. The bigger silver fish will be feeding on the same patch as trag, so it makes for a very interesting night.

In the estuary, as with

blotches. You won’t find a lot of these fish in less than 50m of water, and they absolutely love the 70m mark. Be prepared before you go with some pre-made wire rigs, and don’t go light either. I make mine out of 90lb multi-strand and the jackets will eventually eat through that. The trick with this rig is to put 1-2 glow beads at the hook while making the rig. This seems to keep their attention in that area and they don’t chew off the line above the swivel. I have been fishing this way for the jackets for 10 years now and lose very few rigs. If you need to know how to make the rig economically then drop into

Kev Harmon from Lismore with a very tasty Venus tuskfish. This is a good month for these fish.

NSW

offshore, the fish are ready to spawn in the colder water. Bream and luderick (blackfish) all gather in large numbers near the mouth of the river for the spawn. I’ve mentioned before how much I love night fishing for bigger bream on our ‘middle wall’ here. The nights are cold and damp but you only seem to notice the chill when you’re heading home.

I like to get anchored and set up for a night fish while it’s still well and truly light. The main reason for this is that I fish with a light on in the boat (old and poorer eyesight is part of that reason) and I have the light turned on well before dark. Because there is no sudden change in light levels, my light doesn’t seem to worry the fish at all, similar to fishing under a well-lit bridge. If you pull up and turn a light on in the dark, however, you will spook them badly.

As most of you know, we have a fairly large operation

at Yamba Marina, with the tackle shop and chandlery, three large charter boats and nine hire boats. Our workload has been eased recently with a new partner, John Fabian, taking a 50% share in the businesses. John is a very keen fisherman and loves a yarn, so if you

are about call into the shop and introduce yourself.

To all my wonderful Queensland customers, I am hoping that by the time you read this some common sense has prevailed and you can once again head this way for a fish and a holiday.

Hope to see you soon.

Laurie Mifsud caught this great 7kg snapper off Port Botany in 2019 from his Sailfish Platinum 6000 catamaran boat. Sadly, Laurie passed away in April after a five month battle with an aggressive cancer. He was only 63 years old.

Laurie was a huge fan of NSW Fishing Monthly and had every single issue since its release. He was a guru when it came to fishing – he knew absolutely everything about it and always kept up to date with new techniques and fishing gear. If you ask any of his many fishing mates (both old and young) they will all tell you that he was the go-to person for advice about fishing or boat problems. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends. – Dianne Misfud

Ryan with a solid pearl perch from the 40m line off of Brooms Head.

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NSW

Shallow water snapper fishing COFFS HARBOUR

Dayne Taylor

While Jye was out testing a boat from NCBC he managed to catch this nice tuna. or bommie and running a steady berley trail back with a few lightly weighted strip baits such as pilchards, squid, mullet and the like will account for some great fish.

The perfect rig to do this is a small ball sinker allowed to run straight through to your hook. I personally would not run any less than 20lb line in this scenario, and a 4000 sized reel matched up with a 10kg rod will do the trick.

As for targeting big reds on lures, there is a plethora of different lures and ways to target them.

In shallow water I like throwing 5” jerkshad profiles on 1/4oz jigheads or even lighter depending on the drift speed and current. The Berkley Gulp range seems to always produce the goods, but the Samaki Boom Baits and ZMan plastics have the upper hand when it comes to longevity and durability.

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Out a little wider in depths around the 20m range I still like to throw a mix of both jerkshads and grub tail style plastics, and often drop a second rod over with an octopus or squid style lure directly below the boat. Simply leave this lure a couple of metres from the bottom and put the rod in a rod holder and let the swell do all the work.

I have accounted for some exceptionally good fish doing this.

OFFSHORE A little wider and deeper, plenty of good reef species such as pearl perch, tuskfish and teraglin are there to be had out in 40-80m of water. The

current can be testing at times with the winter winds but any break in the weather and you should give them a crack. A simple paternoster rig with a mix of squid and pilchard baits with an 8oz lead on the bottom will to do the trick. Fresh slab baits and even live baits dropped to fish marked on the sounder in these depths don’t stand a chance. Some extra large kingfish will be around in packs, and these guys are a great test of tackle and you can catch them on a multitude of baits and lures.

ESTUARIES AND BEACHES Bream and luderick are in good numbers and

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A nice flathead caught by Matthew McEwan.

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Cold mornings and the snapper in full swing on the Coffs Coast. That’s what to expect this July!

There is little that comes close to the rush and adrenalin that you get when you hook one of these shallow water snapper. They do not come easy, and they test out every aspect of your gear and angling ability. From now through to summer here on Coffs Coast sees some of the best snapper fishing on the east coast of Australia. So, pack the tackle in the boat and make your way to the NSW North Coast!

I am a big fan of targeting snapper on lures, but the bait fishos get their fair share at this time of the year also. Dropping the anchor upstream of a reef

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are great target species along the front reaches of our local estuaries. The man-made rock retaining walls in our rivers such as the Bellinger and Nambucca where the rivers meat the ocean are usually loaded with better quality fish, as both species use these areas to spawn. Both bait and lure fishos alike will get good results fishing prawn and crab style baits or lure imitations.

Flathead continue to be taken and the bigger swim baits are definitely the undoing of the better quality fish. Target sand flats on the top of the tide

beach worms are your best chance of catching a slab of silver of the sand. A campfire on the beach, followed up by couple of cold ones with a few mates

is always in order here on the Coffs Coast.

Until next month, cast like there is no tomorrow and retrieve like you have all the time in the world.

ROCKS Marine

Macca with a quality winter snapper from the shallows.

The author has been tangling with some reds this winter.

and fish them slowly and methodically over areas adjacent to some deeper water. It’s a game of quality not quantity, so don’t be disheartened if you spend a few trips for a donut. When you do get a bite it will be a quality lizard, I can assure you of that.

On the beaches, some good-size tailor and dart have been taken on small metals and strip baits.

The mullet have also been running, so expect school size mulloway to make their way into the gutters to chase the schools of mullet.

Strip baits such as mullet, tailor, and even a whole squid along with fresh live

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61

NSW

Winter species have kicked in THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

In July you can safely say our winter species are now in full swing and it’s a great time to hit the water.

The river systems at this time of year offer some great fishing for bream, luderick and mulloway. Flathead are still a favourite target in the river, and winter flatties should not be overlooked.

The most important aspect of winter fishing is comfort, so before heading out you should grab your jumper and a decent wind jacket as those early morning westerlies are fresh. A

thermos of coffee will not go astray either.

Now to the fishing, and let’s start with luderick. The break walls should hold abundant fish this month, and south wall near the police station in town as well as the town jetty are popular hotspots. In addition to this, north wall going over via Settlement Point ferry produces if you’re fishing from a boat, and anchoring along the coal wall is another option. Green weed can be sourced from the local tackle store, or you can try one of the weed flies as a good second option – they really do work.

Flathead have been reliable, and fishing down

the front of the system is probably the best. Soft plastics in the 3” size such as flickbaits and curl-tails have accounted for a lot of my recent fish. Working your soft plastic slowly has been the best way to get the bite, and remember keep the hook set with good line tension once you have a fish on. Any slack will see them spit the lure.

Depths vary; they have been in shallow areas such as Pelican Island and Big Bay, but quite a few have also been caught around the coal wall by anglers trying for bream. Notably upriver the flathead have been a little quiet, but a few still get in on the act when you’re chasing mulloway in the deeper holes.

Mulloway have been

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Jade with a nice flathead caught while chasing mulloway on soft vibes.

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South wall, the canals and the coal wall have all seen good quality bream, and

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throughout the system, with some good fish being caught from both break walls of a night using live baits and lures. Persistence is the key here, and keeping a bait or lure in the water around the tide change of a evening will give you the best chance.

Bream fishers are having a great time at present. Bait fishers are catching them

Kim caught his PB 93cm flathead on a Daiwa Double Clutch.

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Ken with a couple of flathead taken on soft plastics.

prefer. Just beware of the leatherjackets downriver, as they will make short work of your packet of softies!

Beach fishing has been good, and this should continue with some quality tailor around as well as bream. There have been a few mulloway as well. Beaches that have been producing are North Beach, Lighthouse Beach and Middle Beach.

Ganged pilchards for tailor should see you land some fish, including the odd salmon. Mullet strips or some fresh tailor strips should get you a few bream, and if you’re trying for a mulloway why not use the head and shoulder section off one of the tailor you caught.

It’s a truly great mulloway bait from our beaches.

Remember winter is a great time to wet a line – just dress to stay warm because if you’re comfortable you will fish better and enjoy it a whole lot more.

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NSW

Don’t let the cold keep you from getting out FORSTER

Luke Austin

In July the days are generally cool and the nights can be absolutely freezing, however it’s a great time to hit the water because the fishing can be red hot here in the beautiful Great Lakes! Wallis Lake is a winter wonderland this month; most of the fish that spawn during the cooler months have finished their breeding and are now beginning to spread back out.

Bream are still holding in big schools along the rock walls, bridge pylons and oyster leases down towards the mouth of the system but they have also started to make their way back up onto the weed beds and into the rivers and small tributaries that

With all the baitfish about this month, now is the perfect time to track down a mulloway or two. flow into the main system.

I love to chase these postspawn winter fish along the break walls, they are very active and keen to feed on just about anything they can get their teeth into. Throwing a lightly-weighted soft plastic into a likely-looking eddy or backwater on the top of the tide can be very exciting.

Along with big bream, you can come up solid to all sorts of fish this month, including snapper, Moses perch, silver trevally, big-eye trevally, thick-lipped trevally, giant trevally or even giant herring!

Luderick too have now all but finished spawning and are being caught in decent numbers all over the place.

The Jetties on Wallis Island, the deep coffee rock running

through Hells Gate and the oyster leases up around The Cut are worth a look at the moment, as are the bridge pylons and rock walls down towards the mouth of the estuary.

This month’s prevailing winds are often fairly gentle and out of the south or west, perfect for sneaking offshore to explore the inshore reefs.

Close to home, the kelp beds that line the coast are holding some really nice southern calamari which can be turned into a gourmet dinner or used as live bait back at the break wall. The large resident kingfish find them very hard to resist!

A little further out there have been some great snapper caught off the shallow reefs around Blackhead and Redhead, but you really have to hit these areas right on dawn (or dusk) if you want to get among the fish. If you like to hit the water at a more civilised hour, head out and have a look at the reefs in 40-80m, as they can often fish well all day this month, particularly if you can fish them through a tide change.

As well as snapper you can expect to run into the odd teraglin, pearl perch and John Dory. Unfortunately the same reefs are also often home to the dreaded barracouta and ocean leatherjacket which can make for expensive fishing trips due to their razor-sharp teeth and insatiable appetites!

Although freezing cold, the local beaches are definitely worth checking out this month. Salmon and tailor are both about in good numbers, and if you find a decent gutter, a school of

mulloway won’t be far away.

If you are tailor fishing and struggling to get through the small fish, don’t be afraid to put on a bigger popper or stickbait as this can often weed out the just-legal fish and attract the attention of the 60-80cm models which are often sitting below them.

For bait fishers, along with salmon and tailor there have also been some nice bream still out on the beach, with garfish proving to be the best all round bait offering.

We are now in peak black drummer time, and any day when there’s enough swell to create a bit of wash is well worth trying. All you need to do is look for a bit of deep-ish unsettled water which has a good amount of debris floating about. Tossing a piece of cunjevoi, crab, cooked prawn (make sure they are local, not imported!) or bread into the mix will almost certainly land you a few fish. And if you don’t find any drummer you will definitely find some bream and luderick.

This month the fishing opportunities are endless so rug up and hit the water, you may be surprised by just how many fish are out there waiting for you!

• 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 you can go to land your next trophy fish while visiting the wonderful Great Lakes region! We are open 7 Days in the main street of Tuncurry. Drop into the store or call us on (02) 6554 9541, or find us on Facebook to see what we have been up to!

There are some cracking kings about at this time of year.

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Chasing luderick on artificial weed flies is so much fun!

NSW

Snapper save the day PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

Despite being in the depths of winter, July is still a great month to fish the waters of Port Stephens.

prawns or nippers, or casting and retrieving soft plastics or small crankbaits.

Luderick are thick inside the estuary, and the Nelson Bay rock wall is probably the best place to target them anywhere on the east coast.

Ian Morgan with a typical winter estuary luderick.

In the estuary the water temp is pretty cold and the further up the system you venture the colder it becomes.

For this reason try to avoid fishing right up the rivers and concentrate your efforts through the bottom basin of the system.

Bream are the number one target at this time of year inside the bay, and the best places to find them will be from the Boulders through to the break walls up to the rock walls and islands around Soldiers Point. Fish the shallows on the incoming time when the water is at its warmest either bait fishing unweighted

Quality fresh green weed or sea lettuce is the key to consistently catching them.

While weed can be scarce and often sourced from other areas, cabbage is readily available locally around the ocean rocks. Just make sure when collecting that you do it around the low tide and on a day with little or no swell.

Squid have been in healthy numbers through the weed beds in Shoal Bay as well around Jimmys Beach and Barnes Rocks. Fish quality jigs in 2.5 sizes for best results. Cuttlefish have also been prevalent in Shoal Bay and can be tempted by a smaller jig in the 1.8 to 2.0 size range.

Mulloway inside the estuary are still worth chasing through the cooler months.

Fish areas such as the wreck in Salamander Bay as well as the rock walls and deeper drop-offs around the tide changes by either live baiting or using soft vibe lures such as the Samaki Vibelicious.

BEACHES It’s a great time of year to walk the beaches in the early morning or late afternoon and cast 20-50g metals and sinking stickbaits for tailor and salmon. Fingal Bay,

The author with a solid winter red.

Samurai, Birubi and Box Beach are my pick of the beaches to do this.

ROCKS Drummer have really kicked into gear this month and are a great species to target through winter, especially on those windy, cold days where many rock headlands provide protection from the elements. Drummer pull like a steam train and are caught in a way that produces plenty of by-catch meaning you will usually take home a good mixed bag of fish such as bream, squire, groper

Luderick are also a great target from the rocks this month with many protected bays holding large numbers.

A few of the most popular spots are around Cemetery Point, Boulder Bay, Barry Park at Fingal Bay and Tomaree. Squid are also hanging in those sheltered kelpy bottom bays, with 3.0 size jigs in pinks, oranges and greens all producing.

OFFSHORE Snapper fishing through July is always pretty good, especially for a chance at a

trophy fish over 20lb. Fish the shallow reefs early morning or late afternoon in 10-30m of water with anywhere from Fishermans Bay right up to Seal Rocks holding good reds right now. Plastics on the drift or anchored up with baits casting down a berley trail are the two most effective ways to catch them.

Once the sun gets up, start to move onto the wider reefs in 40-80m of water using paternoster rigs, micro jigs or heavier plastics with jigheads up to 1oz.

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NSW

Mulloway are shadowing the tailor schools is always a good time to try the flats with a few of your favourite shallow-diving hardbody lures, and you will be surprised at the bream still up there during these cool months. I’m generally not a fan of colours that are too loud so try the more natural colours like browns, dark greens and black.

There are plenty of places to try for bream in Lake Macquarie regardless of what side of the lake you’re based. Up north, anglers get them around Toronto, Belmont Bay etc., and they are found right through to the bottom of the lake around Chain Valley Bay, which in previous years has been a hot spot for BIG bream in winter. It has lost a little of this reputation in recent years with some quiet seasons, but hopefully a good bite this year can turn it around. When I am fishing any of the bays I like to flick small 2-3” soft plastics.

A relatively lightweight jighead and a size 1 hook is generally my go-to rig to start things off.

Offshore and things

SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

Well we are back again for another month, and in this current climate that says a lot about this fabulous magazine. There will continue to be a few more challenges for some time, but hopefully the wonderful staff at FM keep doing an awesome job and see this mag go to print.

Hopefully the crazy times are nearing an end, and the good news is that when you do find the chance to get out on the water and have a fish, they are out there waiting for you. Salmon have made an early appearance and are about in the main channel around Salts Bay, and are also popping up throughout the lake as they please.

These estuary speedsters are great fun on light gear and the kids will have a blast catching them. Throwing around 3 to 4” soft plastics is as good a way of finding them as any. If you can get your hands on some clear plastics, that’s even better as they are hard to go past for a salmon favourite.

Early mornings and late afternoons are the prime times to catch salmon. You will find with minimal boat traffic the schools will stay around longer and stay on the surface longer, allowing you a greater chance of getting into a few. The might not be the best fish on the plate but trust me, they make up for it with the fun factor.

Tailor schools are also abundant throughout the lake at the moment. These schools are regularly busting up around Pulbar Island as the tailor are smashing small baitfish. We are not yet seeing any great numbers of flathead under these schools this past month like we often do, but hopefully they are

not far off.

The good news is that there have been quite a few mulloway hanging off the edges of these tailor schools with some good numbers of 80-90cm mulloway about.

Larger soft plastics are a good option if you’re specifically targeting mulloway. I will say it’s handy to stay some distance off these tailor schools though otherwise you will constantly be losing soft plastics to small annoying tailor, and it will get expensive with little to show for it. I like to work well off the edges of the bait balls, and this is often where the mulloway sit and wait for a feed. We have caught

mulloway on a variety of lure colours over the years but whites or silver colour offerings would be our pick.

I’ve found that 4-6” lures are a good choice, and although flickbait-style plastics score a few we find a good paddletail hard to beat.

The winter run of bream in the lake has kicked into gear, with plenty of good ones about. Many of the bream are coming from the deeper water, which is to be expected during these cooler times of the year. However, don’t disregard the shallows altogether as they can still certainly produce some good fish when the conditions are right. A good southerly blow

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and if you’re lucky it will be whatever is in the water.

If gamefishing is not your thing then that’s probably a good thing at the moment.

Now is a good time of year to drop deep and work the reefs for some table fish and hard-pulling sportfish like the yellowtail kingfish.

We are fortunate to have some good reef structure up and down our coastline which provides some good options for anglers. At times these grounds can produce good snapper fishing and sometimes they also provide fantastic kingy fishing.

Some days lately the kings have been red hot but if the currents are wrong then they won’t be on the chew, it’s that simple. Some mates of ours have bagged out in record time on a few recent trips, and the fish were all reasonable size fish. They fell to a variety of offerings including soft plastics, live baits and micro jigs.

Well that’s a wrap for this month. We hope you all manage to stay safe and well, and look forward to catching you on the water soon.

It isn’t a large mulloway, but even small fish like this are good fun on light gear.

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JULY 2020

remain fairly quiet to be honest. There are a few fish around for those working the reefs offshore but if it’s gamefish you’re after then the bad news is that you will need to cover A LOT of water between strikes. We are still hopeful that the SBT will make an appearance this far up the coast but it’s always a hit-and-miss affair each season. A lot of things need to line up for it to work out. The currents, the weather gods and the fish all need to be just right at the time you’re free to get out there and run wide for them.

It’s a substantial run from Swansea to the productive grounds of Norah Head Canyons, for example, so you don’t want to make the trip unless you’re reasonably confident they’re out there.

Keep a good ear out, and when there are solid reports coming through then act quickly and capitalise on it if you can. Trolling a spread of 7-10” lures is the norm, and it’s good to mix up the colours. Sometimes the tuna will nail nothing but a green, other times it will be pinks,

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NSW

Snapper snapping up cuttlies ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke

We are past the shortest day and on our way to summer, but there is a lot of cold and wind in front of us to contend with before we get there, so let’s make the best of what we have.

This month is always difficult to fish; it’s tricky to get some form of consistency where you can go fishing and actually be confident of a decent result. So we will start at the bad end and work toward the exciting stuff, and yes, there is some decent fishing during July but only on a select few species.

Fishing the estuaries is tough in the depths of winter, with just about everything shut down except a few bream in

the lake feeder streams, and around the weed beds in the main part of the lake from Berkley across to Windang they are not that keen to hit lures. However, a little bit of berley worked around a selected deep snag or where the weed stops, in conjunction with some good quality Australian peeled prawns, could get you a feed.

On the beaches things are a bit better but only just, with the good old salmon rallying to the cause to keep you warm with a bit of action. Pilchards on ganged hooks fished in the deeper gutters will get the action, and it doesn’t really matter which beach you fish as the sambos seem to be roaming all over the place at this time of year, hunting down whatever they can. They aren’t hanging around too long in

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the one place as there are not the schools of bait about to hold them.

If there are pickers about shredding your pillies, bream will be the culprits so drop down to a smaller single hook and fillet of pilchard to catch them.

There are still some nice tailor in the deeper gutters as well but as usual they are most abundant during the evenings with some nice fish over 2kg about. Coniston Beach as well as Fairy Meadow have been consistent.

A few mulloway are about with some good ones are among them, but there are a lot of cold hours between bites.

The top of the big tides in the evenings is best with fresh bait.

Fillets of blackfish work well at this time of the year.

Some of the beaches were completely scoured out by the massive waves from the east coast low in May. They are

Fishing the shallow reefs with cuttlefish baits will bring results, like this nice snapper. gradually coming back but there are still some large rocks and reefs exposed for the first time in many years, giving the beaches a little more structure and better fishing with it.

The rocks can be hard to fish during July with some big blows coming through, making the area where the ocean meets the land a dangerous place. On the good days the deeper ledges can be berleyed for trevally and some decent snapper if things are right.

There may well be a few

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bonito still hanging about for the lure tossers but the salmon will be the most common catch this month. The main target should be the big rock blackfish that come out to play when the water gets cold and bubbly from the pounding of the winter surf.

Cunje or royal reds fished in the washes around the bommies and ledges under a small bobby float or with just a small pea-sized sinker will get plenty of bites. Use a bit of bread for berley and any bream and trevally in the area will come into play as well.

Bring along a few extra floats and extra hooks as these guys can be brutal, burying you in seconds, particularly if you find a school of solid fish of 2kg+. Fish below this size shouldn’t create too much havoc on the tackle department unless you are fishing some very rough country, and lines of 4-6kg should suffice and

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enhance your hook-up rate.

If the water gets too rough it is time to hit the harbours like Bellambi, Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama, because the fish will too.

Blackfish are the main target. If you can get hold of some green weed, these sheltered waters can really produce some top fishing, with anglers all rugged up against the cold battling for the best spots and catching bag limits of big fish. During the last blow I was checking out the water near one of the pools and saw a guy in a wetsuit run down and dive into the freezing water. He scraped up a few big handfuls of green weed from the sides, jumped out and was off. It was the only way he could get good weed, because the good stuff you could get at arm’s length was gone.

Sometimes you have to go that little bit extra to catch good fish! Looked nice weed, too.

You aren’t limited to blackfish either as a bit of bread berley will get the bream, trevally, drummer and even the blackfish on the bite as they take a rest in the shelter of the harbours.

Offshore it gets a little better but it’s still tough fishing with only a limited number of species available compared to the warmer months. The

There are a few squid getting about, and some of them are whoppers. bottom bouncers do it pretty tough with a few mowies, pigfish, trevally and the odd flathead, but they are good solid fish and of course plenty of leatherjackets and sweep and barracouta.

The one shining light is there are plenty of small snapper about over the reefs making life a little more bearable.

For best results this month pick your favourite shallow reef spot (and there are many), drop the anchor, get the berley going and chase the snapper. Towards the end of this month it all happens as the snapper get stuck into the cuttlefish as they spawn over the shallow inshore reefs off the Illawarra coast.

I rattle on about this every year but it is a great opportunity to catch that big snapper that everyone aims for in their fishing career, and you don’t have to go far to do it as you can start just a few hundred metres from the ramp at Bellambi or even off the break wall itself.

Cuttlefish is the only bait to be using and on the quieter days during the week, if there is a light westerly blowing, cruising from one spent cuttlefish to another casting baits close to them as half a dozen albatross gorge themselves on the rich flesh, you can score some ripper reds of all sizes. This is one of the best ways to catch big reds.

Soft plastics work well too but every Sergeant baker, rock cod and wirrah in the world seems to know about the feast of cuttlies as well, and you just get sick of catching all the rubbish on plastics and move back to using the slow sinking cuttlefish baits.

If you berley you should get plenty of trevally around to catch while waiting for the snapper, and there are some good salmon in the washes around the islands and Bass Point taking ganged pilchards.

There’s even the odd good king if you put out a live mackerel under a balloon, just so you know where it is and keep it from swimming around and tangling the snapper baits.

For a change there have been plenty of squid hanging over the kelp beds and around the harbour lights and jetties at night. They don’t fight much but taste great.

Further offshore if the weather permits there have been some nice yellowfin tuna on and beyond the Kiama and Stanwell Park canyons. Fish to 35kg have been caught and bigger fish to 80kg have been seen jumping and in the pilly trails, but as yet have eluded capture.

At the time of writing no bluefin had moved up the coast but that can happen at any time with the movement of the currents, so the game fishos still have something to smile about in the depths of winter.

Pretty standard fare for this time of the year – mowies, small snapper and piggies.

NSW

Fishing through the pandemic BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Well it seems everyone is fishing! With more people out of work, working reduced hours or working from home, we have seen an increase in people fishing or taking up fishing. And why not?

It’s exercise, it’s good to get out in nature and that is great for mental health, it’s isolating and you are catching a feed as well.

What makes things even better is that the fishing has been exceptional this year, and it looks to continue.

What does July mean?

That’s right, bluefin! Tuna have already been great throughout autumn with some awesome yellowfin off our coastline ranging from 30-70kg. Amazing fish!

They continued up until September last year, and we can only hope that happens again. But what makes a special appearance during June and July are the bluefin tuna, and they migrate in big schools. What’s great about bluefin is that they can pack attack a spread of lures as they compete in numbers.

It’s all hands on deck when

that happens. It’s a different story with the yellowfin caught in our waters of late; you’re lucky to get a double hook-up on trolled lures, and if you do get two or more yellowfin on trolled lures they tend to be stupider younger fish 30kg and under.

Yellowfin have made us work hard the last couple of years, mainly taking perfectly cast stickbaits.

Bluefin, however, can come to the boat when presented with a tonne of cubes and berley, then once you have them schooled at the boat you can start having fun with lures. I suppose the yellowfin have taught us that if we do get a small number of surfacing flighty bluefin, we should have that stickbait rod ready to cast at them immediately. Tuna love a saury imitation going past their nose. I expect to see bluefin tuna as the headliner for this July.

Another species that has been a headliner for the year has been the snapper.

This snapper run has been quite exceptional, with a lot of good size fish up to 6-7kg. The fishos using soft plastics in the shallows in kayaks making the effort at sunrise or sunset have been

getting some nice fish. This doesn’t rule out tide changes during the day, because there have been some great fish caught then also, but sunrise and sunset have seem to be the best.

This goes for the landbased fishos as well, who have been getting some good snapper from the stones. You will get one or two good fish from the land and kayak, but it’s from the boat where you can anchor and berley or move around and find bigger numbers and good fish.

Snapper are usually quite consistent throughout winter, and with the way it has been, the run should continue.

Another good winter fish that has been in great numbers and sizes has been the Aussie salmon. Like the snapper it has been a good run, and salmon is a great fish to target during these times. We are finding a lot of anglers, both experienced and novice, coming into the shop and buying a 9-10ft graphite rod with a 5000 size reel and grabbing a handful of metals to spin up salmon and tailor. This is easy fishing, walking the sand of our beautiful beaches spinning metals, without bait, keeping it simple. This

has been the most popular choice during COVID times.

When it comes to rods I like the 842 Prevail from Penn, which is a bit shorter than the typical 9-10ft rod people use, but there are plenty of good options from Samaki, Shimano and Daiwa too.

The other winter fish is the drummer, and although it’s not in the headlines as much as the above mentioned fish, they are always reliable throughout winter. The spinning outfit for salmon mentioned above is an excellent crossover to drummer fishing, just change the rig from a metal lure to a running ball sinker and small, sharp, strong hook loaded up with cunjevoi and some berley and away you go.

As we move into the estuary it tends to become quieter at this time of the year. We have had exceptional numbers of big bream since summer and bream stole the limelight in the estuary during autumn taking over the everpresent flathead. It’s good seeing big bream in good numbers. These guys were taking mullet gut when the water was dirty and small soft plastics when the water returned back. I like using

Scott Delaney with a cracking yellowfin. small blades and small grub plastics lightly weighted at this time of year.

As crabs and prawns slow down we still have squid to give us another option throughout winter.

Our squid fishing seems to be more popular than ever and it’s easy to do. So if you’re looking for something to do during these COVID days,

then go fishing, get isolated, get immersed in nature and stay safe.

• For more up-to-the-minute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and have a chat to Anthony or one of the other friendly staff. They’re located at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay (02 4472 2559).

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NSW

It is time to revisit the luderick of Bermagui BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Things have been pretty quiet around Bermagui since COVID-19 started.

June and July traditionally saw travelling anglers flock to the town in order

myself a chance to fish in different ways. One form of fishing which I hadn’t done for years is the old-fashioned luderick fishing, and Bermagui has it on tap. The things you need to make this form of angling a success are the right location, bait, tackle, rigs and tides. Firstly, there are several good locations

Now that you have found your location you need bait, and there is plenty to be easily acquired in the area, sometimes even where you fish. Wallaga Lake has plenty of green weed around the shoreline, although you may not want to bother driving out there when there is plenty on the golf course in a little lake adjacent to the 18th green.

Cabbage weed is another form of bait, and if you are fishing into the ocean from one of the many rock platforms it is only a matter of picking it at your feet and putting it on the hook.

So you have your bait, now let’s look at the tackle and rigs. Unfortunately we anglers often overthink this, and spend more time rigging than fishing.

Keeping it simple is often the best. Rods are a personal choice, but a bit of length with the rod is

A rod, reel, float, rig, green weed and a very nice luderick. good, and I prefer a rod around 9ft in length with a light action for fishing in the estuaries. I recently

converted a 3-4wt 8ft fly rod with an old centrepin reel, which is a real hoot when attached to a 40cm+

Bermagui has many areas in which you can easily do shore-based luderick angling. to pursue the mighty yellowfin, albacore or bluefin tuna. At the moment, it’s mainly the locals who are catching these fish, along with those visitors who are permitted to travel.

Not being able to take clients out fishing these past few months has given the good lady and

close to Bermagui, with the most obvious being the break walls. Here you have a vantage point where you can observe where the luderick congregate. Other good areas include the rocks at the boat ramp near the bridge, and the many ocean rocks that are around the town, especially near the Blue Pool.

It has been a long time since the author has used traditional luderick gear to catch quality fish like this.

fish. In the ocean from the rocks, a slightly heavier outfit may be preferred as often drummer may get in on the act.

Reels again are a personal part of the equipment.

Nowadays threadline reels may be preferred, however I like the traditional culture of the centrepin reels, which seem to give a different performance during the fight.

Keep your rigs simple.

All that is required is a float, and you go lighter for the river and slightly heavier if you are fishing in the ocean. Float stoppers, swivels, a hand full of split shot, sinkers, size 8 hooks for the estuaries, I prefer to use light fly hooks which are super sharp and light for presentation, while from the rocks you may choose a heavier gauge or sizes.

So that’s it – you are now ready to go luderick fishing, whether it be from a boat or from the shore. If you too have some similar action to what I have experienced over the past few months, you are in for some exciting fishing.

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Changing times calls for resilient anglers a popular place, producing an array of species. Starting on the surface, garfish are a good tasty winter option.

All that is required is a small float, a little hook, a bit of peeled prawn and a little berley to attract them in. This is often very visual angling, providing a lot of fun.

Down a bit deeper, trevally, slimy mackerel or yellowtail will also provide plenty of action. Slimies and yellowtail make great bait, and if you float one out then a passing salmon, bonito or kingfish may just take a liking to it.

TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Tathra has had to become a resilient little town, following fires, drought, flood and now COVID19. However, through these changing times one thing has not changed: the quality of the fishing the area has to offer. With an exceptionally good boat ramp located at Kianinny Bay, it easy to gain access to the ocean for the many angling options available.

At this time of year the reef or bottom fishing is great, with the main targeted species being flathead. There are a variety of flathead species on offer within the area, and the eastern blue-spot flathead, often referred to as sandies or tigers, are the most common catch. Anglers may also encounter marble, long spine, southern sand or rock flathead at times.

Tathra Wharf is the most popular fishing platform on the South Coast.

Once you head out of Kianinny Bay, the decision of whether to go south or north may depend on

wind direction, or you can just head straight out from the ramp as this can sometimes be just as good.

Eastern blue-spot and tiger flathead will make up the bulk of the bag, with a couple of salmon on the troll.

Concentrate your efforts in 30-60m water depth and don’t be surprised if you encounter a few red gurnard or gummy sharks in the mix.

If you wish to travel north to Goalen Head or Bunga area, you can enjoy some of the best reef fishing you can have. Snapper are the main targeted species, and drifting over the reefs may be all that is required.

However, for a lot more fun try anchoring up in around 15-20m water depth and lay down a berley trail. This often produces a lot of larger snapper, with some fish exceeding 6kg in weight, and they are a lot of fun on light tackle.

This berley will attract not only the snapper but a host of different species, from sweep to morwong, and lots of baitfish like slimy mackerel or yellowtail.

They will attract other pelagic species in the form of kingfish, bonito, salmon or maybe a stray tuna, so it pays to hang a bait out the back for these species.

For those who are shorebased, the local wharf is

Bonito can be caught casting, trolling or on live baits in a berley trail.

A good long cast with a heavyish sinker will often account for some of the many flathead that hang out from the wharf over the sand, while closer to the rocky

sportfish is a light spin rod, a handful of metal lures, and long, racking casts followed by a fast retrieve.

Once you’ve hooked up, hang on and enjoy!

NAROOMA

Duffrods

shoreline, luderick or black drummer may be feeding in the wash. There are also many rocky platforms adjacent to the wharf, with one of the better areas down behind the local pub which I suggest you visit after your fishing session.

Another form of fishing I recommend at this time of year is to go for a stroll along one of the many beaches this area has on offer. With offshore winds at your back it is easy to spot schools of salmon patrolling the shore break.

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Canberra

ACT

Dam hot fishing this month CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Canberra’s COVID crisis is steadily easing and we are starting to see an influx of locals travelling interstate to places like Burrinjuck Dam, where a number of massive cod have been landed since the relaxing of social distancing laws.

numbers of medium to large sized redfin feeding up along the edges of the various bays that lead up to the Governor General’s residence. These can be targeted in a variety of ways but my favourite method is to cast a 3” paddle-tail plastics on a 1/8oz jighead near halfsubmerged reeds and simply jig the lure on the bottom.

This method has accounted for some big fish, including a

The lure of choice is a small crawfish attached to a ned rig.

This innovative rig presents the craw perfectly as it sits claws upright on the bottom and by working the slack line, and not the rod tip, the lure gently sways on the bottom perfectly imitating a yabby.

Redfin also can’t resist a ned rig on Lake G and by upsizing the craw plastic, anglers have also been landing

during the cooler months after significant rain. There is rain on the horizon though, so it may be that the fish will really come on the bite in late winter and this could carry through to early spring giving locals a chance at landing one of the enormous golden perch that inhabit the lake.

Yerrabi Pond is fishing well and really hasn’t slowed down since the heavy rain that occurred through late May and early June. There have been so many memorable captures with anglers landing big cod to 90cm and golden perch to 60cm. Large plastics have undone the cod while ned rigs, jigs and beetle spins have accounted for the golden perch.

Plenty of redfin have also been caught by anglers targeting natives. Now is the time to visit the pond as the weed does come back through spring making Yerrabi a very tricky proposition in the warmer months.

SURROUNDS Googong Dam is my pick

Jonathan Chen with a solid golden perch.

Like Burrinjuck, Googong has also become an increasingly popular destination post lockdown with some anglers trying out some new techniques to unlock the winter bite. One such angler is Sam Hancox who has been using surface lures on the dam and I believe

44cm reddie that put up a solid fight on light tackle.

There are golden perch hiding under the submerged willow branches at Springbank Island. These fish are hard to coax but a well-placed beetle spin attached to a paddle-tail plastic in natural colours can often illicit a strike on the drop.

cod using this method. Carp are ever-present in the lake and there have been some large specimens caught by anglers using bread near Diddams Close car park.

The fishing action on Lake Tuggeranong has been a little slow. For a brief period in June, it seemed that it was almost impossible to avoid the cod in the lake with anglers landing fish from 10-80cm using all manner of lures and bait. However, these same anglers have found it a lot tougher of late and it seems that the lake only really fires

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Savage B Big redfin are hitting lures at Lake Burley Griffin.

Slow rolling a soft vibe is a great way to connect to a winter native. is the first angler in Canberra to pick up a Googong cod on a topwater lure. He has since caught several on surface. So, it seems the lockdown has actually made the fish a little less wary. This can only benefit ACT anglers as many have already found a hot bite upon returning to our waterways.

LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is producing well. There are good 74

JULY 2020

The cod are always a challenge at this time of year, but the rocky ledges at Lady Denman always hold greenfish and this area is therefore worth a look, especially if slow rolling spinnerbaits down the rock.

Lake Ginninderra is fishing well. Anglers from boat and bank have enjoyed some excellent winter golden perch action with a few lucky locals landing fish in excess of 60cm.

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Large soft plastics are proving a good choice for Canberra cod.

of the surrounding dams this month. There have been some great captures since winter kicked in including several large cod that have all been landed by anglers You’re going to using oversized soft plastics.

A few luckyname anglers in have Austra also caught fish using surface strong, u lures and, while none ofreliable the cod have been particularly the water. They big, a cod caught on topwater is always a special you thing. want to go The golden perch youquiet need have been a little but to be they are stilland a possibility, fun in betw especially if fishing close to 5pm whenTime the shadows proven desig creep over the weed-lined and safety banks near Shannon’s Inlet.at pric Up the back of the dam is also worth a look if casting from the bank as there are plenty of reddies on offer here. Slow rolling a plastic parallel to the bank is a great way to connect with a big Googong red as is jigging and pausing the lure while using a quick retrieve.

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NSW

Have a whole lake to yourself BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Freezing cold nights and just bearable daytime temperatures are the norm for the Batlow area at this time of the year.

to get out on the water as most people are too soft or sane to brave the conditions! That’s just fine if you’re a die-hard angler like me, as it gives you entire lakes or rivers all to yourself, which can make for some relaxing and memorable trips.

at this time of the year are beanies, gloves, thermals, a jacket, wet weather gear, a towel and a change of clothes. If you prepare for the worst by packing these essentials, the weather is the last thing you worry about when you have an area to yourself and the fish

When targeting trout you never know what you will catch up in the shallows this month. Mixed bags like this trout and golden perch are always a good possibility.

However, there are still plenty of fish to be caught and I look at the middle of winter as a great time

If you plan and prepare appropriately, a great day can be had no matter what the conditions. Essentials

Vertically jigging with lures like ice jigs is a great way of catching a good feed of redfin in our impoundments.

76

JULY 2020

are jumping into the boat.

REDFIN At this time of the year a good strategy is to target redfin and trout early in the day, and as the day warms up switch tactics and go and target some natives.

Schools of big redfin can be found quite easily at this time of the year with the aid of a good sounder or by trolling with small, extra deep diving lures. Once a school is located they are best targeted with jigging lures like ice-jigs, redfin bobbers, soft plastics, metal blades, rubber vibes, spoons or lipless crankbaits.

Bait fishing with small yabbies or worms on a paternoster rig will almost always get you a feed of these succulent fish at Blowering Dam. The secret at this time of the year is to fish deep water, and steep points are the best places for this technique, especially if you’re fishing from the bank.

TROUT Trout anglers will be happy to hear that they can put the lead line outfits and downriggers away for a while as the majority of lake trout are now gorging themselves in the shallow, freshly-flooded bays. They are easily spotted rising in these bays as well as the many wind lanes on the dam. Flat line trolling, fly fishing and spinning from the bank are all good options at this time of the year.

Trolling winged lures,

especially the gold winged versions, are always worth a shot. However, I’d recommend you troll another totally different type of lure that trolls at a different depth to cover more of the water column at the same time, which will increase your chances of hooking a nice fish. Lipless crankbaits, soft plastics or small hardbodies are all worth trying this month, and if you troll these lures up in the backs of the freshlyflooded shallow bays you never know what you’re going to hook. Golden perch and Murray cod quite often take advantage of the easy pickings associated with steadily rising water levels, and these fish tend to move right up into the shallows with the trout.

MURRAY COD Big Murray cod are already trying to pack on as much weight as possible before their attempt to spawn, and this generally makes them much easier to catch now than at any other time of the year. Their eagerness to eat just about anything that will fit into their mouths makes them the top of most anglers ‘to target’ list this month. If you are one of those anglers who has already hung up their cod gear, then you might want to think about what I have just mentioned.

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER After the initial drop in the river’s flow in April, those anglers lucky enough

The Murrumbidgee River has fished exceptionally well of late, with some anglers even bringing them in two at a time, like this pair of trout cod from the Gundagai area.

The best results during the low flows associated with this time of the year come from casting lures like Angel Baits, chatterbaits, wakebaits, surface lures and large soft plastics. The reason behind this is the fact that most of the river is too shallow to hold fish, and the majority of the

colours like black, purple or blue or natural colours like pumpkin seed, brown, green or gold. In the dirty water you should use bright colours like chartreuse, hot pink or yellow as well as contrasting colours. For example, I like to use a lure with, say, a white head and use a skirt that’s black

Big Murray cod is what July is all about. Pack your ‘essentials’ and get amongst them. to fish their favourite stretch of the river before anyone else did were rewarded with huge numbers of fish.

Although the cricket score catches have died down a bit there is still some good fishing to be had, and now is arguably the best time of the year to get out there in hope of landing one of those true giant fish.

fish will be sitting hard up against timber in any hole that is deep enough so that you can’t see the bottom.

The river is generally very clear in the low flows unless we get a heap of rain, but even then it normally only takes a few days to flush through. The best coloured lures to use in the clear water are either dark

with red tips, or a black/red body. The white contrasts well against the black and red, which makes it really stand out in the dirty water and makes it easier for the fish to find something to home in on.

I hope that helps you all keep a bend in your rods this month, and good luck when you get out.

NSW

Lake bass smashing plastics HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

As I write this, we are gradually lifting restrictions in Australia.

The community as a whole seems have gotten on top of the spread of COVID-19. This in turn has allowed most of us to return to somewhat of a normal routine and hopefully getting out for a fish.

July is shaping up to being a cold month. It’s been a cold start to winter and there some winter rain predicted on the long-range forecast. While no big rain events are predicated, there will hopefully be some steady falls to help maintain lake levels.

The river bass are on zero bag limit while the spawn is going on, but mid-winter on the impoundments is a great time to fish. The fish will fatten up during spawning, feasting on small baitfish. They school up off prominent structure, and you can get a fish a cast in the right conditions.

Even though fishing in winter may not always be favourable, the reward can certainly worth the effort on those frosty cold days.

It does not matter which lake you head to this month, they will all fish fairly similar over July. Finessestyle presentations are the main techniques that work this month. The humble soft plastic has come a long way over the years. When it comes to replicating a

baitfish, the lifelike look and swimming action of a paddle tail or grub soft plastic is unmatched. With a subtle swimming action on the wind or when sinking it’s really hard to beat as an all-round producer.

They can be rigged light and swum just beneath the surface or heavy and deep into schooled fish. No boat should be fishing this month without one rigged up.

I like to start out with a 1/6oz jighead and a natural coloured paddle-tail. I feel the weight of the 1/6oz is an all-round setup for fishing shallow down to around 10-15ft. This will be my searching plastic as I determine what area of the water column the fish are sitting in. If I start getting bit tight to the bank in 6ft or less, I’ll go to a 1/8oz head.

In turn if I start getting bit in 10ft plus I will use a 1/4oz head.

I rarely use a heavier head than a 1/4oz in the lakes. The 1/4oz has a perfect sink rate. Not too quick that it gets eaten on the drop and not too slow that you still can sink it down to 40ft plus. A 1/4oz head and standard 2-3” plastic sinks to 20ft on a slack line in around seven seconds. This is helpful when sinking to suspended fish on the sounder and knowing where your lure is in the water column. This also helps keep track of your lure. Many times I’ve cast to structure and thought my lure should be on the bottom only to realize a fish has eaten it on the drop.

Colours doesn’t really matter for me over the winter months. I generally run natural colours, green and browns in most situations.

It will be only in low light such as morning, evening or overcast conditions I like to use colours that pop and stand out like white or chartreuse. Keep it simple on colours, and focus more on where and how you are fishing your plastic.

Impoundment fish are like sheep, they like to do the same thing as the other one. If you can catch some fish in a certain depth you can bet there will be a ton of other fish holding in this range as well. Working out how they want your lure is the next thing. This is called patterning the fish.

Once you have a pattern you can pretty well run over a whole lake and catch fish throughout it.

The humble jerkbait is another lure that catches a lot of fish over the winter months. Because of the limited depths you can fish them, they are more suited to shallow water fishing conditions. Low light, overcast or some wind are all ideal weather to have the fish comfortable enough to come up shallow to eat a jerkbait. Fish these lures tight to cover whether that is weed, timber or rock.

These areas all hold fish at certain times. Look for transitions in cover, such as shallow water into deep, rock onto mud or timber and weed onto bare bank, as areas like this concentrate the fish and you increase

Jack Maunder with a shallow water jerkbait bass at Glenbawn.

your chances of getting bit.

I recommend sticking to a jerkbait under 75mm long. These best replicates the baitfish size the fish are feeding on. My colour selection is exactly the same as plastic colours.

Natural greens and browns in sunlight and chartreuse and whites in low light conditions.

Big long casts are essential for the jerkbait, so having the right rod and line set up is critical. The longer you can cast the better your chances of catching fish.

Thin braided line around 68lb is perfect for getting the most out of your jerkbait.

This gives the lure more time to dive down to the swimming depth and stay in the strike zone for longer.

To up my chances I like to get in tight to cover and cast parallel to the bank rather than fishing 90° to it. This does make it a little harder for two or more people fishing out of the one boat but it does greatly increase your chances of catching on a jerkbait.

A lure that often gets overlooked in NSW impoundments is the soft plastic jerkbait. Other names for this style of lure is bass minnow or soft plastic stickbait, and it’s essentially a soft plastic lure with no tail or built-in action. It’s the exact same soft plastic shape that drove the snapper soft plastic craze into over drive years ago – a long, slender plastic, generally with a small fork tail on the end. These have no action on a straight wind but twitching them sends them darting around in erratic circles while gliding side to side in loops on the drop. Looking like a dying baitfish, these can work well at times.

Using 2-3” size plastics on fairly light heads is the perfect set-up. I like to fish them on a 1/8oz head for deeper rock walls and a 1/16oz head for shallow water cover around weed or timber. Sometimes even lighter if I’m fishing them into holes in the weed. I find the smaller the rod twitches the better for fishing these plastics. You will be surprised how much action you put into these plastics with the tiniest movement. It’s a good idea to swim a new lure next to the boat and simulate what you are doing on during a retrieve to see what the fish will see.

The fish should be schooling up a lot during the winter months. They like to hang out off prominent areas like deep points, sunken timber, rock walls or deep flats. It can be a little tricky to find

Dylan Glover has been catching plenty of fish on finesse techniques at St Clair over the winter. sometimes as they can move during the day; they can be thick in the morning then gone in the afternoon.

A quality sounder makes it easy to locate schools that have moved.

A 1/4oz soft plastic is a solid performer for these schooled fish. An ice jig also works, sunk down to fish on the sounder and worked in front of their face with sharp hops. A small blade

with finesse vibration swam through these schooling fish will work as well. Small spoons are being used in NSW with success recently.

Slow roll them, hop them back to the boat on the cast, or vertically jig them straight under the boat.

Wherever you can see the fish on the sounder, a small lure in front of their face will get eaten with some persistence over winter.

Drew Fernley caught his PB of a 6.2kg, 85cm golden trevally in the bay during May. It pulled like a freight train and put the biggest smile on his face.

JULY 2020

77

NSW

Zero in on bigger cod NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

It has been a long and cold winter so far, but like previous seasons, all those hours on the water have been well worth braving the cold for. We are now in the middle of winter and the big Murray cod have had plenty of time to adjust and stabilise to the freezing

bulky condition all year round. True, the same size fish can be caught in the warmer months as well, but I have found (like most of the keen anglers who put the time in during winter) that the cod just aren’t in the same condition at other times of the year with that extra weight.

Casting and slowrolling surface lures such as paddlers or wakebaits as well

perch are also another fun target species to chase during the daylight hours if the Murray cod are quieter throughout the day. Copeton is currently sitting at around the 13% mark.

Pindari Dam has been fishing fairly consistently of late, with good catches of golden perch and Murray cod being taken on lures as well as bait. Casting lures up tight towards the banks and in between the trees is a very productive way of finding active fish, but if lure fishing is not your thing, soaking a live shrimp or worms down beside the thick standing timber will usually find some kind of fish life pretty quickly, whether that’s a golden/ silver perch, carp, catfish or even Murray cod. Pindari is sitting at around 12%.

The Severn River is looking in good condition after a couple of smaller showers in recent weeks, and is fishing well because of it.

The weeds are clearing up a

This greedy Copeton yellowbelly took a Garuda Swimbait. little from the frosty overnight temperatures, which is also making presenting lures a little easier. Although this

makes it easier to cover more ground with open water, I find fishing slower and covering the same ground

This cod was taken on a Megabass Vatalion. cold temperatures over the last month or so. These fish are on the move and are feeding up comfortably on dormant bait life as we head into the spawning season at the end of next month.

Copeton Dam is one of only a handful of impoundments that remains open all year round, however if XOS Murray cod are on your bucket-list then this is the time of the year to be planning a trip! It is a fact that Copeton seems to fish more consistently for bigger cod during the colder months before the spawn; the fish do not always hold that same

as un-weighted swimbaits in the lower light periods are my favourite techniques as I am more confident in raising active fish this way. However, swimbaiting during the daylight hours is also a really good option. I have caught 1m+ cod throughout the day while working swimbaits along the bottom using these techniques. Chatterbaits and spinnerbaits also worked well last winter on big Murray cod, and if fished persistently like other techniques, I can’t see why they wouldn’t work just as well and find results this winter too.

Yellowbelly and silver

A Vatalion-crunching winter metrey from the river.

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JULY 2020

A double hook-up on solid rainbow trout at Deano’s.

for longer periods is the key to finding the bigger active fish in winter, as sometimes they only want to move if they feel it is worth it. The more realistic the bait looks, the more the cod feels it is worth it to move and eat.

The Beardy River remains closed as it is a listed trout stream, however if you are still wanting to catch a trout at this time of year make sure you check out Deano’s Trout Farm. It’s located at Black Mountain just outside of Guyra, and Dean is happy to cater for families, small groups and even the keen fly fisher who just wants to learn more.

There are BBQs on site and you can smoke your own caught trout. Contact him on 0427 750 182 or look him up on Facebook at Deano’s Smoked Trout for more info.

Good luck on the water this month. Tight lines and frozen guides...

Micah (11yo) caught a fantastic 45cm bream off the jetty at the Shoalhaven Heads River using nippers for bait.

So many changes for anglers…and the Dudds!

sharp hooks, blunt hooks, petrol, gas, barbecues, gas barbecues, gas lights, tents, zip ties, trailers, spanners, spare wheels, rusted wheel nuts, flat tyres, lures, Bundy, JD, stir in some time and add a touch of stupidity and you’ve got a recipe for carnage. Not that we’re alone in that; I think most groups of fishing mates can run into a few issues here and there

but the Dudds bat way above the average.

We are basically the Don Bradmans of breaking, losing and injuring. And even though we’ve grown older and have experience and have slightly less stuff ups, we’re still right up there. Our carnage average (carnaverage?) has dropped down to Steve Smith like numbers, but that’s still well above anything anyone else

can hope for. Which makes the average Dudd fishing trip something to look forward to, and something to fear.

We fish in a wide variety of places across salt and fresh water, probably because of repair bills and increases in insurance premiums for the previous houses we’ve stayed in, but we’re never intentionally malicious. It just happens.

We used to be able to get together quite often, but not so much nowadays, so we do love to revisit and laugh about old trips. But unlike others, our memories don’t revolve around the fish we caught; they’re more likely to involve the fish we lost and the things we broke. Like the massive thready I lost on the Fitzroy, or the metre-plus barra I lost at Kennos Hole, or the rod tips I’ve broken, or the time my outboard broke down, my seat broke, my expensive headlight went overboard and I stabbed my leg all in an hour or so...

Now I think about, there’s a pattern emerging here which I don’t like. But I have to take it. I tend to be the one that injures himself, and breaks rods, drowns reels, hits rocks...

To summarise, think of one of those fake groups of mates on the beer ads on TV, and that’s us…except unfortunately, we’ve got faces for radio. Ah well, you can’t have everything, and whoever said ‘you must have been some optimist’ was probably a fisherman!

standard on the 750HT, and available as an option on the 650HT-F model.

In line with ‘bigger is better’, Northbank have also developed a new twin rig transom that suits all models from 6m and above. The new transom incorporates a 65L live bait tank with a viewing window, provisions on port and starboard to accommodate flush mount slimy tubes, and plenty of

room to mount large bait boards. The new transom also features an easy access point for refuelling, and an option to transom mount a 10” screen.

Rob Cuming, Director of Northbank Boats, said that in today’s market people are looking for big boat features in trailer boats. “The ability to move where the fish are biting with a trailer boat is more

practical to the average person, than having your boat moored in one spot at a marina, and our range of 650 and 750 models accommodate those needs for a variety of our customers.”

For more information about the Northbank range of boats or to find your local dealer go to www.northbank.com.au.

– Northbank

BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

With all this virus stuff going on, there’ve been a lot of changes in our lives.

For those of us who live and breath fishing, some of those changes have been good, and some bad. It’s led to real hardship for many and Fishing Monthly is one of those given a jolly thorough spanking. State editions have merged into one giant omnibus. From my perspective, the column I’ve been writing for Queensland readers for 20 years has been moved interstate. So a whole new mob of people can laugh at me.

You see, when I first thought of writing about fishing I wanted to try to describe something a little different to the average fishing column, which seem to describe catching fish after fish after fish on beautiful balmy beaches or splendid boats on oily flat seas. My experience was completely different to this and often involved mud, blood, sweat, freezing cold, mangrove sweating hot, mozzies, sandies, horseflies, bust offs, snags and more blood. It didn’t match up with what seemed to be presented by grinning TV presenters with their flash rods and sticker boats. My fishing with the Dudds is dirty, surprising and often very, very funny.

So, for those who came in late, who are the Dudds?

• Stuffer: very large Bundy drinking unit. Cowboys.

• Manboobs: very stout beer, Bundy, Jack drinking bundle of energy. Cowboys.

• Pommers: very jovial can-smashing thoroughbredloving funster. Broncs.

• Doughers: Jack swilling braniac, knows more than Google. Dragons.

• Skipper: cider skulling dithering

perfectionist. Doggies.

Like Sue, we wander from town to town trying to hide our shame. In our case that’s because we tend to create carnage where we land. That is not because we’re destructive people but because we tend to be a little accident prone. Take boats, water, concrete ramps, props, bait knives, filleting knives, pocket knives,

INDUSTRY NEWS

Bigger and better from Northbank Northbank have been busy over the past few months building new boats to order, but have still found the time to invest in developing new features – and the bigger, the better!

The 750HT dash has been enhanced with a

facelift. There has been a growing market demand for larger vessels, with the average size of sounders and GPS units also increasing.

Northbank responded to this demand by manufacturing a larger dash to suit flush mounting up to a 22” screen, with enough room

for switch panels, anchor switches, gauges, etc. Along with these improvements came a larger area above the optional roller door (suitable to mount up to 16” screen), and a larger glove box on the passenger side offering greater storage. The new dash is

JULY 2020

79

News

Evinrude – the end of an era I had my bait; so I took its picture, despatched it and popped it into my poly bag.

At this point I was joined by a local armed with BRP has man discontinued three rods and a load of gear; the production of Evinrude E-TEC and E-TEC G2 engines, due to the financial impact of COVID-19, and has announced a new partnership with Mercury Marine.

It marks the end of an era for an American brand that was founded over 100 years ago. The creator of Evinrude was NorwegianAmerican machinist Ole Evinrude, and his first model was a one-cylinder,

the same rod and line, and free-lining with a substantial chunk of squid on a 6/0 circle hook.

As motor soon as targeted it was light 1.5hp at enough owners. to see, The I walked rowboat motor was released in 1909 and was an instant success.

From there the brand’s popularity soared, but it wasn’t always plain sailing.

Tightening emissions regulations required major engine redesigns in the 1990s. Evinrude’s initial modifications caused engine failures, which resulted in a recall. The financial losses, the loss of reputation, and competition from rivals pushed the company into

breath and gently closed the bail arm. The rod bowed, the clutch buzzed and then, after a short, powerful run, the line went slack. in‘Freddy, bankruptcy 2000. Uncle, Charlie, Katie!’ Bombardier I muttered.

In 2001, acquired the Evinrude and Johnson brands, and FICHT technology was reengineered into E-TEC direct injection. This improved fuel efficiency and reduced emissions, oil consumption, noise and maintenance requirements.

Later models boasted excellent efficiency and performance, but in spite of these advantages the brand wasn’t able to dominate the market the way it used to. Competing brands were producing ever more powerful engines, and a growing number of boaters simply weren’t open to the idea of buying a two-stroke.

The coronavirus epidemic was the last straw.

“Our outboard engines John’s pal concentrating on his fishing. business has been greatly impacted by COVID-19, he was returning from a along the beach looking for obliging Thereuswas nothing for to discontinue fishless night further out on rays. I enjoy stalking fish, production it but to try again.

Soon of our outboard the jetty (which encouraged and my idea was to lob the motors afterwards I had another immediately,” said me). We exchanged g’days, bait in front of a potential José bite, Boisjoli, and after President a decent and when he saw my squid victim, then draw it back and struggle a beautiful CEOlanded of BRP. “This he quickly clipped on a jig. to a collision course. I was business southern fiddler ray of 3-4kg. segment had I caught two more squid, excited when the first ray already I released and had no beenit, facing some which were more than I that I found circled over the challenges, more bites. and the impact needed, so I gave them to bait and picked it up. The fromOnthemycurrent final morning context my new pal. fish must have felt the line has I decided to try the local forced our hand.”

The following morning I because it immediately set style: light paternoster Mr aBoisjoli said the was back on the beach, using off at warp speed. I held my company with a tinywill leadkeep and two its

size 8 hooks on 3kg mono droppers. I walked along the beach in the dark and as I arrived at my chosen spot, I was facility joined by manufacturing in John,USA, who and I’d use met itthere the for before. While baited developing otherhe marine with shrimp, I tried little technologies. slivers my frozen

“Theof facility willsquid. be Almost at for once both repurposed newwe projects had pursue bites, and landed to oureach plan to a yellowconsumers finned whiting. provide with anI then had a experience dragging pull unparalleled on which produced beautiful the water,” he said.a “We will blue manna this concentrate ourcrab, effortsand on new was innovative followed by a herring. and technologies By now I was feeling well and on the development of satisfied to have caught our boat companies.” new species, and three Hemore added that BRP will I donated to mysupply catch to John. continue service sun was so I partsTheand willrising honour baited up for one last cast. manufacturer limited Within minutes I had a warranties. decent pull and connected PARTNERSHIP WITH with something MARINE a lot stronger.

MERCURY Line poured off the reel When announcing the against as much pressure discontinuation of E-TECs, I thought my that light itnylon BRP revealed has It was atrace new would supply stand. arrangement soon clear that I was into with Mercury Marine. a fair-sized eagle ray. will Ten The arrangement minutes of fast,outboards powerful pair Mercury runs BRP’s and dogged, slow with boat brands, retrieves followed, before I including Quintrex drewStacer. the 13kg fish into the and and was able to shallows “This agreement brings grip spiraclesopportunity and drag it us anthe incredible ashore.

Of course, wasn’t to… introduce ouritawarda mulloway portfolio or a big trevally, winning of but jeez didengines it fight! to new outboard I returned around my catch alive customers the and well,said saidChris goodbye to world,” Drees, John, andMarine walked back along Mercury president. the beach happy man.

“We have– aenjoyed long

Above: A nice blue manna crab for the author.

Below: After a last cast and a long struggle, the author landed his first eagle ray.

standing relationships with Alumacraft, Manitou and Telwater [Quintrex and Stacer], and we look forward to continuing to work with them while providing class-leading outboard engines and

exceptional service to all of their customers.”

The new boat packages will be available in the coming months, and more information is available at www.mercurymarine. com. – FMM

for • Sign up updates!

• New products • Reviews • Videos

ch Is too mu t tackle no ugh? o n e y l r a ne

test s on the la aily update r and accessories. d r fo sh .fi g gea junkie kle, boatin Visit tackle fishing tac st te a re g and Fishingg Monthlyy Magazines g

www.tacklejunkie.fish 80

JULY 2020

APRIL 2020

47

Transparent investment in your fishing future Every year, approximately $8.5 million of your recreational fishing licence fees are put to work making fishing even better by stocking more fish, improving access and facilities, enhancing fish habitat, and protecting fish stocks through more enforcement and education. Every single cent of your licence fees contributes to making Victoria the best state in Australia for fishing.

Your licence fees are complemented by record investment from phases one and two of the State Government’s Target One Million plan to get more people fishing, more often. This funding is in addition to fishing licence fees.

Fish stocking - $910,000

Target One Million contribution - $2.11m

(grows fish at Snobs Creek and stocks them state-wide)

(delivers fishing platforms, better access and facilities, boat ramps, events, fish habitat and extra fish stocking)

Grants program $1.55m (helps fishing clubs deliver grass roots projects that make a difference)

Fishcare $220,000

(conducts learn-tofish clinics and school education in Victoria)

Enforcement and education - $2.12m (extra Fisheries Officers)

The figures in the pie graph are the average over three years.

$8.5 million

VRFish $470,000

(represents views of fishers to government and community)

Program delivery $980,000

(includes licensing system, plastic licences, renewals, rec fishing advisory group)

Sales commission $140,000

(paid to retailers that sell licences over the counter)

Learn more at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/feesatwork

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

What’s in store for our rec fishing program?

GEELONG

Ross Winstanley

It’s just as well recreational fishing in Victoria is in such good shape, because the decade of increasing levels of governmentfunded ‘initiatives’ looks to be over. As the Andrews Government launches into years of post-COVID19 recovery, recreational fishing will struggle for special consideration among more pressing priorities.

When Treasurer Pallas looks to trim departmental budgets, the Victorian Fisheries Authority may struggle to maintain current levels of recreational fisheries operations. Where can they turn to for relief – the Recreational Fishing Licence Trust Account of course.

Under existing arrangements, the Trust Account offers little scope for the support needed to maintain the program at levels fishers have come to expect. Substantial increases in annual RFL revenue seem inescapable.

The question is, will they be imposed unfairly on the 300,000 fishers currently holding licences or will they be spread across the one million the Government believes are now fishing?

The 2019 review of Victoria’s RFL arrangements ducked the issue of introducing concessional licences for fishers who presently are exempt. The review report suggested that the Government might revisit this in the future. This might not be far off, as requiring all fishers to be licensed would serve two important purposes: easing financial pressure on the recreational fishing program and addressing the ever-increasing unfairness of the present arrangement.

FISHERIES PROGRAM FUNDING OPTIONS In the scenario facing our recreational fisheries program, there seem to be three immediate options: 1. work within existing Government and RFL funding; 2. enhance option 1 by taking more from the RFL Trust Account; 3. expand the licence base so that every fisher contributes.

Even assuming that the VFA’s existing annual Government funding isn’t trimmed, Option 1 means delivering less and less as costs increase. So, having 82

JULY 2020

softened fishers up by a decade of cost-shifting, what scope is there for taking more from the Trust Account?

The past decade of cost-shifting governmentfunded programs and funding election promises from the RFL ‘cash cow’ has left little uncommitted money for what’s supposed to be the annual competitive Grants Program – the RFL’s original purpose.

In 2018/19, Grants Program funding totalled $1.3 million of which $0.5 million went to VFA programs. Just 1% of the $9.5 million total allocated funds went to recreational fishing groups’ new projects.

So, there’s not much left to take from the Trust Account to keep the recreational fishing program afloat.

Option 1 or Option 2 could be boosted by significantly raising licence fees. On 2018/19 RFL sales figures, a 20% increase would yield $2M in additional revenue. Setting aside the unfairness on the licensed minority, would this be enough to maintain the program at the level fishers have come to expect? Such an increase would likely prompt an immediate fall in licence sales, encourage unlicensed fishing and undermine the Government’s fishing participation goal.

To go beyond such a modest overall increase would take a significant shift in Government policy requiring legislative change – to license every adult fisher.

On the Government’s estimate of one million adult fishers, there are at least 730,000 who fish without licences. If half of them were required to hold half-price annual licences, they would contribute $6M in additional revenue annually. That’s the sort of increase that will be needed.

VRFISH’S CALL FOR CHANGE VRFish’s 2019 request to Minister Pulford for an independent review of the RFL system, stressed the need for RFL revenue to increase in line with the numbers of people fishing.

Since the national survey estimate of 389,000 fishers in 2000/01, the Government now has an estimate of 1,000,841 fishers in 2017. That’s a spectacular increase of 157% in two decades.

Over the same period,

annual licence sales have increased by just 18%.

So, VRFish has a good point: the existing system has clearly failed to keep revenue in step with fisher numbers. In fact, we’ve gone from 58% of fishers buying licences in 2000/01 to just 27% in 2018/19. VRFish pointed to the urgent need for “a more stable and equitable revenue base for improving recreational fishing”. As well as bringing annual revenue into line with growth in fisher numbers, this would have important benefits including: • an ongoing measure of participation and a total demographic picture of the adult fishing community; • the basis for research, surveys, consultation and communication with all fishers.

VRFish also urged improvements to fishers’ involvement in setting and reviewing Trust Account investment priorities. So, in response to VRFish’s petition, what has the 2019 RFL review delivered?

THE 2019 RFL REVIEW In response to VRFish’s request, the VFA commissioned Marsden Jacob Associates to review of the RFL Trust Account.

One of the review terms of reference specifically addressed VRFish’s principal concern: “The review will consider the costs and benefits of expanding the categories of recreational fishers required to hold a licence (i.e. current exemptions).”

Marsden Jacob’s report points clearly to future RFL expenditure – who will control it and where it will go. The Government’s response by endorsing all five report recommendations make this even clearer.

Among the predictable outcomes directly affecting RFL revenue and expenditure, is the development of an RFL strategic plan.

The consultants noted fishers’ concerns about the increasing ‘cost-shifting’ of VFA programs, from the Government to the Trust Account, while the Grants Program share has been falling. To address this, some fishers pushed to have greater influence on Trust Account expenditure.

Some argued that maintaining this Grants share of revenue will be critical if government initiative

funding dries up.

The Government continues to deny that they are moving towards full cost recovery for the recreational fishing program. Under such an arrangement, the total cost of the program would be met from the Trust Account. You can call it cost recovery or cost shifting, but what’s happening amounts to the same thing: the Trust Account now meets the full cost of more and more of the Government’s overall recreational fishing program. That’s the reality reported each year in the Minister’s report to parliament. And, in the tough times ahead, the trend seems likely to continue, limited only by the annual RFL revenue, recently hovering between $7M and $9M. A not-so-predictable announcement following

that this was a key driver for VRFish’s push for the review – and crucial to the future funding of the Grants Program – this was a major disappointment.

For the first time since the RFL began, fishers had taken up the open opportunity to contribute to consideration of licence exemptions.

However, instead of addressing the term of reference, fully and objectively, the consultants simply deferred to a 2016 Regulation Impact Statement which was aimed at raising revenue through licence fees.

The option of replacing exemptions with concessional licences was looked at from a very narrow viewpoint: the best way to meet the revenue target of $10.8M. Unsurprisingly, the RIS recommended the simplest option: to increase fees

revenue base” that kept pace with increasing numbers of fishers. Led by the consultants, the review dodged the issue and the Government agreed to retain the present exemptions.

The question of whether to remove licence exemptions has been going around in circles for years. At the Roundtable’s first meeting in 2006, members identified the RFL exemptions as a strategic issue. A survey of members showed their views on licensing all fishers ranged from strong agreement to strong opposition. A 2007 fishers and fisheries managers forum produced similar mixed responses.

Nothing changed.

In 2014, a Stakeholders Reference Group examined the structure of the RFL and proposed replacing most exemptions with

SUMMARY • If required to hold $17 half-price annual licences, half of the 730,000 exempt fishers would contribute $6M RFL extra revenue. How could the Government endorse no change to exemptions, stating “the benefits of any changes are unlikely to outweigh the costs”?

• There are now three unlicensed adults fishing each year for every licensed fisher, and it’s getting more and more unfair.

• In 2018/19, just 1% of total Trust Account disbursements went to new project applications from recreational fishing groups. the RFL review is that the Statewide Recreational Fishing Roundtable will have a major role in developing the strategic plan to guide RFL expenditure. The Marsden Jacob report indicates that consultation was largely limited to the Roundtable and a small number of groups and individuals. The report correctly pointed out that the Roundtable is simply a forum for discussion and exchange of information and ideas.

It is not an advocacy, advisory or consultation body representing fishers.

It will be interesting to see how fishers react to the idea of an unelected body of individuals, with various special fishing and business interests, playing a large part in determining the future directions and priorities for RFL investment.

EXEMPTIONS TO THE RFL The main let-down in Marsden Jacob’s review was the failure to properly address the fifth term of reference: to examine the costs and benefits of expanding the licence to include fishers who are currently exempt from the licence. Given

for the existing licence categories. There was no examination of the full range of benefits of licensing all adult fishers.

Along with mixed feedback from a limited number of fishers, that ‘analysis’ led Marsden Jacob to conclude that “a strong case for change from the current situation is not apparent”. Hence, their recommendation – accepted by the Government – to retain the present exemptions.

Having sidestepped the first open opportunity in 20 years to address this crucial issue, the consultants went on to suggest that the Government could consider the removal of licence exemptions at some future time.

WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE US? In 2019 when VRFish proposed the review, nobody could have foreseen the coronavirus and the likely implications for future funding of the recreational fishing program. However, in calling for an independent review, VRFish had shown a great deal of foresight in aiming for “a more stable and equitable

reduced-fee licences.

Regulations were drafted, but progress ceased in the lead-up to the 2014 State election. Again, nothing changed.

At every turn, the unfairness of a shrinking minority of adult fishers bearing the increasing financial cost of the recreational fishing program has been well recognised. Facing the State budget constraints ahead, the inadequacy of the $7-9M annual RFL revenue seems clear.

Where will the necessary funding come from?

If the RFL must be used to keep the recreational fishing program afloat, the VFA will have to work far more openly and transparently with their one million fishers than they did in their ‘consultation’ on the RFL review. In turn, fishers and their representative groups, including VRFish, will need to be open to change on matters such as the Grants Program and RFL exemptions.

• To see the Marsden Jacob report on the 2019 review of the RFL Trust Account, go to vfa.vic. gov.au and search for ‘Marsden Jacob’.

Thank You! To all our loyal readers, supporters and contributors.

We proudly for the first time have made it into the

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83

VIC

Keep on the move and crack the winter code WEST COAST

Brett Carson

July in the last decade has become the favorite month to target those big winter mulloway, but it’s not always easy. There is a code to crack and that code can change by the week.

The first thing to say

is that with the cold water and weather comes the slowing of the mulloway’s metabolism. This means the feeding periods will shorten and happen less often so finding what time of the day and tide they are is the answer to the code.

We all arrive on a fishing trip keen to fish super hard on day one, so put the

The Glenelg winter bream are in great condition.

big hours in on schooling fish, cover dawn and dusk throughout the changing tide and with a dash of luck you can hopefully discover their feed time. This, more often than not, stays consistent for a period with only small variances such as the time difference as the tide time changes over the coming days. Some years the code has been a 20-minute bite window right at the peak of the high tide when the water stops, with the massive swells driving varying amounts of water up the river being a varying factor.

Other years the fish have bitten consistently between 8-10am well after sunrise with no obvious logic other than they want to.

The one simplifying factor is that fresh water from the winter rainfall concentrates the mulloway into the lower reaches of the river. A good place to start is to go for a sound upstream from the estuary looking for the dense winter schools.

This doesn’t just apply to the elusive mulloway but will also show you the best areas to target spawning bream and estuary perch.

The bream will be starting to school and move upriver to spawn, meaning the edge bite for lure fishos will be patchy at best. The fish will drop away from the edges and more likely be in the 2-4m mark. Vibes or patiently working soft plastics deep and slow will reap rewards if lures are your thing. For the bait guys, definitely cut or squash your crabs, as the release of

Beau with one of the many perch he has been catching on lures. the scent seems to make a massive difference this time of year. Lightly-weighted pod worms and cut mullet or pillies work a treat too.

Locals recognize the bream are moving up and cover ground accordingly.

Sometimes the fish you slayed yesterday simply aren’t there anymore so don’t be frightened to move if it’s not happening.

Larger spawning perch will now start to congregate

in big numbers from Donavans down. At times during winter they can almost black the sounder out between our boat hire and the bridge. They obviously love anything live, but again like the bream a vibe is a good choice, and anything dark green through to black is worth a crack. Keep in mind that fishing grounds closer to the mouth can have an almost clear saltwater wedge driven in under the

dark fresh on top from those large winter swells, so try lighter colours as you near the estuary.

Just remember that these spawning fish are holding the next generation so please don’t take any more than you need and let them keep the stocks healthy for the future.

Isn’t it funny how we can put fish back but we fight in the isles over toilet paper!

For those putting the effort into the surf the rewards remain, but picking the gaps between the swells and the weed is the battle.

Those who brave the winter cold in the dark deserve every fish they get.

So good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info. We have the local live bait licence, meaning we stock live mullet, crabs and pod worms along with all the frozen bait, tackle and lures you need for the area.

We’ll do our best to give you some local knowledge and get you on the fish quicker.

Remember you can hire any of our boats without a boat licence, including our very popular houseboat.

• Good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info, we have the local ‘live bait licence’ meaning we stock live mullet, crabs and podworms along with all the frozen bait, tackle and lures you need for the area. We’ll do our best to give you some local knowledge and get you on the fish quicker.

Remember you can hire any of our boats without a boat licence, including our very popular houseboat.

Anglers enjoying good weather APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

It’s been great down in Victoria now that we can fish. It was fantastic when they lifted the restrictions to see so many people out on the water and fishing from the shore. It just goes to show what fishing means to people and what a great outdoor way of life fishing is to so many families.

Down here in Apollo Bay the fishing has been great, and so has the weather. The salmon fishing on the local beaches has been good, with some fish up to 8lb. Marengo Beach has been best just before dark.

The Aire River was opened recently and I was lucky enough to catch some nice healthy bream on ZMan GrubZ in motor oil colour and small 84

JULY 2020

bibbed minnows, with the Daiwa Double Clutch being the best. There are also a lot of mullet in the river being caught as well.

Offshore there have been some good snapper bags coming in, with Otway Reefs being the

standout. Gummy shark and school shark are also about, and fresh salmon is the best bait.

There has been a good run of flathead getting about, and a lot of boats have been catching their bags from Skenes Creek in

Ian Gullock with a 42cm King George whiting.

35-40m of water. Squid has been the go-to bait.

Tuna are here, and there have been plenty of school fish spread right along the coast. Recently we had a day where there were fish everywhere around the boat, and we tagged and released some fish ranging from 6kg to about 14kg.

It will be interesting to see the results when they are caught again. The tuna weren’t fussy; they took everything from small skirts and hardbodied lures to stickbaits and jigs. They are great fun to catch when they are like that, and there is so much bait in the water at the moment I can’t see them moving anytime soon.

After our session on the tuna we decided to have a go for a shark. With so much bait around it took only about an hour for a small mako to turn up, and it went about 35kg.

I took a mate Matt Flapper out a first timer

Matt Flapper with a nice little mako. on the tuna, and he was lucky enough to get a few but also hooked the mako, so he had a great day as did we all.

With COVID restrictions easing further, I hope people

come and visit Apollo Bay. As you can see, the fishing is great and our caravan parks and motels need your support. Stay safe and I’ll see you on the water.

VIC

Plenty of tuna for tinny brigade WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

Here in the South West anglers have been rewarded for their patience during restrictions, with some fantastic fishing once the bans were lifted. Even though the depths of winter will close around us this month, hopefully some good fishing will still eventuate.

While Victorian fishos salivated over big tuna captures over the border in South Australia during restriction time, there were plenty of tuna around once Vic anglers could finally get back out to sea. While most of the bigger barrelsized tuna were taken in the region west of Portland, there were a couple of bigger fish landed east of Warrnambool, including a 62kg (cleaned) fish taken on a cast stickbait by Aaron Dillon. School fish though were prolific right along the coast and in fairly close proximity to the shore.

The past couple of excellent summer runs of inshore tuna have probably masked the fact that the close inshore run of late autumn/early winter fish

had been a bit hit-and-miss recently. Even though they can be finicky like their summer buddies, these winter tuna usually display more traditional tuna behaviour and usually have more birds on them. They

have been on some very small bait recently so small stickbaits, soft plastics and even metal slices more akin to salmon fishing have been working well on the cast. These fish are also more likely to nail lures

Trout streams remain open in July and are a great winter angling option.

trolled in traditional tunastyle spreads, unlike the summer run of fish.

With fish being in as close as 3-4km of Warrnambool and Port Fairy ramps, it allows for anglers in smaller boats to access some exciting fishing. There is plenty of bait around so the weather will probably be the main barrier to this fishing in July.

The breaks of good weather allowing access to the tuna have been interspersed with plenty of rainfall, which has got the rivers running and trout moving. The water is still fairly clear in the Merri but it’s just starting to ‘colour up’ in the Hopkins.

Whilst they have taken a little bit of work, most keen trout anglers who have well-honed their techniques are producing some good fish, with most between 1.3-2kg. As we head into July the local trout, which remain open to angling all year round, are always a great option to have when it’s too cold, wet and windy to fish for other species.

After having bream all over the edges, and visually casting plastics and hardbodies to fish prior to lockdown, it was a bit

Plenty of school tuna have been around recently. of a letdown to discover cold water and barren banks upon returning to the Hopkins River estuary. The fish are still there though, and plenty of good 1kg fish are being taken by anglers

fishing slower and deeper with both bait and lures.

Deep and slow will still be the way to go in July, and the dirtier the water, the closer to the mouth the better fishing will be.

Time to get back into the swing of things COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

It’s fantastic news that the Premier of Victoria has finally reopened fishing to groups of up to 10 people. No doubt our waterways will be busy from now on with anglers finally getting back into the great outdoors and wetting a line and shaking off that cabin fever.

As it still stands, I believe family members can travel together and fish in a boat or off the bank together, but not friends.

Separate travel will still be required for friends, and a standard tinny is a cramped space for mates to try and keep the 1.5m distance. Like many of us anglers I’m trying to suss out the finer points and hopefully prevent any possible fines amongst our fraternity, and if we adhere to the rules and behave ourselves, more relaxing of restrictions could soon follow.

The initial weekend weather following the lifting of the lockdown certainly lent itself to getting out amongst

nature and on the water. I chose to head down to the Curdies River in search of bream with boat in tow.

Right at the last minute a good fishing mate had to pull out due to an unforseen commitment, so yours truly fished solo.

The car and trailer park at Curdievale resembled something out of the Great War, minus the trenches and gunfire. There was mud everywhere. Mind you, this area was not long ago submerged, along with all the river flats, until the mouth was finally opened.

The water remains murky with a solid flow of at least 2 knots pushing down into the lake, which can make lure fishing difficult.

I expect this scenario to continue right into spring.

Surprisingly, only another eight boats had launched prior to myself at 7:30am (three turned out to be duck shooters and a fourth, officers from Fisheries Victoria). On my way down to the mouth I came across one boat of two anglers casting lures close to the bank. One hooked up and landed an average bream. Soon after I came across another two boats casting lures, and as they

came into view one angler hooked up and eventually landed a sizeable bream. I gave them plenty of space and motored further down towards the mouth.

It took two hours to connect up to my first bream. I tried everywhere

around the mouth including the lake to no avail. Eventually I moved back further upstream where I finally picked up three bream in a matter of minutes using 2” Damiki Grub soft plastics in pumpkin seed. Plenty of

nudges and nibbles ensued but the only time the fish were hooked is when the soft plastic (after being twitched) laid to rest on the bottom right up close to the bank and often at rest for up to 30 seconds. I kept slack line above water

Curdies River bream removed from the livewell and about to be released.

to act as a bite indicator.

When the slack line above the surface pulled tight, I struck. Over five hours on the water netted me seven solid bream. I missed many more due to the subtlety of the enquiries.

Confirmed fishing reports are only starting to trickle in for me but I can see a flood occurring in the near future, as long as our state government doesn’t reverse the current situation for us anglers.

Only time will tell.

The Hopkins River has been solid for bream to 41cm with packet baits such as frozen prawn and river whitebait (glassies) taking fish.

On the offshore scene, many boaters have been using their inaugural trips out on the briny to specifically target southern bluefin tuna. Larger boats can carry more anglers whilst still enabling the 1.5m exclusion zone to be kept in place.

Tuna schools have been sighted surface feeding not that far offshore right along our coastline, and fish in excess of 80kg have been hooked, lost and landed in the process.

JULY 2020

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Anglers flood in as gates open GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com

A month is a long time in fishing! We’re back and as soon as the COVID gates opened, there was a

places like Wurdee Boluc Reservoir near Moriac and Stony Creek Reservoir past Anakie can see the trout and larger redfin come on the bite. Eleven year old Mason Clark fished Wurdee Boluc Reservoir with his dad Dean recently,

and about an hour after dusk. Best bet has been the deeper areas around 6-7m rather than the shallows, while the usual baits such as pipis and squid are getting it done.

Aaron Habgood from Salt Guide reports the

Mini pinkie snapper have been an issue, pinching baits meant for whiting.

Collan and Malcolm Erard have done well on the whiting fishing out off Leopold near the Caravan Park. Collan says they had their bag limit capture in 1.5 hours using squid and pipis.

Work colleague Dean McDonald has also done well in 6m of water out from Clifton Springs but further towards Portarlington earlier in the month. Dean managed his best fish closer to dusk which were up to 43cm using pipis. These fish seemed to taper off later in the month as those closer to Leopold came on the bite with more consistency.

I’ve had a few goes at them and caught a feed but no bag limits for me.

My 11 year old son Max

Aaron from Salt Guide has caught some cracking whiting of late.

Stephen with two of the three mahimahi that climbed on their lures out off Torquay. flood of anglers flocking to local haunts to enjoy some fishing and clear their heads. On the opening weekend, I said to my long-suffering wife, “I’m just heading out for some milk” on Friday night and returned home Sunday smelling of bait.

The Barwon River in Geelong is brown from some much-needed rainfall in the region. Redfin have slowed in the Barwon but

and Mason managed to land a ripper reddie using a Tassie Devil lure.

There has been a bit of a whiting surge around Geelong and the Bellarine.

They have been most consistent at Queenscliff near the mouth of Swan Bay, St Leonards, Clifton Springs and out off Leopold. Most fish have been from legal length to 35cm with a few either side of 40cm just before

whiting fishing has been nuts from Queenscliff to St Leonards region, with plenty of fish over 40cm and a few pushing the 50cm mark. Aaron has been using a cocktail of squid and pipi on a Gamakatsu worm hook size 4.

He says that gummy and school sharks have been plentiful in Bass Strait on the reefs using salmon or wrasse as a preferred bait on a size 7/0 circle hook.

Mason was pumped to nab this fine reddie from Wurdee.

and I had a go for two hours late one Friday night.

It was not easy but we managed enough whiting for a feed, and Max hauled in a flathead around 35cm.

Calamari also came on the bite for periods in late May, with some up around 1kg in weight.

Clifton Springs, Point Wilson and St Leonards were the picks. I found a few over the shallow weed beds off Clifton Springs but they were super fussy, eyeballing the jig for a few moments before being enticed to grab it by a few dips in the rod tip.

The Geelong waterfront has been fishing well for snotty trevally, pinkie

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flathead for both bait and lure fishers. Bait fishers should try pipis, pilchard fillets and raw chicken as just about all of those species like that spread served up!

The salmon have been unpredictable as always so it’s just a matter of being at the right place at the right time. Terry Hayden of Hayden Reels got stuck into a few inside Corio Bay using fly fishing gear and at 50cm, they are a great fly target!

Southern bluefin tuna were on the bite down the west coast of Vic at the time of writing so hopefully they’ll show up this July.

In January they were in 40-50m off Aireys Inlet so that’s a good place to start if you can get there. Access to our great Surf Coast for larger offshore boats is limited to Queenscliff ROCKLEA NORTH ROCKHAMPTON (crossing the Rip and 15km KAREE MARINE RIFEN BOATS to Barwon Heads), Barwon 1776 Ipswich Rocklea 6 Dooley Street North Rockhampton Heads Road (crossing a bar + 38km1600 to Aireys) or Apollo P: (07) 3875 P: (07) 4927 9150 Bay (1.5 hours’ drive from E: sales@kareemarine.com.au E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com Geelong, then 50km by W: www.kareemarine.com.au W: www.rifenboats.com.au boat back to Aireys). So, you need very favourable NORTHERN GOLD COAST AIRLIE BEACH conditions and a lot of fuel.

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25 Queens Hills in hook 5upHannam Bungalow the past out off Portland They managed to land two • Catch a few around P: (07) 3353 1928 8 P: (07) 4033 8800 by anglers trolling for of the three mahimahi, Geelong, Bellarine E: info@holtmarine.com.au E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au tuna. Normally a tropical one on a Rapala diver, Peninsula or Surf Coast W: www.holtmarine.com.au W: awww. aussiemarine.com.au species, they are one of the one on Tornado skirted to Lorne recently? Send fastest growing fish in the lure and the other hook up in a report to slaterfish@ sea. Fish in captivity have was on a large stickbait. gmail.com with “VFM” in CAPALABA KARUMBA grown from around 1kg to Exciting stuff! the subject field or give MIKES MARINE JONES MARINE staggering 30kg+ in just This youStreet shouldKarumba be me a call on 0408 997348.

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Fishing is back on!

PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

After a 2-month pause, fishing is finally back around Melbourne. As we attempt to settle back into our normal daily

routines, many will turn to fishing. Let’s face it, there’s nothing like catching up with good mates that you haven’t seen for a while and wetting a line. Whatever your style of fishing is, its good to be back.

I couldn’t wait to get

back out on the water, and as soon as the restrictions were lifted I found myself boating and kayaking again around Port Phillip Bay. My first session started with a bang. Launching my small runabout boat from Werribee, we first targeted squid. It only took three

Steve Vessy with a Werribee gummy shark.

Pinkies and snapper are still being caught.

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casts before landing a beautiful squid with a 38cm hood on a Yamashita Egi Oh squid jig in red foils.

The water was murky so we didn’t waste too much time chasing squid, and instead moved on and made our way past Williamstown towards Port Melbourne. Stopping at the very popular Princess Pier pylons, we started by flicking 4” jerkshad soft plastics. I used a Savage Jerk Minnow in motor

rubbing against the timber, I brought a 65cm snapper on deck. It was great to capture those moments and share it with those who follow my YouTube channel. We finished the day by drifting around for flatties before heading in. This day was good for many reasons, including mental health.

I wasn’t done though!

The very next day I took my Hobie kayak to Port Melbourne. Shortly after

a 2000 size reel and 12lb braid stood no chance with these big fish within the structure. Never mind, it was still great fun.

Steve Vesey from Fishing with Steve has had some exciting times targeting gummy sharks around Werribee South at night on his kayak. Yes, he’s braver than most. Last week he launched from Werribee South at 3pm during low tide. Forgetting his kayak trolley, he had

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Luke Hynes caught this healthy Wendouree brown trout.

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oil on a 1/8oz jighead in size 2/0.

We started catching fish right away. Casting towards the structure we landed a lot of pinkies between 30-45cm. It was so good to be back out fishing after such a long break that I finally felt like myself again – on the boat doing what I love, smiling and sledging between good mates.

To mix things up I threw out a lightly weighted half pilchard, and within minutes the rod buckled over with that beautiful sound of a screaming reel.

After some challenging moments of the line

launching I was marking schools of fish amongst the structure, and on my second cast I was smoked by a massive fish that proceeded to almost spool me. I lost an intense battle to what would have been a large snapper or mulloway that shredded my leader along the pylons.

A few swear words later I calmed down, and rerigged and you wouldn’t believe it – two casts later I had the same thing happen.

I cast into a similar spot and was manhandled by a large fish that again almost spooled me. It was at this point that I realised that my 3-5kg spinning outfit with

to drag the kayak over 50m of sand. He finally hit the water and paddled out to 5m deep. Berleying hard throughout the tide change, it didn’t take long to catch his first gummy. It was only a pup which was released to grow bigger, and it was soon followed by two more.

Then, just after dark, the rod buckled over and the reel started screaming.

Keeping the lines away from tangling with his berley pot and anchor rope, Steve managed to get it into the yak. It was the biggest of the night, going 75cm from head to tip.

He was back a few

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nights later. The tides were Daiwa Gekkabijin reel the opposite of his previous spooled with 6lb braid outing – an outgoing tide and 4lb fluoro leader. and lower temperature and Battling the 20km winds low winds. With his electric and occasional showers motor fitted, this time he Luke started flicking some headed out into deeper Westin Hypo Teez 5” roach water before dropping colour soft plastics. anchor. The session started It wasn’t too long before very slowly, with almost his rod buckled. After a few no action for several hours. intense moments amongst He was just about to call it the weeds and snags, Luke a night when BANG – his landed a stunning 62cm rod started screaming and brown trout. It was an peeling line off the reel outstanding effort in trying at high speed. After a few conditions, and I will be intense minutes, he landed heading up there for a his PB gummy from a yak, fish soon. measuring in at 1m and just Until next time, under 3.5kg. A great effort good fishing everyone. I in challenging conditions. encourage you to contact You don’t always me to share your fishing need flashy expensive experiences around gear, as Steve caught Melbourne which can be these gummies using added to next month’s his Jarvis Walker rods article. These need to be paired up with Shimano around Melbourne and Sienna 4000 reels with Port Phillip Bay, anything fresh squid and pilchards from Werribee through to purchased locally.

Port Melbourne and lakes With the weather around Melbourne. You getting colder many of can contact me by email at us will change our sights alan@fishingmad.com.au. from fishing in the bay • I invite you all to follow and targeting trout around my fishing adventures 349 TERRITORY $ Victoria’s many beautiful through my website (www. lakes. STRIKER This month Luke fishingmad.com.au), GST Hynes went for a trip up YouTube channelIncluding (www.

(Tow Away) to Ballarat for some Lake youtube.com/c/fishingmad), Wendouree trout fishing.

Facebook page (www.

It was a cold, drizzly day facebook.com/fishingmad. and Luke was armed only com.au), or Instagram with his ultra-light spin ( w w w. i n s t a g r a m . c o m / • 9.9HP Mercury 4/s rod paired with a 2004 fishingmad.com.au).

FISHING NEWS

Smart cameras installed for safer boating More boaters will be able to check conditions at their local ramp from the comfort of home as Maritime Safety Victoria launches new cameras across Victoria.

The ramp and carpark cameras, which feed live images to the Boating Vic app every five minutes, are already live at six locations, with 19 more lined up this year.

The next cameras to be switched on are at Stony Point (Western Port), St Leonards and Point Richards (Port Phillip Bay), Queenscliff and Torquay. Launches will be announced on Maritime Safety Victoria’s Facebook page.

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Rely on the bread-and-butter fishing in July PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

The inevitable cold, wet and dull days of winter that seemed to stay away for so long have arrived on the bay with a bang this month. It always feels like somebody has flicked a switch at this time of year when the cold sets in, and the start of this winter has been no different. The great change from last year has been that since the recent lifting of the COVID-19 fishing ban in Victoria, our anglers are making the most of every opportunity to get to wet a line. The usual doses of rain and wind and cold, or even all three at once have made this a little challenging at times, but there have been plenty of glamour days on the bay as well.

Many of the bay’s anglers are traditionally more focused on football and other local

Big schools of Australian salmon have been providing anglers with some frantic action and good sport over the past month.

When salmon are feeding on the surface they are great fun. Plenty of anglers have been getting amongst the action!

sporting and family activities at this time of year, and with many of these pastimes currently still off the table, fishing has once again become the major recreational focus for many people. It’s great to see so many families out and about enjoying the outdoors now, and for many of these fishing has been the go-to activity.

The bay can seem to be a little barren in the middle of winter, but there’s still plenty of bread-and-butter fishing on offer. And even better there are still plenty of good snapper to be had out wide, and from the shore in the right conditions, so there are lots of reasons for local anglers to get a bit excited! It might be cold in the mornings, and sometimes wet and windy, but on the flipside, we do get some ripper conditions for fishing and boating at this time of year, so rug up and get out on the bay and have a crack.

While the winter months are not the peak time for snapper anglers in the bay, the

reality is that PPB snapper are an available and reliable target for 12 months of the year.

There have been a few larger fish taken from the wider areas out from Mornington and Mount Martha in 19-21m, and from wider marks further south as well. These fish have been responding to fresh, oily baits like salmon and also garfish and whiting.

There have also been a few big fish taken by landbased anglers, particularly during and after periods of strong onshore winds. This weather brings the snapper

that are holding out wide onto and around the inshore reefs to feed, and during this period the land-based anglers can cash in.

Huge numbers of smaller pinkies are also around most of the onshore reefs at present, and can be positively annoying at times, especially for anglers trying to locate whiting in close on the calmer afternoons. While many of these fish are undersized, there are still plenty of larger models to keep anglers keen.

Lure fishers seem to be the most productive at locating the larger fish, so it’s worth throwing a few plastics around from a drifting boat if you can’t keep a bait in the water. Lure fishing for pinkies is also a great way to get the kids and less experienced anglers into this style of fishing.

Big schools of salmon have been hanging around the Mornington area, no doubt for the past few months, and have been regularly popping up on the surface smashing up hapless schools of baitfish. This has also been a recent feature further north around Black Rock. Frankston, Mornington and Seaford piers, as well as the mouth of Patterson River and Martha Cove are all traditionally great landbased spots, especially during rougher weather. During the calmer days the salmon can be effectively targeted from a drifting boat and are the best light tackle sport you will get in our waters. They also make great bait and are an underrated eating fish if

treated correctly after capture.

The squid fishing has been a little inconsistent over the past month, probably due to an increase in boat traffic, and recent rain or rough weather tends to dirty the water. Once found, they are generally in groups, but will normally not be as active as they are in the warmer months. Be prepared to fish slower and closer to the bottom for results.

Devilbend Reservoir has once again been providing another option for local anglers over the past month, and after the recent introduction of some yearling trout around the beginning of June, plenty of reports flowed in. Estuary perch to 45cm have been regularly taken, and Paul and Jet Worsteling and the IFISH team enjoyed a ripper session recently casting hardbodied lures around the quarry area. I would expect some of the larger trout in the lake to make an appearance as well over the next couple of months, especially during the rougher weather.

The fishing in the Patterson Lakes system has been very good of late, thanks to regular doses of rain. I’ve had reports of some quality mulloway being taken by the dedicated night-time anglers who put plenty of time live baiting the main river at night.

A 55cm estuary perch was also recently taken on a live mullet intended for mulloway.

The everyday bait fishing for mullet and bream in the main river and the lure fishing for bream and perch throughout the canal system has been very good as well.

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Paul and Jet Worsteling and the IFISH crew have been enjoying some recent sessions at Devilbend Reservoir. This great little fishery is a popular winter option for lure anglers.

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91

VIC

Winter options on Western Port WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

It’s still a very sketchy time in Victoria with COVID-19 and the possibility that there might be a second wave due to thousands of people not social distancing anymore. As I write this, they have re-closed some National Parks up in the Dandenong Ranges with the 1000 Steps and Redwood Forest closed. We can only hope that people don’t congregate around boat ramps or we could quickly find ourselves with closed boat ramps, and that

Gawaine Blake displaying his cracking school shark from Bass Strait. Photo supplied by Gawaine Blake. fishing a weedy bank, opt for a two-dropper paternoster rig to keep your baits above the weed. If you’re fishing a sand hole, an extended paternoster rig or running sinker rig will be more beneficial to keep the bait

always great to flick out a jig as calamari are always in the same locations as whiting.

It’s just another way to catch your entrée while catching your main meal.

Gummy sharks have also been in good numbers, with the Western Entrance really firing up. From Buoy 11 to the Fairway Buoy it hasn’t been hard for anglers to come into contact with some solid gummies. Fishing this stretch of water is no easy feat due to the strength of the current, but once you have that sorted, there is a plethora of sharks you can catch here such as gummy, school sharks, thresher sharks, seven gill sharks amongst others.

Oily baits and calamari rings make the perfect baits but there is no need to make them too big. When presenting baits on a hook, leave as much hook exposure as possible so to get a solid hook set.

Mind you, if the weather

It’s great to still see the odd elephant shark being caught, although nearly all of them should have finished their season by now. Photo supplied by Justin Blythe.

Brian Rinaldi caught this solid gummy while fishing offshore with his son Simon. Photo supplied by Red Hot Fishing Charters.

The beaches are fishing extremely well for salmon.

This beast was caught by Brian Rinaldi. won’t be cool for anyone.

Over the past few weeks the fishing has been very respectable for those braving the colder conditions. It is nice to think that spring is only two months away and that means snapper time, but for the time being there are plenty of options on the Port.

The Tyabb and Quail banks are continuing to produce good bags of whiting, which is surprising as I thought they would have slowed up by now.

The whiting have also been quite prolific throughout the Port, with the Middle Spit, Tankerton, Rhyll, Ventnor and Balnarring all producing quality fish. Using berley has been effective in attracting the fish to the area, with pipi and squid strips the top baits.

The location you’re fishing will dictate the rig you should use. If you’re 92

JULY 2020

closer to the bottom.

And don’t forget the squid rod. Whenever you are fishing for whiting it is

David managed his PB gummy while Brian also caught another cracker. Both fish were caught out near Cape Schank.

Justin Blythe also had a top session fishing with his mate Kye. After managing a solid gummy shark, they also pulled up an elephant shark.

Elephants should be few and far between in the Port now but it is still good to see the odd one about.

LAND-BASED FISHING Land-based fishing is really going well, with plenty of anglers having success.

Flinders Pier is producing some really nice calamari but don’t expect the fishing to be red hot. You have to be patient to succeed here.

is flat and calm you might want to creep outside and see what’s about. Gawaine Blake from Salt Guide did just that

David caught this cracking gummy while fishing offshore with his dad and brother Simon. Photo supplied by Red Hot Fishing Charters.

Justin Blythe took his friend Kye out for a gummy session where Kye managed this nice model. Photo supplied by Justin Blythe.

and found himself connected to a monster school shark which they got on film. Both Bass Strait and Western Port can surprise you when you drop a bait down; you never know what you’re going to hook in the deep.

Brian Rinaldi headed out with his boys David and Simon for some offshore fishing also and struck it rich with some beasts.

Fishing the tides is your best bet, particularly the high tide at night when the calamari move in towards the pier to feed. This is because the lights from the pier attract baitfish and it is easy pickings for the calamari.

If you do head down here, it is a good idea to fish a silver whiting on the squid jag under a float while To page 93

VIC

Zero in on your target PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

An average winter in Victoria can be hard enough for any business, particularly tackle stores, but this winter will be the most difficult that many businesses will face.

They won’t always be able to match the price, but all a business ever asks is for a chance.

It may be winter at the island but that doesn’t mean there are no fish around, it just means an extra layer of clothing, a little more looking for the fish and realistic expectations. Do

different species on the open beaches rather than just heading down with the surf rod for a salmon or two. In recent weeks we have had reports of pinkies, flathead, gummies and even whiting from the open beaches. Customers are also using different methods, and not just the traditional 12’ rods and paternoster rigs.

We are starting to see a lot more lures and soft plastics used on smaller 7’6” to 9’ spinning rods. The best part about this fishing is there’s no need to carry bait, you can fit all your gear in a waist belt tackle box and on a cold day it helps to keep warm while you walk a few kilometres along the beach.

Don’t throw the surf rod away though because you need the right conditions to fish with the lighter gear.

Don’t forget the rivers at this time of the year for estuary perch.

Jamie caught this quality 47cm EP from the Powlett River.

Chloe loves chasing squid.

However, there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and with customer support and good management most businesses will survive.

What has helped many local businesses is the huge support they have received from their customers.

I have spoken to many small business owners and company reps, and they say they have noticed increased customer support, which they are very appreciative of. Your support will help to ensure that your local shops are still there at the end of this. If you see a product you like online, don’t buy it right away – head to your local store instead and see what they can do for you.

From page 92

casting an artificial jig about. Both methods are productive.

With so many whiting about, it may also be a good option to try catching them from the Balnarring Beach. This beach is well known for producing whiting and with so many whiting about at the moment, this beach will continue to produce some good fish as it has been recently.

Another location located on Phillip Island called Cleeland Bight has also been producing some exceptional calamari for land-based anglers.

Though shallow, a silver whiting suspended about

this and you will have a much more enjoyable day out fishing.

More anglers have turned their focus to landbased fishing, with many boats on lay-up insurance or under cover in the shed. The surf beaches haven’t really fired up for the last few years but there haven’t been too many problems getting a few salmon or two. If you are going to head to the surf beach over the next few months don’t forget to throw in the binoculars because it’s whale season.

There have been several sightings already, close to the beaches at Woolamai.

These days we’re seeing more anglers targeting 1m from a float is the most effective technique. Ideally you want to be fishing the high tide when they are in close. If you fancy a walk, you can also walk down the entrance and fish under the sand dunes. The current does run fairly hard here but you have a fair chance of catching a good gummy shark or pinkie snapper at this time of the year.

Being winter, now is also the time to be hitting the surf beaches for salmon. Cape Woolamai, Anzacs and Colonnades are the three most productive locations to be targeting salmon and they have been going extremely well.

Salmon have a knack of swimming from gutter

Steve with a quality winter calamari. to gutter though, so it pays to use some berley to keep them in the gutter you’re fishing. That way, you can maximise your success and catch a good quantity of fish rather than just a few.

If you’re a sports fisher rather than a bait fisher, you can also walk the beaches spinning with metal slugs.

Anything weighted 25-40g will be sufficient. Just find a gutter and put in a solid amount of casts before moving off to the next. This style of fishing is a lot of fun and very easy to do.

As as long as you rug up from the cold, the fishing on and around Western Port is extremely productive.

It’s just a matter of getting out there.

Anglers have reported catching salmon from almost all the surf beaches, fishing the gutters and holes, with the bigger ones coming from off the island, Kilcunda and Williamsons.

Better numbers have been coming from the Woolamai beaches, although the average size has been smaller.

Reports of the other species have come from beaches where there is a bit of structure. Locations to try include Kilcunda near the old bridge, Woolamai Surf Club around to the left near the rocks, Smiths Beach off the rocks, and Bore Beach towards the rocks. In all these areas you can have success fishing

the edges of the rocks or shallows. Don’t forget when fishing along the rock areas to use rigs and sinkers that don’t get snagged as easily.

The calamari have been very inconsistent since fishing has been allowed again, but we have still seen some quality models caught. We haven’t seen the numbers that normally show up in the late autumn but when you catch four or five that are all over 1kg that’s plenty for a feed and baits. Although there would be many schools of calamari in the bay, the reports are coming in from what seems like only one area each day, as if there is only one school. We are at that stage of the season where the type and colour of the jig doesn’t make much sense, so it’s best if you have a few options in your tackle box.

Whiting are usually difficult to find at this time of year, but when you do find them they’re of reasonable quality. During winter the whiting don’t move around as much and the best idea is to decide on which tide you want to fish, pick an area and just work that area over the tide change. Almost every report we are getting is telling us the same thing: fish come on just before the tide change, and as soon as the tide stops the fish stop.

It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s an incoming or outgoing tide.

Customers are finding a lot of toadies, especially in Dickies Bay, so they are switching to pilchards to catch their whiting. Those fishing in Cleeland Bight are saying they are not seeing any todies, but the whiting fishing is slower there.

It’s also time to head to the beaches on the moon and the four days either side to chase a gummy

or two. The reports have been mixed, even in the boats, with a lot of smaller gummies showing up and only the odd bigger, take home model being caught.

The weather hasn’t helped over the last couple of full moons, with strong winds or rain keeping people away, and there has only been a very small handful fishing.

Don’t forget to try the new moon also as we usually get several reports from those anglers who prefer that phase of the moon, and the weather is normally much better too.

If you’re fishing on the land or on a boat for gummies, put the time in before your planned trip and head down to your closest surf beach and try to catch a couple of fresh salmon for bait.

As I said, it’s best to lower your expectations in winter, think a little differently and target a specific species rather than just heading out for whatever comes along. Now is also a good time for those repairs you have been going to do, need a rod fixed, reel serviced or re-spooled, then half time in the football is all it will take for you to get them organised to drop off at your local tackle shop.

Sadly, many anglers leave it until the day before they are heading out for a fishing trip, and it not always possible to get it done then.

And remember that it won’t be too long before the sun will come out, the days will warm up and the fishing will fire up. The last couple of years we have seen good numbers of snapper in August and early September, and don’t forget to fill up the bait freezer from August when the calamari show up and the schools of salmon come a bit closer to the beaches.

JULY 2020

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VIC

A rush to hit the water LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

After six weeks with no recreational boating and fishing, many keen anglers were starting to run out of jobs to occupy themselves.

When restrictions were finally eased, recreational anglers were on the water ASAP, getting the outdoorsy fishing fix they had very much missed.

The Gippsland Lakes changed during the lockdown, with the lakes’ water temperature dropping away and winter fishing patterns begin to settle in.

Fish such as Australian

salmon, tailor and silver trevally are now really starting to turn up in good numbers, and are commonly found around the many wharfs scattered through the lower lakes.

Whitebait schools are a common sight throughout the cooler months. These large schools attract a lot of attention from predators hunting throughout the lower lakes, including species such as Australia salmon, tailor and many more. These fish have actively worked the bait schools and have made for some great light tackle sportfishing. Small metal jigs and minnowstyle soft plastics have been

some of the best options, matching the small bait that these aggressive hunters have preyed on.

Snapper have slowly become a bit more of regular sight in the Gippsland Lakes, with fish around 30-35cm starting to make a reasonable presence, especially in areas such as Nungurner and Metung Yacht Club.

The many weed beds scattered through the lower lakes provide ideal areas for King George whiting.

Areas from the weed beds around Rigby Island all the way up to Metung have all been reasonably consistent, with anglers finding great

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Small micro jigs like this Majorcraft JigPara are appealing to a wide variety of predators. success fishing fresh baits to the weed edges.

Throughout recent years the sand whiting have become increasingly popular in the Gippsland Lakes, and you can find good numbers of both whiting species scattered around the lakes.

LAKE TYERS The lake system is at an all time low. Areas of the lake have become extremely hard to access, and many favourite snags and shallow flats are high and dry, making for some interesting fishing. It has caused many anglers to re-learn the system and find new areas that will hold fish.

The many deeper mud flats have become shallow flats now, and have offered some solid bream fishing.

I find that Structure Scan is incredibly handy to find the shallow mud flats and feeding fish. Areas such as the island have been extremely productive, and small blades have been the most deadly technique for me when worked across the shallow flats.

Monster tailor still patrol the lake, with fish up to the 80cm mark being caught and stealing peoples lures and baits. These big tailor seem to be patrolling the majority of the lake, yet areas such as Blackfellows Arm has seen the majority of the action. Many anglers have targeted these monster

tailor trolling metal lures, especially early or late in the day.

Quality dusky flathead are still being caught. The majority have been in the higher reaches of the lake system in areas such as Devils Hole, as these large flathead are seeking out warmer water. A varied approach is best at this time of year, and mixing up

your lure or bait sizes can make a massive difference in your success rate.

HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for fish lately and have a great photo, please send it to stevenprykefishing@ gmail.com with a short description and you could be featured in the edition of Fishing Monthly.

Winter can sometimes be tough for fishing Lake Tyers, but quality bream like this make it worth the effort.

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East Coast

Life returning to normal MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Finally the fishing ban has been lifted and people can once again head out for a fish. The COVID-19 fishing lockdown, coming on the heels of the bushfires, has

given fish a good break, and on the whole this has to be good for the fishery.

With the caravan parks and accommodation businesses allowed to open, there should be an influx of visitors to the area. Like everywhere else, customers are much needed to help the local businesses get up and

Mallacoota local Unya Boadle is happy with her catch after a day out chasing gummy shark and flathead.

running once again.

The local beaches have seen the salmon turn up and the next few months their numbers will only increase.

It pays to be mobile when chasing salmon, and this is where fishing with metal lures is great as it’s easy to wander along casting lures into likely-looking gutters until you find the fish. The rising tide the best time to be fishing.

Some of the keen locals have been heading offshore chasing a feed of fish and they haven’t been disappointed, with catches of both sand and tiger flathead along with some good catches of gummy shark. The coming months will see the water temperature really drop away and this will really slow down the flathead fishing. The gummies, however, should still be on the bite through the winter months. Mallacoota’s remoteness really keeps the offshore fishing in good condition; with miles of coastline there are so many spots to fish with only one boat ramp for access, and this means some areas hardly ever get fished.

Around the Christmas period there was some great prawning to be had, and things have only got better.

With the lake still closed to the ocean the prawns have

gone nowhere, they are just getting bigger. It is well worth braving the cold and getting out there and catching a feed.

The bottom lake has been fishing well for yellowfin bream, with the back of Goodwin Sands a good spot to chase a feed. Silver trevally along with some good size tailor are also being caught.

Whether you’re using bait or lures, keep on the move until fish are found.

The dusky flathead are still about over the colder months, and you need to find an area where fish are and fish it thoroughly. With the cold water it pays to move the lure slower than you normally would in the summer months

The coming months will see the black bream fishing really fire up. as the fish are a lot more lethargic.

Winter is the time to fish for black bream, as the fish will be making their way upstream as they head towards spawning. At this time of year

they can be tricky to catch, and finding the right area and the right lure is always a challenge. Once again, keep on the move and keep changing your lure until you can find the lure they will have a go at.

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Robyn Sturgess

As of 1 June we were allowed to open for business again, which is great. The fishing has been good too; anglers fishing the surf beaches have been nicely rewarded with salmon and tailor. The lake is two thirds full and the fishing has been reasonably good.

We would like to bring

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There will be no excuses for people heading out onto the water, or travelling along our highways without

all these safety factors being up to speed.

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95

East Coast

VIC

Gippsland anglers set free GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

When Vic anglers got the green light to fish again, it was like a competition – who could catch a fish the quickest. I was sent happy photos with titles

like, ‘Virus victory’, ‘Number one after lockdown’ or ‘First fish PC’ (post COVID).

With so many anglers hitting the water recently, the reports over the last few weeks have been coming in thick and fast. I’ve been rather busy myself! The weather may be cold but

the fishing has been red hot, so I’ve got plenty of news and some tips for the coming month ahead.

HOLLANDS LANDING Those anglers lure fishing for bream have had some excellent sport, and it’s been a very hectic time.

Over the last few weeks the bream sizes have been

Kyle Pettie with one of the biggest estuary perch caught at Hollands Landing in years. It weighed in at 2.23kg and went 50cm, and took a Sprat 65 soft plastic.

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very impressive, with most anglers netting fish between 38-46cm. In fact, it’s been rare to hook fish under 35cm, but quite often lure fishing will attract the bigger bream.

Once again, most keen anglers are heading to the McLennans Strait and launching at the Hollands Landing boat ramp. The Strait is certainly living up to its reputation for the biggest bream in the Gippy Lakes.

Father and son duo Dave and Jack Morris loaded the Hobie kayaks up and made a trip to the area recently and caught some ripper estuary perch and bream to 41cm all on blade lures. I watched Dave wrestle in three consecutive bream, all around 40cm in as many casts, and each one was a battle to pull from the snaggy edge. Dave also netted a nice perch about 38cm on the same Hurricane blade he used all morning in the phantom Apache colour.

Jack hooked his first big fish for the morning and shredded it to the deep timber after a very brief scuffle. He got revenge though and soon after lifted in a hefty 41cm bream on the same lure his dad was using.

On the same day Jason Deenan joined me in the same area and we ended the day with 20 bream and eight perch between us.

The fish were tight in the snags and we lost quite a few lures to timber, and sadly a few fights ended with shredded leaders.

We measured bream to 45cm, with most of them ranging from 38-42cm, and the perch ranged from 37-46cm.

THUMPING PERCH AND BREAM Another father and son duo, Tony and Kyle Pettie, launched at Hollands Landing and mainly worked upstream at Seacombe.

Kyle landed the first four fish using a soft plastic 65mm Sprat while dad was reduced to being ‘net boy’!

Then later in the day Kyle pulled in a real trophy prize and landed one of the biggest estuary perch

Jason Deenan with a 42cm bream. Fish this size have been fairly common right across the Gippy Lakes over the last month. caught in The Straits for a lot of years. He hauled in a huge 2.23kg EP that sat on the brag mat at 50cm long. The boys landed about eight bream to 44cm and two perch including another nice EP at 46cm that Tony caught.

Inspired by Kyle’s cracker fish I fished the same area a few days later and put in a long day to release eight perch to 46cm and nine ripper big bream including a real thumper going 47.5cm and 1.79kg.

A lot of bait anglers using good old frozen prawn have been out in Lake Wellington from Marlay Point over to Tuckers and are all getting very nice bream to 40cm each trip.

THE RIVERS Mark Ramsay and Wayne Morley from Traralgon sent me a detailed report that included the three big rivers. The boys caught plenty of fish for the day in all locations. Mark said the Mitchell was full of squeaky bream under 30cm and the best one went 32cm. He said the highway bridge pylons held a few perch to 35cm and a lot of bait anglers were lining the banks from Bairnsdale all the way down to the mouth

of the river.

The Nicholson River has big schools of bream sitting in the deeper sections between the highway and the old rail bridge. Most of the bream are once again fairly modest fish with a few over 30cm.

Mark also had a good look in the lower Tambo River and said the schools of bream were massive from the mouth of the river all the way up to Johnsonville.

Reports from other anglers tell me that much bigger bream over 40cm have moved into the higher reaches of all those three rivers and have been caught on lures and bait.

LOOKING AHEAD The next few weeks will see more anglers heading to Hollands Landing and I’m tipping a lot of big bream and perch will continue to be caught right up until early August.

And the trend of big bream in the upper reaches of all the big rivers feeding into the lakes should also last all winter. I’m quite sure lure anglers will discover some excellent sport in river snags over the next few months but be warned – if you fish light leaders be prepared to lose a lot of gear.

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97

VIC

Quality over quantity WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

When Vi c t o r i a n government lifted its COVID-19 fishing ban in the middle of May, many anglers including myself went crazy. I couldn’t get back up into the hills fast enough.

My first trip back saw

be forced to fish the lakes if we want to catch a trout, and thankfully there are plenty around.

Lake William Hovell is the best wild trout lake in the Wangaratta area.

Many anglers head up there each winter chasing trout, with winged lures such as Tasmanian Devils usually producing the best results.

Small minnows work

being the slowest. For this reason I will often switch to soft plastics and target redfin then.

A bit further away, Lake Dartmouth is one of the best trout fishing lakes in the state. It fishes almost identically to Lake William Hovell, except there are no redfin.

One technique that is much more popular at Lake

Brett Corker caught this huge carp in Lake Moodemere in May. Lake Moodemere slows down a lot in winter but it can still fish OK. school holidays.

Each one of these waterways proves very popular for anglers during the winter months, with pan-sized rainbow trout ready to catch and take

I strongly encourage adults to put the kids and disabled people first by practicing catch and release so there are plenty of fish left for the people who will benefit mostly from these fantastic

you catch nothing.

Try upsizing your lure.

I have had great success with 3” curl-tail grub soft plastics in the past, with white and yellow colours being my favourite.

Once the fishing ban was lifted many anglers ventured out fishing for trout. Drifting worms proved to be the most successful technique as a result of the wet autumn. some of the best trout fishing that I have experienced all season, and it was a similar story for many anglers around the area.

Now here’s what can we look forward to in July.

TROUT The trout streams

well also, and another type of lure that I have had a lot of success with up there is blades such as the Damiki Vault 42 and TT Switchblade. My favourite size is 7g.

I find the low light periods of the day to be

Dartmouth is downrigging.

Trolling with a downrigger allows your lure to be worked at greater depths and can be a great way to target trout during the brightest times of the day.

There are plenty of stocked trout lakes and ponds around the region as well, stocked under the Victorian Family Friendly Fisheries program. Lake Sambell in Beechworth, Tronoh Dredge in Harrietville, Allans Flat waterhole, Fosters Lake in Glenrowan, Merriwa Park Lake in Wangaratta, Stanley Dam in Stanley, Upper Sandy Creek Dam at Sandy Creek and several small dams in suburban Wodonga are all stocked with yearling rainbow trout at the end of June, in time for the winter

Redfin can be caught in July but you need to work very hard to find them. home to be cooked.

These waterways are stocked primarily to encourage kids and families to go fishing during the school holidays and for people with mobility issues who can not venture into the harder to get to places in the wild. For this reason,

Charlie caught this 50cm Murray cod late in May in the Ovens River, proving that patience pays off when the water is icy cold. are all closed, with trout season closing on the Queen’s birthday weekend in June and reopening in September. With the streams off limits we will 98

JULY 2020

the best at Lake William Hovell. Both sunrise and sunset have proven quite productive for me over the years with the brightest time of the day usually

This nice redfin took a Strike Tiger 3” curl-tail grub in banana shock colour in May, as the water was getting very cold. These redfin will bite in the depths of winter too, if you can find them.

little waterways.

REDFIN July can be a very tough time to catch redfin. Huge numbers of small redfin just don’t happen in July, and neither does wet wading around the perimeter of lakes to target them!

However, larger redfin tend to be caught most often in the depths of winter.

Winter redfin fishing is all about quality and not quantity, but anglers must be very patient as they can be very hard to find.

Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo are popular redfin waterways in the Wangaratta area, with Lake Hume just up the road near Albury also being very popular.

The key to winter redfin fishing is to constantly move around and look for the fish, or for the schools of fish. Be prepared for fishless trips as you search for that monster winter redfin, and don’t give up if

MURRAY COD As with the redfin, winter can be a very tough time to catch Murray cod in the Wangaratta area as the water is icy cold and the fish really shut down.

Last August I caught a Murray cod in Wangaratta angling with worms. I just needed to get out, so I went to the Ovens River with my fishing rods and some worms, expecting to catch nothing. Instead I caught one Murray cod, one carp and one redfin.

Late in May my friend Tim Galley and his friend Charlie caught a few Murray cod in Wangaratta using cheese as bait, despite the cold frosty weather.

So, as with the redfin, if you are fishing for Murray cod in the Wangaratta area in July, I suggest using bait over lures, and I also suggest that you practice plenty of patience as that will be the key to your winter fishing success.

VIC

Vic anglers back on the water ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

And just like that, you were not allowed to fish in Victoria. The COVID shutdown had rods gathering dust and the bottom lip dragging on the ground as days turned into weeks, and weeks into months.

With every piece of angling equipment cleaned, stacked, racked, and boxed several times over it was great to finally get back on the water after the lockdown.

My first trip out was a breath of fresh air, and although I went fishless I once more felt at home on the water. I was so rusty that my lures

Brett Evans trolled this nice sized Murray cod near Mildura ahead of the dirty flow once the Vic fishing ban was lifted.

Golden perch were keen to muscle in on the lure action in both the Mildura and Wentworth pool sections of the river. This one took a No.1 StumpJumper. zinged well wide of the target, and a string of tangles marked a seasoned hand well out of training. How

quickly the skill level slips when you have not been on the water for a while! Never mind, there will be plenty of

fishing done now, providing ample time to get back in the angling groove.

In the weeks leading up

to the lifting of restrictions, the Murray River at Swan Hill was running low and clear. Perfect for lure fishing and prime time for the topwater bite, the local cod had a reprieve from angling intrusions and were saved by the dirty flows just as fishing restrictions were lifted. With lure fishing way too hard in the dirty water, keen anglers opted for bait, and some sizable cod and golden perch were landed from the Murray River in Swan Hill both above and below the road bridge in town. Best baits for the cod were chicken and scrub-worms while the perch were taking scrub-worms, river shrimp and small yabbies. With the peak of the flow now through town, the river has once again started dropping and fingers crossed in the coming weeks it will clear enough to break out the

Good sized Murray cod were landed above the weir at Wentworth on trolled lures. lures. I suspect the cod will be lining up to smash them as it’s been a while since they last had one swim past.

The dirty flows continued downstream so it was a similar story along the Murray around Boundary Bend, where the dirty water beat the lifting of the fishing ban with bait accounting for cod and perch. The Murray River from Belsar Island down to Robinvale was the same but a refreshing bite has seen good numbers of small Murray cod landed to the point of multiple fish from almost every snag fished. A promising sign for the future. Let’s hope

we do not have a follow up Blackwater event this year with floods down the track looking a real possibility.

Anglers hitting the Murray around Mildura and Wentworth were just in time to beat the dirty flow and the lure fishing provided some great action in both sections of pool water. Numerous big cod were trolled to 115cm on deep-diving lures while lure size did not deter the perch with most anglers bagging out on good sized fish to 50cm. As I write this piece the dirty water has arrived at these locations so for the next month bait fishing will provide most of the action.

FISHERIES NEWS

Costly calamari catch for illegal fisher A St Albans man who took 96 calamari over three fishing trips near Queenscliff last spring has been convicted, prohibited from fishing for six months, fined $750 and forfeited his 4.35m aluminium boat worth $8,000.

Victorian Fisheries Authority Director of Education and Enforcement Ian Parks said the man pleaded guilty in the Geelong Magistrates Court last week to exceeding the calamari catch limit on three occasions, fishing inside a Marine National Park and boating safety offences.

Fisheries Officers observed the man on three separate days in October 2019, during Operation Focus, take more than the calamari

catch limit, which is 10 per person per day.

“On one occasion, the man made two trips in a day with his wife. On the first trip he was observed taking 5 calamari in the morning.

He launched his boat again in the afternoon and took another 17 calamari, including 5 from within the Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park, where fishing is not permitted.

“A week later, the man took 8 calamari in the early morning. He returned to the boat ramp to collect his wife, took another 8, then retrieved his boat and left Queenscliff. In the afternoon, he returned with his wife and took 17 more, making 33 calamari for the day.

“On a third occasion, the man took 18 calamari in the morning, retrieved his boat and travelled to Melbourne.

TO FILL He returned in the afternoon with his wife and took 23 more, making 41 in total.

“Soon after, Fisheries

Officers intercepted him at the boat ramp where he initially claimed the calamari were all they’d caught that day and

were taken by himself and his wife. However, during a subsequent formal interview the man admitted to taking

all the calamari himself and being fully aware of the daily bag limit.”

Mr Parks said multitripping to exceed the daily catch limit and appear compliant at the boat ramp is a deliberate and serious attempt to deceive and is unfair to legitimate recreational and commercial fishers who abide by the rules.

“Victoria boasts excellent calamari fisheries along the coast, including Port Phillip Bay, and we want to keep it that way for a species that continues to grow in popularity, both for bait and human consumption.”

To report suspicious or illegal fishing activity call 13FISH (133474) anytime. You can remain anonymous. Make the call and make the difference. – Fisheries Victoria JULY 2020

99

VIC

Anglers get green light SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

The moment restrictions were lifted many locals fired up the boats or walked the banks of every local river, lake and channel to try their luck.

For many of us it was like cod opening again, with months just waiting for the green light to get our fish on.

However, there was a very big difference from cod opening where we get heaps of action and plenty of reports of fish being caught. This time, the lifting of the fishing ban was met with a lot of disappointing doughnuts. So many locals fished hard once restrictions were lifted, and weeks after the green light was given, many had yet to land a fish.

The river levels were a bit up and down due to the rain we had, and that resulted in a lot of dirty water, but it was nothing we had not seen in the past.

There were a couple of reports of cod being caught on bait out towards Toolamba but that was about it for the Goulburn River. The next few months will be all about the big gear in the Goulburn and even the Broken River. When

it comes to lures this winter, I recommend the locallydesigned Balista Tremor, with its interchangeable bibs.

If you’re going to put in the hours in the colder months you may as well be fishing big baits or lures, and that can be tough with lighter gear. If your budget allows, I suggest the Miller Rods Ambush or even a Switch Freak with a reel such as the Shimano Curado or Cranx.

The Broken River has not really fished well with big lures, but that doesn’t mean you should rule them out completely – it may just be that the fish need to see a different kind of big bait.

You might think the Broken is too small for big baits, but on YouTube there are a few clips of cod taking big lures in other smaller river systems, and the local lads involved in Big Bass Dreams show you don’t always need super deep water to catch fish on bigger lures. These lads are mostly using big Defiant swimbaits, and if you have the big dream fish mentality in smaller water you may be surprised at what you can land from a smaller system like the Broken River.

If you’re chasing a feed of crayfish, the main areas downstream of Nagambie

to about Toolamba seem to produce the most decentsized crays.

There are a few locals who drop nets in behind the Shepp Lake in some of the deeper bends and they have been known to catch a bag limit. This can be a nice easy spot to go if you’re not able to spend a full weekend away chasing crays. Make sure you’re up to date with all the rules and regulations with the cray fishing season now here.

KIALLA LAKES The quiet times at Kialla are here to stay for a couple of months. If I end up fishing Kialla in the next few months I will be going super slow with things like a black Berkley Gulp or a 3” Keitech Easy Shiner in a natural green colour. If you’re fishing the weed edges I would be using a weedless hook, either weighted or (if you’re looking for super finesse presentation) weightless, fished hard into the cover, weed or willows.

A long 7ft+ rod will make this a lot easier to fish and it’s as simple as a wiggle of the tip. You don’t need a huge rod lift or whip, as all you will do is drag the lure away from the cover. Throw in a pause as the fish will eat a scented bait off the bottom. There is the odd

Shepparton’s Josh Trew doing some big things with Big Bass Dreams Australia. This fish was caught earlier in the year, which shows there are some big fish in the area. redfin and yellowbelly caught in the winter months but it’s very hard work.

SHEPPARTON LAKE The trout will be the main attraction at the Shepparton Lake, and casting small spinners or floating baits will be your best bet.

You do see a few locals fly fishing in the lake and it’s something I haven’t done yet, so if you do fly fish at the lake I would welcome some reports of catches and best types of flies and set-ups for this to help in future reports.

There still will be the odd yellowbelly and cod caught in the winter period, and working the weed pockets is your best

bet for targeting natives.

WARANGA BASIN The Basin sits at over 80% which is something we haven’t seen for a few years, as this time of year the Basin is usually on the drop and the spike rise doesn’t happen until August/September. The sharp rise in water has not helped the fishing, with a lot of dirty water making it tough on lure fishing. Those drifting baits have had some success but not like they normally would.

Hopefully by the time this article comes out the water levels have gotten steady and the water clarity gets back to where it was pre-COVID. All the usual spots will

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LOCAL CHANNELS I put in numerous sessions in all my favourite spots in the channels prior to writing this article and unfortunately didn’t have much luck. I tried almost every trick in the book – loud lures, quiet lures, soft plastics and topwater – but I could only manage a couple of bites.

Many others have had the same experience but hopefully by now the water levels have settled and the fish are back on the chew.

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VIC

Back on the water BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

There is an old saying, “You never miss a good thing until it’s gone.” This certainly rang true for many anglers during the COVID-19 lockdown, but with the easing of restrictions we are now seeing anglers going out and enjoying the amazing experience that fishing gives to people’s lives. It has been great to see a real sense of positivity back in the community.

Winter in Victoria can present some real challenges when it comes to going fishing, so with the cold temperatures you need to prepare accordingly. The rewards are definitely there for those anglers who are willing to put the time and effort in, so get out there and enjoy the winter fishing experience.

LAKE EPPALOCK We have seen some steady inflows back into Lake Eppalock in recent weeks.

At the time of writing this report the lake was at 35% of capacity and slowly rising.

Water clarity is currently poorest in the Twin Rivers and Mount Ida sections of the lake due to the recent inflows.

The water catchments

for Lake Eppalock are now saturated due to the good rainfall over the last few months. Any more significant rainfall is going to produce good runoff into the lake.

Another very encouraging sign is the rising water levels in the impoundments above Lake Eppalock. These impoundments are currently at 70% of capacity and slowly rising. If these impoundments of Upper Coliban, Lauriston and Malmsbury reservoirs reach capacity this is when Lake Eppalock can start to fill rapidly.

The fishing at Lake Eppalock has remained tough.

The majority of anglers fishing this destination at present are disappointed with the results. However, there are a small number of switched-on anglers who have still been producing some good results on the redfin. The majority of redfin have been caught in deep water, with the depth range greater than 10m being the most productive.

For those anglers bait fishing for the redfin, small yabbies have been the go. The most productive lure technique for the redfin has been casting and retrieving soft plastics, hopping them across the bottom. The most productive colours have been white and clear coloured patterns.

Trolling deep diving hardbody lures or downrigging lures is also a good technique at this time of the year when targeting redfin.

At the present time there are very few anglers chasing the native fish in Lake Eppalock. There has been the occasional golden perch being caught but the majority of these have been a by-catch by those anglers chasing the redfin.

CAMPASPE RIVER The water clarity is poor in the majority of the Campaspe River. The water clarity is currently the best in the section directly below Lake Eppalock, and the water clarity reduces the further downstream you go.

If you do plan a day fishing the Campaspe with lures, you are best off concentrating from the Barnadown section upstream to the wall at Lake Eppalock. The catch rates have been low, but if you put the time in small numbers of golden perch, redfin and the occasional Murray cod has been caught.

If you are fishing downstream of Barnadown then bait fishing with worms, yabbies and shrimp if you can get them are your best options.

For those anglers wanting to fish these sections with lures the occasional Murray cod has

This trophy redfin was caught by the author downrigging on a Custom Crafted Basshunter lure. been caught on surface lures.

The other good lure options have been lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits in bright colour schemes such as pink, chartreuse and orange.

CAIRN CURRAN Water levels are still rising slowly in Cairn Curran.

At the time of writing this report water levels were at 39% of capacity. The water clarity is currently average in the majority of the reservoir.

Redfin are making up the majority of anglers’ catch rates at the present time. Bait fishing with worms and small yabbies has been a good option for the redfin. Casting and retrieving soft plastics has also been working. The numbers of golden perch being caught at this destination has really reduced over the last few months due to the falling water temperatures.

This time of the year is a good time to target the

resident trout populations of Cairn Curran. Over the last few seasons the trout fishing has been very disappointing.

The Lake has continued to receive stockings from Victorian fisheries over the last few years. Good options for the trout fishing is to go bait fishing the edges of the lake with corn, gents or worms. Trolling the edges of the lake with winged-style lures and small minnow-style lures is also a good option.

LODDON RIVER Water clarity is only average in the majority of the Loddon River at present.

Catch rates have been low, but there have still been some quality fish being landed.

Small numbers of golden perch and the occasional Murray cod has been landed by those anglers bait fishing. Worms, yabbies and bardy grubs have been the best options.

For those anglers targeting the Murray cod, small numbers are still being caught on surface lures and swimbaits. Casting large lipless crankbaits has been the most productive technique.

Casting large hardbody lures has also produced a small amount of success on the Murray cod. Another good technique, but very underutilized in the Loddon River, is trolling heavy weighted spinnerbaits in the deepest sections of the river.

Casting small to medium sized lipless crankbaits is a good technique when targeting the golden perch at this time of the year.

Remember retrieval speeds are very critical to success at this time of the year. Native fish slow down due to the cold water temperatures and retrieval speeds need to be slowed down accordingly if you want success!

Winter shades: blackfish and Blue Rock WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

The stream trout season is now well and truly closed and will re-open on the first weekend of September. The forced restrictions on fishing combined with good rainfall across West and South Gippsland in early autumn will hopefully mean a good spawning season ahead.

Freshwater anglers should not despair as there are still plenty of choices locally for the upcoming month. For those who enjoy being out on the streams of West and South Gippsland, blackfish and eel are good winter options. If winter stream fishing is not your thing, then Blue Rock Lake will whet your winter appetite with Australian bass and lake trout on offer.

The river blackfish is often overlooked as a target species, but younger anglers are discovering the joy of chasing this unique freshwater fish. Shortfinned and long-finned eel are other overlooked species and can be a lot of fun on light gear. All are good alternatives when

Big smiles from Flynn and Blake Gravener.

When restrictions were lifted they were one of the first anglers out trolling on Blue Rock Lake, and were rewarded with a 33cm brown trout. the stream trout season has come to an end for another season.

Blackfish and eel species are best targeted

on dusk and well into the night so be prepared and rug-up; the hunt for these night-time active species certainly requires a sense

of adventure. Having said that, these species can be caught during the day so those afraid of the dark can also get amongst the action.

The key spots to look for along any stream are dark, slow-moving water or deep holes which provide blackfish and eel the perfect habitat to snare their prey. They are ambush predators and can take their time before seizing a wellpresented live bait.

From time to time, blackfish have been known to take lures, but it’s rare.

Worms are by far the best bait and are best fished using a small hook (sizes 4-10 are typical) on a small running sinker to hold the bottom.

If the water is moving very slow or you are fishing a backwater or eddy, then a ball float suspending a bait off the bottom is also a good basic technique and reduces the risk of sinker and line being snared on underwater snags.

Key rivers holding blackfish and eel include the larger downstream runs of the Lang Lang, Bass, Bunyip, Tarago and Latrobe rivers. Heading further east and into a bit more rugged country, the downstream runs of the Tanjil and Thomson rivers

offer some good sized night-time native fish. In fact, most streams and drainage channels that flow into Westernport Bay or the estuary systems running in to Bass Strait hold blackfish and eel.

The season for river blackfish south of the Great Divide closes on 1 September and re-opens on 31 December. There is no season on eel.

Blue Rock over winter is the best time of year for surface trout activity.

Land-based fishing has yielded good results this winter already, with plenty of anglers having success from the shore. Most fish caught since the restrictions lifted have been pan-sized brown trout. The lake is at capacity, and trout will be coming in close to the shoreline cruising for a feed. Rainbow trout are out in the lake but are few and far between. Flat-line trolling has been the most common method for boat and kayak anglers.

Blue Rock is also producing lots of winter bass and redfin, but not every day is action packed; some days are very quiet.

At this time of the year the fish switch on and off very quickly, which can

be terribly frustrating.

Anglers are doing well sounding up big schools of both bass and redfin out in the lake anywhere from 3-10m deep. Target fish using ice jigs, soft plastics and live worms.

This time of the year the fish are holding tight so they’re not as easily spooked when dropping down a line.

The best technique is to hold position over or near a school of fish.

Boats fitted with an electric motor with spot anchor, or kayakers with a pedal operated system, can easily achieve holding position and should have a good session providing the fish are biting. Those unable to hold position can troll deeper diving lures through a school.

Either way, you will need a depth sounder to help locate the fish and take out the guesswork.

Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly if you have any success stories out on Blue Rock Lake since the restrictions have lifted, or if you have been targeting winter blackfish and eel.

Please email me any questions too.

Happy fishing!

JULY 2020

101

VIC

Trout biting around Ballarat BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

The anglers around the Ballarat and district have certainly been rewarded for their long wait to go fishing during the COVID-19 lockdown.

anglers, the humble garden worms are simply the best or you can try smelly baits like salted whitebait or bluebait, or manufactured baits like PowerBait (rainbow trout especially love PowerBait).

Moorabool Reservoir has seen plenty of anglers walking its shorelines

a Bent Minnow.

Tai (Tom) Nguyen has also been hitting up Moorabool casting lures. On one of Tom’s most recent trips he landed his new PB, a 63cm magnificent brown trout on a 5cm Bumble Bee Bullet lure. I expect Moorabool to continue to fish well throughout winter, and I will certainly be fishing there a lot myself given it’s very close to Ballarat.

Lake Wendouree is fishing well, given the time of the year. Unfortunately, anglers missed out on the best fishing months through autumn, but we’re moving on from that and dealing with the current conditions.

There have been quite a few excellent trout being caught, mainly land-based. The trout are snooping around the shores looking for any running water coming in from stormwater runoff from

lovely Wendouree trout, including some big models over 60cm (6lb+). Ben uses plastics almost exclusively throughout the winter months as they represent small baitfish (smelt), and why wouldn’t you as the fish are feeding on them.

John Greagan has also been getting amongst some really big brown trout, landing his new PB – a 59cm fish caught on a 65mm black/ gold Colt minnow lure.

One of my favourite waters at this time of the year, is Tullaroop Reservoir, and it hasn’t let anglers down either. There have been some excellent catches of redfin out in the deeper water, being caught on local minnows, yabbies and jigged lures. The guys that have had best results have been sounding them up in around 50-55ft of water and dropping their baits

Ben Young with a lovely female brown trout of 60cm caught on an Ecogear Power Shad soft plastic prior to release. Photo Courtesy of Wayne Rigg. over the coming months, especially for those anglers who like to cast lures or plastics from the steeper

Hepburn Lagoon produced the goods for Martin Quan with this golden brown trout caught on a Vibrax Blue Fox. Photo courtesy of Jaiden Pruszak.

Since restrictions were eased anglers have hit all their local waters with gusto. It’s great to see anglers out and about enjoying the outdoors while still observing social distancing rules. Keep up the great work everyone.

It’s been great to see fishing reports coming in from all waters around Ballarat, including some excellent catches of rainbow and brown trout in very large sizes. I expect this to continue in the next few weeks, then potentially quieten down as angler numbers drop off due to being in the middle of winter.

Also, the trout in our waters will be focused on other things, mainly spawning time. In most of our fisheries the trout cannot spawn due to not having running water coming into them, but this doesn’t stop the natural urge to want to breed. During this period they are preoccupied with attempting to spawn, and not really focused on feeding too much. Yes, they will still feed, but not as much as normal.

During the winter months the food supply is a bit on the lean side with not very much insect life. The trout mainly focus on smelt or small baitfish during this period, and my suggestion is to make sure you imitate smelt, whether you use flies, lures or plastics. For bait 102

JULY 2020

casting lures, flies and plastics. They have been rewarded with some excellent catches of brown and rainbow trout, varying in size from 1kg-3kg. They are all in excellent condition and certainly put up a great fight. I have ventured out myself on numerous occasions casting lures, mainly Bent Minnows, around the shallows and I

Tom Kulczynski caught this 62cm, 6.5lb rainbow trout from Tullaroop trolling a 95mm Daiwa Double Clutch. Photo courtesy of Tom Kulczynski.

Tai (Tom) Nguyen landed this 63cm brown trout from Moorabool Reservoir on a 5cm Bullet Five-O minnow in bumble bee colour. Photo courtesy of Tai Nguyen. have had some excellent sessions especially when the trout are feeding on smelt.

The secret is obviously to get your lures, flies and plastics in front of the smelters and they will hopefully eat it. I have found them only too willing to eat

our roads etc, to attempt to breed, so anglers casting lures, plastics and flies close into the shorelines have done extremely well.

Ben Young once again has proved he is one of the best anglers going around, catching and releasing some

or lures down. There are a lot of small fish around but once you navigate your way through them you have a chance of getting some absolute rippers over 2kg, and they’re certainly tasty to eat.

The anglers who have been targeting trout have been catching some absolute rippers. Tom Kulczynski on a recent trip was trolling lures down deep when he got stuck into a horse of a rainbow trout which went 62cm and weighed 6.5lb.

Tom said the bow took off like a freight train.

The same day another angler nailed a magnificent 7.4lb brown trout, which was one of three that he caught casting and trolling lures out of his kayak.

Jason Andriske has been getting stuck into some very nice rainbows land-based around the 1kg mark on Three Shot Minnow Patterns in the gold colour. Tullaroop will continue to fish well

shorelines.

Hepburn Lagoon has produced some very nice specimens since fishing has resumed. Heppy can be difficult to fish at this time of the year, given the water level will be down due to the summer irrigation and extensive weed coverage.

Anglers need to find the pockets of water that are free of weed or use their kayaks or float tubes to access weed-free areas. Martin Quan was recently fishing Heppy with his mate Jaiden Pruszak, casting lures on the deeper southern shoreline, when Martin nailed a magnificently conditioned and coloured brown trout on a Vibrax Blue Fox lure.

When it comes to Lake Bolac, I have had no reports at all. I’m just going on a gut feeling that the fish could be on the bite if anglers put the time and effort in. Bolac normally fishes well during the winter months with the rainbow trout eager to feed up before attempting to spawn. Bolac has been stocked every year for approximately 10 years now and produced some excellent fishing, especially back in 2010 when we saw fish up to 10lb. The water level is OK at the moment and our summer wasn’t too long and hot for the fish not to survive. My suggestion is for anglers to hop in your cars and make the trip. Take some salted whitebait or bluebait and some PowerBait, fish these on a running sinker rig and I believe you won’t be disappointed.

John Greagan with his PB brown trout of 59cm taken on a 65mm black/gold Colt Minnow from Lake Wendouree.

VIC

We’re back in business!

EILDON

Peter Burtchell

With the easing of travel restrictions and a lifting of the fishing ban in Victoria, many anglers released from isolation are now braving the cold conditions, traversing the lake and surrounds in search of trophy winter catches. Both the Lake and Eildon Pondage are yearround fisheries, and fish exceptionally well during the winter months.

Craig from Eildon Bait and Tackle recommends casting lures such as the Rapala F11 for the larger trout in the pondage and

the fish. In the first week after the isolation, reports of many a 1m+ Murray cod were streaming in on Facebook and other media feeds. Matt Ward and his mate Chris Galea were one of the first to hit the road post isolation, leaving Melbourne at 2:30am to launch at the Jerusalem Creek Boat Ramp.

Within minutes of launching Matt had a good fight on his hands, with a 107cm Murray cod attached to his Mag Draft. Safely landed, photographed and released, it sure did make their morning.

Some great news post isolation was that Rita Caufield (wife of famous angler Mick Caufield) finally landed her first 1m+

on the Victorian Fisheries Facebook page and read, “Rita and Mick Caulfied fished the lake on Saturday, with Rita landing this magnificent metre-plus cod on a cast surface lure. More than 3.2 million Murray cod have been stocked into Lake Eildon over the last 20 years, thanks to your recreational fishing licence fees and more recently Target One Million. It’s only going to get better too, because our slot limit will protect all cod over 75cm and there have been some huge stockings in recent seasons. Lake Eildon is also open year round so come September, October and November when other waters close to give cod a

Joe with this nice brown from the Pondage. flat-lining Tassie Devils in the lake. The Victorian Fisheries Authority’s Snobs Creek Hatchery has stocked 103 ex-broodfish brown trout with an average per fish weight of 2kg into the pondage in late May, which will entice many an angler to try their luck. June 9 will see the closing of the rivers and streams to trout fishing, however the Lake Eildon Pondage and Lake remain open all year round to trout anglers.

Murray cod fishing on Lake Eildon is also a year round event with no closed season. Winter tends to bring out the larger Murray cod as they continue to feed on the large Murray cray and schools of roach. Migrating trout are also a main target for the Murray cod waiting in ambush in many parts of the lake.

Mid-May saw some great surface action as the migrating bogong moths were caught in the alpine country downdrafts that forced them onto the surface of the lake, where they were quickly consumed by

Lake Eildon Murray cod.

According to all reports, Rita’s blue nails assisted with the hook up. Her photograph was published

‘rest on the nest’, Lake Eildon will stay open and provide marvellous opportunities for fishers of all skill-levels to have a crack at fish like

Rita Caufield finally landed her first Lake Eildon 1m+ Murray cod.

Rita’s, only a few hours from Melbourne! Congratulations Rita, that’s one mighty Murray cod in your arms!”

It seemed like everybody who was anybody was out braving the cold postisolation. Well respected angler and promoter of the Lake Eildon Fishery, Bob Hazler, was assisted by another well-known angler and promoter of Lake Eildon, Thomas ‘The Captain’ Pinter, to capture a great photograph of Bob’s Murray cod. Bob runs the Lake Eildon Fishing Facebook Page where many an avid angler can pick up on the action that is happening around the lake with reference to catches, tackle and methods used.

Aaron Wilson jumped at the opportunity to learn all about the latest Garmin screen technology from great friend Darren Wolch who were soon amongst some of Lake Eildon’s large schools of yellowbelly. Aaron says it is something else to find the fish, drop amongst them and watch them on the screen taking your lure. The pair ended up with a good bag of

winter yellowbelly.

Apart from Murray cod, yellowbelly, brown and rainbow trout, Lake Eildon is also a haven for Murray cray lovers during the winter months. Euastacus Armatus have a minimum legal size of 10cm carapace length to a maximum of 12cm carapace length, and at Lake Eildon you are able to use up to 10 drop nets per licensed angler.

The crays are often easy to catch when you spend the time to identify their hibernating holes around the banks of the Lake. Drop netting into 8-10m of water depth close to their holes should prove successful.

If you drop into Jerusalem Creek Bait and Tackle you can pick up a free Murray cray ruler and ask about the best parts of the lake to try your luck.

Whilst there you can check out the Australian Lure section where only Australian manufactured Lures are displayed. The manufacturers of the lures are great supporters of the fishing competitions that are run on the lake and can often be found somewhere on the lake

either competing in one of the comps or trying their new designs on the many a trophy size fish that Lake Eildon has to offer. It’s important for we anglers to support our local markets in these tough times, just as Rita Caufield did using one of CJ’s Thirsty Lures to entice her native opponent.

• We are looking forward to rescue the delayed fishing competitions and gatherings that were planned for Lake Eildon if the opportunities arise. Please Like their Facebook pages to obtain regular updates of new schedules and activities for when they’ll be allowed to restart: Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge, Lake Eildon Cod Masters, Central Vic Lure Casters Super Series (Lake Eildon Round), Lake Eildon Big Fish Challenge; Victorian Fisheries Authority (Goulburn Fishing Festival); Boating Industry Association of Victoria (Lake Eildon Boating and Fishing Show); Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park (school holiday fishing programs); and Northern Waters Boat Hire (Fly Fishing for Natives Competition).

Relax and enjoy delicious food and warm hospitality.

Open for breakfast from 6am 7 days a week (Closed Mother’s Day)

Coffee Light meals Pastries Cakes Bread Lauren with her brown trout captured in the Pondage.

10 Main St, Eildon Victoria 3713 03 5774 2362 0438 881 629 JULY 2020

103

Time to rejoice for Vic anglers WIRF

Cara Cummings

Anglers rejoice! Whilst the fish enjoyed a relaxing break from fishers during COVID-19 restrictions, the fishers were itching to get back on the water and as soon as these restrictions were lifted, lines were in!

Even though the WIRF network is a Victorian initiative, we do welcome all women nationwide and our interstate ladies were keeping us distracted with their fishing adventures

until we were allowed to join them. Our WIRF Facebook feed was filled with a frenzy of fishing updates quite literally the hour after restrictions eased.

I am certain that many of you felt stress levels ease and felt a sigh of relief knowing that we were once again allowed to return to the passion that feeds our souls! It is easy to take for granted the simple things in life and perhaps we can take from this, how to acknowledge and appreciate what makes us happy.

WHAT A CATCH We get lots of amazing and encouraging fishing stories from our members, which creates great conversation and a lovely camaraderie within the group. This story was simply too good not to share and was such a fabulous start for this family for their first fishing trip post COVID-19 restrictions!

One of our wonderful WIRF members, Nadine 104

JULY 2020

was super eager to get back out on the water with her family (including Ashdyn 7mths, Mykah 8yo and Blair 11yo) and the weather was certainly on her side, providing perfect conditions, allowing them to get out both Saturday and Sunday along the Eastern shore off Western Port.

With a light northwesterly breeze and outgoing tide, the conditions were everything you could ask for. As they launched their boat, the young family spotted some eager birds loitering nearby and tried their luck with some Laser lures.

Within minutes they were back in fishing action, successfully landing six salmon. A second wave of success followed on a tide change landing a further five gummy sharks. The

excitement on the boat was electric, especially from the kids!

With a successful day on the Saturday they were keen to get back out, so headed off again early Sunday afternoon.

However, this trip didn’t quite start off like the previous…

It was time to break out the new rod! A brand new Wilson Live Fibre Texalium 7ft spin rod with Finnor offshore reel. Dreaming of the catch and possibilities, the line was cast out.

‘Zzzzzzzzzz’…..[Oh, that sound that makes the little hairs on your arm stand as the adrenaline kicks in], ‘FISH ON!’ Excitement as the boat was suddenly in a buzz, wondering what is on the other end. In only a matter of seconds, shock, disbelief and instant disheartenment.

From sheer elation to complete devastation as they watch the rod vanish from its holder and is taken to the depths below. Silence.

Feeling incredibly deflated, the crew fished on. It wasn’t long before the next rod had a bite, and this time the rod was secured quickly. As the line is reeled in, something catches Nadine’s eye. A slight glistening in the water. Could it be…surely not…yes, it is the lost rod!

WIRF member, Caitlin Berecry braved the wintery conditions and celebrated the easing of restrictions with this lovely brown trout she caught and released at her local reservoir.

This wind feels like the slowest and most nerve wracking ever! Somehow the second rod’s hook had managed to hook through an eyelet on the taken rod.

Wow, that’s a pretty impressive story but the tale doesn’t end here…

As the rod reaches the boat, Nadine leans over and grabs it so tightly – there’s no way she’s letting it go! Feeling amazed that they have miraculously retrieved the rod, it doesn’t take long to realise that the fish that took the rod in the first place is still hooked on! What are the odds of

that? To their complete shock and utter amazement, they proceed to reel in a massive seven-gill Shark. A quick photo and the shark was safely released to tell his own story!

To stay up to date and see what else has been happening within the network and for upcoming events, please head to our Facebook group www. facebook.com/groups/ womenrecfishing/ or via the VFA website/Facebook page. Are you a WIRF member? If not, we’d love to have you on board! Join us on FB today.

RECIPES THAT ARE ‘WIRF’ IT

Chilli Crumbed Calamari INGREDIENTS (SERVES 4)

4 squid hoods cut into rings approx 2-3cm wide Juice of 1 lemon ½ cup plain flour 1 egg ¼ cup water 2 cups panko bread crumbs 2-3 tsp chilli flakes (fresh or dried) 2 tsp parsley (fresh or dried) Salt and pepper Vegetable oil (for frying)

METHOD PREPARATION

Above three images: A story of woe and ultimate success: retrieving a lost rod, a catch of gummies and the infamous seven-gill shark!

1. To tenderise and enhance the flavour, soak the squid rings in the lemon juice for 30minutes.

2. Place flour into a bowl and season with salt.

3. Mix together the bread crumbs, chilli, parsley, salt and pepper in a zip lock bag or plastic container with lid.

4. Beat the egg and water together in a bowl.

5. Pat dry the squid rings with paper towel and coat well in the flour.

6. Dip the rings in the egg mix (4-5 at a time), place in bag with crumb mix and lightly shake until well coated.

7. Shallow fry in batches for approximately 2 minutes each side until golden.

8. Serve with an Asian-inspired salad and sweet chilli mayo!

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Fish still in good numbers despite the cold HOBART

Andrew Large

With COVID restrictions easing, Tasmanian fishers both salt and fresh are pleased to see fish species still in good numbers for this time of year, and biting well.

Southern bluefin continue to be in large numbers 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.

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. Lures of choice for most anglers are chrome and silver in colouration. Halco Outcast jigs in 40g have been working well recently. Spinning with a jig spin retrieve has also been working well, and so too has trolling.

At the moment tailor have been rather large in size, with some reaching 1.8kg, and they are still being caught throughout the Derwent

estuary and further around the east coast. Any lure that resembles a small baitfish is 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.

Small bits of bait (squid or pilchard pieces) fished unweighted on a hook is a very effective way of catching these fish.

Spearing greenback flounder has been popular on windless dark nights, and these fish are definitely back on the menu for a lot of our

Greenback flounder have been available recently. The cold, still nights making lighting and spearing possible.

customers. Early darkness, calmer weather and good tides are allowing people to get out and back of an evening at a reasonable hour, and the fish have been in very good condition. Be sure to 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.

Action is dependent on the water condition; lately the water has been a bit stirred up and brown in colouration, making normally productive spots a bit more quiet.

Finding clear water is the key to success.

School and gummy sharks can be a fun winter option, and these fish should be outside the shark sanctuary in Storm Bay at the moment.

A fresh squid bait is the preferred way to chase these fish, and you should berley for best results. Make sure to check the boundaries of the many shark reserves to avoid a fine.

Winter heralds the arrival of sand whiting, and these fish having shown up in reasonable numbers around Lewisham, Carlton, and wider

Storm Bay. I recommend using Black Magic whiting rigs with strips of squid as a teaser off the hooks.

Tasmania is not renowned for its winter fishing but for

the moment things seem to be ticking along reasonably well, giving anglers a welldeserved chance to get out after a considerable time of fishing inactivity.

the pylons. But every time I managed to get line back on the reel this thing would peel it off again!

The fight was going on for some time and my arms were beginning to tire. At this point I thought one of us is going to give in and was really hoping it wouldn’t be me. After another massive run I tried to make up

as much ground as I could and wound in a heap more line this time and I saw colour – the distinct pink of a snapper, and it was a decent size!

Rob came over and got the net ready because there was no way I could net this thing and keep it on the line, it was way too heavy and the runs were too powerful to contain

with one hand.

Got it to the surface twice and Rob swooped in and got the sucker in the net, finally it was on board.

Thank goodness Rob was there to lend a hand.

The 72cm fish put up a massive fight, it was an absolute cracker and made my day. – Jay D

Halco Laser Pro 190DD work well on SBT around the Tasmanian coastline.

READER STORY

It’s always worth giving it one more cast…

I headed out in my Hobie Outback at Port Melbourne, and my target was snapper.

I got busted off twice last week on something pretty big, and I realised I

was severely under gunned.

So I got myself a new combo: a Daiwa Exceler LT 3000D-C, 15lb J Braid and Daiwa Aird-X 3-5kg rod as the weapon of choice.

The day started out flat with the

sun starting to creep through the clouds. It looked like it was going to be a glorious day.

I had just the one rod with me flicking plastics, so it was all or nothing. Time passed by and not even a bite for hours. After lunch, I caught up with my mate Rob and we decided to head back over to the pylons.

By this stage I had been snagged three times and was getting frustrated. I decided to stay for 4-5 more casts before packing it in. The second cast in and it was fish on!

To my surprise, the fish went out to the open water and away from the pylons, I had a chance! I quickly pedalled out to the open water and tried to muscle the fish away from

SEAHUNT

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Trade enquiries: Steve 0422 177 828 www.sftaustralia.com.au JULY 2020

105

recfishwest Stocking saved Blackwood River bream fishery Long-term research has shown how a major stocking program in the early 2000s rescued WA’s highly acclaimed Blackwood River black bream fishery from the brink of collapse due to overfishing and a declining estuary environment.

A team of top Murdoch University and arch Fisheries scientists put the stocking program under the microscope assessing all the data that had been collected following the release of more than 220,000 juvenile black bream into the Blackwood in Western Australia’s South West in 2002 and 2003.

The scientists’ mission was to assess whether restocking fish can be an effective way to jump-start declining estuary fish stocks to get them firing again.

FUTURE PROOFING FISH STOCKS With decreasing rainfall, changing climate, many estuary environments and fish stocks have never been under more pressure. Finding science-driven innovative solutions to future-proof fish stocks is becoming increasingly important for the recfishing community.

The stocking project was first launched following

Stocking bream builds future generations of bream (and bream anglers)! Zac Sewell is well pleased with this Blackwood beauty. of health since the ‘70s as the result of a number of factors including average rainfall falling by around a third, reduced run off and river water flow, along with impacts from agriculture and wine-making. This had all lead to reduced freshwater flows into the Blackwood, lower oxygen levels and some algal blooms leading to an increase in fish deaths. A further issue was that black bream remain residential

stock’ black bream from the Blackwood in order to breed and rear the juvenile black bream.

The scientists stained the otoliths – the fishes’ ear bones – with a special purple dye that is still clearly visible more than 15 years later allowing them to easily identify the stocked fish when caught and scientifically examined later. This is a process called “otolith-tagging” and is crucial to restocking monitoring studies like this. An initial batch of 70,000 of the juvenile fish were released in 2002 and a further 150,000 were released a year later.

Within five years of the release of the fish, the numbers of legal-size black bream in the river had quadrupled. Critically, sampling demonstrated that half of the very strong pulse of fish spawned in 2008 came from the restocked bream.

EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN A BREAM FISHERY This shows that introducing a large batch of

stocked fish into an estuary can effectively ‘turbo-boost’ the breeding output of the overall fish population and help revive and rejuvenate a struggling fishery like the Blackwood once was.

The study revealed fish coming from the 2008 class contributed between 50 and 80 per cent of the river’s commercial catch between 2015 and 2017 – but more importantly for the local community and recfishers the quality of black bream fishing in the Blackwood is being restored.

“It’s the best bream fishing river we have – it’s the jewel in the crown” says Ian Sewell, avid WA bream fisher and organizer of multiple WA bream fishing comps in the Blackwood

over the years.

“It’s got everything you want in a bream fishery – varied submerged structure, deep water, steep reed banks, rock walls and rock bars – all good fish-holding terrain. It was always a good fishery but in recent years it’s just got better and better.

“In the past ‘Blind

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in the estuary with limited mixing with other stocks which limits their breeding opportunities.

A team from the Challenger Institute of Technology, working closely with the Murdoch University, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, the West Australian Fish Foundation and supported

by Recfishwest took ‘brood-

It’s cracking bream like this that keep anglers coming back time and again to Augusta and the Blackwood – showing the long-term worth of the stocking program.

really pretty country. The fish look really good – dark and golden – and the river’s full of barnacle-encrusted snags, so it’s a real fishing

Bream comp anglers getting ready for action on a misty morning on the Blackwood.

It’s fish-holding features along the Blackwood like this that help make it such a highquality bream fishing location.

A lovely brassy black bream that fell to a soft plastic. a period of sharply falling recfishing and commercial catches of black bream from the Blackwood – surveys by Murdoch University showed that rec catches had fallen 85 per cent over three decades since the 1970s and all but one commercial black bream fisher chucking it in.

In addition, studies had shown the Blackwood River to be in a declining state

Freddy’ could see there were gaps in the sizes of fish – where you’d catch 25 cm fish and 32-35 cm fish with nothing in between – but

the sign of a healthy fishery is where you see fish of all sizes small, medium large and extra large showing up in catches. It’s the progeny of that initial stocking that appears to have the biggest impact – 10 years later they were still spawning.”

Thanks to the quality of fishing being restored in the Blackwood – the river is now one of the choice locations for bream fishing comps at both a state and national level.

One of the premier bream comps run out of Augusta is the qualifying heat for the ABT Bream series, which sees around 20 boats with fishers from all over the country going toe to toe in a two-day tournament.

COMMUNITY VALUE “It’s a lucrative catch and release tournament with zero fish mortality,” says ABT Bream Series organiser and Fishing Monthly Magazine Owner Steve Morgan. “It’s in a nice corner of WA – a ‘natural’ river flowing through some

challenge and attracts bream enthusiasts from all over. All the visiting fishers spend money on accommodation and hospitality in Augusta, so there is a really great net worth to the community.”

It’s a view shared by Augusta X-treme Outdoor Sports and Camping owner Bernice Gillam.

“I’d say 30-40% of my of my business is for bream fishing gear,” she says. “We always get the out-of-towners asking what’s the best rigs for bream and all the bream competitions we get on the river are very important for the local economy. Every time someone releases a bream someone else buys a lure to catch it, so each bream provides great value time and time again.”

All of this supports the stocking program research project’s conclusion, “Restocking can be very effective in replenishing a stock of an estuarine resident species such as [black bream]…Given the sporadic and infrequent recruitment events for this iconic recreational species in the Blackwood River over a 20 year period, periodic releases of cultured fish are likely to benefit the stocks and help sustain recreational fishing in the estuary.”

Here, then, is a clear example of where stocking has been dramatically successful and where the resulting economic and social value of the fishery to the local and recreational fishing community is substantial. With increasing environmental pressures on our estuarine fisheries, fishery managers must embrace stocking as an important tool in managing estuary fish stocks especially as the climate and fish recruitment become more variable.

Business Profile

Experience Lancelin Holiday Park The beautiful Experience Lancelin Holiday Park, – everything from dhufish to pink snapper, baldchin located only an hour and a half north of Perth, has groper and more. And after you have caught a feed, been completely revamped and renovated. Changes you can go and get your arms stretched on pelagics include brand new undercover kitchens, newly like kingfish and Spanish mackerel. The winter months renovated amenities and more. are particularly good for offshore fishing, due to the It’s all in keeping with one of the main goals of the prevalence of calm weather. And you can drop in a few Park: to provide visitor comfort and entertainment no crayfish pots on your way out, too. matter the weather. Even though Lancelin is famous for If you need some pointers, or just want to chat to its gorgeous weather, there are obviously no guarantees other anglers, the local angling club is located next door – and we all know what it’s like to have a holiday to the Holiday Park. booked months in advance only for it to rain!

As you can imagine, the Park is a popular spot If you do happen to get for boys’ trips, and it’s also a day or two of rain on well equipped for caravan People tell us your Lancelin holiday, you and 4WD clubs to have their can enjoy the Park’s fully AGM in the conference room. that the facilities are enclosed, heated swimming There is great 4WDing to be spool and spa, along with had just north and south of excellent, and they also large and well decked out Lancelin in the dunes, and rec rooms. As well as having a licenced off-road area love the fact that Lancelin it’s games and tables for the so you can take off-road adults to enjoy, there’s a room bikes and quad bikes. Other is a small town, with with a Wii Switch that lets up popular activities include to eight children have a ball wind surfing, kite surfing and that relaxed country competing against each other sand boarding. on the big screen.

Owner Chris Sialtsis said atmosphere Because the Park is right that the visitor feedback they on the water, it’s perfect for get is very rewarding. families who want to go beach fishing. It’s easy for one “People tell us that the facilities are excellent, and parent to pop down for an afternoon chasing tailor while they also love the fact that Lancelin is a small town, with the other parent watches the kids. The kids themselves that relaxed country atmosphere,” he said. “Because will love catching whiting and herring out the front, it’s such a small and safe town, the kids can just run and swimming in the surf. And when they are finished wild and enjoy themselves, riding their bikes, exploring playing on the beach, they can wear themselves out the dunes and playing on the beach. There’s also even more on the Park’s huge bouncing pillow. great local food, and shops that provide everything Another land-based fishing option is to fish off the you need.” jetty at dawn or dusk to target the resident whiting, Experience Lancelin Holiday Park has plenty of sites herring, tailor, flathead or squid. There’s even the starting from $35 per night for powered sites and $30 chance of getting a mulloway or small kingfish on for unpowered sites (pricing based on low season rates the right day, and the jetty is an easy 5-minute walk for up to two people). There are facilities where you can from the park. store your boat, and pets are welcome. You can see all If you bring your boat, you can launch off the the details and book your stay at lancelincaravanpark. beach and head offshore to target bottom species com.au, or give them a call on (08) 9655 1056.

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Rug up for hot fishing ALBANY

Jacob Crispe

I realised when I was putting this report together with the help of Jim from Albany Rods and Tackle that the cooler weather is truly upon us. Regular cold fronts have hit the area, but the fishing remains red hot.

BLACK BREAM Bream fishing in the Kalgan River has been excellent. Smaller fish have plagued many anglers, but the big blacks are around.

The key is to be prepared to move around to find them, with the majority of the larger fish being caught adjacent to structure or around mussel beds.

Actively fish these areas until you find fish. Flounder have been a common by-catch, particularly near the river mouth.

SQUID Squid fishing is very popular during the cooler months. It can be a before or after work activity as

GOOD FAMILY FISHING There are plenty of jetties in the harbour that offer good family friendly

squealing with joy.

SALMON RUN NOT QUITE FINISHED Although the numbers of fish about have reduced,

Zak Hart looking pleased with a massive snook he caught while flicking plastics from the rocks. Zak won’t be seen without his PFD on the rocks.

Brody Ogle caught this southern bluefin tuna while casting a little stickbait on his flicky in 15m of water drifting over the squiding grounds. there are still plenty of salmon about on the local beaches. Bluff Creek, Cable Beach, Salmon Holes, Cheynes, Shelly Beach and Lowlands are all still producing some quality fish. If you are a bit more adventurous and have a 4WD, Bornholm and

Nanarup beaches are worth exploring. Take care as there is quite a bit of beach erosion at present, however the reward has been some good salmon caught on a standard bottom rig with 5/0 or 6/0 gang hooks using mulies as bait.

Salmon aren’t the only target species while visiting our beaches.

Skippy, herring and silver bream can also be found patrolling the reefy areas at the end of Nanarup and Sand Patch. Remember to wear quality footwear as these areas have a lot of exposed and sharp rocks.

Local legend Nathan Brown teaching his son Tyler the ropes of land-based angling with his first bluefin tuna off the rocks at age seven! Nathan and Tyler always wear PFDs on the rocks for safety.

Joss Gardner strikes gold with a lovely land-based West Australian dhufish. Joss always wears his PFD on the rocks. these low light periods coincide with the best bite times. The rock groin at Emu Point, Point Possession and Frenchman Bay are popular locations to target a cephalopod or two, while the rock wall at Whale World is also a popular location.

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fishing. Herring, skippy, leatherjacket and squid all frequent these man made structures and offer good sport for budding young anglers. Get a good burley trail going and fresh baits where possible and more than likely you will have the kids and parents

Ari-Mae Fone shows us that girls just want to have fun with a huge South Coast salmon she caught with the help of her dad Arron Fone.

INSHORE KING GEORGE WHITING Smaller boat owners can enjoy some quality King George whiting fishing in July. Fish that are 40cm+ make their way into Frenchman Bay allowing anglers in smaller craft to target them in the wind protected areas. It is a matter of searching for them, 10-15 minute drops in and around likely broken ground or patchy bottom.

Good areas to search are from Middleton Beach to Gull Rock and onto Good Beach.

Squid also inhabit areas like this so it pays to have a squid jig handy. If you

happen to stumble across weed in 30m of water, take five minutes and drop a squid jig down and hop it above the weed. Some monster squid have been caught this way. Tip Run jigs are popular amongst the locals to target squid at this depth.

OFF THE STONES Rock fishing is a huge part of fishing in this area and the quality and number of species that can be caught is off tap. However, safety is also paramount so wear a life jacket, appropriate footwear and scout out the area you are fishing. Avoid wet areas, especially wet To page109

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Time to target salmon ESPERANCE

Murray Johnson

Esperance has been enjoying some great winter weather, providing plenty of opportunities to get out and about for both boaters and shorebased anglers.

From town we are continuing to see plenty of squid being caught, with good numbers at Tailor Street, Jane Street Jetty, and off the rock wall on the foreshore near the old Tanker Jetty, which is currently being rebuilt. It’s projected to be finished in June next year, and is said to be the biggest purposebuilt fishing jetty in the southern hemisphere.

Along with the squid there are still plenty of good herring being caught for those anglers using berley. You can use premix berley such as Bait Mate or Stimulate, or you can make a mix of pollard and fish oil yourself. The go-to rig consists of a green lumo tube on top of a no 4 long shank hook, normally with a berley float about a metre

up. Just throw and wind it and you’re creating your own lure, with the fish chasing the green tube.

Anglers are also catching skippy up to 0.5kg, some King George whiting around the 30cm mark, and the occasional garfish at night.

Moving to the beaches around town, we are still seeing good fish caught at Salmon Beach, with small schools of salmon continuing to come in.

Anglers have seen bigger schools of salmon sitting at Fourth Beach, Roses and Mungalup.

Heading to the eastern beaches, there are good numbers of salmon being caught at Dunns Rock, Alexander Beach, and Poison Creek. Mixed in with those salmon schools are some tailor, which tend to cruise with the salmon schools, and they’ve been around 1-2kg.

Skippy are also hanging around, with good beaches including 14 Mile, Roses and Thomas River. There are some good specimens up to 5kg in weight being caught.

Bronze whalers and some smaller hammerheads are still cruising around the town beaches. If you want to target sharks, the guys are doing pretty well at Victoria Harbour and Poison Creek.

The bream lakes are still a bit quiet with the cold weather, and out at Murrays Road or Lake Quallalup. Water levels are rising but because of the cool temperatures the bream are less active.

Boat-based anglers fishing in the bay are still picking up plenty of squid, which are consistently hitting 2kg. Kidney-slapper sand whiting (yellowfin whiting) are also being reported, along with the occasional flathead. The guys are also starting to see good numbers of snook.

Bluefin have slowed down but the groper and queen snapper are getting caught in good numbers around the islands.

Guys heading out wide are catching good numbers of nannygai up to 60cm. We are also seeing samsonfish but they are more around that 10-12kg mark. There

Danni Cook with a salmon from a local Esperance Beach. Image courtesy of @olistevensonn. are still plenty of Breaksea, the occasional harlequin, queen snapper and all the cuttlefish are starting to get caught as well. The cuttlies have been going up to 6kg.

This month we can expect the squid fishing to go from strength to strength, along with the

sand whiting. Salmon should continue to be found in good numbers as they turn back from the west coast, and the tailor should keep firing along with the bigger skippy.

• Established in 1986, Southern Sports and Tackle specializes in the supply

and servicing of fishing equipment. We have an extensive knowledge of the local area and provide all brands whether fishing from beach, jetty or boat.

Come and chat to the friendly staff at Shop 16 The Boulevard, Esperance or phone 08 9071 3022.

Spend winter on the beach for good captures

Anglers are picking up a few squid at the boat harbour, and Doubtful has a few squid at times too.

Triglow Beach has salmon, herring and skippy, with the annual whale migration just starting.

The weather has been a bit rough of late with high tides and strong winds.

When you’re travelling on the beaches you need to concentrate as some have been washed away.

The Bremer River is still low, but you can still catch a few black bream there.

BREMER BAY

Keith ‘Fisho’ Morris

There is some good fishing on offer this month for those anglers who put the time in.

There are still a few salmon about at Reef Beach, along with herring and skippy, and the odd flathead now and again.

Dillon Bay has been yielding salmon, skippy, silver whiting and flathead, and Bremer Bay has salmon, silver bream, skippy and herring.

A tasty mixed bag for the table.

From page 108

black rock, and you won’t have an accident spoil your fishing trip.

There are lots of fishable spots between Cheynes and Denmark. Like the number of locations, there are also a plethora of species to target. In July blue groper, Queen snapper and harlequin will be common captures, while breaksea cod and dhufish numbers will increase and larger fish will become more common.

You will also have fish like bonito, SBTs, samsonfish and yellowtail kingfish patrolling the stones. Bonito and SBT are generally targeted by casting metal slugs or bibbed minnows where fish have been spotted. To have

Arron Fone with a lovely Kalgan River mulloway as the sun goes down. It was caught using a live bait on a running rig.

better success, the key is to try and match the hatch size wise to what they are feeding on; they can be very fickle at times.

A very visual and productive way to target the kingfish is to fish live baits under balloons. When your livie starts getting fidgety and you see a kingfish corralling it, it is time to get prepared for a workout.

OFFSHORE AND DEEP DROPPING It is the ultimate mixed bag offshore at this time of the year. Bight redfish, sambo, big leatherjackets and massive breaksea cod are just a few of the species available. The key is pretty simple, look for breaks in the weather and take

advantage of them.

It is also a pretty exciting time for those anglers that enjoy deep dropping. The quantity and size of the fish through the cooler months has to be seen to be believed. The added incentive is the number of reports of swordfish that have been hooked. They are the ultimate deep drop target and I’m sure it won’t be long before a hooked fish makes its way on deck.

So rug up and get down to Albany to check out the fishing that is available.

Support businesses like Albany Rods and Tackle, Jim has a wealth of knowledge about the fishing in the area and plenty of gear to help you catch a feed.

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Anglers enjoying their freedom AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

So there it was, COVID19! Changes in travel, personal freedom, job security and more; life changed for all.

With travel no longer restricted to most of the state, Western Australians jumped at the chance to get out of their homes and flocked to the southwest trying to catch the last of the salmon run that just seems to keep on going.

in our homes once again.

Prior to the storms hitting, Augusta was blessed with some of the best autumn weather that I have seen – glassy ocean and river conditions, blue skies and temperatures in the low 20s. Every angler

Flinders Bay once again produced the goods for a couple of happy fishers, with a nice dhufish while on a charter fishing trip.

As things come back to a semblance of normality, for most, the world has changed in some form or another and will remain changed for a long time to come.

But for most of us within Australia we have been fortunate enough to have so far escaped the grasp of this pandemic; with greater vigilance life goes on.

do. The whine of electric reels under pressure creates a palpable atmosphere like no other as the line slowly snakes its way up from the seemingly bottomless ocean and winds itself onto the reel. Taking an eternity to arrive at the surface, you have no idea what you have caught until suddenly the results hit the surface in all their glory.

Due to the massive depths, release of unwanted fish alive is not an option and the actual fishing time is usually much shorter than the travel time. Get onto the right spot and the rewards are as massive as the fish; some of the tastiest specimens you will ever encounter come from these waters that are deep enough to give you nightmares. If ever you get the chance to get onto a deep sea charter – do it!

Those restricted to the shallower waters of Flinders Bay also made the most of the nice conditions with plenty of dhufish being caught in the 15-45m depths. Soft plastics are really on fire at the moment with catches of shark, flathead and whiting also

Georgia Gillam has mastered the art of catching skippy off the rocks, as shown by this chunky specimen caught on soft plastics. saltwater scouring created by the big swells and tidal surge entering through the cut. Crabs are still low in number but they have continued to be caught

Unfortunately to top off the first week of unrestricted intra-state travel mother nature decided to play another trick on human kind with the type of widespread storm that you only see once a decade. Ten metre swells, coinciding with high tides and up to 130km/h winds meant that fishing was replaced by bunkering down

Another happy customer on Leeuwin Marine Charters showing off a bight redfish, which is one of the tastiest fish in the ocean.

Night fishing off the beach near Dukes Head resulted in this perfect sized gummy shark for Blake Gillam.

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who was able to flocked to their favourite fishing spots and made the most of the reprieve it offered from the previous couple of months.

Several of the larger boats to hit the open water headed out wide into the deep waters where hapuka, 8-bar cod and the like haunt the bottom just waiting for something to come within range. This type of fishing, due to the logistics, is experienced by very few people and the memories are savoured by those who

being recorded on them. The crossover jigs like Vexed Bottom Meat that utilise a large jighead and a fillet of fish on ganged hooks are really proving themselves winners, especially on big specimens of dhufish, pink snapper and blue groper.

They are well worth trying as the results have been truly a revelation.

The Hardy Inlet has been flushing through the runoff from the rain, however it remains pretty clean with the additional

throughout the system, and those around Westbay and East Augusta have been big and full of meat. Spleen or chicken necks are the best baits as some of the huge stingrays are known for wrecking nets to get at fish carcasses when used.

Whiting numbers remain fairly low but there are enough for a meal if you persevere. The Ellis Street and Town jetties continue to produce whiting, especially at night, and with the addition of

big skippy and squid it doesn’t take long to have enough to make yourself a nice mixed seafood basket.

Squid strips, glass shrimps and cockles have been consistently scoring well, however blood worms and river prawns are also getting results. The squid are taking small prawn-styled jigs, especially those that glow in the dark.

Further up the Blackwood River towards Alexandra Bridge the reports of bream catches have been light on, but this would mainly be because of the lack of people fishing for them. My observations of the number of fish visible at night would suggest that there are plenty around.

I have seen them all the way down to the town jetty.

Try river prawns or prawnstyle lures as the number of prawns currently about indicates that they will be the bream’s primary food source.

The marina rock wall is currently a hot spot for pink snapper, with enough size fish being caught to indicate that they are actively haunting it during and after the stormy weather. Due to the number of large stingrays and Port Jackson sharks in the area it is a matter of picking your way through them. Try slide baiting as you can then cut out most of the time and tackle-consuming fights with unwanted species. Live baiting with yellowtail scad, herring or squid will be effective, especially in the evening or early morning.

Dead baits of octopus tentacle or salmon fillet are always effective and To page 111

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Temperatures cooling, as the fishing heats up month’s report, many of the fish are in the 70-90cm class and well worth fishing for.

July will see squid numbers reduce, but the quality of the fish caught increase. Look for clean water that has broken ground in it and you may not smash them, but your new PB may hit the rocks.

METRO

Jacob Crispe

Much needed rain has finally hit the Perth area.

The one thing we have learnt in recent years is not to complain about wet conditions, but what we may have forgotten is what happens when we get a decent rainfall.

During periods of little or no rain, the saltwater in our tidal waterways pushes further up the system encroaching on the freshwater reaches.

Bait and their predators then spread further into the system. Rain, like we have just had, then has the freshwater pushing back down the system, concentrating food and predators in a smaller area, which is great for anglers.

rock fishing) that it is worth putting out a ground bait as the KGs are attracted by the activity and berley.

LOCAL BEACHES It may be a little cool fishing our local beaches at present but there are plenty of rewards if you wish to do so. Tailor, herring, whiting and tarwhine are the main

Angler Chris Webster with a trophy shot double header of pink snapper and West Aussie dhufish.

Tony Cardosa with a lovely gummy shark he caught from the beach while fishing with his brother Paul Coelho.

MULLOWAY STILL ON FIRE It is great to see that of XOS mulloway continue to come in from the Swan River. What has changed due to the rainfall is the location of the fish. The freshwater has pushed closer to the mouth with the majority of fish now being caught in the section between the Narrows Bridges and Fremantle. Live baits continue to get the best results, but a few anglers are also doing quite well using larger soft plastics and bibbed minnows. Areas that have significant structures that create back eddies or breaks in the current are likely locations to find mulloway.

It is a similar situation with the bream in the system.

Although bream will tolerate freshwater, they will follow the food and the food uses this structure and broken water to hide it.

There are still good captures of flathead at the moment and this should continue throughout July.

The fish, however have moved off the flats and settled in deeper water. Look for drop-offs into 2m+ of water (if they have a bit of weed even better) and use 3-4” soft plastics or small metal vibes with a hopping retrieve. Flathead are suckers for this presentation and are pretty good on the plate, so go and give it a try.

FREMANTLE ROCK WALLS With the fresh in the system, all the Freo rock walls are fishing well.

Misha James with his first Australian salmon he caught while fishing with friends.

Massimo with his first land-based pink snapper from North Mole post storm.

Chris Cottle is all smiles with a massive dhufish caught first drop of the day off Two Rocks in 40m.

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The area between North Mole and South Mole has produced some good mulloway captures, and the weather breaks after foul weather have seen anglers targeting snapper with good success. As mentioned in last

July will also see King George whiting starting to show up. As the weather cools further their numbers will increase. Many people find that when they are berleying for skippy and herring (the constant of

targets at this time of year.

Trigg and Cottesloe beaches are good places to start and for those anglers who enjoy targeting gummy shark, July is a prime month to do so. Using fresh baits like To page 113

WA

West Coast

There is still plenty to do when the wind blows BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping

Although we are getting to the end of winter there is still a bit of average weather rolling through, which can make some of your regular types of fishing difficult. Beaches can be washed away and this, combined with the dirty water and weed, makes it nearly impossible to fish.

The boaties will get the advantage of fish being in closer to shore, but if it’s blowing 20 knots you’re staying at home. Most passionate anglers start getting an itchy casting arm (including myself!) when kept off the water for an extended amount of time, so start looking into

options to get out there.

In my books the humble black bream is the ideal target to fill in these rainy days, and you can find them in all the estuary and river systems throughout the South West. When the rains are flowing and the river is pushing fresh hard, target the downstream spots and if there has been torrential rain don’t be surprised if they get pushed completely out of the river. Locally when we get a bunch of cold fronts that bring big millimetres of rain there are constantly reports of black bream being landed around The Cut, which is basically in the ocean.

As you would expect, the water becomes super dirty at this time of year and you need something to get their attention. A small

Jake Atkinson with a quality mulloway off the beach.

Anglers have been reporting some good catches of pink snapper.

From page 112

butterflied herring, squid and sand whiting to give yourself the best chance to catch a few. The anglers having most success will also fish at night.

INSHORE FISHING It is truly a great time to fish our inshore reefs.

Bread and butter species like herring, skippy and pinkies will be around in big numbers. The snapper fishing will now only

sinker to hold ground and a small circle hook loaded with a nice chunk of mullet (the fresher the better) will give off the required stink to get them over and commit to a nibble. You can even do this type of fishing without the rods and reels by using the humble handline loaded with 12lb mono and chucked on a stick embedded into the bank.

More adventurous anglers can give lures a crack, but remember there’s no point fishing the top part of the water column because the bream will be sulking in

the brackish water that sits below the fresh water on top. Better results will come by using deep diving bibbed hardbodies, including OSP Dunks and Daiwa Spikes, but I prefer the sinking variety of lures at this time year. I find getting a lure slowly bumping slowly along the bottom with lots of pauses will get the bream interested enough to pick it up, and hopefully that super sticky treble or jighead will find its mark.

Plastics are probably

the most commonly used lure this time of year but there are a couple of extra tips to help you get better results. Make sure you use scent on your plastics or a type of plastic that has a lot of built-in scent. The water is dark and murky at this time of year and you need every advantage you can get, so as well as vibration and sound adding the scent in will trigger the bream.

Beach goers can expect to find some good numbers of tailor patrolling the beach and the odd mulloway in between cruising the gutters.

Like all beach fishing you don’t always need to cast the furthest to find a fish, quite often a 1m mulloway can be in behind the wash on the drop-off within just a stone’s throw. Berley up for your herring and keep a few for dinner and the rest presented butterflied, or used a live bait – these can be irresistible snacks for the mulloway.

Worst case scenario you have a tussle with some rays or banjos, but it’s all good fun!

• If you have any questions about something you have read or just want to have a chat, duck into Whiteys Tackle and Camping at 1/143 Grand Entrance, Treendale, Australind. One of the staff or Whitey himself will be happy to help get you on the right path to that next trophy fish.

continue to improve until the October closures. A common by-catch at this time of the year is gummy and whiskery shark; these can be quite a surprise for the unsuspecting herring or skippy angler.

Areas to try are 3 Mile, Stragglers and Mewstones.

Look for reefy corally ground in these areas. Other species that you are likely to encounter are Queen snapper, harlequin fish (aka Chinese lantern fish), breaksea cod, bald chin Gabe Siddall showing his dad Brian how to catch the big ones with a great Cockburn Sound pink snapper.

The author and Matt Petrillo from Anglers Fishing World Fremantle show us a pigeon pair of southern calamari caught in 6m of water in the Sound.

groper and the occasional rogue XOS samsonfish.

Dhufish are also a prized fish at this time of year and, like the snapper, their numbers and size will only increase during the cooler months.

Rottnest Island has reopened and the fishing (after the enforced break) has been excellent, which should continue. If you really want an arm workout hit the west end of the island to target yellowtail kingfish. They don’t call them hoodlums for no reason. These guys never give up and are a serious test for any angler and their gear.

OUTWIDE When the weather allows, plenty of anglers are being

rewarded when deep dropping the wide grounds. Water from 150-500m will produce quality eating fish like eight bar cod, harpuka, blue-eye trevalla and the occasional ruby snapper. The weather may be cool but the deep dropping fishing will be red hot in July.

I have always loved what fishing is all about in July – cool weather, hot fishing, and the prospect of some really big fish. Don’t forget to come and see me at Anglers Fishing World at Fremantle for the latest news and advice or check me out on Facebook and Instagram @Jampacked_ Fishing_Adventures for everything fishy.

Chris Goddard with a fiddler ray he caught while on holiday down in Esperance. He was fishing the gutters along Cape Le Grand National Park with a half a pilly. This beauty was caught on 10lb braid with 15lb leader, and went just over a metre. This isn’t a catch you see often!

JULY 2020

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The bay is at its best LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

Here we are again in mid-winter.

Swells can make fishing a tad difficult at Lancelin if you’re not familiar with

the area. Launching boats can also be tricky at this time of year. It is a practiced art that some locals and the cray fishers make look easy, but believe me it is not!

It is the retrieve at the end of the day that catches

most people out. The weight of the boat on the trailer is much harder to pull uphill out of the sea. People who try to drive the boat on the trailer are getting into big trouble bogging in the sea so the car fills with water. Best practice is to

Graeme Doodson has been doing very well on the mulloway this season. On a recent session he was busted off pre-dawn, then a few hours later he caught the same fish wearing the lost hooks.

A number of species can be bagged kayaking in the bay’s shallows, like this nice double header of tarwhine.

bring the boat to the beach and winch on while driving under without sending the 4WD out into the water.

If there is too much push up the beach, just don’t do it unless you really know what you are doing.

Swells forecast over 3m have the potential to produce a wave that could

stand up in all of the three passages leaving the bay, easily capsizing a trailer boat. Waves travel in groups called ‘sets’ where you will get a number of smaller swells that pass between the larger waves.

Watch the wave sets and follow the pattern for a while from a safe distance.

Once you’re 100% sure it is safe to go, wait until you see the larger waves of the set pass, making your run through the passage as quickly as you safely can.

Make sure your crew is safe, ensuring they all have lifejackets on.

If a wave does stand up on you, try to time it

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West Coast

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to hit the swell before or after it breaks, not as it peaks to break when it is at its steepest and may break

over the boat. Keep a slow and steady pace, leaving the boat in forward gear and taking the swell head

on, then accelerate out of the passage before the next wave comes.

Size does matter in this

Most guitar fish are caught during the warmer months, but there are still a few strays around.

scenario. Larger boats can take larger waves, but you should be very cautious in small boats. Most of all, don’t take chances.

If you’re unsure, don’t go! There are plenty of options to gather a feed and have a fun day without leaving the bay.

The swells mess up the beach access to fishing spots as well. They have become steep and the sand is fluffed up and very soft to drive on. Lancelin has some of the most treacherous beaches in the state at this time of year.

Unless you are experienced with the conditions it’s best to use backtracks to access the wider parts of the beach. Also carry your own recovery gear and know how to use it. Many fishers have had their pride and joy take an unplanned saltwater dip.

The bay is usually at its best at this time of year with clear water and plenty of fish, squid and even crabs.

The south end of the bay is usually swept clear of the smelly weed and dirty water that accumulates there. It’s a great place to spend fishing the calm nearshore sheltering from the swells, for a great mixed bag with flathead, skippy, King George whiting, tarwhine, herring, flounder,

garfish and pilch all likely candidates. The shallow stretch is a good place to bounce some soft plastics along the bottom to entice one of the flathead that can be found inshore at this time of year. Fishing the northern shores of the bay you’re more likely to be pulling sand whiting, herring, flathead, sharks and even the odd mulloway.

Boating or kayaking within the bay can also produce a wide variety of fish species. July is a good month to be targeting squid, skippy and tarwhine, and is one of the best months for gathering a feed of the kidney-slapping King George whiting.

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To page 116

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JULY 2020

115

West Coast

WA

From page 115

safe fishing grounds to the north of the bay. Berleying near some of the numerous reefs can bring in largersized skippy, snapper, samsonfish and even the odd dhufish.

Between the cold fronts there can be lulls in the swells to get out of the bay and chase demersals.

Dhufish can be caught in very close to shore, and it’s viable to target them in under 10m inside the white bank – just look for overhang ledges or small lumps on the fishfinder.

Baldchin will be out much deeper while water temperatures are down, with the best numbers coming from 35m and beyond.

Some large pink snapper can be caught from the inshore reefs. Picking the better calm evenings and fishing a berley trail after dark produces the most fish when they are actively feeding. Cuttlefish are still about and likely to pick up one of the demersal baits.

In July and August

You only need a few crabs to make a good feed at the moment, as they’re large and full of clean, sweet meat.

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you will find a lot of professional cray pots set up on the best grounds.

A great cheat opportunity to mark up some spots to fish in the future. It pays to sound any small sets of pots, looking for small lumps, ledges and coral patches. If you do try to fish, avoid drifting through the pot ropes. If you do tangle one and break off any gear you must mark the float to warn the crew of the danger. Any sinkers or hooks will be flung around like a pendulum as it passes the boat’s winch and can cause serious injury. Local tackle shops can supply special tags to mark the ropes, or alternately you can tie a loop in the rope.

Beach fishing for tailor can be hit-and-miss this time of year, with the best chances around the new moon period.

Fishing the gutters that are well formed over the winter will produce both tailor and mulloway.

If the Moore River mouth at Guilderton is open, mulloway are caught around the dirty water plume.

Samsonfish are in close to the beach, and applying a berley trail near some reefy areas can bring them into casting range along with snapper, small sharks, tarwhine and skippy. The beaches north of town are the best place to gather a feed of plump sand whiting.

Tailor are hit and miss at this time of year.

Try around the new moon period.

Lancelin jetty provides a great refuge to fish the winter months, with schools of herring gathering under the lights each night.

It is a great place to target

a feed of squid, and with a couple of crab nets set you’re able to acquire a great seafood basket. Big samsonfish often turn up to raid schools of baitfish too.

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JULY 2020

We had an amazing day fishing for this 60cm cod at our regular fishing spot – the Fishing Boat Harbour, Geraldton. The capture was a true team effort and the biggest fish we’d ever caught.

It was tempted by Aem’s bait and as soon as it bite the lure it put up a huge fight. Poor Aem nearly got pulled into the water and called for my help. We had never had anything this big

at the end of our line before, so we were both excited but scared we’d lose it. Slowly we pulled in the line and finally saw this beautiful cod break the surface.

Because we hadn’t expected to catch a fish this big, we weren’t really prepared so didn’t have a net to assist us – we nearly lost the fish just trying to get it out of the water. As it reached the land, the hook slipped and the cod almost jumped back

into the water. Aem had to use her whole body to secure it on the ground until I caught its tail!

We made four delicious dishes out of this beautiful cod. Three weeks later, we caught another 56cm cod at the same location.

We will never forget the feeling of excitement and fulfilment, as well as the heaviness, of our first big catch. – Keith Leung and Aem Thaimai

WA

West Coast

There are impressive catches from the shore wirrah, rays and various other ooglies are not usually targeted, but there are now quite a few anglers who are becoming marina rock specialists and are landing some excellent black bream, estuary cod, school mulloway, chopper tailor, whiting and other species.

Access to the inside of the rock walls via the car parks, walkways, landings, jetties and platforms is much easier and safer than clambering up over rock

GERALDTON

Graham Maunder & Michael Triantopoulos

Shore-based fishing is still going well with catches of dhufish, school and bragging size mulloway, skippy, whiting and greenback tailor continuing their autumn/ winter run. Unfortunately of late finding a beach or reef that is not consistently affected by weed movement, big swells and strong currents has been the challenge. As usual, taking advantage of any fishing opportunities as they arise will give you the best chance of success.

The beaches and reefs south of Greenough and as far south as West Bank have had reports of good catches of tailor, sharks and mulloway but it might take a few trips to find conditions good enough to get access to the best spots.

Further south to Lucies,

currents and the fish being shut down. Most reports coming in have been saying marking good numbers off fish on their sounders but the fish not wanting to bite, and when they do the bite is only very short.

Fishing along Pensioners Bank in 10-15m at night anchoring and berleying up has been successful for pink snapper to 80cm, dhufish to 85cm and spangled emperor using pilchards with

Glenn Sweetman with a nice haul of mullet caught by hand from the Greenough River after the last big storm. The swell was pushing into the river while the fish were trying to get out. fishing when the surf and weed allows it. The track to Head Butts is mostly along the beach, and can be very soft and narrow at times, so make sure you keep an eye on the tide movement as fishing too late on a rising tide may mean there is not enough beach to drive on when you want to go home.

Land-based squid fishing has been very good this year, but catches are starting to drop off, especially from the jetties

and rock walls around the marinas and harbour.

Over the last few years, the quality and quantity of fish being caught from the rocks outside our marinas has become noticeably less consistent but fishing along the inside of the rock walls has improved a lot. The best of the fishing has been either early morning or late afternoon/evening.

The rocks hold quite a good variety of species.

Species like eels, grunters,

Barry Fisher caught this quality dhufish from the shore.

Jim Sweetman caught this pink snapper and estuary cod off the Geraldton coast on a recent trip.

S Bend and Flat Rocks has been a bit less reliable if you want a bag limit of tailor, but dhufish up to 90cm and mulloway of 80-120cm have been taken from both the reefs and beaches in the area.

Head Butts is 5-6km south of Flat Rocks and has

excellent beach channels and gutters leading out to inshore reefs and lumps which tend to break down all but the bigger surf breakers. The area has some excellent surfing when the swell is up and first-rate tailor, mulloway, whiting, dart and tarwhine

Barry fisher with a solid Mid West mulloway.

wall boulders to try and get close to the water to land a good fish.

Fishing north of town from Drummonds Cove to Port Gregory has not been easy due to the weather conditions, so reports of any substantial fish catches are few and far between.

All we can do is keep trying and hope the fishing opportunities increase and conditions improve.

Recently a few of the local balloon fishing anglers managed a couple of mornings at Lucky Bay to Wagoe with some good Spanish mackerel. Sharks were a bit of a problem for nearly everyone their fish either being partially eaten, totally bitten off or sharks the only thing hooked up.

BOAT The offshore fishing over the last month has been extremely difficult, with strong northerly

minimum weight.

African Reef area has reports of dhufish to 10kg, pink snapper, coral trout and bald-chin groper in the shallower water of 12-18m.

The Southern Group of the Abrolhos Islands around Wreck Point is holding good mixes of dhufish, bald-chin groper, pink snapper, coral trout, Spanish mackerel, yellowtail king fish and yellowfin tuna but the sharks have been atrocious.

You have to keep moving to try and sneak a fish past them.

• Geraldton Sports Centre is the Mid West’s specialist fishing tackle store. Drop in and see the friendly professional staff for local advice and knowledge, and browse the extensive range of fishing equipment on show at 204-208 Marine Terrace, Geraldton, or phone 08 9921 3664.

JULY 2020

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WA

Catch a winter feed KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

Garfish have just started their run around Red Bluff mixed in with large mats of weed blown in from

Catching a Spanish mackerel from the shore on a topwater lure is very exciting fishing.

the Abrolhos with the last storm. While still not in big numbers, it’s worth a try for some lovely fresh silver slabs.

Just offshore in 20m, pink snapper have turned up in numbers, with local anglers getting their bag limits within a few hours of heading out the mouth.

Most fish have come from just north and up to the sand patch. The best bait is a fresh mulie at the moment although one local is doing very well on jigs, landing two pinkies and a mulloway before breakfast.

Tailor activity is still good along the back of Oyster Reef, with the wind behind you and a nice Cotton Cordell you can nearly reach the outer green marker. Nice fish to 800mm have been a regular catch. Chinamans has been harder work but still has some nice fish at daybreak.

Mulloway are still in some of the nice gutters along the coast north of Kalbarri but it can be hard

You’ve got to be happy with a mixed bag like this! work getting to them along the beach with the washed away sections caused by storm damage.

Nice fat sand whiting along the flats are plentiful at the moment, with the best spots being in front of IGA and along to the boat hire area. A few black bream are still on the chew at the

main jetty and pens, with one unlucky angler losing a rod to a quick ‘sniff and grab’ effort of a hungry fish.

The local charter boat Reefwalker fared very well on their first trip out for some time, getting among the pink snapper just after sun-up and then doing well on the crayfish. It was a very

welcome return to the norm after a long break.

After checking the water currents it is still possible that mackerel may be around, with warm water still flowing down from the north. Some nice fat fish could be hanging around along the cliffs to the south around from Red Bluff

Broome is open for fishing BROOME

Troy Honey

The Kimberley region including Broome was the last intrastate region to open up after the recent travel restrictions and it certainly couldn’t come soon enough for the many tourism operators, as many rely on the visiting anglers to remain sustainable.

The weather in late June has returned to what Broome is known widely for at this time of year, and that is the beautiful dry season of days in the high 20s to low 30s, and cool nights. July is forecast to provide the same perfect weather, and when you combine that with the fishing that is well and truly firing, now is the time to hit the water.

First mention must go to the sailfish, which have dominated the reports in the last few weeks of June. The run is expected to continue for the next two months at least. Boats trolling teasers and lures off Barred Creek have been successful in raising multiple sails each session from a short distance of 1km offshore and less.

Anglers trolling or switch-baiting garfish and small queenfish have also raised and tagged good numbers in the same area and as far south as offshore from Gantheaume Point. If you are wanting to catch your own garfish for bait, there are plenty to be found off the old jetty at Town Beach or along Riddell 118

JULY 2020

Beach. Try berleying the water up with pollard and tuna oil mixed together and use small pieces of prawn on a tiny hook floated out with no weight.

A short session catching bait the day before is a highly effective way of increasing your billfish catch.

Still on the pelagic front, the annual Spanish mackerel run continues with multiple good reports of numbers and size alike. As the mackies become much larger at this time of year it is always worth increasing the size of your lures. From July to September I run lures in the 200mm range and find this size works well for fish over 1200mm to the fork.

You can expect by-catches of longtail tuna while targeting mackerel and sailfish as well,

and it is not too difficult to differentiate the run of a large tuna after hook-up as they are a powerful fish that like to dive and change direction constantly. These tuna provide a fantastic fight and although they are not as highly prized in fillet or cutlet form on the plate as the mighty yellowfin tuna, longtail tuna are a prized sashimi fish and are also perfect to use in a bolognaise or mornay sauce.

One thing to note is that Spanish mackerel really fire up on the tide change. Targeting your trolling over large bommies or reef one hour either side of the high tide change will almost guarantee a hook-up.

If you are not raising fish, try lures with different depth bibs or adjust your trolling speed.

If you have a few people

on the boat with rods ready to go after a fish has been retrieved near the boat, have a few flicks, trying not to get in the way of the fish hooked up.

Spaniards hunt in packs and it is not uncommon to hook up straight after a catch. Not too long ago I had just gaffed a Spaniard and brought him into the boat. Once I had the lure removed, I tossed it over the stern where it floated in the water less than a metre from the drifting boat. While still despatching my mackerel, my line started peeling off like no tomorrow with another healthy Spaniard heading for the horizon.

Once you have had your fun with the pelagics there is no better time of the year to try your luck on the multitude of demersal species the Broome

On this day the water was quite dirty from the front that came through earlier, and an easterly was howling. However, that didn’t stop Luke Vesey from getting stuck into a good school of longtail tuna using Yozuri 3D Crystal Minnows. He also boated broad-barred and Spanish mackerel, all within a few kays offshore from Cable Beach.

Captured on his very last crab bait after getting sharked and busted off multiple times, Josh Meeuwissen caught one of the quality black-spotted tuskfish that can be found around Broome. waters have on offer. Daily catch reports of blueline emperor and bluebone keep coming in, with quite a few coral trout amongst them.

Bluebone are being caught from less than 1m through to 30m with the bluelines nearly as widespread from 10m and deeper. Smaller coral trout have been caught from the rocks around Entrance Point on lures, with much larger fish to 600mm being caught predominately on green soft plastics around the 30m reef lines. Red emperor reports are a little quieter, mostly due to the deeper water they are currently residing in of 45m and beyond.

Nearshore species of Spanish flag, Moses perch and mangrove jacks are about in good numbers, with the latter even being caught in offshore waters while demersal

fishing. Disaster Rock is a great place to have some fun on nearshore species in Broome on light gear. This area is named for the bronze whalers that inhabit the area, which have provided many an angler with the challenge of landing their catch in one piece. Queenfish and large trevally also congregate around Disaster Rock, and a few scoops of berley pellets are all that is needed to stir them up into a feeding frenzy. It’s just a matter of casting any form of metal slice or stickbait into the water and start a fast retrieve to get amongst the action.

Barramundi fishing has certainly slowed but they can still be found in the local creeks and Fitzroy River.

Livebaits will certainly be your best bet at catching barra To page 119

WA

North Coast

Islands of colour DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

The Karratha region in the mid Pilbara coast is often a region overlooked for the holiday tourist, which is a wonder for anyone lucky enough see the beautiful

winds prevailing during June only allowed small windows of opportunity to head out to the deeper waters for the likes of the red emperor, Rankin cod and saddletail sea perch.

Quite a few of the days have had strong easterlies in the morning that tapered off to provide near glass conditions

Nickol Bay is a great place to search for blue swimmer crabs and prawns as the water starts to cool from Easter through to July. The author found plenty of good-sized blue swimmers in 6m of water in June. colours of the Burrup Peninsula and Dampier Archipelago. From the iron oxide covered granophyre rocks which many are carved with petroglyphs, to the season dependent green or brown spinifex and majestic purple mulla mulla flowers. But when we talk about colour in the region, nothing compares to the array of colours of the fish species.

It is during May to September in the Karratha region that fish of colour come on the bite, with the most dominant being the demersal and near shore species. The strong easterly

in the afternoon. When this lines up with a tide change it is the perfect time for a quick bash to head out and boat some beautiful reef fish, which a fair few local anglers have been lucky enough to get amongst in June.

Among them have been a few reports of spangled and blueline emperors as well as many decent sized cobia coming up. Metal jigs have been the preferred option but at times they have not been instigating bites so anglers who have swapped to baited rigs have done well in gaining hook-ups when the fish have been on the sounder and not taking the jigs.

Closer to shore the coral trout have been on fire with some exceptionally good fish to 700mm coming in in less than 10m of water and this can be expected for the next few months. Soft plastics have done the most damage, with green coloured paddletails doing exceptionally well. Spanish flag are often in plague proportions causing havoc when targeting larger fish, but in recent weeks I’ve found that numbers have been a bit down.

The billfish fishing is in full swing, with multiple boats heading out daily and the larger boats braving the windier conditions in search of a strike.

If you have a capable boat, then this is a great option to get into the action as billfish are often stirred up into a frenzy by the rougher conditions.

Reports from June indicate we are in for a great year with many anglers raising multiple

Karratha has an array of emperor species, including red, blueline, blue-spot, red-throat and long-nose emperor. Another emperor which grows over 800mm in size is the spangled emperor caught by the author.

From page 118

in the cooler water of July.

Threadfin salmon are in good numbers now, making them a better target than barramundi. With the travel restrictions lifted and parks open it is recommended to stay at one of the number of places south of Broome off the Great Northern Highway and fish the beaches on high tide if you are looking at targeting threadfin. There are different colonies of the species along the 500km+ stretch to the Pilbara border, with the entire coastline a threadfin salmon mecca.

Plenty of mud crabs are around in the mangroves around Broome as well as cherabin in the Fitzroy River.

Cherabin are a sought-after freshwater crayfish for both the table and barramundi bait. With so many options and a town reliant on tourism for its survival, a trip with the family or friends will satisfy your love for fishing and warm weather, and help a great town out that really needs you right now.

Cobia fight hard all the way to the boat, and tend to run horizontally at a rapid pace with a lot of strength. Often caught while demersal fishing, they can also be caught casting lures under manta rays, sharks and whales. Please be mindful of the rules surrounding whales and how close you can get to them.

Keen photographer Vaughan Guan caught some Spanish mackerel surprisingly close to shore while trying to get out of the wind. He was trolling small lures, as every fish he caught leading up to this mackerel had been coughing up small bait. A fantastic catch on only 20lb line!

fish in a single session. While fishing a ledge in 40m of water in June for demersals on soft plastics I hooked two sailfish and one larger fish that spooled my Shimano Stella 8000 in next to no time. It surfaced too far from the boat for me to identify but was clearly a billfish of great size. July and August are predicted to again be great months for billfish, and just in time for the holiday season and travel restrictions that were lifted for the tourists to head up to the warmth and hook into these magnificent trophy fish.

We are at the end of the blue swimmer crab season now and the fishing trawlers from the south have cleaned up all but the last of them. That being said, there are plenty of king prawns in Nickol Bay. Best time is around the new moon and on a run-out tide.

Fish the evenings after the sun sets and if you are wading through the shallows with your net, always wear very thick, strong soled shoes to prevent penetration of stonefish spikes.

Stonefish are common in the

Karratha region and if you are walking through the mud often it is not a matter of if but when you will step on one.

With the big tides either full or new moon occurring every two weeks, if you are looking for a good catch of crustaceans in Karratha then the mud crab is your best option during July. If you’re using drop nets then start fishing right on high tide change and the couple of hours following.

The opposite applies if you’re hooking for mud crabs by walking the mangroves or wading the creek bed pools.

You also need to be aware of small stingrays that bury themselves in the sand and mud when you’re walking the creeks.

The creeks for fishing have slowed but there are still plenty of bream and cod

about during July, with the latter providing a very tasty meal. Mangrove jacks will be amongst them and often hiding in the snags so concentrating lures or unweighted baits floated past the snags on either tide change will provide the best chance of success.

Fingers-crossed the cold easterly winds drop off for us all during July, especially on the weekends when most have the opportunity to get the boat out and allow us to head out wide chasing quality demersal or billfish species.

All restrictions are now lifted for the region, and we are certainly hoping that the annual influx of tourists will still heading up for a great time of fishing at what is arguably the best angling area on the Western Australia coastline.

Golden trevally are in abundance throughout the Dampier Archipelago. Using heavy tackle and just about any jig retrieve will entice a hook-up. The author landed this goldy over a 10m high bommie in 30m of water behind the islands on the low tide change.

JULY 2020

119

WA

Water levels determine success FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

With the lifting of regional travel restrictions to the South West anglers flocked to streams and dams that were previously off limits for a couple of months. This resulted in some excellent catches, and I had one of the best starts to the season with a number of redfin in the 40cm class coming to the net, plus a few nice trout in the mix.

The big news in

over the last few years.

Everybody’s efforts have paid off in the way of more yearlings surviving in our northern dams, however the growth rate is a concern with most being only around 32cm by the autumn and in plain condition, due no doubt to the lack of food available because of the redfin.

The downside of reducing the fry numbers is the fact that the broodstock will also be halved in order to make space for the increase in yearling numbers. I have voiced my concern

year. This number only just makes it a viable fishery so unless we come up with an alternative substitute, I think a lot of freshwater anglers may not be happy catching 30cm yearlings with the occasional 40-45cm specimen in the catch.

The answer to this is to build more ponds to grow on 2-year-old fish or source these from other commercial growers throughout the state. Having said that, it was only a decade ago that there were fears of losing the hatchery but now it is in good hands

locations throughout the state.

I was recently shown some photos of young golden perch and was amazed by the growth rates over the last few months. A number of freshwater anglers have voiced their frustration after Recfish SA posted photos of Aussie natives only recently released into a number of new waters throughout their state. I can say that our Recfishwest are doing all they can to make this a reality here in WA, and any negative comments will not help the cause as they have to deal with the red tape that creates a shield that blocks any progress.

We must be patient and I’m sure things will go our way in the near future.

DAMS Waroona Dam This dam has had its share of drama recently, with camping suspended due to anti-social behaviour.

It is sad that a few mess it up for the rest, and unless something is done to stop the 4WD vehicles cutting up the banks I fear we could lose this water for good. On the positive side, several quality redfin and small trout have been coming out recently, both from the bank and by those out on the water.

Murray cod are rare in WA and only located in private or secret waters. This one was caught late at night off the top.

Drakesbrook Weir This little waterway is more peaceful than its larger brother upstream, and being a non-power boating (electric only) dam it is a delight to fish as the water is always kept over 80% throughout the year.

Some nice trout have come out of this dam and it will receive a early stocking of larger brood rainbows to add to the attraction. Some quality redfin have turned up but the catches have be inconsistent recently.

Harvey Dam Extremely low this year with some anglers not bothering to fish it. Again, this dam has become another 4WD location with a recent video going viral showing churning up of the banks filmed via a drone.

I feel if something is not done it is us fishers who stand to lose the most, if access is blocked by Water Corp who own this water.

For those who have fished it recently it has produced some reasonable redfin

Broodstock from the hatchery are not normally available until August, but this year they were stocked in early winter as the hatchery halves its breeders to make way for more yearlings in the future. freshwater is the hatchery at Pemberton is finally reducing the number of trout fry they produce from around 700,000 to 350,000 in order to free up valuable pond space to grow on more yearlings. It has been proven that fry don’t survive in some of our waters and are more susceptible to predation by redfin and other species at such a small size.

The plan is to grow two classes of yearlings that are already in place, and it has worked well over the last couple of years. There are standard yearlings being grown to approximately 20cm and kept at a density of 7000 per circular pond, and these will be mainly stocked into rivers. Then there will also be advanced yearlings grown to around 28cm and kept at half density of 3500 per pond.

These will be stocked into our dams that have a high concentration of redfin and small cormorants that can play havoc on the smaller yearlings.

I’m pleased to be involved with this development and have worked hard with the Recfishwest FFRG team 120

JULY 2020

as there are two dangers that pose a risk in future years, with one being that if the hatchery experiences an extremely hot summer and suffers losses (as has happened on a number of occasions) then there may not be sufficient broodstock to produce enough eggs from the remaining broods.

The other concern is the fact that the WA fishery relies heavily on the spring brood stocking in our northern dams with around 2700 being stocked each

and backed by a new eager team at Fisheries. The other positive is that there were 1200 culled brood rainbows available early and these were stocked into the dams at the beginning of winter.

AUSSIE NATIVES As our fishery is dominated by silver perch at mostly private locations, things have been slow as the perch seem to go off the bite in the cooler conditions. The same can’t be said with the cod, with reports of a few still being caught in secret

The circular ponds at the Pemberton Trout Hatchery will be used to grow more yearling trout by reducing the brood stock by half. But will this move create problems in the future?

Correct water levels are imperative for success in winter. If the rivers are flowing too high or discoloured you should find a better suited location.

Logue Brook Dam This is a rainbowonly water with a push to stock browns rejected at a recent FFRG meeting.

It was a 50/50 split and with that number it can’t be put forward to Fisheries as a recommendation.

Unfortunately, the reports coming through has indicated a slowdown in growth rates compared to last season. This could change as the water rises with rain. It was voted to stock a number of the culled brood rainbows this year, but the decision was based on the lack of water in Harvey Dam, being only at 17% capacity.

around the old weir wall that is now exposed. Trout reports have been sketchy, but this will change with the stocking of early culled brood stock scheduled for release in early winter.

Wellington Dam Reports have been hard to come by, but some nice size redfin come out in winter each year. A boat or kayak is imperative if you are to be successful, and you need to keep moving until you find fish on the sounder while trolling lures that dive to the 3-6m range.

Glen Mervyn Dam Extremely low so not many anglers are fishing it currently.

WA

Norilup Dam Only a small dam near Greenbushes, it’s worth a look if you are driving past this little water that is set in a scenic location. Trout and redfin are caught on mainly lures, but this is a great fly water at times.

Big Brook Dam Set amongst some of the best scenery Australia has to offer, this little dam is situated approximately 320km south of Perth. This water is shaded by towering karri trees. It was built to boost water supply to the

before you access them. If you can get a copy of the stocking list from Fisheries website, then you could target some of the locations.

But be warned they are not easy and some of these trout turn their nose up at even the best presentations.

Collie River below Wellington Dam Water levels are a issue as the irrigation is shut down in winter. Check first.

Collie River above Wellington Dam Still producing some quality redfin in the vicinity

Blackwood River above Bridgetown Mostly redfin but trout do move up as the flow increases. Pay particular attention to flow rates as this water can become unproductive at high levels.

Blackwood River below Bridgetown Can be a hard water as catches are inconsistent.

It receives a big stocking of rainbows but most anglers give it a wide berth, preferring to fish the Pemberton area. A few nice fish have come out

Fly fishing at night can be fun and rewarding if you can master the technique, and position yourself to take advantage of any available light.

Joe Cavalli was happy with this quality redfin. They are the only freshwater species that can be targeted all year round in WA. Hopefully this will change when we stock a more suitable heat-tolerant sportfish. hatchery and was once a superb brown trout location until it was overrun by redfin, which has been the case with most of our dams here in WA. Still, it receives a good stocking of both brown and rainbow trout and can fish well if the right approach is used.

If you don’t have a kayak then walk the banks casting lures as you go. Fly fishing is also popular with most of the common patterns working well.

RIVERS Murray River A few reports have come in of some nice size redfin caught in the far upstream section well above Dwellingup. This river can run hard and discoloured in the winter so pay particular attention to stream flow or you could be wasting your time.

Trout have been sighted in the bigger feeder streams but have been difficult to catch due to streamside vegetation.

Northern Jarrah streams There are quite a few small streams through out the scarp that hold a variety of trout. Unfortunately, some are on private land so you must get permission

of Collie, but again watch water levels in winter.

Capel River Some nice redfin have come out of this river by those moving around in their kayaks. Most of the common lures work, with soft plastics accounting for a few as well.

recently so exploring is the key to success.

Warren River This river meanders through some majestic karri country with its long, dark tea-coloured pools which are home to some big redfin, and its faster rapids which are home to some of the best

rainbow and brown trout in WA. There is no shortage of reports of redfin and trout caught recently from up as far as Rooney Bridge all the way down to the Colonels near the sea. It can be hard going, and not all anglers have been successful, blanking on occasions.

Lefroy Brook It has received some heavy fishing pressure recently so the trout spook easily. Try the lessaccessible areas away from the main town and you may well be rewarded with one of the big browns that lurk in the well-timbered sections of this scenic brook. It was decided not to stock any ex-brood rainbows into this water as it is best kept as a semi-wild fishery. You can try drifting a fly down the tight runs, although landing a fish this way can be interesting.

Donnelly River Trout move up as the water flow increases so

The Warren River can produce some reasonable fishing at times. These nice redfin and rainbow trout fell to a well presented Halco Scorpion from the bank. a good hint is to explore further up in heavy flows.

A number of streams flow into this river which hold some reasonable trout, so if the main river is flowing hard in July try a couple of these streams.

Although our trout fishing can’t match that of

Rainbow trout growth rates vary considerably as can be seen here, even though they are of the same age. Photo courtesy of Ferguson Springs Fish Farm.

the east coast, and the same can be said for our Aussie native fishing, some of our redfin fishing does match other places in Australia.

So, get yourself a freshwater fishing licence and head south to explore some of the best scenery available anywhere in the country.

PREDICTED DAM LEVELS It is hard to predict what levels the dams will be in July as it will depend on what rain falls over the catchments in early winter. Harvey, Glen Mervyn and Wellington Dams are still extremely low with Harvey being the lowest since it was upgraded back in 2002.

Hopefully they are correct in the predicted wet winter ahead

WAROONA DAM 57%

DRAKESBROOK WEIR 82%

LOGUE BROOK DAM 64%

HARVEY DAM 25%

WELLINGTON DAM 42%

GLEN MERVYN DAM 25%

BIG BROOK DAM 67% JULY 2020

121

Competition design for post-COVID I am not often surprised by statistics but here is a statistic that both fascinating and blindsided me. Despite the fact that we haven’t had very many

SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

When our Track My Fish network went down in terms of hosting events – enforced by COVID cancelling competitions – we didn’t really know how long the network would be out of action.

Having been rather involved in retooling our business to deal with the COVID/post COVID

has been May, which had one singular event (NZ Luremasters) that pushed the results much higher.

Take out Luremasters and the 2020 has across the

tell the story of what has changed. Fig.2 compares 2019 and 2020 with respect to the number of events. This is comparing app-based events only, and

to flesh out the story of what has changed. When we compare the number of species reported per month in 2019 the monthly average was 27, whereas in

TABLE 1.

Round 1 2

Species 70 93

official events since March, the first six months of this year has seen 86% more fish put through the apps – 5826 fish in 2019 vs 10857 to date 2020 (Fig.1).

Male Fish/Angler 12.4 35 board been a bigger year.

WHAT IS DIFFERENT? The results of traffic through the network are not exactly what I expected but there are some key reasons

Female Fish/Angler 12.3 18 does not include events that were cancelled, only events that were completed. We didn’t start supporting weigh-in events until July so the numbers for 2019 represent most events, where as in 2020 we had 4-6 weigh-in based events booked per month from February to June. We had 10-14 events overall every month booked from February to June in 2020.

If we had fewer events in 2020 how did we end up with more fish? Fig.3 shows the number of fish per event and that shows a clear trend of events being larger in scope, even in the pre-COVID period. That, however, doesn’t tell the full story.

Where are all these extra fish coming from?

Are we just seeing bigger

Junior Fish/Angler 22.8 30.8 2020 the monthly species average comes in at 116.

Fig.4 shows the month-onmonth results.

I have noted in other articles that we have been observing a change from single-species events.

While we are seeing more species as we move into weigh-in events, by far the biggest change has come from the virtual events where species are less important. The most recent event completed, Fish Headz Round 2, had five of 13 categories that were species-dependant, but also included most species, lure-based and kayak categories. We now have all our scoreboards online, including Fish Headz Round 3 at www. tmftournaments.com.

Based on conversations

and changing it up is more feasible than ever. I am not sure that things will ever go back to the way they were.

For Infofish, seeing more fish at a lower event rate is no bad thing. While there is the hit in the hip pocket, the opportunity to test out new options and features with a smaller number of events doesn’t come along often. This gives us the chance to improve our systems and streamline for competitors and competitions alike. It’s also a chance for us to try out some new features and formats that we can road test before other clients give it a go. The other thing we get to test is expanding the event cycle to include other countries. Yes, there are a couple of apps now that do that, but the world’s a big place and right now the northern hemisphere has bigger things on its mind than pushing the limits of fishing events.

By spreading our wings, we hope to learn how to serve the fishing community better.

NEW DASHBOARDS One of the things we have been initiating with the virtual events has been

Fig.1 – Comparing the first 6 months 2019 vs 2020. reality, I haven’t been keeping track of things like the actual traffic through the network. I do know that revenue-wise it’s been pretty tragic, but didn’t really have a sense of what the usage looked like.

In 2019 we averaged 32 fish/day to June 30, and this year it’s 68 fish/day to June 15. With a couple of Isolation competitions to come, we could well double the results of 2019.

The only month that we haven’t outperformed 2019

for why it happened. As with fishing in general, Netflix has been the only competitor to the attention of anglers, and to be honest there is only so much bingeing you can do before needing fresh air.

Three measures help

Fig.2 – Number of Events per month compared for the first six months 2019 vs 2020.

Brad Young’s persistence finally paid off! He caught this elusive landbased saltwater metre-plus barra only five minutes from Townsville city centre. This big girl went 110cm and was released after a quick photo and swam away. He used a 5” Holt Production Swim Prawn in glass prawn on a 3/8 7/0 TT jighead with 20lb Black Magic braid, 40lb Unitika leader on a Daiwa TD Black Swamp Donkey rod and a Daiwa 3000 Certate reel.

122

JULY 2020

events or is something else going on?

One thing that is different is the number of ‘virtual’ events, which are events without a presentation.

In the pre-COVID period, four events were virtual, while all the events since March have been virtual.

In 2019, only one event was virtual and that was in New Zealand. In general, our virtual events result in more fish.

However, a move to virtual doesn’t tell the whole story. Fig.4 helps

with event organisers, the app-based/virtual events offer a greater level of flexibility in format, and so there is a greater level of experimentation away from traditional formats in search of new customers.

NOW IS THE TIME TO INNOVATE With everything put on pause, now is the time to have a think about competition formats and how things can be improved. Competitions have had an enforced break, so everyone is restarting with the same conditions,

an event dashboarding process to provide key stats on how the event is tracking. We haven’t automated the process yet but we can run the stats a couple of times per event.

In the not-too-distant future we will have it updating every hour or so for the event. The dashboard keeps track of five key things: • Participation • Fish stats (species and size mixes) • Rate of entries • Visual fish condition (health markers) • Fish handling (any

issues detected) The purpose of the dashboards is to take the pain out of working out how well an event is tracking, but also provides some good citizen science data that most anglers can understand. The good thing about the dashboard format is that if someone has a burning question, it’s not hard to add in some data to help track it, nor is it hard to apply any new measure to older events.

One of the most positive signs for me with dashboards is that while they were a bit of a novelty a year ago, more and more events are wanting them as standard. This means that people are curious about their events and want to be more transparent with the community by sharing.

Fishing has to be willing to be transparent and if something isn’t working well, such as a fish handling issue – address it. That will give the community confidence that we can as recreational anglers be responsible.

For those who are interested, there are some dashboards up now on the Track My Fish tournaments website at www.tmftournaments.com.

FISH YOUR LOCAL To fill in the gaps and to see if we can provide some guidance to events, Tracy has been running a series called ‘Fish Your Local’. This is a relatively cheap event to get into, doesn’t require any special access or equipment, and is aimed at the general angler who enjoys fishing but probably isn’t a hardcore competition fisher.

Each of the first two rounds had anglers from around the country, who in general overperformed.

Here is a comparison of the catch rates for the three main classes. See Table. 1 for results.

So far, the feedback has been very positive, and most fishers seem to get into the right spirit.

We designed the event to give fishers a bit of choice on strategy without locking in a method; the event supports both bait and lures.

DOES COMPETING AUSTRALIA-WIDE WORK (AND CAN WE ADD MORE COUNTRIES)?

I think that it’s early days but the process we have been testing has been app-based submits with a central scoreboard. This is not new; we have been running events in different parts of the country for over 18 months and most of our events are app-based with scoreboards. That, however, involves other people doing the organising, whereas here we are doing everything

ourselves.

The first challenge was selecting an algorithm that works. I am kind of

Fish Your Local events we have gone fully messengerbased. This of course has led to some hilarious

into, whether this be an autocommentary process that provides updates when key events happen (e.g.

Fig.4 - Number of species per month compared for the first six months 2019 vs 2020. over ‘biggest fish’, and with an event that spans a country, a small array of species and bag limits don’t work very well. For the first round we went with ‘Species’ and ‘Most fish’ as two categories, but while watching the scores I noticed people were targeting one or the other and generally the competition had slowed.

On a hunch I put up some new categories based on the combined species and numbers, and the afternoon competition heated up a lot. Thus, with Round 2 we went with the combined species and number of fish, which was really closely fought, especially in the juniors right to the end.

In Round 3 we will be opening up Fish Your Local to anglers in New Zealand, with the UK and Canada slated to be added for Round 5. Competing across just one country is a challenge in and of itself, and going across multiple countries is an even bigger challenge.

The species/numbers mix works for many scenarios in the UK and Canada, both inland or inshore, and based on experience in New Zealand it fits well.

This format would work well in Japan too, so at some point I might need to get a Japanese translation done of the app. To be fair I would love to do a bunch of translations as having anglers from across the planet competing on our network would be about as cool as it gets.

COMPETITOR SUPPORT GOES ELECTRONIC Most tournaments now have a range of communications including messaging, but for the

moments with ‘Grandma’ Tracy ringing to complain that the teenagers won’t let her type anything before prompting multiple times for a response. Welcome to the internet, Trace!

Teenagers aside, the online approach has led to being in contact with competitors throughout the event. Being in constant contact has led to more questions on things like scores, checking up on how others are doing, rule checks, sledging and general banter.

With a view to competing in more parts of the world, I am thinking ahead to how we can put some form of messenger into the app as a key function. It’s one of the other elements that goes side-by-side with adding some form of commentary.

This is something I have put a lot of thought

changes of placings, good fish) or a human-driven thing. Anything we can do to make the event more enjoyable is a good thing.

I do think that fishing could do with a greater dose TABLE 2.

Round 1 2

Day 1 70 93

of interactivity, especially with younger fishers, and that a greater degree of connectivity is inevitable.

FOUR DAYS SEEMS TO BE A GOOD THING One of the interesting experiments with the Fish Your Local events was moving from the traditional two-day events to four-day events. I think fishing needs to go the other way, shortening the time in the same way other sports have, but I have to say I

have been surprised by the results. For a start, each of the four days attracted a significant number of competitors (although not everyone could fish all four days). The eight days fished over two rounds are summarised in Table 2.

This attendance may be a by-product of COVID giving anglers more time free, but it also could be that the fishers genuinely enjoyed having the extra time and made the most of it. The feedback on the four-day cycle was all positive so we don’t have any reason to change for now. I am still a fan of the very short window concept – the fishing version of T20 cricket – but it might be a very different event format altogether.

TURNING CONTROVERSY INTO A CATEGORY When it comes to fishing, I like to adhere to the maxim “be prepared for anything”. However, Round 2 of the series included a new challenge that we weren’t prepared for. As we closed off on the round there was a protest from one of the juniors who protested that one of the other juniors was using a cast net. A quick review of the photos showed Day 2 12.4 35

Day 3 12.3 18

indeed that was the case.

This is where the story gets more complicated.

It seems that the person making the protest was also using a cast net.

Never let it be said that teenagers have anything other than an interesting idea of justice.

While we took this as an opportunity to provide a teaching moment, I saw a larger opportunity. If they wanted to use cast nets, why not?

Fig.3 – Number of fish per event compared for the first six months 2019 vs 2020.

We floated the idea of adding a cast net category with the juniors and bunch of seniors, and the response was the most overwhelmingly positive we have had in any event we have been involved in. Just like that, a new category was born.

The details are still being worked out, but the advantage of a cast net category goes well beyond the competition. Cast nets pick up a range of juvenile species and we use them in recruitment surveys. We plan to set up the category in the same way as our recruitment surveys so that the data collected will be usable. One thing I have learned from recruitment surveys is that they almost always produce surprises. It will be interesting indeed to see what comes out of the new category.

ADDING VIDEO SUPPORT We have been asked for nearly 12 months to look at adding video capture to the app. Video is nowhere near as simple as photos, however. For a start, video is a much bigger set of data and we already have issues with anglers unable to upload photos, so video will be an even bigger challenge.

Day 4 22.8 30.8 That said, video adds a number of possibilities.

For game fishing events it allows recording of a release, and in normal competitions it allows anglers to capture action, and even add commentary on what they are doing.

There is no doubt video will add new dimensions to fishing events, especially if the capture and transmission of video can be made simple.

WHERE WILL THINGS GO? The nice thing about the Fish Your Local events is we have the freedom to try out new things as we go, which is not something we can do with client events. As evidenced by the fact that data volumes have increased even without our normal events, we can expect that trend to continue.

As with all industries that have been touched by digital technology, once started it is impossible to stop. Competitions will get more data-rich, competitors will have more data at their fingertips, and more opportunities to interact.

There will be formats we haven’t thought of yet.

Whatever the needs of the events of the coming years, it’s our job to make sure that competitions only get better with the addition of technology.

JULY 2020

123

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Drop in to see Mick & Kelly

This section in QLD Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching.

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JULY 2020

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Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0834 or email nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au JULY 2020

125

Practical kayak storage solutions BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

When selecting a kayak or other watercraft, one key consideration is storage.

The storage space that you have available in your yard, garage, house or shed may influence your purchasing decisions, or for other anglers it may inspire the creation of more storage space or some out-ofthe-box storage solutions.

If space is limited, you can opt for inflatable SUPs or kayaks, folding kayaks, or kayaks that can be separated into multiple pieces for storage and transport. With a fair size shed, my partner and I have the luxury of a reasonable amount of space, however we wanted to ensure that we utilised this space to its full potential.

The first challenge was fitting five kayaks on one wall of the shed, which

trolleys can create flat spots and dents in the hull that reduce the performance of the hull. This was overcome by building some reasonably

wide racks, placing them at points on the hull that were sturdy, and utilising a wall of the shed where heat would be minimal.

An inflatable SUP or kayak may not perform as well as a solid one, however they are an option if space is limited.

Sea to Summit Aqua Racks are a quick and simple, sturdy storage option.

DIY kayak racks – a roller door bracket and aluminium fence post, ready for spray painting. ruled out the Sea to Summit Aqua Racks for all five. If you have a kayak or two to store on a wall, these racks come highly recommended as they are quick and simple to install, very sturdy, come with quality fittings and also quality padding on the rack to protect your kayak. We ended up using Aqua Racks for the two kayaks higher up the wall, as it makes them nice and easy to load in and out of the racks off a couple of ladders.

DIY RACKS To fit the five though I needed to store the other three kayaks flat on their hull to minimise the space they take up. This is generally not ideal as kayaks are best stored on their strongest points, either on their sides or standing on their tail.

Storing them flat on racks or 126

JULY 2020

The kayaks that would be sitting flat also consisted of two kayaks with pontoonstyle hulls and another with a unique hull design that was

also unlikely to be impacted by this storage method.

After spending some time on the internet, I came across a variety of racks that may have done the job, however I decided to come up with a DIY option. The first yak would be stored on the floor, on marine carpet, allowing it to be easily slid in or out as required, without any damage to the hull. The other two kayaks would be stored on horizontal wall racks.

My father has installed roller doors for years, so I knew that I had some roller door brackets for starters, tick. I then needed something to mount to these brackets that would make light and sturdy horizontal racks, capable of being about 80cm long to suit the width of the kayaks. With a big clean up on the go in the yard and shed, my eyes fell upon some

aluminium fence posts that were leaning against the house‌ perfect!

It was then simply a matter of cutting the posts to length and attaching them to the brackets. I slid a piece of light timber inside the fence post, where the bracket would be attached and then simply used selfdrilling screws to screw through the fence post and the timber, just touching the inside of the fence post on the other side. This would be rock solid. I repeated the process and soon had

carpet on the top, placing a board on top of the carpet and then loaded the kayak onto the boards to ensure the carpet bonded firmly for the entire length of the rack. The carpet would allow the kayak to be easily slid on and off the rack. Being fence posts, I then plugged in the end caps for the posts and we were ready for a few adventures.

STARPORT WALL SLINGS On the opposite wall we had two SUPs to store and after some thought we decided that we would

One set of racks on and working on the second set of horizontal storage racks.

Applying some glue, ready for a marine carpet strip.

four wall racks hanging from wire on the clothesline to be spray painted.

When it came to fixing these to the shed wall, I clamped some timber into the frame of the shed, drilled a hole through the frame, a pilot hole into the timber and then attached the wall brackets with coach screws.

Another solid mounting and it was easily strong enough to handle the 20-30kg weight of the average kayak.

I finished each rack by gluing a length of marine

hang them flat against the wall to reduce the amount of space they would take up out from the wall. They would be stored in their padded bags for protection, and we utilised Railblaza StarPort Wall Slings to hang them. The StarPort mounting system is quick and easy to install, rock solid and with a simple click, you can detach an accessory or switch to another.

Once again, I clamped some timber into the frame of the shed and the mounted

through both the shed frame and the timber. A quick measure up and we soon had four StarPort mounts in place, clipped in the slings and in no time at all we had the SUPs lifted into place and the straps clipped up. The slings that we used had stickers on them with a rating of 60kg, which will easily handle the 15-20kg of the SUPs. These StarPort Wall Slings are also ideal for hanging kayaks and we have used them for this application in the past as well as for securing kayaks against a wall that were standing upright on their tails.

INFLATABLE WATERCRAFT Kayaks and SUPs stowed, it was then onto my float tube, which is simply hung on a hook on the wall when inflated and when deflated I then roll it up and stow it

that you have available (or those periods of bad weather) to set up your gear systems ready for future adventures.

Commercially made and DIY storage solutions are virtually endless, with racks, slings and hoists being just a few options for your watercraft, while shelving, crates, buckets, iceboxes and plastic

unloading and stowing your watercraft and gear.

It’s great to be able to spend more time adventuring and less time moving gear to access your watercraft, or searching high and low for that crucial piece of equipment you require for your next adventure. I was never a Boy

Boards in place to secure the carpet while the glue dries. adventure. After an adventure everything is rinsed, allowed to dry thoroughly and then stowed in the relevant crate.

READY TO GO This may all seem a little OCD, however over the years we have found that if it’s easy to prep for an adventure, then the adventure is more likely to happen. It also allows you to utilise short windows of time or windows in the weather and be set up and on the water in the shortest possible time, rather than fumbling around looking for one piece of equipment that is crucial to your adventure.

Fingers crossed this article has inspired you to make the most of the time

The Railblaza StarPort Wall Sling is a simple and inexpensive solution that takes up minimal space. accessory trays will have your accessories sorted and ready to go. These systems can also be designed to save your back and take the heavy lifting out of loading,

Scout, however I always loved their motto and it is never more true than when it comes to adventures that are based around the water: be prepared!

The glue has dried and the Great Wall of Kayaks is finished. on top of the shelving in the shed. The other craft that we have is an inflatable double kayak and this is simply deflated and stowed on top of the shelving, in its carry bag.

At 19kg this inflatable kayak fits inside a suitcase and can be booked as luggage when travelling interstate by air or loaded into a vehicle when travelling… just in case we come across some water that is worth paddling or fishing.

STORING PADDLES Kayak and SUP paddles also need storing and this may simply be a matter of sliding them onto the racks or into the sling with your

watercraft. We utilise the 1000kg Rack It fixturing from Bunnings in our shed and they have an add-on that makes paddle storage super neat and simple. A hook plate can be attached to the end of the racking and to this you can add three double hooks.

These double hooks perfectly cradle a paddle blade or SUP paddle handle, and after a session on the water we just give the paddles a rinse, allow them to dry and then they all have their place hanging on the end of the fixturing.

Depending on paddle length, this set-up may only work with the 2100mm high

Rack It fixtures.

ACCESSORIES Watercraft and paddles stowed, now what do you do with the rest of your kit so that you can easily find and access it for your adventure?

My wife Sheri and I have set up a series of crates, stowed in the fixturing and depending on the adventure, we just grab a crate or two.

One crate may contain a C-Tug trolley for launching, while another crate may contain Sheri’s water shoes, lip grips, net, ruler, accessory leashes, straps, rod holders and other accessories required for a kayak or SUP

The Rack It Hook Plate and Double Hooks are an excellent solution for paddle storage.

JULY 2020

127

Clark Cod Catcher 410 with Suzuki 40hp 4-Stroke - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

T

128

JULY 2020

DE FOR EX

Overall length.... 4.10m Beam.................. 1.95m Weight (hull only).255kg Min. hp................. 30hp Max. hp................ 40hp Bottom sheet... 2.0mm Side sheet......... 2.5mm Max persons. 4 people

CO

RPM......Speed (km/h)......Fuel(L/h)Litres/hour Idle (800)............... 3.0.................................. 0.5 1000....................... 4.2.................................. 0.6 2000....................... 8.0.................................. 1.8 3000..................... 10.0.................................. 4.2 4000...................... 17.0.................................. 7.0 5000..................... 36.0................................ 10.4 WOT (6000).......... 45.0................................ 14.0 Best performance 4500..................... 30.0.................................. 7.0

pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

SPECIFICATIONS

R

PERFORMANCE

Peter Jung

I few years ago I joined Simon Ryan from Boats and More in Shepparton at Lake Mulwala to test a Clark 410 Kakadu SC with a 40hp Suzuki 2-stroke outboard. The Kakadu series was already an established part of the Clark range, however, this boat had been specifically adapted to suit the requirements of the local fisheries, through the feedback and requests of their customers. At the time it was just an idea in development, but not long after that Boats and More changed the name of the range to Cod Catcher to better reflect those adaptations.

Earlier this year, before lockdowns and restrictions came into play, I joined Simon again to revisit the Clark 410 Cod Catcher and see why it has become one of the most popular boats they sell in their Shepparton and Echuca dealerships.

WHAT HAS CHANGED? Looking back at the YouTube video I did for the boat test, the biggest thing that has changed is my ability in front of a camera! For all the information on the day, you can scan the QR Code on this

Q

RA

CON

AN THE

FMG

Main: The Clark Cod Catcher 410 Special Edition includes a maximum horsepower motor, quality sounder, 55lb electric motor and a custom wrap. It really looks the part.

Above: The package got along at a very respectable 45km/h at WOT. page to check it out.

The main difference from the original test is that it was done with a Suzuki 40hp 2-stroke outboard on the package. New emissions laws are now in effect, which means this test was done with a DF40 Suzuki 4-stroke outboard. This makes a big difference in the overall feel of the package, which I will explain further as I go through the test. It also changes the price point of the package from entry-level boat we first looked at, to a fit-for-purpose set up, with the addition of electronics and comforts.

PACKAGE AS TESTED We tested the Cod Catcher on the Goulburn River in the Nagambie Lakes precinct – the exact type of location this boat has been developed for!

We wanted to celebrate the success of the model, so we tested the Special Edition that Boats and More put together.

This package consists of a maximum horsepower motor (in this case the 40hp Suzuki, but Boats and More can also do Mercury or E-Tec powered packages depending

on which store you go to), an electronics package of a medium price point sounder and a 55lb electric motor. But the real appeal is the wrap on the boat of a Murray cod and a golden perch. It looked fantastic and was a great edition to the package.

The Special Edition as tested came in at $29,990, however if you don’t want the wrap and wish to choose your own accessories, a base boat with the 40hp motor starts between $24,000-$25,000.

THE ESSENTIALS Packages like this need to tick a few key boxes.

First of all, it needs to be easily towed by the family vehicle (including small to medium ones) and should be able to be launched and retrieved comfortably by one person. The Dunbier 4.3 Sports trailer is well suited to the package and ensures most small to medium cars can tow it comfortably. Launching and retrieving is also very simple.

You can drive on drive off, or add a rope and winch on and off. One person, no problems.

Secondly, the ride and

handling are very important.

Many boats of this size are a first boat purchase for many people and therefore it has to be easy to drive.

I think this was the biggest improvement I noticed from the initial test 5 years ago. I put this down to the additional weight of the 4-stroke motor.

During the original test, when you cornered at speed it had a tendency to slide a little. Although this hasn’t completely disappeared, there is a significant improvement.

In fact, the overall handling and ride was excellent.

Having the maximum 40hp motor on the package ensured we got up on the plane quickly, with a respectable 45km/h at WOT. The best fuel economy came at 4500rpm, which got a speed of 30km/h using 7L of fuel per hour. So it had good ride and handling as well as good economy.

Last, but not least, is stability at rest. For a fishing vessel, it’s important to be able to cast lures and walk around the boat safely while at rest. The 410 Cod Catcher sits nicely on the water and

provides a solid platform to fish from. It was so stable we even used it as a camera boat for another boat test we did on the day.

There’s no doubt that the Cod Catcher ticked all the essential boxes, plus some more. It had good underfloor storage, very comfortable seats, and plenty of room to fish with two anglers casting lures. It has transcended from the original entry-level combination to a fit-for-

purpose package suited to anglers that enjoy fishing estuaries, lakes and rivers.

CHECK IT OUR FOR YOURSELF Boats and More have two dealerships, in Shepparton and in Echuca, Victoria. They stock a large range of boats and quite a few from the Clark range. You can check out their website www.boatsandmore. com.au to find out more or see the full range of Clark boats at www.clarkboats.com.au.

The 40hp Suzuki DF40 4-stroke powered the Cod Catcher onto the plane effortlessly.

Launching and retrieving was a simple and easy process.

We drove it on and off the trailer during the test.

The Dunbier 4.3 Sports trailer is a perfect match for the package and it can be towed by most vehicles.

An electric motor is part of the Special Edition package. In this case a 55lb thrust Minn Kota.

The Cod Catcher does slide a little bit when you are cornering at speed. A relatively flat hull design is the reason. The author found the extra weight of the 4-stroke engine improved the handling significantly from the first time they tested it.

The front casting deck has enough space for two anglers to fish from, with plenty of under floor storage below it.

The console of the Cod Catcher has plenty of room to mount electronics and gauges. The tested Special Edition included a Garmin Striker 7.

There is simple storage for all the things you need to keep within arm’s reach.

The Clark 410 Cod Catcher’s maximum horsepower is 40hp. The Suzuki on the test boat provided plenty of power with good performance.

Comfy seats and roomy cockpit add to the experience of driving the Clark 410 Cod Catcher.

JULY 2020

129

New South Wales Tide Times

Victorian Tide Times

2020 2020 2020 2020 ONG 151° 14’ Eand Heights of High and LowLAT LAT 38°S18’ S LONG LONG 33° 51’ 151°144° 14’ E37’ ETimes Times Waters Local andTime Heights of High and Low Waters

EY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA – NEW LAT SOUTH POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA (FORT – NEW SOUTH WALES 33° 51’WALES SSYDNEY LONG 151° 14’ EDENISON) LAT 38° 18’ S LONG 144° 37’ E

gh and Low Waters

JUNE JULY Time m MAYMAY

Times and Heights Time of High and Low Waters Times andLocal Heights of High and LocalLocal TimeTime JULY JUNE JULY MAYLow Waters AUGUST AUGUST JUNE JUNE Time Time m JULY m Time AUGUST m AUGUST Time m JULY Time m TimeTime m m TimeTime m m Time m

me me 327 423 010 038 630 709 214 328 423 515 053 117 715 750 312

m m 1.50 1.39 0.62 0.60 1.37 1.54 0.83 0.73 1.49 1.38 0.60 0.59 1.45 1.62 0.77

513 018 131 603 755 156 829 001 102 557 648 207 233 830 907 045 143 637 731 241 311 905 945 125 224 717 815 313 350 938 024

1.49 0.65 0.57 1.37 1.53 0.58 1.70 0.70 0.58 1.49 1.37 0.55 0.57 1.61 1.77 0.63 0.51 1.49 1.38 0.54 0.57 1.68 1.84 0.57 0.46 1.48 1.38 0.55 0.57 1.75 1.88

203 305 756 859 345 432 012 105

0.53 0.42 1.46 1.37 0.56 0.57 1.80 1.91

242 348 836 945 418 516 047 149

0.49 0.39 1.44 1.37 0.58 0.58 1.84 1.92

321 434 917 034 455 604 125 235

0.47 0.39 1.41 1.37 0.60 0.60 1.85 1.89

403 522 001 125 533 657 205 324

0.47 0.39 1.38 1.37 0.64 0.62 1.84 1.85

0624 0601 0.47 0522 0.490040 0545 0.291.480115 1.55 1.46 0214 0405 1.48 1.46 0040 0259 0246 0123 1.58 1.45 0624 0603 0.54 0230 0419 1.65 0.49 0.29 0.39 1.55 1.46 0214 0259 1.49 0230 0246 1.53 0624 0123 1.58 0115 0.54 1.461.49 0436 0.32 0545 0601 0.47 0522 0.39 0.490.54 05450040 0.29 0403 0.47 1.45 100603 25 100603 25 10 100650 25 10 25 100650 250.36 1247 0650 1201 1.31 1125 1208 1.32 1157 1.48 0833 0.30 0.44 0804 0.36 0.54 0859 0720 0.20 0718 0.39 10 25 10 25 10 25 10 25 10 25 10 25 1247 1.38 0833 0952 0954 0.47 25 0831 1208 1.32 1157 1.48 1.37 0.30 0.44 0804 0859 0.41 0831 0.35 0720 0.20 0718 0.39 10 10 25 10 25 25 10 25 1247 1.38 0.440.41 1038 1.46 1201 1.31 1125 1.37 1208 1.321.38 1157 1.48 1001 1.38 17230.71 0.74 1657 0.71 1744 0.52 1.80 1.60 1.76 1.58 FR 1600 1430 1.87 1.73 1846 0.70 1544 1626 1.70 1.65 SA 1535 1739 1744 0.52 0.62 1321 1.80 1515 1.761416 16000.70 1.70 1535 1.73 1430 TH 1.87 1416 1.73 MO 1846 TU 1321 WE FR 1739 SA 1.60 WE 1544 TH 1515 1624 SU MO

448 613 048 219 616 753 249

0.49 0.40 1.34 1.38 0.68 0.65 1.82

0650 0.54 0613 0.540145 0000 1.741.490156 1.52 1.31 0258 0444 1.49 1.45 0145 0335 0209 1.59 1.47 0044 0643 1.32 0315 0.54 1.74 0.40 1.52 0258 0343 1.46 0315 0335 1.55 0044 0209 1.59 0156 1.31 0512 1.62 0650 0.54 0613 0.40 0.541.32 1.32 0532 0.39 0000 00000145 1.74 0448 0.49 1.47 1.311.46 110643 110643 26 11 26 11 26 110745 110745 260.37 26 11 110.37 11 1027 11 26 11 26 110044 260745 26 26 260343 1253 1.29 1219 1254 1.33 0634 0.34 0705 0918 0.36 0.53 0845 0.37 0.60 0939 0809 0.19 0755 0.37 0705 0.58 0918 1254 1.33 0634 0.34 1.38 0.36 0845 0939 0.47 0918 0.40 0809 0.19 0755 0.53 1040 0.55 26 0918 11 11 26 11 26 11 26 26 1253 1.29 1219 1.38 1254 1.330.58 0705 0.58 1133 1.37 0634 0.34 1048 1.34 0.530.47 18150.76 0.79 1753 0.761425 1251 1.511.741454 1337 1.74 1.60 1.74 1.54 1633 1614 15171.60 1.87 1.76 1337 1829 1.39 1625 1829 1.51 0.65 1.74 1556 16331.39 1.66 16251425 1614 1.71 1556 1653 1517 1251 1.87 1454 1.76 1705 1.66 1.60

016 538 705 139 317 705 856 337

1.77 0.50 0.42 1.32 1.41 0.72 0.67 1.78

1.49 0254 1.58 1.48 0343 0426 1.43 0400 0236 1.21 0608 1.57 1.60 1.77 0140 0040 1.23 0400 0425 1.56 0140 0040 1.62 0016 1.490303 1.48 1.21 0343 0524 1.49 1.43 0303 0254 1.58 1.48 0055 1.601.490236 0425 0040 1.62 0016 1.77 0040 1.491.23 0630 0.47 0055 0538 0.50 1.48 00550303 1.60 1.23 1.211.43 12 12 27 120140 12 27 27 120.36 27 270849 12 1102 270426 120040 27 12 12 27 12 12 27 27 27 12 0724 0.57 0856 0.21 0.44 0929 0.40 1016 0.54 0830 0849 0.59 1125 0.63 27 1006 0724 0.40 0.42 0753 0.63 1000 1006 0.47 12 12 27 12 27 27 12 27 0738 0.58 0705 0724 0.57 1000 0.44 0.59 0929 0.40 0.67 1016 0856 0.21 0830 0.36 0724 0.40 0753 0738 0.58 0705 0.42 0724 0.570.63 1230 1.30 1139 1.32 0724 0.40 0753 0.63 0849 0.590.54 1344 1603 1349 1.82 1.68 1634 17041.42 1.61 17041534 1532 1.75 1747 1.61 1.54 1.54 1.41 1433 1344 1.42 1704 1652 1.68 1634 1724 13461.35 1.30 1317 1.351534 1.68 1.61 1.71 1.50 1704 16031.61 1.82 1.75 1349 1.541.711532 1433 1652

114 632 758 236 417 802 005

1.69 0.51 0.43 1.31 1.47 0.75 0.68

0338 1.55 0315 1.18 0708 1.51 1.39 1.46 1.69 0248 0130 1.17 0446 1.42 0430 0510 1.40 0446 0519 1.55 0248 0338 1.55 1.48 0130 1.53 0114 1.390423 0158 1.461.490315 1.42 1.18 0430 0607 1.49 1.41 0423 0519 0025 1.73 0158 0632 0.51 1.48 01580423 1.46 1.17 1.181.40 0130 1.53 0114 1.69 0130 1.391.17 13 28 28 130.37 28 280958 13 1141 280510 13 13 28 130248 13 28 28 13 28 130130 28 13 13 28 13 0942 0.28 0906 0958 0.61 1211 0.71 28 1053 0808 0.60 0817 0.46 0.43 0849 0.65 1042 0.52 1014 0.46 1053 0.62 1053 0.55 13 28 13 28 13 28 13 28 0942 0.28 0906 0.37 0825 0.61 0758 0808 0.60 0817 0.46 0849 1042 0.52 0.61 1014 0.46 0.74 1053 0730 0.55 1236 1.31 0817 0.46 0849 0.65 0958 0.610.62 0825 0.61 0758 0.43 0808 0.600.65 1.75 1.59 1611 1.73 1834 1.47 1436 1.39 1647 1450 1532 1.46 1743 1641 1.61 1.64 1714 1.68 1735 1.56 1730 1.63 1759 1.45

216 031 851 730 517 339 120 907

1.61 1.73 0.44 0.51 1.55 1.33 0.65 0.76

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324 133 944 830 615 444 234 020

1.53 1.70 0.45 0.49 1.65 1.39 0.59 0.75

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240 925 545 134

1.67 0.46 1.48 0.69

Time m m Time m Time Time m Time Time m Time m Time Time 0423 1.39 0346 1.66m 0430 0557 1.25 0.60 0041 1036 0.40 0430 1.48 0452 1.41 1038 1018 0.42 0327 1.50 1.36 0155 1.63 0437 0346 1148 1031 0.62 1.54 0630 1.30 1036 0.46 1041 0.38 1709 1641 1.61 1010 0.62 0.55 0857 0.56 TU 1018 MO WE 1711 1900 1.58 1204 0.52 1.75 1748 1.58 2328 2244 0.60 SA 0.73 SA 1.50 MO WE 1711 FR TH 1710 1630 1.37 1.29 1641 SA MO 2343 FR 1508 0.63 0.83 1843 2244 1.83 2343 2038 0.50 2319 0.74 2214 0.78 2351 0515 1.38 0449 1.65 0533 0130 1127 0.34 0023 1.26 0.59 0533 1.44 0534 1.38 1117 1107 0.40 0423 1.49 0.74 0306 1.65 0533 0449 0721 1.33 0656 1117 0.60 1.62 1127 0.47 1121 0.42 1750 1733 1.74 1053 0.60 1.29 0959 0.50WE 1107 TU TH 1804 1254 0.50 1.67 1.85 1836 1.52 SU 0.65 SU 1231 FR 1755 TH 1804 SA TU 1.45 1.39 2348 0.50 SU 1715 SA 1614 TU 1733 1930 2348 1.86 2154 0.71 2312 1947 0.77 1.44 0018 0.65 0547 1.64 0044 0214 0633 0.31 0116 0.55 1.37 0044 0.42 0001 0.75 0513 1.49 0.75 0414 1.71 0039 0547 0603 1155 0.39 0807 1.35 0808 0624 1.28 0.58 0633 1.42 0628 1.34 1131 0.57 1.26 1053 0.42 TH 1155 1156 1823 1.86 WE FR 1217 1341 0.49 1321 0.58 0.48 0.48 MO 0.75 MO 1.70 SA 1201 FR 1217 SU 1209 WE 1755 1.53 1.52 1823 1829 MO SU 1710 WE 1855 2014 1.86 1855 2300 1.92 1930 1.47 1.75 2036 1.38 0.60 1838 0102 0.58 0048 0.41 0138 0220 0.46 1.37 0138 0.35 0052 0.74 0254 0730 0.31 0001 0.70 0.75 0514 1.76 0122 0048 0648 0645 1.61 0922 0711 1.31 0.57 0730 1.41 0735 1.33 0849 1.37 0557 1.49 1.27 1143 0.35 FR 0645 1233 1242 0.40 TH SA 1306 1422 0.54 0.50 1307 0.57 1424 0.49 TU 1.77 SU 1245 SA 1306 MO TU 0.83 TH 1207 0.55 1800 1.66 1242 TU MO TH 1944 1907 1912 1.95 1944 1.96 2031 1921 1.44 1830 2054 1912 1.83 1.84 2126 1.61 1.35 0143 0.51 0145 0.34 0229 0330 0.38 1.38 0157 0.70 0229 0.32 0331 0821 0.33 0045 0.63 0.71 0000 0.48 0204 0145 0731 0740 1.56 1030 1.32 0756 1.35 0900 1.35 0821 1.40 0929 1.37 0637 1.49 0609 1.79 0740 1311 0.57 1329 0.44 1354 SA FR SU 0.50 1539 0.89 1330 0.51 1418 0.66 0.51 1504 WE MO TU FR SU 1354 WE 1241 0.54 1230 0.31 1329 WE TU FR 1945 1.84 2000 2.01 2030 1.90 2215 1.43 1905 2030 1847 1.96 2137 2131 2000 1.78 1.68 1.35 1.79 2004 0238 0.30 0224 0.46 0315 0.62 0125 0406 0238 0.36 0315 0058 0.31 0313 0.32 0432 0.57 0.64 0.38 0245 0834 1.51 0815 1.38 0911 1129 1.40 1.44 1007 1.38 0911 0702 1.38 1025 0841 1.38 0717 0.57 1.48 1.78 0834 1415 0.49 1350 1440 SA SU MO 1415 1656 0.90 1541 0.72 1544 0.53 0.54 1415 0.48 TH WE TH MO 1440 TU SA 1313 0.55 1315 0.30 TH WE SA 20481.93 2.03 2024 2115 1.95 1.88 2304 1.46 2207 2115 1.71 2048 1938 1.75 1.36 1934 2240 1.91 2048 03300.34 0.31 0305 0522 0441 0400 0.40 0400 0.27 0.42 0428 0.49 0203 0.53 0.57 0153 0.30 0329 0330 0928 1.45 0859 1.37 1218 1.50 1045 0957 1.38 0957 1.36 0927 1.41 1138 1.57 0756 1.46 0756 1.74 0928 15010.57 0.55 1432 0.57 SU MO TU 1525 1755 0.89 1624 0.57 1525 1503 0.46 1703 0.73 FR FR TU WE SU TH 1345 0.56 1359 0.33 1501 FR TH SU 21351.87 2.00 2105 2243 2158 1.62 2158 1.96 1.91 2350 1.50 2135 2012 1.80 1.38 2021 2339 1.98 2133

m Time m m Time m Time Time m Time Time m 0.49 m Time Time 1.36m 0.40 0623 0013 1.25 0557 0041 1.48 04520437 1.41m 1.40 0.49 0046 0049 0.58 0623 1.40 0034 0.51 1158 0.55 1031 0.620.691148 0630 0.460013 1041 0.38 0.58 1.23 0423 1.39 04370603 1.25 1.66 0430 1.481.30 0603 1.23 0735 1.301900 0748 1.35 1158 0.58 0735 1.47 1.50 1710 1.58 1204 1.75 1748 1.58 1.54 0.56 0.60 1031 0.62 0.42 1036 0.460.52 SA SA MO 1904 SU 1137 FR TH1038 TU 0.56 1245 1257 0.87SA 1904 1.54 1245 0.75 2351 0.630.80 1843 0.50 2319 0.74 SU 1137 TU WE TH1812 1.54 1.58 1.72 1.61 1.751.83 TU 1709 WE 1711 TH 1710 1.72 1935 0.73 1.44 2343 1928 0.63 1.42 0.60 1812 2328 0.50 1.54 2351 1922 0.74 0.34 00430058 1.44 05340533 1.38 1.26 0023 0130 0.65 0.39 0.39 0135 0133 0.57 0043 0.65 0130 0.47 0735 0721 1.29 1117 0.600.680656 0.470058 1121 0.42 1.40 1.30 0515 1.38 05330650 1.26 1.65 0533 1.441.33 0650 1.30 0842 1.321231 0848 1.37 0735 1.40 0849 1.50 1254 0.65 1755 1.67 1.85 1836 1.52 0.68 0.49 0.59 11171226 0.60 0.40 1127 0.470.50 SU SU MO FR1117 WE SA TU 1256 0.49 1347 0.95 1256 0.68 1345 0.85 MO 1226 WE 1336 FR1858 TH 1.62 0.89TH 1755 1.67 1.74 1804 1.851.86 1947 1930 1.44 1.51 1.82 SU WE 1750 FR 1959 2009 1.38 1959 1.51 1.82 2019 1.40 2023 1.50 0.50 1858 0.75 0.31 01440140 0.42 00010039 0.75 0.55 0116 0214 0.59 0.29 0.29 0230 0223 0.55 0144 0.59 0230 0.43 0858 0018 0.65 00390735 0.55 1.64 0044 0.421.35 0807 1.26 0624 1.280.650808 1.420140 0628 1.34 1.44 1.37 0735 1.37 0945 1.361321 0949 1.40 0858 1.44 0958 1.55 1.37 0624 1.28 0.39 0633 1.420.49 1341 0.75 1201 0.58 0.48 1209 0.48 0.78 0.42 MO MO TU 1314 SA0603 TH SU WE 1402 0.42 1438 1449 1.01 1402 0.78 1453 0.92 TU 1314 TH SA1943 FR 0.58 1201 0.58 1.86 1217 0.481.86 2014 2036 1.38 1838 1.750.96FR 1.92 1930 1.47 1.48 1.91 MO TH 1156 SA 2058 1.91 2108 2058 1943 1.48 1829 1.70 1.37 1855 2124 1.75 1.35 1.92 1.47 1838 2102 0.75 0.31 02520221 0.35 00520122 0.74 0.46 0220 0254 0.51 0.21 0329 0320 0.53 0252 0.51 0.21 0338 0.39 1014 0102 0.58 01220820 0.46 0.41 0138 0.351.37 1.27 0711 1.310.610922 1.410221 0735 1.33 1.53 1.44 0849 1044 1.421422 1050 1.46 1014 0820 1.53 1.44 1103 1.61 1.37 07111401 1.31 1.61 0730 1.410.49 0.83 1245 0.54 0.50 1307 0.57 0.85 0.35 1424 TU SU0648 FR MO TH 1517 TU WE 1550 1600 1.02TU 1517 0.85 0.35 1608 0.94 FR SU2029 WE 1401 SA 0.57 1245 0.54 0.40 1306 0.501.83 FR 1233 SU 2200 2126 1.35 1921 1.841.00SA 1.96 2031 1.44 1.48 1.96 2054 2200 1.48 1907 1.96 2200 1.95 2029 1.96 1.46 1921 2203 1.77 1.36 1944 2229 1.84 1.34 0.71 0.33 04020304 0.70 0.38 0330 0331 0.43 0.16 0.32 01570204 0426 0422 0.48 0402 0.43 0.16 0445 0.36 1122 0143 0.51 02040905 0.38 0.34 0229 0.321.37 1.32 0756 1.350.561030 0900 1.35 0929 1.64 1.50 1.400304 1137 1.51 1147 1.52 1122 1.64 0905 1.50 1205 1.67 0731 1.38 0756 1.35 1.56 0821 1.40 1539 0.89 1330 0.51 1418 0.66 1504 0.50 1636 1451 0.88 0.32 0.51 MO 0.32 1701 WE SA TU WE FR TH 1709 0.99 1.00 1636 0.88 1451 1720 0.92 SA MO TH SU 1311 0.57 1330 0.51 0.44 1354 0.51 SA MO WE SU 1.35 1.78 23002115 1.43 1.90 2215 2131 1.50 1.96 1.96 21372004 2300 1.50 1945 1.96 2255 1.84 1.37 2030 2331 1.90 1.35 2.01 2115 1.96 1.47 2004 2308 0.64 0.36 05070346 0.62 0.32 0432 0406 0.31 03130245 0.34 0.15 0346 0.15 0516 0507 0.34 0224 0.50 0315 0545 0.33 0245 0520 0.43 0.30 0.46 0.311.38 0.32 1.40 1.44 1.38 1025 0841 1.38 1129 1007 12240952 1.74 1.56 0952 1.56 1224 1.74 1225 1.59 1301 1.72 1240 1.59 1.51 0815 1.38 0911 1.380.53 1746 08411542 1.38 1656 0.90 1541 0.72 0.54 1415 0.48 1544 0.86 0.31 TH WE TU1350 TH SA 1415 FR SU 1542 0.31 1746 0.86 1758 0.96 1822 0.87 1807 0.93 FR SU MO TU 0.49 0.57 1440 0.54 0.48 TH SU MO TU 1.36 1.71 23592202 22401.90 1.46 1.951.392304 2207 1.93 1.52 2048 1.52 1.90 2359 2.03 2202 2024 2349 1.88 2115 1.93 2048 1.95 0.57 0.40 0430 0.340430 0329 0.270.440522 0441 0.28 0.18 04280.18 0.49 0604 0.28 0601 0030 1.49 0604 0010 1.39 0.31 0305 0.42 0400 0.341.38 03291040 0.27 1.50 1045 1.361040 0927 1.411.661218 1320 1.81 1.59 1138 1.57 1.59 1320 1.81 1310 0639 0.31 0611 0.38 1.45 0859 1.37 0957 1.36 0927 1.41 1755 0.89 1624 0.57 1636 0.57 1503 0.46 0.82 0.34 1703 0.73 FR FR SA WE1432 SU 1844 MO TH 1636 0.34 1844 0.82 1844 0.92TU 1353 1.75 1329 1.65 SA MO TU WE 0.55 0.57 1525 0.57 1503 0.46 FR MO WE 1.38 1.62 2251 1.78 1.87 23391.78 2133 1.50 1.96 2350 2243 2.00 2251 2105 1.91 2158 1915 1.87 0.81 2133 1856 1.96 0.85

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TU 1730 2331

1731 1.67 1.64 1650 1.69 1.53 1.38 MOFR 1517 1.55 1.55 1.68 TH SU 1530 1.44 WE 1819 FR 1754 1.63 SATU 1806 1.51 WE 1813 TH MO FR TU SA 1740 SU 1534 TU WE 1553 FR 1630 SU MO 2252 0.69 2225 0.55 0.65 2322 2147 0.60 0.84 1930 1.40 2147 0.78 2344 1956 0.86 2231 1907 0.76 0.74 2125 2120 0.65 2147 0.780.60 2231 0.55 2322 0.60 0.69 0.74 2125 0.84 2120 0.78 2252 2231 0.550.562225 2322 2344 1836 0.56 1.40

FR 1.46 TUSA 1615 1.65 MO 1624 0.48 0.59 2254 0.72 2336 0.71 2305 2106 0.86 2342 2020 0.75 2230 0.79 2234 0530 0240 1.28 0526 1.67 1110 0925 0.54 1107 0.46 1.78 FR 1751 SU 1815 1.48 SU 1545 2134 2351 0.69

31 31 31

TH 1200 SA 1838 1.58 SUWE 1212 0.79 MO 1622 1.51 TU 1.58 1.71 1731 1.64 1.62 0.70 0.54 SU 1158 WE FR 1815 TH 1654 SA WE SA 1723 MO TU TH 1230 1.72 1900 1.52 1921 1.35 1830 2037 1.33 0.72 2254 1.49 1842 23421830 0.48 1.721.47 2230 1857 0.79 2234 0.59 22540.72 0.72 1.47 1857 0.721830 2336 2342 0.71 0.48 2305 1.49 1.72 1842 1900 1.42 0.49 1.59 0.69

0.34 0530 1.28 0526 31 0114 0709 1.33 31 31 1107 1110 0.54 MO 1246 0.49

1.42 0.49 1751 1.78 1815 1.59 FR SU 1915 1.74 2351 0.69

0110 0.37 05300114 1.28 0.34 310709 0832 1.50 3131 1110 0.54 1.33 FR 1324 1.78 0.84 FR 1751

0.49 MO 1246 1954 1.74 1.47 1915

0.34 0.44 0110 31 0250 1019 31 0114 0709 1.33 1.41 31 0832 1519 0.87 MO 0.49 MO 1246 FR 1324 1915 2150 1.74 1.30 1954

reau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology monwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide ns is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide daylight savings time Times (UTC +11:00) are in daylight local when standard insavings effecttime (UTC +10:00) orindaylight savings +11:00) in effect savings time (UTC +11:00 Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time time (UTC +11:00) whenwhen inor effect standard time (UTC +10:00) or time (UTC Times +11:00) are local when standard in effect time(UTC (UTC +10:00) daylight First Quarter New Last Moon Quarter First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Full Moon Symbols Full Moon New Moon Moon Phase First Quarter LastQuarter Quarter Full Moon NewMoon MoonPhase Symbols First Quarter New Last Moon Quarter First ols Full Moon Symbols Full M Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

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