Bundaberg

BUNDABERG Luke Truant

The best time to fish for snapper this month is early in the morning when everyone else is huddled up in bed, unwilling to brave the cold. You want to be on the water an hour before sun-up, fishing the rubble and reef patches inshore, in depths of 12-20m. Two Mile is a good place to start. Keep fishing until around half an hour after the sun comes up, to give yourself the best chance of success. Snapper like 5” jerk shad style plastics. They’ll take pretty much any colour on a given day, but I lean towards light and/or bright colours. I recommend fishing your plastic pretty close to the bottom, and use a double lift and slow fall action. Fish as light as the current will allow, because snapper, like most fish, don’t like the sight of a bait plummeting to the bottom.

Now that the yellowtail scad have arrived, we can go live baiting for big reds and XOS gold spot cod. Spots like the End Leads and the Nursery are packed full of yellowtail at the moment. Fill your livie tank before you go, and aim to have lines down an hour before sunrise. The gold spot cod are insatiable when you’re fishing livies. Please don’t keep all the big cod you catch, because you can thin out their numbers easily. They are susceptible to barotrauma, so please use a release weight or venting tool before release. Because the yellowtail scad haven’t been around for very long, the predators will be very enthusiastic about attacking your live baits. The reef spots within 20 miles are producing plenty of good reds and trout on live baits, and we are also getting XOS grassy sweetlip too. If you haven’t fished with livies before, I can guarantee you’ll be amazed at the amount of strikes you’ll get from large sweetlip. The biggest we’ve caught has been 7kg, and pound-for-pound they fight harder than a red emperor.

JULY FISHING

In the coming weeks you can still catch snapper on the surface if you’re out reef fishing – just send a float line out while you’re bottom fishing. Last July is when we caught all of our biggest snapper on the surface in depths up to 55m. The biggest last year was 12kg, and it took a live yakka on the surface in about 45m of water. Just remember that the snapper season is closed from 15 July to 15 August.

At this time of year, I target reds in shallower water. They seem to really like that 36m depth in winter.

For the trout, the ideal depth range is around 20-30m at this time of A great feed of mud crabs.

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Big reds have been taking live baits with gusto over the past month. year. It’s great fun catching them on lures, and there are several ways to go about it. One of the most productive methods is trolling divers around the reef edge, and you’ll also get a lot of shark mackerel and good cod while doing this. Trout are an ambush predator so I troll at a fairly fast pace, around 5 knots. Interestingly, the lure doesn’t have to be close to the bottom; a 2m diving lure in 8m of water will still catch trout.

Stickbaits are also really effective, as are Waxwings. However, by far my favourite way of catching trout is throwing a chrome lure such as a Spanyid or Twisty over bommies that dry on the low tide. When there’s about 30cm of water over the top of the bommie, cast your chrome lure over it and commence a rapid

tuna-style retrieve with a high-speed reel. Some days we’ve had seven casts for seven trout, and we’ve seen up to five fish hit the lure at the same time. I fish with a single hook as it tends not to tear out of the mouth of bigger trout. Trebles are good for smaller trout.

An important thing to remember is to not fish light, because around one in five trout will brick you

Wintertime is snapper time!

FISHING NEWS

(I put on the snorkel and get them out). I use a Saltist 4500 H, with a 7’ whippy rod and a minimum of 30lb braid. I recommend using 50lb fluorocarbon trace because these fish will do their best to bust you off on the rocks. • Truansea Charters specialise in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef targets such as coral trout and red emperor, as well as arm-stretching pelagics like Spanish mackerel. The maximum number of anglers is 6, so you’ll never feel crowded. The price is $300pp (or $275 pp if you book the whole boat), which includes all gear, fuel, bait, ice, chilled water/soft drinks and laughs! You’re welcome to bring your own reef fishing gear if you prefer. Other charter options include half-day reef trips, half day river trips and private guiding. To find out more visit www.truansea.com.au, or you can Like them on Facebook or call Luke on 0423 015 490.

Spanish mackerel ban?

Fisheries Qld is currently considering a complete ban on Spanish mackerel fishing, for both commercial and recreational fishers.

A working group met in May to discuss current catch rates and estimated biomass. Fisheries Qld stated that the biomass for Spanish mackerel is estimated to be 17% of unfished biomass. According to the Sustainable Fisheries Strategy and under National Guidelines, 20% unfished biomass is Spanish mackerel fisheries stretching across northern Australia, only the Gulf of Carpentaria fishery was ‘depleting’.

Many anglers and industry members are suspicious of the new biomass estimate presented by Fisheries Qld. Why was the stock assessment model changed? Why is it so different from the studies done in 2018 and 2020, which both found that the fishery was sustainable?

Additionally, as one pro pointed out, the assessment

Most offshore anglers in Central and North Qld would consider Spanish mackerel to be numerous, but the Fisheries Qld stock assessment says otherwise.

the point below which a fishery is recommended to be closed.

Members of the fishing industry pointed out that the new biomass estimate was significantly lower than the previous assessment in 2018. The new biomass estimate also contradicts a 2020 FRDC report, which found that of the five also doesn’t take into account the 10-50% of hooked fish that are lost to sharks.

After the working group met in May, the recommended course of action, as listed on the DAF website, was to close the fishery for two years. Since then, however, the webpage has been edited to remove any mention of a two-year closure. It still states that a closure is recommended when an unfished biomass is under 20% – and that the current assessment is 17%.

The stock assessment is currently undergoing scientific peer review, and the discussion group is scheduled to meet again later this year.

If you are concerned about the proposed ban, please contact your local member. You can read the full DAF communique by Googling ‘Spanish mackerel communique’. - FMG CZone Touch 10 Generation 2 Kit Sleek attractive touch screen with glass dash styling that will complement the interior of any high-end vessel or recreational vehicle.

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