WIRF

Bagging brag-worthy catches

WIRF Cara Cummings

After an unusually hot and long summer, it will be interesting to see what autumn has in store for us and how it will affect fishing and seasonal trends. Timeout Fishing Charters.

“My first ever gummy charter and we landed two gummies, loads of flatties and mackerel,” Allison said. “We honoured our catch by making a toast to it and ate a fabulous dinner of flake tacos.”

Deborah Johnston took numbers in her fishing years.

“Victorian Fisheries are doing an amazing job and the system is working really well,” Lee said. “It’s an exciting time now, and for the future for all fishers, with the great stocking of waterways.”

COMBATTING

SEA SICKNESS

WIRF leader Amanda Keilar shares some very helpful tips to help you avoid and treat sea sickness:

“The worry of sea sickness is often a barrier that stops people going out on the water. Not everyone gets seasick but for some it cannot be cured, and there’s no magic bullet. However, there are steps you can take to help prepare and give your body a fighting chance. You will also feel confident knowing you have done everything you can, and put you in a great frame of mind to get out and have a good time!

Sea sickness (motion sickness) is caused by a continuous unnatural movement that conflicts with your visual perception. Your brain and motion senses become conflicted. This can cause dizziness, fatigue and discomfort leading to nausea and vomiting and a spoilt boat trip! People with inner ear imbalances seem to be more prone to these symptoms.

Here are some tips for avoiding sea sickness: 1. I recommend taking 1-2 Kwells, (available at most chemists) 30 mins to an hour before venturing out on the water. 2. Some people use and recommend Sea-Band wrist brands for nausea prevention. They apply pressure on

Chantel with her brag worthy snapper.

Summer has provided us with an abundance of fish, and catches have been plentiful, with many landbased success stories. The saltwater scene has been showing off, with some brilliant catches including tuna, kingfish and snapper. Our freshwater ladies have also had great success with Murray cod, yellowbelly and trout cod! BRAG MAT

WIRF Leader and Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club Secretary, Chantal Meehan was delighted to head out on a clinker boat with fellow club member Harry Tsoumbakos on Australia Day for an early morning fish. Although Harry is the current in-house leader in their annual fishing competition, Chantal managed to land several more pinkies than him, including the beauty pictured on this page.

Ness Hubbard entered the Golden Beach Surf Fishing Competition, which was her first-time surf fishing, and she landed this wonderful Aussie salmon.

“I was using fresh bluebait from one of my favourite local places, Bass Strait Bait & Tackle Lakes Entrance,” Ness said. “The weather had an easterly wind, and I caught the Australian salmon around 6:20am, right as the sun came up and before the sea fog settled in. I weighed it in at the competition and it came in at 1.7kg.”

Allison Smith said she had a great day out with a little road trip and had a great fishing session along the Great Ocean Road.

“We went back to one of our favourite spots, Point Roadnight near Anglesea, and I caught this pinkie from the beach,” Deborah said. “It was low tide, so we had to wade out into the surf to the edge of the gutter. It was caught on chicken just after sunrise.”

Now, for the freshwater fans! Lee Vasic caught and released a number of nice Murray cod whilst on holiday at Barmah. Lee is a very passionate angler and has seen many changes to the quality of waterways and fish an acupressure point on your wrist that aids nausea prevention. I haven’t used them but have heard they work for some. You can also massage these pressure points (located three fingers wide above the wrist) when feeling sick to get a similar effect. 3. Get a good night’s sleep the night before. 4. Eat lightly the night before, nothing spicy and avoid a greasy breakfast on the day or citrus fruits that put acid in your tummy. 5. Avoid alcohol, both the night before and when on the boat. 6. Stay hydrated the whole time and keep your head out in the fresh air. 7. Avoid looking down whilst on the boat for extended periods of time (e.g. at a mobile phone or at a sounder). Anytime you feel queasy, stop what you are doing and stare at a non-moving object in the distance. Keep this in your line of sight until Lee caught this nice Murray cod while on holiday at Barmah.

you feel rebalanced. Looking straight at something helps regain your composure. 8. Face the direction the boat is travelling if you feel queasy. 9. The centre of the boat is usually the most stable for motion sickness. 10. Dress freely in clothes that allow the breeze to get onto your skin. Overheating and restricted clothing don’t

RECIPES THAT ARE ‘WIRF’ IT

Tandoori fish with Naan

INGREDIENTS

(SERVES 4)

Olive oil ¼ cup tandoori paste ¼ cup natural plain yoghurt 4 x naan bread (individual serves)

Sauce

½ cup natural plain/Greek yoghurt ½ red chilli, finely diced ½ Lebanese cucumber, diced Handful roughly chopped coriander or parsley Salt and pepper Juice of ½ lemon

METHOD

1. Mix together the tandoori paste and yogurt to form the marinade. 2. Cut the fish into finger length strips (approx. 3-4cm wide). Stir through the marinade and cover well. 3. Splash a little oil in a hot pan and cook the fish for 2 minutes, each side. 4. Whilst fish is cooking, to prepare the sauce, add all ingredients together and mix through. 5. Once the fish is cooked, wipe the pan clean and turn the heat to low. Add the naan bread and allow to gently warm. 6. To present your dish, add a couple of generous spoons of the yoghurt sauce to the naan bread, and place the fish on top. Garnish with a little coriander and serve whilst hot!

Tips: You can use any type of fish for this recipe, but I would suggest choosing a firm flesh fish that doesn’t have its own unique delicate flavour, as the tandoori will take over. Flake or salmon particularly work well for this dish.