VIC
Protecting the future of fisheries PHILLIP ISLAND
Craig Edmonds
Responsible fishing is something we have all been practicing for a long time now, with bag and size limits. However, our
groups trying to stop fishing. As an example, just google the ‘PEW group’. This group is funded better than many small countries, and starts spot fires all round the world, even in Australia. Admittedly, a lot of what they do concerns commercial
walks the beaches daily told me, “you fishermen are your own worst enemy”. Maybe she is right? If you don’t want fishing to be targeted by green groups, don’t give them a reason. Removing plastic is the buzz thing at the moment.
Irene with a hard-fighting tuna. pastime is under increasing threat by green groups, so we now need to be more careful and responsible than ever. You don’t even have to spend five minutes on the computer to find a dozen
overfishing, but recreational fishing isn’t immune. It doesn’t help our cause when members of the public go for a walk on the beach and bring me empty bait packets and fishing line they find. One local retired lady who
Luke McPherson, 12yo, from Drouin West caught this great snapper weighing 10.5lb, measuring 73cm at the Western Entrance, Western Port Bay.
80 MAY 2023
If I had told you years ago that you wouldn’t be able to get a plastic straw at the local café, you wouldn’t have believed me, but that’s the way things are now. It doesn’t matter if you believe in these changes or not, it is happening. Plastic litter is one area that the background groups are working on as a reason to stop us doing what we do. Some suppliers are looking at reducing plastic in their packaging, but in the meantime, we need to beat the green groups at their own game by showing that the fishing culture is changing. If you see a discarded bait bag or some fishing line, pick it up. At the shop we are more than happy to remove the packaging for you, if you’d like us to. WHAT’S BITING We are coming to the
end of our 17th season in the shop, and so many things have changed in that time in our store. However, the biggest change has been to fishing, and mostly in a good way. The quality of fish we catch locally now is far superior to what was around even five years ago. That goes for in the bay and offshore, and with the improvements in boats, confidence in the owners of those boats and the everchanging species that show up, I wonder how long before I will be reporting captures of marlin, mahimahi and other pelagic species. While we thought that the bluefin were at their best during January into February, it turned out some of the best weekends for fish numbers were at the end of March. Those anglers who were fishing all season reported to us that the schools of bluefin with the most numbers were generally encountered very late in the season. Maybe it was just the barrels and other bigger fish pushing them up. Throughout the whole season, smaller lures have been the way to go. The colour comes down to individual’s choice. Daisy chains definitely improved the chance of success, while the choice of skirts or hardbodies just depended on the fish’s mood. Dozens of customers tried using poppers with success for the first time in their own backyards. With the barrel season about to start, the only thing holding people back will be the weather. In the bay we are seeing plenty of quality, although not a lot of quantity, which is nothing new for this time of the year. The fish we see for the next few months tend to be in much better condition than those we see in the middle of summer, mostly due to the water being a little colder and the fish adding a healthy fat layer under the skin.
A great mixed bag caught by Noel. The rubbish fish are just around the corner and it’s getting to the time of the year when you specifically target fish. Pick a species, pick a tide and or change or just pick an area, but it’s not the time of year in the bay to do a 9-hour session. You will come home a few times with doughnuts, but like those anglers who have been fishing this way for a number of years, you will work out what is the best for you to achieve your goal of a feed of fish in only a morning or afternoon session. This time of the year is so busy with sports on weekends, especially
Michelle with a quality gummy shark.
if you have kids, but with planning you can still get in a football match and a fish on the same day. Through these cooler months I think it’s important to strip back your fishing expectations and go back to fishing for the relaxation of it, stressing less about the end result. I have had several customers with boats over the last 12 months or so who have just been fed up with the weather and have decided to go back to basics. They have set themselves up to fish wherever the weather has allowed – boat, land or river – and tell me they are enjoying fishing all over again. There have been some quality fish reported from my land-based customers, and some have gotten right into the challenge of the rivers chasing the estuary perch and bream, both of which have shown up in good numbers in the Powlett. Finally, I have fishing novices who come in to see me and tell me they get confused with every report they read seeming to contradict the next. We always try to tell people that all reports are past tense reports, and that what has happened the week before is not guaranteed to happen the week after! The key is to moderate your expectations, put in the time on the water, and feel free to drop into the store and ask for advice.
