Fishing Monthly Magazine | April 2023 by Fishing Monthly

• EASTER FISHING TIPS • BUMPER BAIT BASICS •

Features

•

QLD

NSW

VIC

TAS

National Rec Fishing Survey Part I • Latest tournament news • Bolstering bait tactics • Starlo’s great De-Bait

VIC

NEW FIND THE

NSW

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Technique Spotlight

Jamie Robley brings us bolstering bait tactics

QLD

Tested

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Boat Test: Stessco Albacore 560CC

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CONTENTS

OUR COVER April 2023, Vol. 3 No.12 VIC

TAS

QUEENSLAND Tweed River Gold Coast Jumpinpin Brisbane Northern Bay Noosa Bundaberg Mackay Townsville Hinchinbrook Cairns Port Douglas Cooktown Cape York Freshwater

16 18 22 24 26 28 32 34 36 38 40 40 42 44 50

NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater Sydney Rock Sydney North Sydney South Ballina Coffs Coast South West Rocks Hastings Forster Port Stephens Central Coast Swansea Illawarra Batemans Bay Bermagui Tathra Albany/Wodonga Hunter Valley Batlow New England Rivers Canberra

54 56 54 58 60 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 72 72 75 74 74 76 77

VICTORIA Warrnambool Portland Cobden Geelong Port Phillip East Port Phillip West Phillip Island Lakes Entrance Gippsland Lakes Port Albert Marlo Bemm River Mallacoota Robinvale Yarrawonga Wangaratta Shepparton Bendigo Ballarat Crater Lakes 6 APRIL 2023

From the Editor’s Desk...

78 78 79 80 81 82 84 86 86 87 88 88 89 90 93 92 93 91 94 95

While looking for an early season mulloway, Graeme Doodson managed to drag in a monster lemon shark at Lancelin, WA. A Peter Fullarton image. Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.

Eildon Gippsland Freshwater

96 96

TASMANIA Offshore Hobart

98 99

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance Bunbury Augusta Metro Mandurah Kalbarri Lancelin Exmouth Karratha Freshwater

100 100 101 102 103 105 104 106 107 108

REGULAR FEATURES Bolstering bait tactics Starlo’s: The Great De-bait National Rec Fishing Survey Part I Sheik of the Creek What’s New Fishing Fun page WIRF Tournaments Tournament Calendar Trades and Services/Tide page Boat test: Stessco Albacore 560CC

8 14 46 53 59 61 97 110 118 120 124

COMPS AND OFFERS Find the logo

119

THE TECHNOLOGY DEBATE In my seat I get to see both sides of the story when it comes to the impact of new technology on fishing in the field. Advances in fish finders, outboard motors, rods reels and lures all play a part in making fish more catchable. Under sound fish management regimes, this is a great thing for our industry. People actually catching more fish means a more vibrant industry. And having fishing rules in place that contain stock depletion are the key. With the advent of forward-facing sonar, there are plenty of salty anglers out there who are finding that their lifetime of experience is being matched by someone good on their sounder. This new generation of anglers can find and catch fish in an instant where it used to take years to work out their patterns and habits. I understand this as well. When I was a young angler, I would always fantasise about a technology that would show me exactly where the fish were in real time. Back when I was 10, this consisted of little red laser beam shooting up into the air to show me where the fish were moving

16 34

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104

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97 WIRF

around and where to cast my lures. As it happened this isn’t how the technology was delivered. But I can definitely watch fish, find fish and see their reaction to my lures in real time on my sounder screen. It’s a real game changer. It’s what the technology anglers talk about when they mention Garmin LiveScope, Lowrance Active Target or Humminbird MegaLive. In Australia and overseas I noticed that some fishing tournaments actually ban its use. I think this is a very negative outlook. On the tournament side of our company, I thought the tournaments were about people catching fish? People catching fish are much happier to upgrade boats, motors, fishing tackle and electronics. And that keeps us all in work. Some people tell me that fishing is becoming an elite sport because not everybody can afford the expensive electronics. My response is to ask them what has changed with the fishing that they have always enjoyed? Just because other anglers are catching more fish, does that diminish their own experience when they’re out on the water? If they have fun, take home a feed and are happy with their catch, why should anything change? In the end it comes down to the fact that anglers are reasonably jealous creatures. The fear of missing out runs strong in some and I don’t think that will ever change. What’s the take-home message? Enjoy your fishing in whatever form you practice. The fish are the same, they behave the same and what you’ve always done will probably still work.

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A LO H A

STYLE: WORLD CUP Available in Prescription

It's going to be a good day. MAUIJIM.COM

SUNGLASSES

PRESCRIPTION SUNGLASSES

GLASSES

Bolstering bait tactics CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

Pick up any fishing magazine or take a quick look around the internet or apps these days and it seems that lure or fly fishing are perhaps more popular than using old fashioned bait. If you’re not using lure or fly you must be so last century it’s not

at the top of the evolutionary intelligence list, but they’re a creature that’s not always easy to fool. As we move away from the warmer months and head into winter, most of our popular angling targets like to feed up before the water gets too cold. Some will continue to feed right through winter, while others migrate elsewhere and some slow right down to an

comes to success with baits. Regardless of where or how you fish, simply going to good spots at the right time is a good start. Researching your local area or a potential holiday destination is probably the first logical step to take. Being mindful of the weather, moon and tides is also greatly beneficial. More specifically, for the sake of this particular article, let’s focus more on two nitty

This big bream took a rather small bait of white bread while the author was chasing luderick at one of his favourite rock fishing spots. White bread works a treat for a variety of different species in the fresh or salt. late model 4WD vehicles, loaded up and heading to popular fishing destinations, with cheapy, low budget rods and reels secured to the roof racks or rod holders. If you can afford a new Hilux, Ranger or Navara then surely spending another few hundred on a couple

rather than names you can’t pronounce! Clean, functional, maintained tackle is another aspect of successful fishing to consider. A well-maintained reel that spins freely is better than a more expensive reel with a sticky drag or noisy bearings. The same applies

comes into it as well. So here are some of my all-time best performers. PILCHARDS It’s very hard to go past good old pillies for general beach fishing. They are extremely appealing to tailor, salmon and bream, while other species like trevally,

Bait and bait. These freshwater mullet were caught on small bread baits suspended under a little Styrofoam float. The author then used the mullet to catch bream at a nearby beach. even funny! Well, most of us know that’s not entirely the case, but let’s face it, chasing fish with artificial offerings definitely gets a lot of attention. Lure or fly fishing does have a lot going for it and yes, tricking fish with ‘fake baits’ certainly works. However, there’s still a lot to be said for fishing with a real bait down at the business end of your line. Fish may not be

almost shut down state. So, although casting or trolling an artificial bait may still work well in some cases, the next few months are a prime period for using natural baits. This is particularly so for coastal fishing the inshore reefs, rocks and beaches, but baits will also do very well in the estuary or freshwater at this time of year. There are a few main factors to consider when it

gritty aspects of fishing with natural baits. Suitable tackle and good bait. GOOD GEAR No matter where or how you fish, it’s pretty obvious that good quality tackle is beneficial. By this, I don’t necessarily mean top of the line, expensive gear, but I do mean decent quality rods, reels, lines and terminals like hooks or swivels. It often amazes me to see big,

This big carp took a bait of white bread in the middle of winter. Although carp will respond to flies or small lures, in most situations bait will work better for them.

A well organised tackle box, with nice sharp hooks will go a long way towards successful bait fishing. So replace any rusty old hooks with new ones. Mustad, Owner, Gamakatsu and Eagle Claw are some reputable brand names to look for. 8 APRIL 2023

of decent fishing outfits won’t hurt! Good quality lines and nice sharp hooks will go a long way towards success and this sort of stuff is relatively cheap. I buy the majority of my tackle online these days, so it’s pretty quick and easy to compare prices and buy some new line or hooks. Whenever possible though, I still try to buy from real local tackle stores, rather than going for the cheapy overseas option. Brand names like Daiwa, Shimano, Penn, Mustad, Gamakatsu and Wilson are what you need to look for,

to hooks and other terminals. So throw out older, rusty hooks and periodically check through your tackle to see what may need to be replaced or cleaned up. BEST BAITS Most keen anglers have their favourite baits and I’m the same. When considering what a good bait is, I firstly consider how much the fish like it or how effective it is. That’s probably the main thing overall. Then, how easy or convenient it is to use, how long does it last and how hard is it to find, gather, catch or buy and if you are buying it, the cost obviously

bonito, snapper, dart, bream, flathead and mulloway also go for pilchard baits. I’ve even caught the odd whiting on pillies over the years. Unfortunately, it’s not always easy to buy good quality pilchards. So take a close look at them in the bait freezer before buying. At the moment, blocks or IQF bags of pilchards are the same price at my local bait shop, so I’ll look at both and try to pick a bag or block that looks decent. The size may also be important, especially when you’re using them on ganged hooks. So I try to find average or medium

size, rather than bigger or smaller. Pilchards are one of my favourite beach baits for winter tailor and salmon and yes, I still use them old style, pinned to a set of ganged hooks! SMALL TUNA I’ll group a few different fish species into

this category, just to make things easier. Bonito are more correctly, part of the mackerel family, but let’s be technically incorrect here for a minute and use old school terms. As far as east coast anglers are concerned, the small tunas are those speedy pelagic fish that are abundant

along the east coast from about January through to late June each year. The main fish in this group are bonito, mack tuna, striped tuna, frigate mackerel and Watson’s bonito. Those anglers into chasing monsters like marlin, larger kingfish, cobia and

This Hunter River bream fell for a bait of freshwater mullet that the author had caught with white bread. In fact, the bream would have also taken a bait of white bread!

Small tuna are great fun to catch and a can be used for bait in a variety of ways to tempt different species. The author likes to cut the fillets into cubes and give them a liberal sprinkling of rock salt. This toughens up the flesh so they’ll last longer on the hook. It’s definitely worth looking into salting techniques if you’re a keen offshore, rock or beach angler who targets snapper and bream.

sharks may consider small tuna as slow trolled live baits or faster trolled skip baits. The majority of rock, beach and inshore anglers though, can use small tuna in the form of freshly cut baits or salted baits for bream, snapper, tailor and a few other species. Small tuna are generally much better when the skin is left on and they are covered

with a liberal sprinkling of rock salt. The salt draws out moisture and toughens up the flesh, without adversely affecting the flavour. So they hold up better to repeated casting or annoying pickers and pests. Good quality freshly salted small tuna are right at the top of the list for bream or snapper around inshore reef and rocky headlands.

BEACH WORMS Although it’s worth learning how to catch beach worms if you live on the coast and have the time and patience, luckily they can also be purchased from good bait shops. Beach worms appeal to most saltwater species, but are particularly effective for whiting and mulloway. They may seem relatively expensive compared to

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other baits, but that’s because of the process involved in catching, packaging and storage, but in my books they are definitely worth it. If you’re a keen surf angler, beach worms will serve you well. WHITE BREAD Plain and simple white bread is right up there for rock fishing if bream, drummer and luderick are the targets. Other fish like mullet, garfish and silver trevally also love bread. It’s just so clean, easy to use and quite inexpensive. White bread is also one of the easiest baits to find, because it’s sold almost everywhere. Yes, it can be a little soft on the hook, so it’s not resistant to pickers like toads or mados, but I find it works so well that any negative sides aren’t much of an issue. CALAMARI One of the more common squid species in our inshore waters, calamari are particularly abundant around

strips or cut pieces are also dynamite on bream, flathead and snapper. Tailor also just happen to be one of the best baits you could use to catch more tailor! MULLET Anglers around the country would be well aware of mullet as bait. They come in a number of different species and can also be found in freshwater rivers. Mullet are a true all-rounder for anything from mulloway to bream to snapper. I rate mullet slightly behind tailor, however, the flesh and skin is firmer, so mullet makes a more durable bait than tailor. GARFISH Another very familiar bait to keen anglers around most of the country. Like mullet,

other fish. YELLOWTAIL Yellowtail or yakkas have been a mainstay for rock and offshore anglers forever. They’re also still common in places like Sydney Harbour and Botany Bay. One of the more reliable live baits for kings, tuna and mulloway, they make first class snapper and bream bait and appeal to many other saltwater species. PRAWNS The humble prawn is a classic inshore or estuary bait. Their freshwater cousins, shrimp are also extremely effective on our native species. Alive, fresh, frozen or even cooked, prawns have a very broad appeal. Alive, they are deadly for flathead, bream, whiting,

Silver trevally are one of the more commonly encountered species around South East Australia through the cooler months. Although they respond well to small lures and flies, they really love soft baits like peeled prawns, worms, pipis, pilchards and white bread.

aupt of some pieces of cut tailor that have been lightly o B d e r u A close t Fea salted. Tailor make absolutely superb bait for bream off the rocks or at the beach through the cooler months.

inshore reef, kelp beds and sheltered bays. They work exceptionally well, fresh, alive or even frozen, but it’s way better to catch your own than pay high prices for potentially second rate calamari. If mulloway and kingfish are on your wanted list then one of the best pieces of advice I can suggest is to learn how to catch calamari first, believe me! TAILOR Juvenile tailor were always very common around the Central Coast lakes, where I first started fishing. So it was always easy to catch a few small tailor to use as fresh bait for bream or flathead. Fast forward a few decades and we now have a size limit on tailor, so the little ones aren’t on my list anymore. However, tailor flesh or medium size live tailor are an exceptionally good bait for mulloway, mackerel, kingfish and cobia. Smaller

The author rates white bread very highly. It’s also very clean, cheap and easy to purchase, so it has a lot going for it. we also have freshwater garfish in Australia. A live garfish is completely irresistible to kingfish, but they also make first class bait for bream, tuna, mulloway, snapper, mackerel and many

barra or bass, but you’ll catch anything from luderick to groper on prawns. If you’re buying prawns instead of catching them, always try to get the local product, not the bassco boats inferior imported version.

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The Great De-Bait NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Even the very best lure or fly can’t always hope to match the ‘real thing’, especially when it comes

truth. By far the majority of Australia’s four million-plus fishers choose to use bait a lot of the time. There’s a good reason for that, too: it works! Don’t get me wrong. I love lure and fly fishing. But I also happily return

fishers – started our angling careers using “smelly old bait”. To be honest, I actually feel a little sorry for those who didn’t, and instead dived straight into the deep end with artificial offerings. In some ways, I reckon that means they missed out on

Starlo with a decent estuary perch taken on a live prawn fished under a small float. Striking fast ensures a lip hookup so that fish can be released, if so desired. hunt, the environments they live in, and the things they prefer to eat. That grass roots knowledge is absolutely invaluable, and helps set us up for a long and successful

to say that taking these steps can double, triple or even quadruple your catch rate, not to mention producing a much better class of fish, in terms of both size and

Getting the kids involved in bait gathering can really help to engage them with the fishing process. to fooling fickle fish… There’s a lot to be said for good ol’ bait! Anyone reading fishing magazines or watching TV shows on the subject these days could easily be forgiven

to my bait fishing roots on a very regular basis, and I don’t regard doing so as a step down the fishing status ladder. Let’s face it, a lot of us – even the keenest lure or fly

an important chunk of the overall learning process. Fishing with baits – especially natural baits that we gather, catch or collect ourselves – teaches us so much about the fish we

Not too many fish will refuse a lively prawn kicking on a hook!

It’s worth taking the time to keep your bait in tiptop shape. These are freshwater shrimp.

on a 1/0 Suicide hook suspended about 1.5m under a small float. My results were nothing short of spectacular. You can watch my video of that session by scanning the QR code with this column, or going to my ‘Starlo Gets Reel’ YouTube channel and searching for a clip called ‘Live Prawns and Popping Corks’. It’s worth a look. I wasn’t overly surprised at how deadly those live offerings were. What did surprise me, however, was just how inferior dead prawns were by comparison – even very fresh ones that had died in my aerated bucket of water only an hour earlier. It was chalk and cheese – reinforcing once again just what a difference it can make to secure the liveliest possible offerings and keep them alive. Those clicking tails and kicking legs made all the difference. Some experienced

fishing life – whether we choose to keep using natural bait or not. Of course, there’s bait and bait. Freezer-burnt prawns or dried out old pilchards from the local servo may catch their share of fish, but results are generally much better if you take the trouble to collect your own bait, keep it alive or as fresh as possible, and then use it as soon as you possibly can. I’d go so far as

for thinking that most of us now fish almost exclusively with lures. In reality, nothing could be further from the QR CODE Yabbies (nippers) and marine worms are deadly estuary and inshore baits for all manner of fish.

Scan this QR code or go to the “Starlo Gets Reel” channel on YouTube to watch Steve’s “Live Prawns & Popping Corks” how-to video. 14 APRIL 2023

Sure, you’ll catch plenty of small fish like this little tarwhine on bait, too. Using circle hooks or striking fast can help prevent deep-hooking.

species desirability. A saying I often quote when discussing bait is the phrase ‘fresh is good, live is better’. It’s so true. Just recently I kept a few prawns alive after a late night session scoop netting a kilo or so of these tasty little crustaceans for the table. Next morning, I rose before the sun and headed out onto my local estuary to present those lively, kicking prawns

fishers who nowadays choose to use lures and flies exclusively seem to have a tendency to look down their noses at bait fishos, and often denigrate their activities as lesser forms of the art. Not me. I know that the very best bait anglers are at least as good at what they do as the most switched-on lure and fly casters… and those bait soakers can definitely teach the rest of us a thing or two!

Southern

OLD

Big autumn wahoo offshore THE TWEED

Leon McClymont

Going to focus a bit on wahoo this month, as April should be one of the best times of year to be targeting big wahoo offshore Gold Coast, Tweed and Byron. I’m going to go through a few things such as water colour, techniques, and areas that should help you get connected to this speedsters of the blue. The first thing you want to find is good water and the colour is critical for this species: they are a pelagic that loves the electric blue/ purple water. If you have found good water like this then you’re in with a good chance of encountering wahoo. Once finding this water it is up to you on how you would like to target them. Here are a few techniques that you can try. Fast trolling hardbody lures or hex heads. Are one of the most popular ways to target them as its effective and quite easy. You can even run both of them together. With this method or you can use

a range of speeds, it really depends on the conditions and your spread. Some hardbody lures won’t troll over 8-10 knots, but generally the faster the better for wahoo. Depending on how big your vessel is will determine how many lures you can run in your spread. Most boats will only run two rods out whilst trolling, as your average vessel is around 4.8-5.2m. A deep diving lure on the short corner and a shallow diving lure a little further back on the other corner is the most common. Running a hex head right out the back in the middle in shotgun position is also another a great option and doesn’t overcrowd the spread, or vice-versa you can run two hex heads and one hardbody. Keep your hardbody lure in short if you’re running two hex heads to avoid tangles. Trolling over and around pinnacles, drop offs, bait balls, FADs or pressure points where the current may be slamming into reefs are the areas you want to focus your time. Keep passing these areas, especially if you’re marking fish. Their natural instincts to chase down

a baitfish will kick in and they will fall for these fast trolled lures most of the time. If they aren’t eating lures or trolling isn’t your thing then slow trolling or drifting livies, such as slimey mackerel in these

areas will also produce wahoo. Stepping it up a level and using big size livies like little frigate/Atlantic tuna, bonito or Mac tuna are the best live bait you can get for a big wahoo. Skip baiting also is a great

Steve Dale with a solid lizard caught on 6lb line while chasing whiting with the family.

The author with a school size Spanish mackerel caught on slow trolled bonito.

way to catch wahoo. Skipping garfish or whichever bait you may wish to use, really the options are endless. Long slander baits are generally the most favourable baits chosen for this method as they will swim/skip better. Some will even use small mackerel or smaller wahoo up to 90cm for a bait for a bigger wahoo, this also is a great method for big marlin and is frequently used in the big gamefish arena for big black marlin off the continental shelf of Cairns. If casting lures is your thing then you really have to find the good water first. With trolling you can cover a lot of ground and eventually

Jimmy Clifton caught his first wahoo, and what a whopper it was! A solid 23kg taken on a deep diving hardbody. discover where the fish are by doing so, but with casting lures you’re nearly motionless drifting in the ocean with the currents. So finding good water, or even better finding fish on the sonar, then casting into the zone is much better, you want to feel confident with every cast. If you have found good water, bait ball, birds working, a FAD then there is a possibility of one turning on your popper or stick bait and you’re connected to one of the fastest fish in the ocean. There are still plenty of

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Ashley Jones caught her first spotted mackerel on a Tweed Bait slimy mackerel.

mackerel roaming around, as the better water has made a lot of difference this season. If you have found yourself fishing the greener water they will hang and feed in this water but will tend to be much deeper so running a downrigger will really increase your chances. Good reports of mulloway have been coming in on the inshore reefs as well. The little flush of fresh and the annual mullet run has the mulloway fired up and on the chew. I’ve been seeing plenty of snapper, pearlies and trag jew also being caught in 50-80m. Most the fish have been taken on baits with the some taken on slow pitching jigs 120-200g range. April is a good month to get out the shelf for a spot of deep dropping. Bar cod, nannygai, flametail, and rosey jobfish are some of the tasty ingredients you may encounter, the current should be minimal this time of year. The river got a good little flush with some of the recent rains plenty of good whiting and flathead getting caught in the shallows up Chinderah and Cobaki. There are still good reports of mangrove jack with a lot of anglers putting their time into that species, so the reports have been coming in thick and fast. Fishing artificial structure, such at bridge pylons and jetties have been the most productive but still plenty are being pulled from the natural snags that they also frequent. Good luck and get on out there and catch ya’ self a feed.

Southern

OLD

Return of the Spaniards is also deadly. Other methods include spinning with metal lures, casting stick baits and trolling hardbodied minnows. Early in the morning high speed trolling metal headed skirted lures can also very effective, trolling at speeds up to 12 knots. As well as Spanish mackerel, there should be plenty of spotted mackerel on the close reefs, such as 12 Fathoms and Palm Beach Reef. It has been an excellent season so far for spotted mackerel on the inshore grounds. Downsizing your lures and baits will put spotted mackerel in the boat. Slowly trolled pilchards are a good way to catch them. Wahoo usually turn up this month on the Tweed Heads Nine Mile Reef and on both 24 and 36 fathom reefs when the current is running. In April these fish average around 15-20kg. Wahoo like

GOLD COAST

David Green

April is a good month to chase Spanish mackerel and wahoo. Despite the ludicrous new regulations based on poor non validated science, this month we can return to catching Spanish mackerel. In April there should be plenty of mackerel between 6-15kg on most of the inshore grounds. Palm Beach, Mermaid Reef, the Gravel Patch off Burleigh and the 18 and 24 fathom reefs off Southport should all be productive. Trolling whole rigged dead baits such as slimy mackerel, bonito and tailor is probably the most effective method, particularly when a downrigger is used to get the bait down to the waiting fish. Slow trolling live baits

speed – trolling metal headed lures at around 12 knots is a great way to catch them and the strikes are sensational. Nothing apart from a blue marlin makes a reel scream like a wahoo in full flight. Small live tuna slowly trolled around the back ledge of the Nine Mile Reef is a great way to target bigger fish, although sharks can be a problem at times. This method can also produce Spanish mackerel, huge GTs and big kingfish. Wahoo also respond to trolled minnows like Halco Laser Pros, Samiki Pacemakers and Strada Trackers. There should be some good blue marlin fishing this month wide of the continental shelf. Trolling skirted lures on 37kg tackle is the preferred method, and when the bite is on in April it is not uncommon to encounter 5-10 blue

Kane Barclay found plenty of Spaniards this season.

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Dave Lawless with a spotted mackerel. marlin in a day. The average sized blue marlin is around 150kg and these fish are extremely challenging from a small boat. There should also be a few striped marlin and the odd wahoo encountered on the wider grounds. Most of the bites are in depths between 200-400m and the best time is the hour around a tide change. So far this season the blue marlin fishing off the Gold Coast has been very good. Local boat Maverick, skippered by Bob Jones, has caught 14 blues in the last two weeks. Bottom fishing this month is dictated by current. There should be reasonable catches of snapper, pearl perch, teraglin and parrot fish on the 36 and 50 fathom lines, current permitting, and closer to shore there should be a few mulloway around at night as well as teraglin and tailor. Deep dropping for flame snapper and bar cod is another good option if the current is running slowly. The best depth is between 200-400m. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES April is a great month to stock up on banana prawns. The catches in recent years have been sensational, and the lower end of Moreton

Bay has seen prawns in reasonable numbers throughout February, which is very early in the prawn season. Use your sounder to locate prawns close to the bottom, and a good prawn specific cast net is a good investment. Run out tides are generally the most productive. It is a good idea to set your crab pots while prawning, as April is a great month to chase both muddies and sand crabs. As the days get a bit shorter the water cools and the estuary fishing improves, flathead start to show up in the usual spots. There are plenty of whiting to be caught on the flats and in the deeper sections of the Seaway and Jumpinpin Bar there are generally a few decent sized mulloway to be caught. Sharks can be a big problem, eating a lot of hooked fish. On windy days in April I like to chase whiting using surface lures. These fish, despite their small mouths, are voracious surface predators and chase the right lure with aggression. The ideal lure mimics a skipping prawn, and the key to success is to wind the lure at a quick pace, skipping it through the small waves with plenty of twitches.

When it is windy you can make long casts with the breeze at your back, and the whiting seem less shy in these conditions and will generally bite well. I like to fish the first half of the run in tide and the Bassday Sugar Pen is my favourite lure. Alternatively, casting unweighted yabbies is another effective method. Mangrove jack start to move about in April and a lot move into the Seaway area where at times they form large schools at the end of the north wall of the Seaway. These can be targeted using live baits such as herring, yellowtail or small slimy mackerel. Don’t let them run far with the bait or they will take you into the rocks. Some of these jacks are well over 50cm in length and fight hard. Up in the canals April is a good month to chase jacks early in the morning using surface lures, and this also produces big eyed trevally and GTs. The mangrove jack seem to be increasing in number every year. Overall, April is a great month to fish the Gold Coast. There are plenty of opportunities both offshore and inshore and the cooler days make fishing very pleasant.

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OLD

Cool conditions bring stability JUMPINPIN

Bo Sawyer

At the time of writing the fishing has been a bit hit and miss with high water temps making it a challenging bite. We

soft vibe yesterday and wouldn’t let go of it at the boat (wasn’t foul hooked either!). Logan River has been the pick but anywhere with mud and mangroves and you should nail a few. Please be careful with your pots as the amount

Levi with a very nice whiting.

Young Jacob with a nice soapie he caught on a lure. should see this starting to cool down as we approach a great time of the year to fish the Pin. Wind has still been a major factor at the moment with plenty of days ranging between 20-30km. Mornings have been best yet again with the arvos getting quite breezy. Let’s start off with the crabs. To put it simply, they’ve been everywhere lately. You know they’ve been thick when you are jagging plenty of them on soft plastics. I even had a big one have a go at my

of discarded ones getting caught up on lures is at a new time high. The whiting have also been thick. We were getting one a cast outside of the north lagoon recently on freshly pumped yabbies. If you have a bad back then Brett has plenty of fresh worms in stock at Jacobs Well Bait and Tackle and the whiting love them. Plenty are being caught in the Logan, off Kalinga Bank, slipping sands and Gold Bank as well. The bream sizes are still fairly small but we’ll see them ramp up with the

weather cooling down. The flathead fishing hasn’t been bad but certainly not mind blowing just yet.

Max with a solid jack.

Isabel and Jayden with some cracker muddies.

Peter had a great day on Capn’s Charter catching mulloway, flathead and a 113cm threadfin.

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working well for the lure fisho otherwise livies, pilchards or prawns are getting fish for the baito’s. Find banks with weed edges and bait flicking and you should be on the money. The amount of small Jew in the 40-70cm bracket around at the moment is great to see. They are such

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Southern

OLD

Unseasonable species settle BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

As conditions begin to cool on approach to the winter months, we will see a gradual change in the prominence of some species throughout the Moreton Bay region. Many species have been somewhat unseasonal of late, possibly due to varied and often erratic weather patterns. The Moreton Bay pelagics have been a little quiet over a good portion of the summer months but the action has been rather good of late. Most demersal species have been steady with anglers regularly getting amongst the snapper, sweetlip, tuskfish,

whiting, flathead, bream, cod, mulloway and other species in Moreton Bay waters. Let’s see what your best options are likely to be over the coming months. MACKEREL Numbers of mackerel were somewhat lesser over the warmer months than we are commonly used to but there were decent numbers around at times. School mackerel were the most prominent however a few spotties were also caught. Although I didn’t hear of any anglers locating the large, surface-busting conglomerations of spotties, the occasional fish was found cruising the surface or feeding along with schools of bonito. The best I did was two in the one session, both fish

spotted cruising just under the surface on a glassy calm day. A cast in their general direction with a chromed slug quickly got their attention. I heard reports of others scoring the occasional spottie around the fringes of the bay islands and the artificial reefs, however in general their numbers were limited. School mackerel stocks were better, although lesser than previous seasons. Murky, often green, water in the western side of the bay definitely had something to do with this. As the water quality improved over February and March, mackerel numbers also improved. School mackerel began being caught in the Wellington Point to Ormiston area, Small Ships Channel,

A quality mangrove jack caught from the north side of Brisbane.

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Harry Atkinson Artificial Reef, around the bay islands, Rous Channel and many other spots. Cooling water temperatures can often improve mackerel numbers for a short period but as we really come into the cold months the numbers will begin to wane. During April anglers should try drifting gang hook rigged pilchards or trolling spoons behind paravanes along the edges of the major channels on the start of the run in tide and the first few hours of the run out tide. Pilchards drifted aft around the edges of the bay islands, the artificial reefs and the Sand Hills area will likely reward. Whilst we are historically on the back half of the season, nothing has been consistent of late therefore we may see a late run of mackerel over the coming months. Let’s hope so anyway! TUNA Towards mid-February, numbers of longtails began to appear throughout Moreton Bay. Unfortunately, the better numbers were often found just east of the Spit Beacon area which is in the Paddock Green Zone. Occasional bust-ups of feeding fish were located towards the Harry Atkinson, Middle Bank, Shipping Channel (especially between Four Beacons and Comboyuro), Measured Mile and Rainbow Channel. At times they were easy to approach and would eat almost anything you threw in their direction and at other times were downright frustrating. Good options included chromed slugs, stickbaits to around 120mm, weighted casting minnows, jighead rigged jerk shads (especially 5” ZMan Jerk shads in bubblegum) and baitfish profiled flies. The longtails were often feeding hard and erratically and you had to be lucky to be Johnny-on-the-spot when they sounded. Getting ahead of the feeding fish and cutting the motor was a good ploy at times but their movements were often hard to predict. There were plenty of quality fish amongst them with specimens over 20kg popping up. Fish of this quality will give you a hell of a fight on the usual 10kg tackle that many anglers use for this pursuit. A heavier stickbait outfit around 20kg is a better option, especially if you want to release these larger fish. Light tackle will result in these fish being totally exhausted by the time they are boatside and they will likely die by the time they are unhooked and set free. Additionally, there is a much greater chance that the sharks will find them before you can land them and we all know how that scenario ends. Longtail numbers can be great as we go into the cooler periods and anglers should have good

Tyler Wessels recently caught this great flathead while fishing with Poppy Ray. opportunity to secure a few over the coming months. SQUID Already at the time of writing, anglers were beginning to notice better numbers of squid throughout many areas of Moreton Bay. Squid like crystal clear water and when you find this around areas of weed beds, reef, rock, rubble or other structure there is a great chance that a few squid will be lurking. They often appear to materialise out of nowhere as their camouflage skills are extraordinary. They will lurk in such areas awaiting any passing morsel. The discoloured edges and weed areas in the upper reaches of the Rous and Rainbow Channels are often a good location to probe with egi, especially during the latter half of the falling tide. The edges of the reef at Peel (beware of Green Zone restrictions) and the shallows of Mud and Green also offer great opportunity when water quality is suitable. Casting egi (prawn profiled squid jigs) is the most commonly used technique for probing these areas. Common technique involves long casts over the area before retrieving. A slow retrieve with occasional pauses or abrupt hops of the jig and longer pauses, to allow the egi to sink, create good opportunity. Light drag settings will eliminate the chance of tearing the spikes on the rear of the jig out of the cephalopod. Just keep the rod tip high and keep the pressure on by constantly winding the handle of the reel (without pumping and winding as you would with a fish). Netting the squid once boatside will reduce the chances of you receiving an

inky blast. Both tiger and arrow squid can be caught with the tigers more common around structure and the arrows in the channels. Both are tasty when lightly cooked on very high heat for a short period. PRAWNS Prawning was slow throughout much of the summer months although better numbers began to appear after the full moon in February. Numbers should be good during April although they are fickle creatures that come and go at will. During April I would suggest trying the deeper holes in the Caboolture and Pine Rivers. The Brisbane River can also prawn well at this time, especially after a bit of rain. How long the prawns stay in the lower reaches of the river systems is anyone’s guess but before long they will move out into the bay. Areas around Shorncliffe, Deception Bay, Sandgate and Nudgee can all fire at this time of the year but only time will tell if this happens. However, now is the time to ensure that your cast net is in good repair and you are ready to roll when they come on. The occasional prospecting trip to likely areas is often worthwhile around the changes of the tide. Even the southern bay locales such as The Saltworks, Giant’s Grave, Jackson’s Hole and the powerlines area can pay dividends, although these usually fire a little later. A top pocket only, 12ft drop castnet is the best option for prawning. There are plenty of quality, locally made castnets on the market as well as commercially made product. I have been using a Pro Throw net for many seasons now and they are great value and a much better quality mesh than most of the

OLD

other commercially available nets. Nets additionally sporting bottom pockets will also catch prawns however you will spend a lot of time removing shell grit, jelly balls, mud clumps, sticks and other debris from the bottom pocket. Prawns will almost exclusively be caught in the top pocket therefore the bottom pocket is more of a hinderance than help. The coming months should be great for prawning in the Moreton Bay area. BONITO Many surface busting schools throughout Moreton Bay in recent months have been bonito or bullet tuna. These smaller pelagics are generally in large schools and feed fairly hard. Often, they can be seen cruising the surface as they search for prey. Like all pelagics, they can be pedantic at times but a small chromed slug or slice cast in their direction will usually be engulfed quickly. Watson’s bonito, bullet tuna and Australian bonito all make great fillets baits (especially when salted) however the Watson’s are also decent table fair due to their somewhat whiter flesh. I often brine and smoke them or just lightly grill the fresh fillets on the BBQ plate. An image hereabouts will help you to identify the difference between the Watson’s bonito, Australian bonito and bullet tuna. Often several can be caught in quick succession and a good supply can be secured for future trips. SNAPPER With the weather cooling down, anglers will notice snapper numbers greatly on the improve throughout SEQ. Early in the season we often encounter large snapper coming in from the offshore reefs to breed. Additionally, the number of small snapper is also on the rise. Larger baits often work well as the smaller specimens will have a good chew whilst the larger, more wary fish lurk on the fringes. Before long the temptation

of the feeding activity will encourage the knobbies to also to come in for a sample. Smaller baits will be depleted too quickly whilst these smaller ‘pickers’ are around. Personally, I prefer a good

to promote healthy stocks for the future. OTHER OPTIONS A lot of other species will still be on the agenda for anglers over the coming month. Whilst the action is

Soft vibes have accounted for a lot of fish but numerous soft plastics have also been put into play. As the waters cool, threadfin will retreat back up the river systems. The upper reaches of the Brisbane

A late season spotted mackerel spun up early morning out from Wellington Point. sized fillet bait from mullet, bonito, tuna, slimey mackerel or pike however whole yakkas, slimey mackerel, squid, pike, herring and even grinners will work well. Varied lures work well for snapper including soft vibes, micro jigs, soft plastics (including paddle tails, curl tails, jerkshads, prawn profiles and creature baits), blades and even octo-jigs. Often, presentation and retrieve technique is more important than the brand, type or colour. The coming months will see an increase in the prevalence and average size of the snapper to be caught around the bay island margins, artificial reefs and wrecks through Moreton Bay. You may have to catch and release numerous small fish before you get that one quality keeper. Treat these smaller fish with respect and release quickly

likely to have slowed a bit, jacks and cod will still be a serious proposition for those casting lures or deploying live baits around heavily structured areas such as bridge pylons, mangrove snags, jetties, boat moorings, pontoons and rock walls. The closer you probe such structure the greater the likelihood of getting smashed by a quality fish. Avoiding them busting you off in heavily structured areas will require fast reflexes, heavy drag settings, a good thumblock on the spool and some fancy rod work. Obviously, a good dose of luck doesn’t go astray either. Threadfin numbers have been good in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River and Southern Bay areas. Plenty of quality fish over the metre mark have been caught with regularity by keen, knowledgeable anglers.

River will produce fish right throughout the winter months, making them a year round species for those who probe the right waters. Flathead and bream are also serious drawcards for those fishing the creeks and estuaries. Both species will respond well to lures and baits and can be caught in all depths of water. They are the main bread and butter species for many anglers, especially those limited to land-based fishing. Mulloway numbers will lift over the coming month and I will concentrate more on them in next month’s report. Many will be taken around the artificial reefs by those targeting snapper on both lures and baits. Large live baits are one of the key ingredients for those targeting the larger specimens however plenty of fish to 120cm or more are taken on lures. Tailor have been sporadically showing up for a month or more now. This is a little unusual but everything is a little out of the norm at present. At times large

Southern

schools have been found well up the Brisbane River at the mouth of Norman Creek, at Scarborough Reef, Sand Hills area, southern side of Peel and numerous other locations. Many have been encountered by those targeting other species but they are generally a welcome bycatch. CONCLUSION As you can tell, the variety of species available during the coming month or so is rather extensive. Whilst specific targeting will heighten opportunity for many species, many will show up randomly. The weather conditions and temperatures have been rather sporadic in recent months, which has kept things interesting. Availability of some species is surprising for this time of the year, making it hard to predict anything with certainty. However, April should be a great month to get out on the water as cooling conditions will make it a lot more comfortable for many and the variety on offer is rather exciting. Get out and enjoy it.

Moreton Bay’s smaller pelagic species, from top to bottom: bullet tuna, Watson’s bonito and Australian bonito.

APRIL 2023 25

Southern

OLD

Transitioning from the summer to winter species NORTHERN BAY

Peter Jung

April and the Easter period should see our waters transitioning from our summer to winter target species. However, considering the extended stretch of warm weather we have been having lately, the summer species may just hang around for a little while longer.

there are fish on any given marker, as they normally are pretty quick to show themselves, so you may need to marker hop a little until you find them. Also be aware that sharks tend to frequent these areas hoping for an easy feed, so use the appropriate gear to give yourself the best chance to avoid them. Tuna can be hard to find at times, as you are generally relying on them

injured baitfish). As our waters’ cool, snapper numbers will also start to increase. There is plenty of reefy broken ground areas around the Redcliffe Peninsula that will hold good numbers of fish and they can be targeted by drifting baits, using soft plastics or even trolling around and over the structure. OUR RIVERS At the time of writing

There have been plenty of saratoga captures from North Pine Dam and Lake Kurwongbah recently. This one was caught on a surface lure by Nicholas Willett.

It has been a great mackerel season. Steve Nash with a solid fish. MORETON BAY Fishing in the northern part of Moreton Bay continues to be very good with the mackerel fishing continuing to fire and longtail tuna numbers on the increase. Most anglers focus their efforts around the shipping channel

to show themselves or have birds show you where they are. Once spotted they can disappear as quickly as you found them, but it can pay to sound around the area looking for schools of bait. If you find them, the tuna won’t be too far away. Soft vibes are well worth fishing

or natural structure will also be very effective. Keep in mind that during these holiday

FRESHWATER The freshwater fishing in our lakes has progressively got harder as

There is still some fun to be had fishing around the edges using spinnerbaits, lipless crankbaits and

the first good showings of prawns have started to be seen in our rivers and this tends to be the signal that fish like flathead, bream, trevally and mulloway will push up the systems looking to feast on them. This is just in time for those anglers hitting the

There are plenty of trevally species to be caught in our waters. A golden trevally like this one caught by Dave Hudy is always a special capture.

Kelly Hurford with a lovely northern bay snapper. As the weather and water cools, we should see more of these showing up on our inshore reefs. markers, drifting baits back to them or throwing surface lures or slugs in and around them. You will quickly know whether 26 APRIL 2023

around these bait schools as the tuna and other predators are always looking for an easy feed that these vibes represent really well (an

water over Easter to pick up a feed. Fresh prawn baits will be deadly, however prawn imitation plastics cast around either artificial

periods, there will be more people out and about, so be mindful of other people so everyone can enjoy their time on the water. Areas to try would be the Pumicestone Passage, Pine River (Deepwater Bend or Hays Inlet), the Caboolture River or the foreshore around Sandgate and Woody Point.

this extended period of hot weather has warmed the water significantly. Bass have been harder to locate, as they tend to school in areas where the water temp is to their liking, and move around with it. If you do find them, soft plastics and small metal vibes hopped in front of them can result is some rod bending fun.

surface lures (low light periods). Saratoga have been regular captures using these methods as well as some bigger bass. You just need to have the patience to persist and get that bite. Lake Kurwongbah has fished the better of the two lakes if you are going to go out and give it a try.

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Southern

OLD

Flathead just keep on coming! NOOSA

Peter Wells

In Sunshine Coast rivers the flathead season just keeps rolling on. Live baits are still the go-to method with herring being the most popular bait. Dead baits are also working well with the standout whitebait fished on small-ganged hooks. Soft plastics have also been claiming their fair share of flatties. Fishing the run-out tide seems to

seen fish responding well to fresh mullet strips, mullet gut and frogmouth pillies. For lure anglers, the new Zoea 49S from Zipbaits and the Ecogear SX40 are also perfect for chasing those fussy bream. Work the shadow lines around jetties and pontoon and keep your lures and baits lightly weighted. Just remember a large bream over 35cm is an older fish and a breeder, which is vital to stock levels in our river systems. So, if you get a big one, a quick photo

you can cast lighter lures and cover more ground. This is a very exciting way to fish as you see the follow and the strike all in about a foot of water. Fishing small poppers and surface walkers is the go with the incoming tide always the best for this technique. Trevally numbers and sizes are on the increase with golden, cale cale, big eye and giant trevally all accounted for. These fish will get more prolific and larger as we move into the winter months. A few hard

The Noosa River flathead fishing just keeps producing. be the most successful cast upstream and working the plastic back with the tide. ZMan MinnowZ in 3”, Keitech Easy Shiners in 3-4” and the new Power Baits range have all recorded good catches. Don’t forget the scent when casting plastics to improve your chances. Some excellent catches of bream are being reported as we start to move into their spawning season. Fishing those crisp mornings has

and return them to produce many more fish. Whiting is in great numbers with plenty landed on poppers up around the river mouths of both Maroochy and Noosa. Worms, yabbies and peeled prawn are all ideal baits, The running sinker rig seems to work the best with a size 4 bloodworm hook. For the anglers trying to get them on surface, in windy conditions try and get the wind at your back this way

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fighting queenfish were also taken down around the river mouths. Live baits have worked well for the bait anglers while small micro jigs like the Jigpara jigs in the 10g size have claimed some bigger fish while working them at speed. In the deeper sections of the rivers the odd mulloway has been taken, most are just soapies but are great fun on light gear. Paddle vibes or larger

paddle tail soft plastics have been working well. Even though the water has cooled a little we are still seeing a great run of Spanish mackerel in the 10kg and above range. Having a large pilchard or slimy floater out on a 5/0 gang hook in a solid berley trail may see you pick one of them up if you are at anchor. If you are trolling using Halco Laser Pros, Rapala X-Rap and Nomad DTX Minnows in a couple of colours and dive depths will cover more water and may entice a strike. On the slow troll, big baits of bonito and large gar rigger on chin guards have worked well. Don’t forget the new rules in Queensland from the 1 July with only one fish per angler and a maximum of 2 fish per boat no matter how many anglers are on board. Sunshine Reef has really been firing with some solid coral trout taken on pillies and live baits fished hard on the bottom, quality snapper, sweetlip and Maori cod have also been coming over the side. Long tail tuna are still in great numbers with the some good sized fish amongst them. Plenty of bust up can be seen from beach as well as plenty of bird activity, as usual for this time of the year the schools are moving fast. Make sure you cast to the edges of the schools and let your lure sink for a five count before reeling. A lot of the time the lure will be taken on the drop. Slugs, micro jigs, and soft plastics have all been successful. Out at Caloundra wide we have seen some nice snapper, grass sweetlip, pearl perch and cobia all

Mike with a feisty jack. on offer. The slow fall jigs always work well here with either the 40-60g seeming to be the size. The beaches Yaroomba up to Sunshine have been fishing well with odd tailor in the close gutters. These fish will increase in numbers as the weather cools. The producing tide has been a run in, with first thing the morning the better fish. With the early start to the season these fish are a little smaller so make sure to keep your pilchards small and on a rig of either 3 x 2/0 or 3 x 3/0 hooks. There are good catches of whiting around Marcus Beach, most fish are taken on worms and peeled prawns on the start of the run-out tide. Dart are still chewing hard with the larger fish smashing pipis and flesh baits. Some nice jewies have

shown up later in the evening with the best time around the new moon. Live bait of mullet, tailor and legal whiting have been the undoing of these great sport fish. It is said that the best mulloway angler is the one that leaves his rod in the rod holder, this is because mulloway are known to mouth the baits and an enthusiastic angler will quite often pull the hooks free, best advice is to wait until the fish runs and then set the hooks. • Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa.com. au for all the latest up to date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Tackle World Noosa, Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola our new store The Tackle Shop in Gympie can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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Wahoo will dominate catches in April.

APRIL 2023 29

What’s a holiday without a bit of fishing? If you’re looking for something exciting this Easter, head out to one of our fish aggregating devices (FADs) in the Gulf of Carpentaria or Southern Queensland. No boat? No worries, contact one of the many charter fishing operators in the region and they will get you out for some FAD fishing fun! FADs attract and aggregate pelagic fish which travel in the warm water delivered by ocean currents. Species such as mahi mahi, wahoo, tuna, cobia, mackerel, and billfish provide exciting sports fishing for recreational anglers up for a challenge and wanting to catch a good feed. Mahi mahi are the most prominent fish found at the FADs and are a great to take home to eat after a day out with friends and family – whether you’re on a charter or your own boat. Caught a ripper fish? You can provide details of your recreational fishing trips at the FADs via the FADs fishing form by searching ‘fish aggregating devices’ at qld.gov.au.

Faces of Fisheries Hi Jonathan!

Jonathan has been using his expertise as a fisheries biologist and love of fishing to collect data and provide objective advice to help manage Queensland’s fisheries for more than 25 years. Jonathan started with the department completing his PhD and working on a range of research projects studying scallops, sardines and other baitfish, trawl gear, barramundi, and banana prawns. Now he works in the Fishery Monitoring team collecting scientific data on Queensland’s important fish species. He believes managing fisheries is not just about the science and fish. It’s also about people, and there are social and economic factors that need to be considered.

Fish for your chance to win The inaugural Fish ‘n SIPS tagged fish competition is well and truly underway. The competition has had an excellent start since its launch, with the first 3 prizes, totalling $35,000, already claimed! There is still $15,000 up for grabs, so there is plenty of opportunity to grab your SIPS permit and chase a winning tagged fish at one of the 5 participating stocked impoundments in Central and North Queensland. For more information on the competition visit fisheries.qld.gov.au.

Jonathan’s wealth of fisheries knowledge and technical expertise has led him to manage and support a team of fisheries technicians. He loves serving up fresh fish he’s caught to family and friends – although you might not catch him sharing his homemade green curry school mackerel pies!

Download the free ‘Qld Fishing 2.0’ app from the App Store or Google Play APRIL 2023 30 DAF1901 03/23

Why donating your fish frames to science provides valuable data Fisheries Queensland’s Keen Angler Program (KAP) is just one of many sampling activities involving the voluntary participation of recreational fishers to collect valuable biological data from some of Queensland’s premier fish species. The fish frames collected from participants in the program are used to provide annual information, especially the length, sex and age of fish being caught. Estimates of the age of fish are obtained from the otoliths (ear bones), which are examined under a microscope to count the annual growth bands. There is a great deal of variation in the growth rates of individual fish of each species. Sometimes the differences in the growth rates can be related to the years or areas they were born in, as well as their gender. It is important to know how many old fish remain in the population relative to previous years (the oldest fish are not always the largest) and how many younger fish are entering the population each year to assess the long-term sustainability of the fishery.

The benefits of data collection is large and supplements our other recreational and commercial catch sampling programs. Between 2019–2022, more than 9,500 frames were donated to the KAP by recreational fishers. In that same period, otoliths, which don’t need to be removed from every single fish, were removed from nearly 4,500 of the donated fish frames. Another great benefit of the program is the avenue for communication between the scientists carrying out the work, and the people who do the fun bit – fishing! Regular newsletters are sent to members of the program, to keep them informed about important information, as well as interesting snippets for relevant research projects. For more information and to participate in the program, visit fisheries.qld.gov.au and search ‘Keen Angler Program’.

Need help finding the fantastic freshwater experiences on offer across Queensland? We’ve got you covered! We’ve worked with the Freshwater Fishing and Stocking Association of Queensland Inc. to develop 5 regional trail guides. Each guide provides maps and information on stocked fish species and facilities in: • North Queensland • Central Queensland • Wide Bay – Burnett • Murray – Darling • South East Queensland

Download your digital copies by searching ‘SIPS’ at qld.gov.au. Hard copies are available from local stocking groups, selected tackle stores and tourist information outlets.

fisheries.qld.gov.au 13 25 23 FisheriesQueensland FisheriesQld DAFQld APRIL 2023 31

Central OLD

Baits take centre stage BUNDABERG

Luke Truant

In the last month we managed to do only a couple of trips just due to weather, but on both trips the fishing was outrageously good. I fished areas that I can’t fish very often, because these areas require good weather aligned with the right tides. As a bonus, the shark gods smiled on us too – the sharks stole only 5-7 fish per day, which is a massive improvement on

why the predators were turning up their nose at larger baits. MACKEREL We have had plenty of school mackerel and plenty of Spanish around lately (charter boats had an exemption during the closed season in March). Bear in mind there will be new bag limits introduced on 1 July this year. The recreational possession limit will change to one fish per person, or two fish per boat with two or more recreational fishers on board (the boat limit

in the Bundy area. I recommend making them a primary target, and you can find them around the edges of any reefy areas in that sandy margin where you might normally catch iodine bream. Usually in April you’ll tend to get really good sweetlip catches in those fringy areas, in depths from around 10-50m. Grass sweetlip will take a wide range of baits, but they love big squid baits in particular, and they like their squid to waft around a lot. To that end, it’s best to leave your squid

Anglers have enjoyed some good fishing over the past month, when the weather has allowed.

A beautifully marked cattle dog cod, aka blue Maori cod. the usual 30-plus fish at this time of year. The species we caught were a mixture of goodsize tuskies, big blue Maori cod, and heaps of just legal red emperor. The best bait, bizarrely, was mullet. We had heaps of gorgeous fresh local squid, and put them out whole next to small pieces of mullet, and the mullet was out-fishing them. It just shows the importance of bringing a variety of baits… and that you can’t discount old mullet. We put down 15 goodsize live baits throughout the day of varying species, but surprisingly only got one or two strikes and missed hook-ups. It was a similar story with hussar fillets and large flesh baits, which also were also not particularly effective. It seemed that the predators were only focussed on smaller baits, and ignoring big baits. I’m not sure what the reason is. I did notice that the Maori cod were regurgitating quite small baitfish as opposed to the usual large wrasse that they normally regurgitate. Maybe that was the reason 32 APRIL 2023

will not apply to licensed charter fishing trips). Until then, the bag limit is three per person or six per boat (with two or more people on board). GRASS SWEETLIP April is the best month of the year for grass sweetlip (grass emperor)

whole, insert your hook in the hood and allow the tentacles to waft in the current enticingly. When it comes to rigs, you use a ball sinker running down to a swivel and then a trace, or a running ball sinker directly down to the hook. Paternoster rigs are

not particularly effective on grassies; you’ll still catch fish but you’ll catch more with a running ball set-up. Paternoster rigs work better on red emperor and other large species in the depths. If you haven’t targeted grassies before, you can catch them on pretty much any of the fringing reef along the coast between Agnes Waters all the way down (provided it’s not in the green zone, of course). April is by far the best month along that stretch to catch grassies, and best of all you don’t need a big boat. The average size grassy is typically around 1kg along the coast, and maybe 1.5kg out wide. You may also encounter a bigger one around the 5kg mark if you’re lucky. Your best chance of catching a bigger specimen is to use big baits.

It’s a more expensive way to fish, but you’ve got a better chance of catching one of those photo-onthe-wall fish. MANGROVE JACK This month should still be able to encounter jacks in a range of locations, including the Burnett and Kolan rivers, and in Baffle Creek. They can be caught on live bait, dead bait or lures. You should focus your efforts around heavy

of exasperation. Sometimes a surface lure can get crunched immediately, but at other times you’ll be doing a lot of casting. As a bonus while you’re targeting jacks, you may pick up a barra as bycatch. If you hook up to a freight train that zooms off away from the snags, it may well be a little barra. • Truansea Charters specialise in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef

It’s a good time of year to target grassy sweetlip.

On some recent trips, larger fish have been preferring small baits.

structure, and I recommend fishing fairly heavy; I generally use 40lb fluoro trace on 40lb braid. If you go much heavier you’ll put them off, and much lighter and they’ll bust you off. A range of lure types will work on jacks. At this time of year I like to use 4” paddle-tail plastics, rigged on a fairly heavy jighead to get down amongst the structure. I use a mediumpaced retrieve, with a few pauses and jiggles along the way. If you want to target jacks with lures, be prepared to wait a while for a bite on some days. It can take some time to annoy a jack long enough for it to strike out

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 $330pp (or $300 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.

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Central OLD

Transition through the month MACKAY

Cameron Christian

While autumn started in March, April is really when we begin to transition from the hot, humid wet season to our coolish winter. As a result, the start of April is still great for summer species like barra and jacks, while the end of the month should begin to produce more winter species like flathead, queenfish and sooties. There was plenty of rain over February and if this remains consistent over March there should be absolutely tonnes of big juicy prawns in all the systems around Mackay. During times like these, live baits will usually produce the best results. A cast net and electric motor are essential for collecting prawn and they can usually be found around spots like the mouths of small gullies or small sheltered bays. Prize barra will usually mooch around looking for the best baits hence anglers should only use the best prawns they can find and its always worthwhile rigging several prawns on a large circle hook. When the weather begins to cool off plenty of barra should still be around but they may be harder to find and get to bite. Looking for warmer water will increase chances and fishing sand or rock bars on the incoming tide after they have been baking in the sun can create perfect conditions, particularly on days where the wind drops off. In this

situation, barra will typically chase bait up into the warm shallow water and can often be seen with their backs sticking out of the water. When barra are seen actively feeding like this, lures like shallow divers worked erratically with plenty of stop-start movement to imitate small whiting can produce great results. Fishing areas like

productive sessions. While fishing the flats or rock bars around the mouths of Mackay systems during April anglers should spot plenty of queenfish bashing about. Surface lures like poppers, shallow divers and floating stick baits are great for targeting these fish and can be worked fast and erratically for queenfish and slow and gentle for any

Imitating the garfish using surface lures like long slim minnows or pencil poppers typically works well. April should also be a great time for anglers to chase both barra and sooties in the dams around Mackay. With luck the rain will ease off and give the dams a chance to stabilise, with this the barra should be feeding like crazy as

Leonard Osborne with a cracking queenfish caught using an Arma Anchovy Slug. Fishing’, Geoff Newby and his grandson Finn Gee primarily fished a shallow point less than 2m deep filled with weed towers. Despite being equipped with the some of the best Lowrance electric motor and sounder technology, the team took a stealthy approach using a lead weight anchor and

There have been reports of plenty of good barra getting around, like this one caught by Matty Richardson. these should also see plenty of flathead catches during April, if flathead imprints can be seen in the sand at low tide, then fishing that area during the incoming and high tide, using any barra lures but also trying smaller soft plastics, prawn imitations, vibes and flies should lead to

busy pumping new barra fingerlings into Teemburra. Recently 10,000 at an average size of 110mm were released, purchased using SIP funds. At the time of writing, 33,000 barra fingerlings will soon be released into Teemburra, an original order of 16,500 very generously doubled at no cost by Bass

barra nearby. Queenfish will also hang around the inshore islands like Round Top, Flat Top, Slade Island and those around Seaforth. Looking for garfish on the surface, a favourite prey for queenfish, will help to locate where they are getting around.

Just a monster sooty pic to get everyone keen for the 18th INDT World Sooty Comp taking place on 29-30 April.

Finn Gee with a great Kinchant barra caught during the MTA fundraiser competition for MAFSA. 34 APRIL 2023

they try to fatten up for the cooler times ahead. Looking for the warmer waters during the warmest parts of the day should help anglers to get onto a bite time. This is typically done by fishing shallow, windblown bays and points during late afternoon to sunset. MTA MTA recently held a fundraiser comp for MAFSA fishing 2-night sessions at Kinchant, raising over $700, which will go a long way to restoking Teemburra after the flooding earlier in the year. Winning team ‘Love

no sounders as they were choked by all the weed. The team mentioned persistence was essential while fishing this type of terrain as majority of retrieves would be fouled with weed. Also mentioning that x-raps were very useful as they could effectively slash through the weed. The team also used Zerek live mullets in dark ale during the day and fat betty during the night, modifying these swimbaits by removing the belly hook and fixing a treble to the tow point to avoid catching weed. MAFSA have been

Barra and Barcoo to assist with the recovery of the dam after the flood loss. As the weather really cools down and impoundment barra become hard work to find, many anglers will switch to chasing sooties and some practice early April will be perfect for anglers fishing the 18th INDT world sooty comp taking place on the 29th and 30th April. The competition is MAFSA’s major fundraising event and offers over $10,000 in prizes so get in and nominate before nominations close on the 22 April.

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OLD

Bright lures in dirty water TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

So far the wet has resulted in some mixed emotions and results for many anglers. Traditional locations such as Aplins Weir have produced some big fish, and quite a few of them, but for those of us who just can’t handle standing in the middle of shoulder-to-shoulder anglers, it was a lot more of a search before you located reasonable fishing sometimes.

After the initial blackwater fish kills and flushing of the dead water from grass-laden billabongs and lagoons had gone, the barra started to head upstream, as is usually the case. A second lot of heavy rain halted the traditional migration though, and maintained high levels for a longer period of time. This made accessing some of the better spots impossible. Thankfully, we all have our little hidey holes, and we managed to find a few spots to bend a rod on a barra. We had a few lures to

experiment with recently, with one of the stand-outs being the Real Baits by Atomic. They replicate

to a predator. Hardbodies have still been catching their fair share of fish, and the good

Lure maker Mark Truscott customised this colour for Tannhym. It has proven deadly in the dirty water.

The Atomic Real Baitz have been working very well. While casting from the side of the road amongst other anglers, this lure stood out in its catch rate.

The good old Halco Paddle Prawn in 5” pink has been a stand out in the dirty waters.

lures were more effective in the slower-flowing sections of water, while the plastics (more easily weighted and gauged) performed better in the faster stuff. I recommend experimenting with both lure types to see which is more effective in the area

almost identically each of the main types of baitfish that predatory fish hunt. We had a couple of the Mullet models and they were very effective in the faster flowing waters. We cast our lures out across the current and swam them back to our position, and bites were taken well down, proving their realism

When the fish are eating tiny baits you have to match them.

If the barra don’t want to play the game, head out the creek mouths to see if there are any of these spectacular fish haunting the flats. 36 APRIL 2023

old Tilsan Barra and Atomic Twitching Minnows have been getting results. I did notice that the hardbodied

you’re fishing. While some anglers have had incredible sessions on surface lures

lately, we haven’t really done as well as usual this year on the topwater stuff. Subsurface presentations have by far been the most effective for us. As it clears a little though, I think this will change. Fresh drains running into the salt have been where we have found most fish in the boat. It’s necessary to chase the tide as it changes height and be at the next drain downstream from where the last one fired as the tide dropped. The window of opportunity is short – often around half an hour. Another aspect of this style of fishing is the fact that when you get hit, the fish run straight towards you, mouth open and thrashing until they throw the hook. You can’t physically wind fast enough to keep that line tight, and they spit it on most occasions. To improve our catch rates a little bit, we went to our longer baitcasters and used the extra length to reduce the amount of slack between us and the fish in the initial stages of the fight. For me, the Samurai 7’ 10-17lb was just right for this, and with a parabolic bend at maximum load, it made a massive difference to our success. Brightly coloured soft plastics have been indispensable for us lately. We have been getting good results on fluoro orange and pink Halco Paddle Prawns, and radioactive rooster and electric chicken in the Atomic 4” Prongs. When combined with the

OLD

added contrast of some Protec Powder Coat on the weight of the hook, they were easier for the fish to

find in the murky stuff. MANGROVE JACK One aspect of finding jacks during this time of

Having some fluoro orange or pink on hand for the dirtier waters is essential.

year is having a look at how much runoff each system has or how big of a catchment. Google Earth is great for this, but accessing some of these creeks during rough weather is just impossible. Tides, too, have a bearing on the amount of time that you will be able to spend in a particular creek. It’s a fairly thin line between just getting in and out, or spending many hours stuck in a creek waiting for the tide to come back in so you can get out. ALWAYS carry more water and Aeroguard than you think you’ll need if you’re going to try to fish this way, because if you need them they’re a life saver. Sandflies and mozzies will be torturous if you don’t have something to ward them off during an unexpected stay. We have mozzie coils in the boat at all times, and light them as soon as we hit the water. You may not think that they would be that effective but believe me, you know when they run out. Lures that work well in these smaller waters are your typical 4-5” long weedless soft plastics, but shallow-diving minnows and surface lures will still catch quality fish. My young fella Tannhym has

There isn’t a more spectacular way to catch queenfish than off the surface. been lucky enough to have some lures given to him by well-known timber lure maker Mark Truscott, and has been catching some nice fish on them. Mark, better known as Nik Nak,

has even painted up some of his favourite models in Tannhym’s favourite colours, which you can see in the photo hereabouts. Contrasting colours such as these are very effective

in dirtier waters, and they have been working well for the young fella, that’s for sure. If you get sick of chasing creek dwellers, you can always slip out the front and have a look around the creek mouths in case there are some queenfish poking around the flats. The jelly prawns are a big target for them, not to mention the golden trevally. 80mm Halco Roosta Poppers are always going to be productive, and the strike is quite aggressive and spectacular. If the fish are up over that metre mark, they put up an excellent fight. If you’ve never caught them before, you’re in for a great experience. It’s actually quite amazing the contrasting lure styles and sizes they’ll eat. The other day I got a metre queenie on a 3” Atomic Prong and at the same instant my son hooked a 110cm on a 80mm Roosta Popper. When queenfish are in feed mode they’ll eat just about anything. Anyway, I hope this helps you prepare for some of the unexpected and unpredictable situations you can find yourself in at this time of year. Having options is key. Good luck, and stay safe.

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OLD

Hungry autumn barra are not fooling around HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

While we have had some consistent wet weather periods so far this year, it has made getting a lot of charters out successfully very difficult indeed. It’s not because of any big flooding events, but more the consistent wet weather that seems to hang around just enough to keep the Hinchinbrook channel water quality very brackish. Since the deluge of freshwater in the channel back in February, I noticed a lot of the resident barra schools had moved out the front in the short term. Some good numbers have started to return and, with the likelihood of wet conditions starting to ease in April

leading into May, we should get some better periods of stability. This is a month we could see some really great barra captures. With the earlier months of heavy rain, it’s a case of short-term pain for long term gain. We have just been picking away at fish travelling the dirty water fringes of Missionary Bay and also along the mainland from the Marina mouth to Meunga Creek. Schools of mullet have been pushed around a bit with the fresh with most sitting out the front of river systems in large numbers. Often too, that’s where the best barra captures have been from. Although hopefully through April we should see better numbers of barra being caught as weather starts to dry up so to speak. So far success rates have been fairly 50/50 with lures compared to live baiting.

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Fingermark are still better off fished in areas a little further away from the coastline, like near Gould Island, Cape Richards or any areas with remnants of flood waters. By the end of April and into May they should return in great numbers back into the Hinchinbrook channel when salinity returns to normal levels. Greenback herring schools should be thick at this time of year and are often my go-to live bait for them. April is the last month for warmer water so I’ll be continuing on making the most of the bigger tides for barra while they are travelling a lot more. They can also up the ante in feeding habits to fatten themselves up for

April sees the last of the warm water and a chance for an easy barra capture.

Mark Halford with a 63cm barra.

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winter. Usually around the first week of May we will get our first cold weather influences, which initially can shut the barra down as they become exposed to the cooler water. When those cooler temps plateau, they usually go back to their normal feeding patterns but only during periods of stable

weather. Night tide changes can become more productive as well. They will still respond to surface lures once they have settled into the new temperature. Hopefully my new reef vessel will be

up and operating by then as the cooler months are better for offshore red’s fishing as well as Spanish mackerel. I’d expect the threadfin salmon to continue in the shallows during April and

also some good fingermark catches should start to increase. I’ll also be starting to head more often to the wonky holes once water temps drop at the end of April. Large mouth nannygai should be in better numbers much closer to the coastline, especially after a good wet season. For those visiting Cardwell, a reminder you will need at least 1.4m of tide to launch or retrieve most vessels up to about 6m in length. Bigger vessels will need a slightly bigger tide. • If you’re looking to do a barra charter with us for this year’s barra season. Bookings are filling up quick so now is a good time to get in and get your name down on some good dates. For bookings please email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone myself directly on 0402 339 459.

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Jack Contzonis just short of the magic-metre mark with this 94cm barra.

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OLD

Clean tropical waters make for great catches CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

May is typically a more stable month weather wise which makes it idea for fishing the Trinity Net Free Zone. The creeks and rivers are usually running clear and crisp as a result of the drier weather and smaller day time tides. This is excellent news for lure fishers as clean water makes it easier for the fish to see their lures. The other good news is that water temps also

start to fall, and they have certainly been scorching hot this year. When the water gets over 30ºC the fishing can be tough, and I really prefer that mid to high 20s when fishing in the creeks. May usually sees these temps fall into the optimum range which can also be a big plus. The target species will be jacks and barramundi in most of the Net Free Zone Creeks. The Cairns Inlet has been fishing really well for barramundi with some great captures coming land based off the Marlin Wharf Pier. Live bait has been producing

Jacks will be on the chew in May, and working poppers in the shallow systems will be a good way to snare them.

Flathead will be feeding hard on the flats.

the best results for land-based fishers with mullet and flicking prawns working the best. For boaties, flicking suspending hardbodies and vibes around the deeper bends has been producing the better fish in the Inlet. Large paddles tails like the 140 Molix has also been finding barramundi casts amongst the artificial structure as well, especially at night when all lit up. Other systems in the Net Free Zone like the Barron and Thomatis have also been producing both barramundi and threadfin salmon. The areas out the mouth of these creeks have also been giving up the bigger fish as well. This spot was once a very seasonal

place to chase barra and threadfin but since the NFZ has come in it is now fishing awesome all year round which is terrific news. The smaller systems like Moon River have been producing the odd mangrove jack and barramundi. They love a surface lure in this shallow system so make sure your hooks are sharp and your drags are tight. If you want to fish sub-surface then small paddle tails like the Molix RT Shads in 3.5 and 4.5” are working well for these fish. Retrieving them on a slow roll is best and try not to twitch the lure too much as this can put the fish off. The other fish which will be slowly starting to hunt around in better numbers is the humble flathead. With

the cleaner water around, working over the flats with small poppers or plastics is worth the effort. Big long casts over the sand is the best method with a slow retrieve. Finally the mud crabs will be moving as well so it will definitely pay to be setting a pot or two even if you are only fishing for a small time. The big bucks will be moving so getting a feed this time of year shouldn’t be that hard. In closing, as the Governor of the Cairns Area Fish Stocking Group I would like to thank all those who helped out with the stocking of 4000 barramundi across the Net Free Zone. These stocked fish do help to support our fishery and it’s great to see so many people coming to support the group.

Barra will be chewing but make sure your hooks are sharp as they tend to swipe at lures this time of year.

Promising prospects ahead for autumn bags PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

Having experienced a proper tropical wet season, which created a few headaches at the beginning of the year, the general feeling now is of optimism. For example, we’ve had plenty of rain ranging from 150mm up to 370mm in a 24hr period. This surprisingly equates to good fishing in the following weeks and the sense is the highest of this precipitation is behind us. However, a tropical low pressure system during the March/April period can put us on the back foot again and the weather pattern will be watched with anticipation in FNQ. The positive signs we’ve seen of late have occurred mostly outside of the heavy rain periods. Offshore we’ve had no real serious extended winds to contend with so heading to the reef has been viable 40 APRIL 2023

most times. The reduction in water temperature it appears has created a burst of activity from a variety of species and overall numbers have been above expectations. There’s been a good supply of coral trout to go around,

small and large nannygai have contributed evenly and some high-quality red emperor have made cameo appearances as well. Outside of this there’s been a mixed bag adding to the fishing creel with

the likes of big gold spot and tea-leaf trevally testing angling abilities. Green job fish, monster cod, baldy bream, cattle dog cod and spangled emperor all featuring at some point. Floating a pilchard

Decent high-quality red emperor have been cruising around this season.

whilst bottom fishing has also turned over quite a few Spanish mackerel up to 10kg. They’ve been the icing on the cake on quite a few occasions. Looking ahead leading into April these early signs are very encouraging where currents and conditions turn the tables in the angler’s favour. Along the coastline we’ve already started to see the benefits of the rains with a massive supply of bait spread not far from shore. The pelagics have cottoned on to this and there’s already been substantial catches of Spanish mackerel and trevally ready to pounce. Medium-sized poppers worked across the water have received serious attention. Look at the size of bait flicking around and match the hatch with a similar sized lure. Soft plastics and metal slices will also play an important role in your success. Headlands and islands are a good starting point to explore. Within the calm waters

estuary systems will fish best immediately after a good rain and the bigger river systems may take a couple more days. Draining gutters on a low tide have already been a popular haunt to lure up some good barra. Don’t dismiss the size of the drain trickling water out of the mangroves, the smaller ones may just surprise you as to what may lay in waiting. The deeper snags are positive for fingermark and mangrove jack with live bait being the locals’ choice of method. As our coastal systems settle and water clarity returns, it won’t be long before we see some thumping queenfish amongst the action, along with a solid supply of river trevally and GTs on those decent tides with a steady flow on the incoming tide. The next month or so I always highlight on the calendar because when the conditions align, it is hang on by the seat of your pants action!

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OLD

Autumn adventures abound COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

The weather has been fining up, but you can never fully expect the wet weather to be gone for long.

from the wet so being there for the first lure to make its nervous run around a deep snag will more than likely produce that boofing sound that gets the heart racing. I still can’t find a better adrenaline rush than when a large barramundi

Shame, as it’s usually the best time to go fishing and by the time the parks open it’s in May and the weather starts to cool and the winter weather starts to kick in. Fishing is still good but not as ballistic as it would have been a month earlier.

Bill and Col with some nice nannygai. The Easter weekend up this way is almost guaranteed to see storms and rain descend from above and make it a wet weekend. However, the pull to go out and make the most of this month’s fishing makes it too irresistible to pass up. The creeks are starting to clear and the roads are not impassable so the temptation gets the better of most, but don’t be surprised that conditions can change quickly. This month the weather, although unpredictable, will be warm and the rivers will be stocked with barramundi. The snags will be home to new arrivals

slams my lure and retreats to its home then feel the line tighten. The pressure then produces the eruption as the barrra launches its head and sometimes its body out of the water to try flick that lure from its mouth. It’s so addictive and something that keeps me going back year after year to experience. It’s worth the risk to try and get into your secret spots as soon as possible but be aware rivers can rise before your eyes at this time of the year. The national parks have learnt over the years that opening early is dangerous and roads get messed up easily, so they err on the side of caution.

but sometimes it’s worth it to push out and get into some reef fish. The winter does produce some nice night red fishing when opportunity arises. Having everything ready to go is key, so make sure you don’t miss it when it comes. The wharf has been producing some nice fish but the bait has been hard to find. Nevertheless, it should improve this month as the river starts to clear. The wharf and rock wall are good spots to cast some lures for trevally and queenfish as they come through the mouth of the river to feed on bait. The barramundi fishing should also be the best this month after the floods as the water starts to clear. Best times will be around the low tide. Moving water along the rock wall around low tide is the best with pockets of backwater to throw a lure in as this is where they wait to feed on

Anyway, that’s the world we live in! The reef has been producing some nice large mouth nannies and red emperor and the coral trout have still been biting well. This month will probably be the last month for calm days out on the water so make the most of the opportunities as it won’t be long until there are months of constant strong SE winds battering the coast. The calm windows will only be when there is a break, in between one high pressure system moves off the coast and the other one follows. Although it usually only drops a fraction and only for a day

Col Jackson did well on the reds this season. fleeing bait. Smaller lures and plastics work the best. April is a great month with opportunities to catch some nice fish. Just access to areas is still a problem but worth the effort if

you can get there. There should be some fantastic hot fishing sessions on barramundi this month, so looking forward to it! Stay safe but venture out there and get amongst them.

Rebecca Rathie with her first barramundi capture.

FISHING NEWS

Crabs are under the spotlight Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers have been investigating crab pot interference in the Logan River and surrounds. Officers use a range of surveillance techniques to check interference, and found multiple persons lifting crab pots that didn’t belong to them. In some instances, the person stole the crab pots and was referred to the Queensland Police Service. Recent investigations found seven individuals interfering with crab pots that didn’t belong to them, with most interfering on more than one occasion. Fisheries Infringement Notices (FINs) totalling more than $22,000 were

42 APRIL 2023

issued for 16 individual interference offences. It’s a serious offence to interfere with someone else’s equipment. You can report suspected illegal fishing activity to the Fishwatch

Hotline on 1800 017 116. TAGGED JENNIES Fishers who support research by reporting tagged female mud crabs in QLD can get their claws on free escape vents. The reports

These crab thieves didn’t know they were being watched.

will help researchers track the spawning migration of female mud crabs and learn more about the species. Department of Fisheries principal scientist Dr Julie Robins said the research would help ensure mud crab fisheries remained sustainable. “There is a lot of folklore about female mud crabs and where they go to spawn,” Dr Robins said. “Reports of tag recaptures will help us understand where females move to and how long they live for.” If you find a mud crab with a yellow tag on its carapace, text a photo of the crab—along with the date and capture location—to the phone number printed on the tag.

Anglers who report a tagged jenny will receive a free escape vent. Dr Robins said those who reported a tagged mud crab would be offered a free escape vent. “The vents enable sub-legal sized mud crabs and fish to escape, making it easier to sort your catch and reducing the risk of overcrowded crabs injuring one another,” she said.

Researchers have tagged about 500 female mud crabs in Moreton Bay, Hinchinbrook Channel, rivers in Weipa and Mapoon and Broadsound/ Stanage. They plan to tag another 1,500 mud crabs in other areas of Queensland. – QLD DPI

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Glorious rain is flowing throughout Cape York and the coastal flats would be back on the cards. Game of all sorts will be thriving and this includes molluscs and crustaceans which would have sustained many saltwater people. Birdlife would be abundant

CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

The heavens have shone through in 2023, not with sunshine but copious amounts of rain. Glorious precipitation throughout Cape York. It will be a battle to the end who wins the golden gum boot and April may well be the month that clinches it. Remember a cyclone up until mid-April is still very much a possibility and access can realistically be challenging until June in extreme cases. The fishing in normally superb in April. Besides being a month of lush green and fresh water charged

flats, meaning low tides can still produce huge variations in water levels. It takes years to get your head around catching fish in a spot which spends 4 hours of each day completely high and dry. Remember the transition

winds (Sou-east and easterly), the offshore brigade will have their options open and shut depending on the alignment of high-pressure systems further south. April is a transition period and pockets of calm conditions

A lovely red emperor found while jigging out wide.

These bucket mouthed cod are tough in the shallows. and perhaps the greatest challenge would be the geographical spread of resources during this season of plenty. A fantastic attribute of Cape York is the connection to country and sea still in existence. April will be the month you start seeing more locals out and about doing their thing. The Cape does not experience quite the same run-off as the Northern Territory, however the same

of fish is what often produces the hottest bite and never more so then this time of year. Instead of being holed-up as is often the case during the dry (July-Nov), fish will be out actively hunting and moving around in search of easy prey. Water temperatures will still be warm right up until the first cool southerly change, which normally occurs somewhere in May. Barramundi fishers will be utilising this movement of predator and

might still be expected. Over on the West Coast, a pattern of extraordinarily settled conditions commence and carry through for the next six months. Most of the charter operations in Cape York will be in full swing by April. A small handful braving the eastern coastline and a few extra over on the West Coast. Although the pelagic fishing for bluewater speedsters might be a little slow, April

This big bluespot trout was taken on surface lure. rivers, it is also a time of abundance for all wildlife including fish. Traditionally, Aboriginal tribes throughout the Cape would be well and truly emerging from

their wet season slumber and once again traipsing the full extent of their territory. Coastal groups would relish the chance to roam freely with less stingers, less

mozzies, less midges, less flooding and less chance of being nailed by a croc in murky water. Hunting and gathering around swamps, billabongs

A whopper of a nannygai taken from 30m.

These Chinaman fish sure know how to pull! 44 APRIL 2023

principles apply. Without the larger tidal ranges, that boom and bust drain and run-off fishing is a little more limited. However, the Cape is largely a shallow series of bays and coastal

prey to target their quarry, often in shallow water. On the East coast of the Cape, April should provide a great diversity of fishing options. Depending on the commencement of trade

should provide a fantastic cross section for travellers wishing to try their hand at everything from crabbing to spear fishing to chasing the iconic barramundi of Cape York.

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National Recreational Fishing Survey 2019-21 PART I MELBOURNE

Ross Winstanley

In February this year, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC) released the report of the first comprehensive study focused on the social and economic benefits flowing from recreational fishing in Australia. It provides a detailed picture of recreational fishers across Australia; their numbers, where and how often they fish; their motivations and behaviours; and the social and economic benefits they generate across the country.

objective was added (see below) and the study timeline was extended. BRIEF HISTORY The previous ‘national recreational fishing survey,’ conducted in 1999-2000, provided the first description of fishing catch and related fishing effort, and participation in recreational fishing in Australia. As a key benchmark, it found that 19.5% of Australians aged five and older fished during the 12-month study period. It also described the reasons why people decide to go fishing, how much they spend on fishing, and their attitudes and opinions on issues relevant to fishing in their state.

understanding of the nature and extent of social and economic benefits of recreational fishing.” Moreover, 20 years on, as well as growing substantially, Australia’s population has changed in many ways, socially and culturally, in ways likely to have influenced the nature and extent of participation in recreational fishing, and community attitudes towards fishing. Hence, the need for deeper examination of the social and economic ‘performance’ and contributions from recreational fishing. Fortunately, as with the estimation of recreational catches and participation, the past 20 years have

resulting from stress, injury and personal loss. Other emerging areas of interest include “social licence” – the state of broad community acceptance of recreational fishing – and fishers’ growing

46 APRIL 2023

That study established the catch size and species make-up of fish and other aquatic species taken by angling, diving, and other means, by fishers in each state and territory, and nationally. Unlike separate state-based surveys, the national survey approach took account of each state’s residents’ fishing activities conducted interstate, making the results truly national. WHY NOW? Importantly, the 19992000 study developed a “robust methodology” that most states have adopted and used subsequently, to conduct their own surveys, largely focusing on catch, fishing effort and participation. Those studies have shown benefits to the health and wellbeing of fishers, and the benefits from economic activities in those regional areas where fishing occurs. However, most of those outlines of social and economic benefits came from small-scale studies. This left a substantial gap in “the national

seen real advances in the development and application of studies on the effects of recreational fishing in areas including physical and mental health, and the treatment and prevention of harm

response to the Black Summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic. Referred to here as the NRFS, the full title implies that the focus is on “fishers” rather than fishing catches and effort.

FIG.1 ADULT RECREATIONAL FISHERS BY STATE/TERRITORY Estimated number of adult recreational fishers by State and Territory, 2018 (Source: NRFS 2023) State/territory Adult participation rate Victoria 16.4% NSW/ACT 19.6% SA 25.8% Tas 26.2% Qld 25.9% WA 25.8% NT 32.7% Other (eg, ‘migratory’) Australia 21.4%

Fig.2. Total fishing effort contributed by Australian fishers aged 18+ years who fished more and less, 2018-19. (Source NRFS 2023.) Launched in April 2019 and expected to run for one year, at a cost of $1.22 million, the “National Social and Economic Survey of Recreational Fishers, 2018-2021,” aimed to help build a better understanding of the demographics, attitudes and social and economic contribution of Australian recreational fishers.” The project was a collaboration largely funded by the FRDC, overseen by the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences, and implemented by the University of Canberra. Two unforeseen events overtook the study: the Black Summer fires and the COVID-19 epidemic. Among the consequences, the survey results for 2018 provided the most recent 12-month COVID-free picture of recreational fishers and fishing, comparable with previous surveys. And, with the opportunity to examine the effects of major disruptions to ‘normal’ fishing activities, an additional

and floods – and the COVID-19 epidemic, on fishing activity levels and behaviour. The 2018 pre-pandemic results provided for comparisons with those previously reported for 1999-2000.

contributions through engagement in fish habitat restoration programs. Conducted between 2018 and 2021, this study was able to examine the impacts of major climatic events – fires

NRFS OBJECTIVES The original objectives were to: 1. Assess social and economic contribution of recreational fishing using multiple methods, including direct and flow-on economic benefits, and market and non-market benefits. 2. Identify which approaches to recruiting survey participants and completing surveys produce the most representative and robust results 3. Recommend most appropriate and costeffective survey method to use to track change in social and economic aspects of recreational fishing in Australia over time. After the study began, the Black Summer bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic cut across the original plans. They also provided the opportunity to examine how such ‘events’ affect recreational fishing, hence, the fourth objective was added: 4. Identify how fishing activity changed in

Fisher number 840,900 1,293,700 361,300 115,000 1,015,700 529,400 60,800 1900 4,218,600 The summary and complete report, National Social and Economic Survey of Recreational Fishers, 2018-2021, can be found at www.frdc.com.au/ project/2018-161 This article briefly describes the extent and other features of Australians’ participation in recreational fishing. Part two of the story will outline the impacts of major bushfires and COVID19, switching between fishing and other activities, fishing’s economic contribution, health and wellbeing benefits, the ‘social licence’ of fishing, and fishers’ positive role in environmental stewardship. Those interested in the survey methods and data sources, and related technical details should refer to the full study report. PARTICIPATION Changes in annual participation Held in Melbourne this year, the 10th World Recreational Fishing Conference heard that

Fig.3. Participation in fishing, 1999-00 compared to 2018, by State and Territory (Source: NRFS 2023)

4.4 million or 21.4% of Australian adults fished during 2018. And in 2020, despite the COVID-19 outbreak, the participation rate was similar at 20.0%, although many fished less frequently. Together, these figures suggest there was little change in the national participation rate since 1999-00 when 19.5% of Australians aged five and above fished (see Fig.1). Consistent with previous surveys, fishing participation was higher for males than females, and among younger age groups, in particular those of 30 to 44 years. Participation rates were also higher among those living in regional and remote areas than those in major cities. While at 16.4%, Victoria had the lowest rate, this was well above the 12.7% reported for Victorians of 5+ years in 1999-00. Again, consistent with previous studies, nationwide, most fished fewer than five days per year, while small numbers fished on more than 52 days. Noting the difference in age groups surveyed, participation rate increases of up to 2.5% were seen in most states since 199900, while the rates were lower in Tasmania and WA. The generally improved rate nationally, bucks the trends seen in several state-run surveys since 2000. For example, despite population growth, a NSW survey estimated that fisher numbers fell between 2000/01 and 2012/13, while, in Tasmania, across three surveys since 2000/01, participation fell by 22%. Between 1996 and 2014, Queensland’s participation rate fell from 28% to 15%. The 2023 NRFS report suggests that participation “fell somewhat during the period 2005-06 to 201314”, followed by rises in most states surveyed. It further notes that it is not clear that participation “has risen or fallen over the long term in any of the jurisdictions,” other than the increase shown in Victoria. Work and household commitments, poor weather and other environmental conditions, and the lack of fishing companions were stated as barriers to fishers getting out as often as they would prefer. During February, the World Recreational Fishing Conference participants heard that, globally, participation is declining in North America, Europe and other developed countries, despite population growth. WHO DOES ALL THE FISHING? During 2018, our 4.4 million adult fishers fished on an estimated 29 million days, a measure of fishing

STUDY INFORMATION “This study defines a current recreational fisher as a person who goes fishing at least once in a 12-month period, with fishing meaning actively seeking to catch aquatic organisms for non-commercial purposes using any method.” NRFS 2023 “While understanding participation is important it should not be assumed that higher rates of participation are always better.” NRFS 2023 effort or activity level. Of them, 68% fished for five days or less, representing 26% of total fishing effort, while the 5% who fished 20 or more days contributed 32% of fishing effort (See Fig.2). Consistent between the national surveys of 19992000 and 2018, the largest proportion of fishing effort in relation to population size was in Queensland, followed by NSW and SA. Having said that, there are indications that fishing effort has grown more in Victoria, WA and the NT. HISTORICAL PARTICIPATION While the NRFS reported that 21% of adults fished during 2018, looking further back in time at the numbers of fishers nationally, 37% of those surveyed reported their most recent fishing occurring more than 12 months previously. A subsequent part of the study found that 39% of women and 26% of men – 34% of adults overall – had never fished in their lives. COMPARISON WITH OTHER ACTIVITIES During a ‘typical year,’ 31% of adults reported fishing, which ranked 10th in a list of outdoor activities and sports, flanked by cycling and canoeing/kayaking. Walking, swimming, hiking and gym/exercise classes topped the list. More people go camping and more than twice as many go bushwalking or swimming. The study interpreted this as placing fishing among a group of popular activities conducted by a third of the adult within a typical 2-3 year period. WHO IS FISHING? Men continue to outnumber women in fishing; in 2018, 25% of men fished while 18% of women fished. In comparison, in 2000-01, 28% of males and 12% of females aged five and older fished, suggesting that, over two decades, a real increase occurred in the proportion of women who fish. In support of this, the 2020 results showed that participation was growing among women in the younger age groups, while women aged 65+ years were more likely to be non-fishers compared to younger women and men of any age group. Overall, adults aged

30-44 years were most likely to fish, with 27% fishing at least once in 2018, followed by those aged 18-29 (22%), 45-64 years (20%), and 65 years and older (16%). With the advent of COVID-19 in 2020, the proportion of adults of 18-29 years who fished rose slightly, while the proportions of those in older age groups who fished declined, particularly those of 30-44 years. This suggested that the pandemic affected working parents’ fishing opportunities, more than those of younger childless and older, including retired, age groups. CITY VS REGIONAL ADULTS In 2018, 18% of adults living in the major cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra fished at least once, compared to 30% of those living in other cities and regional areas. When degrees of ‘remoteness’ of fishers’ homes are

the participation level of regional fishers much more so than city resident fishers. This may be a result of strict travel restrictions, and city fishers’ closer proximity to major rivers and coastal sites. CARING AND CULTURAL FACTORS In COVID-free 2018, adults who cared for children or worked fulltime were more likely to fish than those caring for other folk and those who were retired. But, in 2020 participation declined among those caring for other folk and those working full-time; this probably reflected direct and indirect effects of COVID19 restrictions. Among the clearest distinctions, 38% of people identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders fished in 2018, compared to 21% of other adults. Travel restrictions may account for that ‘gap’ closing in 2020. More adults born in Australia fished in 2018 compared to those born overseas. WHO ARE THE KEENEST FISHERS? The study looked in some detail at the differences in the levels of keenness or avidity among fishers from different situations and backgrounds. Briefly, the results show that those who fish more

of those under 30 years old were found to fish compared to older fishers, but the older ones fish more days per year. Results from the pandemic period highlighted that those with “caring duties” for children or others, fished on fewer days than others with less such duties. IMPORTANCE OF FISHING Overall, those who fish more often rate the importance of fishing to their lives more highly than others. However, the relationship between importance and fishing frequency depends on fishers’ age, gender, address, and “life circumstances.” For example, despite fishing far less often, on average, Victorians value fishing slightly higher than many Queensland and NSW fishers. And overall, despite fishing fewer days on average, urban fishers tend to rate fishing as more important than regional fishers. Further, fishers of 30-44 years rate fishing’s importance more highly, than other age groups, despite fishing less often than those aged 45+ years, particularly those aged 65+ years. Retired fishers fish more often but rate fishing as less important to their

males aged over 65 years were more likely to have fished less. Workloads, poor weather, home commitments and lack of fishing companions were among the highest factors contributing to reduced fishing levels. Just 2% reported switching to another activity or sport, indicating that, for most, fishing is a lifetime pursuit, whatever might get in the way from time to time. NEGATIVE INFLUENCES The most common negative factors reported by fishers included poor weather conditions, prevalence of undersized fish, difficulty catching target species or “anything,” overcrowding at fishing spots, and drought conditions in much of Australia at the time. Top of the list of factors likely to cause fishers to fish less often was overcrowding of fishing areas, identified by 31% of fishers. Of that group, 51% had fished less after experiencing overcrowding. The costs of fishing, challenges at boat ramps and in obtaining advice resulted in many fishing less than they would have preferred. Of those who had never fished, 73% had zero interest in fishing, while 7% reported having a high level of interest. Among

Fig.4. Participation in recreational fishing in the past 12 months, by gender and age group, 2018 and 2020. (Source NRFS 2023.) considered, the contrast is even more marked. With more than two-thirds of Australians living in the major cities, emphasising this contrast, in 2018, 18% of adults in those cities fished, compared to 43% of adults in remote parts of Australia. Further, those living in regional and remote areas were more likely to have fished in recent years, while more adults living in large cities reported never having fished. However, COVID-19 seems to have affected

often are: • regional people compared to major city dwellers; • men compared to women; • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders compared to other fishers; • those who are, or have been married, compared to those who have never married; • those born in Australia or in English speaking counties compared to those born in non-English speaking countries; • retired fishers compared to those who work. A higher proportion

lives than others. HOW MANY FISH AS OFTEN AS THEY WISH? Most fishers just can’t get out fishing as often as they would like. In 201819, 62% fished less than they wanted to. Even among those who said they fished more in the past 12 months than in the previous year, 58% still fished less than they wanted to. Financially well-off males aged under 30 years were more likely to have fished more than the previous year, while

those who had not fished for at least five years, 28% now had zero interest while 22% retained a high level of interest. Among non-fishers, gender and age had a large bearing, with women and older people having the least interest in fishing. In conclusion, about the rate of participation in fishing, the survey suggests that there was no overall decline between 1999-00 and 2018. Participation by women has increased while participation by men has declined slightly. APRIL 2023 47

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OLD

We’re spoilt for choice TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

What a different start to the year and autumn season we have had. Last year, we had widespread flooding that left us scratching our heads wondering where to go fishing. This year is more normal and we will be spoilt for choice. Autumn is a pretty good time to experience all the different freshwater options available with all species willing to have

a play in lakes, rivers and creeks. It is a transition time where fish start to change their habits. This could be a change in diet and therefore lure choices or just a change in environment or the depth they are holding. The cooler weather and shorter days brings these changes on and I find the shorter, cooler days much more comfortable when putting in a big session. A lot of my fishing reports are sourced from information that filters through tackle stores. One store which has been a

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST The fishing has been slow at Cressbrook Dam. A few smaller bass have been caught along with quite a few golden perch. As the days get shorter and cooler, it can be a good time to try bait fishing with live shrimp for both species. The main basin points will be prime locations to try with the points out in front (north) of the camping ground well worth exploring. These points can be accessed by boat, kayak or even the walking tracks around the lake. Bass Bay is another good spot to check out. It is the bay between the boat ramps and the buoy line over near the pump tower. This can be accessed from the shore in the picnic area but you really need a boat to reach the fish in the bay as they position themselves a long way out. There are sure to be other productive spots around the lake and you will need to spend a lot of time on the sounder searching for fish on them. Anglers prepared to do this will be the ones coming away with the biggest smiles on their faces. Lure fishers can try casting along the edges of the lake. Spinnerbaits,

lipless crankbaits and chatterbaits will all be worth a go. Keep a close eye on the sounder for any schooling bass. The schools are likely to be found in 6-10m of water and will respond to soft plastics and spoons. It’s going to be a tough grind at Cressbrook and I don’t think we will see numbers until mid-winter and spring when the bass bunch up together in bigger schools. • Fish’n’Bits in Toowoomba has all the gear and tips on how to chase the Cressy fish. They are an excellent store specialising in all freshwater lures and tackle. The access gates to the ramp and day use area will be open from 6am to 8pm this month before the hours are shortened in May. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Bass fishing has improved a bit over the last month. This is often a tough time of year to find and entice the Somerset fish but hopefully they keep chewing. The main school of bass which was holding around the southern side of Pelican Point has been more mobile over the last month. They are still moving around the Pelican Point area but they may scatter more into smaller schools making

huge help is Fish’n’Bits, To o w o o m b a . Most freshwater fishers will be familiar with this store and the service they provide offering a range of products well suited to the freshwater angler. Kris George has run the store from Alderley Street for many years but this month a big move will take place and they will be opening in a flash new building closer to the centre of Town. Around mid-April, Fish’n’Bits will open the doors of the new shop at 36 Water Street, Toowoomba. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel. them harder to find. Bass have moved tighter to hard structure in autumn over the past years and have been found on hard rock bottom or around submerged timber. When they do this I still search the usual spots but concentre on deep rock piles and ledges, laydowns and tree stumps. It is going to be a tough month to predict what they will prefer to eat. If I had to take bets it would be chatterbaits, deep crankbaits and maybe even skirted jigs tight to structure. Trolling will slow down but live shrimp will be very effective. MOOGERAH CLOSEST TOWNS: BOONAH, ARATULA Moogerah bass and golden perch will be well worth a shot this month. The fish can be found around the edges of the lake and on the longer, shallower flats. They take a bit of finding but if you stumble across the big schools you stand the chance of banging big numbers. The points opposite the day use boat ramp, out from The Palms and The Spit near the northern ramp are all areas to search. Explore the points and flats in these areas. The fish have been holding in various depths with the shallower ones in 3-5m of water sitting just out from the lake’s edges. These shallower areas have held some of the bigger bass

By sorting through the smaller bass you are likely to encounter some quality at Moogerah Dam. and a few golden perch. The smaller bass have been out in 5-10m of water and are very mobile making them hard to keep track of. Spectre Vibration Jigs and hard bodies were very effective over the last few months. These lures should continue to produce on the edges but I’d consider testing spoons and plastics on the deeper fish as well. • The lads at Charltons Fishing at Redbank are all over the fish activity at Maroon and Moogerah. Call in and grab your supplies and hit them up for tips on where the fish are biting. It is recommended camping be booked at least a couple of weeks in advance and you can also organise your day

use barcode for the gate with Lake Moogerah Caravan Park (07) 5540 5600. MAROON CLOSET TOWN: BOONAH We enter an interesting month on Maroon. The schooling fish in the deeper water have been very willing to eat spinnerbaits and chatterbaits over the past few months. As things cool down, their mood will change and they will get tougher to catch but broaden their interest in a variety of lures. I think of it as a transition month where they start to prefer more subtle offerings. Lures like suspending jerkbaits and soft plastics would usually perform well around the lake’s weedy

margins. I am not sure how long it will take the deeper fish to make their way back to these shallower weedy edges. If they stay deep you can add blade baits and spoons to the list of lures worth trying. It really is up to the fish and what they want on the day so be prepared to toss a bit of everything until you work them out. Schools of fish have been found opposite the ramp in front of Pointro and into the bays on either side. There are also a few from the boat ramp upstream on that side of the lake. These fish will be more concentrated on flats created by the more prominent points.

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Niki Sticklen knows how to roll her Spectre to pull Somerset’s bigger bass. Chatterbaits should continue to produce but start mixing it up this month.

OLD

DARLING DOWNS AND GRANITE BELT COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA The golden perch have slowed down on trolled lures. The cooler weather and shorter days will see their activity level drop off a bit and they will be less likely to exert energy to chase down anything fast moving. In your face presentations will be the preferred attack. A very slowly wound lipless cranbait could still get a few but I’d be digging into my blade box if you want numbers on lures. Blades like the ZX40 will continue to catch golden perch all

year long. Hopping almost vertically around the boat will get the bites. The goldens are still concentrated in the deeper water between 20-24ft. You’ll find a few outside of this range and if you do they are definitely worth trying. Sounding around will reveal the faint arches golden perch reveal on traditional 2D sonar. I like to run down image as well at the same time to compare the two and confirm any suspicions. The fish are likely to be close to the bottom and if you can find a small patch pull up and give them a try. Spot lock electric motors

Matt Taylor had a fun session hopping smaller blades for Cooby Dam golden perch. Blades and bait will continue to produce over the cooler months.

CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Awoonga Dam was very tough last month. It had its moments where the barra activity picked up but as a whole it was hard work. Cooling weather will hopefully see a change in the mood of the fish making them more willing to bite. The thick weed beds have drawn the fish in and they can be hard to find when they are buried deeply in it. There are still some deeper areas where the fish can be seen outside the weed edges but even these fish are reluctant to bite. Soft plastics cast to the edges of the weed have been one of the most productive approaches.

Lures like the Zerek Live Mullet 5.5” and 6 and 7” soft plastics rigged on 3/8 or 1/2oz jigheads are ideal. These can be tossed on top of weed just below the surface and wound back keeping them above the weed until you reach the edge and then slowed down. If deeper weed is found, you can try the same approach with heavier plastics buzzed across the weed top before slowing down the retrieve. It is hard to see fish in weed on sounders. The best way to pick them up is to tilt your live sonar transducer back and shoot into the weed. In Scout, Perspective or Landscape modes (depending on your brand of sounder), you will learn to pick up fish movement in between the weed stands and on the edges of

are awesome as it is easy to position over a show of fish for a few minutes before moving on to the next spot. The fish have been a bit spooky when luring so moving around has helped to keep the bites coming. Bait fishing will produce plenty of golden perch. Live shrimp are the number one bait, and they can be caught around the edges of the lake. Frozen saltwater yabbies are a close second and they can be purchased from stores like Fish’n’Bits. Baits should be fished in the same depths recommended for luring. For shore-based anglers, try off the pontoon or from the banks on the walking trail just before the steep rock wall. • Cooby is open to paddle and electric motor powered craft. The gates are open from 6am-8pm until next month. Fish’n’Bits tackle store in Toowoomba can help you out with all your bait and lure fishing needs. LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK The ridiculously good fishing at Leslie Dam is about to steady up (I think). The cooling weather will see the golden perch less likely to eat trolled offerings. Anglers fishing blades and soft vibes will still be able to boat good numbers. It will be interesting to see if the smaller fish which have plagued anglers will continue to bite well through the cooler months or if the bigger models begin to dominate catches. Hopping vibes and blades around drop off ledges and structure will produce well. Cod action should pick up in the shallower water. The cooler water temperatures will bring the cod into the shallows the weed bed. • Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing (0429 223 550) and Lake Awoonga Barra Charters (0404 151 844) run guided trips on the lake. Both cater to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. It is hard to beat time on the water and a guided trip is a great way to learn more about this lake and its fish. • 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, selfcontained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 49750033.

With all the toga reports over the last couple of months, Todd Rassmussen headed to Borumba Dam. They’ll continue to bite until it really cools off in winter. where anglers using live sonar will be able to go hunting them. Even without this technology you stand a reasonable chance of hooking a cod by maximising chances and fishing around first light. Big swimbaits of the hard and soft variety are ideal in the shallows. When the cod move to deeper parts of the lake during the day, target them on ledges and around structure with spinnerbaits or chatterbaits. You can troll or cast these lures. As long as you concentrated on putting your offerings right in the zone and near the bottom, you stand a good chance. • The local blokes at Warwick Outdoor and Sport in Palmerin Street can point in you in the right direction and hook you up with the good gear and bait to catch the fish at Leslie.

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Luke Tindall was delighted when he caught this massive 139cm, 30kg+ king threadfin salmon in the Brisbane River. APRIL 2023 53

Sydney

NSW

Spectacular fishing on the surface schools PITTWATER

Marc Ternen

Up around Pittwater, the area from Sinclair Point has a nice cove and beach where we get a lot of nice whiting at this time of year. You can get good results on 20-30mm clear poppers (e.g. Sugapens) or small stickbaits (e.g. Samaki Dirty Dogs), working them from shallow water back to deeper water. You can also encounter some thumper bream, and there’s the odd pelagic there as well; many fish like the drop off into deeper water. Soft plastics are very popular in around Sinclair Point also, particularly small 2” grubs. In the areas from First to Third Head, a lot of the guys drift for flathead, and it’s pretty easy – just a paternoster rig and any type of fish bait such as tuna, mullet or bonito. The area right through from Stokes Point to Sandy Point has been a surface fish bonanza. There are a lot of mixed schools and it changes every day. You can encounter bonito, tailor, mac tuna, and small to medium

size kingfish. There’s a lot of small bait holding up through those points, so you need to match the hatch with a 10-15g shiny metal or a 2-3” white soft plastic. This kind of fishing is really enjoyable. The schools are vast, and moving with the bait. It’s good fun in the morning and afternoons, particularly those afternoons when you can fish the points during a nor’easter. THE HARBOUR There is a lot of accumulated bait right throughout the harbour, virtually from North Head right through to the Harbour Bridge region. Good areas include Georges Head, Vaucluse Point and around Bradleys Head. There are a lot of mixed schools – hordes of bonito, plus tailor, kingfish and mac tuna. While you’re targeting surface fish, it pays to have a line on/close to the bottom to pick up other species, such as kingfish and jewfish. These scavengers get an easy meal from the scraps floating down from the melee above. I’ve seen some beautiful fish taken off the bottom in this way, including 8-10kg kingfish and jewfish from 50-110cm.

You can catch them on large baits, such as big squid strips and big whole pilchards. Live or dead yellowtail or slimy mackerel can also be effective on these larger predators lurking below. Lady Bay wreck has seen consistent catches of kingfish, with most being caught on squid. Small slimy mackerel can also work some days. Obviously live baits are best, if you can get them. The Edward Lombe wreck is also yielding some good fish. The kingfish like to sit around that mid-harbour structure, and there is plenty for them to eat there. I have seen some great catches of big, silver sea bream in and around Store Beach lately, mainly on peeled local prawns. Anglers are getting consistent catches on 4-6lb line, fishing quite close to the beach and the point. If you’re land-based, I recommend fishing around Pickering Point wharf up in that middle harbour region, and under Roseville Bridge. Those areas are producing lovely catches of bream, whiting and flathead, and it’s very accessible by land, with parking close by. You can also try fishing around

the large wharf at Clifton Gardens. I saw a guy with a couple of nice bream there, and he said he’d lost a kingfish off the wharf. OFFSHORE I’ve seen a lot of mahimahi (dolphinfish) around on the FADs. The wave rider buoy at Long Reef has also fished well for dollies. A small trail of pilchard pieces will keep the dollies following your boat instead of other boats. Feed your bait out in the same fashion and you should score a bite. I personally prefer fishing with 3-4” white soft plastics, and you can also get good results on 30g micro jigs. Drop your jig down 30-40m, and work it back up to the boat. We particularly like the Eureka Ghost micro jigs, which come rigged with a small assist skirt. The Broken Bay traps are also producing mahimahi, but remember the traps are people’s livelihood, so try not to run over them or leave lures lying on them. We all want to fish there for years to come. Broken Bay wide typically produces trag at this time of year, along

in the harbour. Strangely enough, the dolphinfish (mahimahi) have been poor to non-existent. And to address the elephant in the room, the high numbers of sharks have been beyond annoying. The amount of fish we’ve lost to them is infuriating, not to mention the hot bites that have been shut down. This sort of thing is now happening every trip, and we’re often having to move around a lot and adjust our approach to beat the taxman. The harbour has been fishing very well, with many different species to be had. That said, the aforementioned shark problem means you

need to be quick on your feet. This month you can enjoy some good fishing on surface species, including salmon, bonito, tailor and kings in the upper harbour reaches. You can catch them on metals in the 10g size, or on soft plastics in the 75mm to 100mm size range. The kings are present at the moment, with some big fish among them. Unfortunately, again, the shark issue has made it a challenge; the razor gang

tends to turn up right on cue after a couple of fish have been hooked. Again, your ticket to these better fish are fresh squid. The kelp beds have been fishing the best for squid, with jigs in the 2.5 size working best. If you want to know what the fishing will be like in the coming weeks, well… it’s pretty much anyone’s guess at this point! A lot will depend on the settling of the water temperatures/ conditions, so having an

Range of pelagics in harbour SYDNEY NTH

Steve Winser

This has got to be the strangest season we’ve seen for a long time. For a long period of time, the water was cold and we were beginning to think the warm water was never going to come. Now it’s super warm and the overall zeitgeist of the season has been turned on its head. A multitude of tropical species have been turning up, including cobia, spangled emperor, Watsons leaping bonito and a host of other visitors, especially

with good-size snapper and morwong (the odd big jewfish can also show up). The standard rig is a 2-hook or 3-hook paternoster, and I like to use oily tuna baits such as bonito or striped tuna. The Colours area is fishing well for solid kingfish. I’d be taking a heavy rod and fishing a good size bait there, as I’ve seen some brute kingfish come from that area. It doesn’t take them long to duck down into that reef. You may also encounter the odd big snapper or samsonfish as bycatch. The Japanese midget sub wreck is producing kingfish, teraglin, good-size snapper and some beautiful jewfish. Try to get your drift line as close as you can to the structure without drifting directly over it. Baits of tuna and squid are effective here. The Myola has been fishing well for trag, and the best times are at first light and at sunset into the night. These fish like a big tide and will often bite right though until the next tide change. The lake has been closed for development around the Ocean Bridge area. Areas to target this month would be around the Middle Creek and

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54 APRIL 2023

Eric with a mid-range harbour king.

Deep Creek region, and the Pipe Clay Point area. Soft plastics are your best bet given you’ll be fishing a vast region in that back end of the lake, continually moving and casting. 3” plastics are the go (e.g. Berkley Shimma Prawns), in colours that resemble the local bait, e.g. smelt, motor oil and pumpkin seed. I have seen some excellent bream taken around Middle Bridge and behind the Narrabeen Kayak Club. Most have been caught on small grubs and peeled prawns, and fishing light is key. • If you need fishing gear, quality bait or a chat about what’s biting, head to Narrabeen Bait and Tackle. Owner Mark, his son Marc and long-time staff member Chris have been local fishermen for 30 years – so there’s not much they don’t know about Pittwater or Northern Beaches fishing, and they are happy to answer any questions you may have. The store stocks an extensive range of tackle, and their live and fresh bait range is renowned as one of the best in Sydney. It is sourced locally and includes live beach worms and nippers. Drop in and see them at 1469 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen or phone (02) 9970 6204.

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A transition period for all the Sydney waterways SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

You have noticed the days getting shorter and milder. You have to love this time of the year. Some people say it wasn’t a hot summer and early autumn, but it was stifling on some days, especially with the Sydney humidity. We are heading towards what I call the ‘transition period’, when the first of the winter species start mixing in with other species for the next month or two. You will note, especially towards the end of this month, the ocean water temperature will be dropping a degree or two. That not a bad thing, as it has been really warm. It should hover around 20-21°C this month. Now let’s check out what has been biting lately, and my predictions for April.

BEACH FISHING For the last several months it has been a sporadic whiting season. Some beaches would produce great size fish and numbers for a while, and then the complete opposite would happen. Fishing the right time of the day is really important, with the best option being low light periods. I can hear some of you say, “I’ve done really well in the middle of the day”, and I don’t doubt it, but the truth is you’re more likely to get consistent results during lower light periods, either AM or PM. The ideal scenario is to fish a high tide a couple of

hours after sun up or around sunset, but that’s often not practical for the weekend angler, and there are a lot of weekends when the tides are not right. When the tides are low, choosing the right gutters will give you a better result (preferably at dawn and dusk). Look for gutters that do not ‘white out’, which means that during the low tide the gutters still have a reasonable depth. It’s a good option if you are unable to fish the right tides at the right time of the day. You can encounter whiting, bream, tailor and salmon in these low tide gutters. My clients have been catching some great whiting

Michael Assaf was rapt with his first beach mulloway, caught on the last cast of the outing! This fish was around 12kg, and was caught on a live yellowtail bait. We can expect some mulloway action this month.

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yes, they are! April is a cracker time of the year for beach jewfish (mulloway) and dusky whaler sharks. You can have your more regular 2-hook snelled

offs from the sharks, reducing the loss of terminal tackle. There are nights on Sydney beaches where you can hook half a dozen or more sharks. If you’re trying to avoid these

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Peter Morris with a stud whiting caught on a beach worm bait. On this outing he had to move around to find the fish. Whiting numbers will increase this month as they prepare to migrate.

to 44cm, with the average size being between 30-35cm. Pink nippers are a great bait. I use them off the ocean rocks, in the estuaries and off the beaches, and they work well everywhere. Of course, beach worms are the number one bait off the beach, but if you suck at catching them, nippers are the next best thing. Bream are a common bycatch, along with dart. Lately some of the dart have been up to 36cm. You may think that’s not huge for a dart, but it’s pretty good for Sydney beaches. If you’re wondering whether they’re good on the plate, I can assure you that

56 APRIL 2023

Greg Powell with his largest beach worm to date. Catching one this size is next level.

Alan Aylward hooked this big salmon on a ganged whole pilchard off the beach. This fish tail walked a couple of times, putting on a real spectacle. Salmon and tailor will be more plentiful this month.

rig with 6/0 to 8/0 hooks, or you can use 50-70lb plasticcoated wire crimped with your hook on the bottom and a sliding hook to reduce bite-

very aggressive creatures, you can move to a different gutter, or just put up with them until you hook another species. People often ask me

NSW

whether you can catch jewfish at the same gutter when the sharks are in numbers. The answer is yes. Many’s the time I’ve taken a group of clients out beach fishing, and had one client hooked up on a shark and the other hooked up on a jewfish. Live baits are very effective on these fish. Live yellowtail can be nearly on tap from your local wharf/jetty in the harbour or in Pittwater, and live mullet are a great choice also. Both can be butterflied or used as a whole fillet. If you are using squid it’s best to catch your own. Jewfish to 110cm (around 12kg) are being caught at the moment, along with big Aussie salmon, and tailor to 60cm as well. The tailor numbers will be increasing this month, and we’ll see more bigger fish as well. When fishing for tailor and salmon, it’s good to berley up with pilchards, tailor or salmon cubes to hold the fish in your gutter. However, you should avoid the berley trail if you find that there’s too much current, as you will be sending the fish away from you rather than bringing them to the general area you are fishing. ROCK FISHING There are still plenty of bonito around, with mac tuna and frigates available too. The kings have been sporadic this season. On some

There are quality whiting on the sand flats at Pittwater and Narrabeen lake, with flathead and bream as well. Ahmad Jayyousi caught this whiting on a very lightly weighted pink nipper. days we have caught better fish to 80cm, but most of the kingies have been undersize fish in that 55-63cm range. The reliable sea gar on either a 2-hook snelled rig or a set of 4x 5/0 to7/0 hooks works well. A occy skirt over the top of the nose adds to the attraction as well. Having a few different lure types and sizes can be a big help on your outing. For example, you may not have much luck spinning lures or

baits that are much larger than what the predators are feeding on. I have found that the Bait Junkie Jerk Shad and jigheads work a treat. The 5-7” size coupled with a 1/4-1oz jighead is good enough when using 15-24kg gear. For the pelagics, try Bluefish and Old Mans Hat at Manly, South and North Curl Curl and Ovens South Whale. A few snapper are being caught in the washes and

distance casting (‘wash fishing’ is fishing the sudsy white water with lighter sinkers, while ‘distance casting’ is fishing with 3-5oz sinkers casting out to the less snaggy bottom). Generally, when fishing a lot of the popular snapper spots, wash fishing is preferred to distance casting. One of the reasons is that the terrain you are fishing may be too snaggy to distance cast. I like to use a more robust

bait when distance casting so it can withstand the big cast, which could be from 60-110m out. When wash fishing you can get away with softer baits like half pilchards, bonito fillet or tailor fillet. The white stretchy thread that you can purchase from a tackle shop can be the answer for soft baits. If you wrap your bait up in this thread, it will remain more intact. The downside of the stretchy thread is that you may need to cut it off each time you need to bait up as it gets tangled in your hooks. Snapper to 1kg are being caught from the washes and distance casting, as well as some salmon and bream. Luderick, bream and rock blackfish available in good numbers from Curl Curl and Long Reef. Spots to try for snapper are Bluefish, South and North Curl Curl, Bungan Head, North Newport and North Whale headlands. ESTUARY FISHING Just a short report in the calmer waters (estuary) of Pittwater and Narrabeen Lagoon. Fishing the shallows of the Pittwater waterway can be really rewarding. You can catch bream, whiting and flathead with mullet and gars as well. On a recent trip we caught whiting up to 38cm and bream to 32cm on pink nippers and beach worms.

Sydney

Beach worms obviously aren’t a local bait, but they work quite well regardless. Try Riddle Reserve in Pittwater, a large sand bank where you can pump nippers and have a relatively large area to fish. Wade out at low tide casting very lightlyweighted baits into the deeper water, fishing the edges of the ribbon weed for the species mentioned. At Narrabeen Lake, all of the same species mentioned can be caught this month. The new walkway on the Pittwater road bridge North Narrabeen now has a lot more structure than it used to. Try spinning for flathead on the southern and northern ends. You will have a greater area to fish if you fish the western side of the bridge. Try for luderick and bream as well. I say every month has something great to offer, but April is a special month for a diverse range of species. If you’re travelling to the coast and you want to rock or beach fish, bring extra outfits like the estuary gear just in case you can’t fish the ocean front because of adverse weather. • For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www.bellissimocharters. com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616.

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APRIL 2023 57

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Sydney flathead are still taking bait and lures SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the past couple of months there have been heaps of bonito in Botany Bay, the Port Hacking and off the rocks from up north at Palm Beach and right down to past Wollongong. These fish have been caught while trolling, casting and trolling lures. Even though they started showing up a couple of months ago, they should be still around, just maybe not in as many numbers. I have been catching a few, taking a couple of fillets off them and salting them down for bait. Just about everything that swims in the saltwater loves a feed of bonito. If you are fishing from the shore in Botany Bay you could try Browns Rock, Bare Island, the beach in Yarra Bay, the break wall at Foreshore Drive ramp, the entrance to the Cooks River, anywhere along the beach from Brighton to Dolls Point and both the Captain Cook and Tom Uglys Bridges. On the southern side of

There are still a few quality Australian salmon being caught on both baits and lures. If you are going to keep a few for a feed, make sure that you bleed them and then keep them on ice. the bay, you could try Silver Beach and Sutherland Point for flathead, bream, trevally and whiting. Those of you with boats could try Trevally Alley, the end of the third runway, The Drums, The

Stick and the oil wharf. Just remember if you are fishing while at anchor it is much better if you have a berley trail going. Further upstream in the Georges River, the flathead, bream and whiting have

T S A O C T EAS 3 2 0 2 S E I R

been on the chew. Places to try are the Moons, Lugarno, Picnic Point, the Milperra Point and Chipping Norton Lakes. The Woronora River may be the smaller river compared to the Georges, but it will still produce plenty of bream, flathead, whiting, mullet and the odd mulloway or two. Due to most of the river not being that wide, I would tend to stick to the sides

while anchored up and bait fishing. If you prefer to lure fish, just work the sides where there are pontoons, wharfs, jetties and rock walls. Further upstream you could try lure fishing for bass and estuary perch. The beaches in Bate Bay have been producing good catches of bream and whiting. The best baits by far have been either beach or tube worms for the whiting, and half pilchards for the bream. Those anglers who have been using whole pilchards on a set of ganged hooks have been getting amongst a few tailor and Australian salmon. A mate of mine has been targeting mulloway at night with freshly caught squid, but has been mainly getting into a variety of sharks with only the odd small mulloway. Squid of late have been hard to come by. If you are struggling you could always try buying some from Max Bait Bar at Blakehurst. The only problem is, it’s around $60 a kilo. Further south at Stanwell Park Beach there have been a few salmon and tailor caught either very early in the morning or just before sunset. Once again, those anglers using beach worms have been getting into a few whiting and bream. As I stated in the March issue of Fishing Monthly,

I will discuss a different fact each issue that will hopefully help you to get amongst a few more fish. It may be something as simple as a suggested hook to use, how to put a bait on, what type of technique I use or what rig that I use. Here is my fact for this month. FACT How many times have you had a bream, drummer, snapper or groper take your bait and before you know it the fish has wedged itself under or between a couple of rocks, and you can feel that it is still attached? Sometimes violently jerking on the rod (not too hard or you’ll break the rod) will cause the fish to swim back out. However, if this doesn’t work, you should just let the line go slack and leave it for a while. Many’s the time I have done this and had the fish swim out from where it was. Once you sense this, you should lower your rod tip while winding in the slack line. When you feel the pressure of the fish you should take hold, and step back a couple of steps while winding in some line at the same time. Before you know it, the fish will be flapping at your feet. That’s it for this month. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

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Scott Pavitt with his first ever dusky flathead. It was caught on a soft plastic while slowly jigging the deep water in Yowie Bay.

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The big brother of the Snoop Pop clan is aimed squarely at bigger fish including barramundi, yellowtail kingfish, dusky flathead, mangrove jack, tailor, saratoga and Australian salmon, just to name a few. This lure has a fish-attracting, popping style action that will cast further and pop even louder than its smaller brothers, making this a very versatile surface lure ideal for fishing areas such as sand flats, timber snags, rock bars, weed beds, lily pads and creek mouths. The Snoop Pop 80 is 12g and 80mm long, making it an ideal estuarine and inshore pelagic surface lure. It comes in a range of custom Fishcraft paint finishes that will cover all possible conditions in both salt and freshwater. Those classic colours include black & gold, silver shad, pearl shrimp, spotted herring, clear tiger, white widow, pink Sherbet and chartreuse UV tiger. The Fishcraft Snoop Pop 80 also features a hi-impact ABS construction, fish-attracting rattle, size 4 chemically sharpened hooks and stainless steel split rings. Each lure is tuned to swim straight out of the box. fishcraft.com.au

DAIWA TANACOM 800

2022 delivered a reworking of the Tanacom electric reel platform with the release of the Tanacom 1200, and new for 2023 is the smaller Tanacom 800. Featuring the design, and advancements in technologies and features that made the 1200 a major evolution of the Tanacom platform, the 800 model shows that quality, performance and power can come in a small package. The Tanacom 800 sports the new design incorporating the motor housed inside the spool, giving Daiwa engineers the ability to increase the efficiency of the powerful motor, the same reliable unit that’s been used on Tanacom 1200. An aluminium body, DOT LCD Display, Line Counter, and Power Lever feature in the Tanacom 800, along with a 25kg drag, PE6/800m spool capacity, aluminium ball knob and more. For a full list of specs, head to the Daiwa Australia website. www.daiwafishing.com.au

BONE FOCUS COLOURS

The Australian Bone Focus colours have arrived, and all have been designed to appeal to Aussie species. There are six new colours that will feature in the ongoing colour range: CP (carp), FE (femur), FAB (fat Betty), PL (pearl), SK (skeleton) and MC (Murray cod). The Focus has a well-earned reputation as a producer of great glide-bait fishing, winning biggest fish of the day honours at the Lake Mulwala Cod Nationals, catching Andrew Hart from HLS his first metre-plus cod, dominating flathead catches over the flats and finding their way into plenty of barra mouths int eh impoundments and rivers. It’s the 130mm size that makes the Bone Focus such a well-accepted lure. This size allows anglers to use lighter tackle that is easier to cast for longer periods. The really big swim and glide baits on the market require specific tackle, whereas the Focus can be used on tackle most of us already own and that’s a massive plus. Add in the multiple tie-on points that give the lure slightly different diving and action characteristics and the Focus can be fished from water as shallow as a metre of weed channelled flat right down to 5-6m when anglers chase big barra on the scope. SRP: $35.99 www.wilsonfishing.com

RAPALA HOODED JERSEY

The Rapala Hooded Jersey provides optimum sun protection thanks to its hood and built in face shield with breathing holes and built-in thumb holes. The breathing holes have the added benefit of reducing sunglass fogging. This jersey is made from UPF 50+ material providing anglers with optimum sun protection whilst staying cool at the same time. Breathable mesh sides will keep you cool on the hottest days in the sun. Rapala has also released a 13 Fishing Hooded Jersey, with all the same features. Both jerseys are available in the following sizes: S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL MSRP $89.95 www.rapala.com.au

LIME KERSHAW SHUFFLE

3 2

The Shuffle is one of Kershaw’s most popular models, and how there’s one that won’t get lost in the bush or the back of your ute. The new lime green version really stands out, bright lime green handles make this Shuffle stand out. Other colours are purple, teal and black. The Shuffle is a compact, versatile and tough multi-function tool. You’ll like its compact size, manual opening, and discovering how useful that stubby little blade really is. The finger contours fit your hand nicely, and the K-Texture handle provides an extra secure grip. The Shuffle has some additional tricks up its sleeve, too. It has a flathead screwdriver at the butt of the knife, which doubles as a lanyard attachment, and a bottlecap lifter built into the back of the knife. The blade is made of made of a steel known for toughness and durability. The K-Texture handle is composed of a repeating pattern that enhances grip. A liner lock secures the Shuffle’s blade open in use, but closes easily when its tasks are done. It can be used as a utility knife, a work knife, or just a multi-function pocketknife. The Shuffle’s closed length is 8.3cm long, the blade is 6cm, and the overall length is 14.6cm. For more information on the Shuffle and other Kershaw knives, visit the Frogleys website. frogleysoffshore.com.au

SHIMANO CURADO DC 200

The Curado DC 200 is an expansion to the Curado family of low-profile reels. The Curado DC 200 provides anglers up to 40% more line capacity for added versatility and performance using a wide range of baits and techniques, especially those looking to leverage heavier line, larger lures or maximize casting performance. The I-DC4 unit provides anglers with four distinct settings to control how much braking the DC technology applies to the spool during the cast for ultimate control, while minimizing backlashes when long-bombing casts or fishing in windy conditions. The MicroModule Gear technology creates a smooth retrieve by utilizing smaller teeth to increase the number of contact points between the drive gear and pinion gear. X SHIP provides improved gear durability. By supporting the pinion gear on both ends with bearings, the pinion gear maintains precise alignment with the drive gear. This increased support allows the gears to stay in the same position under the heaviest loads. X-Ship technology also eliminates the friction between the spool shaft and gear for enhanced casting performance and casting distance of lighter lures. www.shimanofish.com.au

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APRIL 2023 59

NSW

Keep moving to find the fish BALLINA

Joe Allan

The beaches around Ballina and Lennox Head have been fishing really well and should continue to get better. Look for gutters on Patches Beach and back to South Ballina as well as the beaches along Seven Mile Beach north of Lennox Head. There have been good catches recorded of tarwhine and flathead on both soft plastics and blades (try the 1/4oz weight), although if it’s too windy this might be a struggle. There are still good numbers of pipis around, and these little fellas are a great fresh bait for most bread-and-butter species. Just remember you’re not allowed to take pipis from the beach. The mackerel are showing up in OK numbers

Joey Urqhart from Casino Outdoors with a jewie caught off the walls on a big paddle tail plastic.

ba Prawn Blade s” “Yam Benny Rampling with a nice jack from down river.

between Brunswick and Evans, but they are very scattered. You’ll find the mackerel one day and then they’ll have moved on the next. You just have to keep moving to find them, which is very typical of the early season bite. Livies are still the go at this stage, with yakkas and slimies being the best. Close-in reefs are the go, like Black Head, Flat Rock and Snapper Rock down at Evans Head. There still have been some decent snapper being caught as well on plastics early in the morning, but they seem to be a bit wider out. The rock walls have produced some good-size mangrove jacks. While not in good numbers like they were in summer, the better size specimens have come out to play in recent times. These guys will become less active now that the water is cooling down, but they can still be caught by persistent anglers. The break walls have

been yielding some good jewies (mulloway) towards the bottom end of the tide. This dirty water has certainly stirred them up, with some really good-size fish being caught. Live mullet seems to be producing the best catches upriver in the holes. The freshwater stretches of the Richmond and Wilsons river have been patchy of late, as there has just been so much dirty water around through February and early March. The whole system has had a flush, and will be better for it. Hopefully the Aussie bass get a good breeding season this winter after last year’s floods, which would have thrown everything into chaos. We’ve certainly had a late summer; the heat didn’t really hit until well after Christmas, which

Dane Kolo with a cracker mahimahi caught off Ballina. has resulted in the surface fishing being even stronger through March than it was in December – and it doesn’t look like slowing down anytime soon. Imitation creature baits mimicking prawns, frogs, small lizards and even birds have been catching plenty of bass. It’s such a fun way to fish. If you’re after a feed of flathead, try the stretches between Pimlico Island and Broadwater. Whitebait and fresh prawns are the go if you can get them. The prawns are on the move at the moment so if you can find them, you’ll find great numbers of these tasty fish. The best hooks for these are a number 1/0 and 2/0

long-shank hooks, such as Gamakatsus. The longer shank in the hook keeps the line away from their teeth. Which while only small, a flatty’s teeth can cut through some pretty tough line. If you’re into throwing hardbody lures, try tolling some Atomic Shiner 75s, which will get down past 3.5m easily in the holes around the Wardell Bridge and areas close by. Bright colours have been working the best. Once you have found the drop-offs, it’s always good idea to have a 3-4” soft plastic with a 1/4oz jighead with 3/0 hook ready to go. Until next month, tight lines.

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60 APRIL 2023

Cameron McLeod with a mangrove jack caught up river on a live bait.

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS AIRHORN

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LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS I

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Tagging Tales

Suntag is a world leading citizen science volunteer fish tagging program that is part of an Australian program that has tagged over 1,000,000 fish and was the first volun-

teer program in the world to reach that milestone. Data collected through the program is used to improve our knowledge base of recreational fishing by providing near real time information on the status

P/Code: Phone (day):

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO: FMM Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

FMM APRIL 2023

SAFETY GEAR

FIND-A-WORD WINNER The Find-a-Word winner for February’s issue is C Ridgewell of Churchill, who won a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prizes delivery can take up to 8 weeks. – FMM

Complete the Find the Word and go in the draw to win a Fishing Monthly Prize Pack containing a stubbie cooler and a Fishing Monthly environmentallyfriendly tote bag.

FIND THE HARDLICIOUS LOGO The Find the Hardlicious Logo prize winners for February were: 1st B Frankel of Urangan, 2nd M Webster of North Ringwood, 3rd C

Walker of Canning Vale. Prizes delivery can take up to 8 weeks. – FMM

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LOGO COMPETITION

The answers to February’s Find the Logo were: 10, 16, 24, 32, 42, 46, 52, 56, 61, 69, 82, 88, 95, 104, 107. – FMM

Brought to you by of coastal estuaries and inland impoundments. Thanks to the fish, we can provide you with some interesting stories that they tell. IMPOUNDMENT BASS SEEDING

OUR COASTAL WATERWAYS Many South East Queensland dams (impoundments) are heavily stocked with Australian bass thanks the QLD Stock Impoundment Permit Scheme or

through the hard work of local stocking groups who raise funds to purchase fingerlings. This is the case for this month’s tagging tale. The Brisbane Valley Anglers Stocking Group have been putting fish into Enoggera Reservoir on the northwestern fringes of Brisbane’s CBD through fundraising for a number of years. Recent flood events saw Enoggera Reservoir reach over 200% capacity sending many fish over the wall and into the big wide world. This particular fish has found a new home in the Bremer River, some 99km by water from Enoggera Reservoir.

WHAT TO DO IF YOU CATCH A TAGGED FISH The information you will need to report your recapture is. The length of the fish and the location it was captured. Get a photo if possible. To report the details of your recapture you have two options: Call 1800 077001 or go to crystalbowl.infofishaustralia.com. au/suntag/recaptures/recapture_form_1.htmland fill in the form. In return you will receive a certificate providing the details of the tagging and recapture of your fish, as a thank you for providing the information. APRIL 2023 61

NSW

Coffs is right in the middle of the mackerel run Rob Taylor

What a month March turned out to be, with warm currents licking the coastline and bringing with them a whole host of pelagic species. Spanish and spotted mackerel were the main targets, with big numbers of both fish

falling to trolled live baits and lures, stickbaits and dead baits. Slimies have at times been hard to come by, and this has sometimes meant the difference between scoring a full bag or just ones and twos. Regardless, it’s been a great season on the mackerel so far. The creeks and rivers have also been fishing well,

as is typical for the end of summer. Bass are biting well on hot days, and there are flathead, jacks and GTs in the salt for both lure and bait fishos. Some big jacks, 60cm plus, have been taken at their regular haunts during the night, and now is the time to chase a couple before the water starts to cool. The land-based game scene has been patchy at the time of writing, but there have been some notable captures, such as Brad Bye’s big Spanish off the north wall on 20lb leader and no wire while he was spinning for bonito. Not to be outdone, Joel McCabe also scored a big Spaniard while spinning for mulloway on a homemade lure! CREEKS AND RIVERS We should continue to see more of the same for the month of April in our local creeks and rivers. Jack numbers will start to

Brad Bye with an incredible Spanish mackerel off the rocks on 20lb leader, with no wire and a tiny slug intended for bonito.

The author with a mackerel that fell to a trolled live bait.

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thin out by the end of the month, but they are still very much a fish worth chasing throughout April. There will also be plenty of whiting and flathead up on the flats, and the bass will be starting to stir for their downstream spawn run, so locating them in a given system will be a fun challenge. Find them and you will still have an epic session before things get too cold. ROCKS AND BEACHES There have been good numbers of garfish off the harbour walls, and they will remain in these areas while the water remains warm. Fishing with pencil floats and small hooks is a fantastic way to secure a delicious feed of these little fish, and the other good thing about them is that kids love chasing them. We’ll start to see an

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Dan Williams with a solid snapper typical for this time of year.

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NSW

The pelagic fishing is at its peak SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Vic Levett

At this time last year we were in flood with chocolate water to the horizon and very poor fishing. Thank goodness that’s behind us and the fishing action has gone through the roof. March has seen very consistent fishing offshore, with mahimahi (dolphinfish) to 1.6m being caught under

the DPI FADs. Live baits have been the number one bait by far, but the dollies have also been readily taking artificial baits such as stickbaits and soft plastics. It’s very much mackerel season, and there have been some ripper Spanish being caught by boats slow trolling live baits such as slimy mackerel or large yellowtail. Unfortunately, sharks are still taxing many of the hooked fish. Some boats have been

fishing on the sand away from the reef structure, and had better success eluding the taxman. Spotted mackerel have turned up in good numbers as well, and are responding well to pilchards fished in a berley trail. Light singlestrand wire down to as little as 28lb has been fooling the sometimes wary spotties. The usual grounds such as Grassy and Scotts Heads have been the main focus for

these tasty speedsters. There have also been plenty of juvenile black marlin getting amongst the mix. Out around Fish Rock, the odd wahoo and bulk small yellowfin tuna have been keeping the stick baiters happy. The real buzz this year is the amount of cobia kicking around. Find the sharks and the cobes won’t be far away. Once again, live baits fished close to the bottom on any of the major inshore reef systems have been producing the majority of the cobia. Local gun angler Jack Rebah has been consistently landing fish to a metre drifting with livies. Bottom fishing has been difficult lately, with the often strong current associated with this time of year. Some good tuskies and pearlies have been boated when the current has allowed. April is probably one of the best months to visit the

Zane Levett with typical size black marlin for this year. It took a slimy fished under a bait school in 30m of water in Trial Bay.

William Chu with a Spanish mackerel caught on a live slimy mackerel off Grassy Heads, on a trip with OceanHunter SportsFishing Charters. increase in tailor numbers this month with the cooling water, although they’ve been in pretty good numbers all summer. Bream, luderick and the odd drummer should also start to appear in the washes, and there’s always a good chance of a solid mulloway at this time of year. The beaches will be offering similar options, with bream, tailor,

whiting, mulloway and the odd dart filling the gutters. The larger mulloway will be patrolling the usual beaches to the north of Coffs, so don’t discount a night session for larger silver ghosts. OFFSHORE We are smack bang in the middle of our annual mackerel run, and there have been plenty of solid Spanish and spotted mackerel falling to lures and live baits. Slow trolling slimy

mackerel is a sure-fire way to locate mackerel. April is also a good time to be fishing around the islands for wahoo, mackerel and yellowfin tuna. On the bottom we should start to see some bigger snapper moving in a little closer, and there will also be trag and pearlies around the 60m and 80m lines. Depending on currents and water temperature, marlin may also be an option out beyond the shelf.

Tully, a fisho from out of town, found this big Spanno in an island wash.

Nick Steeze with a Macleay River jack caught and released on OceanHunter SportsFishing Charters. This fish couldn’t resist a well-placed live bait. mid north coast. The weather is mild, crowds are down and water temperatures are above 25°C. All the pelagics that this area is famous for are at their peak. The Macleay River fishes well at this time of year, but water clarity on the high tide can be too clear

at times, which can make it difficult to fool some of the species. Fishing around the low tide can improve your chances on species that rely on sight, such as mangrove jacks and mulloway. There have been plenty of large flathead caught and released this year. The new

slot limit of 36cm to 70cm has clearly benefited the sustainability of this species. Tropical species such as GTs, cobia, giant herring and even yellowfin tuna have also been caught in Macleay over the past month. Whiting, flathead, bream, dart and the odd small mulloway have all been taken out of the many gutters that adorn the beaches. This month should see the beaches improve even more. With the better weather and sea conditions associated with this month, we can expect the headlands to produce good mulloway, cobia, longtail tuna and mackerel. Jason Tran recently had a good session off the rocks, landing cobia and two Spanish mackerel on his hand-made Untamed stickbaits. Overall, it’s peak season up here and if I was to recommend a month to fish on the mid north coast, it would be April!

Todd Rathgeber with a beautifully coloured mahimahi. A live yellowtail fished around the DPI FAD was its undoing. APRIL 2023 63

NSW

Mackerel fever spreads THE HASTINGS

Kate Sheldon

I may be a little biased, but the Mid North Coast would have to be one of the best stretches of coastline in NSW for catching mackerel. Mackerel fever has definitely kicked off this season, with some fantastic fish caught from Grassy Head all the way south to Camden Head. Grassy Head north of South West Rocks is where the season begins for the Mid North Coast. It’s one of the most popular locations for catching spotted and Spanish mackerel, and

live baits can be slimy mackerel, bonito and even a stinky pike. The best part of mackerel fishing can be the by-catch; many anglers have reported catching mulloway, snapper and cobia, especially when trolling a deep bait. On my first mackerel trip this season I hooked a black marlin in 10m of water in Plomer Bay. Unfortunately, a lot of fish this season have been taken by the ‘tax man’. Over the last few years we have seen an increase in sharks chasing down our catches. My mackerel tackle

setup is a light game overhead outfit, and I prefer braid although some anglers will use mono. I’ve found that the best bait is a live slimy mackerel or bridled bonito for slow trolling. Mackerel have a big set of chompers, so you need to use a wire trace. I like to use a single strand 44lb wire for Spanish mackerel, but on the spotted mackerel I usually go a bit lighter – as low as 27lb, with a haywire twist knot on a 2-hook rig. I’ve found the best bite is usually those afternoon or mid-week morning fishing sessions with not

Angler Ross Berrett caught this Spanish mackerel in Plomer Bay on local boat East Bound. Image courtesy of @eastbound_fishing.

South West Rocks angler Zane Cassidy with a great Spanish mackerel he caught at Grassy Head. attracts many local and visiting anglers. As the fish travel south the next best locations to fish for mackerel are off Lake Cathie, Bonny Hills and Crowdy Head. Mackerel season on the Mid North Coast generally starts towards the end of summer, with the odd fish caught throughout black marlin season, and usually ends around the start of winter. Catching mackerel is popular, as they are usually caught on the inshore reefs, making them an easy target for anglers with smaller boats. I like to find water sitting around 22-24°C, but if the water does cool down it doesn’t mean you won’t catch them. The fish will be there, you may just have to change up your methods of fishing. My go-to methods for catching mackerel are slow trolling live baits, trolling hardbody lures and ballooning from anchor. Some of the best 64 APRIL 2023

a lot of boats around. If you want to know more about targeting Spanish or spotted mackerel head into your local fishing tackle store and chat to the knowledgeable staff. As we head into the cooler months, we should continue to see some good catches of spotted and Spanish mackerel inshore until May. If you have no luck catching mackerel, have a try for a snapper on the same reefs using soft plastics or pilchards. Correction In my report in the March issue, ‘Local Ladies Leading the Way’, I stated that Cassie Herbert was ladies champion of the Port Macquarie Golden

Camden Haven local Genna Johnson with 7.7kg spotted mackerel she caught off Lake Cathie. Image courtesy of @genna.m.j.

Lure competition. This was reported incorrectly – Cassie Herbert was in fact runner-up ladies champion. Good luck to everyone heading out for a fish this month, and stay safe out on the water. • Kate is the proud owner of Bay Explorer

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

Harry Morris had a great day at Turners Beach, North Tasmania. He caught this trevally while casting a Berkley Gulp Sandworm in camo with a slow retrieve into a deep gutter.

NSW

Getting the small things right FORSTER

Luke Austin

For many anglers, the weeks around Easter are the best and most productive out of the whole

out from the gnarly structure that they love to hang about! Finding the happy medium between bites and bust-offs is the trick. This will vary from angler to angler but you will definitely see those anglers using 4-8lb leaders

often be lure fishing using lightweight rods and braid. This method of fishing does two things: firstly, these anglers are actively searching about for fish that are ‘switched on’ and ready to feed, and secondly, they are fishing with lures that have been specifically designed to grab the attention of fish by mimicking a baitfish or prawn, as opposed to a motionless, dead bit of bait. The other big thing to

great day filled with fish or a long day of not much action. ROCK AND BEACH Fishing the local beaches this month can be a real treat, with loads of fish on offer. While I have had reports from all over the coast recently, the best action has definitely been down south, with 7 Mile Beach producing some particularly good sessions. Most anglers have been finding mixed bags consisting of salmon, tailor,

Rob Voorby with a cracking April tailor. year. It’s when we get to make the most of two merging fishing seasons: the last of the summer and the first of the winter. There is a huge array of species on offer and plenty of tough fishing decisions to be made! Estuary fishers are managing to find plenty of fish to chase out on Wallis Lake. Bream numbers are beginning to really stack up throughout the bottom of the system, with some great fish caught from the rock walls and down around the bridge. If you really want to target these big, smart fish there are a few simple things that you need to remember. Firstly, the lighter you can fish, in both line weight and sinker size, will have a huge impact on how many fish you catch. Fishing a nice light line translates to more hits for one very simple reason: it’s thinner and harder for the fish to see. The downside of going thinner and lighter is that it is a lot harder to pull the fish

hooking many more fish than those fishing 10lb and up. Secondly, presentation is key. Whether you are fishing bait or lure, your presentations have to look as natural as possible. These fish are insanely smart and if they can see too much hook hanging out of your bait, or if your soft plastic isn’t quite swimming right, they won’t even think about eating it! FLATHEAD I always find it amazing to hear the variety of flathead reports that come through during the autumn months. In a single day I often hear, “I have been fishing for flathead for three days and have not seen a single fish” along with “how amazing are the flatties out there, I must have caught 50 over the past two days!” Trying to figure out why there is such a big difference in anglers’ outcomes is often puzzling, but there are definitely a couple of things that stand out. The more successful anglers (outside of the summer months) will

Cobia can turn up at any time this month. Scott Adams found a few very close to home.

Shaun and Cooper with some typical inshore autumn snapper. think about is when to go flathead fishing. Unless we have had a huge amount of rain, the run-out tide is generally the most productive time to chase a bag of fish for the table. However, if you’re after a really big trophy fish, the best time is often right up in the shallows on the top of the tide! Getting the small things right will nearly always be the difference in having a

bream, whiting and even the odd luderick! The whiting that have been hitting the sand have been of a very good size, and nearly all of them are in great condition with anglers struggling to get their hands around the bigger 40cm models. The local ledges are always busy in April. Now is the time to get amongst some

cracking land-based action, and there have been plenty of anglers putting in the hours to try their luck. There have been some big tailor, kingfish up to about 14kg, mac tuna, cobia and the odd longtail tuna getting about. If the action is slow, soaking a bait for a bream, drummer, snapper or luderick is also a real option with some great wash areas persisting up and down the coast. OFFSHORE The ocean is absolutely alive at the moment. The pelagic fishery has definitely kicked in and plenty of anglers are managing to find fish. Longtail tuna are chasing garfish right up and down the coast, the FAD is producing plenty of mahimahi and the reefs to the north are holding spotted and Spanish mackerel. If you prefer to target

demersal species there have been loads of snapper on the inshore reefs. The average size has been around 1.5-3kg, which is a perfect size for the table. Those anglers that have decided to head south have had a lot more success than those that have headed north. The shallow grounds down south are holding some great kingfish up to 18kg, as well as plenty of solid snapper. • Luke is the owner of Great Lakes Tackle – your ‘local’ bait and tackle store. They 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. It’s open 7 days in the main street of Tuncurry. Phone 02 6554 9541 or find them on Facebook to see what they have been up to!

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The reefs in close are holding good numbers of spotted mackerel, so make sure you pack your wire!

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APRIL 2023 65

NSW

Decent catches are increasing as autumn begins 200 for the year. While the action is starting to taper off now, there are still inshore fish to be caught. Slow trolling or drifting live baits around the Vee and Gibber reefs is the easiest way for you to catch one. The Shelf marlin bite has also been hot, with

PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

The fishing has been out of control over the past month in Port Stephens and it’s showing no signs of slowing up. In fact, it should only get better in April. In the bay, the red-hot flathead bite continues, with fish to up to 90cm being reported just about every week. At this time of year, the fish are very spread out, with every mud and sand flat from Karuah to Shoal Bay potentially holding a flathead. Fishing the early morning high tides before fish are disturbed by swimmers, kayaks and boating traffic will greatly increase your chances, as will using lures over bait

Rob Morris with a ripper mulloway.

Bream are preparing for their spawning run. when it comes to flathead. Bream will start to come on the chew in preparation for their spawning run next month, especially in the bottom end of the estuary, so fish the rock walls around Soldiers Point Tea Gardens through to Nelson Bay. They can be easily

Port Stephens Estuary Charters

tempted by an unweighted peeled prawn or live nipper fished on the tide change, and while most anglers fish daylight hours for them, the best time is during the night. There are crazy amounts of small pelagics in the bay with tailor,

Watsons leaping bonito, bonito, frigate mackerel, mac tuna all gorging themselves on frogmouth pilchards and whitebait. Look for the birds working from The Anchorage to North Arm Cove and cast small metals 5-10g into the bust-ups.

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numbers of stripes, blacks and blues. Live baiting the inshore reefs this month is a great way to get connected to a trophy fish of some description. There’s the chance of catching anything from kingfish and cobia to marlin, snapper or longtail tuna.

BEACHES First and last light along the ocean beaches is a great time to target tailor with 20-40g metals or whole gang-rigged pilchards. While you can catch tailor at just about all of the ocean beaches, the most consistent ones are Fingal Spit Box, Beach and Samurai. There’s some great bream fishing to be had over next couple of months, it’s just a matter of choosing a good-looking gutter and through a live worm or pipi on the high tide. OCEAN ROCKS It’s the prime time of the year for land-based game fishing, so if you want to have a crack at a longtail tuna off the rocks, now is the time. When targeting these guys, mono line is the preferred option, with 10-15kg being ideal. You want to use a reel that holds at least 300m, which is why overhead style outfits are the most popular. Being able to catch live bait is key to success, so take a second rod rigged with bait jig and try to get yourself some slimy mackerel or yellowtail. Once you have caught your bait, send them back out suspended around 2-4m under a float on 50lb leader line. Then it’s just a matter of waiting with your reel in freespool ready for it to scream! Casting 20-40g metals off the rocks at this time of year is a great way to fill in the time. You can catch bonito, salmon, tailor, mac tuna and longtail, too. OFFSHORE It’s been one thing the hottest inshore black marlin seasons we have ever had, with some charter boats easily catching over

It’s a great time to walk the beaches casting a lure for tailor.

Fletcher Allen, 5yo, caught this monster flathead measuring 84cm, which was almost as big as him! Fishing the shallow water at the mouth of the Mooloolaba River near La Balsa Park, Fletcher used the head of a pilly as bait and a 1/0 hook on a small pea sinker. The fish was safely released in the same spot after the photo.

NSW

Inshore anglers get into action CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

As we gradually edge closer to the cooler months, our local fishing has been anything but cool. In fact, the ocean currents this year have been warmer than we’ve had here for a number of years. With more warm, sunny weather than the previous couple of summers, our estuary water temperature has also been on the warm side. This all translates to better fishing!

are in for more action. Historically, April is an excellent month for both kingfish and mulloway. Mullet, tailor, garfish and calamari are normally building in numbers and sizes at this time of year, and that in turn attracts the larger predators. Most of our local kingfish are only rats from around 50-65cm. These are fun to catch on light tackle, but now it’s time to bring out the heavier gear. Put out a live bait around prominent inshore reef or from a major rock ledge like South

Swansea Channel. Younger or more energetic anglers who have strong tackle for the job may also get some action by casting and jigging oversized soft plastics or poppers. Kings normally respond best to lures that are worked very fast and erratically. On the beaches, mulloway are more likely than kings, but over the years there have been a few larger kings and even cobia caught in places like Hargraves Beach at Norah Head. This isn’t surprising when you factor in the adjacent reef,

a bait at the beach over the next few weeks. Whaler and hammerhead sharks aren’t off the list just yet either. With the warm water and heaps of good shark food like tailor and mullet around, there’s no good reason for sharks to disappear just yet. Rock hoppers who simply want to score a feed of fresh fish should do quite well this month. On top of the aforementioned bream and tailor, this is also a great time of year for luderick. I would recommend trying small white bread baits pinched over a size 4 to 6 hook to score both bream and luderick, or your standard green cabbage baits pinned to a size 6 or 8 hook if you’re not interested in bream. Rather than fishing only the deep water ledges, I would recommend trying your luck at the shallower rocky outcrops adjacent to beaches this month. Having said that, April is a time when almost all traditional rock and beach fishing species have been known to show up anywhere – from just beyond a beach shore dump, to the deeper ledges like South Avoca.

It’s a prime time of year for calamari along our part of the coast. You can get good results using quality squid jigs in sizes 3 or 3.5 cast over shallow kelp or inshore reef. Back inside calmer waters, bream are also still out in full force right now. They’ll still be smashing surface lures cast over shallow flats and around structure like rocky points, bridges and moored boats, but bream also start to move into deeper areas now, where vibes or soft plastics can do well. We normally experience the first real cold front moving through during April, and when this happens

it can switch the bream off a bit. At such times, it’s often best to focus your efforts in depths of 1-4m. We can also expect more flathead, luderick and whiting around the lake margins or creeks this month, and jewies for those who fish Brisbane Waters or the Lake Macquarie. In fact, I’d rate April as one of the better months for Brisbane Water mulloway.

The author with a solid bream that smashed a surface lure cast over the shallows. Bream will still be hitting surface lures this month, but be ready to look in deeper water if a cold snap hits. At the time of me putting this report together, the waves lapping our beaches are around 23°C, and a few kilometres offshore it’s up around 25°C. By the time you read this it would have dropped back to about 21°C on the beach and 22°C further out. Providing the weather remains favourable, this means inshore anglers

Avoca or Wybung Head. From a boat, try drifting or slow trolling to cover more ground and find the fish. 30-50lb braid or mono, a 50-80lb leader and a live pike, garfish or calamari are the standard kingy fare. The next two months are also when some bigger kings may be encountered at places like the Rip Bridge or

and the fact that mullet are also attracted to beaches and bays which are semiprotected by reef. Tailor and bream are the other main players along our beaches right now. In fact, this is probably the best month of the year for both species. A few whiting, flathead, tarwhine, dart and salmon are also likely to take

Silver trevally will become more active in our waters from this month onwards.

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NSW

Anglers are enjoying more moderate weather SWANSEA

Jason Nunn

After weeks of oppressive heat, we are all looking forward to more moderate weather this month. Because autumn has been so warm thus far, we may not get a big exodus of mullet out of our estuaries in the first couple of weeks in April. Instead, the mullet run may not occur until we get more of a cooling climate, possibly at the end of April and into may. The good thing about the mullet run in autumn period is that we get a lot of travelling fish such as bream. These fish are found on all of our ocean beaches and rocks, and inevitably make their way into the estuaries, particularly the Swansea area, where they enter into the channel and the lake during this time. Typically, they’ll be here through into June. This cycle of mullet can linger on until then, unless we get a big rain event (which isn’t anticipated). Already we’ve started to see a good improvement in catches of tailor – another autumn fish which comes into our area at this time of year. These fish are getting caught

A bit of soap from a red-hot session! Image courtesy of danguilfoyle_. off ocean rock platforms early in the mornings, and they’re also along the beaches in relatively good numbers. This will likely continue right through until June along our ocean rock platforms and beaches, with early mornings and late afternoons being the

ideal times to fish. The lake has now started to get quite a few schools of tailor, but they’re not big fish yet; a lot are around 35-45cm. However, the bigger fish should be just around the corner. We can expect specimens around

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up scraps drifting down from the melee above. Sounders with down vision and side scan are great for this, but obviously not essential. Birds are a great sign as well, revealing where the tailor are smashing the whitebait and froggies. Catches of lake squid have been inconsistent, but we have seen aa slight increase in numbers, which I anticipate will continue through April. The population took a real hit from the floods, so we have to be careful not to overdo it, especially during their current spawning period. Please don’t load up continuously in this time – just take what you need. The floods killed a lot of squid larvae, and the population needs all the help it can get to recover from this loss. Hopefully next year we’ll see good numbers. We have had an exceptional run of yellowtail kingfish in our lake, with a

1-2kg around late April and early May when the weather cools further. When the tailor (and to a lesser extent, salmon) start working the bait schools in the lake, it’s time for a different approach. The use of lures such as soft plastics or vibes jigged on the bottom around the schools can pay dividends, down to 9m depth. You can enjoy some good fishing this way in late autumn and into winter (in summer it’s more about slow rolling). When bait schools are being pulverised by tailor, scavengers like flathead, bream, squire and jewfish like to hang around underneath. It’s a prime spot for these opportunistic species to snap

range of size classes being caught (remember the minimum size is 65cm). The kings have been throughout the lake, and schools of very good fish over a metre long have been working the edges, bays and jetties, crunching the baitfish. Swansea Bridge has been a real hotspot, and anglers have been catching plenty on live yellowtail and live squid, plus big plastics, poppers and stickbaits. It’s great to see the kingfish make a bit of a comeback. You have to wonder whether COVID has positively impacted some species like the kingies, thanks to the break from angling pressure. Stocks may have also been bolstered

by some escapees from the kingfish farms up at Port Stephens, which got smashed up a couple of seasons ago with big seas. The offshore scene has been fairly quiet lately. The water temperature has been a telling factor: 24°C at the island and up to as high as 26°C on the shelf. It’s been a great season for small blacks. I call them ‘COVID fish’, because I suspect the COVID shutdowns in allowed the black marlin to spawn in greater numbers. Marlin grow very fast, and a 1.5m+ fish may be less than 2 years old. The big numbers of these young fish bodes well for the future of this fishery. That said, the season has now tapered off; there are still a few blacks around but they have become quite sparse. If you do catch one, be sure to swim it before release so it can recover. Your goal is for it to swim away strongly, and not just roll over after being torpedoed in. We are hoping to see a late run of striped marlin as the water temperature settles through April. It’s a key time when we start to see blue marlin as well. There are some smaller mahimahi (dolphinfish) on the FADs and the trap line. There are a lot of undersize fish around, with a few 3-5kg models in the mix. All in all, it hasn’t been a great season for mahimahi. There are a lot of bonito being caught off the surface coastally, but the majority are little fish up to around 8” long (I call them ‘next year’s fish’, because in 12 months’ time they will be a good size). A few bigger bonito are mixed in with the undersize ones. Some days you’ll catch a 0.5kg fish, and then a 4kg fish on the next cast. At the time of writing, I haven’t had any reports of cobia caught locally. A couple of cobes were caught north of us, but nothing off Swansea. However, April is typically a time when we see the cobia coming down a little bit more. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see few caught this month, particularly as the water is warmer offshore. There’s certainly plenty for them to eat, with the bonito being in good numbers. Bottom fishing for snapper has been very quiet. We are hoping for better things as we move into late April and May, when the water temperature should drop off a couple of degrees. You’re not going to find lots of snapper in the warm water we have now; they like cooler water around 19-21°C. The trag had a very strong start at the end of the year, and then in JanuaryFebruary the catch rates

NSW

A better class of fish on offer ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke

The beaches are worth a look this month for whiting and bream. They have been feeding all summer, so now virtually every fish is a solid one, better than average, with only the odd throwback. The water is still warm, keeping many fish on the hunt. This is especially true for whiting, so good catches are on the cards. Throw in flathead, trevally, salmon and a few late dart, and there is plenty of action to keep you busy – and that’s just during the day. When it gets dark, the big boys come out to play, with some solid jewies getting about the beaches. There have been some goodsized tailor reported as well. Just pick a deep gutter on any beach and use fresh bait, not frozen for best results. There is plenty of quality bait around this month. The ocean is generally calm during this transition period from summer to winter, so you get good comfortable conditions to go about your business as well. dropped off. Maybe the water was a bit too warm. However, in early March we started to get a couple of guys finding a few, and I think that should continue into April. As the trag gain momentum and increase in numbers for our offshore anglers, hopefully mulloway and maybe a few snapper will also be caught. Flathead will be thick offshore through April as they move out after spawning. Hopefully the slot limit helped with the spawning, and I reckon in 3-5 years we’ll know how well the slot limit has worked. We need those high breeding rates because flathead (and bream) are the most popular bread-andbutter fish for recreational anglers in NSW. Everyone wants to catch them, so we need a healthy fishery and good recruitment to meet demand and fishing pressure. When you catch a flathead that you intend to release, please don’t put it on a red-hot brag mat. Put water on the mat to cool it down, or use a damp towel. Don’t hold a big girl vertically by the jaw or she can get internal injuries that will slowly kill her. Keep her horizontal, and swim her before release, so she can recover and, later on, lay lots of eggs. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and

Then we throw in Easter and ANZAC Day so you get even more days to have a crack at them. It’s a good month for anglers. A lot of fish are in close at this time of the year, particularly snapper during the full moon over Easter. Fishing the shallow bommies and close-in reefs during the late afternoon and evenings is the way to go, as the fish feed in the dark using the full moon to guide their way. A good berley trail and unweighted baits in the shallow waters will produce the goods. There are plenty of tailor and salmon getting in on the action during the evenings too, along with lots of little whaler sharks, so you may need a few extra hooks or move to another less sharky spot. During the day the snapper seem to move to deeper water so they can be receptive to jigs and plastics, but they are touch-and-go at best after feeding all night. After the full moon the kings will be about all the usual spots, taking live yellowtail and mackerel. The islands, Bellambi, Bass Point in close and Wollongong reef

a bit further offshore are going well. Down rigging seems to be the way to go, and when a king is hooked, out go the jigs to get the followers. Big bonito are always about this month as well, with some monsters among them up to 6kg. They like live baits too (and can be a nuisance when chasing the kings), or targeted trolling stick baits and casting whole pilchards when a few are found in an area. All along the coast you will spot terns and seagulls on the water diving and carrying on, and they are always worth a look as this is the month of bait balls of anchovies and other baitfish. They are always interesting as there will be pretty much every species of pelagic ripping in to grab as many hapless baitfish as they can before they are all gone. Mackerel tuna, bonito, frigate mackerel, tailor, salmon, trevally, big slimy mackerel, kingies and even snapper and some stray spotty mackerel will get in on the frenzy. The action can be short and sweet if it is a small bait ball, but if it is substantial the action can go on for quite

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Dan Guilfoyle with a nice dusky caught on a Samaki Vibelicious. Image courtesy of danguilfoyle_.

some time, sometimes hours. On these occasions there will generally be some much larger predators about, with lots of sharks of varying size and species, possibly yellowfin tuna, even in close, marlin and even dolphins and whales. It’s a free-for-all, and sometimes it’s just worth watching as the frenzy unfolds right in front of you. If there are whales involved, they generally stuff thing up as they usually take most of the bait in one go, but it’s still worth the price of admission just to see. Further offshore there are still marlin about, with black, blue and stripes all on the cards, and a grand slam not out of the question. A few smaller yellowfin tuna will start to show up out wide, and if the currents are right they may turn up in closer, so be ready. Dolphinfish (mahimahi) of varying sizes are still around the FADs and traps, but you never know what size or how many will be there from one day to the next. Still, it’s well worth a look just in case. There are plenty of good flathead over all the sand drifts and they don’t look like slowing up just yet. You can also encounter some nice snapper, mowies, samsonfish and even the odd pearl perch and spangled emperor that have come down with the currents. On the rocks there is more pelagic action with small mackerel tuna, frigates, salmon, bonito and tailor pushing the schools of bait in hard against the rocks. Kiama area, Bass Point, Port Kembla break walls and even Wollongong harbour walls can erupt with masses of fish churning the water. At these times, every cast is a fish. Some anglers take way

The warm water over summer brought with it some northern visitors like this pearl perch, and they are still about. too many in these conditions, which is a bit disappointing. After the turmoil is over, casting cut baits in the same area will get plenty of other species. Bream, trevally, snapper and even flathead like to move in to pick up the odd scraps and scales left behind. On the deeper ledges it is time to get the live baits out again, as the big mackerel tuna and longtails will be about this month. With the big push of hot water that came down the coast this year it could be a bumper season for the autumn appearance of longtails. They are usually solid fish of 20kg or better in our neck of the woods, as they have been feeding up and getting fat as they move down the coast. Keep a live bait out at

all times as you never know when they will come past. The lake is still producing good numbers of flathead but they are starting to slow just a little as the shallows cool during the lower night temperatures this month, and then later the first southwesters in the mornings that herald the start of the mullet run up the coast. Some big whiting are being caught over the flats in the lake, along with good bream in the deeper holes and around the bridge pylons during the evenings. A few prawns might still be around to scoop during the dark, and they make perfect bait live for all lake species. Get in now before it starts to cool down and slow down next month. Good luck.

There are still some nice flatties on the beaches grabbing plastics, like this 6kg number. APRIL 2023 69

NSW

The autumn fishing is on fire BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Last year it looked as though we were in for an uncertain summer due to all the rain, but then the heavens cleared and summer ramped up and turned on the goods. This set the stage for a potentially great autumn, and that’s exactly what happened. Now we are starring down the barrel of a fantastic April. March couldn’t have been any better, with bass upstream being readily available, estuaries alive with flathead, bream, mulloway and prawns to feed on, not to mention all the other species such as trevally, flounder, tailor that come with such abundance. If there was anything

are seeing dolphinfish (mahimahi) and also marlin, usually small blacks, coming in and chasing the bait in the snapper grounds. Moving out from the snapper grounds and to the FAD, we have plenty of dollies, and beyond that are all the beakies! This season we have a good amount of black marlin, stripes and blues. And if you are out chasing blues then we have a special surprise for you: yellowfin tuna. After a great introduction of yellowfin tuna 3-4 years ago during our winter and spring seasons, we are now seeing big models as early as March this year! Big yellowfin during marlin season – what on earth is going on! I don’t know about you, but it makes me a little nervous… I have that ‘too good to be true’ feeling. The

hundreds to thousands of sharks cleaning up all the bait in massive feeding frenzies. Until these things have happened, you can go out and enjoy your marlin fishing. There usually is a break in between marlin and tuna fishing, but over the last few years tuna have been making a big comeback, so instead of going into depression in between bites, we now could have yellowfin available. Some of the commercial boats and even rec boats scored in March this year. If we were to have an early start to the tuna season, and with bluefin coming June, July, September with albacore sprinkled in throughout, then that would be amazing. Fishing in a bit closer from the FADs to the inshore reefs has also been on fire. It has been a very consistent mahimahi run; they have

Bretto and the boys on Opportunatee scored some nice fin whilst chasing blue marlin. missing or not as prominent, it would be mud crabs and blue swimmers, but I expect that to change next season as more El Niño influence takes place. The rock fishing or fishing from the ledges is on fire, with pelagics such as bonito, mac tuna, longtails, frigate mackerel and kingfish – or, if you are very lucky, yellowfin tuna. Yes, tuna from the ledges! That’s how good things are now. Out from the ledges, the boaters are enjoying catching plenty of flathead and snapper. The snapper grounds are experiencing a lot of pelagic activity also, with bonito and kings chasing the bait. On better than usual days with good water and lots of bait, we 70 APRIL 2023

way things are looking at this stage, the tuna season is starting before the marlin season has ended, a bit like the old days. Let’s break this down. We can safely say there have been no strong signs of marlin season slowing down just yet, although if we start to see red algae and green toads showing up in April, things will slow down from there. However, while ever this current is raging down with hot water, there is more of a chance of seeing wahoo or a Spanish mackerel. We had a couple of wahoo caught during March, and if the hot water continues that can happen again this April. And as the marlin season does slow down and come to an end, we usually see

been commonly found at the FADs in great numbers and have also ventured in along the snapper grounds when the water favours it and there is plenty of bait. Dream inshore reef fishing days is when you can troll past some headlands and pick up some bonnies, maybe a king, then go out and micro jig up some big snapper in 60-100m, then troll some lures out there and pick up some dollies, while watching small black marlin harass the bait or maybe even catch the marlin. These are the kind of things happening at the moment. The fishing is excellent. With things this red hot, it’s no wonder our ledges are lit up, and the action looks set to continue into April. You really don’t need much to get in on the action when there are plenty of bonito around. You just need a few metals and a rod and reel, and it’s as simple as that. Then, go to a ledge or headland that has a greater chance of success – obviously ledges more inside mouths or estuaries have less chance of schools swimming by, so look for ledges with more ocean. Then cast and spin. The fish you’ll encounter the most is the bonito, and you can also expect mac tuna, kings, salmon, tailor, frigate mackerel and Watsons leaping bonito. If you are lucky, you might catch a longtail tuna. If you’re even luckier, you might catch a yellowfin tuna. Because bonito will be jumping on your hook most of the time, I’ll give you some tips on looking after it for the table. Make sure you take ice or, even better, a frozen water bottle (or just put water in an empty plastic bottle and freeze it). Wrap it up in a towel and bring plastic bags for the fillets. This is a must to keep the bonito flesh firm; once the bonito flesh gets warm and goes mushy, it is ruined.

Louis with a cracking snapper. After you have caught your bonito, bleed them in a fresh saltwater pool, and take off the fillets. Place the fillets in the plastic bag you brought with you, and then roll them up inside a towel with your frozen water bottle. When you get home in the kitchen, you’ll find the flesh is cold and firm, making it easy to cut and skin. Cut the centre bones and bloodline out, then slice off the skin and cut the flesh into chunks. You can sashimi bonito, provided you add soy and/ or wasabi. Bonito on its own has an aftertaste, and soy and wasabi will cut that aftertaste out. To cook, I like to flour, egg and then crumb bonito with chopped parsley, grated lemon zest and chilli flakes

Jed Forrest and Hazza Young have been out tagging some fine specimens.

in the mix. Cook until brown on each side, and you have a winner recipe. If you want flathead or bream on your table, you can’t go wrong in the estuary this month. The rivers and lakes all up and down the south coast have been on fire, and this will continue. I expect prawns to continue, which will keep families out at night chasing them, and also provide plenty of food for the fish. Whiting have been hit-andmiss, but like everything else I expect them to be around for some time yet. With the change of water and clearer patches of water, there have been more squid getting around. This should continue and even improve coming more into autumn. Mulloway and sharks at night will be on the cards for some anglers, and these species won’t disappoint at this time of the year, especially the sharks. There are plenty of them. Finally, if you are going bush and chasing bass, the cicadas are out so you’ll want to tie on an imitation surface lure. It will get smashed. All in all, autumn is usually a pretty reliable time of the year, but this year particularly good. • For more up-to-theminute 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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Anglers enjoying the long awaited seasonal change BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Autumn is the time when you have an aquatic seasonal change, where you get a changeover of species

or, more to the point, a combination of different ones. It’s quite possible to catch warm water sub-tropical species such as dolphinfish (mahimahi), and albacore and yellowfin tuna are also present. Shark species can also

A nice dusky in the boat. Now where is the next one?

vary, and we’re likely to see anything from tigers and hammerheads through to makos, blues and threshers. The inshore grounds and estuaries are also changing, and the effects of recent rains have improved these areas no end. If variety is what you are looking for, head to the inshore reefs and also look towards the entrances of our estuaries, as the warmer waters pushing in from the ocean are stimulating fish to feed. As mentioned, offshore game fishing is excellent, and in the past many big blue marlin have been caught in the month of April. Trolling is probably the best form of attack, with large skirted lures trolled out over the 1000 fathom line doing most of the damage on the big blues. You should also consider trolling small striped tuna, as they also catch their share at this time of year. Closer to the continental shelf and Twelve Mile Reef, striped and black marlin are in good numbers, and mixed with them are a variety of tuna species and dolphinfish. All of these areas mentioned are worth berleying for sharks, and if you are into shark fishing always keep in mind what other species may venture into the berley trail. I recommend that you always have a live bait out under a balloon, rigged on

All smiles with a solid bream. 250lb mono trace, as there are always marlin and tuna to be caught in this way. These fish will continue to be taken like this well into the winter months. Reef and bottom fishing is excellent as the calm weather generally allows anglers to fish as they wish. When you get these lovely, still conditions, this is the time of year to get close to

shore and flick soft plastics around the reefy outcrops. You can have success in anywhere from 1-2m of water through to as deep as you can get your plastic down to the bottom. You can catch a variety of species in this manner (and some of the odd balls that show up may shock you). The main target species on the short list will be snapper and flathead

off the bottom and a host of pelagics including kingfish, salmon, small tuna through to trevally. For those who just want to fish in the conventional ways with bait off the bottom, there’s a wide variety of species on offer at present. This also allows you to fish the deeper water, with the Twelve Mile Reef fishing the best. Large snapper,

School holiday fun for the kids TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

The Wharf is fishing very well at the moment, with a variety of species hanging around. This is great for families on holidays as the kids can get stuck into the many baitfish schools that are here. Yellowtail and trevally

are regular captures with the visitors, along with the ever-popular slimy mackerel making up the bulk of the captures. Also on offer are passing schools of salmon, frigate mackerel and bonito, which all can get very interested in a well-presented lure. With the kids having so much fun on the baitfish, there is a likelihood of larger predators like kingfish or

sharks patrolling the fringes. A baitfish floated out under a float may end in the mouth of one of these large pelagics. Out to sea, the offshore fishing has also fired up, with both the gamefish and bottom dwellers on the chew. Marlin are still around for the game fishers, with all three species now in the area. If it’s a big blue marlin you’re looking for, now is the time to target one. Tathra Canyons

Sliding a lure-caught tailor onto the golden sands of a Tathra beach early in the morning. 72 APRIL 2023

out over the continental shelf has in the past seen many an epic battle on these great fish. Probably the best way to encounter one is with a spread of large skirted lures, as you can cover more water to find where the fish are. Once you have raised a fish or two in a certain area you can then switch to live baits in the form of slimy mackerel or small striped tuna. There will be other species also encountered whilst chasing the billfish. Anglers can expect to find anything from your subtropical dolphinfish and spearfish through to a variety of tuna species, including albacore, and definitely a mixture of different sharks. Calm conditions are giving the bottom and reef fishos plenty of scope to work different areas in a range of depths. The wider reefs out in 70 fathoms (and there are some good ones out from Tathra) are producing some very nice snapper, mowies, tiger flathead and very big trumpeter. Berleying while out in this deeper water setting baits for either sharks, tuna or marlin may produce whilst fishing down deep. Closer to shore,

There is plenty of late season flathead action on offer around Tathra.

NSW

tiger flathead and trumpeter are much soughtafter, and if you are geared up to run live baits on game gear, anything may be possible. It is also a good time of year for shore-based anglers as there are a lot of surface fish moving in close to the rocks and beaches. Kingfish, bonito and salmon through to the likes of bream and trevally may be encountered. It is also a great time for chasing pigs (rock blackfish

or drummer) especially early in the morning and late in the afternoon when the shadows creep over the water. The best area for this is around the blue pool, out on the main headland. Along the beaches the weather is still pleasant enough to fish at night, and it’s a good time to target gummy sharks, particularly on the full moon. Nice, deep gutters on the bigger beaches should carry their share, and mixed in will be salmon and

Brogo keeps producing quality bass. fishing for flathead has always been popular out from Tathra. Most of the grounds, whether south of Bournda or north to Wapengo, have good schools of both sand and tiger flatties, with the odd red gurnard or gummy

shark to add to the catch. The inshore reefs are also hosting a variety of species, with the most popular targeted fish being snapper. Bait fishing is still the most reliable way to catch snapper off the reefs, however using soft plastics in shallower

tailor with the chance of a jewfish. Bream fishing in the estuaries and lakes is fantastic. Large schools of southern yellowfin bream have moved into most of the systems, especially those which have open to the ocean due to those late summer rains. You will encounter these fish through most of the estuaries, although the better fishing is now in the lower parts where the warmer water is being pushed in by the tides. Fishing the first of the run-up with either lures or bait will produce. My favourite approach is to fish with striped tuna, both as bait and berley for maximum results. Flathead are still in reasonable numbers, and are being taken on both lures and bait in the Bermagui River and Wallaga Lake. Fishing for blackfish around the rock walls, boat ramp, harbour, and bridge at Wallaga is very solid, with plenty of fish being taken on the last of the run-out tide using both green and cabbage weed. Brogo Dam is at 100% capacity and is fishing quite well. Plenty of black crickets are encouraging the bass to feed near the surface, providing plenty of top water fishing for anglers. Of course, you can use the crickets as bait although anglers using small surface lures and flies are enjoying many memorable moments too. water is increasing in popularity. This is now being practised in a range of water depths, and as long as you can get your lure to the bottom you’re in with a good chance. The Bega River is open to the ocean, allowing fresh

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

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An early morning hook-up in a beautiful south coast estuary. stocks of fish to enter the system. Schools of bream, blackfish, trevally, and I suspect some jewfish have moved into the river, and anglers have a chance to target them. Up around Blackfellas Lake and the rock walls

in the Thompson area are proving very productive for bream and estuary perch on lures. The drop-offs and main channel down towards the entrance have seen a lot of flathead and tailor taken on both lures and live bait, with the odd jewfish also

getting into the act. Down around the flats, anglers using nipper and fresh prawn baits have had some exciting fishing, especially around the weed beds, for some very nice whiting, blackfish, and bream. APRIL 2023 73

N O H P E W

E H 2 P E W

C M 9 P E W

S A 3 P E W

NSW

Anglers enjoying some excellent trout fishing BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

This month spells almost perfect conditions for fishing and camping in the greater Batlow area. The nights aren’t too cold just yet, the sun has lost its midday bite, and add to this the lack of water skiers and jet skiers, and you’re in for some great days on or near the water. BLOWERING DAM Blowering Dam has been a hive of activity, with anglers travelling from far and

frequent the shallows in search of a good feed under the cover of darkness, so once the sun goes down it often pays to head up into the shallows and throw around a few big lures. With big golden perch often doing the same thing as the cod, you just never know what is going to whack your lure whilst scouting around in the shallows. Golden perch can also be caught in the same areas as the Murray cod at this time of the year, but it pays to downsize your lures if you really want to target them specifically. The best lures to troll and cast for

Once that sun starts to go down, if you’re targeting the natives you can’t fish too shallow. In fact, quite often the shallower the better!

In low light and after dark, big golden perch will be up in the shallows with the cod, and will often take large lures destined for their bigger cousins. wide to get amongst the big Murray cod action. Although cod numbers have dropped off considerably, they are still certainly worth targeting. Murray cod at this time of the year are best targeted with large lures, the bigger the better. The 150mm AC Invaders, for example, are ideal for casting and trolling, but any lure over 90mm will put you in with a chance. The best places to troll lures are the old river bed up around the top end of the dam, and any rocky point or wall would be worth running over a few times. At night time, the big Murray cod will often

Stuckey lures and lipless crank baits. Alternatively, if you’re casting it is hard to beat plastics, rubber vibes and the ever-reliable blades, especially the Ecogear ZX range and Insanity Tackle Yab blade range.

Thanks to two straight years with plenty of rain, the trout fishing in the greater Batlow area is as good as ever. golden perch at this time of the year are the Balista Dyno 60 and 75, Trollcraft Double Downers, AC Slim Invaders,

Nick Price

74 APRIL 2023

to fish and quite easy to walk to another spot if your favourite hole or section is being fished already, or you think you have exhausted that hole. Lure and fly selection in the flow doesn’t get much easier. If you’re casting lures, all you will need is a few spinners like Bling Spins, Rooster Tails and Mepps Bugs, and some little hard bodies like the Rapala CD and F range or IMA Sukaris. It also pays to stick to natural-coloured lures in the low flows because the water is almost always crystal clear, and a bright, flashy lure can sometimes spook the fish. Stick with natural rainbow and brown trout colours and you can’t go wrong. If you’re fly fishing and would like to target fish with dries, you will have to fish the first hour of daylight in the morning or the last hour of

Redfin in our impoundments like Blowering Dam will move off the edges and start to form massive pre-spawn schools, making for some great fishing. will be in low flow (fingers crossed) which will make for some spectacular fishing. Whilst it is in low flow, almost the entire river is accessible on foot, which makes it both easy

light before dark. Alternatively, if you want to catch fish all day long it is hard to beat a small bead head nymph, suspended about 1-3 ft below an indicator or highly visible dry fly.

The importance of water temps HUNTER VALLEY

If the Tumut River is in low flow this month it will be hard to beat indicator nymphing with a fly or spin rod.

REDFIN Over the last few months redfin schools have been spread out all over the lake, from the surface down to around 100ft in depth, which can make it difficult to locate them at times. This month, the majority of those smaller fish in the shallows will work their way out to the deep water with their bigger mates, as they start forming their massive pre spawn schools. Once the fish are in these pre-spawn schools they can be easy to catch, as there are so many in a school and because they are so competitive. When the fish have almost all moved out to deeper water and fairly consistently hold at around the 25-70ft mark, it makes it much easier to locate them at this

time of the year. You can troll, cast, drift and/or use your sounder to find the schools, then once a school is located drop plastics, ice jigs, blades, vibes or lipless crank baits into them and jig up a storm. Bait fishos can do the same thing with worms or yabbies bobbed on a paternoster rig. Whether you jig with bait or a lure, it often pays to add a small 1-2” soft plastic or flashy fly about a metre or so above your offering. This will give you a chance of bringing a couple up at a time instead of just one. It is also handy if you’re fishing around weed because the plastic or fly will still be fishable if you happen to foul up your bottom offering. TUMUT RIVER Hopefully by the time this article hits your newsagent’s shelves the Tumut River

April is one of those months where the fish are transitioning, and they can be hard to catch until a patten is worked out. There is no set way to catch these fish, so try different methods until you find what the fish are after. Often it can be an assortment of techniques that are working. During these transition times I rely on water temperature as the key to unlocking the technique that will catch many bass. If I can find water around 23°C, that’s where I prefer to fish. This is reaction temperature and it’s good, fun, easy fishing throwing lipless crankbaits, square bills or spinnerbaits. If the temperature is above 25°C, I recommend looking for those deeper fish and trying a plastic fished either vertically or horizontally. If the temperature drops to

around 20°C, you can also use a plastic. Using spinnerbaits in timber is a good way to fish

if the bass are not biting. The bass love structure, and the bigger trees in 20-30ft of water usually hold bass at this time

There are lots of little trout in the Upper Hunter, which bodes well for a good season in 2024.

of year. Spinnerbaits bounce over the timber, puffing up sediment and eliciting a reaction response from the bass. Beetle spins with a little plastic and small crankbaits like Jackall Chubbies are also a way to catch fish in the timber during transition months. There are many, many carp in Glenbawn at the moment, and some locals are looking at running a carp fishing competition in June. The average size is over 1kg, with carp up to 7kg showing up regularly. All the details for the competition will be on Facebook, or you can ring the shop and speak to Liz and she can give you the details. The trout season is still open, and there are reports of good fish being caught. Head further back into the tops for better catches with larger fish. The more marginal water down low has had a hard time over the summer from both anglers and environmental

NSW

Smooth flows ahead for April! ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

It has come up fast – April is here, and as autumn progresses we are seeing the cooler weather starting to set in. April is always a really good time to be chasing natives, because the days aren’t uncomfortably hot but it’s also not too cold to comfortably fish, whether it be from a boat/kayak or walking the banks. In the lead up to this month, we’ve seen some really good fishing, particularly on the small clear water systems within our region. Flows and clarity have returned to more normal conditions, in comparison to what we were having at this time last year. It’s super

Rhys Wilson with a beautiful clear water cod caught on a recent trek with the author. exciting for anglers to see this, as the fishing is much more predictable when the conditions are normal. During April, it’s fair to expect good numbers of Murray cod being caught, as the conditions are usually the best around this time of year in general. Also, as it does cool down a bit, the bigger fish do start to pop up a little bit more, which gets anglers

An interesting capture by Jarrod on a recent Punt float. excited about winter fishing for big cod. The fishing around the region for the past month has been fairly consistent on most outings, and the fish caught have all been in exceptionally good

No matter the size, casting hardbody lures for cod in small water is super addictive. factors such as water temperature and carp. And remember that if you are struggling to get the bass to bite, you can always fall back on the reaction baits. I like to use a TN60 in brown dog and non-ultraviolet colours.

Looking ahead, May is a month where the fish are moving more to the edge. Next issue I will further explore transition fishing with a focus on edge bite plastics. The fish are not on the winter bite but are getting close. And remember, if you’re

heading up to the Barrington, Glenbawn or St Clair, please drop into the shop at the turnoff to Glenbawn in Aberdeen and ask about the different techniques and what they are biting on. We stock all the quality tackle that you need.

There are a lot of good catches during the transitioning months.

Top and above: Matching the hatch is a good starting point when fishing the impoundments. This Bone Focus 130 swimbait is a perfect match.

condition, which is fantastic to see. As spoken about in my last article, after floods the fishing always is more productive once things returns to normal. This has been evident of late for many anglers who are lucky enough to also fish in this region. Looking past the small water and river systems, there are a few competitions in Lake Mulwala coming up. As I write this, I’m just about to go and fish the Lake Mulwala Cod Nationals. There’s also the Teams Fishing Australia comp coming up, which I’m personally not doing but many other keen anglers are from around region. Some people are travelling a fair distance for this event, too. It should be really interesting to see the results from these upcoming competitions at Lake Mulwala. With the weed gone it has totally changed the lake, so tactics that worked well last year might not be as effective this year. Regardless of where you’re heading for the month of April, it’s a really good time to be on the water. It’s not too hot or too cold, and with Easter being in the month too, this is often a good chance to get away and do some camping and fishing with the extra days to make it worthwhile going away. It gives you a chance (if you’re keen enough) to get up early and fish for cod off the surface, which is often the best time to fish for cod across most waterways. If you do plan on getting away during Easter, or just going for a casual cast during the month, I wish you the best of luck with it all! Tight lines! APRIL 2023 75

NSW

Perfect time to be walking banks NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

For many seasons now, April has always proved to be one of the better months of year to be out on the water, exploring the many creeks and streams the New England Northern Tablelands area has to offer. The days are still warm enough to get the trout and perch species fired up, but also cool enough for you to spend the day exploring the larger rivers or impoundments for Murray cod. With daylight savings ending, the full moon on the 6th of this month, and the Easter holidays also being on the same weekend, there is a bit to consider while planning a trip here – especially if you are planning on camping around the dam’s edges. The water levels have been

inconsistent in recent weeks, with dropping water levels for irrigation, as well as heavy rainfalls in the upper catchments making the banks very soft in some spots. It could be hard finding decent

camping spots this Easter so be mindful, and careful when picking and choosing spots to set up – especially the major impoundments such as Copeton and Pindari dams. They are notorious for seeing

cars and trailers sink to their axles along the water’s edge when levels recede. On that same note, it is the perfect time to be walking the banks looking for lures still attached to

Luke Brooks with a well conditioned New England Murray cod. It was caught on a Megabass Big M 2.0 on the eve of the new moon.

The Gotcha Shad Max is a fun lure to throw, as you never know what is going to happen next. The author has caught fish the same size as it, as well as a 1m+ fish from the kayak.

snags while the water levels are dropping. Copeton Dam is currently sitting at 85% capacity after falling from 89% earlier this year, while Pindari Dam sits close to 84% capacity, down from 94% at the time of writing my last report. The new moon will fall on the 20th of this month (dam levels current at time of writing and may have changed in recent days). With daylight savings now at an end, it will be lighter in the mornings (clocks go back one hour). Surface and sub-surface lures come into their own at this time of year, and are one of the better options in the lower light periods, so it is always worth having a

Some of the author’s favourite lures: weedless frogs, Cod-King Chatterbaits, Westin MonsterVibe spinnerbait, Barambah Bony Bream, Mimix Dragonsaurus, Gumble Baits Paddler, Entice Mr Weedless, Entice Gotcha Shad Max, Megabass Big M hardbodies, Garuda, Vatalions and Magdraft/Magslowl swimbaits. couple in the tacklebox. As I have said before, having a variety of lures is definitely a must as you never know what situation you will be dealt. The waterways can change a lot in a short space of time. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are good options when it comes to looking for a reaction bite and covering ground fairly quickly, as they can be worked faster than other lure types. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits can also be very productive at any level of the water column. I like to use a swimbait in a situation where you know the fish are there, and the approach would be a lot

slower in tempting the bite. It does not hurt to upgrade lures every now and again when the bite period is quiet, as the larger natives will start looking for bigger meals as we head into the colder months now. This is when the baitfish and other prey items (such as crayfish, shrimp and lizards) will start to become more lethargic and head into hibernation until the warmer months return. With so many awesome fishing options at this time of year, it is a matter of getting out and enjoying the autumn weather and seeing what the New England has to offer. Good luck and tight lines.

FISHING NEWS

The DPI needs your fish frames More than 400 ‘advanced size’ juvenile mulloway have been stocked into Sydney’s Georges River. The team at DPI’s Port Stephens Fisheries Institute marine hatchery continue to develop and refine mulloway breeding technology, and have successfully released a new cohort of tagged juvenile mulloway into the river. These mulloway average just over 1kg and range from 470-560mm in length. An external dart tag on the shoulder of the released fish allows them to be identified as stocked mulloway. The fish will be monitored by DPI scientists to assess the effects of the stocking, monitor their growth, movements and residency, as well measure

76 APRIL 2023

their contribution to the local recreational fishery. The fish released in this stocking event are expected to grow rapidly and reach the legal size limit of 70cm by the summer of 2024/25. Following their release, it is expected that the fish will gradually move away from the release locations and spread throughout the river, so keep an eye out for a small yellow dart tag on any mulloway you catch in the Georges River over coming the months and years. For more information on or to report the recapture of a tagged mulloway in the Georges River under the marine stocking program, contact fisheries. enhancement@dpi. nsw.gov.au. This recent stocking of advanced size fish will

be followed up by the mass release of mulloway fingerlings, which are currently in production at our Port Stephens hatchery. FRAMES WANTED Earlier this year, keen spearfisher, Justin Ewan dropped into a DPI Fisheries Sydney drop-off location, Adreno Sydney to donate some kingfish frames. The staff at Adreno were there to help with the donation. The information gathered from the fish frames is used to assess the health of important recreational fish populations in NSW. Also, you as the donor will also receive biological info on that fish and will go in a monthly draw to win fishing equipment. The Adreno team said there’s a freezer at the entrance to the Sydney store for this purpose.

“Just pop your catch in there, label your name, and where and when you caught it. Oh, lastly, the scientists do use the otoliths so avoid too much ike jime to the melon!” Eligible species are mulloway, kingfish, snapper, pearl perch, dusky or bluespot flathead, Spanish mackerel and spotted mackerel. The fish don’t need to be trophy specimens – all legal size classes are welcome. Data collected by this program will contribute towards ensuring continued quality recreational fishing opportunities for mackerel and other key species. If you would like to donate your frames, head to www.dpi.nsw.gov.au and search for ‘participating drop-off locations’ to find your nearest drop-off point. – NSW DPI

Justin Ewan’s kingfish frames will contribute to research on these great sportfish.

ACT

Autumn arrives with redfin catches everywhere CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

The local lakes are exploding at the seams with redfin at the time of writing this report. There are big packs of reddies feeding up out deep and in close, and they are hitting almost any lure that even remotely resembles a mosquito fish. Every year, the local lakes in Canberra experience an influx of mosquito fish and this year, we’ve gotten an April hatch. Mosquito fish are a staple part of a redfin’s diet, and golden perch are also very fond of the small, invasive species. At present,

when a big autumn yella materialises and belts the lure in front of the chasing reds…well, that’s what fishing in the cooler months is all about. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin continues to fish really well. Though the water clarity is lacking, this hasn’t stopped the redfin. It has been a few years since I have experienced sessions where I can start with vibes, switch to divers and then finish with small surface lures and catch fish on each lure type and on almost every cast. I have found that whether you’re throwing subsurface lures or surface offerings, the

with small vibes like the Jackall TN50. If you’re after a cod, try surface lures after dark up at the spillway or if you’re in a boat/kayak, head towards the dam wall and cast spinnerbaits parallel to the wall and employ a ‘pause/hop’ style retrieve. Lake Ginninderra is fishing much the same as the other two major lakes, with

The author with a solid river cod. Lake Tuggeranong is still worth a crack despite the fact that the oxygen level is once again dropping right across the lake. The mosquito fish are as prevalent in the lake as they are in LBG, so the same methods that are paying dividends on Burley Griffin are also working on Lake Tuggeranong. Shallow running divers like the Ecogear SX40 fished slow near the islands at Greenway is a good way to pick up a few fish as is targeting the pontoons behind the College

Divers that resemble mosquito fish have been proving deadly. mosquito fish sitting close to the edges, and yellas and reds sitting a few metres out, waiting for the bait to make a mistake. Fishing plastics

The cod fishing has been good lately. I want to also make mention of the cod fishing. There have been a number of small cod caught by anglers targeting yellowbelly along the points around 10m from Carillion near Kings Avenue Bridge. This area also holds carp and reds, but the smaller cod have pushed up into this area looking for food and seem to be hanging around long term.

Look for isolated reeds and schools of small mosquito fish.

Redfin are everywhere at the moment. it is a case of finding some half-submerged reeds and taking the time to watch the area 5-10cm below the surface. If a school of mosquito fish are sitting close to the reeds, the redfin and yellas will be holding close by, and it is simply a matter of casting a small diver out a few metres from the reeds and retrieving at a steady pace. Watching a pack of reds appear underneath a lure is always exciting, but

lure needs to make a bit of noise via a rattle, and that the best results come when I match the colour of the lure to the colour of the mosquito fish. Green, brown and translucent coloured lures work best, and make sure you follow the bait. The bait will tell you when the fish are around, as the mosquito fish will dart for cover and often breach the surface when larger predators are around and chasing.

and small divers right along the sand bank behind the dog park can yield some good captures, as can hitting the pylons under the bridge during the heat of the day with vibes and blades like the ZX35 in dark knight colour. The cod are proving a little harder to catch than the reds and yellas, but fishing surface at night at the old

Surface lures are getting good results.

police jetty or along the dam wall are both good strategies for connecting with a big green fish. The Murrumbidgee River is still running a bit fast, and the water is turbid, but the fish are on the chew. The surface fishing has been quite good but most anglers have found consistent success by fishing spinnerbaits and swim baits in the slower pools and varying the retrieve speed on each cast. The resident river yellas have also kicked up a gear and are hitting lures meant for cod, so it pays to bring a lighter outfit to each session along with the heavy stuff, and have a few casts with smaller blades and vibes. SURROUNDS Googong Dam is providing some outstanding angling opportunities, and should only get better and better until winter well and truly sets in. There are plenty of redfin about, and these schools of fish are sitting close to the bank looking for food and will eat almost any small lure put in front of them. The area from the car park to Shannons Inlet is a great place to go for a walk and cast some lures, with the golden perch also feeding up in this area. If you’re fishing from a kayak/boat, head over to Bradleys Inlet and cast spinnerbaits and large plastics right in tight to the sunken shrubs and timber. The cod often hit on the drop but if they don’t, employ a fast retrieve becauase the fish will chase lures hard at this time of year. APRIL 2023 77

VIC

Get out there and catch a nice feed this autumn under 10kg, but we have also seen them in the high 20s or even 30kg+. Better seas will

PORTLAND

Nigel Fisher

Here in Portland we have had some reasonable weather, and hopefully it will level out a bit through autumn before the rough winter seas set in. We have already had a reasonable run on school tuna in the shallow waters, ranging up to the 20kg mark. These numbers and sizes should only start increasing as they head for the deeper waters towards Cape Nelson, Bridgewater Bay. We have already seen a big increase of baitfish out the back, and by the time you read this report, anything could have happened. Mid-March and April can certainly produce some very large tuna. Of course, the hardbody deep divers are skirted lures in various colours are the go. Lure size depends on the size of the fish. We have also seen some very large makos in the last couple of months, and we should still pick up makos throughout the month of April. Berley and big baits have been doing the damage. As the seas level out, April and May can be great

schoolies. The bay can also be OK at this time of year, with pan-size snapper along the

A nice feed from the North Shore reef line.

Matthew Hunt and crew with a massive mako caught in the deeper waters off Portland. will go anywhere if they can score these great fish. In past years we have seen albacore averaging

also increase trips to Bridgewater Bay to chase good feeds of flathead and gummies. You can also fish the Cape Nelson area for reef species such as snapper, nannygai, morwong and of course gummies and

North Reef line and sharks, plus the big whiting are still lurking around also. Generally, we see good schools of sizeable salmon at this time of year. Salmon are great to catch and they put up a great fight. If you like chasing

Tony with a great mixed bag from a trip to Bridgewater. months for deep drop trips out to the shelf chasing blue-eye trevalla, pink ling, gemfish and so on. While you’re out there you can also chase albacore, which are great eating fish and provide good fights 78 APRIL 2023

snook, try trolling around the shallow reef lines in front of the cliffs and North Shore.

when you find them. Chasing albacore can involve huge days on the water and a lot of miles, as they can be very widespread and in very deep waters beyond the shelf. However, some anglers

Katie with a cracking gummy from a recent outing.

They are great areas for these fish. Alternatively, you can try deeper waters around Lawrences Rock. You can also catch sweep around the rock. Land-based fishing can also still be very productive as we head into the cooler months. Salmon, whiting and sharks are great landbased targets, and you can still encounter the odd big snapper off the breakwater after a big swell. Remember we have some great estuary options for bream, mulloway and estuary perch in our region. Fitzroy, Surrey and Glenelg river are great areas to try. There are also some great freshwater areas within a couple of hours of Portland for redfin, trout, yellowbelly and even cod. • If you are keen to get into it this autumn, or you’re thinking of travelling to Portland for a wellearned fishing trip, call into Portland Compleat Angler and say g’day to the crew, and check out what’s on offer. They will usually have what you’re looking for. You will find them at 61 Bentinck Street, Portland next to the Gordon Hotel. You can also contact them on 03 5521 1844 for any fishing, weather report or general information. You can also follow them on Facebook.

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Anglers are still on the lookout for big tuna WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

April can be an excellent angling month locally, with everything from barrel-sized tuna offshore, to big brown trout in the local rivers and streams. Although kingfish season usually just draws to a close as April comes, this year it appears to have ended earlier than usual. A few days of massive swells in late February dropped water temperatures, and the kings seem to have vacated early. It had been a fairly good season, big fish wise, but there was not the number of mid-sized fish that had been around the previous few years. The summer tuna have continued to be prolific though, with plenty of good school-sized fish being caught. Come April they seem to drift out to the slightly deeper areas with the new run of fish that appears from the west. Of course, now is the time of year when keen tuna anglers are on the lookout for the bigger run of tuna in the 70-100kg+ size. Last April saw some schools of these big tuna present along the coast off Port Fairy, and hopefully we’ll see more of the same this year. There is already plenty of bait around in the 50-70m mark, so

Estuary perch have been responding well to topwater lures in optimal conditions. fingers crossed there will be some big boys feeding on it shortly. Closer inshore, whiting fishers have been enjoying some good catches. These fish should still be present along the sand holes around

the inshore reefs right through April. The Hopkins River has had a pretty average six months for fishing after the big floods of late last year. However, it has now definitely turned the corner.

Water clarity has improved with the wide-open mouth, and the bream and estuary perch have been in big numbers along the edges of the estuary. Targeting these fish on surface lures in prime conditions has been awesome fun, and some days almost every good cast has produced some form of enquiry. Also, the number of smaller fish of bream and EP has been a great sign for the future of this waterway. It’s a handy positive given the continued reports of big carp infiltrating the upper freshwater reaches of the system. With deeper mouth and the influx of sea water, we have seen many surprise catches with all sorts of unusual species for the river. These have included squid, flathead, banjo sharks and trevally. Unfortunately (and surprisingly), mulloway reports have been pretty much non-existent. Still, April and the Easter tides are a traditional mulloway peak period, so hopefully a few silver slabs will turn up soon. Cooling weather in April should see the local trout population really start to kick into gear. After a fairly cool summer, following all the rain we had in the lead up to summer, the trout should be in prime condition. There were a lot of solid mid-sized fish around last year, so another 6-12 months of growth into these fish should see some quality fish encountered.

Last April produced a good run of big tuna along the southwest coast. Let’s hope 2023 produces as well.

Decent bream catches in the Hopkins River COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Some excellent yellowtail kingfish have been caught in close by those specifically chasing them. The bycatch has been Australian salmon to 2.6kg as well as some small bluefin tuna to 6kg. Some of the kingies are pulling the scales down in excess of 14kg. Fresh baits such as slimy mackerel and yakkas pinned to a ganged rig and allowed to waft unweighted slowly down over any shallow reef area has worked on the kingies. Also, many anglers are jigging a variety of lures over similar ground. When the bite is on, casting and trolling lures around feeding

One of many Hopkins bream taken on shallow divers worked over the shallow mud flats on a rising tide.

schools works well. Anglers targeting kingfish are launching off Boat Bay, Warrnambool, Killarney Beach and Port Fairy, and fishing reefstrewn ground in depths less than 20m. East of Warrnambool, the flathead grounds have been worth a shot for many anglers, with some bagging out with flat fish measuring up to 44cm. The best bait has been squid topped off with a pilchard chunk and allowed to drift along the bottom, in line with the boat. Some nice King George whiting have been caught off various beaches between Port Campbell and Peterborough on nothing but pipi meat. Either side of a high tide is best, and so too is introducing some berley into the wash.

Casting out beyond any gutters is the go for the bigger fish, which are measuring around 39cm. The Hopkins is doing well for bream and perch, and it seems some mulloway are still in the system and testing the patience of many anglers’ bream fishing gear. Cubed mullet or salmon is attracting mulloway bites whilst soft plastics in shrimp patterns are catching a few bream, especially in the shallow mud flat areas at dawn and dusk. At low tide, the bommies (coral mounds) that can be found out in the Bay of Biscay area are holding schools awaiting the building tide. They are well worth a cast or two, as you may annoy a bream or perch into attacking your bait or lure. APRIL 2023 79

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Impressive catches in estuaries GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com

The water in the region cools over April, and we often see a surge in whiting inside Corio Bay. The whiting have fished well all year, so an increase would be busy alright. The Barwon River in Geelong has seen a few redfin around the 30cm mark caught on single-tailed soft plastics up around Queens Park and Breakwater. However, it was Adam from Trelly’s who broke the internet with a 53cm bass he caught from the Barwon using a 4” paddle tail soft plastic rigged on a jig spinner. That’s a cracking bass! Hugh Hanson has been fishing out at Wurdee Buloc

How’s that for a Barwon bass? Adam from Trelly’s looks pretty happy with this 53cm whopper.

Alan caught this kingfish jigging over an old wreck. a fair bit, bagging a few redfin up around 35cm using vibe lures. Hugh reckons the visibility is pretty good, and the reservoir is nice and full. A few feisty kingfish have been spotted, hooked, lost and landed inside Corio Bay, which has added to the excitement. Matthew Harris was casting a Texas-rigged Silstar Slapstix soft plastic off Limeburners when he saw a bust-up. Expecting salmon, he had his lure pounded around 2m from the rock wall and then it took off! The fish bolted under eight other anglers’ rods, forcing Matthew to increase the heat in an attempt to keep it close. After a 5-6 minute fight, Matthew hand lined the fish out of the water – a 74cm kingfish which he released 80 APRIL 2023

after a picture. Matthew said he had sighted what appeared to be kingfish schools cruising around Corio Bay for a few weeks prior, but this was the first one he had landed after many hours casting and changing lures. The kingfish were in close chasing garfish, which gave Matthew his chance. I would expect the kingfish to taper off as this month progresses. We can expect bream, mullet and trevally to provide sport for land-based fishers, while salmon will also patrol Corio Bay a little more often. Corio Bay has had a stellar snapper season this year, with strong numbers of pinkie snapper to 55cm being caught on soft plastics and bait. North Shore fishing platforms, St Helens, Geelong waterfront and Limeburners have all produced snapper for landbased anglers. For boaties, try Point Henry, the spoil grounds inside Stingaree Bay and off Leopold. Pike have also been a

fairly consistent bycatch for anglers targeting snapper on plastics. I’m not much of a fan of pike because they come up like a wet sock, shed scales, want to bite you and stink a bit, but someone told me they go OK on the plate. Flathead seemed to have increased in size and numbers over the past few years. Better fish around 50cm seem more common. Tasty rock flatties have been a welcomed bycatch for anglers fishing plastics for snapper out off Leopold, with quality fish either side of 50cm. Chris Pitman from Drysdale Bait & Tackle has caught a few 50cm flatties out off Clifton Springs using the new Asakura Clamer mussel lure. Whiting have been a little scattered off Clifton Springs, but it’s still worth a trip as the calamari have been biting well here. Around the Bellarine, Portarlington has had good patches of both, but St Leonards has been the stand-out for whiting, with a few lucky anglers picking up their bag limit captures of 40cm fish. Further south around the

Keep an eye out for silvers in the Barwon. Jak caught this 40cm fish up near Sheepwash Road.

Chris from Drysdale Bait & Tackle has been getting a few flatties off Clifton Springs.

Nick and Alan caught this tuna on a tough day out off Barwon Heads.

Coles Channel and Swan Bay, anglers have been catching quality whiting, with all baits doing well, especially squid. My work colleague Adam Jordan said he wrestled a few pike out of Swan Bay and noticed the shallows were full of big whiting that would not take any bait. He said they were onto his berley, but refused all baits he threw a them! Leopold Angling and Aquatic Club held a members whiting competition but due to the weather, only a few fish were weighed in. Luckily the BBQ was pretty good! Out wide off St Leonards has seen some solid gummy shark captures over 10kg, with the odd 20kg monster amongst them. The Barwon River

estuary has been producing plenty of silver trevally over the last few months. Jak Bergman fished up the Sheepwash and grassed a ripper silver that went 40cm. It was caught on a piece of chicken on slack tide. There have been some whopping kingfish over a metre caught out off Barwon Heads by anglers dropping knife jigs and live squid down over the reef areas in 10-20m of water. Smaller kings around 75cm have been caught by anglers trolling skirted lures for tuna, plus trolling over shallower reef areas near Black Rock and Torquay, which are known haunts of kingfish. Tuna have also been going off their collective heads, with solid fish from 10-30kg

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Last chance for good PPB snapper sessions PORT PHILLIP

Gerry Morsman

The peak of the boat traffic is over now that the footy is back, and for some people now is the best time to capitalize on what great fishing is still on offer. The snapper are still going well before they head on out of the Bay, the whiting are still going strong and, as per usual, the squid and

gummy sharks are still firing as they stick around all year long. SOUTHERN CALAMARI The Mornington pier is seeing some great reports this month, with early morning and late afternoon being the ideal times of day to target them. The first section of the pier at the rock wall casting out towards the bay has been producing good numbers. You are best to use a 2.5 sized jig to get

Cuttlefish are always a welcome bycatch when fishing for squid. The author always releases them. being caught in Bass Strait. Skirts with and without teasers are getting results, as are diving lures, poppers and stickbaits. Alan Falzon fished with Nick Mahoney in Bass Strait recently. The lads trolled all the way down towards Torquay without luck, so they headed back to the Rip. Around 7:30am Nick hooked up on a shallow diving lure, and landed a nice little tuna. The lads drove around for a few more hours and ended up

the casting distance, and this size is also good because it’s not too heavy for the shallow reef that you will be casting over. Reports say the better colours have been green, red foil, black and white. Moving further up the pier, it’s best to cast on the inside as the locals say this area has been fishing very well. Bird Rock at Mount Martha has been in the reports a lot lately, with big numbers caught all throughout the day. It’s a big reef and you can get a very good drift going for a long period of time. Limestone Reef out the front of Mount Martha has been fishing very well also. KING GEORGE WHITING Fishing in the sand holes off Mount Eliza over the broken ground has kept a lot of anglers busy of late. You might have to move around a bit, but by all reports it has been very worth it with good numbers and sizes. Fish up to 45cm have been getting caught on squid strips and pipis. The better times have been early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Mills Beach off Mornington has been fishing

Hugh has been catching a few redfin at Wurdee.

Matthew caught and released this 74cm kingfish casting lures off Limeburners.

back near Torquay. They decided to give up on the tuna and went over to an old wreck that Alan knows. They sent a Chasebait soft plastic down on a heavy jighead, and landed a nice kingfish to round out the day. Alan reckons they were lucky to boat these fish because others at the ramp hadn’t had much luck. FISH HARD – DIE HAPPY! Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterfish@gmail. com with “FMG” in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997 348. Please include where (without giving away your secret spot!), when, what on and who caught the fish. Pictures are always great, but please make sure they are at least 1MB (file size).

Michael Kandanoleon with a nice female gummy shark. really well, too. Fishing near the yellow poles will have you in a big sandy area just off the edge of light reef, and the whiting love to hang around these areas. You might get a few small pinkies, but if you persist the whiting will eventually turn up and push the other fish out. Bird Rock is an area that comes up every year as the whiting love to hang around this big rock that comes out of the water. Here you are fishing in around 6m of water in sand holes and broken reef. It’s possible to catch whiting all day long here, with the best baits being squid, pipis, mussels and cockles. As you move down to Dromana you will find you get a little more tide, which is a much easier way to fish as the tide will generally keep your boat and lines straight. You can also berley and bring the fish to you if they aren’t in your exact location. Look for broken ground and sand holes, and if you find the fish aren’t coming to you with the berley, you might have to move around a little bit.

end of the flood tide. Choosing your bait is a very big deal when it comes to gummy sharks. They have a very good nose so make sure you have the freshest bait you can get. If you can’t catch your own on the day, which is ideal, then getting some from a local fish store or market is the next best thing. A fresh salmon or trevally would be perfect as they are very oily and have a lot of blood, which create a really good berley trail. You would be surprised at how far away a gummy shark can smell it. Sorrento has been popping up in the reports also. The key is get right up close to the edge of the channel because this is where most of their food source will travel with the tide. SNAPPER This month will most likely be your last crack at

Ben found some quality whiting using squid strips for bait. GUMMY SHARKS The South channel all the way from Rye to Portsea is a very good area to target gummy sharks all year round. They will swim up and down this channel all day and night with the tide, cruising the edges looking for food. There have been great reports off Rye at the

There are still plenty of school-sized snapper on offer in the bay.

having a solid Port Phillip Bay snapper session, until they return around September. They always go very well this time of year, and can be found in big numbers wide near the shipping channel off Frankston and Mornington in around 20-22m of water. The best bite time, judging by the reports, has been first light. That’s no surprise; it’s very common at this time of year. The best baits have been silver whiting and fresh squid. Berley is key, and you want to start before the sun comes up. As soon as the bite time starts, get ready because the chances are the school will be big, super-competitive and very hungry. If you are lucky you will have your bag limit within 20 minutes. Keep in mind that snapper don’t release very well due to barotrauma, so fishing in water over 11m isn’t ideal for catch and release after you have caught your bag limit. APRIL 2023 81

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Get ready for seasonal changes PPB WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

This is time of year when we start to notice some changes. The water temperature is dipping, and because of that we will see some mixed results. It will also mean our target species will start to change. We’ve had a late run of snapper but will be primarily focusing on species like King George whiting, squid and flathead. A TRIP TO REMEMBER I’ve spent countless hours on the water this past summer, and must admit I’ve had a little bit of a snapper and whiting hangover recently. I decided to mix things up and spent a couple of days at Portland chasing tuna. We watched the forecast like hawks leading up to the trip away. I was feeling

optimistic during my 5-hour drive from Melbourne to Portland, with low swells and gentle 10 knot northerly followed by a 15

knot northerly predicted. Instead, when I arrived, the forecast had changed to 58 knot northerly and 38°C heat on the first day,

followed by a downpour of 14mm on the second day. It couldn’t have been any further from the prediction, and not great for me who

The author was elated with this bluefin tuna.

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still occasionally suffers from sea sickness. On day one, we started bottom bashing baits with a drift chute in 50m of water. We caught countless sea perch, nannygai and snapper. However, the swell was like a washing machine. Battling sea sickness, we came in close and fished around the harbour, trolling shallowdiving hardbody lures for countless snook, pike and barracuda. It certainly wasn’t what we had planned, but it sure was

The squid are very active now. lots of fun, with double and triple hook-ups. The following day we woke to torrential rain. It was relentless, and didn’t let up for pretty much our whole time on the water.

At stages we needed the bilge pump on just to drain out the rainwater. We stayed in close near the anchorage. Considering the conditions, we decided it was a morning to ‘go big or

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A nice catch of Portland bluefin tuna.

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go home’. To that end, we trolled a spread of four rods, including two overheads rigged with medium size skirts, and two spin rods rigged with large Rapala X-Raps that dive down to 6m. We trolled them along at a speed of around 13 knots. Thankfully, it wasn’t long until we got our first bit of action – a triple hook-up of bluefin tuna. It was complete chaos. By the time we brought in the fourth rod, one of the tuna had come off, but it still meant we had a double hook-up on the go. My good mate Russell got to work and, in a few minutes, brought on deck a beautiful 20kg bluefin. The tuna I had on had other ideas. On its first run it peeled about 300m of line, and caused some very tense moments. After battling it for about 10 minutes, I brought in another beautiful bluefin weighing about 22kg. We were elated and drenched. We followed the route trial marked on the sounder, trolled the same line and literally a minute later one of the rods was on again. Russ jumped onto the rod with the tuna whilst I brought the others in. Suddenly, one of the other rods took off, and once again we battled

another double hook-up of tuna. It was mental, and yet so satisfying. After 20 minutes of chaos we landed our bag limit of bluefin tuna, drenched in torrential rain. Three of the bluefin were caught on the X-Raps, and one was caught on a skirt. By this stage the swell

was already getting up. As we came back into the harbour, we marked up a school of kingfish and decided to stop and throw out some stickbaits. It was a kingfish a cast, but nothing of huge size, with the biggest ones going around 60cm. What a 48 hours! It was

truly punishing in so many ways, and yet so satisfying that we managed to catch a crazy amount of fish on day one, and our target species of bluefin tuna and kingfish on day two, despite battling sea sickness and horrendous weather conditions. THE MONTH AHEAD As we move closer

Peter with a beautiful Nong bream.

towards winter, the bigger model tuna will come in. No doubt I will be catching up with good mate Russell and heading back out to Portland for more tuna and kingfish action. If you’re looking for a change from Port Phillip Bay, I can’t recommend doing this enough. Locally around Melbourne we should expect to see a late run of snapper. This is because the water temperature will drop back down past 18°C, which is prime snapper temperature. They will be widespread in shallow and out deep before heading back offshore for deeper waters. Bear in mind that you will have to battle the hordes of bait-stealing pinkies, which are ravenous at this time of year. They are in record numbers due to the lack of commercial netting. This big reduction in fishing pressure is fantastic, but it does mean we have a few years ahead of battling these pesky little fish. Locally our rivers are starting to fish well again. The floods from months ago have settled and we have been seeing consistent catches. Peter has been doing well on his new Hobie Passport, hitting the edges of the Nong with

a variety of hardbody lures, mussel vibes and Cranka Crabs, and getting stuck into some beautiful resident bream. These brutes sure do fight hard on light spinning gear, and can be really finicky at times. Fishing like this should continue to be strong this month, so get out there and have some fun. Until next time, good fishing everyone. Feel free to contact me directly to share your fishing experiences, photos and catches around Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and beyond which we can feature in next month’s article. You can contact me by email at alan@fishingmad.com.au. Please consider becoming a FishingMad member at w w w. f i s h i n g m a d . c o m . au/member for fishing reports, workshops, podcasts, and exciting monthly giveaways. Also, don’t forget to follow my fishing adventures on the FishingMad YouTube channel www.youtube. com/c/fishingmad and social media on Facebook page www.facebook. com/fishingmad.com. au, Instagram page www. instagram.com/fishingmad. com.au and on Channel 31 Tuesday evenings at 9.00 pm and Saturday afternoons.

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Local advice is the key to catching bluefin tuna Some people are looking for who to blame for other ramps’ mistakes and yes, there are plenty, but that is another issue and something to learn from. Right now, the focus should be on getting Newhaven right. Don’t forget through all of this there are several factors that will restrict certain activities, so we need to work around what can be done to get it as close to what is needed. I will be attending

PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

They say time goes faster as you get older, so I must be really old because this year just seems to be flying past. Once we finish with the April school holidays, it will see us with only about eight months to Christmas, with just winter in the way. Winter! Some anglers say it’s time to put everything away and vegetate on the couch. Other anglers are a little smarter and will continue to fish, either to stock up the bait freezer or to get a feed; both are more than possible. Yes, it’s colder and there’s less daylight, but that’s what jumpers are for. And yes, you don’t catch as much but if you spend more targeted time fishing, you’ll get results. Once you taste fish caught in the cooler water compared to the warmer water, you might take it up every winter. The weather experts are telling us that old mate that brings the rains is going to bugger off, and his brother who brings the warm, dry drought weather will turn up. This remains to be seen. I think most people would be more than happy for BOM just to get tomorrow’s forecast correct, let alone the next 12 months. Frustratingly, the bureau will get it correct for a couple of days, and then very wrong for the next few. While these inaccurate forecasts are a bit of a joke, they also create dangerous situations, especially now with the tuna showing up and more boats outside than inside, with some quite small. Offshore here is a little different than up the coast, and can get very dangerous very quickly because of the short, sharp swell we get. We had several situations over the summer

Luke and Stuart with a couple of bluefin tuna. season where the weather changed unexpectedly, and the forecast didn’t reflect that, and many boaters got caught out. If you are heading out for the first time, ask a local, drop in and see us and, more importantly, if you are unsure don’t go. While the whiting fishery has changed a little through the season, things are looking promising for the future, and at least next year’s fish. Over the last few years the whiting have been exceptional right through the year, with the average size around the 40cm mark. This season, especially the end of the summer season, we have seen the average size drop closer to the low 30s. They are still in good condition, just not as long. We have also seen a lot of undersize whiting, again something that we haven’t seen for a few years. Why, who knows – but it has always cycled every few years, it’s just this time there hasn’t been the normal lack of fish while the numbers replenish. The other good thing this season has been where the

Sam was happy with this quality gummy shark. 84 APRIL 2023

the planning meetings and I’m more than happy to pass on your ideas and thoughts. Simply drop into the shop and have a chat, or send us an email. There will be a series of public consultation meetings that everyone can attend, where you can have a say in the designs. The new design, once finished, will not please everyone – that would be impossible – but hopefully they can get it better than it is now.

whiting have been caught: everywhere! We have had the usual reports from what are known as the usual spots, but it’s the not so usual reports that have been the most pleasing – across the corals, 10m+ of water and on snapper gear in the deeper channels. Calamari have also been different this year, but that’s more to do with those anglers fishing for them than the calamari population itself. We have found that customers aren’t doing a whole session on the calamari to get their bag, but just a few for baits and then moving on to where they want to fish. Those anglers chasing them from the land have probably done just as well, and spent more time chasing them for the dinner table. The beaches have been good but the jetties have been hard work, especially San Remo. It is normally very consistent, but this season it has been very patchy. Newhaven hasn’t been too bad, and Cowes has been good when there haven’t been 100 people swimming or boats coming and going. The evening is much better. It seems as though the only thing we have been speaking about over the last three months or so has been bluefin tuna. I’m not going to take up a lot of the report with the tuna, other than to say it has been a better season than last year. I still have plenty of customers that have spent lots on fuel driving the ocean looking for them and with no luck, and my advice is to stop thinking too hard, simplify it and take note of what others are doing in this area. Ignore the fishing personalities on YouTube, or advice from people in another state or a different part of Victoria – your only interest is what’s happening out here. If it’s like last year, the school fish will soon be swimming

somewhere else, but get out the big gear and hang on for the barrels. Better Boating Victoria have started the planning, with council, for the upgrade to the Newhaven boat ramp. It is still in the very early stages of planning, and there are no set designs drawn as yet, but there are plenty of sketches and ideas. I think we can all agree that what we want is a solution that will better help us launch and retrieve our boats, park our trailers and clean our fish.

Sam with a decent bluefin tuna.

FISHING NEWS

Local forums to talk fishing and boating Recreational fishers and boaters will get the chance to hear all about their beloved pastimes and share ideas on how to make them even better at ten free forums across the state scheduled for June, July and August. From Portland to Lake Tyers, Boort to Ballarat and seven locations in between, the forums will provide an ideal opportunity for people to talk face-toface with government staff from the Victorian Fisheries Authority (VFA) and Better Boating Victoria. VFA CEO Travis Dowling said the forums will feature an hour-long presentation from fisheries managers, scientists, boating project managers and local Fisheries Officers, followed by an hour of question time Location Boort Essendon Lake Tyers Bendigo Albert Park Port Albert Ballarat Torquay Wodonga Nagambie Portland

Date 30 June 5 July 8 July 14 July 21 July 29 July 5 August 12 August 19 August 24 August 26 August

and discussion with those attending. “Presentation topics will include fish stocking, access, facilities including fish cleaning tables, boat ramps, fish habitat projects, enforcement and education, and fisheries research,” Mr Dowling said. “This is the perfect chance to get definitive answers to all those questions that get debated between mates on the water, whether they be about catch limits, permitted equipment, life jackets or fishing licences. “We’ll have the experts there on the night to settle things once and for all. “It’s also the perfect time to suggest a great project that will really make a difference to grass-root fishers in the area. Local people know their patch best and we want to hear

Time 7.30pm 8.00pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 7.00pm 7.00pm 7.30pm 7.00pm 7.00pm 7.00pm 7.00pm

from them on the night.” Mr Dowling said each of the forums would be held at a fishing club and non-members were encouraged to come along and encourage a friend to go too. “Fishing clubs are a wonderful environment to share stories, learn new fishing skills, tell a few yarns about the ones that got away, and maybe add a few hot spots to your list of fishing destinations.” Seats will be limited to ensure the forums remain COVID safe so registering a seat is essential. For more information or to reserve your spot on the night visit www.vfa. vic.gov.au/localforums – Victorian Fisheries See below list of forum locations and dates.

Venue Boort Angling Club, Boort Essendon Angling Club, Moonee Ponds Lake Tyers Beach Angling Club, Lake Tyers Bendigo Legion Angling Club, Bendigo Albert Park Yachting and Angling Club, Albert Park Port Albert Yacht Club, Port Albert Ballarat Fly Fishers Club, Ballarat Torquay Angling Club, Torquay North East Angling Association, The Quest, Wodonga Goulburn Valley Angling Association, Nagambie Portland Sport Fishing Club, Portland

Your fishing licence fees at work Ouyen Lake jetty

Settlement Point stairs

Thanks to your recreational fishing licence fees the floating pontoon jetty across Ouyen Lake will be extended.

Fishing off the rocks will be easier than ever at Settlement Point because the Corinella Foreshore Committee of Management will use $19,800 to complete a staircase to the rock fishing platform known for its flathead, King George whiting and gummy sharks.

An intermediate grant of $50,000 will enable the Ouyen Anglers and Ouyen Inc to add extra sections, allowing more people to wet a line at one of the Mallee’s newest fishing spots that’s been stocked with more than 156,000 fish since 2018.

Nhill Lake water supply

Lake Purrumbete access

A grant of $50,000 will help the Nhill Lake Reserve Committee of Management keep the lake full for stacks of family fun, especially during the September holidays when we stock it with catchable-sized rainbow trout.

Shore-based access to this crater lake is set to get better because the Lake Purrumbete Angling Club will use $50,000 to formalise car parking and install signage, fencing and an access gate off Purrumbete Pit Road.

The intermediate grants category is open to fishing clubs and community groups for projects between $5,000 and $50,000. Learn more at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/fishinggrants

East Coast

VIC

Flat out dusky flathead fishing GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

There’s plenty to report on as the lakes finally drain the remaining floodwaters of the last two years. The big flathead are now slowly moving further upstream towards the rivers, with their size and numbers growing. There have been plenty of exceptional bream caught, with goodsized tailor and salmon pushing up into the lakes. DINO DUSKIES With so many bream comps on recently, anglers have been searching far and wide, with many commenting on how plentiful the big flathead were. Owen Pierce told me he and Stevie Wheeler had to abandon some areas after hooking too many thumping duskies. It was bad news in a bream comp, resulting in lost time and breaking off $25 lures on 4lb leaders. I loved Owen’s comment when he said, “Some shallow areas around Raymond Island were polluted with them”.

We quickly spooked a few big fish in the shallows, so we knew how deep to start searching. We cast for a few hours without a result, and sadly just spooked big flathead where we had cast

four of them, with the biggest going 69cm. My mate hooked three and landed one at 56cm. We covered a lot of water that session, and by lunchtime the fish were fairly shut down, with many

Justin Kohte with yet another stunning landbased bream at 44cm he found lurking around the jetties near Paynesville. refusing our lures. I’ll return for another look soon. The lesson I learned that day is to always use big lures to get those large duskies to bite, and also get on the water at first light. I’ve been saying this for a while, but what I’ve seen with my own eyes now

is that the Gippy Lakes is starting to rival Lake Tyers as the ‘Big Dusky Capital’ of East Gippsland. As we drive into Lakes Entrance, maybe we should have a massive statue of a big flathead! BREAM IN THE SHALLOWS As mentioned, the Gippy Lakes has been host to a few bream comps recently, and the results were truly breathtaking. So many bags of five big bream at 5-6kg hit the scales, with a lot of individual bream going 1.4-1.8kg. The stand-out feature was the amount of big fish caught in fairly shallow water in Lake King between the Mitchell Flats and Paynesville. The most effective lures, as reported by a lot of competitors, were the Hurricane Twitch 40 and 50 sized hardbody lures. That’s rather fitting, given that they were designed, developed and initially road tested in those exact same waters. The deeper areas around jetty pylons also produced some real trucks and the Muss lure or black blades were the go. Special mention to Mario Vukic, who won the ABT event with a bag of 12.5kg. It was a well-deserved win for the good-natured bloke, who also happens to be a gun big bream tamer. He really knows how to get the best out of Hollands Landing and Seacombe, which can be a nightmare to fish, with

Big lures are needed at times to wake up the larger flathead, like this 69cm dusky from Raymond Island. super-fast flowing water and deep, thick snags. Of interest to me is that Mario now uses 8lb leaders in the area, having dropped down from 12lb and 10lb in years gone by. All I can say is, he’s a braver angler than me! It’s very hard to talk about bream these days without mentioning the Kohte brothers. This time, Justin got a turn. Once again, he stalked his local jetties, and his best day produced a stunning bag of fish. On that occasion he landed 20-odd bream ranging from 30-44cm. Five of the fish were 44cm, three were 43cm,

and one was 40cm. Adjusting those fish back to fork length, and then using the current ABT weight-to-length table, that would give Justin a bag of bream going at least 6.5kg. Justin generally runs 6-10lb leaders, and does well to keep nasty bream from wrapping him around the structure – although I think a few battles end in disaster for sure! While actually fishing on the jetties themselves, fishing light makes the battle fraught with danger by pulling the bream into structure, unlike from a boat where you can haul them away from linebreaking timber.

A constantly changing fishery LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

A 75cm flathead caught and released by Brodie Metherell in the eastern end of the Gippy Lakes. The boys also said the flatties were all big fish, around 60-75cm and maybe bigger. It was time to investigate. On a stunning calm day, a good buddy joined me with our target being big flathead, hopefully 70cm and bigger. 86 APRIL 2023

multiple lures over those same fish. I then put a much bigger soft plastic on, and immediately got results. Over the next two hours I hooked six big duskies, all 55cm and bigger. I landed

The Gippsland Lakes is a constantly changing fishery. It continues to improve and has become known for the biggest bream in the country, drawing many anglers to the region. LAKES ENTANCE King George whiting are staple in our lakes these days, with all the weed beds from Lakes Entrance to Paynesville producing good numbers of whiting. Traditional bait fishing techniques work best, with baits such as pipi and muscle always being a deadly approach. As the whiting have been so thick lately, I’ve had good fun throwing small soft plastics at them, such as Gulp Crabbys and Worms. These small bite size plastics have been hard for the whiting to pass up. The big key to success is finding a jighead with the right size hook for whiting, as typically the hook is a

Lake Tyers has really turned on the bream this season. bit too big making it hard for hook ups. Tailor have been crazy through the lakes. They are commonly seen blowing up on the surface smashing the local bait fish to pieces. This has made for some amazing fishing, throwing small surface lures at these massive packs of tailor has been great

fun but expensive! Short wire traces or heavy fluorocarbon is recommended, or you’ll find yourself emptying your wallet pretty quickly with these sharp toothed hunters. LAKE TYERS The lakes continue to impress over recent times, and Lake Tyres has really turned it on with the bream

fishing being some of the best I’ve ever seen. The many flats through the lower lake has been covered in tailing and feeding bream, commonly they have been up so shallow I’ve found myself jumping out of the boat and walking in ankle deep water casting at them. This top water

VIC

East Coast

Super snapper from the surf PORT ALBERT

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

For this report I will concentrate on the amazing surf action from Port Albert and east all the way to Lake Tyers. So many happy anglers have been contacting me and I’m finding it hard with who to start with. The whiting and flathead have really slowed down in the estuaries so let me get into the beach action first. 90 MILE BEACH The real hotspot for snapper seems to be Golden Beach, and some of the hauls have been next level. I’m going to start with Anthony Havers, who is still coming to terms with this amazing surf story. He arrived at about midday with low tide about two hours away, and the surf was flat and a good water depth just in front of him. Using two surf rods without a drone, he was able to cast out into the deep, and he said it was mayhem from the first to very last cast at about 7pm. With a standard paternoster rig and using mainly bluebait or pilchard, he landed at least 25 snapper, with the best two going 62cm and 54cm. The amazing thing for me was that all of the fish were over 40cm. Havo reckons he lost many fish because he was struggling to keep up with both rods. He says it fishing has been a great option for lures such as the Bassday Sugapen in hf119. These lures have been highly successful due to the prawns that are heavily present in the lake. Somedays the bream have been so focused on grubbing that you have to drag something right in front of their nose or they will not see it. Small soft plastics grubs on a light weight jighead, like

Dad and two happy kids were rewarded with a ripper shark for a quick afternoon surf session. may have been better to use just one rod, that’s how busy the bite was. There has to be an incredible population of snapper in the area because plenty of other anglers are having the best results they have ever seen. I reckon that nearly anyone fishing from the beach, even first timers, will probably encounter at least a handful of decent pinkies if they get calm

enough water to fish. In fact, for the first time ever, I’m going to declare that targeting snapper from the 90 Mile Beach is probably more productive than nearly anywhere else in all of Gippsland. Other species are also firing, and the little hammerhead sharks have moved in big time, with some anglers landing up to six a session, all under

60cm long. Tailor and salmon are moving around in big schools, and are all good-sized fish. You will also have to deal with skates and rays that will cause you all sorts of grief. On the upside however, big bronze whaler and gummy sharks have a fair chance of turning up, so it’s all worth the effort. Of interest is the lack of flathead this year. Although a few big fish have turned up, overall flathead numbers are way down on most other seasons. Last of all, I’ve heard that the elephantfish have arrived early back in late February, and already surf anglers are hooking plenty. ESTUARY FISHING Flathead and whiting really slowed down early this year, but I don’t think we can complain after such a bumper summer. My last few trips to Port Albert were very slow indeed, and I had to work extra hard for five rock flathead, a few small yank flatties and not a

Two quality snapper from the surf, measuring 62cm and 54cm. These are just two of the 25 that Havo landed for the session. are totally gone by January or February, so this is quite strange indeed. But then, over the last few years

all fishing seems to have been turned upside down, although mostly in a positive way with many more fish around. And that brings me to tuna and kingies. OFFSHORE It seems the bluefin tuna have been seen right in close to the coast, and that’s probably a result of so many surf anglers crowding the beaches after snapper. A few keen anglers have quickly launched tinnies off the beach when the tuna have been busting up, but they have had a very tough time trying to hook them. The same goes for kingfish; there have been plenty of them around offshore from Seaspray, but once again they have been avoiding capture. As the calmer weather sets in this month, I expect greater offshore success to report on next month. One other interesting fact is that those chasing snapper offshore are having to come in really close and fish shallow water. That adds up with why beach anglers are scoring record numbers of snapper up to 80cm.

The superb bream fishing draws many visitors to the region.

The author with a decent bream.

a 1/24oz or lighter, have been ideal. Recently I’ve been having great fun fly fishing for these tailing bream with small shrimp patterns. It’s all about casting as close as possible without spooking the fish, then the bites come thick and fast. I’ve done a lot of bream fishing but there is nothing that is the same as hooking a kilo bream in ankle deep water, it’s truly mental. HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for fish lately and have a great pic please send to stevenprykefishing@gmail. com with short description and you could be featured in the edition of Fishing Monthly.

The beach action for sharks and big snapper has been red hot, and should continue for at least another month. single whiting. Interestingly, I’m still getting quite a few pinkie snapper around 38cm on lures, and that’s keeping me entertained. It seems a massive population of snapper have moved in to this part of Gippsland, from Welshpool to Lakes Entrance. This has been going on for two years now, and nobody is complaining one bit! I’ve also noticed a lot of big tailor and snook now back in the estuaries, and I’ve not seen those fish before at this time of year. They normally peak from October to December, and

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East Coast

VIC

Bream and flathead from the Bemm channel out Robyn’s website: www. bemmaccommodation.com. au or ‘like’ us on Facebook – Bemm River Holiday

BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

Autumn is always a great time to visit Bemm River, with crisp calm mornings, followed by warm days and cool nights. Anglers have reported that the channel, opposite the Blowhole, is currently a hot spot for quality bream and flathead. The preferred bait is frozen prawn. Josh Nixon and crew recently had a successful fishing trip using soft plastics for quality bream and flathead. As the entrance is closed there are lots of prawns about, providing ideal bait for the next day’s fishing. Quality bream between 32-42cm have been getting caught in the deeper water around the Mahogonies. Good-size flathead are also in abundance, and are being caught on hardbody lures and soft plastics. Josh’s hot spot was located between the entrance of Mud Lake and the entrance to the river.

Accommodation Phone: (03) 5158 4233/Mob. 0427 584 233 Email: bemmaccomm@ bigpond.com.

Flathead are plentiful at the moment. The river has been rather quiet, producing fish but not in big sizes. Anglers fishing the surf

have been catching some salmon and tailor. At the time of writing, the entrance is closed, prawns are everywhere and the water level is rising. As we are now well into autumn, and winter is approaching, the hot spots for the winter bream season will be Bobs Bay, Mahoganies and Mud Lake.

As always, please ensure your safety gear is in order for your boat, and your fishing licence and boat licence is current. Fisheries officers visit often and check these details in order to maintain safety on our waterways. • For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check

Bream are suckers for a prawn bait.

Hot fishing in local estuaries MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

Trevally often show up as a bycatch.

Round 1 of the Hobie Fishing Series, sponsored by Daiwa, has been run and won. Congratulations to Tony Pettie for taking out the round, with a total of five bream weighing 5.19kg. Thanks should also go to all anglers who attended the event. We had several competitors in-store after their pre-fish, stocking up on lures to suit the local area and conditions. Most anglers did very well, getting their share of bream. By all reports, the fishing in our estuary is on

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There are plenty of big sharks being caught off the beach. fire. Anglers targeting bream have been bagging out, and the fishos chasing luderick have been getting plenty also. Live prawn baits have been the go, also picking up estuary perch that are

schooling on the snags and structures in both the Snowy and Brodribb rivers. Large estuary flathead are in big numbers along the sandflats that run from the Marlo jetty all the way

down to Frenchs Narrows. The same area is where the prawns gather in great numbers, awaiting the right moon and tide to make their run to the ocean. Plenty of

VIC

East Coast

Tracking down the bait schools MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

It has been great to see some nice warm days as we head into Easter. Before you know it, the winter months will be on us once again, so let’s savour the

warmth while we can. The Easter period will see the town busy once again before the quiet winter period sets in. Over the past month there have been some great reports on the local fishing, with those anglers who fish here regularly having some excellent results on a

variety of species. Still, the fishing in the lake is always challenging, even for regular anglers. You may need to do a bit of searching to find the fish, and once you’ve done that you can focus your efforts there. The best approach is to use your sounder to find the bait concentrations, and

Greg McEachren with one of two mulloway caught while fishing bait schools. salmon and tailor are coming into the estuary on the incoming tide, giving anglers using metal lures lots of action. Other common captures in the estuary are salmon, trevally, small snapper and a lot of eels. The surf beaches are nearly always a great place to fish, and this past month was no exception. The land-based gamefishing

the bigger fish won’t be far behind. Some of the regular fishos to the area have been doing just that and having a ball – sounding up the baitfish in an area and then bagging out on eating-size flathead. They have also been catching some great yellowfin bream, with the stand-out lures being black vibes. On a recent trip they picked up two good jewfish (mulloway) of around 70cm, both caught on the vibe. An added bonus was turning up the next day at the same time and catching another jewfish – a tactic that often works. The entrance is still flowing well, and Harrisons channel out to the John Bull marker has seen numbers of flathead caught along with some sand whiting and yellowfin bream. Good fish are being caught through into the Top Lake and up to Gypsy Point, but once again, finding the areas to catch fish takes time. Fishing above Gypsy Point into the rivers is a good option on those windy days. Just remember that this area is shallow, and navigating can be tricky. Fishing offshore for flathead, both tigers and sandies, has been good, with regular fishers bagging out.

anglers have been having a great time catching plenty of big sharks. Most of the sharks have been bronze whalers. The big ones are catch-and-release, but the smaller ones can be great eating, so naturally these anglers occasionally keep a bronzie for the table. For the rest of the surf fishing fraternity, the beach is also producing plenty of salmon, tailor, flathead,

Lachy with a great yellowfin bream caught in the Bottom Lake. Gummy sharks are still on the cards, with fish being caught out around Gabo Island and down towards the Aerials.

The local beaches have seen some good fish caught, with the entrance area fishing well for whiting and yellowfin bream.

Estuary perch can’t resist a live prawn.

Estuary perch are schooling on the snags.

stingray, and gummy shark. Offshore is fishing well, with plenty of flathead, salmon, gurnard, squid, octopus, pinkie snapper, barracoota, morwong and gummy shark. For the anglers who prefer a little

more action, the kingfish are still here in good numbers, with the occasional bluefin tuna swimming past. As long as the baitfish remain plentiful, the predators will stay and the good fishing will continue.

Luca Cruz, 7yo, got this fantastic squid while fishing Geographe Bay, WA. Luca had a great time fighting with the squid while he was trying to bring it into his kayak. The squid hood measured 30cm.

APRIL 2023 89

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Tough going on the Murray ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

With the Murray River back inside its banks and the weirs put back in, most sections of river are returning to normal levels and flows. The pool water has slowed, and anglers

are once again allowed to launch a boat and have a fish. The yabbies are running in many areas, especially downstream of Mildura where it’s not hard to procure a fresh feed of these tasty crustaceans. Back upstream to the Murray at Swan Hill, a few small cod have been caught

on bait and the odd golden perch amongst a sea of carp. Bait seems to be the best way to catch a native fish, but there are a billion hungry carp between each prized catch. Some yabbies are running in the Murray at Swan Hill. There are enough yabbies to get a feed but they’re not as big

There are some good-sized perch in both Lake Kangaroo and Charm, mixed amongst the redfin.

or as plentiful as further downstream. In the local lakes, redfin continue to bite on both bait and lures, and there are a few good-sized perch amongst the catch in both Charm and Kangaroo. Small hardbodies like the Bassman Tubby or soft plastics on light jigheads have been working well on both the morning and evening bite. The redfin are mostly pan-sized through to a few larger fish up to 45cm. It’s a similar story with the goldens; the larger of these have been pushing out past the 50cm bracket. Lake Merran near Kerang has good numbers of larger redfin on both bait and lures some of these fish up to 46cm. Blades, small spinnerbaits and bait have all been working well at this location. The Murray River at Robinvale has a few perch on bait, once again amongst a sea of carp. A regular with the floods, the catfish seemed to have appeared again, with several good specimens caught on baits of worms around the willow trees. There have been no cod to speak of yet, but we will see how that goes as we approach the autumn break. The Murrumbidgee at Maude has been a bit

A decent bycatch while chasing cod along the Murray River downstream of Swan Hill on a 100mm Tubby.

Great angling opportunities in Bendigo region BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

Anglers wanting to catch a fish in the Bendigo region are currently being spoilt, with many good options available. It is up to personal preference as to what species you would like to target, and at what location. With the conditions being favourable at most locations, it is just a matter of getting out on the water and doing some bait fishing, or presenting some of your favourite lures to the fish. More often than not, you will be rewarded with some good fishing. LAKE EPPALOCK Water clarity is continuing to slowly improve at this location, while water levels are slowly declining. At the time of writing this report, Lake Eppalock was at 94% of capacity, which is exceptional for this time of the year. The great redfin 90 APRIL 2023

fishing has continued at this location, with some very high numbers being caught. Unfortunately, a lot of anglers are only managing to catch small redfin. If you want to catch

larger models, you may need to work hard to find them. The bait schools are moving around a lot, and the larger redfin are also moving around, so you may need to cover a fair bit

of ground to find a good concentration of larger fish. If you pick a location and you are catching a lot of small fish, don’t stay there too long – 10-15 minutes at the most. Move to another

Bendigo angler Paul Vlaeminck with a quality Murray cod caught on a Cod Hunter Flathead hardbody. Paul enticed the fish with a slow rolling retrieve next to a good lay-me-down piece of timber.

spot, and repeat until you find what you’re after. You may not have to drive to the other end of the lake; if you have suitable structure you may only need to travel a short distance. The best concentrations of redfin are currently being caught in 2-5m of water. Good lure options have been soft plastics, soft vibes, blades and ice jigs. Reasonable numbers of golden perch are still being caught. Trolling the edges of the rocky shorelines or around the edges of timber has been productive with small to medium hardbody lures. Trolling 1/2oz single willow-style spinnerbaits has also been effecctive on the golden perch and the occasional Murray cod. Casting lipless crankbaits has been a good option for both species. CAMPASPE RIVER The most productive fishing in the Campaspe River has been in the section below Lake Eppalock to the Avonmore Bridge area. The water clarity has been the best in this section. In this section of the

river there are ‘limited access’ areas. Please do the right thing when walking the banks and fishing the river. If there is no public access, always ask permission from the local property owner before fishing the river. Never leave any rubbish behind. Don’t be afraid to pick up any rubbish you see, even if it’s not yours. If you walk through gates, always leave them as you found them. Try not to disturb any stock animals if possible. The fishing has been good in these shallower sections of river, with good numbers of golden perch and some quality Murray cod being caught. Hardbody lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits have been working well. During periods of low light, surface lures and swimbaits have been good options on the Murray cod. The fishing in the boat able sections of the Campaspe at Elmore and Rochester has been slow. This is mainly due to the water taking

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE… of a standout location, few good-sized golden explanation for this one yet,

VIC

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

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with some good catches of Murray cod up to 85cm on bait. One angler even managed a 75cm cod off the surface on the new Bassman Wake Walker. It was his first surface-caught cod, and the beginning of something new for him no doubt. The Murray River near Wentworth has produced a few Murray cod to 65cm on bait and lures, with a

perch in the mix. It’s a similar story downstream to Fort Courage, where fishos are catching a feed amongst the carp. The yabbies are also hot-to-trot down this way. On a sour note, it’s disappointing to see another major fish kill at the end of the floods in the Darling River below Menindee. We have not been handed an

but it looks really bad, with hundreds of giant Murray cod and perch rotting on the banks. As a fisher you would have to wonder when these massive kills will stop, and the opinion from the experts on this matter is, sadly, “no time soon”. It seems catching a native fish in the Murray Darling basin is going to get harder and harder as we move forward into the future.

CAPALABA IPSWICH MIKES MARINE IPSWICH MARINE 9 Smith Street Capalaba 45 Huxham Street Raceview P: (07) 3390There 3418have been no problems getting P: 07 3294 a feed3944 of yabbies along the Murray River. E: sales@mikesmarine.com.au E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au longer to clear soft vibes or blades. All have been catching good W: www.mikesmarine.com.au W: www.ipswichmarine.com.au in these sections. We of these lures have been numbers of fish. The should, however, see the catching their share. shallow sections of the SLACKS CREEK GOLD COAST water clarityCENTRE to continue Trolling the shoreline Loddon River have fished AUSTRALIAN MARINE TR MARINE to slowly improve in these with medium profile best during times of 3491 Pacific Highway Slacks Creek 167 Currumburra Road Ashmore areas. These areas have not hardbody lures has been reduced flows, when the P: (07) 3808 P: 07average 5532 5812 had 7333 a lot of fishing pressure producing numbers water clarity has improved. because of the poor of golden perch, along with The boat able sections E: sales@amcboats.com.au E: shaun@trmarinegc.com.au conditions and reduced the occasional Murray cod. of the Loddon River at W: www.amcboats.com.au W: www.trmarinegoldcoast.com.au productivity. This means Casting 50-65mm lipless Bridgewater and Serpentine they are going to be good crankbaits has been a good have been getting a lot of options when the conditions option for the golden perch, fishing pressure. If you are favourable again. while larger 70-95mm are able to fish these areas CAIRN CURRAN lipless crankbaits have been during the week when The water levels are effective on the Murray cod. there is less boat traffic, still very high in Cairn When fishing these larger it can certainly help the Curran for this time of lipless crankbaits, don’t be productivity of the fishing. the year. At the time of surprised if you manage to Too much boat traffic can writing this report, Cairn land a quality golden perch shut the fishing down. Curran was at 94% or two as well. It also pays to think of capacity. LODDON RIVER about which structure to Redfin continue to The fishing in the target and how long to fish make up the majority Loddon River continues it for. The most obvious of anglers’ captures at to be very good, with structures have been this location. The best plenty of golden perch and flogged for the last few concentrations of redfin Murray cod being caught. months, so the productivity are currently in 2-5m of All your usual lure options is often lower on these. I water, and trolling small are working well, including will still fish them, but I lipless limit the amount of time I profile hardbody lures has spinnerbaits, been working on these crankbaits, hardbody lures, spend there. I spend most of fish. If you find a good swimbaits and surface lures. my time targeting the less concentration of redfin Those anglers walking obvious structures, such and you want to do some the banks in the shallow as submerged logs, ledges, casting, try soft plastics, sections of the river weed beds and edges.

MORWELL CRAWFORD MARINE 71-77 Chickerell Street Morwell P: (03) 5134 6522 F: (03) 5134 6455 W: crawfordmarine.com.au ECHUCA EADES XTREME MARINE 24 Sturt Street Echuca P: (03) 5482 2333 F: (03) 5482 2133 W: xtrememarine.net.au BRAESIDE JV MARINE WORLD 878 Springvale Road Braeside P: (03) 9798 8883 F: (03) 9798 7554 W: jvmarine.com.au

MELBOURNE MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE 393-399 South Gippsland Hwy Dandenong South P: (03) 9703 2003 E: info@melbournemarine.com.au W: melbournemarine.com.au MORNINGTON PENINSULA MY MARINE Cnr Nepean Highway & Ponderosa Place Dromana P: (03) 5987 0900 W: mymarine.com.au MORNINGTON PENINSULA NAUTICAL MARINE 141 Hotham Road Sorrento P: (03) 5984 1666 E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au W: nauticalmarine.com.au TOORADIN P&J MARINE SERVICE CENTRE P/L 101 Tooradin Station Road Tooradin P: (03) 5998 3107 E: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com MELBOURNE TRIPLE M MARINE 117 Northgate Drive Thomastown P: (03) 9465 8787 F: (03) 9466 1418 W: triplemmarine.com.au

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A great month for trout in northeast Victoria WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

April is a beautiful time of the year in North East Victoria, one of my favourites. The weather is usually quite stable, the nights are cool, the days are mild to warm, and there’s usually some good fishing to be found. MURRAY COD Although I do catch a few Murray cod each year in April, I would not consider it the best month of the year for cod. It may be the best time in other areas, but in the Ovens River catchment the cod fishing is usually quite hit-and-miss in April. Sometimes you’ll have an amazing fishing trip, and the next time you’ll go fishless.

The region’s trout streams are in excellent shape heading into autumn. to see the trout starting to fire up. This month I will be fishing for trout at Lake

A silver perch caught in Lake Moodemere at sunset. I tend to catch more cod on bait at this time of year than I do lures, although I certainly have caught cod on lures. I consider April to be the last good chance of catching a Murray cod in the Wangaratta area. Once we get into May, they become quite scarce. Lake Mulwala, just down the road, tends to fish very well during April each year. TROUT April is a great month to go trout fishing right across North East Victoria. The streams are usually quite cold, and the surface water temperatures in the lakes have usually dropped enough

a few yellowbelly on the bite there in April, although they have usually slowed down a bit. OTHER SPECIES The carp fishing has been incredible lately, and I suspect that it will continue throughout April. As a result of last year’s floods, carp numbers have exploded and they’re turning up in places where I have never seen them before. I have even been catching them in yabby nets in roadside table drains. My favourite carp fishing lake, Lake Moodemere, has been fishing very well for

late in the afternoon to try to catch some of the trout that may be rising and feeding on the dead insects laying on the surface of the lake. The trout streams should all fish really well in the coming weeks, as there is still a lot more water than usual flowing down them for this time of the year. This will greatly assist the trout to swim upstream, ready to spawn later in the autumn. Black soft plastics (such as the Strike Tiger Nymph) are dynamite on trout in the streams during April, especially early in the month when there are a lot of This lovely brown trout was caught in a small stream late in summer. The signs are good for some great trout fishing this April.

A massive 73cm fat carp caught at the Winton Wetlands recently. William Hovell of an evening. I like to fish for redfin with soft plastics during the day, and then switch to a winged lure such as a Tassie Devil

Holly Alexander with one of the many carp that she caught at the Winton Wetlands.

crickets around. REDFIN The region’s two main redfin lakes, Lake Buffalo and Lake William Hovell, both tend to fish very well during April. Redfin are a funny fish. Some places fish better in spring, some in autumn and some in summer. The two aforementioned lakes definitely fish the best during

southern end of the lake. YELLOWBELLY The yellowbelly tend to slow down a bit in April. I won’t be targeting them specifically, although I will definitely welcome any that I may catch as a by-catch while fishing in the Ovens River. Nearby Lake Nillahcootie might be worth a try. There are usually still

carp, with the odd redfin and silver perch thrown into the mix. Another spot worth trying is the Mokoan Ponds at the Winton Wetlands. You may know these ponds as the Borrow Pits. They are found at the eastern end of the Winton Wetlands near the old Lake Mokoan Wall, and they have been fishing very well lately.

Prime time to go chasing cod YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

92 APRIL 2023

autumn, particularly April. If fishing from a boat or kayak, small diving lures work very well. So will a cast soft plastic if you cast it out, let it sink and slowly work it back towards the boat. From the bank try casting small soft plastics or bladed spinners. They work very well in both lakes. Lake Buffalo is the better lake for fishing from the bank, as it has a lot more bankside access around much of the Lake. Lake William Hovell is limited to just a small area along the western edge, and a couple of 4WD-only spots at the

There is no better time than right now to be out and about on the home of the Murray cod – Lake Mulwala – in search of the mighty green fish. March through to May are your prime times. With the sting in the sun almost gone, there is no better place to while away time whilst dreaming of catching a legend. Hardbody lures and spinnerbaits, either cast or trolled in the shallower parts of the lake (2-5m), have seen anglers return better results of late, with good numbers of cod being reported. Sure, there

have been some quality cod taken by those trolling the deeper channels and original Murray River course, but not as often. Whilst fishing in and around Lake Mulwala, certainly don’t discount fishing below the weir in the Murray River, especially if there is a bit of wind about. Captures downstream have been above average of late, with some quality cod amongst them, along with plenty of nice-sized yellas. The broken record continues as this time of year is ideal for surface fishing, unmatched by any other style of fishing for sheer anticipation, excitement and exhilaration. Casting poppers, paddlers or buzzbaits around the

heavily-timbered shallower parts of the lake, or along the edges of the river both up and down stream, will see you in with a great chance of getting a hit. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to what lure to use. The most important thig is that it makes a disturbance on top. The recent Humminbird Da$h 4 Ca$h Super Series again proved popular, with 55 teams competing over a near-perfect weekend weather-wise. Over the three fishing sessions, 64 legal cod were captured and photos returned for verification. The Saturday morning session allowed ‘scoping’, and none other than Australia’s two finest exponents of this technique,

Nathan and Mitch Skeers, took home the winner’s check of $1500 plus a Humminbird sounder. Saturday arvo had $2000 up for grabs, along with another Humminbird sounder. The Quarrell boys, Luke and Andrew, caught a couple of nicesized cod early and ended up taking the money in this session. The Sunday morning session had the big cash on offer, with $2500 being awarded to the winner, along with another Humminbird unit. Father-son pairing of Derek and Kade Blow, who had finished 4th and 5th in each session on Saturday, once again fished extremely

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Trolling up some solid autumn Murray cod SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

There have been some amazing reports from the Goulburn recently, particularly from those anglers trolling in the heart of Shepparton. Some solid fish have been reported just upstream

of the boat ramp in the 70-80cm range. Trolling StumpJumpers and Codgers has been the best way to chase those bigger fish. A lot of the areas are not the standard snaggy cod spots; some great fish have been caught trolling straight banks with limited snags, so make sure you cover all the river, not just

Lachie Findlay with a cod caught on the troll in the Goulburn River.

The author with a Kialla Lakes redfin caught on a Noike Kaishin blade. well to cap off a great weekend for them. To follow that up, the next weekend they won all three days of the Central Vic event held at Mulwala.

Great fishing and well done to the Blows, who go into the Cod Nationals as red-hot favourites! Looking back, the fishing has been steady in recent

the good-looking areas. Cod are still chewing on surface lures, with the Trelly’s Pompadour (black and orange) working well. A technique that has been effective has been to cast the Pompadour tight to structure, and just shake the rod tip. This will imitate a big moth buzzing on the top. Do this for 10-15 seconds, and then commence a slow roll back to the boat. Sometimes the cod will

smash the lure within three seconds, while at other times you’ll need to do it for a longer period of time. Bait fishing reports have been dominated by carp. A heap of families have been heading down with some worms and getting their kids 10-15 carp in a session. SHEPPARTON LAKE The lake is now producing some good fishing, with more reports

weeks. One of the anglers that hit a purple patch was Mick Massier, who decided to have another fish the night after the Dash 4 Cash. In a 2-hour period Mick managed

to land eight Murray cod, all measuring over 72cm, with the largest measuring a whopping 130cm. His lure of choice was the Bone Focus 130. The local kids have been having a ball below the weir, catching many cod on a regular basis. It’s great to see how many kids are out and about after school, heading straight for the river. Young Nash McNamara was lucky enough to get himself a boat recently. It’s great to see dad putting the boat in for him most nights, and Nash heading downstream with his mates to tempt a cod or two. They have been catching plenty, with some good legals amongst them. • If you’re visiting town, call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the shop with the big green cod out the front (Opposite the Post Office) in Mulwala, or our Yarrawonga store located between Rivers and One Zac in the heart of town. We are Yarrawonga/ Mulwala’s fishing specialists and specialize in all things ‘green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133.

Mick Massier with an amazing 130cm Murray cod.

coming in. Bait fishing around the grass hill with worms has been a great way to catch redfin, carp and silver perch. The best ways to fish your baits have been either under a float or super

key at Kialla lately. Those anglers catching fish are finding plenty of smaller models, and the bigger ones feeding around them. In the evenings you will find the redfin will push super shallow and bust up these small baitfish in a foot of water. Just like the Shepparton Lake, jerkbaits have worked great at Kialla in the shallows. Small Noike Kaishin chatterbaits and beetle spin rigged plastics have been effective when fished deeper when the sun is up. Bait fishing with worms has been great lately, with catfish, carp and yellowbelly being caught off the sand bars or around the willows. WARANGA BASIN There is still plenty of redfin action to be had at Waranga Basin, with some bags of 30/40 fish reported. There has not been a stand-out method, with mixed reports coming from anglers bait fishing from the bank or fishing out wider in 10-12ft fishing around Harrimans. Worms and small yabbies have been the best baits, and corn has also worked for those chasing carp. Trolling TN60 Jackalls

This redfin was caught in the Shepparton Lake on a Rapala XR6 jerkbait. lightly weighted. Lure fishing has picked up again, with some nice redfin being caught on Rapala XR-6s. The fish have been smashing the lure on the pause. Remember to fish the jerkbait on a slack line to keep it in the strike zone pocket around the weed edges. KIALLA LAKES Finding Bait is the

in around 8ft of water has seen high numbers of smaller fish caught, with the banks near the caravan park being very productive. Casting small chatterbaits, blades and beetle spin rigged plastics along the rock wall has been a great way to target bigger fish, with some nice yellowbelly also being caught. APRIL 2023 93

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Autumn fishing is firing up BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

We are now well and truly into autumn, which is one of my favourite times of the year to target freshwater species around the Central Highlands region, in particular trout and redfin. There are a couple of reasons why this is one of my favourite times of the year: the mayfly start to hatch once again, and water temperatures generally start to fall, which means trout will start to forage back in around the shallows once again. Also, both trout and redfin really start to feed up in preparation for their annual winter spawning campaigns, and generally they become very active feeders during the months of March, April and May. The fishing around the Ballarat region has really started to fire up, with excellent reports filtering through from many of our local waters, which include Wendouree, Moorabool,

Nick Whelan sneaks up to Lake Wendouree during his lunch break to fish the dun hatch. When the conditions are right, one lunch time he managed to latch onto a 65cm brown trout on a Shaving Brush. Image courtesy of Nick Whelan

A variety of lures that I will be using over the next few months on our local waters. Newlyn and Tullaroop. I’m sure there are other waters that are fishing well too, but I haven’t heard on the grapevine about them. The fishing on Lake Wendouree over the last month has really fired up. The weather conditions have been more conducive for fishing Wendouree – water temperatures have dropped, and we have had plenty of overcast days. This has fired up those feisty rainbow and brown trout we saw jumping all over the lake in the spring and early summer months. Steve Angee has been out on Wendouree casting soft plastics and Bent Minnow surface lures. He said it’s been some of the best fishing he has ever experienced. On one drift which was approximately 94 APRIL 2023

500m long, Steve said that he landed six trout in varying sizes up to 45cm. He had hit after hit, and dropped a number of fish off as well. He said that nearly every cast his Bent was getting hit. Steve continued to fish all over Wendouree that day, and caught trout and redfin in all areas of the lake, including a ripping 65cm male brown trout on a Fish Arrow soft plastic. I have fished Wendouree on numerous occasions over the past month, mainly from the boat, casting Bent Minnow lures. On one session I fished with Pete Cartledge and the action was thick and fast. We hit the water at about 11am, and caught fish after fish. Pete said it was the best session he’s

ever had casting Bents. The fish varied in size from small rainbows around 30-40cm, and browns from 30-46cm. We also caught some nice sized redfin around the 30cm mark. Fishing lures over the next few months will be one of the most productive methods used by many anglers, whether you fish from the shore or out of a boat or kayak. My suggestions are obviously surface/subsurface lures like Bent Minnows, small shallow-diving hardbodied lures and soft plastics. The autumn run of mayflies have started to hatch on Lake Wendouree. The news spreads very quickly around the angling fraternity that the duns are on the job, and anglers come from all over the state to fish the dun hatches. The dun feeders can be caught from both boat and shore. As soon as they start to hatch, which is generally around midday through to 3:30-4pm, the fish will start to feed on them. Nick Whelan has been getting amongst the mayfly/dun feeders whilst fly fishing from the shore. Nick sneaks up the lake during his lunch break when the conditions are right: overcast skies and a gentle breeze. On a recent session Nick caught his new PB for Wendouree, a ripper brown trout that measured 65cm, which ate his Shaving Brush fly. The fly patterns that you will need to catch them are: nymphs (brown),

emerger patterns (e.g. Possum Emerger and Barry Lodge Emerger), dries (e.g. Shaving Brush), and finally, spinner patterns (black and red/orange). At Moorabool Reservoir the fishing has really improved over the past month. It appears that some of the weed has flowered and now started to die off in some areas, opening up more available water to fish. There is still a lot of unfishable water, so don’t think you are going to just lob out there and fish the whole of the reservoir – you will still need to find the clearer areas which will enable you to fish. I headed out to Moorabool recently to assist with a Clean Up Australia Day, where we collected rubbish from around the shoreline, which had been left by unthoughtful anglers. Whilst collecting rubbish, I noticed trout jumping out of the water chasing damselflies and dragonflies everywhere. This got me very excited, so my son Maxi and I snuck out for a dawn patrol looking for a feed of redfin. We went to one of my favourite spots which was clear of weed. We started off casting Bents with no luck, we then changed over

Moorabool Reservoir is renowned for its mayfly hatches, and the trout like to eat them when they are hatching, Norm Moiler a regular who fishes during these times, was fishing with a Shaving Brush fly pattern when this 6.5lb brown trout decided to eat it. Image courtesy of Ralph Jahnke.

Lake Wendouree produced the goods for the author with a 46cm brown trout on a T26 Bent Minnow, cast out of a drifting boat.

the paddle-tail soft plastics. They worked for a while, and then we swapped back to the Bents. This turned out to be a good move, as the redfin were eager to eat them over the next hour or so. We landed approximately 30 redfin in varying sizes, and were able to keep enough for a feed. There were quite a few trout jumping out of the water, feeding on dragonflies. I managed to put hooks in a couple but unfortunately, they didn’t stick. I’m really looking forward to fishing Moorabool over the next few months, especially after what I witnessed from this session, and also the knowledge that there are a lot of trophy 10lb plus swimming around. I have been speaking to a couple of people who fly fish Moorabool religiously every weekend, Ralph Jahnke and Norm Moiler. Ralph said the reservoir is alive with fish jumping everywhere, chasing the damsels and dragonflies, and now the dun have started, the fish are feeding on them also. Ralph said they have generally stuck to fishing mayfly patterns, to hopefully give them the best chance of catching

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Consistent results for fresh salmonid fishers CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

The only summer-like weather we have seen this year came rather late in mid-February and through into March, and it was sporadic to say the least. On the bright side at least, the water levels in our many lakes haven’t dropped all that much, which means that right across the board the successful targeting of various salmonoid species has been pretty darn consistent. Lake Bullen Merri has been fishing extremely well. As an example, one angler who was chasing Chinook salmon trolled up a thumping rainbow trout well in excess of 2kg working the edges of the western side of the lake. one of the big guys. They have done well over the past month, catching plenty of little bows, some nice sized browns around the mid 40cm range, and Norm landed a ripper estimated to be around 6.5lb. The most successful fly patterns for them have been Shaving Brushs and an Adam’s sizes #14-16. Ralph also said there were redfin everywhere that were eager to eat their flies, with some being well over 1kg. It’s frustrating to see your fly being sucked down only to work out pretty quickly it’s another redfin. Geoff Cramer has been out chasing the redfin at Moorabool. He has been catching plenty on surface lures and soft plastics, and said it’s been a matter of finding the clean water

Plenty of sizeable redfin have been taken deep jigging at Lake Purrumbete. free of weed and working those areas. The redfin have been travelling in schools as they generally do, and if you can find them you can get a feed pretty quick. Geoff said the redfin will grab your lure as soon as it hits the water. You’ll start to wind them in and when they fall off, most times the lure gets whacked again – there are that many of them, and a lot of little ones too. He has found the bigger ones to generally be out as far as you can cast. Geoff also commented that he has seen a lot of trout jumping around feasting on the dragonflies. He has had a few trout grab the Bents but unfortunately they dropped off. Peter Voterakis has been fishing Newlyn Reservoir recently. He has bagged out on the redfin on a couple

Steve Angee nailed this 65cm male brown trout on a Fish Arrow soft plastics on Lake Wendouree. Image courtesy of Steve Angee.

Also, some excellent ‘chooks’ weighing well over 1kg have been caught on trolled lures close to shore, along with plenty of smaller specimens to 1kg. The big news is the sheer size of the tiger trout in the lake at present. Fat as a well-fed pig, and pulling the scales down to well over 2kg, the tigers are what anglers are really concentrating on, closely followed by the Chinooks. Trolling in around 8m depth or static bait fishing in 20m of water using pilchard baits has been successful for many. Lake Purrumbete has seen a few trophy browns averaging between 8-9lb caught on minnow lures cast towards the weed beds, with dusk being the prime time to cast a line. Schools of redfin have been found holding around 8-10m, but they have been finicky at best. Some

boaters have been getting a feed or two of mostly small fish, whilst other anglers have been struggling to catch anything. Suspending a live minnow just above the bottom weed growth has been the best approach, as jigging can result in many lures or jigs coming up with attached weed. The Mount Emu Creek has had some good browns to 900g taking surface and sub surface minnow lures, whilst some bait anglers have been scoring some excellent golden perch in excess of 2kg. Now these are, of course, introduced fish that have either escaped from farm dams during flood times, or escaped from an initial release from Lake Bolac back in the 1990s, down an overflow creek and into the upper Hopkins. Who knows? But they are there to stay.

of occasions, catching them on soft plastics, small hardbodied lures and Bent Minnows. Pete said he has been mainly fishing along the wall, finding clear pockets of water in amongst the weeds. He actually had to walk away from some areas, as the small redfin were smashing the lures or plastics every cast, and the bigger ones didn’t get a chance. One session, the little guys were smashing the lure every cast. Peter found that if he cast out further, that’s where the bigger ones were, and they ate the lures or plastics before the little guys were able to. Tullaroop Reservoir is still nearly full, and there have been plenty of anglers chasing both redfin and a feed of yabbies. The redfin appear to not be in the deeper water; 3-5m has

been the best depth. Guys have been sounding the redfin up, then targeting them with plastics, vibes and bobbers. If you are able to find the schools, it’s a matter of weeding the little guys out to allow for the bigger models to then eat your lure. Anglers who have been chasing a feed of yabbies have been having mixed results, a bit like the fishing. I’ve been told Fisheries officers have been checking that anglers’ pots have been marked with their names and addresses, and also that they are complying with the bag limits. If you don’t know all the rules and regulations, they can be found on the Victorian Fishing Authority website at www.vfa.vic.gov.au.

totalling more than $1000 for taking undersize fish and more than the catch limit. If you see or suspect illegal fishing, call 13FISH (133474). You can speak directly to a Fisheries Officer

and remain anonymous if you wish. For more information on bag limits and other regulations, visit vfa. vic.gov.au. – Victoria. Fisheries Authority

FISHING NEWS

Crackdown on fishing offenses When it comes to caring for our fisheries and ensuring they’re in great shape for future generations, we can all do

our bit. That’s exactly what one person did recently when they called the 13FISH offence reporting service about suspicious

activity in the intertidal zone at Walkerville North. Fisheries Officers were on patrol nearby and responded, watching the two people for a short time before they left the reef platform and headed for their car. The pair were intercepted by officers and allegedly found with 75 blacklip abalone. One of the people allegedly had more than 10 times the daily bag limit of five abalone in their possession. Officers were able to return all the abalone to the water alive following the apprehension, and the duo will be charged on summons with a variety of offences. Local Fisheries Officer Steph said the call to 13FISH made all the difference,

because they would not have otherwise spotted the two people given the reef’s unusual topography at low tide. UNDERSIZED COD SEIZURE We know the Ovens River is one of Victoria’s best for Murray cod, and that most anglers do the right thing so it stays that way for future generations. However, last month Fisheries Officers were disappointed to find a man with five undersize cod measuring between 40-48cm downstream of Wangaratta near Peechelba. The daily bag limit for cod in rivers is one, and the minimum size is 55cm (maximum size 75cm). Officers seized the fish and the man will receive fines

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Making the most of Gippy during the cold months WEST/SOUTH GIPPSLAND

Billy Auldist

Fishing across the region has been as good as it gets across the last month. The weather has somewhat held back, and the rivers and creeks are fishing well. There is not much forecast to change in the coming month, so fishers in South West Gippsland are in for another good month of fishing. It’s not long until the cooler months arrive, so it’s important to make the most of the next few weeks. Like clockwork, Noojee and its surrounding rivers have been generous for local anglers this past month. The Loch, Toorongo and Latrobe rivers have all been worthy of attention over recent weeks, producing good numbers of both brown and rainbow trout. Lure fishers are finding success on spinners, hardbodies and soft plastics in almost any colour imaginable fished on a light leader. Drifting a bait is also a good tactic at this time of the year; a worm or grasshopper fished on a small split shot is sure to connect with a trout. With the humid afternoons recently, there have been an increasing number of insect hatches, so it is a great time of year for fly fishers

A soft plastic was the undoing of this typical South West Gippsland trout. in our area. The Tarago and Bunyip rivers are in optimal condition and will stay that way for the coming months. Anglers who fish the higher stretches are catching

trout on soft plastics and hardbodies fished amongst the snags. The lowland stretches of these rivers are often overlooked, however they are more productive than some would think.

Trout, redfin, blackfish and carp can all be caught in the lower sections of either of these rivers. Heading towards the end of the trout season, these rivers will gain a lot of attention, so it’s important to make the most of the few months prior when there is not nearly as much pressure. Bluerock Lake has been fishing exceptionally well lately and the bass are fired up. The top end of the lake seems to remain the most productive, so if you can get up there it is definitely worth a look, although it is preferable to fish from a boat. Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and hardbodies have been the main undoing of bass, along with surface lures fished in the low light periods of the day. With cooler weather ahead we should start seeing trout caught more and more often, and soon enough the bass fishing will slowly taper off. Local estate dams are still producing redfin in numbers, with a few larger models in the mix. On their day they will eat anything you throw at them, but soft plastics are a good starting point. A majority of estate dams will hold redfin so it’s just a matter of trying a few until you find the fish. The quality that can be found in small urban estate dams may surprise you.

Redfin can also be caught in all of the creeks around town such as the Hazel and Little Moe. When fishing either of these creeks it is just about finding depth and you will find redfin.

With the cooler weather not too far away now, it is important that anglers make the most of this next month or two. The fishing will be good and anglers in South West Gippsland should be keen.

A bycatch river blackfish caught on a spinner while chasing trout.

Decisions, decisions: which bank shall we fish? EILDON

Peter Burtchell

Happy Easter to all, and may you have a happy and safe holiday, if you get one! Along with hosting Easter, April also hosts great fishing conditions at Lake Eildon. Schools of yellowbelly and redfin will still be present in the headwaters leading into the lake, and these fish will take lures, yabbies worms and just

about anything else that you float, cast or troll by them. Murray cod are ever present, and also remain active throughout all parts of the lake. At the time of writing this report, the lake level is still hanging around 96% and looks great. FISHING CHALLENGE It is all hands on deck for the preparation of the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge, which will run from May 19-21. This year they have an all-terrain buggy as one of the major prizes, which is something that many

Keen cod anglers will be descending on Lake Eildon for the 2023 Fishing Challenge. 96 APRIL 2023

competitors will have their eye on. Sign up, have a fish and have a great time – you never know what the outcome will be! The Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge once again will be hosted by the Jerusalem Creek Marina and Holiday Park, and the competition is their annual charity fundraising fishing event for Variety, the Children’s Charity! Now in its 6th year (7th if COVID did not happen), the event will attract great characters to the lake who favour this competition over many others. To illustrate the kind of fishing on offer, here are the results from last year’s competition. Over 300 fish were registered, which of course means there were more recorded fish than actual entrants. There were also more than double the amount of fish registered on the previous year, with the 2021 event only seeing 144 fish recorded (there were also the odd reports of crayfish and Ugg boots, however not many turtles were recorded this year). While not everybody was

A nice view from the café at last year’s Fishing Challenge. able to get their name on the board, over $40,000 in prizes were handed out, including high end Murasame Murray cod rods, Spotters polarized sunglasses, a Haswing Electric Trolling Motor, an Evinrude 40hp outboard and an absolute abundance of fishing lures such as Asakura, Dino, Obsession, Megabass, Zerek, Bridge Water Lures, Got 8 and others, thanks to the huge amount of sponsorship the comp received. From the photos emailed

in, it looks like there were a lot of smiles on faces over the weekend, which is what it is all about. A couple of familiar names were once again reeling them in, with one boat recording over 25 fish and a certain cod fisho recording three legal or longer fish. So, grab a pen, mark the date, and get ready for the greatest fishing competition in the world. For more information visit lakeeildonfishingchallenge .com. • Jerusalem Creek Marina &

Holiday Park is a friendly, family-orientated caravan park, and makes the perfect home away from home. While there you can opt to hire one of their Boatel floating apartments, hire a boat or book a fishing guide at competitive prices. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit jerusalemcreek. com.au, or give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email i n f o @ j e r u s a l e m c re e k . com.au.

The WIRF Leaders are making lots of waves This month’s report has been supplied by Amanda Keilar (fishing_nanna). The Women in Recreational Fishing

The expanded Women in Recreational Fishing and Boating (WIRFAB) will aim to assist more ladies in getting into boating.

Talking to attendees about what WIRF is all about.

The WIRF leaders meeting Robson Green.

National Recreational Fishing Survey were shared, and fishing rated as the 10th most popular recreational activity in Australia, on a par with cycling! 4.2 million, or 21% of the Australian population, go fishing! It was also awesome to see female participation rates almost catching up to the men! There was a gala dinner and awards night held at the conference, and the WIRF network won an award for being the ‘Best Project in Promoting Diverse and Inclusive Participation in Recreational Fishing’. We were very proud to be recognised amongst our peers on the world stage.

others to take up the sport, and were inundated with visitors to their stand. The ladies got to network with industry leaders and representatives as well as fishing celebrities, including one of the world’s best-known fisherman, Robson Green. Straight after the Expo, WIRF then attended the

Accepting the award for Best Project Promoting Inclusive Participation in Fishing.

Marian Miller gives a talk on fly tying, assisted by Kelsi Gull. Network (WIRF) in Victoria have been very busy on many levels this year. WIRF had its 5-year Anniversary on 8 March, which happened to be International Women’s Day. It was celebrated with fishing events run by WIRF local groups across the state. The WIRF network has over 4000 members and is expanding to include recreational boaters, with the support and expertise of Better Boating Victoria.

World Recreational Fishing Conference 2023 right next door to the exhibition centre, at the Melbourne Conference centre. There were 360 delegates plus virtual attendees, keynote speakers from across the globe, and workshops that looked at fisheries across the world. The results of the

Leaders from the WIRF network recently attended the Ultimate Fishing Expo at the Melbourne Exhibition centre where they had an info stand, and held fishing talks there throughout the weekend. WIRF also helped with women’s and kids’ casting clinics, provided talks up on the main stage, and participated in Q&A panels. The WIRF leaders truly shone bright in sharing their fishing passion and inspiring APRIL 2023 97

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

The good, the bad and the ugly: Tassie offshore OFFSHORE

Kelly Hunt

The winter months in Tasmania can be particularly harsh, making fishing difficult for even the most experienced anglers. Winter isn’t too far away now, so let’s take a quick look at what winter can mean for

throughout winter here in Tasmania, we are blessed with two of the best fisheries in Australia. These species grow as big as you will find anywhere, and can be found both offshore and in coastal waters. The first species is, of course, southern bluefin. Jumbo bluefin are the target for a lot of anglers this month

Tasman Island. These famous tuna grounds can be accessed from Pirates Bay, Fortescue Bay, or the ramp at Port Arthur. The headlands, coves and bays and multi access allows you to fish in a range of weather conditions. Speaking of the weather, Tasmania is well known for its unpredictable weather patterns, and winter is no

Everybody has jumbo fever!

Jumbo tuna will test both you and your gear. the avid angler in what I sometimes call, ‘the winter of our discontent’. First and foremost, it’s not all doom and gloom here in Tasmania when the days get shorter and colder. I am a huge fan of daylight savings, and I grieve hard when we lose those extra daylight hours. We have to say good-bye to those after-work fishing sessions, and even going fishing after 3pm is no longer practical, due to the loss of fishable light. However, there are amazing positives to be had in Tasmania during the colder months, and it all centres around monsters for me. Yes, that’s right, monsters! MONSTERS OF THE SEA During April and

in the south of Tasmania. Traditionally, the first snow on Mt Wellington gets ardent anglers excited, and preparing their gear for battle. Make no mistake, it is a battle and you need to be well prepared, both with the right gear and tactical approach. More on that later. Unlike years gone by, the fish population growth and seasonal changes have now made for a year-round fishery to a degree. Very large jumbo tuna have been caught off Devonport and Port Sorell in the very shallow waters of Bass Strait. Totally mind boggling. At this time of year the focus is still the south at Pedra Branca or the southeast areas around the Hippolytes and

Seismic Fishing Team released this nice sword caught off Tasmania’s east coast. 98 APRIL 2023

exception. Temperatures can drop rapidly, and cold winds can make it difficult to fish in exposed areas. Comfort is not the first concern, however. It is the safety of crew and yourself. Always err on the side of caution, make sure your radio is in good working order, and don’t risk lives for a fish. It’s crucial in winter to have a sound understanding of how to read a weather map and get an understanding of what the

as the angler. If you rest on the fish, the fish is getting a rest as well. Most people believe that big red mass down either side of the tuna’s spine is a blood line, and that it indicates you have not bled the fish properly. This is, in fact, a muscle group of fasttwitch fibres. The fish will fight you on that muscle group early, and if tension and pressure is maintained on the hooked fish, it will tire

of a big broad bill swordfish. These are gladiators of the high seas, and are a prize in any offshore fisho’s eyes. These monsters of the deep patrol the depths of the continental shelf, looking to turn anything they can find into a protein snack. Very astute fishos will be sending down baits and hoping that a large swordfish will choose their offering as their source of protein at that moment. These fish fight incredibly

A big-eye thresher shark caught as bycatch on a recent sword drop. weather is actually doing. Is it building or falling away? What’s the swell doing? Is the wind dropping out in the afternoon or freshening? Does the tide push at the base of The Pillar and the Lanterns, making for nasty conditions? These all need to be taken into account when you’re the skipper, and it doesn’t hurt for everyone else aboard to learn and come to a consensus about what action to take. You should also make sure you have gone over your gear and also checked your knots and terminal tackle. A big southern bluefin in cold water is a strong, powerful fish that will take some knocking over. Get some drag pressure on the fish early, and try to break the fish’s spirit as soon as you can without knocking yourself up

reasonably quickly. Should the fish transition out of that muscle set and into its body muscles, you are in for a long battle – the rest of the tuna is practically one big muscle. Keep your wits about you during the fight, and have the boat downwind of the fish so the line stays away from the side of the boat. The wind will hold the boat off and away from the fish, allowing you to fight the fish much more easily. If you do the opposite, and have the boat topside or upwind, the boat will want to wash over the fish and it will be a pain keeping the line away from all the sharp edges on a boat. This time of year in Tasmania is when we see a lot of fishing effort put towards capturing the ultimate prize

hard and are a real challenge. They also yield a great deal of very tasty flesh. The meat of a swordfish can be utilised in a number of interesting and easy to cook recipes, which you can find with a Google search. In conclusion, winter in Tasmania can indeed be harsh due to a combination of factors, including unpredictable weather and cold water temperatures. Despite these challenges though, Tasmania still retains its pristine, natural beauty and abundance of monster fish. The right gear and preparation will hold anglers in good stead to capture that fish of a lifetime, so dress warmly and take extra care to stay safe in the cold conditions. Until next time, tight lines.

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Good fishing continues into the cooler months HOBART

Andrew Large

Anglers have been making the most of the settled weather over the last month, with a variety of popular species biting well into the Easter season. Southern bluefin tuna continue to be caught in the southeast of the state around Cape Pillar. Jumbos (fish over 100kg) seem to have lessened off in Peninsula waters, and are now being encountered east of Maria Island and further north to Bicheno. Meanwhile, good fish have picked up in recent weeks around Fortescue Bay. School fish continue to be caught in good numbers. Bluefin are now being caught from Mewstone in the south to St Helens further up the east coast. Storm Bay blues have kept anglers happy close to Hobart. Albacore tuna are now spread far and wide, with some fish up to 17kg being caught in the southeast near Tasman Island. Tuna have been enjoying the multitude of bait species along Tasmania’s east coast of late, and are running well off Bicheno, St Helens and Eaglehawk Neck. Schools of yellowfin tuna have been spotted up and down the east coast. Big numbers of arrow squid are still being caught

in deeper waters all around the state. Although southern calamari were only small at the start of summer, the size has picked up in recent weeks, and the autumn calamari have been huge! These are available in the lower Derwent River and Channel areas. Further afield – in fact, state-wide – there are good numbers are available. April is a great time for this species. Sand flathead are continuing to bite well on bait, lures and fly. The best spots for a feed include Storm Bay, Marion Bay, Fredrick Henry Bay and White Beach. Try trolling for this species with some RMG Poltergeist lures in R19. Good-sized Australian salmon have been caught around Dennes Point on Bruny Island, and near Kingston and South Arm, close to the CBD. Hotspots are popping up in most regions, with anglers making the most of these impromptu schools. Greenback flounder are now moving well, and we have had a string of settled nights recently giving anglers a chance to chase these fish in mirror conditions at night. South Arm, Lewisham, Dunalley and Orford area have all been reported to be producing fish. Anglers continue to take tiger flathead off the east coast, out wide in 55m+

of water. An autumn run is underway off Fortescue and Storm Bays. Mako sharks are still turmoil up in berley trails around the state. Good striped trumpeter are now biting well on the west, south and east coasts. Settled weather has finally allowed anglers to venture out. The size has varied, but fish to 9kg have been taken. Southern rock lobster continue to pot well in most locations. Please remember that the season closes at the end of this month for both male and female cray. Nearly all parts of the state are continuing to enjoy a fantastic run of kingfish. The waters are cooling though, and this species might only be around for a few more weeks. For the moment, sea-run trout continue to be caught in the mid reaches of the Derwent and Huon estuaries. Both these waters are open to angling to the Huonville and New Norfolk bridges by anglers holding a current freshwater angling licence. Spin, troll, soft plastics and fly are all producing fish. Great late season fishing continues for black bream. They are still being caught in good numbers around Cornellian Bay, Store Point, Bowen Bridge and Cadbury Point. The use of bait has been effective, along with flies and bibbed lures. Both brown and rainbow

Kingfish have been responding well to trolled teasers this season, both trolled on the surface and subsurface, such as this Doctor. trout are highly active at Great Lake, and it should continue to produce fish for the rest of April and May. With continued settled weather at this time of year, you shouldn’t have much of a problem picking a day conducive to good fishing at altitude. Enjoy the settled weather over the next few weeks or so, while it lasts. Other waters such as Lake Pedder and Lake King William are fishing well. Easterly weather lately has

day, which is keeping trout on the prowl and in search of food. The upside has seen dawn and dusk fishing to be action-packed for the first hour of the day, and the last 3-4 hours. With the good fishing continuing into autumn, it doesn’t get much better for anglers. Both the salt and the fresh are firing well above what they should be, so get out there for a few last trips before things shut down for the year.

FISHING NEWS

Photos reveal fishy activity

Only 10 months after the DPI installed the kingfish reefs in Port Phillip Bay, recent monitoring has revealed an impressive array of marine life covering the modules. Along with multiple sponges, sea squirts and mussels, a large school of trevally were seen darting around the structures during a VFA dive. Varieties of invertebrate and algae species are also making the most of the large surface area provided by the modules.

Southern bluefin tuna are once again available in Storm Bay, close to the Hobart CBD. The average size is around 15-20kg.

seen these waters relatively calm and sheltered. Closer to home, Craigbourne Dam has received multiple stockings of both brown and rainbow trout. Most fish seem to be around the 1kg mark, with scrub worms working well. Picking a good day to fish is normally a challenge as we move closer to winter. However, at the moment in the highlands, the heat is still lifting water temperatures during the middle part of the

The reef locations are providing a great new and safe location for anglers to target kingfish away from the busy shipping channel. VFA has also attached a receiver to one of the modules to record

any tagged fish in the area. VFA scientists have also been out on the water with baited remote underwater video (BRUV) cameras recently, monitoring the colonisation of rocky reefs around Geelong. The cameras were deployed at Wilsons Reef, Moolap Reef, and Mervs Reef to compare species abundance and diversity to that of a bare sediment site. The accompanying photo was taken at Wilsons Reef, where video footage shows leatherjacket, pinkie snapper, blue warehou and yellowtail scad. Other footage revealed plenty of flathead, the odd trevally and even a visit from sammy the seal! You can learn more about the rocky reefs, including where they are, at vfa.vic.gov.au/ rockyreefs. – Victorian Fisheries Authority APRIL 2023 99

South Coast

Savouring the calm autumn weather pattern ESPERANCE

Murray Johnson

The large autumn tides are coming in, with 1.2-1.3m tides quite frequent at this time of year, making for some great beach fishing. The school sized mulloway around the 80-100cm mark have been in good numbers at beaches like Alexander Bay. Fishing the shallow shore gutters along Thomas River has also been great for these medium size mulloway. The best baits for targeting mulloway lately have been herring fillets or fillets of mullet, rigged on a snelled 7/0 octopus hook. Roughly two hours before the high tide is when they seem to bite the best, but you can still catch them all throughout the tide change. Fishing the deeper

beaches along Esperance, such as Kennedys and Roses, has been really productive for good-size gummy sharks, with some solid specimens up to 20kg landed off the beach recently. The best way to target gummies is to fish the new moon on these deeper beaches. The incoming tide and high tide are preferred, but not overly important – it’s more important to fish the new moon. The best bait for catching these is an octopus tentacle on a snell or a fresh herring fillet. For the less adventurous beach fishers, there have been great numbers of salmon around. Big schools of salmon have been cruising around out west at Roses Beach and 14 Mile, and even at Fourth Beach there have been good numbers of them being caught. Closer to town, the weed beds at Wylie Bay can be

productive in autumn. At this time of year, you can expect to catch good numbers of breadand-butter fish such as King George whiting, tarwhine, sand whiting and big flathead. During those calm, autumn afternoons, it’s quite pleasant fishing down there. The best bait to fish off the weed beds lately has definitely been prawns. I recommend putting them on a Black Magic KL 1/0 hook, which is the ideal size for hooking everything from small sand whiting through to 3-4kg salmon. The tanker jetty is starting to come back into the squid season, even through they didn’t really head out deep this summer. While we’ve got the clear and calm autumn waters down here, presenting natural coloured squid jigs (e.g. browns, whites and blues) will increase catches off the jetty. In the 3.5 size Harimitsu, the

lemon SP has been a great colour. It’s quite a subtle glow colour, which has proven to be really effective in the clear water. Great numbers of large herring have been getting caught at both the tanker jetty and Taylor Street jetty. The best time to target the larger ones is in the afternoons right on sunset. A strong berley trail brings them in closer, and there are always a lot more around when the grain ships are parked up at the port. All the lakes around town have been fishing really well for bream, with the water temperatures still quite warm and levels reasonably low. Anglers can consistently catch bream all day off the surface in these conditions. One of the stand-out lures is the Berkley Pro-Tech Bender, retrofitted with an assist hook in the middle, and fished subsurface.

You can also get good results on small soft plastics worked hard and fast – it’s a deadly technique to catch these fish. I like the Daiwa Bait Junkie 2.5” Minnow in whitebait colour rigged up on a Bait Junkie jighead in 1/12oz on a no. 2 hook. The larger fish (around 1.2-1.3kg+) tend to bite better first thing in the morning or right on dusk on a warm afternoon. OFFSHORE In autumn we tend to get quite low winds and a lot of winds off the north, which makes for very pleasant boating. In recent weeks, anglers have been smashing good numbers of nannygai up to 3kg, along with big breaksea cod. The Nomad Squidtrex has been a hot new lure down here in the 150 size, catching everything from small harlequinfish all the way up to dhufish. We are still seeing an

increased number of dhufish in Esperance, and it’s becoming a regular occurrence to catch them over 10kg. Slow pitch jigging has been the best way to target these, and the 170g Ocean’s Legacy Long Contact jig in pink glow colour has been working well. April is also a good time of year to target big samsonfish out wide. Live baiting whole herring or skippy on top of the bommies out wide is a great way to target fish over the 30kg mark. • Established in 1986, Southern Sports and Tackle specializes in the supply and servicing of fishing equipment. They have an extensive knowledge of the local area and provide all brands, whether you’re fishing from beach, jetty or boat. Come and chat to the friendly staff at Shop 16, The Boulevard, Esperance or phone 08 9071 3022.

Launching a land-based assult BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping

This has to be my favourite time of the year for a land-based assault. Whether you’re fishing the local beaches, the cut or inside the

I find those areas to have more sharp drop-offs or ledges that benefit from having your lure get close to the bottom, something a diving lure can’t always accomplish. Whilst fishing the beaches I’ll take the heaviest metal slug or minnow

Big salmon schools can pop up seemingly out of nowhere. marina, our famous Australian salmon can pop up out of nowhere and in huge schools. I’ve spent many mornings and afternoons chasing the salmon up and down jetties, rock walls and beaches around Bunbury just to feel that screaming run on light gear. It’s something that we don’t always have the opportunity to experience fishing landbased locally. If you’re fishing the jetties and rock walls, I’d suggest a well-balanced soft plastic around the 6” length as 100 APRIL 2023

profile hardbody lure that my rod will allow. Having that bit extra weight with a well-matched line can be the difference of 20m on your neighbour’s cast, and ultimately first punt at the school of bruisers. With no surprise, shark catches have escalated lately, with the salmon running up the coast coaxing the toothy critters along with them. Plenty of tigers and bronzies have been taking the baits recently, particularly around Dalyellup beaches, making for some exciting sportfishing. A slab of stingray is the most popular bait, and the Mandurah mullet we have delivered weekly have been enticing them well. Blue swimmer crabs are still on fire in the Leschenault estuary, with this being one of the best years we have ever had. If you’re happy to get your feet wet and spend a bit of time walking the flats you should be able to manage a feed. If you

really want to get your quota, the relatively new Willy hooks are a great way to try something new, and effective if the old-fashioned scooping isn’t for you! For boaties out there, try dropping your nets on the edge of the sand bar drop-offs with a nice oily bait like mullet or tuna heads to ensure your catch. The Collie River has been fishing really well, with reports of black bream over the 40cm mark. Fishing river prawns as bait

There are some good size tailor out there at the moment.

Corey with a nice lure-crunching bream.

A nice catch of crabs by David Moore.

rigged on a 1/0 baitholder hook with a small running ball sinker is a simple but effective way to target these fish. If lures are your thing, the Bite Science plastics seem to be out fishing everything else. If you’re looking for a fasterpaced way to fish these elusive Collie River bream, I recommend slow rolling a bibbed minnow deep in the snags for an exciting

hook-up and fantastic fight. Harvey Dam has been fishing well for redfin perch. Look for rocky banks with plenty of structure as this is where the redfin hide out. The norm is generally spinners but don’t discount soft plastics. I rig a slightly heavier jighead (around 1/8oz) to ensure my plastic is getting down to where the fish are. Beach fishos can expect

to find good numbers of yellowfin whiting cruising the beaches. A simple running ball sinker down to a long shank hook with either bloodworm or sandworm as bait is proving to be most successful. A tip for chasing yellowfin whiting from the beach is not to cast too far! They normally sit in the wash only 8-10ft from the shoreline. We are still getting good tailor reports from south of Buffalo Beach. These fish have not been in huge numbers but the size are certainly making up for it, with most fish well over the 40cm mark. On those still nights when the wind is behaving, I find it best to baitcast a mulie or scalie with little to no weight, and use a very slow retrieve. • Call into the shop at 1/143 Grand Entrance, Australind for the latest fishing reports and what’s biting, or simply to have a yarn. Until next time, tight lines and screaming drags!

Salmon sightings tempt fishers AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

There is a buzz in the air as people begin reporting the odd school of salmon passing through the area as a prelude to the annual run. One of the most anticipated fishing events in the southern half of the state slowly gains speed during March and peaks towards the middle of April where there is a constant stream of schools winding their way up the coastline towards the metropolitan area. Unfortunately, over the last couple of years the salmon run has not been that inspiring with warmer waters keeping the schools out deeper where most passed through without even being sighted. The water temperature has been a few degrees lower lately and this is an encouraging sign and should result in many more

Bay. The schools get bigger and more frequent as the run progresses eventually heading through Boranup and Contos. Large metal slice lures plugs and poppers are all extremely successful lures when it comes to salmon fishing and a bonus is that you don’t have to deal with messy baits. If you prefer to get your hands dirty then fresh mulies are the perfect bait for tossing out into the middle of a school or if fished on a paternoster rig you quite often pick up the small pods or individual salmon that have broken away from the bigger schools. The Hardy Inlet continues to be extremely productive with whiting numbers remaining very good according to reports from many of the customers of Augusta Boat Hire. They have been catching bag outs of yellowfin and king george whiting with the blue

Hardy Inlet crabs, big, blue and full of meat are a welcome seasonal addition to the dinner table. schools right in close. Experience over the last decade shows that smaller schools begin the run from Esperance and hit the Great Southern in February before reaching Augusta and Margaret River in March/ April before eventually passing through the rest of the South West as the run heads towards Perth. Easily accessible areas when the schools are in are well worth trying, especially if you want to introduce children to the excitement of catching their first 6kg acrobatic torpedo. The marina rock-wall, the beaches at Flat Rock, Dead Finish, Lighthouse Bay and Skippy Rock are some of the safest areas where the first of the schools are sighted followed by Deepdene, Cosy Corner and Hamelin

swimmer crabs also making a heavy presence especially in West Bay and East Augusta. Spleen and chicken necks in a bait pot will keep the stingrays from taking your bait and turning the net into a pretzel. On the Blackwood River front, the black bream are everywhere at the moment and are extremely aggressive. taking baits and lures while you are targeting other species. The Ellis Street Jetty, Turner Street Jetty and Deadwater have been alive with schools of marauding fish absolutely monstering any bait or lure that you put within their eyesight. Local legend Nana Fish (Joy) managed to snag a beauty of a pink snapper just shy of the legal limit while night fishing off the Ellis Street Jetty. It released

nicely showing the big fish are feeding and moving throughout the system from the ocean and can be caught even if you only have landbased opportunities. With tides being larger than usual there has been plenty of opportunity for early risers to scope out low water where the holes, gutters and channels are visible. It is possible to make a mental map of the most likely features to hold fish once high water arrives. I have made a note of several spots near Colourpatch that are perfect ambush sites for bream that you would have no idea are there once the tide is in. These have proven to produce good results when other people fishing nearby have not raised a fish. You can always fluke a good spot or have an educated guess at where one is but old-fashioned prior preparation will pay off in the end. Just remember that polarised sunnies are a game changer when it comes to spotting fish lurking in the depths and will make a world of difference in your catch rate. There is nothing like dropping a lure or bait in front of a waiting fish and watching it be devoured. Any small hard bodies lures or soft plastic grubs will usually elicit a response. If they seem a bit finicky then a well presented blue-bait, whitebait or river prawn will also catch plenty of bream. Heading further up river towards Alexandra Bridge most people have been locating bream and pink snapper in large numbers, many of them are small juveniles well below the legal limit especially for pink snapper which is 50cm. Unfortunately there have been instances of large numbers of 20cm fish being killed and taken by people who don’t know or just ignore the regulations. There is no excuse in this day and age for anyone to be unaware of species identification or size limits with a number of free phone apps that are simple to use.

If you want to try boat fishing but don’t own a boat then come and see the friendly staff at Augusta Xtreme Boat Hire who can sort you out all manner of water craft for the experienced operator or novice. Part of Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports, you can drop in to the shop in the main street or visit Emma who will be working at our moorings near the Old Town Jetty. No skippers ticket is required to operate most of out boats and basic instructions will soon get you underway. The bays are a great place to fish during autumn with plenty of calmer days allowing those with boats to get out and about. Demersal

A great way to spend your day is on the water of the Blackwood River sight fishing for black bream.

Blake Gillam trolled up this nice eating sized yellowtail kingfish out near the islands while jet-ski fishing. bans currently restrict what fishing can be done but there are plenty of pelagics getting around and with the salmon and herring schools moving through this also brings lots of sharks. Trolling a variety of mid sized lures will soon give you an idea what to use and where to concentrate your activities. Salmon and yellowtail kingfish will take similar lures and baits so be prepared for a heap of arm stretching action depending on what takes the hooks. If you want a bit of flake then anchoring up and berleying will soon have a bronzie or gummy shark zoning in on the source. I just put a chunk of salmon or a whole herring on and float it out with the berley. Just remember that shark should be bled, finned and chilled down in an ice slurry as soon as

South Coast

possible to provide the best quality eating. Beach fishing at this time of the year has some of the nicer conditions which is great especially with the salmon and herring schools coming through. It makes it an enjoyable day as the temperatures are lower, winds calmer and waters flatter. This allows you to not only spot schools coming through but if they are a bit slow it is enjoyable to just sit back soaking a bait watching the waves roll in. I usually have a 10-12ft rod set up with a lure standing by while I have a second rod out fishing for breadand-butter species or solitary salmon. Baits of squid tentacles, prawn pieces and sand worms are great but with plenty of pickers around I tend to stick with

Local legend Nana Fish snagged this pink snapper while night fishing off the Ellis Street Jetty.

squid until the action warms up. A stocking with berley in it tied up so it rolls on the water’s edge slowly releasing particles will bring fish in from miles away. Rock fishing is also good this time of the year as the salmon and herring schools will come right up into the bays making for plenty of action. Now that the herring limit has been increased to 20 it means that if you are into smoking fish a couple of days bag limit will give you enough fish to hot or cold smoke them to tide you through the leaner fishing times. Herring and salmon being oily species are perfect for smoking and you don’t have to spend too much time in preparation or know the science behind how to do it. For less than $100 anyone can purchase a small hot smoker and smoking sawdust to get themselves on the way. Berley them up to bring them around and keep them interested. Find a spot at the rock-walls at the marina, off the granite at Ringbolt Bay, Skippy Rock or Elephant Rock and give it a go. Try using lures or soft plastics if the schools are in, they will hit most things thrown at them this time of the year and it is just a matter of scaling your tackle up or down to suit the fish. • Rock fishing is dangerous at times and careful consideration of where and when you fish must be done. Unpredictable weather can quickly affect the fishing conditions and slippery rocks are a recipe for disaster. Please remain vigilant when rock fishing; wear a life jacket and tie off to something solid. You can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66 Blackwood Avenue Augusta -the local tackle shop, boat hire and font of all local fishing knowledge. Look for the big green sign on the roof, it’s right next to the BP Service Station in the centre of town. APRIL 2023 101

West Coast

Demersal options are back

good numbers of crabs. ROCK WALLS AND BEACHES The rock wall fishing has been very good of late and I expect this will continue. Popular targets will herring, skippy, King George whiting, squid and now snapper. As always, a berley trail is an essential part of any successful rock wall fishing session and while the weather remains warm, fishing first and last light will help to avoid the undesirable species stealing all your baits. Mulloway and small sharks are a common bycatch at this time if the year. A few locations to try would be Rous Head, North Mole, South Mole and the Fremantle Sailing

METRO

Jacob Crispe

Relative normality returns as fishing for demersal species once again becomes an option for WA anglers. It is great to have some of our favourite species like dhufish, bald chin groper, Breaksea cod and our beloved snapper back on the menu. How good is it to have a full range of options again for Perth metro anglers? SWAN RIVER Our extended stretch of dry weather has continued and the main target species in the river continue to be widespread. There are plenty of options for all species from East Fremantle all the way to Guildford, with the biggest change I see happening, being that some of the better fishing has tended to be during the

Nolan Unwin and son Jed sharing a special moment on the sand with this lovely skippy.

Nolan Unwin hooked onto something big from the sand. These moments really provide some adrenaline fuelled fun!

Madeline Close with a big snook taken on troll as a bycatch while targeting bluefin tuna.

of the day as the bream will stage there outside of the low light periods. The flats will continue to hold good numbers of flathead and yellowfin whiting as well as good numbers of tailor in the deeper water beyond the flats. The best time to fish will be when a tide change coincides with first and last light. There are still plenty of mulloway being caught. Live baits seem to be the preferred way to target them, with soft plastics a close second. Areas like the E-sheds and Causeway are great places to try. Plenty of good sized crabs will also be on offer. Areas like the Old Brewery, Canning Bridge, Bicton Baths, the Como Jetty or Applecross Jetty all produce

Violet and Jed Unwin with their spoils from an early morning fishing mission with dad on the beach.

mulloway, skippy and the odd small shark. Fresh baits and setting up a berley bag will improve your success. INSHORE FISHING Pinky snapper will be on many anglers’ radar after the demersal closure and you would expect that they will be in good numbers around our inshore reefy areas. Mixed in with them will be plenty of skippy, herring and the odd big King George whiting. Areas like Middle Ground are perfect places to fish. Drift until you locate fish and then focus your drifts in that location or even anchor and get a good burley trail going. A key to success is to be at your favorite location during a light change (sunrise, sunset). There is no doubt snapper in particular

Club. All offer plenty of angling options. As far as our beaches go, it can be a bit of a

Here is an early morning photo captured at Mettams Pools. It really shows the abundance of tailor at such an easy to access spot. Photo courtesy of @dust_off_the_snorkels

low light periods (first light, last light). At these times you do get a reprieve from the abundant toadfish in the system, giving your baits and lures a chance to catch your target species. Bream will always be a key target species in the Swan and as mentioned they are certainly spread throughout the system 102 APRIL 2023

at present and this will continue until we get some decent rain. Structure is always the key to catching them whether you are a bait or lure angler (fishing near and around it). It may just be a matter of changing up your lure or bait options until you find what the fish prefer. It will also pay to fish deeper water in the heat

Madeline Close with a little jelly bean bluefin caught on troll in 18m of water. She thought it was ‘cool’ to catch these little rockets so close to land.

James Close with a nice shallow water sambo he caught on light gear.

free for all at this time of the year. Most, if not all, our beaches will hold good numbers of fish. In particular greenback tailor,

tend to bite better during this change. OFFSHORE FISHING As mentioned with the demersal closure now

Fishers eager to get back out MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

This month many anglers will be looking to get out on the boat as the new demersal ban is lifted from the beginning of the month. Although there are

many options with regards to offshore fishing, most people will be looking to get their fix of dhufish or pink snapper and some of the common by-catch that are encountered whilst fishing for them. April is a great time for fishing around Mandurah

in general, as options are plentiful and all calibres of anglers are able to get stuck into some fish wherever they may find themselves during the month. Beaches from Preston to Secret Harbour are well worth checking out if you are hoping to spend an early

are very rewarding for any angler to catch. When fishing from Dawesville Cut, there is bound to be some whiting available if fishing from the estuary side and you are also likely to come across some herring or the odd tailor if you are lucky. Fishing more towards the ocean will yield better results with regards to herring, although whiting are not as fond of the deep rocky structures as they are of the sand flats and drop offs at the estuary opening. As we a progress further into the month, it is advisable to keep a watchful eye on the water for stray salmon that are ahead of the pack. In recent years the numbers of salmon caught by landbased anglers is seemingly low, though you can be assured that great sized

Bream on cranks are an awesome way to catch fish. You are able to feel the aggressiveness of the fish when they attack.

As you can tell by Brodie and his smile, this fish was well earned!

Rainbows are always welcome when you are often plagued by redfin perch. finished, your target species list has increased twofold. Species like red bite fish, dhufish, breaksea cod, snapper and many more will have anglers out in numbers targeting them. Reefy areas in 30-50m of water will be a great place to start. Although many will focus on these, there will still be plenty of yellowtail kingfish around the south western side of Rottnest Island. They tend to hold near the edge of the sanctuary zone and can be targeted using unweighted baits, jigging or with soft plastics. Many people set up a berley trail and target the kingies as they push up the trail. Trolling lures around this area can also produce Spanish mackerel, bluefin and

morning or evening fishing some gutters. Although select beaches will have smaller gutters than some of your more surf-worthy waters, they are all worth checking out and will likely produce great fish, if you are there at the right time. Species you are likely to catch will include herring, sand whiting and the odd tailor which has not followed the schooling fish up the coast. If you are after some larger specimen, some good mulloway will be surely lurking behind the aforementioned species in hopes of easy pickings and

Sunny Close with a lovely little rock wall tarwhine (aka silver bream).

Keeping an eye out may just reward you with a tank like this, with picky fish often willing to attack a well-presented lure. fish will pass through at some point and it is wise to anticipate that their presence may not be as evident as the dark balling schools they are often known for. If you are looking for some fun in the river systems, it is definitely worth chasing some black bream and by-catch will surely keep yellowfin tuna. The FADs will still be in place and they will continue to be worth a visit. Mahimahi are by far the most popular of the target species that hang around the FAD’s. Great to catch and also great on the plate. The other option that opens with the demersal closure now finished is deep drop fishing. Some of the best eating fish we have in Western Australian water are caught in 300-500m. Eight bar cod, greyband, harpuka and blue eye trevalla are just a few of the tasty species that inhabit the deep blue. All are 5 star eating quality fish. Another that is worthy of a huge mention is the bass grouper. Fish up to 50kg have been caught in our waters. A fish of a

West Coast

the kids entertained. Fish are abundant throughout the rivers, though it is wise to avoid going too far up as most of the fish are generally located in the middle to lower sections at this time of year. Though you will get some fish right upstream, the catch rate is a lot better when fishing

where the bulk of fish are and is even better when you do not need to contend with dense brush piles that are willing to claim your rig or lure. Fishing freshwater, most of the dams near Pinjarra are a good option and will produce trout or redfin right throughout the day. Logue brook for example, is a great body of water that offers great views, a place for the family to swim and there are many opportunities for you to catch some fish too. When fishing the dams, your best option is to keep casting at different structures such as rocks, reeds or weed beds until you find a pattern or area that the fish prefer. Although baits will work, lures are always a favourite of the avid freshwater fishers, as they generally allow you to fish these structures most effectively, appealing to feeding fish by covering ground and require minimal attention with regards to rigging.

James Close with an absolutely cracker rock wall skippy on soft plastic. With this fish pushing close to 40cm it gave his light gear a solid work out! lifetime for anybody. I hope everybody has a happy Easter and that you can indulge in a few

chocolate treats and maybe have the chance to go a wet a line. I will catch you next month. APRIL 2023 103

West Coast

Impact of regulation changes LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

From 1 April, the first of the two new demersal seasons opens, and we will be fishing under new rules. The changes are: • Increase in the dhufish bag limit to two fish per person; • A boat limit of four demersal scalefish per vessel; • The removal of the WA dhufish boat limit, so a boat can land up to four WA dhufish; • A maximum of one bait or lure per line when fishing from a boat for demersal scalefish; and • Removal of size limits for WA dhufish, baldchin groper and breaksea cod. I have outlined in earlier editions about potential for an increase in the dhufish

You just can’t escape the snaps these days. The author picked this one up while trolling for mackerel during the ban. indicated hook damage led to 13.4% of the mortalities. I see logic in a size reduction, as fish from deeper water have higher death rates, especially over 30m. Current research specific to dhufish is dubious; recorded mortalities may be related to cage design used in the study rather than the depth they were caught. Research on dhufish mortalities is

Ange and family spent a great morning on the beach, catching a mix of species including an octopus! depth. Now they will now be caught and killed from depths where they would have had a reasonable chance of survival.

in as little as 1m of water, where they should have a chance to live on. In the main though, most people will be using large hooks out deep

Graeme Doodson is a local legend when it comes to catching mulloway off the sand, and he gets some spectacular bycatch in the process. take, and whether we are getting an effective reduction in total effort! What about the size limit changes?

DHUFISH A study found juvenile dhufish inhabit depths of 2-45m. There has also been a

study indicating that 20% of hooked fish deaths occur in less than 15m of water, and 85% over 45m. The study

This bad boy didn’t come home for breakfast, but come 1 April, it could! Instead, it swam back to where it came from in 25m of water, with no release weight required. It has a very good chance to live on for many years to reach breeding age.

Keyana had a great session cleaning up on a family morning fish, landing a herring and plenty of sand whiting, and even a big tailor that tried to snatch a whiting off the small hook. 104 APRIL 2023

outdated and really needs to be revisited so decisions can be made using better data. BREAKSEA Less than 30cm is a small fish to start with, and almost all of these little fish are found well under 20m. Rarely have I seen a small one caught out deep. So yes, they do have a high mortality from depth, but sub-30cm fish don’t get caught at

BALDCHIN GROPER This rule change makes the most sense, because most if not all fish will die, and you do get a good fillet off a 40cm fish. I always hated having to throw back a 39cm baldchin, knowing that these good-size fish would die. It’s questionable to totally remove the size limit, as I have caught numbers of very small ones inside the bay

so the smallest of fish won’t often get hooked. Demersal species produce millions of eggs, and only a small percentage make it through the vulnerable larval stages and settle down to life on the reef, where they have much higher rate of survival through to adult life. It makes no sense to be targeting the smallest of these fish, which against all the

Exciting Easter action on tuna

You’ve got to be happy with a solid yellowfin like this.

good fish but the numbers are fewer, so it’s a lot of hard work for a strike. Still, it’s definitely rewarding when you get one. The river has produced good numbers of mud crabs but the blue mannas are small at the moment, and there aren’t many keepers. Don’t forget to take your gauge as it’s hard to pick if they are under or oversize. Whiting are still in the river but they will soon move out with the water getting very warm. The best spots are at the back of Oyster reef and the flats in front of IGA car park. Mulloway are few and far between, but some nice fish can still be found off the sand spit after sundown. Blue manna crabs have been on the march in the river, with catches from the pens to well up river to Gregory Rock. Some very nice muddies have also been in the catch, and are full of meat according to a holidaymaker who had his nets by the local launch ramp. Safe fishing and check your safety gear before you go to sea.

why Minister Punch thought it made sense to limit us to just one bait per line. It makes far more sense to mandate use of a single in-line circle hook per bait to reduce fish mortalities. We now have a decision on our rigs – do we use multiple snelled J hooks to try to catch some of the smaller species on large baits, or fish large circle hooks that will primarily only land large dhufish? In the past we could have a combination of large and small baited circle hooks for the differing species

time, especially for Spanish mackerel. Tuna have been out from the 30s, while some very large yellowfin have been out wide. Now that the sting has gone out of the summer sea breezes, calm evenings are providing anglers with a great opportunity to troll along the White Bank, as the sun sets when the mackerel bite is at its best. LAND BASED It’s the prime time of year for pinkies and mulloway off

KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

Hot water is the big drawcard this month, as it continues to flow from the north. My last trip out had temperatures as high as 26.5ºC and this has been reflected in the latest captures offshore. Boaties can be treated to yellowfin tuna to 30kg+ and wahoo stretching the scales to 20kg and macs to 12kg+, so it’s not surprising to see 20 or so trailers at the ramp most mornings. The best report recently was Nicky with a very nice yellowfin that she cranked in with no gimbal harness, and beat the sharks to the back of the boat. Nice catch! The best lures have been deep divers for tuna and macs with skirts at over 10 knots doing the damage on big yellowfin and a by-catch of wahoo. The best locations have been to the north from the 20-30m line and up as far as Baldface for better activity. Down along the cliffs to Bluff Point has yielded some odds have managed to survive, and hopefully will reach breeding age. Most all the fishing clubs are thinking along the same lines, and have ignored minister Punch’s decision. Club members have imposed their own size limits in club events. LAAC imposed 30cm across all three species, as have MAAC. Other clubs have their own formula. As for mortalities from hook damage, it is just crazy

and mouth sizes combined in one paternoster. On to the Lancelin report. DEMERSALS It’s a good time of year to give deep dropping a go, with some calm weather making the run out easy. Baldies and dhufish are in better numbers in shallower depths, and even inside the White Bank is worth a go for dhu. There are plenty of snapper right up to the beach. PELAGICS It is peak game fishing

West Coast

Yellowfin are providing a lot of arm-stretching fun. the sand. Mulloway will be in tight on the surf break, whereas the pinkies will be in casting range if we have any early cold fronts. Otherwise, drone drops around 175-300m will find the pinkies. There are heaps of sharks, so if you like flake put the wire on. Greenback tailor will be making a return, and there are plenty of better class choppers as well. They are full of roe and are in great condition at this time of year,

and they often bite well in the mid-afternoon. Samsonfish are around the jetty and inshore reefs. The official start to herring season is always ANZAC Day, and there are stacks along the beaches. Finally, don’t forget blue swimmer crabs this month. After the water quality issues during summer, the bays have cleaned up and have been producing very large crabs full of sweet meat.

that take the comfort level up a notch. Finally, the SE is an all-in-one package and includes everything a boater needs for a great day out on the water. Combining the best of all the packages, the SE is perfect for those that want to kit out their vessel and include a bit of everything. “At Stacer Boats, we understand that every boater has a different lifestyle and therefore different requirements, which is

why we offer a range of boat packages that cater to every need,” said Sam Hayes, General Manager at Stacer Boats. “These boat packages are designed to make it easy and convenient for prospective buyers to choose from without being overwhelmed by all the options available.” To find out more information and to view the Stacer range, head to www.stacer.com. au. - Stacer

PRODUCT NEWS

The new Stacer package deals There are so many factors to consider when buying a new boat, not the least of which is choosing what options to include with your package. To help with the decision-making process, Stacer Australia is providing a variety of packages to choose from that are catered for the lifestyle you want to have with your new boat. The packages include the Entertainer, Angler, Travel and SE, and they’re designed to cater to a variety of boating lifestyles, whether customers are looking for added luxury and comfort, the fishing must-haves, an optimised driving experience or an all-in-one package. The Entertainer boat package is perfect for those who love to entertain on the water. It includes

boards with ski pole and marine radios. The Travel boat package is perfect for those who love to explore. Catered purely for the driver, the Travel package ensures ultimate ease and comfort at the helm, making it perfect for those long days on the water. Travel packages include items such as hydraulic steering and wheel upgrades

options for added luxury and comfort depending on your model, such as biminis to keep off the worst of the sun, sound system and speakers to pump some tunes, or upgraded lounges for that extra luxurious touch. The Angler boat package is ideal for those who love to fish. It comes equipped with everything an angler needs, including items such as burley buckets, cutting

APRIL 2023 105

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All eyes on Karratha blue swimmer crab season DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

April, or ultimately Easter weekend, traditionally marks the start of the blue swimmer crab season in Karratha. In 2022 the season took another couple of months after Easter before it really got going, and then continued for much longer than usual. It is a hard one to predict as the season can also start much earlier. Water temperature and ocean currents play a big part in crab populations and movement, as well as

impacts from commercial prawning, which catch the blue swimmer crabs as a by-product in the latter half of the season. To date in 2023, we have seen signs of a very early season for this year. A fair few crabs over legal size of 127mm have been coming from Nickol Bay and Dampier Harbour, but they have been few among the many undersize crabs. Further north in the Pilbara there have been some exceptional catches in Port Hedland. In all of the sandy bays along the Pilbara Coast you will find blue swimmer crabs.

Catching big GTs is a dream for many anglers and the Dampier Archipelago is fast becoming the place to target them. Josh Mullen has been getting amongst some serious GT action lately.

The crabs bury themselves in the sand during the day, and ferociously feed at night under the cover of darkness for protection. Due to the large tides along the Pilbara Coast, always ensure you target areas with your nets that remain under water at low tide. Some crabs will move into areas that are exposed at low tide when the high tide roles in, but the numbers will always be much higher in areas that stay non-exposed throughout the tide cycle. As previously mentioned, blue swimmer activity is much higher at night, and fishing for them at this time is significantly more productive, but it comes with challenges. Vision at night on the water is difficult, and with this, finding your floats is harder. I always mark each net on my sounder, even if crabbing during the day. Another tip is to paint your floats with a fluoro colour such as green or pink, which makes it easier to see if the wind blows up and white caps form, as white floats disappear very quickly amongst white caps. And lastly for night crabbing, attach a glow stick to the floats. These work great and make for easy navigation up to each float with the boat. I’m hoping to have lots of catch reports in the next edition for blue swimmer crabs along the Pilbara Coast. Please remember to check the size of each crab and only keep those that exceed 127mm across the carapace, and a boat limit of 40 and north coast bag limit of 20 per fisher. There has been a great variety of fish catches in

John Palermo has been one of the barra anglers in the Pilbara during the 2023 wet that has had success finding some great fish in the local creeks. 106 APRIL 2023

Josh Mullen with another solid GT coming from the shoals in the Archipelago caught on a large stick bait cast across the shallow water. Karratha over the last month, with the weather really turning it on to either get the boat out or enjoy a day fishing land-based. There have been several reports of big coral trout being caught from shore in Dampier Harbour, with the fuel station jetty being the pick of the spot. Plenty of trevally are also being caught here. The mangrove jack fishing scene continues to improve in Karratha, with all the rock walls and creeks holding good numbers. The average size is between 30cm and 40cm, with the occasional jack testing the 50cm mark. Among the mangrove jacks are plenty of queenfish and Spanish flag. Quite a few barramundi and threadfin salmon have

been landed in the creeks and around the mouths, and this will start to slow down as we head into May. Spanish mackerel, longtail and mac tuna are still about, with the shoals and offshore reefs the best place to start trolling. The same areas have seen some monster GTs being caught, with the Dampier Archipelago really starting to stamp its name as the west coast hot spot for monster GTs. The demersal fishing will slowly start to improve during April, and once we are in May it will increase rapidly as the water cools off and the demersals head into shallower water. There have still been plenty of great demersal catches over the last

month, but if you are wanting reds and rankins the deeper water towards the gas rigs has been the place to fish. If coral trout, bluebone, blueline and spangled emperor are preferred then fishing any depth throughout the archipelago has seen great numbers being caught. The coral trout fishery in the Archipelago and surrounds is second to none, and this has a lot to do with the ‘one fish per angler’ bag limit mixed with the perfect habitat and climate conditions. We’ve had an exciting period of fishing in Karratha region as we transition from wet to dry season, but we’ll still get to enjoy the best of both fishing species combined with the lowest average wind months in April and May.

Lachy Warren with a solid dhufish he caught while fishing Esperance.

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

Game on for GameX INTUITIVE CONTROL EXMOUTH

North Coast

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

INTUITIVE CONTROL

Barry Taylor

This month’s report has been supplied by Connor Luff. At the time of writing this report, GameX is about to start, and our waterways have gotten busier with keen competitors making pre-fish trips. One of the most popular things people have been doing over the last couple of weeks has been inshore billfishing for little black marlin and sailfish. People pre-fishing for them have been getting pretty good results, with a bycatch of good numbers of yellowfin tuna and wahoo as well. Two of the most popular lures lately have been Richter Soft Grassys and SoftALBERTON Oscars. In shallower in the gulf ALBERTON MARINE there have been plenty of 39 Johnson Alberton queenfish gettingStreet around, and P: (03) 5183 anglers have been2344 having great F: (03) 5183 2219 W: albertonmarine.com.au

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APRIL 2023 107

Now is an exciting time to be on the water everyone wanted to avoid the situation like a mouse avoids a cattery. This is extremely sad because these species would add much needed growth and funds to our towns

FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

With the longer days and the cooler nights that normally occur this time of the year, early autumn can be one of the most exciting times to be on the water searching for trout, redfin or any other freshwater species in WA. Cold misty mornings can result in trout moving into quite shallow water close to the bank. If early rains occur, then our rivers and streams can also turn on some reasonable fishing as well. Judging by the reports coming through it seems a few of these species are being caught recently, although due to personal reasons I haven’t been able to get on the water to confirm these reports, so I’m relying on word of mouth. As reported earlier the Recfishwest FFRG met recently to discuss stocking strategies. I wasn’t able

A few silver perch and the odd Murray cod have been caught by those lucky enough to have access to the waters where these species are. There are a few locations that are available

Hamish King holding an impressive redfin he trolled up using a diving lure. Our dams can turn on some good size redfin on occasions. are chilled throughout the summer months to lessen heat mortality that we so often suffer from here in the West. Unfortunately, due to pond upgrades currently underway, this has resulted in the lack of ability to hold the normal brood stock and has also resulted in a large drop of yearlings being held this year. Things we be back on track next year with big expectations on the cards for trout fishers in this state. AUSSIE NATIVES The same enthusiasm shared by our authorities regarding trout stocking can’t be said for East Coast native freshwater species in this state. The subject was only raised once at the meeting and it’s like

Fisheries WA released a number of tagged marron into Harvey Dam. This one was caught by Kurt Blanskby over the recent season.

style plastics in the 3” size seem to be working well. Trolling in the shallower back area have turned up some nice size fish up to 40cm on hardbodied lures that don’t run deep. Things should improve with trout stocking due to commence shortly. Drakesbrook Weir Regular local angler Jonah Chiera is a master on this little water and reports that water levels have been ideal recently. Trout activity has increased of an evening however, tempting them to strike has been challenging. Hopefully, with the earlier FFRG meeting this year it will result in translocation approval being granted earlier this year by Fisheries WA Translocation Officer. It astounds me that permission to stock waters that have received the same species for many decades still have to be granted by the same department that has carried out the same stocking every year. I can understand when a new water comes up, as was the case for Wellington Dam and Preston River but, most of our dams and the stocking lists have not changed since they were constructed and stocking commenced half a

throughout the summer months when trout lay dormant due to heat stress, and redfin do not offer much sport as they are mainly caught in sub 30cm ranges. I am often told that if there were species other than trout and small redfin in our waters then people would be more inclined to purchase a freshwater licence, especially now with the current situation regarding the demersal ban prohibiting saltwater fishing for half of the year.

A nice little brown from a tight section of the Lefroy Brook. Will future dams being built in the headwaters jeopardise this little water? to attend in person but I did attend via video link. The meeting did run longer than normal due to an exceptional presentation delivered by Andrew Beer who is the Senior Research Scientist from Fisheries WA who is in charge of the Pemberton Hatchery in the South West of our state. There was mixed news on hand as he disclosed a massive upgrade to both the Hatchery itself and fish transportation in the way of a purpose-built truck and trailer that will bring stocking of trout in line with other Fisheries over on the East Coast. I must say the thought and dedication placed on 108 APRIL 2023

our trout fishery has not been seen in the last 45 years that I’ve been involved in the sport in WA. New grading facilities that can electronically sort fish into specific sizes will save so much time and allow better continuity of trout to be stocked at specific times. This will allow a minimum size to be stocked into redfin waters to reduce the number of trout falling victim to these veracious species, it will also lessen the likelihood of them falling victim to our little pied cormorants that are so active on our waterways. Other upgrades are in the way of inside water recirculating tanks that

A nice little brown trout that was caught by a fellow angler fishing the Warren River recently.

A stealthy approach is required in autumn when water levels are low. Photo courtesy John Vickery

to the public, so if you are keen to find out where they are located just PM me and I will be happy to assist. DAMS Waroona Dam Trout have been harder to locate than the redfin recently, although a few trout have been spotted close to the bank. Some nice redfin are being caught in the deeper sections on jigheads cast well out and allowing enough time to sink to the bottom before slowly rolling then back to your feet. Berkley Grubs in black or any of the minnow

century ago. Logue Brook Dam The huge amount of ski boats and jet-skis on the water have deterred most of the serious freshwater anglers from fishing this water. It can be frustrating to fish even without the boats being active as long hours can be had with zero results. Cool cloudy days will see activity once again return to this sky blue water. No redfin are present so if the trout aren’t playing the game then things can get boring.

Harvey Dam There have been reports of good trout being caught in numbers, however it seems the occasional trout being caught would be more appropriate. Either way this is great news

redfin and size can vary on different trips. Try to target the 3-5m line trolling lures that work in this range. The inlet end of the lake is firing with lesser number showing up around the outlet side adjacent to the

Very low with some drying up over summer. A few of the spring fed streams are producing small rainbows on light gear. Winter rains will push up larger fish that reside in the dams along the scarp. Collie River below Wellington Dam Some nice condition rainbows and the occasional browns are being caught along this section. Cool clean water being let out for irrigation has created our best tail-race fishery in this state for trout. Keep an eye on the water level as early rains can result in them shutting down the flow which results in a downturn of the fishing. Collie River above Wellington Dam Some excellent redfin are coming out of the section around the town of Collie. Kayak and small

A nice section of the Murray River holding a few small rainbows. Photo courtesy of Kurt Blankskby

A superb West Australian Murray cod caught in an undisclosed location. These fish would change the whole freshwater angling scene if they were carefully stocked into a few of our small impoundments that have already suffered from a plague of redfin. as the inland region has experienced warmer than average temperatures this summer with Dwellingup and Pemberton February temperatures being almost 2ºC warmer than average. This month should indicate the true number of trout available after summer as these will be from last year’s stocking with this year’s stocking not predicted to occur until early winter. The redfin fishing has been constant with good numbers in the 25-30cm range being landed and the occasional specimen up to 45cm showing up as well. Deep drop-shotting is working well over the schools that tend to congregate this time of the year as well as trolling slowly at speeds below 2km/h on the 8m line. Wellington Dam Trout are showing up in the Yabberup Brook arm as well as the Farm Bay. The Hamilton arm has been quiet but a few have been sighted around the corner in the Collie arm a few kilometres above the Junction. They seem to be healthy so as I predicted the availability of food is not an issue with some going as large as 50cm. Many hours of moving is the key as this water is over 20km long and not all areas are holding trout. Redfin are still being caught in pockets of the dam with large areas being void of fish so keep moving until you find where they are holding. A good sounder is handy for constant success. Lake Kepwari Only target species are

campgrounds. Big Brook Dam A few reports are still coming in of both rainbow and brown trout being caught from both the rocks at the wall and the bird sanctuary close to the rear section of the dam. This month will see better fly fishing in the evening and well after dark if you are keen to get onto a brown trout. RIVERS Murray River Not many reports have come through of trout.

The Pemberton Hatchery is undergoing a much-needed upgrade. Hopefully, this will result in better holding capacity and should improve growth rates in future years. here as well. Preston River This river has received a regular stocking in the last couple of years and is starting to reward those that put the effort in. The section around Donnybrook seems to be the best but all areas are worth a go. Blackwood River Not many fish this section and those that do keep tight lipped about captures and locations. It cops a big stocking so the section from Balingup

Brook to just down from Nannup always hold a few fat rainbows. The first rains always stirs activity. Warren River The whole section from Bannister Road all the way to just above the mouth is turning up some nice rainbows. A few of my mates spent a week fishing from kayaks and where pleased with the amount of trout showing up in the faster sections although, tempting them to strike was difficult.

PREDICTED DAM LEVELS

A nice catch of redfin from the upper Collie River caught on soft plastics grubs in black. Redfin are still holding in the deeper pools with better size specimens being taken well upstream of Dwellingup. Northern Jarrah Streams

boat anglers are doing well both casting and trolling all the way down to the small weir below the road bridge. Redfin love plastics being casts into structure

Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 55.6% compared to 63.1% as of the same time last year. Perth and the South West has experienced a very dry summer, placing a huge strain on irrigation needs for our farmers that rely heavily on this water. This has resulted in some of our dams being very low. WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM

45% 86% 64% 59% 60% 44% 71%]

A few very big browns where also spotted. Redfin seem to be widespread and some nice size fish are there for the taking. It seems one day they were taking soft plastics yet the next they were only taking hard bodied lures of all brands. Size of around 40-50mm seemed to work the best. Lefroy Brook It seems like there may be a threat to the longterm water supply of this little stream that supplies water to our trout hatchery. It’s in the way of a large 3.5 gigaliter private dam proposed to be built on the head waters of Bigbrook which supplies Bigbrook Dam. It’s from Bigbrook Dam that water is released to feed the Hatchery on the banks of the Lefroy. The purpose of this new dam is avocado production that has been responsible for a massive decrease in stream flow in the area. If this goes ahead, then there must be conditions put in place in the way of a guaranteed environmental flow that has to be strictly monitored all the way to Bigbrook Dam. This would guarantee a summer flow to safeguard our fragile fishery. Meanwhile the Lefroy has been fishing reasonably well of late. Donnelly River Very dry upstream with the only viable area being downstream where some water is available. Boat Landing is holding some small rainbows for the trolling anglers. An Inland Freshwater Licence is required to fish in our states South West but unfortunately, a short term licence isn’t available like other states so it can be frustrating if you are a travelling angler from another state. Some fire restrictions are still in place this month so check with the authorities. APRIL 2023 109

BREAM SERIES presented by

Tight bags and tarwhine on the Swan No sooner has the 2022 ABT season been wrapped up have we begun again with the first round of the 2023 Daiwa bream series in Western Australia. The Atomic sponsored Swan River qualifier in Perth was the battleground for 16 boaters and 13 non-boaters, competing for their ticket to the Grand Final in Port Stephens, New South Wales, at the end of the year. This year for WA anglers there are two boater and two non-boater spots, as well as a spot for the angler with the most AOY points that hasn’t automatically qualified. Joseph Gardner took the reins for ABT and ran the

knowledge goes a long way when the ABT comes to your hometown and it certainly helped Joseph Gardner secure his breakthrough ABT win by just 20g. Having got some good sessions in before the pre-fish ban, Gardner had a good feel for the area already when it came time to pre-fish. “I knew there were fish everywhere in the system, but I knew the upriver fish were going to feel the pressure a lot more, so I decided to stay down the front where it was less pressured and congested,” he explained. At just 3.85m long and

Perth’s newly acquired local Karl Stait knows how to catch them all over the country. His plan to target tarwhine paid off, along with the 115 ProXS on his right. It earned him the 1st place $250 Mercury owners bonus as well. fished by casting them into the current, parallel with the bridge pylons and letting them waft down underneath. If the lure made it to the bottom without getting eaten, he gave it ‘a few small rattles’ to imitate a loose mussel tumbling along the bottom. Most of the time the bream would eat it on the drop while it was sinking alongside the pylon and the action wasn’t required. Casting accuracy trumps distance around pylons

where it is essential to get the lure within a couple of inches of the structure every single cast. A shorter length rod around the 6’6” to 7’ length provides far better casting accuracy, so Gardner opted for a comfortable 6’8” 1-3kg JML Accurate presentation – short enough to be accurate but still long enough to get good leverage and keep fish away from the pylons. He paired this with a strong 2500 size Daiwa Exist spooled with heavy PE 1 Yamatoyo jigging braid and

Going home $1,500 richer for his efforts, Gardner’s eyes are now firmly set on the Blackwood River in June.

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tournament in the absence of Steve and Nicholle, getting some good karma for his efforts finishing in first place. In a weekend where tarwhine played a big part in the winning bags, He weighed 7kg neat for his final weight to finish just 20g ahead of second place Karl Stait, who exclusively weighed the bream sub-species. In the non-boaters we saw another first-time winner in Matt McCarthy punch his ticket to the Grand Final while the Atomic Big BREAM prize of $500 went to Kim McIntyre. LOCAL GURU GETS IT DONE A little bit of local

powered by a 25hp motor, having the smallest boat in the field certainly didn’t hold him back from having a go. In some ways, it became an advantage when he could sit back and watch the other boats ahead of him head to other spots and he could choose his accordingly. With others choosing popular spots at the front of the system Gardner settled with the causeway bridge at Herrison Island for the first half of each session. He and his non-boaters each day had a bag in no less than 15 minutes and had the rest of the day to upgrade, with the bite getting better as the tide changed and started to run in

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 110 APRIL 2023

Angler Joseph Gardner Karl Stait Alex Griesdorf Paul Burton Jarrad Stevens Adrian Barbour James Graham Richard Raynham Greg Cooper Paul Furlong

Fish 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 8/10 8/10 8/10

later in the morning. Boat control and positioning around bridges is paramount and with the addition of a new Lowrance GHOST trolling motor to his boat – supplied by Tacklewest – Gardner was able to hold into the current behind the pylons all day with ease. “That’s probably been the best piece of technology I’ve put on my boat so far; it’s made fishing so much easier for me,” he said. Gardner makes his own mussel-style lures under the Blue Lip Baits banner, which he used almost exclusively for the whole event. He used the dark knight colour and Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 7.00 6.89 5.15 4.50 4.18 3.96 3.69 3.10 2.96 2.95

Joseph Gardner ran the event in the absence of Steve and Nicholle and he managed to pull through for the victory, weighing 7kg neat and punching his ticket to the Grand Final.

Payout $1500 $750 + $250 1st Mercury bonus $500 + $125 2nd Mercury bonus $75 3rd Mercury bonus No payout No payout No payout No payout No payout No payout

a 6lb leader, however he went as high as 8lb over the course of the event. Tarwhine featured in both the top two bags as the big schools were in good condition and relatively easy to catch, with Gardner himself bagging one on day one and three on day two to carry him to victory. As for the first guaranteed boater entry for the 2023 Grand Final that he

BREAM SERIES presented by earnt himself? Well, Gardner said he’ll be ‘making every possible effort’ to get to Port Stephens for the event and compete for top honours. SECOND FOR STAIT What he lacked in local knowledge, Perth’s newest local Karl Stait more than made up for in skill. Stait had a plan to target tarwhine from before he even pre-fished and executed his plan almost to perfection, falling an agonising 20g shy in the end. Since the recent addition of tarwhine to the list of weighable bream species, not often have we seen them actively targeted in hopes of outweighing black or yellowfin bream. In fact, Stait might be the first angler we have seen weigh a full limit of tarwhine each session and finish on the podium. He found the tarwhine could match the black bream for size, they schooled together in large numbers and they were far easier to catch than the black bream. Karl broke down his plan by saying, “I knew no one else was going to target them and from a few sessions before the pre-fish ban I knew there was definitely enough size there to win the comp. On pre-fish I could see them stacked on the pylons with my Lowrance Active Target and after I caught a 34cm-forker off them I had my plan for the weekend.” Being only new to the area, Karl brought a fresh set

Thanks to the team at Atomic, Kim McIntyre was handsomely rewarded with $500 and a Samurai rod for his 1.10kg black bream. day. “I remember looking at the time on day one and it was exactly 8:32am when I pulled up and I had my bag by 8:40am. I was absolutely stoked,” explained Stait. When he arrived, he had the last of the run-out tide, which was his preferred tide for bridge fishing, and this is the period where he caught all his fish. Once the tide turned and began to run in the bites slowed. The lure he caught his bag and most of his upgrades on each day was the new rattling model mussel vibe made in WA by Cal Blair at Outback Breamer Baits. He used a Millerods Twitch Freak paired with a 2500 Daiwa Luvias spooled with 14lb Gosen braid and

BIG BREAM PRIZE

Kim McIntyre claimed the $500 Big BREAM prize generously brought to you by Atomic, with a 1.10kg black bream caught off a jetty in east Perth on a 2.5” bloodworm grub. As well as $500, Kim also took home a Samurai rod. of eyes to the venue, which helped him think outside the box in this way. He made the long run through multiple 5 knot zones down to the front of the system where he had found the big schools of tarwhine hanging around the Fremantle and Canning Bridges. The risk of an hour and half run was immediately outweighed by the reward of an almost instant limit each

a few rod lengths of 10lb Yamatoyo Chinu Harris leader – he favours a long leader for this technique. When the bites slowed and he moved to the Canning Bridge to search for more fish he also used a River2Sea Baby vibe in black to put a few fish in the boat. Karl runs a number of Lowrance products on his boat and two essential pieces of his success were his ghost trolling motor and his Active Target transducer. The spotlock on the GHOST trolling motor kept him in perfect casting position while the active target allowed him to see precisely where the fish were sitting on the pylons and how they were reacting to his bait. A second place gives Karl the valuable AOY points he will need if he is qualify for his first ABT Grand Final. MCCARTHY’S MINOR MARGIN Another angler joining the winners circle for the first time this event was non-boater champion Matthew McCarthy, who somehow managed to win by an even smaller margin than the boaters with only 10g separating him and Ruan Van Der Berg. McCarthy fished with boaters Paul Burton (day 1) and Greg Cooper (day 2) and had the utmost praise for his boaters each day. Fishing from the back of the boat presents many challenges, of which one of the most difficult is the bad casting angles. As most non-boaters can attest,

fishing bridges from the back of the boat is extremely difficult, so it is a testament to McCarthy’s ability that he was able to still get it done. His day one bag of 1.730kg was the heaviest of his two bags and those fish came doing just that, slotting casts in where he could around the pylons.

With just 10g between himself and 2nd place, Matthew McCarthy cut it fine but got the job done for his first non-boater victory. The duo started at the Windan Bridge where McCarthy got his bag using a Squidgie Bio-Tough Wriggler in bloodworm colour rigged on a 1/22 size 2 Gamakatsu round 25R jighead, casting the lure hard against the pylons. “I like these jigheads because they have super sticky hooks and the round head gives the lure a better action,” he explained. He figured out that the smaller fish were feeding high in the water column on the face of the pylon and if you could get your lure

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

Angler Matthew McCarthy Ruan Van Der Berg Hunter Grose Nick Cuccovia Blair Paisley-Kerr Nathan Walsh Michael Sammut Craig Doherty Steve Yarwood Christopher Allen

Fish 6/6 6/6 5/6 5/6 5/6 6/6 5/6 3/6 2/6 2/6

past these smaller models, the bigger fish were sitting directly underneath them picking off the scraps the little ones were dropping. His kicker fish of the day came on a Prolure Clone Prawn in tiger UV on a 1/28 TT hidden weight jighead. Being a bigger bait, he tied it on when he was looking for upgrades as the day went on. With Paul Burton on day two, the pair picked their way downstream from take-off and just slotted into banks where they could. An actionless morning until 10:30 was turned around when they picked up their fish in a 15-minute flurry on a flat in Belmont. “We were fishing a flat and I noticed the wind had come up which seemed to bring them on straight away” McCarthy said. He fished the same Squidgie Bio-Tough from day one but with a minor alteration, explaining that, “The Squidgies are quite a long bait and I actually found that when I

cut them in half, reducing the profile, I started to stick bites where before they were short striking it and missing the hook.” Around structure, McCarthy chose the rod Ian Miller designed specifically for extracting fish out of the nasty stuff – a 6’7” 2-5kg Millerods Brawler. Alternatively, on the flats he used the 7’3” 1-3kg Millerods GrubFreak paired with a 2020 DAIWA Luvias extra high gear in 2500 size, spooled with Toray Sea bass PE 0.6 braid and 5lb Yamatoyo Chinu Harris leader.

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Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 2.83 2.82 2.72 2.64 2.51 2.35 2.24 1.57 0.99 0.83

Payout Daiwa prize pack Daiwa prize pack Maui Jim prize pack Daiwa prize pack Prolure prize pack Samaki prize pack Atomic prize pack TT/Toadfish prize pack No payout No payout APRIL 2023 111

BREAM SERIES presented by

Vukic achieves Hollands Landing heroics At Gippsland Lakes in 2023, for the first app-based BREAM event of the year, ABT saw the largest field of boaters and non-boaters ever for the venue. It’s reputation for being the big bream Mecca of Australia continues to grow since the abolition of netting in 2019. ABT anglers each year since have been reaping the rewards as we continue to see significantly higher catch rates, bigger bag weights and fish being caught in a wider variety of locations than ever before. The Victorians once again proved hard to beat

for heaviest 5 fish bag with a staggering 6.442kg on day one, going on to place second in the boater’s division. Meanwhile in the non-boaters, Builder Mick Thompson chalked up his third ABT win from the back of the boat. Mick got one up for the Queensland cohort, leading the event on day one and going on to win under the guidance of Mario Vukic on day two. MARIO VUKIC – THE NAIL BOMBER Ask anyone that has made the epic 40km run down to Hollands Landing at the southernmost point of the Gippsland Lakes system and they’ll likely

2023 Gippsland Lakes Champion Boater Mario Vukic had a ball extracting quality fish like this from the snags. days together down there. One sure, but two is hard,” said Vukic. This year it was evident there were plenty of quality fish around the area, however quality bags don’t always mean quality fishing. Vukic explained; “Yes, we caught some

strait and he still managed to catch them. The way Vukic rigs his 2.5” motor oil grubs was born out of necessity, needing to keep the lure from getting hung up in thick timber. He uses

3/32oz Decoy Nail Bombs, a weedless worm hook jighead, with the hook point buried into the body of the bait to ensure it doesn’t get hung up. This set up, while extremely snag-resistant, comes at a cost however,

Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

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Here’s a familiar face – Victoria’s Cam Whittam lead the event after day one with a record setting bag. It’s hard to believe he finished second with a total weight of an astonishing 12.475kg. on their home turf at the Garmin sponsored round, with plenty of that usual sponsor karma going around as Mario Vukic and his fresh new Garmin 8416 and LiveScope got the job done at Hollands Landing. Fellow Victorian Cam Whittam broke the ABT record (previously 6.3kg)

tell you it can be rocks or diamonds when you get there. Not many know this better than Mario Vukic who has been fishing the area almost exclusively in tournaments for 10 years. “Hollands is the land of the giants, but it can be really hard to put two good

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 112 APRIL 2023

Angler Mario Vukic Cam Whittam Daniel Kent Mitchell Blomquist Peter Breukel Liam Carruthers Alex Franchuk Brad Hodges Jarrod Healey Steven Pryke Jamie McKeown

Fish 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10

great fish, but the fishing wasn’t on fire, we would go hours without a bite each day, but you had to be ready at any moment.” Where most people choose to fish the flats and edges at the mouth of the McLennan Strait, Vukic pushes up the channel and targets the big, resident, snag dwelling bream. Asked what he looks for, Vukic said, “I look for current at Hollands and it all depends on what the wind is doing leading up to the event. A southwester and it drains the top lake making it run out of the strait, whereas an easterly fills it up causing it to run in.” While he prefers the runout tide, he actually found it to be running in all weekend while he fished the

Trifecta! Queensland’s Builder Mick Thompson racked up his third win from the back of the boat with a crankbait and soft plastic combo.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 12.582 12.475 12.149 11.080 10.962 10.543 10.255 10.172 9.999 9.713 9.505

Payout $3800 + $250 1st Merc bonus $1900 $1000 + $125 2nd Merc bonus $900 + $75 3rd Merc bonus $800 $700 + $500 X Braid Big Bream $700 $600 $600 $500 $500

with many missed bites and pulled hooks due to the unexposed hook point. “Whenever you think you get a bite, even if you aren’t sure, you have to strike as hard as you can. All day Mick and I were having jigheads flying out of the water at us when we thought we had a bite, but when it was a bite, you had to make sure that hook connected.” You can see the hook setting power

BREAM SERIES presented by needed for this technique by scanning the QR code hereby. Heavy-duty gear was the only option, so Vukic used a 7’ 2-4kg Daiwa TD Battler Beowulf that he described as being closer to a 3-6kg rod, paired up with a Daiwa Certate 2508 with a locked drag, 16lb Castaway braid and 8lb Sunline V-hard leader. On day two, his new Garmin setup proved invaluable to locating the snags that the fish were sitting on, as most of the fish-holding structure was submerged and it would have been missed by the naked eye. Speaking to Steve Morgan, Vukic spoke in awe of the fishery Gippsland Lakes has become. “Mate, can you believe that people are bringing in 12kg and not winning the comp? It’s honestly unbelievable”. WHITTAM SETS NEW ABT RECORD One of the finest bream anglers in Victoria and

the fish at his third spot around 8:30am – an edge at the mouth of the entrance to Paynesville – and his non-boater quickly landed a 39cm-forker, he went to work doing what he does best, flats fishing. “I’ve never been much of a structure fisherman; my strength is flats fishing and that’s where I’m most confident I can beat my competitors.” Just using his eyes and a quality pair of polarised sunglasses, he found he could see the fish cruising Scan the QR code to watch the NonBoater Winners Interview

around in 4ft of water on the broken patches of weed and sand. Cam picked a line in this depth and travelled about 200m up it before he crept in 50m closer to

BIG BREAM PRIZE

Liam Carruthers is a big unit, so if he can’t get his hands around a bream you know it’s a belter! His 1.801kg fish landed him the $500 X Braid Big Bream. Australia for that matter, Cam Whittam has been a force on Gippsland Lakes for as long as ABT has been running events there. It was only fitting for him to find his way onto the podium and to set a new ABT record in the process. Describing his day one heroics, Whittam said it was, “Just one of those days you dream about.” Once he finally found

the edge and made a pass on the inside of his first run, and finally doing a run 50m on the outside of his first line. This allowed him to rest his main run in 4ft while also picking off the odd fish in 1-2ft or 5-6ft. A Lucky Craft Bevy shad in ghost minnow was Whittam’s crankbait of choice as it didn’t bury itself into the weed like a lot of other fast diving crankbaits do. This was essential to his technique, which was to wind his bait along the bottom slowly for a few turns of the handle before a long pause, allowing the lure to suspend just off the bottom. He explained that some bites would come after the lure had been paused for as long as 15 seconds. He used a 2-4kg Duffrods ‘the Broken Bone’ matched with a Daiwa Luvias that was spooled with 16lb Sunline Siglon braid and a long 20ft leader of 4lb Sunline FC rock. “I run braid and long leaders for everything. The stretch and finesse of a long fluorocarbon leader but the sensitivity of braid creates what I call a ‘hybrid feel’. Not quite the feel of straight through fluoro, but not braid and short leader either, somewhere in between,” he clarified. Cam’s 6.442kg day one bag writes him into the record books and becomes the new bar for his fellow competitors to try and raise for years to come. Through ABT history we don’t believe anyone has ever weighed a 12.475kg bag and come second, which could be a tough pill to swallow but Cam finds it hard to complain when he has days like his day one. “Honestly coming second to Mario, I can live with that if I get to catch fish like I did on day one, it really was something special.” THIRD WIN FOR BUILDER MICK Chalking up his third win from the back of the boat, builder Mick Thompson set the tone early on day one with Michael Hunt with a solid 3.202kg bag, followed by a 3.240kg day two bag under the guidance of champion boater Mario Vukic.

Ten years of punishment at Hollands Landing is suddenly all worth it. Vukic scored an extra $250 thanks to his V8 Mercury ProXS which handled the near 100km round trip each day with ease. It can be hard to find consistency from the back of the boat, yet Mick rarely ventures far away from the top of the leader board wherever he goes around the country. While he is comfortable fishing flats, black bream present a different Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

challenge in comparison to the aggressive yellowfin of Moreton Bay that he is used to. Their timidness means that when fishing a crankbait, you must fish as slow as you can wind, with Mick’s advice being, “If you think you’re winding slow, go slower!” Mick got his bream on day one cranking his crankbait into the mud, giving it a few slow winds and letting it pause before slowly cranking again. In this instance, a floating bait rises too quickly on the pause, so Mick went for a suspending Daiwa Infeet Spike 53 SP in matte

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

Angler Mick Thompson Taka Kawasaki Richard Patterson Travis Ryan Darcy Clifton Matt Stanley Dallas Blatchford Simon Morley Scott Scicluna Grayson Fong

Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 5/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

prawn colour – his favourite colour for this venue. Fishing flats with Michael Hunt, Mick used a very slow crankbaiting technique, cranking the lure down into the mud, giving it a few very slow winds and pausing it. The choice combo for the weekend was a Daiwa TD Black Limited Edition with a cork handle, paired with a Daiwa Luvias spooled with 8lb braid J-braid grand and 4lb fluorocarbon leader. In contrast, his second day was all about bombing, or rather ‘Nail-Bombing’, snags at Hollands in good, old-fashioned hand-to-fin combat in the structure with a 2.5” motor oil grub rigged on a decoy nail bomb. Mick used the same rod as day one, however with an 8lb leader and locked drag to give himself every chance to turn the fish away from the timber. He and Vukic chalked up an impressive number of big fish with Mick bagging two 38cm-forkers on the final day, which anchored another 3.2kg bag bringing his total to 6.443kg and putting him in a comfortable 280g ahead of second place.

DUO Designed by Ultimate Organizer

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 6.443 6.163 5.146 5.135 5.111 5.103 5.096 5.011 4.686 4.615

Payout Daiwa prize pack Daiwa Baitjunkie prize pack Maui Jim prize pack Daiwa Baitjunkie prize pack Cranka prize pack Prolure prize pack Samaki prize pack Atomic prize pack EJ Todd prize pack Toadfish prize pack APRIL 2023 113

BASS SERIES presented by

Johnson claims maiden BASS Pro win at Blue Rock Victoria’s Blue Rock Dam has been a happy hunting ground for Queenslanders since ABT started visiting this Victorian empowerment in 2021. After a COVID cancellation in the first year, Matthew Langford won the first full event there and this year fellow Queenslander Mick Johnson took his first ABT BASS Pro qualifier title.

“I had two patterns going – early fish on topwater around the edges and fish later on in the submerged trees. On day one I got distracted after catching the limit on the edge, but day two I got back on track and stuck to the game plan. That’s when the bigger fish bit,” Mick said. The day two limit catapulted him into first place. Scan the QR code to watch the NonBoater Winners Interview

Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

Blue Rock is undoubtedly a beautiful lake. It is stocked with plenty of bass by Victorian Fisheries and offers most competitors a fairly easy limit. The challenge in blue Rock has always been finding fish over 30cm. Run on the ABT tournament series app, the event offers live scoreboards

Mick Johnson, one of the newest additions to the Rapala Pro Angler team, rose to the challenge at Lake Blue Rock and worked out how to get the lake’s bigger bass to bite.

“There are a lot more big fish in this lake than most people realise,” Johnson said. He targeted these fish on deeper, submerged trees – usually ones that were in around 70ft of water with their crowns around 20-25ft under the surface. “Garmin LiveScope makes these areas much

Targeting suspending fish in the treetops, like this one, saw Mitchell Cone take the day one lead. and the ability to record any size bass, since they are measured and released at the point of capture. Indeed, the live scoreboards are a hit with spectators who can keep an eye on how their favourite

competitors are faring during the tournament day. Lengths are converted to estimated weights via ABT’s length weight curve, therefore five fish limits are possible.

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 114 APRIL 2023

Angler Mick Johnson Mitchell Cone Steve Muldoon Matthew Langford Collin Robinson Braden Schuch Corey Goldie Tom Deer Declan Betts Steve Duff

Fish 10/10 8/10 8/10 10/10 9/10 9/10 10/10 9/10 7/10 8/10

Johnson weighed an average, sub 2kg limit on day one but found bigger fish on the second day to rocket into the lead and win quite emphatically, over 1.5kg ahead of Mitchell Cone.

New South Wales’ Tim Jones secured his first win from the back of the boat topping up his Rapala Prize Pack with the $500 X-Braid Big Bass cash prize and the first place Rapala Non Boater Bonus.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 7.624 5.921 5.387 4.975 4.849 4.431 3.950 3.412 2.980 2.921

Payout $2,600 + $250 Merc bonus $1,250 $900 $600 + $125 Merc bonus + $75 Merc bonus

easier to fish than they used to be. You can see the trees and you can see that there are fish in them,” he continued. Johnson used a 7’, 1-2kg Rapala Maxwell rod and 4lb Sufix 131 braid paired with 4lb Sufix leader to present a 1/8oz jighead and cut down soft plastic single tail to the fish suspended in the treetops and sunk or rolled the bait back as slowly as possible. “There was a real strike zone where the lure left the

BASS SERIES presented by top of the tree. The fish would have to decide whether they would eat it or retreat back to the structure. That’s where most of the bites happened,” Mick continued. With the win qualifying him for the Grand Final at Lake Boondooma, we assume that Johnson will continue his good form throughout the season. CONE’S BASIN PATTERN SLOWS Mitchell Cone led the event after the first day, but his main-basin pattern slowed and he ended up missing a limit and finishing in second place. “I think it was a combination of the pressure and the stronger wind on day two. My fish really started to become shy and move away when the boat approached the trees.” Cone also used his Garmin LiveScope to find

NSW Central Coast won his first trophy from the back of the boat with the help of the event’s X-Braid Big Bass to anchor his day two limit. Fishing with Steve Muldoon on day one and Tony Thorley Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

A successful Victorian double-header for Mick Johnson has given him a great start for his 2023 Angler of the Year campaign.

on day two, Jones used a variety of techniques to get the job done. Non-boaters have to be versatile in this respect and have to adapt to the areas the boater is fishing. His presentations included a HideUp 150 crankbait, a Rapala Jack Deep crank and a black Pro S jig with tiny assist hooks added for finicky fish.

BIG BASS PRIZE

This event is run on the ABT Tournament Series App, which means we can track fish sizes and numbers each year caught by the field. The good news is that it’s all on the increase! Millerods Finesse Freak and a Daiwa TD Black 2500 reel. “I should have headed up the river when I saw what was going on, but I got a decent fish early and decided to stick with what worked on the first day,” he concluded. JONES BAGS BIG BASS AND NB WIN Tim Jones from the

Tom also landed the X-Braid Big Bass, which rewarded him with $500 cash and an X-Braid prize pack. It ate a jig cast parallel to the bank, up the river in 3-5m of water. “This fish didn’t get hooked on the stingers – it engulfed the lure,” Tim said. Measuring 43cm to the fork and weighing 1.535kg, it demonstrated exactly what lives in the depths of Blue Rock. He threw the jig on a Millerods Switch freak loaded with 15lb braid and 10lb leader. fish suspending in treetops, although the ones he was targeting were shallower – around 15ft. Cone would see the fish near the structure up to 50ft in front of the boat and throw a cast to them, using a ‘pendulum’, retrieve to slow the sink rate past the fish. He used a 3” black Gulp Minnow Grub on a 1/4oz Bassman jighead, 6lb J-Braid and 8lb Daiwa fluorocarbon leader that was rigged on a

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

Angler Tim Jones Mal Draper Kris Dillon Garry Wilton Heath Kimber Taj Duff Nick Brown Marcus Schembri Robert Tilley Jake Hardie

Fish 6/6 6/6 5/6 5/6 6/6 6/6 5/6 3/6 6/6 4/6

He fished the basin edges on day one and learned a lot off his boater. “Steve was awesome, teaching me the technique he was using and helping me to my limit,” Jones said. “I used the Rapala like a crankbait on day two and caught fish behind Tony Thorley.”

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 3.164 2.429 1.747 1.593 1.523 1.206 1.187 1.115 1.090 0.884

Payout $625 + Rapala pack $125 + Bassman pack $75 + Keitech pack Ecogear pack Nomad Design pack Rapala pack Pro Lure pack HideUp/Noike pack Atomic pack TT pack APRIL 2023 115

BASS SERIES presented by

Langford pips Johnson for Glenmaggie title Reigning BASS Pro Angler of the Year, Queensland’s Matthew Langford, is never that far from the top of the leaderboard in a 13 Fishing BASS Pro Series event. He took his first win of 2023 at the Humminbird sponsored round of the season on Victoria’s Lake Glenmaggie, relegating good mate and winner of the previous event, Mick Johnson, into second place by less than 50g over two days of fishing. Here’s how he did it. “Glenmaggie finished way better this year than I did last year,” said Langford, “And it’s good to see the Victorian dams become great ABT arenas.” Matt’s technique was based on catching a limit of bass on crankbaits early on the edges and then moving

in the comps. I’d catch a small limit in close out early and then move out to look for bigger bass,” Matt explained. He used the twin Garmin LiveScope setup, with an LVS 34 transducer in Perspective mode on his Mick Johnson pole and a transducer in forward mode Scan the QR code to watch the Boater Winners Interview

on his trolling motor. “I would see either single or pairs of fish on Perspective mode and then head towards them with my electric,” said Matt, “I could tell immediately if the fish were interested or not. They were either

Matt focused on catching a limit of bass on crankbaits early on the edges and then moving out to the unpressured fish floating around the main basin each session. on the second day in the windy conditions, but good mate Mitchell Cone came to the rescue – swapping boats and giving Langford the chance for the win. Ultimately he ended

Scan the QR code to watch the NonBoater Winners Interview

Mick Johnson’s second place at Glenmaggie has done him no harm with his sights set on 2023 Angler of the Year. out to the unpressured fish floating around the main basin. “The edge fish are only available for a short time in the mornings and they’re pretty heavily pressured

spooked or they would spin on the bait and dance around it.” “Once they reacted positively there was a fair chance that they would bite.”

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 116 APRIL 2023

Angler Matthew Langford Mick Johnson Dane Pryce Steve Duff Mitchell Cone John Noble Graham Ford Tom Deer Braden Schuch Keeghan Painter

Fish 10/10 10/10 5/10 8/10 5/10 8/10 9/10 9/10 7/10 3/10

These bass were sitting only 5ft down in 30ft or more of water, so they escaped the pressure of other competitors. Langford flattened his trolling motor batteries

Victoria’s Nick Brown opted to do something a little different to his boaters each day, targeting suspending fish and getting the kickers he needed for the win.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 6.172 6.126 4.911 4.767 4.053 3.846 3.080 2.982 2.672 2.070

Payout $2,600 $1,200 + $250 Merc bonus $900 $600 $500 + $125 Merc bonus

$75 Merc bonus

up less than 50g ahead of Johnson. He used a cut down single tail grub on a Millerods Control Freak Jig Freak custom rod loaded with braid and leader. It was rigged on a 1/4oz Bassman jighead. JOHNSON LEADS AOY WITH SECOND PLACING Although separated by only grams, second placed Mick Johnson and

BASS SERIES presented by Langford’s techniques couldn’t have been more different. The current BASS Pro Angler of the Year leader threw crankbaits from start to finish, targeting any sort of shallow structure that he could find in the lake, but mainly laydown logs. “My main bait was a Rapala Shadow Rap Jack Deep in Haymaker colour and I’d make sure it was always near structure or bumping across it,” he said. Johnson fished the Jack Deep on a 13 Fishing OMEN and a 2500 sized reel spooled with 8lb Sufix 131 braid and an 8lb Sufix leader. “I did keep an eye on the scoreboards throughout the day. When I went to help Matt when his batteries failed I asked him if he’d caught any good ones. He said that he hadn’t,” Mick continued.

made sure that I counted my bait either shallow or deeper than his. It’s important to fish different fish than your boater is fishing,” he said. Brown used a Noike Kaishin 7g chatterbait in Scan the QR code to watch the Field Highlights

Qld’s Matthew Langford pushed himself and his gear to the limit to take home his first win for the 2023 13Fishing Bass Pro Season.

white and brown with a stinger hook but no trailer plastic. He fished it on a Millerods Vibe Freak rod and a spinning reel spooled with Sufix 832 braid in 10lb with a 10lb leader. “I caught some of my limit fish on the edges on crankbaits, but those chatterbait fish were the kickers that I needed to win

BIG BASS PRIZE

Nick has done the miles, fishing ABT BASS Pro events up and down the East Coast. He takes home his first win as a Non Boater at Glenmaggie. Langford, the pair devised a strategy for catching Glenmaggie’s suspended bass. He got to fish this way in the trees with his first day boater, Graham Ford. “I kept an eye on what Graham was doing and

It only took a few casts for John Noble to bag the event’s X-Braid Big Bass. Measuring 44cm to the fork and converting to 1.653kg on the table, it was the same size as a fish caught by Mitchell Cone, although Noble won the $500 and Samaki pack by countback. It ate a Little Max 1/4ox blade with assist hooks that he cast to suspended fish around a tree sitting at about 30 feet. There goes believing anything a competitor says on the water ever again! BROWN WINS FROM BACK OF BOAT Victorian Nick Brown has definitely done the miles when it comes to travelling and fishing ABT events as a non-boater. He has now won his first non-baiter title in his home state after all of that effort. Spending the pre-fish with his good mate Matthew

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

Angler Nick Brown Heath Kimber Tim Jones Jake Hardie Taj Duff Marcus Schembri Nelson Rouw Barry Reynolds Robert Tilley Kelvin Hatton

Fish 6/6 6/6 4/6 5/6 5/6 2/6 3/6 6/6 5/6 6/6

this event,” said Brown. Nick’s son, Nate, draws Nick and Matthew a map before each event, showing the best spots for that event. We bet he was stoked with the result of this event’s cartography.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 2.592 1.931 1.732 1.526 1.409 1.122 1.074 1.029 0.760 0.683

Payout $250 + Rapala pack $125 + Bassman pack $75 + Keitech pack Ecogear pack Rapala pack Nomad Design pack ProLure pack HideUp/Noike pack Atomic pack TT pack APRIL 2023 117

Tournament Calendar 2022 DATE

Tournament

Location

State

Contact

22-23 Apr

Rapala BASS Aus Open

Clarence River

NSW

abt.org.au

30 Apr

ECBS Shimano

Lake Macquarie

NSW

wsbb.com.au

2-4 May

Daiwa BREAM Aus Open

Sydney Harbour

NSW

abt.org.au

6-7 May

BREAM R4

Hawkesbury River

NSW

abt.org.au

7 May

BASS Electric R3

Lake Macdonald

QLD

abt.org.au

20-21 May

BASS Pro R3

Boondooma Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

23-24 May

BASS Pro R4

Somerset Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

28 May

ECBS 3rd Round

St Georges Basin

NSW

wsbb.com.au

3-4 Jun

BREAM R5

Lake Macquarie

NSW

abt.org.au

5 Jun

ECBS Tackle Addiction

Hawkesbury River

NSW

wsbb.com.au

17-18 Jun

BREAM R6

Blackwood River

abt.org.au

24-25 Jun

BREAM QLD Open

Moreton Bay/Gold Coast

QLD

abt.org.au

BREAM R7

Gladstone

QLD

abt.org.au

19-20 Aug

BREAM R8

Gold Coast

QLD

abt.org.au

20 Aug

BASS Electric R4

Hinze Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

9-10 Sep

BASS Pro R5

Hunter River

NSW

abt.org.au

12-13 Sep

BASS Pro R6

Lake St Clair

NSW

abt.org.au

24 Sep

ECBS Shimano Round

Botany Bay

NSW

wsbb.com.au

29-30 Sep

BARRA R1

Lake Tinaroo

QLD

abt.org.au

1 Oct

BARRA R2

Lake Tinaroo

QLD

abt.org.au

7-8 Oct

BASS Electric GF

Wyaralong Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

15 Oct

ECBS Grand Final

Sydney Harbour

NSW

wsbb.com.au

28-29 Oct

BASS Pro GF

TBC

QLD

abt.org.au

23 Nov

BARRA R3

Teemburra Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

10-12 Nov

BREAM GF

Port Stephens

NSW

abt.org.au

24 Nov

BARRA R4

Kinchant Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

26 Nov

BARRA R5

Peter Faust Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

28-29 Nov

BARRA R6

Peter Faust Dam

QLD

abt.org.au

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY 22/23 Jul

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

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Datum Times

Fishing Monthly Magazine | April 2023

Articles inside

GEN III

Stessco Albacore CC560 with Yamaha F130 4-stroke

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST National Fishing Challenge

Langford pips Johnson for Glenmaggie title

Johnson claims maiden BASS Pro win at Blue Rock

DUO Vukic achieves Hollands Landing heroics

Tight bags and tarwhine on the Swan

Now is an exciting time to be on the water

All eyes on Karratha blue swimmer crab season

The new Stacer package deals

Exciting Easter action on tuna

Impact of regulation changes

Fishers eager to get back out

Demersal options are back

Salmon sightings tempt fishers

Launching a land-based assult

Savouring the calm autumn weather pattern

Good fishing continues into the cooler months

The good, the bad and the ugly: Tassie offshore

The WIRF Leaders are making lots of waves

Decisions, decisions: which bank shall we fish?

Making the most of Gippy during the cold months

Crackdown on fishing offenses

Consistent results for fresh salmonid fishers

Autumn fishing is firing up

Trolling up some solid autumn Murray cod

Prime time to go chasing cod

A great month for trout in northeast Victoria

Great angling opportunities in Bendigo region

Tough going on the Murray

Tracking down the bait schools

Hot fishing in local estuaries

Bream and flathead from the Bemm channel

Super snapper from the surf

A constantly changing fishery

Flat out dusky flathead fishing

Your fishing licence fees at work

Local advice is the key to catching bluefin tuna

Get ready for seasonal changes

Last chance for good PPB snapper sessions

Impressive catches in estuaries

Decent bream catches in the Hopkins River

Anglers are still on the lookout for big tuna

Get out there and catch a nice feed this autumn

Autumn arrives with redfin catches everywhere

The DPI needs your fish frames

Perfect time to be walking banks

Smooth flows ahead for April!

The importance of water temps

Anglers enjoying some excellent trout fishing

School holiday fun for the kids

Anglers enjoying the long awaited seasonal change

The autumn fishing is on fire

A better class of fish on offer

Anglers are enjoying more moderate weather

Inshore anglers get into action

Decent catches are increasing as autumn begins

Getting the small things right

Mackerel fever spreads

The pelagic fishing is at its peak

Coffs is right in the middle of the mackerel run

Tagging Tales

Keep moving to find the fish

Sydney flathead are still taking bait and lures

A transition period for all the Sydney waterways

Range of pelagics in harbour

Spectacular fishing on the surface schools

Gary’s Marine Centre

We’re spoilt for choice

National Recreational Fishing Survey 2019-21

Glorious rain is flowing throughout Cape York

Crabs are under the spotlight

Autumn adventures abound

Promising prospects ahead for autumn bags

Clean tropical waters make for great catches

Hungry autumn barra are not fooling around

Bright lures in dirty water

Transition through the month