Batemans Bay

Sickles, thermals, dry boots

BATEMANS BAY Anthony Stokman

Hello winter my old friend, there are many reasons to love you, and one reason to not. That one reason is the cold. However, without it, a lot of great opportunities wouldn’t exist – so it’s time to put on our thermals and good boots and head out to look for some yellowfin sickles.

The older I get, the more prepared I am for winter fishing. There’s nothing better than having a great set of thermals, quality warm wet weather gear, good dry boots, hot pies and coffee. Tuna fishing in winter is better when better prepared. I like the Adrenaline thermals by Land & Sea; I reckon they’re the best and cheapest on the market. There’s a variety of wet weather gear out there like Stormline, Desolve, Stoney Creek and Simms. Burke and Henry Lloyd make great boots. Yeti keeps your coffee hot and if you want a hot pie when fishing, then pie ovens like the Travel Buddy installed in your vessel have you living like a king. Once you have ticked these boxes you won’t even notice the cold.

Another thing that cuts the cold is being hooked up to a yellowfin tuna. May is the month they start to show up, and June can be better if they decide to hang around. June can also see bluefin starting to migrate to our waters. Every year can be a little different, so you shouldn’t follow past years and patterns to the exclusion of all else. Be flexible, take into account the commercial movements, the charts and most of all, just get out there.

From June onwards game fishing is all about tuna; we can expect most other pelagics to go on vacation in warmer waters. There’s a slim chance of a marlin, but the other stickface that gets more and more attention these days is the swordfish. There’s probably a greater chance of seeing a sword being caught, as more and more anglers are targeting them on the south coast. There is data of big swords travelling through our area, although not as many as the sword capitals further south. This is the best time of the year to try for a sword as the current slows down and the weather becomes more stable. Let’s see how our local sword army goes this year.

Georgia Poyner has no problems finding the winter kings.

From page 63

The 449 Assault Pro starts with a revolutionary base – the Revolution Hull to deliver superior ride performance, achieved by scientifically moulding the aluminium side sheet to deliver a strong hull that disperses water away from the boat whilst underway. The sharp entry point coupled with a wide beam adds stability underfoot when fighting a fish.

Overall, although designed predominantly for inland waterways, the Revolution Hull delivers an excellent performance within open bays, making the Assault Pro a versatile beast.

To stand out from the rest whilst competing, the key is to access those hard-to-reach spots, which is easily achieved with the compact yet spacious and easy-to-manoeuvre 449 Assault Pro. Built as a tiller configuration and rated up to 60hp, it is the ideal vessel to zip to where the fish are on in a flash.

A wide-open deck plus generous raised front and rear casting platform deliver 360˚ fishability, whilst its seamless rear Live Bait Tank ensures baits are easily stored.

Also available with a long list of optional extras, the Assault Pro is effortlessly customised to suit a wide range of fishing styles and needs. Options include: bow-mount thruster plate, bimini, rod holders, sound system with speakers, transom step and rail, sealed timber floor, 65L fuel tank, rod storage, side pockets, 2-tone painted, side rails, pedestal seat, Elite Pro seats, lean seats, maritime seats, Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer, sounder, vinyl wrap, and more.

Off-season, the 449 Assault Pro is a boating allrounder, ideal for days out with the family or friends with a rating of four people. With ample storage space, it serves as the perfect weekender.

The fact that it’s affordable and easy to use makes the Assault Pro appealing to both new and experienced boaties.

“We are seeing new customers looking to enter boating more than ever as all Aussies explore new ways to holiday from home,” Drew said. “What boating brings to people is immeasurable for mental and physical health; it’s a way to spend time with friends and family, but also do something that you thoroughly enjoy.”

For more information on the 449 Assault Pro, or to locate your nearest dealer, visit www.stacer.com.au. – Telwater Tara with a nice cool water snapper.

Deep dropping with electric reels is another form of fishing that has grown over the years. It, too, requires less current and stable weather, and this is the perfect time of the year for it. There have been some good catches of ling and in a bit closer, some good catches of bar cod. Bar cod can be found in 100-150m depths, so they can be caught on jigs with a spin or overhead set-up with enough line capacity. However, as you go deeper chasing blue-eye, hapuka, gemfish, perch, ling and so forth, an electric reel is necessary.

Inshore reef fishing has been going along with some consistency for the last couple of years, and hasn’t looked like slowing down. Winter always brings a steady bite, so with the anticipated stable weather coming your boat should get a good workout this month chasing snapper and flathead.

The stones during winter provides great drummer fishing. Old-fashioned drummer fishing never changes – a running ball sinker and a small, strong hook with cunje and/or cooked prawns. Fishing from the rock ledges can also produce snapper, grouper, bream, salmon, tailor, trevally and more during the winter months, and you can spin metals, cast plastics or live or dead bait for any of these species. There are several ways to catch fish from the stones, and shore jigging has become the latest addition. Using long light, powerful, thin rods that work micro jigs from the shore is shore jigging.

The beaches have had a great run of bream, and that seems to be continuing. The whiting will slow up, and the ever-consistent salmon will always be there throughout winter. We’ve had some big tailor getting around of late, and some trevally as well.

Anglers chasing mulloway will be out at night at some of the popular beach haunts. These fish will also be getting targeted in the estuary of a night with fresh squid and live mullet baits. Squid are fairly consistent throughout winter for all the squid fans out there. It’s a good option because the estuary will back off from here on, and will require finer finesse fishing, going down in leader size due to the clear water.

If you’re not into tuna, don’t like drummer, can’t spin a metal for salmon, can’t catch a snapper or bream, then it could be a good time of the year to take a holiday. Cairns, Montebellos, Kimberleys, Swains, Exmouth… we live in an amazing country, so you should check it out sometime. If lockdowns have taught us one thing, it’s that life is too short and you should get out and live. Make the most of it, fishos! • 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).