Fishing Monthly Magazine | June 2023

Page 101

WA

Watch out, there’s sharks about KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

With the river still brown, the mulloway are moving in under the runout water for some easy pickings to be had along the sand spit and around to bird island in front of VMR. The best bait is mullet or scalies, and make sure you put in some long hours as you could get lucky and back a ‘metre-y’ on your first cast. or your last. The catch rate has been two or three per night so there are plenty to go around. Macks are harder to find unless you can get into some clear water. I’ve tried up around the Sound Patch and down along the cliffs; many long hours trolling did get us some fish but the sharks are still around, as Abbey found out. We did get the lure back to swim again and managed two nice fat macks to around 10kg each for the box. Our While there are still some tailor around, the numbers are down and they are less active so the best catches are usually around the new moon. Larger green back

There are lots of macks around, but there are also plenty of sharks too! heaps in the shallows in front of sea rescue, they can be fun to cast small soft plastics to and often in a single session several other species may take a jig, like skippy, herring,

Kyle celebrated his birthday on the beach dropping baits from the Cuta Copter finding a couple of perfect pan snapper. tailor will start to become resident along reef breaks and gutters. Tarwhine have been abundant off some of the beaches, in bay and off the jetty. Often there are

flathead, and flounder. Big cobbler have been along the shallows, in periods of low swell and tide walk along with a hand spear and bright light. The delicate meat is a real treat.

fish were caught on both shallow and deep diver lures, so it’s all trial work as nothing seems normal this year. Reports of some nice size yellowfin tuna have been circulating but, as yet, no nice photos or reports of any getting to the scales. The only one we hooked was lost at the boat and estimated at about 20kg+ but the big schools shouldn’t be too far away. The tailor have shown in good numbers around back beach and along the beach down to the blue holes, although they are in good numbers they are playing hard to get on baits or lures. Divers have done well at Lucky Bay with good catches of coral trout, baldies and a good feed of crays. One lucky angler going out from the beach managed a nice mack in the clear water in front of the reef.

West Coast

Look for the clear water when searching for macks. River activity has been very selective with most people chasing the mulloway but those that

have tried for black bream have managed some nice fat fish to 420mm around the pens using river prawns.

FISHING NEWS

Demersal $10m support package The WA Government has heralded its $10 million funding boost, as part of the west coast demersal management changes package announced in December, as “the biggest investment in the recovery of a fishery in WA history”. However, there has been little detail provided of exactly how the money will be spent other than the following breakdown given to Recfishwest by DPIRD and given in question time in the WA parliament. West coast demersal $10 million support package break-down: • Voluntary Fisheries Adjustment Scheme (VFAS) – $2.5 million • Public education and awareness campaign – $1.75 million • Science and monitoring – $1.8 million • Statewide FADs – $1.5 million • Snapper restocking – $1 million • Digital catch reporting for recreational fishers – $674,000 • Charter tourism business diversification – $500,000 • Charter sector management reform – $260,000 Recfishwest believes it is crucial that the Government closely involves the recreational fishing community and industry in the design and delivery of the package. Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said, “This is a significant amount of public money and the

Government has got to get it right this time. Invested properly, this money can go a long way in redressing the fundamental inequity in the way this valuable public resource is managed. “It can plug significant knowledge gaps that can inform much better management of the fishery and promote better fishing behaviours that can speed up the recovery and… lead to optimising the social and economic benefits these fish provide for our community. This, after all, is the goal of fisheries management enshrined in WA law.” COMMERCIAL BUY-BACK SCHEME The VFAS commercial licence buy-back scheme earmarked for $2.5 million of the package will provide operators compensation to voluntarily reduce the number of commercial fishing units. “We are keen to understand how the VFAS will work, given it can potentially pave the way to a fairer and more equitable sharing of the overall sustainable catch between recreational, charter and commercial fishing sectors,” Andrew said. “This is long overdue with 64% of the west coast demersal catch currently reserved for private profit, and only 5% of demersal fish caught in WA waters taken by recreational fishers.” BETTER KNOWLEDGE Other elements of the support package, including the science and monitoring, and digital catch reporting

investment, can help plug some of the knowledge gaps scientists and fishery managers have around west coast demersal scalefish. Examples of these are to what extent the recovering Gascoyne pink snapper stock underpins numbers of those fish in the north of the west coast bioregion, and how climate change might be impacting on spatial movement of the west coast demersal stock overall. “Combined with clearer recreational catch data, better scientific understanding of dhufish, pink snapper and other prized demersals will help DPIRD fishery managers make… more informed management decisions when the latest west coast stock assessment is due next year,” said Andrew. “A comprehensive education and awareness campaign can also have a positive impact on fisher behaviour, reducing postrelease mortality, spreading fishing effort away from west coast demersal species and ultimately speeding up

the recovery. This campaign needs to involve fishers as well as charter operators and tackle stores.” CHARTER FISHING Andrew said the charter fishing sector has been neglected in the new management package, putting significant pressure and risk on the $110 million the sector contributes to the economy every year, and the 830 jobs it supports. “Twenty tonnes of the available 375 tonnes is not in line with significant benefits this sector provides to the Western Australian public,” he said. GETTING ANSWERS Recfishwest will continue to ask the questions of Government that need to be answered on how this money is invested, and how a fairer, more equitable way to manage the fishery can established. “This is a golden opportunity to set things right,” said Andrew, “but it has to be done right and it has to be done transparently – it’s simply too important a chance to squander.” - Recfishwest JUNE 2023 101


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GEN III

0
pages 118-119

Anglapro Sniper 444 PRO with Yamaha T60 4-stroke

3min
pages 116-117

Healey Drops 5.24kg on Final Day for Hawkesbury win

5min
pages 112-114

at Sydney BREAM event

3min
pages 111-112

Morgan completes rare Open double

3min
page 110

Morgan doubles up on epic run to take BASS Open

6min
pages 108-110

2023 World Sooty Championship

4min
page 107

2023 Great Northern Cod Nationals

3min
page 107

ECBS ROUND 2 RESULTS

2min
page 106

Trout and redfin are flourishing

7min
pages 104-106

Pilbara visitor paradise

3min
page 102

Demersal $10m support package

3min
page 101

Watch out, there’s sharks about

1min
page 101

Glory between the chill

3min
page 100

Scratching that itch

4min
page 99

Going beach prospecting is well worth it

2min
page 98

It’s salmon time, baby

4min
page 97

Prepare for a land-based assault

4min
page 96

Cool winter nights fishing off the beach

1min
page 96

Spying on yellowtail kingfish

1min
page 95

Victoria’s fishing licence: how to boost revenue

7min
pages 94-95

Pick your day and pick your location this month

6min
page 93

New releases from Daiwa

2min
page 92

Making the most of winter weather windows

1min
page 92

Aggressive pre-spawn trout are on the chew

1min
page 91

Luring up some tasty redfin at Lake Elingamite

1min
page 91

The winter bite is underway

4min
page 90

There are fewer fish but bigger sizes this month

2min
page 89

Locals catching crankbait-crunching golden perch

2min
page 89

Time to take winter walks along the river banks

2min
page 88

Putting in the hard yards is producing the goods

4min
page 86

The fishing at the moment is full-on in the flow

1min
page 86

Scoring cool catches on our chilly local beaches

1min
page 85

Rec Reef renamed to Rhys Reef

2min
page 84

Heading down to the beach in June

0
page 84

Here come the salmon and perch

4min
page 83

TTs supports oyster reefs

2min
page 82

Winter whiting, flathead and bream on offer

1min
page 82

More fish habitat into the Gippsland Lakes

0
page 81

Closure at Lake Wendouree

3min
page 80

Bracing for bigger bluefin tuna

1min
page 80

The fishing is still going strong

4min
pages 78-79

Trial by ice in the UK

5min
page 77

Great time to target southern calamari

1min
page 77

Local catches are well worth the numb toes

3min
page 76

Attractive options for freshwater anglers in June

2min
page 75

Bream and EP are still active in the estuaries

1min
page 75

It’s happy days in Portland for offshore anglers

2min
page 74

The best spots to focus your efforts

4min
page 73

Last chance to fish for wild trout

5min
page 72

Fish are heading down deep for the winter months

3min
page 71

Hunting for big, fat Murray cod

2min
page 70

Tathra Wharf gets upgraded with a new makeover

1min
pages 68-69

Some big fish down south

1min
page 68

NEW FROM RAPALA! RAP-V BLADED JIG

0
page 67

Enjoying cool, crisp days fishing in Batemans Bay

5min
page 66

Making the most of all that’s on offer in June

6min
page 65

Lake Mac trolling in a winter wonderland

3min
page 64

Anglers cashing in on the crossover period

3min
page 63

Focusing on targeting the right species this month

2min
page 62

Great time for targeting snapper

3min
page 61

Deep drop fishing at Macquarie

2min
page 60

Keep an eye on those offshore water temps

3min
page 59

Abuzz with the epic run of mulloway

2min
page 58

Tempting winter fish with fresh baits

5min
pages 56-57

Shore-based anglers reap the winter rewards

6min
pages 54-55

Soft plastic prawns are picking up the pace

3min
page 53

DPI crackdown on taking invertebrates

2min
page 52

Winter species are becoming more numerous

1min
page 52

THE FREEDOM To Escape.

5min
pages 48-51

Gary’s Marine Centre

8min
pages 46-47

Make the most of the mixed species

1min
page 46

Tagging Tales

2min
page 43

Baffled, but not broken!

5min
pages 42-43

June fishing is jumping

2min
page 40

Big bountiful barra

3min
pages 38-39

New dynamics in FNQ

2min
page 37

Cold water tactics

1min
page 37

Time to head upstream

2min
page 36

Smaller lures and lighter gear work well in winter

4min
pages 34-35

Expect the unexpected in the coming weeks

6min
pages 32-33

Celebrating a year of the Women in Recreational Fishing Network Queensland

0
page 31

Ready to land the fish of a LIFETIME?

0
page 31

New rules for Spanish mackerel start 1 July World Oceans Day:

0
page 30

Cool changes make a difference to fishing tactics

4min
pages 28-30

Calm winter fishing approaches

6min
page 26

It’s worth braving the cold

9min
pages 24-25

Mountains of mulloway

2min
pages 22-23

PROVEN WORLD LEADING ANCHOR DESIGNS

1min
pages 18-19

School migrations move north

2min
page 18

Beach gutters, rock ledges and headlands

4min
pages 16-17

Know the rules — no excuses!

2min
pages 14-15

PRECISION XTREME PENCIL

2min
pages 9-13

Making memories at Moura: catching saratoga

5min
pages 8-9
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