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Features Staying on the move • New dusky flathead discoveries • Why do lures work? • National Tournament Calendar • New fishing products • Local area reports •
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Sean Thompson shows us the benefits of actively fishing WA
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CONTENTS
OUR COVER March 2021, Vol. 1 No.11 TAS
QUEENSLAND Gold Coast 16 Southern Bay 18 Brisbane 20 Northern Bay 22 Noosa 24 Rainbow Beach 28 Bundaberg 28 Mackay 32 Whitsundays 34 Townsville 36 Hinchinbrook 37 Cairns 38 Port Douglas 39 Cooktown 40 Lucinda 40 Cape York 41 Freshwater 42 NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater 48 Sydney North 49 Sydney Rock 50 Sydney South 52 Ballina 54 Coffs Harbour 56 Hastings 58 Forster 59 Port Stephens 62 Swansea 62 Central Coast 63 Illawarra 64 Batemans Bay 65 Bermagui 66 Tathra 67 New England Rivers 68 Hunter Valley 68 Lithgow/Oberon 69 Albury/Wodonga 71 Batlow 70 Canberra 72 VICTORIA West Coast 76 Warrnambool 76 Cobden 79 Geelong 78 Port Phillip East 80 Port Phillip West 82 Western Port 84 Phillip Island 86 Lakes Entrance 88 Gippsland Lakes 87 Bemm River 88 Marlo 89 Mallacoota 89 Robinvale 90 Bendigo 90 Ballarat 91 Wangaratta 92 Yarrawonga 94 Shepparton 94 Crater Lakes 95 Eildon 96 West/South Gippsland 95 6
MARCH 2021
From the editor’s Desk...
WA
Ben Shuey with a beautiful Victorian southern bluefin tuna caught off the top on a Maria Pop Queen. A Pier Mafia image.
Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.
This magazine is the 11th month that we’re run the combined format, which means it was nearly a year ago that we had that severe shock to the system that forced us to consolidate. Approximately 90% of our feedback about this has been positive, with readers enjoying the increased diversity in the pages. I suppose it synchronises with the inevitable increase in domestic tourism due to international border closures. Lots of people are staying local, buying boats and going fishing. And that’s good for our side of the industry. But of course this doesn’t mean that there won’t still be disruption. FM’s sister company, Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) was on the verge of running Victoria’s very first ABT BASS Pro event on Blue Rock Lake when their latest snaplockdown was implemented. Although necessary, the lockdown left a lot of disappointed anglers and a speed bump
11
TASMANIA Hobart 74 WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance 101 Bremer Bay 101 Augusta 102 Bunbury 103 Mandurah 104 Metro 104 Lancelin 106 Geraldton 107 Exmouth 108 Broome 108 Karratha 109 Freshwater 110 REGULAR FEATURES Success of moving around New flathead research Starlo’s back to basics What’s New Fishing Sheik of the Creek Track my Fish Tournament Calendar Trades and Services Tide page COMPS AND OFFERS Find the logo Fun page / Sub page
22
for the tournament circuit that’s basically impossible to plan for or work around. It seems like these more granular lockdowns will be a necessary part of life for the next year or two, so whether it’s trips, holidays or tournaments, always have a Plan B ready to go. Luckily, accommodation providers seem to be willing to work through these times, with refund and cancellation policies letting you book with confidence and not be out of pocket too much with a government enforced closeout. But despite the setbacks, March seemed more normal than most of the year before it. In no time we should be back out in the field and bringing you tests, tournaments and content from all corners of the country. A question we get asked a lot is if, and when, we are looking at breaking the magazine back up into state-based titles? It’s a work in progress, but currently, we’re unable to do it with the level of advertising kicking around the industry. It’s a fact of life that ads make the magazine work, so while boat and tackle companies are having more problems getting stock than selling it, that’s the way it’s going to be. In the meantime, we really appreciate your support. You’re reading the magazine that’s still a financial member of the Boating Industry Association and the Australian Fishing Trades Association as well one who donates issues to kids’ clinics and fishing days wherever possible. We print in Australia and are proud of it. Maybe Facebook spitting the dummy (as they are at the time of print) will bring us even more readers? We will be there for them.
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I like to move it, move it! BRISBANE
Sean Thompson
To some casual anglers or non-fishing observers, fishing is a simple matter of sitting back on a fold-out chair on the beach, jetty or river bank, hoping for a fish to come along to a soaked bait.
explore options on when, how and where you should keep moving to in order to find the fish. EXCEPTION TO THE RULE – BERLEYING Before we explore options on being mobile with your fishing, there is one exception to the rule and that is when you are attempting to berley the
As outlined above though, you still want some natural presentation of your bait for the fish to be attracted to it. Likewise, you also have the option if you are getting no bites to retrieve your bait and cast it somewhere else in the beach gutter, or within the arc of 180° from the sides of your boat towards
fish like whiting, flathead and tailor, which love a moving bait. In the case of whiting, casting your live worm or yabby onto the sand bank behind a shallow inner beach gutter and slowly retrieving it so it drops into the deeper water can have the fish smashing your bait. You can also explore the whole area of the gutter from the edge of the sandbank to the shore dump to find where the fish are biting, and cast your next bait closer to these spots before you retrieve. Adding attractants to your whiting rig like red beads or a few pieces of red tubing above your hook can add to the appeal to bring whiting to your moving bait. For flathead, a long lost art since the advent of lure
One of many bass caught by Tony Robinson from Alvey on a trip with the author to Somerset Dam. The bass were caught after following the birds. particularly productive in spots such as the edges of weed beds in an estuary; isolated holes along the beach; gutters around estuary entrances; sand adjacent to isolated patches of rock or fallen timber,
cast and slowly retrieve your pilchard or strip of flesh bait (like bonito) back towards you in the beach gutter. When the fish are on it won’t be long before you feel that tell-tale ‘rat-atat-tat’ or simply one long
Whiting are an excellent target in the shallows with a moving bait. While this can be very relaxing and perhaps a nice way to while away the hours, it will rarely catch you many fish. On the other hand, the angler that actively searches for fish will usually be much more successful. Searching for fish can be anything from casting and retrieving their bait or lure enticingly, fan-casting to a different area with each cast, or physically moving between spots on foot, your 4WD or in your boat to hunt down the fish. This is not to say that stationary baits don’t work. They can and do, and leaving your bait in an active feeding zone can be very worthwhile. The key though in these circumstances is that the bait should still have some element of movement or enticement to the fish. By this I mean you have a live worm or yabby on the hook wiggling, a live bait swimming around on your hook, or your slab bait rigged in such a way that it moves subtlety in the current. Likewise, it can pay to have a rule of thumb as to how long you give an area before you move. Sometimes this might be a couple of casts at ‘peak time’ in a beach gutter; four or five fan casts with a lure while standing in the one spot; or 20 minutes bait fishing or drifting an area in a boat. Whatever the case, this article will 8
MARCH 2021
fish to you. That said, even when berleying you are still ‘actively’ fishing, it is just that instead of moving to find fish you are trying
the direction of the berley and current. Basically, don’t just sit, wait and hope. Instead, mix it up to find the fish.
Water colour and temperature is critical when deciding where to move to chase marlin.
A move to the edge of the mangroves is a top option for trolling shallow diving lures at high tide. to get the fish active and moving to you. In this situation, you might be anchored up holding your bait near structure where you want to stay fixed. You might be anchored near some oyster leases, on the edge of a reef, a drop-off into deeper water, or anchored near fallen timber or the edge of mangroves. In this circumstance, you want to be using the current or wind (in the case of a freshwater lake) to bring the fish out of the heavy structure or deeper water to your bait. You could also be berleying up a deep hole along the beach in the hope of attracting bigger predators like XOS tailor, Australian salmon or mulloway.
ON THE MOVE – BAIT FISHING Keeping your bait on the move by casting and retrieving it slowly can certainly pay dividends for
fishing is actively casting and retrieving your bait with lifts and hops to attract the fish. This involves baiting up a small pilchard or whitebait in a gang of two 1/0 or 2/0 hooks and working the bait (and using a relatively heavy sinker) to flick the bait up and back down as if it is alive by using a sideways sweep and flick of your beach rod. This flathead bait fishing technique can be
headlands or along break walls where the fish will lie in wait to pounce on any prey that seeks protection around the structure. When it comes to tailor, keeping your bait fixed in a gutter with a heavy sinker might catch you the odd fish, but when the fish are ‘on’ you want to keep that bait moving. A tried-andtrue technique in QLD is using a 6.5” Alvey reel to allow you to throw a long
A nice mixed bag caught by casting and retrieving baits of beachworms and yabbies.
grab and pull from a big fish, in which case you should wind up the slack as you lift the rod and strike! Drifting with baits from a boat is another effective approach. Winter whiting is one species where I will catch a lot more fish with a drifting bait than I would with a stationary bait at anchor. Not only that, but if I hook up with my double hook rig, I will wait several seconds before I start to bring the fish into the boat in the hope that the hooked fish will attract another fish to the darting, weaving second bait still attached to the rig for the chance of a double hook-up. ON THE MOVE – LURE FISHING Lure casting is an obvious case of keeping your presentation moving. The advantage of this technique is you are actively throwing your lure into or beside hard structure or target zones where you expect the fish to be feeding. The key to your
technique with casting and retrieving lures is the area you want to target. For instance, when targeting the topwater, you want to be using hardbodies like stickbaits or poppers around dawn and dusk for topwater feeders like
again before reversing for the next six hours or so. Critically, you want your lure to sink naturally and to be close to the bottom to target fish like snapper, sweetlip and cod. Using multi-coloured braid and watching for the ‘bow
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oyster leases, drains, fallen timber or drop-offs into deeper water. Once again, a lighter presentation with plastics will result in you catching more fish. When fishing on foot, a good technique to adopt before moving is the ‘fan cast’
A move to the edge of the mangroves for whiting can be worthwhile as the tide rises. whiting and trevally in the shallows, or bigger topwater lures for barramundi or saratoga around snags or lily pads up north. When targeting deeper water bottom structure (e.g. reef) with soft plastics, you need your plastic to be moving or sinking naturally. Adjust your jighead size to the time of the tide, using lighter jigheads in the hour or so either side of the change, and graduate to heavier jigheads as the tide speeds up. The changing speed of the current throughout the tide cycle is called the ‘rule of twelfths’. One twelfth of the total volume of tidal water flows during the first hour after high water. Two twelfths flows in the second hour, three in the third hour, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and the last twelfth in the sixth hour. Basically, the current gets going slowly, then speeds up for a while, and then slows down
in the line’ as the lure hits the bottom is critical for this technique. In shallow water situations you can cast and retrieve lightly weighted soft plastics or hardbodies at or around structure like
technique. This involves throwing five or six casts in a 180° clockwise direction in front of you before you move on. A less common tactic to keep your lure moving and covering more ground
Evidence of bait and fish is there if you follow the birds.
Pink or red tubing and beads are a great option for attracting fish.
is trolling with soft plastic lures, particularly singleor double-tailed grubs or minnow lures. Using an electric motor and stealthily trolling with a 1/4-3/8oz jighead in water around 0.6-1.0m deep can be deadly for flathead. The other incredibly successful technique of continuous lure movement while covering a lot of ground is trolling a hardbody lure. This technique is a great option for everything from trout in the fresh to flathead, snapper, barramundi and more in the salt! The key to this technique is making sure your lures are either hitting the bottom (for species such as flathead) or are very close to the structure (for species such as snapper or barramundi). When it
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MARCH 2021
9
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comes to trout trolling you also want to be adjusting the depth of your lures by the choice of line. It’s best to use mono for change of light close to the surface winter/spring fishing, lead-core line for daytime winter/spring fishing, or using downriggers to get your lures down to cooler deeper water in summer. CLUES TO WHERE YOU SHOULD MOVE Moving simply for the sake of moving can be worthwhile, but it will be much more productive if you think about why you are not catching fish where you are. After trying different baits, lures or techniques, you might decide it is time for a move. Before doing so you want to think about where the fish could be. To assist in this process, you should have your senses attuned to the environment around you to help make your decision about where to move next. All sorts of fishy clues are available to your senses if you pay attention to them.
A cast and slowly retrieved bait will soon have you hooked up in a tailor picket line! One of the most obvious signs is bait breaking on the surface of the water and/or birds circling and diving into the water in pursuit of them. A less subtle clue which has paid dividends for me is looking for signs of pelicans, gannets or terns in an area, even if they are
of flat water or slicks which form on the surface of the water. In layman’s terms what happens is that counter-rotating underwater upwelling forces align with the wind on the water’s surface to cause the slick. Underneath the surface, the upwelling causes plankton to be concentrated in these lanes, and bugs and other invertebrates to accumulate on the surface of the lanes, causing fish to rise to the surface chasing a feed. So, if you spot wind lanes, pull out some surface lures or fish just under or around the surface with baits or lures. Current lines, on the other hand, are another giveaway of changes to the bottom structure which could
can be water temperature variation, and having a boat with a sounder that has water temperature readings can be a big advantage. For example, in summer, species like trout in the southern states and flathead, tailor and bream in northern NSW and QLD might find the water temperature in shallow sun-drenched areas too warm. It can pay to seek out deeper water locations for these fish, or alternatively target different species if those options are available to you, e.g. mangrove jack or barramundi in the northern states. Anglers can also use tide charts to their advantage when deciding on their next move in an estuary. Some
not actively working. On a sandbank in an estuary this can be a sign the birds are waiting for the tide to bring bait and fish to them, while in a freshwater lake or impoundment, it can mean bait is present but a bit too deep for them to dive down and catch it – but the bass, on the other hand, will
A Fraser Island tailor caught in less than 10 minutes after landing at Hook Point and noticing birds working.
Casting and retrieving with surface lures around submerged rocks is another good option.
10
MARCH 2021
know this and be having a good feed. Other obvious clues in freshwater or estuary situations can be wind lanes or current lines in the water. If you take notice of the wind direction and surface of the water, subtle variations become obvious. In anything from a gentle breeze upwards, wind lanes show as areas
hold fish. Some examples of these are in shallow estuary environments where the sand flats which are exposed at low tide drop away into deeper channels. Flathead are one such species that will lie along the edge of these drop-offs on the last couple of hours of the falling tide, waiting for fish to come to them. Another more subtle sign
fish will follow the tides up and down an estuary so your next move should be in the direction of the tide if you are chasing fish like whiting. Likewise, big rising tides that push further up an estuary can mean you should push further upstream if you’re chasing fish that reside in snags and mangroves, because the bigger tides will be giving
them access to new ground and thus new feeding opportunities. Keeping a watchful eye on water colour can also give you an indication of where your next move should be. Water that is too clear might mean a move upstream is called for, while in dirty water situations after heavy rain, a move closer to the entrance or deeper holes (saltwater is heavier than fresh) may be called for. Offshore, slight variations in water colour can be a sign of water temperature change, and experienced marlin
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Trolling small lures in shallow water is a good way to keep moving in search of fish.
Trolling with an electric motor is a great stealthy move that lets you cover a lot of ground. anglers will go on the hunt for those darker blue patches of water as opposed to the cooler, greener waters. From the beach, sweep can make fishing very difficult so it can pay to find areas where this is having less of an effect. If sweep is running in a northerly direction, try to find a major rip where that water is being funnelled out to sea. Fishing directly to the north or other side of where that rip is exiting the beach can mean you can hold your bait in position much more easily. Likewise, finding a headland or patch
of isolated rocks along the beach can break up the flow of the sweep and thus you can fish the opposite side of where the sweep is hitting the headland or rocks. SUMMING UP As you can see, it’s important to be active and search for the fish, either with each cast or upping and moving to a new spot. Whatever the case, don’t just sit and hope, keep moving to find the fish! For more tips and reports please follow along on my social media pages and send me any of your own tips or questions on Facebook or Instagram @ OntourFishingAustralia.
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11
Science meets fishing
Dusky flathead: have we gotten it all wrong? QUEENSLAND
Barry Pollock
Many responsible recreational fishers believe that it is not sufficient just to act ethically and responsibly when handling the fish they catch. A more involved approach is required to sustain the health of our fish and fisheries.
Complying with fisheries legislation, such as fish size and bag limit requirements are important starting points. However, recreational fishers are increasingly involved in cooperating with fisheries agencies in supplying frames of the fish they have caught or tagging fish in fishery agency programs. In 2014 a group of keen recreational fishers
Microphotographs of the mushy ovarian tissue of dusky flathead in the spawning period showing details of degeneration (mass egg atresia) which occurs in all adult females in upper estuarine areas, and about half of the large females > 70cm in spawning aggregations eg. Jumpinpin Bar and Clarence River mouth. V – α atretic egg with numerous breakdown vacuoles in the egg cytoplasm. βA – β atretic egg, the breakdown of a yolky egg. VO – yolky egg prior to breakdown.
commenced a series of research projects on dusky flathead, concentrating on the reproductive biology of this important species in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. The projects were carried out under the research leadership of the author, Dr Barry Pollock, and many recreational fishers volunteered their time and money. No government funds were provided for these projects, but scientific staff at the University of Queensland and at the Queensland Government Ecosciences Precinct assisted with bench space, the use of scientific equipment and the processing of reproductive tissue biopsies. Three papers on this scientific research of dusky flathead have now been published in peer-reviewed scientific journals (see the end article for references). FINDINGS OF THE STUDIES Dusky flathead do not change sex. However, the adult females are much larger than adult males which rarely grow to 50cm. The values of L50 (length at which 50% of the size class has reached maturity) for females is 35cm TL, to 39cm TL, and 30cm TL to 34cm TL for males.
KEY POINTS FROM RESEARCH STUDY • Large female flathead greater than 70cm should not be regarded as super spawners. Mid-size females (40-60cm) dominate egg production within the spawning aggregations. • The current minimum catch sizes (40cm QLD, 36cm NSW) provide protection for most of the adult male population, but little protection for adult females. • Approximately half of the large females (over 70cm) are undergoing mass egg atresia (mushy ovaries) and are not capable of spawning viable eggs. Dusky flathead are capable of spawning large numbers of eggs in batches. They have a long annual spawning period from October to March. The spawning aggregation sites are at the interface of estuaries with the Pacific Ocean, for example Jumpinpin, Southport Seaway, Caloundra Bar, Clarence River mouth in NSW. The eggs and early life stages are planktonic and inhabit oceanic offshore waters for several weeks before migrating to sheltered estuarine habitats and becoming benthic ambush predators. During the spawning period a sub-population of adult dusky flathead remain in upper estuarine areas (eg. Logan River, and mainland foreshores from Cabbage Tree Point to Victoria Point in Moreton Bay) and do not spawn. In this upper estuarine sub-population the testes and ovaries are all degenerate. Large female flathead greater than 70cm should not be regarded as super spawners for two reasons. They make up
One of the volunteer recreational fishers who provided dusky flathead for these scientific research studies. It is important for reproductive tissue biopsies to be taken and fixed in neutral buffered formalin immediately after capture.
Above: Typical degenerate (mushy) ovary from female dusky flathead during the spawning period. These occur in all adult females in upper estuaries, and in about half of the large females >70cm in the estuary/ocean interface spawning aggregations. Below: Typical running ripe ovary from female dusky flathead during the spawning period, Clarence River mouth NSW. Note the fully hydrated eggs (ready for spawning) visible through the ovary wall. 12
MARCH 2021
a very small proportion of the female population (see Fig.1 and 2), and about half of the large females in the spawning aggregations have degenerate (mushy) ovaries. Mid-size females (40-60cm) dominate egg production within the spawning aggregations. Fecundity (egg production) estimations of dusky flathead based on yolky (vitellogenic) eggs can be erroneous because yolky eggs do not always proceed to the next stage of successful egg production, (fully hydrated eggs), but may undergo breakdown (atresia). Mass egg atresia occurs in all adult females in upper estuarine areas, and about half of the large females >70cm in the spawning aggregations at ocean/estuary interfaces. Actual fecundity and successful reproduction is best determined by the presence of fully hydrated eggs and by the presence of post ovulatory follicles (empty egg cases) within ovaries (microscopic examinations) The dusky flathead fishery in SE Queensland is based on the 2yo to 6yo age classes, but dominated by 3yo fish. IMPLICATIONS FOR FISHERY MANAGEMENT Dusky flathead juveniles and adults occur in vast areas of shallow estuarine and
Fig.1 and 2. Size-class abundance of dusky flathead in Qld catches. Courtesy of Fisheries Queensland report. coastal habitats. However, the spawning aggregation sites are relatively small in comparison. During the spawning period, concentrations of dusky flathead in advanced reproductive condition are vulnerable to both commercial net and recreational line fishing. The current minimum sizes of 40cm in Queensland and 36cm in NSW provide protection for most of the adult male population, but little protection for adult females. Bag and possession limits for recreational fishers (5 in Queensland and 10 in NSW) are currently the most important means of protecting females. Catch and release sport fishing, particularly the targeting of spawning aggregations, where anglers are encouraged to exceed daily bag limits are a concern at this stage because impacts on successful spawning of released fish, particularly the females, are unknown. Egg production within the spawning aggregation is dominated by mid-sized
females, 40-60cm. Very large female size-classes, greater than 70cm, within the spawning aggregation produce a very small proportion of fertile eggs as these females are much less abundant. In
viable eggs. Allowing recreational fishers to keep one large flathead can be justified as having little if any impact on egg production by the female spawning aggregations (eg. NSW recreational fishers are allowed to keep one flathead over 70cm). It is erroneous to assume that prohibiting the take of large female flathead will result in a major contribution to population sustainability – by maximising successful egg production. RESEARCH PAPERS ON DUSKY FLATHEAD A description of the spawning aggregation at Jumpinpin 2015. (For full paper see https://marine. uq.edu.au/filething/get/47597/ Pollock_2014.pdf) A description of the spawning aggregation at the mouth of the Clarence River, NSW 2019. (For full paper see https://escientificpublishers. com/oogenesis-oocyte-atresiaovarian-development-andreproductive-senescencein-the-dusky-flatheadplatycephalus-fuscus-teleosteiAVAS-01-0004) Failed reproduction of adult dusky flathead in upper estuarine areas during the spawning period
Dr Barry Pollock examining hundreds of gonad tissue biopsies at the Queensland Ecosciences Prescinct, Brisbane. addition, approximately half of these large females are undergoing mass egg atresia (mushy ovaries) and hence are not capable of spawning
2020. (For full paper see http://www.royalsocietyqld. org/wp-content/uploads/ Proceedings%20128/ Pollock_Web.pdf.
Fishing club members, most of whom provided dusky flathead or assisted in other ways in these scientific research studies. Many non-club recreational fishers also contributed. MARCH 2021
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Why do lures work? NSW STH COAST
Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com
A lure is a lie told by a fisher to a fish… but why on earth do they believe our lies, and how do we tell even more convincing ones? It’s often said that lures are designed to catch fishermen rather than fish,
At their most basic, lures are simply artificial or counterfeit baits. Most lures are intended to vaguely imitate — at some level — small fish, prawns, crabs, squid, yabbies, insects or other potential food items when they’re pulled through the water. That said, it’s also obvious that many lures look like nothing edible, yet they still catch fish. Spinnerbaits
fisherman, Tim Simpson, who first pointed out this blindingly obvious fact to me, and explained its relevance to the angling process. More than four decades have since passed, but I haven’t forgotten that conversation with Simmo, nor its importance to my own fishing. Think about it: We spend a large part of our
So, which spoon colour would you choose to target over-sized rainbows like this cracker? Try imitating the most common food sources, or even matching the colours of the predator itself. Both approaches have their day. This big bow took the spoon sitting between its jaws, which incorporates many of the colours of the trout itself. Most fish are cannibals. line, and we’re lucky enough to detect the bite or strike and react to it in time, we may well catch that fish. This is an important lesson, and one worth repeating and stressing: Fish explore their world with their mouths, and not everything they take into their mouth is
chances of success by at least vaguely imitating genuine food items or general aspects of the shape, size, colour and action of those food items. Fly fishers have a useful piece of terminology for describing this process. They call it ‘matching the hatch’. This refers to the insect
to match it! That said, it should be stressed that it’s possible to take this philosophy too far. Think of it this way; if you perfectly match the look and movement of a whitebait and then place your lure within a school of 10,000 other whitebait, there’s a one-in-
The Cotton Cordell Rattlin’ Spot certainly wasn’t the first ‘lipless crankbait’ on the local market, but it was definitely the one that sparked a minor revolution in Aussie angling – one that can be followed right through to the Jackall boom and beyond. Old Spots, like this one, still catch fish although, in some hard-pressured waters, you may do better with a more subtle and quieter approach these days. and there’s a degree of truth to that claim. I suspect that a lot of the details and refinements added to most commercially-made lures are there to appeal to us, rather than to the fish. Surface lures with beautifully patterned
are a perfect example. So, why do they work? Well, in case you hadn’t noticed, fish don’t have hands! It was wellknown former tackle store manager, writer, publisher and accomplished game
Some lure lies are so convincing they end up getting totally destroyed! Timber lures are deadly fish-catchers, but they’re not immortal. topsides and nothing on the belly apart from the printed brand name and model are a classic case in point. After all, what part of the lure does the fish see first? That said, I doubt there’s a lure gathering dust on a shop shelf anywhere in the world that won’t catch a fish somewhere, sometime… and that includes a lot of rather outlandish offerings! So, why do fish try to eat our lures, especially ones that look like nothing edible that ever walked, crawled, swum or flew in the natural world? 14
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lives picking things up or touching them with our hands to find out more about them. For want of a better term, I’ll call this the “wet paint syndrome”. Hang a “wet paint” sign on almost any object and watch how many people walk up, touch the surface of the object then look at their fingers — just to confirm that the paint really is wet! We simply can’t help ourselves. By contrast, if a fish wants to explore an interesting object, it takes it into its mouth and tastes it (remember; fish have no hands). Perhaps eight or nine times out of 10, the fish then spits the thing out, having discovered that it’s not food at all, but actually a cigarette butt, a pebble, a scrap of aluminium foil, a fallen leaf… or a lure. If that interesting object carries a hook and is attached to our
You may not be old enough to remember these, but the French-made Rublex Floppy with its soft, hollow body was a real fish killer. It had a great action, and its soft, natural ‘plop’ when hitting the water didn’t hurt, either! intended to be swallowed. As anglers, we can make great use of this trait. While the wet paint syndrome means that fish will take some unlikely items into their mouths at times, we can still increase our
The columnist worked with lure maker Ray Broughton in the early ’90s to create a range of lures featuring ‘reverse countershading’. Their dark undersides made them stand out better, especially in low light or dirty water, and also created the impression of a small fry in trouble. Fish without hands were quick to investigate this intriguing wet paint sign.
swarms or ‘hatches’ that are so important to trout anglers, but the concept is just as valid to a tropical lure caster pursuing barramundi, a soft plastic fanatic tempting bream, or a deep sea game fisher trolling for marlin. When trout feed heavily on just one type of insect (say, flying ants, caddis or mayflies), they can become incredibly single-minded and will often refuse to eat anything else. Many other species of fish exhibit similar behaviour. Maybe their brains are so simple that, after a while, they can’t actually see (or at least comprehend) much else besides the items they’re eating. Who knows? Whatever the exact process involved, if you suspect that the fish you’re chasing are keyed in to a particular food source, you’d be crazy not
10,000 chance that yours will be the next whitebait eaten! By contrast, if you imitate a wounded or sick whitebait and place your imitation just outside the main school, like a stray, lost individual… Well, I’m sure you get the picture! The subject of matching the hatch deserves serious consideration by lure fishers, but it’s not always the full story. We also need to remember that fish don’t have hands and that the “wet paint syndrome” is very real. There are multiple reasons why a fish might decide to take a foreign object into its mouth. My bottom-line message is simple: look beyond the aspects of lure design intended to catch fishermen and think instead about the ones that might actually fool a fish… those are the important ones!
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Marlin made up good ground this season GOLD COAST
David Green
The summer of 2021 has been one of the best seasons for black marlin off the Gold Coast in many years. Literally thousands of fish have been caught with the vast majority being released. Most of these fish have been between 25-80kg and have been concentrated around bait schools east of the Seaway in 75-80m of water. While most fish have been caught on live baits, they have also responded well to trolled dead baits, lures and switch baiting. The bite has been quite current dependant. When the current slows down, the activity is good; when the current runs fast, the fishing is harder. As well as marlin there have been quite a few big wahoo being caught and the odd mahimahi. At times there have been up to 100 boats crowded around the bait schools. This month should see the black marlin thin out a bit as they move southwards towards the NSW central coast, but wahoo numbers will increase and out wider there should be increasing
numbers of blue marlin. It is a great month to go for a troll targeting a range of species. Sometimes a mix of lures,
including skirted marlin lures run with bibless minnows and a hardbodied deep diver will produce mackerel, marlin,
Kane Barclay with a beautiful mahimahi.
tuna and wahoo. Out wider, beyond 200m, there should be good numbers of blue marlin on the Riv Grounds, around Jims Mountain and on the Tweed Canyons. The blue marlin numbers generally start to increase as the black marlin thin out a bit. Lure trolling using 37kg tackle is the usual method. There has been some big blue marlin around at the moment, with fish over 180kg being relatively common. These fish can take several hours to land from a small trailer boat. The secret to fighting them is to constantly drive the boat into the current, which generally breaks their swimming pattern and brings them up. This month should see plenty of spotted and Spanish mackerel on the close reefs. Berleying with chopped pilchards and fishing pilchards, live baits and metal lures should all be successful. When the mackerel are fussy try trolling a live slimy mackerel from a downrigger. The week leading up to the full moon should be the best time to chase both mackerel species. Palm Beach has fished very well so far this season, but the crowds do make things difficult at
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Katie Lesage had success on the marlin. times. The Gravel Patch east of Burleigh Heads is another good spot to try. In March, the Tweed Nine Mile Reef generally fishes quite well for wahoo. Trolling live baits such as
small tuna is generally very successful as is high speed trolling with heavy lures such as Hex Heads. Early morning is the best time. When the current runs hard the fishing is generally better. As well
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as wahoo, Spanish mackerel, giant trevally and kingfish are common captures. The reef also holds a lot of sharks. Bottom fishing this month will be difficult due to the prevailing current, but there still should be a few snapper and mulloway around early in the morning on the closer reefs, as well as some kings, amberjack and pearl perch on the 36 and 50 fathom line. Most of the fishing activity on the offshore grounds this month will be centred on mackerel fishing. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES March is a great month to chase whiting in our rivers and around the central Broadwater. Good catches have been taking place in the Nerang River at night using worms and yabbies, and some of these whiting have been over 40cm long. The big sand flat behind Wavebreak Island has also been fishing well using unweighted yabbies and sight casting to fish as they move up onto the flats on a rising tide. When conditions are windy small stick baits and poppers are also very effective. This works best when the fish are chasing jelly prawns. As well as whiting this method catches bream, trevally and tailer. Flathead are also partial to a well worked popper at times. For those interested in
prawns and crabs, March is an excellent month to put some delicious crustaceans into your refrigerator. Mud crabs have been very poor this year and something has gone radically wrong with both Coombabah Creek and
the Pimpama River. In the past, 8 pots set overnight would produce roughly 30-60 crabs, mostly females and undersized males, and I’d be able to keep a couple for a feed. This reflected a very good population of mud
crabs. Now an overnight set produces maybe one or two undersized crabs in both these systems. Both areas have extensive development in the upper reaches, but something seems to have gone radically wrong. There should be plenty of big banana prawns in the area around Jacobs Well this month. Already in early February anglers are cast netting a bag limit of prawns in very quick time. Use your
sounder to locate prawn schools and they are generally not too hard to find due to the many boats chasing them. The end of the north wall of the Seaway has been fishing very well over the past month for mulloway and big mangrove jack on live baits. Pike, yellowtail and slimy mackerel all work well. Some big mangrove jack over 60cm have been caught in close to the rocks and some of the mulloway are over a metre
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long. To fish this area, use a running sinker rig, 40lb leader and a pair of hooks in the 4/0 to 6/0 range. It is generally easy to catch your live baits on the inshore reefs and then head back to the Seaway to fish the eddy at the end of the north wall. Overall, March provides plenty of options for anglers fishing the Gold Coast. From whiting through to blue marlin there are a smorgasbord of fish to catch.
Clive Franklin caught this 12kg mulloway on live mullet at Jumpinpin.
Sue Sullivan with an impressive 162cm wahoo.
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Threadies, flatties and mulloway galore SOUTHERN BAY
Nick Whyte
This month should be really good on the water in southern Moreton Bay. There are plenty of options on offer for those willing to have a look: jacks and whiting are firing, flatties up in the shallows, tuna and mackerel from Peel Island North, mulloway throughout the bay with a few in the Brissie River
with their threadfin mates, and good pan size snapper and big bream up in the shallow reef areas. The prawns are starting to show up in good numbers and the recent rains have done wonders for the system. North of Peel in the Rainbow Channel and north of the Navel Banks has been producing a few mackerel and the odd longtail. Main action has been around Myora and north of Lazeret gutter between the Navel
Dave Hall with a quality thready caught on the Fat Betty Fish Trap. banks. There’s quite a bit of activity around the 4 beacons area in the northern part of the bay as well. Find the bird activity to give you the heads up, but find the areas with the most fish on the sounder. Don’t go driving from one school to the other, concentrate on one and stay close to them.
A nice river mulloway for Nick while learning to read his sounders.
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Brisbane River has been producing some great fish. There has been large numbers of threadfin salmon and mulloway from the port area. There’s also been some fish up river, but the larger fish have been towards the mouth at the moment. The fish can be stacked up in great schools and sessions of 10+ fish over a metre are not uncommon this time of year. Just remember that these fish when pulled from deep water suffer from barotrauma and if you are practicing catch-andrelease try and have a release weight handy to get the fish back to the bottom. Take care when handling them and don’t keep them out of the water too long. Targeting these fish is awesome fun but if you don’t release them properly they will have very little chance of survival. Mangrove jack have been stirred right up lately and will continue for the next month or so. There’s been a lot coming from the
local canal systems and the small mangrove-lined creeks. The Logan has been throwing up a few with live baiting getting the bites. Best to try soft vibes over the deeper rock bars or weedless plastics through the submerged timber. There’s always the chance of a few
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estuary or gold spot cod, as well as Queensland groper. Remember these guys are protected and need to be released unharmed. Zerek Live Shrimp and 4.5-5” flat shads slow rolled around pontoons or fished weedless in heavy natural structure will see the results come. Whiting are going off at the moment. Summer whiting are littered throughout the flats section of the mouth of the Logan River from the Lone Pine through to Marks Rocks. Best to run fresh or live worms with the bait or find the shallow rippling water on the flats and cast those skinny long top water poppers through it at a fast pace. There’s still quite a few winter whiting over the navel banks and the mid reaches of the Rous channel so get out amongst them. There has been quite a few flatties still up on the banks. Trolling has been producing the goods with heaps of fish coming on the Zerek Tango Shad. Once you have found them, put the effort in around that area with the soft plastics. The edges on the eastern side of Garden Island and the
Rob Davidson nailed this nice thready on a recent Techfishing session.
eastern side of Macleay and Lamb have been producing the goods. Just be careful of the green zones around the eastern side of Lamb Island. Fish the edges on the last of the run out tides. The past month has been a good month for prawns. And with the prawns, the predators aren’t too far away. The mulloway, flatties, threadies and bream have been dominating catches. You’ll be surprised where you can find them, in particular, right up in the shallow water – as shallow as 1m of water. Look for birds feeding on the surface as this is a dead giveaway. If you have a great capture from the southern bay you would like to share email them through to nick@ techfishing.com.au until next month Tech-it-easy.
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March into autumn fishing BRISBANE
Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com
It has been a good summer for anglers so far with a broad array of quality species being regular captures. Both bay and estuarine anglers have been reaping the rewards of increased nutrient in the systems due to regular storms. These also push the prawns down the systems to higher salinity areas. As prawns are an
sharks, crabs and prawns have filled reports coming in of late. Let’s look at a few of your options as we march into the coming month. MACKEREL It has been a solid summer for mackerel with plenty of schoolies over the last few months and decent numbers of spotties showing up in areas over the last six weeks or so. While the spotties haven’t been thick, a bit of searching will generally see you with a few in your radar. Sometimes they are smashing bait on
A big angry muddie would make any SEQ crabber very happy. important part of the aquatic food chain, many species of fish flourish and become more active after such events. For us anglers, this offers greater opportunity for success that many have capitalised on. Species such as threadfin salmon, snapper, mangrove jack, mackerel, tuna, cod, grunter, morwong, mulloway,
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the surface, however more often than not they are found cruising in smaller numbers as they search for bait. On glassed out days they are a lot easier to locate due to the small V-shaped wake emitted as they prowl just under the surface. However, as a bird or two will often be following from above, waiting for them
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to push baitfish to the surface in a feeding melee, spotties can regularly be located from a distance during all conditions. Hopefully the coming month will still produce decent numbers of spotties throughout the bay. Good places to begin your search include the Mud Island-Four Beacons-Measured Mile triangle, the northern side of The Paddock green zone, the Hope Banks, west of the Rous Channel mouth to north of the Harry Atkinson, Naval Reserve Banks, Rainbow Channel and along the entire shipping channel. Spotties tend to be more open water feeders, although a few are taken around the shipping channel beacons at times. However, it is more common that the school mackerel frequent these vertical structures. Once surface action is located, cast near the fish (not into the middle of them) and retrieve as fast as possible when the lure hits the water. Allow the lure to sink a few seconds after the cast and you will likely be bitten off. Beacon bashing for mackerel can be a very rewarding and exciting way to fish. Commonly a chromed slug or slice is cast out and allowed to sink to the bottom adjacent the beacon. Then it is retrieved back to the boat as fast as possible. Occasional changes of pace, or jigging the slug with a rapid lift of the rod will entice a strike. Rear weighted slugs or chromed slices are best for this pursuit, as they will sink rapidly to the bottom. Lures that tend to flutter down are sometimes engulfed as they descend, which can result in a bite off. The use of metal traces is not recommended as this will commonly reduce or totally halt the bite rate. Pilchards can also be drifted adjacent these navigation structures, especially around the tidal changes. The best results often come from fishing multiple beacons in a session. Beacons can be re-visited several times as you just never know when the mackerel will move into the area to feed. For those fishing around the margins of the bay islands and artificial reefs, having a pilchard deployed aft can be a good way to score the occasional school or spotted mackerel. These baits are generally fished on a ganged hook rig. I like to position the hooks centrally along the back of the pilchards as this provides a good hold and allows the pilchard to waft in the current. Ensure the bait is nice and straight with the leading hook positioned centrally in the head about halfway between the eye and nose of the bait. This will keep the mouth of the bait closed and reduce the possibility of the bait spinning.
During slower tidal movement you will probably need a float of some sort to keep the bait in the upper half of the water column. When the tide is running hard a small ball sinker and no float is a common rig. Mackerel are aggressive strikers of the bait. Having the drag set and virtually no slack in the line will increase the hook up rate as the hooks will drive home as the fish strikes, especially with braided line that possesses almost no stretch. KING THREADFIN SALMON The lower reaches of the Brisbane River has been reliable for anglers chasing threadfin. Fish have commonly been sounded in the swing zone, along the front of the main shipping terminal (adhere to distance restrictions), in from the sewerage chute, along the fronts of the QCL and other terminals (distance restrictions apply here too), eastern end of the Oil Pipeline and numerous other locations along the drop-off into the main riverbed. Anglers have produced results on both lures and baits in these zones. While the occasional threadfin is tempted with a fillet bait or whole pilchard, live or exceptionally fresh offerings are your best bet in this arena. Mullet, pike, gar, herring and banana prawns are perfect offerings to tempt threadfin when fished close to the bottom and lightly weighted. Lures such as soft vibes, jighead rigged plastics, blades and numerous jigs can all be put to good use for threadies. Quality sounders can allow you to easily locate threadfin which will show prominently. However just
Chris Deeks with a solid Moreton Bay grunter. They are becoming relatively common captures for anglers in the Brisbane River to Mud Island area. because you find them, doesn’t mean you will be able to catch them. Often they are hard to tempt, especially when prawns are their main focus. Around the changes of the tide may see them bite so it often pays to bide your time and also try different offerings to find something that will tempt them. Live baits are sometimes the key but even these are often refused. Threadfin salmon are an exceptionally exciting sportfish but can be very frustrating at times too! MANGROVE JACK SEQ jacks have been fairly prevalent in recent months and many anglers have managed to score their first after several seasons of trying. Other more experienced anglers have racked up surprising numbers of quality fish with regular
A solid pocket of prawns put a smile on David Allen recently.
early morning, late afternoon or night time trips to the rivers, creeks and canals throughout the area. I have heard of quite a few quality specimens coming from the Raby Bay canal systems, many by anglers in kayaks. Aquatic Paradise, Sovereign Waters, Newport Waters and all the canal systems on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast are worth trying for jacks. The hotter days, especially those with storms building late in the day, will really get the jacks firing. Live baits will take jacks around structured areas however lures allow you to cover a lot more water in your search and can be worked through all depths of the water column. Suspending minnows presented adjacent to floating pontoons, jetties or bridge pylons and then worked slowly with intermittent pauses will tempt any red residents. Soft vibes hopped along rock bars, down deeper canal walls and points or adjacent bridge pylons is another productive probe. Slow rolling minnow lures, especially paddle tail shads or prawn profiles, along rock walls or past other prominent structure is a great way to get bit. The closer you get your offering to the structure the better your chance of success with jacks. Estuary cod will respond to much the same approaches and at times can be aggressive predators. Don’t underestimate their ability as they also will require a sturdy drag setting, some thumb pressure on the spool and a degree of luck to prevent the better specimens from getting back into their holes amongst the structure. Plenty of ‘the big jack that got away’ stories can be attributed to solid estuary cod. SHARKS Many anglers enjoy catching sharks for fun
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and even food. There are numerous local Facebook groups dedicated to catching sharks, especially in the Brisbane and Logan rivers as well as Moreton Bay. There are many views on different baits and setups and much of that depends on the size of the sharks you are targeting. For the average river whalers (including bull sharks) 10-15kg line is ample, especially when fishing from a boat. In years past, during ANSA tournaments we used to chase them on really light line (sometimes down to 1kg pre-test), which is a lot of fun. Most anglers fish quite a bit heavier these days, especially when land-based. About 2m of monofilament (60-100lb) leader then a nyloncoated wire leader of 90-135lb with one or two circle hooks is all that you need. Most baits (fresh or frozen) will work, however river sharks definitely have a liking for catfish (which can easily be caught in the river). These are generally fished just up off the bottom so that they struggle a bit. Ensure one hook is placed in the tail section as the sharks will usually only eat the tail and leave the head and three spikes. Bay whalers can be caught on an array of baits as well. Drifting around the bay islands or foul grounds with a few fillet or whole fish baits aft is
likely to work well. Adding a small, constant stream of tuna oil will increase your chances considerably. Small sharks are considered decent table fare by many anglers however you will need to dispatch and fillet them soon after capture to avoid the flesh taking on a light ammonia taste. Considering their large numbers, it is surprising to note that you can only keep one shark per person to a maximum length of 150cm or two per boat if there are two or
more anglers aboard. PRAWNS Constant rain has increased the prawning opportunities for anglers. Lowering salinity in the upper reaches of rivers and creeks has flushed prawns further down the systems and out into the bay shallows. Already by late January, classic late season areas such as The Saltworks, Jackson’s Hole, Redland Bay Channel and The Powerlines were producing. The lower reaches of The Logan, especially around Mark’s Rocks was
very consistent at that time with many getting their first 10L bag limit of the season from that spot. The Caboolture and Pine rivers have also been in the prawning spotlight with consistent catches coming from these rivers at times. Most of the prawns were small to mediums, however by March the quality will be a lot better with medium to large prawns being the norm. Quality top pocket cast nets are the best for prawns as the prawns get trapped
Drew Argus with a cracking 4.8kg grassy from the bay.
in the top of the net where they are easily removed when desired. Having no bottom pocket means that you won’t spend loads of time cleaning shell grit, sticks, mangrove leaves, mud clumps and other debris out of the net. This will increase your yield a lot and will make a massive difference when the prawns are on the move. When buying a net, check out the quality of the netting between the difference brands and also how puffy the net is. Thinner netting will tear a lot easier and won’t last as long. Sometimes you only need to pay a couple of extra dollars to get a premium quality net that will last a lot of years. Good prawning should continue over the coming month with areas around the southern bay islands and out from Nudgee being the prime areas to target. Areas of the Brisbane River will also prawn well during March. CRABS Crabbing in both Moreton Bay and the rivers has been great, mainly due to recent rainfall. Mud crabs have been great over the last few months as rainfall has lowered salinity in the upper reaches and forced them further down the system where they are more accessible to the average crabber. Setting pots in the main river systems, at the mouths of feeder creeks and drains
leading off the mangrove flats will put you in good stead. Safety pots baited with fish frames, whole or half mullet, half a catfish, chicken carcasses and similar baits will likely reward. However, I suggest not venturing too far from your pots as pot raiding and theft of pots is sadly at an all-time high. Sand crabs have been prevalent for anglers setting their pots along the edges of channels and gutters, around the bay island margins, in deeper holes and the drains leading off the major flats systems. Most anglers setting four pots have returned home with double figures of quality sand crabs for their efforts however some are having their pots raided by those who believe it’s their right to participate in share farming. CONCLUSION Plenty of opportunity exists for those to get their angling a seafood fixes over the coming month or so. Numerous fish species, mud crabs, sand crabs, prawns and squid will all be available for those making the effort. Moreton bay should be firing and the creeks and rivers will also be good so long as we don’t get too much rainfall in the upcoming weeks. Get out and enjoy the last month or two of warm weather whilst having a great day out securing some of SEQs tasty seafood.
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Pick a pack of prawns NORTHERN BAY
Steve Nash
Prawns, prawns and more prawns! Our local creeks and estuaries are full of prawns at the moment and can be a bit like a mosh pit at a heavy metal concert in the more popular spots. Good sizes and quantities from out the front of Nudgee, The Pine, Caboolture River and from Woody Point. If you’re new to cast netting for prawns, the best way to master it is to practice in your own backyard. Researching tutorials and tips online and implementing these in your practice throws can be really beneficial when you’re out on the water doing the
or whitebait drifted around structure or as the tide floods over the flats, are a good place to start chasing bream. Lure fishers can use small crankbaits or shallow divers in the same kind of areas. Flathead will start to spread out through most systems, so finding a quiet part of the river and drifting a live bait or a pilchard on a set of gangs is a nice way to spend a day. Other options are to get out some small trolling lures and troll around sand flat edges or up on the flats at full tide. While everyone has their choices or old favourite go-to lures, I like a 1.5-2m diver that’s around the 60-70mm length. Years ago I would only use Manns 5+ as the old faithful. But nowadays there
along with some good tide movement are havens for these fish to hang out. While fishing these areas, taking on board the old saying ‘fish light to get the bite’, certainly does increase the chances. Stepping it down to even your lightest flathead outfits will, most of the time, do the trick. But in light of that, be prepared as you may get railed by something a lot bigger than you may expect. If your big plastics do get the hook up, change it down to smaller sizes. Grubs and
Larger predators will start moving into the estuaries chasing the prawns.
Josh Dow getting amongst some of the bass.
March will see quality bream start to feed up. real thing. RIVERS AND CREEKS Bream will start to be the main focus of estuary fishers this time of year, with bream starting to feed up before their spawning run. Lightly weighted hooked prawns
is a huge array of different brands on the market. Good quality juvenile snapper have been caught through the entrances of Pumicestone Passage. Using your sounder to find the little bits of rubble on the sea floor,
paddle-tails have been the standout. Bait fishers have been doing well on fresh or live baits as this will almost always do better attracting fish than frozen bait. Along with this prawn run comes their predators. Threadfin salmon, mulloway, snapper and much more may well find themselves within these areas. Finding areas where the prawns populate and school up, is well worth sounding around the areas looking for arches of fish that are chasing themselves a feed. Throwing live prawn bait or prawn imitation within these
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hunting grounds will almost certainly get you a hook up. Sand crabs will also be on the march so putting a few pots in the channels can add a bonus to a day’s fishing. Keeping your fish frames from last fishing trip is a good way of saving money on bait and are most effective. BAY The bay has slowly recovered from the fishing pressure over the school holidays. Juvenile snapper, grunter and mulloway have been showing up in certain areas of the bay. There are still a few good size mackerel feeding on the shipping markers between the Port
of Brisbane, on towards Moreton Island. While mackerel numbers will start to drop off, there will still be some hanging around early in the month chasing bait schools in the vicinities of the markers. Long-tail tuna should start appearing in the deeper channels of the bay as they push baitfish up on to the shallower banks, alongside the first run of the better sized bay snapper. The inshore reefs along Redcliffe will increase in snapper and grunter numbers
Gerard McGrath with a typical northern bay long tail tuna.
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and size as the days start to get shorter and cooler. Set your alarms early! Getting on the boat ramp and launch before sunrise and getting to your spots before the boat traffic or fishing at night is best. Keeping an eye out while exploring the bay for top water activity and birds circling feeding spots are generally good indicators that tuna are in the area. But you must be quick and somewhat exercise a degree of stealth. Tuna move quickly through bait schools and are easily
Trolling for flathead will allow you to cover more ground.
spooked by incoming boats. Throwing heavy jigheads with small white paddle-tail plastics or chrome slugs and burning them back to your boat are the best methods used to hook and net one. They can be very picky and may take subtle swipes at your lure. It may pay switching it up and finding out what works on the particular day. DAMS The weather is now starting to cool, which means one thing, the great Australian bass will slowly school up and begin the winter feeding. As the weather cools and water temperature starting going down, bass will turn on – meaning a session chasing these glorious fish may turn into double digits of fish hitting the deck. Finding them on your sounder stacked up against hills or deep in holes are areas to start searching. However, it is still early in the season so be patient as the big fun will be yet to come as winter approaches.
That’s the thing about a get away in a Quintrex – it’s just you and your mates or family, out on the water. At your special spot, by yourselves, having fun. Catching a fish or two and a lot of laughs. No crowds, no worries. Quintrex is Australia’s number one boat brand, designed and built on the Gold Coast since Adam was a boy. We’re the best because all our boats, from tinnies to blue water rigs, are built for safety and function, ease of use and utmost reliability.
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So what are you doing this weekend?
AFMQXSPOT001
MARCH 2021
23
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Opportunities to head out! NOOSA
Peter Wells
With some good conditions over the past couple of months, reef anglers have done extremely well with most anglers reporting success from either the bottom or pelagics from mid water or on the surface.
reef systems. Pearl perch and cod have also been common captures from North Reef, Chardons and around the Double Island Point area. Boats that made the trip to the Barwon Banks were well rewarded with a good mix of reef fish, including pearl perch, cod, mulloway and cobia all landed. Good numbers of Spanish
Dan Joiner discovered that good numbers of Spanish mackerel have been hanging around. Good numbers of trout are still coming from Sunshine Reef. Well-presented pilchards or live baits right on the bottom has been the best approach, and when we say on the bottom we mean right in the reef. Have the sinker set right on the hook and use a glow bead to protect the knot. These guys are tough fighters and will have you in the reef quick so make sure you are fishing your rod and don’t just leave it in the holder. Use at least 50lb braid and 60-80lb leaders and try and get them up quick before the taxman in the grey suit sees them. Sharks have been a real problem with more and more anglers reporting huge loses to them. It is better to leave productive grounds if the sharks are around and try again another time. Good sized sweetlip have been feeding on most
mackerel have been hanging around the northern reef belt off Noosa with North Reef, Chardons Reef and Sunshine Reef all very productive. Baits like, gar, sauri, slimy mackerel and large pilchards have been good options. Slow trolling them with a Chin Guard or using one of the TT Bait Trolling Rigs will help to keep them swimming straight. Deep diving lures have also been nailing some big fish. If you are moving spots having a good spread of lures out the back can really pay off. Make sure you run different colours and different swim depths to cover as much water as possible. On the tuna front there has been plenty on offer with yellowfin, long tail and mac tuna schools in fairly close. These fish will be feeding on bait schools and driving the fish to the surface, so you
will also see birds working the schools. Best approach is to try to get to the north of the school as the fish tend to feed into the wind and with the prevailing winds coming from the north there is a good chance they will be heading that way. As the school moves closer to you cast to the edges of the school using small stick baits and slug. Remember to try and match the hatch, so having a good array of slugs in different colours and sizes will definitely help. Plenty of rain has fallen with the La Nina effect this year, and the rivers have had some good colour to them. With a bit of fresh in the systems, it creates a lot more bait activity in the river as smaller baitfish run for more saline waters. Lots of trevally and tailor have been present in the river with most taken on the morning and afternoon incoming tides. Surface poppers like the Bassday Backfire and the Lucky Craft G splash have been perfect in the low light periods with plenty of big eye, golden and giant trevally taken. As the sun gets a little higher, prawn profile soft plastics have been working well. Chasebaits have just brought out their latest offering with a smaller sized Flick Prawn while MMD have released the Soft Prawn, both of which have been working extremely well. Mangrove jack are still on the chew right throughout the system. Water temps have been right up there and, with the amount of late season storms we have been having, these fish are feeding hard. Live bait is still the number one way of targeting these fish but for those lure tragics like myself, trolling diving lure around the various rock bars and drop offs around the Noosa River can be a very rewarding way to target these fish. Lures that have been getting the job done have been the Smith Cherry blood, Jackall Squirrels and
the Lucky Craft Pointers. Any of these lures in a red or part red colour have been dynamite. The flathead population seems to be improving every year with larger females being caught and released. The stretch between Tewantin and the first lake and Weyba Creek seems to be a hot spots. Casting soft plastics upstream and working back with the run out tide has been the most productive. Summer whiting are still in good numbers right throughout the lower part of the system. The Dog Beach, Gympie Terrace and the Frying Pan have all fished well on the incoming tide. Live worms, yabbies and peeled prawns have been the baits of choice. Crab numbers have been good and with all the fresh in the system they are up and walking. Look for those deeper holes near mangroves as they will hold more saline water. Bait those pots with quality baits of fresh mullet
Kalani was very pleased with his 85cm kingy. or chook frames with just a touch of tuna oil to bring them scampering. Don’t forget those changes that came in late 2019 where you can only keep 7 bucks with a boat limit of 14 no matter how many people are in the boat. On the beaches things were a bit busy with plenty of anglers making their way up Noosa’s North Shore for a beach session. Moon phase is all important when it comes to
Dave Tunnington with an impressive 82cm snapper.
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A FISHO’S DREAM For bookings or enquiries contact: Cliff Andreassen 0428 712 283 or 07 5449 9346 bearfish@bigpond.com • www.fraserislandfishingunits.com.au 24
MARCH 2021
night fishing on the beach with the most popular moon being the new moon. Those darker nights see bigger predatory fish, like mulloway, and tailor move into those close gutters to feed on smaller bait brought in on the bigger tides. Baits like mullet fillet, pilchards, fresh tailor fillet and even clumps of worms have all worked well. Whiting are in great numbers with the close
Chris Staszewski with a fantastic 13kg longtail.
gutters providing some good fish, worms, pipis and peeled prawns have been the go-to baits. Dart are also in huge numbers and there are plenty of smaller fish for the kids to catch in the closer gutters, again smaller flesh baits of mullet or salted mackerel should see plenty of action. The other big plus is that these baits have a bit of longevity so parents are not constantly baiting up. • 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 Davo’s Tackle World Noosa and Davo’s Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!
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Fun in the summer sun RAINBOW BEACH
Ed Falconer
The weather has been a little unstable but the fishing has been great. Last year the fishing in March was outstanding with both pelagic and reef fish filling ice boxes every trip. Let’s hope the weather holds out this year.
OFFSHORE There’s been plenty of action offshore lately with both spotted and Spanish mackerel on the bite. Trolling live yakkas is working the best for the Spanish and under anchor floating pilchards for the spotties. Some nice red emperor have been caught on our northern grounds and, again, you can’t beat live
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yakkas for bait. Other reefies on the chew are snapper, pearl perch, scarlet perch and plenty of tusk fish. ON THE BEACH We had a bad run of weed the last couple of months but it has cleared up now. There are some good whiting and dart being caught in the gutters around Inskip Point. Live beach worms have been the bait of choice and
A triple hook up on red emperor while out on the Keely Rose.
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only $150p/n Harry showing just one of the many spotted mackerel he has caught lately.
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Weather windows have been few lately, but when we have been able to get out the fishing has been excellent – maybe partly due to a lack of fishing pressure. Spanish mackerel have still been hanging around, the general reef fishing has been good, and even the inshore fishing has been better. The fishing has been quite exciting lately, and I can’t wait for winter! When it comes to targeting Spanish, I have been catching them on sauries almost exclusively. If you learn how to rig a swimming dead bait like a saury, you’ll catch
many more Spanish than you would on lures. If you look up ‘Fishing Monthly mackerel’ on YouTube you’ll see a good video on how to do it. Once you learn how to rig any of the easy fish baits to swim, you can use an identical
one that didn’t swim well. It’s hands-down the best bait for Spanish mackerel. Unfortunately the sharks are as bad as ever. Some days we have to move several miles to escape them, as travelling just one mile sometimes isn’t enough. I
well too. Both of these hooks are thick so you have to strike hard to set them properly; if you go easy at the start you may lose the fish. Hooks like these usually hook the fish in the lip, like circles do.
Rachelle’s PB red emperor was actually the smaller of the reds that were boated that day!
59 Torquay Rd, Hervey Bay QLD 4655 Ph: (07) 4128 1022
www.fishostackleworld.com.au info@fishostackleworld.com.au 28
MARCH 2021
setup (i.e. same hooks and same small weight on the leading hook) for other fish such as grinner. All you have to do is add more hooks, e.g. instead of four hooks for a saury you’ll use six or seven for a grinner. The swimming action of a grinner is astounding – around 3-4” from side to side – and I’ve never had
don’t know whether the sharks were following us or whether they were just spread out everywhere. On occasion I have had to travel up to 10 miles to get away from them. When bottom fishing we have been mainly using mullet strips on single 8/0 Elkat Live Bait hooks or gangs. Big Gun hooks work
When reef fishing we have been getting all the normal stuff. There has been a really good run of 6-10kg red emperor on the usual rubbly patches and fern country in 35-45m of water. I haven’t fished any shallow reefs for a while because we’ve been doing well on the To page 31
MARCH 2021
29
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Wet, windy and wild MACKAY
Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au
After the fantastic February open season action, this month may also be a cracker month for barra. However, the wet season usually hits us big time during March. There will be lots of dirty water around, flooded creek systems and dirty water offshore, all of which makes barra fishing difficult – but not impossible! The kick off in February was due to the prawns, which were everywhere at the start of the month. Making a reasonable cast net throw, it was almost impossible not to catch prawns. The barra played their part in the bonanza, biting their heads off on live baits, lures and even a few strip baits scored.
March will be even more wet weather dependant than February, which had lots of smaller showers and mini dumps up to about 70-100mm that still allowed plenty of fishing. But flooding is a different scene, and the small gullies and side creeks will be the spots for barra. In dirty water, the vibes, swim baits and big paddletail plastics will be first choice for lure fishers. They have great actions and send out underwater sonic signals the barra tune into. Dark lures or a really bright contrast colour work well in the dirtier water; sometimes black lures are a real standout performer. Lures with really strong actions like, Reidy’s Fish Snakz and Weedies, Zerek Fish Traps and shads, Rapala Peto, ZMan 7” MinnowZ, Berkley Hollow Belly and similar from Keitech, Squidgies, Storm and
others will work equally well in fresh or saltwater. Live prawns are top baits, although small mullet and whiting will also score. But if only allowed one bait or lure, I would drift a flicking live prawn down current to a rock bar or snag as barra rarely pass them up. By March, the boat traffic in the creeks should settle down after the initial crowding when the season opened. Barra will still be in all the local hot spots from Rocky Dam near Koumala up to the St Helens Beach area, and visitors should drop into our local tackle shops and get the latest info. Big threadies don’t mind dirty water and sometimes, apart from catfish, that is all you are likely to catch if salinity levels drop right down. They show up well on modern sounders including on side scan, which is handy when
The barra action has been fast and furious with Brendan Pollard nailing this 101cm beauty on a natural coloured vibe cast to a fish spotted on side scan.
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MARCH 2021
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After about 30 years of trying, the author finally scored a big sooty! It was a 53cm breeding female, which was sent to MAFSA hatchery for spawning. they are feeding on ‘jelly’ prawns along shallow banks. They are most frustrating then, but you can fool them by cutting back the front body of a 3” curly-tail grub, leaving mostly the tail. Rigged on a light jighead and small strong hook, a clear bodied one is a reasonable jelly prawn imitation. Cast these off spin gear, and the fight is awesome, with rooster tails from the line in the shallow water, and prawns showering out. If there is clean water around, the good summer run of flathead should keep on keeping on and other species, like bream, cod, grunter and whiting will be regularly caught. Throw in some odd bods, like small trevally and small queenfish, and there will be a good variety available. But if the creeks flood most of these species will go off the chew. When the water starts to clear up the action gets going again. Crabbing has been fairly consistent this year, and even with a big ‘wet’ the crabs can still be caught on the mudflats. If the creeks are flooded, it is a waste of time putting pots in the creek itself. Get them set out the front on the big flats where the crabs are located. Offshore, the pelagic action has slowed down with weather system changes and the onset of the wet. Strong SE winds don’t help either as they keep most boats from heading very far out. Around the close handy islands the grassy sweetlip have been a regular catch and while they aren’t huge, a feed of grassies is always welcome as they are a fine table fish. The close islands have also been throwing up good numbers of trout while the water is clean. Up in the freshwater, the barra have been going off! Teemburra Dam has thrown up awesome fishing with plenty of large barra and a good smattering of smaller under size rats also being caught. The barra are all over the dam, but prime spots are on windblown points with some cover nearby. This habitat can be found right round the dam and
some persistence in there will usually be rewarded. Start with the same lures recommended earlier, although many locals are now switching to big swim baits and, given their cost, they are not the lure to fish in the heavy timber. Kinchant Dam has been fishing well with metre-plus fish regularly coming to the boats. This dam is susceptible to strong SE winds being very open and the dam wall and surrounding countryside don’t offer much protection. Kinchant now has various FADs installed to assist anglers locate the barra. The GPS co-ordinates are at the dam, and on DAF or Mackay Regional Council website. Also check out the Hooked On Mackay site. Use the same lures mentioned before at Kinchant and as this dam now has barra over 45kg, anglers should handle them as little as possible. Go to MAFSA Facebook page for recommended handling techniques. Sooties, as I mentioned last month, should roe up and indeed they have done so. MAFSA members have been catching large females and smaller males to get this breeding season underway. When putting this report
together (early Feb) roughly 120,000 baby sooties were in the hatchery after several spawning. Fingers-crossed they can be grown to release size without too many losses. Some of the sooties have been absolute stonkers, with one delivered to the hatchery by Mackay Tournament Anglers measuring 56cms and yours truly FINALLY managed to catch a sooty over 50cms with a fine 53cm fish from Middle Creek in Teemburra dam. No more do I have to put up with ribbing from all my mates who have been catching 50 plus fish for years. MAFSA members will be releasing more barra in Teemburra Dam in March. They are being paid for with money from recycling cans and bottles ($1400) plus donations from Mackay Tournament Anglers ($800) and the balance from MAFSA funds. This will be the third release this summer in Teemburra Dam and is a great boost to what is already an awesome fishery. So even though it may be wet, windy and a bit wild, we have such a diversity of fishing available we are a little spoilt for choice. Come to paradise and join in the fun. See you at the ramp.
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Wet season in full swing WHITSUNDAYS
Mick Underwood
The wet season has been in full swing for a while now and everything is lush and green. All our local estuaries are enjoying a good flush and all the little seasonal creeks have been running pushing all sorts of nutrients and minerals out into the ocean helping to promote life. As I write this, there have been no significant cyclone scares, just plenty of good ground soaking rain, let’s hope this pattern continues this month. Over the last few weeks a lot of the angling attention locally has been focused on the estuaries and it’s pretty obvious to see why. Mud crabs are climbing into people’s pots, the prawns are around in swarms and barramundi are fair game again. I haven’t seen too many decent barramundi coming to hand as yet this season but March is normally a top month to get into them. Out around the islands and it has been tough work for most species. The winds haven’t helped either as the southeasters have been pumping pretty hard and limiting opportunities for offshore days. I’ve noticed
the last few weeks as well. There have been some nice sized shoals of bait around but for the most part they have been getting around unmolested. Out in front of Cape Gloucester Resort around the top of the tide has been where the best pelagic activity has been happening when something has been happening. When the weather has allowed anglers have been doing a bolt for the outer reef and the fishing out there has been on fire, especially for species
creeks, out on any rocky patches in the bays or around any rocky headlands on the mainland or the inner islands. Around the inshore side of Gloucester Island is a good starting point to hunt for a barramundi out in open water. Still in the creeks and it’s not just barra and jacks that are deserving of our attention. There are so many prawns around at the moment. At times, it’s been possible to get your 10L bucket full in three or four throws of a cast net and
Bob’s big cod, this was a nice catch on a soft plastic. still on the take list for the meantime and through this period of the year we get some nice nannygai and fingermark as well. If you want to head out and have a go at these guys try and time your mission for when the tide is running with a bit of sting in it. I quite often find that around the turn of the tide or on neap tides that the fish clam up a bit and they can be hard
Golden trevally are one of the mainstays on local grounds and they never fail to impress. the size of the average prawn is right up there. The mud crabs are providing plenty of people with a tasty feed or two and this should continue this month. It’s amazing how resilient this fishery is considering how much pressure it cops from both the recreational fishing sector and the commercial sector, they just seem to keep bouncing back. Moving out of the creeks now and around the islands. There should be plenty on
offer this month but I think the quality consistency of the bite will rely on the water temperatures. It’s doesn’t really matter if it goes up or down just as long as it moves. If the water temps don’t move then I expect that the bite will clam up for a lot of species and for the reef fishing at least it could be a tough month. In March, I like to do a fair of drift fishing out around the outer islands on any reef, rubble and fern patches. Black jews are
Fingermark will be around this month, this particular one decided to eat a soft plastic for its last meal. to get stirred up. It will be the same with any pelagic fishing out in the same areas this month, try and time it for when the tide has some good flow in it. When the weather allows for it this month, why
The first decent black jew of the year aboard Reel Addiction. Get into these guys quick before they become off limits. that the waters temps have stagnated and not moved much the last few weeks. When the water temps aren’t moving things can get a bit tougher. One of the better bites that we have had the last month has been the night bite for big fingermark. Out on any rubble patches around the outer islands has been the place to be and out in the same areas this is also currently a lot of squid around. It’s no secret that locally here live squid are the number one bait for big fingermark. The pelagic fishing has been intermittent over 34
MARCH 2021
not make a bolt for the outer reef, it’s very rare that it’s not worth the trek to go out there? So many people go out to the reef armed with little more than a pile of pilchards and a couple of hand lines. Why not mix it up and try something new. Throw a popper for a giant trevally or a Spanish mackerel, micro jig for a Red Emperor or try a bit of high speed trolling for a wahoo. The angling
such as coral trout and red throat emperor. Into March now and what piscatorial delights that we will hopefully be able to get into over the coming weeks! I expect that any of the estuaries in our region will see plenty of activity this month. The water temps are nice and high which will help keep species such as barramundi and mangrove jack nice and active and on the chew. If there is lot of wet around this month a lot of the barramundi may not be in the creeks. Instead they could be around the front of any little seasonal
The coral trout haven’t bit as well as expected this month, but there have still been a few coming aboard.
options at the outer reef are almost limitless, it doesn’t take much imagination to conjure up ways of catching fish out there. Where ever you decide to fish this month and what ever you decide to fish for I hope you catch plenty and have a heap of fun while you’re at it. • Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lures and bait. Reel Addiction operates from the beautiful Cape Gloucester Beach Resort, 40 minutes’ drive north of Airlie Beach. Combined fishing charter and accommodation packages are available. For more information, contact Mick Underwood on 0413 882 153 or email mick@reeladdiction.com. au. Resort enquiries can be directed to Julie Houston on (07) 4945 7242 or at info@capeg.com.au. To stay in touch with what’s biting, check out the Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Whitsundays page on Facebook.
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Sights set on bigger barra TOWNSVILLE
Dave Hodge
Trying to predict what will happen this month is a stab in the dark. It greatly depends on the wet, and the monsoonal trough, and the amount of runoff, barometric instability and so on. However, the one sure bet for the lure casting fanatics is that there will be a barra biting somewhere.
to settle and the bait is coming back into the bay in decent numbers. Generally speaking, there are usually a couple of rises and falls in water levels from the upper freshwater reaches of the systems. The first rise is the one that clears the barra out, either for the spawning activities, or to escape the deoxygenated black water, which is that black looking stuff that comes down, often with clumps
In my experience, it’s the second rise of the rivers and creeks that is the best. I remember filming 1-inch long baby barra negotiating a weir a couple of years ago, and the massive migration heading upstream was a cool thing to see. Larger barra gorge themselves on these little babies, which is an indication of what types of lures work in these situations. Small vibes can be effective when worked across fast water near bottle
and the lack of black water due to the dam and weirs means that it doesn’t really matter if it’s the first, second or third rise in water levels in order to get the bite. Combine big tides with a bit of runoff from the weirs, and Aplins has been the location for many anglers to land their first metre barra, or first barra full stop. Aplins isn’t a secret spot, or owned by anyone, so anglers need to be tolerant of each other when fishing here. Sometimes there’ll be a number of anglers all trying to coexist in a small piece of bank, and a few bad apples will try to intimidate the others. This tactic is not tolerated by the locals. Working with others is the only way to see things run smoothly and to gain maximum enjoyment for all concerned. And if you can offer help to inexperienced anglers, that’s even better. Tide timing is an important consideration when you’re deciding
Mick Rennie holds a barra of average size. These mid-sized fish put up a good fight, pulling line and jumping all over the place.
This brackish water barra couldn’t resist a white UV Atomic Prong rigged on a pink Protec powder-coated EWG hook in 5/0. If live baiting is your thing, it all comes down to the availability and quantity of bait, not only for the gathering of it, but to be able to estimate where the barra will be and what they will be feeding on. As I write this report, all the freshwater is starting
of a black algae. It’s then that the cleaner water and triggered spawning of baitfish combine to be able to produce the zooplankton and other almost microscopic food sources that the newly hatched barra need to reach the next stage of their growth.
necks, weirs and barriers. Bigger fish are obviously on most barra casters’ minds, and this is when anglers stack up shoulder to shoulder at places legendary for the potentially massive fish that congregate. Aplins Weir is one such location,
Some big fingermark are getting around but you may need to go a bit deeper if there’s a bit of fresh around.
Shark numbers are getting very high now, and hooking them on lures is happening more often. 36
MARCH 2021
which spot to visit. Obviously snag casting isn’t many anglers’ cup of tea, and flats, ledges and holes, while specialist pursuits, are totally different scenarios to the snags and drains. If it’s the bigger models of barra you’re after, then the deeper locations are going to be the most consistent,
and vibes or deep plastics will be the best bet for lure fishers. For bait fishers, mullet or tarpon as live baits are very consistent producer of large fish. I’ve seen many side scan photos in recent times that have had bull sharks sitting right next to schooled up barra. If this occurs, I wouldn’t even
bother trying to hook one as it’s just going to end up shark poo. In open water nowadays, it can be hard to find a school of fish that doesn’t have a number of sharks ghosting it, but it’s pointless to fish where the sharks are. You’ll reinforce their learned behaviour. OFFSHORE AND BAY Fingermark have been biting well if you venture a bit further off the coast during times of runoff. They really do seem to hate the fresh. I was talking to Ian Moody the other day, and he said that fingermark have been thick in some of the deeper locations off the coastline, and monster fingers have been playing the game for his clients. It’s the same down this way around Townsville, and 50-70ft has been a good depth to find them. Wonky holes have begun to flow again, and anglers can take photos of some pretty special stuff on their sounder screens. Bait schools sitting on wonkies with larger fish sitting under them is an angler’s dream scenario. In shallower stuff it’s usually fingermark, but in the deeper spots it’s often more the large-mouth nannygai. Obviously there are other species that also frequent wonkies, but fingers and nannies are a couple of the more consistent ones. I don’t have or need any marks for any of these incredible underwater features because my boat isn’t big enough to get to them on a regular basis, To page 37
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Finger-licking good! info@ianmoodyfishing.com
It’s that time of year again where the rain is very unpredictable and patchy. Some calm weather periods have been inviting to get a little further out, however the incredibly high humidity levels help create isolated squalls that can develop right on top of you. From page 36
but I have fished them with mates over the years, and on some of these trips we’ve had some very memorable fishing. Rumour has it that there are plenty of wonkies between here and Halifax Bay, so anyone with an idea of what they’re looking at on a sounder, and who is willing to put in the time to scan likely contour lines, should be in with a good chance of finding their own little gems. Going from what I’ve been hearing of late, it has been easy to catch fish – or at least to hook them. There are some big mothers amongst them, but beating the sharks is beginning to feel like a futile exercise. Plenty of people are just not going now unless conditions are just too good to stay away. If you want to slow speed and numbers of sharks converging on your location, there are a few things you can try that might help. If it’s possible, don’t anchor; instead, use an electric motor. If you are anchored, turn your sounder off, and after you catch a few fish, move to the next spot – even if you haven’t been sharked yet.
With the inshore deluges of rain from passing tropical lows and small cyclones since January, the flows of fresh water from the Herbert River into the Hinchinbrook Channel have pushed out most fingermark or golden snapper into slightly offshore waters. They are one of the first species that will leave an area during a flood. I have found, however, that the start of wet season
usually drives the shark numbers much closer to the coastline. This allows you to revisit areas further out that were once plagued with sharks to find they have left and you can actually successfully land target species with no shark problem at all. That happened recently out past Cape Richards where I treated clients to some rather nice sized large fingermark – it was in the same area where I had once
You don’t want to give them the free feed they’ve been conditioned to expect when they see a boat. This month the weather
can be a bit unpredictable, so it’s going to be a matter of wait and see. As always, make the best of every opportunity you can.
Land-based anglers fishing the jetties could hit a blubber-lipped bream. These fish aren’t great on the plate but man, do they pull hard!
Garry Berryman with a Hinchinbrook fingermark. struggled to get fish to the boat because of sharks. The biggest specimen we got to the boat was an 87cm model but prior to that we were bricked by three much larger models down into the structure. Strangely they were not responding to vibes/plastics or any other lure but instead could not go past the humble live greenback herring or 3” mullet. If you own a drawstring cast net, good size greenbacks can usually be found around pylons located in the channel or Missionary Bay quite easily. King threadfin salmon have started to show up in some better numbers, they are another species that get turned on when there is some flood waters influencing an area. Some models around the 70-80cm mark have been reported in February but nothing much larger than that. Live baits of mud herring and mullet have been working the best, as well as vibes. Now that we are getting some rain, the areas of run
off are going to be the better spots for barramundi. Depending on how much rainfall we get, it can flow fresh on the surface at the mouths of creeks and rivers, causeways and such like, in which will still see good fishing in the backwaters created by the flow of tide and run off. Now that we are right in the midst of the wet season, it could end up very likely to see a lot more rain and freshwater runoff, which can restrict options in the short term. However, if conditions ease and return to some normality we will see them returning to their old haunts and feeding patterns. In times of heavy run-off, fishing out on the headlands around into Missionary Bay or along the beachfronts is probably a better option until the rains ease off. Anglers should also be careful this time of year during the large high tides and also if any flooding occurs with the presence of logs and debris floating on the surface. It can be a nasty
experience to encounter if fishing at night. In March if our wet season kicks up a notch, anglers chasing live baits, particularly mullet, would be better off looking behind the tree lines on the island side of the channel. Finding a clear opening to throw a cast net on the sandy beaches. Behind the mangroves is usually where I find them on the top of the larger tides of 3m or more. Having a slightly worn or older castnet is probably better for these areas, as tiny mangrove roots are very unforgiving to monofilament mesh castnets. • 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 boats and bassco get your name down on some good dates. Current availability is for May 2021 onwards. For bookings please email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone myself directly on 0402 339 459.
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NFZ marching on CAIRNS
Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com
The La Nina weather pattern we were promised certainly showed up last month with bucket loads of rain falling across the Net Free Zone catchment.
the coming years. While the future is looking extremely bright, the present-day fishing is nothing to shrug off with some awesome catches coming out of the NFZ over the last month. The barramundi has been around in excellent numbers in the creeks and out the front
the barramundi are still there. Targeting the areas where the water is cleanest, there is bait present and run off spots are always a top idea this time of year. While it may be a little harder to find the fish, when you do find them it certainly is worth the effort as they are usually in good numbers. Snag bashing up the
The threadies have been in big numbers and even bigger size.
Big trophy barra like this one can be found out on the coast. This has been perfect for the fishery as it has allowed the fish to breed and spawn, which should lead to excellent recruitment in
along the coast and there have been some huge fish amongst them. In the creeks, the solid rainfall has made them a little hard to fish but
Finding the schools of threadfin helps to hook these fish.
Trinity Inlet, Barron River and Thomatis Creek will still produce plenty of school sized fish, however if you are after the larger trophy barra then the coastal areas will be the place to go. If the offshore weather allows, it’s always a top idea this time of year to get out the front and explore the entire NFZ area looking for schools of barramundi. Look for the likely areas like rock walls, headlands and type of structure found along the open beaches are obvious signs of where these fish may be. When you do locate them try a mixture of hardbodies, vibes and if they are really being painful live bait to get the hook up.
Another species which has been in abundance this year has been the blue and threadfin salmon. The local more commonly known spots like the mouth of the Barron River and Machans and Holloways Beach has been producing some epic numbers of blue salmon for those land-based fishing or out of the boat. While the blues have been in big numbers, the threadfin have also been about but in massive size with the average fishing pushing over the 1.2m mark. These trophy fish have been taking a mixture of vibes, hardbody lures and baits, both dead and live, mostly on the run up to the high tide. Land-
based anglers have also reported excellent catches on live prawns as well. The most important thing to remember when targeting these big threadfins is that they don’t release well, so if you want to keep them alive it’s best to release them in the water. If you bring them in the boat, there is more than likely a chance they won’t swim away. In saying that, they aren’t bad on the plate but do not freeze well. Some tips to targeting these fish. First make sure your leader is up to the task. I prefer to use a 50lb Sunline V Hard of FC 100 fluorocarbon leader, which is strong enough to stop these fish wearing through
the line. Next, actively find the schools on your sounder and target them with lures or bait. They will be in big schools and your chances of success go up dramatically when you can target these bigger schools. Finally, don’t just use a single lure but try different techniques and sizes to find out what they want to eat on the day. Next month, the NFZ should continue fishing the same patterns from this month so what worked for you so far should continue to work again. Hopefully we will start to see some easing of the rainfall and allow the creeks to clean up a little, which will make things a little easier.
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Above and below: The smaller barra are still about on the snags but they take a bit of work to find with all the rain around.
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Get the right info for unpredictable patterns PORT DOUGLAS
Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au
As we move into the unknown at this time of year with unpredictable weather patterns it pays to fish with someone who has the experience and knowledge behind them to give you the best result. We are seeing probably more positive signs than normal but the weather is still that all important factor. This time of year is always difficult and a crystal ball would be helpful. All we can say is that, yes we’ve seen the arrival of the wet season and it has been mostly positive in fishing terms so far. On the outer reef conditions have been okay and it is noticeable the lack of northerly winds, which can be a deterrent. Most of our weather has come from the east to southeast, which works favourably for us. It helps with currents and tides in a lot of the places and the fish generally bite much better as well. At this time of year it is mostly about quality and not necessarily quantity, in
relation to our catches. On the upside has been big coral trout, red emperor, large mouth nannygai with a few Spanish mackerel
around as well. Floating pilchard or, even better, a live fuslier out the back has been rewarded. To value add to the main target
species we’ve seen a mixed bag of fruit come back to the harbour, including cobia, spangled emperor and a host of hard fighting
Shane ‘Sharky’ Down caught this ancient 200lb Queensland groper from right off the beach. It was quickly released in good health.
trevally. It is a matter of picking your day that suits everyone and you’ll see a great valued experience. Closer to home, along the coast reef patches, wrecks and wonky holes have seen some thumping large mouth nannygai being scored, as well as some cod, golden trevally and Spanish mackerel to around the 6kg range. The wonky holes are an interesting prospect, as they are being fed by underground water systems from the mountains. They can either be quiet or you can nail the fish of a lifetime, such as an 8-10kg large mouth nannygai. They generally hold very few fish but they are big ones, so hopefully you can get lucky. Not surprisingly the Daintree River just north of us has been the best performing system in the shire with a vast water expanse to explore. Upstream has been a lot tougher with chilled water coming direct from the rainforest but the lower reaches have been fishing fine with a saltwater influence coming direct from the ocean. Barra are back on the cards along
with some great queenfish, golden trevally and some of the biggest javelin fish or grunter across the flats. There’s been a few permit around on the flats and considered, pound-for-pound, a blue ribbon fish from a sporting point of view. The estuaries are seeing some good mangrove jack and have been the highlight this season. The local beaches are always worth a look in calm conditions with an influx of fresh bait right in close. Hot spots have included any subtle creek dribbling water into the ocean for the likes of barra, queenfish, trevally and blue salmon. There is also the odd surprise, including an ancient 200lb Queensland groper caught by my old mate ‘Sharky’ Shane Down from right off the beach which was released in a healthy condition. Despite its age and carrying some old battle wounds from many years of surviving in the tropics. You just never, never know unless you wet a line in what is undeniably the best overall fishery in Australia.
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Run off fishing for mixed results COOKTOWN
Justin Coventry
The weather has been incredible with calm seas, but there’s been mixed results when it comes to fishing. Everything you try
travel through. Big barramundi have been seen down at the wharf but haven’t been very active lately. However, it will get your pulse racing when you spot them swimming by. The best chance I have found to capture a barra is the bottom of the tide. With water
The author with a beautiful coastal barra. fails one day, but a week later the fish fire up! The wharf has been more fresh than salt, and baitfish have been hard to find – the only option is the artificial kind. Soft plastic lures have come out to entice a bite from migrating barramundi as they patrol the rock walls as they
still running from the flood waters, the barra seem to like the low tide and ambush bait running along tight to the wall. If a lure that imitates the prey is thrown in at the right time, then the explosive bite will come and just needs a set hook to capture a marauding monster. I’ve had plenty of these
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bucket mouths explode the surface, but then the lure comes flying through the air to my frustration, and the fish moves on. Sometimes you lose, but persistence will eventually pay off. This time of the year timing is key, and if you work out where the fish feed regularly then you can have some great fun. Looking for muddy flowing water into brackish water is a bait highway and a café for predatory fish waiting for the flush of prawns and baby fish to come into ambush range. Placing a well timed cast into the flow and have it drift out into the ambush zone works best, and having it twitched back towards the flow can produce a reaction from a waiting predator. Nothing like seeing that bow wave form and the water explode as the mouth opens and engulfs the lure – such a massive adrenaline rush! As always, I encourage releasing these fish after a photo, which is a great way to ensure that the experience continues to be felt by generations to come. As I said, the wharf has had a lot of fresh passing by and the herring move out as this occurs. So not much activity from the trevally and mackerel, but as the water
clears and as the bait returns then there should be some hungry predators to follow. The fresh does bring with it prawns as they flush down the system. Throwing out even a dead prawn can provide results, as the fish will be expecting them. As the floods push out, these delicious bait will be throughout the system. So throwing the cast net might produce some live prawns, but if not, then try some dead ones. The flush of fresh also brings the mud crabs out to play and they move out of the river systems. As the fresh increases and catching them on the move out, can be productive. Massive amounts of fresh water will force them all out into the surrounding bays at the mouth. Plenty of good crabs can be caught when large floods occurs, so have some good quality bait ready. Fresh bait works the best and I find changing bait regularly produces the best results. Trevally heads are great mud crab bait. Fresh Crab sandwiches, who could ask for more? Full large male crabs and lots of
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them are a welcome benefit to the flooding, and the bigger the flood, the better! The next mouth will see more rains and likely heavy falls. This life-giving rain will produce some great fishing opportunities with barramundi moving around the river systems and creek run-offs producing bait ambush locations. Luring these areas will produce results and lure
Jeff Wilton jeffwilton83@hotmail.com
Now is always an interesting time of year to predict what is going on in North QLD. March is normally one of the most consistent months for rainfall and, although it can prove frustrating, we can always do with the rain. The last few months have produced typical summer days – hot, humid with the odd storm brewing up. It can certainly make fishing tough, especially during those middle-of-the-day sessions. We also have had a few river rises and floods, which means the channel gets dirty and anglers need to cover more ground chasing water with less fresh. The fishing has been still fairly consistent both inshore and offshore with bent rods and fresh fish for dinner.
HINCHINBROOK CHANNEL The focus has been on barramundi as open season has only been going for a month. With the fresh flush we had over December the fishing should be firing as the water starts to clear up. The unknown is how much more rainfall we are going to get. As I have said many times, if we get a lot of rain and the floods that come with it then the fishing will get very tough for a while in the channel. It is best to try find some greener water. Fishing headlands and travelling the few extra kilometres around the ocean side of the island normally means some salt in the water and fish that have moved out with it. Fishing the beaches is also popular as the fish will move out with the dirty water and hunt the baitfish that are also flushed out of the channel itself. As always with barramundi,
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fishing creek mouths and mangrove flats will also be productive. Going outside to the reefs will be an option, but there will be less windows of calm weather. Fishing should produce along the coastal areas. Wonky holes will be flowing well and nannygai should be on the chew. So lots of action available to enjoy this month.
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Now’s the time to break out the artificial lures as baitfish have been hard to find.
It’s great to have the barra back.
find the baitfish and you are in with a good shot of finding barra. Jacks are always available around Hinchinbrook and there are some anglers that will chase them over barramundi any day. I am one of those anglers that is addicted to chasing jacks on top water lures and deep in the snags. The lock it up and rip them out (or attempt to) style of fishing is so addictive and the rapid heart rate and surge of adrenalin that comes with it is hard to beat. Jacks are everywhere throughout the channel but skinny creeks with deep undercut banks and overhangs are great places to start chasing them. Some good current flow will have fish sitting on the front of snags ready to hit anything that comes close enough. Make sure casts are right in the zone and hang on as jacks will not muck around. Once again, if we get a lot of rain and the creeks are all dirty then the jacks will be very shut down. If this is the case, then covering more water and fishing when the bigger tides push clearer water in will see more action. JETTY, ISLANDS AND REEF It seems that every month I type how the jetty is a lot of fun and once again this is true. No matter what time of year there are always fish hanging off that jetty and spending some time To page 41
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March is where it starts CAPE YORK
Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com
To be perfectly honest, not a huge amount of fishing goes on in the Cape in the first two months of the year. When low pressure systems are lining up across the top end and the weather man has lightning bolts scattered across his map, it’s often best to ease into the new year gently. Some good wet season activity down the west coast and across the central eastern Cape should culminate in either an abrupt holt in March or a sustained drenching into April. For much of the Cape, this will depend on potluck of a cyclone brewing once more in the Gulf or angling into the east coast from the Coral Sea.
Young Eli from Cooktown with a buffalo emperor caught on a soft plastic. if targeted in deeper water. Fresh bait, plastics and vertical jigs are proven on both these iconic sportfish. Over on the east coast, March will often hold pockets of calm weather with some interspersed
storms and occasional strong nor’ or sou-easterlies. Keen boaties will be ready to take advantage and punch out well east in search of serious blue-water angling. The effects of wet season run-off are much diminished on the outer reef. Flats and lagoons along the reefs edge can fish particularly well. So long as water temperatures aren’t too stifling on the shallow reef flats, all sorts of predators can be expected. Soft plastics, poppers, stick baits and suspending hard bodied lures are all the rage these days for targeting powerful fish in shallow, clear water. It is mesmerising to see a big colourful shadow stalk a retrieve in a visual blue spectacle. The entire east coast of the Cape is enshrined in reef. There is some pretty heavy-handed zoning in the far northern sector of the Barrier Reef. This severely restricts the available reefs and islands for fishing up in the Cape. But the flow on effects are doubtless more fish in the areas still open.
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Many east coast systems will be very fishy this time of year. March is when it often starts, as far as fishing is concerned. A large number of charter operations kick back into gear. With the barra season open and estuaries cleared out by recent rains, inshore coastal areas tend to fish quite well this month. Prawns will often be running and baitfish activity along the shoreline can be intense. I remember early season days along the west coast where baitfish schools huddled just off the shallow coast and a plethora of crustaceans were preyed From page 40
sounding around and trying different techniques will see rods get bent. During the hot summer nights on the neap tides there will be plenty of local boats out sinking live squid and sardines to the bottom in hope of big fingermark. These fish call the jetty home and, although sometimes fishing is slow for them, there are some nights that just go off with multiple fish hooked and landed if you can stop them getting into their pylon homes. The resident GT are also always hanging around ready for a fight and lobbing the odd popper between
upon as the tide receded. Threadfin salmon, queenfish and barra patrolled the gutters, showering bait sporadically. Fingermark and black jew will bite well over tide changes this time of year. Rocks, shoals, deeper gutters and drop-offs are likely places to have a look and although bite windows might be shorter, they are often intense. Locating one fish might see others in the same area. Catching more than a couple can be pretty detrimental to these species the pylons when the current is running hard should entice them to play the game. Landing those GT is difficult as everything is against you – strong currents, multiple pylons and big angry fish is a recipe for heavy gear losses. Nothing much to report from the islands on fishing terms but over the summer months it is a terrific spot to head over for some lunch and a swim. The Palm Island Group has several islands all of which offer stunning scenery, beaches and clear water. It is advisable to wear a stinger suit during the summer months and always carry vinegar on board the boat. Pack your
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Top: These bommie fields hold some great fish in the far northern reef. Below: Classic outer reef flat during calm weather. snorkelling gear stick to safe waters and enjoy. Reef trips have been great when weather has allowed and on several occasions over the last month the car park at Lucinda has been at capacity and spilling over. The fishing has been terrific with coral trout catches being the standout and plenty of red fish in the deeper water. My last trip out was a solo trip chasing GT but I stopped at one location on the way back in and landed six trout in about 10 drops on soft plastics. Fresh coral trout fillets in the freezer is something you can never have enough of. The hot summer months also mean the cobia
will be about annoying people. They are normally a very easy fish to hook as they will follow hooked fish up to the boat and it is as easy as lobbing something in their direction. What follows is normally a lot of hard work as cobia are one of the most stubborn fish to land. With their size and power they will put their head down and circle under the boat. It is important to be using gear strong enough to put some hurt on them and turn their heads to get them boat side, otherwise you will have sore arms and back, trust me! Cobia are okay eating but most people prefer to get a quick picture and release them.
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MARCH 2021
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Big barra dam special TOOWOOMBA
Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com
The freshwater scene should be fairly predictable this month. Rain events should be less likely to have major influence on the systems and the water temperature will have reached their peaks and now be slowly subsiding. The fish should be well adjusted and happy to continue with their current patterns for at least another month or two when the cooler temperatures will make things change. This makes it a good month to be out on the water
chasing every freshwater species on offer. Trolling will still be a good way to target the open water fish. Their metabolisms will be high due to the warm water and therefore they don’t mind chasing after a lure to nail it. Lure caster may still struggle a bit on some of the lakes but if you find the fish in numbers, it is always worth a shot. The schools should only get better from now on. Reaction style lures would be my first pick. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, blades and hard bodies seem to perform well until things switch up as the fish begin to transition in a month or two. The
SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Cressbrook Dam remains closed due to an algae outbreak. For updates visit the Toowoomba Region Council website. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY It has been a slower year than the past few but the bass and golden perch are still being caught in reasonable numbers. Some days are tougher than others but you can usually entice a few to bite once you find the big schools. Schooling bass can be found on the flats just north of Kirkleigh, out
on the flats and riverbed drop off from Queen Street and north and south Pelican Point. There are a few other smaller schools about too. You will need to search in 8-12m of water as the fish prefer specific depths in different parts of the lake. Once you find a few at a certain depth, there is a good chance there will be more there. It is easy to drive past a bunch of fish if you are a metre in depth out as they are very particular about where they position themselves at this time of year. Standard casting lures like soft plastics and spoons don’t get much attention and won’t find their niche for another month or two. For now trolled hard
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fish will then be keen on more subtle presentations or a mix of both styles. It always pays to take the whole tackle box and throw it at them to work out what they want. I’ve been pretty slack with my fishing close to home lately. The barra bug bit me hard and it has kept me away from my home lakes. It is hard to do it all and that is one of the great things about our Qld freshwater fisheries. Stocked Impoundments are awesome places to target our fish thanks to the hard work and dedication of the stocking groups behind the scenes. Until next month, buckled rods from The Colonel. bodies, spinnerbaits, blade baits and chatterbaits will be the lures most capable of getting the job done. Lure trollers will have good success when they are able to hit the fish in the right mood. Bottom hugging bass can be tougher to entice and get lure presentation spot on. Having a range of trolling lures which can dive 6-11m will ensure you can select one that reaches the correct depth. Colours can also make a huge difference. I like chartreuse, purples, blacks and browns. Most of my lures dive 9-10m deep on the troll and if I need to run shallower, I just shorten them up. Somerset Tackle has a great range of timber trolling lures as well as the stock standard moulded plastic ones.
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Sooty grunter are a species worth chasing this month. There’s no better way to catch them than on surface lures on light tackle. The spectre Vibration Jig has been the standout casting lure. These clear bladed chatterbaits have less flash and make a lot less noise than your standard chatterbait and the bass seem to love these characteristics. Most of the colours in the range have been pulling fish but like hard bodies, the bass seem to prefer one. The purple/ brown (rhoids) colour just seems to catch more than the others most days. Don’t be fooled though as we have had better days using baby bass, morning glory and night crawler. It just depends on what the fish want on the day. Other metal blade chatters have their day too and at times are what the fish prefer. Spinnerbaits and blades fished down deep can also get the bites. Casting to fish is very tough at this time of
year. The fish prefer the boat to be moving. You can half troll your casting lures behind the boat while working them with slow winds and drop backs or drift with the wind. I love the windier days and when the afternoon breeze kicks in, catch rates usually increase. If the boat is drifting at 1.5km/h or more, I love it. Golden perch have been caught in reasonable numbers mixed in with the bass. They are falling for the same lures there but you can also troll up a few on the flats and in the timber north of Kirkleigh. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise from Thursday to Sunday. Orders can also be made online via the website www.somersetfishing.com.au.
They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA Excellent numbers of bass are being caught at Borumba. They come in mixed sizes in this lake with catches often made up of plenty of smaller models with some quality mixed in. Fishing the edged early seems to be the go before moving to deeper water. Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and skirted jigs are perfect early in the day for working the shoreline edges and shallow flats in The Junction area. As the day heats up, move back to deeper water and follow the fish as they retreat to a more comfortable depth. Here, Spectre Vibration Jigs, blades and spinnerbaits
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Golden perch numbers will still be up this month. They won’t hesitate to chase lures down.
To page 43
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will do the trick. The bass are still loving reaction style lures and may be slow to take soft plastics and spoons for the next month or two.
Saratoga are always worth a shot up the Kingham and Yabba arms. Early morning through to midmorning is the best time to try and entice
one of these fish. Casting lures around the edges and structure may draw the desired response. Saratoga aren’t a fussy fish when they are hunting for a feed. Soft
plastics, spinnerbaits, beetle spins, shallow hard bodies, swimbaits and surface lures can all get the bites. If I had to choose one lure, it would be a 1/4oz jighead rigged
with a black/gold 3” paddle tail and fitted with a beetle spin blade. • Davos at Noosaville has all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake
MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers. They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas Streets.
golden perch and Murray cod keeping things interesting. The golden numbers are very low for this time of year with boats only scoring a few on a
good session. The cod have been pretty active and are almost as common as the goldens. Most of these cod are undersized but they are chunky fish. Lure trolling is a good way to encounter both
species. Diving lures should run 3-6m deep and be swapped out to suit the depth of water you are fishing. Quality sounders will locate better numbers of golden perch. You can try casting TN60 Jackalls
at these fish and slowly winding them back close to the bottom. If this fails, try hopping a ZX40 blade. If you locate a good show, this is the best way to bang better numbers. Cooby is an electric
motor only dam. You will need to launch from a gravel road and the road to it can powder up when it sees a lot of traffic and no rain. The hours for fishing are 6am to 8pm.
play. Points near deep water are my preferred spot to stake out and we move quickly if we are not seeing fish. This way you can give several spots a run in one night if you are not seeing fish. Soft plastics like the 6” Hollowbelly and 7” Castaics are ideal when run on a 1/2 or 5/8oz jighead. Other lures worth chucking are the Molix Swimbait, Zerek Live Mullet and Barambah Bony Shad. Nights tend to produce the better quality fish and we should see them return in better numbers to the outside of the weed edges to feed. They are tough to find during the day but I’m guessing they are out in deeper, open water. Searching the creek and riverbed drop offs and adjacent flats may find a few. Based on current dam levels,
beat time on the water and this is a great way to learn more about this lake and its fish. You can contact him on 0429 223 550 or visit the website gladstoneflyandsportfishing .com.au. • 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, self-contained cabins each with its own veranda. To book in a stay give Mark or Lyn a call on (07) 4975 0033. CALLIDE CLOSEST TOWN: BILOELA Still number one in the South East for big barra, Callide continues to deliver plenty of metre-plus barra.
DARLING DOWNS REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA Cooby is still fishing steady with only a few CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE Fish smarter, not harder to catch Awoonga’s wily barra. When I travel to fish this lake, we go really hard with excitement and burn ourselves out trying to work out as much as we can in one day. After this, regardless of if we have caught or not, we usually have a much better understanding of the fish and their movements and then focus on fishing them over the peak hours. If you are up for a morning session, I’d be chasing the smaller class of fish around the timber with suspending hard bodies. Topwater lures in weedy bays, especially if they have submerged timber, are also worth a shot and can produce some better
Ian Ryan pulled this Callide barra on a 185 Molix Shad well into the middle of the morning. Point last month. These fish were still holding deep and in or close to the old creek bed. They were tricky to catch. Despite reasonable numbers, they were staggered through the water column from 4-12m deep. This makes pinpointing them with lures far more difficult than when they all prefer a similar depth. Zerek Live Mullets in the 5.5” size still produced the most action. Even though there were few fish up at the 4-5m zone, they were more willing to bite. The Molix Shad 185 was the go during the heat of the day when all the fish pushed a little deeper.
Casting will produce better results when the fish are showing in good numbers. Trolling plastics around 2.5-3km/h is a good option to locate the best concentrations and cover heaps of water. Every time we pull up after a troll, we tend to see more fish indicating they are following the boat around a lot and move around the boat when we stop. It can be worth a couple of casts after a troll run or when you stop to fight another fish. Trolled hardbodies are also taking their share of fish. Despite most of the fish holding deep, 3-5m divers are
AWOONGA GATEWAY LODGE Reaction baits, like this chatterbait, are a favourite for the bass and golden perch at this time of year. quality fish. A few may also be moving through the bays before the sun starts belting down and these fish will be keen on hard bodies and soft plastics. Arvo sessions are great to target fish around timbered structure or moving through the windblown and dirtied shorelines. As it gets later and reaches that magic hour, the fish will start to patrol the edges on dark. This can continue right through the night but you will need to be around the fish to catch them. This is where a quality sounder comes into
I’d be looking a couple of kilometres either side of Dingo Island. Once found, you can try casting heavy plastics for the fish or trolling the same or deep hard bodies if they are scattered. • Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake. He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. He successfully guides clients onto fish right through the year and has a good understanding of fish movements. It is hard to
The fish may be lacking in numbers compared to other barra lakes but they make up for this in size. Callide is a very different fishery. The barra love the deep water here for most of the year. This pattern occurs in the other lakes over summer but the fish are quick to return to the edges when it cools down a bit. The Callide barra were thick around the buoy line over the summer months but they are showing signs of dispersing. We found heaps of fish around a kilometre from the wall just before Pelican
“ Right on Awoonga’s doorstep. All set up for fishos, with tranquil surroundings. “
getting most bites. The new Jackall Super Squirrel can be ripped and paused while you run a spread of soft plastics as well. Mix it up to see if they prefer one over the other. • You can stay close to the dam at Lake Callide Retreat. The park has basic camping, powered sites for camping and vans and also selfcontained cabins. There is a well-equipped camp kitchen and toilets and showers up in the main part of the park near the office. Make sure you bring all of your fishing tackle. The kiosk has a limited amount of fishing gear but it is well suited to the lake.
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• Pet friendly • BBQ areas • Saltwater pool www.awongagatewaylodge.com awoongagateway@bigpond.com MARCH 2021
43
ADVERTORIAL
2021 Fishing Challenge Anglers from across Australia flocking to the world’s biggest fishing competition
“This year, the Challenge is offering a record $240,000 in cash and prizes.”
40 44
Australians across all states and territories are being encouraged to prepare their fishing gear for the 2021 PIRTEK Fishing Challenge. The Challenge is a major fundraising initiative assisting to raise funds and awareness for Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia (PCFA). More than 19,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in Australia every year. PIRTEK has been partners with PCFA since 2009 to help raise vital funds for prostate cancer research, awareness initiatives and support programs by hosting Australia’s biggest single day fishing competition. The challenge is also a major fundraising partner for the Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit, which has recently been lauded as the number one Neuroscience Research facility in Australia. The focus of the Unit is to study adult stem cells and their role in causing and exacerbating neurological diseases. The goal is to find and apply new neuroscience techniques for patients suffering from diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s, and other neurological infections and stroke. Proceeds from the Pirtek Fishing Challenge will be split between these two leading medical research organisations. The challenge is an online national fishing competition open to all ages and experience levels. All competitors receive a limited-edition cap, brag mat and sticker with junior competitors receiving a bonus packet of Berkley soft plastics. There are big changes to the 2021 Fishing Challenge format. This year’s challenge will be a two day event taking place on Saturday and Sunday 17-18 April. After 12 successive years of being a single day Sunday format the event has expanded to cover the whole weekend allowing competitors the fish one or two days. Another key change for this year is multiple photo
uploads. In the past, competitors have only be allowed to enter one photograph in the competition. This year each angler can upload one photograph per target species. Competitors will fish for their favourite fish species, photograph their catch on the brag mat with their angler number and codeword clearly visible; then upload their photos to the website for judging. There are 22 target species nationally covering all States and Territories both fresh and saltwater. This year, the Challenge is offering a record $240,000 in cash and prizes. Just by registering, all competitors are automatically entered in the On The Water prize draw where they will be in the running to win a boat, motor and trailer package valued at over $36,000 courtesy of Stacer. Plus some other great prizes courtesy of our corporate partners, Berkley, ABU Garcia, BCF, Lowrance, Valvoline, Snap-On, JBL and Mako Eyewear. One of the big attractions of the Challenge is the $88,000 in cash supplied by Pirtek and divided across the 22-target fish nationally. This is awarded via a ‘mystery length’ a secret measurement determined by the event organisers. Michael Guest, Event Director, says the challenge is designed to allow people of all ages and experiences to get involved and enjoy a day outdoors. “It doesn’t matter whether you are an experienced angler or picking up a rod for the first time. The PIRTEK Fishing Challenge is all about getting together with your friends and family, having fun and supporting our charity partners,” said Michael. Competing anglers can look the part by purchasing from the extensive range of merchandise available on the website, including fishing shirts, T-shirts, neck buffs, shorts, broadbrim hats and head torches. For more information and to register visit pirtekfishingchallenge.com.au. Registrations cost $25, plus postage and handling. – Pirtek Fishing Challenge
REGION
TARGET SPECIES
STATE
East Coast Freshwater
Australian Bass
NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC
Mountain Trout
Rainbow or brown trout
Tasmania, NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC
Murray-Darling Basin Murray-Darling Basin Murray-Darling Basin Murray-Darling Basin
European Carp Murray Cod (no bait, only lure) Redfin Golden Perch
NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC, SA NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC, SA NSW/ACT, QLD, VIC, SA
NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT
Bream (yellowfin) Flathead Leatherjacket (all species excluding Chinamen and Unicorn Tailor Whiting
NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT NSW/ACT
QLD QLD QLD QLD
Barramundi (freshwater and saltwater) Flathead Trevally Whiting
QLD QLD QLD QLD
TAS
Australian Salmon
TAS
Top End Top End
Barramundi (freshwater and saltwater) Trevally (all species)
NT and Northern WA NT and Northern WA
VIC VIC
Bream (all species) Flathead
VIC VIC
Southern WA / SA Southern WA / SA
King George Whiting Bream (all species)
SA and Southern WA SA and Southern WA
MARCH 2021
FISHING CHALLENGE Peter Duncan Neurosciences Research Unit
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45
Recreational Fishing Update 500,000 Cod Stocked
Native Fish Boost For Turon River Image courtesy of Col Gordon
Photo: Courtesy of Al McGlashan
Native fish stocks in the Turon River, near the historic town of Sofala in central-western NSW, have been boosted following the release of thousands of Murray cod and golden perch fingerlings by dedicated volunteer anglers. About 9000 cod and 6000 goldens were stocked into the river by members of the Sofala Fishing Club under DPI’s Dollar-for-Dollar Native Fish Stocking Program. This long running and highly popular program
involves community groups, including fishing clubs, raising funds to stock native fish purchased from private hatcheries. Equivalent funds are matched from the Recreational Fishing Trust. If you’re interested in stocking your local waterways with native species including Murray cod, golden perch and Australian bass, stay tuned for info on the 20212022 Dollar-for-Dollar Program. This program is a great example of your fishing fees at work!
The NSW Government’s annual Murray cod stocking season has finished up, with more than 500,000 juvenile cod released into rivers and dams. This massive stocking effort is great news for the legions of keen anglers who target these iconic native sportfish. The juvenile cod were bred at the DPI Fisheries Centre at Narrandera and were released into selected waterways earlier in the year. The stocking sites include popular impoundment fisheries such as Copeton, Blowering, Wyangala and Burrinjuck dams, along with drought recovery releases within the Darling, Lachlan, Macquarie and Namoi River catchments. The Murray cod stocking program is another great example of your fishing fees at work!
Tiger Trout Now On The Prowl!
Solid Growth For Tagged Flattie!
Image courtesy of Ray Tang, Wallerawang CAS.
A croc-sized dusky flathead tagged in the St Georges Basin Trophy Fishery has recorded an impressive 10cm growth rate after being recaptured just over three years after it was originally released. Angler Marley Watson, 13, recaptured the 97cm flattie while fishing on the southern side in the Basin on 29 December 2020. The tag details reveal the fish was originally tagged at 87cm on 27 December 2017 by local kayak fisho Connor Barrett. The fish was at liberty for 1097
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days and was re-captured about 2.3nm from the original capture location. A 10cm growth rate over three years is significant for a flathead of this size. DPI Fisheries research indicates that growth rates for dusky flathead tend to slow after the fish reach “trophy size” of 70cm and above. Search the DPI website for more info on the Trophy Fishery Program.
www.dpi.nsw.gov.au
In a first for NSW, 1500 tiger trout fingerlings have been stocked into Thompsons Creek Dam, near Lithgow. A hybrid bred fish from female brown trout and male brook trout, tiger trout feature spectacular colouration and have a reputation as being an aggressive and hard fighting sportfish. The fish stocked into the dam were 50-70mm in size and were produced at DPI’s Gaden trout hatchery in Jindabyne. Known to feed strongly, the tigers are expected to grow very quickly and should be available to catch within the next few years. DPI Fisheries plans to release larger tiger trout into other upper Coxs River lakes over coming months. Monitoring to assess the effectiveness of the stockings, including impacts on redfin and fishery performance, will be undertaken as part of a three-year trial. The tiger trout stockings are being undertaken to improve trout fishing opportunities in NSW, a key goal under the NSW Trout Strategy. The tiger trout stocking initiative is yet another great example of your fishing fees at work!
dpi.nsw.gov.au/artificial-reef
DPI’s ground-breaking approach to artificial reef design is providing reef structures that will not only last for decades but which are scientifically shown to be among the most productive habitats in our coastal waters. A series of reefs of varying designs have already been installed, with two off Sydney and others off Port Macquarie, Newcastle, Wollongong, Shoalhaven Heads and Merimbula Bay. More are being planned for the Tweed coast, the Batemans Bay region and off Jervis Bay. The reefs are designed to provide habitat for key recreational sportfish such as kingfish, snapper and mulloway, as well as abundant bait species. A key goal of DPI’s artificial reefs program is to increase recreational fishing opportunities for current and future fishing generations. Download the DPI FishSmart App or visit the NSW DPI website for GPS coordinates to our artificial reef network. These reefs are built using funds from the Recreational Fishing Trust.
MARCH 2021
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Sydney
NSW
Summer might be over but good fishing isn’t! whilst gathering baitfish at anchor. Just place your first caught live yellowtail deep enough in the water so it can just be seen, and you will entice a cruising kingy or two. Along our coast all of the usual haunts are seeing kingfish being caught. Avalon Head, Newport Reef and Long Reef are all areas that have been producing lots of kingfish and attracted lots of anglers too. Please make sure that if you do fish in areas where there are already a lot of anglers before throwing out the anchor you have plenty of room between the boats
PITTWATER
Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com
As the heading suggests, summer is over but some great fishing can still be found in this part of the world. We are still catching some great flathead, kingfish, flounder, bream and the odd mulloway along Pittwater and Broken Bay as well as catching snapper, flathead and kingfish along our coast as well. So as you can see there is still plenty of activity to tangle with but your destination will dictate what species you may run into. Kingfish have best been targeted along Pittwater with downriggers and covering ground with live squid as bait. When kings have been found they have been finding it hard to refuse live squid, but the good news for the lazy angler is they are still taking the odd yellowtail as well. To catch yellowtail, go to West Head to the Pill Boxes and either drift over the schools of baitfish or
humble prawn on a 2-hook paternoster rig will not only catch a flathead but may entice a bream, leatherjacket or flounder. The drift from Patonga through to Lion Island is also seeing flathead being caught as well as flounder, tailor and the odd whiting too. Try to drift this area with the current, and if the wind is against the tide fishing does become less productive. Anchoring and fishing at Flint and Steel has produced a mixed bag for a lot of boats with captures of bream, trevally, just legal snapper and the odd
Anna with her first kingfish for the season. anchor and berley. Both methods will see a few live baits caught so you can start to downrig. On our boat we use bait jigs to secure about 10 yellowtail before heading off to use them chasing kings. Catching squid has
COHOE MARINE PRODUCTS
been an easy affair on most occasions with most of the weed beds along Pittwater and Broken Bay holding a few. The better colours have been the fluoro colours, and the best size jig has been 2.5. Some areas to try are at Mackerel Beach, Palm Beach, Careel Bay and Towlers Bay. All these areas have produced for us over the last month. The best method has been an aggressive twitch with pauses to allow the jig to sink again. Remember to look around the jig before removing it from the water as we are finding quite a
few squid following the jig back to the boat. With baits secured in the live bait tank it’s a matter of either looking for working seagulls and rising baitfish, or cover ground and watch your sounder for baitfish balls mid-water. There have been quite a lot of baitfish along the western foreshore which is where there have been plenty of fish to catch. Another area to try is along Barrenjoey Headland or at West Head. Barrenjoey Head can be trolled or downrigged to produce results but West Head can see you catching kingfish
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MARCH 2021
This kingfish couldn’t resist a live downrigged squid.
and also make sure you are not anchoring where someone is already trolling or downrigging. There is plenty of room for everyone and not all people like a crowd around their fishing area, so please consider other people’s space. Back on the flat water, drifting for flathead has been pretty easy. Try along Pittwater, the drop-off near Palm Beach or, for those casting soft plastics, the weed bed edges are worth trying. The points along Pittwater such as Soldiers Point, Longnose Point or Sinclair Point are also worth a drift or three. The better baits have been pilchards or squid strips but your
mulloway as well. This area is best targeted around the change of the tide by anchoring and using a deep water berley system. I hope this article sees you excited and heading out to catch a few fish before the cold weather starts to arrive. If you’re finding it difficult to track down some fish, give me a call on 0410 633 351 so we can organise a charter for your group so you can learn new tricks and get information about all of the areas on Pittwater. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au
NSW
Sydney
Tempting well-fed kings SYDNEY NTH
Steve Winser
The water temperature in the harbour is hovering at around 22.5°C, and we are seeing schools of mac tuna and frigate mackerel turning up on the surface. The mac tuna are around 3-4kg, however, the schools are quite sporadic and moving fast so they’re a challenge
also being taken while fishing these areas for mulloway. Kingfish are present in good numbers in the lower harbour. There are metre-long fish swimming alongside 60cm fish, so fishing too light won’t bring you any joy. At the moment, 24kg is the standard outfit for us, especially around the markers and structure. The larger kings are well fed and have been quite picky, so once again, freshly caught squid is
away where it could possibly splat someone else square in the face. This may or may not have happened to me… MARCH FISHING In March we should be seeing an increase in kingfish numbers and quality. We can also expect an increase in catches of tasty bread-andbutter species such as flathead and whiting, and with the increase in rain from these consistent south weather
Fresh squid is your ticket to catching those finicky kings. to get a lure into. Metals in 7-15g range have proven effective for the mac tuna, and you should go as small as possible for the frigates. Salmon and tailor have also been present, with schools of small garfish throughout the upper harbour. Mulloway have started to move in again with the water warmer in the upper and lower harbour. They are taking live baits, fresh squid and vibes (the vibes worked slow and deep around bait balls will produce fish). We generally look for the turn of the tide window, about half an hour either side of the change, and a low tide change is my preferred. Some big flatties are
your ticket. Squidding has been good, but they are moving around a bit, so where you got them yesterday won’t necessarily be where you get them tomorrow. Smaller jigs in the 2.5 size are what we are using right now, because this size jig will take both small and large squid. The kelp beds are currently producing better than the ribbon weed banks, and you should work the area thoroughly and move, move, move. Be mindful of the squid’s beak when you’re handling it. It can get hold of you if you’re not paying attention, potentially causing you to instinctively fling the thing
patterns, the mulloway will only get better. • Fishing Sydney Tours takes pride in tailoring every trip to the customer’s preferred species, style of angling, and level of expertise, all within a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at competitive rates. There are some excellent fishing spots that can be accessed straight off Sydney, and we will show you where. We offer harbour, wash and offshore fishing for species ranging from kingfish and mulloway through to snapper and mahimahi. For more info go to www.fishingsydneytours. com.au, call 0481 120 600 or look up ‘Fishing Sydney Tours’ on Facebook.
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Brenden Rinses with a cracking flathead caught on a ZMan soft plastic in the Karuah River. The fish went 86cm and was quickly released. MARCH 2021
49
Sydney
NSW
Using the right bait SYD ROCK & BEACH
Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au
Are you feeling a bit weary? Well I am, that’s for sure! If you, like me, try to get out fishing as much as possible, the late sunsets mean you may be fishing quite late. And then, if you’re getting up early in the morning with only a few hours’ sleep, it becomes a bit tough. At least the days are now getting shorter, and the sunrises are nice and late, which provides some relief. This month basically all species that you will encounter in Sydney are available. You have to weigh up what you want to do. Should you target any of the estuary species, beach species or rock species? There’s so much to choose from. Try to stay focused and choose a specific species to maximise your success on the outing. And while you’re at it, you may also pickup some welcome by-catch. Below is only some of what you can expect for this month.
OCEAN ROCKS There are a lot of rat kings on some of the deep rock spots on the northern suburbs of Sydney like The Hat at Manly, and North and South Whale headlands as well. This also applies to the Eastern Suburbs rocks like Julianne near Little Bay and Yellow Rock at Maroubra. The kings are averaging between 55-64cm with the occasional legal fish over 65cm as well. Although most of the kings are throwbacks, they are good fun, especially on 8-10kg outfits. There are some days with larger fish in that 70-85cm size range. The ‘evergreen bait’ eastern sea gars work a treat, with kings of all sizes taking a fancy to this bait, especially at this time of the year when the sea gars are running on this part of the coast. I use ganged 4 x 5/0 to 6/0 Mustad 7766-D hooks with a powerful swivel in between the first two or three hooks. It makes it much easier to bait up with the swivels in between the hooks compared to not having the swivel. I use a plastic occy skirt and a ball sinker above the occy skirt
with the skirt being pink or green or red/white. This kind of set-up, in various colours, will add extra attraction to your large to X/L sea gar. Spin your gar with a jigging action, or a stopstart retrieve at a moderate pace and get ready for some action. An outfit I recommend is a Daiwa PE-6 Saltist 962XHS rod suitable for at least 24kg J-Braid Grand, with 60-80lb Wilson FG fluorocarbon leader. Remember that the Randwick and Northern Beaches council areas require all rock anglers to wear a PFD when rock fishing. I recommend the Hobie PFD 50+ AS4758 life jacket. Steel spike or stretch-on spikes are paramount, especially when you’re fishing the sandstone rocks, to reduce slippage. OK, let’s get back to other options for catching a king. The Bait Junkie 7” Jerk Shad has been producing some nice fish, as is the 180mm Saltiga Dorado Pencil popper. Some big pigs (rock blackfish) have been around of late. A client
T S A O C T EAS 1 2 0 2 S E I AM SER nsisting
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Luca Sella with one of two good kings landed on this outing, which he released. Fish this size pull really hard on any gear. They were both caught on eastern sea gars with 6/0 gangs. caught one that weighed in the vicinity of 5kg – a massive pig! That was by far his largest, and it was released. He was using the Alvey 650B spooled with 10kg Tortue, and the rod was an Alvey Rock and Beach Special 62. A range of baits can be used for rock blackfish. If you check out the stomach contents the vast majority of it is weed. There’s pink moss and green weed, with most of it being the brown weeds. These fish love prawns and don’t mind white bread,
especially in conjunction with bread berley. Once they have had a taste of the mushy bread berley you will find that they bite much more readily on the bread. You can use prawns very successfully when you berley up with bread. 2X strong hooks are best as you don’t want a hook bending straight when you’re locked into one of these big, pugnacious dirty fighting fish which you will encounter. It’s best to fish the white sudsy water with submerged ledges, amongst the boulders
fishing the mid run-in tide to one or two hours out from high tide during the low light period. I recommend trying Manly’s Little Blueys ledges, as there are lots of places to fish for this species there. It’s also great for luderick and a few bream, and it’s definitely worth a go for tailor and pelagics. Long Reef and Warriewood Rocks are great for pigs as well. OCEAN BEACH Bream have been in quite good numbers off the ocean beaches of late. The
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Deepak and Preangel with one of several bream and whiting caught during their recent trip. They were using beach worms, which will catch both species, unlike fish baits which don’t catch whiting.
NSW
great thing about bream fishing is that you don’t need live worms, which can be hard to purchase (although if you can catch your own that’s certainly a bonus). Being a scavenger/ predator, you can use a range of baits for bream. Pipis are great when you can harvest them off the beach that you’re fishing – just remember that if you harvest pipis, by law you cannot take them away from the beach that you are fishing. Obviously, if you have purchased pipis from a shop it’s a different story, just make sure you have your receipt. Chances are relatively slim that you will encounter Fisheries off the beach, but why take the risk? Fish baits are readily taken by bream. The humble half pilchard is a commonly used bait for them, and tailor fillet, mullet fillet and slimy mackerel are great as well. Peeled or unpeeled school prawns make great baits, especially when you’re fishing near a lagoon or river entrance, as they are a more natural food source at this time of the year. When using live beach worms it becomes a double bonus, because you have a good chance of catching sand whiting. They are
caught in the same areas as bream. Whiting and bream are caught in the shallow gutters as well
as the shallow/deep edge of larger, deeper gutters. Some quality tailor are around in the low light
This rock blackfish went a shade under 60cm, about 5kg. Fish this size are old and a bit chewy on the plate. Blake Curtis was happy to release this beast of a pig.
and especially during the evening periods. Ganged hooks (3 x 3/0 to 4/0) rigged with a whole pilchard is the most typical way to catch beach tailor. You can use fish fillet like mullet or tailor as well. Reports of mulloway from 75-105cm are also being caught by some of the locals. Live yellowtail, whiting fillet, tailor fillet and even fresh whole ganged pilchards will put you in with a chance of catching this prize fish. Remember when chasing mulloway that you should fish during the evening, after dark and preferably in a swell less than 1.5m. Half tide in to one hour out is best. Having said that, it is possible to catch mulloway at low tide, providing the beach hole is deep enough during the low tide period. Manly Beach, Dee Why Beach, Collaroy/ Narrabeen and Warriewood are all producing for these species. The better mulloway beaches are Dee Why and Narrabeen. And that’s it for this month’s report. As March progresses, you will notice the odd day that’s more chilly, especially during the southerly changes towards the end of the month. This will start to encourage migration of sea mullet,
Sydney
Even when you think you know your neighbourhood really well, you can still discover a new snapper spot, as the author found out. When distance casting you should be prepared to lose rigs. Be bold and adventurous! whiting, bream and more, and when these smaller fish start to migrate there will be fish like mulloway, sharks and more predators following. • 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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Making the most of March SYDNEY SOUTH
Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au
Even though we have had a fair bit of rain over the past month and will most probably have plenty more, the fishing has been very good on all fronts. Botany Bay has been producing bream, trevally, flathead, flounder, kingfish and slimy mackerel at the NSW Fisheries marks in Yarra Bay. Half pilchards, peeled prawns and chicken have been getting the best results while at anchor. You could also try trolling small skirted lures around the edges of Yarra
Bay from Trevally Alley to Henry Head. If this doesn’t work then go over to Sutherland Point and start trolling from there, past the oil wharf and the Sticks and further up the bay to Towra Point. Small 30-40g metals and 100mm hardbodied lures will work as well. The crowds will have well and truly started to thin out a bit at Trevally Alley and the end of the third runway. So, the bream, trevally, flounder, flathead, ockies, pan-size snapper and kingfish would be a great option, whether you are fishing while at anchor or just drifting. Keep an eye out for those working birds as the tailor will be schooling up the baitfish and smashing
through them. This is where I will have an outfit pre-rigged with a lure ready to chuck out. As some times the tailor are only up for 5-10 minutes, then they sound (go deeper) to regroup to make another attack. For those fishing from the shore, the stretch of sand from the Cooks River entrance to Dolls Point has been producing bream, flathead, whiting and flounder. The best baits have been live Hawkesbury River prawns, nippers and tube worms. I have been going down to beach at Wanda and getting my own beach worms. If you like you could always ring Mac’s Bait Bar and buy a
Terry with a couple of nice bream he caught on hardbodies while fishing from his trusty kayak.
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few as they usually arrive late Thursday. Further upstream the bream have been feeding under the boats in Woolooware, Kogarah and Oatley bays. Lightly weighted soft plastics and suspending hardbodied lures have been doing the job in getting a few out. Luderick have started to show up in numbers in the Woronora River. Fresh green weed is needed to get the best results. The Moons, Soily and Picnic points are also producing a number of luderick on the falling tide. Make sure you berley as well. The stretch of river from Lugarno and up to Kelso Park is worth a drift with whole Hawkesbury River prawns, half pillies and strip of either slimy mackerel or mullet for bream, flathead and mulloway. On both the rising and falling tide. If bait is not your preferred way of fishing, try using blades or soft plastics. When it comes to fishing off the rocks, remember to take care. As you may know there have been a number of deaths over the past few months of anglers fishing off the ocean rocks. Little Bay, the Kurnell Point, Boat Harbour, Jibbon Point, Marely and Garie Point have been producing bream, trevally, squid, tailor, salmon, kingfish and the odd mulloway or two. I use either half pillies or peeled blue-tailed prawns. The rig tends to be either be a small running ball sinker down onto the bait, or I have the bait suspended under a small bobby cork. This is a great time to have a fish off the beaches at Cronulla for bream, whiting, tailor, dart and the odd flathead. The best baits by far are beach or tube worms, followed by half or whole pilchards or garfish.
A client of Scotty Lyons managed a nice flounder while drifting in Botany Bay on the green machine. If you are going to try for mulloway at night, try using whole small poddy mullet, squid or yellowtail. They don’t have to be live, just fresh. Like Botany Bay, the Port Hacking River has had plenty of undersized kingfish, which are fun on light tackle. The big ones are still there too, you will just need to work out where and when they are going to come out and play. Live or dead whole squid, live poddy mullet and yellowtail are my prime
baits for them. Leatherjackets seem to be out in big numbers, and some days you can lose a few packets of plastics to them. They can be caught while using a paternoster rig, a number 10 long shank hook and either a small piece of prawn or squid for bait. They can be caught from any wharf, jetty, pontoon or out of a boat. Don’t forget to keep those photos coming into gbrown1@iprimus.com.au and I will get them into my monthly report.
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NSW
Rock walls deliver the goods BALLINA
Joe Allan
The Richmond River has been well and truly flushed in the last few months. This has caused some species to go into hiding and others to come out and play big time. In recent weeks there have been some big mulloway caught off the rock walls both north and south, with some specimens up to 150cm in length. There’s some real quality in these fish. The surface action in the freshwater reaches has been going well of late. Unweighted soft plastics imitating a prawn or small frog are working well when skipped under trees, and this is a really fun way to fish. The old favourites of Atomic Cicada and Slappa 90 are also still working great. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits have been producing good fish too, as are Bassman 3/8oz jigs. If you have not given these a go they’re definitely worth a try. When the drains and creeks are running, try big spinnerbaits or big noisy crankbaits. The more
Ben Rampling with a good flathead from the Porpoise Wall.
A healthy mangrove jack caught from a rock wall up river on an Atomic Crank 38.
Tall fish tales told here. Experience the best bluewater, rock, river and beach fishing on the NSW north coast.
disturbance, the better. Before the massive deluge last around Christmas the rock walls along the town stretch and up Emigrant Creek were producing some good numbers of quality bream on light crankbaits. These fish seem to have moved now and are schooled along the deeper drop-offs and rock walls. You will come across a few of our red friends, the mighty mangrove jack, some be prepared to either beef up your gear or go back to the tackle shop with your wallet. Still, as they say, if you’re not losing lures, you’re not wn Bfun. Prahaving catching ba and l a es “Ya mThere are some good d size ” flathead still being caught along the Porpoise Wall and
Jamie Conway with a nice flatty on a sunny day on the Richmond River.
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in Mobbs Bay. Live baits and heavy plastics on the last half of the run-out are always worth a shot, and small crankbaits and plastics up on the flats in Mobbs are solid performers, especially when the water is dirty towards the bottom half of the run-out. There are some good numbers of bream getting caught off the beaches when
the swell isn’t pumping too hard and the water isn’t too dirty. The dart and tailor have been a little quiet however you can start to try the gutters around Boundary Creek along South Ballina for some good size flathead. Blades, slugs and heavily weighted soft plastics will do the trick if you can’t come across some fresh bait.
Offshore there have been some quality snapper on the 32s as well as some good size trag. The mahimahi have still been very consistent off the FAD. Since mid-December the mackerel have been
scattered all over place – one day they’ll be at Black Head and the next at Riordans Reef. They can be hard to keep track of. Until next month, tight lines.
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Lewis caught this 110cm, 35kg cod while fishing with his family at Split Rock Dam. MARCH 2021
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NSW
Top times to catch fish in March COFFS HARBOUR
Dayne Taylor
March is a fantastic time of the year to get out and about here on the waters of the Coffs Coast. Locally, our rivers have begun to clear up thanks to the big recent summer tides, although the low tides will still drag out some dirty water. Focus your fishing times on the top of the run-in
tide and target areas more towards the lower reaches of the systems. Bream, whiting and flathead are all on offer, whilst larger predatory fish such as mulloway and the likes will also frequent these areas, hunting the large quantities of bait that get flushed to the lower reaches. In the beach gutters and on the flats of the estuaries, small baits such as beachworms, pipis, pilchards, and freshly caught live pink
E
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T COAS S A
The author’s dad, Jay Taylor, with a nice flathead and bream from the Macleay River.
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A flathead from the McLeay River at South West Rocks.
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Jordan with a quality Spanish mackerel.
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nippers are all great baits. Small size no. 1 long shank hooks work a treat on all these species. My tip is to use the smallest sinker or, if possible, no sinker at all on the sand flats to tempt some of the most cunning of fish. Remember it’s the end of a busy summer and these fish have likely seen a bait of two already this season. We have been treated to some great table-size flathead on the Nambucca and Macleay river systems in recent weeks, and I expect it to continue over the next month. Small paddle-tail soft plastics around 3” and similar sized hardbodied diving lures worked off the edges of a sandy drop-off have been producing the goods. The use of an electric motor on a boat makes this style of fishing easy, but if you have a kayak or you’re land based there are still plenty of likely locations
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to find with similar structure that holds plenty of flathead in all our estuary systems. We continue to have steamy hot days and stormy afternoons, making for ideal conditions to chase mangrove jacks up our creeks and rivers. This weather helps get them fired up and they are readily taking lures. I have found that 3-4” paddle-tail soft plastics and hardbodied jerkbaits all work well. These fish even like a similar-sized topwater lure presented in around a snag. Focus your efforts on the top of the tides and sunrise or sunset where possible. Further upstream, the bass and bream are still happily taking topwater lures. Cicada imitations are still producing, and they are hard for any bream and bass to refuse when presented up in the shade of an overhanging tree at any time of the day. I even managed to catch a nice bass way downstream right near South West Rocks last month. Maybe he was a little
will lose a few dollars’ worth of lures really quickly! The FAD and wave recorder have still been producing some nice mahimahi, and these similar areas have had wahoo frequent them also. At this time of year it’s easy to forget about our year-round quality reef fishing on offer. Reefs in the 20-80m depth range are still very productive for bottom fish such as snapper, pearl perch and tuskfish. A mixed offering of both pilchards and squid on a paternoster rig are sure to produce the goods. Fresh baits of bonito, mullet and even slimy mackerel make excellent strip and live baits for reef fishing. In a little closer and
ROCKS
The author with a bass caught far downstream.
Offshore anglers have been picking up mackerel, wahoo and cobia like this one.
lost due to the minor flooding we had, or the food source was too good to travel back upstream for the summer? Offshore, the shallow reefs in the 10-30m range have begun to produce some quality Spanish and spotted mackerel, with the odd cobia and wahoo thrown in the mix also. Live baits seem to be easy to find for the time being, but they will dwindle as the toothy critters hang around for the next few months. A single 30-50lb wire trace, single #7 hook and treble live bait rig with a live slimy mackerel slow trawled around is the most effective way to catch yourself a Spanish or spotted mackerel. Once I find a few fish, I also like to mix it up with a bit of lure fishing. Casting topwater stickbaits and metal slugs can draw some great action and excitement when they turn on. Just remember to keep around 1ft of wire on, or you
shallower (10-20m reefs) I have found a single small ball sinker and a single hook with a nice fresh slab of bait drifted down is accounting for some very nice snapper. These same shallower reefs are also still producing good snapper and mulloway whilst casting soft plastic lures. Curly-tail soft plastics such as the Berkley Gulp Nemesis or Jigging Shrimp, along with jerkshad profiles all work well. At this time of year I often drift these shallow reefs casting plastics for snapper with a live slimy out the back to pick up a mackerel cruising by as a bonus. Until next month, cast like there is no tomorrow and retrieve like you have all the time in the world.
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Mix it up in March THE HASTINGS
Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com
March is usually a very good fishing month in the Macquarie region, and we can hopefully expect the same this year – although it will depend on a continuation of local rivers clearing up from the recent heavy rains and minor flooding. As I write this the Hastings is cleaning up down the bottom of the system but it’s still dirty upriver, and the Maria and Wilson rivers are very dirty so we don’t want
another deluge up the top of our system for a while. Offshore has been good with lots of options, with black marlin being landed by anglers and a lot caught from small trailer boats. This month we may start to see some mackerel show up if the current and water temps are good. The lead up into Easter can be the time to get your gear ready for them. The local offshore charters have been catching some good snapper and pearl perch on their trips, plus the occasional mulloway as well. This good offshore fishing should remain through the month and the smaller offshore boats should
find some quality fish on some of the inshore patches. A proven technique for searching out snapper on our in close grounds is trolling, and it is a very good method for searching a lot of water. There are plenty of lures on the market so be more aware of the lure’s diving depths and match it to suit the water depth you are fishing. Snapper will hit lures from 80mm long up to big sizes, so mix it up! Tip: if you’re using a rod holder make sure your rod is leashed or very solid, because the whack from a big red can be explosive and rods do get lost. The river system has been
Young Ollie with a beautiful 82cm flathead.
Mitch, Kirsty and Sean got into the whiting using soft plastics.
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producing some great flathead as well as whiting and bream. The front of the Hastings has been very solid with masses of whitebait schools, herring and small tailor present, all these baitfish have made for a smorgasbord for the predators. However, as the water continues to clean this bait will spread back out through the river and we can look forward to a less crowded waterway down the front. Whiting showed up in the deeper water during the rain peaks, and on my boat we were getting a fair few as by-catch on soft plastics. This isn’t something overly
surprising but up to 10 whiting in a session on size 1/0 hooks and 3” plastics was unusual. This month they should be back on the sand flats in better numbers, making for some fun popper fishing for them. Bream around the rock walls and in the canals have been well worth the effort with some good fish to 40cm being caught. Lightly weighted plastics have been excellent, and this month we will look for an edge surface bite using surface lures and diving cranks. Flathead numbers have been good, and some exceptional fish have been landed again. The front of the river systems has been the place to be we have been having success working three and four inch soft plastics along the bait schools and have found a fair few table size fish as well as the bigger females which we release. This month shapes up as a return to hopefully normal conditions and we all get out and enjoy the waterways around Port Macquarie.
Liam with a quality bream from the Coal Wall.
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Peter and Dylan with the results of a double hook-up on flathead and bream.
NSW
Bread-and-butter warriors are out in force yabbies or surface lures right on the top of the tide and the start of the run-out tide is a sure fire way of scoring some action, and you can also expect to get more than a few cracking bream and flathead in the process. Our local beaches have been amazing lately. Whiting, bream and flathead have all been about in big numbers, with some particularly nice bream starting to make for some very nice mixed bags. 9 Mile has produced the odd mulloway in recent weeks, with specimens up to 12kg
FORSTER
Luke Austin
March is a fantastic month for anglers lucky enough to be living in or visiting the beautiful Great Lakes area. The days have cooled a little now from the blistering heat that we experienced during January and February, but the water along our coastline is nice and warm and teeming with all sorts of marine life! This month sees a notable shift in the focus of the local estuary anglers. After spending the last three or four months very much focused on flathead and whiting, we now start to think about the big bluenosed bream and bronzy luderick that will populate the lower sections of the estuary as they prepare to spawn. Bream are really starting to move down onto the rock walls, bridge pylons and oyster racks east of Wallis Island now and can be caught easily on either lure or bait. For bait fishers, fishing the rock walls is a very good option
barracouta have been much too common for my liking! The main reason anglers love hitting the open ocean in March is because you simply never know what you might come across. There have already been the odd reports of mackerel and cobia and at some stage this month we should see some really good numbers of these highly sought-after pelagic fish. So no matter where you choose to head for a fish, you had better make sure you have some wire rigs and live baits at the ready! • Luke is the owner of Great
There are some nice bream starting to hit the break walls now. the more fish you hook, but you will probably land fewer of them! It’s far from all over for the local flathead fishers, as there are still great numbers of fish coming from up around Wallis Island/Lanis/Coomba Park. We are really lucky here in that we can actually target
If you can find some decent wash zones, there are some cracking drummer getting about. and there have been lots of very well-conditioned 30cm+ models caught lately by floating lightly weighted baits of mullet, slimy mackerel, whitebait, pilchard or prawn down along the wall. Don’t be surprised if you don’t land every fish you hook; there have been some very nice fish down there as well as more than a few kingfish that love to destroy bream gear! For the lure fishers, think about using small soft plastic which imitate small baitfish or crustaceans rigged on ultra-light jigheads and similarly light-ish leaders. Getting the balance right between leader weight and how many fish you land can be tricky. The lighter you go
fat ocean bream, snapper and drummer. Bream numbers are unbelievable along our coastline at the moment and most fish are of a very nice size. The early run black drummer have mainly been small fish but there is the odd 50cm+ model among them. Heading offshore in March is awesome fun. Snapper really start to fire back up again at this time of year, and lately the shallow reefs to the north have been particularly good with plenty of fish coming from water under 10m deep. The best I saw recently was a
these awesome estuary fish for 12 months of the year. While they definitely have their peak over the summer months down around the bridge/break walls, once you find clear water or bait a little further up they can be caught just about any time. Unfortunately, the fish are nowhere near as hungry as they were earlier in the year, and this can make them very hard to tempt for bait fishers. Instead of using bait, try focussing your efforts on throwing some 3” soft plastics around. Natural baitfish colours/profiles and prawn imitations work very well, as do soft and hard vibe style lures. With some nice, warm ocean water still lapping our shores, the estuary is still holding at a reasonable temperature which means sand whiting are still a worthwhile target this month. Fishing the shallow flats with beachworms,
There are some great pelagic fish about this month, but you will have to put up with the good old mac tuna. While they are fun and hard fighting, catching them one after the other gets very old! which is great to see. Our local stones are a hive of activity at this time of year. There is a real mix of anglers out there at the moment, because on one hand we have the dedicated land-based game fishers waiting for the pelagic speedsters to come along, while on the other hand we have a band of bread-andbutter warriors who have been having a ball on big,
very fat 85cm model which hammered a plastic and decided to fight up high in the water column in 9m. Talk about lucky! Those reefs sitting in 20-50m have been a bit of a patchy affair but again once you find a school there are some nice 2-4kg fish there. The deeper reefs have been holding some good trag and pearl perch but reports of the seemingly ever-present
Lakes Tackle, your local bait and tackle store. They sell only 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. Open 7 days in the main street of Tuncurry, you can contact them on 02 6554 9541 or find them on Facebook to see what they have been up to!
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The shallow reef areas are holding some ripper snapper that are suckers for a lightly weighted bait or plastic.
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NSW
Better fishing ahead PORT STEPHENS
Paul Lennon
March brings with it some of the best fishing of the year, and the further we get into the month, the better it gets. Inside the bay, flathead are showing no signs of slowing down, with monster crocs up to the magical metre mark lurking in the shallows from Jimmys Beach to Soldiers Point. A lot of people don’t understand how close to the shoreline flathead will be, and instead choose to drift the middle of the bay for disappointing results. Generally, if you are in a boat and cannot hit the shore with your cast, that means you’re too far out. Lures like medium-size soft plastics and hardbodies fished the right way will significantly out-fish bait when it comes to flathead, but you need to cover ground and be constantly on the move, fanning an area before moving onto the next. Whiting are also still in good numbers, especially for those using live worms and
fishing the shallows around Shoal Bay, Nelson Bay, Little and Jimmys Beach. High tide is the best time for these tasty critters, especially if you can get it corresponding with a later afternoon or early morning session. Big bream are hanging around the islands, racks and rock bars, with Soldiers Point, Garden Island and Tahlee all prime haunts to target. Either
Jobe Wheelhouse with a nice mac tuna caught on spin gear. local ledges. Longtail tuna are the number one target, but mac tuna, sharks and the odd trophy cobia are all on the cards at this time of year. The most popular way to target these fish is live baiting with a slimy mackerel or yellowtail suspended 2-3m under a float. Smaller pelagics are also a great option from the stones at
Smaller pelagics like this little mac tuna are great light tackle and fly options inside the bay.
Some cracker bream always get caught at this time of year.
Port Stephens Estuary Charters
687 Contact Paul Lennon :0434370 mail.com email: paul.lennon.fishing@g
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fishportstephensestuarycharte @fish_portstephens
MARCH 2021
or fly gear. Keep an eye out for any surface or bird activity and cast small metals around 5-10g into the bust-ups. Don’t be surprised if you see a longtail tuna in the bay either, especially later in the month. In fact, from now on I’ll always have a 100-150mm stickbait rigged up for when that sudden opportunity presents itself. BEACHES The ocean beaches are fishing well with quality whiting still around as well as some thumping big bream starting to move on the beaches. Any gutter along Fingal, Samurai, One Mile or Stockton should get results when fished on the high tide with live worms or pipis rigged on no. 4 long shank hooks. ROCKS This is the time that landbased game fishers wait for all year, as large pelagic fish move along close to the coastline and can be caught from many
ens estuary system the beautiful Port Steph signed g charter that can be de with a calm water fishin to g family bait fishin to suit your needs from hing anglers. hardcore lure and fly fis
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62
anchor up and cast lightlyweighted nippers down a trail on the tide change, or move around casting small crankbaits and lightly weighted soft plastics. Pelagic fish like frigate mackerel, mac tuna, bonito and tailor will be following frogmouth pilchards and whitebait schools pushing into the system, and will provide some great fun on light tackle
this time of year, with bonnies, mac tuna, kings and tailor all readily taking metal lures and stickbaits. OFFSHORE Live baiting the shallow offshore reefs and headlands at this time of year is a real lucky dip – you can catch anything from bonito right through marlin. Position yourself
so you can drift a live bait suspended under a float over the reef and fish with your reel in freespool, waiting for the ratchet to scream. While lever drag overhead reels are favoured for this style of fishing, Baitrunner type spin reels in larger sizes are also increasing in popularity and do a great job.
Best of both worlds SWANSEA
Jason Nunn
The water temp along the coast has been a consistent 22-22.5°C, and we have seen a lot of inshore black marlin from Port Stephens right down to the Central Coast and beyond. There have been a lot of bonito along the coast but remember that the little blacks are scattered amongst the bonito. A young fellow called Matthew recently caught a black around 30kg at Moon Island on a shallow diver while fishing for bonito. It was a miracle that he landed it, because he was using 20lb line with a very light leader. Yellowtail and slimies have also been prolific along the coastline. There have been some nice dolphinfish (mahimahi) inside the Ships, in and around the 30-50m mark. With the warmer water there have also been a few holding at the FAD, but the average size there is small. The larger fish seem to be swimming around on their own. Small skirts or trolled live baits have been the way to go if you’re chasing some good size dollies. Lures should be trolled at around 8 knots, and skip baits at 4 knots. Or you can put out a live bait and either drift or be just in gear. Our beaches have been fishing really well, and the action should get even better this month. There are plenty of whiting along the coast, the beaches and break waters, especially Blacksmith break water. It’s been an unbelievable year yet again. Tailor have started to make an appearance along our
beaches, and this month they should get bigger and more numerous. It’s a great time to head to the beach with 3-gang pillies. There are obviously plenty of gangs that will work, but my preference is Tru-Turns they’re made from permasteel, have offset hooks, and have swivels holding them together. The advantage of swivels is that the eyelets don’t clog up with sand, and they are very flexible which presents the bait more naturally to the fish. The hook size should be 3/0-4/0 depending on the size of the pilchards you’re using. If you prefer to fish with chrome slices, the best size lately has been around 65g, which enables you to cast a bit further in the windy conditions we’ve been having. You can fish either early in the morning or late in the afternoon, but I prefer the afternoon because the bite window is usually longer. In the morning the bite ends as soon as the sun rises, while in the late afternoon the bite lasts longer, and can even intensify just on dark. In recent weeks quite a lot of mulloway have been caught off the beaches, with many around the 8kg mark. We should see some bigger fish turn up on the cusp of the Easter mullet run, which will come possibly towards the end of March. You can use a set bait or try walking the gutters casting soft plastics or hardbodies. Soft plastics are good because you can get them to the bottom, and the best option is anything with a big 6”+ profile and a big paddle tail. The paddle tail will allow you to use a big jighead and slow roll it back. As the waves pull out, the paddle tail will speed up so you don’t
have to retrieve fast. When it comes to colours, the most popular are mullet colours, white, and black/gold. If you want to use set baits, the best option is still squid, followed by a whole side of tailor. Fresh is always best if you can get it. It’s good to catch a few tailor in the afternoon, and then select one of your smaller legal fish and knock off a fillet to use as a slab bait. Just on dark, put it out and hang on. There could be a few sharks around but sometimes you just have to fish through them. Estuary fishing is productive at the moment, and it will get even better in the coming weeks. We have been blessed with a really good run of bream, with plenty of big specimens (40-45cm) getting caught on oily baits such as mullet strips and pilchards. A few are being taken on plastics and crankbaits and surface lures, but as coming into this time of year bait has been the best way to catch them. Good for bait fishing in the evening and into the night to get the better quality fish. Travelling coastal bream are already starting to move into the estuary, ahead of schedule. It may be a sign that we’re in for a fairly early winter blast as April approaches. Squid have made a resurgence in the lead-up to their peak breeding time, which is usually in March. A lot of lake squid are in their normal haunts, holding over areas with a sandy bottom in around 5-8m of water. When you’re in the lake, smaller jigs are the go – no bigger To page 63
NSW
An excellent month to fish the estuaries I’ll always maintain that if you want to get serious about chasing mulloway, consider live baits like tailor, mullet, yellowtail, pike or squid or strips of good quality locally caught calamari. When it comes to using whole dead or cut squid baits, go the calamari rather than the smaller estuarine arrow squid. ROCK AND BEACH March is normally an awesome month for rock and beach fishing here. If conditions are favourable
CENTRAL COAST
Jamie Robley
With the first month of autumn now upon us, let’s hope this new season brings a more positive change in the weather. Not that I would rate the summer we’ve just had as bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s been the best either. Autumn along this stretch of the NSW coast commonly goes one of two ways – very wet and possibly flooding or prolonged stretches of absolutely glorious, stable sunny days. In fact, those length sunny spells tend to occur more in the second half of autumn, but whatever the case, fingers crossed
March is an awesome month for beach fishing. Get out there as the sun sinks towards the horizon for a good chance of tailor, bream and mulloway.
This bream came from the beach at Norah Head. Bream should be plentiful along all of our beaches and adjacent rocky points and headlands throughout autumn. From page 62
than 1.5-2.5. Keep a range of colours in your tackle box, because the squid favour different colours on different days. If they’re not biting, don’t give up – try swapping your colour. There have been a few unusual catches lately, most notably a big diamond trevally caught by staff member Sean Griffith. He was fishing Lake Macquarie with Troy King when they came across a school of diamonds and managed to catch a nice 90cm one which looked to weigh around 6-8kg – very big for the lake. Once again Lake Macquarie has shown that it is a very diverse fishery, and you never know what you’re going to catch. MARCH TARGETS Now is a great time of year because you have both the last of the summer fish and the first of the winter fish. My key targets in the estuary are bream and tailor because they’re building in numbers. Offshore it’s definitely snapper and trag, which are also becoming more plentiful. March is also an excellent time to chase flathead along our coastal beaches. If you’re a flatty angler and head to the beach this month, you
in the 20-40g range. When cranked back in at warp speed, these sort of lures will always be reliable for speedy inshore pelagics. The traditional old ‘half by quarter’ metal bars aren’t so common now, but there are plenty of simple chrome metal lures available from brands such as Halco, and Wilson and SureCatch. After sunset it’s mulloway time along the beaches. Once again, I would suggest trying locally caught calamari squid over arrow squid or run-of-
can have some great sessions catching flatties, bream and tailor – it’s the best time of year by far. Flathead are also a good target on the shallow reefs in March. They like to head out after spawning and hold up on the backs of the reef, and when
there’s an improvement on summer anyway! ESTUARY ACTION Within Brisbane Waters and the lakes this is normally a brilliant time of year to be chasing our classic target species like bream, flathead, whiting and mulloway. The coming weeks should still see our water temps much as they’ve been through summer, which means very warm. This means bream, flathead and whiting will largely be sticking to the shallows, feeding on prawns, shrimp and small baitfish, particularly of an early morning, late afternoon and through the night. If they’re not right up in the skinny shallows they’ll be nearby in
any channel, runoff drain or slightly deeper section that has good access to the shallows. A lot of fish like to spend a bit of time feeding in shallow water when it’s safe to do so and then dart back into ‘safer’ deeper water. This sort of behaviour is more apparent in busier areas with more boat traffic. So in our case, that means places like The Entrance, Gosford, Woy Woy and Ettalong. Mulloway aren’t going to be zooming around over the shallow flats like bream and whiting, but March has been a productive month for me in the past and historically, these fish become more active within Brisbane Waters in April and May. While lure casting is extremely popular these days,
they are biting they’ll take just about any bait, whether it’s a strip bait, pilly, prawn or squid. If you want to chase snapper in the shallows this month, the most reliable way to catch them is by berleying and using floating baits, such as pilchards, strips of squid or
strips of bonito. Just anchor up on edge of the reef, deploy some berley, float out a bait, and sit back and enjoy. While you’re doing this you can fish the bottom for trag. Trag love pilchards and they’ll be just above the bottom. I fish my pilchards on a paternoster, and I use J hooks because the trag tend to suck the bait. These are great fighting fish, and they’re great on the plate as well. Remember to ice them up when you catch them because they are a soft fleshed fish and need to be kept in peak condition. • Fisherman’s Warehouse Tackle World has a large range fresh and frozen bait as well as a huge range of rods, reels, lures and accessories. They also sell and service outboard motors, and have a competitively-priced selection of new and second-hand boats. The friendly staff are all experienced local anglers, and they’re always happy to share their knowledge, whether you’re a novice or experienced angler. Drop in for a chat at 804 Pacific Highway, Marks Point, or give them a call on (02) 4945 2152. You can also find them on Facebook, or check out their website at www. fishermanswarehouse.com.au.
Troy holds up an unusual catch from Lake Macquarie – a big diamond trevally.
The author with a flathead that looks bigger than it is. This 60cm fish was kept for the dinner table, but any flatties larger than this should be released whenever possible. things can really fire up and it’s possible to enjoy red hot sessions with bream, whiting, tailor, mulloway, bonito and kings being the main players. Some years sharks can also be a bit too common and with the warm currents we’ve had lately I’d probably say we’re going to see quite a few whaler sharks along our beaches, protected bays and wherever baitfish or mullet are likely to congregate. My main target species this month are normally bream and tailor on the beaches, and bream or bonito off the rocks. With age-related joint problems starting to catch up on me I’ll probably be doing more laid-back bait soaking than repetitive lure casting from the rocks, but to the younger guys out there I’d highly recommend putting in the effort to do some high speed spinning for bonito and kingfish around Avoca, Terrigal, Norah Head, Wybung and Catherine Hill Bay. Surface lures and slender soft plastics certainly catch fish, but don’t neglect the old school chrome metal lures
the-mill frozen ‘bait shop’ squid. Calamari that has been frozen soon after it was caught will work just as well as freshly caught stuff, but the main issue is that it needs to be at least caught along the NSW coastline and have been promptly frozen and stored away from other forms of bait or fish. It needs to maintain its ‘calamari essence’ that hasn’t been infected with old bait smell, if you get what I mean! OFFSHORE The offshore fishing this month should be first rate. Once again though, the big issue is how the weather will behave and allow anglers to actually get out there in the first place. Ocean currents have certainly been on our side this season, so perhaps the very best suggestion I can make is to keep a close eye on weather forecasts and try to be prepared to take advantage of any windows of decent weather than come along. Take a day off work, lie to the boss or whatever it takes. If there are going to be only two good days out of 10 then you don’t want to miss out!
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63
NSW
Lots of species on offer ILLAWARRA
Greg Clarke
AMarch is my favourite month. The water is still hot while the blistering heat of the summer sun has waned enough to make a day on the water more comfortable. Daylight saving is nearly over, and when it’s gone you can fish into the evening and be home before midnight. True, you will have to get up a little earlier in the morning to beat the sunrise, but nothing like January. I’m getting lazy in my old age! But even better than all these seasonal changes is the fact that there are fish of all species out there just waiting to be caught, and there are heaps of them to boot. Let’s not waste too much time and get into the action. If you are a rock hopper, this is the month for you, as just about everything is available.
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If you want a bit of frantic action, head for the break walls or any north-facing headlands like Bass Point, particularly if there has been a bit of a northeaster the day before. The baitfish seem to gather close to the rocks and the predators know this, and move in for breakfast at daylight. Bonito (some up to 4kg), mackerel tuna, salmon, tailor, frigates, trevally, kingfish and even a few striped tuna like
some mackerel tuna and even the chance of the odd cobia hanging around. Down at Kiama live baits have produced kings, salmon, mac tuna, bonito and a few hammerhead sharks. Over the next few weeks there is also a great chance that a few longtails will swim past, so always keep that live bait out there. Pick up your yellowtail live baits in the harbour and carry them out to the point in a
Spotted mackerel often show up on the local inshore reefs, but many are lost to bite-offs.
Chasing flathead is always a good way to put a smile on a young angler’s face. There are plenty of sandies out there at the moment. to get in on the action. Small lures work best, but when the fish really get going, anything up to 75mm long will catch them, as will a fly behind a bobby cork. Another deep water spot working well lately is Honeycomb at Port Kembla but be careful, four lives were lost there around Australia Day. You really must be very careful on the rocks. Some of the video footage that came from those couple of days when the sea was up was madness on the highest scale. There were anglers standing waist deep in surging waves crashing across the ledge, and not just one but over a dozen. If the rocks are wet from waves, go to a different location or just head home. You can come back another day when it’s safe. If you take risks and get into trouble, you’re not just putting your own life at risk, but that of the first responders who come to pull you out. No fish is worth your life, anyway. Kings up to 6kg have been taken, with some better fish busting off unsuspecting anglers. The bonito and salmon have been plentiful, taking lures, pilchards and live baits. At Bass Point it has been more of the same, along with
sealed bucket with an aerator. If you are tossing a bit of bait around the washes there are some nice drummer about taking cunje and prawns. The prawns are also enticing a few bream and trevally with good catches coming from many of the local ledges. Remember to only use prawns from the bait shop and not seafood retailers to prevent the spread of whitespot disease in or prawn industry. If it’s a feed of blackfish you’re after, now is the time to hit the rocks as they are starting to move, and over the next two months the big bronzies will be traveling along the coast. A bit of cabbage or green weed and some berley fished at your favourite blackfish spot will be rewarded by fish up to 1.5kg over the coming weeks. For best results you have to fish light, which makes it difficult when the drummer get in on the action and cause a few bust-ups, so take a few extra floats along just in case. On the beaches there are plenty of salmon moving about but they are a bit hit-andmiss; they will show up at a location for a day or so, and then move on. Tailor have been patrolling the deeper gutters during the evenings, with Windang and Coniston the pick of the
beaches for both species. Most beaches have a few bream, whiting and flathead if you work the tides using fresh worms for the bream, and whiting and live poddies and plastics for the flatties. If you are chasing mulloway then this is the month to do it. There have been quite a few coming in around the 6-12kg range, with larger fish for those putting in the time during the evenings with good fresh bait. On the estuary scene the lake is still firing, with whiting and blackfish about and some good quality mullet in the feeder streams if you like to try a bit of fly fishing on a calm day, or just berley with a bit of bread and use crust for bait. It’s great fun for the kids. The flathead are still thick all over the lake with good fish to 70cm common place. These last few seasons have seen numbers and size of flatties in the lake really come a long way.
Minnamurra is going well too. Flathead, whiting and a few bream during the evenings are there but it’s only a small waterway and the better spots quickly become crowded and the catches suffer as a result. Still, good anglers with live bait will still get plenty of fish. The fish are there but can become very angler aware. Offshore is where it is all happening, and it doesn’t seem to matter where or how you fish, there is something for everyone. For the bottom bouncers there are plenty of flathead over the sand, with fish up to 2kg being caught. A few small hammerhead and whaler sharks are giving the flatty fishos a hard time, picking up baits on the bottom. Small snapper are over most reefs and there seems to be a few mowies mixing in with them. If you are in the right spot there has been the odd trag about, and even tailor and a few kingfish have been
When the tax man gets taxed! This pic is from a while ago but little has changed.
coming up from the depths. If you pick and berley over the reefs there are the small sharks that are ever present at this time of the year, but the snapper are starting to improve, with a few nice fish coming in over the past weeks. You could drift plastics to avoid the sharks but you are putting all your eggs in one basket. Small to medium samsonfish, trevally, tailor, bonito, kingfish, small mulloway and even a few rainbow runners have all been swimming up the berley trails – provided you can get through the slimy mackerel. If you are fishing the deeper reefs for snapper there are still some marlin floating about, so put out a live bait just in case. It doesn’t matter what it is as marlin aren’t all that fussy. They love sweep and nannygai but a live slimy is hard to top. Speaking of marlin there have been some big blues hooked wide of the shelf along with blacks and the odd striped marlin and even some spearfish and wahoo. In closer there’s even the chance of a sailfish if the water is hot, so anything can happen. This month there are always a few northern visitors picked up as by-catch, usually by snapper fishos. Cobia often grab snapper baits and live baits meant for kings. A few hooks going missing when using pilchards isn’t always tailor, so the smart anglers carry some thin wire and the result is more often than not a spotted mackerel. Mahimahi (dolphinfish) are as always the flavour of the month at this time of the year, so head to the traps or the wave recorder for plenty of action. Closer in there are kings around the regular spots like the islands, Bass Point and Rangoon Island. There are heaps of salmon in the same areas and plenty of bonito grabbing whatever moves. That just about wraps it up for this month. The weather is great so I’m off fishing. See you out there!
NSW
Autumn here we come! BATEMANS BAY
Anthony Stokman
I don’t know about you, but summer went past like a blink of the eye. It was a much-needed summer for the south coast after last year’s fires, floods and then virus – a tale straight out of the bible. This summer got the wheels of our economy turning again. This area relies on tourism and we needed it more than ever this season. A lot of businesses were going into the season feeling very nervous and we needed it to be smooth sailing – and it was. A lot of people came to our south coast and we are seeing a lot more people moving here. One of the biggest drawcards
is our fishing, which plays a massive role in tourism. The summer fishing was red hot, with a good marlin run offshore, and the stand-out fish on the beaches and in the lakes was whiting. People were travelling far and wide to experience marlin fishing and we had lots of happy customers showing us pictures of their whiting. This action is expected to continue into autumn, and autumn is personally my favourite time of the year. The crowds simmer down, the air and water temperature is just right and the fishing is exceptional. We can expect the marlin bite to continue as long as the currents play the game. There has been plenty of bait and extremely warm currents, but these things can
Louis Campbell is already a legend at fishing. Here he is micro jigging some kings.
FG + KNOT
change, and quickly. The hot water has brought a good run of mahimahi (dolphinfish) to our FADs and local waters, and the kingfish have been around in reasonable numbers at the kingfish haunts. It’s usually March when the water is at its hottest if it hasn’t peaked too early. During March we often see the odd Spanish mackerel and wahoo visiting, which is as good as a by-catch can get down here. A lot of fishos in boats are becoming more versatile these days, buying boats big enough to reach tuna and marlin while still being small enough to fish the estuary. It’s common now to run out and try the FAD, and if the conditions agree then head out further to the Shelf and if the conditions agree even more, stop for some bottom fishing with electric reels. If things start to get a bit rough you can duck in for a snapper fish or flatty drift. Anglers are trying everything on these days. The flathead have been the most consistent option during summer for inshore drifts, although the snapper haven’t been too bad either, and autumn is a great time for all inshore species. There is usually a good squid run throughout autumn and this, combined with loads of slimy mackerel at this time of year, ensures a healthy fishery. Catching this bait and using it fresh is what makes the difference between fishing and catching. Rock fishing is good at this time of the year and again using freshly caught squid for snapper at dawn or putting out a live slimy under a balloon for kingies at any of our popular ledges could get you a result. I usually have a bait or livie out whilst casting a few different lures. The beach fishing has been all about whiting this season, and they should continue well into autumn, especially when they have
Kye Forrest and Paul Lanfear on Team Mustad are serious customers with a serious mahimahi. been in such great numbers. It’s great seeing them in such abundance! Most beaches have had whiting visiting, and the only way to catch them is with fresh worms and nippers. You can try pipis, prawns and other baits and maybe catch one or two, but if you are serious about catching whiting, worms and nippers are it, especially when there are plenty of worms and nippers around. If you haven’t tried worming before, come in store and grab some worming pliers and learn the art. Alternatively, you can grab a nipper pump and gather some nippers from the sand flats or river banks. When it comes to using artificials for whiting, the only real option is surface lures. You might fluke one on a plastic, but if you want numbers then use a surface lure with a nonstop retrieve. The estuary is reliable throughout autumn, holding
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whiting around oyster racks and sand flats, bream around racks, rock walls, holes and so forth, and flathead on the sand and at dropoffs. Estuary perch (EPs) are schooled under racks, holes or tree branches. The mulloway here are targeted mostly at night, but it’s a good time of the year to chase them on lures. With less traffic in the estuary and the fishing at its peak it’s a good time to chase a daytime mulloway. Popular lures include the Samaki Vibelicious, Squidgy Fish 100mm and 5-7” Jerk Shads. Further upstream has seen a good run on bass, and just about everything getting thrown at them is getting smacked. Everything from cicadas to spinnerbaits, and even hot pink shallow divers, which have been the secret for some anglers. The biggest problem we have been facing lately is the lack
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of stock, so don’t be too surprised when going to your local tackle shop and your favourite lure isn’t available. Hopefully things will get back to normal as the year progresses. Prawns have been running well throughout summer and you will still have some opportunities into autumn. From Nowra to Narooma there are a number of lakes producing the goods. Crabs are about, but prawns have been the more popular option. From marlin to whiting, from crabs to prawns you can’t go wrong in autumn on the south coast. • 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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Still the marlin come BERMAGUI
Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com
We had a great start to the marlin season back in January, with the striped marlin showing up in very good numbers, providing plenty of action for all. This action has continued, and we can expect more great angling this month. For those anglers who have marlin fever flowing
through their veins and love the thrill of the chase, this season out from Bermagui is a good one, with all three species on offer. Multiple hook-ups are more the norm than the exception. Boat reports of up to several fish tagged for the day are not uncommon, with many reaching double figures. Those beautiful warm, cobalt blue waters that have been pushing down along the coast have brought the marlin with them. Sometimes
these currents have moved so quickly along the coast that they haven’t given the marlin a chance to congregate in the one area. Usually though, as the season lengthens these currents pause or start to eddy, and this will hopefully concentrate the marlin in our waters. March is well known for this occurrence. If this happens, you won’t have to travel far to get into some great action; areas like the 12 Mile Reef, just 8.5nm out, can provide good fishing in A sample of a little mixed bag taken around Montague Island.
More anglers are taking photos of fish on the boat, instead of waiting until they empty the icebox at home. This is one of the many fish caught from Wallaga Lake this season.
this scenario. If the fish have not concentrated you may need to travel further afield to find them, and a spread of lures trolled out the back may prove effective. This may also give you a chance to acquire other species like dolphinfish, which have been plentiful this season out around the FADs, fish traps or anything of size floating on the surface. When trolling you might also encounter an early season yellowfin tuna, which is always a bonus while marlin fishing. Of course, every day does not have to involve chasing marlin. You could visit Montague Island, where the kingfish hang out, for a
change of pace, as there has been plenty of action there of late. Mixing in with the kings are bonito, a few striped tuna and frigate mackerel. Then there are the surrounding reefs that can provide the evening meal, in the form of snapper, morwong, ocean perch, tasty pigfish and many more. On the way home you may choose to stop on the flatty grounds out from Tilba or Wallaga Lake to pick up a few sandy or tiger flathead, where the odd gummy shark or two may be thrown in for good measure. It is also a great time of year to fish the many estuaries within our area. With that warm water pushing in
from the ocean, fish are concentrating towards the lower sections of the rivers and lakes, making access to the fish easy. All species are on offer, including bream, flathead, whiting, luderick, garfish, trevally, flounder and lots of others. Wallaga Lake has been the pick of the estuaries after opening back up to the ocean last July, with massive amounts of bream, luderick and whiting coming in from the ocean, feasting mainly on the millions of squirt worms in the system. Sadly, by the time this is published, Wallaga may have already closed back up to the ocean as the wave force pushes sand along the beach To page 67
Full-on flathead fishing TATHRA
Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com
There are many species of flathead in Australian waters, with at least 16 of them in our southern parts, and the oceans and estuaries surrounding Tathra are
home to many of them. If flathead fishing is your thing while fishing around Tathra, you might be wondering which species you are most likely to encounter. At the top of the list is the mighty dusky flathead, mainly caught in the estuaries as they move in and out of the rivers and lakes, and occasionally
offshore. The Bega River is undoubtedly a hot-spot for duskies, regularly producing 1m+ fish. It is an exceptional estuary for lure fishing, and live and dead baits will also account for many decent flatties. A smaller species often caught in the lower sections of the estuaries towards the entrances, off the beach or
Young Jason wanted to beat his previous best fish of 6cm, and did so with this lovely 69cm dusky.
Bar-tailed flathead have beautiful colouration, although they are rarely long enough to keep. 66
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close to shore at sea is the bar-tailed flathead. Being one of the smaller varieties of flathead, it is often hard to find one large enough for the pan but they are one of the more stunning flathead. Moving offshore, anglers are mainly targeting eastern blue-spot, referred to locally as ‘sandies’, or tiger flathead. Both of these species are exceptional on the dinner table, with
tasty pure white flesh, and can be prepared in many different ways. Sandies are mainly encountered closer to shore, rarely deeper than 50m. Tiger flathead are a little more adaptable, being able to handle water depths of up to 200m+. Most tigers are encountered in depths of 40-60m, and are of reasonable size. Anglers who target them in deep water often produce
exceptional tigers well over the 80cm mark. So why target these fish in such depths? The answer is simple: they taste great. Another flathead species often encountered while chasing those sandies or tigers is the marbled flathead, named for its unique colouration, and these fish are also good table fare. To page 67
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towards the entrance. It will take another rain event to bring enough flow to re-open the lake, and then we can enjoy the kind of fantastic angling that we have had in
recent times. One last place worth a visit before the weather starts to cool is Brogo Dam. It is still near full capacity and the bass are on the chew, fattening up before the cooler
months ahead. Don’t forget that Brogo has been stocked with estuary perch in recent years, and they should now be of catchable size. Please let us know or send in a pic if you catch one.
There have been lots of high flying marlin out from Bermagui this season, with many more to come. From page 66
A less well-known flathead is the tasselsnout flathead, often encountered over reefs or weedy areas. Its purplish coloration makes it one of the most interesting flatties to catch. If you are out fishing and catch a flathead that doesn’t look familiar, take a photo before you release it, and then go and do some research. You may have a lot of fun in doing so. Often flathead are caught while targeting other species, e.g. fishing the reefs for morwong or snapper. At present there are plenty on offer, with the reefs out from Tathra holding their share. The most popular areas are north out or around Goalen Head or south around White Rock, which is a popular fall-back area as anglers make their way back from the southern flathead ground out off Bournda Head. If it is sportfish you are after, there is no better time than now to chase billfish. All three marlin species are in our waters at present in the form of blacks, blues and striped, along with the occasional spearfish. It has also been a very good season for dolphinfish as those clear, cobalt blue waters appear
along the coastline. If you are lucky enough to find some sort of flotsam in the ocean in the form of a log or even around buoys
attached to fish traps, this is where you are likely to encounter the dollies. Once found the action may be frantic.
Eastern blue-spot (sandies) often come in two at a time, and are the best eating quality of all flathead. MARCH 2021
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Good flow into Glenbawn HUNTER VALLEY
Nick Price
The fishing in both Lake Glenbawn and Lake St Clair has been very good. Anglers caught bass in both lakes consistently over summer using a variety of techniques. There has been a steady flow of water into Glenbawn from the Hunter and tributaries flowing down from the Barrington Tops. This has let Glenbawn slowly keep rising and kept the fish on the edge, particularly early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The cooler edge water and slow rising dam has meant that spinnerbaits, lipless cranks and small
Liz with a nice bass caught on a jig.
Local guide Graham Ford at a recent competition. swimbaits have all been working well. The insect life and particularly the cicada hatch has been phenomenal this year in both Glenbawn and St Clair. This has meant that the surface bite has been
sensational – we have not seen surface action like this for many years. Topwater lures such as Soft Shell Cicadas have been working particularly well. You just cast up next to the bank or timber, wait for ripples to go,
and then pause a bit longer. Next, shake or tap the butt of the rod and again wait for the ripples to go followed by another pause. If this hasn’t induced a strike, slowly wind the lure in. There have been a lot of white moths around this season, and white lures have been working particularly well. If I’m fishing with a mate I like to have someone throw a bright surface lure and someone else throw a black surface lure. Generally the bass will hit one or the other or both. Big numbers of fish are caught at night on surface lures. Fish at night with something a little more noisy like a Pompadour or Taylor Made. Many locals fish surface at night when the ambient temperature is cooler and more comfortable, and the fish are at the surface. But with the warmer water the majority of the fish have gone deep. Find a school of fish and use a soft rod and a curly tail grub such as a Gulp or Bait Junkie on a 7g jighead. Drop the curly tail grub down through the
Look for schools at this time of year. 68
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school and slowly wind up through the fish. When you feel the ‘tap, tap, tap’ of a fish biting, resist the urge to strike. Keep winding slowly and the rod will load up with the fish. With a half decent sounder set up correctly you should be able to watch as this happens. The competitions in both lakes have started, and these are great way to meet new people and learn new techniques. ABT has their Glenbawn round this month, and if you haven’t fished one of these I highly recommend it. Get in early and put your name down as a non-boater, and you will be paired with someone with a boat and then fish as a team. It’s a fantastic experience and a steep learning curve that makes everyone a better angler. Over the summer, trolling deep divers has been very successful. Lures that go 6-10m and whose actions work when trolled slowly have been catching the most fish. Troll the lures on the timber edge and be prepared to get snagged occasionally. Remember that the fish are generally in schools at this time of year so if you catch one make sure you turn around and go back through
The surface bite has been going strong all through summer. the same area. Bait fishing in both Glenbawn and St Clair is exceptional at this time of year. Tie up to a tree in 10-15m of water and drop down a yabby, shrimp or good old garden worms. The trick with bait fishing is to keep moving. If you don’t catch a fish in 20 minutes, move and tie to a different tree. Often you don’t have to go far but keep moving until you find a tree that is holding fish. Please remember your
legal limits when fishing at this time of year. The fish are in schools, and if they are feeding actively it’s easy to catch many fish. If you are going to release a fish that has been brought up from the deep, you will need to needle it. If you are unsure of how to do this, please drop into the shop in Aberdeen and we can explain how this is done. Being a fishing tackle/veterinary Hospital we also have plenty of suitable needles.
Sneaking up on the cod NEW ENGLAND RIVERS
Adam Townsend
As we start to head into the cooler months, it is a good time to reflect on how well the country has recovered over the last 12 months. At this time last year we were in a severe drought and although it is still not over yet, the past summer has brought some muchneeded showers across the country. The fishing opportunities around the New England Northern Tablelands have definitely improved because of it in both the rivers and the local impoundments. Copeton Dam’s water levels have slowly receded due to the irrigators further downstream who needed to use the water over the summer period, however that should all start to ease up soon. With the dam currently sitting around the 19% mark, it is at an awesome level for fishing from the boat and kayak, and even better for land-based lure fishing for big Murray cod. Fishing from the bank at this time of year can be really productive as there is plenty of structure close to the shore. You can work your lure a lot more methodically without having the boat/ kayak move out of position
Weedless frogs are perfect options at this time of year with so many fish around the water’s edge. Stinger hooks are a good way to increase hook-up rates on bigger fish. from the wind etc., which gives you a lot more control over the lure and the noises you make. Being really quiet while chasing big cod at Copeton is all part of the
process and the fun. There are plenty of grass beds all around the dam now that create perfect ambush spots for predatory fish like To page 69
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Options aplenty in March LITHGOW/OBERON
Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com
As summer ends and temperatures start to turn, new fishing options begin to open up, especially later in the month. Colder nights bring about
cold starts on trout water up that way. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the reports I’ve received this season when it comes to local trout populations in the rivers and creeks. Local trout acclimatization societies have done a fantastic job in keeping numbers going in waterways that are best served
Creek and river fishing for cod will continue to be a pleasure, given the conditions that were dealt out this time last year. It’s amazing how quickly mother nature adjusts and replenishes once conditions improve. the possibility of light frosts high up in the catchments, such as the headwaters of the Duckmaloi and Campbells rivers. Gosh, I’ve had some
for this purpose. Public access can be a little difficult to find on some of the trout creeks and rivers. Remember to always be
mindful and ask for permission if you need to cross a paddock. LAKES When it comes to trout lakes in the Lithgow-Oberon district there great options available – Lake Lyell, Lake Wallace, Thompsons Creek Dam (TCD) and Oberon Dam. As these waters cool, trout will begin to spend more time in shallower water making them a little easier to target. Mudeye hatches (dragon fly larvae) have been very prevalent but this will start to fade as March draws to a close, so I would get in early for some of this action. Trout, especially brown trout, feed up big time on these parcels of protein. It’s primarily a nocturnal hatch so after dark fishing is considered best. Fly fishing the margins is possibly the best way to target these mudeye feeding trout. That said, the next trout caught on a live mudeye suspended under a drifting float, or indeed a Mrs Simpson or Craig’s Nightime fly drifted in the same manner, will not be the last. ‘Deeper does it’ is probably a good mantra for daytime activities. When casting lures, rock shelves and steep points you are best to
count your sinking lures down. Spoons are a great tool for this, along with a lead head-rigged soft plastic. Redfin numbers in lake Lyell, Lake Wallace and Lake Oberon can be a little frustrating with this style of fishing, as they are just so aggressive. NATIVES ON TAP Well, almost! Everyone seems to be heading for the hills, and it’s been interesting watching the visitors turn up. It’s great for local tourism operators, service stations and
Catching smaller cod on swimbaits is great fun. These fish really do step it up when it comes to hitting a bigger bait.
From page 68
golden perch and Murray cod, and this is exactly where the baitfish like to hide, as well as other prey items like crayfish. Casting surface lures or swimbaits in the low-light hours and into the early hours of the day can be a very productive way of finding active feeding fish around Copeton. Pindari Dam is also looking really green and full of life after muchneeded rainfalls over the summer period, however the structure in Pindari is very different from Copeton. There are not any grass beds, so thicker timber and rocky points are good places to start fishing when you’re looking for
A chunky cod caught on a weedless frog right beside the kayak on Australia Day. active fish. There have been good-sized yellowbelly, silver perch and Murray cod being caught around
Peter Clatworthy with a beautiful Pindari Dam Murray cod caught around the full moon while camping with mates.
the dam of late, which is a good sign that Pindari is still recovering well after the massive fish kill only a couple of seasons back. Lures of choice have still been rattling lures like the Mazzys, Vibration X and TNs, however the bait fishos have been getting amongst some good numbers of native fish as well as the catfish that are in big numbers all around the dam after nesting earlier this year. At the time of writing, Pindari Dam is currently sitting at around the 11% mark. The surrounding rivers (Gwydir, Macintyre, Severn, Beardy) are all mostly flowing and have all had a well-needed flush in recent weeks. However, with many weeds and algae still abundant across multiple systems, and with farmers
If you’re thinking of using trout or bream fishing sized lures for golden perch in hardfished waters then you’re on the right track.
using allocated water at the same time, we will still need some more heavy showers before we head into the winter months, which are only a short time away now. It’s always a good option to have multiple lures in your tackle box as these systems can vary in depth and structure pretty quickly, so you never know what lure is needed in certain situations. I always like to have several different lures in my tackle box at all times even if they don’t get used for a month or so, because that lure could just need its right time and place. Five lures in my box that should work well this month are the wakebait (lizard-style surface lure), frog, swimbait, crankbait (BigM), and spinnerbait/chatterbait. Good luck to all getting out on the water this month, and tight lines.
grocery stores. Unfortunately, the influx of visitors has created an unwelcome, smelly side effect. When camping in our little slice of paradise, a shovel should be a mandatory piece of equipment. It doesn’t need to be the long handle variety, and it should be packed right beside your toilet paper roll. Just take a few extra steps off the beaten track, it’s easy. I could go on, but I’m thinking you all know what I’m laying down here. Golden perch in Windermere Dam have been a little patchy to say the least. Pressure has a lot to do with
its variations in catch rates. Some days it doesn’t seem to matter, and it will fish like the Windermere of old, but most times you are going to have to work that little bit harder. Finesse fishing (using lighter, smaller lures and lines) can be effective. Sometimes I will drop down to 5lb-6lb leaders on open weedy edges. Trout or bream sized lures are what you should have in mind. Of course, the year-round effectiveness of grubbing the trees should always be in the forefront of your mind. It’s a deadly technique, although definitely not in the finesse fishing category. Bobbing yabbies or shrimp in the trees is a great fall back option. These tasty morsels are rarely refused when delivered quietly after a careful approach in the boat. The cod have been a little cagy, from my perspective at least. I’ve nailed the odd bigger specimen but mostly it’s been about enjoying a smaller run of fish in rivers and streams that were almost dry at this time last year. Nature’s ways certainly are incredible; I’ve been amazed at the recovery that has taken place. Hope to see you on the water soon… and remember to pack the shovel!
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Turning dim sims into cod BATLOW
Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au
Blowering Dam has been the place to be over the summer months, with many families taking advantage of the free form camping and great fishing that the lake has to offer. Amongst all the water sports being enjoyed on the lake you could find the persistent angler. Dealing with the very warm weather and the nonstop boat activity was a challenge at times, but
those who persisted where rewarded with some very good catches. The main species being caught at the moment is the good old redfin, but there have also been plenty of natives caught of late too. Good numbers of golden perch up to around the 16lb mark being have been caught so far this season, and I have heard and seen quite a few Murray cod over the magical metre mark being landed and released as well. The majority of the Murray cod that have been landed of late have been caught by
Fly fishing for Murray cod is becoming more popular and with good reason, as you can see with this beautifully marked fish that fell to a Kaos Cod Flies Rodent surface fly.
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night time fishos, with only the odd fish hitting a well presented bait during the day. Chicken has been by far the most successful bait but a few cod have been undone by a big tasty yabby. The odd one has even been caught on dimmies. That’s right, dim sims can used as cod bait. Who would’ve thought? REDFIN Redfin seem to be in plague proportions at Blowering Dam at the moment, and with water temperatures up around 30°C over the last month or so it is not surprising. Anglers have been catching these tasty fish all over the dam on bait and on lures. Most of the reddies have been small, but there have been a few around the 1-2kg mark landed by those fishing a bit deeper. Bait anglers are doing well off points on small yabbies, maggots and worms, but bigger yabbies around the 8-10cm mark are very handy as they keep the pesky little redfin from stealing your bait, which can be a real problem at this time of the year. Casting small lures like Bling Spins and other rear teaser spinners, small soft plastics, small blades, small rubber vibes and small lipless crankbaits from the bank around points can also be productive. If you’re having no luck off the points look for some sort of snag or tree and not just the big obvious clumps of snags that everyone notices. Try to find a single solitary tree, as more often than not even a small, spindly tree can hold 20 or more fish. Also, these types of single, less obvious snags don’t cop a hammering from other anglers like the more obvious snags do. Trolling with almost any small hardbodied lure under 50mm in length should see you stumble across a patch of redfin, and once you have located a school try to position your boat within casting range and keep casting to them until they stop biting. This is the best way to get big numbers of redfin. The best lures to troll whilst searching for redfin are lures that run comfortably at about the 3-5m mark such as the locally made Stuckeys, size #3 StumpJumpers, Double Downers, AC Slim Invaders, Viking lures and the good old lipless crankbaits. Jigging is another popular way of targeting redfin, and this can be very rewarding when the right tree or patch of rocky bottom is located. The best lures for jigging for redfin include most blades, rubber vibes, plastics, lipless crankbaits, spoons, redfin jigs and ice
jigs. There have been plenty of jigs made over the years and all have worked and still do work to some degree on redfin, but I am yet to see a jig land more fish on a consistent basis then the ever popular ice jig. These are the greatest jigs ever invented in my opinion, and they have caught me thousands of redfin over the last few years alone. If your tackle box doesn’t already contain a heap of ice jigs then I strongly recommend adding at least one to your arsenal. GOLDEN PERCH Most golden perch at Blowering Dam at this time of the year are in fairly deep water which can make targeting them fairly difficult at times. With a lot of boat activity to add to the stresses of high water temps and dropping water levels, a lot of the golden perch seek out cool, deep water that has structure of some description. Their favourite structure during the warmer months seems to be standing timber as this provides shade throughout the entire day. These treehugging fish can be targeted jigging with either bait or lures. Bait anglers using yabbies have been clued onto this phenomenon for years, and these guys are normally the only ones consistently catching golden perch during the hottest months of the year. This need not be the case though, as more and more people are discovering that these shade-hugging yellas will also hit a well presented lure. Slow rolling soft plastics up the sides of standing timber that is either adjacent to a drop-off or in 5-15m of water will put you in with just as big a chance of landing a yella as a yabby will. There are all types of yabby imitation plastics on the market and all of these (when rigged and used
The redfin fishing at Blowering Dam has been sensational, with cricket scores of fish being landed by most anglers. Best of all, the redfin have been stacked right around the edges of the lake, making them an easy target for land-based anglers. correctly) will catch fish. However, minnow-style paddle and curl tail plastics are deadly on shut-down golden perch and are my first choice whilst targeting them this way. Slow rolling spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits in the same areas is also worth a shot, but in general it’s not as successful as the plastics. Trolling the banks early and late in the day with small to medium sized lures can also get you in on some golden perch action during March. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee River upstream of Wagga Wagga has fished sensationally so far this season. There has been a fairly steady, decent
When the days are sunny, clear, still and hot, Murray cod like to rest up and wait until the sun goes down before venturing out for a feed. In these conditions, fishing at night will give you the best chance of success.
flow in the river most of the season which has kept the natives very happy and willing to hit most things cast in their direction. The usual baits like bardis, shrimp, worms, yabbies and cheese have been working well all season, but it has been the sensational captures of big Murray cod on chicken and dim sims that has been turning heads. On top of the great bait fishing it has been the lure and fly fishing action that has made this season one to remember. Lure fishos have been catching lots of natives, especially trollers who have been catching fish on pretty much everything from hardbodies and lipless crankbaits through to spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. Casting lures into snags has also been working really well, and the pick of the casting lures has been the Angel Baits and large swimbaits. However, spinnerbaits, big plastics and chatterbaits have been getting amongst them as well. As there has been a fairly fast and high flow of water most of the season, fly fishing with sub-surface flies has been difficult due to the fast undercurrents snagging your flies. However, the surface fly fishing has been sensational, with adrenaline-packed surface strikes that really get the heart racing. This form of fishing is about as fun as it gets when it comes to catching Murray cod, and is worth trying if you haven’t already given it a shot.
NSW
Heading into March with high expectations! bit funny on you, don’t species I have an obsession and the whole family, and be deterred! for – cod – another species you don’t even need the The reason I’ve spoken that might interest you is luxury of a boat to catch about dirty water is redfin. The redfin in Lake them. There have been because I’ve recently been Hume/Hume Weir have plenty of redfin caught off So far this Murray cod having to fish in water that been going absolutely the banks, and no area in season has been very successful, and hopefully has become discoloured berserk. Myself and my dad particular has been only this will continue in the by rainfall. We have been went out hoping to catch a going off. Based on what upcoming months. This getting decent downpours dozen or so for a feed, and I’ve seen and heard the of heavy rain for a few we ended up catching over fishing been consistent season we have seen more days at random at times, 50 in about three hours. throughout the whole lake. rainfall in some areas locally, which is also a so it has been giving a few very good thing for our systems a few little flushes. fisheries. True, after a It does make the fishing substantial amount of a little bit more difficult, however once the water rainfall the waterways will rise and become dirty, returns to being clear and at or at least somewhat its normal height, this can discoloured depending on be an ideal time to be on the area and amount of the water. Just after good pours of rain, the water can rainfall, but with decent flow it can only take a freshen up quite a bit. Yes, week or two for the water it can be annoying when to turn back over and the weather spoils our return to being clear. plans, but without the rain Discoloured water, or we wouldn’t have these amazing places to catch our risen water, can be such A very healthy model coming from discoloured prized native fish species. a deterrence for a lot of anglers, but it’s entirely water just after rain. A few more casts can The warmer months are possible to catch fish in be the simple secret to success. the best time of year to catch those numbers. You can have unreal sessions when you put the time and effort in, and with a little Open 10 am–4 pm daily. leaping fish 4 species bit of knowledge the results Closed Anzac, Christmas, Boxing day. aquaria, breeding ponds, AV show can go far and beyond. Fishing really is a game of beautiful picnic–BBQ area Guided tours 10 am and 2 pm. patience. You won’t always smoked trout forThere saleare plenty of yellas still around in our rivers Self-guided tours on selected days. have hot sessions where find out about kids fishing workshops. you catch more than 10 and they aren’t shy to slam the cod gear. Small admission fee. fish, or catch a cod over the magic metre mark. Many local people have My biggest tip with But what you are going to also been chasing reddies, catching redfin is to just Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko gain Rd) is more experience, and some locals have been continue moving until you and Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 every time you hit the getting over 200 in one trip. find them. You’ll know water, you’re increasing A lot of the redfin are if they aren’t in an area www.dpi.nsw.gov.au your chances of getting quite small, so you do have within the first five minutes the results you seek. That’s to sift through the smaller of fishing for them, so why you should fish every models to find the better continue to move around chance you get. ones, but it is a great place until you get onto a few! While the hype around to get out and get a few of Best of luck everyone my articles at this time of late. That style of fishing is on the water, stay safe and A perfectly conditioned Murray cod. year is all based off one fish easy, it’s fantastic for kids tight lines! ALBURY/WODONGA
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conditions. For example, a lot of the time a lure with a rattle can be a driving factor to getting a reaction bite in dirty or high water. Don’t give up on it, and if you have a trip planned and the water has gone a
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Canberra
ACT
Fish love the cooler conditions CANBERRA
Toby Grundy
March has to be one of the best months to fish in the nation’s capital. There is always a distinct shift in the weather (either at the start or end of March) and the fish come on the bite across all of our waterways, hitting both lure and bait as they look to put on condition for the winter ahead. Some of my
the local fisheries. There were plenty of outstanding captures through February in a variety of different with locations, and all three major lure targets (redfin, cod and yellowbelly) are hitting both lures and bait. I don’t often write about Black Mountain Peninsula in detail, but I will in this report as it is a bit of a one stop shop for lure fishos during March. The steep side of the peninsula can provide outstanding lure
redfin and plenty of golden perch. These fish will take a beetle spin attached to a paddle-tail plastic and if fished fast, it is possible to attract roving packs of reddies making for a very visual angling experience as the fish chase the lure near the top. Lake Ginninderra is still fishing well and it has been great to see so many healthy fish coming from this waterway over the last few months. Most of the fishing
for me, especially when dragged along the bottom with plenty of pauses inserted into the retrieve. Lake Tuggeranong is producing plenty of small to medium-sized cod for fishos using bait. In fact, the lake is fishing so well that there are now long lines of anglers set up from the bridge to the spillway on any given afternoon waiting for a bite. The really clued-in bait fishos have worked out that bringing a light spin outfit rigged with a plastic along with the bait gear is the best way to pass the time while waiting for the bait rod to go off. The fishing action should only get better on Lake Tuggeranong as we head into the cooler months, especially if we continue to receive large amounts of rain which always improves the oxygen levels in this waterway. The Murrumbidgee River is fishing reasonably well despite the fact that it has flooded several times over the last few months.
Working spinnerbaits in the slower pools can be very productive.
Sam Hancox with a solid Bidgee cod. best sessions have been in March with captures of 15 or more yellas and a couple of cod not uncommon down the river and at LBG. If I had to hazard a guess, I would say that there will be even more March captures than usual thanks to the advent of ‘live’ sounder tech. This technology has caused a stir nation wide, and in the ACT it is no different with some of the old guard arguing that it is almost cheating, while others state that it is nothing more than the next evolution in our collective angling journey. To be honest, at some point, I will most likely start using the new tech and I’ll use it while fishing our local lakes and down the South Coast. However, for me, nothing beats a quick walk to the river and a wander along a likely bank with the promise of a surface strike from a Murray cod. Live tech certainly isn’t going to help me in this scenario and so the thrill of the chase and the element of the unknown will long continue (for me anyway) or until bank fishos have a lure which reads the bottom and sends the signal back to a smart watch! LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is once again my pick of 72
MARCH 2021
fishing with deep divers like the Whitty’s DEE-BOB a great choice if cast parallel to the bank from a rocky outcrop and slow rolled near the willows. Yellas, reddies and cod will also take a well-placed plastic fished in the same location. It is also possible to catch cod on this side of the peninsula by casting a spinnerbait out into the deep and crawling the lure back up the water column. On the other side of the peninsula anglers will find shallow water but also large schools of
action has been near or on the dam wall with yellas and cod caught by anglers using bait, spinnerbaits and vibes. I fish Lake G a lot through March and April and I have been experimenting with different kinds of creature plastics attached to a jig or ned rig. These lures are rigged weedless so work they really well as the lake is snag infested and it is possible to catch cod, yellas, reddies and even carp in the same session. The Westin Cre-Craw has been the pick of the lures
Fast water bass fishing is a lot of fun.
All of Canberra’s three main lure targets are on the bite.
Anglers fishing large plastics have caught small to medium cod around isolated snags in fast water while others have landed bigger cod in slower pools using spinnerbaits. There has not been a consistent surface bite for some time but this may change if the river starts to drop significantly through March. SURROUNDS There have been a number of large cod caught at Googong Dam including at least half a dozen between 90cm-125cm. These fish have been caught by anglers using Livescope to maximum effect and vertically jigging vibes and blades while carefully watching their respective sounders. I have also had a bit of luck simply
by walking the bank at Googong and casting beetle spins at the base of halfsubmerged trees along the banks which lead to Shannon’s Inlet. This walk is easily accomplished in a quick arvo session and it’s possible to land two to three goldens and plenty of redfin, especially if you’re working the lure slowly and methodically. The crazy South Coast bass fishing will soon start to slow up so now is the time to get down the Clyde and have a look around some isolated creeks for some bronze brawlers. I have caught plenty of big bass on surface this season using the D-Style Reserve, and fast water has consistently produced the better fish.
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73
Go Behind the Scenery
Tasmania
Changes in autumn HOBART
Andrew Large
Let’s kick it off by saying southern bluefin tuna have been in peninsula waters since Christmas, and seemed to be in reasonable numbers back then, although the size was somewhat small at around 6-8kg. These fish were holed up in cool water that had been pressed against the coast by warm currents out wider. Later in the season we find SBT continue to show up around Eaglehawk Neck and Tasman Island. The size is still a bit patchy but larger 15- 25kg fish have been encountered recently. Albacore tuna have been with us for nearly four months now. These fish did
make it in to the 100m line off Eaglehawk Neck but have since departed, and the odd fish is now being taken close to or along the edge of the shelf. Sometimes it can be just too warm for these fish as well. The same thing happened last year when the temperatures rose above 18°C. In recent days there have been rumours that some larger specimens are being caught in and around the Hippolyte Rocks, with fish ranging from 4-21kg. Striped tuna have been encountered by those out wide, and I’m tipping yellowfin tuna within weeks. With temperatures nudging 19°C, an influx of yellowtail kingfish has been seen from the northwest coast to coastal towns as far south as Dover in the
southeast. Northwest Bay has been fishing really well early. Recent years have seen this bay fish well first up and then go quiet as the day progresses. This seems to be the magical temperature for kingfish. Coles Bay is a long standing hot spot on the east coast and seems to be this year as well, with fish in and around the moorings in recent weeks. Anglers have been doing very well at times. Sand flathead continue to bite well with size seeming to be up a tad recently, while tiger or king flathead have tapered off a little in recent weeks. Barracouta have made a nuisance of themselves along the entirety of the east coast, nipping off many paternoster rigs intended for flathead. Size is reasonable with some
Rock lobsters continue to pot well for this stage of the season.
Early morning dawn patrols along Bronte Lagoon have provided great sight fishing to midge feeders for the patient fly fisher. fish around 500mm. Striped trumpeter have been ticking along nicely, mainly in the far south around The Friars and Pedra Blanca. Fresh squid baits have been working the best. A luderick was recently caught close to Hobart. Arrow squid have appeared in most areas even as close to the CBD as the Derwent estuary itself. Further abroad healthy captures are being made wide in Storm Bay, Fortescue, Eaglehawk Neck and Marion bays. Mako sharks have been extremely active with larger specimens of around 250kg being taken recently. Smaller sharks in the 80-110kg range are keeping anglers entertained as well. Bicheno to Port Arthur is a hot coastline.
Calamari have tapered off a fraction as water temps hold in the high teens. They will be found further to the south or seeking depth and cooler water. Australian salmon for the moment are still rather light on, but occasional schools of fish to 1.5kg are being encountered, especially by anglers chasing kingfish. Anglers have enjoyed a healthy run of sand whiting in Storm and Lewisham bays. Rock lobster are still potting well in most areas, which is a tad unusual for this time of the year. In the highlands we have Great Lake producing good browns and rainbows to spin and troll fishers. Fly fishing has been a little tough due to the constant easterly weather patterns we have been having.
Escapee Atlantic salmon to 4kg continue to be captured high in our river and creek systems in the south. Penstock Lagoon has faltered somewhat with many anglers becoming frustrated with the dry, and reverting back to the wet in order to entice a fish. Lure fishers are doing extremely well at Bronte Lagoon while fly fishers are holding their own on this water too, with the use of tiny dry fly Jassid Beetles and possum emerger dun pattern flies. Good luck over the coming month. There’s a lot happening at the moment in and around our Tasmanian coastlines and inland freshwater areas. We are a little spoiled for choice down here!
FISHING NEWS
Hidden problems in PFDs warns IFS officers Most anglers around Tasmania are familiar with being checked by Inland Fisheries Authorised Officers, usually to see if they are complying with the Inland Fisheries regulations. For some years now, they have also emphasised boating safety as part of their inspections. Long time angler John Jones is one who is definitely glad they do. On Bronte Lagoon late last year, the boat safety check revealed his inflatable life jackets had not been serviced. “I took them down to get them serviced after talking to the Fisheries Officer and when I picked them up, they told me the one canister had come undone and it wouldn’t have gone off,”
74
MARCH 2021
Mr Jones said. “It wouldn’t have done me any good if I had gone in.”
Inland Fisheries recommend boat owners check their safety gear and
overall boat condition to ensure all boaters are safe on our lakes this summer. It
is also a requirement under Marine and Safety legislation to service life jackets
John Jones with his new life jacket following an Inland Fisheries Service boat safety check.
to the manufacturers recommendations. You can also periodically selfservice inflatable jackets by manually inflating them and checking the canister is firmly and correctly attached. Mandatory safety equipment is required when boating on waterways in Tasmania. The owner must ensure the equipment is carried, properly stored, kept ready for immediate use and maintained in good order. Life jackets must also be worn on lightweight craft at all times and vessels under 6m when under power. Penalties apply for not wearing a life jacket when required. For more information on boating safety in Tasmania, visit mast.tas. gov.au. – IFS
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FMM MARCH 2021
QLD NSW VIC
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VIC
Warm nights hot fishing WEST COAST
Brett Carson
Warm nights are allowing for plenty of afterhours fishing on the river. The bugs are out and about and, with the school holidays long gone, there is plenty of peace and quiet to be found. The Glenelg River is fishing well with the usual end of summer predictability bringing results. Usually, the
boat hire slows down by now and we get a chance to head upriver to the magnificent higher reaches where the gums touch the water. The fishing is much the same with the three main species: perch, mulloway and bream. They are inhabiting at least the first 50km of the river this time of year. The lack of rainfall has saltwater right through that area before autumn and winter rains push the mulloway lower. Perch are at their best
this time of year as they actively feed on the surface at each end of the day. Walkthe-dog style surface lures are awesome fun when the wind is low, but are effective in that small window of sun up and sundown. Fish can continue to feed on the moonlight and, with the help of lights from shacks, will at times feed well after dark. Donavan’s lights hold so much life this time of year. When the shacks are in full use, the food chain that Jayden holding his slippery whiting.
Charlie and Jock look rapt with the feast to come.
comes from small bait right up to the mulloway chasing mullet makes for an ideal starting point. Large schools of mulloway are schooled up just across from the shacks as I write this article and, as usual, this time of year you can just about walk on the large mullet that are attracted to the lights of the area. Mulloway are coming from the likes of Sapling Creek and Battersbys on live mullet, but you have to work through the smaller ones. Whiting are firing in the local bays just over the border at Port Macdonnell
and Cape Douglass as are the crayfish. Pipi baits are smashing the whiting and little to no weight on a paternoster rig will bring plenty. Finding the sand holes surrounded by ribbon weed and fishing the edge is old news to regulars but golden advice to the novices. Mulloway are around in large numbers out from the spring fed creeks this time of the year with March being highly productive for the monster 50lb specimens in the past. Surf fishos are doing well on shark and mulloway, with fresh strips of salmon, mullet
or sauries the best. The low swells lessen the weed in the water but it remains the curse of the surf fisho when it just won’t go away. • Good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info, we have the local ‘live bait licence’ meaning we stock live mullet, crabs and podworms along with all the frozen bait, tackle and lures you need for the area. We’ll do our best to give you some local knowledge and get you on the fish quicker. Remember you can hire any of our boats without a boat licence, including our very popular houseboat.
Hot summer action continues this March WARRNAMBOOL
Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com
March may signal the official end of the season but the summer species of fish should still be hot to trot, more so than in the first month of summer. There have been plenty
of school rat sized kingfish spread right along the coast, which is a great sign for the future. Add to this, acres of often fussy school tuna, some better kings in the 80cm to 1m range, and schools of salmon some approaching 4kg. Those who enjoy their top water pelagics have had plenty on offer when conditions have been good.
This style of fishing should continue on through March, so watch the forecast for those flat days and get out there looking for those schools. For the land-based angler Killarney was turning up some of these big salmon for those lure casting off the beach providing plenty of entertainment. For those who have
been fishing the bottom, the snapper have been excellent in the 25-35m range off most of the local ramps. Just remember the bag limit for snapper is 10 per person,
Bay and Point Fairy can produce some excellent fish in the 40cm+ range. March can be a great time to chase estuary perch in both the fresh and saltwater
in a variety of size ranges have been turning up in the past few seasons. If you are lucky enough to hook a good one you’ll be amazed how hard they go.
Nick Murrell with a quality local kingfish.
Luke Gercovich with 42cm of top water Hopkins bass. 76
MARCH 2021
but only three may be 40cm and above. With the average size being pretty good this season a limit of three can be reached fairly easily. King George whiting have been steady all summer and March is still a great time to target them on a calm, warm evening. Fishing shallow waters in the 2-3m depth around Killarney, Lady
sections of the Hopkins River. A warm calm evening can produce some exciting surface action whether using lure, fly or floated cricket baits. The attraction of this style of fishing has a new incentive with the possibility of tangling with a bass. Bass have never been officially stocked in the Hopkins and don’t occur naturally but a number of fish
Bream have been consistent in most of the local estuaries, but not too much to report on with regards to mulloway. During March, local estuary mouths often close over resulting in any mulloway moving down towards the mouth; hopefully this may lead to a few more encounters.
Pumping up your bass and perch fisheries More than 342,000 Australian bass have been stocked into 20 waterways, including the Latrobe River for the first time, thanks to your fishing licence fees and the State Government’s $35 million Target One Million plan to get more people fishing, more often in more places. Avon River Blue Rock Lake Bullen Merri Lake Cann River
5,000
Macalister River
22,000
55,000
Mitchell River
60,000
5,000
Narracan Lake
5,000
50,500
Rainbow Creek
1,000
Cowwar Weir
2,000
Snowy River
50,000
Ferntree Gully Quarry
1,000
Tambo River
5,000
Guthridge Lake
5,000
Thomson River
5,000
37,000
Timbarra River
10,000
Glenmaggie Lake Hyland Lake
1,000
Latrobe River
20,000
Tyers River
2,000
Valencia Creek
1,000
Lakes Glenmaggie and Blue Rock now have long stocking histories and boast bass in excess of 40cm, attracting Victorian fishers who were previously traveling interstate for quality impoundment bass opportunities. Estuary perch have been in the mix too with 200,000 stocked into tributaries of the Gippsland Lakes for the first time ever including the Tambo, Mitchell, Avon and Latrobe rivers. Lake Tyers, the Bemm and Snowy rivers shared in over 76,000 fingerlings also, making for an all-time record perch stocking season. Thanks to tournament fishers and members of the Marlo Angling Club for catching the parent fish. These 600,000+ bass and perch fingerlings are all part of a recordbreaking effort to stock 8 million fish by April 2021, with an eye to 10 million in 2022! Learn more at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/stock10million
Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne
VIC
Change reigns: Kingfish go as King George arrive lure as they were grabbing stuff off the top. We put in a lot of casts but managed a couple of perch using a Heddon Tiny Torpedo twitched in the surface film. Some other anglers were fishing nearby and had seen a few carp on the surface, which would make a great fly target. They joined in and also managed a few small perch. Speaking of fly, these perch would be suckers for a well presented dry when they are in a mood like that.
GEELONG
Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com
March sees the coastal waters at their warmest and is considered peak hour for kingfish in the region. Numbers of both southern bluefin tuna and kingfish should taper off as we near the end of the month. This month does see an influx of King George whiting for Corio Bay’s inner harbour as well, which can be caught from the many land-based locations in the region. The Barwon River in Geelong has produced some cracking captures this summer. Brad Newton from Grovedale managed to land what he thought could be Australian bass and three redfin using a Daiwa Double Clutch lure at Breakwater. Brad said the suspected bass was a nice size but released it without measuring it. Brad and his mates have been
Adam from Trelly’s Geelong with a cracking golden perch he caught from the Barwon River using a super slow retrieve.
Estuary perch or bass? Brad caught this beauty in the Barwon River at Breakwater.
having lengthy discussions about whether it’s a bass or an estuary perch. Adam Van der Lugt from Trelly’s Geelong caught a beast of a golden perch from the Barwon River he estimated to be in the high 5cm bracket. Adam was casting a ZMan MinnowZ rigged with a 1/8oz jighead with a spinner blade and worked it deep and as slow as possible – just fast enough to keep the blade spinning. It is his biggest golden perch he has caught and said he was lucky it was a bit sluggish because if it had have turned it on, there were plenty of snags for it to head to. Adam released the beast to fight another day. Hugh Hanson and I fished the Barwon River down at Breakwater in hot and calm conditions late one arvo. Fishing into dusk with all of Geelong’s mosquitos, we caught plenty of small estuary perch to about 20cm, plus a redfin of 30cm using diving minnows. I pulled out a surface
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MARCH 2021
in random locations around Corio Bay. They have been from 1.5 to two kilograms and smashing into baitfish on the surface, which makes for some exciting fishing. When approaching a school of surface feeding fish – be they tuna, salmon or kingfish – please remember to give everyone some room and never troll through the middle of the school as it will make them boat shy if they’re not scattered immediately. The
Dylan, Glenn and Michael had caught enough tuna by 9am. The tuna have been super fussy so getting them to bite can be tricky. Corio Bay continues to produce quality flathead and good numbers of pinkie snapper and King George whiting. Paul Mayer has fished the Grammar School Lagoon a fair bit lately and caught some ripping flathead to 60cm as well as plenty of pinkie snapper to 45cm using soft plastic lures. Paul said it has been a bit hit and miss with a few quiet days on the water but still worth a look. Land based anglers have enjoyed snapper, flathead, snotty trevally and king George whiting from Cunningham Pier, Limeburners boat ramp rock wall Griffin Gully jetty and St Helens Rock wall. Best times for the piers has been change of tide while St Helens seems to be doing well just on dusk. Towards the end of March, try the shallows around Point Henry to Clifton Springs for whiting and calamari. The whiting have been busy here with plenty being caught but lots of undersized and small fish. I fished here with Jason Betson and managed about 20 whiting but only kept eight fish to 33cms. Some solid Australian salmon have been showing up
most productive method is to determine the direction the school is headed, get your boat in their path and cut the motor. Sometimes, the fish will surround the boat and continue feeding while you cast lures into them. March can be good fishing for larger snapper from 3kg and up in the shallows from Point Henry to Clifton Springs. This area holds spoil from the channel, rubble and grass beds and a wide variety of fish including snook, flathead, whiting and gummy sharks.
There has been some solid garfish to 45cm hanging around the Clifton Springs rock walls and piers near the boat ramp lately. After dark is best and make sure you use pin sharp hooks as they are hard to hook up sometimes. St Leonards to Queenscliff has been consistent for whiting and calamari although their sizes have varied a lot between undersized fish to fish up around 45cm. Land-based fishos have had a ball catching pinkie snapper and silver trevally to 45cm out of the cut at Queenscliff using soft plastic lures during slack water while inside the harbour itself, has seen a few calamari caught. Kingfish have been busy in the Rip with slack water being the best to fish and live squid or Tommy rough plus knife jigs producing fish to 75cm. Tuna have been around in good numbers out in Bass Strait and along the Surf Coast but have been very hard to tempt into biting lures. Dylan McConnell, Glenn Rogers and Michael Westgarth headed out off Barwon Heads a few times chasing tuna only to have them refuse their offerings along with many other anglers. Then one trip, knowing it was a bit rougher, they thought this could be the day. They found fish in 40m of water and sent some lures out the back. Glenn makes note that there were no birds working at all. Using only small white occy lures they normally use for salmon, the lads had an instant hook up and ended up with five tuna sharing the two rods between the three of them and were back at the boat ramp by 9.30am! 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 ‘VFM’ 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).
The estuary perch VFA stocked in the Barwon in Geelong are around 20cm and taking surface lures.
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Reaping the last of the summer rewards CRATER LAKES
Rod Shepherd
When the fine weather finally shows its head in an otherwise insipid summer, anglers are getting out there and reaping the rewards. All estuaries are firing with solid bream being caught in the Hopkins, Merri and Curdies Rivers. In the Hopkins, fishing the edge early on then targeting the rock walls has seen bream to 1.2kg being caught on soft plastics fished deep and slow or using local live bait, such as cut crab, shrimp, brown shell and sand worm. The Curdies has seen fish taken right up and down the system on plastics, metal vibes and local shrimp and worm. Don’t necessarily head downstream from Boggy Creek; many are also heading upstream and nailing bream to the
high thirties. The Merri has bream taking baits not far from the mouth with bank anglers fishing after dark reaping the rewards. Even packet frozen prawn (peeled) has caught a few. The odd estuary perch has also been active in all three systems. If you find them on the chew the fish can and do bite throughout the day in the Curdies and to a lesser extent in the Hoppies. From dusk onwards is the go in the Hopkins and Merri. The lower reaches of the Merri can be easily accessed by car, making it comfortable at this time of year to flick a lure or float a bait after dark in relative comfort. One can also expect an inquiry from the local trout population that inhabit this system. When the wind allows heading offshore in depths as low as 20m has seen some good yellowtail kingfish to a whopping 17kg as well
as school bluefin tuna to 9kg. Poppers, minnow and skirted lures either cast or trolled have caught a few, along with live baiting slimy mackerel and yakkas floated or free swum just under the surface has done the trick for many. In similar depths King George whiting, flathead, pinkie snapper to 2kg and small gummy shark have been taken bottom bouncing using fresh squid strips for bait. Targeting inshore reefs as well as the nearby sandy bottom, especially if kelp beds are visible is a good area to target for the reds and the whiting. Sweep and morwong tend to be the by-catch. Don’t forget the squid jigs as they are still abundant and make for a great feed not only for the family but for many fish species. Along our coastline surf anglers have picked up some great gummy shark mainly after dark using
The author was rapt with this 42cm Curdies bream taken on an almost swallowed Damiki 7g Vault metal Vibe in black widow. The fish was released after capture. fresh squid and eel for bait. Silver trevally schools are about as well as sizeable sweep, especially in and
around any headlands that have a distinct rocky ledge that is submerged at high tide. Soft, lightly-weighted
baits, such as craytail and pipi meat held onto the hook with hosiery elastic, is the go.
THE SHEIK OF THE CREEK
Buyer beware: there’s no fool like a cheap fool BRISBANE
The Sheik of the Creek
People complain sometimes about those that sell cars. How they can be a little bit vague on the fiddly details, like speedometers and how far away that church is, but let me tell you, car sellers have got nothing on boat sellers at the moment. Since people have been spending more money at home, fishing and boats have become super popular. Fishing and boating can be as cheap as small pieces of wood or it can be devastatingly expensive if that’s the road you want to take. Or canal I should say. What that’s meant is an explosion of people looking for good quality tinnies across the country, which are now in short supply.
Consequently, some less than shipshape craft are being pulled out of the back shed, hosed off, and put on the market. The word to
describe them sounds like shipshape, but has more ‘t’s. I wouldn’t be lying to say that the majority of them float, but it’s a close
thing. There are some crazy contraptions being dressed up in the hope of getting a couple of grand of beer money, but you have to read
between the lines a bit, just like you do with houses. For example, an ‘almost completed restoration’ means you’ll need to spend at least the same amount as the purchase price undoing the work that old mate did on the hull. You’ll need to pull up the floor, patch up the holes that are filled with some sort of toxic resin that’s been banned in Chernobyl , and replace the hardwood railway sleepers that currently brace the floor. And always be wary of ‘no timber’. It doesn’t mean they’ve replaced the original stringers, just that the old ones have rotted out. Saying there’s ‘surface rust’ on the trailer is a giveaway. A cross section of the axle would be like a relief map of Nepal. Make sure you take your sinkers off before you load your rods into the boat because that extra weight might be the difference. And as for motors on
these things...beware of ‘starts first time, every time’. Every time what? You take the air filter out and pour petrol into the carby? Every time you pull the cord for fifteen minutes without stopping? Every time you hook it up to a main roads generator after the battery flattens from being turned over? The props on these motors look like something used to push a barge up the Diamantina in an el Nino. But you know what? I shouldn’t knock these old boats. They’re what I got to start my fishing and boating life, and these old pluggers gave me the experience to know what to avoid next time around. Actually, let me rephrase that, what I should have avoided but didn’t because I tried to score that bargain. There’s no fool like an old fool, especially a cheap one.
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Great catches for eager land-based anglers and jigging and live baiting inside the rip is always popular. The great thing for us is the continued growth of this fishery, and hopefully this will continue, and these great sport and table fish will continue to move farther up into the bay as well. Local whiting reports have again been very encouraging over the past month, and the southern end of the bay has really started to fire as well. This will keep going for the next few months at least. Good numbers of fish are still coming from the Frankston, Mornington and Mount Eliza areas during times of
PORT PHILLIP NE
Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au
Longer periods of warmer and more settled weather have again been enjoyed by all the anglers in the bay over the past month. Locals and visitors to the bay have all been enjoying the great fishing variety, and I’m happy to say that we are spoilt for choice. Solid periods of rain, and also cooler weather have kept things interesting, and also kept the food chain going. Once again, it’s been great to be on the water over the past month, seeing plenty of weekend and holiday anglers and also the locals enjoying the spoils of PPB and experiencing some great fishing. And with more warm weather expected over the next couple of months, things are looking good for the autumn months ahead. With all the great fishing variety on offer, especially offshore and at the southern end of the bay, snapper reports have been less frequent over the past month. I would expect this trend to change over the next couple of months however, with a fresh run of fish entering both bays in the last couple of weeks.
MARCH 2021
surface, or when the birds are following. It’s best to cast to the school from a drifting boat so as not to spook the feeding fish, and if you’re trolling, try to work around the perimeter, not drive over the fish. Good numbers of garfish have continued to hit the boards on the local piers and jetties over the past month as well, keeping the dedicated anglers busy collecting baits and food. Mornington pier has been the best spot of late. Patterson River has continued to fish very well, both for bait anglers targeting bream and mullet after the rain, and for lure
The whiting action should keep going for the next few months at least.
Great fishing has continued over the past month for those fishing out wide, as well as land-based. 80
night, so the local piers and jetties are a great option. The calamari fishing has been excellent as well over the past month, as the numbers and sizes of the squid have increased massively on the inshore reef areas. Much like a lot of the normal seasonal action, things seem to be a bit later again this year, so we can expect the squid fishing to continue right into the winter months, especially while the water remains clean and clear. Predatory schools of salmon have also been around the local areas of late, and as always they’re providing great fun
In the coming couple of months up until Easter, we can expect the extensive mud bank areas out from Mount Martha and Safety Beach to be reliable areas for snapper. The same applies to the deeper channel areas in the middle of the bay, and right down south as well. Those anglers not chasing the bluewater action in the southern end of the bay have been enjoying some quality snapper action on the wider marks. Fresh baits have been the key to success, as well as the normal time spent studying the sounder. Areas close to the shipping channel towards Mt Martha have been the most productive. As always, the peak times are changes of light and tide. Bigger news for many of the bay’s anglers has been the appeal of tuna and kingfish at the southern entrance to the bay, which has been more consistent over the past month. While these species can both be very frustrating at times when they are not in the mood to feed, when it’s on, it’s definitely on! Casting stickbaits, metals and soft plastics from a drifting boat seems to be the most preferred method,
More cuttlefish like this beautiful specimen have been turning up around Mornington. This one took a Sephia Flash Boost jig. low light and into the dark, especially for land-based anglers. At times, landbased anglers can do the best of all, fishing a rising tide after dusk and into the
and sport for all anglers. Although they still don’t seem to be around in the same volume as last year, they are easily found when the are feeding on the
anglers chasing bream, perch and mulloway. I’m expecting to see many more reports from here over the next couple of months so stay tuned.
Zahli and Kody hit the water at McLaughlins Beach and were rewarded with this nice flathead.
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19 81 19
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Marching into a new season with new options occurred in some other heavily-fished locations. One of the good things about March is that this is when the pinkies come out in big numbers. Fishing with light spinning gear and 3” and 4” soft plastics
PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST
Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au
As we head into March, we welcome the change of season. Autumn is historically when the snapper bite starts to slow down as the reds head back out offshore into deeper waters. For local anglers, this is when we see a shift in our fishing strategies and turn our attention to more accessible breadand-butter species such as whiting, flathead and squid. As I reflect on this past snapper season, I have very mixed emotions. It’s been somewhat of a strange snapper season. November was extremely productive, with snapper being caught in big numbers all around Port Phillip Bay however the volume of snapper caught from December to
Active birdlife is a great sign of fish in the area.
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is almost a sure thing, with many pinkies between 35-45cm actively on the chew. I recall stumbling upon a few pinkie bust-ups in March last year, catching a pinkie nearly on every cast, so do keep your eyes
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February was quite low for many anglers out there. I have fished and spoken with many local anglers over the past two to three months who have had similar experiences this past season. We can’t quite put our finger as to why the snapper were challenging to find during peak summer. I’ve heard a whole heap of theories such as El Niño weather, unpredictable water temperatures and pressures on our water system with fishing growing as a recreational activity and our local populations booming. It’s not a cause for panic but it’s something to keep an eye on to avoid making the same mistakes that have
A Barwon River carp taken on a hardbody lure.
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MARCH 2021
The author has been using his sounder to find the schools of pinkies.
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between 4-8m deep and look for active birdlife. Kamau Wilson has been fishing around Wyndham Harbour on his kayak and been catching many pinkies up to 50cm drifting around in shallow waters. The lakes surrounding Melbourne continue to fish quite well. The Barwon river has been very productive and young mate Jesse Barwon continues to report catching many redfin up to 40cm and estuary perch up to 30cm. He was, however, surprised to land a massive carp after sight casting Double Clutch hardbody lures towards it. It may only be a carp but it’s lots of fun trying to control a big fish when using finesse fishing gear. Further out from ROCKLEA Melbourne also continues to fish well if you’re up for KAREE MARINE some travel. Rob Wortho 1776 Ipswich Road Rocklea spent some time up at P: (07) 3875 Lake 1600 Eildon last month E: sales@kareemarine.com.au W: www.kareemarine.com.au
many. The type 2 level 50 paddles, multiple working PFDs are OK to be used on torches that float, and an a jetski or kayak offshore, accessible fire extinguisher. but not on a boat in inland I did, however, come up waters. The logic is type short in one area. 1 lifejackets have support There were two of behind your neck which us fishing, and we had will keep your head raised four lifejackets on board. if floating on the water. However, to my surprise, It doesn’t make complete three of these lifejackets sense because if you were not Type 1 (level were using a cheap self100) certified which is a inflating life jacket which mandatory requirement is certified and you fell for boats under 4.8m. overboard unconscious, The two lifejackets not you would likely drown. certified were expensive Many of the friends I non-inflatable ones – a spoke with also had the Hobie rock series 3 life same type 2 lifejackets jacket which cost $169, and were unaware these and a Jet Pilot Matrix pro were uncertified. With life jacket which cost $229. kayak and jetski fishing Both of these lifejackets booming, we need more were marketed to have awareness about this and superior safety features more discussion around to many of the standard standardisation, and PFDs sold within most perhaps some tags or retail NORTH chains.ROCKHAMPTON But these stickers on these items so lifejackets RIFENwere BOATSclassified potential buyers are more as a 6Type 2 (level 50) Dooley Street North Rockhampton aware of this. which isn’t certified on P: (07)4.8m. 4927 9150 Until next time, good boats under E: rifen.boats@bigpond.com W: www.rifenboats.com.au
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E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au W: www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au
SLACKS CREEK IPSWICH AUSTRALIAN MARINE CENTRE IPSWICH MARINE 3491 Pacific Highway Slacks Creek 45 Huxham Street Raceview P: (07) 3808 7333 P: 07 3294 3944 E: sales@amcboats.com.au E: enquiries@ipswichmarine.com.au W: www.amcboats.com.au www.ipswichmarine.com.au Rob WorthoW: with a lovely Eildon cod.
on a holiday house, and I’m an angler with NOOSAVILLE used the time to catch many years of boating experience SUNSHINE COAST MARINE respectable size cod who and was surprised to 122 Eumundi Road Noosaville took a liking to hardbody understand that the cheap P: (07) 5449 7633scrub worms. lures and $40 self-inflating lifejacket E: sales@sunshinecoastmarine.com.au PFD SHOCK from BCF was certified yet On my last fishing outing the expensive lifejackets W: www.sunshinecoastmarine.com.au on my 4.2m runabout boat, I had already invested in, I was greeted by the marine which were far superior, police, who politely came were uncertified. Our day on board and inspected was cut short and we went my boat. Although I’m a back to the boat ramp and big advocate for doing the down to the local tackle right thing, you always store to buy a couple of feel a little nervous in type 1 lifejackets. these circumstances. As I chatted with a group expected, my licence and of my angling friends who registration were in check, were also quite surprised all catches were within by this. Manufacturers size limits, I had a working like Hobie and Jet Pilot marine radio, a new packet make high-quality fishing of flares with plenty of equipment and are selling time remaining before lifejackets which are not their expiry, on-board certified for use on boats
fishing everyone. If you would like to share your fishing experiences around Melbourne that can be added to next month’s article. These need to be around Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay – anything from Werribee through to Port Melbourne and lakes around Melbourne. You can contact me by email at alan@fishingmad. com.au. Also don’t forget to follow my fishing adventures through my website www.fishingmad. com.au, YouTube channel ( w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / c / fishingmad), Facebook ( w w w. f a c e b o o k . c o m / fishingmad.com.au), and Instagram (www.instagram. com/fishingmad.com.au).
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MELBOURNE MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE 92 Hallam South Road Hallam P: (03) 9703 2003 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
MORWELL CRAWFORD MARINE 71-77 Chickerell Street Morwell P: (03) 5134 6522 F: (03) 5134 6455 W: crawfordmarine.com.au
GEELONG PORTSIDE MARINE CENTRE 36-38 Geelong Road Portarlington P: (03) 5259 1110 E: info@portsidemarinecentre.com.au W: portsidemarinecentre.com.au
ECHUCA EADES XTREME MARINE 24 Sturt Street Echuca P: (03) 5482 2333 F: (03) 5482 2133 W: xtrememarine.net.au
MELBOURNE THE MARINE SHOP 6 Holland Drive Melton P: (03) 9747 0588 F: (03) 9747 3999 W: themarineshop.com.au
BRAESIDE JV MARINE WORLD 878 Springvale Road Braeside P: (03) 9798 8883 F: (03) 9798 7554 W: jvmarine.com.au
MELBOURNE TRIPLE M MARINE 117 Northgate Drive Thomastown P: (03) 9465 8787 F: (03) 9466 1418 W: triplemmarine.com.au
MARCH 2021
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Watch out, gummies about! WESTERN PORT STH
Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au
By now I am sure every saltwater fisho has heard, seen or caught one or more of the thousands of southern bluefin tuna that
has kept anglers entertained recently. The Top End has been productive with anglers catching good number of whiting and a mix of pinkie snapper. While the whiting have been fair in Gentle Annie and Charing Cross channels they have been small in size
be worth sifting through the smaller ones until you catch the larger models. Further down the Port, and it really is all about the whiting. Of all the prime locations, the Middle Spit, Stony Point, Tankerton and Tortoise Head Bank are firing. Most of the action has
days where the whiting have been finicky, it is important to use berley to attract them to the area as well as keep them in the zone for as long as possible. There is no need to go to the ends of the earth in your berley concoction, just a simple stainless steel berley cage with a few handfuls of defrosted pilchards mashed up in the bottom of the cage will be enough smell to bring them in without attracting too many unwanted stingrays or banjos, which could spook the whiting. Being March, the whiting scene will continue on strong as it usually does right up until the end of April. Then we will start to see a decline in numbers, however, they will still be a viable option right throughout autumn and winter. The calamari fishery throughout the Port has also been nothing but a standout with plenty of quality models being caught. Of all the locations, the Middle Spit
Young Taj Caterson with a quality gummy shark caught from the North Arm.
Gawaine Blake with a monster gummy shark from the Western Entrance. Photo courtesy of Gawaine Blake. have been passing by out the front of Phillip Island, and right along the coast for that matter. I think from memory it was back in the 1960s when such huge numbers of SBT would regularly pass by. This season has been insane to say the least with hundreds of anglers all getting out and having a ball catching these speed bullets of the ocean. Mind you, their size has also been impressive with some real quality fish caught. While traditional trolling methods have been getting the results, the more energetic angler has been throwing stickbaits. Once again the results have been outstanding and this technique is fast becoming the choice by many. Along with the bluefin, kingfish have also increased in numbers with some anglers catching both species during an outing. Finally us Melbourne metro anglers don’t have to drive the five hours east or west to catch such high quality fish. Providing the weather allows, we should see these fish still be about this month but as the water begins to cool, they will begin to dwindle in numbers for yet another successful year. Inside the Port it has been the mix of species that 84
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compared to usual at this time of the year. And the same can be said for the Quail and Tyabb Bank. In saying that, while they are on the smaller size ranging 30-35cm, they are still in healthy numbers. Larger models have been caught in the deeper water around Eagle and Crawfish Rock where anglers have also been plagued by pinkie snapper and some sizeable silver trevally. While it is common to catch pinkies to 2kg, most are smaller, but for a day’s fishing it can
been on the last two hours of the run-in tide and it is like someone turns on the switch and they go nuts. While these times can change, from the reports I have received, this has been the prime time over the past few weeks. Whiting can still be tedious at times and it really does pay to have a few different baits at the ready. Of course you can’t beat fresh squid strips but as a backup, pipi, mussel and cuttlefish are great alternative options. Keep in mind though, despite those
There are still some quality pinkies around Eagle Rock. has been a standout. Try fishing the top of the high tide along the edge of the drop-offs. It is quick weedy in these areas but be careful as you can snag up on the weed quite easily if you’re
If you are going whiting fishing, it pays to have fresh bait.
not concentrating on working your jigs. Another calamari hot spot has been the Flinders Pier for land-based anglers. Calamari have been going quite well recently taking both baited jigs and artificial squid jigs. Anglers fishing the top of the high tides either on last or first light have been getting the results with some impressive models caught. In saying that, the Stony Point Pier has also been producing some good catches of calamari mainly from the shore side. While it is quite shallow along this side, fishing the top of the high tide with a baited jig has seen best results. While we are nearing the end of the warmer water temperatures, the next few weeks will see many of our beloved summer species decline in numbers making way for the autumn and winter species. March is a great time to be out targeting gummy sharks and at this
time of the year, they tend to be the larger models that are caught. Remember though, many of these breeding females do deserve to be released for the future of the fishery. To end this report, the time has come for me to hang up the boots. I’ve had the pleasure of reporting on how good and bad the Western Port fishery is for I think 15 years, or close enough. I’ve had the pleasure of fishing with many local anglers, reporting on their catches for others to see and read and have had a blast doing it. So with that, my time has come to pass on the buck to someone else who enjoys fishing Western Port as much as I do. To the VFM team, I thank you immensely for the opportunity and have enjoyed every month writing this column, but for now it’s time to say good bye to the regular readers. Thanks again, it’s been a blast.
Get prepared.
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MARCH 2021
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Huge variety of species PHILLIP ISLAND
Craig Edmonds
It has been a very trying season/year for most in the fishing industry, but the influx of extra visitors over the holiday period has helped many businesses ease some of the strain on their bank
another dozen or so species. Easter also means our good Friday Appeal Fishing Competition, which is growing each year. Last time we donated over $2500 from the entry fees. The competition is open to all ages and abilities, and we design it around the whole family having a fun weekend
Sam featured last issue with his brother and a PB gummy, and this time he’s holding his first tuna. account, and provide hope for the future. Everyone I have spoken to has said the support they have received has helped get them through and, although sadly some businesses have succumbed to the pressures that COVID brought, most survived. While everyone is still on tenterhooks with memories of this time last year when everything fell apart, it’s important to remain positive. Here’s hoping for a brisk Easter trade to finish off the busy holiday period. The autumn months are some of the best months of the year, with settled, still warm weather with a huge variety of fish to catch. Offshore comes into its own with generally low swell, or at least clean swell, and light winds allowing the smaller boats to travel out for a feed of flathead or maybe a gummy or two. The tuna will still be around and it’s the right time to chase the elusive kingfish. And if you’re unsuccessful, you can always stop on the flathead grounds on the way home for a quality feed. In the bay we should see elephant fish show up, and it’s the time of the year when we see the Balmain/ Moreton Bay bugs make an appearance. We will also have quality whiting, pinkies and gummies plus 86
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fishing together. 100% of the money from the entry fee is donated, and thanks to our sponsors there are some great prizes to be won and hourly giveaways all weekend. The best way to get details is to drop into the shop or jump on our Facebook page. Although the pre-Christmas snapper season wasn’t the best for the bigger models, there were still plenty of snapper around, they just disappeared a bit quicker than normal. Since about the end of January we have had a bit of a second run
again this year, and good numbers of 4kg fish have been reported. The reports have come from all over the place, and as much as people say they went to target snapper, it still seems to be a bit more of an accidental catch. The bigger snapper and quality pinkies are still being reported from the reefs off Kilcunda and are also a by-catch for anglers chasing gummies. And you won’t be bored out in the bay, as the very tiny pinkies are still there in their millions and seem to either follow you or just be everywhere. The experts have been saying that this season is the top of the whiting curve and we will now have a couple of years of ordinary whiting fishing. Certainly before Christmas the size of the whiting and even the numbers of whiting would have suggested that these people were right. The quality continued well into January and then we started getting reports of the quality dropping off a bit, although the numbers continued to rise. The reason the whiting numbers continued to rise was that very small fish moved in by the dozens, and although many were of legal size, bigger fish were rare. Even the mid-30cm fish were very light on. Hopefully they will quickly grow, and by the spring they’ll be well worth taking home. Normally we see scattered reports right through the summer of gummies, and not just from the moon phases. This summer both in the bay and offshore, by far the majority of the reports have come from three or four days either side of the moon, and very few if any from any other time. As we keep telling customers,
George tried for a long time and listened to advice from more experienced tuna anglers, and then it all came together. although many things stay the same nothing is ever exactly the same. Chasing gummies for the next few months, based on how the year has gone so far, I would definitely concentrate on the moon phases, and don’t be afraid to wander down to the beaches if the winds are too strong for the boat. Stockyard point and Tenby Point are the two most popular but don’t forget Woolamai surf beach and the rocks at Kilcunda. I have given up on trying to give advice on catching calamari because they have been unpredictable this season. I can’t remember two days the same. If you want to chase calamari, especially from the land, just go when you think is the best time and if you don’t get anything do the same thing the next day and so on because eventually it will be the best time. Standing
here in the shop getting reports all day would make you think that we know exactly when and where to go and fish but in reality, it almost has the opposite effect and generally creates
and it would seem it has more to do with their food source staying around more than the weather changing. Because we have only had good numbers around for the last couple of
Not to be out done by his brother’s tuna, Oli managed a quality kingfish in the same session.
Typical quality offshore gummies.
confusion. It’s a little like picking the best colour jig to use. For every report we get of the only place to go, the only time to fish, or the best colour to use, there is another report walking in the door that is completely opposite. Providing we don’t have any more COVID problems it will be interesting to see how long the tuna and kingfish go for this year. Last year they were still fishing well right up to when we went into the first lockdown but seemed to be gone at the end of it. They will move on eventually,
years, it’s still a bit hard to get a real pattern yet. This season, although they showed up around the same time and in similar areas, it has been very different from last season. Last season we had reports of them being caught on many types of lures, larger skirts and hardbodies whereas this year it has been almost all small skirts. The other mistake people are making this year is they are going too deep, with the majority being caught where you expect to find kingfish, under 30m of water.
VIC
East Coast
It’s reigning King George GIPPSLAND LAKES
Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com
Sometimes your local waters provide the most unexpected catches. This time jaws are dropping as the whiting population continues to grow through the roof. They are now being caught in far-flung parts of the Gippy Lakes that I believe are unheard
Soon the fish will be at Hollands Landing and they may have already arrived! I hope to be one of the first to greet them there as I’ll be trying to catch them while chasing bream. I’m seeing a lot of the King George measuring 28-34cm but even at Wattle Point a few 40cm models have turned up. This invasion of wonderful whiting is so exciting for anglers, not just for their superb eating
whiting are being caught, and you should explore the shallows of Raymond Island. One last thing to let you know is that these whiting have not stopped biting for nearly two years straight, and it seems they hardly slow down over the cooler months. BIG BREAM Slowly but surely the big bream are starting to turn up in most areas. A lot of bait anglers using good old frozen prawn have been
All of the Gippy Lakes bream recently have been fat and super healthy. This one measured 42cm and passed a whole heap of long spider crab legs just before release. of. Oh, and the kingfish have made an appearance, big bream are biting and a few flatties are showing up so local and visiting anglers have plenty to smile about. WHITING ARE KING To find huge numbers of whiting in the western areas of the Gippy Lakes is just mind-blowing. I’m talking some 30 to 40km upstream of Kalimna and Nungurner where we already know they reside in big schools. They first showed up back in the middle of January in areas of Lake Victoria just west of Loch Sport. I’m sure a trickle of whiting have been found just east of this location over the years, but I’m talking about dozens of anglers bagging out each trip.
qualities and scrappy fighting abilities, but the flow-on benefits for our local tourism operators. Probably the best area to target whiting is at Metung where you can always get shelter on a windy day no matter what direction it blows. Try from the Nungurner Jetty all the way around to Shaving Point and target the shallows that have a mix of weed and sand. The best baits are definitely pipis and Bass yabbies, followed by fresh local mussel, live shrimp, small squid strips and sandworm. A word of warning though – be prepared for plagues of toadfish that will outnumber your whiting by 3 to 1 or even more! Even at Paynesville the
them. Wait for the wind to get up or fish at very first light in the morning. Once again, the Straits from Hollands to Seacombe is firing for cracker bream and perch to 45cm, and we are starting to hook a few small flathead around 30 to 40cm. KINGFISH A few whispers are now circling about the kingfish showing up, so be on the lookout for when they bust up on baitfish. Word has it they are cruising around the Lakes Entrance area, and when the first few are caught anglers will be onto them flat out. So if you can get in early the rewards will be there. SAD DOLPHIN NEWS The Burrunan dolphin is a very rare species of bottlenose dolphin, and a population of about 65 live in the Gippsland Lakes. Sadly eight are now confirmed dead having perished from the ‘freshwater skin disease’ that causes ulcerative lesions. The Marine Mammal Foundation has been doing research surveys of the dolphins since 2006 and they know every individual dolphin and will continue to track their health. It’s unknown why the deaths are happening but
A Hollands Landing trophy out of the snags just before release – a very handsome 1.50kg bream at 45cm. it could be linked to heavy rainfall after the bushfires increasing the freshwater levels and washing sediments into the lakes. There have been other cases of this disease around the world after extreme weather events. I urge you to please contact DELWP if you see
very sick or stranded dolphins within the lakes to help with their welfare and research to maybe cure the problem. On a brighter note, just a few days prior to me writing this report while fishing Hollands Landing we saw a pod of about 20 dolphins that all looked very healthy.
out in Lake Wellington from Marlay Point over to Tuckers and down towards Seacombe, and are all getting very nice bream to 40cm and better each trip. The Nicholson River is running clean and there are loads of bream from the railway bridge up to the backwater. Some nice fish around 1kg can be found here and there, but there are huge numbers of hungry undersized bream around 25cm savaging baits and lures. You can see the small bream feeding up on the edges, and at times it’s hard to find bigger fish. The Mitchell Flats always have bream on them at this time of year but it’s not always easy to hook
A feed fit for royalty! This is the Gippy Lakes yummy trifecta: whiting, flathead and garfish. MARCH 2021
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Bright future for the fishery LAKES ENTRANCE
Steven Pryke
The Gippsland lakes is an ever changing fishery, and the health of the lake system is of massive importance to the local community. The recent release of the new black bream slot size is a big step forward in protecting the breeding stocks.
are being caught in great numbers and sizes. The annual run of yellowtail kingfish has begun, and we are hearing stories of anglers getting destroyed while chasing bream and other fish. Places such as Cunningham Arm, Nungurner, Metung and Paynesville have become regular spots that these king fish call home. There’s still a bit to learn about these
way up and down the local beaches. The bright, sunny days have made it extremely easy to spot the massive dark schools of salmon as they work their way down the beach. Small metal lures from 10-25g (depending on the size of the baitfish) have been ideal. These heavy lures allow anglers to search for the schools and produce some great fun, especially on light tackle. The shark scene has continued strongly, with multiple sharks being landed off beaches around the Ninety Mile Beach. Recently keen angler James Ellis landed a 12ft tiger shark off Golden Beach. Congrats to James on landing this true giant of the beach. It’s one of very few tiger sharks
ever caught in Victoria by a recreational angler. LAKE TYERS The lake has lived up to its name with monster flathead being produced. Local angler Darren Dennys came up with his new PB recently, going 95cm. Darren, like many anglers these days, has begun to chase Lake Tyers monsters with swimbaits and glidebaits. These monster lures are ideal for Lake Tyers. It’s riddled with big mullet so the local flathead population are used to eating big meals. Don’t be afraid to throw big lures – even swimbaits that are 20cm+ in length are worth throwing. These lures aren’t bigger than the average mullet and will produce true giants if your persist.
Darren Dennys with new PB flathead of 95cm. The bream fishing in the lake has been widely diverse. The lower lakes flats have
Anglers visiting Gippsland Lakes need to check the new bream regulations. A new slot limit will be in place from 1 April. With the removal of commercial netting from the lake system, the fishery has already begun to flourish and anglers have begun to flock back to the lake system, chasing the likes of King George whiting. These fish have been in high numbers throughout the lake system, from the weed beds around the township all the way up to Loch Sport, and they
kingfish in the lake system; they’re extremely spooky due to the clear, shallow water, but minnow or flickbait style soft plastics like the Atomic Jerk Minnow in the 6” size have worked well. Being on the local surf beach is part of living on the coast, and anglers have made the most of the large schools of Australian salmon that have been making their
Keen bream angler Matti Jonkers with his first bronzie of the season, just over the 10ft mark.
produced well for anglers getting up early and chasing that surface bite. Small topwater lures like the little Atomic K9 Pup have been ideal lately, partly because the waterway is getting so much fishing pressure; that small size lure helps to get those spookier fish. Once the surface bite has died off during the day, small jerkbait-style hardbodies have been ideal, especially when worked down the edges of weed beds and laydown snags. HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for fish lately and have a good pic, please send it to stevenprykefishing@ gmail.com with short description and you could be featured in the edition of Fishing Monthly.
Cracker holiday season ahead BEMM RIVER
Robyn Sturgess
The end of January saw the entrance close at Bemm River, and we have seen some of
the best fishing in this area since we have been here in the past 18 years. This has lent itself to an amazing holiday season for families, tourists and visitors. As the season begins to
slow down we are getting prepared for our Easter rush which I feel sure will give anglers some of the best fishing they have had for many years. The health and quality of the bream is a strong talking point, with
Plenty of quality bream are being caught in the Bemm. 88
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most anglers now targeting 32-40cm fish and releasing all others. Luderick have been a great by-catch in the channel, and they are excellent table fish. The biggest luderick reported was 52cm. A lot of flathead anglers are now targeting their personal best, trying to land that metre long fish to photograph prior to release. There has been an abundance of 60-90cm flatties being caught and released. There have been reports of whiting and trevally being taken on pipis in the channel, and there are good numbers of tailor for anglers who wish to troll in the channel and into the lake. We’re getting good reports of perch around the Mud Lake/Swan Lake area. We are wondering if there may have been a second spawn when the entrance was open, as there were a lot of juvenile male perch being caught close to
A top Tamboon bream caught on a hardbody. the entrance. The surf has been amazing with salmon and a few bronzies. The river has just started to produce bream now that the river has settled due to the entrance closure. These bream are in the lower reaches of the river. In concluding, please don’t forget to check your wheel bearings and boating equipment (especially dates on flares!) before venturing
away on your holiday. Ring us now to enquire about Easter availability! • For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check out Robyn’s website: www. bemmaccommodation. com.au or ‘like’ us on Facebook – Bemm River Holiday Accommodation Phone: (03) 5158 4233/ Mob. 0427 584 233 Email: bemmaccomm@ bigpond.com.
VIC
East Coast
Warm conditions fire up the fish MALLACOOTA/EDEN
Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com
With some really hot days over the past month, the beaches have been the spot to be, with visitors and
have really stirred up the fishing and created some great gutters. Some good salmon are still being caught along with some good size tailor and a few yellowfin bream around Bastion Point around the boat ramp. Anglers fishing into the night
down at Quarry Beach have been catching good size gummy sharks. Offshore the fishing has really improved with good catches reported on a number of species. As usual it has been important to pick your day amongst the wind and
Hazy with a 42cm bream caught on Palmers Bank. locals enjoying the warmer water that arrives along the coast at this time of year. Accommodation has been busy with visitors, and the local businesses are all benefiting, which is great to see. With the arrival of the warm water the fishing has really fired up, with good catches on the local beaches, offshore and in the local rivers and lake. The beaches have seen some big swells over the past month which
big swells to really make things enjoyable. An early start will see you back with a good catch before the wind gets too strong. There have been some good kingfish around, but catching them can sometimes be a challenge. Many anglers have been finding kingies and not been able to get a bite. Some really good catches of tiger flathead have been reported, with the action coming in around 50m of water. There are big numbers of good size fish, and amongst the tiger flathead some big bluespot flathead are being caught in the same areas. Anglers are also reporting good catches of gummy shark, and it’s not uncommon to catch specimens measuring well over a metre. Closer to shore there have been some good catches of sand flathead reported,
A quality 2.7kg bluespot flathead.
Johlee Masters (13yo) with a 62cm bluespot flathead caught out wide while chasing tiger flathead. with the Aerials and the back side of Gabo worth a try. The Top and Bottom lake have been fishing well with the best of the fishing coming from the Bottom Lake, with good catches of dusky flathead coming from a few areas. As always, keep on the move until concentrations of fish can be found. The key to catching plenty of fish is being patient, as the fish can be there but not on the bite. Yellowfin bream along with sand whiting are being caught at the moment, with Harrisons Channel holding fish. In the deeper areas of the lake there have been
some good sized pinkie snapper caught. The coming months should see some good prawning in the Bottom Lake towards the entrance. At present the prawns are only small but they will be worth catching the next dark. The rivers and creeks in the area are all flowing well after recent rainfall which is great for those who like chasing bass, as the rain allows the fish to spread out. Surface lures fished late in the afternoon and into the dark will see the best action, particularly on hot nights before a change.
Thrill of catching kingies MARLO
Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au
With the warm water here and plenty of baitfish about the fishing is great. There are lots of reports coming in of good captures of kingfish well over size being taken on both Marlo Reef and Tamboon Reef as well as other reports of kingfish being sighted schooling in the waters between the two reefs, no doubt feeding on the many schools of baitfish. This scenario is ideal for trolling lures. Anglers have had good results jigging with metal jigs, casting soft plastic lures, using live bait, and just fishing with dead baits. One of our local pro fishermen has been a good Samaritan, taking visitors out catching kingfish with no charge, and just letting them experience thrill of the capture. Kingfish are one of the best sportfish to catch on light gear.
Thanks to Robert’s love of catching kingfish and promoting our coastal region as a great spot for fishing, I have attached the photos he took of Kobe and Krystal Williams with their proud captures of their first kingfish. For the anglers who go out bait fishing the news has been good too, most anglers in the boats have been getting plenty of flathead, barracoota, squid, gurnard, salmon, morwong, pinkie snapper, ling, and gummy shark fishing off the coast from Cape Conran. For the land-based ocean fishing people the surf beaches are still fishing great, plenty of reports of anglers catching salmon and tailor using light tackle and casting metal lures. Other anglers are also getting plenty of salmon using surf rods and bait fishing using a paternoster rig with a popper on top. Along with the salmon catches of tailor, flathead, rays, gummy shark, and an occasional kingfish. The other popular fishing
experience of catching big sharks, land-based game fishing is still going strong with many bronze whalers and plenty of other big sharks being caught and released. The estuary has also seen plenty of action with anglers reporting getting plenty of luderick along Ross’s bank and around the rock groins that surround the second island. Best results using sandworm under a float, mullet is being caught throughout the whole system best results using sandworm. Plenty of bream are also throughout the system and are being caught on frozen prawn, live prawn, black crab, local shell bait and lures with the prawn still running plenty of estuary flathead are gathered along the sandflats thar run from the Marlo jetty all the way down to French Narrows, best results using soft plastic lures. Salmon and tailor are in good numbers coming in with the incoming tide, best results either trolling or spinning with lures.
Krystal and Kobe Williams caught their first kingies on a trip with local pro Robert.
MARLO
OCEAN VIEWS CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK
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www.marlocamping.com.au MARCH 2021
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Cod fishing is now hot to trot ROBINVALE
Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au
The good run of Murray cod continues in our local waters as the fishing goes from strength to strength. The Murray River at Swan Hill continues to produce good numbers of Murray cod on bait and lures. Brooks Lane, Pental Island and downstream of the road bridge have been a few stand-out locations for consistent results. Those anglers fishing bait have found the cod biting on chicken, grubs, yabbies, scrub worms and cheese. There are good numbers of smaller cod in the mix with a few larger fish up around the 117cm mark.
Nev Plant with a nice-sized Murray cod landed at Wood Wood on the Murray River while trolling a StumpJumper lure. Those casting surface lures are also finding a few fish during periods of low light, and it’s something well worth a try
Captain Donna Mackenzie with her first metre Murray cod caught using a yabby for bait. Anglers fishing lures have had the most success when trolling, with a range of brighter colours working best.
over the coming months as the season turns. All up, the fishing in the Murray River around Swan
Hill has been excellent. In the lakes if you can dodge the ski boats and other highpowered watercraft, good bags of redfin and a few perch can be caught on lures and bait. Lake Charm and Kangaroo have been the best. Downstream along the Murray it’s a similar story with numerous good-sized cod and a few perch caught at Wood Wood, Tooleybuc, Boundary Bend and Robinvale. Plenty of small Murray cod have been caught on bait and lures at all locations as well as some larger models up to and over the metre mark. Water clarity has been quite good at most locations so the lures have been getting a fair run and producing the goods. Once more, trolling has been the most productive method. Wemen on the Murray has fished well with plenty of small cod and some solid fish
starting to show around the mid to high 90cm range. Perch too have been biting well in the Wemen area, mostly on baits of fresh river shrimp. Downstream to Mildura and local tackle proprietor Kym Sykes says the fishing has been excellent over the past month, with numerous metre Murray cod landed mostly on lures. The biggest so far has been a honking 126cm model but there have been several others around 120cm. Add to this plenty of fish in the 90cm range and heaps of smaller cod, and you might say things are certainly hot to trot in the Mildura area. Sykes says trolling has been the most productive method on the Murray cod, with most fish sitting deep. Some good-sized perch are also scoffing larger cod lures, with a couple of solid perch a bonus during
With the hot fishing action there’s always time to cool down and take a few in-water photos. most sessions. Many of the perch are up around the 50cm mark, making them a good catch regardless the intended species. The Murray River from Wentworth downstream to
First and last light has seen a bit of surface action. The Bassman Aussie Crawler surface lure has been a great cod catcher over the past season.
Neds Corner is also fishing well, with numerous cod captured up to and over the metre mark. There are heaps of smaller cod down this way on bait and some good golden perch also. A bit of a tarnish on the excellent fishing is a minority of greedy grubs who continue to keep undersized cod. The size limits are there for a reason, and people who ignore the rules can expect to get caught. Fisheries officers are on the hunt for those individuals who think the laws don’t apply to them, and numerous anglers have been fined in recent weeks. With that said, the fishing has been a little like the weather locally – nothing short of hot. Anglers can expect more of this fishy action over the coming month as the new season rolls in.
Rivers are now running dirty BENDIGO
Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com
The fishing in the Bendigo region had been very consistent with the majority of popular destinations producing good numbers of fish. At the time of writing this report, local conditions are now going to change very quickly due to a low pressure system which has produced large volumes of rainfall. Some areas received two months of rainfall in one day. The runoff from this system is going to have a negative effect on the water clarity in the local river systems for the next few weeks, depending on whether we get more rain. LAKE EPPALOCK The fishing in Lake Eppalock has been good. Water levels had been receding, but at the time of writing we have just received some good rainfall which should produce reasonable inflows into Lake Eppalock, resulting in 90
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a rise in water levels. This rise should help improve the productivity in the fishing in the coming weeks. The redfin fishing has improved over the last month, with the majority of anglers getting consistent captures. Most of the redfin are small, but those anglers who persist and put the time in on the water have been landing a few bigger fish up to 45cm. The most productive depth range for the redfin has been in 8-10m of water. Good results have been produced by casting and retrieving soft plastics, hopping them along the bottom. Paddle-tail and vibe plastics have been the best options. The numbers of golden perch being caught has slowed down in recent weeks compared to the high catch rates of spring and early summer. Hopefully a rise in water levels will improve catch rates this month. Good tactics for golden perch continue to be casting the rocky shorelines with lipless crankbaits. Reasonable numbers of golden perch are also being caught by anglers targeting the standing
timber with lipless crankbaits, suspending hardbody lures and slow rolling soft plastics. Small numbers of Murray cod are also being caught at Lake Eppalock, with most measuring around 50-60cm. CAMPASPE RIVER The fishing in the Campaspe River over the previous month has been variable. When river flows have been reduced, the water clarity has improved and anglers’ catch rates have been good. Catch rates have been a good mixture of golden perch, redfin and Murray cod. However, when increased volumes of water have been released from Lake Eppalock, water clarity has deteriorated and catch rates have reduced. The recent rainfall is definitely going to put a dirty flush of water down the system. While the water is dirty, the productivity for those anglers fishing with lures in the Campaspe River will be low. The water clarity should have improved by the time you read this, unless the region receives another significant rainfall event.
CAIRN CURRAN Water levels had been continuing to slowly recede at Cairn Curran, but the inflows produced by the recent rainfall event should see a reasonable rise in water levels at this location. This should help to maintain the productivity in the fishing at this location, which has been very good. Golden perch and redfin are making up the majority of anglers’ captures at this location, along with small numbers of Murray cod. Good tactics for those anglers targeting golden perch continue to be casting rocky shorelines and targeting the standing timber with lipless crankbaits or slow rolling soft plastics up the trees. Mark Knauer recently fished this location with his father. They managed to boat 14 golden perch for the day, ranging in size from 18-45cm. The fish were caught on bait and on a Jackall Mask Vibe in the colour ghost black red belly. Mark decided later in the day to put on a large hardbody lure to target Murray cod, and his choice of lure was a large 150mm Jaws lure in a black and chartreuse colour. To Mark
This redfin was caught at Lake Eppalock vertically jigging a Jackall ice jig. Fishing the impoundments will be the best option until the rivers clear. and his father’s surprise he was only trolling for 10 minutes before he hooked up to a very large Murray cod. The fish towed him around for several minutes before busting him off. LODDON RIVER Before the rain, water clarity was good at most locations along the Loddon. In the sections of the river at Bridgewater and Serpentine the water was very clear. With these conditions the productivity of the fishing was slow during the middle of the day and the most productive fishing was during the first couple of hours of the morning and the last couple of hours of the evening. Over the past month, golden perch have been making up the majority of
anglers’ captures. Good lure options for the golden perch have been lipless crankbaits and medium sized hardbody lures. The most productive colours have been black and chartreuse. For those anglers targeting Murray cod, large lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, surface lures and swimbaits have been good options. The recent rainfall caused the water clarity in the Loddon River to deteriorate, causing a reduction in catch rates. However, by the time you read this the water clarity and catch rates should have improved, provided we don’t get another significant rain event.
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Anglers tough it out BALLARAT
Shane Stevens
The weather certainly dictates our fishing, no matter whether you fish fresh or saltwater. This has been no more evident than over the past month in and around the Ballarat district. We have endured scorching hot days around the 40°C mark, to drenching rains. The water temperatures have risen in most of our fisheries around the district. Most of our waters are reasonably shallow and with the increase in temperatures, it doesn’t take long for the water to heat up. This affects the trout, mainly in our waters as they prefer the cooler water temperatures around the 12-14°C mark, unlike Lake Wendouree on a recent trip where the surface temperature was 24°C. The trout will tend to sit on the bottom in the cooler water which they prefer. They still need to eat, but they do change their feeding patterns to venture into the shallower water to feed when it cools down, mainly overnight. Anglers need to be mindful of this and head out in the early morning, evening and after dark to have the best opportunity to catch a trout. The redfin in our waters on the other hand prefer the temperatures to be a bit higher, and generally through the summer months a lot of anglers head out to target redfin. Anglers
fishing over the past month have reported some excellent catches of redfin. They are an excellent sportfish to catch and are magnificent to eat.
rippers as well, around the 40-45cm mark. The schools move around a bit so once they go off the bite you need to pull up stumps and go looking for the school
The author caught this magnificent 55cm brown trout from Lake Wendouree using a mudeye for bait.
Steve Angee has been catching some good sized redfin on soft plastics from Pyke’s Reservoir. Image courtesy of Steve Angee.
struggled to see fish rising/ feeding sometimes. There has been food everywhere on the surface but nothing eating them. Moorabool is a perfect example of what I was talking about at the start of this report. It has lots of shallow bays where the
Steve Angee has been heading down to Pykes Reservoir catching some lovely redfin. He said you need to head down early before the ski boats and jet skis get out on the water, as they do get a bit annoying at times. Steve has been catching some good bags of redfin on soft plastics. He has been searching around for the schools of redfin using his sounder, and once he finds them, he spot locks his electric motor and casts soft plastics into the schools. Steve said there are a lot of little guys in amongst them but also some
of limited opportunities on the fly. Darren caught some lovely rainbow trout around the 2.5lb mark on a Hamills Killer Fly Pattern. Geoff Cramer has nailed some lovely rainbows around 3.5lb as well, casting Bent Minnow type lures. He said they pulled like steam trains. The fishing in Moorabool will improve over the next few months, when the weather starts to cool down. Lake Wendouree continues to produce some excellent catches of both trout and redfin, although
We then changed tactics to fish a mudeye suspended under a bubble float, and no sooner had we cast our local spider/bug mudeye out then the bubble float started to move at a rate of knots. After a good tussle I managed to land a beautiful 55cm brown trout, and after a couple of happy snaps he was released to fight another day. Wayne Rigg continues his excellent form on Wendouree nailing some very nice redfin around the 45cm mark casting Bent Minnow surface lures.
Wayne Rigg’s excellent form continues with this 45cm Wendouree redfin taken on a Bent Minnow surface lure. Image courtesy of Wayne Rigg.
Trevor Holmes nailed this lovely rainbow trout while casting lures from a drifting boat on Lake Wendouree. Image courtesy of Wayne Rigg.
once again. Pykes should continue to fish well over the next couple of months for those anglers looking for a feed of redfin. These fish can be caught on plastics, worms, yabbies and jigged lures. Moorabool Reservoir has been very patchy over the past month, with the odd trout being caught on flies and lures. I have ventured out on some dawn patrols with limited success casting lures, and I’ve
water temperature has risen, and the trout tend not to come in and feed. They have preferred to sit out in the cooler water. Having said that, not all stay out in the cooler water; some will come into the shallows to feed either throughout the night or early in the morning, and this is when you must make the most of limited opportunities. Darren Lyle has had a few sessions at Moorabool and certainly made the most
Darren Lyle landed this Moorabool rainbow trout on a Hamills Killer fly pattern. the reports have slowed down. I ventured out recently with my son Maxi, and we started our session off casting lures with no success, only a couple of follows.
Once again, the time of the day has proven to be the difference preferring the evenings to head out, as has Trevor Holmes catching some excellent sized Rainbows on lures as well. MARCH 2021
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Summer delivered consistency WANGARATTA
Robbie Alexander
Summer is just finishing and I have to admit that this has been one of the most consistent summers that I can remember for Murray cod fishing in the Wangaratta area. I have
area, look out for the abovementioned conditions, and remember to be patient. Try using diving hardbody lures or spinnerbaits during the day, and switching to a surface lure on dark. Bait fishers can try using cheese as bait, although if you are after a bigger fish I suggest trying a very large
the water cools. Once that water cools, usually during March the trout will once again begin to get active, and feed more freely. During March, the number one food item for trout in North East Victoria is usually black crickets. They love black crickets. If fly-fishing, try a black
a warm night under most streetlights in North East Victoria. During the day that can often be found by turning rocks and logs over, but just be careful that you don’t find something else that is black… a snake! REDFIN March can be one of the best months to fish for redfin in North East Victoria. It is the month that I love fishing at Lake William Hovell the most. Both of the main lakes in the Ovens River catchment usually fish well for redfin in March, Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo.
A large carp approximately 60cm caught in Horseshoe Lagoon in Wangaratta. Lake Buffalo tends to have larger redfin, while Lake William tends to have the most redfin, although they’re usually smaller.
YELLOWBELLY Wangaratta isn’t a great yellowbelly fishing area, although the re-introduction of them into the Ovens River
Holly Alexander with a typically small Lake William Hovell redfin caught near the end of a very hot January day. not experienced too many red-hot fishing sessions, but have consistently picked up one or two on most of my fishing trips.
yabby for bait. TROUT March can often see an increase in trout feeding activity and improved trout
fly such as a Black Matuka. If lure fishing, try something black. A Strike Tiger soft plastic in starlight colour is a great place to start, or a black Rooster Tail spinner or black Super Vibrax spinner. If bait fishing, naturally nothing beats a live cricket. These are easy to find on
The author caught this 60cm Murray cod on his first cast of the day, just 5 minutes from the Wangaratta CBD.
Jack Tiver with an absolute monster carp caught in Tea Garden Creek. This was Jack’s first ever carp and what a monster it is. The carp was 76cm and was quickly dispatched. What can we expect in March? MURRAY COD March can be quite hit and miss for Murray cod in the Wangaratta area. Some days can be red hot, and others totally dead. For as long as I can remember people have been trying to work out the best times to go fishing in autumn, but nobody really knows exactly what switches the cod on and off. Possibly the strongest theory is that a high stable barometer tends top lead to better Murray cod fishing. Also, a rapidly falling barometer leading up to a cold front can really switch the cod on, with the period directly after the front has passed often providing very poor fishing. If you’re cod fishing in March, in the Wangaratta 92
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fishing after the summer heat has passed, the nights are getting longer and cooler and the water is cooling down. Trout will often lay low during summer and go off the bite as they lay still, conserving their energy until
Scott Turnbull caught this nice Murray cod casting lures from his kayak in the Ovens River during January.
Brett Corker with a nice Murray cod caught in the Ovens River.
Trolling deep diving lures such as the Halco Crazy Deep is a great way to catch redfin in both lakes. So too is bobbing a small lipless crankbait under the boat or kayak. By far the most versatile technique is using a small soft plastic. They can be fished horizontally or vertically, meaning they can be cast from the bank or bobbed underneath a boat. Best of all, redfin will willingly hit them all day long. Soft plastics are easily my favourite type of lure for redfin fishing.
over the last few years is starting to produce good fish and this should only get better. As this stage they are still more of a by-catch to anglers targeting other species than anything else, however in March don’t be surprised if one turned up on your line of you’re fishing in the Wangaratta area. OTHER SPECIES Each year more and more often we are seeing people recognise the value of carp as a hard fighting, fun to catch species of fish. Many people are now targeting carp and enjoying the thrill of hooking up to a large fish, often with light line. Carp fishing has a lot of attraction to it for those willing to give it a go. If you catch carp you are doing the environment a favour by removing them, if you lose one it doesn’t really matter, it is great practice for inexperienced anglers learning how to fight and play bigger fish and most of all, it is a lot of fun! Carp have been caught in both the Ovens and King Rivers all summer by anglers using worms as bait. They have also been caught in Horseshoe Lagoon at the end of Dale Street in Wangaratta, 3 Mile Creek and Tea Garden Creek.
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Make hay while the sun shines SHEPPARTON
Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com
March is probably my favourite time of the year for fishing in our local region; it just seems to set up perfectly for almost all species on offer on both lures and bait. Leading into this March we have seen some great fishing in the Goulburn River, which could be simply because of the consistent water conditions. We did get a few periods of rain in February which fired up the fish in the lead up to these events, but for a week afterwards the fishing slowed down due to the muddy, higher flowing water levels. Those anglers who have been fishing in good water conditions have been catching some big fish from Murchison down to Undera. Both live baits such as shrimp and worms plus other baits like dim sims, chicken strips and cheese have caught fish up to 90cm. Those fishing with lures have reported trolling darker coloured Codgers and Old Mates straight down the guts of the Goulburn. There have also been some reports of cod and yellowbelly being caught trolling spinnerbaits and getting them closer to the bank, smashing into the timber. This March if the water conditions are good I wouldn’t be going anywhere else to chase cod except the Goulburn, and with fish biting consistently on baits and lures there is something on offer for all levels of local anglers. The Broken was on fire with some rainfall giving it
a bit of a flush, and we all know the fish go crazy with a natural rise in the Broken system. Casting smaller Bassman or 4D spinnerbaits was very popular amongst those sending my reports, particularly in pinks and purples or orange/black combinations. Topwater as always is going well in the Broken, with plenty of fish around the 40cm mark being caught. Most have been taken on Jackal Pompadours but some have taken a liking to the Codgers and also soft plastic frogs on a weedless hook. Bait fishers have reported good numbers of yellowbelly being caught on a shrimp
MARCH 2021
the weed edges and clear water pockets. Lure fishing has been slow, with the odd fish being caught on a 2-3” soft plastics on a lightly weighted weedless jighead. Keep an eye out in the local newspapers or on Facebook because the lake normally gets a stocking of fish near the school holidays, and with Easter around the corner there may be more fish on offer in the lake. LOCAL CHANNELS There’s a single word that sums up how the channel systems around Shepparton have been fishing: wow! I am seeing so many social media posts on how good the channels are fishing for cod,
The yellowbelly fishing in the channel systems has been exceptional.
Tom Hanning from the Native Project has been catching plenty of cod in the local channel system. and worm cocktail around flowing water. As it gets colder you will find it harder to catch live shrimp and yabbies so make the most of
Tom with a nice yellowbelly taken on a lipless crankbait. 94
the fresh bait while it lasts. KIALLA LAKES The lake has seen plenty of fish being caught over the summer period. We didn’t seem to get the super-hot days this year which may have helped to maintain a consistent bite, or maybe it just made it more pleasant for us to fish more regularly. The usual suspects in lipless crankbaits and small spinnerbaits have accounted for the majority of the fish reported to me in recent weeks. Slow rolling them along the bottom with a 5-6 second pause has worked well, with the pause being super important. The fish will sometimes eat a dead
still lure on the bottom. You can fish this way with other lures like football jigs, chatterbaits or soft plastics. I like to load my lures up with Dizzy Scent and even dip the lure in some Gulp juice to send out a huge scent so the fish can find the lure on the bottom more easily. This technique can be painfully slow at times but it’s a very successful way of catching yellowbelly and even redfin in the Kialla Lakes waterways. Bait fishers can do a similar technique by moving their baits every couple of minutes. It might just grab a fish’s attention enough for it to come and bite. March and April are normally the last months of an active fish bite in Kialla Lakes so make the most of it before winter arrives. SHEPPARTON LAKE The Shepparton Lake has been a bit quiet recently, with not too many locals fishing the lake, possibly due to the amazing fishing elsewhere in the area. Those who have reported fish have been catching silver perch and redfin floating worms around
yellowbelly and redfin. The only negative I can find is that bait fishing has been a bit slow in the channels, but if you’re a lure fishers you will be enjoying some of the best fishing we have seen in months. Do yourself a favour and tie on a lipless crankbait and get out to a bridge or drop bar and cast away. It doesn’t even matter what brand of lure you use; there have been reports on Jackal TN60s/50s and even 70s. DUO, Megabass, Fish Traps or even the old
school budget Kokoda lipless cranks have all worked. Some anglers have tricked up their lures with beetle spins or even chatterbait blades on the front, but sometimes this can just be extra time not spent casting. Now we all know in coming months this honey hole of local fishing will slow down when the water gets drained for the winter, so make sure you get out there and make the most of the great fishing.
Lake Mulwala cod YARRAWONGA
Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com
After a hectic holiday period, Lake Mulwala is now returning to normality. The big ‘doof
doof’ boats and water lice (jet skis) have largely disappeared, and
Brad Murray with a massive 127cm cod taken on a swimbait.
To page 95
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Redfin biting in the heat CRATER LAKES
Rod Shepherd
The summer we typically expect down here in the southwest has, at best, been sporadic. There has been the odd hot day approaching the 40°C mark that sent us indoors, otherwise the cooler windy weather suggests that summer has, by and large, passed us by. The big plus has been the summer rainfall, with previous years’ totals well and truly beaten. This has certainly helped with the water levels on our lakes as well as adding a certain amount of flow back into rivers and creeks. Lake Purrumbete has been fishing well for some anglers, with the odd giant
redfin and rainbow trout being caught along with quite a few a few sizeable browns. Cheetah and Tiger trout up to 2lb are also being taken and it’s good to see most anglers are releasing these to grow further. Trolling or casting a variety of lures around the lake’s fringes in depths up to 8m has seen some good results. Smaller school redfin are still being detected at depths around 50ft (15m+) on the sounder. They are responding to live minnow or gudgeon and/or soft plastics and hardbodied jigs worked just off the bottom. Bait anglers are also scoring some fish, with gudgeon minnow fished just off the bottom or suspended under a float. Mudeye also fished under
a float not far out from the lake’s weedy fringes is also a deadly option when the fish are hungry. Just don’t suspend the bait lower than a metre under the float or have it floating too close to any weed bed, otherwise you will lose quite a few to pesky, small redfin. Lake Elingamite’s levels remain high at the time of writing, still allowing easy access to tinnies to over 4m. When the sun comes out and the temperature rises the redfin really come on the chew, with plenty being caught. However, it does seem that the smaller fish are outracing the larger specimens when it comes to chasing a trolled or cast lure or plastic. The redfin activity on those rare,
still, hot days is a blessing because the heat usually shuts down any trout activity except for possibly at first and last light. When the trout are on the chew, plenty of feisty browns are taking lures cast and trolled along with a few rainbows. The latest release fish have put on a bit of weight and are now considered a good pan size, however fish from the previous year are now over 1kg and any left from two years ago are now measuring well over 60cm and 2kg+. I suggest we let these smaller fish go for future catches and keep one or more of the larger specimens. The best time for the trout is straight after a southerly blow which stirs up the lake as well as firing up the fish.
Young Gabriella Cusani recently fished Lake Purrumbete with her father Roy and managed to hook and land this rainbow trout. Image courtesy of R Cusani.
Plenty of insect action to tempt the trout WST/STH GIPPSLAND
Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au
There is one month left of extended daylight hours before we ease back into another winter with shorter days. Daylight savings ends on 4 April so March is a good time to hit the streams of West and South Gippsland or head out to Blue Rock Lake. This region offers some great small-trout stream fishing. The Noojee region has a number of tranquil trout streams set amongst a scenic backdrop of native bush and farmland. The Latrobe, Toorongo and Loch rivers all hold small brown trout and some rainbows, and are great fun on light gear and tackle. Closer to Melbourne the Tarago River begins north of Neerim South flowing down to Longwarry before entering the Bunyip River, and both rivers offer good March stream trout fishing. The rivers are flowing From page 94
the local fishos can come out of hiding. As usual, February to May is the prime time to be fishing the “home of the Murray Cod “and there is no better time than the present. As usual, the bait anglers will produce better numbers of cod whilst those either casting or trolling will be rewarded with bigger fish on average. For the bait brigade, anywhere in the lake with a bit of depth, preferably
well with rain over months, so of active
good seasonal the last six there are plenty feeding trout
throughout. Twenty minutes north of Warragul is the picturesque Blue Rock
Lake set behind the township of Willow Grove. The north-eastern banks of the lake are predominantly
The author had some late summer fun chasing carp on cicada surface lures sight casting from the kayak. along the edge of the hidden Murray river or an underwater lagoon, is your best option. For the lure anglers, your options are limited only by your imagination, with all methods having their merits at different times of the day. Personally, at this time of year, during the day I like to cast mumblers or hardbody lures in water that ranges from 2-3m. My favourite fishing method though is to have
everything in readiness for a good surface session if weather permits. January has been a massive month for visiting and local anglers who have been spending plenty of time on the lake and below the weir in search of a mighty Murray cod. Reports have come in thick and fast, with some magnificent cod amongst them. Reports of good numbers of yellas below the weir have also been common. The following
is a brief list of some of the reported captures. Brad Murray – 127cm, Cain Peatling – 126cm, Jack Hocking – 123cm, Reid Bonat – 118cm, Jeremy Ormy – 111cm, Grant Harris – 111cm, Callum Whyte – 110cm, Kristian Dolic – 109cm, Amber Wild – 105cm, Gary Ebbles – 82cm, and young Noah McGannon landed a 65cm fish on a swimbait. These were caught on various methods ranging from cheese and
bushland, making up the foothills of Mt Baw Baw. Open farmland dominates much of the western banks with good land-based fishing around the two boat ramps positioned nicely at either end of the lake. The Tanjil Arm located north of the lake is the main source of water fed from the Tanjil River. The river arm is set amongst a rugged landscape of native bush and submerged dead trees, ideal habitat for big bass, trout and redfin. Heading south, the Lang Lang River always looks very inviting at this time of the year. There is plenty of food throughout the system which results in some nice, healthy brown trout, redfin and eel about. The Lang Lang River historically holds some big trout and blackfish but access can be difficult so it will require an adventurous spirit. There will be plenty of insect action happening on the surface this month so dry fly fishing can be very productive, as will casting small lures and drifting unweighted live baits like worms and grasshoppers.
If flows are slow, target riffles and moving water because trout prefer waters that are well oxygenated and cool. The lake level of Blue Rock Lake has been at full capacity for summer. The lake’s managers historically begin dropping the lake in early February to top up other reservoirs in the Latrobe Valley. Most other reservoirs are also at capacity or near, so it will be interesting to see if the lake does drop as we move into autumn. Bass and redfin will likely start schooling up, and will be best targeted using ice jigs, skirted jigs and soft plastics. Trout can be targeted trolling or casting lures along the shoreline. Bait anglers will have fun from the bank or out in the boat tree hopping. Live baits to use include worms, yabbies and crickets. Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly if you have any recent success stories. Happy fishing!
chicken to swimbaits and surface lures. Below the weir, most kids had fun catching plenty of small stuff on bait. Worms, cheese, chicken and yabbies have been the most productive. It has been interesting to hear so many reports this year about the number of turtles being caught on bait. If you do happen to catch one, please take care to unhook it carefully before releasing it. • 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 check out our new store located between Rivers and One Zac in the main street, Yarrawonga and say g’day. We are Yarrawonga/ M u l w a l a ’s fishing specialists, and specialise in all things green! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on 0439 441 667. MARCH 2021
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VIC
The choices are endless EILDON
Peter Burtchell
Lake Eildon is a big lake, and with a multitude of mountain rivers and streams feeding it, it presents many choices for fishing adventures. With so much feed around during the warmer months, Murray
trout and rainbow trout, however summer belongs to the mighty Murray cod. During the summer holidays I had a chance to go fishing with my good friend Dan from the Victorian Water Police. Dan patrols Lake Eildon and assists with rescues and helping us all to stay safe on the water. When deciding
Stefan landed two Murray cod for the afternoon while his father Sven was targeting trophy fish. cod become the most active of the fish populations, and their feeding habits are not deterred by all of the wake boating and jet skiing action that occurs when the weather is hot. Whether you can handle the waves created by the boating action in the main arms of the lake whilst angling, or if you prefer to fish within the protected areas of the river mouths and multiple inlets that are common around the lake, you will be sure to end up facing off with one of Australia’s iconic fish. The lake is also brimming with yellowbelly, redfin, brown
which style of fishing we were going to do, we also discussed the importance of being prepared for a day on the water. A boat explosion had occurred on the lake during the week (due to a fuel leak), and we talked about safety prevention measures for boat owners – checking the vessel for fuel leaks, getting the engine serviced, inspecting life jackets to the manufacturer’s standard, checking that the torch is working, the navigational lights are up to standard and so on. It’s easy to miss checks like these, and that’s when accidents can happen. When you are a fishing charter guide, the integrity of your vessels and safety equipment is paramount, and it was great to listen to Dan as he ran through all of the operating parameters that must be met when boating anywhere in Victoria. Back to the fishing. Sven, the manufacturer of Dusk Rods and Lure Co Lures, chose to target big fish whilst trialling some of his new lures and rods. Sven has been an avid supporter of the fishing competitions here at Lake Eildon for years, and he wanted to catch a metre Murray cod using his gear. Along with
Hannah with friends Zoltan Seci and Lachlan McHugh hired a picnic boat and fished with cheese, which resulted in this 111cm Murray cod. or look up Sven Bandura on Facebook. Whilst Sven was off chasing his trophy fish, his family chose to spend a few hours on the water with Northern Waters Boat Hire where son Stefan landed his
Murray cod. During the tour Steve mentioned his latest passion (besides catching a metre cod in Lake Eildon) and that is assisting with a welfare fund for past players and officials of his beloved North Melbourne Football
Bianca used the 501 Cod Bait from the rear deck of the houseboat, Morning Mist. Sven chose to surface fish and hooked this larger specimen measuring in at 112cm.
Relax and enjoy delicious food and warm hospitality.
his fishing companion Jesse, Sven was soon on the fish, and landed a 112cm Murray cod from the surface using a Barambah 300mm Dragon. Sven says you have to have faith when you are targeting Lake Eildon trophy-sized fish. If you are looking for a custom rod or handcrafted timber lure, check out his range at fishingrodandlure.com.au
across the lake and noted that the pelicans have chosen to return for their easy meals. It’s not hard to understand why the larger Murray cod lay in ambush up against the western banks around the Jerusalem Creek arm as I watch one pelican (in close to shore) scoop up seven large roach in one strike, swallowing them one by one. The pelican simply shifts 2-3ft and scoops successfully again. The multitude of remaining roach flee into the deeper, darker water where their retreat becomes another fright and flight for life from a different coloured predator. A big year is planned for Lake Eildon with a multitude of fishing events in store, the first being May 14, 15 and 16 for the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge. To keep up to date, you can join the following Facebook pages: Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge, Lake Eildon Cod Masters, and Central Vic Lure Casters Super Series. • Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park is a friendly, family-orientated caravan park, and makes the perfect home away from home.
first ever Murray cod caught trolling a purple StumpJumper. The cod measured in at his current PB of 64cm. Stefan’s sister Leticia swapped rod and place with Stefan after his first catch, and she soon wished she had not, because Stefan landed his second on Leticia’s previous rod and place! A long time friend and avid Angler Stephen McCann chose to take a ride on a guided fishing tour when he was rewarded with a nice Sarah Hope fished from the Small Marina in the Jews Creek Arm.
Open for breakfast from 6am 7 days a week (Closed Mother’s Day)
Coffee Light meals Pastries Cakes Bread 10 Main St, Eildon Victoria 3713 03 5774 2362 0438 881 629 96
MARCH 2021
Dave took his son Milan on a guided fishing tour where he caught his first ever Murray cod.
Club. The Shinboner Alumni Fund provides physical, mental, medical and financial assistance for those in need. For more information, including sponsorship opportunities, donations and fund-raising events, call Steve on 0438 002 479 or email smccann@wmib.com.au. As I am finishing this report I have looked out
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 info@jerusalemcreek.com.au.
FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS WHEN A COROLLA STEALS THE LAST BOAT-TRAILER PARKING SPACE P
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Tournament Calendar 2021 DATE
Tournament
Location
State
Contact
MARCH 6-7 Mar 9-11 Mar 13-14 Mar 20 Mar 20-21 Mar 21 Mar 27-28 Mar 27-28 Mar
2021 Daiwa BREAM R2 Daiwa BREAM Australian Open 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R2 Humminbird Owners’ Tour East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R2 East Coast Bream Series R1 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R1 Glenelg Hopkins CMA BCF Bream Classic
Lake Macquarie Sydney Glenbawn Dam Hervey Bay Forster St Georges Basin Toonumbar Dam Warrnambool
NSW NSW NSW QLD NSW NSW NSW VIC
abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.humminbird.com.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au
APRIL 17-18 April 17-18 April 18 April 18 April 24-25 April
2021 Pirtek Challenge East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R3 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R2 East Coast Bream Series R2 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R3
All Bellinger River Lostock Dam Lake Macquarie Clarence River
All NSW NSW NSW NSW
pirtekfishingchallenge.com.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au
MAY 1-2 May 1-2 May 16 May 16 May 22-23 May 29-30 May
2021 Daiwa BREAM R3 Glenelg Hopkins CMA Bream Classic 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R3 East Coast Bream Series R3 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R4 2021 Daiwa BREAM R4
Forster,NSW Nelson Clarrie Hall Dam Hawkesbury River Port Macquarie Ballina
NSW VIC NSW NSW NSW NSW
abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 abt.org.au
JUNE 5-6 June 12-13 June 13 June 19-20 June 19-20 June
2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R4 2021 Pottsville Beach Sports Greenback 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R4 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R5 Daiwa East Gippsland Bream Classic
Cania Dam Pottsville Maroon Dam Nambucca River Mallacoota
QLD NSW QLD NSW VIC
abt.org.au lionsgreenback.com abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.vicbreamclassics.com.au
JULY 11 July 24-25 July
2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R5 Hinze Dam East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R6 Macleay River
QLD NSW
abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135
AUGUST 7-8 Aug 11-12 Aug 14-15 Aug 14-15 Aug 15 Aug 21-22 Aug 21-22 Aug
2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R5 BREAM Queensland Open 2021 Daiwa BREAM R5 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro GF East Coast Bream Series R4 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R6 Atomic East Gippsland Bream Classic
Somerset Dam Moreton Bay Gold Coast Nambucca River Botany Bay Borumba Dam Marlo
QLD QLD QLD NSW NSW QLD VIC
abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au
SEPTEMBER 11-12 Sept 12 Sept 13-17 Sept 18-19 Sept
2021 Daiwa BREAM R6 East Coast Bream Series R5 Venom BARRA Australian Open 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric GF
Gladstone Sydney Harbour Awoonga/Monduran Lake Lenthalls
QLD NSW QLD QLD
abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au
OCTOBER 2-3 Oct 9-10 Oct 15-16 Oct 17 Oct 17 Oct 26-27 Oct 30-31 Oct
Humminbird BASS Electric Aus Open Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic 2021 Zerek BARRA R1 2021 Zerek BARRA R2 East Coast Bream Series GF Rapala BASS Australian Open 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro GF
Wyaralong Dam Metung Lake Tinaroo Lake Tinaroo Hawkesbury River Clarence River Richmond River
QLD VIC QLD QLD NSW NSW NSW
abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au
NOVEMBER 15 Nov 16 Nov 18 Nov 20-21 Nov 27-28 Nov
2021 Zerek BARRA R3 2021 Zerek BARRA R4 2021 Zerek BARRA R5 2021 Zerek BARRA R6 NS Rods Sunline Bream Classic GF
Teemburra Dam Kinchant Dam Peter Faust Dam Peter Faust Dam Marlo
QLD QLD QLD QLD VIC
abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au
DECEMBER 3-5 Dec
2021 Daiwa BREAM GF
Port Stephens
NSW
abt.org.au
Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au Just supply a date, venue, tournament name, telephone number and contact name. 98
MARCH 2021
WHAT’S NEW VERSUS MEIHO
1
The company that brings you Samaki, Ecooda and Fish Craft – Blue Fish Imports – has now launched Versus Meiho in Australia. This premium tackle storage solution is designed and manufactured in Japan, and is a new concept in tackle storage. These high quality, lightweight tackle boxes and storage cases offer you a variety of solutions for all applications. There’s everything from small yet intricate utility boxes for split ring, hook and swivel storage, to lure boxes, spinnerbait boxes, split form and larger swimbait boxes. The larger storage compartment boxes come with high quality latches, stainless steel pins and multiple compartments for fast retrieve of the right lure box or quick access to your line or leader spool. For more information, you can look them up on Facebook or Instagram (@ versusmeiho) or visit the Versus Meiho Australia website. www.versusmeiho.com.au
DAIWA CERTATE SW
2
The new Certate SW replaces the popular Catalina and draws many of its design cues and elements from the 20 Saltiga. A single-piece Monocoque (MQ) body removes the need for a traditional side plate and screw system design, with the new onepiece frame and Engine Plate design housing a large G1 Duralumin drive gear, shared from the 20 Saltiga. A Zaion rotor reduces weight, while enhancing strength and rotational balance, while a multi-layer carbon drag delivers ten times increased drag durability compared to 16 Catalina. The new washer design combined with the aluminium radiation drag knob increases heat dissipation, improving drag performance under heavy load. Ultimate protection is achieved with a Magseal line roller and Magseal body, combining with Certate SW’s MQ body to shut the door on the elements. High speed models come equipped with a soft-touch hi-grip egg shaped knob which delivers grip and comfort for the sweeping motions of working a surface lure, while slow speed models have an EVA Power Round Knob suitable for working vertical jigs. www.daiwafishing.com.au
MIRAGE PASSPORT BAY SAND 2021
3
Hobie has upgraded the 12ft Mirage Passport’s drive system to the MirageDrive with Glide Technology and Kick-Up Fins, for care-free kayaking. Logs, kelp, shallows, rocks? No problem – the fins automatically ‘kick up’ on impact. When you’re not relaxing in the Passport’s breathable mesh seat, a wider cockpit area with EVA floor padding provides a stable platform for standing and stretching your legs or casting a lure. There’s plenty of real estate to stash equipment on the bow or stern cargo areas, and more below deck access through the centre 8” Twist-n-Seal hatch. You’ll love the stealthy new Bay Sand colour and will be happy that the Passport 12 has a transducer cavity and scupper for simple install of your favourite fishfinder. All this on top of a Power-Pole Micro bracket indent to mount your favourite shallow water anchor. Additional features include steering system with stowable rudder, two fishing rod holders, accessory tracks, and under seat and gunwale tackle storage. www.hobie.com.au
PRODUCT GUIDE
LOWRANCE ACTIVETARGET
4
Lowrance’s new, high-resolution ActiveTarget Live Sonar system reveals live-action views of fish moving in and around structure as they respond to lure presentations This technology delivers top-of-theline live sonar functionality to the highresolution HDS LIVE Ultimate Fishing System, as well as HDS Carbon and Lowrance’s Elite FS displays – providing ActiveTarget Live Sonar connectivity with a wider range of displays and pricing options. The ActiveTarget Live Sonar views show high-resolution images of fish movements in real time. This enables anglers to adjust the presentation to trigger a strike, and know if more than one predator fish is active in the area. ActiveTarget can be set to Forward, Down or Scout mode. Forward and Down views allow anglers to track fish in front of or below the live sonar transducer, and Scout mode delivers an ultra-wide, overhead view of structure and fish activity in front of the transducer. ActiveTarget complements Active Imaging 3-in-1 sonar, which includes extreme highresolution SideScan and DownScan Imaging views for finding structure, and the superior target separation of Lowrance CHIRP Sonar. Price: $2299 www.lowrance.com
SHIMANO GRAPPLER BB
1
5
The new Grappler BB series from Shimano is an affordable saltwater series that expands the existing Grappler family. It boasts features such as Hi-Power X blank technology, Shimano custom reel and CI4 reel seats, as well as Fuji K Stainless Alconite guides. Incorporating Shimano’s exclusive carbonwrapped Hi-Power X blank technology ensures blank twist and rotation is reduced when the rod is in motion, giving you increased casting performance, better fight control and a crisper feel when working your lures. There are 13 diverse models to choose from, all featuring a 2-piece butt join concept. There are casting models from 8’0” to 8’2” with ratings from PE5 to PE8 for all things topwater. There are also pin and overhead jigging models weighted from PE3 to PE6 that will have you covered when the bite is deep. Additionally, the Grappler BB series integrates two overhead Slow Jig models at 6’8” from PE2 to PE 3 and two LJ models at 6’3”. The Grappler BB series features a range of rods that will sit perfectly with any mid to high priced Shimano overhead and spin reels. Price: SRP $319 www.shimanofish.com.au
ATC VIRTUOUS CARBON FIBRE
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
2
3
4
6
The ATC Virtuous CF is the ultimate combination of rigid and light weight spinning reels. Featuring a dual drag system that applies pressure from the bottom and the top of the spool to provide a powerful and smooth drag performance, the Virtuous CF is ready to take on record fish. Constructed with a full carbon fibre body and rotor, these lightweight reels are equipped with an aluminium spool fitted with a tournament grade carbon washer drag system. The handle has also been designed to provide great ergonomics while still keeping the weight to a minimum with a mini EVA handle for ultimate sensitivity. The 10 + 1 ball bearings add an overall smooth touch to the reel that has to be felt to be believed. There are three models, the 800 (155g weight, 5.2:1 gear ratio, 4kg drag), the 2000 (175g, 5.2:1, 4kg) and 3000 (215g, 5.2:1, 7kg). www.wilsonfishing.com
6 5
visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!
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MARCH 2021
99
ADVERTORIAL
Last month Mercury Marine introduced their new 7.6L V12 600hp Verado outboard engine, the world’s first V12 and with it came a bunch of new and innovative features. Two-speed transmission, a steerable gearcase and a car-like ‘hood’ are the most obvious, but there’s plenty going on under the cowling as well. The development of the V12 Verado outboard is a product of Mercury’s continued commitment to investing in R&D and manufacturing expansion, which includes more than $1.5 billion of investment since 2008. The Mercury Marine V12 Verado outboard will be released in Australian and New Zealand through selected OEMs and dealers in the second half 2021. INNOVATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS The new 7.6L V12 600hp Verado engine is the highest horsepower outboard ever developed by Mercury Marine and is the highest horsepower outboard engine in production today. Its naturally aspirated, large displacement, quadcam powerhead generates incredible torque to power large centre consoles, day boats, runabouts, luxury cruisers and more.
TWO SPEED TRANSMISSION The two speed automatic transmission optimises engine
configuration improves performance with more total blade area. There is also a hydrodynamic advantage as the contra rotating propellers’ seven blades mount to a smaller torpedo than would be required for a single large, four blade propeller. FUEL EFFICIENCY Mercury attacked the goal of minimising fuel burn on several fronts. Its established Advanced Range Optimization, adjusts fuelling automatically in accordance with operating conditions. A closed loop fuel control system uses wide range oxygen sensors to further optimise fuel mixture at all operating points. Internal moving parts are protected by an advanced lubrication system and are designed to reduce windage and friction. DURABILITY The V12 Verado outboard is engineered to last, even when operated for long hours in harsh environments. Mercury subjected the V12 Verado engine to the same rigorous endurance and stress tests that the other new generation outboards in the Mercury portfolio have undergone. MAINTENANCE Mercury built the V12 Verado outboard to make maintenance easy. This engine is capable of operating for 200 hours before requiring routine service, including oil changes,
With the steerable gearcase, the motors stay still and have a narrow footprint for multiple rigging. rpm according to workload, facilitating powerful acceleration and highly efficient performance at cruise. First gear is 20% lower than second gear, leveraging the engine’s high torque to accelerate the boat and get it up on plane quickly. STEERABLE GEARCASE With this engine, Mercury has introduced the world’s first steerable gearcase system for outboards. The outboard’s powerhead remains in a fixed position, perpendicular to the transom at all times. The steering occurs underwater, using a gearcase that pivots the engine’s contra rotating props to the right and left. Advantages include the elimination of a boat mounted steering system and enhanced handling and manoeuvrability. Because the steering system does not have to move the entire engine, its performance is exceedingly agile. effectively manoeuvre a large boat.
DUAL PROPELLER GEARCASE The gearcase system’s contra rotating propeller
Scan the QR code to learn more about how the revolutionary technology behind every V12 Verado outboard is redefining the outboard-driving experience
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and basic maintenance can be done through the innovative top cowl service hood while the boat is still in the water. The entire cowl doesn’t need to be removed to allow more in-depth service until 1,000 hours or five years. Plus, Mercury added enhanced engine monitoring systems to improve the overall boatownership experience.
Ground-breaking product innovations include the following: • The world’s first V12 outboard, the 600hp Verado engine features a naturally aspirated, large displacement, quad-cam powerhead that generates impressive torque to get heavy boats out of the hole and on plane quickly, and to accelerate up to rated speed rapidly. • The industry’s first two-speed automatic transmission for an outboard optimises engine rpm according to workload, facilitating powerful acceleration and highly efficient performance at cruise. • The industry’s first steerable gearcase on an outboard pivots independently underwater while the engine’s powerhead remains in a space-saving fixed position. This provides more room for multi-engine configurations and a wider steering angle for agile handling. With help from contrarotating propellers, it also has better ‘bite’ in the water for docking and other close-quarters manoeuvring. • Several enhanced Mercury technologies work in conjunction to enable the V12 Verado outboard to deliver exceptional fuel economy and range.
QUIET AND SMOOTH New noise management designs under the cowl and in the next generation Advanced Midsection result in extraordinary sound dampening and vibration mitigation. Plus, the electronically activated shifting of the two speed transmission is smooth and quiet. SPACE SAVING DESIGN Owners of large boats will love the extra space that using outboard engines frees up. Knowing this, Mercury brought several design elements together to minimise the space occupied by the V12 Verado engine, even when it is tilted to raise the props out of the water. The engine’s space saving design ensures its compatibility with a broader array of boats. ENHANCED DIGITAL CONTROLS In addition to compatibility with the renowned Mercury Joystick Piloting for Outboards system, the V12 Verado outboard has the Next Gen Digital Throttle & Shift (DTS) system. The new controls are sleek and ergonomic. Mercury made them more intuitive by adding features like pushbutton access to Active Trim, which automatically adjusts trim for optimal performance.
What’s under the hood? Well, it does have a hood and a 7.6L naturally aspirated V12 powerhead.
WA
South Coast
LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE… NO SACRIFICES MERCURY
Time to hit the water NO COMPROMISES INTUITIVE CONTROL ESPERANCE
Murray Johnson
NO APOLOGIES
Esperance has had a great summer, with less wind, warm days and plenty of fish. Salmon are continuing to come into the local beaches in big schools, with fish ranging in size from 1-7kg. Choice places in town are Salmon Beach, Fourth Beach and Nine Mile. Out of town heading west, Roses has seen bigger schools sitting in close, with lots of tailor mixed in. Both species are taking On a recent trip, Mitch Johnson scored around 20 pilchards on a paternoster rig, samsonfish on jigs. Image courtesy of @gawn_fishn as well as metal slices such as Halco Twisties. The weight of Bandy Creek is still have had no trouble getting the slice you can use depends producing plenty of small their limits of solid nannygai, on the rod. If you’re using King George, plus lots of with some fish going 65cm, but ALBERTON MELBOURNE it’s only a short bite window. a smaller flick rod you can flounder and flathead. use ALBERTON slices up toMARINE 30g, while The bream lakes have MARINE Your best bet is usually early MELBOURNE CENTRE in the morning if you’re using a 12ft beach been drying out in the warm 39 Johnson Street Alberton 92 Hallam South Road Hallamand/or right on rod you should be able to weather, which has caused the high tide. (03) 5183 2344 9703 2003 cast P:50-75g. Tailor are also fish to move into P:the(03) deeper There are still plenty F: (03) W: melbournemarine.com.au taking 125 5183 Halco2219 Slidogs in pockets, making them a little of queenies and Breaksea, the pilchard pattern. harder to find. Quallalup Lake and the deep sea guys are W: albertonmarine.com.au MORNINGTON Heading east of town, big near Roses has been getting foxfish and plenty of yielding PENINSULA schools of salmon are being fish to 40cm. MY MARINE samsonfish. On a recent trip, BENDIGO found at Dunns, Duke of Boat fishing inCnr the Nepean bay is Highway Mitch Johnson jigged for 3-4 & BENDIGO MARINE & OUTDOORS Orleans, Alexander, Thomas, consistently producing bluefin hours and ended up getting Ponderosa Dromana 160and Midland Epsomtuna up to 8kg, and Poison Cliffs.Highway Poison and they’re Place 20 samsons on jigs. One jig P: (03) 5448 (03) 5987 that has been working well Alexander have 3988 also been continuing to takeP: any sort 0900 producing good numbers of smaller jet head, around lately is the Oceans Legacy W: bendigomarine.com.au W: mymarine.com.au of bronzies, along with the 150mm, preferably in darker Long Contact in 170 or 210g, occasional mulloway and purple or pink colours. which has a slow action and The PENINSULA MORNINGTON MELBOURNE gummy. Guys chasing skippy tuna are also taking hardbodies has been scoring some good NAUTICAL MARINE BL MARINE samsons. The smaller Hybrid 141 Hotham Road 612- 614 Plenty Road Preston Contact has been working well Sorrento P: (03) 9478 1420 on the nannygai. F: (03) 9470 4638 P: (03) 5984 1666MARCH FORECAST March traditionally marks W: blmarine.com.au E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au the start of good weather, W: nauticalmarine.com.au with balmy days, low winds, SHEPPARTON low swell and good fishing. BOATS AND MORE TOORADIN Salmon will keep schooling up P&J MARINE SERVICE CENTRE P/L and some 207 Numurkah Road Shepparton in bigger numbers will leave head towards P: (03) 5822 2108 101 Tooradin Station Roadand Tooradin the west coast. We should F: (03) 5821 2908 P: (03) 5998 3107 start to see more skippy and W: boatsandmore.com.au E: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com gummies being caught too. Also in March is the MORWELL annual Esperance Archipelago GEELONG CRAWFORD MARINE Offshore Classic, to be held PORTSIDE MARINE CENTRE onRoad MarchPortarlington 14. It’s always a 71-77 Chickerell Street Morwell 36-38 Geelong popular event, and you can P: (03) 5134 6522 P: (03) 5259 1110 Oli Stevensonn with a quality blue groper caught on find out more on the Esperance F: (03) 5134 6455 E: info@portsidemarinecentre.com.au an Oceans Legacy jig. Image courtesy of @olistevensonn Deep Sea Angling Club W: crawfordmarine.com.au W: portsidemarinecentre.com.au Facebook page. have seen fish up to 4kg at such as Laser Pros in the • Established in 1986, Southern ECHUCA Thomas River and Roses. shallows in pilchard/mackerel MELBOURNE Sports and Tackle specializes in the supply and servicing In town,XTREME the jetty has been type colours. EADES MARINE THE MARINE SHOP producing plenty big bull There are plenty of herring of fishing equipment. They 24 Sturt StreetofEchuca 6 Holland Drive Melton herring, with the best time to out in the bay, the occasional have an extensive knowledge P: (03) 5482 2333 P: (03) 9747 0588 chase them being 7-8pm when snook and some good flathead. of the local area and provide (03)in5482 2133 (03) 9747 they F: come to the lights. Use The close in F: islands are 3999 all brands, whether you’re W:of xtrememarine.net.au plenty berley to bring the producing plentyW:ofthemarineshop.com.au queen fishing from beach, jetty or herring to you. We are also snapper, Breaksea and sweep, boat. Come and chat to the seeing plenty of small skippy, and there are MELBOURNE still some friendly staff at Shop 16, The BRAESIDE the JV occasional George samsonfish in close too. Boulevard, Esperance or MARINEKing WORLD TRIPLE M MARINE whiting and some squid. Guys heading out wide phone 08 9071 3022. 878 Springvale Road Braeside 117 Northgate Drive Thomastown P: (03) 9798 8883 P: (03) 9465 8787 F: (03) 9798 7554 F: (03) 9466 1418 W: jvmarine.com.au W: triplemmarine.com.au
VIC MERCURY DEALERS
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WA MERCURY DEALERS BUNBURY BLUEWATER MARINE 18 Hawkins Street BUNBURY P: (08) 9791 1499 F: (08) 9791 1497 E: bluwater@bigpond.net.au W: bluewatermarine.com.au EXMOUTH EXMOUTH AUTOMOTIVE & BOATING 5 Griffiths Way EXMOUTH P: (08) 9949 2795 F: (08) 9949 4795 E: exautomotive@bigpond.com W: exmouthautoandboating.com.au MANDURAH MANDURAH OUTBOARDS 53 Gordon Road MANDURAH P: (08) 9581 7224 F: (08) 9581 6305 E: james@mandurahoutboards.com.au W: mandurahoutboards.com.au ALBANY RUSTY’S MARINE U2/205 Chesterpass Road ALBANY P: (08) 9842 1022 E: rustysmarine@bigpond.com W: www.rustysmarine.com.au
ROCKINGHAM MIDWAY MARINE 43 Hurrell Way ROCKINGHAM P: (08) 9527 6963 F: (08) 9527 6964 E: info@midwaymarine.net.au W: midwaymarine.net.au HENDERSON THE BOAT BUSINESS 1/5 Contest Link HENDERSON P: (08) 9437 5144 F: (08) 9437 6144 E: mark@theboatbusiness.com.au W: theboatbusiness.com.au WANGARA HI TECH MARINE 12 Uppill Place WANGARA P: (08) 9309 2888 F: (08) 9309 2397 E: sales@hitechmarine.com.au W: hitechmarine.com.au
Good start to autumn BREMER BAY
Keith ‘Fisho’ Morris
In recent weeks anglers have been picking up nice salmon, skippy and herring at Reef Beach, along with the
occasional snapper. At Fosters there are reports of skippy, herring and sandies, while Main Beach is yielding flathead, herring and skippy. Trigelow has been very rough so I have not heard anything from over there. We
have had very strong easterly winds and high tides of late. From all reports there are no fish in the Pallinup River or the Gairdner River. Bremer Bay River is very low again. You can still catch black bream there but you have to hunt for them. MARCH 2021
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Tuna move in closer AUGUSTA
Anthony Gillam
This summer we had some horrendously hot days, which is really unheard of in Augusta usually.
Tuna are always pretty wary of boats so cruising past without intersecting the school with your boat has been key. Throwing mulies in the water close to the school has been an excellent way to bring them to you,
as well. Bleed them immediately and immerse them in a slurry of ice and saltwater to get the blood out and temperature down as quickly as possible. Tuna sashimi and tuna steaks on the grill are very hard to beat, especially when straight out of the water. There have been mixed results lately for those looking for pink snapper and dhufish, with some days catches being exceptional and then others where you couldn’t buy a bite. Some of the crusty old legends around the area have put it down to the full moon turning off the bite, while others have poo-pooed the idea as old wives’ tales. We all know that the bite is generally better one hour before and
You know your dhufish is big when it dwarfs you! This 22kg butterball was taken on bait in 45m of water on a recent trip into the Flinders Bay deep water. one hour after the turn of the tides so some part of it must be true. Still, I’m not convinced that fish are turned off completely at any time, and I think if you dangle the right thing in front of them they will eventually eat it, either because they
around the shallower waters, and these also are proven big fish lollies. The Blackwood River and Hardy Inlet continue to provide plenty of action for land-based and small boat fishos, with skippy and whiting being caught
Brayden Warnke managed to troll up a few bluefin tuna from the many schools that were haunting the bait balls near White Point. We unfortunately had to endure a couple of them in a row, but managed to battle through until it rained and cooled things down. The usual summer winds plagued most of the southwest and great southern for most of the holiday period. However, there were some nice periods of low wind and swell that allowed plenty of opportunity for the boaties to get out into Flinders and Hamelin Bays chasing the always sought after demersals. Warmer currents have also produced the perfect conditions to bring the mackerel and tuna to within striking distance of most people. There were quite a few schools of bluefin around the islands and towards Black Point that were more than happy to take a lure. It has been very important to match the lure to what they were feeding on as they have not been interested in touching anything that’s not similar to their meal. Most times they have been feeding on mulies, so a Halco Slidog or similar sized lure in the 100-135mm range have been perfect. 102
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and then you just cast over the school and commence a flat-out retrieve. Bonito have also been sighted and have been just as willing to take a lure, and they have been mixing with the bluefin on occasion
One look at the teeth on the Blackwood River bream shows that their diet doesn’t consist of marshmallows.
Allan Brown shows how it’s done with a large queen snapper caught on a piece of mullet in Flinders Bay.
Rock fishing is dangerous, but tying off to one of these could just save your life.
want food or just want to get it out of their face. With plenty of mulie schools getting around they would seem to be the logical bait for bottom bouncing, and a soft plastic that resembles them is sure to be a winner. There are also large numbers of herring
everywhere. Because the river is reasonably low as it enters Hardy Inlet there are plenty of obvious areas worth trying. The water has remained crystal clear, thanks mostly to the tides pulling water through the cut at Dukes To page 103
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West Coast
Smart ways to catch salmon this autumn BUNBURY
Whiteys Tackle and Camping
Going off previous years, the salmon should be showing up in the local haunts this month. However, as always, they
to the salmon and also being safer for the angler as well as the fish. When dealing with a predator like the Australian salmon you can’t go wrong using lures, and a large variety of them will work a treat including soft plastics,
including the old favourite Smilin’ Jack Minnow still have their day, but casting distance can be lacking when schools are holding deeper. Bibless stickbaits can offer a better cast, and the erratic side-to-side darting action provided by
Samantha Dixon with a solid salmon.
Lachie Atkinson caught this salmon on a Samaki Flash. seem to move quickly through the Bunbury area, so having your fishing combo rigged and tackle bag ready to hit the water once the rumours start is a massive advantage! So get out those old lures and make sure they are ready to hunt by upgrading the hardware on them. Quality single hooks are all the rage and carry several advantages, with the main ones being the ability to stay connected From page 102
Head refreshing it daily. This allows you to pick a spot to anchor up and berley them to you, while taking advantage of the natural features funnelling them your way. Worms, squid and prawns are all good choices. There are a few nice flounder and flathead about too so it’s a good idea to have a flick with some soft plastics. Bouncing them along the bottom in the sand soon has the attention of any in the area. Flounder are especially aggressive, and the fight given by a decent-sized one is very surprising. Plenty of people have been trying for blue manna (swimmer) crabs, with up to 30 boats competing for them in the confined space of the river. Most people have been able to get a feed but it has been a matter of locating the correct spot to concentrate
hardbodies, flies and the humble chrome slice. For versatility, a 4-6” inch soft plastic on a 1oz 5/0 jighead will allow you to get a good cast, and this type of lure will work whether you rip them back quickly, hop them slowly or (when under pressure from lots of anglers and packed in tight school) dead stick them on the bottom with minimal movement to get them biting again. Hardbody lures
no bib can get the salmon hot and heavy! If you stick to the brand name lures (i.e. Nomad, Rapala or Halco), they will perform and hold up quality-wise to the hard fighting salmon. The guys waving the wand don’t miss out either, with the fly fishos throwing baitfish imitations for exceptional results, so get a bit of fluff on the 6-9wt rod and hold on. Casting distance can be troublesome when salmon
on. Prospecting with widespread nets and then concentrating on the areas where you get a couple has paid off for many. It would appear that most crabs caught have been males. Try spleen or chicken necks as bait to avoid the stingrays. Beach fishing at Deepdene, Cosy Corner, Elephant Rock, Hamelin Bay and Boranup has remained strong, with plenty of skippy, herring and tarwhine being caught. Space has been at a premium at the gutters, holes and channels so it’s a case of early birds getting the fish. Squid, fish pieces and coral prawns have worked for the smaller species, with mulies and herring scoring some nice shark varieties. It was disappointing to hear that a group of tourists thought it would be a good idea to use crowbars to turn over a large number of rocks at Elephant Rock, trying to locate roe abalone.
Not only is this the wrong way to find them, it is destructive and morally wrong. The numbers of abalone in close has dwindled significantly this season, probably due to the increased fishing pressure due to people holidaying in the state due to COVID, but does it justify destruction of habitat? Rock fishing can be very productive in Augusta. Choose a spot that gives you the chance to seek refuge from any king waves, and don’t let calm conditions fool you into thinking you are safe. Rogue waves are just that, and can quickly result in you being thrown into the water. People have died here after being washed off by king waves. It can happen anywhere and at any time; just as with the five unfortunate but avoidable deaths that occurred earlier this year in Port Kembla, NSW. • Unpredictable weather can quickly affect the fishing conditions, and
are sitting deeper and that brings into play the old favourite metal slug. These shiny, slim baitfish replicas can have some massive casting weights and will allow you to reach those schools that are usually beyond reach. Keep in mind you may need to check that your rod, reel and line are capable of handling these heavier weights. Feel free to call in for advice on what your setup can cast. When the salmon are on, The Cut, The Clam and BP Groyne are the obvious hotspots, but all the local beaches will have their chances. When fishing on the beaches there are couple of options for
hunting down the salmon. The first option is to just pick a spot and wait your time, and eventually they will come through. Early morning gets a better bite but they will still randomly show up during the day. The other option is to cruise along the beach while keeping an eye out for school movement, birds following or even following the bait schools. All of these can lead to success. You might be thinking that the only option is salmon at the moment, but this month is a cracker for all fishing options. There are plenty of herring and tailor to keep you occupied between the salmon schools,
and the yellowfin whiting are still mooching along the beaches. Crabs are still going strong after a bumper season, and the harbour is reported to be holding good numbers, with an average size that seems to be a bit better than the estuary. Trout and redfin fishing starts to get good as the temperatures drop after a hot summer, which allows the freshwater fishing to ramp up. 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! – Grant Teede
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 and font of all
local fishing knowledge. Look for the big green sign on the roof, it’s right next to the Better Choice Fuels Service Station.
Amy caught this impressive dhu off Two Rocks in the late afternoon. MARCH 2021
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All the usual targets are firing on the beaches MANDURAH
Jesse Choy
Now is a great time to get out fishing, especially if you want to enjoy some of what Mandurah and its beaches have to offer during autumn. While there is definitely a lot going on around our local area, the beach fishing reports have certainly shown that it is worth putting some time in at the beach, especially following a string of warmer days. Whiting, tailor and herring are all usually easy pickings if you’re fishing the stretch between Preston Beach and Secret Harbour during this time. Although there are a lot of smaller fish around, there are also reports of quality school sharks, mulloway and the odd pink snapper being caught by
Taking the time to assess the structure will allow you to pick a better spot and hopefully get onto more fish as a result. anglers fishing from the beach. Fishing a change of light has proven to be very beneficial, with a few hours
either side also being a great time to try your luck. A simple fixed rig, with a star sinker equipped with
a ganged mulie is going to do you well in most cases, but you may want to switch it up to a running style rig
with single or snelled hooks for the better quality fish. If you find that your baits are getting picked too regularly due to their softness or the voraciousness of the fish, then you may want to opt for more substantial baits like a whole herring, whiting, mullet fillet or fresh scaly. Heading offshore, you can expect to catch some great quality fish as shallow as 5m and you should really only need to go out as deep as the 50m zone to bag some good sized pinks or dhufish. Anglers are proving that both bait as well as lures are effective, with the key being getting your presentation as close to the structure as possible. Those targeting pelagic species such as tuna or mackerel are finding that the bait schools are key, and bait presentation is just as important. Anglers are finding that the bait schools
can be quite visible, but sometimes you will need to work harder to sound them up below the surface and will need to fish each zone accordingly. If you are noticing that more bait schools are taking to the deeper waters as opposed to the surface, trading in the trolling skirts for a 2m diving lure can make all the difference in results. River missions are a very viable option at the moment. Whether you are using lightly weighted plastics on your kayak, or throwing baits at one of our local bridges or snags, there is definitely a lot which can happen if you put some time in. A lot of locals are finding that there is a good variety of species making their way up the river, as the fresh content has dropped with a reduction in rain. The year round species like bream or mulloway To page 105
Good fishing continues METRO
Jacob Crispe
The fishing in the Canning and Swan rivers has continued to be good, with plenty of reward for effort for anglers getting out on the water. March should see this trend continue, with plenty of options available. SWAN AND CANNING RIVERS As mentioned in my reports over recent months, the lack of rain has allowed the saltwater to push further up our
river systems, broadening the location options for local anglers. Bream tend to take advantage of this opportunity more than most of the other species, spreading to the extremes of the Swan and Canning systems. The bream can be found beyond Guildford right through to the mouth of the rivers, making them a popular target for many anglers. Lightly weighted baits (either mullet or bony herring) or soft plastics fished near structure will likely find you a bream or two. March is most probably
the last month of the really good flathead fishing. Pick days where a high tide coincides with a nice, warm day and the flathead will push up onto the flats looking for a feed. Most anglers target them using small hardbody lures or medium to lightly weighted soft plastics. If the flathead aren’t playing the game, have a small metal slice like a Halco Twisty with you, as it is not unusual for tailor to be lurking in the deeper water beyond the flats you are fishing. There continues to be reports of anglers hooking
Shaun Beard with a nice Mandurah whiting caught using a sinking vibe. 104
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A solid Swan River mulloway caught on a soft plastic by Jeremy Jay. up to giant herring while doing this. They are a prized sportfish and a great capture if you manage to stay connected to one. The mulloway fishing continues to go from strength to strength. There have been some amazing captures of fish recently. Fish over 20kg have been caught from around the E Sheds all the way up to Maylands. The fish are very widespread, so it pays to narrow your search by trying to find the schools of bony herring and scaly mackerel. As I always say, find them and Mr Mulloway will not be too far away. The blue swimmer fishing also remains good in both the Canning and the Swan for those looking for a feed of crabs. I mentioned last month about the whiting fishing on surface lures around Mandurah. The excellent
fishing there continues using light tackle and either surface lures or small blades. If you are not familiar with the area, try South Yunderup or Point Herron. They are great starting points. SHOREBASED OPTIONS Squid will be at the forefront of most anglers’ minds this month. March is generally an excellent month to catch a squid or three. North and South Moles, Woodmans Point and Claremont Jetty are all good places to try. First and last light are the prime times, but squid can certainly be caught at any time during the day. Anglers that feel a little more adventurous can look to target the Spanish mackerel from a few landbased locations in the metro area. Ammo Jetty and North and South Mole provide this fishing option. Using live baits like herring or
yellowtail fished under a balloon is the best method. These fish are a serious challenge to catch, but SO MUCH fun when you do. Our metro beaches have also been fishing well for tailor, herring and whiting, and this should continue through March. A good starting point for our beach anglers would be either Floriet or City Beach. INSHORE FISHING The best way to describe our inshore reefs at the moment is ALIVE. Most areas are holding good numbers of silver trevally and King George whiting, and if you add in samsonfish, snook, herring and kingfish that can turn up in your berley trail, you have some pretty amazing fishing available to you. Like the shore-based fishing, squid will also To page 105
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are reportedly biting hard with an increased appetite, but there is also a good amount of more uncommon species like tailor, flounder, crabs and whiting well up
the systems. Going into April, the sun starts to reduce its appearances, making way for exciting opportunities. Though you will still get your warm water species
West Coast
as autumn progresses, you will start to find that numbers begin to thin out and become harder to catch as time progresses. Acknowledging this seasonal change, most
Soft plastics don’t always work, but when they do they are extremely effective!
Salmon love cruising up the rocks, so fishing a live bait or working your lure closer to the rocks isn’t a bad thing. It’s certainly no cause to worry if your cast is not at maximum power. From page 104
be a popular target for anglers. The squid fishing is generally pretty consistent during this period. Try fishing Cockburn Sound, Fremantle and around
them. Mahimahi are there in the biggest numbers, and fishing live baits is the most effective way to catch them. Herring, snook or yellowtail are the most popular options to do this, so it pays to get yourself
anglers will make their way from the local beaches to the local rock walls in hopes of intercepting the annual salmon run. These fish are usually well conditioned and can also
be quite hard to target as they migrate up the coast in the earlier parts of the run. Fishing fresh or live baits at such a point in time is especially effective as the fish seem more focused,
picky and less willing to take up offerings. As frequent numbers increase, opting for soft plastics, casting metals or surface lures can be a great way to chase these torpedoes.
plenty of these before heading out to the FADs. If the mahimahi aren’t playing then trolling skirted lures for tuna is another option or, if you can see them busting up, have a metal slug handy to cast
Matt Petrillo from Anglers Fishing World with a nice pinky caught aboard Jazz Charters.
Trolling a surface stickbait produced this amazing mahimahi for Joel Burgers. Garden Island for a feed of calamari. The sand whiting fishing has also been on fire, with a feed of fish being pretty easy to get. Try using small bait jigs with a little bit of squid or prawn on the hooks. Areas like the Windmills or near the shipping channels are always good for a few sand whiting. OFFSHORE The metro game fishery continues to produce plenty of quality fish, largely due to the FADs. Mahimahi (dolphinfish), wahoo, tuna and even billfish have been reported residing around
into the bust-ups. Spanish mackerel and yellowtail kingfish have been caught around Rottnest. Most anglers troll either
The bream in the Swan River have pushed right up the system. This beautiful fish was caught on a small plastic in the upper reaches near Lilac Hill.
deep diving lures or live baits for them. The 15-25m zones between Parker Point and West End have been particularly productive. The dhufish and snapper captures have slowed down in the shallower water, so you will need to find deeper water (40-100m) to improve your capture rate. Some monster baldchin groper have been caught amongst the dhufish and snapper. Fresh baits such as wrasse, sergeant baker and octopus seems to be the key to tempting them. Further offshore and the wrecks and sunken barges continue to hold huge schools of samsonfish. Although it is great rod-bending fun to hook these fish, there have also been plenty of sharks about, making it difficult to land any hooked fish, so make
sure you have the right gear or leave them biting if the taxmen are getting too thick. For those deep drop anglers out there, this form of fishing continues to produce. It is heavily weather oriented, but when the weather permits get out and fish water between 200-500m. Eight bar cod, bass groper and blue-eye are just a few of the great eating fish you will find, and if there is one tip I can give you it’s to remember that more lights equals more bites. So I hope everybody has a chance to get out and enjoy what the fishing in March has to offer. Thanks as always to Max Sampson for helping me put this report together, and we will catch you next month. MARCH 2021
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WA
Top time to hit the beaches LANCELIN
Peter Fullarton
CSIRO predicts there will be a marine heatwave peaking this April. At the time of writing, water temperatures are above average for the time of year. It is a potential environmental issue. In 2010/11 a unprecedented
marine heatwave decimated the abalone and scallop stocks north of Perth with significant impacts to corals, sea grasses and weeds. Things can change quickly with these predictions though; a few cyclones can mix the deeper layers of water, cooling down the surface temperatures. If the heat wave
eventuates, as forecast, we can expect some changes to the normal fishing we would expect at these latitudes. Last time there were turtles, manta rays, cobia and red-throat emperor were just about a pest. We were getting double headers in many spots every time we dropped, along a with a multitude of other tropical
species popping up. We had a great run of the white crays back in December. The white run always gets everyone excited and attracts a lot of attention. There are some lesser-known times when it is well worth chucking the pots back in the water. The March new moon is another chance to get some great near-shore catches. This time it is reds. They like to have good cover to forage out from each night, so use the sounder to find some heavy ground with good ledges or overhangs. A well-placed set of pots should be getting you a daily bag limit over this period. It is a lot easier to pot these peak times, leaving pots out of the water once the winter swells start rolling in. It is also a top time to be hitting up the
Daniel Horner and Adon Scott dropped mullet baits with their Cuta Copter drone up to 450m out. They lost half their first fish to the taxman, and landed three more snapper ranging from 61-82cm south of Lancelin.
The edge has gone from the sea breezes, and it’s a great time of year to enjoy a west coast sunset tailor session.
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MARCH 2021
Casting lures mid-afternoon in March can be a productive way to find some tailor. beaches. Tailor have not been what we would call plentiful this summer, but they have been consistent with most sessions scoring several fish. The larger fish should be back in numbers this month. They feed ravenously at this time of year, moving into top breeding condition. It’s a great time to be chasing them on lure or baits. March tailor are often active during the daylight hours; mid-morning or mid-afternoon can make for some solid sessions. There have been stacks of herring around in the bay and along the beaches. Size has really been up there with a great run of 30cm fish. Also, there are better size sand whiting in close to the shoreline. For some reason north of town always finds the larger whiting, and you do
not need to go far. North point of Lancelin Bay is good for both herring and sand whiting. The jetty is a great spot to hit up
too – cast towards the shore to find the sandies otherwise you will just be catching blowfish. South you will still get the tailor and herring, but the whiting are tiddlers until south of Ledge Point, where the beaches between the reefs can produce some of the biggest sand whiting along our coast. March is the time to start thinking about large mulloway, although each year is variable when they turn up. Mullet is the bait of choice, though fresh whiting, squid or tailor will get the fish too. You can use smaller baits whole, making sure to give plenty of hook exposure for a solid hook-up. Larger baits can be filleted and put on a gang, or you can snell some octopus style hooks together. At this time of year, I snell with wire or use one large circle hook with a decent chunk of fillet or a cutlet to avoid line damage by the ever-present tailor. The big baits will be To page107
Jon fished the northern gutters near Wedge Island. On the high tide they are always good for a few nice fish.
WA
West Coast
Dhufish dropping in GERALDTON
Graham Maunder & Michael Triantopoulos
The expected summer run of tailor, mulloway, herring and whiting started with a bang. The tailor were large and
have also been hard to find in reliable quantities, and strong summer southerlies have stirred up the water and weed along much of our coastline. Anglers fishing from Seven Mile Beach near Dongara and north to Lucys
more and bigger dart, threadfin salmon, fork-tail catfish up to 4kg and plenty of tailor from the north point at Port Gregory and north to the gutters south of Shoal Point. Our local land-based squid fishing would normally have finished by now, but apparently the squid don’t know that because the platform and rock walls of the northern side of the Batavia Marina still has a reasonable quantity of squid. They are being caught in the evenings after the sun has set and the marina lighting takes effect. BOAT With a run of reasonable weather anglers have been able to get out on the water, but the fishing has been hard work with strong currents coming from the north
Paul Blades with a WA dhufish caught on a new Vexed Occy Head. making the fish shut down. Southwest of town, 15-20nm out, there are reports of good numbers of WA dhufish to 13kg, along with pink snapper,
coral trout, baldchin groper, samsonfish and Spanish mackerel. Sharks have been a nuisance so moving is required to consistently land fish.
Paul Blades with a dusky morwong caught on a recent trip. fat, while the mulloway were mostly school-sized fish up to 1m but there were enough big fish in the 12-18kg range to keep everyone hopeful. Unfortunately though, the latter end of the season has been a challenge. Whiting and herring, which are normally our staple catch and also the main target species for bigger predatory species, From page 106
finding some guitar fish, which will be around for the next month or two until the waters cool. Snapper fishing has been improving, with more chance of getting them from shore. New and full moon are the best periods to be chasing them. It is well worth chasing snapper from the boat inshore as well – find a nice sand to reef edge inside or along the white bank and pump some berley. Not only will this attract snapper also skippy. The big ones are inshore but it’s still probably a month or so away from getting many inside the bay. Samsonfish often get attracted to the action once a school of skippy start feeding in the berley trail. At this time of year, schools of samson maraud the bay, chasing herring, skippy, mullet, squid and hardyheads. March is the time
Beach are still getting mixed bags of whiting, tailor, dart, pike, school sharks and the occasional mulloway, but wind and weed are not making fishing easy. The beaches and reefs from West Bank to Coronation Beach and even as far north as Lucky Bay have been similar to southern areas, but at least the variety of species is bigger, with to target tarwhine. Better numbers turn up along the beach gutters, near-shore reefs and in the bay this month. They are a fish that will readily take a small soft plastic lure. Match the gear to the fish and they are great fun to catch. I fish out of the kayak because it is quiet, stealthily casting to the shallow southern sand holes of the bay near Edwards Island. As well as yielding tarwhine, there is
A mixed bag of bread and butter species from the reefs around Drummonds Cove.
The lumps off Coronation has had reasonably consistent numbers of pelagic species such as Spanish mackerel to 13kg, striped tuna, cobia, coral trout and pink snapper. Unfortunately the water turns dirty once the swell picks up, and shuts these species down. Spanish mackerel are an option along Pensioners Bank early in the morning and late in the afternoon, so long as the weed and dirty water hasn’t been an issue. Fish to 15kg are being landed on trolled diving lures and baits such as garfish and pike. Until next month, tight lines and screaming drags! • Geraldton Sports Centre is the Mid West’s specialist fishing tackle store. Drop in and see the friendly professional staff for local advise and knowledge, and browse the extensive range of fishing equipment on show at 204-208 Marine Terrace, Geraldton, or phone them on 08 9921 3664.
always a chance of a big flatty and plenty of herring. Blue swimmer crabs can be caught drop netting the bays near shore or off the town jetty. If you want to head offshore, the edge has gone from those summer sea breezes. Baldies have been the fish turning up in most people’s bag. They have been everywhere this year, with plenty of boats reaching the demersal limit
For the next few months the skippy will be schooling inshore.
A nice dhu from 20m of water.
solely on baldies. Dhufish have been caught through the depth ranges. There are some good fish both inside and outside the White Bank, though most people have been heading out to 35-45m for consistent catches of the larger dhufish. There has been plenty
of pelagic action every time we head offshore. We have been finding schools of small tuna (2-3kg), bluefin, striped and some yellowfin. Mackerel have been spear fished by divers but at the time of writing few have been landed by line at Lancelin. Seaweed has been a pain for trolling.
There are plenty of reports from further south though, and I am sure a few will have hit the deck by the time you are reading this report. If the marine heat wave has progressed, as forecast by CSIRO, we should be moving into a bumper mackerel season by now! MARCH 2021
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North Coast
WA
Exploring new frontiers EXMOUTH
Barry Taylor
We have had some strange weather this summer. A forming cyclone dumped loads of rain throughout the Pilbara and Gascoyne region, creating havoc with our county roads. We have been completely cut off from the road leading south around Minilya, as its base was completely washed away. Road crews are busily trying to get a temporary road built to allow access to our region. The good news is the road will be operational in time for GAMEX, which is WA’s leading game fishing tournament which starts on 12 March. The rivers north and south of us are running high and dirty, which is a real sight to see because the riverbeds are usually dry. There have been some pretty epic fish caught lately. Chris Tsalamangos, who runs Poseidon Lures, was testing some of his latest lure designs and ended up getting punished on a huge blue marlin estimated to be 750lb. Peak Sportfishing have also been having some
monumental days on the billfish, with a lot of fish tagged and released, and multiple double hook-ups. And it’s not just the offshore brigade who are having success. Some mates of mine got stuck in town due to the washed out road, so they decided to try their luck in close. One of them got her first black marlin, estimated at around 45kg. A friend of mine also got a nice sail in close; he was bottom fishing and decided to have a troll between spots. Trolling high speed lures between spots, such as a Halco Max, is a great way maximise your chances of catching more species. That way you are fishing all day with no down time. You really don’t have to be an expert to have a crack at Exmouth’s many billfish species; we send people out with a few bits of the right tackle and good advice and they often get straight onto the billfish from boats as small as a 14ft tiller steer tinny. They head straight out the passage from Tantabiddi and boom, they have one. You can have a lot of fun on small black marlin on 15kg tackle. The easiest way to troll them up is with
small skirted lures such as 200-250mm Bonze skirts with a Bonze 8/0 heavy-duty hook. Plenty of by-catch such as sailfish, dolphinfish, various tuna and wahoo can be encountered close in behind the Ningaloo reef. The bottom fishing has been productive for coral trout, Rankins, emperors and bluebone. Anglers are catching fish on both bait and jigs. Vexed Bottom Meat hybrid jigs have been killing it of late. There are also gold bands coming from 80-120m of water, along with a smattering of other species. Over 120-150m and beyond, there have been good catches of rubies, ranging from 16-25kg fish. Deep dropping here has become increasingly popular, to the point that we sell a stack of electric reels. Fishing in 100-300 country is an exiting new frontier for many anglers, and some are even taking that extra step to target broadbill swordfish. Electric reels start from around $900, and a suitable rod starts from around $120. We are happy to provide advice if you are new to this kind of fishing. There have been reports of quite a few good GTs at
the tip of the Cape for those casting lures off the shore, plus the usual queenies. Some anglers are also picking up a few quality mangrove jacks in the marina around the rock walls. The average size is around 30-40cm, with an occasional larger fish to 65cm. The jacks love the warm water, and it’s good fun to head down to the marina after dark to target them. THE MONTH AHEAD March is GAMEX time, with anglers will be competing in a wide range of categories – everything from golden trevally to queenfish on light tackle, plus categories for billfish, broadbill swordfish and other pelagics. Some people will fish divisions specifically for points on line class, while others will just focus on billfish. You can find out more by looking up ‘GAMEX Exmouth’ on Facebook. Off the back of March we traditionally get long, balmy days, without as much wind. There should be some tuna around the Gulf, or you can make the run up the islands to go bottom fishing or GT popping. It’s great that we have such good fishing and snorkelling only 30-60km from our doorstep.
Peak Sportfishing has been putting clients onto some epic fishing. Typically those little black marlin will stay through March and into April, if the water stays warm. We can also expect lots of dolphinfish and wahoo. • For all the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop in to Tackle World Exmouth at 3 Maley St, Exmouth or give them a call
on (08) 9949 1315. You can also view the range at www. tackleworldexmouth.com. au, and see the latest catch photos on their Facebook page. This family business stocks a large range of tackle, from light spin to big game. The staff have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise, and are always happy to help.
Perfect breeding conditions BROOME
Troy Honey
Solid rains from tropical lows across the Kimberley region during late January and into February have inundated the Broome and surrounding area’s creek and river systems, setting the season up once again for a spectacular breeding environment for the barramundi. Barramundi spawn between September and March. The nearly hatched larvae require saltwater, so the spawning occurs in around Broome in Roebuck Bay and
creek mouths found throughout the entire region. Spawning usually takes place after the full moon or new moon when tidal activity is strongest. Female barra will spawn massive amounts of eggs, which can exceed 30 million over the spawning season. Once the larvae grow into juvenile barra they move into the creeks where they hide in the shelter of the mangroves or bodies of water, and this is where the rains are so important to not only provide the protection they need from predators to survive, but also to ensure that the essential food and nutrients required by the young barra are flowing plentifully.
As well as threadies, the creeks around Broome hold good numbers of blue salmon which put up a superb fight, especially on light tackle. Des landed this monster of a blue while targeting threadies and barra last month. 108
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It is because of this cycle that we need to take extra special care of barramundi over 800mm in length, especially during the spawning season, and return them to the water as fast as possible and with the utmost care. January and February have seen some spectacular catches of barra in the Broome region with a few of these exceeding the 120cm mark. Fish of this size are true trophy fish. There have been numerous catches coming from the Fingers and creeks in Roebuck Bay as well as right up around the Dampier Peninsula. The Fitzroy River is now in full flood which creates a challenging experience in a small tinny. There are plenty of barra to be found here, and working snags and culverts is recommended as this is where the barra can sit with the least exertion while waiting for prey to flow past. March would have to be one of the best months for barra fishing in Broome as it is not in the peak tourist season. This means there are great deals on holiday stays and flights as well as fewer tourists on the water, so there is no time like the present to book a trip and get amongst the action. Catches of blue and threadfin salmon continue to dominate in Roebuck Bay, with northern jewfish and tripletail closely behind. All four
species provide high levels of excitement when hooked and just as much appreciation on the dinner plate, with the triple tail and threadfin being the standouts. March weather can be very humid as well as wet on average, with temps around 35°C or more. With that being said, it will be the creeks that are alive with not only fish but also mud crabs, which can be found in good numbers. The smaller brown mud crabs are plentiful around the Fingers and Crab Creek currently, so it is certainly is worthwhile throwing a few drop nets out when fishing this area for barra or threadies. Tripletail will be on the bite throughout March in Roebuck Bay, and can be found seeking refuge under many of the buoys or any drifting weed and debris. With the rains over the last couple of months and after big tides, there is often mangrove debris drifting out and this is the ideal target for flicking small lures at tripletail. Demersal fishing peak time is still another month or two away but there are good blueline emperor and coral trout to found in waters between 20-30m deep. Finding the cooler under currents trapping water in good structure is the key. From Entrance Point or Gantheaume Beach there are plenty of spots
Local Broome angler Des Hardtville had a great session in one of the creeks off Roebuck Bay recently, getting amongst some healthy threadfin salmon. which are no more than 5nm offshore and with a quick search on your sounders map you will find areas with deep drop-offs that are the likely locations of cooler water currents and pockets. Pelagics such as queenies and trevally love the warmer waters of March so there is plenty of time left to cast stickbaits or other lures off any of the rocks surrounding Broome, as well as areas such as James Price Point. March is cherabin month in the Fitzroy River. At this time of year many of the locals head out for a day of flicking cast nets in pools and runoffs to bag a feed of the northwest delicacy. Ensure you take
plenty of insect repellent with you to avoid being eaten alive, and always be crocwise standing on the banks. Do not forget if you get yourself a good feed of cherabin or mud crabs to save the cooked shells and legs as these are one of the best berleys and baits for the big Broome bluebone. Head down on any given day to the jetty, a couple of hours either side of the high tide change and use a strong handline with enough weight to hold bottom in the tidal run with a cherabin shell of mud crab leg on an 8/0 hook. This approach will give you an incredibly good chance of hooking up.
WA
North Coast
The mixed bag of March DAMPIER/KARRATHA
Troy Honey
The fishing on offer right now and throughout the year is why this region is has become known as the promised land, with such
light mud is the key, and as the season progresses the crabs will move about so if you are not finding them then try different depths. As well as blue crabs, the run of prawns will be starting, and it is best to get in early for the king and
freshwater flushes through the creek systems and out into the ocean. Always keep this in mind when thinking about your fishing options to avoid a day out with no success. Historically there is always a cyclone or two in March, and this will also have a big impact. Barramundi and threadfin salmon were the main targets in the latter half of February once the freshwater cleared out, and some very solid examples have been coming from the creeks in Nickol Bay as well as around Point
Blueline emperor are regarded as one of the best table fish in Karratha waters and the fight they provide is impressive, as Ruth McLellan experienced in February.
Barra numbers in the local creeks have been hit and miss depending on rain events. Anglers have been making the most of every occasion, and have been rewarded with memorable fish. a vast array of marine species. Every month brings changes in marine life cycles, and as we head into March it is one of my favourites, with the sweet blue swimmer crab moving into the shallows in big numbers and size. The blue swimmer crab season will last for a few months, and on days of neap tides and low wind there will be plenty of boats out in Nickol Bay dropping nets to bag some. Blue swimmers can be found right up and down the coast around Karratha, Onslow and Point Sampson. Finding areas with sand or
banana prawns before the trawlers migrate up from the south and clean out the bay. Prawns can be caught in Nickol Bay from shore or boat using single-handed dip and scoop nets or with throw nets and drag nets. Prawning is a great way to spend some time around the water, and the reward is certainly worth the effort. February was one of the wettest on record for Karratha, with a massive tropical low coming through at the start of the month. When events such as these happen, the impact on fish and crustaceans is felt for a few weeks as the
Dylan Munn found some solid brassy trevally over the shoals in the archipelago using fast retrieved poppers.
Bluebone are highly active in the warmer water and will come right up to the water’s edge to feed on crabs and oysters. I cannot count the times I have thrown my line out as far as I can only to be sitting on the rocks watching a monster bluebone raise his head out of the water to break an oyster off. It is from this that I have adjusted my fishing to not needing to cast out extremely far. Often less than 5m is ample. Fingers crossed Karratha does not get ravaged by another big cyclone such as Damien in March 2020, although any more rain is most welcome. The mixed bag of fish now is one that many regions could only dream of, so I
Sampson. Mangrove jack activity has been hit and miss but they are around, and in the wet conditions it is recommended to search rocky outcrops near shore where it’s more likely to be a bit saltier. Mud crabs really get going in the warmer wet season climate, and after rain events they tend to move about searching for saltwater as they do not tolerate freshwater at all.
Some barra anglers consider threadfin salmon to be a pest, but threadies are actually a high quality table and fighting fish. It highlights just how spoilt the region is when you see fish, such as this thready, being landed.
The Karratha region holds good numbers of aggressive jacks in creeks and rocky outcrops. Local angler Dylan Munn landed this beautiful specimen using a Holt Productions soft plastic lure.
When the rain starts, they will walk downstream into more tidal areas, and as the freshwater recedes they will walk back up the creeks into the protection of the mangroves and mud. Both movements are great times to have your pots in the water as the crabs will be moving past as well as hungry. Topwater species such as trevally and queenfish as well as pelagics like Spanish mackerel have been caught in the Dampier Archipelago
and surrounding shoals, and with a couple of months more of warm waters these species will continue to be caught in good numbers and sizes. Using the springs tides to your advantage is the trick if you want to bag a big, beautiful Karratha bluebone. On the low tide, collect your rock crabs for bait and on the high tide, cast them out amongst the many rocky outcrops that litter the coastline.
am really looking forward to making the most of it. Access to many of the creeks via land is touchand-go due to the tracks becoming impassable. However, once we are out on the other side of all the rain, and before the large numbers of tourists head up to the region, there is a perfect window to hit the well-rested creeks to target the wet season species one last time before the much cooler dry season kicks in and shuts it all down. MARCH 2021
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WA
Working hard for the fish FRESHWATER
Peter Fragomeni
Mixed reports have been coming through over the past few months in the northern region, with some freshwater anglers getting onto a few trout and redfin while others have found it hard. The recent marron season saw an increase
AUSSIE NATIVES With the below average season we have experienced on our dams and rivers, a number of dedicated freshwater anglers have put in some hard work chasing these Aussie iconic species in remote guarded locations. Some impressive results have been achieved, and considering there is not a government stocking program it appears the
and out-of-date policies that have been in place for some time now. These are just policies as they are not actually written law that has been passed through local parliament. This process would be very expensive, and the budget would not be available even if the decision was made to alter any law currently. Meanwhile there is a great effort being made to
have been more active but a few anglers putting in the effort have returned empty handed on occasions. It is sad to hear that the lakeside camping has been permanently suspended at Waroona Dam. This is the classic example of WA authorities not willing to take charge and passing the buck, handballing the responsibility to other departments. This has put pressure on the neighbouring location, and it’s feared that it will end in the same fate. The recent suspension of skiing on Wellington Dam is going to compound this problem. Harvey Dam A few redfin are still turning up in the deeper water around the main basin as well as the exposed timber area to the back of the dam. It’s handy if you can get on the water as shore bashing
Big deep pools in the south offer great redfin fishing throughout the summer months.
Wellington Dam is extremely low which resulted in the suspension of skiing this summer. in redfin catches by those who occasionally throw a line, however most have been very small and not worth putting a blade to. Some good fishing was
numbers are increasing each year. I cannot stress how important it is that the authorities act in this state and remove the red tape
DAM LEVELS The extremely dry weather has continued in our southwest of the state, resulting in low dam levels this summer. Let’s hope we get some decent winter rains to replenish storages that are very low in all but a couple of our recreational dams. WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM seen down around the Pemberton area with mainly redfin dominating the catch, including some nice size models. A few trout were in amongst anglers’ catches as well. I chose not to fish the freshwater this summer but instead chased a range of saltwater species on lures. This resulted in a few hard fighting dhufish on trolled lures in very shallow water as well as a range of other species all willing to hit minnow style lures on very hot days. The good news is towards the later part of March we will see cooler days and the return to better activity on our dams, and I will again get amongst them. 110
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51% 83% 60% 29% 37% 45% 81%
try to improve the inland fishery, but unfortunately it involves using trout and we all know how susceptible they are to heat stress in as early as November. The fish kill at Austin Lakes was a prime example. Until we use a suitable species like bass, golden perch, Murray cod or our locally-bred silver perch then we will continue with a substandard fishery. DAMS Waroona Dam, Drakesbrook Weir Things have been very quiet from reports by local angler Jonah Chiera on both of these waters, with Drakesbrook producing a few trout on occasions. Redfin
A nice bass that fell to a surface frog. Eric Kirsch is happy with this one.
Brown trout like this one were common around the Pemberton region throughout February.
can be frustrating at times. Trolling using an electric motor (as this is the only form of propulsion allowed on this water) has been productive on occasions. The other method is to drop plastics down deep, and a favourite that is growing in popularity is the dropshotting technique. This involves using two plastics with a weight on the bottom similar to an offshore rig, and it can be deadly if you can locate the schools of redfin that tend to congregate from late March. Trout have been harder to find and we will not know if they pulled through the summer period until late April.
Glen Mervyn Dam Very low, with redfin being caught in varying sizes. Wellington Dam This dam is extremely low at the moment, so Department of Transport has suspended skiing due to exposed hazards. It is not clear whether boating is still allowed so check before you plan a trip. This is our largest accessible impoundment in our southwest at around 200GL when full. Although it’s around 10 times smaller than those on the east coast of the country, it still offers many km of water to fish on. Unfortunately, most
WA
successful anglers have boats and cover lots of water, constantly monitoring their sounders to locate fish. Do not expect big numbers of redfin, but the size can be good if you happen to get lucky. Dropshotting in deep water with plastics has been popular recently.
however water levels have been extremely low this summer. Collie River above Wellington Dam Some nice redfin have been caught around the town and below near the small weir by those on kayaks using a variety of lures and soft plastics.
Jonah Chiera had a few months off chasing the usual freshwater species, and came up trumps with his first bass.
Murray cod are hard to find in WA as there isn’t an official stocking program in place. Big Brook Dam Covered in Pemberton region. RIVERS Murray River A few redfin have been caught around Dwellingup with the better sizes coming out of the deeper pools further upstream.
Collie River below Wellington Dam Fed by cool irrigation water let out of Wellington Dam, this section of river has been fishing constantly throughout summer. A nice brown was caught recently along with a few small rainbows. Do not expect
Blackwood River Very quiet on the trout front however a few redfin have been reported from the upper reaches above Bridgetown. Pemberton Area My mate Simon Holland reports the following: “The fishing down here has been fairly typical for summer. Big Brook Dam has produced the odd x brood rainbow from the dam wall. These have been really good fish up to the 5lb mark. Redfin have been caught consistently during the late afternoons. The marron season that ended in February saw the dam fish better than in previous years. Twice I have bagged out before 9.30pm with the snare pole. I have spoken to a few tourists who have come to Pemberton for the marron season who have been very
are still around if you cover some ground. Some nice fish have been caught in the vicinity of Heartbreak Trail. Lefroy Brook The Lefroy has been hard going at times, but fish can still be found if you are prepared to bush bash. The bridge near the Cascades has consistently produced yearling rainbows as well as the odd brown. Some fun fishing can be had on dry fly with these fish. There’s still a smattering of larger browns in the Glauders Road bridge area. The water visibility has become poor and it’s hard to spot free swimming trout. I have given up on a fish I have targeted on numerous occasions; I just cannot tempt him. I have encountered some big reddies on the Treen above Old Vasse Rd bridge as well as a couple of rainbows in the last few weeks. The water here has become like pea soup. The Old Vasse Trout Farm had to beg farmers upstream to release water from their dams to freshen things up a
bit. Department of Water are very hit and miss with their policing of those farmers doing the wrong thing. Donnelly River The Donnelly Dam fight continues, with ABC Landline showing interest. Our wait continues until EPA release their findings for public comment. We had a great response at the WA Forest alliance event in Manjimup recently. Over 1500 people attended the screening of the documentary Cry of the Forests. Meanwhile the fishing has been slow with water levels very low in places. Although trout fishing is tough in the warmer months, redfin and Aussie natives are active and offer great sport on light gear. Be mindful that snakes are also active around water, and fire is a real risk in these dry months.
Redfin are very active in March. This one fell to a deep diving lure trolled behind a kayak at Drakesbrook Weir.
It’s funny to see what some anglers do to disguise their locations. This Murray cod photo has Perth’s Narrows Bridge in the background. Photo courtesy Harley Jarosz. Trout have been harder to locate with any flowing feeder streams holding a few small fish. Northern Jarrah streams Not many reports,
big numbers as the trout in this water can be hard to locate and success comes to those who study the river and constantly move to different areas.
impressed in the size caught this year.” Warren River The Warren has been unproductive recently, with trout hard to locate. Reddies
Redfin are the only reliable species to target through the summer in WA. MARCH 2021
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Measuring for competition success SUNTAG
Stefan Sawynok
Fishing events that I have worked with have a lot of ways of defining success. The most common being a gut feel based on the happiness of the competitors, which is usually linked to catching
In this article I will take a couple of events that have quite different characteristics and fishers. I will look at the ways in which they can be tracked, and the ways in which we use data to help the events making sure they are achieving their goals. With this in mind, I selected an older event going through renewal and a newer event that is trying to establish itself and how we use data
very traditional community event that attracts fishers from around the Bundaberg/ Gladstone region. When we started working with the event, it was very run down having been run for a couple of decades and was in need of new blood. In contrast the second event, the King of Kings is a very new event having run only once prior to this year and it’s fair to say that the first year did not live up to
FIG.1. BAFFLE CREEK FISHING RESULTS The changing focus of fishing in the Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival. YEAR
HABITAT
NUMBER
2018
ESTUARY
100%
2019
ESTUARY CRUSTACEAN DEMERSAL PELAGIC REEF
81.2% 4.6% 3.7% 7% 1.1%
2020
ESTUARY CRUSTACEAN DEMERSAL PELAGIC REEF
78.1% 2.0% 5.2% 9.0% 2.0%
plenty of fish. This is not a bad measure; I have seen competitors range from euphoric to near suicidal based on the levels of success. Fishing can break someone if they have cast long enough without raising a scale, but it can also lock you for life on a good day. The reality is though that we can get a bit more scientific than a feeling and in the long run you need to because gut feeling is based on the reaction in the moment, which tends to miss trends that might show an underlying issue.
to understand if the events are in fact meeting their new objectives. TWO EVENTS AND TWO DIFFERENT PROBLEMS The Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival is run annually in SeptemberOctober. Over the past two years, fishing times have been extended from the three days in 2018 to six days in 2019/2020. The competition caters for people of all ages and encouraged entrants to enjoy the festival type environment. This is a
expectations. The idea was fine, create an event that challenges fishers to tackle a broad array of species but having set a location on the Fitzroy River, a location noted for its river monsters – something wasn’t jiving. Catches were below expectations; sponsors didn’t provide all they promised due to underperformance and there were some good reasons to think a poor second round of the event would likely be its last. A STARTING POINT Most events start out with an idea of either a
Duncan Phipps from Hervey Bay in Queensland caught this beautiful cod at Glenlyon Dam back in September. It was caught just on dark, while casting to the banks. He used a Jackall Gigantarel swimbait in king of the night colour. It was released shortly after this photo was taken.
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Fig.2. Comparison of tuna-category-size-frequency shows the longtail is the tuna species to target in the King of Kings. format or a target audience. That is the design of the event but most times it isn’t what makes an event ‘special’. The things that make a good fishing event special are often a bit more intangible and good events have something that is hard to replicate. In the case of a good community event, it’s often the sense of festivity and celebration, harkening back to a time when neighbourhoods and clubs used to get together on a regular basis. The reality is the fishing is what brings people together, the competition is less important than the participation. That is not to say they don’t get competitive – they do, it’s just that the competition isn’t the purpose, it’s the shared experience. The King of Kings is a little different, what makes it special is the fact that it’s a modern spin on the events of the 1970s and 80s. Offshore species, both reef and pelagic, used to be a competition favourite with many club houses across the country owing their existence to quality offshore fishing. The game fishing clubs in particular cornered the market in trophy pelagics, such as big tuna or marlin. The problem for the offshore world is the traditional format is weighing, which has become increasingly controversial format particularly with reefs. Larger games species, such as marlin, are also increasingly under scrutiny and bringing them back for weigh-in can bring unwanted attention. Throw in greater impact from poor weather and, over time, the offshore competition scene has dropped a long way from its peak. What the King of Kings
has done that’s interesting is find the intersection between traditional estuary competitions, traditional offshore competitions and game/big pelagic events all the while embracing the approach estuary events took 20 years ago with a photobased event. In all, there are 22 species categories with no restriction on how many categories that can be entered with a winnertakes-all for each category. The final twist is there is a two bag, which means just getting one big fish isn’t enough. In truth, the format is reminiscent of the ANSA formats of the 80s, a throwback to the days of meritorious catch, all the while embracing a citizen science approach sounds a lot like Sport, Conservation and Integrity. SO WHAT WASN’T WORKING? In the case of Baffle Creek we had the classic modernisation problem. It needed new blood, some serious energy injection, updating of the format and a renewed sense of purpose. As a side note, this can be a good or bad thing. An event that gets an injection of energy can turn around pretty quickly, so long as they don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Modernisation is fine, throwing out the premise that delivered success is often a bad idea. On the other hand, injecting new people into the mix, while failing to modernise once an event starts to degrade, leaves the door open to alternative formats. The first three points were achieved with a little work, a new committee was formed, the event format received some tweaks, extending the number of categories and replacing the
traditional weigh in with an app-based photo only entry making it easier for everyone to get involved. When it came to renewed sense of purpose, proposals to create green zones in the area bought attention to the fact the community had a limited sense of where Baffle Creek was up to. There was a view in the community that long term commercial fishing had left the river in poor shape and the competition could play a role in restoring Baffle Creek’s iconic status. That is the kind of mission a whole community could share in, so the conditions were right for things to turn around. In the case of the King of Kings, the problem wasn’t aging but birthing. The concept had caught on with the Sunshine Coast but failed to ignite in Rockhampton. In the case of the King of Kings though the age-old real estate adage of location, location, location seemed to be the core problem. Locating the event in Rockhampton, half an hour inland skewed the event promotion and engagement to the estuary species and ended up pushing the event to the traditional barramundi/king threadfin crowd – a market well serviced. This came at the expense of the game/ pelagic/reef species. The solution was simple, move the event to the Yeppoon Coast, which the majority of fishers were offshore. That of course would come at the expense of the barra crowd, but given they hadn’t embraced the event in year one it was a risk worth taking. Bottom line – if the offshore guys didn’t buy in, it was probably over. WHAT DID THE RESULTS TELL US ABOUT THE STRATEGY? The first year we were
involved in the Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival marked the end of an era, thus we have data from before the event refresh and update. Total fishers participating was up 30% but the big change was in captures, with 80 fish reported in the last year of the older format and that jumping to 457 in the next two years. Participation of Juniors is another success story, with 16.5% of all years participation being juniors, much higher than the average across all events in the TMF Network of 5%. The big question in 2020 was the impact of COVID. During 2020 Baffle Creek was one of the only festival events to survive due to being later in the calendar year. Overall, the event had almost no impact from COVID with similar participation, improved success rates and fishers doubling the number of species
reported increasing success over the three years, with 36 reporting fish in 2018, 97 in 2019 and 113 in 2020. Returns per fisher have improved over the three years from 0.57 fish/ fisher for the event in 2018 to 2.62 fish/fisher in 2020. The species diversity also increased markedly showing the community was embracing the need for data, in 2018 only 12 species were reported but by 2020 this number had increased to 60 (see Fig.1). In the case of the King of Kings we were working with the theory that it was the location, not the format of the event that was the issue in year one. In 2021, nearly 100 more fishers were involved with the result of the catch jumping from 454 fish reported in 2019 to 1001 in 2020. Fish entered per category increased in 18 out of 22 categories. On that basis you would declare success. That however isn’t the
TMF Network that has ever topped that metric is the GameX event in WA, which runs four days longer and targets marlin and sharks. For non-game events, the closest has been ABT Barra Tour 2021 in Mackay with 81m long fish over a combined four events and three stocked impoundments. The improvements in total catch came in the offshore at the expense of estuary, which was expected given the change of venue and justified the move from Rockhampton to Yeppoon. That said, in the main categories of barra and king threadfin, die-hard barra and thready fishers boycotted the event but that did not stop the competition being fierce. In the barra section, the largest fish clocked in at 1.27m and the winning combined two coming in at 2.08m. In the king threadfin section things were even tougher with the winner taking
king threadfin categories, clocked in with the most fish in each of those two categories for two bag totals of 2.05m in the barra and 2.58m in the threadfin. In the other headline category worth 5k cash, giant trevally numbers are just as impressive. In 2019, 16 fish were entered, 9 over
bream dropped from 69 to 39. This is a function of less direct effort but also because competitors were chasing larger beasts there was a lot less by-catch than usual that would have pumped up the numbers. WHERE TO FROM HERE? Both events have met
in women and juniors, then I think they will be in a very healthy place for a few years to come. The one issue I see for the King of Kings is the usual negativity from the existing groups when a new event starts to gain a foothold. There will be the sniping over the two
John Boon showcased his talent in both the estuary and offshore at the King of Kings.
Sandy Worth demonstrates what the Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival is all about. encountered. Only a very small number of events in 2020 survived unscathed, that Baffle Creek Family Fishing Festival was one demonstrates the community commitment to the event. Baffle Creek underlined its reputation as a mangrove jack destination. Over the three years, with trophy fish recorded in all years, mangrove jack making up 7.7% of the catch reported. This is the highest proportion of mangrove jack in any equivalent event in the Track My Fish network in that time period. Overall 994 fish have been caught with barred javelin having the highest proportion of trophy fish, with 38.8% of all fish being trophy fish. Fishers
real story of the event. An interesting stat from the event is the average size of the fish went down in almost all categories from 2019 to 2020, so that means the fishing was worse right? This is why we pay attention to the goals of the event. For larger bag limit events, averages matter but in the case of the King of Kings, it’s the big fish not the average fish that matter. In 2021, the number of big fish exploded. In 2019, 69 trophy fish (15.2% of total) were reported, that jumped to 368 fish (36.8% of the total), a record for any event we have data for which now exceeds 600 events. To add to that, 110 fish (or 11% of the total) were longer than 1m. The only event in the
out the category with 2.77m. To win the thready category you had to be able to put in a 1.4m fish, which the first and second place teams managed. Overall the number of metre-long barra went from 0 in 2019 to 7 in 2021; metre-long threadfin went from 3 in 2019 to 14 in 2021. The absence of most of the barra tour and local thready specialist fishers didn’t impact the competition results. With 5k cash on offer for each of the two categories it was always going to be the case that absence of some fishers would provide opportunity for others. Spare a thought for TEAM ZEREK a local Gladstone team that was leading both the barra and
a metre and in 2021 34 fish were entered with 14 breaking the metre. Just to make that even more interesting, Chris Henry who was out catching video of the GTs hooked and lost 20 big trevally on the Saturday. Even the cod category was hard to crack with the winners posting a two bag of 1.99m, the queenfish category was taken out with a 2.2m two bag (see Fig.2). With so many big fish on offer, something had to give and it was the traditional estuary species – barred javelin, bream, flathead and whiting that drew less interest. Barred javelin dropped from 60 in 2019 to 34 in 2020, and
their objectives in terms of increasing participation and improving the results overall. Happy fishers are paying customers. I expect the demand for tickets in the 2022 King of Kings to be very high with $5k on offer for each of the three big categories. I actually think the absence of the barra tour guys is a blessing because it provides an opportunity for other fishers to shine, and I didn’t hear any complaints when the winners collected their cheque. The one issue I see for the Baffle Creek event is building on the momentum they have achieved. If they can up the participation 5-10% in 2021, especially
bags not being a real measure of a fisher but the overwhelming support of the offshore guys who now have two premium events in Queensland will ensure that the event will be a success regardless. I know Dean Jackson who runs the event is currently working towards an International event and given the success of the 2021 event I think that’s probably going to be a given now. For the King of Kings, it’s way too early to start tinkering with the format, there are plenty of events that cater to those that see bigger bags as the way they want to be measured. Dare to be different, as they say!
Ollie, Luis, Toby and Drew caught these fish for dinner while on Avenger Fishing Charters on the Gold Coast. MARCH 2021
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Yamaha Marine has kicked off 2021 with the release of next generation V6 Offshore outboards that deliver exciting new technology while continuing Yamaha’s proud reputation for legendary reliability and performance.
Scan the below QR code to see Yamaha’s Next generation control, next generation integration, next generation styling, world famous reliability.
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The new V6 Offshore series features powerful 225, 250 and 300 horsepower models, with premium options available in the 250 and 300 horsepower range, including Yamaha’s new Integrated Digital Electric Steering (DES) and the choice of an all-new stunning white or traditional Yamaha grey colours. Yamaha’s new V6 series is based around the proven 4.2L block – an engine platform famous for introducing high performance automotive engine technology - plasma fusion - into the marine industry. The plasma fusion process used in the production of Yamaha’s new V6 offshore series involves the thermal application of a plasma coating on the engine’s cylinder walls. The process creates a cylinder wall 60 percent harder than steel and removes the need for conventional steel cylinder sleeves. That means larger cylinder bores for increased displacement resulting in more power and torque without increasing outer cylinder dimensions. It also results in significantly lighter weight, better cooling and ‘micro-textured’ cylinder walls that dramatically reduce internal friction, further increasing performance and enhancing reliability. To improve this already class leading engine platform, Yamaha has introduced a range of new features designed to satisfy skippers who crave advanced control and further integration into modern boating systems. The new Offshore V6 series also feature a bold new cowling design with aggressive lines that reflect the strength and performance of these powerful engines. NEW INTEGRATED DIGITAL ELECTRIC STEERING The same Integrated Digital Electric Steering (DES) system introduced in Yamaha’s groundbreaking 425 horsepower XTO Offshore outboards is now available in the new F250 and F300 V6 models. This latest boat steering technology provides
“ To improve this already class leading engine platform, Yamaha has introduced a range of new features designed to satisfy skippers who crave advanced control and further integration into modern boating systems. “
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speed of the boat by using a toggle switch on the throttle handle. If the speed is reduced below what can be achieved in gear, the engine will automatically enter pattern shift mode, shifting between forward and neutral to maintain a very slow speed for trolling. Automatic trim assist can be set to automatically trim the engine based on pre-set speed or RPM parameters. In multi engine set ups the skipper can easily activate single-lever operation for more convenient control. COMING SOON - Fishing Monthly Magazine will be on water with a full review in the near future.
This latest boat steering technology provides smooth, fast and precise steering and, unlike some conventional steering systems, only draws battery power when actively in use.
MARCH2021 2021 117 MARCH 41
New South Wales Tide Times
Victorian Tide Times
2021
POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA DNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES N) – NEW SOUTH WALES POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA LAT 38° 18’ S LONG 144° 37’ E LAT 33° 51’ S LONG 151° 14’ E
2021 LONG 151° 14’ Eand Heights of High and Low Waters LAT 38° 18’ S Times
2021 2021
LONG 144° 37’ E and Local Time of High and Low Waters Times Heights POINTTimes LONSDALE – VICTORIA High and Low Waters Local and Time Heights of High and Low Waters Local Time JULY JUNE AUGUST JUNE MAY JULY LAT 38° 18’ S LONG 144° 37’ E Time m Time m Time m Time m Time m Time m Time m MARCH JANUARY MARCH RY APRIL APRIL Time m Time m Time m Time m TimeFEBRUARY m Time m Time Time mandTime m1.36 0150Time Time m 0049 0.58 m 0.53 Time m Time m Time m 1.40 Time m 0452 Timeof m 0006 TimeTime m TimeTime m0633 Times and0057 Heights High Low Local 1.68 0519 m0.58 0145 1.34 1.26 0037m 1.78 1.60 0557Waters 0046 0.69 1.41 0623 0034 0.51 0646 0415 0.43 1238 11171.45 1.28 0750 0.51 0.62 0740 0.49 0.54 11481.59 0.55 0807 0735 1041 0.380.56 1158 0735 1.47 0005 0230 1.480748 1.35 0.50 1.30 0319 0558 1.67 0744 0309 1.51 1.30 0.32 0315 1.59 0420 0.33 02380455 1.60 03370454 1.62 0227 1.52 0.58 FEBRUARY MARCH APRIL JANUARY 1303 1.43 1804 0.76 1640 0.75 1430 1.59 1446 1.43 1345 1.33 1358 1.38
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1 1 16 116 12 2 1617 17 2 217 1718 23 3 18 3 318 1819 34 4 19 4 419 1920 45 5520 20 5 56 2021 6621 21 6 67 2122 7722 22 7 78 2223 23 8 8823 8 23 9 24 24 9 9924 9 24 10 25 1025 25 10 10 10 25 11 26 26 11 1126 11 26 11 27 12 27 12 12 27 12 12 27 13 28 28 13 1328 13 13 28 29 14 29 14 1429 14 14 15 30 1530 30 15 15 15 31 31
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1.501.49 WE 1816 0030 0015 0.71 0559 1.320010 2345 0.780.31 0639 0640 1.37 1146 0.460611 1353 1.75 1242TU 0.41 1905 WE 1.441329 TH 0559 1.32 1915 1856 2010 1146 1.43 0.460.81 TH 1905 1.44 0110 0.76 0025 0.800105 0123 1.50 0748 1.29 0651 1.280659 0729 0.33 1340 0.51 1231 TH 0.521414 1440 1.75 0025 0.80 FR WE 2113 0651 1.37 2001 1.401942 1.280.75 2005 FR 1231 0.52 0223 2001 0.78 0116 0.800157 0213 1.401.50 0911 1.25 0800 1.260745 0815 0.36 1454TH 0.60 1330 FR 0.601456 0116 0.80 SA 1522 1.73 1.260.71 2215 0800 1.36 2104 1.382027 2052 SA 1330 0.60 0352 2104 0.76 0223 0.760246 1.381.49 0259 1031 1.27 0924 1.290831 0859 0.41 0.76 1616 0223 0.65 1444 0.671535 SU 1600 1.70 0924 1.29 2208 SA 2315FR 1.37 1.392113 2136 0.67 SU 1444 0.67 0510 2208 0.68 1.39 0338 0.67 0343 1.46 1143 1.33 1048 1.390335 0939 0.47 0.67 1730 0338 0.65 1606 0.710918 MO 1633 SA 1048 1.391.66 2309 SU 1.431614 2217 2159 0.710.64 MO 1606 0008 2309 1.40 1.43 0450 0.53 0426 1.43 0606 0.58 1200 1.540425 0.530.54 1016 1243 0450 1.43 TU 1728 0.711006 1200 1.541.61 MO 1652 1704 SU 1828 0.64 0.710.62 TU 1728 2256 2245 0051 1.43 0003 1.48 0510 1.40 0649 0.49 0551 0.390519 1.480.62 1053 1332 0003 1.52 1300 1.691053 WE 0551 0.391.56 1735 1914 0.63 1832 TU 0.691730 MO 1300 1.69 WE 2332 0.60 2331 1832 0.69 0128 1.45 0054 1.53 0726 0054 0.42 0645 0.260620 0558 1.531.37 1412 0645 1.59 1131 0.70 TH 0.26 1354 1.811141 1951TU 0.63 1925 WE 0.671813 1806 1.811.51 TH 1354 1925 0.67 0159 1.47 0141 1.57 0800 0141 0.37 0735 0.180018 0010 1.570.59 1445 0735 1.64 1445 1.870726 FR 0650 1.35 0.18 2025 0.63 2013 TH 0.661230 1212 0.79 1445 1.87 FR WE 2013 0.661.47 1900 1842
7
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23 23
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24 24
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23
9
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ctions Astronomical Tide Commonwealth of Australia 2020, Bureau of Meteorology BureauisofLowest Meteorology © Copyright © Copyright Commonwealth 2020, Bureau of Meteorology cal standard time (UTC +10:00) daylight of savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect de Datum ofor Predictions is Australia Lowest Astronomical Tide © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter ymbols Full Moon or daylight savings time (UTC Times+11:00) are in local when standard in effect time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when effect First Quarter New LastMoon Quarter First Quarter Moon Phase Full Moon Symbols Fullin Moon Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savingsLast timeQuarter (UTC +11:00) wh New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. 118
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