Fishing Monthly Magazine | May 2022 by Fishing Monthly

• SUZUKI OUTBOARD MOTOR CATALOGUE • FRESHWATER ADVENTURES •

Features

Starlo: Stay calm and catch fish! Freshwater adventures • Sustainability of silver trevally stocks •

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NSW

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TAS

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Location Spotlight

Bob Thornton takes us hiking for fresh adventures

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Alloycraft 463 vs 498 Bass Pro comparison

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CONTENTS

OUR COVER May 2022, Vol. 3 No.1 VIC

TAS

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

16 18 20 24 26 28 30 34 36 37 38 38 39 39 42 44

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

48 51 50 52 54 56 57 58 58 59 60 61 62 62 64 64 66 67 65 68

VICTORIA Warrnambool Portland Cobden Apollo Bay Geelong Port Phillip West Port Phillip East Phillip Island Marlo Gippsland Lakes Lakes Entrance Bemm River Mallacoota Robinvale Bendigo Ballarat Wangaratta Shepparton Gippsland Freshwater Crater Lakes Eildon Yarrawonga

74 74 75 75 76 78 80 81 78 82 82 83 83 84 84 85 86 87 87 89 88 89

MAY 2022

From the Editor’s Desk...

Gerry Morsman with a beautiful snapper he caught off the rocks. A Wayne Friebe image. Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.

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

70 101 102 103 104 105 108 106 108 109 110

SUN SMART It’s been a busy month, but I’ve had to find a couple of weeks without nothing on to schedule in some lip laser. No, it’s not cosmetic surgery (and after the experience, I have no idea why people would subject themselves to the process for vanity). All of my years on the water have finally started to show some wear and tear. Getting rid of pre-cancerous cells in the lip seems pretty important to me. It shows that you can never be too sun-smart. I’m big on long shirts, headsocks and sunglasses, but my doctor has added zinc to the list. I think none of us are bulletproof and let my pain be a reminder to you about covering up wherever possible! CARL CRUSHES Of course, this month’s production week coincided with another USA Bassmaster event where expatriate Aussie, Carl Jocumsen, is punching well above his weight. I’ve said it before, but it’s ridiculous how well he performs for someone that didn’t catch a largemouth bass until he decided he wanted to give it a go. Now fishing in events where the standard first prize is $100,000 USD, whenever he gets a camera in the live coverage, it’s a procession of sleepless nights followed by trying to finish articles in the day. I love it. SPANISH MACKEREL Apologies to the non-Queenslanders, but I see the fishing community is in uproar about potential changes to Spanish mackerel take regulations in Queensland. I’m unsure why, all of a sudden, everyone is a stock assessment expert.

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Freshwater Adventures Starlo’s back to basics Sheik of the Creek Sustainability of silver trevally What’s New Fishing Fun page WIRF Tournament Calendar Tournaments Recfishwest Trades and Services/Tide page Boat Test: Alloycraft comparison

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The Fisheries Reform that we are midway through is a once in a generational opportunity to get the stock trajectory headed into positive territory, rather than keeping everything ‘business as usual’. When you step back, most popular recreational species now have commercial limits on what can be taken from the water. This was not previously the case for many important species. That alone is worth the price of admission. Previously there was UNRESTRICTED commercial take on them. Think about it. It’ll be interesting to see where the management changes end up. I hope it’s made by experts and not politicians. NEW FIND THE LOGO One of our most popular competitions in the magazine is the Find the Logo competition. For the next 6 months Rapala Australia has stepped up a notch with three major prizes drawn each month. It’s 13 Fishing logo’s this month, so get those entries in for your chance to win. TASSIE FANTASTIC We have been down running events in Tasmania. The ABT Tour - which runs every two years - is looked forward to by everyone who does it. The people are awesome. The fishing is great. The weather was marvellous. It’s just the cost of taking your boat with you on the Spirit of Tasmania is eye-watering. It’s a bucket-list trip for many and one that some can only afford once in a lifetime. I hope you enjoy this month’s magazine. If there are any glaring errors, I blame them on Carl catching so many American bass!

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Hiking for fresh adventures BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

It’s easy to think that to access really good fishing you need a boat, but this is just not true. Some of my most memorable and successful trips have been on foot, and given that I am still boatless, I’d say there’s a few more of those to come! While a vessel can open up certain waterways for anglers, there are still those little pockets that don’t receive a lot of fishing pressure where a boat just can’t reach, or isn’t properly suited to. For these places, we need to use our legs. Putting in that extra effort to hike into the backcountry where others don’t get – where a boat is totally out of the question –

“There’s a river down there somewhere”. The author sizes up the downhill leg of the journey to untouched bass water. be running high and full of nutrients, and plants will be blooming and driving the insect life that depends on it. The larger the flood, the longer this period lasts. There really is no better time to be getting on the foot falcon to find a fish or two! NO THANKS, I’LL WALK When I was a kid I used to love reading articles by anglers like Warren Steptoe and Andy McGovern. Their contemplative musings and glossy photos of trophy

Long sleeves, good hiking boots and snake-proof gaiters may seem overkill, but lake edges are a perfect environment for a multitude of snake species. Tom suits up accordingly so he can enjoy catching solid carp like this one on his fly rod. choose to walk long distances to fish from the bank, and had honed their craft to make them as deadly as any boatie. They’d also turn each trip into an adventure, taking time to sit quietly and observe nature from one of terra firma’s

surroundings and wildlife, which you tend to feel part of when you’re standing amongst it! In some places walking is the only option, such as in a small overgrown creek that’s too skinny for any craft and only accessible by

Going on land-based adventures with other anglers is the best way to make the most of the experience, and is by far a much safer option. is still my favourite way to fish, especially for bass. I’ve never seen not owning a boat as a disadvantage. Rather, I tend to choose venues where land-based fishers are at an

advantage over boaties, the key often being that I am able to access water that a boat cannot. It’s also worth remembering that right now

we’re coming off the back of large-scale flooding events around much of the country, and this will kick-start a process of long-term gain for the environment. Rivers will

Crawling over slippery boulders and river stones isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, but most fly anglers will suffer a good deal of discomfort when there’s spoils like this available. This protected eastern cod was a welcome by-catch while bass fishing the Clarence system land-based. The fish was handled very carefully and released.

The author was fishing in a boat and had a hunch that the bass that were sitting very shallow might be easier accessed from the bank. The hunch proved to be right! It always pays to have a selection of shore fishing gear with you when you take the boat out. 8

MAY 2022

freshwater fish really brought their land-based adventure stories to life. These days I enjoy reading and watching content from Robbie Alexander for the same reasons. These columns really made me want to go land-based hunting for species like sooty grunter, jungle perch, trout and Murray cod, which I didn’t have available to me in Brisbane. These anglers would

many hidden vantages. In my teen years, if no one was willing to drive me I’d jump on public transport or a pushbike to get myself to the limits of Brisbane’s suburbia and hike into the scrub as far as the dwindling daylight hours would allow. Catching little bass in these clear streams with a heavy pack on gave me a rush that I still get now when I don the boots and go bush! I really enjoy taking in the

walking overland. However, there are situations where it’s possible to use a boat but more logical to be on foot, such as polaroiding fish around the edges of a lake. Sight fishing from the bank gives the angler the option of hiding behind cover or crouching down quickly, or stopping on a dime to keep the fish unaware of your presence. Basically, stalking fish from the bank means you are stealthier, you can

fish where boats can’t, and you’re more easily able to get into a good position for casting or observing. COMPACT KIT One disadvantage of fishing this way is that it limits how much gear you can carry. It’s important to find the balance between what you can carry comfortably and what you need to cover all your bases

for safety and fishing. Good clothing is something I prioritise when kitting up for a land-based freshwater adventure. In a lot of places I hike into, there is long grass, snakes, and a variety of horizontal spiky vines that act as perfect tripwires if you’re not careful. This is why I always make sure I have adequate footwear and leg protection

in the form of good-quality hiking boots, and in places where the ground level is particularly unfriendly, long pants and gaiters. Gumboots are a cheap and effective alternative to hiking boots, especially if the going is tough but not too long. Long distances in gumboots can get uncomfortable, but a short trudge through the nasties

Iain sneaks up to a dream pool for any bass angler. Fishing from the bank allows you to meld with your surroundings and stay hidden from fish in close quartered areas like this!

is fine. The same applies to waders, however waders have come a long way in recent years, and these days a good pair will keep you dry, allow you to cover ground comfortably, and protect you from teeth and thorns below the waist. Having grown up in Queensland I’ve only worn waders once or twice, but I can’t recommend them enough in our southern states where blackberries, tiger snakes and icy cold streams are the norm. Clothing that is breathable and allows you to stay cool while exerting lots of energy during a hike is preferred. Much of my adventure fishing happens during the warmer months, and chafing through clothes that aren’t designed for trekking is no way to start a big trip. If you’re planning to go a long way, good, energy-rich food for the trail can help get the legs working. Trail mixes, muesli bars and fruit are my favourites, along with the odd bit of bushtucker identified and snaffled along the way. Bringing water is a non-negotiable for me, even if my chosen arena is a crystal clear spring-fed stream. You never know when a stream like this may suddenly become unsafe to drink from, plus it’s wise to

Having the place to yourself with the picturesque Australian bush as your backdrop is what this style of fishing is all about. To page 10

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MAY 2022

From page 9

have a safe primary option, with clean stream water acting as a good backup option should something unplanned happen. Filtering straws such as the Life Straw and other similar hiker’s toys are great to carry if you’re worried about water. Bear in mind too, as you drink and process your water your pack will get lighter, so drink up! Some places I visit have been all but reclaimed by nature, and I used to like the idea of wielding a machete to work my way through dense undergrowth and shrubs. I

set-up (if my plan is to fish only with one outfit). Multipiece rods broken down and stowed inside or wrapped carefully on the outside of packs are very space and weight efficient, and have saved my adventures from disaster on more than one occasion. Some anglers prefer to carry two rigged up outfits as they fish, and this is perfectly fine in some environments, but in more plant-rich riparian zones I find moving around with two assembled rods a hindrance. If you want to go the

Pulling pristine looking fish out of small pools in the coastal scrub can make a long hike through said coastal scrub worthwhile, even if the fish are small. Just ask the author! now realise that swinging a sword indiscriminately at some plants might be bad for the environment. If you find yourself up against really thick noxious weeds, a pair of secateurs is handy for cutting through select vines and making a path for yourself. I learned that trick from a Robbie Alexander YouTube video! Trudging along the bank of freshwater bodies anywhere in Australia puts you at a heightened risk of crossing paths with snakes. Some places present a greater danger, however it’s always a good idea to have at least a basic first-aid and snake bite kit, not just for snake bites but for anything that may go wrong. Your fishing gear will have to sit around these essentials, so condensing your usual selection for your target species is an inevitability. I like to make sure I have a spare fishing 10

MAY 2022

extra mile with safety, devices like EPIRBs, GPSs and satellite phones can be a good idea, especially if you plan on trekking further, or doing multi-day trips. On the topic of multi-day trips, you will have to take condensing to the next level with your packing if this is your plan. I don’t do very many trips like this, so that’s an article for another time, and probably from another scribe. PLAN YOUR ATTACK Preparation can be the difference between success and a disaster in this game, so make sure you have a basic plan of attack. With that said, you also want to be adaptable. For example, a track you were looking at on Google Maps might not be as navigable as you first thought, or a path you’ve been following for years may suddenly become impassable. Being thorough with your planning and scouting out alternative routes and even having back-up locations in mind is never a bad idea. I can remember once trying to access a river to fish for bass with a friend, and on our normal route down we came across a section of the hill that had collapsed and become a cliff. We were able to call on our knowledge of the river that we’d gained by studying maps of the area and go back to the car and re-route. We ended up having a good day further upstream! Other people may be different, but I like to start with a plan even if I know there’s a high chance of deviating from it. A basic plan gives me a starting point and a direction, and I can work from there. Going with a friend is a great way to maximise the experience, and I rarely, if ever, go on long hikes in search of freshwater trophies on my own anymore. Apart

from the obvious that it’s safer and you can carry more gear, another angler can provide a fresh perspective with decision-making, aid in landing fish, take photos, and help keep the morale up as

I’ve only ever felt like I was going to have to stay the night somewhere I wasn’t planning to once, and in the end we managed to find our way back to the car, but the torch and lighter I was

to warning signs and local advice, and if it doesn’t feel right, don’t risk it. A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE I think fishing in this way can give an angler a new

Some anglers like Tom enjoy the challenges that come with fishing land-based and don’t let a bit of extra walking deter them from sight casting at photo-worthy fish. you painstakingly slide your way through spiky plants. In a sight-fishing scenario, a friend is invaluable as an observer while you get yourself ready to make a cast at your quarry... unless they’ve relegated you to observer. A companion is an extra pair of eyes, legs, hands and also a spare brain – keep this in mind when you plan your adventure! STAYING SAFE Being prepared also means being prepared for disaster. I would recommend that you carry at least one torch in your pack, even if you’re not planning to stay the night, and to have at least some basic survival skills.

Another bass comes ashore on a day when the plan just came together. Always plan for unseen circumstances, not just for your fishing, but for your safety as well.

carrying in my rear pocket were ready! Another precaution that should be common practice is letting someone know where you’re going, and when they can expect you back. The film 127 hours, the true story of a man who got his arm trapped under a rock while hiking, shows him having to amputate his arm with a pocketknife and pair of pliers because no one was looking for him. He didn’t tell anyone where he was going, and ended up paying a terrible price. Because of this film I always tell someone my plan, whether it’s a friend, family member or housemate. If you don’t come home when you said you will, this person can get a search started sooner and in the area where you’re likely to be. It’s not nice to think about, but safety is no joke when you venture out into the Australian bush. Returning to snakes, there’s one simple trick most seasoned hikers will know regarding snake safety, and that is making plenty of noise with your feet and keeping your eyes on the ground as you walk through the scrub. Most venomous snakes in Australia will hear you and move out of the way, remembering that black, brown and tiger snakes are generally more afraid of you than you are of them, and will only strike if cornered. If you see any snakes on your trip, give each other a wide berth and you won’t have any problems. The other potential danger is for northern anglers. Crocodiles can and do make their way into the tiniest little freshwater creeks at times. If fishing up this way, adhere

perspective on their fishing. Rather than confining myself strictly to the bank, I tend to see my legs and backpack as just another vehicle I can use to get to the water. For example, once a few years ago a buddy and I fished our way up a small tidal creek for bass until the creek became fresh and too shallow even for our kayaks. Luckily we had our backpacks with us and ended up heaving what gear we could upstream on foot and having a real adventure, hiking and wading many kilometres and nailing multiple bass from the fresh, tannin-stained pools of this coastal stream. If you’re in a boat fishing anywhere, it’s never a bad idea to have a bit of gear on board that will allow you to pull the tub up and have a bash from the bank. Being on the bank doesn’t necessarily disadvantage you, and should never be sniffed at – at this rate, it seems human bodies are cheaper to fuel than combustion engines! If you’ve never set foot into the unknown wilderness in search of a place free of any obvious human interference to cast lures, think about how much rarely-fished ‘pedestrian only’ water we have in this country. Walking in and out is a sustainable way to enjoy the outdoors and its fisheries, while stretching the legs and putting you in the middle of our beautiful and primeval Australian bush. Just be sure to take everything out that you came in with, leaving only footprints and confused fish. Make 2022 the year you finally hike into a fishing spot – it really does add a whole new dimension to fishing!

IMPROVED RESOLUTION, REDUCED NOISE, CLEARER IMAGES AND BETTER TARGET SEPARATION

MAY 2022

Stay calm, catch fish! NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Fishing can be extremely exciting, but learning to manage that excitement and keep your cool under pressure is an incredibly vital component in becoming a consistently successful angler.

or ‘action’ and you come up with a reasonably apt metaphor for fishing, too. We all fish for a multitude of reasons: to catch a feed, spend time with family and friends, enjoy the great outdoors… and also to get the blood pumping and the adrenalin coursing through our veins… For the sheer thrill of it! Anyone who’s watched a

world of difference between excitement and panic. Too many fisher – especially new chums – allow their emotions to run completely unchecked and out of control at these super critical times, and they often make mistakes as a result… Mistakes that can cost them and others fish. An ability to think and act reasonably calmly – or Who wouldn’t get excited when faced with a scene like this? But now is not the time to backlash that reel or throw your lure off. Calm down and make the cast! cool when that big fish finally shimmers into view. This is one reason so many fish are lost in those final minutes or even seconds of an extended encounter. There’s a natural and very human urge to simply want to get the damn thing out of the water and into the boat or up onto the bank. But trying to rush that final step can be absolutely disastrous. The closing stages of any fish fight are the time when we have the least cushioning effects left from any stretch in the line and leader. Also, damage to that line has likely

been accumulating through the fight, and is at its most critical now, not to mention the fact that the hook will have been slowly tearing and wearing a larger hole in the fish’s lip or jaw with each lunge, run and head shake. With these thoughts whirling wildly through your mind, there’s a very strong tendency to follow one of two potentially fatal paths – to tighten up and pull harder, or back right off and go too soft. Both actions can easily cost fish. The folly of pulling too hard is obvious, but going

too light is potentially just as insidious. There’s nothing wrong with backing the drag off a click or two and lowering the rod slightly as the end game approaches. In fact, it’s often good practice. But backing off too much can give the fish its ‘second wind’ and dramatically extend the fight. This ramps up and multiplies the chances of things going wrong. Hooks pull, leaders wear out, fish find snags… or sharks finds fish! The longer any stoush goes on, the greater the risk of such calamities. The big secret is to stay

“Got ’im!” Staying calm and having a game plan resulted in success for these anglers, in the form of a lovely Spanish mackerel from tropical waters. I always smile quietly to myself when non-angling friends talk about fishing being ‘boring’, and claim that they’d never have the patience for it. In my experience, good anglers aren’t, by nature, particularly patient people. If they’re not scoring at least a few fish, they want to know why, and they want to turn things around. Sure, there can be frequent quiet spells and blank patches in most forms of fishing, but these tend to be punctuated by bursts of intense activity. I once heard war described as ‘long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of sheer terror’. Replace the word ‘terror’ with ‘mayhem’

big, blue-nosed bream sidle up under a paused minnow, witnessed a lit-up giant trevally exploding all over a chugging popper, seen a hefty brown trout slurp a dry fly from the surface, or lunged with shaking hands for a buckled-over game outfit straining in its rod holder as line screams from the spool against a hard-set drag knows exactly how thrilling fishing can be. It’s natural — and actually desirable — to be excited when these moments of intense action occur. The day we stop getting a kick out of such experiences is probably the day we should take up golf… or stamp collecting. But there’s a

at least adopt a semi-calm façade – often under intense pressure, is one of the most important character traits I’ve observed in the ranks of consistently successful anglers. While those around them are hooting, hollering, yahooing and generally losing their, um, ‘stuff’, these cooler heads are typically getting on with the task at hand: hooking, fighting and landing fish. The ability to retain a certain degree of calm and composure is particularly important in the final stages of fighting and landing a prize catch… especially one you’ve been dreaming about scoring for a long time. It’s so very easy to lose your

So close! Who wouldn’t be nervous, battling their first-ever Indo-Pacific permit on fly? But this is the point at which at least a semblance of calm is essential on the part of both the angler and his net man… And yes, they got it.

This is when so many fish are lost… In the final stages of the encounter, close to the boat or bank. 12

MAY 2022

calm(ish!), keep the coolest head you possibly can, and don’t start second guessing yourself. If your knots and drag setting got you this far, chances are they’ll finish the job. Having a solid game plan in mind and actively visualising a successful end game can really help. For me, so does talking calmly about what’s actually going on: to my companions, a camera, or even just to myself! In closing, remember you’re not the one with a hook in your mouth, potentially fighting for your existence. Up to a point, time is on your side, not the fish’s. Stay calm, be cool and finish the job!

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Tuna will start to turn it on are drifting down the water column. There will be some really good sized snapper coming in over the last couple of weeks as by-catch whilst anglers are targeting mackerel. Yellowfin tuna and wahoo have also been showing up in large numbers. Most of the yellowfin have been in real close. The wahoo have been showing up on the 18 fathoms and the 24s all the way out to the shelf. High speed trolling hardbodies seems to be the ticket to the show.

THE TWEED

Leon McClymont

Long tail tuna have arrived with reports of solid schools harassing baits balls of pilchards and white bait from the Gold Coast all the way down to Iluka. They should hang around for the next few months. I was spotting tuna with the drone last season right up until August in the Tweed area and they tend to be very large specimens late into the season. Spanish and spotted mackerel have been on fire with many anglers either bagging out or taking what they need and back inside the bar before 9am, remember fishos to stick to the bag limits and only take what you need. The technique of choice, and proven to be most successful, seems to be slow trolling dead baits – Tweed

Pete McDonald with a nice wahoo, using fast trolling hardbody lures.

Koby Warloz and Jacob Howell with two cracking Spanish mackerel.

MAY 2022

Nathan Dodd caught this yellowfin trolling hardbody lures.

Bait bonito, garfish, whole slimy mackerel. The fish still seem to be found out that little bit wider than usual due to the consistent dirty water flowing from our rivers. The mackerel catch rates will dwindle off at the end of May. The last Spanish I recall being caught off Tweed last season was mid June. They are generally XXL sized mackerel coming through late, so don’t rule them out when everyone switches back up to targeting those winter species, such as snapper and pearl perch. Speaking of snapper, the big schools that hang wide on the 50 fathoms will move right up on the shallow reefs when there is a decent run of fresh taking advantage of the free offerings the floods are providing. The snapper will also school under and around the mackerel feeding, picking off the discarded left overs that

Dave Williams is proud as punch with his first Spanish. It was taken on a slow trolled Tweed Bait bonito. The lures of choice are Zerek Speed Donkey, Bluewater Classics f200, Nomad DTX minnow 200. There’s not too much to be said from the beaches as they have been hammered from the consistent storm swells this season, but tailor have been showing up on dawn and dusk in the gutters on high tide. On the low tides, plenty of good flathead and whiting hanging

in the gutters being taken on beach worms and white pilchards baits. There should be some good mulloway hunting along the beaches this time of year. Big schools of mulloway will be hanging on the beaches getting stuck into the annual mullet run. Over the month, I have seen numerous large mulloway caught from the river mouths and beaches over

previous years as they work in large numbers preying on massive schools of mullet that migrate from our rivers and travel north this time of year for spawning. The rivers are still slowly recovering after the constant downpours of rain this year. When the Tweed is running brown, the Terranora Inlet is always a lot clearer than the main inlet of the Tweed and recovers quicker as it doesn’t cop as much run off. So if you’re looking at putting the tinny in or soaking a line from shore when the rivers in bad shape, the Terranora Inlet would have to be the pick. I had one gentleman give me reports of his recent captures post flood in the river up Cobaki area, he said he’d been getting some good mulloway and had even caught a spotted mackerel up the river, I was astonished to hear one had gotten that far up. That’s one thing I love about fishing is the general camaraderie from most anglers willing to share tales and experiences of their day on the water, as this is where a lot of the learning and socialising takes place and we need more of it! I’ve met some great people, who are now life long friends when fishing from all over the place and I feel privileged to have shared some of these great experiences with these people along the way.

Southern

OLD

Autumn changes GOLD COAST

David Green

May is an interesting month to fish the Gold Coast, as the water cools slightly and the current drops a bit. So far summer and autumn have been hampered by strong winds, floods, dirty water and a never-ending succession of East Coast low pressure systems giving us a never-ending stream of strong southeasterly winds. There have been few fishable days, and when the seas have been ok we have been hampered by floodwater on the inshore grounds. Despite this, the mackerel fishing has been quite good, with plenty being caught from Jumpinpin through to the Tweed. It’s very hard to believe the stock is at 17% of its baseline! Out on the continental shelf there tends to be a lot of surface eddies in May. It is a good idea to look at the sea surface temperature charts before heading out this month. I think there is a very good chance of finding a blue or striped marlin in May as the current slows down. I find fishing the warmer eddies, as shown on the sea surface temperature charts, is often more productive than the hot straight southbound currents commonly found in summer. As well as marlin, there is often the odd wahoo, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna in May. I have also found the blue marlin are a bit bigger this month with fish around 180kg turning up quite frequently. For this reason I always troll 37kg tackle

in May when fishing wide of the continental shelf. It pays to put out a smaller lure well out the back this month as there is always a good chance of a nice yellowfin tuna. Straight running bullet heads can be very effective. In closer to shore, both the 50 and 36 fathom reefs should see the fishing improve this month as the water cools down. Snapper, pearl perch, kingfish and amberjacks all increase in numbers over the month and a lot of the local charter boats shift their attention from trolling to bottom fishing. Deep dropping using electric

Gold Coast and the Tweed Nine Mile Reef can also be productive this month, and the mackerel and wahoo are generally quite solid. If you can high speed troll metal headed skirts at dawn you are in with a great chance, especially at the Nine Mile. Trolled dead baits can also be very effective. There is quite often a good run of big spotted mackerel at Palm Beach Reef in May. It is thought that this is the ‘return run’ of fish heading north after their southern migration. Some of these fish are around 7kg in weight. Trolling live baits from

The author had fun catching this mackerel from the Diamond Reef. reels is another good option this month chasing flame snapper and bar cod. Depths between 150 and 350m should produce some good fishing this month. The southern reefs of the

a downrigger is probably the best way to catch a big Spanish mackerel this month. The Diamond Reef on the 24 fathom line east of Southport has produced thousands of mackerel this season.

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The close reefs also fish well at night this month, especially when there is a tide change around dusk. The artificial reefs in 23m of water just north of the Seaway are turning into very consistent producers of mulloway at night with fish averaging around a metre long. There should still be mahimahi around the FADs in 36 and 50 fathoms. RIVERS AND ESTUARIES May is a great month to chase a wide range of

species in the entrances of the Gold Coast Seaway and Jumpinpin. Hopefully the water from the recent floods will have dissipated and the fishing will improve. When the westerlies start to blow bream, mullet and luderick start to build up in numbers prior to spawning. At the same time that this happens there are usually big schools of white pilchards moving into the estuaries, and these plus white bait attract plenty of tailer, small queenies and on the sand flats flathead become very active. The mullet schools attract big predators such as sharks, mulloway and dolphins. If you love your flathead fishing May is the first month to get really serious about it. Clean clear cool water and plenty of bait make good conditions for chasing flathead on lures. Most of the fish are between 40 and 60cm and can be caught on trolled lures, plastics, metal vibes and soft vibes. Bream are a very common form of by-catch. It will be interesting to see if we can find a few big fish up on the flats this month by working large unweighted stick baits this month. This method caught quite a few 70cm+ fish throughout the summer months. The key

seems to be to work the flats early in the morning when the water is pushing in over the top of flats in about 30cm of water. These fish are chasing big baits such as mullet, eels and whiting and want a big lure. Garfish are another good option this month, and the weed beds around Crab Island and Wave Break Island are worth a look on the run in tide. Use a berley of bread and tuna oil in a mesh bag and let the berley drift back in the current. A small quill float and a piece of prawn is usually the best method. In May, you will catch a mix of snub-nosed gar and sea gar and both make great troll baits and are good eating. Other options this month include mulloway on live baits and soft plastics in both the Seaway and Jumpinpin entrances, whiting on poppers and baits, bream in the seaway and canals and there should still be a few mangrove jack around in the Seaway that respond to small live baits. May is a good month to fish Gold Coast estuaries and as the water cools the fishing gets better and better and the weather is generally quite calm. Tight lines and good fishing.

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A bar cod is always a welcome catch off Southport.

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Catches are still varied around Jumpinpin JUMPINPIN

Bo Sawyer

I hope everyone’s been keeping well and catching lots of fish. At the time of writing there’s been limited chances to get out for a fish, in comfortable conditions anyway. However, the shocking summer and wet start to autumn will pave the way to some really good fishing over the coming months. The water temp has been slowly dropping and has hopefully cleared up nicely in time for May. The tailor have been biting really well around

Andy and Sean got this great feed in the Jacobs Well area.

Ryan caught this monster flatty in the Pin. You can check out his page on Facebook ‘Bream Hub’. the Pin bar and along Kalinga Bank. There are some monsters around the smaller fish and I’ve been getting dusted by some big ones. Small Halco spinners and pillies work a treat. Anyone trying for flathead out in the deep can expect to lose a few soft plastics to the choppers. I prefer fishing for them on the incoming and higher tide when the water is the cleanest. You really want to see plenty of bait working around, and diving birds is also a great sign. Flathead catches are still strong, you will get days when they shut down and days they are feeding aggressively. Low wind makes a big difference as well as a higher barometer (just google Gold Coast barometer forecast) and if you can get out on the days with a reading of around 20

MAY 2022

1020 or more you should be looking at a good day’s fishing. I love flicking paddle-tail plastics at them with 3/0-5/0 jigheads. I use 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2oz weights depending on the depth I’m fishing, as well as the current. If you’re a bait fisho, I would either be using live mullet, gar, prawns or the blue pillies Brett sells at Jacobs Well Bait & Tackle. Try fishing for them along Kalinga Bank, Crusoe Island, Pandanus Island, Whalleys Gutter and the Logan River. They will start firing up on the flats in the cooler weather. If you’d like to learn how to really target these fish in our area check out Capn’s Charters, I’ve seen that bloke pull in five 80cm in under 30 minutes before. He’s a great guy with a lot of knowledge. Whiting will slow down as the water cools but I’m a big believer that you can target any fish in any season. Live worms and yabbies are my go-to

bait. Using 4lb leader and a light sinker. Shallow sand banks that hold yabbies are great in lower light, and then deeper water during the day. Gold Bank, the shallows around Crusoe and the deeper water on

Ryan from Capn’s Charters with a stonker flatty.

Suzanne and Martin had a great session with three snapper, three flathead and a load of whiting and bream.

Jason with a very solid flathead caught on a soft plastic.

the bottom left of North Stradbroke Island usually hold fish. The quality of the bream around the Jumpinpin area should really improve as the weather cools down. Lightly weighted prawns, dead herring or flesh baits work really well. You can sound up large schools if you have a sounder, otherwise fish along the deeper water inside South Straddie, Kalinga Bank and the deeper edges off Crusoe Island. We should hopefully see some big mulloway making their way into our system as everything

cools. Try fishing for them along the drop off in the Pin bar, the deeper water off Swan Bay and also in deep holes in the Logan. Nice big live baits are my favourite and I like to fish for them around tide changes. You can also follow these tide changes into the upper reaches if you really want to extend your bite period for them. If you do the work and continually chase the tide you will reap the rewards. Don’t forget to check out the King of the Pin comp running at the end of this month as well. There are some great prizes and it’s a lot of fun. Well that’s it from me this month guys. Don’t forget to say G’day to Brett from Jacobs Well Bait & Tackle if you need to grab some bait or tackle. Until next month, tight lines. • To see more of my fishing adventures on Instagram, follow The Bobo Boat (@ thebobo_boat)

Matt caught these beauties right behind Jacobs Well Bait and Tackle on soft plastics.

Your SIPS permit fees at work

All about the

BASS ID tip

Have you ever thought about why it’s important to stock Australian bass? This seemingly common freshwater fish is stocked throughout south-eastern Queensland, but it faces several challenges in the wild.

Australian bass spend most of their life in fresh water and return to the sea to spawn in autumn and winter. Barriers such as dams, weirs and some road crossings can disrupt this movement. Stocking forms an important part of their long-term survival where fish passage is inadequate. Thanks to the hard work of community stocking groups and hatchery staff, this year’s stocking season will see over one million bass fingerlings released into Queensland’s Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS) dams and weirs. When you buy a SIPS permit, you gain access to over 60 stocked impoundments, and you are contributing to the long-term survival of many of our favourite freshwater angling species.

Our Mooloolaba fisheries officer Rob helped recreational fisher Peter identify the dusky flathead he’d just caught. Tail markings are the most important distinguishing feature between the four main species of flathead. The dusky flathead has a large dark blotch on the tail, with no horizontal dark bars. The bartail, yellowtail and northern sand flathead also have distinctive tail markings you can use to identify them. Head to qld.gov.au and search ‘flathead identification’ to learn more.

Dusky

Head to qld.gov.au and search ‘SIPS’ to find a SIPS impoundment stocked with Australian bass and to purchase your SIPS permit.

Fishwatch result

Bartail Northern sand

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol officers from Hervey Bay received a complaint about a net set across a waterway near Kahla Creek. Officers responded immediately and located two nets and several unmarked apparatus. Big thanks to the person who called it in!

Yellowtail

If you suspect derelict crab pots or illegal fishing activity, report it to Fishwatch on 1800 017 116 (toll free within Queensland) or online by visiting qld.gov.au and searching ‘fishwatch’.

Download the free ‘Qld Fishing 2.0’ app from the App Store or Google Play

DAF1655 05/2022

fisheries.qld.gov.au 13 25 23 FisheriesQueensland FisheriesQld DAFQld

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INTUITIVE CONTROL Filling up the boxes words are more like, ‘you’re a Take the bait board I just bumbling idiot’. made. Being a little tired of I like to get into the boat sniggering, I decided to do and make little adjustments the job proper-like. Got new It’s funny how as you get here and there too: a bait board, ply, measured twice, cut once older you are more and more or a cover for the batteries with a new drop saw, then likely to be put into little or a wooden stubby holder. tacked together using mostly boxes by those that profess These are often things that can new wood screws (after I ran to know you. be bought ready-made, cheap out of the cheap ones at the Take me for example. and effective from the local bottom of the toolbox I found There are occasions when I chandlery or tackle shop, but under the house), then counterthink my good wife is almost at I like to put my personal touch screwed rod holders on, and to a point where she can tolerate on them. Also, because I tend finish off, painted the whole me in small doses, sometimes to make them out of scraps thing with some old wood glue as long as four or five minutes. of ply and pine lying around my wife left in the shed a My bad wife never tolerates under the house, the mango little while ago… I think when me. She has one or two little tree or sometimes even in Hawkie was PM. boxes that she places me into. the shed, they tend to have a I can tell you, the finished Well, let’s say she opens the home-made look about them. result was so good I even little box, places me on top of And more often than not, they surprised myself. It almost it, pushes me as far as I will sometimes work, so the joke is looked like something Boobies go comfortably into the little on the Dudds! It’s fair to say might make. Admittedly, on box, then places her foot on there’s a moderate to high level January the 1st, but still. I was my head and pushes me into of sniggering when we rock so pleased with it, I carted the little box, ALBERTON then gets a mallet up to one of our weekends it into the house to show MELBOURNE to make sureALBERTON there aren’tMARINE any and my handiwork is revealed my wife. I think she was MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE stray pieces still outside the for the first time. Especially impressed. She wouldn’t be if 39nails Johnson 92 Hallam South Road Hallam little box. Then the lidStreet on. Alberton from Boobies, just because she saw that when I dropped P: (03)little 5183 2344 he’s a builder from Central P: (03)it9703 One of these boxes into 2003 its place in the boat I has a sign onF: it(03) suggesting I Queensland he tends to look realised I hadn’t allowed for 5183 2219 W: melbournemarine.com.au have a lack of in fixing on my efforts as ‘sniggerable’, the lid of the live bait tank, W: skill albertonmarine.com.au things around the house, which is completely unfair. which now won’t open. But I MORNINGTON PENINSULA shed, yard and boat. ‘Lack There are some things in my don’t plan on telling her. She’d MY MARINE MELBOURNE of skill’ are my words, her boat that are not that ridiculous. just put me in a box. Cnr Nepean Highway & BL MARINE Ponderosa Place Dromana 612- 614 Plenty Road Preston P: (03) 9478 1420 P: (03) 5987 0900 F: (03) 9470 4638 W: mymarine.com.au W: blmarine.com.au MORNINGTON PENINSULA NAUTICAL MARINE SHEPPARTON 141 Hotham Road BOATS AND MORE Sorrento 207 Numurkah Road Shepparton P: (03) 5822 2108 P: (03) 5984 1666 F: (03) 5821 2908 E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au W: boatsandmore.com.au W: nauticalmarine.com.au BRISBANE

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Michelle Hall was visiting her family in Hinchinbrook over summer and they decided to take the boat out into the channel to cool down. It became a productive afternoon with Michelle catching this 76cm barra. MAY 2022

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Numbers and quality coming from the bay difference to your catch rates during daylight hours but can afford to fish a bit heavier at night. Best results have come throwing 8lb leader 1/8 and 1/6oz jigheads with smaller 3-4” plastics. The low light periods have been fishing

SOUTHERN BAY

Nick Whyte

There have been good numbers of mulloway and good size snapper coming from the southern bay the last month. Mulloway to over the metre mark and snapper up to 80cm have been reported. A lot of these bigger fish have been coming from isolated structure, like wrecks and the artificial reefs at Harries and West Peel. Make sure you keep an eye on your sounder and look for the larger schools to target. It can take some effort to find them but put

Mitch Schampers with a quality bay mulloway on a recent Tech Fishing session. north of Harrys so make sure you are careful around the green zone in the middle of the bay. There have been some nice juvenile snapper and sweetlip coming from the southern bay with pan-sized fish being consistently caught from the shallows at Goat Island, South West Rocks area and the sunken reefs at the north western side of Peel Island. Light line will make a massive

Luke Cameron with a cracker tusky on a live crab.

Bill with a nice bay snapper. in the effort and the results will come. Mulloway and snapper have been coming on plastics and soft vibes with Zerek Fish Traps producing the goods. Long tail tuna and mac tuna have been around in good numbers in the northern bay. They are still

yet to move to the southern end though, with the water still being a little dirty at the time of writing. Some good quality fish amongst them too with fish to 15kg been reported. Because of the size of the fish they’ve been chasing larger baits, with big plastics and 110-160mm

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stick baits being a good starting point. Zerek Zapplins in the 115mm size and 6” McArthy jerk minnows in bubblegum colour are a couple of my favourite lures. You can rig your plastics on 3/4 or 1oz jigheads to give you great casting distance as well. With the smaller mac tuna, they are eating the smaller whitebait. So silver or white patterns in the smaller slugs of 15-30g have been the killers. Mustad Mezashi casting jigs have an awesome finish and match the hatch perfectly. The fish have been mainly

Dave White with a lovely grunter from Moreton Bay.

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best and producing the better quality fish when fishing these shallower spots. Keep your eyes out for the showering hardiheads as the snapper will be right behind them. Winter whiting numbers should start to improve this

The last thing a Zerek Fish Trap sees before being eaten by a metre-plus mulloway.

month. As the water clears, the fishing should only get better. Check out all the usual haunts like the Navel banks, Rous channel, Amity Banks and the Pelican Banks. Remember to keep an eye out for all the green zones in these areas as well. There have been some quality flathead caught down around the Jumpinpin area with lots of 60-80cm fish reported. Most of these fish have come from cleaner water closer to the bar itself. In the deeper water, there has been the occasional mulloway caught on live bait and bigger paddletail soft plastics like the 5-6” McArthy paddle tails. Smaller soft plastics or small trolled hardbodies have been ticking the numbers over up on the flats. Some of the best performing areas have been around Pandanus Island, Gold bank and Curuso Island. It’s also worth a look at areas close to the mouth of the Logan River as the water starts to clean up. There has also been quite a lot of small chopper tailor around the Pin area. These guys are balling up bait and chopping on the surface so it’s always a good idea to have a small plastic or slug rigged to cast at the surface feeding schools. If you have a great capture from the southern bay you would like to share email them through to nick@techfishing. com.au Till next month Tech-it-easy.

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May will produce good fish BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

We have certainly had some poor weather so far this year, which has hindered anglers’ chances to get out. Hopefully as we merge into the cooler months the patterns will stabilise and we’ll be greeted with calm seas and bountiful fishing. Over the last couple of months we’ve experienced a lot of rainfall and subsequent flooding which has drastically increased nutrient levels in the lower reaches of the rivers and out into Moreton Bay. This will drastically improve the winter fishing, especially for snapper, sweetlip, tuskfish, cod, mulloway and others. There’s also a good chance that we may still see some good numbers of prawns in Southern Moreton Bay throughout

areas throughout Moreton Bay. However, on those occasions the sharks were ridiculous and took many of the better quality fish we hooked. With water temperatures cooling, shark predation should wane resulting in a greater proportion of quality fish making it to the boat. The usual spots throughout the bay will be well patronised by anglers, especially those getting out for the early morning sunrise session. The numerous artificial reefs (including Harry Atkinson, Peel, Curtin, Bill Turner and Coochiemudlo as well as the surrounds of the bay islands are all worth trying. Obviously, there are also many wrecks in the bay that are worth trying. Many of these are very small and isolated from other structure yet they still hold good numbers of fish including snapper, sweetlip, grunter, mulloway, cobia and numerous others.

Numbers of decent quality snapper, like this specimen Mark caught recently, should be healthy throughout the coming months around the lower Brisbane River, bay islands, artificial reefs and other locations throughout Moreton Bay. May. Crabbing should also be decent and if the waters in the eastern bay begin to clear then it should be a productive start to the squidding season. Let’s look a little closer at your options. SNAPPER My predictions are for an excellent snapper season over the coming months. The few times I have been able to get out after the floods the bite was exceptional in several 26

MAY 2022

All these areas can be worked over with both baits and lures. Quality fresh baits are always best, however the humble frozen squid and pilly still produce plenty of great fish. Fresh fillet baits (mullet, pike, herring, bonito, grinner, gar etc.) and whole banana prawns and squid are some of the better options that are fairly easy to source at times. I often catch and fillet bonito and small tuna during the summer months

and then salt and freeze for use later on. These salted baits are somewhat tougher than fresh caught and have all the good oils condensed in them to provide plenty of scent. Live baits, such as yakkas, herring, pike, slimy mackerel and squid are great for scoring on those above average snapper, especially in the more heavily fished areas. The vibrations and realism of such baits will often entice wary fish lurking on the fringes to move in for the kill. Another great bait is a large banana prawn rigged on a jighead and drifted across the bottom. This is a very realistic presentation when rigged with the prawn laying along the length of the jighead with the weight at the head. Obviously the lure fishers have a lot of fun on snapper, which will respond to a vast array of presentations. The most commonly presented lures are soft plastics rigged on jigheads and soft vibration baits. With the plastics, anglers will manly use 1/6oz to 1/4oz jigheads in the shallower areas under 12m and 3/8oz in the deeper areas such as some artificial reefs. These are cast upcurrent and then allowed to sink a bit before being retrieved with the current in a series of hops, a slow roll or errant retrieve. It pays to try different retrieves until you find out what is to their liking at the time. Soft vibes are worked in a similar method, are usually around the 20g mark and will sink fairly quickly. Therefore, they are most suited to the deeper areas and stronger currents. Trolling minnow lures around the outer fringes of the bay islands, through the shallower artificial reefs, areas of rubble or coffee rock and along ledges can often reward with some sizeable snapper. Deep diving minnow lures, which commonly reach depths between 5-10m are best for this pursuit. For vertically dropping down to snapper and others suspended beneath the boat, micro jigs are ideal. Whilst proper micro jigging outfits will allow you to fish these jigs better, they can be worked with many different outfits for surprising results. Commonly jigs in the 20-50g range will suffice for most areas within the bay and the mouth of the Brisbane River. Which type of offering you decide to persevere with will depend on personal choice, area fished and past experience but do not get stuck in

the rut of only using the offering that you first got success on. The more you fish different lures the better you will get at fishing them and this puts a lot more strings in your bow for when the bite is tough. After the 2011 floods the winter fishing for snapper was ridiculously good. The floodwaters not only brought forth nutrients into the system but it also discoloured the waters, which meant larger specimens felt less conspicuous in the shallows and baitfish were harder to hunt and resulted in little hesitation when they saw your offering. MULLOWAY Post-flood conditions are also ideal for mulloway and pretty much the same areas, baits and artificial lures will work for them as you use for snapper. However, they will take larger profiles and can be specifically targeted using these. The Brisbane River often produces some excellent specimens anywhere from the mouth right up to the St Lucia area. The lower reaches are the most heavily fished and anglers often live bait along the edges of the decline into the main river basin, the fronts of the shipping terminals, the Swing Zone, Claras Rocks, underneath the Gateway Bridge, the dredge holes at the mouth and numerous other spots. Live mullet, herring, pike and banana prawns will get the job done. These same areas can obviously be fished with soft vibes and numerous jighead rigged plastics such as paddle-tail shads and prawn profiles. The beacons leading out of the Brisbane River mouth will also often hold bait that entices mulloway into the precinct. Further out into the bay, the best bet is usually the artificial reefs however they may also be taken closer in around the bay islands. Often schools of mulloway can be located using your sounder and then offerings are presented in front of the roaming school. Unfortunately, these schools are also often followed by sizeable sharks that will often tax hooked fish before they can be landed. Night sessions can be especially rewarding for mulloway, which actively hunt during this period. Whilst some actively pursue mulloway, many of them are caught as by-catch by snapper fishers. May will be a great month to score a PB mulloway in the

Longtail tuna are still likely to be prevalent throughout Moreton Bay in the coming month despite water clarity not being ideal. Often they are caught as by-catch around the bay islands whilst chasing snapper, which was the case with this specimen that Chris caught. Brisbane River or further out into the bay. CEPHALOPODS Squid really prefer very clean water, therefore it is more likely that numbers will be better in the eastern portion of the bay than the western. Westerly winds are generally required to help make the waters of the foreshore areas of Wynnum, Manly, Scarborough, Victoria Point and Wellington Point crystal clear. This may take a month or two yet until these are clean enough for healthy numbers of tiger and arrow squid to abound. However, there could definitely be a few squid to catch in these zones over the coming weeks, especially throughout the darkened hours. In the eastern bay, areas such as the Rous Channel, Rainbow Channel, Amity Rock Wall, Dunwich and around the shallower areas of Peel Island are likely to hold good numbers of squid. Often the early part of the season produces some of the larger squid with tigers well over the kilogram mark being caught. Most of these are taken on egi, however a baited squid skewer will also produce. Casting and retrieving egi, either with a series of hops or a slow, intermittent wind, will generally produce the

goods. Often the squid are visible well before they throw out a tentacle to grab the prey. Anglers chasing whiting in the Rous Channel and Sand Hills area will often drift an egi or baited skewer behind the boat to secure a few squid. Working over areas with weed, rock, rubble or reef and clean water will generally put you in good stead as squid will commonly lurk and hunt in these areas. They are opportunistic feeders that will prey on baitfish, prawns and small crabs. Cephalops are masters of camouflage and often appear to materialise out of nowhere. Cuttlefish can also be caught during the cooler months yet are more common in the deeper channels. The western end of the Rous where it meets the Small Ships Channel, the channel out from Wellington Point and Green Island plus the drop-off out from Jeays Reef buoy on the northern end of Mud are all reliable producers. Cuttlefish are commonly caught on egi drifted down deep and close to the bottom. This is often achieved by adding weight to a conventional egi (squid jig). Some will just put a ball sinker on the line above the jig but a much better presentation

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is achieved by putting your egi on a paternoster rig. The rig is commonly drifted in the lower quarter of the water column in these channels and once a cuttlefish grabs the jig then a slow constant wind is all that’s required to secure the tasty prize. PRAWNS It is a tough prediction as to whether there will still be prawns around during May. Commonly the southern bay is where the action is at this time of the year however the huge amounts of rain received over the previous months has really messed with the usual movements of this species. I believe there will be some decent prawning action, however it may only last for a few weeks or so. The only way to know however is to get out there and have a look for yourself. Whilst relying on others to find the action is a good indicator, you should also venture to historically known areas such as Giants Grave, The Powerlines on the western end of Russel Island, The Salt Works, eastern end of the Lamb Island Channel, Jackson’s Hole, Redland Bay Channel, the main channel out from Jumpinpin and Rudy Maas

Marina plus other deeper holes throughout the southern bay to check it out for yourself. These areas are usually best an hour or two either side of the tidal changes when the prawns will lift from the mud and move. If nobody looks, then the prawn conglomerations won’t be found. The flats out from Nudgee may also produce at times but usually only prawn well early morning, especially on the higher tidal stages. The lower

reaches of the Brisbane River and Kedron Brook Floodway are also worth checking out. Hopefully the prawns will show as they are usually of a good size by this time of the year but are fickle creatures and it is hard to predict their movements. THREADFIN There should still be a few threadfin around in the Brisbane and Logan rivers however at this time of the year the populous tend to migrate upstream. Anglers

fishing from shore-based locations commonly get a few around the lighted areas at night. These are mainly caught on lures worked fairly close to the surface as the threadfin are preying on baitfish and prawns attracted to these zones by the light. Mulloway and occasionally tailor can also be caught around lighted areas well up the river, at least as far up as the St Lucia University. Live baiting along the declines

With higher levels of nutrients and increased baitfish presence in the bay and estuary, large predators like mulloway will be more common around the inshore waters.

into the main river basin, the mouth of Breakfast Creek, underneath the Gateway Bridge and numerous other spots along the river will likely reward. Live mullet, herring, banana prawns, pike and gar will all produce. SWEETLIP May is a good month to score a few sweetlip around the bay islands where the rubble and reef begins to peter out and the sand begins. Pre-dawn sessions with a rising tide are often the best but good numbers of these hard fighting and sweet tasting fish can be caught throughout most stages of the tidal phase. My preference is for fresh fillet baits from pike, mullet and bonito or banana prawns but they can be taken on numerous offerings including the staples of frozen mullet and pilchards. Fish baits lightly weighted yet on the bottom with a single hook buried in the bait with just the point proud. More finesse rigging with lighter fluorocarbon leaders will get you the most bites but will also decrease chances of landing quality fish. Sweeties will often head straight for structure after hook-up and bust-ups are common around the reefy areas. Sweetlip can

also be taken on smaller soft plastics and soft vibes but baits tend to produce the better numbers. Those out on the water and in position pre-dawn will often experience a flurry of bites just as the sun creeps over the horizon. CONCLUSION The fishing should be rather good over the coming months, especially in regards to snapper and other demersals that dwell around the artificial reefs and bay islands. The pelagic action is debatable but the eastern areas of the bay should produce a few school mackerel and longtails. Hopefully prawns will show for a few weeks or more and the squid will begin to come on, with the best bet in areas where the water clarity is good. It may take a little longer for the inshore areas to clear up and consistently produce good numbers of squid. The regular downpours and flooding of the last few months should do wonders for the winter fishery due to increased nutrient levels inshore which promotes healthy numbers of baitfish and other food sources. Hopefully the weather will be favourable so you can get out amongst the action soon.

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Southern

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Old favourites come to visit NORTHERN BAY

Tackle World Lawnton

What a crazy few months we have had? With Coronavirus on the lose, a major flood event thrown in the mix and limited good windows of fine weather – all added together it’s made a mess of our local fishing! However, it’s not all bad news. The start of the cooler months are always an exciting time of year as we get to see some of our favourite winter species stating to ramp up in numbers. Recently (about a month before you read this report), even with the on going effects of the rain we have

Fishing light is key to get the bite in the shallower waters as the water will generally be clear and the fish just as weary. Don’t be afraid to drop down to lighter leaders like 10lb or even lower to ensure a bite in these areas. Of course you’ve always got the chance of hooking a proper shallow water giant, giving you a fair likelihood of being busted off in the various structures. This always needs to be weighed up, whether you’d rather tempt more fish or ensure staying connected with a potential fish of a lifetime. Set those alarms early, as these fish are most comfortable in the shallows in low light periods. Also expect to run into a wide

Hayden Townsend with a nice bay snapper. large numbers of schooling bream around our estuary mouths. They are commonly targeted on bridges and other large structures. Sand flats, like Hayes Inlet, are other fantastic locations to rack

Franky Gilligan converting a hard bass bite using chatterbaits.

Working plastics around the inshore reefs should produce a few snapper. still seen good numbers of tuna moving through the northern parts of the bay as well as some fantastic bream scores coming from our estuary mouths. So moving forward we have plenty of good fishing ahead of us! BAY With the cooling temperatures we can expect to see one of our favourite winter species return, the humble snapper. It is expected that we will see a fantastic season with the large influx of nutrients to the bay from the recent flush. A key target area will be our shallow inshore reefs and rubble patches.

range of by-catch: bream, grassy sweetlip, flathead and grunter to name a few. Coming into the cooler months and with water cleaning up after the recent floods we will see good number of squid and there are plenty of landbased spots to chase them. Try along the foreshores of Brighton and Redcliffe with nightime and early mornings being a great time to chase them. You can also try along the local jetties – you’re in the right area if you see squid ink splattered along the path from anglers catching them the night before. Take a variety of different squid jigs

with you to see what they are taking at the time. ESTUARY We are getting much closer to the bream spawn, which means they should be aggressive and well fed at the moment! Expect to find

Bream will be actively feeding this month.

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MAY 2022

The finesse Kaishen Blades by Noike and beetle spin presentations have been working well in the dams.

up some bream numbers this time of year. Smaller crankbaits are often a solid choice due to their versatility, and being able to be fished on all structures. Expect to see good congregations of flathead in these same areas, feeding up on the schools of hardiheads and other baitfish species making their way into our estuaries. Not far behind these schools of bait we should start to see our first taste of tailor and mulloway for the cooler months. Although tailor and mulloway are generally small early in the season, they are still a mountain of fun, pulling lots of drag and in good supply. Whilst fishing during the day, keep an eye for bust ups on the surface that will likely be tailor chopping on bait schools.

Night fishos generally see a bit more success in our estuaries, fishing larger holes and structures that are likely to hold bait. Mulloway are often found directly under schools of tailor picking off the scraps. DAMS This time of year is often a tough time for our freshwater fishos, being the transition period from summer edge fishing to winter school fishing. Thermoclines will be inconsistent and bait will be on the move, generally slowing down the bass fishing for a short period. Even so, the quiet fishing means it’s not long until winter is in full swing and we can see those large schools of bass and large catch numbers starting to return again. In saying that, there are still plenty of fish out there to catch. As getting those bites might be a little harder, maybe try and finesse your approach up a little. Small gudgeon, like paddle-tails with a slow retrieve or even jazzed up as a beetle spin presentation is a good starting point. Also, smaller chatterbaits presentations like the Noike Kaishin Blades have been very popular – we have been getting some great reviews from our customers. • For more up to date information on fishing in and around Brisbane call into the guys at Tackle World Lawnton and they can point you in the right direction. The friendly staff at Tackle World Lawnton cater to all levels of experience and offer the widest range of brands at the best prices. They are located at 640 Gympie Road Lawnton (07) 3205 7475 or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

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Perfect offshore weather NOOSA

Peter Wells

Late autumn seems to be that great time of the year when wind conditions settle, and we can get offshore a little more often. It is also that change over time where we get the best of both worlds with the last of the pelagic run and the start of the great snapper fishing. On the offshore scene, the anglers that are prepared to do the big steam up to the Double Island reef systems have not been disappointed, this area really produces with some outstanding fish taken, including large pearl perch, snapper, Mauri cod, tusk fish, large cobia, amberjack, and some bigger snapper. On the pelagic front there were wahoo, Spanish mackerel and some good long tail tuna. To the south, Noosa anglers also did well with reefs like The Hards, Barwon Banks, and North

all reporting some great fish. Fishing floaters through a good berley trail has been the key. Make sure you have some extra pilchards on board for that reason. Cut small inch-long chunks and drop a few pieces to start then follow with one or two every couple of minutes, fish your bait through the trail to get the best results. Out of Mooloolaba, the local reefs have really been firing up with some solid coral trout taken on pillies and livies fished hard on the bottom as well as quality snapper and sweetlip. Even though the water has cooled a little we are still seeing a great run of Spanish mackerel in the 10kg and above range, always Having a pillie floater out on a 5/0 gang hook in a solid berley trail is going to get you into them if you are at anchor. If trolling using Halco Laser Pros, Rapala X-Rap and Nomad DTX minnow in a couple of colours and dive depths, this will help

to entice a strike. Reefs like Murphy’s, Coolum and the Gneerings have all seen some great mackerel. The river and estuary systems were popular with the start of the trevally and tailor runs. Anglers have been working the river mouths with smaller jigs and stick baits. Best times have been around the top of the tide first thing in the morning. The Jigpara range of jigs has been very popular with a lot of anglers opting for the 10g models to get that bit more casting distance. You will have to upsize you fluorocarbon with the sharp teeth of those tailor. Another option has also been the new 70mm Bassday Crystal Pops, these are a sinking popper with a cast weight of 10.5g, cast at left to sink and then retrieved at speed, they are very much a fleeing bait fish. In and around Noosa the run-out tide in the morning has been perfect for the flathead. These fish are in the shallows feeding on

Lester Spottswood with a mangrove jack from the Maroochy. smaller bait and warming their bodies in the shallower waters. Soft plastics are perfect for the job and pink is reported to be the best colour at this time. Cast upstream and slowly work the lure back with the tide, this will give a more natural look as the lure is moving with the tide. Another option has been prawn profile lures and the new Armour Prawn from Chasebait has been working a treat. The smaller 85mm size weighs in at 13g so has no problem getting to the bottom and with two-tow point it can be twitched or you can just glide it just off

small grub style lures has been the most effective. Winter whiting should be starting to show up over the next couple of weeks with areas like the Mouth Weyba Creek and the sand bars at the mouth of the Noosa River an excellent place to start. Fresh is best when it comes to winter whiting so freshly pumped yabbies are the number one bait. The Noosa River mouth has been firing, there have been quite a few herring around and these make perfect baits for those big mulloway and mangrove jack. Other live bait options

For mullwoay anglers the new moon has been the best time to hunt for them. Reports say there are plenty of fish on offer but only a few are making size. Fresh tailor is their chocolate so if you get a chopper take the side off him and use it as strip baits. Remember the best mulloway anglers are the ones that leave the rod in the rod holder. These fish tend to mouth the bait and an over excited anger will quite often pull the hooks free trying to hook the fish, better to wait until the fish runs and then set the hooks. Bream, whiting, and dart, continue to be found around

Coby Thomas with a solid tuna from out near the blinker.

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Justin Worth with a solid amberjack from the Barwon Banks. the bottom. Bream are also in good numbers as the waters cool, the bigger breeding fish are moving into the area to spawn so if you do catch a large one better to take a photo for the brag wall and let it swim free to reproduce, remember a 35cm fish may be over 20 years old. These crafty old fish have probably seen a hook or two in their lifetime so it is a good angler that can pick one up on a lure. Fishing the shadow lines of jetties and pontoons around the Noosa Sound with very lightly weighted prawns or

would be poddy mullet and large prawns. For the lure angler’s soft vibes are always a hit with the mulloway and the number one option is the Jackall Transams in the 20g size, these lures are a little more expensive but are a proven winner when it comes to mulloway and jack. On the beaches there are some reports of tailor starting to come through North of Teewah, again the fish are still around that chopper size with the odd bigger fish amongst them. Trevally numbers are also good with plenty of GTs on offer.

rocks and along the surf gutters. For whiting anglers to get the best from your baits, try using a Whiting Wacker rig. These two hook rigs are designed for light surf fishing and come fitted with 1/0 hooks, tinsel teasers and glow beads. • Don’t forget to check in to www.fishingnoosa.com.au for all the latest up to date info on fishing and bar crossings. The knowledgeable teams at Tackle World Noosa and Northshore Bait & Tackle at Marcoola can provide you with the right equipment, bait and advice to ensure success!

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OLD

Irresistible live baits BUNDABERG

Luke Truant

Over the last couple of months the weather has been pretty bad. This has been good for the fish, which have had a break from fishing pressure, but very frustrating for anglers. Unfortunately, we can expect more bad weather in the coming weeks, as May is traditionally a windy month. For that reason, I recommend making the most of every weather window that pops up. If you let the opportunity pass you by, you could have a long wait before the next one comes along. On a better note, May is when you can start having blinder sessions live baiting for XOS fish. I strongly recommend sourcing live bait on every trip you make in May. I would start at the end leads (the east cardinal mark out from Bundaberg), and drop your sabiki rigs down around there to catch some yellowtail. Grab the maximum amount of livies that you can keep alive in your tank. The yellowtail caught in May are usually small (around pilchard size), so use smaller hooks on your sabiki rig than you’d use in June/ July, when the yellowtail are bigger. Using small hooks on small yellowtail will decrease the time it takes to get your livies, and thus maximise your fishing time. Everyone hates wasting time untangling sabiki rigs, and getting stabbed by the hooks, but you can avoid all this by purchasing a hollow sabiki rod (approx. $60-$90).

You can pre-rig them at home, and when you find the bait just open the bail arm and you’re catching livies in the first five seconds. It’s the ultimate, if you ask me. If you want to see what it’s like, search for “sabiki rod” on YouTube. When buying one of these rods, make sure it’s long enough so the whole jig sits inside. To keep your yellowtail alive, make sure your live bait tank has sufficient flow rate, or the fish could die. I personally have never seen one that can have too much water flow. I use a Polymate live bait tank which is rectangular – a controversial live well shape, because it’s generally accepted that livies do better in a circle/oval

shaped tank. However, I have a very low death rate because of huge water circulation, which compensates for the rectangular shape. Don’t top be afraid to turn the flow rate right up on the outlet of the tank. If you have good flow, you can pack the livies right in. If one of your yellowtail does die, you can turn it into a butterflied bait. These dead baits work well, usually better than a pilchard will. The big fish love livies so much at this time of year that you need to bring as many as you possibly can. It will be easily your best large fish fishing for the year. In May I run a boat full of livies and don’t bring much dead bait because you don’t need it. At

A hefty red caught last autumn. These fish are taking livies with gusto.

A solid large-mouth nannygai (saddletail snapper) caught around this time last year.

cod are good on the plate, but when you’re catching one after the other, they will tire anyone out. Big gold-spot cod are susceptible to barotrauma, so they can need some help to get back down. The best way is to puncture their air bladder with a syringe, and attach a heavy release weight to get the fish to the bottom. I made a DIY release weight using dive weights and a 12/0 hook with the barb crimped down. I recommend hooking the fish in the centre of the top lip, as this position makes it very difficult for a revived fish to take off with the weight. At this time of year you can still catch extra-large grassy sweetlip in the 5kg+ range. The grassies can be found in deeper water than they were earlier in the year; they’re now in around 30-40m of water. I like the scattered reef/rubbly bottom areas for these fish. On your sounder screen, the

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Trout come in a wide range of colours and patterns. other times of year, I usually recommend half the boat using dead bait to get the fish picking and create commotion, with the other half of the boat using livies. However, often you don’t need any dead baits in May. In any case, nobody wants to be the person who

might miss out on catching a big fish! When using livies you can expect big red emperor and trout, but unfortunately, big gold-spot cod love livies, too. In May when the cod get their first taste of live baits, they just can’t help themselves. True,

rubbly stuff is normally just one or two pixels of colour on top of the sand. That’s your best chance to get away from the sharks, too. I never fish under 50lb braid in these depths. We use 55lb Schneider leader (I believe 55lb Schneider is the

equivalent of 80lb due to its abrasion resistance). I love 15kg rods with a soft action tip and a fairly heavy base. I’m not a fan of really light jigging rods for this kind of fishing, because they bend to the butt and don’t give the angler much leverage or lift. Jigging rods have their place, but it’s not here. Spanish mackerel should still be around in good numbers this month (provided we’re still allowed to catch them). There are plenty around the 10kg mark taking trolled lures, and you can also catch them on live baits. I always like to have a livie out the back for a Spanish when I’m targeting bottom fish. This surface livie could also attract an extra-large snapper. May is the month where you start catching big snapper on the surface, in water up to 50m. Every 8kg+ snapper I’ve ever caught has been off the top. May is traditionally a great month to catch mud crabs, and they were certainly going off their heads at this time last year. In my personal experience, most of the crabs in May come from in shallow water, i.e. a depth where your pots get close to drying. With all the mullet getting caught, there should be good mullet frames available for crab pot bait. • Truansea Charters specialise in 10-hour day trips chasing prized reef targets such as coral trout and red emperor, as well as arm-stretching pelagics like Spanish mackerel. The maximum number of anglers is 6, so you’ll never feel crowded. The price is $350pp (or $330pp if you book the whole boat), which includes all gear, fuel, bait, ice, chilled water/soft drinks and laughs! You’re welcome to bring your own reef fishing gear if you prefer. Other charter options include half-day reef trips, half day river trips and private guiding. To find out more visit www.truansea.com.au, or you can Like them on Facebook or call Luke on 0423 015 490.

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Central

OLD

Onset of cooler fishing MACKAY

Cameron Christian

May brings the onset of our short and mild winter and this change in conditions brings different species to the forefront of Mackay fishing. Before the conditions get too cold (for North QLD that is), summer species like barra, jacks and fingermark will still be available. These summer

species may be found in warmer areas like flats, rock bars and rocky headlands, particularly at the warmer times of day. Fishing these areas on the incoming tide after they have been baking in the sun on the low tide may lead to better success. Barra will become increasingly hard to find with lures however, and live baits will typically be the best option for a cool barra. Toward the end of May

Matt Richardson loves to work the flats for flathead on his 6wt fly rod but instead scored this beaut bream on a KD Flashy baitfish pattern.

these summer species usually become harder to fish and targeting winter species like flathead, mackerel, barracuda, snapper and queenfish may produce better results. Flathead should become prominent during May as the cooler weather is typically their breeding time. Large numbers can be caught around the flats in the Pioneer River and around Seaforth, but anglers should be cautious with what they keep as many can be found full of roe when filleting. When anglers aren’t fishing the flats, efforts may be focused on rocky headlands and inshore islands for species like mackerel, queenfish, barracuda and the beginning of the snapper run. Mackerel are often found in strong numbers around the Harbour, Slade Rock, and Round Top and Flat Top Island. As usual, anglers should be on the lookout for bird or people activity, both of which can be dead giveaways for feeding mackerel. If mackerel can be seen feeding on the surface, tried and true surface lures or metal slugs and spoons should be flogged at the schools for good results. Stealth can be key, as engine or boat noise can spook schools and drive

Mark Gifford with a nice Eungulla sooty caught by slow rolling a Berkley Hollowbelly through the treetops. them deeper in the water column. Anglers should plan their approach, keeping the wind to their back, cutting the engine well away from the school and casting lures as far as possible. When mackerel aren’t seen feeding on the surface they can be commonly found when trolling old, busted up barra lures like Tilsans, Halcos and Reidy’s around structure, such as pressure points, shallow areas, bommies and edges, anything the mackerel will be able to push bait schools up against. Bommies like those around Round Top can also be jigged with lures like slugs and large soft plastics for species like golden trevally, snapper and coral trout. The onset of cool conditions usually sees queenfish catches increase and to take advantage, anglers should focus on prominent structure like the bridges and trainer walls in the Pioneer River and inshore islands and rocky headlands like those around Seaforth and Eimeo. When bashing structure anglers should see plenty of queenfish caught on live baits or surface lures like Bombers, X-Raps, Reidy’s Bloopas, and Skitter Pops worked fast and erratically. The deeper sections of this structure should also be targeted with slugs sunk to the bottom and burned back, or by trolling divers. If schooling queenfish

are found, just about anything can be used including plastics slow rolled or hopped along the bottom. Late in the month, snapper, golden trevally and queenfish will usually show up in our waters on their northern migration. June normally sees snapper out off Mackay, but they will be around in the more southerly waters by the end of May. Targeting them around the islands and deeper reefs south of Sarina initially, with fresh or live bait should lead to success. Big plastic jerk baits and paddletails as well as vibes will also catch plenty once schooling snapper or schools of bait are found on the sounder. Species like snapper, queenfish and goldens will often sit in and under the bait schools and baits and lures should be presented accordingly. With the cooler water temps during May, crabbing becomes just that much harder to get a feed. High rainfall flushes the muddies out of the creeks and during May they gradually make their way back to the creek systems. They are not impossible this month but can be very patchy as the water temperature drops. Check the creek banks at low tide for recent crab activity and then set your pots nearby. It is a good idea to fish nearby so the pots can be regularly lifted and if not producing they can be shifted elsewhere. Fishing nearby also keeps the

William Swann with a nice queenfish as by-catch while targeting fingermark with live herring. 36

MAY 2022

pot robbers away. In the freshwater dams, barra will typically become hard work to catch, and as a result, the barra comps are put on hold. Persistent anglers can really enjoy the cooler times, but with the cooling weather affecting the rats more than the big fat barra leaving them with just enough effort to feed. Kinchant being the warmest dam will see slightly better conditions and most likely more catches. Whichever dam anglers are attempting elusive winter barra, searching for warmer waters, feeding barra and focusing on common bite times will increase results. Downsizing lures is also a good practice during the cooler times and increases the likelihood of sooty by-catch. Keeping barra sized line and leader is important when distracted by football-sized sooties in Teemburra or Kinchant, as monster barra love to inhale sooty sized lures. Sooties don’t worry about the cold conditions and will remain a staple for freshwater fishers both in the dams and freshwater systems. In the Dams, weed points, coves and edges can be successfully fished with small divers, soft plastics and hardbody vibes. Working these lures as slow as possible and pausing suspending lures where possible can really aggravate sooties. When the weeds die back and become hard to fish, the same techniques may be applied to the lily pad edges with great results. Sooties are also readily found in the timber with the treetops in the top water section typically producing the best results during sun rise and set. Always keep an eye out for roosting shags as sooties are almost always found lurking underneath waiting for an easy feed. When sooties can’t be found on the surface, deeper sections should be fished with divers and sinking lures, focusing on the dense structure provided by the treetops. Remembering the depth at which fish take or hit lures can allow anglers to capitalise on the feeding pattern for that particular day or weather condition.

OLD

Going light gets the bites TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

All the technology in the world, and the weather forecast is still way out. We were supposed to have lots of rain and cyclones

status. Jigs, vibes and plastics have been working extremely well, and just about every offshore fisho has been catching plenty of these tasty, hard-fighting beasties. They were almost non-existent for a couple of years, and then just

the shallower scenarios. In the shallower areas, lure anglers in particular are having fun using 30-40lb braid on PE 3-5 rods and 40-50lb leaders. Sharks are still in ridiculously high numbers though, and in the deeper areas, heavier

time of year. CREEKS AND RIVERS Most anglers chasing barra have been finding it a bit hard, with many live baiters saying that they haven’t caught a legal fish since open season. It’s not hard to understand, with the amount of netting that goes on around here, and our favourite creek has been decimated in recent months by the pros. Deeper holes have been the most productive locations, and both lures and livies fished around tide changes on the bigger runs have been working well. We’ve been walking creeks a bit, and there have been some nice fish sitting close to structure, which makes it interesting on the lighter outfits we employ to flick lures. Surface lures like the Halco Roosta Popper in the 80mm size work well

Teagan Kirby with a perfect eating-size Spaniard caught using a smaller profiled diver, not too far from shore.

It’s easy to get fixated on fighting a decent barra, but you must be mindful of crocs as the fight gets close to the bank. over the last couple of months, but the rain has nearly been non-existent here for months now. Rumour has it that

came out of nowhere. Everywhere from 10-30m of water has had plenty of them, so you can expect them to be on the menu

outfits are the only way to crank in fish fast enough to beat the bities. Mackerel have been plentiful in closer to shore. The Spanish are still showing up for lure trollers, and the doggies haven’t gone anywhere, which is surprising with the heat we’ve had recently. Though smaller on average, 6-10kg Spaniards are common at the moment, and lures in the 120-160mm size range are out-fishing the baits such as gar and wolf herring. The lesser known Halco Laser Pro 160mm, with a 7m bib, is one of my favourites for this

When the author uses lighter 20lb braid with 30lb fluoro leader, his strike rate doubles. However, he does lose the odd one.

Surface luring for barra is Tannhym Hodge’s latest addiction. This early morning barra smashed the lure at his feet and scared the heck out of him. something could blow up in the coming months, but we’ll have to wait and see I guess. Offshore the fishing has been nothing short of spectacular for many anglers, and after that nasty heat wave in February it just got better. The most noticeable appearance has been the massive schools of red-throat emperor (sweetlip). They haven’t been your average-sized fish either, with the majority hitting stonker

if you’re heading out. If you’re a bait fisho, they’re eating just about anything thrown at them. Over the last few months, lighter jigging outfits have been walking out the doors at The Fishing Warehouse, the shop I work in at Townsville. Traditionally, a reef outfit consisted of a big eggbeater or overhead reel, a broomstick rod and 80lb braid with 80lb leader. However, that is changing rapidly, particularly for

In the freshwater, sooty grunter are quite a common by-catch that always hit hard.

when slowly fished around the shallows, but when the surface activity slows, shallower hardbodies and soft plastics produce. Large flats areas hold some really big fish, and as the baitfish get nervous, it gives away the possibility that a big fish is nearby. When we notice this sort of behaviour from the bait, we cast past the activity, hold the rod tip down and crank the lure down a bit, and then allow the lure to float back up and twitch it as it rises. This usually gets the results for us, but sometimes when the fish are a bit skittish, a plastic works better. This often coincides with drier periods and the water clears up that bit more than usual. Lures with plenty of UV added to the mix get more of a positive response from the fish, and make

up the majority of our colour schemes nowadays. Increasingly hard to get, the Protec Powder coat which is added to the lead weight on jigheads and weighted EWG hooks is also a staple part of our arsenal. The addition of contrast is a proven technique to get more bites. Our favourite colours are pink, chartreuse, green and lumo. Plastic types and brands are a personal thing, and we have a few that are just consistent for us, though the rigging varies depending on the average size of the Fish and the environment we’re fishing in. For open areas a standard jig head configuration offers the best for the cleaner waters, but in snaggy areas the weedless hooks are the best bet without exception. 5/0 to 7/0 Atomic Seeker EWG hooks are without a doubt my favourites, and they’re as strong and sharp as you’ll find anywhere. Lower light periods are when we do most of our surface stuff, like early morning and late afternoon, then as the sun gets hit her the deeper we go. While there are exceptions to this rule, it’s pretty consistent. Up in the freshwater reaches there has been plenty of activity also, and the sooty grunter have been intercepting quite large lures meant for barra. Sooties are hard-hitting and rarely disappoint, and are a welcome bycatch when they make the mistake of eating a brightly coloured lure. As the weather cools a little bit more this month there will be changes in all of the mentioned fisheries no doubt, but to us that’s the fun – finding them. MAY 2022

OLD

Times are a-changing HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

After the hype of a big La-Nina year it has been a very poor wet season at the time of writing. Seems our big wet season has shifted further south down to the

their tucker in the last few weeks while adjusting to cooler water temps. Slow rolling imitation prawns into fish holding up in backwaters have been really working well, along with set baits of live mullet. While bites have been a bit tough, there has been a good variety of fish caught within the channel waters

channel have seen some extra large giant trevally cruising through the area. A client of mine hooked up an 115cm model that nearly spooled us and was called for a shark. But after a perseverance of 35-minute fight, we were all quite surprised when the GT broke to the surface. Sharks have still been an ever-present problem at the Lucinda Sugar Jetty and it seems like it’s getting worse year by year. If you manage to hook a decent fish, there is a 90% chance of it not making it to the boat whole. It worries me that the shark number issue will get to a level that it may be impossible to fix. Fingermark are also making an appearance back into their usual areas after the freshwater from the Herbert River earlier in the year pushed them further out to sea. Some mainland creeks

Despite the changing season, there is plenty to catch over the next month. near cardwell have produced some up around the 55cm mark caught on live baits. As waters start to cool further over May, the seasonal run of Spanish mackerel should start to head further inshore. Areas around the end of the Lucinda Sugar Jetty, near Pelorus and Eva Island are hotspots for them. If you are also able to, Barra might be hard to tempt as the weather cools, but Reece had no problems with this 85cm specimen.

Sam with a decent sized grunter. southeast corner of the state. Another bizarre difference was an oppressive heatwave, which lasted over two weeks followed by a cold change in the middle of March this year, which is abnormally early. This certainly has been playing havoc with both baitfish and inshore species at Hinchinbrook. Barra have been a bit off

itself. There have been stacks of grunter caught on the ledge drop off up near the Haven in the Hinchinbrook Channel and most are up there, size wise. The occasional threadfin salmon has been showing up on headlands into Missionary Bay, which is always a great surprise when chasing barra. Also into the mouths of most river systems within the

GT have been hanging around the river mouths.

there have been some good prawns along the beaches of late. During my last trips while castnetting for mullet along the foreshores near Meunga Creek, I had a good number of nice sized school prawns in every cast. Although, if casting anywhere along Cardwells foreshore be on the look out for a resident 3.5m crocodile that has been seen cruising the

coastline there very regularly. He has taken four dogs off the beach that I know of. • We still have spots available in July, August and September this year for charters so get in quick for the end of season build up to secure your spot now. You can email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone us on 0402 339 459.

Clean waters make good catches CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

May is typically a more stable month weather wise, which makes it ideal for fishing the Trinity Net Free Zone. The creeks and rivers are usually running clear and crisp as a result of the drier weather and smaller daytime tides. This is excellent news for lure fishers as clean water makes it easier for the fish to see their lures. The other good news is that water temps also start to fall, and they have certainly been scorching hot this year. When the water gets over 30ºC the fishing can be tough, and I really prefer that mid to high 20s when fishing in the creeks. May usually sees these temps fall into the optimum range, which can also be a big plus. The target species will be jacks and barramundi in most of the Net Free Zone Creeks. The Cairns Inlet has been fishing really well for barramundi with some great captures coming land based off the Marlin Wharf Pier. Live bait has been producing 38

MAY 2022

the best results for land-based fishers with mullet and flicking prawns working the best. For boaties, flicking suspending hardbodies and vibes around the deeper bends has been producing the better fish in the Inlet. Large paddle-

and threadfin salmon. The areas out the mouth of these creeks have also been giving up the bigger fish as well. This spot was once a very seasonal place to chase barra and threadfin but since the NFZ has come in, it is now fishing

drags are tight. If you want to fish sub surface then small paddle-tails like the Molix RT Shads in 3.5 and 4.5” are working well for these fish. Retrieving them on a slow roll is best and try not to twitch the lure too much as this can put the fish off. The other fish that will be slowly starting to hunt around in better numbers is the humble flathead. With the cleaner water around, working over the flats with small poppers or plastics is worth the effort. Big long casts over the sand is the best method with a

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

Flathead will be feeding hard on the flats. tails like the 140 Molix have also been finding barramundi casts amongst the artificial structure as well, especially at night when all lit up. Other systems in the Net Free Zone, like the Barron and Thomatis, have also been producing both barramundi

awesome all year round, which is terrific news. The smaller systems like Moon River have been producing the odd mangrove jack and barramundi. They love a surface lure in this shallow system so make sure your hooks are sharp and your

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

slow retrieve. Finally the mud crabs will be moving as well so it will definitely pay to be setting a pot or two even if you are only fishing for a small time. The big bucks will be moving so getting a feed this time of year shouldn’t be that hard. In closing, as the Governor of the Cairns Area Fish Stocking Group I would like to thank all those who helped out with the stocking of 4,000 barramundi across the Net Free Zone. These stocked fish do help to support our fishery and it’s great to see so many people coming to support the group.

OLD

Exciting times ahead PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

With the shift in the seasons, the coming period can be some of the best fishing in the tropics, both inshore and offshore. Water temperatures fall to an optimum and currents can change, which is a green light for action stations. Offshore on the reef, species that really hit their straps with these subtle changes include small mouth and large mouth nannygai. They tend to get really aggressive, schooling up together and often dominating proceedings. Some of our best charter results have occurred over the years at this time of season on these species and

they will power on from this point for quite a few months. It’s not only the nannygai that like the seasonal changes, as coral trout, red emperor, spangled emperor, reef mangrove jack, cobia and golden trevally will also pick up the pace in suit. The likes of pelagic mackerel, including Spanish, will increase their presence as the days go on as well. Providing the weather holds, it’s time to buckle in and enjoy the ride that’s coming up when fishing the outer reef. Coastally we’ve already seen a rise in activity from big 1m queenfish and some Spanish mackerel. With a bit of rain, bait is distributed along the coast enticing these highly exciting fish to come and feast as they like. Some of these bigger 1m queenfish will also venture

into bigger systems, like the Daintree River on an incoming tide to satisfy their hungry appetites where bait is also plentiful. Our river and estuary systems have thoroughly enjoyed the spoils of rainfall and rejuvenation of bait supplies. Of note, barra are rocking away feeding their bellies before the winter cold spell. Fingermark and mangrove jack are quite hyper along the banks, which hold structure such as fallen timber. In the channels we’ve seen an influx of solid mid-sized river trevally up to a few kilo and they have been very thick at times, providing lots of fun on light gear. Furthermore, javelinfish have been another noteworthy species fishing across the flats on a rising tide. There’s a lot to

There has been an increase in activity from queenfish recently. absorb and see within our calm water systems. The run of seasonal mud crabs coming ahead will only value add if you spend the

extra effort to pursue them. Once again all this optimism is based on that the weather can maintain its current pattern. Yes, we

anticipate some more rain in the next month or so but as long as it is not at an extreme level. It’s potentially a very exciting time ahead.

Red hot fishing at the top COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

As the change in season starts and with cooler months ahead, the red fishing has just ramped up. The red emperor fishing had been a little ordinary, but it just reached new levels with many trips leaving them biting as eskies became cramped

are extremely good when just pan-fried in a little butter, and you can add some garlic salt and squeeze of lime juice for additional flavour that really enhances these delicate fish. As I mentioned before, the fish have been very active and I’ve left them biting as we have had our fill. They are considerably large fish and it doesn’t take too many to fill the esky. Limits of nine nannygai, as well as five red emperor,

Despite the lack of flooding rain, mud crabs have been on the move. for space with these great table fish. Large mouth nannygai are also a welcome by-catch, and some very large cattle dog cod are showing up as well. The deep water fishing has been red hot and makes for a very successful outing and provides some beautiful quality eating fish. Red emperor, especially in the smaller size, are some of the best eating fish you are likely to taste in your life. Not that the large ones are bad, it’s just the smaller size have very soft texture and less blood line in the fillet. They

seem overkill when large specimens are being caught. Best to leave them for another day than trying to catch more and allow the spot to continue to produce in years to come. We are lucky that the fishing pressure here isn’t that much and large specimens are easier to find, but taking more than you need will simply drive large fish stocks down. The weather has been so good for the last couple of months but a change will be coming where the strong southeasterlies will return. June, July and August will see regular wind gusts of 30 knots and the thought of smashing your way out to the reef puts many people off. If you do make it out, the open fishing grounds are too rough to fish so only the sheltered locations on the reef can be accessed. The winter winds do a great job of keeping our fish stocks going as there is always a big drop in fishing pressure as the wind blows continually through the season. However, the winter winds do indicate the start of the dry season and venturing out into the Cape becomes possible.

Barramundi fishing can be great early in this period before the cold weather starts to shut them down. The wet season rains have not been that great this year as most went south and caused havoc along the SE Coast of QLD and Northern NSW. So, it will be interesting to see how this affects the barramundi fishing this year. There is always the chance that the rains will still come but the fishing will be more intense further down the river systems. If the rains don’t come, fish will be unable to reach up into the far upstream holes as easily and therefore would be more concentrated in the lower reaches. Anyway, hopefully the rain comes late. Easter rains may bring some flooding across the Cape, which will improve things greatly, but we will just have to see. There has been some

Recent trips have seen big numbers of red emperor captures. the decreased rainfall hasn’t been detrimental to the mud crab fishing. Nevertheless, crocs have been active as well and I have seen some large specimens up to 4m in length and one of my crab pots was absolutely smashed. I only had the rope and the upper ring left

Large cattle dog cod have been showing up in catches lately.

Rod Wawrzyniak with a large mouth nannygai.

rain, but not the flooding rain. However, crabs have been on the move and some quality captures have resulted in great feeds of chilli mud crab, crab and corn soup and crab omelettes to boot. So, at least

on it as the mesh and bottom ring was completely removed and top ring was straightened. Crocs have so much force I’m sure it was entangled in the pot and used its strength to escape drowning, but it was

impressive the force that it would have taken. Anyway, new pot purchased for next time but I do prefer my metal pots than mesh pots for this reason but mesh pots are so easy to store and transport. I use a combination of both but metal pots would be my preference for standing up to a croc attack. Queenfish and trevally schools have been active in the river. They are lots of fun on the run out tide with them actively feeding. They are an easy target for a small popper or slug thrown into the mayhem and it doesn’t take long before the explosion from the water as a skinny flies through the air as it smashes the popper. Great fun for the kids and the activity usually lasts a while and everyone usually gets a chance to land a fish, so much fun! That’s all for now and I’m off to see if I can travel to one of my favourite barramundi spots for this time of the year so stay tuned for next issue and hopefully there will be some nice photos of some quality bucket mouths to show next time. MAY 2022

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Cleaning rivers, clearing skies CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

At the end of autumn, May is a fantastic month to visit and reside in Cape York. It’s a great time to travel with roads generally graded and creeks normally running, the landscape will be green and vegetation alive. May is one of the most consistent months fishing wise. With a huge cross section of blue water, inshore and estuarine possibilities, fishers will be hoping for some consistent weather. For May, this usually means 10-15 knot sou’easterly winds with calm, clear mornings. Early starts and long mornings usually lead to the best fishing, followed closely by the late afternoon bite.

George with a typical top end jack. Having more stable dry season weather patterns emerge will have a settling effect on most species. Inshore reefs will normally fish very well, with cleaner water making them a

Autumn is a splendid time to spend the day chasing queenies.

Stable weather conditions make for pleasant fishing days, especially when fly fishing. Water temperatures up the Cape are usually perfect throughout May for barramundi and most estuarine species. Some of the hotter bites found earlier

in the year with barra and threadfin salmon might have passed. As schools of prawns and baitfish make their way out into the Gulf of Carpentaria, the predators

left behind will start moving into their dry season haunts. This will be mostly up rivers and creeks rather than out in the bays and shallow beaches.

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Justin fought hard for this tidy Spaniard. pleasure to fish. Some of the deeper sections of estuaries such as gutters, junctions, rock bars and gouged-out snags should be holding fish. Finding barra congregating in these places can lead to some of the best fishing all year. Get the barra chewing and jumping and scores can come quickly. East Coast systems quite often lack these deeper features, except for some of the larger rivers at the bottom of Princess Charlotte Bay. Anglers need to get in tune with fish movement in shallower systems. The same deeper features will work well on incoming tides as bait streams in. Bit windows will be short and sharp as predators follow the train of food upstream. The reverse will happen on the outgoing tide. Before things shut

and side scan technology. Modern technology can greatly aid fisherman in locating schooling fish and actively target them both in structure and out in the open. For example, vibing sunken banks might be a frustrating experience when fished blindly. Knowing the depth and position of holding fish can lead to less lost gear and much better conversion rates. With a little fresh water still coming down the larger systems, fishing upstream sections will be productive throughout May. Concentrating on the head and tail sections of the larger pools help narrow down focus. Structure causing blockages in current, such as rock bars and sunken timber

Max had a productive day on the water catching fingermark. down temporarily on the low. Those larger systems which hold permanent deeper features might require the use of depth sounders aided by down

will create pressure edges in front of current flow. This is where many of the larger barramundi are taken each year and May is a prime month to make it happen.

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Slow fishing due to the unsettled weather

course we aren’t flooded yet again. Fishing options have been limited over the last couple of months

and anglers are looking at locations outside their normal waterways. The floods may slow things down in the major bodies

of water but it does allow fish movement. Some will head into the running waters and others will go with the flow over the dam and weir walls. This creates new opportunities and as the waters clear, the bites in such spots can be red hot. The flowing oxygenated water in these spots seem to produce way better than the still water found in the dams. Be sure to follow rules regarding access and prohibited zones around dam and weir walls. You’ll find these regulations online in Queensland Freshwater Fishing Regulations. While the South East has had a lot of focus on it with the rain, waters in the Burnett region and further north have been less affected. Here barra and sooty grunter will still be willing to chew in their respective waterways. If you are struggling to find fish on

size and bag limits. On a different note, if you are chasing a feed, the redclaw crayfish have been thick. • Fish’n’Bits in Toowoomba has all the gear and tips on how to chase the Cressy fish. They are an excellent store specialising in all freshwater lures and tackle. From May 1, shorter hours apply and the gates will be open from 7am to 6pm. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Somerset water is still quite dirty. Continuing rain isn’t helping with allowing it to clear up. Few reports have made their way to me but it sounds like the fishing is very tough. The dam level has dropped back to its old level prior to flooding so there wasn’t any freshly flooded country to fish. In a way, this is a good thing. Less dying grasses will keep the water quality better; it just needs to clear up. As a result, the edges of the dam don’t

appear to be fishing well. Schooling fish have been hard to find but I have a feeling this will change as a stronger thermocline develops. Look for schooling fish around Poly Pipe Point (northern side of Bay of Plenty), Brads Bank and Pelican Point. Hopefully they bunch up and the water starts to clear this month. I have had some awesome sessions in this lake when the water still has a bit of colour in it. Ideally, you want at least 50cm of visibility for

successful luring. If you drop in a few redclaw crayfish pots, you won’t be disappointed. Although the water level dropped back, they will still be more active than normal in the stained, nutrient rich waters. Try different depths until you work out where they are most plentiful. The stretch of water below the dam wall will fish well. Check the SEQ Water website to ensure there are no major releases before dropping a kayak in below Somerset wall. The

TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

The unsettled weather has continued and we have now had a couple of big rain events to stir things up in South East Queensland. As I write, some weather models predict more. If these eventuate expect the fishing to be tough and slow. The first major system was some time ago and the month long gap before the next big downpour allowed us a bit of time to gauge what we were in for as far as fishing goes on ours lakes. The action was steady but it isn’t all doom and gloom. Some dams were producing reasonable fishing and follow up rain events were nowhere near as impactful. While I write, some dams are still overflowing and closed to recreation

Cressbrook is a magic lake when it is full. The fish are spread out so be prepared to explore. activities but based on what happened after the previous bigger flooding event they will be open for fishing through May; that is of

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Fishing has been tough but after filling this is a dam worth visiting just for its beauty. The flooded grassy banks and old weed beds have dyed back and depleted oxygen levels in these areas should improve soon. As a result, the fish just aren’t as active. The rise in level spread them out but the water cleared quickly and a thermocline developed around 3-4m deep. This is where most of the action has been taking place. With fish spread out, lure trollers have fared well. Smaller shallow divers have produced with the old school Tilsan Bass being a standout. Some of these scattered fish have been fooled when casting blades baits and spoons but they are hard to find

in good enough numbers. Despite the water quality not being ideal, fish will still venture in to the shallows for short periods of time. Finding areas, which have better water quality can be the key. The short grassy flooded banks below the camp ground and picnic area, Deer Island, The Eagles Nest, steep edges and up the back of the major creeks and bays should all be prime spots to take a look. These fish are falling for suspending hard bodies, spinnerbaits and Spectre Vibration Jigs. While a lot of these fish are small, the shallower water can hold some very good quality bass to 50cm long. Bass have dominated catches but there has been an increase in the number of golden perch caught. Some of these fish are quite small and it’s a great sign for the future. If you are keeping them, check the

your home turf a road trip will be worthwhile. The barra action should still be reasonable allowing the average angler a good chance of boating a few. The unsettled weather and lower air temperatures have made the barra trickier to work out this year. If you miss this month, don’t rule out a winter fishing trip as the water temperatures will drop and strong thermoclines disappear. This can drive the barra into particular areas and see them holding in better numbers. To all those affected by rising waters I feel for you. I only hope that after all the stress and hardship faced you are able to get back to enjoying the simple things we all appreciate. Get out and bang a few fish or just sit back and enjoy nature while watching our calmer waters. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel. golden perch and bass numbers in this stretch should be excellent after the dam releases. • 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.

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MAY 2022

Karen Ehrlich managed to find a big Cressbook bass. This fish ate a deep suspending hardbody.

OLD

Golden perch around legal size are very plentiful. In just a few months there has been a noticeable size increase in these fish as they feed up. Jigging small

blades like the ZX40 is one of the best ways to tempt these fish and double figure tallies are quite common. This will continue to be the best approach. Trolling hard bodies will slow down as the water cools but you

will still encounter a few if you slow troll a lipless crankbait. Working 3-5m of water will see you in the right zone. Bait fisher can also get into the action. Live shrimp and frozen

saltwater yabbies are great baits. Golden perch will dominate catches but there is a chance of cod, eel-tailed catfish and silver perch. Please watch bag and size limits while the fish are chewing.

• The local blokes at Warwick Outdoor and Sport in Palmerin Street can point in you in the right direction and hook you up with the good gear and bait to catch the fish at Leslie.

been fishing tough but it is one of the few places that has remained open and fishable over the past couple of months. The bass and golden

perch have been caught all around the dam’s main basin and both arms. They are scattered and holding in small schools in 3-5m of water but don’t seem to like biting here. Searching for nearby

fish, which break away from the school and move up in to the shallows to feed seems to get more action. Hopping small blades down the nearby points is a great way to fool these fish.

Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, suspending jerkbaits and lipless cranks can all trick them as well. Things will change up a bit as the water cools but keep last month’s successful methods in

mind as a starting point. Hopefully the cooler temperatures appeal to the deeper schooling fish and they start chewing better. It would be worth showing them a soft plastic or spoon.

the art of keeping the lure close to the weed without fouling it up will get you more bites. Deeper fish will be less affected by sudden temperature changes. Trolling randomly while searching and casting to good patches of fish found can work well. The open water area out in front of the dam wall and mouth of Iveragh Creek is definitely worth a look. When trolling, try 3-5m divers. Lures like 5m Scorpions, Predatek Vipers, and 3 and 5m Barra Classics will get them biting if you pull the lure through a patch of hungry fish. Casters will need to do a lot of work to locate the better shows and then tempt them with jighead rigged soft plastics or pre-rigged swimbaits. • 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.

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 Big barra from this lake just get me drooling and wanting more. There have been plenty of 110cm plus barra caught with numbers of 120’s thrown in over the last couple of months. Don’t expect it to be easy but the rewards are great. The average fish is over 1m long and this is a great lake for boats, kayaks and even shore-based fisher. Trolling is very effective on Callide. The barra like to spread out in the middle of the dam and trolling covers heaps of water to help improve your chances. Hardbodies, like

DARLING DOWNS AND GRANITE BELT LESLIE CLOSEST TOWN: WARWICK It keeps raining and spilling but the dam just seems to keep producing. BURNETT REGION BOONDOOMA CLOSEST TOWNS: PROSTON, KINGAROY Boondooma Dam has CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE I know it’s not spring or summer. They seems to be the months people flood to Awoonga but slowly the masses are learning barra can be caught all year round. My most memorable session on this lake was off the full moon and in May. The spread out barra from the summer months can congregate a little more. We should see fish back up in the weed beds in good numbers and another bunch holding out in the open water around the stronger thermoclines and bait congregations. Casting soft plastics and suspending hard bodies around the weeded edges will produce the goods throughout the day and at night. Locating fish cruising the edges on the sounder can boost numbers caught especially late in the afternoon and at night when

It’s jumper time again but water core temperatures will hold their warmth for some time yet. Fishing deeper when air temperatures are cold can pay off. This Callide barra was holding 3m below the surface. had best results on the Zerek Live Mullet when the barra are high in the water column and more willing to feed. This is often the case early in the morning as the sunrises and can continue until around 9 or 10am. The dam wall end holds plenty of deeper, open water fish. As you venture back up to Pelican Point, you will notice submerged trees on either side of the river. These trees mark the drop off and

the barra love to sit in them. A suspending hardbody, like a Jackall Squirrel, Samiki Redik or Lucky Craft Pointer will get them to chew when they are in the mood. Next trip, I am keen to sacrifice some deeper weedless rigged soft plastic presentations to see if they can get more bites when the fish refuse to rise to hard bodies. Don’t dismiss trolling and casting in the deep water around the trees. You will need to pick your spot though

AWOONGA GATEWAY LODGE

Barramundi are still a great option this month. If you are worried about the dirty and full lakes in the South East, head north. This one ate a Molix Shad 140 in Monduran Dam. they seem to patrol more. During the day, put the electric down and start working banks until you get a bite or find something good enough to stop on. Plastics buzzed through the tops of weed beds or wound back from the base of them will be effective. It can take a while to learn the weed formations and is a little frustrating at times keeping your lure weed free but worth the challenge. Once mastered,

He successfully guides clients onto fish right through the year and has a good understanding of fish movements. It is hard to 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

the 3m Barra Classic, work at times, especially at night. Soft plastics are reliable performers but you will need to present them at the correct depth. A big cast and 3km/h troll speed will see a Zerek 5.5” Live Mullet swimming around 6-9ft deep. The same speed with a Molix 140 will see it around 10-15ft. The Molix 180 can be sent down closer to 20ft. Between these three plastics you will have all bases covered. I have

“ Right on Awoonga’s doorstep. All set up for fishos, with tranquil surroundings. “

to avoid lure losses. • You can stay close to the dam at Lake Callide Retreat. The park has basic camping, powered sites for camping and vans and also self-contained cabins. There is a wellequipped 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.

k pin a a rr ch Cat ed Ba 00! g tag in $20 to w

• Minimum 3 night stay • BBQ areas • Saltwater pool www.awongagatewaylodge.com awoongagateway@bigpond.com MAY 2022

Sustainability of popular silver trevally stocks MELBOURNE

Ross Winstanley

During 2019, teams of fisheries scientists around the country conducted the fifth in a series of assessments of major Australian fish stocks. Among those covered in the Status of Australian Fish Stocks 2020 report were species taken by commercial and recreational fishers in two or more states. These included assessments of popular coastal and offshore trevally species: • Pseudocaranx georgianus, silver trevally • Pseudocaranx wrighti, skipjack trevally • Pseudocaranx dinjerra • Pseudocaranx dentex

the main species taken commercially in most jurisdictions. Other species tend to be more common off certain states: P.wrighti occurs widely, from Victoria to WA, and P.dingerra occurs only off WA. The SAFS report records P.dentex as “only present in Queensland”, however, other sources, such as Fishbase record this species as white trevally, occurring in subtropical and temperate waters in both hemispheres. In Australia, it occurs around to WA’s North West Cape. Around Australia, these ‘silver trevallies’ are known as skipjack or skippies, silver bream, white or blue trevally, among other common names. While one or two species predominate in catches,

Fig.1 illustrates the parallel record of catches from the two commercial fisheries over just part of their downward trajectories. Records show that combined catches rose from a low level in 1960, to average 1300 tonnes in the late 1980s. Note that, adding to fishing’s impact on the stocks, silver trevally are subject to high rates of post-capture discarding and release, owing to commercial marketing preferences and prescribed minimum size limits. New South Wales With evidence of a single P.georgianus species, the stock supporting NSW’s commercial fisheries once yielded annual catches of above 1000 tonnes. But since the 1980s, catches have

There is a complex array of silver trevallies around Australia. Photo courtesy of Gary Bell, OceanwideImages.

From southern Queensland to central Western Australia, silver trevallies fisheries are based on “a complex of species”, with the predominant or mix of species fished varying from state to state. Trevallies are taken by angling in all states, spearfishing in NSW and Tasmania, and by recreational seine and gillnets in Tasmania. They are taken by most of the wide range of gear and methods used by commercial fishers: trawl, Danish seine, haul seine, hook, trap and gillnet. To supplement the information on these species in the SAFS report, additional information on recreational catches has been taken from state surveys of recreational and charter fishing. THE ‘SILVER TREVALLIES’ COMPLEX There is a complex array of ‘silver trevallies’ around Australia. The most commonly seen by anglers from NSW to WA is Pseudocaranx georgianus, which is assumed to be 46

MAY 2022

with so much potential for confused identification, the bottom line is that most recreational and commercial catch records list them as “silver trevally” or “trevally”. For example, the 2000-01 National Recreational Fishing Survey avoided the confusion around identifying and naming trevally species and combined silver trevallies with the various tropical trevallies, simply reporting them as the “trevally” species group. The SAFS report takes a similar simplifying approach, presenting ‘silver trevally’ sustainability information at state and Commonwealth fisheries jurisdictions separately. SILVER TREVALLY Recreational fishers will find it puzzling to see the contrasting conclusions reached on the state of silver trevally as assessed under Australia’s two major trevally fisheries: the NSW combined commercial and recreational fisheries, and the Commonwealth-managed commercial trawl, hook and gillnet fisheries.

declined steadily, to their lowest point in 2019 – 42 tonnes. The introduction of recreational fishing havens, marine parks and the 30cm legal size have played some part. However, the overall decline in catch rates and the diminishing proportion

of large fish in catches emphasise the impact of sustained fishing pressure – off NSW and elsewhere – in depleting the trevally stock. Recreational catches of silver trevally have paralleled the declines measured in the commercial fisheries. Estimates have fallen from 87 tonnes in 2000/01, to 27 tonnes in 2013/14, and eight tonnes in 2017/18. There is no good news in the SAFS report, which states that current levels of fishing pressure “are expected to prevent the stock recovering from a recruitment impaired state”. Worse still, in 2020 the NSW TAC Committee declared that the silver trevally stock was “Depleted below a biologically safe level”. Based on substantial evidence and assessments, the silver trevally in NSW waters is classified as a “depleted stock”. Commonwealth fishery During the mid to late 1980s, the Commonwealth trawl and gill net fisheries annually landed 1200 to 1600 tonnes of ‘trevally’ annually, assumed to be silver trevally P.georgianus. In the decade to 2001, commercial catch rates suffered a “rapid decline”, approaching the level representing the stock at 20% of its original unfished level or biomass. Since then it has fluctuated close to that level. Since 2013, catches have not exceeded 15% of the annual Total Allowable Catches set for the fishery. After recent TACs were gradually reduced, reaching 292 tonnes for 2019/20, the catch for that year was just 21 tonnes. With all the above in mind, recreational fishers may be surprised that, under the applicable criteria, factors and terminology, the SAFS report found that “the stock is unlikely to be

depleted”. It found that the available evidence points to classification of silver trevally in the Commonwealthmanaged fisheries as a “sustainable stock”. Queensland Due largely to species identification issues, neither recreational nor commercial

the 1990s, state landings totalled less than 100 tonnes and declined further from 2001 as commercial licence numbers in the bays and inlets were reduced under a buy-out program, funded from Recreational Fishing Licences. Over a period of 20 years,

Sixty years of commercial fishing have had a significant impact on silver trevally stocks. Photo courtesy of Kevin Rowling. catches of silver trevallies are reported separately to the other trevally species in Queensland records. The SAFS report considers it “unlikely that the combined commercial and recreational catches exceeded 10t in 2019”. With insufficient evidence to conclude otherwise, silver trevallies in Queensland waters are classified as an “undefined stock”. Victoria After 1991, Victoria’s Bass Strait commercial gill net fishery moved from a state to a Commonwealthmanaged fishery. Until then, this fishery accounted for most of the state’s trevally landings, totalling more than 200 tonnes annually. Through

Trevallies are popular among anglers and spearos. Photo courtesy of Jordan Hill.

there have been several commercial fishing licence buy-outs, culminating in the 2020 closure of net fishing in the Gippsland Lakes. These have had the effect of reallocating access to silver trevally (and other bay and inlet fish) to the recreational fishing sector. With the closure of the Gippsland Lakes commercial fishery, Corner Inlet retains the last continuing seine net fishery, taking 70% of the state’s 44 tonne catch recorded for 2019/20. Unfortunately, the only estimate of Victorian recreational catch of ‘trevally’ was 37 tonnes, taken in 2000/01, before the buy-outs began. Recent above average catch rates in the inlet fisheries indicate that “there are no local signs of depletion”, or that the stock’s spawning potential is impaired. A 2019 assessment observed that, while the stock “might be depleted” at a national level, fishing in Victorian waters is unlikely to be a major factor. All the evidence leads to the classification of silver trevally in Victorian waters as a “sustainable stock”. Tasmania Four estimates of annual recreational gillnet and line catches since 2000 have ranged between two tonnes in 2012/13 and nine tonnes in 2017/18. Silver trevally are caught as a by-product of commercial gillnet and beach seine fishing. With the highest catch, eight tonnes, recorded in 1998, the

2018/19 catch of four tonnes was in line with the average over the previous 10 years. Under this low level of catch and fishing effort, the stock is considered “unlikely to be depleted” and under no threat of spawning ‘impairment’. On this basis, silver trevally in Tasmanian waters are classified as a “sustainable stock”. South Australia The 2013/14 recreational fishing survey estimated the

catch by anglers as 57,000 fish, with an estimated total weight of 15 tonnes, up from 12 tonnes in 2007/08. This ranks alongside the commercial catches by the multi gear/method/species Marine Scalefish Fishery in which trevallies are mainly by-catch species, ranging between four and 22 tonnes annually, during the past 20 years. The commercial catch in 2018/19 was five tonnes. The SAFS assessment noted that the stock is

“unlikely to be depleted”, and under no threat, from fishing, to its spawning capability. On this basis, silver trevally in SA waters were classified as a “sustainable stock”. Western Australia Recreational private and charter catches of silver trevally have trended down, from 32 tonnes in 2011/12, to 15 tonnes in 2017/18, taken mainly from the West Coast Bioregion. The

SPECIES LIMITS State Queensland Family Carangidae

Size limit

Daily bag limit

–

20 combined

NSW Silver trevally All other trevallies

30 cm –

10 combined

Victoria All trevallies

20 combined

Tasmania All trevallies

SA All trevallies

24cm

20 combined

WA All trevallies

25cm

Current daily recreational catch limits around southern Australia. Note 1: additional fishing restrictions, apply in some states.

2017/18 survey of boat-based recreational fishing found that silver trevally were the sixth most commonly retained fish taken by WA anglers, as well as having a release rate of 40% or more. Historically, since 1975, most annual commercial catches were below the estimated Maximum Sustainable Yield (66 tonnes). More recently, most silver trevally have been taken as a by-catch by commercial line fishing, with annual catches ranging from two to 10 tonnes since 2008. As in other states,

Fig 1. Part of the decline in commercial catches of silver trevally from NSW and Commonwealth managed fisheries.

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assessments indicate that current levels of fishing are unlikely to deplete the stock or to lessen its spawning capability. On the available evidence, silver trevally in WA waters is classified as a “sustainable stock”. Note that the 2000-01 National Recreational Fishing Survey estimated the recreational catch of “trevally” to be 249 tonnes, reflecting the prominence of tropical trevallies in the state’s recreational fisheries. NATIONAL REPORTING The Status of Australian Fish Stock Reports are a

series of assessments of the biological sustainability of a broad range of wildcaught fish stocks against a nationally agreed reporting framework. The two-yearly reports examine whether the abundance of fish and the level of harvest from each stock is sustainable. Definitions of “sustainability” and quoted passages in this article are taken from the SAFS 2020 Reports. More details about the status of Australian fish stocks are available at – www.fish.gov.au/reports

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Sydney

NSW

Pittwater is perfection PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Yet another month is behind us, and we can all forward to the changing species that will be available in the near future. This next month will see a few kingfish still being caught, but the colder water species should start moving along Pittwater chasing baitfish, causing a lot of excitement with the surface activity. These pelagic species generally show themselves first thing in the morning or at the change of tide in Broken Bay. The species that should be active will be (if we are lucky) some bonito, tailor, salmon and the odd kingfish as well. All of these species can be caught by casting small metal lures in the 5-20g size range, depending on their mood on the day, and the size of the baitfish they are chasing. Using light tackle will see longer casts, but it’s important not to cast blindly into the feeding melee. Instead, try casting to the edge of the bust-ups. Casting to the edge is very important when the predators are chasing their

prey, as you will be putting your lure in harm’s way a lot more often. It is also very important to match the size the baitfish that they are chasing, or at least come close to it, as this will quite often see more hits on your lures. Tailor of course are a species that seem almost suicidal on a lot of occasions. They will pounce on most things moving through the water, and their sharp teeth make a mess of soft plastics and seagull feet. The surface activity attracts a lot of species that are bottom-dwellers, and these too can be targeted either by allowing your lures to sink to the bottom before retrieving, by using micro jigs or by simply using a paternoster rig and a couple of pieces of bait. Over the many years of being a charter operator, I have found all of the above to work on most occasions, and they will catch flathead, flounder, bream and if you’re lucky maybe even a jewfish or two. You don’t have to have fancy baits or even live baits – just squid strips, fish strips, whitebait or even prawns can work as well.

With all the surface activity happening right in front of you it can be easy to hinder the boat next to you. Please make sure that you give other boats some space to cast and enjoy themselves. If everyone does this for the boat next to them, everyone will have some fun. There are some large squid that can be caught on Pittwater but it seems you have to try the weed beds that have a drop-off. Along the drop-offs are where most of the larger squid will be caught. Some of the better areas are Palm Beach weed beds, Careel Bay, Morning Bay and Mackerel Beach. For those of you wanting to chase kingfish along Pittwater there are still some to be caught, but you have to find the correct bait first.

Once a kingy is caught, it’s smiles all around. The ideal bait at this time the year is live cuttlefish, which can be caught along the rocky sections along Pittwater using

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to cover ground and to slap the fish in the face once found on your sounder. The areas to try for a large kingfish are around Scotland Island, Longnose Point through to Soldiers Point, and the Palm Beach area. Just remember that these fish are not as active as they were in the warmer water, so you have to drop your live baits a lot closer to the target. This also means that we use a shorter drop back of the downrigger weight so they can’t get out of the sluggish target. The better colours are the natural colours of greens, browns and blues. The best size to use seems to be the 2.5 jigs with an aggressive retrieve. Drifting one area for 10 minutes should be more than enough time to sight any squid if there are any to be caught in that area. Along our coast there are some decent fish to be caught off the bottom, including snapper, flathead and morwong just to name a

few. The flathead and snapper seem to be on the sand at the moment in the 50-60m of water, and I’m pretty sure in the next couple weeks that they will start to move out into the deeper water around 80m. There are still a few kingfish being caught in close along our coastline, but this will change soon as those fish that are ready will start to migrate out to deeper water to spawn. Most of the other fish seem to move further north chasing the warmer water and baitfish. As you can see, there are still plenty of fish to be caught but some patience and luck will be needed, along with a few different plans to make the outing a successful one. I hope this report gets you excited and hopefully we’ll see you on the water in the coming weeks. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

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small squid jigs in the 1.8-2.0 sizes whilst being fished no more than a metre off the bottom. These ink machines are not only difficult to catch and land but are also usually in areas that like to take your favourite squid jig. My suggestion to everyone who wants to fish these rocky areas is to use a heavier leader so you have a chance to get your snagged lure back. Quite often cuttlefish will be seen before they’re caught and this is amongst the shallows as previously mentioned in the rocky areas. If you are not willing to let your lures sink close to the bottom, don’t bother trying to catch cuttlefish. Over the years I have found that they don’t like being more than a metre away from the bottom. Once these the link machines have been caught, the best way to target kingfish with them is on the downrigger

Big squid are quite aggressive and will chase your lure.

Recreational Fishing Update Go Fishing On Your Research Angler Program’s Record Red! Fisheries Research Angler Program received a Favourite Fishing Charter! DPI very significant snapper frame donation from the

Autumn is a great time to jump onboard a charter fishing experience right across NSW. The many estuaries, inshore and offshore marine environments really start to come alive with quality fishing opportunities for many species from bream right through to broadbill swordfish. The NSW licenced charter boat fishing fleet is an excellent way of getting amongst the action. While it is possible to catch some of these species from the shore, licenced charter fishing operators have the right boats, experience and expertise to put you in the right place at the right time using quality gear and bait to make your fishing adventure one to remember. To find your great fishing experience on board a licensed charter go to the DPI website and search “Go Charter Fishing In NSW”.

South Coast Drop Off Location Added To The Research Angler Program!

south coast. In a recent collection of frames from the Illawarra area, one of the reds donated was a 68cm fish aged at a staggering 40 years old! With the fish aged at 40 years old this means it was born in 1981! Not only is this fish the oldest aged for the RAP, but it is also the oldest snapper aged from NSW waters. Prior to this donation, the oldest snapper aged by DPI researchers was a 71cm fish from Coffs Harbour that was estimated to be 38 years old. It is also equal to the oldest known snapper aged in Australia; a 40-yearold fish caught of Western Australia. From the frames donated by keen anglers to this program, the five oldest snapper have all come from the Illawarra area (see graph). This slow growth rate in reds from the South Coast has been demonstrated in many of the samples NSW DPI have collected in the program. Typically, snapper from northern NSW will have a faster growth rate and measure much longer for their age when compared to these southern fish.

Exciting discoveries such as this show that any frame donated to the RAP could provide interesting new data on your favourite species and better help us manage them into the future. If you are interested in learning more about the RAP or getting involved, got to the DPI website and search “Research Angler Program”. The RAP is another example of your fishing licence at work. to find out interesting biological information about your fish but also gives you a chance to win one of five fantastic $50 fishing tackle vouchers in our monthly prize draw! To find out more on the program, and the drop off locations head to DPI website and search “Research Angler Program”. The RAP is another example of your licence fees at work.

How To Maximise Fish Survival!

Ocean Hut Compleat Angler Narooma is the latest tackle store to jump on board the Research Angler Program (RAP) as a drop off location! If you are interested in donating a fish frame to the RAP and either live or holiday in the Narooma area, drop in and see Darryl and his staff and they will happily accept your donations. DPI Fisheries would be very keen to hear from those anglers that visit Montague Island for its renowned kingfish fishery and are interested in learning more about their catch. The RAP now has 32 participating locations right along the NSW coast where you can donate your frames. If you want to get involved, all you need to do is donate the frames (or skeletons) of mulloway, snapper, kingfish, dusky flathead, blue spot flathead, pearl perch or spotted and Spanish mackerel, after you fillet fish for the table. Each frame you donate to the RAP you not only get

Catch and release fishing is an increasingly popular practice among many anglers. It is quite common for fishers with a strong conservation commitment to release fish that they could legally keep.

Bag and size limits, closed seasons and locations and protected species, all require some certain fish species to be released, so you need to be prepared. Our top tips to maximise fish survival are: • Reduce deep hooking by using circle hooks or by lure fishing. • Use suitable tackle for the species that you are targeting and minimise the time spent to land the fish. • Use a knotless landing net to minimise damage to fish. • Minimise time out of water. • Wet hands/gloves and brag mats before handling fish. • Use needle-nosed pliers to reduce time spent unhooking fish. • If fish is deeply hooked, cut the line short and release - do not attempt to remove hook. • Consider the effects of barotrauma and release fish quickly. Use a release weight if necessary. • Do not suspend fish by the jaw, gills, or eyes. • Support the fish properly for photographs. • When releasing fish, gently lower them into the water an revive – Do not return fish to water by throwing them. Place the fishes head into the current or do figure of 8 pattern. For more info on best catch and release practices, head to the DPI website and search: “Catch and Release” or search “Catch and Release Fishing” on YouTube and select the one uploaded by NSW Department of Primary Industries / Fisheries.

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au MAY 2022

Sydney

NSW

Great fishing in May SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

We might be heading into winter but the fish don’t know it yet; the water temperature is still warm enough to catch temperate species. As the weeks progress and the weather cools, don’t be deterred, because all manner of species can be caught all through May. ROCK FISHING We have seen a showing of solid kings, with the

the hook (or having a leader with a swivel and a sinker above the swivel) enables the bait to be forced downwards at the float stopper depth that you want to fish. Another bait that is working really well is XL sea gars ganged on hook sizes larger than what you’d present ganged pilchards with. I have found that Mustad 5/0-7/0 7766-D with heavy-duty swivels in between make the baiting up process easier. The hooks in between the swivels are nice and flexible, so there’s much less chance of the bait

can catch undersized kings to absolute monsters on sea gars. Kings just love the eastern sea gar! Snapper are being caught in good numbers, both distance casting and wash fishing, with a range of bycatch like trevally and bream. There are times you could catch up to half a dozen great species when snapper fishing. Distance casting with 3-5oz snapper sinkers enables you to get that punch out that you need to get to the sand/gravel beds. Most good distance casting snapper spots require a cast between

Rebecca and Jack Su had fun fishing the ocean rocks, catching rock blackfish to 48cm and a couple of cracker bream too. The rain couldn’t dampen their enthusiasm. sizeable fish showing up as that water temp started to cool down a bit. Kings to 110cm (around 10kg) are falling for live yellowtail suspended under a foam float. Torpedo or turnip floats work great. You can buy float stoppers at just about any tackle shop. Slide the float stopper up your line to the depth you need to fish it at. The float stoppers are great because if you’re fishing several metres and you need to wind on your float stopper it won’t be a problem, because they are small enough to wind on through your guides. If you need to change the depth you are fishing, slide the stopper up further along the line. You may need to use sinkers to keep the bait down because there is often strong current and white-water wash which may make it difficult to ‘set’ your float. What that means is that the live bait you are using may end up swimming towards the surface, even though you have slid the float stopper several metres up the line. That defeats the purpose of having a float stopper set at, for example, 6m deep. Often the live bait is swimming upwards towards the surface. By adding ball sinkers above 50

MAY 2022

becoming distorted and bent, like you can get with more rigid, non-swivel gangs. Unfortunately, sea gars are not that cheap. They’re normally between $15-$22 a kilo, but it’s worth it. You

70-100m out. Obviously, you have snapper venturing on to the deep ledges which have lots of cracks, boulders and a very undulated surface, but you will cop the wrath of getting multiple snags

This 110cm king was lost as it was being washed up by the angler on the left. The line snapped and it floated away, dead. The author cast out a set of gang hooks and a sinker for casting weight, made a lot of casts, and eventually jagged it for them. fishing that sort of territory. A lot of pretty expensive rigs will be lost. To vastly reduce that problem, try fishing less snaggy areas. Cast out past the ledge drop-off with sand/ gravel edges to vastly reduce the loss of rigs. There’s a variety of baits to choose from when distance casting for snapper. Half pilchards are OK but they get vaporised by the oftenlarge volume of small fish out there. More robust baits like salted slimy mackerel, salted striped tuna, fresh squid strips and fresh fish baits work a treat. Some nice rock blackfish (AKA pigs or black drummer) up to near 50cm are falling for peeled prawns, large cabbage weed baits and white sliced bread baits. Some berley may be required (either mushy bread berley or, when weed fishing for a pig, weed berley), providing the current is not a too powerful parallel current for the location you are fishing. Distance casting has been catching snapper are up to

55cm, with bream and trevally thrown in. In the washes when snapper fishing, reds to over 42cm, trevally, salmon, bream and more are in the

areas, preferably on a half mid to full run-in tide, during the lower light periods. Little Bluey at Manly, North Curl Curl and Long reef are producing some chunky pigs.

A great wash fishing bag off the ocean rocks. Robert West, Jim Walter and Adam Spencer caught snapper to 42cm, trevally, bream and a bonito. Lighter gear makes it a fun experience.

Nicholas Khouri with a cracker snapper caught distance casting. It went 55cm and was one of five snapper landed by him and his friend on the guided outing. Trevally and bream were caught as well.

deeper wash zones. Good baits include half pilchards or peeled king, banana or endeavour prawns. Rock blackfish gear works well with this sort of fishing. A deadly outfit for the pigs and snapper is the Daiwa Over There 109MH coupled with a 5000 BG MQ reel, spooled with 20-25lb J-Braid Grand and FC fluorocarbon leader. When it comes to spots to fish for the kings, snapper and trevally, I prefer the deeper ledges. If you don’t like the climb, try the western section of Bluefish headland northeast face, South Curl Curl and North Curl Curl. Further north, try North Avalon and South Whale rocks. For the rock blackfish, fish the sunken boulders and submerged ledge structure

BEACH FISHING A bigger run of tailor are on this month and next month. They are travelling up the coast towards Fraser Island and slightly north as well. When you hook a 55-60cm+ fish on a light 5-7kg outfit off the beach, you enjoy the experience more, that’s for sure. Watching it wash up the sand, often in the dark, with your head torch shining on it is a great experience. Often sizeable tailor are caught by anglers targeting jewfish (mulloway). When you consider the big baits used for jewfish, it’s no surprise that often the bigger tailor are hooked and landed by these anglers. There are times that you can purchase big pilchards, To page 51

Sydney

NSW

Interesting conditions SYDNEY NTH

Steve Winser

With the relentless La Niña weather pattern marching on right through summer and into autumn, still with no sign of abating, the traditional fishing seasons have been turned on their head. Water temperatures in the harbour are up around 22-24°C, but the amount of discoloured water from the ever-present rain has made things interesting. The kingfish in the lower reaches have been consistent, but getting the squid to chase them with has proved more of a challenge, due to the amount of fresh water present. Having said that, the fishing in general has been outstanding, with some surprising mixed catches From page 50

which are good for larger tailor. Upsize your gang hooks to suit your big pilchards, which may be in that 170-180mm length. Big salmon also don’t mind a big pilchard bait on a set of three 5/0 gangs. Sometimes tailor and salmon will eat a big baitfish that’s a third of their weight (while at other times they’ll eat tiny baitfish). Often you’ll get pecks from smaller fish when you’re using your ganged pilchard. Some of the pecks are larger fish like

due to the aforesaid La Niña conditions. You know it’s a new playing field when you’re catching warm water species like samsonfish and Watsons leaping bonito as well as cooler water species like tailor and trevally in the same session at the same spot. On a recent trip we had young Yoatan out for his 8th birthday, and he had a great day. We got five different species in one spot just fishing pilchards and squid strips, and he did well on the light spin outfits. Yoatan caught his PB fish, a solid bonito, out-fishing his dad. Next month is difficult to forecast with this current weather pattern, although if the water temperatures cool off a bit we should see the kingfish continue and start to push into the upper

reaches. The bream and blackfish should push down to the front of the harbour in numbers, and the big bruiser black drummer and blue groper will make their presence felt in the washes. • 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.

the bream or trevally that are pestering you when fishing for tailor. Gang hooks are not just used for whole pilchards and gars – they can be used for baiting up sizeable fish fillets or squid strips as well. Big greenbacks eat smaller tailor, so tailor is a great bait to use. Fillet the tailor, cut it again lengthways, and bait it on the gang hooks. A whole fillet of yellowtail works great too. In fact, most oily fish baits work well on tailor and salmon, and you are in for a real chance at catching a jewfish as well. May is a great month for

(methylated spirits) is 97% alcohol, making it a fantastic preservative for beach worms. Some beaches fish better for whiting, some fish better for jewfish, and other beaches are all-rounders that yield jewfish, tailor and whiting. Newport, Bungan, North Narrabeen, Dee Why and Manly beaches are good places to try. Finally, a question: has all the rain stopped you from fishing? It really shouldn’t. If you keep waiting for nice conditions, you’re be fishing less often, and will miss the opportunity to test

Yoatan with his first bonito.

The kingfish are consistent in the lower reaches.

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This nice king fell for a ganged XL sea gar. The author prefers to use it as a ‘spinnerbait’, similar to casting and retrieving a lure. bream or trevally, but the gang hooks are generally too big to hook them. To address this, on the top swivel tie on a length of about 30cm of 20-30lb mono or fluorocarbon leader and a 2/0 Mustard 92554 or 92247 bait holder hook. Use a half pilchard or a narrow strip of fish bait like tailor, mullet or yellowtail to suit the size of the hook. Armed with this setup, you may catch

whiting and bream. Many whiting anglers put their gear away at this time of year because they think it’s too late in the season for these fish, but I find the whiting numbers to be quite prolific in May. They’re generally good quality fish as well. The top baits are live beach worms and pink nippers, but if you can purchase methopreserved worms from your local tackle shop, they’re a great alternative. Metho

your ability as an angler. As long as the conditions are safe, get out there! Rug up, be prepared, and if the sea conditions are too rough, go for a plan B estuary fish. • 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.

490

FIBREGLASS FISHING BOATS BUILT TOUGH ON THE NSW CENTRAL COAST

MAY 2022

Sydney

NSW

Rain, rain go away SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Hopefully by this month we will have seen the last of the big rain events we have been experiencing along the east coast of NSW. Sure, we need rain, but not so much. During late February and throughout March, those anglers who have been getting out there to brave the weather conditions know that there have been plenty of fish on the chew. Throughout May you should see this type of fishing continue well into the year. There have been bonito and Watsons Leaping bonito caught off the baths in Gunnamatta Bay. I was there early on a Sunday morning to witness four kingfish from 70-84cm get caught. Other anglers fishing off the baths have caught bream, trevally, bonito and whiting on baits that varied from prawns, pilly tails, pieces of chicken, skirt steal and mussels. What does need to happen is that the NSW Fisheries need to pay

During the cooler months of the year, you can get results beach fishing with either live beach worms or ones that have been preserved in metho.

There used to be lots of hairtail caught in Botany Bay a number of years ago. This one was caught recently while fishing the Fisheries reefs in Yarra Bay.

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a number of visits to the baths as there were plenty of undersized fish being caught, kept and hidden away. In saying that, many of the anglers were doing the right thing. Just because there was one report (photo) of a hairtail being caught in the bay doesn’t mean that they are coming back. Squid have been very hard to locate and catch in the bay of late due to the chocolate colour of the water. Don’t let this deter you from putting out a few live baits in the form of small yellowtail. Hairtail, john dory, dusky flathead, salmon, kingfish and snapper can’t seem to resist a wellpresented live bait. Places that are worth a shot are Sutherland Point, The Drums, Yarra Bay Fisheries marks, Trevally Alley, the end of the third runway, The Sticks, the oil wharf and even wide of the patches. Just recently there was a Berkley Super Series bream comp run in the bay, and there were 55 teams who all weighed in fish. The top six teams had a bag of five bream for over 4kg. Despite the recent torrid conditions BSS anglers presented near 250 bream at the weigh station, with at least a dozen over a kilo. There was also a by-catch of flathead, whiting, flounder, kingfish salmon and snapper. The Port Hacking has also been pretty dirty, but by now if we haven’t had as much rain, it should have started to clear up. The beaches in Bate Bay have been a bit of a hit-andmiss affair due to the everchanging weather pattern. It would be very rough for three to four days, then calm. The major problem

has been finding a stretch of beach that doesn’t have any weed or kelp. The rocks off Kurnell and down to Stanwell Park have been producing drummer, bream, trevally, snapper and luderick on the rising tide. The best baits by far have been peeled prawns, cunje and half pillies. The Georges and Woronora rivers have started to clear up slightly, but once

again this will depend on how much rain we get over the next month. Try trolling hardbodied lures for bream, flathead and mulloway along the many drop-offs found in these two rivers. I have found it best to troll with the tide and have lures that have a good sway from side to side and a few rattles. Don’t forget to keep those reports coming in to gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

A number of salmon have been caught by anglers using live yellowtail to try to catch kingfish at the end of the 3rd runway and The Drums in Botany Bay.

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NSW

Predictions for May COFFS COAST

Rob Taylor

I’m staring at a completely blue sky as I type this, something of a rarity so far this year. We’ve just had our second major flood event for 2022 here on our part of the coast, and at times the rain was positively biblical. The frustrating thing is the water was just starting to clear from the previous flood and the fishing was firing. Despite green/brown water offshore, boaties were getting everything from big snapper to Spanish mackerel and wahoo. Rivers had just receded to fishable levels and then in an instant the heavens opened, and we were back to square one. As mentioned, before the second round of flooding, fishing on the Coffs coast was producing the goods awn B for b to la think a Prwilling m those des” the box in regard “Yaoutside to water colour. I managed to pull some great Spanish

The author with a mid-range ‘hoo from dirty water.

Some fun-sized mulloway will be in the beach gutters throughout May.

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MAY 2022

Cameron Hall back on the tournament trail at the ABT Glenbawn event with a 1.21kg fish taken on a Daiwa Double Clutch. If conditions allow, bass are still worthwhile targets this month. mackerel trolling lures like Halco Laser Pros but found out pretty quick that the 6m Crazy Deep models would

get hits while the 2m Deep dirty stuff. models were unmolested. The Switching to bait when reason? Fresh sits on salt, and chasing snapper also paid the fish were underneath the dividends, as it allowed

NSW

fish to rely on scent to find anglers’ presentations. Freshwater bass fanatics targeted receding floodwater eddies to still find solid bass on surface lures. At times like this, the fish will still be there but usual techniques may not get the results. With that in mind, and the likelihood that similar conditions will prevail throughout May, let’s look at best options for Coffs coast anglers. CREEKS, RIVERS AND ESTUARIES Without doubt, our creeks and rivers have been some of the hardest hit areas in terms of angling opportunities. Way above normal levels after inundating rains, all systems are full of fresh, and fish will be harder to pinpoint. Those in the know will target will flathead in the lower reaches of the salt and we should start to see more bream numbers moving in. Whiting will also be around, and there should be both school jew and some big thumpers moving about the rock walls at the mouths

of systems like Urunga and Nambucca. The mangrove jack bite starts to trail off at this time of year but they’ll still be worth chasing while ever water temperatures

remains high. In the freshwater sections, how May fishes will be anyone’s guess. Without the benefit of a crystal ball, the fortunes of freshwater

drummer will be in the gutters along with some big mulloway if you’re willing to put in the time with big divers or plastics. OFFSHORE My prediction for offshore for May (depending on no more rain) is for some exceptional fishing. May is a seasonally great month for offshore fishing as the inshore pelagic run peaks, and some big snapper, pearlies and tuskies make bottom fishing just as fun. I’ll be fishing hard for those big end-of-season Spanish mackerel on the inshore reefs, and as the month progresses I’ll also be focussing on the islands. I’ll also be chasing snapper on the reefs, both in close and

out to 60m. Bottom fishing really starts to turn on at this time of year, and plenty of fishos will be probing the depths with bait for all kinds of tasty targets to go in the freezer. In terms of billfish, the black marlin run is largely over and it’s still a tad early for stripies. If you’re looking for a marlin, it’s all about the blues right now, so dust off the big gear and the big lures and head east. I usually put lures in around that 200m line and then start working eastward in search of birds, bait or current lines. It’s a waiting game, but nothing dumps line like a peeved off blue, and it will certainly test your tackle and staying power if you hook a good one.

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There’s nothing like a big Spaniard getting airborne to smash your lures at this time of year.

Now’s the time for getting amongst the big late season Spanish mackerel.

to close out the bass and cod seasons. Bass will be starting to move downstream, so keeping mobile either in a yak or on foot will help locate fish. ROCKS AND BEACHES As we move out of summer proper and into cooler weather, we’ll start to see tailor arrive in numbers and bream patrolling beach gutters. Whiting and flathead will still be feeding in the surf, and some bigger mulloway will be there for the taking, particularly at night. Rock fishos love this time of year as both summer and winter species are on offer. Land based game fishing is still in full swing, with plenty of longtail tuna about for both bait and spin fishers. At the same time, bream, tailor, blackfish and

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fishos turn on rain levels throughout the remainder of April. If we get no more rains, the systems should clear relatively quickly and we’ll see some good fishing

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NSW

May the rain stop! THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

It seems every month I pen this column the rain is pelting down. The east coast of Australia has taken a hiding over the last few months, and as I write this we are looking at more big falls that will more than likely lead to more flooding.

having some good days out are high. ROCK AND BEACH The local rocks are worth trying for rock blackfish, luderick, bream and tailor, and most of the locations from Lighthouse to Camden Haven will be worth trying. Spinning metals for tailor or ganged pillies or garfish at first light is a time-proven method. After the bite quietens, you can then change to a

protected headland and fish the corners of the beach, because bream, whiting, luderick will gather here in these conditions. OFFSHORE May is a good time to chase some snapper. We talk about it a lot and for good reason – the next couple of months can see some good red action, especially between Port Macquarie and Dunbogan. There are plenty of patches of reef and rubble to try, and every season some big fish are taken from south of the lighthouse to Cathie grounds. I prefer to use lures for these fish. Soft plastics can be super-effective but bait fishos still catch their fair share and squid, slimy mackerel and other cut baits will do the job. Drifting (if the current allows) is a

A couple of beach flatties caught on a surf popper.

Don’t think the big girls leave the sandflats in May. They don’t! My thoughts go out to all the families who have gone through so much in recent times. Fishing in May around Port can be exceptional, with the chance of some good catches from the beaches, rocks and rivers. And with the offshore fishing weather usually being calmer (fingers crossed), the chances of getting a feed or

running ball setup and 1/0 hook using bread, cunje, nippers or prawns. This can get you into a few bream and drummer. The beaches, especially around the river mouths, should be the pick of spots if it’s calm enough to fish, as the amount of feed and fish coming from the rivers make it a hot spot. However, if these locations are unfishable, try fishing a

If you rug up, the rewards are there.

should fish for! If the rain stays and the water remains fresh, the front of the system on the incoming tides will be the major area to fish, with bream, flathead and jewfish all on the cards. Luderick around the walls and jetties are worth trying, and if the water clears and you can head upriver then the deeper holes should see some mulloway. There should be a fair amount of juvenile mulloway, so have some fun with them handle with care and release. I’m looking forward to throwing some vibes around in the deep this month as you do not know what can turn up in some of these deeper locations. Flathead, mulloway, bream big tailor and even mangrove jacks can be caught this month fishing deep.

great way to cover water. Use your sounder, and if you find bait the fish will not be far away. RIVERS The Hastings in autumn is usually productive but again, it will depend on water conditions as to how and where and what you

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Tanya and Rob have been getting into the bream in the wet.

NSW

Exciting fishing season FORSTER

Luke Austin

As things begin to cool off this month, local fishers begin to get super excited about the upcoming winter fishing season, with species

have landed 50 flathead between us. The average size of the fish was small, but the numbers were very impressive. Of those fish we possibly had 10 or so which would have been legal, with the biggest around 50cm. Mixed in were a handful

down around the bridge at high tide you will see some big schools of breeding fish. The Tuncurry rock wall will often kick into gear a week or two earlier than Forster side for some reason, so it might well be time to get the luderick gear out to have a crack. Most anglers are managing to land a good number of fish each session but there are still quite a few small fish in the mix. Our local beaches are still fishing quite well. Jaineys Corner down at 7 Mile Beach is holding huge numbers of bream at the moment, and there are some nice fish in the schools. 9 Mile Beach is probably producing the better mixed bags of fish, with some cracking bream and tailor being caught as well as the odd late-season whiting. Rock fishers have now well and truly started to transition away from pelagics, with the focus now centred around the winter

There’s still the odd pelagic about in May, like this cracking Spanish. If you find a bit of white water and drop a bait in, you will likely land more than a few! Tailor remain fairly consistent off most of the prominent headlands, with good fish coming

from Booti, Shelleys and Blackhead as well as the odd one off South One Mile. The first real cold snap often signifies the start of the winter snapper fishery, and the past couple of weeks

Flathead are definitely still about this month. such a bream, snapper, luderick and drummer hot on anglers’ minds! Wallis Lake is still fishing unbelievably well. While the seasons are definitely shifting and the water temperature has dropped a little, there are still plenty of fish about. Bream can be found throughout the system; the bridge and rock walls are starting to stack up with some bigger fish now and they are definitely most active aroud the high tide. The male fish have started to produce a bit of milt once landed, which indicates we should be seeing quite a bit more action down the bottom of the system (around the rock walls etc) over the coming weeks. Interestingly, there are still some great fish being caught up as far as Nabiac, which is a little rare for this time of year! The mighty flathead is often a bit of a surprise performer at this time of the year. At the moment, the water is still holding a bit of warmth, and this has kept the fish on the chew! I was fishing recently on the sand flats around Tern Island with Tony from Strikerz Lure Scents, and we must

of very solid bream, which made a very good account of themselves on the light gear. There have also been some great flathead reports coming from up around Regatta Island and down towards Coomba Park, proving once again that these

Shallow water reds are super fun at this time of year.

have definitely delivered. Those anglers who have dragged themselves out of bed to head offshore have been finding loads of good quality fish on the inshore reefs. The 20-35m grounds to the north have been particularly productive, and the fish have been all too eager to smash just about any bait or lure offering. The wider reefs have been a little more hit-andmiss. The 80-100m grounds have been holding some snapper and the odd nice pearl perch, but you may find yourself moving about a bit to find the fish. • Luke is the owner of Great 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! They are open 7 days in the main street of Tuncurry, and you can phone them on 02 6554 9541 or find them on Facebook to see what they have been up to!

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The rock walls are holding some very nice bream at the moment. fish are far from a summeronly species! Luderick numbers are slowly improving, and if you walk along the rock walls or

bread-and-butter species – bream, luderick, black drummer and tailor. Bream and luderick can be found right along the coastline.

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NSW

An exceptional season PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

The fishing during May is as good as it gets, and this year it should be exceptional as we reap the rewards of a couple of big estuary flushes in March and April.

adequate gear to throw at them using 20-60g metals or stickbaits. For their smaller cousins, drop right down in size to bream outfits with 10lb leader and a small 10g metal lure. Flathead are another fish that will slowly taper off as we get into the cooler months of the year,

morning is the best time to target these fish, with ganged whole garfish the number 1 bait. Just cast out your garfish and retrieve it back at medium pace. Bream numbers are about as good as they get all year along those ocean beaches, with Box Beach, Fingal Spit, Samurai and

Longtail tuna are still about in the bay. float the only way to catch them in numbers. OFFSHORE There are excellent fish to be caught casting the wash zones from Fingal Bay down to Rocky Point. Lightly weighted large peeled prawns have

been smacking plenty of drummer and bream. Snapper fishing has been red hot around the islands and inshore reefs, with the early morning tide changes producing some great fish, with some pushing the 10kg mark.

Drifting with jerkbait style plastics is about the funniest way you can catch a snapper, and don’t be surprised if you hook a big cobia doing so, as these fish also love plastics as local young gun Jack Hammond recently found out.

Travelling fish on go Luderick will start to move into the estuary system and remain a popular target for the winter months. In the estuary early May is still a great time to target longtail tuna, however make the most out of it as these fish will usually fade off by the end of the month until next season. Search the bottom end of the bay from Soldiers Point to Shoal Bay looking for bird activity. Once you’ve found the birds working, look for any bust-ups amongst them.

however May can still prove very productive for them, especially around Tilligerry North Arm Cove and the mouth of Karuah. Bream will really start to come on the chew this month, stacking up on just about every rocky point and bit of structure from Tahlee to the heads. They won’t be able to resist a live nipper floated down a

One Mile all reporting solid numbers of bream to 1kg ROCKS The wash zone is firing up, with lightly-weighted prawns and cunjevoi accounting for a lucky dip of bream, drummer and squire. Early morning and late afternoon sessions spinning the headlands are producing good numbers of tailor,

Jack Hammond with a cracking cobia. It shouldn’t take you long to determine whether they are longtails, as they usually jump right out of the water when smashing the baitfish. If the splashes look too small for longtail, they could be a range of light tackle fun fish such as mac tuna, frigate mackerel, bonito or tailor. For the big guys, 20lb braid with 40lb leader is 58

MAY 2022

berley trail, especially on a high tide change. Soft plastics and hardbodied lures in the right hands will prove equally if not more effective on catching bream at this time of year around the same areas. BEACHES Ocean beaches will fish well right now for quality tailor, with some pushing the 2kg mark. Early

salmon and bonnies on smaller 30g metals. Longtail tuna are still a chance. Although spinning with larger stickbaits or metal lures will catch them, the most effective technique is live baiting. Luderick will be thick in the protected bays and coves from Fingal through to boat Harbour, with sea cabbage suspended under a

SWANSEA

Jason Nunn

Hopefully we have enough trees to make an ark because that’s what we’ll have to do if the rain continues. The long-range forecast predicts the diabolical weather could linger right through until June. At the time of writing we recently had massive 6m seas which washed half the beaches away, followed by a couple of days that were perfect. Some guys had awesome sessions on snapper in the deeper water. Most of the fish were around 2-3kg, so no horses, but the big numbers made up for that. Along the beaches the salmon are here in big numbers, and in the coming weeks they’ll be even more plentiful. There are some 3-5kg jumbos in the mix; some caught on Blacksmiths breakwater were so big the anglers couldn’t lift them out of the water. Mixed in with the salmon are tailor, along with bream and flathead. Bream numbers on the beaches will be very good in the coming weeks because of the mullet run. A lot of beaches have been flushed out but there are estuaries and lakes like Lake Macquarie don’t get flushed out as much, so the mullet will still travel along the coast this month. The number of squire (30-50cm) caught off the beach after the big blow was phenomenal. Amongst them were a few bigger fish up to 3kg, which is amazing; we don’t usually catch 2kg+ snapper off our beaches. Along the ocean rocks and beaches, the travelling

fish will be in full swing in May, i.e. mullet, bream, big numbers of salmon, tailor and some really nice flathead from the edges. Beach fishing will be particularly good through May. That’s my pick of the months for fishing the beach. Offshore fishing has also been very good, with quality snapper being caught. There are plenty of trag too, including some big models in deeper water to 4kg+. In the coming weeks we can expect good catches of snapper and trag on the inshore reefs, along with flathead. There are also travelling fish on the inshore reefs, with quality bream and some very big tarwhine. When fishing the inshore reefs at this time of year, you can get good results using prawns (preferably Hawkesbury) fished on quite light line, no more than 6kg. You can float your prawn bait down a berley trail, or drop it down on a paternoster with a light weight to target those big bream and tarwhine. When fishing out at the Farm in 90-100m of water, it’s good to use a 2-hook paternoster baited with a pilly or half pilly on one hook, and a squid on the other hook. The soft, oily pilly attracts the fish, while the squid will resist the pickers for longer. At the moment we’re seeing good catches of snapper, along with trag and even kingfish. I’ve seen some tremendous photos of guys with bag limit catches on the cleaning table of all three species. Some boats brought in 50kg of fish. The great snapper bite is due in part to the rough conditions we’ve had. Last month we experienced big swell on the back of a giant

1.8m high tide. The swell was so big and the low-pressure system was so intense that erosion was massive, and then it settled quickly. That’s when the snapper really came on the chew – they definitely bite their heads off after a big blow, particularly when there’s a lot of colour to the water due to rain. The water offshore turned a khaki green, and snapper love that dirty water. In murky water you can fish all day, too. Shifting our focus to estuary fishing, we’ll see a lot of travelling bream, which are alternating between beach and estuary. Tailor numbers and sizes are great too, with a lot of really good 45-55cm fish getting caught in the lake at present. Working the bait schools is the key to success for both tailor and salmon. The fishing will reach a crescendo in May, hopefully with more settled weather and lots of baitfish. Lurking underneath those schools are mulloway, flathead and lake reds, which all like to snap up pieces of baitfish falling from the melee above. This provides a great opportunity to use soft plastics and vibes like Zereks and Samakis, and jig those bait schools. Another option in the lake is to target blue swimmer crabs in the deeper water. At this time of year the crabs seem to like that 8-9m depth. There are still plenty of kingies getting caught at the bridge. There should still be kingies in the channel and lake in May, depending on what the mullet do. The squid will back off a bit, To page 59

NSW

Turn on the fireworks CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

Providing the weather behaves itself, we should have another excellent fishing month ahead of us. Although May is historically quite a stable, dry month, I wouldn’t go betting on anything weather related, given what’s been happening in recent times. If, however, conditions are favourable, our local inshore strip should be pretty lively, with the annual mullet run and plenty of other baitfish around. Mulloway are the big prize this month, but kingfish, tailor, trevally and bream are other species that often put in a strong showing as we edge closer to winter. Beach fishing will be high on the agenda for many local anglers, including From page 58

so you may have to use lures instead. The kingies like poppers and stickbaits, but big 7-8” soft plastics, particularly white, are my pick. Just belt the plastic out across the surface and burn it back, jigging backwards and forwards to stir up the fish. A lot of the kingfish getting caught shore-based have been taking lures rather than baits, including a 105cm specimen

myself. As mentioned, it’s mulloway time right now. Rounding up some fresh bait to chase these chrome beasties with shouldn’t be too difficult either, as it’s also prime time for tailor

May is an excellent month for bream. The author caught this one at the southern end of Lake Macquarie, but some of the best bream action in the coming weeks will be around our coastal rocks and beaches.

A nice catch of bream and a lone luderick, caught on bread at Norah Head. If sea conditions are favourable, this is the sort of thing to expect this month from our local rock spots. patterns have made it hard to get out there, so there haven’t been as many reports as usual. If the bad weather continues and you’re stuck at home, you can achieve quite a lot in your downtime. Go through your tackle boxes and replace rusty trebles. There’s nothing worse than pulling out your divers or chrome lures and finding that the hooks are all rusted. You may also find new lures

Blacksmiths break wall is on fire, with catches of tailor, salmon, kingfish and flathead. caught by a young angler fishing a white soft plastic from Swansea bridge. He released the fish, which is great to see. I haven’t heard of yellowfin off the coast yet aside from the odd small one, but there are still a few striped marlin around for the deep water guys. Unfortunately, the unpredictability of weather

and calamari, both of which happen to be right at the top of the list for jewie baits at the beach. As I sit here, typing up with month’s column though, the ocean is quite dirty and

in the cupboard that you’ve had for years and never used. Chuck them in your tackle box so you can finally give them a try. I also recommend taking your reels off the rod and checking that there’s no corrosion under the foot and under the hood. You can opt to clean the area with hot water and add some grease, so you don’t get that bonding

with the rod and hood. It’s also a good time to respool your reels. Some anglers lose a lot of good fish because they have left the line sitting on the reel for too long. Remember that braided line will deteriorate over time – it’s not just mono that needs to be replaced. Additionally, consider how much braid you cut off whenever you get a wind knot; after a while you can end up with half a spool. I recommend replacing braid every 2-4 years, depending on how often you fish. Monofilament needs to be replaced more often. I recommend replacing it every 12 months if your budget allows, and no longer than two years. Remember that when mono is on the spool we pack it on so tightly that it crushes on the spool. Some guys reverse it but that doesn’t really work, because you don’t want any of that crushed line going out. Finally, if your reel is a bit dodgy, you can either send it in for a service or replace it, because when the weather comes good you don’t want any of your gear to fail! • 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.

stirred up from recent big seas. Mulloway certainly do like to hunt their prey in such conditions, but unfortunately it can be a bit of a challenge to catch calamari when the seas are like this. So if you have any spare time when the seas are clear and calm, head out with a few jigs and try to round up a few calamari squid to put away in the freezer. The ones you catch yourself and keep frozen are just as good as the freshlycaught versions. Just be sure to put them in freezer bags by themselves, not mixed in with other bait like pillies or other fish. This way, the squid will retain their own natural scent and flavour. If they get mixed in with other smelly old bait, their quality and appeal to mulloway deteriorates dramatically. So be mindful when it comes to jewie bait – frozen is quite good, as long as it’s good quality frozen! If you’ve caught some mullet or tailor and intend to use those for jewie bait, don’t throw away the heads. A fresh, medium-size tailor or mullet head is another brilliant bait, and is naturally tougher and more pickerresistant on the hook. Just be sure to use a decent quality,

sharp hook like a size 10/0 Gamakatsu Octopus, and hook the head through the nose or mouth, with plenty of point protruding. Last May I got into a lot of bream around some of our shallow rocky points. That’s pretty much to be expected at this stage of the season, and I’m hoping conditions will allow for some bream fishing around the rocks and beaches. My two favourite inshore bream baits are bread or cut pieces of pilchard. If I’ve scored a few tailor in recent times, I also like to cut the fillets into bait-sized sections and give them a generous coating of salt, then wrap them in newspaper. The salt draws out moisture and toughens up the tailor. Ideally, I like to salt up some tailor like this a day or two before bream fishing, and put the tailor in a plastic freezer bag in the fridge. Extra tailor salted like this can also be stored in the freezer for future use. It’s certainly just as effective on inshore bream as fresh tailor, with the advantage of being much tougher on the hook. We’ve got no shortage of great spots to try for bream around the rocks at this time of year. I really

like to look for shallower places with a sandy bottom and plenty of patchy, broken reef and boulders. Some of the better places to look are from Wamberal through to The Entrance and then from Norah Head up to Munmorah and the south side of Catherine Hill Bay. Luderick and drummer can also be very active at this stage of autumn. In some spots it can be relatively easy to score a mixed bag of drummer, luderick and bream, all on bread baits. But by using green cabbage or sea lettuce you can also avoid some of the pickers like toadfish, and be more likely just to hook luderick or drummer, without any bream. Having said that, it’s certainly not out of the question for a bream to snatch a green cabbage bait either. We’ve certainly endured some pretty dodgy weather so far this year. If that’s all behind us now, the month ahead could really turn on the fireworks for local fishing. I’ve run through some good rock and beach options here, but offshore, Brisbane Waters and the lakes will all have something to offer in the coming weeks.

It’s prime time for tailor right now. They’re fun to catch and generally quite easy when they turn up in good numbers. They also make first class bait for bream and mulloway. MAY 2022

NSW

May is full of maybes ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke

This is probably the last chance you will have of scoring a few leftover northern visitors before the warm water totally disappears and winter sets in, so always be prepared for the odd stray that has over stayed. Dolphinfish (mahimahi) may still be around as they seem to hang about a bit longer into the year these days. Over the reefs the samsonfish should be a bit

coast. You won’t get bored waiting, as some big bonito and salmon are around too, although they can be a nuisance when chasing bigger fish. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing a couple of bluefin heading towards your bait and a bonito zips in and grabs it. May is traditionally a calm month as far as winds go. The ocean smooths off with the early morning crisp westerlies, and can stay that way well into the day, and there is often very small swell. On these days you can fish in comfort and

well. There are some big bream as well, and the odd dart is still hanging about along with a few flathead and more salmon. Walking the beach casting pilchard lures or slices at New Zealand then cranking them back at speed will get plenty of salmon and a few nice tailor, particularly just on dark. Then the tailor can be turned into number one jewfish baits or smoked, it depends on your taste. The estuaries are slowing down but haven’t stopped just yet. A few

There are still a few nice reds to be taken in close around Bellambi.

Night is a good time to target bream in the shallows. bigger and hitting jigs and small live baits fished deep. You may even score a late pearl perch. The land-based guys are still in with a chance of a longtail or two off the stones as there are usually a few down this way at this time of the year. More often than not they are good fish over 20kg, so they’ll give you one heck of a first run. May might be a time for leftovers, but the cooler water fish are the ones to target this month on percentages. The rocks are always good value, with plenty of salmon on offer from the deeper southern ledges to the shallower platforms and break walls in the north. Good old pilchards on a ganged hook rig are hard to go past for bait, while spinning with flashy chrome lures works well too. Don’t be too surprised if you get smashed up by big and fast fish in the process as there are still plenty of solid kings around. Fish live yellowtail or slimy mackerel from the deeper ledges around Kiama, Bombo and Cathedral rocks and you are in with a good chance. Your baits don’t have to be too far out either, as the kings usually hug the rocks as they move up and down the 60

MAY 2022

target bream in the shallow bays and coves all along the coast, and they are only too willing to play in a well-laid berley trail. Fish with cubes of bonito, mackerel or tuna with little or no lead and you can catch your bag limit in a very quick time, and in the clear water watch every fish take the bait. You can expect a heap of trevally as well. They usually show up first and compete against the bream for your offerings, and a few salmon can show up just for fun. All in all, it can be well worth getting out of a warm bed on these cooler mornings to get some action. Berley can drag in a few stray snapper that may be about as well, but they usually only show early and are gone before the sun gets too high if the water is clear. On the beaches it can get a bit cold in the early mornings and late evenings, but there are some nice jewies (mulloway) about which makes a few cold fingers worth it. Grab some big fresh or live baits and pick a good gutter and see what happens. If you aim a little lower, there are still some very nice whiting on the beaches and they are big and fat from a summer of feeding

flathead can be found but you will have to work a bit harder for them before they go into hibernation. Bream are a more attractive option on both lures and bait. Fresh peeled prawns dropped into the snags of the feeder streams of the lake can work well his month, and most of the fish will be better than average too. Working the rocky

foreshores with very small hardbodies or blades always works well as small baitfish become scarcer with each cooler day. The other option is working the edges of the weed beds around Primbee and the yacht club with bait or the same small lures, particularly towards the end of the month. To find exactly where they are, I recommend checking out where the pros are picking up their nets in the early hours and work these areas. They don’t get them all, and more fish arrive daily to replace the ones taken by the nets. Down around the entrance to the lake there are some nice whiting over the flats but you will work for the few you get. The break walls have bream, tailor and salmon with a few small jewies thrown in. The big tides will help here. Offshore things are starting to slow, but not on all fronts as the yellowfin

tuna should start to get going out around the shelf. If we get lucky a few strays may find their way in closer, if there is food available. There have been a few small fish about but nothing to get excited about just yet. If the water temp is still up a bit, there is the chance of a few striped marlin or big blues out on the shelf if you put in the time. However, with the price of fuel it can be an expensive exercise trolling all day. In closer a few kings can be picked up on live baits at the usual places like the islands and Bass Point, but you need to hope there is a bit of current to get them going. Snapper are in a transition period after hunting the shallows in April and getting ready for the cuttlefish in July. Most of the snapper are currently out in the deeper water and spread out but there are always a few residents

about for the diehards. As mentioned earlier, there are bream and trevally in the shallows if you use berley. If the currents are right we may get a few late dollies. They were about in May last year so there is a chance, but the only way to know is have a look. The schools of bait are thinning out so the surface action is slowing right down but it hasn’t stopped entirely. There are, you guessed it – plenty of salmon around mixed with some rat kings and bonito to 4kg. Over the reefs the mowies are improving, with those tasty pigfish increasing in catches too. Throw in a few small snapper and some samsonfish, the odd trag and heaps of sweep, and there is enough to keep you interested. The flathead are slowing but some good catches are still to be had on the right day and they are nice fish.

Good catches on the right day BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Maybe you’ll catch a marlin, maybe a tuna, maybe a kingie, maybe a dolphinfish, maybe a bonito, maybe COVID… the list goes on. May is a month of transition, from warm to cool temperatures, change of currents and movement of pelagic species. As we expect to see the tail end of the marlin season, we see the last of the dolphinfish (mahimahi) also. Bonito can be known to hang out a little longer, and the kings can fish well during the month of May and into winter.

The number one pelagic species we have on our minds during this month is the majestic yellowfin tuna – one of the greatest fish in the sea. For some fishers it’s the one reason why they fish, and nearly every other saltwater angler has yellowfin on their radar right now. May can be one of the best months of the year for yellowfin; sometimes it’s June, July or September. Or, like the last two years, all four months had yellowfin being caught, the highlight being the last two springs when big fish pushed into snapper grounds. We are keen and eagerly waiting to see what they are going to do this year.

We have already seen a quite a few good yellowfin getting caught commercially, which is a very promising sign. We know there have been fish moving around the inside of the shelf to the second drop-off, and we are hoping that we see the same numbers this year as the previous two. The last couple of years has seen an explosion of catching tuna off the surface with stickbaits. Catching any fish off the surface is the most exciting form of fishing, whether it is bream, whiting, flathead, kings, bonito, GTs or massive tuna. This has also caused an explosion of stickbait sales. Every

company is jumping in on the action, and more expensive handmade ones are being crafted and you’ll see a number of them getting around on social media. Distance is key when chasing these fish; you don’t want to be pushing them down by driving up too close, so you want to be able to cast to them. Some days they are in a feeding frenzy, and they aren’t as flighty. But usually you want to be as stealthy as possible. Most stickbaits will catch fish, the most important thing is size and weight. You are going to need a 60-100g lure to get To page 61

NSW From page 60

the distance, and the shape of the lure can also help in distance if the lure is more aerodynamic. The size can be important as the fish can be feeding on smaller bait on the day. The stickbaits can range from $20 to $120 each, the dearer ones usually being Japanese or handcrafted. You usually can rely on these lures to cast well and have some great swimming actions. Many anglers are convinced that you get what you pay for, and that the more expensive stickbaits work better. I agree. Or maybe I’m just addicted to expensive lures like everyone else! Regardless, it does make your trip more enjoyable when you’re casting expensive lures and watching them swimming back like a real fish. It adds

confidence to your fishing. The other thing that’s very important is the weapon you use to cast. Choosing a light but powerful rod that is 7’4”-8’ long will launch these stickbaits. The longer the rod the more pressure on the back, but if it has some flex then it compensates for that pressure. A long rod that has some softness in the tip will cast a mile. Next is the line, and 50-80lb braid is the choice for most. The thinner it is, the further it casts. A good quality 50lb line will do the job. The leader should be 80-150lb, with an FG or PR knot to the braid. When casting it is good to have the knot just off the spool between the spool and first guide to allow a clean cast. Then there is the reel. Shimano, Daiwa, Penn,

Quantum etc all make reels that can do the job, but anything that is too cheap or poor quality will fail. It’s best to speak to an experienced tackle store if you want to buy a cheaper reel that’s up to the task. Casting stickbaits may be the craze, but trolling lures might be the first, last or only option on some days to find fish, or when you have to switch things up to get a bite. Cubing isn’t nearly as popular as it used to be, but don’t write it off because it has been very successful in the past. It can take some patience to bring the fish to you with a berley trail slowly being deployed from the vessel. However, once they do come up the trail you can have fish around the boat for minutes to hours.

Louis had a good session when he found a school of kings.

at o B d e r u t Fea

Closer to shore on the reefs, snapper have been biting quite well. The last couple of years have seen a good snapper run, and there have been some good fish caught in the last couple of months and this should continue as it cools down. Successful approaches include casting soft plastics first thing in the morning to late in the afternoon in the shallower areas, and micro jigging in the depths. Snapper can be found in most places and most depths most of the time – you just need to move around and change your approach. It doesn’t take me long to give up casting soft plastics and start micro jigging these days, as I find a lot of success doing that. For other anglers, the old pillie on a paternoster rig is the go-to. There’s always the competition when the bait dude and the lure dude are fishing on the same boat as who catches the most fish. The bait dude gets extreme pleasure when he catches the most fish, and makes the same comment: “I told you those things don’t work!” And when lure dude wins it’s like winning the State of Origin, and the comment, “I told you so” comes out. We Aussies love sport and winning. There can be some good land-based fishing this month, with the chance of longtail, kings, bonito and mac tuna from popular spots like Snapper Point and Pretty Point. However, as temperatures drop, we can expect salmon and tailor to be more likely catches. Land-based snapper fishing is popular into the cooler months, as is drummer fishing. We have seen a great number of bream, with large models being caught from the rocks and beaches. They have been a reliable

fish during the periods of the heavy rain and dirty water. The beaches where the lakes have broken open have seen a good bite, and although the water has been quite dirty in the estuaries or discoloured around our rock ledges, the bream have been on the chew. Another fish that doesn’t mind the dirty water is the mulloway. Over the last couple of years they have been in great numbers but small sizes. However, we

estuary, and May is a good month to make the most of it before it cools down. The most reliable thing in May (if it doesn’t rain too much or you find clear water) is squid. Autumn is a great time of year for squid fishing and it’s becoming more and more popular as more fishos are buying the more expensive squid jigs and squid rods these days. What can be a great time of the year? Maybe May.

Rob Frawley getting into some inshore stripy tuna on light gear. are now seeing more in the 70cm range, and autumn can be a ripper time for big estuary mulloway. Let’s see if we get some bigger ones this month. With some more stability in the weather, we should see some calmer, clearer conditions in the

• 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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MAY 2022

NSW

Leave via Kianinny Bay TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Leaving from Kianinny boat ramp allows fishos access to some of the finest reef and bottom fishing grounds along the coast, and it’s now at its best. Large tiger flathead are a regular catch out wide of Bournda, while good sand flathead are being taken closer to shore in close to the beaches. These areas

may range from Wapengo north to Wallagoot south. As mentioned, berleying can also work on the snapper as well as the tuna, and the White Rock area south of Kianinny is a prime spot for this. I recommend that you anchor up in various depths until you see which depth is producing better. Fish as light as possible and vary how deep you fish your baits. Fresh mackerel, pilchards and striped tuna are the preferred baits, although don’t be scared to throw

some soft plastics around. Many other species will also visit your berley trail, with some of them being a bit of a surprise package. Right in the heart of Tathra the rock platforms are fishing well, with plenty of action for anglers casting lures to fish like salmon, bonito, tailor and kingfish. Anglers targeting drummer are also having some of the best fishing in quite a while. Around on the Wharf everyone is having fun. Large schools of mackerel

Whiting are just one fish that can be caught in the Bega River or adjacent beaches.

As the water cools, trevally will start to show in greater numbers.

are here at present, as are the trevally and garfish. Blackfish and drummer are being caught closer to the rocks, with some nice tailor at night. Frigate mackerel, bonito, salmon and kingfish all take turns harassing the resident baitfish, along with the odd shark and yellowfin tuna venturing in to check the scene out. There are some good beaches here, which at present are producing nice salmon, tailor, bream and gummy sharks at night. The best areas are Main Beach next to Mogareeka Inlet,

Bournda Beach south and Gillards Beach north. Try walking these beaches with a handful of metal lures that you can make long casts with and fast retrieves. This works very well on both tailor and salmon. It’s that time of year where land temps start to cool but water temps offshore stay relatively warm, and with this comes the fish. Out from Tathra, schools of yellowfin, albacore and striped tuna are starting to congregate out towards and over the Continental Shelf through to the Tathra

Canyons. These fish can be targeted in a few different styles, with the best being trolling lures and cubing in berley trails. The Continental Shelf is quite a long run out from shore here, therefore trolling lures is a good option for targeting the tuna. This allows anglers to cover the ground and find out where the fish may be congregating. With this comes the added bonus of encountering a late season marlin, spearfish or dolphinfish (mahimahi). Once some tuna have To page 63 (Tathra)

Pop a big yellowfin BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Yes, it is that time of year where offshore anglers start to focus on yellowfin tuna. Armed with heavy spin outfits and large poppers, these anglers pursue schools of tuna feeding on sauries,

gaining ground until they come in range, casting these poppers in hope of an explosive surface strike. This form of angling is gaining momentum, and it’s proving more than successful on tuna of all sizes. Now for those who are not as energetic, there is always trolling or berley trails on offer. A combination

of bibbed, bibless or skirted lures are the way to go when on the troll, which allows anglers to cover water distance and thus find where the fish are. More often than not, once found most will then revert to berley trails with cubes, live baits and fishing deep with electronic reels to pull some of those deeper water tasty morsels like big eye trevalla, gemfish,

Hooked up solid. The face says it all!

This is what you look for when casting to tuna schools. 62

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cod, perch and many more. Mako and other species of sharks will also appear in trails. Have a good wire trace handy or put a shark bait out under a balloon. If you wish to target a shark, use plenty of striped tuna in the burley, cube with the flesh and pump the frame through the burley bucket. Deep-water jigging anglers now have another option while drifting in berley trails. Dropping jigs down deep will produce a wide variety of fish species and will sometimes bring tuna holding deep to the surface, allowing the other

methods to come into play. Snapper are now in good numbers on most reef systems that surround Bermagui, with the southern ones being more productive. Drifting over the reefs is the most popular method, however anchoring in berley trails is a very effective way of targeting large snapper. Setting baits at various depths will cover where the fish are holding, with pilchards, mackerel and striped tuna being the better baits. These can be used as strips, cubes or whole, and if small fish are a problem use half a mackerel and float it

back in the trail. Fish of 6-7kg will often be taken with this method. Other popular species of reef fish are around in good numbers, and anglers will end up with some fine bags of mixed fish. Morwong, nannygai, pigfish, ocean perch, large tiger flathead and many more are all on the short list, plus it is also the time of year to target Tassie trumpeter out on the Twelve Mile Reef. Closer to shore, becoming ever more popular is the use of soft To page 63 (Bermagui)

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE… NSW

From page 60 (Tathra)

been located, it’s time to stop and berley, which can have the fish coming up to the boat making them easier to catch. Sharks will also respond to the berley so have a rig handy or out under a balloon. It’s also a good policy to have a live mackerel out under a balloon rigged on heavier trace for both tuna and also any marlin which may be attracted by the activity. Closer to shore, small species such as bonito, kingfish, salmon and the occasional striped and yellowfin tuna are patrolling the many rocky headlands surrounding Tathra. Feeding

on small mackerel, yellowtail and pilchards, these predators can be taken simply by running a variety of bibless and deep diving lures close to shore. If you encounter some good schools, have some spin sticks handy to cast to the feeding fish. If they’re up on the surface, try casting surface poppers for some spectacular action. This style of fishing works particularly well on some of the large salmon schools. Water temps in the estuaries are starting to chill, however there is still plenty of activity to keep people enthused. In the Bega River, bream are around in good numbers and anglers are

doing well on both lures and bait. Mixed in are estuary perch that are now moving down the systems towards the entrance in order to breed. They have been taken along the rock wall adjacent to the boat ramp and around the bridge pylons. Flathead are in the lower part of the system in anticipation of migrating to sea with the onset of the cooler months, and are feeding regularly. Tailor are hanging around the bridge area and are a good option on lures, while over the flats blackfish and whiting are regular catches for bait fishos using nippers and worms.

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A mixed bag of tasty species taken less than one mile from the ramp. From page 60 (Bermagui)

plastics bounced around bommies and shallow reef complexes. This method is encountering a variety of species, from reef dwellers such as snapper to mid and top water fish in the form of kingfish to small tuna. Bermagui has good structure around its shoreline, providing plenty of options for anglers wishing to use this technique. Most of the estuaries that are open to the ocean are fishing extremely well towards the entrances. This is due to offshore water temperatures being

warmer than those in the upper reaches of the systems. As the tide rises, the warm water stimulates fish into feeding. The use of berley will encourage fish like flathead, yellowfin bream, trevally and more to feed more frequently. Striped tuna is the best bait in berley trails, cut into cubes while the frame can be used in the berley bucket. Start fishing in the channels as the tide rises sufficiently to more onto the flats, then berley to the oysters and other obstructions. While doing this, anglers can explore other areas such as weed beds with baits like nippers.

All species of tuna will crash a popper.

The last of the outgoing tide and first of the incoming will produce good luderick around the bridge and break wall on cabbage and green weed. Bream are in good numbers on most beaches, and again, the use of berley and tuna will secure good bags. Lots of salmon, a few tailor, the odd flathead and gummy sharks have all been encountered recently. Look for beaches with deep gutters, especially for the sharks, and for the bream anywhere where there is good water adjacent to the rocks. Drummer fishing off the rocks is now at its best. Late evening or first light is the prime time. Bermagui has some great areas around the main headland and Blue Pool to chase these fish. Baits like cunjevoi and prawns used in conjunction with bread as berley will do the job nicely. Sadly, Brogo is starting to cool down with water temps dropping. Searching with deep diving and bibless rattling lures is still producing some fish, with spinnerbaits probably being the best. Bass in the river systems are starting to congregate in pools prior to moving downstream to spawn, and are producing some reasonable fishing.

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MAY 2022

NSW

Fruitful fishing in autumn despite the weather NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

The weather has been playing havoc of late, with more heavy rain events that led to flash flooding amongst the New England Tablelands in recent weeks. The majority of the creeks and rivers along the divide have definitely had their fair share of fresh water running through them, which has seen the local dams reach full capacity again, even spilling over for days at a time, as well as the coast being back in major flood with some towns being completely cut off. It seems like as soon as the rivers start to settle again, they are flooded just as quickly. With so much water about of late, it can make the fishing even more unpredictable than usual so doing a bit of research before you plan your trip this month could save a lot of hassle, especially if the waterway you are planning to fish is still in heavy flood. In saying that though, it doesn’t take long

A healthy Murray cod caught on a slowly-worked swimbait along the edge of the weed beds. for the rivers to rise and fall from flood waters once the rain stops. There is a lot to stay hopeful for this month. The

temperature has started dropping quickly now and we all know the XL fish are never too far away once the cold weather arrives. Also,

with three big moon phases to fish this month, the impoundment natives will definitely be on the move looking for a decent meal

to bulk up before winter and the spawn period just after. The new moon is on 1 May, full moon is on 16 May, and the next new moon is on 30 May. Both Copeton and Pindari dams have risen again and are both sitting up around full capacity. During the months of May and June, previous seasons have proven that throwing surface lures, chatterbaits and swimbaits along the dam’s edge can be very fruitful on not only the Murray cod, but large golden perch as well which can make for some pretty exciting fishing. However, this year with so much water about, fishing from the dam’s edge could be very limited compared to previous seasons when the dam levels were a lot lower, so a boat or kayak may be needed in certain areas. If you’re targeting the golden perch and silver perch during the daylight hours, casting or trolling small vibes and blades along the tops of trees or around the rocky points can be very fruitful in both waterways – and usually

where you find the perch and baitfish, the big Murray cod aren’t far behind. Be careful when boating these waters at speed, especially at night, as there is plenty of debris about after the floodwaters made their way into the dam. The rivers can be pretty touch-and-go with so much water flowing through in such a short time, however there have still been some solid fish caught of late. Targeting the quieter sections at the sides and middle of the pools where the water isn’t flowing so hard can sometimes be the key when flows are too quick. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are perfect lures for this type of situation as they create a lot of disturbance in the water and the natives can pick up on this from a fair distance. The trout season will close on the end of June long weekend, so now is the time to get on the water and into them, especially with these colder temperatures. Enjoy the last month of autumn, good luck and tight lines.

Learning new tricks HUNTER VALLEY

Nick Price

This month I will start looking at winter fishing, in particular plastics and jerkbaits. My prediction is for a fantastic winter bite. The fish are well fed on the masses of gudgeons that have been in Glenbawn for the last few months. Like the local cattle, they definitely have left their drought condition behind and are now fat and strong.

Lots has been going on at Glenbawn and St Clair. Recently the ABT tournaments were held at both lakes, and there were roughly 100 anglers from Victoria to Queensland. The fishing was not easy. There were lots of school fish in 15-30ft of water that were all around the 28-34cm fork length mark. These fish were found amongst the timber and can be caught on lipless crankbaits such as TN60s, chatterbaits, small crankbaits and beetle spins with little plastics. It’s lots

of fun when they are biting. The bigger fish in both lakes were coming off the edge, right up in the shallows, sometimes in just inches of water. They were caught on jerkbaits, topwater and slow-sink lures such as the Jackall Spytail. When targeting big fish you’ll catch fewer fish overall, but those you do catch will be much bigger. I encourage anyone who loves bass fishing to get involved with the ABT tournaments. If you enter as a non-boater, you’ll get paired with a boater

Thanks to Garmin for sponsoring the Scripture Union Fishing Camp.

Fishing the ABT comps lets you learn new techniques and make new mates. 64

MAY 2022

and will learn a lot about fishing, have a great time and most importantly make new friends. Currently there’s a great group of people travelling around fishing these tournaments. Scripture Union also ran a kids fishing camp at Glenbawn. There were just over 20 kids, both boys and girls involved in this camp. A big thankyou to Garmin who sponsored the camp, and gave all the kids a pack of Garmin goodies. A group of volunteers took the kids out fishing

in boats, teaching them a variety of techniques. Most fish were caught on Jackall TN60s. Both carp and bass were caught on these lures, with both species fighting hard and giving the kids lots of fun! This winter I am looking forward to fishing jerkbaits in the shallow water. This is an exciting way to fish, with the bass often hitting on the pause. When using this technique I like to vary the size and colour of the jerkbait. The type of bank

will depend on how deep you want the jerkbait to go. So there are a few variables to consider, but like all bass fishing, when you work it out it’s sensational fun. I do prefer Double Clutches and Squirrels but have a few other rare favourite jerkbaits in the shop that I love. If you’re heading to Glenbawn or St Clair, to save time drop into the shop, we love talking bass and sharing how we are catching them, To page 65

NSW

Last word at Lithgow LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

The time has come: I’m moving north to the Yeppoon area in central QLD, which means this report will be my last piece for Fishing Monthly magazine as the Lithgow/ Oberon correspondent.

It’s been a wonderful journey for me, ever since my good mate Alex Hickson handed me the reins all those years ago. To be able to communicate and interact with anglers, and to share some of those stories and pictures is indeed special. The fishing media space has changed immensely in my time writing for Fishing

Monthly, and it’s a testament to all the staff that the magazine still thrives. This publication reaches out to a broad range of anglers, from casual fishers who dangle a prawn off the pier once a month, right through to serious tournament anglers. It’s a time-tested formula for success that at its core has local Fishing Monthly correspondents across the

The ability of Fishing Monthly to reach a wide variety of anglers via its dedicated contributors is quite special.

The author is looking forward to the challenges that lay ahead. From page 64

there a plenty of bass in Glenbawn and St Clair to go round, it’s just a matter of getting them to bite! Here’s what the jerkbait technique basically involves: do an accurate cast near the bank, over a weed edge, next to a laydown. Wind the jerkbait down, then pause. Keep the jerkbait on a semi-slack line for the pause. Vary

the length of the pause from one to as long as 60 seconds. Then give the lure a couple of jerks, pause again while winding in the slack. It’s important when winding in the slack to not wind so much that you pull the lure. The lure needs to stay on a semi-slack line at this point. The bass will hit at any time, during the jerk but more often during the pause. Sensational fun and hang on! Next month I will

continue looking at winter fishing, in particular plastics. The winter bite is going to be insane. It’s my favourite time to fish, with late starts, good weather and fish biting all day. But remember if you’re heading to Glenbawn or St Clair, please drop into the shop at the turnoff to Glenbawn in Aberdeen and ask about the different techniques and what they are biting on. We stock all the quality tackle that you need.

country keeping everyone updated with all the good oil on what’s biting and what’s not. MAY FOR COD Cooler water temperatures confine or restrict bait to shallower margins as we ease our way into May. This trend will continue as the weeks get into winter. The adage of finding the bait or finding the fish close by is a good one. Wyangala has fished well over the warmer months but I’m expecting that catch rates will increase this month (especially on bigger cod) as more anglers hit the swimbait scene. It’s a steep learning curve for many but one that’s well worth the effort. The learning goes both

Savvy cod anglers using this technology have it well and truly sorted. Reading the body language of a large cod on screen is front and centre to the operation. Casting bigger soft plastics will be a growing trend in the swimbait scene for cod, especially in open water low-light feeding scenarios. The underwater acoustics or lack of in these big rubbers sets them apart from other baits especially in harder hit areas. Windamere has a good population of cod and could be well worth checking out if you need a change of scenery. The weed will put a few anglers off but it’s key in a lot of cases to finding the bait and the cod.

targeted presentations at those big slabs in brown overcoats that I see from time to time. With a month to go before the trout season closes in the local streams and rivers, it’s a great time to get organized and go. I’ve not seen better trout fishing in the Fish River, the Duckmaloi, or the Turon in my time living in the area. All this could not have been possible without the hard-working people at various stocking groups working in conjunction with NSW Fisheries my hat is off to you all. Seasons such as this are indeed rare fingers crossed weather patterns are kind and help foster the hard work that

The swimbait scene for cod is constantly evolving. Always keep in mind the learning goes both ways, and adjust accordingly.

The kids at the fishing camp learnt a variety of techniques.

ways. I’m not sure that too many anglers have included that in a game plan going forward. This is especially the case with modern technology. We are now able to see big cod in real time, and we can watch and react to what they do. I’m not sure that some anglers have realized that following a big cod around for an hour pestering it with all manner of presentations is a good thing. All we are doing is educating it to get away and stop feeding when a boat is present.

BIG BROWNS In a lot of ways, chasing big brown trout in Lake Lyell and Thompsons Creek Dam (TCD) is a lot like chasing bigger cod as the cooler weather kicks in. There is preference for feeding in low-light situations in shallow water which is very similar. The bait is obviously a little smaller but not as much as you’d think. I’ve had a rethink on this over the last couple of years, and am looking forward to more deliberate

has gone into distributing all those trout. SIGNING OFF In signing off I’d just like to thank the many readers who have taken the time to correspond with me personally over the years via e-mail or in person on the water. It’s a very humbling experience to know that my writing has occasionally made a difference in some one’s life. Hope to see you all on the water soon. Until then, tight lines. MAY 2022

NSW

Feeding up before winter overnight and early in the day is much cooler, so the fish are at their most active in the late afternoon, when it’s warmer. Try to focus most of your energy during those hours for best results. TROUT Trout in the lake can be a bit hit and miss, but from now all the way through until the end of spring the surface water temperature will be more to their liking, and they are certainly worth targeting. I find trolling or casting lipless crankbaits to be the best way of targeting the resident trout. The main reason is that these lures will catch just about anything that swims, so by using them you are not going to miss out on catching any other species in the process. The other reason I like using them is that they are a sinking lure, so you can cover the entire water column whilst trying to work out where the fish are holding.

BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Air temperatures might be starting to cool down but this doesn’t mean the fishing is as well. The fishing in May is usually the complete opposite of the weather and can be described as ‘hot’, especially in the trout streams and rivers. REDFIN Blowering Dam’s redfin are also a good option at this time of the year. Schools are now more concentrated in the deeper water as they prepare for their annual spawning effort. These fish are still targetable trolling, however extra deep diving lures will be needed. Fish will be anywhere from 20-80ft down, but I find there’s almost always fish holding at the 30-40ft mark so it pays to start exploring in that depth. The AC Slim Invader in the 40ft model is perfect for locating schools whilst trolling, as are heavilyweighted soft plastics. Even if you don’t troll one of the heavily-weighted plastics, it pays to have one rigged and as soon as you catch fish trolling, pull up and throw the plastics out. Continue to catch fish until they shut down, then repeat the process i.e. troll until you catch a fish, then cast plastics. Alternatively you can have an ice jig or blade rigged ready to go as these lures are just as good and quite often even better than

To page 67

Natural coloured sinking hardbodies, like this rainbow trout coloured Sso Mino, will be hard to beat on spawning trout.

Your best chance of big redfin starts this month as these fish form massive pre-spawn schools. Finding one often means finding hundreds at this time of the year, so they are definitely worth the effort of finding. the soft plastics. NATIVES Murray cod and golden perch will be feeding up before the onslaught of winter, and they too will be worth focusing some energy on this month. Mid

to late afternoon is the best time to target the natives at this time of year. Unlike summer, where most of the action is after dark when the water has had a chance to cool, at this time of year the water temperature

Murray cod will be quite active this month as they hook in before the onslaught of winter.

Trolling lipless crankbaits is a great way of covering all bases. They help you to locate active fish and give you a good shot at catching a Murray cod, trout, redfin or golden perch. 66

MAY 2022

Flies with a bit of red in them, like the tiny red Copper John nymph, will account for cricket scores of trout this month.

NSW

Focussing on bigger fish ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

The cooler weather is now upon on us, and it’s time for cod anglers to knuckle down on those bigger fish. This time of year is really exciting, and many experienced Murray

So how do we approach fishing the cooler months? You don’t want to over complicate things, but you also don’t want to undersell these fish. There are three factors that I believe will help you catch these fish in the cooler months. TIP 1 Fish bigger, and fish

correctly the fish will eat on the first few casts. However, when it’s cooler this is not the case. I will put as many as 30 or more casts into a likely-looking spot. I often have two rods rigged with different style lures to really work the snags correctly in hope of making a fish bite and stick.

A nice fish from Lake Mulwala on the lead up to May. Most of the fish this season from the lake have been in exceptionally good condition. you possibly can in a day, so having a solid rod that’s going to do most the work for you really does help, and you won’t become as fatigued as quickly. TIP 3 Get the timing right. While being on the water at any time will give you the

and gives you more time to be on the water during the key bite periods. I personally love morning bites, so being right next to the water is easier than having to leave in the very early hours of the morning to get to the water. Plus, the camping experience ties into the

general enjoyment of cod fishing. It’s not all about actually landing fish. However, if you aren’t able to camp or fish the key bite times, don’t be discouraged. Most of the chances come from just being there! Just enjoy it and give it a crack.

A cod from Lake Mulwala caught in late April last year. A bigger profile bait style got the reaction on a slow day. cod anglers will tell you that now is the time to pull the bigger lures out of the cupboard, beef up the hooks and tighten your drags for the chance at a once-in-a-lifetime catch. The winter cod season is shaping up to be a good one. Recent rainfall in the months leading up to autumn have resulted in healthy creeks and rivers through the Albury/Wodonga region. These systems are now starting to clear up and drop back down to their usual normal flows. It’s been quite some time since flows in many systems have been somewhat normal, so it’s exciting just to be getting back into the kind of fishing we’re used to. From page 66

TROUT RIVERS AND STREAMS Autumn trout fishing in the district has been mostly amazing but at times a little tough (for noisy anglers anyway) due to very little rain making the smaller streams run super clear. This has made the trout super spooky and very hard to catch for some anglers. On the other hand, the Tumut River was in full flow, mostly due to the massive 5000-8000+ megalitres a day releases from Blowering Dam.

slower. Fish in cold water can sometimes take a lot of convincing, and having a bigger profile lure can often be what will entice a large fish to bite. You need to choose something you’re comfortable with throwing for hours on end. Fishing slower then comes into play, no matter what lure/bait style you are fishing, from swimbaits to chatterbaits. Slowing it down is all about hanging your lure/bait in the fish’s face. Fishing slower also refers to how quickly you move from snag to snag. In the warmer months, you may put 10 casts or so into a snag and move on, and often if you’re fishing the snag

TIP 2 Use gear that will keep you comfortable, i.e. a rod that you can handle using for long hours, and appropriate clothing for the weather. I’m sure we’ve all been there before – you head out fishing, you forget an extra jumper or pair of gloves, and all you can think about is being uncomfortable. Think ahead and bring whatever you need to keep you comfortable and keep you going during the long hours (you’d be surprised how many cod fishos have a pair of pink ugg boots!) The right rod will also help you remain comfortable on the water for extended periods. You want to be able to put in as many casts as

chance of catching a trophy fish, being on the water during prime bite times can increase your chances of landing a bigger specimen. Camping for a weekend can be a really good and fun way of chasing these fish,

This, too, made fishing very difficult for most fishers. However, just like the smaller streams, those anglers who put in the hard yards were still rewarded with some quality fish. Now that things have got back to normal with the Tumut River now relatively low and the creeks getting a regular top-up from rain, the trout fishing is about as good as it gets. With less than a month and a half left in the trout season, if you have been putting off your trout fishing then now would be a great time to get stuck into them before you have to wait until

next season. Whether you are fishing the Tumut River or one of the smaller rivers or creeks in the area, it will be very hard to beat indictor nymphing and/or glo bugging this month. In saying that, if you’re not into fly fishing or think that you can’t fly fish, simply use the flies (nymphs and/or glo bugs) on your light spinning rod. Use a small amount of split shot sinker on your line and allow the flies to drift along somewhere close to the bottom and you should hook into a few fish. Spinning with small sinking hardbodies lures

like Sso Minos, IMA Sukaris, or Rapala CD minnows in either trout colours, clear colours or very natural colours is another great way of hooking into plenty of trout this month. The key to getting good numbers of fish using these lures is to keep covering lots of water. Once you finish fishing a pool or the fish stop biting in a pool move upstream and get stuck into some more. If you put the hard yards in this month you should be rewarded with plenty of fish and potentially some very big spawning fish.

A large cod landed earlier in the season. Coming into the cooler part of the year, there’s a higher chance of catching bigger fish.

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ACT

Help eradicate the carp plague CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Carp are a massive issue in the ACT. I know that I am stating the obvious but the sheer amount of carp destroying the natural habitat of our native species across our lakes and rivers is cause for considerable alarm. I know a lot of anglers feel completely helpless in terms of addressing the issue especially those fishos who have walked across Commonwealth Avenue bridge on a clear, sunny afternoon only to see thousands of carp swimming near the surface and chasing around smaller native fish. So, what can be done? The short answer is not much. However, purely from an angling perspective, there is a longer answer and it involves a light spin rod, a handful

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of plastics and a bright autumn day. May is one of the best times to target carp on light gear. The fish feed up along the flats and will readily take a well-presented soft plastic twitched on the spot or slow

I haven’t seen a massive golden perch come from LBG for a few weeks now. It could be that the fish are shut down or that there will be a late season bite where the football sized fish feed up for a few weeks before the freezing

Try the quieter pools as the fish will be holding out of the main flow during the flood

rolled along the bottom. Targeting giant carp using lures and spin gear is a bit underrated in my opinion as the fish rip string with ease and provide exciting sport when the rest of the fish are shut down. By dispatching all carp caught, you will also be doing your bit for the local native fish population and though there are literally millions of carp, every little bit helps. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin

weather really starts to set in. Lake Ginninderra bucks the trend and is producing. There have been some really big fish landed of late, including big cod to 95cm. The better cod have been caught by those working swimbaits and spinnerbaits but there have also been a few big green fish landed by anglers using live tech and vertically jigging vibes in the middle of the dam. Redfin have been feeding along the points

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so. These fishos were using spinnerbaits and crawling the lure along the bottom. The redfin and carp action has been a little better with these pests willing to take wriggler style plastics bounced along

Carp are an underrated target, as they fight hard.

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with several lucky anglers landing reds to 35cm using ZX40s. The golden perch have been a little more quiet than the cod or redfin but it is possible to hook a big yella from the old police jetty at dusk.

The yellas have been a little quiet but the bigger ones may come on the bite later this month. is fishing reasonably well especially considering the amount of rain, which has fallen across the ACT over the last few weeks. There are redfin feeding up in the shallows and though the action has slowed somewhat, it is still possible to land a dozen or so reddies in a session, especially if fishing vibes or blades and slow rolling these lures near the bottom. The Murray cod are also still feeding and can be caught using a variety of lures including swimbaits slow rolled around the points in the lead up to the Governor General’s residence.

properly. That said, the quieter pools are always worth a look simply because it is May and the fish tend to feed heavily during this time of year. SURROUNDS The action at Googong Dam has slowed of late. I have read plenty of reports on anglers catching big fish but most of these anglers have live scope and when I report on a location, I take into account fishing from the bank. The fishing from the bank is a grind at the present time and though it is still possible to land a yella or cod while walking from the carpark to Shannon’s Inlet, most anglers who have tried have come up empty handed. That said, the southern end of the dam is worth a crack if fishing on foot but I do recommend taking a pair of waders so that it

Lake Tuggeranong is a bit hit and miss. A couple of young fishos bagged 15 yellas while fishing the lake last week in one session. All the fish were caught using bait near the bridge. However, for the most part, the fishing has been pretty quiet. I do know of a few gun anglers who have landed a number of massive cod near the dam wall during the last week or

The cod are on the bite at Lake Burley Griffin.

The author with a typical autumn green machine from LBG.

the middle of the water column behind the College. The Murrumbidgee River is once again in full flood. This has made fishing particularly difficult and it could be some time before the river fishes well. Over the last two years, there has probably been only about a month where the conditions have been reasonable enough to fish

is possible to cast a lure past the half-submerged trees and shrubs. Try spinnerbaits and swimbaits and be prepared to work hard for a bite. Note: don’t forget to give the South Coast a go this month. May is a great time to target pelagics like tailor from the stones and wharves that line areas like Eden and Merimbula.

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Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Tasmanian fishing is headed for a late winter HOBART

Andrew Large

With the freshwater season largely closed and tuna and swordfish well underway, Tasmanian anglers still have plenty of fishing options as we head into late autumn and early winter. Southern bluefin continue to captivate anglers in many regions around the state. In the northwest, game fishers around Burnie and Devonport have enjoyed Bass Strait SBT relatively close to shore, ranging in size from 15kg to nearly 60kg. In the south, one lucky angler spinning for kingfish in the River Derwent near Tranmere hooked and landed an 8kg bluefin off the rocks 2km from the Hobart CBD – a first as far as I’m aware for SBT. Slightly further afield in Storm Bay at the mouth of the River Derwent, SBT have been caught as close as the very famous Iron Pot, Betsy Island and Cape Queen Elizabeth, with the average size being around 20kg.

Across the bay near Nubeena and Whitebeach at Dart Bank, SBT to 70kg have been landed, with good school-sized fish at 25kg and albacore to 28kg being landed as well. It doesn’t stop here, as traditional haunts like Tasman Island, Fortescue Bay and Hippolyte Rocks are producing SBT of all sizes, as well as albacore.

south-east, but the days are numbered for this species this year. Most areas are producing sand flathead for those anglers drifting baits and spinning over shallow sand flats with soft plastics. Cremorne continues to produce Australian salmon to 2kg, with success at the moment being linked to a

Mitchell Harper and his mum with a nice early morning Storm Bay SBT. That’s Mt Wellington in the background and the CBD! Image courtesy of Joe Mangan.

dropping tide in the late afternoon. Black bream are in the middle of their annual autumn feeding frenzy, smacking both fly and lure around our various estuaries. These fish really do enjoy feeding on the last of the summer bait. As seems to be the case at this time of the year, sea trout to 1.9kg are also being taken by anglers fishing for bream. These fish are starting to congregate in readiness to spawn in lower levels in most larger estuary systems before heading upriver and into the fresh from the salt. Broadbill swordfish action has been erratic but showing promise this month before they too make themselves scarce in June. Long, still nights have been conducive to those chasing greenback flounder with a spear and light over the many sandy flats state-wide. Snapper really came on in April, and they still seem to be biting well. Betsy Island in the south and Clifton areas seem to be producing plentiful fish of around 800g. These fish really do have a late autumn

reputation and provide a great fishing option as some other popular target species begin to quieten. As mentioned above, the brown trout waters have now closed, rainbow waters remain open until the end of May, while a handful will remain open for the duration of the season ending in July. Great Lake continues to fish well, with both rainbow and brown trout being taken by all facets. Spin and troll anglers seem to be faring well in Swan and Beckets Bay. The Tasmanian Devil in colour 106 has been accounting for many. Dee Lagoon has fished well generally this season, and seems to be finishing on a high note with wellconditioned browns and rainbows coming from this water in recent weeks. Plenty of great fishing action still remains as temperatures fall. The feeling in the fishing community is that we’re headed for a late winter, and the autumn fishing should follow this prediction closely. Enjoy the last of the summer and autumn fishing during these coming weeks.

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MAY 2022

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VRFISH IS YOU The people of Victoria that love to go fishing. Established as the Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak Body, VRFish, is your notforprofit, independent voice representing Victoria’s recreational fishers since 1995. We are proud to be part of a huge and diverse community of 838,000 fishers that injects $2.6 billion each year in economic contribution to the Victorian economy.

We are not the government. We are fishers that want to make fishing better for everyone. Whether it’s fish habitat, water security and quality, fishing access and infrastructure or best practice, we aim to work in partnership to make sure Victoria’s fishing experiences continue to improve, be sustainable and more enjoyable for all generations of Victorians.To get the job done, we leverage the skills and passion of our membership and employ a small team of professional staff.

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We are passionate about supporting you to fish for the future by fostering the adoption of responsible fishing practices and behaviours. The next generation of fishers need our support so that they are given the same opportunities to get outdoors and get hooked on fishing as when we were growing up.

VRFish works to raise the profile of fishing as a recreational activity with significant social, cultural and economic benefits. At the same time, we are protecting our fishing lifestyle so that you can get outdoors, connect with nature, relax and enjoy quality time with your family and friends.

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Surface success this May WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

May can be a great time to fish locally, with plenty of exciting angling options before winter really kicks in. Tuna seem to be making the transition from the inshore, summer behaviour to more traditional tuna behaviour and depths. Last trip out we found fish further out in 50-55m as opposed to as the closer patches they were holding in summer. It’s always interesting to see what happens each tuna

season, as no two seem to be the same. Hopefully some big barrel size tuna will show up a little closer to port than where most were taken last season. Late May can often see a run of inshore schoolies in the 30-40m range, but this has been a bit inconsistent the past few seasons; certainly not as consistent as the summer inshore run has become. May is often a great month to target EP in the freshwater as they begin feeding up and moving down to the estuary in winter. Keen lure casters have also been getting in on the action, using surface lures that imitate a struggling

insect on the surface. The implosion of a decent perch on your lure when you least expect it certainly gets the heart racing, particularly if it’s in the dark. May is usually a good time to target the local bream population. Any crowd or water quality issues that cropped up in summer should have passed, and the water usually isn’t discoloured enough to make deep water fishing the only option. Surface fishing tight to the edges of the rocky banks, cliffs or weed beds can turn on some exciting bream fishing in low light

Tuna are usually in good numbers during May.

periods. Change over to diving hardbodied minnows or soft plastics and fish the same areas as the conditions brighten. The Daiwa Double Clutch 48 and Spike 44EXDR have been perfect for a bit of edge luring recently. If bream have begun to school up in preparation for spawning as the waters cool, they can be easily located using a quality sounder. They are often more willing to bite than they are in some of the colder months to come. Trout fishing really starts to kick into gear with the cooler weather of May. One benefit of a cooler than usual summer is that the local trout should have survived and maintained condition, and should be primed ready to fire this winter. Last winter was a very good one for salmon fishers. May is often a time when these fish fire up, particularly in places like Killarney, Port Fairy beaches and the Warrnambool breakwater. Hopefully this winter we’ll see more big schools of this exciting sportfish. Lastly, the Curdies River has experienced a horrible blue green algae outbreak, which led to a large fish kill. There were dead fish all the way from Peterborough to the Scout Camp. What effect this will have remains to be seen, but hopefully something will be done to improve the water quality issues in this system.

May can be a great time for targeting bream in the local rivers on hardbodied lures

Family-friendly fishing PORTLAND

Nigel Fisher

G’day everyone, I hope the fishing gods are shining on you all. Our tuna season is shaping up to be a ripper. We have already seen some big sizes coming out of the

Port Fairy area up around 100kg. By the time you read this, hopefully we will have some good size fish caught around Cape Nelson, Bridgewater Bay area. We generally have quite a few charter boats operating by now, so if you don’t have a boat or are just starting out, get on board and enjoy

the experience of catching some great fish. The school tuna are generally in big numbers by now also. Calmer conditions will also see locals, tourists and charter boats heading to the shelf and beyond for albacore, plus the opportunity for a bottom drop for blue0eye, pink ling,

Johnie with a very nice school shark off the breakwater.

Braden got a nice feed of estuary perch and bream from the Glenelg River. 74

MAY 2022

gemfish and so on. A chance to score a good size mack is also on the cards, so there should be plenty of opportunities for the big boys to get out and hook up to some quality fish. We have a large range of hardbody and skirted lures and deep dropping gear to get you fishing. The bay also fishes will in autumn, and we are still seeing some goodsize whiting and also some reasonable flathead plus big schools of salmon. If you want to specifically

target flathead, heading to Bridgewater Bay on good days is certainly well worth the trip. Mixed in with the flathead are gummies and latchets – all very good table fish. Also, Lawrence Rock to Cape Nelson is popular with anglers seeking good bottom fishing for sharks, snapper etc. These areas are more accessible with bigger boats. For smaller boats, the harbour, bay and north shore areas are providing some great fishing options. Trolling for salmon and pike (snook) is good fun in the

cooler months, and these species can put up a good fight on lighter gear. You can also still pick up squid and pinkies under the water tower and reef lines around the north. Sharks are also on the cards. Land-based options include the lee breakwater, Trawlers Wharf, Town Jetty and canal, plus some beach access. The anglers who have put in the time on the break wall have had good results of late. School sharks, gummy To page 75

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Catching a tasty feed COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

The fishing in the Hopkins remains very viable, with all three main species about and on the chew. Yes, bream, estuary perch and mulloway are all on the cards this month, and bait and lures are catching all three. The lower reaches of the river is the place to concentrate your efforts, but it’s pot luck with the mulloway as they constantly move up and down the estuary in their never-ending search for a feed. Boaters anchoring\tying up along the cliff face where the old pumping station lies and fishing bait, not only in the shallows but out on the edge of the channel, have been catching some excellent 1kg+ bream. At

low tide, good crab can be found under rocks here and they are working extremely well. So too are soft plastic crab imitations fished extremely slow. Perch are being taken nearby on the mud flats between the pumping station and Mahoneys Road boat ramp. Hardbodied minnow lures that are shallow diving are doing the damage. The road bridge pylons are holding good bream, and the drop-off along the Lyndoch bank has good perch. The bay (mud flats) opposite also have bream and perch. Any of these localities could hold mulloway from 70-195cm in length, so don’t fish too light in the line department or you may miss out. The Curdies estuary has a blue-green algal outbreak in the lake and river. Until some serious rainfall occurs, causing the system’s water

level to rise so the mouth can be reopened, many anglers will be keeping their distance. Offshore has been great for whiting around 40cm, with morwong, rock cod and pinkie snapper inhabiting the same waters. Good gummies are being taken over rubbly reefs in 20-40m depth, with squid being the best bait. If you start pulling in wrasse (parrot fish) well, it’s time to move. Depths of approx. 20m accompanied by a rubbly bottom and weed and sand is the prime spot to park. Drop anchor and berley, and see what happens. Plenty of Australian salmon schools are also about and provide great fun, along with the odd silver trevally. On the bottom, some good-sized leatherjackets abound, as well as a few sergeant baker, which are tasty but need to be properly boned to be enjoyed.

This Hoppies perch took a shallow diver over the flats on a rising tide.

Plenty of big fish are there for the taking APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

The bait has turned up and so have the tuna. There had been earlier reports of tuna offshore along the coast, but finally there are fish in Apollo Bay. There are plenty of school fish around as well as some From page 75

sharks, whiting, squid and even a few kingfish in March. Some good salmon

bigger specimens. The fish haven’t moved right in close yet; they are a long way out near the gas plant. There are restrictions on how close you can get to the rig, and it clearly shows on your GPS. There have been some fines given to anglers getting too close. I know it’s hard when fish are busting up inside

those zones, but rules are rules and the fines are quite steep. Whiting have been really good so far this year, with sizable fish pushing up to 44cm with bag limit catches coming in regularly. I have found fresh pipi to be the best bait. Pipis are expensive at the moment but so are whiting fillets! The

whiting have been feeding in the strong part of the tide. I haven’t had to move much to find the fish either, and once you find them you can quite easily get your bag. There are plenty of nice flathead there for the taking too, with no need to travel too far. Salmon have turned up off the local beaches at

can fish well. The beaches at this time of year are great for chasing large salmon as it gets cooler,

Glenelg River are all within arm’s reach of Portland, with fish like bream, estuary perch and mulloway. As the water gets a bit more dirty, the average size of the fish caught seems to increase. Portland also has a

few freshwater options, like Bridgewater Lakes for redfin. It can be difficult catching redfin in this lake, but when you do they are generally very big. We also pick up a few out of the local fire dams, and within

Marengo. Cast metal lures have been working best. Snapper and gummy shark have also been good for those who are putting in the time. With daylight saving over now, the days are getting a bit shorter and the water temps will drop, so now is the time to go out fishing before winter hits. The local rivers probably need a good

flush-out. The fishing has been a bit slow in recent weeks, and I haven’t got much to report. However, with a bit of rain and a freshen up things can change very quickly. With the tuna running and the wind good for the week, I might have to get out and see what’s going on and hopefully have a good report next month.

Bag Out Fishing Charters have been hitting the school tuna.

Johnie caught this large octopus off the breakwater. are being caught too. The Trawler Wharf has been fishing well over the last few months, with great numbers of King George whiting. The Town Jetty and the canal platform are great familyfriendly options, and both

and we usually see some good-size sharks caught, especially at night. It’s that time of the year again that we see the river systems fire up with some good quality fish. The Surrey River, Fitzroy River and the

Emily and Daughter Audrey with a redfin from a local dam.

a couple of hours inland we have many options to catch some good quality freshwater fish. We are so lucky have fantastic ocean fishing on our doorstep – plus access to good estuary and freshwater fishing within a short distance – so come on down to Portland and have a fish. • If you are thinking of

making a trip to Portland, call in to Portland Compleat Angler and say g’day to the Fisher crew, and learn where the fish are biting. The store is located at 61 Bentinck Street, Portland right next to the Gordon Hotel. You can also contact the team on 03 5521 1844 or check out their Facebook page for more information. MAY 2022

VIC

Anglers having a ball GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com

The lead up to May has seen some fantastic fishing. The Bellarine has had a hot whiting bite, and the gamefish have been a focus offshore.

– a great lure session! Point Henry has been popular for those chasing flathead and pinkies. Andrew Orchard has been getting stuck into them using soft plastics fishing from a mate’s kayak and landing himself enough for a feed. Other yak anglers fishing plastics have enjoyed pinkie

out on fish up to 40cm. Calamari have been available as well but they have been a little harder to find for some, while other anglers have found them and quickly bagged out. The trick here is, for whiting and calamari, to keep moving until you find the hungry ones as there are good numbers to be had. There are similar stories from anglers fishing the whiting mecca of St Leonards, Indented Head and Queenscliff – i.e. good numbers for those prepared to move around until a hungry school is located. There are lots of small flathead out off St Leonards in 15-18m of water, with the odd fish over 40cm making the constant tiddler de-hooking worth it. Rabih Assafiri set out from Werribee with his brother Aiman and his mate

Peri from Trelly’s in Geelong with his Surf Coast mako shark. with an 8kg and a 15.5kg gummy shark, plus a bunch of other critters like wobbygongs and so on. A top day out! Queenscliff boat ramp closed for stage 2 of the upgrade at the end of March. Expect it

Les had an epic salmon session with them biting in knee-deep water at North Shore. Inside Corio Bay there have been garfish, pinkies, salmon, whiting and plenty of flathead about for both bait and lure fishos. Land-based anglers have had a ball in the region with some spectacular captures lately. Mustafa Bahadir caught 13 solid whiting fishing from St Leonards Pier after dark, while other anglers have had similar success with calamari caught from the local Bellarine Peninsula piers. Speaking of meritorious land-based captures, Darren Foster was minding his own business fishing the St Helens rock wall, when an 83cm kingfish decided to grab the chicken he was using for bait! That’s one heck of a landbased capture from St Helens, and could be attributed to the shellfish reef installed there not so long ago. Australian salmon bob up at unannounced locations around the bay from time to time. They are a little hard to predict, so blind casting and trolling can sometimes locate them. Les Cameron got stuck into a heap of salmon fishing from North Shore beach. Les was using a metal slice lure with a dash of green, and he said they were chasing what appeared to be anchovies as some washed up onto the shore. Les says he passed his rod to his son-in-law and he also got stuck into the salmon in an exciting session. Les says the water was boiling only 5-6m from shore in knee deep water 76

MAY 2022

snapper, salmon, flathead and trevally fishing around the moored boats. Larger snapper to 5kg have shown up out near the

How’s that for a land-based effort by Darren?

Aiman with one of the gummies he caught with his brother Rabih and mate Abdul. to be closed for another 10-12 weeks. Additional ramp, pontoons, separate kayak ramp and extra-large car parks will be added so it should be a great facility. Head to betterboating.vic.gov.au for updates and info. Those that have made it offshore have found tuna around the 15-25kg mark, and larger fish to 80kg have turned up at Apollo Bay at the time of writing, so pack the heavy gear if you’re going offshore. The tuna have been very hot-and-

cold though, biting their heads off one day and having complete lockjaw the next. Kai Hamilton mentioned to his dad Ash that he’d like to catch a tuna, so they headed out off Ocean Grove after school for a mid-week flick. They had no time to troll due to fading light so they decided to find schools fast and have a crack on the cast. Ash’s mate Dan Eastwell spotted a shimmer on the water. With a stealthy approach they threw the kitchen sink at them, with Dan eventually hooking up on a Pop Queen lure. With Kai’s help it didn’t take long until the fish was boated and on ice. Kai got the smoked tuna wings he was after, plus a few

Kai and his dad Ash boated this tuna offshore with help from their mate Dan. shipping channel for anglers using baits around dawn and dusk. A change of tide can also bring the snapper on the bite, and top baits lately have been pilchards and fresh squid. I took my 13yo son Max out and we managed to bag a few whiting to 37cm fishing out off Leopold. He milks the ‘food-providing hero’ tag a bit when he walks back into the Slater house, but whiting are awesome eating as we all know. The whiting have really been going well in the stretch from Point Henry to Portarlington and over near Avalon, with anglers bagging

Abdul hoping to make the long journey offshore for a tuna. They tried for squid at Portarlington and Swan Bay but struggled. While drifting, they had a bait out the back and managed to snag a whiting. They tossed the pick out, and before long they were hauling whiting in left right and centre using squid and pipis for bait. The bag limit came pretty quickly and the wind picked up so they decided to head out to 15m of water and try for a gummy instead of going offshore. They sent down some salmon, calamari and mackerel for bait and were rewarded

Andy has enjoyed the soft plastic yakking at Point Henry.

stories for the playground! Anglers have enjoyed an epic kingfish bite in the Rip on occasions, with fish over 90cm jumping on jigs, live squid and sometimes trolled lures. Not forgetting mako sharks, Peri Stavropoulos from Trelly’s Outdoors in Geelong caught a fine mako shark around the 50-60kg mark drifting out off the Surf Coast. The lads sent out a thick berley trail and after a few hours had only attracted a few pesky blue sharks. Eventually a mako showed up and harassed the berley pot and engine. The mako eventually took a salmon head for bait, and the lads also boated a school and gummy shark to around 15kg. My mates Dave and Grant headed out off Barwon Heads and sent some baits down in 50m. The lads managed to boat a feed of flathead plus hauled a massive 7-gill shark to the boat which was released. • Catch a few around Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula or Surf Coast to Lorne recently? Send in a report to slaterfish@ gmail.com with ‘FMG’ in the subject field or give me a call on 0408 997348. 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).

New cleaning tables at Hastings and Patterson River Taking home a meal of fresh fish for the pan is now easier than ever thanks to new fish cleaning tables at Hastings and Patterson River. New tables have also been built at Avalon, the Warmies, Point Lonsdale and Lake Purrumbete, all thanks to the State Government’s $35 million Go Fishing Victoria plan to get more people fishing, more often.

At Patterson River, Victoria’s busiest boat ramp, four new fish cleaning tables can now handle up to 16 fishers at any one time and feature smart lighting and an underground water treatment system.

At Hastings, undercover tables feature sensor lighting and running water so fishers can clean their catch no matter the time of day or weather. The tables measure 3m x 1.4m and provide more than double the capacity of the old setup, catering for catches of King George whiting right up to gummy sharks and tuna.

Learn more at www.vfa.vic.gov.au/gofishingvic

The Hastings tables are located alongside the boat ramp, which is being upgraded thanks to Better Boating Victoria and unprecedented investment into recreational boating. That includes making boat ramps free to use. The second stage of the $3.4 million upgrade at Hastings involves channel dredging and installing a floating pontoon to make it easier for boaters at all tides.

Go Fishing Victoria More people fishing, more often

Authorised by the Victorian Government, 1 Treasury Place, Melbourne

VIC

Bass fishing takes off PPB WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

What an interesting month it’s been fishing around Melbourne. We’ve had some welcome surprises

including a late season boom of snapper in the Port Phillip Bay, the continual rise of bass which have been going strong in our local rivers, and our metro systems have been fishing really well for our beloved bread-and-butter

species. Let’s spend a bit of time talking about all of this in more detail. The start of April saw a shortly enjoyed frenzy of snapper fishing in Port Phillip Bay. These big schools of reds were found around the deeper shipping

Jordan Matthews with a local bass.

It’s all about the bass at the moment.

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channels in 20m+ deep. The most productive areas were around Mornington, Mount Martha and opposite ends of the bay around Clifton Springs and Portarlington. They weren’t too hard to find, with hordes of boats crowded in bunches as many snapper between 2-6kg were being caught in good numbers. During this time, we were also greeted with calm weather which meant the fishing even for a short widow was quite epic after an inconsistent and quite windy summer. Your sounder is an invaluable tool during these times, and spending time motoring along slowly, staring at your screen to find the schools, will be key to a productive day on the water. Typically, you’ll see a couple of big arches in close proximity or packs of fish holding the bottom. The snapper have been eagerly taking a range of baits such as pilchards, silver

whiting, squid and salmon but also happily taking a range of soft plastics including 4”, 5”, and 7” jerkshads, paddle-tails and curl-tails. I managed a couple using 5” jerkshads in nuclear chicken using a light 4-6kg spin outfit and 3000-size reel spooled with 15lb braid. As the water temperature gets colder the big numbers will slowly reduce, but snapper can still be found during the cooler conditions with some effort and persistence. The metro systems have been fishing really well lately. The water temperature is optimal for a good volume of pinkies and bream, which makes for great fishing for land-based anglers, kayakers and those with small boats and electric motors. Peter Bakaj has dedicated his time over the last month moving up and down the Maribyrnong and Yarra rivers on his boat. Peter has been doing very

well catching a good variety of species and no shortage of pinkies. However, the bream fishing has been particularly exceptional, with bream in good numbers and great sizes. They have been switched on and eager to take a whole range of soft plastics and crustacean imitations, including the usual favourites – 2.5” grubs, small paddle-tails, Cranka Crabs, micro vibes and mussel vibes. The beautiful bream in the pic was taken on an olive coloured Cranka Crab along the structure with a Daiwa TD Black Combo. Peter has caught many bream around the 40cm mark, which indicates that the bream are thriving in these underrated and sometimes overlooked metro systems. Keep up the great work and reports Peter. The bass fishing continues to grow and flourish around Melbourne. Let’s face it, it’s been a long and slow journey but slowly some of our local systems

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Joshua Phillips with a healthy bass.

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are producing bass in good numbers. Thankfully the bass are starting to become acclimatised to our local waterways, and are growing to good sizes, making them extremely enjoyable to target. Australian bass are renowned for their aggressive nature, those amazing strikes and their love for surface lure action. In time this fishing will only get better and better. Jordan Matthews has had much success on the Werribee River on

sunrise using Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas and small paddletails rigged weedless. Jordan has kept his fishing style simple – a light spin outfit, and slow rolling surface lures or plastics. Using this approach, he has enjoyed many productive days walking the banks. Joshua Phillips has also had great success on his kayak around Melton reservoir. Trolling mid-diving minnows such as Rapala Jack Deeps and spinnerbaits in 3-5m deep

s t a c e r. c o m . a

water has accounted for some beautiful, healthy and very aggressive local bass. I’ve seen some recent footage he shared, and the strikes of those fish were very aggressive and exciting. Those short moments of chaos easily make up for the hours spent trolling the bank, and will have us anglers out chasing them time and time again. Strangely enough, both Jordan and Josh report that the fish have been biting at all times of the day, not just

Peter Bakaj was happy with this metro stonker.

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in the early morning and evening. This is great news for those who like to throw a line during the middle of the day. It’s an exciting way of fishing. You can also opt to simply troll at a constant slow to medium pace, or cast and work the lure back at a constant slow retrieval speed. Hold on when that bite comes because these silver bullets pack a fair punch. That’s why it’s so exciting to see the bass fishing growing. Until next time, good fishing everyone. Feel free to contact me directly to share your fishing experiences, photos and catches around Melbourne, Port Phillip Bay and beyond which we can feature in next month’s article. You can contact me by email at alan@fishingmad. com.au. Please consider becoming a FishingMad member at www.fishingmad. com.au/member for fishing workshops, detailed reports and exciting monthly giveaways. Also, don’t forget to follow my fishing adventures on the FishingMad YouTube channel (www. youtube.com/c/fishingmad), Facebook page (www. facebook.com/fishingmad. com.au), Instagram (www. instagram.com/fishingmad. com.au) and on Channel 31 Tuesday evenings at 9:30pm and Saturday afternoons at 3pm.

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Exceeding expectations PORT PHILLIP NE

Jared Standish

Our temperatures are slowly cooling down, but the fishing certainly isn’t. During this past month the whiting bite has continued around the local waters of Mt Eliza, Mornington to Dromana and much further south towards the heads. Back in 2018 there was an article done by Vic Fisheries in relation to the science dating back to 1998 which predicts stocks of King George whiting. It was mentioned that 2019 to 2021 should see whiting reach a catchable size. I’m no scientist, but I would have to say just how right this prediction so long ago was. The quality of the fish has even exceeded those predictions, because I assume that “catchable size” refers to the minimum legal length of 27cm. It’s not uncommon

now to have a session where these fish are low to mid 30s and into the 40s ,which is good for multiple reasons – they’re fun to catch and sustainable enough to take a few for a feed with family and friends. This is a great time of year to fish for a variety of species. Good snapper captures will occur as our temperatures decrease over the coming month or so. Try sounding the areas between Frankston and Dromana. The fish can hold at varying depths, depending on how the weather has been or simply the time of day. Another option at this time of year is targeting garfish around the rugged coastline between Frankston and Mount Martha over the weed and reef patches, or land-based where it’s safely accessible. Garfish make a fantastic fresh bait for snapper, and it’s good to plan your trip to have some fun catching garfish and squid

first, and then head out wide into deeper waters in the hope of catching a snapper. Garfish can be caught at any time of day in depths anywhere from 1-10m, speaking from personal experience fishing the peninsula region. Certain areas have extremely good broken ground that extends even further than 10m in depth. I recommend setting a good berley trail with pilchards mashed up in a berley pot only a fraction under the surface if you’re in shallow water, and further below the surface in deeper waters. Good garfish spots include Patterson River mouth, Seaford Pier, Frankston Pier, Mornington Pier, Safety Beach jetty and anywhere your adventurous mind can think of. Simply giving it a go and discovering a spot is rather satisfying. Salmon schools will circulate through a lot of areas in Port Phillip Bay

during the cooler months, and can make for some exciting fishing. Having said that, like most fish, they can have their fair share of challenges. If you’re in the right place at the right time and find them on the surface, you can get good results throwing a variety of lures like metals, stickbaits and poppers. I also recommend trolling small skirted lures or hardbodied diving lures to depths around 6m and in the 100mm size, or a fraction smaller. The trolling technique isn’t for everyone as they can be challenging. However, if you’re willing to give it a go I have found that working depths of around 6-12m, teasing these fish up to creating a feeding frenzy, creates the opportunity to throw surface lures. The salmon can be there one minute and gone the next, but the good times aren’t few and far between if you put in the work.

Ty Coulson with a nice snapper off Mornington.

An angler’s paradise MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

Finally, the rivers have subsided. The muddy water has dispersed to the ocean, letting fresh seawater into the estuary with the tides, and allowing all species of fish back into the system. The fishing has exploded into an angler’s paradise. With the conditions back to normal, plenty of anglers are out and about fishing the estuary and offshore. However, you shouldn’t be complacent; just because the entrance is good, with plenty of water in the channel, doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous. Recently a fishing group of three turned their boat over, spilling the crew overboard, and the Marlo rescue had to be deployed. Fortunately, luck was on their side and all three were dragged from the water alive. If you want to fish offshore and haven’t had experience from an entrance

Dave Shanahan with a 43cm bream. and crossing a sandbar, it’s a lot smarter to head out from the boat ramp at Cape Conran. As soon as you leave the ramp you are out to sea and on your way fishing. When you get fishing, by all reports there are plenty

of fish to be caught. Anglers have reported getting good numbers of flathead in close, and out wide there are big tiger flathead with lots of pinkie snapper, morwong, squid, barracoota, gurnard, salmon, and plenty of gummy

Good size bream are on the chew.

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MAY 2022

Estuary perch are being caught from the snags.

shark on the chew. The surf beaches are still fishing very well with plenty of salmon, tailor, snapper, flathead, and gummy shark on the bite. For the onshore game fishing mob, big bronze whalers and other big toothy sharks are still patrolling the surf beaches. Back in the estuary the fishing should be good this month, provided that the Snowy River behaves itself and does not flood again. Reports of bream are coming from Lake Corringle down along the foreshore at Marlo and up both the Snowy and Brodribb rivers. Luderick are back in again and schooling on their favourite haunts – the rock groynes that surround the islands and river banks. Estuary perch are holding on structures and snags in both rivers, big flathead are still in good numbers along the sandflats that run all the way to Frenchs Narrows, and salmon and tailor are in numbers near the entrance and smashing metal lures.

VIC

Prepared for anything PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

Another season down, and it was a season like no other, with the fishing and weather very different from the year before. Now we get to take a breath before hitting the catalogues over the next few months and stocking up on tackle to do it all over again. Customers often ask us where the fish are biting. It’s a question we expect, and which we are happy to respond to, but people

We have some customers that are very successful often, and always seem to find fish when others can’t, which tends to frustrate many anglers. These successful anglers use similar gear, the same baits, go out on the same days but fish fewer hours for more reward. While it might seem this happens all the time, they too have days where they can’t find a fish. What they do have on their side is experience, and probably hours and hours more than you have on the water. They have learnt the habits of the fish they

Salmon were big this year. This one went just under 3kg. forget that fish have tails and swim – so the answer can be different from day to day. True, there are areas that produce better than others, but in Westernport Bay you must be prepared to always have options and try different things a lot of the time because of the weather and the tides. The most successful anglers always go out with several ideas in mind, and are prepared to try them all as needed. Other anglers will either luck out on the spot they chose or go home empty-handed. We do give out GPS marks and many customers get them from mates, but you should think of marks as a general area and not the exact location of the fish. While the GPS is important in locating areas, your sounder is far more important, not just for locating fish but for locating the best areas the fish might be.

are chasing, the best times, best tides, best months, the best places to fish on certain winds or barometer position, and the best rigs. And these guys could probably share all of this with you and you will still not catch as many fish as they do. Perseverance and experience, neither of which you can buy, will lead to more success in the future, so don’t be discouraged. If you don’t think too hard about it, your time will come eventually. It’s been another season of differences, with kingfish being caught off the Corinella jetty and randomly in the bay. There have been huge schools of salmon and baitfish in the bay, with dozens of reports of tailor being caught amongst the salmon. There are tuna about offshore, and quality kingfish being caught on the deeper reefs as well. Then there are all the odd species we don’t see too many of caught on rod and reel. Flounder have been in good numbers (a couple even caught on the rod and reel), the very big sea gars were back and even a couple of stargazers caught – and for the second year in a row we have a couple of reports of John Dory being caught offshore. One thing we have learnt over the 16 years in the shop is that nothing is a surprise anymore. We have had another run of 5kg snapper which happened about five years ago. They turned up late March and are a different fish than we get in November. These are bright silver and have a more slender body; it’s very noticeable when you hold the two types together. Coming into winter there will some very good fishing on offer. The bay has

Joel had tried several times for a tuna, and when he finally caught his first, the smile says it all. cooled a lot and the bigger gummies are showing up, with a couple of 10kg ones caught off Elizabeth island and slightly smaller ones towards Gardners Channel. There are some very good flathead around in the bay now and they seem to be getting bigger and bigger each year. Winter time is an excellent time to chase these fish. Try using soft plastics drifting across the corals on the change of tides. This is possible through the winter because of the lack of boats on the water. Try the same thing in Cleeland Bight while you are chasing the bigger calamari. Another place that’s very successful for flathead with plastics is drifting across the sand bar on the San Remo side of the Bight. It takes a bit of homework to get it right; the tides and weather conditions must be almost perfect. However, the rewards can be well

worth it. If you do get it slightly wrong, don’t panic – the tide will come back in and re-float you. Offshore the flathead have been and will continue to be good in numbers and sizes, and the snapper are out on the deeper reefs as well. Gummies and even a few school shark are starting to show up in the reports from offshore, now that everyone has had enough tuna. Don’t forget to have a couple of lures

to chase tuna. The beaches will start to get busier again as people put boats into layup insurance and are looking for something to do on those perfect winter days that are to come. Surf will be number one, followed closely by those chasing calamari for bait for the new season, targeting the back beaches and jetties. Don’t forget about the winter whiting and flathead that can also be caught off the beaches through the winter.

Good-size tailor have been a regular catch.

Thomas went fishing with his dad and managed a nice flathead and some whiting.

and a bigger rod with you just in case those barrels show up early. Land-based has been a little like the forgotten child this season, because everyone with access to a boat has been heading out

Maybe pick a couple of nights over the full moon to do the trip up around Temby or Stockyard Point for a land-based gummy or resident snapper, don’t forget the winter coat as the nights will get a little chilly. MAY 2022

East Coast

VIC

Snapper catches in the surf GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

For this month’s report I’ll be going a little further afield than the Gippy Lakes, and tell you about the nearby beach fishing. I’ll also be discussing a few species that I rarely feature, so just for this month I’m changing things up a little. I’ve actually got some fantastic news on the local bream captures, with some of the biggest fish landed in years. I’ll save that for my next report when I’ll have some better pictures and no doubt much more news on that exciting front. SNAPPER COME SURFING IN For the last three months the 90 Mile Beach surf fishing has been outstanding. In fact, it’s been the best any of us have seen in over 30 years. The snapper are being caught in amazing numbers, and here’s a perfect example. A few anglers got together to see if they could get in on the action, including Aaron Lynch and Trent McMillan. They all headed to Seaspray Beach, and between 8pm and midnight they caught an amazing run of around 40 snapper to a whopping 70cm. Aaron said most of them were down to one rod each, and the bites were so frequent that using the rod holders was a waste of time. The boys didn’t have to cast their squid baits out that far into the surf, and they lost or dropped plenty of other big snapper during the red-hot session. They also caught two

nice gummy sharks, and one of the boys said this was a oncein-a lifetime session. It turns out that this astounding surf fishing has been going on for weeks on end now, and may continue next month. Bryan Lazzaro and family sent me pictures with a ripper report from the same beach, and this time they used a drone to drop baits about 200m out. The first morning they landed five snapper to 60cm and returned the very next day to land another six cracking snapper of similar size. Best of all, Bryan told me that they fished gentleman’s hours (from about

9am to midday). Another report came in 20km further east from near Golden Beach, where two anglers landed six impressive pinkie snapper from 40-55cm, big trevally, a 4ft gummy shark, three flathead to 46cm, two King George whiting and even a few small mackerel. Then another party told me they caught plenty of snapper all over 40cm and also two elephantfish. I think you get the idea now that the beach fishing has been mind-blowing, and anglers are saying it’s the best in living memory. That’s a big call in this day and age, and

Peter Ingram, a commercial electrofisher, with a monster Latrobe River carp. If only they tasted like whiting!

I’m not sure why it’s improved so much although I reckon it could be related to water temperatures. One thing is for sure, the beach will be crowded with anglers over the coming weeks because these epic captures are so rare for the surf. CARP AND GOLDEN PERCH I went in search of bream the other day and tried the Latrobe River, which usually fishes well at this time of year. I failed to get a single bump on the lures that usually never fail me, and after five hours I called it quits. This is my third trip to my local rivers where I’ve caught nothing each time, and proves how mobile bream and perch are. I’m sure they’ll turn up soon. As I was leaving I bumped into the local carp-zapper Peter Ingram who runs a local commercial fishing business. I watched him electro-fish the edges, and countless huge carp to at least 8kg came floating up to the surface. I’m quite sure he would have landed maybe half a ton of these ferals by the end of his session. It’s a wonderful thing to see him removing so many of these terrible invasive fish, and judging by the number and sizes of the carp he is having a busy season. I always enjoy talking to Peter as he tells me so many interesting stories of where he finds all different species of fish including estuary perch, bass, redfin, trout and of course those pesky carp. For the record, he does not harvest any native species and they all survive being

Pink magic from the surf. Bryan Lazzaro landed 11 snapper up to 60cm from 90 Mile Beach. stunned for a short minute or two. Interestingly, he said he had hardly seen bream in the area for many months, and that backed up my poor results recently. Peter also told me about a very elusive species that has been living here in Gippsland for over 15 years now. I’m talking about golden perch (yellowbelly) that must have escaped from dams that were possibly stocked as far away as Rosedale, Traralgon or even further afield. They are certainly not native to Gippsland. This is also how carp escaped from farm dams over 50 years ago. These golden perch have even been hooked by rec anglers over the years, but are a rare capture. Peter finds quite a few every year because he is searching a lot of water and sees them float to the surface, briefly stunned.

He tells me it’s common to see them reach sizes of about 6kg, and that’s a big yellowbelly. They seem to be thriving in this area, and in fact over the last 12 months Peter tells me much smaller golden perch are coming to the surface so they must now be breeding in the Latrobe River catchment. LOOKING AHEAD I’ve run out of space this month but I’m going to have a lot of bream news in my next report. Just quickly, the latest Vic Bream comp broke all records, with incredible bags of over 6-7kg for five fish! The two biggest went 1.82 and 1.83kg. There were many hotspots including Hollands Landing, the Mitchell and Tambo rivers and even Newlands Arm and Paynesville. These are just some of the areas to try in the coming weeks.

Rivers flowing hard MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With plenty of people still visiting the Far South Coast and Mallacoota area, local

businesses have been enjoying the muchneeded business after the past few years. It’s great to see plenty of people about during the Easter period, before it once again goes quiet as we head into winter.

The Mallacoota area has seen plenty of rain over the past month, and don’t be surprised if we get more. With the bad weather has come rough seas, and this has meant that very few boats have been heading offshore

Plenty of good-size dusky flathead are being caught, with a variety of lures producing the goods.

Jesse has been getting amongst the yellowfin bream, with the Bottom Lake fishing well. 82

MAY 2022

fishing. On the days where heading offshore has been possible, good catches have been reported with gummy shark still being caught. The front of Gabo Island been producing some good fish lately. As usual, there have been good catches of sand flathead and tiger flathead

reported, and as long as the water stays warm enough the good fishing should continue. Over the past month there has been plenty of action on striped marlin. If the weather had provided better conditions for heading out wide, I’m sure the season would

have been excellent, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. The bad weather has made for rough seas, creating plenty of good gutters for fishing the local beaches. With winter around the corner, the salmon will turn up To page 83

VIC

East Coast

Low visibility fishing LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

The Gippsland lakes seems to be an everchanging environment. After receiving nearly four times our usual rainfall, we’ve seen the lakes and rivers run dark brown like a chocolate milk shake, and this influx of freshwater has given the lake system a massive

flush-out. In the long term, this should make for some great fishing. LAKES ENTRANCE With all the fresh water, even right at the entrance, there’s barely any visibility in the water. At the time of writing, the visibility is around 10cm. Don’t be discouraged though, because the lower lakes are highly productive during flood events, with fish from further up the lakes making

their way downstream, trying to find cleaner water. The many rock walls and jetties around Lakes Entrance and up to Metung have been great areas for anglers to target bream. Areas such as the Metung yacht club have held large numbers of school-size bream that have made their way down the lake system. A quality sounder has made locating these schools a lot easier.

Bright and reflective jerkbaits have been producing some quality bream off the edges.

A solid luderick that showed up in a Lake Tyers’ bream session. Even in the dirty water, anglers have done surprisingly well on King George whiting. It can be slightly challenging to locate the ideal weed beds to target when the water is dirty, so trial and error has been a big part of the game. Rigby Island is a good spot to start your search. Being close to the entrance, it still has a decent amount of saltwater. Fresh, smelly baits such as mussels are very productive, especially if you take the time to establish a good berley trail to help bring in whiting (and many other fish) into the area. Kalimna rock wall has been very productive for luderick, with anglers

having good success with traditional methods of a float weed drifted along the rock wall. LAKE TYERS With huge amount of rain, the lake has opened once more to the sea, making a massive change to the amazing prawning we’ve seen in the lake this year. Anglers have been averaging 20kg of prawns a night, and it has been a massive attraction to the lake in recent times. With entrance opening, most of these prawns will make their way offshore. Working the tides will be critical this month for good success. With the water being so dirty in the lake, the majority of the bream and

other species have moved deep. Using a sounder has been very handy to locate these fish. Targeting these fish with lures such as vibes and blades has been working well. Large silver trevally have been still on the move, especially around the many sand holes close to the entrance. Soft plastic grubs have been highly productive. HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have been out for fish lately and have a great pic, send it to stevenprykefishing@gmail. com with short description and you could be featured in an upcoming edition of Fishing Monthly.

Fishing’s never been so good BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

The entrance remains open at the time of writing, so the water level remains low. Word has spread fast about how good the ‘Gotcha’ frozen prawns are as bait, so we have been busy maintaining supply to keep all anglers happy. The Mahoganies have definitely been the hot spot for bream. Trevally, salmon and tailor have been outstanding fun on the change of the incoming tide where the green water meets the fresh water. The flathead have been a bit slow but there have been some nice fish caught around the Storm Hut. The surf beaches continue to fish well for salmon and tailor on the start of the rising tide, with most taken on poppers and pilchard baits. From page 82

in big numbers. Already we’re seeing good-size salmon turning up in catches. Solid tailor can also be expected to put in an appearance over the coming months. The lake has been getting a big flush, with

The river remains quiet as the fresh water is still flowing fast from the high catchment. As winter approaches it is obvious that bream will continue to be the dominant fish.

The Bemm River Angling Club and Alvey Reels Australia are conducting a surf fishing competition on 13 and 14 May. This is building momentum to be an amazing

This trevally couldn’t resist a grub-tail soft plastic. all the local rivers flowing hard and sending plenty of dirty fresh water into the lake. This will see plenty of silt moving into the local rivers, no doubt shallowing up the already silted up stretches. The front of the lake has really seen the opening moving

down towards Bastion Point as long as the rain keeps going. By the looks of things it’s not about to end in a hurry. The entrance should move right down alongside the rocks, as this has been where it has been in years past. Fishing-wise the focus

big weekend for the keen surf anglers, and there are lots of fantastic prizes to be won. Get in early to book your accommodation, and visit the Bemm River Angling Club’s website to register. You can direct any questions to Peter McCoy or Tony through the Angling Club site. For your surf bait requests, contact us prior to arrival on 0488 037 806. Please also ensure your safety gear is in order for your boat, and your fishing licence and boat licence is current. Fisheries officers visit often and check these details in order to maintain safety on our waterways. • For on the spot and up to date fishing reports check 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. has been in the Bottom Lake, with the back of Goodwin Sands producing good numbers of fish along with the entrance area. The dusky flathead have been on the go, with good numbers of good eatingsize fish being caught, along with plenty of quality

Bream will be the dominant species in the coming weeks. fish. Yellowfin bream have been plentiful, with the entrance area fishing well. Black bream are also being caught in the same areas, but as usual with these fish the deeper water fishes well after good rains, with the fish often found in numbers in around 12ft

of water. The water at present is looking like mud, and unless the rain gives up it will look the same for some time yet, but with a good entrance allowing the good tidal flow this should be great for the fishing over the coming months. MAY 2022

VIC

Time to bludgeon the gudgeon the rest to their fate. It doesn’t make sense. I have watched this stupidity over the past decade or more, witnessing the destruction of some of the best big cod fisheries we ever had. So far, none of these fisheries have returned to their former glory. How many other species of smaller unseen aquatic life have been affected or wiped

ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

It’s been an interesting month to say the least. While some locations have fished really well, others have been drained dry and the fish were left flipping in the mud. You might wonder when the madness will end, but every season or so another money-grab brainstorm sees our fishes left high and dry while the instigators tout the worth of their efforts as viably beneficial for the environment.

The real tragedy of this environmental water shuffle: the purple spotted gudgeon.

While the golden perch bite has slowed, there are still a few willing to hit lures. This one bit off more than it could chew, attacking a no. 1 StumpJumper.

There have been plenty of smaller Murray cod landed along the Murray River on bait and lures. This one scoffed a 100mm Bassman Tubby Lure.

This time round it was the drying out of 3rd Reidy Lake between Swan Hill and Kerang. According to my contact from Murray Goulburn Water, the lake was seen as a leaky tap that needed fixing. During the drying process, dozens of giant Murray cod died, along with numerous other fishes and aquatic life. Chances are this also included the purplespotted gudgeon. Up until a few years back, this species of fish was thought to be extinct until they were discovered in this lake. A monumental discovery you might think, as very few species are lucky enough to return from the brink of extinction. I have been assured that this is all OK because a few gudgeon were taken out for a breeding program before the lake was dried out, leaving

Some of the giant Murray cod killed in the drained third Reidy Lake. out? The decision-makers are supposedly learned people, but even they cannot convince me of the stupidity that drives this money-driven exercise. On a brighter note, there are still some fish left in the local Murray River around Swan Hill. Several good cod just over the metre mark have been landed on bait and lures. It’s taken a decade for this fishery to get back on its feet, and anglers and local businesses are pretty happy to see keen cod fishos visiting the

area once again. Some good fish have also started belting surface lures in recent weeks, and should continue to do so over the coming months if the water clarity stays good. The golden perch bite has slowed a little, but a few good-sized fish are still hitting small lures. A ball of shrimp and worms fished close to the snags will also tempt a bite; you just need to move around a bit to find a fish. The Murray River at Robinvale has been relatively

quiet, with few reports rolling in. I have heard of several cod on lures and bait, the biggest being a 96cm model caught on the troll. Perch too have been a hard ask, but those that are getting caught are of good size. The Murray River around Wemen and downstream is producing heaps of small cod on bait. There have been very few bigger fish, but it’s great to see cod numbers up in the river even if they are small. The Murray River around Mildura looks prime to fire, with the flows dropping back and the river sitting closer to normal levels. Several goodsized cod to a metre or more have been landed this past month, mostly on trolled lures. I expect the tally of big fish to grow in this area as the weather starts to cool and the water temperature drops. Let’s hope the fishing heats up as the weather cools down, and the authorities responsible for our fishes and the environment place common sense above the money grab.

Think big cod for autumn BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

This time of the year is definitely a favourite for me. During the autumn months we often see some good improvements in the fishing conditions, which can help anglers to land a fish of a lifetime. That fish might be their first ever 1m+ Murray cod, their first ever 60cm+ golden perch, a large redfin up to the magical 50cm mark or a large trophy trout. The good news is that all these fish are achievable if you put the time in on the water this month. A key factor that helps your chances is the improvement in water clarity as the irrigation season draws to a close, and our local rivers settle. A reduced amount of fishing pressure also helps as the days get cooler. There are often fewer anglers on the water, and more significantly a reduced amount of boat traffic, water skiers and jet skis. The reduction in water temperatures also helps to trigger a feeding response 84

MAY 2022

in fish at this time of the year. Often the larger fish start to feed more regularly to try to put on some extra condition before the chill of winter sets in. LAKE EPPALOCK The fishing at Lake Eppalock has been steady. Redfin continue to be the main species being caught, and the most productive depth range has been in 6-10m of water. Trolling deep diving hardbody lures has been working well, and casting and retrieving a wide range of soft plastics has also been a good option. Blades and ice jigs have been working well on the concentrated schools of redfin. The numbers of golden perch being caught has been steady. Casting around the edges of standing timber has been the most productive method. Reasonable numbers of golden perch are also being caught by anglers trolling small to medium sized hardbody lures. While the numbers of Murray cod caught in the lake this season has been low, it’s now a great time of year to target Murray cod here. Trolling large hardbody lures is always a good option, or you can try casting large lipless crankbaits around the standing timber. Fishing surface lures and swimbaits

during periods of reduced light is also a productive method. Thanks to some very good fish stocking from Victorian Fisheries, we should start to see increased numbers of Murray cod being caught here in another couple of years. CAMPASPE RIVER At the time of writing, the productivity of the Campaspe River has been disappointing. Catch rates have been lower than anticipated, and I think this is due to two main factors. The first is the reduced water clarity due to increased flows and inflows of dirtier water after isolated thunderstorms. The second factor has been the increased fishing pressure from boat-based and land-based anglers. The good news is that we should see an improvement in water clarity and fishing pressure this month. Golden perch have been making up the majority of captures over the last month. Lipless crankbaits and mediumsized hardbody lures have been good lure choices. A few redfin are still being caught, with most coming from the edges of weed beds. There continue to be some reasonable numbers of Murray cod being caught. While we may not see any great

improvement in their numbers this month, if you put the time in there is a good chance you may catch your largest Murray cod for the season. CAIRN CURRAN The productivity in the fishing has remained good at this destination. The most productive fishing has been in the bottom half of the lake, where the water clarity has often been the best. The numbers of golden perch being caught continues to be good, with most fish ranging between 25-42cm in length. Trolling small hardbody lures in 3-4m of water has been working well. While the numbers of really large golden perch has been low, this month should provide a better chance of catching one of the true golden thumpers that Cairn Curran can produce. Reasonable numbers of Murray cod measuring from 45-65cm are still being caught. Again, like other locations, this month is a great time to try to beat your personal best Murray cod. Trolling large hardbody lures, large spinnerbaits and swimbaits are all good options when you’re trying to stir up that big fish. You can also get good results casting the standing timber with swimbaits

Quality Murray cod can be the reward when fishing over the autumn months. and surface lures during periods of reduced light. LODDON RIVER The fishing in the Loddon River, like the Campaspe River, has been a bit disappointing over the last month. The same two factors as the Campaspe River have been affecting the fishing, i.e. high fishing pressure and reduced water clarity. Both of these factors should improve this month. I don’t predict that there will be big numbers of fish caught in the coming weeks, but there should be some real quality fish landed. Trolling large hardbody

lures in the deeper sections of the Loddon River always produces some good fish in May, but casting large lipless crankbaits is my favourite technique at this time of the year. Casting or trolling swimbaits can work well too, or you can fish surface lures, especially just after a good rain event. When you get good rainfall at this time of the year you’ll see a good hatch of bardi moths. The Murray cod will be ready to take advantage of this because bardi moths are one of their favourite food sources.

VIC

Excellent Ballarat fishing BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

Anglers around Ballarat and the Central Highlands region of Victoria have been treated to some excellent fishing over the past month. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year to fish, for several

suit. Well, think again – the dunns have hatched and the fish have fed on them. So much for all the theories of the best conditions, it’s only the trout that make up their minds when they will feed. We had one such trip where the wind dropped and the dunns came up, and the fish were eating them off the

Moorabool Reservoir brown and rainbow trout like to eat Bent Minnow surface lures. This big guy couldn’t resist eating Steve Angee’s Bent recently. Image courtesy of Steve Angee. reasons. Firstly, the water temps start to fall, which trout in our waters prefer, the mayfly hatches occur once again, and both trout and redfin really start to feed up prewinter when their attentions turn to spawning. Lake Wendouree has certainly been in the spotlight over the past month, with some excellent catches of trout and redfin being recorded. The trigger for this was probably the temperature drop in the water, given how shallow Lake Wendouree is, and the start of the mayfly hatches. Early in the month, I ventured out on Wendouree on numerous occasions fishing mudeyes suspended under bubble floats. The trout were only too eager to eat the local spider mudeyes. It didn’t seem to matter whether it was bright and sunny (which is not normally conducive to good fishing on Wendouree) or overcast with a bit of breeze – the fish were tuned in on the mud eyes. The trout that we caught on those trips varied in size, with plenty of rainbows and browns around the 1-1.5lb mark with the odd good one in the low 50cm mark. The trout fishing continued to improve throughout the month, with the mayflies starting to hatch and in good numbers. It took a few days for the fish to start to feed on them, but they are well and truly looking for them now. I have been out chasing the mayfly feeders out of the boat with some excellent results. I have tried to pick the right days, with a bit of wind and overcast skies, which normally produce the best hatches. However, this doesn’t always go to plan, with the clouds dispersing and the wind dropping. You might think these conditions don’t

which is the subsurface stage of the Mayfly hatch with excellent results. The Mayfly hatches should and hopefully continue throughout the rest of the month. The Ballarat Fly Fishers Club recently hosted the Lake Wendouree ‘Jim Thomas’ Two Fly competition. This fly fishing competition is held over two days, and each entrant submits two flies, which are placed into packages and randomly drawn out by competitors. The flies drawn out by the competitors are the ones that the angler must use throughout the competition. If they happen to lose one or both they can purchase a maximum of two flies for the remainder of the competition. This year’s competition saw 50 fly fishers from all over the state converge on Lake Wendouree. The weather conditions were not ideal, with bright blue skies and no wind on the Saturday. There were a few fish caught in trying conditions, and Jim Williams was on top of the leader board

total for the weekend there were 22 trout caught and released and numerous missed opportunities. Wendouree is definitely a destination for those anglers who like to chase trout. Wendouree has also produced some excellent catches of redfin over the past month. They have been caught on a variety of methods, including fly fishing, trolling lures and casting lures. Most anglers have targeted the rowing areas when searching for the redfin. Steve Angee has been up chasing the reddies on Wendouree using Chatterbait lures. He said he puts the time

Rod McNeight and his boys Justin and Thomas have been bagging out on big redfin at Tullaroop. This fish measured 48cm and was caught on a vibe. Image courtesy of Rod McNeight.

Lake Wendouree Two Fly competition winning brown trout of 57cm caught by Jim Williams.

Lake Wendouree Two Fly winner Jim Williams being presented the Jim Thomas trophy by Ballarat Fly Fishers Club Vice President Nick Roche and Event Sponsor David Johnstone from Hurley’s Fly Fishing. surface. We were able sneak up on them using the electric motor, using dry flies which included Shaving Brushes and Orange Spinners, we cast our flies in front of the trout, that were sipping down the Dunn’s, they found our flies too irresistible not to eat, landing some rippers up to 56cm. Other days we have been fly fishing out of boat, we have used brown nymph’s

with a 46cm brown trout. Sunday morning saw overcast skies and a gentle breeze, and because of these conditions, some 14 trout from 35-57cm were caught, photographed and released. Jim Williams showed his class by landing another couple of fish which included the winning fish, a magnificent 57cm brown trout which was caught on a Tom Jones fly pattern. In

Steve Angee with his new PB redfin of 48cm caught from Lake Wendouree on a Chatterbait. Image courtesy of Steve Angee.

and effort into a few of his favourite redfin haunts and has reaped the rewards over the past month, landing his new PB 48cm redfin and another smaller 40cm model on the same session. The redfin have really taken to liking the bladed Chatterbait-style lures over the past few years, so it’s definitely worth having one of those in your tackle box. Moorabool Reservoir is back on the radar for anglers, with some excellent catches of both trout and redfin. Anglers using flies, baits and lures have been catching plenty of goodsized rainbow and brown trout, ranging in size from 1-1.5lb, and the odd bigger model up to 10lb. The redfin range from 3” to 2lb and there are plenty of them in some areas, to the point where I have moved away from certain areas to get away from the redfin when I have been chasing trout. On recent trips to Moorabool, I have been casting Bent Minnow surface lures which the browns and rainbows seem to find them too irresistible to eat. I have been catching plenty of these feisty little guys, but so far the bigger trout have eluded me. The mayfly hatches started at Moorabool in big numbers. When they start to hatch can range anywhere from noon until about 3pm. The trout, especially the little guys, are up feeding on them with gusto. On one session I landed 10 fish, all on brown nymphs. I’m just waiting for one of the bigger rainbow or brown trout to come along and eat my nymphs. Steve Angee has been out

at Moorabool catching plenty of these feisty rainbow and brown trout, once again on Bent Minnow lures. On one of his most recent sessions, Steve started off catching a couple of small rainbows around 1-1.5lb, he then put hooks into an acrobatic rainbow trout around the 5lb mark. Steve said it eventually threw the hooks, then a couple of casts later he ripped into a bigger brown trout. Steve

different area at Tullaroop that he hadn’t fished before and scooped the pool. Nearly every drop of their red and gold vibe lures, the redfin nailed them. “We jigged our vibes very slowly up and only about 6” off the bottom in about 12m of water and when it would drop down to the bottom they nailed it, if you moved the vibe too fast nothing? Rod said the reddies where in varying sizes a lot around the 30cm mark which they released, we kept the bigger ones for a feed which included some absolute rippers up to 48cm, it’s one of the best bags of big redfin, I have ever caught, hopefully they continue to bite for a bit longer as they are magnificent to eat. The trout in Tullaroop should start to fire up now the weather is cooling, going on last year and previous. The trout move into the shallows and around the edges chasing smelt. This can be exciting and frustrating fishing at the same

This 56cm mayfly-feeding brown trout couldn’t resist the author’s Orange Spinner at Lake Wendouree. eventually wrestled the big guy in, which he estimated to be around 6-7lb. After a couple of photos the fish was released to fight another day. Exciting times ahead for anglers out at Moorabool over the coming months. Tullaroop Reservoir is still producing some excellent catches of redfin. Rod McNeight and his boys Justin and Thomas have been back to Tullaroop, nailing some excellent bags of redfin. Rod mentioned they moved to a

time, last year was an excellent year for those anglers’ chasing smelters, using flies and lures, land based and from boats, quick accurate casts are required to catch these guys and I cannot wait to venture up and catch a few. I tip I would put out there to anglers ensure your gear is up to scratch as there are some big suckers lurking around in Tullaroop and they definitely like to feed on smelt, don’t get that fish of a lifetime on, only to have your gear fail on you. MAY 2022

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The autumn shift WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

May usually sees a pretty big shift in many things in North East Victoria. Summer birds have headed north, winter birds have arrived, we usually get our first frosts here in Wangaratta, and many of the fish have slowed right down… but not all of them!

larger ones. The ‘big cod specialists’ tend to head down to the far lower reaches of the Ovens River around Bundalong, and to Lake Mulwala with very large lures. Large surface lures and swimbaits are quite popular in that scene, and so too is a large amount of patience. These specialists will fish all day and all night just waiting for that monster Murray cod to

lures in May. Bright orange Super Vibrax spinners are a great start, and Strike Tiger nymph soft plastics in ‘trout roe’ or ‘orange spawn’ colour are dynamite in May as well. Minnows can be very effective lures for trout in May, especially long, skinny minnows that may look like other trout. Don’t be scared to tie on a long 9-10cm skinny minnow as the trout can become aggressive at this

Zeppelin Allan with a Lake Buffalo redfin caught in March on a soft plastic from the bank. and miss from year to year, and no two years are the same. YELLOWBELLY There’s not much to report on the yellowbelly front in May. They are usually

and my favourite technique is float fishing. All you need is a cheap red and white bubble float, with a bunch of worms or a few bits of corn hanging underneath. I love

during May. If the roads are closed due to rain, or you simply just don’t know your way around, Lake Moodemere is a great option for this type

Last year the author caught a lot of freshwater blackfish in May. Although small, these little native fish are great fun to catch. MURRAY COD Here in Wangaratta, in the Ovens River catchment the Murray cod fishing can be quite slow in May. I have caught cod in the Ovens and King rivers during May, however I usually have to work much harder for them

come out and smack their lure, and are often rewarded with a trophy fish. I am not an expert in this type of Murray cod fishing as my level of patience would almost definitely see me fail, but for those who want to target monster Murray cod,

time of year, and will hit the lure out of aggression rather than hunger. REDFIN Last year my father and I had some amazing redfin fishing in May at Lake Buffalo. The year before that we caught nothing, and the year before Although a pest species, European carp are good fun. They can still be quite easy to catch in May compared to some other species. very quiet right across the board at this time of the year, however I suspect a few will turn up in the Ovens River for bait fishers during May, particularly for anglers using worms as bait.

the excitement of this type of fishing and May is a great time to do it. When you hook up the fishing is exciting, sitting in the May sun is magnificent and just observing the wild

of fishing and is easily accessible. Also, if you are happy to catch smaller fish, the native freshwater blackfish are usually still on the bite during May. These small

Redfin can still be caught in both Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo during May. if I am using lures, and sit for much longer waiting for a bite if I am using bait. I find that I tend to catch more trout cod during May than I do Murray cod. Trout cod are more of an upland species than Murray cod, so I suspect they have a greater tolerance to colder water. They are also a protected species and must be returned to the water unharmed. For some people May is the best month to target Murray cod, especially the 86

MAY 2022

May is a great time to do so. The area around Bundalong on the lower Ovens River is a very popular area. TROUT May can still produce some fantastic trout fishing. The water is usually icy cold by May as cold nights have usually led to some pretty heavy frosts in the mountains. The trout are usually getting ready to spawn, and many will have started towards the end of the month. I like fluorescent coloured

that was very good. That’s the nature of redfin fishing, it can be very hit and miss. Some years are better than others, and with the redfin fishing in Lake Buffalo being so good early in the autumn, it’s hard to imagine that it won’t be good in May. Last year we found that the start of May was great, but the second half of May was very poor, so you might want to get in early. But then again, as I said, redfin fishing can be very hit

One of the author’s favourite things to do in the cooler months is to fish for carp at Lake Moodemere at dawn. It’s a magnificent place to view the sunrise. OTHER SPECIES One of the things that I really look forward to each year in May is carp fishing in the lagoons along the Ovens River. I love fishing for carp using corn or worms as bait,

life while waiting for a bite is very relaxing, and good for the soul. Don’t underestimate the benefits od carp fishing as a great way to escape and unwind, especially

native fish live in many of the trout streams and will come out after sunset to feed. Find a nice deep hole in a rocky trout stream and fish with worms at sunset and you can’t go wrong!

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Broken River Bash event SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

A few weeks prior to writing this report, a small group of locals headed off and fished the first ever ‘Broken River Bash’. This was an amateur, fun-filled

to be the hot spot, with a lot of fish entered in from the river around the weir, both up and downstream. The overall winners were team ‘Wills’ (Will Peasley and Will Hyland) entering 13 cod and two yellowbelly. Since then the Broken continued to fish well, with the weirs and also the Broken

coloured Old Mates the pick of the lures. Casting small 2-3” soft plastics in around 6-8ft has also been a great way to catch redfin in recent weeks. Bait fishing has been productive too, with drifting worms or bobbing small yabbies being the baits of choice for most. The level is currently around 44%, which mirrors last year, so don’t be turned off by dropping water levels. GOULBURN RIVER The Goulburn River has had a fresh flush of water recently, causing the river

levels to rise reasonably high. The fishing on the initial rise was good, with reports of cod being caught on both lures and bait. After the flush, the river slowly dropped, with the only reports coming in from those using cheese behind Aquamoves, or surface lures out towards Arcadia. Over the cooler months the Goulburn tends to quieten down, with a lot less active smaller fish. However, you will still manage to land some bigger cod, especially if the water settles and cleans up. Make

Kaleb Oxley with an irrigation channel yellowbelly.

Harry Grutteria with another Broken River cod. teams event, and the fishing did not disappoint. There were a lot of cod caught around the 35/58cm range, and the stand-out lures were Pompadours in the morning and spinnerbaits as the sun came up. Gowangardie Weir seemed

in the heart of Shepparton producing plenty of fish. WARANGA BASIN There are still plenty of redfin being caught out at Waranga Basin. Trolling small hardbodies has been dynamite in around 12-15ft of water, with brightly-

Blake Robinson with a Broken River topwater cod.

sure you up your bait or lure size in the cooler months to entice the bigger fish to bite. SHEPPARTON LAKE The weed chopper has been and gone, and the fish are now settling in. Small spinners have been working well at both boat ramps for trout and redfin. Jerkbaiting with Diawa Double Clutches has also been a productive way to catch redfin. Twitching the lure on a slack line keeps it in the zone. Make sure you pause, as the fish just seem to smoke these lures on the pause. Floating worms has been the best method for those wanting a more relaxed day’s fishing, at the lake with all fishing platforms

producing fish. IRRIGATION CHANNELS I am still getting reports about the good fishing to be had in the irrigation channels around Shepparton, Murchison and down towards Wahring. Bait fishing with worms or small yabbies has worked great for chasing cod and yellowbelly in the channels. Casting ZX40 blades, TN60 Jackalls and spinnerbaits have been productive for those casting around drop bars and bridges. Over the next couple of months the channels will drop, and it usually takes a couple of weeks to settle before the fish bite again after the drop.

Bring on the Gippy challenge WEST/SOUTH GIPPSLAND

Billy Auldist

The fishing across South West Gippsland hasn’t been as productive as the previous warmer months, but anglers who got out and persisted were rewarded for their efforts. The cooler weather is starting to set in and with this comes higher water flows, meaning that the fishing will start to become more challenging. Local fishing stalwart Wally Ronalds got out and fished the waters around Noojee a few times this month, and caught good numbers of healthy wild brown trout on a number 14 fly. Wally said that the rivers around Noojee were fishing as good as 50 years ago, which is great to hear, especially from such a wealth of local fishing knowledge. Wally found the Loch River to be the pick of the three, providing a few good sessions

which all produced quality local fish. In saying that, the La Trobe and Toorongo rivers also had their spots over the last month, and anglers were successful across all of the ‘Noojee’ waterways. The Bunyip and Tarago rivers have been fishing well, particularly in their higher reaches. Most trout have been

caught on diving minnows or spinners. The middle sections of both of these rivers have been producing blackfish for anglers who know what they are doing. An unweighted bait is ideal but a split shot for back up is a good idea. As for baits, anything from your regular earthworm to a yabby will be suitable. It’s mainly

Justin Booth with a healthy local trout caught drifting an earthworm through a likely pool.

about getting out and putting the time in. I have been coming across a few redfin in the lower sections of the Tarago lately, which have been taking just about anything you throw at them. This is the perfect spot to keep a table fish if you’re keen, as they are in prime condition and aren’t doing the natives any favours. Blue Rock Reservoir is still worthy of some attention before it slows down any further. Fishers have been finding bass on spinnerbaits and chatterbaits amongst the timbered areas, and redfin as usual have been a common bycatch. We should expect to see the surface fishing for bass start to slow down over the next few weeks but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth trying, especially in the low light periods of the day. It’s worth noting that the trout season closes in June, so fishers should try to head out before the closure. There

Will Rumble went fishing around Noojee and caught some exceptional fish for the area. This one was kept for the table. is quite good trout fishing to be had towards the end of the season as fish start to become territorial and willing to hit a lure out of anger. Once the season closes, it is important that we let the fish rest and have a successful spawn, ensuring a good recruitment for coming years. With the colder weather and higher flows that are due to set in, along with the closure of trout season just

around the corner, there is no doubt the fishing in South West Gippsland is going to slow right down over the next few months. While many anglers hang up the rod for a few months, there is still opportunity for keen anglers who want to brave the weather and conditions. Feel free to send in a report or picture to billy.auldist@ gmail.com. MAY 2022

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Larger fish are on the hunt EILDON

Peter Burtchell

It’s time to rug up and get amongst the larger fish that dominate the Lake Eildon fishery during May. As the water temperature

begin their winter spawning runs. With fish lying in ambush and others preparing for their spawning runs, your chances of landing one of these trophy fish increases. Nathan Grieve took the advice of the local fishing guide to head into Wilsons

next hour. Bob from Eildon Charcoal Chicken knows all too well the tactics of the larger fish during these cooler months. On a recent trip he spent his time in the northern bays west of Goughs Bay to land a metery within the first 30 minutes. Bob chose his deep Kuttafurra Diver to trick his adversary, which was one of many held up in the deep water of the middle of the Bay as a result of the food that had been pushed there over the previous week. Toby Spargo spent some time in the Jerusalem Creek Tackle Shop before purchasing his now favourite green Quad

point of the main arm from Jerusalem Creek, he was well rewarded with his first healthy Murray cod during his wellearned break. Yellowbelly too were still running during April. The species has become a much sought-after sportfish on the international fishing scene. Dad and son Dave flew in from Singapore to spend a day on the water chasing these iconic Australian fish. Dave was soon rewarded with a thinner than normal fish which is understandable, as they are forever on the move, continually hunted by their Murray cod adversary.

Shaun Sticks in the sticks with another healthy Murray cod. cools the Murray cod and trout fishing action heats up, as was seen throughout late April. Large Murray cod were easily found, and this will continue in May as they hold up in the deeper channels leading into the shallow bays and inlets. Here they wait for the change of light to begin their predatory search for all kinds of baitfish held up in the structure surrounding the bays. The bays north of the Goulburn and Big River proved the most productive during April as the predominantly southerly winds pushed the baitfish and other prey directly into them. Brown trout began schooling in the main arms early as a result of colder than normal temperatures and the abundance of food that had been pushed into the main arms by the prevailing southerly winds. The brown trout are currently waiting in the main arms for the late autumn rains to increase water flow of the rivers and streams, so they can

Inlet where the day before, the guide had sounded up multiple large fish lying in ambush. An early morning’s surface fishing session soon turned chaotic as a 1m+ fish dragged his surface lure deep into the structure surrounding the channel, where it had been silently waiting. Some quick thinking and the beast was untangled from the structure, and then photographed and released. Nathan missed two other large fish that were held up within the

Elaine touring the lake with the fishing guide.

Toby Spargo caught this fish on a yellow and green Obsession spinnerbait. fishing areas was well received, with two Murray cod catches and a world of knowledge about where the fish will be concentrated depending on weather and food sources available. The knowledge helps to maintain focus when the bite is going slow, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before joining the Metre Club when concentrating in the productive areas around the lake. May will see many visitors descending upon the lake for the major fishing competitions

Spin Obsession spinnerbait. Armed with the knowledge of where the fish were concentrated, Tony was soon back in the tackle shop with a nice photograph of the one that

Bobby, the proprietor of Eildon Charcoal Chicken, with a nice 108cm fish caught on a red and black Kuttafurra diver.

Nathan Grieve and his 104cm Wilson Inlet Predator.

Relax and enjoy delicious food and warm hospitality.

didn’t get away. Another great campaigner of the Lake is Shaun Sticks who is often found lazing on the deck of his Boatel accommodation waiting for the best conditions to chase his favourite quarry. Sticks was soon on the water as the wind action picked up. Flicking an 8” Magdraft at the

This year’s major sponsors of the event include AFN, BMS Tours, Central Vic Lure Casters, Dino Lures, Fishing with Jack Harder, XXXX, Infinity Boats, Jerusalem Creek Marina and Holiday Park, Viva Fishing, Megabass, Murasame, Northern Waters Boat Hire, Obsession Spinnerbaits, and Spotters. The list of all sponsors of the event can be found at lakeeildonfishingchallenge .com. The second competition to be hosted in May 2022 is the Lake Eildon Cod Masters, a competition designed for the Murray cod Angler that thinks they have what it takes to be crowned champion of Lake Eildon. To keep up to date with this event, sponsors, entry forms and rules, visit their Facebook page Lake Eildon Cod Masters. • For more information on fishing events at Lake Eildon you can contact the Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park, a friendly, familyorientated annuals cabin park, that makes the perfect home away from home. While there

Paisley was also amongst the yellowbelly action, with a day on the water with her two dogs Hendrix and Zeppelen. Paisley landed a menagerie of fish for the day including Murray cod, redfin and yellowbelly. Elaine and Kate, who have found their new passion for fishing, have spent a lot of time on Lake Eildon learning to crack the code of fishing for Murray cod during autumn. A day on the water with the local fishing guide that focussed on productive and unproductive

Dave with his nice international yellowbelly.

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 88

MAY 2022

Paisley Stock with her two dogs. Hendrix looks confused while Zeppelen smiles for the camera.

that begin for the year. The year’s competitions begin in earnest with the Lake Eildon Fishing Challenge returning to Lake Eildon with fishing beginning from 2pm Friday 13 May and presentations beginning midday Sunday 15 May. A charity event that has always been greatly supported by many in the fishing industry.

you can opt to hire one of their floating apartments (Boatels), hire a fishing vessel, or book a guided fishing tour. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit JerusalemCreek.com. au, give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email info@ jerusalemcreek.com.au.

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Mulwala drawdown YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

The word on every Mulwala angler’s lips of late has been ‘drawdown’. Will it happen, for how long and how much? The simple answer is yes, and it will commence mid-May. It will be lowered approximately 5m from normal operating height, and the lake will be full again by early August. An official media statement from the Murray-Darling Basin Authority has been released, and here’s an excerpt. “Lowering the lake provided the best means of controlling the highly invasive water weed Egeria densa, but it would also allow other maintenance work to be completed. Lowering the water level in the lake to control this invasive waterweed is a necessary operation that occurs every 3-5 years. The last time the lake was lowered was in 2018, and since then the weed has become dense so it’s important that we act this winter to improve the condition of the lake to support the community, businesses and the health of the lake itself. In order to kill the waterweed, we need to expose it to the air and winter frosts, which we will do by lowering the lake by 5m below operating level and holding that level for about a month. We expect to bring the lake

back to its regular operating levels by early August.” – Andrew Kremor. How will the lake fish in this time? If past drawdowns are anything to go by, the fishing will be brilliant. As the lake recedes, all flatsdwelling cod retreat back into the deeper lagoons and the original river course itself. Resident cod tend to defend their home snag with vigour, and this leads to some exciting fishing. 100mm+ hardbodied lures, larger profile spinnerbaits/ chatterbaits and swimbaits will all produce the goods. Don’t miss this great opportunity to have a look how the lake looks from below its traditionally full level. I can guarantee you will get a greater understanding of structure, timber and drop-offs, and it’s sure to influence your future fishing for the better. Launching in the lake does become difficult, with the ramp at the Yacht Club giving you the best access for the entirety of the drawdown. Looking back, reports of cricket score numbers of smaller cod in the 20-55cm bracket were reported by anglers fishing in and around the masses of weed that have filled the shallower margins of the lake. As anglers tended to explore the deeper water to get away from the weed, capture rates decreased but sizes increased. Anglers using depth sounders (aka ‘scopers’) continued their usual outings under the cover of darkness with the

usual haunts – Sebel, the Yacht Club and Mulwala Canal mouth – all producing quality cod up to 120cm. Many scopers believe the cod they’re seeing are starting to wise up to what is being presented in front of them. New techniques may be needed. Or, instead of fishing in the same popular spots every trip, why not get out and explore a bit more of the lake? The 2022 Great Northern Cod Nationals comp took place in mid-March, and was a massive success. 70 of Australia’s finest cod anglers descended on the ‘Home of the Murray cod’, Lake Mulwala, for the fishing, fun and festivities that lay ahead. After five challenging and varied fishing sessions, the presentation was held. Results were posted for everyone to have a look at, but the top dozen team names were missing! Not knowing who had used their multipliers and who had caught what on sponsors’ lures, it was a guessing game on who had won. Suspense was high when the results were read. Presentations got underway with the Tonic Big Fish Award going to big fish specialist Shane Banks for his magnificent 96cm model taken on day 1. This was back-to-back Big Fish wins for Banksy. Where we have winners, we also have those that finish at the other end of the field. Team ‘Fishing Mates’ (James and Helen McGhee), took this title,

Shane Banks with his 96cm cod, which won the largest cod title in the 2022 Cod Nationals. but it paid off for their auction owner Damian Scholten who pocketed some handy $$$. Time to announce the winners! An amazing effort saw Team Black Widow (Thomas and Steve Pinter) awarded the 2022 Cod Nationals Champion Team for a remarkable 3-peat. Steve gave a great winners speech and all present could tell this meant a lot to him. Ultimately, a $10000 winner’s cheque was theirs along with a set of beautifully carved Murray cod by renowned artist Corey Knott. Team Jones Doyle Plumbing (Rick Doyle and Kyle Dalrymple) fished with a barnstorming run only to miss out by a mere .63 of a point, about the equivalent of one legal cod. Unfortunately, their

late return by less than 30 seconds the previous day had cost them. Second place for these boys was very creditable but I’m sure they would love to have their time again. The ever-consistent Team Wilson (Ian and Matt Rogers) scored some solid points on the last day to remain in third place. Team Humminbird/Minn Kota (Bryn Mathew and Brad Stockley) finished a creditable 4th whilst team Fat Betty (Stephen Booth and Shane Banks) were only .23 points behind for 5th. The Individual Champion Angler title was blown out of the water by Thomas Pinter, who landed five legals on the last day. Thomas finished on 5307 points, nearly 2000 points ahead of second placed Kyle Dalrymple on 3460.

Not far behind Kyle was his teammate Rick Doyle on 3369, with Stephen Booth 2838 and Bryn Mathew 2569 rounding out the top five individual anglers. All participants left saying it’s the best fishing event they have ever been a part of, and all vowed to return again for 2023. • If you are 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 Yarrawonga store located between Rivers and One Zac in the main street. We’re Yarrawonga/ M u l w a l a ’s fishing specialists and specialize in all things ‘green’! For any information on upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on 03 5744 3133.

Good weather, great fishing, lots of fun times CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

The recent weather has been great for late autumn weather, and I’ve managed to pay a few visits to Lake Purrumbete. One trip was to give the boat a decent run and hopefully catch a fish or two after being land-locked for so long due to work. The park was full of holidaymakers making the most of COVID freedom, enjoying great weather and excellent fishing. The boat moorings and trailer parks were also full. It was so good to see after all the restrictions in the past two years that have curtailed our movements. I got one good report from an angler from Melbourne down with his family and friends who also brought their boats.

A better than average redfin taken deep on a Damiki Paco spoon.

This chap was downrigging to 10m a variety of lures including Lofty’s Cobra styled winged lures as well as minnow hardbodies. Their boat was hanging out 50ft or so from the bank and during the course of the day they caught a couple of good rainbows, one tiger trout and several chinooks to 2kg, but that bag of fish took the entire day and their catch was spread between three boaters. It shows that fishing can be tough at this lake, even on a good day. I mainly did some jigging over on the north shore in 18m of water, this time using a metal Paco Spoon jig and managed a few reasonable redfin with the help of dry berley dispersed at intervals whilst at anchor. I found huge schools of reddies on the bottom on my sounder but I may have hooked up and landed a fish only every 10 minutes or so which points to the school being by and large, inactive. But

that’s fishing. Unfortunately, most of our lakes and rivers have some sort of bluegreen algal outbreak except for Purrumbete. Lakes Tooliorook and Bolac are bad. Lake Elingamite has had some sort of disease affect the fish (mainly trout) and has caused a fish kill of sorts. Even our rivers have been affected. Hopefully all this clears up soon. Lake Bullen Merri has an algal bloom but that hasn’t put off all anglers. Boaters flat line trolling minnow lures or fishing pilchard strips on the bottom in 8-10m depth have picked quite a few Chinook salmon of varying weights and sizes. The odd rainbow approaching 2kg has also been taken. Hopefully these fishos are practicing catch and release and not taking these fish home for consumption – certainly not until cooler weather and more rain finally breaks up all of these blooms. MAY 2022

Action-packed autumn WIRF

Cara Cummings

What a packed autumn we have experienced so far. Whether boat or land, sea or river, the fishing has been exceptional and our WIRF Facebook group has been flooded with a huge variety of different species. From first time catches to landing PBs the page has been

was a little murky and weedy, however, with a slight breeze, the fishing conditions were promising. “We pulled up to our favourite spot and cast out, using prawns for bait. “I had hooked up to a smaller bream when Scarlett (11yrs) decided to check her rod and just as she picked it up, it took off like a freight train! She did a top job of winding it in, making sure to take her time

for her to keep. Scarlett also managed her PB bream of 39cm the same day. “My other daughter, Emmy (12yrs) also caught some cracking bream on that weekend when we sounded up an amazing bream patch on the Sunday. Using light gear and prawns and pilchard chunks for bait, she managed to also land her PB bream. “It was wonderful to see the kids doing what they love and teaching them how to respect and release the fish we catch. My hope is that my kids will grow up respecting our waterways and fish as much as I do, and fish responsibly. They always take such great care releasing their fish, and it sure makes me proud. We do keep a few fish here and there to enjoy for dinner, however the majority are released. “All in all, our weekend was a great success. Scarlett won

Merril with one of her rainbow trout catches. the rain and dreary weather, the kids put on their raincoats and were given the chance to catch a new hobby in a supportive environment with help from the experts. Eight fishing clinics ran

Scarlett (and Alix) with her PB flatty. abuzz! As we soon head into the cooler weather, it will be interesting to see what the change of season brings us. MEMBERS BRAG MAT WIRF member Merril Wenlock had a fabulous time fishing with her club, ‘Yarra Valley Fly Fishers’ at the private fishery of Millbrook Lakes (www. millbrooklakes.com.au). “Nine members of YVFF attended the weekend, we were split into groups and had our own guide for two days,” Merril said. “The guides were excellent, very well-known in the industry, informative and I learnt a lot from them. The bonus was, that they are experts at landing fish successfully! “I caught most of the fish on Woolly Buggers to imitate small baitfish or smelt, and dry flies such as Shaving Brush and Possum Emergers to imitate hatching mayflies. “Overall, it was a very successful weekend!” WIRFLINGS ON THE RISE We love seeing the stories of up and rising young fishing stars, and WIRF member Alix Furnell proudly shared with us her daughters’ recent success at a fishing competition. “My daughters, along with my partner and I were fishing at Lake Tyers for our fishing club flathead competition (Drouin Angling and Social Club),” Alix said. “The weather was perfect, mid 20s, the water 90

MAY 2022

as she was using light gear on her Daiwa LDZ combo. We were pleasantly surprised to see a flatty on the end. Scarlett was super excited, as this was our targeted species, but the flathead was one very angry fish. We measured it, and as

often. To check out upcoming fishing events, head to the VFA website at vfa.vic.gov.au/ recreational-fishing/events. HOOKED ON LAKES WIRF leader Kelly Derks shared with us her fun-filled weekend at the recent Hooked on Lakes event. “Tripping off along with my husband and daughter, our adventure started on Friday 11 March (Labour day weekend) when we arrived at Lakes Entrance for the Hooked On Lakes event,” Kelly said. “We decided to head to Lake Tyers that night to try our luck at some prawning. We were hoping to get at least a handful to use as bait for our fishing trip the following day. As freshwater fishers, we were excited to take our new boat out as it was our first time fishing salt water. “When we arrived at the

Emmy with her PB bream. throughout the day, with each session running for one hour. They were led by Vic Fish Kids ambassador Lee Rayner, and VFA Ambassador and threetime Richmond premiership player Bachar Houli. All equipment was provided, and each child that participated received a free rod to take home to continue their fishing adventure! The Vic Fish Kids series are all part of the Go Fishing Victoria plan to get more people fishing, more

Kelly attending at the WIRF stand.

Madison with a good haul of prawns. I was trying to get Scarlett to hold it for a photo, it slapped her in the face with its tail! It measured in at 67cm and was her first proper flatty and her personal best. Scarlett was happy to release the beautiful fish as she says, ‘It’s important to release them to have babies.’ She also knew it was too big

Water Wheel Tavern car park, we were amazed at how busy it was and it took some time before we were able to find a car park. We have been prawning here for many years and have never seen so many people in the water. Once set up we didn’t have to wander very far from the car park to land us around 10kg of prawns! The prawns were prolific. Usually, you’ll only see one prawn here and there, but we were seeing at least 4-5 in the one spot! Fellow prawners were filling up their kayaks and eskies everywhere. “Unbeknown to us, we were told that this was due to a natural occurrence resulting from the system opening and then closing to the sea. That meant that millions of prawns had made their way to the lake, congregating in the shallows each night.

the fishing club comp with her flathead as it was the biggest caught for the weekend, and Emmy also earnt club points for her great bream.” WILLIAMSTOWN VIC FISH KIDS WIRF Leaders were present at the Williamstown Vic Fish Kids event. Despite

Kelly with a nice whiting.

“Lake Tyers is experiencing its best prawning season in 30 years, with bag limits of 30L per person. Due to the late night prawning, our time fishing on the Saturday was restricted to about an hour in the afternoon, and I successfully landed a 34cm whiting. “The ‘Hooked on Lakes’ event was very successful on the Sunday, with many families in attendance. There were seafood demonstrations, free Fish Care clinics, ‘Come and try’ fishing clinics for kids and families, Maritime safety Vic float safe inflatable life jacket clinics, pop up bars and many more exciting things to see and do.

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“The WIRF stand met with and signed up many fabulous new ladies to the network. I am truly amazed at how many ladies love getting out on the water fishing with their families, and by themselves. Hearing the many great stories on what they are catching and how far they travel to go fishing is so inspiring for me and many other women who are wanting to go fishing. If you have not attended this event, then I encourage you to pencil it in your calendar for next year as it is a must-see event and I hope to see you there.” • To stay up to date and see what else has been happening within the network and for upcoming events, please head to our Facebook group www.facebook.com/ groups/womenrecfishing/, @ OCKLEAwirfnetwork Instagram page or via the VFA website/Facebook RISBANE BOATING page. Are you&aLEISURE WIRF member? 713 Ipswich Roadlove Rocklea If not, we’d to have you on board! Join us on FB today. : (07) 3875 1600 : sales@kareemarine.com.au RECIPES THAT ARE ‘WIRF’ W: www.kareemarine.com.au

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MAY 2022

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS 2022 SECOND-HAND BOAT PRICES

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BASS SERIES presented by

Reigning champion strikes again at St Clair Our annual NSW Lake St Clair/Glenbawn BASS double header is always a big event and this year we kicked it off with a strong 50 boat field at Lake St Clair for the third round of the 2022 13 Fishing BASS Pro series, sponsored by TT Rods. Scan the QR code to watch Matthew Langfords Winning Tactics

have gone either way. LANGFORD KEEPS THE 2022 AOY BALL ROLLING In a rapidly rising lake where the fish are sitting super shallow and willing to eat just about anything, it can be hard to narrow down a technique to hone-in on the big bites and filter out small fish, unless of course you’re Matt Langford. The reigning 2020 Lake St. Clair Champion and Queensland fishing guide applied the same tactics at St Clair that he uses on his

Reigning Lake St Clair Champion Matthew Langford defended his 2020 title, making it back-to-back victories on this lake.

Second place boater Steve Muldoon knows this waterway like the back of his hand. He went to work with reaction baits to weigh 3kg+ each session. An impoundment that has been kind to Matthew Langford in the past (2020 Champion Boater) rewarded him once more with two stonking, three fish bags to give him a final weight of 6/6 fish for 7.340kg, more than half a kilo clear of second place Steve Muldoon who had 6/6 fish for 6.720kg. If we could split a trophy two ways, be sure that we would! However, there can be only one winner, so in the event of a tie such as in Justin Kermond and Troy Parsons case (identical final weights of 3.565kg), the winner is decided on a count back, which saw Kermond crowned Victor in the non-boater division. A tough way to go down, however an honourable mention to Parsons in an event that could

home lakes when the water level spikes suddenly and the fish can move from their deep summer bite and up onto fresh new ground to feed. Knowing the fish were shallow, Langford spent his pre-fish in both the Carrowbrook and Falbrook arms of the dam throwing a variety of reaction baits looking for a way to target these bigger fish. “I threw a chatterbait and quickly realised I was getting good numbers on chatters but not the fish I needed to win. It wasn’t until about lunch time

MAY 2022

vegetation underwater around the dam, a shallower option was needed, so Langford’s jerkbait of choice was a Rapala X-Rap 6” live roach colour, which only dives about 3-4ft.

Justin Kermond was crowned non-boater champion by a countback after finishing with exactly the same final weight as 2nd place Troy Parsons. It doesn’t get any closer than that!

Fish like these started Mattlew Langford’s week of domination in the Hunter.

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

that I went up the Falbrook arm to a deeper edge and quickly got a few really good fish on a jerkbait, so that was enough of a clue for me to build on,” said Langford of his pre-fish.

Angler Matthew Langford Steve Muldoon Mick Johnson Dane Pryce Anthony Thorpe Mitchell Cone David Lane Luke Draper Peter Phelps John Noble

Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6 6/6

As the comp progressed he found the fish sitting on slightly deeper banks with grass and submerged or partially submerged shrubs were the key to the bigger fish. Due to the amount of

Sticking with the jerkbait, he built on the clues he found in pre-fish and targeted shrubs on slightly steeper banks up the Falbrook Arm. For this technique, Langford chose a custom Millerods

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 7.340 6.720 6.375 6.375 6.245 5.795 5.565 5.550 5.325 5.300

Payout $4500 + $250 1st Merc bonus $2000 $1300 + $125 2nd Merc bonus $1000 $900 $800 + $75 3rd Merc bonus $700 $600 $500 Buck n’ Big bass

BASS SERIES presented by ControlFreak Extra Finesse Long Cast paired with a Daiwa TD black spin reel, 10lb Yamatoyo Resin Sheller braid and 10lb Yamatoyo leader. At 7’3”, the extra length this rod offered allowed him to make a long cast parallel with the bank and at 2-5kg had plenty of power to muscle big fish out of thick vegetation. “I wasn’t getting a lot of bites. I know some guys were getting 20 fish a session and I was only getting 6-8 bites, but they were better quality fish. Each day I’d get 3-4 fish around that 1.2kg mark,” Langford said. His advice to anyone looking to further improve their fishing is, “Don’t get caught up in thinking about things too long or too hard, as soon as you get an idea go and try it immediately, don’t wait. You’ll find your intuition will help you pick things up much quicker.” MULDOON LEAPS INTO SECOND Not far behind Langford and tantalisingly close to victory was 2nd place boater Steve Muldoon who made sure Langford had his work cut out for him. Muldoon had a final weight of 6.720kg giving him an average weight of 1.1kg average, and he was able to do it with a few timeless reaction baits. Muldoon refined his spots for the weekend to the Carrowbroook Arm and the main basin area of the dam and, like the majority of the field, he was fishing edges. However, it was how he fished them that set him apart from the field. He made a

Take off! Anglers wait in anticipation of what lies ahead, where last minute decisions can make or break a day. key adjustment as the sun got higher, moving out slightly deeper to keep himself on the fish. “Earlier in the day I got the majority of my fish really shallow but as the sun got higher, I moved a little bit deeper as the fish were moving out deeper with more light around. This kept me on the fish all day, you just had to adjust,” he said about his tactics for the two days. His fish for the whole weekend fell on a few classic reaction baits from Jackall, a Charablade chatterbait and a Jackall TN60, moving parallel with the edge of the dam and casting along and up onto the flooded edges. Both fast moving baits, when the fish hit, they hit it hard and headed straight for cover; so a sturdy combo with heavy braid and leader

was needed. All our top boaters and non-boaters had a familiar theme, they all love the high-quality rods made by Ian Barra Miller and Muldoon was no exception, throwing his lures on a Millerods FinnesseFreak paired with a 1000 size Shimano Ultegra spooled with 10lb braided line and 8lb leader. Steve took home a nice cheque of $2,000 to add to his ever-growing collection of prizes. KERMOND TAKES THE CAKE Taking out his maiden victory in the non-boater division, Justin Kermond showed he knows how to tame those big Lake St Clair bass from the back of the boat. Fishing with boaters Luke Draper on day one and Neville Enright on day two, Kermond was very

grateful for the knowledge and graciousness of both his boaters. “I can’t thank my boaters

stuck with a 1/4oz Noike chatterbait in zebra bug colour all session – throwing it in parallel to the bank over the top of the flooded grass, often in as shallow as 2ft of water. The big single hook facing up allows the bait to move through the water without getting hung up on the flooded vegetation lining the edges where the fish were sitting. For this he used a stout Millerods VibeFreak paired with a Shimano Vanford 1000 spin reel, 10lb Sunline X plasma braid and 10lb Sunline FC sniper invisible leader. Day two was spent with Neville Enright and again targeting edges, however this time he opted for one of Steve Chang’s Dressed Jackall’s – a Jackall TN60 in brown dog with a beetle spin arm attached. The

Muldoon’s fish all came on reaction baits.

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a Glenbawn Bankside weigh-in with the trees so close behind!

NON- BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Justin Kermond Troy Parsons Jill Wales Thomas Wood Chris rawlings Timothy Jones Kelvin Hatton Marcus Schembri Tom Hay Peter Woods

Fish 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 4/4 3/4 4/4 4/4

Weight(kg) 3.565 3.565 3.510 3.435 3.360 3.135 3.075 3.060 3.030 2.900

enough for all their help. Luke got me onto good fish day one and Neville went above and beyond to get me onto fish on day two after he found out I was in second place. I really can’t praise them enough,” he said in thanks. After getting good fish on topwater in pre-fish, the plan was to fish it all weekend, however come Saturday he quickly realised it was a different day to pre-fish and he had to adjust accordingly. Fishing with local gun Luke Draper on day one, Kermond gave the topwater away and

combination of flash, noise vibration is irresistible to fire up Aussie bass. Throwing larger, faster moving baits on day two, the set up required beefing up. Kermond reached again for the Millerods, choosing a 4-7kg 7’3” Millerods SwitchFreak UL for its extra power and casting ability over a spin outfit. BUCK N’ BIG BASS John Noble took home the $500 Big BASS prize from our friends at Buck n’ Bass with a 1.565kg giant. He also netted himself a few goodies from Buck n’ Bass as well!

Full results at abt.org.au

Payout Rapala prize pack + $250 1st Rapala bonus Rapala prize pack Maui Jim prize + $125 2nd Rapala bonus Molix prize + $75 3rd Rapala bonus Prolure prize pack Keitech prize pack Toadfish prize pack Toadfish prize pack

MAY 2022

BASS SERIES presented by

Langford is the exception, not the rule! In 2022, we’re witnessing one of the richest veins of form we’ve seen on the BASS circuit since the days of Carl Jocumsen. We like to call it ‘getting on a roll’ when an angler is consistently cashing top 5 cheques, however when a single angler has won 3 out of 4 qualifying rounds for the year, it’s no longer ‘on a roll’, it’s unstoppable! With his third win for the year at the VMC-sponsored Lake Glenbawn round, Matthew Langford has set a new precedent, cementing the fact that in tournament bass fishing he is the exception, rather than the rule. Langford filled a limit each day for a final weight of 6.9kg; 900g clear of second placed boater Mark Parriott who also had an impressive final weight of 6kg, averaging right on a kilo for each bass and putting both well ahead of

consultation with good friend Mick Johnson, Langford decided to, “Cull some rods, stick to his confident baits, and back himself,” as Mick suggested. Fishing at the back end of the dam around the 8-knot zone, Langford looked for banks where there were no boats, and with a few other key characteristics. “Where I was fishing there was a lot of flooded grass, shrubs and thistle, as well as a lot of debris that settled into the bays. I knew if I was going to get a shallow bite it would be early, so I went and targeted these edges and just put my head down and fished. I would have fished 5-6km of bank that morning,” Langford explained. Langford used a 90mm River2sea Whopper Plopper as well as a culmination of jerkbaits that included a

Mr Unstoppable! Matthew Langford has been in white hot form this year, and his most recent win at the VMC-sponsored Lake Glenbawn round makes it his third win out of four events for the year. Scan the QR code to watch Matthew Langfords Glenbawn Wrap-up

sharp, fast twitches. Day two, as the fish shut down, Langford found he had to go back to a blade bite around the trees that he found

on pre-fish. This was a 1/4oz Evergreen Little Max Blade with the trebles removed and replaced with a single set of ZX assist hooks on the back hook point, thrown on a Millerods FinnesseFreak LC and Daiwa TD black MQ reel combo. Adding ZX hooks and removing the trebles allowed him to cast the blade amongst

Victorian angler Nelson Rouw took his first victory from the back of the boat and earned himself a $250 cash bonus. the rest of the field. In the non-boaters, Victorian angler Nelson Rouw had his first win from the back of the boat with a 4/4 fish limit for 4.345kg. LANGFORD GOES BACK-TO-BACK A self-confessed ‘Junk fisherman’, Langford pre-fished with 16 rods on the deck and a whole variety of baits for less-thanideal results. After some

61mm Jackall Squirrel, a 75mm Pontoon 21 Cablista, a RAPALA Ripstop and his winning bait from a few days prior, a Rapala X-Rap 6. What he threw and where depended entirely on what was in front of him at the time. For shallow bays with floating debris, he fished a Whopper Plopper on a Millerods SwitchFreak UL and 13 Fishing Concept C2 reel spooled with 22lb

Yamatoyo braid and 16lb Yamatoyo leader. This accounted for his 1.6kg kicker fish on day one, which would bring his bag to nearly 4.5kg after day one. On deeper banks he chose a deeper running jerkbait, such as the Jackall Squirrel and on shallower banks he chose shallower iterations such as the Cablista or the X-Rap 6, all fished on the Millerods XFLC with very

BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 96

MAY 2022

Angler Matthew Langford Mark Parriot David Lane Graham Ford Mitchell Cone Mick Johnson Bill Latimer Dane Pryce Greg Beattie Malcolm Stewart

Fish 6/6 6/6 6/6 4/6 4/6 5/6 6/6 4/6 4/6 5/6

It was quality bass such as this that put 1st place Boater Matt Langford almost 1kg ahead of the rest of the competition. He caught his fish on a combination of jerkbaits and topwater.

Full results at abt.org.au

Weight(kg) 6.900 6.000 4.735 4.395 4.355 4.295 4.195 4.130 3.935 3.825

Payout $4000 + $250 1st Merc bonus $2000 + $125 2nd Merc bonus $1000 + $75 3rd Merc bonus $900 $800 $750 $700 $600 $600 + $500 Buck n’ Big Bass $500

BASS SERIES presented by the timber, letting it sink and winding it back, bouncing it through the timber without getting snagged. This change of tactic allowed him to fill his bag on a very tough day two and already ahead by such a big margin after day one, a full limit was all he needed to take out victory. SECOND PLACE FOR PARRIOTT Mark Parriott has been a quiet achiever in ABT tournaments for the past few years and his second-place finish at Lake Glenbawn comes as no surprise to those that have been following him closely. In a stark contrast from Lake St Clair, Glenbawn Dam

He selected two jerkbaits to cover both shallow and slightly deeper edges; the former being a 75mm Daiwa Double Clutch in the discontinued lemon sight special colour and the latter being a 61mm Jackall Squirrel. Much like Langford, Parriott continued to move along a long stretch of bank, fishing whatever came in front of him, which made it necessary to have a deep and shallow jerkbait ready to go at a moment’s notice. His Jackall Squirell was rigged on a new Duffrods Bass n’ Bones Jr and the Double Clutch was rigged on a 7’ 2-5kg Bass n’ Bones with a Boater Greg Beattie became $500 richer, taking out the big BASS prize thanks to Buck n’ Bass.

It always pays to run a Mercury. Second placed boater Mark Parriott knows this, so takes home an extra $125 cash on top of his $2,000 2nd place cheque. proved to be a difficult fishery to lock into, with most anglers only getting a handful of bites each session, so they had to make them count. Parriott was able to stick all of his bites for the weekend and improve on a 2.88kg day one bag by 240g, bringing 3.12kg to the scales on day two. Focusing his pre-fish towards the back of the dam, Parriott found that the fish in the dirtier, warmer water were far more willing to bite than those fish in the clearer main basin area. “I checked out the basin and there were plenty of fish there, but it was super clear, and they did not want to bite, so I decided to focus on a bank I found at the back of the dam just before the boot,” he explained of his spot selection.

2500 Abu Garcia ALX Theta, 10lb Suffix Nano and 10lb Suffix leader. “The Bass n’ Bones is a bit heavier rod than I’d normally use, however I needed the extra power for stopping those kilo-plus fish from getting back to any cover they’d try and bury me in”. Although it didn’t produce an abundance of fish, it certainly produced the quality he needed. Fishing in 13-15ft of water, he could see the fish sitting out in this depth and knew they would come up shallow to feed early. This knowledge saw him fill his bag with good quality fish within the first hour on both days before the sun got up and the fish shut down. INTERSTATE VICTORY FOR ROUW

Despite flooding rain, anglers were able to get to Glenbawn and enjoy a full lake for the first time in years.

NON- BOATER RESULTS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Nelson Rouw Tony Neal Tom Hay Marcus Schembri Glen Bailey Adam Mears Troy Parsons matthew Taylor Brad Turner Matthew Cameron

Making the big trek interstate to NSW was certainly rewarding for Victorian angler Nelson Rouw who took out his very first non-boater victory of his career. Rouw fished with boaters Graham Ford on day one and Dane Pryce on day two, two very knowledgeable local guides and he was able to run away with the victory by a margin of 1.29kg thanks to a stonking 2.585kg day one bag. With his boaters choosing to fish the edges parallel, he chose to adapt the way in which he fished from the back of the boat, choosing to target the fish sitting out wider and leaving the shallower side for his boater. Casting the wider side of the boat, he used a 5/16oz

Fish 4/4 4/4 3/4 4/4 4/4 3/4 2/4 2/4 2/4 3/4

Weight(kg) 4.345 3.055 2.995 2.785 2.700 2.185 2.025 1.995 1.970 1.885

Noike chatterbait in ayu colour, which he’d purchased from Aberdeen Fishing Tackle at the briefing – rigged with a single stinger hook, to target these deeper fish. A technique that had worked for him in the 2021 Glenbawn round. “I’d caught fish doing it here last year so that’s how I had the confidence that it was going to work, I just had to commit to it”. Rouw reached for the heavier gear, choosing a 7’7” Megabass Murasame Bream X matched up with a 3000 Shimano TwinPower spooled with 10lb Suffix 832 and 8lb Nitlon DFC Fluorocarbon leader, noting that because the Noike chatterbaits must be wound fast to get them to vibrate, the slightly bigger reel got the lure working a lot quicker and easier. The trick was to cast either parallel to the bank but on the deep side of the boat, or to just throw directly out towards the middle of the dam, letting it sink all the way to the bottom before beginning a steady wind back to the boat. This technique filled his bag each session, as well as accounting for the 1.5kg upgrade fish on day one that was ultimately the fish that won him the comp and made him another $250 richer as our first placed Rapala Bonus Bucks’ non-boater, thanks to our sponsors at Rapala. BUCK N’ BIG BASS Greg Beattie won the events $500 Buck n’ Big BASS prize with a cracking 1.8kg fish caught on the second and final day.

Full results at abt.org.au

Payout Rapala prize + $250 1st Rapala bonus Rapala prize + $125 2nd Rapala bonus Maui Jim prize Molix prize + $75 3rd Rapala bonus Prolure prize Keitech prize Toadfish prize Toadfish prize

MAY 2022

PRODUCT GUIDE

SAMAKI BARRA BOOF

When Samaki started the design process for their new collection, they had one goal in mind: to get you from the boat to the dock at speed, no shirt change-outs required! They wanted to provide detailed designs that truly appreciate each species. The team at Samaki believe they have brought you the best of both worlds, with a top of the line cotton tee with some super cool icons from detailed drawings of your favourite species, to quirky fishing concepts. Barra Boof is a fresh take on a creative art style called gyotaku. To gyotaku your catch is to hold its memory firm for life, a trophy, framed recognition of a place that you have been. It’s a representation of that epic moment when you land your personal best. Available in white and ‘night sky’, the Barra Boof comes in sizes ranging from S to 3XL. Samaki’s apparel range also includes boardshorts, walk shorts, caps, straw hats, face shields and of course UPF50+ performance wear. www.samaki.com.au

STORM GOMOKU TRICK METAL

Storm Fishing has announced the release of the new Gomoku Trick Metal. The lure’s asymmetric body and rear weighted design give the Gomoku Trick Metal a tricky action on the fall, and gives the angler the ability to be cast long distances. The Trick Metal has a very erratic action on the fall which sends the fish crazy. The seductive wide tail kicking action on the retrieve throws flashes out through the water that act like a dinner bell for predators nearby. Available in 18g, 30g, and 40g models and finished off in eight fish-catching colours, these lures will be suitable for both fresh and saltwater. They are fitted with a VMC dressed assist hook and rear treble hook, to make sure any fish that grabs it makes it to the net. Check them out at your nearest Storm Fishing stockist, or look up Storm Fishing on Facebook. www.facebook.com/StormFishingAus

DAIWA DOUBLE CLUTCH 48SP

The popular Double Clutch family has welcomed its newest and smallest member, with the arrival of the Double Clutch 48SP. Designed as the ultimate finesse twitchbait, the Double Clutch 48 features Daiwa’s patented Silent Gravity Oscilation System (S-GOS) weight transfer system, delivering superior casting performance and Double Clutch’s unmatched responsiveness when twitched and worked. The key to the S-GOS system is that it shifts the lure’s centre of gravity on every twitch, making the lure shift and pivot differently with each movement of the rod tip. Perfectly suited to both fresh and saltwater, the Double Clutch suspends in freshwater and slowly rises in saltwater. Fitted with ultra-sticky BKK Spear 21SS treble hooks, the DC48 is ready to fish straight out of the pack and is available in an expansive array of fish-catching colours. www.daiwafishing.com.au

MAY 2022

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

OKUMA AZORES XP

Okuma has announced the releases of the Azores XP Spin Reels – Power Models. Built for the big bite, with lower gearing for plenty of cranking muscle and the build quality to back it up, these reels are all about power. High density gearing and machine-cut brass pinion gear roll on high performance, grease-packed stainless bearings for a smooth, precise, and solid mechanical system. High performance bearings are more than 10 times more resistant to saltwater than standard stainless-steel bearings. A hydro-blocked hybrid drag delivers consistent, smooth, and powerful resistance against hard-running fish, while the machined screw-in handle ensures a positive connection and solid feel. The machined aluminium anodised, large-capacity spool features Okuma’s LCS lip for increased casting distance and accuracy. There are three models – ZXP-6000P, ZXP-8000P and ZXP-14000P – and they’re backed by Okuma’s 10 Year Warranty. SRP: $229.90-$259.90 www.tackletactics.com.au

TICA SPINFOCUS SPIN RODS

TiCA Spinfocus series rods have been designed with the finesse angler in mind. These rods are suited for trout and bass anglers in freshwater, and anglers targeting bream, estuary perch and whiting in saltwater. TiCA Spinfocus rods feature a composite graphite/fibreglass blank, and high-quality cork grips. They also feature a unique lightweight exposed graphite reel seat and high-quality stainless steel guides that help keep all the rods in this range under 100g in total weight. The Spinfocus Spin rods are available in three models including a 5’2” 1-piece model rated 1-6lb and 2 x 2-piece models that are both rated 4-8lb in 5’8” and 6’2” respectively. To find out more about these and other rods from TiCA, visit the Juro OzPro Tackle website or look them up on Facebook to see all the latest news, tips and catch photos. www.jurofishing.com

ZEREK FLAT SHAD X

4 5

The new Jighead Rigged Flat Shad X features the patented Flat Shad belly slits that allow the plastic to easily compress in any direction, exposing the hook to ensure solid hook-ups. This new model Flat Shad also incorporates a Kevlar webbed tail that is segmented to provide incredible movement from the boot tail. This creates a rolling action as well as a beautiful undulating tail when retrieved at the slowest of speeds. In the 145mm/60g and 170mm/73g sizes, the exposed jighead hook sits proud on top while a supplied stinger hook is fitted under the belly. There is also a further stinger attachment eyelet above the eye of the lure, just behind the towing eyelet. This allows anglers to place a treble up on top in weedy or snaggy country, and swap out the bottom stinger for a flashy blade or similar. The 90mm/8g and 130mm/28g models have an internal jighead with a stinger attachment hidden in the collapsible belly area, with the 130 sporting an additional stinger attachment above the eye. The Jighead Rigged Flat Shad X comes in 11 colours, and will be available soon. www.wilsonfishing.com

visit www.tacklejunkie.fish for the latest tackle news - AS IT HAPPENS!

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300,000 barra released into Lake Kununurra Another 300,000 barramundi fingerlings – which were about 60 days old – have been successfully released into Lake Kununurra. This means 1.3 million barra have been released into Lake Kununurra since 2013.

the chance to chase big barramundi. A safe location free of saltwater crocodiles and big tidal movements typical of Kimberley river systems, Lake Kununurra is home to many 1m-plus barra thanks to an ongoing stocking program.

licence fees as part of the Recreational Fishing Initiatives Fund. It is overseen by the Lake Kununurra Barramundi Stocking Group (LKBSG), Recfishwest, North Regional TAFE and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional

Dylan Hearty with barra fingerlings ready to be released. Photo courtesy of Zach Relph

Paul Cunningham with a beautiful golden barramundi from Lake Kununurra. Lake Kununurra is an East Kimberley fishing gem and a quality sport fishery, providing fishers

The Lake Kununurra stocking program was initiated in 2013 using recreational fishing

Development (DPRID). “Lake Kununurra’s barramundi stocking program shows how true

fish abundance not only promotes great fishing experiences, but also benefits regional WA communities,” Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said. “Fish abundance ensures great fishing experiences can be enjoyed and stocking programs like this one can help create world-class fisheries in regional towns, such as Kununurra. “Lake Kununurra is not

only an asset to locals, but also attracts visitors to the East Kimberley who want to try their luck and chase a magic metre barra in a safe and accessible setting.” All of the fish released as part of the program have been bred at North Regional TAFE’s aquaculture facility in Broome. The TA F E ’s aquaculture experts transport the fish across from Broome to Kununurra

in special oxygenated transportation tanks. The State Government has committed to fund the stocking program for three years through the COVID-19 recfishing recovery package, announced in 2020. Thanks to DPRID and Daiwa Australia, our State-wide fish stocking partners, who make fish release activities like this possible.

Tournament Calendar 2022 DATE

Tournament

Location

State

Contact

4-5 May

BREAM Swan River

Perth

www.abt.org.au

15 May

East Coast Bream Series R1

St Georges Basin

NSW

wsbreambass@gmail.com

21-22 May

BREAM Hawkesbury River

Sydney

NSW

www.abt.org.au

MAY

JUNE 5 Jun

East Coast Bream Series R1

Hawkesbury River

NSW

wsbreambass@gmail.com

5-6 June

BASS Pro Cania Dam

Monto

QLD

www.abt.org.au

12 Jun

BASS Electric Lake Macdonald

Cooroy

QLD

www.abt.org.au

18-19 Jun

BREAM Tweed River

Fingal

QLD

www.abt.org.au

9-10 Jul

Humminbird BASS Electric Aus Open

Hinze Dam, Nerang

QLD

www.abt.org.au

16-17 Jul

Samaki BREAM Queensland Open

Brisbane

QLD

www.abt.org.au

Rapala BASS Australian Open

Somerset Dam

QLD

www.abt.org.au

9-11 Sep

Venom BARRA Aus Open Lake

Awoonga, Gladstone

QLD

www.abt.org.au

10 Sep

BASS Electric Wyaralong Dam

Beaudesert

QLD

www.abt.org.au

17-18 Sep

BREAM Gladstone

Gladstone

QLD

www.abt.org.au

18 Sep

East Coast Bream Series R1

Botany Bay

NSW

wsbreambass@gmail.com

JULY

AUGUST 27-28 Aug SEPTEMBER

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. 100

MAY 2022

South Coast

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ESPERANCE

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Esperance is definitely heading towards the colder weather, but along with that comes plenty of opportunities for good fishing. There are still sunny, calmer days for us to get out and enjoy ourselves, and plenty of fish being caught. For anglers fishing off the tanker jetty in town, the squid are out in full force, with plenty of samples over 1kg. The best time to catch them is early in the morning or late in the afternoon. At the moment, most are getting There are plenty of tuna around. caught using a pin jag on a Image courtesy of @lachy_warren. float, with a herring for bait. Those using squid jigs When it MELBOURNE comes to If things are a bit quiet, ALBERTON are still having good success, beach fishing west of town, it can be worth trying a MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE ALBERTON MARINE with white and light blue Munglinup has been being squid jig on a paternoster 39 Johnson Street Alberton 92 Hallam Southrig, Road patterns working well. hugely successful, with andHallam getting the jig down (03) 5183 2344 Magic anglers hookingP: mulloway (03) 9703 2003 TheP: size 3.0 Black to the weed line. This is a Squid Snatchers have been over 50lb. There are also good option if the current is F: (03) 5183 2219 W: melbournemarine.com.au a standout. W: albertonmarine.com.au plenty of bronze whalers and running fast and you have a Along with the squid skippy going 3-4kg. fast drift. You can use either MORNINGTON PENINSULA there are still plenty of East of town, choice one or two jigs, and have a MYthe MARINE MELBOURNE herring, and some garfish beach has been Thomas longer leader down to the Cnr samples Nepean Highway BL MARINE coming through at night. We River, with good sinker so&it will clip the weed Ponderosa Place 612614 Plenty Road Preston are also seeing some smaller of mulloway around 20lb andDromana the jigs will sit above it. skippy being caught, of0900 Around the islands we P: (03) 9478 1420 and the (around 1m), P:plenty (03) 5987 occasional bronze around are seeing plenty of sweep, F: (03) 9470 4638 whaler salmon, and skippy W: mymarine.com.au being caught. the 3kg mark. queen snapper, breaksea cod W: blmarine.com.au Bandy Creek boat Those still MORNINGTON willing to PENINSULA and the occasional small harbour has been yielding head out to Israelite Bay sambo. Those heading out NAUTICAL MARINE SHEPPARTON plenty of smaller King are still having success wide into the deeper water 141 Hotham BOATS AND MORE small on gummy sharks, George whiting, small Road are still catching plenty of nannies up to 60cm. Again, Sorrento 207 Numurkah Road Shepparton there are plenty of breaksea, P: (03) 5822 2108 P: (03) 5984 1666 queenies, the occasional F: (03) 5821 2908 E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au harlequin fish, samsons and W: boatsandmore.com.au W: nauticalmarine.com.au yellowtail kingies. Gummy sharks are also TOORADIN MORWELL prevalent at this time of year, CENTRE and theP/Lbest way to P&J MARINE SERVICE CRAWFORD MARINE target them is to drift off 71-77 Chickerell Street Morwell 101 Tooradin Station Road Tooradin the bommies/lumps. Drift P: (03) 5134 6522 P: (03) 5998 3107 the flats for 100m after the F: (03) 5134 6455 E: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com bommie. You’ll find that the nannies sit part way W: crawfordmarine.com.au MELBOURNE down and to the side, while gummies sit further out on ECHUCA THE MARINE SHOP the flats. Plenty of samples EADES XTREME MARINE 6 Holland Drive Melton up to 15kg are being caught. 24 Sturt Street Echuca P: (03) 9747 0588 As winter sets in, the P: (03) 5482 2333 fishing opportunities will F: (03) 9747 3999 change, with colder water F: (03) 5482 2133 W: themarineshop.com.au temperatures and more W: xtrememarine.net.au MELBOURNE rainfall. Along the beaches Lachy Warren with a nice harlequinfish. you can chase mulloway BRAESIDE TRIPLE M MARINE Image courtesy of @lachy_warren. from any of the flowing JV MARINE WORLD 117 Northgate Drive Thomastown rivers and creeks, and 878 Springvale Road Braesidemulloway, plenty skippy, the occasional big8787 we’ll see a continuation of P: (03)of9465 P: (03) and 9798plenty 8883 of black tailor and good-size flounder, flathead the bigger skippy coming F: (03) 9466 1418 bream. through, with samples up F: (03)The 9798Bream 7554 Lakes up to 80cm. W: triplemmarine.com.au in W: town got a top-up from There are still good to 7kg being caught. The jvmarine.com.au the rains, and have been boat fishing opportunities salmon should also start to producing quality fish to in the bay at this time of return from the west coast, over 40cm. The bream are year, weather permitting. A with bigger schools starting getting ready to spawn, and few bluefin tuna are hanging to turn up. are feeding up in preparation. around, with plenty of snook, • Established in 1986, At the local beaches we lots of herring and squid Southern Sports and Tackle are seeing plenty of smaller galore. It’s not unusual to specializes in the supply salmon around. The schools get your boat limit of squid and servicing of fishing are cruising the west coast but in a 2-hour period. After equipment. They have an plenty of fish are still staying you have hooked a squid extensive knowledge of the local. The best beaches are and you’re winding it in, a local area and provide all Fourth Beach, Salmon Beach good tip is to get someone to brands, whether you’re and Roses close to town, throw another jig behind it. fishing from beach, jetty or and there are also plenty of That’s because the squid are boat. Come and chat to the opportunities out of town at competitive and aggressive, friendly staff at Shop 16, The Alexander, Thomas River and will follow each other to Boulevard, Esperance or and Poison Creek. compete for food. phone 08 9071 3022.

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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 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 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

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Salmon are MIA in May AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

Where are the salmon? That is the question on everyone’s lips from Albany through to the metro area as the pending salmon season gets later and later with very little sign of the schools.

top quality eating fish as the recent big tides have flushed plenty of clean water from the ocean right up towards Molloy Island bringing a fresh supply of food with it. The clarity and colour of the water at high water is a sight to behold. Boat fishing has been very rewarding around the Dead Water and East Augusta

A first class dhufish landed while fishing with bait on a Leeuwin Marine Charters trip in Flinders Bay. Generally at this time of the year there have been tens of thousands of fish passing along the coast on the annual run with the urge to procreate unstoppable. For some reason the 2022 salmon run has been more of a dawdle with only occasional sightings taking place. Albany beaches have usually had their fill of the schools by now and they should be around the corner and heading through Augusta. No one knows if the warmer waters have delayed the run or if some other unknown trigger is responsible, but it is hoped they get a wriggle on soon. In the mean time people have been happily taking their fill of the smaller but tastier species that are currently plentiful in Augusta and surrounds. With King George whiting, garfish and herring making their regular autumn appearance it doesn’t take long for those in the know to grab themselves a feed. The Hardy Inlet has been absolutely alive with 102

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with catches of King George whiting increasing not only in number but also in the average size. Best results have been by those following the channels and anchoring up where they narrow and create a bottleneck; basically

funnelling the fish into a concentrated area. Combining this with some berleying not only increases your chance at the various whiting species but it is currently bringing in some excellent sized garfish. These serpentine mini marlin surprisingly are very aggressively and will attack a moving bait trying to out compete their companions. Dropping a couple of hook sizes once you notice them coming around will increase your success rate. They will take many baits but small pieces of fish or worm are effective but they absolutely love cockle meat or maggots. They will also readily attack a Sabiki bait jig that is wound it at a steady pace. Being surface feeders, the use of a float of any variety will keep your baits in their feeding zone. I generally empty their gut as soon as possible as it is generally full of green weed, which is the main part of their diet. That is achieved as simply as running your thumb along their belly towards the anal fin. This easily strips the contents out through the anus and makes for a much cleaner experience. It will also ensure they don’t have a weedy flavour. They are exceptional eating when cooked on the bone with a delicate flaky meat that is one of my favourites. If you don’t like bones then there are numerous instructional videos on the internet that detail how to make the most of the fish by removing the bones by flatten them with a bottle or rolling pin. The blue swimmer crab season has been as late as the salmon season this year with numbers steadily increasing. The increase in numbers caught has also shown a corresponding increase in size as well as yield from each crab. Spleen and chicken necks are showing the best results and

Proving tackle shop owners do fish, Bernice Gillam lands the brother of the author’s fish using a 70g Halco Gold Twisty lure. biggest numbers are in the Dead Water and on the east Augusta side of Hardy Inlet. Catches of herring and skippy at the Ellis Street Jetty are always common but at this time of the year they abound and the fish are much bigger. Early morning and evening are favourite feeding times but they can actually be caught all day long especially with the use of pollard and oil-based berley. The biggest skippy can be caught using a whole live river prawn pinned just behind the head or near the tail and with a hook threaded through the body if a dead prawn is used. Drift the prawn down the water column unweighted a few metres out from the cover of the jetty and be prepared for fun to begin. Give the fish a few metres of line then set the hook for the most success. Don’t let them get back into the structure as they are masters at cutting you off or quickly wrapping your line around the pylons. Fresh skippy are one of the best fish in the area for eating as sashimi so give it a try. Sliced thinly or thickly depending on your taste, a dash of wasabi and a The perfect size pink snapper for bragging to the family, as well as feeding them.

The author with a solid early season salmon caught on a Richter Sea Iron lure.

splash of soy. It is a joy to eat and has the perfect texture for a great sashimi. With Fisheries WA considering a further reduction in the dhufish catch limit in the west coast zone due to a slower than expected recovery everyone with a boat in Augusta is waiting with bated breath to find out what is going to be the result. Unfortunately it would appear that the pressure of COVID lockdowns has again created issues. Obviously with everyone stuck in the state for a couple of years has resulted in many more fishing trips taking place with a corresponding increase in

the catch rate. This would obviously be concentrated in the metropolitan areas with a flow on further down the coast with limited travel opportunities. Hopefully instead of reducing the bag limit, which is currently only two dhufish per boat they will realise that the pressure on the fishery will be reduced once people start travelling again now the state and international borders are open. That being said the current weather has allowed plenty of boat fishing out in Flinders and Hamelin Bays with demersal catches continuing to be very good. To page 103

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You’ll find quality over quantity in the rivers BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping

Black bream are a popular target over winter, with the Collie and Brunswick rivers always holding a few. While they can be tough to find sometimes, the quality makes up for it. With the cooler freshwater flowing, leading into the river, the winter bream get sluggish and that means time to get out the soft plastics and vibes. Slow your retrieves down using long pauses, and small movements are the key to targeting winter bream. There are certain plastics on the market that have a large amount of scent built into them to provide the bream a smelly scent-filled target in the dirty water. In this situation some of the most successful plastics are the Berkley Gulp Crabbies and Worms and the Ecogear Aqua Prawns. Generally you will need a little bit more weight on the jighead to counteract the harder flowing water, so look at using between 1/16 and 1/8oz with a hook size to suit your plastic choice. In regards to vibes, the River2Sea Baby Vibes are an absolute killer with either the darker colours or baitfish colours that give From page 102

Plenty of juvenile dhufish around the 40-50cm range are coming from the shallower waters in the 12-25m depths with bigger fish turning up in 40+ depths. Bait fishing has been productive with squid, mulies and octopus scoring some big fish. Soft plastics as usual are attracting big dhufish and pink snapper with Gulp 6” paddle-tails in glow white being pretty successful jigged close to the bottom. Harlequin and bight redfish have been showing up regularly in some of the larger reef areas and are all over the soft plastics. Beach fishing remains pretty solid with sand whiting all along the eastern and western beaches, Dead Finish and Ringbolt. Skippy Rock Beach although harder to get to has also had some nice sized whiting turning up as well as big herring and some 1kg+ skippy towards the rocks on the southern end. Try fish strips, squid or mulie pieces on a paternoster rig for most consistent results. Rock fishing has been a bit iffy with some very strong winds and heavy

Kev Moore with a quality black bream from the rivers. off a bit of flash doing the damage. Rigged with a solitary treble hanging off the rear end, these bream magnets will bring the fish from far and wide and with such a small profile lure the hook rate is exceptional!

Cast in close to the timber and let it sink down, but be ready to strike and engage the bream because he will race out and nail it and be back to his lair given the chance. If you are in the mood

rainfall making life on the rocks pretty dangerous at times. The only consolation has been that the temperatures when the weather is fine

remain in the mid 20s so the rocks dry off quickly and with the heat absorbing into the granite it’s quite pleasant even when the fish

for sitting back on the river bank and chilling out, a small ball sinker running down to a baitholder or shiner hook laced with a fresh strip of mullet will usually fool these cunning fish. Look for

creeks or run-offs feeding into the main branch of the river because there’s a good chance bream will be waiting to pounce on any offering flowing into the river. With winter rapidly approaching, thoughts turn to the inshore pink snapper fishery with these pink slabs coming in close to shore in great numbers. The rough weather presents a good opportunity for the pink snapper to forage for food that gets bashed around and dislodged during and following the numerous cold fronts that will be coming through over the next few months. Due to the fact that they move around a lot looking for their next meal, the best results usually come in the form of setting the pick and getting a solid berley trail going, bringing the fish to you. Some days it will only take minutes for them to appear and once they come up in the berley trail the fishing is generally hot with fish coming one after the other. A berley that consists of fish frames, old bait and scraps works a treat but can be a messy job to do at home. Nowadays though, there is quality frozen berley options available in good tackle shops that are perfect for the job. Once the berley trail is established all you need to do is present an unweighted or lightly

weighted mulie/scalie on a gang or snelled hooks with hook size determined by the bait used, 4/0 to 6/0 sizes are the most common. I have found occasionally they will go off the bite (usually when you drop a fish!) and then it is good idea to change it up to get them switched on again. By that I mean put the baits away and try a couple of lures, good results will come on soft plastics with the vibes being especially deadly, they can change the mood of the fussy pink snapper. With lures, they will hit it out of aggression and can get them feeding freely again. Another technique to get them biting is to drop down a micro jig in the 5-20g range. This smaller offering flicking and darting of the bottom will replicate a small baitfish, you also could get a bonus by-catch of any skippy that are milling around the berley trail. • As always, call into the store to get the latest info on where they are biting! And the crew at Whiteys Tackle and Camping in Treendale are always more than happy to share their knowledge of the southwest and fishing techniques so don’t be shy, come on in and say hi, show off your catch and ask any questions you may have. Tight lines! – Reece Cooper

A family fishing trip for Blake and Hayley Muller resulted in another dhufish to add to their impressive tally.

Carolyn Maxwell managed this haul of solid garfish whilst dinghy fishing in Hardy Inlet chasing King George whiting.

are off the bite. Elephant Rock, Knobbies and Cosy Corner are all worth the time to berley up with a slick oil, pollard and fish mash for the chance at a kingie, samsonfish or shark. Use live herring, yellowtail scad or whole squid unweighted if possible and drift it out

into the slick as the tide turns to go out. • Unpredictable weather can quickly affect the fishing conditions and slippery rocks are a recipe for disaster. Please remain vigilant when rock fishing, wear a life jacket and tie off to something solid. You

can hire one for free from Augusta Xtreme Outdoor Sports at 66 Blackwood Avenue Augusta – the local tackle shop and font of all local fishing knowledge. Look for the big green sign on the roof, it’s right next to the BP Service Station in the centre of town. MAY 2022

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The fishing continues to shine when targeting them. ROCK WALLS AND BEACHES For those anglers fishing our local rock walls it is a tale of two stories. Fishing during the low light and night will produce the best fishing for species like tailor and the odd salmon, while fishing the tide changes during the day will provide the best fishing for herring, skippy and King George whiting. As always using berley is the key to consistent fishing. The squid fishing will continue to be a highlight. The number of squid around may reduce, but the quality/ size of what is around, make them well worth targeting. Good areas to try are the South Fremantle and North Mole rock walls. Not much will change for our beach anglers. Herring,

METRO

Jacob Crispe

At the time of writing no significant rain has fallen in the Perth Metro area, meaning that the seasonal change we have all been expecting is still yet to happen. This is great for anglers as it provides lots of options for us all to go fishing. SWAN RIVER Bream are always a popular bread and butter species in the Swan. They are a great target species for lure and bait anglers alike. Until any serious rain comes they will be widespread through the system (Canning Bridge up to Guildford). Bream love structure whether it is artificial in the form of bridges or jetties or natural structure, like timber or weed. This structure holds bait fish and the bream will be nearby to ambush them. Soft plastics are a

Young guns Ben and Blake Farnell can’t get enough of these fat tailor they caught casting stickbaits from the sand along Perth northern beaches.

Alex Franklin strikes gold with a horse of a Sean River bartail flathead going 51cm. popular way to target them and as most of the fish in the popular areas have seen a few lures in recent times, it is well worth adding some scent to your lures. S-Factor, Gulp or any of the Pro Cure scents will do the job. I expect that the excellent tailor fishing will also continue. The section of the river between East Fremantle and the Narrows Bridge always holds fish. Some of the better fishing is found in the deeper water off the flats in this area. Many anglers wade out (waist deep) on to the flats and target these fish using small metal lures or stickbaits. With the weather cooling the flathead fishing 104

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Gabe is all smiles with an absolutely ripper pink snapper.

will change. The flathead will move off the flats and into deeper water. With the abundance of toadfish around (they love destroying your soft plastics) it is better to fish with either hardbody lures or metal blades. Don’t forget though that if the toadies are active then there is every chance the flathead will be too. Mulloway anglers are still being rewarded with some excellent captures. There are plenty of good fish being caught and this should continue in May. The area between the E-Sheds and Causeway is a great place to start. In recent years May has been the month of big yellowfin whiting in the Swan. This is usually a nighttime adventure (less toadies to steal your baits), with fresh prawns or bloodworms your best bait options. Large shallow areas with deeper water nearby is what you are looking for

Scott Bell with a big pink snapper caught using a pink 5” ZMan on board Jazz Charters.

Hools Orifici just can’t get enough of these tasty fish. He says drifting with fresh baits is the key to success.

Hools Orifici is all smiles when it comes to posing with these 5-star fish, lovely King George whiting.

whiting, tailor and mulloway will be the main targets. Hopefully we get a salmon run in the metro area this year to provide another option from the beach. Fishing from our beaches

using drones to drop baits to target snapper is becoming increasingly popular. The results have been exceptional with some really nice fish being caught. May is prime time for this style of fishing.

INSHORE Like the rock walls the inshore squid fishing will be excellent. Broken ground in 3-8m of what is what you are looking for. Search these areas by fanning casts all around the boat. Once you do find some squid, try and stay in that area as the squid tend to be hold up in groups, so where you find one, others are bound to be there. King George whiting will also remain around in good numbers. They can become a little harder to find as the year progresses. Focus on the sand patches in 3-10m of water. You may need to filter through a few undesirables before the whiting take over. However, as we know they are well worth the effort. Many more anglers will choose to fish at night. Setting up berley trails and targeting pinky snapper. The best areas to do this are where reefy structure exists. Other species you are likely to encounter when doing this are skippy (silver trevally) To page 105

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Whet the winter appetite MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

May is a good time to fish, before we properly start to see winter doing its thing. Various sorts of fishing can become quite difficult as a result of the shift in weather, but the results can be quite rewarding if you are willing to persist for potential results.

the fish tend to become a bit more susceptible to capture and anglers will find themselves catching fish on a larger variety of presentations. Land-based pink snapper are a great option if you are willing to stick it out in some of the rougher conditions, as the fish come inshore to gorge on easy pickings that fall from rocks and also food that is brought to the top

be quite persistent and put in a number of casts over a wide area to get your hands on a couple. The estuary can be quiet around this time of the year due to the shallow water and cold weather bringing about a quick change in our estuarine species as well as their habits. Although numbers are starting to thin out as time passes, crabs and whiting can still be found in

Heading up the river is a great option this time of the year, with protected sections of water allowing you to fish even when conditions are far from ideal elsewhere. Black bream will start to fire right up, being less hesitant to leave their homes to feed and roam in the dirty water. The odd mulloway can also be caught up both the rivers, though larger specimen and numbers can be quite inconsistent. Using bait or lures will come down to anglers choice, though both will produce well dependent on what you feel like doing. On the beaches, there is still some good sized tailor getting around, with plenty of school sharks and the odd mulloway also getting caught. If you are chasing an abundance of fun, you will find that many of the local beaches have a good supply of herring and whiting getting around too. Expect beaches to become increasingly difficult to fish, due to larger swells and

Michael is no stranger to casting up some good quality fish. seaweed being pushed in with early winter conditions. Checking out your potential fishing spots in the daylight prior to starting your night session can make all the difference and will often be very beneficial to finding a

weed free zone that produces well. If you are able to find a good patch of ground to fish that is relatively free of weed, it can be worth getting a good burley trail going and trying your luck at getting stuck into some foraging pink snapper.

Some chunky black bream can be caught up the systems and they are more than willing to smash some lures. Heading to the openings near the ocean, we can expect salmon to start showing up around this time, with quality as well as numbers steadily improving as time passes. Whether you are chasing some salmon for sport or a feed, it is best to target these fish around a change of light with casting metals, soft plastics and fresh bait being ideal for fish that are ahead of the larger schools. As competition with other schooling fish increases, From page 104

and tailor. Samsonfish can be a common by-catch as they love hanging around the skippy schools. Areas like Fish Rock and Mewstones are great places to start. The sand whiting

of sand layers during the turbulent weather. If chasing these fish, a good berley trail will go a long way and be sure to use freshly caught baits to give the best chance at landing a fish. If fishing for the smaller species, try from the estuary side rocks as it is generally ideal for producing a feed of whiting and herring. Some good squid will be making their way around the channel openings on a tide change, but you will often need to

patches around the estuary. If you are struggling to fish or crab the estuary with luck, your best option is to remain mobile, seek a different area that you can work thoroughly and hopefully results will differ or point you in a better direction. If spinning lures like small metals, hard bodies or surface presentations, you are always in with a great chance of coming across an abundance of herring or the odd resident salmon trout.

Mulloway can be hard to find from the beaches, but they are so rewarding once you successfully land a good sized one.

fishing will also continue to be good. Your best option to get a feed of these lovely fish is to drift the edges of the shipping channel until you find them. It is not uncommon for every rod in the water to go off when you do. It can be great fun.

Dom Magoo with a lovely little yellowtail king caught on his whiting and squid grounds. Maybe life is like a box of chocolates.

Han Yeoh knows how to get it done when it comes to big blue-lipped bream on hardbodies.

OFFSHORE All of our demersal species are on offer in May. By far the most popular method to target them is using soft plastics. 5-7” lures in various shapes and colours will work. The key in most cases is to use enough weight to get down to the fish, but

not that much that it crashes to the bottom. Many of the species will eat your plastic on the drop. The exception can be the dhufish, most anglers target them using plastics at the larger end of the scale (preferably a paddle-tail style) and heavier weights to get

down to the fish quickly. 30-50m of water is the key to any of your demersal fishing in May. The yellowtail kingfish fishing this year has been excellent. The northern side of Rottnest Island (south west end) near the sanctuary zone has been the hotspot.

Some good samsons have been caught as by-catch, by anglers chasing the kings. There should still be a few southern bluefin tuna about, with the occasional yellowfin tuna. This will drop off as the month progresses. As always there is deep drop fishing available. There are plenty of quality fish to be caught in 200-500m, it is just a matter of having a weather window and the gear to get out and do it. May is generally the month where seasonal fishing transitions take place. This is generally triggered by cooler temperatures and wet weather. Until this happens, metro anglers still have plenty of fishing options available to them throughout our waterways, so why not go out and take advantage of it. I will catch you next month. MAY 2022

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Big front off southern ocean LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

It’s that time of year as we near winter and are more likely to get a big front off the southern ocean. The first big blow of the season can break up the salmon schools around Perth and Rottnest sending a few Lancelin’s way. The big seas also cause lots of beach erosion, becoming narrow, steep and the sand is fluffed up soft. Lancelin beaches can be some of the trickiest beaches you will find anywhere to drive on. Parts of the year some

swell period. The longer the period the more power in each wave increasing the likelihood a wave could stand up on you trying to leave the bay. If greater than 3m, you probably should be keeping the trailer boats at home unless fishing inside the bay. The best catches of larger dhufish have been coming from out deep 35m+, but there is still plenty of smaller fish inside the White Bank for the small boats and pink snapper have been in great numbers on the inshore grounds. Baldies have been a reliable catch drifting pretty much anywhere in

of the 13cm Gulp curl tail white soft plastics behind the boat. Just leave the rod in the holder, cuttles can’t

their larger cousin snook eat quite well. Squid anglers had a lean summer. The bays

Nolan Unwin hooked up on this big beast of a southern shovelnose ray while chasing mulloway north of town.

Huxley Taylor had a great time fishing with his dad for pinkies.

Spanish mackerel should still be around until late June. beaches can be next to impossible to drive with a conventional 4WD. Countless vehicles become stuck requiring help to be rescued each year. Caution is well advised, carry adequate recovery gear if unsure use back tracks to go around any sections of beach that look dodgy. Apart from the likelihood of a big cold front or two, we also see wonderful lulls in between to cast a line from the beach or head offshore without those blustery summer sea breezes. It’s a time of year to watch the forecast and

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have been quite turbid from seaweed wrack, conditions have much improved and some good catches are coming from both the jetty and dinghies drifting the weed beds. Larger squid have been caught just to the north of the bay in deeper water. Drop netting along the near shore or from the

Samsonfish have been prolific on the inshore reefs.

Justin Taylor finished off a morning casting baits for tailor with a few nice pinkies off the drone at Didie Bay. make the most of windows when they open. When the forecast is for a 2.5m swell or greater, check the

resist the scented plastic and will continue to attack the jig until hooked. While tuna have been mostly far offshore over summer, fish are back in the 20s and 30s now.

the jetty fishing really fires up, most evenings plenty of herring coming in under the lights. Letting the baits sink a bit deeper can find skippy, tarwhine and even the odd King George whiting. While baitcasting pilchards from the northern end should score a feed of tailor. Early mornings has been when schools of samsonfish have been most likely to bust up on the baitfish that have sought shelter under the jetty

the 30s. Cuttlefish have been grabbing the baits in these depths too. One way to snag a few is to trail one

Spanish mackerel are still around even though the water is cooling. The next month or two look for the schools of blue mackerel just outside the white bank 15-20m. Troll lures or live blue mackerel around the area the bait is holding to get some hot sessions going. The bay just keeps giving when it comes to herring this year, both in size and volumes. Southern shallows have been best for casting or trolling lures. Skippy have been holding over the deeper holes and weed beds. Snook and pike can be caught drifting or casting pilchards and lures over the ribbon weed, while the smaller pike might be best used for bait;

Sam Cook went drone fishing with father-inlaw Fred Mathys using a Cuta Copter EX1. The result was a rather large lemon shark that was released after a quick photo. jetty can find a few blue swimmers to go with the squid for dinner. Lancelin Jetty usually has a problem with blowfish during the daylight hours, casting towards the shore can escape the plague and find some good size sand whiting. It’s at night when

over night. Lobster potters have been getting a bumper haul off the nearshore reefs, the risk now will be losing pots if a big blow does roll in before the pots are retrieved. The surf beaches have been fishing well for tailor,

surprisingly mid-afternoon has provided plenty of action as well as the usually run a sun set and rise. We are nearing the end of the better tailor fishing for the season as the water cools the bulk of the fish will move further north. There will be some bigger fish that overwinter, these are most likely to be around structure like gutters or reef breaks and can be caught casting lures to these areas. Mulloway season is in full swing as usual fishing around the full and new moon is the most likely time to catch one off the sand. While the mulloway rod is in the holder, fishing a smaller setup can gather some food and bait. Plump sand whiting prevail at this time of year and herring have been a great average size. The fresher the bait the better for mulloway, even live is the way to go if conditions permit. I have been using the drone to drop my live baits gently, rather than casting that quickly concusses smaller fish like sand whiting. It’s even possible to send out multiple baits on one rig. On the subject of drone fishing, it’s phenomenal how much this aspect of our hobby has taken off. When conditions suit drone fishers have been far outnumbering the beach casters. Pink snapper have been the main catch dropping baits out 2-400m, although you never quite know what may take the baits next. There has been a whole bunch of species landed not normally seen off the sand, sand bass is a common catch and indicates you are dropping on good ground even a few dhufish and breaksea cod have hit the beach in recent times.

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North Coast

Mack anglers run amok KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

The run of macks is the hot topic around town, fish pushing 15kg+ are turning on the afterburners in lots of areas. Best spots are the Sand Patch and further north passed Bald Face, but you still have to crank them in fast or end up with heads only. Yellowfin tuna are still around with plenty of fish in close and busting up the bait just offshore. Just outside the Blue holes and all the way down to Jakes have been the active areas most mornings just on light, and again late in the day just before sundown. The mulloway are on the move with reports of good fish just outside the river mouth and they will start to move into the river as the water starts to flow from all the rains inland. Watch for the river colour change and fish the dirty water for best results, mullet would be the best bait for your chance of a good fish. The tailor have been

Locals have been having a great time with all the macks and tuna around.

Mulloway are on the move this autumn.

quiet with very little to report from all the regular spots. With the southerly change, they may be on their way to regular spots of Red Bluff and Chinamans. In the river, some very nice bream have been stretching line with reports of 1.5kg fish doing

Water quality is improving EXMOUTH

Barry Taylor

This month’s report has been supplied by Josh Cheong The fishing in recent weeks has been a bit slow. A big coral spawn along the Ningaloo coast coincided with a fish kill, and we also had the remnants of a cyclone which seemed to shut everything down a bit. Before that, we had GameX and the competitors got quite a few blacks, and the sails are starting to come in close. There’s also been a host of other inshore species getting caught, including golden trevally and mackerel. We have had a few reports of spangled emperor and queenfish getting caught by land-based anglers, more around the west side and the top of the Cape. There have been quite a few dolphinfish (mahimahi) reported as well; we had one customer recently report a dolly that was 13kg, caught on a trolled pink Richter Soft Grassy meant for a marlin. There have been loads of schools of striped tuna around 30-40cm lately, and if they hang around we can expect to see more predators shadowing them, such as marlin and sailfish. If you want to catch some striped tuna for bait, use a small soft plastic or small metal 108

MAY 2022

and cast it into the school and retrieve it quickly across the surface. We went up the islands the other day and had a good session on gold-spot trevally and mac tuna, plus a 25kg+ GT that took a 7” Bait Junkie Jerkshad in grey nomad colour. Quite a few birds were working bait schools and there seemed to be some bigger fish around them. However, we went back two days later and they were gone. It didn’t help that we’d had a big rain event which stirred up the water

quite a bit. If it’s still dirty when you read this, looking for cleaner water will improve your chances. MAY FISHING In the coming weeks we’ll see better fishing as the water quality improves, and the inshore marlin and sails should fire up in the clearer water. There are still plenty of whiting and bream around off the beach for the kids, and the queenies and trevally off the cape should still be biting quite well. There’s also the option to troll skirted lures in

the damage well up river around the barby area well up River Road. This may change with river flow but still worth a try for fish of that size. Hot spots offshore last month was the 3 Mile Patch west of the river mouth. It changed with the clear blue water that pushed in and the fish moved closer

in and are now being taken from tinnies just outside the river mouth. Short on big stories this month as my house rebuild starts and fishing was restricted to one trip, but as things get underway I will be out there with the stream of boats after one of the winter macks and trying for a PB 20kg+.

that 50-200m zone for marlin and sails. • For all the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop into 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.

This GT exploded off the reef edge to inhale Josh Cheong’s stickbait. Image courtesy of @indepthangler_josh.

Jackson Olszewski (9yo) with a 60cm blue-lined emperor (black snapper). He caught it at Shark Bay on a 1/2oz jighead on a Gulp Grub.

North Coast

Karratha camping and fishing: a traveller’s dream DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

Karratha, and all along the Pilbara coastline from Onslow in the south to Cape Keraudren in the north, is the ultimate place to be in May each year. The weather is always ideal with little to no winds, average 32ºC days and rarely a cloud in the sky. Line all of that up with a set of neap tides and crystal clear waters and you have the perfect conditions for diving, fishing, or just relaxing on a beach with a rod in the rod holder. The nights are starting to cool down, which makes sleeping in a tent ideal and with most camp sites allowing campfires in the region, where else would you rather be. The creeks around Karratha have well and truly slowed down on the barra front but there are still plenty of threadfin salmon, flathead, whiting, cod, mangrove jack

The creeks around Karratha are a mud crab haven. By using the high tide on the spring tides and a few drop nets, it didn’t take too long for Brett to catch some thumping big green mud crabs. Gascoyne town of Exmouth so get in quick for the crabs as the trawlers tend to stir things up in the bays, such as Nickol creating challenges for the recreational crabber. Sailfish have been turning up behind the islands of the archipelago. Anglers trolling the ship anchorage area are finding a few sails but they

offshore are in good health. Multiple catches of good numbers and size were recorded of red emperor, ranking cod and saddletail snapper. Most catches came from waters 45m and deeper behind the island on the way to the rigs. May should see these species move closer to shore and start turning up in 30m or less, although the better size and numbers will be found in and around the 40m mark. Blueline emperor, Chinaman, coral trout, and large schools of Spanish flag are being caught in the 20’s and fishing the waters off Enderby Island out towards Cod Bank is consistently

only be here for two to three months though although small specimens under 40cm are always around. May marks the start of the annual tourist run in Karratha. The camping areas such as Cleaverville, 40 Mile, Fortescue plus every caravan park in Dampier, Karratha and Point Samson all fill up quick with traveller’s keen to enjoy the dreamy weather, stunning landscapes, and exceptional fishing, especially landbased. From land it is not only the fish and crabs that can be caught, but also and endless supply of oysters, octopus, squid, cockles

also being caught where the yellowfin tuna are, and all the way to the oil rigs. Pelagics, such as queenfish and trevally, are being caught all around the islands and along the coastline of Karratha, Cleaverville and Point Samson. Both species are taking lures, poppers and

Schools of trevally are plentiful in Karratha, as Brett Stevenson found out on a recent trip fishing the islands off Point Samson.

The author enjoys catching bluebone on a regular basis as all it takes is a rising tide, fresh caught rock crab, big handline, and some rocky coastline. and mud crabs being caught. The creeks south of Dampier write down past Fortescue to Mardie are performing exceptionally well and there are still a few big black jewfish being caught in the deeper holes around the creek mouths which are being caught during the night on live baits. Just out from the creeks in the bays such as Nickol, King, Sherlock and the harbour in Dampier, the blue swimmer crabs are all good size and plenty to be caught. This blue swimmer crab season is certainly a good one with many anglers easily achieving bag limits with only a few pulls of their sets of nets. The sharks have started to move out of the shallow bays as the water temperature is really dropping off now which is welcomed by all crabbers as they cause havoc in the nets. June will see the start of the prawn run and the arrival of many trawlers up from the

are having to work for them. Spanish mackerel numbers are slowly increasing now the water temps in the south of the state are dropping off fast and the mackies start to make their way back up the coastline. Yellowfin tuna are turning up west of the Monte Bello Islands and all around Glomar Shoal, along with a few wahoo. Mahimahi are

stick bait with the queenfish responding better to live mullet baits. I find fishing for queenfish is best at low tide on the larger spring tides and look for creeks that are emptying into bays. It is here the queenfish can be found herding bait schools into the banks for easy taking. When the event takes place, you will see and hear the queenies

as they chase the bait. By simply catching a few mullet they are herding with a cast net and throwing them out live on a rod with a small running sinker and 8/0 to 10/0 hook, it is then usually only a matter of minutes before a big queenie has your reel screaming. Some of the queenies currently being caught are well in excess of a metre in length and not only pull hard, but they also provide a great visual display with multiple leaps out of the water. Full steam ahead for the Dampier demersals with April proving the stocks

producing fish and shark numbers have also been less than on the north-eastern side of the archipelago. On the lumps in and around 35m behind the islands we should start seeing large schools of spangled emperor start

and more. We are heading up to Cape Keraudren for a week of camping and fishing with the target species being threadfin salmon, bluebone, whiting, mangrove jack and mud crabs and I hope to

Hearing about the aerobatics and land-based challenge of big queenfish in Karratha, Brett wanted a piece of the action. Guided by the author, it was less than 30 seconds after his first cast with a large 30cm live mullet bait that the reel started screaming with a queenie that made it just over the magic metre mark.

Queenies are a fish that provide great memories for anglers, especially when they start their aerobatics above smooth water being lit up by early morning sunrise.

turning up. I find it is around May and June each year once the cool change kicks in the schools turn up and there are usually both big numbers and good size Spanglies to be caught. They tend to

bring you a good read on the iconic location here in the Pilbara as well as how I went about targeting each species, which will all be land-based and in walking distance from the campground. MAY 2022

109

Plenty of trout about FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

May is one of my favourite months to be out trout fishing and it can be an exciting time to be on our Inland waters chasing

stocking figures of our rivers in the southwest of the state. AUSSIE NATIVES Not a lot of reports have been coming in, however, some nice silver perch have been caught at private paid fisheries. A few reports are still coming in of some

report Fisheries would have completed the first proposed stocking of this water. Refer to last issue for full stocking list. Unfortunately, the trout fishing was quiet in early autumn but this can be the case in all our northern

The Murray River near Dwellingup can offer some exciting fishing in the right water levels. It’s hoped the recent stocking of brown trout will improve opportunities in the future.

A superb 6lb rainbow caught fly fishing in a small South West dam. Trout can do well in WA if conditions are suitable. dams. Redfin have been easier to locate if you happen to have a boat or kayak. Trolling hardbodied lures have produce a few redfin but size is well down compared to previous years. Drakesbrook Weir Local angler Jonah Chiera has indicated similar fishing as Waroona

Dam with trout being hard to locate and redfin more available. He suggested that the redfin are localised and if you are lucky enough to locate the school then you can be in for some exciting fishing although, it can be short and sweet. Logue Brook Dam With the cooler weather it seems the ski boats and jetski traffic has tapered off. I’m a bit surprised than not a lot of trout are showing up and this can lead to an unpleasant outing as redfin are absent as a by-catch. Harvey Dam This is by far our premier freshwater location, however, in the last few years its not lived up to its reputation. A few trout are still showing up, and remember if you participated in last year’s Harvey Bash, then there’s still a lot of trout that were

tagged by Fisheries and carry a cash prize, if you are lucky enough to catch one. Even if you weren’t

You then send the details to the number on the tag to Fisheries and this will aid in there study. Some

WATFAA member Steve Roberts fly-fishing a gauging weir on a stream near Pemberton. in the competition and you happen to catch one of these tagged trout, then it’s important to measure and take a photo of it on something like a brag mat.

A small Murray cod from an undisclosed location in WA. It seems they are becoming more common despite no government stocking taking place. those elusive brown trout, or large redfin that seem to come out of hiding after our long hot summer. Reports coming in have indicated that some nice trout are showing up and the redfin haven’t disappointed as well. In the last issue I listed the stocking locations of all the dams and it seems some of these large trout are being caught by those willing to put the effort in. In this issue I will list all the 110

MAY 2022

big cod being caught in public waters however, I can’t confirm these reports as anglers are being tight lipped for a good reason. I’ve noticed that the silvers out my way are reluctant to take my offerings in the cooler water this time of the year and I’d suggest this may be the case in other waters. DAMS Waroona Dam Hopefully, by the time you get to read this

nice redfin are showing up with the better areas being Quarry Bay, opposite side of Chester’s Point and the narrow leg of the Harvey in amongst the heavy timber.

PREDICTED DAM LEVELS FOR SW WA Overall storage in our dams that allow public access and recreational activities are currently 58.9% as of end of March 2022 compared to 32.6% at the same time last year. We experienced one of the driest summers on record and even March was dry with Perth only recording 5mm for the whole month compared to Sydney recording over 500mm. Irrigation demand was very high and this has resulted in lower levels than predicted.

The Warren River turning up some nice redfin. Vince Gervasi from Prestige Tackle holding Nick Vitalone’s fine specimen.

WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM

45 % 78 % 67 % 55 % 67 % 46 % 62 %

Wellington Dam It seems a few of the trout that were stocked last year are showing up of late however, size and condition is a concern. On the good side, at least they have survived the extremely hot summer we had. Redfin numbers seem to have increased with the high water resulting in better breeding conditions. The ones being caught are on the small side but, things may change as we head into winter. Trolling from a boat and casting lures or soft

one. This pretty little dam is a prime fly water and cops a large stocking each year so it’s always worth a look if you are down there. A few of the farm dams are fishing well but you need to be a member of the clubs that stock them to be able to gain access. RIVERS Murray River I fished this water in April and the fishing was hard apart from a few small redfin that hit my fly in the gentle current. Hopefully things will pick

the first rains. Collie River below Wellington Dam This time of the year can be tough as flows cease with the lack of irrigation and fish become very wary. Around 2000 rainbow yearlings and 1500 brown yearlings will find their way into this water in winter. It was decided not to stock any X brood trout this year as its better to retain this water as a semi wild fishery. Preston River Not a lot of anglers realise that this river received a trout

Having access to a boat or kayak can be handy to get to those fish that tend to hang well off the bank. Jonah Chiera holding a nice rainbow he landed after an epic fight on light tackle. some nice rainbows moving up to the runs after the first decent rains. Around 3000 rainbow yearlings and 1000 brown yearlings will be stocked between Bridgetown and Nannup this winter. Warren River By far our most fished river in this state the Warren is still producing some reasonably trout fishing although it doesn’t compare to its glory days prior to

valley adjacent to the town of Pemberton and the state’s only trout hatchery. It cops a good stocking and this year 2000 rainbow yearlings, 1000 yearling browns and a few dozen big ex brood trout will keep freshwater anglers happy throughout the season. Donnelly River It was very low however, a few nice browns were caught in the lower section where a few of the feeder streams flow

through private property the land owners can be hostile towards anglers at times. I would suggest you get a copy of the land titles, as there’s a lot of areas where public land runs along the river. Trout stocking was cancelled for a number of years due to unjustifiable claim that there was a rare native species that inhabited this river and trout may impact on their numbers. Thankfully this was not the case and now again

Some nice redfin from Wellington Dam. Although it was a redfin-only water, efforts have been made to stock trout, with another large number going in this year. plastics from the shore are the favoured methods. Glen Mervyn Dam A couple of reports indicate that the redfin numbers are up, however, as with Wellington the size is on the small side. Norilup Dam No reports but worth a look if you are down that way.

up when the 2500 rainbow yearlings and 800 brown yearlings are stocked in early winter . Northern Jarrah Streams After a record dry summer it’s feared that a lot of the trout have perished. Things will change when good rains push trout up from the dams in the area.

stocking in 2021. Although, only a few reports come in of some being caught, it was decided that another 800 rainbow yearlings and a trial of 300 brown yearlings will be stocked this year. I would encourage anglers to give it a go as if we don’t get feedback then it could get dropped off the stocking list .

Early morning on Drakesbrook Weir. Hopefully this pretty little water will fire with the increased stocking this year.

Silver perch are now widespread in WA and are better suited to our hot conditions. This one took a small blade fished slowly along a weed bed inland from Perth. Big Brook Dam A couple of WATFAA members fished the back area and, although a number of fish were hooked on fly, they weren’t able to land

Brunswick River It got very low this year however, 400 rainbow yearlings and for the first time in decades 200 brown yearlings will go in after

Blackwood River This water doesn’t get much attention as you can fish for hours without seeing a trout. The size makes up for the lack of quantity with

redfin spreading through its entire length. It’s probably more famous for its redfin these days however, with 3500 rainbow yearlings, 1200 brown yearlings and 200 odd x brood trout going in it will still offer some reasonably fishing in a truly magical part of our state . Lefroy Brook Some nice trout are coming out of this picturesque little stream that meanders through a

in. I would suggest you wait until we get decent rains or perhaps give Boat Landing a go but, only if you can get onto the water and fish both upstream and downstream. Around 2400 rainbow yearlings and 1000 brown yearlings will call this river home this winter. Albany area King River This little water can turn on some reasonably trout fishing however, as it runs

around 400 rainbow yearlings will go in this year. As can be seen we have a marginal trout fishery in this state and due to increased fishing pressure, long hot dry summers then we need to limit our catch to conserve our fishery, especially with the brown trout as they seem to cope better in our environment. This does not apply to redfin as numbers seem to stay stable even with heavy rod pressure. Tight lines. MAY 2022

111

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Fishing Monthly Magazine | May 2022

Articles inside

Karratha

Freshwater

Lancelin

Augusta

Metro

Mandurah

Bunbury

Esperance

Tournaments

WIRF

Wangaratta

Eildon

Ballarat

Phillip Island

Port Phillip East

Geelong

Lithgow/Oberon

Batlow

Illawarra

Central Coast

Batemans Bay

Sydney South

Sydney North

Sydney Rock

Freshwater

Mackay

Townsville

Bundaberg

Sustainability of silver trevally

Cape York

Noosa

Freshwater Adventures

Sheik of the Creek

Brisbane

Gold Coast

Starlo’s back to basics

QUEENSLAND The Tweed

Southern Bay

Jumpinpin