Fishing Monthly Magazine | February 2021 by Fishing Monthly

• 2021 TOURNAMENT ANGLER GUIDE INSIDE • Species Spotlight

Southern summer pelagic action with Mark Gercovich QLD NSW VIC

TAS

Features Summer pelagic action • Kayaking: fishing the flats • Rod tip top tips • Cheating the taxman • Boat Test: Stabicraft 1850 Fisher EW • •N F N

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INSIDE

February, 2021 ISSN 2652-5798

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CONTENTS

OUR COVER February 2021, Vol. 1 No.10 TAS

QUEENSLAND Gold Coast 14 Southern Bay 16 Brisbane 18 Northern Bay 20 Noosa 22 Hervey Bay 26 Gladstone 31 Bundaberg 28 Mackay 32 Whitsundays 34 Townsville 35 Hinchinbrook 36 Cairns 37 Port Douglas 36 Cooktown 38 Cape York 39 Freshwater 408 NEW SOUTH WALES Pittwater 48 Sydney North 49 Sydney Rock 50 Sydney South 52 Ballina 54 Coffs Harbour 56 Hastings 58 Forster 59 Port Stephens 62 Swansea 62 Central Coast 63 Illawarra 64 Batemans Bay 65 Bermagui 66 Tathra 66 New England Rivers 68 Hunter Valley 68 Lithgow/Oberon 69 Albury/Wodonga 70 Batlow 71 Canberra 74 VICTORIA West Coast 76 Warrnambool 77 Cobden 77 Apollo Bay 76 Geelong 78 Port Phillip East 80 Port Phillip West 82 Western Port 84 Phillip Island 85 Lakes Entrance 87 Gippsland Lakes 86 Bemm River 88 Marlo 88 Mallacoota 88 Robinvale 90 Bendigo 90 Ballarat 91 Wangaratta 92 Yarrawonga 94 Shepparton 94 Crater Lakes 95 Eildon 96 Nagambie 97 West/South Gippsland 95 6

FEBRUARY 2021

From the editor’s Desk...

Several times a year we make lots of extra work for ourselves by printing supplements to the magazine. Since the consolidation of the titles into a single, national mag, we have done one for boating and one for tackle. This was in lieu of the boat shows and the annual AFTA trade show being COVID-cancelled. This month’s supplement, though, is a stalwart of the magazine. Every year since 2003, the ABT Tournament Angler Guide has been produced by the Fishing Monthly team. There’s no secret that the companies are closely related – they share some ownership and an office premises.

Sally Taylor with a cracking snapper she caught off Coffs Harbour.

A Dayne Taylor image. Come and visit Fishing Monthly Group’s official Facebook page for all your monthly fishing information. Download QR Reader to access.

TASMANIA Hobart 75

WESTERN AUSTRALIA Esperance 98 Augusta 99 Bunbury 100 Busselton 100 Mandurah 101 Metro 102 Lancelin 104 Geraldton 105 Kalbarri 105 Exmouth 106 Broome 106 Karratha 107 Freshwater 108

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REGULAR FEATURES Southern pelagic action 8 Starlo’s back to basics 12 Kayaking: fishing the flats 42 Tech Tricks 44 What’s New Fishing 72 Sheik of the Creek 97 Recfishwest 98 Track my Fish 110 Tournament Calendar 112 Trades and Services 114 Boat Test: Stabicraft 1850 Fisher 116 Tide page 118 COMPS AND OFFERS Find the logo Fun page

The Tournament Angler Guide has taken many forms over the years, from a solid, 150+ page technical giant on glossy, perfect bound pages a decade ago right through to a digital-only operation in 2014 when we were going through a few issues internally. More of that to come after a court case… It sits now as a free insert to Fishing Monthly, which means that it reaches all of our readers, nationwide. And that’s a great place for it to be. Like every FM magazine, the Tournament Angler Guide (TAG) is filled with advertising outlining the sponsors of the series. These are local companies who recognise that for over 20 years, ABT has been a bit of a breeding ground for new techniques. This, of course, leads to more tackle development and the cycle continues. If you look at your lure box, I’m sure you’ll see some influence in there whether you’re a tournament angler or not. So please enjoy the free addition to this edition, as well as the regular coverage that we love bringing you. And a small heads-up, if you’re keen on a free Fishing Monthly shirt with your 2-year subscription, act reasonably soon. The massive pile of shirt boxes is slowly dwindling and it won’t see the year out. Details inside!

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Managing Editor: Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au Editorial Manager: Jacqui Thomas Editorial: Nicole Penfold Field Editors: Jason Ehrlich Publishers: Steve Morgan, Matthew Drinkall Advertising: Phone: (07) 3387 0800 Fax: (07) 3387 0801 Copy and materials should be sent direct to: ads@fishingmonthly.com.au Advertising Enquiries: Ph: (07) 3387 0800 Peter Jung: pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au Nicole Kelly: nkelly@fishingmonthly.com.au Printing: APN – News Corp Australia

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Southern summer pelagic action WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

Cruising around in an open boat on a flat blue sea, casting lures at fast-moving pelagic fish, is something

targeting kingfish down south is from late December through to late March, and if conditions aren’t good, there is a minimal chance of being successful. Ideal conditions are warm to hot days with flat glassy seas and minimal swell and

driving around looking for cruising fish. Unfortunately these cruising fish can be found in anywhere from 2-30m of water, which in itself requires a degree of dedication. Many anglers will look for a while then give up and go bottom bashing for a gummy, set up a trail for a mako or jump in for some crays. However, once you find them, the real fun begins. Kings are usually far more responsive than the summer tuna, but there are times when they can be fussy and cagey. Like

a surface popper out of nowhere, watching one tailing your stickbait for a few metres then obliterating it in a shower of spray, or casting your soft plastic or slug over a school and having multiple kings climb all over it as it skips back to the boat, are some of the most exiting sportfishing experiences you’ll ever have. It is this sort of action that drives anglers to spend many days and hours on the water in pursuit of this adrenalin rush. Unfortunately, after all

Kingfish often succumb to a reaction bite. They might not be in a feeding mood, but the commotion made by a surface lure can entice them into action. experiences are awesomely exciting, then inversely there is nothing more frustrating than seeing a metre-plus king (or 10) swim all the way to the boat with its nose behind

the lure, then turn away. Sometimes this happens after one or two fish have already been caught from the school, which is fair enough; big fish don’t get big by being dumb.

SBT have been a consistent presence in summer over the last few years. we used to associate with sportfishing in more tropical climes. However, when the conditions all come together, this kind of fishing is readily available further south. There has definitely been a boom in recent

wind. Now, as those who are familiar with a Victorian summer know, you can go days, even weeks without these conditions occurring. Coinciding available fishing time with good conditions can be a very difficult proposition for

You don’t have to go far offshore to find some action. that effort of trying to find them, some days they will follow your lure but not take it. If the aforementioned

Use a rod that can cast long distances but is light enough to use all day.

Kingies are usually far more responsive to lures than summer tuna. years of anglers targeting summer pelagic species, namely yellowtail kingfish, southern bluefin tuna and Australian salmon. YELLOWTAIL KINGFISH The peak season for 8

FEBRUARY 2021

many anglers. A lot of anglers associate kingfish fishing with targeting certain specific locations, like pinnacles and reefs, but most of the kings we encounter come from

many lure-caught species, kingfish often succumb to a reaction bite. They might not be in a feeding mood, but the commotion made by a surface lure seemingly can entice them into action. Having a big king smash

Australian salmon can provide plenty of fun particularly on light tackle.

However, sometimes this happens as soon as you come across a school. This can be immensely frustrating as you pursue them across the sea, trying to get casts in, only for them to be refused. The quick thinking or prepared angler who can quickly present a live bait into the mix before the fish departs the scene, can often be rewarded in this situation. Alternatively, towing a live bait or squid strip out the back as you are casting works well. Add a glitter float or two to the equation to help attract the fish, and you’re in business. And if you are searching at a quicker speed on the main motor, a spread of lures or teasers can bring unseen fish to the surface within

casting range. Once you have found a school there are a number of different lures that you

particularly in drawing up unseen fish. We don’t do much specific jigging for kings,

Sometimes a surface school will suddenly pop up so be ready for action. can cast. In true kingfish fashion, what works one day can often be refused the next. DUO Hydras, 12” Slug-Gos and the Jack Fin Stylo all replicate the garfish that kings love to feed on. At other times a more subtle subsurface offering with a soft plastic like a 7” BaitJunkie Jerkshad does the job. Stickbaits work well at times too. Any stickbait that can be worked quickly, but then stops when paused and gives a bit of sideto-side flutter on the way down will do the job. A popper that throws a fair bit of spray like the Williamson Jet Popper can be an effective proposition,

but we like to have a jig rigged up anyway. Sometimes a surface school will suddenly pop up below

the boat on the sounder, and if you have a jig ready you can add bonus fish to your bag. BLUEFIN TUNA When the southern bluefin tuna began to make a welcome, consistent return to the Southern Victorian coast in 2006, they usually appeared around autumn and persisted through until the winter weather closed in. However, in the past few summers, tuna have been a consistent factor in the Victorian summer pelagic equation. Where once the capture of a summer tuna rose eyebrows, and the tuna-king double was a sought-after rarity, it lately has become a more reliable proposition.

The quality of the SBT is getting better every year.

Chasing pelagics is exciting stuff, especially when it all comes together.

The quality size of these summer fish is also impressive; although they’re not the barrel-size fish that many anglers target later in the year, they are still good, solid schoolsize fish, usually in the 15-30kg bracket. Another benefit is that the fish are often closer to shore at this time of year, often in around 20-30m of water, and we have found them as close as 7m at times. They also seem to be popping up further and further along

the coast, with fish spread from Portland in the west of the state, right through to offshore Western Port Bay in good numbers last season. Yes, they can be hard to tempt at times, but I’d rather fish in shorts and bare feet and catch only one good fish, rather than have a more productive day out trolling in the middle of winter. Here are a couple of hints to help you if you are trying to chase these summer run bluefin. To page 10

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been our go to spin reel trolling rods. When the fish can be just spotted cruising around but not feeding they can be hard to tempt. Dropping the electric motor in and sneaking up sometimes helps if you managed to get close enough, and in front of which way the fish are heading. Switching off the sounder is also something that we try at times to help. Targeting the head of the school and not having the lure unnaturally coming through, or at the school from behind, can be important on the tough days. Mixing up retrieve speeds is also something that changes, on not just a day by day basis,

From page 9

Spotting surface activity.

Jack Fin Stylo lures replicate garfish that kings love to feed on.

Rounder and Multi-Tool rods). Match your rod to a Saltist LTD 4000 spooled with 40-50lb J-braid grand with leaders from 40-60lb and you have a perfect combination to throw at both school tuna and kings. The unobtrusive blue color of the J-Braid grand blends in with the surrounds of the ocean/sky as I have noticed spooky fish seeming to swim down from the surface when having a length of bright colored line cross their path. Hunting these fish down and casting stick bait style lures is a most popular way of targeting summer bluefin. Lures like the Shore Spartan Breakthrough in 120mm that cast well, have a slight shimmy on the drop and are strongly constructed to withstand rigors of the battle, are perfect for this job. If trolling is your game, smaller skirts, virtually what you would normally associate with salmon fishing, is usually the best method for these fish which seem to be always feeding on small bait. This is another good thing about

The peak season for targeting kingfish down south is from late December through to late March. summer bluefin, that they are easily accessible to anglers without the need for complex game trolling equipment and big boats. Any good quality spin reel in the 6000-8000 size spooled with 30-50lb braid will do the job. The 64CJ model in Demon blood and Saltist Hyper have always

but a school by school proposition. SALMON Definitely the least regal of the three, the humble Australian salmon can still provide plenty of fun particularly on light tackle. Often thought of as mainly a winter species, schools of fish can be still encountered

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with plenty of backbone to stop these hard-fighting fish (we use the model 20 Saltist Hyper V2 Power

during summer when you are looking for kings and tuna. The salmon can usually be easily identified as a school of them is a bubblier, messier looking school than the subtler surface disturbance made by cruising tuna or kings. These summer schools of salmon are often quality fish though with fish to 3 to 4kg. The tendency to sometimes have a few rat kings of a similar size mixed in with them makes for an attractive lighter tackle option. Smaller sized stick baits, soft plastic and metal slugs will all do the job on both the salmon and any king or tuna that might just happen to be feeding on the same baitschool and

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First, unlike big winter bust-ups with heaps of birds, usually there are only a handful of birds (sometimes just one or two) on the fish. At other times you’ll see no birds at all, just the fish cruising in a big school on the surface, with only a slight ripple giving away their presence. It’s easier to spot this activity on calm days, and you need a keen set of eyes scanning the water to locate these ‘nervous water’ surface ripples. Long casts are essential for a couple of reasons. Firstly, if you get too close to the fish, you will spook them. Secondly, the longer the cast is, the more opportunity the fish has to chase down your lure. You’ll want a rod that can cast these distances, is light enough to use all day, but

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Cheating the tax man NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

None of us particularly enjoy paying taxes, but when those levies take the form of a prize catch stolen from our lines by a hungry predator, the pain is real! “I’ve been sharked!” If you’ve done much offshore

the far south coast of NSW, there are plenty of accounts of giant flathead grabbing smaller flatties, whiting or bream as they’re being reeled in. Sometimes, these big lizards hang on long enough to be netted, photographed and released. More often than not, they manage to spit out their intended meal. While a little less common, the same thing happens from

one-off events, shark and seal attacks on hooked fish have become a significant issue in many fisheries — to the point where they may be seriously impacting fish stocks and playing a role in dwindling catches. It’s a simple fact of life that both sharks and seals have ‘wised-up’ to human fishing activities in specific areas, and nowadays actively

There’s no point arguing the toss with a tonne of tax man… or in this case, tax woman! You won’t get too many hooked fish past her.

This is what happens when Sammy the seal decides he needs your tuna more than you do! fishing, especially (but not exclusively) in our northern waters, that’s likely to be a frantic call you’ve heard, or an unpleasant event you’ve experienced first-hand. It’s a fact of life that

time to time with Murray cod in freshwater, and I’ve even had giant eels try to grab my hooked trout in New Zealand’s rivers! While many of these encounters are unusual,

Sometimes, you’re better off pulling your lines in and simply enjoying the experience when you receive an unexpected visit like this at sea. the struggles of a hooked fish can sometimes attract the unwanted attentions of larger predators. Sharks of various types are the most obvious candidates in the role of nature’s unforgiving ‘tax men’, but predation of hooked fish can come from other sources, too. Seals, dolphins, killer whales, barracuda, big cod and groper and even birds such as pelicans and sea eagles have all been known to nab a hooked fish from time to time. Where I live, on 12

FEBRUARY 2021

follow vessels in the hope of obtaining an easy meal. There’s good reason to believe that they can even detect the changes in motor revs and other subtle indicators that point to a hookup, and thus ring their dinner gong. In scenarios such as the black marlin fishery along the outer Great Barrier Reef, where most anglers these days choose to release the bulk of their catch, it’s highly likely that predation by sharks is now the leading cause of marlin mortality. Increasingly, this will result in pressure on anglers to alter their activities. Similar shark predation hot spots occur in places like Hervey Bay and around the mouth of the Jardine River on Cape York, while far to

the south, seal attacks on hooked tuna can make life difficult indeed for fishers in Tasmania’s coastal seas. In future, we’ll need to factor this unwanted attention from opportunistic predators into our day-to-day behaviour as recreational anglers. Despite vocal claims by some pundits, the answer isn’t simply to kill more sharks (or seals). These predators play a vital role in the marine ecosystem, and stocks of many shark species, in particular, have already been depleted by rampant overharvesting throughout the world’s oceans, including unsustainable activities such as shark ‘finning’. The underlying problem isn’t caused by too many sharks and seals so much as it is by adaptations in their behaviour: changes we have unwittingly ‘taught’ them to make. There are no easy answers to this growing problem, but adherence to a simple, four-point plan

Taxed! Meet Arthur Skipjack… on hooked fish. 2. Avoid cleaning fish or discarding bait on or close to popular fishing grounds. 3. Don’t berley too heavily:

Following those four basic steps won’t solve the predation problem, but it can certainly help to ameliorate it… and

Oh dear… The aftermath of a seal attack on a hooked southern bluefin tuna in Tasmanian waters. There’s still plenty of good meat left on the back end of this fish, and it has certainly been well bled-out! But avoid eating any flesh that has been in direct contact with the seal’s mouth (especially raw!) as these marine mammals can potentially carry some nasty pathogens.

Well, that’s one way of dealing with the men in grey coats… although it’s not a highly recommended one!

can definitely reduce the incidence of predation on hooked fish. Those four steps are as follows: 1. Always employ suitable tackle to reduce fight times

Use sparse ‘cube trails’ in place of oily, bloody berley. 4. If sharks or other predators become an issue, stop fishing and change locations.

we all need to play a part in addressing this increasingly thorny issue — otherwise we may just find ourselves taxed out of the game entirely.

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David Green

At the time of writing, offshore fishing has been hampered by a constant very strong current running hard from the north. This has been running at 3-4 knots most days and this has made fishing for black marlin quite difficult. The juvenile black marlin have been scattered, with fish showing up from the 30m line out to Spot X. The recent heavy rainfall has just started to clear on the close reefs. This month is a good one to chase black and blue marlin and there should still be a few mahimahi around. February is probably the best month of the year to target blue marlin on the wider grounds. If you are interested in chasing blue marlin from a trailer boat, pick a day where the forecast is good and make sure you have plenty of fuel. The run out to the grounds is generally about 50-60km offshore so you need to be well prepared. We usually put the lures in on the edge of the continental shelf in about 100m of water and head east. The depth drops off quickly, and in less than half an hour at troll speed you will be in 300-400m of water. I troll a spread of five lures, but depending on your crew, a couple of outfits as a minimum can be just as effective. Use a minimum of 24kg tackle and work current lines, bait or dolphin schools and be on a constant look out for birds. Blue marlin are very unpredictable. Sometimes you don’t see any bait or birds but get five or six hits, on other days when the bait is plentiful you don’t turn a reel. The bites will come if you are patient and

This wahoo was caught from 36 fathoms. persistent, and seeing a blue marlin smash a lure is one of the most exciting things in fishing you will ever see. Troll speed is generally around 8 knots. Use big skirted lures on at least 300lb leader. February should see plenty of mackerel on the inshore grounds once the water cleans up a bit. The Spanish mackerel arrived at Palm Beach Reef in mid-December with some big spotted mackerel over a metre long and the numbers should increase further this month. Bottom fishing has been surprisingly good through the early part of summer

with quite good catches of snapper turning up on the close reefs. In February there will still be a few parrot fish, pearl perch, teraglin and pig fish on the 36 and 50 fathom lines but it is usually a very slow time for the bottom fishers. Micro jigging is another option at this time of year and is also effective on mackerel, kingfish and tuna. At present the strong current is making bottom fishing extremely difficult. BROADWATER AND RIVERS The boat traffic on the Broadwater has been absolutely crazy throughout the holiday period and

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The strong currents have made black marlin fishing tough this season.

OLD

I’ve never seen it busier. Hopefully this month will be a bit quieter but with travel restrictions it seems everyone

night. Fish with a long 2-3kg nylon trace and use worms, yabbies or small shrimp. The run-in tide is generally the

start to move onto the flats as the tide floods, and if the day has 15-20 knots of breeze the fish seem much more savage

are often very active on the surface in February, with the period around dawn often the most productive. The end of the north wall of the Seaway will also produce some big mangrove jack this month on live baits, as well as some decent mulloway that are generally around 80cm long. If you head out to the close reefs and catch a few yellowtail or slimy mackerel and bring them back inside, you have a great chance to catch both jacks and jewies. The run-out tide is generally

the most productive time to fish this spot. February is a good month to chase mud crabs and sand crabs in both the Broadwater and the Coomera River. The Pimpama River and Coombabah Creek have been extremely poor for crabbing over the past season and there definitely seems to be something radically wrong. Even after recent heavy rains the crabbing in these areas was poor. Hopefully things will improve this month. Out in the Broadwater there should

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be plenty of sand crabs in 4-6m of water. Make sure you have your pots and floats well marked. February is generally one of the best months of the year to target game fish off the Gold Coast. There are plenty of good options from blue marlin out wide to mackerel on the inshore reefs. With travel restrictions and all the other Covid problems around, we are pretty lucky to be able to go for a fish, and hopefully things will return to normal this year.

Sue Sullivan with a tidy striped tuna. with a boat is visiting the Gold Coast. Despite this, the fishing has been quite good and surprising numbers of big flathead are turning up in the Seaway. Whiting are a major target species in February and in the hot conditions the best fishing is often at night. The Nerang River near the council chambers is a particularly productive area at

most productive. Casting unweighted yabbies is another effective method to use on the flats as the tide rises. If you like chasing whiting on poppers, there are plenty of spots to try this month. I like the flats around Crab Island, the extensive flats near the Jumpinpin Bar. Look for shallow sand flats with plenty of holes. Whiting

on surface lures. While you generally don’t catch as many whiting on poppers as you do on bait, it is a fun way to fish and when they are hunting for prawns in the surface layers they can be extremely aggressive fish. My favourite lure for whiting is the Bassday Sugapen. There should still be plenty of mangrove jack around this month and they

There are still plenty of jacks around in February. This one was caught on a vibe.

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Savouring summer species SOUTHERN BAY

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Anglers have been picking up some nice grassy sweetlip in recent weeks with the odd estuary cod being a tasty by-catch. You’ll want to use good quality baits for these fish, with hardyheads and squid being the best options, fished on a running sinker rig. There have been some school mackerel around Peel Island, and the easiest way to catch them is by trolling them up on a spoon behind a trolling board or paravane while floating out pilchards while anchored is also another great option. I like to use 3” Halco Barra Spoons and Smiths Jigs behind a Yamashita trolling board for schoolies. Trolling is a relaxing way to fish on the bay; it’s nice to put the rods in the holders and sit back with a

Carlos Orellana with his very first grass sweetlip. beverage, enjoying the view while waiting for a strike. There are some nice snapper on the rubble grounds in the usual spots around Macleay Island. If you come across a patch of fish, mark them and target the school or continue your drift and you will often pick up larger isolated fish holding on the bottom. It is great fun to catch them with smaller soft plastics, such as Zerek 90mm Live Flash Minnow Wriggly, Live Target Fleeing Shrimp or ZMan 3.75” StreakZ, and remember that the Southern Bay squire are often pan-sized specimens, so don’t be afraid to fish light to get the bite. Some quality whiting have been coming from

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around the mouth of the Logan River, as well as The Bedrooms and Slipping Sands in the Jumpinpin area. Live bloodworms and yabbies on a long-shank bait holder hook (such as a Mustad Fine Worm hook) are your best options, and we always have live bloodworms in store if you’re hard-pressed for time or have missed the required tide times to gather your own live bait. It is hot out on the water at this time of year so remember to slip, slop, slap and stay hydrated as the good fishing should continue in February, with many Southern Bay anglers focussing their efforts on grass sweetlip and whiting. • Based in Victoria Point, Bayside Bait & Tackle can help with all your fishing needs. They stock a big range of live fresh and frozen bait, and top quality fishing gear. Drop in and chat to the

Dayne with a pair of quality school mackerel. friendly team at Shop 4/ 127 Colburn Ave, Victoria Point, to get the latest on what’s biting

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Fab February fishing ahead BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

As we enter the last official month of summer, anglers will be treated to some prime fishing in Moreton Bay and the surrounding creeks, rivers and estuaries. Warm water conditions increase metabolism in most species, which makes them hungrier and more aggressive. Numerous bouts of rainfall have also added

best time to get out onto the water to score some quality banana prawns in these areas. As tidal flow slows, the prawns will lift from the mud and silt and become obvious on a decent sounder, generally as a blue or green haze on the bottom. Nets are cast out and allowed to settle on the bottom before small jerks are used to make the net shuffle across the bottom and close up. Keeping the net chain (or leads) on the bottom as the net closes is important in scaring the prawns out of the silt.

Andrew Tennant with a pair of solid javelin fish (grunter) taken on vibes out from the Brisbane River mouth. needed nutrients into the systems, which has spurned baitfish activity and increased the quality of fishing exponentially. For us anglers, this has resulted in some quality captures and smiles on dials. Let us look at some of your late summer options. PRAWNS The Caboolture and Pine rivers should both be producing decent prawns by now however this will depend on rainfall. Too much rain will flush the prawns straight out into the bay and reduce the chance of cast netters accessing them. Hopefully, the deeper holes in these systems will still be producing numbers of banana prawns for those with a quality cast net and the skills to throw it. Around the changes of the tide is generally the 18

FEBRUARY 2021

They will flick upwards and become trapped in the top of the net (especially the case with top pocket cast nets). Top-pocket only cast nets will increase your prawning productivity greatly. The prawns are trapped in the top of the net and can be easily removed from this pocket by opening the slide at the top and tipping them out. Additionally, having no bottom pocket means you are not wasting time emptying shells, mud clumps and other debris from the bottom pocket before your next cast. When the prawns are on, the greater number of casts you can make, the better the chance of filling your bucket in a lesser time period. This is important as the prawns can disappear quickly at times. If we receive decent rainfall in recent weeks

then prawners should also explore the shallower flats out from the rivers, such as those at Deception Bay and Nudgee. MACKEREL At the time of writing, we had yet to see any massive schools of spotted mackerel in Moreton Bay, however there had been numerous captures by anglers willing to cover some water in their search. The northern bay had been the better option with the shipping channels and adjacent flats being your best bet. However, smaller numbers had been located in the southern bay with the area between the southern side of The Paddock green zone and Peel being worth a look, including the Small Ships Channel. The M8 beacon to Measured Mile beacons is another spot where both school and spotted mackerel are regularly located. School mackerel have been more prevalent than the spotties with anglers finding them in the deeper channels, shipping channel beacons, on top of the flats, around the bay island margins and artificial reefs. Some of these schoolies are eclipsing lengths of 80cm making them over 3kg in weight. Both mackerel species can be caught in a variety of ways, dependent on location. Around the beacons, they can be tempted by vertically spinning chromed slugs and also drifting down pilchards. A pilchard suspended mid-water under a float will regularly work around the bay islands and artificial reefs. If you know there are a few macks around, try casting out a chromed slug or slice and allowing it to sink to the bottom before employing a flat stick retrieve back to the boat. Vertical presentations with micro jigs also work well in the deeper areas around the artificial reefs. Trolling minnow lures or a spoon (barra drone, Kimberley spoon or Macka spoon) behind a paravane or trolling board will produce along the channel edges on the falling tide and start of the making tide. On the higher stages of the tide, mackerel tend to move up on the flats. Those fishing such areas for whiting will often a score a mackerel when there’s a gang-hook rigged pilchard drifting aft. Obviously, surface feeding schools of mackerel offer the easiest and most reliable way to score a few. These fish are already hot-to-trot and a chrome slug, metal slice or even a jighead rigged jerk-shad plastic cast in their direction will soon be chased down and engulfed

when retrieved flat-stick. Reels capable or returning at least a metre of line to the spool per turn of the handle are highly recommended for this form of fishing. Cast far, crank quick and a mackerel will soon be in hot pursuit. If they are following but not striking, your retrieve is too slow. Birds circling overhead are a dead giveaway that some form of pelagic action is happening below them. They will often mirror the baitfish, therefore as the predators push the bait to the surface, the bids will lower to the water. This gives a good indication that the predator is about to bust on the surface so now is the best time to get into position for a cast. TUNA Better numbers of longtails should appear throughout the month, especially in the northern bay. These will filter in along the front of Bribie Island plus the NE and NW Channels. The timing of this inshore movement can vary greatly, often by a month or more, therefore you just need to go out and have a look to see if they are about. Surface feeding fish can be solo or in large schools of several dozen fish. The best offering to throw at them will be dependent on the profile of the bait on which they are feeding. They are often profile orientated and

Longtails, such as this specimen taken by Chris Deeks, should be increasing in numbers over the coming month. will only eat an offering of the same size as that on which they are feeding. Therefore, it pays to try different offerings if your initial efforts are met with refusal. Schools of mack and bullet tuna as well as bonito (both Australian and Watson’s) will also be found, especially in the shipping channels or close

Quality nets will help you to fill your 10L bag limit of banana prawns in a quick time.

by. These can usually be tempted with a chromed slug or slice with smaller 20-30g offerings usually getting the job done. These lesser tuna species can make great bait for a variety of species from bream to billfish when used in cubes, strips, whole fillets or rigged and swum whole. Salting fillets will toughen them considerably and improve their use as bait. THREADFIN Since the rain in mid-December, the threadfin fishing in the lower reaches of the Brisbane River has been great. Lowering salinity further upriver has flushed prawns down the systems and the rainwaters have brought forth muchneeded nutrients. Thr eadi es j ust love prawns and have congregated in better numbers in the lower reaches. The downside is that they are often hard to tempt on artificials when they are fixated on a crustacean cuisine. Vibes generally offer your best chance of success, however prawn profiled plastics, such as Atomic Prongs, Chasebaits Flick Prawn, Ecooda Live Shrimp and Live Target Fleeing Shrimp can also work a treat. Some even manage to seduce threadies on slow pitch micro jigs. Threadfin can be found right along the river’s length but in the warmer months the lower reaches from Colmslie to the outer leads beacons is probably your best option. Known spots include the eastern end of the Oil Pipeline, the swing zone, the ledge just

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upstream from the sewerage shute, the fronts of any jetties and anywhere along the decline into the main river basin. Often threadfin can be located by cruising this decline or other areas and then using your side imaging to locate them. A pinpoint cast will often see you connected on the first or second hop of the vibe or plastic if the fish are active. Live baiting these same areas with big banana prawns, herring, pike, biddies or gar is a very successful and relaxed way to get into the game on threadfin. This approach is great for when you are fishing with junior or less experienced anglers. The kids seem to enjoy the bait gathering process immensely. Casting a net around the sewerage shute, in Boggy Creek, Aquarium Passage or adjacent the Boat Passage, Pinkenba or Boat Passage ramps should see you with

who managed as many as 11 keeper bucks from four pots set overnight. The southern bay area was a honey hole for many chasing muddies over this period. The lower reaches of the Brisbane River also crabbed well however you virtually needed to sit on your pots to have any chance of them still being there or at least having any crabs inside when you pulled them. Most creeks feeding into Moreton Bay as well as the canal developments all produced decent muddies. I know one bloke who hand caught two muddies on the flats at Lota on low tide whilst walking his pooch after a serious downpour. Definitely better than just returning home with a little black bag of dog bog. Sand crab numbers have been fairly consistent for months throughout many areas of Moreton Bay and even into the mouth of the Brisbane River. All areas

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generally the best approach with bridge pylons, jetties, pontoons, mangrove snags, rock walls and the like all being prominent areas where jacks lurk. The closer you cast to the structure the greater the chance of a hookup. Unfortunately, this also increases your chances of a bust up when a jack tears off back to his sanctuary. Estuary cod, trevally, big bream, mulloway, flathead and several other species are likely by-catch. Early mornings, evenings and night sojourns will often yield the better action for jacks as they venture further from structure during low light periods. In populated areas such as canals and residence-lined rivers, lights will often attract baitfish at night. This doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go unnoticed by jacks and several could be lurking nearby awaiting their chance to attack. Suspending minnow lures are awesome presentations for hesitant

Another good Moreton Bay school mackerel taken close to Wellington Point just on first light. a bucket of livies in no time. Fish these close to the bottom on an octopus or circle pattern hook and fluorocarbon leader and you are in with a great chance of success. Some anglers have reported good captures of javelin (grunter) fish over the last few months with specimens to over 3kg being caught. These are a very tasty table fish and are therefore welcomed by-catch. CRABS The mid-December rains really got the muddies stirred up in some areas and enabled many to have crab on their Christmas day menu. The lowering salinity in the upper reaches of the rivers, creeks, gutters and drains forced the muddies out into the main system where they were more accessible to those with safety pots. I know some

around the bay islands, the channels leading off the sand flats and any rubble bottom areas all produced. Setting safety pots baited with chicken carcasses, fish frames, tuna heads and like will generally reward. Smaller baits such as chicken necks or even a few pilchards can be put in a fine mesh bag. Pot raiding and theft has been bad in recent months so being in the vicinity of your pots is advisable. JACKS The nutrient flushes into the estuarine and river systems from rainfall over the last few months has heightened fishing for a variety of species, especially mangrove jack. These crimson assailants have been taken on a range of different lures as well as live baits. Fishing adjacent to prominent structure is

jacks as they can be paused for long periods of time without rising in the water column. This hesitance is often when a jack will strike. Paddle-tail shads and crustacean profiled plastics are also productive offerings. CONCLUSION Hot conditions can promote fish metabolism and create some fairly aggressive feeding action. Anglers are at an advantage when this happens as fish are less spooky and more willing to pounce on any tasty morsel in their vicinity. In addition to the hot fishing action on offer, anglers will also experience some quality prawning and crabbing with effort generally well rewarded. My best advice is to get out and get amongst some of the quality fishing, prawning and crabbing on offering the Moreton Bay area during February. FEBRUARY 2021

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Full on flathead flurry NORTHERN BAY

Steve Nash

Flathead seem to be the dominant fishing target for this time of year with fish in the 45-60cm range being caught from the shallows on the flooding

all types of lures. At this time of the year, I like to use prawn style lures to coincide with the prawn run. Zerek Live Shrimp or Squidgies prawns are by far the go given the majority of predatory fish will be chasing prawns as well. Drifting the sand

Marty Guy getting stuck into the prawns. incoming tides. Upon the drop-off on the outgoing of the tides, live baits and or strip baits bring a lot of these fish undone. A lot of people now target them on an array of different lures making flathead one of the easiest fish to catch on

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flats around the mouths of Cabbage Tree, Pine or Caboolture rivers are seeing the best results for a feed on your dinner plate. Landbased fishers can try casting into the main channels, letting their baits drift along with the tide.

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We are still amongst the peak period for surface fishing. So get out there and give it a crack! Bream on surface lures early in the mornings on an incoming tide would have to be one of the most exciting ways to target these estuary brutes. Working the shallows and mangrove edges with walk-the-dog style surface lures or even small poppers. Cast up on to the bank, deep into the mangroves or timber laydowns whilst using a good array of retrieves from a quick erratic to slow and limps and pauses. The usual pick of gear would be a 2000 size reel with 10-12lb braided line with about the same size monofilament leader will be perfect of the job. It’s important to know that using monofilament allows your top water lure to sit above the water giving it maximum action. Other lines like fluorocarbon or even straight braid absorb water, which in turn will sink your lure from above the surface giving it sluggish or no action at all. Mud crabs are feeding up after shedding their shells, which is great news. Filling up those tasty claws soaking in your pots over night with fresh baits will yield the best results. Unfortunately though, managing to keep the share farmers from raiding pots is an issue in the more popular creeks so be vigilant and weary. Setting your pots in close to the mangrove edges where the main channels run at low tide will allow your bait smells to drift along. PRAWNING Prawns have been selective on when and where they are going to appear in the estuaries last month due to the lack of rain, but hopefully their numbers and size should increase over the coming month as they make their way into the bay. Scanning the deeper holes is the best way to locate schools of prawns. Using a

Flathead are still one of the tastiest feeds from the rivers. quality 12ft chain bottom net with top pocket is the best way to get on to them. Early morning low tides seem to be the better times to have a throw. While most tackle shops carry a range of prawning nets, a quick search on select social media pages and online sale pages will reveal a host of small business that make custom nets. These ranges in different sizes, weight and rope length depending on your need and style of cast netting. MORETON BAY The inshore reefs of Scarborough have been fishing well with pan size juvenile snapper and grassy sweetlip being the main catches with the occasional good size grunter bream. Early mornings before sunrise and being super quiet is the key to fishing this area. Fishing it while drifting can produce better results as opposed to anchoring up. Being quiet as possible upon arriving to your fishing spot can mean the difference between going home with a feed or not. Kayaks and boats with electric motors can prove to be most effective. Soft plastics grubs and 3” paddle-tails on 1/6

jigheads can work very well when the fish are on the chew. Other methods, such as trolling 4-5m hardbody rattling divers like Rapala X-Raps or Atomic Shads lures can bring up some good results with snapper and grunters. The bay does cop a lot of pressure and, especially with this Christmas period

than your usual style. Use smaller lures and change up the retrieval techniques and hopefully that’ll bring on a bite or three. Mackerel will still be turning up around the beacons in the bay, any beacons that are holding bait are worth having a fish. Floating a live bait around these markers is productive,

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but high speed spinning small metal slugs is a lot more fun and can trigger cautious fish. Using your sounder also You’re check outgoing the to areas within close proximity of the beacons for mackerel name in Austra feeding as sometimes strong, u they’ll be too skittishreliable to hang at thethe markers due water. They to heavy pressure during the weekends. youKeep wantanto go eye on birds feeding in the youfor need shipping channel tuna to be schools whileand moving from fun in betw marker to marker. DAMS Time proven desig Lake Kurwongbah has and been the pick of safety the twoat pric dams last month with a good surface bite early in the mornings and some toga and yellowbelly being landed in the afternoons. Finding the depth the fish are sitting at the time you are fishing and concentrating your efforts at that depth around the dam will improve your catches.

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Rain affects the way we fish! NOOSA

Peter Wells

Drought on land, drought at sea is one of those favourite fishing statements! Well, if this is true then we should

tuna and mahimahi have all been on offer. There are many ways to target these fish but one of the most popular is to troll for them. Fast moving lures, like the Rapala Magnum X-Raps and the Nomad DTX Minnow

target those pelagics is to keep an eye out for bird activity and surface bust up. This is a dead giveaway and most times it is tuna feeding on bait schools. These fish will usually feed into the wind and, as the

Dave Tunnington with a late season snapper, Dave picked this nice knobby from around the Sunshine Reef area while kayak fishing. all be bagging out with the amount of rain we have seen on the Sunshine Coast over the last couple of months. For a lot of anglers the fishing hasn’t been any better

are both ideal. These lures can be trolled at speeds between 6-12 knots with the optimum speed being around 8-knots. This is a great way to cover ground and is perfect for those longer reefs,

Zane Selby with a nice example of a Twin Waters jack. It was 41cm and taken on a Zerek lure and returned to the water after the photo was taken. despite plenty of pelagics on offer. This is prime time for these fish and we will see the bigger models coming in. Spanish mackerel, spotted mackerel, wahoo, 22

FEBRUARY 2021

like North and the Barwon Banks. Running a mix of trolling depths in your spread is also important with plenty of fish holding deep. Another great way to

wind is predominately from the north, positioning your boat north of the schools and waiting for them to come to you is by far the most productive method. Cast to the edges of the schools with slugs or smaller sinking stick baits and retrieve at speed. A good tip is to let your lure sink through the schools as the bigger long tails or mackerel are usually feeding below. Bigger baits on slimy mackerel, gar, sauri, and large pilchards rigged with a squid skirt and rigged as a floater is a great way of attracting a large mackerel. With all these styles of fishing upsizing your leader or even using a small amount of wire as a bite leader is essential. In the rivers there has been a huge amount of activity. Fishing the mouth of the rivers and creeks is the place to get a great feed of summer whiting. Chasing whiting on surface lures has to be some of the best fun you can have standing up. These feisty little fish punch well above their weight and are great on light gear. The best grounds are the shallow sand bank and bars on the incoming tide. Casting with the wind at your back if possible you will be able to cover a lot more ground. Give the MMD Splash Prawn or the Atomic K9 Walkers a go. Heading down in the Noosa River, Woods Bays has again been the place to be with some nice tailor and trevally reported as they chase the bait in on the incoming tide, soft plastics,

and slugs retrieved at speed have been responsible for a lot of the captures. Surface lures first thing in the morning have also worked a treat. The Bassday Sugapens, Lucky Craft G Splash and the Atomic Bulldogs are all ideal. Upriver the jacks are also out to play. A bit of freshwater in the system tends to upset the bait fish and the jacks can’t help themselves. Surface and suspending lures along the edges first thing in the morning and diving lures, paddle vibes and soft plastic in the deeper water as the sun rises is the way to target the red devils. Upsize your leader and make sure you test those knots as these fish have been feeding aggressively and hitting like a freight train. Flathead are plentiful, with the sand banks along the rivers producing nice fish on soft plastics, live and dead baits and even trolled lures. Fishing the outgoing tide is the most productive. With the rains, the crabs will up and walk looking for the deeper more saline holes or head downstream looking for a little more salt. This will be the time to get the pots out and there is nothing more attractive to a muddy than a bit of fresh mullet. Remember your size and bag limit of 7 per person with a maximum of 14 per boat, you can only take the bucks and they must make size 15cm across the carapace. On the beach, the weed has been a problem. For the tailor anglers, the Noosa’s North Shore is one of the hot spots with the area south of Teewah down to the mouth of the Noosa River fishing well late into the evening. As the moon starts to wane, jewies are high on the

Craig Mullet with an early season Spaniard. Craig has a couple of Spot Xs, which he is not happy to divulge. Needless to say this came from one of them. hit list of most beach anglers and the beaches just south of Double Island have been one of the prime areas. Fresh mullet, fresh tailor, local squid and large clumps of beach worms have all the prime baits. Fishing any of the gutters on the beach will see you with dart, whiting, bream and flathead. Cast to the back of the gutter and roll the bait back into the gutter under the white water. Try and time your fishing to around

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Young Ollie Cooper with a very nice mud crab from the upper reaches of the Maroochy River. Ollie was still a little nervous about hanging on to the crab, hence the helping hand.

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OLD

Lock in the back eddies! HERVEY BAY

Dane Radosevic

Rain, bring on more rain! At the time of writing this it is hard to predict what the weather is going to throw our way, however what I do know is that we need more rain to flush our systems and trigger certain species to propagate. The lack of rain also plays a large part in the absence of critters, like prawns, and minimal mud crab movements throughout our local rivers and creeks. Let’s hope that the La-Nina cycle kicks into gear and we received the muchneeded rainfall this area so desperately requires.

Prime locations to start your search would be around the River Heads area itself - Prawn Gutter, China Bite, Power Creek and the lower reaches of both the Mary and Susan rivers can all fish exceptionally well. Barramundi, threadfin salmon, flathead and grunter will be prime targets, and all respond well to artificial lures and live baits. Soft plastics, vibes and hardbodies should all be a part of the arsenal in order to identify and key into the bite. Threadfin salmon are a fantastic target this time of year in such locations as those mentioned above. Their numbers are often concentrated throughout the lower reaches of the heads on

the larger tides as they look to gorge themselves on the jelly prawn being pushed out of the drains. This can be a very frustrating yet rewarding style of fishing and often takes a lot of patience as you wait to stalk out a feeding fish working a bank or drain. Smaller offerings work best in this scenario as it presents more subtly in front of the feeding fish, attempting to match the hatch of the jelly prawn they are feeding on. Paddle and curly tail soft plastics 2-3” in length will work, as do smaller soft vibes. An exciting new lure on the scene is the Jackson Bottom Magic, which proved dynamite last season and is sure to be a favourite once again. If all else fails

The author with one of the brightest fish on the reef, a large coronation trout!

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try a larger presentation in an attempt to draw a reaction strike. The Great Sandy Straits could be another great option to hunt down a thready, albeit without a decent rainfall these areas may be too clear making the fish quite spooky. The last few hours of the run out tide is definitely the most conducive to a better bite, however be careful not to get yourself stuck in certain

creeks on the western side of Fraser as they get deceivingly shallow. If venturing down that way you will undoubtedly also encounter other species such as barra, jacks, grunter and flathead. Grunter can be caught in good numbers in many of the Western creeks on Fraser this time of year and respond well to small curly tail and prawn imitation soft plastics worked hard along the bottom. The Burrum River can produce some great potential and houses an abundance of barra right throughout its entire system and tributaries. The upper reaches of the main system boasts some great looking rock bars and big snaggy structures often covered in fish, provided there is a good bait supply and your timing of the tide is right. One key factor in locating and successfully targeting barra consistently in any system, is finding the ‘back eddies’! A back eddy is essentially the still water behind a structure that is deflecting the tidal influence, often distinguishable by the oil slick looking surface of the water. Barra use this to their advantage exerting minimal energy as they sit and wait in ambush for baitfish to swim by or be swept past by the current. This is the ideal scenario for a lure addict and a variety of different presentations can be used to entice that bite, such as soft vibes, suspending hardbodies and soft plastics. Mangrove jack will often be a welcomed by-catch when targeting barra and will snap up a well presented lure tight to structure, while the humble cod is the last resort consolation prize. If we do receive the rain, as desired, efforts will be best focused back down towards the river mouth around areas like Buxton Hole and right along the black bank. This is a prime fish holding location and, after rain, big schools of fish can be located, although tempting a bite from one is another story. Grunter will be another

Bane Radosevic with a horse red throat emperor he caught while reef fishing the eastern side of Breaksea. productive species to target in the Burrum as they typically begin to school up around the moored boats in the main channel and also black bank. Bait fishos can expect to catch good numbers of large fish this time of year on fresh herring, mullet fillet, squid or banana prawns. When located these fish can be found schooled in large numbers with prized fish up to 60-70cm often amongst the mix. For lure fishos, soft vibes and heavily weighted curly tail and prawn style plastics hopped along the bottom will also draw the bites. The shallow reefs fringing and surrounding the inshore Islands throughout the bay have been teeming with life and anglers reporting good catches of sweetlip, coral trout, cod, blackall and blueys. Fresh baits have been working best with pencil squid, banana prawns and live crabs the proven choices. Fishing these baits as lightly weighted as possible will get the best results. Hopping curly tail and prawn style soft plastics or slow trolling a medium running hardbody are also

both viable options for these species in similar areas. The deeper wrecks and artificial reefs have been producing some better quality sweetlip and trout, however getting them past the sharks has been a real issue and if you get them past the sharks you have to keep them off the XOS GT that hang around the wrecks. Always keep some 1.5-1.8 size squid jigs handy as there have been good numbers of pencil squid around in patches. Often they will grab your lure or bait on the wind up drawing the school to the surface where you can quickly switch them onto the jigs. For the crustacean lovers this should be a fantastic time of year to set the pots and prep the cast nets, however we are at the mercy of the weather again waiting for rain to trigger the crab to move and also growth of the prawns. Prawn Gutter, China Bite, Power Creek and many of the smaller creek systems throughout the Straits and on the Western side of Fraser Island are good areas to start searching for a feed of prawns. If you are too eager to wait and willing to push the

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Billy Green got stuck into the threadfin salmon in the local rivers during his Christmas break and scored himself this absolute beast!

OLD

limits good prawns and crabs may be found right up the backs of some of the tinniest and gnarliest creeks. Moving on to pelagics, typically around this time of year the western bay from the mouth of the Burrum River up to Woodgate Beach sees large aggregations of baitfish balling in the deeper waters and in turn attracts predatory fish such as tuna, trevally and queenfish. These fish can often be there one day and gone the next so some searching may be in order to locate where they have moved to, looking for working birds will be your quickest and most accurate indication. It is quite a spectacle to witness schools of predatory fish the size of a football field gorging themselves on the helpless schools of bait and the fishing can be insanely awesome. Smaller 100-120mm stick baits, such as the Nashy’s range and fast paced pencil poppers can account for some incredible top water action, or the old faithful ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubble gum pink hopped or cranked quickly will draw the strikes. This season would have to have been one of the poorest spotty mackerel seasons we have seen in years. The lack of fish that didn’t turn up was noticeable and the bite very sporadic, with fish there one day and gone the next. As

one season finishes another starts and the longtail tuna will typically become the new flavour of the month as their numbers rapidly increase throughout Platypus Bay, gorging themselves on the bait balls for the next few months. As per usual the birds are a dead giveaway as to the whereabouts of the tuna as they flock together to take advantage of the bait being forced to the surface. The ‘Hervey Bay Special’, ZMan 5” StreakZ in bubble gum pink should be in every angler’s arsenal when targeting longtail tuna as they have proven irresistible when rapidly retrieved. The same plastic presentation sunk below the tuna schools and worked with an erratic hop or burn and kill retrieve can often account for other pelagic species like queenfish, trevally and mackerel feeding on the scraps below. Other alternatives to carry in the box is a selection of slugs varying from 20-40g, with the Arma Impact & Anchovy range being dynamite. Top water is another very exciting and affective technique to target longtails on, especially when they are feeding on larger baits like longtom, gar and flying fish. Pencil poppers or sinking stick baits like the locally handcrafted Nashy’s customs in the 100mm and 120mm range have been

Double drop! The boys with a pigeon pair of quality school size pearlies they caught while fishing the 100m line. proven performers. The stretch of beach between Wathumba Creek and Roonies Point will also be well worth a prospect this time of year, as quite often large bait balls get pushed in along the beach where packs of queenfish, golden trevally and longtail tuna can be found smashing into them in the shallow waters. Lure offerings, as mentioned above, will all work a treat and keep an eye out for squid around

the coffee rock, if that interests you as well. The fishing across Break-Sea Spit has been fairly quiet with limited opportunities to venture offshore due to the weather and the current typically roars this time of year making it difficult for reef fishos. On the other hand for the pelagic anglers this current is what you have been waiting for, especially when targeting trophy sized GTs off the top. Other possible and

welcome by-catch can include high flying Spanish mackerel, mahimahi, yellowfin tuna and kingfish to name a few, as you never know what may try to intercept your popper or stick bait. Trolling is another very successful method, especially when targeting Spanish mackerel, mahimahi and yellowfin tuna when working the shallower 15-30m line. Fast running hardbodies and skirted lures are great options, however if the fishing is proving a little tough try slow trolling some wog rigged garfish as they can often prove irresistible. As mentioned above, the offshore reef fishing possibilities have been limited, however if conditions allow the reef fishing could be quite good if you can contend with the current. With a large variety of species on offer including red throat emperor, sweetlip, hussar, tusk fish, gold spot wrasse, trout, coronation trout, cod, reds and green jobfish, to name a few of the more common species. These can be found on the shallower 40-60m grounds, whereas pearlies, snapper and rosy jobfish will be a consistent catch from the 80-100m line. Gathering live baits is a worthwhile exercise if you can find them this time of year and will often produce some of the better-quality fish. Alternatively, fresh baits like pencil squid, cuttle fish heads,

Central

mullet and bonito fillets are all easily accessible and great alternatives. The Southern and Northern Gutters typically fish exceptionally well throughout February for mixed reef fish with the highly prized coral trout often the favoured target species and XOS fish exceeding 7kg are not uncommon. Live baiting the ledges with pike or yakka is a proven technique on anchor, however can prove testing with many quality fish finding their lair. The last few years anglers have been doing very well using soft plastics vertically tea bagged along the ledges and is a very successful (and somewhat) easy method to bag a few tasty trout. Sweetlip, Moses perch, hussar, tusk fish, cod and the odd red will also be present over the reefs and will take a liking to a well presented cut bait fished either on a running ball sinker or paternoster rig. Sharks may, however, be the undoing of what potentially could have been an awesome day, the old ‘if only we landed everything we hooked’ being a common saying this time of year. If you can’t wind fast enough to beat them, than outrun them by spot hopping after catching a few fish or after being sharked as this will often result in better catches and less losses.

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Central

OLD

A carpet of Spanish mackerel BUNDABERG

Luke Truant

At the moment the mackerel are so thick you can just about walk on them, and they’re hungry. You don’t need to use bait because the Spanish are

taking all kinds of lures – stickbaits, knife jigs, slowpitch jigs, trolled divers, chrome slugs and tuna-style bibless lures. High speed lures and low speed lures are working equally well. The other day I got a double hook up on a Barra Classic and Halco Max 190.

Regardless of which lure you choose, I strongly recommend that you use wire. On a recent trip, my clients refused to use wire, and they powered through stickbaits like lollies, constantly getting snipped off. Yes, the action was exiting – around 30 hook-ups in the space of

Most of the reds have been coming from 35-45m of water lately.

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30 minutes – but the guys went through $300+ worth of lures. The fish that were unlucky enough to bite the back end of the lure were the only ones landed. The trick is to finding the Spanish is to find bottom structure in around 10-20m of water. If the action continues this month, you can expect double hook-ups as soon as your lures pass over them. The bottom fishing has been pretty good too, with catches of red emperor, trout and big gold-spot cod. For the reds and cod, the best

baits for us lately have been small trevally heads. I rig them with a single Elkat Live Bait 8/0 hook through the lips on a single-hook paternoster rig. You should never use a double hook paternoster when targeting these species, because if you get two 10kg fish you’ll bust at least one of them off – most likely both – or lose them to sharks. The reef fishing been OK but not great, which is unusual for this time of year. There have been no large hauls of any particular species, although nobody has really minded because you can still catch a good feed of mixed reef fish. Interestingly, we have been catching huge hussar up to 55cm, which is almost legal red size. These fish are very good on the plate. At the time of writing, the fish are fully roed up, indicating they didn’t spawn during the finfish closure. When the fish are stuffed full of roe or milt, they tend to be less hungry, perhaps because there’s no room left in their bodies for a full stomach. Regardless, by the time you read this they should have spawned and started to feed up again. On recent trips I have been finding most of the red emperor in around 35-45m of water, and other mixed reefies in around 25m. We have been doing well on tough baits like strips of iodine bream or mullet, which have a shiny skin to provide that extra visual attractant – or so the theory goes. The trick with flesh baits is to present them as naturally as possible. Cut a nice long strip and put the hook through one end (not in the middle) so that the bait can ripple enticingly in the current. If you want to

Who knew that hussar grew this big? These fish are great on the plate. maximise your hook-up rates you can use gang hooks, just make sure there are swivels between the hooks to allow the bait to move naturally, rather than dangling in a stiff, unnatural lump. When reef fishing you should always have a floater out for a Spanish, and I use a length of single-strand stainless wire around 40cm long. Don’t even consider mono, you’ll be wasting your time! If you get a kink in the wire, it’s best to replace it. If you just pull it straight, you’ll end up with weakened wire. I also recommend using small, black swivels so the mackerel don’t have a shiny target to bite. If you’re specifically targeting Spanish, you’ll need to head out wide, about 15 miles offshore. It’s great fun; every time the Spanish hit they fly a couple of feet out of the water. I love fishing for them with stickbaits, such as Oceas and C-Gars. When it comes to choosing a

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flathead of late, especially on an incoming tide as the water starts to flood up and over the banks. The run-out can also be very productive for chasing flathead, as they will often lie in ambush waiting for the baitfish and smaller whiting to fall back off the flat with the receding tide. It seems to becoming more popular to chase these fish on swimbait style and large soft plastic lures anywhere

For the guys heading to the wider reefs and shoals, there seems to be plenty of joy. There have been great mixed bags of some of the best table fish going. There’s been heaps of coral trout taken on vibes and stickbaits, and even some nice red emperor on the deeper structures. DAM This last month has seen people from all over flocking

The local systems have had a great flush with the rain late last year, which means the crabs and the prawns are on the move and the fish are firing up. This time of year everyone is getting ready to target the saltwater barramundi with the season opening at midnight on the 31 January 2021. As soon as season opens, the tides are quite large so the estuaries are bound to be holding some quality fish, especially the upper reaches of Calliope and Boyne River systems as well as the creeks throughout the narrows. As the week goes on, ALBERTON MELBOURNE the tides are backing off so ALBERTON MARINE MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE you can expect fishing in the 39 Johnson Street Alberton 92 Hallam South Road Hallam harbour to come in to play around the rocky P: (03)headlands. 5183 2344 P: (03) 9703 2003 Along with F:the artificial (03) 5183 2219 W: melbournemarine.com.au structures, such as rock walls W: albertonmarine.com.au and even some wharfs and MORNINGTON PENINSULA jetties – keep in mind the MY MARINE BENDIGO exclusion zones. Cnr Nepean Highway & BENDIGO MARINE & OUTDOORS Crabs have been moving throughout 160 theMidland narrows Ponderosa Place Dromana Highway Epsom and south trees systems, as P: (03) 5448 3988 P: (03) 5987 0900 well as the harbour around W: bendigomarine.com.au W: mymarine.com.au the smaller creeks and mangrove-lined mud flats. You can’t help but smile when you’re MORNINGTON PENINSULA MELBOURNE It still seems the larger catching nannies and trout. NAUTICAL MARINE MARINE tides on theBLmake to the full and new612moon the Road up Preston to 200mm in length, to the mighty 141 Hotham RoadLake Awoonga, 614are Plenty most productive and, if 1420 we as well as the faithful old arguably the hottest barra Sorrento P: (03) 9478 continue to get more rain, it surface lures like fizzers and dam at the moment, in F: (03) 9470 4638 P: (03) 5984 1666 should keep them fired up. walk-the-dogs. search of the magic metre W: blmarine.com.au E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au There have been reports Offshore opportunities barramundi. The success W: nauticalmarine.com.au of some good prawns are always few and far is clear throughout social SHEPPARTON being cast netted and dilly between this time of year, media and YouTube with the trapped in Auckland Creek, majority of people making BOATS AND MORE however when the locals get TOORADIN along with the andRoad a Shepparton chance it’s on with some the effort toCENTRE get P/L there P&J MARINE SERVICE 207Calliope Numurkah some patches throughout great reports coming in from rewarded for their efforts. P: (03) 5822 2108 101 Tooradin Station Road Tooradin the narrows. out wide. There have been Predictions are the dam F: (03) 5821 2908 P: (03)will 5998continue 3107 The estuaries are also some great captures of red to fire and, boatsandmore.com.au E: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com continuing toW:produce some throat emperor and tuskfish if we get some more rain, great grunter and mangrove around Rock Cod Shoals, targeting fish on topwater jack fishing.MORWELL Reports are and even some beautiful will become the style GEELONG coming in from all over MARINE the calamari. The wrecks are everyone is doing – it’s CRAWFORD PORTSIDE MARINE CENTRE CQ area and,71-77 now Chickerell the kids Street holding highly addictive watching Morwellnannygai, cobia, 36-38the Geelong Roadcome Portarlington are back to school, get out and some nice school bow wake flying P: (03) 5134less 6522 mackerel, which is always P: (03) there and enjoy a little in5259 then 1110 the ever-so-distinct (03) 5134 6455 a great option. There are traffic on the F: water. explosion. E: info@portsidemarinecentre.com.au The sand flats and always a few mackerel with The other style of fishing W: crawfordmarine.com.au W: portsidemarinecentre.com.au yabby beds in the mouth in reasonably close range, is to get out there directly of south trees have seen including Red Dolphin, after rain and fish the run ECHUCA MELBOURNE some beautiful whiting and MARINE Bindaree and Moreton star. off into the dam, which will EADES XTREME THE MARINE SHOP often draw small baitfish and 24 Sturt Street Echuca 6 Holland Drive Melton therefore drawing the barra. P: (03) 5482 2333 can 0588 make for great fun P: (03)It9747 with big numbers if you find F: (03) 5482 2133 F: (03) 9747 3999 the right run off. W: xtrememarine.net.au W: themarineshop.com.au • For all the latest info on

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The author with a soft plastic-crunching jack.

what’s biting and where, MELBOURNE drop into Pat’s Tackle World TRIPLE at M 23MARINE Lord Street, Gladstone or give them call on (07) 117 Northgate Drive aThomastown P: (03)4972 94653692. 8787 The team have their finger to the pulse to F: (03)what 9466 is 1418 happening in the W: triplemmarine.com.au area, and are sure to point you in the right direction. You can also find news, catch photos and special deals on their Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ PatsTackleworldGladstone) or check them out on Instagram (@ patstackleworld). FEBRUARY 2021

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It’s all about rain, prawns and barramundi barra, but can be caught on dead prawns, strip baits of mullet and gar, as well as yabbies. Even if the water is running a ‘fresh’ they can still be caught, as they range right through the systems almost into freshwater. I would love to see a trial to spawn threadies and try them out in freshwater. Imagine how they would boost the dam fisheries and what fun they would be in impoundments! They are always a welcome addition to the esky and, although painful to fillet, the

MACKAY

Keith Day habdays@bigpond.net.au

Fishing in around the area in February revolves around 3 things, rain, prawns and barra. February usually sees the start of Mackay’s wet season proper with flooding often occurring around all the creeks, rivers, drains and gullies. I expect this will bring on a run of small barra around the drains, with plenty of larger specimens in the creeks and estuaries. The rain in late December and early January has set off a good run of prawns in all the creek systems, as well as the shallow bays around Sarina and St Helens. Initially the prawns were typically quite small but after a few weeks the sizes and numbers increased considerably. Buckets of creek prawns have been fairly easy to come by in all the creeks in the NFZ and other usual spots like Reliance, Constant, Bakers and Sandy Creek systems. There have been plenty of prawns available for live baiting and this should continue during February. During January, anglers have had to target king threadfins and grunter rather than barra because of the closed season. But

Peter Wise has chased threadies during the closed barra season, and this beauty snaffled a live bait drifted in close to the shallow shoreline. suspended under a float or on a long leader near the bottom. Several live prawns back-to-back on a hook can create plenty of vibration, which is like a dinner bell for barra. Barra should be biting well in all the creeks from Rocky Dam in the south to the top of the NFZ, which is centred on Seaforth. They can be found around the mouth of gullies at the top of the tide and as the water floods out, and a live bait strategically placed will get

a lot of boat traffic so it may be advisable to hold off for a few days to let the barra settle down again. Naturally all this activity will be rain dependant and if we get bucket loads of rain and heaps of flooding then fishing for barra will be limited. Of course, there is always the option of fishing our three impoundments for barra, and they have been getting heaps of attention over the closed season with plenty of metre-plus fish

funds. 11,000 fingerlings were released into Kinchant and an additional 6000+ were released at Teemburra, which was the second release there for this summer. The fingerlings were all up around 120-130mm so we should get good growth rates over the summer months and they will be close to legal size towards the end of 2021, or early 2022. In the freshwater, the sooties will hopefully have come into spawning mode by the time this issue is out. MAFSA’s hatchery crew have had the hatchery fired up since early January in anticipation of a rise in river levels, which is one of the triggers to get the sooties to spawn. MAFSA needs 73,000 sooties in round figures to get to the 1,000,000 production point. A mighty achievement that will be, and it will be a tribute to present and past members. Back into the saltwater, and while barra will be the main target, king threadfin will continue to feature in anglers catches. Threadies will take live baits set for

Rob Swann will be out chasing barra like this pair he got on livies on the last day of the open season. end result is well worthwhile on the plate. In the creeks and estuaries, the bread and butter species like flathead, grunter and bream will still be around, although none of them particularly like dirty freshwater inflows. Whiting will disappear from the creeks once the fresh water

On charter with Mackay Inshore Sportfishing, Oscar Tweddle scored this fish on a vibe and after a quick pic the fish was released. February 1 opens up barra for all the local anglers who want to target them in the salt. I expect that all the reliable spots will fire up and accidental catches during the closed season indicate a bumper barra bite during February. The Pioneer River will get plenty of attention both near the mouth at the V, along the trainer walls and up around the bridges. Live prawns, mullet and whiting are all popular baits in this area, and work well either 32

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starts to run into the salt but they are still a viable option in clean water along the beaches. Beach fishing is not terribly popular here, but apart from whiting anglers can expect to catch flathead, dart, snub nose dart (permit or oyster crackers) grunter and the odd blue salmon, although they are more a winter species. Yabbies and squid strips will tempt all these fish, as will small plastics like curly tails fished with light jigheads.

a positive response. Many anglers ignore these spots as the water is shallow, but I have caught plenty of barra up to around 800mm in water around 300mm deep. It’s the old story, find the bait and the barra usually won’t be too far away. Prawns will often be found just by having a mate watch for jumping prawns as the boat wash hits the banks. Any of the previously mentioned systems will hold numbers of barra, but 1 February will see

being caught. Teemburra Dam has probably been the pick for barra, but over the Christmas New Year break, Eungella Dam fired up with plenty of 800mm+ barra being caught, despite all the boating activity. Eungella Dam is a challenging place for barra but they are not impossible, and best results come when the water and air temps are up or rising. Late 2020 MAFSA Inc. topped up Kinchant and Teemburra dams with barra purchased from SIP

MAFSA will be hoping sooties like this one caught by Matty Richardson will be in spawning mode in February.

The mackerel and tuna runs have just about dried up during January and with more rain, I expect they will be all but gone by February. Further offshore the reef fishing as always will be wind dependant and if we get heaps of flooding rain, then the freshwater plume sees a down turn in the reef fish bite. Crabbing should still be a popular pastime during February with results so far this year being pretty positive. Even if we get a heaps of rain, the muddies can still be caught, but they will move down stream and out onto the flats. A lot of anglers hang up the pots when it rains heavily, but a couple set ‘out the front’ will often snare a feed. So in a nutshell, Mackay has plenty of angling prospects for February, even if we get lots of wet season rain. The beauty of the rain is that it cools things down for a bit and gives us relief from the humidity. February is not a bad time to fish Mackay, so why not come visit us and give it a try. See you at the ramp.

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Wet is packing a punch WHITSUNDAYS

Mick Underwood

Well that’s the holidays done and dusted for another year. I hope that all of you who got to have a break enjoyed it and got the chance to get your hooks set into plenty of quality fish. Now that the credit card is maxed out

annual coldest and not moving at all, things can be tough. As soon as the water temps begin to move again, bang! She’s game on. During the recent hard bite I settled in on two main species to try and consistently get fish in the boat. They were grey mackerel and the always-popular coral trout. Bait fishing for both of these

The prawns have arrived in droves and mud crabs are providing plenty of good feeds and the barramundi season is open again. To get into the prawns, take your cast net down to Sinclair Bay, the Gregory River or Billys Creek and you shouldn’t have to look too hard to catch a feed there. On the lower portions of tide, concentrate your efforts on

Aaron Fleming, a visiting angler from Geelong, got the surprise of his life when he had to fight this solid queenfish that was comfortably over the magic metre.

Young Soren Pearson caught this nice trout to go towards his family’s dinner. from the holidays, the kids are back at school and most of us are back to the grind trying to make headway into the year, it can be a bit sullen during February. But do not despair there are still fish out there and they’re just waiting for us to go and get them. Before I get too eager about this month let’s just have a quick re cap from the last few weeks. For the Whitsundays, the wet arrived a few weeks earlier than normal. Out here at Hydeaway Bay it was more than welcome as we have been living in a proverbial dust bowl for some months. Now, everybody has water in their tanks and the landscape is lush and green. The rains have not only brought life to the land but, as it does, the ocean has come to life as well. For the first few weeks of the month, before the rain, the fishing was patchy and hard to pick. There were still some good fish caught across most of our backyard but, as I said, the bite for most species was intermittent and hard to pick. My guess for this, and it’s just my guess, is that the water temperatures were not moving. We sat around the 29.5ºC mark for about three weeks and that’s when things were tough. As soon as the rains cracked, the water temperature dropped by about a degree and everything went mad. There was bait everywhere and no shortage of predators enjoying the available feast. I have also made this same observation in winter. When we are in the depths of winter and the water temps are at their 34

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guys was fairly hopeless; it was hardbodied lures that had the best success. We did get some cracker grey mackerel,

any drains that are running off the flats. On the higher parts of the tide get up against the mangroves at the back of

creek fish. Out onto the fringing reefs around the islands, most anglers will be after a coral trout or two. As long as the water temps don’t stagnate then there should be some nice ones caught. One of the biggest nuisances when chasing trout at this time of the year can be big pesky barracuda. If you happen to notice one chasing a fish up or see one on your sounder, even if they don’t take your fish, it can be prudent to move as just their presence can be enough to shut down the bite. Out into the deeper reef and rubble patches, it’s that

time of the year when big golden snapper (fingermark) rule the roost. These are one of my personal favourites to both catch and eat, they are just a superb fish. We generally get

They can turn up pretty much anywhere but I do get my best catches of them out at Rattray Island or right inshore around Gloucester Passage. I like to troll little hardbodies to

We’ve had to work for the trout this month. Covering the country with hardbodies has been a good way to find the active ones.

Solid grey mackerel have been the star performers this month and have saved a few tough sessions. and on light line they’re lots of fun. The coral trout bite was a bit different though, with most fish just being the fair to average sized bracket. Righto, onto February. This month and next month are the two most unstable months for weather in the Whitsundays, and across the rest of the tropics. If we are going to get a whirlywind then it will be not too far away and it’s a better than fair chance that the heavens will open and we’ll cop a hammering off the rain. Not to worry though, there is always plenty of life in the water through this stretch of the year. Starting in the estuaries.

any flats. Mud crabs will quite often be out on the flats at this time of the year as well. Barramundi may be hiding in the creeks, but if there is a lot of fresh around they might be outside of the estuaries and lurking along our various beaches or rocky headlands. Be prepared to do a bit of hunting around to find these fish. I love when I locate barramundi on the beaches at his time of the year, they are such an attractive fish, gleaming silver with yellow to goldy coloured fins, they look cool. Damn these fish are fit too! They go like scolded cats and always seem to have more fight in them than a resident

our fair share during the day on charter on a mixture of various baits and lures. But the biggest numbers and consistently big fish are caught during the night by anglers using live squid and circle hooks. If you haven’t tried this, get out and have a go, it’s a blast. Quite often you have to wait awhile for that first bite, but when they start it’s generally game on. The pelagic fishing in February can be a mixed affair, we’ll just have to wait and see what bait sources are around. The most reliable target species that I can generally find in February is grey mackerel.

Tom Pestano enjoyed getting in amongst a good grey mackerel bite.

locate these fish and once I’ve found a few I will generally start casting into them. Just remember to keep your drags nice and light, these fish have a really soft mouth and if you either put too much pressure or fish with inconsistent pressure to your hooks, they will pull out easily. Whatever you decide to chase this month, good luck with it and I wish you all the best. Remember don’t worry about the rain, all it can do is make you wet, get out there and make the most of what’s on offer. • Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Charters specialises in light tackle fishing for all tropical sportfishing species on fly, lures and bait. Reel Addiction operates from the beautiful Cape Gloucester Beach Resort, 40 minutes’ drive north of Airlie Beach. Combined fishing charter and accommodation packages are available. For more information, contact Mick Underwood on 0413 882 153 or email mick@reeladdiction. com.au. Resort enquiries can be directed to Julie Houston on (07) 4945 7242 or at info@ capeg.com.au. To stay in touch with what’s biting, check out the Reel Addiction Sport Fishing Whitsundays page on Facebook.

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Catching big numbers TOWNSVILLE

Dave Hodge

As I type this report there is a deafening chorus of frogs in the creek over our back fence, celebrating the first of the serious rain for the season. Nature has its own indicators as to when the rains are about

Skipping soft plastics in under and around every piece of available structure has been key, and some of the biggest jacks have come from the least conspicuous looking snags. Every piece of structure is worth a cast, not just the best looking ones, and those deeper snags out from the bank have been holding plenty

When the water has cleared a bit from an influx of fresh, this tail/jighead colour combination works well. to start, and the magpie geese have been showing up for a couple of weeks now. There have been two croc hatches in recent weeks as well, which is a bit out of the ordinary. During the barra closed season (1 November to 31 January) there have been massive schools showing up some days, eating everything that will fit in their mouths. Then, within 24 hours, they’re nowhere to be seen. Every angler has been sweating on floods before the opening of barra season to allow the big females to lay their eggs before the nets are allowed to be set and intercept them pre-spawn. I understand that the pros are just trying to make a living, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t hope for a bumper spawn before that happens, as the next couple of years’ fishing is determined by how many barra get to spawn. Most of us who are addicted to lure fishing have been making the most of the excellent jack fishing. It has been pretty exceptional at times, with a couple of sessions delivering over 30 jacks, which is incredible fishing in anyone’s books.

of ‘unstoppables’. A big red flash as your line springs tight has been the only evidence as to what took your lure. As mentioned in previous articles, a 50cm jack is an exceptional fish for the north, with the average going around the 40cm mark. The average size is larger down south. However, in the north, the lack of size is made up for

by sheer numbers. Our favourite softies for jacks are prawn imitations, such as the Atomic Prong and Halco Paddle Prawn. On some days, jacks will show a distinct preference for one prawn imitation over another, so you need to have multiple options available and experiment to find what the jacks prefer on that particular day. Hardbodies are also effective, such as the Tilsan Barra and Bassday Sugar Deep. If you buy a lure that doesn’t come fitted with strong hooks, be sure to retrofit them as this is important for extracting bigger fish. Another factor in catching good numbers of fish is being prepared to make a move to catch the tide on its way in and then leapfrog its rising levels. That bite window may be only half an hour before the water lifts enough for the fish to escape our reach and disappear into the back blocks of the flooded mangroves. OUT IN THE BAY Reports of some quite impressive grunter have been filtering through in recent weeks. With a cultlike following, this species is one of the stable seasonal targets for those in the know. That’s not to say they’re unavailable the rest of the year, it’s just that now is when they’re really hitting their stride. Small soft or semi-hard vibes and plastics are the go for lure casters, and if you hit a school of decent sized grunter, it’s every bit as exciting as finding a school of big golden snapper (fingermark). Baits that work for grunter are fresh or live greenback herring, fresh mullet or gar fillets, and of course squid. Although you can catch

Getting in close to the mangroves and punching or skipping lures way in the back is exciting, but getting the jacks out isn’t always easy. grunter on other baits, those four are considered to be the best in our area. Tackle wise, many of the traditional ‘grunter hunters’ will tell you that you can’t beat good old mono for soaking baits for grunter, as the extra stretch reduces the amount of lost fish due to pulled hooks. The most popular hooks are super-sharp 3/0 to 5/0 chemically sharpened hooks in the kahle or suicide patterns. There have been large schools of whiting cruising the sand flats on the incoming tides lately, and we witnessed this on a recent trip just north of Townsville. We hadn’t brought any small poppers, which was unfortunate as the whiting were in full-on feeding mode, even chasing 5” plastics. Once the serious rains start these fish will head for deeper water, but they can still be caught. It just takes an angler willing to experiment to discover their whereabouts. MACKEREL The grey mackerel really started to put on a show at the end of the year.

These fish don’t usually hang around for too long, but hopefully they will still be here when you read this. Trolling deep divers at speed has been bringing heaps of greys undone. Spanish mackerel are still being taken

bait to swim its way down to the depth the fish are showing at, then knock the motor back into gear and accelerate to your original speed, swimming your bait back towards the surface. This has accounted for lots of fish in recent months,

Flooded grass banks that hold frogs and bait are prime spots for a weedless plastic to be worked through.

Finicky fish that ignore most lures will often take a swipe at a suspending lure, often foul hooking themselves. This fish was caught on a Bassday Sugar Deep.

consistently. Most of them are table-sized fish, with 10-12kg being the most common size. If you can find a patch of fish where the sharks aren’t insanely thick, you are sure to do well. One technique that has proven its worth over time is to troll wolf herring or gar at their traditional speeds. If you see fish on the sounder down deeper, simply knock the motor out of gear, allow your

and it shows the importance of keeping a close eye on that sounder. With all forecasts being for an above-average cyclone season, Townsville will hopefully still be on the map when you read this. Regardless, you should always keep an eye on the weather. Weather reports have become notoriously unreliable, so if it looks a little of an each-way bet, play it safe and fish closer in. FEBRUARY 2021

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Barra season ready to rumble! HINCHINBROOK

Ian Moody info@ianmoodyfishing.com

After taking some time off from charters and enjoying a good holiday, I’m very much looking forward to this year’s barra season after

hitting the waterways and to some it can be a bit daunting where to start targeting these fish. I usually prefer the building tides up to the moons to be the more productive periods. I would load my tackle box full with shallow or medium range diving hardbody lures around the

style of retrieve is best to find out what they like. Looking for baitfish working in dirty water is another thing I keep an eye out for. I usually pin at least 40 casts into an area before moving on. If you prefer to live bait instead of casting lures, I’d

and prefer lures. Having a bait out while luring a spot is a good way to figure out what kind of attitude they have on that particular day. February can be tricky with the likelihood of heavier downpours from storms and cyclones. If the Herbert River area catchment receives a lot of rain, the flow will extend right through the channel and right up to the northern end near Cardwell. The initial flooding events can be a bit of short-term pain, but definitely long term gain when things settle. The mouths of rivers and creeks can still be flowing fresh out of them on the surface but still hold some salinity towards the sea bottom. Often I find way out the front on the sand gutters can hold a lot of various size oceanic barra on the outgoing tides. Catching them on lures can be quite fun, if you can find the spots they like to

The next few months are prime time to catch a big barra. ambush bait species leaving the river mouths during the run-out tides. Barramundi will be the bigger focus heading into March as this is one of my favourite months chasing them. Working the stable weather periods in between rain spells will be the best. I wish everyone the best during the opening of the barra season and hope Mother

Nature gives us a few chances to get out. • If you’re looking to do a barra charter with us for this years barra season, bookings are filling up quick so now is a good time to get in and get your name down on some good dates. For bookings please email us at info@ ianmoodysportfishing.com or phone myself directly on 0402 339 459.

Everyone is looking forward to catching barra like this 102cm specimen this season. enduring a very short one last year in 2020. Missing out on four months of very prime barra tides in 2020 due to COVID-19 was very upsetting to say the least. I consider this month, as well as March, April and some of May, to be the prime times at Hinchinbrook to chase the larger saltwater barra over 1m in length. Still, in 2020 we had seven of them grace the deck while losing another four contenders over that magic metre size in just the few months I was able to operate. Being the most anticipated month of the year, no doubt there will be a tonne of anglers

80-120mm in length and work them with a slow retrieve. If you’re fishing the drains, start just above half tide on the outgoing. Some drains need to be fished on higher parts of the tide as compared to others, depending on their shape and size. Waiting until it’s too close to the bottom of the tide can see some of them drained completely. For incoming tides, I prefer to look for backwaters that are thrown off points, rockwalls creek mouths and similar. I usually find casting into these areas with a slow retrieve will work best, but playing around with a different

concentrate on the periods of neap tides when they will usually aggregate in numbers in deeper holes and ledges. Pinning a live mullet or larger sized herring in through the mouth and out through where the membrane is between the eyes, is a good method when there is a bit of current running. I will often pin them through the tail in deeper water, especially if the bait size is a bit smaller. It pays to be versatile when fishing the area as some days they will hug the bottom and ignore lures and want baits, other days they move around and hang close to the surface

Working the stable weather periods between rain spells will give you the best shot at catching a barramundi.

It’s all about good fishing and radar watching PORT DOUGLAS

Lynton Heffer www.fishingportdouglas.com.au

As predicted by the bureau we’ve started to see rainfall in the tropics. The monsoonal trough has knocked on the door but it’s not over the top. In fact, the winds have stayed quite good and it has not prevented too much activity, so the fishing has remained quite positive on all fronts. The only interruption has been the pop up COVID interstate issues still causing a lot of frustration and confusion for our tourism-based region. On the reef, the assisted rain has taken the sting out of the water temperature and the fish have openly responded. The likes of coral trout and nannygai have found a second wind 36

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for the summer. As to be expected, it still is a mixed bag of fish coming back to the dock from off the

outer Great Barrier Reef with some high end table fish including long nosed emperor, Spanish mackerel,

red and spangled emperor plus gold spot trevally, which are sometimes talked down, but very nice fresh. Winds

Everyone is looking forward to the end of the barra closure this month.

have been variable making anchoring a bit of a guessing game at times and the best results have occurred when there has been a constant east- or southeasterly breeze, which works in with the currents and tides a lot better. On the game fishing scene, we’ve been seeing some cracking blue marlin results not overly far from the shelf, along with yellowfin tuna, mahimahi and wahoo. It is still worth the effort if you have the weather on your side to venture a bit wider. On the reef itself the giant trevally fishing with the aid of calmer days has been quite reasonable with our average sized 15-20kg models eager to gobble a popper with a bit of run in the tide either coming off or pushing on to specific pressure points. Closer to home, the likes of certain wrecks, inshore patches and wonky holes

have been offering up some really good large mouth nannygai and often there is a contingency of trevally species trying to pull your arms off. It is undertaken by our smaller boat brigade and better in the mornings before any afternoon storms build up. Estuaries have been good for mangrove jack and some barra, while the bigger river systems have been seeing the likes of good golden snapper, big queenfish, grunter and a few barra as well. The rivers, in particular, will be decided based on how much rain is dropped as to how well they will perform moving forward. We’ve seen a good run of tourists of late and hopefully this may continue into our typically quieter time of the year. We welcome you with open arms!

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Snaring a Trinity NFZ barra CAIRNS

Dan Kaggelis dkaggelis@gmail.com

After a three-month spell, Trinity Net Free Zone anglers will be keen to begin the hunt for a big barramundi. The great news is that the Trinity NFZ has never had so many barramundi on offer for anglers. Your first port of call if you are chasing a barramundi will be in the Trinity Inlet. One of the best places to start for a big barra will be around the many wharves and pylons that are found towards the mouth. They love to move up into these areas on the high tide targeting the bait fish that take refuge there. As the tides begin to run out you can target these fish using suspending hardbody lures, large paddle-tail plastics and vibes. Look for pylons and wharves that are holding the most bait. Another option is to target the snags on bends or those that are laying down into the current. These will hold smaller sized ‘school’ barramundi. The evening is always a prime time to target barra

There will still be plenty of jacks around for those not wanting to chase a barra. in the inlet as they tend to move towards anywhere where there is a light source that attracts bait. When you find these spots and you will be in the game. Live baiters will also go well sinking larger mullet and prawns around the mouths of creeks or along banks where there is a good pressure edge. Another top option for evening or early mornings is to target the

shallow flats on poppers or stick baits. The mouth of Hills Creek and out along the hospital flats are

the two highway bridges this time of year, especially around times of low light. While this is more of a live bait spot, I wouldn’t go past throwing a big hardbody or vibe in this spot either. In Thomatis, the mouth of the creek is always my favourite spot as it always holds bait. Going even further north into my backyard you have the Yorkeys Knob and Trinity Beach headlands and rock walls, which are renowned big barra hangouts. If the water is dirty you will need to work that bit harder, however the fish will be there so persist! The headlands can be hit and miss but the fish will move through, especially on the change in tides so it can be a matter of just casting for a few hours until you can work out a pattern. When it comes to chasing barramundi in the Net Free Zone here a few

Barra can’t resist a suspending twitched hardbody.

Snaring a NFZ barra is certainly worth the effort.

Being able to spot them on your sounder is a big help.

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excellent places to target them on big tides that flood the area. Further north, the Barron River and Thomatis Creek systems will also hold big barramundi. Many massive saltwater barramundi are taken in the Barron between

essentials. First, you need a strong leader and braid and Sunline FC100 leader is my pick of the fluorocarbons when targeting these fish. It’s super tough and can take a fair punishment, especially from the gill rakers of these fish.

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Next you will need a selection of lures that will cover most bases. Suspending hardbodies are tried and tested on barramundi and it’s hard to go past the Lucky Craft Pointer XD for these fish. Soft plastics are also well

worth throwing and the Molix 140 Swim Baits are a true ‘go-to’ lure, especially out on the headlands. Next you will want a vibe for those deeper spots and the Wilson Fish Trap is the perfect choice, especially in the darker colours. As for a surface option, it’s hard to go past the walk-the-dog action of the Tango Dancer or if you want something a bit noisier check out the Bone Hover Jet. The big influences will be the amount of rainfall we receive. However, if you can find the bait you will find the barramundi. The final piece of the puzzle to snare your NFZ barramundi is using a quality sounder. I wouldn’t fish without my Humminbird Side and Down Imager for barramundi, as it’s so vital in helping me locate the fish – definitely worth their investment. Good luck and have a happy barra open season!

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I see red, I see red, I see red COOKTOWN

Justin Coventry

The wet season is in full swing with rain soaked ground everywhere and the river system flowing well. This weather brings life back to the land and to the river systems and ocean. The flowing creeks stimulate the breeding season for barramundi

and ocean wonky holes flow with nutrients and fish activity increases. It is such a blessing to see good rain and such an important part of sustaining future fish stocks. The ocean fishing has been insane, as large mouth nannygai have been biting like mad. The biggest one to date was a massive 12.7kg specimen caught by my son Joshua on a recent trip. The

fishing that day was second to none with large nannygai biting at most of my spots. I don’t like over fishing a spot and will only take one or two fish from a spot before moving on, but the esky was full with most spots firing. Not all days are like this, so when it does occur you have to be enjoy it, especially the fact that my son out-fishes me most times. However, I do remind him that I’m the

skipper and I find the spots and anchor him on the spot, so surely I get some credit…? All things aside, it’s friendly banter and very enjoyable to see young anglers having a blast fishing and catching such quality fish. Recent deepsea trips have been producing some very big long nose emperor and these fish have been in large numbers. The big ones can be a little tough in texture when eating but you can’t release them due to the depth they come up from. Night fishing seems the best and depths over 50m are the most productive. Fighting fish at that depth can be hard work and sometimes the resulting fight can attract some big sharks. Once they arrive then it’s best to look for another spot –you will be rigging up your broken lines constantly and wasting good fish to feed the hungry predaors below. 1 February will see the barramundi closure finish and many anglers will be out

With all the incoming freshwater, the crabs will be on the move soon. systems. Hopefully all the big females have reproduced and spawned a new generation up stream and the cycle starts again. Catching a big female, especially over a metre, is a highlight on any angler’s wish list, so encourage people to release

Nannygai have been at all the popular spots.

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them back into the system after a photo. Returning this size fish back to the river systems will greatly help to ensure many more fish

stocks for future generations. Barramundi fishing is so exciting and if we all try to maximise the chancing off keeping stocks high, then everyone benefits. Individuals who take large breeding females when the closure is on are not only limiting the future stocks but are setting bad examples to future generations with their actions. Conservation of future fish stocks needs collaborations between all groups to maintain stock levels. Let’s get together to make sure the fishing experiences can be enjoyed by our children. There should be more calm days ahead next month so they’ll be opportunities for some great reef fishing trips. When the winds are up, then chasing barramundi is a great option. With the flooding rains, the crabbing should be great this month, it’ll be well worth putting some crab pots in as they will be on the move with all the freshwater in the river systems – you have to love this time of the year! My only advise would be when heading to the reef, leave early and return early as afternoon storms are more likely this time of the year. Safe boating and fishing.

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Trent Kirk and Jimmy Mann with a couple of decent long nose emperor.

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Rain, rinse, repeat CAPE YORK

Tim O’Reilly wildrivercompany@gmail.com

Tapping away at the keyboard, rain is falling with a consistent hum on the tin roof. It has been falling for

From mackerel, tuna and sailfish patrolling the current lines well out in the Gulf of Carpentaria, right up into the tiniest freshwater stream tricking out of the hills, what happens between January and March will determine much of what happens for the

be a strong La Nina return, we can expect the monsoon trough to settle over the Peninsula a number of times. Cyclone Imogen was the first to influence the Cape in 2020 but more are expected. The east coast of the Cape is another story. Besides the

A beautifully marked Maori sea perch.

A nice yellowfin popped in an outer reef channel. days and indications are the Cape might be in for a decent wet season. In this report, we will look at what rain, storms and potential cyclones can do for the ecology and fishing in Cape York.

remainder of the calendar year. Already some torrential rains have fallen in the southern Gulf and consistent storms have been peppering the entire west coast of the Cape. In what is expected to

A small wrasse taken on jig in 8m of water.

usual concentrated rainfall pockets around Cooktown, Lockhart River and the tip of the Peninsula, other areas will require this monsoon trough and cyclone activity to produce localised flooding and strong river flows. Many of the east coast systems have become shallow and silty over the past decade or more. This results from a combination of hooved animals (pigs, cattle and horses) adding to the erosion of sand into the systems and generally smaller wet seasons. Unfortunately, a solitary event such as a cyclone can actually exacerbate the issue, sending a huge deluge of sand to the lower reaches. A number of large, long wet seasons are what’s needed to bring these systems to full function. Flying up the entire east coast of the Cape, it always amazes me the fluctuations

in tiny systems breaking out onto the coast or being locked away by a blocking sand bar. Even more amazing is that a previously derelict system can come to life in a matter of months when water flow picks up. I have had some of my best sessions in miniscule creeks in Princess Charlotte Bay that only came into existence in the previous wet. As a rule, January rarely

provides much in the way of estuary or near shore fishing opportunities. The true blessing of this month are the patches of no wind lasting days and days. Amidst he storms and gloomy weather can be some breathtaking calms. Lending themselves to offshore fishing in all manner of craft. Getting a long way east or west of the coast normally produces the

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best results. Outer reef flats should be crystal clear and productive. Fish such as jobfish, coral trout, red bass and yellow lipped emperor and cod will be ready to munch on surface lures. Yellow fin tuna and resident mackerel will be in the reef entrances. February is a time of boom and bust, so make the most of those precious few trips on the water.

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Feb’s freshwater fish fest TOOWOOMBA

Jason Ehrlich fishability1@bigpond.com

Finally there’s a bit of rain around. Even some of the creeks in my area have had a little run but it is far from enough yet to top up the local lakes. Further north, it’s a different story and they have received a good dumping so far this year. With the chance of more on the way, it makes it pretty tricky to predict what will be happening on the freshwater fishing scene. Big rises in the dams and flows in the rivers can

change things very quickly. If there is a bucket-load of rain, some systems can be dirty for some time making lure fishing tough. I’d suggest getting in touch with the closest local tackle store to your chosen spot or jumping online for a dam level update before heading off after a big rain event. I’ve been doing this Fishing Monthly gig for over 20 years now. I recall writing all those years ago about fishing the freshly flooded country right after the rain. One of my favourite ways to catch fish was up in the shallows as the moved in to explore the freshly

SOUTH EAST QUEENSLAND CRESSBROOK CLOSEST TOWN: CROWS NEST Speaking of rain, this is one lake that needs it. Cressbrook Dam is closed at the time of writing. Toowoomba Regional

know of closed on such a regular basis. • For more information on the dam’s status, check the Toowoomba Region Council website or check in with the lads at Fish’n’Bits in Alderley Street. They have

Billy Stark had a go at luring Somerset bass last month and picked it up very quickly. Council closed the lake again due to an algae out-beak. Until the bluegreen algae levels drop, there are no water-based activities allowed. Considering you aren’t allowed to swim in the water for contact anyway, it makes you wonder why boating is not allowed. The Toowoomba lakes are the only ones in Queensland and Northern NSW that I

a great range of lures and fishing gear and can point you to plenty of other locations to try. SOMERSET CLOSEST TOWNS: ESK, KILCOY Lure trolling has been very successful over the last month and we should see another month or two of similar activity. The bass schools are holding around Pelican Point, Queen Street

flooded ground for tucker. Things are a bit different these days, especially in the South East corner and in my neck of the woods around Toowoomba. Big rain events and lake rises will see the lakes closed for some time. This is to ensure water quality is safe and floating debris isn’t going to wipe out a speed boat. As soon as these lakes open, would be the time to hit the shallows to see if the fish are feeding up on the flooded grasses. Finding clean water can also pay off. A small rise will see the dam wall end of the lake cleaner than the top. After a big rise, the top end

can actually fish better. The initial flow of water comes in hard and fast and is dirty but as it slows, some creek and river systems deliver a steady flow of clearer water to the top end of the lake. I guess I’m just living in hope that our lakes will receive a much-needed top-up. It can make the fishing slower for a while but the long-term benefits outweigh this. There’s still the chance nothing will have changed and that’s how we are going to roll for this month’s reports. Until next month, buckled rods from the Colonel.

Wide and Kirkleigh Flats. These fish are pretty mobile at this time of year but they tend to revisit the same locations. Best spots are close to the old river bed on the adjacent flats. At this time of year, the depth the fish are holding will change a bit. They are often found in 9-11m of water but will be suspended at times. The depth they hold can vary from one end of the lake to the other so you will need to establish where most are holding and choose lures accordingly for each location. When they push deep, you will need extra deep divers to almost scratch the bottom in 10m. You can shorten these lures up when the fish rise and suspend or opt for a shallower running model to suit their depth. Somerset Tackle now has a great range of trolling lures to choose from and they pride themselves on pointing anglers in the right direction too. Casting anglers have had mixed results. Sitting stationary on the schools usually shuts them down but there have been quite a few occasions where anglers have been able to cast chatterbaits and spinnerbaits and get the bites. The Spectre Vibration Jig is again the standout with the rhoids colour a favourite of many. When the wind blows,

you can line up the schools and wind drift over them for better results. Fish a 5/8oz Spectre into the wind and allow the boat to pull it along. Drag or wind it for a few metres and then drop back to the bottom. I often simulate the wind drift by using the electric motor to do around 1.5km/h. This is just enough to stop the bass following the boat. Wind the lure for a few metres and drop back to bottom and you never need to wind all the way in until a fish bites or you want to turn around and change direction. Golden perch numbers have been on the rise. Bass fishers are finding quite a few mixed in when they are trolling and casting the flats. Lure trollers could also venture up into the river channel trees above Kirkleigh and work medium diving hardbodies for good numbers of golden perch. • Somerset Fishing has their store based at the area above the day use boat ramp. The store is open over holidays and otherwise around the weekends. Orders can also be made online via the website www.somersettackle. com.au . They have an excellent range of gear suited to fishing for bass and golden perch. MAROON CLOSEST TOWNS: BEAUDESERT, BOONAH The lake has been on fire with heaps of bass caught by anglers casting reaction style lures to schools and around the weed edges. Most bass here are under 40cm but there seems to be a few locations holding the bigger specimens in better numbers. The points and flats closer to the dam wall have produced some better fish in the deeper parts. I have had plenty of reports of anglers using the Spectre Vibration Jig in 1/2 and 5/8oz as their go-to offering. Spinnerbaits and other small bladed chatterbaits will be the undoing of the fish. Earlier in the morning before the sun hits the water,

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Bass love the Spectre Vibration Jig at this time of year. When the wind blows, you can drift-fish them to cover more country. the weed edges will be worth a crack with topwater lures and lighter spinnerbaits. I love beetle spins around the weed as I find I can foul them up but rip them out and clean them by jerking the rod. This allows you to follow the contour of the weed and look for that bigger fish waiting to dart out and ambush its next meal. A 1/4oz jighead and 3” paddletail are all that are needed to complete the beetle spin (jig spinner) setup. • For all your fishing needs call in to see the team at Charltons at Redbank. Drew heads out to the lakes regularly and keeps fish fingers on the pulse. The store has a great range of lures for freshwater species. We are not covering them this month but the boys can help you out with fishing Wivenhoe, Moogerah, Wyaralong and Lake Manchester as well. NORTH PINE (LAKE SAMSONVALE) CLOSEST TOWN: BRISBANE, LAWNTON, PETRIE The deeper water has been where the action is at over the last month. Bass and golden perch will be scattered at this time of year so you will catch them all over the place on a range of techniques. When anglers have located the deeper fish in schools though, double figure tallies are not uncommon. As stated you have plenty of options. Working the edges

of the lake with spinnerbaits and chatterbaits will get you started in the mornings with the chance of bass, golden perch and even saratoga. As the sun rises, head out wider and toss a trolled lure out the back as you search for fish. This is the only way to locate if you don’t have a sounder. Once schools are found mix it up to keep the bites coming. Local, Todd Rassmussen, has had success using bigger profile spoons like the 30g Raptor Jig and then switching to 18g tail spinners. There a big difference in profile and presence in these two lures and that seems to be enough to keep the bites coming for longer periods of time. Access to the dam for boats is only via the permit system and at the top end of the lake. Kayakers can use the launch site at Forgan’s Cove. Both areas are holding fish but you may need to travel to find them in good numbers. A sounder will be a huge advantage. • Tackleworld Lawnton is an ideal port of call for all your fishing needs if fishing the lakes on the north side of Brisbane. The guys can point you in the right direction and help you experience some awesome fishing close to the heart of Brisbane and even further afield.

Golden perch will turn up when fishing for bass this month. This fish came from the flats in Somerset’s middle reaches.

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SUNSHINE COAST REGION BORUMBA CLOSEST TOWNS: IMBIL, NOOSA The fishing at Borumba has been unreal. Being in the Sunshine Coast hinterland it is prone to flooding but

seems to recover quite quickly. The bass numbers around the edges of the lake have been awesome. Anglers have fished chatterbaits, spinnerbaits, lipless cranks and skirted jigs to the edges

DARLING DOWNS GRANITE BELT REGION COOBY CLOSEST TOWNS: HIGHFIELDS, TOOWOOMBA The fishing has been a bit steady out at Cooby. We would be seeing heaps of golden perch caught at this time of year but they have been pretty steady. Murray cod are making up a big part of lure fisher’s

catches with a few legal fish caught with the little yella’s. I still wouldn’t give up on the goldens but they will take some working out. A quality sounder will help locate the fish in better numbers and this is where you should concentrate efforts. The TN60 Jackall is a good casting lure for working water 3-5m deep. If

CAPRICORN REGION AWOONGA CLOSEST TOWNS: BENARABY, GLADSTONE There seems to have been a switch in the fishing that isn’t really moon related. A lot more barra are being caught during daylight hours. These are mixed size fish from 70-90cm on average. Working suspending hard bodies in the timber and over laydowns has produced the bites. The afternoon has been a great time to give this a try and you can then head to a point or likely edge to try your night lime plastic chucking. Sounding up fish plays a big part in successful sessions. The technology we have allows us to find them so use it to your advantage. If the dam doesn’t rise, the falling levels will bring some of the old spots from years

past back into play. The flats behind Dingo Island and the river channel drop off around this are should start to hold fish once they work out there is an abundant source of food. This could already be the case and I’m busting to give it a try and thoroughly sound the area. We had many sessions where bigger barra were caught on the drop offs to the river bed. The adjacent flats were around 2-4m deep. Working in the middle of the dam might feel strange but I’m guessing if the fish aren’t already there, they won’t be far away, especially during these warmer months. • Justin Nye from Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing runs fishing charters on the lake. He caters to the needs of the angler and can do fly or conventional tackle trips to target the lake’s barramundi. He successfully guides clients

all over the lake to rack up big tallies of fish. As the day wears on, the edge bite can die off and the fish retreat to deeper water. This is time to roll the same lures deeper or switch to presentations like spoons and blade baits. • Davos at Noosaville has

all the gear you’ll need to tackle the fish at Borumba and Lake MacDonald. The store caters well for fresh and saltwater anglers. They can be found in the Homemaker Centre on the corner of Mary and Thomas Streets.

the fish are on, casting these lures and working them back slowly will produce. If the action is slow, try jigging in 5-7m of water with a ZX40 blade. A vertical approach is popular but if you are good enough with your sounder you should be able to do short casts around the boat where the fish are thicker and work the lure back to the vertical position before casting again.

There are a few big metre-plus cod in the lake but they seem hard to catch. If you were dedicated enough to put in the time tossing big lures for them, you would have a better chance. I don’t think the numbers are there for consistent results but if you were prepared to go fishless on some sessions, the time would come when that giant latched on.

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 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

Working suspending hardbodies around timber laydowns has been fooling the Awoonga barra during daylight hours. 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 Giant barra are still being

Cooby has been producing quite a few Murray cod. This one caught by Harley Farrar was just a bit over legal size. caught. I thought my 125cm from last year would stand for a while but a 123cm fish was boated last month and anglers have reported losing fish that would rival it. There have been plenty caught between 110 and 120cm too but these fish are not the average size. Most fish encountered will be energetic little powerhouses in the mid 90cm size bracket. The action has still been at the dam wall end of the lake. The open water roaming fish can take a bit of finding but a side imaging sounder set to 100-150ft either side of the boat will soon reveal their presence. When they are in better numbers, pull up and cast lures through them. It is important to establish their holding depth to ensure lure presentation is on the money. Some days the Zerek Live Mullet performs well and others the much heavier Molix Shad 140 stands out. This is all to do with lure depth and keeping it just above the fish where it needs to be in this open water situation. Trolling the Zerek Live Mullet 5.5” has been our fallback method to

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catch them when they are tougher or to locate the better patches when they are moving around. I just alter the amount of line out and switch between 50lb and 30lb braid to alter the depth of the lure. Fishing Callide at the moment is a very different style of barra fishing. The fish will venture into the shallows at times especially on the moonlit nights. The majority of the time though they will be out in the deepest parts which are 10m plus. You will be fishing in what seems like the middle of nowhere and relying solely on what your sounder is telling you. • The camping area at the dam has undergone some big improvements recently with an amenities block has been added to the park. It is situated in the powered camping area and has toilets and showers and will soon have a laundry as well. If camping or caravanning isn’t your thing, there are 5 fully self-contained cabins. You can contact the Callide Retreat on (07) 4993 9010 for bookings and more information.

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Kayaking

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Topwater action from the yak BRISBANE

Michael Randall

I fish many different species from the kayak, fresh and saltwater, across different seasons. With warmer weather

especially when the smaller fish launch an attack from under the lure and go full aerial like a tarpon! Like many other anglers who love surface fishing, I’m super addicted to the visual aspect, and the way an unexpected strike gets the

of tidal run, a bit of breeze (which conceals your presence and obscures the unnatural aspects of your lure), and also the presence of baitfish or prawns. You need to be in tune with what’s going on, looking for feeding birds, bust-ups, and things like prawns skipping, which might only be detectable when it’s still. These are sure-fire signs that fish are on the flat. Broken weed, rocky outcrops, mangrove lines, current breaks and little drop-offs are all good places to try, depending on the tide stage. Sometimes a flat is lifeless and barren, so you need to keep moving as best you can with a kayak. I plan my chosen areas to fish with the tide and launch point, so I can expand my fishing domain. Being in a kayak does give you the stealth advantage – I have had fish

hit my lure right at the nose of the yak, and then dive hard for the bottom. And if it’s shallow, they seem to fight super hard, running across shallow ground. However, don’t get complacent. I’ve had several big blue-nose bream find one lone rock to rub the lure off on! TIPS FOR SUCCESS When it comes to surface fishing for bream and whiting, there are factors that we can control, and I want to discuss the nuances here that can tip the odds in your favour. First of all, on the flats it helps to have a long, light rod with a fast enough action to work your surface walker or popper properly but not pull the hooks. The mainline should be light braid; I recommend lightish mono leader a metre or less. I favour threadline reels with larger spool sizes

A selection of surface lures for bream and whiting.

Smart anglers will adapt their approach to the prevailing conditions. well and truly upon us, I am super excited for some surface lure action on the estuary flats for bream and whiting, and it ramps up even more when the prawns start running around the new moons early in the year. It is easy to get addicted to those surface ‘boofs’,

adrenaline pumping. When I first started using surface lures on the flats, I thought I’d cracked it but soon realised it could be feast or famine. To consistently get results some things need to be in your favour: water over your chosen flat or mangrovelined bank, a good amount

Bream are suckers for well presented surface lures.

for long casting. I use rear stinger hooks on a lot of lures now for better hook-up and landing rates, especially on the whiting, which tend to slash at a lure worked at speed. I tried lots of lures back in the day and found good success on bream with lures like the Lucky Craft Sammy 65 and ZipBaits Fakie Dog, Lucky Craft Gunfish 75 and various 30-50mm poppers. Then it was the Bent Minnows and, the best all-rounder in my opinion, the Imakatsu Dilemma Popper. Changing tack to chase whiting brought the Bassday Sugapen back to a prominent spot in the tackle tray. It’s definitely a gun lure. Something to keep in mind with all light hardbodies for bream and whiting is that changing

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Whiting are suckers for a fast-moving popper.

OLD

any hardware can alter the balance and action immensely. For that reason you should try to mimic the weight and size of these components if you swap them out. Even more important, and where I see others fail, is the willingness to vary your lures and retrieves to match the conditions and the mood of the fish. A general rule is to keep the lure moving to fire up the whiting, and pause and twitch the lure for the bream, but this doesn’t always apply. For example, when it’s millpond still and the tide isn’t running hard, a slower retrieve with a subtle action lure like a Sugapen or a small Bent Minnow may gets them to commit. The penny dropped for me on a day where the wind started blowing hard

swells with their backs out of the water, as the lure bounced from one wave to the top of the next. I got some epic takes while the lure was moving.

to entice the strike. On those frustrating days when the fish just stare at the lure and won’t commit to taking it off the surface, it can help to have

A hungry bream that fell to a Lucky Craft Sammy.

This bream couldn’t resist a Lucky Craft Gunfish. and there was just too much chop for the fish to find my lure. I thought the whole session was trashed, and really got the sulks. Still,

Kayaking

Polarised sunglasses are a big help for sight fishing on a flat in this way. If you can see a pack of fish fighting over your lure you

a lure that sits tail-down on the pause (dressed stinger hooks can also help). The Bent Minnow 76 and 86 really excel here as you can drag the lure under the surface with slow twitches, and the fish will smash it sub surface or as it floats back up. I reckon one fish on the top is worth half a dozen off the bottom, so a good surface session might not yield that many fish. When there is loads of bait though, and a school of fish, it can be spectacular fishing. I once placed second in a bream kayak competition fishing a 50-100m stretch of bank for almost a whole morning getting a fish or a hit every other cast. Mental! A bonus of skinny flats

Stinger hooks can increase your catch rates. I decided to try to fire up some whiting if they were about, with a really fast and splashy retrieve on a Dilemma Popper which walks and splashes. To my shock and amazement I soon had a pack of big bream chasing my lure down through the

can be more aggressive with the retrieve, even pulling the lure away from the small ones until that big brute in the school comes charging through to take your lure. If it’s a single bream, you might need a more subtle retrieve with smaller twitches and pauses

fishing is the rays, turtles and dugongs you see out there. You can be privy to some magic moments with that stealthy kayak presence. I hope some of this information helps you refine your current fishing or inspires you to give this a go if you never have. FEBRUARY 2021

Tech Tricks

Rod tip: 10 top tips BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Looking after and maintaining your fishing gear is definitely the best approach to ensure it will work for you when required. However, accidents happen with anglers often left with a broken rod guide or tip. Guides require a bit more attention to fix than the average angler is willing to do and you will require

several materials and tools to complete the job to a similar standard to which the rod was made. Most will rely on the services of a skilled rod repairer to complete this task. Rod tips can be a little easier however and it pays to know the basics because you can often repair them in quick time to get a rod back into service quickly. If time allows, I definitely recommend that you take your rod to a proper rod repairer (most good tackle stores have these),

as they will complete the job better than most of us can. This will probably only take a day or so to have the job completed properly with the correct new tip glued on with epoxy, a bind put below the tube and this thread sealed and lacquered to give a professional look. However, if you a re just about to go fishing and notice that the insert is missing from your rod tip then you can probably make a decent emergency repair to get the rod back into immediate service.

There are a lot of different styles, finishes, sizes and strengths of rod tips. Most lighter rods will have a strong, yet light tip whilst rods designed for heavier applications will have a much sturdier tip that will be much more durable. Whilst it is not imperative that you put exactly the same tip on the rod as what came off it, it is desirable to have a quality tip that will perform as required and balance well with the rod. Some rod tips have a higher quality insert ring than others, such as Sic (silicone), Alconite, Cermet and Torzite. Long term you should try and replace these with a similar quality, however for a quick repair any tip that will fit well can be utilised. Fuji is probably one of the most easily sourced brands of high-quality guides and tips and these should be available from any decent tackle store.

To put a tip on correctly you will need some adhesive to affix it, binding thread, thread sealer and rod varnish or lacquer. If doing rod tips regularly then it might be worth investing in these supplies however for the average angler it is likely more economical to take your rod to a qualified rod repairer.

Gluing your tip on is best done with some two-part epoxy such as Aradite, Devcon, Z-Poxy or a similar epoxy with a five-minute drying period. Definitely donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use superglue. If the need arises to replace the tip again in the future, you will often have to cut the rod blank to get the damaged tip off as superglue wont melt. Two-part epoxy such as these will soften when heat is applied and allow the tip to be removed easily when required.

Hot Melt glue is another way to put a tip on quickly. However, it is not as strong as two-part epoxy. Additionally, it has a low melting point therefore if your rod is in a hot area (such as the car in summer) the glue will soften and the tip will move or even come off. However, glue sticks such as the Fuji Hot Melt Glue are handy to do short term repairs. When going on extended trips I take one of these, a lighter and an assortment of tips so I can replace a tip if I have a mishap. 44

FEBRUARY 2021

Heavy duty tips and rollers will definitely require a two-pack epoxy to affix them securely. A bind below most of these is advisable but not essential. If needing to make an emergency repair you could glue the tip on with epoxy and then put the bind on later by doing it yourself or take to a rod repairer. The exception is the tip shown which has the bind on leg. These are often used on jigging, stickbaiting and popping rods as the bind prevents the tip from twisting when under serious pressure. This leg must be bound on otherwise it will interfere with the line. Do not use hot melt glue for affixing heavy tips and rollers as it isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t strong enough- only use two-part epoxy.

Tech Tricks

To remove a damaged tip from your rod, gently heat it with a naked flame or a heat gun. A plier can be used to grip the frame and apply pulling pressure. Ensure that the line of pull is directly in line with the rod. Do not overheat the tip of the rod or you may damage the blank. This is extremely likely with fibreglass rods- the tip will go soft and must be cut off before a new tip is applied.

Once the old tip frame is removed, use the end of a knife blade to scrape away the remaining glue debris. If you are careful with heating the old tip to remove, you should be able to save the old bind below the tip. However, if it is damaged from the heat, use a knife to remove the remaining epoxy and thread whilst taking great care not to nick the rod blank. A semi-sharp knife is better than a razor blade as it is less likely to nick the blank if you slip.

Push the rod tip all the way on. Look down the length of the rod to ascertain that the tip eyelet is in line with the other eyelets. Hot melt glue will only take a few seconds to set whilst most of the two-part epoxies will take 3-5 minutes. Keep checking the tip stays in line until the glue sets. If you stuff it up, remove the tip and start again. Excess glue at the bottom of the tube can be wiped away before it fully sets.

After sourcing a correctly sized rod tip, either mix up some two-part epoxy or heat the end of your glue stick. Apply a little glue to the end of the rod (about a centimetre) all the way around the blank. Hot melt glue sets quickly so you may need to again heat the portion you applied to the rod before pushing the tip on.

Whilst simply gluing a tip on will get you back to fishing, adding a bind will make it look a lot better and eliminate any rough edge at the bottom of the tip tube. Being able to do a quick rod tip repair can be very useful and may save your fishing trip. However, if you want a professional look with an epoxied bind below the tip, purchase the appropriate supplies to complete the task or take your rod to a quality repairer.

FEBRUARY 2021

Recreational Fishing Update Mix Fishing With Citizen Science This Season

Rescued Natives Restock Macquarie

Photo: Courtesy of Al McGlashan

As we head into the peak summer/autumn fishing season, the Research Angler Program (RAP) wants your fish frames for research! The eight eligible RAP species include mulloway, kingfish, snapper, dusky flathead, tailor, black bream, Spanish mackerel and spotted mackerel. Hopefully, you’ll have a chance to land at least one of these species this season!

Weird Mulloway Ear Bones!

Remember, you don’t need to catch a trophy-size specimen - the frame from any legal-sized fish from the above list will provide our research team with valuable data. As well as playing a key role in a fisheries research program, you’ll receive info on your fish’s age plus an entry into our monthly draw for great prizes. For more details, search “Research Angler Program” on the DPI website.

Do Your Bit To Ensure Fishing Access To Sydney’s Walsh Bay

Thousands of Murray cod fingerlings produced by adult fish rescued during 2019’s savage drought have been released into the Macquarie River in western NSW. The 50,000 cod fingerlings released late last year are the progeny of fish saved from the river during a joint rescue effort by local landholders, volunteers from Inland Waterways Ozfish and DPI Fisheries. The rescue operation resulted in about 700 native fish – including multiple metre-plus Murray cod – being relocated from severely drought affected sections of the river. Some 25 of the rescued fish were sent to DPI’s Narrandera Fisheries Centre where they were used as brood stock. The recent native fish release in the Macquarie was a major milestone in the NSW Government’s $10 million Fish Rescue Strategy. The native fish rescue and restocking effort is a great example of landholders, anglers and DPI working together for the benefit of native fisheries.

Respect The Fish! Instead of a hard, solid and smooth otolith (fish ear bone), have you ever seen one in a mulloway that felt like a lumpy sugar cube? If so, what you’ve got is a “vateritic” otolith. Partial or fully vateritic otoliths occur in about 1 in 100 mulloway donations that are processed by the Research Angler Program (RAP). Recently, keen fisho Mike Hollis (pictured) kindly donated the frame from a 98cm Hawkesbury mulloway to the RAP for ageing. Upon dissection of the fish, we found the vateritic otolith pictured here (along with a “normal” otolith for comparison). The otoliths in all fish species are composed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate. Vateritic otoliths initially form like normal otoliths but at some point the calcium carbonate begins crystallising as vaterite instead of aragonite. This results in otoliths that are larger, lighter and more brittle than standard aragonite otoliths. The underlying causes of vateritic otolith formation remain unknown, but it has been recorded in many fish species from both marine and freshwater environments. If you’re interested in finding out more about fish ageing and related information, subscribe to the free RAP newsletter by searching “Research Angler Program” on the DPI website.

FEBRUARY 2021

Walsh Bay’s piers are well known as great fishing locations but plenty of other Sydneysiders use these shared facilities as well. Here are a few quick and easy responsible fishing tips when you’re fishing at Walsh Bay – or anywhere else, for that matter! • When setting up your gear, avoid obstructing walkways so there’s room for other users to safely pass by. • Ensure you respect local residents and businesses by keeping the noise down and behaving in a courteous and responsible way. • Clean up any rubbish – even if it’s not yours! Doing your bit by fishing responsibly at busy shared locations such as Sydney’s Walsh Bay will go a long way towards ensuring continued access at these key locations.

Many anglers targeting key sportfish such as Australian bass and estuary perch prefer to practice catch & release these days. If you enjoy a C&R session on these highly popular species, show your respect for these great Aussie natives by always handling them carefully before quickly releasing them. Holding bass and EPs vertically by their lower jaw is strongly discouraged as it may cause mouth injuries and spinal damage, particularly if they are large fish. Please provide additional support to all fish and avoid handling them using their jaw only. Find out more about best practice fish handling and release by searching “catch and release fishing” on the DPI website.

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

Product Profiles

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through the water column or on the bottom. When this lure sinks and falls through the water column, it shimmies from side to side, and this action has proven to be irresistible to demersal and pelagic species alike. www.halcotackle.com

The new BlackWolf Blackout will be the perfect companion for your day-to-day needs as you tackle the urban or outdoor environment. Weighing in at less than a kilo, the Blackout is perfect to carry around on your next adventure. The ‘Origins’ 3D EVA AirMesh II harness is designed for comfort, while the sternum strap helps distribute the weight of your belongings to minimise fatigue and maximise your energy. Having a padded handle and padded straps will allow you to travel comfortably throughout the day or night. The Blackout is

Smith’s Knife & Hook Sharpener The Smith’s Deluxe Knife & Hook Sharpener is the perfect tool for keen anglers. This new sharpener really comes into its own when you’re trying to sharpen very dull or damaged knives and hooks, but it can also be used to maintain the edge on knives that are already sharp. The Deluxe Knife

& Hook Sharpener is lightweight, compact, and built tough, and comes with a soft grip handle, a non-slip base, and a handy built-in line cutter. It works quickly to provide a durable, longlasting cutting edge, and has preset sharpening angles for perfect results every time. There are multiple hook sharpening grooves, and

it has a soft-grip handle with finger guards and a non-slip base. The Deluxe Sharpener is priced at around $20 and is available at selected marine outlets and kitchen supply stores. Check out the Smith’s Consumer Products Facebook page to see more fishing and hunting knives and sharpeners. – Smith’s

packed with convenience and practicality to keep you going as you travel the extra mile. With all external zip pockets and internal organiser, your essentials will be packed according to your needs, saving you from rummaging through your pockets to give you more time to go about your day. The laptop sleeve, compression straps, and internal zip mesh pocket will ensure that your belongings are kept safe and secure, with two water bottle holders allowing for easy access to all your hydration points. Built with a 150D yarn-dyed woven camo with a compound bottom, the Blackout is heavy-duty and is sure to endure any environment you test it in, delivering the signature BlackWolf quality. The BlackWolf Blackout is available in a 20L and 25L capacity, and both versions have a suggested retail price of $129.99. For more information or to find your nearest stockist, visit escape2.com. au. – Escape2

Where do my fishing licence fees go? Funds raised from the NSW recreational fishing licence are placed into special trusts, and spent on projects to improve recreational fishing. Committees of anglers provide recommendations on expenditure from the trusts: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

Fish stocking Artificial reefs Fish aggregating devices (FADs) Recreational fishing havens Fishing facilities e.g. fishing platforms and fish cleaning tables Kids fishing workshops Fishcare Volunteers Gamefish tagging Get Hooked...it’s fun to fish, primary schools education Fish habitat restoration

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au FEBRUARY 2021

Sydney

NSW

What a crazy summer! PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Over the last two months we have seen some crazy weather and very different fishing from the last few years. Along Pittwater we have endured plenty of cold days and plenty of rain that has wreaked havoc with our normally crystal clear blue water. Instead we have suffered with either cold green water, or water that you would expect to find after the run-off

at the Top End of Oz. The fishing has been just as sporadic. One day there are kingfish, tailor and salmon cruising the surface, with seagulls and terns adding to the excitement, and the next day the place is a desert. The resurgence of COVID-19, and the resulting lockdowns and closures, have just added to the frustrations. Before you try to fish Pittwater, please check with local authorities that you are allowed to fish on Pittwater, and are permitted to travel into the area. Different restrictions come and go, constantly

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shifting the goal posts, so checks do need to be done before coming to this magical area of Sydney. The coming month should see kingfish still being caught, but patience and covering ground will be needed. Starting off near the mouth of the river and watching for bird activity may see you with some early excitement. Other places to cover are The Supermarket as well as around Scotland Island. If you are going to fish at Scotland Island, make sure you travel around the island as these fish don’t sit in the one area for a long time. They will quite often chase baitfish around the island so keep an eye on your sounder for balled-up baitfish mid water. Squid still seems to be the better bait to use and these can be located in most bays along Pittwater and near the weedy areas of Palm Beach and Broken Bay. The better jig colour has been orange and the better size has been 2.5. Remember to watch your jig before removing it from the water as there have been many occasions where I have found a few followers, and by letting the jig sink they may pounce onto it. You can also use slimy

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There are plenty of these to catch on the right day. mackerel or yellowtail, and both of these species can be caught at West Head (if the water isn’t chocolate brown in colour). Anchor and berley up the area and use light lines and no. 10 hooks to catch both species from your berley trail. For those anglers after the bottom dwellers there have been flathead and flounder as well as the odd whiting. The better area for flathead seems to be the drift from Patonga through to Lion Island whilst using pilchards, fish strips or prawns. Make sure you use your plotting trail on your sounder so you can record a successful drift and go back to the same drift to catch more. The same logic applies if you don’t catch any fish on the drift – go to a different start point and try again. Flounder are being caught close in near Shark Rock, and prawns have been the downfall of many of these crazy looking fish. The better rig is your standard running sinker rig, but a paternoster rig should also see you have some success. Whiting have been getting caught in Towlers Bay on Pittwater and at Mackerel Beach. At Towlers Bay they

have been in the deeper water near the weed beds but at Mackerel Beach they have been feeding freely in the shallows. Try using bloodworms for bait and a running sinker rig with the smallest amount of

Tasty flatties can be found right along Broken Bay and in areas of Pittwater.

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weight as possible. You only want enough weight to allow your bait to sink, not plummet to the bottom and stay in the one spot. If you want to try for a bream at the moment, try in close on the Pittwater side of

It’s a flatty fest, and there are some big ones around.

West Head first thing in the morning on the run out tide. Floating out a well presented prawn, fish strip or squid strip will see you getting a few but you must remember to float the baits out with little to no weight. Drifting your bait down the burly trail will see you also pick up other species as well. Jewfish (mulloway) are starting to show up in the usual haunts around Broken Bay at Walkers Point, Flint & Steel, Juno Point as well as the pressure wave between Eleanor Bluffs and Juno Point. Try fishing the last of the tides when the water slows down because jewies are a notoriously lazy fish that hugs structure when the current is running hard and comes out to feed when the current slackens. I hope this helps you catch some fish this month. Get out there and enjoy the last month of summer while you can!

NSW

Sydney

Better run of kingfish is here SYDNEY NTH

Steve Winser

The water temperatures are rising in the harbour (as I write this report it’s sitting at around 22.5°C and rising), and we have also had a lot of rain with the upper reaches of the Harbour quite discoloured. This has seen the mulloway bite come on, and there have been reasonably consistent catches coming throughout the upper harbour on a run-out tide. Live baits and squid have been working the best, although a number of fish have come on lures also. Due to the rain that we’ve had and the resulting muddy water, the school fish action has subsided slightly, with fewer tailor and salmon caught over the past month.

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Kingfish are starting to appear as the water temperatures lift in the Harbour. most popular lure is the 50mm Sugapen in clear or green and, as always, bloodworms are taking their share. FEBRUARY FISHING We should see a run of better kingfish in the coming month, with the larger models starting to move into the lower harbour. If this La Nina pattern holds and the rain continues we should see a good mulloway season this year as well. And of course, the warm water will only see an improvement for the summer species like whiting and flathead. • Fishing Sydney Tours takes

pride in tailoring every trip to the customer’s preferred species, style of angling, and level of expertise, all within a friendly and relaxed atmosphere at competitive rates. There are some excellent fishing spots that can be accessed straight off Sydney, and we will show you where. We offer harbour, wash and offshore fishing for species ranging from kingfish and mulloway through to snapper and mahimahi. For more info go to www.fishingsydneytours. com.au, call 0481 120 600 or look up ‘Fishing Sydney Tours’ on Facebook.

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Mulloway are starting to show after the rain. However, we have seen a fresh batch of school-size kingfish move into the harbour. From west of the bridge up to Garden Island, the mooring markers have been producing fish, many of which have been taken on lures cast around the markers. I recommend using a 6-9” soft plastic stickbait such as a Slug-Go in white, rigged on a 1/4oz jighead. The rising water temperatures have seen the bream and blackfish begin to taper off, which is usual for this time of year. That epic run seen over the last

few months is coming to an end. There are still numbers of fish in the mid-30s range, but those 40cm+ fish are getting scarcer. Some larger kingfish have finally moved into the lower harbour but they have been very picky. Fresh squid is accounting for 90% of the better fish taken. This action should only get better in the weeks ahead. The whiting and flathead are coming back in force now, and most of the shallow areas with weed banks in the lower harbour are holding whiting on a high tide. The

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FEBRUARY 2021

Sydney

NSW

Don’t discount the drains SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

As we draw into the last month of summer, the water temperature will continue to be a balmy 21°C+. It has been a pretty wet summer, so the expected run of pelagics may be different from the 20192020 season because we had that incredibly dry spell. The water clarity was a lot clearer last summer than it is now. With the continuing rain periods we can also pursue other species like bream, whiting, mulloway and more, so be sure to

seize the opportunity! BEACH FISHING Aussie salmon are without doubt one of the prolific species along the East Coast, and it seems that they chose to hang around for the summer. Whatever species you are targeting, whether it’s an evening mulloway, a whiting, bream or flathead, you may encounter salmon as a by-catch. The traditional way to fish for salmon is with a well-presented whole pilchard on a set of 3 x 3/0-4/0 hooks. One of the many rigs I use for beach salmon is a 35kg black Mustad swivel, 15cm of 30-40lb fluorocarbon

leader off the swivel, and on the bottom section of the swivel I tie on 60cm of 30-40lb fluorocarbon leader and then the gang hooks. You can tie your choice of sinker weight above the swivel. You may be wondering why the 15cm length of leader? Well, tie a surf

popper to that and you are now using a popper/ pilchard rig. Be prepared as you will occasionally be locked into two salmon at the same time as one picks up the surf popper and the other the ganged pilchard. When you’re fishing off the beach you don’t really need to wind in the bait

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One of Nick Asscher’s four salmon caught on ganged pilchards off the beach. These fish hung around for the summer, unlike some other years.

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and surf popper to create lure action. The waves will do the work for you, with the popper fluttering every time a wave goes past, attracting the attention of predators like salmon. Unfortunately, tailor like poppers too so you may get bitten off sometimes. A lot of the beaches have fairly dirty water at the moment. The combination of beach kelp and the drains, lagoon and river run-off has made the water clarity only 50-60% on some days, and even less on others. There are times and locations where the water clarity is better because there are fewer freshwater run-offs nearby. Whiting and bream don’t mind the dirty water run-off. The stormwater drain areas at Manly Beach, Dee Why Beach and Collaroy Beach are producing nice catches of bream and whiting near them. Whiting to 40cm+ and bream of similar size are part of the bag when using beach worms on a

single hook rig or a 2-hook Bellissimo Paternoster (check my YouTube channel Alex Bellissimo for my rig). At Collaroy, and Mid and South Steyne (Manly Beach), the drains go out into the surf for 10-20m+,

and the pipe structure itself also attracts fish. Live beachworms are one of the choice baits. If you want to buy beachworms at a tackle store, be sure to call the store first to place an order.

A few snapper to 2.5kg caught distance casting with squid strips. A robust bait will handle the big casts better than a soft bait will.

NSW

If you just walk in off the street, you may find that the store doesn’t have any worms that day. Another great alternative is live nippers which may be also available at your local tackle shop. If you can catch your own beachworms or pump your own nippers that will be a bonus, but you will have to be there at low tide to catch your bait. You can pump them in Narrabeen lagoon or Pittwater or of some of the beaches like Manly, Curl Curl, and Collaroy/Narrabeen, just to name a few. For the salmon, tailor, bream and whiting try Manly/Queenscliff Beach, Dee Why Beach from the southern section to the Long Reef section, and Collaroy/ Narrabeen beaches as well.

You can catch snapper distance casting or wash fishing, depending on the type of location you’re fishing. Spots that are suited to distance casting have deeper water with a sand edge off the reef, normally out wide around 50-100m off the ledge or boulder that you’re fishing from. Alternatively, if you have deep enough water around 5m+ out, you’re in for a real chance to catch a snapper in the washes. The wash outfit could be your pig (rock blackfish) outfit with 6-10kg braid or mono. Distance casting for snapper requires 12-15kg braid or mono with a heavy sinker, and a rod that is 4m+ (13ft) long, though in good conditions a shorter rod will suffice. If you are not sure whether your

Sydney

It’s a different story for bream; I would recommend a smaller hook like a 1/0 or a 2/0 for bream, because they are often not as aggressive as snapper are. For both bream and snapper you should use a 2x strong hook rather than a single strength. If your hooks aren’t strong, they may be crushed or straightened on a really good fish. Besides that, you should match the hook strength to your line class. Some reasonable kings to 75cm have been taking live baits suspended 3-6m under a float. Kings are also being caught on whole sea gars retrieved similarly to a stickbait. Luderick are taking cabbage weed in the washes, and on some days you can catch a few bonito

John Halford was rapt with two of the three snapper caught on this outing, which measured 52 and 53cm. Be active and look for the gutters. You will find that some of the beaches have better gutters than others. Also, kelp may be an issue; if you see dark patches in the surf, that will probably be kelp. You should avoid these areas or cop the wrath of the kelp! Regarding beach structure like gutters and holes, do some searching before you start fishing. Don’t just park your car, walk to the beach and start fishing, because that may lead to a fishless outing. Instead, do some reconnaissance before you ‘commit’ to a particular beach. True, reconnaissance can take a while on some days, but you’re better off having 2-3 hours of quality fishing rather than 4-5 hours of zero! ROCK FISHING Who doesn’t like catching snapper? And if you catch them off the rocks it’s even more rewarding. They bite bloody hard, fight hard (when they’re big enough on the right gear), they look amazing, and are super good tucker on the plate.

chosen location is suited to distance casting or rock fishing, I would suggest taking both outfits. Tougher baits are preferred for distance casting – something that will handle the big cast. Good choices include squid strips, salted striped tuna, slimy mackerel strips, fresh yellowtail, salmon/trevally fillets, salted half pilchards, and salted tailor strips. Snapper are both predators and scavengers, so they eat a broad variety of food. When you’re wash fishing, good baits include half pilchards, prawns (king, banana or endeavour), and squid strips. A pilchard cube trail can produce some great snapper fishing, and may attract several other species as well. Just toss a few cubes into the white sudsy water at one minute intervals. Some anglers use small hooks for snapper, such as 1/0 hooks, but I prefer to fish 2/0-4/0 when I’m targeting reds. A just legal snapper won’t have much trouble scoffing down a 3/0 hook with a sizeable bait.

on small metals, although the run of bonito isn’t as good as last year. Spots to try include the Hat at Manly, and the entrance to Sydney harbour. The front ledge is only a smallish area so it can fit only 4-5 anglers, although on a flat day you can fish on the lower ledge to the right. North Curl Curl off the front is good for snapper distance casting, and approximately 80m north of North Curl Curl swimming pool you can spin for pelagics and kings. At Flat Rock South Curl Curl you can luderick fish as well as have a go at fishing the sandy bottom for a king with livebait or fresh squid. Distance casting there is worth a shot as well, and you can have a go at wash fishing for a snapper more towards the point of Freshwater’s northeast face. • 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. FEBRUARY 2021

Sydney

NSW

Catch a feed in February SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

The fishing in the southern areas has been great of late, with many anglers coming home with a feed or two. Botany Bay has been producing bream, trevally, flounder and dusky flathead on either the drift or at anchor for anglers fishing along the breachfront from the Cooks River to Dolls Point. Half pilchards, strips of mullet, tuna and chicken plus live prawns, nippers

and worms have been doing the job. Kingfish, salmon and trevally can be caught off Sandringham and Dolls Point beaches. They are just downstream of the Captain Cooks Bridge. Nippers can be pumped on the nearby flights at low tide, and I recommend using a floating sieve to pump the nippers into as you will need to be in about shin-deep water for the best results. Yarra Bay, Bare Island, Frenchmans Beach and Trevally Alley are producing trevally, bream, huge slimy mackerel, kingfish, tailor, salmon and the odd bonito or

Luderick are still around in great numbers off the rocks and in the estuaries. Berley and fresh weed or cabbage are the keys to success.

two. Peeled prawns, nippers and half pilchards have been the best baits. The odd pan-size napper has also come on board. So far this season I have caught in excess of 50 kingfish in the bay. While most of them have been undersize it’s great to see the numbers have started to increase. Just remember it’s not always live squid that catches the big ones. Try cutting the squid into to strips. Maroubra and Coogee beaches are worth a shot for tailor and salmon in the early hours, while trevally, bream, whiting and dart are biting throughout the day, especially when it’s overcast. Beach and tube worms have been producing the best results. The rocks from Bondi and down to Cape Banks are producing snapper, trevally, bream, tailor and salmon. Whole and half pilchards have been working best. If you are after a few drummer I would get a packet of green tail prawns, peel them and put them on a 1/0 hook and use a running ball sinker. Cast your bait out into a wash and just wait for those explosive bites. What could be better? I have had a few customers tell me there are plenty of sand flathead around, with most fish in the 30-50cm size range. Salted slimy mackerel, half pilchards and strips of mullet have been working well.

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The author had a chance to get out with two cricketing legends, Len Pascoe and John Dyson, for a bream session on the Port Hacking. The weather wasn’t the best, but the bream turned it on. The broken ground off the Wedding Cake Island at Coogee has been producing pigfish, morwong, trevally, snapper and the odd kingfish or two. Find a patch or ground that is holding fish and either drift or berley while at anchor. While out on Botany Bay I have been putting in a couple of pots for blue swimmer crabs. Nothing is better than a feed of chilli crabs. Make sure that you correctly label the floats and keep to your size and bag limits. Luderick and drummer are worth a shot off the rocks at Bare Island, Kurnell, Jibbon Point and Marley in the RNP. For me, bread has been the best berley and peeled blue-tailed prawns have been the best bait. You could also try using pink nippers or bread for bait. The George and Woronora River have been producing bream, flathead, mullet, garfish and luderick at the Moons,

Alfords and Picnic Points, upstream of the old Woronora Bridge, the Como Bridge and at the base of the Milperra Bridge. The place called the Cattle Duffers is a great landbased spot for bream, perch, flathead and crabs. So far it has been a great year for kingfish in the Port Hacking. They are being caught by anglers bait or lure fishing for bream and trevally. Kings can be caught in the deep or over the flats, and some days it doesn’t seem to matter what bait or lure you use. On other days though, they can be extremely picky. What has been a stand-out bait in the Port Hacking of late is whole garfish on a set of ganged hooks skipped across the surface. Not all tackle shops have them, so you may want to catch them yourself. You’ll need a number 10 longshank hook

and very small piece of prawn suspended under a small float. The best way to attract them is to use bread crumbs for berley, as the crumbs tend to float on the surface. Lure anglers have been working the shores with small soft plastics and hardbodied lures for bream, while at the same time picking up a few trevally and small kingfish. When it comes to the time of day, the best results have been coming early in the morning and late afternoon. Leatherjackets, yellowtail and slimy mackerel are being caught off the Gunnamatta and Gymea Bay wharfs. Whiting bream and flathead have been cruising the flats during the top of the tide and are taking surface lures. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in to gbrown1@iprimus.com.au. Hope to see you on the water.

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NSW

Cricket scores in the fresh BALLINA

Joe Allan

Since the mini flood before Christmas, the Richmond River has actually been fishing very well. Plenty of bait has been stirred up, attracting plenty of hungry predators. By the time this goes to

print there should be good numbers of marlin getting around offshore. We had the odd one come through in early January but these should get more prevalent as the fish come down from the north. There have been plenty caught north of the Tweed already, with reports of some boats going double digits on the blacks.

The mackerel have also been coming in from the north as well as some spotties a little further south from Evans Head. When these speedsters go crazy, make sure you’re at the ramp early as the numbers at the local boat ramps rival Pacific Fair’s car park on Christmas Eve. There have also been a few dolphinfish

for crabs. The river itself has been fishing really well, with good sizes and numbers of whiting on the flats in the town stretch of the river. The old Bassday Sugapen 70s are always my go-to, followed by the new size Bassday Crystal Pop 70. There have been good numbers of bream around the ferry and just slightly upriver. The rock walls have also been holding fish, and can produce the odd jack as well. If you hook into one of these, good luck on bream gear – they can be hard to get in. The freshwater stretches have been on fire, with good sizes and numbers being reported. When the drains were flowing it was cricket scores all round. Funnily enough though, small

These nice muddies were caught up Emigrant Creek.

Matt Flynn (aka Glenn Maxwell) with a nice trevally caught while chasing bream above the ferry.

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around and these can be really fun on light gear so get stuck into them. There were good numbers of crabs around on the big tides in mid-January; the dirty water certainly bought the crabs on. Any stinky baits you can get your hands on will do the trick in the dirty water. Keep your mackerel frames because these go pretty well as bait

A healthy Aussie bass caught upriver off a run-off drain flowing with dirty water.

crankbaits were the best producers, which is not normal. Normally it’s big spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and large noisy lipless crankbaits that will get the bites. It’s reflective of the size of the bait around upriver I think. Early mornings and late afternoons can still produce good numbers of fish in surface. Cicada imitations like the Atomic Hardz Cicada 35 are really good at getting bites. You usually don’t have to do much with cicada lures – just jiggle the rod to make the lure shake on the surface, exactly like a cicada that’s fallen from a tree. Until next month, tight lines.

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Anthony Melchior with a really nice bream caught off the Porpoise wall.

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QLD NSW VIC

NSW

Steamy days and stormy nights ahead for Feb COFFS HARBOUR

Dayne Taylor

The past month here in Coffs Harbour has seen summer weather patterns in full swing, with hot and humid days followed by stormy evenings. The water lying around from heavy rains and minor flooding over the Christmas period have added to the humidity and made conditions in the larger river systems testing at times, due to the run-off of dirty water coming through. The rivers were in

desperate need of a flush, and the fishing will only improve now after it settles down. The estuaries such as the Bellinger and Kalang rivers along with the Nambucca River all needed a good flood to move some sand around at the front of these systems. While the water is a little dirty, focus your fishing times around the top of the run-in tide and target areas more towards the lower reaches of the systems. Bream, whiting and flathead are all still on offer! Larger predatory fish such as mulloway and the like will also frequent

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Anton and Adrien with a Coffs Harbour black marlin.

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Ruby Taylor was happy with this healthy snapper.

these areas, hunting the large quantities of bait that get flushed to the lower reaches. Whiting and bream are plentiful in the beach gutters and on the flats of the estuaries. Small baits such as beach worms, pipis, pilchards, and fresh caught live pink nippers cast into beach gutters are all great baits. In the estuaries these same baits work equally as well. If it’s crabs you are chasing, a better population has moved to the main sections of the rivers after the floodwaters came through. You should still target feeder creeks and junctions with your trap placements. Steamy hot days and stormy afternoons make for ideal conditions to

NSW

that hot water, and it’s only a matter of time before the big numbers move down the coast. The game fishing has been extremely popular around Coffs over the past two months, with good numbers of smaller black marlin in close making for some exciting action for those smaller trailer boats and light tackle fishos. The best method to target these fish is to find bait balled up, and drop live bridlerigged slimy mackerel down to them, or slow troll

these same baits around in the area you are marking bait. Typical tackle is in the 15kg line range on your choice of spin or overhead. Be prepared for some awesome aerial action and some lengthy battles, just like first time marlin anglers Anton and Adrian (pictured) experienced aboard Coffs Harbour’s Don Cummings trailer boat recently. Until next month, cast like there is no tomorrow and retrieve like you have all the time in the world.

T COAS S A

Sally and daughter Ruby enjoyed a great session targeting shallow water reds on plastics recently, landing quality fish on light gear.

If you are an avid mackerel fisho then now is the time to dust off your gear. Some quality fish have already shown up in

2021

A nice snapper caught by Randel Gibb.

the 20-80m range have been very productive for bottom fish such as snapper, pearl perch and tuskfish. A mixed offering of both pilchards and squid on a paternoster rig are sure to produce the goods. If you can collect some fresh baits such as bonito, mullet and even slimy mackerel these also make excellent strip baits for reef fishing. In a little closer and shallower (10-20m reefs) I have found a single small ball sinker and a single hook with a nice fresh slab of bait drifted down is accounting for some very nice snapper. If lure fishing is more your scene, then slow pitch metal jigs are working very well on these deeper fish. Another great option is a heavily weighted curly tail type soft plastic such as the Berkley Gulp Nemesis or Jigging Shrimp dropped to fish holding near the bottom. In the shallow water the snapper are still actively taking an array of wellpresented soft plastics early in the morning and late in the evening. My wife

chase mangrove jacks and giant trevally up our creeks and rivers. At this time of year, lures get them really fired up, and 3-4” paddle-tail soft plastics and hardbodied jerkbaits both work well. The jacks and GTs even like a similar-sized topwater lure presented in around a snag. Further upstream the bass and bream are still happily taking topwater lures. The cicadas are buzzing in the trees so cicada imitations are a good option at this time of year. They are hard for any bream or bass to refuse when presented up in the shade of an overhanging tree at any time of the day. Once your lure lands, leave it to sit still for 10 seconds, then give it a little jiggle, trying not to move it too far, followed by another pause. If this does not get a bite, retrieve, and repeat. It is a simple and effective method, and it works well at this time of the year up above the gravel beds towards the freshwater. Offshore, the reefs in

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NSW

Flatty fishing fun THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

The new year is now in full swing and hopefully you have still got time for a fish. February can be exceptional, with lots of opportunities to catch the quality fish that are around at this time of year, and in this column I would like to talk about flathead. There are some good flathead to be caught in the Hastings, and there are a few sportfishing techniques that can get you onto the

bigger fish. A lot of anglers now are clued-up on the need to release big female flathead, and it’s great to see more people catching the fish of their dreams, taking some quick pics, and then releasing it to ensure more great catches in future. OK, now let’s look at how to catch some fish this month. Big lures, skinny water. Easy, hey? Well, not always, but there are some things you can do to increase your chances of success. If you are just getting into this method, try locations that are less than a metre deep,

and a lot of times half that! Don’t look for the deepest part of the river. If you have flats where you get a lot of mullet, whiting and bream, then you are in the right area. In the Hastings there are plenty of good areas such as Pelican Island, Big Bay, Limeburners, the back channel and Maria River. These locations have all produced big flathead. Some of the lures we use are too big for standard gear, and swimbait rods are necessary. Big glidebaits can be tiresome on these but they do account for some true crocodiles. On these

Keep casting – the big fish are in the shallows, as Mandy found out. down or explode onto your lure you will know what the fuss is about. There are quite a few ways to fish glidebaits. One

of my favourites is casting up onto the shallowest spot, pausing the lure for a bit then rolling it out a metre or two. The lures tend to turn back,

Nothing compares to a surface hit in a foot of water. Stay calm if you can.

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rods we run 10kg braid and 12kg leader as you do not want to cast them off! Fortunately there are now a lot of reasonable sized lures you can cast on your 4-7kg mulloway gear, which are still bigger lures but not as heavy. The 130-160 sizes glide and surface lures fit the bill nicely and can be fished a lot more comfortably for longer periods. Just remember this style of fishing is very exciting but when chasing big fish with big lures it can also take a lot of casts. Stay focused, because when you finally see a monster fish chase

You have to love spending time casting glidebaits and surface lures for these fish.

and then I pause and keep my eye on it, and repeat back to the boat or bank if wading. Slow rolling has caught fish for us but mostly have hit on the pause or when we first move the lure. The action on these is unreal. This kind of fishing is very visual and I remember on one occasion with a client we had a big girl come up to the lure on the pause and circle it, and when the fish got in front of the lure I said “twitch it” – and all hell broke loose! Water went everywhere but unfortunately it didn’t hook up, which can be a problem – and even more so with surface lures. On the bigger Bent Minnows I run a heavier assist hook, to try to improve the hook-up ratio, but it’s still lower than the hook-up rates you get with sub-surface lures. These fish can be clumsy eaters on the surface; some days you don’t miss, while on other days there are lots of boils with no hook-ups. Something to work on. Big plastics also work well in these locations and flathead do love them. Big 6-12” plastics rigged on unweighted hooks have caught plenty of them, and bigger jerkbaits can also can get unbelievable results. Check them out guys – do some YouTube homework and get on the flats for some adrenaline-fuelled strikes!

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Releasing big females is a great way to ensure there will be plenty more to catch in the future.

NSW

Warm currents bring pelagics FORSTER

Luke Austin

Forster-Tuncurry has been insanely busy over the past two months and I think it’s safe to say that the local anglers and waterways are enjoying a bit of quiet time! For many, February is one of the most exciting times of the year to be on the water because we are still enjoying some very nice weather, and there are loads of fish about. Even more exciting is the fact that the nice warm currents really start to hit our coast this month, bringing all sorts of pelagic goodies with them. Fishing our beautiful estuary at the end of summer can be very successful. The range of species is huge, the water is

Shallow water reds can be great fun this month.

There have been plenty of school mulloway about in recent weeks. warm and there’s loads of baitfish and prawns about. This generally translates into active, hungry fish. Flathead have slowed a little now (their activity and numbers peak in January) but there are still loads of fish down towards the mouth of the system. Drifting Tuncurry Channel from the bridge through to the Fisherman’s Co-op is a very easy way to get among them, and 3-4” soft plastics, soft vibes and baits of prawn, whitebait, pilchard and herring will all work well. For those wishing to target a big trophy flathead, there have been some really nice fish up in the shallows which have been taking large surface lures, unweighted plastics and Bent Minnows. The local bream have been on the move in recent weeks, and we are seeing more and more settling on the rock walls every day as they start to think about the

annual spawning activity that will begin over the next two months. The break walls, bridge pylons and oyster leases in and around The Paddock are all fishing really well at the moment, with most fish falling for baits of mullet, whitebait, slimy mackerel, squid and yabbies. For the light tackle lure lovers, Ecogear Aqua Prawns, Gulp Crabbys and small grubs will also work a treat. On the whiting front, the trumpeter whiting that have been about in good numbers for the past few months have finally started to thin right out. This is normal for this time of the year and by now most anglers have well and truly shifted their focus to other species. The trumpeter’s

bigger relative, the sand whiting, have been biting well, with plenty of good fish up on the sand flats happy to belt a wellpresented stickbait or popper. Fishing with beach worms or yabbies down around the bridge has also been a very easy way to get a few nice fish. The local beaches are great at this time of the year. You are almost always guaranteed to get a good little bag of whiting, dart, bream and flathead. Flathead have been a bit of a surprise package off the beach lately; there have been loads of fish sitting on 9 Mile Beach close to the rock wall and they have been taking metal and soft vibes readily. The bigger beaches are holding the odd mulloway, with school sized fish being reported from the northern end of 9 Mile Beach, 7 Mile Beach and Diamond Beach. Rock fishing is very dependent on the weather at this time of year. If we see some unsettled conditions there will be loads of hungry bream, luderick and drummer about. On the flip side, if we get calm weather mixed in with the odd southerly we may see the first real pelagic action for the year with mac tuna, cobia, kingfish, marlin and possibly even the odd early season longtail tuna. Heading offshore this month is always fun because you never know what might turn up. There is absolutely everything on offer at the moment, from marlin and mahimahi to snapper and pearl perch. Pearlies have been really good lately on the deeper inshore patches of reef that sit in 55-80m, and the better quality fish seem

There are quality pelagic fish offshore at the moment. to be coming from down south where there have been plenty of pearlies up over 3kg. Heading north and fishing the shallow stuff (10-35m) has been dynamite for snapper using either soft plastics, soft vibes or lightly weighted baits. The FAD has been fairly consistent of late with plenty of legal mahimahi holding on it as well as the odd bigger model. To tempt the better fish, you definitely need to get out there nice and early (or late in the afternoon) with some live baits. Often putting a bait down on a downrigger will be the undoing of that

10kg+ class of fish, and you never know what you might find at this time of year with a few marlin spotted and more than a few bite-offs, which may well be mackerel or wahoo! • Luke is the owner of Great Lakes Tackle, your local bait and tackle store. They only sell the best brands and offer sound, friendly advice on where you can go to land your next trophy fish while visiting the wonderful Great Lakes region! They are open 7 days in the main street of Tuncurry, and you can contact them on 02 6554 9541 or find them on Facebook to see what they have been up to!

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NSW

The agony of choice PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

The thing I love about this time of year in Port Stephens is the endless fishing options, from the estuary to the shelf.

plastics or hardbodied lures around the edges where sand meets weed or rock. Flathead use the edges of these environments as ambush points to hunt their prey. A few of my favourite flathead lures are the Daiwa Double Clutch

effective on bream, especially if you have an electric motor so you can silently cover ground and find where they’re lurking. While mud crabs have been a bit tough, blue swimmers have been good from Tilligerry through to the Karuah River. There are also plenty of squid over the weed beds from around Little Beach, Shoal Bay and Barnes Rocks. The ocean beaches have been holding good whiting and bream too with Stockton to Fingal Bay producing. As always, live worms will often be the difference between coming home with a bucketful or bugger all. A few big mulloway

Chris Bougaz with a cracker topwater bream.

February is the best month for marlin, from inshore to beyond the shelf. In the bay, whiting are prevalent from Corlette through to Jimmys and Shoal Bay beaches. Light leaders, long shank hooks and live worms fished on the high tide is the recipe for success when it comes to these tasty critters. Dusky flathead also remain in great numbers in the bottom end of the system, from Soldiers Point down to the Heads. The best times are early in the morning or late in the afternoon, especially when high water corresponds with this time. Focus your efforts casting soft

Port Stephens Estuary Charters

hardbodies, Squidgy Biotough Wriggler and Pro lure Fishtail Minnows. Bream have been on the chew, taking both baits and lures. Live nippers cast along the Nelson Bay and anchorage rock walls have been producing quality bream over the 1kg mark, and there are even bigger ones in the oyster racks behind Soldiers Point and Garden Island. While you can use bait in these areas by way of lightly casted live nippers, lures will also work well. Small hardbodied crank style lures are extremely

687 Contact Paul Lennon :0434370 mail.com email: paul.lennon.fishing@g

fishportstephensestuarycharte @fish_portstephens

FEBRUARY 2021

The FAD has been holding plenty of small dolphinfish (mahimahi) as well as a few decent ones around 10kg, which are usually caught by fishing live baits a little deeper under the school. It pays to be the first boat there, too. Excellent numbers of trag are holding on the inshore reefs, with Gibber, 21 and Vee all producing. Snapper and morwong are also about on those same reefs, so you should get a good mixed bag of quality table fish. Snapper are also spread over the shallow reefs in less then 20m of water, with low light periods by far the most productive. Fish either plastics or unweighted baits around Little Island, Broughton all the way up Mungo and the lure-only zoning around Edith Breakers.

Fishing pressure will ease SWANSEA

Jason Nunn

There are a lot of options offshore at the moment, with warm water pushing down out wide, reaching

ens estuary system the beautiful Port Steph signed g charter that can be de with a calm water fishin family bait fishing to to suit your needs from hing anglers. hardcore lure and fly fis

rters.com www.fishportstephensestuarycha

Big dusky flathead like this 80cm model are patrolling the estuarine shallows.

have been caught this week from the southern end of Stockton Beach, with two fish I know of going over 20kg. Nighttime is the go if you’re chasing a mulloway, and you should use the very best bait you can, preferably something live such as a tailor or whiting. If you can’t get live baits, fresh squid or mullet fillets are still worth a shot. OFFSHORE Blue, black and striped marlin are getting caught in good numbers over the edge of the shelf, and there are plenty of blacks and odd stripe in closer. Keep an eye on Rip Charts to point you in the right direction as to where the best water is likely to be, then home in further once you’re in these areas, looking and working areas holding baitfish.

temperatures as high as 26°C. This has resulted in a lot of mahimahi (dolphinfish) moving down, and there have been some very nice fish caught recently, with models up to 25kg. Although the mahimahi like the hot water, the striped marlin aren’t as keen on it. To avoid it the stripies are sitting off the edge of the shelf in cooler water, holing up in around that Farm/Texas area where the water temps are around 22-23°C. The great news is that in recent weeks there has been an inshore bite so the guys in small trailer boats have been able to get out and catch a marlin for the first time, only 3 miles out. If you haven’t caught a marlin before, I recommend 15-24kg line and trolling smaller skirts anywhere from 6”-10” on that inshore bite. There are

a lot of slimy mackerel at the moment in anywhere from 30-100m of water, and they’re not overly big. If you try to match your lure to these slimies, you should be in with a good chance. There should be more mahimahi on the FAD this month. There haven’t been many big ones as yet, but with the amount of mahimahi out on the shelf, February should be a good month for catching them on the closer reefs. When it comes to bottom fishing, the action offshore has been a little bit up and down because we haven’t had the benefit of getting that really warm water in on the coast. Anglers are still getting bonito on inshore reefs and around Moon Island, and we are starting to see a few reds getting caught on the shallower reefs along with a few trag, which is a sign

that things are improving. Most of us are hoping that we’ll start to get a bit of blue water in closer soon; at the moment it’s greenish and not as clear as we’d like. That first push of blue water on the inshore reefs will trigger a spike in catches of trag, mulloway and so forth. If you want to fish offshore on the drift there are plenty of flathead to be had. Most guys have just been drifting in 30-40m of water with paternoster rigs. If you use a running sinker the bait can sometimes get tangled with the line, so a paternoster is often better, keeping your bait clear of the bottom. Good baits include pillies, squid and strip baits. The beaches have been fishing really well, particularly for whiting. To page 63

NSW

Fewer tourists, better fishing CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

So far this summer has been quite different to the previous one, with no shortage of rain and temperatures generally

even more. Sadly my plans went pear-shaped and after only an hour I had no choice but to pull the pin and head home. This pretty much sums up fishing this summer. Yes, it has been good at times, but not always!

there’s also the chance of a jewfish (mulloway) when fishing Brisbane Waters. INSHORE PELAGICS Warmer currents, more baitfish and predatory species ranging from frigate mackerel to marlin are on the cards for those

The rocks below Norah Head lighthouse should be worth fishing this month, with bonito, kingfish and tailor all taking lures. The same applies to South Avoca, Terrigal, Wybung Head and both sides of Catherine Hill Bay. much more comfortable. Although rainfall tends to give fishing a boost overall, which is certainly a good thing, weather patterns have also been a bit more unstable this season so it hasn’t always been easy to get out when you’d like. Just prior to typing this, I enjoyed a nice morning on the lake in the kayak, with lots of bream and a couple of flathead coming aboard. So the following morning I launched at the same place, hoping to repeat the fun. Unfortunately a predicted southerly change came a lot sooner than expected, making fishing from the kayak near impossible. I persisted just long enough for it to start raining and then the wind picked up From page 62

We have had some really solid reports from Blacksmiths, Belmont and also Redhead. There have been a few bream around too, and in the late afternoon anglers have been kept busy with a few tailor and salmon. Some of the tailor have been up around 60cm, so there are some solid fish about. The channels are looking good, with the boat traffic improving after the holidays. Flathead catches are tapering off but there are still plenty of whiting and bream on the sand flats – and of course the real news around here has been the amount of

Weather aside, let’s take a look now at what we could expect as we move through February. While on the subject of our local lakes, bream have been about in good numbers. Mainly small, with a few solid fish thrown in the mix. Generally February is a better month than January and there are also fewer boats zooming around, so chasing a few bream from your kayak, boat or from the shore should be productive. Closer to the mouth at The Entrance, whiting and flathead are also very much worth chasing this month, and it’s a similar story throughout the lower reaches of Brisbane Waters. And of course, kings getting caught in the lake. We are seeing some beautiful kingfish getting caught on live baits, mostly live squid. February is a great much for squidding because they’re getting ready to spawn, gathering in numbers to lay their eggs, and they will be plentiful all the way through to April. In the lake I recommend using small 1.5-2.0 squid jigs rigged on a 2-hook paternoster (or with a small weight on top of the jig to get it down a bit quicker). Try to have both a fluoro jig and a natural colour jig on your paternoster rig, to cover both bases. Some anglers are still getting blue swimmer crabs,

heading out in a boat or fishing from our more prominent headlands. Each season is a bit different, but the more likely inshore predators zooming around our rock ledges are bonito, rat kingfish and tailor. The better numbers of the same species may be encountered over inshore reef areas and spots like the Bull at Norah Head. Generally speaking, the further offshore you go, the greater your chances of running into marlin, but they can still show up close in. Each year the odd marlin surprises someone fishing off the rocks or within a few kilometres from shore, so it pays to be prepared, especially if you’re live baiting. As always, remember to keep an eye on marine weather forecasts and east coast ocean current maps via apps or websites, and keep an ear out for fishing news from mates or social media. Just be sure to take social media posts with a grain of salt though, as things aren’t always as they seem!

Bream have been plentiful around the lakes this summer and the action should only get better this month. They’ll be taking a variety of baits, lures and flies, so choose your weapons and get amongst them. BEACH BONANZA The Central Coast is blessed with some of the most productive beach

Now that the holiday crowds are thinning out it should get a bit easier to pick up a few flathead around The Entrance, Woy Woy or Ettalong. but your best bet is to wait until we get closer to Easter. At this time the male crabs will be in better condition. Finally, a word of warning about navigating the channel. Please navigate at a safe speed – say, 10-15 knots – when there is a lot of traffic on the water. I saw some crazy things during the holidays, including a jetski towing a skier up the main navigational part of the channel doing 30-40 knots. If someone loses control of their jetski or boat at that speed, it becomes a deadly missile. Hopefully the authorities will implement a speed limit there in future, before any lives are lost. • 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 competitivelypriced 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.

fishing on the east coast, and the following few months are when it really shines. So far this summer I’ve seen a mix of tailor, salmon, bream, whiting, flathead and jewies, along with a few ring-ins like

sharks and rays. With water temps peaking about now, one of the beasts that often takes baits intended for jewfish is the eagle ray. These things really turn on some power, and if anything is likely to spool you at the beach it’s probably going to be a big eagle ray. I had one completely spool me at Soldiers Beach and I fought another at North Entrance which I managed to get into the shore dump, but my arms felt like jelly for a week afterwards. These rays sure do pack a punch. Still, I’ve learnt over the years that you should never be too confident about what species is on the end of your line until you actually see it. A foul hooked jewie, stray kingfish or decent cobia could also rip out line in a similar fashion to a pumped-up eagle ray. Aside from that, I would be aiming for tailor around dawn and dusk, bream and whiting through the day and jewfish at night. As always, be sure to use top quality baits like fresh mullet, tailor or squid and fish the tide changes for jewies, especially the top of the tide.

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NSW

So many fish, so little time: pelagics on the chew ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke

‘So many fish, so little time’ was on a T-shirt I once owned, and whoever thought of the slogan probably thought of it in February – there are just so many fishing options available this month that you don’t know where to go first. The hot water is here and all the pelagics that

the big boys. On the subject of apex predators, this month is peak time for marlin along this area of coastline and pretty much the whole of NSW. They are always on the top of the list for sport and game fishos everywhere, and the blacks are from just offshore to the shelf and beyond so you’re in with a chance no matter where you are. You can tow skirts around all day and hope you

can be over 300kg. Closer inshore it’s a bit of a lottery. If the currents have been good to us, cobia, rainbow runners, and spotted and narrowbarred Spanish mackerel can all make an appearance. It’s rare to hook a bigger mackerel though, and even rarer to land one. When a big mackerel snips off a hook and livie, most anglers blame it on a shark. The smaller spotties will often show up late this

There will always be the odd big, bait-stealing mac tuna in the mix when you’re chasing other species.

February is the best month for black marlin off the Illawarra coast. come with it are on the chew all along the coast. The first to really get cracking will be the dolphinfish (mahimahi). They have been here for a while but this month they really hit their straps, with fish of varying sizes all along the coast. Most are targeted on the Fisheries FADs and various other FADs that are about, but the good old random floating object generally fishes better than any of these. That’s because flotsam doesn’t get hammered day in and day out, so the fish beneath them are generally fearless. Large logs, pallets, lost commercial floats and ropes are great, but pretty much any object is worth a look, and the further offshore the better. These floating objects can become mini ecosystems, with a range of species potentially finding shelter beneath. Striped tuna, yellowfin tuna of various sizes, wahoo and the apex predators like sharks and marlin will always be present if there are a few fish holding on any object. Any live baits tossed in will be smashed by the dollies, but if you put out a live dolphinfish it will usually get nailed by 64

FEBRUARY 2021

score a strike or two, or you can grab a few live baits and head to the recognised spots like Bandit and Wollongong reef, the Trap Reef, out around the FADs or the southeast grounds off Shellharbour. You can slow troll your livies, anchor or just drift around while chasing other species – just be sure to keep that live bait out wherever you go. If there are any billies about they will find it. Whether you catch a marlin or not, its jumps and tail walks are always great value, never the same and something you will never forget. Like everything, it is so much better live than on the television. If you do troll skirts, always keep a few smaller ones out in the spread as there’s the chance of a sailfish when the water is hot, and they prefer the smaller lures. At this time of year you can also score plenty of striped tuna, small yellowfin and (if they don’t snip you off) wahoo, so there is an upside to lures. Out around the shelf there will be big blue marlin and the odd striped. Trolling big lures to cover more water is the main option, along with heavy tackle because these guys

month, and a few fish are typically caught at this time of year by anglers whose pillies meant for snapper are getting cut off. Thinking the culprit is a big tailor, these anglers add a little wire, and their next hook-up results in the fastest tailor they have ever hooked – a spotty. Cobia are generally picked up by anglers fishing live baits for yellowtail kings because cobia like the same sort of underwater structure, but a few grab snapper baits and are landed in the right country. Kings have been about in most of the regular haunts, and they have shown a liking for live squid and slimy mackerel down rigged. Fish to 15kg are about, but most fish are well under 10kg. They are fat, as there have been plenty of baitfish about. The warm currents don’t just bring the big northern visitors but the smaller ones too. Bonito, mackerel tuna and frigate mackerel are on the hunt, along with the usual salmon, tailor, trevally and rat kings thrown in. All are making a meal of the abundance of small baitfish all along the coast

– just look for the birds and frothing water. The big fish may be great to catch but there are heaps more smaller pelagics, so if the big ones are quiet you can have fun on the littlies. On the rocks it is all action as well, with the bonito, salmon, mackerel tuna, frigates and trevally all grabbing lures and pilchards on the deeper ledges. The northern side of Bass Point after a northeaster is always good and, if you like crowds, Hill 60 will produce as well. Kings are patrolling the deep shelves around Kiama early in the morning, with this month a real chance of a marlin off the deeper spots in the same area. We may even see a few longtails at the end of the month. Don’t forget the fun in the harbours, where small lures are catching frigate mackerel as they zip in and out looking for small baitfish. Bellambi will be standing room only, Wollongong is always good, as is Port Kembla and the front of Kiama harbour produces as well. If you are down there in the evenings there are heaps of squid about as well for tucker or bait. On the beaches it is all go as well, with whiting on all beaches mixed with a few dart, bream and the ever-present salmon and that’s only if you are using beach worms for bait. You can throw in some nice flathead and tailor if you use lures or pilchards, and the mulloway have been about in good numbers for those who pursue them, with plenty of schoolies and few better fish as well. The lake and Minnamurra are at their best over the coming weeks as the flathead

take advantage of all the prawns and baitfish filling the estuaries. Prawnlike plastics are the most popular option, but just about any plastic will score fish at the moment. Whiting are taking nippers and worms if you want a feed, but if you want a bit of excitement, poppers have been pulling a few fish as well now that the holiday traffic has slowed a bit. Bream are around the bridges in both systems in the evenings, and you may even score a small

mangrove jack if you are very lucky and using live prawns or poddies for bait. A few mulloway have been spotted around the lake bridge but you have to be lucky and have some inside info to getting any results here. Alternatively, you could put in the hours with live baits on the lake break walls, as the mulloway have to go past to get in and out. Finally, the prawns and crabs in the lake will be on the boil for a while yet. Good luck.

Throwing plastics into the beach gutters can be rewarding. This flatty went over 80cm.

NSW

Off to a good start BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

2020 may have been a very bad year for most, but the fishing was a very different story – it was on fire, with yellowfin tuna being the headliner for the year. The south coast is known worldwide for its striped marlin fishery, and at the moment we are experiencing a good marlin season. January 2021 started with a bang with a solid run of marlin, and to our surprise there still lingered some massive yellowfin tuna. A couple of boats reported being hooked up for 2-3 hours and getting the fish close to boat-side only to lose them. Both fish were estimated to be over 70kg. These are massive tuna for January during marlin season, something that used to happen decades ago. It’s easy to think this is just a flash in the pan or some freaky short-lived visit, but fingers crossed the south coast is home to migrating yellowfin tuna like the old days, where the visiting numbers were in greater masses. Offshore it just hasn’t been marlin and big yellowfin tuna, but also dolphinfish (mahimahi), which are in good numbers. The FADs are holding them, and these fish will also show up in your spread when you’re chasing marlin, or come streaming past you as you navigate the seas. And if you see some floating debris or any

structure of any type, it’s worth investigating to see whether there are dollies underneath. Kings are another species that summer delivers, and they have been in numbers up and down the coast, although mainly massive schools of rats. Some bigger kings have been lurking amongst the smaller ones, and as usual the best known places for bigger kings are around the grounds of Jervis and Montague. Inshore reefs have been quite consistent for over 12 months now and are still producing. The snapper run continues, and there are some good gummy and school sharks sharing the depths. Some makos are around too, and small makos get around the inshore grounds throughout summer. There are also good patches of flathead once you look around. The beaches in summer mean whiting, and there are a few places that have these guys schooling up and down the beaches and in the lake and river systems. Catches of salmon and tailor are also being reported – you just have to be on the right beach at the right time, and the same goes for mulloway. They are kicking about, it just comes down to location, timing and fresh bait. Jem Abbot knows this and is pictured with his recent 1.2m model from a local beach. Summer is the estuaries’ time to shine, and they certainly are. There are plenty of big bream

around the oyster racks and flatties over the sand, and mulloway are being targeted during the night. Estuary perch are going off upstream and bass are going great guns further up. Crabs and prawns have been steady this summer, with prawns probably being the better option so far. EVOLUTION OF MARLIN FISHING Fishing for marlin is my favourite form of fishing; coming up close and personal with these majestic creatures is quite an experience, coupled with being out on the big blue far away from the world’s troubles, bathing in what the ocean has on offer. Looking back over the past 100 years or so, nothing much has changed in catching marlin. The two most well-known names who ran lures for marlin were Zane Grey and writer Ernest Hemmingway in the early 1900s. Since then there were a handful of marlin gurus who finetuned marlin lures in the 1950s, and all modern marlin lures evolved from these early designs. Bomboy Llanes, Marlin Parker, Gary Eoff, Frank Johnson, Peter Wright, Jeff Fay, Jim Kress, Steve Coggin, Bart Miller, Gene Vander, Joe Yee, Bob Schneider and our own Peter Pakula provided the inspiration for today’s marlin lures. To this day, I belive Mold Craft lures are still one of the best, as well as Marlin Magic, Coggin and Black Bart. Local lure maker Dave Venn from Huskisson

Jem Abbot with his 1.2m mulloway from the beach.

Andrew Klapsis shows off his cracker 59cm snapper, taken on 4kg tackle. started testing and designing lures in the late 1980s made by Dave Harrison and Mitch Green, and then Dave Venn took over production and increased the range of what is now known as JB lures. Other great local talents include Frantic and Jett lures. One thing that has changed around these marlin lures is the rigging and line weights. Line these days has become much lighter and with the introduction of much harder wearing and more invisible fluorocarbon, the line leader for lures ranges from 150-300lb. The advantages of thinner line is that it’s less visible, and the thicker line is able to leader the fish more aggressively. Gone are the days of running 400-600lb line unless you are chasing massive blue or black marlin. As time has gone on, live baiting and skip baiting has increased hook-up rates, with the use of thinner, harder line and circle hooks. We all know how many marlin are hooked and dropped in our earlier days using lures, and once we adopted taking the steps at rigging a bait, the hook-up rate increased massively. Sowing and stitching up baits in the early days were more complicated and time consuming compared to the more simplified way it’s done today. After the success of a simplified method of live, skip and switch-baiting it has now become the only way to go! We still haven’t stopped using lures though, and we love their pretty colours. There’s a place for everything and it can be a good way to start and get out there amongst it. What has improved the old lures are the thinner, lighter gauge hooks that

are now available, which fishos have taken a while to adopt as they can’t believe something so thin can hold up without being straightened. Well, they can be, but the important thing to remember is that these hooks are so prickly and thin they get the hook set better, and then it’s up to the drag setting, the angler and the driver of the boat to get on top of the fish until it’s boat-side, and then the fish can be easily cracked off by the trace man with applied pressure and straighten the hook for release. It comes down to knowing your gear and knowing how to fish it. Game fishing can be very expensive if you want it to be, but you can avoid thousands of dollars as there are plenty of rods that will handle marlin, and there are reels that don’t cost a fortune that will hold up and have the line capacity to endure a marlin fight. Having said

that, there will always be that fish that will tear you a new one and leave you holding your gear with your jaw on the deck, and there’s nothing you can do, but that happens with all species. It’s nice have good expensive gear but there are plenty of cheaper rods you can switch-bait with, and there are reels now in the $200-$300 range that will do the job. It all comes down to the angler in the end and how you can operate the equipment – just ask the guys breaking records catching marlin with 4kg to 8kg line. Know the equipment and use it appropriately. • 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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An abundance of food BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Out on the ocean there is an abundance of baitfish in the form of slimy, jack or frigate mackerel, all of which are on the menu for pelagic species like marlin, tuna, sharks or dolphinfish (mahimahi). These fish will feast

when these baitfish are on offer, which also gives us anglers a chance to take advantage of some exciting angling. In the estuaries the abundant food sources available are in the form of small bait fishlike mullet or herring while nippers, squirt worms, shrimp and prawns are very much at the top of the food chain for most estuarine fish

species. Wallaga Lake especially at present is full of small prawns so it’s not hard to guess where we should be fishing. Out at sea, marlin are around in numbers, even coming reasonably close to shore. The schools of baitfish gathering in areas like the Four- and Six-Mile Reefs are attracting small black marlin that have been filtering down the east

A lovely 46cm luderick caught on a worm bait out of Wallaga Lake.

Wallaga Lake is full of squirt worms, and the luderick just love them.

coast of NSW this season, and coming in range of the small boat angler using light tackle. The marlin may take a lure trolled out the back but your best chance of success is to ‘match the hatch’ and use the live bait they are feeding on. Further afield, out on the Twelve Mile Reef over the Continental Shelf and beyond, there are striped and blue marlin. These fish are best targeted with lures or teasers attracting them within range for switch baiting. Switching works very well on striped marlin, while for the blues a spread

of lures out over the 1000 fathoms may leave you attached to a fish that will take hours to subdue. Now is also the time for kingfish, where at Montague Island they are definitely on the chew. They are reacting well to live baits and jigs, while on certain occasions fresh squid strips may out-fish the others. Bonito are also mixing with the kingies, as are other small tuna like stripies and frigate mackerel. For those who like to fish the reefs or on the bottom, offshore could not have it better, with most

areas close to Bermagui producing. It is easy to venture out to around 30-40m of water to acquire a good feed of succulent tiger or sand flathead. Throw in the occasional gummy shark or red gurnard, and the start of the fish platter begins. Move to the reefs where snapper, pigfish, morwong, perch or leatherjacket are only too assessable, and you have everything you need to cook a meal fit for a king – or at least your mates and family. Back on shore, if you are fishing the stones you can

Back to school means back to good fishing TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

For those who haven’t finished their education it’s back to school, and

So where should we be targeting? At this time of year the warm water will push right into the coast and so will the predators. Land-based fishing is at its prime and a host of different species

the time to start at looking to drift live baits out under balloons just to see who might be visiting the area. You can encounter anything from tuna to sharks, kingfish and salmon, and there’s also the possibility of a marlin.

and baits. On the flats, whiting are on the move with some very nice fish being taken on worms and nippers, and mixed in are a few good bream, flounder and blackfish. Some of the deeper holes around the bridge and rock walls have produced the odd jewfish (mulloway), mostly taken at night on strips of tailor or live mullet, although a few have been caught in the daylight hours on lures. Down towards the entrance you can also try your luck at prawning at

night. The river has been one of the best areas this year with prawns now at a very good size. If you intend to use some as bait, place them in a bucket with wet seagrass over them and use them fresh the next day. Nelsons Lagoon, only a few minutes north of Tathra, is well worth a look. This picturesque little tidal estuary has been producing excellent results for anglers wading with both baits and lures. Most species will be encountered here and it’s a great place to take the family for a day out.

Back into the river and further upstream, bream, flathead and some very nice estuary perch have kept luring anglers entertained. The fish are scattered throughout the system so there is no particular area fishing well. Basically, if it looks good, go and fish it. Brogo River runs into the Bega River system and at the head of it is Brogo Dam, stocked with bass. It has been a great year to fish for them with fish up to 40cm not uncommon. Fish for them as you choose but look for those lovely balmy

Mixed bags are a favourite with kids of all ages in the Tathra area. for the rest of us it’s back to some of the greatest fishing that’s on offer all year. From bass to marlin and everything in between, this is the time of year when all anglers should be looking at taking days off and going fishing. 66

FEBRUARY 2021

may be caught from the rock platforms that surround Tathra and the Old Wharf jutting out over the ocean. The wharf is very popular during the holidays, and it still produces outside these times with a lot less anglers vying for positions. This is

All of these species can be accessed from this fine old structure. Wondering into the estuaries, the Bega River is all fired up and hot to trot. Anglers are enjoying great flathead fishing towards the entrance on both lures

Silver trevally are great fun from the rocks, wharf and in the estuaries.

NSW

expect some pelagic action along the coast. Schools of salmon, tailor, kingfish or bonito are coming in range of the shore-based angler, and a well-presented bait or cast lure may gain the desired result. Early mornings are often the best for this, giving you a better chance of catching fish, which are often more active before any wind. Not to be outdone, the beaches offer a lot at all hours of the day. During the daylight hours you can expect those warm water species like whiting, bream or mullet, which can be caught on beach worms, while passing schools of salmon may take a liking to a fresh fish bait or lure. Of a night expect some of the larger fish to become active like jewfish, tailor or sharks in the form of whalers and gummies. Some of the best fishing anglers can have at this time of year is in one of our many estuaries in and around Bermagui. At this time of year, the waters throughout the systems are warm and fish can be found all through them. However, you wish to fish them whether it is lure or bait expect good captures. Estuary species like bream, whiting, luderick, mullet or garfish are a certainty

over the flats where these fish are only too willing to take a well-presented bait like nippers, prawns or worms. This is often achieved by sight fishing adding a further excitement to how you catch them. Add to them some of the

best like flathead, flounder, tailor and many more which are all feasting on many of the rich food sources available at present at this time of year and it is happy angling for all this is what happens when all the waters are warm.

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It’s well worth pumping nippers in Wallaga, because they are a prime bream bait.

Try fishing the sand flats covered in nipper holes. Whiting just can’t resist them! nights when the insect life is very active and surface fishing is at it’s best. Out to sea, warm currents have brought a host of gamefish following schools of baitfish. Marlin are definitely on most fishos’ hit list, and at this time of year these fish will come within range of even the smallest boats. Lures are probably the easiest way to cover ground to find concentrations of gamefish. Find the bait schools, and work them over with lures in conjunction with your sounder looking for larger fish shadowing the schools.

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Quite often there may be predator fish around the bait, although not feeding, so persist by staying with them until the bite happens. A variety of tuna, sharks, dolphinfish (mahimahi) and kingfish should be in the same vicinity as the marlin and will also respond to a well-set lure pattern. The sharks aren’t a lure target, but they definitely respond well to burley and live baits. Hammerheads in particular are very partial to a live trolled striped tuna. Reef and bottom fishers are catching a great variety of table fish, and whether

you go north, south or straight out the front, you should get a reasonable feed with out too much effort. Snapper and morwong are the most targeted species whilst bottom fishing, however the variety you may achieve might surprise you. For a bit of fun, try using a light spin outfit with braided line and drop some soft plastic jigs around the headlands, as it can be extremely exciting. Flathead are also in good numbers at present, and anglers should have little trouble gaining a feed from the more popular grounds.

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FEBRUARY 2021

NSW

It’s time to go deep! HUNTER VALLEY

Nick Price

When the sun is up in February both the ambient air temperature and water temperature are hot! Humans go for the shade and the fish go deep. The lakes have a thermocline

These deep bass are fun to catch, and many anglers refer to it as computer game fishing. A decent sounder is a must. Look for fish in the 30-60ft range, either scattered fish or schools. Once found the fish will generally school under the boat. When you are looking for fish, move just off or

Aberdeen Fishing team member Jarred with a nice fish caught deep on a jig. where there is a distinct temperature differential between warmer and cooler water. Once the sun is up bass will be found under the thermocline in this cooler water. Before the sun comes up bass will still be caught on the surface during February. We like to throw a cicadastyle lure or something a bit noisy; generally the bass will take one or the other. However, once that sun is in the sky the fish will be deep.

above timber and usually you’ll find your quarry. When targeting these deep fish use a 2-3” curly tail grub matched to a 1/8-1/4oz jighead. Use as small a jighead as conditions allow. This is because bass often hit a plastic on the drop, and a heavy jighead punches the plastic down too fast and you will have fewer fish interested on the drop. Presentation is the key to deep fishing. Make sure the curly tail is on straight, cut

the tail back so the plastic can be worked slowly, and match it to an appropriate jighead. It is important to use a very sensitive, soft rod. This is very important, so if in doubt come in and ask us. A rod that is too heavy or has the wrong action will reduce your hook-up rates considerably. Set the sensitivity high on your sounder so you can see your lure. It is then a matter of dropping the curly tail down in front of the fish and slowly winding up through the fish. If your sounder is set up correctly you will be able to watch the fish react to your lure. On traditional downscan the fish can be seen as a line moving up to your lure. With the latest technology, such as the Garmin Livescope Panoptix system, you can actually watch the fish swim up and hopefully take the lure. If the fish swims to the lure but does not strike, try varying your retrieve. This may include pausing and shaking the plastic, dead sticking or even winding backwards! Skirted jigs are another proven fish catcher at this time, and you should fish the jigs deep with your favourite trailer. The trick with skirted jigs at this time is a shake followed by a long pause, and you need to exercise patience. Again, fish in 30-60ft of water around timber or other structure. Use your sounder to find out at what depth the fish are comfortable at and are holding, and then fish at this depth. Fish the jig on the bottom and don’t forget the long pause. Bass and yellowbelly will still be caught on bait during February. Find a tree in the appropriate depth and drop your worm or yabby down. The trick is to move regularly. If you have not caught a fish in 20

Local identity Les Donne with a surface-caught Glenbawn bass. 68

FEBRUARY 2021

Fishing competitions are a great way to learn new techniques and meet like-minded people. minutes, move trees. UPCOMING COMPS February is the start of the fishing competitions. It looks as though there will be plenty of competitions to be involved in, both at Glenbawn and St Clair in 2021. Competitions are a great way to meet likeminded people and learn new fishing techniques. ABT is holding their Glenbawn tournament in March. The tournament has a non-boater section where the non-boater is matched to a pro. Both anglers fish

together on the pro’s boat and fish as a team. This is a great way to learn new techniques and meet great people who love fishing. Family Bassin kicks off in February in an expanded format. These are also very friendly competitions where all involved meet regularly for a fish and a laugh. Again, I highly recommend these competitions. There have been reports of people doing the wrong thing on both Glenbawn and St Clair and catching fish in nets or keeping too many

fish. Please keep an eye out for anything suspicious and report any activity to the local Fisheries Officer at Tamworth, or alternatively if you let us know in the shop at Aberdeen we can let the appropriate authorities know so this practice can be stamped out. If you are heading to Glenbawn or St Clair make sure you drop in to the shop at Aberdeen and say g’day. We carry everything you need for chasing bass and can help you with techniques and where to find fish.

The rush after the flush NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

With the Gwydir River reported to have over 30,000ML/day flow through the system for over 24 hours straight last month, I think it is fair to say the New England area has finally received some much-needed rainfall. And with more wet weather predicted, hopefully there is still much more water to come. Both Copeton and Pindari dams started filling rapidly with heavy showers falling in the headwaters above, however with block releases also happening downstream at around the same time, the dam levels are sitting at a similar level to last month’s report – 15% of their capacity. Although the dams have not risen much from the amount of water we have received, the rivers – both above and below the impoundments – have had a well-needed flush of all the weeds and debris that have built up over the drought period. Although this usually makes for some pretty tough fishing while the rivers are in peak, when the rivers start to subside days or even hours after

Spinnerbaits can be very productive at finding active fish when worked deeper in the water column. the flush, the fishing opportunities can be well worth the wait. At this time of year with the heat around, the most productive times to fish are during the low-light hours, into the night or even later on in the morning before the heat of the day settles

in. This is especially beneficial during the school holidays, as it allows you to avoid the heavy boating traffic that seems to shut down the fish more than normal boating pressure does. In saying that, there To page 69

NSW

Time to dig deeper LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

If you want to catch a Lake Lyell ‘tree shaker’ bass this month, finesse fishing won’t cut the mustard. I’m glad they are such an infrequent capture; my tackle box would be a lot lighter if they were a dime a dozen. The same bass out wide and deep on the thermocline will require finesse fishing by a factor of five. It’s definitely a case of horses for courses.

The bite can vary but most times it’s like I’m trying to sneak the plastic through the school without wanting any of them to see it. As with most things in fishing, the opposite can be true so it does pay to experiment. Redfin are a constant hassle depending on how you see the whole deal, but they are worth wading through to get some bass. WHERE HAVE ALL THE BIG BROWNS GONE? So where are the big browns? Deeper water I suspect. Lake Lyell does have some cold, deep water

Wading through the redfin numbers at Lake Lyell, out wide and deep can be painful in the pursuit of bass, but the reddies are certainly good on the plate.

refuge layers for both brown and rainbow trout. The fish seem to spread out on the thermocline, preying no doubt on the hapless redfin hordes that can at times frequent this depth. As a point of interest, during the cooler months the frequency of seeing cruising brown trout in the shallows has definitely dropped off since the introduction of redfin. I’m not sure why this is so, although I have a few suspicions, none of which are backed by any solid science. Has the overwhelming competition for food resources in the shallows between brown trout and redfin changed habits? I suspect so, and adjusting as always will be key. I know one thing for sure, a lot of redfin will be getting eaten by those bigger brown trout. The humble yabby may have been pushed to the back of the plate, discarded like the veggies I fed to pot plants around the kitchen table back in the day. GET YOUR COD ON Plenty to like about the peaceful tranquillity of a large impoundment after

If you’re after a Lake Lyell ‘tree shaker’, you’re better off leaving the spiderweb thin leader in the rod locker. dark. Wyangala comes to mind. Gosh that place is busy these days. Night-time boat-based angling changes lots of things, not the least of which is the importance of using nav lights to make your existence known to others, and limiting your field of travel is also sensible. Do your homework during daylight hours, know your areas and for heaven’s sake get that bloody spotlight off me.

Depending on fishing pressure, bigger shallow cod are possible. I’ve nearly always got a big surface lure handy to get clipped on. Keep your powder dry – be patient and sneak in, because it’s way more about

all, modern sounders will do this) a good starting point is fishing structure where the thermocline hits the bank. Ken Smith gave me this tip many moons ago and it’s a beauty. Big oversized

From page 68

have still been some cracking fish being caught off the banks over the holiday period using various types of baits, from yabbies to chicken strips. These baits have accounted for many big Murray cod over the metre mark, proving that you don’t always need a boat to get out and have a good time on the water. Golden perch can also be actively targeted all throughout the day as well. Whether it is soaking a bait amongst the trees, hopping soft plastics or even trolling lipless crankbaits around the dam, there is still plenty of fun to be had during the month of February. Fishing the inlets where

You might have to dig a little deeper when it comes to catching cod during daylight hours this month. Chin weights are the bomb at getting swimbaits down at this time of year. stalking than fishing. If you hunt regularly you will get what I’m putting down. Daytime activities are generally deeper. If you’re fishing from a boat and have a sounder that picks up the thermocline (most, if not

spinnerbaits and chatterbaits are great for casting this depth of water. Trolling big deep diving hardbodies is also a great way to target such structure-orientated daytime cod. Just remember, drive the lure, not the boat!

Doesn’t get much better than this – a beautiful cod with a stunning New England sunset.

A chunky 90cm river cod taken on a noisy rattling crankbait while fishing out of the kayak.

water is flowing into the dam can be very effective after rain events and is always worth a look, especially when there is thick structure nearby. For the cod fishing, the two most productive techniques still seem to be throwing surface lures in the lower light periods as well as casting noisy lures such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits and chatterbaits during the middle of the day to get the attention of the fish that are sitting down deeper. The Severn River has been fishing well of late too. Good numbers of fish have been getting caught off the surface in the low-light periods since the season opened, as well as most

methods during the day. As I mentioned in previous reports, replicating frogs, lizards or even ducks in this waterway will put you in with a good chance of finding active fish in the right conditions as these are the cod’s main food source, along with some finned species such as carp and redfin, which can also be found in this waterway. Slowly sinking swimbaits down the edges of weed beds or hopping weedless frogs over the top have been my two favourite techniques of late, and are both very productive when targeting Murray cod in flowing rivers. Good luck to all getting out on the water this month.

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Fishing all day long ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

Summertime heat and low, clear flows are the perfect concoction for insane Murray cod fishing. You all know how much I love surface fishing for these fish, and already this season most of my fish have come off the roof. This is because I usually

chose this method? Because it’s really exciting! No matter what fish you target, if you ask a lure angler what their favourite bite is I can almost guarantee they will say a surface bite. The sound and awesomeness of a surface strike really gets the adrenaline pumping, and it sometimes it scares the life out of you – in an epic way. And if you really study it, looking at

to be using surface lures. Some anglers will never use surface lures outside of low light periods, assuming that it won’t work, but this isn’t true. I have caught Murray cod off the surface in direct sunlight on a 40°C day. If you’re fishing on a sunny day and come across a weedy patch, or scrubby willow tree branch you can’t get a hardbody or spinnerbait through, throw a surface lure over it. If a fish is active there is no reason why it won’t break the surface. You have to remember that these fish are used to sourcing their tucker right from the deep water of the river or lake, all the way to the top. They are a predatory fish, and if they can get to a

n Trout Hatchery e d a G

Gaden Trout Hatchery Gaden Trout Hatchery

A 70cm cod caught during the day from the shade of a willow tree. Often fish will be tucked right up in shaded pockets with plenty of cover, so fish as close as possible to structure and let your lure get down deep. On hot days, please release your fish as quickly as possible. food item they will take the opportunity, provided they are in the mood! Surface lures can still be the weapon of choice to use in heavy structure. This is because you can throw these lures over the top of structure and they won’t get caught up – until you hook a good fish, that is. If you do get a bite, have your drag set tight and be ready to pull the fish out of that structure as quickly as you can. These fish take only a split second to bury you in cover, so use a heavier line class, at least 40lb. Some would still argue that 40lb isn’t quite enough; it comes down to what you’re confident with, and the best way to gain confidence is to get out there and experiment. Just remember, most of the time if you give these fish an inch, they’ll take a mile. Check your knots, use stronger gear and lock your drag ready to pull them out of the danger zone!

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A late afternoon cod. It’s funny watching the

reaction fromKosciuszko people have Gaden Rd (off Rd)who never heard a Murray cod boof a surface lure! Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 www.dpi.nsw.gov.au throw surface lures, and what factors cause these

t u H o r a T t chery n e d a G

I also hit the water at the key times that increase my chances of catching them off the surface. So why do so many keen Murray cod anglers

fish come to the surface to boof our lures, you can learn a lot. It’s well known that low light periods and night time are the prime times

If you want to catch big fish, try fishing at dawn, dusk or throughout the night. This fat 84cm model come from fast, clear water that would have been overlooked during the day.

Gaden Trout Hatchery Gaden Trout Hatchery

The other tip for summertime fishing is to fish as close to structure as you possibly can. When casting divers, swimbaits or spinnerbaits, let the lure get down and really put it in the fish’s face. Many times a fish will eat a hardbody on the first crank of the reel after landing right in the zone. If a surface lure will suit a snaggy spot more, by all means give it a go. But for the most part, when daytime fishing I use get my lures as close to structure as possible. Although surface lures are my favourite, I still carry a bit of everything with me so that I am prepared for any situation – because all lure types will work on certain days. Time on the water will help you to gain confidence with certain lures, and when you’re fishing with confidence you’re in right mindset to catch fish. Good luck everyone, and tight lines.

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Guided tours 10 am and 2 pm.

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Double hook-ups on cod never fail to impress. Often snag piles in that look super fishy from head to toe can hold more than one fish!

NSW

Enjoying top drops waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Predicting water levels in our impoundments is almost impossible these days, especially at this time of the year. Constantly dropping water levels have become the norm during the summer months, and although dropping dam levels are normally associated with shut-down fish, this certainly is not the case at Blowering Dam. As the dam slowly drops the resident baitfish, yabbies and crayfish no longer have freshly flooded weed beds and grass flats to feed and hide from hungry fish in. For this reason, they must keep relocating themselves to keep up with the dropping water level or they will end up high and dry, or become a tasty snack for a bird. The predatory fish in the lake are clued onto this, and take full advantage of the easy pickings these conditions are normally associated with. As you would expect, any lure or fly that imitates a baitfish or yabby will give you a good chance of hooking a fish. Twin curltail soft plastics tick all the boxes and are by far the most successful lures to use for this. They are super versatile, and being a sinking lure they can cover the entire water column. All you need to do is cast and allow the lure to hit the bottom, then make small lifts and pauses to let the plastic hit the bottom again between lifts. Remember that yabbies don’t move far or fast, so slow right down for consistent success. If this is not working I like to use live yabbies. If you are like me and don’t

soft plastic yabby imitation. Simply cast it out, let it sink to the bottom, wait a second or two, then give your rod tip a little flick to lift the yabby up off the bottom then allow it to sink again. Repeat the process all the way back to the bank. Just be sure to watch the line, especially as your yabby sinks back to the

what depth the majority of the fish are holding. Lures of choice when trolling for redfin are the ever-reliable AC Slim Invaders or lipless crankbaits fished on 1-6lb braid way out the back of the boat so that they get down to the ideal depth. Another tactic worth employing whilst

Summer, trout and fly fishing go hand-in-hand, and what better place to enjoy them than the beautiful Tumut River? If it’s too high for your liking, try one of the many trout streams in the area, as most are fishing well and are much easier to access due to last summer’s fires.

Twin curl-tail soft plastics are one of the best and most versatile lures to use at Blowering Dam, and any other dam that is constantly dropping during the summer. These lures replicate a fleeing yabby, crayfish or shrimp better than any other and are rarely refused when fished the right way.

big the fish is. TROUT STREAMS To avoid the raging Tumut River whilst in high flow, a lot of anglers have been hitting the smaller trout streams in the district to get their fishing fix. The smaller streams are much easier to fish and have a very good population of both wild and stocked trout to keep anglers happy. Although most fish are around pan-size in the creeks, some anglers have

worked really well of late, and the beauty of these lures is they work in clear or dirty water equally well. Small minnow-style hardbodies and any 1-2” soft plastics in trout colours or all white are good fish takers in the small streams. The best places to fish vary from stream to stream, but whichever stream you choose it’s worth noting that the energetic angler will be the most rewarded.

bottom, because this is when the strikes most often occur. This technique really does work a treat and out-fishes most other fishing forms at this time of the year. REDFIN The shallow margins of the lake are literally bubbling with fish at the moment, and most of these fish are redfin. February is a good month for casting and trolling up redfin, and they are normally up around the 3-5m mark and much shallower at this

have the patience to cast your bait out and sit there waiting for the bite to happen, this little tip is for you: rig a live yabby to a normal unweighted hook, tail first, and use it like you would a

time of the year. During heat waves, however, you may have to fish a bit deeper in around 7-11m of water to get consistent results. If you own a boat it pays to keep a close eye on your sounder to see

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The shallow margins of Blowering Dam are teeming with fish of all species at the moment. Sight fishing to the plentiful carp with the same soft plastics that clean up the redfin makes for some action-packed sessions walking the banks.

Redfin are one of the tastiest fish in freshwater, and keeping as many as you want is both legal and does the waterway the world of good. Any fish that are too small to fillet, and the leftover frames, all go into the vegie patch as they are great fertilizer.

it is up to the angler to find where the best creeks and best conditions are. Trial and error is all part of the fun.

trolling for redfin is the stop-start technique which, like its name says, involves stopping your motor for a second or two, then moving again for 10-20m before stopping again. I’m not sure exactly why this works so well, but some days if you don’t employ this technique you will hardly catch a fish. The other little trick, which I think most people know by now, is to add a little soft plastic or saltwater fly to your line around a metre or so above your main lure. This little trick can sometimes reward you with double hook-ups which are always fun, no matter how

been rewarded with some very nice fish around the 1-3kg mark. Thanks to the regular rain we have received, most of the creeks have had enough flow in them for some of the bigger fish from the river to be able to navigate their way up into these tight, overgrown creeks, making for some very interesting battles. Nymphing has been working a treat in the dirtier water but as soon as the creeks clear from the rain, the resident trout are more than happy to rise for a wellpresented dry fly. Spinners have also

Sure, you will catch a few fish from areas beside the road, at reserves and other main access points, but to be truly rewarded with spectacular fishing you have to be willing to do the hard yards. That involves hiking a fair way in from these main access points, often getting cut up by blackberries and falling over many times along the way. However, if you are willing to go through all of this, you will be rewarded with some spectacular fishing. Pretty much every flowing stream in the Batlow/ Tumut district has a healthy population of trout, however

www.tournamentboats.com.au

Wayne Dubois

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FEBRUARY 2021

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Canberra

ACT

The problem with rowers CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Recently, local anglers fishing from boats and kayaks have had several run-ins with rowers on Lake Burley Griffin and things are getting increasingly nasty. I have experienced the self-entitled rowing fraternity of Canberra first hand after receiving an earful from a group of rowers who took exception to the fact that I was fishing

that we all have the right to be out on the water pursuing our respective passions and with a little more courtesy, things should quickly improve in terms of frayed tempers and confrontations. That said, if any reader has experienced harassment by a rower or group of rowers, take note of the vessel number and/or club tag, and then report the poor behaviour to their club and the National Capital Authority. Most rowing clubs in Canberra take these matters very seriously and

is along the rock wall at Lake Denman Drive, and I recommend slow rolling a Jackall TN60 up the ledges. The entrance to the Molonglo next to hospice remains a solid alternative if Denman Drive is a little slow, while the wharves behind Weston Park are also a great spot to hop plastics during low light periods. It is possible to land cod in this area by slow rolling medium-sized spinnerbaits 5-10m out from the wharves. Lake Ginninderra continues to produce big

The river is starting to produce.

We have some wonderful trout fishing right on our doorstep. from a stationary position in my kayak (and they had to go around me). I was flabbergasted by their response as Lake Burley Griffin is a public waterway and open to recreational use – no one group has more of a right to be there than

will follow up. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is back to its best after a few lean months due to piles of rain. Golden perch are tailing small redfin schools off the Governor General’s wharf, and these fish can

fish. There are plenty of big redfin hitting all manner of lures off the points, but these fish are especially prevalent on the point leading to the bridge and are particularly fond of grubtail plastics fished using a hop-and-pause retrieve. There are also yellas on offer for anglers willing to thoroughly work the rock walls behind John Knight Park. This place is snag central, but it is possible to fish the area effectively by

using a jig coupled with a creature-style plastic. This combo is snag-resistant and can be fished at a crawl along the bottom. I have seen plenty of big cod pulled from Lake G of late, with most being caught on bait near the old police jetty. Lake Tuggeranong is fishing well. The oxygen levels improved in the lake after the significant rain and the fish came on the bite. I get contacted about Lake Tuggeranong on social media more than any other local fishery. I think this is because the lake takes a while to work out in terms of consistently catching native fish on lures. The bottom line is that the lake’s oxygen levels fluctuate almost daily, and there isn’t a lot of structure so it requires an angler to spend a lot of time on the water dialling in the bite. I like to start at the small rock wall which sits just behind the college because the crevices created by the small boulders hold bait, and this does bring in the redfin and in turn, the golden perch. I then move around to the pylons under the bridge and flick beetle

spins right up against the pylons. From there, I move to the spillway and fish large vibes for goldens and cod. Most of the better fish I have caught or seen caught of late have come from these areas, with low light and rainy days representing the best conditions in which to land a big fish. The Murrumbidgee is still the colour of chocolate milk but the fishing is steadily improving, with

The reddie action has been superb lately.

Plenty of goldens are on the bite at LBG. another. I politely asked the gentlemen to turn their heads next time, and continued fishing. However, some rowers have now stepped it up a notch and have been actively harassing anglers, even going so far as to follow them about the lake. I think it’s important to remember 74

FEBRUARY 2021

be caught using a variety of methods, from slow rolling deep divers through to vertically jigging plastics near the reddies. There are also plenty of golden perch holding in close for those shore-based anglers keen on tying up with a big yella. The best place to target these fish

many anglers enjoying the surface bite which has finally kicked into gear. Paddlers are the pick of the surface lures, with the Kingfisher Mantis accounting for some really big Muzzas. Spinnerbaits are always a great choice if the fishing is slow, and you should be prepared to work every inch of fast water in search of a trophy fish. If the next round of rain is going to be even half as

The Bidgee is chocolate milk but fishing quite well.

much as is being reported, I recommend getting out for a fish now before the whole system once again goes into full flood. I want to finish this report by briefly mentioning trout. I’m not going to give away any secret spots here but I would like to remind all local trout anglers that we have so many wonderful options in Canberra (and right on the border) for chasing both rainbows and browns during lockdowns. It is definitely worth taking a look around a few areas through February and discovering some of the excellent trout water right here in the ACT, especially as our angling opportunities become increasingly limited.

Go Behind the Scenery

Tasmania

Trout are on the chew HOBART

Andrew Large

Tasmanian trout fishing has been on fire, while the saltwater fishing seemed to take forever to get going

Schouten Island, Fortescue and Storm Bay areas. Use a well-constructed running rig made of solid 50lb leader and 5/0 to 7/0 circle hooks and fresh squid as bait. Over 170,000 escapee Atlantic salmon are

pellets. These fish have now made their way into the freshwater rapids areas of many rivers in southeast Tasmania. Calamari are going well along most of our coastlines. Big southerlies have affected the fishing a tad but fish were back on in recent days. Although slow to start with, bream are available throughout the Derwent estuary and feeder tributaries such as Browns River at Kingston. These fish are hitting baits lure and fly readily. Yellowtail kingfish

Tasmanian Devil spoons have been working well on trout across Tasmania recently.

Kathy Buttegieg making the most of summer morwong numbers. for the summer. However, when it did, anglers were greeted with an early blast of both tuna and yellowtail kingfish. SALTWATER Sand flathead continue to bite well in all areas, with two hotspots being Storm and Marion bays. Tiger flathead have also been biting, with most reports coming from Marion, Pirates and Fortescue bays. Good fish have also been caught at Wedge Island near Nubeena in the south. Snapper have been caught in Storm Bay in recent weeks. The average size seems to be on the small side but the good news is they are there. The occasional 3-4kg specimen has been reported along the north coast. Mid-summer also sees Australian salmon in numbers in most areas, and feeding heavily on summer baitfish. Denison Canal saw fish to 1kg being caught during the evening. Cremorne is fishing well too, and prominent points in the Derwent River are also producing fish to 1kg, with most being in the range of 0.75kg. Sand whiting are now in peak numbers and have been encountered in Storm Bay, Primrose and Lewisham areas. Good numbers of school and gummy shark have been responding well to anglers targeting them around

still widely available in The Channel, Huon and Derwent rivers, Pittwater and Lewisham channels and Pipeclay and Southport Lagoons. These fish are now starting to target lures as they begin to concentrate on baitfish instead of

A nice Great Lake brownie taken on the Tassie Devil Movember lure. arrived with a blast in late December along the east coast and built in numbers from there. They are now available all throughout

Calamari fishing has been popular at Pirates Bay Jetty, Eaglehawk Neck.

the southeast and Derwent estuary system, with the average size being around 450-650mm. Southern bluefin are reported to be biting well in the south around Pedra and Mewstone, with fish to 80kg taken in recent weeks. Rumours of smaller fish in Tasman Peninsula waters are circulating, particularly around Tasman Island and also wide of Freycinet on the shelf in about 200m. Albacore tuna are being caught along the shelf wide off Coles Bay and also off Eagle Hawk Neck in 200m of water. Rock lobster are potting well in the south and a little bit slower further up the coast. Lobster were quiet throughout January but are picking up. FRESHWATER Penstock Lagoon is bouncing back with good fish hitting the dry fly. Wet fly is still working on the rougher days. Lake Leake continues its golden run after a quiet patch during the windy period a few weeks back, when the water became murky. After it cleared somewhat, the resident brown and rainbows were very quick to come back on the chew. Spin, troll and fly are all working well. Tooms Lake has been

fishing well for those anglers prepared to put in the time. Troll and spinning has been producing most of the fish. Arthurs Lake has become murky in recent weeks and fishing activity has slowed. Fish have been taking a dun on the right day, while trollers and spin fishers have been struggling. Great Lake continues to fish well, with shorebased angling nearly as productive as boat-based fishing. Fit trout to 2kg are being taken. Sharks in the wind lanes and early morning midge feeders have been real highlights. Happy fishing this month everyone.

Isaiah Brown, 9yo, landed his first bass which measured 43cm long, using a black Jackall in the upper Manning River.

FEBRUARY 2021

VIC

Dirty water freshens up fishing WEST COAST

Brett Carson

The late spring rains that dirtied up the Glenelg are now gone and, while we all wanted the brown water gone at the time, the rewards are now apparent. Heavy flows flush the mouth out and while the mouth is deep and wide the saltwater was allowed to drive back into the system with the help of the pre-Christmas massive swells. The river clears as quickly as it dirtied, and calm is restored. Fishos have raved about the clarity at times way up the river and, unless we get heavy summer storm rain, it should stay that way. During one big swell period there were trevally, skates and even gurnard caught up around Donavans landing – gurnard catches in the river are just unheard of! I remember as a kid we used to catch leatherjackets around Simpsons Landing. I have since seen numbers of juvenile leatherjackets washed up on the beaches near the mouth and wonder if a heap didn’t come in as juveniles and were eventually fished out or left the system. The edge fish is back on and the lure fishos are loving it. Perch fishing in the upper reaches this time of

year becomes exceptional. A tinny launched up around Saunders or Pritchards is a great option when you head up into the heavy snag country. Fish the reeds, as often the fish are sitting out on the mud banks that the reeds grow on smashing the bait fish that love hiding there. The snags are frustrating at times with the inevitable loss of gear but the large schools that can inhabit them is worth the grief. Bream can be fished

right through the system on the tides and in the clearer water can be seen flashing and rolling on the edges as they feed. Crabs are the best bait to weed out the little pickers. Once they are on the hook, cracking them a touch or cutting a side off puts a bit of scent into the water and flicking them against the cliff faces with no weight works a treat. Leave it a while and flick it again, a well-presented crab wafting down beside the structure is often to

Kylie shows how it’s done with this Glenelg River mulloway.

hard to resist for any hungry bream. Finding the larger mulloway seems to be the battle at the moment, there are lots of fish on or just under size right through the river with the bigger ones simply being out numbered by the smaller specimens. Most guys that know what they are doing are getting the fish but not always getting a keeper. Live mullet are the go and some people swear by the idea that a big bait means a big fish. The big mullet certainly last longer but the hook up rate isn’t as good. I am a firm believer that a hungry fish eats whatever size mullet it can wrap its laughing gear around. You and I hardly turn down a free cheeseburger when we are hungry just because we are larger specimens. Mulloway are right through the system now with the salt having pushed way up. Don’t discount them as far up as 50km, as long as the salt is there. The surf is improving for sharks with some great catches coming from the nearby beaches. Gummy and school shark fishos are having an awesome season, both out deep and now in close. Remember to take only what you need because when the session is hot they can just keep biting, making the dilemma for fishos to stop. Find the

Neil with one of his gummies from a recent surf trip. gutters in the daylight and try the dark of the moon, good times. • So good luck and feel free to come and see us at Nelson Boat Hire for the latest info, we have the local “live bait licence” meaning we stock live mullet, crabs and pod

worms along with all the frozen bait, tackle and lures you need for the area. We’ll do our best to give you some local knowledge and get you on the fish quicker. Remember you can hire any of our boats without a boat licence, including our very popular houseboat.

Brace for strong southeasterlies offshore COBDEN

Rod Shepherd

Summer in the South West has been fairly mild to date. On the upside we’ve dealt with very few days of soaring temperatures above 35ºC, and the adequate summer rainfall has kept the place from completely drying out, as well as freshening up our rivers and lakes. The only downside would be the southeasterly wind that can blow at times making offshore adventures interesting. Many are getting out on the briny when the wind allows and species, such as flathead and King George whiting have been available not far from the shoreline over a sandy bottom interspersed with weed. As little as 10m depth can have one over the grounds. The odd smallish pinkie snapper has also been caught as a by-catch. Forget the pipis and concentrate on using 76

FEBRUARY 2021

fresh squid strips to attract a bite. There’s plenty of calamari about to provide

quality bait as well as a decent feed or two. Further out, some solid

gummy shark to 20kg have been taken off the bottom. The odd snapper

This chunky Curdies bream responded to a Strike Tiger paddle-tail plastic in the lower reaches.

to 2kg have also taken the bait, which, once again is fresh squid. Reports are filtering in of the summer run of southern bluefin tuna getting into full swing. Schools of fish weighing in between 12-15kg abound with a few fish topping out at 60kg. However, the fish are finicky and appear to spook easily, plus the fact that they feed on smaller bait fish at this time of year. Casting chrome slices or heavy stick baits no longer than a 120mm into any surface school. White soft plastics to 130mm rigged on a heavy jighead can also attract bites. The upside to this is that some solid yellowtail kingfish to 11kg are swimming underneath the tuna schools, especially if the tuna are feeding on balls of baitfish. Once cast, it might pay to allow the lure to sink well beneath the tuna before retrieval just in case a kingy or three might be hiding. Yes, the bream fishing on the Curdies and Peterborough Lake has been

phenomenal and taking quality fresh baits, as well as scented soft plastics has worked for many. The fish appear to have finished spawning and have gone their separate ways, although many are still schooled up. Upstream from Boggy Creek down to the river mouth and beyond, bream to 43cm are available once you find and tempt them into biting. Don’t let the milk coffee coloured water (slowly clearing up) put you off. When it comes to lures and plastics, scent and vibration come into play. The same can be said about using live bait, such as shrimp. Bream and perch continue to be caught in the Hopkins by those using local fresh bait such as shrimp, cut crab and brown shell. Even packet prawns peeled has worked. Again scented soft plastics fished slow along the bottom are also working well, especially around the institute and King’s Head.

VIC

Kings, tuna and more WARRNAMBOOL

Mark Gercovich mgercovich@hotmail.com

February is perhaps one of the prime months for offshore angling here in the South West. When conditions are right all the games species, including kingfish, tuna and mako sharks are available. There is also plenty of bottom fish from snapper to gummies in closer, to all sorts of tasty critters out deep near the shelf. A big dose of

southeasterlies right at the start of January put paid to some excellent offshore angling locally. Hopefully come February we will be getting some more consistent, calmer weather to take advantage of all these options. Before the weather broke, plenty of good kingfish had been taken along the coast. There have been some big fish, like Tony McIllroy’s 118cm fish on a lure, as well as a beast of a fish that was taken on Dan Hoey’s Salty Dog charters, which would have been pushing 20kg. There have been enough fish around

90cm to just over a metre amongst the rats to keep things interesting. The fish have been taken on surface lures, such Duo Hydras, Jackfin stylos and Sluggo soft plastics, as well as live baits such as yakka and squid. Keep an eye out for some warm flat seas in February as that’s the time to get out looking for a king. The summer tuna have once again showed up to provide another top class summer sports fishing option along with the kingfish. The size range has been amazing, with some tiny jellybeans that would be lucky to be 5kg to Oscar Odarno with a prime South West kingfish.

The Cauchi boys with a thresher shark taken while fishing for tuna.

more impressive school fish approaching 20kg. There have also been a few barrels taken. Chris Soleman caught a 154kg fish and there was another 114kg fish also taken. There was also another fish that was hooked on lighter casting gear being that fought for 8 hours before the fish gained its freedom. As if kings and tuna weren’t enough to get your drags howling, there have also been a number of incidental captures of thresher sharks. Some have eaten livies intended for kings or smashed lures trolled for tuna. At least when hooked on tuna/kingfish gear you have some hope of landing one, as opposed to the

other habit threshers have of grabbing a pilchard fished on snapper gear. The local estuaries always provide a great option when the weather shuts down the offshore scene. Mulloway reports have been a little scarce but there is always the odd

capture, sighting or fish lost to keep hopes up. The bream and perch fishing has been good though, with all manner of techniques from bait to surface lures taking fish. Trout and perch are still an option in the freshwater sections…if you are keen on dodging snakes!

Apollo Bay delivers the goods APOLLO BAY

Craig Rippon

The summer has been good and so has the fishing. Snapper have still been really good on the outer reefs. In the same areas, there have been some nice big nannygai as well. Gummies have been a bit slow but I expect that to pick up. With a lot more boats on the water there’s been the odd school tuna caught. There’s a lot of bait about so I think things will have gotten up a bit. There have been sightings of small schools of kingfish

to about 70cm, caught on squid strips. There have been some bigger fish caught in other areas but they normally fire in Apollo Bay early February. Some days they’re hard to get, but keep trying an assortment of baits and lures. Surface poppers are good at different times. Those diving and snorkelling have been getting some nice crayfish when the weather allows. The beaches have been good for salmon and a nice mulloway was landed recently. Apollo Bay charters have been busy with some very happy customers on board with good bags of fish.

Some nice whiting off Apollo Bay, it pays to chill them down when you catch them.

Brandon Scott caught this flatty on a 20cm soft plastic, land-based from Lake Tyers. It went 84cm and was released after the photo.

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Fab Feb will keep us fed GEELONG

Neil Slater slaterfish@gmail.com

February is a great time to be fishing Geelong, the Bellarine and Surf Coast. It’s pretty much peak hour for kingfish and game sharks while other popular species like snapper, flathead, squid and whiting will be available. The Barwon River in

Clifton Springs and Portarlington have seen consistent captures of king George whiting but there are plenty of undersized fish to wade through to get a feed. I fished with Greg Ainsworth in 3m between Portarlington and Clifton Springs recently. Using pipis and squid, we caught plenty of whiting but were only able to keep six. One solid rock flathead of 50cm

during the daily tide changes and in the shallow dawn and dusk. Chris Stamalos has caught a few solid snapper up to 6kg using fresh salmon as bait fishing out off Clifton Springs. Kayak enthusiast Jakub Verbovci launched off Clifton Springs recently in search of snapper on plastics. He started on the shipping channel and once he found a few marks, sent down a Munroe’s soft plastic on a jig man jighead coated with Aqua X pilchard scent. Jakub boated a few solid fish to 50cm and says, “Once my plastic hit the bottom, I would give it three violent whips and let it sink

Kingfish should be high on the agenda this February.

Chris has done well on the snapper out off Clifton Springs using salmon as bait. Geelong has had a drop of rain to keep it slightly discoloured but continues to produce redfin and small estuary perch for lure enthusiasts. The easiest lures to use are 50mm single tailed soft plastics with a light jig head. Used on a light 2-3kg rod, they can easily be flicked around the weed beds of the Barwon where the reddies lurk. Dawn and dusk are best for reddies (and mozzies) but you can get them all day. Keep your eyes peeled for snakes too. If you prefer bait, a collapsible bait trap baited with white bread and placed beside the weeds can supply you with a few gudgeon or galaxiid, which reddies love. Failing that, white bread squashed onto the hook or corn kernels brings carp into the equation, which are fantastic fun on light tackle. Corio Bay near Geelong has seen consistent captures of flathead and pinkie snapper to 40cm. Anglers fishing with bait at St Helens and Cunningham Pier have caught pinkie snapper and flathead from legal length to 40cm. Cunningham Pier has also produced small snotty trevally on lightly weighted chicken and pilchard pieces. 78

FEBRUARY 2021

was also welcomed aboard and we caught another of 40cm flicking soft plastics off Leopold later on. Dean McDonald has also caught a few whiting fishing in shallows around 3m and out deeper in 6m. Snapper are well worth a look along the channel

Plenty of rock flathead are falling to soft plastics inside Corio Bay.

Aaron and Maddy showing off some of the fine snapper available off the Surf Coast at the moment.

back down.” Rod Ludlow from Beachlea Boat Hire at Indented Head reports the fishing has been very good over the past month with some great bags of squid coming from all the grass beds from Governers Reef back to Grassy Point. Whiting have also been good from Outer Governers Reef to the Prince George bank producing fish when the tide is running either in or out with pipis, mussels and squid being the best baits. There has been a few nice gummy sharks come in with the slack water being most productive out off the Prince George light. Flathead have also been good drifting between Indented Head and St Leonards in about 8-12m of water. Whiting and calamari have been biting near the mouth of Swan Bay and inside the Lonsdale Bight. Incoming tide seems a little cleaner but that can change weekly. Find some sand and weed and give it a go for 15 to 30 minutes. If you don’t get any whiting, have a move and repeat that. The Barwon River estuary has fished well for silver trevally, mullet and salmon with the odd mulloway to fivekg caught after dark. Silver trevally will take a small 50mm soft plstic grub or a well presented pilchard fillet or Jetties along the estuary section of the Barwon River near Barwon Heads have received upgrades thanks to VFA, Parks Victoria and the Target One Million initiative. These include new decking, handrails and fishing rod holders. At the time of writing, small kingfish were being caught in the Rip on slack water and out off Barwon Heads over reef in about eight to 15m of water. Best bet has been fresh squid

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areas and in the Rip will work as well. Salmon schools have also shown up inside the Rip, southern Port Phillip Bay and in Bass Strait. Dave Reynolds found them out off Barwon Heads recently and caught a couple of rippers between 1.5-2kg casting into the school, which was smashing baitfish on the surface. School sized southern blue fin tuna to 15kg have shown up in Bass Strait but they have been super fussy and well spread out from 10-50m of water. Trolling with skirted lures is a good way to search the water for them but if they are crashing baitfish in the surface, then casting lures at them is great fun. Just be sure not to troll lures through the school as this will scare them off. ROCKLEA This time last year, tuna KAREE MARINE to 30kg were caught in 40m 1776 Ipswich out offRoad AireysRocklea Inlets so that might1600 be worth a look too. P: (07) 3875 Bass Strait and the Surf E: sales@kareemarine.com.au Coast has seen some W: www.kareemarine.com.au solid gummies and pinkie snapper to 2kg caught NORTHERN overGOLD the COAST inshore reef areas ONSHORE MARINE and deeper rubble beds in water.Woongoolba Horizon35-50m Shores of Marina Aaron P: (07) 5546 2480 and Maddy Worral from Anglesea E: onshoremarine@ozemail.com.au have been boating some W: www.onshoremarine.com.au quality pinkies again. Maddy says they caught the EVERTONlatest HILLScouple around a mile offshore from Aireys Inlet HOLT MARINE and Road a decent gummy 25 Queens Everton Hills off Point Roadknight. P: (07) 3353 1928 8 Kevin McLoughlin E: info@holtmarine.com.au W: www.holtmarine.com.au

Kevin boated this fine mako plus two gummies in 65m offNORTH Torquay to keep the family in flake for a while. ROCKHAMPTON BOATS boatedRIFEN a fair sized mako that, head inland to Stoney Dooley North Rockhampton shark 6out wide Street off Torquay Creek Reservoir or Wurdee in 65m. Kevin out a Bulloc if there’s an easterly. P: (07) 4927set 9150 steadyE: rifen.boats@bigpond.com berley trail and FISH HARD – caught the beast on a squid. DIE HAPPY! W: www.rifenboats.com.au Kevin also boated two Catch a few around gummy sharks so is fairly Geelong, Bellarine Peninsula AIRLIE BEACH right for flake for a while. or Surf Coast to Lorne CENTRE Send in a report LorneWHITSUNDAY Pier has beenOUTBOARD fishing recently? well 17 for William salmonMurray to 1kg, slaterfish@gmail.com Drive to Cannonvale the odd squid and7286 whiting with ‘VFM’ in the subject P: (07) 4946 thrown in as well. Best baits field or give me a call on E: woc@whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au have included raw chicken, 0408 997348. Please include W: www.whitsundayoutboardcentre.com.au pilchard pieces and pipis where (without giving away for whiting. your secret spot!), when, If CAIRNS the wind gets up, try what on and who caught the Barwon River in Geelong the fish. Pictures are always AUSSIE MARINE or Barwon Heads, the Surf great, but please make 5 Hannam Street Bungalow Coast beaches for salmon sure they are at least 1mb P: (07) 4033 8800 dawn or dusk. Other than (file size). E: sales@aussiemarine.com.au W: www. aussiemarine.com.au

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Rec fishers are pleased with the progress of Estuary Perch stocking in the Barwon River. Observed growth rates of a sample of the 122,000 EP’s stocked since December 2018 suggest a trophy EP fishery is developing. Keen Barwon angler Jonty Lawson has been keeping an eye on EP growth rates, reporting up to a dozen fish a session as by-catch. With more stocking events planned, the Barwon River is set to become an iconic EP fishery. VRFish are working closely with local anglers, Victorian Fisheries Authority, Corangamite Catchment Management Authority and the Barwon River Users Group (BRUG) to deliver recreational boat fishing access. FEBRUARY 2021

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Snapper captures continue PORT PHILLIP NE

Wayne Friebe wfriebe@bigpond.net.au

Longer periods of warm and more settled weather have been enjoyed by all the anglers in the bay over the past month. Local anglers and visitors alike have been revelling in the great fishing

the appeal of tuna and kingfish at the southern entrance to the bay, it is no wonder. But after a slower start to the season this year for many of us, some solid reports and captures of some quality snapper have continued. In previous years, school sized snapper tend to congregate in the wider areas and this has certainly been the case this year, but it has

been great fishing for bigger 3-5kg fish as well. Many anglers traditionally turn their attention to other species at the end of summer, but this trend of good local snapper fishing has kept many of them busy for longer. The continuing great snapper fishing over the last month has also given the visiting anglers and holidaymakers a taste of snapper

Solid reports and captures of quality snapper have continued throughout the bay. Photo courtesy of Brendan at IFISH and boating conditions on offer. After the unusual fishing period before Christmas, it has been great to see plenty of anglers getting amongst the action over the holiday period. Recent cooler weather and extended periods of rain have also juiced up the food chain on the inshore reefs and in the local rivers and creeks. It’s been great to be on the water over the past month seeing plenty of holiday anglers and locals alike enjoying the spoils of PPB and experiencing some great fishing variety. And with the expectation of a couple of warm months ahead, things are looking good for the rest of the summer and into autumn. Snapper reports traditionally have tapered off by this time of year, and with

action as well. The greater area out wide from Mount Martha right through to Mount Eliza has probably been the most consistent producer of snapper for the majority of anglers over the past month, and while the average size of the fish is a little smaller than some of those being caught in other areas of the bay, some better-quality fish have also been taken by those putting in the extra effort. At this time of year, Mornington wide is typically a great area to cash in as the snapper tend to group up in this area to feed, before they head south, and this has certainly been the zone where the better fish have come from of late. In the coming couple of months up until Easter, expect the extensive mud bank areas out from Mount Martha and Safety Beach to be reliable areas for snapper. And also, the deeper channel areas in the middle of the bay, and right down south as well. Much like last year, some of the regular and traditional species have been strangely scarce, but with the changing food chain and bait species in many areas, anglers have

The snapper fishing out wide from Mt Martha through to Mt Eliza over the last month has been first class. Photo courtesy of Brendan at IFISH

Squid numbers are starting to really thicken up along the local inshore reefs. been looking in different locations with good success. Many anglers have reported big numbers of slimeys and yakkas in the bay, and in many cases, a wide variety of fish have been feeding on them higher in the water column, including snapper. Last season, big schools of salmon were around the Mornington area for a long time, but they have been rarely sighted this year, and most of the action has been further south or in the north of the bay. Those fish that have been around have been in the 1-2kg size but are in much smaller numbers and schools than last year. Local whiting reports have been very encouraging of late with good numbers of fish coming from the Frankston and Mount Eliza areas. The general size has been a little smaller than those in Western Port, but the action is generally closer to shore, so is also well within reach for land-based anglers as well. Concentrate your efforts around times of low light, and even into the night for best success. At times, the land-based anglers can do the

best by fishing a rising tide after dusk and into the night, so the local piers and jetties are also a great option. Squid numbers are also starting to really thicken up along our local inshore reefs, but they have still been a bit hit and miss at times. Much like a lot of the normal seasonal action, things seem to be a bit later this year, so expect the squid fishing to improve a lot over the next few months as the water really warms up. Kingfish captures have started to filter through from the heads and further into the bay itself, so it won’t be long until they show up in our local areas as well. Mornington and Black Rock are two of the usual haunts, but who knows where they’ll pop up this time with the amount of food on offer. And lastly the ever-reliable Patterson River has turned on some great lure fishing for perch and mulloway of late, especially after periods of rain. Some of the local lure fishing diehards have landed some really nice fish, which is a great sign for the months to come.

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Amy Day has been enjoying regular trips on PPB lately and getting amongst the pinkies.

New ramps for better access Recreational fishers now have better boating access to Upper Coliban and Barkers Creek reservoirs in central Victoria thanks to two new boat ramps. The ramps make it much easier to launch tinnies with electric motors, kayaks and canoes, all of which are now permitted on both reservoirs. The $250,000 ramps project was managed by Coliban Water with funding from Better Boating Victoria and the State Government’s $35 million Target One Million plan to get more people fishing, more often, in more places. Both reservoirs are popular fisheries and have shared in substantial stockings over the last two years consisting of 107,000 trout, 36,000 Murray cod and 77,000 golden perch. At Upper Coliban Reservoir, the existing on-water access point off Premier Mine Road has been converted to a publicly accessible 40 metre boat ramp made of crushed rock to enable launching down to 60 per cent capacity. Boaters can use electric motors or paddle power only and must remove outboard engines altogether from tinnies. Work began in December to provide better car parking with defined bays. At Harcourt’s Barkers Creek Reservoir, the existing access road has been upgraded to a new ramp. There’s more car parking with defined bays, a new entry point off McIvor Road and improved stormwater drainage. Petrol powered outboard engines can now remain on boats but cannot be used. Further upgrades to amenities such as public toilets are also planned. For more information visit www.vfa.vic.gov.au/targetonemillion2

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Peak fishing time PORT PHILLIP BAY WEST

Alan Bonnici alan@fishingmad.com.au

2021 has started with a bang and the fishing locally around Port Phillip Bay is thriving. There is a sense of

positivity and optimism amongst local anglers who are having regular successful sessions out on the water targeting snapper, whiting, flathead and squid. Whilst the bay is fishing well, let’s focus on our local rivers for a

minute as they are offering good fishing. I was taken back by a photo sent by local fishing guru Danny Nguyen holding a beautiful Murray cod from the Werribee River. I have fished this stretch of river for many years catching countless

The author with a 58cm Port Phillip Bay flathead.

Rob Wortho tangling with PPB whiting.

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estuary perch, redfin and carp and the odd bass in the upper reaches above the weir wall. But I had never seen anyone catch a Murray cod here. Sure, it’s not the biggest cod but it’s so pleasing to see this suburban river flourishing. The cod was caught in the evening on a 1/8oz jig spin finished with a Daiwa Bait Junkie paddle-tail. Danny handled the cod with care and released it back in the water to fight another day. It’s a great sign for this suburban fishing destination, as the growth sizes of estuary perch and bass have a long and slow process over the years with most bass and EPs caught here still on the small side. But targeting cod here would take this area to the next level. Massive carp are also a fun by-catch at Werribee. I managed to snag a few carp between 60-80cm when

flicking soft plastics and shallow diving hardbody lures when using ultralight gear targeting estuary perch. Carp are very underrated fighters, they are a big and powerful fish and it sure is a skill to land a fish that big on a 1-3kg fishing rod with 6lb braid, but it’s a lot of fun. The fishing should be amazing here in years to come and it must be an agenda item for local fishing bodies to coordinate better fishing access for landbased anglers and kayaks in the area. This area has a massive residential base and fishing is booming yet there is such little fishing infrastructure. This really needs to be investigated and plans to provide locals with increased safe kayak access and more piers and jetties. Do take care along the Werribee River as snakes are very active at

the moment. I had several close encounters this past month and one, in particular, that was way too close for comfort. Almost stepping on a very sizable and aggressive tiger snake whilst walking with my 7-year-old boy. The snapper fishing on this side of Port Phillip Bay continues to be quite inconsistent. One day amazing bag out session followed by days of little or zero activity. That frustration has seen many anglers head towards Mornington Peninsula for more consistent results or instead turning their attention onto other species that are consistently fishing well, namely King George whiting. I’ll be the first to admit whiting has been my go-to targeted species over the past month. I’ve been able to find them quite easily and catch them in good

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Danny Nguyen with a Werribee River cod.

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numbers having some really fun sessions on the water. It’s also meant that I’ve saved time without needing to venture into deeper water or to venture across the bay. The whiting fishing has been so good that I’ve even been catching plenty of them with soft plastics. I’ll share some footage of this on the FishingMad YouTube channel in the coming weeks. Using small jigheads and adding custom assist hooks to increase

catch rates. Targeting them with soft plastics and ultra light spin gear is new to me and so much fun. It also beats rebaiting pipis, which tend to fall off or get picked off the hook very frequently. This is also the perfect time of year around Port Phillip Bay to be targeting good size flathead and squid. You won’t have to work too hard to find them as they are in good numbers and very active this time of

year. Flathead in particular love the sandy flats of PPB between 6-8m. During this time of year soft plastics on a 1/8oz jighead are deadly, working them slowly with lifts and pauses. Squid on the other hand are the opposite; they love weedy areas between 3-5m deep. Look for calm and clear waters where they will happily take a squid jig or whiting spike. I’ve had some very productive sessions and bagged out

Large by-catch is always fun.

quickly on many occasions. They make for great days of fun out on the water and good eating, so the rewards are high. This time of year we have also seen good numbers of trevally venture into the upper reaches of Port Phillip Bay. Day trips up to areas such as Queenscliff and Barwon Heads have been rewarded. Pound-for-pound trevally are one of the best fighting fish on the planet and even tangling with a 40cm one of light gear can set your heart and reel racing. Shallow diving hardbody lures in shiny colours, grubs and worm imitation soft plastics seem to be a great combination to target these sea missiles. Jesse Baron has had a few productive sessions fishing the sheep wash area in Barwon Heads on his small tinny. His reel was screaming tangling with a beautiful 45cm silver trevally, which took a liking to a 3” grub in yellow. They are a brilliant species to target that we don’t see too often closer to Melbourne. Until next time, good fishing everyone. If you would like to share your fishing experiences around Melbourne that can be added to next month’s

Jesse with a PPB trevally near Barwon Heads. article. These need to be around Melbourne & Port Phillip Bay. Anything from Werribee through to Port Melbourne and lakes around Melbourne. You can contact me by email at alan@fishingmad. com.au. Also don’t forget to follow my fishing

adventures through my website www.fishingmad. com.au, YouTube channel w w w. y o u t u b e . c o m / c / fishingmad, Facebook page www.facebook. com/fishingmad.com. au, Instagram page w w w. i n s t a g r a m . c o m / fishingmad.com.au.

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Not hard to get your bag and the schools of fish will often move about, especially if your berley has run out. In typical fashion for this time of the year, the Rhyll area really picked up last month and has continued on strong. If you ever wanted to catch one of Western Port’s most prized species, the mighty mulloway, the Rhyll area is were to have a crack. Tunjay recently did just that and boated a cracking 35.4kg mulloway. This fish is an absolute beast and proof that Western Port can deliver quality fish for those willing to put in the effort. Right through until April is the most productive time to do in search for mulloway in the Port with Rhyll, Corinella,

WESTERN PORT STH

Jarrod Day jarrodday@iprimus.com.au

Every year has to kick off with a BANG and this year is no different than any other. Western Port has been on fire with quite a variety of species being caught. The Top End of the Port has been a little quiet but there are still some good fish if you’re willing to go on the search. Snapper have been the slowest of all, which is to be expected as the season is coming to an end, but they can still be found around the more reefy locations. Joes Island, Crawfish and Eagle Rock are the main locations that you’ll still pick up a feed. The Top end channels are also a hot spot for gummy sharks. Fishing the edges of the channels during the last two and first two hours of the tides is when you’re most likely going to hook one. Why is fishing two hours either side of the tides so important to fish? Mainly because the current isn’t as strong, enabling you to use as little sinker weight as possible.

Young Taj Caterson with his hands full of beautiful whiting from the Port. Image courtesy of Matt Caterson.

Tunjay cradling his beast of a mulloway caught from the Rhyll area. This fish went 35.4kg. Image courtesy of Tunjay. It is not very comfortable fishing with a 20oz sinker so when possible, try to use as little weight as you can. Doing this will also aid in preventing the fish from potentially using the weight of the sinker to force the hook to pull when they thrash around during the fight. The whiting scene has been good along the Quail and Tyabb banks and it is vital to fish amongst the sand holes as the whiting will school up in fair numbers. These two banks also have a very healthy population of calamari so when possible, flick out a squid jig over the weed. Another popular whiting and calamari location is at the very top of the Middle Spit. This area right down to the sunken island has been producing some real solid whiting of late. Providing you’re using berley it shouldn’t take too long to get your bag. Nearby at the entrance to 84

FEBRUARY 2021

Whether you’re fishing at night or during the day, the whiting are prolific throughout the Port. Image courtesy of Justin Blythe.

whiting are a lot of fun to catch due to their size, and they also fight extremely well in the faster current, making it a fun challenge. Pipi baits work well but can easily fall off the hook in the current so it will pay to also put on a small sliver of squid to keep the pipi from falling off. Further down, the Port Tankerton and Tortoise Head have been very popular locations for whiting anglers and there has been no shortage of fish caught. Both these locations you’d ideally want to be fishing in around 5m of water on the high tide. As the tide falls, the whiting will come off the shallow banks

Whiting are a great fish for the little ones to catch. Abby Caterson (4yo) caught this lovely whiting while fishing with her dad. Image courtesy of Matt Caterson. Elizabeth Island and the Mosquito Channel all proven locations. These areas are also very productive for gummy sharks. Due to the vast muddy banks, gummy sharks are abundant. The prime time for gummies

in these areas is fishing the first two hours of the run-out tides along the edges of the banks. As the tides recedes, the gummies swim off the banks into the deeper water. Gummies respond well to oily baits, with salmon and trevally

top choices along with fresh calamari rings. Another top area for gummies has been the Western Entrance. Justin Blythe has had quite a few exceptional days fishing the area, with some quality gummies caught. Mind you, Justin has also been fishing the Balnarring area and has caught quite a number of good gummies from this area as well. We are right in the peak of gummy season now which typically extends into March, with this time of the year being the best for the bigger models. The Balnarring area has also been fishing exceptionally well for whiting with some really good quality fish being caught. It seems it’s not hard to get your bag with little effort put in. We should start seeing some good kingfish caught offshore mainly from Kilcunda, Pyramid Rock, the Nobbies and Cape Schanck. Trolling live baits, squid strips and or small skirts is the best technique. The offshore scene really fires up now so if the weather is good and you want a shot at a kingfish, now is the time to venture out.

There’s no shortage of big gummy sharks about if you’re willing to put in the time. Image courtesy of Justin Blythe. the Hastings Chanel, whiting have also been going well along with the area around the Submarine. Finally those big deep water whiting have turned up in numbers in the North Arm however you do need to fish the first and last two hours of the run-out tides. Deep water

and mooch along the edge of the drop looking for food. If you can set your position along the edge of the drop, deploy a berley bucket to the bottom and fish your baits back into the trail. If you notice the bite stops or slows down, it may pay to make a small move to water that’s slightly deeper

Gummy sharks from the beach are a possibility but it does take some research in knowing where and when to target them. This monster was recently caught from Balnarring Beach. Image courtesy of Justin Blythe.

VIC

Keeping it simple PHILLIP ISLAND

Craig Edmonds

We have been in the shop for almost 15 years now, and when we look back through our diaries it quickly becomes evident

important but knowing what bottom you are fishing on is far more important. Spend time and find some new spots, and remember that just because you have a GPS mark doesn’t mean you are on the exact spot, it’s just a starting point. Learn

November. Snapper reports came early in August but then didn’t spawn until well into December, and bluefin showed up a month earlier than last year and whiting have been consistently on the big side. The odd season also highlights the difference between those anglers who overthink it or return over and over to the same mark, not catching fish. Successful customers were the ones who fished a different tide than they normally would, found some new spots, changed their rigs or simply spent more time on bait presentation.

Offshore gummies are a prime target in autumn, which isn’t too far away.

Tate managed some trevally while down on holidays recently. that no matter how much an angler thinks they know about fishing, there’s so much they still don’t know. We hear comments all the time from customers that the season has been ordinary and there are hardly any fish around, while other anglers tell a completely different story. We see a large number of people every week which allows us to get a better understanding of what and how many fish are around, but one thing that we have learnt over the years is to never assume. This season has been no different, with some of the best anglers struggling while some less experienced anglers are doing well. I think the biggest discrepancy in the reports comes from those who overthink fishing and those who just go fishing. Fishing is only as complicated as you want to make it. Having the right gear is great, but there two things you can’t buy: luck and experience. Both go together and come with time on the water. If you are having a run of not so many fish, think about what you are doing and take things back to basics. If a spot hasn’t produced for the last 10 times, don’t go back there. Instead, learn how to use your sounder and start looking around. Reading fish on your sounder is

why some spots are better on different tides, and take note of the feeding habits of fish. All of these factors will do more to improve your fishing success than the difference between a $100 whiting reel and a $500 one. I will admit this season has been a little on the

Fishing from a kayak is one of the best ways to get a good bag of calamari. and calamari has been above average. It’s now the best time of the year to fish around here with the settled weather opening up the offshore fishery. It’s not just the makos, tuna and kingfish but what is considered one of the best table fish: flathead. The flatties will show up

now in good numbers and quality sizes. The offshore reefs will also produce plenty of variety, with snapper, gummies, Sergeant Baker, and plenty of baitfish. In the bay it doesn’t stop either. We will see a few of the elusive mulloway caught along with the resident big snapper, and towards the entrance kingfish will show up. Elephant fish will come in from now on, although the numbers have been a bit light over the last few years. Calamari and whiting will continue, and are two species that can be caught in the bay all year round. They will peak and trough in numbers and quality through the year, but we always get a handful of reports each week. The size of the calamari this season has been extremely good and they have remained big; to catch a small one has been rare. The beach in Cleeland Bight has been fishing better than the jetty in San Remo, which didn’t come good until they dredged under the floating pontoon. It was strange because last time they dredged it had the opposite effect. Almost all season both artificial jigs and baited jigs have worked well, with each working better than the other on different days.

The best part about Western Port Bay is the variety. strange side even after the COVID problems. Calamari came on late and were all big, with the smaller ones not showing up until well into

With all the reports I would have to say so far the whiting season has been excellent, while the fishing for snapper, gummies

Oli christened Dad’s new reel with his personal best offshore gummy.

Colours can be frustrating trying to get right and it always seems like you have the wrong one, especially on the jetties. This season however, from the reports we have been getting, colour hasn’t been as important with most colour ranges working, often on the same day/night. In the boats and kayaks the expected spots produced but more and more customers are now dropping a jig over the side wherever they go in the bay, and finding the squid in areas you wouldn’t expect to. The information from the experts was that this year whiting would be on the top of a peak as far as cycles go. Whether you believe in fish cycles or not, you have to agree that this prediction was right. Size and quantity has remained excellent, with both deep and shallow water producing. Like a lot of different species they have probably been in the deep and shallow water all the time, it’s just now that people have adapted their gear and are actually fishing for them in the deep. I find if you are fishing in that deeper water (10m+), change your baits from just a pipi to a cocktail of pipi and squid or pilchard fillets. If you are heading to the island over the Easter break we will again have our annual Easter Fishing Competition. The competition runs from Good Friday until Easter Monday and is open to all age groups and abilities, and suits the family group fishing together. There are some great prizes and lucky angler giveaways every hour over the weekend. The best part about the competition is we have some very good sponsors and every cent of your entry money is donated to Royal Children’s Hospital Good Friday Appeal. Last year we donated almost $3,000 and we hope to better it this Easter. For more information head to our Facebook page or give us a call at the shop. FEBRUARY 2021

East Coast

VIC

Big bream and estuary perch at Hollands fish are there ready to bite but the conditions beat you. So there you have it, an example of just one trip to Hollands Landing. The Straits has a huge reputation but be warned, the challenges are just as big. LOOKING AHEAD The section of the Mitchell River around the township of Bairnsdale is

GIPPSLAND LAKES

Brett Geddes b.geddes@bigpond.com

Last year was one of the wettest for as long as I can remember, and the rains have now thoroughly improved the fishing right across the Gippy Lakes. Many years ago a swampy old bream angler told me how to catch really big fish: “just add water”. When the rivers run hard the fish will fire up, and that’s exactly what has happened. The stream flows have settled down a little now but the influx of all that freshwater has made anglers very happy indeed. MCLENNANS STRAIT Hollands Landing is where most people launch when fishing the area commonly known as The Straits. Over many years it

The author with a 1.48kg bream caught hard up on the edge, deep in the snags. A very dark, almost black looking bream at 44cm.

Big perch call the Straits home, like this 47cm model wrestled from the snags. has gained a reputation for some of the biggest bream and estuary perch in the whole of East Gippsland, possibly even in all of Victoria. More bream comps have probably been won from big bags hauled out of The Straits than in any other area right across the vast Gippy Lakes estuary. Often a bag of five bream will weigh in at 6kg or even 7kg. The problem is it can be extremely challenging to fish for those using bait or lures, with very fast flowing water, deep snags and fish that can at 86

FEBRUARY 2021

to chase bream out in the lakes, the best places to find bream feeding in the shallows at the moment will be the Mitchell Flats, the edges of the Silt Jetties, out around both sides at the mouth of the Tambo River, Duck Arm and Raymond Island. You should also consider exploring the lower Nicholson River downstream from the

times shut down for hours on end. One day you will wrestle huge bream, all well over 1kg, during a long hot bite, but the very next day you will fail to get even a single sniff. Most of the time the fish bite for a few hours after dawn and then fully shut down for the rest of the day. And then there’s the fast water flows that are impossible to predict. Some days there’s very little flow or it can change back and forwards two or three times while you are there. Other days it’s ripping along so fast it’s near impossible to

fish. Because there are two massive lakes either end of the skinny Straits, the water can transfer from one system to another at a real rate of knots. It’s mainly all driven by wind, and its fast flow is hardly effected by tide as most people believe. It’s a real boom or bust fishery, and those who know it well are always prepared for frustration and disappointment. But on those rare days when everything works in your favour, it can be an angler’s dream come true, with trophy fish and often a new PB. I wanted to paint you that long picture of how tough The Straits are, to put the following report into perspective. THUMPER EP AND BREAM I’d got word that some big bream were back in the area. It had been nine months since I last went to Hollands, and for a place I used to fish three times a week I was well overdue for a visit. It didn’t let me down but also lived up to its tough reputation. Jason Deenan was my fishing buddy for the day, and the conditions at daybreak were perfect: little wind and, most importantly, very slow flow in the water. We quickly sounded fish and pricked a few with blade lures but only little fellas. Then we worked the deep snags and the big girls came out to play. My first bream hit the net at 42cm and at the same time Jason pulled in a 41cm fish. Next cast I hooked something big that I couldn’t turn and lost him in the snags but got my lure back.

Jason missed a couple of hits and then after a nasty brawl I pulled out a ripper 47cm estuary perch. Jason backed this up with 40cm EP and then I somehow extracted a 1.48kg bream from the timber before she could shred my leader on the barnacle-covered structure. It was a very dark 44cm bream and fat as mud. Over the next hour we were both very unlucky, dropping a few good fish and getting plenty of plucks and hits. And then all of a sudden the wind got up and eventually the water flow got so fast it made working lures impossible and we had to call it quits. Barely three hours of fishing time before the dreaded fickle Straits decided our fun was over. It breaks your heart because you know huge

Jason Deenan with a solid 41cm Hollands bream caught recently with a blade lure in 5m of water. easy to fish from the bank for bait anglers, with many points of access. At this time of year it’s usually firing for bream and quite a few nice perch, and this should continue over the next month or two. Meanwhile, if you want

ramp and the vast sand flats around Metung and Bancroft Bay. I’m also starting to hear about very big bream being landed at the mouth of all the rivers, with the Nicholson and Tambo rivers being the standouts.

Marc Misfud caught this impressive snapper from the Mornington Peninsula. He fished the tides with a SW wind and fresh bait. The fish weighed 4kg exactly.

VIC

East Coast

Shark scene fires up LAKES ENTRANCE

Steven Pryke

Over the New year’s break and summer holidays, Lakes Entrance and many other small local towns

The local surf beaches have grown in popularity in recent times, with large schools of Australian salmon making their way up and down the beach. The large schools have made for some great

Mikayla Young with a quality Australian salmon. have been extremely busy with tourists flocking back to East Gippsland. It has been great to see them supporting the local businesses that struggled through 2020. LAKES ENTRANCE The lake has been nothing short of amazing this year. The fishery has truly begun to bounce back after the removal of commercial netting in the Gippsland Lakes. The King George whiting numbers have been extremely strong, and the potential of an amazing year-round whiting fishery is a distinct possibility. Anglers have had great success on all the weed beds but recently the barrier landing channel has been the place to be for quality 40cm+ whiting. Typical bait fishing methods have been the go, with pipi and mussels producing the best results.

angling, with fish around 1kg being common. Small metal Laser-style lures, especially in green, have been the go. These large schools move fast so a light spin rod and a few lures are really handy, and allow the angler to keep moving with the school. Bait anglers have also done very well with whitebait and green surf poppers. The local beaches have a been a popular scene for keen land-based game anglers. Large numbers of bronze whalers have been found making their way around the local surf beaches. The local shark scene has been growing in popularity over recent years, with over 100 sharks being landed so far this season. It’s a worrying indication of how many sharks are making their way up and down our coastline at the moment. LAKE TYRES With the warmth of summer the lake has begun to drop slowly, making access to the lake easier compared to the water levels a few months ago, when you had to drive through the lake to get to the boat ramp. With the reducing water levels the lake temperature continues to rise, creating some great shallow water fishing. The higher reaches of the Nowa Nowa arm have really been the place to be. Anglers have done extremely well fishing around the shallow timberlined edge in search of bream, and small soft plastic grubs fished on a lightly weighted jighead have been a deadly approach, especially when

The author with a 9’3” bronze whaler caught off the 90 Mile Beach. the angler’s casting is on point. The closer you dare get to these snags the better your results. With all the anglers fishing Lake Tyres these days it doesn’t hurt to slightly change your approach. Personally, I’ve been using hidden weight jigheads, because with the lead hidden it allows you to skip cast easily and presents the plastic more naturally to the fish. The ability to skip cast further is really handy to get to those hard-to-reach areas where commonly you see bream and other species feeding. The lake has become well and truly known for its large dusky flathead, and a

King George whiting are a big drawcard for anglers visiting Lakes Entrance.

lot of anglers specifically come to the lake to target these trophy size flatties. The many points and shallow bays offer up ideal areas to target these monsters. Larger soft plastics in the 6” range are great way to start the search, but over recent times glidebaits have really shown their worth

when chasing flathead, and even the smaller models will have crack HAVE YOU BEEN FISHING? If you have a great fishing pic, please send it to stevenprykefishing@gmail. com with short description and you could be featured in an upcoming edition.

Christian and Lucas had a fun day out with their families catching squid off Flinders Pier. FEBRUARY 2021

East Coast

VIC

A great time to visit the area MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Christmas has seen the town full of visitors with a busy period going right through until Easter. It is much needed after last year’s bushfires and the lockdowns from Covid, so it’s fingers-crossed everyone can once again start living their lives with some sort of normality. At the start of the holiday season the weather has not been the greatest, with cold windy conditions making it tough for fishing and impossible to get offshore. On the odd day boats have got out, there has been good numbers of fish caught. Sand flathead have been caught between Tallaburger

Island and Gabo Island, and there are good catches of tiger flathead coming from 50m of water. Ariels is also fishing well.

Good gummy sharks have been caught while drifting for flathead. They are big fish, up around 4ft, and occasionally bigger with

Mikey Vucic finding some joy in the sun with a lure-caught bream.

the fish spread out. Kingfish are about but getting them on the bite has been tricky. They can be seen on the sounder and are in the 60-90cm range. The most consistent time to catch fish has been around first light. The lake fishing has been tricky, no doubt the cooler weather has stopped the fish from really firing up. Many of the visiting anglers are doing it tough. It’s great to see the weed is coming back throughout the lake with good weed all around the edges to about 7ft deep. This is ideal for the fish, prawns and such like. This has all come after the big bushfires, so maybe a bit of fertiliser washed into the lake could be the reason for the bloom. Anglers that know the lake well and put in the time are still finding the fish.

A good thing about fishing in Mallacoota is you can always find a quiet spot out of the wind and the fish are there to be caught. The Bottom Lake is where the action is with flathead caught on blades and soft plastics, as well as live bait. Goodwin sands and through into the Narrows the pick of the spots. Yellowfin bream have been caught in Harrisons Channel and up on Goodwin

Sands. Black bream have been a bit scarce, but there’s a good chance the fish are up above Gypsy Point. A few good sand whiting have also been caught throughout the Bottom Lake. No doubt the fishing will improve once the summer weather kicks in.

Kingfish are following the bait from the Straits MARLO

Jim McClymont mcclymont@net-tech.com.au

The warm current has come down the east coast and entered our area of Bass Strait, bringing with it big schools of baitfish. These, in turn, have been attracting plenty of kingfish and other gamefish for all the ocean-going anglers to

do battle with. Anglers have reported getting kingfish at Marlo Reef either trolling hardbodied lures or casting big soft plastic lures and jigging metal lures. Kingfish have also been sighted around the point at Cape Conran and around the corner to Sailors Grave, schooling on the surface. Other reports have come in of good captures of kings at

Tamboon Reef using squid and soft plastic lures. For bait fishers the fishing is great, with plenty of flathead, gurnard, barracouta, squid, morwong, pinkie snapper and gummy shark on the chew. The surf beaches are still fishing well with plenty of salmon and tailor being taken by anglers using light tackle and spinning with metal lures.

There are also good reports of small kingfish, flathead, and gummy shark. And let’s not forget the shore gamefishing fraternity who target big bronze whaler shark by either paddling big baits out well past the breakers, or flying baits out with drones. Lately these guys have been catching and releasing plenty of big shark. The whole of the Snowy

River and Brodribb River estuary is fishing well. The prawns have grown to a good size and are being pursued by many, and not just anglers – any creature that likes eating prawns is out and about trying to get a good feed. One fish that particularly likes prawns is the flathead, which lay on the sand flats waiting for them to appear, and then the feast begins. The sand flats

in this estuary run from the Marlo jetty all the way down to Frenchs Narrows, and it is where the prawns congregate before the tide and moon is right for them to make their run to the open ocean. With all the food about, it’s little wonder the fishing is great, with anglers getting plenty of bream, luderick, mullet, estuary perch, salmon, and tailor.

Summer fun in the surf BEMM RIVER

Robyn Sturgess

The beginning of 2021 certainly hasn’t disappointed anglers. At time of writing the entrance remains open, and we have experienced substantial rainfall, which would be contributing to maintaining the opening. We recently enjoyed some quality family time fishing in the channel. Within minutes of casting, our granddaughter Ruby, age 10, landed a beautiful

42cm bream. She decided to name it and release it. Each cast was fruitful with most of the bream being silver and fresh out of the ocean. The bait used was prawn and Tasmanian earthworms. Anglers have reported outstanding catches of luderick, bream, trevally, salmon and tailor, with the most popular bait being sandworm and prawn. The channel, Mahoganies, river mouth and lake have all been hot spots. The river has been quiet due to the amount of fresh water still

flowing. The surf has been producing an abundance of salmon and tailor. In concluding, please don’t forget to check your wheel bearings and boating equipment (especially dates on flares) before venturing away on your holiday. • 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.

MARLO

OCEAN VIEWS CARAVAN & CAMPING PARK

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FEBRUARY 2021

Anglers are catching plenty of salmon and tailor in the surf.

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VIC

Heaps of cod fishing action ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The cod bite in our local waters has gone from strength to strength since the open. The Murray River at Swan Hill has fished very well, with numerous Murray cod to a metre in length landed on both bait and lures. Fluctuating flows have generally dictated the most viable fishing technique, with steady flows creating the right clarity for lures, and sharp rises producing dirty flows more conducive to bait. A little of both in

The author with his first Murray cod for the season.

A good-sized Murray cod taken on bait. Note the circle hook in the corner of the mouth.

the boat provides an option either way should you arrive none the wiser. All up, the fishing has been great locally with anglers revelling in the great cod bite. A few golden perch have been landed in the mix on both bait and lures, with fresh river shrimp working well. Other rivers fishing well have been the Wakool at Kyalite with Murray cod reported on bait up to 95cm. It seems the Edward River is producing good numbers of Murray cod to 75cm. Most of the fish are small but what they lack in size they make up for in numbers, with one crew landing in excess of 200 cod for the week’s fishing. All these fish were caught on bait and, bar a couple

of keepers, were returned to the river for the future. It has been great to see good numbers of small cod starting to pop up at many locations. Robinvale continues to remain quiet on the cod scene with just a few smaller fish reported amongst the ski boats. Below the Euston weir down to Wemen and beyond, there are some good reports of Murray cod to 96cm on bait. Lots of smaller cod are at these locations and there are also some goodsized golden perch to keep you guessing. The pool water both above and below Mildura has fished well since the open, with numerous metre plus Murray cod landed mostly

Yabbies are good bait for targeting cod once the water clarity drops away.

Good-sized Murray cod have been taken at night on bait at most locations. This one was caught by Clinton Hann. on lures. Anglers trolling deep divers along the snagridden banks are getting the best results, with just a few caught on the cast early in the

morning. Trolling hardbodied lures has always been an effective technique in the deeper sections of river and it seems little has changed.

Further downstream along the Murray it’s a similar story around lock 9 and the Neds Corner areas, with numerous good sized Murray cod over the metre mark caught trolling hardbodied lures. A few larger models have also been landed down in this area on spinnerbaits cast to the structure during periods of low light. Back up to Wentworth and the lower Darling is producing some good-sized Murray cod on bait. Yabbies and chicken fillets fished in the dirty upstream flows are working well. All up it’s been a great cod season so far, with plenty of good size fish landed on both bait and lures.

Good fishing continues BENDIGO

Roger Miles codhuntertours@bigpond.com

The fishing in the Bendigo region continues to fire, and all of the popular locations are producing some good fish at the present time. Anglers are encouraged to get out and have a go and make the most of the good fishing while the productivity is high. LAKE EPPALOCK Water levels are continuing to decline, and water clarity remains good throughout the majority of the lake. The numbers of golden perch being caught by anglers is still very good. Trolling hardbody lures in 5-8m of water has been productive on these fish, but the best method has been casting lipless crankbaits and blades around the rocky shorelines and edges of standing timber. The average size of the golden perch has been very good with 45cm+ golden perch consistently being caught by anglers. Small numbers of Murray cod are being 90

FEBRUARY 2021

caught at this location, with most of them averaging around 50-65cm. We have seen a steady improvement in the redfin fishing in recent weeks. The majority of the redfin being caught are small, but the occasional quality fish measuring 45cm+ has shown up. Casting soft plastics and trolling small, deep diving hardbody lures have been the most productive options for redfin. CAMPASPE RIVER I am happy to report finally the fishing has started to improve in the Campaspe River. Water clarity was very poor during spring and early summer, but it has now improved and we are starting to see good captures of fish in the Campaspe River again. Golden perch are making up the majority of anglers’ captures, with the average size being around 40cm with the occasional 50cm+ specimen being caught. Good lure options have been lipless crankbaits and small profile spinnerbaits. The numbers of Murray cod being caught in the system is also improving.

Lipless crankbaits, hardbody lures and surface lures have been working well when targeting Murray cod. There have also been small numbers of redfin being caught in the system. The majority of the redfin are being caught off the edges of the weed beds. CAIRN CURRAN The fishing continues to be very good at Cairn Curran, which is currently producing a good variety of species. Golden perch remain the main target species for the majority of anglers, and good tactics for these fish are casting lipless crankbaits around the rocky shorelines and standing timber, and trolling medium sized hardbody lures in the depth range between 4-6m of water. Small numbers of Murray cod continue to be caught at this location. Trolling medium profile hardbody lures from 70-100mm has been producing a few Murray cod. Casting spinnerbaits around the tops of the standing timber has also been a good option. The number of redfin being caught at this location has increased in recent weeks, although most have been small.

Tallis Miles caught this Murray cod casting a lipless crankbait while fishing in the Campaspe River. The occasional trout has also been caught at this location. Gary Scanlon recently fished Cairn Curran with his son and they managed to land three golden perch measuring up to 48cm, along with a Murray cod measuring 49cm and a great 57cm brown trout. LODDON RIVER The fishing in the Loddon River has been good but in the same breath very frustrating. Water clarity is currently very good at most locations along

the Loddon River, although in the pooled sections of the Loddon at Bridgewater and Serpentine the water clarity is too clear. During the middle of the day you can see the bottom in 6-7ft of water. The end result of this clear water has been a lot of fish following lures but only tentatively striking, or just shying away at the end of the retrieve. This can be very exciting and equally frustrating.

During the periods of low light is when anglers are experiencing more aggression from the fish and increased catch rates. Spinnerbaits with painted blades to reduce the flash have been working well. Lipless crankbaits in dark colours or transparent colours have been good options. Small numbers of Murray cod are also being caught on surface lures and swimbaits.

VIC

Hot bite on Wendouree BALLARAT

Shane Stevens

The weather has certainly warmed up around the Ballarat and district, as has the fishing. Our local anglers have been reaping the rewards with excellent catches, with Lake Wendouree being our top water in the district.

and Muddler Minnows just to name a few. David said the key to his success is perseverance. He said that some nights the fish come into feed and other nights they don’t, and you can fish two nights in a row in the same conditions and have vastly different results. What makes these fish tick is anyone’s guess. David said he had been

past month, which included Wayne’s new personal best trout on Wendouree, a magnificent 65 cm golden coloured brown trout. The pair have also caught some very nice redfin including another new personal best for Wayne of 46cm. Wayne and Ben have been generally venturing out on Wendouree in the evenings targeting the nights when there is a bit of wind around, which allows them to cover plenty of water. The boys have been using mainly Bent Minnow surface lures to catch the Wendouree trout and redfin. They said you might only get a couple of

Ben Young nailed this ripper 65cm brown trout from Wendouree casting lures from a drifting boat. Image courtesy of Ben Young.

Megan Burke with a lovely 38cm redfin from Pyke’s Reservoir, caught on a soft plastic. Image courtesy of Megan Bourke. Lake Wendouree has certainly turned up the heat you could say, with some excellent catches of rainbow trout, brown trout and redfin. Anglers fishing land based, from boats and other personal watercraft have all been catching fish. All angling methods – fly fishing, casting lures/plastics and bait fishing – have proved to be productive. One of the keys to success is to fish at the right time of day; early morning, evening and after dark have all productive times to head out and wet a line. As mentioned last month, the fish in Wendouree have been really focussing on mudeyes for food over the past month, and will do so for the next couple of months. This has been one of the main reasons the fly fishers and the bait anglers using mudeyes have been catching plenty of fish. Ballarat Fly Fishers Club Member David Bandy is one of many anglers who have been fly fishing Lake Wendouree in the evenings and after dark with excellent results. David has been using small imitation mudeye fly patterns, like a Craigs Night-time, Mrs Simpson, Corduliid Mudeye

using a very slow figure eight retrieve when he had most of his takes. “Boy,” he said, “do they whack the fly!” David’s biggest fish so far has been a 61.5cm brown trout which ate his Craig’s Night-time fly. After a couple of photos it was

Wayne Rigg nailed his 65cm PB trout from Wendouree on a Bent Minnow surface lure. Image courtesy of Wayne Rigg

Max Stevens landing an excellent size Lake Wendouree brown trout while fishing a mudeye suspended under a float. released to fight another day. Wayne Rigg and Ben Young have been out getting amongst the big ones on Wendouree as they have been all throughout the season. The boys have landed numerous brown trout between 60-65cm over the

opportunities per session or none, and that you have to make the most of the opportunities that arise. I have fished Wendouree myself with my son Max on several occasions over the past month. We have recorded some excellent catches of

brown trout using mudeyes for bait, suspended under a bubble float approximately 3ft under the surface. The fish have not come easy some sessions, and it took quite a few shifts until we eventually found a hungry trout eager to eat the mudeye. Once again, perseverance has been the key. Pykes Reservoir, which is located to the east of Ballarat, just a 30-minute drive down the Western Highway, is a very underrated and under fished waterway. The Victorian fishing Authority has been stocking Pykes over the past few years with trout, and it also has a healthy resident population of redfin. Megan Burke has been down to Pykes fishing recently on a number of occasions and has recorded some excellent catches of redfin including some very good sized reddies just over 40cm. Megan said she has

tried a few different methods to catch the reddies, from drifting along in the boat jigging lures like ice jigs, to anchoring up casting soft plastics. When you hit a school of them and you can be very busy. There are a lot of small ones you catch which are still good fun, and there are certainly some good ones in amongst them too. Megan mentioned that a good quality fish finder has helped her to locate the schools of redfin. Moorabool Reservoir has quietened down a bit over the past month with not many reports filtering through. Going on the last few years, the fishing certainly quietens off at this time of the year, except on very warm and windy days in the evenings, when there are very big beetle hatches and the trout cruise in from the deeper water to feed on them. It is at this time of the day when the fly fishers have the best opportunity to catch some of these beetle-feeding trout. Beetle patterns are required, or small Corduliid Mudeye fly patterns work well too. The bait fishers using a mudeye suspended under a bubble float also have an excellent opportunity to catch one of these feeding trout. Tullaroop Reservoir

has quietened down a bit for those anglers who like to chase trout. I have had a couple of very early dawn patrols, hopping out of bed at 3:30am to make the 45-minute drive and hopefully catch a trout that is still feeding on mudeyes from the previous evening’s hatch. I have had a few opportunities to catch some, but unfortunately through operator error I have missed out. I suggest for anglers who do like to chase the trout, Tullaroop is still a very good option. Whether you fish fly or bait, target the early mornings and evenings to give yourselves the best chance of nailing one. Tullaroop is also a very popular redfin fishery, especially since the reservoir was opened to boating with electric motors only a couple of years ago. Now we have the warmer weather with us the redfin will certainly be on the chew. A quality fish finder will make it easier to find the schools of redfin or if you don’t have one of them, you can drift along jigging lures like bobbers or ice jigs off the bottom or troll lures down deep. For the bait anglers, drifting along using a paternoster rig with a yabby, gudgeon or a bunch of worms will certainly tempt the Tullaroop redfin.

Ballarat Fly Fishing Club member David Bandy landed this lovely 61.5cm brown trout whilst land-based fly fishing on Lake Wendouree. A Craig’s Night-time fly pattern brought this one undone. Image courtesy of David Bandy. FEBRUARY 2021

VIC

A productive summer WANGARATTA

Robbie Alexander

By February we’re all pretty much sick of the heat here in North East Victoria and are looking forward to some cooler weather. Good news… that cooler weather is just around the corner. In saying that,

different. Thanks to the cool start to summer, and higher water flows I am really hoping that February may fish much better for Murray cod than it usually does in North East Victoria. Any of the rivers that hold Murray cod (which is most of them) will be worth fishing in February. Try using a spinnerbait or hard body lure during the day,

of December, and if this ‘cooler than usual’ trend continues throughout January, we could see some good trout fishing in February. Usually the trout fishing is quite slow in February, but if we’re lucky this year might be different. Either way, the second half of February will be best as the nights start

Brett Corker with a nice Murray cod caught in the Ovens River just before Christmas. average size tends to be quite small, particularly in Lake William Hovell. Lake Sambell in Beechworth is also another great place to target redfin in February. All three lakes allow power boats and kayaks, although boats are restricted to 10hp, or a

The best yellowbelly fishery in the region, in my opinion, is still Lake Nillahcootie. Even right up until Christmas anglers were still catching yellowbelly on both lures and bait, as well as quite a few Murray cod. Just before I wrote this report I

time to go yabbying, and it’s great fun. The hardest part is finding a dam or waterway that has a healthy number of yabbies in it. Also, February is a great time to catch carp as well which are more popular as an angling species than many people

February can be a great month to target redfin right across North East Victoria. December 2020 has been one of the mildest starts to summer that I can remember, and the Murray cod fishing has suffered as a result. MURRAY COD As mentioned in the introduction, the Murray cod season has started quite slow in North East Victoria. Many people have caught fish, but many have also reported slow fishing, including myself.

and switching to a surface lure as the sun goes down. If you’re bait fishing, try using cheese or worms for the smaller fish, or a really large bardi grub or yabby if you are hoping to catch a bigger fish. TROUT The trout fishing can vary a lot from one year to another during February. At the time of writing, the streams are still flowing quite well. In fact, they

to get longer and cooler, and the water temperature starts to drop. Whether you are bait fishing or lure fishing for trout in February, I recommend using something black. A great bait is a live cricket. A great lure is a black Strike Tiger nymph that looks like a cricket, or a black Super Vibrax or black Celta. REDFIN February can be a

An unexpected monster redfin caught in the middle of Wangaratta on a Predator lure at the Sydney Beach swimming hole while targeting Murray cod. Thanks to the healthy population of Murray cod and trout cod in the Ovens River, the once abundant redfin are now rare.

The trout fishing this summer has been much better than usual, and hopefully there will be more great trout fishing this month. Now usually February can be a bit hit and miss because low water levels and hot water can lead to the Murray cod slowing down, but this year it’s 92

FEBRUARY 2021

are flowing better than they usually are at this time of the year, and the water feels slightly cooler. I had a great trout fishing session at the end

great time to target redfin in North East Victoria. Lake William Hovell and Lake Buffalo both seem to fish well for redfin in February, although the

speed of 10 knots in Lake William Hovell. In the lakes this month try a brightly coloured small soft plastic lure. Lake Sambell has a lot of ribbon weed, so you may need to rig your plastic weedless. There are tons of YouTube tutorials on how to do that. YELLOWBELLY The Ovens River is really starting to improve as a yellowbelly fishery thanks to Victorian Fisheries Authority’s fish stocking program. I would not recommend people travel to the Ovens River specifically to target yellowbelly, however they are turning up more and more frequently for anglers targeting Murray cod.

was sent a photo of a 95cm Murray cod caught off the bank at Lake Nillahcootie. OTHER SPECIES February is a great

realise. A lot of people actually really enjoy carp fishing with worms and corn, and February is a great time to do it.

This 61cm Murray cod was caught on a bunch of Jan Juc fishing worms in the middle of Wangaratta a week before Christmas.

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Get going to the Goulburn SHEPPARTON

Nick Brown teamriverrats@hotmail.com

What a difference a steady, stable Goulburn River can do for fishing locally. For years we have had to put up with the Goulburn River going up and down, with turbid water and banks falling in everywhere. However, over the last couple of months we have seen the levels stay at a steady level which has resulted in great water conditions.

good level for the remainder of the summer and then we will continue to see some great fishing. It wasn’t just the big cod on the bite, with many smaller cod being caught on lures and bait plus heaps of yellowbelly, which hasn’t always been the case in summer months. Those chasing yellowbelly have been using small hardbodies or spinnerbaits in the heart of Shepparton between the boat ramp and Broken junction. Bait fishing shrimp and worms has worked well, and a few anglers have been floating worms just under

fish oil on cheese, dim-sims and hard boiled eggs just to name a few baits that were spoken about. The Trelly’s secret blend chicken bites also worked great over the holiday period with some secret herbs and spices added to the chicken to get the fish on the chew. Those casting lures were all about the Pompadours on the top, Codgers for trolling or Bassman Codmans for the cast with darker colours like purples, blacks and greens working best. The Broken River also had a surge of good fishing reports over the Christmas period with the water also playing a big part in the conditions. The water seemed to be a lot better quality then last year and the topwater bite was back in full swing. Codgers and Pompadours were the stand out in the Broken. Smaller Bassman spinnerbaits or the Codmans

worked well in purple and pink colours as well as the orange and brown. There weren’t many bait fishing reports for the Broken but those who did use baits caught their fish on cheese, chicken and live shrimp. When the Broken is fishing like it is you seem to get more fish on lures so if you prefer to bait fish I would target the Goulburn River. SHEPPARTON LAKE The lake has been very quiet this past month with the Goulburn fishing so well many locals have tended to fish the river. There is the odd trout being caught on worms in the deeper weed areas of the lake, and it’s best to have your baits a bit deeper under the float than most months, or run them on a paternoster rig. There has been the odd redfin and yellowbelly being caught on weedless-rigged Keitech Easy Shiners, with the green pumpkin chartreuse on a flashy rig working well.

Liam Hillas with a 110cm Goulburn River cod caught on a surface lure. These great conditions meant that December and January were the best months I can remember in years. The big fish came out to play, with many reports of 1m fish being caught as well as some 90cm fish on both a mix of bait and lures. The river has always been very underrated but the poor water conditions just make fishing it so hard, so let’s hope that the river stays at a

the surface so the worms go under snags. The yellowbelly can’t resist them. Cod have been on the chew up and down the river and no one area has out-fished another. I spent a few weeks over Christmas working at Trelly’s Shepparton and my eyes opened up in regards to the weird and wacky concoctions people use for baits. There’s chicken mixed in cheese and fish food flakes,

Benny Rendina caught this 1m cod on a hardbody in the Goulburn River.

Luke Basten with a 96cm cod that took a chicken bait off the bank. KIALLA LAKES While working at Trelly’s over Christmas I had a few holidaymakers report plenty of carp being caught on bread, something I have not personally done but could be a great option for the kids. There was a report of a catfish being caught using bread which is very rare for the lake. I haven’t set eyes on one from the lake in at least 10 years. Lure fishers have still been catching yellowbelly on the small Bassman Shorty, which has willow blades. I tend to retrieve a bit quicker than a standard willow bladed spinnerbait. Another method has been one of my favourite ways to fish, and that’s with a 7g Bassman jighead and a 3” Keitech with a beetle spin attached. This set-up, or one that’s similar, works well almost anywhere for fish like yellowbelly, redfin and bass. LOCAL CHANNELS The channel system is now fishing super consistently with many locals landing two or three fish every time they fish it. Jackals rigged with a beetle spin have again been

the standout, and targeting structure like bridges and drop bars has been the key to success. Bait fishing has slowed up a little but there are plenty of small fish to be caught by simply fishing with worms up and down the system. WARANGA BASIN The basin has been crazy busy over the school holiday period, but those anglers who escaped the traffic managed to catch plenty of good fish. The fish mostly held shallow early in around 6-8ft on the points, and when the sun got up and boats started moving around the fish pushed to around 15ft still near the points. Plastics and vibes have been very popular with lure casters, and other anglers have gotten good results trolling hardbodies out deeper. Productive trolled lures have included RMGs in white and Codgers in pink and yellow. Bait fishing off the bank has been producing plenty of small fish even with all the wash from boats, but the best bait fishing was towards the wall, with yellowbelly on yabbies being a good by-catch while chasing redfin.

It is cod central YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

Fishing in and around Lake Mulwala at present is entering prime time. Be it fishing the lake itself, down below the weir in the Murray River or upstream around the Bundalong area, you are in with a good chance of finding a cod or two. Generally, bait fishing will produce more numbers while lure fishing will be more rewarding for the angler themselves. As I write this report, the COVID situation is changing on a daily basis. Currently Victorian fishos are allowed to fish on Lake Mulwala and not disembark on the NSW side. Your 94

FEBRUARY 2021

best bet is to keep yourself updated with the everchanging rules and regs so you don’t get caught out. The holiday period has been hectic with plenty of fish being reported. As usual, the lake has produced bigger and better cod whilst downstream in the river, numbers have been larger but the fish smaller. I’ve had plenty of reports of great cod measuring up to 125cm with at least a dozen measuring in excess of the magical metre mark. To mention all who have given us reports would take forever, but one report stood out from the rest and that came in the form of this email: “Hi I’m Sam, I’m 12 years old and I love fishing. On Christmas Day my uncle Ed gave me a big surface lure from your shop so we

decided to test it out. We got down to the river and I started casting my line and winding it back in. “And after about three casts I saw a ripple come up to the surface right near my lure. I cast it back out where I saw the ripple and before I could even start winding, I had a massive hit. The fish was on. “I started pumping and winding frantically to get the big fish in. When I had it in I could see the big, old cod trying to unhook itself. I was shouting at my dad to get the net. He finally came sprinting down the steep bank with our small net. Dad leaned down to net the fish when he funnily enough fell in the water! “After a while of stressing, we finally had the cod in the net. It measured

Sam Bayles was very happy with this 78cm cod. 78cm and had a huge fat stomach.” Well done Sam! Looking back pre-Christmas, December was plagued by wind. Those wishing to fish the lake have constantly had to find cover up around the Everglades and other sheltered areas.

The numbers of cod reported have been consistent, without many being overly big. The competition season is upon us with a few events coming up over the next couple of months. The first is the ever-popular Humminbird Da$h 4 Cash, which will be held on 13-14

February. Following this is the His & Hers Partners Classic on 27 February. To round out the comp season is the Cod Nationals, four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler, held over 10-13 March. Happy fishing.

VIC

The redfin are back CRATER LAKES

Rod Shepherd

Lake Bullen Merri has some solid Chinook salmon in varying weights and lengths, with most fish being taken in depths from 8-12m. Ideally using frozen pilchard fillets with tinned cat food as berley anchored up has seen many fish boated. The odd rainbow to 1.8kg has also been caught. The two prominent points that jut out into the lake are favoured by many but don’t forget the ‘cave’ which is hard to spot from the water but exists on the far north shore. Deep diving lures flat line trolled to depths exceeding 3m have also picked up fish. As we speak it looks like blue-green algae will soon form on the lake, if it hasn’t already. If this puts you off go to nearby

Lake Purrumbete where the water is crystal clear and devoid of visible impurities. The redfin at Purrumbete can now be caught in reasonable numbers both in the shallows and at depth. The reddies are infesting the shallow weed beds that surround the lake’s perimeter and are more than willing to take a morsel put out for trout. Others prefer to sit at depth in numbers feeding off the bottom. The latest info on the depth needed is around 12m, and this where the bottom-dwelling weed disappears due to lack of sunlight. Jigging a variety of lures and plastics at this depth is definitely the way to go, along with keeping position either by GPS guided electric or simply lowering an anchor without spooking any bottomdwelling fish. Send some

berley down and give it at least 20 minutes to kick in before either the fish come on the bite or moving to a new spot. A fish every 5-10 minutes of jigging per boater means stay put. Period! Just don’t expect a fish every drop or you’ll be disappointed. Lake Tooliorook near Lismore is fishing well for both browns and rainbows with fish coming on board or onshore in excess of 800g. The fish are growing fast and we can expect some 4lb fish by next winter. Trolling medium diving minnow lures flat lined works well, and so too does working a fly either from a boat or from the shoreline. The north shore is favoured because the deepest water lies here but if you’re trolling, an entire lap around the lake is not out of the question. Now, we have too many reports to ignore here. The redfin are back and it seems

This chunky Elingamite redfin responded to a trolled Black Magic BMax minnow. once again they or their eggs survived the low water levels. Currently most fish are only 200-250g but there are lots of reports of hungry schools willing to attack anything on offer.

Elingamite’s levels are still fine thanks to La Niña, and boats to 4m can still motor out (shallow drive) from the ramp. Plenty of browns and rainbows from almost 1kg to 2kg are about,

plus some solid reddies to over 1kg. Trolling remains the go-to method, followed by static fishing then casting artificials towards the weed beds. Plenty of new release trout are also active.

Hoppers and poppers dominate catches WST/STH GIPPSLAND

Steve Haughton steve@habitatcreations.com.au

February is the month for surface action freshwater fishing in West and South Gippsland. On Blue Rock Lake, bass will be actively feeding off the surface at dusk and dawn, retreating to deeper waters during the heat of the day, and stream trout will be doing much the same.

Surface fishing is an exciting sport requiring vigilance and stealth. Whether you are on foot or out in the kayak or boat, keep an eye out for surface feeding fish and move into casting distance to access the feeding zone. A common phrase for fly anglers, ‘match the hatch’, is also very applicable to surface lure fishing. And for the rest of summer don’t forget about the humble carp; targeting carp on Blue Rock on cicada imitation lures is highly addictive!

Stanley Haughton excitedly holding Daddy’s 37cm bass, which was caught and released on a spinnerbait during a quick one-hour session on the lake before the wind picked up.

Blue Rock Lake has many coves around its shoreline and up the Tanjil River Arm which present sheltered areas where bass can be spotted feeding off the surface in the early morning or late afternoon. The sound of a surface feeding bass could be best described as an aggressive ‘popping-gulp’ sound. Trout, carp and redfin also feed off the surface when conditions are right, but the noise and action of a bass is quite distinct and it’s something that regular bass anglers can distinguish. Having an electric motor on your boat is advantageous when stealth fishing. An alternative to not having an electric motor is to simply use an oar to propel the boat to within casting distance of the feed zone. Kayakers won’t have any issues getting into a feed zone, and nor will landbased anglers. Blue Rock bass are hitting trophy sizes with some big fish being caught in recent months. Some big 45cm+ bass have been landed so it’s only a matter of time before someone tips the magic 50cm mark. Bass are averaging around 30cm but even smaller bass around 20cm hit hard and put up a ripper fight, especially on light gear! A good set-up for surface fishing is a 6’6” to 7’ rod with a weight rating of 2-4kg fitted with a 1000-2500 class reel. Most people use 8-10lb line or braid, with 8-12lb leader. Don’t be afraid to up the leader at this time of the year because bass hit mighty hard and are quick to pull lures into the snags, especially as the lake level is now at capacity and hiding many underwater snags. When the cicadas are buzzing, you can’t go past

imitation cicada surface lures. Cast out towards a surface feeding bass, pause, and then begin retrieving slowly, pausing in between winds. Poppers and Bent Minnows are great fun to use too and mimic struggling baitfish or frogs on the surface. Carp feed off the surface as well, and when presented with a tempting cicada lure in front of them they are quick to engulf it. Ensure your drag is well set because carp give out a thrilling fight to the net. Blue Rock carp are healthy, clean specimens easily reaching 60cm+ and are strong fighters on light gear. A session on these will test your gear, knots and skill. Grasshoppers will start emerging this month and provide stream trout with their staple diet. If you carry around a small landing net, try scooping up a few hoppers to use on a hook and cast them out unweighted. Fly anglers will be tying on dry flies to mimic the local grasshoppers, which vary from small brown wingless grasshoppers to the much larger yellowwinged locust. Like bass, stream trout are best targeted in the early morning or late afternoon in the shade. Sneak up to potential trout feeding zones and assess the best spot to cast. Often, you’ll only get one cast in before you either get a strike or spook the fish. If you are well hidden, your chances are much higher. Wearing waders is recommended at this time of the year because stealthy bank strolling and sunbaking snakes do not mix! When walking in potential snake

habitat, you are supposed to make as much noise as you can but unfortunately this doesn’t work well with stream trout fishing. A good, tough pair of waders will allow you to wade the stream or walk comfortably on the bank

if certain sections can’t be traversed in the water. Feel free to send me a report or photo, particularly if you have any success stories over the summer holidays with the family, and please email me any questions.

Summer caught this good size Australian salmon off the rocks at Cape Woolamai, Philip Island. FEBRUARY 2021

VIC

Quality fish from down deep EILDON

Peter Burtchell

Higher than average summer rains have kept the headwaters to Lake Eildon running, providing great angling opportunities in the many deep holes pitted through the rivers that flow into Lake Eildon. Jayme

Summer brings a wide range of boating activities to the lake, and with so many hidden inlets it is easy to leave the main body of the lake away from the boating activity and enjoy a great day on the water, whether you’re chasing Murray cod, yellowbelly, trout, redfin or carp. Shannon and Casey from Echuca had one such

Frogs, Bait Fish, Scrub Worms, Yabbies, Lizards and foot-long Eels that Murray Cod just cannot resist. Some of Victoria’s finest anglers assisted with their knowledge and input during the design and testing stages, which resulted in lifelike imitations and swimming action. You can check them out on Facebook.

(yes, big kids included) to catch during the 2021 summer holidays, weighing around 250g each. They will be stocking even more fish in 2021, where they are aiming for a record 8 million stocked by April 2021. Bring it on! • Jerusalem Creek Marina & Holiday Park is a friendly, family-orientated caravan park, and makes the perfect home away from home. While there you can opt to hire one of their Boatel floating apartments, hire a boat or book a fishing guide at competitive prices. For more information on all of these services and other attractions in the area, visit jerusalemcreek.com. au, or give them a call on (03) 5774 2585 or email i n f o @ j e r u s a l e m c re e k . com.au.

Marc with his first ever Murray cod, which clocked 103.5cm.

Jayme with a cracking big river fish. from Shepparton took the opportunity to capture a great photograph in front of a small summer waterfall with her Murray cod catch up Big River. The rains will maintain the lake at fantastic fishing levels through summer and into autumn. Water quality along the rivers leading to the lake is always pristine, and one lucky angler who has spent a lifetime devoted to environmental and erosion control, Peter Higgins from State Wide River and Stream Management, landed one of the very healthy Murray cod that thrive in the pristine waters.

day, landing three Murray cod during their four-hour guided tour of the lake. For Marc, it was his first time fishing spinnerbaits in the Main Arm, and he managed to land and release his first ever Murray cod that clocked in at 103.5cm. With Lake Eildon fast becoming Australia’s premier native fishery it comes as no surprise that one talented angler took the opportunity to develop a range of soft plastics suited to Australian native fishing during his drawn-out days during the metropolitan Melbourne COVID lockdown. His range of GOT8 plastics include

Relax and enjoy delicious food and warm hospitality.

Open for breakfast from 6am 7 days a week (Closed Mother’s Day)

Coffee Light meals Pastries Cakes Bread 10 Main St, Eildon Victoria 3713 03 5774 2362 0438 881 629 96

FEBRUARY 2021

The Victorian Fisheries Authority provided a last dose of Murray cod for Lake Eildon with 190,000 Murray Cod Fingerlings released to finish off a big year of stocking across the State. Their stockings also include the Eildon Pondage that received a bonus 1,500 rainbow trout for the kids

The Victorian Fishing Authority aims to release 8 million fingerlings by April.

FISHING NEWS

Crab trap crackdown in WA The Onslow Court has heard that use and possession of fish traps is illegal in WA waters. It was part of a case against a Margaret River man, who did not attend court, but entered an endorsed plea of guilty. The magistrate fined the man $1,000. The prosecution of the 69-year-old followed public complaints in May that were brought to the attention of Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) compliance officers, after when the man was reported driving his recreational boat, with six fish traps on the bow, through the waters of Beadon Creek Onslow. Several days later, the officers travelled from Exmouth to execute a search warrant, with support of WA Police, at an Onslow property, where the six fish traps were located and seized. In a video record of

The six forfeited fish traps. Image courtesy of DPIRD interview, the Margaret River man admitted to being the master of the vessel seen on 17 May, fish traps were on board, he was the owner of the boat and he had launched and retrieved the vessel at Beadon Creek boat ramp that day. It is against WA fishing laws to use traps to take fish in the waters of the Indian Ocean as well as any estuary, inlet, river, brook or stream. It is also an offence for a master of

a boat to carry illegal fishing gear in those waters. The magistrate ordered the forfeiture of the six, as part of his sentencing. In a sentencing submission made to the court 8 December that traps left unattended have a detrimental impact on aquatic life through ‘self-baiting’ or ‘ghost trapping’. Acting Supervising Fisheries and Marine Officer for DPIRD’s Northern Region, David Lewington said the

$1,000 fine for carrying prohibited gear on a boat should act as a deterrent. “I also thank the Onslow public who reported this matter to us in May,” Mr Lewington said. “Whether it’s illegal fishing gear, or other potential breaches of WA’s fishing rules, we urge people to report what they see or suspect may be illegal fishing activity to 1800 815 507.” FishWatch operators treat all reports in the strictest of confidence and, by reporting what you see, you will be assisting us in protecting WA’s fish resources for future generations. The obligation for all fishers is to know the rules that apply to gear, what they are fishing for and the where they plan to fish. More information is available in the Recreational fishing guide, available on the department’s website at www.fish.wa.gov. au. – DPIRD

VIC

Bait fishing has the edge NAGAMBIE

Sunny Martins

Conditions have been windy and stormy for the most part this month but even so there are some quality fish being caught around the Nagambie area. There have been some absolute cracking fish caught in the last month, especially around the basin and Kirwans Bridge, with big baits and attention

to details being the key factors in success. MITCHELLSTOWN The Mitchellstown area has been relatively slow this month with not a lot of reports coming from the area. The river is running with a fair amount of current and is quite clean at the moment which can make it hard work to fish, especially for anglers looking at casting the banks, especially upstream of the main bridge where the river narrows down.

The ideal way to target fish in the Mitchellstown area at the moment has definitely got to be bait fishing or trolling. Two productive baits at this time of year are cheese and large yabbies rigged on a large 6/0-9/0 circle hook with a free running bean sinker. Some fo the lures that are producing fish at the moment are deep divers such as large AC Invaders, size 1 StumpJumpers and the Mega StumpJumpers. Trolling spinnerbaits always seems to

This Murray cod was caught near Kirwans Bridge on a Gidgee Fatty Jnr.

be very productive around the snags, and some popular options are Obsession Spinnerbaits or Bassman Spinnerbaits. NAGAMBIE At this time of year the fishing in the lake in Nagambie township continues to suffers a lot from boat traffic, which in turn makes for undesirable fishing conditions with the constant wakes and muddy waters. The best locations for fishing the lake at this time of year would be to set up at the rowing club and fish off the rocks on the foreshore and under the trees lining the lake and river in that area. Near the caravan park is good too due to the fact that it is a 5-knot zone. Bait fishing is definitely the technique that works the best in the lake. Small yabbies or shrimp and cheese have been the most popular baits to use around this area. Bait always seems to work a little bit better around noisy and unfavourable conditions. KIRWANS BRIDGE The Kirwans Bridge area has been fishing pretty well recently and is definitely the recommended spot for anglers wanting to target Murray cod and golden perch casting lures. The water is running clean and there are plenty of baitfish in and

around the willows and the reedy edges. Early morning and late afternoon have been the most productive times, with the bite shutting down bit throughout the day. Surface lures and large profile lures such as large

hardbodies and spinnerbaits have been working well. Anglers bait fishing should check out the willow trees and the stumps on the edge of the river channels. Cheese and yabbies have been the most productive baits.

Anyway, the weather, and more importantly the wind will determine whether we’re sticking in close to the creeks and bays, or venturing out onto

the reef to try our luck out there. It’s a good hour out, so we need to have a good window of calm weather to get out and back. And the choice of trip determines

what boat we tow up. Or don’t tow up…right Stuffer? And don’t start blaming me. I write the column, it was your job to remind me.

A Murray cod caught on a DUO Realis Fangshad 140SR.

THE SHEIK OF THE CREEK

To boat or not to boat… BRISBANE

The Sheik of the Creek

I’ve got that feeling again. No, not that feeling, that’s from Skipper’s curry. I’m talking about the feeling of dread and panic that hits about this time every year. Yes, okay that could be from Skipper’s curry, you’re right, but not in this case alright! Leave Skipper’s curry alone… we certainly do. No, what happens at this time every year is that the Dudd’s annual fishing trip is looming. We’ve decided on a destination (Pommers). We’ve booked the accommodation (Jimmy). We’ve sorted out who’s buying the food (Boobies). We’ve sorted out who’s cooking the food (Boobies). We’ve sorted out who’s not cooking the food (Skipper). We’ve sorted out who’s buying

the liquid refreshment (Doughers) and who’s driving up there in which car with which boat connected to the back. Notice that I’ve written ‘connected’, because of that one time, at Dudd’s camp…anyway, we’ll not go into that fiasco, will we Stuffer? At least we remembered we’d forgotten the boat before we were halfway there. And it was only a four-hour drive back…but anyway, let’s not go over old ground. Like we had to that day, remember Stuffer? Moving on. Boats. This is a problem, and where a lot of the anxiety comes from as we peer nervously into the future via Wally’s Weather, BOM, and every other supposed long term wind predicting website. I don’t know why we bother because the weather patterns change basically from day-to-day, if not hour-to-hour. Why do we do it then? I’m not completely sure, but

I think it’s to do with having something to look forward to after a relatively crappy year. Anyone know anything about that? Thought not.

FEBRUARY 2021

recfishwest Abundant schools of big salmon

Picture this: Excited fishers running along the beach in pursuit of the massive salmon school they’ve just spotted, wading into waist-deep water and hurling lures towards the renowned sportfish. Then, after their lures barely hit the water, fishers hold onto to their doubled-over rods tightly as line quickly peels from their zinging reels and an acrobatic salmon rises from the water in front. WORTH THEIR WEIGHT IN GOLD For many WA anglers, these joyous scenes are a yearly reality, with the annual autumn

million to the WA economy but is priceless in terms of the fantastic fishing experiences they provide for thousands of WA fishers and families. “The abundant schools of Australian salmon which migrate along the southwest coast underpin one of our State’s most spectacular fishing experiences,” Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland said. “Thousands of recfishers take part in the annual WA salmon run, spending a whopping $331 million each year in the process. Much of the total – about 80% – is spent

Recfishwest CEO Dr Andrew Rowland caught this salmon from his boat. salmon migration attracting anglers from far-and-wide to south coast and South West beaches. From Cheynes Beach near Albany, to Cape Naturaliste’s Bunker Bay – and occasionally along the metropolitan coastline – WA’s yearly salmon run is a hugely popular recreational fishing fishery worth more than $330

in regional WA and supports businesses and jobs in those communities.” SALMON SLAM AND SENSATIONAL SPORTFISHING The salmon run boasts sensational sportfishing at some of the world’s most picturesque beaches, right here in WA’s backyard. To celebrate the amazing

and accessible sportfishing opportunity, Recfishwest is hosting a FREE, app-based three-month long fishing competition coinciding with this year’s annual run – the Salmon Slam 2021. Although the 2020 competition was called off amid COVID-19 concerns after more than a thousand fishers signed-up to take part, this year’s tournament is set to be well competed among salmon enthusiasts. There will be many great prizes up for grabs, including a dinghy, trailer and outboard package top-prize valued at more than $9,000! With thousands set to vie for the tournament’s salmon success, Recfishwest anticipates this year’s Salmon Slam to be WA’s – and potentially Australia’s – biggest fishing competition. “Participants can log their catches via our Salmon Slam mobile app,” Dr Rowland said. “With multiple prizes on offer each week, I’m sure it will fire up salmon enthusiasts and further bring together WA’s passionate salmon fishing community.” Also, Recfishwest will be releasing a limited-edition ‘Official Salmon Chaser’ fishing shirt – check out recfishwest.com.au for details – to celebrate this year’s anticipated salmon run. “The unique fishing shirt will give all salmon enthusiasts the opportunity to proudly show their support for the iconic species – so don’t miss out on getting your hands on

one,” Dr Rowland said. MORE SALMON, MORE FANTASTIC FISHING WA is home to Australia’s biggest salmon, with fish regularly tipping the scales at more than 5kg. Research has shown there is a higher abundance of bigger, older salmon being caught on average across the State than ever before. Dr Rowland said the high salmon abundances are underpinning the amazing fishing opportunities experienced. “We want to see the State Government establish a salmon management plan in consultation with fishers to underpin the fishery’s future based on its social and economic values,” he said. “Recfishwest don’t want to see commercial salmon fishers put out of business, but the value of salmon as a recreational sportfish simply cannot be overlooked or

Jacob Carlish knows how to catch the big ones. underestimated.” AN AUTUMN OF SALMON TO REMEMBER WA recfishers’ anticipation for the salmon run is heightening, with autumn –

Salmon schools are always a welcome sight.

the start of the Salmon Slam – just one month away. While many are fishers are preparing their lure boxes in anticipation for the salmon season, Dr Rowland encouraged fishers – regardless of skill level – to enjoy the amazing fishing opportunity. “Salmon are a part of the WA lifestyle and we want to see this most accessible of sportfish celebrated as one of the State’s fishing icons,” he said. “Myself and the rest of the Recfishwest crew are mad-keen for this salmon season. “Be sure to join us on the run this autumn – we’re looking forward to seeing you on the beach and ready to cast your lure into abundant salmon schools.” – Zach Relph

Ducking out of the wind ESPERANCE

Murray Johnson

Esperance has been enjoying a great summer with plenty of fish, but unfortunately also plenty of wind. Our normal patterns of south-easterly winds has continued, which makes it a little bit harder to fish. Still, as long as you choose your areas properly, there are still plenty of opportunities to fish. Choice beaches locally include Salmon Beach and Fourth Beach, which have been producing small schools of salmon, plenty of herring and some small skippy. Fourth Beach at night also been producing the occasional bronze whaler and tailor. Heading a bit out of town, 14 Mile has allowed 98

FEBRUARY 2021

Oli Stevensson with a quality queen snapper. Image courtesy of @olistevensonn

Lachy Warren has been doing well on the bronzies lately. Image courtesy of @lachy_warren

the guys to still get their salmon fix, and also some small mulloway, bronze whalers, skippy and herring. The younger guys love chasing bronze whalers, and often use herring for bait. Heading east of town, Dunns Rock Beach and Rossiter have been producing plenty of herring,

lots of bronzies, the occasional salmon and small skippy. Thomas River is producing salmon, skippy around the 2kg mark, herring, bronze whalers, and the occasional small mulloway. Guys out at the Cliffs To page 99

South Coast

Catching a summer feed AUGUSTA

Anthony Gillam

What an amazing transformation occurred over Christmas and New Year in Augusta this year. After the horrible disappointment of the COVID restrictions during Easter 2020, people have taken advantage of

trying their luck at getting a holiday feed, and it has not disappointed. The quality of the water, which has shown to deteriorate when the cut is closed, has remained very good overall. However, there have been some warnings issued in relation to the condition of the water in the lower reaches of the Scott River where it feeds into the Blackwood River

(around Molloy Island). It was not recommended to consume anything caught there during summer. Scott River is much shallower and slower moving than the Blackwood, and it would appear that nutrient runoff is becoming an issue that needs to be addressed. As with most areas, the crabs have increased in numbers and size as the season gets into full swing. Reports of crabs at the Ellis Street and Town jetties have been common, with plenty of big males on the prowl.

Most reports indicate that the East Augusta side of the river is providing the majority of the crabs which seem to be favouring The Sticks and Westbay areas. Due to large stingrays being everywhere in the river, try using chicken necks or spleen rather than fish baits or the rays will get into the bait and destroy your nets in the process. One way of avoiding this issue altogether is to grab a scoop and torch, and go for an evening stroll in the shallows. The go-to catch at the moment would have to be whiting, with people trying their luck in boats, beach and bays all over the area. King George and yellowfin whiting are in very good numbers throughout Hardy Inlet and have been caught on all manner of baits, soft plastics and hardbodied lures. Squid strips and pieces of coral prawn have been very successful, as have blood and sand worms. The Berkley Gulp imitations of the worms are also effective, and have seen some very aggressive strikes. Yellowfin whiting as usual are responding to glass shrimps on a small hook and a moving line, and they also provide great sport on small poppers or pencil lures, especially on the shallow flats in the Dead Water and around Dukes Head. Sand whiting numbers in the bays and beaches has remained very good with some really nice fish being taken from Flinders Bay. They will take squid strips and worms with great gusto as soon as your line reaches the bottom, and when fishing from the beach will respond very well to a berley trail. They not only make a very nice meal for us, they are also an excellent bait for some of the bigger critters that frequent the waters. Sand whiting are also quite fond

in natural prawn colour, retrieved with a very slow wind with the occasional pause. The ZMan 3.75” StreakZ in motor oil are also catching fish. In Bandy Creek Boat Harbour anglers are getting King George whiting, herring, flounder and flathead, and also the occasional blue manna crab. Boat-based anglers fishing the bay are continuing to catch good sand whiting and plenty of herring, with some big bull herring in the mix. Also showing up is the occasional snook and some bluefin tuna around 4-6kg. The tuna are taking jet heads and divers like the Lazer Pro 160. The close islands are producing really good size nannygai up to 60cm, along with plenty of queen snapper and samsonfish. Guys heading out wide

are seeing bigger schools of tuna, plenty of nannygai to 60cm+, breaksea cod, and good numbers of queen snapper. There are also good size samsonfish up to 30kg. Next month we would expect salmon to start schooling up in bigger schools, which ties in with more bronze whaler and tailor catches. Bigger herring will continue to get caught, and the winds should start to ease off a bit as well. • Established in 1986, Southern Sports and Tackle specializes in the supply and servicing of fishing equipment. They have an extensive knowledge of the local area and provide all brands, whether you’re fishing from beach, jetty or boat. Come and chat to the friendly staff at Shop 16, The Boulevard, Esperance or phone 08 9071 3022.

The first dhufish is always memorable. Billy was very pleased with his first effort on a day out with Leeuwin Marine Charters. the chance to get down to the jewel of the southwest to make the most of the summer break. With unprecedented numbers of people arriving during December it was a complete turn around from the empty streets in Augusta during Easter. The weather, although windy on occasion, was generally nicely warming, and the fishing was excellent, just as expected! The Blackwood River and Hardy Inlet have both been crawling with people From page 98

are getting lots of small bronzies up to 3ft, and gummies as well. There are also salmon and tailor, and some really big bar-tail flathead up to 90cm. Back in town, anglers fishing from the Tailor Street and James Street jetties are still catching the occasional squid, small King George whiting, and plenty of herring. The whiting and herring are taking prawn and squid baits rigged on a no. 4 long shank hook, preferably with a lumo straw, with a berley blob. If you retrieve it fast like a lure you have a good chance of success. The bream lakes have been firing with the warmer water, with many fish going 40cm+. Lately we have been catching them on prawn imitations like the Gulp 2” Shrimp

of a chew on a fresh piece of their own kin, so catching one and using it for bait is a good way to end up with a meal of its cousins. The demersals are back on the agenda in a big way and the numbers of fish observed while diving has shown that the fishery in this area is in a very good state. Reports of many juvenile dhufish on the shallow reef areas provides much encouragement that the fishery is being managed very well. The rock lobster run was right on time with the whites being picked up in shallow waters just in time for a seafood smorgasbord on Christmas day. Potting and diving resulted in plenty of happy people, with it quite easy to pick the size you wanted. For those who weren’t able to get out to them, the back of boat sales from some savvy commercial fishers provided plenty of good sized crays. Now that it has shown to be viable, let’s hope it is continued into the new year. Out in Flinders Bay, the conditions have been a bit hit and miss with the southeasterly winds making fishing in a boat a rough old ride once they pick up. Luckily most of the time the winds have stayed down until late morning, meaning that those keen enough were getting up early, getting a feed and getting back in for lunchtime. There have been plenty of table fish on offer, with dhufish and pink snapper far outweighing the others in numbers caught. That being said, the ever-present harlequin and breaksea cod often showed up in the daily catches. Whole small octopus, squid and mulies accounted for plenty of fish, as did large soft plastics and knife jigs. If you want to let the work done for you then try a SloMo jig and have the swell movement provide the action. These work surprisingly well. There have been plenty of bust-offs in the deeper water, with large blue groper probably the culprits. Try a heavier line and big baits if this happens, and then buckle in and hang on for the fight of your life. Either that, or it will be sharks and you will probably be bitten off pretty quick. Hamelin Bay, which is quite sheltered in close, has provided the chance for late risers to get out for a fish and avoid the wind. During Christmas it looked like one of the metro beaches, with people and vessels everywhere on land and sea. Spots on the beach and moorings were a premium, which prompted many people to move further towards Boranup to try and get away from the main groups. There was plenty of action for those wanting to catch a meal, from whiting, herring

Clint Van Roon shows off a nice sized wobbegong captured while beach fishing at Boranup. and tarwhine through to sharks and the odd tailor thrown in for good measure. There have been people in boats observed fishing in areas that are part of the Ngari Capes Marine Park that are subject to different zones, which also include ‘no take’ zones. These location of these areas can quite easily be located under the maps heading on the Recfishwest app which is a simple download on any smartphone. Being caught fishing in these important areas not only attracts unwanted attention to yourself, it puts the future of fishing in jeopardy. Beach fishing at Deepdene, Cosy Corner, Elephant Rock, Hamelin Bay and Boranup has been very popular lately and there have been people and vehicles everywhere along the coast. Some of the tracks have become a bit chopped up and it is probably a good idea to drop the tyre pressure in your vehicles before hitting the sand. Plenty of the breadand-butter species have been caught along with the odd gummy, wobbegong and school shark making for a fun experience on light gear when you are not expecting it. Remember to bleed any shark immediately and de-fin them to prevent deterioration

of the flesh. As with all fish, keeping them in a cool slurry will improve the edibility at the end of the day. Rock fishing can be very productive in Augusta. Choose a spot that allows you the chance to seek refuge from any king waves and don’t let calm conditions fool you into thinking you are safe. Rogue waves are just that and can quickly result in you being thrown into the water. People have died here after being washed off by king waves. 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 Better Choice Fuels Service Station. • The locations mentioned are all well-known and are marked on most vehicle GPS units, especially if they have HEMA maps or a list of locations can be obtained from the local tackle store, Augusta X-Treme Outdoor Sports.

Blake Muller, one of the Augusta Xtreme staff, shows off his nice rock lobster taken on an afternoon dive in Flinders Bay. He is also the hard working deckhand on his father’s charter boat. FEBRUARY 2021

South Coast

Salmon salmon salmon! BUNBURY

Whiteys Tackle and Camping

Salmon are a superb sportfish, and these prolific, hard-fighting fish are fast approaching. Each year they seem to be arriving earlier and earlier. Salmon give the shorebased angler a consistent sportfishing target, and if the water gets cool enough we should start seeing an increase in numbers over the next month. If this happens, I recommend leaving the bait at home and flick a lure at

the schooled-up fish. A school from the beach will look just like a weed bed, only it moves! Just tie on a lure and cast away with little to no fuss. My favourite lure is a pre-rigged soft plastic in the 5” to 7” range, as this will allow you to fish the whole water column as it sinks down to the depths where the salmon are holding. When a school of salmon is coming your way, don’t cast directly into the middle. Instead, try to get your lure landing 5-10m in front of the leading fish and watch as the fish that lead the pack peel off and attack your offering.

A 6-10kg graphite rod in the 9’ range, or a 7’ rod if you’re fishing from a boat, will suit this style of fishing perfectly. These types of rods are strong enough to cast large lures and put some real grunt on the fish, without taking all the fun out of it. TAILOR At this time of year there is nothing better than heading down to the beach after work and relaxing with the sand between your toes, the waves lapping at your feet whilst enjoying the afternoon sea breeze! These conditions usually get the tailor hungry

Coops with a nice salmon taken on fly.

and aggressive, making them a great target for throwing hardbodied or even soft plastic lures. Look for a likely gutter and starting casting in the ever reliable metal slugs for some high speed spinning. Use metal slugs in 10-70g range with the weight determined by what your rod is capable of casting (if you’re unsure, look for a gram rating on the rod blank). If flat out, non-stop spinning is not your style, try a bibbed minnow. Twitching and pausing the lure whilst on the retrieve will imitate an injured baitfish, sounding the dinner bell to any tailor nearby. When the tailor are being fussy (whether it be from angler pressure or from an overabundance of baitfish), my go-to technique is a mulie/pilchard on a 3/0 or 4/0 chemically-sharpened gang with little or no weight, tied on to the mainline with some 20lb fluorocarbon leader. This technique requires a more hands-on approach; make sure you include a few pauses amongst your retrieve as this can convert fussy feeders into hook-ups. Belvedere and Buffalo beaches are a popular option, but Myalup and Preston, a bit further north, can turn on some red hot fishing at times. A commonly forgotten target from the beach during this time of year is the almighty

Josh Italiano with a large blue-eye that smashed a jig. shark. There are quite a few anglers in the area that target the sharks that are following the schools of salmon. Quite often the salmon are being sent back with a nice new nose ring intended to be the dinner for our friends in grey coats. This can definitely be a heart pumping experience! The demersal fishing has been as hot as the weather with some cracking dhuies, pinkies and baldchin being caught. Artificial options keep producing, with flutter jigs in

the 100-200g weights seeming to get good results. The bigger fish have been showing a preference for larger offerings like 8” and 9” plastics. Whatever your preference, get out there and give it a go! • The friendly staff down at Whiteys Tackle and Camping in Treendale live local and fish locally so if you have any questions on what you have read, or to just want to pop in and say hi, the crew will always be happy to chat.

Summer time offers treats in the South West BUSSELTON

Stephen Norman

January treated us to wind, wind, and more wind! Persistent southeasterlies made weather windows few and far between for anglers, but when the weather broke the fishing was hot. Yellowfin whiting are still keeping land-based anglers happy with big numbers patrolling the beaches, particularly on those warm days. Dunsborough and Wonnerup have been some hot spots but it’s worth trying any areas of beach that are fed by small inland runoffs. The many drains between Busselton and Dunsborough are well worth a shot. Squid and crab catches in the bay have been a little slower however, with anglers having to work harder for a feed. Squid have been biting well in the evenings around the 6-10m mark in the bay whilst most crab catches have come from either scooping along the beaches in the evening, or setting nets just offshore. 100

FEBRUARY 2021

No particular areas have stood out as hotspots thus far so it’s worth trying your luck just about anywhere in the bay.

UPCOMING History tells us that the warm weather and warm water will continue in February, keeping the fish

Ben Fisher with a PB 57cm brown trout caught locally recently.

Another beautiful brown trout ready for release.

on the chew, and hopefully with less wind! Yellowtail kingfish will be making some appearances around the capes and further offshore, and trolling bibbed minnows around shallow reefs and bommies has proven effective, while casting stickbaits has also

done the damage. Drifting near large bommies while cubing mulies has been the most successful method for attracting kingfish for us. While mostly 60-90cm, the kingfish will generally show up in the mulie trail and as long as you keep the berley coming, the kingfish

will follow. Tailor and herring catches have been on fire with good fish coming from Injidup, Willyabrup and Smiths Beach. Fishing early morning or late afternoon has been the best time for the herring, while staying on into the late evening and night has paid off for anglers chasing tailor. The humble mulie as always has been the go-to for the tailor while fresh squid has been dynamite on herring. Anglers fishing these beaches have also been getting inundated with swarms of sand whiting, particularly Injidup Beach. While only small, it’s not hard to grab yourself 10-20 fish quite easily, and they make great baits also for tailor and even the elusive mulloway. A simple paternoster rig or running sinker rig coupled with a size 8-10 hook and a small piece of squid is all you will need for the sand whiting. We’ve had some amazing freshwater catches recently with all To page 101

South Coast

Seeking shade in the rivers MANDURAH

Jesse Choy

February brings about many opportunities when it comes to activities outdoors. Marron fishing is once again prohibited as of 5 February, so if you are considering giving it a go, you will want to do so soon to try your luck before the ban sets in. Going by reports, there have been plenty of marron getting snared lately, and some good ones at that. Remember that if you are going to try your hand at marron fishing for the first time, you should educate yourself on the rules surrounding the species, including license and size requirements. If you want to fish the fresh, it is well worth buying a freshwater fishing licence and also giving the

redfin perch a go while you are exploring. Though you will still find the odd trout, they can be harder to locate in the warmer conditions, whereas the perch don’t seem as affected by the change. It is ideal if you

have a kayak or electric powered boat when fishing fresh, as it really allows you to find out what the fish are doing and how they are reacting on the day. Fishing a spinner or diving hardbody is ideal for this

Mulloway like this are not uncommon in both of our local river systems. They will readily take lures and the battle is so very intense. This fish took a Flash J Grub by Fish Arrow.

Andy snared these beautiful marron out bush on one of his adventures! From page 100

species firing at some point. Redfin, as well as brown and rainbow trout have been in great numbers in waterways from Collie right down to Pemberton. The Warren River, Big Brooke Dam and Honey Moon Pool are just a few of the stand-out locations, but most freshwater systems are worth a try. The Pro Lure ST72 Minnow in rainbow trout pattern has been the absolute pick of the bunch for lure choice, while the Daiwa Double Clutch in Lazer Red has also been dynamite. Bite times have fluctuated but typically sticking to the early morning/late afternoon rule will be your best chance. Yellowfin whiting will continue to cloud our beaches in strong numbers

reason, as they allow you to actively cover ground and potentially put your lure into the face of many more fish. When it comes to colours, good choices include rainbow trout, gold, purple, red or black.

this month, and they offer a great alternative on windy days when the boat is left at home. A simple running sinker rig with a small size 10 long shank hook or size 6 octopus hook, coupled with bloodworm for bait, is all you will need to bag a feed of these tasty critters. Try going down mid-morning and spotting the whiting on shallow, sand bar areas. If you can see a few, there will be more nearby. Any drain/river runoffs locally will produce a shallow sand bar-like area that will hold the yellowfin. • 2 Oceans Tackle is the south west’s premium fishing tackle outlet. Drop in and see our friendly staff for professional advice and choose from our massive range of fishing tackle that is sure to keep you fishing for longer. 2 Oceans Tackle 14 Albert St, Busselton WA.

Fishing the rivers, you will want to focus your efforts mid to upstream. When fishing the warmer days, it is worth fishing your baits or lures in places which offer some shade from the sun. It can also be rewarding to try some of the cooler, deeper pockets of water when things are beginning to heat up. Fishing baits or lures on a change of light is ideal, as the river can be quite hard fishing during the heat of the day, and these times help the fish hunt without burning too much energy. Bream, mulloway, whiting and the odd tailor are all likely catches if you are going to give it a go. Those fishing for crab or whiting will have noticed that the quality has improved on earlier months.

A healthy bag of yellowfin whiting is what summer mornings are made for!

Steve from Tackle World and Outdoors Mandurah shows that there’s more than dhu or pink snapper off our local coastline, if you’re willing to do the miles. Not only does the quality of fish seemingly improve during this time, but so too does the weather. February is a great time to get out, as we begin to experience a bit less of the heat and ease into the slightly cooler autumn months. Whether you are scooping or dropping your nets, the one thing worth remembering is to cover ground. Learning from your mistakes when heading out will be your biggest factor in success and coming home with a bit of a feed. If the location you are fishing provides minimal results, try something else and be open minded about potential results. Consider depths, whether sand or weed is prevalent or perhaps how the fish are reacting as the tide changes. If you enjoy fishing the beach, fishing stretches from Silver Sands to Secret Harbour will generally turn up some good sized tailor, the odd mulloway as well as plenty of bread and butter species. Fishing the more southern beaches can still produce well, but you will generally lose a few rigs to the structure which litters the shoreline at White Hills and Tims. If you are prepared to put in the work

however, there are plenty of opportunities to catch multiple species, including land-based mackerel, samsonfish, gummy sharks and pink snapper. Offshore fishers are still finding plenty of goodsized dhu and pink snapper for the taking. Ideal fishing grounds are still outwards of James Service Reef, with the optimal depth range to fish being around 20-60m. Though you will still find good fish in the shallow structures, good quantities of fish will generally come from the deeper structures. Paternoster rigs baited with some octopus, mullet or squid are effective, though plastics and jigs are equally if not more effective on the right day. Heading into March, we start to phase out of the tailor fishing, to head straight into salmon season. Though it is quite early to catch the good sized salmon we see every year, the fish definitely start to move around this time and can be intercepted ahead of the larger schools. Live herring is a deadly bait when trying to tempt these finicky front runners, as these fish seem more on a mission than hungry, and will often react better to something fresh. FEBRUARY 2021

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West Coast

Swan River will be full of life METRO

Jacob Crispe

As we work our way further into the warmer months of the year, the saltwater pushes deep into our river systems and provides more fishing options for anglers. The Swan River is no exception and the fishing throughout February should be pretty good. SWAN RIVER One of the key target species this month will be flathead. They will be present and be catchable on every sand flat in the system from East Fremantle to Maylands. Anglers targeting them will be found wading knee deep water slowly working blades, bibbed minnows and soft plastics across these flats. The flathead seem to prefer a slow methodical presentation, so if you

lure like an Ecogear ZX35 with you when targeting the whiting. These lures can be highly effective if

the whiting aren’t taking your surface offerings and want something sub surface instead.

Peter Zahradkah caught these squid while wading waist deep in the Swan River.

If anyone can do it, David Caputi can! A prime example of a big Freo mully caught at the Sheds. aren’t getting bites, try slowing down your retrieve. Another bread and butter species that will spread to the extremes of the system is the black bream. As always, find structure and the bream won’t be too far away. Lightly weighted bait presentations will be a popular way to target them. Try using unpeeled prawns or mullet strips to target the bigger fish. These baits are a little tougher and cope with the pickers a little better so that larger fish can come and grab it. The sand flats in the lower reaches are also great places for anglers to target yellowfin whiting with surface lures. Clairmont, Point Walter and East Freo are good starting points. It doesn’t hurt to have a small blade-style 102

FEBRUARY 2021

Tailor are another species that can be targeted when wading the flats – not on the flats themselves, but

over the drop-offs beyond them. Late afternoons are prime time to hit the water to fish these areas using small metals like a Halco 10-15g Twisty or 75-100mm stickbaits. Mulloway continue to be active in the Swan. There are plenty of opportunities to target them as they have been caught throughout the system from Guilford to the E-Sheds. Live baits have been the most productive. If you find bait and structure, the mulloway won’t be too far away. As an alternative to the Swan, the Peel estuary near Mandurah is a popular fishing location at this time of the year. Like the Swan it is a great mixed fishery, but is best known for its yellowfin whiting surface fishing. Some very big whiting are caught there consistently during these

Dean ‘Mad Dog’ Coster with a stunning harlequin, also known as a Chinese lantern fish, caught in 30m on the southwest side of Rotto. warmer months. It also has plenty of blue swimmer crabs in the Peel, but the Swan River tends to have better quality specimens. Try your luck at Deepwater Point,

ROCK WALLS The rock walls in February are all about breadand-butter species. Skippy, King George whiting, herring and squid are all on the menu. For the fish

Han Yeoh is no stranger to catching ‘tings in the Peel. Here he is with a absolute cracker taken on a surface lure.

Max Sampson from Jazz Charters with a nice pink snapper caught on a soft plastic.

Clairmont Bay, Mosmans and Blackwall Reach, with the key to catching a nice feed being to use oily baits in your nets.

species, focus on the sand patches amongst the weed and use a bit of berley to keep the fish in your general area. If squid are your target,

LIGHT, POWERFUL, DURABLE…

they will be caught in the 30-50m of water. Another bonus at this weed that surrounds these THE REST time of year is a run of sand patches. Fishing around the FADs billfish off Perth. Trolling Reports of Spanish is a popular pastime through for them is by far the most mackerel being caught the summer and no wonder, popular method to target at North Mole have been because the FADs attract them. The team at Anglers consistent recently and this prized species like mahimahi, Fishing World have their should continue. Big skippy tuna and wahoo. Trolling fingers on the pulse as far and tailor have also been regular captures at Cottesloe groyne, so this is another area well worth a look. For the beach anglers amongst you, City Beach and Floriet are great options. Small sharks, mulloway, tailor, sand whiting and herring have made up the majority of catches. Berley will be the key to more consistent captures. INSHORE The Perth metro inshore grounds have been popular areas throughout the holiday period with King George whiting, skippy, herring, squid and sand whiting the ALBERTON main target species. MELBOURNE Good starting MARINE points to get ALBERTON MELBOURNE MARINE CENTRE a feed are Stragglers Reef, 39 Johnson Street Alberton 92 Hallam South Road Hallam Mewstones and Howl Bank. P: there (03) 5183 P: (03) 9703 2003 With now 2344 being a little lessF:boat about, it can (03)traffic 5183 2219 W: melbournemarine.com.au payW:toalbertonmarine.com.au move around a bit until you find active fish. MORNINGTON PENINSULA Spanish mackerel MY MARINE BENDIGO will be the focus of many Cnr Nepean Highway & BENDIGO MARINE & OUTDOORS inshore anglers in February. Ponderosa Place Dromana 160 Midland Highway Epsom Stragglers, Parker Point and the P: south Rottnest are (03)side 5448of3988 P: (03) 5987 0900 good to look for bird Tony Cardosa caught these nice gummy W:places bendigomarine.com.au W: mymarine.com.au activity, which is a sure sign sharks while targeting tailor at night. of MELBOURNE these fish being nearby. MORNINGTON PENINSULA Once you find some activity, lures or fishing live baits this billfish run is concerned, NAUTICAL MARINE BL MARINE a slow trolled garfish is a around them can produce so it’s worth dropping in to 141 Hotham 612614 Plenty Road Preston great way to pick up a few plenty of rod bending action, Road buy a few essentials and get Spaniards. but this action isSorrento not limited the good oil on what these P: (03) 9478 1420 F: Pink are always to the top third of fish are up to. (03)snapper 9470 4638 P: the (03) water 5984 1666 a popular target around Perth, column. Fishing around Finally, crayfish are W: blmarine.com.au E: info@nauticalmarine.com.au and having completed their the chain and anchor that around in good numbers, and W:place nauticalmarine.com.au spawning they tend to head holds the FAD in can don’t be afraid to pop a line for SHEPPARTON deeper water. They can result in species like eight in the water and fish around MOREin from bar cod, snapper,TOORADIN be BOATS found AND in water amberjack your crayfish pots as you pull 30-200m deep, with the Shepparton best and samsonfish, to SERVICE them. CENTRE Fish love P&Jjust MARINE P/Lgrabbing any 207 Numurkah Road depth in my opinion being name a few. morsels that fall from your P: (03) 5822 2108 101 Tooradin Station Road Tooradin around the 100-110m mark. For those anglers who pots, so a lure or bait will (03) 5821to2908 P: (03) 5998 Be F:prepared have sore enjoy deep dropping, the 3107 often be taken by one of these W:when boatsandmore.com.au E: pjmarine_services@bigpond.com arms you find them. usual culprits are available fish looking for an easy feed. Other demersal species with the addition of the As always, thank to Max likeMORWELL dhufish, harlequin, highly prized ruby snapper, from Angler’s Fishing World GEELONG Breaksea cod and baldchin which turn up PORTSIDE for a short for his help with this report. CRAWFORD MARINE MARINE CENTRE groper should also be about, period around the month Enjoy your fishing and I will 71-77 Chickerell Street Morwell 36-38 Geelong Road Portarlington with most being found in of February. catch you again next month. P: (03) 5134 6522 P: (03) 5259 1110 F: (03) 5134 6455 E: info@portsidemarinecentre.com.au W: crawfordmarine.com.au W: portsidemarinecentre.com.au

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Han Yeoh loves targeting black bream in the Swan with hardbody lures. FEBRUARY 2021

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West Coast

It’s a summer time lucky dip LANCELIN

Peter Fullarton

The most prized catch at Lancelin is the West Australian dhufish. A good fish is considered 15kg, and the 20kg barrier is the bucket list fish.

the angler off on the bottom, as dhufish like to bolt for a hole or ledge once they feel the line tighten. If you want that trophy 20kg fish, be sure to have the drag set right from the beginning of the fight to quickly get a few metres away from the reef. You should also have a good

and a limit of two dhufish per boat. Bottom bashing for demersals can be a bit like a lucky dip – you never know just what might come up next. The four main species caught off Lancelin are dhufish, breaksea cod, baldchin groper and pink snapper. You never know what else might come up in the lucky dip, with queen snapper, harlequin fish, foxfish and red snapper all common by-catch that are calculated within the demersal quota, and they

are excellent eating. There are also several tropical demersal species that turn up from time to time like emperors or cods. Deep drop specialists find another range of demersal species as the depths increase. Hapuka, blue-eye trevalla, bass grouper and grey band cod, all renowned for the large size and great eating qualities. While targeting demersal species it is common to snag some other species to add to No need to do the miles to get the smiles, as there are dhufish aggregating on the inshore lumps. This nice 75cm dhufish was caught just outside Lancelin Bay.

Shirly bagging two fish on the one bait! Local charter boat Reelforce always seems to get customers onto some very large ones regularly. I dare say a lot more are hooked but manage to rub

length of shock leader to handle any reef abrasions. Demersal category fish have a bag limit of two fish per licenced angler, although only one dhufish per angler

Emily’s group recently scored a good feed of herring, tailor and sand whiting at Didie Bay.

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the lucky dip. These have their own separate bag limits, and are a good top-up for the ice box. Sharks, whiskery

and gummy are often caught off the bottom and are great eating. Samsonfish have been a common by-catch in recent weeks, and on numerous occasions we have seen them chasing smaller hooked fish right to the boat. The eating quality can be quite varied and the meat is not ideal for all recipes, so most are released. If you are up for the Lancelin beach launch, this time of year can be reliable for the smaller boats to successfully get into the demersal fishing action. Dhufish are getting ready to spawn, so some schools can be found on the inshore shallow lumps

The northern beach gutters have been producing the goods, with tailor, dart and mulloway.

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Lancelin & Ledge Point Phone: 0427 941 126 Email: info@tailored treks.com.au Web: www.tailoredtreks.com.au 104

FEBRUARY 2021

along with pink snapper and breaksea cod. The water is quite warm, so the baldchin groper are being caught out from 24m only 3nm from shore. Abundance improves the further you go, so ideally head to the 30s. You don’t even need any good plots to grab a feed of baldies at Lancelin. Setting up a drift over the flats will pick up fish. A two-three hook paternoster rig is the way to go. Use at least 8/0 circle hooks so as not to land too many undersize fish, because they do not release well at all. Use just a nice mouth-size bit of bait or the baldies will pick at

We will be seeing more fish like this one around the 50cm category through the month.

it, pulling it off the hook. A bit of tough octopus that will stay on a bit longer is ideal. Sinker size depends on depth and drift speed; it needs to be heavy enough to drag along the bottom. If it is a windy day use a sea anchor to slow the drift down. Recently, we have been seeing lots of striped along with bluefin tuna. Keep an eye out for birds working on bait schools, because mackerel, tuna or bonito will be below the bait, pushing it to the surface. Beach fishing moves up a gear throughout the month. To page 105

West Coast

A month of mixed bags GERALDTON

Graham Maunder & Michael Triantopoulos

Beach fishing in the mid-west has been excellent when the strong southerlies and sea weed movement has allowed it. The rock walls and groynes have been producing small chopper tailor, a few herring, striped sea pike and sand whiting if you’re up early enough to get in a couple of hours before work. Tailor and some bragging

size mulloway are being landed along Tarcoola Beach, Southgates, West Bank and north of Flat Rocks. As usual, WA pilchards have been the best bait for tailor and even a few of the mulloway, but a good-sized fillet of fresh mullet or tailor has produced the largest mulloway (1.31.6m) and certainly stands up to the pickers a lot better than the softer pilchards. Striped sea pike are prolific at the moment and even though some anglers think they’re a little bony

Simon Waters with an impressive mulloway caught south off Geraldton. It measured 1.56m and weighed an estimated 28-30kg.

and strong in flavour for the table, they are one of the best fillet or live baits you can get for any of the larger fish species. They make excellent balloon, drone or troll baits for large Spanish mackerel and most other pelagic species as well. Large garfish have been difficult to get over the last couple of years, so stockpiling some pike for the coming season would be a good alternative. BOAT F i n a l l y, some spectacular weather has been upon us, and with the water temp sitting at around 23-25°C there has been a fair bit of pelagic activity about. At the southern group of the Abrolhos Islands around Wreck Point, there are good numbers of yellowfin tuna to 20kg, striped tuna, Spanish mackerel, shark mackerel and yellowtail kingfish. There are also WA dhufish to 12kg, coral trout, pink snapper, spangled emperor to 750mm and the occasional red emperor to 7kg coming out of 50-60m of water. Sharks have been a nuisance so moving is

Kevin Miss with a nice spangled emperor caught on a Samaki Vibelicious. required to land a fish. Mid Reef has been producing a really good mixed bag of both demersal and pelagic species such as WA dhufish, pink snapper, baldchin groper, coral trout, spangled emperor, samsonfish and Spanish mackerel taken on a drifted garfish or a trolled lure. South west bank in 45-50m has been producing good numbers of WA dhufish to 13kg, pink snapper, baldchin groper, mulloway, sweetlip to 500mm and samsonfish. African Reef has been a little quieter than usual but

some anglers are catching WA dhufish, coral trout, pink snapper and baldchin groper and the occasional Spanish mackerel trolling the drop of behind big African. The flat limestone grounds northwest of the Batavia marina in 30 seems to produce a good mix of species at this time of year. Estuary cod to 900mm, WA dhufish to 700mm, baldchin groper and school sized pink snapper are all on the cards. Trolling Pensioners has been successful for some anglers, with Spanish mackerel to 18kg being caught also some good-

size coral trout trolling the shallower sections with a deep diving minnow lure. Herring, pike and sand whiting are still in consistent numbers along with the occasional squid out from St Georges, Pages, Point Moore and Seal Rocks. • Geraldton Sports Centre is the Mid West’s specialist fishing tackle store. Drop in and see the friendly professional staff for local advice and knowledge, and browse the extensive range of fishing equipment on show at 204-208 Marine Terrace, Geraldton, or call them on 08 9921 3664.

Mackerel and mulloway KALBARRI

Stephen Wiseman

With the change in weather and warm water on the move down from the north, the hope of a good Spanish mackerel run increases. Some nice fat macks have been taken in recent weeks by the Sand Patch in around 20m of water. The best results have been on deep divers or a trolled bait left to sink for a while. If you get plagued by sharks, stop fishing and move. If you don’t, you’ll just keep feeding the sharks with your catch. Nice fat whiting have shown up in the river in front From page 104

We have been catching plenty of small summer choppers, and through the month more of the larger fish should enter the mix. Numbers of herring also improve through February along the beaches and in the bay. The surf beaches already have been producing some great sessions with fish over 30cm. There have been big schools about the bay, sometimes around the moored cray boats. In the mornings there are usually plenty on the shallow sand holes at the south end of the bay. The sand holes

of IGA and along the flats by the boat hire. A lot of small fish are continually picking at baits, but the occasional larger ones make it worth the effort. A check of the bins by the bottom boat ramp revealed some nice yellowfin tuna frames so the stories of them showing offshore have been proven. Stories are that they are in the 30m depths but I have not caught one myself just yet. The charter boats are doing well with plenty of pink snapper, dhufish and baldchins being taken to the north and out west, but it’s a bit of a trip to the offshore reefs and you want to pick your day. Watch the southerly. The beach action has been also hold yellowfin and King George whiting at times. Dart and some larger tailor have been caught up in the northern gutters up towards Wedge Island. They are a fun fish to catch on light gear. Early in the morning you can cast small pilchards and grab a mixed bag of tailor and dart or you can spin up a few on small metal lures like Halco Twisties. Guitar fish are back with the warm water, one fish to tick off the bucket list if you have not already. They have a surprising turn of speed and it is hard work to gain line back. Landing one on

good with the quad bike boys taking some nice chromies (mulloway) from areas to the North. I was watching one group dropping baits using a drone just north of Frustration Reef but was not able to see whether their efforts produced the goods. Down the coast, Wittecarra Creek and Red Bluff have been turning on the tailor action with good size keepers around in numbers. The best bait is the old faithful mulie. For the crab brigade, blue mannas are on the move but do check the size as most are just undersize at the moment. They will be legal when left to moult once more. Happy fishing and stay safe.

There will be plenty of inshore samsonfish this month. This sambo grabbed a fillet of skippy.

A nice Kalbarri chromie off the rocks. typical surf fishing gear is a great challenge. They come in quite shallow, so you don’t need a big cast to hook up. It’s best to place a few fish frames in the wash and drop a bait just out the back. Samsonfish are now common on the inshore reefs, after finishing their offshore breeding season. They come into the bay each year chasing squid and harassing the herring schools around the bay. At times large shoals of hardiheads take refuge under the jetty pylons, and the samsonfish to 30kg maraud them. It is bit surreal to see people chucking huge poppers from

the main town jetty and getting smoked on 80kg gear, it’s something more reminiscent of chasing GTs in the tropics. From now onwards if we get a good drop of rain the mullet will run, heading north along the shoreline. The mullet run always brings some big predatory fish close to shore – sharks, sambos, snapper and mulloway. The mullet schools pause for a few minutes and feed on the seaweed of the nearshore reefs, and those reef edges are often where the sambos or mulloway will be waiting. FEBRUARY 2021

105

South Coast

Tough wet season BROOME

Troy Honey

Fishing in Broome through the holiday period and January has been nothing short of exceptional but it has not come easy. Early rains, although always welcomed, have brought an

exceptional fishing has been incredibly challenging. Once the challenges were overcome, the landbased fishers in Broome have found queenies, threadfin, and barramundi in all the creeks up Cape Leveque, as well as Dampier and Little Crab Creeks in Roebuck Bay. Queenies have been on fire

been more prominent along the northeastern coastline of Roebuck Bay, as well as from Coconut Wells up to Barred Creek with both bait prawns and lures working well. Tide change is critical here for threadies, so ensure you are working the few hours leading up to the spring high tide for a greater chance at success when land-based. The jetty in Broome has been fishing very well for bluebone, perch, fingermark, queenfish and trevally. Bluebone have predominately been caught on fresh rock crabs while the queenfish and trevally have been caught on lures or live baits. Fishing here at night during the high tide changes has seen large GTs chasing lures and the odd barramundi being landed, also on lures which are retrieved

Fish do not come much better than red emperor, and Will had a great day last month landing this perfect example. close to the pylons. Out on the boat and tinnies it has been all about barramundi and threadfin with both recreation fishers and

Will Burns found good ground holding fish, such as this monster of a Rankin cod. onslaught of mosquitoes into town and the surrounding areas, combined with either difficult to negotiate or closed access tracks to the prime land-based fishing spots and it is fair to say the

over the last few weeks and the run of both quantity and size can be expected to continue right through until April before the water temperature starts to cool down. Land-based threadfin have

Rob Saunders with a prime example of a thready.

A blanket of blues EXMOUTH

Barry Taylor

It has been so hot this summer, with 40°C+ temperatures for weeks at a time, but anglers can’t really complain because the marlin are going off their nut! The water temperature lately has been around 27°C, which is just what the marlin like. There have been a lot of blues caught lately, with boats often getting one to three bites a day – or even up to six bites and converting three to four fish. You don’t need a big boat, either – if you get the right conditions, it’s definitely possible to succeed with a boat under 5m. One of our staff, Ross Lawrence, has been catching them on solo missions from his centre console, running two hooks. When he gets a strike he has time to bring in the other one, and then he harnesses himself in, driving forwards to follow the fish. Smaller black marlin have been a bit more scarce; we should be seeing little rats around the reef and inshore by now. They are around, 106

FEBRUARY 2021

but usually as a by-catch out wide, along with striped marlin. In the coming weeks the blacks should hopefully move inshore. Dolphinfish (mahimahi) are being caught in around 40-50m of water, and it’s that perfect, sapphire-blue colour that they like. The dollies aren’t really on the FADs, people are just finding then in packs hitting lures. Wahoo are showing up in catches as well, along with a few yellowfin. Bottom fishing been quite good, with a lot of red emperor, bluebone, rankin and all the other usual suspects. Mackerel are still about on the backs of the reefs. Some really good giant trevally are being caught by both land-based anglers and boaties, which is typical for this time of year. A few crews have been walking the shoreline up the end of the Cape, hooked a few giants and had no chance of stopping them. The biggest I’ve seen off the beach there was 45kg. Just a reminder that the GAMEX tournament is coming up soon. It will run from 12-20 March, and you can find out more at www. gamex.net.au. It’s a great

social event, with lots of entertainment at night, and the prizes keep getting better every year. Traditionally February is a good time to chase longtails in the Gulf, and generally the blacks will be running along the back of the reef very close on the west side. There will still be good land-based fishing for queenfish and trevally on poppers and stickbaits. The weather is a bit calmer at this time of year, allowing bottom fishers to head further up to the islands. As they say, ‘do the miles, get the smiles’, and that’s certainly true for those anglers who travel 70-80km for fantastic catches of coral trout and red emperor. • For all the latest news on what’s biting and where, drop in to Tackle World Exmouth at 3 Maley St, Exmouth or give them a call on (08) 9949 1315. You can also view the range at www.tackleworldexmouth. com.au, and see the latest catch photos on their Facebook page. This family business stocks a large range of tackle, from light spin to big game. The staff have a wealth of local knowledge and expertise, and are always happy to help.

charter operators recording good catches. Dampier and Crab creeks have been the location producing the most fish but that is also likely due to them being the most commonly fished locations. Barramundi have been on average 600mm to 800mm with the odd fish over 900mm. Plenty of threadies are being caught over the metre mark and it has become an expectation to bag out with the numbers up so much now.

Along with the threadies and barra the captures of northern jewfish have also been up in Roebuck Bay. You can find the jewfish around the deeper channels and holes at the creek entrances and all throughout the bay. Jewfish are normally caught on either live or dead baits, but the last few weeks has seen them become more aggressive and taking lures being trolled for threadfin. The run of the jewfish is hard and fast so it would make light work of most angler’s tackle used for threadfin. February and March will see a rise in tripletail being caught and these exquisite and elusive fish are found underneath the buoys in Roebuck Bay and any floating weed or debris. They will take baits such as small pieces of fish fillet or prawns and are also susceptible to lures that anglers would normally use to target fish such as bream. Work each buoy for a few casts and if nothing appears from underneath it is recommended to move on to the next buoy until you find them. Tripletail hit hard and will head straight back to the structure for protection, so you need to be on the ball when the strike occurs. They are an excellent table fish as well as

being a trophy fish to enjoy ticking off your bucket list. Demersal fishing has taken a back seat mostly at this time of year in Broome but there are plenty of quality fish to be caught if you are prepared for a bit more travel. Although bluebone tuskfish, blueline emperor as well as plenty of nearshore species, such as Moses perch, golden snapper and Spanish flag. can all be found within a short motor from the boat ramp. For the red emperors, saddletail and rankin cods your best bet is to head out past the 50m mark in February and March to find the cooler waters. You will locate them in shallower water, but the sharks will be more prolific and aggressive in the warmer water, which makes the fishing unbearable most of the time. February and March are the months to be in Broome if you want the elusive barramundi or even head out to the Fitzroy River to grab yourself a feed of freshwater prawns known as cherabin. Cherabin are fantastic on the dinner plate and the king of baits when it comes to enticing big barra. Just make sure you pack plenty of mozzie repellent and long sleeve shirts and pants.

Rob and his mates headed out in Roebuck Bay last month with the goal of bringing home a feed of threadfin salmon. They certainly achieved that with an esky full of very good-sized fish.

South Coast

La Nina to the rescue DAMPIER/KARRATHA

Troy Honey

La Nina has certainly kicked into gear across the Pilbara with a much higher rainfall than we have been experiencing at the same time over the last few years. The spinifex encrusted hills, roadsides and creek banks are all a glistening

creek, you have most likely used a boat and with all of the rainfall runoff, the water temperature will be affected. Use your sounder to search for the warmer water temps as this is where you will find the barra and threadies. The rain has also kicked off the run early for the jelly prawns, a preferred bait of the threadfin salmon. Search around for the fish feeding on the prawns and either catch

Russell Millar is a local legend when it comes to beating the mighty GTs in the Dampier Archipelago. Last month he landed this massive 38kg GT from the shoals. green colour which makes for fantastic scenery on the trips out to our favourite fishing spots. With this weather event bringing more rain, it also brings its challenges with a higher number of cyclones than average and leaving the ground wet under its dry surface crust for quite a while after each front passes through. This can be deadly to a planned fishing trip as it does not take much at all to break through the crust and find yourself badly bogged before even getting to see the barra-filled creek waters. A lot of the tracks and areas to these cracks have little to no phone reception so always take a PLB with you for back up. The trick to getting out of

the prawns with a throw net or use a lure that mimics the prawns in both colour and size to entice the barra and

Table fish donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come any better than coral trout like this 600mm specimen coming from 20m caught by the author.

Local angler Reuben Bufton knows how to find the larger land-based pelagics in Karratha. Last month he caught this metre long queenfish from rocks at low tide using a live garfish for bait. the bog is to have a kangaroo jack and large block of wood and four Maxtrax. Lift your vehicle up with the kangaroo jack on the block of wood and put all four Maxtrax under your wheels and keep working backwards until you are clear of the soft stuff. If you make it to the

to find. If you are targeting jacks then head up the creek off shoots where they become narrower and, in some cases, deeper. Jacks are more commonly caught in Karratha in the cooler months, but they are still about and active during the wet season so well worth trolling or flicking lures in these areas. Heading out to the islands an estimated 80-90kg black marlin was tagged last month by the president of the King Bay Game Fishing Club, Ian Lannary. A great fish in an Archipelago where the average fish is around 20kg. Reports last month of even bigger fish to 150kg challenging anglers on 15kg line class while chasing local sailfish and black marlin. The day before, the team at KBGFC placed the first IGFA Great Marlin Race PSAT tag on a 35kg black marlin which was caught by Tracy Brislane. This will provide valuable information to us fisherman as in around 7 months from now, we will find out where the marlin travel to during this time. Extremely exciting and I will update you all when this information comes to hand. On the pelagic front, Spanish mackerel and giant trevally catches are in full swing with multiple reports

threadies into a strike. Both barra and threadfin catches are up this season, with the most productive times being well after the rain waters have cleared the creeks and water temps returned to normal. All the local creeks hold the beautiful mangrove jacks, but they can be a bit tricky

of monsters of both species spreading around Karratha quickly. Spanish mackerel to averaging 15kg with some up to 20kg and giant trevally to a staggering 38kg! Both species are hitting lures and poppers over the shoals surrounding the Archipelago. All the shoals are evident on most maps, so they are easy to find and not too far from the boat ramps in Dampier or Karratha Back Beach. Queenies are another pelagic that are hitting just about anything thrown at them right now, poppers, stick baits and soft plastics all working well. Queenies can often be seen in the shallows busting up on mullet and using these as live baits cast out on either a low or high tide change are a dead certainty for a queenie hook up. A lot of the fish are reaching the metre mark and when hooked into a queenie

Wet season is mud crab season in the Pilbara and there are plenty of thumpers about. The author caught this 1.2kg giant in Nickol Creek at high tide in January in a drop net with chicken wings for bait. of this size on light gear you will be in for a treat. Queenies are well known for their aerobatics and fast runs, the trick is to keep them away from any rocks or snags. Trolling small lures of around 120mm over the shallow reefs in the archipelago is another way to get amongst the queenie action. Always use the tide changes to target queenies, one hour either side of low or high tide. Back the La Nina and it is anyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guess what the weather will be tomorrow or next week in Karratha and along with it the changes in water temperatures, salinity, and clarity. Normally during the wet season in the Pilbara if you are heading out for a day of demersal fishing the journey is a little longer that it would be in the cooler waters of the dry season but with all the current ups and downs in weather patterns this season, we are seeing some extremely good demersal species being caught in waters of 15m or less. I decided to head out a few weeks ago with the challenge being to bring home a nice coral trout for dinner. You can always find smaller trout up to 450mm in the shallow reefs around the islands, but I wanted one of decent size as I had not caught one in quite some time. There is some particularly good blueline emperor ground in 20m to the south of the archipelago and where you find blueline, you find coral trout. I figured this was the best place to start and I was blessed with magic glassy conditions for half a day before the strong westerly

wind came in around lunch time. Armed with ocktajigs and soft plastics I boated a solid blueline on my first drop, so I knew I was in the right area. One thing I noticed different on this day, and a few other days out fishing over December and January is the small pecker near shore and demersal species were few

and less than 10 minutes I had another, even larger blueline of 580mm in the boat along with a solid 600mm coral trout. Sometimes you can be over good ground, it is simply not the bite time for the fish. Time to get out of there before the wind came in and I was very content with three superb table fish coming from 20m at

Blueline emperor are one of the best table fish in the North West and have a fighting ability to match. Generally, blueline are found in shallower waters to red emperors with most caught in the 15-30m range, which makes them very accessible to most small boats. The author found a patch recently holding large blueline in the 570-580mm range with all being caught during the tide changes. and far between. I am led to believe this is due to the water temperatures being all over the place. The next couple of hours had me changing ground in search of fish that were biting. There were plenty of fish on the sounder, but not much action. High tide change approached so I returned to the spot I caught the blueline that morning and in two drops

Mangrove jack can be found in all the local creeks around Karratha but you need to look hard to find them. The author got onto them by heading up the offshoots and trolling lures at 2 knots as close to the snags as he could.

this time of year. Wet season in Karratha is mud crab season. By far the best time to target muddies in the warmer waters and unlike barra, after a good rain and flush into the creeks can have the muddies scrambling to find warmer waters and they are quite happy to pick up a feed along the way. Having your nets in the water as they head past is a sure best to taking home a great feed. Blue swimmer crab season is fast approaching with March and April seeing them all come into legal size. You will certainly find a few around during February but make sure you check the size before keeping them. In summary, when you have weather events such as a La Nina, it is safe to say all your learnings need to be put aside and go and experiment. Change it up and try something you would not normally do. Who knows, you just may be on to the next best kept secret fishing trick in the Pilbara? FEBRUARY 2021

107

Persistence pays FRESHWATER

Peter Fragomeni

February is considered to be one of the slower months for freshwater fishing in this state. With day temperatures hitting

fishing destination in a suburban lake. This is not new to our neighbours over East but, a first for us here in WA. The trout (being rainbows) were originally from the hatchery and it is still unclear if they were eyed ova or fry when they were

with the sight of no less than 150 trout belly up in the shallows, some had been dragged up into the bushes 15m from the water. The company that organised the stocking was already there, so we started the smelly job of collecting the carcases for disposal. Anger raged as people had seen the writing on the wall and predicted this would occur in the summer months however, it was a pilot project and judging by the comments of the local council that come down on the day it was all positive with lots of great feedback from the community. We now need to look forward and get through the red tape that is blocking the stocking of better suited freshwater

A well-conditioned rainbow caught in Pemberton. Simon Holland has been fighting to preserve the Donnelly River and is opposed to the new Record Brook Dam.

A nice bass caught close to the metro area. the high 30s it can make it uncomfortable for trout in most locations, even us humans find it unpleasant in the searing sun. Reports have been slow so I will only cover areas that I would consider you maybe in with a chance of locating a trout. Redfin are still being caught as they seem to cope better in these conditions.

collected. The project was part of a study conducted by a Perth-based organisation so were reared in the city and donated for this particular lake. A number also ended up in one of our Irrigation dams and I can say I caught a few up to 36cm in length on one occasion. I must acknowledge it is a credit to the growers as these fish were only around 13

Callum Madden with a superb 5.5lb brown that gave him a good fight on light fly gear. He released it and encourages all to do the same as they are rare in WA waters. On other news the Harvey Redfin Bash was on in mid December and I managed to get down there later in the day for the weigh in. Again, it was

well run by Didier Blanquart with 31 anglers fishing from boats and kayaks. Around 170 redfin were caught and only 3 trout on the day. Most of the redfin

were only 20-25cm in length with only a few over 30cm recorded. A 43cm specimen was caught by Vince Gervasi who also managed to land around quarter of the total catch for the day and secured the honour of first place with his own son Giordano taking out second place, both very experienced fishers in this state. The other highlight of the day was the fact that DPIRD (Fisheries WA) attended to weigh, measure and take stomach samples of the redfin, I assisted the very dedicated Andrew Beer from the department to dissect the redfin while my partner Wendy took notes. Andrew stated the purpose of the project was to establish a guide to what size they need to grow the yearlings to so as to limit the predation by redfin. This is something I have encouraged over the last few years and judging by the results of the 2018 advance yearlings stocking it was a great success. He has great plans for our trout fishery and hopefully we will see larger trout later this year.

The first of the hot weather in mid December resulted in massive trout losses at Austin Lakes. With the hot weather we experienced through the middle part of December it was sad to see the trout stocked into Austin Lakes perish. For those of you that are not aware, this was a Recfishwest project designed to develop a family-friendly 108

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months old. Getting back to the fish kill at Austin Lakes, I was contacted of this unfortunate event as I was in the area, which is situated just east of the southern coastal town of Mandurah. Upon my arrival I was confronted

species from the East Coast of Australia that will cope with our summer conditions in these shallow lakes. There are rumours of barramundi being stocked over the warmer months, but I feel these will suffer the same fate over winter.

Didier Blanquart presenting the top trophy to Vince Gervasi for his brilliant effort of landing around 40% of the total catch at the Harvey event.

AUSSIE NATIVES Unfortunately, at this stage DPIRD doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t share the same vision as we do for these species with some within their internal department not keen on introducing a non native

that are well guarded and only accessible to those in the know. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s frustrating to see the amount of fish being caught by just a few while others keen to have a go at these hard fighting sportfish have limited

Redfin have been slow, the better method is to fish deep diving lures. Logue Brook Dam No reports available. Harvey Dam Hopefully, this year will be a better one for this dam. With water levels low the fishing has been slow. This was evident back in December with the Harvey Bash mostly turning up small redfin. A few reports have come in lately, but it is nothing to get excited about unfortunately. Wellington Dam This water can fish okay through this part of the year with both the Hamilton Arm and the arm south of the main wall worth a go. The best method is fishing from a boat and covering plenty of water.

Wendy Jane waiting to assist Andrew Beer at the December round of Harvey Redfin Bash. Warren River Redfin have turned it on for those in kayaks casting soft plastics to structure in the upper reaches. A few trout have been sighted but are hard to entice in the

DAM LEVELS Hot windy days over summer has resulted in large water use for irrigation. This has resulted in very low water levels in some of our irrigation dams after low winter rainfall. Surprisingly, the total capacity is at 43.3% this year, down from 46.4% last year

Redfin prey heavily on marron so introducing a larger East Coast native may actually benefit our marron stocks. specie into our waters. This would hold ground if redfin were absent from most of our southern waters, and the fact they stock Californian rainbows and European browns is beyond me and logically does not make any sense. Still these species keep turning up in locations

WAROONA DAM DRAKESBROOK WEIR LOGUE BROOK DAM HARVEY DAM WELLINGTON DAM GLEN MERVYN DAM BIG BROOK DAM

opportunities in this state. DAMS Waroona Dam No reports of trout but redfin are still active. Drakesbrook Weir Jonah Chiera reports water levels have risen with irrigation in full swing. A few trout are still around.

Murray cod are widespread in WA, although in small numbers. This one was caught well inland from Perth.

Andrew Beer from Fisheries WA examining the stomach contents of one of the dozens of redfin caught at the Harvey Bash.

in this stream is concerning. Donnelly River Most of the trout have settled in the lower reaches with the receding water levels. Redfin are localised in certain parts of the system.

Big Brook Dam This dam fished well last year but unfortunately the hot days have put the trout off. A few redfin are still active but size is a concern. RIVERS Murray River Very slow in the hotter months but a few redfin are being caught in the deeper pools. Northern Jarrah Streams Tough going with extremely low water levels making the trout very wary. Collie River Below Wellington Dam This water is possibly our best summer fishery. Unfortunately, it gets a lot of pressure by those keen to tackle a trout on both fly and spin. Keep moving around and look for inaccessible spots away from the main crowds. Work your offering deep if the flow is fast. Blackwood River The upstream section

above Bridgetown holds redfin, and the occasional trout is being caught down around Nannup by a few dedicated anglers.

shallow water. Lefroy Brook Fed by cool clean water out of Big Brook Dam, this little stream is still holding a large amount of fish lately. Look for cold water up above the town weir or shaded areas down below the hatchery. Rumours abound of a large brown in the lower reaches that has frustrated a few anglers in recent times. Large numbers of juvenile redfin are turning up

61 % 85% 64% 38% 44% 65% 94% The section around boat landing may be worth a look if you happen to have a boat or kayak. Although these warmer summer months are less productive it seems a few are still locating trout in the cooler waters. Redfin are active throughout most areas. Snakes are very active, especially around water, and most areas have a total fire ban until later in March.

The staff from Indo Pacific were quick to help clean up the trout following the fish kill. Apparently the pump failed and starved them of oxygen, however water temperatures as high as 29oC were reported. FEBRUARY 2021

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Next step for fishing: sports vs rec SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I have talked around the topic of fishing as a sport for a while so having ended three years of the Track My Fish network, I thought it was time to flesh out my thoughts. I am really reflecting the way fishers and fishing events are working on the ground, based on my observations of attending events around the country as well as data coming out of our network. At this point, we have over 500 events under our belt in Australia and NZ covering pretty much every type of event. We come up with the following as a brief breakdown of fishing as a sport: • 10% don’t fish as a recreation, instead are solely focused on food – 250k • 70% fish casually as a recreation (keeping fish where they can) – 1.75M • 17% fish regularly and have high level of skills (these are normally classified as sportsfishers) – 420k • 3% fish as a part of formal organised competitions – 80k I have put some serious hours of modelling to come up with a reasonable estimate. Getting an accurate answer on this question has direct impacts on my business, so I take it seriously. It is based on the following: • Assumption that there are around 2.5 Million fishers in Australia. The exact number is challenging without a recent national survey but based on State Surveys and the 2000 National survey, that is a reasonable number. • Report on Improving our understanding of the motivations and attitudes of recreational fishers in NSW. • State level fisheries surveys since 2010. • Data from 500 events covered by Track My Fish. • 30 years of tagging and recapture data collected in the Suntag Program as guide to changes in fisher attitudes to bait vs lures and catch and release. • Surveys collected over 10 years at the Boyne Tannum Hookup. As I want this article to be useful to event organisers, sponsors and fishos I will break down the different components of the sporting element in a way that hopefully is informative and helps decision-making. THE CASE FOR SEEING FISHING OFFICIALLY A SPORT There is a simple sports fan argument to recognise fishing as a sport – that the skill and endurance of fishers 110

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Fig.1 Word cloud of language used in Gone Fishing Day. is exceptional and should be recognised as an elite sport. I would challenge any of the current elite athletes in other sports to compete hard in the Barra Nationals or ABT Barra Series, two events that combine ability with backbreaking endurance and tests you mentally in ways that few sports can. I think our best fishers should be recognised as sportspeople in their own right as with cricket, AFL and NRL. There should be an annual award that recognises our best. Those that stay up late at night to watch Carl Jocumsen understand what I am talking about. Passion aside, there is a more direct argument for fishing to become recognised as a sport – the reality is fishing has progressed far further than many other sports prior to official recognition. Taking the next step to claim official national recognition of the sports component of fishing is the culmination of 50 years of development of the sport. Key points include: • There is already a mix of positions of state level in regard to recognising fishing as a sport. Fishers can be sports people in one state, cross the border and then they aren’t. • Annually there are over 650 formal events held across the country. • Cricket has around 680,000 registered players, if our sportsfishers were registered they would number around the 500,000 mark. • Cricket includes extended programs to project total participation of around 1.65 million, fishing has 2.25 million on the same basis. Cycling as a comparable sport has 3.3 million participants. • Based on Track My Fish data and published events per state there are between 70-90,000 direct competitors, far more than many sports in Australia that have Olympic recognition. Cycling as a comparable competitive sport, the Bicycle Network has around 27,000 competitors, with 10,500 being registered as masters (35 years+). To

be clear the TMF Network by itself sees more than 35,000 fishers annually and we expect that to be closer to 45,000 next year. • In 2020 we began tracking the financial component of competitive fishing with a plan to significantly refine that process in 2021. Based on Track My Fish data and published events per state there is beween $6-10 Million paid in event fees, $10-14M in travel and accommodation and a further $7-10M in sponsorships. Additionally, a further $750k-1M is provided as in kind support for events by organisers in terms of donated time. All up this puts the formal events component of fishing. All up the events component of fishing is worth between $24-34 Million. As a point of comparison, the Bicycle network, Cyclings version of competitive sport bought in $6.5 Million in event fees in 2015, with cycling reporting dropping participation since. • Carl Jocumsen is proof that with development our best can compete internationally. We send teams to Europe to compete in the carp worlds, IGFA has international events. There is a pathway to international competition –

recognition as a sport would help athletes choose that pathway in terms of financial support and sponsorship. Beyond the evidence that fishing is already a well-organised sport one that has overall managed to ride through COVID far better than almost any alternative, there is a key reason to develop the official sportsfishing status. For the participants, the 70% who are casual participants, formal recognition would provide clarity over the pathways available to them if their interest in fishing deepens. Within this group there are two key groups that are underdeveloped – Women and Juniors. Official recognition I believe is critical to increasing the participation rates of Juniors in the sport. For comparison, Cycling has around 20% participation, based on the TMF data, that figure in fishing is closer to 5%. RECREATIONAL VS SPORTS In the previous breakdown I listed 70% of fishers as recreational fishers, and 20% as sportsfishers; how should those terms be understood given that these words are often used interchangeably in the sport? I want to clarify the difference. If you are participating in fishing as something you enjoy, be that to connect with nature, get outdoors or just because you like fishing without a focus of developing skills, then you are a ‘recreational’ fisher. The transition to sports comes where the focus of the fishing activity is to get better at fishing. Typically, this transition comes with the movement from bait to lures as the primary means of targeting fish. Competitive fishers, i.e. fishers that participate in

competitions, are a subset of the sports fishers. This definition is consistent with other similar sports and is consistent with how the gaming industry approaches the categorisation. This classification is useful because the types of events and activities that are appropriate for these groups are very different. From a marketing perspective, these groups are totally different beasts. To be clear, there is nothing wrong with either classification. If you are fishing – you are in the club. COMMUNITY LEVEL EVENTS Community events make up the smallest component of the tournament scene by number but are usually the largest by participation. Typically, they occur annually, events like the Gone Fishing Day. These events pull in the crowds, and often have a more festive feel. These types of events are not sports events. Typically we have seen an overlap of less than 2% of fishers that participate in community events and more sports focused events. Generally, the sportsfishers involved are organisers and helpers, often as a part of annual fundraising. The target market for these events are the 70% of fishers that participate in fishing recreationally. In fact this is often the only time we get direct visibility to this class of fisher as they don’t join clubs or participate in online forums or social media in a significant way. That is not to say there is any less passion for fishing. We did a lot of sentiment analysis of the comments of fishers during the Gone Fishing Day Event and it’s very instructive of the differences. Fig.1 is a word cloud built from all the comments

Fig.2 Breakdown of common words in Gone Fishing Day.

provided with entries and as you can see fishing is front and centre. Fig.2 has a breakdown of the commonly used words. What is missing? There is no technical language. If this was a ‘sportsfishers’ event there would be brands, techniques, favourite lures, sponsors messages the whole nine yards and there would be a lot more specific language. Even with 1,000 submissions during Gone Fishing Day, the language is very surface, sharing their love of fishing without specifying a technical detail. Fig.3 has the sentiment analysis and clearly the majority is positive. Sentiment analysis highlighting the negative is just as instructive as the positive, as in this case the negative sentiments were almost all concerns over habitat and rubbish. This shows that casual or not, their connection to fishing and the things that affect fish are strong. I think that sponsors have the wrong approach to these events, as they have a very different target audience. Unlike more directly competitive sportfishing events where sponsorship of team/competitors gets attention, community events need presence. While I know that sponsors have budget limitations this is the time to turn up – to provide an actual presence at the event. Sportsfishers know what they want and need – when they don’t they will look it up, casual fishers need more of a leg up. I saw the benefits of that presence during the Fishing Freshwater events in the impoundments of South East Queensland. While there was a small core of serious fishos the majority of the attendees were casual fishers who enjoyed the communal camping experience. Matt Mott literally bought his store with him providing a tent full of Smak lures and his presence had two really positive effects. Firstly, Matt made some good coin along the way. The benefit of having a small core of sportsfishers among a group of casuals, is the casuals see the success and want to get in on the act. By providing the opportunity for the casuals to buy lures that provided success and with Matt being only too happy to share how to catch fish – the casuals improved a lot. The same group fishing over two years improved their catch rates by a factor of three and in the process found the passion to develop further investing in Panoptics and learning more techniques. Importantly, these casuals passed the bug onto their mates. Bottom line: if you want to get the most out of the

casual fishers at community events, turn up, share your knowledge and help them to be successful. They will reward you financially and spread the word. SPORTSFISHING EVENTS Sportsfishing as an institution in Australia was started largely by the IGFA and it’s local body the GFAA. In the late 1960s Vic McCrystal, a prolific writer of the time, had a desire to expand the sportsfishing

habitat, stocking and citizen science and being visible in this space. By doing so, I think they are opening the door to connecting in a deeper way with the sportsfishing community by sending a signal that improving the fishery is a core goal of the sports community, which has been true since the inception of ANSA in 1966. WHAT ABOUT SPORTSFISHERS KEEPING FISH? The fish we keep is

have access to affordable fish. Sporstfishers do take fish but it’s not why they fish. While sportsfishers are stuck under fisheries, not sports there is no easy way to progress the sport. I am not advocating for a change in bag limits, what I am saying though is without official recognition, there is no easy way to address the difference in needs, particularly in funding and regulations between the sport and harvest component.

Fig.3 Sentiment Analysis for Gone Fishing Day. scene to include a greater focus on looking after the fishery. In the process, ANSA, with its motto on Sports, Conservation and Integrity bought a new approach to fishing. One that focused on competing hard but not doing damage to the fishery. As sportsfishing evolved, new successful formats were imported from the US, particularly the ABT Series. Fast forward to today and developments in lures and electronics, as well as 20 years of stocking have led to a huge variety of event formats. Unlike other sports where the rules are constrained, competitions have been able to introduce a massive variety of algorithms to judge the winner. I know, I have coded over 70 different algorithms and over 350 points tables in three years. This variety has I believe increased participation overall. From a sponsors perspective I think the strategy of supporting the better teams and events is a smart one but the reality is there are a variety of values among sportsfishers. From an events perspective though, the tournament scene is not the singular format of the 1970s and 80s. Modern events cover a range of values from competing for enjoyment, to support stocking, for science, to hardcore competition. I think sponsors should be paying far more attention to the ‘support structure’ of fishing competitions –

the intersection between recreational fishers and fisheries departments. A classic example of how that intersection works is bag limits. Bag limits apply equally to fish in the live well as fish kept – if you are fishing in an event that is live weigh in and you are caught with too many fish in the live well you are breaking the law. The law places no value on fish outside of harvest. I did a whole lot of work examining the economic value of fish as an experience, what was clear from that work was if the experience was worthwhile fishers were more than willing to shell out for it. The fact that a tournament network exists of comparable size and value in direct fees to cycling and is overwhelming dominated by catch and release (including live weigh-ins) says clearly fishers value fish for a lot more than food. Further the behaviours of fishers in and around the issue of keeping fish has become far more complex over time. Fishers who will die in a ditch rather than keep a key species like Murray cod or barramundi will take home other species if the opportunity presents. The vast majority of sportsfishers I interact with don’t take fish storage with them on the water unless they are expressly expecting to keep fish and I have seen this more and more in the casual fishos as well. The reality is the commercial sector and importers have done a good job making sure we

INFOFISH STANDARDS ADOPTION While I don’t think that developing a national recognition of fishing is Infofish’s role – that is a role for the representative bodies – we do have a role in providing data to support the fishing community to make more and better events. While there are limitations on the total sponsorship available from within the industry, there is a lot of room to innovate and grow that base. At present, the formal competition market represents around 15% of the sportsfishers, which means there is still an upside to bring more fishers into the competitive scene. The everadvancing technology is also making it easier to make the transition from casual to sports fishers. With investment and innovation, it is feasible to double the current base of competitive fishers to at least 160,000 competitors. With this in 2021 we will be regularly updating the fishing community with data from our tournament network and assisting wherever we can to help events grow. HOW ARE EVENTS CLASSIFIED In order to better provide data to the community we needed to classify events so that competitors understand the choices and value of different styles of events. Sports These are formal events

that are sports only and provide a skills-based assessment of the winner. These events have a higher gear requirement. • Technical-based events (specific rules/gear), e.g. game fishing, fly fishing and spearfishing. • Multi venue, event formats with an ‘Angler of the Year’ and a formal sports promotion – ABT, Berkley Super Series, Hobie Series, Yakhunters, Barrabasstasstic, Teams Fishing Australia. • Events of national prominence – Barra Nationals, Barra Classic, Flathead Classic. Developmental These are events that provide a similar experience to formal competitions, have technical rules but don’t have the base of participation. They don’t actively solicit or they happen too infrequently to provide a proper assessmentbased on sporting criteria. These events are considered essential for skill development and encouraging fishers to broaden their skills but should not be used for formal assessment of fishers as sports people. • Formal club series – ANSA, EFA, MAAC, ABRSLFC, Cobram Barooga. • Organised one off events that are competitive focused – SCF Research and Sustainability, Fishing Freshwater, Coast 2 Coast, Esperance Event. • Opt in competitions – Pirtek challenge, AFS. Participatory/Community These events have a formal element to them should be seen as engaging fishers/ encouraging an entry path into participation in fishing as

– such as Boyne Tannum Hookup, EFA Annual Event, Boondooma Fishing Festivel, Baffle Creek Fishing Festival, Hervey Bay Fishing Festival, Rainbow Beach Fishing Festival. • Gone Fishing Day • Opt in random win type events – Million Dollar Fish Juniors Fishing is a strange ‘sport’ in that it’s the inverse of almost all other formal sports. In most formal sports (eg soccer, cricket, rugby(s), AFL) the overwhelming numbers of participants are juniors with a funnel that whittles them down as they get older. Fishing on the other hand has a tiny participation by juniors, with a much higher proportion of the fishing community entering competition during their early adult years. In part, this is due to the financial investment requirements but also other sports have formal competitive networks that meet the needs of juniors, enforce limitations and operate consistently enough that parents can plan around their competitive activities. There is one area of the country where we have a track on elevated junior sports participation. The Sunshine Coast in Queensland has a strong promotion of fishing to 12-16 year olds, available competitions throughout the year that provide encouragement to junior skill development. Juniors is one area where the formal recognition of fishing as a sport is critical. The reality is that without that formal recognition and supporting tournament

very beneficial to the sport as a whole. I see these as an essential companion to the kids fishing clinics, as formal sport is the most commonplace kids in other sports develop their interest. The other consideration that seems to be important is tackle considerations. At a junior level, constraints on tackle are more important, as this equalizes the participation and focuses juniors on skill development over gear. Women 2020 interestingly saw women’s fishing, particularly in the northern territory, take a step forward. This is in part due to cancellations of other events that would normal divide women’s attention. What was clear in the women’s events is that women are not only capable of standing alone they thrive on competition that is not directly comparable to the men’s events. In the long run, trends in other sports and walks of life have seen the development of women’s leagues as their own product, different from the men’s leagues, different rules and adjustments that allow women to better define how they wish to compete and be assessed against their peers. The current participation of 3-5% can easily be doubled without disrupting the culture of fishing and, in fact, developing a separate women’s circuit in the long run will be beneficial to increasing interest. FINALLY It’s a pretty exciting time for sportsfishing. The technology has never been better, there has never been

Fig.4 Comparison of event entries under COVID 2019-2020. a sport or just encouraging fishers to promote/share the love. There is an overlap between this level and the developmental level but, on evidence of events completed, it’s a small component as those in even entry level formal competitions do not appear to be attracted to these styles. With targeted promotion and more skill development at these events, more could be encouraged to the formal competitive environment. • Larger Community events

circuits, parents will continue not to see fishing as an alternative to other sports – at a time when thanks to COVID fishing is more attractive than ever. Juniors represent 3-5% of the competitive population and that number should be higher, particularly if attracting more sponsorship from outside the sector is a consideration. Junior focused circuits are the one area where public sector funding, particularly from the sports department, would be

a greater choice of event styles and the opportunities for competitive fishing for fun or glory are both on the table. Given that competitive fishing is COVID safe, lockdowns and border closures aside, there is a lot to be excited about. Taking that next step, to formally recognise at a national level that sportsfishing is a legitimate sporting activity, not only makes sense but it’s long overdue. FEBRUARY 2021

111

Tournament Calendar 2021 DATE

Tournament

FEBRUARY 6-7 Feb 13-14 Feb 20-21 Feb

Location

State

Contact

East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R1 Clarence River 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R1 Blue Rock Lake 2021 Daiwa BREAM R1 Gippsland Lakes

NSW VIC VIC

Kris Banks 0407 996 135 abt.org.au abt.org.au

MARCH 6-7 Mar 9-11 Mar 13-14 Mar 20 Mar 20-21 Mar 21 Mar 27-28 Mar 27-28 Mar

2021 Daiwa BREAM R2 Daiwa BREAM Australian Open 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R2 Humminbird Ownersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Tour East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R2 East Coast Bream Series R1 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R1 Glenelg Hopkins CMA BCF Bream Classic

Lake Macquarie Sydney Glenbawn Dam Hervey Bay Forster St Georges Basin Toonumbar Dam Warrnambool

NSW NSW NSW QLD NSW NSW NSW VIC

abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.humminbird.com.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

APRIL 17-18 April 18 April 18 April 24-25 April

East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R3 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R2 East Coast Bream Series R2 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R3

Bellinger River Lostock Dam Lake Macquarie Clarence River

NSW NSW NSW NSW

Kris Banks 0407 996 135 abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au

MAY 1-2 May 1-2 May 16 May 16 May 22-23 May 29-30 May

2021 Daiwa BREAM R3 Glenelg Hopkins CMA Bream Classic 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R3 East Coast Bream Series R3 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R4 2021 Daiwa BREAM R4

Forster,NSW Nelson Clarrie Hall Dam Hawkesbury River Port Macquarie Ballina

NSW VIC NSW NSW NSW NSW

abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 abt.org.au

JUNE 5-6 June 13 June 19-20 June 19-20 June

2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R4 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R4 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R5 Daiwa East Gippsland Bream Classic

Cania Dam Maroon Dam Nambucca River Mallacoota

QLD QLD NSW VIC

abt.org.au abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

JULY 11 July 24-25 July

2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R5 Hinze Dam East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro R6 Macleay River

QLD NSW

abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135

AUGUST 7-8 Aug 11-12 Aug 14-15 Aug 14-15 Aug 15 Aug 21-22 Aug 21-22 Aug

2021 13Fishing BASS Pro R5 BREAM Queensland Open 2021 Daiwa BREAM R5 East Coast Sport Fishing Flathead Pro GF East Coast Bream Series R4 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric R6 Atomic East Gippsland Bream Classic

Somerset Dam Moreton Bay Gold Coast Nambucca River Botany Bay Borumba Dam Marlo

QLD QLD QLD NSW NSW QLD VIC

abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au Kris Banks 0407 996 135 www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

SEPTEMBER 11-12 Sept 12 Sept 13-17 Sept 18-19 Sept

2021 Daiwa BREAM R6 East Coast Bream Series R5 Venom BARRA Australian Open 2021 BKK Hooks BASS Electric GF

Gladstone Sydney Harbour Awoonga/Monduran Lake Lenthalls

QLD NSW QLD QLD

abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au

OCTOBER 2-3 Oct 9-10 Oct 15-16 Oct 17 Oct 17 Oct 26-27 Oct 30-31 Oct

Humminbird BASS Electric Aus Open Club Marine East Gippsland Bream Classic 2021 Zerek BARRA R1 2021 Zerek BARRA R2 East Coast Bream Series GF Rapala BASS Australian Open 2021 13Fishing BASS Pro GF

Wyaralong Dam Metung Lake Tinaroo Lake Tinaroo Hawkesbury River Clarence River Richmond River

QLD VIC QLD QLD NSW NSW NSW

abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.wsbb.com.au abt.org.au abt.org.au

NOVEMBER 15 Nov 16 Nov 18 Nov 20-21 Nov 27-28 Nov

2021 Zerek BARRA R3 2021 Zerek BARRA R4 2021 Zerek BARRA R5 2021 Zerek BARRA R6 NS Rods Sunline Bream Classic GF

Teemburra Dam Kinchant Dam Peter Faust Dam Peter Faust Dam Marlo

QLD QLD QLD QLD VIC

abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au abt.org.au www.vicbreamclassics.com.au

DECEMBER 3-5 Dec

2021 Daiwa BREAM GF

Port Stephens

NSW

abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au Just supply a date, venue, tournament name, telephone number and contact name. 112

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This section in QLD Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching. 114

FEBRUARY 2021

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115

Stabicraft 1850 Fisher with Yamaha 115hp

- SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

CON

AN THE

DE FOR EX

T FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

It’s been a little while since we did this test. In the meantime, the YouTube review video’s racked up nearly 50,000 views. The Stabicraft 1850 is right in the hitting zone for a lot of Aussie boaties – it’s small enough to tow on a singleaxled trailer but it’s big enough to get well offshore and tackle some of your bucket-list species. As such, it’s also at the more affordable end of the Stabicraft scale. These quality-built New Zealand boats have gained quite a cult following, with some of their larger rigs turning heads wherever they go. As tested, this rig came in it at $69,996, however packages can start at around $60,000. We caught up with Northside Marine’s Mark Golden and Yamaha’s Will Lee on the test morning. It was a mirror-calm Moreton Bay – conditions which we dread because of the bashing we get from keyboard warriors. It lets us make a great video, but not distil an opinion about rough water performance. “Stabicraft boats are

Main: You can see the Stabicraft hull working as designed here. The reverse chines on the pontoons direct the spray back downwards. We loved the functionality and the ease of stowing the shade top. Above: At 18 and a half feet, this rig is small enough to tow easily on a single-axle trailer but large enough to target big fish in open water. inherently the most stable and safest rigs we sell,” said Mark when asked about Stabi’s unique pontoon and floatation system. If you’re unfamiliar with it, check out the images of the hull: sealed, welded sections surround the gunwales and offer 1570L of buoyancy in this model. “And because of this, we

PERFORMANCE RPM.......................km/h........................km/L 1000 ............................ 7 .......................... 3.5 2000.......................... 12 .......................... 2.2 3000.......................... 25 .......................... 2.4 3500 .......................... 33 .......................... 2.5 4000.......................... 39 .......................... 2.3 5000.......................... 52 .......................... 1.8 5700 .......................... 64 .......................... 1.5 116

FEBRUARY 2021

find that it’s a very easy boat for beginner boaters to handle in quite rough conditions,” he continued. Essentially, you’ll hit your limits before this boat does. The 1850 we tested was fitted with a Yamaha F115 4-stroke outboard and keeps it simple. Minimal paint and a clean layout mean that it’ll be easy to maintain with the garden hose. At optimum cruising speed, this rig delivered 2.5km/L economy at 33km/h and 3,500rpm, giving a range of nearly 300km on a tank of fuel. Wide open, she hit 64km/h at 5,700rpm and the economy dropped to 1.5km/L. Personally, I’d probably

like a lick of paint on the checkerplate floor, especially in more northern climates

where the reflection from the sun can be problematic. There are not many creature comforts in this boat, and that’s because it’s designed as a serious fishing boat for those wanting to increase their range further than their local inshore waters. Above the head though, the canopy is excellent. It offers shade in all the right places, especially while driving the boat and then it’s a matter of pulling out two pins to fold the whole thing over and into the hull of the boat. Very handy if you want to fit it into a carport. Driving a Stabicraft is reasonably unique, they don’t bank into corners like differently designed hulls but they do jump up and out of the hole pretty easily. I have the feeling that you could add plenty of people and camping gear and you’d have no problems. The test rig was supplied on a single axle trailer, but I’d prefer a twin for a boat

of this size. Fewer things to go wrong on the road when you’re not pushing the limits of the gear. Unique Stabicraft design includes a rear console/work station that features a cutting board on top of a live bait tank and then a battery tray underneath. I’ve seen this SPECIFICATIONS Length:.............. 5.69m Beam:................ 2.30m Fuel: .................... 150L Rec.HP: ................... 90 Max.HP: ................ 140 Capacity: .... 6 persons in a few Stabicraft over the years and the concept works well and owners love it. For more information, contact Northside Marine www.northsidemarine.com. au and make sure you Like ‘Northside Marine - your boating partners for life’ on Facebook for updates.

Stabicraft offer excellent stability at rest, thanks to their pontoon system that makes the craft very safe as well.

We loved the functionality of the shade top as well. It was in exactly the right place to get the job done.

Stabicraft definitely don’t bank into turns like other hulls can. The waterline beam counters a lot of the roll.

A couple of comfortable helm seats and an open cabin is all that an angler needs to get into the fish.

Personally, I’d order a twin axle trailer for this rig, but the single keeps the price down and lets you manoeuvre it into tight garaging spots.

Clever underseat storage options can be customised by the buyer. The test model had an esky and some tackle storage options chosen.

The Stabicraft like their multi-function rear stations. Bait on top of a livewell and batteries underneath. Their inherent stability allows them to design like this.

The helm is simple and effective. And we love a helm that can flush mount your electronics. Let’s face it, anyone that buys this boat will fit a decent sized sounder/GPS.

There’s plenty of room for a windlass in the anchor well, but don’t expect to use this as an accessible fishing platform.

Checkerplate floors are super easy to keep clean and dry in minutes. Many keen anglers prefer this to carpet.

The rear fold-down seating is fairly Spartan but also easy to clean.

There is access to the anchor well from the cabin. FEBRUARY 2021

117

New South Wales Tide Times

Victorian Tide Times

2021 2021 LAT 33° 51’Heights S LONG 151° E Waters LAT 38° 18’Heights S TimeLONG 144° 37’Low E Waters Times and of High and14’ Low Local Times and of High and POINT – VICTORIA Times and HeightsJUNE of High and Low WatersLONSDALE Times Local and Time HeightsJUNE of High and Low Waters JULY MAY AUGUST JULY 2021 LAT 38° 18’ S LONG 144° 37’ E MARCH JANUARY MARCH FEBRUARY APRIL FEBRUARY

DNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES NEY (FORT DENISON) –LONG NEW151° SOUTH LAT 33° 51’ S 14’ E WALES

POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA POINT LONSDALE – VICTORIA LAT 38° 18’ S LONG 144° 37’ E

m Time m Time m Time Time m Time m m Time m Time mTime mTime m Time Time m 0.53 Time m 0145 Time m Time Time mandTime m1.36m Time m Time Time m 1.40 Timeof m 0006 Times and0057 Heights High Low Waters 1.68 0519 m0.58 1.34 0150Time 1.26 0037m 1.78 Time0633 1.60 0557 0046 0452 1.41 0623 0646 0319 0.43 11170.51 1.28 0750 0.51 0807 0.62 0740 0.49 00051238 0.54 1148 0.55 0735 1041 0.380.50 1158 0.58 1.45 1.30 0420 0744 0454 0415 1.59 0457 1.67 0558 0.32 0520 0.44 0.33 02380455 1.60 0337 1.620.56 FEBRUARY MARCH JANUARY 1303 1.43 0.76 1040 16401.83 0.75 1430 1.59 1.43 1345 1.38 TH 1358 FR 1.57 SU TU WE 1804 SU 1446 MO 1900 1.50 1245 1.58 1904 1.54 0557 0.56 m 1052 1.35 0.42 1126 0.62 1203 1143 1.841.33 1.89 08181104 0.75 0917 0.56 FRm1748 SA0850 TU Time m Time Time m 1007 Time1.58 m MO Time Time Time m 1848 0.66 2314 1.71 2110 0.56 2114 0.76 1911 0.79 1940 0.78 0.740.48 1.46 1805 0.34 1.43 0.45 1413 1.33 1.430.67 MO 1814 0.28 TU 1209 1.55 MO 1703 0.23 TH 1757 MO 1530 FR 1629 TU 1624 1935 FR 2319 TU 1712 SA 1457 0415 1.592100 0309 1.51 0315 0238 1.66 1.60 18280319 0337 0227 0255 1.5221192259 0.491.67 2211 0.38 1.58 1.651.62 20162325 0.26 0.271.67 0030 1.68 2311 0608 0.61 0138 0148 1.47 0100 1.58 0.21 0301 1.25 0.74 0.59 1.18 0135 0534 1.38 0043 1007 0.42 0023 0808 0850 0.62 09010.65 0.43 0906 0818 0.75 0917 0.56 0724 0.52 1207 1.25 0858 0.65 0835 0.54 0828 0.58 0733 0.45 0853 0.56 1.441.43 0022 1.85 0538 1.57 0006 1.36 0533 0.53 1.67 0022 1.49 1.33 0043 0511 0.341.43 0318TU 1.64 1.640.60 0656 1.29 1121 0.42 0735 1.40 1624 1.460404 1530 1.50 0446TH0842 1600 1413 1530 1430 1.430415 MO MO FR1447 SA 1457 TU 1335 1.34 1726 0.80 1542 1.47 1.35 1451 1.41 1359 1.49 1538 1.64 TH 2100 O MO0.38 WE FR SA 1.48 0.620.21 0659 1135 1.28 0.37 0542 0.56 0.55 06122016 0.47 0.26 0641 1126 1.81 08581139 0.69 09591256 0.46TU 2211 0.38 2115 0.46 1043 2134 2119 0.27 2019 0.36TU 1231 0.65 1336 1836 1.52 0.68 SU0940 WE SA 1906 0.77 2227 0.72 2019 0.82 2045 0.81 1957 0.67 2230 0.50 1.44 1705 1.46 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FR TU 1352 SA1332 2315 0.681.40 0.79 2326 1.410.62 2126 1.30 19522257 1.39 0811 0757 1.292030 0644 1.36 0748 0704 0.56 1.51 0722 0701 0253 1.462154 1934 0.78 1926 0144 0202 0.48 0145 1.39 0.30 2333 00000.65 0.51 0331 0.25 0.32 0230 0.22 1.29 0.40 1.41 1300 1.38 0.35 SA 1332 0.22 1.37 07520.26 1.31TU 14060826 0740 0.41 1.48 MO 1423 0600 1.68 0933 1.47 TH 1340 FR0730 MO 1313 0849 TU 1246 0.37 0555 1.51 1.681.41 0021 0.61 0539 0.801.73 0235 0.86 00421952 0.550.60 0.661.29 01130530 0.61 1.54 0.74 0144 1.56 0128 0032 1.54 0033 1.42 2154 2126 1.300141 1947 1.42 2113 1.39 0030 2028 1.470246 0.46 1322 0.60 1319 0.45 0611 1519 0.41 0.45 WE 1311 FR TH 2030 O 1210 0.37 TU MO 1425 SA 1359 1243 0.45 0629 0634 1.67 1208 1.340.38 0846 1.24 0719 1.801.79 07001956 1.64 2.07 1305 1957 07481224 1.46 1.33 0746 0.26 0724 0.260.57 0642 0.44 20530910 1.86 1945 1.81 18360.65 1.86 2141 1.76 2033 0759 2.02 1828 1.19 1.30 0.45 1525 1822 0.301.61 0.43 0.35 0.61 0.480.74 TU 1906 13501830 0.32 1.26 0.42 0246 0.80 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TU2257 2209 0.671218 1.40 2146 0.75 1232 2318 0.70 0619 0.59 1.54 1.30 1213 1.37 1122 1.36 1044 1.43 1810 0.38 1743 0.55 1815 0.22 2001 0.3001340318 1929 0.380126 0334 18510.50 0.4603000353 1914 0302 0.48 0437 0.47 0339 0.46 1.60 0.32 1.45 1.57 0.26 SA 1838 0.55 SU 1254 1.43 MO 1622 0.71 TU 1744 0.67 WE 1656 0.61 TH 1804 0.66 SA 1614 0.59 0933 1.88 1100 1.75 0957 1.71 0657 0932 0.78 1.88 0700 0937 0.85 1.48 0842 0958 0.57 1.60 0421 1.50 0355 1.46 0534 1.37 0521 1919 0.690128 2254 23191.57 1.76 2246 2.01 0134 1.78 1.60 0126 1.45 0300 0146 1.44 0058 1.42 1613 0.29 0.37 0.78 0.39 13031550 1.37 1528 1.24 0.55 1544 1.400.45 1025 0.360.24 0943 0.39 0.61 1101 SU 17270657 TH MO FR 1253 WE SU 1450 TH 1120 0700 0.85 SU 1615 0842 0.57 0733 0.62 0634 0.64 0726 2209 2330 1.450.53 1.561.40 19152201 0.19 2149 0.33 1.71 2049 2212 0.312.02 0041 1.46 0545 0007 1.74 2220 0601 0.42 0013 1.50 05421.40 0.34 0106MO 1.171412 1731 1.671.79 1650 1.69 1819 1.55 FR1905 1.36SU 1316 1.41 TH 1303 1.37 FR 1253 1.24 SU 1450 TH SU 1351 MO WE1754 0657 0.45 1146 1.29 0658 0.47 1211 1.39 0645 0.52 1143 1.38 0703 0.65 2252 0.69 2225 0.74 2344 1915 0.19 1905 0.33 2049 19480.52 0.45 1900 0.53 1951 0516 0.510.73 0451 1.59 0.29 0346 0.470.31 02300408 1.65 1.52 1.56 1710 0.64 1304 0214 1.40 0413 17090.44 0.66 1346 1.42 SU 13280341 TU WE 1305 1.36 0417 TH 1749 FR 0.28 SU MO 1134 1.65 1014 1.42 0928 1054 0.49 1.49 1015 1.91 1030 1.65 0757 1020 0.70 1.82 0751 0.76 0507 1.431859 0.72 0437 0231 1.44 1948 0001 0622 2339 1839 1.52 0.73 2341 1.91 2030 0.70 0341 1.59 0159 0230 1.73 1.65 0214 1.49 0.57 01480.70 1.49 0.43 0.70 0.61 1632 1.440.55 1652 0.26 0.43 1403 1.40 1.30 MO 17580757 TH 1557 MO FR 0630 FR TU 1630 SA 1350 1107 0.450.27 1023 0.43 1.32 1151 0928 0.49 0800 0751 0.76MO 1644 0822 0.521540 0730 0.48 2223 1.70 2132 2303 0.331.97 2251 2253 1.57 20112246 0.19 0.29 06421.44 0.42 0058 1.37 0213 TU 1.10 1815 1.581.85 1731 1.64 1200 0.70 1540 1.44 1445 1445 1.44MO 1416 1.56 MO TH1838 FR 1403 1.40 SA 1350 1.30 MO TU FR SA1953 1244 1.34 0723 0.58 0800 0.702025 2132 0.33 2011 0.19 1953 0.29 2035 0.45 19591.49 0.51 2336 0.71 2305 0.72 1857 0432 0501 18070.43 0.73 1353 0257 1.41 1.58 O SA 0.28 TU 1448 1.42 1059 1.90 1111 1.72 2001 0836 0.76 2148 0.68 0257 1.58 0233 1.55 05260.67 1.42 1732 0.26 WE 1713 0.35 SU 1443 0836 0.67 0819 0.34 11071.37 0.49 2335 1.47 2333 1.87 2037 0.27 SU 1443 1.37 WE 1510 1.68 SU 1815 1.59 ommonwealth of Australia 2020, Bureau 2037 0.27of Meteorology 2048 0.50 2351 0.69

21 32 43 54 65 76 87

8 9

9 9 10 10 10 11 11 11 12 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14 15 15 15

16 16 16 17 17 17 18 18 18 19 19 19 20 20 20 21 21 21 22 22 22 23 23 23 24 24 24 25 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 29 30 30

1 1 16 116 12 2 1617 2 217 1718 23 3 3 318 1819 34 4 4 419 1920 45 5520 5 56 2021 6621 6 67 2122 7722 7 78 2223 8 8823 8 23 9 24 9 9924 9 24 10 25 10 1025 10 10 25 11 26 11 1126 11 26 11 27 12 12 12 27 12 12 27 13 28 13 1328 13 13 28 29 14 14 1429 14 14 15 30 15 1530 15 15 31 31

16 16 1

1 116 1 2 216 17 17 2 217 2 3 17 18 3 18 3 318 3 4 18 19 4 19 4 419 4 5 19 20 5 5 20 520 5 6 20 21 6 6 21 621 6 7 21 22 7 7 22 722 7 8 22 23 823 8 23 8 8 23 9 24 924 9 24 9 9 24 10 1010 25 25 2510 10 25 11 26 1111 26 2611 11 26 12 27 27 271212 1212 27 13 28 28 281313 1313 28 14 29 29 291414 1414 29 15 1530 30 15 30 15 1530 31 31

16 16 16 17 171 17 18 182 18 19 193 19 20 204 20 5 21 21 21 6 22 22 22 7 23 23 23 8 24 24 24 9 25 25 25 10 26 26 26 11 27 27 27 12 28 28 28 13 29 2914 30 3015 31

m Time m Time m Time m 0049 0.58 TimeTime m Time Local 0.69 0034 0.51 1.30 0735 1.47 0309 1.510748 1.35 0315 0227 1.52 APRIL 0.80 0808 1245 0.75 0.431257 0.87 0906 0.59 WE Time m 0901 TH m 1.44 1928 TU 1.54 1530 1.501922TH1.42 1600 MO 1430 1.43 1.59 2019 0230 2134 0.36 1.48 2115 0.46 0.68 0133 0.57 0130 0832 0.340.47 0.22 0356 0340 1.520848 1.37 1.58 1.32 0849 1.671.50 1.76 0309 FR 1516 0952 0936 FR 0.371347 0.95 0.45 2058 0.640.85 0.51 0852TH 0.89 1345 1647 1608 1.542009FR1.38 1.40 2023WE 1.50 TU 1522 1.54 1.60 2106 0300 2219 0.35 1.48 2150 0.49 0.15 0905 0.330.43 0.65 0223 0.55 0230 1.79 0348 1.671.55 0435 0408 1.510949 1.40 1.61 SA 1547 1.36 0958 0.53 0935FR 2130 0.650.92 1037 1009 SA 0.331449 1.01 0.33 0.96 1453 1735 1643 1.562102SA1.35 TH WE 1611 1.61 1.37 2124 1.47 1.60 2151 0332 0.38 1.47 2223 0.52 2302 0.12 0938 0.34 0.61 0320 0.53 0338 0.39 1.76 0426 1619 1.65 SU 1.62 0436 1.501050 1.46 0416 1.42 1103 0.56 2204 0.671.61 1041 0.311600 1.02 1023 1.00 1018SA0.23 1608 0.94 SU 1715 1.572203SU1.34 1.65 1723 FR TH 1659 0406 1.36 2229 1.46 1.45 1.57 2256 0.55 2235 0.42 2245 0.15 1009 0.36 0.56 0422 0.48 0445 0.36 1.69 0502 MO 1655 1.61 1.61 0505 1.48 0459 1.51 1205 0.61 1101 2237 0.701.67 1112 0.311147 1.52 0.17 1107 1.00 1746SU1.65 1709 0.99 1720 0.92 MO 1746 1.55 1814 SA FR MO1.35 1.52 0441 1.41 1.37 2308 2331 1.47 2329 0.48 0.38 2330 0.60 0.21 2319 1039 1.60 1733 1.56 0.50 0539 0545 0.33 TU 1.58 0536 1.450520 0.43 0545 0.66 1145 2311 0.741.72 1.59 1301 1144 0.321240 1.59 1153 0.14 0.96 1822 SU 0.87 MO 1822 TU 1.521807TU0.93 1910 1.61 SA 1836 1.45 0516 1.37 1.39

162

21 1110

0.42

0.30

1.51 WE 1816 1.501.49 0.44 0030 0015 0001 0.55 0003 0.650010 1.39 0.780.31 1.66 0618 2345 0639 0640 1.52 0609 1.410611 0.38 0.92 1353 1.75 1242 0.17 1215 WE 0.341329WE1.65 SU 1228TU MO 0559 1.32 0.71 1915 2010 1.54 1901 1.471856 0.85 1.37 1929 1146 0.460.81

0.41 TH 1905 1.44 0110 0037 0.700105 1.44 1.43 0123 1.50 1.43 0045 0.63 0748 0644 1.360659 0.35 0.40 0701 1.46 0729 0.33 1340 0.22 1246 TH 0.371414TH1.70 1.72 1440 1.75 0.76 0025 0.80 MO 1313 TU WE 1947 1.421942 0.76 2113 1.47 1.29 2028 0651 1.280.75 0.87 2005 0.51 FR 1231 0.52 0223 0.71 0114 0.770157 1.49 1.46 0213 1.37 0131 2001 1.401.50 0911 0723 1.300745 0.34 0.37 0751 1.38 0815 0.36 1454 0.30 1322 FR 0.411456FR1.73 0.78 0116 0.80 TU 1401TH WE 1.75 1522 1.73 1.25 2131 0800 1.260.71 2215 1.40 2041 1.362027 0.67 0.82 2052 0.60 SA 1330 0.60 0.78 0352 0156 0.820246 1.53 1.36 0225 2104 1.381.49 1.48 0259 0853 1.31 1031 0813 1.250831 0.35 0.36 0859 0.41 0.76 0223 0.76 0.38 1616 1407 0.461535SA1.73 WE 1501FR TH 1.76 1600 1.70 1.27 2239 0924 1.29 2143 SA 1.36 2315 1.32 0.77 2136 2113 0.58 0.65 SU 1444 0.670.67 0510 0.82 1.39 0249 0.86 1.37 0335 2208 1.49 1011 1.25 0343 1.46 1143 0918 1.210335 1.55 0.37 0939 0.47 0918 0.40 0.68 1730 0.45 0.67 1506 0.50 SU1.71 TH 1619 0338 FR 1.74 1633 1.66 1614 1.33 2347SA 1048 1.36 1.39 2253 SU 1.32 0.72 2217 2159 0.50 0.65 MO 1606 0.710.64 0505 2309 0.80 1.43 0400 0.85 0008 1.49 1133 1.24 0426 1.43 1041 1.210425 1.56 0606 1.40 1742 0450 0.530.54 0.40 1016 0.47 1243 FR SA 1620 0.541006MO0.47 0.58 1200 1.54 1.71 SU 1704 1.61 MO 1652 1.68 1828 1.43 TU 1728 0.710.62 0.66 2256 2245 0.43 0.64 0051 1.39 0000 1.35 0051 1.49 0630 0.72 0510 1.40 0521 0.770519 1.55 0649 1.43 1246 0003 1.480.62 0.46 1053 1332 1.29 SU 1206 1.281053TU0.55 SA 0.49 0551 0.39 1.68 1851 1735 1.56 1743 TU 0.551730 1.63 1914 0.46 MO 1.52 WE 1300 1.69 2331 0.39 0.61 2332 0.60 0.63 0146 1832 0.69 1.44 0058 1.42 0128 0.62 0634 0.640620 1.53 0726 1.47 0558 1.45 0733 0054 1.531.37 1351 1.36 1316 1.41 1412 1141 0.65 0.54 1131 0.70 SU MO WE 0.42 0645 0.26 0.45 1900 WE 0.531813 1.58 1951 1.63 1806 TU 1.59 1948 1354 1.811.51 TH 0.56 0.63 0231 1925 0.67 0159 1.49 0148 1.49 0800 0.52 0730 0.480018 0.37 1.46 0010 1.47 0822 0141 1.570.59 1445 1.44 1416 1.560726TH1.51 MO 1445 0735 TU 0.64 0650 1.35 0.37 0.18 2025 0.45 1959 0.51 1230 0.75 1.58 1212 0.79 1.64 2035 1445 1.87 FR TH WE 0.63 2013 0.661.47 1900 1.52 1842 0233 1.55 0819 0.340110 0.37 WE 1510 1.680832 1.50 2048 0.501324 0.84

10 10 25 11 11 26 12 12 27 13 13 28

25 10

26 11

27 12

28 13

14 14 29

29 14

15 30

31 FR

1954 1.47

ctions is Lowest Astronomical Tide of Meteorology © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2020, Bureau of Meteorology mmonwealth of Australia 2020, Bureau © Copyright Commonwealth Australia 2020, of Meteorology cal standard time (UTC +10:00) savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect ions is Lowest Astronomical Tide or daylight of Datum ofBureau Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Bureau of Meteorology © Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2019, Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide First Quarter Last Quarter ymbols Full Moon al standard time New (UTCMoon +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC Times +11:00) are in local when standard in effect time (UTC +10:00) or daylight Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effe Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effectQuarter New Moon First Quarter LastMoon Quarter mbols Moon Phase Full Moon Times are Moon in Symbols local standard New time (UTC +10:00) or First daylight savings time Full (UTC +11:00) wh New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Port Phillip Heads have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. 118

FEBRUARY 2021

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Go online or contact your nearest Mercury Dealer to find out more about the Mercury V6 / V8 range, taking performance, efficiency and reliability to the next level.

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calendar of events 2021abt

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Tournament Angler Guide

TAG 2021 abt

Daiwa BREAM Series Qualifier Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6 Round 7 Grand Final Australian Open Queensland Open

Date 20-21 February 6-7 March 1-2 May 29-30 May 24-25 July 14-15 August 11-12 September 3-5 December 9-11 March 11-12 August

13 Fishing BASS Pro Series Qualifier Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Grand Final BASS Australian Open

Date 13-14 February 13-14 March 24-25 April 5-6 June 7-8 August 30-31 October 26-27 October

BKK Hooks BASS Electric Series

Qualifier Date Round 1 27-28 March Round 2 18 April Round 3 16 May Round 4 13 June Round 5 11 July Round 6 21-22 August Grand Final 18-19 September BASS Electric Australian Open 2-3 October

Zerek BARRA Series

State VIC NSW NSW NSW NSW QLD NSW NSW NSW QLD

Location Gippsland Lakes Lake Macquarie Forster Ballina St Georges Basin Gold Coast Gladstone Port Stephens Sydney Harbour-Hawkesbury River Moreton Bay

State VIC NSW NSW QLD QLD NSW NSW

Location Lake Blue Rock Glenbawn Dam Clarence River Cania Dam Somerset Dam Richmond River Clarence River

State NSW NSW NSW QLD QLD QLD QLD QLD

Location Toonumbar Dam Lostock Dam Clarrie Hall Dam Maroon Dam Hinze Dam Borumba Dam Lake Lenthalls Wyaralong Dam

State QLD QLD QLD QLD QLD QLD

Location Lake Tinaroo Lake Tinaroo Teemburra Dam Kinchant Dam Peter Faust Dam Peter Faust Dam

Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Round 6

Date 15-16 October 17 October 15 November 16 November 18 November 20-21 November

BARRA Australian Open

13-17 September QLD

2020 West Australian Bream Classics Event Boat Round 1 Kayak Round 1 Kayak Round 2 Boat Round 2 Kayak Round 3 Boat Round 3 Kayak Grand Final Boat Grand Final

2020 Vic Bream Classics Event Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4 Round 5 Grand Final

Date 20-21 March 21 Feb 2 May 30 May 22 August 19 September 4-5 December 13-14 November

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Location Blackwood River, Augusta Murray River, Mandurah Swan River, Perth Murray River, Mandurah Moore River, Guilderton Swan River, Perth Blackwood River, Augusta Oyster Harbour, Albany

www.vicbreamclassics.com.au Date 27-28 March 1-2 May 19-20 June 21-22 August 9-10 October 27-28 November

Location Warrnambool Nelson Mallacoota Marlo Metung Marlo

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TAG 2021

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Tournament Angler Guide

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2021: Please expect a year of flexibility ABT

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Just when we thought that 2020 and all of its charming idiosyncrasies were in the rear view mirror, it seems as though there’ll be disruptions in 2021 as well. We’ve launched a calendar, booked our accommodation and now we just need to be able to travel to do the events we love. And as much as we loved doing Lockdown Live, there’s nothing like getting together on the water to enjoy our inherently socially distant sport. At the time that this has gone to print, we are unable to run the season-opening events that we have planned

for Victoria. But rules are constantly evolving, and maybe we can strike a few blows in the political race-for-points border closing competition. What it means is that we’re prepared to be flexible in 2021 and as long as you are as well, you should be able to get a season run. For instance … if our Brisbane-based staff are not allowed entry into Victoria to run the season opening events for the Daiwa BREAM and 13 Fishing BASS Pro Series, we are prepared to swap them with some events later in the season … maybe somewhere in northern NSW where a majority of anglers can travel to and conduct an event. The trouble with this is, though, is that we need to be patient and flexible. It seems that these lockdowns happen

Matt Langford (boater) and Brody McNeish (non boater) took the BASS Pro AOY Trophies in a COVID-shortened BASS Pro Season. 6

TAG 2021 abt

at very short notice and remember that a lot of the landscape is out of our hands, regardless of how good our COVID-Safe event plans are. What it also means is that if things get worse, we may need to compromise and run some local events on the ABT Tournament Series App. Although this is a proven app that we’ve been running the BARRA Tour on for years, it’s a last resort for us when we can’t get to an event. It’s also not when most sponsors have signed up to, so please don’t assume that we can just ‘do it’ and everyone will be happy. Speaking of sponsors, we have a great team of them lined up for the 2021 events. Daiwa have taken the reins for the BREAM Series and the BREAM Australian Open. It’s a natural fit that recognises the

support that anglers have given this company over the years. The BASS Pro Series moves to 13 Fishing. Distributed (and owned by) Rapala, 13 Fishing is a great fit for these events, with a new range on on-point tackle sure to make its way into the kits of many bassers nationwide. Rapala, of course have kept the BASS Australian Open going and this year it moves to a river. BKK has stepped up to sign naming rights of the BASS Electric series and we thank both them and the anglers who have stepped up to create a juicy calendar to fish this year in Queensland and NSW. Wilsons’ love for BARRA just keeps growing and they have re-upped for the Zerek BARRA Tour and the Venom Rods BARRA Australian

Main: We waste nothing at ABT. Prize packs for events in 2020 were used in part for ABT Lockdown Live prizes. The rest gets added to the 2021 packs. Above: Steve Morgan (boater) and Grayson Fong (non-boater) took the BREAM AOY titles.

Open. The Tour and Open have both grown in 2021 and we give lakes at both ends of the state a better run. Monduran comes on line in the Open as split venue event with Awoonga and Tinaroo gets a second qualifier. Even more reasons there to take the big trip up north. 2021 GRAND FINALS Of course the biggest change we had to make in 2020 was to postpone the Grand Finals to 2021. As such, we still have three awesome BlueFin boats to give away for the BREAM, BASS Pro and BASS Electric Grand Finals. Powered by Mercury at the back and Garmin Force/Motor Guide up front and bristling with Lowrance electronics, these rigs are turn key and offer great affordability to up and coming tournament anglers.

We saw this year that you can get the job done in small boats - just ask the BARRA Team of the Year (or better still, read their story inside this issue). AOY trophies will be awarded in BASS Pro and BREAM - albeit with an asterisk after the title in a COVID affected year. There will be new AOYs given for 2021 on these series. The BASS Electric anglers have decided to roll 2020 into 2021 with their AOY and we respect that decision that was made between the old and the new organisers. So let’s hope that 2021 is the final year of disruptions. We had 20 years of solid calendars prior to 2020, so here’s to 20 more years of fishing, competing and having fun together.

You will hear from the BARRA TOY inside this issue - how they used sponsor karma and about 50 Zerek Fish Traps to win the title in 2020.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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For Everything

Bream. Bass. Barra. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve Got You Covered.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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SLATER ROD ED Rod design : building with a techniques focus ABT

Tom Slater

Getting prepared for a new tournament season is something I really enjoy. In fact, these days the act of preparing to go fishing – thinking about what gear I might need, and how I might approach an event brings more enjoyment for me than the fishing itself. It’s probably a result of my day-to-day life working in the fishing industry – I’m always thinking about some aspect of the pastime we all love. Reading the Tournament Angler Guide (TAG) each year heralds the start of a new ABT season. Looking at the venues on the calendar triggers memories of past events, and sparks thought on which techniques might come into play. There are different requirements for our gear, dependent on which techniques are at play – specific rods are designed to excel at a given technique. For me, finding and creating the ultimate rod for a given technique or venue on the ABT calendar is a relentless pursuit. A few years ago, it wasn’t uncommon to find 8

TAG 2021 abt

anglers using the same rod across almost all of their deck as a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Technique specific rods weren’t the norm and certainly while there was some available, very rarely did they all work together to form a consistent ‘range’ that felt comfortable and familiar to the angler. One rod that might have been the go-to for crankbaits or crabs, might have had a totally different build and feel in the hand from another that the angler prefers for soft plastics. When anglers are at the top level, small changes like this can make a difference. When all rods feel familiar but serve their different purpose, an angler is more likely to see an opportunity, pick up another rod and make the perfect presentation (ultimately landing a fish). In the same way, an unfamiliar grip or handle length can compromise an angler’s success in hitting their target. With an increase in anglers demanding more varying options, what better time than the annual TAG to go in-depth on one of the most important pieces of equipment we all own – the fishing rod. THE BLANK The most obvious part

of the fishing rod, the blank is responsible for the overall feel and action. Similar to the chassis of a car, a solid foundation is a great first step, but the devil is in the details. There’s been plenty of good blanks made that haven’t gone on to become great rods. Blank technology has come a long way, and each company has their own style, but one thing they have in common is how the blanks are made. Every blank starts with the mandrel. This piece of metal is specifically made to produce the taper from the butt to tip of each finished rod blank. When a company wishes to produce a new rod with a new action, a new mandrel must be made first. Once the mandrel is ready, we can begin building the rod. Each blank starts its life as a sheet of graphite fibre impregnated with a given resin. Often called pre-preg, the fibre is cut into triangle shaped pieces (flag patterns) which have been cut to replicate the chosen number of rotations around the mandrel. It is then rolled under extreme pressure. This can be the first point where designers can begin to differentiate their blanks

over others. You’ll hear companies talk about the pressure at which they roll their blanks with some using heat in the rolling process. All of this is with the goal in mind of eliminating excess resin from the blank. You see, the ultimate goal of

any rod designer is to lower the physical weight of the finished rod. Weight saps performance and likewise, trimming even one or two grams from the finished product can make the difference between a rod that feels exquisite in the hand, to

Main: A pair of quality Forster bream. Above: The Daiwa factory building where INFEET was born.

one that feels just so-so. Resin is the heaviest and weakest part of the raw material used to create a rod blank, that’s why for decades each company has been working to remove as much resin from the blank as possible. Commonly referred to as responsiveness or the feeling of a ‘crisp’ rod, removing weight can have huge implications. One of the best ways to visualise this effect is to imagine a diving board. When a diver jumps off the edge of a spring diving board, the reverberation of the board (time it takes for board to stop moving) after the diver has left is what the tip of your rod does when you let your line go in the motion of making a cast. Now, imagine that same diving board but with a bag of cement attached to the end underneath the diver. With that extra weight, the duration of the reverberation will be extended, and when it comes to fishing rods, this is where the not so desired ‘sloppy’ rod comes from. GRAPHITE Graphite comes in many different forms. Let’s just dispel one of the common myths right To page 10

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Tournament Angler Guide

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www.daiwafishing.com.au abt

TAG 2021

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away, there is no standardised way between companies to compare the modulus of a given rod blank. There are all sorts of nomenclature for the quality of one rod blank over the other. The

Tournament Angler Guide able to tell what you prefer. In ordinary terms, the better the graphite the stiffer the raw material is. The stiffer the material is, the less material needs to be used to give each rod its designed action and stiffness. That is

any angle in between. The orientation of the fibres will give a different outcome. Fibre that is laid lengthways along the length of the fishing rod will give bending resistance but lack crush or twisting resistance. Fibre

Kris Hickson fishing one of the finished samples of the new INFEET range. older IM rating system, the newer ton method (30 Ton, 36 Ton). Realistically, none of these ratings actually tell you anything about the modulus of the graphite fibres used. A higher number doesn’t always translate to a lighter or more sensitive rod, and there’s been plenty of examples of high-end graphite rods which haven’t had equally high-end performance. The best way to compare is to get out on the water and feel the rods in your own hand. Only then will you know the difference and be

generally why the more you choose to spend on a rod, the physically lighter the end product. ROD ACTION The real nuance in designing blanks is knowing how to use the materials and their properties to achieve the intended action. You’ll hear companies talk about the axis of their graphite when creating rod blanks. When cutting the flag patterns from the graphite sheet, the designer can choose to cut them so the fibre is orientated lengthways (0°) across ways (90°) or on

laid across the blank will resist crushing but do little to impact the overall bend resistance. Finally, fibres laid on each of the opposing 45° angles will significantly improve torsional stiffness – the ability of the blank to resist twisting. It’s the designer’s ability to incorporate these different methods that result in the final performance of the rod. With each blank being comprised of multiple layers of graphite cloths, the order in which they are applied also has an impact on the result. As the diameter of

ACTION: RED/BLACK (FAST) VS. BLUE/WHITE (SLOW) FAST ACTION Best for applications where the rod is imparting the action to the Lure, or when fishing lures with a single large hook (i.e., soft plastics). The faster taper often translates to a lighter feeling tip, which can be manipulated more easily to impart very fine action to your lure. SLOW ACTION Best for applications where the rod is merely a means to present your lure. Think crankbaits. A soft (slow) rod will protect hook sets better than a fast rod, meaning more landed fish in the boat and less pulled hooks. 10

TAG 2021 abt

the blank gets thicker with more layers, the inherent properties of the material will become more obvious. RESIN Now that we’ve covered the graphite, the next piece of the puzzle is what holds all those fibres together. As we spoke about above, each sheet of graphite pre-preg is impregnated with a resin which binds each individual carbon filaments or fibres together. Once rolled around the mandrel, taped and baked in an oven, this resin is what transforms what is essentially thousands of individual fibres to a single blank. There is a myriad of different resins which all have inherent properties that make them excel in certain scenarios. Some give more impact resistance, which is good for rods that may encounter some knocks and bumps. Lately, more and more companies are incorporating nanotechnology into their resins. Essentially, what each company is attempting to do

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A quiver of slow tapered INFEET rods.

ROD LENGTH UNDER 6’8” – SHORT Best for techniques that require an underhand skip cast or generally casting around tighter structure. A short rod will inherently feel faster and stiffer than longer rods due to the smaller area designers have to accommodate complex bend profiles. These are your no-holds-barred rods for tight cover situations. 6’9” to 7’2” – ALL ROUND The staple for most anglers, the magical 7’0” mark is the golden standard. Rods of these lengths are versatile and in the right situation can dabble into techniques which would generally benefit from either a short or longer length rod. OVER 7’3” – LONG By far my personal favourite, longer rods excel at distance casting, but many anglers fail to consider the benefits a long rod provides when fishing lures at these distances. On the strike, a longer rod arcs when the angler sets the hook and will move more line, therefore taking up the slack better than a shorter rod. Something especially important for topwater fishing and a key reason I like longer rods for blades and heavier plastics fished deep. is to more evenly distribute the resin amongst the individual carbon fibres. Think of it like pouring milk onto your cereal as opposed to honey. The much thinner liquid will penetrate further, evenly coating everything as it moves freely between each grain. The honey on the other hand, is thick and lacks the ability to move freely, and therefore you’d have to use more honey to evenly coat all the cereal then you would milk. The real goal of nanotechnology resins is to allow for more consistent and even performance across the board, to be able to use less resin and end up with a physically lighter rod, to increase performance. FINISHED PRODUCT Now that we’ve got ourselves a rod blank, it’s time to turn it into a complete fishing rod. This calls for some components to be added and this is when we really begin to get a complete picture of what the rod is going to end up like. Just like a good blank doesn’t make a good rod, the

best components won’t turn a bad blank into a good rod. Good designs blend the perfect balance of blank and components. Oversized guides, incorrectly spaced guides or even the wrong choice of reel seat could turn what was a blank with big potential, into something that underperforms against its competition. As I’ve spoken about at length already, weight is at the detriment of performance when it comes to fishing rods. A typical set of titanium guides you’ll find on something like the INFEET Z range of rods, weighs in the vicinity of 6 grams. Whilst that might seem inconsequential, but in a rod that weighs sub 85 grams, that’s as much as 7.5% of the total weight of the rod. The real decisions come when it’s time to decide which guides to put on a rod. Stainless steel framed guides will be cheaper, therefore they are used on much more affordable rods. They will, however, be much heavier. The other question is which size guide? I’m a big

fan in using the smallest guides you can comfortably get away with. With more anglers using braided lines and knots like the FG knot, the need to pass bulky leader connection knots isn’t what it used to be. The difference between a Fuji Titanium #6 guide and a #4.5 in terms of weight is over double. There are generally three options when it comes to frame material for guides. Stainless steel, titanium and more recently carbon fibre. For the insert, there are many more options. Each has its own inherent properties, but the ones I’m going to delve into for the purpose of this piece are slickness or smoothness, heat dissipation and overall weight. When it comes to the smoothness of the ring insert, the smoother the surface the less friction your line will face when travelling through the guides. The result for the angler is increased casting distance and less line wear. The other point and one of the heroes of Fuji’s Silicon Carbide (SiC) ring material

is heat dissipation. As with anything, movement creates friction and friction creates heat. If the ring material is incapable of dissipating that heat it will be absorbed into the line and can in extreme circumstances lead to line failure, or on a smaller scale, can decrease the lifespan of your chosen line. Of course, the end purpose and usage of each rod will determine how important each of these aspects are. Heat dissipation for a bream angler using braided line would not be as important for someone chasing pelagic species whose long-distance runs generate a lot of heat. For the ABT angler, again we come back to the issue of weight. Certain insert types will allow for thinner rings, which not only are inherently lighter due to the decreased thickness, but also increase the internal diameter of what a standard sized guide would offer. This in turn allows the designer to perhaps choose a smaller sized guide. Some examples of this include Fuji’s new generation Slim Ring SiC guides or Daiwa’s AGS next generation of lightweight C Ring & N Ring. Now that we’ve got our blank and we’ve chosen our guides, it is time to select our reel seat and handle

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THE INFEET RANGE Daiwa’s new range of INFEET rods caters to anglers of the ABT Bream Tour better than probably any other rod range on the market. Looking for some new rods for the 2021 season? Here’s how Tom & Daiwa intended them to be used:

20 INFEET | MSRP $189 | 5 MODELS 6101LFS : This model is the tight-cover specialist, designed for fishing both hard and soft lures tight against floating structure where careful presentation trumps brute force. 702LRS: The 702LRS is the all-rounder of the range and can be utilised in almost any circumstance. A regular taper protects timid hooksets with treble hooked baits, whilst the moderate yet responsive blank means twitching small soft plastics is no problem. 722ULRS: The first ultra-light rod in the INFEET range, the 722ULRS is a keen crankbait angler’s dream. A soft, moderate taper ensures fragile hook-ups remain pinned, ensuring you land more fish once convinced to bite. 732LFS: One of the standouts in the INFEET range and most requested action from the Daiwa pro team. The 732LFS is the ‘go-to’ rod for soft plastic fishing where delicate action is required to get the most from lures like the BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub & Minnow. 762ULRS: A true mid-joint two-piece rod, the 762ULRS is another crankbait wonder, capable of long casts over shallow areas. The 762ULRS is most suited to long-distance two-handed casting techniques. Whether you’re a keen bream, trout, redfin perch or trout angler, the 762ULRS is an integral model in the range. Single hooks often lead to solid hookups, negating the need for an overly soft rod. firstly attach and secure your chosen reel and secondly to give the angler a comfortable grip on the rod. The first part is relatively straightforward, the second however is more complicated. The reel seat is the main point of contact to the rod and is glued directly onto the rod blank.

and compromises – one might increase access to the blank underneath, but be less comfortable. The other way we can increase vibration transfer is to look at the material itself, with some reel seats now made from high-grade carbon composites, the

20 INFEET Z | MSRP $329 | 6 MODELS 641LFS: The 641LFS was the result of Daiwa angler Kris Hickson’s love affair with tight-cover fishing. At 6’4” in length, this rod excels in tight cover where accurate casts and manoeuvrability are paramount. 681LFS: The 681LFS is slightly softer than the shorter 641LFS and is more suited to floating structures like boats and jetties. 702LRS: The perfect blend of power and precision, this model can do it all. A progressive taper is your friend when fishing treble hooked baits, and the sensitive tip is equally at home shaking a plastic or walking your favourite topwater. 732LFS: The ultimate plastics rod. Whether it’s a grub or minnow, the 732LFS is the best choice. A fast responsive tip for precise twitches and extra length to take up slack on a strike. This is every plastics angler’s dream. 742ULRS: An ultra-light regular taper action is perfect for small light crankbaits and the use of titanium framed tip guides means this ultra-light rod doesn’t feel like a noodle. 782LFS: A rod made famous by Steve Morgan and the Cranka Crab, the 782LFS is the second generation of ‘Crab Rod’ from Daiwa. Modelled off the original 782 Gekkabijin rod, the INFEET 782LFS improves upon the original by reducing the handle length, making it less cumbersome to impart action to your lure.

20 INFEET EX | MSRP $499 | 6 MODELS 671MMLXS: Designed in collaboration with rack fishing gun Kris Hickson, the 671MMLXS is the ultimate no holds barred rack rod. Built off the ever-popular Kingbolt action, this INFEET incarnation features an ever so slightly lighter tip, with an equally powerful butt section. 6101ULRS-ST: A really interesting blend of a solid graphite fast tip section, with a moderate action ultra-light blank makes the 6101ULRS-ST the undisputed finesse crankbait specialist. 702LFS: The 702LFS is the ‘do-everything’ rod, but is particularly effective with a single hooked lure like a BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub rigged on a light jighead. The insanely sensitive blanks – thanks to the SVF Nanoplus graphite and AGS guides – means there is no way you’ll miss anything. Fast taper rods excel at fishing soft plastics, like the BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub. components. Arguably the most noticeable difference between one rod to another, the reel seat and handle gives the rod its look and character. From a designer’s perspective, to me this is the most fun and creative part of designing fishing rods. It’s not all just good looks however, the technology that has gone into reel seat designs over the past decade has been nothing short of amazing. Reel seats can now be made from highly engineered carbon composite materials. The job of a reel seat in any fishing rod is to

Therefore, it is the main point at which vibrations can transfer from the line, through the guides, down the blank and ultimately, into your hand where you can act on it. Each company has its own way of increasing vibration transmission. A ‘blank-through’ design enables the angler to have direct contact to the blank underneath the reel seat. Skeletal concept reel seats are also available, whereby the middle section of the seat is removed completely. Each theory has its benefits

result being a much stiffer and more rigid construction that transmits vibration to the angler’s hands more easily. Reel seats as a whole are dependent on the angler’s personal preference, but the factors above should be taken into account. There’s no better way to purchase a rod than by walking into your local independent tackle store and picking them up for yourself. What might look one way in a picture or video can feel completely different in the hand. Selecting my own

722LRS: A heavy-crankbait specialist, the 722LRS is the rod you’ll want to turn to when throwing larger-sized crankbaits or when cranking around heavy cover such as wash zones or heavy reefs. 742LRS-ST: Another unique action made possible by the use of a solid graphite tip; the 742LRS-ST is a true two-piece mid-join rod making it the travelling angler’s perfect companion. 752ULFS-ST: The ultimate stick minnow rod, the 752ULFS-ST is long, light and highly sensitive thanks to the solid graphite tip. No one-trick-pony either, the rod also excels at throwing plastics over ribbon weed flats where long casts on unweighted lures is key! fishing rods is the most exciting and best part of prepping for a new ABT season. I love having multiple options available and to have a rod that is designed to excel at any

given technique is a blessing when it comes time to put fish in the live well under tournament conditions. Hopefully, this article has helped give readers clarity around some

of the technical aspects of fishing rods. Check out the fact boxes to look at what aspects you need to look at when selecting your next fishing rod for the 2021 season. abt

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NEW

MEGA 360 IMAGING

™

ARRIVING MID 2020 - PRE-ORDER NOW Surround yourself with more detail than ever before. New MEGA 360 Imaging™ sweeps up to 75 metres in every direction around your boat to deliver the clearest images you’ve ever seen of structure, the bottom and ﬁsh, even while you’re sitting still. That means more accurate casts, more unforgettable moments and more incredible MEGA Imaging®—all around. The new universal marine grade mount bracket with 50” shaft gives you complete control and mounting ﬂexibility on your boat. MEGA 360 Imaging™ transducer option also available for your Minn Kota Ultrex electric motor.

*MEGA 360 transducer required

P R E - O R D E R AT HUMMINBIRD.COM.AU 12

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WINNER! BEST FISHING/ BOATING ACCESSORY AFTA TRADE SHOW 2019

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01_20_HB_ABT_Jan

MEGA 360 UNIVERSAL MOUNT TRANSDUCER BLA CODE: 103206

REDIC JERKBAIT MS60

1.5M / 8G

DS60

3M / 9G

DS80

3M / 12G

DS100

3M / 22.5G

DS120

3M / 33G

SF90

0.8M / 11G

SF125

0.8M / 20.5G

SF150

0.8M / 23G

samakifishing

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WEED SNAG BARRA

WEED

Scan to watch the screenshot come to life.

2021: The year of live imaging for everyone! ABT

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Although Garmin users have had a little bit of a headstart, it’s obvious that 2021 will be the year where everyone gets the chance to match live imaging with their Humminbird, Lowrance or Garmin units. All three of these companies are great ABT sponsors and we’re sure that all of them will sell plenty of live imaging transducers this year. And although at the time of printing Garmin LiveScope is the only one that I can buy off the shelf,

Lowrance have officially launched their Active Target and Humminbird Mega LIVE has most definitely been ‘soft launched’ in the last month. A soft launch is where the company leaks some information and teasing images on social media to let their loyal users know that they’re not going to be left out. Russell Marine Products in the USA leaked some fairly specific information, so we have grabbed that, since local distributor, BLA, was as much in the dark as we were. And all three of these companies are active ABT sponsors…. So no matter which one you choose, you’ll

be mixing live viewing with some great sponsor karma! Through 2020, anglers quick on the uptake with live imaging have done well in events - Matt Langford used his LiveScope in 2020 to see shallow, feeding fish at Lake St Clair and then catch them on shallow baits. John Ciancio used his at Lake Somerset to snare his first win and who could forget Dave Browning showing BASS Tournament Director, Joseph Urquhart how it’s done at Wivenhoe while filming a segment for the event coverage. On the BARRA side, Matthew Mott (the world’s biggest Garmin advocate) won an event on Faust using

Here is the sum total of all information available about the Humminbird MEGA Live at the time of print. Lifted from social media. Expect it mid-2021 14

TAG 2021 abt

his boat that’s brimming with Garmin gear. We’ll have a look in this piece about what live imaging is, how it works and what’ll be on the shelves in 2021. WHAT IS LIVE IMAGING If you’re an angler like me, you’re always building a mental picture of what the terrain looks like underwater in your head: 10’ flat here …. reef there …. weedbeds along

that bit of old river channel. You know what I’m talking about. Previously, you needed to add lots of clues together to do this information from your 2D sounder, lure sink times, baits sinking into weed beds …. And of course where you hook fish. Those of us who are good at this can do it over time. You know that fish usually hang here or there at certain

times or tides. You know this because you caught them there and at the least you saw them on the sounder after you drove over them. Live sonar gives you a chance to simplify this process incredibly quickly and as a bonus, it lets you see how fish react you you, your boat and your lures. All in real time. Your still image all of a sudden is live. Your book has become a movie.

Garmin’s pioneered the way with live sonar and their down, forward and perspective views are now industry standard.

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au You’ll love it. With live sonar you can choose your perspective and see what’s happening on that plane. The industry seems to be settling of three common views - looking in a forward, vertical plane, looking downwards in a vertical plane and looking forwards in a horizontal plane. HOW DOES IT WORK We are all used to our sounders drawing a two dimensional representation of the history of what our boat has passed, and that information is graphed on our units. We can see what we have passed over. Live imaging replaces that graph with a 100% live image. The full screen refreshes multiple times a second, so the whole screen is now animated and active, not just the information being added to your 2D unit. TO POLE OR NOT TO POLE? Depending on your fishing style, there are a few options as to what will be the best transducer mounting system for you. There are options for mounting on your electric motor (where the transducer moves as you steer) and others like to mount their transducers on a pole. Pole mounting detaches the transducer from the trolling motor but adds an extra item you need to stow and deploy every time you move. In practice, barra anglers who are anchored up or bass anglers now moving much prefer poles while bream anglers who are always on the move may like the trolling motor mount options. You need to assess your own situation to distil what will suit you best. WHAT’S ON OFFER? Let’s have a look at the features of the three units that will be available - Garmin LiveScope is out now, Lowrance Active Target has launched and Humminbird Mega LIVE is light on for information at the time of going to print. It’s expected in the marketplace in the first half of 2021. Both the Garmin

A: The only image available of the Humminbird transducer. B: Garmin’s perspective mount for trolling motor. C: Lowrance’s armature scout-view mount. D: Lowrance’s armature down-view mount. and Lowrance units are compatible with most of their current upper-end sonar/GPS units and also some of their previous models. Both of these units use a separate “black box” to do the bulk of the information processing and then feed the information to the head unit. Humminbird’s Live will apparently plug straight into the Helix G3N and G4N units as well as Solix and Apex units, so there’s no need for a separate, powered black box in your setup. And although all three brands do it slightly differently, all produce the hardware to mount on your electric motor and move it between modes. Note that if you’re a fan

of Minn Kota or MotorGuide servo-steer electrics, you may be limited to armature mounts of the transducer due to the entire length of the shaft needing to slide through the servo when stowing and deploying. There are some aftermarket solutions to this, but rest assured in you have a Lowrance Ghost, mounting the Lowrance will be easy and if you end up with a Humminbird, the MinnKota Ultrex or Fortrex mounting will be easy. Garmin Force users already have a plug and play transducer mounting solution. POWERFUL OPTIONS With lots of us loading up more and more on electronics, some of us will find that your house battery in the boat will be asked to do more and more. Some people upgrade their battery capacity, others will add a second 12V house battery and some will even run their systems off their trolling motor battery setups. Interestingly, Garmin units, black boxes and transducers run just fine and within spec on 24V … and lots of us use 24V, high capacity systems already for our electric motors. We will need to see what limits the other brands have. PREDICTIONS? It doesn’t take Nostradamus to see that live sonar is going to have a massive impact on how we fish. Expect it to play a bigger and bigger role in events moving forward and expect the costs of systems to get faster, better and cheaper - just like 2D sonar has done over the years. Keep an eye out for boats running multiple setups in 2021 …. We hear whispers that there’s some on the water already and we look forward to seeing how it makes our fishing more efficient and enjoyable in 2021. A word of warning, though, for new inductees into live imaging. It’s addictive. If you find yourself doing too much looking and not enough fishing, that’s on you, not us!

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NEW IN 2021 The new KVD Series reels will give anglers the ability to make long casts, feel what the lure is doing with their smooth retrieves, and durability to last for years.

KVD LFS SERIES

KVD SPINNING SERIES

Lowrance Active Target is pretty close to being available in stores, but there’s no secret about what the unit or screenshots look like.

FOR TRADE ENQUIRIES lewsaus@gmail.com abt

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Tournament Angler Guide

Sunline’s SIGLON ADV is made with a new revolutionary industry first deep resin manufacturing process that inputs resin to the inner part of the line to provide a noticeably smoother finish, better casting, line management, sensitivity and abrasion resistance that is three times stronger that Siglon PE. One of the main features of ADV is its ability to repel water, rather than absorb it which better protects your reel and guides but also makes it an amazing line to fish with. ADV is available in two colours, Multi Coloured and Turquiose Blue and 150m spools from PE0.4 to PE3 and 300m spools from PE1 to PE5. Made in Japan.

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Tournament Angler Guide

TOURNAMENT READY

A devoted passion for fishing drives a committed team of anglers in the research, creation and testing of what we believe are simply the best hooks you can choose. Created by anglers for anglers.

BETTER.STRONGER.SHARPER. bkkhooks.com.au

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Tackle box must haves for 2021

We have a saying at ABT. It’s two words ... “sponsor karma”. It describes the disproportionately large number of times an event sponsor’s angler or product leads or wins an ABT event. It happend all the time. If you want to partake in some Sponsor Karma yourself, simply buy ABT sponsor products! They represent the top shelf of BREAM, BASS and BARRA gear. Here’s a selection.

Lowrance Ghost Trolling Motor from MSRP $5219

Samaki C-12 v3 from MSRP $399.99 Bassman Spinnerbaits Allrounder Jig MSRP $10.95

Rapala DT20 Helsinki Shad (HSD) MSRP $25.95

Sufix 131 10lb Neon Chartreuse MSRP $49.95

Keitech Easy Shiner 3” MSRP $14.99

Steez Cover Chatter MSRP $15.99

bass

Palms Slow Blatt Cast 20-40g from MSRP $12.95

ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ (8Pk-MSRP $12.95) w/ TT Lures DemonZ Jighead (3Pk - MSRP $11.95)

bream TAG 2021 abt

Pro Lure 80mm Live Cray Soft Bait MSRP $9.95 (due out in Feb) VMC 7548 BD Bladed Treble #2 MSRP $14.95

BKK Striker + Assist from MSRP $9.99

Garmin GPSMAP 8412xsv MSRP $4999

Pro Lure S36 Crank MSRP $16.96

Ecogear ZX40/43 416 - Dark Knight MSRP $20.99

Lew’s KVD LFS Series MSRP $280

Sunline PE ADV MSRP $49.95

Liquid Mayhem Shrimp Scent MSRP $19.95

Hydrowave H2 Australia MSRP $799

Ecogear Bream Prawn AU-03 - Salty n Pepper MSRP $14.99

Garmin Force Trolling Motor MSRP 50” $4999 / 57” $5099

59mm Suspending CRANKA Minnow MSRP $20.95

Lowrance Elite Fishing System from MSRP $1699

Samaki Redic MS60 - Pink Lady MSRP $22.95

Keitech Mad Wag Mini 3.5” MSRP $12.99

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VMC Swimbait Bladed 7346BS 9/0 Weedless Hook MSRP $21.95 Rapala X-Rap Peto XRPT14 Live Roach (ROL) MSRP $32.95

Zerek Live Swim Bait MSRP $28.95

Keitech Swing Imact Fat MSRP $17.99

Daiwa Double Clutch 115 MSRP $29.99

Zerek Fish Trap from MSRP $17.95

ZMan 7” DieZel MinnowZ (3Pk MSRP $19.95) w/ TT Lures SwimlockZ Jighead (2/3Pk MSRP $15.95)

Sufix 832 150yd 30lb Coastal Camo MSRP $39.95

Zerek Live Mullet MSRP $22.95 Garmin Panoptix Livescome System from MSRP $1999

Molix Shad 140 MSRP $15.95

Zerek Flat Shad MSRP $17.95

Samaki Redic DS100 - Whitebait MSRP $26.95

Westin Ricky the Roach 14cm RNR pre-rigged - Spangled Perch MSRP $17.99

Lowrance Active Target Live Sonar System from MSRP $2299

BKK Viper-41 Trebles from MSRP $14.99

Pro Lure XL Shad from MSRP $11.95

Sufix Nano Braid 150yd 2lb Aqua Camo MSRP $39.95

Buck’n Bass Rain Suit MSRP $1454 BKK Spear-21 SS Trebles MSRP $10.99 50mm Single Hook Cranka Crab - 11 Colours MSRP $22.50

DM-52 Worm Hook MSRP $7.95

BaitJunkie 2.5” Grub MSRP $11.95

Pro-Cure Super Gel Scent (MSRP $24.95) & Pure UV Liquid (MSRP $32.95)

Rapala Fat Jack Glassy Gill UV (GGIU) MSRP $23.95 abt

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LITHIUM BATTERY

SALE “Why buy lead acid when you can afford lithium batteries?” Features • Light weight • Fast charging • Long lasting (10 years) • Compact • Safe with Battery Management System • Bluetooth battery monitoring app

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$1425 $699 $1200 $2250 $2700 $950 $450

Specials 3 12v 80Ah dual cranking and deep cycle 3 12v 50Ah inbuilt BMS bluetooth 3 12v 100Ah inbuilt BMS bluetooth 3 24v 100Ah inbuilt BMS bluetooth 3 36v 100Ah inbuilt BMS bluetooth 3 12v 40Ah 1100 CCA cranking battery 3 AC 24v 20amp Smart Chargers *Terms and conditions apply

Call: 0400 036 966 www.greenmarinelithium.com sales@greenenergylimited.com

www.bassmanspinnerbaits.com

BassmanSpinnerbaits(official)

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used by Australia’s best tournament anglers

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

Fish Trappin’ 101 with BARRA TOY Anita Barra ANITA BARRA

Liam Robinson & James Wilson

The Zerek Fish Trap was the lure we used to catch around 85% (50 odd) of our barramundi across the 2020 ABT rounds. The Fish Trap has been a key ingredient in our improvement as anglers over the last twelve months and it played a big part in helping us win the 2020 Australian Venom BARRA Australian Open at Awoonga Dam before going on to a successful Zerek BARRA Series to come away with the ABT Barra Team of the Year. In this article we will take you through the Fish Traps we found successful, the tackle we use, the areas of the dam suited to Fish Traps and the different retrieval techniques we employed to get the impoundment barramundi biting. FISH TRAP RANGE Fish Traps come in 65mm, 95mm, 110mm and 165mm models in a wide array of colours. For barramundi we use the 110mm size most and will change to the 95mm size if there are smaller fish around the boat. In the dams we favour lighter, more natural colours 24

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during daylight and darker colours at night. Dark Ale, Ghost Catfish and Olive Guppy have all produced results during the day, while at night we like to cycle through Red Devil, Sunset and Black Jack until we find the lure the Barra are biting on.

We will each run different colours at the start of a a session to try and get the bite. For some periods only one colour can entice the barramundi to bite. If this is the case, we will both focus on using that colour. It is important that if the bite goes cold to again cycle through

different Fish Trap colours and sizes as the barramundi can be very picky and can change their preferences several times during a night’s fishing. FISH TRAP TACKLE The type of rod you use when fishing with vibes will make a big difference to the

action you are able to impart to the lure. A fast action spin rod which is still sensitive enough to feel any bites is our preference. This type of rod helps us to manipulate the vibe with different actions whilst staying in touch with the vibe on the drop. We match these rods to

Main: The story of the 2020 BARRA Tour Team of the Year (TOY) was the Zerek Fish Trap. Liam and James mastered the bait and where to use it to get the job done ... event after event. Above: It’s hard to have a better BARRA year than the ABT Team of the Year AND BARRA Australian Open trophies.

a 4000 size spin reel. Braid is essential to feel anything that touches your lure and with time you will become better at recognising whether your lure has just touched a log or you’ve had a bite (don’t worry we still set the hooks into many logs!). Sometimes the bites on vibes are incredibly subtle for such large fish so good quality braid is a must. We used 30lb Fins Evolve this entire year and we cannot fault it. The lighter the leader the better when using vibes. We use Sunline FC100 50lb almost exclusively until we lose a couple of fish to structure. When this happens, we will upgrade to 60lb. Anything heavier than this may affect the action of the Fish Trap and result in less bites. Mustad Fastach Clips in the size 3, 75lb. Need we say anymore! You are completely mad if you are not using these. These lure clips are extremely easy to use, super strong and reliable. They are essential for cycling lures without having to retie leader. A lure retriever such as a Tackle Back is important to ensure you don’t lose too To page 26

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

Fish Trap 65 95 110

Live Mullet 4.5” 5.5”

Live Swimbait 8”

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many lures to snags, especially when exploring new fishing spots for the first time. Since starting to use a lure retriever, we have drastically reduced the number of lures lost to snags. However, it’s important to remember to check all your terminal tackle for damage if you’re successful on a retrieve.

NIGHT

Tournament Angler Guide AREAS TO USE FISH TRAPS Fish Traps are very versatile and can be fished in many different areas of the dam. We like to work the Fish Traps in water depths anywhere from 4ft to 25ft. Most of the fish we landed in the 2020 ABT were hooked in the 15-20ft depth range. Find somewhere you are

abt.org.au

going to be able to retrieve your Fish Trap with minimal interference from snags and weed. There can be structure around where you are casting which is usually where a barramundi will ambush your lure. However, finding several corridors in a chosen area where you can work your Fish Trap along the bottom of the dam

DAY

Here’s living proof that you don’t need to spend big money on a boat to be competitive in BARRA events. Anita Barra’s boat was the smallest in the field in some events.

Lighter colours during the day and darker colours at night did the trick for us across the BARRA Series’ dam rounds.

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uninterrupted is important. The less time spent trying to get your lure off a snag, the more time you will spend presenting the lure to the fish. A good quality sounder is essential for identifying areas where fish are or will show up later. When searching for new ground, the saying is old but always rings true, “find the McDonald’s”, the area where barramundi will eat not just mull around. Finding these areas takes time on the water, experience and a willingness to try different things. A good place to start looking is windblown points

with structure present and at a depth of 8-15 ft. RETRIEVAL TECHNIQUES There are a few rules when fishing with a Fish Trap which should be followed no matter the retrieval you are running with: Always have a taut line and be in touch with your lure, feeling it vibrate as it is on the drop. This also applies as soon as practically possible after you have cast your lure. Once it has hit the water you should be feeling for any touches as your lure sinks. It’s very common

to get bites as your lure is travelling to the bottom. Set the drag slightly loose so when the barramundi take the Fish Trap, it doesn’t pull out straight away. It should be loose enough for them to engulf it but tight enough to set the hook when you feel a bite. Keep an eye on your sounder to see what the fish are doing. Factors such as whether they are high in the water column, directly under the boat, hugging the bottom, favouring one side of the boat or not showing on the sounder at all, will influence To page 28

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 26

the retrieval we use. The techniques we use to get bites on Fish Traps are: SMALL HOP When we say small we mean small! Just a tiny lift of the rod is all that is needed to impart enough action. After one small hop let the lure hit the bottom and repeat the whole way back to the boat.

We use this technique when the fish are showing very close to the bottom on the sounder. DOUBLE HOP A well known technique where you sharply lift the rod twice, imitating a prawn/yabby. The double hop works well when the sounder is showing fish on the bottom or higher in the water column.

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BIG LIFT When the barramundi are higher in the water column we use this technique. It’s just a large slow draw with the rod to bring the lure up a couple of meters off the bottom. It is very important to not let your line bow after the big lift as you will miss bites. To avoid this, quickly retrieve the slack that is created at the top of the lift as you bring

Night time was the money-time for Liam and James, with a majority of barra caught after the sun went down.

Daytime barra were usually considered a bonus for Anita Barra and were enthusiastically welcomed onto the scoresheet.

your rod tip down. VERTICAL JIG If you can see 3-4 fish streaming through on your sounder, jig your Fish Trap up and down sharply under the boat. Try to match the depth you can see the fish moving in. It’s amazing how many times you will get a bite, and it’s a very cool way to hook up! These fish will be very green so you will need to be on your game to land one if

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you hook one. FAST RETRIEVE Wind the reel as fast as you can for three revolutions and then stop dead. This technique can work well when there are lots of barramundi on the sounder but they aren’t eating, (extremely common!). This will be a reaction bite and it often gets them interested to come and have a look at the lure or have a swipe. The bites from this can be savage, so hold on! The Fish Trap truly is

a versatile lure and breaks the old saying, “you need big lures to catch big fish”. They work straight out of the packet, have a large range of colours and sizes and don’t need upgrading/meddling with, which cannot be said for a lot of barramundi lures! They are durable and can truly take a hiding over and over again. We hope this helps you catch more fish, tight lines from James Wilson and Liam Robinson from Anita Barra.

Photo courtesy Gladstone Fly & Sportfishing

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