NSW Fishing Monthly February 2018

TOURNAMENT ANGLER GUIDE INSIDE • FLATHEAD FUN

Features • • • •

Dusky flathead secrets

Trout lures and techniques guide

Pumping yabbies for summer fun DIY Lure making: Pop‘n’Doc

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February 2018, Vol. 23 No. 7

Contents BYRON COAST The Tweed 30 Ballina 31 Yamba 32 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 34 Coffs Game 35 Nambucca 36 South West Rocks 37 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 38 Forster 40 Harrington-Taree 43 HUNTER COAST Hunter Coast 80 Port Stephens 81 Swansea 82 Erina 83 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 16 Sydney North 18 Pittwater 20 Sydney Harbour 22 Botany Bay 24 Sydney Rock and Beach 26 Sydney South 27 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 85 Nowra 86 BATEMANS COAST Batemans Bay 87 Narooma 88 Merimbula 89

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From the Editor’s Desk...

We love the February magazine for plenty of reasons, but a major one is that we get to include one of the two Tournament Angler Guides from ABT in the middle of this issue – 32 pages of tips, tackle and techniques that have been derived from the BREAM, BASS and BARRA Tour in 2017.

Now we know that most of the fishing population aren’t tournament anglers and don’t ever want to be a tournament angler, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that there are techniques and tackle developed on tour that will help you enjoy your fishing even more.

So if you keep an open mind, there’s a lot to be gained from those pages.

An example is Stefan Sawynok’s piece merging sports science and fishing.

Although targeted at tournament anglers who want

to improve their performance, who doesn’t want to catch more fish?

DIGITAL MAGAZINES OFFICIALLY LAUNCHED Thank you to all of our new digital subscribers that have signed up through the platform on www.issuu.com.

We are confident enough now to run the ad in the magazine to promote it (rather than just a couple of paragraphs in the Editor’s Desk).

The three-magazinesfor-one-price has been really popular. You get your home state magazine plus the two others and they are launched

about an hour after we sent the title to the printers. That’s nearly two weeks earlier than they arrive in your mailbox.

There has been little confusion about the digital subs; some readers thought that you got it for free with your paid, printed subscription. That’s not the case – for your $65 per year, you get either a print issue (from your state) OR a digital subscription (for three states).

Got it? Good. If you have any teething problems, give us a buzz in the office and we can sort you out.

REDBUBBLE One of our 2018 resolutions was to solve the FM merchandise issue – y’all love it but we infrequently stock it.

Problem fixed.

We’ve partnered with Redbubble to offer a massive variety of clothing and other merchandise to satisfy your urge, or to fill the gift bag.

The way Redbubble works is that you pick your item, pick your logo and they custommake and ship it to you.

THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR And apart from all of that, we hope you enjoy the tail end of summer. It offers warm water and what many would argue is the best time of the year to catch fish and spend time on the water. There’s our popular Find-the competition inside and mountains of articles that relate to fishing in YOUR state.

Get into it!

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SPECIAL FEATURES Unlocking dusky flathead secrets 8 Trout lures and techniques guide 12 Pumping yabbies for summer fun 44 DIY lure making: Pop‘n’Doc 106

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Flathead

Unlocking dusky flathead secrets SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

In my early years dusky flathead were the main fish species that I used to catch when fishing with my dad drifting the Georges and Port Hacking rivers.

It was just a matter of rigging up a handline with a large sinker above a match stick on a handline and then putting on a strip of mullet onto a long-shank hook that was about a foot away from

baits. Sure, there are times when I catch them while fishing for other fish species like bream, whiting, trevally and mulloway, but I sure do like my lure fishing and so does my wife, as I come back home much cleaner.

Dusky flathead are not all that hard to catch once you have worked out what type of habitat they live in, the types of baits they prefer and a few different techniques to use.

DISTRIBUTION The biggest by far of the flathead family is the dusky flathead, also known as the

They have been reported to reach a maximum weight of 13kg and 1.2m in length, and are easily distinguished by the conspicuous black spot on the trailing edge of the upper lobe of their caudal fin.

The longest that I have seen in the flesh was 95cm and was caught by Dave Fletcher on the Gold Coast on a Berkley 6” grub pinned on a 3/4oz, 5/0 TTs jighead.

The flathead shape is unmistakable, with its flat head, long tapering body, spines on either side of its cheeks and also in the

Dave Tosland with his PB dusky flathead that was caught while fishing in a bream tournament. He was using 2kg Crystal Fireline and 2kg fluorocarbon leader. It took a liking to a Berkley 2” Gulp on a 1/12oz TT no. 4 jighead. the sinker. Either the cork or a Coke bottle was placed on the floor of the boat and when the dusky sucked in the bait and the bottle or cork started to bounce around everywhere, you would grab the 20lb line and start pulling away.

How things have changed for me since those early days.

Nowadays I mostly target dusky flathead with either soft plastics, blades or live

mud, estuary, dusky river and black flathead. Dusky flathead usually spawn during the warmer months of September to March in northern tropical waters, November to February in Moreton Bay, and January to March in NSW and Victoria.

Eggs and larvae of the dusky flathead are dispersed along the coast by tidal and current movements.

front of the first dorsal fin, fawn to black on top and white underbelly. The tailfin features a characteristic dark spot in the top end corner and a patch of blue on the lower half.

WHERE TO FIND FLATHEAD Duskies are usually found over mud, silt, gravel, along the edges of weed or rock walls while facing

into the current, and when the unsuspecting small fish, prawn or crab passes by, it will use its brilliant turn of speed in a short distance to grab hold of its prey.

You will also find them laying in-wait along the edges of mangroves, breakwalls, retaining walls, drop-offs, the edges of rock bars, gravel patches, mussel and cockle beds, sand and mud flats, the edges of deep holes, on the edges of fast moving currents, in between and underneath oyster racks, at the bottom of marker buoys and poles, at the base of a bridge pylon and around the edges of floating pontoons.

WHAT BAIT SHOULD YOU USE? In my experience, dusky flathead will nail just about any bait that is put near them.

The trick is to determine which one they would prefer at the time. Over the years, I have caught them on what I would class as weird baits for flathead. Baits like the skin off a yellowtail or slimy mackerel, cunje, limpets, earthworms and freshwater yabbies have caught me flathead before.

When it comes to targeting dusky flathead with bait, live baits win hands down over dead baits. Then comes fresh whole baits, followed by fresh strips of bait and lastly, old smelly bait.

Some of the flathead I have caught over the years and have taken home for a feed have had everything from mullet, yellowtail, squid, whitebait, worms, yabbies, garfish, sweep, mados, trevally, crabs, oysters, mussels, cockles and one even had a small seahorse in it.

I have found that the trick to catching duskies that are of a good edible size (40-55cm) is to have a live bait that is about 4-6cm in length. This is where poddy mullet are ideal.

On the other hand, if you

Whether you are using dead or live baits, soft plastics or blades, a dusky flathead will take it down quite easily. can catch yellowtail that are around 7-8cm in length, they are deadly when it comes to catching larger duskies.

In NSW, the term ‘poddy’ refers to the juvenile of a particular species, and a poddy mullet is a juvenile sea mullet. It can be very difficult to identify the various species of mullet, particularly when they are juveniles. As a result, anglers may take any species of mullet in NSW for use as live bait only. Provided they are less than 15cm and the total number does not exceed 20 per person, this is perfectly legal.

At times, catching poddy mullet can be very frustrating, but so much fun, especially for the kids. You don’t even need a rod. A handline, a small no. 12-14 long shanked hook and some white bread will do the job.

As for berley, you could use white bread, but this will also attract the seagulls. Because of this, I use bread crumbs for berley and small pieces of white bread. The only problem is that you can only catch one at a time, unless you try using a multi hook

bait rig. You could also catch yellowtail, whitebait and hardiheads this way.

For a quicker way of getting numbers of poddy mullet you should try using a poddy trap. This can come in the form of an Alvey clear plastic cylinder, a plastic bottle with a hole cut in it or a clear glass bowl covered with fly wire.

If you find that trying to catch your own live poddies or yellowtail is too much work, you could try using strips of mullet, tuna, bonito, slimy mackerel, pilchards, yellowtail, pike or garfish.

How to rig them live There are three ways that I rig my poddy mullet or yellowtail. When you are drifting or fishing in fast current while at anchor, I will put the hook through the nose or bottom jaw to allow to water to flow through the fish’s gills, keeping it alive. Sometimes I have had a strike only to come back with part of the poddy. When this happens, I will usually use a two-hook rig and put a stinger on the top of the fish near the tail.

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Kingfish are a welcome by-catch when it comes to targeting dusky flathead.

Flathead If the area you are going to fish has a snaggy bottom or where there is weed, you can put the hook through the shoulder of the fish and suspend it under a float.

The last way is to pin the hook through the tail wrist when you are casting the live bait into a snag, creek mouth or along the edge of a small drop-off. This allows the bait to swim off into the snag or to the edge of the drop-off to seek protection, but what it doesn’t realize is that there is usually a flathead lying in wait.

How to rig whole dead baits What you need to remember is that dusky flathead will eat anything, and more importantly you also have to remember that if you are using a dead bait and it has a NSW Fisheries size limit, you must adhere to the rules.

Whole tailor and whiting also make great dead baits.

Just remember that tailor have to be at least 30cm and sand whiting are 27cm. You could try using red spot whiting, trumpeter, squid, silver biddies, garfish, cowanyoung and slimy mackerel as whole dead baits.

Before I position the hooks into the dead bait that I am using, I will make sure that I break the vertebrae in the back bone, giving it much more flexibility when rigged.

If using a three-hook snooded rig, I will put the top one in its nose, the second just under the dorsal fin and the third just as the tail starts to thicken. This allows the bait to move about freely.

Whole baits can also be rigged successfully on a set of ganged hooks. The main thing to remember is that you should match the size of the hook to the width of the bait. For example, if you are using a whitebait I usually use either two 1/0s or two 2/0s. For blue bait I will increase the number of hooks and not the size, opting for three 1/0s or three 2/0s.

On the other hand, if I am using whole WA pilchards, I’ll use three to four hooks and the size could range from 3/0-5/0. For garfish I would increase the number of hooks to suit the length of the bait, remembering to break the vertebrae in the spine to make it more flexible.

There are three main things you need to remember to check when using gangs in a whole bait: all of the hook points must protrude outside the body of the bait, the last hook point must be down near the back of the bait (whether it has been rigged head or tail first), and when rigged the bait must be straight.

Whether it’s a garfish or whole pilchard you need to make sure that the number

The author with a 67cm dusky that was caught using the single jerk technique off the bottom with a soft plastic. of hooks and hook sizes suit the length of bait that you are using.

The top hook of the double rig is placed near the top of the bait while allowing enough room to do a double hitch around the pointy end.

The bottom hook is placed so that the hook point and barb are protruding out of the skin.

One hook is usually enough when using a squid that has been sliced at the bottom to make it look like tentacles.

When using smaller pieces of strip baits the hook needs to go through the top twice and then line half hitched around the pointy end. The hook is

placed so that the hook point and barb are protruding out of the skin towards the bottom of the bait.

TARGETING DUSKY FLATHEAD WITH LURES What type of artificial that you decide to use when targeting dusky flathead is going to depend on what you would prefer to use. I like jigging, trolling and surface fishing with soft plastics, hardbodied lures and blades, in no particular order.

Soft plastics When it comes to what jighead and soft plastic to use when targeting dusky flathead, it can be a bit

overwhelming when you are starting off. There are so many on the market nowadays, and some of them are great, while others are not so great.

To keep it simple, they have to have a chemically sharpened point that will stand up to getting snagged a number of times, some kind of a keeper device just below the head of the jig to help hold the soft plastic on the shank of the hook, the wire diameter has to be strong enough so that it doesn’t straighten out, and the shape of the jighead needs to suit the type of soft plastic that you are using.

When it comes to what technique to use when using

soft plastics, I am going to keep it simple and give you three that I use either from the shore or out of a boat. The next time you are out on the water, you should give them a go and if they work for you, maybe you will come up with some variations of your own.

I find that whether I single jerk or double jerk the soft plastic off the bottom will depend on the depth of water that I am fishing in. Let’s say that you are fishing over a set of flats where the water is at a constant depth of around a metre. If you were to cast out as far as you could and use the double jerk method, the plastic would rocket off the bottom on the first jerk and after the second jerk it would be near the top of the water.

So, does this really matter in only one metre of water. Height off the bottom?

No. For distance the plastic travels horizontally through the water. Definitely! It could move well over 2m from its starting point, causing the plastic to move away from the waiting dusky flathead.

Try jerking the plastic with one lift where the rod tip only goes to about 45° to the water’s surface and then allow it to sit for a few seconds before repeating the process. As you get closer to the boat or shore, you won’t be ripping the plastic out To page 10

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Flathead From page 9

of the water and making it rocket back at you.

If you are fishing in water depths of more than a metre and up to around 10m, you may like to try using the double jerk method. In my experience, it doesn’t have to be a very violent double lift – just enough to make the plastic rise off the bottom about a metre. Most of your takes on the soft plastic will be when it is falling back down. Remember that if you are fishing where there is a fair bit of a current running, you may have to either slow down the lift or put on a heavier jighead to compensate.

Another technique that has worked for me over the years is what I call the ‘rip and burn’ method. This is where you cast out as far as you can and allow the plastic to sit on the bottom.

Wait for about five seconds and then wind the handle as fast as you can for about five turns. Then stop and allow it to settle on the bottom. Repeat the process until it’s a couple of metres from the rod tip.

With these techniques, it helps to keep the rod at 90° to where you have cast the plastic. This will give you a bit of a cushion when the flathead grabs the plastic and takes off, and it also gives

you some flexibility when you need to set the hook.

Slow rolling with a slight twitch is another great technique with soft plastics, especially from off a sand or mud bank and down over a drop-off as the tide is falling.

The same can be said for when the tide is just starting to flood onto the sand banks.

This technique is the more sedate method that I use, and it also great when fishing parallel to weed beds or rock bars.

Blades Over the past 10 or so years I have hooked and lost so many flathead on blades while targeting bream that it’s not funny.

The lost fish are mainly

due to the leader being too light and the flathead taking the blade right down their throat.

Once again, there are so many different shapes and size of blades on the market nowadays that it can become very confusing when it comes time to choose one.

When they first came out I started to use the TTs Switchblades and I still do.

But I also have a number of other brands that I have tried that work extremely well.

The TTs Switchblade features 3-4 different tow points, giving the angler the ability to adjust the lure’s action to suit the water depth, current and technique being used.

Working blades and soft plastics parallel to the oyster trays is a great way to prospect for duskies.

This lure can be hopped or slow-rolled across shallow flats, vertically jigged against steep structure or tea bagged in deep water. As with all blades, they vibrate and shimmy, and they excel in dirty conditions as the blade body gives off just the right shimmy to attract predatory strikes from fish.

When targeting flathead with blades, my collection ranges from 1/2-2oz and my leader size will range from 5-10kg, depending on the size of blade that I am using at the time.

SCENTS Whether it’s soft plastics, blades or hardbodied lures, they are all great when used by themselves. But there are times when a little bit of scent applied to them makes the fish grab and hold on longer.

I only use it when I am getting takes or hits and the fish are not hooking up, and also when the water is very dirty. So, do you need to put a heap on? Not really! As an example, the first time I smeared scent over the sides of the blade I found that on the retrieve there was so much that the trebles stuck to it, making the blade have no action at all. Then on the other hand, Stuart Hindson got me to put a blob on a blade and cast it out and let it just sit there. It wasn’t long before a fish grabbed hold of the lot and took off with it!

The shallow diving Jackall Chubby may be small, but this dusky was all over it.

GO CRACK A FLATTY! Well, there you have it. A few, but extremely effective techniques that I have used over the years to target the humble dusky flathead. All I can say when it comes to targeting dusky flathead is that you need to keep it as simple as possible and the fish will come.

Even though I have

caught plenty of dusky flathead over the years, I still get so much enjoyment out of taking my kids and now grandkids fishing for flathead while drifting in a boat and watching the world go by.

You too should try it and I am sure that you will also become hooked on catching the humble dusky flathead.

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Trout Lure Feature

Trout offerings – lures and techniques for trout today. Blue Fox Vibrax lures are a similar style, but come in a vast range of colours and have a bell-shaped body that emits added vibration and sound. The other lure that has stood the test of time is the Rooster Tail. A little bit of feather added to the treble and a good colour range made it a must-have.

There is a plethora of spinners now available and unsurprisingly all the above spinners are still readily available. Some others to look out for are the Juro Alpine and Sonic Spinners or the Gillies Feathertail.

The downside to this style of lure is casting distance and although they still caught plenty of fish around the margins of the Snowy Mountain lakes, as an angler you always wonder if you would catch more fish if you could cast that little bit further.

FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Inspired by the ramblings of Rupe (Rupe is Fishing) on the styles of lures he uses to target Murray cod and Australian bass, I felt the urge to jump on the computer and do the same thing on one of Australia’s favourite introduced species – trout.

On the 4th of May, 1864 saw the first successful hatching of brown trout eggs in Australia. This was the result of a huge endeavour to transport live ova from England. This successful hatching in the Plenty River in Tasmania became the primary stock of brown trout for Australia and New Zealand. It was 30 years later that rainbow trout were also introduced to Australian waters from North America via New Zealand.

JUNGY ’S TACKLE BOX SPINNERS The author’s tackle box is a blend of the old and the new. They range from 25 year old Rapalas to the latest Zerek Tango Shads and Bullet Lures. The surface lures are a recent addition.

Andy Queck showing off a nice brown trout caught on one of the latest colours in the Rapala CD range.

Although an introduced species, there has been less heated debate on how much their introduction has affected the ecosystems of the waterways they inhabit.

There is no doubt they have done so, but certainly not in the same manner as European carp and English perch have.

In this humble angler’s opinion they have become an integral component of the recreational fishing scene in Australia, and

The author was surprised that Andy’s soft plastic of choice was a chartreuse Berkley Gulp Minnow, but you can’t argue with the results.

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as long as a balance can be found where our native species and trout can coexist the industry can preserve the economic value that has been created as well as celebrating what anglers have enjoyed since their introduction in 1864.

As trout require cool water, their key strongholds are in the New England region of NSW, down through the high country of NSW and Victoria, around through into South Australia and southern Western Australia. Tasmania is recognised by many as the prime location to catch wild fish and has anglers from around the world visit its shores. Significant stocking efforts ensure many lakes in NSW and Victoria are fantastic fisheries and provide a huge economic benefit through the anglers that visit. Prime examples are Toolondo in Victoria and the Snowy Mountain lakes, like Eucumbene and Jindabyne.

FISHING METHODOLOGY Lure styles and trends in Australia are often dictated by overseas markets. Lures that are designed for other species tend to be adapted to targeting our Australian fish.

In the case of trout, this is very different.

European and American markets also have dedicated trout fisheries and lures to suit.

Major brands like Rapala and Rublex have been part of a trout angler’s arsenal for as long as I can remember and, while they can also be adapted to other species, they are lures designed to target and catch trout.

There are some very switched-on Australian lure-makers (must be a freshwater thing) that have been around forever and produce highly effective lures for the trout market. Tasmanian Devils are the first to pop into my head from Wigstons Lures in Tasmania. Has any lure caught more trout than a Tassie Devil since the late 70s? There are many more as you read on.

Many of my formative years casting lures for trout were spent walking the banks of the Murrumbidgee River between Canberra and Cooma as well as many of the smaller creeks that feed into it. It was a huge learning curve and very rewarding.

There were no mobile phones back then, so not many images exist, but the memories are etched into my brain and my love for chasing trout will never be lost.

I have to say it is a shame that these areas now hold little or no trout any more.

Drought knocked out fish stocks and huge numbers of carp have taken over. NSW Fisheries’ stocking focus seems to be on the lakes and not boosting fisheries that inspired a generation or two of anglers. It is great to see that the native species are

• Rublex Celta • Blue Fox Vibrax • Rooster Tail • Sonar Spinner

still going strong, but the trout that swam with them are now few and far between.

SPINNERS My first recollection of fishing for trout with lures was with a Rublex Celta in the no.

1 and 2 sizes (5g and 7g) in the gold blade with red or green markings. These simple lures are basically a blade that rotates around a body with a treble at the rear. They, like all of this type of lure, were great for a young angler to use. They had enough weight to cast with little difficulty and the retrieve was simple – wind fast enough that the blade spins.

The advantage of a spinner is that in a river fishing scenario it can be fished upstream, downstream, across current, shallow or deep; it doesn’t matter. As long as you get the blade turning it will catch a fish.

The flash of the blades seemed to mesmerize the fish and certainly hooked this angler on lure fishing.

It didn’t take long for other similar lures to find their way into my tackle box and are still, like the Celtas, catching fish

SPOONS AND SLUGS To have the ability to cast further added a new dynamic to lures for trout and spawned from this was a lure called a Baltic minnow.

Made in Australia it was a lure with plenty of weight and minimal action. People fishing the mountain lakes couldn’t get enough of them.

They could now cast three times as far as they ever had, get to the bottom quickly and wind in quickly to maximise any action in the lure. The strikes when they came were vicious, which made using them lots of fun.

However they were limited to lake use and other options that had the castability, but also had potential in the streams as well.

Enter spoons. They come in all shapes, sizes and weights, with the added dynamic of a wobbling/fluttering action. Lake anglers flocked towards lures like the Pegron Minnow and the Wonder Wobbler while river anglers were drawn towards lures like the Wonder spoon or IMP Spoon as I know it.

The action of the lures also made them favourites with anglers who trolled for trout, as it removed the need to have attracting devices in front of their lures.

There are plenty of options when it comes to what is available through your local tackle store. One that has come to my attention is the Kroc Lure from Australian

Since the early 70s there probably hasn’t been a lure brand that has caught more trout than a Wigstons Tasmanian Devil. Here it is rigged with a Mustad Inline single hook in clown colour.

Trout Lure Feature producer Wonder Lures. There wouldn’t be too many Victorian trout anglers that don’t have one of these in their tackle box.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX SPOONS • Pegron Minnow • Wonder Kroc Lure

WINGED LURES One of the biggest contributions Australian lure-makers have made to trout fishing has been winged lures. They are a great combination of a slug and a spoon and the three brands I am aware of would have accounted for millions of fish captures. Those three brands are Tillins Cobra, Wigstons Tasmanian Devil and the Johnson Kobra.

All are variations on a theme and all are fish-catching machines in their own right.

They have great castability, a wicked sideto-side action and are very affordable for every angler.

Tassie Devils are most probably the most recognizable these days with significant wall space designated to them in most tackle stores. Their colour range is massive and the addition of coloured wings in recent years has been very popular.

To improve the hook-up rate, remove the wire insert and treble and put your leader

straight through to a treble of your choice. Put a coloured bead between the lure body and the treble/inline single hook to avoid knot damage.

If you are trolling for trout, these are a must-have lure.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX WINGED LURES • Wigstons Tasmanian Devil in colours, clown, tinkerbell, yellow wings, Willy’s special, fire tiger

DIVING MINNOWS Diving minnows changed the way I fished for trout. My initial foray into diving minnows was using Rebel Crawfish

and Crickhopper lures in my local streams.

It was my version of matching the hatch.

I had enough success to head to my local tackle store (Anglers Art in Phillip ACT) in search of more options. What caught my eye were the Rapala CD3 and CD5 ranges as well as the floating versions.

There were lifelike rainbow and brown trout colours as well as a perch colour that tickled my fancy, but the odd one out was the fire tiger colour. ‘No way a trout would eat that’ was my initial thought, but I had to have one anyway. Luckily I did, because it smashed them. These became my go-to lure – the floating version for the streams and the sinking version in the lakes. This was the beginning of the influx of a myriad of lures to fill a similar purpose.

Baby Merlin Lures and McGrath Attack minnows were a couple of the Aussie options and now there are so many lures that can be adapted to trout techniques that you are spoilt for choice. While many

You don’t need to use big lures to catch big fish.

This browny smashed a 3cm Bullet Minnow.

Rapala continues to be innovative with their lures and their new X-Rap Countdown series lures definitely have a place in every trout angler’s tackle box. tend to lean towards Japanese-made lures, which is not hard to understand as their quality is outstanding, but I must say I still lean towards the latest Rapala offerings (X-Rap CountDown and BX Minnows) if I am going to spend that sort or money.

The other standouts new offerings are the Bullet Minnow and Five-O Minnow from Bullet Lures and the Tango Shad from Zerek, if you want something that dives a little deeper. Both brands have sinking and floating versions, which is important depending on the waterway you are fishing.

One tip that I will give you is it is vital to have natural colours in your collection To page 14

FEBRUARY 2018

13

Trout Lure Feature From page 13

(spotted dog, brown and rainbow trout are must-haves), but have a few out-there colours like chartreuse or fire tiger, as there will be days where these shine above all.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX DIVING MINNOWS • Rapala CD3 and CD5 •R apala X-Rap Countdown 5cm and 7cm • Bullet Minnow • Bullet Five-O Minnow • Zerek Tango Shad • Geecrack Suguri 60

SOFT PLASTICS Soft plastics have become an integral part of any lure angler’s arsenal. Your ability to adapt to the task at hand by adjusting the weight of the jighead or changing the size and style of the plastic makes them almost the ultimate fishing tool. There are so many different offerings available that can replicate anything from a small fish to an insect. The old match the hatch principal comes into play again.

Trout love the PowerBait dough baits that are available, which I put down to the scent in it, so it stands to reason that plastics with the same in them would work and they certainly do.

I also leaned towards paddle-tail or curly-tail styles. I wanted the lure to be working for me throughout the retrieve. I have stuck with natural colours and those shapes, but my mate Andy blew my theory out of the water when we fished last. He fished a Berkley Gulp Minnow in chartreuse and white and was unstoppable. At least I got the Gulp component right.

Insect and insect larvae imitations come into their own when fishing rivers and creeks or during the low light periods of the day in lakes. Strike Tiger lures from Tasmania do a 1” nymph and a number of other variations that are well worth getting your hands on.

I would like to quickly go back to colours. Like the minnow lures, natural colours are a must-have, with gold and black at the top of the tree, but don’t forget to have something a little out-there as well.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX SOFT PLASTICS • Berkley T-Tail Minnow • Berkley Jigging Grub • Strike Tiger 1” nymph • Strike Tiger 2” Hawg • Zerek Live Flash Minnow Wriggly 70mm • Berkley Gulp 3” Minnow • ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ

An assortment of lures that bring back a lot of fond memories for the author. of them. I spoke to Robbie Alexander about this and he said that it was the question he is asked the most.

Weight simply comes down to the depth of water and how far you need to cast. For me the most important thing is the hook. You want a fine gauge hook that is super sharp; it is vital that you get good hook penetration (even from the lightest of bites) as mister trout seems to find a multitude of ways to get off, especially via aerobatics.

My preference is TT Tournament jigheads; there is a huge range of sizes and weights and I use the finest gauge possible. Another that has impressed me on recent trips is the Mustad Darter jighead; the range isn’t overly complicated and, while they’re not a superfine gauge, they make up for it with how sharp they are.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX SURFACE LURES • OSP Bent Minnow • Maria Pencil • Bassday Sugapen I hope that this has you itching to check out the lures in your local tackle store. I know I certainly want to. It has been a blast putting this together, as it has been a while since I went through my old trout tackle boxes. Some lures are still in their boxes and others show the markings of success. The best part for me is that my next outing to go and catch a trout is just around the corner. The fish in Lake Jindabyne won’t know what hit them; there will be plenty of my old and my new lures cast at them.

JUNGY’S TACKLE BOX JIGHEADS • TT Tournament Jigheads • Mustad Darter Jigheads

The beauty of soft plastics is their versatility. You can fish them deep in a lake or match the hatch in a stream. This fish took a liking to a Strike Tiger 1” Nymph.

Photo courtesy of Robbie Alexander.

My introduction to targeting trout with plastics has come later in life. The variety I have mentioned didn’t exist in my formative fishing years, unless you considered cut-down lizards and worms designed for largemouth bass or Mr Twisters as the ideal trout lure!

My initial forays revolved around Berkley PowerBait and Gulp soft plastics.

JIGHEADS AND WEIGHTS Fishing with soft plastics can be frustrating and the most frustration stems from which jigheads you use and the weight

SURFACE LURES If I had of written this feature a month ago I don’t think I would have had a surface lure component. What changed, I hear you ask? I had the pleasure of watching a couple of young fellows casting OSP Bent Minnows across a shallow bay at Lake Jindabyne.

The trout seemed to be fighting with each other to eat the lure. I saw almost a repeat performance in the Pondage below Lake Eildon – this time using Bassday Sugapens.

This is a ‘watch this space’ situation for the author – there is no doubt I will be giving it a try next time I have the opportunity.

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Rivers and inlets back to normal THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

Now that the river and its tributaries have returned to normal after a busy holiday period, we can start to enjoy it again for its serenity and great fishing.

Flathead have been quite abundant throughout the

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main river and its tributaries this season for those using lures and baits. The fish are best found by using your sounder to find a sharp drop-off, then you can position the boat to either cast lures or drop baits back over the edge. Prawns are doing the damage for the bait fishos, while pumpkinseed, motor oil, watermelon and gold minnow coloured grubs

have been the standout for those casting lures.

Bream have been a bit slow, as they have spread right up the tributaries.

Anglers can expect to find these guys at the very top range of the saltwater in the smaller creeks and rivers that flow into the Hawkesbury. Using Google Maps and small watercraft like a canoe or kayak can get you onto some real sweetwater where you can

by foot, but the best method is to drift in a boat, canoe or kayak and cast over the weed beds and adjacent open water.

Due to the dry conditions in early January, the brackish reaches have moved well upstream, with anglers getting regular catches of bream, soapy mulloway and flathead as far upstream as Windsor. A few juvenile bull sharks have also been captured in this area.

Flathead love the warm, bait-rich brackish waters. Big female flathead like this one Chopper caught recently are always returned to the water on the author’s boat.

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Bonito are excellent sport on light spin tackle and lures. Find the bait and birds and the bonito won’t be far away.

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expect to encounter bream, flathead and EPs in the same water! The added bonus is that it’s generally seldom fished and is shaded from the overhead tree canopy, so it’s far more enjoyable on those warmer days.

Small surface lures, soft plastics and shallow running crankbaits are the lures of choice. Slowly drifting along casting into all the likely looking shady pockets and snags that are often only in a metre or two of water is as good as it gets in my books!

The bass have been a bit slow around the terraces, with a lot of smaller fish beating the bigger ones to the lures. Despite this, there are still good fish to be caught, especially at night with surface lures.

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Berowra has been fishing well, with a couple of recent charters getting a stack of flathead and the occasional bream using small wriggler soft plastics and 3.5g blades around the man-made structure and drop-offs. The flats will be firing right now, so it’s time to get those small surface poppers and stickbaits out. Long casts and a lot of stealth is required when pursuing whiting and bream around the shallows. I often find it better to get out and walk, as it is less imposing to the fish, and the catch rates generally increase.

Speaking of surface feeding antics, the pelagics have kicked into gear with small frigates and mac tuna darting about the harbours and bays, and the kingfish patrolling Pittwater, Cowan and the headlands. Flatlining

and downrigging has been successful for the kingfish over the last month and should continue as long as the warm water hangs in close. It pays to have a small 2-4kg outfit rigged and ready with a 7-10g metal slug or soft plastic stickbait for those mini tuna that can pop up for 10 seconds then disappear in an instant. They make great live baits for XOS fish or fantastic fillet baits for a big mulloway, shark or kingfish.

Bonito and tailor have been busting up infrequently

around Pittwater and Broken Bay. Look out for seagulls and terns diving into the water, as it’s easier to see this than the quick splashes of the fish, especially if there is a bit of wind chop about.

Mud crabs have pushed well upstream and won’t be far behind the bream and flatties that have ventured right upstream for the favourable conditions. Blue swimmer crabs have pushed well upstream too, with plenty caught in Berowra and up past Spencer.

With the cicadas having a bumper year, the bream have been very keen to take an artificial imitation cast into the shady, snaggy sections of the smaller feeder creeks.

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Chaos on the kings SYDNEY NORTH

Paul O’Hagan

Fishing in Sydney at the moment is at an all time high, with bonito, tailor and salmon chasing baitfish up and down the harbour and being followed by some very large kingfish, giving our anglers a range of options.

yellowtail and slow trolling them on a downrigger.

Squid can be taken in and around the weed beds and down near the spit bridge, and with the artificial reef holding large quantities of bait it should be easy to get some slimies and yellowtail into the bait tank.

From Sydney Heads and around to Bluefish Point, a lot of the larger kings are

of dusky and bronze whaler sharks that are on patrol looking for an easy meal.

As we come out of the heads onto some of the inshore reefs, there is an abundance of table fish on offer, from samsonfish to snapper, and with the large concentration of bait, there is an opportunity to use a variety of methods from light tackle to heavy trolling gear.

Atilla Uler and friends with a kingy off the rocks. that move onto the reefs in big numbers.

Further out around the shelf, anglers fishing with electric reels are still pulling in a good feed, and with mahimahi turning up

in the berley trails, it is looking good for the rest of the season.

With the mahimahi turning up in good numbers, there have been a lot of reports of small black marlin

being tagged while trolling a range of small skirted lures with very fine hooks, as it is very hard to get a hook up with the normal hooks.

As the warm currents flow down from the north,

Nick Ellis on a recent charter with OceanHunter Sportsfishing.

For some of the larger kingfish that are available, the preferred method has been to take time in catching some good live bait like slimy mackerel, squid or

being hunted with surface lures and live baits drifted out on floats, with some exceptional catches and some unexpected attacks coming from the increased number

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Over the last couple of weeks I have had a lot of reports from the charter operators that hammerhead sharks are taking advantage of the amount of food that is available and are keen to grab a live bait on the troll.

With most anglers using mono leader, the fight does not last long before these predators chew through the line and head back to the depths.

Out and around the Twelve-Mile Reef, there are some good catches of very large kings being taken on metal jigs, and with any type of jigging, a lot of lures are lost to the leatherjackets

A nice little whaler caught on the rocks by the author.

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the numbers of fish should increase and move closer inshore, attracting fish to the FADs and giving some of the smaller boats an opportunity to get into some excellent sportfish.

During the school holidays, the beaches

fished very well, with the whiting growing in numbers and size and some of our younger anglers perfecting the methods of catching worms and coming home with a good feed.

Fishing for flathead on the run-out tide can be very

Dimitri Vardis with a solid flathead taken at night.

rewarding using a range of plastic lures, as these fish will wait for anything that is available as the tide flows out.

While these fish are available, you still have to be in the area and constantly casting and moving up and down the beach to locate them. Fishing the beach in the evening sees a range of fish on offer, from pelagics to whaler sharks just after the surfers retreat from the water on dark.

Although there have been some reports of mulloway being taken, the numbers seem to be down on previous years, or it’s a case of anglers not reporting that they are getting fish in their secret spots.

Narrabeen Lake has good quality whiting and flathead being taken on a variety of methods, and with small chopper tailor and longtom patrolling the area, it’s a great little fishery for the newcomer and kids alike, as there is always something that will take a small bait or lure presented on some light tackle.

With the prawns in full flight, it is very exciting watching some of the longtom and the tailor chasing them around the lake in the evening, and for those who are not fishing, a prawn light and a net can score a feed of those tasty little morsels.

Roseville Bridge, although the perfect place to launch your boat, does not get much of a mention, but lately there’s been reports of some good-sized kingfish and lots of tailor patrolling the area very

close to the ramp. Some of our boat owners are not even having to travel very far from the ramp, and in the evening there is always a chance of picking up a mulloway as they travel up through the bridge to

hunt out some of the mullet that have gathered in the shallows. There’s also some great fishing to be had for some of the flathead on the sand flats.

As always, stay safe and enjoy the fishing!

FEBRUARY 2018

19

We have another bumper month coming up!

PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

February is an awesome month to enjoy our coastline, especially if you’re into fishing.

If the last month has been anything to go by, we should be in for some great fishing over the next month. There have been plenty of different species to target both along the coast and also on our stunning Pittwater.

If you can start early in the morning, there is no more beautiful place to see the rising sun than on Pittwater.

With calm conditions and mirror like water, it becomes easy to see any surface activity and the fun begins from there.

There have not only been kingfish to catch along Pittwater, there are also very decent flathead, mulloway, tailor, whiting and bream, so as you can see, it really depends on what you like to target.

These above-mentioned fish aren’t jumping into the

Everyo

Garry with his first-ever mulloway – 92cm is a great start to your mulloway quest! boat when you pull up, and you do have to hunt down and use the appropriate baits.

Bait collecting can be a big part of fishing, especially when targeting your larger predators such as kingfish and mulloway. Both these fish are worth targeting with freshly caught squid.

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Kingfish prefer squid to be live on most occasions, whereas mulloway seem to love big fresh squid heads, but of course they will also take strips and live squid if presented correctly.

Squid can be caught at the moment around most of the bays, as well as West Head and Barrenjoey Head.

The best squid jig colour to use at the moment seems to be pink, but fluoro orange or flashy pilchard type colours are also working a treat. The size to use is 2.5, but make sure you have a couple of smaller ones handy in case you find the fish are tentative around the larger jigs.

The kingies along Pittwater are mostly of the smaller size around 60-65cm, so make sure you measure these fish before taking them. New South Wales has a size limit of 65cm from the nose to the tip of the tail in a natural position. Kingfish can be found roaming along Pittwater and around Barrenjoey Headland by downrigging. When targeting kingfish around Broken Bay and along our coast, more often than not live yellowtail or slimy mackerel will see more of these fish being caught than squid. For this reason it is important to think about what baits to take to the areas you’re going to cover.

Other areas to cover while on Pittwater are around Scotland Island, Soldiers Point through to Longnose Point and Careel

Bay. All of these areas have seen roaming schools of fish, and the working seagulls have also been of great help to locate any surface activity.

concentration of smaller fish, but if you can pull yourself away from the constant action from the smaller ones, bigger fish can be found. To find the bigger fish, besides moving, try using bigger live baits and cast poppers or big lures to at least bring them closer to your boat and your livies.

The better areas we have been fishing are Long Reef, Mona Vale Headland and the Avalon to South Palm Beach area. Schools of baitfish have been easy to find in this area of late, and with patience, some decent fish will be encountered over the next month.

Mulloway have been a great back up plan when the kings haven’t wanted to play.

There have been jewies to 90cm caught while drifting Broken Bay to cover ground.

The area from Walkers Point through to Juno Point has seen some memorable charters, with sometimes

Lucie with her first kingfish. The smile says it all!

Along our coast kings are being encountered on most headlands, from Barrenjoey Head through to and beyond Sydney Heads.

Once again there are areas that seem to have a high

four anglers at a time all hooked up to 70cm fish.

The baits to use have been squid strips, fresh heads or small live yellowtail. We have also been hooking up on 90 and 120g micro jigs.

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Back on Pittwater, we have also been catching a few mulloway while drifting the deeper channels and holes. The change of the tide has seen the best bite when targeting mulloway on Pittwater, especially if you have taken the time to find baitfish before deploying your baits.

If you are after some dusky flathead, the Palm Beach area on the Pittwater side is a great spot to cast soft plastics targeting the edges of the weed beds.

This area also has a very steep drop-off that is suitable for dragging baits along the bottom, especially on an incoming tide. Not only will you see big flathead come from this area, but there will also be captures of flounder, bream, mulloway and kingfish.

For those wanting to target the reefs offshore, there are some snapper being caught at Long Reef before the sun rises too high, and the same off the Mona Vale area.

Flathead are being caught in water depths of 50-80m, and these blue-spot flatties seem to be ravenous at the moment. We have been catching some nice blue-spots on pilchards, squid strips, soft plastics and micro jigs.

There are some bar cod appearing off the Ordinance Grounds off Longy. This same area has seen some morwong, tiger flathead, nannygai and the odd snapper as well. The baits to use have been fresh fish fillets or at a pinch, pillies will see a few fish caught.

So as you can see, fishing is pretty good at the moment, and it’s well worth taking that owed day off from work to hit the water.

And if you have spare time to join me on charter, you can cut down your time learning about our glorious Pittwater.

I hope this report sees you grabbing your fishing gear and heading to the water to enjoy our wonderful part of the coast!

• Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

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Sydney harbour has fished very well so far this season, and with the peak months of February to May ahead of us, I think we are in for a real piscatorial treat.

Kings have been great, with the big fish getting bigger by the season and plenty of small to medium-sized fish to back them up. We have seen the best surface fishing action in many years with bonito, tailor, salmon and small kings in abundance. Mulloway, flatties and bream continue to increase in numbers in the harbour after the removal of commercial fishing.

Also, some very exciting news has come out recently that the Fisheries Minister Niall Blair is set to declare the whole of Sydney Harbour a recreational fishing haven.

This means no future angler lock-outs or marine parks, and I’m sure that the minister will benefit greatly

Salmon are great fighters but not so good on the plate. pelagics can be expected to turn up anywhere.

In fact, strong concentrations of baitfish have been known to lead some of the more oceanicorientated pelagics well up into the mangrove country.

A few seasons back, bonito, frigates and kingies were thick as far up as Bantry Bay, well above the spit bridge.

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from the support of the one million strong NSW fishing community. It also ensures him full support for future fisheries management strategies, which are proven to be a more effective conservation tool than token, green-appeasing lock-outs.

Here is a bit of a rundown on how to tackle the harbour’s current fantastic pelagic run.

Trolling lures is a great way of finding some species.

It works exceptionally well on bonito, tailor and salmon.

Its success rate on kingies, however, is poor. Trolling the headlands, particularly North, South and Middle heads is the preferred option when the fish or the baitfish cannot be visually or electronically located in open water. Different species prefer certain locations. North and South heads produce lots of bonito, but we hardly ever get tailor there. Tailor are much more common along Middle Head and the run between Grotto and Dobroyd points.

Of course, with their highly mobile nature, any of the

Don’t discount the shallows either, as I’ve seen mac tuna and frigates raid baitfish in just over a foot of water.

Trolling is best done with minnow-style lures. Metal baitfish profiles and skirted lures are good when the fish are high up in the water.

Those types of lures will ride high at the trolling speeds required for pelagics, around 4-8 knots. Minnows offer deep-diving capabilities, or at least reliable depth control.

My favourites are Rapala CD7 and 9 and Producer lures Barra Mauler in No. 4 and 5 with an upgrade on the hooks.

A trolling pattern must be established in order to locate the concentrations of fish. This usually involves a close run first, and then moving a little bit wider on each run after that. Troll both directions on each run, because it’s common to find fish biting in one direction and not the other. Keep an eye on your sounder for baitfish concentrations and look out for other boats trolling to see where and what they are catching, and also so you don’t run into them. Birds working the surface, current lines and bommies are also things to be looking for when trolling.

Most people I know would rather cast to pelagic fish than troll for them.

So what do you do if you want to cast a lure or fly to pelagics, but can’t visually or electronically find them?

My answer is to troll until you find them and then cast.

You can locate fish by blind casting to likely-looking

spots, but on average it will be a slower process.

All the pelagics, even silver trevally, at one time or another will work bait on the surface. At these times they can be visually located, often kilometres away, by looking for the accompanying flocks of seabirds cashing in on the leftover baitfish. Not every surface-feeding school has birds, but even they can be visually located just by looking for the surface disturbance.

Obviously good sea conditions make the job a lot easier. There are times when the erupting schools will be heard before they are seen.

When the time comes to approach the school, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Don’t charge right up to, and never into, the feeding school, as this will almost certainly put them down. There are exceptions to this, where a rapid approach is essential.

Certain species will, at times, feed in very short bursts and if you are not there quick you will miss your shot. You must approach fast, but keep your distance. The obvious distance to pull up is at the extremities of your personal casting range. A classic example of fish that feed in quick bursts are northern bluefin or stripies. A common

The kingfish action just gets better with every new season.

mistake made in this situation is for anglers to take a slow, cautious approach to these schools. Most fishos conclude that the fish disappear when their boat approaches because of the fish being spooked by the boat. Occasionally, this is probably true, but if you sit back for a while and just observe their feeding pattern, it soon becomes apparent that they are feeding in short bursts, regardless of whether the boat approaches or not. It’s generally just coincidence that the time you take to get to them is roughly about the same time as their feeding bursts.

This short-burst feeding pattern could be the result of the fish trying to avoid becoming prey themselves to sharks or marlin, or it could be linked to loosely-schooled baitfish or even a hearding tactic. When they are feeding like this the slow, cautious approach will gain nothing but frustration. Drifting in the general area and waiting for the fish to come by the boat occasionally pays off.

I’ve found the best approach it to get just within casting distance as quickly as possible and let fly. Speed is the essence in this situation.

You must consider your boat shadow, as this will put fear into your school long before the engine noise.

Shadows are the early

warning sign of a large predator, where engine noise is unfamiliar and fish have proven to be to be far warier of dangers that they are familiar with. The basic rule is to never get between the sun and the fish. The lower the sun is in the sky, the more this applies.

becomes possible to identify the species by the manner in which they are feeding.

The benefit of this is that it aids in lure selection and rig. For example, you don’t want to throw your favourite soft plastic at frenzied tailor.

You might decide to rig a short length of wire ahead

term arose in the trout fields where the hatch was quite obvious. It was probably airborne and tangling in your big moustache or tweed hat.

It’s not always that easy when your hatch is under water.

Seabirds help a lot.

They won’t even show up unless it’s worth their while.

ABC radio announcer Scott Levi and the author with a couple of nice fish taken on squid baits.

Try to anticipate the direction that the fish are moving and be sure not to put your boat in their path.

In windy conditions you can use the wind to make a quiet approach on a school, but position your drift to take you alongside the school and not over the top of it.

With experience it

of your fly if you know you are dealing with tailor, but would definitely steer clear of wire if you knew they were mac tuna. Lure selection in these situations is more a matter of size than type or colour. You are all familiar with the concept of ‘matching the hatch,’ but how do we determine the hatch? The

A birdless patch of feeding pelagics usually indicates that the prey is very tiny.

And to the other extreme, the bigger the patch of birds, the bigger the prey. Tiny bait inhaled whole leaves little to interest a seagull, but a 4” pilchard chopped in half by a tailor or stunned by a crushing blow from a kingy

certainly provides an easy and worthwhile target. If you are lucky, you might even see the prey as it showers from the water in an effort to escape.

If all else fails, start with your smallest lure and work your way up. Fish keyed in on a certain size prey will regularly eat something smaller, but rarely anything bigger.

It is generally accepted that a high-speed retrieve is essential for pelagics, which is true if you are using weak-actioned lures like metal slugs. Strong actioned or slow sinking lures like flies, spoons, minnows and soft plastic stickbaits do not require the same speed to entice a strike. The problem with metal slugs is that they are so un-lifelike on a slow retrieve. My favourites amongst the casting lures include Rapala Minnow Spoons, Wonder Wobblers, Sluggos and Raiders.

Never assume that the fish you are seeing on the top are necessarily the fish you are catching. In these situations, it is not uncommon for fish of different species to layer; for example, there might be salmon on top, bonito under them and then trevally under them. Your first few casts should be retrieved immediately, but later casts should be allowed to sink to varying depths before the retrieve. Many pleasant

surprises have come from this technique. Silver trevally rarely feed right on top but are quite common below the salmon. They will take lures at these times, often on the fall. Kings are regulars below tailor and bonito. The first sign of them is when one follows a hooked tailor or bonnie up to the boat.

Kingies are the easiest of all the pelagics to locate, but usually the hardest to catch.

Their biggest downfall is their love of shade, but to some extent it’s also their saviour.

Structure creates shade, and structure is very easy for us to locate, but it also gives the kings something to wrap us around. They will face into the current where they are holding.

Avoid lures that rattle for kingies, and that includes anything with trebles and split rings. A Sluggo soft plastic is my number one for kingies, but you will occasionally get away with poppers, as the splashing sound helps mask the rattling of the hooks and rings.

Hopefully this encourages you to get stuck into some Sydney pelagics this February!

• If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney harbour with Craig McGill please call 0412 918 127 or email craig@fishabout.com.au.

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23

All systems go at Botany Bay BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

It’s all systems go on the fishing front; there has been a number of great reports coming in from Botany Bay, the Georges and Woronora rivers, and offshore this month. There are even a few reports of drummer and luderick coming from out in front from those fishing the rock ledges in the Royal National Park.

If you are looking to go offshore out of Botany Bay, I would suggest that you try trolling a few lures as you go. Bonito, salmon, kingfish, tailor and striped tuna have been feeding on whitebait and pilchards off Maroubra and Coogee. It may take you a bit longer to get to your fishing spot, but you are in with a great chance of picking up a few good fish. Besides, the bonito and striped tuna will make a great bait.

Mahimahi will have shown up at the FADs off

Sydney for those chasing these speedsters with either live baits, whole pilchard and garfish, and don’t forget to have a few soft plastics, poppers and metals on board.

The Peak is producing kingfish, trevally and the odd leatherjacket for those who are bottom bashing. You could try jigging 60g microjigs, as the fish don’t always feed on the bottom. They could be found mid-water, so make sure you keep an eye on your depth sounder for mid-water baitfish schools.

Trevally, bream and

The stretch of shoreline from east of the Captain Cook Bridge to Dolls Attomic PRINT.pdf 31/08/2017 3:03:53bream, PM Point is a good1 place to target whiting and flathead.

the odd tarwhine have been caught fishing the washes at Wedding Cake Island and off the point at Maroubra.

Care needs to be taken when fishing these spots from a boat.

For those of you fishing from the shore for bream, trevally, tailor, salmon and drummer, you could try the Clovelly Pool in Thompsons Bay, Little Bay at Maroubra, the southern side of Maroubra Beach and Pinnacle. Pilchards are a good bait for the tailor and salmon, and blue-tailed prawns for the rest. Make sure that you have a steady stream of berley to keep the fish in close, and don’t forget to wear your life jackets, as it is mandatory in the Randwick area.

Botany Bay will be producing trevally, bream, tailor, salmon, flathead, kingfish, bonito and flounder. It will just be a matter of finding the baitfish schools and you will find the fish. The most popular spots for February will be the end of the third runway, wide off Towra Point, the oil wharf, the drums, Trevally Alley and Sutherland Point.

Make sure when fishing here that you respect the other

Brian Thompson was drifting off Towra and managed six dusky flathead on whole prawns. This was the best at 76cm. boaters and don’t just anchor up in their berley trail. There are also a few crabs about,

so it would be worth taking a couple of witch hats and setting them up nearby.

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If you are after a few whiting, bream and flathead and are fishing from the shore, you could try anywhere along the beach from the Cooks River Breakwall to Dolls Point. On the southern side you could try fishing off the groynes at Kurnell. The rocks at Kurnell are producing bream and trevally at the top of the tide on half pilchards and whole peeled prawns. You could also try using cunje. There have also been a lot of sea

garfish about.

Tailor have been schooling up from the last set of channel markers that lead into Botany Bay and the Captain Cook Bridge.

Small metal lures are the go.

Once the tailor stop feeding, you could try drifting the same stretch of water for bream, tarwhine, flathead and flounder.

Bream, flathead and flounder are schooling up at places like Lugarno, Picnic Point and the bridge at

Adrian Steer trolled up his first-ever kingfish on a shallow diving CD9 Rapala.

Milperra. Try using half or whole pilchards or strips of mullet for bait.

If you have a boat, you could always try anchoring or drifting the flats in the Woronora River for whiting.

The best baits have been either tube worms or pink nippers. You could also try using small strips of squid or whitebait. Bream and flathead can also be caught here.

Further upstream you could try at the base of the old bridge and the walk across bridge at Prince Edward Park for luderick.

You will need to have fresh weed and make sure that you have a steady stream of berley. A couple of hours either side of the top of the tide seems to produce more fish. There are also plenty of mullet around. Try using a pudding mixture of sausage mince, flour, water and a little bit of garlic juice.

The best results have been coming in from those anglers who are using a float.

Don’t forget, if you have caught a few fish, send in a short report and a photo and I will try to get it put into the magazine. It doesn’t matter where you have caught it. Send to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au

FISHING NEWS

Hefty fines for illegal operators The biggest fines ever issued in NSW for illegal fishing have been handed down in a Sydney court, with three men, a company and a Wollongong seafood restaurant heavily penalised.

NSW DPI Director Fisheries Compliance, Patrick Tully, said the three men, the company and the Illawarra seafood restaurant were charged as part of Operation Talon, targeting the theft and illegal sale of thousands of dollars worth of eastern rock lobster.

One man was sentenced to imprisonment for at least two years and another received a 12-month suspended sentence.

Collectively the illegal syndicate face up to $2.5 million in fines, court costs and forfeiture of valuable lobster fishing shares for hundreds of offences dating back to 2012.

“Collectively the illegal syndicate were found guilty of 217

offences,” Mr Tully said.

“The men and businesses, including a commercial lobster fisherman, the company that owned the fishing business, a chef as well as the restaurant were found guilty of exceeding the possession limit for eastern rock lobsters, possessing fish illegally taken, receiving fish for commercial use without being registered and trafficking an indictable species of fish. The offences relate to around a tonne of rock lobsters purchased by the company on numerous occasions over an 18-month period between 2013 and 2014.”

The court heard that the fisherman deliberately overfished the species, deliberately failed to record his catch and then on-sold the illegally fished lobsters in a bid to avoid fisheries management regulations.

The 50 year old commercial fisher, previously from Wollongong, was fined $76,000 and ordered to pay $250,000 in

costs for offences including falsifying log book entries intentionally declaring fewer rock lobsters than he caught, and then selling the difference illegally to the restaurant on a number of occasions. He was also found guilty of failing to tag commercially caught rock lobsters on a number of occasions as required

by NSW DPI, and also reusing tags to falsify his catch. In addition to his fines, he was sentenced to a maximum three years in jail and a non-parole period of two years.

The company that owned the fishing business was fined $378,000 and was ordered to forfeit all its shares in the lobster fishery, which could be worth around $1 million.

It was also ordered to pay $70,000 in costs.

The restaurant was charged with a 30 offences including receiving fish for commercial use without being registered and trafficking an indictable species of fish, and were fined $398,000. They were also ordered to pay $150,000 in costs.

The results followed months of covert surveillance by NSW DPI Fisheries officers, who used GPS vessel movement data, daily catch log sheets, trap records, tax invoices and financial records. - DPI

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Try and bag more by-catch!

SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

It’s the last month of summer, but that’s not a big deal, as the very best is yet to come for all of the summer species.

Off the ocean beaches, whiting, bream, flathead, dart, tailor, dusky whaler sharks and the odd mulloway have been biting.

Off the ocean rocks, kings, bonito, tailor, bream, some snapper, luderick and more have graced anglers’ bags.

In the estuary‚ some Sydney Harbour kings, bonito, tailor, salmon, bream, whiting, flathead and way more, for those who like fishing up the system a bit. There’s just so much to choose from!

It can be hard to focus on a particular species at this time, so sometimes it pays to use methods that are going to catch you more of a mixture, rather than focusing on one which will vastly reduce your chances for several species.

A typical example is the luderick. Most of the time they are a vegetarian, although at times they will pick up a variety of baits, therefore if you fish for luderick using luderick methods, you will most likely catch only luderick and not have the by-catch. Occasionally off the ocean rocks and in some estuary spots you will also hook some rock blackfish on the light luderick gear, which may end up being a negative outcome as far as landing one.

Groper are another example of a species that requires very specific methods.

Fishing for kings can be a mixed bag when spinning gars, live baiting, or using a variety of other baits.

Smaller kingfish lures will increase your chances of other species as well. If you use the larger stickbaits, poppers, minnows, large live or dead baits, generally you’ll attract only kings.

Not to say that this is a bad thing, but if you’re an angler who just wants to get a feed, and you do not mind the

mixed species, using certain methods will increase your chances of a mixed bag.

Off the ocean beach when targeting mulloway, you will be in for that mixed bag result.

Fishing with your live baits like mullet, yellowtail up to about 30cm, or butterflied fillets, squid strips, heads, or even just medium size whole squid will often yield a mixed bag. Dusky whaler sharks, tailor, salmon, flathead and of

Michael Nelson and his son Max love beach whiting fishing. Because the whiting have been around for a few months, they can be timid. Fluorocarbon leaders, well-presented baits, small swivels, and light sinkers will maximise your bite rate. course the target species of mulloway are likely.

Whiting fishing is a great mixed bag species. Even though you are specifically targeting this species, it is very common to catch other species like bream, dart, flathead and even the odd mulloway and salmon. Using the humble beach, squirt or bloodworm or even pink nippers should be enough to get you running.

Off the rocks when you have a wash fishing session, it is rare to walk away with

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just one species. Bonito, kings, bream, snapper, tailor, salmon and even more at times can be expected. Pillies, prawns and squid baits will get that mixed bag.

The rock blackfish, also known as pigs, are another good mixed bag species.

Leatherjackets, bream, luderick, groper, trevally and more can be caught fishing for this species. Bread and prawns are the most common

pig bait, although if you target them with cabbage weed, you will be vastly reducing your chances of a mixed bag.

So for February, here are some of the catches that my clients, myself and anglers that I know have been catching of late.

It seems that the calmer waters of Sydney Harbour are producing some better catches at times than the ocean rocks. This can change with a migration of bait like gars or slimies, an early run

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of small mac tuna, frigates and consistent currents with rich blue water staying well inshore to encourage the kings and pelagics to stay in close to the rocks.

So in the harbour a run of kings are at the Spit Bridge area, with an approximate 90cm fish I saw caught by an angler fishing with a hardbody stickbait. I have been getting the odd fish to 80cm, and it seems that the period from the high to 1-2 hours into the run-out tide is producing.

Small live yellowtail, whole fresh squid (either cast out onto the bottom or suspended under a float) and ganged gars are all good bait choices.

The Rapala X-Rap Long Cast Shallow in a pink or green colour is working well for those who prefer lures.

Tailor are also on the chew, especially just before dark. Ganged pillies or a medium action metal like the 45g SureCatch Knight is producing tailor catches, with the odd small king as well.

Clontarf, Sandy Bay and Chinaman Beach are producing some good whiting.

Pink nippers, tubeworms, bloodworms and really small river prawns are all good choices for some whiting.

Avoid a prawn with a pink or black head, as that means it is not fresh and generally fish find this unpalatable in most cases, especially fussy fish like whiting.

Off the ocean rocks, snapper, and especially bream are in good numbers. The shallows of Long Reef in Collaroy have good numbers

Chris Nesci’s 65cm bonito went like the clappers on light gear while he was fishing for mixed species in the wash. Seven plate size snapper and a trevally rounded out the bag. of these tasty fish. Wading the shallows from mid to high tide with your luderick or beach whiting rod, 3kg line, a 500A Alvey or a 3000 size spin reel is always a pleasure. Half pilchards, Hawkesbury prawns and fish fillets are amongst the better baits. If you’re really adventurous, try doing it on an evening high a few hours after dark and you’ll be in for a treat, with a potential run of bream to 1kg-plus! This is all super good fun on light gear!

Kings, bonito, and tailor have been taken from Bluefish, Manly, South Curl Curl‚ Flat Rock, South Whale and Inner Ovens, with some big kings in the mix exceeding 125cm and 14kg. Spinning eastern sea gars and 55-120g Williamson Jet Poppers is working well.

Live sea gars are a bait that is not used as often as we would like in Sydney. They can be difficult to find, but when available they are a dynamite kingfish bait.

A quill float, a small split shot, no. 12-14 long shank hook with a bit of pilchard or bread and some floating bread berley is all you need to catch

Part of the audience for the rock fishing safety workshop held at the Prince Henry Centre at Little Bay. There will be several more held all over Sydney as a government initiative to reduce accidents. The author hosted this one.

sea gars. You can also mix pilchard or tuna oil into your bread berley. When fishing for gars, try and avoid the really white sudsy wash zones and fish the calmer waters of the location you are fishing for kings. When taking a gar off the hook, avoid touching the gar, as they will lose a lot of scales and die quicker as a live bait. If you have one, use a wet cloth from cool ocean water, and this will reduce the chance that the live bait will die. Use a small hook when you use it as a live bait, preferably in the 3/0-4/0 range in a 2X-3X strength. If you go too large with the hook, it will weigh down your gar and it will look less natural to the fish.

I have run out of space for a beach report, but here is a very brief one. Mulloway are in numbers off Newport, Bungan and Dee Why, along with sharks and some tailor.

Whiting and bream are also available at these beaches for those who target them. As a matter of fact, the whiting and bream are on most or all of the beaches in variable numbers.

Live baits, tailor fillets and mullet fillets are the go-to for the sharks and mulloway.

Beachworms, tube and if you can get them, blood worms would be my pick for the bream and whiting.

Make sure you try to maximise your chance of a by-catch this month, as there is just so much on offer!

• 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.

Summer fishing still hot!

SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

As long as the weather holds out during February, you will have plenty of options to wet a line.

Offshore you will see the warmer currents bring in the mahimahi, marlin and many other pelagics. When you are out next, you should check out the new NSW Fisheries artificial reef off the southern side of the entrance to the Port Hacking. As it has been down for a few months now, you will find that kingfish have started to show up chasing the slimy mackerel and yellowtail.

There are also leatherjackets, morwong, the odd snapper or two, plenty of sweep and many other reef species. John from Fergo’s Tackle World at Taren Point suggests that you could try drifting around the outside of the artificial reef for flathead.

Or maybe chuck a few or the larger TT Switchblades or ZMan plastics. If there are other boats anchored up, you should respect their space and not drift too close to them.

Further south at the Hump off the Sea Cliff Bridge, you could try for snapper, morwong and drift over the sand for sand flathead. Try trolling your way down south, as you could pick up tailor, salmon, bonito and kingfish.

I have been using the Fish Inc Centre 12 Squidelicious diver with great success.

The beaches of Bate Bay are producing whiting and bream during the day. Salmon

baths at south Cronulla. Squid can be caught on squid jigs off Windy Point and Salmon Haul Bay during the day or night.

You could also try suspending a squid jig under a bobby cork.

Next time you are offshore you should check out the FADs for mahimahi. Photo courtesy of All at Sea Charters.

John Lee with a large eastern wirrah caught while fishing off the back of Shark Island in Bate Bay. and tailor have been taking white pilchards and garfish.

The odd mulloway, banjo sharks and gummy sharks have shown up occasionally at night on either live or dead yellowtail and slimy mackerel.

North Cronulla through to Boat Harbour has been the best.

If there has been a bit of a southerly blow and the swell is still up, you could try the Alley and just off the back of the

This will give you two options to get a few squid.

Most of the deep bays in the Port Hacking will be worth a shot for tailor, salmon, bonito and kingfish. It’s just a matter of driving around and looking

and Bonnie Vale. Remember, if you are anchored up you will need to berley. I find the chicken pellets and smashed up pilchards will do the job.

If you are looking for somewhere to take the kids for a fish, you could try the sand flats on the eastern side of Gunnamatta Bay. It drops off here to fairly deep water and bream, whiting, flathead and trevally are a great option.

Even though there are plenty of nipper holes here you cannot pump for them, as it is a closed area. You can either

where you can fish from the shore. If you have a boat, you can put in at the Swallow Rock Drive boat ramp, and it’s only a short trip up to the weir.

Catching your own bait is very rewarding and can be a lot of fun, especially if you take the kids along. Whether it’s pumping nippers at Maianbar, beach worming at Wanda, catching poddy mullet in a trap or just line fishing for slimy mackerel or yellowtail, it’s just part of the fun! The end result is that you now have live bait for that next kingy or flathead trip.

If you are going to have a fish on any of the beaches or rocks in the Royal National

Park, you will either need to have a yearly pass, which is the cheaper option, or get a daily pass. There are seven beaches that you can choose from. Marley, Little Marley, North and South Era and Burning Palms you will need to park your car and walk into. As for Wattamolla and Garie, it’s just a short walk to the beach. Further south you could try Stanwell Park and Coalcliff beaches.

Don’t forget that if you have caught a few fish, send in a short report and a photo and I will try to get it put into the magazine. It doesn’t matter where you have caught it. Send to gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

BOOK NOW FOR WARM WATER PELAGIC ACTION!

Specialising in small group offshore charters Like father, like son. Lachie loves catching dusky flathead on lures.

Try trolling close inshore for bonito. They are great eating and they also make great bait.

Photo courtesy of Southern Sydney Fishing Tours.

for the bait schools with your sounder or keeping and eye out for diving terns or seagulls.

Surface poppers around 5-7” soft plastics worked across the surface should entice a strike.

Bream, whiting, trevally and flathead can be either caught on lures or bait at the Lilly Pilly drop-off, Maianbar

travel over to Maianbar and pump some there, or go to Macs Bait Shop at Blakehurst and buy them.

Another place that is worth a look at is the downstream side of the Audley Weir in the Royal National Park. There are a couple of picnic areas on either side of the river from

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Anglers have been absolutely spoilt for choice THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

Marlin, kingfish, mahimahi, mangrove jack, GT, whiting and bass are just some of the species that have really turned on for anglers this month.

leading to broken dreams, tormented emotions and testing the hardest of anglers.

Well-maintained gear is crucial at this time of year when going head to head with these species.

OFFSHORE The clear blue water and southerlies have brought

Nick Frost and Jonathon Piece with the daily double of kings!

Most anglers are having a field day and making the most of the summer conditions, with plenty of good catches offshore, in the estuary, and the fresh, right up and down the Tweed coast. Humid days and offshore temperatures of 26°C and river temperatures of 27-30°C have really turned the explosive fishing on for us Tweed anglers. There have been lots of broken lines

the marlin on and they have moved onto our close reef and are feeding up on bait schools. Striped and black marlin dominate these bait schools and trolling skirted lures is the best way of catching a big-billed missile.

These jumping giants are sitting in current lines around 24s, 36s, 50s, nine-mile Reef and even five-mile Reef, which have all had fish taken

on them this month and are always worth a troll.

The odd wahoo has been getting around the same reefs and is the best by-catch available when trolling for marlin. Mahimahi are still in good numbers this month, and the places to look are the FADs, 24s, 36s and 40 fathom lines. Skirted lures and high-speed metals are doing all the damage at the moment. Look for any floating debris like trees, palm fronds, buoys or even milk and bread crates. These floating structures can really produce some great mahimahi fun.

Some monster kingfish are still being caught with live bait, high-speed metals, jigs, stickbaits and poppers.

Try nine-mile, Deep Southern, Windarra Banks and the reefs in around 100m of water for best results.

High-speed jigs are working really well on the deeper reefs, where slow-trolled live baits are working better on close reefs. It’s a must to use a snelled double hook rig for your live baits.

The odd Spanish mackerel has been around nine-mile, with trolled baits catching the larger models.

Spotties have been patchy

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30

FEBRUARY 2018

Malcom Scott with a monster king from Nine-Mile. around Point Reef and Fidos, and responding mostly to floating pilchards. There are no real strong numbers yet, but anglers are waiting in anticipation.

There are still some nice pearlies and pan-sized snapper on close reefs and out wider. Working the right sinker size to drift these reefs is critical at the moment with the current. If you go too small, your bait won’t get down, and too heavy and you’re in the reef. Try drifting Fidos, the Mudhole, 24s and the 36s with drift baits. Micro-jigs and plastics will also find you a good feed of summer reefies in this area.

There’s good bait at the sand pumping jetty, 10-Minute Reef, the eastern yellow marker at Cook, Point Reef, southside of Kingy Reef, Hastings Bombie and Black Rock Reef.

ESTUARY Most anglers are seeing red at the moment! That’s right: the big mangrove jacks are out and they mean business. Most structure throughout the rivers and creeks in the Tweed region are fishing unbelievably well, with some monster jacks being caught.

If using bait, finding good live bait is crucial and normally takes time. Bait traps, floating bread and bait jigs are the best ways to get bait in the Tweed. Having a live bait tank, aerator and pump will keep your bait living and active and having them alive will turn the jacks on.

A few big estuary cod are being caught as jack by-catch and it is so great to see good numbers of them in the system. Remember, these fish are protected and must be released unharmed, but there’s no problem with getting a few shots before releasing.

Fishing heavy structure calls for heavy gear. I fish 50lb braid and 80lb leader, which stops most jacks up to 60cm, but I do still get smoked a few times a night.

If live baits aren’t working, switch to strip baits, and a whole fillet normally does the trick. I tend to use a

snelled doubled hook rig to avoid missing fish.

Lures are still getting a few quality fish. Try the pontoons in the canals, and the bridges like Barneys Point, Boyds Bay, the rock walls at Fingal and Chinderah, and Stotts Island.

Some good elbowslappers are being caught, and poppers worked over the top of the skinny water is a fun way to catch these guys on the flats, but worms and yabbies catching more.

There are still some good flathead around, so if you want a feed of flatties or some sport, try working the weed patches behind PKGs, the house boats, Piggery, Terranora and Cobaki.

GTs have been terrorizing the bait schools and fry.

Some solid models will be taken this month on the

BEACH The whiting, dart, bream and flathead have moved into the gutters, breakwalls and headlands, and are taking a variety of baits.

Beach worms are getting the whiting and dart, while pilchards are getting the bream and flathead. Look to the southern headlands and back beaches to get out of the northerlies and try the northern beaches when the southerlies blow.

Fingal Beach, Back Beach, Hastings Point and Ocean Shores all have beach worms and some large pipis if you need fresh bait.

FRESHWATER The backwaters and creeks of the Tweed and northern rivers really fishing well at this time of year, with fat bass smacking surface lures. Try the Uki stretch of the Tweed, the drains around the golf course at Banora Point, the upper Rous River and the upper Richmond and Clarence with cicada imitations around dusk and dawn. As the sun gets up, beetle spins and hardbodied lures will work better.

Clarrie Hall Dam is fishing well at dusk and dawn around the lilies.

Vibe lures right on dark is a technique that is catching some fat bass.

NEXT MONTH The Spanish mackerel and spotties will thicken up

The author took this solid mangrove jack from some shallow water structure. wall at Fingal, Chinderah, the islands in Terranora and Balaclava Park. Look for bait schools and cast metals, blades, vibes or poppers.

You could even float out a herring, which is deadly on this species.

A couple of rat kings and bigeye have been spotted around the anchorage.

Metals, micro-jigs and plastics have been working well for these little bullets.

As usual, there are plenty of bull sharks around and catching these guys is a growing sport, with most anglers releasing these toothy brutes to fight another day.

Some great crabs will be available this month, so it’s well worth soaking a pot.

in numbers on close reefs off Tweed and will be the main species anglers will be targeting.

The bluewater pelagics should hang around while the water temperatures stay up. They will ball up schools of bait, so look for bait ball on your sounder. The close reefs will still hold good numbers of mixed reef fish.

March normally means storms, and this will turn the jacks on even more as they fatten up. Jacks, whiting, GTs and flathead will be the main target for most estuary anglers throughout next month. March will see all the big muddies out moving around with the storms, and bass will hit just about anything in the freshwater.

Dirty water delights this month BALLINA

Joe Allan

Christmas and summer holidays are all over and everyone is back at work or school again. Some great times were had on and around the Richmond River over the holidays.

BEACHES The beaches of South Ballina are holding good numbers of dart and whiting.

When the swell is down, try flicking blades and plastics for flathead in the low tide gutters. This can be a really productive technique, and you may be surprised at how many quality fish you can come up with. Take care when travelling on the beaches, as it only takes a couple of idiots to spoil the fun for everyone.

OFFSHORE Offshore has been producing some quality fish when the weather allows.

The 32s are holding snapper of average size, but you can pretty much guarantee a good feed of these fish.

The FADs are holding mahimahi, with the bigger models coming from the 48s when the tide is really moving.

The mackerel have been a bit quiet since Christmas, as have the marlin.

ESTUARY In the river there are great numbers of whiting on the flats around Pimlico Island taking surface offerings, as well as bream and flathead.

The Bassday Sugapen

the ferry is a good spot to try with the little ones.

With all the fresh that’s been showing up, the lower reaches have had good mulloway off the breakwalls in the last part of the run-out

up. Remember, mark your pots properly as NSW Fisheries have been around confiscating unmarked equipment and issuing fines.

They will take anything either not marked or not

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A quality mangrove jack caught on a 90mm Bassday Sugar Deep.

70s are still producing great numbers.

This time of year the number of families lining the river with kids just hoping to catch something is great to see. Getting kids into fishing is something that is easy to do if you use fresh bait, the right equipment and you don’t make them stick out in the sun for too long.

In the main river, Mobbs Bay, or the weed flats past

tides. Big hardbody lures and paddle-tail soft plastics have been producing results.

Anything that produces big movement and pushes a lot of water will work for the mulloway. Once you do hook something, try to get it in ASAP, as there are plenty of toothy critters around looking for a feed.

Crabs are a little quiet, however the new moon should fire them

Damon Andrews with a healthy Aussie bass caught up the Richmond River.

FISHING NEWS

marked as per regulations.

They are also checking fishing licences, the size of fish and bag limits. If you haven’t got a licence, it’s worth getting one. The money goes back into the fisheries and facilities, but I’m sure you don’t want to spend your time paying fines.

Rules are there for everyone to abide by, so the fisheries are sustainable for everyone for the future. If you see anything suspicious, please report these to authorities.

FRESHWATER Bass are in the main river sections and the freshwater coming down from Kyogle and Casino should really get them going once this dirty water settles down.

Dirty water fishing can still produce good numbers.

A good start is the drains and creeks running into the main river. Chatterbaits are a good start, as well as noisy jerkbaits. Something with loads of noise and plenty of flash should do the trick.

You might have to do some traveling to find the fish, but when you do you can rack up good numbers quickly.

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This invention is an innovative technique for stabilising riverbanks and improving fish habitat.

The sand sausage is essentially a sandbag, up to 50m long, that can be installed on the sand and mud flats in the inter-tidal zone. It breaks up the erosive power of waves

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31

Fish warm seas for some PBs YAMBA

Dave Gaden

February is here and with that (for most) brings the crashing back to the reality that the holidays are over, and it’s back to work.

When you run charter boats for a living, it usually

means it’s a little quieter and you can breathe again.

Yamba is a really busy place between Christmas and Australia Day. OFFSHORE February means the water offshore in this part of the world has reached a constant warm temperature and the mackerel are on the chew.

Spotted mackerel can be the most fun and at the same time the most frustrating fish you may ever want to target.

There are days you flick a pilly out the back and a fish is on before you close the bail arm, and the next day there will be 50 fish sitting on the surface at the back of the boat that will not touch anything you throw at them.

If you have never chased them before, my tip is make things as simple as you can.

Trolling for them at first light is easy stuff. A very simple pink squid with a 7/0 hook on a swivel, no. 4 bean sinker in the head of the squid, 600mm of 90lb wire trace to a good ball bearing swivel and you’re good to go. You will make that for about $5 in three minutes.

Troll at between 9-10knots with the lure set 25 seconds behind the boat. Simple!

Once you get to your first

fishing spot on the reef, have a couple of floaters out the back, and once again simple is best. I just use 300mm single strand 35lb wire to a set of 4/0 gang hooks at one end, and swivel on the other.

I put a pilly on, flick it out the back in the current, preferably on a bait runner reel, and wait for the scream. If at anchor, berley with pillies cut very fine in the current line. Make sure you have a good sharp gaff ready.

This is also the month when the wind is light enough to head to the wider grounds (50 fathom) both ENE and ESE of Yamba. It’s a reasonable trek out to this ground of between 19-23nm.

For some reason, good platesize snapper around 40-50cm are in abundance out here at this time. They show really well on the sounder and short drifts over them can see you bag out in quick

Kev Harmon from Lismore with a beautiful Venus tuskfish. time. Obviously there is a by-catch to contend with while you’re doing this. We usually boat lots of pearl perch, pigfish, rosy jobfish, mahimahi, amberjack and

A perfect eating size snapper for Wendy from Quirindi.

Todd and Bruce with a couple of nice mulloway taken offshore.

mulloway, but you learn to live with that.

If that’s all a bit too far and too hard, the closer grounds will have fish as well. Heading north to Black Rock and South Evans gives you the chance to troll through Shark Bay and Woody Head for a mackerel on your way up, and this month, the trag and mulloway are almost a certainty on just about all the reefs. Heading south sees pretty much the same – I troll through the reef off Angourie and One Man and around the bommie known as Freeburn Rock, and fish mostly from Redcliff to Brooms Head targeting snapper, pearlies and tuskfish in 35-55m of water. If you have never caught mahimahi, then a little further out the FAD has been producing a heap of quality fish.

ROCKS This is a good month for those land-based game fishers to have a crack at a big Spanish mackerel and longtail tuna from the breakwalls. Both Iluka and Yamba walls will produce fish, but the North Wall on the Iluka side will certainly

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produce the better fishing.

If you can catch some garfish and swim them out under a float alive, then you will increase your chances tenfold, but any live bait will still produce a big hook-up.

This type of fishing is not for the fainthearted, as the fish

you hook will do everything they can to drag you from the stones, so be safe and fish with a mate who is also a good with the gaff.

RIVER In the estuary, the flathead have been having a bit of a resurgence. Lots

of quality fish are coming from the entrance to Lake Woolawayah around Joss Island, both on plastics and white pillies. The Broadwater upstream is holding a lot of quality fish around the entrance and along the south bank.

Whiting have also been good this year, and spread nicely through the lower reaches. Upstream from Browns Rocks and around the bend is an island on the right called Turkey Island.

Drifting the front of this on a making tide with a

bucket of live yabbies will produce some nice fish, and it’s not a bad spot for some dillies either, with the blue swimmers liking the same ground. If that’s too far to travel then to the front of Sleeper Island, and in front of the tavern will usually fish pretty well.

Last month the blue swimmer crabs hadn’t shown up in the numbers expected, but the water temperature offshore has been really cold. As this picks up, I am sure the swimmers will come in and we will have a good but late awnABsimilar run Prthem. a on b ladething swith “Yam happened last year, ” December’s offshore water temperature being way

down and then clearing for a good January-February.

If we are going to get a fresh or small flood in the Clarence, then February is quite often the time.

Normally I dread these events, as they can hold you back from going to sea, with dangerous bar crossings and debris throughout the system, but if it happens this year I will welcome it. The system could do with a good flush and hopefully this year we get it.

Happy fishing, and as always, if you would like some good advice or to join me on one of my charters, just call into the shop at the marina and let us get you sorted!

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33

Cicadas switched on COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

It feels as though summer has already topped out.

We’ve had the mackerel run, the cicadas have been deafening and the hot, steamy afternoon storms have been in full swing for almost two months now. My thoughts

are that this month we will keep climbing into summer though.

Starting off in the freshwater, the cicadas have been in fine form this year.

It has been deafening, almost sickening, to be around any of the bass creeks in our area. For most bass anglers, including myself, a few days of industrial deafness is a small price to pay for the joy of chasing some surface-

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crunching bass in rainforestlined creeks. The bass have been active throughout the local freshwater systems, but it’s the upper sections where the average size increases considerably.

The fish have been very active on the surface, even in the middle of the day. I would expect this to increase as the cicada numbers begin to wane after their short stint above ground. If you’ve ever seen a live cicada in the water, they mostly lie still, only intermittently attempting to escape the grip of the water’s surface tension, making a lot of commotion but not moving very far. In the day I like a lure that emulates this by producing a lot of splash, without moving too much water, or being retrieved too quickly.

Luke McCluskey upgraded from the trusty live yellowtail scad to this nice yellowtail kingfish. it’s a noisy bait you want, so the bass can zero in on your lure even when there’s very little light.

Don’t rule out the cicada lures for use in the estuaries this month. Bream,

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trevally and jacks will all take a distraught-looking cicada off the surface. In the estuary, extremely long pauses and only subtle movements tend to get the best results, especially for the bream. Throughout the estuaries the trevally have been very active, responding well to small to mediumsized surface lures and diving minnows. White or clear lures are showing to be very successful with the abundance of white baitfish throughout the river systems.

The mangrove jack have been responding to the same techniques, although they aren’t out and about as much as the trevally schools.

You will need to hunt the jacks closer to the snags and structure. February can be expected to be the height of estuary whiting fishing.

Large schools are active up on the flats each incoming tide cycle. There have been loads of small fish to endure between the big ones though.

Surface lures, again, are the best way to target the bigger fish.

School mulloway have been really consistent in the estuaries and the beach

gutters. Soft plastics are the winning option in the deeper lower estuary holes and around the breakwalls.

Off the sand, the humble beach worms offer the best chance of anything from a nice slab of mulloway to a cracker bream or whiting.

Sometimes in the heat of summer, nothing beats digging the toes in the sand while waves wash around your feet and you wait for the inevitable bite of what could be dinner.

Although the mackerel have been around in patches for two months, mackerel fever still didn’t really set in before the New Year.

More consistent ocean temperatures and currents should see both spotty and Spanish mackerel settle in to a more solid routine of smashing local baitfish.

They have been responding well to stickbaits again this year and it is the preferred technique for many sports fishers for excitement as well as success rate.

You do need to sound out active fish, so you’re not just blind casting in a giant ocean though. Just look for the tightly packed bait balls on the sounder with solid surrounding arches. Even if you’re fishing with live baits, some good sounder work will put you onto a lot more fish in a shorter time than just trolling every corner of the reef until you find the fish.

The fishing has been a little slow at times on the deeper reefs, but there are still plenty of snapper being caught, even if it’s a bit hit and miss. Most fish are a small to medium size, with the larger fish being a little harder to come by this last month. Even still, fishing for a bit of variety is still worth it. Kingfish, snapper and teraglin are all on the cards, in between the mackerel.

No matter which summer fare you wish to target, don’t wish away the heat just yet, as the fishing’s still getting hotter!

Jack Nolan did the sounder work to find some active fish. The first real life vision he saw of those sounder arches was as this fish commenced a full on aerial attack of his stickbait.

Summer speedsters are getting into gear COFFS GAME

Glen Booth

So Western Australia has nailed that much soughtafter first official grander blue marlin, with an Australian record 1089lb fish taken at Exmouth on

New Year’s Day. This has really thrown my summer plans into disarray, as a fourfigure blue was exactly what I was planning to catch!

But seriously, this momentous fish has been a long time coming and it’s great to see. A few boats have gone close on both sides of

A solid Ballina black gets airborne.

Photo courtesy of Andrew McLennan.

the country over the last 20 years, but fallen just short of the mark. It doesn’t mean that the east coast is out of the game though, and the race to catch the first on the right hand side of the continent will continue in earnest.

Locally, the blue marlin fishing remains so-so, with the current diverting around Coffs (once again) in the New Year, kicking out to sea round about Yamba. This left us with blue-ish yet largely stagnant water with no movement and zero bait, and the blues aren’t generally too fussed about that.

While it’s a little outside of our area of operations, new Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club members Andrew McLennan and Andrew Savins found some nice black and blue marlin action up off Ballina in early January, with a couple of the latter that measured out at over 200kg.

Closer to home though, there are plenty of slimy mackerel to be had for live baits, and right on cue the little blacks are in attendance. You’d hardly describe it as a standout season thus far, but it’s certainly worth spending time inshore specifically targeting them.

Like a bronze statue. A top blue marlin caught aboard On Strike. Photo courtesy of Andrew McLennan.

If blue marlin are more your thing, throwing the lures in around 40 fathoms and trolling to the shelf rather than blasting straight out there might get the day nicely under way with a baby black.

The blacks have been your typical summer size range thus far, with fish of 25-70kg, and the occasional 100kg model that looks like a grander when you’ve

been staring at small fish for a while!

Mahimahi are somewhat hit and miss, with those holding on the FAD and wave recorder buoy mostly suffering from shell shock due to holiday boat traffic. A few people have enjoyed blowout sessions along the trap line in 40-50 fathoms — especially those more remote traps to the north — but a tank full

of livies is definitely the key.

While they’re not big fish yet — just give it another month — they all taste superb.

There’s still nothing doing on the wahoo front, but the odd sneaky Spaniard is getting caught, with the spearos accounting for a few too. Barring any mass rainfall events to spoil the party, surely they can’t be too far away.

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An early season deluge has muddied the waters NAMBUCCA

Riley Wilson

I hope you had a good holidays and enjoyed time with loved ones wherever

you are, and most importantly had a chance to get out for a fish. Here in the Nambucca Valley, much like other places on the Mid North Coast, we had to endure violent storms and

some monumental rains. It was hard to even keep the power running, so fishing was out the window.

Thankfully most of that has passed and we are into some lovely weather with a rejuvenated river and some pelagic action starting to fire up. So how do we go about it now? First of all, the river has been fishing great for flathead of all sizes and it seems more anglers are fishing lures than ever before. I don’t blame them

importance of a long cast here and can easily miss out on the fun. That’s why super light braid with a 7ft or longer rod will go a long way towards success… literally.

After the massive deluge of rain we had in early January the river went to chocolate on the run-out tide and it was very difficult to raise a scale. Once the tide pushed in and some cleaner salty water arrived it was action stations with mulloway, flathead and Little rat kings are on the wall most days in summer. metal slice has been doing the damage. Kane Fairchild managed a 5kg cobia on a metal early on in the season and for his first cobe he was pretty happy. Spanish mackerel will be biting well by the time you read this as they have already arrived but are slow to get going strong.

Off the beaches the

This Squidgy Prawn was eaten by a metre mulloway.

BASS LODGE

mulloway have been fishing well with a few guys getting fish up to 10kg on worms with lots of undersize fish amongst them. Off the stones it’s a different story – a few fish here and there. What is getting caught, however, seems to be of decent size with many fish in the 10-15kg range.

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Some standouts have been the 3” Atomic Prong in baby bass around the weed beds and the 3” Gulp minnows in pumpkinseed.

On the topwater side of things whiting and bream have been keeping the fishers happy with their slashing and slurping surface antics. A lot of anglers underestimate the

whiting coming unstuck to some keen anglers hunting in the brown water.

Offshore the water has been clean and warm with lots of bait moving in close around the headlands. Some of the locals have been spinning the headlands and having some success. Kings and cobia have been the main culprits and the old school

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Kings and cobia have been the main catches recently and the old school metal slice has been doing the damage.

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Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

February is here again and now we move into the start of the peak pelagic period for the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales! Whether you fish

This water will hold a vast array of northern pelagic species of fish over this period. Spanish and spotted mackerel catches are increasing by the day now, and these fish are starting to be caught all along our coastline.

Black marlin are around the grounds off the gaol and

outweighed their size on most occasions. Plenty of good mahimahi have been picked up on the troll from closer in off Hat Head while trolling for marlin.

Cobia have been in good numbers as well this year, with good fish coming from Black Rock as well as from around the headlands and bait reefs quite regularly.

Fish Rock and Black Rock have had loads of rat kingfish around them,

Summer fishing along our beaches can be very enjoyable, with plenty of quality table fish on offer with relatively easy access. All the great bread and butter species you would expect to find are present, however whiting and flathead have by far been the standout, as well as a good number of school mulloway hanging around.

Mud crabs are prolific in the Macleay River, as

After work summer schoolies are a possibility right now. in prime condition, and the surface bite is absolutely going off. Cicada numbers have been huge this year,

ROCKS Marine

Another solid lower Macleay flathead.

Peter Hudson caught and released this 94cm flathead recently. from the land or boat, now is the time when the fishing really heats up. Warm blue water from the north has settled in and should remain this way through until after Easter.

down towards Green Island, with a lot of small fish around the 20kg mark being caught in this area.

Mahimahi have been in good numbers on the FAD, although their numbers have

although occasionally a bigger one is present. There’s also been a cobia or two and some yellowfin tuna out a little wider.

Longtail tuna are beginning to frequent the area and are starting to be caught from the stones.

Kingfish have been around the headlands fairly regularly this year, with some big fish being caught at times.

School mulloway are still everywhere around the rock ledges from the lighthouse right through to the headlands down towards Point Plommer. Upping the size of your bait or lure definitely aids in drawing out the bigger fish. Bream, trevally and even the odd tailor are also being found around the headland washes and are providing a great food source for these big kingfish and cobia that are popping up on a regular basis.

well as most of the creeks in the area. The large expanses of sand flats above Jerseyville Bridge and up in Clybucca Creek are holding good-sized whiting in good numbers with the ever-present dusky flathead lurking along the drop-offs and along the rock walls.

I have noticed a lot of big flathead have been in the lower system this year, due mainly to the fact that a lot of bigger fish get released these days.

Bull sharks are always fairly rampant in the river at this time of year, however this year they seem to be of a much smaller class, with the average size lucky to be 60cm long.

The bass fishing upriver has been absolutely firing, with good fish being found right throughout the upper system. Good amounts of rainfall have left the river

so it stands to reason that cicada imitation surface lures are doing the business quite nicely.

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37

Fish are going mad for prawns and cicadas to go past surface fishing with prawns abundant and cicadas the thickest

THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon

we have seen in a long while. The bream, bass and whiting love this and can

castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

Hope you all got safely through the crazy month that is January! We can now get back to things being a little quieter at the ramps and fishing spots, although by no means has the fishing quietened down! This month should be a belter offshore with some of our headlands also ready to give us a run of pelagic speedsters like Spanish mackerel, spotties and tuna.

Looking at the river fishing this month, for the lure fisher it is hard

Eddy Studman with a creek bass taken on a Koolabung fizzer.

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become ridiculously easy to tempt with either a cicada imitation or a skittering surface lure.

One thing I recommend to any newcomer to cicada fishing is not to be in a hurry to pull your lure out

most times the sound of the lure plopping on the water will be enough to grab the fish’s attention, plus bream and bass will hit your lure instantly on landing a lot of the time, so be prepared.

Some great locations for bream this month will be the Maria and Wilson rivers, and in the Hastings River you can try Rawdon Island and upstream past Wauchope. Follow the cicadas by listening and seeing them falling on the water. Another couple of spots worth trying will be Kendall and Queens Lake at the back of the Camden Haven River, as both produce good bream, with Queens also good for whiting.

Bass fishing has been sensational this season, and looks to continue as such.

Most methods have been producing and once again, surface has been number one! Another technique that has been a lot of fun this

Brian and Chase scored this double hook-up on surface bream. are a slow roll after letting it sink, sink and hop, or just lifting your rod and keeping it on top.

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Josh with a cracking whiting that took a liking to his soft plastic. from the structure when you have executed a good cast.

Try to leave your lure there for as long as possible, and only move it out after you have twitched it a few times in the zone. Remember,

season has been casting the weedless plastics into the structure. If you are weed or lily pad fishing, these come right into play. Techniques that have proven successful

The Hastings, Maria, Wilson and Macleay are all fishing well for bass, so if that’s your target fish, you should not have too much trouble finding some

good action.

Flathead have been consistent again this month, and they are hanging around the weed beds and edges feeding on the prawns, so imitations or the real thing is the way to get a few of these for a feed.

Beach fishing continues to produce some nice fish with some great catches of whiting, and there have also been plenty of bream and a few mulloway in the 70cm-1m class.

The standout bait is beachworms, which have been accounting for most of the action. Beaches that have produced have been Lighthouse Beach at the north end, and the Cathie end where a few mulloway have been caught recently.

North Beach is another that consistently produces school-sized mulloway, and if gutter formations are good, this will give you a good chance of connecting to a mulloway. Bream, whiting and flatties are all worthwhile targets on this beach using worms or fish baits.

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It’s the little ‘tings FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

I’ve missed the calm water.

I have no doubt that the holiday period was an enormous success for the twin towns and the holidaymakers that spent any time enjoying their coastal break.

It’s time now to get back to work and school for many, and the lake can get back to the quieter conditions we are used to.

Even with the influx of boat and other watercraft over the last month, there were plenty of fish around and for

those who went further afield to find less crowded areas, the effort was rewarded.

SURFACE ACTION One of the highlights of summer is the surface action from the bream and whiting that can keep you entertained for hours. Whiting were a bonus for anglers who targeted them over the channels and flats on the run-in tide on either bait or lures, and I don’t think much will change this month.

Fishing surface lures on the run-in tide, on the shallow side of the sand flat that boarders Tuncurry channel, you will find some legal whiting willing to chase

down your lure. Berkley 3B Pop Dogs and Bassday Sugapens are my pick of the lures that can be cast a long way with the breeze behind you. A constant, skipping retrieve should have the whiting appear behind your lure and a few twitches, while still moving the lure forward, will keep them interested. The hook up rate is not always great, but the use of assist hooks dangling from the rear of the lure will increase your catch rate as they swipe and dart at your lure. Remember, the whiting have an overhanging top jaw that can make eating lures above them a little more difficult. It is more likely that competition from other fish will lead to better results, so target areas with depressions and darker water.

The shallow flats and shore edges down around the sailing club and Pacific

Surface luring through summer is magic. Even over shallow water, the bream love to get involved.

Palms area are littered with stud whiting this time of the year, and I’ve even had 2kg snapper getting involved on

Whiting are a great summer distraction and a very tasty meal.

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the surface down that way.

The chances are that both bream and flathead will climb on when you fish the vast shallow waters of the lower lake and your chances of bream on the surface increase when you fish the weed flats around Snake Island.

TROPHY FLATHEAD If you are looking for a trophy flathead, now is the time to spend a few hours searching. Don’t waste your time throwing small lures if you are serious about getting your picture with a big flatty.

Swimbaits with a high vertical profile are one of your best bets. I recently had an 80cm fish sitting in plain sight that had all manner of plastics swim past her – I even rested one on her head – with no luck.

An articulated 12cm hardbody only just made the bottom, at the start of the retrieve, and it was on. She threw the hooks a few minutes into the fight,

but in the next hour of the run out tide I managed a 2, 3 and 4kg fish! All the fish were released and came from the flats around The Paddock area.

Leatherjackets are still prolific and wasting soft plastics around the leases, but it’s worth persevering, because there are plenty of big bream willing to take your lure, if they get a chance.

There are heaps of mullet and garfish in the system at present and a few crusts of bread will highlight just how many there are swimming around, generally unnoticed.

They do make great cut baits for the breakwall, rocks and beach, so it is worth investing an hour or so collecting bait for later use or as livies for that big flathead or mulloway.

The kingfish that visited the entrance and channels of the lake recently have been nothing short of phenomenal.

They are a regular seasonal visitor to the lake, but they hung around a lot longer this season than other years.

Whether they are still about by the end of this month remains to be seen, but they did cause some fiery scenes from the wall and boats in the area. Those drifting live baits along the wall also cashed in on a number of good mulloway that were, for all intents, by-catch.

OFFSHORE The offshore scene is hotting up with some small

black marlin, mahimahi, and kingfish as well as plenty of reef pickings. I noticed at the cleaning tables anglers had good catches of flathead and small snapper, along with a mix of pigfish and the odd pearl perch.

If the weather permits, it’s worth getting offshore for a look, and if you are keen, the FAD located at Lat 32° 13.211’ Long 152° 40.680’ about 16.5km off Cape Hawke is worth hitting. The mahimahi should be there in numbers and are one of the fastest growing and best eating fish in the sea.

ROCKS Rock fishing can be rewarding at times, and with the build up of bait along the coast there is a great opportunity to do some light tackle spinning for mac tuna, bonito and chopper tailor.

Bait fishing will surrender the usual suspects like bream, tailor, silver trevally, blackfish and the odd pig, but it does pay to be flexible at this time of the year, so be prepared for anything.

BEACHES Whiting and dart are the main attractions on the beach and can be a lot of fun throughout the day. Baits of yabbies and beach worms are the obvious choices, and don’t be surprised to catch the odd sand flathead if you can find a reasonable gutter or two along the sandy stretches.

Shaun Sypher with the quality of snapper available offshore if you can find them.

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3rd PLACE

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MAIL ENTRIES TO: NSWFM Find the Gamakatsu Logo Competition, PO BOX 3172, Loganholme QLD 4129 Entries must be received by 28TH FEBRUARY 2018 Original entries only. No photocopies.

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While the coastal areas have experienced some good storm rain, the upriver areas of the Manning have received very little. More rain is needed in the headwaters

before the full moon and staying for a week after the full moon. Fish of 23 and 27kg have been landed, as well as heaps of fish from 3-10kg. Most fish have been caught on live bait and a few on soft plastic lures.

ROCK AND BEACH The fishing has been very poor from the beaches.

The chopper tailor have not

The good fish are up to 5kg, while most of the catch is in the 1-3kg range.

Some bonito have shown up from time to time, but are not here in big schools, as they usually are at this time of the year.

While February is the hottest time of the year, a big hat and plenty of sunscreen will enable the keen angler

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Declan McCartney with a healthy Manning River bass. of the Manning. Hopefully we will get some decent falls in the upper parts of the river.

February is a great month to fish the Harrington region. The weather is still very hot, but most of the holidaymakers have departed.

Flathead will be on the bite in the lower parts of the river and there will still be plenty of big female fish still to spawn. Live bait fished on a bobby cork rig is the way to catch some of these big mamas. Always return these fish to the water after the necessary photographs have been taken. As well as the flathead, bream, luderick and whiting will be in schools in the river.

Mud crabs and blue swimmers will still be around the traps.

The chopper tailor should have turned up by now, and they can be caught on lures and bait from the beaches and rocks.

ESTUARY At the present time bream and flathead are being caught from the river wall and upstream to Croki.

Big kings to 20kg are patrolling the wall in the morning, along with smaller fish to 10kg.

Luderick are being caught from the river wall on green weed during the day, and whiting have been taking yabbies from the sand spit in the mouth of the river.

Mulloway are turning up in the river about a week

shown up yet and only a few bream have been caught.

Some nice rock blackfish (drummer) have been taken from the Crowdy Rocks on prawn baits. Quite a lot of the fish taken have not spawned yet. They are five months overdue.

OFFSHORE Outside fishing has been patchy, with only snapper being constantly on the bite.

Most of the fish are coming from the northern grounds up around Mermaid Reef.

to fish to the middle of the morning and the last half of the afternoon without getting sunburn. Of course, the early mornings from daylight on and the evenings into the night are the best fishing times.

Overall, February should be a productive month.

Luderick, bream, flathead, whiting and mulloway are all available at this time of the year. There are also plenty of sharks in the estuary to test out your heavy gear.

Cohan Northwood from Port Stephens with his first lure-caught GT taken on a family holiday to the Gold Coast.

FEBRUARY 2018

43

Pumping yabbies for some summer bait fishing FMG

Ethan Sondergeld

Often, anglers are faced with the question of what bait to use to catch fish such as bream, flathead, whiting and other estuary dwellers.

My answer is saltwater yabbies, which in my opinion are one of the top

baits. But when you’re first starting out, getting your hands on yabbies can sometimes prove to be quite difficult, so before you go out and get yourself into a huff I have five simple steps to help you find some saltwater yabbies.

STEP 1: THE TIDE The best tide to collect yabbies is the bottom of the bottom of the tide, or low

tide. This exposes all the sandbars where yabbies can be collected.

STEP 2: WHAT SANDBAR? When cruising around at low tide the number of sandbars to choose from can be quite overwhelming. To find the right sandbar, look for one that is last to become exposed on the outgoing tide and has mud and sand mixed together. This sand and mud composition holds onto moisture longer. One last thing that is vital to you finding yabbies are little holes all over the sandbar, which are the yabby holes, and obviously the more holes, the more yabbies there’ll be.

STEP 3: THE PUMP The equipment you’ll need is a bucket and a sieve, which can be bought from most tackle stores, and a yabby pump which you can pick up for around $50-70.

To use the pump, you simply push the bottom end into the sand so that it is almost fully submerged, and while doing this pull the handle up. In doing this you are sucking the yabbies up and into the pump.

Then pull the pump out and spray the content on the sand beside you, or into the sieve if you have one. Now this may sound easy, but for your first few times it may prove to be difficult. If you keep at it you will get it, and you will work out that it is all about timing.

The pump is the most important tool in the process, and they are fairly inexpensive.

The bottom of the tide exposes the habitat you should be looking for when after yabbies.

While some like to use a sieve for pumping yabbies, it’s easy enough to just pump the mud and sand out onto the bank and pick the yabbies up off the ground.

Tyler Sarmias caught this 56cm black Port Jackson at Boar Harbour, Port Stephens.

44

FEBRUARY 2018

This is what you’re after – saltwater yabbies. They’re excellent estuary bait that few fish can pass up.

STEP 4: PICKING UP THE YABBIES After you have successfully sprayed out yabbies from your pump, you then have to pick them up.

There is no special way about doing this, I just pick them up and put them straight into a bucket. If you are worried about getting pinched by the claws, then the best way to pick them up just behind the head, squeezing gently. Just remember that if the kids are helping that you teach them the safe way to pick the yabbies up.

STEP 5: KEEPING YABBIES ALIVE FOR LONGER THAN A DAY To successfully keep your bait alive for longer

than a day is quite simple.

You must first give them clean saltwater every day, keep them in a cool place and have a constant supply of aerated water, which can be done with a simple and affordable aquarium aerator, or you can buy a portable air pump from any tackle store for about $10. One other little tip is to put the yabbies into a styrofoam box or anything similar and elevate at one end so that there is a bit of the box that is dry, and this allows them crawl out and get their own air when needed.

Make sure you only take what you need so that there is always fresh bait at your fingertips.

This is how the author choses to keep his yabbies alive for days at a time. The slant in the box allows them to crawl out of the water should they want a bit of air.

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Finding your perfect estuary boating rig NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

The bulk of Australia’s army of trailer boat anglers concentrate their efforts on estuaries, tidal rivers, bays and harbours. Many also visit freshwater lakes and

artificial impoundments.

As a result, one of the most popular classes of trailer-able fishing boat sold in this country is the ubiquitous ‘semi-flat water’ or estuary rig.

Typically, this is a hull from 3.7 to about 5.2m in length, powered by a 15-70hp outboard, although

in recent years there has been a noticeable shift to more powerful donks on these rigs; it’s no longer rare to see pocket rockets loosely based on the American bass boat, flats boat and bay boat concepts, often sporting power plants with ratings from 70 to as much as 150hp or even more.

Starlo and Jo nowadays run a Beastmaster Snubby 500 for their estuary, freshwater and inshore boat fishing.

A bow-mounted electric motor is virtually essential for truly effective lure and fly casting.

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Personally, my idea of the perfect estuary/ freshwater rig is an open boat with a centre or side console, although there is also much to be said for tiller steer setups, especially at the smaller end of the size range under discussion here.

Tiller steering opens up a lot of additional space in a boat and that’s important.

The hull of my dream estuary rig will have a modest V up front, transitioning to a flat underside amidships. It should draw no more than 20-30cm of water and be stable at rest, even with two or three adult anglers moving about as they stand and cast. Naturally, the tradeoffs in such a hull design are diminished sea-handling capabilities. I accept that my dream rig may bang a bit in a decent chop (especially

if built from alloy) and be rather wet in a quartering sea.

Without question, my dream rig will be fitted with a bow-mounted electric motor, ideally one that boasts a wireless remote control and has GPS-actuated spot lock or anchor capabilities.

There will be a powerful sounder/GPS combo unit on the console or back by the tiller steer position, and likely a smaller unit up in the bow where it’s easily visible while casting. Both units will have colour screens and the latest in StructureScan or CHIRP capabilities for enhanced sonar imaging.

As a dedicated lure and flyfisher, I place great store in having a generous casting deck located in the bow of my estuary/freshwater boat. Ideally, this flat deck will be set as high above the water as practical taking into consideration stability and safety issues. Every extra centimetre of elevation adds to the effectiveness of such a deck, increasing an angler’s ability to see into the water, not to mention their casting range.

Having a smaller, functional casting deck in the stern is also handy, both for

a second or third angler and also on those occasions when it works best to fish over the transom (such as when using your bow-mounted electric motor’s anchor or spot lock function to hold position against current or wind).

You don’t need to spend a fortune to put together a really effective and versatile little flat water rig.

If it’s possible to walk from the front to the rear casting decks while fighting a fish without having to step back down into the cockpit – even if only along one side of the vessel – so much the better. This may be achieved

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FEBRUARY 2018

via a generous, top-opening rod locker set at the same height as the casting decks, or even extra-wide coamings unencumbered by rails, radio aerial mounts or nav light fixtures.

Things my dream boat

Imported bass, flats and bay boats are gaining popularity in Australia.

won’t have are a permanent canopy or bimini top. These can be great for escaping the weather, but in any boat under 5.5m in length, they’re also guaranteed to adversely impact your casting, inhibit your vision and reduce the vessel’s ability to navigate in tight country. If you insist on having a canopy of some sort, make sure it’s easily removable, or able to be stowed without impacting the vessel’s fish-ability.

Abundant under-deck storage is highly desirable, as is an enclosed or partly enclosed rod locker capable of holding half a dozen spare rod-and-reel outfits up to at least 2.2m in length. If it can swallow a fully rigged 9ft (2.8m) fly rod, so much the better.

Hopefully this quick overview of my personal priorities when choosing an estuary or freshwater rig may help when you’re next shopping for one.

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Guide

Australian Bass Tournaments

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18

abt

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

2018abt calendar BREAM SERIES

with the Victorian double header, then makes its way through the country before heading to Marlo in Victoria in early December for the big show: the Costa BREAM Grand Final.

Get set to fly because the Costa BREAM Series spreads its wings in 2018, with five states and nine qualifying rounds waiting for anglers in the new tournament season.

The tour kicks off in February Costa BREAM Qualifiers

• Boater $250 • Non-Boater $125

DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

13-14 Feb

VIC

Mallacoota

Round 1

17-18 Feb

VIC

Gippsland Lakes

Round 2

20-21 Mar

TAS

St Helens

Round 3

24-25 Mar

TAS

Derwent River

Round 4

21-22 Apr

NSW

Gold Coast

Round 5

5-6 May

WA

Swan River

Round 6

2-3 Jun

NSW

Hawkesbury River

Round 7

11-12 Aug

NSW

Lake Macquarie

Round 8

13-14 Oct

QLD

South West Rocks

Round 9

30 Nov-2 Dec

VIC

Gippsland region

Grand Final

5-7 Mar

NSW

Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury River

BREAM Australian Open

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

25 Feb

NSW

Richmond River

Round 1

22 Apr

NSW

Clarrie Hall Dam

Round 2

10 Jun

QLD

Wyaralong Dam

Round 3

29 Jul

QLD

Lake Macdonald

Round 4

25-26 Aug

QLD

Wivenhoe Dam

Grand Final

Revamped for the new tournament season, the Casino Outdoors BASS Electric Series is primed and ready for 2018. Four Qualifying Rounds and a Grand Final await anglers in the new tournament season, with two new venues slated for the 2018 series. It all kicks off at the end of February on BASS Electric Entries $80 per angler

AUSTRALIA BASS PRO SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

29-30 Apr 3-4 Jun 7-8 Jun 5-6 Jul 8-9 Jul 2-3 Sep 14-15 Oct 16-17 Sep

NSW QLD QLD NSW NSW NSW NSW QLD

Hawkesbury River Cania Dam Boondooma Dam Lake St Clair Glenbawn Dam Clarence River Richmond River Glenbawn Dam

Hawkesbury River BASS Pro Qualifier #1 Cania BASS Pro Qualifier #2 Boondooma BASS Pro Qualifier #3 Lake St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier #4 Glenbawn BASS Pro Qualifier #5 Clarence River BASS Pro Qualifier #6 BASS Pro Grand Final Storm BASS Australian Open

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DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

10-11 Feb

VIC

Bemm River

Round 1

10-11 Mar

NSW

Foster / Wallis Lake

Round 2

7-8 Apr

NSW

Sydney

Round 3

14-15 Apr

WA

Blackwood River

Round 4

5-6 May

NSW

St Georges Basin

Round 5

2-3 June

QLD

Gold Coast

Round 6

15-16 Sept

NSW

Central Coast

Round 7

6-7 Oct

WA

Swan River

Round 8

13-14 Oct

VIC

Hopkins River

Round 9

3-4 Nov

NSW

Lake Macquarie

Round 10

24-25 Nov

VIC

Mallacoota

Round 11

Feb-19 2019

TBA

TBA

Australian Championship

TAG 2018 abt

one of the best wild bass fisheries on the tour, the Richmond River, then heads to Clarrie Hall Dam, Wyaralong Dam, and Lake Macdonald.

The BASS Electric Grand Final returns to the scene of two past BASS Electric Conventions, Wivenhoe Dam, with the biggest event of the calendar taking place in August when the Hoe’s big bass are at their most active.

To qualify for the Grand

Final all you need to do is fish two rounds throughout the year, while the Angler of the Year points race will be decided on an angler’s best three results, with the Grand Final included in the calculation. This is the first time BASS Electric anglers get to fish their first event for free in 2018, so check out the calendar to find out where and when you can get your Casino Outdoors and Disposals BASS Electric fix.

Rapala headlines the BASS Pro Series in 2018, with the new tournament season delivering a host of challenges and rewards for new and returning anglers.

Six Qualifying Rounds throughout the year held on Queensland’s and New South Wales’ finest bass rivers and lakes – plus a

Grand Final at Queensland’s home of XOS bass, Lake Somerset, in September – will present anglers with a BASS Pro calendar that is sure to test and challenge.

Add the Storm BASS Australian Open to the mix, and the BASS Pro calendar is the biggest and best we’ve ever seen.

Rapala BASS Pro Qualifiers

• Boater $275 • Non-Boater $150

BARRA TOUR DATE

STATE

LOCATION

19 Nov

Kinchant Dam (Evening Event)

Round 1

20 Nov

Teemburra Dam (Evening Event)

Round 2

21 Nov

Peter Faust (Night Championship)

Round 3

23-24 Nov

Peter Faust (Evening Event)

Round 4

Barra is on the menu for the November full moon, with the Zerek BARRA Tour set to storm the bass lakes of

North Queensland. Kinchant, Teemburra, and Peter Faust dams host the four-event tour, and if the biggest fish

Zerek BARRA Tour Entries $250 per team, per event

The Hobie Kayak BREAM Series marks a milestone in 2018, celebrating its 10th birthday with a tour set to impress. Featuring events in WA, VIC, NSW and QLD,

anglers are spoilt for choice with 11 rounds making up the series. All events of course lead to the biggest event of the year, the Australian Championship, and in 2018

and big bites of 2017 are anything to go by then the 2018 Tour is one not to miss.

Whether you’re a veteran of the tour or a barra beginner looking to catch your first barra, the Zerek BARRA Tour is the place for you next November. the big show has a twist; the climax event of the series will be taking place in February 2019, becoming the opening event of the new tournament season.

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A day on the lake at wonderful Wyaralong Dam BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

Whether you’re a tournament buff, a travelling fishaholic, or just a holiday angler, at some point you will find yourself fishing in unknown territory without any help.

Chances are, if you’re new to tournament angling, you’ll probably find yourself fishing a lot of bodies of water completely foreign to you as you follow the tournament trail up and down the coast. It’s a daunting feeling standing on the boat ramp and looking out onto a waterway that is someone

else’s stomping ground or, in the case of this article, no one’s stomping ground yet…

GOING IN BLIND I decided to simulate this and I asked Michael Rowswell if he wanted to help me out. Michael is new on the BASS Electric scene, but already has a few podium finishes to his name, and is

Expectations were high as Michael and the author launched the boat at Wyaralong Dam. 4

TAG 2018 abt

definitely one to watch in the next few years. My plan was to get out on a body of water completely foreign to both of us, and observe the decisions Michael made both prior to and during the day’s fishing. Michael didn’t take much convincing and was as keen as I was.

The arena for the day was going to be Wyaralong Dam in South East Queensland, near Beaudesert. A relatively new dam, it was completed in 2011, and stocking began shortly after with the Logan & Albert Fish Management Association providing a steady supply of bass and Mary River cod.

As yet, very little, if anything, is written about the lure fishing opportunities in this dam, and anyone who does catch fish keeps the info close to their chest. I gave Michael a week to do some research and prepare a plan for our day on Wyaralong.

The aim was for Michael to treat the day like a tournament and put a limit of bass together – it was going to be interesting.

FISHING DAY 5:43am As we rolled into the car

The guys were met with unseasonably cool weather for this November day with intermittent rain, so spray jackets came on and off all morning.

park with Michael’s boat in tow on Saturday 11 November 2017, it was unseasonably cool, and drizzly rain looked like a possibility. We noticed another rig being set up in the car park, and neither of us were surprised to see the figure of Bass Electric veteran Adrian Wilson step out of the car. Adrian has been putting some time into this lake, and assured us there were some chunky bass in residence, we just had to find them!

We finally pushed off Wyaralong’s steep one-lane

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boat ramp at 5:58am, and the plan was made to fish some grassy edges with topwater offerings immediately opposite the ramp. I’d originally planned to not fish, and just take photographs and notes while Michael fished, but he insisted I fish with him.

Again, it didn’t take much convincing.

We’d done some research, and found that there were no bony bream in the lake, which often points to a good edge fishery. We decided to fish this area thoroughly, but

with this area and technique bearing no fruit by 7:00am, we thought it was time to move further up the dam.

At 7:32am, we ran into Adrian along a steep bank, with a mixture of drowned timber and rock dotting the waterline. Michael and I were throwing a spinnerbait and football jig respectively.

Adrian said he already had a full livewell between him and his partner for the day, and tipped us off that the fish were sitting off the edge a little bit and relating

All the bass caught on the day were relating to the drowned timber scattered throughout the lake. This made extracting them something of a challenge.

The first bass was an incredibly stout, 40cm fish that ate a ZX40 blade.

to the thermocline that was clearly visible on Michael’s Lowrance HDS Carbon 12” unit. It was then that the fish started to trickle in…

7:34am While hopping and rolling an Ecogear ZX40 blade in colour 442 just below the thermocline in around 25ft of water, Michael hooked up.

His drag was screaming in noisy protest, but when a beige mud marlin broke the surface, we were both a little disappointed. As Wyaralong is dammed on a tributary of

the lower Logan River, the European carp that abound in its waters were able to build a self-sustaining population in the lake. We were aware of this coming into the day, but clearly they were more numerous and aggressive than either of us had predicted.

While it wasn’t a bass, it somehow relaxed us both.

It didn’t get the monkey off our back, but it did convince him to loosen his grip a little.

Catching fish is always a good way to ease the tension.

The carp of around 50cm was

humanely dispatched and disposed of.

7:47am After this we came across a little patch of fish on the sounder as we continued to cruise along the bank. We were still in about 25ft of water when Michael hooked up again. The smaller headshakes indicted that he’d hooked a native species – it was now a question of what kind.

It wasn’t a bass! It was the biggest spangled perch either To page 6

wasaby 8/12/18 G THE

WINNING TRADITION continues

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Harris fighter flurocarbon

Bream prawn 40/50 mm abt

TAG 2018

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of us had ever seen. With this thing giving 30cm a tickle, it’s no wonder we mistook it for a bass on hook-up. We agreed that spanglies of that size would hang out with bass, as they’d most likely be after the same tucker. We

Tournament Angler Guide away to around 80ft, was only about 50m away. We decided to give it a peppering, with Michael throwing a ZX40 in colour 442, and myself throwing an Ecogear Grass Minnow with a 1/4oz jighead.

I suddenly found myself turning around when I heard

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After a few runs for cover and some fancy rod work from Michael, we had our first bass for the day in the net. Finally, the monkey had let go!

At exactly 40cm to the tip of the tail, this was considered a good one in here according to Adrian, who was still

Cod never go quietly…

This little Mary River cod was without doubt the highlight of the day. It was taken on a scent-laden ZX40 blade hopped amongst a bass school, no less! continued mooching along the bank. Surely we were getting closer…

At 8:14am, we came to a timbered point, which protruded out into the riverbed. Bass are wellknown to hang around points with deep water nearby. It was 16ft where we were, and the riverbed, which dropped

6

TAG 2018 abt

the sound of drag coming off Michael’s reel, but Michael had merely snagged the blade on a piece of sunken timber close to the bottom.

With a few flicks of the wrist, Michael managed to rip it away from its snaggy doom, but as the blade came free of the timber, the rod buckled right back over – fish on!

within earshot. This fish was incredibly deep-bodied, and had clearly been eating well.

We were stoked, and after a few photos, put our first customer into the livewell!

Hooking this fish so close to timber was an important piece of information to note.

As we got ourselves reorganised, we noticed a few

fish moving in under the boat on the sounder. We were now sitting in very close to the timber line. We both switched to blades and began harassing these fish by vertically jigging them in the sounder beam.

At 8:30am, Michael decided to give his blade a bath in some Ecogear Egi Max scent. We’d been getting half-hearted bumps and taps without any hook-ups. He assured me that this product had turned many of his slower days around. As he sent his blade back to the bottom, the hits started up again as the

bait was dropping, and after 2-3 hops off the bottom he was hooked-up once more.

The surging runs had us calling this fish for another carp, but when I caught a glimpse of the animal under the boat, I saw it had a rounded tail. “No way!” I heard myself saying, as I slid the net under a fat little Mary River cod. The high-five that I then I shared with Michael hurt my hand for minutes after the capture!

We knew that Mary River cod had been stocked into this lake, and the stocking group had made an effort to stock more cod than usual into Wyaralong in the hope of creating a viable fishery for them. That said, having personally only ever seen two

Even though the author was meant to be taking photos and notes, he couldn’t resist dropping an ice jig down to some suspended fish spotted around a sunken tree.

caught from dams in about 20 years of fishing, I was pretty excited to see such a beautiful and endangered species up close once again.

With a few photos, the fish was lowered back into the water, where it powered back to the deep, giving Michael a late shower in the process.

These fish never go quietly.

We speculated that with good stocking of these cod, in a few years this may be an area where anglers can set out to target these majestic mottled gluttons… but then it was back to the task at hand.

At 8:42am, while fishing the same school of fish with a ZX40 blade, I managed to connect to another one of the 30cm spangaloid monsters – the dam was proving to be full of surprises.

After that, we decided to leave those fish and return later, opting to head toward some isolated timber in the distance that we saw Adrian pull a fish off around half an hour earlier. Upon getting there, we realised that this tree stood alone in around 70ft of water, and we could see fish suspending about 15ft down, both tight to the tree and out to the side.

8:57am Michael made a cast with a black Ecogear Grass Minnow on a 1/4oz jighead away from the tree, let it fall

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Michael’s second bass ate his soft plastic in seemingly open water around 70ft deep, but upon inspecting the area afterwards the guys discovered a sunken tree with more fish suspending around it. for only 2-3 seconds to keep it up where the fish were, and almost immediately after commencing his retrieve the soft plastic was crunched.

Knowing that carp generally feed in the bottom third of the water column, we were very confident that this fish was a bass. At 32cm to the fork of the tail, this bass was Michael’s second for the day, and was put into the livewell

to join his first victim. Our objective had been reached; Michael had put together a tournament limit!

Upon moving over to where Michael had hooked this fish, we found there was a second, sunken tree, with plenty of fish relating to it. With suspended fish notoriously difficult to target, Michael suggested that I tie on an ice jig and lower it

down to where we could see fish sitting at around 15-17ft, just below the thermocline.

I chose a 12g Smak Wild Ice Jig Darter in brown dog colour, because it reminded me of peanut butter and I was hungry.

At 9:19am I pulled tight to a fish that barely breathed on the jig, after several minutes of tiny bumps that had me questioning whether they were bass. Again, my lure was very close to timber when the fish struck. With a very stout 35cm fork-length bass in the well to join Michael’s two fish, we decided to have a bite to eat, before exploring further up the dam. Pulled pork rolls and Gatorade did a good job to pick us up after a slow morning.

As we worked our way up the dam, we were seeking out timbered points and isolated timber similar to the area that produced those two bass, but while we found bass on the sounder, we struggled to get them to eat. At least we know where they are for next time.

At 11:34am, after approximately two hours of not turning over anymore bass, we pulled into a small bay in about 14-16ft of water, where we could see some large arches holding tight to the bottom. Deep down, we knew they were probably carp, but it didn’t stop us

from trying.

With Michael fishing his ever-faithful ZX blade, and me continuing to rock the ice jig, we dropped our offerings to the bottom expectantly.

Within seconds, Michael was hooked up, and low and behold, the second carp for the day came to the surface.

Once we agreed that all

to catch one anyway,” Michael laughed.

Within seconds he had his rod bent to the felt, as a hefty mud marlin sucked his ZX blade off the bottom. I shot a few photos of him hooked-up while I held my rod between my legs, making my ice jig dance in an unusual fashion near the bottom and, of

The Lowrance HDS Carbon 12” sounder proved invaluable to the day’s fishing. the other large arches were probably carp, we made a move and headed for the next little bay.

We arrived at the next bay at 11:45am, and found an even bigger patch of fish on the sounder. It was only about 12ft deep where we were.

“I’m 100% sure they’re carp, but I’m gonna try

course, another carp decided it was time to eat. I promptly put the camera down – it was time to have some fun!

For the next half hour we caught around 15 carp, with a few double hook-ups! It didn’t seem to matter what we dropped down, they would eat it in seconds, and each To page 8

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fight usually broke the threeminute mark, as 2kg of angry mud marlin doesn’t come in easy on ultra light bass gear.

We were having too much fun. We were like a

Tournament Angler Guide in shallow water well away from any structure were most likely carp. In a tournament situation, this would be a very logical way to fast-track your search for bass. The bass we found were all near timber,

It was around midday that the boys discovered ‘carp bay.’ pair of giggling school kids every time one of our rods buckled over. It was time to move on. The livewell was filling up with carp, which were to be dispatched. We left them biting at 12:15pm. I told myself I’d return at some point with a fly rod for some real fun. I honestly can’t wait!

We didn’t view the last half hour of our fishing as a waste of time. What we did learn from our session in ‘carp bay’ was that any really large fish schooling

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and suspended off the bottom.

This is all useful information for next time.

Our day was cut slightly short when the sounder that we were relying on died at 12:30pm, and the decision was made to jet back to the ramp, release the fish in the livewell, get packed up and head toward the golden arches for a feed.

LESSONS LEARNED Although we didn’t light up the bass, our day at Wyaralong Dam was most definitely a success, and it was very interesting for me to see how Michael took on the challenge of fishing a dam he’d never been on before and that doesn’t have much published information about it. Watching how he broke down the water and put together a bag of bass

This beautiful koi carp was a highlight in the short but intense pest control session.

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The carp were putting a real bend in Michael’s rod and taking some serious drag. was informative for me, and I also believe our day’s fishing proved the point that even the top tier of tournament anglers like Michael don’t spend the whole day smacking fish.

Sometimes they’ll even doughnut, but this is also useful information in the process of nutting out a new waterway. The lesson here is to learn from your experiences, good and bad.

Another key lesson is to let the fish tell you what they want. Every fish you catch tells a story, and it’s important to note when, where, how, and why you think you caught each fish. This is how they tell you what they want.

As for Wyaralong Dam, I really hope to see it added to the calendar sometime in the next few years. Those chunky bass will only get

chunkier and more numerous as the stocking continues.

Oh, and the by-catch isn’t too bad either!

I hope this gives you the confidence to tackle more unfamiliar territory as we march into the tournament season. Or, if you don’t fish tournaments, I hope you make plans to try fishing those places you’ve been meaning to for years, but have ‘never got around to.’ You’ve gotta be in it to win it.

Good luck!

While the bass weren’t jumping into the boat, having two bass as chunky as this to show at the end of the day is never a bad result. The condition on these bass really had the boys baffled, as there are no bony bream in Wyaralong!

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Using subtle spybaiting tactics for our wily bass SYDNEY

Tom Slater

Australians are a savvy bunch; I’ve had many conversations over the years with international anglers that would tell you as much. Australian anglers, and especially those who fish tournaments, are often at the forefront of angling techniques and tackle.

Take spotlock and side imaging for example; we’ve known the benefits of these technologies and used them better than arguably most of the other markets in the world. There is, however, one phenomenon that has quietly taken the bass fishing world by storm and completely missed Australia. Despite being one of the hottest baits of the last two years, the spybait (or ‘spinbait’) has yet to draw the attention locally as it has in Japan and the USA. Spybaiting originated in Japan many years ago. You can in fact go back decades to some of the first lures of this style. In the last few years spybaiting has boomed, sparking a revolution in many markets. Every few years you can bet on a new technique to break through and capture the minds of 10

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anglers. A few years ago, it was the skirted jig, which Peter Phelps used to win the Grand Final in 2015. In 2017 on the ABT BASS Pro series, it was the finesse technique of spybaiting.

Although it’s not new, the spybait has yet to take off in Australia. A finesse tactic, spybaiting relies on the subtle nuances of a sinking prop bait to draw strikes from fish that you previously thought were uncatchable.

Most anglers would look at a spybait in the water and think that it doesn’t have enough action, but that’s what makes it so effective.

When fish are shut-down and pressured, sometimes a lessis-more approach is best, and that’s where the spybait comes into its own.

The spybait became prominent at the conclusion of last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, and looks set to establish itself as a tournament-winning tactic in 2018. As this year’s calendar looks to return to a number of deep Queensland impoundments, don’t be surprised to see savvy anglers using this technique as part of their repertoire on the BASS Pro Series.

WHAT IS IT? A spybait is recognizable by the rotating propellers that

are found on the front and back. It’s often mistaken for a topwater fizzer style lure, but a spybait actually sinks.

They’re often available with different sink rates to cater to different depths, and a spybait will swim as it sinks, shimmying like a stick minnow as it reaches its target depth.

It’s not all about the sink though. Once at its target depth, the propellers will begin spinning as the angler imparts a slow and steady retrieve. The two propellers don’t look like much, but they’ve been specifically developed to impart a tantalizing wobble as the bait tracks horizontally through the water column.

Spybaits are finesse lures, so don’t think you’re going to feel a solid thumping vibration through your rod tip. It’s a technique that requires confidence in your approach, knowing that even on the slowest of winds, your lure is down there doing what it’s supposed to, even if you can’t feel it.

Spinbaits come in all shapes and sizes; some go as small as 40mm, though they are more commonly seen in the 70-90mm range. All have their small differences, and at last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, just about

every variety caught fish for the competing anglers.

HOW DOES IT WORK? So now we know what it is, how does it work? At its core, the technique of spybaiting is very simple.

Locate the depth where the fish are holding, cast as far as possible, and slowly retrieve the lure through the strike zone.

The spybait shot to fame in Australia during last year’s Storm BASS Australian Open, where Steve Morgan highlighted the lure’s effectiveness during his pre-fish day. Having received a Storm Arashi Spinbait in his pre-tournament swag, Morgan put it to good use during the event, landing almost 100 bass during the

three days of fishing. Once word spread, other anglers were quick to jump on the bandwagon and soon there were spybaits being flung around all over the place at Cania Dam. Spybaits work on one fundamental principle – realism. How many baitfish do you see swimming around vibrating like a TN60 or

It’s not just bass that love spybaits, yellowbelly will take a fancy to a well-placed and worked lure.

darting side to side like a jerkbait? When fish are active this in-your-face response works great and triggers a reaction bite. When the fish shut down, however, things can change quickly.

If you’ve ever watched baitfish when not under duress, you could hardly even notice how they propel themselves through the water. That action is what a spybait mimics. The two props on a spybait give just enough flash and turbulence to create an irresistible shimmy, and they work even at the slowest of speeds. As slow as you can wind, a good spybait will be swimming.

Designed to target pressured fish in clear waters, spybaits are perfectly suited to Australian bass, a species notorious for shutting down, especially under tournament conditions.

Queensland’s stocked impoundments of Somerset, Wivenhoe, Boondooma, BP and Cania are perfectly suited to the technique of spybaiting. When fish are suspending mid-water, relating to schools of bony bream around creek beds, it’s time to spybait. When these schools are biting, it can be the best day’s fishing you’ve ever experienced, but when they shut down, it’s a tough slog to convince one

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of them to bite.

HOW AND WHEN TO USE IT? Spybaiting is a technique best reserved for open areas. Think of it much like heavily weighted soft plastics, which are so dominant in QLD impoundments. It’s a lure and technique for targeting schooling fish in any part of the water column.

Being a finesse tactic, spybaiting is definitely more suited to spinning gear than baitcasting. Once you’ve located a likely school of fish using your sounder, position your boat so you can make as long a cast as possible. Spybaits work best when retrieved horizontally through the water – avoid retrieving them up on an angle.

Once you’ve located the fish, you want to familiarise yourself with the sink rate of your chosen spybait. All spybaits will sink at slightly different speeds, and some are even weighted towards the nose to sink faster and reach deeper depths.

Counting your bait down is paramount to making sure you’re retrieving through the strike zone. Once you know how long your lure takes to sink 1-2m, you can use this to determine how long you need to allow

for your bait to reach your target depth.

Once you’ve counted your bait down, commence a steady slow retrieve, almost as slow as you can wind. A smaller, slower gear ratio reel will help with slowing you down. Depending on how deep you’re targeting, you can occasionally open your bail and allow the lure to sink back. This can also be a key bite trigger, forcing following fish to commit to the strike once your bait begins to sink and shimmy as it’s falling.

You’ll be fishing treble hooks, so when you feel a bite don’t strike. Imagine you’re fishing a crankbait; you want to keep winding until you feel consistent pressure, then a gentle sweep of the rod should be enough to make the hooks penetrate and hook the fish.

WHAT TACKLE DO YOU NEED? Spybaiting is a technique our bream anglers will immediately feel comfortable with. Straightthrough fluorocarbon, long rods and slow retrieves are pretty common in the Costa BREAM Series. For our freshwater friends, this will require a more tailored approach.

With treble hooks, you’ll want to invest in a

The ultra-sharp finesse hooks on a spybait will easily pin fish – even a tentative, enquiring bass. long rod. Anything over 7ft will be adequate, but if you think of where and how you fish a spybait, a longer rod will offer far more benefits.

A longer rod acts as a larger shock absorber, keeping that light line intact and those small trebles holding in the fish. A longer rod will also allow you to make longer casts.

You’ll also want to

invest in a quality small spinning reel, preferably with a slow retrieve ratio.

Drag is also important, as it’s pretty hard to find a bad reel these days. Something like the new Daiwa SOL III in a 2000 size would be perfect.

A spybait works best on fluorocarbon line. Just like any treble-hooked bait, fish have a tendency to swipe at

the bait, often getting hooked in the lip or on the outside of the mouth. As good as braid is, the lack of stretch in this instance can be detrimental, pulling hooks free when a more cushioning, stretchy fluorocarbon line would have landed the fish. You can keep your fluorocarbon line in check with a lineconditioning spray, which To page 12

New Australian rattling Bent Minnow coming March 2018 Designed with high pitch rattles to imitate flicking prawns.

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minimises memory and lengthens the life of your fluoro.

Use a straight-through fluorocarbon line of anywhere between 4-8lb, depending on the size and weight of your spybait. The lighter the line, the better it will work. As fluorocarbon line sinks, it will help keep your lure tracking horizontally through the strike zone.

When it comes to the lures themselves, my favourite is the DUO Spinbait G-Fix 80. It’s an 80mm bait, which sounds long, but the thin profile makes this a perfect morsel for an Australian bass. The DUO Spinbait is available in a range of sizes, from 60-90mm. I like the G-Fix version because it’s heavier, but it still sinks horizontally.

It’s good for depths up to 10m.

If you find fish in deeper water than that, or if the fish are responding to a faster retrieve, upsizing to the Spinbait 90 is the way to go.

This model sinks head-first, and will reach depths faster and track deeper than even the G-Fix version.

Many other brands have a selection of good spybaits.

The Storm Arashi Spinbait is a great option with a slower

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Tournament Angler Guide sink. Nories also have their Wrapping Minnow, which is more suited to fish on braided line with its one larger single hook.

Whatever bait you choose, be aware of how it swims at all speeds and take notice of its sink rate so you can be sure to keep it in the strike zone at all times.

Spybaiting has taken Japan and the US by storm over the last few years.

Kevin VanDam won last year’s Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on the St Lawrence River in the US on a spybait. It was the first time a Bassmaster Elite tournament had been won on such a technique. Tackle stores in the US sold out of spybaits overnight.

After Steve Morgan’s masterclass on spybaiting at the 2017 Storm BASS Australian Open, it’s only a matter of time before spybaiting wins its first Australian tournament. The next time you’re on the water and catching them on the same old grub you’ve been throwing for over a decade, why not grab a spybait, count it down and take a more finesse approach? You just never know when having another arrow in your quiver could come in handy during the 2018 ABT BASS Pro Series.

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Duo Realis Spinbait 80mm, 9.5g (3/8oz)

Megabass Baby X-Plose 70.5mm, 5.3g (3/16oz)

Jackall iProp 77mm, 7.7g (3/10oz)

Storm Arashi Spinbait 80mm, 9.4g (1/3oz)

Nories Wrapping Minnow 57mm, 14g (1/2oz)

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Sports science and competition fishing BRISBANE

Stefan Sawynock

I have been working most of my life to understand how fishing works.

That journey started at 18 months old as I was being carted around by my father in the trout streams of Victoria. I suspect that spending my earliest years trying to replicate my father’s fishing techniques gave me a natural curiosity for fishing. Translating that fascination into knowledge took a lengthy study in the fields of evolutionary biology, neuroscience and sports science.

In this article, I aim to provide insights into practices that will make you a better competition fisher. On your behalf, I have pulled together observations of the world’s best anglers and worked with elite sports scientists and experts on human performance. None of my advice will change your unique technical skills, but rather enable you to weaponise them.

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Main: It’s go time. The question is who’s best prepared and skilled enough to win?

Above: Tackle knowledge and preparation is one of the keys to angler and tournament success.

JUST COPYING THE BEST ANGLERS IS A BAD IDEA One of the elements I have noticed with fishing, in general, is there is a focus on interviews with the anglers at the top and getting their ‘secrets’ and sharing techniques. The trap for aspiring fishers is that while new techniques might be attractive, there is a routine of preparation that

leads to success. Rather than focusing on techniques, you need to focus on preparation.

Dig out a copy of The Karate Kid and put it on repeat until you burn into your brain the fact that technical knowledge alone is not the path to victory.

Also, top fishers may well say they don’t follow the routines below. Everybody is different, but simply put, with few exceptions,

competitors rise to the standard of the competition.

Would those fishers do more if presented with an improved opposition? The opportunity to set a new standard for competition fishing is there for taking.

THE STORY OF FISHING How old do you think fishing is? The first recorded book on recreational fishing Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth

an Angle was published in 1496 just after the invention of the printing press, by Dame Juliana Berners. It caused controversy at the time, not because of the gender of the author but because the gentry was concerned that involving the ordinary folk would destroy the sport. That argument sounds familiar even today, but I digress.

Flyfishing in Europe dates back at least as far as 200CE and even further back in Japan to the ninth century BCE. From an Anthropological point of view, the earliest evidence of fishing comes from isotopic analysis of skeletons, paintings, and hooks made from bone, which takes us back at least 40,000 years.

As fishing is a subset of hunting, we end up traveling back around two million years to the earliest hominids who started the path to the brain we have now by adding the energyrich protein sources found in animal meat. From a technical standpoint, the fishing brain is the result of two million years of natural selection. Fishing is one of

the last significant links to our origins as a species.

However, that is not the end of this journey. The real story of fishing goes back way further – 500 million years – to the seas of the Cambrian Era. A FISHER’S EVOLUTIONARY LINK TO THE SEA Two neurotransmitters are responsible for your fishing success, and they date back a long way further than two million years. You have probably heard of them – dopamine and serotonin.

Dopamine traces back to sea sponges, jellyfish, and worms. If you increase the dopamine levels of worms, for example, they become more motivated to seek out food sources; if you reduce their dopamine levels, they will only seek easy to obtain food sources. Serotonin is even more interesting.

Serotonin dates back even further to protozoa but again manifests in influencing behaviour with the arrival of arthropods such as lobsters. When lobsters battle, as they do to establish a hierarchy of dominance, the loser pulls

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in its claws and makes itself smaller – the trigger for this is falling serotonin levels.

You see the same behaviour in humans – when you look at a child being berated by an overbearing adult, what do they do? They make themselves smaller. What is a competition if not a battle for dominance in a hierarchy?

WHERE THIS FITS IN WITH FISHING

How do these neurotransmitters affect fishing? Dopamine you

probably know as the ‘pleasure’ chemical, but that is a simplistic and somewhat outdated view. There is a moment that every fisher experiences when they catch their first fish. Most of the time we associate that particular happy dance with ‘I just conquered the world’ when in fact what it really means is – ‘I just got food – I am not dying tonight!’

It’s important to remember that industrial food production is only a

hundred years old. Go back to 1870 and 70% of the US workforce was employed in food production. As of today, only 2% of the global workforce is involved in food. That, however, is a fact your brain is yet to catch up with from an evolutionary standpoint. Even if you fish to catch and release from an ethical perspective – your mind understands the opposite. A big fat fish means party time for the tribe. That is why we value trophy fish

Being happy and relaxed can play a pivotal role when it comes to catching fish and tournament success.

even if we have the luxury of being able to let the fish go in modern times.

Dopamine can more accurately be considered a ‘motivation’ chemical.

Dopamine is the drug that enables you to spend hours catching nothing and plays a critical role in our decision-making. A brain is a prediction machine (e.g. this lure will get me fish). When we make a wrong prediction, it’s dopamine that triggers the brain to start updating our understanding of the world. Almost everything you have learned in fishing is down to Dopamine.

Serotonin is essential for one’s sense of self-worth and willingness to take on challenges. It might sound obvious, but nobody wins a tournament by feeling defeated from the start.

Serotonin is crucial in developing the confidence to take on challenges. You need to defeat the big lobster after all.

Here is the takeaway.

You owe your fishing ability to your ancient ancestors of the sea. Respect that gift.

WHAT THIS MEANS FOR COMPETITION FISHING Competition fishing is a ritualized version of a two million-year-old practice.

The guy who brings home

The live streaming of ABT events allows you to see exactly what the best anglers do during tournament hours. the biggest fish is the leader of the tribe. Yes, technology has changed that game, but that was true even two million years ago when the advent of the use of simple spears improved success catching antelope. Knowing that your brain is purposebuilt for catching fish is a blessing because now you know that all you need to focus on is getting rid of the things that get in the way of performance.

Warning: everyone is different. If a fisher came

to me individually, I would measure many elements of current performance and tailor a specific plan.

What follows is a core set of practices, rather than the perfect recipe that will maximize your unique performance.

TRAINING AND PRE-SEASON First things first, competition fishing is like all sports, you need to have a routine built around the competition circuit, and you To page 16

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need to plan your pre-season, and that includes exercise.

Fishing is not an aerobic sport. Nobody runs out of breath during fishing or at least nobody that shouldn’t be having an ambulance on standby before they get on the water. The exercise regime should be built on some form of weight training, be that with weights or just using body weight to

increase muscle mass across your body. Note that bulking up is not the objective and is counterproductive.

You want to create muscle mass, which has the dual benefits of improving serotonin and testosterone levels. The combination of the two will increase confidence and risk-taking, which you need in competition. Too much testosterone though will tip the confidence and

risk-taking balance too far towards the risk end, so you don’t need to go crazy.

The second purpose of training is to develop finemotor control. Pilates and yoga (sans the leotard) are good examples and have the bonus of strengthening parts of the body related to fishing.

Any fine-motor training needs lots of deliberate movements, not just highspeed repetitive moments.

Note taking and recording good and bad days on the water helps identify and measure the influences of success and failure.

COMING TO AN

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IN 2018

Aim for three or more sessions a week of each type of exercise with 20 mins each a session.

If you want to go ultimate, take up the sport that has a historical link to fishing – karate. Many of the stances used by karate were developed by fishers in Okinawa while at sea. Kata will supercharge your brainbody connection while doing some kumite (sparring) will do wonders for decision making under pressure. Find a dojo where the teacher focuses on teaching the craft – not self-defence.

PREPARING FOR SUCCESS There are two parts to getting your fishing brain in top condition – setting goals and solving problems. Goal setting is simple. Your goal must be to get a maximum bag (e.g. five for bream) 100% of the time. The advantage of setting that goal is it’s measurable. If you are achieving your goal only 50% of the time, you have work to do. If you are reaching your target 80% of the time, you are in a position where regular podiums are possible.

Put that goal up on the wall and mark every time you achieve the goal both in practice and in live events and continually update your success rate. Keep the two

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Carl Jocumsen knows the value of physical preparation for peak angler performance. sets of results separate.

If there is a big difference between practice and competition outcomes, that’s an indicator that the increased pressure of competition is affecting decision-making.

In that case, you need to practice making choices under pressure. Try this.

Reduce the time window for a practice session down to an hour and offer your partner $50 spending money every time you fail to make the maximum bag. Either you will become amazing at decision making under pressure in record time, or

your partner will tell you to go fishing every day. Either way, you win.

The other advantage of setting a goal is you will be focusing your dopamine system on the thing it’s designed for – working out how to catch fish.

DIRECTED PRACTICE Now that you have a goal and ability to measure that goal, you can direct your practice to removing obstacles to that goal. Instead of discussing techniques, I would prefer to highlight practice regimes. The practice regime below will give you

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the elements of dedicated practice. Dedicated practice means you are focused on continuous improvement that results in being prepared for the best and worst of circumstances. In terms of frequency, three times a week is a minimum.

Always record your bags and weights (use a lengthweight curve if needed).

Keep a track of your averages and compare over time.

• Include casting sessions where you practice casting into difficult situations like low hanging trees • Allow a maximum four hours on the water to get your five-fish bag. Don’t do all-day sessions, because if you are doing exercises, you will be fit enough. Focus instead on perfecting the different parts of the fishing day.

• Mix up practice times; fish the first half of the day and second half of the day sessions, different tides and all the conditions you will see in competition.

• Practice with a single Practicing, particularly on casting accuracy, is a must for all anglers. technique or lure each time you’re on the water with only only sessions to be clear where he would sit on the the odd session where you favoured method.

• Practice across the tidal on how you want to start pitch with his bat and build swap between all methods. a picture of what was going • Compare results of each range and record success. and finish.

PRE-FISHING to happen when he went out of your techniques and Where possible, focus on focus on the weakest ones improving outcomes during I have only a single piece to bat. Take a leaf out of his until you get similar results the worst part of the tide and of advice for pre-fishing. book. Your job on pre-fish is Don’t pick up a rod. Matt to spend time on the water, to the strongest. Then rotate cash in on the best part.

Samurai Mag ad PRINT copy.pdf 3 18/09/2017 12:29:32 PM back to improving your • Practice first and last hour- Hayden used to have a ritual maybe sound up fish and get

to understand conditions.

Use that time to create a picture in your mind of how you will be getting your max bag during the event. The brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality. Having a picture in your head sets up your built-in prediction system. If your vision of what will happen is not coming to fruition – your problem solving will kick in immediately on the day.

WHEN THINGS AREN’T WORKING Here is my last piece of advice and it’s probably the most important. There are those days when the fish don’t play the game within the bounds of the techniques you have. On those days, it’s easy to grind it out, throw out the game plan or just put it down to the fish not being in the mood. While these conclusions may be correct, none are useful because they reinforce the idea that the result is out of your hands. This belief, even by implication, is where neurotransmitters come in – you are essentially admitting defeat no matter how you want to spin it.

When things aren’t working, it’s essential to stop fishing, even for few minutes. In this instance, a useful technique is to close your eyes, focus on breathing

with deep breaths in and out.

I have some great meditations to use, but the important thing is to just reconnect with yourself and go through one by one all the tools you have available to change your fortunes until one stands out.

By doing this, you have tapped into the dopamine system rather than depleting serotonin. You may not catch fish, but you will find reward down the track in a fishing brain that is much more resilient and always focused on working out the fish.

WINNING IS THE RESULT, NOT THE OBJECT If you do everything I have listed here for an extended period, you will climb the leaderboard. That said, there is no shortcut. One season will see a significant improvement, but it will take 3-5 years to see the full results, depending on your current skills and how much you practice. The key is to understand that winning and taking your place as the leader of the tribe is what happens when everything comes together. It is not the object of the game.

If you perform at your peak, you give yourself the best chance of success. Until you push yourself, you will never know just how good you can be.

Unleash the warrior within...

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Tournament Angler Guide

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How to start stepping up your tournament game

BRISBANE

Elliott Fooks

Whether your aim is to catch fish at every tournament you fish next season or to take those midfield finishes into top-tens, we can all make steps to improve our success on the water.

While most of the time anglers look for the next hot bait that no one has found, or fish that harder-to-reach spot in the search for tournament results, for sustained longterm results anglers need to look deeper. To give us all an insight into what it takes, we talked to three of ABT’s finest anglers: Mark Crompton, Craig Griffiths and

Charles West.

Regardless of which ABT species you target, this talented trio will have plenty of tips and tricks on how to step up your angling in the next tournament season and beyond. While all three of our anglers believe that you can fish for a lifetime and still have an infinite amount to learn, they all believe their angling has greatly benefited from four key areas: goal setting, building a knowledge base, mental strength and understanding the seasons.

SELF-EVALUATION AND SETTING GOALS While most people say they want to be a better angler, without specific direction and measurable outcomes it’s easy

to become complacent and your angling can stagnate. We all want to win tournaments and come out on top, but most anglers fail to build a plan to achieve this goal.

“Fishing is like business – you’re not going to start out employing 5-10 people.

It takes time to build up your business, much like you should build up your fishing goals,” explained Crompton.

Building your goals in layers can make this process easier; think short-term, medium-term and long-term.

Short-term goals should be something that you can achieve in a few months. It can be something as simple as being able to hit a target at To page 20

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Main: Craig Griffiths has reached the top through lots of hard work and practice.

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 18

10-20m distance eight times out of 10.

Medium-term should be something that will take you 6-12 months, such as mastering techniques or understanding a specific waterway. Your longterm goal should be something that will take you up to five years, such as placing in the top ten of Angler of the Year, or taking a podium place on your favourite waterway. All your goals should always be specific, attainable, relevant and time-specific, not aspirations.

As a part of your goalsetting process, it is also important to assess yourself as an angler. Again, Mark Crompton shows how his business insight can guide you to find the gaps in your angling skill set.

“I am happy to admit I have used a range of business assessment tools to evaluate myself as an angler,” he said.

“It’s important to know what your strengths are and what you need to work on before you even think about getting better tournament results.”

Setting short-term goals to fill gaps in your angling ability is ultimately what will help you reach your longterm goals.

BUILDING THE KNOWLEDGE BANK When I asked all three

anglers about finding information, techniques or fishing locations, all three anglers quickly shot back saying written and video information are a good start, but there is nothing is better than working it out on the water.

“You need to create your style of doing something – a book or dock talk is good to get a starting point, but the only way to get it right is time on the water,” said West.

“Most of what I know and use today is the result of previous experience, talking with my fishing partner and time working on my skills,” said Griffiths.

While putting time on the water is one thing, the key is using it effectively and understanding the successes and failures you experienced most on the water each session.

For Crompton, his process of building a knowledge bank all started with having a fishing diary.

“When I started fishing more seriously, I really struggled to remember everything that happened on the water,” he said. “Looking back on old diary entries, I really missed lots of key indicators for where fish were on a given day. Maintaining my diary allowed me to retain more information, and now I can use old entries as a method

to jog my memory.”

In a standard diary entry, you should cover everything from tides and wind through to the lures that worked and didn’t work. It is all about helping to build a mental memory bank to reflect upon, and to help you build patterns of success. And if writing isn’t your forte, don’t worry – West has you covered.

“I really can’t find an ordered method that allows me to keep a fishing diary in written form, so I take photos instead,” he said. “When I am visiting an old lake or thinking of a technique I am trying to work out, I use old photos to jog my memory.”

While all three anglers agree that you need to be able to reflect on your fishing successes and failures, each of them have wide-ranging views on pre-fishing and social fishing, and how best to use your time on the water.

Crompton and Griffiths do most of their fishing solo, using the time to focus on what they are trying to achieve.

“I find when I fish solo I can experiment more,” Griffiths said. “I don’t worry about getting other people onto fish, and it frees me up to try techniques and locations that may fail spectacularly.”

Once off the water, Griffiths uses his networks to validate and bounce ideas off

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other anglers to see what they have been finding.

“I think it’s important to have a network of people you can talk fishing with; that idle chat allows you to think of new ideas and push each other forward,” said Griffiths.

Unlike our two lone wolves, West likes to use his social time to take family and friends out on the water, but still focuses on his

angling goals.

“I think too many people worry about catching fish on a social outing and don’t look at it as an opportunity to learn,” Griffiths explained.

“I am more than happy to forgo catching 30-50 fish a day socially if it means I can work out a new technique or understand where the big bass will hold in a tournament.”

You may be thinking,

‘gee this sounds like I need to become a monk and not talk to the outside world’, but for our anglers it’s about building confidence in yourself and knowing what works for you.

External information is great but it should be used as a starting point.

“Everyone’s information is valuable; no matter if you’re first or last in the tournament,

The hard work and preparation is done; it’s now time to put what you’ve learnt into action.

MAP IT. OWN IT. SHARE IT. I can’t believe how good this map is I just downloaded free off the Quickdraw™ Community. Look at this structure, those drop offs. Never would have known about this lake without the community. It’s fun fishing new water. I’ve already caught two nice keepers. Of course, I’ve uploaded some pretty nice maps, too. Glad someone decided to share this one.

IT’S YOUR TIME.

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To page 22

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 20

there is plenty to learn from everyone,” West explained. “It is all about having it stored in the back your head so you can adapt to any conditions.”

CONFIDENCE, DISCIPLINE AND MENTAL STRENGTH Griffiths said that all of his tournament wins have come down to being confident, working to a plan and not stressing out. That’s all well and good, but how exactly do you build up to this success?

Much like setting your goals and building knowledge, this can be broken down into setting yourself up, using the moment effectively and post evaluation.

For each of our anglers the tournament starts weeks before they have even cast a lure on the pre-fish day. Having all your gear maintained and set up in the week leading into the event can make all the difference, because every minute counts during a tournament.

“I start checking over my gear in the week leading into the tournament,” West said.

“I like to have my reels in top condition and rigged on clean rods before I set out on the drive. It’s all about putting myself in the tournament space before I hit the water.”

Building a pre-tournament ritual allows you to mentally

Success comes through hard work and planning.

Mark Crompton’s evolution as a tournament angler is testament to that. check off the tasks you need to complete, so once you get to the event it’s all about the fishing. Over years of running tournaments I have seen loads of anglers miss opportunities to win or place well in events due to boat or equipment failure.

Once your physical equipment is prepared it’s time to get a game plan set for the weekend. As they say, failing to plan is as good as planning to fail.

Your game plan can be as detailed as a time specified run sheet of spots based on the tides and winds, or as loose as a mental checklist of spots you want to hit. It’s all about what works for you.

Craig Griffiths plans where and when he is going to catch every fish in a tournament.

“The goal is to get dialled in to knowing when the fish will move through, to maximise my time fishing with confidence,” he said.

West and Crompton both added that having a plan is all about maintaining the confidence that you have something as a backup, and that you are already in the mindset of catching fish.

“I try to think it’s a process of when I am going to catch my limit, not if I will catch them,” said West. “I visualise how I will catch the fish and what I am doing on

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is a tough ask, it’s always important to remember fishing is fun, and accepting failure is a major part of the process. These failures can be fed back into your knowledge bank. And through reading the tournament report, you can learn how others caught the winning fish on the same day.

UNDERSTAND YOUR SEASON AND SPECIES If you look at the biggest difference between tournament fishing and social fishing, most people will tell you it’s the boats or the gear.

When you scratch below the surface though, it’s the fact you don’t get to pick when you go fishing. Champion anglers of the past got to pick the best times to catch the best fish, and now it’s all about knowing how to catch fish in any conditions.

“I think the biggest and steepest learning curve for anglers is understanding what effect the weather has on the fish,” said Crompton.

“Knowing what the weather will do to the fish will allow you to cut down your time searching for them.

“The biggest thing I look at in the weeks leading into a tournament is weather patterns; knowing what has happened weatherwise on the lake in the weeks before, combined with previous knowledge helps

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me narrow my pre-fish down into manageable areas,” explained Griffith.

Having a quality data bank of diary, photo and metal notes will allow you understand weather patterns and the way it changes fish behaviour, and use other written texts to give you a starting point on where to begin.

West takes his understanding of the seasons one step further, citing the breeding cycle of bass and their cyclical habits in both lakes and rivers.

“I think knowing the breeding and movement cycle of any species helps you target them. If you can understand if they are feeding up or sitting deep, combined with an good understanding of weather conditions, you can eliminate a lot of wasted casts,” said West.

JUST KEEP FISHING While you may be thinking, ‘I haven’t been told anything about techniques and the new hot baits,’ it’s important to know that great anglers are a product of a passion for fishing, understanding their target, and refining their skills – not a specific lure or technique.

Set a goal and push your knowledge. In the words of Craig Griffith, “trust your gut on the water, fish with confidence and enjoy it.”

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the water.”

While even the best-laid plans don’t always work, the anglers who consistently do well in tournaments are the ones who bounce back and mentally reset themselves during the event and after a hard day.

“Staying calm is the best way to ensure you make the most of your whole session in a tournament,” said Crompton.

West added to this, “You need to find something to calm the nerves; it could be music or sitting down for two minutes and then getting back into the fishing.”

While keeping focused throughout a tournament

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Filling your quiver – the right rod for breaming SYDNEY

Tom Slater

You wouldn’t build a house with just a hammer and you wouldn’t play 18 holes of golf with only a 7-iron.

It’s time to take a serious look at your stash of light tackle rods to ensure you have the right selection, as anglers around the country are putting the finishing

touches on their equipment in preparation for the 2018 Costa BREAM Series.

While it’s true that lures like the Cranka Crab and ZMan Grub have simplified many anglers’ approaches to tournament fishing, the many varied venues that the Costa BREAM Series takes us to present anglers with a wealth of opportunities; you only have to watch some of Kris Hickson and Steve Morgan’s

livestream highlights videos from the 2017 tour to see just how many different ways you can catch the humble bream while competing on the water.

The idea behind having a variety of outfits on the deck at any one time is exactly the same principle; just like you wouldn’t use a hammer to cut a piece of timber, a rod that has been designed to excel at one technique might not be

Main picture: A shorter rod is often the best way to go when fishing close to cover and casting accuracy needs to be pinpoint.

Above: Length and strength is the name of the game in rocky situations.

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all there for another. Each rod will have a purpose and that comes down to three main properties; length, action (fast or slow) and strength (stiffness). With that in mind, here’s the ultimate guide to setting up a quiver of rods catered to the demands of tournament fishing.

CRAB ROD What better place to

start than with possibly the hottest lure the country has ever seen? The Cranka Crab has totally revolutionised the modern angler’s approach to bream tournaments, especially those held from Sydney north to the Gold Coast. Those deep, clear NSW rivers are prime Crab territory. Just like with any new lure, as the techniques

evolve and anglers begin to understand the nuances of how best to use them, tackle selection adapts.

If you look back over the past few seasons of the Costa BREAM Series, there were two main ways the Cranka Crab dominated.

The first was fishing it deep around reefs and rockwalls predominately at the front

Tournament Angler Guide

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of river systems. The second was using it as a specific structure lure and placing it close to cover, allowing the natural look and movement of the Crab to draw fish into striking.

For fishing Crabs in deep or open water, many prefer a longer softer tapered rod.

A longer rod will help avoid pulling hooks when fish are hooked in the lips or on the outside edge of the mouth, and it will help control fish so you can more adequately steer them into the clear. It will also aid in deep water hook sets, because as you strike, the tip of a long rod

will move a greater distance than that of a shorter one, so you can more quickly eliminate any slack in your line and set the hook after feeling a bite.

The debate on line choice for fishing Crabs still lingers on, and many still opt for a braid and leader combination.

If you do choose braid and leader, adopt a longer leader length to help give you back some of that stretch. For the deep stuff, find a rod at least 7’4 or longer – Steve Morgan even uses rods as long as 8’6 for fishing Cranka Crabs, so don’t be scared to go extra long.

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For structure fishing, there are generally two trains of thought – go stiffer and shorter to aid in casting accuracy and strength to pull fish away from cover, or stick with a longer soft rod and rely on your casting skills to allow you to fish a long rod and cast tight to structure. Again, line choice will dictate which way you go; if you like to fish braid, choose a softer rod.

Adversely, if you choose to fish straight-through fluorocarbon, which many are favouring for this ‘cast and wait’ style of Crab

Charlie Saykao loaded up in the heat of battle.

To page 26

James Morgan arms himself with a variety of different rod lengths, weights and tapers as he travels the country fishing the Costa BREAM Series.

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From page 24

fishing, then you can get away with a stiffer rod and rely on the stretch to be the shock absorber. Don’t go too short; stick with something around 6’8-7’0 and try to find something with power that doesn’t lock up in the middle section of the blank.

Having a rod that is too fast – it goes from a light tip to a stiff middle section – is where lots of dropped fish and pulled hooks come from when fish take their last lunge under the boat.

SOFT PLASTICS ROD Again, there are two main ways soft plastics win tournaments on the ABT BREAM Tour. The first is fishing light (1/40-1/20) with lures like the ever-popular ZMan Grub and flicking these baits as close to structure as possible. Venues like Forster, Lake Macquarie and Sydney Harbour are prime ground for this technique with the plethora of floating structure to cast at.

The second technique involves a much heavier jighead and the deep water around the mouths of river systems are where the Cranka Crab has dominated. Before the Cranka Crab, a heavy soft plastic was the number one choice for fishing deep reefs and steep rock walls with fast current. Losing Crabs can get

Few people on tour fish with as many rods as Kris Hickson. Each one is selected with a particular lure and job in mind. expensive, and the humble soft plastic still catches them as good as ever down deep.

The principles of rod selection for these two styles of fishing soft plastics mirror that of the Cranka Crab – longer for deep water and shorter for close quarters. A longer rod in deep water will

enable to you pick up slack line quicker; it also allows for longer casts to get the lure as far from the boat as possible.

For the close quarter work, look for something shorter but not too stiff. A short rod will help you to flick underhand casts and skip lures into places others

can’t. Take it from guys like Kris Hickson; if you can put your lure further into a jetty or snag than anyone else, there’s usually a fish there waiting to reward you.

TWITCHING ROD If you’re heading to the Victorian or Tasmanian legs of the Costa BREAM Series

this year, then you’ll definitely want to pack one of these in your stash! Twitching a hardbody is a go-to technique for black bream in Australia’s southern states. While you might reach for that ultralight rod you’ve been using to slow roll crankbaits, maybe it’s time to think again.

Finding the perfect rod for this technique can be difficult. To start with, you’re fishing a lure with treble hooks, so you don’t want a rod that’s too stiff. To get the best action out of your lure, you really want to be using a braid and leader setup, so that lack of stretch in your fishing line means your rod has to make up for it.

Finding a rod that’s soft enough to not pull hooks but has that perfect tip for twitching a lure and making it dance can be difficult. Look for a rod between 6’8 and 7’0 that allows you to really ‘snap’ the slack line with the smallest of rod movements; that will ensure your lure is working fiercely left to right underwater and that’s what big southern black bream absolutely love.

SLOW ROLL ROD Time to bust out the ultralights! Slow rolling a crankbait is an angler favourite on the Costa BREAM Series. Baits like the OSP Dunk, Jackall Chubby, Pro Lure Crank and many more feature so often in anglers’ talks at the weigh-in stages. These lures are simple to use, cover lots of ground and help you find productive areas where you can knuckle down and grind out a limit.

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Using the correct sized and weighted reel – and the right line – is important when putting together a quiver of rods.

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Many anglers prefer to use straight-through fluorocarbon line when fishing one of these lures, and that’s all about the stretch. Specifically, the stretchiness of the line cushions timid hook sets in the outside of the mouth, which is so common when fish attack a moving lure like a crank. Treble hooks that are just pinned on the outside of the face can so often pull free with the slightest change of angle, so

Tournament Angler Guide the more shock absorption you can have in your system, the better.

For this reason, the perfect crankbait rod is long and soft.

Just like the fluorocarbon, the long soft rod is another shock absorber. It also helps with casting baits as far as possible – something that’s very important when fishing over shallow clear flats where your boat and shadow can be the biggest deterrents to catching more fish. Look for something at least 7’4 in length with a slow taper.

KRIS’ PICKS • Cranka Crab rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS or Black Label 701ULXS • Cranka Crab rod (used for structure fishing, boat hulls and jetties) – Daiwa Black Label 642ULFS • Soft plastics rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Battler 762ULFS Kung Fu Prancer • Soft plastics rod (used for light plastics, skipping pontoons and boats) – Daiwa Black Label 642ULFS • Twitching rod (used for twitching hardbodies around Victoria and Tasmania) – Daiwa TD Commander 6101ULFS Desert Bull • Slow rollin’ rod (used for slow rolling hardbodies) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AIR AGS 74UL-S • Topwater rod (used for treble hook topwater lures, bent minnow-style lyres and walk- the-dog lures) – Daiwa TD SOL 701ULXS

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Low ratio reels, slow taper rods and straight through fluorocarbon are essential when fishing cranks.

TOPWATER ROD You should think of a topwater rod very similarly to the twitching rod mentioned earlier. Many topwater lures require rod work to get the maximum amount of action, so the same principle applies.

You’ll often work a topwater lure with your rod tip pointed downwards towards the water. For that reason, you don’t want anything too long.

Look for something around 6’8-7’2 depending on your height and your boat’s height off the water.

Topwater lures often have treble hooks, so you don’t want something too stiff.

Bream will often only barely get hooked when trying to eat a surface lure, so you have to be gentle to avoid pulling hooks.

You can’t rely on the stretch of

TOURNAMENT RODS FOR ALL ANGLERS

straight-through fluorocarbon either, as the line’s inherent lack of buoyancy will drag your lures under the water.

Braid and leader with treble hook lures mean you need to go soft, look for something with cushioning and get ready to put more fish in the boat this summer.

The first tournament of the 2018 Costa BREAM Series is right around the corner, so now’s the time to clean the boat and organise the tackle.

For some, this is the perfect opportunity to shop for some post-Christmas bargains and fill out that rod locker a little more. This guide is just the beginning, but most of these styles of rods can cross over into other popular techniques.

Take the deep-water plastics rod, for example; more often

than not, that style of rod is perfect to use with blades and vibration-style lures.

If you’re the sort of angler who likes to have one of everything rigged up before a day on the water, then you might end up with as many as a dozen outfits scattered across the front deck. For some, 4-6 outfits can comfortably get them through anything they face on the water and leave their boat (and their minds) a little less cluttered and focused on finding those winning fish.

CROMMO’S PICKS • Cranka Crab rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS • Cranka Crab rod (used for structure fishing, boat hulls and jetties) – Daiwa TD SOL 701MLXS • Soft plastics rod (used for deep reef, seaways and rock walls) – Daiwa TD Zero 701LXS • Soft plastics rod (used for light plastics, skipping pontoons and boats) – Daiwa TD SOL 701LXS • Twitching rod (used for twitching hardbodies around Victoria and Tasmania) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AGS • Slow rollin’ rod (used for slow rolling hardbodies) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AIR AGS 74UL-S • Topwater rod (used for treble hook topwater lures, bent minnow-style lyres and walk- the-dog lures) – Daiwa Gekkabijin AGS

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2017 ABT Rankings and Angler of the Year

The calm before the storm – anglers patiently wait for the kick-off to another season.

The big guns fired and a host of first-time winners cashed in on the BREAM, BASS and BARRA tours in 2017.

Kris Hickson finished the year as the number one ranked BREAMer and BASS Pro boater, while Stuart Walker once again rounded out the season as the number one ranked non-boating BREAMer. Walker will be the man to catch on the BREAM tour, as 2018 is sure to be no different for the Canberra-based bream gun.

Warren Carter was as consistent as ever securing the Power-Pole BREAM Angler of the Year boater AOY crown for the Costa BREAM Series, and Stuart Walker etched his name on

the Power-Pole BREAM Angler of the Year with his third AOY crown in as many years.

Ross Cannizzaro made the step from the bream into bass in 2017 and hit the ground running, claiming three wins for the season and capping off his maiden year on tour with the Bass Cat BASS Pro Angler of the Year title. Keegan Painter also claimed the non-boater AOY crown in his maiden year on tour with the Brisbane basser securing the title with his victory in the last qualifying round on the Clarence River.

Paul Aldous continued his winning ways from the 2016 season with the Kingaroy bass angler finishing another tournament

Ross Cannizzaro had a red-hot year on tour this year.

Kris Hickson with the Mercury Cup for the best ranked Mercury owner for 2017.

year as the number one ranked BASS Pro non-boater on the Bass Cat BASS Pro Tour.

New to the BASS Pro tournament calendar in 2017 was the Storm BASS Australian Open, with Matthew Mott returning to the ABT winner’s stage after a long absence, with the Mayor of Murgon securing a wire-to-wire win in Australia’s first-ever boater-only, five-fish limit bass tournament.

The Open returns again

in 2018 with the Hunter Valley’s Lake Glenbawn set to host this unique event in October.

Richard Somerton continued his dominance in the Hobie Kayak Bream Series with the Victorian bream fishing juggernaut claiming three event wins, and a 493/500 point score for the season to secure the Angler of the Year title over Tony Pettie in 2nd and Simon Morley in 3rd.

Angler of the Year dominance continued on

BREAM PRO RANKINGS BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kristoffer Hickson Warren Carter Steve Morgan Mark Crompton Cameron Whittam Brad Hodges Graham Franklin Charlie Saykao Mark Healey Ross Cannizzaro

NON-BOATER 325 323 317 295 256 232 221 220 216 214

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Rodney O’Sullivan Clint Voss Jonathon Thompson Mike Hodges James Morgan Shaun Egan Simon Johnson Tomas McIntosh Russell Winters

305 234 255 220 218 209 207 198 186 182

BREAM PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 30

TAG 2018 abt

Warren Carter Kristoffer Hickson Cameron Whittam Mark Crompton Steve Morgan Charlie Saykao Jason Harlock Graham Franklin Andrew Moore Alan Lister

NON-BOATER 483 481 470 465 461 428 383 369 369 357

t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Nick Penprase Allan Murray Wally Fahey Justin Reeves Scott Wilson Tanya Konsul James Morgan Rebecca Fazlo Tony Khouri

474 450 449 441 427 422 419 414 384 371

abt

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

the BASS Electric scene in 2018 with Charles West writing his name into the ABT record books with a perfect season. Compiling a 500/500 points score to claim the title.

West had one of those years where everything he touched turned to gold.

Five wins from as many starts, West capped off his year adding the number one ranked BASS Electric title to his AOY crown for 2017. West had a stunning

year, a year like none that we had seen before on the BASS Electric tour. The question is will 2018 be as fruitful for the Valley Hill sponsored tournament angler? The five event Casino Outdoors BASS Electric Series will decide.

The race for the Zerek BARRA Tour Team of the Year was more of a nailbiting affair with two points separating the top three wins in the 2017 Zerek BARRA Tour. Craig Griffiths and

Karim DeRidder (297/300 points) from Team Fish-Tec Solutions/EJ Todd made it back-to-back Team of the Year wins, pushed to the limit by the new kids on the block, Peter Laine and Zac Hunt from Team Barratrauma in 2nd with 296 points, and Ash Sims and Dan Curry in 3rd with 295 points.

For full rankings, records, and earnings of each species and series visit www.abt.org.au.

Ross Cannizzaro and Brian Everingham with the spoils of their 2017 Bass Pro wins.

BARRA RANKINGS 1 1 3 3 5 5 7 7 9 9

Craig Griffiths Karim De Ridder Ashley Sims Dan Curry Jake Mitchell Wally Wilton Geoff Newby Phil Lyons Dustin Soppel Rick Napier

228 228 191 191 161 161 146 146 143 143

BARRA TOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fishtec/EJ Todd Barratrauma Jackall Venom Triton Boats/Edge Rods Lucky Craft/Edge Rods Zerek Tree Huggers Lews Toray Flattop Fishing

297 296 295 286 284 283 281 280 279 279

BASS PRO RANKINGS BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kristoffer Hickson Peter Phelps Tom Slater Mark Lennox Brian Everinham Mitchell Cone Stephen Kanowski Warren Carter Terry Allwood Mark Ferguson

NON-BOATER 265 252 242 221 215 208 201 193 189 166

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Paul Aldous Peter Morgan Jason Martin James Reid Orton Marchant Brendan Pieschel Brett Hyde Simon Johnson James Hickson Aimee Thompson

212 206 200 199 187 183 182 176 174 165

BASS PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Ross Cannizzaro Mark Lennox Terry Allwood Kris Hickson Tom Slayter Stephen Kanowski Peter Phelps Adrian Melchior Brian Everingham Graham Ford

NON-BOATER 395 389 382 384 380 372 369 364 361 359

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Keeghan Painter Peter Morgan Dylan Byron Paul Aldous Jason Martin James Reid Lochie Rutherford Brett Hyde Leone Walker Mal Draper

388 387 384 379 376 360 357 356 350 348

BASS ELECTRIC RANKINGS BASS ELECTRIC AOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Charles West Adrian Wilson Dean Thompson Tom Reynolds Jonathon Bale Matt Johnson Tim Nagano Brett Kleinschmidt Robert Butler Joseph Urquhart

397 342 286 242 230 219 209 203 177 160

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Charles West Adrian Wilson Tim Nagano Brady Ellis Craig Atta-Singh Shaun Falkenhagen Joey Urquhart Dean Thomson Tom Reynolds Sean Connelly

500 478 375 368 350 282 280 276 275 273 abt

TAG 2018

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FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS STRUCTURE TO FISH AROUND

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ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Kylie Bubas from Albion Park, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize.

Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for December is P Cook with Tregear, who won a Aquayak Kayak voucher valued at $300.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Morwell, B Keogh of Bathurst, T Ryan of Wagga Wagga, T Maroney of Gunnedah, W Cumming of Bass Hill, M Horgosi of Ngunnawal, B Schnitzer of Cooma, R Bland of Forster, F Sear of Junee, R Chown of Glendenning, S Cook of Seven Hills, K Hester of Beverly Hills, B Walters of Raymond Terrace, F Mulcahy of Taree, G Tasker of Belfield, L Comerford of South Penrith, M Donnelly of Bungendore

, J Wicks of Cootamundra, D Ryall of Singleton, T Griffin of Bathurst, A Lees of Raymond Terrace, C Engelbrecht of Wagga Wagga, A Sinclair of Lalor Park, M Klumper of Nambucca Heads, M MacMurray of Eglinton, T Kennedy of Karuah, M Blake of Walcha, J Vallis of Rylstone, W Keeley of Glen Davis.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DX POINT LOGO

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for December were: 8, 16, 18, 22, 26, 31, 37, 41, 51, 76, 78, 84, 103, 105, 114. – NSWFM

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Yellowbelly

The Find the Gamakatsu prize winners for December were: B Whyte of Myers Flat, K Carter of Shepparton, D Miller of Cobar, M Baker of Gorokan, A Bird of Singleton Heights, I Dando of Tuggerawong, W Forbes of Nambucca Heads, R Kroll of Minnie Water, R Jones of Toronto, P Giles of Sussex Inlet, J Bonadei of Queanbeyan, B Stokes of

GUESS THE FISH?

Answer:

Predators are in droves HUNTER COAST

Gary Earl earlybird13@optusnet.com.au

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FEBRUARY 2018

aussieboatsales@gmail.com

Here on the Hunter Coast we are having a pretty good time both inside and way out over the shelf.

We have been getting our warm water visitors in the droves, and no one is complaining. I’d retire from fishing if I couldn’t catch a fish this month, as flathead

crabs in the mix. Bass have been taken around here as well, and further upstream to the Tocal Bridge should hold some great fish. If these heat waves continue, send a lure into the shadows of the trees hanging over the river. Watch the barometer, and just before storms in the afternoons when the humidity is picking up, you should catch a few fish. Try surface lures in a green, brown or black in colour, or

The inner reefs are holding nannygai, pearl perch and mulloway at night. We don’t get pearl perch here every year, as they come down on the northern warm currents every now and again and are found over the reefs where the juvenile snapper and big snapper cruise. They were over the reefs off Merewether last month, so this should be the month to fish for them.

Whiting have been out on the beach, but unfortunately

Trevally are great fun for the kids, and generally aren’t too hard to catch. and bream have been the most prolific fish I have seen in catches, and they are high up in the system. Unless we get some proper rain, the bream will move up further and mix in with the bass in both the Williams and Hunter rivers. Both arms are fishing fairly good for estuary perch, bass and bream and this month they can fire from Hexham and all the way up the Patterson Estuary fishing has been great lately, and bream have taken up residence in the lower harbour and basin.

Fresh peeled prawns have been getting some great results. I wandered along the Lee Wharf and down to the marina not long back, and I noticed the amount of weight some of the anglers were using. I know it’s pretty deep in places, as we are a shipping harbour, but a lot of line and terminal tackle were being lost, with many anglers snagging whatever was on the bottom. I suggested to a few of them to drop the weights in their rigs, as a wafting bait that sinks slowly would probably be better.

The less lead you can use, the better, and on the way back a few guys thanked me, as they had a couple of nice fish.

Upriver between Stockton to Sandgate in the southern channel, there have been some nice flathead, with bream and blue swimmer

try trolling the reedy parts of the river, as the bass don’t just sit on snags protruding into the water.

Offshore has been wild with marlin, kingfish and large snapper being taken.

Just start a good berley trail and something will follow it up to your baited hook.

Mahimahi and marlin have been hot, so toss out a lure and troll to your destination if you’re going out further.

we have been cut off from a lot of shoreline where the fishing is great. We are losing a lot of fishable areas because of idiots driving and killing the vegetation and leaving rubbish everywhere. Please make sure you help to keep our beaches clean so authorities aren’t forced to close them off to the public.

Take care this month and have fun, as this is the month some big fish show up.

Flathead will be on the chew through February.

Pelagic action booming PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

It’s that time of year again when the fishing starts to heat up and will only get better and better over the next few months.

ESTUARY There’s some fantastic fishing to be had inside the bay this month. The breakwall has seen some cracker fish landed from it recently, with a few nice mulloway to 20kg landed and some solid kings. Early mornings on the tide changes using live squid under a float will be your best shot at a king. If you’re chasing a mulloway, fish the high tides at nihgt, with either live bait or fresh squid.

Large schools of whitebait are spread through the lower section of the port, with pelagics like tailor and bonito taking full advantage of them. Casting small metals that match the hatch in the 5-10g range will work best, and watch the birds to help you spot any surface activity.

Whiting are stacked up along Shoal Bay and Jimmys Beach, and the best way to

catch them is to use a live worm on a light 6lb leader fished on high tide.

Whiting are also still smacking surface lures around the lower ends of the Myall and Karuah river systems.

Flatties are spread throughout the bay, with good reports coming recently of lots of lizards between Garden Island and Tahlee.

OFF THE ROCKS There are plenty of bonito around for anglers keen to peg out some metals or stickbaits, and there have been some quality tailor up to 2kg mixed in with them.

It’s still a bit early for longtails off the headland, but you’re certainly not wasting your time having an early season crack.

OFF THE BEACH Stockton, Hawks Nest, Samurai and One-Mile beaches are all worth fishing for mulloway this month. There’s no need to spend all night targeting them either; just fish those couple of hours after dark, and if you do no good, try again the next night. Fresh squid, tailor heads, mullet

fillets or a live bait will be your best chance to get a bite from one.

Whiting are thick along most of the beaches, especially Stockton, Hawks Nest and Fingal, with live worms the gun bait.

OUTSIDE Black marlin should really turn it on this month as long as we have a good push of warm water in close. Most of the inshore reefs that hold bait will attract blacks at this time of year, with slow trolling live baits around the bait concentrations the preferred method for the inshore fish.

There should be some big kingfish available this month!

Port Stephens Estuary Charters

Flathead, as always, should be a staple in estuaries during February.

Bonito should be chasing the abundant bait around in sheltered waters.

They can be surprisingly leader shy, so don’t use anything above 80lb.

The shelf bite should also be pretty consistent at the moment, with multiple bites a day the average, consisting of a mixture of blacks, stripes and blues.

Plenty of rat mahimahi are on the FAD, with the

better size fish coming from anglers getting there super early in the morning and fishing live baits.

Charter boats have reported good numbers of school mulloway on the offshore reefs like Sandbos and Looking Glass as well as a stack of Trag on the 21, Vee and Gibber reefs.

the beautiful Port Stephens estuary system with a calm water to fishing charter that can be designed ing fish t suit your needs from family bai lers. to hardcore lure and fly fishing ang arters.com

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Cassie Vincent with a cracking flathead caught on a Squidgy Fish Lure while on the Hawkesbury River. She was using her Okuma Duo fishing rod, which she got when she subscribed to Fishing Monthly for the first time.

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Our offshore options are absolutely going off than a few marlin are now being encountered, which is fantastic to see. The majority of the fish I’m hearing of are falling for skirted lures at the moment, but I’m sure there are crews scoring fish off bait balls while trolling live slimies as well.

Regardless what your preferred method is, the one thing I will say is to mix it up a little. If you’re pulling livies, then have one up on the surface unweighted, and for your second I’d be attaching a snapper lead rigged via a band to keep your bait down until hooked up, at which time the lead should break free for the fight.

With lure anglers, it’s the same deal – mix it up.

Have a few larger lures in

SWANSEA

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February is certainly a great time of year to hit the water in our part of the world. The weather is generally glorious and the fishing is equally good.

Offshore fishing is at its peak for the next two months and the estuary fishing has also turned it on lately. The other great news is that the crowds have returned to their homes and the kids are returning to school, which means my fishing spots go back to some normality.

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closer to the transom and throw a few smaller options out off the riggers and mix the colours as well.

The great thing with summer for our game fishing friends is the fact that you generally don’t have to travel too far to find the action. A lot of marlin come from within 60 fathoms at this time of year, so that means a lot less money spent on fuel and a lot less time spent travelling.

The mahimahi are also about, with some real beauties coming in and some fish are going over 10kg. Many are often by-catch from crews chasing marlin, but there is also a fair number from anglers fishing live baits and purposely targeting big mahimahi around floating objects or one of the many FADs that are located in open waters these days.

Plenty of kingfish are also about and providing anglers with sore arms and hours of fun. Many options are working, including soft plastics, micro-jigs and live baits. There are a few spots that produce more than others, but it’s often a matter of trying a few locations

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moment the majority are less than 90cm, but there is the odd better specimen falling for live baits and large soft plastics.

Water temperatures in the lake are very warm. We have also had some rain here and there, which is keeping it fairly well-flushed, and I think overall the quality of the water in the lake at

Mick Pavlic has been doing his magic with his fly outfit and landing some yellowtail kingfish. and often big fish at the end of it all. The shark crews are generally wider than most marlin boats over the summer months, and more often than not are targeting the shelf and canyon regions. The target species is often tiger sharks, but they certainly don’t complain when a large mako happens to stumble across their baits.

INSIDE Inside Lake Macquarie, the fish might be smaller, but they are certainly making up for it in numbers.

I have been testing my latest hardbody lures lately

chasing them in less than 0.5m with great results on the right day!

For bream anglers, you’re in luck as well. I have found no shortage of good bream about lately.

My better fish have come in smaller numbers here and there, but good numbers of smaller fish in the high 20s and low 30cm range are common. I’ve been scoring some good numbers by hopping soft plastics around the cockle beds late in the afternoons and also fishing the flats on the cloudy days.

I keep it pretty simple with my rigs. For hardbodies,

the moment is good and I can only assume this is contributing to the good run of fish we are seeing.

For those anglers looking to chase a few pelagics, you are in luck.

There are also very good numbers of bonito around at present. There also schools of kingfish in the mix with some very good fish on offer. There are plenty of rats to keep anglers entertained, but it’s those better quality 80cm kings that really get the blood pumping for anglers chasing them on small spin outfits and flyfishing gear.

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a feed of flathead is white.

It’s such a simple colour, but probably the most underrated colour. I realise it’s not a great colour for catching anglers, but trust me, it is a great colour for catching fish.

At this time of year, I like to stick to 2m of water or less when targeting flathead. And I’ll often be

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until you find the honey hole for the day. There are plenty of inshore reefs up and down our part of the coast and a simple search online will provide you with ample GPS coordinates worth trying.

Shark anglers continue to score some huge fish.

As always it’s a case of big days, big loads of berley

There is no shortage of good bream in the area. with great results on the local flats for both bream and flathead. With flathead there is one lure colour that they love. Regardless of whether you’re throwing soft plastics or hardbody lures, flathead find it hard to refuse an offering that’s in a gold colour. My other colour option when chasing

I run 3lb fluorocarbon straight through, and for the plastics I opt for 4lb braid and a 4-6lb leader of around 2m.

Mulloway are certainly there for those anglers putting in the effort, and even for the odd angler not putting in the effort. We are seeing loads of fish being landed and at the

As always, make sure you only keep the fish you need and be sure to stick to legal sizes and bag limits.

Those kingfish or mulloway that fall just shy of legal limit – throw them back!

Just think how much more fun they will be to catch when they are even bigger for your next trip.

It pays to pursue pelagics ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

The fishing has been really firing on the coast in the last few weeks with Brisbane Waters firing in a big way.

You just got to love this

to try. Soft plastics in the 3-6” size slowly bounced along the bottom will usually bring results, and a few local anglers have done well trolling some deeper diving minnow lures.

Bream have also been going well, mostly on

and ballast rock pile areas like the top end of Paddys Channel – this area can hold some big bream!

The crabbing has been sensational with both muddies and blue swimmers about in numbers. The key has been to be on the water at first light using mullet on handlines. When you get on a good area, all of a sudden you can have handlines rolling all around the boat. I like areas with a little bit of current for crabs, because it carries the scent of your bait and helps to draw the crabs to your line.

Rock fishing has fired early, with some big schools

of bonito showing up. We have had some great fishing action using both plastics and fly tackle. A nice fast retrieve is key, and they can be super aggressive. If you’re lucky, some nice-sized mac tuna have been about. I hooked a nice one that half emptied my fly reel in about four seconds! These guys are a lot of fun on the light gear.

Some nice bream have been up in the shallows on the high tides, and these fish can be targeted with lightly-weighted baits like small crabs or cunje, although some locals have had great results using lures in these rocky areas, and

Whiting are on the top at the moment, and sure make for top sport in summer! time of year; the warmer surface lures that imitate a waters and an abundance prawn. This time of year of prey like prawns and the bream really seem to whitebait really gets the focus on the surface, and it fish in a frenzy. sure is a fun way to catch Flathead have been them. Try in super shallow biting well, mainly lower in water around weed beds that the system. Anywhere from hold some bait, and also Rip Bridge to Half Tide around any structure in the Bonanza Advert Oct 2017 - Final.pdf 1 5/10/2017 Rocks has been a good area water like old oyster leases

A pair of nice bonito taken recently on fly.

6:15 pm

Small black marlin are likely to be cruising in close this month.

it’s really surprising how effective it is.

Offshore has seen some relatively tough fishing, especially on the bottom, as the current out there is really starting to rage and it can make it near impossible to hold bottom. On the up side, the FADs have had plenty

of mahimahi in attendance, which are always a lot of fun and make for a great feed. It also pays to put a live bait out for a marlin under a balloon while fishing, because around these areas you just never know what’s lurking in the deep blue!

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All the fish species are firing on all cylinders ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

Now we are talking! Hot water and hot fishing on all fronts from the estuaries to the shelf and beyond, with every taste in fishing catered for. But to really achieve the full potential February has to offer fishing-wise, you need one thing, and that is live bait.

You can play with lures in so many situations these days, but to constantly score big fish and lots of them, live bait is the key. Offshore this is the peak month for marlin, with the blacks really moving onto the close reefs chasing mostly slimy mackerel, and almost anything else that swims within their view as well.

So it is not surprising to see all those big boats loading up on live slimies before daybreak then heading off to slow troll them over the productive reefs all along the coast. If you are serious, it is the only way to chase beakies at this time of the year and it is deadly.

If you are chasing big blues over the shelf, then you generally need to cover a lot of territory, so skirts will be the choice, but why go that far when the blacks are only 15 minutes from the ramp?

It is not just marlin that love livies either, and with the water pushing 26°C there are a whole lot of other predators out there that love a feed of fresh slimies as well. Sailfish are caught every season now, and the wahoo look to be making a bit of a comeback as well with more taken each season.

Then there are the FADs, with the hordes of mahimahi on many days, and we know live baits smash any other form of bait for mahimahi.

We probably need a whole lot more FADs these days, with more and more anglers heading out to grab a feed of mahimahi, or just to have some fun. This means when the mahimahi are about, the FADs get very crowded and there is always that one boat that wants to sit right on top all day, or even worse, tie off to the FAD and not join in taking turns

at drifting past so everyone gets a fair crack. This leads to FAD rage and it can get heated.

When it gets this crowded, it often pushes the bigger fish further away, so it’s worth drifting just that bit further than everyone else or doing a slow troll in a big circle away from the other boats. This will often score the bigger fish, as they don’t like crowds either, there is also a better chance of picking up a marlin, as

Closer to shore the kingfish have taken up residence over many of the reefs in the same places as the marlin, and it is not uncommon to score some solid kings when chasing the marlin. If the beaks are not on your target list, then a slimy downrigged near the bottom will score kings, and it may still score a marlin too, but you can’t help bad luck sometimes.

The islands, Bass Point and Rangoon have a good

A nice black being towed to revive before release. they keep just away from the crowds too.

If there are not too many boats around and the mahimahi are biting well, then pilchards will get plenty of fish until they get fussy, and the live baits have to come into play again.

On some days you just can’t get any slimies, particularly if the commercial fishers have run a net around them the day before, so yellowtail will have to do.

On some days, they work better than slimies, so it’s always wise to have some of each in the bait tank.

number of kings too, but many are undersize, which can be hard work when chasing dinner.

Some nice snapper are about at the moment, but I wouldn’t go anchoring and berleying over any of the popular marlin reefs this month, as they can get very crowded with lots of big boats cutting through your berley trail. It’s probably best to fish some of the smaller reefs not frequented by the marlin chasers, or to use plastics, which have been scoring well too. A butterflied live slimy put

down deep will score any big reds you come across.

It’s always good to hedge your bets with both lures and baits.

Bonito are about in good numbers, and are mostly smaller fish so far, but a bit of fun on lures. A few striped tuna are also about chasing bait along the coast along with a few salmon and trevally, and at times getting into schools and really wreaking havoc with the bait balls.

With the warm water comes the northern visitors, so don’t be surprised to pick up a stray rainbow runner, spotted or Spanish mackerel, or even a cobia. A few cobia get taken every year by some lucky anglers.

For the bottom bouncers, there are plenty of small to medium snapper over the reefs, with samsonfish, trevally, piggies, the odd trag, mowies and even a few stray pearl perch and a couple of emperors. The flathead are thick over all the sand patches all along the coast, and there are some pretty good fish among them with some even pushing above 70cm.

On the rocks, live baits are the key to big fish, with the deeper ledges down Kiama way the place to target marlin from the shore.

Live frigate mackerel are the number one bait followed by mackerel and yellowtail.

The frigates also attract the attention of any big kings in the area, as well particularly early in the morning.

Bonito can be a pain, knocking off hard-earned livies, but then you can always put the bonito back out alive – always aim big.

The washes are producing some nice bream, trevally and drummer on prawns, and there are some good-sized luderick in the washes and inside the quiet waters of the harbours early in the morning if you can get some good green weed.

Frigate mackerel should be making their high octane skirmishes into the local harbours this month. Very small lures are the key to regular hook-ups, so join the crowd and have some fun.

The estuaries are on fire, and again, live baits

are producing the goods.

Live poddy mullet work best for solid flathead and lots of them are in the lake, followed by live prawns, but the pickers zero in quickly on these during the daylight hours.

When it gets dark there are big bream and whiting around the bridge, and where the flats drop off into deeper water. Live squirt worms will get whiting over the shallow flats during the day, or you could use poppers early in the morning before the traffic gets too heavy. The flatties are taking plastics as well as they always do.

Prawn imitations have been doing a lot of the damage.

A few school mulloway have shown up in the lake channel, but they are a day-to-day option.

Minnamurra has all the same species, particularly from the entrance up to the first bend and around the bridges with the falling tide the best option.

The beaches are firing on all cylinders as well, with live beach worms

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accounting for the majority of whiting and they are on all the local beaches at the moment. Throw in some nice bream, dart, salmon and a few flathead and you have a real smorgasbord. Then when it gets dark, the real action happens, with some excellent mulloway stalking the deep gutters on high tide.

Again, if you use pilchards, mackerel or yellowtail fillets to catch tailor, then put that live tailor back on and send it back out, and your chances of a big mulloway are massively multiplied. Bigger tailor up to 1kg are even better. As you know, big baits mean big fish and you might even score a few schoolies on the tailor gear too.

You don’t have to get that big bait out too far either, as the big mulloway come right in behind the shorebreak when it gets dark, and your bait will swim out a bit with just a light bit of lead to keep it down.

That’s it for February, hopefully everyone can make the most of this fantastic month before my favourite, March!

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It’s great that the holidays are over. No more getting up an hour sooner to jockey for a position at your local ramp. No more putting up with boats running so close to you, you can reach out and touch them as you sit there at anchor trying to attract fish into your berley trail. Yep, it’s February – school holidays are done and dusted. The Australia Day long weekend has been and gone, so now we get our waterways back to ourselves for a while before the next break.

It’s a pretty good time to be on the water too! There are plenty of fish to be caught throughout our local waters.

St Georges Basin is a hotspot for our area, and really is one of those places you need to fish if you haven’t yet. There are so many fishing options and different species to be caught in the basin, and sometimes you just don’t know what you’re going to catch next.

Even using small lures such as blades or small plastics can result in a fish of a lifetime. There have been plenty of 90cm+ flatties, 1m+ mulloway and some surprisingly big snapper caught in the basin over summer on small lures meant

This mulloway fell victim to a black and gold Squidgy Fish. finding the quality fish. The fish pictured here are only two of the many species he has caught this summer in the basin. Quality fish such as these can be caught in just about every corner of the Bbasin, providing there is something to attract them – and that something is bait. If you can find the baitfish you will usually find the bigger fish. That rule doesn’t just apply to the basin, but pretty much all waterways.

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A well conditioned basin flatty in the 90cm+ class that Wal caught this summer. for smaller species such as whiting and bream. With such a good supply of bait in the basin it’s surprising the fish bite at all, but they do.

The couple of fish pictured in this report were caught over summer by local sponsored Shimano angler Wal Balzin. Wal has fished the basin for as many years as I can remember, and has always had a knack for

BEACH FISHING The warm water over summer has brought some good catches of whiting to a few of our more popular beaches. Seven Mile, Target and Five Mile beaches are all producing some good size fish on freshly-caught beach worms. Or if you are like me and are a classic failure at beach worming, grab yourself a nipper pump

and pump yourself a handful from the river, as these guys come in a close second as bait for the whiting.

Plenty of small bronzies are also being caught on the beaches. They are pretty good fun and even better eating if cleaned properly.

There is plenty of meat on a shark of around a metre.

BASS FISHING The bass fishing news is pretty much the same as the last couple of months.

There are a lot of fish in the brackish reaches of the Shoalhaven due to the lack of rain over spring and summer.

There have been plenty of cicadas around, making for some pretty cool surface fishing. The bass are pretty much hanging under the trees with their mouths open, waiting for a falling cicada, or a well-placed Soft Shell Cicada lure (hopefully mine).

If you are after a truly big bass, there are some real horses in Tallowa Dam just out of Kangaroo Valley.

This dam is a paddle power only dam, so don’t bother with the electric motors.

The dam has been stocked now since 1994 so you can imagine there are some monsters in there. The only problem is the amount of water between them, but there are plenty of smaller fish to keep you interested while you wait for that memorable capture – or a big bust-off, depending on how quickly you can get your fingers to the spool.

There are plenty of lureattacking carp in there as well, so not all line peelers will be unstoppable bass.

That’s it for this month.

Enjoy the peace and tranquillity for now guys and girls, as there are more school holidays on the horizon!

The fishing life is better offshore BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

It’s that time of the year where gamefishers spend most of their time offshore, and why wouldn’t you?

With plenty of bait starting to ball up, and marlin swimming around. The sun is shining and everything is good; the weather just has to play the game and we will be in for a great February. January saw a good lead up with bait and bluewater.

water inside the shelf and the FADs should be holding some better fish. Last month the water and bait was hit and miss inside the shelf and many visits were made to the FADs with little to show for them; by now that should have changed.

Not much has changed in the gamefishing department other than improved technology that we are seeing more and more of on boats. More people are using those big teasers with long reflective strips and they are very effective – I have been

attached to the dredge bar and attached to the main line with snap swivels. This is handy when you set up and pack up. Use about 30-40m of 400lb mainline spooled onto a 30 size reel that can handle the drag.

Then once I throw it out the back into the water I just let it run off for 10 or so metres, push up the drag and put the rod in a holder. They look so good in the water that birds hover above and want to dive at it thinking it’s a bait ball, and of course gamefish like to pluck the

in big schools. One of our customers had them schooling up around his boat up on the surface – what a sight to see. Jem Abbott and the boys managed to find a school out in 60m and managed to hook two and boat one.

The beaches have also been consistent with them as well as the estuary.

Another great capture was Willis Purvis’s 60cm King George whiting out in 60m.

It has been a summer of many events.

The beaches have had some whiting action that should improve throughout February. The lakes have probably seen the best captures of whiting at this stage, though.

In the estuary and bay we have seen a good run of blue swimmer crabs and a good run of muddies as well. This has made up for the lack of prawns in this area and we are finding we have to travel a bit more this year for prawns. The Clyde is fishing quite well with good flatties and bream. This should continue this month.

The cicadas have been plentiful. Their noise is constant throughout the summer and they are

Julie Hay caught this awesome groper while visiting her brother Sam over the holidays. alarm bells for bass. The bass fishing has been very consistent and it shows when we can’t keep enough stock on the shelves of bass lures.

The hit lure this summer for all species in the estuary would have to be the Bent Minnow 76. This lure seems to catch anything and is simple to use. Just throw it out and leave it there and then reel in the fish. Maybe add a twitch or two with some decent pauses and the fish find it irresistible. They

can also be walked and some fishos are tying off to the front treble for more action. Come and get some at Compleat Angler as we have the biggest range of them in Australia.

• 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).

Rebecca Wickham with her mulloway. This fish was one of 15 that she and her family caught on holidays in the Clyde River, in less than one week.

At the start of January Brett O’Connor on Opatunatee made the most of it and was getting a marlin a day with some good-sized mahimahi. The water and current was on and off; going a bit wider out to the blue cobalt water was a good move, as the bigger mahimahi were in it. By now we should see that good

using them for years. I find I can just run that and two hookless Moldcrafts in each corner just behind the teaser, ready for switching.

Keeping it simple can be the go; the only issue people seem to have is pulling in the large teaser as it has a lot of drag and size to it.

I have my teaser set up so the barrel sinkers can be

Bass off the surface during the night can be a lot of fun!

strips off. Luckily you can buy spare strips – we have these available at Compleat Angler Batemans Bay. The inshore reef fishing has seen a better-than-usual run of snapper for this time of the year and we can only hope this continues throughout February. The main event this month is the kingfish and there have been some solid schools of them getting around. The usual problem is finding them as we have yet to see them hold for periods of time at the usual haunts.

Most are being caught when bottom bouncing and they happen to come around.

If you want to go out looking for them, it’s best to troll around skirts and divers past headlands, islands and buoys. The FADs should see some this month, but lately they have been small there.

Once you do find them there is the challenge of finding what they want to eat, so have livies, jigs, micro-jigs, plastics and the kitchen sink with you to throw at them until they bite.

Another standout species lately has been the mulloway. These guys have been out in the bay spawning FEBRUARY 2018

87

Normality returns for regular fishing locals MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Merimbula has been a pretty busy place over recent weeks with the holiday crowds but, with school back in, some sort of normality has returned for the local fishing community.

Anglers fishing offshore have seen the marlin action hot to trot with multiple captures occurring daily.

Both black and stripies have been caught mainly by boat crews trolling lure spreads of pushers. The 70-fathom line and further east has seen most of the action. Some crews have been getting six shots a day and I know of two crews getting double hook-ups, which is awesome to see.

There has also been the odd jumbo blue encountered for those venturing even wider and one skipper I talked to told me he had a 300kg+ fish on for 7-8 minutes before the hook pulled. That’s a big animal for this neck of the woods – maybe it’s the year of the big blues with that 493kg fish off

Exmouth this month. One can only hope. It wouldn’t surprise me if a few fish were caught in closer to shore over coming weeks, especially black marlin in the 60-80kg range.

The water is 23°C in close loaded with bait and the current is pushing south – all the ingredients needed for an inshore bite.

There were a few marlin last season caught only a stone’s throw from shore, so let’s hope this season is the same. Those after a feed of bottom fish won’t have any trouble.

Snapper, morwong and kingfish are plentiful on the reefs with sand and tiger flathead in good numbers on the sand.

Fish in 30m straight off the Pambula River mouth for the sandies; the gravel edges along the reefs in deeper water are best for the tigers. You can expect a few gummy sharks too, as there have been quite a few caught with the average fish around 6-8kg – a great size for the pan.

The rocks are still firing well for the pelagic species like salmon, tailor, striped tuna and kingfish. Both Short Point and Tura Head

A perfect time for an afternoon mulloway bite. has seen most of the action with anglers using live bait fairing best on kings. I know some big fish around

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and I for one will be getting amongst them.

On the beaches both bream and whiting numbers have really increased over recent weeks and this will continue right through the month. Anglers using a lightly weighted rod with live beach worms or pipis will catch plenty with most local beaches holding fish.

The better beaches include North Tura, Tura main and Merimbula’s main beach.

Just remember most of these species will be caught just past the shore dump. A lot of anglers try and cast too far for these species and cast past them – they’re at your feet. Merimbula main has seen some solid night time shark action as well.

There have been several 6-7ft bronze whalers caught and a few bigger ones lost, so if a decent bitey is on your list, this place is worth a look for sure. If you’re after salmon and tailor, they have been a little tough of late. The better beaches that have produced a few include North Tura towards Bournda Island and Haycock to the south of Pambula, but you do have to work for them.

In the estuaries it’s all systems go with Merimbula Lake a standout. The channel section below the main bridge has been exceptional for bream, trevally, tailor and flathead with the flats adjacent to both sides of the channel producing whiting on worms and nippers on the flooding tide. In the top lake solid flathead to 80cm are being caught on a regular basis and most are let go, which is great to see.

There have been ample tailor early before the boat traffic becomes too much with plenty of snapper and bream around the ribbon weed edges in 3-5m of water.

Soft plastics and blades have worked a treat with bait fishos getting their fair share too.

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The early bird catches the big estuary fish NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Another mad January has passed for the Narooma locals who now look forward to some fishing in slightly less congested waterways. In saying that, the fishing has been pretty good, especially in the estuaries and early morning starts have been a key ingredient to more consistent results.

The bigger estuaries like Wagonga Inlet, Corunna and Dalmeny Lakes have been excellent and flathead are the main species being targeted. Fish to 90cm have been caught regularly, with most flatties averaging 40-45cm. All methods are working with smaller softplastics, live poddy mullet and strips of striped tuna all producing results. The fish are widespread, but the bigger models are coming from the shallower sections around the basin margins.

A lot of anglers think this shallow water won’t hold big fish but it will. If you have

the main highway bridge and the opposite side for the run-in tide.

Using very light leaders can be the difference to getting a few fish or a quality bag.

It’s even more important now with the increased fishing pressure and boat traffic that summer brings. Expect a few bream and flathead too if you’re fishing the main channel below the road bridge.

Decently sized trevally are a probability, especially if you use soft plastics.

Anglers fishing the beaches are catching plenty of whiting on beach worms and pipis on a flooding tide. There have been some cracking elbow-slappers up to 44cm, which is a stud sand whiting.

Most local beaches are holding fish – Brou and Narooma main are the best. The key for these guys is not to cast past the close-in gutters that these beaches have at present; a small cast on light tackle is all that’s required.

You will also get the odd bream and quality salmon when targeting the whiting.

If you’re after salmon, a paternoster rig with a bait/

best with that first two hours from dawn the prime time in my books.

If you’re after a feed of blackfish or drummer, you will get a few but you will have to work for them. I’d be looking at the golfie ledge on the far northwest corner or the southern breakwall of the bar entrance. Cabbage and weed are the pick of the baits.

At Montague Island the kingfish have been plentiful with most techniques working. Jigging has been exceptional with fish between the 60-75cm mark being most common. As we know, the legal size is 65cm, so there are quite a few undersize fish. Do the right thing and let the smaller models go. There has been the odd better fish pushing 1m but most of these have been caught on live bait. The kings are widespread with the southern pinnacles and Fowl House Reef holding plenty.

Mixed in with the kings are loads of bonito, with striped tuna schools thick at times. I’ve heard of a few black marlin hooked at the rock accidentally when

The Tuross River has plenty of EPs around this size. water temperature is hovering between 22-24°C – very warm and perfect for marlin.

All three marlin species have been caught, though stripies from 70-100kg are the most common. Trolling skirted lures and switch-baiting with live slimy mackerel have again been the best methods

for the beakies.

The fish have been widespread along the shelf, though the Tuross Canyons and Kink Grounds have had some memorable days recently. There have been reports of yellowfin tuna on the smaller side. There have been plenty of jellybeans

from 6-10kg, which is great to see, as they haven’t been around the past few seasons at that size. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few more yellowfin in the 30-50kg bracket and plenty of bull mahimahi over the coming weeks, the water looks that good.

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A decent 75cm mulloway prior to release in Tuross. a drive on your electric over this type of water you will be pleasantly surprised at how many big girls you actually spook. Fishing weedless soft plastics is dynamite in this situation. Concentrate your efforts around the pockets of sand that exist amongst the weed beds. Yes, it’s a little more challenging, and it’s highly rewarding when that croc comes aboard.

Whiting are around in big numbers too. Anglers using Bass yabbies and squirt worms are getting the best results. Again the shallower sections are the place to fish, particularly in Wagonga Inlet.

If you’re fishing the run-out tide, fish the eastern side of

popper combination will work, as will chrome lures up to 50g. The better beaches for salmon include Brou and Blackfellows just south of Tuross, though the salmon action has been patchy over the last 2-3 weeks.

Off the stones the pelagic speedsters are keeping most rock-hoppers happy. All platforms are producing – the golfie rocks in town, Dalmeny headland and High Rock near Mystery Bay are all worth a look. You can expect bonito, salmon, frigate mackerel and smaller kingfish with a mixture of chromed lures, pilchards and live bait all working at times. Early mornings seem

targeting kings on live bait. It would be great to slow troll a live bait for a beakie but due to the soaring seal population this would be near impossible to do. If you’re after a feed of flatties, they are thick lately with the 30-40m line straight out the front of Kianga producing the goods.

There have been plenty of tiger flathead in 60m on the outside edge of the rough stuff off Potato Point so it too might be worth a look. You should snaffle a few snapper on these grounds also, but the reds have been a little finicky of late.

Out wider game anglers have had good results when the weather has allowed. The

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Kingies reign continues BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

It’s that time of year when Montague Island is at its best with kingfish all fired up and on the chew, providing plenty of action for anglers.

Most methods are working like jigging, live baiting, drifting with squid or trolling, with the

and morwong are lurking.

Out wide from Montague over the Continental Shelf there is one form of fishing that is becoming even more popular in our waters and that’s deep water angling for a variety of species.

Venturing out into depths of 500m or more with the aid of electronic reels, these become more accessible than ever before, with a mixture of species on offer.

These include fish such as

There are good kings like this one to be found at Montague Island and along the coastline. latter producing its share of bonito. There are also some of those larger game species already mentioned lurking there.

The reef and bottom fishing are also in full swing with plenty to be had for all. Most of your popular flathead species are on the chew with the sandies hanging around areas like Tilba to the north, Cuttaggee, Murrah and Goalen Head to the south.

The odd nice gummy shark is also adding to the bags.

Out wider around the Four or Six Mile Reefs there are plenty of tiger flathead on the fringes after you drift off the reefs where the snapper

hapuka, blue-eye trevalla, gemfish, John Dory, ocean perch and more with the number one attraction for anglers being their excellent eating qualities.

If it’s fast, furious action you are looking for then this type of fishing isn’t for you, as it often takes up to 10 minutes for your 1-2kg sinker to take your hooks (loaded with half a slimy mackerel or generous portion of squid) down to the strike zone. More often than not it takes even longer to retrieve, but the rewards are worth it.

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February is prime marlin time, so by drifting live bait out under a bio-degradable balloon you may even find yourself hooked-up to a striped, black or blue marlin.

There are many options now; you can do that deep water fishing and then you might go targeting the marlin along the Continental Shelf with a selection of lures, or troll some live baits over and around the TwelveMile Reef where the marlin should be concentrated at this time of year.

There are also a few schools of yellowfin tuna around along with plenty of striped tuna, frigate mackerel and the odd mahimahi. Bait schools are the key. Where you find the bait like stripies, mackerel or frigates, you will find the predators like hammerhead sharks, which are everpresent at this time of year and loves all of the above.

There are plenty around and they are great fun.

Recent rains and minor flooding have the estuary systems in top shape and fishing brilliantly. No

matter where you go or what system you fish, whether you’re a bait fisho or a lure addict, you will find good angling. Nearby Wallaga Lake is still well and truly open to the ocean where it is providing some of its best fishing.

In the main lake lure fishing for duskies is excellent with plenty on the chew, along with a few nice tailor, bream and the odd pinkie snapper or mulloway.

Below the bridge towards the entrance in the channels a well-placed nipper around the weed beds will account for some nice luderick, whiting and trevally. A welllaid berley trail will bring in plenty of yellowfin bream, mullet, flathead and a nice little added by-catch of some of the largest garfish I have seen.

The Bermagui River is also playing host to many of these species. The flats fishing as the tide rises is the highlight, just scatter a few lines baited with nippers or worms over the sparselycovered weed areas and hang on – it’s great fun.

Pigfish are just one tasty species you will find around Montague Island.

A lot of these species are on the chew out on the beaches as well. With some great gutters being formed following the rains species like whiting, mullet, bream, salmon, mulloway and tailor are all calling this area home.

This is a fantastic time of year to visit Brogo Dam,

which was recently at 100% capacity and fishing brilliantly. Thankfully lots of fish stayed in the dam after the floods where anglers can take advantage of an evening or morning, either with lure or fly, as these fish feast on the insect activity associated with the warmer months of summer.

Whiting season is going great TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

This season is proving to be an exceptional one for whiting with some excellent fish on offer in good numbers, especially on Tathra Beach where the Bega River meets the ocean. Beach worms are the best bait and you can expect bream or mullet to also get into the act.

Salmon are also in good numbers along the coast with most beaches surrounding Tathra producing. Of a night anglers can expect some good tailor, sharks in the form of gummies or small whalers and the real possibility of some excellent mulloway.

It’s also a good time of year for shore-based sportfishing for passing schools of pelagics, either off the rocks or on the wharf. The wharf has its share of baitfish in the form of yakkas or slimy mackerel, which are good fun themselves. These baitfish attract predators such as kingfish, salmon, sharks or the odd tuna. One of these baitfish may produce the goods when floated out under a balloon, so have some reasonable tackle to handle the larger species.

There are plenty of other fish hanging around the wharf on offer for anglers: nice sand flathead on the

bottom, luderick close to the rocks, garfish on the surface and – of course – plenty of tailor lurking at night.

A lot of these pelagics are also on the rocks or close to them where live baits will produce from the stones, as will lures. Boaties can have some fun close to shore trolling lures or casting them to the likes of kingfish or salmon once located.

Anglers will find plenty of action offshore as well with the bottom fishing being excellent. Up north out from Wapengo there are plenty of sand flathead to be found along with some nice gummy sharks and the odd red gurnard, which isn’t dangerous to handle. These fish are also down south out from Bournda and the wider you go you’re likely to encounter the larger tiger flathead in the deep water.

It is also marlin time and for the more adventurous

anglers out wide over the Continental Shelf, blacks, blues or the more common striped marlin are around.

Lures are the best way to find where they are concentrated, then live baits may work better. Keep in mind, find the bait and you will find the predators.

All throughout the Bega River is excellent with the upper reaches producing some extreme bass in the sweet water, a number of which are exceeding 50cm.

In the deep holes spinnerbaits have accounted for the larger ones while of an evening (when the cicadas start to sing) these fish will move in the shallows, providing some good fly action.

Throughout the salty sections nearly every estuarine species is active.

Black bream can be targeted on lure or bait with the section around Blackfellows Lake one of the prime

areas. Flathead are also throughout the river where the lure anglers are having great fishing. There’s also the added bonus of some excellent mulloway from time to time in the deep sections towards the bridge.

There are plenty of whiting, luderick and mullet over the flats around the weed beds that are responding well to a fresh nippers or worms. For a little sweet taste for the table use berley of either striped tuna or mackerel to will bring in the garfish in numbers, which makes catching them easy.

The surrounding lakes like Nelsons Lagoon or Wapengo are not left behind. The fishing in them is also excellent with many of the same species already mentioned on the chew there. Both these systems are excellent for those who like to wade or kayak.

When whiting are on the chew there will often be more than one in the net.

Good catches to get in gear this February EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The town is abuzz with visitors and with all the caravan parks in the area busy, the good launching facilities and parking at Quarantine Bay caters for

anglers heading out into Twofold Bay and beyond.

Good catches of sand flathead have been found heading north towards Haycock Point with fish also being caught down a bit from South Head. For the more adventurous, the fishing in Disaster Bay has been worth the drive.

Out wider the tiger flathead have been biting with good catches of good-size fish being reported. The local reefs have been fishing well for snapper with morwong and leatherjackets also being caught along with some good sized gummy sharks.

Kingfish are also being caught down towards

Fishing is still strong MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With the holidays just passed, the boat ramps are still busy, as people head offshore and out in the lake for a day’s fishing. Bastion Point has been busy when the wind has allowed boats to head outside and the fishing has been good with decent numbers of gummy sharks being caught along with sand flathead and tiger flathead in the deeper water.

Big schools of baitfish are about, and wherever the

baitfish can be found there is a good chance of catching a kingfish. To find the baitfish keep an eye out for bird activity, trolling lures has been the way to go as you are covering more ground.

Out wider there has been little to report as the few boats that have gone out far are yet to come across fish. Along the beach salmon and a few good flathead are being caught with pilchard being the best bait.

Down at Quarry Beach gummy sharks are being caught by those fishing into the night. You never know what might turn up when fishing here, as a good cast puts the bait into deep water.

The summer weather has really got the flathead going.

The main lake at Mallacoota is closed to the ocean and it will take a good lot of rain before it will open again. Betka River is also closed. Both of the lakes have good numbers of prawns; they are a good size and will only get bigger over the coming months.

Good fishing has been had in the lake with decent catches of dusky flathead coming from both the Top and Bottom Lakes. Fish have also been caught as far upstream as Gypsy Point. Soft plastic lures have worked well and bait fishers are doing well using fresh prawn for bait. Good numbers of good-size flounder are also being caught on soft plastic lures and prawns.

Decent silver trevally are being caught in Harrisons Channel. The Narrows and the Top Lake have been fishing well for bream, both black and yellowfin, with the margins of both lakes fishing well.

Prawns are a good choice of bait and a variety of lures are working well.

A few anglers have been fishing into the night chasing mulloway, but so far there has been little to report. With the lake closed there have been some good catches of fish coming from Gypsy Point and above with reports of good black bream and flathead.

Mowarry Point. With the fish on the move chasing schools of bait, it pays to keep an eye on the birds as you search for any signs of surface action. The water out wide has really warmed up with plenty of schools of striped tuna, so it shouldn’t be long before the striped marlin make an appearance.

A variety of fish are being

caught on the local beaches, with the warm water really firing things up. Salmon are being caught along with yellowfin bream and sand whiting. A few gummy sharks are also being caught by those fishing into the night.

Good fish have been caught from the local headlands with bream, drummer and luderick

Flathead are an excellent fish for introducing kids to lure fishing.

turning up in the wash with a berley trail bringing them on the bite. Salmon are moving along the rocks and a well-placed lure will catch these travelling fish. The local estuaries are fishing well with good catches of dusky flathead taken on a variety of soft plastic lures and live baits like mullet and nippers have been catching fish for the bait anglers.

Good numbers of prawns are in the lakes and rivers as well and are great eating.

Fresh prawns are one of the best baits you can use – sand whiting, bream and flathead will take a fresh prawn with gusto.

The summer months are the time to spend the night out chasing mulloway. Fish around the full moon and new moon for the best chance of catching a fish. Both the estuaries and the beaches are worth a try.

Bass fishing is at its best over the summer months for those who don’t mind bush bashing along to find the pools the fish live in. That’s why these fish are catch and release, as it’s a lot easier to catch a feed of flathead or bream and release these great sportfish.

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91

Tackle the February challenges CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

February fishing in Canberra presents a whole new series of challenges.

Through December and January, the cod fishing after the spring storms was relatively easy, with many anglers catching small to medium sized goodoo from our local lakes and the Murrumbidgee River using a variety of techniques.

However, once most sections of our lakes and

river have been worked over, the cod wise up, with the larger specimens shutting down until winter to the frustration of many fishos.

This is where lures like spinnerbaits come into their own. Often ignored by those keen to start the season with a ‘boof,’ spinnerbaits are sometimes the only lure that will trigger a reaction from heavily fished waterways.

These lures are perfect for throwing into heavy snags where most of the good fish have retreated, as they are relatively snag-proof and

reasonably cheap compared to a swimbait. That said, it’s always worth throwing a surface lure during a session, especially in places like Tuggeranong, which isn’t heavily fished through December and January and can yield some great results for the persistent angler.

LOCAL NEWS Lake Burley Griffin is fishing well for large redfin and carp. These fish have been hitting a variety of lures from small blades through to soft plastics fished slow along the flatter

sections of the lake. There have also been a number of small cod caught at the Molongolo River by those using small divers and medium sized spinnerbaits.

The entrance to the Molongolo near the hospice is a known golden perch hotspot and there are plenty of smaller specimens hanging around the drop-off feeding on juvenile redfin.

If you’re after a big haul of goldens, head to the entrance of the river on foot or on a yak and twitch small plastics through the

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Jo Hancox with 87cm of Googong cod. middle of the water column, and make sure the plastics ‘match the hatch.’

Lake Tuggeranong is fishing well for large golden perch with the better specimens being caught at night near the lit walkways around the bridge. The

copious amounts of weed that still line the shore.

The redfin can be targeted right through the day using plastics rigged weedless or small shallow divers fished near the top of the water column.

These fish will also

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lake is also producing some big redfin and some enormous carp along with a fair few cod caught by those using spinnerbaits and surface lures.

Lake Ginninderra continues to fish well for redfin and has been the most consistent lake for targeting big reds over the last few months despite the

readily take surface offerings, especially around the dam wall late in the day.

Some anglers have switched to throwing larger plastics for Murray cod but so far only a few small fish have been caught.

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The author with a small golden caught using a soft vibe.

To page 93

Anglers are waiting for the weather to change with a high or rising barometer. Once it jumps over 1020hPa, you’ll be in for a much better chance of catching fish than you would be on a low barometer.

The wall end of the lake around the islands is great

WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

The end of summer is close, and this is good news for freshwater anglers.

The start of February, just like January, can be tough fishing during daylight hours because of the extreme heat.

In saying that, there is good news, because the second half of February is when everything begins to cool and the fishing turns right on!

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER With high 30°C temperatures, the best time to be fishing in the river is early in the morning and late in the afternoon. The river should still be running above 3m through town with the high irrigation demand.

Charles with a 70cm Murray cod that was taken trolling a 150mm AC Invader in 6m of water in Blowering Dam. feeding fish will be sitting, as it provides more cover for them as well as cooler water.

Spinnerbaits are always

tough fishing. No matter what the conditions, you can still catch fish, but you’ll have more chance on a steady lake or one that is only gradually falling.

Usually during summer though, we don’t have much of a choice, because it almost always drops in height with large releases of water.

One of the best tips I can give you if you’re wanting to fish Blowering during February is to watch the barometer. Keep an eye on future synoptic charts and try to time a night session

my favourite and a go-to lure in high flow, as you can cast them tight to the bank and allow them to sink in against the bankside timber.

Hardbody lures between 70-90mm will also work in areas that have plenty of timber below the surface.

Make sure your hardbody lure is always bumping into timber.

Bait fishing can be great

fun at this time of year, especially if you’re trying to entertain the kids. Try to find areas with shade, and also make sure you tie up your boat upstream of a good set of snags. All the usual baits will work well, including yabbies, bardi grubs and worms. If you’re bait fishing off the bank, look for the slowest areas as this will help you to get your bait to the bottom and keep it from rolling around and snagging too much.

BLOWERING DAM February is hit and miss for Blowering, but if your lure is in the water, you will still be in for a chance of a monster cod. The approach and technique is the same as what you would use in December and January; troll large hardbody lures and cast big plastics and spinnerbaits during the dark and low light periods.

If the dam is receding quickly, the fishing can be very tough. During the middle of the December just gone, the lake dropped quickly, and this made for

using soft vibes and medium sized divers. Small blades are also proving an effective lure when hopped over the top of the sunken trees. After a long period of dropping water levels, the dam is starting to fill up again which has switched the cod off to an extent.

That said, brothers Sam and Jo Hancox have caught some great fish recently using large plastics and spinnerbaits fished slow and parallel to some of the larger trees. If you’re after a Googong green, give the fish as much time as possible to check out your lure; crawl

the lure past the snag and keep it in the strike zone for as long as possible to tempt a lazy cod.

One of my favourite fisheries (which I was introduced to by young gun Codey Flack) is the Queanbeyan River. This fantastic little waterway runs through from the town centre and up to Googong. It’s fished by large numbers of local kids and has produced some great fish in recent weeks.

Cooper Newman caught a few solid Murray cod during the first few weeks of cod open using smaller topwater lures.

There are also plenty of yellowbelly and redfin in the river, all of which can be targeted using vibes, blades and divers. This is a top spot to check out if the local lakes in Canberra aren’t producing much.

Spinnerbaits are perfect for fishing tight to structure when the river is running high.

This does make it hard to fish, although the benefit is the water stays below 24°C and the fish feel comfortable and will still feed.

If you are casting lures, make sure you target the structure tight to the bank in the slowest water you can find. Mix this with shade!

At this time of year, shade is extremely important.

This is where the actively From page 92

season. However, it’s still very hit and miss.

For instance, I went for a look last week and found some good pools that I thought would hold fish and didn’t get a touch.

My friend then visited the same pool the following day using the exact same lure and caught an 80cm cod. It is this kind of inconsistency that has meant many locals have turned their attentions to dams like Googong and the Queanbeyan River.

That said, if you’re after a solid river fish, target low light periods around the new moon. Try to cast something the fish may not have seen already this season.

SURROUNDS Googong is producing large redfin and solid golden perch for those

small spinners. The quick retrieve and bright flash they emit really gets trout going. It’s a go-to lure when fishing in small streams during the summer months. Both gold and silver spinners work really

Shut-down cod require a different approach.

A cracking river golden perch for Tallis that was sitting tight up against a large fallen log. to fish at this time of year, as this areas holds plenty of smaller size fish and can make for some exciting fishing. Small lures between 70-100mm are perfect for targeting the smaller fish in the 50-80cm range.

LOCAL TROUT STREAMS Just like the previous two reports, the small trout stream fishing will still be

Small stream brown and dry flies are a summer specialty! going really well for both spin and fly anglers. Trout love the warmer weather and feed up on all the insects and bugs that are around.

One of the best trout lures to use in summer is

well and are easy to use.

Flyfishing is great fun and you cannot go past a small dry fly in summer.

The trout in these small streams can be great fun and nothing beats watching them rise to a well-placed dry fly. They will smack almost any fly you throw at them, but hopper patterns are usually the best, as this is their main food source on the surface during the hot conditions.

Royal Wulffs and Royal Stimulators will also work well. Just remember that if you’re wanting to flyfish with dry flies, make sure you have some floatant on hand, as this helps to keep your dry flies afloat and on the surface.

We are coming to the end of summer, which means the end of the above styles of great fishing, but the start of a change which brings with it even better fishing! As we move into autumn, we see some of the best months for fishing throughout the entire year!

Enjoy the February fishing, and I’ll be back next month with some new tips for fishing during March!

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Keep a range of lures ready to go this month HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

February is shaping up to be very hot and dry.

The relentless 40°C days in the Hunter and little rain have sucked down the local lakes, with levels dropping even further to maintain a flow in the rivers below. The surface water temperatures in the lakes will be at their peak this month, topping out at close to 30°C in the middle of the day.

The predicted surface bite was very slow at the start of summer. It may have had something to do with the lack of rain producing less insect life and dropping

water levels, which have pushed the shallow fish out into deeper water. Hopefully the topwater bite picks up as the summer continues.

Low light surface lures will be your best bet for catching some impoundment bass off the edge this month.

If you are lucky enough to get some foggy mornings this could extend the surface bite well into the daylight hours, or until the fog burns off. In the afternoons it may take an hour or so after the sun sets for the fish to start feeding on top, with it being so hot during the day.

All surface lures will work this month. I generally have multiple lures ready to go and slowly cycle through them, testing the fish to see

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If you’re having no luck with surface lures, try a small plastic or jerkbait. what they want. I will always use a lure type relative to the type of structure I am fishing. Weedless frogs, plastics and buzzbaits are best suited for throwing over matted weed or into treetops.

Treble hooked lures suit fishing the outside of weed and timber. As the sun sets or rises and the light changes, this seems to always be the easiest time to fool a bass on topwater. Their perception of exactly what they are eating appears to be lacking around these phases.

When you stop getting bites as that light changes, slowing right down and shaking smaller surface lures on the spot with long pauses will continue to catch some bass. Insects are the prominent food source in the lakes, and a lure just vibrating on the spot closely imitates these.

A dry fly should also catch some topwater fish, as they seem to love targeting the small insect life sitting on the water’s surface while ignoring all other offerings. If the surface bite isn’t really producing, you could try a jerkbait or small plastic around weed on the edges during the low light as well.

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Fishing during the hotter daylight hours, there will be a prominent deep bite in both Lake Glenbawn and St Clair.

The receding levels and warm water really pushes most of the fish deep. Any depth from 30-80ft you can find deep schooled fish.

Submerged trees always seem to hold concentrations of golden perch at this time of year. Even though the yellowbelly don’t breed in lakes, the warm water seems to bring on breeding behaviour. This has them schooling up together and you can see multiple fish come up, bumping a hooked fish all the way to the boat.

Smelt, gudgeon and small baitfish are the main food source in this deeper water, so a plastic is the best lure to imitate this bait. The subtle beating of a plastic’s tail wound past a fish’s nose can be hard for them to resist.

A curl-tail grub rigged on a 1/4oz head is the perfect setup for fishing vertically. A nice super slow roll seems to be the best all-round retrieve for this time of year. The main point for fishing a plastic is to ensure the lure is in front of the fish as long as possible. You can do this by using a good quality sounder to find the fish and observe your lure when dropping down the transducer beam.

By keeping the lure directly under the boat, you can see how they react to certain retrieves and know when a fish is right on your plastic.

Another option is casting plastics to these deep fish.

This can be frustrating when fishing near sunken trees as a jighead doesn’t come through a tree that easily.

In areas where you find fish suspended wider off trees or close to the bottom, a paddletail plastic on a 3/8 or 1/2oz head is ideal. Sometimes a traditional horizontal retrieve that keeps the plastic in the strike zone longer works just as well.

Count your plastic down the transducer beam under the boat to the depth the fish are holding at. This will give

you the sink rate of your plastic. Then you can cast and count your plastic down, so you can start your retrieve where the fish are holding at.

Use a slow roll of 5-10 winds then free spool or let it fall under a tight line to keep the plastic down and maintain its depth. In a finesse presentation like a plastic it’s the attention to detail that gets the bites, like rigging the plastic perfectly straight, trimming tails to ensure they swim at the slow speeds and evenly matching plastics up to jigheads.

Applying some sort of scent can certainly help if the bites aren’t coming easily.

Hot and glassed-out sunny conditions seem to be the best for a subtle plastic presentation. If the wind picks up or you’re faced with an overcast day, try using a lure with a more aggressive action. A blade or tail spinner will fit this style, as they come in heavy sizes that are easily fished in deep water.

Any weights from 3/8-1oz will get down and stay in front of the fish. The rough, stirred up water seems to get the fish moving around more and liking a more aggressive

swim back down to where it came from. The more time you have them up in the hot weather, or on a hot deck, the more it causes unnecessary distress for the fish. Unless you know how to needle a fish’s swim bladder correctly, I suggest a quick photo before you send them on their way; this should see them swim back down fine. Using a release weight is another method that will assist them getting down.

If you are keeping them in a livewell, I suggest insulating the lids and filling it first thing in the morning when the surface temperature is down. Then by setting it to recirculation, this should help minimise the water warming up, instead of pumping in the lake’s surface water as it heats up during the day. Frozen water bottles can also be used in the livewell to help keep the temperature down.

All the upper reaches of the creeks and rivers should be holding bass by now.

Being the last month of summer, a lot of fish would have pushed as far up as they could go. Given how dry it is I would stick to areas

On hot days you shouldn’t keep fish out of the water for too long. Take a quick photo and send them back. vibrating lure. Hopping these lures through the schools or slowly winding them back to the boat should see some bites.

As I spoke of last month, fish care is of high importance in summer.

These impoundment fish are non-breeding and every fingerling is hand-placed into these waterways. All fish caught from deep water will suffer some sort of barotrauma. The air in the fish’s swim bladder expands, causing it to struggle to

that still have some flow.

There may be some isolated pools that are holding fish but there will be more fish in the running sections.

With the weather being so hot, the bass should still be aggressive towards a topwater lure. Anywhere with overhanging trees creating shade is a great area to start. The reliable river lures will always produce at this time of year; try crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs and a weedless soft plastics when topwater lures fail.

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The Murray cod in the Peel have also been on the chew with most fish being 40-60cm. If you’re serious about targeting the cod, larger lures like spinnerbaits and 100mm+ diving lures will see you into a few larger fish.

Extra large surface lures are accounting for a few monsters south of town; patience and perseverance are needed to find these monster Murray cod, but the satisfaction of landing a Murray cod over a metre long on a surface lure is something most people only dream about. It does happen, so be prepared for many fishless trips throwing big lures – the reward is priceless.

CHAFFEY DAM Chaffey Dam is a beautiful dam situated 35km from town and it’s home to both golden and silver perch, as well as Murray cod, eel-tailed catfish and European carp. The dam

around the weeds using small vibrating lures will be productive but keeping the football-sized goldens out of the weed is another story. Golden perch are also suckers for a well-presented bait; fishing baits of worm and shrimp is as good as it gets for most species in this dam, so be sure to carry either of these baits for your chance at a quality mixed bag.

TRALI

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Adam Memorey with a beautiful fish on one of his own True Blue lures.

LAKE KEEPIT Keepit Dam has been hit and miss over the last couple of months, but with recent big cod captures on the rise it should continue to fish well right though until the end of summer.

Golden perch have dominated the catches and the guys using worms and yabbies around the copious amounts of standing timber have been rewarded with bent rods and full bags.

Following the old riverbed and casting lipless crankbaits past any likelylooking locations should see you on the money. Fishing deep and hopping lures along the bottom will see perch up to 60cm in length peeling line from your reels.

The European carp in the dam have finished their spawning season now and are in full force, so if you want to have some fun with the kids while doing the ecosystem a favour then head out there with a tub of worms, some corn kernels and some bread.

Hang on, because the action will be thick and fast and you won’t be able to wipe the smiles off their faces for days.

Personally, I think there is nothing more exciting than casing for the bronzed brutes on the fly. Their size and pulling power is just epic.

Woolly Buggers and worm patterns work for me, and a nice 6wt setup with some 8lb leader is more than capable of stopping these fish so get stuck into them.

AN

level was holding steady recently and the fish are following the normal pattern. They’re shallow early and late in the day and holding deep when the sun is high.

My favourite way to find fish in this dam is to find the many weed beds scattered around the western foreshore of the dam. Fishing finesse tackle

•A

Stephen Mears with a little cod caught on a spinnerbait.

MA

Well it’s February and the mercury is soaring, but if you fish smart and get on and off the water before the sun melts you, you will be rewarded.

It’s something all anglers feel at this time of year as we poke, probe and plop our artificial lures deep into the overhanging willows and rocky outcrops. Surface fishing has been spectacular recently, so get out there and hit your favourite holes for some red-hot fishing.

PEEL RIVER Stretches of the Peel River north and south of Tamworth in recent months have been fishing very well with many 1m+ fish being caught – not that I can find them. Golden perch have been actively feeding on shrimps and yabbies. Lure fishing for these tough little natives has also been productive with vibration lures being a good starting point.

AND OW

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For more information or to find your nearest Stessco dealer visit The author with a night surface cod caught on a Honey Hole lure.

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Adam Townsend

The New England area has been fishing well lately and February shouldn’t be any different. Recent downpours have got the rivers flowing quicker than normal, putting a bit of a fresh back into the local impoundments, which is much-needed after both dams dropping water throughout January.

Copeton Dam has been dropping all month and this has made the fish move a little deeper, making them a bit harder to catch than normal.

Fish still have to eat, and the anglers putting in the effort have still been getting rewards.

For the cod, the two most productive methods still seem to be surface lures in the low light periods and swimbaits during the day, whether you’re casting to points and bays or trolling them along grassy flats.

Golden perch are still being caught on blades and vibes, but not in the numbers

A lovely Severn River cod taken on a Westin Swim 120mm. and the old small trout has also been caught further upstream in the skinnier water as by-catch.

The Severn River has been fishing really well too,

frogs, lizards, redfin or diver ducks in this waterway will put you in with a good chance of finding an active fish in the right conditions, as these are the cod’s main food source. I was lucky enough to upgrade my personal best fish from the river with a massive 110cm

Murray cod off the surface on a Mimix Water Dragon lure fishing the early hours of the morning.

Good luck to all venturing out on the water this month, and don’t stop casting, as you never know when the next good fish will eat your lure!

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Even in the middle of the day, the right approach can see you hooked up to good cod like this. they were a month ago. This is a sign that maybe they are already starting to spread out again. Fishing the inlets where water is flowing into the dam has been the most productive way to find them, especially where there is thick structure nearby.

Pindari Dam has been a similar story after water levels receded for most the month. The dam is high, but still dropping. There have not been many reports of anglers having trips with great numbers of fish like Pindari is well known for, although Pindari has always proved to be pretty tough fishing when water levels are dropping. Just like Copeton, I often find fishing the inlets productive, especially after rain.

The Beardy River has been pretty hit and miss, although the reddies have been getting caught in all sizes, with the water a little coloured from the muddy banks. Vibes with a rattle have been most effective,

and good numbers of fish have been getting caught off the surface in the twilight hours since the season opened, with subsurface methods working during the day. As I mentioned in previous reports, imitating

The author’s new PB river fish of 110cm!

The Mimix Water Dragon lure imitates a lizard really well, and is a perfect snack size for a big cod.

Time to get serious again COPETON DAM

David Allen manager@copeton.com.au

Things have settled down at Copeton Waters Holiday Park, and now it’s time to get serious about fishing again. December and January have fished really well, with the cod continuing to be number

method of choice, with Mazzy Vibs, the Jackall TN series and ZX40 blades the star performers.

Catfish have also been giving the bait and lure angler some entertainment over the last month. Catties can be very aggressive when nesting, and this is when the lure casters get some surprises when their good cod or huge yellowbelly

There are still some big yellowbelly on offer for those ready to put in the time and effort. one on most anglers’ hit lists, and they haven’t disappointed, with a number of metre fish being caught recently.

Yellowbelly have been on and off over the holiday period, with some anglers finding the fish and doing really well while others have struggled. As usual, vertical presentation of various sinking lures has been the

turns out to be a big catfish!

Last year probably saw more cod caught at Copeton than ever before, and it would be impossible to know how many cod were caught for the year, but it would be in the thousands. Some local anglers caught well in excess of one hundred fish for the year, with some scoring 20-30 fish over the magic metre. It would be

fair to say that Copeton produced hundreds of fish over a metre.

As far as I know, Adam Reay from Tamworth got the best for the year, with a 1,340mm monster the week before Christmas. Adam is here at Copeton every couple of weeks right through the year, and I would say that fish was reward for effort.

While talking size, after six and a half years of managing Copeton Waters and having fished the dam for 40 years, I have never seen a 70cm yellowbelly.

I’ve heard stories, but I’ve never seen one on a brag mat. A 68cm is the biggest I have seen in the flesh.

There might be something I can rattle up prize-wise for a genuine 70cm Copeton yellowbelly on a brag mat…

stay tuned.

Tim Mutimer from Inverell has added some new natural Copeton colours (live prints) to his range of Ninja sound Mazzy Vibes for this season. Tim has also just released the Slide Boomer; this is a one-piece deep profile swimbait that is 100mm long and weighs 40g. After almost two years of design and with 58 prototypes thrown in the bin, it finally does what he intended. Super slow sink and retrieve speeds with a wide S-Curve action was the intention. These are going to be great in the rivers as well as the dams, and there are four freshwater live print colours, including bobby cod, yellowbelly, perch and orange carp.

All the talk of big

A whopping 134cm of Murray cod doesn’t come along every day, so it’s important to handle these fish with care to ensure their survival.

The kind of Copeton pig that this area is renowned for. fish reminds me of how important it is to handle these wonderful fish carefully to ensure their survival when released. One of the main things to remember when releasing fish at this time of the year is temperature.

Water temperature will effect both cod and yellowbelly, and the problem is the difference between the water temperature at the level the fish are comfortable in, which might be as deep as 40-50ft and 15-16°C, and the surface temperature might be as warm as 30°C. This variance can really knock the fish around, and deep water release devices are worth their weight in gold at this time of year. When fish are deep, barotrauma is also a problem, and again deep water release weights

are the best option to aid a good release.

Hot surfaces can be fish killers, so ensure that if you must lay a fish down that it is on a wet, cool surface. Splash water onto the floor before lifting a fish into the boat, or dip your brag mat into the water before using it. A hot dry floor or brag mat can damage a fish’s protective slim coating, and while they may swim away, their chance of longterm survival may be slim.

Please take care of our big fish.

• Copeton Dam is one of the best lakes in NSW to catch a trophy Murray cod. Dave runs the Copeton Waters Holiday Park and is a great source of up to date, local information on what’s biting.

Contact the park on (02) 6723 6269 for information and accommodation bookings.

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Looking good for this season’s fly fishing JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson steve@swtroutfishing.com.au

Welcome to February and the last month of summer.

Due to the late season and cooler conditions in early summer, the flyfishers are only now experiencing the best flyfishing for years. With lots of bugs about now the trout are leaping for joy!

The water level on the streams is lower and clearer and also much more fishable after all the regular summer storms. The fish are still mainly taking hopper patterns and beetle patterns. The Thredbo River continues to fish

NEW

okay but again the water is clear and the trout are very spooky.

Perisher Creek is well worth a try if you like dry flyfishing; it’s great if it’s not too cold and windy up there. Spencers Creek is also an option.

Some of the best lake flyfishing is over the coming months and this year with the steady lake level we should see some big fish caught. Try any of the streamer patterns, and olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The South Arm, Creel Bay and Kangaroo Bay are all great.

The boat trolling this year has been very good and we are still catching

trout on the surface, as the water temperature isn’t as warm as in previous

lines you should start with two colours (20m) early and three colours (30m)

Chatterbaits

Spinnerbaits

Clackerbaits

Dave and Lotti Staig with a great rainbow trout.

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years. We have been using downriggers on the really hot and bright days. The downrigger depth hasn’t into the equation. With lead

later in the morning.

Try yellow and brown colours at the moment.

Black and gold lures like the and holographic

Tasmanian Devil have been the best for darker conditions and have also been good for downrigging.

I have also been doing well with 9cm hardbodies down off the downrigger and lead lines. The best colours are rainbow trout and brown trout. Gaden Trout Hatchery released the baby rainbow trout fingerlings into Jindabyne last month so all natural rainbow trout colours are working well.

With water levels still high, some of the better trolling areas this month will be Hatchery Bay, Hayshed Bay and Sids Bay through to Rushes Bay. Watch the rocks; the East Jindabyne Islands start to reappear as the water levels drop.

The best lure spinning has been on the lake in the shallow bays early and late in the day. You can start by spinning the edges with small bladed spinners or flicking Strike Tiger soft plastics. Late in the day areas with steep dropoffs and plenty of rocks will be the best. Bays like Creel and Hatchery and the Snowy Arm all fish well.

On brighter days, change to a winged lure and cast further out over dropoffs, letting the lure sink before you slowly retrieve.

The best areas have been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park.

Fish are still being caught in the Thredbo River also on small floating minnow lures with the best colours being rainbow trout and goldfish patterns.

On the smaller streams

like the Moonbah River or upper Snowy River a variety of lures will work, but the best will be small bladed spinners.

Bait fishing on Lake Jindabyne has been good over recent months with the higher water levels.

Mudeyes have been very scarce this year but if you’re lucky enough to get some they have been good used under a float at about a 2m drop. If you can’t get mudeyes then worms under a float are still worth trying.

Another bait worth suspending under a float is the old faithful grasshopper, which is one you don’t see used much these days. They work a treat and there are plenty about at the moment, however you might need the kids with a butterfly net to help you collect the bait.

The best bait fishing areas are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay and Curiosity Rocks. Another great area is the bottom of Discovery Holiday Park near Widows Creek Inlet.

If you would like some personal guiding, I will be available over the coming months for flyfishing tuition and lake trolling trips. Lessons can be booked from two hours and trolling trips from three hours to a full day.

Until next month, I hope you catch the big one.

• If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions, just give me a call on (02) 6456 1551 or check out my website at www.swtroutfishing.com.au.

And you can see our daily Facebook updates at www. facebook.com/LJTFA.

DAM LEVELS brought to you by w w w. b a r g a i n b o a t b i t s. c o m . a u

Dam............................... % Full

Dam............................... % Full

Dam Nov Dec Jan Blowering 63 57 45 Brogo 74 102 102 Burrendong 68 66 55 Burrinjuck 60 66 65 Carcoar 90 87 80 Chaffey 90 89 84 Clarrie Hall n/a n/a n/a Copeton 52 49 39 Dartmouth 87 87 88 Eucumbene 38 40 41 Glenbawn 85 84 81 Glenlyon 72 72 69

Dam Nov Dec Jan Glennies Creek 78 77 74 Hume 83 76 68 Jindabyne 68 75 74 Keepit 58 53 32 Lostock 87 82 71 Oberon 82 78 76 Pindari 100 100 86 Split Rock 30 29 29 Tantangara 18 28 40 Toonumbar 101 101 100 Windamere 47 47 46 Wyangala 81 81 80

(All levels correct at time of going to press. Dam levels can change at any time, so please check with local authorities to ensure safe boating and fishing.)

98

FEBRUARY 2018

Zara Johnston caught this beautiful brown trout.

The deluge challenge for visiting cod anglers ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

For the start to the cod season and the first month of summer the heavens opened and a deluge of rain turned the river on its head. Before the rains arrived some very good cod were landed on lures in the Murray River around Swan Hill. That quickly changed as the river swelled to an inflow of dirty water and the lure bite stopped as quickly as it begun.

This was not the end of the fishing as bait anglers cashed in on a hot bite; cod after cod was caught from bank and boat. One group of once-a-year fishos caught a respectable nine cod between 60 and 85cm in a single afternoon’s fishing from a sandbar. Cheese was the bait of choice, closely followed by chicken.

Swan Hill Tackle

Beating the heat – Jock Mackenzie with a solid Murray cod taken on a Cod Hopper surface lure. proprietor Jim Credlin said it has been a great start to the cod season with most anglers catching fish. Credlin also

said what’s most exciting is that some of these cod have measured in at a metre or more. He commented that it’s

great to see larger cod once again being caught in our local waters. With any luck the weather will settle down

and the river will quickly turn to its normal levels.

Downstream to Robinvale on the Murray River, the word on cod captures is quiet to say the least – not a single reported capture over a month into the season. I cut my teeth catching big Murray cod in these waters but I fear I will be plonking them in a glass of water beside my bed before these fish are once again about in numbers. It’s sickening to dwell on what’s been lost.

On a brighter note, good numbers of golden perch have been biting at this location on bait. It’s a similar story downstream through Wemen on the Murray and beyond. Good numbers of perch have been caught on bait but there are no real confirmed cod captures.

The Darling River at Pooncarie and downstream has been producing a few cod on bait. Cheese, prawns and chicken are among the best.

It’s amazing how Murray cod will forgo a natural bait in order to gobble down those prepared in the kitchen.

The water clarity along the Darling is still very poor, so it will be a while before we see much real lure action in this river.

As the Murray River begins to fall away after the recent high flows the best bite should continue to be on bait. No doubt the water clarity will remain poor until the river levels out once again. Perhaps then it will clear a little and be more suited to the use of lures. There are plenty of keen anglers waiting for this to happen.

Remember it is very hot up this way during the summer months so slip, slop, slap and don’t forget the mozzie spray or you will be eaten to bits. A bit of night fishing might be the way to avoid the heat and cash in on the nocturnal habits of larger Murray cod.

Mulwala’s the place for full-on February cod YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

The roar and buzz of the holiday boating traffic has lessened to a constant hum allowing fishos to come out from hiding. We are now entering the prime few months of fishing at Mulwala with February through to April being the pick of times. Early season has seen the swim and glidebaits coming into their own fooling more fish than most other lures.

I believe cod wizen up

over time to certain types of lures and they are now taking a liking to these as they haven’t seen a lot of them in the past. There are many companies jumping on board the ‘swimbait bus.’ A slightly heavier and longer rod than the traditional 6ft, 6kg models will see you delivering these lures with ease. Another benefit of upsizing your gear is that you will have the firepower in hand to tame a beast if you do come across one.

For those choosing to bait fish, you still can’t go past the traditional bardi grub if

you can get hold of them.

Yabbies have accounted for their fair share of good fish this season while a wellplaced scrub worm will also do the trick. Interestingly, for the second year running cheese accounted for more fish in this year’s Cod Classic than any other individual bait or lure!

Looking back, the 2017 Yamaha Cod Classic proved another great success with some great cod being caught.

Even after receiving the worst weather predictions, 2300 keen anglers hit the lake in hope. Conditions were more

Kyle Stevenson’s 122cm beast that helped him win Champion Angler at the 2017 Cod Classic.

conducive to bait fishing and this proved successful, as near on 500 legal cod were measured and released.

A monster stretching the tape out to 122cm caught by Kyle Stevenson on a bardi grub got the chocolates for the adult section while junior Marcus Hope trolled up a beauty measuring 100.5cm to claim bragging rights in his division.

After the Cod Classic and into the holiday period it was hectic with plenty of quality reports. To give everybody a mention would see me running out of ink!

Those that exceeded the 90cm mark included Steve Ryan at 92cm, Marshall Elliot – 93cm, Bailey and Paul Thomas with 95cm and 96cm, Trent Goldman with 96cm, Joel Thomas with 100cm, Braidy Lewis with 102cm, Glen Spinks with 106cm, Owen Conway with 115cm and John Thurston with 120cm. Apologies to those who I forgot. Above Bundalong David Foster and mates had a ball landing a 125cm and 100cm.

Apart from the cod, below the weir there have been many reports of quality yellas being taken. The 55cm models are common with best methods being shrimp or yabbies bobbed around timber or a well-placed smaller sized willow bladed spinnerbait.

The competition season is upon us with a few events coming up over the next couple of months. The first is the ever-popular Lowrance Da$h 4 Ca$h on 17-18

February. Following this is the His and Hers Partners Classic on 3 March. To round out the competition season is the Cod Nationals, four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler held between 15-18 March.

Happy fishing and all the best for the new season.

• If you are visiting town,

I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish, Camp & Ski (opposite the post office) in Mulwala and say G’day. We are your largest Murray cod-specific shop in Yarrawonga/Mulwala and specialise in all things ‘green’! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on (03) 5744 3133.

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Escaping the heat Avoiding the middle of the day in summer is not something just us humans do, as fish also feel uncomfortable in the middle of very hot days and they will seek deep water or hide on the shady side of any structure, making them very hard to entice.

BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

During February, no matter what your target species is, the best fishing will be always be very early and late in the day and throughout the night.

REDFIN There is the one exception to this, with redfin not feeling the effects of hot days as much as our natives or trout. Redfin can still be caught all day long on hot days, and are your best target if you just have to fish during the day. At this time of the year, they can be found anywhere from the surface all the way down to about 40ft deep, so it pays to have a good sounder to make locating them that much easier.

The best techniques depend on the depth of the located school, but if they’re holding deep and tight to the bottom, then I recommend jigging with ice jigs, blades or rubber vibes.

Alternatively, if they’re

This season has been one of the greatest trout seasons on record, and the SSO Mino pictured has been a stand-out producer of trout in the running water and the lakes. as one of the greatest on record, with insane numbers in creeks, rivers and lakes.

If you’re into flyfishing, this month will be great, with some spectacular dry fly

Brody Kenningale with a lovely golden perch caught while targeting Murray cod. Golden perch will make a pleasant by-catch for those targeting Murray cod this month.

MURRAY COD This month will see your best chances of catching a Murray cod on the surface at either our creeks and rivers or our lakes. If you’re targeting the lake fish, especially at Blowering, stick to large presentations that imitate large lizards and small birds. These creatures are what the large fish are looking for.

In the rivers like Murrumbidgee and Murray, it is best to use more

more fish, however the hit may not be as exciting or as spectacular as with a surface lure. In my opinion, who cares if it’s a surface strike or not – if the fish you catch is well over a metre, which is often the case at places like Blowering Dam, that’s good enough for me.

The best subsurface options for Murray cod are large hardbodies if fishing the large rock walls or large plastics, chatterbaits and Angel Baits for repeat

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Redfin can be easily caught from the bank at this time of year, and a small, lightly-weighted soft plastic is all you need to catch a good bag of these succulent fish. in quite shallow water or suspending, then casting and retrieving or trolling with small lipless crankbaits and plastics will be your best bet.

Again, I’ve made a short video on how to use plastics off the bank at Blowering to catch redfin, and you can find that on the Insanity Tackle YouTube channel.

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action. If nothing is hatching, it is very hard to beat a large foam hopper fly splashed down, and running a small bead head nymph below the hopper will account for any fish that aren’t willing to stick their nose out and grab your dry fly.

Alternatively, spinning with lures will account for many aggressive trout. We are getting great results on the new SSO Mino.

Any trout that isn’t willing to take the dry fly will happily grab the suspending nymph this month. This twin fly rig is all you need for an action-packed day on the trout. conventional size surface lures that imitate the large cicadas found along these rivers.

If surface luring isn’t your thing, using subsurface lures will most often catch

casting in around the margins of the lake. These same mentioned lures are also ideal for casting in around the submerged snags of the Murrumbidgee and Murray rivers.

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Going to extremes to get results LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

“The rock walls that surround me are almost too hot to touch. I can feel the heat from them coming up through my boots; it’s like being in one big giant oven.”

This is from a diary entry from back in February 2017 during a walk along a western waterway chasing cod. The walk was a long one and in hindsight, possibly better done later in the year. Not just from a fishing point of view, but from a safety perspective – heatstroke is not nice. I’ve been nailed a number of times by heatstroke, mostly due to poor planning and pushing myself beyond my limits. This particular time I went close, but had enough sense to read the signs and pull back the throttle.

Replacing water is not enough in extreme conditions, and electrolytes or the minerals that are part of your make-up leech out with your sweat, so they must be replaced. Luckily, sports science has a pretty good handle on this with many premixed drinks and powders readily available.

I generally buy a bulk container in powdered form and keep it in the car, then just divvy some up in snap lock bags to put in a backpack, then it’s just a matter of mixing it into a container or bladder as you drink.

Ensuring you drink enough quality water is also important; long gone are the days of drinking out of any mountain stream or river.

Water is heavy and taking enough in can be a real issue in extreme conditions, but once again, technology has developed ways and means of conditioning even the

worst water into a safe and viable option. Everything from tablets, inline replacement filters and UV treatments are available, so do your research. Obviously being mobile is the key, so you need something that you can carry with you.

when you will be back, and it is best to inform somebody who is at least familiar with the area you are going to.

Do your research. There really is no excuse these days for not being prepared – I always watch the weather leading into a trip

Summer sunsets are a signal to get busy fishing in February. Make sure you cash in on the bounty that presents itself after dark!

THE FISH FEEL IT TOO Even though our native fish have developed and evolved with this wide brown land and are well adept at handling such conditions, they too are affected by such conditions.

In some ways, extreme conditions can actually narrow your search windows or areas to target, with shaded areas under trees, undercut banks and deeper water providing sanctuary for fish in hot conditions.

Get all three scenarios with some mild current flow, and I’ll bet pounds to peanuts that something will be home.

Getting them to bite may be tough, depending on local conditions and pressures, bite windows or times of increased activity, which usually coincide with cooler parts of the day, after dark or very early in the morning.

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and am prepared to cancel if heatwave conditions are forecast.

Avoid walking during the hotter parts of the day, this is a good time to rest in the shade and take it easy.

GO DEEP FOR TROUT It’s a no brainer that in waterways such as Lake Lyell, TCD (Thompsons

Creek Dam) and Lake Oberon, it really does pay to go deep at this time of year.

How deep? That depends, but from previous experience it’s 30-40ft in most cases, sometimes deeper, especially during the warmer parts of the day.

Boat-based anglers in Lake Lyell have a few more options, but a quality depth sounder is a must, as this allows you to target areas where you are seeing concentrations of fish and bait.

Getting down to them can be done by a number of different means, but for efficiency, trolling techniques such as down rigging, the use of lead core line or a paravane is hard to beat. Boat-based drift fishing with full sink fly lines and big streamer flies can also work well.

Landlubbers need not despair at any of the abovementioned lakes. It’s about finding deeper water, and it’s usually associated with steeper banks.

Casting and retrieving spoon-type lures is one of my favourite methods of targeting these deeper waters in summer, and having a variety of different shape and weight spoons allows

Extreme conditions can mean burning the midnight oil. Cooler periods occur after hours, and this can be a productive time. you to cover a number of different scenarios and depths. Covering water and counting down is important, so know your sink rates and always have some contact with the spoons as they fall – this is when most trout will hit!

BE CONSIDERATE Being considerate of other water users on our busy

lakes and impoundments at this time of year is important, and luckily, for the most part, good fishing times actually line up with more quiet times on the water, so it works in well. Plan around this and you will find things much more bearable.

Hope to see you on the water soon. Until then, tight lines!

CHIFLEY DAM

Cabins

Ideal Midweek Getaway Preparation and planning is the key to successfully pulling off cod missions west of the Great Dividing Range in more remote areas. Safety should be at the forefront of your mind at every turn, and staying properly hydrated is a big part of this.

THIS SPIRIT 1 electric outboard is powered by a built in 1KWH Lithium-ion Battery. Giving 1.5hrs of MAX power running or if your leisurely using this motor the battery can last up to 5 hrs of use.

Equivalent to a 3hp petrol outboard. Just without the noise and pollution. It weighs 16kg including the battery. The inbuilt battery can be changed with the simple lift of a release handle.

THE FUTURE IS HERE

For more information call (02) 9532 0002

Comfortable affordable accommodation Close to Bathurst and all its facilities Talk to Bathurst Visitor Information Centre for details

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10HP OF POWER This is the most powerful electric motor in the ePropulsion range. Pumping out a massive 6KW of power which is equivalent to a 10hp petrol outboard. This motor is available in either tiller control or forward control. Forward control uses a wireless throttle and gear shifting control box. Silent, zero emissions and maintenance free makes this motor a pleasure to own.

Email: info@islandinflatables.com.au

www.epropulsion.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI VIBELICIOUS 1 UV SQUID

DTD WHITE KILLER OITA

Samaki Vibelicious brings a new colour to the lure market: UV Squid.

This new pattern is all about the detail. It has long tentacles extending over the tail, and a soft spot and stripe details add the pearl underbody plus a very lifelike green eye. This colour has proven itself time and time again in field testing around Australia, accounting for barra, mulloway, bream and flathead to name a few. The fish-attracting features of the Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper Tail are further enhanced by the ultra-violet properties of the new UV Squid colour.

The Vibelicious Fork Tail and Thumper Tail come in three sizes: 70mm, 100mm and 125mm. The 100mm and 125mm models have now been upgraded with new BKK Raptor Z Hooks and new Decoy EX Strong split rings. New quality hardware like this assists longevity and promotes better hookups, as the hook penetration is on point.

As always our Vibelicious contains premium Japanese Stainless wire and is made of the toughest 10X super stretch material. www.samaki.com.au

The White Killer Oita is the latest innovative European squid jig to hit the Australian market. Manufactured by leading Croatian company DTD, this baby is taking the world by storm.

Unlike any other product in the market, the defining difference is the White Killer cannot help but be noticed by any lurking predators. Made with all the durability and quality you’d expect from DTD, it is bright, attractive, and features three unique ‘glow’ points. The body of the jig omits a green glow in night conditions, and the coloured ‘spine’ is UV enhanced and ensures high visibility during daytime conditions. And as if that wasn’t enough, the side of the lure features a blue glow point to once again enhance visibility.

These glow qualities, coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensure great balance and results in superior catching ability. The White Killer Oita is available now in three sizes (2.5, 3.0, and 3.5).

Price: SRP $17.95 www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

WILSON LARGE LURE WRAP

SAMURAI OSPREY BOAT RODS

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The arrival of the Wilson Large Lure Wrap has allowed lovers of big lures to keep themselves, their lures and their rods safe from the rigours of travel on the water and during transport.

The damage that can be caused to a rod blank, the bindings and the guides can be quite significant if you travel any distance in a boat with lures rigged (as almost all of us do). The Wilson Large Lure Wrap stops this damage by protecting the rod blank from a wildly swinging and swaying lure. Measuring 26cm x 28cm, the Large Lure Wrap securely encloses both the lure and the rod, stopping the lure from banging around while you are underway.

Additionally, the wrap reduces the risk of anglers catching themselves on the hooks, and allows for better storage of rigged rods, whether in rod lockers or in rod stands.

The Large Lure Wrap comes in a single pack and measures 26cm x 28cm. It is simple, effective and one of those products that you can’t believe you didn’t think of yourself. www.wilsonfishing.com

OBSESSION GUMMY 3 BAITS Large spinnerbaits to target big Murray cod are a must-have for serious native fish anglers. Australian-made Obsession Spinnerbaits have plenty of options in their Gummy Bait range to meet the needs of these anglers.

Available in 3/4oz, 1oz and 1 1/8oz and four blade configurations (single, double, quad and six blades on request), Gummy Baits are designed to tickle the fancy of Australia’s largest freshwater fish. There is a huge range of head colours, which are matched with Obsession’s hot tip and turbo-flared skirts and finished off with a curl-tail grub and stinger hook to match the head. If you love casting or trolling large spinnerbaits, Obsession Gummy baits are for you.

To find out more about Obsession Spinnerbaits you can contact Ray on 0428 462 397, or to find your nearest stockist go to the Obsession Spinnerbaits website. www.obsessionspinnerbaits.com 102

FEBRUARY 2018

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Samurai has released a new series of all-rounder boat rods with user-friendly actions and a wide weight range, perfect for any offshore boat style fishing.

These very versatile rods can be used for bait fishing, lures, trolling, casting or for the keen jigger.

Each rod is fitted with the finest rod components by Fuji — anti-tangle K Frame guides with alconite rings and Fuji reel seats.

The grips are custom shaped and the rods are pimped out with aluminium decorative parts for some essential bling. A premium rubber gimbal cap is dual purpose: fit it into your rod holder or hold it freestyle. There’s no need for those annoying caps anymore that everyone loses!

There are six models, all 6’0”: OS-25 (1525lb, spin), OS-40 (20-40lb, spin), S-60 (3060lb, spin), OS-H25 (15-25lb, overhead), OSOH40 (20-40lb overhead), OS-OH60 (30-60lb overhead). www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

EGI OH Q LIVE COLOURS

PRODUCT GUIDE

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The Yamashita Egi Oh Q Live series has eight new high-contrast colours added to its range. These incorporate UV and glow paint to create a unique contrast to the cloth and undertape.

Like all Live jigs, they are fitted with the ‘warm jacket’ cloth which converts light into heat. This capacity to hold a level of heat similar to natural fish makes the Lives more successful in attracting squid interest, helping you to catch squid even when conditions are tough.

These jigs also have a patented thin nose design, which minimises water resistance when hopped to give the jig more action for less effort. Other features include large, flat eyes with a glow edge, super fine spikes, Hyper Direct SUS eyelet to maintain jig strength and protect against breakage or leaks, a knife-edged sinker to reduce resistance in the water, and a strike body to make it easy to retrieve the jig. It also has a much longer casting distance than many other jigs, and comes in 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.5 sizes. www.ejtodd.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING STORM GOMOKU SURF RODS

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No one knows what crustacean or insect ZMan’s new creature bait is meant to imitate, but the TRD HogZ has already accounted for a stack of species in both the fresh and salt.

Plenty of moving parts, in the form of large antennae and fine legs, create vibration and water movement, while the natural buoyancy of the 10X Tough ElaZtech material encourages an ‘antennae up’, life-like pose when at rest on the bottom. This buoyancy, combined with TT Lures’ new NedlockZ jighead, creates a deadly stand-up presentation that reduces snagging and puts those antennae right in the face of the fish, triggering strikes.

A ribbed body adds to the realistic feel and creates additional water movement, while also being perfect for holding scent. A solid core allows the TRD HogZ to be trimmed shorter for a more finesse presentation.

Available in six natural colours, the TRD HogZ is a go-to for anglers chasing bream, bass, trout, redfin, flathead and more.

Price: SRP $10.95 (6 pack) www.z-man.com.au

CODGER TOPWATER

ET’S FISHING ADVENTURES

LUMO SNAPPER SNATCHER

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The world renowned Storm Gomoku micro and light jigging rods are the ultimate weapon for all manner of vertical fishing in both salt and fresh water – and they are now available for surf and rock fishers as well.

Light and powerful, the new Gomoku surf rods have soft tips for casting distance and accuracy but plenty of power in the lower end to be able to stop even the biggest mulloway or Australian salmon.

They feature hi-modulus graphite blanks, colour-coded shrink wrap grips, Fuji KR Stripper Guides, Fuji O Guides and Fuji Reel seats.

Gomoku surf rods are available in three lengths of 9ft 2-piece medium heavy, 12’ 2-piece medium, and 13’ 3-piece heavy.

Line breaking strains range from 8kg up to 15kg on the heaviest model, and lure casting weights start at 30g all the way through to 150g. They are available now at all leading tackle retailers. www.stormfishing.com.au

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Graham Saunders, the man behind Goulburn Lures, has expanded his Codger range into the topwater market with his Codger Topwater.

Easy to use, these super strong lures have a super loud clacking and splashing action that will tempt even the most fussy Murray cod. Available in nine colours, they come equipped with double rear split rings and are fitted with VMC 3X tough trebles for an increased hook-up rate.

The Codger Topwater has a medium sized profile that can be cast using your standard cod fishing tackle. No need for specialised rods and reels – just put a Codger Topwater on and you can experience the cod surface fishing that everybody is talking about. Or if you just love catching Australian native fish using surface lures, then here is another quality offering from an Australian lure maker that is a must-have for your tackle box.

Price: SRP $25 goulburn.lures@bigpond.com

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ZMAN 3” TRD HOGZ

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Black Magic Snapper Snatcher flasher rigs have landed some serious fish over the years, and it’s not by luck.

Australian anglers continue to swear by their quality, and constantly send Black Magic great fish photos and feedback. Now the range has been further improved with the exciting new super lumo colour.

This new rig is tied with the popular KL recurve hooks and Tough Trace, but what makes it stand out is the ‘flash’ colour, Super Lumo. The rigs tied with this material out-performed many other products during field testing, and this is due to their high luminosity and UV content. And you can also ‘super charge’ them with a Black Magic UV Torch.

Snapper Snatcher super lumo rigs are available in sizes 5/0, 6/0 and 8/0. For more information visit the Black Magic website, or look them up on Facebook for all the latest catch photos, news and competitions. www.blackmagictackle.com

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ET’s Ultimate Fishing Adventures features Andrew Ettingshausen’s favourite fishing destinations with hundreds of his wonderful images, essential tips and background stories of adventure. This is the ideal book for any casual or novice angler who dreams of landing the perfect catch. While reading its photo-filled pages you will explore some of the most beautiful fishing destinations across Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Isles with ‘ET’ as your guide.

ET’s extensive fishing experience makes him a knowledgeable and well-rounded author. While filming Escape with ET and Seafood Escape, he has travelled all around Australia, trekking inland to its rivers and gorges and fishing the deep blue oceans offshore to find the best fishing destinations.

His adventures have also taken him to New Zealand, the Pacific Isles and countless islands and territories around our continent.

ET’s Ultimate Fishing Adventures, published by New Holland Publishers, is available from all good bookstores or from the New Holland website.

Price: SRP $49.99 www.newhollandpublishers.com

HURRICANE FAT 37 12 SHALLOW CRANK Hurricane Lures is continuing to expand its range of tournament-tested quality lures, which are not only suitable for the tournament angler but the everyday angler as well. The new Fat 37 Shallow Crank is a shallow-running lure with a fast, wide action, designed to draw attention from predators in a large area. It is ideal to use over weed beds, rock banks, sand flats and any other fishy looking structure.

Suspending in freshwater and slow sinking in saltwater, it runs at a depth of just under a metre. Weighing 4.4g it has great castability, allowing you to cover large areas of water. It also comes in a huge range of colours suitable for any situation.

To check out the Fat 37 and the rest of the lures in the range, go to the Hurricane website or look for them in your local tackle store. You can also find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HurricaneAustralia and on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/ HurricaneLures. www.hurricanelures.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING BERKLEY POWERBAIT POWERPOP FROG 13 A favourite meal of just about any freshwater fish is the frog.The new Berkley Power Pop Frog is a unique soft popper with inbuilt PowerBait scent and flavour.

The Power Pop is equipped with a cup face popper at the front end and a mass of trailing legs at the backend combining to give it an action that fish can’t ignore.

The Power Pop Frog comes with a weedless worm hook ready to fish, inbuilt glass rattle and 3D eyes. At 70mm long, plus training legs, the Power Pop Frog is a tasty meal for a variety of freshwater fish that love a surface presentation such as bass, cod, barra and saratoga. It’s available in eight colour variations so you can match the hatch to perfection.

The Power Pop benefits from Berkley’s legendary PowerBait scent infused into every bait. Berkley PowerBait makes novice anglers good, and good anglers great. Berkley scientists have spent over 25 years perfecting an irresistible scent and flavour – the exclusive PowerBait formula. Fish love PowerBait so much they hold on 18 times longer, giving you the time and confidence to feel more bites, set more hooks and catch more fish!

Price: SRP $8.99 Berkley-fishing.com.au

2-PIECE ATOMIC ARROWZ

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Atomic Arrowz rods launched in early 2017, and brought together advanced designs and the finest Fuji components assembled on a full-graphite blank. Designed originally as series of 1-piece rods, they are now available in 2-piece models featuring the same high quality components.

The focus has been on the Estuary, Offshore and Bream models, and ensuring no flat spots through the join to maintain sensitivity. The 2-piece Estuary Series has four models, starting from the finesse 70SUL (2–6lb) up to the 70ML (6-14lb).

The 2-piece Offshore Series delivers superior control across four 7’ spin rods. They feature ultra-refined fore and rear neoprene grips and have an excellent balance. The 2-piece models again have seamless transition.

For the Bream fans there are now 2-piece versions of the Bream Surface 70BS and the Bream Crank 70BC, making transportation and storage easier and safer.

All Atomic Arrowz rods are balanced perfectly to deliver the ultimate feel and bite response, and are lightweight without sacrificing strength.

Price: from SRP $189 www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

NEW COLOURS BULLET LURES

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Bullet Lures have become a favourite for many trout anglers in the form of the Bullet Minnow and the Five-O Minnow. These lures’ popularity has reached the point where users are now demanding more colour options, and Bullet Lures has done so with two new colours: pearl widow and black widow. These very distinctive patterns are highlighted with UV-enhanced dots on the side of the lures, adding even more attraction to the lure.

The new colours will be available in the sinking 3cm Bullet Minnow and all three styles of the Five-O Minnow (floating, suspending/ slow sink and sinking). If you are already a fan of Bullet Lures you will want these, and if you haven’t tried Bullets you should get into your local tackle store and check them out. You 104

FEBRUARY 2018

can also browse the range on the Bullet Lures website. www.bulletlures.com

NEW MONO FROM SHIMANO

PRODUCT GUIDE 13

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Shimano has released three new mono lines: Exage+, Tiagra Hyper, and Tiagra Leader.

Exage+ is a fine diameter Japanese manufactured monofilament with excellent clarity and super sensitivity. It has a soft feel with low memory so it lays neatly onto the spool. It’s ideal for floater fishing for snapper or even surf fishing for species such as salmon.

The new Tiagra Hyper gamefishing line uses premium class Japanese IGFA-rated nylon monofilament that combines high abrasion resistance with optimal stretch. It’s available in invisible clear blue and high-vis fluorescent yellow in 15kg, 24kg and 37kg breaking strains in 1000m spools (15kg and 24kg breaking strains are also available in bulk).

Manufactured in Japan, the new Tiagra Premium Nylon Mono Leader is significantly tougher in abrasion resistance than standard nylon, and offers the very best in knot and crimp strength. Available in 20-150lb, the leader is suited to making rigs for snapper right through to trolling leaders for marlin. www.shimanofish.com.au

NEW FLUTTER JIG COLOURS

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Black Magic’s Flutter Jigs are designed to create a fluttering effect when dropping and retrieving, and are built with highquality components to ensure anglers are getting the most bang for their buck.

Now Black Magic has introduced two new colours to the range that are sure to turn on the predatory instincts of many species. The new colours are silver with orange and lumo stripes, and blue with lumo stripes.

Flutter jigs come in four sizes, 40g, 60g, 80g and 100g. The 60g, 80g and 100g sizes are supplied rigged with a high strength assist hook rigged on Kevlar thread. The 40g model has a lighter gauge hook more suited to the size of the jig, and it also uses Kevlar thread.

Flutter jigs are available from Black Magic stockists nationwide. For more information visit the Black Magic website or like them on Facebook. www.blackmagictackle.com

TICA TACTICA GCA REEL

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The new Tactica Baitcasting reel certainly fits the bill for the angler looking for a small baitcaster for species like bass, estuary perch, trout, redfin and for trolling.

The Tactica baitcaster is packed with excellent features including a one-piece, high-strength aluminium body with a V-shaped, forged machine-cut aluminium spool. It also features a magnetic cast control system, precision-cut brass main gear, quick remove sideplate, soft EVA handles and eight ball bearings, featuring two RRB rust-resistant bearings and six stainless steel ball bearings.

This new reel offers a 6.3:1 high speed retrieve that retrieves 71cm of line per handle turn, and holds 150m of 20lb braid.

It’s a great choice for the beginner right through to the more experienced angler.

For more information visit the Juro website. www.jurofishing.com

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

The revamped Costa range - bigger, better and more affordable US-based sunglass and apparel brand Costa Del Mar have been in the premium eyewear game since 1983, and have been available here in Australia for many years. They have gone through a lot of very important and sometimes industry-defining changes in that time.

The range is now bigger, the quality is better, the price tag has been lowered and they’re now available from one of this country’s largest and best known fishing wholesalers: Rapala VMC Australia.

This move to Rapala brought with it renewed focus, larger distribution networks and a better connection to anglers, and a whole new range was unveiled at the 2017 AFTA Tackle Trade Show on the Gold Coast. What a perfect place to launch new sunglasses! Not only was it warm and sunny, a lot of the patrons were left needing shades all day and even inside, thanks to overindulgent nocturnal activities.

Costa have always been known for lens quality, but in years gone by their range of On the saltwater flats or in the middle of the rainforest picking off carp on fly, if frames wasn’t as diverse as it could be.

With the increasing need of people wanting you’re hoping to sight fish, you’d better take a high quality pair of polarized glasses.

My second pair, the Half Moon, has a slightly smaller frame and lens, and is just as comfortable and easy to wear all day.

For this pair I went for the blue mirror 580 glass lenses, to try something different.

TESTED

an alarming rate of 190 sharks a minute.

Mostly for soup! Anything that helps to restore balance and strength to the oceanic ecosystem has my vote every day of the week.

This program, as well as others that are helping coastal villages recover from devastating hurricanes or floods, is just a small example of the charity work Costa is doing at the grass roots level.

But back to the glasses themselves, since that’s what we’re here for, the bulk of my on-water time is spent in small, clear-ish rivers and creeks. I sight cast to most of my fish, and for the rest I rely on spotting a split boulder or submerged laydown where the target species is likely to be. Having the right eyewear in these types of situations can be the difference between a session I’ll be exaggerating about to my grandkids one day, and a dreaded doughnut.

I’ve found the Costas to cut through the glare very well in all manner of lighting, enabling me to target fish quite easily.

In days gone by a 580 glass lens pair of Costas would set you back as much as $500, but right now you can pick up a set for around the $350 mark from your local stockist – and it’s cheaper again for poly lenses. This is a big win for all anglers as we have another $150 to spend on lures we certainly don’t need! The next time you’re

I found the Costa Rincon frames to be comfortable enough to wear all day, and they cut through the glare in all light situations. to wear the same glasses on the water as they do driving around town or at the pub, a freshen up was needed. Costas new range certainly offers this versatility. Gone are the days where we can get away with a pair of $14.95 servo sunnies – we need to protect our eyes and not be shunned by the fairer sex in doing so.

You can even wear the Costas in combination with a 90s-era flap hat to spot pies at the shops on the way to the water.

Most of the old Costa classics remain, but there have been some really cool new styles released that have already been a hit with anglers, myself included.

I’ve worn most of the major sunglass brands over the last 10 years or so, with varying levels of success. Each brand has its strengths. Some have great lenses but the frames are bulky, rigid and heavy; some have lightweight frames but are not as good on the lens front. I’m pleased to say that the Costa Rincon and Half Moon sunglasses I’ve been wearing for the last 6-7 months are the best combination of vision, comfort and style I’ve ever owned. The bride even likes the look of these ones, which hasn’t always been the case with my fishing sunnies. She actually liked them so much we had to go and buy another pair of Costas for her in the Remora model.

The Rincon are a slightly larger frame, which suits my large noggin. I’ve been able to wear them for hours and hours without the discomfort I’ve felt from a couple of other brands over the years. Clarity of vision and the lightweight frames are the standout features for me. I went for the green mirror 580 polarized glass lens, which was described to me as being the best allrounder for the mix of fresh and saltwater fishing I do. They have not disappointed in either field.

Mr Sun was certainly doing his job this day, but spotting this feisty pest wasn’t a problem with the help of the 580 lenses.

Again, I have worn them in both fresh and in your local tackle store, ask about Costa saltwater situations and they have always eyewear and give them a go for yourself. You can thank me later. - Rupe performed very well.

Both pairs are flexible enough that they don’t push into the side of my head too hard, but at the same time they hold firmly enough to not slide down my nose when I look down or bend over to pick up a fish.

While Costa do offer both polycarbonate and glass lenses, once I tried the demo pair of 580 glass on and walked out into the sun for a test drive, I had to go that way. Weight has traditionally been the downfall of glass, but in these new styles the difference was undetectable.

Something else that drew my attention to the Costa brand was how much it’s putting back into our sport and the people who enjoy it or even rely on it. Costa has long been associated with the OCEARCH Another sight cast victim - I took the program, whose goal is to save the world’s sharks from mass slaughter. Every pair of glasses off for the obligatory solo bass fishing selfie, but I wouldn’t have had OCEARCH-branded Costa models helps fund on-water research and put science the opportunity without seeing the fish first in fast-flowing water. on the side of sharks, which are killed at

FEBRUARY 2018

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DIY Lure Making

DIY lure making: Pop‘n’Doc BRISBANE

Greg Vinall support@makewoodenlures.com

I thought for our final project of this beginner’s lure making series we might do something a little different. So this month we’ll make a little surface popper to take advantage of the upcoming autumn surface bite.

The Pop‘n’Doc is a very simple lure to make and a lot of fun if you like splashy strikes on light lines. Ideal for throwing at bream, whiting, trevally, saratoga, sooties, bass and other small to medium surface feeders, you’ll quickly become addicted to flicking this little guy around our inland and estuarine waters!

Surface poppers vary tremendously in the amount of commotion they create, which is a function of the size, depth and angle of the concave mouth at the front of the lure.

To make a splashy lure, the concave surface needs to be large, so noisy poppers are often oversized at the front to maximise the space for this feature.

That’s great if you’re targeting aggressive or inquisitive species in windy conditions, but often you’ll want a more subtle approach that doesn’t send timid

species scurrying off for cover. The Pop‘n’Doc has a small mouth and creates a gentle ‘pop’ that throws a little splash of water forward on each pulse. It sits close to horizontal at rest, making it perfect for still, quiet water fishing.

FISHING WITH THE POP‘N’DOC The Pop‘n’Doc is very much a light tackle lure.

I generally prefer 2-3kg braid and a matching mono leader. Braid and mono is generally a good line/leader combination for surface fishing, because both the line and leader float.

Fluorocarbon may be great for its low visibility and high abrasion resistance, but it sinks, which can spoil the action of a small surface lure.

Make sure you attach your popper to the leader with a good loop knot like Lefty’s Loop. All hardbody lures perform best if they have freedom to move at the end of the line.

I like a light, reasonably fast taper rod for finesse popping. Unlike stickbaits and gliders, I don’t want a smooth, flowing action when I’m fishing poppers.

It’s beneficial for the lure to move in short, sharp jerks that maximise the effectiveness of the popper mouth in creating audible

splashes and pops.

Spin gear is usually my preference, and make sure the spool is full for maximum casting distance.

Throwing small, lightweight lures on baitcast gear can be frustrating, so I’d usually avoid it.

Like stickbaits and gliders, small poppers tend to perform best if you give them just a little slack line between twitches. Often the strike will come when the lure is stationary, during a pause between twitches, so don’t be afraid to let the lure sit momentarily.

Pop‘n’Doc is a great option over shallow weedbeds for bass and estuary perch, through shallow, snag dotted flats for saratoga, or around shoals and oyster leases for bream. The key is not to rush it. After you make a cast, let the lure sit stationary for a few moments before you start to retrieve. This allows the fish to come and investigate the source of the splash and often results in an aggressive strike the instant you start moving the lure.

You can play around with the cadence until you find what’s working on the day.

MAKING THE POP‘N’DOC We’ll use the same materials as we have for all of our projects: balsa

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for the lure body, a little stainless steel wire, some size 000 ball sinkers, and a good epoxy adhesive like 24hr Araldite. You also need some paint and clear coat to tart the lure up, of course.

I used a round-nosed burr to make the concave mouth for this lure. You’ll find these with the drill bits in larger hardware stores.

Alternatively, a countersink bit or a rotary tool like a Dremel can do a pretty good job too.

Painting lures is nearly always for the angler more than the fish, and that’s especially true for surface lures like poppers, where the fish are approaching

Tools Utility knife, battery drill and bits, hacksaw, pliers.

Materials • 12.5mm x 75mm balsa plank • 1-1.2mm stainless steel wire • 120 and 240 grit sand paper • 240 grit wet sanding paper • Epoxy adhesive (with syringes and mixing sticks) • Ball sinkers (size 000) • Methylated Spirit • Rotary burr, countersink bit or Dremel tool from below and mostly see just a silhouette.

Still, painting is fun! I’ve airbrushed the poppers I made for this article in a frog pattern, which seems appropriate, since frogs are a common food item for surface-feeding fish.

WANT MORE LURE MAKING LESSONS? I have an online

Template: 1 Square = 1cm

crankbait-making course that will take you through all of the basics. In it I show you how to make a couple of great crankbait projects, give a bunch of painting tips and provide some downloadable templates. It’s 100% free and you can sign up for it at thecrankbaitmasterclass. com.

100% Scale

Visit www.MakeWoodenLures.com/Fishing-Monthly/ to download all the templates in this series.

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Glue some sandpaper to a flat block and with your lure blank on a flat surface, sand the edges square. Use a curved sanding block to clean up the concave edge on the underside of the lure. Gently remove timber until you’ve shaped down to the profile you marked in Step 1.

Cut out the template and trace the side profile onto a piece of 12mm thick balsa wood. Use a utility knife to cut away most of the waste, but stop just short of the lines you marked.

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Mark a centre line and then the locations of the tow point and hook hangers. Drill a 2mm hole for each of these items, plus a 5mm hole where the belly weight will be.

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TOOLS AND MATERIALS

FEBRUARY 2018

Mark the top profile on the blank using the template provided, then cut away the waste with your utility knife. Finish by squaring the blank again using your sanding block. One of the advantages of hand carved poppers (as opposed lathe turned ones) is that you can create more complex body shapes. Pop‘n’Doc has a slightly concave belly area, which allows it to sit slightly tail-down at rest. I mark carving lines fairly close to the edge of the blank on all four sides and remove the small amount of waste with the knife.

Then I sand the lure until the body is roughly circular in cross section.

DIY Lure Making 6

5

Using the rotary burr in my battery drill I make the concave mouth of the popper. I find that a high drill speed and light pressure makes for a clean and controlled cut. Start with the burr at an angle to the wood and then straighten it up as the mouth starts to deepen.

Make some stainless steel twist eyes and glue them into the tail and belly hook hanger holes with 24hr, super strength epoxy. While you’re at it, glue the belly weight in place, making sure it sits neatly below the surface of the wood. Then put a little more epoxy on top to fill the hole. Set your lures aside to cure, then trim away the excess epoxy using a knife. Finish by sanding the epoxy flush with the wood. Don’t glue the tow point in just yet, as we’ll need to smooth the popper mouth after hardening the wood.

FINISHED LURE

7

Harden the balsa using some thinned epoxy. You can get full instructions for this on my website at makewoodenlures.com/lure-bodies-hardeningsealing/. Then set your lures aside for a further 24 hours (minimum) before sanding off the gloss with 240 grit wet sanding paper. Use your rotary burr with light pressure to de-gloss the epoxy inside the mouth of the lure. Glue your tow point into the lure with epoxy, wiping away any excess glue with a rag soaked in metho. Now you’re ready to paint and clear coat your lure!

• For extra information and video tutorials please go to Greg’s website MakeWoodenLures.com/Fishing-Monthly/ and complete the free registration. To check out Greg’s other work visit crazylureart. com and his Facebook page Wooden Lure Making.

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107

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2018 FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

9-11 Feb

Riverina Classic Fishing Competition Murrumbidgee River

Chris Sutton 0447 727 697

10-11 Feb

SCFCA Beach Competition Gerringong Hotel

southcoastfca@yahoo.com.au

13-14 Feb

ABT BREAM Series Round 1 Mallacoota

abt.org.au

17-18 Feb

Lowrance Da$h for Ca$h Lake Mulwala

Tony Bennett (03) 5744 1667

17-18 Feb

ABT BREAM Series Round 2 Gippsland Lakes

abt.org.au

25 Feb

ABT BASS Electric Series Round 1 Richmond River

abt.org.au

3 Mar

His and Hers Partners Classic Lake Mulwala

Tony Bennett (03) 5744 1667

6-8 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Australian Open Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury River

abt.org.au

10-11 Mar

SCFCA Deep Sea Competition Kiama Bowls Club

southcoastfca@yahoo.com.au

10-11 Mar

Tuross Head Flathead and Bream Tournaments Tuross Head

www.facebook.com/flatheadandbream

10-11 Mar

Round 2 Hobie Kayak Bream Series Foster / Wallis Lake

www.hobiefishing.com.au

10-11 Mar

ABT BASS Pro Round 1 Hawkesbury River

abt.org.au

15-18 Mar

Cod Nationals Lake Mulwala

Tony Bennett (03) 5744 1667

20-21 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Round 3 St Helens, Tasmania

abt.org.au

24-25 Mar

ABT BREAM Series Round 4 Derwent River, Tasmania

abt.org.au

7-8 Apr

Round 3 Hobie Kayak Bream Series Sydney

www.hobiefishing.com.au

21-22 Apr

ABT BREAM Series Round 5 Gold Coast

abt.org.au

22 Apr

ABT BASS Electric Series Round 2 Clarrie Hall Dam

abt.org.au

5-6 May

ABT BREAM Series Round 6 Swan River, WA

abt.org.au

19-20 May

ABT BASS Pro Round 2 Glenbawn Dam

abt.org.au

22-23 May

ABT BASS Pro Round 3 Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

26-27 May

SCFCA Rock Competition Berry Bowling Club

southcoastfca@yahoo.com.au

2-3 Jun

Round 5 Hobie Kayak Bream Series Gold Coast

www.hobiefishing.com.au

2-3 Jun

ABT BREAM Series Round 7 Hawkesbury River

abt.org.au

10 Jun

ABT BASS Electric Series Round 3 Wyaralong Dam

abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours.

Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name.

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11 Binney Road KINGSPARK Phone: (02) 9676 1400 Email: info@watersportmarine.com.au Website: www.watersportsmarine.com.au FEBRUARY 2018

109

How to deal when fishing’s a B-word SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I will confess, I am pretty much up for any topic in fishing. I don’t care how thick the reading material, I once read both the original Fisheries Act of 1994 (Queensland) and the most recent edition just to find how it had changed. Hint: they murdered the original and buried it in a shallow grave under a pile of rotting tilapia. I don’t care how controversial, I am ready, willing and able to debate both sides of the fish and pain debate (at once).

I certainly don’t care how weird the topic (anyone up for noodling?) however, there is one topic too hot to ever be discussed in a fishing magazine before now – an elephant so big they had to demolish the whole building in a desperate attempt to prevent it from escaping. Unable to resist a challenge I decided I would take on the science of the most controversial topic in the world of fishing – fishing can be super boring.

There; don’t you feel better now that there is a public scientific acknowledgment of something fishers have been anecdotally suggesting for years? If you, like me, find the quieter times in fishing to be some of the best times, here is the science you have been secretly demanding. Just like Doctor Strangelove, you

can learn to stop worrying and love the boredom.

BOREDOM HAS A BAD REPUTATION Did your mother ever tell you that only boring people get bored? Did you lie awake at night fearing you were boring? Boredom has a bad rap sheet, and it’s something that we go out of our way to avoid. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines boredom as: “the state of being weary and restless through lack of interest.”

A common understanding of boredom is the ‘are we there yet’ syndrome of car travel. Boredom in children is such an obnoxious and insidious problem that all manner of electronic devices have appeared with the magical cure for boredom. I question who the cure is for.

Boredom can be a problem if you have a highrisk-loving personality type.

Such personality types get particularly creative in addressing boredom – negative expressions of this range from drug taking, getting drunk and getting into fights on a Friday night to being the Hollywood favourite – the bored rich kid.

Somewhere between annoying kids and selfdestructive adults we have collectively managed to get the impression that boredom will leave you a friendless social pariah. There is no social upside to boredom.

A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF BOREDOM A more refined definition of boredom is: “unfulfilled

Mindlessly repeating a task like casting is similar to meditation.

110

FEBRUARY 2018

desire for satisfying activity” (Eastwood, Frischen, Fenske, and Smilek, 2012). That definition fits fishing to a tee if you count catching fish as a satisfying activity.

If not, why are you reading this magazine?

Another similar activity – meditation – is seen as a positive activity by most people. Daydreaming? Not so much. An intriguing fact discovered when you first start many meditation processes is that the mind will wander, and that’s okay. In other words, while meditating, there is a high likelihood of daydreaming occurring.

You might think that meditators are taught to stop the daydreaming, but the opposite is true. In most instances, the trainee is told to just allow the mind to do what it wants, but be mindful of what is happening. When aware that daydreaming is occurring, bring the attention back into the here and now, usually by focusing on a physical element such as breathing.

Rather than trying to stop daydreaming, meditation emphasizes developing focus and discipline so that your mind doesn’t need to wander.

Meditation in a way is the process of deliberately instigating boredom to learn how to deal with it. Fishing can have the same effect.

Exposing yourself to the boring parts of fishing will improve your concentration and ability to focus in the long run.

THE ERA OF SOCIAL MEDIA, BLUE LIGHT AND THE EMPATHY DEFICIT There is something else that creates focus – smartphones. There has been a lot of research into smartphones and the average adult in the US, for example, checks their phone every ten minutes. Now I am a little concerned with such studies as many studies are motivated to demonstrate a problem, but there have been enough separate studies to confirm that phone use is high.

There has also been a lot of study on the effect of social media networks on young people. Social media can deliver a regular small hit of dopamine from the ‘attention’ of the phone. This brain hack has the effect of entertaining us and also making us more prone to feeling boredom when we aren’t getting that attention.

I’m not a scaremonger on such topics. Nonetheless, the evidence is clear that our brains aren’t built for the constant flow of information, nor the flooding of our dopamine systems that occurs today.

All this smartphone

If you are looking to improve your fishing ability then you need to use boredom wisely. Make sure you are focused on fishing problems so that your subconscious mind knows to get creative on fishing. usage, particularly at night, is playing havoc with our sleep – so much so that there have been health warnings about the effect of the blue wavelengths of light phones emit. Not using your phone before rest is a good idea and doctors recommend keeping screens off for a couple of hours before going to bed.

Something less widely covered is a phenomenon called the ‘empathy deficit.’

High amounts of social media use, especially interacting with people outside of friend groups, causes our ability to empathize with others to drop.

Manoush Zomorodi covers this topic well in her book Bored and Brilliant. One interesting study in Ireland on the effects of boredom was a greater preference for ‘in groups’ – people like us – and a greater desire to punish ‘out groups.’

The scary part of the empathy deficit is that while we are very resilient and can stop being online monsters, it isn’t an instant turnaround.

When the smartphone is off and replaced with regular human interaction, returning to a more normal empathetic state can take a week or more.

How often does anyone turn off the phone for a week?

None of this is to say that technology is dangerous, but our brains have evolved for a very different world and as such technology overuse can have negative consequences.

Fishing can help you to train your brain to better deal with modern technology.

FISHING MINDFULLY It’s at this point that I have something to confess. I rarely fish to catch fish; I fish

to fish. Most of my waking day is all problem solving, high focus activity, and lots of maths, reading and design for often 12+ hours at a time. I find it hard not to be thinking, so some time mindlessly repeating a task like casting is similar to meditation, only I can do it for a lot longer.

Focusing on casting has something of a similar effect to concentrating on breathing in meditation. The attention is on the here and now and your physical existence rather than the external world or internal world. There are some excellent reasons to do this. Meditation, for example, improves tasks such as multitasking, increase concentration and enhance your ability to resist distractions. In my experiments with casting verses meditation, I tend to find the same sorts of effects, so long as I am focused on the task of casting and rhythm.

Meditation and fishing have helped me to concentrate longer when it comes to working. I also don’t feel so needy when it comes to social media. I am regularly not on for weeks at a time, and I don’t feel like I am missing out.

Without a serious study, I am not about to proclaim fishing the next thing in Zen. That said, I have read a lot of research on the subject, not to mention tested concepts out for myself. I have measured my performance, and there is no doubt in my mind that repetitive fishing such as lure fishing is a positive in improving focus, lengthening attention span and reducing susceptibility to distractions.

A SECOND LOOK AT DAYDREAMING Remember the poor cousin to meditation – the one that gets kids in trouble in school? Was that you? Do you even now drift off to meetings but still keep the thread?

Congratulations – you are probably a creative person.

You know all those modern-type offices with beanbags and ‘creative spaces’ decorated with lots of colours and toys. An empty room with white walls is an atom bomb in comparison, creatively speaking. All those objects used to ‘create possibility’ actually work to constrain it by focusing the mind on a specific object or process and distracting you from boredom.

It’s through boredom that your true creative potential explodes. It’s in the absence – not the presence – of a stimulus that our brains are at their creative peak. Having the discipline to endure the boredom and tap into your natural creativity is a superpower.

I have no idea why daydreaming has the bad press it has, other than the fact it annoys the crap out of teachers. Many of the most inventive people in history have spoken about daydreaming as an essential part of the creative process. No wonder brain scans of people experiencing daydreams have discovered that, far from a resting state, our brains are in fact very active.

Nature is a pretty elegant version of the white room, especially as the environment remains relatively constant; if there isn’t much going on,

the conditions are good to go for boredom. Bait fishing on a slow day is about as good as it gets to unleash your creative firepower, or sleep – whichever you need more.

CHEWING GUM AND WALKING AT THE SAME TIME Here is an interesting question; have you ever driven to work and forgotten the journey? The ability to do an activity even while not thinking about it is called ‘unconscious competence’ – the ability to use an automated routine in the brain that is created through repetition to complete a task without the need for conscious input.

Unconscious competence is a hardwired routine that allows brain functions to be freed up.

In other words, we can drive and be off in another world at the same time.

Daydreaming when operating heavy equipment isn’t a good idea. Fishing is a very different matter.

Daydreaming during a hot bite might be regrettable, but rest assured the adrenalin (and copping shit from your mates) will sort that out quick smart. At all other times, it’s fair game.

Daydreaming while fishing can provide a host of benefits similar to meditation, including better use of working memory, improving your ability to work in distracting

environments, improved empathy, problem-solving (as your brain has time to focus on a problem) and ironically enhanced focus.

For men in the modern world, mental health is a vital part of life that gets dangerously neglected. Going fishing regularly and giving yourself time to daydream is one of the best gifts you can give to yourself.

ECHOSOUNDERS ARE THE SOCIAL MEDIA OF THE SEA Screens have invaded the water. Gone are the days when you could be guaranteed some tech-free time on the water, and that has an impact on us.

While I will acknowledge a title like ‘Echosounders are the social media of the sea’ is a little bit clickbaity, it’s not inaccurate. Echosounders trigger the same response in your brain as social networks, so when you see a fish on the screen, you get a little hit of dopamine. If you plan to catch fish, this is a good thing, as this is training your brain to reward itself for finding fish.

The challenge for your brain comes if you are already a major phone or social media user. Instead of a useful message on fish, your brain gets a different message – what you want is more dopamine. Flooding your brain with dopamine, as with almost any excess, has a whole

host of negative consequences from lower attention spans and sleep issues to addiction, anxiety, and depression.

I don’t want to be alarmist – using your echosounder is fine in moderation. There are way too many devices now that want to hijack your dopamine system, so staying in control is wise.

My advice to fishers that want to use sounders intensively is to pick which screen is vital to you and stick to it. Ditching the social media and going for the sounder is better in every way; it means less dopamine overall, improved concentration and training your brain to get better at fishing – all win.

CONCENTRATION ON THE WATER For most of this article, I am contradicting my usual advice to fishers, which is to pay attention. That is in no small part because this article is intended for a different group of anglers – those that fish for reasons other than developing skills. If you enjoy just getting out on the water on the weekend, or you are finding your regular life is stressful then this article is for you.

The trick with processing anything like boredom is mindfulness; that is fishing with the clear intention of resting and allowing your

mind to wander. Being mindful means monitoring that process, so if things such as negative emotions or thoughts come up, it’s a good idea to seek professional assistance.

If you are looking to improve your fishing ability then you need to use boredom wisely. Make sure you are focused on fishing problems so that your subconscious mind knows to get creative on fishing. More importantly, if you are in skill-building mode, boredom isn’t for you.

A FINAL CAUTION ON BOREDOM Very few things in life are as simple as ‘do A and get result B.’ I have to caution that boredom can also have negative downsides. Being bored a lot is a bad sign. If you are in a job that you find boring then being bored while fishing isn’t a good idea.

Experiencing boredom all the time can have significant health consequences or be a sign of depression.

Talk to your GP if this is happening to you.

All of our emotional states exist for a purpose; they are there to help navigate the world. Boredom, like all other states, has a useful purpose.

If improving your capacity to handle the stresses of modern life is your goal, you can do a lot worse than unplug and fish mindfully more often.

Bree with a cracker golden perch she caught on her first time freshwater fishing at Lake St Clair.

This fish fell victim to a purple Jackall TN60.

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113

2018 2018 2018 Local Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY(FORT (FORTDENISON) DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES LAT 33° 52’ LONG 151° 13’

LAT LONG 151° 13’ LAT33° 33°52’ 52’ LONG 13’ Waters Times and Heights of High 151° and Low Times and Heights of High and Low Times and Heights of High and LowWaters Waters MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY MARCH JANUARY FEBRUARY MARCH JANUARY FEBRUARY Time m Time Time m Time m Time m Time m

Local Time Local Time APRIL APRIL Time TimeAPRIL m

m m Time mm Time mm Time mm Time mm Time mm Time mm Time mm Time mm Time Time Time Time Time Time Time Time 0213 0.53 0214 0.51 0311 0.46 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 0141 0.34 0315 0.30 0213 0.34 0.53 0.51 0.46 0.40 0241 0.34 0141 0.34 0315 0.30 0213 0.34 0812 1.96 0213 0943 2.04 0311 0837 1.94 0214 0846 1.72 0832 1.69 0936 1.75 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 0212 0213 0.53 0214 0.51 0311 0.46 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 0141 0.34 0315 0.30 0213 0.34 0812 1.96 0943 2.04 0837 1.94 0846 1.72 0832 1.69 0936 1.75 0819 0851 1.74 1451 0.19 1618 0.11 1511 0.17 1525 0.39 1459 0.37 1605 0.34 1428 0.36 1502 0.33 0812 1.96 0943 2.04 0837 1.94 0846 1.72 0832 1.69 0936 1.75 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 TH TU FR MO TH FR SU MO 1.68 14512049 0.19 16182220 0.11 15112114 0.17 15252116 0.39 14592100 0.37 16052203 0.34 14282043 0.36 15022115 0.33 TU FR MO FR MO 1.33TH 1.50SU 1.44TH 1.79 1.73 1.48 1.54 1.58 0.19 0.11 0.17 0.39 0.37 0.34 0.36 0.33 TU 1525 TH 1511 FR 1459 MO 1451 TH 1618 FR 1605 SU 1502 MO 1428 2116 2100 2203 2043 2115 2049 2220 2114 2116 1.33 1.33 2100 1.50 1.50 2203 1.44 1.44 2043 1.79 1.79 2115 1.73 1.73 2049 1.48 1.48 2220 1.54 1.54 2114 1.58 1.58 0327 0.36 0348 0.44 0256 0.36 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 0407 0.30 0327 0.36 0.44 0.36 0233 0.32 0.51 0407 0.30 0304 0.30 0.45 0904 2.04 0250 0922 1.75 0926 1.94 0251 0909 1.72 1032 2.00 0348 0934 1.65 0256 1012 1.75 0903 1.65 0327 0.36 0348 0.44 0256 0.36 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 0407 0.30 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 1032 2.00 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 0934 1.65 1012 1.75 0903 1544 0.12 1559 0.37 1555 0.17 1531 0.34 1705 0.14 1538 0.40 1638 0.33 1505 0.38 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 1032 2.00 0934 1.65 1012 1.75 0903 1.65 MO SA TU 1.65 TU WE FR SA FR 15442144 0.12 15592152 0.37 17052310 0.14 15552200 0.17 15312135 0.34 15382155 0.40 16382239 0.33 15052124 0.38 SA TU TU WE SA 1.55 1.50 1.35FR 1.62 1.57MO 1.73 1.47FR 1.84 0.12 0.37 0.17 0.34 0.14 0.40 0.33 0.38 MO 1538 SA 1638 TU 1505 TU 1544 WE 1559 FR 1555 SA 1531 FR 1705 2310 2144 2152 2200 2135 2155 2239 2124 2310 1.55 1.55 2144 1.50 1.50 2152 1.35 1.35 2200 1.62 1.62 2135 1.57 1.57 2155 1.73 1.73 2239 1.47 1.47 2124 1.84 1.84 0427 0.44 0412 0.41 0344 0.34 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 0459 0.33 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 0412 0.41 0326 0.32 0.50 0.44 0354 0.29 0.41 0.34 0459 0.33 1047 1.72 1016 1.54 0344 0950 1.60 0956 2.07 0327 0958 1.76 1120 1.91 0427 1014 1.89 0330 0946 1.72 0412 0.41 0427 0.44 0344 0.34 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 0459 0.33 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 1016 1.54 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 1047 1.72 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 0950 1120 1.91 1712 0.34 1613 0.48 1545 0.42 1636 0.09 1633 0.35 1750 0.21 1636 0.21 1604 0.33 1016 1.54 1047 1.72 0950 1.60 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 1120 1.91 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 SU TU WE 1.60 WE TH SA SA SU 16132233 0.48 16362238 0.09 16332229 0.35 17122316 0.34 16362244 0.21 16042211 0.33 15452208 0.42 17502358 0.21 WE TH SU SU WE 1.50SA 1.70 1.86 1.50 1.36SA 1.54 1.64 1.62TU 0.48 0.34 0.42 0.09 0.35 0.21 0.21 0.33 TU 1613 SU 1712 WE 1545 WE 1636 TH 1633 SA 1750 SA 1636 SU 1604 2233 2238 2229 2316 2244 2211 2208 2358 2233 1.70 1.70 2316 1.50 1.50 2208 1.86 1.86 2238 1.50 1.50 2229 1.36 1.36 2358 1.54 1.54 2244 1.64 1.64 2211 1.62 1.62 0456 0.47 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 0508 0.45 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 0434 0.35 0550 0.39 0.45 0456 0.47 0.35 0419 0.34 0.50 0443 0.32 0.39 0550 0.39 1058 1.44 0434 1047 2.05 0404 1033 1.75 1126 1.67 1059 1.79 0411 1026 1.70 1041 1.53 1207 1.77 0508 0508 0.45 0456 0.47 0434 0.35 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 0550 0.39 1126 1.67 1058 1.44 1041 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 1207 1.77 1645 0.56 1728 0.12 1708 0.36 1746 0.36 1716 0.29 1638 0.34 1630 0.48 1833 0.30 1126 1.67 1058 1.44 1041 1.53 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 1207 1.77 WE TH FR MO SU MO TH 1.53 SU 17462357 0.36 16452311 0.56 16302255 0.48 17282331 0.12 17082305 0.36 17162327 0.29 16382249 0.34 1833 0.30 TH TH FR MO 1.65 1.48 1.36SU 1.51SU 1.63 1.66WE 1.85 0.36 0.56 0.48 0.12 0.36 0.29 0.34 MO 1746 WE 1645 TH 1630 TH 1728 FR 1708 SU 1716 MO 1638 SU 1833 0.30 MO 2311 2357 2255 2331 2305 2327 2249 2311 1.65 1.65 2357 1.51 1.51 2255 1.85 1.85 2331 1.48 1.48 2305 1.36 1.36 2327 1.63 1.63 2249 1.66 1.66 0542 0.54 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 0553 0.48 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 0530 0.39 0045 1.51 0542 0.54 0.48 0.39 0514 0.38 0.51 0531 0.38 0.39 0045 1.51 1139 1.97 0444 1109 1.72 1206 1.60 1143 1.66 0455 1107 1.64 1135 1.44 1140 1.34 0530 0643 0.48 0553 0542 0.54 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 0553 0.48 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 0530 0.39 0045 1.51 1206 1.60 1135 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 1140 1.34 0643 0.48 1818 0.18 1743 0.37 1824 0.40 1754 0.38 1715 0.37 1718 0.56 1720 0.65 1254 1.61 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 1206 1.60 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 1135 1.44 1.44 1140 1.34 0643 0.48 TH FR SA TU MO TU FR MO 1824 0.40 17182346 0.56 1818 0.18 17432345 0.37 1754 0.38 17152330 0.37 17202350 0.65 12541916 1.61 TU FR FR 1.37MO 1.69TH 1.80 0.41 1.59 0.37 0.37 0.56 0.65 1.61 TH 1720 FR 1818 0.18 SA SA 1743 TU 1824 0.40 MO MO 1754 0.38 TU TU 1715 FR 1718 MO 1254 2345 2330 2346 1916 2350 2345 1.37 1.37 2330 1.69 1.69 2346 1.80 1.80 1916 0.41 0.41 2350 1.59 1.59 0040 1.52 0631 0.60 0630 0.43 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 0134 1.48 0631 0.60 1.52 0.43 0025 1.46 0.53 0134 1.48 0009 1.60 0.41 0642 0.51 1226 1.26 0630 1235 1.37 0609 0.45 0524 1146 1.68 0619 0.46 0542 1151 1.57 0738 0.57 0040 0631 0.60 0040 1.52 0630 0.43 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 0134 1.48 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 1226 1.26 0642 0.51 1235 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 0738 0.57 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 1250 1.51 1800 0.72 1815 0.64 1230 1.84 1819 0.39 1225 1.52 1754 0.43 1341 1.45 1226 1.26 0642 0.51 1235 1.37 1.37 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 0738 0.57 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 WE FR SA SA SU TU WE TU 1800 0.72 12501905 1.51 1815 0.64 12301909 1.84 1819 0.39 13411959 1.45 12251830 1.52 1754 0.43 WE SA SU WE 0.45TU 0.27 0.48 0.50 1.51 1.84 1.45 1.52 FR 1800 0.72 SA WE 1250 SA 1815 0.64 SA 1230 SU 1819 0.39 TU TU 1341 TU 1225 WE 1754 0.43 FR 1905 1909 1830 1959 1905 0.45 0.45 1909 0.27 0.27 1830 0.48 0.48 1959 0.50 0.50 0120 1.44 0128 1.53 0052 1.56 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 0026 1.38 0015 1.69 0226 1.45 0128 1.53 0035 1.53 0120 1.44 0052 1.56 1.75 0026 1.38 0226 1.45 1.69 0838 0.64 0706 0.52 0738 0.55 0709 0.55 0015 0726 0.65 0045 0739 0.47 0608 0.56 0634 0.44 0120 1.44 0128 1.53 0052 1.56 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 0026 1.38 0226 1.45 0015 1.69 0838 0.64 0738 0.55 0726 0.65 0706 0.52 0709 0.55 0739 0608 0.56 0634 0.44 1431 1.31 1321 1.69 1342 1.41 1308 1.38 1320 1.21 1345 1.32 1226 1.61 1240 1.47 0838 0.64 0706 0.52 0738 0.55 0709 0.55 0726 0.65 0739 0.47 0.47 0608 0.56 0634 0.44 SU TH WE SA SU MO TH WE 14312045 1.31 13421952 1.41 13201851 1.21 13212000 1.69 13081907 1.38 13451921 1.32 12261858 1.61 12401837 1.47 TH SU SU MO TH 0.78 0.70 0.42WE 0.50SA 0.58 0.36 0.51WE 0.57 1.31 1.69 1.41 1.38 1.21 1.32 1.61 1.47 SU 1321 TH 1342 WE 1308 SA 1320 SU 1345 MO 1226 WE 1431 TH 1240 1851 1921 1858 2045 1837 1952 2000 1907 1851 0.78 0.78 1921 0.70 0.70 1858 0.42 0.42 2045 0.58 0.58 1837 0.50 0.50 2000 0.36 0.36 1952 0.51 0.51 1907 0.57 0.57 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 0215 1.42 1.39 0136 1.51 1.67 0320 1.43 1.53 0130 1.48 1.70 0806 0.60 0111 0658 0.60 0803 0.62 0103 0732 0.49 0945 0.69 0223 0845 0.58 0829 0.67 0152 0850 0.48 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 0829 0.67 0850 1415 1.53 1310 1.53 1356 1.27 1335 1.37 1531 1.21 1445 1.32 1428 1.18 1501 1.33 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 0829 0.67 0850 0.48 0.48 MO TU TH FR TH FR SU MO 14152049 1.53 13101941 1.53 13561948 1.27 13351928 1.37 15312136 1.21 14452050 1.32 14281958 1.18 15012038 1.33 MO TU FR FR MO 0.45 0.66 0.45TH 0.58SU 0.64 0.56TH 0.82 0.71 1.53 1.53 1.27 1.37 1.21 1.32 1.18 1.33 MO 1415 TU 1310 TH 1356 FR 1335 TH 1531 FR 1445 SU 1428 MO 1501 2049 1948 1941 1928 2136 2050 1958 2038 2049 0.45 0.45 1948 0.66 0.66 1941 0.45 0.45 1928 0.58 0.58 2136 0.64 0.64 2050 0.56 0.56 1958 0.82 0.82 2038 0.71 0.71 0201 1.41 0200 1.64 0313 1.42 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 0226 1.46 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 1.41 1.64 0419 1.44 1.55 0235 1.45 1.67 0313 1.42 0226 1.46 0754 0.63 0841 0.52 0913 0.66 0201 1057 0.69 0327 1002 0.57 0904 0.67 0200 0934 0.66 0305 0956 0.46 0201 1.41 0200 1.64 0313 1.42 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 0226 1.46 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 0754 0.63 0841 0.52 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 0934 0.66 0956 0913 0.66 0904 0.67 1400 1.45 1443 1.29 1513 1.39 1643 1.16 1602 1.26 1453 1.18 1542 1.21 1612 1.39 0754 0.63 0841 0.52 0913 0.66 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 0904 0.67 0934 0.66 0956 0.46 0.46 WE SA TU FR SA FR MO TU 14002029 1.45 14432030 1.29 16432235 1.16 16022200 1.26 15422114 1.21 16122154 1.39 15132140 1.39 14532040 1.18 WE SA SA TU TU 0.48FR 0.64MO 0.52 0.67 0.58FR 0.72 0.82 0.68 1.45 1.29 1.39 1.16 1.26 1.18 1.21 1.39 WE 1400 SA 1443 TU 1513 FR 1643 SA 1602 FR 1453 MO 1542 TU 1612 2029 2030 2235 2200 2114 2154 2140 2040 2029 0.48 0.48 2030 0.64 0.64 2140 0.52 0.52 2235 0.67 0.67 2200 0.58 0.58 2040 0.72 0.72 2114 0.82 0.82 2154 0.68 0.68 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 0411 1.43 0519 1.46 1.61 0324 1.43 0345 1.46 1.68 1.44 1.62 1205 0.65 0437 1122 0.51 1034 0.62 0415 1055 0.43 1023 0.68 0257 0900 0.64 1014 0.69 0306 0958 0.52 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 1023 0.68 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 1014 0.69 1034 0.62 1055 0900 0.64 0958 0.52 1752 1.17 1724 1.28 1645 1.27 1711 1.48 1615 1.29 1501 1.37 1604 1.15 1602 1.27 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 1034 0.62 1055 0.43 0.43 1023 0.68 0900 0.64 1014 0.69 0958 0.52 SA SU TU WE WE TH SA SU 16152230 1.29 17522334 1.17 17242312 1.28 16042146 1.15 16452222 1.27 17112301 1.48 15012124 1.37 16022146 1.27 WE SU WE TH SU 0.50SA 0.67TU 0.66 0.56SA 0.78 0.61 0.56 0.75 1.17 1.28 1.27 1.48 1.29 1.37 1.15 1.27 SA 1752 SU 1724 TU 1645 WE 1711 WE 1615 TH 1501 SA 1604 SU 1602 2124 2146 2230 2334 2312 2146 2222 2301 2124 0.50 0.50 2146 0.67 0.67 2334 0.66 0.66 2312 0.56 0.56 2222 0.78 0.78 2301 0.61 0.61 2230 0.56 0.56 2146 0.75 0.75 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 0508 1.47 0358 1.51 0430 1.43 0420 1.64 0508 1.47 0615 1.51 1.70 0430 1.43 0445 1.50 1.70 1.51 1.64 1300 0.59 0546 1232 0.41 1124 0.57 0515 1145 0.40 1133 0.67 0358 1016 0.61 1123 0.66 0420 1112 0.48 0508 1.47 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 0430 1.43 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 0358 1.51 0420 1.64 1133 0.67 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 1123 0.66 1124 0.57 1145 1016 0.61 1112 0.48 1851 1.21 1835 1.34 1735 1.35 1801 1.58 1720 1.23 1615 1.32 1721 1.17 1722 1.31 1133 0.67 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 1123 0.66 1124 0.57 1145 0.40 0.40 1016 0.61 1112 0.48 SU MO WE TH TH FR SU MO 17202320 1.23 1851 1.21 1835 1.34 17212257 1.17 17352319 1.35 1801 1.58 16152225 1.32 17222303 1.31 TH TH FR MO 0.70 0.58 0.50SU 0.75 0.63WE 1.23 1.17 1.35 1.32 1.31 TH 1720 SU 1851 1.21 MO MO 1835 1.34 SU SU 1721 WE 1735 TH 1801 1.58 FR 1615 MO 1722 2320 2257 2319 2225 2303 2320 0.58 0.58 2257 0.75 0.75 2319 0.70 0.70 2225 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0011 0.55 0009 0.58 0114 0.59 0.42 0000 0.70 0006 0.62 0.47 1.71 0.55 0745 1.63 0118 0745 1.89 0617 1.61 0054 0658 1.68 0647 1.57 0603 1244 0.42 0628 1.52 0011 0634 1.76 0009 0.58 0114 0.59 0118 0.42 0000 0.70 0006 0.62 0054 0.47 0603 1.71 0011 0.55 0647 1.57 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 0628 1.52 0617 1.61 0658 1244 0.42 0634 1.76 1425 0.45 1424 0.22 1243 0.45 1312 0.39 1329 0.56 1841 1.35 1311 0.54 1313 0.34 0647 1.57 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 0628 1.52 0617 1.61 0658 1.68 1.68 1244 0.42 0634 1.76 TU WE FR SA SA SU TU WE 13291913 0.56 14252018 0.45 14242026 0.22 13111912 0.54 12431852 0.45 13121930 0.39 1841 1.35 13131921 0.34 SA WE SA SU WE 1.32 1.51TU 1.53 1.74 1.24 1.29 1.50FR 0.56 0.45 0.22 0.54 0.45 0.39 0.34 SA 1329 TU 1425 WE 1424 TU 1311 FR 1243 SA 1312 SU 1841 1.35 TU WE 1313 1913 2018 2026 1912 1852 1930 1921 1913 1.24 1.24 2018 1.32 1.32 2026 1.51 1.51 1912 1.29 1.29 1852 1.53 1.53 1930 1.74 1.74 1921 1.50 1.50 0048 0.54 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 0155 0.54 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0142 0.43 0155 0.54 0048 0.54 0.43 0053 0.56 0.43 0051 0.64 0.47 0658 1.65 0142 0730 1.63 0029 0702 1.83 0824 1.68 0715 1.59 0111 0729 1.81 0744 1.64 0155 0.54 0048 0.54 0142 0.43 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0824 1.68 0658 1.65 0744 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 1317 0.40 1411 0.49 1345 0.29 1500 0.40 1351 0.48 1400 0.29 1349 0.41 0824 1.68 0658 1.65 0744 1.64 1.64 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 SA SU MO WE WE TH SU 15002054 0.40 13171928 0.40 13492009 0.41 14111958 0.49 13451943 0.29 13511951 0.48 14002009 0.29 SU SU MO WE TH 1.62 1.27 1.41WE 1.36 1.37 1.59SA 1.78 0.40 0.40 0.41 0.49 0.29 0.48 0.29 WE 1500 SA 1317 SU 1349 SU 1411 MO 1345 WE 1351 TH 1400 2054 1928 2009 1958 1943 1951 2009 2054 1.36 1.36 1928 1.62 1.62 2009 1.78 1.78 1958 1.27 1.27 1943 1.41 1.41 1951 1.37 1.37 2009 1.59 1.59 0134 0.55 0233 0.50 0134 0.57 0130 0.46 0127 0.38 0204 0.39 0227 0.41 0130 0.46 0134 0.55 0.38 0233 0.50 0134 0.57 0.39 0.41 0810 1.68 0127 0900 1.72 0755 1.65 0204 0738 1.68 0227 0758 1.94 0819 1.83 0827 1.58 0134 0.55 0127 0.38 0233 0.50 0134 0.57 0130 0.46 0204 0.39 0227 0.41 0738 1.68 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 0900 1.72 0755 1.65 0819 1.83 0827 1449 0.44 1533 0.36 1426 0.42 1351 0.37 1440 0.19 1445 0.27 1425 0.46 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 0900 1.72 0755 1.65 0738 1.68 0819 1.83 0827 1.58 1.58 MO TH TH SU TU FR MO 13512004 0.37 14492038 0.44 14402038 0.19 15332129 0.36 14262027 0.42 14452053 0.27 14252047 0.46 MO TU TH FR MO 1.30 1.40 1.44 1.71 1.47TH 1.66SU 1.80 0.44 0.19 0.36 0.42 0.37 0.27 0.46 MO 1449 TU 1440 TH 1533 TH 1426 SU 1351 FR 1445 MO 1425 2004 2038 2038 2129 2027 2053 2047 2038 1.30 1.30 2038 1.47 1.47 2129 1.40 1.40 2027 1.44 1.44 2004 1.71 1.71 2053 1.66 1.66 2047 1.80 1.80 0221 0.33 0254 0.35 0221 0.33 0254 0.35 0851 2.01 0906 1.80 0221 0.33 0254 0.35 0851 2.01 0906 1530 0.12 1525 0.28 0851 2.01 0906 1.80 1.80 WE SA 15302130 0.12 15252135 0.28 WE SA 1.52 1.71 0.12 0.28 WE 1530 SA 1525 2130 2135 2130 1.52 1.52 2135 1.71 1.71

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 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2016, Bureau of Meteorology Copyright Commonwealth ofofAustralia 2016, of Meteorology Copyright Commonwealth Australia 2016,Bureau Bureau Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of are Predictions is Lowesttime Astronomical Tideor daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times in local standard (UTC +10:00) Times are ininlocal standard time (UTC +10:00) orordaylight savings time when Times are local standard time (UTC +10:00) daylightFirst savings time(UTC (UTC+11:00) +11:00) wheninineffect effect New Moon Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New First Last Moon Full NewMoon Moon FirstQuarter Quarter LastQuarter Quarter MoonPhase PhaseSymbols Symbols FullMoon Moon Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) 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.

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boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Stessl Boats have been part of the Australian boating landscape for decades and continually strive to develop and produce quality aluminium boats to suit the tough Australian conditions. Whether it be a 3m dinghy or cartopper, or a classic Edgetracker side console, you’ll find the perfect boat for your needs in the extensive Stessl alloy boat range.

Made for...

Stessl’s Platetrix Series of plate boats represents the pinnacle of aluminium boat design. Their build quality and array of standard features position Stessl as one of the leading boat builders in Australia.

This month...

Steve Morgan is testing the 580 Seahawk with a Yamaha F130hp. Check it out on page 120!

116 Hola Conjola!

Toby Grundy launches his kayak into yet another lesser-known waterway with great fishing.

118 Get the most out of your summer boating Wayne Kampe offers some advice on how to maximise your enjoyment on the water during this busy time of year.

122 Quintrex 590 Frontier with 150hp

Steve Morgan climbs aboard this glorious rig, powered by an Envinrude 150hp E-Tec and stabilised by the new Apex hull design.

Take on a variety of species at Lake Conjola sand flats here that hold good populations of whiting, bream and flathead. There is also some timber here that holds EPs and big bream. Look out for the docks scattered around this area; most of the locals have built launches for their boats and these old wooden structures house the

CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Recently, I set myself a challenge to catch a few sand whiting on topwater.

After conferencing with kayak specialist Bill Dunn, we decided to try Lake Conjola, which is renowned as a big fish spot for mulloway and also offers some superb surface fishing for a variety of species.

At the start of summer, we visited the lake and found some epic topwater whiting action along with the usual mixed bag of estuary species from flathead to bream. It is also a family-friendly location with plenty to offer the novice kayak fisho right through to the more experienced angler.

FACILITIES Lake Conjola is located just outside Milton on the South Coast of NSW. The town of Conjola surrounds the lake and there are plenty of amenities right

Conjola holds good numbers of whiting which respond well to surface offerings.

SPECIES Lake Conjola is packed with a wide variety of species ranging from mulloway, estuary perch and flounder through to tailor, flathead, whiting and bream. We focused our attention on the flathead, whiting and bream and spotted several large EPs.

the fish didn’t touch any of our cicada offerings either.

It was only when I changed to a Bent Minnow that I started to see some topwater action.

Bent Minnows, and similar style lures, have to be by far the most effective when chasing whiting at Conjola. While

If the surface bite switches off, change to a plastic. next to several launching sites. There is a petrol station, a couple of nice cafes and also plenty of great places to eat and stock up on tackle in Milton and Ulladulla.

There is phone reception right around the lake, but it’s important to wear a life jacket as the weather can turn treacherous and the lake is multipurpose, meaning there are lots of boats and other hazards on the water.

We also caught a number of flounder on plastics.

TECHNIQUES One of the most exciting spectacles when fishing Conjola is watching a half dozen whiting barrelling towards a surface lure. To get the fish to start chasing, we had to change our approach.

At first, I threw a Sugapen at the bare banks and twitched the lure back to my yak. This achieved nothing and, though the cicadas were out in force,

Launch near Sandra Street and hit the bays nearby.

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TIMING Lake Conjola fishes well from early summer right through to early winter. The best time to target whiting is at the start of summer before the masses arrive for the holidays, but you will get fish even with a pile of

they take some getting used to and your arm will cramp, it’s well worth it.

Cast your lure parallel to a sand flat, hold the rod tip at 12 o’clock and start twitching your wrist while winding back to the yak. This is a bit like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time but it drives the fish crazy and brings them in from a mile away.

When you get a strike, allow the fish to pull down before setting the hook. Don’t set on the hit, but rather when you feel weight.

If you’re chasing a flathead or bream, find some submerged timber, even if it’s a small sunken bush, and cast as close to the snag as possible. A few quick lifts off the bottom should get a strike, but sitting the plastics on the bottom and allowing the current to pick up the lure also works well.

Sometimes a very subtle approach brings on the bigger fish.

THE KAYAK Conjola is a big lake and therefore requires a big kayak, especially if you’re fishing out in the middle where there can be a decent swell on a windy day. I used my Native Slayer Propel 13 and it was fantastic to reverse away from snags when fighting flathead and bream. I could also stand and cast when fishing the bays, which meant I could see the whiting chase my lure.

That said, any pedal or paddle kayak is fine provided it has some size for stability as well as plenty of storage.

THE SOUNDER You don’t need a sounder for fishing Conjola if you are focusing your efforts around the bays near the town. These areas hold fish and are very shallow. If you have a good pair of polaroids, you will be able to see the majority of the fish, so a sounder really isn’t a necessity. If you’re fishing the drop-offs, the middle of the lake or some of the deeper points, I would recommend a sounder – it will obviously help with water temperatures, finding the bait schools and aiding in identifying sunken structure.

LOCATIONS Launch near Sandra Street and hit the bays nearby. There are plenty of

Bill Dunn with an average Conjola flatty. best bream and some giant whiting, none of which I could convince to bite.

TACKLE I took my Daiwa Harrier 6’4 light spin stick coupled with a Daiwa Cerate 2004

boats and water skiers on the water.

CONCLUSION If you’re after topwater whiting then Conjola is the place to go. There are plenty around and they are

The OSP Bent Minnow is a great choice when fishing Conjola. spooled with 6lb line and 8lb leader. I did get a few bust-offs from what I think were big EPs, but otherwise it handled the whiting, flathead and bream well. I fished with a much longer leader than usual (around 2m) and found that this improved the strike rate and helped get the fussy fish to bite.

one of the tastiest fish to eat, which is a big bonus.

Watching a gang of these little white torpedos munch a surface offering proved to be one of my favourite angling experiences of 2017 and I highly recommend it.

It is also a great place to take family, as the bays are quiet, out of the wind and packed full of estuary battlers.

Solid bream are on offer from early summer right through to early winter.

WHAT’S NEW BOATING C-MAP GENESIS UPGRADE

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C-MAP Genesis’ processing engine has undergone a major revamp to improve map display and creation speed.

Benefits include: faster population of Social Map with community-sourced contour data; enhanced contour display, optimized by zoom level, of both personal maps and Social Map charts on the C-MAP website (no need to manually select fixed contour level – C-MAP delivers the optimum detail, depending on the zoom level); reduced clutter of depth markings; significantly reduced wait time for sonar data to upload, process and display a finished map in your dashboard; restored functionality of features you may have noticed were temporarily not working, including downloads of large merged maps; and a ‘Favourite Lakes’ feature in Social Map that allows for quicker and easier navigation between the charts of your favourite waterbodies.

C-MAP has also announced the full global integration of public Fishbrain catch-location waypoints, helping you to identify why fish were caught where they were. www.genesismaps.com

MERCURY VESSELVIEW 703

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The next gen VesselView703 delivers improvements across the board.

Its SolarMAX high-definition glass touchscreen has wide viewing angles, dimmable lighting and a glare-reducing coating for viewing in all conditions, and a new customizable WheelKey and an expanded keypad give you total control of all functions.

The new unit includes built-in WiFi and Bluetooth. It also contains an Active Trim Control Pad, which when coupled with ECU module automatically trims the engine(s), to improve performance and cut fuel costs.

Other features include an integrated echosounder, true dual channel CHIRP, GPS and chart plotter. With twice the memory of the previous model, the VV703 also has a more powerful dual core processor.

VesselView703 can simultaneously display detailed information for up to four engines.

It can also be integrated with all the Simrad accessories for the NSS Evo3 product line. www.mercurymarine.com

GARMIN ECHOMAP PLUS

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The new Garmin ECHOMAP Plus features powerful sonar capabilities, preloaded charts and mapping, and built-in WiFi. All models have a sunlight-readable 4”, 6”, 7” or 9” display, and the 7” and 9” units have a new keyed-assist touchscreen, providing quick access to the features you use most.

Thanks to built-in Wi-Fi, anglers can take advantage of the free ActiveCaptain mobile app. You can use the app to access, update and purchase maps and charts on a mobile device anytime, reference the ActiveCaptain community for marina and other points of interest details, and more. The app provides notifications directly to the plotter/combo, software updates, off-vessel planning capabilities and more. Once the unit is turned on, the maps and charts will be instantly available.

All units have built-in CHIRP traditional sonar and CHIRP ClearVü and SideVü scanning sonar. The 7” and 9” Plus models also provide support for all Garmin Panoptix all-seeing sonar transducers. The entire range is preloaded with BlueChart g2 HD cartography.

Price: $499-$1599 garmin.com/newmarine

FC 680 SEALEGS

4

FC Boats, manufacturers of specialist fishing boats, have created a unique amphibious model.

Ross Christensen and his team have created a 680 Sealegs prototype, developed for a customer who lives on the water and wanted a boat he could drive in and out of his shed.

The boat is roomy for an amphibious craft because the additional engine, which drives the Sealegs’ wheels and hydraulics, has been built into the centre console, with the hull reengineered to conceal the cooling and exhaust pipework. Externally, the Catalinastyle raised sheer line means the front wheel can tuck away nicely, for a better looking profile.

Contributing to the prototype’s success is its 6-cylinder 225hp Verado, whose power steering technology has allowed FC to link the outboard and the front wheel in one steering system.

“It works better than other brands due to the Verado’s vertical steering pivot, even when the motor is fully trimmed up,” Ross explained. “It really enhances the steering of the boat when it’s up on its wheels, and when it’s in the water it’s a beautiful boat to drive.” fcboats.co.nz

NOHEA MOKU BOAT SHOE

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2

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Hawaiian inspired footwear creators, OluKai, have released the Nohea Moku boat shoe, made to withstand and provide superior traction when wet.

The Nohea Moku is lightweight and breathable, thanks to the outer mesh and stretch air mesh tongue and gusset. Coupled with drainage ports on the medial side and a soft, aerated microfiber lining, these shoes were born to keep boaters dry whenever, and wherever possible. They are also easy to get on and off – you just tighten or loosen the elastic laces.

Boasting a highly durable, dual-density, anatomically moulded PU footbed with a soft gel heel insert, the Nohea Moku is as strong as it is comfortable. It also has an all-weather, anti-marking gum rubber outsole.

Available colours are trench blue, black and dark shadow. To purchase visit the Escape 2 website.

Price: SRP $139.99 www.escape2.com.au

MERCURY VESSELVIEW 903

PRODUCT GUIDE

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4

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Mercury’s new VesselView 903 is the largest and most advanced version in this popular range of multifunction displays.

With a 9” screen and a 16x9 aspect ratio, VesselView 903 is easy to read in virtually all conditions. The touchscreen interface delivers intuitive display interaction, with an optional remote-control button interface available.

The 903 can be integrated with all the Simrad accessories for the Go9 product line – radar, transducers, AIS, VHF, Sonic Hub/ Fusion Link/SiriusXM and more. It also has a built-in 10Hz GPS and chart plotter capability.

Auto notification of software updates come through the embedded WiFi. VesselView 903 provides a descriptive fault text display, as well as up-to-date information for more than 30 engine parameters including fuel level and range, oil temperature and pressure, battery voltage, water depth, Genest and more.

In addition, with VesselView Link boaters can fully integrate the propulsion system via NMEA2000 onto other devices. www.mercurymarine.com

5

6 Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

SCAN THE QR CODE!

FEBRUARY 2018

117

The best of the summer boating BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

It’s a busy time and a fine time to be on the water. Days start early in summer and even with daylight savings, 5am is still a great time to be on the water.

Launching recently around that very time of day, I saw a mum and dad team with a couple of youngsters having all sorts of trouble with their transition from car to boat.

Dad and the little ones were in the obviously very new craft, while Mum was holding it and the engine wasn’t playing the game with lots of starter motor but no exhaust note.

Accordingly, I am putting a few ideas forward to ensure

when the trailer is in the water for the very first time.

Certain things can influence fuel supply, especially if there is some time lapse between dealer start and owner start at the ramp. It’s easy to make sure the engine is ready for the get-go by setting it up at home for a short start-up a day prior to the big event.

The boat should be in a convenient place with the outboard right down, and the engine flush muffs set up over the water intake near the prop and the hose turned on. This is the marine mechanic’s recommended method of flushing an engine; the concept is to get the water through the entire system the same as if the boat was in the water. Make sure that most

and turn the key again. It will fire first click, and it will do the same at the ramp where, again, a squeeze of the primer bulb is a good idea.

A SMALL CHECKLIST When it’s time to put in the fishing tackle and tucker and leave home with the boat on the tow bar a small checklist of to-do items will make things go a whole lot smoother. First off, is everything up nice and tight?

The boat should be tied down at the rear on the trailer, and latched securely up front to the winch and safety chain.

The bung should be in too.

Prior to leaving home it’s wise to see that all the trailer electricals are working. In the case of an older rig, something might be amiss – maybe an indicator or stoplight is not

At this ramp we see rocks on each side and a somewhat narrow area in which to reverse to the water. It’s probably not an altogether ideal place for a beginner to learn to reverse, nor for someone to be hanging on to the boat if it doesn’t start immediately. that a much-anticipated fun day on the water is just that, with no disappointments or hard times.

START HER UP AT HOME A shiny new boat is a wonderful thing to own but if it’s going to have its maiden voyage, it might be best to see what might facilitate things. From a couple of very interesting experiences I’ve had with brand new boats of my own, it’s a really good idea to make sure the engine is going to start easily. Although it would have been started and run by the dealer when the engine is fitted, that doesn’t mean it will start immediately

of the water is available for the engine and not escaping around the sides of the muffs.

I put occy straps on my flushing muffs to keep them tightly in place.

At home a few squeezes of the primer bulb are wise to ensure fuel is right through the system and the key can be turned to start position. Don’t be surprised if the engine takes a few cranks to get it firing initially; this is by no means unknown for brand new engines.

The idea is to get water running through the engine for a few minutes. Next, shut down and give the engine a rest for a couple of minutes

A dodgy ramp at low tide is not for the uninitiated.

It’s best to come back when the tide is higher.

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Leave the safety chain on.

Any gear to go into the boat should go in at this point and then the rig can be lined up for take-off when it’s your turn.

Reversing can be tricky; I did a whole article on reversing in last month’s issue.

If you missed it, I stressed that one of the easiest methods of keeping things on track is to watch the boat in the side mirrors. As soon as it moves out of alignment with the car a small turn of the steering wheel in the direction the boat is heading should straighten things up. Once the wheels are in the water it’s time to release the safety chain and free the boat from the trailer’s restraint.

If you find mirror reversing too hard, have someone walk alongside and direct you. New boaters can do a whole lot worse than head to a freshwater dam for an initial boating experience.

These are much smaller boating environments all round and most Southern Queensland impoundments offer decent ramps with plenty of room each side. Also, there’s likely to be far less pressure on learners coming to terms with reversing or driving a new boat.

EXITING THE TRAILER – TRAPS FOR THE UNWARY With the trailer wheels in the water, now comes a decision – do you simply attach a rope to the front cleat and let the boat slide off

This looks spectacular, but it’s not the way for the family to enjoy their boating.

Leave the air time to the experts. smartly, or is it better to use the winch to manually lower the boat off the trailer slowly and under full control? Either method will work but a big, solid boat on a ramp with

Beach launching is strictly for the experts in the game. It’s far better to stick to the easy ramps and enjoy the experience. working; a spray with some electrical contact enhancer on trailer/car connections just might save the day. Those connections also need a bit of TLC, so a spray with contact enhancer after fishing.

THE RAMP Practice makes perfect with launch and retrieve procedures, but why not choose an easy ramp to start with? A ramp with a handy pontoon walkway is going to make things easier and it will be a whole lot better if final organisation is carried out in a methodical manner prior to engaging reverse gear near the water.

Your first step is to free the boat, removing rear tie-downs and any other encumbrances.

a fair amount of slope will gather so much momentum it is going to be like holding a high spirited horse; once the slack takes up it’s mighty hard work! A smaller, lighter, craft can be more easily managed with a bow rope or free slide launch. Again, it comes down to experience and practice.

Give some thought to that valuable transducer.

As sounders have become larger and more complex, so too have transducers. If it damaged through contact with the ramp – heavier hulls can dip surprisingly deep when they slide off a trailer rapidly – there will be some hand wringing and teeth gnashing taking place if the transducer is mangled.

Transducers can’t be

A situation all boaters strive for – a well-trimmed craft riding smoothly and freely.

repaired and if the installation has been somewhat complex or involved (due to the cable snaking through confined or hard-to-get-at areas of the hull) it’s likely not a DIY project to install another one later.

Time off the water and money from the pocket will be the outcome, so give some thought as to how the boat might best be launched from the trailer. I always reverse winch it down, walk out and free the tow hook. This is a small fetish of mine that keeps trailer bearings mostly dry. As I have waterproof legs, they have never shown signs of corrosion or other damage from saltwater immersion.

NEW ENGINE TLC With the boat in the water and crew aboard, stay aware as you leave the ramp that red beacons are kept on the right, green on the left, and other

boats are passed on the left.

How do you proceed when outside restricted speed areas?

A rule of thumb is to trim the engine right down to achieve planing speed then trim up once on the plane, without overdoing it. Getting the feel of things is the smart move; it’s best not to overdo any of the procedure.

Over-trimming upwards will see the engine burbling and bow far too high to make decent forward progress, so a happy medium needs to be attained. Comfortable and easy going boating is the name of the game.

If a sensible medium trim level doesn’t easily occur, the boat needs to go back to the dealer for the engine to be moved up or down on the transom. Don’t ram the throttle lever right forward to see how fast she will go until

A decent walkway adjoining a ramp takes a lot of stress out of launching and retrieving a small craft.

the recommended break-in period for the engine is over. At the first service the technician will link a workshop computer to the engine and if the manufacturer’s break-in period/rev limits have obviously been ignored, you are going to attract some

different sea conditions on any given day. With the car, headlights are for night time, windscreen wipers are for driving in the rain and all contingencies are covered.

When in a boat it’s all up to skipper once the ramp

Even in the Brisbane River there can be some pressure waves or wash. Note the big ship in the background; it had just passed while Denise was working on this mulloway.

One of Moogerah Dam’s ramps – an easy place for a beginner to become acquainted with reversing and general boating. Take some bait or a trap to score some shrimps and you can take home some bass as well. sideways glances from the management.

EASY DOES IT ON THE WATER First boating trips for a novice are very different to driving a car as a learner.

Cars travel on marked lanes on roads and roads are always driveable – however slowly. Boating is a whole new ball game, as watercraft are subject to

is out of sight. Go fast in waves and there will likely be some spray and bumps, and very possibly discomfort. Even boating or fishing in the Brisbane River will see some massive wash causing temporary upset as tugs, huge ships, and island-bound ferries pass. Slackening off as a big wash approaches makes a lot of sense in these

conditions.

When heading out into a bay or estuary it’s a smart practice for a beginner, particularly with family aboard, to have a quick look at local conditions on the net before departure.

Try the BOM and Queensland Observations; conditions recorded on the various beacons will confirm that things are going to be pleasant for the launch and hopefully for the duration of the time on the water. Also, consider the consequences of wind against tide – this is always a certain recipe for some chop.

Limiting first trips to easier destinations makes sense, too. While the wrecks at Tangalooma look

great in this mag’s pictures, they are a long way from any launching ramp if a strengthening breeze whips up serious chop, making a run home into a nightmare in a smaller craft.

On the other side of the coin, heading for an easy-to-reach destination in decent conditions will ensure the home team are willing to come back for more of the same. Drenched with spray, bounced around and uncomfortable, they will likely find more urgent things to do next time boating is suggested.

Enjoyment is the aim of time on the water and going about things correctly will ensure there is plenty to go around.

The perfect boats for barra, bass or bream

You’ll find them where the fish are... since 1967 Mako 214 CC

For more than 20 years, Nitro have continually refined and delivered serious fishing boats for serious anglers.

Nitro boats are foam-filled to exceed US Coast Guard survey requirements.

This gives you the safety of level floatation, security and comfort – and additional fishing stealth – all backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Mako 234 CC Mako 284 CC

Fishing with Nitro is a blast!

Whether you’re a tournament pro or a weekend warrior, Nitro boats will ignite your passion and pack more fun into your day. Just getting there is half the fun!

The latest offerings from Mako feature the deepest internal freeboard of any boats in their class, while still providing large underfloor fish boxes, and the huge safety benefits of a true self-draining cockpit and foamfilled hull.

You’ll enjoy your offshore fishing more knowing that Mako’s 100% composite construction is totally rot-free, enabling Mako to give you the best warranty in the business – the Mako Assurance Life Time Warranty

The world’s #1 aluminium fishing boats!

Tracker’s outstanding quality and unique manufacturing process have made them the world’s largest boat builder – producing more than 40,000 aluminium fishing boats per year. Their foam-filled, unsinkable, 3mm plate alloy hulls are robotically welded to deliver superior quality at a lower cost – and are backed by a Limited Lifetime Warranty.

Tracker’s Pro Guide series is designed with a deep-vee hull for exceptional performance, even in rough waters.

Their Diamond Coat finish is a Tracker exclusive that resists oxidation, providing protection and a shine lasting 70% longer. Standard features include a Minn Kota trolling motor and Lowrance colour sounder, plus tournament-ready live well systems and rod lockers.

www.nitromarine.com.au 34 Smith St, Southport

(07) 5532 5812 FEBRUARY 2018

119

Stessl 580 Seahawk with Yamaha F130hp - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

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Main: Stessl Seahawk’s Platerix hull is designed to withstand all of the punishment that fishing offshore can deliver. It’s a big, beamy and solidly built boat that delivers over 2km/L at 4250rpm.

Above: With 200L of fuel under the floor, the Seahawk has a serious range – over 400km!

6mm stringers and then full height, transverse bulkhead frames.”

In summary, it means that they are over-

Length.........................................................5.8m Beam...........................................................2.5m Depth........................................................1.45m Hull weight............................................... 840kg Bottom........................................................4mm Sides...........................................................4mm Capacity.......................................... six persons Max hp.......................................................... 150 Shaft.............................................................. 25”

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FEBRUARY 2018

aluminium in the Platerix hull, combined with the foam filling makes this a quiet ride.

Yamaha’s superlative F130 isn’t the maximum horsepower allowed on the hull, but it lifts the hull onto the plane with ease and at 4250rpm delivers 2.2km/L

PERFORMANCE

SPECIFICATIONS

from other plate boats on the market,” Scott explained, “We run a 100x10mm keel down the centre, which is fundamentally the backbone of the boat.

Followed by that we have

DE FOR EX

Stessl boats has moved back home. With Scott James (from Horizon Boats) the new owner, Stessl is once more owned and built in South East Queensland. With decades of history for the brand in the books, it’s not surprising that Scott’s dad, the legendary Bob James, was once the foreman at the factory in one of its Queensland iterations.

And Scott is excited about the acquisition.

One of the first things I asked him, though, was about what ‘Platerix’ was.

“Platerix describes the way that we build our plate boats, which is different

CO

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

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bilge and batteries through a pair of watertight hatches.

Without a transom door, boarding happens up the ladder and over the transom via the duckboard.

On the water, the hull runs quietly. Sometimes this isn’t the case with plate boats, but the amount of

Steve Morgan

Q

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AN THE

FMG

engineered and designed not to break. Ever.

The boat we tested on the Tweed River and bar was a customer’s boat that has been fitted out as a serious offshore fishing

boat. Although this craft boasts 1.8m bunks in the cabin and a bait station that converts to a ski pole in a matter of seconds, it’s unashamedly a ‘dad’s’ fishing boat.

With an impressive 2.5m beam, there’s a huge cockpit to comfortably fish three or four anglers at a time. Coupled with the factory installed vinyl flooring and deck wash, the clean-up options are easy.

The overhead rocket launchers fitted into the canopy swallow up any rods not immediately in use and the port side live well keeps your live baits in A1 condition. There’s also an underfloor kill box under the cockpit floor.

The transom design is neat, with access to the

RPM........................ km/h...................... km/L Idle................................ 4.............................5 1000............................... 8.............................4 2000............................. 13.......................... 2.5 3000............................. 23.......................... 1.9 4000............................. 37.......................... 1.9 5000............................. 48.......................... 1.4 6000............................. 59.......................... 1.2

The 2.5m of beam make this a very stable boat.

of unleaded burned. At 6000rpm the package scoots along at 59km/h, but burns fuel much less economically.

It’s the same for most outboard powered boats – ease up on the throttle and your day on the water gets much cheaper.

The real talking point for the Seahawk, though, is the price. Eyebrows were raised when the package on a twin axle trailer landed at under $60,000 – well under $60K at $56,990.

If you want more information, watch the test video on the FishingMonthly YouTube channel (by scanning the QR code hereby on your smartphone), or go to www.stessl.com.au and you can also like Stessl Boats on Facebook.

Now that’s a lot of cockpit space – the test boat has custom synthetic floors fitted to keep it softer and quieter underfoot as well as easy to clean up.

Relaxn helm seats are lifted with a large storage box. The helm is comfortable on the test boat.

Yamaha’s F130 is destined to become a classic.

Delivering quiet, economy and reliability, it pushed the test boat to just under 60km/h at 6000rpm. The best economy was at 4250rpm, where fuel use for distance was nearly halved.

Excess fishing rods can be stored in the rocket launchers, which are incorporated into the canopy.

We love flush-mounted electronics at Fishing Monthly. It means that the design is modern enough to incorporate the common units used for fit-up at the time.

Top: Side pockets are standard in a boat of this configuration. The Seahawk’s gunwales are high enough to be comfortable fishing offshore.

Left: The footrest lets you lock yourself in when things get a little rough.

Right: There’s a deck wash to keep everything civil in the cockpit.

Top Left: A port side live bait tank is plumbed to keep your livies in top condition before you send them to their doom.

Top Right: The optional bait board fits five rods, two cans and a block of IQF pills. What more could an owner want? The board also detaches and leaves a ski pole for the family days.

Left: True to its bulletproof heritage, the cabin isn’t the most luxurious we’ve ever seen, but it does the job of keeping significant others out of the sun and weather.

It’s 1.8m long, which will allow most adults to stretch out and get some sleep.

Right: We had plenty of fun testing the Stessl Seahawk in the Tweed River and bar!

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Quintrex 590 Frontier with Evinrude 150hp - SC

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Main: A year ago, the only part of this package that existed was the Lowrance sounder. The new Apex hull Frontier combined with an Evinrude G2 E-Tec 150 HO outboard is exactly what your Quintrex dealer would serve up if you asked for an all-round boat with the lot.

Above: Boasting the pickle fork bow design and a totally redesigned hull, the 590 Frontier rode brilliantly in a Broadwater that featured solid wind versus solid tide.

Quintrex’s Nathan Shaw explained the advantages of the Apex.

“The Apex hull has been developed over a two-year period. It’s super soft, there’s much more room inside, there’s more freeboard and it corners beautifully,” Nathan said as we dropped the test boat into the Gold Coast Broadwater.

PERFORMANCE RPM......Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L) Idle..............................4............................. 5 1000............................8.......................... 3.7 2000..........................12.......................... 1.7 3000..........................32.......................... 2.4 4000..........................47.......................... 2.2 5000..........................60.......................... 1.8 6000..........................72.......................... 1.5 6200..........................74.......................... 1.5 122

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The Frontier is designed with the same ‘pickle fork’ bow that was initially released with their F-Series Hornets, however it’s below the waterline where the new design really makes a difference.

Quintrex is now able to form the aluminium for the entire length of the hull sheets and the difference in ride is noticeable over its predecessor, the Blade hull.

For me, the true test was while we were filming running shots for the video review (that you can watch by scanning the QR code on the top of this page with your smartphone).

Rarely can I shoot running shots boat-to-boat.

We usually have to stop one

craft and run the other boat past at speed to capture the movement smoothly.

Even on a windy bay on the Broadwater, the Frontier

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Quintrex boats have a long history of innovative design and huge sales.

Originally, their stretchformed hulls and the shapes that they could make in sheet aluminium gave a look and ride that couldn’t be equalled in an aluminium boat.

Over the years, Quintrex tinnies have evolved. From the original flared bow to the Hornet, to the curvier Millennium hulls, all represented steps forward in ride, looks and durability.

Enter the Apex hull in 2017.

It mightn’t look it, but the Frontier (with the new Apex Hull) is the new Top Ender – one of the most popular Quintrex models.

The test model was a 590 fitted with the ballsy 150hp G2 Evinrude E-Tec and represented a full boat-motortrailer package delivered from the Queensland factory.

You see, as well as making the hull and trailer in-house, Quintrex’s parent company – Telwater – is the Australian distributor for Evinrude outboards.

CO

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

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Steve Morgan

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provided a stable, on-plane platform to shoot boat-to-boat while we were running. It was impressive.

Like its predecessor, the Frontier will be expected to perform everywhere from freshwater lakes to the open ocean and at first glance,

FMG

work well, without getting in each other’s way when they are needed.

There’s a mountain of storage space underfloor and if you manage to fill it all with lure boxes, you’ll have as much money’s worth of tackle as you do boat.

SPECIFICATIONS Length.................................................... 5.99m Beam...................................................... 2.35m Depth...................................................... 1.30m Length on trailer...................................... 7.67m Height on trailer...................................... 2.09m Bottom...................................................... 4mm Sides......................................................... 3mm Hull weight...............................................708kg Rec hp.......................................................... 90 Max hp........................................................150 Capacity............................................7 persons you’ll be able to tick all of the boxes.

The layout cleverly combines ways to make this boat eminently suitable for anchored-bait or movinglure fishing. For once, an anchor well and bow mounted electric motor

• Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

Don’t be fooled – this is the same boat. Quintrex wrap their demo and press boats on one side and have the factory paint job on the other to show customers and dealers the options available.

The G2 Evinrudes have amazing low and midrange torque. The 150 HO (which means ‘high output’ or ‘hold on’ depending on your technical knowledge) is the maximum horsepower allowed and is a perfect fit for the craft.

Move the pedestal seats around to accommodate a variety of seating or cargo options. They fold over for trailering.

The test boat had a 9” Lowrance at the helm, however the dash holds a 12” display, flush mounted – a big tick.

All of the front hatches have a sub-floor that keeps your gear out of the bilge water.

The cavernous front main hatch eats a lot of tackle, but it’s still not a truly waterproof space, meaning you still need to be careful where you store your expensive lures.

Check out the beam of the front casting deck. The Frontier combines castability, trollability and the ability to anchor and to use an electric motor. It’s the true crossover boat.

Quintrex have been rotomolding their own livewells for decades.

They can be plumbed or drain straight to the bilge.

Keep your livies in here and you can check on their condition with a quick glance.

A couple of years ago we were all sitting on the sidelines wondering whether the ‘pickle fork’ design would be accepted. It was.

Massive cockpit? Check. Tons of freeboard? Check. Multiple seat bases? Check.

The true test of the Apex hull was on a windy day on the Broadwater and the results were impressive. It’s definitely the softest riding Quintrex in this size range the author has ever been in.

With a reinforced pad for mounting a trolling motor on the port side, there’s a conventional anchor well in the middle of the pickle-fork. A lid on the anchor well keeps it neat and tidy when you’re casting lures.

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