New South Wales Fishing Monthly August 2019

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF NSW FISHING MONTHLY!

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August 2019, Vol. 25 No. 1

Contents 16

BYRON COAST The Tweed 32 Ballina 34 Yamba 36 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour South West Rocks

38 40

MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 41 Forster 42 Harrington-Taree 43 HUNTER COAST Hunter Coast 43 Port Stephens 44 Erina 45 Swansea 46 SYDNEY Sydney 12 The Hawkesbury 16 Sydney North 18 Sydney South 20 Botany Bay 22 Pittwater 24 Sydney Rock and Beach 26 ILLAWARRA COAST llawarra 68 Nowra 71 BATEMANS COAST

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From the Editor’s Desk...

DOORS OPEN TO AFTA SHOW FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS For decades AFTA (the Australian Fishing Trade Association) has been running a trade show. What’s a trade show? It’s when all of the manufacturers and distributors set up stands to show off their latest and greatest products and the tackle stores (retailers) come and check out the tackle that’s about to hit the market.

It’s handy to have nearly all of the big players in the tackle industry in the one place at the one time. Usually there are around 70 exhibitors at an AFTA Show, and brands from Alvey to Zerek are represented – complete with a fair smattering of product designers and inventors to add that star factor. At least to us tackle junkies!

Trade shows have always been closed to the public.

However, thanks to social media, what’s launched at the AFTA Show isn’t a secret anymore.

Usually by an hour into the first day, there’s all the information you could want available online.

This rise in awareness has prompted calls to let the public in to have a look. It makes sense for tackle suppliers to engage with their present and future customers. Sell the sizzle, even though the sausage may not be available until later in the year.

And this year, it’s happening.

There will be a Public Day at the 2019 AFTA Trade Show on the Gold Coast.

Does this mean that you’ll be able to come home with the latest and greatest tackle? Nope.

It’s not a retail selling show.

You’ll be able to buy some caps and catalogues, but it’s not like the Lure Show, so you won’t need to re-mortgage the house to satisfy your addiction.

Will you be able to go and see your local tackle store and get them to pre-order the gear for you? Hell yeah. That’s the way it works. Look at the show and buy from your retailer.

For me though, the show will

be so much more than product. I believe it’s the people who make the show. And by people, I mean that basically every fishing TV show personality, fishing journo of note, pro staffer and fishing celebrity should be there.

Want to meet ET, the Hook, Line and Sinker crew, Lee Rayner, Steve Starling or Rob Paxevanos? No worries – they’ll be kicking around the show. What about your favourite pro-staffers that you follow on social media? They’ll be there (unless they’re scared to do anything live!) Lure displays in casting tanks? There’ll be several.

And in what we think is an excellent move by AFTA, the admittance price is around half of cost of any boat show.

It’s just $10 a head, and kids under 15 are free, so you can have a cheap day out at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition centre. Public Day is on Saturday 17 August 2019, it’s open from 9am-4pm, and on-site parking is $12 per entry.

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We hope to see you there. It’s the celebration of the industry that you’re now invited to!

MATT DRINKALL MARKS 25-YEAR ANNIVERSARY Fishing Monthly Co-Director Matthew Drinkall has marked a significant milestone: 25 years working for the magazine. In 1994 he was hired to change the way articles were laid up on the page, dispensing with bromides (photographic paper) in favour of laying it up on a computer.

Now we have a whole design department to work on the magazines, which has freed Matthew up to spend more time doing what he loves most: photography. The best photos in our in-house boat tests are his handiwork, and many spectacular shots in corporate outboard and boating ads are his photos too.

Matthew is usually the first to arrive at work and the last to leave, and we appreciate all his hard work. It wouldn’t be Fishing Monthly without Matty!

Batemans Bay 69 Merimbula 72 Narooma 73 EDEN COAST Bermagui 74 Mallacoota 74 Tathra 75 FRESHWATER

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Curtis Parker caught this solid yellowbelly on a trip to Windamere.

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Comprising three custom built fishing vessels able to cater for over 30 anglers at a time: Silver Star 38ft Westcoaster by star boats, charter licence in all 4 endorsements (Game fishing, Offshore Deep-sea, Nearshore & Estuary) for 16 Odin 36ft Multicat, charter licence in all 4 endorsements for 14.

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Golden Perch

Time to get your hands on some Capital gold CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Canberra is home to three urban waterways, all of which have been heavily stocked with golden perch. Lake Tuggeranong, Lake Ginninderra and Lake Burley Griffin all contain football-sized yellas, and because each lake is located right in the heart of Canberra, they are easily accessible and are bank and boat/ kayak friendly.

These techniques are also applicable to any mediumsized dam located in a cooler climate.

WORK THE REEDS Lining certain sections of Canberra’s three major waterways are partially submerged reeds. These areas are often my first stop because there is always plenty of food clinging to the stems of the reeds. Even during the coldest days I can spot bait on the reeds, so it is the obvious choice to fish these areas. I know that if there is a golden in

on the edge of the reeds.

The fish usually sit in the reeds looking out, waiting for a baitfish or yabby to creep into open water. A lure sitting just out from the reeds mimics this situation.

Once my lure has hit the bottom, I twitch the lure on the spot for a few seconds. Whether it is a soft plastic, blade or vibe, I like to create some disturbance on the bottom to imitate a yabby trying to bury itself after venturing out from the reeds, or a dying baitfish flapping around puffing up

allow a lengthy pause before repeating the process. It can take me a few minutes to complete a retrieve when fishing during the cooler

from bank and also from a boat or kayak.

I cast plastics right into the heart of an overhang.

Sometimes this means

lose a lot of lures when skip casting into these gnarly bits of structure). Once the lure has hit the water, I start working it back to my

It’s a good idea to switch to a lighter jighead when fishing around heavy cover.

Hungry, active goldens can be found patrolling the reeds.

My favourite time of year to chase these fish is August because there are very few people out on the water, and if I do hook up, it is almost guaranteed that the fish will be above average size.

In this article I will outline the cool water tactics I use to target these fish in Canberra’s waterways.

the vicinity, it will be high in the water column and actively hunting.

In these areas, a kayak/ boat truly comes into its own because it is possible to creep almost into the reeds and still not spook the fish or the bait. I like to move in flush with the reeds and cast my lure parallel to the bank so that my lure lands just

dirt and sand. I have found that this disturbance is often more than enough to trigger a bite from a golden perch or large redfin.

If I haven’t had a bite by jigging the lure on the spot, I work the lure back to my position by hopping it up off the bottom almost to the surface before letting it sink back down again. I then

months in Canberra because I like to give the fish plenty of time to have a good look at my lure.

BRANCHES AND OVERHANGS Sometimes I won’t get a fish in the reeds, so I head to the overhangs and scattered branches, which are another common feature across each of Canberra’s urban lakes. I have caught a lot of goldens fishing overhangs which I wouldn’t describe as ‘heavy cover’, but are large enough to provide an ambush position. These fish aren’t necessarily as active as those sitting on the outskirts of weeds so a likely branch or overhang needs to be fished a little more aggressively. These areas are easily fished

skipping the plastic in or casting the plastic up in a wide arc and landing the lure in a gap between the

position using a pronounced twitch and pause retrieve. I really work the lure in this context because I’m looking

Casting into areas like this is often productive. twigs. I mostly use plastics when fishing these types of areas because they are effective but also cheap (I

for a reaction bite, as the fish in these areas usually aren’t feeding at the same rate as those in the reeds.

RINCON

Like the California point break it was named for, the Rincon has a classic West Coast straight bridge, wrapping style lines and edgy curved temples.

GREEN MIRROR: Enhanced vision and contrast for fishing inshore and on flats.

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AUGUST 2019

OPTIMAL USE: • Sight fishing in full sun • High contrast

The author with a typical Canberra yella.

Golden Perch FINESSE IS BEST When fishing in winter, a little bit of finesse goes a long way. I’m not just talking about the line and leader – you also need a subtle retrieve and smaller lures. When fishing the reeds I’ll drop to 4lb braid and 6lb leader, but if there isn’t a snag in sight on the edge of the reeds, I’ll drop my leader to 4lb.

Likewise, when jigging

on the edge of a reed bank, I use quick, short jigs when working my lure on the spot, as opposed to the exaggerated jigs I put into a lure during the warmer months. Further, when hitting an overhang, I use a 2” plastic instead of a 3” or 4” model, partly because the small size suits the tighter snags, but also because it is more subtle and appeals to lethargic fish.

TACKLE I use a Rovex Revenge 2-4kg spin rod matched to a Rovex Revenge 2000 sized spin reel. I bring two spools with me, each with a different line class, and I switch according to the situation. On one spool, I run 6lb braid and 8lb leader for fishing the twigs and overhangs, and on the other I run 4lb braid and 6lb leader for casting around

A sounder is invaluable for finding golden perch like this.

The author always brings two combos, one for casting small surface offerings and the other for working plastics.

the reeds. This combo is a good choice, as there is plenty of power in the butt and a decent amount of finesse in the tip for working plastics. It is also great for skip casting.

This combo works well for casting small surface offerings. In late autumn in Canberra, there can be a surface bite, as hungry reddies tidy up the first

round of baitfish before spring really hits. These fish tend to stir up the system when hooked and send a lot of panic signals. The distress signals bring in golden perch, which can be readily targeted with a plastic fish under the school of surface feeders.

I always carry a second combo with me as I often quickly switch from small

surface lures to plastics.

I use a Quantum Synergy 2-4kg spin matched to a Quantum Smoke S15 reel in this context.

LURE CHOICE As mentioned previously, in winter I tend to use smaller lures, ones that match the hatch almost perfectly. My favourite session opener has to be To page 10

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AUGUST 2019

9

Golden Perch From page 9

the Ecogear ZX 35 in Dark Knight because it looks like a yabby, sinks quickly and, when jigged near the reeds, stirs the bottom due to its action.

The Strike Pro Enticer grub soft plastic matched to a 1/8oz jighead is perfect for casting into the overhangs, and its tail action is exceptional.

Sometimes I’ll switch to a 1/16oz-sized jighead if

the fish are particularly shut down and apply some Squidgie Wriggler scent to sweeten the deal.

I use jig spins throughout the cooler months but I have found they really come into their own in August. My favourite plastic to tie onto a jig spin is the Dragon Belly Fish Pro in bloodworm.

This lure drives the goldens crazy, especially when paired with the flash of the blade on a jig spin.

For surface, I use small poppers and cicada-style imitations.

TIMING Dawn and dusk are the best times to chase these fish.

I have caught a fair few yellas during the day, but I have caught the majority of my better fish targeting low light periods after clear, sunny days. I also prefer a bit of chop on the water, as it seems to make the fish less wary and more willing to strike.

Try to fish low light periods if possible.

This yella was taken on a lipless crankbait rigged with a Colorado blade.

SOUND AROUND There are certain images that will pop up on your sounder that you will see again and again across each Canberra waterway.

Here in the capital, we have a weed issue that is especially prevalent in Lake Tuggeranong and Lake Ginninderra. There have been times when I have been working a reed-lined bank and have sounded undulating weed patches below me. They

almost look like little peaks and troughs on the sounder. These are prime places to cast to if all else fails, and even if you don’t sound a fish on there, cast in anyway because golden perch can be sitting right in the middle of a large clump of weed.

I run a Lowrance Elite Series 7ti and it is a great little unit all all the bells and whistles. That said, any sounder is fine provided you can easily identify the

sunken weed beds sitting off the reed lined banks.

CONCLUSION Canberra’s urban waterways provide some exceptional golden perch fishing even in the heart of winter. The fish are there and will hit, provided you target the right areas and apply some finesse to your game. Catches of a dozen or more goldens are a distinct possibility, especially if you focus your efforts around low light periods.

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The kingfish are crowding the offshore reefs SYDNEY

Paul O’Hagan

Over the last month the fishing around Sydney has gotten a lot better, with a lot of species available for those fishing inside the harbour, out on the reefs and near the shelf.

more northern beaches, with some anglers picking up fish up to 1m long using fresh caught squid on the incoming tide as the sun goes down.

Inside the harbour the fishing has continued to be one of the best seasons in memory, with kingfish being taken up to over a

being taken fishing off the rocks before the sun comes up using pilchards fished under a float.

Rock fishing when the sea conditions are good has been very productive, with large snapper for those using strips of fresh squid or cuttlefish tentacles on a running ledger rig,

Zane Levett was very happy with this Sydney Harbour mulloway.

Stuart Bedford Brown landed this medium size kingfish fishing offshore.

Along our beaches there have been some great reports coming in of very large tailor being taken in the evening while fishing with pilchards on gang hooks as the sun goes down.

There’s also been some very big winter bream that

metre in some locations.

With an abundant supply of squid and baitfish, the kingfish are happy enough to stay in the harbour and just get bigger.

A few lucky anglers have picked up some very large snapper that

and for those fishing with floats in a good berley trail there have been trevally, drummer and luderick coming in good numbers.

Some anglers live baiting off the rocks are still picking up a few kingfish, but most fish are being

lures further into the lake. It is still a great spot to spend an hour or two in the winter sun and maybe pick up a feed of fresh fish for the table or just take the kids out with a rod and reel in a very safe environment.

In front of the caravan park, luderick are in big numbers in the deep trench, and using weed and cabbage with a light float outfit should bring them undone.

Reef fishing is still a very productive way to pick up a good feed and Long Reef is the number one spot, with large snapper being

Between the reefs in the sandy areas towards Narrabeen the flathead are still hunting for a feed, and drifting along is the way to pick up a few.

Further out to sea at the Twelve Mile Reef kingfish are the target, and are mostly being taken on live baits and large jigs. With every trip out to this reef there is always an army of leatherjackets that are snipping off anything that goes in the water, but if you can get through them there are some nice kingfish to be caught.

currents working their way up from the south, all of our game boats are gearing up for what is hopefully going to be a good run of bluefin tuna along our coastline.

Around Sydney it is a very small window of opportunity to pick up one of these exciting game fish, as it usually does not last long before the fish move on.

When the first report comes in of fish it is usually out as far as Heatons and can only be reached by some of the larger game

Fishing at night can be productive, as Ivan Klisarov found out with this mulloway. are not shy of a wire trace being used to avoid the bronze and dusky whaler sharks that are patrolling our beaches.

In the early morning there are some nice whiting being taken in the gutters by those using live and frozen beachworms, with Manly and Curl Curl being more productive than some of the other beaches.

Mulloway have made a bit of a showing on the 12

AUGUST 2019

are usually found on some of the reefs further offshore, showing how good the fishery really is in Sydney Harbour.

Between the spit bridge and Roseville, mulloway, bream and flathead have been feeding well and are being taken on a range of baits and soft plastics on the incoming tide.

In the Fairlight area, very large tailor along with some good trevally are

taken very early in the morning just on daylight, and that means walking in to their favourite spots in the dark to get set up.

For those who want to fish the rocks, it is a good idea to check out the area in daylight, as it can be very dangerous crossing the rocks in the dark.

Narrabeen Lake is fishing well for whiting, with flathead also being taken on small hardbodied

Sam Ellis braved the cold conditions to get out amongst the kingfish. picked up while using soft plastics and baits floated down in a berley trail.

For those who want a more energetic way of fishing, there are still kingfish taking metal jigs worked through the water column.

For our game anglers there have been a few striped marlin taken while trolling skirts out beyond Browns Mountain and some very big yellowfin tuna for some lucky anglers.

With the temperature dropping as we get the cold

boats, but with tuna no one knows how far offshore the fish will be. Hopefully they will come in close enough for some of the small trailer boats to get an opportunity of picking up a fish.

As always, stay safe and enjoy the fishing.

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Recreational Fishing Update Merimbula Reef Comes Alive!

The Merimbula Offshore Artificial Reef is attracting plenty of fish life! DPI Fisheries recently deployed underwater cameras and filmed heaps of baitfish (mainly yellowtail) plus a few kingies. The reef has been deployed for less than a year so it’s encouraging to see that it’s already producing plenty of activity. It will be really interesting to see what the Merimbula reef produces when thewater warms up again next season! The Merimbula Offshore Artificial Reef is part of a network of reefs along the NSW coast including Sydney, Shoalhaven, Port Macquarie and the Southern Sydney “JD” Reef. Plans are underway for new reefs at other locations including Wollongong, Newcastle, Tweed, Batemans Bay and Jervis Bay. NSW DPI’s Offshore Artificial Reef Program is a great example of your licence fees at work!

workshops were held mid-last year followed by public meetings at DPI’s Gaden and Ebor trout hatcheries and at Wallerawang near Lithgow. These meetings provided anglers with a great opportunity to meet DPI staff and hear about research, enhancements to hatcheries, stocking and management arrangements and DPI/ angler communication. These events began with presentations from management and research staff after which anglers could see demonstrations on research techniques such as tagging, electrofishing, fish stocking and participate in further discussions. For more info on DPI’s Trout Strategy, email fish.stocking@dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Kayak Fisho Releases Mega Basin Tailor!

Future Proofing The NSW Trout Fishery

NSW DPI Fisheries is working with anglers on the development of a strategy to future proof of the state’s recreational trout fishery. A series of

Flattie Tagging Champion!

Keen sportfisherman Terry Davies kindly provided details to DPI Fisheries of a massive greenback tailor he recently caught and released in St Georges Basin, near Jervis Bay on the NSW South Coast. Terry was casting and retrieving minnow style lures when he hooked up on the big chopper. It towed him around before being netted, weighed and released. It weighed a massive 9.74kg in the net. St Georges Basin is part of a network of Recreational Fishing Havens along the NSW coast.

Over the past 10 years it has become well known for enormous tailor, trophy-sized dusky flathead and consistent mulloway fishing.

Well-known Lake Macquarie angler Steve Norris has achieved the remarkable feat of being the first person to tag 100 dusky flathead in the NSW DPI Fisheries Trophy Flathead Program. Five of Steve’s 100 tagged Lake Macquarie flatties have been recaptured, which bears testimony to his fish handling skills and the tagging guidelines developed by NSW DPI Fisheries. Steve’s largest fish tagged so far is a 90cm breeding sized female. NSW DPI Fisheries congratulates Steve on this amazing effort! The Trophy Flathead Program is an angler-led citizen science initiative involving small teams of fishers tagging and releasing flathead in Lake Macquarie, St Georges Basin and Tuross. More than 500 trophy-sized flathead up to 98cm have been tagged so far, with information from the program providing data on post release survivability, growth rates and fish movements.

Introducing Kids To The Fishing Lifestyle Aided by our team of dedicated Fishcare Volunteers, NSW DPI recently staged its latest round of Kids Fishing Workshops, resulting in more than 300 kids around the state being introduced to the wonderful world of fishing!

The junior fishos learnt a heap of new skills, including casting, rigging and knot tying, and there was plenty of fishy action involving bream, pinky snapper and flounder.

Recreational fishing is a great way for kids to experience a healthy, nature-based lifestyle and nothing beats seeing happy kids catching fish! Our Kids Fishing Workshops and the schools-based Get Hooked ... It’s Fun To Fish program are great examples of your fishing fees at work.

We’re currently planning the next round of Kids Fishing Workshops – head to www.dpi.nsw.gov.au for details!

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Another month of mulloway fishing magic THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

We have been blessed with quite pleasant weather this winter, with plenty of big high-pressure systems delivering stable, wind free days. Calm weather makes for great lure casting and this is where I have been focusing my efforts most days. The ability to have a matching bait imitation in the form of a lure, whether hard or soft or somewhere

seeing fish around the 40cm mark, with some nearing 50cm! Most have been caught deep on rock walls and reefs from Bar Point to the Heads.

They will be at their slowest right now, with water temperatures at their lowest, so your retrieves should reflect their lack of aggression. Soft plastic grubs like Squidgy Wrigglers, Prolure Grubs and ZMan GrubZ are invaluable when coupled with some scent and a slow, subtle retrieve. Vibes are also great when searching

up through June. They have taken a back seat now, as the bigger models have a better tolerance to the low water temperatures. August has always produced multiple metre plus mulloway for my clients, and it is shaping up well

around Broken Bay and on the sun warmed flats and associated drop-offs in Cowan Creek. Try to focus your efforts around the top of the tide, as this brings a slight temperature rise during winter. Lures with in-built tail action like curl-tail

The odd big flathead can still pop up through August. Blake was pumped to get this 74cm fish in the net after it found his 4” soft plastic irresistible.

Isaiah caught this 44cm bream on a 2.5” Slim SwimZ during a recent session on Berowra Waters.

It’s important that anglers are responsible when targeting species like mulloway that are currently in a recovery program. Catch and release is highly recommended for any fish that has no barotrauma or deep hook injuries. in between, is quite beneficial on an early bite that you would miss if you were sourcing bait at first light.

Mulloway have been the main focus, but it’s hard to ignore the crazy bream action we have been getting on the mulloway lures. Most sessions are

deep for that big bluenose bruiser, and there are a lot on the market to choose from, but you want blades that vibrate with a minimum of movement to stay right in the strike zone near the bottom.

The mulloway have been biting well, with a lot of smaller soapies turning

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for this trend to continue this season. Covering the water at the key times is crucial to success, and the Hawkesbury is great for dishing up some weird anomalies with regards to tides and predicted times.

Only time on the water will enhance your knowledge of the Hawkesbury’s tides and the ever-important changes that occur between them.

Luderick are filtering back into the system, with the lower rock walls around Broken Bay producing some nice bags of fat, clean ocean run fish. Fresh cabbage weed seems to be their preference under a very well weighted float.

Moving spots if no activity has occurred within around 20 minutes of berleying will help you locate active schools. Two anchors can be beneficial when fishing multiple anglers or the current is slow or eddying in your chosen spot. Most times you can get away with using the electric anchor feature on your bow mount electric motor, but when all else fails the old fashioned way of using your main anchor and a sea anchor out the back to steady your boat against wind/waves works too.

Flathead will be quite slow this month, but you can still get a few for a feed, working the rocky points

grubs and paddle-tails from 3-5” matched to 1/8-1/4oz jigheads are great assets when chasing flathead in cool water.

Tailor have been active in the lower reaches of

Cowan up to and around Cottage Point. The seagulls are a great indication, but there have been many sporadic bust ups occurring near major points and into the bays. Having a surface popper or stickbait rigged and ready to cast at a moment’s notice can get you into some great action and a handsome feed of tailor fillets for the grill or smoker.

Salmon can be mixed with the feeding choppers, with

silver trevally and the odd snapper and smaller mulloway found below for those sinking a soft plastic or micro jigs under the surface action.

Hairtail reports have been thin on the ground this season, but surely there is still the odd one hanging around in Cowan Creek. It’s still worth a try, but if you haven’t had any luck before 10pm I’d throw in the towel and head for home before the fog rolls in.

There are some great mulloway to be had through winter. This 119cm fish fell for a well-presented soft plastic lure fished on 10lb spin tackle.

Product News

Lowrance’s first freshwater electric motor Lowrance has announced the release of the new Ghost freshwater electric motor.

Reliable, rugged and built to last, the new ultra-quiet Lowrance Ghost helps anglers fish longer, run faster and get in closer without making a

motor, we started completely from scratch, which gave us a unique opportunity to ask anglers what was most important to them in a trolling motor,” said Lucas Steward, Navico’s Trolling Motor Product Group Owner. “To get

sound. Ghost has a newly designed brushless motor with the most thrust and the longest run time of any electric motor on the market, plus other benefits including integrated Lowrance sonar options, waypoint anchoring and an industry-leading three-year warranty. The combination of reliability, power, efficiency and quiet performance give the Ghost a winning combination that ticks all the boxes for what anglers want in a premium electric motor.

“Because Ghost is Lowrance’s first trolling

the quality we needed, we had to design and build it in-house.

That resulted in the production of a trolling motor that delivers exactly what our consumers want: the most power, greatest efficiency and quietest performance – the ultimate trolling motor versatile enough to fit any bass boat.”

BRUSHLESS MOTOR Ghost’s unique propulsion technology in its brushless motor generates thrust that is 25% greater than current competitors and delivers 45% longer run times on the same charge – equivalent to

nearly one additional day of operation. The combination of precision manufacturing, rare earth materials, and a cuttingedge weedless prop design provides high-output thrust with long running efficiency.

ZERO SONAR INTERFERENCE Ghost’s brushless motor helps eliminate noisy operation and unlike common brush motors, has no brushes to wear out, ensuring greater reliability and longer life.

The brushless motor emits no electromagnetic interference – giving anglers the clearest sonar views possible with zero onscreen interference.

INTEGRATION Users can steer, adjust speed, set up route navigation or anchor at a current location with touchscreen control from a Lowrance display using the SmartSteer interface. Ghost pairs easily with HDS LIVE, HDS Carbon and Elite-Ti2 displays via a simple NMEA 2000 connection.

PLUG-AND-PLAY LOWRANCE SONAR Ghost offers two integrated sonar nosecone options, including HDI (CHIRP and DownScan Imaging) and optional Active Imaging 3-in-1 (CHIRP Sonar, SideScan and DownScan

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quickly get comfortable with the innovative Ghost foot pedal, which is completely user-configurable.

The pedal can be customized to

FLY-BY-WIRE STEERING Instant and smooth fly-by-wire steering control gives Ghost the feel of a cable-steer motor, but without the mechanical cables that can wear out over time. Regardless of the brand of electric motor used before, anglers will

suit any preferences with programmable shortcut buttons and a Flip Switch that can be moved to allow the electric motor to be engaged from either side of the pedal.

The mode buttons have LED lights and an indicator beep to provide feedback when a mode is engaged. The foot

control also features a batterylevel indicator.

RUGGED CONSTRUCTION The 360° breakaway mount is designed to take the brunt of any impacts and will automatically realign itself once clear of impacted structure. A composite shaft with lifetime warranty assists in withstanding impacts, and an integrated stabilizer bar reduces bouncing when on plane in rough water. The foot pedal cable is secured to the mount with robust clips, preventing it from moving around on the deck, damaging rods and reels and blocking the view of fishfinders installed nearby. Ghost is currently available in a 47-inch shaft model with future shaft-length options coming soon.

INSTALLATION VERSATILITY The motor weighs 6lb less than brushed-motor equivalents, making it easier to install, deploy and stow.

Ghost is designed to work in either 24V or 36V systems with up to 97 and 120lb of thrust, respectively, and allows for future battery and charger upgrades.

The Lowrance Ghost is expected to ship in late 2019.

– Navico Asia Pacific

AUGUST 2019

17

Amazing sessions on some quality snapper SYDNEY NORTH

Alex Qasabian

There isn’t much that compares with the rush of a tuna season in a tackle shop. Not only does it bring a hard fighting game fish

with pilchards is the best way to keep them around you, then the real fun can begin with bluefin openly smashing poppers, stickbaits and jigs. Be careful to only take what you need! It can be easy to get carried away and their tenacious nature can

the 50-60m mark – any fresh flesh baits and squid are the go for these.

This winter kingfish season, not only the offshore reefs are firing but the recent amazing run of fish we have had inside Middle Harbour has been nothing short of

Young Scooter with a nice snapper on a plastic. has been its usual best in winter, producing thumpers.

• For all the latest info on what’s biting and where, drop in and chat to the expert staff at Fishing

Jay Kim with a prime yellowfin tuna caught on the troll. within range for trailer boats, but it’s also one of the most prized and delicious sashimi grade fish you can lay your hands on.

With the terrific run of bluefin and yellowfin tuna we have recently experienced it may not be too late to get into the action. There is always a chance of a lingering school left and generally they can be a bigger class of fish.

Tuna love slack current, temperature changes, bait and feeding off the 0 line of the altimetry chart. As always a combination of diving and bibless minnows beefed up with aftermarket terminals and a range of skirted trolling lures are the best way to find the fish. Once they are located, starting a cube trail

make them easy to overfish – not to even mention the huge fines for being over the limit carry!

So far this winter snapper fishing has been as good as it can get. Multiple anglers have been telling us of amazing sessions with some quality snapper over the last few weeks. The ever so popular Berkley Gulp 7” Jerk Shad, ZMan Scented Jerk ShadZ and Squidgy Wrigglers have been the killer for the guys wanting them on plastic and it’s amazing how the plastic can get the bite of the bigger specimens in a drift.

After a chilly morning start for the reds there’s been a great haul of blue spot flathead available in

spectacular. I don’t think we remember a run of BIG kingfish inside the harbour like this and to have (to many) a fish of a lifetime available 10 minutes from the ramp is champagne fishing. A selection of fresh/ live baits and even jigs and flies have been used to get catches, and as usual please only take what you need.

Even one big kingfish has a great yield and to have this fishing in years to come we need to look after them.

Off the rocks the drummer and blackfish have been present along with the better quality tailor and salmon. Even photos of the odd John Dory in North Harbour have been a welcome sight. Squid fishing

Station, located on 50 Darley St, Mona Vale.

They stock an excellent range of tackle and bait, and are open every day except for Christmas Day

and New Years Day. You can contact the team on 02 8094 9197, or see regular news and product updates at www.facebook.com/ fishingstationaustralia.

Kirk Branch with another quality snapper on a ZMan Jerk ShadZ.

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Water clarity will dictate results SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

If we have not had a lot of rain the Port Hacking River will be crystal clear

during August and this will tend to make the fishing a bit harder than normal.

On the other hand, if the water clarity is down the fish will then tend to move about more.

I have found that to

overcome this clarity issue, you need to downsize your leader material. I normally fish with 6kg line when bait fishing for bream and trevally. During August I will mainly use 3kg and sometimes even down to 2kg.

There should be a few bream and tarwhine in the washes off the rocks. These were caught while using peeled Hawkesbury River prawns, 00 and 0 ball sinkers and 1/0 circle hooks.

If using a running sinker down onto a swivel then the leader needs to be up to 2m in length. Sure, this makes it harder to cast, but that’s why I tend to use 2.7m rods and I will always berley when at anchor. For those of you who prefer to drift I will have the same leader length, but I don’t use any berley.

The other rig that I use is the running sinker down onto the bait, and if I am using braided line, I will have a leader length of between 3-4m. The sinker weight will depend on how fast you are drifting or the speed of the current.

Places that are worth are shot are the backs of any of the deep water bays, along the edges of the weed beds and the rock walls. Cast in as close to them as possible.

What will fire up in the area will be the rocks and beaches, especially after there has been a bit of a blow, as the water gets churned up and the fish will come out looking for a feed.

Tailor, salmon, bream and dart would be worth a shot from Wanda and up to Boat Harbour. The southern beaches from Wanda and around to South Cronulla would be worth a shot for dart, whiting and bream on a rising tide. Just remember to watch out for swimmers and board riders.

The rocks from Boat Harbour and north to Kurnell will be producing bream,

Casting plastics near the side of pontoons is a good method for bream, trevally and the odd flathead. very busy during the warmer months of the year, so it’s worth a try during August.

It’s also worth a walk south from the carpark at Garie to North and Main Ear points for bream, trevally, drummer and luderick.

You can try the following offshore reefs if you’re after snapper, morwong, trevally, pigfish and tarwhine: Boat

Half pilchards, strips of mullet and prawns would be a good choice for bait. Small live poddy mullet would also be a great bait.

What you do need to remember is that you cannot pump for pink nippers in this area, but you can get them from other places like Maianbar or Macs Bait Bar at Blakehurst.

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trevally, tarwhine, luderick and drummer during the day.

During the early morning, late afternoon and at night, you can chuck out either a whole pilchard or garfish for a salmon, tailor and mulloway, but you will usually have to pick your way through the sharks and rays.

On the southern side of the Port Hacking River you could try Jibbon Point for bream and trevally, Wattamolla for luderick, drummer and bream. North Garie rock platform can get

Harbour (S34.02.990 E151.12.270), Osborn Shoals (S34.03.83 E151.11.100), the Hacking Wreck (S34.08.330 E151.09.050) and the Hump off Stanwell Park (S34.13.667 E151.07.045).

If you are looking for a land-based spot to take the young ones, the sand bar that runs along the eastern side of Gunnamatta Bay is a great place to go as the tide falls. It’s a short cast out into deep water where flathead, trevally, bream, whiting and flathead are lurking.

There are a number of great land-based spots in the Royal National Park. Try Audley, South West Arm, Willarong Point Costens Point and Grahams Point.

For more information on how to get to these places you could call into the NPWS at Audley or Google Maps it.

Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

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Fishing that’s well worth getting out of bed for BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Many anglers think that the fishing in Botany Bay, as well as the Georges, Cooks and Woronora rivers slows down so much that it’s not worth getting out of bed to go fishing anymore.

I have been fishing this area for over fifty years and sure, there are not as many fish around as there were back then. That shouldn’t stop you from going for a fish, even if it’s only for a couple of hours.

All you need to do is have your gear at the ready, have some bait in the freezer or some lures close by. Keep

your ear to the ground for any local knowledge that may pop up and also keep your eye on the weather.

Once everything lines up, take off for a few hours.

I always have a travel rod, a few lures and a small box of sinkers and hooks in the boot of my car ready for when I come across a spot that looks like it might hold

Josh Carpenter was recently out at Towra chasing kingfish on plastics.

The author had the chance to take out Kia Moylan on Botany Bay and he managed to get his PB trevally, a 50cm model, on a shallow Chubby Diver.

a fish or two. As for bait, you can always pick up some fresh bread from a bakery.

For those of you who like fishing off the rocks and the beaches, there have been some big schools of Australian salmon feeding off Collaroy, Maroubra and Bondi beaches. Try using either 20, 30 and 40g slugs or whole pilchards or

garfish on a set of 4/0-5/0 ganged hooks.

At this time of year one of my favourite fish species to catch is the hard-pulling drummer. You don’t need much in the way of gear. A 3.6m rod, a 5500 threadline reel, 10kg line, a few small ball sinkers and 1/0-2/0 hooks is all you need.

As for bait, you only

need either peeled prawns or bread, and plenty of bread for berley. You could also use crabs, cunje and green cabbage off the rocks. Please remember to wear a lifejacket when fishing off the rocks in the Randwick area.

The bay will be a bit quieter this month, but you could try anchoring up at one of the following artificial

Where do my fishing licence fees go?

Funds raised from the NSW recreational fishing licence are placed into special trusts, and spent on projects to improve recreational fishing.

Committees of anglers provide recommendations on expenditure from the trusts: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

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

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au 22

AUGUST 2019

reefs that have been put in by the NSW Fisheries: • Reef 1 (S33.58.939 E151.12.952) • Reef 2 (S33.58.859 E151.13.112) • Reef 3 (S33.58.940 E151.13.447)

On the kingfish front it will be a lot slower in the bay, but if you are able to venture outside and troll those skirted and deep diving lures in close to the headlands, you will be in with a chance.

chicken pellets or bread for berley, and for bait I would try using strips of mullet, tuna, half pilchard, chicken breast or peeled Hawkesbury River prawns.

The best two rigs would be a sinker down onto the

For land-based and boating anglers, the Captain Cook Bridge is an ideal spot to try during August for bream, luderick, mulloway and the odd flathead or two.

• Reef 4 (S 33.59.448 E151.13.742) • Reef 5 (S33.59.596 E151.14.007) • Reef 6 (S33.59.654 E151.14.136).

You can berley up trevally, squid, yellowtail, slimy mackerel, bream, snapper, tarwhine and the odd mulloway and dusky flathead.

Bonito and tailor can also be caught while chucking soft plastics and 20, 30 and 40g slugs into the washes.

The water temperature in the Georges and Woronora rivers will be quite cold, so I would suggest that you anchor up and berley the fish to within casting distance of your boat. Fish like nothing better than a few

David Tosland with a couple of nice bream that were caught while fishing in the Botany Bay round of the East Coast Bream Series.

They took a liking to 2.5” GrubZ.

swivel and a metre or so leader, or a running ball sinker down onto the bait.

The size of the sinker should be determined by the speed of the current.

The Cooks River breakwall will be worth a shot for luderick, trevally and bream on the run-out tide. Early morning and late in the afternoon will be worth a shot for tailor and the odd salmon on whole pilchards.

One of my favourite winter land-based spots in the Georges River is the southern side of the old Lugarno ferry. The reason is that it’s easily accessible, there is sun all day and there are usually a few bream, whiting and flathead about.

Just make sure that if you are using the place that you take your mess with you.

Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch, just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

If you are looking for a great place to take the kids, try the fishing platforms in Prince Edward Park on the Woronora River.

AUGUST 2019

23

Kings are firing if you can handle the cold PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Last month the weather was very patchy, but at least the fishing was good for those willing to try along Pittwater and our part of the coast.

Along Pittwater we have been getting mixed bags of fish, which has been great for our customers. Some of the species that we’ve been tangling with have been flathead, flounder, bream, tarwhine, tailor, squid and kingfish. These fish have been encountered by covering ground and drifting.

Broken Bay has been a great spot to tangle with flathead and flounder, as well as the odd school of tailor. The better grounds on Broken Bay have been outside Patonga and drifting towards Lion Island.

For flathead and flounder, the best baits have varied from day to day, but if you take a handful of prawns, a bag of pilchards and a few frozen squid, you should be able to get some great table fish by the end of your session.

them before your soft plastic is shredded.

Of course, another way to track these fish down is to troll around the headlands and find baitfish that are balled up,

towards the surface by these feeding kingies, which will make it easier for you to locate the area.

Downrigging this area makes it a lot easier to find

All the patience pays off when you hear that drag screaming. then you can use a hardbodied diver to tempt them.

Along Pittwater, the usual haunts are showing some big squid, with the pick of the areas being a large weed bed between Barrenjoey Head and Palm

This kingy swam past the other baits to nail a small live yakka!

Tailor have been easy to catch once located by surface activity, and 15g metal jigs have been working a treat.

Some of these tailor have been quite large and around the 50cm mark, so make sure that you not chucking soft plastics at these fish, because you will only get one go at

have to work pretty hard to find where they’re hiding.

A variety of colours seems to be essential at the moment, as one day they are hitting fluoro colours but the very

Beach Ferry Wharf. This large area will see 1,000 casts before you find an area where some of these larger squid are holding, but it is well worth it if you’re willing to put in the effort.

Some large squid are also coming from the Careel Bay area, but once again you’ll

next day they are choosing natural ones. My suggestion is to give one colour lots of casts for around 20 minutes before changing over to a different colour and attacking the same area, especially if there are baitfish present.

The best size has been 2.5, and don’t forget to put a swipe of scent just in front of the business end on your jig.

For those wishing to catch kingfish, a variety of baits has been essential, but if you can catch small cuttlefish you are almost guaranteed to tangle with one of these winter brutes. Most of the kingfish that we have been finding haven’t been that large, but I’m sure over the next few weeks some bigger fish will show up and you will have a great chance at tackling some metre long fish.

The bait to use at this time of year has been yellowtail, accounting for many of the smaller kingies along Pittwater. Kingfish this year don’t seem to be holding in one area, but rather spread throughout the river system with small pockets of fish in different areas.

Areas to try for kingies at the moment are along the western side of Pittwater between Longnose and Soldiers Point. If you watch the surface, you may see some baitfish in the calmer water being pushed

fish than sitting, anchoring and trying to berley. Other areas to try have been around Scotland Island as well as the Kingfish Highway.

When travelling along the Kingfish Highway and using dead baits such as frozen squid, you must check your lines frequently, as smaller fish such as bream and small snapper will often attack your baits to the point where they end up shredded.

If you are going to use yellowtail, it has been beneficial to use a product called Glow Bait to make your offerings stand out amongst a school of baitfish.

OFFSHORE Offshore reef fishing has been great, with good captures of snapper, morwong, trevally, and tailor, as well as the odd school of teraglin.

Of course, reef fishing still requires some work to locate fish. When we attempt reef fishing before deploying any baits, we find baitfish first that are located near or hugging the bottom.

These baitfish are quite often being harassed by the above-mentioned species and this will make it easier for you to catch them as well. If you are after snapper and are a person who likes to anchor and berley, the best advice I can give you is to find the edge of the reef that transfers to sand, or better still gravel,

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or even an area that has a large patch of weed close by.

The shallow water will quite often see some large snapper coming aboard if you are starting early in the morning before the sun rises. If you can lay a berley trail before the sun rises, you will be in for a great morning if you have hit the right area. After large swells hit our coastline, big snapper will be in these shallower grounds.

If you are finding the reef fishing difficult, don’t be scared to hit the sand, but we have been finding the odd area holding Chinaman leatherjackets, which will not only strip your baits, but will also frustrate you by stripping your lines and destroying your rigs. If you are unfortunate enough to find these pesky Aussie piranhas, it is quite often better to move and find a different area.

On the sand and gravel grounds, we’re finding good numbers of flathead with the odd snapper thrown in as well.

Decent squid like this one are waiting for you in the bays along Pittwater.

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When we go offshore fishing, our baits usually consist of pilchards and squid. While fishing, we will often encounter and bring aboard some of the baitfish that are on the bottom, and of course these get filleted and used in these areas.

So as you can see, even though the weather is being difficult, the majority of fishing has been pretty easy, but you will have to put in the effort to get the results.

I hope this report sees you grabbing a jumper, some wet weather gear and your fishing equipment and heading to our part of the coast to enjoy a great day on the water!

If you are unable to get out on the water, give us a call so we can show you a wonderful day chasing some species that you wish to target!

• 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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Don’t miss out on the last of the snapper run alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

With the full onset of the winter chill and the drop in water temperatures, we can no longer target some of the species that were available earlier in the year.

luderick and trevally will be the main species to target.

The silver drummer, an enigma to most rock anglers, will be part of the pig angler’s catch from time to time. Snapper numbers will decrease this month as the water temperature is around its minimum.

This is just the way it is

One of several snapper caught by Ali Seraidar. They are nearing the end of their run, but we can still expect them to be in washes. Distance casting off the ocean rocks will be productive this month.

At the moment the available species are Aussie salmon, trevally, some bream and tailor and, at selected areas, residential whiting off the ocean beaches. Off the rocks, groper, rock blackfish,

in August, but I don’t mind.

It allows me to concentrate on species that you don’t catch normally, and the flat sea conditions off the beaches and especially the rocks allow you to fish spots

that you can very rarely fish thanks to the traditional westerly winds.

Let’s start off with the ocean beaches. Most anglers don’t like to go beach fishing in winter, and you will notice a substantial decrease in the amount of anglers fishing the ocean beaches. They don’t realise they are missing out on some cracker fishing for one of our most popular beach species: Aussie salmon. If you have not fished for Aussie salmon you’re really missing out, and at this time of year you can get some stud specimens up to 4kg. On medium beach gear, they are great sport.

You can fish for them using a basic rig and the traditional whole blue pilchard.

When you’re chasing salmon, a 3.4-4.2m rod with a whippy tip is the go, and the rod should be suitable for line classes from 6-8kg. You can use a 4000 size spinning reel, such as the Daiwa 4000BG, or alternatively you can use an Alvey 625B. You want a swivel size of around 30kg with 13.5kg (30lb) fluorocarbon leader.

Approximately 45cm will do between the swivel and the hooks. Rig your pilchard on a set of three gang hooks in the 3/0 to 4/0 size. A sinker above the swivel ranging from 1/4-3oz will suit conditions from a 0.5m swell size to a moderate 1.2m swell.

To find the salmon, search for the beach holes, and preferably fish the tides going up to a high. On flatter sea conditions you can also get away with a low tide, especially if the beach gutter has a depth of over 1.5m.

Salmon are like any fish in that they are best fished for at the correct time of the day, in this case the low light periods, dawn and dusk.

However, you can still catch them throughout the day off the beach. Yes, that’s right – throughout the entire day. As unusual as that may sound, they are not as rigid as tailor,

well. Trevally (blurters) will readily pick up your bream bait. Like bream, they are often found near structure.

On a lot of our Sydney ocean beaches, you will have

Rock blackfish of this size and larger have a varied diet. When they are smaller, around the 30-35cm size range, they prefer weed. which should be targeted at dawn, dusk or after dark for the best results.

On your salmon rig, you can add an additional enticer like a surf popper.

Tie approximately 20cm of 30lb fluorocarbon line to the top section of the eye of your swivel, and tie the surf popper to the other end of the short leader. Now you have ganged hooks with a pilchard and a surf popper.

There are occasions when the fish are on and you get a double hook-up, one on the surf popper and one on the ganged pilchard.

Sizeable bream and trevally are available as

stormwater drains running into the ocean. A lot of them go out into the surf for up to 30m+ from the shore, and have a lot of growth on the pipe like cabbage weeds, pink moss, barnacles, small crabs, cunjevoi, and more.

They also provide shelter for fish species such as bream and trevally. They are great places for baitfish to hang around, which in turn attracts the predatory species.

Another great place to fish for bream and trevally is near the end of a beach where it meets the rocks.

Very often, there are rocks that form a gutter with a reasonable depth parallel to

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and peeled school prawns.

Try Manly beach during a southerly and a moderate south swell, Dee Why southern corner and South Newport. You can also try your luck at Curl Curl, Bungan and mid Palm Beach when the swell is quite flat.

Rock fishing conditions at this time of the year are very inconstant; you get super flat days (generally during a westerly), and a moderate to large or even massive swells during southwesterly, southerly or southeasterly winds. It pays to check the weather very closely. The ocean swells, especially from the south, have a lot

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the end of the beach and rocks. It’s a great place for these species. You can also catch luderick at these locations when you’re using pink nippers, beachworms

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of punch in them. They are thick, powerful swells generally from the south to southeast at this time of year.

Before you wet a line, set aside at least 20 minutes to check out your location and the spot that you’re going to stand and fish. If there’s any doubt, especially if you’re a beginner to intermediate rock fisher, just choose a different location that is safer. I recommend wearing a rock fishing lifejacket, such as a well-fitted Hobie Rock Series 1 L50S PFD. It’s also recommended

an accurate description of where you will be fishing, and the arrival and departure times. Have the person reply to the message.

Rock blackfish numbers fluctuate at this time of year.

The weed growth on the rocks is at a minimum, so finding them comes down to the correct conditions, tides and location. Pigs are a cave and ledge dweller, and they do not like to freely swim away from cover for too long. A close inspection of their stomach contents reveals many species of

The 40-65g Knights from Sure Catch are the author’s favourite metals for spinning for salmon and tailor off the rocks. Whichever brand you choose, take a range of colours to see what works best on the day. to wear steel spike boots, and thermals under light clothing (in case you get washed into the drink).

Don’t forget a hi-vis raincoat for wave splashes or even just to use as a wind block.

Always send a message to a reliable person, and include

weed, and in the more mature fish (above the 1.2kg mark) their diet can consist of crabs, small limpets, chitins, shrimps and more. Look for boulder, ledge areas where there is this type of growth and a depth of a couple of metres or more. White water

screening the area blocks out some of the sunlight, and the best times of day are early in the morning and late in the afternoon. Good baits are peeled prawns and white sliced bread, with wet, mushy bread berley.

Big silver drummer can be caught while pig fishing. A long-shank hook or a short length of 30lb wire crimped on will reduce the bite-off from their very abrasive teeth.

Snapper catches are continuing, with distance casting and wash fishing producing the goods. Half pilchards, fresh squid strips, and fresh tailor or even Aussie salmon strips are popular baits. Salmon can be a good bait too, because it is firm and they are fairly prolific. One 3kg salmon will give you enough for berley and bait.

You can expect trevally and some bream as part of the wash fishing mix.

Deepwater locations are preferred for snapper and trevally. Try North Curl Curl distance casting and wash fishing, and Long Reef as well. North Whale Rocks are great for a trevally session, and some nice snapper are caught there as well.

All in all, it’s a good time to be fishing. Some anglers might not be enthusiastic at this time of year, but I get pumped about catching big pigs, silver drummer, groper and trevally in the winter/spring period. If you appreciate every species for what they are, you will always fully love your favourite pastime.

• 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.

There’s an unusually late run of kings around at the moment.

Mark Shimabukuro has caught all of the tropical species from back home in Honolulu, but says the kings go hard!

AUGUST 2019

27

25 years of NSW Fishing Monthly Magazine

BRISBANE

Bob Thornton

The last 25 years has seen a lot change in the fishing industry, especially in the way that people get their information. Something that hasn’t changed though, is that there are still publications, in both digital and print format, whose sole purpose is to help anglers improve their skills, encourage them to try new things, or just tell them how an area is fishing!

This has always been the vision of New South Wales Fishing Monthly.

Back in the mid-nineties there were television shows and occasionally videos for anglers to consume. These

snippets of amazing footage allowed mad-keen anglers a chance to escape onto the water from the comfort of their couch, and this is something most of us still do today with the advent of social media. We watch and dream, but often we don’t learn. The carefully manicured world of television certainly has its place, but struggles to connect with its consumers on a real-life level, and for a long time this was something of a void in fishing media.

Having material about accessible fishing, written by everyday anglers for everyday anglers, was what set New South Wales Fishing Monthly apart, and helped to fill this void.

Let’s now go back in time, to the earliest days of the

magazine, and talk to those who were there.

FROM THE BEGINNING While NSWFM was launched in 1994, the Fishing Monthly story actually begins in 1987, when a Kiwi called Mike Airey saw that there were no fishing publications with local material. That year, he launched South Queensland Fishing Monthly (Now Queensland Fishing Monthly). Rod Harrison was the first editor.

Valued NSWFM columnist Wayne Kampe wrote in the first issue of South Queensland Fishing Monthly, and has been writing ever since!

“Rod Harrison rang me – I was a mate of Rod’s, we used to do a bit of fly fishing together,” Wayne

recalled. “He rang me and said ‘Wayne, I know you do a bit of fishing writing like I do, but there’s this new magazine coming out and they want me to be the editor.’

“He then told me to go see a bloke called Mike Airey, who he assured me was very experienced with magazine production, and prior to that he’d been in charge of New Zealand Fishing News [which is still going today].”

Wayne’s first article was an area report for the Jumpinpin area, an area he still fishes today.

With the success of the Queensland mag, it just made sense to expand south, and give New South Wales access to similar local material that the Queenslanders were loving. The Queensland-

based magazine begun publishing a little bit of NSW material, and this was made easy, because anglers like Wayne loved traveling south and exploring.

“I think one of my best memories with the mag would

the New England district, and I ended up catching a Murray cod of around 80cm on fly and wrote an article about it – we’ve caught many more since.

“I got to tell Jim I was setting out to do something,

The boating news section was always a big hit for the boaties amongst NSWFM’s readership.

Gary Brown penned the South Sydney and Botany Bay reports for many years, and still does both reports to this day! Reckon he knows the area?

28

AUGUST 2019

have to be when I set out to catch a Murray cod on fly,” Wayne said. “I spoke to the editor at the time, Jim Bren, and I told him I was going down to the New England to catch a cod on fly; this would have been sometime in the late ‘80s.

“Jim asked me if Murray cod really took flies, and I told him I knew of a bloke [Gordon Winter] who’d caught a few.

“So I went out with some mates to the Mole River in

and having the whole plan come together so well, and returning with photos on the camera makes it such a good memory.”

Soon it was clear that NSW needed its own magazine, with its own local writers, and in 1994, Mike made that happen!

EARLY DAYS August 1994 saw Fishing Monthly group launch New South Wales Fishing Monthly with a man called Peter Horrobin as the editor.

Everything was looking like this new publication was sure to be as successful as its older brother in Queensland.

Some of the earliest writers still occasionally help out today, with handy hints they’ve learnt from decades of fishing, and some even contribute monthly reports,

Dave said.

“It certainly forced me to get out a bit more, and I feel it gave a bit more focus to my fishing.”

Gary Brown agrees that writing reports for the magazine helped to develop his own fishing.

“I’ve always kept a

Fly fishing was hot back in the mid-nineties, and Richard Barnsley has recently come back on board to share his knowledge!

Although Wayne Kampe was (and still is) a Queenslander, he could never resist a trip down south! just as they did 25 years ago.

Gary Brown from Sydney is one of those writers, and he was there from the beginning.

“I was out at one of the national tackle shows in Penrith,” Gary recalled. “I was out there for my son, who was 11 at the time, doing demonstrations on the Fuji stand with Ian Miller.

“I was looking around, and Peter Horrobin came up and asked me if I wanted to do a column.”

And so in the December of 1994, Gary penned his first Botany Bay report.

“I started with Botany Bay and South Sydney, and when Gabe [Quercigrosse] passed away in 2017, I was asked to do the South Sydney area report once again,” he said.

Another long-time contributor is Dave Seaman.

Dave was able to keep up his writing for NSWFM, which started in the ‘90s, despite moving a few times.

Dave is well-known for his amazing photography and his Wild River Bass productions, which showcase the amazing wild bass fishing in the North Coast.

“I was living in the Blue Mountains, and my good mate Peter Horrobin asked me if I wanted to do a Nepean report,” Dave said.

Dave now resides in Taree, where he did the local report until earlier this year, however we hope to have more of his musings appear on these pages in the near future.

“Apart from New Zealand Fishing News, NSWFM was the only magazine doing seasonal, up to date reports,”

fishing diary, since I was a kid,” Gary said. “So writing a report each month definitely improved my fishing.

“I’ve also learnt a lot from other people – people I’ve met through the magazine!”

TECHNOLOGY TALK In the earliest days of Fishing Monthly, the writers had it tough. These days the contributors usually type up the words on a document and send it through email, along with some digital photos.

Job done! But early on there was a bit of a process if you wanted to see your name in the magazine.

“In those days we’d type the article, and you would need at least a bottle of white out for corrections,” Wayne recalled. “The pages would then be posted to the editor, and likewise photos.

“On the back of the photos you’d put a little sticker with a suggested caption, and the photos were black and white, in line with what the mag was back then.”

LOOKING BACK NSWFM’s valued longterm writers certainly don’t

Dave Seaman originally started out writing a report for the area west of Sydney.

regret their decision to get involved with the production of this magazine, in fact, all three of our interviewees look back on these early days very fondly!

“It would have to be one of the most positive things

I’ve ever done, and these days dealing with Steve [Morgan], Jacqui [Thomas] and Rob [Gaden] and everyone else at Fishing Monthly is a pleasure,” Gary said.

“I’m also very grateful for meeting a guy named

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Dave also has very

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Editor Peter Horrobin often penned columns in the early years of the magazine.

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From page 29

fond memories tied to the magazine, in particular with his good mate (and early NSWFM editor) Peter Horrobin.

“There were very special

personal captures that appeared in my articles, such as my first 50cm bass,” Dave recalled. “I can also remember fishing a bass competition, Bass Kempsey, with Peter and I ended up catching a

54cm fork length bass that ended up on the cover!”

Of course, Wayne has many memories with Fishing Monthly that go back even further, and to

have a fish for whiting, and I said ‘let’s dig a few garden worms up for bait’.

She looked confused, but agreed anyway.”

“So here we are out

Wayne Kampe was definitely ahead of his time when the mag started, chasing big pelagics like this on fly!

Fly fishing was a big focus in NSW in the ‘90s.

It was only just catching on in Queensland!

this day is still looking for that next PB, however he still takes great pleasure in getting back to the very basics of fishing.

“When I was a young fellow we’d dig up garden worms and catch whiting with them,” Wayne recalled.

“So only a few years ago, my wife Denise and I were planning to go out and

in the bay with $40,000 worth of boat, all the latest hi-tech electronics, and we’re catching whiting on garden worms.

“It was fantastic!”

TO THE FUTURE These days NSWFM can be accessed both in its print form, and a digital form, and it also shares content across a variety of media.

Pages packed full of information set NSWFM apart, and made it easy for anglers to find out what was going on locally.

NSWFM has always strived to bring up-to-date reports and hot tips to those looking to improve their skills as an angler, and its ability to adapt to the ever-changing climate will ensure this is always possible.

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AUGUST 2019

A heads up on sounders NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Modern, state-of-the-art depth sounders are fantastic tools, and a massive aid to any form of boat fishing, but it pays to remember that they are only one part of the bigger picture.

Years ago, when I was working on Rex Hunt’s

Perplexed, I turned to the back of the boat where the transducer was located and peered into the water, which was quite clear for a tropical billabong. I could just make out the muddy bottom below and the edge of the weeds. There were no fish to be seen, but there were a couple of long strands of weed waving about in mid-water. These were no doubt the ‘fish’ our skipper had excitedly

that important lesson. It’s one I’ve seen repeated many, many times in the years since.

Modern sonar units or depth sounders are wonderful pieces of kit, and they’ve completely revolutionised much of our fishing. Many anglers (myself included) would be lost without them in some scenarios.

That said, I fear that many of today’s anglers

This graphic StructureScan shot from the author’s Lowrance sounder shows a submerged tree in a southern estuary that’s loaded with fish.

However, the promising scenario failed to produce a single bite. Real world observation showed many of the targets to be schooling mullet.

Some of the deeper ones are possibly bream, estuary perch or blackfish, but seeing them and catching them can be very different things. that could directly impact their fishing success. This may well be a reflection of the ‘device dominated’ era we live in nowadays:

one that sees a lot of people (especially those from younger generations) glued to screens of various types for a huge chunk of

The two finest fish-finders ever created are the pair located on the front of your head… hopefully protected and enhanced by a pair of quality polarised sunglasses. Use them!

TV show, we were filming on a Top End billabong.

I was in the camera boat and at one stage we’d cut the motor and drifted so the cameraman could shoot some boat-to-boat footage of Rex casting from the other vessel. Our boat had slowly drifted sternfirst toward the bank, and eventually came to rest against a thick weed bed.

“Wow! This is where we should be fishing!” our boat driver suddenly announced. I looked at him with one eyebrow raised.

“Check out all the fish on the sounder!” he explained, gesturing excitedly at the screen in front of him.

I walked back to the console and looked over his shoulder. We were only in a metre or so of water, but sure enough there were a couple of very interesting targets on the screen.

identified. I was still pondering how to gently explain this to him when a shout from the other boat summoned us back to work and the moment was lost. But I never forgot

spend far too much time gazing intently at that magical electronic screen and miss a lot of the other things going on in the real world all around them, including vital information

Birds like this egret can often pinpoint the presence of bait. Study their behaviour carefully and take advantage of the clues offered.

Not so subtle signs! Golden trevally busting up on jelly prawns in a tropical estuary were clearly visible… but only if you look up from that mesmerising screen.

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their waking lives. I would respectfully suggest that they’re missing out on a great deal as a result.

The clues, cues and intel’ available to us as fishers runs the full gamut: from glaringly obvious signposts such as wheeling, diving seabirds over a school of feeding fish to far more subtle hints, like a barely perceptible change in the temperature of an aluminium boat hull detected through the soles of bare feet, or the flick of a single jelly prawn hard against a mangrove root caught briefly by our peripheral vision. Unless

you look up from that screen occasionally and open your senses to the bigger picture, you’ll miss a lot of these subtle inputs.

Hand-in-hand with this big picture awareness should go a certain degree of healthy scepticism about what you’re actually seeing on the sounder screen. Social media is full of amazing images revealing various species of fish and other aquatic life displayed in graphic detail on various sounders.

I love these spectacular screen shots as much as anyone else, but I also accept that the conditions needed to produce them are the exception rather than the rule. Far more often, we’re working with vague suggestions and tantalising clues rather than hard facts.

It pays to remember that a mullet or a blackfish can return a near-identical sonar signal to a bream or a snapper, that a carp looks very much like a golden perch on screen, or that strands of weed can pass as fish to the uninitiated.

Interrogate every assumption you’re tempted to jump to, and do your best to validate those assumptions with real-world experience and direct observation. In short, lift your head from time to time and have a look around… There’s a whole world out there beyond those dancing pixels.

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31

Mixed reefies make the most of cool conditions THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

The Tweed has seen near perfect conditions over the past month, but the cold early starts have made even the hardiest of anglers freeze.

throughout July. The currents have come to a grinding halt, which has the whales moving through but has also opened up more techniques. Whether micro jigging, using plastics or drift baits, all finesse styles are fishing very well and producing quality fish.

This time of year, we see

Mark Coleman with a beautiful Maori cod from a close reef off Tweed.

Winter species are in full swing. Mixed reefies, mulloway, tailor, flathead and bream have been making the most of the cooler conditions, feeding up on bait and fry schools in estuaries and on shallow reefs.

Fishers have had mixed results, with key species spawning around the full and new moons. Fishing after the full moon is seeing anglers score more and better quality fish, but only gun anglers have been producing trophy fish by working the right tides in a perfect spot with the best bait.

Very little current offshore has seen a lot of anglers able to fish deeper reefs, wrecks and rocks with ease. The whales are in full swing, so smaller boats should be aware and make their presence known. All boats have a no-approach zone of 100m. Otherwise, it’s a great time of year to get the family and kids out the water and check out these majestic giants.

OFFSHORE Conditions off the coast have been excellent

a few northern species invade our reefs to fatten. Baby red emperor, fusilier, nannygai, parrotfish, cod and wrasse all visit the reefs and make for a surprise catch. Snapper and

mixed reefies have been on close reefs out to 200m lines.

Drift baits, plastics, micro and octo jigs have worked best out to the 36 fathoms, whereas bottom bashing, jigs, plastics and drift baits have been effective from the 36s to the 200m line.

There have been lots of big cobia and mulloway if you look to the shallow reefs that hold bait. Find the arches around it and drop your lightly-weighted livies down to them. 36s, 24s, 10-Minute and Point reefs have been fishing the best for cobia, whereas isolated wrecks and 5-Mile, 9-Mile, and South reefs have held mulloway.

Live baits are still the best way to score one of these big brutes, but whole squid, butterflied baits and whole fillets on multi-hook rigs have also been working well.

There have been a few large AJs, samsonfish and kingfish out wide. Look for isolated wrecks, rocks, ledges and reefs in 100m to 200m of water, with jigs and live baits working best out deep. Big bass grouper and bar cod have also been caught, but try ledges in 400-600m of water for them.

Decent packs of tuna have been coming through.

Look for where the birds are bombing and the barrels are

Dougie Lee Leong landed this solid Fingal Beach dart on mullet fillet.

flying! Positioning your boat windward side of these packs will see the fish come to you, and makes for longer casts so you can rip metals back

through them. For live bait, try the usual spots like Kirra, Snapper Rocks, 10-Minute Reef and the yellow markers at Cook Island. Bait jigs and small unweighted baits have been working best. If you’re struggling, try crushing up a pilly.

ESTUARY The westerlies have got mulloway fired up and starting to feed this month.

Larger models have been taken off the rock walls around the mouth, but a few soapies have been off most bridges and the deeper holes in the upper systems. The key is to find the bait, as the mulloway are moving around a lot, chasing the baitfish. Micro jigs, plastics, deep diving hardbodies and live baits are working well around the bridge pylons, the rock walls and in deeper holes in the upper section of the river.

Bream have been thick around any structure that holds small fry and bait. Try Boyds Bay Bridge, Ivory Tavern, the trawlers, Nusics Hole, the oyster racks, Barneys Point Bridge, dry dock and any weed beds that hold bait. Small plastics, hardbodies, blades and vibes have all worked well, but mullet gut, strip baits, whitebait, pillies and worms

PHONE

Tailor and packs of trevally have started to work the tide and current lines in the rivers. Look for deep water with an eddy next to it for best results. Surface lures, blades, vibes, plastics and hardbodies have all been productive.

Some big lizards have started to sun themselves in skinny water. Working sand banks with weed patches using 2.5-5” plastics, trolling or casting 35-90mm hardbodies, 30-90mm surface lures in under 1m of

AUGUST 2019

club, Pottsville and Hastings Point creek mouths and any skinny water under 1m.

Remember, any flathead over 60cm is probably a breeding female and should be released for the repopulation of fishing grounds.

BEACH The beaches have really started to fire up. Tailor and the odd bigger dart have been running along the coast. The rock wall, headlands, sand pumping jetty and deeper gutters have all been producing.

Scott Isaacs with a pearly from the 36 fathoms.

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water, vibes, blades, worms and yabbies have been effective. Try sand banks in the Terranora, Cobaki, Piggery, houseboats, golf

A decent flathead trolled from the upper Tweed River.

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have been catching more and bigger models this month.

Big dinner plates have been caught with 6lb braid to 8-12lb leader.

Metals, hardbodies, poppers, stickbaits and ganged pillies have been working best at dusk and dawn, but there has still been the odd fish in the gutters on the filling tide during the day.

Mulloway have been pushing into the deeper gutters, around the rock wall and headlands, chasing the mullet and tailor run. Whole beach worms, ganged pillies,

Tweed South Wall, Fingal Head, Froggy Beach, and Lovers and Snapper rocks.

FISHING IN AUGUST Mulloway will still be the main target for most anglers as we shiver our way through the end of winter.

Reefs will hold the biggest mulloway, but rivers will see a lot of soapy-size fish caught this month. Working those key spots with the right

Fraser. So, if you want a feed of tailor, fishing the tide, rock walls, current lines, around bridges, headlands and gutters will be the go this month.

Bream will continue to dominate the estuaries and close reefs as they prepare for spawning. Baits at night around the rock walls will score quality fish.

Flathead will continue their

Matthew Saad caught this impressive pair of snapper, measuring 80 and 90cm. hardbodies, plastics and vibes have been effective. If you’re night gutter fishing, try using berley to entice big mulloway.

Great bream, squiresize snapper, luderick and drummer should be available off the rocks this month.

Early morning or night is prime time for snapper and bream, with half pillies your best choice. Try Brunswick Wall, South Wall Kingy,

lure or baits will see the best anglers score these silver slabs. Either way, get those warm clothes on and get into them while you still can.

Tailor will thicken as they migrate up the coast with mullet and spill into our waterways. They are normally having one last feed up by the time they arrive, building up those fat reserves before they hit their spawning grounds off

dominance of skinny water, eating anything that passes them. Find the weedy sand banks and you’ll find them.

For weekly up-to-date reports, the latest techniques and all things fishy, head over to my page Fishing Fun Gold Coast on Facebook and Instagram. You can send in your pictures, ask us any questions or check out local catches. Have fun, stay safe and tight lines!

Nick Dilon with a huge 98cm snapper off Tweed.

AUGUST 2019

33

Offshore is going off BALLINA

Joe Allan

The Richmond River and surrounds have been fishing pretty well over the last few months.

The beaches of South Ballina and Seven Mile at Lennox Head have seen plenty of tailor being taken on blue pilchards and metal slugs. When the westerly winds flatten the winter swell, it’s also worth walking

the gutters with 1/4-1/2oz blades targeting flathead.

While you’re doing this, you’ll get the odd by-catch of big bream. These things pull hard on light spin tackle.

There’s plenty of bait if you’re out for some fun with

Harrison Clements caught this mulloway at night with a live mullet.

Christian Booker with a cracker snapper caught off Evans Head.

the kids, with pipis being a great choice. These then turn into some great fun bait fishing memories, as the winter bream and whiting will love them.

The water clarity in the river has been beautiful, but it could use a little flush to stir things up.

OFFSHORE The offshore fishing around Ballina has been consistent over the last month.

This should continue, with all signs pointing towards a bumper snapper season.

Areas around Riordans Reef, Black Head, Lennox Heads and the close reefs around the Ballina beaches are all holding quality numbers and sizes of snapper up to 90cm.

There are some big fish out there at the moment around the Evans Head region.

The best baits to throw are horse mackerel, fresh squid and bonito (floating or very lightly-weighted depending on the current), however, soft plastics are accounting for the bigger fish. Try big plastics around the 6” range. Use as

light a jighead as you possibly can. This will definitely help your catch rate.

At this time of year, the big girls are here to breed, that’s why there are so many in such good numbers. Only keep what you are going to eat and let those trophy ones go to make more snapper.

Further offshore on the wider reefs along the 42-fathom line, there are pearl pearch, amberjack and kingfish. There have been a lot of great fish caught on various jigs. Using the big

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knife jigs is a really physical way to fish, so don’t worry about going to the gym that day. Try to get in early before the wind gets up and it becomes too uncomfortable.

RIVER AND CREEK Surface fishing for bream in Emigrant and North creeks will be worth a shot this month. It may not produce huge numbers,

A solid bream caught on an Atomic Crank 38 Deep in ghost green off the Ballina South Wall.

but you’ll most likely come across some thumper winter whiting.

The river mouth has been producing some great size and numbers of bream and blackfish, with some thumping big mulloway showing up on the good tides too. There seems to be a fair bit of bait around, and with the dirty water in mid-July stirring up the mullet, it’s worth catching some livies and trying to capture one of these beasts.

For the blackfish, try getting there on the top of the tide as it starts to run out. As always, green weed and weed flies are the best methods.

For great numbers of bream, try cut baits along south wall and the Bream Hole in behind Police Station, fished with light weights.

Anthony Dendal shows off a beauty caught on an Atomic Prong 4” in white.

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See you on the water! – Fishing Monthly AUGUST 2019

35

The best month of the year YAMBA

Dave Gaden

August is my favourite month for offshore fishing.

With water temperatures dropping, snapper are coming in close to spawn on the edge of the kelp, and with this huge increase in numbers they are easier to target.

and a very small glow bean sinker of around 1/8oz running down to the top hook. It’s important to spend a bit of time adjusting the weight on your floater. If you are drifting fast or there’s excess current, bump it up as much as you need to get it down. On the other hand if you are anchored with little current, you should remove the sinker altogether.

will just get smashed on a whole pillie. I use a light 7’ rod with a small overhead reel. Casting it out the back and leaving the reel in free spool until the fish runs, then slowing the fish down with my thumb enough to put the reel into gear avoids sudden breakoffs on big fish. I purposely use the overhead over the spin reel, as it lets the line run free while the bait is sinking.

tuskfish we’ve caught in the shallow water while trying to float bait snapper. By-catch on the floaters has been decent, with mulloway and cobia very common this month.

They’re harder to handle on light gear, but it’s a challenge that most anglers would be happy to have.

If you can’t find a fish on the close reefs this month, head out to any ground

Bruce Simpson from Newcastle was happy to catch this pearl perch. are great eating, fun to catch and can be the saviour of a quiet day fishing on charter.

John landed this quality Moses perch.

The best method for targeting bigger snapper is float baiting. I use a simple rig of two 6/0 circle hooks snooded about 50mm apart on 35lb fluorocarbon leader.

I put two soft glow beads

I keep it simple and only use two baits. My preference is a strip of mullet flesh around 150mm long and 20mm wide hanging off the back of the hooks, but sometimes you

Be prepared for them to turn up anywhere this month. Make the jacket rigs

Dion from Guyra with his first ever snapper!

Usually on charter, we have been running two floaters out the back all day while customers fished the bottom with paternoster rigs while drifting. It’s been surprising how many big pearl perch and Venus

between 50-70m deep and it shouldn’t be too long before the big yellow beasts, the Chinaman leatherjackets, find you. I know some people hate these fish with a passion as they can destroy your gear if you’re not prepared, but they

Leatherjackets are here this month and they will be big.

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ahead of time and store them in your boat. The rigs I make are very simple, with 90lb black nylon coated wire made into a standard two-hook paternoster rig.

The most important thing is to have at least one hard glow bead made into the rig on each hook. This takes the jackets’ attention away from everything but the hook and stops almost all bite-offs above the rig.

Fishing wide in August can be sensational, with pearl perch, pigfish, snapper, kingfish and big

ESTUARY In the estuary, it’s time to break out the weed and floats to chase luderick (blackfish). If you have never tried to catch these hard-fighting and great eating fish, you should give it a go. There will be anglers next to you who will be absolute guns and seem to have the fish trained, but even they had their first day once. Ask for advice, as most fishers are happy to tell you what you may be doing wrong or how your rig isn’t set just right. The thrill of your first luderick

Keith from Logan caught a great pearlie.

ba Prawn Bla

Grafton angler Taigan Heath landed

this 20kg longtail tuna fishing off the es” Many anglers have been“Ya mEnjoy the best monthdof stones at a headland near Wooli. chasing them on plastics as the year! The fish will be great seems to be the norm now, but even if the weather is cold. we were having no trouble getting a good feed drifting the channels at the entrance, using frogmouth and white pillies on very small gang hooks and a pee sinker. The “Yamba’s Leading Tackle Shop” last hour of run-out and first “IN THE MAIN STREET” 8 Yamba St, Yamba two hours of run-in seem to be our most productive, with • by-catch lately being larger than normal tailor, flounder and bream.

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There are plenty of jackets this month. Here is a typical haul from a charter trip. trag all in the 50-fathom line and the current slow enough to catch them. I know there are times when jackets are out there too, but more often than not they will be in that 50-70m mark, leaving the quality fish for your icebox.

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Cold snap just the right recipe COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

It may have taken until the end of winter, but the transition from summer fishing to winter fishing can probably be called complete, maybe.

and have been focussing on snapper and kings, of which there have been many. The few mackerel being caught have mostly been incidental, apart from a dedicated few still searching them out.

Snapper and kingfish have been cooperating with the change of season, providing anglers with piles

once you see the sea surface temperatures dropping below 19°C, you know that most of the snapper will be around the shallow gravel beds and nearby reefs waiting for the right time to ‘do their thing’.

In these shallow waters the snapper can be spooked easily by boat noise, and so

keeping the bait in the right spot for longer. Whatever you use, you will want to very stealthily sound out a prospective area and plan a drift. Casting your lures as far away from the boat to cover ground and to keep the baits away from any boat noise is the way to go.

Offshore, the kingfish have been active as well. The deeper reefs and islands have seen the most action. Bait and lure anglers are having success. This month should see the kingies continue their presence in good sizes. Captures over the last month have consisted of a good average size, or 5-10kg school fish. The larger specimens have mostly been captured by those doing some deeper work with the jigs, or spending the time with large livies away from the main schools.

There have been less kingfish close in on the shallow reefs, but they have still been a land-based option on the headlands in

Jordan Voglsinger has made a habit of finding kingfish offshore on the Coffs Coast. surrounding deeper water. A large drifted live bait or some time spent throwing large

stickbaits has produced a few land-based kingfish around the 10kg mark or bigger.

Macca donned the beanie and got into some winter snapper.

There have been mackerel and tuna caught throughout the winter months, with the waters offshore remaining warm through June and into July.

It’s possible we may still see some mackerel caught this month, but it’s most likely we’ll see the current slow and water finally cool off along the coast. Most anglers have given up the mackerel fishing anyway,

le

ilab ava

of motivation to leave the summer pelagics behind and move on. Snapper have still been spread from the inshore reefs and headlands to the outer reefs and islands. As the current begins to slow and move offshore we can expect to see the snapper concentrate further inshore and over the close reefs and gravel beds. The snapper look to spawn when the water temperatures drop, so

a slow approach and stealthy fishing is required. Soft plastics are the easiest to use successfully on the inshore reefs. Slow jigs work well too, but don’t give you as much time in ‘the zone’ as the lighter soft plastics. It’s for the same reason that I love to use spinnerbaits on these near-shore snapper.

It’s a lot of movement, vibration and flash but a slow presentation, therefore

Bream have been very dominant in some beach gutters – Bethy couldn’t get her squid bait past them!

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A more reliable target off the rocks at present is tailor. Headlands, rock walls and beaches have all been producing tailor. As the current moves further offshore, we will see the Australian salmon schools work their way up the coast.

There have been some schools around already, and we can expect them to peak over the next couple of months. Not many people rate them as a table fish, but they are great fun on light gear, and if they’re around the headland or beach

you’re fishing you may not get any other options, as they tend to dominate areas with large schools.

For the inshore anglers, bream have been their normal cautious selves, as they often are in the clear winter estuaries. There have been periods of rain that brought a little colour to the local creeks. The rain events have provided a bit of a stir up within these systems and kept the fishing a little more active than it has been.

Bream, flathead and whiting will be found

throughout the estuaries and should respond well to some more subtle fishing over this month. School mulloway and tailor can be expected right up into the brackish and freshwater stretches, especially in the larger systems. Slightly dirty water after rain should also provide better conditions chasing these fish too. Live baits and stickbaits continue to be the proven performers.

Wherever you get into your winter fishing this month, I hope the fish find you or you find the fish!

The recent weather has oscillated between windy with big swells and dead calm and perfect. Local anglers just need the right days to line up on the weekends.

FISHING NEWS

Restaurant is raided Fisheries officers have continued to put the blowtorch on illegal crab fishing and blackmarket sales.

NSWDPI Associate Director Fisheries Compliance, Brett Andrew, said several people including a restaurant owner are in hot water for allegedly dealing illegally in crabs.

“Fisheries officers inspected a restaurant in South West Rocks on May 28 and seized a large number of crustaceans, as the owner could not provide documentation to show the product had been purchased through legal sources,” Mr Andrew said.

In total, 26 mud crabs, 35 blue swimmer crabs, two coral crabs and two Balmain bugs were seized.

Mr Andrew said that a South West Rocks man has also been interviewed by fisheries officers for his alleged involvement in taking the crustaceans for sale when unlicensed, and subsequently supplying these to the restaurant.

“Any activity that could potentially undermine legitimate commercial fishing and compromise

Fisheries officers have seized a large number of crustaceans from a restaurant in South West Rocks. the strict quota system is concerning,” Mr Andrew said. “The alleged offenders can expect to receive court attendance notice where they could face a maximum penalty of $110,000 if convicted.”

Commercial fishers are also reminded of their regulatory obligations to ensure their catches are taken legally. The warning follows the guilty verdict of a commercial fisher from Port Stephens, who faced Raymond Terrace Court in June for illegally using traps to take mud crabs.

“The commercial fisher

was under surveillance by fisheries officers and observed using a grapple to retrieve five unmarked crab traps from Tilligerry Creek,” Mr Andrew said.

“The court found him guilty of unlawfully using traps for taking fish for sale and fined him $750.

The court also ordered that he pay the Department’s professional costs of $1,450.”

Fisheries officers have seized 3,474 illegally used crab traps over the past three years, with 1,103 of those seized last financial year alone. – DPI

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39

Rug up before rigging up SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Paul Martin

With winter in full swing you do need to rug up, but once you’re out on the water the fishing has been worthwhile.

Good numbers of snapper have been around Grassy Head and up to Scotts Head. The close grounds are working well, but the bigger fish seem to be out around the 90m mark. There are still some quality samsonfish in the same locations, with a few prized pearl perch if you’re lucky enough to find them.

If you can get an early start, try sending a good size plastic down the water column. Snapper are a sucker for these, but the locals tell me once the sun is up to revert back to the humble pilchard or squid for that big knobby.

Fishers who like to fish the deep water are all over the bar cod and other bottom dwellers in 100m and deeper. We still have a good run of kingfish in a number of locations from the wider grounds like the wreck, and in closer, with Fish Rock and Green Island being the hot spots.

From Nambucca down to Hat Head, leatherjackets

ROCKS

are lurking in monstrous packs just waiting to rip your gear apart. Wire up and get a feed of these tasty fish, trust me, you won’t put a dint in the population of this species. Even though the weather is cool, the water temperatures are quite warm for this time of year, hence the odd tuna still being caught.

THE RIVER We are in the middle of one of our best luderick seasons we have had for a while, due to the annual mullet netters giving them a wide birth this year. In the past, we would have anglers from all over the place to fish our area for these sportfish,

through the month. This has enticed mulloway to become more active, with some quality fish caught off the breakwall, both on the northern and southern sides.

You will have to put in the hours, because most big mulloway hunt at night.

The Jerseyville Bridge pylons have been a good location to hook a few schoolies at night, with the odd trevally and bream thrown in as well. Cast some plastics around here and you will be surprised how good they work in the dark.

Along with luderick, winter bream are in great numbers this year, with 35-40cm models not

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A nice winter snapper caught off Scotts Head by local angler Matt. so let’s hope we have a return to those days.

With the weed getting harder to find, especially here at the Rocks, most Luderick fishers are using the artificial weed flies with great success, and they are available in our store.

We finally have a little colour in our river system now after some good rain

uncommon. You should find these fish along breakwalls and around oyster racks, and I do recommend a good fluorocarbon leader to trick the very cautious big bream.

The best baits to use are gut bait, such as that from mullet or chook, but you can also use mullet fillet, which will stay on the hook to get past the pickers. Once

Annual visitor Col Farnsworth was pleased with his Macleay flathead. again, first and last light is the best time to fish for these guys.

Kingfish continue to come into the river with the rising tide, chasing the herring and other baitfish. It is frustrating to see these big fish feeding so close and yet uninterested in anything you throw at them.

The hunt for that big flathead becomes a little bit harder in winter. There are lizards about and they tend to lurk in the shallows for the warmth of the sun.

Sometimes you need to just about hit them on the head with your bait to wake them. Surprisingly, upriver to Smithtown whiting are there in numbers, with bream and bass very abundant. Just remember the bass must be released.

OFF THE ROCKS Good numbers of tailor have come in after the big seas we had last month.

Some of these fish have been around the 2-3kg mark.

Throwing slugs or anything similar will work, but if you want to use bait, pilchards or garfish on gangs should get eaten pretty quickly. Rug up, as you need to be there early to catch the sunrise.

Drummer and bream are in good numbers off the ledges. You might want to up your leader weight to handle the rugged location.

Luderick are also off the rocks and taking marine cabbage, weed or cunjevoi fished under a float.

There were a few kings and the odd mulloway caught land-based from the lighthouse down to the ledges off Hat Head recently, so this is another option.

BEACHES There is nothing like being on a beach early and watching the sun rise up over the ocean. This is a great time of year to fish the beaches, with a good run of winter bream.

Smoky Beach in particular has been producing nice bream, which have mainly been taking pipis and worms throughout the day, while fishing those early or late hours should get you a tasty tailor or two.

Main Beach has a few bream around The Boulders, but the quality changes from day to day.

The north and south side of Gap Beach has a few tailor and bream with the odd winter whiting as well.

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Brimming with estuary options THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

Despite the westerlies, clear water and cooler temperatures, there is still plenty on offer for those who want to tangle with a few of our piscatorial friends.

Bream have been a bit disappointing in the river with numbers down, but there’s still some good size fish being caught. Fishing of a night from the south wall using fresh mullet strips or nippers should see you get a few. Fishing from a boat and anchoring along Coal Wall or the mouth of Limeburners

walls. As soon as the sun gets up, it’s time to move, as you can see the bottom 6m.

If you like to persist, then go down to some very light fluorocarbon line and throw around lightly-weighted plastics.

Flathead have really been exceptional upriver, and this should continue. I

There’s been some quality size bream, as Mandy found out recently.

HASTINGS RIVER While these last few months the water has been exceptionally clear, with no recent rain, we have

Creek and Big Bay should also produce.

Lure anglers chasing bream will be hoping it is a later season in the river,

would be starting my flatty trips above the Hibbard ferry section of the river, as the water has a bit more colour in it. From here,

Mulloway have been tricky, and you really need to put in the time and effort to get rewarded at the moment.

Night live baiting and fresh squid or mullet fillets have caught us a few fish, but there has also been plenty of quiet nights in the river.

Casting lures from the walls has seen a few good fish caught, and the best I have seen recently was a 22kg fish caught on a big green paddle-tail plastic.

Upriver, mulloway have also been playing hardball and consistent results have been hard to find. If you’re really keen, try the lead up to the dark of the moon period, as it seems to have been productive in the river over the last month or two, but we really need some rain!

OFFSHORE The offshore anglers have been fairing well in recent trips, and evening fishing for mulloway has seen some good size fish caught in close and south of Port down to Camden Haven. Getting live bait from the bait ground will assist in getting you onto them.

Snapper are worth chasing and the south marks

Gary Oshea with a great flatty from the Hastings. lift a good 3kg snapper by the leader, had the exciting experience of getting his fish monstered by an estimated 8’ bronze whaler. Yikes!

BEACHES The beaches have been reasonable, with decent numbers of bream and

tailor around. Bait fishers have been using mullet and bonito strips, with good results on Lighthouse and North beaches. A few mulloway have been reported, so try using one of those fresh tailor you catch and hold on!

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Cory Hicks with a cracking bream taken around the floating oyster pontoons.

Young Julian scored his PB mulloway recently, and is probably still smiling! been able to catch fish in the front sections of the river. There’s been some great luderick action around the walls and jetties.

with many of the reliable spots down on previous seasons. Fishers using vibes and blades have been getting a few, but you need to get into them early along the

you can fish the Maria River arm or continue up the Hastings section. Most edges are worth casting too. Just remember to slow down your retrieve and put in plenty of pauses. Soft plastics and soft vibes have been worth using.

like Yabbies, Lighthouse and Petersons are worth a try. I talked to Jason from the local tackle store recently and he suggested that from now on, he and his fishing partner Dave will be using a net to bring their snapper on board.

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Jason Hicks with one of two mulloway he caught and released recently when night fishing the Hastings.

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Getting the most out of a fantastic season FORSTER

Luke Austin

Has this been the best winter season ever? We have had a great run of fish over the past couple of months, and August is set to keep on keeping on!

The estuary has been producing some really nice bream of late, particularly down on the rock walls.

The schools of bream along

more than a few snapper down there. Some anglers are actually now starting to target them with great success, and one angler managed to land one that was nearly 9kg!

The mouth of the estuary is an amazing place in August. As well as bream and snapper, there are huge schools of kingfish, mulloway and silver trevally lining the breakwalls. The kingfish numbers really start

month. As alluded to earlier, while there are still some great bream to be caught in the lower reaches of the system, they have spawned

rivers and creeks that flow into the main basin can be very productive this month.

If you push up into the really brackish water (or even

Although the fish are definitely there, the action have been very hit-andmiss. Those anglers who have put in the time have found them on most of the

perch. The trick now that the water has well and truly cooled is to try to avoid the leatherjackets and barracouta. Unfortunately, these two species are just a

Matt Argall with a prime August kingfish.

Breakwall bream are suckers for small baitfish profile plastics like this Keitech Easy Shiner. the breakwalls have almost rivalled the mullet in numbers this year, so there has been plenty to target. A small ball sinker running down to a size 1 or 2 hook with a strip of mullet on it is a deadly way to fish for them, as is a lightlyweighted small soft plastic, particularly something that has a good amount of scent added to it.

The same technique has also been accounting for

to swell this month as they prepare to spawn around the end of September, so the next three months are the best chance you will have to try to stop that fish of a lifetime. So far there haven’t been any fish over about 24kg stopped down there, so it will be interesting to see what happens this year!

Those of us lucky enough to have access to a boat have loads of opportunities this

Deep dropping in August can be very rewarding. now and many will have pushed back up onto the weed beds, sand flats and oyster leases a little further up. Similar areas are also worth prospecting for a few flathead, which have proven themselves to be much more than a summer-only target species, particularly when using soft plastics or vibes.

Continuing up into the

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AUGUST 2019

into the fresh) you will find big schools of prawns and baitfish. Once you find the bait, you can also expect to find the fish that feed on it: bream, flathead, mulloway and even Australian bass.

Once you identify the fish on the sounder, it’s usually fairly easy to land a few fish using lures.

Luderick seem to have hung about in good numbers this year. There are still plenty being caught along the rock walls, in the oyster leases down the bottom of the system and up along Breckenridge Channel.

Luderick can sometimes be a little tricky to find at this time of year, and I would suggest going for a walk to spot either the fish or the fishers targeting them.

Our beaches have been fishing very consistently this winter. Tailor continue to be prevalent along most of our beaches, with some really big fish being caught on 7 Mile Beach and Cellito Beach.

The southern end of Cellito has been producing some absolute stonkers of late!

Sitting under the tailor seems to be a constant supply of solid bream. There are no real record breakers but there are plenty of 35cm fish.

Mulloway reports have been slow this year.

popular beaches, but there have been a lot of long, cold nights between them.

August is a great time of year to be hitting the rocks in the search for some big black drummer. Dropping baits into the washes is loads of fun and, providing there has been a little bit of swell about, you are almost guaranteed to run into a few fish. Even if the drummer don’t play the game, there is an endless supply of bream, luderick, blue groper and tailor to take their place!

It’s been a fairly typical year offshore thus far. The shallow reefs have been a little hit-and-miss, but those reefs in 30-80m have been on fire and have consistently held great numbers of snapper, teraglin and pearl

part of fishing in winter, and the only solution if you do run into them is to move to another spot.

If we score some decent weather, August is a prime month for a bit of deep dropping, as the currents are generally fairly gentle and the fish are plentiful.

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Luderick are a winter staple and there should be plenty still floating about this month.

Changes in the fish patterns HARRINGTON-TAREE

Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

Winter conditions have prevailed for some weeks and fishing has been hampered by the rain, southwest to southerly winds and big seas and swell. The rains have fallen mostly on the coastal strip, and virtually nothing up in the headwaters of the Manning. The freshwater part of the Manning is very low and in need of a couple of hundred millimetres of rain to return to normal.

The southerly weather has flattened out the beaches and there are no formations to offer shelter to the tailor and bream. It is a matter of trying several spots on the open beach until you find some fish. Years ago, August was considered the worst month of the year for fishing.

It is not now, as September has taken the mantle.

In the river bream are still to be caught in the lower parts as well as further upstream, while on the beaches the chopper tailor could be here. I say could because some years

the choppers arrive at the end of July, and in other years they do not come until Christmas time!

The drummer used to spawn at the end of July, but sometimes they can still be in roe up to December.

The movement of the fish schools has changed over the last 50 years. Whether it is due to the change in climate or the over fishing of some species I do not know, but it is something we will have to get used to.

Jordy Greenaway with a nice bream from the breakwall.

Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle.

At the present time the estuary at Harrington is producing great catches of bream to 900g. The best fishing is at night around the slack water when the tide does not run fast, and only a small sinker is needed to get the bait down near the rocks of the wall. Mullet strips are the top bait, but the bream will take almost anything.

Mullet gut, prawns, yabbies, chicken gut, crabs and tailor strips will all take fish.

Luderick are also on the bite on green weed during the day and fresh yabbies at night.

Kingfish are patrolling the wall in the early mornings and evenings, but none have been landed in the last couple of weeks.

Most of the flathead have moved upstream and the best catches have come from above Taree.

The beaches and headlands have been hard to fish due to the washed-out nature of the beaches and the big southerly seas making it dangerous to fish the rocks.

Those who have found a safe spot to fish on the rocks have been able to pick up a few drummer and an occasional blue groper.

Some good tailor to

Daniel Rowe with an 18kg mulloway caught at the Mid North Coast Rock and Beach Championships.

Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle.

1.5kg have been spun from the south side of Crowdy Head when conditions have allowed.

Outside, fishing has been hampered by the southerly conditions and the boats have not been able to get out to sea as frequently as they would like. Fish numbers have been down, with small to medium-sized snapper being boated from the northern grounds and flathead taken

on the drift. Those able to get out wide have bagged plenty of jackets.

By August the sea should have settled down and the beaches formed up so the fish have some foamy water to hide under. In the estuary, luderick will be the species to chase during the daylight hours and at night a floating slab of tailor or mullet should entice a mulloway to have a go.

Enjoy hot fishing while you wait for spring HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

As we head into this month, the good thing is spring is just around the corner. Many anglers will start to unpack their tackle and get ready for the temperatures to start warming up so they can get back into the swing of things.

Nevertheless, fishing has been far from disappointing, with some awesome catches reported in recent weeks. There have been some stonking bream landed, along with the usual suspects like flathead, thumping tailor and some monster reds.

There are plenty of soapies around, with one fish caught and released up near Raymond terrace by 11-year-old Montana Piercy, which was her first mulloway on a soft plastic.

She discovered that it was a tagged fish from Sydney, and the details of tag were passed on to the DPI. The harbour and surrounding areas have been putting out some quality luderick in the 40-45cm+ range in good numbers along with bream, flathead, mulloway and tailor. In good conditions, the esplanade near

Newcastle baths in areas like Bar Beach and Merewether are producing quality luderick, with surrounding areas like Nelson Bay breakwater and Lucys to the south also worth a look.

A few nice trumpeter

has been spectacular, with some solid catches of reds, kings, trag, flatties and as expected this time of year, leatherjackets, which can be taxing on terminal tackle.

Kings are providing loads of fun on jigs, big plastics

This mulloway was caught on a soft plastic by 11-yearold Montana Piercy recently up near Raymond Terrace. whiting have been taken on beach or tubeworms.

Remember to only use small pieces of worm long enough to fit on the shank of the hook, as any excess worm dangling off the shank is not needed and you’ll find you’ll have a better hook up rate. A size 4-6 long shank bait holder type hook allows the bait to hang on longer.

This time of year you’ll find most fish are in the 30-35cm range, with a few into the 40cm range.

The inshore fishing

and live yakkas or slimies.

You could also use whole squid or strips, as they are irresistible to kings, both weighted or unweighted, depending on the depth they are hanging. They can even be slow trolled if the school is higher up in the water column. I find trolling at idle is enough to get them interested.

Talking of squid, some nice specimens are about, so it’s always good to have a rod set up with a jig ready in case one follows a bait back to the

boat. Areas off Merewether, Dudley, Redhead and a little further south to Catho and Wybung are good places to have a look.

Some nice drummer up in the 50cm range are available off the rocks, as well as a few groper, bream and again tailor and salmon.

Although its late in the season there’s still a chance of the odd longtail still lurking about. For drummer, fresh peeled prawns or cunje are the best baits, and ganged pilchards are good for tailor and salmon.

Onto another issue.

There seems to be a few people that don’t quite understand how to use a busy boat ramp, which can often lead to conflict and a bad day of fishing in general.

When approaching the ramp to launch your vessel, try to use the rigging area or an area out of the way of others to untie your boat and prepare it for launching. It’s not a bad idea to sit back away from the ramp until you establish who’s doing what, so you’re not jumping the queue. Nothing annoys anglers more than a boat owner who pulls up on the ramp and blocks others ready to launch or retrieve their boats, and he still has to remove ratchet straps, put the bungs in, load the esky and other gear into the boat.

All this time and there are others waiting patiently or impatiently to launch or retrieve their boats.

If the ramp has a pontoon or jetty to tie up to, make

easy to upset people by taking up too much space unnecessarily.

The snapper reports have been consistent, with one fish taken off the rocks

A thumping 57cm pig caught on a recent outing by Chad Kelly. The drummer don’t stand a chance when Chad wants a feed. sure your boat is out of the way of others launching and retrieving and not tied up closest to the ramp where it will affect the next ramp user.

People returning to ramp in their boats should have right of way for retrieving their boat, and most boaties will say if they are going to be a while if their car is parked away from the ramp. It’s not hard to use a boat ramp, but it’s very

coming in at 91cm, which would be for a lot of anglers the fish of a lifetime.

Offshore, some nice yellowfin and bluefin tuna have been caught in recent weeks, with bluefin up to and over 100kg pleasing anglers.

Also in the heavy game arena, a 515kg tiger shark was weighed in at Newcastle weigh station recently, and is said to be the heaviest fish ever weighed there.

AUGUST 2019

43

Effort will equal results PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

While the fishing is always good in Port Stephens, August is probably the slowest month of the year.

This doesn’t mean you should pack away your rods though, as there is still plenty of good fishing to be had if you put the time in.

ESTUARY Inside the estuary the water is pretty cold, especially in the back half of the bay and up the rivers.

This will make the fishing upstream pretty tough, so fish further down the system from around the heads to Soldiers Point. This section will be getting a nice push of warmer oceanic water coming in with the tides.

The breakwalls, both Nelson Bay and Anchorage, will be holding plenty of luderick, with fresh weed or cabbage fished on the tide changes the biggest key to success.

These same areas will also be holding good amounts of bream up to 1kg, which will readily take an unweighted bait drifting down a berley trail on the

A typical winter beach mulloway. It may be worth braving the cold along the beach for these fish this month.

A pair of quality snapper for the author.

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high tide changes. While you will still have good daytime fishing opportunities on the bream, it will fish best at night. You just need to brave the chilly conditions.

There’s been a few tailor getting around on first and last light in Shoal Bay and Wanda Head. They will take small metals around 10-20g or whitebait and pilchards rigged on gang hooks.

down to around 2-3” and use a nice natural colour.

BEACHES The ocean beaches will be producing some quality tailor on first light, especially around Stockton, Box and Samurai beaches, with whole pilchards rigged on gang hooks the best method to catch them. The odd salmon school will also provide opportunities for some real

lightly-weighted on heavy gear, as anything less then 30lb will get smashed up.

It’s a great time for drummer, and there have been plenty around the wash, with some of the best fishing between Boulder Bay to Rocky Point.

There are plenty of big squid off the rocks and in the bays, with 3.0 jigs the best size to use in these parts.

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Squid have also been thick around Shoal Bay over the weed beds amongst the moorings, with size 2.5 jigs working best, especially in natural colours. Another option for the squid is over the weed beds along Jimmys Beach or at night under the lights at Little Beach and the Marinas.

The odd flathead will also be lurking in the shallows, but this time of year it can be hard to get a bite. Try dropping your plastic size

fun for those with light spin gear flicking smaller metal lures.

If you can brave the cold, Stockton will be worth a shot for some winter mulloway action, with school fish up to 15kg often turning up at this time of year.

ROCKS Off the stones, it’s well worth targeting a big blue groper, especially when conditions are flat and calm.

Collect some crabs before your session and fish them

OFFSHORE There’s still some great reports of reds in the shallows out the front of Fingal, around the islands and all the way through to Seal Rocks. Fish early in the shallow stuff from 5-20m, and as the sun gets up you can move onto the deeper reefs in 40-80m of water.

It’s well worth the run to Allmark Mountain this time of year, with kings, snapper and the odd gemfish and bar cod all possibilities.

Braving the cold ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

The fishing locally has slowed as the water has hit its coldest point of the year, and the constant southwesterlies can also shut down the bite... but it can still be worth braving the cold!

Brisbane Waters has still been fishing okay, and I’ve been finding the hours between 11am-3pm to fish the best, as the sun seems to warm things up a tad and the fish seem to feed better.

You can definitely dodge the early mornings and still catch fish.

Bream have been about in decent numbers, with plenty of school fish about feeding on small bait schools down deep. Most of these fish are in the 25-35cm

30 YEARS OF BOATING EXCELLENCE Bream have mostly been found deep, congregating near bait schools. the edges in main lake and also in Erina and Narara Creeks. The water is usually a couple of degrees warmer and the bait can also hold up shallow.

There are still plenty of kingfish about at the moment too. I think they have been sighted in every corner of the lake now and some of them are said to be over

great, with both floating baits and soft plastics catching plenty. A lot of the keen anglers have been doing plenty of micro jigging off Terrigal, and they have been having a lot of fun too. Try fishing in around 10-30m over some broken reef, and by doing some nice long drifts you should find some patches of fish.

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Fishing deep for bream will turn up some exciting by-catch as well. range, although it’s not 20kg! There are some good unusual to see the odd brute schools of salmon too, so fish up to 47cm this time of you just never know what year. Most of the usual deep you can hook in Brisbane bream lures will catch fish, Waters these days. including soft plastics, vibes Rock fishing has been and crabs, just be sure to really unusual this winter. slow everything down and Guys have been catching concentrate on annoying the the odd bonito and frigate fish into biting. Try fishing mackerel in amongst some open water and use the usual winter salmon, your sounder if you have one blackfish and drummer. to locate the bait.

Avoca Platform has Flathead have been reportedly had a lot of action slower than usual, but NEW as recently, although if Avoca’s RELEASE the water cools right off, I fishing okay, then most of usually see some nice ones the surrounding headlands start to show. These guys should be similar. really prefer warmer water, Offshore the snapper so try in around 2-3m along fishing in close has been

There have been some nice pearl perch caught and they seem to be becoming more prevalent in our area, and no one is complaining.

Hopefully we will see a repeat of the inshore kingfish run we saw at this time last year. They seemed to move up from south of us and they seemed to average around a metre.

Gamefishing has been pretty much a non-event through the start of winter, although the yellowfin and southern bluefin should show in the next few weeks and make it worth the run out wide again.

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Good numbers and sizes of flathead this month SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

As we move into August there are quite a few anglers who lose interest in the local fishing scene.

I must be honest, it’s generally not the greatest month to score a few fish here on Lake Macquarie, but in saying that, every month has something to offer and there are always a few surprises thrown in the mix to reward those who put the effort in. August can be a little blowy at times and it’s obviously one of the colder months here.

In saying that, it’s just a matter of putting the effort in on the right species in the right locations and you should be able to put a few runs on the board.

The flathead would be one of the more available fish at the moment, with both good sizes and numbers about. Working 3” soft plastics and small metal blades around areas such as Myuna Bay has been producing some good bags for anglers. Slowly hoping your lures along the bottom with nice long pauses has been the key undoing to some good fish.

Working these same bays with diving hardbody lures has also been scoring a few good bream of late. The northern parts of the Lake Belmont Bay have been producing a few good fish, as has the western side around Toronto and Bolton Point.

The odd salmon school is also passing through this

area, so it pays to keep a rod rigged and ready to go when they boil up, as they certainly provide a great fight.

We have been working the deeper sections of the

of water and finding 4” paddle-tail style plastics the most successful. The jighead size we use really depends on the weather. Generally we will be flicking 1/2oz

Dom Perrone with a solid flathead taken on a recent trip. This one went 74cm and was released in great condition. lake as we do every winter, and although it’s not producing as well as past few seasons, we are still finding our share of fish with some solid ones in the mix. We have been working 8-10m

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jigheads that have a 2/0-3/0 hook. We always use scent when we target these deep water flathead, and I can’t tell you how many times the fish may shake free initially only to pounce on it again the next chance they get, and without scent we find they rarely come back for seconds. We have not been scoring the same number of really big girls in our usual spots, but we are finding a few in the 70-80cm bracket to keep things interesting.

We generally run 4-6kg braid and a 12-16lb leader.

Mulloway continue to frustrate us, but other anglers are certainly finding some success, which is great to

see. Hopefully we will find them again this month. Some anglers have been braving the elements and staying out overnight, fishing with live squid and getting fairly consistent results. You need to make sure you’re rugged up, and a boat with some protection from the elements certainly helps if you’re contemplating an all nighter at this time of year.

Generally the mulloway have not been huge, with most in the 80-90cm range.

They are still lovely fish and a good reward for anglers.

When chasing mulloway on live baits I’m a fan of flicking a large soft plastic around the boat while you’re waiting for the bite. The next good mulloway to fall to this method won’t be the last!

Speaking of squid, they are still about and we’ve had some lovely fresh squid dishes lately. My wife Caroline loves cooking up fresh squid meals, and I certainly don’t mind eating them! We’re generally able to put 4-8 squid in the tank during a quick trip and weather you’re a salt and pepper squid person or prefer whole stuffed squid like I do, they’re well worth the effort.

The biggest trick to scoring them regularly is the squid jig itself. A large jig that is too big will basically never get the touches, but get a few little 2.5 size jigs over the side and you will be in luck most times.

The winter bream bite has not been a bad one, with some real stonkers in the mix. Hardbody lures slow rolled over the flats and around the edges is proving effective for some. Small metal blades worked deep and slow through areas such as Chain Valley Bay are also seeing a few fish. Mannering Park has been producing a few good fish and I have found a few in Bonnels Bay, but really found them much more active and willing to bite when the wind is up a little, particularly so when working the shallower edges of the bays.

At the mouth of the

lake and just outside around Moon Island there are still pelagic fish about. Salmon are thick and there have also been some great tailor in the mix as well. Many people are quick to disregarded tailor as a poor eating fish but if bled when caught and cooked fresh they are a sensational table fish and they come up a treat when smoked. Small metal lures, small soft plastics like Bass

Not all the local flathead are destined for release!

Ones like this model make for a great meal.

Minnows in casper clear and even small flies have been the weapon of choice for many anglers enjoying this action.

Offshore things remain a little quiet. There is plenty of anticipation for what may lie ahead in the months to come as we head into summer. A few tuna have been caught, but there is a load of water between them

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and more often than not they are a long way out to sea and simply too wide for many crews. The crews are seeing good numbers of SBT and a few YFT off more southern waters, so we are still hopeful that we’ll get some of the action. Trolling a spread of 7-8” lures would be my first choice. I’d suggest a couple of wider head options close to the transom and some bullet or longer profile heads

in those positions further from the boat. As for colours, pinks, purples, and greens are generally productive, so give them a go first up.

Remember, there are some really good table fish on offer out wide at the moment, so if the weather allows and if the tuna are quiet, make sure you have a few GPS marks ready to go and the electric reels ready to drop.

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2019 zerek barra tour calendar

Springboarding from the successful Zerek BARRA Tour, ABT is excited about the 2019 calendar.

It’s only one event longer, but what a cracker it will be! The Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open will be launched in Lake Awoonga in September, and according to local Awoonga guide Justin Nye, the timing couldn’t be better.

As the water warms in September, Awoonga’s current barra crop will be feeding up big time, and the positioning of the event as a mid-week, live scoreboard barra spectacle means that you’re not fighting the weekend warriors for a crack at these fish.

Check out Justin Nye’s article inside to get a real head start on this event.

Justin spends more time on this lake than nearly anyone, and he has handed out some pretty useful info. ABT’s motto is ‘Who Shares Wins’, and he has shared for us all.

For several years, the Zerek BARRA Tour has been

DATE

LOCATION

EVENT

SPONSOR

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10-12 Sept

Lake Awoonga

BARRA Australian Open (Evening 3-day Event)

Venom Rods

2pm - 10pm

8 Nov

Kinchant Dam

BARRA Tour Round #1 (Evening Event)

Power-Pole

4pm - 12am

9 Nov

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BARRA Tour Round #2 (Evening Event)

Edge Rods

4pm - 12am

11 Nov

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BARRA Tour Round #3 (Night Event)

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4pm - 8am

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4pm - 12am

using the ABT Tournament Series app (powered by Track My Fish) to log and record catches, however the lakes on the traditional BARRA Tour are often out of mobile phone coverage.

Kinchant is the only one that has 100% reception, and that event is just as exciting for anglers following off the water as it is for competitors. Last year, the lead chopped and changed until the final minutes.

The Open will be the same. Featuring 100% cash paybacks as well as around $5,000 in Venom Rods prizes and a spectacular perennial trophy, we know you’ll want to be able to tell the story that you were there at the first BARRA Australian Open. With the BREAM and BASS Aus Opens firmly entrenched in the calendars, we know that the resurgent Awoonga event will be the start of something special.

The other lesson we have learned in the Zerek BARRA Tour is: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We have added a single rest day

between events 2 and 3, and that’s it. The waxing moon, the time of year and the lake rotation all stays the same for this epic barra trip that suits newbies and tournament veterans alike.

There’s no better way to fast track your barra learning curve than to spend time with those anglers who excel at it. In recent years, competitors have been proud to share their knowledge. Just take a look at the 2018 BARRA Tour Team of the Year. Geoff Newby and Phill Lyons do their thing extremely well, and they’re happy to share all of the gear and techniques that they use inside this magazine. We hope that you enjoy their take on the Team of the Year title, and it might just give you the confidence to give it a go.

Remember that all new teams are welcome to either of these events – it’s not a secret club – and the fishing looks to be as good as ever.

I hope to see y’all on the Tour or at the Open. – Steve Morgan, ABT Director

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FLAT SHAD 7" & 9"

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"The barra really crunch this lure hard so hang onto your tackle..."

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Zerek BARRA Tour’s top Four on the Floor MACKAY

Stephen Booth

Tournament anglers are unlike anything else you will find in the fishing world.

They are pedantic, intuitive and exceptional. They discover the best of the best in lures, and quickly work out alterations or additions to get the most from these plastic and timber offerings. Rarely

is a lure fished by a barra tournament angler ‘straight out of the box’.

Their penchant for tinkering goes against the efforts that lure designers and manufacturers put into their lures to get them right. However, clued-in manufacturers can learn valuable lessons from these switched-on anglers. Of course, the ultimate aim is to deliver a lure that anglers

The 5.5” Live Mullet was an immediate success for the Wells Brothers on Proserpine’s barra.

can literally take out of the box and tie on with absolute confidence, and that’s as it should be.

While bream and bass fishers are moderate tinkerers, barra tournament anglers are elite tinkerers. I’m yet to run across a barra tournament angler who has not changed split rings, swapped over hooks, boiled soft plastics or cut extra nicks into a tail – all in an effort to get that extra 1% they are striving for daily.

The reason is simple – that 1% may be the difference between coming first or last.

At Zerek we thoroughly test all our lures before they are released, as do most manufacturers. We are happy to say that anglers can use our lures straight out of the box and catch fish, but barra tournament anglers find ways to modify the lure’s set-up to meet their needs.

I don’t take any of this tinkering as a sign of poor design. I prefer to look at it as elite level anglers seeing something they really like in our lures, and taking the time to adjust it to suit their needs.

It’s a real win-win for us, as we get loads of ideas for our next lure and some very solid feedback from the players who set the trends in fishing.

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The big paddle tail and easily crushed body of the Flat Shad allow for great hook sets.

Very occasionally we will release a lure that is on point and needs no adjustment or retrofitting of components – a lure that everyone is comfortable using straight out of the box. The Fish Trap series, fitted out with 4x strong Mustad Saltism trebles, is one of the few lures that barra impoundment anglers can literally use straight out of the box!

However, this lure does not suit every application tournament anglers fish. Some anglers still cut into the body and remove grams of lead, others are experimenting with assist-style hooks, still others are using lure pens to change the colours to suit. Tinkerers will be tinkerers!

We’re lucky to have a number of very keen tournament barra anglers who choose to use our lures, and I’ve taken the time to talk to four of them about a particular Zerek lure and how they get the best from it in the heat of tournament battle. I deliberately asked them not to be afraid of telling me the whole story. I want to know

what changes they make to get that extra 1% in the end result. I want to know how the lure is best used and, more importantly, I want all of you to know these secrets too.

Let’s get into it and look

a habit of working out exactly how to get the best from a number of Zerek Lures, and their immediate love for the Live Mullet when chasing Faust’s big silver slabs was obvious.

This barra nailed the Zerek Fish Trap on a vertical presentation. at the four Zerek lures you must have on this year’s Zerek BARRA Tour.

WELLS BROTHERS ZEREK LIVE MULLET 5.5” Nick and Matt have made

“The Live Mullet showed up in 2017 and was an instant hit,” said Matt. “We were fishing and filming at Faust with Harro (Rod Harrison) just after they were released, and after a few good meteries

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The Zerek Flat Shad is a great search bait for barra in the impoundments.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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his words were, ‘Nice one boys, it’s a bloody game changer’.

“We first fished them on a rising dam, and the smaller profile was great for fishing

soft lure is amazing,” he said.

“Whether you fish it hard and fast or soft and gentle, the life-like tail will be pumping from the first turn of your reel to the last.”

applications, Matt said that they like to upgrade the treble to a size 1/0 Mustad 4x strong Saltism for that extra bit of sting and strength.

“The extra width of the

Robbie and Dicko caught this double header on Zerek Fish Traps vertically jigging them to a deep snag that had fish stacked all over it. right up in the shallows in the newly flooded grass and sticks.”

It was an epic first trip for the boys, and confirmed their initial thoughts that these lures would be a game changer.

Nick said that they like to fish the Mullet in depths ranging from 3-12ft, but added that it can also be very productive fishing deeper.

“The versatility of this

A medium to fast retrieve with a few quick rips of the rod gets the Mullet dancing around the water column and can help to get that reaction bite out of those lock-jawed fish. It’s really quite a sight when you first see the Live Mullet doing its thing in the water!

Although the Live Mullet can be fished straight out of the box for a lot of

1/0’s gauge can also help to pin those inquisitive, swiping fish,” Matt said.

In regards to colour, Nick said that their colours of choice for Faust are min min, fat betty, temmy and orange gill.

“These three colours have been standouts from day one,” Nick said, “and they have each delivered many of Faust’s magical meteries to the net.”

LOCHIE REED - FISH TRAP Lochie Reed is a gun at interpreting sounders and making the right lure and techniques choices from these observations and, over the last couple of Zerek BARRA Tours, has come to rely on the Fish Trap for a lot of work.

“When turning up to fish it can take some time to understand what’s happening with all the variables,” Lochie said. “The first thing I do is look for barra on the sounder and try to understand what they are doing, and then hatch a plan to catch them.

“The most critical element is what to cast at the barra to trigger a bite, and nearly always my first choice is a Zerek 95mm Fish Trap.

“Why? Versatility!”

The Fish Trap can be fished in many ways and at many depths, making it the perfect prospecting lure.

Barra can be fickle critters, and presenting a lure just right can be the difference between donuts or winning a competition. This is seen all the time on Tour, where one team can be fishing right beside another, throwing similar lures, and only one team is getting the bites.

“Fishing the Zerek BARRA Tour for the last few years has put into perspective how important it is to crack a

pattern quickly,” Lochie said.

“Running over a week and with events on three different dams, anglers need to be able to adapt to each dam’s requirements.”

Lochie said that the Fish Traps can be cast at weed edges to tempt barra in Kinchant just as easily as it can be vertically presented to barra in Peter Faust and Teemburra in snag piles. It is this versatility that allows barra tournament anglers to use the Fish Trap at all the venues the Tour visits.

“The Fish Traps are ready to fish straight out of the box,” said Lochie. “We

do experiment with them occasionally by changing hooks and rings to make them lighter or heavier depending on what we need to do, but on most occasions, they are fished as they come.

All in all, the Fish Trap is versatile, strong and easy to fish. With four different sizes, there is a Fish Trap to match whatever the barra are feeding on at the time, and at any of the locations fished.

“I wouldn’t even think about fishing the BARRA Tour without an assortment of fish traps in different sizes and To page 6

Faust barra love smashing the Zerek Live Mullet 5.5” whether that’s in the trees, over the weeds or over the flats.

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Tournament Angler Guide

From page 5

colours in my kit,” Lochie said.

TROY DIXON LIVE SWIMBAIT Troy ‘Dicko’ Dixon is a well-known identity on the Zerek BARRA Tour, and he uses the Tour to test many Zerek lures before release to the general public. It puts him in a position to really understand the lures and how to get the most from them.

The 8” Live Swimbait holds a special place in Dicko’s heart, delivering him a metre-plus barra on the very first cast with the lure while pre-fishing for the 2018 Tour.

This lure also delivered his largest impoundment barra over the 120cm mark! So it’s

fair to say this is a lure that can deliver on the big stage.

“The best time to use the Live Swimbait is when you see fish sitting off the bottom or holding mid-water,” Dicko said. “These fish are a little more active than the weed dwellers, and respond well to the big bait.

“When I see these fish on the sounder I will cast the lure towards the fish and allow it to sink to the just above the fish’s depth, and then start a slow retrieve with lots of pauses.”

It’s interesting to note here that the Live Swimbait sinks in freshwater at a rate of a foot a second without additional weight, allowing for fairly precise positioning of the lure

Dark lures are becoming a real game changer for impoundment barra and the green sunset colour in the Zerek Fish Trap has proven itself during testing and after release since May 2019.

abt.org.au

The blended frog patterned Fish Trap is a new colour that had immediate success on impoundment barra. in the water column.

Dicko added that the lure matches the hatch on many occasions, especially when the fish are eating bony bream.

The Live Swimbait is a lure that you can option up, but Troy rarely alters the lure further than changing the split rings by doubling them up. You can add chin weights, hooks on the dorsal surface, swap out for assist hooks, add blades – the options are endless!

“The bite is vicious so hang on,” Dicko said. “The barra really crunch this lure hard so hang onto your tackle as you could easily lose it over the side if you’re not concentrating.”

Park your boat on the floor it deserves!

As far as colours go, Troy recommends two colours, the mainly white FB (flying bear) and OBT (orange belly trout).

If you want to go for something loud and proud, he said colour T (temmy) would be great.

MICHAEL DETENON ZEREK FLAT SHAD Michael has fished the last two seasons of the Zerek BARRA Tour, and has been incredibly successful fishing the Zerek Flat Shad.

The Flat Shad is a unique lure that features side slits that allow the soft plastic to compress and expose the worm hook it comes rigged with, however some anglers fish this lure on a jighead rig and yet others add a stinger to the bottom of the worm hook.

The most recent upgrade to the Pro Series has seen the inclusion of an eyelet moulded into the worm hook weight to give anglers an easy connection point for their bottom stinger treble.

“The Zerek Flat Shad has been my impoundment go-to lure for some time now, and it is the lure I tie on knowing on any given cast I can catch a barra,” Michael said.

“My love for the 7” Flat Shad came about when I first started fishing competitions in the freshwater impoundments.

I knew a big paddle tail plastic was needed, and I wanted something that I could rip out of the packet and throw without having to boil it, cut it or mangle it in any way. The 7” Flatty was what I found, and it didn’t only look good to me, the fish found it looked

pretty good as well.”

Results came quickly for Michael and his team mates, finishing in the Top 10 in

several comps and bringing home a Top 5 Team of the Year finish last year.

While Michael says these lures catch fish straight from the packet, he has added a 1/0, 4x strong treble to the tow point on the bottom of the standard hook, and with that Michael reckons the Flat Shad is ready to go.

“They are just so easy to use, whether it is a weed point, a deep ledge or casting in amongst the trees,” he said.

“You let the lure get to the depth you want and just slow wind. There is no need for hops or twitches, and as you slow roll you can feel the big tail doing its thing right through to your rod tip.

“My confidence in these lures has grown so strong that on the last ABT Barra Tour I caught every single one of my

• Zerek Fish Trap

• Zerek Flat Shad

• Zerek Live Swimbait

• Zerek Live Swimbait

TACKLE All the lures mentioned can be fished on the following outfits.

LIGHT OUTFIT • Venom 6kg 7’ baitcaster • ATC Combat Plus 200 baitcaster • 30lb braid MEDIUM OUTFIT • Venom 8kg 7’ baitcaster • ATC Combat Plus 200 • 40lb braid

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TAG 2019 abt

HEAVY OUTFIT • Venom 7’6” Swimbait • ATC Combat Plus 200 • 50lb braid

barra on the Flat Shad. The space mullet is the colour I tie on first, but I am never really worried about colour, as I have now caught barra on every single colour in the range.”

LAST WORD These days there are many lures on the market for barra impoundment fishing and we are lucky to have a quality range of fish-producing lures that are tried and tested in the heat of battle.

If you’re fishing the Zerek BARRA Tour this year, make sure you have these four on the floor!

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Tournament Angler Guide

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A likely win for the lads BRISBANE

Geoff Newby

Over the years my teammate Phill Lyons and I had been pretty consistent on the ABT BARRA Tour. Although we had never won an event, we had a couple of second places and top ten overall finishes – at least until 2017, which proved to be a disaster for Team Likely Lads.

old (2007) we have been doing it since 2009 when there were over 30 boats and although fished with two anglers per boat it was an individual event.

The attendance gradually dropped to the lowest of 12 boats but this was due to the floods of 2010 when all the major barra dams were almost devoid of barramundi due to the fish loss over the dam spillways.

The format was changed in 2013 to a two-person team

A bright yellow and red Nitro heralds the approach of the Likely Lads.

We went into the 2018 Barra Tour not very confident, and our pre-fish experience was terrible. We spent over 40 hours on Peter Faust for one barra, around 30 hours on Teemburra for two barra, and 20 hours on Kinchant for a donut a couple of weeks before the tour started. During that period,

event, the dams gradually improved along with the team entry numbers and in 20018, 28 teams competed.

We have not missed a tour since and it is the highlight of the year for us and I would advise any angler

Leicester called the Likely Lads, so we adopted that name here.

We soon discovered that Australian comp fishing was very different. There are a couple of ways of barra tournament fishing: gunning and running, or hanging on a spot for the full tournament. The second option is the one we prefer. Different types of areas to fish are trees, bays and points, and we focus most of our efforts on points.

The sounder we use is a Lowrance HDS Carbon (now being upgraded to the HDS Live), and we have found it to be the perfect tool for finding fish, and most of all for finding spots in the first place. The insight Genesis mapping system is first class, with almost all dams in Queensland mapped with depth contours. This makes it easy to locate potential spots around the dams that could hold fish in the conditions we would find the barra.

ROUND 1, KINCHANT DAM Kinchant Dam isn’t like most of the other dams.

Basically, it has one tree and one really significant point. The dam is almost 50% rock wall, and fishing within 100m of the rocks is not allowed, but it is chockers with big barra.

Our spot was the bay

The author’s regular teammate and fellow compatriot Phill Lyons has many metre-plus barra under his belt to date. load of fish on the spot during the one pre-fish session, and although we couldn’t get them to bite, we thought we would have a better chance during the comp leading up to the full moon.

It was a very slow night; we only just managed our five fish bag. One was caught on a 120mm Rapala silver ghost X-Rap, and one on a 130mm black/ gold Squidgy Slick Rig. We also each boated a good size barra on a new lure that Phill found: a Molix Shad swimbait. It needs to be modified by upgrading the front hook and split

ring, and we used an Owner ST66 no. 4 treble hook, heavy-duty split rings, and removed the spinner blade off the back and fitted a second treble as a stinger hook. This yielded two more barra of 90cm and 85cm. That got us into the prize list in 6th spot, and we were happy with that as we had not been confident leading up to the event.

Phill uses an Ian Miller TCurve 1.73m, 6-8kg as his X-Rap rod, with a Daiwa Zillion baitcaster reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 55lb Schneider leader. His other outfit is an Ian Miller Toad rod with a Shimano

Stella FE 4000 reel spooled with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 28kg wire leader.

I used an ACM custombuilt 15-30lb Revelation swimbait rod, with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000 30lb spooled with Sufix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader.

ROUND 2, TEEMBURRA DAM We were more confident at Teemburra, as it’s what we call our home ground.

On the October full moon, Phill, myself and another mate had boated 35 barra off our first-choice spot.

We decided not to fish the dam during the week before the comp, and heard

• Berkley Giant Ripple Shad

we consoled ourselves with the fact that we were fishing at night on the wrong moon and it was very cold.

We are not the youngest team in the ABT barra tour.

We were already knocking on in years when we got our first boats, and we only tournament fish freshwater (dams). Although the ABT BARRA tour is not that 8

TAG 2019 abt

who enjoys barra fishing and has a competitive nature, to give it a go.

We both emigrated to Australia from England in the early 1990s. Although fishing was in our blood, lure fishing in freshwater was new to us. We had both been regular comp anglers on the match fishing scene in England, and there was a successful team from

towards the tower, located to the right of the boat ramp. We went straight to it and never moved all night. We decided to not use the anchor feature on the electric motor, as we think the barra have started to associate the noise with anglers, so once in position we dropped the 15kg lead plonker. We had found a

Fish of this calibre, and a truckload of determination despite an ordinary pre-fish, helped team Likely Lads to dominate the 2018 ABT Zerek BARRA Tour.

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au

that it was very tough from the visitors during pre-fish.

Before any comp we prioritise three spots, so if anyone gets in before us we have somewhere else to go. Our number one spot, Pinnacle Point, was open as we raced across the dam.

In we went, straight on the mark, and dropped the 15kg lead plonker.

Again, it was a slow start, but we expected that because we were fishing during the afternoon; the spot usually fishes better at night. Phill got a follow at the boat after

about an hour, but it didn’t eat the lure. Still, it made us feel better knowing that there were barra around.

We were seeing the odd fish but no numbers, then at 7:50pm we had a small 60cm barra that consumed a Berkley 160mm fire tiger Giant Ripple Shad,

which got us off the donut. Our first objective was complete.

Another fish followed at 8:20pm, an 83cm barra taken on the 13cm Molix Shad. The barra had the Molix in its mouth like a dog with a bone, and all three hooks were set.

With around an hour to go we said if we could get one more barra it could get us a top 10 place. We never expected to find the result we heard back at the boat ramp – that we had not only won, but the 83cm

HD 4000 spooled with 30lb Suffix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader.

Phill used an Ian Miller Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid, and 28kg wire leader.

ROUND 3, PETER FAUST DAM ALL NIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP Although we had a disastrous pre-fish, we had decided on our three spots at Peter Faust Dam. A point in the basin was our number one location, and two other spots were

• Squidgy Slick Rig

barra was the biggest barra.

We took home the top prize of $1400 and the Biggest Barra prize pack.

I again used the ACM custom built 15-30lb Revelation swimbait rod, with a Daiwa Certate

towards the river.

We had a good draw off at number three, and with not far to go we thought we would get on our number one choice, and we did.

It’s a very shallow point To page 10

The author is no stranger to the BARRA Tour, and his record of podium finishes at BARRA events is testament to his experience.

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9

abt From page 9

with a weed edge coming out from the bank about 2-3m, then another 2m of weed towers under the surface, then 1m deep out to around 3.5m where we were anchored.

We started as usual, with each of us using different lures and swapping every 15 minutes or so, casting to the solid weed edge and burning it off before slowing the retrieve in the clear water. After 90 minutes a good fish fell to a Squidgy Mongrel. It measured 109cm, and was a great start.

After that we got quite busy, boating barra every 20 minutes or so, and the lure doing the damage was the Berkley Giant Ripple Shad in fire tiger. Then at 8pm we boated our biggest barra of the night – a cracking 112cm fish.

We were starting to get the upgrades we needed. We had also had a lure swap, and started to get the better fish on the 13cm Molix Shad in black/gold. We finished up with 14 barra, and our best five measured 5.36m.

That converted to a weight of 80.83kg, and was enough for the number one spot.

The wind had been very strong in our face, so there were issues with backlash on

Tournament Angler Guide baitcaster reels, so we mainly used spin rods. I used the ACM custom built 15-30lb Revelation Swimbait rod with a Daiwa Certate HD 4000, 30lb Sufix 832, and 70lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip. My other outfit was

Toad rod with a Shimano Stella FE 4000 reel with Sufix 832 30lb braid and 28kg wire leader.

The main lures were the Berkley 200mm Giant Ripple Shad in fire tiger and the 5.5” Molix Shad swimbait.

• Molix Shad swimbait

a custom built Geoff Busbridge 12-20lb spin rod on a Rain Shadow blank, with 20lb Sufix 832 braid and 55lb Schneider leader with the Mustad quick change clip, with Transam vibes that picked some of the early barra.

Phill used an Ian Miller

LUCKY CRAFT ROUND 4, PETER FAUST DAM This was the start of two massive sessions for Phil and I. Coming into the fourth and final round, our nerves were jangling and our stomachs were turning somersaults. We were

BARRA? WE HAVE YOU COVERED 10

TAG 2019 abt

leading the Team of the Year table by three points, just ahead of the best barra team in the last four years – Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder. What a position to be in!

We decided to go to the point we had fished on

the night championship, settled in, dropped the anchor and started to thrash the water to foam. We had a great start, with Phill smacking a 100cm barra at 4:30pm (30 minutes in) on the Squidgy Mongrel. Our first fish, donut gone, and on the board.

Then we had a

abt.org.au disastrous hour or so, dropping around seven barra. We called a halt to the fishing, and sat and talked for a few minutes.

We decided that we needed to settle down and get back into the groove. The bite had changed from the night comp; we had been concentrating on hitting the weed edge, a short burn, drop and then a steady retrieve. This wasn’t working. We changed to a 45° angle cast towards the bank, but falling short of the weed fringe, concentrating on a longer cast and keeping the lure in the deeper water. The barra started to come at a steady pace, and we finished up with 10 barra for the session. Our best five total measured 5.05m and weighed 63.7kg, putting us in 3rd place.

Session 2 The first session was a good result, but we still faced a big threat from Team Edge Rods/EJ Todd. Craig and Karim had had a tough session, and were down the field in 12th place, 27kg behind us. However, if ever there was a team who could pull a rabbit out of the hat and make up the deficit, it was Craig and Karim.

The thought of winning round four had gone, and

all we could think about was catching a bag that would keep us in front for the Team of The Year.

We headed back to the same spot and concentrated on the angle cast, with the main lure being the green grunter Slick Rig. At 5.30pm our first barra hit the deck, and a steady stream of smaller barra followed. We had anticipated a very late bite of bigger fish, due to what happened the night before, and at 11:30 we were into a good fish that measured 113cm. Before we boated this fish we thought we would be safe with the Team of the Year title, but it would be tight for a 4th round victory as we had an 80cm barra in our best five bag.

We ended up boating 11 barra, with the best five measuring 4.87m and 59.69kg, and it earned us another 1st place finish in Round 4.

We had almost completed a clean sweep – three wins in the rounds and Team of the Year. We were $4,400 better off with two beautiful Ian Miller rods and a pile of trophies.

Greatest of all though was the accolade of being the ABT Barra Team of the Year 2018.

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Tournament Angler Guide

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Lake Awoonga Ver. 3.0 GLADSTONE

Justin Nye

As barramundi addicts, we sit back and think about Lake Awoonga in its glory days! ‘Pre-flood 2011’ is a conversation that’s passed around many campfires, boat ramps and tournament briefings. The stories of 30 fish sessions, and 1.3m beasts that go bump in the night, were enough to spike

any anglers’ adrenaline rush into overdrive!

However, as quickly as the conversation peaked, it plummeted back to Earth, with spillover comments bringing misery to the barra fishing fraternity.

Between 2011 and 2016, the lake’s levels remained reasonably high, with strong monsoon seasons being prominent, forcing several spill events during this period.

The record-breaking Australia

Day weekend floods of 2013 saw the spillway go over by an incredible 8m+!

In April 2016, Lake Awoonga spilled one last time, which had anglers far and wide watching with nervous excitement as the next chapter of the lake’s history unfolded. October 2016 saw an opportunity for myself to turn my recreational fishing obsession into a career of guiding in the Gladstone region. During

The result of a double hook-up on jerkbaits.

Gladstone Area Water Board hatchery broodstock. the summer of 2016/17 I recorded good numbers of 50-65cm fish, although larger fish were rare.

The 2017/18 spring and summer saw the lake gain momentum, attracting more anglers to try their luck.

Good numbers of 60-75cm fish were being captured, with some quality 80-85cm fish mixed in.

It was in August 2018 that I witnessed the rebirth of Lake Awoonga! An

reached maturity and were hungry! In the period from September 2018 to March 2019 I recorded almost 600 boated barramundi for clients onboard Gladstone Fly and Sportfishing, with an average size of 82cm.

HIGHEST STOCKED BARRA IMPOUNDMENT The flood events over the period of six years was heartbreaking, but it didn’t stop the tireless work of the Gladstone Area Water

team took over the reigns of the GAWB hatchery and developed a program that would allow them to get the best numbers of high-quality barramundi out of the facility they had in Gladstone.

Every Lake Awoonga barra is spawned from local wild-caught Central Queensland broodstock, and the fry and fingerlings are graded every 2-3 days to maximise numbers, which maintains the efficiency of

19

WORK HARD FISH HARDER. 12

TAG 2019 abt

Josh Butler caught this nice barra on a jerkbait. abundance of 70-90cm fish were spread throughout the lake, and their presence was mind-blowing. They had

Board in restoring the best impoundment barramundi fishery. In 2014, stocking guru Thomas Hayes and his

the program. Since the flood of 2016, there have been 1.12 million barramundi stocked into the lake, including

Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au 555,864 this financial year!

And there are huge things to come for the hatchery, as the GAWB have been allocated funding to build a state-of-

abundance of 85-95cm fish, which are the real deal when it comes to barra impoundment angling. These fish are 3-4 years old, and they are

abt

quick as a hook-up comes with these fish, it can all end just as suddenly if they get the better of your angling ability in tight country.

This fish was caught on a Molix Swim Shad. the-art hatchery at Lake Awoonga itself, which would have the capacity to produce 1.2 million fingerlings a year.

CURRENT FISH SIZES Currently, there is a clear defining presence of year class in the lake. From the top down you will see a large

ruthless at this size! They are known for blistering pace and acrobatics, and will give you the full run around wherever structure is involved.

The next year class is the 75-80cm models, which to the bass or bream angler will blow your socks off! As

Apart from bulk numbers of these 2-year classes, there are plenty of smaller fish in the 50-65cm bracket given the massive numbers stocked last year, and metre class fish will also be on the cards for September.

To page 14

A Weedless Castaic Jerky J was the undoing of this fish.

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TAG 2019

13

abt

Tournament Angler Guide

From page 13

TACKLE There’s plenty of highquality affordable tackle available on today’s market, so you can buy gear that’s up to the task without blowing your budget.

Having a variety of rod options is beneficial,

especially if you want to turn bites into hook sets on every occasion. Tactics can quickly change in a tournament situation, especially if the fish are responding to a different presentation from the one used during pre-fish. Adjusting the sensitivity of a rod choice will often result in better hook-up

abt.org.au

rates, particularly when throwing soft plastics and weedless presentations.

KEY AREAS AND TECHNIQUE If last September was anything to go by, experience tells me the fish will be moving around in large numbers in two distinct locations.

Various soft plastic presentations.

A healthy barra caught from a point.

The weed fence Look for direct or indirect windward facing edges, points or bays that have distinct weed fences, quite often with a small mix of standing timber. This weed creates a perimeter inside to the bank, which allows barra to herd the bait inside the ambush zone. These perimeters are often filled with chocolate coloured water as a result of east-northeast afternoon sea breezes.

Quite often when the word ‘weed’ is brought up, weedless presentations are the angler’s instant response. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to throw shallow hardbodies and standard jigheadrigged plastics into these areas. Practice variations in retrieve speed and aggressiveness, as ripping the lure through the weed quite often results in a bite.

It’s a good way to maximise your catch rates.

Standing timber bays and points Again, using wind energy, directly or indirectly, find a bay that has a good variation of standing timber, particularly in 3-4m of water. Look for distinct laneways or pathways to open water, which the barra may use to move in or out of that area. Often one obvious laydown or horizontal timber may be the ambush zone for several fish, so look out for this kind of structure.

Various techniques

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TAG 2019 abt

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Tournament Angler Guide

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can be highly productive, so don’t hesitate to have a mixed bag of options rigged.

Suspending hardbodies fished aggressively with long pauses, standard slow rolling plastics and vertical jigging vibes can all be great options.

SCANNING TECHNOLOGY The use of modern-day sonar will enhance your ability to find fish during the pre-fish and during the tournament.

All the major brands have incredible technology, and it’s vital that tournament anglers these days are equipped with at least side imaging or

downscan sonar equipment.

During the pre-fish you should utilise these tools, mapping out contour lines and possible flight paths for daily barramundi movements. You will have a clear advantage if you can work out a pattern to their movements in the lead up to the tournament. It’s also important to keep an eye on the water temperature at this time of the year, as warm water honey holes can be a game changer.

MY HOT TIPS You should pre-fish as close to the tournament as possible; don’t pre-fish in July

with the expectations of the same scenarios in September.

The water levels, temperature range and trade winds will all have changed, resulting in significant barramundi mood swings.

You can expect to see fish move through in a series of windows, such as moon and tide events, along with other natural occurrences like last light. You must capitalise on these events to be successful, as the bite windows will come hard and fast and often be gone again in the blink of an eye! Those anglers who can turn five bites into five

TACKLE SPIN OUTFIT: •7’-7’6”, 15-20lb medium-fast for weedless plastics and lighter presentations, matched with suitable 3000-4000 spinning reel with plenty of drag capability and 20lb braid or PE. •7’-7’6” 20-30lb fast action for heavier plastic presentations like slow rolling and even vibing, matched with 4000 to 5000 spinning reel and 30lb braid or PE. BAITCASTER OUTFIT: • 6’6”-7’ medium-fast to fast action 15-20lb for soft plastics and topwater, matched to suitable 100-150 size baitcast reel with plenty of drag capability (be prepared to thumb the spool).

• 6’2”-7’ fast to extra-fast action, 15-25lb for heavier soft plastics and jerkbaits, matched to suitable 150-200 size baitcast reel with plenty of drag capability (again, be prepared to thumb the spool).

LURE FAVOURITES Suspending hardbodies: Duo Realis 100DR, Jackall Squirrels, Lucky Craft Pointers Plastics: 5” and 7” Castaics, Hollowbellys, Happy Rock Swim Baits and Willys, Slick Rigs, Molix Shad, Zerek Flat Shads and ZMan SwimmerZ Vibes: Zerek Fish Traps, Jackall Transams, Madness Shiriten Vibes and Samaki Vibelicious.

captures will no doubt be on the leader board at the end of the tournament. Be prepared to cast your arms off, and if you’re going to take a

the second. For example, if the wind is blowing from the east, these anglers will automatically direct their attention to the western side

flight paths can produce good numbers of fish, there will always be an ‘end game’ (feeding location) destination nearby, and quite often in the

Garry caught this barra on fly from a weed wall. break, don’t take it around a bite window!

My reference earlier to direct and indirect windwardfacing locations is a key factor. Most anglers will take the first option and disregard

of the lake. Although this is a likely location. It is not always the game changer, because barra will use wind energy down a point or bank as a flight path that can lead them to feeding locations. Although

most unlikely of places. With time and experience on the water though, you’ll know that these unlikely looking places are actually potential hotspots, giving you an extra edge on the competition.

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Pre-rigged on a weighted hook and designed to be retrieved like a fleeing shrimp, the Zerek Absolute Shrimp features a tough TPE body that has a one-piece tail that is tear and puncture resistant, yet still supple enough to provide an enticing action.

Able to be swum with a fish-attracting pulse of the rod tip, or sunk through the water column into the fish’s face, the Absolute Shrimp responds equally well to subtle rod work or stronger rips and shakes.

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DAIWA AIRD LT

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Proving that gold medal performance doesn’t have to cost the world, the Aird LT will have you on the path to angling glory.

Combining many of Daiwa best designs, including LT Concept and Tough Digigear, the Aird LT performs as well as it looks, and looks as good as it’s designed.

Ultimate line control is delivered by two of Daiwa’s best technologies, with Twistbuster and Long Cast ABS combining for unequalled casting performance and line control on the retrieve, while Daiwa’s innovative Air Rotor adds high level design and performance with its precision engineered construction enhancing rotor balance, strength and sensitivity.

A Carbon Light Body, EVA Knob, and ATD drag complete the long list of features and prove that you can indeed get superior performance without the premium price tag.

The Daiwa Aird LT is available in six sizes from 2000 to 6000. www.daiwafishing.com.au

NEW STRIKE PRO VIBE COLOURS

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Strike Pro has released three new colours in its popular range of Cyber Vibe 35 and 40 lures, and two new colours in the Micro Vibe range.

The new Cyber Vibe has three tow points and two rear hook points, giving the lure up to six different actions! This gives the Cyber Vibe more diversity than its competitors. The Cyber Vibe comes in 35mm (4.6g) and 40mm (6.6g) sizes, and these lures have become highly popular with competition and recreational anglers alike.

They are very easy to use and create a great vibration on a small lift and hop retrieve. They are deadly on bream, mulloway, flathead, estuary perch, bass and redfin.

The Micro Vibe is a miniature vibe lure that has become a favourite amongst bream anglers, in particular when fishing around structure such as piers, jetties, boat moorings and boat hulls. It is perfectly weight balanced and has a shimmy action on drop and lift and sits head down, tail up on the bottom. It is particularly effective when the fish have shut down or become fickle. www.jurofishing.com 64

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PRODUCT GUIDE

NEW SAMURAI REACTION RODS

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The Samurai Reaction is where it all started – a premium rod range combined all the best components with new, cutting-edge build techniques. Multiple successful rod ranges later, and Samurai have circled back to their eponymous rod range.

The Reaction stable has been expanded with two new models that fill those little gaps within the range. The first is the RE-151 (7’4”, 2-6lb Extra Fast), and the other is the RE-212 (6’5”, 3-8lb Fast Action), which is perfectly suited to working light surface lures.

Both models feature a triple layer, machinerolled carbon blank, hot press baked to deliver a precise rod with no imperfections along its length. It is combined with totally new Carbon/ Duralon grip assembly called CD6 Grip Control that stiffens the butt end of the rod, providing enhanced sensitivity and exceptional balance.

The carbon quad Axial integrated blank wrap reduces torsion twist and results in a greater strength to weight ratio. It provides a crisp feel where the slightest flick of the line is transferred down the rod to the angler.

The rods employ class-leading Fuji Titanium Silicon Carbide guides, and the matt black finish provides an understated premium appearance. www.samurairods.com.au

JIG STAR BAGS AND GLOVES

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

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The Jig Star brand evolved after its founder and acclaimed jigging expert Chris Wong in NZ had spent many years jigging with some of the most renowned big fish anglers from all over the world. Hundreds of hours were spent testing products to the absolute limit.

Two of the latest releases from Jig Star are the Jig Bag and Jigging Gloves. The Jig Bag is the ideal way to transport deepwater jigs.

This easy to carry briefcase-style bag is marine proof, and easy to clean and rinse. It has 17 long pockets for jigs up to 38cm, 10 short pockets for jigs up to 21cm, and two front accessories pockets.

Jig Star Fishing Gloves have been designed by jigging and topwater experts. These gloves feature fast-drying synthetic microfibre materials which deliver outstanding wear, comfort and protection. Special attention is paid to reinforcement to thumb, forefinger and palm areas. Available sizes are M, L, XL, XXL in blue/ black or red/black. www.jurofishing.com

STORM TRICK TAIL MINNOW

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A great choice for classic, soft jerkbaitstyle fishing, the Storm 360GT° Coastal Trick Tail Minnow rigged on a worm hook will glide and change direction like a fleeing baitfish. On the pause, the Trick Tail’s whole body rocks and its tail wiggles as it descends. You can remove the tail webbing to increase the amount of tail wiggle on the fall.

Rigged on a jighead, the Trick Tail Minnow works particularly well for probing the bottom and fishing with a lift-and-drop technique.

The Storm 360GT° Trick Tail Minnow is 5” long and comes in a pack of seven. It is currently available in eight colour patterns: chartreuse pearl pepper, cayenne gold, electric chicken, gold glow, kickin’ chicken, pilchard, pearl and silver mullet. It has back and belly slots for easy rigging and maximising the hook gap. www.stormfishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

ZEREK AWAKE

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Wilson Fishing has announced the release of the Zerek Awake, a double-jointed swimbait measuring 160mm and is an easy casting 42g.

This floating swimbait can be worked in the surface, or retrieved a little faster to get it to dive to approximately 0.5m. This ability to be worked at two levels gives the angler a versatility that is difficult to find in other wakebaits, allowing real coverage of the water in multiple ways.

Equipped with 4x strong trebles and with a body constructed from tough ABS plastic, the Awake forms part of the new Zerek Evolution series of lures – the next step for Zerek.

Check out Zerek Australia on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ZerekAustralia) to see all the latest releases, catch photos and videos.

You can also find more information on the Wilson Fishing website. www.wilsonfishing.com

The Storm 360GT° Coastal Manta Tail has a baitfish profile with a lively tapered tail, and it has a slow rocking action on the fall.

You can rig the 360GT Coastal Manta Tail with a weighted worm hook and give it some twitches to make it change direction like a panicked baitfish. Stop the retrieve and let the Manta Tail glide to the bottom as the body rocks and the tail wiggles as it falls.

When targeting deep weed pockets you can rig a Manta Tail on a jighead and let it rest on the bottom, where the quivering tail action will entice even the most cautious of fish.

360GT Manta Tails are available in two sizes (4” and 5”) in packs of seven. There are eight colour patterns currently available: chartreuse pearl pepper, cayenne gold, electric chicken, gold glow, kickin’ chicken, pilchard, pearl and silver mullet. The body features belly and back slots for easy rigging, and to maximise the hook gap. www.stormfishing.com.au

SAMAKI RED EMPEROR SHIRT

DAIWA 5000 CERTATE LT

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Samaki’s Red Emperor shirt stands out from the crowd. The rich colours throughout the reef are saturated in natural light, which enhances the detail of the fish.

You can clearly see the red emperor’s detailed fins, wide mouth and watchful eye as it waits atop the coral, ready to inhale the Ecooda Live Shrimp as it travels by.

The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting you from the harsh sun with Samaki’s UPF50+ resistant technology. The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body, and has the added feature of being breathable, keeping you cool and dry.

Samaki designs are brought to you

by Australian anglers who love to design Australian species. Red Emperor shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes, from a size 2 through to a 5XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water.

Price: SRP $59.95 (adults), $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

PLANO BRIGHT SERIES 11

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STORM COASTAL MANTA TAIL

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Plano’s new trio of brightly coloured tackle boxes can help any angler to organise their gear in a big way. These classic tray tackle boxes feature your choice of one, two or three shelves with a cantilever tray design that extends when opened to showcase the contents. A sturdy fold-down handle simplifies transport and storage while the brass-bailed latch tightly secures the lid, keeping items protected and organised.

The smallest model is the 6211, which has one tray with 7-13 compartments. It’s idea for the novice angler storing an assortment of floats, hooks, sinkers and a few artificial lures.

The bulk storage in the bottom can handle items such as soft plastics, sunscreen and pliers.

The next size up is the 6221, which has two cantilever trays that feature 14-25 adjustable compartments, plus bulk storage at the bottom. The largest model, the 6231, has three trays with 22-34 adjustable compartments. www.jmgillies.com.au

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The Certate LT line-up welcomes a new top dog to the family with the release of a 5000-sized model. Combining Daiwa’s most advanced technologies and designs to deliver anglers a reel with few peers, the foundation of the new Certate is its rock solid Monocoque body housing the Certate LT’s new super sized, ultra tough, machine-cut gears.

Big on power and performance, the new 5000 Certate features 10 CRBBs, 12kg of drag, a large EVA knob for optimum cranking comfort and control, while its 295g weight keeps things light and nimble for a reel of its size to minimise angler fatigue and maximise rod and reel balance and performance.

Daiwa’s new Long Cast ABS spool, Mag Seal, ATD drag, one-piece Air Bail, new Drag Knob, Perfect Line Stopper, Machined Aluminium Air Handle, and Air Rotor further enhances the reel’s list of features and combine to make the new 5000 Certate LT the ultimate lightweight, strong and precise workhorse. www.daiwafishing.com.au

BASSDAY BUN

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The Bassday Bun is the latest addition to the expanding range of Bassday lures in Australia. Bassday’s surface lure collection features some of the finest fish catchers available, and now the team have added this sub-surface wakebait to the range.

The Bun is a realistic beetle imitation. It is a floating, shallow running wakebait, designed to imitate a beetle in distress on top or just under the water’s surface. It has a wide wobble action and creates a large wake. This new lure will be dynamite on fish like bass, bream, estuary perch, jungle perch, sooty grunter, trout and anything else that eats a beetle.

The Bassday Bun comes in eight colours, measures 30mm in length and weighs 4.5g. It casts well and accurately due to the tungsten weight, and will prove irresistible when beetles and abundant.

To see more information on this and other new lures from Bassday, as well as catch photos, head to www.facebook.com/ BassdayAus. www.bassday.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au AUGUST 2019

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FATHERS DAY GUIDE NEW ATOMIC METALZ SIZES

HALCO 1 MAX 220

Atomic Metalz were launched years ago in a 35 and 40mm size. They became a hit with bream and bass anglers, and were used effectively by some teams to win events where the fish were holding deep.

The lure’s effectiveness is down to the careful design and the speed at which the blade works, sending out a vibration that attracts nearby fish. The designers have also worked hard to ensure action at slow speeds. Across the entire range, all sizes swim confidently and perform with that fish-attracting vibration.

With feedback from ambassadors, Atomic have added new larger sizes – 55mm, 80mm and 110mm – to cover the full breadth of inshore and offshore fishing as well as impoundments.

Team ambassadors have caught bass, bream and threadfin salmon on the 55mm versions during testing, and coral trout and sweetlip when fished deep off the reefs.

The models are 35mm (1/8oz), 40mm (1/4oz), 55mm (1/2oz), 80mm (1oz), 110mm (1.5oz), and they’re available in a slew of natural and striking colours.

Price: from SRP $15.95 www.atomiclures.com.au

HOBIE LIFEJACKETS

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If you love the sound of a reel screaming in agony as line pours off the spool, then Halco Tackle has developed the perfect lure for you in the Max 220.

Halco has developed an ultra tough, sinking, bibless minnow that will get the attention of any XOS Wahoo and Mackerel, huge Tuna and other massive predators that lurk out in the deep blue.

Capable of being trolled at very high speed (up to 20kt) like its smaller brothers, the lure features heavily reinforced side walls to resist punctures by the toothy brigade and able to withstand the incredible crushing pressure inflicted by the jaws of its intended victims. Halco rounded out the package by included their legendary ultra tough 7xx fish rings and Mustad 9/0 inline singles for great hook sets and the ultimate in holding potential.

The lure is 220mm long, weighs 175g, and is designed for heavy trolling and jigging applications.

If you are into fishing for the brutes of the ocean, look for the all new Max 220 at all good tackle outlets.

Price: approx. $15 www.halcotackle.com

SHIMANO TRAVEL STORAGE

AUGUST 2019

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EGILICIOUS SQUID JIGS

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TACKLE CLUB

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Shimano’s latest tackle storage range includes two new releases for anglers on the go – the Travel Wrap and Soft Back Pack.

The Travel Wrap comes with a hard tackle tray and additional sleeves for soft plastic storage. This lightweight, minimal travel wrap can be filled in a variety of useful ways depending on the situation.

The travel wrap also doubles as a minimal soft plastic wallet – the tray is removable and the mesh pocket can be used to store braid cutters, catch scent, leader, or any other tools essential for fishing.

The Soft Tackle Back Pack has a versatile range of applications and features, which make it ideal for both diehard fishos and weekend warriors. With added benefits such as four included tackle trays, a heavy-duty mesh front compartment, hard sunglasses case, an elastic tool holder and drink pocket, this bag is sure to impress even the fussiest of anglers.

Price: approx. $27-$99 www.shimanofish.com.au

Tackle Club is Australia’s favourite fishing subscription box, sending subscribers the best lures from the best brands from around the world. It’s a fun way to discover new lures while saving money.

Each month you will get a variety of quality fishing products, with prices starting from $49.99 a month for over $80 worth of gear. There is also the option to purchase a gift subscription, with prices starting from $149.97 for a 3-month subscription.

Tackle Club currently offers four boxes: an Estuary Box, Freshwater Bass & Yellowbelly Box, Cod Box, and a Freshwater Trout & Redfin box. Each box comes with 5-7 fishing products curated by experts, and contains 40%-60% more value than you pay, so you know you are getting a great deal.

For all subscriptions there is free shipping, no lock-in contract and you can cancel at any time. You can also save 10% if you enter FISH10 at the checkout! To see our unboxing videos, search for ‘Fishing Monthly Tackle Club’ on YouTube.

Price: from SRP $49.99 www.tackleclub.com.au

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Why should Dad have to leave his best mate at home while he enjoys a day on the water? With the Hobie Pet PFD he can take his dog with him safely.

Features include added flotation, grab handles, adjustable fit, leash attachment, side pockets, grab handles and soft foam undercarriage support. It’s available in a range of sizes, from XS (12lb, 8”-12” collar, 13”-17” body girth) right through to XL (90lb-120lb, 22”30” collar, 30”-42” body girth).

And for Dad himself, there’s the Hobie Manual Inflatable 150 Vest (Yoke), which is rated for offshore use while wearing foul weather clothing. It’s very lightweight and cool, and the collar folds down the back of your neck and shoulders, eliminating pressure on the neck and lower head.

The yoke is manually inflated by pulling a cord that activates a replaceable CO2 cylinder.

The vest fits up to 5XL, has an easy access storage pocket (great for keys, phone etc.); whistle; headphone port hole; D-ring for switch killer tether; UML Pro Sensor; self service; and more.

Price: approx. $60-$120 www.hobie.com

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The Fish Inc. Egilicious features a unique take on popular colour patterns, a tail design that is 3° higher than standard jigs to minimize snagging and fouling, and its fine Japanese Owner hooks.

These super sharp and ultra-thin stainless steel hooks not only mean a better catch rate but also fewer jigs lost.

They open with less force, so if you get snagged you just apply slow and steady pressure until the hook opens and the jig pops off the structure. Then you can straighten the hook and you’re good to go.

These squid jigs are designed with the perfect weight for long casts, while maintaining a slow sink and realistic swimming action. Other features include 3D eyes, side feathers, tightly-wrapped cloth covers and a buoyant tail-up action.

Many jigs sink flat to the bottom, reducing strikes and hook sets while increasing snagging, but Egilicious instead comes alive in the water. It’s available in 3.0 and 3.5 sizes and 12 colours.

Price: SRP $11.95 www.tackletactics.com.au

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FATHERS DAY GUIDE

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RAPALA SPLIT RING PLIERS

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Maria have an extensive range of floating and sinking stickbaits, but the new Rerise adds another dimension to the line-up.

This new concept lure measures 130mm long, weighs 70g and can search deep areas normal minnows can’t reach. It sinks at one second per metre, allowing the angler to fish any level of the water column with the appeal of a tuned Japanese stickbait. The heavy weight enables lets you drop the lure to the bottom, and the swimming action imitates a wound baitfish, resulting in explosive strikes.

Fitted with Owner ST-66 trebles and a strong wire through construction, the Rerise is ready to battle any pelagic you can target. It is available now in eight colours.

Price: approx. $35 www.ejtodd.com.au

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MARIA RERISE

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The new Rapala RCD 4” Mag Spring Split Ring Pliers offer easy to use, single-handed operation.

Unlike conventional split ring pliers, the new Rapala RCD series are built with two internally opposing magnets to hold the pliers open. The patent pending Mag Spring mechanism cannot fail, even in the harshest of conditions.

The split ring nose opens rings up to size 0, while the built-in cutter cuts all lines or tag ends with ease. Other features include stainless steel jaws with a gun metal finish, and ergonomic co-moulded Soft Grip handles for a comfortable hold.

In a nutshell, the RCD Split Ring Pliers are one of the easiest, quickest and toughest built split rings pliers on the market. Keep an eye out for them at your local tackle store.

Price: approx. $35 www.rapala.com.au

SAMAKI BIG GRIP DIGITAL SCALE

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The Samaki Big Grip Digital Scale has so many features that it’s hard to name them all.

For starters, the ergonomic big grip handle is ideal for weighing big fish, with the scale catering up to 50kg or 100lb. It’s very comfortable to hold in the hand while you ready your catch for the weighing process.

The casing is completely waterproof and holds a 100cm measuring tape for you to document your catch with ease. The Samaki Big Grip Digital Scale also has a backlit LED screen to give you readings in low light environments, plus a built-in thermometer in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.

For more information and stockists just visit the Samaki website, or you can follow them on Instagram (@samakifishing) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/samakifishing).

Price: approx. $50 www.samaki.com.au

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EUREKA GLIDE BLADE KNIVES

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Eureka Glide Blade knives offer an exceptional range of knives with outstanding features at affordable pricing.

The Eureka Glide Blades currently are available in a Straight Fillet 6” and 8” model. Each knife features a 3CR13 stainless steel Satin blade that is strong, flexible and holds great edge retention. The textured soft grip handles are comprised of nylon and rubber, enabling the handle to fit comfortably in your hand while also reducing the chance of slippage and injury.

Each handle also features a finger guard for added safety.

The Eureka Glide Blades come complete with a leather sheath with a belt clip to protect the knife and keep it within reach if required.

For more information on this and other products in the Eureka range, visit the Juro OzPro Tackle website. You can also check out the latest catch photos, tips and videos on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ JuroOzProTackle), and YouTube (www. youtube.com/user/JuroOzPro).

Price: from approx. $30 www.jurofishing.com

WILSON PLATINUM FISHING CHAIR

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The new Wilson Platinum Fishing Chair is rated to 150kg and built with a wider base to ensure anyone can comfortably sit in it. This folding chair also has some clever additions for anglers.

For starters there is a rod holder that can be easily attached to the left hand side of the chair on the legs, setting your rod at an easy angle. If you plan on getting up from your chair, the designers have included a peg for the leg to ensure the chair is secured to the ground, and a massive strike won’t tip the chair over.

There is also a drink holder and a lined cooler bag in the arms, and a small bottle opener attached to the arm on a lanyard. On the right arm there is also a mobile phone holder pouch, to ensure your phone doesn’t get damaged when the action heats up.

The comfy and strong Platinum Fishing Chair is available now in your choice of blue or purple.

Price: SRP $62 www.wilsonfishing.com

DUO ROUGH TRAIL HYDRA

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Long and lean and designed as the ultimate sinking stickbait for large predators, the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to pack for your next offshore adventure.

Slim-profiled and with a fixed weight in the tail to maximise casting performance and enhance its action, the Hydra 220 features a dynamic skipping action when worked across the surface, while a twitch and jerk retrieve will see it move from side to side to enhance strikes.

A hyper realistic garfish imitation when worked across the surface, the Hydra is ultra long (220mm) in length to reduce fishing swallowing and biting off the lure, while its tail-heavy, 58.2g body weight allows for long, tangle free casting on the water.

If you’re looking to call up the predators to the surface the new Duo Rough Trail Hydra 220 is the lure to reach for.

Price: approx. $40 www.duo-international.com.au AUGUST 2019

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The first pelagics are starting to move in ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

The water isn’t warm yet by any means, but August usually ushers in the first of the inshore pelagics for a new season as the small eel like transparent baitfish start to arrive en masse, and all manner of small pelagics take advantage of the plentiful food supply.

Salmon are the mainstay, with small kings, tailor,

feed as the bait is pushed to the surface. If this isn’t happening, look for the big ripples on the surface as the pelagics swim with their backs and mouths out of the water, and if everything lines up they will turn the ocean into a washing machine as they go into a frenzy.

Striped tuna, while not as common as they used to be, will be into the action too, but they generally move fast and are given away by the always attentive flock of terns that seem to follow

some time and this is your best chance to get a few casts away and score a few hits.

But here lies the problem. With the baitfish being so small, usually less than 25mm and very thin and clear, they are virtually swimming eyes, so the fish feeding on them want nothing else, so matching the bait with your lure is critical. The smallest of metal baitfish imitations out there these days get very close and score fish, but then there is the problem

will smoke all but the best anglers on the light gear.

Salmon will pull all day and jump all over the place while any barracouta in the

month topping up on the last of the spawning cuttlefish.

They will start to head into deeper water by the end of the month, so sight casting

better your results will be, particularly on the tailor and there are some good fish over 2kg about mixing with the salmon, while the bream

A good back up can be casting pilchards on ganged hooks if all else fails. The salmon are often willing.

The small pelagics will be getting into the tiny baitfish and sometimes the water resembles a washing machine when they go into frenzy mode. trevally, barracouta and lots of mackerel and yellowtail and even a few bonito also gathering on the surface to gulp down mouthfuls of the tiny morsels.

The fish are easy to find, just look for the hordes of fluttering seagulls hovering over the schools of fish and scooping up an easy

them wherever they go.

Just watch the direction the terns are heading and diving into the water and get well ahead of the school to have any chance of getting a cast away; chasing is futile.

At times the stripies will go into frenzy mode and stay in the one place, churning into a big patch of bait for

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with delivery. You can’t cast them on heavy braid, so you must scale your tackle down to suit, so 2-3kg spinning rods and reels more suited to bream are the best way you can get long casts with the very light lures.

Then the fun begins, where you actually have to fight and wear down a

area will take your lure in an instant with those sharp teeth – it is a real lottery every cast.

Trolling may score a fish or two, but in most instances will only send the feeding fish deep and off the bite, and you won’t earn any brownie points from other anglers in the area fishing the same schools.

Further offshore there is still the chance of a bluefin if the currents are right. In the past the main schools will have been and gone, but the odd strays will sometimes hang about. A school of albacore or yellowfin tuna have been in and out around the edge of the shelf over the past weeks. The weather is always a factor in these forays well offshore, and

and fishing the berley trails in close will score less fish, but drifting plastics in 30-50m of water will do much better.

This is where your hardearned striped tuna can come into play as a big red will engulf a cube of striped tuna fished down a good berley trail particularly when the cuttlies get scarce at the end of the month.

The berley will attract plenty of trevally over the shallow inshore reefs and around the islands. Bream and the odd samsonfish provide a good back up plan if the wind does get up a little bit and you can’t go too far.

For the drifters it is slim pickings, with the flatties still slow, and any that are active quickly fill up on the small baitfish. Leatherjackets are

There are still a few small reds and bigger snapper about, but be quick, as they will head for deeper water this month. These are a great tucker size. decent-sized fish before you can put it in the boat instead of skipping it across the top and into the boat in five seconds flat.

Striped tuna are even more of a challenge, as historically they will be the biggest ones we will see all year, getting up to around 7-8kg (and better) and they

as we know August is renowned for its powerful westerlies. A small boat 40-50km out to sea can be a lonely, scary place when the wind starts to howl.

If that action is not your cup of tea, then there will still be plenty of snapper over the inshore reefs in the first couple of weeks of the

about if you get desperate.

Drop down to a small long shanked hook and you will get a feed. A few mowies and pigfish are over the reefs as well, but next month should see things get a bit better.

On the beaches it is salmon, tailor and bream, and the closer you fish to the hours of darkness the

are in the gutters picking up the scraps. An onion bag full of fish scraps anchored to the sand by a spike is a great help at this time of year just to help gather the fish spread out along the beach into your gutter. It may take an hour or so, but it will happen. In the mean time you can keep warm on the dry sand before venturing to the water’s edge. A good pair of waders is a great asset at this time of year as well.

A few mulloway are about, but you will have to work hard and keep an ear to the ground to get results or spend every night out there on the high tide no matter what time it is. But that’s what mulloway anglers do anyway…

On the rocks it is drummer and blackfish in the washes, and weed or cunje for bait is the way to go. Some big silver drummer are about too, and while as tasty as a boiled brick, they certainly pull as hard as anything you will find is the suds.

If the westerlies have been blowing and the ocean is calm, grab some crabs and try for a groper off the deeper ledges and drift that a whole crab in an area where you have broken up a few sea urchins and hang on.

Pilchards on ganged hooks will score a few salmon that aren’t chasing baitfish, along with the odd bonito and small kings while waiting for a groper bite. Pilly pieces will score any bream and trevally that find their way into the berley as well.

The estuaries are slow, with just a few bream around the bridges in both the lake and Minnamurra, or you could fish the snags in the feeder streams with peeled prawns from the bait shop (not the super market) on very light line. You lose a few and have some epic battles with eels, but it keeps you warm and out of mischief.

Time to try for a tuna or two BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

The tuna came early in June by swimming up extremely wide and then in towards Jervis Bay and Ulladulla.

The commercial fleet were finding them over 100 miles out, and this made it hard for recreational boats, especially when the wind was getting in the way.

There were some fish caught 50 miles out at one stage, but the June run of fish was short-lived and the average size was 25-30kg.

It wasn’t until July that we started seeing some better size tuna. They were coming up along the continental shelf, which made it easier for the recreational boats to get amongst them. This still doesn’t mean it was going to be easy to catch them though.

Last year we had bluefin off

been anybody’s game, and the only thing you can do at times like this is to cover as much ground as possible and hope to be lucky enough to troll one or two up. The other option is to stop once you are in the zone and spend a good couple of hours cubing and hope they swim up your cube trail. The bluefin chase can become very frustrating when you make the effort to get out only to return empty-handed.

Like last year there is a good presence of albacore throughout July and into August. They are always a good consolation prize for your efforts, and they can often can come up the berley trail. We have had some very good days on tuna in August in years gone by, and here’s hoping that we have some tuna this month.

Plenty of fishers have taken out their electric reel outfits this year. With the tuna

AS SEEN ON

WINNING GARAGE

Park your boat on the floor it deserves!

5 year warranty As well as big bluefin offshore there are big crays inshore – just ask TJ! and it won’t be too long until we see a nice one getting caught off Batemans now that more anglers are giving it a go.

The inshore reefs have still been going well, with snapper on the chew in most depths since the end of summer.

There are some big cuttlefish coming in ready to spawn, so they should keep the snapper population happy.

Kingies and bonito seem to have slowed down, but salmon and tailor haven’t.

Fishing the beaches will definitely yield salmon and tailor, and if you are lucky you may score a mulloway.

Beaches up and down the coast seem to be fishing average, and at nights there still seems to be some sharks.

The rock fishing will be good throughout August.

You’ll find everything from bait fishing for drummer, spinning metals for salmon and tailor, and soft plastic fishing for snapper. If plastics

aren’t working on the snapper, you can always go back to bait!

Squid are still on the cards, as there has been an abundance of them in August over the last couple of years.

The estuary is cooling down. Actually, cool is probably not the best description, more like freezing cold! And with the cold comes a slower fishing. There has been a bit of a run of trevally, luderick and flounder to keep things interesting. The flatties are there and take some tempting, and the bream tend to move out the front at this time of year.

I usually give up on the estuary a bit over winter and chase drummer and snapper off the stones, and maybe switch things up a bit and go for a bream. Sometimes I don’t mind spinning metals for salmon. But winter for me really means chasing tuna, and this August could be as good as any for a big barrel!

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Sam Degraaf has been getting amongst the bluefin tuna run. the East Coast from June until September, which is a nice long period, but the problem was they were not often found in large, concentrated schools where you have them up at the back of boats happily feeding on the berley presented in the water. It was more of a game of luck, where you had to troll lures across their noses to get a bite.

We found the beginning of July to be similar to last year’s bite. The bluefin are there and they can be found over a large area, but they have been thin and extremely patchy. It has

being so spread out, nobody wants to go home emptyhanded, so people are pulling up and dropping down. There have been some nice blue eye trevalla, ling and perch being caught of late, and while you are deep dropping with electrics it’s a good idea to be cubing for tuna.

Another fish that causes a lot of excitement at this time of year is the swordfish.

Although a lot of boats will still do this of a night in good conditions, most are now making this a daytime affair.

The swords are off our coast

F

10 Ro, Ben and Roger cleaned up on the bluefin on a trip out wide recently.

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Yippee! We’re over the hump and on the downhill run out of winter! Weatherwise it’s been a bit so-so, but the fishing has been pretty damn good. There’s been something for everyone these past couple of months and the fish are still biting!

The Shoalhaven River, unless it floods, is quite predictable at this time of the year. If you’re land-based and want to have some fun and release your catch, it’s perch fishing time in the lower reaches of the river. Of course, being closed season for bass and estuary perch, you do have to release them ASAP but there’s nothing wrong with getting a quick photo.

The main areas for perch fishing are the northeast side of the Nowra Bridge, behind the fish and chip shop, and a couple of locations close to one another at the mouth of Broughton Creek. These smaller areas around the mouth are the bridge, and further downstream near the ferry, on the western side of the canal before it crosses over onto Comerong Island. Fishing off the ferry is prohibited, so don’t get caught doing the wrong thing.

Paul Cheney has been getting some good results on the reds in The Basin. deeper diving minnows accounting for plenty of fish.

In St Georges Basin it’s well and truly snapper time! There are astonishing amounts of reddies schooling up in there at the moment, and there is a pretty common size of around 45-50cm, which are

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The fish in these locations respond to the same techniques. Long slim baitfish style hardbodies slowly rolled work well, especially when you can hear the fish boofing on the surface. Grub style plastics fished deep, up to 100m account for some big fish on the slack of the tide. If you’re a bait fisher, fresh prawns are always a big hit, but I would fish them on circle hooks to help with an easy release.

There is no doubt that night has been more productive than day for perch, so it’s worth putting on the beanie and warm jacket and braving the cold.

If you’re after a feed of flatties in the river, from Broughton Creek to Shoalhaven Heads has enough reasonable size fish to keep you interested, with either casting softies or slow trolling

a top eating size as well as great sport on light tackle.

Rugging up and getting on the water early is the secret, but fishing into the night will also get you a nice bag. I quite like the mornings this time of the year, as the sun has a nice warming effect on the body

when it breaks the horizon after a frosty cold start, as opposed to the moon that does very little to warm you up.

It’s only going to get colder at night!

Once upon a time, snapper fishing was pretty much exclusive to Jervis Bay in this area, but since the introduction of the Recreational Fishing Havens, lots of species, including snapper, have thrived in The Basin. So next time you’re planning a snapper trip, give The Basin a go, especially if you’re only after a feed and not trophysized fish, although there are a few of those lingering in The Basin too!

Keep an eye out for the XOS tailor that are cruising around The Basin at the moment. They will hang with or beneath the reds, feeding on the same bait schools. They’re good fun to catch and not bad in the smoker too, although I do prefer the smaller ones around 40-45cm.

So, let’s hope those August westerlies stay away this year and give everyone a chance to get into some of the good fishing on offer!

Corey took this decent perch on a Daiwa Double Clutch.

AUGUST 2019

71

Go light to get that chilly bite MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

Anglers fishing offshore from Merimbula have been rewarded with some quality yellowfin and bluefin tuna over the past few weeks.

The fish are certainly not thick and you have to work for them, but yellowfin up to 64kg have been captured, with bigger fish lost and plenty of others seen busting the surface chasing

bait. The fish are wide of the shelf, with the majority falling to trolled skirts in the 8-10” range.

A lot depends on the day you’re out as to how far east you need to travel, with changing currents and water temperature around 18°C. It’s an interesting time for game fishers, as you could do 150km and not see a fish, but the next day it’s totally different with quite a few fish about.

With bluefin the longliners have done well,

Using black coloured blades in deeper clear water works well in southern estuaries for bream.

but these speedsters are out very wide, with a 50km drive out on the cards. Again, trolling is the go, with the majority of fish caught around that 40-60kg mark.

I have heard of a few barrels hooked and lost, but that’s fishing and it proves they are there.

If the tuna are a little slow, then there’s plenty of mako sharks about. There’s been several 80-120kg fish hooked recently with a few smaller models in closer on the snapper grounds.

Talking about snapper, they are excellent at the moment, with most close in reefs all firing from time to time. Anglers fishing the southern areas like Haycock, Lennards and Horseshoe reefs are doing the best, and drifting is the better method at present. Some crews are getting 12-15 fish a session, which is solid fishing in my books. The reds are okay in size, with a few nudging 4kg, but the majority are around that 1.5-2kg mark, which is still a good fish for the plate.

A few crews are doing well micro jigging, but leatherjackets are making things hard with lost jigs. If you persist though, you will

be rewarded and get some quality snapper.

There’s also been plenty of sightings of bigger kingfish these past few weeks, with Long Point and Tura Head seeing the action.

The kings are hard to entice and cruising just under the surface, but if you’re lucky enough and have a live slimy mackerel out, you might be in luck.

In the estuaries, the water is cold, very cold, with 12-14°C on most days. The water is crystal clear and the fish are very gun shy, especially in the shallows. If fishing below the main bridge in town you should do okay, with trevally, blackfish and a few tailor getting caught, mainly by anglers fishing soft plastics. However, the bait crews are doing well in the deeper sections of the channel. You will have to fish light though. I wouldn’t be fishing anything more than 6lb, as the fish have been easily spooked.

A little further upstream the top lake has been pretty good too, but your lure presentations need to be slow for consistent results.

Try fishing the deeper water in 6-7m, as there’s a stack of whitebait about around

The ever-reliable 80mm Squidgy Wriggler is still one of the best bream lures going around, and this 43cm bream couldn’t resist it. that depth. You can expect trevally, tailor, a few snapper and the odd flathead as well.

The beaches and rocks have been excellent this past week, with quite a bit of swell around. This has really helped with all the white water, especially off the rocks, with salmon in big numbers and some quality fish up to 7lb among them.

A lot of these sambos are falling to whole pilchards fished on 4/0 ganged hooks and slowly wound in. The beauty with this technique is you can fish the whole water column and find where the fish are holding and feeding.

Sometimes it’s on the surface but quite often 3-4m under the surface is the go. You

can expect a few tailor too and don’t be surprised to see some snapper using the same method. The better ledges are Haycock Point, Long and Short Point.

If the beaches are for you, then Tura and North Tura have been the standouts.

Both beaches have plenty of deep gutters, with the morning flooding tide being the best time to have a crack.

A few mates have been kicking butt off Tura, with 20+ sessions on salmon the norm when the conditions are right. A pilchard/popper combination on a paternoster rig is all that’s required and if you’re after a shark or two, both spots have seen a few smaller whalers caught.

PRODUCT NEWS

Hobie MirageDrive 360 and new Pro Angler 2020 series

For 2020, Hobie has announced a revolutionary 360° rotating pedal drive. It

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AUGUST 2019

allows anglers to easily manoeuvre their 2020 Mirage Pro Angler 360 12 or 14 kayak in every

direction — backwards, forward, sideways, diagonally — or even effortlessly spin on its own axis.

Also featuring the new Kick-Up Fins, which automatically retract upon impact with submerged objects, the MirageDrive 360 is designed to help anglers catch more fish.

Infinitely more manoeuvrable, anglers will quickly discover they spend less time positioning their boat, and more time catching fish. Boat control is brought to an entirely new level, affording anglers the ability to surgically position themselves to make the best cast and presentation to the fish, as well as staying right on top of fish once found.

The MirageDrive 360 allows access to tighter quarters and more fishing scenarios. Imagine being able to turn on a dime in every direction. It also allows you to follow shorelines or underwater structure in a way kayak anglers have never experienced.

“The MirageDrive 360 completely changes how you engage with your boat and the environment,” says Philip Dow, Lead Design Engineer for Hobie. “For example, if you’re fishing along a shoreline or highly contoured underwater structure, you can follow those nuances exactly with boat placement. Similarly, with the Kick-Up Fins, shallow and structure-filled waters become far more manageable.

“In the same way a trolling motor can hold an exact point, you can do that with the MirageDrive 360. You can hold an exact location and direction against wind or current, too.

When you’re sitting idle, if you turn the drive and start to pedal you’re immediately turning. It’s extremely effective for place-holding in an exact location. You feel like a sniper. If you want to swing the bow past a rock, you can do it exactly and make your next cast without any unnecessary boat

movement.”

Designed to accept Hobie’s vast array of accessories, the Pro Angler 360 fishing kayaks can be easily outfitted with additional angling equipment.

For more information visit www.hobie.com. au, or watch all the latest 360 videos on the Hobie Asia Pacific YouTube channel. – Hobie

Winter curse lifting NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

Winter is almost over and spring is just around the corner, but those mornings are still very cold, so rugging up and getting out there will see some quality fish caught.

Offshore, with the weather improving the snapper fishing should be excellent. It always fishes well after a blow, with most reefs producing fish. The northern areas around Potato Point would be the pick, with the close in reef off Brou Lake also worth a shot. This area is only 10m deep, but it produces some very big snapper. Anchoring up using lightly-weighted baits like squid strips or pilchards while using berley will get you solid results. Don’t be surprised to see a few big kings on this

same bit of reef. Winter quite often sees these big fish cruise the shallower reefs inshore, so having a live bait out the back is certainly worth the effort.

A little further offshore the sportfishing community will be champing at the bit, as it’s been a while since they have ventured east. I’d expect the SBT to be there, it’s the right time of year, and the temperature charts look good.

Before the blow there had been the odd SBT caught, although no real size to them, but there were some big yellowfin caught to 68kg, which is a good solid fish in my book.

There may be more yellowfin around, but a lot will depend on water temperatures, current and bait. Last season produced some good yellowfin mixed in with the SBT, so let’s hope this later part of the season will be the same. Trolling and cubing

will both work, although the latter is a favourite amongst locals. The fish will be wide of the shelf, so a decent boat ride will be required to get results.

At Montague Island, with the water cold the kings have been quiet, but that’s to be expected. There has still been plenty of bonito to 4kg with the outside chance at smaller SBT. We’ve caught them there before on jigs when targeting kings, so it may be worth a look trolling if the shelf and beyond is too far out or the weather uncooperative.

Off the rocks the pelagics like salmon and tailor have kept most fishers happy.

Casting lightly-weighted pilchards on ganged hooks just past the wash zone has been popular and getting the desired results. Even with the coolish 15°C water, some solid bonito continue to chew. There seems

Big trevally are a welcome visitor in our southern estuaries, with fish up to 55cm on the cards.

Using blades for yellowfin bream in deeper water is a good winter method. to be a few around, which is awesome to see and they’re not bad on the plate if looked after accordingly. Better spots to try include Mystery Bay to the south at High Rock or the golf course rocks in town.

Those targeting the more preferred bread and butter species like drummer, blackfish and bream are faring okay, but it has been a little slower this season. Those who are doing well are using the freshest of baits in conjunction with berley and fishing the right tides. I’ve found the falling tide best when rockhopping, as it makes bait gathering a lot easier. Ledges like Dalmeny Headland and the northern end of the golf course rocks should see you get a decent feed.

In the estuaries the fishing has remained consistent without being red-hot, with the lower sections fishing better at present. The channels from the main drop-off in the basin to the charter boat wharf has been the pick for bait anglers with bream, trevally, blackfish and

the odd flathead succumbing to fresh baits. Live Bass yabbies have worked, especially for trevally, but the pickers do get amongst them. I’d prefer something more robust like slimy mackerel fillets or striped tuna cubes fished with a little berley from an anchored boat. Soft plastics and smaller blades (especially black) will also work. Try fishing the blades around the slack water in the deeper areas along the rockwalls and you should get a few bream doing that.

Further upstream the main basin is alive with tailor, with bag limits can be reached quite easily on most occasions. Casting metal slugs or trolling deeper diving lures will do the trick, with fish averaging 40cm and bigger.

A few visiting anglers have caught some monsters recently when targeting mulloway, and a few are pushing 65cm in length, with some bigger ones lost mainly due to these bigger greenbacks swallowing the lures and biting anglers off.

These speedsters will remain in the estuaries for the winter term and will be viable options if other methods are quiet.

If after flathead, they have been sporadic, but when you do find a few they are a good size. Visiting angler Geoffro from Melbourne caught a cracker during the week that went 94cm, which is a cracking. The fish was released in great condition.

I’ve heard of a few others around the 75-85cm mark also caught, which is great to see considering the water is a coolish 14°C. Those after bream are doing it tough, particularly upstream where the water is becoming quite clear. Long accurate casts are needed close to structure, with hardbodies fished slow scoring a few fish.

Fishing grub style plastics on very light jigheads should also work, but remember to fish them slow with the smallest hops and even dead sticking them for periods of time might also do the trick.

FISHING NEWS

NSW DPI is closing in on illegal lake openings NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries Officers are investigating ongoing attempts to illegally open Intermittently Closed and Open Lakes and Lagoons (ICOLLS) on the NSW south coast, which has the potential to lead to large scale fish kills.

DPI Associate Director Fisheries Compliance, Brett Andrew, said fisheries officers were recently alerted to several attempts to artificially open Little Lake, in Narooma.

“ICOLLs open and close to the ocean naturally in a constant but irregular cycle,” Mr Andrew said.

“Currently, the water level in Little Lake is high. This has caused concern for some lakefront property owners and local residents.

“When there is sufficient

An example of an ICOLL opening. This is the Lake Conjola entrance opening in June 2019. Image courtesy of Shoalhaven City Council. water flowing into the lake or lagoon from the catchment area (usually following heavy rainfall), water levels in the ICOLL will rise. Eventually the water in the ICOLL will spill over the entrance sand berm and drain to the ocean.

The force of the backed up water then quickly scours an entrance channel through the beach and reopens the ICOLL to the ocean.”

Mr Andrew said that ICOLLs close when the ocean waves and tides push

sand from offshore into the entrance, which gradually closes the entrance channel.

Without further large freshwater flows into the estuary from the catchment, the ICOLL will remain closed to the sea.

“Opening ICOLLs artificially without permit is illegal as it can lead to large scale fish kills caused by sudden drops in water levels and dissolved oxygen levels as well as increased exposure and death of aquatic vegetation which can cause odours,” he said. “Most ICOLLs have existing opening protocols in place, and these are developed after extensive consultation with council, the community and government agencies. They are designed to protect infrastructure and residents from flooding, while still protecting the unique environmental values of these systems.

“DPI Fisheries Compliance and Eurobodalla Shire Council are working together to repair the attempted illegal opening to mitigate any negative environmental impacts, and investigations

are underway to identify the person/s responsible.”

The maximum penalty for carrying out dredging works (such as digging to open an ICOLL) without a permit is $110,000. Illegal fishing activity can be reported via www.dpi.nsw. gov.au/fishing/compliance.

Little Lake is one of estimated 70 Intermittently Closed and Open Lakes and Lagoons on the NSW coast.

Where possible, they are left to open naturally. Councils can get permission to artificially open an ICOLL if there is an existing pressure from flooding or to avoid the likely threat of flooding to infrastructure.

For more information on Intermittently Closed and Open Lakes and Lagoons visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au and search for ‘ICOLL’. – DPI Fisheries AUGUST 2019

73

Plenty to scratch the itch BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

August is not a month for serious angling in our part of the world, but as anglers we must do something to shake off the cobwebs, so let’s look at what options we have.

One of them is to go out and do some reef or bottom fishing. This is a solid form of angling in this area, and will more often than not put a feed on the table, although it may not be as full on as it can be in the warmer months.

There are some excellent reefs within a couple of miles of port that produce very well. Around these you can expect the usuals like snapper, morwong, ocean perch, pigfish and the ever-present leatherjackets, which are all very tasty.

Anchoring on these inshore reefs using berley will often attract larger or different species like trevallas (there are a few different types), salmon, and sharks like makos and gummies. Whether anchored or drifting, add a squid jig to your rig, as there are some exceptional calamari and cuttlefish present.

Westerly winds are common at this time of year, resulting in little

shore break. This can allow anglers to work the coastline from a boat casting lures back towards the land. Soft plastics worked along the bottom may result in mixed bags like snapper, red rock cod, wrasses, trevally and flathead, while working the surface either trolling or casting is likely to find you connected to some large salmon, tailor, pike or even those cool water visitors from down south like snook.

Flathead, both tigers or sandies, are present, with good catches coming from down south off the Murrah

or Cuttaggee while north up off Tilba out on The Step is also good. Mixing in with these are some quality gummy sharks, more than usual, with red gurnard and an occasional large flounder mixed in.

Out wide bluefin tuna are still a possibility, with a few lingering on after yet another good season.

Berleying for them is one possibility, where cool water sharks like makos and blues also present an option. While doing this try, if you have those electronic reels, it’s now a good time for some deep

water fishing, as those tasty deep water species like ling, cod, hapuka and blue eye trevalla are active.

Back on shore with those westerlies prevailing it’s a good time to wonder the beaches, and you can do the standard beach rig, place your rod in a holder and wait for one of those many salmon to happen by, or you can grab a handful of lures, your favourite spin stick and go looking for them.

With the aid of calm seas, you will be able to polaroid the passing schools as they present an opportunity

You can still get a nice mixed bag in the winter months.

Luderick are almost a certainty in winter. for a well-placed lure to result in an almost instant hook-up. Once the school is located several fish may be extracted before they pass, then you can start your search again, as there is likely to be another school nearby.

These fish may also provide the same options from the rocks, and tagging along with them may be a few tailor, snook, pike and trevally. The most sought after fish from the stones at present are those hardpulling pigs (drummer), and as the shadows of the cliffs pass over the ocean of an afternoon these fish come on the chew, providing some great sport. There are a few bream with them, some nice leatherjackets and the occasional blue groper.

As an estuary guide this is one month of the

year I try to avoid fishing them, but occasionally there are surprises. Gaining height in the estuaries is an advantage, and to be able to see what your targeting will give you the upper hand, and one such place you can do this is off the Bermagui Bridge. Here at the bottom of the tide you are likely to observe schools of bream, luderick, whiting and trevally congregating before pressing up the river with the incoming tide. Once located either from shore or a boat, a few dozen nippers and a well-placed cast as the tide starts to move should result in a lovely mixed bag.

Remember, this behaviour will be occurring in most of the estuaries in the area that are open to the ocean, however make the most of it as the action lasts only for a couple of hours.

Fishing sleeps for no angler MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With winter here, the whole of the South Coast and East Gippsland has gone quiet, with very few visitors to the area. Mallacoota is no exception, but once the weather warms the visitors will return.

Little rain has fallen over the past month, with

Mallacoota receiving around 60mm, more than some areas.

This time of year sees the offshore fishing slow down in the Mallacoota area. July had plenty of windy days and rough seas, with not much opportunity for boats to get out there and wet a line.

When the conditions are good flathead, sandies and tigers can be caught, but this time of year it is fair to say whatever fish you catch, you are going to have to work for.

Broadbill swordfish should

be around, but getting the right conditions to go that far out to sea can be a challenge.

A bit of protection from the wind and big seas can be found in the Eden area. There have been reports of snapper and morwong caught, with the odd sand flathead, but again the weather hasn’t been favourable.

Fishing the beaches over the coming months is all about salmon. Whether using lures or bait, moving around to find the gutters where fish

Lachy caught this black bream while blading in deeper water.

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AUGUST 2019

are feeding should see you amongst the action. This means lure fishing has an advantage, as it’s a lot easier to be mobile.

Winter sees little variety for beach fishing.

Tailor is the most likely catch, but a greater variety of species should turn up once the water warms. The water temperature along the beaches around Eden is always a few degrees higher than around Mallacoota, so as well as salmon and tailor you can expect to catch some yellowfin bream and sand whiting.

Fishing the Bottom Lake at Mallacoota has seen trevally, luderick and blackfish caught around the town jetties. Decent blackfish have been caught using weed for bait fished under a float. Out around Goodwin Sands, flathead and yellowfin bream have been caught on lures, and fresh prawn has also done the job on yellowfin.

The Top Lake has been fishing well for black bream, along with a few flathead. Bream have been feeding up before they spawn, which means the

Flathead are still about but you need to put in the time to catch a feed. fishing should be good for a few months. The same can be said about the estuaries around Eden, with black bream feeding

as they head upriver.

The entrance area of the rivers is fishing well for silver trevally and big blackfish.

Stay afloat until spring TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Staring, focused, mesmerized on a piece of cork waiting for a movement or dip to indicate some action.

them in good numbers, where a small hook baited with pieces of prawn cast out under a small float is all that is required to gain a feed of these tasty fish.

Often the berley will attract other species in the form of trevally, bream, salmon, tailor or just some

with a few additions, like passing schools of salmon, tailor of a night, flathead with a good long cast, and a winter specialty in the form of some lovely calamari.

Lots of those tailor and salmon are frequenting the beaches and providing some great action, but for

Anglers should find trevally around the rocks, wharf or in the estuaries.

A cool misty morning and a top Tathra bream.

Coarse fishing is an art for anglers in other countries and they have made a science out of float fishing, so why don’t we use it more here in this country?

Doing this from the shore of our rocky coast, you’re likely to encounter a host of fish species. Garfish are a winter specialty, and some tuna oil mixed with fish frames as berley dispersed in the suds will often attract

baitfish like mackerel or yellowtail, which can be kept for future trips.

Drummer are also prolific off the stones at present, especially late in the afternoon when the shadows creep across the water, and mixing with them are some nice luderick and a groper or two.

For easier access, the local wharf will hold most of these species just mentioned

something different you could grab a light spin stick, a few lures and use the westerly winds at your back to target these fish, it is so much fun.

For those brave enough to fish the beaches of a night, some lovely gummy and whaler sharks or the occasional mulloway are available.

For the boaties going to sea, don’t expect greatness,

especially on the game front.

There may be a few bluefin tuna still lingering, and the odd mako or blue shark.

If you are set up for deep water fishing with electronic reels, you may like to target fish like hapuka, ling, cod, ocean perch, blue-eye trevalla out wide over the continental shelf.

Your best option is either reef or bottom fishing whether you go north, south or straight out. Fish like snapper, nannygai, ocean perch, morwong, red gurnard, flathead, gummy and school shark are all on the short list, not only for the fun of catching, but for the table too.

The Bega River is probably the number one estuary, with bream and estuary perch dominating the system. There are many shallow gravely areas where

bream like to hang out, especially up around the entrance to Blackfellows Lake. Here these fish can be seen moving over the shallows as they forage for shrimp, worms and many other river delicacies. A well-placed lure will often attract their attention, and the more fish you can find in a school the more likely it is to produce a strike. The fish may compete to try and attack the lure, while lone fish may often not be as frantic. Whichever you find, be expected to make many casts.

If bait fishing is for you, simply locate the fish, with good long cast place baits like nippers, prawns or worms in the areas you saw the fish, and sit back and wait. A temperature gauge is handy to have, where an area few degrees warmer may be the difference in finding an

area where the fish will feed.

The deeper sections along the rock walls are harbouring estuary perch.

Find them on the sounder and work them over with lures that will reach them, such as soft plastics or blades bounced along the bottom. Often many a cast is needed to produce a result, but persevere, as all it might take is a tide change or a temperature rise to bring them on the chew.

You may find yourself catching a lot of tailor while targeting the EPs, and they won’t be the only by-catch.

There has been the odd nice dusky flathead, mulloway and silver trevally. Luderick are present around the rock walls and bridge pylons, although you may have to revert your tactics back to baits like green or cabbage weed under a float.

FISHING NEWS

NSW Fisheries officers round up offenders Fisheries officers have cracked the whip on illegal fishing across western NSW, which is putting unnecessary pressure on fish stocks already under stress from drought conditions.

NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSWDPI) Director Fisheries Compliance, Patrick Tully, said compliance patrols

conducted since Easter have unearthed some concerning behaviour.

“Fisheries officers targeting illegal fishing activities in the Lachlan River near Forbes found 57 people committing a total of 70 offences. While most offenders were issued official cautions for minor offences, 31 on-the-spot fines were issued totalling $9,250,” Mr Tully said.

Fisheries officers with seized traps in South West NSW.

A fisheries officer with seized cast net from a waterway in South West NSW.

“Eight prohibited sized Murray cod and 22 Murray cod fillets were seized, along with 28 illegal set lines. A 42 year old woman from Parkes was issued on-the-spot fines totalling $1,000 after being found in possession of five prohibited size Murray cod and taking more than daily bag limit.”

Fisheries officers also conducted patrols of the Barwon River between Collarenebri and Bourke over

the June Long Weekend, with more than 150 recreational fishers inspected. Twenty four offences were detected and 25 items of illegal gear were seized including excess lines and traps.

In south western NSW, fisheries officers targeted illegal fishing coinciding with the opening of the Murray crayfish season.

A total of 568 people were checked and 150 offences were detected, including

three matters to be referred for prosecution. Ninety nine Murray crayfish, some carrying external eggs which are illegal to possess, were seized along with more than 30 illegal nets and traps, including a cast net.

Fisheries officers also monitored trout spawning streams in the Monaro region checking 312 fishers. A total of 17 offences were detected on Eucumbene River, Thredbo River, Lake Jindabyne and Tantangara Dam. “The courts take a dim

view of illegal fishing, with a man convicted last month in Wentworth Local Court for unlawful use of eight traps and possessions of fish taken illegally from the Darling River near Pooncarie,” Mr Tully said. “He was fined $2,150 and given an intensive corrections order for 14 months.”

Suspected illegal activity can be reported to the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536 or at www. dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/ compliance. – DPI

Multiple berried female Murray crayfish have been seized.

AUGUST 2019

75

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS THINGS TO PACK FOR FISHING

CAMERA BRAGMAT FISHING ROD LURES BAIT SCISSORS SNACKS WATER TOWEL NET TACKLE BAG

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

BUCKET PLIERS A SMILE FACE BUFF INSECT REPELLENT THE BUNG LIP GRIPS EXTRA TACKLE SAFETY GEAR ICEBOX

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack.

SEND ENTRIES TO: NSW Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

NSW AUGUST 2019

Phone (day):

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

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SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to G Telfer, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition!

Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for June is J Allen of Albion Park, who won a Tackle Club 4 month gift subscription valued at $320.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Ryall of Singleton, R Durie of Holt, B White of Lake Cathie, T Jones of Port MacQuarie, D Burgess of Elermore Vale, S Berestov of Denman, P Lyneham of Fern Bay, W Cumming of Bass Hill, B Birch of Oran Park, T Kennedy of Karuah, R Bland of Forster, S Galiagyon of St Clair, R Jones of Werris Creek, C Wood of Penrith, J Smith of Kelso, B Keogh of Bathurst, B Mannering of Blue Haven,

K Morrison of Moama, K Duncan of Rozelle, B Bell of Wodonga, J Coates of Gwandalan, J Butcher of Basin View, D Nisbet of Tuncurry, S McNamara of Barrington, B Anschau of Lennox Head, R Morrison of Forbes, I Christie of Lithgow, A Wright of Menai, J Britton of Jerrabomberra, R Chown of Glendenning.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks.

– NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

76

AUGUST 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Brown Trout

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for June were: 9, 10, 13, 17, 20, 28, 32, 38, 52, 65, 69, 76, 81, 85, 91. – NSWFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for June were: P Dubbelde of Orange, I Donaldson of Cessnock, J Morante of Wachope, K Carter of Shepparton, J Spurway of Lake Munmorah, R Crossman of Echuca, B Jordan of Botany, J Lucas of Doyalson North, K Bright of Mt Warrigal, E Richards of Blacktown, D

© A Cordelia Adams original artwork. Instagram: clausdoesart

Answer:

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The wind is your friend LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

August and September are traditionally very windy months on the Central Tablelands of NSW. That word – wind –

say, and make it easy on yourself. That may be the case, but is that where the fish are? Is that where they will bite?

‘The wind is my friend’ is something that plays on repeat for me on those days when most avoid it.

Fighting the wind is

Windblown shores on trout lakes such as Thompsons Creek Dam can be brutal at times, almost unfishable, but by standing slightly on the lee side of a main lake point you can quite literally cast and fish across and down, especially with fly. I’ve had mornings

Windblown shores are magnets for TCD (Thompsons Creek Dam) rainbow trout. By making some slight adjustments, you can enjoy the bounty that exists. The best part is you usually have it all to yourself!

Predatory fish make the most of windy days. The concentration of food in certain areas triggers a bite that is worth a little discomfort.

I know some anglers who don’t even reference it in conversation for fear that it will start to blow…

‘Chase the glass’ they

pointless, but by making a few small adjustments in the boat or on the bank you can make the wind work for you.

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fishing a soft hackle wet where I haven’t retrieved an inch of line before my drift has finished, or a rampaging rainbow full of oxygen has finished its first run.

Even with lures such as spoons, fishing across and down on the wind, with the first part of the retrieve on a really windy day, not much winding of the handle is needed at all.

Lure casting straight into the wind (look for a wind lane that crashes straight into the shore) is surprisingly effective, but you need to get it just right. Obviously your choice of lure has a big influence on this, and I normally go with slender spoons or something with a little more weight in the rear. By casting straight into the wind, the effect that the wind has on your line is diminished, making for a decent cast in the conditions.

Generally speaking, trout are encouraged to move and feed closer to shore when it’s windy, so big long casts are not necessarily needed anyway.

Boat-based anglers really have a huge advantage when it comes to the wind.

The ability to move to suit the wind just cannot be understated. Bow mount electric motors are game changers when it comes to dealing with the wind. That

said, tying up or anchoring can be just as effective in certain situations.

Quartering on a windblown bank (better if the wind is slightly on an angle) and using an electric motor is deadly for trout or natives. Basically, you keep the bow into the wind and move in a seesaw pattern along the bank, casting as you go. The wind and waves crashing on the bank negate

to not much at all, and it’s invaluable and stays on board at all times. It’s amazing the difference the deployment of a drift sock can make, and I’m astounded that more anglers don’t use them. The sense of relief aboard in windy conditions, when one is deployed for somebody that hasn’t used one, is profound.

Bays or inlets that have copped prevailing

one side of the bay or the other. Casting of course is a breeze (pardon the pun) as it’s all done downwind.

The other advantage is bite detection. By fishing your lure at depth in line with the prevailing breeze, you negate any belly in the line and feel bites straight away.

Quite often a mudline forms in the back of the bay, and the edge of this,

A downwind drift allows you to cover great distances with a cast lure. Load up and just send it. some of the boat noise, and it’s surprising how many fish are caught close to the boat in this scenario, especially Windamere golden perch.

Drifting with the wind along a bank or across a point is also very effective, and the boat drift speed can be slowed by simply deploying a big bucket if need be. I have a drift sock that collapses down

winds for days on end in Windamere or Burrendong are collection points for all manner of organisms. It can trigger a chain reaction that starts at the very bottom of the food chain and works its way up to bigger predators.

By anchoring up or tying off with a long soft rope, we can drift the boat back into the bay or inlet, or we can even tie off midship and move the boat closer to

especially with trout in Lake Lyell, is the hot zone.

With this scenario, don’t be in a rush to move. Fish will move in and out or stay put for a good while, even after you’ve caught one. Sit back, have a cuppa out of the thermos, andenjoy the fruits of making the wind your friend…

Hope to see you on the water soon, until then, tight lines!

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Crack a late season cod in cold Canberra CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

August in Canberra represents the last chance for local anglers to land a cod before the season closes on 1 September.

above 60cm. More and more local fishos are getting into cod fishing, which means that by the end of each season, the fish have seen almost every lure pass under their nose and are therefore particularly hard to coax into a strike.

a ‘match the hatch’ and ‘elephants eat peanuts’ approach. There are a large number of small carp (about 10-20cm) swimming around the shallows of our major waterways at present.

Sam picked up on this and used a Westin Ricky Roach

The reddies are in the reeds and are willing to eat lures.

Sam Hancox with his 20th metre fish for the season.

The Canberra cod season hasn’t been a particularly memorable one, with the majority of anglers struggling to catch any fish

Sam Hancox, one of Canberra’s best cod fishos, landed his 20th metre fish a week ago by rethinking his tactics and applying

David Pidcock with a nice Burley Griffin golden caught while jigging deep water.

(which perfectly mimics free swimming carp) to land his 101cm fish. So, if searching for that final big fish bite over the next month, pay attention to the type of bait in the shallows, cast a lure that matches the hatch, and don’t be afraid to downsize your offering considerably, as a smaller lure might just make all the difference.

LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is fishing really well.

There are plenty of redfin holding in the reeds that line the banks around the Governor General’s residence and along the rowing lanes. There is also a neat pocket of reeds at Yarralumla Bay where the reddies tend to hang out during low light periods.

These fish are feeding up on yabbies and mosquito fish and will readily take a paddle-tail soft plastic on the drop, especially if the lure lands just on the edge of the reeds.

The Dragon Bellyfish has to be the pick of the lures for fishing these

Even the smaller yellas are still on the bite at LBG. locations, but keep a lipless crankbait handy and burn it parallel to the reeds at

Googong continues to impress this winter, producing consistently good results on natives and imports.

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Speaking of golden perch, there have been some good specimens caught along the points leading up the dam wall and it is simply a matter of using a sounder, finding the redfin and then jigging blades over the school. The yellas are following the reddies around in deeper water and can’t resist a blade ripped up the water column.

Lake Ginninderra is producing plenty of large carp around Diddams Close and along the concrete walls near John Knight Park.

These fish can be caught by using bread and corn baits, but the most exciting methods include casting a fly at a patrolling mud sucker or sight casting them with plastics. Black grubs are by far the most effective plastic, especially when hopped along the middle of the water column. Redfin will also take a black grub To page 81

Tackling new water CANBERRA

Richard Barnsley

Wyoming, September 2018: 50m below the road cutting the Green River swept through yellow aspens in a wide arc. The water flowed strongly against the near bank and away in the distance, the towering rocky rampart of the Wind River Mountains punched into a blue sky. I’d travelled to Wyoming to hunt pronghorn

1: GUIDE OR NO GUIDE? Hiring a guide can make or break a fly fishing adventure.

If the budget will stretch, book them for a reasonable length of time. Ask for references and any reputable guide will provide you with contacts. If the budget is tight then consider a day trip. You’ll learn local tips and tactics, which will ramp up your own efforts over ensuing days. During my first trip to the Northern Territory I jagged an afternoon guided trip on Yellow Waters for

It’s always great when a plan comes together, especially when you’ve travelled across the world for it. antelope with friends and managed to fit in a couple days flyfishing.

The Green River was a dream destination. I’d read about it for years as one of Wyoming’s ‘must visit’ fly fisheries. From beside the hire car I planned my attack for the stretch of water below. Several hours later I’d enjoyed some of the best trout angling I’d ever experienced.

How it all came to work out so easily was the result of several key factors. All fishers have dream destinations and some we are lucky enough to visit. But what we do when we get there and how we should fish them is the result of several key decisions.

From page 80

and are always a welcome by-catch in amongst the carp. Golden perch have been shut down of late but are catchable, particularly if using unweighted paddle-tail plastics around 2-3” slow rolled near the old police jetty. If you have a good sounder, head to the middle of the lake and search for a cod holding deep. These fish can be hard to catch but are worth the effort.

Lake Tuggeranong continues to improve.

The water is starting to clear and large numbers of anglers have returned to the lake, catching carp, redfin and yellowbelly.

The flats leading from the bridge up towards Greenway are the pick of the spots, as there is plenty of hungry redfin pushing bait into the shallows.

barra. The guide had fly gear and I wrestled my first barra at 80cm out of the lilypads.

Good guides work hard to give you a good time – their business is built on reputation. Help them by being attentive to their advice and by fishing hard. If you’re in the company of a guide ask questions. I worked as a trout and cod guide for a few years and there’s nothing harder for a guide than someone who wants to be hand fed fish.

2: REALISTIC DREAMS Whether it is barramundi, sailfish, trout or bass, before deciding on a trip, have realistic expectations. It is highly unlikely you’ll catch heaps of big fish. Decide on a target, such as a nice barra, These fish can be easily targeted using a 1/8oz beetle spin slow rolled just below the surface. If after a golden perch, use the same lure, but head to the dam wall or spillway and fish the beetle spin deep using a ‘hop-pause’ retrieve. Both these spots are very productive in winter, especially during and after heavy rain.

‘BIDGEE The Murrumbidgee continues to produce small to medium-sized cod for anglers fishing the slower pools. Most anglers have given up on surface lures and are now throwing plastics. These lures have been effective, but most anglers have had to work really hard for a bite. I have heard stories of anglers walking over 20km in a day in search of a hungry cod. There

and everything else is a bonus.

If you want to go flyfishing in New Zealand but haven’t done a hell of a lot of casting in wind and spotting fish, you’ll probably do it tough. Practice your skills and get ready for whatever may arise.

Don’t be afraid to get skunked. Even the hot shots come away fishless sometimes, so it is highly likely that you’ll have a few dud days. If the fishing is slow, try to work out why. Don’t let frustrations build.

3: PLANNING Read everything you can about your chosen destination and species. In the good old days we read guidebooks but today you have a wealth of options. Local Internet forums, Facebook and guide’s web pages can shortcut your decision making. I can also highly recommend joining a local fishing club and spending some money with the local tackle shops.

Timing is often critical, but be flexible. Magazines such as Fishing Monthly, offer regular monthly updates, so go through back issues if planning a local trip. If you’ve never fished Eucumbene in the spawn run, read columns and talk to contacts who have.

The small but plentiful brook trout in Wyoming saved the day when the stream fish proved difficult.

4: D DAY Take it as it comes.

Weather, flights and so on may contrive to make life difficult. Be prepared with foul weather gear, spare tackle and comprehensive travel insurance. Spares are critical if you’re heading off the beaten track. A spare travel rod and reel is not overkill and plenty of tippet definitely doesn’t hurt. Peace of mind makes it a hell of a lot easier to concentrate on getting your fly in a fish’s mouth.

Don’t sweat the little stuff.

If you’ve done your research

the moment will come and when it does seize the opportunity. Fish hard and fish often, but enjoy the scenery and camaraderie of your fellow anglers.

During my first Wyoming trip the weather was terrible and most rivers were out of condition. Plan B was to head to some small still water ponds up in the mountains. The eager, plentiful, yet small brook trout quickly lifted my spirits.

5: FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY Don’t get locked into tactics that work under

Turning up to a new location can be daunting, but by following a few simple principles you should be able to get the most out of the trip. is a pre-dawn bite window of around 30 minutes and this is the best time to be on the water casting lures.

Dusk is also a good time to try for a late season green machine.

SURROUNDS Googong traditionally slows down through winter, however this year, it has provided consistently good fishing. Large plastics, fished slow and deep around the points at the entrance to Bradleys Inlet and in the middle of the dam, have produced some good-sized cod. There are also plenty of yellas on offer for anglers casting beetle spins at the entrance to Shannons Inlet. If after a feed of redfin, head to Tin Hut and fish the top of the dam with plastics and shallow divers. There have been some enormous redfin caught lately.

similar conditions at home.

On the lower Greys River in Wyoming I couldn’t catch a trout. I tried all the patterns and tactics that had brought me success on big, fast water streams elsewhere, but to no avail.

In desperation I paused to light a cigar. My stonefly dry pattern swung downstream and then hard into the gravel where the foam was only a foot deep. Bam! Fish on.

Over the next couple hours I caught and released another ten reasonable cut throat from water I’d traditionally never explore.

Have confidence in your experience, but always be prepared to experiment. Mix up retrieve rates, switch flies and fish traditional patterns differently. I remember trialling some big salmon flies on spawn run trout in southern NSW with great success.

Over the years I’ve been fortunate to fish a lot of Australian and New Zealand destinations. Most of the time I’ve had a real hoot and hooked some nice fish to boot.

Stick to the principles I’ve outlined and you’ll only want more. There’s a lot of water out there to explore!

The carp are hitting lures across all Canberra’s waterways.

AUGUST 2019

81

The winter patterns are still reigning supreme HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

Winter will be hanging on just a little longer this month. August is typically a month of wind and cold weather, but it’s also a great time for consistent fishing

are where you want to be.

Generally, the fishing in all the lakes is excellent this month, with mass amounts of fish still feeding up on their winter gorge.

ST CLAIR Lake St Clair weed has been patchy over winter. The dropping water levels have

As always, early morning, late evening and overcast or even windy conditions gets these fish comfortable to be moving around freely in the shallow weed and feeding.

These fish will congregate and even school in the weed.

Multiple casts to the same area can catch several

Dom Jordan and a Lostock bass caught on a Bent Minnow in winter. in the local impoundments.

While writing this, winter has really kicked it up a gear, with some good frosts and cold fronts coming through. There has also been some snow on the tops. I really don’t foresee any drastic changes in the fishing in the Hunter Valley with the current weather pattern. The bass bag limit in the river systems is still zero until the end of this month, so the lakes

made it hard for the weed to keep up or grow. Areas you can find good weed will hold the larger fish at St Clair.

Thick weed beds next to a point, the back of a bay, and next to timber are all high percentage areas.

Having confidence and taking your time to work these spots efficiently should determine a pattern for catching them throughout the lake. They should be fairly easy to pattern this month.

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fish as they move around looking for food. Even resting an area and coming back after a while can see more fish caught.

A jerkbait in the 50-80mm range is an excellent choice to start out with. Looking like an injured baitfish darting around, the bass and golden perch cannot seem to resist a jerkbait aggressively worked along the weed and paused in their face.

If a jerkbait is not getting eaten, your next most reliable choice is a jighead rigged soft plastic. A paddle-tail or grub is a great option. These styles will work on a straight slow wind retrieve, and 1/8, 1/6 and 1/4oz jigheads are the best options, and should cover most situations. Use the lighter 1/8 and 1/6oz jigheads for over the weed beds and the 1/4 for fishing down the face and along the weed edge.

There are a ton of brands and styles out there, and I’ve seen just about every 2-3” paddle-tail or grub work over the years. Try giving your plastics little twitches in your slow roll to make out that the baitfish is trying to escape, as this can turn lookers into biters. There are no hard or fast rules, just stick with which one you feel most confident with. If the bites are not coming, try and focus on where you are putting your lure and what retrieve, rather than a specific brand or colour.

A small blade is another option for the shallow water weed dwellers. Sometimes that more aggressive rip and vibration out of the weed gets bit when others fail. A

blade light enough to cast but not too heavy to bury itself into the weed is ideal.

An 1/8oz is a good option, and up to an 1/4oz if it’s windy or you want to fish a little deeper.

Moving out wider from the weed there should be some schools of fish hanging around. Anywhere from 20-60ft you can find them stacked up off points or humps. A paddle-tail or grub plastic, ice jig and a small blade should catch you some fish. Traditionally the school fish are smaller than the weed dwellers, but these can provide a lot of fun with their willingness to eat a lure. A fish a cast can happen this month on these schooled fish.

GLENBAWN Lake Glenbawn’s weed has barely held on either.

The front of the lake has had the most weed, as the clearer water has allowed the weed to maintain somewhat. The water flowing into the lake stirs up the water clarity up the back of the lake, and this causes less weed to grow up there compared to the front half.

Similar to St Clair, these weed beds will fish well in the low light periods. A jerkbait and plastic worked shallow around main points and edges will catch you some seriously chunky bass this month.

Glenbawn banks are a lot steeper than St Clair’s, so once the sun gets up a 1/4-3/8oz jighead is better suited for fishing a plastic.

Slow roll your plastic out off the edges down to around 20ft of water or where you can see them sitting on the sounder. Twitching plastics

timberlines are good places to look in 30-60ft of water.

Also, up the back of the lake in the 8-knot zone can get some really big schools of fish this month. Anywhere off the rock walls or next

road in isn’t the best, but the fishing is worth it.

Similar to St Clair and Glenbawn, your typical winter techniques work well here as well. A jerkbait around shallow cover, or a

Emily Smith took this plasticmunching Lake St Clair bass. to the old riverbed can see the sounder near blacked out with fish. Plastics, ice jigs and small blades will be the best option to get these fish to bite.

LOSTOCK Lostock water levels have been naturally a lot more consistent with its position in the mountain range, its catchment and its physical size is smaller

jighead rigged soft plastic rolled out of the edge or to deep schooling fish will work.

The only difference I’ve seen with Lostock is that it sometimes throws a spanner in the works when it comes to winter.

Sometimes, if the winter patterns are not working, a reaction bait can get results. Lipless crankbaits

There will be plenty of small willing fish around this month, and any small baitfish-sized lures should get eaten. up like you would on a flathead retrieve and letting them fall back to the bottom under a tight line works as well, and commonly the plastic will always get eaten on the drop.

Out wider some fish should be schooling as well.

Off points or near sunken

than the other lakes. These stable levels help create a thriving ecosystem with plenty of bait.

This means the fish are always in a healthy condition and hold plenty of weight.

These guys can pull some serious string when using light line over winter. The

or hardbody divers worked in fishy spots have caught me fish when they typically wouldn’t in other dams.

That’s the beauty of Lostock and its water levels holding a lot higher – it throws up random patterns and bites that the other lakes don’t typically do!

Let’s Fishing GO

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Do you still want to crack a cod in the cold?

WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

It has been another incredible winter so far, but there is still one month left to chase that trophy cod. On the flip side, for those who aren’t a fan of fishing in the cold, there isn’t long now until we see the warmth of spring.

BLOWERING DAM First of all let’s kick off with our favourite place at this time of year, Blowering Dam. This place can really push you to your limits in winter, with the hundreds of casts for little result, the bone shattering temperatures and the mental battle as you question if you’re doing the right thing. But… as we

popular spots will have been pressured over the past two months.

I recommend fishing

The author with a solid winter cod that took the Ignite Cod Fury 220mm in rainbow trout colour. the middle section of the dam between the Pines and Yatching Point on both sides of the dam. The eastern side

Fishing on a -3°C morning, casting away and searching for that next hit! all know, it’s so worth it when one of these giants grab hold.

The reason I’m talking about this is because I want you to remember that during this time of year, you need to keep at it!

Don’t give up and push through. This is how some people continue to catch big fish at this time of year.

During this month the temperature will begin to rise and the fish usually feed more than during July.

One thing you may need to do is fish banks or areas in the dam that receive the least pressure, as the more

Your best option if fishing the evening and into the night is to fish deeper on those steep banks from

consists of rocky and clay banks while the opposite side has more flat grassy banks covered in timber.

3-8m. Once you get a hit in a certain depth, stick to that depth for the night.

Once morning comes, this is when you want to fish shallower, and when those grassy banks come into play. Using surface lures, swimbaits and lightlyweighted plastics in 1-5m is perfect.

Lure choice for this month needs to be realistic and lifelike. With so many lures being thrown around the fish need to be tricked into thinking they are eating something real.

Swimbaits are perfect for fishing shallow, as they can be twitched and paused above the grassy banks to look like an injured fish.

There are hundreds of great swimbait brands out there that work so well, but I like the AC Swimbait

shut down but the bigger fish will still be around.

Remember to retrieve the lures extremely slowly to give the fish plenty of time

Anthony Bentley

The reward is worth the effort, as Baily shows with this early hours 90cm cod from Blowering.

Gaden Trout Hatchery See how premier sport fish are bred and raised!

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AUGUST 2019

to see what’s coming.

If the water is starting to rise it will be very tough fishing, so probably worth giving it a miss.

Jack Flanagan with a solid winter cod caught from the Murrumbidgee River.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Gaden Trout Hatchery

84

The river and creek will fish better on the sunny days as opposed to the overcast ones.

The same goes for Old Man Creek, as it should definitely be on your list.

Make sure you retrieve your lure slowly, and fish

the big heavy timber.

Another thing to remember in both the creek and the river is to fish the afternoons. You’ll get more hits, as the water will be warmer. It’s also worth trying to fish the nice warm days, as the fish will switch on better in these conditions compared to cold overcast days.

The trout rivers and streams are still closed, so make sure you steer clear of these and stick to the natives. Now is that time to have one last crack at the trophy winter cod that Blowering has to offer before the weather warms up. But luckily, Blowering is now open to targeting cod year round, so we will still be able to chase them as the temperature warms up! The fishing style will just change slightly, but that’s for the next report!

All about the lakes

n Trout Hatchery e d a G

Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko Rd) Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

for the shallows and the Bunji swimbait for deeper water. My go-to plastic for this time of year is the Ignite Cod Fury 220mm in the rainbow and silver trout colours.

MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER August is always tough on the local river during August, as the conditions are different every year.

With the cold temperatures the fishing will always be slow, but the fish will begin to feed again late this month if we start to see some warmer weather.

If they haven’t let any water out of the dams for irrigation then it will be worth a trip. Lures are probably still the best option at this time of year, with spinnerbaits and hardbodies cast tight to structure the key. The smaller fish will still be

The weather is cold, but don’t let that stop you from getting into a bit of fishing around the lakes. Although the mornings have been very frosty, the days have been sunny and have provided us with some good early polaroiding opportunities.

With Lake Jindabyne at 71% and steady, and Eucumbene at 23% and falling, it’s a great time to look around the weed beds for feeding fish during the day. Smaller nymphs and micro woolly buggers are some of my favourite flies for day fishing. For those using spinning gear, smaller Celtas and vibes delicately cast into the path of a feeding fish can be deadly.

Evenings on sunnier days have also seen some fish actively feeding on midge.

These fish can be quite tricky

to catch, but I have found that a small buzzer hung under a Griffith gnat can often be their undoing.

Boat-based anglers have had the most success with flies, but lures cast towards the shore have seen a few good fish being caught.

Fishing during these cold nights can also be a fantastic way of getting into some big predators looking for a feed close to shore. You may have to put in a lot of casts to find them but when you do, the rewards can be great.

Lake Eucumbene is very low at the moment with lots of mud around the edges, so please take care when walking, as it can get very sticky. Jindabyne is definitely the pick of the lakes this month. Hatchery Bay and Waste Point on the western side of the lake, and Kalkite and Mill Creek on the eastern side are all worth a look.

Hopefully the weather will start to warm up over the

next month, and we should see the sight fishing get into full swing. Until then, stay warm and try your hand at lake fishing!

• High Country Outfitters has the largest range of fly fishing gear in the Snowy Mountains, with something for every skill level and budget. Brands include Sage, Rio, Redington, Scott, Simms, Patagonia, Loop, TFO, Vision, Hardy, Riverworks, Scientific Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders, boots, vests and outdoor apparel. For all the latest information on what’s biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne. You can also call them on (02) 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

Applications now open for Habitat Action Grants Habitat Action Grants are available again this year and applications are now open, giving fishers a great chance to put some of the licence fees back into improving the habitats that support the sport we love.

Twenty six projects were funded in the 20182019 Habitat Action Grants totalling over $594,000, with applicants providing over $840,000 in in-kind contributions. These grants will assist recreational anglers, local councils, environmental and community groups, and private landholders to enhance

and rehabilitate degraded fish habitat through a range of on-ground works.

Rehabilitation of fish habitat provides long-term sustainable benefits for native fish stocks and in turn provides substantial benefits for NSW recreational fishers who will enjoy more healthy, productive fisheries. Improvements in fish habitat will also provide more opportunities for rural and regional communities to promote local tourism.

Here are some pointers if you are thinking of applying for a Grant: • Before you do anything,

check the website to see past examples of projects at www. dpi.nsw.gov.au/hag.

• Projects don’t have to be massive – you are better off starting on a small patch and working to improve that, rather than trying to fix everything at once and failing. For this reason there are small grants up to $2,000 available as well as grants to fund projects up to $40,000.

• If you have a project idea, but aren’t sure how to go about it, or whether it is appropriate, have a chat with one of the contacts listed in the application form. This will

save you time in the long run.

• A budget is essential to show how much cash you will need and who else is contributing.

There is an example budget to use as a guide, but again, talk with one of the Fisheries staff to see how much detail you need to give. Covering the number and cost of each item is usually enough.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are some project ideas: • Removal or modification of barriers to fish passage.

Migratory freshwater fish must move between a variety of habitats to complete their lifecycle. Even a small structure such as a concrete causeway or a pipe culvert can restrict fish movement.

• Rehabilitation of riverbanks.

Native bankside vegetation provides food in the form of fruits and insects, along with shelter and shade for fish and other aquatic species.

• Re-snagging waterways.

Woody structure provides protection from predators, shelter from sunlight, resting areas out of the main channel flow, breeding sites and foraging sites.

• Removal of exotic vegetation.

Willows, blackberries and camphor laurel, among others, change the structure

of a riverbank, creating a poor habitat for fish.

• Bank stabilisation works.

Erosion is a natural process, but livestock, loss of bankside vegetation, removal of snags and the excessive extraction of gravel or river sediments can exacerbate erosion. This can lead to an increase of sediment in the waterway which can affect water quality and smother fish habitat.

• Reinstatement of natural flow regimes.

Flood

mitigation works such as water retention devices (e.g. floodgates) and drainage systems can affect natural flows, restrict fish access to floodplain wetlands or upstream habitat, and sometimes expose acid sulfate soils. By working with landholders, these structures and drainage works can be modified.

For more information on the grants process, visit www. dpi.nsw.gov.au/hag. - DPI

Want more of me?

Well do something about it!

Photo thanks to Gunther Schmida

NOW OPEN – The Habitat Action Grants support projects that aim to improve fish habitat in waterways across NSW. Applications open

Thursday 1st August, 2019 Projects of direct benefit to recreational fishing and involving recreational fishers will be given preference.

Habitat makes fish happen!

Grants of up to

40,000 are available

$

For more information contact PH: 02 6763 1206 or email: fish.habitat@dpi.nsw.gov.au

or visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/hag AUGUST 2019

85

Let’s hope for some early spring weather BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

After what has already been considered a very cold and dry winter, anglers will be hoping for an early start to spring this month.

If anglers get their wish and we start to see some early signs of spring, then the fishing will pick up

of the species. The fish will have either just finished spawning or will be about to spawn, depending on the weather we receive. Either way this is a good thing, as the redfin that haven’t spawned yet will be very aggressive, which will help to trigger strikes, and if they have spawned already, they will be very hungry and keen to hit anything that comes within striking range.

The best bait fishing technique for redfin is the double paternoster rig.

Simply attach two hooks one about a metre or two up your line and the other around 50cm to a metre from the bottom, then attach a sinker to the end of your line. Thread a small yabby, prawn tail or garden worm onto the hooks, then drop this rig to the bottom.

Wind up the slack line, then

Another big trout from Jounama Dam. This dam holds a good population of big fish and you never know when that next fish is going to be a fish of a lifetime.

The trout lakes have been fishing well this winter and should continue to do so this month. considerably and August will be a great month for freshwater angling in southern NSW. REDFIN Regardless of the weather, redfin are well and truly worth targeting this month and will be the pick

If the redfin haven’t spawned yet then you will not beat lures like ice jigs, blades and soft plastics jigged in their faces, but if they have spawned and are hungry then the bait fishos will be able to get amongst them and in good numbers as well.

bob it up and down with small and gentle lifts of the rod tip. Keeping the bait moving by lifting it up and down will entice fish in from further afield and will keep them interested for longer. Start with two different baits until you see

DAM LEVELS Dam............................... % Full

Dam............................... % Full

Dam May Jun Jul Blowering 27 39 44 Brogo 101 99 97 Burrendong 6 5 5 Burrinjuck 30 30 31 Carcoar 22 22 21 Chaffey 25 24 23 Clarrie Hall 97 97 100 Copeton 11 9 9 Dartmouth 63 64 62 Eucumbene 25 24 24 Glenbawn 52 52 51 Glenlyon 9 9 9

Dam May Jun Jul Glennies Creek 55 53 52 Hume 15 20 25 Jindabyne 77 71 69 Keepit 1 1 1 Lostock 87 84 84 Oberon 41 39 38 Pindari 6 6 5 Split Rock 3 2 2 Tantangara 21 20 20 Toonumbar 72 67 67 Windamere 33 33 32 Wyangala 30 27 26

(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.)

86

AUGUST 2019

what the fish are eating, then load both of the hooks with their preferred bait for the day.

Having two hooks has many advantages, for example, if one bait is taken by pesky little fish or it becomes weeded or fouled up in some way, then there is another baited hook still there to catch fish. Another advantage is that you can test two baits at once to see what the fish want on that day. But, the best thing of all is the fact that once you’re onto a good patch of fish you will be bringing them in two at a time, which is always fun and exciting no matter who you are.

JOUNAMA DAM For those of you who are keen to get a big trout fix, with all the creeks and rivers closed your only options are the lakes, and what better lake to target big trout than Jounama Dam. This picturesque little lake is a great place to take the family for a fun-filled day beside the water.

The big trout and redfin this lake is associated with coincidently fire right after the official close of the trout streams. This is a bonus for those addicted to trout fishing in the area, as you can successfully fish for good-sized trout in and good numbers all year round. The lake has fished well lately and this should continue this month.

Casting lures or flies from the bank is very productive and is my preferred way of fishing the lake, but bait fishing with PowerBait, grubs or worms is also a great way of hooking into a trout or two.

Jounama is also home to some very good-sized golden perch and Murray cod, and if we get a bit of spring-like weather, anglers should start seeing a few of these natives pop up on the ends of their lines as well!

Above: Big redfin is what August is all about.

Below: A bit of warm weather this month and we should start seeing a few fat natives start to show up.

Last chance to smack a big winter goodoo ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

August is here, leaving us with a few weeks to score that last prized Murray cod, unless you fish an all year round cod fishery.

to come back and take the lure. We weren’t expecting what happened next. I made a short cast out in the same direction as where the small cod came from, and all of a sudden my rod loaded up to a much bigger fish. A 95cm river cod decided that my

can also be a good idea. It’s such a great feeling working for something and getting the ultimate reward for it. Even though it was shy of the metre mark, it’s a personal goal I’ve been trying to accomplish for quite some time. Fish size isn’t always everything, and as long as you enjoy chasing these fish and enjoy being where you are, you will always have a good time.

The preparation to catching these fish is always important too, and as I said I was lucky to have Rhys by

my side on this trip, or else I could of really struggled landing this fish. This leads me into another point that I think is basic, but super important. It’s important to keep calm and focused after hooking a fish, especially if it’s a big one. I’ve learnt my lesson so many times, particularly when I’ve been solo and I’ve gotten so excited after seeing a fish come up for the first time that the adrenaline can really cause to you to make mistakes that can be avoided. Many times I’ve

made these mistakes while learning to fish. The more you do it, the more you get use to it. With all of that said, accidents do happen and there will always be the one that got away, especially with cod fishing, because often they can find every snag to pull you into.

We never stop learning while cod fishing, and every time we hook up that adrenaline rush is like no other and it’s a clear reminder as to why we do it as often as we can.

Braving it for a few

more weeks may give you the reward of whatever it may be you want to achieve, so get out and keep doing it, as it can come at any time! Most importantly, like usual, just enjoy yourself.

Weeks on after catching that fish I’m still pumped, and I hope anyone reading this can hopefully get this feeling before the end of the season, and if not don’t let it get you down, it is hard work at this time of year, and there is always next season to pursue your goals!

Good luck!

The author was stoked to land this 95cm cod, and managed to catch the whole thing on film!

However, my focus will primarily be on the rivers and creeks, so there’s not long until we have to put a pause on the big gear.

Once again, the fishing in August is typically slow in winter. As cod anglers we already expect this, so we should be braced for donuts and poor results. However, we always keep in the back of our minds that it only takes that one fish to make it all worth it, and recently I was blessed with this feeling.

lure would be its next feed.

This was definitely one the coolest moments I’ve had in fishing, and I’m probably very lucky I had a mate with me to land the fish properly, as the bank was quite hard to land a fish on, keeping in mind that we were on foot.

The footage is epic, and I can’t believe our luck with capturing it on film! It was such an awesome experience to have with a good mate.

If you’d like to view the footage, search on YouTube

Bites will be few and far between again this month, but the rewards for the hours of casting are often worth the effort.

A gut feeling of a new area of water payed off, and I walked the miles and gained the smiles. The cherry on top was my mate capturing the whole lot on film! A smaller cod was attacking my lure, so I kept casting. Rhys pulled his phone out of his bag and began filming, and both of us were expecting the small cod

‘Connor’s 95cm Murray Cod’, or find it on my Instagram @nativefishing.

This is definitely a reward from effort and just continuing to fish to gain the potential results.

A point I can give from this success story is that sometimes trying new areas and going with gut feelings AUGUST 2019

87

Last chance to crack a trophy cod this year NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

It has been a fairly quiet winter across the Northern Tablelands this season compared to winters gone by, but like most animals, the fish still have to eat,

the baitfish and the larger predators like Murray cod become lethargic during these cooler times.

Freezing cold nights, frosty mornings and little rainfall have given the local impoundments and rivers plenty of time to settle and with the weed

moment, however smaller tinnies and kayaks are still able to be loaded closer to the rocky points and dragged down to the water’s edge.

RIVERS The Severn River has been producing some nice fish this winter, but with

worked in the shallows, and chatterbaits and crankbaits have worked in the deeper water, especially while the water has been clear.

With Murray cod season closed at the end of the month for their spawning, now is the time to be out making the most of the

Zac Manning with a cracking cod that ate a Megabass Big M 4.0.

The author was treated to a visual eat using a Megabass Magdraft 6” swimbait. so spending time on water and downsizing baits have seemed to be most effective tactic while the fishing has been tough. Slowing down the retrieves has also been a big factor to getting the bites during the colder months, as both

beds slowly starting to die out, matching the hatch and throwing natural coloured baits around structure has proved to be successful in recent weeks.

COPETON DAM Copeton Dam looks like it is starting to fire back

up after many weeks of tough fishing while water was being released further downstream. The releases have slowed from 70 megalitres a day to around 4 megalitres a day, and this should see the natives relax a little more and feed consistently as they will not be pushed out of their lairs as quickly now.

The winter surface bite that Copeton Dam has been known for in recent seasons has not seemed to live up to its reputation this year, although swimbaits, chatterbaits and lipless

crankbaits have been pretty productive in finding the bites.

Looking for baitfish also plays a big role in finding fish, and if you do not have a fishfinder, then looking for birdlife like cormorants or pelicans is a really good start.

PINDARI DAM Pindari Dam has also started to fish a little better of late, with some good size yellowbelly and silver perch being reported. With the dam sitting really low, it makes it impossible to launch big boats at the

This beautiful skinny water Murray cod was a great reward for the effort Jackson Haussler put in. really low water levels in some parts of the river it makes it hard to find a lure that will work effectively every time. I have found chopping and changing lures a lot has been the key to finding active fish.

Surface lures and slow sinking swimbaits have

opportunities, however Copeton Dam will still be open all year round for Murray cod fishing if you feel you need a cod fix.

The Beardy River is currently closed for trout spawning season and will open back up around the October long weekend.

Winter’s cold water fishing opportunities ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The aspirations of many keen anglers seem all but dashed, as winter rolls out an icy blanket of ‘couldn’tbe-bothered’. I must admit the thought of wetting a line, compared to that of a warm wood fire and a large pot of hearty beef stew, is a long way away.

But, it’s hard not to reflect on past winters and realize some of the best fishing for the year is under these cooler conditions.

In some cases, it’s what’s needed to trigger the bite.

Along many sections of the Murray River, some good-sized cod have been landed on surface lures at dawn and dusk. Sure, these are the coldest parts of the day, but each does not last long and when presented with the opportunity to catch a large Murray cod, it’s worth the effort.

Large paddling lures have produced great results, with patience the key to landing a fish. Sharp spikes and falls in barometric pressure have provided the best bites. Other lures and 88

AUGUST 2019

baits have also taken some nice cod for those who have braved the cold.

In the Murray River at Swan Hill, several sizable cod up to 85cm have been caught in the Murray Downs

difference, with captures across the whole range from dark to bright. Shrimp are very hard to catch in the river, so alternative baits like worms, yabbies and cheese will do the job.

Decent Murray cod have been landed on surface lures of late. This one was taken on a Bassman Aussie Crawler. area on a variety of lures.

The river is low and clear, and also quite shallow in the Swan Hill area. The best lures are those with medium to shallow diving range and colour has made little

Further down the Murray, from Boundary Bend through to Wemen, anglers are also catching a few cod on lures and some good-sized perch on bait. I have popped up the river a few times of late on

the chance of catching a perch for the pan.

The river was low and clear for a bankside session on the Murray near Wemen.

Numerous snags jutted out of the water, each a potential home to a waiting perch. With a small chemically sharpened hook loaded with worms, I cast close to the timber where the current rolled in a circle. The bait sat anchored to the bottom in just a few metres of water.

In less than a minute, a sharp hard bite bounced the rod, but the show of interest was over as quickly as it began. The fish failed to return, and half an hour on a new snag played out the same thing. In both cases, the fish left the bait of worms fully intact.

As a seasoned fisho, I can be fairly sure it was not a carp, as they would not leave a ball of worms until they had become hooked on the line or eaten the lot. Such behaviour is more indicative of a large perch, and I have seen it many times over the years. As soon as the bait enters its domain, it comes to investigate. With the water temperature down and the fish’s metabolism slowed, food is not really a priority, so native fish like perch can afford to be fussy.

Half an hour passed with

The joys of winter fishing include a pan of fresh fried perch, cooked over a flaming wood fire. no more bites, so I chose a new snag and cast on the eddy line close to the timber. The bait had only been in the water a few minutes before a solid tap had the rod tip rattling.

This time, the fish continued the bite and the hook was soon set solid. A large golden perch, no less than 52cm, was drawn to the bank, fighting well in the cold water. It was more than enough for a feed, so the rods were packed and the fish was put on ice.

The Murray River at Mildura is also producing decent perch on bait and

lures. While the bite is a little slow, the size of the fish encountered has been quite good. It’s a similar story around Lock 9, with good catches of perch on bait. Large Murray cod have been landed in this area on trolled lures.

So, if you are looking to put a bend in your rod, you could do far worse than fish a few baits or troll a few lures. While it’s not for everyone, winter’s chilly bite can be a pleasant surprise for those anglers keen enough to wet a line.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

AUGUST SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

10-11 Aug

ABT BASS Round 5

abt.org.au

Somerset Dam

7-8 Sep

ABT BREAM Round 7

Gladstone

8 Sep

ABT BASS Electric Round 5

Wivenhoe Dam

14-15 Sep

ABT BASS Round 6

Richmond River

14-15 Sep

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 8

Port Macquarie

21-22 Sep

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 9

Albany

20-22 Sep

ABT BREAM Queensland Open

Moreton Bay

21-22 Sep

Family Bassin Round 6

Wayne Tiggermann

Glenbawn Dam

0412 634 288 or sanja@hwy.com.au

22 Sep

East Coast Bream Series Round 5

www.wsbb.com.au or 0403 085 696

Sydney Harbour

28-29 Sep

ABT BASS Electric Round 6

Borumba Dam

5-6 Oct

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 10

St Georges Basin

12-13 Oct

ABT BASS Electric Australian Open

Wyaralong Dam

19-20 Oct

ABT BREAM Round 8

Port Stephens

23-24 Oct

ABT BASS Grand Final

Lake St Clair

26-27 Oct

ABT BASS Australian Open

Glenbawn Dam

27 Oct

East Coast Bream Series Grand Final

Sussex Inlet

16-17 Nov

Family Bassin Grand Final

Wayne Tiggermann

Lake St. Clair

0412 634 288 or sanja@hwy.com.au

29 Nov-1 Dec

ABT BREAM Grand Final

abt.org.au

Gold Coast

7-8 Dec

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 11

Marlo

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.au

hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

hobiefishing.com.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

abt.org.au

www.wsbb.com.au or 0403 085 696

hobiefishing.com.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.

AUGUST 2019

89

2019 Grabine Annual Freshwater Tournament The 19th annual Grabine Freshwater Fishing Tournament will be held at Reflections Holiday Park Grabine Lakeside from 23-25 August. This not-forprofit competition is run by a team of volunteers, and it puts money from sponsors and entry fees back into the next year’s tournament prizes and restocking of Wyangala Dam. A family-friendly event, the Grabine Freshwater Tournament brings people

from all walks of life together to enjoy a weekend of fishing and camping in the natural beauty of Grabine Lakeside State Park.

There will be over $30,000 worth of prizes up for grabs this year, and there’s a chance for any competitor to win the major prize – you don’t even need to record a fish. The major raffle at this year’s comp is a Quintrex 420 Renegade Side Console boat powered

by a 50hp Evinrude E-Tec outboard. All you need to do to be in the running is to enter the competition and be there for the prize draws, and you could take home a brand new boat!

This year’s comp will also include a Mystery Daily Length Prize for the native categories to encourage more fish to be registered, which in turn will give us a better idea of the amount of fish being caught over the weekend. The tournament

AUGUST 2019

page (www.facebook.com/ GrabineFishingTournament), which also has regular news updates and photos. You can also direct any questions you may have to grabinefishing@

• This year’s sponsors include Quintrex, Release Outfitters fishing apparel, Canobolas Marine Centre & Jayco Orange, and more. The committee members of the

Reflections Holiday Park – Grabine is located at 2453 Grabine Road, Bigga. For more information, including accommodation options, rates and availability,

enjoyable weekend of fishing for everyone, from the keenest tournament anglers to casual fishos and even whole families camping out together for the weekend. For all the details, visit the Facebook

gmail.com, or send the team a message on Facebook. Bring your family or some mates and have a great weekend of fishing at the 19th annual Grabine Freshwater Fishing Tournament.

Grabine Freshwater Fishing Tournament are Phil Cramp, Diane Hewitt, Paul Reynolds, Chris Clements, Sean Proudman, Allison Pither, Geoff Nicholson, Ben Hewitt, Chris Wray and Jane Wray.

visit the Reflections Holiday Parks website at reflectionsholidayparks.com. au or give them a call on 02 4835 2345. – Grabine Freshwater Fishing Tournament

is catch and release with photographic entries, and a video of the release will need to be provided when showing a photo of fish on brag mats.

The Catch and Release sections are Murray cod, golden perch, silver perch, catfish and trout. Both senior and junior prizes will be awarded. Prizes will also be on offer for the longest carp and the most carp caught during the tournament.

The registration fee is

A lovely 92cm Murray cod caught in Lake Burley Griffin by Mark Cranfield.

90

$25, and registrations will commence at the Grabine Function Centre on Friday 23 August from 7am onwards.

The goal of this popular tournament is to create an

Tempt ECBS Round 3 – Botany Bay breamin’ Round 3 of the East Coast Bream Series, sponsored

by Tempt powder paints, was held at Botany bay on 2 June. The morning of the comp saw 44 teams ready to go.

There were two records broken on this round, with the biggest bag and biggest bream weighed ever for this event.

1ST PLACE – ABU GARCIA/EVINRUDE The winning team was Abu Garcia/Evinrude, made up of Codie Stewart and Ross Cannizzaro.

We fished moored boats, pontoons and marker poles, still using the same Crabbys.

All we did differently was change to heavier heads, keeping the lure on the bottom as long as possible.

“This technique seemed to trigger the big fish bites, and we ended up upgrading the entire bag.”

Needless to say, the boys continued with this technique the rest of the day. It allowed them to weigh in a winning bag of 5.84kg, and to also take out Big Bream with a whopping 1.84kg fish!

Nick said. “The Crank was far out-fishing the Chubby as it was all about getting the right retrieve speed.

The Crank 38s have such a wide action that even when cranked really slowly they still produce their action, making them an ideal winter cranking lure.

“We bagged out early and continued to slowly upgrade all morning in between awesome trevally fishing, but eventually the action slowed. We were still catching, we just weren’t upgrading. It was time to

our efforts for the day.”

Back on the scales at weigh in the boys got just over 3.6kg. Finishing in 2nd place, they pocketed $1200.

“Ross and Codie really deserved their win with their massive 5.8kg bag,” Nick said. “It might sound funny

“Our plan was to go hit the mangrove edges first up while the water was high,” Ross said. “Throwing lightly weighed camo Gulp Crabbys, we had our limit by 7:30, so we were happy with that.

“As the tide changed and there wasn’t enough water on the mangroves anymore, we decided to move upriver.

2ND PLACE – GAMAKATSU/ BASSDAY/LOWRANCE Nick Reay and Darryl Chew from team Gamakatsu/ Bassday/Lowrance headed for Towra first up, knowing it held plenty of fish.

“I slow rolled the deep Atomic Crank 38 in GBS, while Darryl threw Jackall Chubbys in Brown Suji,”

the Cooks River and fish the bridges, boat hulls and edges for the first couple of hours.

“We were using Cranka Crabs which landed two fish around 34cm,” he said. We moved upriver a bit more and fished the edges for another fish.

“We decided to fish the last hour in Woolaware Bay fishing boat hulls, which paid off with a 33cm and 40cm fish coming on board.

We were very happy to have finished third.”

For the full results visit www.wsbb.com.au. - ECBS

move and look for some kicker fish.

“We moved upriver, which turned out to be the right choice. On the 10th cast Darryl’s reel started screaming in protest.

Eventually into the net slid our kicker fish, nudging almost 1.2kg. Knowing we had a good bag our hopes were high for a bit of coin for

when I say I’m happy to lose to them, but I wouldn’t be so happy if their bag had beaten us by 2g instead of 2.2kg!”

The rod combo he used for rolling the Cranks was a Samurai Reaction RE-201, teamed with a Shimano Ci4 Stradic 2500 filled with Unitika 8lb Bream Jr and 4lb Unitika Silver Thread FC. THIRD PLACE – OUTCASTIN - ADAM VIKSE & GARY NANO Team Outcastin, consisting of Adam Vikse and Gary Nano, finished 3rd with a 3.57kg bag. Adam said their plan was to start in RESULTS

Team

Anglers

Fish

Weight (kg)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Abu Garcia/Evinrude Gamakatsu/Bassday/ Lowrance Out Castin Brimin Compleat Angler Nowra/Costa ZMan Okuma/Tosland Building Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano Construction Sciences/Fassbasstds McBarron Construction Bream Attack The Jigheads

Codie Stewart, Ross Cannizzaro Nick Reay, Darryl Chew Gary Nano, Adam Viksne Grant Kime, Stuart Walker Gary Brown, David Tosland Jason Mayberry, Terry Parmenter Judd Kirkland, Jarrad Agst Jarryd McBarron, Brenton Spinks Geoffrey Borg, Michael Borg Mitchell Clark, Stuart Clark

5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

5.84 3.63 3.57 3.45 3.35 3.34 3.30 3.26 3.19 3.02

BIGGEST BREAM Abu Garcia – Ross Cannizzaro

1.84kg

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

0425 230 964 – info@fishin.com.au SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228 AUGUST 2019

91

Ferguson flies to boater victory Mark Ferguson will be the one to watch at the Sufix BASS Pro Grand Final after taking out the Evinrude Qualifier on Lake St Clair, held on 22-23 June.

Mark Ferguson is local to the Port Macquarie area, only an hour and a half away from Lake St Clair. It’s his closest bass dam and he classes it as his local, spending as much time there as he can. When the 2019 Sufix Bass Pro calendar came out, he was stoked to see that St Clair was on the list, and that the event was being held around his favourite time of year to fish it.

On Friday’s pre-fish, Mark went out with only small soft plastics rigged up, and he soon found out that the deeper banks were holding much smaller fish and more fishing pressure than the shallowest flat banks he could find. He caught a few bigger fish off these shallow weedy banks and decided that that would be his pattern for the competition.

Going into Day 1, Ferguson had a spot where he knew he could fill his bag of five fish fairly quickly.

Taking only 20 minutes, he

BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rod: Abu Garcia KRX Reel: Abu Garcia Revo MGXtreme Line: Berkley X9 braid Leader: 6lb Berkley Vanish Lure: 1/8oz and 1/6oz Berkley Dam Deep jighead on a 2.5” Keitech Easy Shiner in ayu

BOATER 2ND PLACE GEAR Rod: Reel: Line:

A pair of winners – Mark Ferguson took out the Boater division, and Mark Caneris was the top non-boater. was off to his shallow weedy banks to try to upgrade his bag. He looked for these key areas where he hadn’t seen anyone fish, and set about running and gunning the edges, fishing them fairly quickly. He cast his soft plastic into just inches of water most of the time, and if he didn’t get bit in the first 10 winds he burned it back and repeated the process. He

even caught fish off banks other anglers had fished, casting in a lot shallower than they had fished it.

Mark said only one in 100 casts wouldn’t foul up with weed, and that other anglers would leave the banks for this reason.

He ended up catching over 40 fish on Saturday and upgraded by 10-20g at a time. He made the scales

on Day 1 with five fish and a weight of 4.46kg.

Mark said that Day 2 was much harder than the day before, and he didn’t change anything to start with. He went to a bank that he knew was holding much smaller fish, and after getting four from there he went to one of his key banks. Here he picked up a better fish, taking around

Millerods XFLC 7’3” Shimano Rarenium 1000 8lb Sunline Siglon and 6lb FC Rock leader

an hour to fill his limit of five bass. To get the bigger fish, he really had to sink his plastic deep into the weed and rip it out. He ended up with some other upgrades for the day.

Ferguson said that after the Friday pre-fish and Saturday’s first session the kicker fish all moved deep into the weed and were a lot harder to get to bite.

These fish have been in the dam a long time and most have been caught before, and they know the sound of comp boats. Being a local to Lake St Clair was key to Mark’s bag. He caught a limit of five bass weighing

4.27kg on Day 2, bringing his total weight to 8.73kg, and gave him his first ABT BASS Pro win.

Scan the QR code to see Mark Ferguson Interview.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Mark Ferguson 2 Kyle Lewis 3 Philip Nix 4 Graham Ford 5 Jonathan Bale 6 Keeghan Painter 7 Russell Babekuhl 8 Robert Tilley 9 Steve Chang 10 Peter Phelps

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 8.73 $3,000, $250 Evinrude Bonus 10/10 8.39 $1,750 10/10 8.34 $1,500 10/10 8.02 $1,250 10/10 7.90 $1,000 10/10 7.72 $900 9/10 7.57 $800, $500 Garmin Big Bass 10/10 7.55 $700 10/10 7.52 $600 10/10 7.51 $500

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 92

AUGUST 2019

Russell Babekuhl won the Garmin Big Bass cheque with a 1.15kg fish.

Local Lewis nabs St Clair second place Kyle Lewis took out 2nd place in the non-boater division. He pre-fished the main basin, trying to find some back-up areas, as he fishes St Clair regularly in the winter and finds better fish up the Carrowbrook Arm, right up in the old creek bed.

He said there aren’t a lot of fish up there but that it’s worth working for them. Lewis had a pretty average pre-fish without checking his key areas, and it left him wondering whether they would be up there.

On Day 1 he didn’t go straight up the Carrowbrook arm; he noticed no one went up the arm on the other side of the start, so he went there while a few boats went up the Carrowbrook. He caught his bag using a Keitech rigged on a 1/8oz Nitro Dam Deep jighead with

Kyle Lewis’ 8.39kg bag earned him 2nd place in only his second comp of the Sufix BASS Pro. a 2.5” in about two hours, and decided to go up the Carrowbrook. It didn’t take

him long to start upgrading, and after an hour he had caught another bag of five

bass, upgrading everything from his first spot. It left him wondering whether he

Caneris catches dream draw

The winning non-boater was Mark Caneris from Ipswich in QLD, which is a long way from Lake St Clair. On the Friday briefing he got a bit of a dream draw

– Jonathan Bale, a fellow Queenslander, and Mark Ferguson, a local to the area. In only his second ABT season Mark never thought he would take a win so quickly.

On Day 1 he headed out with Jonathan, and they went out with a plan that Jono would fish a 2” Keitech soft plastic, and Mark would fish a Nories Laydown Minnow Deep jerkbait. Looking for

Jason Martin finished in 2nd place in the non-boater division with his 8.16kg bag.

weedy edges fishing as a team, Bale would fish in front with the plastic and Mark would follow up with the jerkbait, trying to fool anything Bale missed.

Winter bass seem to have a bit of a one-track mind, and 90% of the field fished the same technique. On Day 1 Mark made it in with five fish for 4.20kg.

On Day 2 heading out with Mark Ferguson, the Day 1 leader, Caneris knew he was in for a good day. He started out fishing the same jerkbait from the day before, but soon realised he need to change things up and go to the 2” Keitech that Ferguson was using. From that point on, he started putting fish in the well too.

The pair worked as a team, with Ferguson targeting very shallow water and Caneris targeting the face of the weed, catching fish as his lure dropped down the face of the weed.

Catching around 20 fish for Day 2 of the 2019 Sufix BASS Pro, Mark Caneris weighed five fish for 4.27kg and a total of 8.47kg giving him his first ABT win in only five events.

should have gone straight there. Non-boater Paul Dunlop caught 30 legals for the day, and they were still happy with the bag of 4.36kg.

On Day 2 Kyle went straight up the Carrowbrook Arm, fishing pretty much the same as the day before using a 1/8oz Dam Deep jighead and Keitech soft plastic along the weed edges. He would sink his lure into the weed and aggressively rip it through the weeds, and the fish would hit it as it sunk back down. The bite was a bit slower on Sunday, as expected, but Lewis still landed about 20 bass for the session. He brought a bag of five bass weighing 4.03kg and a total of 8.39kg giving him second place in only his second comp of the 2019 Sufix BASS Pro.

Bass Pro Series presented by

Scan the QR code to see St Clair day two highlights.

NON-BOATER WINNER’S GEAR Rods: Reels: Line: Lure:

Samurai 252 and Ian Miller XFLC Shimano Ci4 1000 Sufix 8lb braid, 8lb leader Nories Laydown Minnow Deep, 2” Keitech on 1/8oz jighead

Phillip Nix’s 8.34kg bag earned him $1,500 for finishing 3rd in the boater division.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Mark Caneris 2 Jason Martin 3 Paul Dunlop 4 Curtis Black 5 Raffi Demirjian 6 Tim Steenhuis 7 Shannon Hush 8 Sam Parbery 9 Macoy Hansen 10 Blake Chivas

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 8.47 Bassman Pack, $300 Sufix Bonus 10/10 8.16 Fishtec Prize Pack 10/10 7.79 Tackle Tactics Prize Pack 10/10 7.79 Sufix Prize Pack 10/10 7.75 Daiwa Prize Pack 10/10 7.73 Sunline Prize Pack 10/10 7.72 Keitech Prize Pack 10/10 7.70 Lucky Craft Prize Pack 10/10 7.67 Ecogear Prize Pack 10/10 7.44 Shimano Prize Pack

Leaon Walker and William Schloss with a couple of healthy St Clair bass.

AUGUST 2019

93

Taylor chutes to victory in the Bribie Round Brisbane-based dentist Tristan Taylor managed to take out the Nu Look Floors Bribie Island qualifier in the 2019 Costa ABT BREAM Series with a total bag weight of 5.14kg, an impressive score for this arena.

Taylor has his fair share of finishes up the pointy end of the scoreboard, and after a short hiatus from tournaments, he’s come back with a bang!

Taylor said he’d found spawning fish in the Caloundra area on the pre-fish day, where three weeks before he couldn’t find any bream at all! This would prove to be the key for his win.

Taylor started his efforts at the Bribie Island Bridge on day one for just one fish, and after a bit of consideration, he decided to make the run through Pumicestone Passage to Caloundra in his Phoenix at low tide. Taylor took care to make sure he didn’t get stuck on a sand bank, as some other boaters had unfortunately done.

Upon arrival, Taylor and his non-boater found the same school of spawning fish he found on the pre-fish day near the Caloundra Bar

TRISTAN TAYLOR’S WINNING TCKLE Rod: Reel: Line:

Samurai Infinite 4-10lb Megabass Idaten Racing Condition 2506 10lb Unitika Aorika PE and 6lb Unitika Aiger fluorocarbon leader Lures: 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in motor oil rigged on Atomic Seekerz jigheads (1/11, 1/8 and 1/6oz) and 35mm Cranka Crab in olive

Champion boater and non-boater, Tristan Taylor and Stephen Maas, celebrate their respective victories. in around 15ft of water. He went to work fishing a ZMan GrubZ in motor oil.

“They came on for a one-hour window,” Taylor said. “The key was to keep tight with the lure and feel every little touch of the lure to set hooks.”

“This was difficult in the strong wind and current,

so I varied the jighead size accordingly. “ Taylor said he landed around 20 fish for the day, and ended up with a day one bag of 2.23kg.

Day two saw Taylor come up with a different plan, and he decided to make the run to the Brisbane River mouth in horrendous conditions.

“I got in behind Shane Wolhuter’s boat [the biggest boat in the field] and it made for a great shield!”

Taylor said. “I thanked him for his camaraderie and sportsmanship.”

Taylor managed to catch fish tight to structure initially, but then found spawning fish spread across a nearby flat

in 10-20ft out the front of the Luggage Point Sewage Treatment Plant, known locally as the ‘poo chute’.

Obviously, there’s no actual human excrement flowing into the bay here…

Taylor caught all his day two fish on ZMan GrubZ, bar one, which ate a Cranka Crab, and weighed in a bag of 2.91kg for day two.

“I didn’t think I had enough to take the win – I thought I would have needed one more kicker fish,” Taylor said. “So I was pleasantly surprised to take the win.”

“My non-boater Michael Maas slayed them too, and we would have caught at least 60

Scan the QR code to see the Bribie day one highlights.

fish between us on day two.”

Taylor thanked ABT and the other competitors and took home $2500 for his efforts.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Tristan Taylor 2 John Siggs 3 Peter Cashman 4 Denis Metzdorf 5 Kristoffer Hickson 6 William Lee 7 Scott Wilson 8 Jamie McKeown 9 Mark Crompton 10 Charlie Saykao

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 5.14 $2500 10/10 4.97 $1500 + $500 Mercury Bonus 10/10 4.95 $1000 10/10 4.83 $750 + $300 Mercury Bonus 10/10 4.69 $500 + $200 Mercury Bonus 8/10 4.17 8/10 3.92 8/10 3.72 $500 Daiwa J Braid Big Bream 8/10 3.47 8/10 3.37

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 94

AUGUST 2019

It was Shane Wolhuter’s big boat that provided the weather shield Taylor needed to make the run south.

Clearly there was big bream to be caught there!

Siggs lights up Caloundra canal fish Gold Coast local John Siggs had never fished Bribie before, so his pre-fish was based around what he knows best, fishing artificial structure in canals!

He started his pre-fish by making a quick run to the Caloundra canals and caught six decent fish in fairly quick succession.

He left them, knowing

that was his spot for day one.

Day one saw Siggs heading to the Bribie canals for a quick prospect, where he managed one keeper fish, waiting for the tide to come

in so he could make his way through the Passage to the Caloundra canals.

By 9am there was enough water to make his run north.

Once at Caloundra, he stayed there all day throwing a Gulp Crabby on a 1/50oz hidden weight jighead, skipping it under boats, jetties, ropes and any artificial structure he thought would hold fish.

He caught his limit and even upgraded a few times.

That gave him a day one total of 2.31kg, and had him sitting in 5th place.

On day two Siggs had a plan to go back to the Caloundra canals, but on

BREAM SERIES

Scan the QR code to see the Bribie day two highlights. his way he noticed that only Kris Hickson had gone into the Bribie canals. With the bay being opened, most of the anglers had made their

JOHN SIGGS’S TACKLE Rod: Reel: Line: Lure: Siggs did what he does best for the Bribie Island round, fish hard around artificial structure for big angry bream!

Samurai Reaction 101 Daiwa SOL 2000 Major Craft 6lb and 3lb FC Rock leader 2.5” Gulb Crabby in camo rigged on a 1/50oz TT Lures Hidden Weight System jighead

Stephen finds critical ‘Maas’ Stephen Maas and his cousin Michael Maas took out 1st and 2nd in the non-boater division respectively, proving that bream fishing must run in the family.

Stephen Maas knew he was in for a great Bribie Qualifier when he got paired with two reasonably local guys to the Bribie area, with Steve Morgan on day one and and Denis Metzdorf on day two.

Day one saw Maas fishing with Steve Morgan.

Unfortunately, the bay was closed due to strong winds.

With the arena being reduced by virtually half, they went straight to the canals, fishing boat hulls and jetties.

Before Maas would cast he was mindful of the areas Morgan would fish, trying to put his lure in places that Morgan had not hit, usually hitting the back jetty poles with a Gulp Crabby. By doing this he managed to box two legal fish. He also tried a Cranka Crab and a popper with no result.

Once they fished the canals, Morgan took them to the Ningi Flats, where Maas

picked up one more legal bream on a Cranka Crank Shallow in ghost bluegill, which saw him finish day one with a bag of three fish for a weight of 1.24kg.

Day two had Maas fishing with his good mate Denis Metzdorf, and the pair were happy to find out that the bay was open. This meant they could make the run straight to Redcliffe’s North Reef, which

took about 40 minutes.

It was still a little rough making the journey south, but they realised the effort was worth it when Metzdorf caught three keepers straight away. Maas didn’t catch a legal fish until about 10:30am, when they made a move further south.

Maas had noticed there were no baitfish on the shallow reefs, so he switched

way there, leaving the canals nearly free of angling pressure.

He stayed there all day, mirroring his day one pattern using his Gulp Crabbies and casting at pontoons, poles and boat hulls. Once again, he got his limit of bream with a few upgrades and ended up weighing a day two bag of 2.66kg.

For his 2nd place finish, Siggs took home $1500, plus a $500 Mercury Bonus. He also congratulated Tristan Taylor for his win, and thanked ABT and the other competitors.

STEPHEN MASS’S WINNING TACKLE Rod: Reel: Line: Lures:

G Loomis DL/SR 7ft Okuma Helios SX 30 Platypus P8 6lb and FC Rock 3lb leader Gulb Crabby in camo, 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in motor oil, Cranka Crank Shallow in ghost bluegill

Sandstone Point, where he got a few needed upgrades on his Cranka Crank Shallow. This had him bringing a limit of bream to the scales with a weight of 3kg, and combined with his day one bag gave him enough to win!

Maas went away from the event with a Daiwa Prize pack and a $200 Hobie Bonus. Maas was grateful to both his boaters, Steve Morgan and Denis Metzdorf, and thanked ABT and the other competitors.

DAIWA J BRAID BIG BREAM Jamie McKeown managed to weigh a 1.3kg stonker, which he caught on a Cranka Crab.

He took home $500 for his efforts.

Stephen Maas had a great weekend on the water at the back of the boat.

NON-BOATER RESULTS

Place Name

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

8/10 8/10 10/10 9/10 7/10 5/10 7/10 7/10 5/10 5/10

Stephen Maas Michael Maas Aaron Sarna Justin Reeves Jordan Armstrong Darren Murphy Sam Peck Grant Oliver Neil Kelly Glen Sturrock

to a ZMan GrubZ in motor oil rigged on a 1/12oz jighead, and begun casting at the reef drop-offs and letting his grub slowly sink down the reef face. Doing this saw the bream shoot out from cover to eat his lure.

Filling his limit on the first drift, he sat so his boater could do the same.

He did not fish again until they got to Cooks Rocks at

BREAM Series presented by

4.24 3.81 3.67 3.43 3.21 2.90 2.57 2.51 2.22 1.87

Daiwa Prize Pack + $200 Hobie Bonus Fishtec Solutions Prize Pack Cranka Prize Pack + $100 Hobie Bonus Tackle Tactics Prize Pack $75 Hobie Bonus Sufix Prize Pack Ecogear Prize Pack Shimano Prize Pack Lucky Craft Prize Pack Keitech Prize Pack Sunline Prize Pack

Jamie McKeown managed this stonker 1.3kg bream to take out the Daiwa J Braid Big Bream prize.

AUGUST 2019

95

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KAYAK DEALERS The Life Aquatic - Mona Vale – (02) 9979 1590 Australian Bass Angler - Penrith – (02) 4721 0455 Hunts Marine - Yallah – (02) 4284 0444 Bunyips Great Outdoors - Lismore – (02) 6622 1137 Maclean Outdoors - MacLean – (02) 6645 1120 Wetspot Watersports -Fyshwick – (02) 6239 1323 Graham Barclay Marine – Forster – (02) 6554 5866 Hunter Water Sports - Belmont – (02) 4947 7899 Totally Immersed Watersports - Nowra (02) 4421 5936 Hunts Marine - Batemans Bay – (02) 4472 2612 Compleat Angler – Merimbula – (02) 6495 3985

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This section in NSW Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching.

96

AUGUST 2019

“

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory

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MOTackle & Outdoors (02) 6652 4611 or www.motackle.com.au Rocks Marine Bait & Tackle South West Rocks (02) 6566 6726

www.fishin.com.au 0425 230 964 Blue Bottle Fishing 0409 333 380 or www.bluebottlefishing.com

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Ned Kelly Bait n Tackle Port Macquarie (02) 6583 8318

Adrenalin Flies www.adrenalinflies.com.au

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97

2019 2019 Local Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – LONG NEW SOUTH WALES LAT 33° 51’ S 151° 14’ E

Time

1 1 0546 1209 TU

WE 1825

LAT 33° 51’ S LONG 151° 14’ E Times and Heights of High and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY JUNE JULY MAY Time m Time m Time Time m Time m Time m

m 0541 1.54 1208 0.53 1759 1.52 2358

Time m 0441 1.47 1.57 1.70 0.67 0.58 0559 1100 0.38 1.28 1.33 1215 WE 1652 1.77 0.53 TH 1836 2300 SA 0.50

1 1 0039 0631 FR

16 16

0536 0633 1.63 0.44 0.64 0.52 0051 17 2 1208 1310 2 1857 1.67 1.56 17 1.30 0651 TH 1800

0026 0628 WE TH 1244 1900

3 3 0106 0707 TH

FR 1315 1933

4 4 0145 0745 FR

SA 1347 2008

5 5 0225 0825 SA

SU 1421 2044

6 6 0306 0907 SU

MO 1458 2122

7 7

0351 0953 MO TU 1537 2204

8 8

0439 1042 TU WE 1620 2249

9 9

0531 1135 WE TH 1709 2340

10 10 0630 1235 TH FR 1806

0.50 1.61 0044 0.57 0720 1.58 1400 0.48 1947 1.69 0127 0.51 0803 1.57 1445 0.47 2032 1.76 0207 0.46 0844 1.55 1523 0.48 2114 1.82 0245 0.43 0920 1.52 1600 0.50 2152 1.86 0323 0.42 0957 1.48 1635 0.54 2230 1.86 0400 0.43 1031 1.43 1710 0.59 2306 1.85 0437 0.45 1107 1.37 1745 0.65 2344 1.81 0516 0.48 1143 1.34 1821 0.71

FR 1258 1922 0.51 1.69 0144 0.47 0742 FR SA 1340 1.30 2006 0.52 1.73 0233 0.42 0831 SA SU 1420 1.31 2048 0.52 1.76 0321 0.39 0919 SU MO 1500 1.32 2130 0.52 1.77 0408 0.37 1006 MO TU 1539 1.32 2211 0.53 1.77 0454 0.37 1053 TU WE 1618 1.32 2251 0.54 1.75 0541 0.38 1139 WE TH 1700 1.32 2331 0.56 1.72 0629 0.41 1228 TH FR 1745 1.31

18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22

23 23 24 24

0.59 1.67 0016 0.44 0718 FR SA 1321 1840 1.31 0.62 0107 1.60 0810 SA SU 1420 0.47 1945 1.31 0.66 0206 1.53 0902 SU MO 1519 0.50 2055 1.32 0.70 0310 1.44 0951 MO TU 1614 0.53 2202 1.34 0.73 0408 1.37 1036 TU WE 1700 0.54 2302 1.39 0.72 0500 1.31 1116 WE TH 1742 0.55 2354

25 25

0024 1.75 11 26 11 0559 0.49 26 1220 0037 0735 FR SA 1342 1913

12 12 0143 0841 SA SU 1454 2029

13 13 0254 0943 SU MO 1600 2145

14 14 0401 1038 MO TU 1657 2253

15 15 0502 1128 TU WE 1748 2355

1.33 1900 0.74 0107 1.71 0645 0.48 1300 1.36 1940 0.74 0156 1.69 0736 0.46 1345 1.44 2024 0.69 0247 1.70 0836 0.42 1439 1.55 2113 0.61 0344 1.70 0945 0.39 1542 1.67 2205 0.52

27 27 28 28 29 29

30 30 31 31 0547 1154 TH FR 1820

Time

1230 1859

1.57 0.58 0123 1.30 0715 SA 0.39 0.50 SU 1308 2355 1.86 1937 0630 1.69 0.39 0.45 0206 1309 1.62 1.34 0800 1902 SU 0.42 MO 1347 1.91 2017 0048 0.46 0.36 1.82 0251 0722 1.55 0.33 0848 1403 MO 0.48 1.39 TU 1430 1959 2101 1.92 0141 0.40 0.37 1.93 0339 0814 1.48 0.22 0939 1455 TU 0.54 1.45 WE 1516 2052 1.90 2147 0233 0.36 0.41 2.02 0430 0905 1.41 0.14 1032 1545 WE 0.61 1.49 TH 1606 2145 2236 1.85 0326 0.32 0.46 2.07 0523 0956 1.35 0.10 1128 1635 TH 0.68 1.52 FR 1700 2236 1.78 2329 0419 0.32 0.52 2.05 0620 1047 1.30 0.12 1227 1724 FR 0.75 1.53 SA 1800 2328 1.70 0514 0.34 0.58 1.98 0026 1138 1.27 0.17 0719 1813 SA 0.80 SU 1330 1905 0020 1.53 1.62 0.39 0128 0610 0.62 1.85 0818 1229 SU 1.26 0.26 MO 1434 1901 0.85 2017 0114 1.52 1.55 0.47 0233 0708 0.64 1.68 0914 1321 MO 1.27 0.36 TU 1536 1950 0.87 2131 0210 1.51 1.50 0.54 0340 0812 0.63 1.51 1007 1416 TU 1.32 0.45 WE 1632 2041 2242 0.86 0308 1.50 1.47 0.61 0442 0921 0.61 1.36 1056 1518 WE 1.39 0.53 TH 1725 2134 2346 0.82 0410 1.51 1.46 0.63 0540 1037 0.59 1.25 1143 1628 TH 1.47 0.59 FR 1815 2230 0.75 0511 1.54 1.47 0.61 0044 1152 0.56 1.21 0634 1740 FR 1.57 0.61 SA 1227 2327 1900 0.68 0608 1.58 1.48 0.57 1256 0.53 1.21 1843 1.66

2 2

3 3 4 4 5 5

6 6 7 7

8 8

m 0020 0.59 0700 1.49 1346 0.51 1935 1.76 0108 0.51 0745 1.49 1428 0.50 2018 1.85 0151 0.44 0824 1.49 1503 0.50 2056 1.92 0230 0.38 0901 1.47 1537 0.51 2131 1.96 0306 0.35 0936 1.45 1610 0.53 2205 1.97 0343 0.35 1010 1.43 1642 0.57 2239 1.95 0419 0.36 1044 1.40 1713 0.61 2314 1.90 0457 0.39 1118 1.39 1745 0.66 2349

Time m 0603 1.69 0.61 0.43 0.43 1.62 0135 1250 1.45 1.32 0.51 0725 SA 1848 SU 1309 0.51 MO 1.24 1944 1.89 0030 0.50 0.59 0.41 1.81 1.66 0222 0702 1.41 0.31 0.46 0814 SU 1346 0.55 1.41 MO 1350 1945 TU 1.28 2026 1.89 0128 0.41 0.56 0.40 1.93 1.70 0305 0757 1.38 0.20 0.41 0859 MO 1438 0.58 1.50 TU 1430 2038 WE 1.32 2105 1.88 0222 0.33 0.53 0.42 2.01 1.73 0347 0849 1.36 0.13 0.39 0943 TU 1527 0.62 1.57 WE 1510 2128 TH 1.35 2144 1.84 0.51 0315 0.28 0.45 2.04 1.74 0428 0941 1.33 0.10 0.37 1025 WE 1614 0.66 1.62 TH 1549 2216 FR 1.38 2221 1.78 0.50 0408 0.26 0.49 2.01 1.74 0508 1030 1.31 0.13 0.37 1107 TH 1659 0.70 1.65 FR 1630 2305 SA 1.39 2300 1.71 0.50 0501 0.28 0.53 1.91 1.71 0549 1120 1.30 0.20 0.38 1151 FR 1744 0.74 1.65 SA 1714 2354 SU 1.40 2340 1.64 0.51 0556 0.33 0.56 1.76 1.67 0631 1210 1.29 0.31 0.41 1238 SA 1828 SU 1802 0.78 MO 1.41

1 1 0101 0651 FR

16 16

17 17

10 10

18 18

11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14

0600 1209 TH 1750

m 0537 0.47 1230 1.41 1827 0.49 2358 1.88 0633 0.37 1320 1.43 1916 0.47 1.97 0051 0.30 0720 1.44 1400 0.46 1958 2.02 0135 0.25 0800 1.45 1435 0.46 2033 2.04 0215 0.23 0837 1.46 1507 0.47 2106 2.01 0250 0.25 0912 1.46 1538 0.50 2138 1.93 0326 0.29 0945 1.46 1608 0.55 2210

m Time m 0432 1.60 1.51 0.41 0.52 0.60 0207 1124 1.33 1.27 1.19 0757 SA 1730 0.55 0.63 TU 1329 2310 TH 0.69 2005 1.82 0542 1.70 1.55 0.39 0.41 0.54 0245 1230 1.33 1.37 1.26 0838 SU 1836 FR WE 1408 0.56 2043 1.81 0017 0.54 0.65 0.40 1.81 1.60 0322 0644 1.34 0.30 0.49 0917 MO 1325 0.57 1.48 SA TH 1446 1930 1.32 2119 1.79 0116 0.43 0.59 0.41 1.90 1.64 0358 0739 1.34 0.22 0.44 0955 TU 1415 0.58 1.59 FR 1525 2020 SU 1.38 2154 1.75 0212 0.34 0.54 0.43 1.95 1.68 0433 0831 1.33 0.17 0.41 1033 WE 1501 0.61 1.68 MO SA 1603 2108 1.43 2230 1.69 0.50 0304 0.27 0.46 1.95 1.70 0509 0922 1.33 0.17 0.39 1113 TH 1545 0.64 1.75 TU SU 1645 2154 1.47 2306 1.62 0357 0.25 0.47 0.49 1.88 1.70 0545 1012 1.33 0.22 0.38 1154 FR 1629 0.68 1.78 WE MO 1730 2240 1.50 2345 1.54 0448 0.27 0.46 0.52 1.77 1.67 0625 1100 1.34 0.30 0.39 1240 SA 1710 0.72 1.78 TU 1821 2326 TH 1.53

0011 0654 FR 1308 1854

1.63 0.42 0109 1.58 0747 SA 1.31 0.43 TU 1408 1912 2004 0.81 0134 1.59 1.49 0.51 0212 0753 0.60 1.41 0841 1353 SU 1.34 0.54 WE 1508 1958 2119 0.83 0229 1.55 1.43 0.59 0318 0900 0.59 1.27 0934 1452 MO 1.40 0.64 TH 1607 2048 0.81 2233 0329 1.51 1.39 0.64 0425 1013 0.59 1.18 1026 1603 TU 1.48 0.70 FR 1703 2149 2340 0.76 0434 1.50 1.37 0.64 0527 1127 0.57 1.16 1115 1720 WE 1.57 0.72 SA 1755 2256 0.67

29

0.58 1.38 0.48 0.57 SU 1151 0.52 2328 1.85 1826 1.78

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12 13 13

1.48 2243 0.59 0439 1.69 1054 0.40 1708 1.51 2317 0.63 0518 1.56 1130 0.45 1740 1.55 2354 0.64 0601 1.45 1208 0.49 1814 1.61 0.61 0034 1.37 0648 0.52 1251 1.68 1852 0.55 0120 1.34 0744 0.53 1343 1.74 1939

0215

17 17

15 15

1357 2028

2 2 0307 0908 TU 1450 2118

3 3 0356 1000 WE

18 18 19 19

1544 2209

4 4 0444 1051 TH

20 20

1640 2300

5 5 0532 1145 FR

21 21

1738 2352

6 6 0621 1239 SA 1841

m 0026 0.19 0645 1.45 1321 0.36 1928 2.04 0113 0.14 0728 1.50 1357 0.33 2003 2.05 0153 0.13 0806 1.53 1430 0.34 2036 2.00 0230 0.16 0842 1.54 1500 0.37 2107 1.89 0307 0.22 0916 1.55 1530 0.43 2140 1.73 0344 0.31 0952 1.55 1600 0.50 2213

m Time m 0524 1.78 0.72 0.36 0.33 1.55 0253 1159 1.36 1.58 0.53 0850 TU 1812 FR 1428 0.49 1.38 2054 1.72 0.65 0005 0.47 0.36 1.83 1.59 0325 0619 1.38 0.28 0.48 0924 WE 1246 0.49 1.70 SA 1504 1900 1.45 2128 1.69 0.58 0100 0.38 0.37 1.84 1.63 0357 0712 1.39 0.27 0.45 0959 TH 1331 0.50 1.79 SU 1542 1945 1.52 2201 1.64 0.53 0154 0.32 0.40 1.80 1.64 0429 0802 1.40 0.29 0.43 1035 FR 1414 0.53 1.86 MO 1621 2030 1.58 2236 1.57 0245 0.30 0.48 0.43 1.72 1.64 0501 0851 1.41 0.35 0.42 1113 SA 1455 0.57 1.88 TU 1704 2114 1.64 2314 1.48 0.46 0335 0.32 0.47 1.62 1.62 0535 0940 1.41 0.44 0.43 1154 SU 1534 0.62 1.87 WE 1751 2157 1.68 2355 1.39 0426 0.37 0.45 0.52 1.50 1.58 0614 1029 1.41 0.53 0.46 1240 MO 1614 0.65 1.82 TH 1846 2240 1.71

16 16

17 17 18 18 19 19

20 20

21 21

0323 1.56 7 22 7 0930 0.40 22 1531

22 22

0048 0712 SU 1337 1950

8 8

0542 0.33 0.47 1.45 1.63 1.63 0030 1149 0.55 0.41 0.41 0707 SU 1751 WE 1330 1.37 FR 1.55 1920 0.75 0.49 0011 1.74 1.37 0.42 1.57 0121 0635 0.57 1.47 0.45 0753 MO 1239 1.40 0.53 SA TH 1423 1831 1.56 2028 0.75 0058 1.68 0.52 1.30 0.51 1.49 0221 0732 0.58 1.33 0.50 0843 TU 1330 1.46 0.64 SU FR 1518 1914 2141 0.72 1.56 0147 1.60 1.26 0.59 0.56 0329 0834 0.58 1.23 1.40 0935 WE 1428 1.54 0.74 MO SA 1614 2003 0.56 2249 0.63 1.55 0244 1.53 1.26 0.64 0.60 0436 0941 0.56 1.17 1.31 1029 TH 1536 1.65 0.80 TU SU 1707 2105 0.62 2348 0.52 1.54 0348 1.49 1.29 0.65 0.62 0537 1048 0.52 1.18 1.24 1121 FR 1652 1.77 0.81 WE MO 1758 2219 0.67

24 24

0150 0804 MO 1438 2107

9 9 0259 0900 TU

25 25

1541 2224

10 10 0412 0958 WE 1642 2331

11 11 0518 1054 TH

26 26

27 27

1736

1.55 2148 0.56 0404 1.40 1009 0.49 1605 1.56 2226 0.59 0448 1.28 1052 0.55 1642 1.57 2307 0.58 0538 1.22 1141 0.59 1724 1.61 2355 0.53 0635 1.21 1237 0.59 1815 1.65 0050

0.45 0516 0.44 1.29 1.39 1.52 0044 1116 0.57 0.63 0.50 0657 TU 1653 1.43 1.75 FR 1331 2323 1.72 1951 0.67 0609 0.52 0.48 1.22 1.30 1.45 0144 1206 0.60 0.72 0.56 0749 WE 1734 SA 1430 1.46 1.71 2108 0.65 0008 1.66 0.51 1.18 0.59 1.37 0258 0704 0.61 1.24 0.62 0852 TH 1300 1.52 0.80 SU 1534 1822 1.68 2222 0.57 0.54 0058 1.58 1.19 0.64 1.30 0415 0802 0.58 1.21 0.69 0959 FR 1401 1.62 0.85 MO 1637 1921 2326 0.45 1.65 0157 1.51 1.25 0.66 0.56 0521 0901 0.52 1.23 1.26 1101 SA 1510 1.74 0.87 TU 1735 2033 0.73

23 23 24 24

25 25

26 26

0.48 12 0742 27 12 0025 0614 1.24 27 FR 1345

28 28

1145 1920 0.57 1824 1.68 0158 0109 0856 0.43 0700 1.27 SA 1503 1232 2039 0.55 1906 1.71 0312 0146 1005 0.39 0739 1.31 SU 1618 1314 2158 0.52 1945 1.73 1.48 0422 0.37 0.63 0221 1105 1.34 1.23 0815 MO 1719 0.50 TH 1351 2305 0.78 2020 1.74 1.51 0.58 1.30

13 13

0.49 14 0850 29 14 0037 0623 1.32 29 TH 1447 0.54 SU 1202 2038 1842 1.78 0319 0125 1008 0.44 0713 1.32 FR 1609 0.55 MO 1247 2154 1925 1.81

Time

1 1 0219 0817 MO

16 16

0401 1.82 23 8 8 1019 0.34 23 1638

MO 1329 1900 1.41 0.58 0114 1.52 0804 MO TU 1424 0.48 2004 1.42 0.63 0211 1.43 0852 TU WE 1518 0.53 2114 1.43 0.66 0313 1.34 0940 WE TH 1610 0.57 2220 1.45 0.67 0413 1.27 1024 TH FR 1658 0.60 2320 1.49 0.64 0508 1.37 1.23 1108 0.55 SA 1742 1.67 0.60

0500 1.57

1651 2316

7 7

23 23

0.48 0.56 0013 15 15 1144 1.48 30 1741 1.25 0600

1555 2224

6 6 0508 1113 WE

22 22

28 28

1501 2133

5 5 0415 1018 TU

21 21

27 27

1411 2044

4 4 0326 0925 MO

20 20

26 26

1322 1956

3 3 0236 0832 SU

19 19

25 25

1236 1910

2 2 0148 0742 SA

0536 0.54 0043 1.57 1.82 1.60 0024 9 24 1153 0652 9 1818 0.41 24 0.58 0.44 0717 SU 1300 1.40 0.69 0029 1.74 0619 0.43 1230 1.45 1854 0.70 0111 1.67 0707 0.44 1313 1.52 1932 0.67 0159 1.61 0802 0.45 1402 1.61 2018 0.62 0253 1.56 0909 0.45 1505 1.70 2115 0.55 0355 1.52 1028 0.46 1621 1.79 2220

Time

Local Time APRIL AUGUST Time Time m

1.63

WE 1158 0.73 1829 1.66 0.48 0110 1.35 0710 MO TH 1252 0.68 1920 1.72 0.41 0158 1.46 0759 TU FR 1345 0.58 2011

14 14

29 29

0.40 30 1149 15 0.60 0041 30 1.35 15 1.22 0633 SA 1758

30 30

31 31

31 0244 0847

1.55

0456

0.46 TU 1214 2329 0.68 1848 1.89 0556 0130 1240 0.28 0726 1.40 SU 1847 WE 1305 0.41 1938 1.98

0303 1.48 0.64 1.28 0.43 0.84 2146 1.87 0406 1.49 0.20 0.61 1048 1.43 1.35 1705 0.34 0.78 2249 1.96 0500 1.51 0.12 0.57 1131 1.52 1.44 1747 0.26 0.71 2342 2.01

0.32 28 0958 0.54 0020 28 1.34 1.27 0618 SU 1613

0.07 1.59 SA 1438 0.22 2100 1.99

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full 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.

98

AUGUST 2019

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Bassco is a new Aussie boat company operating out of Wy Yung in Victoria.

Owner Mike Boag is a skilled tradesman with many years of boat building experience and an acute attention to detail.

He delivers three fantastic models in the Bassco range.

101 In the market for a new boat?

Wayne Kampe outlines some rules to follow when looking for that next boat.

Made for...

102 Winter kayaking in the shallows

This month...

106 Stessco Amberjack 520 with Yamaha F90hp

All the boats that Mike builds are suited to fishing. There are two inshore/offshore style boats, the Tornado and the Storm, and one tournament style boat, the Hurricane. All are perfectly suited to Australian conditions and anglers.

Steve Morgan checks out the Hurricane, powered by a 115hp Mercury Pro XS! Check it out on page 104!

Justin Willmer gets right into the spirit of winter and takes the kayak up shallow in search of some estuarine delights!

Bob Thornton takes this premium family rig for a spin in Pumicestone Passge.

AUGUST 2019

99

WHAT’S NEW BOATING PURSUIT OFFSHORE 1 BOATS American premium fishing and family boat brand Pursuit will be launched in Australia this coming summer (2019), with Cobalt’s Boats of Australia partnering with the US brand.

General Manager of Cobalt Boats of Australia Andy Clayton says his team are excited to be bringing these boats to Australia.

“The Pursuit boat is a premium offshore fishing boat that has crossed over into a versatile family boat while also offering pure sportfishing models in its range,” Andy says.

The brand evolved from its start 42 years ago into a high-end brand in the vein of Boston Whaler and Grady White. The range is an award-winning product line of Centre Console, Offshore, Sport and Dual Console models, and extends from 23ft to over 40ft, with dual console family runabouts, enclosed cockpit models and hard top sportfish offerings.

The first Pursuit models to arrive in Australia in November will be the 235 DC, S288 and OS 325. www.pursuitboats.com

RAYMARINE ELEMENT 2 HV SONAR/GPS The Raymarine Element HV sonar/GPS delivers seven distinct sonar channels including three ultra-high frequency 1.2MHz HyperVision channels (SideVision, DownVision and RealVision 3D).

RealVision 3D combines with precision GPS to construct the most accurate 3D model of the underwater world, and updates it in realtime. All three models (7”, 9” and 12”) feature quad-core processors for instantaneous chart redraws, seamless menu/page transitions and smooth sonar rendering.

Element HV supports charts from Navionics and C-Map, and users can create maps while underway with Navionics SonarChart Live and Raymarine RealBathyTM personal sonar map recording.

The ultra-bright screens are easily viewed in all lighting conditions, even when wearing polarised glasses.

All models are powered by Raymarine’s LightHouse Sport operating system, and all seven sonar channels are delivered via a single, all-in-one transducer. Element HV features NMEA2000 connectivity, and comes with a 3-year warranty.

Price: from SRP $1149 (incl. transducer) www.raymarine.com.au

GARMIN FORCE ELECTRIC MOTOR

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Thanks to its unique brushless motor, the Garmin Force electric motor operates with almost undetectable levels of sonar and steering noise both below and above the water. It’s also the first trolling motor to include built-in Garmin CHIRP traditional and Ultra High-Definition ClearVu and SideVu scanning sonars.

The Force is 30% more powerful than other freshwater trolling motors. It can move you from one structure to the next more quickly, throttle back with ease when you need to fish slow, and stand up better to winds and currents. It’s also the most efficient trolling motor available, so you can count on it to fish all day. It operates at either 36V or 24V, and when running at 24V, delivers comparable thrust to competitors’ 36V motors.

Other features include wireless integration with a Garmin chartplotter and built-in autopilot functionality, and a wireless foot pedal that provides instant responsiveness yet feels and steers like a cable-steered pedal. The pedal’s resistance is adjustable, and it has buttons to control speed, heading and anchor lock. It can also be wired. Alternatively, you can use the 100

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PRODUCT GUIDE

included wireless remote, which also floats.

Force is available with a 50” or 57” adjustable shaft.

Price: from SRP $4999 www.garmin.com/force

QUINTREX FISHABOUT PRO

The new Quintrex Fishabout Pro is offered in three sizes, the 430, 450 and 470. Each has a max capacity of five people and ratings of 60hp, 60hp and 75hp respectively.

The new Fishabout Pro features the current Blade Hull with a new and improved Flared Bow. The stretch-formed aluminium side sheets have more curve that runs further down the length of the boat to deflect spray. It has a wider beam and more space between the dash and the transom.

Instead of a motor well that intrudes into the rear lounge area, there’s a pod transom that allows the outboard to be mounted further back with duckboards on either side. The Lean Through Dash and Step separates the captain and navigator panels, allowing for easy access to the bow anchor or optional drum winch.

Every Fishabout Pro now has a bimini, fullywelded side decks, two transducer brackets and Premium Hookless carpet as standard in addition to current features like rod holders, folding rear lounge, and side pockets. www.quintrex.com.au

SIMRAD RS40-B

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Simrad has announced the release of the new RS40-B, the first VHF marine radio with AIS transmit and receive capability.

Featuring a sleek design with wireless handset capability, removable fist microphone, Class D DSC functionality, built-in GPS and a Class B AISTransceiver, the Simrad RS40-B takes VHF marine performance to another level.

The integrated Class B AIS transceiver in the RS40-B can receive position data from other vessels like the original RS40, but is the first VHF marine radio capable of sharing its position with nearby AIS-equipped vessels, improving collision avoidance in crowded waterways. Position data of other vessels is clearly viewable on the Simrad RS40-B screen or can be overlaid on top of a chart or radar through a compatible multifunction display over NMEA 0183 and NMEA 2000.

Price: SRP $1335 www.simrad-yachting.com

STACER 589 SEA MASTER

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With the addition of the 589 Sea Master, Stacer’s runabout range now has six models: 429, 449, 469, 499, 519 and 589.

The 589 boasts a massive 2.35m beam and 5.96m length, and was created in response to consumer demand for a good open fishing boat that could handle offshore conditions. The cockpit space measures 2.3m from the back of the helm chairs to the transom, and 1.8m of internal beam from the inside of the port and starboard rolled side decks.

To make it the ultimate offshore runabout, the 589 Sea Master has 0.67m of freeboard, and has a transom that is fit for an XL outboard engine shaft. The comfortable helm and dash area make it easy to control the vessel, and there’s a drop-down floor in front of the seat positions for maximum comfort.

The 589 is equipped with the soft riding Revolution hull as well as a comfortable rear lounge and Maritime Seats as standard.

Popular options include a transom door and electric drum winch. www.stacer.com.au

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Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

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In the market for a new boat?

BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Whenever you go to a boat show you’re presented with a whole lot of beautiful shiny new boats on display to tempt potential buyers.

Which is the best one?

Which one will give best value for money and be able to perform in complete safety and with as much comfort as possible?

Life is full of big decisions that you really

you’re looking at will be too big for the family car to tow with ease. You are buying a boat, not a boat and a car to tow it! In any case, it’s easier to start off with a smaller craft in which to learn what boating is all about. Your goal is to tow it and launch/ retrieve it with as little stress as possible, and that’s easier when there’s less boat to handle. And you’ll want to store the rig out of the weather to keep it in as good a condition as possible, and this is less of a hassle with a smaller boat.

alloy while larger rigs tend to be fibreglass. Glass hulls can have intricate shapes moulded into their final form, and that extra weight can improve ride quality, which is why many boats over 4.5m are fibreglass. Ultimately though, it’s the buyer’s choice. Just remember that

Conventional style open boats, whether tiller steered or helmed from a wheel up front, are more versatile.

They can be equipped with an electric motor for stealthy shallow water work, and larger rigs might well manage an offshore run in suitable conditions. There are some

An electric motor plate is essential for most small boat fishing, yet not all small craft are set up with them.

Put yourself in the picture: a new boat coming off its trailer.

Glass hulls provide a quality ride plus enough freeboard to make offshore work a possibility. don’t want to get wrong.

Buying a brand new boat is one of the major ones to fall into that category.

There’s just so much to consider, and for many prospective boat owners it can be difficult to understand just what will make their choice the correct one.

After the purchase, time on the water will soon show whether your judgment was sound or not. Nobody wants buyer’s remorse.

ASSESS WITH CARE: ENJOY AT LEISURE It takes years of experience to really understand all the things a

So get out that pen and paper and jot down a few notes on what you’ll mainly be using the boat for, and then buy the smallest boat that will suit your needs, rather than the largest. The idea is to decide on a size range rather than an exact size as this will give a lot more flexibility to the project.

Don’t forget there will be compromises.

Boating always involves some!

If you’re planning to fish in more sheltered waters, a smaller rig will be fine.

However, if you’re heading offshore there are different considerations. There needs

neither style of boat will be entirely maintenance-free in the long term.

Next, let’s consider the style of boat to choose. Most people have a certain style of fishing in mind, such as fishing impoundments, rivers, estuaries or dedicated offshore work. Open punt style boats, with their total fishing work area and immense stability, are great for sheltered water work. Fishing from transom to bow is what punt ownership is about. However, they’re

very capable 4.2-4.5m craft on the market today that will fish up to four in comfort yet can cover a huge range of fishing requirements.

Naturally, if you want to do shallow stealth style work with fly or plastics, the boat must have an electric motor pad up front. Not all small boats have one.

THE FINER POINTS With the overall design and size range of the new acquisition firmly in mind, it’s time to get down to the

and put less weight on the transom.

Whether your chosen boat will be tiller steer or helmed from upfront, there is one essential criteria: the driving position must suit the prospective owner. The only way of making sure is to get aboard the boat, either on the stand at the boat show, or maybe later on the water. You want to see if things will be comfortable, perhaps for long stints on the water.

If you’re considering a tiller steer rig, you want to determine whether the throttle grip is in an ergonomically suitable position, or if it’s necessary to sit off to one side to steer the boat. Consider how things might be after 30 minutes in a driving situation, especially if you’re on a fixed seat! Will it be necessary to actually lean back a little to

You also need to consider all round visibility when you’re at the helm. Anything at eye level that cannot be moved may well be an issue.

Then we might consider the crew. The first mate might need somewhere to store personal items, plus have a hand-hold for rough going. The needs of other regular passengers should be considered as well. It’s good when the weight aboard the rig can be adjusted via flexible seating from in-floor spigots.

Fully flexible seating is also a great asset when you expect fishing to be full on; you can opt to leave a seat at home to free up more fishing space. Pedestal bucket-style seats are popular today, especially as these seats can be swivelled to face in a chosen direction for ease

An alloy hull around the 4.2-4.5m range is a great fishing boat for a lot of different situations.

When considering a smaller alloy rig, consider the general size range rather than actual size, as a lot of excellent smaller rigs are available today. The 435 Bay Cruiser transports four people with ease. buyer should look for when choosing the right craft for their needs. However, I will take things step by step in this article to fast track your knowledge. In this article we can look at some of the most important things to consider when buying that new boat.

First of all, you need to consider whether the boat

to be freeboard (plenty of side height), plus sea keeping ability (riding well in unfavourable conditions) while keeping occupants dry.

You’ll also have to make a choice between alloy or glass. Each material offers certain advantages and disadvantages. Smaller boats (say, under 4.5m) are usually

not suitable for bluewater due to their lack of freeboard and their design as totally open boats.

On the other hand, a half cabin craft is good offshore due to the protection of the cabin and their overall larger size. However, they don’t have as much fishing room in proportion to their size, as the cabin takes up a significant amount of space.

The configuration and size of a half cabin boat also makes it a somewhat clumsy when it comes to ghosting into less than a metre of water in search of a flathead or bream along a sand bank, or an impoundment barra warming itself on a shallow flat.

nitty gritty and start looking at finer points that can make or break your decision to buy a particular boat.

The choice of motor could not be easier – it’s either 4-stroke or fuelinjected 2-stroke (following the banning of conventional carby style 2-stroke engines as of July this year). Note though, that every boat has a minimum and maximum engine rating as a guide to the safest performance.

It’s usually fine to go with a smaller capacity engine (but not necessarily the minimum) unless you’ll regularly have a full compliment of passengers on board. A smaller capacity engine will save you money

A common complaint about glass hulls is that you need to take extra care around the ramp. The inbuilt rubbing strip, shown here, provides peace of mind and is something a lot of manufacturers can provide. keep your hand on the throttle, or have the end of the tiller arm slightly ahead of your position? These factors can influence long-term comfort.

If you’re driving from up front, have a look at where the ignition switch and forward controls are in relation to any fixed seat. I’ve sat in skipper’s seats which, while comfortable, placed my right knee virtually on the forward controls on the side of the craft. On some other boats, the ignition key was up against my knee. Either situation is not good.

of fishing. Just make sure that the seat can actually swivel without bumping into another.

LASTLY, THE LIST Finally, remember that although a boat is a serious purchase, if you choose wisely it will provide a vast amount of entertainment and recreation. Boating is very enjoyable, and choosing the right rig for the job will add to the fun factor considerably.

Make The List, tick off the must-haves, and live with the decision to scrap the might-haves.

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How to kayak fish the super shallow stuff products, and I was excited to give this little creature bait a swim. Two casts into the drain, hop, hop, and the plastic was nailed by a nice bream that bolted

BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

With the cooler weather we’ve had, I hope you’ve all been making good use of your wet weather gear and layering your clothing to effectively manage your body temperature while out fishing from the kayaks. I also hope you’ve been making the most of some of the glamorous, glassy winter days that we’ve had to get out and chase a few fish.

Before we get into it this month and hit the super shallow stuff that is often reserved for those in paddle craft, I just wanted

Celebrating the life of a wonderful and adventurous woman. build this country and the practical skills they taught us, as we built tree houses, made billy carts, built and repaired bicycles, and rigged and repaired crab pots, fishing gear and boats in our quest to explore the world and catch a fish. It’s our turn now to ensure that we are instilling in the next generation that same spirit, sense of adventure, ability to overcome hurdles and the love of the sport of fishing and all the challenges, rewards and joys that it brings us all. In

short… take a kid fishing!

After a big cook up with family there was no better way to clear the head and remember the good times than to get out and join Mardi on the water, experience a truly magical winter day and chase a few fish. I had planned to work a weed edge on the last of the run-out tide, however being such a magnificent day on the water, the edge was crowded with boats and the last thing I needed was to battle the crowds. I opted to do my own thing

Flathead from clear water often have very pretty markings.

Fishing the super shallow stuff requires stealth, which the kayak is made for. to tip my hat to a lady that we recently farewelled, my grandma Lillian May Jeppesen who passed away aged 97. We made the most of one of these beautiful winter days to hit the water in our kayaks to pay tribute to her and scatter her ashes and rose petals across the waters where she enjoyed many a family gathering and feed of freshlycaught seafood.

Mardi, as she was known to us, instilled in us a sense of adventure from when we were young, taking us on bus and train trips, to the movies, museum, the city, shopping, and loading us in her little car to visit relatives who lived hours from home. She taught me to get out there and experience things, make the most out of life and overcome the hurdles along the way. Her generation were pioneers that were continually problem solving and creating solutions to everyday issues. Although Mardi didn’t teach me to fish, I did embrace her spirit and her sense of adventure and I’m sure that this led me to attach a primitive sounder, anchor running rig and rod holders to a kayak in the 102

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fact, there is often an influx of bait into the system and the shallows encouraging larger predators to move into the shallows for an easy feed, as the bait has

early ‘90s and set off on my kayak fishing adventures… shrugging off the strange looks and comments at the ramp, before returning with a feed of fish.

We had a gathering of family and friends at our house to celebrate Mardi’s life. The following morning, we dragged a mixed bag of half a dozen kayaks out of the shed and were joined by two boats on the water, where a tribute was read and her ashes and rose petals were scattered on the water. I would like to thank Mardi and all of her generation for the work they did to

A beautiful day and a beautifully marked fish.

A flathead safely in the net. and head to an area of extremely shallow flats, including a shallow drain that drained a large expanse of weed beds. By extremely shallow, I am talking a kayak blade-deep at one point when I landed a nice flathead, so I’m guessing water between 30-60cm.

As it was so shallow, I selected a light 1/10oz NedlockZ jighead and rigged it with a soon-tobe-released ZMan plastic, the 2.75” TRD BugZ. One of the opportunities when working in the industry is to test drive and R&D new

across the flats. Man, I love shallow water fishing!

The kayak is perfect for working the shallow stuff and there was no way the boats were going to be interested in getting in here and crowding me out. After a short tussle, I had the fish in the net and was stoked that the little plastic had been inhaled to the jighead, showing the bream was keen to eat it.

During winter the water often becomes superclear, however this doesn’t stop the fish feeding in extremely shallow water. In

such a small column of water to move in, making it more difficult to escape.

Species encountered in my region often include bream, whiting, tailor, trevally and some quality flathead.

When the water is clear and shallow though, fish can also be easily spooked, especially from a boat, so make the most of the low profile and small shadow of the kayak, along with the lack of noise. Try not to bang around in the kayak, as this noise transfers through the water. If you are quiet and use the wind or tide to carry you along, you will often see fish shoot off when you are almost on top of them. Make note of the tide and wind direction so that you can utilise this to fish the areas and structure that you wish to target.

I often fish natural colours, make long casts, fish light leaders and jigheads, and fish with smaller movements of the lure, especially in very shallow water, as aggressive movements will seem unnatural in such a narrow column of water.

As so often is the case, bait, structure, or even better, both, is the key to success.

Find plenty of bait in the area and there likely are predators lurking. You may not think there is much structure in a foot or two of

water, however a patch of weed or rubble, clear patch in the weed or a pocket of water that is 10cm deeper are all worth a few casts.

As I drifted into the drain, a perfect piece of structure lay ahead of me.

It was a sandy patch in the weed that looked slightly deeper, and there was no doubt in my mind that there would be a flathead in this pocket. Always try to position yourself a cast away from the structure so that you have plenty of time to make a few casts, rather than drifting onto the structure and spooking the fish. This also allows you multiple drifts of the area if you believe the water looks and feels productive.

As I approached the pocket, I made a long cast right to the edge of the weed at the back of the

leaping from the water, so another cast and another almost instantaneous hook up. This was a more serious opponent and after a few

beautiful winter glass out and I was really enjoying the serenity, so I slowed the kayak up near a moored boat and made a cast about

and released.

Further on I fished a spot that holds yellowtail pike, landing a few quality models before calling

A bream pinned on a ZMan TRD BugZ rigged on a TT NedlockZ jighead. depth was still around the 30-60cm range and I was running a 1/4oz jighead, which many would feel is too heavy. However, my

predator before it had too much time to process what my lure actually was.

The first couple of casts came and went before a cast

The kayak crew who helped scatter Mardi’s ashes. solid runs I had another quality flathead yak side in a foot of water. I admired this beautifully marked fish that had snuck up onto the weed to hunt in the super

hallway along the hull, right on the waterline.

Almost as if scripted, as the lure passed the rear corner of the vessel the line went tight and drag peeled

The last flathead came out of just a paddle blade of water. sand pocket, giving my plastic maximum time in the strike zone. Hop, hop, pause, hop, hop, pause, now approaching the deeper section at the front of the pocket and fish on! I love it when a plan comes together and after a couple of solid runs and plenty of aggressive head shakes in the shallows, I had a decent flathead in the net.

The shallow drain produced a couple more flathead and another bream, with the lure test deemed a success, before I switched to my go-to 2.5” paddle-tail just to mix things up. Moving out of the drain, I pushed up onto a large weed flat and made note of pilchard size bait being chased out of the water from time to time. With very little water movement and an extremely slow drift, my plan was to move the kayak into the area where the bait was flicking and make casts directly to the disturbances. The water

plan was a quick reaction, long, fast cast to the disturbances and then rod tip up and a rapid shake and retrieve to keep the plastic out of the weed to imitate a fleeing baitfish, hopefully triggering a reaction strike from the

landed on point. A second after the disturbance the plastic was crunched within a couple of shakes of the rod tip and a turn of the handle.

A short tussle and another bream was in the net. This was followed moments later by another baitfish

This fish definitely wanted that little soft plastic creature bait.

it a day and heading for home. Yellowtail pike are readily available around weed beds, jetties and boat ramps in many areas during the winter months, and by the end of the season fish around 50cm can be common. They are great fun, especially for kids, and are an oily fish that smoke extremely well.

Back at the ramp, I reflected on the day as I watched the sun melt behind the mountains. I farewelled Mardi, grateful that I had her in my life for so many wonderful years.

I was also grateful for the life that we have thanks to her generation, and the opportunities that are available to us to kayak and fish this magnificent country. I had a feed of fresh fish in the icebox, and after loading the kayak on the trolley, it was a short wheel home.

shallow water.

It was time to turn the kayak and head for home, however it was such a

It doesn’t take much water to hold a flathead.

Contemplating a wonderful life on a beautiful glassy day.

off as the hook found its mark. It had the signature head shakes and runs of a bream and sure enough another bream was landed

Sometimes it’s the simple things in life that really are the most special. Hug your family and take a kid fishing.

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Bassco Hurricane with Mercury 115HP Pro XS - SC

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advantage in a saltwater boat.

Want to see the Hurricane in action? Scan the QR code at the top of the page on your smartphone or search for the video test on the

PERFORMANCE

Main: Although Peter Nord has a $100K imported bass boat, you’ll most likely see him fishing Gippsland waters in his Bassco Hurricane. It’s smaller, cheaper to run and does nearly everything his bigger boat does – except in shallower water.

Above: Wide open, the Hurricane hit 76km/h powered by the Mercury 115hp Pro-XS 2.1L 4-stroke bolted on the back. designs. They just couldn’t fit the volume of tackle that a standard tournament angler takes. Or, if they did manage to provide enough storage, it was often not waterproof, resulting in lure boxes with thousands of dollars worth of baits being left in a soaking,

SPECIFICATIONS Length........................................................5.0m Beam........................................................2.07m Capacity ............................................ 4 persons Transom deadrise ....................................... 20° Fuel ............................................................ 140L With my history as co-founder of ABT Tournaments in Australia, I’ve seen plenty of local manufacturers have a crack at making a tournament boat that rivalled the American imports.

Few have done a good job.

Primarily, tackle storage was the Achilles heel of the their

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Bassco is an Australian-built fibreglass fishing boat created

by Gippsland veteran boat builder, Michael Boag. With a lifetime of building big boats under his belt, Michael decided that he wanted to diversify into smaller fishing craft, and we tested the Tornado (a hybrid centre console and lurecasting boat) earlier in the year.

The Hurricane is the Tornado’s sister craft, and was developed in a partnership between Boag and avid tournament angler Peter Nord from Lakes Entrance.

Peter wanted a boat that was smaller, more nimble and more economical than his big American bass boat, and the Hurricane was born.

Incidentally, Hurricane is also Peter’s lure brand, and the boat is finished in Hurricane’s corporate colours. Well played, gents.

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we couldn’t find any rough water to test the bad-weather ability of this craft.

“I just love this little rig,” Peter said, “which is why I use it more than my big rig.”

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rusting mess after a rough or rainy day.

I’m pleased to report that the Hurricane has nailed this part of the design, with a centrepiece tackle locker that will take the kit of the greediest tackle rat and keep it in good nick. Held up with sturdy gas struts, the lid makes up a

proportion of the front deck.

The top deck layout is standard bass boat design with a front deck several times larger than the back deck.

Interestingly, in the cockpit, the sliding seat bases can clear some room for a lower fishing position in the cockpit. This is handy when you’re fishing more open and rougher waters.

Supplied on a single axle trailer, this boat will fit in plenty of suburban garages. It’s powered by a 115hp Mercury ProXS 2.1L 4-stroke outboard, so performance was never going to be an issue.

Hammers down, the Hurricane reached 76km/h at wide open throttle (6,200rpm) achieving 1.62km/L. At the most economical cruising speed (4,000rpm and 46km/h) it delivered much better range at 2.4km/L. With a 140L underfloor fuel tank, that equates to over 350km of

theoretical range, which is much more than you’d use on nearly all tournaments or trips.

This Bassco is pretty fun to drive. It takes trim well and handles nicely. Unfortunately the test day was breathless and

RPM .....Speed (km/h) ...........Economy (km/L) 650 ...........................4 .................................... 1000 .........................8 .................................... 2000....................... 12 .................................... 3000....................... 29 ................................. 1.8 4000....................... 46 ................................. 2.4 5000....................... 61 ................................. 1.7 6000....................... 74 ................................. 1.6 6200 ....................... 76 ................................. 1.6 * fuel metering not accurate at low RPM with gauge available It might have something to do with the ability to simply hose out the boat and not have to contend with wet carpets for days on end. The Hurricane ditched carpeted decks in favour of synthetic decking material. It dries and cleans up with ease, and is a real

Fishing Monthly Magazine’s YouTube channel.

For more information on Bassco boats, you’ll have to visit their Facebook Page (Bassco Boats) or just call Michael Boag directly on 0417 545 593, as they don’t yet have a website.

There’s plenty of fishing room in this 5m rig, with anglers up front and down the back having their own casting decks to fish from.

20° of transom deadrise gives you a soft landing when it gets a little rough.

Cradled on a single-axle trailer and with nothing higher than a PowerPole, the Hurricane will be able to fit in most garages.

The centrally-located rod and tackle locker chews up a pile of rods and lure boxes, and keeps them safe and dry. Plenty of boat manufacturers don’t understand that anglers don’t want their expensive gear soaking in saltwater.

Twin consoles keep you and your passenger comfortable while underway, and the glovebox keeps your wallet and phone dry.

The livewell lives under the rear deck and is secured with twin folding decks.

The helm is minimalist with the sounder mounted on a Ram Mount.

The helm seat is adjustable. Move it forwards and you open up some cockpit space for fishing rougher waters. Move it back and you can sit in it to travel and drive.

Batteries and isolators are inside a rear hatch and protected from the elements.

The internal wiring is neat and hidden.

There’s no doubt that the Hurricane will turn heads at the ramp and on the water. It’s a good looking, Aussie-built fishing boat.

An automatic bow eye catch mechanism locks the boat in place while retrieving.

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Stessco Amberjack 520 with Yamaha F90hp - SC

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RPM......Speed.(km/h)...........Economy.(km/L) 1000 .........................7 ................................3.9 1500 .........................9 ................................3.1 2000....................... 12 ................................2.8 2500 ....................... 13 ................................2.1 3000....................... 26 ................................3.2 3500 ....................... 33 ................................3.4 4000....................... 39 ................................3.3 4500 ....................... 47 ................................3.1 5000....................... 53 ................................2.8 5500 ....................... 60 ................................2.2 5900 ....................... 65 ................................1.7 106

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PERFORMANCE

us up to 65km/h, and a fuel economy of 1.7L/km, and this is a fair clip for a family boat.

To conserve fuel but also get where you need to on time, the best cruising speed was around that 3500rpm, which delivered

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I was recently told that South East Queensland is the largest boating market in Australia, and Brisbanebased boat manufacturer Stessco definitely take advantage of that. This may not sound very important or interesting to you, but to me it means that by buying a Stessco you’re buying a boat that’s made for people who love boating! That’s exactly how I would describe the Amberjack 520.

The 520 represents a line of high-quality boats, and is the middle size of three models, the others being the 490 and 550. The Amberjack is one of Stessco’s ‘premium’ runabouts, and is perfect for a more experienced boater who likes mixing fishing, water sports and time with friends and family.

TRAILER A premium boat needs a premium trailer, and if the buyer chooses to sit the boat on one of the propose-built Stessco trailers (built by Dunbier) there’s a structural warranty of five years. The 520 sits on a single-axle braked trailer, meaning despite it’s large size it could still be fairly easily manoeuvred in a garage

for storage. It also makes sense to sit a boat on a trailer that is built specifically for that boat, as this will contribute to the boat’s longevity.

ALL-ROUND SPECIALIST All-round specialist is the only way I can describe the boat’s intended purpose, with everything to accommodate the skier, fisher, camper, crabber, or someone who just like to lounge around on other peoples’ boats.

The bow is kept clean and simple, with a tidy anchor well and grab rails either side to guide the boat in shallow water.

The windscreen door means quick and safe access to the anchor well, and also allows people to enter from the bow.

Behind the windscreen, the cockpit is laid out logically, and also provides relative comfort for the skipper and mate. Stessco’s Bolster seats are incredibly comfortable, and will be hugely appreciated on slightly longer trips. Flushmounted gadgets are always going to be much easier to look after, and it means you don’t have to worry about brackets and other annoying protrusions. The 520 will flush-mount a sounder up to nine inches, which is perfect if you want to download maps of your chosen hunting ground.

There’s also a dry lockable glove box on the passenger

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you certainly don’t want your prized craft spending more time in the shop than out on the water.

Although perfectly capable of heading offshore, weather permitting, these boats

SPECIFICATIONS

Main: A little bit of chop didn’t worry the Amberjack out on Pumicestone Passage.

Above: The Softride hull ensured that anyone aboard would be comfortable when underway and at rest. side for phones, wallets, maps, watches and so on, and storage for larger items, such as camping gear, under the bow.

The bimini is an excellent addition, especially in sunny states where sun protection is a priority. The bimini covers the skipper and mate comfortably, while leaving the work area open.

The work area behind the cockpit is left open deliberately to allow room for extra passengers, gear and somewhere to enjoy being out on the water. If you want to keep smaller items out of the way, the side pockets are a handy addition, and the only under floor storage – the kill box – means there’s no need to bring extra ice boxes or eskies on board.

There is a padded block for two to sit comfortably, which opens up for extra dry storage, and the added back rest makes the ride comfortable for passengers. The block can be tilted forward to expose two hatches built into the stern.

The high sides, transom and splash well means that passengers in the rear will stay very dry, even in choppy conditions, and the positioning of the seating at the very back

of the work area ensures that the already very soft ride is even softer.

The transom offers access to the craft via a small ladder and door, and the shallow draft of this boat allows a user to spin it around easily and climb in without difficulty.

YAMAHA F90HP Powering this craft was a Yamaha F90hp. These engines are known for their quietness, reliability and fuel economy, and on the day, in around 10-15 knots of breeze on SEQ’s Pumicestone Passage, the engine lived up to that reputation.

Full tilt into the breeze got

Length.(mm) ..............................................5420 Beam.(mm) ................................................2290 Depth.(mm)................................................ 1210 Bottom.sides.(mm) .........................................4 Top.sides.(mm) ................................................3 Max.hp ......................................................... 115 Max.Transom.weight.(kg) ...........................270 Transom.height.(“) ........................................20 Max.people......................................................5 Base.boat.hull.weight.(kg) .........................485 3.4L/km /h at 33km.

Of course, the ride was comfortable for skipper, mate and rear passengers in the les than ideal conditions, and everyone stayed dry… until it rained while I was in the rear.

FINAL THOUGHTS This tough contender offers everything you need for a general-purpose boat. The ease of use and logical layout makes it perfect for those who just love being on the water, without going all out on a more expensive fibreglass boat.

With the simple layout comes the ease of maintenance, and

are designed for bays, lakes and rivers, and Stessco have other boats in the range that better suit offshore work.

Coming in at around the $40,000 mark (as tested) this is very reasonable considering the top quality gadgets and design, and will no doubt last you many years of enjoyable boating, with added peace of mind when you have a 5-year structural warranty.

For more info about any boats in the Stessco range, visit www.stessco.com.au, or find them on Facebook or Instagram at ‘Stessco’.

The Yamaha F90hp delivered excellent speed and economy, and the quietness at idle will be appreciated on those fun ‘non-fishing’ trips.

Flush-mounted electronics means that there’s no annoying protruding brackets that often just get in the way.

Left: Stessco trailers (built by Dunbier) come in both aluminium and galvanised steel models. Right: Although capable of taking up to 115hp, the F90hp seems adequate for the craft’s intended use.

Driving this craft on and off was a breeze, and could easily be done solo if need be.

The cockpit was simple yet comfortable, and the uncomplicated finish means there’s far less to go wrong.

Sitting a boat on a trailer designed specially for it makes sense, and extends the structural warranty to 5 years, or 60 months.

Boats of this size will tend to need a braked trailer, but that’s not to say the Amberjack 520 is difficult to trail.

The underfloor kill box is a great alternative to an external esky or icebox, which usually only gets in the way.

A drained anchor well up front, accessible by the door in the windscreen, makes parking up and enjoying the sunshine much easier.

Rear seating is not only comfortable, it also doubles as extra storage for anything you may want to keep dry.

The cranking battery sits out of the way but not out of sight, meaning any field work can be done quickly and easily.

Padded rear seating will be appreciated by those relegated to the back of the craft on longer journeys.

AUGUST 2019

107

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