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December 2019, Vol. 25 No.5

Contents 18

From the Editor’s Desk...

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Rhys Creed with a 122cm Murray cod caught casting an Ignite Cod Fury 220 early in the morning at Blowering Dam. A Tallis Cotterill image.

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as a brick and just about as clever as one, my kids (10 and 11) love nothing more than a stick, line, #14 hook and bread sight-casting to toadfish. I reckon that it comes down to the visual aspect. I’m a dead set sight-fishing addict. It doesn’t matter if it’s a carp or a tuna, if I can see it eat, I throw at it. The kids are the same. If they can walk along and see the prey and then try to catch it, it triggers something primal in all of us. They’re definitely not a big or prestigious fish, but I see them learning lessons about how to stalk and present to a fish and be patient enough to catch it. So that’s what we may well do lots of in the two week break where we shut the office down over Christmas. Watching cricket and chasing the ultimate river toadfish bite.

things include events, video content, websites and web stores. And by default we need to volunteer to help the industry in other ways. Currently I serve on the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA) and Australian Recreational Fishing Federation (ARFF) boards. All voluntary. Sometimes it leaves little time for fishing and little time for family. With a hefty away-from-home calendar each year, it’s sometimes great to get the time to spend simple times with the kids on a riverbank. And with mulloway, threadfin salmon, bream, bull sharks and catfish in my local, do you know what the kids want to catch most? Toadfish… Those little brown toadies – the ones that swim around the shore looking to mop up whatever has dropped in. As hydronamic

Every year, it seems as though we become more busy. Fishing Monthly is no exception. We all seem to be working harder for the same rewards. There’s thirteen employees at the Fishing Monthly head office who work hard to put out 48 monthly magazines each year – the Qld, NSW, Vic/Tas and WA Fishing Monthlies are the biggest state-based monthly magazines in their respective regions. But modern magazine publishing has its challenges. It’s not like it was 20 years ago when there was a stream of companies wanting to spend their marketing budgets with you. The modern publisher has had to become multi-skilled. Nowadays, we don’t just make magazines, we make magazines and other things. The other

DECEMBER 2019

AUST

REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 26 Cooking 51 Dam Levels 70 Fun Page 60 Fly Fishing 75 Tide Times 89 Trade Directory 90 Tournament News 80 What’s New Boating 92 SPECIAL FEATURES Casting for cod 8 Beach fishing for whiting 48 Christmas gift ideas 62 PARTNER CONTENT Black Magic Masterclass 24 DPI Recreational Fishing News 59

PRO

BYRON COAST The Tweed 28 Ballina 30 Yamba 32 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 34 South West Rocks 36 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 38 Forster 39 Harrington-Taree 41 HUNTER COAST Hunter Coast 42 Port Stephens 44 Swansea 45 Erina 46 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 12 Sydney North 13 Sydney Rock and Beach 14 Sydney 15 Botany Bay 18 Sydney South 20 Pittwater 22 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 52 Nowra 53 BATEMANS COAST Narooma 54 Merimbula 55 Batemans Bay 56 EDEN COAST Bermagui 57 Mallacoota 58 Tathra 58 FRESHWATER Canberra 66 Batlow 68 Hunter Valley 69 Wagga Wagga 70 New England 71 Albury-Wodonga 72 Yarrawonga 72 Snowy Mountains 73 Robinvale 73 Lithgow-Oberon 74 BOATING AND KAYAK 91

ING TRADE

Cod opening

Mastering the art of cod casting WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

Casting lures is becoming more and more popular, and in some locations it’s starting to overtake the once go-to method of trolling. Don’t get me wrong, trolling is a very successful technique that allows you to cover large amounts of water in the shortest timeframe. It also keeps your lure in the strike zone the entire time. However, in some situations casting is a more appropriate choice, and it’s also a more active technique that brings out more of the angler inside of us. It’s like an art form of constantly being

Mitch caught this chunky cod off the point behind him by sitting off the bank and casting directly in at the large rocks and snags that were submerged (Style 3). cod. Also, casting works! In this article I’m going to talk about the three main techniques or approaches I use

I’ll cover that rule in a minute. First, I want to explain the technique. To start with, you should position the boat out off the bank in your desired depth (which changes depending on the conditions, season, time of day and bank structure). For this example, let’s say we are working a steep rocky bank in 8m of water. Then, all you do is slowly move along the bank with your electric motor and cast

key lessons to help you on your future trips. Ensuring that you approach, analyse and use the correct technique is vital, and will result in more consistent success. STYLE 1: DIAGONAL CASTING TO BANK This first style is the most common and most popular, and for good reason: it’s simple, easy and it works. If you have cast for cod before, chances are you have probably used this technique. In saying that, there are some key rules to do it properly and many a time I’ve taken mates fishing and they have broken the number one rule!

when chasing impoundment cod. The process isn’t as straightforward as just casting, letting it sink and winding the lure back in. You can make it that simple, but the rewards won’t consistently follow. I’m also going to share a few other critical tips and

at a diagonal angle forward towards the bank (electric motors are vital; without one all these techniques are

which you’re travelling) you don’t have complete control over the lure. The reason for this is that the boat is

The author with a giant 122cm Murray cod that was caught working diagonally along a bank extremely slowly.

High quality sounders make a massive difference when it comes to this style of fishing. switched on to where we are casting, feeling the lure as it passes through the underwater battlefield, ensuring it’s in the strike zone and at the correct depth. Our awareness as an angler is heightened, and I believe that’s what drives us to cast lures – especially when it comes to chasing Murray

When you’re working along a bank, it’s important to cast diagonally forward.

This boat is positioned parallel to the bank just on the edge of the water clarity.

almost impossible to execute correctly). Most of the time you’ll want to land within a metre or two of the bank, especially if it’s a steeper bank. From there you work your lure back to the boat and continue the process. Now for the important rule. When using this technique, you must cast at a diagonal angle forward in the direction you are travelling. I’ll explain by telling you what happens when you don’t obey this rule. If you are to cast straight into the bank or back behind the boat (the opposite direction in

moving the opposite way and dragging your lure away from the structure, preventing it from sinking properly. You just cannot work the lure effectively nor naturally. If you cast your lure forward (and it only has to be slightly), you can allow it to sink without pressure and retrieve it with full control back to the boat. The next thing you might be wondering is how far forward you have to cast. This is where boat speed is critical. I prefer to work extremely slowly, because that way I have a long time

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Cod opening to cast and retrieve, and I can work it right back to the boat properly and before the boat ‘overtakes’ my lure and starts dragging it. The slower you work (drive the boat along the bank) the less of an angle you have to cast (you can cast perpendicular in at the bank, with a slight angle). If you’re working quickly, you have to cast with more of an angle forward, but still at that diagonal angle. When do we use this style? You can use this style any time you like, and when working any type of structure. Rocky banks, standing timber, flat banks, gullies or creek beds – it will work on them all. It’s the most popular style, and is the one that I use most of the time. It’s the best way to cover lots of water and every depth, because you’re casting in shallow and working your lure out deep. It’s the go-to technique if you’re not sure what depth the fish are sitting in.

Working diagonally along a bank (Style 1) is the go-to technique. like Burrinjuck Dam. I just work nice and slow, and cast slightly diagonally forward. STYLE 2: PARALLEL CASTING The second casting style is underused and underrated when it comes to targeting

If you have a high quality downscan and sidescan sounder, you’ll get a much better view of what’s below you. When you first visit a new lake that you’ve never fished before or even a new section of the lake, it would be the technique I would use. I also use this technique about 95% of the time when working steep rocky banks in places

Murray cod. It is used a lot when chasing golden perch that school up and sit in specific depths, but most people don’t know that it can work just as well on cod. I’m guessing this technique doesn’t need much

explaining; you just hold your boat out from the bank and cast parallel or straight ahead. With this technique, the ‘working forwards’ rule still applies, although it’s almost impossible to get it wrong unless you start drifting backwards away from the lure. As you’re moving in the direction you’re casting, you’ll always maintain full control over your lure. When do we use this style? You won’t use this technique as much as the first one, but there are times when it works incredibly well. The main reason as to why you would cast parallel is when you know what depth the fish are sitting in, or you happen to know about a good ridge or line of structure that is sitting exactly in that depth along the bank. Usually, it’s the first reason. For example, you may have worked out that the hungry fish are sitting in 6m and you’re working a set of rocky points. Instead of wasting your time and casting in against the bank and only working the lure through that 6m mark occasionally, you may as well keep it there as long as possible by casting parallel.

One thing to note with this technique is that it will take longer for the lure to sink, especially if you’re fishing deeper than 6-7m of water.

flatter banks chasing giant cod, especially in the heart of winter. On these large, flat banks, you can find yourself a long way from the edge but it doesn’t mean you aren’t in the prime location. We know that the fish sit in the 3-5m mark, so we try to hold the boat in 4-5m and cast straight ahead of the boat. Because we are fishing shallow it doesn’t take too long for the lures to sink, and then we slow roll them back to the boat with a few pauses here and there. This is a prime technique for targeting big winter cod at night and early in the morning. STYLE 3: DIRECT CASTING TOWARDS A FEATURE POINT (POINT OF INTEREST) The last of the three techniques is casting at some sort of feature or point of interest that needs more attention than just a quick drive by. We use this technique

before moving on to the next spot. It isn’t a technique that you set out to use, it’s more of a change from Style 1 when you find these key areas. Best of all, it’s the simplest technique. You just hold the boat stationary out from the structure, and make your casts. Because you aren’t moving there aren’t any rules about where you cast, because no matter what you do you will always have full control over your lure. When do we use this style? I use this technique when fishing large boulders, points or rocky ledges that stand out from all the surrounding structure. Those are the key spots that catch your eye, and you know they must hold cod. I use this technique a lot at Burrinjuck Dam when I’m working the super steep rocky banks. One thing to note when casting at those steep banks

This boat is positioned in close to this rocky bank, and the angler is using the parallel technique (Style 2). This means you will lose a bit of your cast and time. You need to be patient and allow your lure to get to the bottom. I like to use this technique in places like Blowering Dam when I’m fishing the

when I come across a really steep or gnarly rocky point or a large set of submerged logs that I have found on the sounder – anything that basically screams cod and needs the time and casts

is that the technique is a little different from normal. These fish will be sitting tight in against the ledge, and the best way to target them is to cast your lure in as close To page 10

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Cod opening From page 9

as possible to the bank and allow it to sink. When it hits the bottom, give it one crank of the handle and allow it to sink again. This way your lure will stay as close to the bank

you know that there are fish there. The time to cover a bank quickly is when you’re not sure where the fish are, or which bank is the best. I use this approach when fishing a place or bank for the first time,

I find a lot of anglers get caught up on trying to find cod and then cast to them. Yes, this does work, but a lot of the cod (especially the ones that are ready to feed) are sitting extremely tight to structure,

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Charles Cribb nailed this 93cm Blowering Murray cod by working extremely slowly along a steep, rocky bank. as possible, falling through the key strike zones. If you give the lure a big lift and a few winds, you’ll rip it too far from the bank. Remember this is just on those extremely steep, almost vertical clifflike banks. EXTRA TIPS Fast or slow? By speed I mean the speed that the boat travels. I know I already touched on this earlier, but I want to go into a little more depth. When I

as I don’t want to spend too much time working it over. If you know the fish are there, then definitely work slowly! I much prefer to take my time and work a bank thoroughly – that’s just how I fish. I want to make sure I give the fish time to see my lure. I fish with good friends who work slightly quicker. You should start out by following that simple rule, and then finetune your approach to figure out what works best for you.

ready to ambush. They aren’t sitting out in the open and a lot of the time you won’t actually see them on your sounder. What you will find though is the bait – the carp, redfin and yellowbelly schools, which will sit just off the structure. Finding the bait is key, and it’s always better to fish areas with plenty of activity. This article has only just scratched the surface of lure casting for Murray

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Sitting stationary allows you to cast directly at structure, like this set of standing trees. mean fast, I don’t mean too

fast for chasing cod. You’re DISCOVERY SPORTS

Casting’s best

friend: a sounder NAVIGATOR

still working along the bank A high-quality sounder is slowly, casting your lure in your best friend for all styles against the bank and winding of fishing, but particularly for it back. It’s just about how casting. It helps you navigate For further information visit many casts you put in along and it gives you the depth that stretch. visit www.facebook.com/SeaJayBoats and temperature, which are the To like us on Facebook DISCOVERY SPORTS NAVIGATOR Here is an example to first things you need when make it a little clearer. working along a bank. DESIGN STRENGTH PERFORMANCE • Slow: each cast is 1-2m apart If you have a high quality • Fast: each cast is 5-7m apart downscan and sidescan So what speed is best? sounder, you’ll also be able Both speeds work, so it all to see the contours and the For further information visit depends on a few things. The structure type below… and To like us on Facebook visit www.facebook.com/SeaJayBoats main consideration is whether most importantly, the bait!

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DECEMBER 2019

cod. However, it gives you a strong foundation to work from, as it covers the fundamentals about casting styles and your approach, which many anglers forget. All three casting styles work in the correct situation. Start out with Style 1 until you find the fish, and if you work out that they are sitting in a particular depth, change up to Style 2. Then when you come across the biggest log jam you’ve ever seen, pull up and start using Style 3!

Time to get cracking into Christmas delights THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

It’s the end of another great year of fishing and guiding, but almost the start of a new one, bringing with it the expectations of

that next big capture and the techniques you are going to employ to get that monster to fall for your offering. That is what’s going through my mind, but for most it’s just a great time to catch up with friends and family over the Christmas holiday break,

The author got lucky landing this 101cm mulloway on 3lb mainline and 6lb leader.

eat and drink too much, sleep in and maybe harass a fish or crab or two when the opportunity arises. When that opportunity does arise you could try your luck tempting a bream, whiting or flathead from the flats on surface poppers and stickbaits, or try a sub-surface offering of a lightly-weighted soft plastic grub or creature bait. Selecting shallow tidal flats that have some weedy areas on the top of the tide will put you in the mix to enjoy this very visual style of fishing. Places like Pittwater, Cowan, Brisbane Waters and Berowra all have suitable tidal flats to try your luck. On the subject of surface fishing, the bass have been going great this year, with plenty of average sized fish from 25-35cm and the odd better fish around 40cm. these fish have been readily taking surface lures and flies in the upper Nepean from North Richmond to well above the gorge. If the bite is slow and the fish are not actively taking surface presentations, a switch to shallow running crankbait or a beetle spin will work well. If the main river gets too

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Chris was quite pleased with this 84cm dusky flathead taken on a Prolure 105 Fishtail cast into a creek mouth on the run-out tide. busy with other recreational users, you can usually find some peace and solitude in the small sweetwater streams. The better ones take some effort to access either by foot or kayak, but the results and stunning natural surrounds are well worth the effort. Flathead have been biting well throughout November and should continue throughout the festive season. They will be making their way back upstream after the spawn run in spring and taking up residence on the many sand bars and drop-offs. Anywhere from Wisemans to Windsor in the main river and throughout the brackish reaches of the creeks and feeder streams that make up this massive arterial system are worth a look. Soft plastics and vibes are great for casting and covering water when you’re looking for those active concentrations, and be sure to make regular contact with the bottom where these predators lie in wait to ambush unsuspecting prey. Anchoring up and fishing light tackle with fresh frozen or live school prawns is also a very effective way of tempting some nice flathead to the boat. Check and replace your leader regularly when on a hot flatty bite, as the next one could be that monster you have been waiting to get a picture with. The better mulloway will start to get thin in the upper reaches this month, with the smaller

soapies (under the legal 70cm size) taking over and becoming ravenous at times. The bigger models will be heading back down to the nearshore reefs and beaches to commence their annual spawn, with plenty of anglers trying their luck in the Broken Bay area.

yakkas, mullet and herring are all favourites, but it’s anyone’s guess which one will be eaten first when that monster mulloway finds your spread. The kingfish have been biting well, with lures and baits both accounting for good fish. One day they are surface feeding on small baitfish, with soft plastics and surface lures working well with an erratic retrieve, and the next a live squid on the downrigger gets the hits. Having a few tricks up your sleeve with the ability to change your techniques and approach from hour to hour will have your reels screaming and smiles all round in no time. Blue swimmers and mud crabs have been pretty good so far this season, with plenty of anglers getting into them. To be most effective, keep your dilly/witch’s hats away from high traffic and current areas. Working your pots every half hour seems to be best to avoid having the crabs become too tangled and to find where the best concentrations of blue swimmer crabs are on any given day. Try areas from lower Cowan Creek all the way to Spencer. For the mud crabs, the feeder creeks and gutters tend to produce better results, especially from Berowra up to and above Wisemans Ferry if it remains dry. Setting them overnight

Pushing up the smaller feeder creeks and tributaries at this time of year can pay off big time when looking for bream of this calibre. Flathead and estuary perch also favour these environs during the summer months. Eleanors Bluff, Flint and Steel, Juno, Gunya, Wobby shores and the road and rail bridges will all have their day. It’s the most prepared anglers who will get the best results using quality tackle, and a bait tank full of livies will put you in the game. Tailor, pike, squid,

with fresh fish frames caught the same day seems to produce better results. I hope this gives you a few ideas to help you get into few piscatorial delights over the festive season. Be safe on our roads and on the water, and I’ll catch you in the New Year!

A great time to be an angler SYDNEY

Paul O’Hagan

Another great month has passed if you’re an angler, with the area brimming with options, both inshore and offshore. For our game anglers there was a run of yellowfin that had moved up from

preparation and calm seas it is well worth the trip out. Snapper fishing has gotten a lot better on our inshore reefs, with fish between 5-6kg being taken if you can get a bait in the water, with flocks of mutton birds covering the Long Reef area. Anyone with a berley trail is in trouble, as it attracts these pests in big numbers

barracuda that will feed on almost anything in the water. Fishing from the rock ledges there is a great mix of fish, with salmon in very large schools being followed by kingfish and some tailor. North Head and Blue Fish Point are giving our shorebased anglers the opportunity of picking up some of these quality fish.

on a bit of surface action. Sydney Harbour continues to be the best option for anyone looking to chase fish from the land or from a boat, with a variety of fish available in good numbers. There have been some good-sized snapper taken while fishing the rocks of Fairlight Pool with pilchards along with some nice trevally. With North Harbour just around the corner delivering some flathead and flounder, it is a great place to go for a fish. Little Manly Point or the old gasworks is another spot that draws a lot of attention,

Brett Cordukes with a glorious early morning snapper. problem for some anglers, but for a group of young fishers there is no problem, as they fish in the evening under the lights at The

Manly Beach is one of the beaches that is not affected by weed as much as some of the others, and it is fishing well for whiting

Snapper will eat plastics if the mutton birds make bait fishing too difficult, as Angus McCabe found out. the South Coast near Wollongong, and fish were taken out and around the Browns Mountain area. With the wind and the swell that we have had over the last month, not many smaller boats made the trip out to the shelf. However, for some of the larger boats the trip was worthwhile,

and they are prepared to race a sinker to the bottom to get at the bait. The only way to get a bit of fishing in is to use soft plastics on the drift. For anyone that is getting their bait to the bottom there have been a few surprises, with mako sharks exploding out of the water as they fight to get off the hook, which is

Blackfish, drummer and trevally are also in good numbers for those anglers fishing Dee Why and Curl Curl Rocks with weed and bread under a float. As the water is getting a bit warmer in Narrabeen Lake, a lot of anglers are targeting the whiting with stickbait surface lures. They

Josh Hall got stuck into some of the yellowfin that came up from down south recently. with anglers picking up anything from flathead to kingfish using pilchards on gang hooks or live yellowtail under a float. Downrigging with live baits seems to be the most popular way to get a few kingfish inside the harbour, but if you are lucky to get them feeding on the surface they have been taken on anything from saltwater flies to jerk shad style soft plastics. Catching squid in the harbour seems to be a

Spit bridge and around the boat moorings. While fishing on some of our beaches has been very good for some, the swell has not been kind, dragging in large amounts of weed on Dee Why, making it near impossible to fish or hold a line in the water. The weed is not being cleaned up it goes out with one tide, but rather it just comes back in and with the temperature rising it won’t be long before it starts to stink.

down around the southern end of the beach in front of the Corso. However, to get a spot to fish before the surfers and beach goers arrive you need to be up very early. With the warm currents flowing down from the north it will not be long before we see some of our summer visitors, and with a bit of luck and good conditions we will hopefully have a good summer of fishing! As always, stay safe and enjoy the fishing.

Norman Fullard caught and tagged this kingfish off Sydney recently. and a few good yellowfin were taken. For those anglers deep dropping baits around Browns there have been a lot of good blue-eye and gemfish, with some pearl perch thrown in, giving a lot of anglers a good feed of fresh fish. Although it is a long way out to Browns Mountain, with good

an amazing sight, but less so when you’re trying to get a feed of snapper. As well as makos, there has been a report of one angler having a 4m great white coming in around his boat and trying to eat the mutton birds that were in his berley trail. There is another pest that has turned up, and that is the

have been having a lot of luck in picking up a feed in front of the caravan park as the tide is rising. Manly Dam has come to life, with some anglers taking bass around the 35cm mark using small hardbodied diving lures in the evening, and this will improve dramatically when the cicadas emerge and bring

Cradling big kingfish is a summer favourite for a lot of Sydney-based anglers like Benton Shultz. DECEMBER 2019

Ducking out for a quick fish SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

December is a great time to go fishing, but free time can be really tight leading up to Christmas. Many anglers are tied up with work and family commitments, all the while getting bombarded by photos on social media of mates getting great catches. If you’re in this situation, you have to make the most of any short windows of opportunity – even if it’s just a couple of hours. Of course, if conditions are bad, you should give it the flick and choose another day, especially if you are rock fishing. On the beaches it’s not worth fishing in large surf conditions, and in the estuary you’re restricted to selected areas out of very strong winds. If it turns out this way, find another day that will give you a safer and enjoyable experience. Now let’s look at some great spots to fish this month, the species available and a few tips to maximise your catch rates. ROCK FISHING Snapper is the word this month; they’re being caught on literally every deepwater headland in Sydney. I love these hard-fighting fish, with their magnificent red/orange colour and shiny turquoise dots scattered on their sides. You can have them steamed, barbecued, grilled, fried, sashimi and more. Most anglers still think the only way to catch this culinary delight is out of a boat offshore. That couldn’t be further from the truth – I get a lot of clients onto their first land-based snapper, showing them that snapper are a practical species to fish for off the ocean rocks. Several methods for land-based fishos can be used when fishing for snapper, but the most popular method (and probably the oldest) is distance casting off the ocean rocks. A strong, robust rod is required, preferably 12-15ft.

You want your rod to be able to handle 10-15kg line and sinker weights with rig and bait combined between 84-180g. When it comes to reels, a 4500 size spin reel or Alvey 650 works a treat. It’s good to fish with braid, tied to 6m of 15-18kg fluorocarbon leader as a shock absorber. If you’re using mono, 12kg is a good average choice, as it’s still heavy enough to cast out the heavier weights. Just make sure your line is tough (10X hardness is recommended). When you’re distance casting over abrasive submerged deep ledges and wrestling with a sizable snapper,

Jess Press scored a goldspotted sweetlip. That’s one of the great things about Sydney – there are some weird and wonderful species caught every year. a tough line will give you a better chance of landing your fish. Hooks in the 2/0-3/0 sizes (like the Mustad 92554 2x strong) are small enough to hook a just-legal size fish, while still being large enough to hold a medium to sizable bait, and strong enough to not be crunched up by a big red. My basic rig starts with the hook, then 45-60cm of 30-40lb fluorocarbon Sufix or Wilson leader, a crane or barrel swivel of approx. 40kg+ test at least, and finally a small rubber bead, then the snapper sinker sliding onto the bead. There are many other rigs that can

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be used for distance casting, but this one is a reliable starting point. Baits like salted slimy mackerel fillet, stripy fillet, squid strips, cuttlefish strips and even half pillies can be used. Snapper may be predators but they will happily scavenge as well. So where do you fish? One method is to stand relatively high up on a medium cliff, enabling you to check out the ocean topography. You can see the reef starting from the rock ledge to out to sea, 50-70m out. It’s easier to see on the clearer, sunny days. You will notice that the darker

sections/areas are submerged reef, and looking further seaward you’ll see a lighter area, which is normally sand or gravel. Snapper like these areas where the reef meets the sand. When you’re rigged up and ready to go, cast out at least 5m past the reef edge on to the sand. The distances can vary from as little as 30m to well over 100m. This is just a teaser of what you can do to catch snapper off the rocks. Tides can be a factor but distance casting both low and high tide periods is possible, subject to sea/weather conditions and taking into account the accessibility of the location you want to fish safely. Kings this month are a great option off the ocean rocks. A 120cm+ fish was landed recently, followed by a 115cm specimen, both caught by mad-keen locals. Small live yellowtail in that 23-25cm size are suitable for both large and just-legal kingies. You can use larger live baits like pike and bonito, but you’ll probably restrict yourself to big fish. Unfortunately, bull and sizable dusky whaler sharks can be a problem at times, eating your larger baits and biting you off. Sea gar are my favourite

bait for kings. I have landed kings of all sizes on this magnificent bait, as well as my PB king. I rig my gars on a gang of 4/0 to 6/0 7766D Mustad hooks with very strong swivels in between the hooks, a rubber occy skirt in the blue, red and white colours over the gar beak, and a sinker sliding onto the rubber occy skirt. A strong 24-37kg outfit is required. Because you are generally fishing rock locations deeper than 6m, people assume that the high tide is the only period to catch kings. This is not necessarily true, as you are fishing deep water. Look at it from this perspective – with the high tide there are many more routes for baitfish to escape. The high tide pools and shallow high tide gutters can sometimes make it more difficult for kings to ambush or chase their prey. Conversely, the baitfish often have fewer escape routes from pelagic predators at low tide, so that can be a better time to catch a king. Locations to try for snapper and kings include The Hat at Manly below the Quarantine wall, Freshwater Point’s northeast face, Dee Why rocks approx. 100m from the swimming pool, and Barrenjoey Head’s southeast face. You’ll notice I didn’t mention the regular spots, but you can fish them as well. The spots I have listed are good alternatives because they are much less crowded than the others. Check out my past columns for other locations.

Distance casting is a reliable way of catching snapper. throughout Sydney. This fussy species can be caught in water as shallow as 30cm, especially in the low light and night periods. You can also catch them in 4m+ deep gutters. I like to fish gutters in that 2m depth as an average, which suit a swell size from 0.75-1.2m. If you want to find a good gutter on a beach, look seaward at the 100m+ lines of waves moving right to left, parallel to the beach. While you’re watching the waves breaking into whitewater, you will notice sections that do not break into whitewater. These deeper sections are a deeper green or aqua colour, without much whitewater. They are called beach holes (gutters), and the shallower whitewater sections are called sand banks. You’ll want to focus

Paul Dalla caught his first ever legal snapper and a king off the rocks. Wash fishing for mixed species can produce up to half a dozen species of fish in a session. For snapper, bream, trevally, salmon, smaller kings and more, go to Freshwater northeast point and face, North Curl Curl, Turrametta head’s southeast face and South Avalon approx. 150-200m east of the beach. Once again, these are spots to get away from the crowds that gather on the regular popular rock ledges. BEACH FISHING Looks like finally the whiting have spread to the vast majority of the beaches

your efforts towards the left or right edge of where the beach hole meets the sand bank. Whiting, bream and dart can be caught here and the deeper holes can also hold tailor, salmon, dusky whaler sharks and mulloway. Whiting, bream and some tarwhine are being caught on beachworms, pipis, and peeled school prawns. I also recently caught a school mulloway at 10am in the morning. It picked up a beachworm on

a paternoster whiting rig, and it measured nearly 60cm and was released. Catching a mulloway is rare in the late morning off Sydney beaches. Fresh is best for mulloway. Tailor fillets freshly caught, big bundles of live beachworms, squid strips and whole squid are some of the popular baits. Shark numbers are set to increase this month, and these hard fighting and reliable fish can sometimes be very numerous. If you’re chasing mulloway you will be hammered by them at times, and if that happens I recommend moving to another gutter. The tailor numbers will no doubt increase this month, with both chopper-size tailor and bigger specimens on the increase. The average size is 30-40cm, so get the smoker out for these very tasty fish. I find tailor absolutely delicious around this size, and I actually prefer them to the larger fish. A good place to start is at Manly/Queenscliff Beach. It’s a very popular surfing beach, especially during the day, and on weekends when the surf is up you can forget about it. However, at night the surfers, swimmers and crowds are vastly reduced and it can really turn it on for all of these species. You can also try Dee Why, Collaroy approximately 300m north of the pipe, Warriewood and the big hill walk at Bungan Beach. Having said all that, virtually any beach in Sydney will produce the smaller species in varying numbers. If you find the right beach formation you’re in with a good chance of catching fish. That’s it for this month. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! • 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.

The chase for the $80,000 greenback begins! December is a fantastic month for fishing, and what makes it even more exciting is that GoFish Nagambie entries are now on sale! It will be the best weekend on the Aussie fishing calendar, and you’ll be green with envy if you don’t join the chase for the $80,000 cod come the first weekend in April. There will be some cracking opportunities to land big fish over three days of fishing the Goulburn, and cash yourself some big cheques and awesome prizes. You’ll get to enjoy four days of fishing festival fun, with live music, family activities, kids entertainment, and outdoor expo and the best pop-up bar the shores of Nagambie Lakes have ever seen. DOMINATE COD OPENING IN NAGAMBIE The Goulburn River has great coverage to use summer fishing to your advantage. With areas including the Goulburn Weir, Hughes and Sandy Creek, and backwaters, billabongs and lagoons, it’s an angler’s paradise. There’s plenty of heavy timber, standing trees, overhanging structure, willow trees, thick weed beds and a river channel that provides the lake system with depths varying from 0.5-11m deep. To get you started, here are our tips for launching cod season with a BOOF!

WATER TEMPERATURE Murray cod like warmer water (18-21°C), and become more active in summer, feeding on the bounty of crustaceans and insects. When the water temperature exceeds 22°C, the cod head for cooler water, either deeper in the water column, in shaded areas or at night. During a hot day, the fish school up against the pylons of Kirwans Bridge. You can troll alongside and underneath the bridge or cast lures at the bridge. The big cod like to sit underneath it in the riverbed.

The big fish reside in the river bed and move out onto the flats to feed during low light periods. The best way to fish this area is to stay in the river channel and cast past the drop-off and onto the shallows, working hardbodied lures over the edge and into the deeper water. FISH THE EDGES IN RIVERS

The most consistent bite periods are first and last light, particularly in summer. In the afternoon and after dark, the fish will be sitting deep, where they’ve been holding during the heat of the day. This is a good time to fish the deeper water.

In rivers such as the Goulburn, the fish tend to push right up against the edges and sit tight against the banks under shady trees, so this is where you should cast to. Some of the best summer fishing is along the edges of the channels in the Della Island area. There’s less than a 1m of water on the flats, and then it drops off into deep water. Put your lure into this deep zone and you will find fish.

In the early morning the fish will be sitting shallower because the water will have cooled during the night. Between midnight and sunrise it’s best to fish the shallow water.

When fishing the edges, Majors Creek is a fisho’s paradise as it’s loaded with great structure. Throw out some 1/2oz spinnerbaits, 50-70mm diving hardbody lures or 60mm lipless crankbaits, and you’re in business!

During low light periods, hit up the Goulburn Weir. The main river channel snakes its way through to the weir wall, with shallow flats stretching out either side of the channel.

As you can see, targeting Murray cod in summer is exciting and full of action. By taking on board these tips, you’re set to get some serious cod thumb!

LOW LIGHT PERIODS

Summer afternoon surface bites in Sydney SYDNEY NORTH

Hayden Webber

Water temperatures in both the fresh and the salt are now starting to creep up, making for good summer bites.

extract the fish away from the snags. Although it’s rare to see a northern beaches bass reach over 35cm, do be prepared because there have been a few reports of the skinny water producing a few 40cm+ specimens. Sub-surface lures like

getting results on flathead, while topwater stickbaits like Bassday Sugapens have been working effectively for whiting. Working the flats on incoming tides with a slight puff of wind to rough up the top of the water will give some of the fish

A topwater kingfish caught by Fishing Station’s Jay Kim. • For all the latest info on what’s biting and where, drop in and chat to the expert staff at 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.

Connor Gale with a healthy wild Australian bass. On the freshwater side of things, you can now fish topwater for bass along the northern beaches, creeks and dams. This is arguably some of the most exciting light class fishing around. Good lures to try are small stickbaits and cicadas, fished in close to snags and dark shady banks in the early mornings and evenings, which will give the fish confidence to strike your lure. A light leader of between 8-12lb is more than enough to get the bite and

spinnerbaits and divers will of course still catch fish. However, you should take advantage of the hot summer afternoons fishing the surface because there’s nothing quite like a topwater explosion from a Aussie native. The estuary and lake fishing for whiting and flathead has been on fire coming into December, with a lot of lure fishers being rewarded with big fish. Vibes, diving minnows and plastics have all been

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more confidence hunting in shallower water. Sometimes you’ll find them in just a few inches of water! A lot of bait fishos who have been using fresh prawns from the lakes have had great success fishing into the evenings. Baitholder hooks will keep your bait on for a bit longer. They are particularly good when the tidal movements are heavier and there are lots of picker fish, keeping your bait on for long enough for a big flathead to have a chance to eat it. First and last light has been that sweet spot for some cracking topwater kings over the past month. Working shallow water bommies, especially if bait is hanging around, should result in some goodsized fish coming out to inspect your lure. Small schools of rat kings will often hold some bigger fish underneath, so don’t give up throwing decent size lures if you’re keen to get a big hoodlum. It can take a while, but if you put in the time it can be very rewarding. I recommend 80-100lb leader to tame those bigger fish. Aggressive tailor and bonito will always have a strike even at some of the biggest stickbaits, so you might have to work a little further away from the washes to avoid that by-catch.

This 69cm flathead was caught on a 3.5” ZMan paddle-tail by Tom McBeath out of his kayak.

Josh Colling caught this solid bass sight casting in skinny water.

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We three kingfish BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Kingfish, salmon, tailor, bream, flathead, whiting and trevally are on the chew in Botany Bay. It’s just a matter of getting fresh or live squid for kingfish, using small metal lures and lightly-weighted

boat or shed for the past six months gathering dust from when you last used it. The weather gods will need to be on your side, and most of all you will need to be patient. In this day and age, many people who want to go fishing are time poor. You’re either snowed under at work or have family commitments. Because of

float stoppers and small to medium bobby corks. I also have another one that I use off the rocks when I am chasing bream, trevally, drummer and squid. There is also a tackle box for targeting whiting, bream, dart and flathead off the beach that has everything I need, plus a couple of small to medium metal slices in case a school of salmon or tailor show up. In the freezer I have Hawkesbury River prawns, WA pilchards, whitebait, fillets of mullet and tuna, plus a few beachworms that have been soaked in metho for a few minutes. When it comes to taking the boat out, all I need to do is put in the outfits that I need and hook it up to the car and then I am off, as there are a number of tackle boxes in the boat ready to go. If you set yourself up like this, you’ll make your life much easier. FISHING IN DECEMBER I find that when I am fishing from my boat in Botany Bay, I may need to move around a bit to find out where the fish are holding. If I was going out to target bream and trevally

Try trolling Christmas tree lures along the coast outside the entrance to Botany Bay for tuna, kingfish, tailor and salmon. and the tide was on the way out, I would try Bare Island, the oil wharf, Sutherland Point, the Sticks, wide off Towra and the drums. On the change of the tide I would then try the end of the third runway, the DPI artificial reefs in Yarra Bay, the oil wharf and the sand flats out of Dolls Point. As stated in previous reports, the main two rigs

that I use in Botany Bay are the running ball sinker down onto the bait and a running sinker down onto the swivel and at least a metre of leader. I also have a small and steady berley trail going when at anchor. The same can be said when fishing the Woronora and Georges rivers when it comes to rigs and bait for bream, whiting, flathead and

The ramp at Kurnell is worth looking at if you want easy access to the fishing spots in the bay. 3” soft plastics for salmon and tailor, peeled Hawkesbury prawns for bream and trevally, pink nippers and worms for whiting, and live poddy mullet for flathead to be in with a good chance of getting yourself a few fish. That’s if everything goes to plan! You will need to fish during the right part of the tide. You will need to berley if you are fishing while at anchor. Your gear needs to be in tip-top condition – not been sitting in your

this, you’ll find that you may only have a few hours to get out for a fish. This is where you need to have your tackle box, outfit and bait at the ready so at the drop of a hat you can go for a fish. To this end, I have a number of tackle boxes prepared in my garage for year-round fishing. If I want to go fishing off the rocks for luderick, I have a small 30 x 20 x 2.5cm clear plastic tackle box with everything in the way of hooks, ball sinkers, swivel

Kingfish will have started to show up in the bay by now, so get your gear and get out there.

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flounder. If I was targeting mulloway I would either use live poddy mullet, freshly caught whole and stripped squid, soft plastics and hardbodied lures. It’s not all about fishing from a boat though; there are plenty of land-based fishing spots to be had around the bay and in the Woronora and Georges Rivers. You could try either side of the old Lugarno Ferry, Bald Face and Oatley points and Kelso Beach. Offshore, you will find the NSW DPI have repositioned the FADs and that the baitfish will have started to hang about. This, in turn, will attract many different types of predators, so check out the NSW DPI website for the GPS marks. As a side note, I have been asked by Bill Classon to revise and add more information to my Sydney/ Hawkesbury Fishing Guide. This has now been completed and will be out before Christmas. There are now 116 more spots, bringing the total to 780 land and boatbased spots in the guide, so keep an eye out for it. Don’t forget to keep those pictures and reports coming in to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au!

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Catching Christmas dinner SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the many years of fishing the Port Hacking River and its surrounds, I have found that a key to success is to have great bait. It doesn’t have to be always fresh; it can be frozen or semi-frozen. What it does need to be is top quality. The species you are targeting in the area will determine the type of bait you should be using. For instance, if you are targeting luderick or drummer off the rocks, peeled blue-tailed and royal red prawns, live pink nippers, bread, cabbage and green weed are the go. When it comes to targeting dusky flathead,

Not all flathead have to be big. This 48cm fish is just an ideal size for the plate. live poddy mullet or small yellowtail would have to be on the top of the list with live pink nippers, strips of fresh or cryovac squid and mullet. You could also try salted down slimy

mackerel, stripped tuna and bonito. As for bream, they will eat just about anything at times. Live nippers, very small poddy mullet, peeled Hawkesbury River prawns,

chicken coated in parmesan cheese, and strips of mullet and skinned yellowtail do it for me. Silver trevally can’t seem to resist a wellpresented peeled prawn, pink nipper or a small strip of squid. Kingfish and mulloway can be caught in the Port Hacking River during December and into the new year on squid, yellowtail, mullet and even pink nippers. To help you out, I will let you know about a few places where I pick up my live and frozen baits. If you’re after pink nippers, they can be pumped at Maianbar but not in Gunnamatta Bay. As for squid, you could try any of the public wharfs, especially during those low light periods and at night. Other good locations are Salmon Haul and Little Turriell bays, just inside Jibbon headland near the beach, and Shark Island. Merries Reef, Jibbon Bombora, the southern set of rocks at the end of Jibbon Beach, and the JD artificial reef just south of the entrance to the Port Hacking River are good spots for yellowtail, slimy mackerel and squid. If you are after beachworms you could try the beaches from North

Both offshore and in the estuaries you will find flatties on the chew. Half pilchards, strips of salted slimy mackerel and fresh squid would be the go. swing and the fishing action increases as well. I have found that early mornings, late afternoons and overcast or rainy days work the best for me. You can go out at and fish during the night if you like, but you won’t find me out there as I prefer daytime fishing. Bream, trevally, dusky flathead, mulloway and kingfish will have started to increase in numbers

try around Jibbon Bombora, the Merries and Shark Island. Just keep an eye on the swell. Fur t her sout h Wattamolla, Garie and Stanwell Park Beach have been producing a few goodsized whiting, bream and dart. The odd mulloway, ray and shark have been caught at night on whole yellowtail and fresh squid. Coalcliff Point would be worth a shot for bonito,

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When the fish are not on the chew, the beach at Bonnie Doon is worth exploring at low tide. Cronulla to Boat Harbour, or you could go to any local bait shop and buy beach and tube worms, live nippers, frozen Hawkesbury and royal red prawns and fresh mullet. THE MONTH AHEAD The month of December is when the activity from both boat and land-based anglers starts to get into full

throughout the river. It’s just going to be up to you to spend some time out there with either fresh, frozen or live baits to get amongst a few. Have you ever tried trolling for kingfish? Inside the Port Hacking River, there are a number of places that you could try. One that comes to mind is the horseshoeshaped sand bar at Lilly Pilly. Offshore, you could

salmon, tailor and kingfish on a rising tide. The odd snapper has also been caught here. Bream and trevally are another option off the point, but because this rock platform is fairly low, I would keep an eye on the swell. Don’t forget to keep those photos coming in! You can send them to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

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December delivers the goods PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

December has finally arrived, and thank goodness winter is a distant memory. The beautiful waters of Pittwater are now clean, crystal-clear, warm and blue, inviting not only pelagic species but anglers as well. Lately our morning sessions have started with spotting working birds so we can take advantage of the kingfish that are milling around on the surface. We have been casting lures of many descriptions at the boiling masses of fish, and the most productive ones have been white 6” Slug-Gos and the humble 15g metal lures. Kingfish have been gobbling up these lures like kids at a fete cake stall. Lures cast towards the edge of the boiling melee have been hit more often than not, turning an interesting morning into an outstanding charter. As the sun gets higher these schools of fish can get harder to spot, as they tend to feed deeper in the water column. From around 8 o’clock we have been

dropping down yellowtail or live squid on the downriggers to tempt a few more fish. A lot of the activity has been around Barrenjoey Head as well as on Broken Bay towards Lion Island.

Lately we have been taking advantage of the abundance of squid from most of the bays and have been using them to catch kingfish once back on Pittwater. Most of the squid

The photo doesn’t do this 78cm flathead justice. She was big and fat!

aren’t too large, and most fish don’t have a problem eating at least one. The areas to hunt for kingfish at the moment seem to be around Scotland Island and along the western foreshore of Pittwater. Looking out for surface activity, as this will give away the presence of some of these fish. We have been lucky enough to find squid in most of the bays along Pittwater that have weed beds present. The better jigs to use have been the fluoro colours, with 2-2.5 size jigs being the best. Make sure that you are watching your lure, especially before you take it out of the water, as quite often there are a few squid following the lures. If you do have a few squid following in your lure, don’t take it out of the water. Instead, allow your lure to sink towards the bottom because quite often one of the squid will attack it. It is a good idea to wipe some scent such as S Factor or Halco Catch Scent towards the spiky bits on your squid jigs. These pastes are loved by squid, and quite often they can be netted without even being

This young fella played this kingy like a seasoned professional. spiked by the jigs, they love it that much. The better area at the moment is the large weed bed just north of Palm Beach Wharf through to Barrenjoey Headland. The bread-and-butter species have really ramped up over the past month and we have been catching lots of flathead, bream and some mulloway while

drifting around Broken Bay and the mouth of the Hawkesbury River. If you are after some mulloway, now is the perfect time of year to target them. There are many different spots along Pittwater and Broken Bay as well as the Hawkesbury River to try. Whichever spot you choose, you’ll have the best chance

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

DECEMBER 2019

of success during the change of the tide. The better baits to catch before targeting mulloway are squid and yellowtail or, if you’re really lucky, a large legal-sized tailor to use as strip baits. Mulloway can be

along the Hawkesbury River and in Broken Bay. Offshore along our coasts we have seen lots of kingfish caught, and anglers who are starting early have also been picking up some snapper. Snapper can be caught at

Another wonderful kingfish that was caught while drifting for flathead. caught on a variety of lures as well, not only on soft plastics but also micro-jigs, which are my favourite lures for these fish. Quite often when drifting along Pittwater we use micro-jigs to tempt mulloway as well as a variety of baits, and this also works

anchor and using berley or, if you are susceptible to seasickness, you may wish to drift. Both approaches will see you in good stead to catch a few. If you are going to fish the shallower waters, remember to focus your

efforts early or late in the day, and anchor near some weed beds. I’m sure snapper are around these weed beds to eat smaller baitfish, as well as a squid or two. Berley these areas with chunks of fish flesh and set out a trail with your unweighted line amongst the trail. When fishing these shallower grounds it is pretty important to try to make as little noise as possible, and this includes dumping the anchor out the front of the boat, especially if others are present in the same area. At the moment the flathead grounds over the sand are yielding some good captures of blue-spot flathead, but unfortunately a few leatherjackets have started to show up. It’s always a great idea to let your mate drop his bait to the bottom first, and if he gets snipped by a leatherjacket do not deploy yours! I hope this report sees you excited to get your family to join you out along our wonderful part of the coast. Our boat and charter license are for sale, and people who are serious about joining this industry can call me on 0410 633 351. You can contact me on the same number to book a charter to enjoy a wonderful day on the water. We supply everything – all food and drinks, fishing gear, licences and bait. I hope Santa leaves plenty of fishing gear under your Christmas tree. • 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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BLACK MAGIC

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W I T H PA U L L E N N O N

Going after the big bites While I love all styles of fishing, I have to admit these days I’m a trophy hunter and really enjoy honing in on the larger models of a particular species.

to fish this way then it’s important that when that fish of a lifetime does come along you’re ready for it. Everything needs to be covered from your bait presentation to your tackle.

apply, I’m just going to concentrate on a few of the more popular species LARGE PELAGICS Probably the best way to catch XOS pelagics like kings, cobia and Spanish mackerel is to troll live baits bigger then your typical slimy mackerel or yellowtail. Slow trolling a live bonito up to 1.5kg is a gun way to get connected to the real jumbo class models of these three species. If you’re serious about it I would run these on at least 24kg tackle with a 100lb Black Magic fluorocarbon leader. The fluorocarbon Black Magic makes is the best out there, providing unparalleled abrasion resistance, making it perfect for this style of fishing.

Big reds, like this 11kg specimen, love large butterflied baits. It’s then a matter of bridle rigging the live bonito onto a Black Magic GZ 9/0 live bait hook and slow trolling around the shallow reefs holding baitfish. When doing this to target

big Spanish mackerel, make sure you run a 60cm length of at least 80lb single strand wire from the hook to a swivel on your 100lb leader. A stinger hook should also be used by attaching

Butterflied baits work great on big snapper and mulloway, and the Black Magic C Point hooks are the perfect match for them. Doing this usually comes at the cost of less fishing action and takes a pigheaded attitude too not get disheartened by sometimes many fishless trips. If you are going

This typically means running bigger baits on heavier outfits and upsizing everything from the typical gear associated with that particular species. While there are many trophy fish fish out there where the above principals

This is a perfect bait for a monster kingfish, cobia or Spanish mackerel.

A trophy Spanish mackerel that ate a whole live bonito on the troll. 24

DECEMBER 2019

another short length of single strand wire from the eye of the GZ hook to another smaller hook or treble that will go in near the rear of the bonito. SNAPPER When bait fishing for trophy reds I like to run at least 30lb braid to a 40lb fluorocarbon leader and again use much bigger baits then normally associated with snapper. The Black Magic fluorocarbon is going to be your best defence against a rampaging red dragging you over the ledge as its abrasion resistance is second to none Butterflied baits like large yellowtail or slimy mackerel are my favourite to use. To do this, simply fillet the fish from the tail up on both sides and remove the backbone, leaving the head with two fillets still attached. I simply run a single 8/0

Black Magic C Point hook on this, which is fed through the nose an out the gill plate of the fish. For smaller yellowtail, slimy mackerel or squid around the 20cm hood size, I prefer to rig them whole on a snelled rig. Again, it’s very hard to go past Black Magic C Point hooks for snapper fishing and two 7/0 hooks snelled together through a whole bait won’t often miss the mark MULLOWAY While live baits are without a doubt your best chance to find that dream mulloway, the above described baits for big snapper are also adequate big mulloway dead baits. If you are using live baits, big is best and things like tailor, luderick or mullet to 1kg are awesome big fish baits. When fishing out of a boat straight up and down, I prefer to use a single circle Black Magic KLT 8/0 circle hook and pin the bait gently behind the head. If I’m fishing from the beach or rock walls I like to snell rig my live baits with two large 10/0 C Point hooks, one protruding from just behind the head and the other just before the tail. Big mulloway are not as dirty fighters as snapper and kings, and for most situations 30lb braid with a 40lb Black Magic leader is fine, even on the biggest models. The exception to this is when fishing around structure like rock walls and bridges. Here mulloway can become a totally differently animal, so upping braid size to around 50lb and leader size to 60lb Black Magic fluorocarbon is a better option.

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Mix it up for more strikes NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

Sometimes, even subtle variations in the way you work or present a lure or fly can radically improve your catch rate. Little things can and do make a huge difference to your fishing results. Things like dropping your leader diameter by a few fractions of a millimetre, changing you hook size, or varying your boat speed while trolling. On occasions, these seemingly small shifts can spell the difference between success and failure; between a donut day and a blinder. I’ll never forget my very first experiences with impoundment golden perch or yellowbelly, at Copeton Dam in northern NSW during the early 1980s. I was fishing there with Rob Smith, chasing yellas on the edge of a full dam by casting-andcranking hardbodied deep divers. We were doing reasonably well, but Rob was kicking my butt… until I accidentally discovered a subtle retrieve trick that turned it around for me.

before turning and suddenly climbing out of the depths. A lot of our strikes were coming at that moment, when the lure turned back on itself and began to rise. However, on one retrieve

retrieve, just prior to the lure’s turn-around point, and that’s exactly how, when and where I hooked most of my fish for the rest of that trip. Interestingly, it has

go-to method for working these sinking vibration lures consisted of short hops off the bottom, interspersed with brief pauses. I hate to think how many goldens have been brought undone

Soft vibes like the Jackall Mask are deadly. Nowadays, lots of anglers prefer to retro-fit them with small assist hooks when chasing yellowbelly.

Jo Starling took this trophy yellowbelly on an Ecogear ZX40 fished with the more conventional ‘slow hop’ presentation. However, that once-deadly retrieve is ‘so yesterday’ now! — just a few cranks before my lure reached that critical flip-around point — a fly managed to crawl in behind the lens of my sunglasses. I stopped cranking and

also been yellowbelly that have prompted my latest ponderings on the impact of subtle variations in lure retrieves. I’ve been fishing Lake Windamere in Central Western NSW for this species since 1989, and the invitational tournament I kicked off there in 1992 is still going strong as it approaches its 30th year. It’s amazing to look back and observe the changes in tackle, tactics, techniques and lures across those three decades. Today, you’re not seriously in the game at Windamere unless your either grubbing the trees with a plastic or chucking a metal blade like an Ecogear ZX or a soft vibe such as a Jackall Mask, a Transam or a Zerek Fish Trap; ideally a black one fitted with small, sticky-sharp assist hooks. For several years, the

DECEMBER 2019

raised my hand to deal with the sticky little intruder… and the rod was almost ripped from my grasp by a fired-up golden! From that moment, I began incorporating a deliberate pause into every

than ‘hopping’. I’m sure the end result is very reminiscent of a foraging yabby. Bream anglers familiar with working crab imitations like the Cranka Crab will immediately relate, I’m sure. The take-away message is that today’s ‘hot’ techniques, lures and retrieves won’t necessarily be the best ones next season, next month or even next week. If your results begin to slip, it really pays to mix it up and try some new

The author with a solid Lake Windamere golden perch. Lure fishing techniques for this species (and many others) are constantly evolving. It pays to experiment.

Ecogear’s ZX blades are cracker lures that will catch a whole range of species using retrieves ranging from the ‘shake-and-bake’ or ‘shuffle’ to the gentle hop, the slow roll and an even fast burn… Mix it up! Those lures dove deeper and deeper as we pulled them away from the bank until they reached an area directly under the boat. Here they would actually swim past a point where the line was perpendicular

by that exact retrieve, at Windamere and right across the geographic range of this hardy inland native. However, most fish eventually seem to ‘wise up’ to specific lures and popular presentations, especially land-locked populations in confined waterways like dams. Just as surely, switched-on anglers are constantly looking for new twists to boost their strike rates. For the past few seasons, at Windamere

Baitcaster, spin or fly, it really pays to vary your retrieve and constantly try new things until you discover what’s working on the day.

and elsewhere, savvy anglers like Jamie Hardman, Murray and Glen Stewart, Jakko Davis and several others have been adapting and mixing up their presentations of these go-to lures, often producing results on days when everyone else is struggling while doing the same old things as they did in the past. Space precludes me from detailing all of the subtle twists these innovators have come up with, but suffice to say that many of them involve various forms of shake and shuffle that see these sinking lures staying in almost constant contact with the lake bed, rather

twists. Sticking to the same old patterns that worked for you in the past — especially in the face of diminishing returns — really isn’t all that smart. Remember, it was the scientific genius Albert Einstein who famously said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.” Maybe Albert was also a yellowbelly fisherman! If you’d like to learn more, Google ‘how to shake soft vibes for golden perch’, or go to Rhys Creed’s excellent podcast series at www.socialfishing. com.au and listen to his wonderful interview featuring Murray ‘The Fish Whisperer’ Stewart.

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Get a piece of summer action THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

The silly season is upon us, meaning we can expect pelagics offshore, as well as mangrove jack, whiting and

smashing just about anything to get their fat reserves up. Whiting are starting to fill the skinny water, with most sand banks that hold yabbies having good packs of them. Bass have been getting more active, especially in the

yellowfin out wide. Try the 50m, 100m and 200m lines out to the shelf. Look for birds bombing, current lines and floating debris. Black/purple and lumo/ pink 5-9” skirts have been working well. Some big kingies have started to show themselves on close reefs out to the 200m line. Live baits set on downriggers have been fishing the best, with the occasional capture on stickbaits around the bommies.

The odd mackerel has been showing up near the trenches and ledges of the close Tweed reefs. Trolling hardbodied lures, troll baits, pilly rigs, skipping gar and bibless minnows has been effective. Wahoo have occasionally been caught out on the 24s and 36s on hardbodies and skirts. There have been mixed reefies on most reefs out to the 50-fathoms. Drift baits, plastics, micro jigs and octo jigs have all produced a feed of pannies. There is still a Joel Graham caught this jack slow rolling a plastic past a drain.

Dylan Power with a solid mahimahi from the FADs. bass. As the temperature soars, so do the appetites of summer species. Pelagics such as black and blue marlin will come on the bite, as will mahimahi, mackerel and wahoo on the offshore reefs. The high water temperatures have seen jacks really fire up and they are

back creeks and upper river systems. With the insects starting to wake up and visit our shores, bass are taking full advantage. OFFSHORE It’s been a good start to the summer pelagic season with good numbers of decent size billfish, mahimahi and

Kristian Frey scored his last of the season mulloway on a close reef off Tweed.

lot of bait available at Kirra, Snapper Rocks, Tweed bait grounds, the yellow marker and 10-Minute Reef. Jacks have been feeding up hard. Live baits and strip baits have been fishing best at night, producing some great fish. During the day, hardbodies, surface lures, plastics, vibes and swimbaits have been productive around the pontoons, bridges, rock walls, drains, pylons and pillars. A 4” plastic with a chin lock slow rolled past these structures has proved too much for even the more

timid fish. The best way to get live bait in NSW is to set mullet traps. If you combine a few different methods, you should get enough to fish the whole night! For gar and mullet, use floats with bread and dough over weed. Jig around the bridges for herring and fish worms over the skinny water for whiting. Please remember size and bag limits apply for bait too. Whiting have pushed up into the skinny water and have thickened up in numbers. Fishing yabbies, beach and

Wishing you a safe and Merry Christmas on the water

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For more information visit www.horizonboats.com.au 28

DECEMBER 2019

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bloodworms while drifting over the skinny water has been effective. Some better models around 40cm have been caught on the Bassday Sugapen and MMD Splash Prawn. A very addictive way to fish for whiting is to put long casts into the skinny water with a quick skipping retrieve across the top, which

water to keep the population as high as possible so future generations can enjoy these fish too. There have been a few big-eye, small GT, brassies and small AJs around the mouth. Working small micro jigs, metals, hardbodies, vibes and plastics will see you connected to one of

between Kingy and Caba, from Hastings Point to Wooyung and Brunswick River rock wall and mouth fishing really well. Ganged up pillies, half pillies, whitebait, beachworms, pipis and small strip baits have been fishing very well. Plastics and small metals have been productive around the headlands and rock walls. Using berley bags and cubing pillies will hold fish in the gutter in front of you. Squish pillies into the sand at wave wash height so each wave slowly releases it into the gutter you’re fishing. This will bring the worms up to feed as well, which also acts as a fish attractant.

SWEETWATER It’s been so good to see all the cicadas and insects out and about this year, and they have really fired up bass lately. Surface lures have been effective at dusk and dawn, whereas jig spins, spinnerbaits, hardbodies, plastics, swimbaits, vibes and blades have all been more productive once the sun is up. The secluded back creeks and upper rivers have been fishing the best recently, especially at dusk and dawn. Whether in a yak, boat or land-based, do your research first before you head out and you will be rewarded. You may need to get permission

An outstanding feed of skinny water whiting on yabbies. will get the fish fighting over each other to get to your lure. Some big flathead have been sitting up in the skinny water feeding up on any whiting that ventures into their ambush position, so fishing whiting profile lures and plastics around the skinny water will be the go to score some big females this month. Please remember all flathead over 60cm should be returned to the

these speedy brutes. Muddies have been on the move. Pots in the back creeks, drains, around the weed beds, mangrove lines and around bridges and rock walls will see you with a big can opener. BEACHES Mulloway have moved out of the beach gutters now and dart, tailor, whiting, bream, trevally and flathead have moved in. The gutters

Brad King took this whiting off the top.

Lachlan Hohnberg caught a 53cm jack on live bait at night. to access some of these creeks, as private properties surround them and farmers don’t take you accessing their land lightly. Plus, if you’re polite, they might let you in on some nice honey holes on their land. NEXT MONTH Summer pelagics will thicken up and move in closer. Mackerel and kingies will thicken up on close reefs. Spotties should start to rock up too. There will still be the odd mixed reefies on close reefs, but these will thin out as the macks and kingies move in. Jacks will start to dominate the river and creeks as they feed up for their spawning season. Whiting will show up more in the

skinny water as flathead start to drop off in numbers. Look to the bigger tides around the full moon for crabs. They will run harder as the rains approach and on the bigger tides. The southern beaches will fish well with the northerlies. Find those deeper draining gutters for best results. Bass will get super hungry as they push their way down to the salt to spawn. Look to the brackish water, weirs, dam walls, overflows and drains. Everyone likes to get out on the water at this time of year, so please be courteous, be patient, and look out for one another when out or around the water and ramps these holidays.

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DECEMBER 2019

Topwater taking off BALLINA

Joe Allan

Bass are on the chew and are spread out all over the system. With the balmy evenings ahead, the surface bite will really heat up towards Christmas time and should last all the way through January. If you haven’t tried this style of fishing for our aggressive freshwater natives, get some poppers and have a crack. You might be surprised how much fun and how addictive it can be. Look for any overhanging trees that have cicadas making an awful

latter really come through. A few snapper, big mulloway and trag have been haunting the close ground such as Lennox and Riordans reefs and happily taking soft plastics, micro-jigs and live baits. As the warm current starts rolling down the hill we will see some mahimahi hanging around the FAD, and may even get a few early season mackerel showing up around Christmas. From all reports, fishos are having a cracking mackerel run to the north, so it should be another good mackerel season here. And with reports of mahimahi from Tweed Heads to Byron Bay, they can’t be

Jamie Stratford caught a beautiful snapper out from Evans Head on an Atomic Jerk Minnow. racket. Unlike fishing with spinnerbaits or crankbaits, you don’t need to be accurate with your casting. This is because when the cicadas fall, they’re generally out from the bank, not right up the back in the shadows. Most poppers and walkthe-dog style lures also work well, such as the Atomic Hardz K9 Bulldog in rock crab colour as well as the Bassday Backfire 65 popper. The whiting have shown interest in surface lures in recent weeks, and that’s not surprising as the water temperatures are up and perfect for these guys to get active, especially in some of the shallow areas such as North Creek and Mobbs Bay. Each day has been different, with the level of aggression towards the lures changing constantly. This can be due to a range of variables, such as water temperature, sunlight, water clarity, and (probably the biggest variable) wind strength and direction. Bassday Sugapens have been producing the goods, and these can be retrofitted with assist hooks for better hook-up rates (we use Atomic Trick Bitz assist hooks or Gamakatsu Treble Wide Gap hooks). Atomic Hardz in pearl chartreuse and prawn tiger have also been catching their share. Offshore species have been in that transition period from winter to summer, and only recently have we seen the 30

DECEMBER 2019

too far away from hitting our reefs around Ballina and Evans Head. The odd pearl perch is still hanging around the 42 and 48-fathom lines. Live baits have accounted for several of the larger models, but some of the heavier micro-jigs and brightly-coloured plastics have also tempted plenty of the smaller fish. Good numbers of small kingfish have been hammering live baits and knife jigs on the wider grounds. Most of the fish have been between 60-90cm, but the odd larger fish has also shown up. A few snapper and small amberjack have also been mixed in among the kingfish, so it has been a bit of a lottery at times to see what you are going to pull up next. While the odd gutter is visible on South Ballina and Angels beaches, the numbers of fish produced has been fairly low. Some of the better action has come from Boulders and Seven Mile beaches, with

quality dart and bream taking pipis and beach worms during the run-in tide. At this time of year we usually see a few straggling tailor make their way up the coast. Late in the afternoon it will be worth throwing a pilchard, mullet fillet or bonito strip out in a likely looking gutter. You may not see large numbers of these razor-toothed eating machines but the ones that do come into the gutters at night are generally quality fish, so be ready and have wire traces handy because these larger fish can do serious damage to your rigs. Some of the better-quality whiting have been coming from the beaches rather than the Richmond River of late. As with the dart, pipis and beachworms have been the gun baits for these tasty little critters. However, if you can’t get your hands on either of those baits, you could try strips of squid or peeled prawns. Just remember that when fishing the beach for whiting they do not need a lot of water, so don’t be obsessed with finding the deepest gutter you can because quite often they are right at your feet in some of the skinniest water imaginable, particularly at night. We have still seen quality flathead from Pimlico Island to the mouth of the Richmond. Most of the larger fish have taken live herring, and the smaller fish have fallen to dark-coloured soft plastics, prawns and white pilchards. One fish species that has been surprisingly numerous this season is mangrove jack. Some good reports have been coming in of quality fish caught on both hardbody lures and live baits. The Atomic Shiner 75, Lucky Craft Pointer in 100mm or 78mm size and ZMan 4” SwimmerZ have all been good options. Most of the rock walls from Wardell Bridge to the mouth of the river have produced at least a couple of fish in the past month, especially on the run-out tide in the afternoons. I’m not sure if more of these awesome fighting fish are around this year or more people are targeting them, but either way it’s great to see them in our river system. The best part about most of the jack reports I am getting is that the majority of fish are being released to fight another day.

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Joy to the pearled, good tides have come YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Summer is finally here, bringing with it the expectation of warm

that the pelagic fish will be on their way to our lures and live baits. Mahimahi are usually the first of the surface fish to arrive, and they should be in full swing this month.

waverider wreck. If you have never fished one of these FADs before, there are a few basic things you can do to improve your chances of a good feed of mahimahi. Start by trolling

December will produce good mixed bags like this trio of snapper, mulloway and cobia. currents pushing down from the north. For the offshore fishers in this part of the world, this is the time of anticipation

Our FAD, located 12nm southeast of the mouth of the Clarence River, has fired well every year since we moved it from the old

Big Shane Sails scored a thumping pearl perch.

Young Kurtis Smith from Toowoomba with a tasty snapper. past the FAD with a couple of small skirted lures well back from the boat at around although these fish tend to just north of Woody Head numbers one day and none 8-9 knots. Have a pile of be very patchy at this time will be the spot to look for the next, but you shouldn’t roughly-chopped pillies on of year. The high ground them. They will frustrate die wondering – just head the bait board, and when in the middle of Shark Bay you by being in huge out at daybreak and have a your boat passes the FAD throw a handful of them at it. You are in with a really good chance of picking up a fish with the first couple of times you troll past the FAD, and by throwing the pillies out you will get others in a mood to feed as well. Next, rig a couple of light spin outfits with a metre or so of 30lb leader and a single 6/0 hook with half a pilly. If you have some small livies, put one of them on as well. Avoid putting two livies out at a time; I find we get a lot more fish by having one livey and one bait out. It’s important to note that some of the bigger fish will be well away from the FAD and quite often very deep, out of sight. Throw berley at the FAD every ba Prawn Blade s” time you approach it. “Yam Every December we get This month you can expect to catch cobia on the north grounds. the first show of mackerel,

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look. Trolling 6” pink squid lures reasonably quickly a long way behind the boat is all you need to see if they have arrived. I typically get a lot of stud cobia this month on the north grounds near South Evans Reef. Fishing

and FC leader are not good bedfellows, so a bite-off is always on the cards. However, the cobia you do catch will be well worth the effort. As with last month, there will still be a few good mulloway and trag

this month, go just a little further. The reef from Angourie to Shelly will still have a few fish, but the grounds from Red Cliff to Sandon will produce a much more consistent catch of snapper, pearl perch and tuskfish. In the shallower

crabs. These tasty morsels will be everywhere! Just remember that in NSW the crab regulations are a little different from QLD. Here you measure the crab front to back, you can use witches’ hats, and you are permitted to keep female crabs. Like the rest of the country, we have had no significant rain and the river is very clear, with saltwater all the way up to

the falls west of Grafton. The estuary fish are spread pretty thin. Clear, blue water is really pretty to look at and makes a magnificent photo, but unfortunately it doesn’t make for consistent fishing. On the plus side, whiting won’t mind the clean water as much as most of the other species, and surface lures (poppers or small stickbaits) on a windy afternoon will

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Amy was happy with this solid snapper.

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Something for everyone in Coffs this month COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

We are heading into the crazy season with most things in full swing. As the

holidaymakers and locals flood the local waterways, the good news is that there are plenty of options for every angler, no matter what you’re chasing. Offshore has been a real mixed bag, with snapper,

kingfish, pearl perch, amberjacks and samsons all showing up on the mid to deep reefs. Knife jigs and slow pitch jigs have produced the most consistent results. Soft plastics and live baits have been the proven

Jason caught this quality river mulloway with a big paddle-tail plastic at night. performers on the shallow, nearshore reefs. Good snapper, rat kings and the odd larger kingfish have been the prize in recent months, but as the summer current heats up the focus will shift, once again, to the pelagic speedsters. The

trend over the last few years has seen the mackerel showing up earlier each December. If this continues this year, we can expect to see the mackerel show up anytime now. The extent to which we see the mackerel close to

shore will be more dependent on how much of the nor’east seabreeze we see. Although the mackerel may show up out wide, the NE wind keeps the coastal waters colder and less suitable for the tropical speedsters. If you’re wanting to chase mackerel, then

A Berkley Nemesis paddle-tail convinced this solid jack out of its snag and into Jason O’Brien’s boat for a quick pic.

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you’re on the hunt for the warmer water. You’re going to need to search wider during the NE winds, but after stronger southerly winds will find the

boat ramp on the weekends and holidays. Arrawarra and Third Headland beach launches both offer boat access to some great snapper and

South Solitary Island provides the familiar backdrop to Thomas Dunn’s nice kingfish capture. warmer water closer to the coast. Boat anglers will want to take advantage of the less used local boat ramps and beach launches (weather permitting) if wanting to avoid a crowded harbour

mackerel grounds. Sawtell Beach launch can also be a way to avoid the harbour traffic jam, but it can be very tricky to navigate the spit between the beach and island if the tide and swell aren’t

cooperating. When it comes to beaches, we have an embarrassment of riches on the Coffs Coast so there is plenty of room to spread out. Sandy, Emerald, Sapphire, Korora, Park, Boambee, Bonville and North beaches have kilometres of sand with regular gutters and channels to focus your fishing on. There haven’t been a lot of tailor around this last month but school mulloway, good size bream and whiting have all been plentiful in the gutters. Beachworms are the bait of choice, or soft plastics if fishing on the change of light. On the headlands, soft plastics and hardbodies have been the way to win a mulloway’s interest. The estuaries have been providing a really wide variety of fishing action throughout spring and this should continue as we move into summer. In the lower estuaries whiting, bream and flathead can all be found around the yabby banks. The middle to upper estuaries have offered great fishing for mulloway, trevally and, the real prize, mangrove jack. Trevally have been terrifying bream anglers as fish up to 5kg have been hammering bream lures in the shallows around the sand banks, mangroves and rock walls. The jacks have

been very active early in the season and this should continue this month. Medium to large profile hardbodies and soft plastics around the snags, rock walls and bridge pylons have been producing very good jacks. Even though we are still in dire need of rain, the bass streams have still been producing great fishing. We may be looking at a pretty small cicada year this season, but the surface lures have been taking quite a few large fish and will always continue to be the go-to strategy for many anglers. However, smaller, subtle plastics and hardbodies have accounted for many bass during the day. We have a plethora of options this month, which may be required for the plethora of anglers in town! As this is my last time writing the regular Coffs Harbour portion of your Fishing Monthly (at least for the moment), I’d like to thank everyone that has contributed to the Coffs report over the years, with images and stories. The connection to real world anglers is what makes this magazine stand out, so keep contributing and keep reading! For now I’m going to head out and try to find one of those sneaky spots for my family and I to enjoy our marvellous region. I hope you can all do the same!

Andrew Cutler, 9yo, caught his first ever Murray cod on a StumpJumper lure while fishing Wyangla Dam with his family.

DECEMBER 2019

The annual pelagic invasion arrives on time SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Paul Martin

With the warmer currents making their way south we are starting to see some pelagic action off South West Rocks. This is what we are famous for, and starting now and running through until the end of May, mackerel, both Spanish and spotted, are here and hungry. OFFSHORE Live slimies are like lollipops for these fish when trolled, cast or floated. From Scotts Head down to Grassy Head will

be the best area for this type of action. Out of the same location, snapper have been on the bite, with some nice pearl perch and trag coming off the bottom. We should start seeing the odd tusky appear in the mix over the next few weeks as well. If it is quiet in close, you may need to move out to about 90m for some success. A few cobia have shown up, with the best around the 27kg mark. It is the time of year when we get a heap of sharks eager to feed on your mackerel before you get it to the boat. Off the gaol there has

been the odd snapper and mowie on the bottom, while out wider longfin perch have been in good numbers.

the 40-70kg mark this time of the year. The FAD is working well, attracting some nice mahimahi

ROCKS

in the deeper water, with the odd small mulloway in there as well, but look out for the majestic mangrove jack that should start to appear this month. Clybucca is fishing well for whiting and bream around the oyster racks, with some nice flathead around the Golden Hole down to the rock wall. Check the tides, because it does get shallow down that way. Towards the river mouth mulloway have been hard to come by due to the clear water, with only a few reported at night. Kingfish are coming in with the tide and feeding along the wall, but they are tough to catch, and your

as well, but no pelagics to report at this stage. It is the time of year we should start to see some tuna action, especially down off the ledges around Hat Head and the Gap around Hungry Head. BEACHES If you like eating dart (and a lot of people do), there are some monsters at the moment. These fish are in good numbers off Smoky Beach and Grassy Head Beach on the other side of the river, and are mostly taking live worms. Also on Smoky, bream and whiting are biting along the beach, with some nice fish coming in towards Hat Head.

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Rowen Bland struggles with a 27kg cobia he caught fishing for snapper off Grassy Head. Black marlin are starting to show up off the wider grounds, with most showing up around

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around it. Down south Fish Rock has some good kings coming in, with the odd snapper being caught in close with plastics. THE RIVER With the lack of rain the saltwater is pushing way upriver, which is producing some really nice whiting around Smithtown, with worms and nippers the go for these tasty fish. Coming downriver, Kinchela is also a hot spot for whiting, with some nice flathead coming in on fish baits like mullet and pilchards. The Flats around Jerseyville are also producing whiting, with stickbaits between 70-95mm working best. Trolling for flathead in the shallows using shallow divers has been successful for a number of Macleay lizard hunters. The Jerseyville Bridge Pylons are fishing well for big bream and the odd school mulloway. Rainbow Reach has a few flathead

This 68kg marlin was caught just off the gaol by Graeme Allen. best bet is to find a lure that matches the bait they are chasing. Good numbers of bream have been found along the walls, and these fish are biting well at dusk and dawn. OFF THE ROCKS Once again the rock hoppers are battling for a feed. There has been the odd kingfish in close, with bream and tarwhine around

Gap Beach is fishing well for bream, with some nice fish amongst them. With the bridge work happening on Back Creek, it’s tough to get onto the beach itself, but locals are saying there has been a flathead or two in the deeper gutters. Just a reminder that you can get short-term Beach Driving Permits for two weeks for only $20.

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Summer fishing is a breeze THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

December fishing is excellent most years, and early starts can make it a whole lot better for quite a few reasons. First, if we start pre-dawn we can get an hour or two in before the holiday anglers hit the water, and on some days you can have your dinner caught and sorted and be heading home before others are leaving the ramp! The other reasons are the heat and prevailing northeasterly winds. Last year we copped nor’easters from 9am in the morning, and they were woeful, however they usually come up later towards lunchtime. If you can get back to the ramp by 11am you can miss the choppy conditions, plus you are in before the warmest part of the day.

Phillip was stoked with this 90cm flathead that ate a soft vibe.

Phillip Jones with a top Hastings River mulloway scored on a hardbody lure. The Hastings River has been fishing very well, with plenty of flathead, and most shallow flats will see you hook up to a feed of these. Soft plastics, vibes and suspending hardbodies will do the trick.

There are some reasonable bream upriver at the moment, and they will respond to surface lures at the right time of day!

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The fishers chasing the bigger flatties have been using 195mm surface lures as well as bigger glidebaits, and this requires specialized heavier rods like the swimbait rods some anglers use for Murray cod. Big flathead on big lures is certainly an entertaining way to fish, and watching a big female dusky come up to your lure is one of the most exciting things you will see on the flats. Bream are throughout the river system now, and surface lures and shallow diving lures are producing. Try walk-the-dog and popping presentations, and if cicadas turn up, using imitations of these is a deadly technique. With the shallow diving lures, casting and slow rolling around weed beds can be great fun. Choosing a bank with some good structure and casting into it should get you some action, and these snag battles are very exciting! Whiting on surface lures can be great fun this month, so make sure you have at least one rod set up for this. It can easily double for a bream rig as well! Bass fishing has really fired up. Earlier in the season was a little tougher, but now there are some very reasonable size fish being caught, and as always with this species, various lures and techniques have been working. Cicada surface imitations have been good, and using spinnerbaits

around the weed margins are also working a treat. Mulloway have also remained a reasonable target, with some great

game, and even if you don’t score a silver, the by-catch of flatties will keep you interested. Beach fishing in the early morning or the light change in the evening can be rewarding at this time of year. It pays to do some

can score yourself a good bag of fish using these readily available morsels. As always, it pays to check out the beach formations prior to hitting the sand, as it will save you valuable time if you have a location picked out.

This lovely bream nailed Oliver’s soft plastic. Lure fishing for bream is a great option in summer. fish coming from all parts of the river. Finding the deeper holes and working either a soft plastic or a soft vibe will put you in the

research and find yourself a spot away from the main beaches. Beachworms are great for whiting, bream and mulloway, and you

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Stay safe on the roads and waterways, enjoy your family time and get into a few fish!

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DECEMBER 2019

Scott and Steve pose with a great catch of flatties, bream, flounder and blue swimmers!

All of the best species are available now FORSTER

Luke Austin

The Forster/Tuncurry area is renowned for its amazing summer fishery and it is this month that sees all of our favourite warm water species hit their straps.

the rock pool in Tuncurry Channel has been very productive, particularly if you are happy to move about and cover a bit of ground as you throw soft vibes and soft plastics. For the bait enthusiasts, if you put the time in to gather some live bait such as poddy mullet or

Shallow water snapper are a year-round option! Flathead are now nearing their peak and can be caught absolutely anywhere, particularly throughout the bottom of the system near the entrance. Whether you prefer to fish with lures or bait, these fish are really active now that the water has warmed and they are getting ready to spawn over the warmer months. The drive to condition themselves in preparation to

herring, you should expect to just about catch a fish per bait. For the boaters, you can fish places such as Tuncurry Channel, The Paddock (which are the oyster leases you can see off the bridge), the sand flats up around Lanis Island, the area around The Cut (where the Wallamba River joins the main system), Breckenridge Channel and just about

patchy weed beds. Basically if you can look at a spot and think of it as a goodlooking whiting spot, that’s where you need to be! Lure choice is not that important, and anything from 110mm and up will work. Popular choices include the Crossfire 110mm (and 195mm), Silstar Slapstix, Prolure Prey Minnows and any glidebait designed for Murray cod! The sand flats are nice and warm and absolutely teeming with prawns and small fish at the moment, so it’s no surprise that right now is also a great time to have a look for some nice big sand whiting. Any sandy-bottomed patch of the estuary sitting in water that is under 1m deep is bound to be holding a school of whiting right now. You can catch these fish fairly easily using either bait or lure, but by far the most exciting way to fish the flats is by throwing small stickbaits and poppers about. Arguably the very best lure for this type of fishing is the Bassday Sugapen in both 70mm and 95mm sizes. Once you experience a red-hot whiting session on surface lures you will never go back to soaking yabbies! Bream are also very susceptible to a good surface offering over the warmer months. The cicada swarms can be heard throughout many parts of the estuary at the moment and anywhere these critters are emerging will have a big school of hungry bream waiting not too far away.

tailor still hanging about, but you will have to fish very early or into the evening, and don’t expect big numbers of fish. Most anglers are instead focussed on our summer time favourites like bream, whiting, dart and flathead. Hitting the sand on a nice hot summer’s day at high tide and soaking some worms or pipis is a sure-fire way of snagging a nice mixed bag of tasty little table fish. For those wishing to keep fishing into the night, there have been some nice little school mulloway being caught, particularly from 7 Mile and Diamond Beaches. Our offshore fishing has been a little tough due to frustrating sea conditions. On the days that we have been able to sneak out, the fishing has been very consistent. We have had a great year on the snapper in shallow water, and apart from the week or so around the full moons, there has nearly always been good fish hanging about on those reefs in 10-25m. If you hit the shallows this month and don’t come up trumps, don’t despair, as the fish have also been very good in 20-45m, particularly on the reefs to the north around Dennis Shoals and Snapper Rock. As you move out, you will also run into the odd teraglin, pearl perch and pigfish. For those wishing to travel further afield, there is some nice water sitting out wide. There have already been some solid mahimahi caught (up to 10kg) and I’m sure it won’t be long until the first marlin for the year is hooked. • Luke is the owner of Great Lakes Tackle, your ‘local’ bait and tackle store. They only sell the best brands and offer sound, friendly advice

Shore-based flathead are available and plentiful throughout December. on where you can go to land your next trophy fish while visiting the wonderful Great Lakes region! They’re open

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anywhere in between! Catching big flathead on surface lures is a fairly popular and addictive fishing technique now, and this month is the perfect time to have a go at it. To do this type of fishing you just need to focus your efforts on the shallow flats and

Our coastlines are well worth checking out this month. While the wind and water conditions may not always be in our favour, there have been some very nice fish on offer on our beaches. If you can find some good looking clear water there are some nice

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Finally some rain has fallen in the upper parts of the Manning, and it was enough to put a rise of about 15” of run in the river for a few days. The water coming down has

Some bream have been caught from the wall and the Manning Point spur wall but the majority of fish have come from upriver, as the fish have moved up with the saltwater which has pushed right up to Abbotts Falls. This is where the saltwater ends and the fresh begins. Flathead are moving down the river, and while

40-50m have seen the best catches of snapper, pearl perch, teraglin and flathead, while the deeper waters have produced bar cod and jackets. There have been some big catches of barracuda [pick handles] brought in from the northern grounds. THIS MONTH Christmas time sees the arrival of the chopper tailor

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Scott Hinton caught this 12kg mulloway on a 4” ZMan Paddle TailZ in opening night colour. Image courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle. refreshed the big holes in the river, and the fish will be alright for a couple of months until it rains again. The saltwater part of the Manning has fished very well over the past month, despite the heavy winds blowing from the west and south. Kingfish are patrolling the river wall in the early morning, and fish to 12kg have been landed in recent weeks. Live bait, soft plastics and hardbodied lures have all taken fish. Live bait has also accounted for school mulloway to 12kg from the wall. Luderick are on the bite up near the gantry either side of slack water, and fish to 1.2kg have been landed on green weed.

not down in the mouth of the estuary they are not far upstream. Mulloway are back on the beaches, with small fish of up to 4kg being landed from Harrington Beach, and larger fish up to 110cm in length being caught from Crowdy Beach on worms. There are quite a few bream in the gutters with the mulloway, and it’s possible to pick up a few fish when using 3/0 hooks for mulloway. OFFSHORE Offshore fishing has been very good with catches of snapper, pearl perch, flathead, bar cod, jackets and teraglin. The northern grounds up past Mermaid Reef and out to sea in

in our area. These fish range from 20cm up to just legal size, and they are good fun on small metal lures and light line. The arrival of the tailor brings larger predators to our shores. Mulloway and sharks follow the tailor, and when they move into the river the big breeding flathead like to chomp on them as well. Live tailor and tailor fillets are great bait for mulloway, kingfish, sharks and big flathead. Please remember to let the big female flathead go as they carry up to a million eggs. Most of the locals are now practicing catch and release with big flathead, which is great to see.

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Hunting for a Xmas feast HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

As we head into summer, the main target for a lot of fishers will be whiting. With so many locations to fish, each area has various methods that will snare a feed – and a very tasty feed at that. When targeting whiting on live worms, I normally fish the areas of weedy/sandy bottom in 1-2m of water. Look for holes in the sand indicating the likely presence of sand nippers, as you can gather a few for bait using a yabby pump. Keep them in a bucket or container with an aerator, minimal water and a little sand, because too much water

tends to crush their fragile shells and they die, rapidly fouling the water and killing the rest of them. I like to use 6lb FC leader with a size 2 or 4 longshank baitholder hook with 0 or 00 sized sinker (depending on current speed) running down to the hook, and small pieces of live tube or beachworms so it’s just enough to fit the shank of hook without any trailing off the end of the hook. They tend to steal the worm if it is longer than your hook, so I find I get a better hook-up rate and the worms last a lot longer when they’re smaller. Another prime location now and over the next few months is fishing one of the many gutters along each beach will provide the goods. The

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single hook with a running sinker is a basic but often very effective beach rig, or you can use a single or double paternoster rig for which I would run an 8-12lb leader. Tube or beachworms are the best option but pipis can also be effective and at this time of year, prawns are one of the main targets for whiting. BREAM AND FLATHEAD Great bream and flathead are on the chew and you can expect to land a few of these while chasing whiting inside the harbour and along the beach. Fishing the rock walls inside the harbour with unweighted or lightlyweighted lines and a fresh or live prawn will entice the larger fish, but make sure the drag is set right as some of these big fish go like freight trains and will dust you up quickly if you’re not ready for them. MULLOWAY For those chasing something a little larger, mulloway are also lurking about with all the prawn activity after the next full moon, so if you are able to get a few live king prawns or large fresh prawns like banana or extra large kings, pin them on a larger long shank hook and send them off into the depths.

There are plenty of kings about, with some solid models in the mix. You just need patience and the right artillery. Live baiting at night off the beaches is also a great option at this time of year. Using a live squid, yakka, pike, legal tailor or slimy will definitely attract some attention and they are a lot hardier and less likely to get chewed up by the pickers. OFFSHORE There are some exceptional kings and snapper offshore, along with trag, mulloway, bonito and trevally

on most of the inshore reefs. Live baits have been working well along with pilchards, king prawns and large strips of squid. Jerk shad soft plastics have also been productive. Out wider is improving and those warmer currents will be on the rise over the coming weeks, bringing big pelagics. I’m looking forward to getting amongst them this season after missing last season due to work commitments. Be sure

to drop me an email if you manage to land a nice fish! FRESHWATER Bass are firing in the dams and rivers and it’s well worth travelling to land a few of these beauties. St Clair has been fishing well over recent weeks and up the rivers has also been producing some quality specimens. With the cod season reopened, many will be making the long trip north to chase a trophy fish.

FISHING NEWS

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Shark-proof wetsuit under development Scientists are one step closer to developing a potentially life-saving wetsuit, with research funded by the NSW Government showing that new fabrics can reduce the impact of shark bites. Flinders University Associate Professor Charlie Huveneers said technological advances in fabric have allowed the development of stronger, lightweight alternatives that can be incorporated into traditional wetsuits. “Through a variety of laboratory and field tests, we found that the new fabrics were more resistant to puncture, laceration, and shark bites than standard neoprene wetsuits,” Prof Huveneers said. “More force was required to puncture the new fabrics, and cuts made to the new fabrics were smaller and shallower than those on standard neoprene.” Prof Huveneers said white sharks as large as 4m were used during the field tests, as it is the species responsible for the most deaths from shark bites. “Although these fabrics may reduce blood loss resulting from a shark bite, further research is needed to determine whether the

reduction in damage to the wetsuit extends to human tissues and decreases injuries,” Prof Huveneers said. The NSW Government’s

Shark Management Strategy provided a grant of $90,000 to fund the research, which is due to be published later this year. – NSW DPI

The development of shark-resistant wetsuit fabric is good news for spearfishers.

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Enjoy the peace and quiet before the holidays PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

I love fishing in December. The weather is about as good as it gets and the waterways are still fairly quiet before the school

holidays kick off. There are plenty of fish around too, with just about all sections fishing well. In the estuary whiting have gone berserk, with live worms proving lethal around Jimmys and Shoal Bay beaches. Fish these

areas on top of the tide with long shank hooks, light leader and a pea-sized sinker. Further up the system the whiting tend to become much more aggressive, feeding on prawns, and it’s in these environments that they start to hit surface lures.

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Small stickbaits and poppers around 50-75mm work best and you will also pick up flathead while you’re doing it. Places like Tahlee, Taylors Beach and Pindimar are good places to give it a go, especially during the first hour of the run-out tide. Flathead have moved down the system and are in good numbers around Shoal Bay through to Corlette, and Jimmys Beach through to Tea Gardens. It’s a good month to target a big girl, with large swimbait style lures all the rage at the moment. It’s for good reason too, as the big flatties love them when slow rolled across the shallow flats. Remember though, those big flathead at this time of year are breeding and should be released back into the system to do their thing. Bream have been pretty good around the Short Cut rock wall and around the points and racks at Soldiers Point, with small crank style lures and surface poppers working best. Crabs have been going off, with good catches of blue swimmers reported from Soldiers Point through to Tilligery and Tea Gardens. Muddies have also been pretty good, especially around the lead up to the full and new moons. BEACHES There’s stacks of whiting along the ocean beaches, and again live worms are the key to success. While just about any beach will hold whiting at this time of year, the pick of them has been Samurai Fingal and Hawks Nest. Mulloway will also be worth having a crack at after dark using larger baits such as a live whiting or tailor. ROCKS Bonito have shown up in reasonable numbers,

providing plenty of fun for anglers casting small metals or stickbaits on light spin gear. Fingal Head, Tomaree and Sunny Corner are all popular spots for chasing bonnies and you will often also pick up tailor and rat kings fishing the same way in these places.

Christmas tree lures, and early morning is the most productive fishing time. The FAD is doing its thing and producing plenty of mahimahi and while most have been just over that legal mark, there has been on the odd bigger fish to 10kg pulled off it. The

Big whiting are on the chew this month, and can be taken on baits and lures. Squid have been active from the ocean rocks in the protected bays, with 3.0 size jigs working best, especially at first or last light. OUTSIDE Plenty of bonito have been taken on the troll around the islands, with fish taking anything from a diving hardbody to

bigger fish have been taken on first light, with anglers using live baits. Charter boats have been finding plenty of trag on the offshore reefs, along with some solid reds to 4kg. On the shelf there should be a few striped marlin starting to show up, with some big blues a bit wider.

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Some absolute crocodiles are out and about, and these fish are too good to be caught just once. Anything over 70cm should be released without harm to continue growing and breeding.

All I want for Xmas SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

Now is a great time of year for locals to get outdoors and really take advantage of what our part of the world has to offer. Temperatures are well and truly on the rise now, and the summer species are well and truly on the chew. The lake is fishing very well at present, with the annual run of kingfish already making an appearance, which is always great to see. If there is one thing that gets my blood pumping it’s driving to work in the morning over the Swansea Bridge and looking down to see anglers locked and loaded to a solid kingfish. Live bait is key for those anglers serious about targeting these summer kingfish. Your best chance of getting the fish to the boat is to ensure you drive the boat well clear of the bridge as soon as you’re hooked up. The kings naturally want to get back to the bridge pylons and the safety they provide. Ensure you use heavy gear, lock that drag and hold on. Live squid is certainly the number one bait, but lure anglers will also account for a good number of fish, as they do each season.

This is Michael’s first ever mulloway, and we all know how awesome that first one feels! on the kingfish but also on the lake’s mulloway, which have been biting well of late. They are not only in good numbers but reasonable sizes as well, with some good 1m+ mulloway being landed. There have even been a few doubles from the same session, which is great fishing. I like to mix things up a little when chasing mulloway, using two different approaches simultaneously. I generally run a live squid from a rod placed in the rod holder while I’m up front casting large plastics around. It’s a great way to keep things interesting and increase your chances at a little action. Another summer favourite that has started to make an appearance in the lake again is the humble whiting. They really are a fantastic fish for a few reasons. Not only are they absolutely delicious on

Local angler Kai with a very respectable lake bream. Kai has been scoring some great shore-based fish of late. Another thing to consider is boat traffic; summertime and the Swansea Bridge can often equal loads of traffic. If possible, plan your trip on a weekday morning or, if it needs to be on the weekend, make sure you hit the water nice and early. Try to get your trip over with by the time all the socialising boats hit the water. We have not been having too much trouble securing a few squid for livies. The lake itself has reasonable numbers of small arrow type squid, and just out the front around Moon Island generally has a good supply of solid green eyes. And hey, if the kingfish don’t like your live bait offering you won’t go home empty-handed, as a fresh feed of squid is never to be passed up. Live squid are not only proving very successful

the plate but they are also a great little sportfish for anglers throwing around topwater lures on light bream gear. By far the best place to try your luck is up around the sand islands. This area is a very well-known local spot for whiting each summer, and it’s already producing more than a few. If lure fishing isn’t your thing, you can also do very well on bait. A worm bait on a small longshank hook is often very productive. Another target for anglers working these areas around the sand islands, and the flats area in general, is bream. We’re seeing really good numbers showing up, and there are some real horses in the mix. On days with favourable conditions it’s not uncommon to get a good bag of bream in the high 30s and even low 40s. There really is something

special about chasing these fish on small hardbody lures in the shallows, and they fight extremely hard. With so much weed around they stand a very good chance of burying your lure and escaping, which is always a concern. When I say favourable conditions, I’m talking about a nice breeze to ruffle the water’s surface. A southerly breeze is always welcome if I’m planning a bream session. Offshore action is also picking up as we move into prime marlin months. Generally speaking, January is the time of year when marlin numbers steadily increase, but there are always a few about in December so it’s certainly well worth the effort from now on. Early on in the season when the marlin are not yet working bait balls, I suggest sticking with a spread of quality lures, with a mixture of colours in your spread. When it comes to sizes, at the moment I’d be looking to run a pair of 10” lures off the corners and a pair of 8” off the riggers, with a small 6-7” off the shotgun position. I like a bright green or pink in that shotgun spot and then mix up the others. Feel free to change it up until you get a feel for what’s working. Although marlin numbers are a little light on at this early stage in the season, keep in mind that trolling offshore at this time of year always produces more than a few great mahimahi for those crews pulling lures in search of marlin. I’ve yet to hear any crew complain when they do encounter mahimahi, as these fish are mighty fine on the dinner plate. For anglers looking to specifically target a few mahimahi, step one is to load up with live baits. Sure, if you head out to the traps or the FADs with a bag of frozen pilchards you might score a few mahimahi, but but odds are you will be hard pressed to score a legal-sized one. Conversely, if you’re using live yakkas or slimies, you’ll generally encounter a much better class of fish. Shark crews are also in luck, with the summer run of large tiger sharks well and truly underway by now. We can expect some absolute monsters to come to the weigh bridge again this season. DECEMBER 2019

Clear water capers in Erina ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

Things are warming up and so is the fishing! Brisbane Waters has sprung to life as usual for this time of the year.

in the gin clear water. I find a good rule for lure selection for them is to start with 2-3” lures up in the Broadwater and just increase the size as you fish closer to Half Tide Rocks. In that area it’s a good idea to use some bigger profile plastics

go into summer mode. The oyster leases and shallow flats become great areas to target from now on, and if the prawns have a good run early the surface lures will be worth a try on the peak of the tides, particularly early in the mornings. I have also been spotting plenty of good

bream hanging around the moorings recently, and these can be good fun on lightlyweighted plastics. Mulloway have been reasonably tough lately. I have heard of a few decent fish taking bait, but very few have been caught on lures. I have caught a few

Bream should be biting up in the shallows this month.

This daytime Brisbane Waters mulloway ate a Samaki Vibelicious. Flathead are biting in a big way and this should continue up to Christmas. The size has been good, with plenty of fish in the 60-75cm range being caught, and they are usually in top condition. Brisbane Waters seems to carry a lot of fish this size, and the bigger fish seem to either hold in deeper water or down towards the mouth, and are often slightly timid

up to 10” that can really get down in the current. As for tides, towards the end of the run-out is a good choice because that’s when all the bait has to leave the shallows and move into the channels, so if you look for areas where the bait has to move at this time you will be on the right track. The bream are definitely up in shallow water as they

If you’re chasing mulloway, remember that the early bird gets the worm!

smaller fish lately on soft vibes, and I’ve been having good success on sunrise, so it pays to get up early if you can! Things should improve as we move into next month. Beach fishing has been great lately, and there has been absolutely stacks of salmon about, especially along Terrigal and North Avoca, where they can be a bit of fun and a great fish for kids to learn the art of angling on. Most locals usually fish a pilchard bait on gangs with a ball sinker. Rock fishing has been productive, with the bonito starting to show, and even if you’ve caught a million of them they are still good

fun. Hopefully some bigger models will show this year along the ledges like Avoca and The Skillion. Kingfish usually follow the bonito, and some great fish can be taken either live baiting or with a large stickbait. Offshore it’s a great time to be on the water, and good fishing can be found in close off Terrigal, and fish can be found in as little as 10m of water. Snapper and mulloway are the prized targets. The FADs will start to hold some mahimahi soon, and some real big bulls can show up early in the season, so let’s hope we see some of these show up!

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WHITING

How to score sand whiting off the beach SYDNEY

Gary Brown

Sand whiting (Sillago ciliate) are a member of the family sillaginidae and are also known as summer whiting, silver whiting and blue-nose whiting in NSW. They are readily found along most of the sandy beaches on the East Coast. They are silvery white in colour, with plain yellowish sides, and are fairly long and slender. They feed on worms, small crabs, yabbies, prawns and pipis. They use their conical snout to forage through sand and mud. Not all beaches that whiting inhabit are the same, but they have similar characteristics from time to time, which can be easily identified once you have worked out what they are and how to get the best out of them. Those characteristics come in the form of gutters or channels, holes, sand spits, sand bars, rips and white water. To help you out I have taken a couple of photos of beaches and numbered them so that you can actually see what I am talking about. Now whether you refer to them as gutters or channels (1), they can run parallel or at 90° to the shoreline and

4 1

Sunrise on any beach is a perfect time to catch a feed of whiting.

Riley Brown managed this whiting using beachworms. be easily distinguished by white water that has formed from a wave breaking into shallow water. They can be either deep or shallow, short or long and are what I call a fish highway, as fish will travel up and down looking for a feed. A hole (2) on a beach

is not to be confused with a gutter or channel. Holes at times can be hard to identify by a novice beach angler, especially during the top of the tide. They can be as large as house or as small as a car and can be fished right throughout the tides. They may be only a few

centimetres or a couple of metres deep. Sand spits (3) are usually a narrow section of sand that runs from the shore out into the surf zone. They can be found on the edge of gutters, channels and holes and can be an access point to more productive

Large, medium and small sand bars (4) are easily distinguished by the waves that break on or over them. Rips (5) are caused by the current and tide and may run parallel, at 90° to the beach or at the end of a beach where the sand meets the rocks. Rips when used

6 1

a sand bar or a spit. It is this white water that the fish will either use as cover from larger predators or as cover to chase prey. BAIT When targeting whiting off the beach the main baits that I prefer to use are the beach, tube and squirt

This angler fishing on Stanwell Park beach had a number of options to cast to for whiting. He chose the wide sand bar at position number 4. areas at low tide. At low tide these sand spits can also be a very productive place to look for beachworms. Care does need to be taken when fishing off these spits, as the wave motion and tide can collapse them.

properly can be a big asset to the beach angler, as it can be used to carry the bait out much further than you may be able to cast. White water (6) is formed with the break of a wave either on a beach,

worms, pipis, live pink nippers and small strips of freshly caught squid. Bloodworms You can use bloodworms in NSW, but due to the ban on the movement of bait between QLD and NSW to

Here are some sections of a beach where whiting will hold.

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Plastic PVC tubing makes a great rod holder when fishing off the beach, as you are able to stand your outfit in them while either re-rigging or taking your fish off.

WHITING prevent the spread of white spot disease, they can be very hard to buy. As far as I know, there is no ban on digging for them in NSW, although there is a combined possession limit of 100 worm species and molluscs.

A fellow angler from the Far South Coast taught me to put a handful of pilchards into a stocking and then into a keeper bag, as they are oily and will attract the worms. Once the worms have been located, I then use a smaller

worm. Secondly, you close your fingers or pliers just as the worm arches its neck to grab the bait, and thirdly, donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t pull too hard when pulling on the worm out of the sand. I usually go for a second grab down in the sand.

Nothing is better than sitting on a beach with a mate waiting for that bite.

This angler has set up one of his two outfits in the PVC tube, while the other outfit will be used to prospect the rest of the gutter for feeding whiting. Beachworms Beachworms are my number one bait when fishing off the beach and if I am feeling lazy, I will go and buy them at a local bait shop. Even though I am not the greatest beachwormer, I can usually get myself enough for a session.

bag that is attached to my wrist to get the worms to pop their heads up. I find that there are three critical things when it comes to grabbing the beachworms with your fingers or worm pliers. Firstly, you have to have sand in-between your fingers or pliers and the

To locate them on a beach you will need to look for a flat sand area rather than a steeply shelving part of the beach. I find that worming during the bottom half of the tide will give me better results. Pink nippers Pink nippers are found in most estuary systems

throughout Australia. They will vary in size and numbers, depending on how hard the estuary has been hit by other anglers. It is really easy to find them, all you need to do is look for the holes that they leave on the surface of the sand or mud. You will need to get the technique correct when pumping them to save you time and energy. As the tide is rising over the sand or mud flats, pump where the water has just started to cover the sand or mud. About 4-5 pumps in a hole should do the trick. If you are pumping for nippers over an area that has

water on it, you will need to pump the sand into a sieve, as this will allow you to easily pick the nippers out. Nippers can be pumped on a falling tide. Just follow the water as it recedes. Pipis Pipis are not found on all ocean beaches. They are usually seen when the wave is either coming up the beach or receding down it. The pipis will rise up to the top layer of the sand looking for any small morsel that may pass by. They will also use the motion of the waves to move up and down, as well as along the beach. Once you have located

one you will usually find a group of them. Once located itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not hard to get a few for bait. One way is to twist your feet in the sand and when you feel one, bend down and pick it up. Squirt worms Squirt worms are a brilliant bait for many different fish species. The only problems that you may find is that in your local estuary, you may not be allowed to dig or pump for them. When I venture down the South Coast to the Shoalhaven area, I will occasionally pump them. Squirt worms can be located To page 50

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WHITING From page 49

in the same place as nippers. Keep an eye out for small sandy tubes sticking out of the sand. Squid When targeting sand whiting with squid I will only use fresh squid that I have caught myself. It has to be cut up into pieces that are 5mm wide and about 25mm long. TRY THESE TECHNIQUES There are many scenarios you can find yourself in when chasing whiting, and

various techniques you can use to bring them unstuck. I will highlight some of these techniques and scenarios. • Try casting out your bait, allow it to sink to the bottom and make sure that you have the rod tip down in front of you and that the tip is near the surface of the water. Once it has settled, slowly move the rod tip to your side. This slight continual movement usually gets the whiting excited enough to attack your bait. If you don’t get a bite, wind in the line so that you have the rod tip

out in front of you and repeat the process either back to the shore or at the back of your boat. • When using worms as bait, put either a small plastic red or pink bead or a length of pink or red plastic tubing above the hook. This will help make the bait look bigger and act as an attractant. • If you find that you are getting a number of tangles in your rig when using a sinker running down onto a swivel and a long leader, change to a single or double

Beach fishing on Fraser Island is very popular, as you can drive to your spot, pull up, catch a few beachworms and pipis and start fishing.

paternoster rig. Make sure that the two hooks cannot hook onto each other. • Sometimes there is a big possibility of salmon or tailor about, so I will change the sinker on the paternoster rig to a similar weight metal lure. If you happen to miss the whiting bite, you can always speed up your retrieve and probably get a bite from a tailor of salmon. You could also substitute the sinker with a jighead and soft plastics for mulloway and flathead. • It is not always possible to get beach or tubeworms and there are times when I decide on the spur of the moment to go for a fish. This is when I pull out a small bag of worms that have been soaked in methylated spirits for about 2-3 minutes and then put into the freezer. The great thing about doing this is that the bait doesn’t freeze, as methylated spirits is a liquid made from alcohol and other chemicals. It does not put the fish off from biting the bait at all. PREFERRED TACKLE When it comes to rods, for me it has to be one that has a medium to slow taper, is 3-3.6m long and is suited either for a small threadline or a 120-125mm side cast reel. As for the line, I prefer to use 5-6kg Platypus Super

Bream are a common by-catch when targeting whiting off the beach. 100 monofilament as the mainline and the Platypus Stealth Fluorocarbon leader in 3-4kg. The running sinkers down onto the swivel range from ball, barrel or bean in a variety of sizes and when I am using the paternoster rig, I will use either snapper, star of plumb bob sinkers (the ones with a swivel attached). Due to whiting having a small, slender underslung mouth, I will tend to use no. 6-4 long shank chemicallysharpened hooks for the worms, nippers and strips

of squid. When using pipis, I will use no. 4-2 circle hooks. Don’t think that putting on a large swivel will stop line twist. What it usually does is cause more line twist back up the mainline. A size 4 should do the trick when it comes to 5-6kg mainline. Now that I have given you a bit of an insight on where, how and what I do when it comes to targeting sand whiting off the beach, you can get out there and try it for yourself! Good luck!

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Cooking

Family favourite: traditional seafood paella BRISBANE

Ingredients • 4 tbsp olive oil • 1kg mixed seafood • 1 small onion, peeled and diced • 3 cloves garlic, finely grated • 400g tin chopped tomatoes • 400g short grain rice • 1 tsp paprika (smoked if possible) • A pinch of saffron threads • Freshly ground pepper • 1L fish or vegetable stock

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a double-handed paella pan or a wide frypan. Add the onion and fry until it softens. Stir in the garlic and continue to cook until the garlic becomes fragrant.

Add the diced tomatoes to the mixture and stir while cooking for a couple of minutes.

Reduce the heat before adding the remaining seafood. Cook for a further ten minutes to reduce the liquid and allow the rice base to crust.

Paella is a traditional Spanish rice and meat/ seafood dish. It is characterised by a layer of crusty rice (the socoratt) on the bottom of the pan with a scattering of the meats/seafood cooked on top. The types of seafood that you could use in this paella recipe are only limited by what you have to hand. Morsels of

fish, pieces of crab meat, medallions of crayfish (or lobster) tails or bug tails, green prawns of any type (shell on and/or shell off), calamari tentacles and rings, as well as some purchased baby octopus, mussels and scallops are all on the list of possible ingredients to include in your seafood paella. The following seafood quantities shown in the ingredients list is only a suggestion. Feel free to add extra and more variety if available.

Sprinkle the rice over the base of the pan.

Pour the stock into the pan.

Add the paprika, saffron and ground pepper and stir well. Do not stir again once the ingredients have been mixed.

Lynn Bain

Add the uncooked seafood. Crayfish/ lobster medallions and baby octopus require more time to cook so need to be added now. Other uncooked seafood, such as fish and scallops, can be added a little later. Bring the mixture to the boil and cook for 10 minutes, occasionally turning the crayfish/lobster in the liquid.

Turn the heat off and cover the pan and the contents with either a clean tea towel or aluminium foil. Leave the paella to stand for at least ten minutes before serving. The grains of rice may initially seem a little firm on the surface but they will plump up during the standing time. If, at the end of the standing time, the rice is still a little firm for your liking, return the pan to the heat, add an additional few tablespoons of stock and continue to cook for a couple of minutes longer.

Serve the paella in the pan in the middle of the table, allowing your guests to serve themselves.

Pelagic action coming in hot! ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

It all starts to happen in December, particularly in the local estuaries where the long, hot days have heated the shallows to bathwater temperatures. The juvenile fish and crustaceans just love it. They thrive in their millions, and all the other predators in the system rub their fins together knowing there are plenty of easy pickings available for a feed. This, in turn, makes it easy for us anglers to put a cast in the right spot, knowing the fish will be ready and waiting to grab our bait or lures. It makes for some terrific fishing. The prime species will

be flathead, and there are plenty about in the lake and Minnamurra, and even some of the larger creeks. With prawn season really getting into gear, pretty much any lure that looks like one will be smashed. Live poddy mullet don’t last long either, and December is a good time to get a few. Bear in mind that after Christmas the holiday hordes will be out there making it very congested on the water, but it’s still great fun, particularly for the kids. After Christmas the Lake Illawarra Flathead Classic will be on again for all to enter, with great prizes on offer. If it’s half as good as previous seasons, it will be a cracker. In previous events just about everyone caught fish, with some anglers getting heaps, and more than 90% were measured and

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released to fight another day. It’s not just flatties on the chew either, as some better whiting are feeding over the flats. This month is a good time to try tossing those little poppers over the shallows in the calm early morning hours before things get busy. It is surprising how hard these little fish belt a surface lure! While throwing lures at whiting is fun for a feed, you could grab some squirt worms if you can get them or even beachworms and use them in the lake to fish the falling tide from the drop down to the entrance. Minnamurra is producing some nice whiting too, and while it doesn’t have as many fish, they always seem to be larger. Some good bream are in the feeder streams, and a few hours in the evening spent catching some prawns then keeping them alive and fishing the snags in places like Macquarie Rivulet and Mullet Creek can produce some solid fish and savage bust-offs. Any prawns left over will score a few flatties over the sand on the way home. Speaking of the aptly named Mullet Creek, there are some solid mullet in the feeder streams as well. You only need a bit of bread to get them going and they pull as hard as anything you will find in the creeks! There are plenty of chopper tailor in the lake. A bit of fish bait fished unweighted will keep the kids busy for hours, and if it gets down a bit before a chopper grabs it a few bream and flatties will come in as a bonus. On the beaches it is big mulloway time, and for as long as I can remember around Christmas has always been a good time to bag a monster mulloway. Over the years the weeks around Chrissy have produced many fish between 20-30kg and better, but you have to put in a bit of time, and time as we know at this time of year

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is a precious commodity. So, if you can go without sleep you will be right in the mix! Having a few contacts who are chasing mulloway is always handy too, but mulloway fishers are generally even more secretive than bass fishers, so you really have to be in the know to get good intel. There will also be a good smattering of smaller mulloway to keep you occupied, along with the inevitable big rays. If you set your sights a bit lower, there are some nice bream about on most beaches with a good gutter, and solid tailor after dark along with some salmon, but they seem to not be as abundant as they have been over past years. I think the netters gave them a bit of a hiding as they moved up the coast. If you don’t like the evening stuff, grab some beachworms and fish the falling tide along just about any beach for whiting during the day. They are on all of the local beaches now, so just walk along casting to any likely spots. You don’t have to aim for New Zealand either, as often they are in the wash right at your feet. On the rocks it is a real mixture, with drummer, bream and trevally still hanging about in the washes,

It’s flatty time and there will be plenty to go around in the lake, with a few better ones in the mix. year can be hot and cold, mainly due to the currents not settling down, with hot water one day full of life and the next cold dirty water full of barracouta and leatherjackets, so take advantage of the good days. The deeper reefs in 40m+ are holding some very good snapper at the moment. Most are being caught on big plastics, but big cut baits or small squid fished deep are getting results too. A

The kings will be about this month if the area gets a bit of current. while the deeper ledges are now really worth a look, with some good kings getting about along with plenty of rats, bonito, salmon, and a stray mackerel tuna or two. By the end of the month you are in with a chance of a marlin hook-up on the deeper southern ledges, so keep those live baits out and constantly check them to see they are still swimming. Towards the end of the month there may even be a few frigates getting about to spin up with small lures, and they always go straight back out on the heavy gear and usually don’t come back if the there are any larger pelagics about! Offshore is really starting to throw up some extra options, but this time of the

few snapper are in over the shallow reefs as they always are, but they are mostly small and patchy at best. A few samsonfish have started to show. Some trevally are still hanging about, and they are a bit bigger than the fish of two months ago. Good numbers of mowies are there for the drifters over the reefs and gravel, but the main focus will be on sand flathead. There are plenty about over all the sand patches, with the odd gurnard and flounder thrown in for good measure, so the bottom bouncers are happy. Towards the end of the month, hopefully the East Australian Current will have settled down early and pushed warm blue water down past our coastline.

Striped tuna generally show up first, followed by striped marlin and a few yellowfin tuna, which vary from season to season from jelly beans to jumbos, but if the form of the past few months is anything to go by we may see more than a few bigger fish this season. The first push of blue water generally sees the bigger mahimahi come through and very few smaller ones, as the bigger fish seem to tolerate the cooler water much better. The smaller school fish will come mid-January. Throw a few spearfish into the mix for variety and there is good reason to head out wide, with a chance of finding fish rather than just hoping. If the currents are very kind we may see a few early black marlin this month. It hasn’t happened for a few years now, so we are due for an early one. You just never know, as two cobia of 8 and 12kg were caught in early October off Bellambi boat ramp breakwall. They were swimming with the big rays, as cobia do, but not usually at Bellambi in October in 17°C water, and we anglers think we know what is going on. Not much surprises me these days, but this one was different! Still in closer there should be a move on the kingfish front, particularly if we get some current. There are a few about in the usual spots around Bass Point and the islands and some of the close in reefs, but without any current they are not keen to play, although a live squid or slimy mackerel will tempt a hungry one. The smaller rats and a few bonito are not as fussy, and they can make it hard to keep a bait in the water long enough for a bigger fish to get interested. Happy fishing and Merry Christmas!

South Coast in session NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

You’ve got to love a South Coast summer, with its sunny days, warm water and plenty of daylight for family time, fun and of course, fishing. It did start early this year, with a very warm October and November, which has been very good for the fishing side of things, so let’s get into it! ST. GEORGES BASIN It’s pretty much been a typical start to summer in this exceptional fishery. Big flatties have been feeding up after the cooler months, with quite a few around that 80-90cm mark being caught in recent weeks. These big girls are very keen for a feed, so pretty much anything that looks or smells appetising is

The author with a Tallowa Dam mud monster taken on a lure intended for bass. Carp on lures happens pretty often in these waters. SUMMER TIME, BASS TIME! Yep, it’s definitely something a lot of South Coast fishers look forward to. There’s plenty of light after work for a sneaky little bass session, and hopefully a good

Jai Godwin with a typical Shoalhaven brackish water bass. going to get eaten! It’s just a matter of knowing where to look for them. Steep drop-offs where other species such as tailor and bream ambush bait are good spots to have a look, as flatties will sit under a feeding frenzy picking up the scraps. The artificial reefs are always a good option as they hold plenty of bait. Then, there’s the vast array of sand flats that surround the basin’s shores. Wading the flats and looking for the ‘flatty lies’ while flicking lures is a pretty exciting way of targeting the big girls. In this shallow water they have nowhere to run except straight across the sandy bottom, so it makes for some long powerful drag screaming runs, which is what all anglers live for. Shallow diving minnows skimming the bottom and even surface lures work well, especially in times when the prawns are running. Apart from the flatties, there has been a good run of decent size mulloway in the deeper parts and whiting have started to show on the flats, which I’m sure those big flatties occasionally scoff down if the opportunity arises.

cicada hatch will get the bass fired up and we’ll see some of those explosive surface strikes. If you plan on fishing the upper Shoalhaven River in the brackish water for bass, a high tide coinciding with the last 2-3 hours of light on a barmy summer afternoon is a recipe

for some hot fishing. Tie on a cicada imitation and your recipe is complete! The freshwater sections of the river are best accessed by paying a small fee at Coolondel or Gradys, or from the Tallowa Dam wall where there is a track leading you down to where you are allowed to start fishing the river below the dam. Tallowa Dam in Kangaroo Valley had a bit of a slow start with the bass, but there have been some of those big carp pretty keen to take your lures. While not really renowned as a sportfish in our country, they do pull pretty hard, and in Tallowa Dam especially they are frequent lure takers, towing anglers around in circles in their kayaks and canoes. On the local beaches there have been some nice whiting, flatties and bream being caught on beachworms, with morning sessions giving better results. Beaches to check out for gutters are Seven Mile, Five Mile and south of Kinghorne Point at Currarong. Although the latter does not seem to produce as many fish, it is my preference as it is easier to read and fish. Enjoy the first month of a long hot summer, and catch plenty!

Brian Ware holding one very impressive 90cm St Georges Basin flatty he caught recently. DECEMBER 2019

Flathead are now widespread NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

The inshore reefs have been a little slow, with the odd morwong, snapper and flatty being caught. Some better-sized reds are coming from 60-70m straight off Potato Point. Most fish are around 2kg, and the average catch is 4-5 fish per session.

or not. When they do, jigs and live bait have worked, with the western side of the island being the pick of areas to fish. Further offshore, the good yellowfin bite has stopped. There are still a few rats getting around, but the action isn’t like it was last month. We should start to see some billfish action before too long, we just need

Releasing another high 80cm+ fish. Gotta love summer! The snapper fishing should only improve from now on as the water temperatures increase, and when it does we can expect some good fishing on the close-in reef off Brou Beach. It has produced the goods in the past, with soft plastics and unweighted baits the best way to tempt them. Anglers using an assortment of soft plastics and soft vibes should see a fish or two also. At Montague Island the kingfish have been good, with some solid fish caught. In saying that, they haven’t been red-hot; some days are good and others are just plain ordinary. As usual, the water temperature and current direction have a big impact on whether the kings are going to play

that water to get better for the marlin action to start to hot up. What has been interesting is the amount of mako sharks getting about. I know of several boats that have had multiple captures of sharks to 150kg, which is nothing to sneeze at. Wagonga Inlet will be in full swing by now, with whiting, bream, mulloway and big flathead all available. The flatties will be widespread but the bigger fish tend to travel downstream from late November/early December in this system. Large soft plastics and live poddy mullet are the gun two methods if you’re after a big lizard. This month the bream and whiting will start to patrol the various sand flats

looking for nippers, squirt worms and small prawns. Live bait will definitely work better here, but small shallow running hardbodies fished on a high tide around the mangroves will certainly fool a bream or two. There’s a heap of tailor in the system too, so mulloway are possible, especially around tide changes and bait schools. Casting softies to the edges of feeding tailor is the best way of connecting to mulloway, it can prove expensive but worthwhile also. Further north, the Tuross river and lake system is fishing well, and this will continue over coming months. The place is loaded with baitfish and prawns, with the flats on a flooding tide excellent for bream and whiting. Anglers using surface walkers and poppers are faring best, with windy warm afternoons being prime time. The ruffle that the wind provides on the water is certainly advantageous to the angler, as it provides cover from the fish looking

up at your offering. Casting downwind will increase casting distances also, thus increasing your chances as you’re covering more water. If this type of fishing isn’t for you, there are plenty more options available. Anglers using bait and lures can expect bream, flathead, blackfish, tailor and whiting. With the water warming, both the river section and basins will produce the goods. Look for those slightly deeper depressions, especially in the river. Casting a soft plastic or lightly weighted bait to these edges will produce some great angling. The local beaches have continued to fish well for salmon. Locals fishing the flooding tide in the morning have been smashing them lately, catching and releasing an average of 10-15 fish per session. A lot of these fish are being caught on bream gear, and casting small metal shiners into the suds has worked a treat. It’s a stack of fun on the skinny stuff. As the water warms further we can expect bream,

Not a monster flatty, but great fun for the kids to learn about fishing. whiting and mullet to show up in the shallows and beach breaks. Fresh pipis and beach worms are the best way to get a feed. Better beaches at present include Tilba to the south, Narooma

The Tuross River has plenty of 30-35cm EPs at the moment.

main and Brou Beach just north of Dalmeny. There’s still some good drummer fishing for those fishing the stones. By December the pigs tend to taper off a bit, but that hasn’t happened yet. The rocks down at the golf course rocks have produced good results over the last few weeks, with cabbage being the top bait. The deeper waters of Mystery Bay should start to see some pelagic action from now on until May. Small kingies, bonito, salmon and tailor are all a possibility, with lures and ganged pilchards the best methods to try. If you’re after a bigger kingfish then a live bait under a balloon or bobby cork is the go. You can usually get all the livebait you want from this ledge, with slimy mackerel the preferred bait to use.

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All estuary species are firing MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

Outside sportfishers look forward to this time of year as it all starts to happen. There’s already been a handful of yellowfin tuna caught, with stacks of albacore in the 6-12kg bracket. There’s been a lot of mako sharks about as well, which is good to see. These brutes fight hard, with the smaller fish up to 80kg excellent on the plate. The water just north of us is warm and it won’t be long before the first marlin is encountered. They’re probably there already, especially striped marlin, with the water at 19°C. Those smaller tuna are like jelly beans to marlin, so slow trolling one is worth a go. You will have more success trolling skirted pushers early in the season, with the shelf a good place to start. By trolling skirts you get to cover the ground, and this can pay handsomely, even if it costs you a few more dollars. Those after a feed of bottom fish won’t have any trouble. Snapper, morwong

and kingfish are plentiful on the reefs, with sand and tiger flathead in good numbers on the sand. Fish in 30m straight off the Pambula River mouth for the sandies, with the gravel edges along the reefs in deeper water best for the tigers. Closer to shore the estuaries are also firing. Both Merimbula and Pambula lakes are the places to fish, where all estuarine species aare vailable. Flathead will be the main species targeted, with fish to 5kg on the cards. Anglers using a variety of different methods will catch fish,

but the soft plastics brigade should do well this month. The flatties will be more active as the water warms, whacking lures fished slowly over weed-fringed flats with gusto. This is great fun on light tackle that anyone can do. In the channels bream, blackfish and trevally are the main species, and fresh or live prawns, Bass yabbies and striped tuna cubes are the gun baits. If you’re fishing from land, wading the sand flats just west of the Fisheries office near the bridge on Merimbula Lake is a great place to

Big flathead like this 80cm model will still hit bream lures in the shallows.

stalk whiting. Using lightlyweighted baits like nippers or squirtworms on a rising tide should see some tasty fillets in the pan. On the beaches tailor numbers are increasing, with some nice fish up 1.5kg being caught. The salmon are still there in huge numbers and with the warmer weather, both bream and whiting numbers will also be on the increase. Both species are great fun on light lines and pretty good on the plate. I’d be concentrating around the estuaries mouths like Pambula and Short Point (Back Lake) for best results. A few locals have been having some nice sessions there, so it’s worth a look. Other beaches to try include North Tura and Tura, especially if a gummy shark or mulloway is your target. There’s been the odd gummy caught by those fishing for salmon, so if you fish the right conditions at the right time you should do well. I’d be fishing the flooding tide just after dark with fresh salmon strips for your best chance at getting one. Don’t be surprised if a decent-sized bronze whaler

A cracking yellowfin bream that couldn’t resist a well-presented hardbody. shark plays the game. There’s been plenty seen in the shallows over the last month. Fishing with drones has really opened our eyes to how many sharks are in close, and it’s very surprising, but I suspect it’s been like that forever. December is a good time for the rock spinning diehards to throw metal around. Mac tuna, bonito and the odd kingy can be expected, with Tura Head the pick of the platforms to fish. Inside Merimbula Bay, the rocks north of the wharf and the wharf itself are goo places to fish. I

like using quite large lures at this time of the year, with 40g metals a favourite. Have a selection of lures on hand, as each day can be different, especially when trying to match the hatch. Using pilchards on ganged hooks also works, and a slow wind mid-water can pay dividends, especially for the bonito. The wharf has been producing plenty of squid too. These too can be used as live bait under a balloon for a bigger kingfish, and if it doesn’t get eaten at least you will still have a feed of squid!

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Make time to get out on the water BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Here we are at the end of the year! So what were the highlights?

during June and proving difficult to stay on top of, and then all of a sudden in July we had a major showing of 40-80kg yellowfin bombard the areas from Sydney to Batemans Bay. This bite was

Harry with a nice South Coast snapper taken during a hot bite. The biggest fishing highlight on the South Coast this year would have to have been the yellowfin tuna bite. There were calls of it being the best bite in over 20 years! It kicked off straight on the back of the bluefin tuna run in June. The bluefin were swimming in and out and up and down our coastline

crazy throughout July and August, with a lot of fish being taken on the surface with stickbaits. The run of yellowfin has continued right up until now, with some smaller school fish coming through, which is more typical for the later months of October and November. Still, the mayhem of July,

August and into September will be remembered by a lot of fishos as the best yellowfin bite ever, especially with the surface action. The other fish that hung around a bit last winter was the elusive kingfish. Kingfish can be a frustrating fish to find, and then when you do find them they might not want to bite. This year they hung around with some of the leftover warm currents and gave some fishos joy, and these fish took all sorts of lures, including surface lures. Now it’s coming into summer, kingies generally start coming on again as they swim down in the bluewater currents from the north. Usually they are in the fingers of clean, clear blue water that push in over our inshore reefs, bommies and islands and it’s usually the spearos that are out there looking and waiting. So far there have already been a few found around the Batemans area going over 15kg. Hopefully this continues into summer and it won’t be too before all the rat kings turn up in masses. The drought seems to have played a significant role this year on some species. The bass have been slow upstream due to there being

Nicko caught this snapper micro-jigging.

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DECEMBER 2019

less water, and the estuary was quiet on the mulloway, bream and flatty front. The lakes could do with more water for the prawns and the marlin bite at the start of the year was pretty ordinary. When spring arrived the snapper lit up and were in big schools, which is expected at that time of the year, and it produced the goods again in 2019. The snapper have had a good run from September up until now and we’ll see how things shape up for this December, but usually they tend to be a little harder to find after the big spawning aggregations during the spring months. Fishing for them from the stones is also not a bad option throughout December. The salmon along the beaches during spring and into December were massive and in some solid schools, especially just south of Batemans, and with them were some massive trevally that also found their way into some of the estuaries. Whiting are starting to show up now, and they might possibly outshine the flatties this year! Spring and into summer is a good time to catch massive flathead, but it seemed to have fallen a little short on last year. However, as the estuary heats up, flatties, bream, whiting and all the usual suspects should be readily available. Luderick are also on the cards at this time of the year, and as much as people like catching fish on all the new and latest gear, we are still seeing many fishos out chasing the humble luderick, swinging those long, soft rods and using weed as bait and berley. It seems as though this old style never dies and still has its place. Although it’s been hard going, some bass have been found in the odd hole and stream leading into December and we have seen a few flying ants and expect cicadas to be not too far away. But as I said, the drought plays a major role here and we’ll see if rain comes this summer. The rain is also needed for our lakes and estuaries, and due to the lack of it I expect our prawn session to be as slow as last year, with only a

Millie was happy with this tasty flathead. few found in the odd lake here and there. It’s still worth the effort with the kids, but you might have to look harder and choose the right dark nights. What seems to be a better option though are the

and there is always options. December is a busy month with work, spending and family, so please try and find some time for a fish too. Merry Christmas everyone!

Chris with his PB tailor, measuring 68cm. muddies and blue swimmers. The last few years have had plenty of crabs running around and people are coming in store stocking up on traps. Over all, it has been another great year. There is always an upside, always a species that is on the rise

• For more up-to-theminute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and have a chat to Anthony or one of the other friendly staff. They’re located at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay (02 4472 2559).

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We all just want a rainy Christmas BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

All anglers want for Christmas is rain, rain and more rain. Sadly we are going through one of the worst droughts in a long time, and there doesn’t seem like any relief in the near future. Nevertheless, there are still fish to be caught, it just means you may have to put in a bit more work and try some new techniques. Many lakes and estuaries are currently closed to the ocean, which will make the fishing tough. However, the ones that are open will have migrating fish enter to feed, so will be the best option. Offshore water temperatures are rising and will bring the pelagics we so desperately await each season. December is the lead up to the marlin season and a few fish have already filtered their way off the coast out from Bermagui. They have come to feed on the schools of slimies that frequent here and are caught while trolling for tuna. Sharks are also following these schools and are more readily encountered when using live bait with the occasional mako

being taken on a lure. Kingfish up at Montague Island are also progressing quite well offshore. Jigs, live baits and squid are all performing on their day with both kings and bonito being taken on the troll. Yellowfin tuna are in good numbers schooling around the edge of the continental shelf and beyond – they feed on the many bait schools now in the area. These fish vary in size from 2-40kg and are mostly taken on the troll. Lures range from small skirted lures through to larger styles. The the best results have come from lures that will hang deeper when trolled, with their own built in action (bibless and bibbed styles). When you find a school of tuna, you might like to try a different form of lure fishing just to spice up the day’s action. Working in conjunction with your sounder, use a heavy spin outfit with braided line and work jigs through the school on the sounder. This action can be very exciting, as large yellowfin can be a real handful using this type of tackle. There are also lots of striped tuna, with marlin and sharks hot on their tails, and there are plenty of albacore amongst the yellowfin captures. For the bottom fishos,

most of the reefs and flathead grounds are producing well. Snapper are still being caught on most of the reef systems with those ever-present schools of morwong topping up the bags. Kingfish have been encountered out from Goalen Head south of Bermagui and, with a bit more effort, more fish should be encountered. Tiger flathead are in extremely good numbers at present with most fish being caught in 50m+ depth – the deeper you go, the better quality of fish. Sand flathead are being found in shallower water, with the most popular areas out from Tilba, Cuttaggee and Murrah beaches. Shallow water offshore soft plastic fishing is increasing in popularity and is producing all sorts of weird and wonderful captures for anglers. I suppose why it’s so exciting because you never know what’s going to jump on next, from shallow to mid-water speedsters to bottom dwellers, it is all fun. Beaches are fishing well with the most popular areas choked with salmon. Lure and bait fishing are both producing good numbers. Optimum times are early mornings and late evenings, combined with higher tides. Bream are also arriving

along the coast on most beaches and have been taken regularly on baits, such as tuna strips, cut pillies. Along side the bream, whiting are also featuring regularly on beach worms. Fishing the rocks has produced well during the early morning before the wind and sea gets up. Plenty of drummer and groper are mooching around at this time of day, so most anglers should have little trouble getting one of them hooked. It’s also a very good time to throw lures from the stones for the surface species, anything from kingies to salmon are passing by, and the odd schools of small tuna are surprising anglers. Most lake and estuary systems are fishing all the way through from the entrances to the backwaters. Most species on the chew are trying to condition before the onset of the cooler months, so most methods should produce fish. Target the deeper holes, dropoffs and weed-lined channels for flathead and the shallower rocky oyster areas and flats for bream and trevally. Bait fishing will produce at will for those who don’t like to be as energetic as those tossing lures. Nippers and worms over the flats will see nice bags

The Bermagui River holds many species of fish, like this nice flounder. of whiting, bream and other assorted species. Live mullet in the deeper areas or drifting the lakes will produce its share of good flathead, with trolling being another option. Brogo Dam is fishing well, especially early mornings and late afternoons when insect life is at its peak. This is the time for the fly fishos (with dries) to catch the bass. Styles of flies

will vary as much as the size of the bass in Brogo. Lure fishing, of course, will produce lots of fish along the weed banks, with most minnow style lures producing the best results. By using spinnerbaits to get down deep, or by trolling, you can find some action throughout the day closer to the dam wall. Some fish are still being caught in the river below the dam.

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A wharf onslaught TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Tathra Wharf is the number one spot to be this summer. Most anglers visiting the area will cast a line off this popular platform at some stage, so let’s take a look at what

you can expect to find! The beauty of Tathra Wharf is not knowing what and when fish will turn up, and every season is different. As with most offshore fishing, this particular spot is governed by currents and tides. At this time of year, warmish 20°C water temperatures can bring the start of a host of different

Banjo sharks are often an unwanted catch, but it pays to respect and release them with care.

species’ seasons. Mackerel, both slimies and frigates, are the base fish for the fishers. These little speedsters create havoc at times, providing multiple hook-ups and tangles. It’s amazing how a tough little 400g fish can be at times. I would hate to think just how many of these baitfish have been thrown back out with a hook in their back under a balloon. Used as live bait, they have accounted for many a nice tuna, shark, salmon and more, and now is the time to start trying. Other species to be found here at this time of year are trevally, yellowtail, garfish, drummer, blackfish, kingfish, flathead on some longer casts, and squid. For the boaties, heading out off Tathra there is some of the best bottom fishing along the coast, and it doesn’t matter whether you go north or south, it’s all good ground. Snapper are in good numbers, with down south around White Rock producing well at present. Morwong are also being caught in the same area, along with some very good red rock cod. Although not very pretty to look at, I assure you that firm white flesh from a red rock cod tastes great. Flathead are on everyone’s hit list and the ground north, south and straight out front is producing some excellent tiger and sand flathead at the moment, with the odd red gurnard showing up too. For better results, fish in 50m+ for the larger tigers, with the best area being out from Bournda.

This is what you can expect from the Bega River when fishing with nippers. Trolling is one good option at the moment, especially in close around the rocky headlands, with many varied species being encountered this way. Salmon are on the short list and hunting in packs following schools of whitebait along the coast. Once found, try casting lures or working soft plastics under them, as a host of other species may also be travelling with them deeper down. Out wider tuna schools are providing good light to medium tackle sport, with yellowfin ranging from 5-40kg, and some albacore and plenty of small striped tuna mixed in. Trolling skirted, bibbed and bibless lures out over the 100-fathom mark is producing the best results, although I would put the lures in a lot closer and run them out to the shelf. Marlin are also starting to show, with fish hooked

while chasing the tuna. It pays to put a larger lure out further than the others to combat this, but don’t be surprised if they eat a smaller lure. It’s best to be safe, so rig the smaller lures with heavy mono and a strong hook to protect yourself – it doesn’t seem to matter to the tuna. What I like about Tathra is the magnificent estuary fishing in the Bega River and surrounding lakes. Lure fishing is great at present, and up the system bass are plentiful in the fresh to brackish water. A vast variety of lures will work, with good dry fly fishing on offer late of an evening. Working downstream, estuary perch are an option, and most estuary perch will come off snags and reedy sections along the river edges. Lure casting has been the preferred method for the perch. Bream are a staple in this estuary system and

will be caught pretty much through its entire length. Unlike the old days, more bream fall to artificial baits than bait. You can fish just about anywhere, as bream are very active feeders and will travel a lot, but shallow gravely areas should be given a lot of attention. A very well kept secret (or at least it was) is the amount of squirt worms in the estuary, and a few locals know just how good they are for bait. You will find them on gravely banks a kilometre or two up from the entrance all the way up to the fresh. Used around rocky outcrops, sunken trees, weed beds and flats, they will provide excellent fishing for whiting and luderick. Flathead are in good numbers in the river, especially towards the entrance, where they are feeding on prawns looking to migrate out of the system.

Bag out over the holiday break MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With spring now behind us, it’s great to see the days getting even longer and warmer. This has started to bring visitors to the Eden Mallacoota area and it should remain busy right through until Easter. This area of the coast has had a little more rain than other areas but much more is needed, as the bushfire risk in summer is real. Without the rain, the smaller creeks and rivers are all closed to the ocean with Mallacoota still open but not navigable. Constant sand build-up at Bastion Point has required regular dredging to allow boats access to the offshore fishing grounds and with the summer north easterlies on the way, that sand will keep on coming. 58

DECEMBER 2019

The offshore fishing out of Eden has really started to fire up, with warm water pushing its way down the coast. There have been reports of yellowfin tuna caught and the coming month should see some good fishing with tuna passing by as they make their way down towards Tassie. Plenty of

humpback whales have also been sighted. The flathead fishing for tigers and sandies has really come alive, with good bags of fish being reported. Decent numbers of snapper and morwong are been caught, but the large numbers of couta around have made getting

Good numbers of flounder are still being caught in the Top and Bottom lakes.

a bait to the bottom near impossible. This time of year it is important to get out there early, catch your fish and be back before the wind really starts blowing. Keep an eye on the tide as too low a tide can make launching and retrieving tricky. Fishing the local beaches has seen plenty of salmon caught and as the warm water pushes along the beaches, the variety of species caught will increase. Sand whiting, yellowfin bream, tailor and salmon should all be available to anglers fishing the local beaches. The estuaries have really fired up with good numbers of good sized flathead caught with both bait and a variety of lures. Black and yellowfin bream have been caught with bait fishers using local prawn achieving excellent results. A few sand whiting have been caught but the fishing should improve over the coming

This yellowfin bream ate a big soft plastic lure intended for flathead. months as this species turns up in greater numbers. Luderick have been fishing well, with some quality fish caught around the entrance area at Mallacoota, especially in Harrisons Channel.

Further upstream, estuary perch have been caught. Some solid bass have started to come on the bite. The fishing should only improve as we get further into summer.

Recreational Fishing Update Big Crowds Flock To NSW GFD Events!

Brilliant spring weather resulted in large crowds attending NSW Gone Fishing Day events on Sunday, 20 October. Together with the fantastic events organised by fishing clubs around NSW, DPI staged Gone Fishing Days at Botany Bay, Moree, Ballina, Huskisson, Mulwala and Lake Macquarie. Families and kids enjoyed a great day out learning about the wonderful sport of fishing and spending quality time with each other. On behalf of DPI Fisheries, we’d like to thank everyone who attended GFD 2019. We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Bring on 2020 for an even bigger and better Gone Fishing Day!

Sydney’s Wharves = Great Fishing! Sydney Harbour is justifiably famous for offering outstanding land-based sportfishing for a range of key species including kingfish, mulloway, bream and salmon. And this coming summer fishing season looks like it will be a cracker, with good fishing reports already starting to filter through. DPI Fisheries knows just how important Sydney Harbour is to the city’s angling community. We’re committed to ensuring you continue to enjoy quality access to key locations such as the ferry wharf network and Walsh Bay’s famous piers. Over coming months, DPI Fisheries staff and our dedicated team of Fishcare volunteers will be undertaking regular visits to key land-based fishing sites to provide advisory material and listen to your comments and concerns. As the season progresses, we’d really appreciate if you could do your bit to help maintain access to these fantastic shared facilities by following these common sense rules: • Keep the noise down (especially at night). • Pick up your rubbish and keep things neat and tidy. • Clear your lines when ferries approach the wharf.

Keen Anglers Unravel Mulloway Mystery!

• Obey all Fisheries bag and size limits. • Treat commuters, ferry workers and residents with respect and courtesy. Meantime, stay tuned to the DPI Fisheries Facebook page for regular updates on how you can work with us to ensure current and future generations of fishos continue to enjoy all the great fishing Sydney Harbour has to offer! The fish’s otoliths (ear bones) were analysed and the fish revealed to be 18 years old, an average age for a fish of this length. However, ages vary and other similar mulloway have ranged from seven years old to 26 years old! If you’d like to learn more about the RAP, search www.dpi.nsw.gov.au.

Edward Saves Purple Spotted Gudgeons!

Prawns Stocked At Narrabeen Late last year gun fisho Lachlan Monro hit a purple patch, landing three quality mulloway over 140cm near Coffs Harbour, NSW. As a keen member of the mulloway tagging program, Lachlan was able to tag, measure and release all of these fish. Recently, one of Lachlan’s mulloway – a trophy-sized beast which measured in at 143cm – was recaptured and donated to the Research Angler Program (RAP) to be aged by our researchers.

Half a million juvenile eastern king prawns were recently stocked into Narrabeen Lagoon, on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. These prawns will reach catchable size over the coming summer holidays and into 2020, hopefully resulting in great prawning opportunities in the Lagoon over coming months. Recreational fishers can use a hand-held dip /scoop net to target prawns in Narrabeen Lagoon - drag nets or push/scissor nets are prohibited in these waters. A daily limit of 10 litres of prawns applies in NSW. This Narrabeen Lagoon prawn stocking is a great example of your fishing licence at work!

Otolith age analysis

NSW DPI Fisheries has received some great reports following the release of our new online aquatic threatened species reporting tool. One of those reports came from 10-year-old Edward Palfreyman, a student at St. Joseph’s Primary School Tenterfield. Edward’s report helped save a number of Southern Purple Spotted Gudgeons. The threatened fish were struggling in a small muddy pool on a rural property and needed to be relocated to more suitable habitat. Edward, pictured at the rescue site with DPI Fisheries technicians, lodged his report using the new and improved online tool developed for the community to report sightings of aquatic threatened species. The reporting tool is now available at the DPI website and via the FishSmart app. Well done Edward great work!

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

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GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

The ‘Real Fish Oita’ is an incredible, award winning squid jig manufactured in Europe by leading Croatian company - DTD. Taking out the coveted ‘best new product’ in its class at the EFTTEX 2015 Expo in Warsaw, this wonderful range is now available in Australia through Dogtooth Distribution. The product imitates real fish species. This coupled with DTD’s use of only the highest grade materials available, ensures great balance and results in superior catching ability. With the unique ‘fish parasite’ feature, aimed at luring predators in for an ‘easy kill’, these truly unique jigs are set to explode into the Australian market. FEATURES - Double weight system with inner weight designed to produce sound while squid jig is in action. COLOURS - 7 different designs representing popular fish species. ADDITIONAL - Luminous body, fish parasite, great balance, sound effect, quality stainless steel hooks SIZES - 5 Sizes available www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Craig Colley, 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 October is B Caunt of Baulkham Hills, who won a Wilson Fishing prize pack valued at over $300. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

MacQuarie, S Cook of Seven Hill, S Matthews of Edgeworth, C Keszei of Scullin, R Gill of Lake Munmorah, S Goddard of Gulmarrad, M Blanden of Lidcombe, M Baker of Gorokan, R Hansell of Punchbowl, S Roweth of Millthorpe, R Fineran of Geurie, S Ayre of Denman, A Todoroski of Epping, R Morrison of Forbes, S Banner of Buff Point, J Butcher of Basin View, A Bird of Singleton, K Hester of Beverly Hills,

W Cumming of Bass Hill, I Donaldson of Cessnock, T Polley of Tinonee, K Carter of Shepparton, M Blake of Walcha, J Thompson of Berry, D Collister of Hillvue, C Sheedy of Sanctuary Point, R Kresevic of Canley Vale, B Ginns of Ulladulla, W Forbes of Nambucca Heads, G Wade of Empire Bay, B Anschau of Skennars Head, D Conroy of Page, B Horn of Hawkes Nest. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

DECEMBER 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Silver Perch

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for October were: 10, 14, 20, 24, 30, 38, 43, 59, 64, 69, 73, 74, 79, 86, 90, 99. – NSWFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for October were: P Brooks of West Hoxton, B Harkness of Coolum Beach, J Paul of Inverell, P Henderson of Denham Court, I Dando of Tuggerawong, J Vagg of Tuross Head, B Gorham of Toronto, G Baker of Port

Answer:

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CHRISTMAS BLACK MAGIC 30LB LEADER

NEW SENSHI RELEASES

Pink leader has been popular for some time amongst serious anglers, as it is viewed as being less visible in certain water conditions. Although fluorocarbon options are common, Black Magic’s Pink Shock Leader is produced as a copolymer trace, which provides great value for money while still giving robust performance under stress. The recently released range has now expanded to include a 30lb line weight. This will be popular as it’s suited to a wide range of fishing applications. Whether you’re lure fishing, surfcasting, or general bait fishing, it’s sure to be a popular addition. This leader is ideal to use in murky water, deep water or when being viewed from below looking up at the line near the surface. It also retains the excellent abrasion resistance and knot strength seen in Black Magic Tough Trace and, like the name states, it gives excellent shock absorption as well. And of course, it’s a more affordable and more supple option than fluorocarbon. Keep an eye out for it at your favourite tackle store. www.blackmagictackle.com

Senshi has released a range of boxed hooks after demand from anglers for bigger quantities in its most popular models. Senshi hooks are produced using the finest quality raw materials, and are made to the highest standard. The range of hooks have chemically sharpened needle points, use high grade carbon steel and are all a black nickel finish. The boxed hooks are available in the following models: octopus/beak, long shank, baitholder and finesse, and are in the most popular six sizes in each model. One of Senshi’s latest releases is the G-Point hook – the next generation of high quality chemically-sharpened hooks. The G-Point Iseama Pro series hooks are extremely strong and offer no extra coating over the hook point itself, creating an extremely sharp hook point. The Senshi G-Point Iseama Pro hooks are a 2X Strong, straight eye with straight beak hook that are available in pre-packs of 10 hooks in sizes 2 through to 12. They are suitable for many fish species. To find out more about the Senshi hook range visit the Juro Oz Pro Tackle website. www.jurofishing.com

DAIWA LEXA HD

GIANT KILLING JIGGING RODS

Beauty and brawn blends with quality and performance in the new Lexa HD baitcaster. A sleek and stylish ergonomic profiled aluminium body sits comfortably in the hand, and combines with the Lexa’s advanced technologies and designs to create a mid priced heavy-duty reel that’s unmatched in style and strength. Featuring many of Daiwa’s best technologies and innovations including Magforce, UTD, Infinite Anti-Reverse, Power Handle, EVA knobs and CRBB bearings, the Lexa HD has left nothing on the table when it comes to strength, with a stainless steel gearing system ensuring ultimate power cranking power and precision. An amalgamation of strength, looks, and performance the Lexa HD is the heavy-duty baitcaster for those on a budget and those looking for power and strength in a reel. Whether it’s muscling kingies down south, barra in the north or samsonfish in the west, the Lexa HD is the reel that does it all, and has it all. www.daiwafishing.com.au

PRO LURE FISHTAIL UPDATE

Over the past 12 months, Australian company Pro Lure has been working on some modifications to the popular Fishtail soft bait. Looking to increase the versatility and make the Fishtail easier to rig, the designer has made several changes. A shallow split belly has been added to aid weedless rigging with worm hooks, and the dorsal fin has been removed, replaced with a shallow groove along the back. This makes it easier to rig straight and align jigheads, as well as having a protecting channel for weedless worm hook points to sit snugly. The final change is a slight narrowing up the front of the Fishtail, so that standard jigheads will sit cleaner. The addition of a white albino colour to the range and more rigging options will provide more possibilities. The Pro Lure Fishtail is available in three sizes, 80mm, 105mm, and 130mm. Trade enquiries can be directed to sales@ prolureaustralia.com.au. www.prolureaustralia.com.au 62

DECEMBER 2019

Never before has there been such a highend and comprehensive range as the 2019 release of the Giant Killing Jigging rods. These are the ultimate in Majorcraft jigging rods, with overhead and spin models for light, standard and slow jigging tasks. As the name suggests, the design principles are focused around large predatory trophy fish. There are 15 rods in the series with varying lengths from 6’2” up to 6’6”, and they all feature updated cosmetics. The Fuji SiC Slim ring material makes the rods even lighter than before. The rods come with PE ratings starting at 0.6 for the Light Jigging all the way up to the Jigging models with a PE of 4.0 at the upper end of the range. For more information on this and other rods in the range, visit the Major Craft Australia website or look them up on Facebook (facebook.com/ majorcraftaus). www.majorcraft.com.au

SAMSON LURES

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Samson handmade lures are long casting and virtually indestructible made for Australian fishing. With five separate lure designs, all wired through and ranging from 15g to 150g, Samson lures cover everything from lighter tackle fishing right through to chasing big pelagics like tuna. The range includes various surface and subsurface lures, all with the capability of casting long distances and covering as much ground as possible. Samson fishing has successfully established its lures range on the UK market, where they have been very effective in catching sea bass. Of course, the lures are effective for a wide variety of Australian fish species – everything from tailor, Australian salmon and kingfish right through to Spanish mackerel and tuna. All Samson lures are wired through and are virtually indestructible, making them an ideal choice when up against the razor sharp teeth of mackerel or against hard fighting kingfish. The Samson lure range is available from tackle retailers and online. For more information visit samsonluresaustralia@gmail.com or visit the website. Price: SRP $13.99-$59.99 www.samsonluresaustralia.com

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CHRISTMAS SAMURAI ROD ACCESSORIES 7

Transporting fishing rods is often fraught with danger. Bundles of rods are hard to carry, often arranged more like a game of ‘pick up sticks’ than an easy-to-carry group of fish-catching devices. They splay all over the place and invariably get damaged. The Samurai Rod Belts are made of high quality neoprene and Velcro and are designed to make it easy to transport multiple rods without the hassle of trying to carry multiple individual outfits. They are slightly stretchy and come in two sizes, small and medium. Simply wrap one around your group of rods near the butt end and another up near the tip and voila – neat and tidy. While transporting rods, even in neatly arranged groups, you wouldn’t be the first angler who has smashed the tip of your favourite rod into something and ruined it. The Samurai rod tip protector is designed to protect your rod tip from damage during transportation. Made from the same material as wetsuits, the tip protector is easy to slip on and protects the sensitive part of your rod. To see more information on these and other Samurai accessories, visit the Samurai Australia website or check them out on Facebook (facebook.com/samurairods). www.samurairods.com.au

ZMAN 7” DIEZEL MINNOWZ

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Requests from anglers chasing a big 10X Tough swimbait have seen the release of the ZMan 7” DieZel MinnowZ, a beast of a paddle tail plastic. Featuring the same realistic and proven profile and action as the 4” and 5” models, the 7” takes things up a notch in terms of bulk, water movement and big fish attracting qualities. Whether you’re chasing barramundi, Murray cod, mulloway or kingfish, searching the depths or slow trolling for bluewater bruisers, the 7” DieZel MinnowZ has you covered, teamed up with a brutally strong TT Lures HeadlockZ Extreme, SwimlockZ or ChinlockZ jighead. Other features include a belly slot for easy rigging and adding scent, along with a split top fin for simple and effective weedless rigging. The increased softness and flexibility of ZMan’s 10X Tough ElaZtech material dramatically improves hook set when weedless rigging when compared with standard soft plastics. If big fish are on your to-do list, check out these mega paddle tails at your local ZMan dealer. ZMan 7” DieZel MinnowZ are available in 12 colours, with three per pack. Price: SRP $17.95 www.z-man.com.au

DAIWA PHANTOM HYPER LT

Daiwa’s new light tackle workhorse has arrived with the introduction of the Phantom Hyper LT. This new reel blends design and leading edge technologies with excellent value to deliver anglers one of the most feature-packed mid-range spin reels for some time. Daiwa’s LT Concept provides strength and weightlessness, quality and performance, while a machine cut forged Tough Digigear delivers class-leading gear strength and smoothness. A metal alloy body enhances reel sensitivity and strength while Air Rotor provides balance and support for ultimate reel performance. A Long Cast ABS spool, Air Bail and ATD technologies combine for untouchable line control, while a machine cut handle keeps weight down. The Phantom Hyper LT is available now in four deep spool sizes, ranging from 3000D-6000D. www.daiwafishing.com.au

SHIMANO SQUIDGIES RODS

Specifically designed for the soft lure enthusiast, the new Squidgies rods are a cunning combination of performance and value. Featuring T45 blank construction and quality Fuji K guides, this series of rods are light and sensitive yet strong and reliable for anglers who demand a lot from their gear. All Shimano Squidgies series rods have been carefully designed to ensure their actions and lengths complement a range of lure weights and fishing techniques, catering for a wide range of applications and fish species. With eight performance spin and two sturdy baitcast models, these rods may find you in the remote wild gorges chasing cod and trout, to the hard-running rivers of the country’s tropical north. No matter your chosen style of fishing there’s a rod in the range to suit. Featuring comfortable full-length camo EVA grips and varying actions across the series, nine of the 10 models are two-piece construction, so you’ll always be able to pack a Squidgies rod on your next adventure. Look for them in your nearest tackle store now. Price: SRP $159.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

7/0 SNAPPER SNACK

Black Magic is expanding the range of their popular Snapper Snack rigs to include a NEW 7/0 version. These will be available at all good tackle stores soon. As with all Black Magic rigs, confidence in the components is not in question. In this case they are rigged on the premium PTFE coated 7/0 hooks and 80lb Tough Trace. The natural swimming action of the Snapper Snack skirts, coupled with the scent of your bait is hard to beat when it comes to catching snapper and other NZ fish species. Now with the bigger size you’ll be able to target an even wider range of fish from XOS snapper to hapuku, kingfish and more. Features include: twin lure rig incorporating high UV luminous skirts; cast, bottom bounce, or just drop and wait - versatile and simple; best fished with bait, but will still catch without; most hook-ups are in the corner of the mouth, and; available in six enticing colours. You can browse all the sizes and colours at the Black Magic Tackle website. www.blackmagictackle.com

BONE HERO DARTER

The Hero Darter is a soft, multi-function vibration lure that has a number of awesome features. There are three tow points on top of the Darter that provide three slightly different actions, and there is another tow point on the nose, which gives the lure a cast and retrieve option. This essentially gives anglers four lure fishing options in the one lure! However, the big thing with the Darter is that when the lure is in the jigging/vibration mode, a chin weight can be attached to the front nose eyelet that will allow this lure to be sent on deeper missions or fished in faster currents. The real beauty of this option is that the action of the lure is unaltered – in fact, while testing, the nose weight increased catches! The Hero Darter is a beautiful fishmunching 90mm long lure that is initially available in eight colours. www.wilsonfishing.com

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au DECEMBER 2019

CHRISTMAS SAMAKI MAKO SHIRT

The mako shark is impulsive, aggressive, agile, and every shark-lover’s dream! The blue green details of Samaki’s new Mako Shirt are enhanced from the background through to the underbelly of the sharks. With not just one but two mako sharks attacking at speed, the yellowfin has no chance! The lightweight fabric of this shirt 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. The 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. For more information and stockists visit the Samaki website, or like them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date. Price: SRP $59.95 (adults), SRP $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

SAMAKI SLICK

SHIMANO TREVALA S

Designed for shallow water jigging,Trevala rods feature lightweight C4S blanks and parabolic actions specially designed for slow fall and flutter jigs like the new Tiger Baku Baku. The fine diameter one-piece C4S blanks are extremely strong and lessen the respective rods’ overall weight, which allows the angler to focus on fighting the fish and not the tackle. Fuji Alconite guides and reel seats are complemented by shaped EVA grips that are specifically intended for jigging work. The slow tuned actions are very precise, and allow the angler to effectively work the jig with minimal effort. Shimano recommends matching these rods with the Shimano Tranx series of 300 and 400 sized baitcaster reels, for an outfit that is super balanced and ideal for getting the most action out of your jigs. Available in power ratings from XL to MH, there are five spin models in 6’ 3” and 6’ 6” sizes, and a 6’ 3” overhead model. They are available in-store now. Price: SRP: $229.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

OBSESSION 17 BASS SERIES 14 Australian-made Obsession Spinnerbaits

Samaki’s extensive range of sunglasses just got bigger. The Slick is here to stay, and alongside the current range are two awesome new colours: brown tort with an amber lenses and matt black with a copper lenses. Each model is designed for your target species and most loved fishing environments. The square-shaped Slick is so comfortable that you won’t want to take it off. Each one of the Samaki-designed frames gives you great coverage from the elements and provides you with the polarised lenses you need when you’re out on the water. Slick colour options are available in matt black/green revo, matt black/blue revo, matt black/grey, brown tort/amber and matt black/ copper, giving you multiple options to suit all anglers and fishing scenarios. For more information and stockists visit the Samaki website and like them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up to date. Price: SRP $49.95 www.samaki.com.au

have a strong following amongst Murray cod and golden perch anglers. Owner and designer Raymond Parry was keen to expand his horizons, and with the assistance of some keen bass anglers he has produced a range of spinnerbaits focused on Australian bass. This new series is called the ‘Bass Six Pack’, and Obsession Spinnerbaits is releasing six new colours (WB, BG, DONC, GM, GOAT and PBJ). They will be available in 1/4oz, 1/2oz and 5/8oz through your local Obsession Spinnerbait stockist. Head to the Obsession Spinnerbait website to view their complete product range, which includes single, twin, triple and quadbladed spinnerbaits, mumblers and buzz baits. Jigheads are also available from 1/8oz3.5oz, and there’s an extensive range of skirt colours, as well as soft plastic curl-tails in 4”, 5” and 8” sizes. The product range can be customised to your requirements or you can design your spinnerbait from scratch. www.obsessionspinnerbaits.com

NEW FROM STRIKE PRO

ATC VIRTUOUS

Two of Strike Pro’s latest lure releases are the Bass Beetle and the Hunch Walker. The Bass Beetle is an ultra-shallow running Beetle imitation. This lure is perfect when the Christmas beetles and cicadas are buzzing around. The Bass Beetle offers extreme realism in its shape, and this shallow running lure has an enticing body roll and dives to approx. 1ft. The Bass Beetle is 4cm long, weighs 5.7g and comes in six fish-catching colours. It’s sure to be a hit with anglers targeting bass, estuary perch, bream, trout and jungle perch. The new Hunch Walker is a wakebait version of Strike Pro’s popular Hunchback range of lures. The Hunch Walker works on the surface and sub-surface, just under the surface in the scum line. When it is retrieved across the surface it creates a commotion and paddles, looking just like a frog or cicada kicking across the top, with a head-down, tailup, wide swaying action. The Hunch Walker is 5.5cm long, weighs 6.5g and comes in six proven colours. It is irresistible to bass, estuary perch, Murray cod, sooty grunter and more. www.jurofishing.com 64

DECEMBER 2019

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New to the ATC range of reels is the Virtuous – a range of reels with a host of features that combine to make them tough, dependable and affordable. An aluminium body and rotor ensure these reels are built to last, and the 9+1 stainless steel ball bearings give these reels a smooth feel that doesn’t wear the angler down. Add into this an ergonomic handle for the ultimate in comfort when fighting large fish, and the Virtuous is one of those reels that will stand the test of time. All of these comforts are backed up by a brilliant and exceptionally smooth dual drag system. This system is built to provide two drag surfaces on the top and underneath the spool, allowing for ultra-fine adjustments and exceptional smoothness. The dual drag system also means that when you need to wind up the drag, the ability is there to give you some real stopping power. Sizes range from the 2000 light line special all the way up to a 10,000 that swallows almost 500m of PE4 line and has a max drag of 20kg! www.wilsonfishing.com

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NEWS FROM

ADVERTORIAL

HOBIE MIRAGEDRIVE 360 AND PRO ANGLER 2020 Truly the Ultimate Fishing Machine, the 2020 Pro Angler with the MirageDrive 360 and Kick-Up Fins delivers power in every direction for unprecedented manoeuvrability and control. Two decades ago, Hobie revolutionized kayak fishing with the invention of the original MirageDrive. The radical engineering was met with worldwide acclaim and leg-propulsion became the new standard for kayak fishing locomotion. Imitators eventually arrived on the scene, but Hobie remains the industry benchmark. Hobie knew improving on its revolutionary MirageDrive wouldn’t be easy, but they weren’t deterred. Six years in the making, for 2020, Hobie is proud to announce the greatest achievement to date in the form of an astonishing 360-degree rotating pedal drive—an all new paradigm in kayak fishing boat control, complete with a nearly 100-page

SPECIFICATIONS Pro Angler 12 Length 366cm Width 91cm Height 51cm Capacity 227kg Vantage seat capacity 159kg Fitted hull weight 49.7kg Fully rigged weight 60.1kg Pro Angler 14 Length 417cm Width 97cm Height 51cm Capacity 272kg Vantage seat capacity 159kg Fitted hull weight 56.5kg Fully rigged weight 67.4kg

patent registration. Put simply, the remarkable new Hobie MirageDrive 360 propulsion system is a 360-degree rotating pedal drive that allows anglers to easily manoeuvre their 2020 Mirage Pro Angler 360 12 and 14 fishing kayaks in every direction—backwards, forward, sideways, diagonally—or even effortlessly spin on its own axis. Upping the ante with all-new Kick-Up Fins, which automatically retract upon impact, the new MirageDrive 360 delivers precision boat control and closequarter manoeuvrability that’s unrivalled by any other human-powered watercraft. With the MirageDrive 360, anglers go where they want and fish how they want with total control and complete confidence. The MirageDrive 360 is designed for versatility on the water and to help anglers catch more fish. Infinitely more manoeuvrable, anglers will immediately 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, shallow or deep or anywhere in between. 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 structurefilled waters become far more manageable. Hobie’s MirageDrive 360 completely

redefines boat control.” “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. Previously, when you drifted out of position, you had to pedal in a circle to point the hull in the right direction between casts. Now, when you’re sitting idle,

additional angling equipment. “In every environment there’s the need for better control in order to position yourself to present your bait to the fish in the most natural way possible,” says Morgan Promnitz, Hobie’s Senior Fishing Brand Manager. “Whether you’re fishing offshore, inshore, or freshwater, the benefits are numerous. We’ve tested the

ENGINEERED TO SWING FINS A FULL 360 DEGREES

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

boats in a multitude of fishing environments and our test team’s response has all been the same—the MirageDrive 360 gives anglers a huge advantage that results in more fish caught, period.” “The Kick-Up Fins add peace of mind to anglers exploring waters with submerged objects such as rocks or tree stumps because the fins will automatically retract upon impacting an object. This greatly reduces any chance or damaging the propulsion system and allows anglers to explore with confidence—no more damaged props or bent fins.” – Hobie Fishing Asia Pacific

and durable Thermoform construction, the Passport is a well-rounded kayak that truly offers something for everyone, from novice to experienced kayakers alike. It is the ideal kayak for casual recreation and family outings, but is ready for all kinds of adventures on the water. Designed to accept most of Hobie’s vast array of accessories, the Passport can be easily outfitted with additional equipment. Powered by Hobie’s first-of-its-kind Classic MirageDrive pedal system, the Passport makes kayaking smooth and efficient, cruising seamlessly through the water. The shorter hull length and wider body provide great stability, while the

intuitive steering system and stowable rudder enable easy manoeuvring. Standard equipment on the Passport includes a suspended mesh-back, aluminium-frame seat, two-piece aluminium paddle, two rod holders, accessory mounting tracks, Lowrance ready, Power-Pole Micro bracket indent and an accessory mount that accepts the kayak sail and new bimini. Kayakers will also enjoy moulded-in, cross-bungee cargo areas on the bow and stern, as well as Hobie’s ‘twist-n-seal’ hatch. You can create your ultimate setup from weekend fishing to a family day sailing on the open water. – Hobie Fishing Asia Pacific

HOBIE MIRAGE PASSPORT 12 Hobie is proud to announce the latest addition to its renowned line-up of pedal kayaks, powered by the brand’s signature MirageDrive – the original pedal propulsion system for kayaking. The Passport was built

with simplicity in mind, delivering efficiency, ease of use, versatility and comfort in a highly accessible package. The Passport has been designed to help break down those barriers of entry that may be keeping people off the water and make pedal kayaking more accessible and affordable. The goal of the Passport is to be able to bring the experience that Hobie’s MirageDrive technology has delivered for more than 20 years to a broader audience. With its excellent value, transportability, simple and sleek design

DECEMBER 2019

ACT anglers champing at the bit for Murray cod CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Towards the end of October, some of Canberra’s best cod fishos got together and arranged a charity event to raise money for The Fly Program, which is an incredibly important men’s health charity run by Matt Tripet. The event, a dinner, was organised by Michael Harrington who was ably supported by Ryan Osman, Will Curtin and Victoria Cameron along with other members of CAST.

the aim was $30,000, the organisers were blown away by the response and are to be commended for all their efforts. Michael plans to make next year even bigger, so keep a look out on The Fly Program Facebook page and come along next year. On a completely different note, cod season has started and already a large number of anglers have hit the local impoundments along with the ‘Bidgee in search of a big green fish to open their 2019/2020 cod account. Last season ended in a flurry of activity as

season and I’ll be casting lures like the Jackall Gantia, Megabass Vatalion and Westin Percy Perch. Hopefully the cod are still in the same areas they were a few months ago and keen for a feed! LOCAL LAKES Burley Griffin Lake Burley Griffin is fishing particularly well at present. The golden perch are feeding heavily on baitfish and can be found hanging around overhangs and rock walls along the back of the museum and near the reed-lined banks at

The right tools are important for swimbaiting. A good swimbait rod makes all the difference when you’re casting big baits.

Don’t forget to pack a surface lure for your cod opening session! The event was held at Akiba in Canberra’s CBD and the guest list included Steve and Jo Starling along with many other big names within the industry. There was a silent auction and the event was sponsored by a number of local and national companies. In the end, the event raised $40,000 for The Fly Program and given that

Googong and the ‘Bidgee fired late, producing so many memorable moments for ACT anglers. Most of the better fish were caught on swimbaits last season, with many anglers having success fishing suspending swimbaits in water around a metre deep. Shallow areas (whether dam or river) will be my first stop off this

Weston Park. These fish can be targeted using a variety of techniques, but I tend to favour beetle spins at this time of year as they are reasonably snag proof and can therefore be cast right into the heart of a likely snag. Murray cod can be targeted along the reed-lined banks opposite the Governor Generals residence and

Fishing at dawn or dusk is best if you want to maximise your fishing time. 66

DECEMBER 2019

along the sunken willows near Scrivener Dam. If after big numbers of reddies, head up the Molongolo and cast plastics tight to the bank using a hop and pause retrieve. Tuggeranong Lake Tuggeranong is really firing again and there have been some amazing captures of late. Nick Moss landed over 30 carp during one memorable morning session, while there are also stacks of redfin hitting lures along the rock walls near the bridge. These reddies are responding well to plastics slow rolled along the bottom, but will readily take a Jackall TN50 or small spinnerbait. A few lucky anglers have also had encounters with large cod along the dam wall and it is here that a number of solid goldens have been landed by anglers using Jackall TN60s. Ginninderra Lake Ginninderra is fishing well. Although the weed remains an ongoing issue, kayak and boat anglers have landed some nice golden perch by casting plastics and beetle spins parallel to the weed and then slow rolling these lures back to the boat. For land-based anglers, the dam wall remains the pick of the spots, as there are good-sized cod and yellas

hanging around at dawn and dusk and plenty of redfin action throughout the day. The weed isn’t much of a problem in this location, but be mindful of sunken trollies and other large snags.

a number of reports and photos showing anglers with big numbers of golden perch over 60cm. The action shows no sign of slowing down, with large numbers of redfin now

Swimbaits accounted for the majority of fish landed late last season, and this season should follow a similar pattern. SURROUNDS Googong Dam remains the premier fishery for ACT anglers. Throughout spring, a large number of enormous golden perch were landed by anglers using lipless crankbaits, soft plastics and beetle spins. I heard of several anglers landing fish up to 68cm and received

on the bite and the yella action continuing unabated. Googong has been an outstanding summer fishery for a long time, and with a bumper cod season, Googong will cement its already growing reputation as one of the best places to target giant natives in or around the Canberra region.

This ‘Bidgee cod took a small swimbait in less than a metre of water.

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’Tis the season to go camping BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

It’s time to break out the camping gear! The freezing nights are well and truly behind us now, which means you don’t need a fire to be warm at night. In fact, you might even find yourself

going for a swim to cool down instead. Blowering Dam has free form camping around almost the entire lake, which is why it is a lot of peoples’ favourite place to camp at. You don’t get too much for free these days, so if you’re after a cheap weekend away camping, I strongly recommend you think about heading to Blowering Dam.

GOLDEN PERCH Golden perch are still about but you will have to work a lot harder than you did during the spring months to get results. Trolling with smallish lures such as Trollcraft #2 Prism Murrims, 60mm Insanity Slap Walkers, small AC Invaders, small Viking lures, Trollcraft Double Downers or small

StumpJumpers is a good way to target the golden perch and seek out active fish at this time of year. Casting lures will also work well this month, and the best places to target during the day are any prominent points and/or any milk or mud line that has formed along any banks. These mud lines are often hard to fish, as this is normally where the most severe wave action is from the wind, but it is where the active fish are. The wave action bashing against the bank blows all sorts of food items over to that particular bank, and the wave action also dislodges baitfish, yabbies, nymphs, mud eyes and frogs along that bank, creating a smorgasbord of food. The muddy water also creates a form of cover for predatory fish, so you will find the fish that are in these areas are active and feeding, making them much easier to catch. So if you can’t fish a particular mud line from your

The cod will be hungry this month, especially in our rivers. Break out the big gear and get amongst them. and it’s best to rig them on a paternoster rig to keep them from burying themselves into the bottom. TUMUT RIVER Spinning and fly fishing has been what you would consider average since the opening of the season. I’m not saying it hasn’t been good at times, it’s just not as good as it has been over previous years. There have been fish caught on Glo-Bugs and nymphs, and there have also been a few

Golden perch are definitely still on the cards this month, even if it means getting onto the bank to catch them.

Numbers might be down in the Tumut River this season but the size of the fish certainly isn’t.

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boat because it’s too windy, park the boat up and fish it from the bank. The other productive technique during the summer months is bait fishing around shaly banks, rocky points and submerged trees. Arguably the best bait to use while targeting Blowering’s golden perch are medium-sized yabbies,

fish willing to take a wellpresented dry fly. Lure fishos have fared best in the mostly high flows this season, and fish are being caught on a variety of lures, from small plastics to big Tassie Devils and everything in between. The great thing about the fish numbers being down on previous years is

that there is more tucker for the fish that are there, so the average size of the fish at the moment is exceptional. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER Most cod will be keen for a good feed this month after finishing their annual spawning run. They tend to be pretty keen to hit just about anything thrown their way, especially during the first few weeks of the season. If casting lures is your thing you can look forward to some good catches, especially with large profiled lures. Large surface lures, wakebaits, spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, Angel Baits and swimbaits are all worth a chuck this month. Trollers tend to do well early in the season. On the outside of sharp bends using fairly big lures in the 90-150mm range seems to get the most consistent results. Bait fishing at this time of the year can be pretty flat out at times, especially when you’re using worms, because everything from crayfish to cod love juicy earthworms. However, the best baits to use when you’re specifically targeting the natives are shrimp, yabbies and bardi grubs. No matter where you decide to fish this December I wish you all the best, and hope that you have a safe and happy Christmas break. See you all next month.

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Big lures are what it’s about this month. Even the golden perch agree! 68

DECEMBER 2019

Low water still fishing well HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

The whole of NSW is in dire need of rain. The drought continues to deepen with no real signs of anything changing soon. Unfortunately, the whole freshwater fishing scene in the Hunter Valley is shaken up from it. Lack of flow in feeder creeks, falling dam levels and rising temperatures is making for a very dry summer. At the time of writing we are already getting consistent mid-30s days. The countryside is already almost to dust and I cannot imagine what it may look like at the end of summer if there’s no rain. It’s a scary thought, and I know a lot of lower Hunter regions are not on water restrictions yet, but I ask people to be conservative. Water is already being

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Kahlee Noble with a pair of bass caught early before the sun came up. day. Trolling is a great way to cover water and locate these fish. Staying close to tree lines and the creek bed will see you catch bass and golden perch this month. For those wanting to cast, lures that produce some

Chatterbaits are accounting for a lot of fish in the impoundments lately. trucked all over the state to the worst drought-effected people. Keep in mind that water has to come from somewhere and will be putting extra strain on what low water we have left in the state. The impoundment fish have already been affected, being very light in weight and lacking condition. Falling levels and lack of bait has some fish looking super thin. On the other hand, the river fish should be handling things a little better due to the constant flow out of the impoundments maintaining flows. However, minimal rain run-off and drying ground water will have them struggling to get all the way back up to their furthest reaches in the smaller creeks. GLENBAWN Lake Glenbawn has still suffered the worst out of the two lakes from the drought. This will have the bass slightly spilt on what depth they are relating to over December. The dropping levels will keep some deeper fish pushed out off the banks and relating to deep water on creek bed swings and points. Trolling deep diving crankbaits is a great way to target these bass. The fish can be quite mobile and move from spot to spot each

vibration will be the key. Tail spinners, blades and heavy spinnerbaits would be my first choice once you have found some fish on the sounder. Dragging a skirted jig and trailer or slow rolling a plastic if the vibrating lure is not getting any attention is a smart move.

areas should hold fish. In the right conditions these fish will take just about anything you throw at them. Any vibration lure like a spinnerbait, bladed jig, crankbait or even a plastic will work. With the dry conditions surface lures should come into play this month on these shallow fish as well, as they may be looking up for food with the lack of bait. ST CLAIR Lake St Clair’s weed is also barely holding on with the dropping levels. I would take the time to drive around and fish whatever shallow weed you can find. These spots are perfect for targeting the bass and golden perch. The back of bays should have some weed in their deeper sections. These are good places to start with a topwater early in the this month. St Clair is a renowned topwater fishery and the warmer weather brings out the insect life, which gets the bass looking towards the surface for their next meal. Try fast-moving baits first up to encourage a reaction

Henry Smith with a quality brace of summer bass. The other bass in the lake to target this month are the ones living shallow in less than 15ft. These can be temperamental to get bites from, and fishing the low light is always a good idea. They should be spread out through the entire lake, so if you can find any shallow weed, rock or timber, these

strike over the top of weed. Walkers, paddlers and prop baits work well for this. If that doesn’t work, slow down and add lots of pauses. If your topwater is not getting attention, a subsurface reaction or vibration lures will be your next best bet. A 3/8-1/2oz naturally-coloured in spinnerbait or bladed jig

swam over the weed and into gaps and holes should catch some fish. These styles of lures work well around weed, and have the ability to pop out the weed easily by the semi-snagless setup of a single upward facing hook. Lipless crankbaits are another great lure for targeting the fish in the weed. I fish these with my rod at 45° upwards, hopping the lipless crankbait into holes and down the face of the weed. Once the shallow moving bait bite slows down, try dragging a skirted jig and trailer along the weed and into holes. Moving out slightly wider, a hopped blade or crankbait swam along the weed drop off works well after the sun comes out as well. There will always be some schools of smaller fish sitting out just wide of the weed in 12-25ft. These fish will be active as well, taking 1/4-3/8oz jighead rigged plastic with a spinner arm attached and slow rolled or hopped blades. RIVERS The rivers and streams in the Hunter will start to fish well this month. A lot of bass should have made their way upstream by now. Some of the smaller creeks will start to see increased numbers of fish from now on, although water flow will restrict how far they can move up. These bass will be hungry after travelling great distances. All your typical river bass lures will come into play. A spinnerbait is a good search bait for locating bass in your local river. Moving quickly through sections until you catch a fish or get a bite, you can slow down and pick the area apart. Where there is one fish there will often be more. Work weedless plastics or hop a small blades around these areas after the spinnerbait stops catching. Additionally, once the light gets low, these river bass love a topwater lure all through summer.

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Top tips for Tumut trout WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

Summer is well and truly here with extreme heat and long days, which means plenty of new fishing opportunities! We start to move our attention to the Tumut River for trout

February are my favourite times to fish this river. It will be running high with irrigation flow, which can make it difficult to fish the conventional way by walking banks and casting lures. Therefore, we need to adapt our approach to fish the river effectively. My favourite technique

easy and stealthy technique that works incredibly well at this time of year. I run a 6wt fly rod, with a 6lb tippet (but drop to 4lb if getting rejected) and use a size 10 foam hopper. Other files that work well are cicadas and willow grubs. It’s all about trying to figure out what they are feeding on and matching that food source. If you’re going to use spin gear, use small hardbody lures, particularly small grasshopper hardbodies, which will work really well in these backwaters. The technique we use is to walk up to a hole, sit and wait for any sign of a fish and, if nothing, move on to the next. Most of the time we will spot them doing laps and be able to place the fly or lure in their path. This is the most successful and exciting way to chase them. BLOWERING DAM Golden perch are well and truly feeding now and we have already seen the incredible November bite period that we get every year. The fish were schooling

Mitch Condell with a ripper brown trout from a backwater on the Tumut River. up on the rocky banks and points and feeding really well. They will continue to do this through December, just on a smaller scale. The fish are still active and are well worth chasing in the afternoons and early mornings. Both casting and trolling the rocky banks up around the wall are the best option. The best lures when casting are yabby pattern soft plastics and also ZX blades. When trolling, use lures between 60-80mm in length. The best part is the smaller cod that live on these banks

The size 10 Foam Hopper pinned right in the corner of the jaw. and, during the low light periods, to Murray cod. TUMUT RIVER Finally, we get to fish the Tumut River again. It’s a location that has been on the back burner over the cooler months. I did talk about it during November as the fishing started to pick up with the warmer weather, but December through to

is to sight cast the big browns on fly that sit in the still backwaters that form with the high-water level. You can fish in the still patches and flooded margins with spin and fly, as they both work well. Fly is preferable as you can easily stalk the fish and present small bugs like grasshoppers that the trout are feeding on. This is an

The rocky banks around the wall are prime areas to cast and troll for cod and yellas in December.

Dam............................... % Full

Dam Sep Oct Nov Blowering 55 56 54 Brogo 78 70 56 Burrendong 5 4 4 Burrinjuck 33 33 33 Carcoar 21 20 18 Chaffey 21 19 17 Clarrie Hall 96 91 84 Copeton 9 8 7 Dartmouth 58 56 54 Eucumbene 27 29 30 Glenbawn 49 48 44 Glenlyon 8 3 3

Dam Sep Oct Nov Glennies Creek 49 48 46 Hume 42 40 37 Jindabyne 67 77 82 Keepit 1 1 1 Lostock 72 78 71 Oberon 35 34 32 Pindari 5 5 5 Split Rock 2 2 1 Tantangara 27 23 17 Toonumbar 55 48 39 Windamere 31 31 30 Wyangala 23 20 17

(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.) DECEMBER 2019

and 150mm AC Invader and big 2oz spinnerbaits are the pick. The rocky banks around the wall end of the lake are the most productive when

This solid yella fell to the slow rolled Mazzy Vibe along a rocky edge.

DAM LEVELS

into 6-8m of water, making sure your lure is always within a metre of the bottom. On the cod scene, fishing night and first light are critical. The fish will be

will hit these lures as well. The best trolling depth depends on the time of day. If the sun is high, try to stick to 8-9m of water. As the sun starts to dip you can move

feeding now more than any other time of year, but this doesn’t mean they are easy to catch. You want to spend some time searching the lake for food and try to figure out what depth they are sitting in. Some years we have caught big cod in that 5m mark in summer and other years it needs to be down in the 8m mark. Casting plastics and chatterbaits is my go-to, just hold the boat out a few metres deeper than where you want to fish and cast in against the bank. If you’re trolling, big hardbodies like the 120mm

fishing deeper. Also, don’t forget to look on the flats as some of the giant cod will move onto the flats to feed on schooling carp. Another location that will be fishing well is the entire length of the Murrumbidgee River. The go-to techniques of casting spinnerbaits tight to the structure and fishing topwater in the low light periods are the pick. If you’re bait fishing, then tying up under a shaded tree near structure is a winner. Good luck with your summer sessions. See you out on the water!

There are plenty of smaller cod around in the summer months, including this model that took the new 160mm Ignite Cod Fury.

There are still freshwater options when it’s dry NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

Murray cod season has officially opened back up as of 1 December, and with the days getting hotter and hotter as we lead up

numbers, considering. Fingers crossed it is going to be another good season for the cod fishing as well. Copeton Dam continued to stay open for Murray cod for the threemonth spawning period, while Pindari Dam and

have started becoming more abundant again. With Copeton Dam extremely low, the fish have been sitting out deeper in the old river beds and closer to the standing timber, however casting lures up into the shallow bays and working them slowly back out into the deeper water with long

pauses in the retrieve is also another really good technique this time of year when looking for active fish. Pindari Dam is also extremely low, and with the low water levels the fish have still been on the chew, which is a good sign for Pindari. The fish, however, are not being taken in big

Jackson Haussler with a solid New England yellowbelly caught on the Megabass Vibration-X lipless crankbait.

The author took this solid buck rainbow casting a small grub in a New England stream. to another dry summer, big rainfalls couldn’t be needed any more. Local impoundments are still slowly dropping and the rivers are at an all time low, but in saying that, there have been some quality fish such as trout, redfin and the beloved golden perch being caught across the New England. All these fish are being caught in some pretty good

surrounding rivers remained closed to cod fishing but both continued to fish well for yellowbelly. There have even been good-sized yellowbelly caught on the swimbaits intended for cod in Copeton in the last few weeks, however the lipless crankbaits and smaller lures have been the more productive baits, as the water has warmed up and the crayfish and smaller baitfish

Redfin made for some good fun while the cod fishing was off limits.

numbers like the Pindari Dam of old. Casting lures like soft plastics, blades, lipless crankbaits and small spinnerbaits right up near the edge or slowly working lures through the tree lines is always a good way to start looking and once a pattern is worked out, it can make for some pretty fun fishing. If lure fishing is not your thing, then soaking a shrimp or craybob amongst the timber can be just as effective as lures, if not more effective when presented right. Both the Beardy and Severn rivers are struggling with low water levels and are being backed up with some very thick slimy weeds that continue to grow during these

hot days. The weed makes it tough to be able to present a lure properly without fouling up, so looking for deeper holes or casting through the weed channels is the way to be looking for active fish. With the lizards, frogs and Christmas beetles becoming more abundant, I am predicting it to be a pretty epic month for fishing topwater lures, so fingers crossed for some heavy rains in the meantime to give the rivers a good flush and replenish the impoundments again. Tight lines to everyone getting out on the water this month and good luck for the opening of the 2019/2020 Murray cod season!

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Thank cod it’s December YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

The wait is all over for those of us who target the mighty green fish at the home of the Murray cod, Lake Mulwala. Sure there are other options open during the September to November period but nothing beats fishing the Mecca itself! The first full weekend in December, Lake Mulwala will come alive with the running of the 20th Anniversary Cod Classic. Over 3000+ anglers will be looking to hook a mighty Murray cod and share in the staggering prize pool that includes an amazing 10 boating packages. Targeting Murray cod early season can be rewarding

fishing many different styles. Getting off the edge of the deeper channels and casting in depths of 1-3m can be productive. Any style of lure, whether hardbody, spinnerbait, crankbait, swimbait, and many more, will see you in with a good chance. Trolling probably turns up more cod than casting in the lake and the options are limitless. As long as your lure isn’t consistently ploughing the bottom but you’re somewhere close to it, you’ll be in with a chance. For the bait brigade, as long as it’s in the water you’re in with a chance. Nothing can beat a fresh grub, while yabbies, scrubworms, cheese or chicken will also do the trick. Looking back, the yella season was hit and miss at best. Just when it looked like there’d be a good run of warm

weather to fire things up, the weather would turn and shut things down again. The usual yellowbelly hot spots, Train Bridge and Canal, produced spasmodic results with many anglers trying their luck on a daily basis. Jackall TN60s and Profishent Vixen Vibe 65s were the lures of choice for most. GOLDEN DOLLAR$ COMP The popular Golden Dollar$ tournament was held late October with a strong field of 64 anglers taking part. Based around the Bundalong area and its plethora of backwaters, competitors can be rewarded with plenty of cash if they can crack the code to where the yellas are hiding. Fishing was tough with only 14 yellowbelly being brought to the scales for the day. Three teams managed

Kyle Dalrymple with a Mulwala monster at 110.4cm. Hopefully, we’ll see fish this size in December. to catch three each, so it was going to be a close race. Only 4mm overall combined total length separated the top two placing with Mick Massier and Simon Abernethy of team Big Daddy getting their hands on first place and $2,000+ cash for their

efforts. A close second was Team Venom, Ian Rogers and Vanessa Bennett. Taking out third place were Dave Gerscher and Tom McGregor from Geelong, a great result for boys who aren’t regulars to Mulwala. If you’re visiting

Yarrawonga/Mulwala for cod opening I urge you to call in and see us at our two locations, opposite the Post Office in Mulwala with the big green fish out the front or find us at our Yarrawonga store located between Rivers and One Zach.

Green and gold for summer! ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

At last! Cod season is here once again and we welcome summer! For so many freshwater anglers cod opening is the absolute highlight of the cod season. We get to uncover and dust off our stored rods and much loved tackle, and once again put them to the best use! Being such a warm time of year, and being the start

of a new season, December is a month where numbers of cod can be caught quite regularly. The fisheries haven’t copped pressure for the past few months because of the closed season, and the fish are very active, with the warmer weather being more frequent, meaning that catching these fish can be much easier compared to the cooler months. However, with that said, depending on the fishery, flows, water releases, dam levels, water quality and

weather conditions, cod can still be difficult to catch. A lot of the time you definitely do need to do some homework before heading out. There’s

confidence in, because at the end of the day confidence is one of the key factors to you hooking into more fish. My recommendation is to

Vibes are always a good option for deep water yellas. the water if you’re able to get out there. With cod season aside, if you’re still into chasing golden perch in impoundments, December is also a prime time of year to do

I know what I’ll be doing in my spare time this month! As always, be persistent and try different things. Venture out and fish new fisheries, as generally speaking December is a good time to

Despite the closure being lifted, anglers should still be handling all cod with care.

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also a bit of trial and error involved. Generally, come cod open lure size doesn’t really seem to matter a great deal. Anything over roughly 70mm should get plenty of attention. As I often state, lure size, brands, styles and colours comes down to personal choice and preferences. There’s no use throwing around a lure you don’t like or have zero

have a good mixed bag. Have a few hardbodies, swimbaits, spinnerbaits and definitely surface lures. December is a fantastic time of year to catch good numbers of cod off the roof. Fishing in the morning or evening or even well into the dark of night can bring awesome results. Often fish will feed well at nighttime after long hot days, so this can be a golden time to be on Tying up to timber and fishing it vertically with lures is a proven method for finding better fish like this.

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Murray cod are now back on the menu, and better numbers can be caught now than in the cooler months.

so. Numbers of golden perch can be caught in December if conditions are right, and the Hume Weir has been good to me in recent times. If you are wanting to give Hume a go, it’s definitely also worth a shot. Trolling in the evenings, fishing trees during the day or casting at banks should all bring decent results when looking for golden perch.

do it. Work areas well, but don’t spend too much time in the one area if you’re not getting results, just move on and cover as much structure as you can. Remember to always enjoy yourself and have fun, and results should come your way! All the best to everyone out fishing this month, and I hope to see you out there!

Cod catches are set to join bags of yellowbelly ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The Murray River at Swan Hill has fished well recently as the environmental flows dropped away and the river returned to a somewhat stable level. As the river level dropped the golden perch continued to feed mostly on bait in the poor water clarity. Backwaters close to the bank were well worth a look, with yabbies, shrimp and worms all tempting fish. Some sizable by-catch cod were

also keen to muscle in on the action and several metre plus specimens were in the mix. All cod captured were returned to the river in preparation for what looks to be a promising cod season. Lake Charm has been producing some good-sized redfin to 1kg on both bait and lures. A few golden perch have also been caught of late on small lures and soft plastics. It’s a similar story at Lake Boga, with just a few cod thrown in the mix. This lake would be another good cod opening option should you be looking for a mixed bag.

Plenty of perch are on offer for bait anglers, and the author’s favourite hook for the job is the 2/0 Mustad.

Outdoors and Fishing says the Murray has fished well both above and below the Mildura Weir. Good numbers of perch have been landed on both bait and lures, with a few sizable cod mixed in. Sykes said all the cod were returned to the river and things are looking great for this year’s cod opening. The Murray River from Wentworth downstream

worth a look for the cod open this month. Some good news from the Darling River is the relocation of a vast number of native fish that would otherwise have died in the dwindling pools this summer. Of course, not all fish could be rescued and sadly we will see many fish die this summer along the Darling River.

Some good by-catch cod have turned up at some locations and are a good sign for the coming cod opening. The Murrumbidgee at Balranald has good numbers of golden perch taking both bait and lures but there’s been no by-catch cod from this area. Two doses of black water in the past 10 years has effectively cooked their numbers from the river. I recall some great cod catches back in the day, with numerous big cod smashing lures and bait. One of my all-time favourite cod haunts is gone. The Wakool has fished well for golden perch this past month on both bait and lures. Shrimp bobbed close to the timber has worked well,

with numerous perch to 50cm falling for this technique. The Murray River at Boundary Bend through to Belsar Island has produced goods catches of perch in the falling water. Once again, most fish have been taken on bait. The Murray River at Robinvale has produced good numbers of perch on bait, with the odd small Murray cod getting in on the act. Some thumping carp have also been landed proving great entertainment on light gear, or a real thrill for the first time fishers. Kym Sykes from Mildura

While a good number of native fish have been relocated from the Darling River, which has to be applauded, unfortunately most of those fish still trapped in the holes will die over the summer months. through Neds Corner and below has fished very well for golden perch, with most anglers bagging out on bait. There have also been a few big cod encounters on small lures that were over as quickly as they begun. This is another stretch of river that might be

With cod season upon us this month it’s refreshing to see a few more good-sized fish starting to show in our local waters. Who knows, in a few years’ time we might just return to a time where you were a real chance of landing a 130cm+ fish!

Summer fun in the Snowies Anthony Bentley

We are into the summer fishing now! The past couple of months have been a little tough on the lakes and rivers, but things are starting to turn for the better. There have been plenty of bugs hatching and trout are eating off the surface. The rivers are fishing reasonably well during the early mornings and evenings, with mayflies and caddis being the dominant insects. Mayfly imitations such as Royal Wullfs, Parachute Adams, and Manic CDC Thorax Duns and Caddis imitations like the Elk Hair Caddis, Manic Neversink Caddis, and the reliable Goddard Caddis are all proving to be effective on the rivers. During the full daylight hours on the rivers and streams, a small nymph dropper like a Hare and Copper or Black Seals Fur tied about 45cm-60cm behind the dry and fished in the margins and undercuts will be advantageous. There have also been a few larger beetles around with some big Christmas beetles starting to make an appearance as well as the odd hopper. Large Stimulators and Foam

Humpies are great flies for the larger bugs. As there were some late spring rainfalls, the rivers and creeks are still in good shape with just the right amount of flow and good feeding temperatures. Let’s hope this continues throughout summer

ground and fish have been actively feeding during the day around the edges. As the weather really starts to heat up, the fish will start to retreat into the deeper, cooler water, making it a little harder to spot them. Take advantage of the moment while you can,

Fishing the shoreline during the evening hours will provide some good opportunities to get into some of the larger lake dwellers. The cooler evenings will see bigger browns come in close, looking for some bigger bugs such as Christmas beetles and larger moths for a feed. Muddler Minnows and other mudeye imitations are perfect for these times. • 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,

The trout have been eating off the surface targeting all the newly hatched bugs. 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.

n Trout Hatchery e d a G

Gaden Trout Hatchery

Gaden Trout Hatchery The rivers and creeks are still in good shape thanks to some late spring rainfalls. and the fish stay comfortable. During the warmer days, fishing the higher water will pay off. Perisher, Spencers and Betts creeks will all be worth a look. The Mowamba river has been fishing quite slow for the past couple of seasons but has usually been fishing better later in the evenings during the hatches. Lake Jindabyne has finally come up into some fresh

as the peak heat of summer is creeping closer. Lake Eucumbene is also slowly creeping up, but the fluctuation of the lake level has been quite erratic and has varied quite a bit during the past few years. A slow walk around Eucumbene and Jindabyne armed with some smaller black or brown nymphs or some small Celtas or blades will the go-to.

See how premier sport fish are bred and raised! Open 10 am–4 pm daily.

Closed Anzac, Christmas, Boxing day.

Guided tours 10 am and 2 pm.

Self-guided tours on selected days. Small admission fee.

leaping fish * 4 species * aquaria, ponds, AV show * beautifulbreeding picnic–BBQ area * smoked trout sale * find out about for kids fishing workshops. *

12934

SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko Rd) Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 www.dpi.nsw.gov.au DECEMBER 2019

Locals enjoying the lull before the storm LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

Late December on public waters such as Lake Lyell can be pretty busy. Holiday makers from across the district book well in advance, then set up camp for days and sometimes

fishing on Lake Lyell. Trout and bass can still be caught at the same depths although this will depend on water temperatures. Cold easterly conditions overnight can sometimes encourage the trout (mostly browns) to stay active early in the morning in shallow water. Over the years I’ve found that walking the

fun watching it all unfold in plain view. The bass tend to be a little deeper at this time of year, usually on or in the weed beds depending on the type and growth. I recommend fishing the outside edges of these weed beds casting spinnerbaits (small 3/8oz models) or chatterbaits of the same weight, letting them

Bigger cod respond to different concentrations of bait. How they set themselves up to chase and intercept different bigger bait species in impoundments is a fascinating subject, with so many unanswered questions. Just being aware of it is a great start. weeks. It’s very social, with many campers setting up in the same spots year in and year out. Some people even travel to work and back mid-week, freeing themselves up to unleash on the weekend.

banks casting small lures and flies is the best way to target these fish. Cast your lures as parallel with the bank as you can. Any little jut or secondary point is dynamite when it comes to a place to position yourself

drop or pendulum down the front face. This approach can be deadly on the bass. Casting surface lures in low light periods is also a great option. You may just find the bass a little further away from structure at this time, which is

Lake Lyell bass love fresh green weed, and the outside edges can be a very productive zone to cast lures such as the Balista Trance. Water skiing or float tubing with a dash of fishing thrown in is an attractive lifestyle choice for a few weeks, and I’m sure it’s hard to walk away from when the holidays end. From a fishing perspective, the quiet weeks leading into Christmas, when everyone seems to be preparing for their annual pilgrimage post-Christmas, offers some of the better 74

DECEMBER 2019

to cast. Chase the shade if the sun pops out, because sunny banks are nowhere near as productive at this time of year. Keep your eyes peeled, constantly on the lookout for a cruising trout. Most are much shallower than you think, sometimes barely inches from the bank. You tend to miss out on these sighted fish more often than you catch them, but it’s great

a good thing with some of the bigger specimens. For those wanting a little more sedate set up at Lake Lyell, you still can’t beat drowning some Berkley PowerBait on the bottom for a big old rainbow trout, as they just seem to love it. My advice when fishing PowerBait in this manner has always been to stay close to a set rod. The next rod to get pulled in won’t be the last.

COD SEASON AT LAST So you have checked and sorted all your gear, made new purchases and scoured likely locations. The time for talk is over – it’s time to go cod fishing! Early December can be very productive. Water temperatures are on the up

levels drop. Be aware of the underwater topography of what surrounds you in waters such as Wyangala, for example the little gutters, the saddles between high points, creek edges and drop-offs. The bigger cod are well versed in the movements of

GOLDEN PERCH ON TAP Windamere Dam near Mudgee has been on everyone’s lips over last few months, and for very good reason – the fishing has been sensational. There have obviously been some quiet periods, but on the

Modern mapping technology has allowed us to see the underwater topography in much greater detail. The use of such topography by larger predators in the pursuit of baitfish is something you will be hearing a lot more about in the coming years. but not warm enough for the bigger fish to be too deep just yet. Post spawning fish are also quite hungry, feeding up on anything that gets in the strike zone. Finding concentrations of larger bait, in the form of golden perch, redfin, bony bream, crucian carp, carp and smaller cod, are the key to unlocking the secrets to finding bigger cod.

the food they eat and the topography that surrounds them. It’s as much linked to the individual fish as anything else in my opinion, but similarities between fish do exist. A quiet boat is very underrated in pressured water, especially in a feeding zone. I’ve seen first-hand on many occasions where feeding cod have been shut

whole it’s hard to argue with its pedigree. I do predict things to be a little quieter as we move into the month of December, as the higher water temperatures do push the fish a little deeper. My suggestion would be to try some grubbing in the trees at various depths to find the fish. A quality sounder with side scan can make the

Windamere has been busy, and it constantly surprises me how well it fishes under the pressure. However, I suspect we’ll see a decrease in fish numbers as the weather heats up. Watching the movements of this larger bait when light levels drop is the next crucial step, because the movement en masse is usually a defensive mechanism. This bait behaviour can lead you to find possible feeding zones or areas that the cod can position themselves to intercept this mass movement when light

down by the activities of boats up to 100m away. Fishing for these bigger cod in pressured waterways feels more akin to hunting than fishing in my book. If you adopt the attitudes and mindset of a hunter stalking game, you will have already taken a big step to finding more regular success on these bigger cod.

world of difference when it comes to choosing a tree to fish. Moving past the tree at a faster speed (a little quicker than trolling speed) tends to give you a better picture, although this will vary depending on settings and brand. Hope to see you on the water soon. Until then, tight lines.

Shooting lines in warmer times CANBERRA

Richard Barnsley

The river had been running low for some time and as we entered the upper gorge, I realised it was going to be tough. High water temperatures and low oxygen meant the fish would be sluggish, but we’d give it a go. Daz lead

often. Stop and watch the water – my best cod came during a tough day when I noticed a tail fin sticking out from under a boulder in a shallow pool. I backed out and waited until the fish emerged, then tweaked a Bounty Hunter across his nose. Bingo! Trout respond to marked changes in water temperature. During low

Find running water Agitated flows are cooler and carry more oxygen that slow runs, especially with increased air temperatures. Find smaller rapids where there is a bubble line and target it. Side streams, particularly those fed by springs will be considerably colder that the main current. Wherever you have an inflow make sure you explore

In hot summer conditions, the side creek confluence in the bottom right corner of this photo is a prime spot for trout to hold. downstream and soon we were dumping packs on the sandy beach of our usual campsite. Over the next few days we managed to pull a few smaller cod on the fly rods. It took some time to work it out but eventually we discovered most action in the shallow, shaded backwaters, where an agonizingly slowly stripped yabby pattern was the key. Low water conditions can bring special problems (and delights) for fly anglers. The coming summer and long-term drought forecast suggest that it will be a long time before river levels rise substantially. Tactics, rigs and equipment need to be considered to tackle such conditions. A couple of things should be kept in mind. Regularly check your hook points throughout the day. When fishing low conditions it is not uncommon to contact the bottom regularly or drag poppers over logs and boulders. When conditions are tough the last thing you want is to raise a fish and loose it due to poor hook condition. Low water angling can test your patience. A long day in the hills needs commitment, so give yourself realistic targets. You have the options of fishing a shorter section of river thoroughly or covering a lot of country and picking the eyes out of it. Stay hydrated and rest

conditions or slow flows, streams can get warmer and suffer from lower oxygen levels. Both are necessary for active, feeding fish. To locate holding trout under these conditions there are a couple of simple strategies. TROUT Fish early and late Getting onto the water after the cooler evening will often find fish feeding before they retreat under the banks during the hotter part of the day. In tough conditions, I’ll target the shallower runs, especially with bankside vegetation at first light. As the day progresses, I’ll often return to camp for a siesta then hit the water for an hour at last light.

the pockets immediately downstream. Bankside vegetation is a trout’s shade cloth Overhanging vegetation provides shade and reduced water temperature. During bright conditions the lower light levels offer an increased sense of protection to shallow water fish. Don’t forget that bankside brush is the home of a wide variety of terrestrials such as beetles. Undercut banks and droopy tussocks are the equivalent in the open high country and offer prime hopper angling. Pick the pockets One of the prime low water lies are behind a large boulder or log jam. The downstream side of these

obstructions have generally been scoured by the flow and offer a deeper pocket than the general stream bed. Fish will tuck into the spots year round, so look for them and present a small nymph gently upstream. COD AND BASS Warm water cod and bass are similar propositions, although their tolerance of higher temperatures exceeds that of trout. Although standing weed beds can tend to increase water temperatures, they are favoured haunts of shallow water natives. Working a slider fly across the top of weed beds at first and last light is a terrific tactic when the levels are down. Downsize and modify your patterns When conditions are tougher I prefer floating patterns with slider heads rather than poppers. Shallow water fish have less cover generally and can be quite spooky. Ripping a Super Blooper across their heads is a quick way to put fish down. I prefer floating patterns with slider heads. These are a terrific alternative for searching shallow water. Take note of my October column about switch heads – a good option when conditions are tough.

Low clear water conditions bring their own problems. Use streamer patterns with weed guards. I prefer mono loops but whatever your preference. Fishing sub-surface during low water levels means you’ll be bottom bouncing a fair bit. In one of my favourite England streams it is mostly wind-blown branches on a sandy

A salmon carcase on the Squamish River, British Columbia.

Brush-lined streams are a terrific option in warmer conditions. They provide a retreat for cool water trout.

substrate. A small mono loop weed guard allows me to tickle a deceiver style streamer across, in and around the bottom. Under these circumstances that’s where the fish tend to sit. Seek out the pools It sounds simple enough, but often during drought conditions there is a hell of a lot of walking between pools. Summer heat makes even the best of us a tad lazy, but it’s worth pushing through and find the primo water. Once I’ve found a good looking hole I’ll often have an afternoon snooze in the shade and not hit it until evening. This means another long walk out in the dark, which is not preferred but a necessity to fish the better spots other

anglers won’t work. Slow your retrieves Stressed fish won’t move too far to hammer a fly. For that reason you should cast tight to the cover and then give you’re offering as much time in the ‘strike zone’ as possible. Low flows mean low current speed, so it is unusual that your fly will drift out of the strike zone. Compensate by using lighter flies and incorporate less weight if tying your own. DON’T DESPAIR IN DROUGHT At first impressions, drought conditions appear difficult to fish, but with a few tactic and gear modifications you will still enjoy success. In parting, remember that heat stressed fish don’t handle catch and release that well. Ensure you devote plenty of time to reviving a fish before release and locate it where there is running water, shade and cover. As a side note, I recently returned from a trip to Canada. I didn’t do much fishing, but managed one day chasing salmon near Squamish, British Columbia. The river was heavy with the carcases of dead fish – post spawning. Research has shown that the spawning runs contribute huge levels of nutrients to the local wildlife such as eagles, bears and otters. Similarly the forests rejuvenate from the rich waters and streamside brush can be thick. It’s a bit different here in Australia, and as noted over recent summers a fish kill is a sign of a river in distress. If you find dead fish this summer please report it to Fisheries. DECEMBER 2019

Measuring biomass in shallow water SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

In my last article I outlined a lot of the problems associating with shallow water and looking at fish biomass. In fairness if you read that article, you might be forgiven for wondering why you would want to look at biomass, thus it’s probably a good idea to provide some background on what Biomass is and why you would want to measure it. WHAT IS BIOMASS? Biomass is the living organisms that inhabit an area. In the case of fish you will find in any given system a range of species and in general the more diverse the species

has had a deal of success at using citizen science data, mainly from fish tagging as an alternative approach but it suffers the same scalability issues as many other solutions. In other words, you need a lot of fishing trips reported in an area to get a real sense of what is going on. What we really need is a non-invasive method of looking at biomass that is scalable. That is a problem I have lost many nights sleep to in the past few years. So how do they use Echosounders to Measure Biomass in the Northern Hemisphere? Using scientific echosounders for biomass problems is not new. I have read papers dating back to the 1970s using paper sounders. The very first paper detailing the measurement of fish

Using the ability to detect length and count fish in aquaculture to monitor fish biomass growth rates over time. Setting up fixed units side facing to track numbers and sizes of species like trout and salmon moving during spawning runs in rivers. Using downscan on larger impoundments and freshwater rivers to detect numbers and sizes of fish. This uses a method of sampling smaller areas then extrapolating to total biomass. Of the three applications the last – downscan is the most applicable to southern hemisphere conditions but more on that later. So why would you measure Biomass in the Southern Hemisphere? The interesting thing about having worked with biomass intensively is I think that the inverse question is probably

Biomass assessment in aquaculture. which is the worst time to be holding an intervention. Just addressing those two problems is a lot of work even before you hit saltwater systems and the competing forces of recreational and commercial fishers. Then there are threatened species and systems in danger from climate change like the Great Barrier Reef. As it happens our inability to measure fish without killing

echosounding method used in the northern hemisphere but side facing scan comes with a lot of advantages in terms of the amount of data that is collected. A normal survey day for us will net around 100,000 tracks – ie 100,000 things of interest. It should be noted that 100,000 tracks is made up of bottom noise, structure and things other than fish – all valuable but that’s

20-40 times more data on a side facing transect for the same distance travelled. There is a reason why these large datasets are important. The larger the sample, the smaller the error when estimating the dynamics of a larger population. When using downscan to estimate populations we have had much greater volatility as you would expect, as much as

Fig 2. Fixed point installations of biosonics units. present, the more robust the ecosystem. Diversity is the measure of the range of species, Biomass is the amount of that species present. What ‘measuring biomass’ means depends on what you want as an outcome. If you are running an aquaculture pond, biomass is a measure of weight – ie what weight of fish is present? If you are talking in the wild, biomass is often a numbers game – how many fish of particular type are there, that could be based on species or size class. So how is biomass measured now? If ever you needed the definition dictionary for irony – you measure fish populations by killing them. Okay, probably a little harsh but the most common method globally is through commercial catch data. There are some other methodologies used in specific circumstances, but they lack the scalability and low cost of collection that comes with commercial catch data. As a result, for fifty years commercial catch data has been the global measurement tool. I have always believed there has to be an alternative way of measuring biomass. Over the past 20 years Infofish 76

DECEMBER 2019

length via echosounders dates to the late 1960s. Ignoring the problems listed in my last article, there have always been concerns around the use of echosounders particularly identifying fish species. This has in my view unnecessarily held back the development of the technology because the reality is as most fishers would know – echosounders are really good at locating fish. None the less significant progress has been made with three key applications arising in the northern hemisphere.

more relevant – why wouldn’t you? There are an endless number of instances where we make decisions about fish without much of a clue what is going on. Take stocking for instance. We know how to breed fish and release them in a system, we don’t on the whole have very much of an idea though of what an optimal stocking program looks like. Then there are our natural rivers, ever more deprived of water, we don’t really know often what is in a system until things start dying

An echogram with targets.

Fig.1. An example echogram. them hampers so many of our decision-making processes and leaves everyone relying on guesswork. SIDE FACING ECHOSOUNDERS AND THE LAW OF LARGE NUMBERS As I noted earlier, downscan is the most common

a lot of data to process when you consider each of those data points generates nearly 200 fields of data. That’s 20 million datapoints, and that’s before we start looking at individual echoes. It has to be said that downscan is much easier to manage precisely because we capture less data, which is why it’s used. For a point of comparison, we did intensive survey downscan on 40km of river near Brisbane with downscan edge to edge transects cutting across the river around every 100m plus two transects along the edge and one in the middle. That netted us around 4000 fish from 308km of transects. Doing the same area shooting from one bank to the other (typically 30-40m) using side facing we ended up with around 130,000 fish from 89km of transects. That will give a pretty good indicator on why we value side-facing echosounding. In general, we collect

100% over or underestimating on the recorded numbers from side facing. THE PROBLEMS WITH SIDE FACING DATA Having established the value of side facing data let me get back to the previous article where I listed a lot of the challenges that go with collecting side facing data. In the last article I highlighted that shallow water is an inherently complex environment, and if you are going to capture fish data then you are going to capture a lot more than fish. Anyone that has used conventional sidescan (a different technology to scientific echosounders) in shallow water will know that finding fish in structure is a lot easier when you can see them. The human eye and brain is pretty good at interpreting those kinds of images. What happens if all you get is a flat 2D image? Fig.1 is a pretty good example of what you end up with, can you see the fish amongst all that green noise?

Fortunately, we don’t have to make sense of the noise. Biosonics have done a great job of providing a tool called Autotrack, which helps pick out targets, but as you would expect there is a catch. Fig.2 2 shows Autotrack assessing the signal and providing a list of targets. The catch is, while Autotrack and all tracking systems for that matter are good at picking out targets, they suck when it comes to telling you what you are looking at, or where it is. Further, they are based on the downscan assessments, which have two inherent advantages: the fish and boat are in close proximity, and the location of the bottom is a known via bathymetry INTRODUCING AARON Aaron Dunlop joined the Infofish team to work on an unrelated project about two years ago. When he came on board he said he was looking for challenges, and I think it’s safe to say that the biosonics delivered. To be honest, he chipped me for not mentioning him in my last article, but I don’t think his part in the story of our use of Biosonics relates to the problems – he has been all solutions. After the first project it was clear we had three big problems to address: how to resolve the spatial data problem, how to tell the difference between objects, and how to optimise the survey volumes. THE SPATIAL DATA PROBLEM Solving the spatial data

Aaron with an early build of the rig. He would go on to redo the design and lay the foundations for cracking 3D representations of the beam. cameras were mounted at axes to give a complete view of the action and we mapped out the ‘strike’ zone which we knew to be about 30cm wide and place a bait (chicken) at the centre of the beam. Our intended subject was baby bream, between 4-10cm long. The goal was to lure them into the beam and capture them on the three cameras as well as the echosounder so that we could work out the position of the fish in three dimensions. I learned through this exercise that Aaron could MacGyver almost anything on the water.

a lower grade component. There was nothing elegant in solving that problem, just brute force trial and error until I managed to generate a map that matched the echogram. The results were worth it though as we can map out the fish we detect by size, depth and location. GETTING THE DATA AND TELLING THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OBJECTS Telling the difference between objects is something of a trade secret for us. We invested a lot of time and money on that particular problem. All the same I am

Fish mapped out by size class using QGIS. problem involved two parts, one fun and one boring. The boring part was going back to school. Youtube has been a boon for self-education because there are a lot of lectures from US universities online and that was my part in solving the problem, many hours spent learning the mathematics needed to turn the raw data we had into something useful. Aaron had the fun part that included a bunch of mythbuster style builds where we would create rigs for the unit to operate in small scale, so that we could understand what was happening on the larger scale. The first rig we built was a 3m long polypipe contraption, with the transducer at one end then a cube frame at the other. Three

The results of that work would lead to us then being able to extrapolate fish in 3D. Fig.3 shows one of the money shots we used to work out what was happening with two bream sitting perfectly in the beam. It’s less impressive than some of the balls of bream we have but in data terms – this one is the gold. A second issue in the spatial issue was understanding where everything was in terms of mapping and that in of itself was a journey. We worked out early on that we should be able to convert the data we collected into a map. Getting there proved a serious hurdle, not helped by a discovery much later that a motion sensor we were relying on was

happy to share some of the how we went about it. I had been working with Machine Learning for a range of other problems, particularly looking at fish health. Machine Learning is kind of a proto artificial Intelligence, a way of providing a computer the tools to ‘learn’ patterns in data. Image recognition is a rather popular form of this type of learning, if you have used Facebook you will have noticed it can recognise your friends from photos. Machine learning would prove to be one of the key tools we used to solve the object identification problem. In our problem though we weren’t sure what we were looking at. We didn’t have a large set of nicely labelled

data, so before we could teach the machine the difference between bottom, structure and fish we had to learn how to do that ourselves first. This is where the 3D representations became critical because they provided a good picture of how the scanner sees the world. For most of our time using the biosonics, we have only been able to use clean water, that is no bottom noise. Using only clean water meant we were losing up to 50% of the available survey area. Once we had 3D we were able to use 100% of the scan data, which was the single biggest hurdle to unlocking the power of side facing scans. As with many parts of our biosonics journey, this step became a feedback loop. Once we could survey all the

data and then work out how to cross-match. Once we had one dataset to crossmatch with, other datasets also came into play. Once again, this is where Aaron came to the fore. While I was working out the maths, Aaron was learning how to interpret the echogram. We started with the clean water, where we knew we were only dealing with fish, then gathered datasets with increasing amounts of structure. Over many, many weeks Aaron teased out the echograms and provided me sets of labelled data that I could use to train the machine learning. To be fair the early attempts sucked but eventually we got there. That mix of human expertise and mathematics has served us well. Machine Learning has been critical

On that front, I wish I had more time in the day, but we do have datasets with known species and while I am not ready to say I am there, we have managed to detect the differences between species in the signals. I won’t say that we have cracked species, but we certainly have cracked morphology (shape) and given two different shaped species we can pick the differences. In the case of two similarly shaped species we have found other datapoints that can help separate them. I have a big dataset ready to go to classify five key species from around 20,000 fish and room to expand that to seven species once we have the base set done and I can look more closely at the habitat side of things. On the list of species we

Fig.3. Two bream with their echoes. water, that led Aaron to further improve the survey techniques to ensure that we can get as much data as possible. As I said earlier, the advantage of downscan is you get bathymetry at the same time. Bathymetry is vital because it gives you a point of reference – the bottom. In most of our early surveys we had no bathymetry at all, and it wasn’t until we unlocked the 3D data we realised how big a mistake that was. It was at this point we started to deviate from traditional methods of processing the data because the current approaches treat the signal as a self-contained set of data, there is no use of external datasets. We couldn’t capture the bathymetry using the side facing echosounding so we had to get that external

in improving our processing times because increasingly clients come to us specifically for the bigger datasets. We have had datasets that have required assessment of half a million or more tracks in a single run. At our best pace that would take 11 years by hand. We can crunch that in 3-4 hours. THE NEXT STEP – DETECTING SPECIES Detecting the species of fish via the echosounder is the holy grail. There are systems to do that in downscan, using a multifrequency approach but those units are expensive and have proven unreliable. Doing so with conventional split beams would reduce the costs and make it possible to deliver a truly effective biomass assessment tool.

have classification data on we can include carp and tilapia, two species that mapping out biomass for is critical in many regions. Our biosonics journey has been a combination of hundreds of hours on the water and even more time back in the office. We have had to be single-minded, many times we have been told things can’t be done only to work out how to do it. Our journey though isn’t about us, it’s about the fish we all care so much about. Unlike terrestrial animals, they are shielded from our sight – it’s only in very recent times that technology made it possible to peak into their world. Now that we can ‘see’ the fish, a whole new world is opening up.

Fish mapped out by size class using QGIS. DECEMBER 2019

Tech Tricks

How to make your own rod and reel tube BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Most anglers take great pride in their fishing tackle and want to look after it to ensure its longevity.

Regardless of the price of the tackle, getting it to and from your fishing destination safely is a necessity. The last thing you need after driving a distance to your destination is to take your rod out of the car and find that you have a dislodged guide

insert or, even worse, a broken blank. There are plenty of rod tubes available that will protect your rod, however most require that you take the reel off. Therefore, being able to transport a rod ready rigged will maximise your fishing time.

Many anglers enjoy various forms of land-based fishing using lures and baits targeted at an array of species. Sometimes anglers may try several locations during an outing, especially when casting egi for squid, popping for whiting, fishing

the shallows for flathead or probing lighted areas of the Brisbane River for threadfin. Unrigging your rod to store it securely in a tube between each location can be rather tiresome. Being able to store your rod ready rigged with a lure or terminal tackle still

attached will protect your rod and also eliminate the chance of a hook penetrating the car’s upholstery or another passenger. After trying several options, I have come up with a rod and reel storage tube that works a treat and is simple and cheap to make.

The tools required to complete this project are fairly basic: a drill and an assortment of drill bits from 4-13mm, a hacksaw, coarse sandpaper, file, marker pen, a screwdriver and a spanner to suit the M4 screws and nuts. If you don’t have a drill and drill bits, a sturdy pair of snips will do a sufficient, yet cruder, job. The tools are so simple that this project could even be attempted by younger anglers, with adult supervision.

Materials required are a length of PVC pipe (50mm in this case), two end caps and a relevant sized PVC connector. These can all be purchased at a hardware or plumbing supply shop. The PVC pipe can usually be purchased in a 1m length (only suitable for 2 piece rods of 1.95m or less in length) or a 3m length, which will allow you to make at least two tubes for rods to 2.4m. You will also need a bungee strap, button and two screws, which can be purchased at a chandlery outlet. I used M4 (5/32”) 316 stainless bolts with M4 Nyloc nuts, which were just long enough to get the nuts on after attaching the bungee loop and button to the pipe.

The size of PVC pipe will be dictated by the size of the lowest (stripper) guide on your rod. Obviously the tube must be wider than the guide so the rod can be slid in. For this rod I used 50mm PVC pipe, you may need to use the 65, 80 or 100mm. A 3m length of the 50mm PVC cost around $18 but I was able to make two tubes with this. End caps, connectors and other bits needed to completely make two tubes brought the cost to around $40 total, $20 per tube.

Place the connector beside the rod so that the lower edge of it is level with the reel foot (stem). Mark the position on your PVC pipe that coincides with the middle of this connector. This will be the second cut. 78

DECEMBER 2019

This rod is 7ft (2.12m) total length, or around 1.1m long when separated. I made my tube around 1.2m long so I could use it for other rods that may have different length butts to this one. Rod wraps can be used to hold the two sections of your rod securely together. Lay your rod beside the pipe and mark the overall length you want the tube to be. This will be the first cut.

Cut the pipe all the way through with your hacksaw at these two marks. Use sandpaper to smooth off and slightly taper the lip of the PVC where you cut the pipe.

Tech Tricks

Put the connector onto the shorter section of PVC (which will encase the rod butt) and mark on the pipe where the end of the connector will be. About 10mm below this line, drill a hole with your smallest drill bit. Widen the hole more using the next sized drill bit.

Take the connector off and use your largest drill bit (13mm in this case) to enlarge the hole further. This hole needs to be a fraction wider than the reel foot – you may need to use a file to widen it if you don’t have a large enough drill bit.

10 9

Use a hacksaw or cutters to cut a slot from the edge of the PVC pipe down to each side of the drill hole. Check to ensure it is large enough to accommodate the reel foot as shown. Use the file and sandpaper to smooth the edges of the slot.

Secure the bungy and button in place using your M4 screws and Nyloc nuts. Ensure the screws do not protrude from the nuts or they may scratch your rod as you are putting it in and out. If they are too long, then either use shorter ones or remove, cut to length and re-insert. Your rod can be inserted into the tube (even with a lure on) before the rear section is slid on with the reel stem positioned in the slot. As you slide the two ends of the tube over your rod, ensure there is a little slack in the line because it needs to come back against the reel stem.

Put the end caps on both pieces of pipe and the connector onto the longer section. Tap these firmly down into position. Use some PVC pipe glue to secure them if you wish. Position the bungy strap and button as shown so that the bungy will stretch slightly to secure over the button. Drill the two holes where these will be affixed with your 4mm bit. I prefer to put the clasp on the side of the tube at 90º to the reel foot slot so the small nuts inside will not rub the rod blank.

Once the two sections are slotted together and the bungy clipped over the button, you can add a quality reel bag to further protect your reel. This particular one will go around the rod tube and fasten. The neoprene flap also covers the bungy and button. You can paint the tube if you wish or attach a few stickers. Once at your destination, you only need to take the rod out of the tube, connect the two sections together and you are ready to fish. This tube is not only convenient but, more importantly, it will protect your ready-rigged rod from mishaps while in transit. DECEMBER 2019

Healy a safe pair of hands at Port Stephens The final qualifier of the 2019 Costa BREAM series saw the competitors heading to a new arena, Port Stephens. While only a short drive from other great bream venues such as Sydney Harbour, the Hawkesbury River and Lake Macquarie, only a few of the competitors had fished the area for bream previously. Lake Macquarie local Mark Healy managed to take top honour in the boater division, using his very limited experience bream fishing in Port Stephens to grind out a winning bag. “I’ve fished Port Stephens a couple of times, but not for many years – probably 7-8 years ago,” he said. “I do fish the area offshore of the port fairly regularly though.” During pre-fish, Mark’s plan was to cover a lot of water and search for active fish. Doing this, he managed to find catchable fish in three spots, with two areas in the Soldiers Point area and one down at the Tea Gardens. On day one Mark’s plan was simple: hit the three spots he found on pre-fish

MARK HEALY’S WINNING TACKLE Rod: Reel: Line: Lure

Mark Healy spent most of his time fishing one rock wall to grind out a much-deserved win at Port Stephens. and try to put together a decent bag of fish! The first spot he pulled up to was a timber jetty near the starting line in the Soldiers Point area, where he had been blown away three times on pre-fish. Mark had a brown

Cranka Crab in heavy tied on, and sure enough, after only a few casts he was hooked up to another decent bream. Deciding to fish slightly heavier than he did during pre-fish proved to be the right decision, and within minutes of leaving

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Mark Healey 2 Vaughn Lewis 3 Tristan Taylor 4 Steve Morgan 5 Todd Riches 6 Andrew Stubbs 7 Scott Wilson 8 Brett Crowe 9 Charlie Saykao 10 Tim Vickers

Fish 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 7/10 8/10 6/10

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 80

DECEMBER 2019

Total Weight (kg) 7.32 7.10 6.17 5.50 5.40 5.39 5.34 4.88 4.81 4.04

the start, Mark had a 35cm bream in the livewell! Mark and his non-boater then fished their way around Soldiers Point, catching nothing but one small legal for his non-boater waiting for the tide to start running in. Finally the current started running in, and the pair went to the Tea Gardens. While Mark wasn’t overly confident by this point, he decided to methodically work over one particular rock wall called The Cut. With the tide rising, the seemed to be moving in from the bay and onto the wall to feed, and Mark could see the fish he wanted to catch. Mark had been fishing with a 6lb leader but decided to drop down to 4lb. His

Shimano Zodias 701UL 1000 Shimano Stella 4-6lb braid, 4-6lb fluorocarbon Jackall Chubby 38 Deep in brown suji shrimp, Cranka Crab Heavy in brown

choice of presentation on the rock wall was a Jackall Chubby 38 Deep in brown suji shrimp. With the strong current making fishing difficult, he still managed to catch six more legals to round out a decent bag of 3.69kg, putting him in a strong position ahead of day two. On the second day Mark knew there would still be good fish to be caught from his wall down at the Tea Gardens, some decided to leave the fruitful jetty from the day before, knowing that it had been hit hard by other anglers. Mark figured that as the tide was slightly later on day two, he might get in a good half hour of fishing with the run-out tide. He executed his plan perfectly, got in there and landed a kilo fish early, and about 2-3 casts later he hooked another one that looked bigger, however the hooks pulled. To keep the hooks in Mark was using size 14 Decoy trebles on his crankbaits, because they were only getting lip hooked and were biting very timidly. The tide slowed up for about two and a half hours as the tide changed and Mark and his non-boater fished around the area, landing no keeper bream. As the tide started pumping in, he arrived back at the wall. About halfway

along, he hooked a good fish, which he estimated to be about 1.3-1.4kg. “I got it away from wall and we were drifting back with the tide,” he said. “There was nothing around for him to get me on, and I had him just out of reach of the net and the treble on lure rolled off split ring; I was spewing!” Mark said it took him a good half an hour to regroup after this setback, however soon after he landed a another fish of about 30cm, which gave him confidence to keep fishing. For the remainder of the session he ground out 3 more fish and returned nervously to the weigh-in. As it turns out, he had nothing to worry about, as he had managed to weigh the heaviest overall bag of 7.32kg. This was Mark’s first ABT BREAM qualifier win, and he couldn’t have been more stoked!

Scan the QR code to see the Day 1 highlights.

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Tough fishing no match for Lewis Sliding in behind Healy by just over 200g was Newcastle local Vaughn Lewis, who prior to the tournament, also only had limited exposure to the arena. Vaughn used these limited experiences to rule out some areas and narrow his focus to some areas he knew would hold hungry fish. In the pre-fish Vaughn identified the bottom of the Myall River, the Kuruah River and some islands in the middle of the bay would be his primary targets. Come comp day, Vaughn had some decisions to make. “I thought on comp day that lower Myall would be the car park of spots, so I wrote it off, and focussed on the Kuruah River and some of the islands,” he said. With the early low tide on day one, Vaughn focused on structure while waiting for tide to come in. He started at some oysters racks at the bottom of the Kuruah, fishing the poles rather than the trays. Cycling between a soft plastic and a crankbait, he managed two decent keepers. He then moved to some bridges in the river itself and

“I was fishing around an island, and there was a point with tide coming around and wind blowing onto it,” he said. “Using 3lb straight through fluorocarbon and a black Jackall Chubby 38 Shallow, I was able to fish right up on the rocks and that’s where I got him.” Vaughn didn’t manage any upgrades on day two, just a solid bag of bream and many undersize fish to keep the day interesting. Returning to the

weigh-in tent on day two saw his overall weight dip to 7.10kg, relegating him to second place.

DAIWA J BRAID BIG BREAM

Vaughn Lewis used his limited experience at this venue to find some productive areas in this tough arena. managed two more quality fish as he waited anxiously or the tide to come in. At around 10 o’clock the flow slowed and the prime time for an edge bite came on. “I spent the rest of the day fishing rocky edges, islands, and a few other rocky edges to pick up good fish,” he said. “I also managed two upgrades.”

Vaughn returned to the weigh-in on day one with a respectable bag of 3.62kg. Vaughn decided to start in North Arm Cove on day two, once again fishing oyster racks with similar presentations. The rack fishing was slower on day two, which made Vaughn and his boater all the more anxious for the tide to come in so they could fish the edges.

Once it did, the edges really fired, and with a bit of overcast weather and wind direction change, Vaughn and his non-boater were able to fish right up in the shallows. In doing this he managed to catch the biggest bream for the tournament, a stonking 1.16kg monster, which is huge for the Port Stephens area.

Vaughn Lewis managed to wrangle a 1.16kg beast from the shallows in North Arm Cove by throwing a black Jackall Chubby 38 Shallow.

Johnson grinds it out for non-boater honours Craig Johnson is from the South Coast of NSW, however this was his first time fishing the Port Stephens area for bream, because as he puts it, “there’s just too much good water down there.” It seems that applying some of the tricks and techniques he has learned fishing further south helped him take out top honours in the non-boater division! While Craig did pre-fish with boater Tim Vickers, the pair didn’t do a whole lot of fishing. Rather, they fished very little and just looked for good-looking water to store in the memory bank. For the first day Craig found himself fishing with Jason Mayberry, and the plan was to head downstream of the starting line and fish some shallow weed beds,

edges, flats and points. Like most competitors, the pair was waiting for the tide to

come in and bring the bream on the bite. Craig only weighed one

fish on the first day, which he caught at around 10:30am throwing a Gulp Crabby on a

1/20oz jighead in Salamander Bay. Craig said he just had to cycle through baits to find something that would work. Despite fishing some amazing looking country around Garden Island and the oyster leases, Craig didn’t catch any other weighable fish on day two. The second day would prove more fruitful, however, as some favourable conditions brought the fish on the bite. Fishing with Charlie Saykao, the pair decided to head to where Craig and Jason had finished their previous day at Garden Island. With the wind now swung around to the west and southwest and some overcast weather overhead, the fish seemed to be biting better. Craig had his first fish in the boat before

8:00am. Seeing that the fish were now biting in the area, Craig and Charlie stayed in this vicinity all day. Heading to the Correebah Island area, the pair found lots of random bits of reef and oysters and noticed lots of fish cruising around. Once the tide came in they started hauling in fish one after another, and hooked lots of fish but only stuck three. Fishing these flats, Craig was cycling between various topwaters, including a Jackson Pygmy Popper and a Sugoi Splash. Returning to the weigh-in Craig was nervous but found that the rest of the field had struggled, and was pleased to see the scales dip to 2.76kg.

Non-boater Craig Johnson took out top honours in his division with only 5 fish over two days, proving just how tough the fishing was!

NON-BOATER RESULTS

Scan the QR code to see the Day 2 highlights.

Place Name 1 Craig Johnson 2 Nick Penprase 3 Daniel McNeice 4 Bernard Kong 5 Gordon Pullin 6 Darren Murphy 7 Shaun Egan 8 Justin Reeves 9 Richard Wootten 10 Rebecca Fazio

Fish 5/10 3/10 2/10 2/10 2/10 2/10 2/10 1/10 1/10 1/10

Total Weight (kg) 2.76 1.63 1.10 0.99 0.97 0.89 0.80 0.76 0.58 0.56

Everyone could agree that there were worse places to start a morning! DECEMBER 2019

Ford redeems his recent Grand Final loss The Rapala BASS Australian Open has cemented its place in the Australian BASS calendar with another huge turnout of boaters in ABT’s only boateronly BASS Pro event. Using a special permit to retain five live bass for weigh-in, competitors fought for $30,000 in prize money on a hot spring Lake Glenbawn bass bite. Weighing in the biggest bag of the event on day two (5/5, 5.48kg, total 10/10 10.17kg), Ford jumped from 13th place to the top spot and earned

himself $10,000 cash to cap off a stellar year for the Narrabri boater. Trying hard to knock him off was Queensland boater Braden Schuch (10/10, 9.95kg), who fell short with his day two bag but still pocketed $5,000 for his efforts. Rounding out the top five was Tom Slater (10/10, 9.86kg for $3,000) Mark Ferguson (10/10, 9.86kg for $2,500) and Liam Carruthers (10/10, 9.75kg for $2,000). As predicted, the skirted jig bite was in full swing for the event – a pattern for which this premier bass lake is

quickly becoming famous. Most of the top-ten threw jigs for a majority of the time and each of the top 12 pocketed at least $1,000 prize money. Aberdeen Fishing and Outdoors’ Nick Price picked the winning weights before the event started. “You’re going to need 5kg a day to be up there this weekend,” he said at the event briefing, which was held at his store and full of bass angler treasure. And he was right on the money, with Ford the only angler to break the 10kg mark. But 9.24kg also got you a paycheque!

Graham Ford with his kicker 1.37kg bass that got him to first place.

Ford eyed off ignored water for final day bag Graham had been keeping his eye on a stretch of water that hadn’t seen much in the way of angler pressure over the previous two days. Finally, he decided to fish it mid way through the second day and it immediately paid off. “I caught that big bass (1.37kg) off it first up,” he said, and then several other

big fish that helped him towards victory. I didn’t see many anglers fishing it and my gut just told me to give

it a go. It was windblown on the (incredibly windy) Saturday and with the calming conditions, it was quite

fishable,” he said. Ford used the jig rig that had helped him nearly win the Grand Final just days earlier

– a black JigPro skirted jig with no hook guard fished on a Baker Custom Rods extra heavy jig rod. On it he strapped a 10:1 Abu Garcia baitcast reel with a braid and leader set-up rather than straight through fluorocarbon. Ford’s rod is typified by the fact that it hardly bends, even when a good bass is hooked. “I like to get them out of the structure and get the hook in solid,” he said when asked about the stick that most would say is more suited to barra than bass. The $10,000 Open

cheque capped off a remarkable win for the NSW basser, who actually lives hours away from his nearest bass fishery. He took out the 2019 Sufix BASS Pro Tour Angler of the Year with a string of top 10 finishes, finished second in the BASS Pro Grand Final by 40g and then came from 13th place to win the Rapala BASS Australian Open. That’s quite a year and it proves that hard work and talent can overcome obstacles, like distance, when it comes to fishing as a sport.

GRAHAM FORD’S WINNING TACKLE

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Rod: Reel: Line: Lure: The scales never lie – Fordy weighing in his winning bag.

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 82

DECEMBER 2019

Baker Custom Rods extra heavy jig rod 10:1 Abu Garcia baitcast reel Straight through fluorocarbon JigPro skirted jig in black (no hook guard)

Queensland basser ascends to second South Queensland basser, Braden Schuch, fell a little short on day two after logging a 5kg+ bag, but seemed quite happy with his $5,000 consolation prize. “Each morning I’d crankbait an early limit off the dam wall and then go searching for upgrades with skirted jigs as the session

Scan the QR code to see day two highlights

wore on,” he said. Using a deep diving OSP crankbait on exclusively Daiwa baitcast tackle, he’d pound the rock wall with the bait until the fish bit. After bagging a limit on the wall, he’d then move up the lake looking for bigger fish. On day two in particular, Schuch searched for trees that were deeper than most other anglers were fishing, from 15-25ft, to target his upgrade fish. To do this he used a ProS Factory skirted jig. “I think I cottoned on to the fact that the fish were biting a little deeper too late on the second day,” Braden said, “But crawling the jig around the structure in that deeper water is an awesome way to fish and the last couple of hours were sensational.

You can’t be too upset placing second when you take home a $5,000 cheque for your efforts.

BASS Pro Series presented by

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Slater sneaks into third Sydney’s Tom Slater was the instigator of the five-bag concept and helped ABT get the permit from Fisheries to get this tournament happening. And Tom

a great second-day bag and secure his cheque. Fishing 1/2oz ProS Equip Hybrid jigs on a Daiwa TD Commander 712MFB Basilisk rod, Slater described the last

It’s the only chance we get to fish an event like this on the Australian tournament calendar and to have $30,000 in the prize pool definitely turns heads.” The Rapala Australian

Braden Schuch with one of the many bass he took over the tournament.

Third place getter, Tom Slater, was instrumental in helping ABT get a special permit for a five bag bass bag. benefitted from the good Karma, taking $3,000 for third place. One of the leaders in getting jig fishing adopted as mainstream in Australia, Tom used his signature technique to bring home

couple of hours of his Sunday session as some of the most fun jig fishing he’s ever had, tournament or not. “It’s great to see so many anglers enjoying the five fish tournament limit and the boater-only format.

Open also signalled the end of the ABT BASS Calendar for 2019 – a huge year for anglers, sponsors and organisers alike. Dates for 2020 have been released on the www. abt.org.au website.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Graham Ford 2 Braden Schuch 3 Tom Slater 4 Mark Ferguson 5 Liam Carruthers 6 Glenn Hayter 7 Dane Pryce 8 Kristoffer Hickson 9 Jake Schwerin 10 Ben Hay

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 10/10 10.17 10/10 9.95 10/10 9.86 10/10 9.86 10/10 9.75 10/10 9.71 10/10 9.61 10/10 9.54 10/10 9.52 10/10 9.34

A nail-biting finish! The front-runners waiting to find out who takes home the $10,000 cheque. DECEMBER 2019

Pryce pulls $15,000 for win Lake Macquarie’s Dane Pryce topped the field in the fishiest ABT BASS Pro Grand Final in history on the Hunter Valley’s Lake St Clair. With the entire field of 60 anglers weighing a five fish limit on every day of competition, it

yield better quality fish. But on the official practice day, I found that Carrow had the better fish, so that’s where I fished for the event,” Dane said. The decision proved critical, as it was quality, not quantity of fish that took Dane to a 40g win over the

timber at the base of trees to get his bites. He fished it on a Millerods SwitchFreak UL rod that was matched to a Daiwa Tatula baitcast reel, Daiwa Evo8 braid and 10lb Sunline leader. “I pre-ordered one of those rods when it came out and when it arrived, I

DANE PRYCE WINNING TACKLE

fish during the event,” Dane said and given the terrain he was fishing, that’s an incredibly good conversion rate. You can see some of his highlights and some of the difficult fish extractions on the embedded videos on the ABT website - go to the results page and look up the BASS Pro Grand Final. Dane’s pathway to Grand Final success is a typical one for ABT. “I first started tournament fishing in the Hobie BREAM events but Shae Ferguson got me onto the BASS events and after the first one of these, I was hooked,” Dane continued. This year Dane fished

Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Millerods SwitchFreak UL Daiwa Tatula baitcast Daiwa Evo8 braid and 10lb Sunline leader Black and brown Vex jig fitted with a Berkley creature bait trailer

his first season as a boater and his goal was just to make the Grand Final on his local lake. He did that and, combined with a lot of practice, it fasttracked him to BASSing’s ultimate prize. What’s Dane got planned for the biggest cash payout in ABT history? “I’m going to buy a faster boat,” he concluded. Nice one, Dane. Spoken like a true bass boater who has got the bug!

Scan the QR code to see Grand Final Pre-Show.

Dane Pryce took out top spot and a $15,000 cheque. was always going to take something special to get your hands on the $15,000 winner’s cheque. And that’s exactly what Pryce did. Here’s how he did it. “I did a lot of practice leading up to this event in both the Fal Brook and Carrow Brook arms of the lake and, to be honest, the Fal Brook arm seemed to

2019 BASS Pro Angler of the Year, Graham Ford. Ford led the event after day one but fell painfully short at the final day’s weigh-in. Pryce targeted timber most of the time, but did pull a couple of key fish off steep rock walls over the two days. He used a black and brown Vex jig fitted with a Berkley creature bait trailer and crawled it through the

immediately ordered two more. They’re perfect for jigs, chatterbaits and a lot of the techniques that I like to use on my home lakes,” he said. Winning tournaments is all about having your execution match your good decisions and Dane was blessed with a near-perfect record in that department. “I lost only one key

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 84

DECEMBER 2019

It was a close call for first and second place boaters, with only 40g dividing the two scores.

Graham ‘Forty’ Ford misses by 40 grams Narrabri’s Graham Ford acquired a new nickname at the Grand Final – ‘Forty’ (rather than Fordy). Crystallising the weight that he missed out on winning $15,000. After leading the first day of competition and weighing one of the only 5kg+ five fish bags, Graham’s first day was destined to be great after the current BASS Pro Angler of the Year drew the non-boater Angler of the Year, Paul Mazzaroli. And the dream pairing didn’t disappoint, with the top reaches of the Fal Brook arm yielding a string of kilo-class bass for the pair. Weighing fish on a combination of jigs and

jerkbaits, Ford’s confidence rig consisted of a 3/8oz JigPro black gig (with no weedguard) that he fished on a super-stiff custom rod by Peter Fogarty (Baker Custom Rods). On it, he has an Abu Garcia 10:1 baitcast reel that he used to take up the slack line before driving the hook home. Gracious in defeat, Ford acknowledged that he’s had a cracker of a year - culminating in his win at the Rapala BASS Australian Open in the following days. Reports from that event are in this issue. We look forward to seeing ‘Forty’ on the BASS circuit next year.

What a team! The 2019 Angler of the Year boater, Graham Ford, randomly drew the 2019 Angler of the Year non-boater, Paul Mazzaroli, on day one.

Martin makes top spot as non-boater Taree basser Jason Martin has won ABT BASS events before, but has never taken home the sport’s ultimate prize from the back of the boat, until now.

weight bag. Later in the day, he reverted to a 3/8oz jig and had some tips for those looking to try the technique. “It’s like Cranka Crab fishing, you throw it out and drag it really slowly. Just

BASS Pro Series presented by

Scan the QR code to see day one highlights

Freams 2500 reel, 8lb Daiwa J-Braid and Sunline 10lb FC Sniper leader. Martin’s also a fan of the shared weight format. “I love working as a team with by boater each day and Scan the QR code to see day two highlights

Lake St Clair was the perfect venue for the 2019 BASS Pro Grand Final. want to become a boater, so maybe I’ll sit out a year, save for a boat and be back as a boater. But I’ll still do my

local rounds.” Martin also experienced a super topwater session with Kris Hickson on the second

day, with bass all around the boat sipping at insects and topwater cicadas doing the damage. Anytime you’re winning tournaments and using topwater baits is a day to remember!

First-time winner as a non-boater, Jason Martin scored big at the back of the boat. Fishing with eventual winner Dane Pryce on day one and fellow Taree angler, Kris Hickson on day two, Jason fished to his strengths and used a chartreuse/silver Jackall Squirrel jerkbait to contribute to the shared-

wait for the tick in the line and then you can set the hook,” Martin explained. Catching 50 fish over the weekend (between him and his boaters), Martin’s favourite outfit was a Daiwa Gen Black rod paired with a

it’s a great way to introduce new people to the sport. You get to fish with some of the best anglers in Australia,” Martin concluded. When asked whether we was going to defend his title in 2020, Jason said, “I really

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Dane Pryce 2 Graham Ford 3 Luke Draper 4 Steve Chang 5 Robert Tilley 6 Jake Schwerin 7 Kyle Lewis 8 Mike Nelson 9 Keeghan Painter 10 Mick Johnson

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 10/10 9.84 10/10 9.80 10/10 9.71 10/10 9.18 10/10 9.15 10/10 8.91 10/10 8.67 10/10 8.64 10/10 8.43 10/10 8.41

Jason Martin was teamed up with BASS Pro circuit regular Kris Hickson.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Jason Martin 2 Mitchell Petty 3 Malcolm Draper 4 Tom Deer 5 John Francis 6 Mark Caneris 7 Ryan Bates 8 Darren Greenstreet 9 Ian Wratten 10 Anthony Melchior

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 10/10 9.50 10/10 9.23 10/10 9.02 10/10 8.91 10/10 8.86 10/10 8.85 10/10 8.76 10/10 8.71 10/10 8.65 10/10 8.60 DECEMBER 2019

East Coast Bream Series Rd 5: Sydney Harbour The East Coast Bream Series Round 5, sponsored by Australian Bass Angler and Ranger Boats, was held at Sydney Harbour on 22 September. A beautiful morning greeted all competitors on the Harbour. Expectations were high, and we had 62 boats primed and ready to catch fish. However, the day fished harder than expected, and the eventual winners – Jay Rock and Brendon McNeal from Team Rookies – had to fish smart to get their bag. TEAM ROOKIES Jay Rock had not fished any previous rounds for the East Coast Bream Series due to being a new dad, but he said that when he checked the weather forecast and tides he couldn’t resist a Sunday out on the harbour chasing bream. “My usual teammate had commitments so I dragged along the old boy for his first ever experience fishing a tournament and chasing bream on the harbour,” Jay said. “We hit the briefing and were off in 61st position for the long run out to the front of the harbour. Seeing more boats than usual heading out that way, we made a quick stop at my first piece

Jack Rock and Brendon McNeal took out the top spot with their 3.21kg bag. of structure before heading right out. It turned out to be a good decision because the old boy put his first ever Sydney bream in the bag. “Heading out the front, most of my spots in my milk run already had boats fishing them, so we would wait and head in after the boats had left. This required us to fish a lot deeper in the structure than usual to get the bites. Hitting each spot in a run-and-gun type technique, we quickly made up a bag. “Throwing Cranka Crabs hard into the dark shadows of the harbour is always dangerous, and the big bream seemed very easily spooked. We found a few ponnies but the hook-ups tended to be really light and a lot of fish were dropped due to pulled hooks.

“We caught one or two fish at each spot we fished, travelling from Manly to Middle Harbour to the washes back inside the harbour. We worked hard for every fish we landed.” The bite had been quite slow for most of the day, but by 12pm it picked up and a kilo fish finally stayed

on the hooks and came to the boat. “An olive coloured Cranka Crab on a boat hull was too much for the big girl to resist,” Jay said. “Finally we had at least one kicker fish to boost up a reasonable bag.” Between 12-1.30pm the pair landed a good number of bream but didn’t get any upgrades, until finally on the way back to the weigh in they stopped at a piece of isolated structure to try their luck. “It’s a bit of structure that most people drive past,” Jay said. “We both flicked our Crab close to the mark, and bang! Double hook-up. My fish turned out to not be an upgrade but Dad’s fish was about a 100g upgrade, which was a nice way to finish the day.

“Back at the weigh-in the word was that it was a tough day, and we were thrilled to find that we got the win! That last upgrade the old boy landed got us over the line. It was a special win, getting it done with the old boy and watching him wrestle out a couple of bream out of some

pretty awesome places on the harbour. “I want to thank all the sponsors and guys that run this event. It was a very professional day, and also a blast seeing a lot of faces from the old Southern Bream Series days. Big thanks to Australian Bass Angler/Ranger Boats for supporting this round.”

The runner-up team was Team Abu Garcia/Evinrude, consisting of Codie Stewart and Ross Cannizzaro.

RESULTS Pl. Team Fishers 1 Rookies Jay Rock, Brendon McNeal 2 Team Abu Garcia/Evinrude Codie Stewart, Ross Cannizzaro 3 Flickin 4Five Mark Thompson, Zac Stojanovski 4 Breamin Matt Vaccaro, Steven Cole 5 Gamakatsu/Bassday/Lowrance Nick Reay, Darryl Chew 5 Bream Attack Geoffrey Borg, Michael Borg 7 Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano Jason Mayberry, Terry Parmenter 8 Hobie Polarized Powerpole Lowrance Mark Crompton Shaun Egan, 9 Abu Garcia/Tempt Industries Daniel Scott, Sean Stewart 10 Brimin Compleat Angler Nowra/Costa Grant Kime, Stuart Walker Full results can be found at www.wsbb.com.au

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

Weight (kg) 3.21 3.16 3.11 3.03 2.93 2.93 2.89 2.80 2.73 2.60

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

DECEMBER

7-8 Dec

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 11 Marlo

hobiefishing.com.au

2020 FEBRUARY

MARCH

4-5 Feb

ABT BREAM Round 1 Gippsland Lakes

abt.org.au

8-9 Feb

ABT BREAM Round 2 Mallacoota

abt.org.au

22-23 Feb

ABT BREAM Queensland Open Moreton Bay

abt.org.au

29 Feb-1 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 1 Bemm River

hobiefishing.com.au

1 Mar

ABT BASS Electric Round 1 Richmond River

abt.org.au

7-8 Mar

ABT BREAM Round 3 Derwent River

abt.org.au

11-12 Mar

ABT BREAM Round 4 St Helens

abt.org.au

21-22 Mar

ABT BASS Pro Round 1 St Clair

abt.org.au

28-29 Mar

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 2 Gorges River

hobiefishing.com.au

28-29 Mar

ABT BREAM Round 5 Mandurah

abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. 86

DECEMBER 2019

2019 East Coast Bream Series Grand Final The 2019 East Coast Bream Series Grand Final was held at St Georges Basin on Sunday 3 November. Teams were greeted with a windless start to the

bite to be tough. We could see fish but really wanted a breeze on the water to get them biting. We managed one nice fish before 8am in glassed-out conditions and

the win. All our fish were caught on the new Hurricane Lures Sprat 75 rigged on TTs Hidden Weight jigheads. A big thanks to our sponsors and the WSBB crew for

These three teams came out on top after a very testing day of fishing. morning after two days of high winds and very rough water, and all the talk was about how tough all pre- fishing had been. There seemed to be a lot

a couple of hours later got our second, a squeaker at 26cm to tip. “Ryan and I both knew if the wind would push through, we would get the

organising a great season of bream tournament fishing. Bring on next year!” RUNNER UP Matthew Starr and Damien Skeen from

to go on, we decided that area would be our starting point and we committed to grinding out the day there. “With strong winds forecast, we were thankfully greeted with light winds at the start. We took advantage of the conditions and fished Berkley Gulp 2” Shrimp and 3” Nemesis in camo, on lightly weighted jigheads ranging from 1/32oz to 1/12oz. The second cast yielded our first bream at 30cm fork length, and over the next couple of hours we ground out a tough bite and put together a bag, including two upgrades to finally weigh 5/5 for 3.2kg and second place. It’s a shame the bream weren’t on the chew like the reddies were!” 3RD PLACE John Picton and Greg Silva from Couple of Old Guys finished in 3rd place with a five fish bag of 3.16kg. John said that the

RESULTS Pl. Team Fishers 1 Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures Troy Parsons, Ryan Jamieson 2 Bassnchips Matthew Starr, Damien Skeen 3 Couple of Old Guys John Picton, Greg Silva 4 Complete Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano Jason Mayberry, Terry Parmenter, Mick Richards 5 Smart Fish 1 Ahmad Mahfoud, Jacob Smythe 6 Gamakatsu/Bassday/Lowrance Nick Reay, Darryl Chew, Josh Carpenter 7 Fish-Tec/Brimski Jason Harlock, Steve Nedeski, Blake Harlock 8 Brimin Compleat Angler Nowra/Costa Grant Kime, Stuart Walker 9 Team Abu Garcia/Evinrude Codie Stewart, Ross Cannizzaro 10 Abu Garcia/Tempt Industries Daniel Scott, Tim Staunton, Sean Stewart Full results can be found at www.wsbb.com.au of forced optimism on how the day would pan out. The day ended up being very testing for most teams, but a few managed some good bags, and Team Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures came out on top. WINNING TEAM Troy Parsons and Ryan Jamieson from Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures had to grind it out to get the win. “Our plan was to fish in 4-8ft of water over broken weed flats, our favourite way to fish,” Troy said. “With little wind in the morning we expected the

bite. With the breeze finally getting away we stuck to our plan, slowly filling our bag. “At 1:30 we had four, then Ryan set the hooks on a solid fish. After a few good runs it hit the net and we had our bag but still had the 26 tipper. While Ryan was getting the hooks out, I hooked a solid fish which hit the net, upgrading the squeaker. After grinding it out all day we finally had a good bag in the tank. “We went back to weigh in, our bag went 3.79 kg, and we were thrilled to see that it was good enough for

Bassnchips took out 2nd place, and like the winning team they also caught their fish on soft baits. Matthew said that he and Damien couldn’t co-ordinate a pre-fish

Fish 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 4/5 3/5

team members arrived at the Basin at lunchtime on the Thursday, with high expectations of a fun couple of days relaxing and pre-fishing. “ U n f o r t u n a t e l y,

Matthew Starr and Damien Skeen from Bassnchips finished in 2nd place with a 3.2kg bag of five fish. where we boated a couple. We figured at least we had an option for Sunday. “On Sunday morning, we went straight to the lagoon to be faced with glassed-out conditions. After an hour and one small Weight (kg) 3.79 3.20 3.16 2.64 2.63 2.61 2.56 2.44 2.38 2.03

Prize $5000 $2500 $1000

fish we made the call to move back into the Basin and fish flats until the wind came up. We tried a couple of spots before finally boating two decent bream in Swan Bay in around 4m on a Vex Bread N Butter Blade. Another hour’s fishing saw no more bites even though the wind

had now started to blow. This left us with no choice but to head back to the lagoon where we managed to fill our bag. We only caught the five bream that we weighed for the entire session, so to say the fishing was hard would be an understatement!” A big thanks to all the teams who fished our events this year and we hope to see you all again for next year’s series! Special congratulations to the team who scored the highest number of points over the five rounds – Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano. They scored an impressive 974 points out of a potential 1000, and finished in the top 10 every round. For their efforts they received free entry into the first two rounds of the 2020 East Coast Bream Series. Thanks also go to our sponsors: Compleat Angler Nowra/Camping World, Shimano Australia, Tempt Industries, Australian Bass Angler/Ranger Boats, Fishing Monthly and Twitchy Lures. - WSBB

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

Finishing in 3rd place were John Picton and Greg Silva from Couple of Old Guys.

The Grand Final winners, Troy Parsons and Ryan Jamieson from Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures.

together before the Grand Final, but their individual pre-fishes yielded about the same result: a tough bite and low numbers of bream caught! “Thankfully Damo had sounded out a good patch of fish and bait over a wide area in the deep (8-9m), which is not where we normally fish this time of year,” he explained. “With little else

40-50km/h winds from Thursday to Saturday meant more relaxing than fishing,” he said. “We boated one bream on Thursday, none on Friday and by 10:30 Saturday we had only one fish. We thought we needed a protected option for Sunday as more wind was predicted, so we moved into Wandandian Creek and then Tullarwalla Lagoon

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

0425 230 964 – info@fishin.com.au SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228 DECEMBER 2019

Bostock blitzes field at Grand Final The Casino Outdoor and Disposal BASS Electric series drew to a close on the Richmond River at the 2019 BASS Electric Grand Final. On the banks of the Richmond, 29 anglers

were eager to see what the river was going to produce and more importantly, who would be crowned the champion on Sunday afternoon. It was BCF manager

Peter Bostock caught a huge amount of fish on both days, and amongst all those fish were the right ones to take out the win!

BIG BASS Day one’s Big Bass winner was Charles West, who landed a cracker on a Whiplash Noise Addict buzzbait. The Big Bass on day two was Mark Palazzi, which was the biggest bass for the entire tournament, on a beetle spin.

Peter Bostock who rose to the top, compiling a 4/4 limit for 3.85kg. For his efforts he took home a Motorguide X3 electric motor and a 24v Green Energy lithium battery package. During pre-fish, Bostock made the decision to make the one hour 40 minute trip downriver to the Swan Bay area where the larger concentrations of bass were holding. This proved to be a great decision. Upon arrival on the first day Bostock already had one small fish in the well. He made a quick stop on the way and picked up a keeper on a jig, although this fish got upgraded in a matter of casts at Swan Bay. The fish continued to bite for the entire session, with Bostock landing around 60 legal bass for the day. His technique was simply hoping blades on a small drop off and, with the bass hunting prawns, this technique proved very successful. He switched between an Ecogear ZX40 and a Savage Gear blade, but the key was making long casts across the current and brining the blade up the drop off through the schools of prawns. Returning to the weigh-in on day one, Bostock was sitting in second place, and not too far off the lead. With the amount of fish he was catching it was going to make for an exciting day two. With more favourable tides at the start of day two, the trip down to Swan Bay was a little quicker, although the bass didn’t bite until around 8am. When they did however, is was a quick flurry and the well was full in no time at all. Bostock

also managed to make some key upgrades toward the end of the session. Bostock switched up his technique on day two to a more finesse approach with a soft plastic rigged on a 1/4oz jighead, which he would simply drag along the bottom.

His choice of tackle was a 2-5kg Lox Yoshi spin rod matched with a Daiwa Certate 2500 spooled with 6lb braid and 12lb leader. Pete would like to thank all the naming sponsors as well as everyone that assisted him through the year.

Urquhart finishes strong

Event organiser Joey Urquhart slide into second behind Bostock, and also managed to take out the Angler of the Year trophy. Relegated to second place was BASS Electric event organiser and Richmond River local Joey Urquhart. Urquhart compiled his 4/4 limit for 3.56kg and also took home a Green Energy 24v lithium battery. Urquhart also made the huge run downriver to Swan Bay and fished about 15ft away from Bostock for the entire weekend. His technique was the same as Bostock’s, where he hoped blades up a drop off targeting the concentrations of prawns. Day one saw him fill his

limit before the other anglers arrived and he continued to upgrade through the day and landed around 60 bass for the session. Starting day two in third place he was ready to move up the leader board. Upon arrival at Swan Bay he filled his limit very quickly and continued to make small upgrades all session. Urquhart threw a 6g Issei GC Zari Metal when there was less flow in the tide, and a 9g when the tide picked up. His choice of tackle was a Raison Jaburo 65L matched

with a Daiwa Tierra LT 2500 spooled with 8lb Sufix Aqua and Sufix Super 21 10lb leader. Urquhart also took out the Angler of the Year trophy for his outstanding year, consisting of a first place, two second places, a third, fouth and a 12th. Joey would like to thank all of his sponsors that supported him through the year. That brings this year’s series to a close, but keep posted for the 2020 BASS Electric calendar!

RESULTS

Scan the QR code to see highlights from the Grand Final.

Place Name 1 Pete Bostock 2 Joseph Urquhart 3 Tom Reynolds 4 Mark Palazzi 5 Nathan Swanson 6 Matt Williams 7 Glenn Swanson 8 Felippe Gapski 9 Stephen McLean 10 Liam Dutton

Visit www.abt.org.au for entry forms. For general enquiries phone ABT on (07) 3387 0888 88

DECEMBER 2019

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 4/4 3.85 4/4 3.56 4/4 3.36 4/4 3.19 4/4 3.07 4/4 2.81 4/4 2.65 4/4 2.63 4/4 2.49 4/4 2.38

The banks of the Richmond River were awash with anglers ready to fish its snaggy waters.

2019 2019 Local Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – LONG NEW SOUTH WALES LAT 33° 51’ S 151° 14’ E

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 SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER Time m Time m Time Time m Time m Time m

Time

1 1 0329 0936 TU

SU 1531 2150

2 2

0414 1025 WE MO 1627 2241

3 3 0500 1115 TH

TU 1725 2333

4 4

0545 1207 FR WE 1827

m 0541 0.08 1208 1.64 1759 0.22 2358 1.91 0633 0.14 1310 1.66 1857 0.26 1.77 0044 0.23 0720 1.65 1400 0.34 1947 1.59 0127 0.34 0803 1.63 1445 0.42 2032

Time m 0441 1.47 1.57 0.35 0.67 0.58 0318 1100 1.49 1.28 1.33 0926 WE 1652 0.42 0.53 MO 1523 2300 TU 0.50 2135 1.57 0536 1.57 1.63 0.38 0.58 0.52 0348 1208 1.51 1.30 1.30 1000 TH 1800 0.45 0.50 TU 1601 2355 WE 2210 1.50 0630 1.69 0.51 0.42 0.45 1.69 0419 1309 1.52 1.34 0.47 1036 FR 1902 WE 1644 0.48 TH 1.30 2248 1.41 0048 0.46 0.52 0.47 1.82 1.73 0452 0722 1.52 0.33 0.42 1115 SA 1403 0.52 1.39 TH 1730 1959 FR 1.31 2330 1.32 0141 0.40 0.52 0.53 1.93 1.76 0530 0814 1.50 0.22 0.39 1159 SU 1455 0.56 1.45 FR 1823 2052 SA 1.32

1 1 0341 0959 FR

16 16 17 17

6 6

0130 0725 SU FR 1403 2051

7 7 0243 0826 MO

SA 1509 2206

8 8

0400 0932 TU SU 1615 2311

9 9

0506 1036 WE MO 1714

1.58 2114 0.50 0245 1.26 0920 0.56 1600 1.54 2152 0.55 0323 1.16 0957 0.63 1635 1.52 2230 0.55 0400 1.13 1031 0.66 1710 1.52 2306 0.52 0437 1.17 1107 0.64 1745 1.55 2344

1615 2222

2 2

18 18

0424 1045 SA 1711 2315

3 3 0508 1134 SU

19 19

0207 1.41 20 5 5 0844 0.46 20 1523

0029 0632 SA TH 1302 1935

Time

1324 2025

1529 2233

1638 2333

0541 1111 FR 1739

10 10

11 11 0042 0639 FR

11 11 0139 0745 MO

WE 1217 1844

12 12 0117 0715 SA TH 1258 1920

13 13 0149 0749 SU FR 1335 1955

14 14 0219 0821 MO SA 1410 2028

15 15 0249 0853 TU SU 1446 2100

0.60 1.59 0024 0.43 0559 1.29 1220 0.55 1900 1.62 0107 0.39 0645 1.34 1300 0.50 1940 1.65 0156 0.36 0736 1.39 1345 0.46 2024 1.66 0247 0.34 0836 1.43 1439 0.43 2113 1.65 0344 0.34 0945 1.47 1542 0.42 2205 1.62

26 26 1.31

0210 1.51

0103 0710 SU 1258 1913

1339 1950

0.17 0.54 0211 27 0812 12 0.66 0045 12 0818 27 1.52 1.51 1.53 0650 SU 1416 TU FR 1241 0.50 1901 1.32 0.70 0130 1.44 0738 MO SA 1334 0.53 1952 1.34 0.73 0215 1.37 0824 TU SU 1427 0.54 2042 1.39 0.72 0258 1.31 0911 WE MO 1520 0.55 2131

0.30 2041 1.90 0308 0.11 0921 1.63 1518 0.21 2134 1.91 0410 0.09 1037 1.71 1628 0.17 2230 1.86 0511 0.13 1152 1.77 1740 0.17 2327 1.76 0608 1256 TH 1843

28 28 29 29

30 30 31

1.62 2131 0.47 0306 1.19 0936 0.65 1610 1.54 2205 0.53 0343 1.13 1010 0.72 1642 1.48 2239 0.55 0419 1.13 1044 0.73 1713 1.45 2314 0.53 0457 1.18 1118 0.70 1745 1.47 2349

18 18 SA 1230 1.35 1909 0.51 1.74 0111 0.37 0647 WE SU 1321 1.38 2012 0.50 1.74 0215 0.37 0749 TH MO 1424 1.39 2124 0.50 1.71 0330 0.38 0903 FR TU 1535 1.40 2233 0.51 1.67 0445 0.41 1022 SA WE 1648 1.41 2334 0.54 1.60 0547 0.44 1131 SU TH 1752

20 20

21 21 22 22

23 23

SA 1416 0.45 2026 1.50 0.61 0241 1.36 0850 WE SU 1453 0.53 2100 1.51 0.63 0310 1.25 0922 TH MO 1530 0.59 2135 1.54 0.61 0339 1.21 0954 FR TU 1607 0.61 2211 1.58 0.57 1.21

13 13

14 14

15 15

0.65 1.50 0029 0.45 0619 1.33 1230 0.58 1854 1.53 0111 0.41 0707 1.41 1313 0.51 1932 1.56 0159 0.38 0802 1.47 1402 0.46 2018 1.57 0253 0.36 0909 1.53 1505 0.42 2115 1.56 0355 0.36 1028 1.58 1621 0.39 2220 1.53 0500 0.38 1144 1.62 1741 0.38 2328 1.49

1.41 0.58 0027 1.52 0640 MO FR 1233 0.48 1848 1.42 0.63 0115 1.43 0728 TU SA 1330 0.53 1942 1.43 0.66 0200 1.34 0815 WE SU 1425 0.57 2032 1.45 0.67 0243 1.27 0900 TH MO 1517 0.60 2123 1.49 0.64 0326 1.23 0946 TU 1610 0.60 2214 1.57 0.56 0408 1.25 1032 WE 1702 0.57 2304

25 25 26 26

27 27 28 28 29 30

31 0450 1117

m 0537 0.52 1230 1.76 1827 0.37 2358

m Time m 0432 1.60 1.51 0.53 0.52 0.60 0454 1124 1.77 1.27 1.19 1125 SA 1730 0.37 0.63 SA 1805 2310 SU 0.69

0049 0618 SA 1251 1946

3 3 0146 0709 SU 1342 2046

0.33 2.01 0249 0.13 0809 MO 1.61 1.57 MO 1440 2128 0.48 2145 0315 0.28 1.22 2.04 0356 0941 0.63 0.10 0919 1614 TU 1.58 1.62 TU 1545 2216 0.51 2242 0408 0.26 1.18 2.01 0457 1030 0.67 0.13 1030 1659 WE 1.55 1.65 WE 1649 2305 0.49 2331 0501 0.28 1.19 1.91 0547 1120 0.68 0.20 1134 1744 TH 1.56 1.65 TH 1745 2354 0.44 0556 0.33 1.26 1.76 0015 1210 0.63 0.31 0630 1828 FR 1.61 FR 1228 1832 0.36 0043 1.63 1.37 0.42 0052 0652 0.54 1.58 0709 1300 SA 1.69 0.43 SA 1314 1912 1915 0134 1.59 0.27 0.51 0126 0753 1.50 1.41 0744 1353 SU 0.42 0.54 SU 1355 1958 1954 1.75 0229 1.55 0.21 0.59 0158 0900 1.63 1.27 0817 1452 MO 0.31 0.64 MO 1434 2048 1.77 2031 0329 1.51 0.18 0.64 0230 1013 1.74 1.18 0851 1603 TU 0.23 0.70 TU 1513 2149 1.75 2110 0434 1.50 0.19 0.64 0301 1127 1.83 1.16 0926 1720 WE 0.18 0.72 WE 1552 2256 1.68 2149

6 6 7 7

1.66 0.46 0051 1.19 0720 0.71 1400 1.56 1958 0.52 0135 1.16 0800 0.76 1435 1.47 2033 0.56 0215 1.17 0837 0.78 1507 1.42 2106 0.56 0250 1.22 0912 0.76 1538 1.41 2138 0.53 0326 1.30 0945 0.71 1608 1.42 2210

SU 1212 1859 0.65 1.60 0103 0.49 0634 MO MO 1304 1.32 1959 0.59 1.64 0207 0.44 0737 TU TU 1405 1.38 2103 0.54 1.68 0316 0.41 0849 WE WE 1513 1.43 2206 0.50 1.70 0424 0.39 1005 TH TH 1623 1.47 2303 0.47 1.70 0523 0.38 1116 FR FR 1729 1.50 2355 0.46 1.67 0616 0.39 1222 SA SA 1828 1.53

18 18 19 19

20 20 21 21

22 22

0401 0.49 23 8 8 1019 1.38 23 1638

9 9

10 10 11 11

12 12

13 13

0.24 1.87 0.18 1.58 0.32 1.87 0.22 1.47

0.42 1.83 TH 1755 0.29 2356 1.36

14 14 0336 1002 TH TH 1633 2232

15 15 0413 1042 FR FR 1717 2317

0.64 2243 1.45 0439 0.46 1054 1.47 1708 0.56 2317 1.46 0518 0.43 1130 1.55 1740 0.49 2354 1.47 0601 0.41 1208 1.62 1814 0.43 1.47 0034 0.41 0648 1.69 1251 0.39 1852 1.45 0120 0.42 0744 1.74 1343 0.35 1939 1.42 0215 0.45 0850 1.78 1447 0.34 2038 1.38 0319 0.48 1008 1.79 1609 0.35 2154 1.34

0.47 1.63 0044 0.41 0705 SU SU 1322 1.55 1923 0.49 1.57 0129 0.45 0753 MO MO 1417 1.56 2016 0.52 1.49 0213 0.50 0839 TU TU 1510 2108 1.56 0.56 0255 1.40 0925 WE WE 1600 0.56 2158 1.55 0.60 0338 1.31 1009 TH TH 1648 0.62 2247 1.54 0.62 0420 1.24 1053 FR FR 1736 0.67 2335 1.55 0.60 0503 1.22 1136 SA SA 1824 0.68

24 24 25 25

26 26 27 27 28 28

29 29

30 30

31 SU

Time

1 1 0024 0547 MO

16 16

0542 0633 1.55 1.29 1.26 0.54 0008 17 2 1230 1320 2 1916 0.58 0.62 17 1.26 0541 SU 1836

17 17

0536 0.50 9 24 9 1153 1.26 24 1818 0023 0630 SA 1209 1830

0516 0.48 10 25 10 1143 1.22 25 1821 0001 0558 TH TU 1131 1802

1849

5 5

8 8

24 24

1 1 0533 1203 FR

16 16

5 5 0111 0646 TU

7 7 0437 1001 TH

23 23

Time

4 4

0010 0554 MO 1227 1915

6 6 0322 0849 WE

22 22

Time m 0603 1.69 0.61 0.41 0.43 1.62 0410 1250 1.65 1.32 0.51 1029 SA 1848 WE 1646 0.39 FR 1.24 2249 1.43 0030 0.50 0.59 0.45 1.81 1.66 0442 0702 1.66 0.31 0.46 1105 SU 1346 0.41 1.41 TH 1729 1945 SA 1.28 2330 1.36 0128 0.41 0.56 0.50 1.93 1.70 0518 0757 1.64 0.20 0.41 1145 MO 1438 0.44 1.50 FR 1815 2038 SU 1.32

0222 0230 0.53 1.29 1.30 1.73 0016 19 4 0901 0849 4 1537 0.55 19 0.57 0.39 0559 TU 1527

0.52 0233 0.36 1.24 2.02 1.77 0021 0905 0.59 0.14 0.37 0615 MO 1545 1.49 1.49 SA 1249 2145 SU 1.32 1927 0.59 0.53 0326 0.32 1.17 2.07 1.77 0124 0956 0.64 0.10 0.37 0711 TU 1635 1.49 1.52 MO SU 1351 2236 1.32 2043 0.57 0.54 0419 0.32 1.15 2.05 1.75 0241 1047 0.65 0.12 0.38 0822 WE 1724 1.53 1.53 TU MO 1501 2328 1.32 2159 0.50 0.56 0514 0.34 1.19 1.98 1.72 0400 1138 0.61 0.17 0.41 0938 TH 1813 WE TU 1612 1.61 1.31 2302 0.39 0.59 0020 1.53 1.28 0.39 1.67 0506 0610 0.52 1.85 0.44 1046 FR 1229 1.72 0.26 WE 1715 1901 TH 2356 0.27 1.31 0114 1.52 1.40 0.47 0.62 0600 0708 0.41 1.68 1.60 1145 SA 1321 1.83 0.36 FR TH 1810 1950 0.47

21 21

1810

m 0020 0.20 0700 1.78 1346 0.21 1935 1.61 0108 0.31 0745 1.76 1428 0.29 2018 1.45 0151 0.43 0824 1.70 1503 0.38 2056

Local Time APRIL DECEMBER Time Time m

1218 1911

1.70 0.41 0114 1.37 0634 TU 1.74 MO 1302 0.40 2000 0017 0.54 1.26 1.81 0206 0644 0.63 0.30 0727 1325 WE 1.69 1.48 TU 1350 1930 0.42 2050 0116 0.43 1.24 1.90 0302 0739 0.67 0.22 0828 1415 TH 1.64 1.59 WE 1445 2020 0.42 2142 0212 0.34 1.27 1.95 0400 0831 0.67 0.17 0936 1501 FR 1.61 1.68 TH 1547 2108 0.40 2231 0304 0.27 1.35 1.95 0456 0922 0.63 0.17 1045 1545 SA 1.60 1.75 FR 1649 2154 0.36 2318 0357 0.25 1.46 1.88 0544 1012 0.56 0.22 1149 1629 SU 1.61 1.78 SA 1745 2240 0.32 0448 0.27 1.58 1.77 0000 1100 0.46 0.30 0628 1710 MO 1.61 1.78 SU 1244 2326 1836 0542 0.33 0.29 1.63 0039 1149 1.71 0.41 0706 1751 TU 0.36 MO 1331 1.60 1921 0011 1.74 0.29 0.42 0115 0635 1.81 1.47 0745 1239 WE 0.29 0.53 TU 1415 1831 2005 1.56 0058 1.68 0.32 0.51 0152 0732 1.88 1.33 0821 1330 TH 0.24 0.64 WE 1456 1914 1.50 2047 0147 1.60 0.36 0.59 0230 0834 1.91 1.23 0900 1428 FR 0.23 0.74 TH 1537 2003 1.44 2131 0244 1.53 0.43 0.64 0310 0941 1.91 1.17 0942 1536 SA 0.25 0.80 FR 1620 2105 1.37 2217 0348 1.49 0.50 0.65 0353 1048 1.86 1.18 1025 1652 SU 0.31 0.81 SA 1706 2219 1.31 2306 0456 1.48 0.57 0.63 0440 1149 1.79 1.23 1111 1758 MO 0.38 0.78 SU 1755 2329 2358 0556 1.51 1240 0.58 1847 1.30

2 2

3 3 4 4 5 5 6 6

7 7

m 0026 1.26 0645 0.64 1321 1.69 1928 0.45 0113 1.22 0728 0.70 1357 1.59 2003 0.51 0153 1.20 0806 0.75 1430 1.50 2036 0.55 0230 1.21 0842 0.78 1500 1.43 2107 0.56 0307 1.25 0916 0.79 1530 1.38 2140 0.55 0344 1.32 0952 0.76 1600 1.35 2213 0.53 0323 1.40 0930 0.70 1531 1.35 2148

m Time m 0524 1.78 0.72 0.53 0.33 1.55 0530 1159 1.85 1.58 0.53 1200 TU 1812 MO 1846 0.31 1.38

16 16

0.65 0005 0.47 1.33 1.83 1.59 0052 0619 0.57 0.28 0.48 0626 WE 1246 1.78 1.70 TU 1252 1900 1.45 1941 0.34 0.58 0100 0.38 1.34 1.84 1.63 0151 0712 0.60 0.27 0.45 0727 TH 1331 1.70 1.79 WE 1348 1945 1.52 2038 0.36 0.53 0154 0.32 1.37 1.80 1.64 0254 0802 0.62 0.29 0.43 0834 FR 1414 1.61 1.86 TH 1450 2030 1.58 2134 0.38 0245 0.30 0.48 1.43 1.72 1.64 0357 0851 0.62 0.35 0.42 0948 SA 1455 1.53 1.88 FR 1558 2114 1.64 2230 0.39 0.46 0335 0.32 1.52 1.62 1.62 0457 0940 0.58 0.44 0.43 1102 SU 1534 1.48 1.87 SA 1705 2157 1.68 2323 0.40 0426 0.37 0.45 1.62 1.50 1.58 0552 1029 0.51 0.53 0.46 1214 MO 1614 1.44 1.82 SU 1810 2240 1.71

17 17

18 18 19 19 20 20

21 21

22 22

0404 0.45 0516 0.51 1.52 0014 0.41 23 8 1009 1116 8 1605 1.49 23 1.72 0.50 0645 TU 1653

9 9

10 10

11 11

12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15

0.62 2226 1.36 0448 0.49 1052 1.58 1642 0.54 2307 1.37 0538 0.47 1141 1.67 1724 0.46 2355 1.37 0635 0.46 1237 1.75 1815 0.39 1.38 0050 0.46 0742 1.82 1345 0.33 1920 1.38 0158 0.46 0856 1.87 1503 0.29 2039 1.37 0312 0.48 1005 1.89 1618 0.28 2158 1.36 0422 0.50 1105 1.89 1719 0.28 2305 1.34

MO 1317 1.72 1910 0.48 1.45 0101 0.56 0735 WE TU 1414 1.71 2005 0.51 1.37 0148 0.62 0822 TH WE 1503 1.68 2056 0.54 1.30 0232 0.69 0907 FR TH 1550 2144 1.65 0.56 0315 1.26 0950 SA FR 1633 0.73 2229 1.63 0.54 0358 1.27 1031 SU SA 1714 0.73 2311 1.66 0.48 0439 1.35 1111 MO SU 1754 0.68 2353 1.72 0.41 0520 1.46 1149 TU MO 1833 0.58

24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29

30 30

0.44 1.39 0.63 0.42 1.75 2323 1.41 0609 0.52 0.42 1.30 1206 1.80 0.72 1734 0.35 1.39 0008 1.66 0.43 0.59 0704 1.86 1.24 1300 0.30 0.80 1822 1.37 0058 1.58 0.46 0.64 0802 1.89 1.21 1401 0.28 0.85 1921 1.36 0157 1.51 0.48 0.66 0901 1.88 1.23 1510 0.29 0.87 2033 1.34 0303 1.48 0.52 0.64 0958 1.84 1.28 1613 0.33 0.84 2146 1.31 0406 1.49 0.56 0.61 1048 1.78 1.35 1705 0.38 0.78 2249 1.29 0500 1.51 0.60 0.57 1131 1.71 1.44 1747 0.43 0.71 2342

31 0035 0602

1.27 0.65 TU 1227 1.62 1913 0.48

 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. DECEMBER 2019

Trades & Services Directory ba Prawn Blade s” “Yam

SYDNEY

FISHING GUIDES

CLARENCE

Penrith Marine (02) 4731 6250

PORT STEPHENS

Cohoe Marine Products (Sydney) (02) 9519 3575

Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters 0434 370 687

Blakes Marine (02) 4577 6699

MACQUARIE COAST Castaway Estuary Charters 0427 239 650

“IN THE MAIN STREET”

Watersports Marine (02) 9676 1400

EDEN COAST

02 6646 1514

Marina Bayside (02) 9524 0044

Captain Kev’s Wilderness Fishing Tours (02) 4474 3345 or 0424 625 160

CHARTER BOATS

REEL TIME FISHING CHARTERS

• Stocking all Major Brands • Experienced Local Knowledge • Tournament Bream Gear in Stock • Snorkelling gear in stock

Tweed Coast Marine (07) 5524 8877 Ballina Marineland (02) 6686 2669

Drop in to see Mick & Kelly

Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333 • 6am to 2pm $150pp • 3 boats – holds up to 30+ people • All fishing gear and bait is supplied • No fishing licence req. • Pickup from Yamba Marina or Iluka ferry wharf

COFFS COAST Compleat Angler Kempsey (02) 6562 5307 MOTackle & Outdoors (02) 6652 4611 or www.motackle.com.au Rocks Marine Bait & Tackle South West Rocks (02) 6566 6726

KAYAK DEALERS

Phone Dave today: www.fishingyamba.com.au 0428 231 962 OPEN 7 DAYS

MARINA BOAT & TACKLE, YAMBA MARINA

YAMBA’S LARGEST TACKLE STORE • Chandlery • Boat Sales • Ice & Gas • Bait & Tackle • Trailers Sales & Parts • Charter Bookings Ph: 6646 1994 or 0428 231 962 Email: dave@gaden.com.au Now Agents For

CLARENCE COAST

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Minn Repairs & Servicing Call Troy 0412 605 080 – W: minnrepairs.com

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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Reel Time Fishing Charters Yamba 0428 231 962 Yamba Fishing & Charters 0401 564 052

COFFS COAST Freshest Fishing Tours 0421 405 221

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allows braid tension adjustment

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THE FISHING EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME! • Reef, Deep Sea and Sport Fishing • Swains, Samurez, Cap Bunker Group • Dories available • LUXURY 20m Cat. New V8 Scanias. Large comfortable and stable. • Air conditioned and fast (cruise up to 16 knots) • Professional crew (over 22 years experience) • Cater for groups up to 12 people from 3 to 10 days • BYO or fully licenced bar • Desalinate unit • Trips designed to suit your requirements

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www.mikat.com.au MARINE MECHANICS COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour Marine (02) 6652 4722 North Coast Boating Centre (02) 6655 7700 Jetty Boating (02) 6651 4002 Thwaites Marine (02) 6651 7810

OPEN 7 DAYS

TWEED/BYRON COAST

Graham Barclay Marine (02) 6554 5866

Phone: 0427 125 727 I Fax: (07) 4972 1759 michael@mikat.com.au

•

“The Home of Leavey Lures”

MACQUARIE COAST

EASY PARKING

Shop 3, 8 Yamba St, Yamba

Shannons Outboards (02) 9482 2638 TR Marine World (02) 4577 3522

Dave Gaden’s Yamba • Deep Sea

YAMBA BAIT & TACKLE “Yamba’s Leading Tackle Shop”

For all your accommodation needs, house, units & townhouses for every budget. Contact the friendly team at Crescent Head Real Estate for your free holiday brochure.

www.crescentheadholidayrentals.com.au

Email: holiday@crescentheadrealestate.com.au

www.fgwizz.com.au

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES

6 MAIN ST, CRESCENT HEAD NSW 2440

Phone: 02 6566 0500

ZMAN GRUBZ

ILLAWARRA COAST

CRANKA CRABS

Riviera Caravan Park, St George’s Basin (02) 4441 2112

BAIT & TACKLE FRESHWATER Aberdeen Fishing & Outdoors (02) 6543 7111 Loomzys Fish and Fix (Forbes) (02) 6851 1425

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

MACQUARIE COAST Ned Kelly Bait n Tackle Port Macquarie (02) 6583 8318 Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333

HUNTER COAST Port Stephens Tackle World (02) 4984 2144

0425 230 964 – info@fishin.com.au SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228

Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0800 or email ads@fishingmonthly.com.au 90

DECEMBER 2019

boats & kayaks

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Inside story...

In 1998, Formosa Marine Pty Ltd became a registered business in aluminium pressed boats. Since then, Formosa Marine has earnt a reputation through word of mouth as some of Australia’s best-designed range of aluminium boats.

Made for...

Formosa Marine brands are designed with versatility and practicality in mind. Each boat has the same engineering specifications, so you can be assured that Formosa Marine’s famous strength qualities, spacious layout and freeboard is in each hull regardless of the size or model.

This month...

Steve Morgan climbs aboard Formosa’s 550 SRT with Suzuki 150hp 4-stroke out from Coffs Harbour. Check it out on page 100!

93 Glenbawn glory

Dayne Taylor visits what is arguably the premier bass impoundment in NSW, and explores its beautiful waters from his kayak.

94 A double christening Christening a new craft is rewarding, but doing two in one weekend is even better, as Justin Willmer found out!

96 Get on top of props Wayne Kampe provides a layman’s look at propellers to help you better understand this important piece of equipment.

98 Stessl 480 Trophy CC Gary Brown gives this fishingready rig, powered by a 60hp Honda 4-stroke, a good run in his local waters.

DECEMBER 2019

WHAT’S NEW BOATING BAR CRUSHER FOLDING HARD TOP 1

SIMRAD HALO20 AND HALO20+

Innovation has always been at the core of Australian plate aluminium boat builder Bar Crusher, and the latest upgrade to its cuddy cabin ‘C Series’ is case in point. The completely-redesigned folding hard top of Bar Crusher’s popular 615C and 670C looks – and is – all business. Like the previous folding roof design (which Bar Crusher had for 20 years), this latest beefed-up version – together with the folding, toughened safety glass windscreen – reduces the on-trailer height by around a metre for easy storage in standard garages and carports. With front and extended side clears delivering all-weather protection, the folding hard top and rock-solid superstructure is a huge plus for those who want a serious offshore fishing boat but have limited storage at home. Along with the increase in strength, the new folding hard top incorporates an LED cabin light as standard, allows for easy mounting of rear-facing LED cockpit lighting and a removable shade awning, provides a solid base for a radar, and also has the option of side-mount roof-top rod storage for another six outfits, in addition to the standard rearmounted rocket launcher. www.barcrusher.com.au

Simrad HALO20+ and HALO20 radars are compact, pulse compression radome units, ideal for smaller sportfishing vessels. Both radars provide excellent detection with unrivalled short-range performance, but HALO20+ features the fastest RPM rotation on the market, VelocityTrack, Dual Range operation and can detect targets from a greater distance. HALO20+ radar delivers a full 360° sweep every second at ranges up to 1.5nm, giving boaters an almost real-time view at close range. It has a compact dome antenna and delivers high-quality short-, mid- and longrange detection. Boaters can monitor two distance ranges at once in Dual Range mode, and beam sharpening provides enhanced separation between small or distant targets. VelocityTrack Doppler technology delivers instant feedback on whether targets are coming toward you or moving away. HALO20 is a compact, cost-effective solution for boaters to increase situational awareness and collision avoidance, detecting collision hazards and other targets nearby and up to 24nm away. Both models offer MARPA Target Tracking, InstantOn technology and Harbor, Offshore, Weather, Bird, and custom modes. Price: from SRP $2,399 www.simrad-yachting.com

YANMAR YD42 MFD

The Yanmar YD42 MFD and YD25 LCD Switch Panel Display have innovative functionality and a compact style. Featuring a low-profile glass helm design and a 4.1” colour screen, the YD42 reads and displays Yanmar engine alarm and diagnostic codes. Users can also view additional info, from engine speed and load, oil pressure and coolant temperature, to speed and depth. It’s compatible with a range of NMEA 2000 devices and allows engine data to be easily transmitted to other MFDs. The water-resistant YD42 is suitable for all weather conditions, and eliminates fogging. It has a 170˚ viewing angle, superior daytime visibility, and a night-time mode. It has an easy front-mount option, requiring no access to the back of the console or panel. In addition to engine start/stop functionality, the compact YD25 LCD Switch Panel Display shows all Yanmar engine data, alarms and diagnostic codes, and integrates with MFDs and glass helm systems. The info can be viewed on four customisable screens. Ideal for boats with limited dash space, the weather-resistant YD25 has a 2.5” LCD screen with a 80˚ viewing angle. www.yanmar.com

FUSION SM SERIES

Fusion’s new SM Series shallow mount marine speakers, are engineered to deliver high-quality acoustics ideal for installations where mounting depth is limited. The sealed enclosure design provides a truly shallow mounting solution without compromising sound quality, and protects all components from damage, making the SM Series capable of being installed in positions such as cabinets without needing rear speaker cups that often reduce sound quality and complicate installation. In addition, concealed mounting holes allow for a more uniform, cleaner look. There is also an optional two-surface corner spacer, which fits perfectly into perpendicular spaces where two walls meet, and a threesurface corner spacer, which is ideal for angling the speaker down from a ceiling corner for better acoustics. There are two colour options: fabric white and black for interior installations. www.fusionentertainment.com 92

DECEMBER 2019

SIGNATURE STOCK CLEARANCE

2 3

The Haines Signature stock clearance offer is now on, with a combined value of up to $2,700 free extras with new boat purchases. These extras include: 12 months’ Nautilus Marine insurance valued up to $1,000; a $1,000 Missing at Sea voucher; and a safety bag kit (including 4 x inflatable life jackets) valued at $700. The stock clearance period lasts until 16 December 2019, and is available only on current dealer’s stock boats. This special offer can not be used in conjunction with any other offer. Refer to your local authorised Signature dealer for more information, or visit the Haines Signature website. You can also see all the latest news and photos on Haines Signature’s Facebook page (www.facebook. com/hainessignatureboats) and Instagram (@ hainessignature). www.hainessignature.com.au

CLUB MARINE PROMOTION

PRODUCT GUIDE

Club Marine is giving away over $260,000 in prizes to eight lucky members in its ‘Win the Dream’ member promotion. One lucky member will win the keys to a car and boat package comprising of a RAM 1500 Laramie Pickup Truck and Northbank 600C boat with a Mercury Pro XS 150 HP FourStroke engine and Easytow trailer. There is a host of other prizes on offer as well, including a Sea Doo Fish Pro, Kimberley Cruise, NT Outback Adventure and YETI prize packs. Qualifying for automatic entry is easy. To be in the running to Win the Dream simply have a Club Marine Pleasure Craft Insurance policy and a Club Marine Magazine subscription in either Australia or New Zealand at the time of each draw. Winners will be contacted directly and announced in Club Marine Magazine. To find out more about how you can be in the running, visit the Club Marine website. www.clubmarine.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Fishing off the beaten track at Glenbawn Dam URUNGA

Dayne Taylor

Glenbawn Dam can be found nestled among the hills to the west of the

it’s literally that simple. You are up for 1.5 hours’ drive from Newcastle, and similar from Tamworth in the west. ACCOMMODATION There’s no sugar coating it – the dam is fairly

are any available out at the dam. Alternatively, a quick search online will show you literally hundreds of bed and breakfasts and motels. There are even a few sneaky winery resorts you can stay

A Glenbawn bass is released to fight another day. Barrington Tops. It’s approximately 20 minutes’ drive from Scone, and 15 minutes from Aberdeen in the Hunter Valley. The dam’s main purpose is to supply water for agriculture, mining and the townships below. However, thanks to the ongoing work of NSW DPI Fisheries and local fishing clubs, there have been fish stocking

secluded and out of the way. However, you do still have a few options when it comes to accommodation. There is endless unpowered camping available lakeside, and a very limited few powered sites. If you want a powered site, call the crew at Reflections Holiday Parks on (02) 6543 7193 and they will tell you if there are any available. The grounds

at if you want to make the most of a trip to the Hunter Valley, which isn’t too far away from the dam. THE FISHING As for fishing tackle and camping equipment, there isn’t a whole lot available from Muswellbrook or Scone. With this in mind, I recommend making the effort to travel in and see Nick at Aberdeen Fishing

There is great lakeside camping on offer at Glenbawn Dam. programs in place for a number of years, making for some fantastic recreational fishing opportunities to be had by both kayakers and boaters alike. The best route to Glenbawn is to head in from Scone. Take Gundy Road and follow the signs and turn-off to Glenbawn Road –

have both electric and wood fire barbecues, toilets and shower blocks, and a camp kitchen, all for an affordable price. At certain times the kiosk is open for takeaway style meals also. If you prefer some creature comforts, and a cabin or motel is more your style, definitely ask if there

Tackle. He has a great range of tackle, he fishes Glenbawn regularly, and can also help point you in the right direction as to what the fish are dialled in on at the present time. Glenbawn can seem pretty daunting for a kayak angler due to the fact that it’s such a large body of water,

but you really don’t have to travel far to catch a fish. The dam is stocked with Australian bass, golden perch (yellowbelly), silver perch, and catfish. They feed mainly on small gudgeons, insects and yabbies. A fast action 7ft rod in the 4-12lb range will handle all the fishing scenarios you’re likely to encounter, and a selection of line and leader in the same weight class will suffice.

on 2” paddle-tail soft plastics such as Keitech Easy Shiners, Berkley Powerbait T-Tails and ZMan Slim SwimZ in natural colours. During the warmer months I always tie on a surface lure, imitating a wounded insect such as a cicada, or even a walk-the-dog style stickbait early in the morning and late in the evening. It reaps great rewards on the bass, often producing a better class of fish.

extreme; in summer it’s hot and in winter it’s freezing! There’s a tendency to have a bit of wind and storms from time to time, so be sure to get yourself and your kayak to safe ground as soon as you see any signs of this unfavourable weather. It can be easy to lose track of how far you have travelled on the dam, so always be aware of your surroundings or use a GPS/sounder to record your tracks so you can find your

Cruising across the dam on a cool morning is peaceful in the yak. The dam has several different types of fishholding structure, including thick weed-lined banks, standing and fallen timber, and lots of rocky points and walls. The weed-lined banks usually produce good numbers of fish year round

In December, a selection of reaction baits and skirted jigs are a very productive way to target these fish. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, lipless crankbaits and jerkbaits have all landed me fish. The weather up at Glenbawn can be pretty

way back. Keep in mind the lack of mobile phone reception and the remoteness of the location. I sure hope you are inspired to head to Glenbawn Dam in the near future. The scenery is amazing, the peacefulness is a bonus, and the fishing is fantastic.

FISHING NEWS

Cod saved in Macquarie River As temperatures continue to increase, the NSW Government is rescuing as many native fish as possible from drying waterholes, including recently relocating hundreds of fish from the Macquarie River near Warren in northwest NSW. Minister for Agriculture Adam Marshall hailed the extensive rescue operation a success, with more than 220 large-bodied native fish such as Murray cod and golden perch saved. “This is a fantastic result with more than 20 Murray cod and 60 golden perch moved to hatcheries, and other species relocated upstream to sections of the river that offer longerterm water security,” Mr Marshall said. “We have now relocated more than 1600 fish from all corners of the state since September, ensuring the survival of our key native species through this unprecedented drought. “Unfortunately we won’t be able remove every fish from every drying pool, but that won’t stop

our teams from undertaking as many rescue operations as possible.” In early November, Department of Primary Industries (DPI) Fisheries staff worked alongside 19 local volunteer anglers from the Inland Waterways

through one of the worst droughts on record,” Mr Marshall said. The rescue operation is part of the NSW Government’s $10 million Fish Rescue Strategy, which includes targeted rescue operations, the

Volunteers working side-by-side with DPI Fisheries staff to relocate more than 220 largebodied native fish. Image courtesy of NSW DPI. OzFish group to identify the most at-risk sections of the Macquarie River. “This is the perfect example of what can be achieved when we work hand-in-hand with the community, as we battle

State’s largest ever breeding program of native fish, expansion of the Government’s flagship fish hatchery as well as working with recreational fishing clubs and private hatcheries across the state. - NSWDPI DECEMBER 2019

It’s a double christening in one weekend little plastic to cross paths with a fish and I continued my retrieve as it tapped at the plastic, before the hook found its mark, the rod loaded and the drag screamed on the light spin combo. After a couple of earlier soft taps on the plastic, I made the call that there were a few grunter on the flats and when the soft taps turned into this screaming run, I knew it was a decent one. I am addicted to catching fish in less than half a metre of water, as the only way they can go is across the flat and it’s generally at speed. I soon had a 40cm grunter on board and we opted to keep it for a feed as we had the Friday off and hadn’t planned anything for dinner.

BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

After a successful first adventure christening Sheri’s new SUP with a paddle adventure around a local mangrove island, there was much discussion and planning for a future SUP camping and fishing adventure. Firstly though, Sheri needed to get some more time in on the water, standing and fishing, while also needing to christen the SUP with its first fish. I had also just given an old kayak to a mate of mine and he’d tidied it up and was ready to take it on its maiden voyage. A quick check of the tides

A solid grunter on the SUP to kick things off.

Sheri christened her SUP with a bream that inhaled a soft plastic. and weather and it was decided that the weekend would be a double christening, hopefully putting a fish on the new SUP on the Friday and a fish in Sean’s kayak on the Sunday. Game on! SHERI’S SUP The Friday saw a slight breeze and the forecast of a morning storm around 10am, so Sheri and I opted to hit the water about 7:30am, leading up to a 9am high, use the current to carry us to some flats that we would fish until the tide turned and then paddle back with the run-out tide and be out of the water before the storm. A tight schedule, however we were confident of getting a couple of fish as they moved up onto the weed flats to feed. That was until we were on the flat and there was 94

DECEMBER 2019

after 40+ years of reading tide books it still happens occasionally. By this point we were on the flat though and with a limited window of time we persisted, working the deeper edges and pockets, along with the sandy patches in the weed. It was cool to see Sheri gaining confidence on the SUP, paddling around the flat with no issue when seated on her new icebox and gaining confidence when stand up paddling. By the end of the session Sheri stood up and paddled virtually the entire way home. We both had a fun session, and agreed there is something different and special about both kayak and SUP fishing. The SUP is a relaxing platform that you just step onto, the seating is raised and comfortable and standing gives you excellent vision and an entirely different experience. Anyway, we’re here for the fishing…

that the school had moved on. I continued to drift off the flat while Sheri paddled back up to work some sandy patches and was soon yelling that she had hooked up. I paddled over as quick as I could and arrived in time to see her land a bream that would have been around legal size. Her verdict was small, while my verdict was success! I was stoked that Sheri had christened the SUP and it didn’t really matter if the fish was a just legal bream or a metre flathead… it was a first for her and so we celebrated! Not long after I also managed a bream and then I saw that Sheri had paddled into a sandy area where we sometimes get out of the kayaks – this

Success! Sean christened the kayak with a bream on an inline spinner. The fish come up here to feed and I was hunting for active fish that were working across the flat. It didn’t take long for the

By the time we landed the fish we had drifted away from the area and once we returned to drift the area again it seemed

time the SUPs – to target flathead. As I approached the sandy area I slowed up and made a few casts to the edge of the weed, had

Grunter love eating plastics rolled over the weed flats and this one was great fun on the SUP. no water… It was really shallow and we later found out that I had misread the date in the tide book and we were short about 40cm of water! Yep, even

back to it! As usual I was fishing the shallows fast with the rod tip up and a 1/4oz jighead and 2.5” paddletail zipping across the flat.

Sheri was rapidly gaining confidence in her stand up game.

a rattle and then watched a flathead rise behind the plastic and nail it in front of me. Off it screamed in the shallows and I just smiled and enjoyed the fight… man I love fishing. I soon had a mid-40s flathead in the net and opted to paddle

and Sheri had christened her kayak. Time to get onto planning that lightweight SUP camping adventure… stay tuned! SECOND HAND SUCCESS FOR SEAN When Sunday rolled around Sean and I opted

I kicked things off with a bream and soon followed it up with a reasonable grunter. No pressure for Sean, Sheri had christened the SUP, and now it was his turn to christen your new yak. Sean was fishing an out of the box presentation

Sheri scenting up her soft plastic to attract fish and trigger strikes. 2ft of water. Success! Sean was happy with the bream on the spinner and I was stoked that we had a double

christening on our hands. Both Sheri and Sean had landed a fish on their new vessels in one weekend and

Sean working the flats in his reconditioned yak. in and add it to the grunter in Sheri’s icebox. We then made the most of the calm conditions and paddled home together, chatting, spotting fish and stingrays and just taking it all in. The SUP is a

for an early start and headed to the same flat hoping for similar success. Sean had done a good job of patching the cracks in the old yak and so far, so good… he was dry in the cockpit of the sit-inside.

in the salt, as he often does, running a Mepps Bug inline spinner that would more often be associated with bass or trout in the fresh. He was rolling the spinner across the flat and experimenting with pauses and retrieve speeds when I heard him say something and looked over. A quality 60+cm flathead had followed the spinner to the kayak and then he ran out of room for the retrieve and the fish sank back to the bottom. There’s definitely some potential for that presentation in the salt! It wasn’t long before I heard a “fish on” call from Sean and paddled over to see him landing a nice bream on the spinner. He had been retrieving it with a slow roll and added pauses. The bream had nailed it on the pause and gave a good account of itself in

A cast right up into a sandy pocket in the weed and this 57cm flathead nailed the author’s ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ.

A mid-40cm flathead landed while working a weed edge. cool vessel for exploring, fishing and getting some exercise without even realising it. We arrived home, washed down and packed away the boards and then the wind and average weather arrived. Mission successful, the plan had come together,

I was still rigged up from the Friday session and spotting a couple of flathead lies near the launch point had me fired up to catch a flatty or two. We had a little more water on the flat than on the Friday, so that would work in our favour.

A couple of quality eating fish in the box for dinner!

I think I was happier than both of them. I had made a plan and executed it! It went a bit quiet on the flat, so we moved to a large weed bed and began to work the sandy edges around the outside of it as the tide turned and dropped. These weed beds hold loads of prawns and baitfish that begin exiting as the water drops away and flathead love picking them off the edges of the weed as the dropping water forces them out. I knocked over three small flathead quickly, before Sean was onto another solid flathead on the spinner. After a short tussle the hook pulled and we were both shattered. He could have easily had

two quality flathead on the spinner for the session, however on this day it wasn’t meant to be. I pushed up on the weed a little further and began targeting any little sandy pockets that ate their way back into the weed bed. These breaks in the weed edges seem to create perfect ambush points for flathead and they will lay right up in these little sandy channels. If your casts are accurate the takes will often come as soon as the lure lands and they can be brutal. It didn’t take long for a mid-40s flathead to detect my plastic landing and swimming to the bottom, pouncing as I made the first hop, loading the rod and engaging the drag. In the net, a quick photo and I was repositioning the kayak to pick the next pocket. The next take was more serious and I let the rod and the drag do their thing, smiling as I enjoyed what had been a great weekend on the SUP and the kayak. Another stubborn run when the fish saw the kayak and then a 57cm flathead was slid into the net and into the icebox where it would make a fresh fish dinner for Sean and his girls. That was enough for us and we opted to head home in time for lunch. If you haven’t been out for a while it’s definitely time to plan an adventure. Grab a mate and explore a new area, target a new species or even hire a new vessel to fish from! There are some awesome adventures out there just waiting for you. Check your tides better than I did, keep an eye on the weather and always remember safety first. It had been an awesome weekend on the water and a double christening for Sheri’s SUP and Sean’s reconditioned kayak. I wonder what the next adventure holds? Time to start planning… See you on the water. DECEMBER 2019

A layman’s look at propellers PART 1 BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

For years I took my boat’s propeller for granted as little more than a big screw. The reality, however, is that a propeller is quite complex, and is designed for maximum efficiency. In this article I’ll discuss propeller components, before going into more detail next issue. Before going further I have to thank Glenn Gibson of Yamaha Motor’s Marine Division here in Brisbane for his invaluable advice on the subject.

water to propel the boat. Propeller blades actually have two working surfaces. First of all, the back of the blade creates a low pressure area that moves the boat forward as it rotates. The front of the blade (the face) creates high pressure as it rotates and forces a stream of water away from the propeller, to the rear, and thus does its bit to aid forward motion. All we see is a big stream of water heading away from the engine as we push the throttle forward, but there are come interesting things occurring at the end of that gear case.

The larger the prop’s diameter, the more water it can push. THE NITTY GRITTY A propeller consists of a hub attached to an engine’s gearbox, usually with a flexible bushing, ensuring that the connection can withstand a bit of jarring from time to time. On the outside of the hub there are blades of the same length and size. These blades are manufactured to a rigidly set shape or pattern so they displace

DIAMETER VERSUS PITCH If you taking a close look at a propeller, you’ll see that it is inscribed with two numbers. One number describes the diameter, which is the overall size measured across the circle of the tips. The other number is the pitch, which is the theoretical distance the propeller will move the boat in one revolution, as the raked blade moves

through the water. Why a theoretical distance? Because there will be some slip as the prop bites into the water. But here’s the secret: the less slip there is, the more efficient the propeller! With all propellers we have two main things to consider: the diameter and then the pitch. There’s no denying that the larger the propeller’s diameter, the more power it has to push water behind it, which means that really heavy loads are best handled by larger diameter propellers. However, let’s not lose sight of the fact that it’s the pitch that determines efficiency in many respects. The less the pitch, the less ‘bite’ the prop has, and the easier it is for the engine to turn the prop. However, while this means the engine might pick up revs very rapidly to provide faster acceleration and extra pulling power, it’s the norm to have reduced speed. It’s similar to gearing in cars, where lower gears provide lots of grunt but reduced top speed. Higher pitched propellers, on the other hand, are akin to higher gears in a car because they produce more forward travel with each prop revolution, with the downside being more load on the engine, reduced low speed pulling power and acceleration, but a higher top speed. So we can see that although revving hard the boat might not gain much extra forward motion due to the lack of bite from the reduced pitch, while a prop with a higher pitch might cause a reduction in engine revs but at the same time will be biting harder into the water and kicking the boat further with each engine revolution, despite the inevitable slip. The ideal situation is

for the propeller to have just the right amount of size to push plenty of water with each revolution, but at the same time have just the right amount of pitch to ensure the engine is in its correct operating range for best efficiency. Yet that propeller should be generating as little slip as possible in each revolution. Propeller manufacturers devote a lot of R&D to achieving this balance of physics. LEAVE THE HARD STUFF TO THE EXPERTS So where does that leave you and I when it comes to selecting the right prop for a given engine and boat? The reality is that our basic knowledge isn’t enough for us to decide what’s best for the boat. The selection of a prop for any given craft will usually come from the consideration of trained experts in the field, given that engines’ outputs are very standard, and to a very large extent so are boat hulls. Whether

Here you can see the degree of rake on the propeller blades, which is linked to the propeller’s pitch. from virtually any established boat maker have now been in existence long enough that when a manufacturer turns out a

When we look at any propeller we are looking at a complex bit of machinery, designed for best efficiency, with the blades having just

Every aspect of a propeller’s construction is designed to maximise efficiency.

Here you can see the diameter (13.7/8) and pitch (15”) figures marked on this prop. 96

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a boat is designed with a flat bottom, a slight or large degree of vee in its design, or is manufactured from fibreglass, alloy or timber, there won’t be much radical departure in design. Large or small, lightweight or behemoth, there’s a pointy end to broach the water, and a blunt section at back for an engine to be fitted. Boat design parameters

boat, that craft will have engine ratings specified as ideal for the size, design, and weight of the hull pre-determined and prominently displayed on a compliance/manufacturer’s plate. Accordingly, a chosen engine (whether minimum or maximum horsepower) comes with best performing propellers (size and pitch) specified as well.

the right amount of size and rake against the hub for a given task. SUMMING UP As you can see, there’s a whole lot more to propellers than meets the eye. And yet I’ve really only rippled the waters; created no waves at all. Next issue, we’ll look at why different propellers have two, three, or even

s e

four blades per hub, and the steps that propeller manufacturers are taking to safeguard their products against damage. We’ll also look at the choice of alloy vs stainless steel props, and also investigate the effects of cupping, ventilation and cavitation on overall

propeller performance. Last but not least, I earnestly believe that the selection of the right propeller should be left to the professional to decide, after considering all relevant factors such as the maker’s recommendations for the engine, plus the proposed

use and anticipated load during that use, which should be provided by the customer as accurately as possible. There’s definitely some leeway there, but it’s best left to data reference and the experience of the professional to determine the right outcome.

There’s more to propellers than meets the eye.

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DECEMBER 2019

Stessl 480 Trophy CC with 60hp Honda 4-stroke

SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

The Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console powered by a 60hp Honda is a great rig for anglers looking for a down to earth workhorse to take the family on trips, or simply for getting out on the water. Whether you are an offshore angler who likes to target snapper and kingfish with bait or lures or you prefer to troll up and down the coast for kingfish, tuna, salmon and tailor, this is the rig for you. Maybe you have a family and you would prefer to keep to the enclosed waterways and either drift or bait fish for bream, whiting, snapper, trevally and many other estuary fish species. This outfit will easily do the job, and it has the added benefit of 700mm internal freeboard. With its 4mm bottom and sides, the Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console powered by the 60hp Honda outboard would give you plenty of hours of fun either fishing, cruising or even pulling a tube or skier behind. STANDARD FEATURES The 480 Trophy is

Main: Running the boat with the 60hp Honda on the rear, the 480 Trophy cruised comfortably at 22 knots. The high windscreen provided plenty of protection from the breeze. Above: Even though the 60hp Honda outboard was able to get the boat out of the water with a fair amount of ease, it’s worth considering putting an 80 or 90hp outboard on. manufactured from 4mm 5083 high tensile keel sheets, 4mm 5052 side sheets, 4mm bulkheads and frames fully welded to hull (not floating). Its standard features include a Fastback transom with twin boarding platforms, fully-welded gunwales and side decks, extruded side decks, enclosed rear transom with twin hatches, large aluminium anchor well, 32mm bow and rear rails, heavy-duty bow sprit with double rollers and rope keepers, fully carpeted floor, Australian Standards

SPECIFICATIONS Beam..........................................................2.4m Depth .........................................................1.6m Weight (boat only) ................................... 520kg Bottom .......................................................4mm Sides ..........................................................4mm People ..............................................................5 Max hp ...........................................................90 Shaft...............................................................XL Length on trailer .......................................6.8m Height on trailer ......................................2.79m 98

DECEMBER 2019

approved underfloor foam floatation, three cast alloy bollards, large 800mm centre console with shelf and folding top, two transducer brackets, four rod holders, large side pockets, heavy-duty dive boarding ladder, NFB steering, sports spoke steering wheel, helm seat box with flip backrest, 150L underfloor fuel tank with sender, marine level tinned wiring loom, five gang switch panel with 12V outlet, LED nav lights and anchor light, bilge pump, and white paint as standard graphics. OPTIONAL EXTRAS There are plenty of ways to customise your 480 Trophy. If you want a berley bucket, you could get Enterprise Marine to install one into the port side of the boat. Additionally, instead of having a fullwidth rear fold-down padded bench seat at the stern, you could get a three-

quarter one and have them install an access door to the rear transom.

A not her opt i on would be to install a selfdeploying electric motor. To do this, you would need Enterprise Marine to get the bow rail modified and a mounting plate wielded onto the bow. ON THE WATER Being a plate boat, the Trophy is extremely solid in the water. It’s 2.4m wide, which is substantial for a boat that’s only 4.8m long, and this contributes to superior stability both at rest and underway. With the added benefit of foam filling, the ride is surprisingly quiet as well. The bow pushes the water spray down for a drier ride. HORSEPOWER The Honda EFI 60hp 4-stroke outboard (power trim and tilt, electric start, mounting kit, fuel line and primer bulb) comes standard with this package.

However, given the boat’s capacity to take five adults, I would strongly think about upgrading from a 60hp to the maximum 90hp motor that is allowed. Sure, the 90hp would weigh more, but that extra power would allow it to come onto the plane with much more ease, and it will also keep your fuel cost down. You can find out more about the different models on the Honda website at marine. honda.com. As tested on the day, the Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console with a 60hp Honda has an asking price of $37,990 from Enterprise Marine at 8/77-79 Basset Street West, Mona Vale. For more information, call Enterprise Marine owner Chris Tocchini on (02) 9999 5558 or email him at chris@ enterprisemarine.com.au.

What more do you need than a Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console, a few rods in the rod holders and you at the helm? This outfit will stand out in the crowd.

The helm seat has enough room for two adults to sit side by side while still being protected by the high and wide windscreen.

Left: There is plenty of walk around space on either side of the console. Right: When reversing this rig down the ramp, stop short of the water, lower the motor, kick it over and then put the motor into reverse. It’s as easy as that to get it off the trailer.

The braked Seatrail Trailer comes with a fitted walkway on the trailer, which can make it easier for you to launch and retrieve your boat, or you can drive it onto the trailer.

The centre console’s fold-down top gives you easy access to the wiring and cables. There’s heaps of storage space underneath the console.

At the rear there’s a cleaning table complete with five rod holders, a live well, a couple of drink holders and a chopping board. On the starboard side is the access ladder, which you could attach a tie-down strap so that it has no chance of deploying while underway.

While travelling at top speed with the motor trimmed, the Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console sat fairly high in the water. This enabled the shape of the hull to keep the spray down.

You don’t have to get your feet wet when undoing the chain.

The rear Fastback transom with twin boarding platforms and heavy-duty dive boarding ladder makes it easy to get into the boat. The non-slip pads on the transom are a must.

The helm seat with its flip backrest has a 150L kill tank/storage box underneath. The full-width bench seat will allow your extra passengers to get a comfortable ride when travelling.

At the bow there is a pair of hatches that conceal a huge amount of underfloor storage.

With its no fuss sleek lines and solid 4mm construction, the Stessl 480 Trophy Centre Console sits very square and flat on the water when at rest, making it a very stable craft. DECEMBER 2019

Formosa 550 SRT with Suzuki 150hp 4-stroke - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

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order boats with the features that local anglers want.” The 550 is the smallest Centre Cab that Formosa make. With models

The Suzuki 150hp 4-stroke partnered perfectly with the Formosa 550 SRT.

Main: The jury is out on whether this type of shot is appealing to a boat customer or not. Rupe said that landing was “much softer than expected” after searching out some stand-up swell at the mouth of the harbour. Above: Stability at rest is where this Formosa shines, with a 2.45m beam and the Quad4 water ballast system fitted.

Suzuki’s 150hp Lean Burn engine pushed the Formosa 550 SRT up and over the swell at a good, comfortable running pace. 100

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After hundreds of boat tests, we finally made it to Coffs Harbour to get some hulls wet. Hosted by Dayne Taylor and the team at North Coast Boating Centre (NCBC), it’s definitely a part of the world that offers lots – not just for fishing but also a compact array of conditions to test the abilities of hull and motor combinations. NCBC is a Formosa and Suzuki dealer and both come from South East Queensland – the hulls are manufactured there and Suzuki’s local head office is also located there. Although the quality of the main Coffs Harbour boat ramp is a bone of contention amongst locals, on the test

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Steve Morgan

CON

AN THE

day it coped fine with the launch and retrieval of a black and grey 5.5m Formosa Centre Cab, loaded with features and turning

FMG

heads with a new Suzuki 150 bolted to the back. “The locals here love the Formosas and we sell plenty of them here,” said NCBC’s Dayne Taylor. “We always make sure that we

extending up to 7.4m in length and the simplification of the Formosa range (these SRT hulls were released on the 2019 boat show circuit), navigating their line up has become a lot easier.

If you’ve ever been offshore from Coffs, you’ll know this wall. A calm wind with some leftover swell presented ideal testing conditions.

There’s a surprising amount of room in the centre cab, as much as in some 7m models that I’ve tested in the past; however, the flipside of that is the front deck space is compromised in this model. If front deck space is important to you, check out the longer models in the line up.

versus ride. With a near 2.5m width and the fourtube Quad4 water ballast system in play, the hull was rock solid in the water. Even with 19 degrees of transom deadrise, the hull

Otherwise, the boat is well finished and definitely turns heads at the ramp. Its practical features, such as the removable underfloor kill tank, an entirely practical transom and transom door

SPECIFICATIONS Length................. 5.7m Beam................. 2.45m Bottom ................ 4mm Sides ................... 4mm Fuel ..................... 150L Dry hull weight . 840kg Max hp .................. 150 Transom deadrise .19° Capacity ..... 6 persons

Our first test in Coffs Harbour, but with mornings like this it won’t be our last. The dual axle Dunbier trailer provides easy towing and access when at the rigging area of the ramp.

North Coast Boating Centre’s dual-cab ute is the perfect tow and launch vehicle. Exiting the ramp, there’s a fair expanse of semi-sheltered water that we could use to do some speed runs in. Although the specs show economy of 2km/L, I’m sure that with more granular metering this would actually register in the low 2s. It’s no slouch

either, with a flat-water test yielding 74km/h. Unfortunately, conditions didn’t allow us to run at wide open throttle on the test day – that was a quoted reading from the team when they were prop testing in the local river. Creeping out of the harbour, the calm day belied the decent ocean swell that rolled through. Indeed, it was fun to do a few jump shots off the colourful south wall. Sneaking up along the coast, we took the opportunity to do some running and fishing shots in the slop. You can check these out on the Fishing Monthly YouTube channel or by scanning the QR code on this page. The other compromise in this boat is stability

When they look this good it’s easy to see why NCBC have moved so many Formosa boats this year!

This is why you invest in the Quad4 option. Stability at rest makes it easy to catch a few! tended to ride over rather than through the swell. Add a deeper vee in the hull and you would lose stability in favour of a smoother entry to waves. It’s the perennial boating dilemma.

As the swell continued to build, this Formosa 550 SRT really showed off how balanced and stable it was. PERFORMANCE RPM Speed (km/h) Economy (km/L) Idle ..........................5 ...............................5 1000 .........................7 ............................3.3 2000....................... 12 ............................2.5 3000....................... 28 ............................2.0 3500 ....................... 30 ............................2.0 4000....................... 46 ............................2.0 5000....................... 59 ............................1.4 5900 ....................... 74 ............................n/a

Building seas were no problem for the newly released SRT hull.

There’s room up front and back for fishing so you’re not on top of each other and can cover more ground.

coupled with a folding bench seat that redefines simplicity shows that this rig has been designed by anglers – or at the very least, by builders who listen to their customers. Want to find out more or go for a test drive? Call Dayne and the NCBC team on (02) 6655 7700 or look them up on www.northcoast boatingcentre.com or North Coast Boating Centre on Facebook. Price wise, this rig is right in the ballpark for those looking to move into a plate boat and not have to sell the house to do it. As tested, this rig comes in at under $60,000 and if you want to drop to a 140hp outboard, you can shed another five or six grand again.

Even when Josh and Rupe did get the hull out of the water the landings were smooth as the beam really carried the weight. DECEMBER 2019

101

Above: We’ve seen plenty of kill tanks under the floor of boats, but this one is removable. Below: There’s more room than you think in the centre cab, with plenty of space to get out of the elements when things get hot and nasty.

Egress is easy on the trailer with the fold-down aluminium steps.

Above: Side pockets are short but feature room for your toes underneath them and a high gunwale to keep you in while out in the ocean. Below: The trade-off of a large centre cab is less casting deck up front. There’s plenty of room to circumnavigate the cab, but two anglers casting lures up here is a crowd.

Main: The fold-down rear bench seat is a neat and practical solution – with no fold-down legs required. Inset: The transom door folds inwards and forms a step to give access to the Active Transom.

Top Left: The helm is simple and although the throttle box initially felt a little cramped, it offered plenty of places to support the throttle hand while varying revs in lumpier water. Bottom Left: Next to the anchor box there’s an electric motor mount. Either a self or standard manualdeploy would work, as you can easily access the mounting area. Right: Although basic, there’s plenty of storage room in the seat pedestals and simple foot bars. 102

DECEMBER 2019

The new Suzuki 150 is an EFI double overhead cam, 2.8L inline 4-stroke that throws this centre cab up and out of the water.

The hard top offers shade for driver and passenger and accommodates a handful of rods up and out of the way. It folds down for garage storage.

Left: There’s ample room to shuffle around the centre cab and the deck remains the same level all the way around. Right: The short windscreen is in the ideal place – you can look through it while seated and over it while standing.

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