NSW Fishing Monthly February 2017 by Fishing Monthly

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February 2017, Vol. 22 No. 7

Contents BYRON COAST The Tweed 22 Ballina 24 Yamba 26 Iluka 29 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour Coffs Game South West Rocks

30 34 35

MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 36 Forster 38 HUNTER COAST Harrington-Taree 41 Port Stephens 43 Hunter Coast 42 Swansea 44 Central Coast 45 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 12 Sydney North 14 Pittwater 15 Sydney Harbour 16 Sydney rock and beach 17 Botany Bay 18 Sydney South 20 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 46 Nowra 47 BATEMANS COAST Merimbula 84 Narooma 85 Batemans Bay 86

From the Editor’s Desk... February each year used to be one of our smaller issues of Fishing Monthly – we put it together while still recovering from the Christmas break. There’s usually cricket on the radio in the background as we’re proofing the pages. It was about getting up to speed as we entered another busy year. That changed a couple of years ago when we started publishing ABT’s Tournament Angler Guide in the centre pages. All of a sudden, February turned into a monster issue – one of the biggest of the year. It’s no secret that ABT and Fishing Monthly are siblings. Born in the FM offices in 1998, ABT (Australian Bass Tournament) has always been a company with the aim of creating a pathway in competitive fishing. Hey – where else can you spend

a day or two fishing with some of the keenest anglers in the country. The backbone of the BREAM and BASS events is a concept of boaters/ non-boaters. At each of the events, ABT gets boat owners to take out anglers that are at the tournament without a boat. And believe me, there’s no better way to learn more about how to catch a bream or bass than to spend a day with someone who is most likely from a different part of the country, but shares your passion for tricking your quarry with an artificial lure. In the early days, it also served the purpose of eliminating cheating – and even rumours of cheating. There’s no such thing as collusion, fish in traps or any rule breaches when competitors are randomly paired each day. But the best part of the

system is that there are no secrets. No secret spots, no secret techniques. If a new lure is catching fish, then that information spreads like wildfire. It makes all of the competitors better anglers, quicker. So what the Tournament Angler Guide does is to take a lot of that information and techniques that have been distilled over the previous 12 months and present it in a way that might help YOUR fishing – no matter whether you are a tournament angler or not. So don’t skip those pages just because you are not – or don’t want to be – a tournament angler. There are just as many gems in those pages as there are in the rest of the magazine. GIFT RECIPIENTS WELCOME Welcome to all of the new subscribers that received a Fishing Monthly

subscription for Christmas. Subscription sales through our iSubscribe portal were up 6% this year on last year. We hope you enjoy getting the magazine in the post each month. There’s nothing like kicking back with the latest Fishing Monthly and spending some quality time dreaming about how, where and when you’ll next go fishing.

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Spanish Mackerel

Making the move on a mighty manic mackerel ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

The East Australian Current bubbles down the New South Wales coastline every summer bringing all those hot water pelagic species that anglers so eagerly await. Marlin, sailfish, cobia and wahoo

are all on the wanted list. One of the most wanted is the Spanish mackerel. Their full name is narrow-barred Spanish mackerel (‘baries’), and they range in size from 5kg rats to thumpers of better than 30kg. Along with them we also get spotted mackerel, which average around the 5kg mark. Both are exceptional eating fish, and anglers all along the

The stinger strikes again. This time it was in a live bonito.

Legal size live tailor make excellent Spanish bait.

A nice average spotty. 8

FEBRUARY 2017

coast wait for that first report of mackerel in their area. It can be in November or as late as February, depending on where you live. If you’re further south, you generally get them a bit later than those on the Queensland border. The Spaniards first show up off the Tweed, as you would expect with one of the hot spots at 9 Mile Reef. Depending on the currents, the fish can move down the coast in a rush, or slowly amble their way down, moving south from reef to reef. Some will take up residence on their chosen reef while the rest move on. The reefs off Byron Bay, Ballina and Evans Head are all visited by the mackerel before they move down to Yamba. Woody Head and the Bluff are good places to look. There are options for the land-based fraternity too – the breakwall at Iluka is as good as any. Brooms Head and the Sandon River have plenty of good reefs that seem to produce fish from early in the summer to late winter most seasons. The Solitary Islands and Coffs Harbour areas are some of the most popular areas for chasing Spanish mackerel, and the options are endless due to the magnificent reef systems, bommies and islands all along the coast. Many of the headlands in this area are popular for land-based anglers. The Coffs Harbour breakwalls are a stand-out. The Coffs area is easier than most to access the reef systems, with a harbour and boat ramp facilities, whereas most other areas along the coast are either beach launching or bar crossings of one type or another. Sawtell and the reefs off Nambucca and Scotts Head are always worth a look before hitting one of the more productive and popular areas along the coast – the reefs off Grassy Head and South West Rocks. When the mackerel are on the bite, the place is wall-to-wall with boats. The next popular spot is Hat Head. There’s no

This nice Spaniard grabbed a live frigate mackerel.

Bigger fish demand bigger gear. This fish just shaded 20kg and took a live pike. reef here, so you need the combination of current and bait to catch fish, which aren’t always available at the same time. When all the elements are in place, the fishing can be exceptional. Hat and Hungry Head just to the south are both very popular land-based spots. They can be difficult to fish if there is any swell running, but have produced many great fish over the years. Crescent Head doesn’t produce that many fish, due to the lack of launching facilities and land-based access. Just down the coast at Point Plomer they get heaps and that’s where they seem to stop. A few fish are taken around Port Macquarie and even Forster a bit further south, but they’re patchy at best. Any further down the coast and you are just lucky if you catch one. Some years when the current pushes down hard the spotties will show up as far south as Sydney, but that’s not the norm.

One of the most appealing things about mackerel, apart from the eating quality, is that you don’t have to travel kilometres to sea to catch

them. These fish are coastal, so any reef system that has a good bait supply will hold fish. If there’s a little current, it’s even better. BAIT FISHING Spanish mackerel usually aren’t fussy about what they eat. However, like all fish, they have their favourite foods. Slimy mackerel and pilchards are at the top of the list. At popular fishing locations where anglers use predominantly pilchards and slimies, the mackerel start to tune in on those baits. In this scenario, the Spaniards and spotties can become very particular as to what they have a crack at. Overall though, these fish will take whatever the reef provides. Some of the better baits for spotties are slimies, pilchards, garfish, yellowtail, pike, herring and mullet. Spaniards will eat all of these baitfish too but, because they are generally bigger fish than the spotties and like bigger baits, you can add bonito, small tuna up to several kilos, frigate mackerel, large tailor and even longtom. As always, the best bait is a live bait. Otherwise, a bait rigged to swim will have to do. There are two options for

How did it miss? A fish took the head and tail, but still missed the hooks. You win some and you lose some.

Spanish Mackerel bait fishing: slow troll around your favourite area with your baits out, or put down the anchor and disperse your baits under floats. You can free swim them. They tend to find each other if you have two or more baits out and you end up in a tangle. For spotties, berley is the key. A bag of pilchards or a few tuna cut into small cubes and fed down a berley trail will bring in any fish in the area. While your live baits are out, you can cast or feed more of these down the berley

trail. Often the spotties will come right up to the back of the boat and take the pieces only a few metres down. Berley works for the Spanish mackerel to a lesser degree. They are often on the move patrolling their patch, and will opportunistically hit anything that comes into range. This is when the fun starts. Spanish mackerel are at the top end of the speed rankings when it comes to fish. Like all speedsters, they don’t go ripping around at 1000km/h all day – nothing does. For

the most part they just cruise slowly and conserve their energy. When they make up their mind to take something, they do it in an instant. Whatever is in their sights won’t know what hit it. The strike and first run from a mackerel is what it’s all about. It’s blistering. The bigger they get, the faster and longer they go. They are an ambush predator, so it’s slash and grab. Often they only slice their prey then turn and finish it off, so you may miss that initial hit only to be ignited

You can have a good day on the mackerel and be back home by 8am.

Another ripper for Wardy. The stinger hook penetrated near the eye and not the mouth.

with action a few seconds later. To maximise your chances of hooking a big mackerel, the prime times are dusk and dawn, when they are in peak hunting mode. During the quieter times, they can lay near the bottom or gather in schools and slowly patrol their reef. This is when a down rigger comes in handy to put the baits right in front of their nose. RIGGING Before any hook-ups and runs occur there’s one prerequisite you must have – wire. Mackerel are fast and have a set of the nastiest,

sharpest teeth in the business. Yes, you will get heaps of strikes on mono, but you’ll seldom get a fish. The next essential item is a stinger hook in your live baits, because mackerel don’t always take the whole fish when they slash. That second hook is a must. Single-strand wire is the trace of choice. While you can use swivels, I prefer a brass ring and keep them dark. They don’t break, and anything bright going through the water fast after a hook-up will attract another fish that will bite it and cut you off.

Use a simple haywire twist to attach the ring or swivel, then run half a metre of wire to your first hook, which usually goes through the nose of your bait. Attach the second hook to a shorter length of wire joined to the eye of the first hook. The second hook goes in near the second dorsal fin of the bait. This hook can be a single or a smaller treble. These trailing hooks don’t always end up in the mouth, and often hook fish in the side of the head or body as they slash the bait. Trailing hooks bring the hook-up rate To page 10

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Spanish Mackerel From page 9

to better than 90% compared to a single hook rate of less than 40%. Some anglers even use three hooks in a live bait, but that seems to impair the swimming ability. They don’t last as long alive. If you use dead pilchards in a berley trail, a bit of wire above a set of two or three ganged hooks is deadly. LURES Sometimes bait is not available, so the only option is to troll lures like large minnows and bibless highspeed minnows. If the fish are abundant, try casting big

stickbaits or poppers over the area. Few fish hit a cast surface lure harder and run faster than a 20kg mackerel! Just like baits, a bit of wire is essential when you’re using lures. TACKLE Tackle for mackerel is a personal choice. To get the most out of your experience, don’t go for overkill. Using 24kg game tackle on spotties is ridiculous, and cuts down your strikes dramatically. We see it out there all the time. A light threadline or baitcasting outfit with 6-8kg line will do the trick, and is more than capable of stopping any Spaniards that

might grab a bait. If you’re chasing the bigger Spaniards, use 10kg tackle. If the fish are XOS, heavier tackle will do the job. A slightly heavier mono or fluorocarbon leader will prevent abrasion, and you have your wire trace on top of that. Trace sizes vary depending on the size of the fish that are about, and how finicky they are on the day. We have gone down to 6kg single strand when the ocean has been calm and the spotties didn’t want to play. They were swimming about chasing baits but not touching anything. Most baits

died from heart failure. We tried putting a couple out on mono and there were instant hook-ups and bite-offs.

reel set with a solid strike drag so the fish is hooked during the high-speed slashing of the strike.

This is where a nice, smooth drag is essential. Any lumps, bumps or hesitations will quickly be found wanting

Spaniards are very active at dawn and dusk. This one came before sun-up.

With teeth like this, large mackerel can take on quite large prey.

Yes, the lighter wire is a risk if a Spaniard grabs your bait, but it’s better to have a risk than no hook-up at all. Wire of around 40kg will suffice for most Spaniards, but bigger fish will require a heavier gauge. THE FIGHT Live baits will get eaten in that initial mad rush when the bait first hits the water, and then it’s a matter of setting the hook straight away. If the bait lasts until you get it out the required distance, leave the

I used to let the mackerel run with the bait. They can reject baits when they’re touchy, and they never slowly take a bait unless you are hand feeding them pilchards or cubes at the back of the boat. The first run of all mackerel is a ripping, highspeed affair and it can be long. A bit of sustained pressure will see them slow, and then they have a small run or two in them towards the end. They put all their effort into that first run.

and your fish will be long gone. Too much work goes into finding them to lose them to a mechanical fault. When you get them into the boat, dispatch them quickly with the priest, or donger, as a mackerel slashing around in a small boat can inflict a very nasty injury. Use pliers to remove the hooks. Armed with this information, you’ll get into your first mackerel and a few more. They’re out there right now.

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FEBRUARY 2017

Easy fishing after the holidays THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

Now that the river has returned to some sort of normality after a busy holiday period, we can enjoy its serenity and great fishing. Flathead have been abundant throughout the main river and its tributaries this season for those using lures and baits. Flathead are best found with a sounder. Look for a sharp drop off then position the boat to either cast lures or drop baits back over the edge. Prawns are doing the damage for the bait fishers while pumpkinseed, motor oil, watermelon and gold minnows and grubs have been the standouts for soft plastic fishos. Bream have been a bit slow, as they have spread right up the tributaries. Anglers can expect to find these guys at the very top range of the salt water in the smaller creeks and rivers that flow into the Hawkesbury. Use Google

Maps and small water craft like a canoe or kayak to get onto some real sweet water where you can expect to encounter bream, flathead and EPs in the same water! The added bonus is that it’s fished less and shaded from the overhead tree canopies, so it’s far more enjoyable on those warmer days. Small surface lures, soft plastics and shallow running crankbaits are the lures of choice here. Slowly drift along and cast into all the likely shady pockets and snags that are often in 1-2m of water. This is as good as it gets in my books! Bass have been a bit slow around the terraces with peak summer water temperatures. A lot of the smaller fish beat the bigger ones to your lures. Despite this there are still good fish to be had, especially at night with surface lures. There are quite a number of locations that are accessible by land, but the best method is to drift in a boat or canoe/ kayak casting over the weed beds and adjacent open water. There have been good

reports of quality fish from the Nepean Gorge, thanks to the fish ladder at the weir and the decent rain we had during late winter and early spring, which triggered a good upstream migration this season. A lot of fish also made it into the sweet water streams, so a good hike into the headwaters should be well rewarded with some skinny water battlers.

Long casts and stealth are required when pursuing whiting and bream around the shallows. I often find it better to get out and walk – it’s less noticeable to the fish and the catch rates increase. Speaking of surface feeding antics, pelagics will be kicking into gear with small frigates and mac tuna darting about the

Nice mulloway will be starting to filter back into the system. Live baits, dead baits and lures will all be viable strategies this month.

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Flats fishing with surface lures like this Pro Lure SF62 is a very visual style of catching bream. The take and battle are second to none in skinny water on light tackle. Back down in the brackish reaches around Wisemans Ferry, mulloway, flathead and the odd bream and EP have been caught. The mulloway are only small, but are in good numbers and the bigger schoolies shouldn’t be too far off, coming back upstream after their summer spawn run. Berowra has been fishing well with a couple of recent charters getting a stack of flathead and occasional bream using small wriggler soft plastics and 3.5g blades around the artificial structure and drop offs. The flats will be firing right now, so it’s time to get those small surface poppers and stickbaits out.

harbours and bays. Kingfish will be on the headlands or patrolling Pittwater and Cowan. Flat lining and down rigging have been successful for the kingfish over the last month and should continue as long as the warm water hangs in close. It pays to have a small 2-4kg outfit rigged and ready with a 7-10g metal slug or soft plastic stickbait

The kingfish are biting well with plenty of fish falling for well-presented live baits of squid and yakkas. Keep on the move to find the active schools each day.

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for those mini tuna that can pop up for ten seconds then disappear in an instant. They make great live baits for XOS fish or fantastic fillet baits for a big mulloway, shark or kingfish. Bonito and tailor have been up to their usual bait stealing while down rigging and trolling for the kings. Most are a welcome surprise for my clients and their arms thank them for it.

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Goodies brought in by the current SYDNEY NORTH

Darren Thomas

Late last year the East Coast Current made its way closer to shore, causing the fishing out wide to really pick up after a slow start to the season. Some good beakies are being hooked out wide right now. Skirted lures in the 8-10” range are the most popular, particularly the

new Entice range of Hakas, Warheads and Scuds. The new Aloha series of Super Ninjas and Beauties out of Hawaii are also claiming some great scalps. The water temperatures offshore are fluctuating between 22-25°. Finding the current changes will get you closer to the fish, and trolling in the vicinity of big bait schools will also get you in the zone. The mahimahi are moving in

now, and some decent fish up to a metre are working our offshore FADs. Drifting down on these buoys with livebaits, stickbaits or big plastics will give you the element of surprise. Trolling is a great second option for hook-ups, but sometimes these fish can be a little motor shy. Our closer inshore reefs are providing great venues for finding schooling kingfish, with some awesome fish

A ripper harbour flathead caught by Preston Lee. over a metre being landed on downriggers, or with freeswimming slimies, yakkas or live squid on the drift. Micro-jigs are working on the medium-sized fish, with the slow pitch application being a favourite technique this season. Trying to stop the bigger fish on these medium outfits in shallow water is a struggle, with many a fish earning its freedom – so be sure to take a heavier outfit to suit this occasion, should it arise. As well as kingfish, these local spots are still yielding snapper and various

other bottom species. Craig Butcher recently landed a ripper eastern calamari as well as a good feed of snapper and blue swimmer crabs. Fishabout Tours’ Stuart Reid reports that the local reefs are holding kings from 75-120cm taking jigs and live squid. Rob Heunder fished with the boys recently and landed some great fish during a busy session. The lure-casting brigade have been landing salmon and tailor from the stones, with the odd bonito also being reported. The immediate coastline has kingfish, salmon and tailor up against the edges for lure and live bait fishers, with topwater stickbaits and metal slugs being most dominant in the lure casters’ armoury. The harbour is providing good schools of surface fish for small boat anglers to pursue this month, while some good flathead and bream have been pulled from the moorings around The Spit and Balmoral with vibes and soft plastics. Preston Lee fished with his dad recently and landed a 79cm flatty on a trolled live yakka. Plenty of bait is currently available in the harbour, with ample amounts of yakkas at most of the local bait haunts – these are a great option and make terrific live baits, and the fish can be berleyed in at most local wharves and boat moorings. Small, bait-sized squid have moved in and are a great choice of bait for targeting school mulloway and kingfish. Smaller 1.8-2.2 sized jigs are very popular for these small squid. Don’t forget to rub some scent on them for a bit of extra oomph. Now is a great time to put the crab traps out, as the blue swimmers are also on the move with some solid numbers being landed around the weed beds and sand flats.

Craig Butcher with a great inshore reef squid.

Rob Heunder was stoked with this big king. Narrabeen Lake is well and picking up now that it’s flowing again after its recent closure. Gus Dowsett landed a cracker mulloway using a live tailor for bait, and after a couple of snapshots the

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Gus Dowsett with a lake mulloway.

big fish was released. The Lake is also fishing well for flathead and whiting, and Wimbledon Ave and Wakehurst Parkway are two areas worth a try. The beaches are alive with very healthy size whiting being landed all along the peninsula from Manly to Palm Beach, with king beach worms being a very popular bait enticing these fish to bite. Shoals of whitebait are being harassed by schools of salmon and tailor beyond the breakers, and can be caught casting metal lures into the surfacefeeding schools. After the recent touch up from the swell and as the surf drops, it’s a great time to hit the whiting, as they’ll be on the lookout for a feed. A box of king beach worms and your favourite whiting kit are all that’s required for this style of relaxed fishing, as these fish are an absolute ripper on the plate and put up a fair account of themselves on super light gear.

Say goodbye to patchy fishing at Pittwater PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

With the silly season behind us there is no better time to grab your rods, reels and hit the water for some fun. Over the last month we saw some rather patchy fishing along Pittwater and our part of the coast, but things have changed since then, and finally there are decent fish to tangle with! Along Pittwater we still have some very warm water which is affecting the kingfish bite. If you are going to chase kingies along Pittwater you still need to catch squid first, so an early start is required as the kingfish are more active first thing in the morning. As the sun gets higher in the sky, the kingies become harder to find. This season the kingies are playing hardball, but for those anglers who are willing to put in the time and effort there are some very good fish

to be caught. Along Broken Bay and Barrenjoey Head there are active fish first thing in the morning, and you don’t need live bait to catch these smaller kingfish. Squid pieces trolled or downrigged will find the school, and soft plastics, micro jigs and other lures will keep them coming over the side. Most of these fish are undersized so please don’t keep any without measuring them first. Other fish to play with along Pittwater are your bread-and-butter species such as bream, whiting and flathead. And, if you’re lucky, you may tangle with a few mulloway along Pittwater as well. You can target the bream, whiting and flathead along the shallows. These fish are reacting well to lures but if you are a bait fisher I recommend using light line, a bit of berley and float your baits down the trail for the best results. Areas to try are at Mackerel Beach, Currawong Beach, the Palm Beach weed beds and Careel Bay. When you are going

Smooth, oily water and fish to catch, what more could you ask for?

No matter the age, kings are always fun to catch. to fish these areas look for structure, holes or weed beds to get the most action. To target mulloway you really have to start early before all of the activity on the water gets too much for them. The deeper holes around Pittwater are a great place to start. As the day progresses and there is too much boat activity, try around the various sunken vessel structure along Pittwater. Over the last couple of seasons I have become a big fan of using micro jigs when targeting mulloway, especially while drifting. These jigs work a treat when worked aggressively near the bottom. I have often used them right next to baited rods, and these jigs quite often will get the first fish. When targeting big mulloway along Pittwater, live baits also catch their fair share. Big southern calamari squid are a prime bait, but my favourite of all when targeting mulloway in Pittwater is a big fresh squid head. Squid are quite plentiful at the moment along Pittwater and Broken Bay with a good variety of sizes. There doesn’t seem to be any particular favourite colour at the moment, but a great guide to start with is to use fluoro pink or orange and watch for follows. At this time of year when you find a patch of squid they will often be aggressive, and more than one will follow a squid that is already hooked.

For this reason it is always good to have a spare rod ready to go with a squid jig already tied on. Squid jigs in the 2.5g size are great place to start, but make sure that you have a couple of 2g jigs with you in case they are fussy. Broken Bay is also another area to hunt down some fish first thing in the morning. If you can get out on the water as the sun rises you’ll quite often spot some seagulls working some fish on the surface. The fish that are being counted are tailor and smaller kingfish, with the odd salmon mixed in. Once again, using surface lures is a great way to target these fish and is a very exciting way to start the day. Flint and Steel is starting to come to life, with most fish being caught an hour before through to an hour after the tide change. Fishing this reef is best done by fishing the edges that is the drop-offs. A berley trail is extremely helpful when fishing this area, but it’s quite useless unless the berley has been deployed near the bottom (depending on your target species). There is so much current in this area, and the slack water time is so limited, that you are much better off using a heavilyweighted berley bucket near the bottom when targeting most species. Species that can be encountered at Flint and Steel are mulloway, kingfish, trevally, flathead and even sharks. This area needs to be

sounded out first before you throw out your anchor. There can be quite array of boats fishing this area at any given time, so please be aware of other anglers already fishing, don’t anchor in their berley trail, don’t anchor close to other boats and be polite to each other. For those wanting to head along the coast, there have been some big kingfish encountered at Whale Beach Headland, Newport reef, Mona Vale and Long Reef. These fish are coming out of the blue and not always encountered, but they all have one thing in common: they love eating slimy mackerel. Using live slimies and big yellowtail will help to keep the smaller fish from wasting your time. The smaller kingfish are once again devouring squid strips and frozen squid. Just be sure to check your baits quite often, especially when downrigging, as there are a lot of sweep around that can strip your hooks of bait very quickly. Reef fishing further offshore has been a bit of a lucky dip. In water depths of around 60-70m there still seems to be a lot of cold water on the bottom, even though the surface temperature is around 23°C.

There has been a mix of species caught lately, some of which you’d only expect catch in winter. The reefs in 60-70m of water have produced snapper, nannygai, morwong, trevally, tiger flathead and the odd rock bar cod. Once you drift off the reef and onto the sand there are some bluespot flathead waiting to be caught. Once again when flathead have been found, drifting the same area will quite often see more fish being caught. Soft plastics on heavy jigheads are a great way to target these fish, and every now and then you may encounter a decent snapper on the sand as well. Try to find baitfish that are balled up on your sounder before deploying lines. When baitfish are like a soccer ball shape on your sounder, there are predators not far away! The better baits to use have been pilchards or fresh fish fillets such as yellowtail, or better still slimy mackerel. I hope this report sees you getting out on the water on your boat, or better still give us a call so we can show you around on ours. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

Another nice Pittwater king caught on squid.

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Best baits ink-lude cephalopods SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

The volume of cephalopods in Sydney Harbour is astounding and they seem impervious to the dangers around them. They’re abundant worldwide and

guess had its beginnings in crapping themselves with fright. It does get them off the hook occasionally. Based on the number of squid I find in the harbour’s predatory fish, the ink thing doesn’t work on most occasions. What a bad hand they’ve been dealt – they’re sweet, tasty, spineless,

defy the rules on what I normally considered good squid habitat. Some of the open, nondescript grounds in the lower reaches have produced huge numbers of squid. I’ve always known that common (arrow) squid are a schooling squid and don’t require much structure. Recently we’ve

School mulloway are abundant at the moment. greater in total mass than that of all humans. Then again, so are ants. Their success is based on outrageous fecundity rather than risk avoidance strategies – they hang around in the dumbest places. Having said that, their ability to squirt clouds of ink is a masterpiece of evolution, which I would

the bottom. The benefits of the removal of commercial fishing are really starting to show up now. There has been a lot of school mulloway around this year. They are mostly small fish ranging from 1-8kg. We usually get the bigger fish at the other end of the season around April to June. If you are chasing mulloway through the daylight hours, there’s no question that fresh squid baits are first choice. Live squid aren’t necessary as most of our daytime mulloway are caught on strips of the tube or ultimately the heads and guts. If you’re after really big mulloway, live squid and big live baits like mullet or pike are the way to go. Night fishing is a different matter. While I’m sure that squid are still the best bait, they are hard to use because they get hammered by tailor and many other non-target species. You can’t always keep a bait in the water long enough to attract a mulloway. The good news is that tailor make great live baits.

These are the three main cephs found in the harbour, the southern calamari, the common squid and the mourning cuttlefish. If you lose your squid baits to tailor, at least you can put the tailor straight back out live. Don’t be scared to use big tailor for live baits, as even a 10kg mulloway will have no problem swallowing a 1kg tailor. Give these spots a try for mulloway: Fairlight Point, Reef Beach and Cannae Point in North Harbour, the hole at the Spit, Killarney Point, Seaforth

boneless and slow. Millions of years ago, they lived in shells the likes of the nautilus. If they were as smart as the scientists say, they would never have come out, but the shell was cumbersome. The decision paid off. We have found quite a few new grounds over the last few years that

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gotten good numbers of southern calamari, cuttlefish and octopus over the same clean bottomed grounds. I’ve always thought that the harbour contained vast quantities of cephalopods. These new open grounds have revealed that the populations found over the kelp beds are just the tip of the iceberg – no wonder big predators like mulloway, kings and sharks find the harbour so attractive. The open grounds are best worked with a paternoster rigged squid jig worked close to the bottom on the drift. If it’s windy, use your motor in reverse to slow the drift so that your jigs keep on the move and don’t rise too far up off

Bluff, Pickering Point and under the power lines above Roseville Bridge around Middle Harbour, Neilson Point, Clifton Gardens, the red marker inside South Head, Blues Point, Balls Head and the deep holes around Gladesville in the Main Harbour. With water temperatures starting to settle down, fishing for kings is stabilizing. There have been lots of rats around lately and the bigger fish should be on fire this month. With metre kings common these days, you’ll need to be fishing the best tackle and techniques. Live and fresh squid and cuttlefish are the ultimate baits and will be abundant at this time of year. Make sure your gear is in top working order, especially the drag system. You should be fishing 50-80lb braid with similar mono leader if you hope to stop a big one. Some of the deep-water spots like North Head, Watsons Bay, Nelson Park and Middle Harbour are worth a try. • If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney harbour with Craig McGill please call 0412 918 127 or email craig@fishabout.com.au.

Kingfish fishing has become a bit more consistent recently.

Worm your way into hot fishing SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

It’s the last month of summer and the most humid month as well! I’m glad the holidays are finally over for most. This gives anglers some peace and quiet, rather than fishing spots inundated with holidaymakers.

say it again. Have a plan A, B and C at least. You have to contend with sea and weather conditions as well as all of these other factors. When things get a bit congested, messy, uncomfortable or unfavourable, pack it in and move to your plan B. The luxury of having a boat is that you can move with ease from one spot to another. A land-based angler may have

Brothers Daniel and Dylan Leupen with their first beach worms. Fishing is not just doing everything right with gear, bait, lures, tides, location, time and technique. It’s also calculating where and when the heavy traffic is going – the boat traffic, swimmers, surfers, jet skis and kite surfers. It hardly seems worth it when I put it that way! I have mentioned this so many times, but I will

the long walks in and out of a location, taking the car again and then going to another location. Sometimes you don’t have the time for a 6-8 hour session, so pick a plan A, B and C option for your 3-4 hour trip with much shorter walks for a much more practical option. Do your research beforehand

for those quick go-to spots during shorter fishing trips. Having options won’t deter you from going out. These spots will mean you fish more often, catch more fish, become a better angler and relieve the fishing itch that us fair dinkum fishos get! Plate snapper from 30-40cm are on several headlands around the northern suburbs of late. Distance casting, wash fishing and float fishing have been effective methods. North Whale about 150-200m from the corner of the beach and South Whale rocks near the swimming pool are worth a throw. You only need to cast 50-70m out for good sand and gravel terrain in relatively deep water. Mona Vale Pool, North Narrabeen Pool off the ledges, and Dee Why Headland are good areas. Use a variety of baits like bottle or squid strips and slimy mackerel fillets, if you can catch them. Fresh yellowtail fillets, and salted or unsalted striped tuna fillet are good. Baits that are straight and streamlined when presented on the hook will assist you for more distance in your cast. Kings are available from the harbour and ocean rocks. It’s common sense to fish really early in the morning for your kings. The vast majority of anglers fish the early AM period, but late afternoon to early evening is also a cracker time. I’ve had great sessions in the middle of the day. If the tide is low in the right spots or high in others, the king fishing can be great. Salted sea gar ganged on a two hook snell rig work a treat, or you can live bait with yellowtail that can be caught on location. Take into account that this can vary from spot to spot. Have your backup poppers, stickbaits, soft plastics and metals just in case the live bait session lets you down. Sea gar can

be around at this time of the year and make a sensational live bait. It’s worth it to use smaller hooks with a sea gar than you would for a live slimy, yakka or mullet. Stick to a 4/0 or 5/0 in the double or triple extra strength hooks. Try the Hat below the Quarintine wall, Bluefish at Manly, South and North Curl Curl, and South and North Whale rocks. In the harbour, Dobroyd Head, Little Manly, in North Harbour, Middle Harbour the Spit Bridge on the north side are still producing a few. Some big catches of whiting and occasional bag limits of 20 fish are available off the ocean beaches. Some kidney slapper whiting to 43cm are around – a funny old term that is. I never get kidney slapped by whiting or any fish. I hold them with the head pointing upward, so they become belly slappers. Dusky and sand flathead are around with a good run of tailor as well. Bloodworms, tubeworms, pink nippers and beach worms all work well. For live bloodworms you’ll notice the fish often go off the bite on other baits with the smell of the bloodworm berleying them up into a frenzy. You can move to another gutter when this is happening. Narrabeen lagoon is a good spot to pump your nippers and bloodworms. Try the mud flats out the back of it with a floating sieve and a yabby pump. Be prepared to work for them. They’re worth it. Up north, Bungan, Bilgolah, Avalon and Whale beaches are producing. Whiting anglers fish the run in to the high tide for best results. It’s also worth a go on the low tide. Wade out to the end of the sand flat where the back bank drops off on to the first wave break. Along that edge, whiting can be found with a variety of other species. I like to do this on flat days, when the swell is

John Halford with an awesome mixed bag: a 70cm king, snapper to 38cm, a tailor and an out of season trevally. He’ll be doing some fish smoking and barbequing with the family. below 0.8m. Take your carry bag with all the accessories you require. A bait container around your waist can become inundated with water and you could potentially lose your bait. Have your bait in your carry bag and above waist height. Be prepared to

• • • • •

get wet. The results can be really good. • 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.

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FEBRUARY 2017

Falling in love with February BOTANY BAY

Gabe Quercigrosse gabeandgabe@bigpond.com

This is the time of the year we all have been waiting for. All the signs are there for a bumper period, which should provide plenty of crabs, bream, whiting and flathead. CRABS Blue swimmer crabs are prolific at this time of year, and appear readily in anglers’ catches. There is a definite run from February through

when an inspector will pop up. Each fisho is allowed four witches hat traps. For example, three anglers working from a boat are allowed 12 traps. Each trap must be adequately marked as per regulations. Traps can be set day or night with no restrictions to the area or setting. Cooks River and proclaimed Marine Parks areas are the exception. When selecting a bait to be placed in the trap, I’ve found some of the most successful include fish frames of luderick, mullet,

are smaller in size with the underside apron more round than that of the male. Female crabs should be thrown back. Crabs should be cooked dead rather than alive. We all have our ways of cooking, but I like to wash the crabs in freshwater then cook in a boiler with a mixture of freshwater, salt and sugar. For a dozen crabs, allow 1/2 cup of sugar with 1/3 cup of salt to a suitable boiler filled with fresh water. To this, add 1/3 tsp of cinnamon, which really enhances the flavour, but don’t overdo the cinnamon otherwise the crab becomes too sweet. Bring to a boil, add the crab then turn it down to simmer. After seven or eight minutes take the crabs out, place them in crushed ice and you have a meal fit

for a king. BREAM Bream catches have been on the improve, with most parties catching fish up to 30cm. The larger fish have been coming from the oyster leases area in Woolooware Bay and Pelican Point. If you’re fishing around Towra, I would suggest the run-out tide as the better option, especially in the middle of the channel. The best time is the last couple of hours before the bottom of the tide. Live prawns that have been scooped up in the system are the best bait, and they rarely fail to score. We’ve been getting plenty of prawns from Fitzpatrick Park, Picnic Point Boatshed and Cattle Duffers Flats, and the average size has been exceptional. I like to place the hook through the tail and

Mark Thompson did well at Boat Harbour last month. to April, and then again in August when they pay a brief visit. The best areas to find crabs are between the Captain Cook and Tom Uglys bridge along the northern and southern foreshores up into Kogarah Bay and on the weed beds, Woolooware Bay down to Towra Point and along its foreshores. In the Bay itself, just about the entire area will produce crabs, with the stretch off Ramsgate Baths and at the end of the airstrip an excellent location to set your traps. Know the Fisheries rules because you never know

trevally and tailor. Always set your traps out of the boating channels, otherwise losses will be quite heavy. Allow enough cord from your trap to the marker for tide variations. Check your traps about every 30 minutes. If you are not getting results after an hour, move to another area and reset. Crabs are found in both slack and fast running tide, but they do not like a fresh after rain. They disappear and return when the water is clear again. One way to distinguish female crabs is that they

The Sydney FADs are starting to produce good quality mahimahi.

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Dylan Robinson is an accomplished angler for his age. He caught this flatty just off Towra. let the prawn swim around. The bream have been biting with gusto and have been fairly easy to catch. Bloodworms have been accounting for the school fish. They are at a premium price and can add a considerable expense to your day’s fishing, but they are a must for a top catch. Live nippers are another top bait. You can pump them along Douglas Park Flats and on the south side of the Tom Uglys Bridge and have no trouble getting 50 or so in quick time. Chicken marinated in fresh garlic cloves then rolled in Parmesan cheese also works well, especially for the larger specimens. The sand flats in front of the San Souci Sailing Club are definitely worth a try. I have been getting my half dozen bream to 35cm on a regular basis, and have also been successful with whiting and flathead from the same location. There are three green channel markers in this area, and the best method has been to alternate between them after catching two or three fish in one spot. The schools of fish are not huge, so if you pluck a few from the group, the others become very wary and finicky so it pays to move 50m or so. I like to fish the contour of the flats, and if you’ve got a good sounder they can be found easily. Avoid berley if you can, as this will bring unwanted creatures around the boat. Small toads have become a nuisance and are showing a liking for fluorocarbon leaders. Ensure your line isn’t frayed or nicked as this will make you lose a good fish. Stingrays are part and parcel of this kind of fishing. You will definitely catch some. This is their mating season and they become

very aggressive, taking baits meant for other species. They usually bite more readily at slack water, so it may pay to drift for an hour or so and try to pick up the odd lizard. FEBRUARY FISHING Going around the bay, the drop over in front of Inscription Point at Kurnell has been rewarding for blurters, bream and tailor, with choppers up to 45cm taken on floating pillies. There is no set time for them to show up but they seem to favour the incoming tide. The artificial reefs in Congi Bay have been yielding plenty of calamari squid, which have provided plenty of bait for kingfish and snapper seekers. Schools of tailor have been marauding the area along with salmon and bonito, and while they’re not premium quality tucker they provide a welcome by-catch for the family. Good size kingies have been hanging around Molineaux Point for a few weeks. The best method has been to find the school on your sounder, downrig live squid to the desired depth, and slowly drift between N 157 and N 139 stamped on the retaining wall. This system works! Around the buoys of the new runway there are plenty of smaller kings being caught on hardbodies and soft plastics. The S Factor scent has been working a treat. A little wider of the buoys there are trumpeter whiting around the 27-28cm mark. They don’t get much bigger but there is no size limit, only the bag regulation applies. They make good eating and take peeled prawns. The tongue at the entrance to the Georges River has been productive for school bream, which have been averaging around 28cm.

The last few hours of the incoming tide have been the best, with strips of marinated chicken doing the job. The Mountain, in the middle of the Georges, has been fishing well for mixed species, including the odd cobia which is most unusual for this section of the bay. As mentioned earlier, the prawn run has been outstanding in the upper reaches, with the Alfords Point Bridge to Mickeys Point being the standout stretch. Chipping Norton Lake has been the best location, with excellent catches of bass to 45cm taken on Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas in the bee colour. If you fancy a bit of freshwater fishing, Liverpool

to Cambridge Street Weir has been superb, with the ski club location providing the better class bass. Whiting have been a little on the slow side, but I believe the best time to chase them is at night when they move onto the shallow sand flats. The small rivulet along the mangroves between Towra and Bonna Point has been providing elbow slappers to 47cm, and you will not find many bigger. They are very cagey, however, and require exceptional skill. Use only 2kg long leader and leave the bail arm open on your reel if you want to catch them. Use as little lead as possible and live squirt or blood worms. Land-based, a few good

whiting have been taken from Washington Drive in the Wonnie, with night time being the best time. Just make sure you take the Aerogard if you’re fishing this location. I’m told a few big muddies have also been trapped between the mangroves in pristine waters by the locals. Big estuary perch have been taken on the Needles shoreline on live prawns slowly worked near the structure. Cooks River has been providing a few good whiting near the Grand Parade road bridge during the run-out tide at night on bloodworms, and trevally have been prevalent on the inside dog

Towra is really fishing well. Ross got a nice mixed bag there, with one whiting going 47cm.

leg of the southern break wall. Wants Beach has been good for bream and whiting at first light and this little known beach continues to provide the spoils for the local brigade. The breakwall adjacent to the foreshore drive boat ramp has been the hotspot in the bay. Where else can you get live squid next to your launching platform? Also, the anglers in the know have been bagging big whiting, school mulloway and bream at night on locally pumped nippers. Good news on the outside front, with mahimahi to 70cm finally arriving at the FADs. All you need is a half pilchard on a 3/0 hook followed by size 2 ball sinker cast at the structure. The fish will do the rest. Get there early before the crowds arrive, as too much activity will force them down deep. Both the inner and outer FADs have been productive and have been the medium of by-catches on the way to Browns Mountain. Talking about Browns, there are heaps of blue-eye trevalla in the 4-5kg class being taken on pilchards, mullet and squid cocktail baits. We know of one boat taking 18 fish, along with gemmies and silver dory. The dumping grounds have been fishing well for

A recent catch by the author from the Georges River. bar cod and big Chinaman jackets to 3kg. This possie is 14km straight out of Botany Heads and is very consistent, offering alternatives to the very popular Peak or the 12 Miles. Hargreaves Reef has mowies, reddies, jackets and big tiger flathead, and is another possie which does not get fished much these days. This flat reef is a hit-and-miss proposition, and can be dynamite on its day. Good-size blue-spot flathead are being taken off Mistral Point and the 46m mark at Cape Bailey, with fish to 55cm being common catches. Discovery Reef, straight out from Port Hacking, has kingfish on the

chew taking squid. On the freshwater scene, bass have been cooperative on the Nepean, with fish to 45cm recorded. Menangle Weir, Douglas Park, Elderslie Footbridge and Theresa Park have been providing the spoils on both soft and hard shell cicada lures. Big carp to 10kg are available for the carp enthusiast at Wallacia Road Bridge, Camden Town Park Lagoon, and Cobbity Weir on corn and bread and cheese baits. All in all the fishing looks pretty good – if you’re looking for live baits, we have live bloodworms, live nippers and live catch all worms at Gabes Boating and Fishing Centre Narellan.

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FEBRUARY 2017

It’s time to duck out for a fish SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

February can be one of the hottest fishing months of the year throughout Southern Sydney for bream, dusky flathead, whiting, snapper, mulloway, morwong,

mahimahi, kingfish, Australian salmon, tailor, bonito, tuna and billfish. So, what are you waiting for? Even though you may be busy working, you still should be able to find the time to get out for a fish. With daylight saving still going in NSW, you could spend a couple of hours

after work going for a fish off the beach or shore in the estuary, or maybe you could get the boat out for a while. In Botany Bay, you will find trevally throughout the year, and during the month of February they tend to average around the kilo mark. Bream will be moving

A nice tuna that was trolled up on All at Sea Charters from the Port Hacking.

around the bay, and who could forget the amount of dusky flathead and whiting that would just love to suck in a live mullet, pink nipper or a blood and beach worm? Early morning and late afternoon will see the tailor, Australian salmon and bonito on the chew in places like Bare Island, the Port Botany Wall, around the third runway, Henry Head and Sutherland Point. Simon Coles from La Perouse fished off Bare Island for a number of bream to 500g, trevally to 1kg and a few tailor. All of them were caught on half pilchards on 1/0 Owner circle hooks. There have also been a few luderick caught on the eastern side of the island on cabbage. Colin Peters and his son Jules walked the shoreline on Silver Beach at Kurnell and chucked out a variety of soft plastics for four dusky flathead to 55cm. Chris Peters from Brighton called into the Rockdale Sports Fishing Tackle shop on the Princes Highway and picked up a few packets of the new Gulp Jigging Shrimp and then worked the beach from Dolls Point to the baths at

Dennis Morton likes to fish for bream and squid off the baths in Gymea Bay. Ramsgate for three bream, four whiting and two dusky flathead. If you are after some great bait I recommend calling into Macs Bait Bar at Blakehurst. They stock quality frozen prawns,

whole pilchards and garfish, whitebait and squid, as well as nippers. Sometimes they also have beach worms, but I would give them a call (02 9599 3075) to see if they have any in stock. The Captain Cooks

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Bridge is a great place to try for a mulloway or two during the evening. The occasional kingfish has been caught off the floating pontoon on the north-western side of the bridge. It is also a good spot to try for bream, whiting and dusky flathead. If you are after a few whiting, bream, flounder and dusky flathead you could try either side of the river at Lugarno where you can park close to the shore and cast into some deep water. Pink nippers, blood worms

and fresh or salted slimy mackerel are the best baits here. You could also try blood worms and strips of skirt steak or chicken breast. Offshore out of Botany Bay the FADs have been producing mahimahi and the odd billfish and tuna. Try using Bumpa-Bar metals or shirted lures. The last time I was out there I managed to get a few mahimahi on strips of sweep. Yes, sweep! If you are after trevally, morwong, snapper, leatherjackets and a pigfish

or two you could try drifting with paternoster rigs off the back of Wedding Cake Island in around 30-50m of water. Sand and tiger flathead can be caught while drifting the sandy patches in the area. The best baits have been slimy mackerel, pilchards and squid. Further south in Bate Bay you could try anchoring up at the Merries reef or the Osbourne Shoals for trevally, morwong, leatherjackets, sweep and some extremely large slimy mackerel.

There are heaps of salmon in the Port Hacking River. Try using small metal lures.

Jibbon Bombora has been producing plenty of kingfish for those who have been anchoring and live baiting with yellowtail and squid, and also for those anglers who have been trolling small skirted lures or metals. Inside the Port Hacking River a few whiting and bream have been caught off Jibbon Beach on beach worms. The rocks at Oak Park on the opposite side of the river are worth a shot for bream, trevally and drummer on the rising tide. Bread, peeled prawns and pink nippers have been the stand-out baits. If you are after your own pink nippers you can go over to Maianbar and pump your own, but remember that you are only allowed to have 100 per person. Also, remember that you are not allowed to pump nippers in Gunnamatta Bay. On another note, if you are looking for somewhere to take the kids for that afternoon fish after school you should try fishing the flats at Maianbar on the falling tide. Not only can you pump your nippers you can also fish the deep holes that are found in the channel. Gunnamatta, Lilly Pilly and Gymea Bay baths are worth a shot for bream, whiting, dusky flathead and yellowtail. Remember it’s

Martin Mills did one of the author’s fishing classes and he managed to snare this nice mulloway in the Hawkesbury River. best to have a berley trail going to bring the fish to you. It’s also worth putting out a live bait to have a shot at a kingfish, bonito or Australian salmon. Another place that you could take the kids for a fish is Audley Weir in the

Royal National Park. Here you will be able to park (for a fee) and cast a line or two from the shore. I have caught bream, whiting, bass, flathead, salmon and tailor here. There are toilets and picnic tables nearby, so it’s a great spot for families.

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FEBRUARY 2017

Cool species in close, while river species heat up THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

With strong northerly winds blowing, last month saw a mixed result for fishing in the region. Colder ocean temperatures mean snapper and other winter species hang around longer on the close reefs. Unfortunately, it keeps all the pelagic species away. Northerlies mean warmer water temperatures in the rivers, so jacks, GTs, whiting and flathead are on the chew.

There have been reports of small packs of mahimahi around the FAD and on the 50s. Try trolling skirts and flicking metals for the best result on these speedsters. Big kings and GTs are still hanging around the 9 Mile, with live bait doing all the damage on these knucklers. They’re the talk of the town this month, so get onto it before the crowds do. ESTUARY Estuary water temperatures are sitting at 26-28°C, which is perfect for the summer pelagic species.

Nixon Stayt with a nice whiting caught on yabbies up at Cobaki. worms still produce quality fish. Try drifting sand banks on the high tide and drifting off drop offs on the run out tide. Bigger flathead like the 3” and 4” plastics. The Piggery, Terranora, Cobaki, and Stotts Island sand banks are fishing well. GTs and bigeye are around Boyds Bay Bridge and Jack Evans Anchorage. Blades, small micro-jigs and live baits are your best bet for these speedy brutes.

for the kids. The odd tailor and mulloway are still around. Headlands and rock walls still produce fish this month. Try heavy weighted plastics, big baits and whole worms along and around the rocks. FRESHWATER The bass are firing with the cicadas around and high water temperatures in the rivers and dams. The temperature in the rivers is sitting around 27-30°C and the surface temperature of the

Malcolm Scott with a healthy bass caught off the surface on a cicada at Uki. and 50 fathom lines should all start producing fish. Warmer waters on close reefs will see mackerel species show up. Try metals, half pillies and troll baits around the 9 Mile, 5 Mile, Fidos and Kingy reefs.

The author with a nice spangled emperor at Fidos caught on a plastic. OFFSHORE With the water temperatures sitting around the 22-23°C mark, colder water species should hang around longer on the close reefs. Quality table fish including snapper, pearlies, spangled emperor, golden snapper and tuskies are still regularly caught. Light weighted plastics, un-weighted strip baits and pilchards are doing all the damage on these species. Try Fidos, 5 Mile, 9 Mile, 24 and 36 fathom reefs with good soundings of fish.

Mangrove jack really love warm water and northerlies and are obliterating tackle. Try deep diving lures and live baits along Chinderah rock walls, Cobaki Bridge, Boyds and Tumbulgum Bridge. Jacks have also been caught around the Condong Sugar Mill. Watch your baits up there, as there are bull sharks in the water. Warm waters make these big girls push up the system to drop their pups off, so stay safe. Whiting and flathead are firing. Poppers, yabbies and

Dan Le Mura with a nice GT caught at the 9 Mile Reef using a live bait. 22

FEBRUARY 2017

Kim James with a nice kingfish caught at the 9 Mile Reef on a live bait. Good numbers of mud crabs move around on the big tides and full moon. A well-placed pot in a back creek, drain or hole is your best bet for a big can opener. Remember regulations, size and bag limits. BEACHES Gutters on the open beaches from Fingal to Byron Bay have quality dart, whiting, flathead and bream. Find a well draining gutter on the run out. These species hang in the waves and drains waiting to pick up your bait and any food that flows past them. Small metals and plastics work well and are a lot of fun on light gear and are dynamite on these wave warriors. There are heaps of beach worms and pipis on the beaches at the moment so try digging or catching some yourself. It’s a great activity

dam is 28°C. With no real rain around, Clarrie Hall Dam is a bit weeded up, but the river from the spillway right up to the weir wall is fishing well with the Uki stretch producing fat bass. Early morning and late afternoon are still the peak bite times and winged cicadas are the lure of choice for these feisty fish. Deep diving hardbodies and jig spins working well once the sun is up. Casting for the structure and shaded areas in the deeper pools is a must when fishing for these hard-hitting freshwater brutes. A good fluorocarbon leader is a must. NEXT MONTH Summer species should start showing up in numbers, providing the southerlies hang around. Look for warmer current lines to pick up mahimahi, wahoo, blue and black marlin. The 24, 36

They should all produce fish in the coming months. Jacks will turn on more as the waters warm up. Live bait, deep diving hardbodies, surface lures and plastics are still your best bets. Large strip baits seem to work better on these red dogs as the months go on. Whiting will thicken up and targeting them on a popper or walk-the-dog lure is really fun, especially went you have about four or five of them chasing your lure. Cobaki Lakes, Terranora Lakes, the Piggery and Broadwater are always worth a pop for these ghosts of the flats. Crabs will be on the move next month. They move on the high tides around the full moons. Try around freshwater drains and lake overflows for the best results. Rain should see Clarrie Hall Dam open up for the bass to feed properly. The river will fish well in the next month. Cicadas, hardbodies and jig spins are the lures of choice for most anglers.

Mark James with over 60cm of jack caught on a live bait at Boyds Bay Bridge.

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Radical river fishing are holding snapper of average size and you can pretty much guarantee a good feed. The FADs are holding mahimahi. The bigger models come from the 48s when the tide is really moving. However, the mackerel and marlin have been a bit quiet since Christmas. The beaches of South Ballina hold good numbers of dart and whiting. When

BALLINA

Joe Allan

The fat man in the red suit has come and gone and everyone is back at work or school again. Some great times were had on and around the Richmond River over the holidays. Offshore has produced quality fish when able. The 32s

the swell is down, try flicking blades and plastics like the Atomic 3” Prong for flathead in the low tide gutters. This can be a really productive technique and you may be surprised at how many quality fish you can come up with. Take care when traveling on the beaches. It only takes a couple of idiots to spoil the fun for everyone. In the river there are great numbers of whiting on the flats around Pimlico Island on surface, as well as bream and flathead. The Bassday Sugar Pen 70s are still producing great numbers. At this time of year, it is great to see the number of families lining the river with kids just hoping to catch something.

Bon Lawler with a beautiful Aussie bass taken up a small creek. They will take anything not marked or not marked as per regulations. They are also checking fishing licences, size of fish and bag limits. If you haven’t got a licence, it’s worth getting one. The money goes back into the fisheries and facilities and above all else, it’s just not worth the fines. Rules are there for everyone to abide by so the fisheries are sustainable for everyone in the future. If you see anything suspicious, please report these to authorities. Until next issue, tight lines.

Tayla Egan with a solid bream caught on an Atomic Crank. Nigel Skyring caught this solid whiting in North Creek.

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Getting kids into fishing is something that is easy to do if you use fresh bait, the right equipment and don’t make them stay out in the sun too long. In the main river, try Mobbs Bay or the weed flats past the Ferry with the little ones. With all the fresh that’s been showing up, lower reaches have had good mulloway off the breakwalls in the last part of the run-out tides. Big hardbody lures, paddletail soft plastics have been producing the best. Anything that produces big movement and pushes a lot of water is good. Once you hook something, get it in fast. There are plenty of toothy critters around looking for a feed. Bass are in the main river sections and the fresh

water coming down from Kyogle and Casino should really get going once this settles down. Dirty water fishing can still produce good numbers. A good start is the drains and creeks running into the main river. Chatterbaits like the Bassman Mumblers are a good start as well as noisy jerkbaits like the new Bassday Mogul 66. Use something with loads of noise and plenty of flash. Nevertheless, you might have to do some traveling to find the fish, but when you do, you can rack up good numbers quickly. Crabs are a little quiet. The new moon should fire them up. Remember to mark your pots properly, as NSW Fisheries have been around confiscating unmarked equipment and issuing fines.

The author with a fit and healthy bass caught on an Atomic Bulldog.

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The holidays are over and with that, Yamba will start to quieten down somewhat. In the 1970s when I first came here, Yamba was almost a secret except to those who fished it, now it seems that everyone has heard of Yamba and the town and waterways are busier every year. The big Clarence River seems to have handled the growth well, with most being able to get a feed of fish or crabs on a daily basis, regardless of their local knowledge or ability. This summer I’ve seen guys catch a mulloway on a blade on Middle Wall while someone is screaming past only 10m away on the loudest jet ski ever invented. That’s a healthy system!

Large dusky flathead have been in good numbers this summer, with numerous fish between 2.5-4.5kg being caught daily. These fish are spread throughout the river, with fish being taken at Ashby, Maclean and Harwood all the way to the corner of the south break wall at Whiting Beach. Consistent large flathead usually means live baiting with hearing or poddy mullet, but many of these fish have fallen to trolled hardbody lures like the Zerek Tango Shads, soft plastics like ZMan 2.5” Curly TailZ in motor oil colour, and blades. It seems they will take whatever is on offer when the warm weather comes. Whiting have also been great this season and are showing no signs of easing up. Live yabbies, if you have the energy to pump them, bring the fish unstuck

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Some fantastic mackerel have showed up in recent weeks.

easily. Beach worms are always handy to have on hand, and for those who like using lures, try popping for them. They hit the popper with such ferocity at times, and then tail walk like a marlin. My only advice on popping for them is to get the popper to imitate a scared showering prawn, pop it fast in short bursts, and don’t stop. The Clarence is once again experiencing a better than average run of crabs this summer, both blue swimmer and muddies. Crabs have been taken in big numbers all the way up past the Broadwater. Be aware that you cannot use a crab trap upstream from the courthouse at Maclean, only dillies or hoop nets are allowed in this water. Check new regulations on what info must be on the float

There are some truly monstrous pearlies out there at the moment. 26

FEBRUARY 2017

for both traps and dillies. With four dillies and two traps allowed per person, you should have enough arsenal to take a feed home quickly. Normally, I would suggest where to chase them, but honestly, they

have been that good you should be able to get some wherever you go. Offshore, the warmer water has brought the pelagics with it. Spotted mackerel are a great target fish this time of the year.

Plenty of anglers have been cashing in on the great run of pelagics lately.

Shark Bay on the north side of Woody Head is always a good place early in the morning to find a feed of these fast fish. You don’t need a huge boat to fish them either, as the ramp at Woody is very protected and the bay itself has a reef shielding it from the sea. Lots of anglers fish for spotties in 4m tinnies and do very well. Trolling pink squid pattern lures at a little faster than normal (close to 10 knots) is a fun way to get a few, but float baiting with a whole pilchard on a very light single-strand wire can be bedlam. Another good spot to try is just off of One Man Headland south of Angourie in about 30m of water. Spotties haunt this spot every February, and there is usually a few less boats to contend with. This month I like to fish the wider grounds in around 50 fathoms, as it produces a good spattering of quality reef fish. Snapper are out there in good numbers, although they usually aren’t monsters. The average fish is around 40-45cm, but they’re good table fish and when you find them a bag limit can be easily achieved. Pearl perch are not usually far away from the snapper, just look for a bit

of harder and smoother bottom for the pearlies. If you get a snag and pull up a bit of wire weed, (which will look like a red rusty spring, stick around that area. I don’t know why, but pearlies love wire weed. We regularly get fish to 5kg, which is good for pearl perch, but average fish will still be just over 40cm. The prize when fishing these grounds is the black-spot pigfish. This little beauty is just about my favourite fish to eat. You won’t catch big numbers of them, but 2-3 piggies is heaven on a plate. The grounds are vast and easy enough to find, NE or SE from the bar, once you get to 19nm, the sounder should read 47-50 fathoms (90-100m), then any show of fish should see you hooked up! Fisheries have reinstated the FAD about 7nm SE of the bar, and this should start to hold some mahimahi. Trolling past with lures can help you to find fish, or throwing lures at the FAD may also be productive. I prefer to drift past the FAD and throw a handful of old bait at it two to three times before I fish it, just to get them in the mood. A good mate of mine showed me how to do this a couple of years ago, and the results are amazing. By

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Prepare for a wild bass chase NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

Summer time is bass time, and chasing wild bass in our coastal rivers and creeks is an extremely addictive pastime. The natural range of Australian bass includes coastal rivers and creeks stretching all the way from Bundaberg in Queensland to Wilsons Promontory in Victoria. Recently, that range has been significantly extended, thanks to breeding and stocking of hatchery-spawned bass into man-made dams and impoundments. While there’s a lot of emphasis on fishing for stocked impoundment bass these days, there’s nothing quite like chasing these wonderful natives in the flowing waters where they evolved. Wild bass need access to brackish, tidal waters in order to spawn. Their downstream, pre-spawn migration typically begins in late March or April and by May and June, a large percentage of the adult bass in any system will be concentrated in tidal waters. Under the right conditions, they’ll spawn here from

most river bass extend from October until March, when most are upstream in the fresh and feeding actively. Bass are rather cryptic predators. While aggressive and able to consume large

produce exceptional fishing after sunset. The fact is, bass are very good at hiding and spend a heck of a lot of time lurking deep in the shadowy cover of snags, submerged boulders and

to cover during the day and keep them in the strike zone as long as practical. During low light periods, explore the more open areas of pools and holes with shallow runners or surface lures.

Kayaks and canoes are ideal vessels when it comes to chasing river-dwelling Australian bass. Light to medium spinning tackle works well. You don’t need fancy gear, either. Simply beef up your bream or trout tackle with slightly heavier line and leaders and go for it! If

you’ve never chased wild river bass before, do yourself a huge favour and have a crack before this summer ends. It’s a total blast!

The author with a typical river-dwelling wild bass, taken on one of the most reliable lures available for catching this species – a spinnerbait. prey (up to and including baby birds, lizards and small snakes), they’re also inherently cautious and even shy, especially in shallow, clear water during daylight

undercut banks. They will race out and grab a hapless morsel that comes close enough. They don’t generally cruise around actively looking for meals until light levels fall.

Four popular lure families will cover most river bass fishing scenarios. They are 5-8cm floating/diving plugs, compact spinnerbaits, soft plastic grubs or shads on 2-7g heads (with or without Beetle Spin arms attached) and surface lures. Of course, that last category is extensive – basically, fizzers, paddlers and poppers cover the bass bases.

River bass rarely stray far from cover, at least during daylight hours. Accurate casting is a definite bonus.

You’ll know if you hook a thumper like this one. Don’t go too light with your line and leaders, as bass fight like demons! June until September, before spreading back upriver into the fresh again. The peak fishing times for

FEBRUARY 2017

hours. I know some small creeks which you’d swear were devoid of bass during the day, but which fire up and

Bear these habits in mind when targeting river bass. Cast your sinking or diving lures as close as you possibly can

Surface lures are extremely effective on bass and great fun to use! They usually perform best at dawn, dusk and through the night. Don’t rule them out at other times of day, as you can place them very close to cover.

Catching wind of the spotties ILUKA

Ross Deakin

Rain would be nice, if it wasn’t just a sprinkle. We need a few solid days to flush the old Clarence, green the grass and get this end of the river in gear. As we all know, you just can’t count on normal weather patterns anymore. Fishing in our part of the river has been fair this month with very nice whiting and flathead caught. Better flathead numbers are being seen around Harwood and up to Maclean. Jacob and Britney Benn weighed in two nice lizards, weighing 910g and 1000g. Both caught their fish around Moriarty wall.

Tim Forest caught a 3.85kg corker at Browns Rocks on a Squidgy Prawn. There have been some decently big whiting around, such as Tim Geide’s 410g fish caught on a popper around Browns Rocks. Mulloway catches have been quiet on our end. Reports of lovely fish taken around Maclean in some of the deeper holes have come through to us. Tailor have been mostly quiet this year. There have been reasonable fish caught in the river. We weighed in a 1.6kg tailor caught off the bluff by local Dan Pianta. Snapper are still around close in. I took a 6.5kg fish only a few hundred metres off Woody Head. They are also being taken straight off the headlands with pillies

as the preferred bait on early mornings. Black Rock just north of Shark Bay has seen nice teraglin and snapper. Out wide to the 80m mark, we’ve seen great pearl pearch, snapper and teraglin. Spotty mackerel have been making a show on and off with the flipping northerly winds, which bring in the colder water currents and shut them down. We need more consistent southerlies and they should be on. Local angler Miles Holmes caught a 20kg Spanish mackerel trolling with a pink squid skirt just off Woody Head. There have been some good morning catches of spotty

mackerel, but not consistent. Longtail tuna won’t be far off! Have an awesome summer fishing in our beautiful area. Remember to grab your NSW fishing licence if you’re from interstate. You can now download your one and threeyear licence to your phone through the DPI website. • For all your fishing needs and up-to-date information and tips for spots and fish drop into the shop for a chat. Iluka Bait and Tackle is located at 3 Owen Street, Iluka NSW 2466. Give us a call on (02) 6646 5217 or 0402 997 572. We are available online at www. ilukabait.com.au or visit our Facebook page.

Spotty mackerel have been popping up during morning sessions occasionally. These anglers sure got them going!

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End of summer, but not the summer fishing! COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

There are two months of the year that I really look forward to: one is November, because it’s the first month that trout season is open, bass season is open and the Nymboida river is open for fishing. The other is February, because all of the above is still true, and the mackerel are also in full swing, and the craziness of the tourist season is mostly over – but it still feels like we’re in holiday mode. Getting away for an evening bass trip after work is just another part of summer traditions. The

bass have been very active in all the local waterways, whether it’s day or night. Surface lures are very effective, particularly anything that imitates the abundant cicadas around this summer. The very top of the larger systems have been producing some big fish, and they tend to be a little more concentrated with the very dry summer we’ve had. However, that may have changed by the time you read this as most of the bigger fish are in the deeper holes with good cover. Don’t waste too much time in between the better holes. The situation has been much the same for the trout up on the plateau. Very hot conditions and low creek levels have pushed

Specialising in Bluewater Game & Sport Fishing

the decent fish into the diminishing deeper holes in each system. This means there have been some very slow sections, with only small fish or none at all, but if you do find the decent sections there can be good fishing for large, hungry fish. Usually it’s the creeks higher up the range that offer cooler conditions, but it has been stinking hot out west with very little rain. The top creeks are very open and exposed to the heat so it’s best to look for sections further from the source. Here there is forest cover and more water, providing easier living conditions for the trout. Don’t discount the larger rivers – it was conditions like this last year that saw trout being caught well down into the Nymboida River system.

Doug Weeks started his summer holidays strong with this solid mahimahi.

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Jason O’Brien has been finding relief from the heat while wading the flats for whiting.

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The other side of summer means chasing toothy critters in the salt. The estuary anglers are out chasing mangrove jack. The jacks, for the most part, have been obliging, with plenty of decent red fish being landed from the middle stretches of most of our estuary systems. There have been marauding schools of giant trevally roaming these areas and even the odd giant herring being caught up in the dirtier brackish water. Surface lures that mimic baitfish or prawns have been performing the best, with lures such as the OSP Bent Minnow and Bassday Sugapen becoming the favourites. The Sugapen has also been the go-to lure for chasing whiting down in the lower estuaries. There have been plenty of whiting caught on the flats lately, especially on the incoming cycle of the

larger tides. Elsewhere in the saltwater, mackerel fever has set in completely. At this time of year you’d be hard pressed to find an inshore boat not trolling or drifting a live bait or two, hoping for one of these speedsters. The spotted mackerel have been moving around in very large schools and have sometimes been hard to tempt. A slimy mackerel will seldom be ignored, but casting a stickbait at one of these schools can create some very exciting fishing. The spotties have been sticking closely inshore, so there’s no need to venture too far offshore if you’re after a quick feed. There’s also plenty of snapper inshore for a mixed grill or just some varied fun.

Another sure sign of summer is the arrival of the mahimahi. They are one of my favourite fish, as they’re the whole package – they’re great fun to catch, look awesome, release well if treated properly and taste great when keeping a couple for the table. They have been residing around the structures out wide – whether it’s the FAD, the wave buoy, the fish traps or any other floating debris. If you can find some patches of water above 25°C you may find them in a bit closer to the coast, but they are much less consistent there. This month is the last month of summer, but the summer fishing should go on for a few months yet. If you’re going to get out there, I hope your fishing is as hot as the weather has been!

Liam Trice has been catching some of the bigger trout this summer.

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Luderick

Skinny water gold: catching luderick on fly LUDERICK

Paul Martin

Catching luderick with weed flies is a relatively new approach that is more often used with traditional techniques. In many instances it has been proven to be more productive than using weed itself. It’s far less hassle than finding weed,

water. I call this technique ‘indicator weeding’ and boy, does it work! For the Far South Coast saltwater fly angler, there are very few species you can fish for in this manner. Targeting luderick is like polarising a trout in a high country river then presenting a well-drifted nymph to it. There’s white water, strong currents, interesting drifts,

This luderick was caught on a green weed fly. wrapping it onto your hook and tying half hitches. The key is to find a well-tied fly that closely resembles the weed your target fish are feeding on (matching the hatch is very important) and ensuring that your drift is perfect. Simply use the same principles as indicator nymphing in trout

gusty swirling wind and as this fish like very shallow water, good stalking skills and polarized sunglasses are paramount to success. When hooked, they won’t go aerial like a rainbow trout or Australian salmon. Pound for pound, on appropriate gear, luderick are right up there in regards to fighting

capabilities. They are supremely adapted to skinny, turbulent water, and remind me of brown trout in that they fight hard and deep with some reel-screaming runs – take a net! A few summers ago, Evan Jardine, master fly tier and owner of Createafly, stood with me knee deep on the Far South Coast of NSW. We searched for the everpopular luderick (Girella tricuspidata). I was walking along a beach at high tide when I noticed a flash of silver and a tailing fish amongst the tide covered rocks in water no deeper than 2ft. Closer observation revealed small schools of well-conditioned fish from 25-50cm feeding on the green algae that coats the rocks. A flash of silver beside a submerged rock revealed our quarry. The fish was sitting right at the head of the rock, and out of the current. With an eddy line on its right flank and a standing wave behind the rock, the water dropped from knee deep to well over head height – this was going to be an interesting presentation. Two false casts and my 5wt delivered the fly upstream of the fish and right on the drift line. The fly sank and stopped at the green wool indicator, moving along with the current. There was another flash of silver as the fish changed position to accept the fly. I raised the rod and felt solid weight at the end of the 2kg tippet. The fish smoked off with the current into the deeper water behind the rock. The drag screamed as the fish sprinted into a deep channel. I turned its head before it gained the safety of the turbulent white wash. I guided it back into the deep

Another luderick, taken on a 7wt outfit. pool behind the rock. After 10 minutes, I’d been run over numerous rocks and turned the fish’s head three more times. I slid my hand under the silver belly, took some happy snaps and iki’d the

fish. Its destiny lay with my dinner table. On the low tide, these rocks are 50m away from the ocean and dry as a bone. The fish school up in deeper water on the ebb tide, waiting

Skinny country at low tide.

Here’s a typical sized luderick taken on a 5wt outfit. 32

FEBRUARY 2017

Skinny country at high tide.

for their chance to move in and feed on the recently submerged rocks during the flood tide. This gives the fly angler a few hours to target these shallow water bruisers as the tide covers them again. TACKLE I use a Redington CT 5wt rod, matched to a Cortland Clear Creek WF5F line spooled onto a size 5 Snowbee Spectre reel. Make sure your reel can handle saltwater and has a smooth drag to protect those light tippets and handle those sizzling runs. I run a 12ft tapered leader and a 2kg fluorocarbon tippet. Depending on the terrain, this is probably as light as you want to go, as anything over 40cm will smoke you in the current and rocks. A Czech nymphing setup would be even better. At the very least, a longer rod would certainly be beneficial given the number of sharp rocks and oysters. Using a Tenkara outfit would also be a lot of fun and the absence of a reel would be beneficial in the salt water environment. However, you’d get done in regularly by the bigger versions. Given the strength of the fish and the gnarly terrain, you’ll definitely lose fewer

Luderick flies with a 7wt, but that’s part of the fun in my opinion. Line weight isn’t going to matter if you hook a black drummer – you’ll get reefed for sure! FLIES AND INDICATOR I use the weed flies from Createafly, which have been a very long time in the research and development stages, getting them absolutely perfect. Evan uses a material that almost seamlessly matches the green weed these fish are feeding on – chuck a mask on and have a look at them underwater. He also has other materials that match the green and brown cabbage (Ulva species) commonly used for bait on ocean platforms. I use the New Zealand wool indicator system, which in purist fashion, carries some freshwater tradition across to indicator weeding. It works very well in this scenario. Alternatively, you could grease your leader and watch for movement, although this is very difficult in even a slight swell. There is no need for split shot in shallow country and a bit of saliva applied to the fly will see it floating in the water column at whatever depth you set your indicator. There are instances where I prefer using a lightly weighted fly. I also love the completely natural drift I get from an unweighted fly

and they catch more fish than the weighted varieties. Luderick will willingly rise to an unweighted fly that is just wafting around. With the shallow water and wave action, there can be a lot of water moving around. Just like a freshwater stream, you have to manage your drift properly to ensure the fly is well presented and not dragging or luderick will refuse it, just like a trout. TERRAIN To be perfectly clear, we’re not talking deep water

channels and deep drifts here, though weighted flies will definitely work in those situations, you just need to cast further up current to ensure your fly is at the appropriate depth as it drifts past the school. Luderick are omnivorous, but the majority of their feeding time is spent over spots containing eel grass, and weed on rocks. My target areas are typified by very shallow water with a sandy bottom, interspersed with plenty of rocks. You’ll be pleasantly

surprised to see how shallow this water can be, with fish often actively feeding in ankle deep water. They give away their presence with side flashes and tails and backs sticking out of the water like bream mooching around a shallow mud flat. When searching for an area, look for spots that have channels leading into deeper reefy areas. This is where the fish congregate on low tide – these areas are always more productive and make for exciting fishing when

Hair weed is a main luderick food source in skinny country.

a hooked luderick makes a break for the safety of the channel, sometimes resulting in a bust-off. It’s definitely helpful to walk these areas at low tide and look for algaecovered rocks. This is what luderick (and black drummer) will be feeding on. Make a mental note of these locations and plan your approach so you can stalk them on the high tide without spooking the fish. Another terrific option when looking for target areas is to don a wetsuit and snorkelling gear. Have a look around these shallow areas to find out exactly where the fish are feeding, as they definitely favour some rocky areas over others, even along the same section of beach or rocks. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS This sort of terrain is highly uneven and slippery by nature. On the Far South Coast, the sharp rocks will destroy breathable waders. Use PVC chest waders, or wet wade in summer. Be aware of large breaking waves and holes, and watch your back cast – some of these areas are on popular beaches and a decent back cast may put your weed fly into a tourist’s eye! Stingrays often abound in these shallow margins, so pay careful attention to where you’re walking – PVC waders will not stop a barb

in the leg. EATING YOUR CATCH Luderick are a fantastic table fish. If you plan on keeping your catch, iki and bleed the fish immediately. This will greatly improve the quality of the flesh. Store the fish in a rock pool and out of reach from sea eagles, crabs, dogs, moray eels, gulls and pelicans. Never keep fish on your body as you may get harassed by Wobbegongs that will enter very shallow water for a feed, these guys can grow to large sizes and can be very aggressive! There are various recipes around, and a lemon butter luderick fillet fried in a shallow pan is pretty hard to beat. Overall, indicator weeding is a terrific sport and a heck of a lot of fun. It may land you a quality feed of luderick. For the purist, it mirrors the traditional form of freshwater indicator nymphing. The sight fishing and stream craft skills used in our high country areas transition well into this saltwater pursuit. Indicator weeding for luderick also provides fly anglers with a finesse winter hobby while the trout are busy making babies through the closed season. Next time you’re headed to the coast, be sure to sneak the fly gear in, visit the local tackle shop for some weed flies and give it a crack!

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Here’s hoping summer will bring the speedsters COFFS GAME

Glen Booth

Our patchy gamefishing season continues to drive local bluewater anglers to drink and the Christmas influx of fishing

visitors have found the going particularly difficult as well. As usual, the combination of strong winds and indifferent water has made it all a bit of a lottery. The Bureau of Meteorology’s wildly

These look just like mini marlin. These are the unusually shaped bellowsfish.

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inaccurate weather guesses haven’t made planning an offshore sortie any easier. Of course it couldn’t last forever. Just before Christmas, a couple of blue marlin broke through to liven things up. You wouldn’t describe them as thick at this stage. The first weather window that combined with a decent pulse of blue water was also holding plenty of mahimahi. Most boats that had dusted off the marlin lures over the summer break have found a fish or two. There’s been plenty of bait along the shelf edge, mostly clouds of the weird looking bellowsfish. The odd patch of flying fish and some mack tuna are around, so when the big predators decide to arrive in numbers they’ll have plenty to eat. The bottom dongers have hooked the odd juvenile black marlin inshore. The water hasn’t really warranted putting in much effort in close.

Luke Mallia slogs it out with a monster shark at the waver recorder buoy. Photo coutesy of Pete Mallia.

Recently, reports had the bulk of the fish still holding north of the border. Speaking of bottom fishing, Luke Mallia slogged it out with a monster

shark for four hours on 15kg spin gear just before Christmas. Combining a table fish session with some casual live baiting in the hope of a black or

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Paul Brodrick and Sam French celebrate Sam’s first marlin tag and release, on Christmas Eve no less! Photo courtesy of Ric O’Ferrall.

a striped marlin, the bitey ate a bridle-rigged bonito just near the wave recorder buoy. Big and brown, it was either a whaler or a tiger, with the line parting at the rod tip with the shark just under the boat. When I first moved here about ten years ago, we had 3m of rain in the first 11 months. The next year it was a mind-boggling 3.5m! Since then it’s been 2-2.5m give or take, except for the year just gone, which produced a paltry 1.1m. While this is a disaster if you have cattle, have a nice garden or live on tank water, it’s been great for the mackerel fishing in the last few years. The razor gang hate a big fresh like nothing else. There’s been a few spotties and Spaniards about with fish coming in from Nambucca and points to the north of Coffs. The kayakers found them first. Over the next few weeks they’ll become more numerous on the inshore reefs, if it doesn’t bucket down in the meantime.

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Pelagics on the rocks SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

February is the beginning of the peak pelagic period for the mid north coast of NSW, and in particular, South West Rocks. Consistent northeast winds have made the last few months a bit tough, with only a limited amount of good days and green water. The good news is that warm blue water from

the north is beginning to settle in, and should remain this way until well after Easter. All we need now is a few more southerly winds in the mix to keep the water at its best. This water will hold a vast array of northern pelagic species, from marlin and tuna through to mackerel, cobia and wahoo. Early season mackerel catches have been made up predominately of the spotted variety, with the odd Spanish mackerel kicking around. This

Spotted mackerel are up off Grassy Head in good numbers.

is fairly standard at this time of year, however this ratio usually evens out through February. Mahimahi are out on the Fisheries FAD, although their size has not been that great this year, and as usual, it’s the early bird that gets the fish. The most up-todate co-ordinates for this can be found on the NSW Fisheries website. Bigger mahimahi are generally taken on the troll while targeting marlin, so it’s well worth having a lure spread out when moving, especially if the conditions only allow a slow to steady pace. Fish Rock and Black Rock have had kingfish around them in recent weeks, especially Fish Rock when the current has been racing through. Visitors to the area are once again reminded that bait cannot be used within 200m of Fish Rock. Rat yellowfin tuna have started to show up on the outside edge of the rock as well. These fish make great sashimi, and you can be assured larger mackerel and wahoo are never too far away from this food source. Kingfish have been around the headlands fairly consistently, with the odd cobia being sighted. Bonito schools have been popping up in close around sunrise. Good catches of school mulloway are on offer, as are bream and trevally from the stones. Freshly spun bonito cut into strips are the gun bait for just about every species that hangs in the headland washes. The beaches have been a little hit-and-miss due to green water that has been present and bluebottles, which have been a bit of a nuisance. Still, this can change almost overnight, and this time of year usually produces the goods when you’re fishing from the sand. Flathead, whiting, dart, bream and mulloway

Spanish mackerel will be caught more frequently as we progress through February. are the species that are on offer for the anglers that get to it on the right day. Mud crabs have been pretty thick throughout the salty end of the river system, and the number of blue swimmers being caught seems to be increasing by the day. Flathead have been their ever-reliable selves, and there are plenty of whiting and bream on the sand flats. Recently, the upper Macleay was about as low as it gets. The bigger holes with water in them and less weeds are absolutely loaded with fish, and they’re smashing surface lures and lightly-weighted soft plastics. However, the water is becoming very stale and slimy. Hopefully the upper catchment for the Macleay Valley will have received a muchneeded drenching by the time you read this. That would make long stretches of river accessible once again, allowing anglers to enjoy summer surface action everywhere. That’s how it should be at this time of year.

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Full on February fish fest THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

In recent seasons, February in the Port Macquarie region has been a bit of a dilemma – not in a troubling way, but trying to work out

which species to target! It’s a great month to be out on the water, as most of the holiday crowds have backed off. Offshore anglers have got plenty to like about this month if the weather is friendly, with marlin for the gamefishers being one of the many highlights.

Phil Clarke and Bryce Gardiner with a surprise 11.65 kingfish taken from North Beach.

This is also the time we get to see some Spanish and spotted mackerel arrive in our waters, and that always creates a buzz of excitement in town. Trolling lures and live baits north of the port in Plomer Bay and on Plomer’s wider grounds will put you right in the game. For the anglers who like the reef dwellers, this month should see you still getting a few reds from the southern grounds all the way to the Camden Haven. These grounds can be hard at times, but a well presented fresh bait or soft plastic should see you get some action. Always look for bait on your sounder and if there’s nothing present, keep moving around until you find some. When bait fishing on anchor, berley to bring the fish in. And while you may have a rod set with bait, try flicking around a plastic as well, as this can bring excellent results. The river systems this month will also give us plenty to think about. With less traffic on the flats, bream and whiting will be on the target list and surface luring is still firing. Sugapens are still one of the best whiting lures

Mark and Dane Corbin with a few of the bass they caught recently on Tiemco Soft Shells.

Dane Corbin cracked his PB with this 40cm bass.

available and have been doing the job on these tasty fish. Limeburners Creek and Blackmans Point have always been good places to target these fish, as is Lake Cathie, and you don’t need a boat there. The bream, while they are great on the flats, have also been just as good around structure. Good locations include the Maria River, Rawdon Island, and basically all the way up the Hastings to Wauchope. These areas have been delivering very solid results for anglers casting surface

FISHING FILL-ITS

Old oyster shells to be used to regenerate Sydney Harbour marine life The creatures that live in Sydney Harbour are set to have their own ‘fish hotel’ in a trial to regenerate oyster reefs. By packing old oyster shells into biodegradable coconut fibre bags, OceanWatch Australia, a not-for-profit environmental company, have developed a method to line shorelines using natural materials. The bags will help reduce erosion and siltation along the shore, while also restoring the shellfish population and providing a new habitat for other marine life. “Oyster larvae love

nothing better than other oysters,” Andy Myers, aquaculture program manager, said. “It’s about the high lime content of oysters shells that make them really attractive to baby oysters. “When oyster larvae settle on other oysters, when they grow they secrete a natural cement and bind the structures together. “When the bag breaks down the structural complexity will still be there for a multitude of marine organisms.” Five river sites have been selected for the trial including at Sugarloaf Point in Lane Cove

Andy Meyers arranges the oyster-filled fibre bags. The shoreline bags are made from biodegradable coconut fibres and are filled with used oyster shells. Photo courtesy of Amanda Hoh, 702 ABC Sydney.

FEBRUARY 2017

National Park, end of Avro Rd in Chatswood, Mann’s Point, Greenwich Point Reserve and Rob Reserve in Castlecrag. OYSTER POPULATIONS ‘FUNCTIONALLY EXTINCT’ Currently, most shoreline protection approaches have been driven by hard engineering in the form of seawalls or rock armouring. OceanWatch reported that over 50 per cent of the Sydney Harbour foreshore “has been artificially constructed resulting in significant loss of our natural habitats”. Across New South Wales, researchers estimate that over 99% of wild oyster populations are considered ‘functionally extinct’ due to over-harvesting during European settlement, use in early building materials, and as a result of pollution, habitat loss or degradation from coastal development. “We’re trying to balance the engineering benefits by providing erosion control, but also the ecological benefits by providing a natural substrate for things like oysters and mussels to recruit to those areas,” Mr Myers said. “It forms a fantastic fish hotel for fish, invertebrates, habitat and food for a variety of different marine life.” RECYCLING OLD OYSTER SHELLS The program will use

The oyster bags will help reduce coastal erosion. Photo courtesy of Amanda Hoh, 702 ABC Sydney.

eight tonnes of old oyster shells; seven tonnes from oyster farmers in Port Stephens while the rest have been donated by The Star casino’s buffet restaurant. Annually, 10,000 tonnes oyster shells go to landfill. “It’s a huge waste of a really good resource,” Mr Meyers said. The eco-friendly approach was good news to Port Stephens oyster farmer Richard Halmyn-Harris, who said he “was very pleased” to see oyster by-product being put back into the environment. Mr Halmyn-Harris said

the program was particularly timely given predation from worms, crabs, fish and stingrays this year reduced the rock oyster population in Port Stephens by about 40%. The prediction of a national shortage of pacific oysters by August next year due to the Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome (POMS) outbreak in Tasmania this year was also worrying, he said. “The Hawkesbury River was devastated about three or four years ago by this POMS virus,” Mr HalmynHarris said. “We’re very fearful of

having this same event in Port Stephens and in other areas up and down the coast.” Testing of the oyster bags has so far been undertaken in wave flume tanks at the UNSW Water Research Laboratory and OceanWatch are awaiting approval for the site trials to begin. The project is supported by Greater Sydney Local Land Services, the Sydney Coastal Council Group and funding from the Australian Government. – NSW RecFisher

lures or running bibbed hardbodies. The Wilson River this month and next is a good option, as you get bream and bass mixed in your catches. Bream are also hanging in the upper reaches as well at this stage of the season, and by launching at Telegraph Point ramp under the Wilson

River bridge you can be straight into the action. Flathead have been solid and there are not too many banks in the local region that don’t have a few fish holding on them in February. If you’re fishing from the shore, just keep moving along the bank covering the water and you should find

a few. Lure fishers should try prawn imitations and paddle tails in 75-100mm size range. Bass fishing this month should continue to impress. Fishing the upper Maria River, Wilson River and a quick trip north to the Macleay River will see you encounter these bronze

favourites. Surface lures such as Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas have been all the buzz this season, and have caught a lot of bass. Another offering that has been excellent when the fish have gone quiet on top is the Fish Arrow J Spin, as well as Strike Pro Enticer Grubs in motor oil rigged on a 1/8oz

jighead. The bass have been smashing them in the weed beds. Just use a simple slow roll technique and wait to get belted! On the sand there is plenty of action to be had if you find yourself a nice gutter or hole on one of the ends of the local beaches. Whiting, bream and school mulloway have been showing up regularly in catches, and sometimes you

just don’t know what you may hook, as Phil Clarke and Bryce Gardner found out on North Beach recently. They hooked and landed an 11kg kingfish from the surf! The boys also caught a couple of school mulloway to go with it. These fish were caught on octopus legs, and the kingfish was landed at 9:30am. It goes to show if you have a line in the water anything is possible!

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Dano showing his skills, with a surface bream caught from the Maria River.

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Too little time to fish FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

Not having enough time to do all the different types of fishing that’s available throughout February is a great problem to have – it’s also one I try to address each year with little success. Offshore you have mahimahi hugging the DPI FAD, marlin travelling along the current slicks and pearl perch, snapper and flatties waiting on the shallow

the early morning. The bright side to the prawning hours is while you’re up you may as well go fishing and crabbing. The tributaries are in full swing, with bream actively chasing prawns along the banks and often out in the middle of the rivers. Early mornings are the best time to target the bream on surface, before the sunlight and heat hit the water. Sugapens, 3B Pop Dogs and Tiemco Soft Shell Cicadas are must-have surface lures, but be warned, the Soft Shells can suffer horrendous damage in the

that make up the estuary, it pays to set a crab pot or two along the deeper mangrove edges, and with any luck, you’ll pick up a mud crab or two. The crabbing has been pretty good so far this season, with plenty pulled out of the Coolongolook and Wallamba rivers. The blue swimmer population of the lake has had a bit of a hammering over the school holidays, but there are still enough getting around to make setting worthwhile. Please observe crabbing regulations, don’t

Stephen Hawkins loves the summer muddies, and this year has already produced some crackers. reefs. If you’re lucky, you’ll stumble across a pack or two of big kingfish that hunt the bonito and slimy mackerel schools. For a seafood dinner closer to home and with a little more variety, you could hit the lake and tributaries for the prawns, crabs and fish that are there for the taking. Prawning from around 26 February to 2 March will deliver plenty of good-sized channel prawns. You’ll have to be keen though, with the run-out tide and the adjustment for the lake delay keeping you out into

mouth of a big bream. The timber and rock snags that line the rivers are great spots to practice your hardbody techniques, particularly as the sun rises higher in the sky. Running lures along the length of any timber laydowns is a good way to draw the fish from cover during the run-out tide. The run-out tide helps to draw the fish off the bank and away from the undercut areas where they hide and feed during high water. While you’re up any of the four rivers

touch other people’s gear, and remember there are only two pots per person. One visitor got caught with four pots in his possession (by himself) and 18 blue swimmers – leaving him with a fine of $1200. That level of infringement is more than justified, considering the wilful disregard for the law. For the best and easiest results with the blue swimmers, set your pots on the edge of weed beds that have a drop-off into deeper water. Areas like The Step and in

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FEBRUARY 2017

Chris Reggers landed this 75cm mulloway from the breakwall. This beauty is typical of the quality around at present. the lake itself near Coomba Park and Booti Island or the back of Yahoo Island will all produce crabs. For those anglers who just want to go out and get a feed of whiting or flathead, you don’t have to go too far past the Paddock or the edge of Godwin Island, leading up to Hells Gate. There are also some big tailor patrolling this area and bream mooching around with the run-in tide, so be prepared for anything. The channel on the western side of Little Tern Island has been producing good legal flathead with the chance of a trophy fish. While fishing the washboards recently for bream, I scared off four 90cm+ flathead close to the leases and weed beds. There are plenty of poddy mullet in the 50-80mm size range getting around the shallows, and a live mullet on a hook is the best guarantee of a big flathead. If you do get a few mullet for bait you could wander down to the Tuncurry breakwall and feed the mulloway. Alternatively, you can use soft plastics on a 1oz jighead for one of the legal school-size fish that

hang around the end of the structure. Due to the volume of water that pours from the lake during the run-out, it’s best to fish the slack water at the bottom of the tide. If you get to the wall too early and the tide has some run left in it, try the Tuncurry Beach side at the end of the wall. Mulloway will often hang in the water that spills back onto the beach during the heavy run-out tide. As the run-out tide slackens, the mulloway

move from the beach end onto the channel side. Bass fishing in the area is suffering from hot weather, not much water flow and plenty of weed growth choking many popular spots. Hot water makes the fish lethargic through the day, and the best option is to get on the water in the late afternoon and evening for a surface session. Here’s hoping for good rainfall by the time you read this.

Wallis Lake is renowned for big bream. This 850g fish came from the edge of Godwin Island.

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Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

At the present time we are experiencing a drought in the Manning above Wingham. The river is barely running, though luckily some freshwater springs have opened to give the river a bit more water. Weed is clogging up the river and it is difficult to find a spot where you can fish from the bank – but a canoe or punt will open up some good fishing water. The bass are the best I have seen in years, with heaps of fish over 35cm being taken and released. Below the falls the river is very salty, allowing the bream, luderick, mulloway and sharks to move all the way upstream. On the beaches and offshore the north easterlies have continued to blow, sometimes day and night. These winds make outside fishing a bit uncomfortable, and beach fishing can be more uncomfortable because of the driven sand. ESTUARY Flathead are well and truly on the bite now, with

soft plastics, hardbodied lures, strip baits and live baits all taking fish. There are quite a lot of undersized fish being caught, as well as fish up to 60cm in length. Good whiting are being caught on yabbies and worm baits from the spit in the mouth of the river. A few bream are taking yabbies and mullet strips, while luderick are being caught on yabbies during the day. Kingfish have started to patrol the river wall, with a 16kg fish being taken on a popper. BEACHES AND ROCKS The beaches have not produced many good catches this last month, with only bream and whiting being caught from Crowdy beach up to Abbeys Creek. A few salmon, occasional chopper tailor and a 16kg mulloway made up the rest of the catch. The tailor have not yet turned up, and although there are fish further south, they aren’t moving up north. Some locals are putting it down to the cold water temperatures at present. OFFSHORE When the winds have allowed, some great catches have been made offshore.

Snapper and pearl perch have come from the northern grounds, while flathead are plentiful on the drift. Mahimahi have been taken on lures around the FAD, while fish up to 15kg have come from out wide in 80m of water, while bar cod up to 12kg have come from the even wider grounds. February is an exciting time to fish the Manning area, this time of year always sees the big tailor turn up at Crowdy Head and Diamond Head. These fish can be anywhere from 4-9kg, and always put up a great performance around the rocks. They are best fished with lures or large garfish fished on a six hook rig. A bobby cork rig using fresh slabs of bonito or tailor or a live bait will also catch these fish. Bobby cork rigs are best used before first light or at dusk and into the night. As well as tailor, the river will have plenty of flathead up to 8kg and luderick to catch on weed during the day and live yabbies at night. It gets very hot during February, so remember to wear a hat and plenty of sun screen!

FISHING FILL-ITS

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minimal. The designers have perfected this attribute to give the lure the ability to work in subtle situations, and also to give the angler the option to crank up the sonic vibes when needed. The balance of a soft vibe has to be perfect, and the way a lure falls is just as important as the way it rises. The fall on the Quiet Beats is exceptional. The range was tested by the Aussie Jackson pro team

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Enjoy excellent estuary fishing HUNTER COAST

Gary Earl earlybird13@optusnet.com.au

It’s truly been a sensational two months for our region, and a great start to the year. Marlin, kingfish, tuna of all descriptions, bream, whiting, flathead and mulloway have all been the drawcard around here, and with such warm weather and currents there have been some tropical species turning up as well – so here’s hoping it stays that way this month. By now, land based game fishers should have woken up early to dust off their gear and get the prime spots on the deep local ledges, hoping for bluefin tuna, kingfish and mulloway to take their live baits – but I have a real feeling they will get a lot of sharks, as the numbers in close over the last six months has been mind blowing. The best ledges within a couple of hours drive from the centre of Newcastle to try your luck are as follows: Charlotte Headland in Botti

Botti National Park, the Goat Track and Treachery Head at Seal Rocks, Tomaree Head at Port Stephens (which is probably renowned as the best), Swansea Flat Rock and Snapper Point, along with Wybung Head all around the Swansea area. Over the years, these all have given up some great fish to lucky anglers who have taken the time and effort to lug in a back pack and heavy gear to take on the big fish off the stone. One look at the ANSA record books and you will see that all these places are worth a visit at least once in your lifetime. It’s not an easy game, but when that dream fish does come along, all the trekking and hard times wash away from your mind and you’ll remember the catch for the rest of your life. The beaches have been fishing really well, which is probably due to a mixture of everyone with a four wheel drive out there, as the numbers of anglers that seek fish off the beach is near tripled at this time of year. The sea gods have been good to us this year, pushing

Bernie Taylor got out in his kayak for a few hours and got some nice table fish. The calm water of the estuary is the place to be in a kayak.

warm water further down the coast, and very close to the shore along the Hunter region, bringing big fat bream, whiting, mulloway,

smaller fish in April – so have a plan in place and you might crack the bream of a lifetime. The flathead have been around, with both

Flathead have been around, taking both baits and lures – Mike Sellick got this one on one of his trips. flathead, tailor and even a few dart showing up along the beaches. I haven’t seen swallow tail dart in beach catches around here for probably 15 years or so, which shows just how warm that water really is. Make sure you have a current and correct beach pass for the area you are fishing, as the rangers have been circling like a cat around a mouse, and really going hard on the people not doing the right thing. In the estuaries the fishing has also been crazy, and this month it should be even crazier! The bream are moving down to start feeding for next month, which is when the really big single 2kg model female bream leave and scoot up the coast, followed by the schools of

lures and bait working on them. They are up high in the system and holding in areas of where small creeks hit the Hunter River proper. Whiting are over the sand banks closer to the mouth, and finally some nice mulloway have been taken from the Stockton breakwall by the diehard all-nighters that are as crazy a two bob watch. They cart out so much gear on trolleys and bikes, you’d think they have left home for a week to fish, but they have been getting fish over the magic 20kg mark on squid, yellowtail and slimy mackerel. They all have their different methods, but all of them have told me the last two hours of the rising tide untilthe first two hours of the run-out have been the best, and they haven’t worried

Even the kids have been able to get in on the action, with the estuaries really firing-up. This month the bream are feeding close to the mouths of harbours, rivers and lakes, getting ready for their spawning run up the coast. Blake Johnson is only a little tacker, but he knows how to fish, and caught this beauty in the estuary. about the moon phases, just the tide itself. With fishos catching in such good numbers, Stockton Bridge, the mouth of Fullerton Cove and the Pilot Station ledges should be working just as well for those live baiting out of boats. Offshore is usually great this month. Mahimahi, marlin, tuna, wahoo, cobia, and big kingfish are all in the mix. This month is awesome for trolling with either live baits or medium sized skirts – I love black and silver with hints of blue through them. I think the black and silver models look a touch

like mullet and the blue and silver look a little like small bonito, which are also around in great numbers closer in. I would be surprised if the tournaments haven’t shown up some new records this year, with the water cobalt blue and warm, it should fire-up for those who like to get out wide and chase the gamefish. So here it is, one of the two best months to be out on the water or fishing off the rock walls in the estuaries, February and March are renowned as great fishing around here, so stop reading now and go get amongst ‘em!

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Fish have more breathing room PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

February in Port Stephens is a fisher’s paradise, with a huge range of species to target. The crowds have thinned out from the previous two months, giving both anglers and fish a bit more breathing room. ESTUARY So far this year we’ve had a great whiting season and this is set to continue, with plenty still being caught. The two best areas

to catch them inside Port Stephens are Shoal Bay and Jimmys Beach at high tide, using live worms or nippers. Surface lures fished over the shallow flats from Pindimar Bay all the way through to the mouth of the Karuah River will also be effective on whiting this month. There are plenty of bream around the Soldiers Point area at the moment that are keen to hit surface lures, small hardbodies and lightly weighted plastics as well. Dusky flathead are prevalent through the lower

Inshore black marlin will provide plenty of fun this month.

section of the bay with North Arm Cove, Taylors Beach, Corlette Groins, Wanda Head and Tea Gardens being a few of the better places to find a bite. There have been some absolute crackers caught this year, with a few fish well over the 90cm mark, pushing towards the magic metre. It’s a real shame to hear of some anglers choosing not to release the big girls, as these fish are extremely valuable to the fishery. Mulloway have been hanging around the usual night time haunts, like the Corlette Wreck and both breakwalls. These are best fished around the change of tide, with lightly weighted fresh squid as live baits. A few anglers have also been picking up some nice fish by flicking soft vibes around the wreck and bridges on the tide changes. This is proving to be a great technique here. Another option during the day is to target mulloway from the deep water behind Middle Island, with tide changes again critical to success. BEACHES Whiting are still the flavour of the month from the ocean beaches, with just about all of them holding

quality whiting. The most important thing is to find a nice looking gutter and fish it with live worms on the incoming tide, preferably late in the afternoon or early in the morning. If you fish this way you should also pick up a bit of welcome by-catch in the way of a few bream and dart, and the occasional flathead. Stonking big mulloway are also a possibility after dark on the surf beaches at this time of year, with live baits or fresh squid being the best way to go about hooking one. OFF THE ROCKS Dust off the LBG gear because if we’re lucky we may see an early run

Large female flathead like this 90cm specimen are too valuable to the fishery to be killed. of longtail tuna towards the end of the month. In the meantime there should be plenty of bonito to spin up around the points and headlands, as well as a few tailor and the occasional salmon still poking around.

Mark Lennon with a stonker Middle Island mulloway.

OFFSHORE There have been a few snapper around, with anglers doing well throwing plastics around Edith Breaker on first and last light. Broughton Island has also been producing good reds in the early morning and late afternoon on both plastics and unweighted baits. On the marlin scene, a few small blacks have started to show up in close. The best method to find them is to slow troll live baits around the bait schools, especially on the tide changes. Stripes and a few blues have also been doing their thing on the shelf, which is great to hear with the Billfish Shootout and inter-club gamefishing tournaments fast approaching.

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Goodbye Christmas crowds, hello great fishing SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

The Christmas period is fantastic in many ways. However, on a personal level I hate the crowds and look forward to nothing

more than the end of the holidays and seeing the kids head back to school and the crowds head on home for another year. And there is another reason I’m a little excited for this time of year. The fishing in our part of the world is red-hot and should

Fishing Paradise!

remain so for the next couple of months, regardless of whether you’re chasing estuary species or heading to the wide canyons and beyond. There is plenty on offer for all at the moment. Offshore fishing is really on the improve as we head into the season proper. We should see a sharp increase in marlin numbers and with that we should see plenty of nice by-catches in the form

and the marlin fishing can be sensational to say the least. As with every season you will have some crews who love to bob around a bait ball and soak a live bait, and others who enjoy the challenge of working a spread of lures and searching for good numbers of good fish. Both methods work and both have their place. Both methods may look simple enough, but there is always

not only for the safety of all, but also out of courtesy for others who are hooked up and fighting. For those that prefer trolling lures, I would suggest a spread of quality lures in the 6-10” range at this time of year – and don’t forget to mix it up with colours. Run your larger lures closest to the back of the boat and then the outside lures further back in the spread. Four to

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of some very respectable mahimahi captures. One thing I suggest to any crews heading offshore at this time of year is to ensure you have a few live baits in the well, and on your way offshore I’d suggest a quick stop, and drift a livie past the FAD. It’s a great way to see if anyone is home – and the next livie to be taken at the FAD by a passing marlin won’t be the last either. Even if the marlin are not on the chew, a nice mahimahi will certainly be a very welcome addition to the esky, as there aren’t many fish better for the table. However at this time of year and in our part of the world, offshore fishing is really about one fish and one fish only: marlin. Many crews wait all year to fish hard off Lake Macquarie,

more to it than meets the eye, and the crews that are good at either option are so because of countless seasons and many hours perfecting their chosen method. It’s no secret that for anglers wanting to target the fish in numbers, the Car Park off Port Stephens is the place to be. Although it’s a little more crowded these days, it’s not so bad if you can squeeze your trip in mid-week and outside of holiday periods. The key is to slow troll live slimies around these bait balls – often one surface bait and one weighted bait is your best option until you work out a pattern. When fishing locations such as the Car Park, ensure you keep an eye on other boats around you,

six lures are ideal if you can manage that. You will hear plenty of options on what colour lure has to be where in your spread, but I assure you the fish don’t read the books. Mix it up and you will soon find your go-to lures and positions. One thing I will say is that if the warm waters are reaching the inshore grounds then by all means spend some time working these grounds. So many anglers head far and wide in search of marlin, when the fact is that during peak summer periods, and when the currents are in close, the marlin are in close too. Often depths of 30-60m are very productive, so don’t think it’s all about the canyons and the

shelf at this time of year. Estuary anglers also have plenty to smile about, with mulloway season in Lake Macquarie never ending these days. It seems they are growing in numbers and size, and if we manage this fishery correctly, it should keep getting better as the years go by. Many anglers are scoring good numbers of fish when live bait fishing with squid. It’s a very productive method and a live squid is hard for any mulloway to pass up. Me personally, I love chasing these silver beasts on lures. It is the most rewarding type of fishing I have done, and I just love the feeling of a nice mulloway on light line hurting my arms. I suggest 1/4oz-1/2oz weighted jigheads with a 2/0-3/0 hook size. I like 4-6” soft plastics, and many colours work, but I do lean towards the white and silver colour options. Bream anglers are also having a great time at the moment. Lure anglers are seeing some great fishing with a good run of fish this year. Mix it up a little, as some days and obviously at certain tides they’re going crazy on the shallows, but other times are seeing really good numbers of fish in deeper waters. Shallow running hardbody lures are producing good fish to 40cm+ over the flats, and blades, plastics and deep diving hardbodies are all working well off the edges in the deeper locations. For hungry anglers looking for some yummy food then you’re in luck as well. The old blue swimmer crabs are about in good numbers for those in the know – with 3-4m areas throughout the lake being very productive, with some really good bags about. There’s nothing better than sitting back at the end of a hot summer’s day with a cold beverage and a fresh feed of crabs.

Turn fishing into catching

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FEBRUARY 2017

Brad Knight has been scoring plenty of nice bream lately on Austackle hardbody lures.

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Hot weather, hotter fishing dark. Be observant, bring a simple selection of good lures (particularly surface lures), and work them in an interesting or realistic manner. Little factors like these all contribute to success. Regardless of how many fish are around, it still takes a cunning angler to fool them. Nocturnal fishing with top quality baits is also

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flathead when it comes to bringing home something to eat. Throw in a few whiting and maybe a flounder as well, and you’ll have the best mixed bag of fresh fish you’ll ever taste. Considering we’ve also got local prawns and blue swimmer crabs on tap, we certainly are spoilt when it comes to seafood. Some locals consider

and bloodworms. Of these, beachworms are tougher, meaning they stay on the hook longer. jrobley@iprimus.com.au Flathead, bream, The tail end of summer is tarwhine and dart are all without question a very commonly encountered hot time of year here. when aiming for whiting, Yes, the weather can be but almost anything may very steamy, but the real swim into the shallow surf heat is out on the water, zone this month. Don’t with angling action of all be surprised if a salmon, kinds seriously firing up tailor, ray or even a frigate mackerel picks up the bait. Beachworms fished just Bream and flathead can be caught around our after sunset are very likely local bridges this month, with night time or early to attract a mulloway, if one morning fishing being the best. Toukley Bridge is is in the vicinity. Although a reliable spot, particularly at either end, where worms are often considered the remains of the old timber bridge still exist. as only attractive to smaller school mulloway, the bigger fish love them just as much. My personal best on a small worm bait was 17kg, but I’ve caught plenty around the 10-12kg range on worms over the years. On the rocks a variety of fish have been caught recently, and once again, I’d rate February as the peak month for spinning for speedy pelagics. Bonito are the most likely to zoom in and hit lures, with tailor, salmon, frigate mackerel, kings and mack tuna 15 all Wallarah Street 24 Paley Crescent 30 Gommera Street Watkins Road being a very possible hook- Swansea Belmont South Blacksmiths Wangi Wangi Crescent Street 30 Gommera Street Street 15 Wallarah StreetRoad up. It’s a bit too early to F3 24 Paley Crescent 24 Paley 30 Gommera 15 Wallarah Watkins Belmont South Blacksmiths Swansea Located on a peninsular Just a short stroll from A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores Belmont South Blacksmiths Swansea Wangi Wangi predict exactly how this Located on a peninsular Juststroll a shortfrom stroll from quiet and A spacious tree filled park Located onLocated a peninsular surrounded a short on a peninsular Just a shortJust stroll from A spaciousthe tree filled park Nestled between the sh surrounded the Lake, with the quiet andand patrolled on the shores of the Lake. Lake, with the quiet and patrolled the Lake. ofthebyLake Macquarie surrounded the Lake, with quiet and patrolled on the shores beach. of the Lake. of Lake Macquarie a by the Lake, by with waterfront Blacksmiths Bream are in abundant supply, andsurrounded February by is the a prime waterfront accommodationpatrolled Blacksmiths beach. Stylish A range of accommodation season will pan out, onasthe shores ofaccommodation waterfront accommodation Blacksmiths beach. Stylish A range of accommodation National Park land. Lo and campsites and and campsites andStylish modern accommodation or options and family friendly accommodation or waterfront accommodation Blacksmiths beach. Stylish A range of accommodation National Parkormodern land. 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Blacksmiths Swansea Scan thisRoad code bookcodeyour 24 Paley Crescent 30 Gommera Street 15 Wallarah Street Wangi Wangi Watkins of which species or style can be done fromValley a boat or weedy, therefore making Located the F3 well onholidays a peninsular Just a and short strolltruly from A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores holiday online holiday Belmont Swansea Wangi online today! the Lake, withBlacksmiths the quiet and patrolled on the shores of the Lake. of Lake Macquarie Wangi and of fishing you’re into, the shore. The bridges at fish no good toF3eat.South Isurrounded can bybehind us, Blacksmiths boat ramps at waterfront accommodation beach. Stylish A range of accommodation National Park land. Lovely Located on a peninsular Just a short stroll from A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores www.lakemacho and campsites and modern accommodation or options and family friendly quiet settings for campsites www.lakemacholidayparks.co here’s what we can expect The Entrance, Toukley and assure readers Terrigal and Norah Head Newcastlethat that isn’t convenient location.the quietlarge available. facilities. and accommodation. surroundedtrue. by the Water Lake, with will andcampsites patrolled on30the shores of the Lake. Macquarie 24 Paley So Crescent Gommera Street 15 Wallarah Street of LakeWatkins Road and this month. Woy Woy are particularly even remotely be less congested. 24 Paley Crescent 30 Gommera Street 15 Wallarah Street Watkins Road 24 Paley Crescent 30 Gommera Street 15 Wallarah Street Watkins Road 24 Paley Crescent 30 Gommera Street 15 Wallarah Street Swansea Watkins Road Wangi Wangi Belmont South Blacksmiths waterfront accommodation Blacksmiths beach. 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Stylish Athe range of accommodation National ParkPark land. Lovely on the shores of Lake. of Lake Macquarie and National waterfront accommodation Blacksmiths beach. Stylish A range of accommodation National land. Lovely convenient location. large campsites accommodation. waterfrontavailable. accommodation Blacksmiths beach.waterfront Stylish facilities. A range of accommodation National land. A Lovely accommodation Blacksmiths StylishPark and range of accommodation National Park land. Lovely and campsites or accommodation and beach. family friendly quiet settings for campsites andand campsites and modern accommodation modern accommodation or options and family friendly quiet settings for campsites Park land. Lovely forsettings for campsites A range and campsites and modern accommodation or options family friendlyoptions quiet settings for campsites and campsites andofand modern accommodation or options and familyquiet friendlysettings quiet convenient location. large campsites available. facilities. and accommodation. Hunter mentioning the bream rocky points around the many people think. It’s just easier, regardless of whether convenient location. large campsites available. facilities. accommodation. 24 large Paley Crescent 30location. Gommera Street 15and Wallarah Street and Watkins Road convenient location. campsites available. facilities. accommodation. options and family friendly facilities. campsites and accommodation. convenient large campsites available. facilities. and accommodation. Valley Belmont South Blacksmiths Swansea Wangi Wangi fishing around our local lakes and leases in Brisbane the sight of the weedBelmont and you aim to fish in closeLocated F3 on a peninsular Just a short stroll from A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores surrounded by the Lake, with the quiet and patrolled on the shores of the Lake. of Lake Macquarie and lakes. However, after Waters. Live prawns are a natural smell it gives Newcastle off for some light tackle fun Scan code toaccommodation book yourquiet Scan this code tothisbook your waterfront accommodation Blacksmiths beach. Stylish A range of National Park land. Lovely and campsites and modern accommodation or options and family friendly for campsites having fished right up and naturally good bait right with hot, dry weather orBlacksmiths head wider with the bigconvenient Swansea that www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au location. large campsites available. facilities. accommodation. holiday online today! andsettings holiday online today! down the East Coast over now, but don’t forget the gives the wrong impression. gear in search of marlin. Lake Macquarie www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au the years, I can honestly say old school stuff like mullet If youWangi want Overall, this is the month www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au Wangi really www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au or Freecall www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au that we’ve got it as good gut and, one of my all-time to score a feed of fish not to be missed. So drop Freecall or 626 Freecall Belmont 1800 438 as anywhere, if not better! favourites, fresh or salted somewhere else though, you everything, take a sickie and ororFreecall 1800 626 438 or Freecall 1800 626 438 Tuggerah Lakes, the lower tailor flesh, scaled but left can’t go past beach fishing. get amongst the action! 1800 626 438 www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au 1800 626 438 Sydney Swansea Blacksmiths end of Lake Macquarie and with the skin on. This really is the best of course Brisbane Waters, Flathead and whiting month of the year to fish for Wangi or Freecall Wangi F3 F3 offer not only numbers, have been quite active whiting along just about all 1800 626 438 F3 but also great sized bream, lately, and this isn’t about of our beaches here. Fresh which are more then willing to change any time soon. pipis and peeled prawns will www.lakemacholidayparks.com.au Sydney to smash lures at this time While lure casting for bream get you into the action – F3 F3 of year. While you can tends to take up more of but the best baits are live certainly catch a few on my time, I certainly prefer or preserved beachworms lures at any time of the year, it really doesn’t get better F3 than February. One of the main things that gets bream so fired up to hit lures is the abundance of prawns, shrimp and small baitfish. Water temps are also at their peak right now. Combine these main factors with secondary influences like some average rainfall and high or rising barometric pressure, and the bream here can switch into lure crunching overdrive! Having said that, it’s still vital to be on the water and casting before sunrise or, if Casting lures from spots like South Avoca, Terrigal, Central Coast it’s not too windy, later in Wybung or Snapper Point should be worth the Holiday Parks the day, so you’re fishing effort over the next few weeks. Tailor, salmon and the last few hours before bonito are the main species to be expected. CENTRAL COAST

Jamie Robley

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FEBRUARY 2017

Fish out in full force ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

The estuaries are on fire at the moment and everywhere else is too. It’s a hard choice to decide where you want to go and what you want to catch. There are only so many hours in a day. Sleep deprivation can be a major worry over the next few weeks, as you try to cram in as much action as you can every day. The lake has flathead all over the place. Just about every patch of sand you can

the sand flats. Worms and nippers are the best baits, while poppers are bringing a few bigger fish undone on quiet days. Bream are all the way from the feeder streams like Mullet Creek and Macquarie Rivulet right down to Windang Bridge. The best catches are in the evenings on live prawns. Mulloway are sneaking around the Windang area after dark on the run out tide, but you have to be there on the right day. The feeder streams are giving up ripper mullet, particularly from up around the William Beach Park

all along its length and plenty of whiting. With less boat traffic, poppers work well early in the morning. Bream are around the bridge as usual, with some bigger flathead and the odd small mangrove jack. Use live prawns or poddy mullet if you can get them in tight on the pylons without the bream getting them first. Mullet and garfish are all along the edges of the weed beds if you float down a bit of bread berley to get them going. The odd trevally will sneak in around the entrance and grab a prawn during the

There are some solid kings about if you use live frigates for bait. see is holding fish, from the drop off to Tallawarra and the yacht club. Just drifting and casting plastics blind is all that’s needed to catch some. There are fish everywhere. Even the blue swimmer crabs are taking a fancy to plastics, and live mullet don’t last long at all. If a flatty doesn’t get it, a crab will. The crabs are all over the place, and it can be hard to navigate with all the traps in the water, particularly on the weekends. Whiting are along all

in the aptly named Mullet Creek – a great place to take the kids for a fun arvo. Big bream move in on the bread too, so be ready. Chopper tailor are a nuisance around the drop offs and clean up plastics with regular attacks. There are some bigger fish down near the entrance. Small chrome lures will bring them undone and you may even run into a few salmon at the start of the run out tide around the entrance as well. Minnamurra has flatties

evenings on high tide. If you need the best bait, prawns have been pretty good over the past few months and it shouldn’t take long to get enough for bait or a feed on the right night. Take the kids along, as they love scooping prawns as well. The beaches are going off with some solid mulloway all along the coast. Pick a good gutter and use fresh bait in the evenings for a good chance this month. There are plenty of sharks and stingrays

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Put out a live slimy and they will come. Black marlin from small rats like this to fish over 100kg are over the reefs this month. mixed in too, so it can be hard work to get a fish between the rubbish. Salmon, bream, small mulloway, whiting, dart and flathead are all on the menu if you get hold of some beach worms and work the gutters. If you can get fresh fish bait like yellowtail or slimy mackerel then you can add tailor and take out the dart and whiting, or you can just wander along casting plastics for flatties. It’s the same on the rocks with pelagics and baitfish in hard against the stones, especially the morning after a hard northeasterly. Coalcliff Rocks, the north and south breakwall at the port, Honeycomb, Bass Point, Bombo, the Blowhole Point and Marsdens will all be great spots and there are plenty of other little ledges in between if you look. Kingfish from rats to hoodlums, salmon, frigate mackerel, bonito, mackerel tuna, tailor, trevally and even the odd spotty mackerel or cobia are biting if the current pushes through hard and brings some northern visitors. The deeper ledges are more than worth a look for a marlin this month with a few hooked each season. Frigate mackerel and big slimies are the main baits. Big yakkas are a good back up. If you like things a bit slower, there are good numbers of luderick about and some big drummer mixing it with them. There are a few big silver drummer that really take some stopping. Bream and trevally are in the washes if you toss in a bit of berley to get them going. For a bit of fun, keep your eye out in the harbours as the frigates head in to chase the baitfish. They are great fun in the sheltered calm water and make awesome mulloway bait for later in the evening. Kids love catching them too. Offshore is where it’s all happening with the black marlin season in full flight. This is the month to get them over the closer

reefs. Wollongong and Bandit are favourites, but these fish are just about anywhere that you find a school of baitfish. Slimy mackerel will be rippling the surface over many reefs, so grab a couple and slow troll them live about the schools. They’ll get eaten if there are any fish in the vicinity. Even if you are just out for a flathead, put any mackerel or yellowtail you catch straight back as live bait. Marlin have to move about and one might swim right past you and grab your offering. They seem to show up everywhere this month. You could head wider and drag some plastics about for more blacks and the chance of stripes and blues out beyond the shelf. If there’s a lot of bait, the blues could be in as close as 60 fathoms. The joy of this time of the year is the by-catch when chasing marlin with live baits – big kings, mahimahi, yellowfin tuna, wahoo and even a stray sailfish or two all on the cards. If you are in close chasing kings, there’s the chance of a cobia or Spanish mackerel over the coming weeks. The kings are most active when there’s a bit of current. All the usual spots from Bellambi, the islands, Bass Point and Rangoon are all producing fish. Some days are better than others.

Isn’t that always the case? If you get bitten off then it could be a stray Spaniard. Putting a short wire on could pay dividends. More than likely in this neck of the woods, you will have missed your chance on a random fish. Cobia are just a welcome by-catch and something to brag about in the Illawarra. Just for fun, there are bonito, salmon the odd mackerel tuna and frigate mackerel all over the place. Frigates generally go straight back over live and head for the nearest kingy reef, as big kings just can’t resist them. Often enough, hammerhead will nail it before you get there. Small hammers are good on the barbie too. Cast a lure into the schools for great fun and bait for other species. A few better snapper have started to show over the reefs if you pick and berley. Sharks usually show up at this time of year, so plastics are the go-to method until the leatherjackets show. Then you go chase something else. Drifting has produced plenty of smaller reds with a few better ones thrown in like samsonfish, mowies, sweep, pigfish, trevally and a few pearl perch for lucky anglers. Flathead are over all the sand areas all along the coast. You can’t miss.

With the warm water come the dart, which make an interesting addition this far south.

We’re having a royally good season for kingfish NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

We’re almost back to normal! The last of the Christmas holidaymakers have gone for another year, and you’ll have your own little secret spots to yourselves once again.

definitely high on many anglers’ lists at this time of year. The marlin at the banks started early this season with a few taken in late December. They actually showed up before the first run of stripes. The kingfish have been around since about the end of November and have been good right through

Brenden Gilles looks pretty pleased with this solid South Coast kingfish.

seen fish taken on stickbaits and poppers while the sleeper-innerers have been getting fish downrigging during the day, or lead lining and drifting with live or fresh squid. There have been plenty of rat kings inside Jervis Bay to give anglers a bit of fun on the light tackle. The occasional bigger fish smashes through the schools making short work of the light tackle, and claiming their trophy in the way of your lure. The squidding has been nothing short of sensational right through the school holidays. Although the average size is down on the squid, the quantity makes up for it. Anglers get their bag limit in quick time. It’s not often you can throw any jig in your box at the squid and have success, as they can usually be fussy cephalopods. I’ve still heard about a few occasions of them taking anything.

McCallums Tackle World owner Gavin McCallum making the most of a day off getting in on the kingfish action. In spite of the hassle of the holiday crowds though, it’s great to see so many people sharing our waters and catching fish. Working in the tackle shop, it’s refreshing to see the same people year in and year out travelling to our area for their annual pilgrimage, and new people becoming Christmas holiday regulars. We must be doing something right and it’s a pretty good time of year to fish our waters. Although February is quieter, bear in mind that it can still be quite busy on the weekends. If you can chuck a sickie on a weekday or get that rostered day off, it’s fairly tame on the water. What would you like to catch? Bream, bass, squid, flathead? Maybe you have your sights set higher, say, for marlin, mahimahi and kingfish; these species are

the summer months. The average size has been up just a little from previous years and the consistency of fish has been much better than the last few seasons. Early morning sessions have

If you are for some reason finding it tough to catch squid, here are three jigs that are must-haves for the box: the Yamashita Aurie-Q in the natural green colour, the Yamashita Live

series with the clicker in the yakka and pilly colours, and the Daiwa Emeraldas in the green seaweed colour. All of these are in size 3.0. If you can’t catch squid on one of these jigs, you might as well go to Nowra Fresh and put in your order! Don’t forget to coat your jig with S Factor scent. It’s been a pretty good season for our bread and butter species in all the estuaries! Bream, flathead and whiting can all be caught in the shallows and can be seen chasing prawns and small baitfish, sometimes in water hardly deep enough for themselves to be in. This often occurs on early mornings before the sun breaks the horizon, and a long cast with a surface lure or ultra-shallow diver should produce a strike. Wading the shallow flats of the basin and flicking lures is still one of my favourite fishing pastimes and a very productive way of catching fish. You don’t need a boat to catch good fish down there! My only advice is, wear a pair of waders. Hooked fish have a nasty habit of running for any sort of structure they can find and your legs fit that bill. A hole in the waders is pretty easy to fix and a lot less painful than a big bream or flatty hanging off your leg, thrashing around with the hook barbs buried in your flesh. Yes, I have seen this happen! If you haven’t had your bass fix this season, don’t worry – you haven’t missed out. Believe it or not, there are still plenty of fish in the brackish water as low down as the animal park, and they are scattered right through up to Gradys. The public canoe/kayak ramp on the southern side of the river near Calmea is a great spot to launch an assault on the bass in the early

Glenn Newbold is a seasoned kingy fisher and knows where to catch fish of this league when they are on. morning or late arvo, when the river traffic quietens down. Mid-week’s not too bad. This puts you straight into some good water and is perfect for a quick two-hour session. The freshwater reaches of the Shoalhaven are also fishing well, with plenty of 35-40cm fish being taken. Coolendel puts you straight into some good

water here, and if you don’t mind dragging up rapids, you can fish some awesome water upstream from there that has less pressure. Best of luck fishing in February, guys and gals. Don’t forget Valentine’s Day, 14 Feb. Why not buy your love a new fishing rod? You might get to go out more. Johnny out.

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Lurch is a big dude standing over 6ft tall, so you can imagine how big this fish is. He’s looking pretty happy with his catch too.

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www.silverstarfishingcharters.com.au FEBRUARY 2017

Spanner Crabs

Throw a spanner in the works QFM

Michael Fox

Spanner crabs are one crustacean that you don’t hear a lot about unless you’re sitting at a seafood

live baits for our day’s fishing adventure, we then proceeded out to a spanner crab mark that a local had previously given us. If you do not know a friendly local, then ask at the local tackle shop or drop into the pub for

a coldie and ask someone who the best person in town is to ask about where to start looking for spanner crabs. The plan was to drop the traps and then go fishing for the day and pick them up on the way home.

The traps used for spanner crabs are very simple, this one was homemade, but they can be purchased very cheaply. restaurant table reading the menu. This is probably because you can’t just wander down to your local creek, throw a trap in from the bank and catch a feed of them. You need to venture offshore in a sea worthy vessel and put a bit of time into the preparation, and on a recent fishing trip to Wooli on the Northern New South Wales coast, I did just that. Checking Willy Weather on arrival, I was greeted with four days straight of perfect offshore weather conditions. On the first day we thought it would be a good opportunity to take a couple of spanner crab traps out with us, just to see if they were around. After stopping at a close inshore reef to gather

SPANNER CRAB GEAR The traps are simple, they consist of a 10mm steel rod frame approximately one square metre and a double layer of 50mm square nylon netting tied firmly with string within the framework. A gutter guard bait keeper is filled with fish frames from previous fishing trips, and zip tied in the middle of the trap on a bait keeper rope, which is attached to either side of the frame. These traps were home made, however they are made commercially through companies like Crab’n Gear Crab Pots in Brisbane and cost approximately $30 each. Spanner crabs prefer bare sandy grounds anywhere, and are sometimes as deep as 100m. The GPS mark that we had was in about 26m of water, so we set the traps on a slope heading down to about 35m: We allowed for 60m of 10mm rope tied be to one corner of the frame, and over the side of the boat it went, bait keeper side down. After the trap hit the bottom, we let another 10m of rope out. The current was screaming, so we attached three 200mm ball floats to the end of the rope. Stainless Steel Carabiner style clips are used so that when you put out the required amount

Spanners are an impressive red/orange colour naturally, unlike muddies and sandies, which go this colour when cooked. of rope you can tie a loop knot in the main line and clip the floats on to it. Painting the floats bright yellow or orange helps you locate them a lot easier later in the day, especially when you have the sun directly in your eyes.

Once we had the floats deployed out in the water, we marked the spot on the GPS and were off to the wider fishing grounds. After about 8 hours and one the best days fishing I’ve experienced for a long

USEFUL INFO AND FACTS Range: Spanner crabs inhabit coastal waters along the east coast of Australia, from Yeppoon in Queensland to Nowra on the south coast of New South Wales. Appearance: The spanner crab (also known as the frog crab) is naturally red/ orange in colour with some small white spots on the top of the carapace. Their claws are large and inward facing and look like a spanner. Behaviour: Unlike other crabs, which move in a sideways motion, spanner crabs move forwards and backwards. They dig themselves into the sand, only exposing their eyes, and wait for prey.

In places where there is strong current, extra floatation may be needed so you can find your trap at the end of the day.

Closed season: There is a spanner crab closed season in Queensland from midnight 20 November to midnight 20 December inclusive. The closed season protects spanner crabs when they are most vulnerable during their breeding season. Size and bag limits: The legal size in Queensland is 10cm carapace length, measured from the centre spine to the mid carapace base along the back. There is a bag limit of 20 in possession. In NSW there is a minimum legal length of 9.3cm carapace length and a recreational bag limit of 10 crabs in possession. Trap regulations: You are allowed four traps per person and they must be marked correctly with your full name and address. Only one trap per float is allowed in QLD. Life cycle: Spanner crabs spawn between October and February. Female crabs take about two years to mature and can produce two batches of eggs each season. Each batch can be around 120,000 eggs. Just remember that it is illegal to take egg-bearing (berried) female spanner crabs at any time of the year. It is thought that it takes approximately 10 years for the spanner crab to reach its maximum size.

The inward facing claws are where the spanner crab gets its name. 48

FEBRUARY 2017

Spanner Crabs PREPARATION FOR EATING Back at camp, it was time to cook them and have a feast. First, we brought a cooker full of seawater to a rapid boil. The trick is to keep the saltwater in the live bait tank

quickly. Cooling them quickly will prevent them from becoming over-cooked. Cleaning is easy, just pull the flap at the bottom near the rear legs up and remove the main body shell. From there, you cut the body in half from

If you catch the mother lode and want to take some home at the end of your holiday, I would recommend that you cut them in half, clean the guts out and freeze them green (un-cooked), the meat will stay firmer

Success! The crabs have their legs tangled in the mesh and aren’t going to escape any time soon.

After they’ve been cooked, it’s just a matter of extracting the carapace meat and you’ve got yourself some very tasty crab meat! from the boat and use it in the cooker. After that, we placed the crabs in the cooking basket and lowered it in the boiling water. We used a big burner, as the water needs to be back on the boil quickly. It helps when you have a purpose built crab cooker. Once back to the boil, we cooked them for 13

the head to the tail and clean the guts out. There is hardly any the meat in the legs and claws. The bulk of the meat is in the body, and there is plenty. It’s a beautiful whitesegmented flesh that pulls out and separates easily from the shell, which makes it easy to eat. The spanner crab has

when defrosted and cooked. The meat gets mushy when defrosted if you cook the crab first and then freeze it. There is a little bit of mucking around to set the traps and find the right spot to drop them, however the reward at the end of the day can be fantastic and well

There’s easily enough there to feed at least a couple of hungry people. while, we headed back in to pick up the traps on the way home. We were hoping that we might have a couple of spanner crabs to complement our esky of snapper, pearlies and kingfish. On our return the trap floats were nowhere to be seen on the GPS marks. The traps lay flat on the bottom, however with the strong current they had moved from the original drop zone, so some searching needed to be done. After a few minutes searching we motored up to the first of the two traps. I used the gaff to assist in retrieving the float line and started to pull the trap up. The rope was tight and the trap felt heavy as I pulled it up through the water

column. As it got closer to the boat I noticed a couple of crabs fall off and head back to the bottom of the ocean, not that it worried us, as there were still six or so attached to the netting. Up over the side and into the boat they came! Once we had removed the legal-sized crabs and put them into the esky and iced them down, we placed the under-sized crabs back in the water. In Queensland, the legal size is 10cm carapace length and a 9.3cm carapace length in NSW. We then moved onto looking for the second trap, which was only about 100m away. It was the other deckie’s turn to do the pulling. He was complaining

SEASON

all the time that it was heavy and, of course, I told him to toughen up. Soon enough, we had colour and realised that we hit the mother lode! Another 14 crabs came up over the side. Again, after sending the smaller ones back to grow up a little more, the esky was full of good-sized spanners and we had more than enough to feed the whole crew for the next couple of days. From two traps and one drop, we had more than enough spanner crabs to feed a small army. I did find it interesting that spanner crabs are naturally orange in colour, unlike muddies and sandies that go orange after you cook them.

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 4.30pm on

Once in the boiling water, tasty spanner crabs are just minutes away. minutes. After cooking, they were removed and placed in an ice slurry to cool down

very sweet tasting meat and is one of the best tasting of all the crabs.

worth the effort. Why not make spanner crabbing a part of your offshore trips?

OUTDOOR & FISHING SHOW

Listen on 5am-6am Every Saturday FEBRUARY 2017

Tech Tricks

Getting the best hook-up potential with a popper BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

No matter whether you’re chasing bass, queenfish, saratoga, trevally, murray cod, tailor, bream or barramundi, fishing with topwater offerings is addictive. The visual aspect of the surface strike will have you trembling at

the knees and the power some species emit as they head for cover will have you buckling at the knees. While there’s now a myriad of surface lures, all imitating a wounded or struggling food source, poppers would have to be one of the more commonly used topwater presentations. During the last decade or so, hardcore anglers have

The single head hook and single rear hook combo (top) is my preferred rigging option and is rapidly gaining popularity among the ranks of seasoned popper fishers. The lure will rarely foul with the leader and the hook-up potential is great on GTs, as they commonly attack the head of the bait to crush and immobilise it. The single hook with flexible rigging is also much less likely to be dislodged during the fight.

renewed interest in targeting giant trevally, kingfish, yellowfin tuna, Spanish mackerel and numerous other bluewater beasts on large poppers and heavy duty tackle. Obviously, tough adversaries require even tougher tackle to withstand the pressures of subduing these critters. Targeting XOS GTs requires the strongest outfits and tough lures rigged with

hardcore terminals. Eliminating weak links will give you a great chance of success when that lure finally gets crunched. As poppers promote a savage smash and grab strike, increased chances of a hook-up are highly desirable and a hotly debated topic. Different lures requiring altered hook setups to maximise swimming action and promote better

Hold the two tag ends against the hook shank and wrap the main portion around the hook shank and down so that it overlaps the start of the tag ends.

Continue to wrap down around the shank and then pass the folded over portion back through the centre, against the hook shank, to complete a clove hitch around the shank.

hook-up potential. Poppers are one of the more commonly used lures for targeting large GTs and other bluewater predators. There are three popular ways of rigging these large cup-faced lures, which can exceed 30cm in length and weigh more than 200gm. Some anglers favour all trebles and while these offer great initial hook-up potential, they’re more

likely to be worked free during the fight, have increased potential to be dangerous to the angler or deckie and can inflict more damage to the fish as well. The single tail hook and back-to-back belly hooks are a better solution, offering great hook-up and holding potential, yet these are likely to foul on the leader if the lure cartwheels during the retrieve.

A small portion of heat shrink can be passed over the knot and then reduced with the cigarette lighter or a paint stripper gun to secure and hold the knot in place and neaten up the rig.

To attach this to your popper, pass the end of the loop through the towing eyelet of the popper and then pass the hook through the loop. I like the loop to be a snug, taut fit over the hook.

To make your own popper head hook, you’re going to need a few things. One of the best, most easily sourced hooks is the Owner Jobu. The Shout Kudako, Owner SJ-41 and numerous other strong hooks can be used. Some 2mm Spectra cord (Spectraspeed 250kg is good) can be sourced for around $2 per metre. A good pair of cutters, a cigarette lighter and some heat shrink, around 15mm.

Pull the knot tight, with the tag ends just protruding out of the knot, and then push the creased centre portion through the hook eye from the rear of the shank and out the gape side.

For this particular popper I’m going to use an 8/0 Owner Jobu, which is the most common size. You’ll need minimum 28cm of Spectra Cord for this size hook, 26cm for 7/0 and 30cm for 9/0. You can always make the rig longer if you wish. Once you’ve cut your Spectra to length, use your cigarette lighter to seal the ends to limit fraying. Fold your Spectra in half with a hard crease in the centre – this section is required to pass through the hook eye in the latter stages. This also gets your tag ends even. 50

FEBRUARY 2017

Pull this very tight so the knot snugs up hard to the hook eye. Put the hook bend over a solid structure, such as a boat rail, and then use your finger or a bar hooked through the Spectra loop to apply some serious pressure and lock the knot tightly.

Continue pulling the hook until the loop snugs up tight around the towing eyelet. Your leader will still be attached to the wire towing eyelet, usually utilising a swivel and a split ring, when using a popper head hook. When laid back along the body of the popper, the head hook will be roughly level with the front belly eyelet which does not have a hook of any kind on it. If the head hook wraps the leader during casting or when a popper cartwheels during the retrieve or a missed strike, the hook will easily fall away and back into the desired position. This is usually not possible when a belly rigged single or treble is in play.

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FREE GUIDEBOOK

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2017abt calendar BREAM SERIES

The Costa BREAM Series returns in 2017 with Australia’s premier tournament bream series hitting the road mid in February and travelling across the country until it arrives at Lake Macquarie in early December for the biggest event on the bream calendar, the Costa BREAM Grand Final. Eight qualifying rounds will test anglers, with QLD, NSW, Victoria and Western Australian all playing host to events. Costa BREAM Qualifiers • Boater $250 • Non Boater $125

Franklins Australia BREAM Australian Open (Boater only) $500

DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

18-19 Feb

VIC

Mallacoota

Mallacoota BREAM Qualifier #1

22-23 Feb

VIC

Gippsland Lakes

Gippsland Lakes BREAM Qualifier #2

1-2 Apr

Albany

Albany BREAM Qualifier #3

5-6 Apr

Blackwood

Blackwood BREAM Qualifier #4

20-21 May

NSW

Manning River

Manning River BREAM Qualifier #5

16-17 Jul

NSW

Richmond River

Richmond River BREAM Qualifier #6

19-20 Aug

QLD

Gold Coast

Gold Coast BREAM Qualifier #7

30-1 Oct

NSW

St Georges Basin

St Georges Basin BREAM Qualifier #8

1-3 Dec

NSW

Lake Maquarie

Lake Maquarie BREAM Grand Final

25-27 Apr

NSW

Sydney Harbour/Hawkesbury River

Franklins Australia BREAM Australian Open

AUSTRALIA BASS PRO SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

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

NSW QLD QLD NSW NSW NSW NSW QLD

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

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

BASS ELECTRIC SERIES DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

12 Feb

NSW

Clarrie Hall

BASS Electric #1

18-19 Mar

QLD

Lenthalls

BASS Electric #2

8-9 Apr

NSW

Toonumbar

BASS Electric #3

20 May

QLD

Hinze Dam

BASS Electric #4

17-18 Jun

QLD

Borumba Dam

BASS Electric #5

30 Jul

NSW

St Clair

BASS Electric #6

13 Aug

QLD

Moogerah

BASS Electric #7

28-29 Oct

TBA

BASS Electric Convention

KAYAK BREAM SERIES PRESENTED BY DAIWA DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

Bigger, better and more rewarding than it’s ever been the Basscat Australia BASS Pro Series is set to challenge and reward anglers in 2017. Six Qualifying Rounds throughout the year held on Queensland’s and New South Wales’ finest bass rivers and lakes, plus a Grand Final on Northern NSW’s Richmond River in October presents anglers with a Basscat BASS Pro calendar like they have never seen or experienced before. New challenges, new waterways and new opportunities are all on the tournament menu for the new tournament season. 2017 is definately the year of the river rat on the Basscat BASS Pro tour. Basscat Australia BASS Pro Qualifiers • Boater $250 • Non Boater $125

Storm BASS Australian Open (Boater only) $500

ePropulsion headlines the 2017 BASS Electric Series, with the new season featuring seven Qualifying Rounds and an end of year BASS Electric Convention set to take place in Queensland in October. The series kicks off in February at Clarrie Hall Dam in NSW before it travels its way through Queensland and New South Wales with a combination of single and two-day events. Anglers will fish for a combination of cash and prizes at each round plus the all important qualification berths into October’s BASS Electric Convention. To qualify for The Convention all you need to do is place in the top five (top ten at 2-day events) at one of the seven Qualifying Rounds, or finish in the top 15 of the BASS Electric Angler of the Year points race. It’s that easy. Check out the calendar to find out where and when you can get your ePropulsion BASS Electric fix. BASS Electric Entries • $50 (single day events) • $100 (two-day events)

BARRA TOUR DATE

STATE

LOCATION

EVENT

31 Oct

QLD

Kinchant Dam

BARRA Tour Round #1 (Evening Event) BARRA Tour Round #2 (Evening Event)

1 Nov

QLD

Teemburra

3-4 Nov

QLD

Peter Faust

BARRA Tour Round #3 (Evening Event)

5-6 Nov

QLD

Peter Faust

BARRA Tour Round #4 (Night Championship)

21-22 Jan

VIC

Marlo

Round 1

25-26 Feb

VIC

Bemm River

Round 2

25-26 Mar

VIC

Mallacoota

Round 3

8-9 Apr

Adelaide

Round 4

29-30 Apr

To be announced

Round 5

Get your barra fix in 2017 with the Zerek BARRA Tour. Returning to the barra filled lakes of Kinchant, Teemburra and Peter Faust Dams, the Zerek BARRA Tour will hit the north on the peak barra bite, the full moon in November. Having emerged from their from their winter slumber and in full spring bite mode the barra should be primed to wreak havoc and deliver anglers the ultimate BARRA Tour experience.

30 Apr

NSW

Clyde River

Round 6

BARRA Tour Entries $250 (per event)

20-21 May

NSW

St Georges Basin

Round 7

10-11 Jun

NSW

Port Macquarie

Round 8

22-23 Jul

QLD

Gold Coast

Round 9

13 Aug

QLD

Mooloolaba

Round 10

26-27 Aug

To be announced

Round 11

16-17 Sep

NSW

Forster

Round 12

16-19 Nov

TBA

Australian Championship

TAG 2017 abt

The Hobie Kayak BREAM Series hits the water nation wide to offer anglers the ultimate kayak bream experience. Featuring events in WA, SA, VIC, NSW and QLD anglers are spoilt for choice in 2017 with 12 rounds in the series. All events of course lead to the biggest event of the year, the Australian Championship. The Big Show will see anglers fish from identical factory supplied Hobie kayaks in a bid to be crowned the Australian Champion. Hobie Kayak BREAM Series (Hobie rounds) • $50 (pre-event entry) or $70 (late entry) for single-day events • $100 (pre-event entry) or $140 (late entry) for two-day events N.B, For non-Hobie run rounds see individual organisers for entry details

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Fine-tuning your tournament fishing approach SOUTHERN BAY

Nabeel Issa

When it comes to tournament fishing, successful anglers are always looking for that edge to get one up on their competitors. Quite often, it can be the subtle differences that can make or break a tournament result. If you have been in the scenario before, you would know full well how much of a change one bite can make to your day’s fishing. Catching that kicker fish is not just a gain on the scoreboard, it’s also a mental gain. Once that fish is in the well, your tone changes, your thought process changes, and you suddenly feel more energized. You are far more attentive and you know you are back in the game; it’s amazing what adrenaline can do! So how can you increase the chances of this happening? When competing against a high quality field of anglers, there aren’t too many 4

TAG 2017 abt

secrets, everyone is using the same lures, techniques and more often than not, fishing the same areas. Being able to find a niche and zone into a pattern is what will make you stand out. So here are a few ideas that can help get you a step ahead I won’t go into too much detail (I could fill up a book), but my hope is that this will start a change of thought process to get you thinking of ways you can give yourself an edge. DO YOUR HOMEWORK While it will ultimately come down to tournament day, putting in the early preparation work will reap dividends when it counts. Often anglers will associate the early prep work with fishing new systems, or systems that you may not regularly fish. Early preparation, even for local events, is a great starting point, as it helps get you thinking and in the right frame of mind. Resources such as Google Earth, Nearmap and Marine Maps are all great places to start. If you have access to Nearmap, it provides amazingly detailed

satellite imagery and is great for finding new fishy areas. I like to look at the moon phase, tides and also look at weather patterns. These are all variables that will affect your event, and understanding them and learning how to adapt if this changes is very important. Looking through previous tournament results is also a good idea, as this will help when it comes to lure selection, and give you an idea of what to expect for the time of year. Stock up on the gear you love. I’m sure there are a number of anglers who have been left short of their favourite lures due to them being sold out. A good example is the Cranka Crab – a must-have on the bream tournament circuit. It is also a lure that at times has been hard to come by. Whatever it is, be sure to get it well in advance to save you scrambling around the week before the tournament! Keep your fishing gear organised. Store your lures neatly, ensuring they are rust-free and ready to use. Having all your gear neatly

Storing everything so you can find it easily will ultimately mean more time spent fishing and not rummaging around in the boat.

packed in the boat means that when you need to find a particular lure or tool, you can easily get to it. There is nothing worse than having to go through the whole boat to find that pair of split ring pliers or that pack of trebles that you were sure you packed! Being organised will save you time on the water. UNDERWATER EYES It’s hard to ignore the technological advances in fish finders these days – it’s an important aspect to anyone’s fishing. A quick look through the boats at a tournament and you will quickly see that the majority of anglers are kitted out with some of the latest and greatest gear. Some anglers will never use their sounder to its full potential and some will rarely take it off the GPS screen. Sounders are our eyes under the water, and in my opinion, heavily under-used when it comes to tournament fishing, especially in the bream circuit. Here’s a few ways you can make the most of the technology. Side Scan Technology

is available with most sounder brands and prices have dropped dramatically over the years, making it affordable to all anglers. It basically allows you to scan the seabed over 50m

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Tournament Angler Guide

abt.org.au each side of the boat. So imagine being able to cover the whole width of a river, with just one pass! Now think about how helpful that could be for finding structure that nobody else

Keeping notes from your trips is fantastic way to get a particular location sussed.

has seen. It’s not all about finding big schools of fish on the sounder. Most of the time just locating bait, finding new structure, or keeping an eye on depth changes and water temperature can be enough to crack a pattern. Understanding how to use all the features on your sounder will help you in a big way, and there are so many tools available to us. We need to make the effort to learn how to use them in order to make the gains. CARRYING SPARES Ever been in that position where you wished you were throwing a different strength line? Maybe you’re downsizing from 4lb fluorocarbon to 2lb, or even going up a notch and looking for something heavier. If you can afford to have 20 rods on your boat, then this may be easy done. But for the rest of us, deciding what rod and reel combinations we take and what line we spool the reels with can be a daunting task. With a diverse range of fisheries on the tournament trail, you could be fishing 2lb in crystal clear water one day or up to 16lb in the oyster leases the next. One way to solve this problem is keeping a

The author believes that it’s important to look for any edge that you can get over other anglers. In a tournament scenario, it can make a world of difference. few spare spools. Some reels come with these as standard, but generally the higher end gear doesn’t, and it may mean buying a few aftermarket spools, which is well worth it in my opinion, as it gives you that extra option when it comes to deciding on lines. I keep an array

of different strength fluorocarbon lines, as well as braid from 6-12lb. This way I know I can cover any situation I come across, and there’s no need to compromise. A good idea is to label your spools, just so you can keep track of what is what (comparing 2lb with 3lb can be quite tricky!)

DEAR DIARY Your friends might ridicule you for it, so this might be one you keep hidden away, but keeping a diary of your fishing trips is a great way to keep track of patterns. I got this idea from Steve Morgan a couple of To page 6

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TAG 2017

abt From page 5

years ago after he showed me his notes from a few trips chasing threadfin salmon in the Brisbane River. He had detailed the times he fished and even had a few diagrams showing how he fished certain areas. It may seem a little overboard, but when I thought about it, a lot of really valuable information that we learn from fishing is just forgotten. We tell ourselves “I better remember that for next time”, but chances are, we will forget! Jotting down some information from a trip, whether it be good or bad will help you in the future. As time goes on and you increase your ‘database’ of information, you will be able to pick up consistent patterns that occur. For example, you might notice that in certain times of the year, the run-in tide fishes better. Maybe the barometric pressure reaching a certain point triggers a bite period. This is especially important for tournaments. After spending two or more days on the water you are bound to have learnt something new or picked up on a detail that helped you catch fish, or maybe even caused you to lose fish. This information is

Tournament Angler Guide gold; a successful angler is one that is always willing to learn. Whenever I can remember, I try to record as much information as I can from a fishing trip, noting down the moon phase, tides, lures used and any specific events

that occurred that day. It only takes a couple of minutes, but is well worth the time spent! Eventually, you will have a great bit of info up your sleeve that is going to help you on the water. If you are tech savvy, you could always collate this

When everything comes together, you should find yourself catching more fish.

information on a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet too, which would make it easy to search for key words! START FINE-TUNING I have found that

abt.org.au by breaking down the processes involved and dialling in on each trip, you can find ways to really home in. Anything you can change to better your

Using online mapping resources can give you an idea of what you’re in for, particularly if you’ve never fished a certain body of water before.

stormfishing.com.au 6

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angling is going to benefit your results in the long run. It only takes one cast, one bite, to turn it all around. We have all been there, and it’s a great feeling.

Â®

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Hobie winner’s winning notes – confidence is key Richard Somerton

Last year was very rewarding, and I enjoyed fishing the 2016 Hobie series. I went into this season with a bit more competitive drive, which I had been struggling with in the previous year. Again, it was a full calendar, with tournaments in Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and finally a return to Tassie! The Hobie Australasia team had again put another interesting and varied season together. BEGINNINGS It all started for me at Bemm River, an arena I have previously done extremely well in. Going into the competition I was confident of at least a top 10 finish. I didn’t adapt well to the sudden rise in water level, wind strength and the hammering my spots got on pre-fish, but I stuck to my plan, with the result of 32nd… ouch! With the biggest turnout ever in the kayak series of over 100 competitors, I knew it was 8

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going to be a big year. Mallacoota again put on the numbers and was the second of the World Qualifiers after Bemm, and one I wanted to get up on the podium and to gain back some vital Worlds team points. I had a good plan, that unfortunately relied on at least one good Mallacoota beast, and I didn’t quite get there, finishing 4th. It was great to see Carl Dubois take the win and it was the start of his dominance that would eventually see him take out a well-deserved Angler of the Year title. OVER THE DITCH! It was then time for Hobie to take the show overseas! That’s right, the black bream Mecca of Tasmania. I had fished the Scamander for trout once, and that was about it, and being yet another Worlds Qualifier, I had put hours of research in with Mr Cranka Crab himself, Steve Steer. Myself and a few others found it to be a tough bite, and not the system I had heard it was, and this combined with my reluctance to use soft plastics saw me finish a disappointing 12th, and

definitely not where I had told myself I would finish. A few days later and a short drive down the road was the Swan River, and the next round of the Hobie roadshow. I love this place, and have fished it both in tournaments and socially. It has flats, racks, rocks and is very tidal. It has everything an angler could want for black bream, including some true beasts. After the prefish, I was confident and even said to my wife Tanya, “I’ve got this.” Well, it might have been a bit cocky, but I have been told you must win it in your head before going on the field. Well, finally it all came together for me with a good kicker fish on each day backed by solid bags, and this saw me take out my first win of the series and a major boost to my confidence. BACK ON THE MAINLAND The season rolled on, and I managed a 6th at St Georges Basin, and being my first yellowfin event of the year, it gave me a bit of hope that my yellowfin mojo hadn’t left me leading up to the big event, the Forster round!

In the lead up to the Forster tournament, I studied maps, tides, previous locations and distances. The major unknown for me was the new launch site, as I had always fished events from down the front. Not being sure whether to hit the lake or not, I put all my efforts into throwing Cranka Crabs around racks. Again, I went into this event knowing I would win. I had convinced myself that was what was going to happen anyway… I admit, things got a bit shaky on the prefish when it was very slow, but when an area and a pattern came together again, my confidence skyrocketed. Over the next two days, I managed two good bags that included a cracking fish that took out my first ever Boss Hog big bream! In the end, taking out the win at Forster was pretty big for me for many reasons. This was the final Worlds scoring round, which saw me go from 5th and just in the team to the top qualifier. This was also my biggest win by numbers with the largest field ever at a kayak round in NSW of 96, and this just

shows how big the kayak tournament scene is getting. I managed to squeeze one more event in down at Nelson on a very swollen, dirty and flooding Glenelg River, and again I was thinking a good game until I pulled up on Thursday night and saw the state of the water. The doubts crept in and continued throughout the tournament. There were fish there, but for the first time this year, I didn’t fill my bag and came away with 6th place. WARMING UP FOR THE BIG DANCE Going through and wrapping up the year I had, it was evident to me that my mental state had a lot to do with my performance. The events I had convinced myself I was going to win, I performed well in or won! So, when the Australian Championship came around, I had it won. In my head, anyway… Preparation for the Gold Coast started with me pouring over maps and the internet trying to formulate a plan, as I had never fished there before. I wanted an area a long-distance peddle from the start so the fishing

pressure wouldn’t be too bad. The area had plenty of structure and hopefully a larger than average fish. I had ruled out the flats heading into the event due to what I had heard regarding the crazy boat traffic! I had a chat with fellow Cranka Pro Staffer Stephen Maas pointing out my plan and listened to his thoughts. He gave the thumbs up and a couple possible lure colours and I was confident with my starting plan. When the Championships rolled around, I was ready to go, with the only question mark hanging over my plan being the new Hobie drive, the reversible MD180. Would it be slower, harder or just so different that I wouldn’t be able to put my long-distance plan into action? Those doubts were soon gone ten minutes into the pre-fish. The drives were fast, and I could maintain a higher than average speed. I didn’t make the long run up to the comp day planned areas, instead finding similar locations closer to the start line. I worked through different canals trying several pontoons, jetties and boat hulls catching fish regularly.

I found pontoons on points, junctions and multiple ones together, which ended up being the standout spots. They just needed a little bit of water movement to check the final fishabilty box! COMP DAY Day one Day one of the tournament started with the usual pandemonium of the start followed by the settling into the long peddle to my first spot at the northern end of Sovereign Islands around 11km away. By the time I reached Ephraim Island, I was on my own and as I went past, I noticed some mangroves with cormorants in them. I put on a plastic and cast it to the nearest mangrove tree. Bang! I was on. Over the next 15 or so casts, it was almost a fish every cast, but with only one legal amongst them, I thought I may have been wasting my time. It was back to plan A. The next hour or so went slowly, with a couple of fish in the well from plastics thrown under pontoons until the tide started to run out, and that’s when the Cranka Crab in cockle and brown came into play along with the MD180 drive. I thought I wouldn’t use the reverse function much, but it turned out to be a game changer. I could position myself even in the strongest

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abt.org.au areas of tide up current, and then fish the crabs back under the pontoons and boats. I quickly got my last fish, and then a couple of small upgrades over the next few hours before it was time to start heading back, hitting some spots on the way. I ran into my peddling buddy Mitch King in a canal system just after I had scored a nice 700g fish on the crab. He was struggling, but told me they were just coming on. I moved up a small canal and got another upgrade followed by a legal, and then it was time to head back to the starting line. It was both an interesting and nervous wait to find out how my bag stood up against everyone else’s, and by the finish of the weigh-in I had a day one lead over the ever-dangerous Kris Hickson by only 20g! Day two The day two plan was very much the same as day one, with the only change being spending a bit more time in the mangroves of Ephraim Island. The legs were feeling the burn at the start, and there was definitely fewer kayaks going north by the time I hit the mangroves. As I approached the spot, I saw one tinny and another yak (non-competitor) on the best section of the mangroves. Bugger!

I found some birds in a large tree and fired in a cast. Bang! A small fish, but at least they were there. The next fish was deep hooked. Legal, but bleeding a bit, and I decided to let him swim. I hoped that didn’t turn out to be a wrong decision. The next fish was a nice one over 700g that hit hard, jumped twice and ended up hanging out of a tree! There was a moment of panic as I raced in and shoved the net under it. That was number one! A few casts later and another 500g fish in the well, I decided to head north and continue with the plan. It turned out to be very slow, with only a bit of by-catch. I also had the curse of the dreaded camera boat stalking me for a while. I added one to the live well that I plucked off a pontoon, but the owner seemed to take offense by charging down, starting his boat and revving his engine! I decided to move on, giving him a smile and a parting comment on his passive aggressive behaviour. By 11 o’clock, I was starting to doubt my plan and heading back down the system. I managed another reasonable legal, but I decided to hit another canal on the way home. By the time I got there, the tide was almost dead low and I

had an hour left before the peddle back. Luckily, the place was on fire! I filled my limit, upgraded three times and smacked a handful of legal fish on top of that. I felt confident, but I knew if the marinas had fired, it was going to be very close. CRUNCHING NUMBERS Again at the weigh-in,

It was an amazing feeling to see that bag of fish hit the scales and see my weight come out on top! After five Championships with a couple of close call podium finishes, it was fantastic to be able to get the win! I couldn’t have done it without the support of some great people and companies.

and keeping it fresh and exciting. I would also like to thank Duffrods, Cranka, Humminbird, SLH/Lovig Kayak Fishing and RhinoRack for their continued support and gear. All the other competitors that head all over Australia to compete definitely make the series what it is, and a huge hats off goes to each

The Gold Coast was an excellent venue for a Hobie Grand Final. it proved to be tough for some and better for others, and after a few words with the guys, I was feeling very confident.

I would like to thank Hobie Australasia for putting all the time, money and effort into running these tournaments year after year

and every one of them. Finally, I must thank my wife Tanya for all the belief, love, support, and understanding. Bring on next year!

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To be or not to be sponsored, that is the question

Elliot Fooks

Fishing is an industry the takes on many forms. For some, it’s a weekend passion, for others it’s their work, and for a lucky few, it’s both.

As anglers we are all heavily invested stakeholders in this industry, and we all have pride in fishing and what it has given us, but what can we give back? If you turn up to any ABT tournament, you will see a wide range of boats wrapped

with a plethora of sponsor logos, as well as anglers wearing jerseys from every brand under the sun. What do anglers and brands actually get out of these deals? And, more importantly, what do anglers and sponsors want from these deals? During my years

Sponsoring anglers is just one component of a company’s marketing strategy. The decision to sponsor an angler uses up money that could be spent elsewhere. Carl Jocumsen knows this well, and looks after his sponsors. 10

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working for ABT, I heard many anglers talk about sponsorship as both a privilege and a right. However, there’s a debate as to whether it should be viewed as a transaction or a job. WHO AM I? Sponsored anglers are just one part of a company’s complicated marketing mix, and the decision to sponsor an angler takes away from other areas the business can spend its marketing dollars on. While some sponsors will expect very little and give very little, if you want to be worth the investment the business needs to see a return. While it may not be popular to say being a sponsored angler is a job, that’s what it is. However, it should still be a positive experience for you, adding to your enjoyment and, in turn, helping the industry grow. While it may all sound like more work than it’s worth, the key is to think about what you can bring to our industry and sport. Let’s take a step back and think about assessing the skills you have and what you can bring to the table. Before you think about targeting sponsors you need to identify a few things. Identifying what drives

Tournaments often see many sponsored anglers getting together, all vying for that top spot. you to get out on the water should be easy. Your fishing passion may be solely competitive tournament fishing, or it may be broader. Look at identifying your

‘fishing brand’, which is the kind of fishing that people can associate with you. This brand will change and grow thoughout the cycle of the seasons.

Remember, much like the company that you want to represent, you have many dimensions. These are the areas that make you different from all the other anglers knocking on a company’s door. Your seasonal angling will start to help form the story of you as an angler, and help people connect with your story. The second thing to identify is what content of

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abt.org.au value you can produce. As we all can see, there are hundreds of anglers out there pushing their passion on all forms of social media, but what are your strengths and key differences? Much like your fishing, this is a skill set you need to evaluate and grow as time passes. Break this down like any business problem and look at creating a personal strength, weakness, opportunity and

threat analysis to see where you stand. At this point, it is critical to see where your skills are in relation to what you want to achieve, so I recommend doing this SWOT analysis by scanning the QR code hereby with an end goal in mind. Your content creation should go beyond photos of you holding a fish. It doesn’t hurt to tell the story of what you got the fish

It is critical to see where your skills are in relation to what you want to achieve before you think of approaching any potential sponsors.

on, where you caught it and what it means to you. For you, it may be about reviewing tackle through text and video, or it could even be a weekly podcast you create about your fishing adventures and what you caught your fish on. It’s also key to benchmark your output against others in the industry, as this is a great way for you to see who is represented in

the industry and what they are producing. Look at both the quality of the content and how regularly they are producing content, and this will give you an idea on what you will be expected to produce for a sponsor. While benchmarking gives you a start on what to do, you need to form your own style. This may not be a big change from what others are doing, but try to give

WEB LINK

Scan the QR code to do a SWOT analysis. To page 12

Once you know what content you want to create, you’ll be able to understand what you can do to add value to a brand.

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yourself a consistent point of difference from other anglers. It’s critical for all of us to not turn into copycats, as this devalues good content and sucks out the incentive to create different and interesting content. If there is content that excites you, don’t copy it. Instead, use it as inspiration to help push your own content. In turn, you will help push others to create and grow as anglers and producers. From here, you can begin to think about what value proposition you will be able to pitch to potential sponsors and who these sponsors could be. PITCHER UP? So you know what content you want to create, and you are starting to understand what you can do to add value to a brand. Now it’s time to assess which brands in the market you would be an asset to. Similar to assessing your own skills, you need to look at the products you use and understand what message and brand identity the marketing team of your chosen brand is putting out into the public domain. While it is easy to just look at your tackle and pick the brands you see the most of and say, “I will talk to them” – try to think past

Tournament Angler Guide the obvious. Look at brands that create products that fit into your style. This could be a wader and clothing company that fits more with your passion for shore game bass fishing, rather than traditional tournament gear. Try to identify a few brands that you have a connection to and start looking at the content they are creating. It should be very clear what each brand is good at doing, and where they concentrate their marketing. Look at every avenue of marketing that the brand uses. This could be across both social and traditional media. This will identify gaps in what they do, areas they could improve upon, and avenues they have never or aren’t currently exploring. This will give you areas where you can target your pitch to. Just remember that someone who is in the marketing department will have (or should have) based all their decisions on research and experience, and you are not the oracle. It’s about showing what you think is great about their company and what you can do to help in a positive and polite manor, because more often than not, marketing teams get emails demanding sponsorship for nothing. While assessing the target, it’s then time to

start building your skills in content creation and creating a folio of work. In a way, you are going to pitch for a job position they didn’t know they needed to fill, so you need to have some ‘wow’ factor. Show them the story of why you love their product and what

it means to you. In any part of life, it’s easier to have a connection to someone if you know their story, and for all of us, most of the lures in our tackle box can evoke a story. This story telling is a way you can thread yourself and the brand together and show

abt.org.au how you are not just asking for product, but rather, you want to be part of their team. When pitching, get creative in how you show this. Think about how your pitch links with your content. It could be as simple as emailing them a link to a video you have

Sponsored anglers will often wear their colours when out on the water.

created using their product, or possibly writing a review about the new product they have coming out and ask if they would like to publish it on their website. If you want something of value, put work into it and offer them something of value first. WHERE TO NOW? If you can’t say that you have a passion for the brand or believe in the product, don’t ask to be sponsored by them. It should be a product you’d be happy to promote even if you weren’t getting paid. Our fishing time is limited, and the companies’ financial commitment to the sport is also limited, so be honest with yourself and think about what you want to do in the fishing industry, because at the end of the day we are all stakeholders in the sport. While it may sound difficult to be sponsored or get sponsored, it’s always exciting to be part of the fishing industry. It may take time to get involved, but if it’s your passion, then create the content you want to see. Create goals for your fishing as a sponsored angler, and this way over the long term, you can show the brands you love what you are doing to help the industry. That’s the way to earn stronger support from fishing companies.

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A fresh approach to fishing structure for bream BRISBANE

Tom Slater

At the recent Gold Coast BREAM Qualifier one of the best-kept secrets of the Coast shone through, shedding the light on a new weapon in the increasing arsenal of the modern day bream angler… New techniques often arise out of the equally inspiring factors of location and equipment. Great anglers faced with new locations or armed with new equipment create or adapt new techniques. As word gets out, these techniques spread to the heads and hands of more and more anglers who each apply their individual experience and their own spin. Soon the new technique or lure’s popularity runs out of control and is used to catch fish all over the country. The clear waters of the Gold Coast’s canal system are ironically complex and present anglers with many challenges. Seeing fish is not the issue, but turning sightings of fish into fish in the livewell can be tricky. 14

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For a long time anglers relied on what can only be described as an ultra finesse approach to get finicky bream to bite. That approach can certainly work, but often anglers are left on the brink of insanity as they repeatedly watch fish after fish look but not bite their perfectly presented offerings. The weapon that was revealed at the most recent ABT event presented a complete turnaround from the days of unweighted plastics and 2lb fluoro. Grab yourself a chrome reflective pattern jerkbait and a pair of pliers and get ready for some of the hottest structureorientated bream fishing you’ve ever experienced. THE THEORY A wildly twitching super reflective, gaudy coloured jerkbait underneath a floating pontoon might ring alarm bells for some anglers, but rings the dinner bell for otherwise hard to tempt bream. Local bream fishing guru and Sporty’s Fishing staff member Alex Roy has honed this technique for many years and now relies

upon it more than any other when attempting to bag the biggest limit he can on the maze of canals that litter his home waters. “It all began with the desire to actively target a whole school of fish that were underneath a pontoon. We’d always thrown surface lures because of their draw

power but because the bait was always invisible to the vast majority of the fish sitting underneath the pontoon you would only ever draw out one or two fish. Tuning a jerkbait to run underneath the pontoon put it in front of the whole school. An erratic fast retrieve drew the first few

and once you had two or three the school would follow. It’s so effective because once you have the school interested pack mentality takes over and that’s often when the larger fish in the school assert their dominance.” THE TECHNIQUE This technique is

The Imakatsu IS Wasp 50 is the must-have lure for jerkbaiting pontoon bream.

perfectly suited to any floating source of shade. Most commonly this refers to pontoons, but boat hulls work equally as well. The basics involve getting a small 40-50mm shad profile mid-depth diving hardbait, bending the tow eyelet to deliberately force the lure to swim on its side and using that sideways swimming action to track your lure underneath the structure, drawing the attention of any fish suspended beneath. This isn’t a finesse approach either, retrieves are fast paced and full of twitches. Often the more erratic you can make your lure, the better, with the idea being that the less time the fish have to look closely at your lure, the less you have to serve them up the platter of ultra-realistic, super finesse hodgepodge that we’ve been feeding them up to this point. This is a place for heavy leaders and bright colours, the ones that normally lie dormant in the rusty corners of your tacklebox. The key in this technique lies in the tuning of the tow-point on the lure.

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abt.org.au Without this step, the lure fails to swim underneath the pontoon and you risk missing fish that might be holding on the far edge of the pontoon, unable to draw them from that distance. If you want to go the whole nine yards, equip yourself with two outfits, one with a lure that is tuned to swim right, and one

that is tuned to swim left. Switching out as you fish the face of the pontoon from the sides or back corners. To tune your lure, you need to bend the tow point eyelet on the bib of your lure in the direction you’d like the lure to swim (from the lure’s point of view). So if you’re looking down the back of the lure from

the tail towards the bib and you want the bait to swim right, you would bend the eyelet to the right, which if flipped looking head (bib) onto the lure, would be the left. Certain lures may require less or more tuning, and some can even be tuned by hand with no need for pliers. A side effect of tuning

In most cases the hits, hook-ups and fights will happen tight to structure.

Getting the attention of the whole school means the bigger fish will try to assert their dominance by striking first.

TOURNAMENT RODS FOR ALL ANGLERS

lures is a loss of absolute swimming depth, so a lure that would normally travel 5-6ft deep might only travel 1-2ft deep. This side effect is positive, as you want the lure as close to the underside of the pontoon as possible. If you were to attempt to tune an already shallow diving hardbody, you’d fail to achieve enough depth at the optimal retrieve speed to get the lure underneath the pontoon. Likewise attempting this method with an ultra deep diving lure will not have the lure high enough in the water column. When the fish are often focused on the underside of the structure

feeding, getting your lure up there is imperative. The retrieve is where this technique really stands out. There’s no room for slow rolls and dead sticking here. To ignite a school of bream underneath a pontoon you need to create competition. By getting multiple fish interested in your lure, you create a sense of panic among the fish. They’re worried another fish is going to steal their meal, so they bite hard and aggressively, and often the largest fish in the pack will assert their dominance. Begin by casting well past the pontoon or boat, as close to the edge as you can.

Then wind your lure down and allow the lure’s tune to take the lure on its side into the line of the pontoon. When your lure draws near to the structure, speed up, engaging twitches as you increase your lure speed. Don’t be afraid to work the lure the entire length of the pontoon before pausing. If you don’t get hit mid-retrieve the pause on the closest edge of the pontoon is likely where all hell will break loose. By then, you’ve hopefully received the attention of the whole school of bream that reside under the pontoon, and when your To page 16

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bait suddenly lies dormant their opportunity to strike will arise. It is best to keep your rod tip pointed towards the sky. An elevated rod tip will help limit the depth

Tournament Angler Guide of your lure, so you can keep it perfectly situated just below the bottom of the structure you’re fishing. Roy also believes this is the optimal position to strike from when the inevitable hit eventuates.

THE EQUIPMENT It’s important to equip yourself with the right gear for the job, and it all begins with the right bait. In this instance, a mid-diving shad profile jerkbait between 40-50mm is ideal. Gold

The Gold Coast’s canals are a great place to try out new techniques.

Coast gun Alex Roy, is a firm believer in the Imakatsu IS Wasp 50. “I will only ever use the Wasp, I’ve got so much confidence in that bait and it swims at the perfect depth. I just couldn’t bring myself to use anything else. The bait casts well, which helps when casting in windy conditions. It’s also handy to stay as far back from the pontoon as possible, especially since I’m in an aluminium boat that does suffer from hull slap noise more so than a fibreglass boat. The bait has a really thin tail, which aids the hook-up rate, plus it suspends perfectly. Probably my favourite trait is the fact that I can tune the lure with a forceful push of my thumbnail, not having to constantly reach for a pair of pliers.” The key is to look for baits that exhibit a great erratic action when twitched. You’ll also want to find one that suspends perfectly in saltwater. That pause once you’ve worked your bait the length of the pontoon or boat hull is the make or break moment, and a floating or sinking bait will look unnatural, which will cost you bites. Colour is where all modern trends go out the window. Manufacturers in

abt.org.au Australia have been so hellbent on making the most natural looking translucent colours in years past and for the most part, these are

the least effective colour patterns for this technique. Patterns with overriding chrome or reflective sides prevail on days when the

A well-worn Imakatsu IS Wasp that a Gold Coast bream couldn’t resist.

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abt.org.au sunrays make the reflective surfaces of the bait come to life. When the sun stays hidden behind the clouds, solid colours with a more matte finish tend to out-perform their blingy brethren. Roy’s favourite? Plain old white, “The thing with this

vibrant pearlescent finish.” You’ll want to get hold of a rod with a good tip, twitching lures at this pace requires good feel and a very soft slow tapered rod quite often lacks the feel required for imparting the perfect twitch. Ideally the perfect rod would exhibit a

being said, if I do hook a brute and need to put the hurt on, the bottom end has more than enough power to muscle them out on even 8 or 10lb line.” This is no place for spider web thin 2lb line. Fishing a braided line will help you create the small,

he needs to stay further away than anglers fishing in fibreglass boats. This technique also doesn’t require the lengthy leaders employed by a lot of southern bream fisherman. Roy explains there’s rarely a time where your leader knot even enters the water. “I always make my leaders the optimal length for maximum casting distance, which is having the knot just outside the reel when setting up to cast. Because I like to hold my rod tip up while I retrieve, the leader knot is almost always actually out of the water. You also

want really direct contact with the lure, and having a long leader will hinder that sensitivity.” PUTTING IT INTO PRACTICE Putting this technique into play requires knowing locations in your local waterway that are likely to hold good numbers of fish. The reason this works so well is that the speed and energy of the retrieve makes the fish react, and once you have multiple fish interested a frenzy takes over and they can’t help themselves. You’ll want to find pontoons that are holding a school of fish.

If there are only one or two fish on each pontoon or boat you aren’t going to spark that pack drive. While this technique first made headlines on the Gold Coast, there’s no doubt its potential carries far and wide from its origins. If you think about some of Australia’s best breaming waterways, there’s plenty to encourage anglers to adopt this new technique. Waterways like Sydney Harbour are poised to show their full potential as the ABT tour heads back for the muchanticipated Australian Open format in 2017.

Tuning the lure to track left or right is as simple as squeezing the eyelet left or right with your fingers. technique is the fish don’t ever get that long to look at it, and the whole premise relies on grabbing the attention of one, two then all of a sudden the whole school. So it’s no place for translucent patterns. Solid colours with bright contrast or flashy foil definitely work best. My favourite is a solid white pattern with a

cushioning bottom end as quite often hook-ups will be from a swiping strike with the hooks outside the mouth. Roy prefers the EDGE Black Widow 701ISR, “It’s a fast-actioned rod with the perfect tip for twitching lures, it’s not overly stiff through the middle section, which helps avoid pulling hooks. That

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erratic twitches, and also help to increase your casting distance. While this is close quarters fishing, having the ability to punch a fast, accurate and long cast will help to line up retrieves to maximise the time your lure spends underneath the structure. Roy believes the added noise from his aluminium hull boat means

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BassCat BASS Pro Series: the year of the river rat Elliott Fooks

ABT’s BASS anglers have honed their bass-catching craft on some of the best impoundments across Queensland and New South Wales for the last 15+ years. This still water focus has pushed anglers’ abilities, techniques and tackle to a point where fishing for impoundment bass is a refined art. In the late 1990s when it all began, a white 1/2oz Kokoda spinnerbait cast to the edge was king. As simple and effective as the Kokoda spinnerbait purchased from Big W was, there was a desire and need for anglers to evolve. Over time, developments in tackle design resulted in a tournament landscape filled with an expansive and eclectic assortment of tackle and techniques to help anglers catch fish regardless of where they were and what they wanted to eat. As the Bass Cat BASS Pro Series moves into its 19th tournament season in 18

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2017, the new series heralds a new frontier for anglers: the rivers. It’s a new chapter in the evolution of ABT tournaments. The inclusion of two river rounds and a river Grand Final offers new opportunities and challenges, and will create the most diverse BASS series Australian tournament anglers have ever had on offer. In 2016 we got a small taste of the river life, and if we are to take anything away from Kris Hickson’s victory in ABT’s inaugural river round on the Richmond River last year, it’s that the river rounds will bring out skill sets in our anglers that many of us have not witnessed before. 2017 will be the year of the bass fishing river rat. To give all anglers new to river fishing an insight into the tricks of the trade, we interviewed three of the best river rats on the tournament trail. We asked them to give us their insights on what’s in store on the 2017 tour, and share their ideas, tips, tricks, and must-haves for success on a very different tournament

landscape. THE ROAD AHEAD With every new season there is always an air of excitement for all anglers who are keen to hit the tournament trail, and 2017 is shaping up to be an even more exciting year for our trio of river rats. Last year’s Richmond River champion and 2016 Angler of the Year Kris Hickson is making the rivers a key focus for 2017. “With my busy tournament calendar for 2017, the BASS river rounds are going to receive a lot of my attention,” he said. “It’s really going to make for an exciting Angler of the Year race.” For Tom Slater there will be an even greater industry benefit to the change of focus. “I think we will see the evolution of equipment for river bass fishing explode with more coverage, and that can only help get the best tackle into the hands of bass anglers,” he said. Joe Urquhart agrees with Slater. “I really think it will help push every angler to

become better at their sport, as well as give them a better understanding of what works for them,” he said. The unknown quantity of the rivers provides opportunities to those

anglers with an intimate knowledge of river fishing, and it also freshens up the trail for experienced ABT anglers. The 2017 season looks like one of the best seasons to be an ABT

BASS angler. WHERE OH WHERE IS THAT BASS The Hawkesbury and Clarence rivers are much bigger than any impoundment we have

Beautiful environments and beautiful fish are all part of river fishing for bass.

abt.org.au here in Australia. It can be a daunting task to try to break down a river system to find where the bass will be located. As anglers it is going to take a shift in thought pattern to locate these fish. “Bass in the river behave

down on one spot if there’s enough water, but you need that movement to keep them feeding,” Slater said. Hickson sums it up very simply with an old saying: ‘If there’s no run, there’s no fun’. Staying with your tidal

coming from and where the fish will line up on the structure. It’s all about knowing where the bait will get pushed into first. For Urquhart, the age of a spot can be a telling factor as well. “Bass move up and

Having a range of baits is the key to finding success in river environments. completely differently from lake fish,” Urquhart explained. “During the times ABT are running the tournaments, most fish won’t be schooled up. They will be tight to structure.” Slater stressed the importance of knowing the annual migration patterns of the bass, and where their upper and lower travel limits are. “I really try to work out how far I think the bass will move down in a system to breed, and I try to work out how far back up they will be at any given stage,” he said. “From there I start looking at aerial maps to give me some starting points.” Once you have got an area to start fishing, it’s all about understanding the tides and where the fish will be throughout the session. It starts with a rise, ends will a fall and you need it to move. When asked about how to manage the tide, our anglers’ voices raised with excitement, with all three of them agreeing that an intimate knowledge of the tide is the first key to success. “You need to know what the tide is doing at each section of the river you want to fish,” explained Urquhart. “In big river systems you can have really big time differences in when it will be moving. This can even differ for opposite sides of a bank.” Having tidal movement is one of the triggers for bass to feed, and anglers need to manage this throughout the session. “Bass can move up and

movement will make for a big difference in the amount of river you can cover, so look at planning your session and fish with the tide. “You don’t want to be leap frogging yourself up the river,” Hickson said. “If the tide is pushing out then start fishing down with it and you will find more switched on fish.” GET TO KNOW YOUR A B C Once you have found the stretch of river to start fishing in, and you know your tide in the area, it’s now time to categorise your spots to focus your time even better. Slater begins a session looking for what he calls A, B and C spots. “You want to look for spots with good current pushing on to it, a good amount of shade plus places to ambush prey from,” he said. “These are your golden A spots – the ones you want to stop and focus your fishing on.” Remove the shade and the spot becomes a category B for Slater. They are still worth attention, but he will spend less time setting up for these spots. “I try to focus on a high percentage of A spots and cover water between these key spots. It is all about only spending time on the best spots in a river full of great snags,” he said. While our two other anglers look for the same elements in a spot, for Urquhart and Hickson there are a couple of extra key details they look for. Hickson needs to know where the bait will be

down a river throughout their whole life and they get to know where to stop off for a rest,” he explained. “Old fallen trees will have been used by these fish in the past. Bass can be creatures of habit.” For anglers making a change to the river for the first time, Urquhart has some more wisdom. “Bass are great food for sharks and big cod which means they won’t move far to eat your lure,” he explained. “You need to find the structure they are hiding in.” SKIP IT, FLIP IT, PITCH IT AND MAKE SURE IT’S IN DEEP With the bass sitting tight to the structure, hiding from sharks and other predators, your casting accuracy is going to be tested. “A missed cast will mean a missed fish,” Hickson warned. “You will only get one shot at each fish.” Each of our anglers stressed the importance of taking time to position yourself so you can make the best possible cast. “When I come to an A grade spot I take an extra few moments before I make a cast,” Slater said. “You really need to get it perfect first go.” Urquhart agreed. “You need to get your lure as deep into the structure as possible, and I will use any method of casting to do so,” he said. Both Hickson and Slater believe it’s time for anglers to learn new types of casting techniques.

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“For me, skip casting and landing the lure softly have really helped all my structure fishing,” Hickson said. “Bass will reward a good cast.” Slater thinks that flipping and pitching will come to the forefront in the coming season. “I like to cover water quickly all day, and pitching really helps cover water with short, rapid casts when fish are tight to

structure,” he said. IT’S TOOL TIME To create these perfect casts our anglers use different tools to get the job done. Slater, who focuses on flipping and pitch, looks for a baitcasting rod longer than 7’ to get the job done. “I position the boat 6-10ft out from the bank so I want a rod that allows me to easily pitch my bait in and give me good control,” he explained. “It means I

can cast with less effort and control the fall of the bait.” Urquhart opts for a baitcasting outfit as well, but he favours a shorter rod and looks for one in the 6’5” range. “I find the shorter rods give me better control and allow for more casting angles,” he said. Hickson also sticks with the shorter rods, but a spinning reel is his first choice. This option allows Hickson to skip

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River currents and tides are a whole new consideration for the river rat.

cast his baits deep into the structure without the fear of backlashes. The days of the standard 7’ rod are

abt.org.au like jack fishing, you can have less than a second to turn the boat and get that fish out of cover,” Urquhart

Urquhart thinks the smaller boats in the field can use their size to their advantage. “In the rivers there are

KEY LESSONS FROM THE MASTER RATS Here are five things to do in 2017. 1. Get back out in the yard and practice your casting, and then spend 30 minutes at the end of each fishing trip practicing different casting techniques. It’s time to skip and pitch like a BASS Elite angler. 2. It’s time to get intimate with bass. You need learn their breeding and movement patterns. Where will they be in the river system come tournament time? Do you know where the bass will be next Tuesday at 1pm? It’s time to research. 3. Learn to read the water, know where your current breaks are and where fish will be sitting in the structure. 4. Know your tidal differences. You need to pinpoint where the tide will be running at every stage of the tide. When there’s no run there’s no fun. 5. Don’t throw your confidence out the window. It may all sound like you’re going to Africa to fish for a new species, but start with key baits and techniques you have confidence in, and grow from there. numbered on the rivers, and anglers will need to pitch the best rod for each specific job. While all three anglers have different ideas when it comes to rod selection, they all agree that your electric and boat set-up are key to landing those fish, and cable-steer electric motors are a must-have for the rivers. “Cable steer electric motors will help you get fish out of the structure and allow you to position yourself for your cast far better than an electric drive,” explained Hickson. “Bass fishing can be

explained. “Direct steering gives you another 10% in your favour.” You won’t see shallow water anchors being used in lakes often, but Slater believes his Talon is almost as important as his electric motor. “Having a Talon allows me to stop dead in position and get that perfect cast in,” he explained. “Once I get the bass in the boat it also allows me to stop and put fish in the live well without drifting over my other key spots.” While most anglers dream of running a fast fibreglass bass boat,

so many great spots that the bigger boats just can’t fit into,” he said. “Although you may not have the speed that the big boats have, you can find some great water all to yourself in a small boat.” If you’re a non-boater with a smaller boat wanting to try a round as a boater, the river may be the place to start. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT? When it comes to baits, all three of our anglers spoke of having one key bait they’re confident throwing, and then expand To page 22

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their offering from there. “Bass will eat almost anything during the day and night, but only in very

Tournament Angler Guide specific windows,” said Urquhart. Slater explained further that it isn’t about one key lure for all the structure on offer.

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It’s about identifying the key bait for the moment you’re fishing in. When pressed for what baits are a must, Slater said he starts with a dark coloured jig with a blade attached and a weedless soft plastic. Hickson and Urquhart also favour weedless plastics, but both think you can’t go past having a deep crankbait and spinnerbait set up on

your rods. “I really don’t like saying that one lure is going to work,” Hickson said. “It’s

abt.org.au that perform well in tight structure. COME ON DOWN! While most anglers have

tides. It’s a fun new challenge and a new skill to put in your quiver. It’s going to be an

Spinnerbaits are a staple for many river rats.

Kris Hickson knows his way around rivers, and his results definitely reflect this.

about confidence in your lure and presenting it deep in the structure, and changing until you find the key on the day.” While all three anglers were hesitant to make a definitive list of lures, their choices all point to lures

years of experience on the waters above the dam wall, it’s time to get down in the flowing water. It’s time to do some homework and look at how bream anglers target fish in the flowing water, practice your casting and learn your

exciting year on the 2017 Bass Cat BASS Pro series, showcasing new skills and helping anglers grow. Whoever wins the 2017 Angler of the Year will have to master both the still and the moving bass waters.

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Big bait swimbait madness for XOS barra Simon Goldsmith simon@fishingmonthly.com.au

You would have to be blind or hiding under a rock not to be aware of the swimbait trend that’s making its way through the Australian sportfishing scene at the moment. Highly addictive to use, swimbaits are by no means a new phenomena, though the current wave of interest in them is exposing anglers, and fish, to baits and presentations that both haven’t seen before. When thinking about big baits, and especially big swimbaits, it’s hard to not think of barra, with the thought of a 120cm Faust giant inhaling your $100 swimbait enough to get any angler licking their lips. Are swimbaits for barra addictive? Yes. Effective? Yes. Are they the great all-rounder that will put fish in the boat like a Slick Rig? Definitely not. They are, however, an effective tool, that in the right place, and at the right time will tempt fish, when others fail. 24

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LOOKING BACK As I mentioned, swimbaits are nothing new on the barra front and in the early 2000s when impoundment barra fishing was on a rapid rise there was a small group of progressive anglers throwing them. Most of the baits they threw they sourced from the US, or had been brought to our shores by visiting anglers from overseas. Steve Morgan had some pretty heavy exposure to what swimbaits could do in the mid 2000s when fishing various West Coast events in iconic California lakes like Clear Lake. “The learning curve is pretty steep when you’re in the boat on one of the hottest swimbaiting lakes on the planet with the guys that were instrumental in creating the technique,” Steve said. “There are a lot of Californian lakes that get an annual top-up of yearling trout. Trophy largemouth bass gorge themselves on these – sometimes straight out of the hatchery truck. That was the genesis of a lot of the 8-12 inch long hard, jointed baits and XOS plastic swimbaits like the Huddleston.

“The most effective one I found for use in Australia was a Mission Fish, which was a snagproof, cast-anywhere soft plastic paddle tail with a concealed hook. Trouble was that it was basically barraproof as well. They’d eat the hell out of it and all you’d end up with was a foot of scuffed leader,” Steve continued. Still, experiences like these planted the seed for future development. An angler that has squeezed a lifetime of barra fishing into the last 15 years is Jason Wilhelm, a barra guide at Lake Awoonga in its glory years, and the winner of the inaugural BARRA Tour event (Lake Awoonga, 2005), Jason has spent many years trialling and refining catching barra on swimbaits. “One of the first barra I landed on Lake Awoonga back in 2003 spewed up a giant bony bream around 300mm long. It immediately got me thinking, why am I using such small lures for fish that obviously eat such large prey? From there my interest in big baits started and in 2005 after taking Bushy fishing on Awoonga and sharing my perspective and experience,

he went away designed a series of boney bream imitation prototypes, and after extensive R and D and trial and error the legendary Squidgy Bony Bream was born. It became pretty clear during some of those onwater R and D sessions that big lures stood out over every

other presentation, but it was also apparent that there were other times when they yielded no interest at all,” explained Wilhelm. IN ITS PLACE While it can be easy to get wrapped up in the hype of the swimbait craze, it’s important to keep our feet

firmly planted on the ground. Jason Wilhelm thinks this is very important. “Plenty of time onwater chasing barra has shown me that big swimbaits are an important string to your barra fishing bow. Don’t make the mistake, however, of thinking that they’re the magic bullet

The rewards for fishing big baits for barra can be awesome.

for catching giant fish, or will deliver you fish every time you use them. It’s important to keep their ability and use in perspective”. Carl Jocumsen is an angler who’s perhaps thrown more swimbaits than any other Aussie angler, and just like when targeting largemouth bass, he sees swimbaits as the lure to pick up and throw when big fish is on the menu. “We’ll fill our limit with jigs, cranks, or whatever they’re keyed in on, and once

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abt.org.au we have our bag we’ll pick up and throw the swimbait to try and catch a mega upgrade. A big swimbait can trigger the apex predator to bite like nothing else will, and I use and have had success using this approach when chasing barra,” explains Carl. And that’s exactly what our 2016 Zerek BARRA Tour Team of the Year Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder did on the 2016 BARRA Tour. “We’d fill our limit with

traditional lures like Slick Rigs, and once we had our limit one of us will put it down then pick up the swimbait rod and throw big swimbaits for the rest of session,” explained De Ridder. It’s an approach that regularly pays dividends for the pair and generates that big bite when the big fish come out to play late in the session. “Late at night is often when the smaller fish will retreat and the bigger fish will begin to move and feed,

Purpose-built rods and reels are important when fishing such a large bait.

so the timing with pulling out the big baits is often perfectly coincided.” “In some ways I think the fish may be looking for that last big meal before they retire for the night and retreat back to the weed or deep to rest and digest what they’ve eating during their period of feeding.” WHEN DO WE DO THIS? While De Ridder has given us an insight into when and what time of the day they’ll pick up their elephant hunting swimbait rods and start throwing XOS baits for XOS barra, there are prime times of the year for swimbaits, particularly at Peter Faust Dam, the lake they find tends to be the pick for catching barra on swimbaits. “The end of September through to late January seems to be the peak for swimbaiting,” Griffiths says. “We theorize that outside of this the fish are feeding on different sized bonies, feeding on something other than bonies, or feeding in a manner that makes them less willing to eat a swimbait. It also seems to be more an after dark thing rather than during the day.” Jason Wilhelm sees a similar warm water pattern; one he thinks is driven by digestion and metabolism. “When the weather and water is warm and the fish

are in full active feeding mode they seem to be more willing to eat big baits. Their feeding and digestion is in overdrive and it’s when that it’s like that that I will pull out the big swimbaits,” explains Wilhelm. BAIT UP There are many different swimbait types available and while there are at times overlaps or hybrid combination of different types they can essentially be categorized into three distinct groups, hardbody, soft body and paddle-tail. Within each of these groups there are subcategories, let’s take a look at them. HARDBODY Single jointed baits Made of two solid body parts joined by a hinged connection. This joint allows the lure to swim when it’s retrieve through the water. Glide baits A single piece swimbait that in most cases has a sleek hydrodynamic profile that gives the lure a wide more elegant s-shaped swimming action. A lure that can be worked slower than a single joint swimbait and can have a stop start retrieve imparted to it like a jerkbait. Multi-jointed baits A bait made of more than two sections hinged together. They have a wider smoother action than single jointed

baits and deliver plenty of noise due to all their joints and body parts. SOFT BODY Full Body A one-piece soft body swimbait that generally has trebles attached to the belly. Line through As the name implies the line runs through the nose of the bait and exits on the top of the bottom of the bait. You then connect the line to the hook. The bait runs up the line during the fight minimizing damage to the bait and eliminating the fish using the lure as leverage during the fight to dislodge it. Top Hook Features a hook that runs from the nose, where the eye of the hook is, and exits through the back on the top of the bait. Can come in a variety of different weights including weightless. Has great hook exposure, hook up rate, and are great for fishing along the bottom. Some come with an eyelet at the bottom for fitting a treble. PADDLE-TAIL Hollow body A hollow tube-body style paddle-tail bait. Their hollow body makes them soft and provides good hookset due to the fact that they compress easily when bitten. They come either unweighted or with a belly weight style To page 26

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hook set-up. Can be fitted with a variety of hook and weight set ups. Solid Body This is the most well known and popular type of swimbait for barra (a Squidgy Slick Rig is one of these). Their solid body

design makes them highly durable, allows them to stay rigged correctly for longer, and allows for good hook exposure and penetration. Has hook position and location the same as top hook soft body swimbaits, with the eyelet at the nose or on top of the head with the hook point

Swimbaits come in all shapes and sizes, it’s just a matter of picking the right one for the situation.

located on the back. Come pre-rigged or can be rigged in multiple ways with aftermarket hooks and weights. TIE ONE ON When it’s go time to tie on and start throwing a swimbait, Griffiths go-to is of the soft bait variety. Having tinkered and trialed his own hand poured paddle tail swimbaits for the last three years, Craig has created a selection of large hand pours he believes are on the money.

“We’ve imported a lot of soft swimbaits over the years and while many of them worked well after a lot or trial and research we created a bait that is tailor made for barra,” explained Griffiths. Being rather tight lipped about the exact nature of his hand poured swimbaits, Griffiths did give us some insight into their size, where and when they fished them and how they fished them. “Our baits are anywhere

abt.org.au between 170 and 250mm long. Up to 200mm in size we’ll rig them on our custom made jigheads, once we get larger than that we’ll mould it all in one. Once you get over that size you’re less inclined to get body roll in the lure and it’s more just a tail beat from the paddle tail,” explained Griffiths. Once he has his limit Griffiths will fish deeper and wider with his swimbait than he does when chasing limit sized fish.

Among all the soft swimbaits available, the Zerek Flat Shad has developed a following.

“The bigger fish are out wider and we’ll weight the swimbait so we can fish our swimbait slow, retrieving it slow and methodical across the bottom,” explained Craig. “It can be slow and hard going throwing swimbaits, and you can do it for very little return. The key to catching fish on them is to use them, and use them often and not put them down. The more you use them the more confidence you will get in them and confidence is the key to success,” concluded Craig. Another guy who’s a sucker for a big paddle-tail swimbait is Troy Dickson from Wilson Fishing and on the 2016 Zerek BARRA Tour he got to experience the power of throwing XOS bait. “We’d throw the 7” Zerek Flat Shad to fill our limit then one of us would cut that off and we’d tie on the 9” version to catch a big girl. We’d fish the same area, throw the big bait long and hard and retrieve it back with a slow roll. As long as you could feel the thump of the tail beat through the rod you were all good,” explained Troy. While the 9” Flat Shad comes pre-rigged on a on a weighted, chemically sharpened Mustad worm hook Troy retrofitted it, rigging it on a 12/0 Mustad Big Game jighead.

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abt.org.au GET HARD Carl’s a sucker for a big swimbait, years in the US has seen to that, and it’s the hard variety that he ties on more than any. “There’s something captivating about how a big swimbait works its way through the water and when it comes to a commanding presence and ability to push the buttons of fish a hard

swimbait is hard to go past,” explains Carl. For his barra fishing Carl favours some of his go-to largemouth bass glide baits and jointed swimbaits. Wind blown ambush points such as weed edges and channels featuring broken weed and weed towers are prime places for Carl to throw a swimbait. “The shallow running

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swimbaits are most effective when the barra are looking up or the bait is getting silhouetted against a big sunning sky or moonlit night,” explains Carl. In locations such as these Carl will fish his bait slow and methodical, and he’ll try and cover as much water as he can, ensuring his lure stays in the strike zone as long as it can, and that the lure works as it’s designed to do, sliding, rolling and gliding throughout the retrieve. “Swimbaits aren’t like a jerkbait that you rip and work to get it to swim. In contrast you don’t want to over work them. Largemouth at times will shadow a swimbait for quite some distance before they eat it. I find barra won’t tend to do this, they instead will ambush the lure comes it comes into its feeding zone. So you want to make sure you give them every chance to eat it,” explains Carl. Karim is another angler who loves his hard swimbaits. “My number one swimbait is definitely the big paddle-tail soft plastics but I also love throwing hard swimbaits. I especially like the big glide baits such as the Lucky Crafts, Live Targets and Rapalas, and find fishing them over the top of weed or sinking them

A great time to use swimbaits is at night. down deep to flooded weed an effective way to catch fish,” explains Karim. Karim matches the retrieve to the lure, and of course, the lure to the location that he’s fishing. When fishing big soft paddle-tails he’ll work them with a slow rolling, with occasional burn, retrieve grubbed across the bottom, while for the glide baits he fishes with a slow roll across the top, or with a series of sweeps with an occasional pause.

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THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Jon Millard is an NQ lure junkie that’s been throwing swimbaits for barra for many years and he’s equally at home throwing hard and soft swimbaits, both in the shallows and in the deep. “I’ve been throwing swimbaits for quite a while. I first started throwing them on the Ross River in Townsville before I even started fishing the dams,” explains Jon. An angler that sees swimbaits as another lure

option to fish in most locations and opportunities rather than just a big bait to throw after dark for kicker fish, Jon’s go-to hard swimbait is of the single jointed variety. “The multi jointed swimbaits may look more natural to the eye with their snaking swimming action but I actually find the barra prefer a more side-to-side gliding action that you get from single joint baits,” explains Jon. A very open-minded angler, Jon will fish swimbaits To page 28

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From page 27

super shallow for fish held up in weed, and also down deep to fish stacked up in the main basin. “Swimbaits are very diverse, you get them in different sizes, actions, and sink rates so there’s a bait that you can fish in just about any situation. My favourite hard ones are the Gan Craft Jointed Craw and Megabass Limberlamber, while when it comes to soft swimbaits I like the 6 ½” Strike King Shadalicious, Storm Suspending Shad, and Imakatsu Bacurato,” explains Jon. “I think some people sell swimbaits a little short and don’t take full advantage of what they have to offer. They’re more than a one trick lure variety, and if you only see them as an upgrade option you’re missing out.” POLES APART When it comes to throwing big swimbaits, the gear used to do it is poles apart from standard barra tackle. “The demands and pressures on tackle when throwing swimbaits are immense. You’re talking about lures that are up to 30cm long and 8oz (226g) in weight. The load that a lure of this size puts on a rod is enormous, and the stress and shock it imparts on the reel and line is like nothing

Carl Jocumsen applied a bit of large mouth bass methodology to tempt this Faust kicker on a big hard swimbait. else in cast and retrieve barra fishing,” explains Carl. Successful swimbait fishing requires a dedicated tackle system and in many ways the system starts with the rod. A rod that needs enough flex to be a casting rod, yet the strength to launch a heavy lure a long way. A man that knows rods and rod building intimately is Ian Miller of Millerods fame. The man that makes the swimbait rods that Carl exclusively uses, Ian says there are many key

elements that a swimbait rod needs to have. “When it comes to swimbait rods, it’s important to keep in mind that it’s all about the lure. The main job of the rod is to cast a potentially big, heavy lure so it can be presented in the strike zone, and because swimbaits come in many sizes and weights, the rod must match the lure weights you intend to use. “While barra will take huge swimbaits, the majority of suitable lures currently in vogue are in the range of

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around 50-100g or so. Don’t get too confused by line breaking strains for the rod, just check rod specifications for recommended lure weights to make sure your swimbait rod is suitable for these lure weights (what you’ll likely be using). If you want to throw really ‘big baits’ then you’ll need a more powerful rod, and that will be a completely different animal... because one rod won’t do it all,” Ian says. “When it comes to rod action, the rod should load easily without a severe ‘lockup’ point on the blank. This is kinder to hook-holds of trebles and this smoother action will also assist you to cast more easily as the rod will do the work for you”. “Most swimbait rods are longer than we traditionally use for barra fishing. Quite simply, a long rod will cast further and more easily than a short rod and getting good distance is important when fishing swimbaits. A longer rod can incorporate a nice high reel position for comfortable casting, has plenty of tip length to swing hard with, and has room to incorporate that smooth action. The rod really needs to be getting toward 8ft in length to do this. Obviously, a long, powerful rod can easily become heavy and unpleasant to use, so it’s important to me that the rod should be relatively light in the hand, and well balanced. I also want sensitivity to get feedback so I know the lure is swimming properly, and where it is in relation to structure”. “A swimbait rod that’s designed for casting heavy lures of 100g or more should, by necessity, have enough inherent power to catch barra. But be aware that a swimbait rod that’s designed for smaller baits up to about 60g may not be quite up to the job, especially around bigger fish”. “Swimbaits were developed in the USA and many American rods can be used here, because

abt.org.au it really is more about the lure than the species. There are a couple of potential drawbacks though, such as one-piece construction that for rods of this length can be a hassle for many of us, and small guide trains. For these reasons it’s well worth considering the handful of ‘Aussie designed’ swimbait rods, which are already available. And the fact is this is one area of fishing where a good technique-specific rod design not only makes fishing big swimbaits possible, it actually makes it amazingly easy,” concludes Ian. Another man that knows much about swimbait rod design is Troy Dixon from Wilson Fishing. The distributor of Zerek lures and the manufacturer of Venom Rods, Troy has been instrumental in the design of the Venom Swimbait rod, a rod designed by Australians for Australia species and applications. “The rod was designed to cast lures, and not just to lob lures, but to actually load hard and power cast lures a long way. It does that and it will throw swimbaits up to 180g with ease. It also has the strength to allow you to muscle big barra, something

GETTING TACKLED The second import element in the swimbait tackle system is the reel, and traditional low profile barra baitcaster don’t quite cut the mustard, especially when throwing big swimbaits. “Big baits are hard on a reel, with their heavy weight prone to chewing out reel gears due to the relentless grinding of retrieving big swimbaits. Large barrel size reels in the 300-400 size are way to go to handle the rigors of this style of fishing,” explains Ian Miller. Carl has experienced it first hand what heavy swimbaits can do to a reel that’s not up to task, and for him it’s the Shimano Calcutta 300B and Shimano Calcutta Conquest 400 when it comes to hurling swimbaits. “You need the bigger spool reel to handle the power and rotational speed that’s generated during the cast, and you also need the extra line capacity that a big barrel reel delivers,” explains Carl. GET SWIMMING Swimbaits have definitely raised the roof when it comes to the size of baits that anglers will throw, the question is how big is too big and what’s the biggest swimbait that barra are likely to eat?

Fishing Monthly’s Steve Morgan started experimenting with swimbaits over 10 years ago, but found a lot of the earlier models weren’t well suited to barra. not every rod designed for barra can do. What a rod of this caliber does though is that it can then expose weaknesses in your terminal tackle due to the power that you can exert with the rod,” explains Troy. As I mentioned, when it comes to the tackle for swimbaits, it’s a complete system and for the system to work all parts needs to be up to scratch.

“We’ve seen barra with 300mm plus bonies stuck in mouth and we’ve seen the size of some of the bait swimming around in places like Peter Faust Dam. I don’t think barra eating swimbaits that are 300-320mm long is out of the question. Sure, it won’t be very common, but when it does happen it’s going to be like nothing else we’ve experienced in impoundment fishing barra fishing so far.

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2016 ABT Rankings and Angler of the Year The cream rose to the top in 2016 with a host champions finishing the tournament season on a high. Victoria’s Warren Carter showed that he’d lost none of his bream fishing prowess while fishing on the BASS Pro tour to finish the year with the Power-Pole BREAM AOY trophy on his mantelpiece. Last year’s nonboater AOY champion Stuart Walker made it back-to-back titles, with his three round wins for the year anchoring his AOY win. Man-on-fire

Mark Crompton finished the season as the number ranking breaming boater while Stuart Walker added the number one nonboater ranking to his AOY title. On the bass front Kris Hickson claimed the Bassman Angler of the Year crown, while bass debutant Paul Aldous picked up the nonboater title. Steve Kanowski finished another BASS Pro season as the number one ranked BASS Pro boater while Brett Hyde ascended to the top of the non-boater rankings tree.

Adrian Wilson once again had a stellar year on the BASS Electric tournament trail wrapping up his season with a solid result in the Bluefin/ ePropulsion BASS Electric Convention to retain his number one BASS Electric Ranking. Wilson however relinquished his AOY crown from 2015 with tournament stalwart Les Smith winning the Angler of the Year title courtesy of a career best year on tour. BREAM kayakers had a big year on tour in 2016 with Carl Dubois breaking

Terry Allwood stands proudly with his family and his 2016 Basscat BASS Pro Grand Final shield.

Warren Carter motored to success in 2016 winning both the Mercury Cup and Power-Pole BREAM AOY titles

BREAM PRO RANKINGS

through for his maiden Angler of the Year win. With Richard Somerton (2nd) and Chris Burbidge (3rd) just behind him in the points race, it’s year that Dubious is sure to savor, and I’m sure driven to try and repeat. Chris Burbidge continued his year as the king of the rankings, finishing the year at the number one ranked bream kayaker in the country.

BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Mark Crompton Kris Hickson Steve Gill Warren Carter Cameron Whittam Brad Hodges Ross Cannizzaro Steve Morgan Tom Slater Russell Babekuhl

Barra was once again on the menu in 2016 with the formidable pairing of Craig Griffiths and Karim De Ridder retaining their Team of the Year title. It was a hotly contested race though and while Griffiths and De Ridder were quick out of the gate claiming victory in the first two events of the 2016 Zerek BARRA Tour, they only won the TOY title by one

point of a strong finishing Matthew and Dylan Mott who claimed victory in the final two rounds at Peter Faust Dam. Griffiths and De Ridder finished the tour on a double high with both anglers finishing the year as the number one ranked BARRA angler. For full rankings, records, and earnings of each species and series visit www.abt.org.au.

NON-BOATER 257 250 242 220 210 191 183 180 156 155

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Clint Voss Grayson Fong Simon Johnson Alex Franchuk Jonathon Thompson Shaun Egan Mike Hodges Rodney O’Sullivan Jesse Rotin

267 217 211 206 203 194 193 186 181 160

BREAM PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 30

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Warren Carter Cameron Whittam Mark Crompton Steve Morgan Steve Gill Kristoffer Hickson Russell Babekuhl Graham Franklin Jason Harlock Chris Seeto

NON-BOATER 386 382 381 380 380 375 368 360 356 346

t 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stuart Walker Grayson Fong Clint Northcott Rodney O’Sullivan Jonathan Thompson Bernard Kong Blake O’Grady James Morgan Mick Thompson Tanya Konsul

390 384 379 377 372 366 364 352 350 329

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Tournament Angler Guide

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BREAM KAYAK RANKINGS 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Chris Burbidge Richard Somerton Michael Maas Glenn Allen Simon Morley Carl Dubois Stewart Dunn Ben Phayer Tony Pettie Jason Meech

BREAM KAYAK AOY 333 292 279 279 272 249 245 234 228 221

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Carl Dubois Richard Somerton Chris Burbidge Tony Pettie Michael Halliday Simon Morley Mitch King Aaron Williams Jason Meech Glenn Allen

493 488 456 455 454 454 448 443 438 437

BASS PRO RANKINGS BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stephen Kanowski Warren Carter Kristoffer Hickson David Young Paul Gillespie Mark Lennox Peter Phelps Craig Simmons Tom Slater Mitchell Cone

NON-BOATER 238 217 213 205 204 202 193 190 182 177

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Brett Hyde James Reid Peter Morgan Luke Draper Shaun Falkenhagen Jason Martin Ben Randell Tony Neal Cameron Ley Owen McPaul

208 199 194 184 180 170 168 157 150 149

BASS PRO ANGLER OF THE YEAR (AOY) BOATER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Kris Hickson Brian Everingham Mitchell Cone Simon Marchant Tom Slater Craig Simmons Owen McPaul Mark Lennox Peter Phelps Daniel Brown

NON-BOATER 291 288 288 285 285 282 279 279 276 274

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Paul Aldous Brett Hyde Aimee Thompson Tony Neal Jason Martin Mark King Simon Johnson James Reid Ben Randell Orton Marchant

281 281 280 277 275 273 271 270 266 266

BASS ELECTRIC RANKINGS BASS ELECTRIC AOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Adrian Wilson Charles West Jonathon Bale Tom Reynolds Les Smith Tim Steenhuis Rebecca Smith Robert Butler Joseph Urquhart Brett Kleinschmidt

386 365 354 310 300 296 268 248 209 202

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9

BARRA RANKINGS 1 1 3 3 5 5 7 7 9 9

Craig Griffiths Karim De Ridder Ashley Sims Dan Curry Dustin Sippel Rick Napier Jake Mitchell Wally Wilton Geoff Newby Phil Lyons

234 234 181 181 166 166 164 164 160 160

Les Smith Charles West Johathon Bale Adrian Wilson Dean Thompson Chris Osley Brett Kleinschmidt Tom Reynolds Jeremy Mcconnell Tim Stenhuis

472 464 442 382 371 368 350 347 280 280

BARRA TOY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Humminbird/Ej Todd South Burnett Directions Cairns Custom Sunline Likely Lads Jackall Triton/Edge Rods Rent Star Get Flicked Tree Huggers

Craig Griffiths/Karim Deridder Matthew Mott/Dylan Mott Wally Wilton/Jake Mitchell Trent Short/Matt Gibson Geoff Newby/Phil Lyons Ash Sims/Dan Curry Rick Napier/Dustin Sippel Omar Hamid/Chase Bursnall Shane Snell/Ryan Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Donoghue Mick Weick/Brendan Barnett

299 298 295 293 290 289 271 270 270 270

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The subscriber prize winner for December was C Woods of Emu Plains, who won an Aquayak Kayaks Snapper Pro valued at $599. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

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The answers to Find the DX Point Logo for December were: 17, 19, 20, 32, 36, 41, 57, 60, 65, 68, 72, 85, 97, 103, 110. – NSWFM The Find the DX Point logo prize winners for December were: C Carter of Richmond, F Sear of Junee, E Clarke of Goulburn, D Thompson of Warilla, R Miner of Bidwill, I Errey of Leeton, M Thompson of Hillvue, A Hepper of Iluka, J Stranner of Rose Bay, D Chandler of Theodore, M Donnelly of Bungendore, R Grace of Nambucca Heads, J Smith of Kelso, K Carter of Shepparton, P Dobson of Glenmore Park, L Robinson of Fishermans Paradise, D Turner of West Pennant Hills, P Fill of Turkey Beach, W Cumming of Bass Hill, P Stever of Austinmer, D Nisbet of Tuncurry, R Coates of Bligh Park, M Alavoine of Monteagle, P Osborne of Perthville, B Stokes of Morwell , M Blake of Walcha, W Forbes of Nambucca Heads, L Hosking of Clunes, K Jones of Narromine, J Paul of Inverell, D Darwick of Wentworthville, J Wilson of Bornia, L Chandler of Theodore, T Vine of Davistown, C Colley of Bathurst, Z Mehmet of Ingleburn, L Hatcher of West Pymble, B Bailey of Ulladulla, A Bird of Singleton Heights, R Neylon of Uki. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Estuaries brimming with bait for hot sessions NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

The holiday crowds are slowing up with school holidays over, but for those who are still in the Narooma region, some exceptional fishing is still on offer. The local estuaries are red-hot at present and this will continue for a few months yet. All species are playing the game, with anglers fishing bait and lures getting amongst them. The beauty of Narooma is that there’s five different estuary systems within 20 minutes both north and south of town. This helps anglers, with a variety of options to fish, and if one system is a little tough, there’s another around the corner. It’s the same when crowds become too much, you can always find your own bit of water and get results. The smaller systems like Corunna Lake to the south and Mummaga Lake to the north of Narooma are both excellent with ample fish available. Both these lakes are firing for flathead and bream at the moment, with lure anglers getting better results. These estuaries are

quite shallow in nature with maximum water depths of 6m at the most. This is perfect for flathead, as the shallows warm up quickly, especially after a few hot days with the afternoons being peak times. I’d be concentrating in 2-3m of water around the rocky points with smaller soft plastics or soft vibes for best results. You can expect some solid bream, especially in Corunna, with both black and yellowfin bream on the cards. Both these systems are full of prawns too, so casting a few smaller surface presentations will also see some nice fish caught. Up at Wagonga Inlet, it is firing nicely with flathead, mulloway, bream and tailor all chewing. This place is loaded with frogmouth pilchards, with Forsters Bay absolutely chocker with them. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen this much bait there, but with the bait comes fish and this area is a good starting point to fish the system. The interesting thing is that we have outside visitors in the lake in the form of kingfish. Kings! And plenty of them. We’ve caught a handful of kings to 69cm and seen plenty more following lures up. I know quite a few

Some monster flathead are getting around our local estuaries, like this cracker fish that Pete Steward caught, which was released. have been caught, with the best at 74cm, which can be pretty good fun on the light gear. Don’t get me wrong, they are hard to catch and you need to be lucky and in the right spot at the right time, but if they start smashing

bait on top and you’re in casting range, then you’re in for a shot. Kings aren’t the only fish eating the pilchards, as there’s XOS tailor, mulloway and some pretty good flathead and snapper down

deep under the bait, just waiting for the scraps from the pelagic species. I’m not sure how long they will stay there, but if the water remains warm and the bait stays there, it could be months, so it’s worth a look.

Further upstream in the shallower areas around Punkella Creek has seen some very big flathead caught. I know of several fish over 90cm over recent weeks. You can expect a few trevally and bream as well, with the edges along the oyster racks holding plenty of fish. Cast surface lures or smaller sub surface hardbodies to the edges over the rocks and weed, but screw that drag up a little to get them out before they brick you. Offshore, the kings have been good at Montague Island with jigs, live bait and squid on flasher rigs working well. The fish are quite widespread, but the northern end has been okay. Despite this, a lot depends on current as to their whereabouts. Having a good look around with the sounder and looking for feeding kings on top is the key to getting fish. The kings aren’t huge, averaging 3-4kg, but still a lot of fun and great on the plate too. There has been the odd better fish mixed in with the school fish, especially when they’re on top chasing bait. Casting big poppers at them is a stack of visual fun, and the best way to tempt one of these bigger models. To page 85

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Expect good water and great offshore fishing MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Merimbula has come back to some sort of normality. Most visitors have left. For those venturing up now, you’re in for some seriously good fun on the fishing front. Anglers offshore are having a field day, especially those after a feed. Flathead are around in awesome numbers. It’s the best I’ve seen it for a long time. Boats venturing out are getting their bags in pretty short time. The flatties seem

tigers amongst them with the average fish around 45cm. That’s pretty good going for offshore so let’s hope it continues. Those fishing the reefs are finding it a little tougher, as snapper have been somewhat quiet over recent weeks. I’m not sure why, but it will pick up again. In saying that, we’re still getting a few. The anglers I’ve talked to who are getting results are moving around a lot to locate the fish and mainly fishing the edges of the reef, not on the hard stuff. A key has been to use fresh bait with squid and tuna fillets.

your sinker weight with the conditions. This has been important for consistent results as well. Sometimes a few minor tackle adjustments is all that’s required to get the fish to play the game. Further offshore, the water is around 22°C and that means one thing – marlin. These turbo-charged bruisers have been a little slow to start this season. With the good water finally here, it’s all systems go for the gamefishing fraternity. The beaks are wide with a 25-30km drive needed to get to the grounds. That’s pretty normal for down here.

should be seeing a few better blacks by now. I’m sure they will turn up, as there are good reports further north. It’s just a matter of time before they get here, we hope. Trolling skirted pushers is still the best method right now. Cover the ground and

bait’s there, the water’s there. All we need now is more fish. In the estuaries it’s business as usual. Merimbula and Pambula continue to do the right thing with the majority of estuary dwellers playing the game. Flathead are

current can be a little tricky. Try to fish on a 45° angle to the current. Cast upstream and come across the channel, rather than straight down. You will present your offering to a lot more fish this way and certainly catch more. The rocks and beaches

Jason Neuman with a cracking black bream caught from the shallows on a very windy day.

Fishing a little lighter with tackle has also worked. Only use enough weight to get to the bottom and change

Most fish seen and captured have been smaller stripes around 70-90kg. They’re still good fish and we

find the fish, not the other way around. A bonus when trolling is the possibility of yellowfin tuna and mahimahi. There’s been a few caught with the best dollie I’ve heard of going 18kg – a solid model. I think these next six weeks are really going to fire up. Everything looks good. The

Anglers fishing the beaches and rocks are in for some fun with all the usual suspects playing the game. Most beaches with a half decent gutter have plenty of bream and whiting with Brou Beach just north of Dalmeny being a standout. This beach is around 7km long, so finding good water to fish isn’t hard, though you

may need to walk for awhile. Using live beach worms or pipi will see plenty of action, with a lighter running sinker rig the go. Closer to Narooma, the better beaches to fish include Bar Beach and Narooma Main. Both these beaches have deep gutters close to shore and are certainly worth a look.

For the rock hopper, Mystery Bay and the golf course rocks in town have been good for the pelagic species. Bonito, salmon, tailor and smaller kings are all possible, with smaller chromed slices or whole ganged pilchards the go. Early morning draining tides the better time to fish at present.

Monster flathead and Merimbula Lake go hand-in-hand. This beast was released after the photo. to be everywhere and water depths of 35-45m are getting the bigger fish. There’s a good mixture of sand and From page 84

Further offshore the marlin action is in full swing, and black and striped beaks have been plentiful, with trolling and switch baiting both working well. Most crews are getting a shot or two a day, so not red-hot action, but enough to keep you interested. The traps in 70-fathoms off Tuross has seen a lot of the action, though a few smaller blacks have been hooked at Montague, so it’s worth a look there as well. For those targeting the eating species, both sand and tiger flathead are in awesome numbers. It’s not hard to get your bags with some quality fish amongst them. The flathead are quite widespread, but water depths of 40-50m have been good. The slightly deeper water has accounted for the majority of tiger flathead. The reefs and gravel edges are holding some goodsized snapper to 2kg, lots of morwong, and there’s also kingfish on the cards, especially up north off Potato Point. Striped tuna strips, squid and larger soft plastics have accounted for the majority of fish.

about in good numbers with a few jumbos coming from the top lake in Merimbula. While guiding there the other day, we managed a cracking 88cm model with 35 odd flats caught for the day. The smallest fish went 42cm, so some solid action is to be had there. The channels towards the front of the system are firing nicely to for bream, trevally, whiting, flathead and luderick. The draining tide is best with striped tuna cubes, nippers and worms all getting results. Lure anglers fishing lightly weighted stickbaits are also seeing the action. Casting light softies in the

are both fishing well, but you have to work for them. Anglers fishing the stones at Short Point have been getting quality drummer amongst the washes. Use fresh prawns or cunjevoi with a little berley. This should see some nice fish caught. If you’re after the pelagics, Tura Head is the go. The northern end of the ledge in the deeper water has seen kings, bonito and big salmon captured. They have been a little hard to entice. If you can get live bait, you’re in with a shot. Casting whole ganged pilchards will work too, especially for the salmon and bonito.

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Pete and Rob with a few fish caught on surface lures. These were part of 40 odd fish caught for the day.

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FEBRUARY 2017

Expectations are high but you must work hard BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Expectations are always high during the summer months. It’s that time of the year where the sun is shining, you’ve got days off

work, there’s loads of bait and warm blue currents pour down the coast. You think everything is just going to fall into place. The truth is, it’s just as hard as other seasons. Sure it’s a great time of the year and it feels great catching

Billy ‘Dolphin Fish’ Sheffield with one of his latest mahimahi.

a kingie, dollie (mahimahi) or marlin in the basking sun and having the chance of a variety of species on the menu. That doesn’t make it easy. You still have to work for them and they don’t just jump onto the hook. They do, actually, but you have to make sure you have a hook there. Like the saying goes, you won’t catch fish from your lounge. That’s been the case so far. January wasn’t as hot as the previous two years offshore and we saw a couple of big blue marlin caught, and some big mahimahi to make it worth going out for a look. There were a few striped marlin starting to push down as the month moved on. The currents started to push down some good blue water with temperatures reaching 24°C, so it’s making for a great February. It will be a good season, just a little later than the last two years. Once the current races down with lots of nutrients, bait and predators, it would be ideal for it to ease a little, so all the action settles off our beautiful south coast. Hopefully by February and March we see a zoo of pelagic activity.

The Batemans Bay Game Fishing Club holds the Tollgate Classic towards the end of January and should coincide with a reasonable marlin bite. This is a great indicator of what’s out there by this stage. The club has a new and vibrant committee and we should see this event go from strength to strength over the coming years. It is a real iconic event that should be on every gamefisher’s radar. Committee member Eric Logie on FNB tagged the first marlin for the season off the bay with an estimated 170kg blue. We expect to see many more from this crew over summer. January was a bit of hard work. You had to be out there to yield any result. This month, your fuel bill should be well worth it and the stripes will be in town. The mahimahi look to be off to a reasonable start and every time Billy Sheffield hit the water, he seemed to find the big ones. Billy ‘Dolphin Fish’ Sheffield seems to whisper these guys to the boat. Another good idea is to visit any kind of bouy, fish or cray trap float and FAD, as you’ll see most dollies caught from these forms of structure. The mahimahi should be with us all summer by the looks of it. One fish that is hard to put a finger on and we always have high expectations for are the kingfish. Jervis Bay started well in spring with some crackers and now Montague Island has a nice run, which is great to see. Around the Batemans area, we’re seeing schools swimming through and not holding hard anywhere. This is definitely one fish we have to work hard for. They could be off Wasp Island, hugging yellow rock, near Black Rock or off Burri. The main spots they hold other than sanctuary zones

are Broulee and Moruya and even those have been faint possibilities. This summer and autumn, please kingies, come stay as long as you like. For now we have to roll the dice and check all the possible locations as we go out for a snapper fish. Reef fishing is always tough through January and February. It slowly improves with more chances of anything happening from a kingie bust-up to a shark encounter, or maybe even a black marlin while reef fishing. It’s always worth a trip out on the reef through February, because you just don’t know what strange new northern species you may encounter. You may see a sunfish drunkenly swim by. That’s what’s great about February. The currents are well and truly demonstrating a change of season with what can be encountered. If you’re sick and tired of chancing kingies, waiting for snapper to kick back in or you don’t care for a sunfish, you can always rely on a good catch of bluespot flathead, which will make the cook at home a happy human. Out of the boat and on the rocks and beaches, you are always in for plenty of action through summer. The elusive kings were very elusive last summer for rock fishers and snapper bit their heads off. This summer will continue to see some good snapper caught from the stones. I have a feeling this year, the kingies may make more of an appearance than last. The spearos are already seeing good numbers in close and let’s hope this continues. The beaches have been alive with whiting since spring and coming into February this run has built. It is a very good month to target this species. As usual worms and nippers are the best for these guys off our beaches. Local

beaches have seen a steady run of beach worms as well. In the lakes and estuaries, poppers and surface lures are working as always. The beaches have had no shortage of salmon. By night, there are plenty of sharks and mulloway. The shark numbers seem to be bigger than ever and we are having more and more beaches closed due to the consistency of their presence. Pne the main events of summer is the estuary and it has not disappointed. Flatties, bream, estuary perch, whiting, mud crabs, blue swimmers, prawns and bass all on fire. The Clyde River is fishing very well with good water from the front to Nelligen and beyond. You pretty much just have to follow your instincts and you can’t go wrong. Look for structure and bait. Choose the right offering and you are in for a chance. Among the usual river suspects like bream at racks or whiting on sand flats, there has been a solid run of estuary perch, which will take all kinds of suspending minnows or surface lures. The estuary has been a little easier than outside. You still have to put in the hours and be there when the bite is hot. The prawns may have settled a little, but there are still kilos per person being plucked out some nights. This should continue all summer. With the water clearer this summer, blue swimmers are still a good option and mud crabs in most systems and lakes are also worth a try. Last but not least, the bass have been mental up the back. It sure shows in the shop when all bass lures are repeatedly being sold out. Now is the time to strike. Don’t just stand there – January was the building blocks and February is your castle! Get out there and be king!

Another nice mahimahi to start the season. 86

FEBRUARY 2017

Bermagui is at its very best BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

It’s that time of year where the billfish action is at its hottest, with Bermagui Harbour abuzz with anglers in boats of all shapes and sizes only too eager to go chase these majestic fish.

for those who have seen it all before, they will take in the sight and enjoy the beauty of the fish they pursue. February is one of the best months for marlin in the waters that surround Bermagui, with warm currents and plenty of bait all relatively close to port. The Twelve Mile Reef is producing the best, with striped and black marlin predating on

Why not admire a lovely Wallaga Lake bream. Whether you fish from a tinny or a luxurious game boat, when someone yells “marlin”, all sorts of human emotions take over. Some people will freeze, unsure of what to do, while others will run around the boat in a mad panic. Or

schools of slimy mackerel and striped tuna, while close by over the Continental Shelf, you will also find these same species with the added chance of a monster blue marlin. Lures are the best way to pursue marlin; you can cover

more water to find where the fish are concentrated. Once you have done so, live baiting or switch baiting may be a preferred method, especially switch baiting. This is where the thrill of the chase comes in by reading signs like birds whirling overhead, nervous bait scattering on the surface or seals, and even marlin, busting up on a helpless bait school. It’s all adrenalin rushing stuff. There are a few tuna, mostly stripies, that also provide a good trolled live bait for a marlin. Unfortunately, it’s not only the marlin that like these, there’s also a good chance a hammerhead shark may want it too. Kingfish have been plentiful up at Montague Island, taking jigs and live baits regularly. Most fish have been just on size with an occasional larger fish showing amongst them. There’s been plenty of action for those who like to reef or bottom fish, with this being one of the best seasons for flathead in a long time. Most of these fish have been tigers in deep water around 40m and deeper, while closer to shore sufficient numbers of sandies will grace anglers’ bags. Gummy sharks have also been a welcome by-catch

amongst the flathead, providing a different flavour for the table. There are plenty of morwong, both blue and jackass, up over the reefs with just enough snapper to keep the interest up. Throw in some ocean perch, the odd pigfish plus others, and it is well worth a visit. It’s action aplenty for both the rocks and beaches, with schools of passing pelagics, mostly in the form of salmon, small tuna or kingfish. Lure fishing from the stones is producing well, especially around sunrise. At this time of day you don’t have to catch fish to appreciate the beauty

Baitfish like this bonito make excellent billfish bait, dead or alive. surrounding Bermagui, but it does help. Along the beaches it will mainly be salmon or tailor snapping at lures,

Luderick are a stunning fish in the water.

and while bait fishers will also come across these fish, they can also expect plenty of bream, whiting or mullet. At night around a full moon, mulloway have been showing more regularly, along with sharks in the form of whalers and gummies. It has definitely been a great season for bream in the estuaries, particularly those that remained open to the ocean. Fresh stocks have moved into the systems, providing great fishing throughout the estuaries. Not to be outdone, most of the other species are there too, providing plenty of great action. Whether you are a bait or a lure angler, I feel the best action is yet to come next month!

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River closed to sea TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Recently, the Bega River closed up to the ocean with a large sand bar formed where the entrance normally is. What does this do to the fishing? This is now a good time to target bream within the system, as they have to move around to find food. This creates plenty of options for anglers. Black bream are a prospect with lures and the Bega River is a hotspot.

Areas around rock bars, sunken timber or gravelly bottoms are particularly good. Both hardbodied and soft lures work. Don’t disregard baits for these fish either, as they are partial to a pink nipper, worm or live prawn. Whichever species you target around Tathra you won’t get better bream fishing than now. Not to be outdone, all your other favourite estuary species are hot to trot as well. There are plenty of flathead in the Bega River, along with some nice estuary perch, bass in the upper reaches and

Black cod are a protected species. Be sure to release them in good condition.

the odd mulloway in the deeper water towards the bridge. In the surrounding estuaries open to the ocean, anglers can expect to catch all manner of estuarine species, where fishing should be great for at least another two months. Beaches are fishing well with a good run of whiting. The north end of Tathra Beach is one of the better areas. Mullet, bream, tailor and salmon are also being encountered. At night you can expect the occasional mulloway and sharks. Tathra Wharf and adjacent rocky areas are hosting quite a few small pelagics as well as some larger ones. Kingfish are patrolling these areas and are being taken on lures and live baits. They are following schools of mackerel and yellowtail, which in turn are providing plenty of action on the wharf. Small tuna in the form of bonito or frigates are only too willing to take a lure. You can put one of these out as a live bait where a hammerhead shark or small black marlin may be passing. Ocean garfish

The Brogo and Bega river systems are still producing great bass fishing. are around in good numbers and can be enticed with the use of berley to gain a nice bag of these tasty morsels. There is plenty to do from trolling close to shore for some of those smaller predators to reef and gamefishing out wide. On the reefs, snapper have lingered through the warmer months and are still a regular catch. Morwong are the most prolific of the reef fish. A few ocean

perch and nannygai are also there to be found. Off the reefs on the nearby gravel, flathead fishing for tigers has been terrific. This is one of the best seasons in recent times. Anywhere from 40m water depth should produce. The deeper you get, the bigger the fish. Sand flatties are out from most beaches closer to shore, for those who don’t want to travel as far. And

no matter what areas you are fishing, whether it’s shallow or deep, there’s a good chance of some gummy sharks. Out wide there are gamefish in the form of marlin, mostly stripes and blacks, as well as hammerhead sharks, some small tuna and yellowfin. Most fish are being taken on lures. If you find bait schools, you’re likely to find predators as well.

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Dayne Taylor caught this cracker 110cm Copeton cod off the surface with an Evergreen Timberflash Noisy Dachs lure.

‘Coota crawling out of summer holiday season MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The holiday period saw the town swell and get very busy, with visitors coming from all around and it seemed like all of them had brought their own boat. Great weather along with light winds saw plenty of fish being caught, both offshore and in the lake. You definitely needed to cover up or use sunscreen to stop sunburn, as without it you’d come home looking like a lobster after a day on the water. Offshore the fishing has been really good, and with the water temperature sitting around 20°C, everything has come to life. Big tiger flathead have been caught out wide in around 60m of water; these

fish are well conditioned and as well as being fun to catch are also top tucker. Closer to shore the sand flathead have been on the bite, with good numbers caught out around Gabo Island along with a fair few legal size gummy sharks. The odd kingfish has been caught, with the star banks fishing well. The fish have often been seen in big schools around the boat, but catching them can sometimes be near impossible. A number of great white sharks have been sighted, with the beach at Bastion Point closed to swimmers on a number of occasions as a result. Those fishing the beaches have been catching salmon, with schools moving along Big Beach and around the general area. Tip Beach has also been firing, and a few gummy

sharks being caught down at Quarry Beach by anglers soaking baits into the night. This time of year sees plenty of Fisheries officers out and about, so make sure you have a license and you are adhering to size and bag limits, or you might be in for a nasty surprise. The flathead fishing in the lake has been excellent, with plenty of eating size flatties getting caught. As far as the big flathead are concerned, they’re very scarce. Mallacoota was famous 10lb fish getting caught regularly, but it seems these days are long gone. The yellowfin bream in the Bottom lake are not as plentiful as in years past, with a few fish being caught out around Goodwin Sands. Good numbers of sand whiting are in the bottom lake, with some good-sized

fish falling to on both bait and lures. Black bream and flathead have been caught in the Top Lake and upstream towards Gypsy Point, but once again you need to keep moving until fish are found. Some great estuary perch have been caught over the years, and these have been one of my favourite fish to catch. I have seen big numbers of quality fish in the system, but unfortunately they don’t successfully breed every year. This is the reason those in the know should do there best not to advertise their location, as a good number of fish are gracing the cleaning table with visitors seeing them as top tucker. This is probably isn’t in the best interest of the fishery, and anglers need to fish for the future, and not for the day!

The author with a shovelnose shark caught on a Hurricane blade.

Calm weather and trophy catches in the estuary before the wind is up. A few kingfish have been caught, but they are yet to really fire up. The months ahead should see some great fishing with no shortage of bait in the area. Out wider, there have been few reports coming in. The water temperature is good, so there is every chance the fish will soon put in an appearance. Local estuaries have IN

REV G.T

A L LY . S N A P P E R . EST U

. WH AD

A PE R RY

The busy period is here. All the caravan parks are full and the town is packed with visitors. The fishing has been the major attraction and with the great weather, there has been no shortage of fish caught. The fishing from the beaches has been good, as salmon and tailor can still been caught.

drummer and luderick have been caught recently. The warm water around 21°C has really brought everything to life. Fishing offshore has been good. The flathead fishing down in Disaster Bay has rewarded anglers with good bags of sand flathead and tiger flathead out wide. The inshore reefs have been fishing well. Pinkie snapper, morwong and nannygai have all been caught. Getting an early start is important, so you can be back with a feed

BASS . JEWFISH . AM . FLA

captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Good gutters are along nearly all of the local beaches and offer a variety of species. Yellowfin bream and sand whiting are available and beach worms or prawns are a good choice of bait. The best fishing has been had on the morning high tides. Local rivers have seen a good number of small prawns and the months ahead will see them getting bigger. The prawning will only improve. The rocky headlands are all fishing well. Bream,

E . BR

Kevin Gleed

EDEN

been fishing well with flathead on the bite and taking a variety of lures. Bait fishers catch fish on fresh prawn baits. Sand whiting have been caught on fresh prawn and squirt worms. Yellowfin bream are also around. The summer months give you a good chance for catching a mulloway. Putting in a night’s fishing around the new or full moon

with fresh bait or live bait could see you amongst a few fish. Reports of fish coming in are scarce as mulloway fishers can be tight-lipped. The summer months have fired up the bass. Surface fishing into the dark is a fun way of catching a few fish and a variety of surface lures will catch them. Black is as good a colour as any.

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What’s left in the wake? ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The last two floods along the Murray River have fallen just six years apart and have changed the face of a once vibrant fishery, leaving in its wake an uneasy silence that hides the unknown. From the junction of the Murrumbidgee down the Murray spewed the hypoxic blackwater that has left most anglers wondering what might be. Countless Murray cod rode the black wave belly up as it pushed down through Robinvale, Wemen, Mildura and beyond. Any creek or anabranch in its path was hit hard as it rolled its way across the border into South Australia, where it continued killing large Murray cod at will. Exactly what percentage of fish have been affected is largely unknown, but it doesn’t look good. As I write this, we are now about a month into the cod season with not a single Murray cod capture

along the main body of the Murray River between the Murrumbidgee junction and Renmark in South Australia. This is a distance by river of approximately 700km, not counting smaller creeks and backwaters. Recently, I got the news of numerous giant cod starting to pop up around Waikerie in South Australia. The black water looks set to roll on the full distance with only a couple of lochs to go. In the wake of the blackened flow, carp numbers have exploded and the river is now alive with their number. So thick are these fish they reside in the shallows in huge schools hugging the bank in the warm pockets of water. Sitting just inches from the bank, you might expect them to be an easy target for hungry water birds, but just like the cod their numbers too are not to be seen. I’m sure the birds will return in time to glutton this waterborne bounty of vermin fish, but until then the river will continue to resonate an unusual deathly quiet. There are many questions

surrounding this and the previous blackwater flows from 2010-11, and while many have answers, others don’t. At the forefront of the problem are the words ‘natural event.’ This is a real hurdle for riverside communities to straddle, especially for those entrenched in a life that’s been spent working on or beside the river itself. Professional fishers and riverside farmers, many second generation, can never recall such events until the past two floods and to tell them any different is to treat them the fool. Clarity is the way forward, not smoke screens and mirrors, and while blackwater does occur it is on a much smaller scale than we are now witnessing. The sheer size and destructive power, as in distance and decimation of fish life, has never been witnessed in the past. Since making the short clip that many of our readers may have seen on social media, I am still unable to find a clear cut answer to the simple questions I asked —

Is this all that’s left of our once great cod fishery? Anglers deserve answers! what has changed in the last six years? Global warming has been mentioned on a few occasions, but has the world really changed that much that fast? A build-up of leaf matter bigger than anything we have ever seen has been touted a major contributor, with suggestions that all future floods are likely to produce the same massive hypoxic events. Are our forests not being managed and are management not responsible for the future wellbeing of the rivers and fishes? There have to be answers to these problems! If we have excessive leaf matter, should we then not have controlled burns or grazing? Are environmental flows into

the forests the answer or part of the problem? I would like to ask these questions again. Why have the last two floods, only six years apart, decimated more than a thousand kilometres of the main Murray River’s cod population? Why has this never happened in the past, where the floods were every bit as big and bigger? If a regulated system that is run by a bunch of supposedly clever people can’t pause for a moment and join the dots, then I fear our fishery is all but doomed. Make no mistake, the ramifications of these massive fish kills will resonate through all riverside communities as

it affects local business and tourism. We are now enjoying the Christmas break and those in charge have vacated their offices, and with them have gone the answers to all the questions on how this was allowed to happen. And just like the giant dead fish, it will be all swept away by time and forgotten until the next flood comes. I watched this exact same thing happen six years ago, and I will guarantee if things don’t change, it will happen again. To leave these questions unanswered is to turn your back on these iconic fish and any real future they might have in the Murray Darling Basin.

Bye-bye blackwater and hello Mighty Murray love MILDURA

Darcy Scherger

Finally the mighty Murray River here at Mildura has slowly settled down with the black water receding and being flushed out of the system for good.

The clarity at Mildura is on the improve as well as the fishing. The fishing is heating up for both things with shells and scales. That’s right, the yabbies of recent have fired immensely and many families have had a decent feed of these delicious crustaceans.

Golden perch are popping up for those lures and baits. Show ‘em some love and toss a couple out for them.

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The movement of yabbies has attracted a lot of attention from near and far recently. The yabbyeaters amongst us are licking our lips and drooling over photos of full eskies. A lot of areas around Mildura have reported good hauls of yabbies. Be careful and make sure you abide by the rules and regulations that fisheries enforce to achieve a sustainable fishing future. Make sure you know if you are in NSW or Victorian waters before you head off and make sure you have the correct licenses and nets or you could be walking away from your yabbying trip with a fine. Golden perch have also showed their faces both on bait and lures around the region. Backwaters around regulators have produced solid numbers of golden perch and plenty of small Murray cod have been caught within these areas. Small sinking Jackall TN 60s and 70s have been the go-to lures on the cast for golden perch. Though the main Murray River itself has produced plenty of golden perch on lures as well. Both the cast and the troll have produced cracker golden perch. Upstream of Wentworth and further on to Mildura has produced very nice fish of late. Many individual anglers believe the black water would have killed all the cod. This is false. I know large cod have been caught within this pool as well as many small ones in these

areas, which would have been here during the black water event and survived. Here at Mildura, we have

such a large volume of water and river to deal with the black water. However, a dead cod is devastating to

see and many areas have suffered a lot worse than Mildura. Regardless, the fish are still there to chase.

Casting and trolling have both produced solid golden perch recently.

Getting into topwater action YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

The smoke’s cleared from the New Year’s fireworks and now it’s time to get back into rewarding fishing. Hopefully the early summer wind has died off, making for enjoyable fishing conditions. As always, cod will be on offer throughout the lake with all techniques producing. I must stress this about Mulwala: if you persist, you will be rewarded. Sure, your average Joe can land an unlucky fish that makes him look like a legend while a gun angler can go without. Over time, numbers will even themselves out. I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but surface fishing stands head and shoulders above all methods for return capture rates, general fish encounters, average fish size and excitement. For those new to the area or looking at getting into some top water action, identify the location you plan to fish during daylight hours, so you have a rough lay of the land. Look for shallower water around the 0.5-2m mark fairly adjacent to the original Murray course through the lake. Have everything prepared and working for when you catch the elusive Murray cod. Head lamps, torches, net, lip grip, measuring mats and cameras are all implements that should be at hand, not frantically searched for upon capture. An assortment of poppers, paddlers and wakebaits will have you suitably kitted out and ready to go. For any kids looking to snag themselves a cod over the holidays, a rod and reel (be it a hand line or fancy outfit) around 10-20lb line, a size 2 bean sinker and hook around the 2/0 size will be what you need. Worms and cheese are your prime baits. Bardies, shrimp and yabbies will also work wonders. Keep it simple with a running sinker right down to the hook, as the fish don’t tend to be that picky. Head down below the weir in Yarrawonga and have yourself some fun fishing the Murray River. I often get criticised about promoting below the weir as a great fishery, especially for kids. They can catch small cod all day long. Excuse me if this isn’t helping youngsters get into fishing and learn to be fish aware in the process. A great saying I heard

recently was, ‘Kids that fish and hunt don’t deal and steal.’ It makes sense! The holiday period was hectic with many reports. One stands out

tale even more remarkable. Personally I would be retiring the Pompadour lure he used as a lifelong memory. Well done, Duc. Others to rate a special

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Duc Tran with his fist ever cod – a 105cm monster! above the rest. A couple of Melbourne school teachers decided they would head to Mulwala in search of a cod – something they had never done before. A good yarn in-store inspired the boys and had them ready to attack. Armed with a handful of lures and a strategically marked X on a map, the boys took off in hope! Low and behold, in under an hour’s fishing, Duc Tran landed himself a cod off the surface. This was no run of the mill Mulwala cod. It was a 105cm beast and Duc’s first cod ever! To achieve it off the surface makes this

mention are Joshua Brown for his two in one! He caught a freakish 110cm+ beast that swallowed a cod of around 60cm he was in the process of fighting. Young Mayson Alphabetski and Luke Benfield caught their 90cm+ models off the bank, while Wayne Hall, Kyle Dalrymple, Jack Pyle, Donny Blackey, Adam Thommo and Cooper Lonergan are a few others who deserve special mentions for their various and meritorious captures. The competition season is upon us. There are a few events coming up over the next couple of months. The first is the ever popular

Nationals – four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler, held from 16-19 March. • If you are visiting town, I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp and Ski – the shop with the big green cod out the front opposite the post office in Mulwala. Check out our new store located between Rivers and One Zac in the main street, Yarrawonga and say G’day. We’re Yarrawonga and Mulwala’s fishing experts and specialize in all things green! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a hoy on 0357 443 133.

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$28,500 Kevin Grenville used a Balista lipless crankbait to land this 905mm beauty, which he tagged and released at St Georges Basin.

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Gaden Trout Hatchery – dreams begin here FMG

Peter Jung pjung@fishingmonthly.com.au

Growing up in the Australian Capital Territory, my passion for fishing began with dropping a line in the rivers, streams and lakes of the Snowy Mountains for brown and rainbow trout. To this day, they hold a special place in my heart. When the opportunity came up to visit

the Gaden Trout Hatchery in Jindabyne and go on one of the guided tours, I jumped at the chance. Gaden Trout Hatchery is situated a few kilometres outside Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains off Kosciuszko Road. It’s well signposted; just head towards Perisher and then take the Gaden Road turnoff. The Visitors’ Centre has plenty of parking and is open daily from 10am-4pm (closed Anzac, Christmas and Boxing days).

The Gaden Trout Hatchery and picnic area is well worth a visit.

Guided tours are available at 10am and 2pm. A small fee applies and the tour is very family friendly. The tour I went on had a real cross section of age groups from young children and their parents to old blokes like me taking the opportunity to reminisce about many hours on the water, hoping to catch fish like the ones you see in the hatchery ponds. We watched a 10-minute video that explained the origins of the hatchery, information on the species that are reared there and the partnership between anglers and NSW Fisheries that has seen the hatchery supply stocked fish for the Snowy Mountains region for over 50 years. A tour of the facility followed this and we were taken around the broodstock ponds, the fish rearing tanks and ponds that hold fish in their various stages of growth, being readied to stock into the local waterways. The tour finishes with feeding some wild fish in the Thredbo River. These fish have taken up station knowing that a feed of pellets will come their way at least a couple of times a day. What they also do is show that there are some trophy fish in the river and Lake Jindabyne, which the river flows into. The area adjacent to the hatchery is out of bounds to

The final stop on the tour is to check out some of the wild fish in the river looking for a free feed. anglers. All up, the tour takes about 45 minutes and it had this angler fired up to get out there and have a fish. The Visitors’ Centre is not the only attraction. There is a large picnic

area that runs along the Thredbo River that has a number of BBQ areas and shaded shelters. The area is picturesque and the added bonus is that you can go fish spotting in the runs and

pools of the river. There are also toilet facilities. Thank you to the team at the hatchery for letting me join in and have a look around, I enjoyed every minute of it.

GADEN HATCHERY FISHY FACTS • With its sister hatchery Dutton Trout Hatchery in Ebor, the two hatcheries provide the majority of trout fingerlings for stocking in NSW. • Only broodstock of Atlantic salmon and brook trout are held in the hatchery to strip eggs and milt from. • Brown and rainbow trout are captured from the Thredbo River to provide milt and eggs. In recent years a small amount of rainbow trout have also been kept to supplement a reduction in wild fish. • The entire facility is gravity fed with water from the Thredbo River. The water is carefully monitored for temperature and quality throughout the process. • The facility is run with funds received through fishing licences sold in NSW. • Other than the tours, the hatchery also does kids fishing days. Details can be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/info/ gaden or you can contact the hatchery on (02) 6451 3400.

Tours are available every day at 10am and 2pm. You get taken through the facility and see plenty of fish like these Atlantic salmon broodstock. Wild brown and rainbow trout are captured from the Thredbo River to provide milt and eggs for the hatchery.

The tours are something that people of all ages will enjoy. 92

FEBRUARY 2017

There are BBQ’s and shade shelters along the river beside the hatchery for the public to enjoy the area.

Insect season has the trout going bug-eyed JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

Like last month, the river fishing season was very late this year and is only now about to peak. Due to the late season and cooler conditions, flyfishers are only now experiencing the best fishing for years. With lots of bugs about, the trout are leaping for joy! With the heat, the flowers blossomed and the insects came out, heralding the start to the dry fly season and we finally started to get a little bit of river fishing action. It now looks like it’s going to be a late but great season with plenty of water in the streams once again, and still snow to melt in the higher peaks of the mountains. The Alpine streams are still at their best and plenty of small fish are being caught on dry flies. Fly selection is not too critical in these streams, but placement is – or you just scare all the fish. Flies you must have are brown beetle patterns, Snowy Hopper, Stimulator, Royal Wulff and Parachute Hoppers. Maybe a brown and a black nymph if the fish are not rising and a white moth or white Wulff. And maybe you had better throw a midge pattern, brown mayfly and an Adams in as well to make certain you have all the bases covered. With the Thredbo River starting to fish much better now, there is still a reasonable flow of water and the dry flyfishing is good. White moth and beetle patterns are best when flyfishing. Grasshopper season is also just about to start. The Mowamba River is fishing OK towards the weir and is also worth a try with some great dry flyfishing, especially on late evenings. Some of the best lake flyfishing is during the

Simpson and Williamson’s Snowy Mountains Gold Fish. Olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The South Arm, Creel Bay and Kangaroo Bay

The downrigger depth hasn’t been as deep as in previous years, so 25-35ft is about perfect. We should see this formula continue over the next month or so.

small StumpJumpers. Try areas where there are steep drop offs with plenty of rocks will be the best areas. Bays like Creel, Hatchery and the Snowy Arm all fish well.

and come and try some our fantastic trout fishing. If you would like some personal guiding, I will be available over the coming months for flyfishing tuition and lake trolling trips. Lessons can be booked from two hours and trolling trips from three hours to a full day. Don’t forget our Gillies beginner flyfishing weekend is being held from 18-19 February and you can

book day one for beginners’ casting and lake fishing. If you like, join us on day two for river fishing techniques. If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions, give me a call on (02) 6456 1551, or check out my website at www.swtroutfishing.com. au. Check out our daily Facebook updates. Until next month, I hope you catch the big one.

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Leo Falt from Sweden with his first Australian trout. are all great. Bait fishing on lake Jindabyne has been good over recent months with the higher water levels. Mudeyes have been good used under a float or even worms under a float. Either let the waves move it about, or there’s if no wind, try and wind it in very slowly with a pause every turn of the handle. Another bait worth suspending under a float is the meal worm, which is one you don’t often see much these days. They work a treat. Maybe to a trout they look like maggots – whatever! They are a very popular bait in most other trout fishing countries, but not a bait Australians use that often. The best bait fishing areas are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay and Curiosity Rocks. Another great area is the bottom of Discovery Holiday Park near Widows Creek Inlet. The boat trolling this year has been very good and we are still catching trout

The Tasmanian Devil number 111 Willy’s Special is still about the best Tasmanian Devil colour at the moment, followed by the yellowing brown bomber. My black/ gold Tasmanian Devil and the holographic have been the best for darker conditions and also downrigging. I have been doing well with Bullet Minnows in gold colours down off the downrigger and lead lines. Gaden Trout Hatchery released the baby rainbow trout fingerlings into Jindabyne last month, so all natural rainbow trout colours are working well. With water levels still high, some of the better trolling areas this month will be Hatchery Bay, Hayshed Bay and Sids Bay through to Rushes Bay. Watch the rocks, as the East Jindabyne Islands start to reappear as the water levels drop. The best lure spinning has been on the lake in the shallow bays, early and late

On brighter days, change to a Tassie and cast further out over drop offs, letting the lure sink before you slowly retrieve. Try Tasmanian Devils in gold and green for the best results. The best areas have been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park. Fish are still being caught in the Thredbo River on small 3cm Bullet lures. The best colours are rainbow trout and perch. You can also try some Strike Tiger soft plastics very early and late in the day or with olive pepper over the weed beds – this is great for rainbow trout. Strike Tiger nymphs also work well on the bigger brown trout using the lightest jighead possible and worked very slow. On the smaller streams like the Moonbah or upper Snowy, a variety of lures will work, but the best will be small bladed spinners, like the Gillies Spina or Celtas in number one or two. All in all, we are looking good for at least some great lake fishing over the coming months, so get your gear together

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Gaden Trout Hatchery Come see the new displays at our visitors centre!

about the Snowy’s most important trout hatchery. • Learn • See how four species of trout and salmon are bred. • Find out where and how Gaden’s juvenile fish are released. Learn how trout stocking benefits recreational fishing and • local economies. • Find out about kids fishing workshops. • Enjoy the beautiful picnic-BBQ area.

Guided tours at 10 am and 2 pm. Feed the large fish. Open 10–4 daily. Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko Rd) Jindabyne P 02 6451 3400 CLOSED DAYS: ANZAC, CHRISTMAS, BOXING. SMALL ENTRY FEE. dpi.nsw.gov.au/ fisheries/info/ gaden

If you want big browns, try using big lures like this 13cm Rapala. coming months and this year, with the steady lake level, we should see some big fish caught. Try any of the streamer patterns such as Mrs

on the surface, as the water temperature is not as warm as in previous years. We have been using downriggers on the really hot and bright days.

in the day. You can start by spinning the edges with bladed spinners like the Gillies Feathertail or flicking 3cm and 5cm Bullet lures and FEBRUARY 2017

The cod-botherers are busy in the new season CANBERRA

Bryan Pratt

Catches since the opening of the Murray cod season in the ACT and NSW in December certainly bear out the claim that this is the ‘year of the cod’. Stunning catches have been reported from many waterways and the average size is outstanding. There are several reasons for this: good spawning conditions during the past few years have resulted in excellent natural recruitment, there have been numerous successful stockings of rivers

and impoundments with hatchery-raised fingerlings, widespread catch and release practices have resulted in more and larger fish in many locations, and, finally, there has been an excellent food supply in the form of carp and redfin in most areas. All of this brings together a favourable environment for cod. This is unlikely to change significantly until there is an event such as a major drought or food supplies are compromised after the release of the koi herpes virus, which is expected to remove a significant proportion of the carp population.

Monster Murray cod like this one, caught on a spinnerbait in the Murrumbidgee River, bear out the suggestion that this is the ‘year of the cod’.

SIGNIFICANT CATCHES In the ACT there have been some excellent cod caught in the Murrumbidgee River and to a lesser extent in the urban lakes. The Murrumbidgee has had a good flow this season because of continuing rain in the catchment. Fish migrating up from their winter home in Burrinjuck Reservoir have penetrated considerably further upstream than in previous years, notably into Government-owned nature reserve and national park country. This has provided anglers with more opportunities to chase river fish, as access to much of the river is normally blocked by private property. Lake Burley Griffin has been the most productive of the local lakes, with some nice fish being taken on spinnerbaits and deep divers as well as scrub worms, wood grubs and live yabbies. Blue green and other algal blooms have rendered some of the lakes unsightly and that is a turn-off for some anglers. Lake Ginninderra and Yerrabi Pondage have been particularly badly affected. Googong Reservoir has been one of the more pleasant places to fish. The

lake is full, the water is clear and there have been some massive fish to 135cm taken on surface lures and deep divers. I tangled with one monster that ran me all over the place before I finally lost it in a snag and estimated it as easily around the 1.5 metre mark. Burrinjuck has been the most productive of all the regional lakes, with numerous fish in the 75-95cm range and a surprising number over a metre. Mick Wenning is currently out in front with a fish of 132cm. The best fish have been taken on larger lures, including Timberflash, Jackpot Wake Bait, Akame, Shad Alive, Kong and Koolabung. Spinnerbaits also have accounted for some good fish. GOLDENS ACTIVE The hot weather has kept golden perch on the move. A local competition stimulated a lot of interest in the fish and the techniques used to catch them. A 10-week lureonly Burley Bash for golden perch and redfin in Lake Burley Griffin organised by local entrepreneur Adam Samios attracted nearly fifty of the best local anglers. The primary round was won by Chris Skillin,

This relatively small rainbow is considered a reasonable catch these days, but is well below the size expected given the good water conditions and satisfactory food supplies this season. known affectionately as ‘Chickenchucker’ for his past predilection for catching Murray cod on chicken breast, before he switched to lure fishing. The final was won by Rob De Groote and both he and Chris shared handsome prizes of cash, lures and other tackle. TROUT CONCERN On the trout front, anglers are doing reasonably well trolling small gold Shad Alive and yellowwinged Tasmanian Devils in Eucumbene, Jindabyne and Tantangara. There’s increasing concern about the small size and general

scarcity of rainbows in all of the lakes and adjacent streams. There seems to be plenty of tiny, parr-marked fish in the creeks and rivers still swollen with rain, but they don’t seem to translate later into larger fish in the bigger waterways. NSW Fisheries is well aware of the situation and is planning to stock more rainbows than usual this year in the big lakes. They will also have a look at the genetic profile of the existing rainbow populations, wild and hatchery, to see whether any changes can be made to the brood stock.

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Cod huggers are holding tight to the banks WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

The heat is well and truly here but the fishing hasn’t slowed down. With a bumper December and January, we expect to see some more great fishing in the region through February! With the hot summer weather brings the bugs and plenty of activity on the surface! BLOWERING DAM Blowering is always a

great option at this time of year. Like always, I touch on this lake because it produces some of the biggest cod in the country. Over the start of summer, the lake produced cracking fish for those who put in the effort and most of the fish have been caught in the dark. The lake is packed with holiday goers and skiers during summer, which makes the daytime fishing tough. The heat really throws the fish off and temperatures above 35°C make for tough conditions, so you’re better

off fishing in the dark. The big fish will be on the prowl. Those who cast plenty of lures will find fish. Over the recent weeks, I and a few other anglers have been heading up to the dam on a regular basis. Most nights we come home with nothing. When the fish play the game, the fishless nights are worth it. If you are set on catching a Blowering monster, expect to have over five fishless trips or more before you manage to land a fish. That’s just Blowering!

The new SF special colour FX Fury produced this cracker impoundment Murray cod.

Trolling large hardbody lures along both steep rocky banks and the flat shallow banks will always work. Lately we have come across a new night time technique which is working wonders. You may have seen us casting soft plastics over winter for big Murray cod – they aren’t just a daytime lure. Casting plastics in the dark is dynamite and a much more natural option compared to conventional lures. Find a good bank that you would normally work and use your electric motor to slowly move along the bank casting large plastics. Our favourite plastic is the FX Fury. Even better, we have just teamed up with Traps Tackle to design two new custom colours perfect for native fishing: the SF Special and the carp. They’ve already accounted for some monster cod. Rig it with a 3/4oz jighead and a stinger hook and you’ll be set! MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee is buzzing with activity due to the hot weather. Make sure you fish the first and last light. During the middle of the day, fish will slow right down. Local angler Grant Higginson loves his surface fishing and has been catching great fish from the river on surface lures. He gets out on the water at first light and casts around the edges tight in against the bank and targets the areas with shade. When you use surface lures, pick the slower flowing water and get your lures tight to the structure. Spinnerbaits and hardbody lures are always gun options in the Murrumbidgee River. OLD MAN CREEK The creek is also fishing well and is very similar to the Murrumbidgee River, in regards to fishing the low light periods. This creek will fish differently depending on

Brad Triffitt with a slab of Blowering cod that was the only fish for a long night casting. the flows. At this time of year it runs high, but over the past few weeks it has been up and down. If it’s low, get out there early and cast surface lures. It’s an easy technique and all you need to do is cast the surface lure across the creek and wind back. If it’s running high, you’ll have better luck with hardbody lures or spinnerbaits. Cast

tight against the bank where you are walking along. You don’t want to be fishing out in the fast water. Target the water right at your feet. With that said, there is plenty happening this month. As the water cools off, the fishing is only going to get better. With my favourite month of April just around the corner, things are going to get exciting!

This dinosaur of a Murray cod was caught during the night on the new FX Fury carp colour soft plastic.

Brian Higginson with this once in a lifetime catch – a metre-plus cod on a surface lure from the Murrumbidgee River.

Tallis Cotterill with a Murrumbidgee River golden taken on a Mud Guts spinnerbait.

The author cuddles a metre of Blowering cod that took a slow rolled plastic. FEBRUARY 2017

Make the move at night LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

The inky blackness of a night spent in the bush by the water would be the ultimate horror story for some. Trips to the garbage bin after dark scare some people, and that’s in town. Fishers soon shake afterdark jitters when they realise the bounty that it can deliver, especially at this time of year.

species means adjustments to daytime techniques. Most fish will be more active, cruising away from cover, and in shallow water. The next trout that rises between me and the bank at Lake Lyell when wading won’t be the last. Bait fishing for natives and trout out in front of camp, your casts can be kept within metres of the rod tip. That shallow weed-choked bay in Windamere with not a piece of timber or rock within cooee will be very

on or in the water. Trout are very well equipped with after-dark senses. If you’re on the money with your presentation and retrieve, they will find it. LAKE COD AFTER DARK Boat noise in shallow water after dark will chase bigger fish off the flats, especially if you’re moving about. A better approach is to use a northern barra dam technique, which is to anchor and swing. Set yourself up so you drift back into a bay on After-dark lure presentations don’t necessarily have to be surface ones. On some nights, subsurface presentations outfish surface four to one.

The predawn glow is a definite hot bite window when it comes to fishing for cod. It’s like the last call for tucker at the table before the chef knocks off. A good LED headlamp is crucial. Find one with an adjustable beam from spot to flood. The ability to switch to half power is also handy when it comes to saving battery and don’t skimp on batteries – the better ones last a lot longer. Fishing after dark for any

high on the after dark native fishing spot list, especially if it’s connected to some deeper water close by. When it comes to lure or flyfishing for trout, casting to rises every few seconds on a hot session can be a trap. Trout live in water, not air. Keep your presentation

Do some daytime recon, have some spots picked out and pack a shoulder bag with a half dozen favourite lures and essentials. Take your time on the steeper banks. Cast close and parallel to the bank. The shallower bay is where you can send your choice of lure out into the darkness. Cod can be anywhere in this circumstance, so working in pairs at night is recommended. It helps to have a mate when it comes to landing a big one from the bank. Lure choice for after

dark cod and bass missions depends a lot on the where and when. The where takes into account the structure that surrounds you above and below the water line. The depth of water will also affect what you tie on in most circumstances. The when is totally about light levels, water clarity, wave action, and fish activity levels. Surface lures will be the obvious choice, but don’t be short sighted. Subsurface presentations can and do outfish surface presentations on some nights. Moon phase and its connection to the fishy

inhabitants we chase is a hot topic among fishers. Some swear by the full moon, others no moon, lead ups, moonsets, moonrises and the list goes on. I’m mostly impartial and remain unconvinced that moon phases have an effect on fish after dark. I’m convinced you’ll catch more fish once the sun sets at this time of year. It’s high time you forgot the after dark backyard boogieman that haunts you when you put the garbage out, for the month of February at least. Hope to see you on the water soon. Tight lines.

a long rope, preferably a bay with an onshore breeze. You can fan your casts out and work all three sides of the bay. It’s easy, quiet, stealthy, and puts fish in the boat. The ultimate after dark cod tip in Wyangala, Windamere, or Burrendong is to get out and walk the bank.

DAM LEVELS brought to you by w w w. b a r g a i n b o a t b i t s. c o m . a u

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

Dam Nov Dec Jan Blowering 94 96 92 Brogo 100 100 92 Burrendong 115 113 104 Burrinjuck 97 96 95 Carcoar 100 99 99 Chaffey 170 167 168 Clarrie Hall n/a 100 100 Copeton 58 58 55 Dartmouth 75 77 78 Eucumbene 52 49 44 Glenbawn 93 94 92 Glenlyon 70 70 69

Dam Nov Dec Jan Glennies Creek 87 87 85 Hume 98 96 90 Jindabyne 72 76 75 Keepit 98 98 86 Lostock 100 98 91 Oberon 100 99 97 Pindari 100 99 100 Split Rock 31 31 30 Tantangara 62 44 21 Toonumbar 96 90 89 Windamere 52 52 52 Wyangala 98 97 95

(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.) 96

FEBRUARY 2017

It’s best to banish the boogieman to the back of your mind if you want to catch big bass after dark.

Anchor and swing techniques used on barra impoundments after dark are well worth trying on cod waters further south.

Cod and trout are out and about BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

The month of February can be a challenging month for anglers, especially those targeting natives in our lakes. The days are long and hot and just like us, the fish would prefer to either get up early or wait until the sun goes down before they go about their business. Early starts followed by

midday siestas are one way to go about it. You could wait until late afternoon and fish through into the night. At this time of the year, there are way more fish caught at night than during the day, so it makes sense to focus as much of your efforts as possible on this fishing period. There is one exception to this. REDFIN Redfin don’t seem to feel the effects of hot days as much as our natives or trout. Redfin can still be caught all day long

The dry fly fishing is to die for at the moment – trout will rise for dry flies like this blowfly imitation.

on hot days. They’re your best target, if you just have to fish during the day. At this time of the year they can be found anywhere from the surface all the way down to about 40ft. It pays to have a good sounder to locate them that much easier. The best techniques depend on the depth of the located school. If they’re holding deep and holding tight to the bottom, I recommend jigging with ice-jigs, blades or vibes. If they’re in shallow water or holding mid water then casting and retrieving or trolling with small lipless crankbaits, spinners and plastics will be your best bet. MURRAY COD AND GOLDEN PERCH Your best chances of hooking into some of Blowering Dam resident natives will come after dark. The temperature drops and cools at night to a much more comfortable zone and this alone makes the natives feel much more at ease. Add to this the fact that night makes them safer and is a form of cover for them, you can see why it pays to fish or concentrate your efforts after dark. Bear in mind

Ross Virt from Kaos Cod Flies with one of the Murray cod he caught on fly on a recent trip.

the water temperature will be its coolest just before the sun comes up. If we’re in a bit of a heat wave, the best fishing will come between 3-6am. Thanks to the massive natural recruitment of Murray cod from 2012-2013, there is now an insane number of Murray cod in the 30-60cm range to keep anglers busy between XOS cod captures. This is sensational for the fishery as well. There was a distinct lack of smaller cod in this lake. Now thanks to their own efforts and Mother Nature keeping the lake full while their eggs hatched and grew, we now have a sensational cod fishery that will only continue to get better and better. It was already up there for producing some of the country’s biggest Murray cod. It never had a reputation for numbers of cod, but hopefully this is all about to change. TROUT STREAMS The biggest draw card in the Tumut/Batlow area at the moment is the unbelievable trout fishing we are having in our small streams. We have fished over a dozen small creeks over the last couple of months and pretty much all of them are fishing well with good to great numbers present. The creeks that have the lowest number of resident fish are the ones producing the biggest fish most regularly. With the amount of flow in our creeks over the last six months, fish have fed up really well. Even creeks that are teeming with naturally recruited fish are still producing some really big creek trout. It really is a win-win situation for trout anglers in our greater area at the moment. I’ve been having great luck on the fly of late with plenty of trout willing to rise for a dry. It seems the bigger the fly, the better, as plentiful cicadas and grasshoppers are around again this year. Most hoppers will work, but my favourite hopper dry fly is

The small stream trout fishing is insane in the greater Tumut/Batlow area this year with good to great numbers present in most small creeks. the Joes hopper – one of the greatest dry flies ever tied. Fish that haven’t been keen enough to stick their noses out for a dry lately have happily taken a weighted nymph suspended below the dry fly. My absolute favourite nymphs are the red copper John gold bead nymphs but natural blacks, browns and olives will also fool plenty of trout. Match the size and

weight of the nymph dropper to the dry fly you’re using and the depth and flow of the creek. You’ll catch trout all day long, no matter where you go. The other half has also been doing quite a bit of trout fishing with me of late and has been cleaning up on spinners. The standout was the Bling spins, which are easily her favourite trout and redfin lure.

Thanks mostly to natural recruitment, there are now really good numbers of these smaller Murray cod in Blowering Dam to keep anglers busy between XOS models.

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The author with an armload of pocket water Murray cod fooled by an Angel Bait rigged with a swinging single assist hook as the stinger hook. FEBRUARY 2017

Summer goldens and cod fun providing anglers with a better than average chance at catching some trophy specimens in the process. Golden perch have been active feeding on shrimps and yabbies. Lure fishing for these tough little natives has also been productive with vibration lures like the Balista Juggernaut and Jackall TN range. The Murray cod in the Peel have also been on the chew and it has been a regular occurrence to catch them on the smaller lures aimed at the perch. If you’re serious about targeting the cod, larger lures like spinnerbaits and 100mm+ diving lures will get you onto a few bigger fish. A few anglers with large surface lures are also accounting for a few monsters.

TAMWORTH

Adam Mears adam.mears@hotmail.com

The weather is hot, unforgiving and brutal as the soaring temperatures make perspiration feel like rain dripping off sun-kissed skin. It’s something all anglers feel at this time of year as we plop our artificial lures deep into native territory. Beneath the surface behind boulders and windswept willows are the shaded cool pockets of water where our cod and yellowbelly lay poised for their next assault. PEEL RIVER. Stretches of the Peel River north and south of Tamworth have been fishing very well,

A lot of study, patience and perseverance is needed to find the holy grail of Murray cod, the satisfaction of landing a Murray cod over a metre long on a surface lure is something most people only dream about. It does happen, so keep casting.

holds very little structure in the form of timber. If you slow down now and find the flooded timber around the edges, you’ll find fish. My favourite way to find fish in this dam is to find the many weed beds scattered around the western foreshore of the dam.

Cod have been going after smaller lures intended for golden perch. dam. Be sure to carry either of these baits for your chance at a quality mixed bag. LAKE KEEPIT In the last couple of months, Keepit Dam has been sensational. I was lucky enough to experience this first hand on a few occasions and it should continue to fish well right though until the end of summer. Golden perch have dominated the catches and the anglers using worms and yabbies around the copious amounts of standing timber have been rewarded with bent rods and full bags. We had a ball up at the dam following the old riverbed and casting our lipless crankbaits past any likely looking locations. We were on the money fishing

The golden perch are about and biting during mornings, evenings and after dark. CHAFFEY DAM Chaffey Dam is a beautiful dam situated about thirty minutes’ drive from Tamworth. Full and firing, Chaffey Dam is home to both golden and silver perch as well as Murray cod, eel-tailed catfish and European carp. When the dam is at 50%, it

The cod have been on the chew.

Fishing heavy tackle around the weeds using small vibrating lures will be productive. Keeping the football-sized goldens out of the weed is another story. Golden perch are suckers for a well-presented bait and worm and shrimp are as good as it gets for most species in this

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deep and hopping our lures along the bottom with some fish pushing 60cm in length. There are Murray cod in the dam and I haven’t been lucky enough to find them, but we’ve seen a few great captures of large cod taken from the banks using bardi grubs and large yabbies. Don’t be surprised if you run into a few brutes on your next outing. The European carp in the dam have finished their spawning season now and are in full force. If you want to have some fun with the kids while doing the ecosystem a favour, head out there with a tub of worms, corn kernels and bread. Hang on – the action will be thick and fast. You won’t be able to wipe the smile off the kids’ faces.

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Hottest month on the water for Hunter anglers HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

February is the last month of summer and it’s a hot time of the year to be fishing in the Hunter Valley. The surface water temperatures in the lakes will be at their peak, topping out at nearly 30°C in the middle of the afternoon. Take care this month when you’re out on the water. Keep hydrated and wear plenty of sun protection. It’s also a good time of year to be cooling down in the water, rather than baking in the sun. The fishing won’t be very different from last month, unless we get a lot of rain so that water levels come up and the water cools. Glenbawn and St Clair will still have a prominent deep bite during the daylight hours. The deep plastic will be your workhorse for putting numbers of fish in the boat. A 2-3” curltail grub or paddle-tail is ideal for this presentation. Match this plastic up with a 1/8-1/4oz jighead and you have an effective way to target fish in the deep. These jighead weights are ideal and won’t send your plastic plummeting to the bottom too quick so fish won’t eat it on the drop. In a finesse situation like this where you slow roll the plastic right in front of the fish’s face, it’s the attention to detail that gets the bites. Rig the plastic perfectly straight. Trim tails to ensure they swim at the slow speeds and even match plastics up to jigheads. My preferred head is the Bassman 1/4oz jighead. Glen and Sue Casey have produced an absolute fish catcher in this head. The

shape and balance of the Bassman head is ideal and won’t spiral on the slow wind up. This creates a more natural retrieve. A quality sounder is a must for deep fishing this time of year. You will need to make sure your sounder is set up correctly, so you can easily present your lure to the fish. Adjust the sensitivity level so you can easily see your lure moving up and down in the transducer beam. This allows you to drop your lure straight down onto fish and closely watch their reactions to the lure. Sound around and look in 30-60ft of water. It shouldn’t take long to find some schooling or scattered fish. A vertical presentation is ideal for getting your lure right in front if the fish, because of how deep the fish are. Casting and sinking you lure down to fish will still work, but fishing vertical gives you a visual indication of the fish. You can then target individual fish and navigate your lure up and down around standing timber. The vertical presentation helps you to retrieve your plastic out of the fish’s comfort zone and entice bites. Hot and glassed out sunny conditions seem to be the best for a subtle plastic presentation. If the wind picks up or you’re faced with an overcast day, try using a blade or tail-spinner. The fish like a more aggressive action when the water is stirred up. Hopping these lures through the schools or slowing back to the boat should see some bites. Fish care is of high importance this month. These impoundment fish are non-breeding and every fingerling is hand-placed into the waterways. All fish

too careful. I would also like to congratulate local fishing club Hunter Native Fish. The group have been working hard on maintaining fish stocks in the Hunter Valley with the assistance of

BCF Rutherford, Tackle Power Sandgate and Strike On Designs. The Club’s donations for raffles raised the funds for 2400 bass fingerlings put into Lostock Dam on 17 December, last year.

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Local club Hunter Native Fish released fingerlings into Lostock Dam in December. caught from deep water will suffer some sort of barotrauma. The air in the fish’s swim bladder expands and causes them to struggle to swim back down to where they came from. The longer they’re up in the hot weather, or on a hot deck, the more unnecessary distress on the fish. Unless you know how to needle a fish’s swim bladder correctly, I suggest a quick photo before sending them on their way. Using a release weight is another method

that will assist getting back down. Surface fishing at night is always an option to beat the heat in the summer months. With hot water temperatures and more daylight hours, the bite can take a long time to start. Up to an hour after the sun has gone down is a good starting point. If you are willing to stay out, the bite could last until sunrise. Proper precautions are always needed when fishing at night. With so many waterway injuries and deaths over the Christmas break, you can’t be

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Redfin eating anything in the water that moves ORANGE

Ian McLean

The fishing has been pretty good lately, with the standout being the redfin. They’re cruising around in huge schools in Burrendong and Carcoar, and have been biting their heads off. All you need to catch them is a cheap lure – anything that’s shiny. Little Celtas are good, as well as tiny little hardbodies in gold or silver (even black will work) that dive anywhere from

3-7m. Vibes with rattles are great too; we’ve caught loads of redfin on Jackall TN 50s and TN 60s in the spawning tiger colour. Other good options are small spinnerbaits, soft plastics, and any type of metal blade that is black or gold or silver in the 50-60mm size range. It’s so easy to get kids into fishing if you target redfin at this time of year because you can buy a cheap lure and catch 100 redfin. We’ve caught 100 in less than an hour for the two of us. It’s crazy fun for the kids,

and will get them addicted to fishing in no time. The average size at the moment is 25cm, but we’ve been getting quite a few in the mid 30s. They’re great on the plate. Water temperatures have been rising, reaching 27-30°C in some places. This has caused the yellowbelly to seek refuge in deeper water. You can target them with a deep diver that gets down to 5-7m, such as an Oar-Gee Plow. Lipless crankbaits like TN 60s have also been catching their share. The Murray cod in the western rivers have been going great. The Lachlan River between Cowra and Condobolin has been yielding plenty of cod. Most are undersize rats, although there are reports of a few specimens over 80cm. It’s the same story in the Macquarie River from Wellington to Warren. Lure fishers and bait fishers are getting similar numbers of cod. A lot of the bigger cod are being caught on lures, but it takes longer to get a bite when you’re casting or trolling lures than

This is how you want your esky to look! if you’re using bait. Still, if you’re prepared to spend the time using lures you’ll have a much better chance of getting a bigger fish. The biggest caught in the Macquarie recently was a 108cm caught on a Native Lure spinnerbait. Other effective lures have been Oar-Gee Plows, spinnerbaits, Gobsmacked surface lures (FrogWalker, Leviathan and Rattlesnake) and Native Lures custom buzzbaits. When it comes to colours,

natural greens and browns have been working the best, followed by black. FISHING IN FEBRUARY All the natives will be out in the deeper water this month. If you’re targeting yellowbelly or Murray cod, you should be fishing in depths around 5-10m. The redfin will still be going crazy. They will be found anywhere between 2-7m. They just don’t care! The best time to fish for them is on a sunny

day, and there should be plenty of those this month. • For the latest info on where the fish are biting and what you need to catch them, drop into Tackle World Orange at Unit 1, 66 Peisley St. The staff have over 40 years of fishing experience, and the store stocks a wide range of products for both experts and beginners. Come in for a chat, give us a call on 02 6361 8924 or look up Tackle World Orange on Facebook.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Toxic dredging costs Soldiers Point Marina operator $220,000

Tracy Mclean with a redfin that took a 4” Gulp Turtleback Worm in watermelon. She went on to catch around 30 fish in one hour.

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The operator of the Soldiers Point Marina will pay $220,000 in fines and clean-up costs after the NSW Environment Protection Authority took action for illegal dredging which disturbed toxic sediment. EPA Regional Director North, Adam Gilligan, said that the timeliness of a tip off to the EPA’s Environment Line by a member of the public was vital in catching out the Marina operator. “Time is of the essence when it comes to water pollution incidents and when EPA officers arrived on site they were able to take samples of the water and sediments,” he said. Following the investigation which began in May, the EPA issued Clippers Anchorage Pty Ltd with fines for two separate offences, a Clean-Up notice

and an official caution. 1. $15,000 fine for pollution of waters: Clippers dumped dredged material onto their boat ramp which was observed spilling back into the Marina waters, part of the Port Stephens Marine Park. Water samples and dredged sediments had high concentrations of the compound tri-butyl-tin, a toxic anti-fouling paint chemical used on boats in Australia until it was banned 10 years ago. 2. $15,000 for contravening a licence condition: Clippers did not carry out their licensed activities in a competent manner by failing to have adequate controls to prevent pollution from the dredging. 3. Clean-Up notice requiring Clippers to lawfully dispose of the sediment: The transport, pre-treatment and disposal of the waste at a

specialised facility in Sydney is estimated to have cost Clippers $190,000. The EPA have also issued an official caution in relation to the poor handling of the waste. “The EPA has put Clippers on notice. They need to take immediate action to improve their environmental performance and we’ll be keeping a close eye on them to ensure they act responsibly,” Mr Gilligan said. “Although we don’t believe that there has been any long-term environmental harm, it’s vital that companies have the appropriate controls in place to protect the community and the environment.” Clippers have been previously fined by the EPA for environmental offences at the Soldiers Point Marina. In April 2014 the EPA fined Clippers $1,500 following a diesel spill. In

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May 2016, the EPA fined the company $15,000 for releasing pollutants into the Marina waters while undertaking maintenance on a large vessel. The EPA encourages members of the community with knowledge of a pollution incident to contact the EPA’s 24 hour Environment Line on 131 555 and report the matter Penalty notices, official cautions and prevention notices are a number of tools the EPA can use to protect the environment and achieve environmental compliance. The EPA takes in a range of factors into account to determine its regulatory response, including the degree of environmental harm, potential health impacts, compliance history, public interest and best environmental outcomes. – NSW RecFisher

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Preventing the spread of WATER WEEDS Can’t see the fish through the weeds? Don’t let your favourite spot get like this.

Help prevent the spread of water weeds! WHAT ARE WATER WEEDS? Water weeds are invasive plants that pose a threat to the economic, environmental and recreational value of our waterbodies. HOW DO THEY AFFECT ME? Water weeds can form large floating mats, dense submerged thickets or extensive stands along the bank. They create poor water quality conditions affecting the diversity and abundance of fish and other aquatic life. Heavy infestations restrict watercraft navigation, prevent access to fishing spots, foul fishing gear and make it difficult to land fish. Water weeds can be spread by fishers and boaters. Propellers and anchors can cut plants into fragments and spread them within and between waterbodies. Fragments can spread from an infested waterbody to a weed-free waterbody by attaching to watercraft, trailers and fishing equipment. Some weeds can survive considerable time out of water and a single plant fragment can start a new infestation. WHICH WEEDS ARE CONSIDERED A PROBLEM? Weeds such as alligator weed, salvinia, water hyacinth, water lettuce and cabomba can have serious impacts on the health of water systems, as well as restrict access for recreation (e.g. boating and fishing). Recent outbreaks of water hyacinth on the Dumaresq

river near Tenterfield and alligator weed on the Namoi and Peel rivers near Gunnedah and Tamworth raise serious concerns about the invasion of water weeds in the Murry/Darling river system.

SALVINIA (Salvinia molesta): a floating water weed.

WATER HYACINTH (Eichhornia crassipes): a floating water weed.

HOW CAN I HELP? WHAT SHOULD I DO? You can help reduce the spread of water weeds and prevent new outbreaks by: • Inspecting and removing any plants from watercraft, trailers and all equipment before leaving a site or launching at a new site. • Learning to recognise water weeds. Be on the lookout for new or unusual water plants.

WATER LETTUCE (Pistia stratiotes): a floating water weed.

CABOMBA (Cabomba caroliniana): a submerged water weed.

ALLIGATOR WEED (Alternanthera philoxeroides): an emergent water weed that can also grow on land.

Weed profiles are available in NSW WeedWise, via the free Android and Apple smartphone app (available in the app stores), and online at weeds. dpi.nsw.gov.au. Specifically, a list of important water weeds in NSW can be found at weeds.nsw.gov.au/weeds/ aquatics • Avoiding weed-infested waterbodies and stopping the engine in infested areas. • Reporting suspicious infestations using the contact information at the bottom of this page.

Inspecting and removing water plants from watercraft, trailers and gear can help reduce the spread of water weeds.

Report to your local council weed officer or NSW DPI on 1800 680 244 or email weeds@dpi.nsw.gov.au Further information on water weeds can be found at ww.dpi.nsw.gov.au/weeds

Back into the swing of it with consistent cod Copeton. Many anglers were able to tick a beautiful cod off their bucket list through the holidays. The cod have continued to feed on the surface both early in the morning and late afternoon into the evening. The pick surface lures have been paddlers from Water Stalker and KingFisher, Mudeye Snakes and New England wakebaits. The new Water Stalker Sneak wakebait has also met with success both in Copeton and in the

COPETON DAM

David Allen manager@copeton.com.au

Christmas and the school holidays are behind us. As we all get back into things and kids are back at school, the crowds have gone and the fish are coming out to play. Copeton has fished very well right through the holidays. Murray cod were consistent. These are the fish that bring people to

local rivers. This lure is only 110mm long in the body, but has a tail of the same length. The much awaited and anticipated 100mm Mazzy Vibe Forte has arrived. These mega Mazzys will be a game changer; there is nothing else out there at the moment like them. They have been designed and developed here at Copeton. Many prototypes were tried before the final design went into production. They have the same ability as the original to stand

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on their nose on the bottom wagging their tail. They also have the same shake and roll on the retrieve or troll as their little brothers. I reckon if a 70cm+ yellowbelly is going to be caught in Copeton, it will be on a Mazzy Vibe Forte. The local cod population are the fish that the Forte was designed to target and they have been impressed by the Forte’s colours and action with a number of metre fish taken since it’s release. The question was raised a number of times during the holidays about the use of opera house traps for yabbies in Copeton Dam. The short answer is that opera house traps can’t be used in Copeton or any waterways east of the Newell Highway. This is to protect platypuses in their natural habitat. Shrimp traps and hoop or lift nets can be used. See the NSW Recreational Freshwater Fishing Guide for more information. Don’t forget your float needs to be marked with the type of trap, your first initial and surname, year of birth and postcode. Local yabbies are a gun bait for all fish in Copeton. Another interesting capture during the holidays was an albino Murray cod. This is

Jayden Mutimer pulled this 112cm cod on 2 STROKE & 4 STROKE OUTBOARDS the first Mazzy Vibe Fortes in the country. Fastest growing name on the second true albino that cod there are in Copeton. No has been caught in the last wonder Copeton is the cod the market for competitively few years. Wayne Nichols capital of Australia. was the lucky angler and the • Copeton Dam is one of the priced QUALITY outboards! fish measured 92cm - 4cm best lakes in NSW to catch

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shorter than the one caught 18 months ago. According to fisheries, this will usually occur once in 20,000 fingerlings, but the chances of them surviving in the wild are probably 1 in 500,000. It just goes to show how many

a trophy Murray cod. Dave runs the Copeton Waters Holiday Park and is a great source of up to date, local information on what’s biting. Contact the park on (02) 6723 6269 for information and accommodation bookings.

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Wayne Nichols with his 92cm white cod prior to release.

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In cod angling heaven NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

The fishing so far in 2017 has followed suit from last year and has been well above expectation. The local rivers are flowing after a fair share of wild summer storms, and the local dams are still looking in very good shape. RIVERS Beardy Waters is up high and discoloured after lots of rain in the area, but that hasn’t affected the fishing along the river. Redfin become more active in the heat, so there

LOCAL DAMS Pindari Dam has been pretty quiet for fishing lately, with not many reports coming back at all. We’ve seen only the odd yellowbelly or two here and there, but that’s not saying there’s not fish being caught. It usually fishes well at this time of year, so it’s probably only a matter of being there at the right time. After previous rains, the dam is slowing making its way up to the 100% mark again. Blades and lipless crankbaits are Pindari favourites, and if you’re having trouble finding fish, then flicking points and trees, or trolling the red buoys

morning late last year, and between us we witnessed something many anglers only ever dream of. We were at a very likely looking bay for an hour or so, where there were plenty of baitfish jumping. Thomas was feeling very confident and mentioned how good the area was looking, when a 128cm behemoth Murray cod became airborne to eat his surface lure. The commotion it made was something special, and those several tense minutes of the fight before landing it from a kayak were insane. I also managed a healthy 93cm cod later that morning flicking

Thomas Vodli nailed this 128cm Copeton behemoth off the surface.

Ryan Thompson with an early morning cod on a swimbait. have been plenty of good size fish taken in the middle of the day fishing the bottom with blades and soft plastics. Darker colours have been the colours to go to lately with the stained water, as they put out a nicer silhouette. With other species like carp, yellowbelly and Murray cod in the same system, you never know what you might end up catching, but as mentioned in previous reports, most land along the Beardy River is privately owned, so make sure to ask permission first if fishing these waters. The Severn River has been fishing better than I’ve seen in many months. I recently caught up with another very keen and adventurous angler from the Coffs Coast named Ryan Thompson, and set out for a kayak fish in search of our beloved Murray cod. We definitely found what we were looking for and after one and a half days of solid fishing we managed over 100 cod on a variety of lures and techniques between us. The standout lures for the trip were 1/4oz and 1/2oz chatterbaits, 2oz spinnerbaits and swimbaits from 120-220mm long, proving that it doesn’t hurt to go big even when fishing the smaller waterways.

along the wall can sometimes produce some good fish. Copeton Dam was the place to be over the festive season and through the New Year, as big fish were being caught left, right and centre on a variety of techniques. I’m not sure if the water being let out for irrigation plays any part at all, but it has been dropping at a rate of at least 1% every few days.  I was fishing with a mate from the Gold Coast are early

the 56g Westin Monster Vibe spinnerbait to top off an epic session.  Surface lures and large spinnerbaits have been the standout lures for Copeton lately, although plenty of good fish have been taken on big swimbaits and soft plastics as well. If you’re interested in how I catch my fish, then stay tuned, as I’ll be adding to my Youtube channel this year, so make sure you

Double hook-ups on swimbaits – does it get more exciting? jump on there, subscribe and check it out at Adam Townsend Fishing. If the fishing stays anything like it has been in previous months, then we’re in for another really good year chasing the Aussie natives! So keep fishing hard and I might see you on the water soon!

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING AUSTACKLE CRASH CRANK

The Austackle Crash Crank is the new floating crankbait designed for tough targets. It’s perfect for Murray cod, barramundi, mulloway, estuary cod, golden perch, mangrove jack and many more. The Crash Crank’s painted bib increases the profile of your lure while keeping it at a manageable size without the need for heavier rods. You can cast with ease, or troll. The large bib and buoyant body make the Crash Crank easy to work through snags and right into the face of fish, to maximise your catch rates. Boasting top quality design and construction, the Crash Crank has a straight through one-piece internal wire and upgraded VMC hooks and rings. This effective new lure comes in 74mm and 44mm lengths, weighs 35g and dives to 7m. www.austackle.com

GEECRACK MESH ROD COVER

SKELEFISH MUDDIE

A big buck mud crab created in Bigfish’s 3D ‘Skele style’ is latest addition to the Big Fish range. The Skelefish Muddie is illustrated in amazing detail with hints of the green and yellow carapace over the ‘skeleton’ body. The mud crab is posed in different aggressive stances on the front and back of the shirt, and sizes range from X-Small to 5X-Large. Bigfish creates some of the most practical, comfortable and sun protective apparel on the market. BFMaxFlow is a high performance, moisture-wicking fabric that is not only soft to feel, but durable and incredibly cool to wear. The breathability is second to none, and the fabric is rated as UPF50 (excellent sun protection). This apparel is aimed squarely at anglers, and is designed to stand up to the harshest of elements. For full sizing information, or to see the full range of apparel and designs, visit the Big Fish Gear website. Price: RRP $89.95 www.bigfishgear.com

LIVELY LURES MOHAWK

The latest addition to Lively Lures stable is the Mohawk, which is a deep diver for fresh and saltwater fishing. The Mohawk is suitable for both inshore and freshwater species. It dives to 3m plus and can be cast or trolled, and it comes battle ready with #4 VMC hooks. Like all Lively lures it’s built tough to withstand the harsh treatment Australian fish can dish out. Rather than being a two-part plastic lure, it’s made from polyurethane, which provides a stronger end product that is solid bodied with all components built in. This means the lure will stay together and swim even if it has been punctured by sharp teeth. The Lively Lures Mohawk is currently available in 10 fish-catching colours, and you can buy them online direct from the Lively Lures website. For more information and photos look up Lively Lures on Facebook. Price: SRP $15 www.livelyluresonline.com.au

STORM SX BLOOP FROG

DAIWA SALTIST COASTAL RODS

Plenty of freshwater predators live and hunt under thick cover such as lilles, weed mats and tangled branches, but there’s limited ways to fish these areas. That’s where the Storm SX Bloop Frog can change the game! With a well-tested weedless design, the Bloop Frog can be twitched or walked over the thickest cover. The soft body collapses upon strike, allowing for better hook up rate. The chin of the frog stays up at rest, but once twitched, gives off a very seductive ‘bloop’ sound. The frog can be either walked like a stickbait, or twitched like a popper and the long trailer skirt makes for an extra level of attraction. A rear weight is a plus for castability, and at 20g, this little beast can be thrown on the heavy tackle often used to fish frogs. The SX Bloop Frog floats, comes in six froggy colours and the body is 7cm, a perfect snack size for bass, barra, Murray cod or saratoga. www.rapala.com.au 104

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Most of the damage to a rod’s guide or finish comes when you’re travelling from place to place. Banging around in a rod locker or vehicle can result in tangled rods, lures and line, as well as the possibility of broken tips and scratched guides or blanks. An easy way to avoid all this hassle is to use a mesh rod cover from Japanese company Geecrack. Geecrack Mesh Rod Covers slip on and off with ease. They slide easily over guides, line and even small lures, so you can prerig ready to go. The durable PVS mesh won’t go mouldy when wet, and hooks are easily removed if they get caught in the mesh. Different colours help you easily identify different rods, which is one reason why covers like these are so popular with tournament anglers around the world. There are two models to choose from: a baitcast version (170cm long, 3cm opening), and a spin version (170cm long, 6cm opening). Price: SRP $24.95 www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

Saltist has been synonymous with the Daiwa saltwater range for over a decade, designed and built to handle the punishment from the coastal environment. Inshore lure fishing with soft plastics and hard bodies, using smaller reels and braids has evolved such that a specialist range of light tackle rods is required. With that in mind we introduce the Saltist Coastal rod series. By combining the latest in Daiwa blank technology with a well-designed range of models, the Saltist Coastal opens up a whole new world for the inshore saltwater lure angler. Features include HVF, Fuji Alconite Guides, Fuji reel seats and V Joint. There are five spin models, ranging from the SAC70M (213cm long, 1-piece, medium action, fast taper, 7-21g cast weight, 4-7kg line rating) through to the SAC70XH (213cm, 1-piece, extra heavy action, fast taper, 21-60g, 12-17kg). There is also an overhead model, the SAC70HB (213cm, 1-piece, heavy action, fast taper, 14-50g, 7-12kg). www.daiwafishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING HALCO CHROME TIGER COLOUR

After extensive product development and field testing, Halco has expanded its colour range. The new pattern is called R49, also known as chrome tiger. It is now available in the Laser Pro 190, Laser Pro 160, Max 190 and the Max 130 models due to popular demand. Based on a highly reflective body, the R49 chrome tiger features striking body stripes, a jet black back and is paired with a strike-attracting bright red head. The R49 also includes Halco’s unique ‘designed to bleed’ painting technique. When savage strikes take off some of the outer paint, they reveal a blood red colour underneath. This makes the lure look like a wounded baitfish that would make an easy meal. To check out the complete Halco colour range, head to the Halco website. It has recently been redesigned with extra features and videos, so it’s well worth checking out. www.halcofishing.com

GIANT KILLING JIGGING SP RODS

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Majorcraft has unveiled a new giant killer with the release of the Giant Killing Jigging SP range. Four models feature in the range, offering jigging fans an array of choices, weights, and options for their next jigging session. True to their Japanese pedigree, the new Giant Killing rod range is superb in design and refinement, with Cross X Force technology, and ergonomic reel seats and grips combining to make this series stunning in power and performance. Like all Major Craft rods, Giant Killing rods have been selected for Australian fishing conditions. The Major Craft range also includes two-piece spin estuary rods ranging from 7’0” to 7’6”, with a crisp action and light feel. There’s also an offshore spin range, which suits both bait fishing and lure casting. Ranging from 7’0” to 8’3”, these rods are built tough and feature the same high quality Fuji K guides. The Major Craft range also features travel rods and egi rods. For more info check out the Majorcraft website. www.majorcraft.com.au

ZMAN 5” STREAKZ CURLY TAILZ

The popularity of the ZMan 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ in both the fresh and salt has led to the development of the larger 5” StreakZ Curly TailZ profile. This profile features a minnow-shaped body with belly slot for easy weedless rigging or adding a squirt of scent, and its long, lively curl tail is sure to make it a goto for snapper, mulloway, flathead, barra and a variety of other species. The 10X Tough, super-soft and flexible ElaZtech plastic allows you to catch more fish per lure, while having a realistic feel that keeps fish biting. The buoyancy of ElaZtech also ensures the plastic has a tail up ‘feeding’ pose when at rest on the bottom, which attracts fish and triggers strikes. As well as being a deadly profile on its own, the ZMan 5” StreakZ Curly TailZ is also sure to prove popular as a spinnerbait or ChatterBait trailer. It’s available in eight colours with four per pack. Price: SRP $11.50 www.tackletactics.com.au

SHIMANO OCEA SPOUTER

The Ocea Spouter is a surface lure like no other. It looks pretty much like your standard cup-faced surface popper, but an internal chamber behind the face squirts a rooster tail of spray out behind the lure’s head as it is swept through the water. The principle is not unlike the front of a jet engine on a plane, being narrow in the front and then widening internally. The internal chamber also aerates the water, creating even more whitewater and commotion than a standard cup-faced popper. With a low down tow point, it is also a lot easier to work than a conventional cup-faced popper and therefore gives lots more ‘pop’ for far less effort. Heavy-duty in-line single hooks rigged on 150lb breaking strain split rings demonstrate that this lure is all about big fish business. It’s available in two sizes — 120 and 150mm, with casting weights of 52 and 94g respectively — and five colours ranging from clear through to multi-shaded. www.shimanofish.com.au

DAIWA J-BRAID X4

Supreme line management is critical for longer casts with fewer knots. Daiwa J-Braid X4 PE boasts all of that, with a smooth, round profile design that wraps neatly and evenly onto the reel spool. Being a four-strand braid, it’s also one of the more affordable options on the market. Perfectly suited for spin and overhead reels, and available in bulk spools, J-Braid X4 is colourfast, and the multicoloured version is metered in 10m, 5m and 1m increments, making it ideal for offshore applications. The casting distance of J-Braid X4 is complemented by its thin diameter – but don’t be fooled. Despite being thin, J-Braid is strong. The multi-coloured version is available in 20-80lb breaking strains, so strength is never an issue. J-Braid X4 also displays excellent abrasion resistance to give you confidence to fish it in even the heaviest structure. In field testing, this is where this braid really excelled. Daiwa J-Braid X4 is available now in 135m, 270m, 300m, 500m and 3000m spools. www.daiwafishing.com.au

AUSTACKLE MURRAY 12 COD SHIRT Step out in style with a new design Murray Cod sublimated fishing shirt from Austackle. This lightweight, superfast drying shirt will ensure you stay comfortable all day long. These shirts are long sleeved and without a cuff so you can stay cooler, while still having the flexibility to raise a sleeve if you so desire. The fabrics have been thoroughly tested both on and in the water to meet demanding Aussie conditions. These shirts will not shrink or fade, and they are rated to UPF50+ to give you maximum sun protection. The Austackle Murray Cod Shirt is available in kids sizes 4, 8, 12 and 14, and adult sizes XS through to 6XL. See the Austackle website for sizing information, or ask your local tackle store to try one on. Price: SRP $65 www.austackle.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au FEBRUARY 2017

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING NEW PACEMAKER COLOURS

Renowned for its high speed trolling ability, the Pacemaker is now available in two new colours: UV squid and mahimahi. Pacemaker’s sleek design has been tweaked and fine-tuned to allow you to troll faster with a wider trolling spectrum to attract a variety of aggressive fish species. The ideal troll speed is 6 knots for most pelagic species, which the Pacemaker handles with ease, but it can increase its speed up to 15 knots in most models. Structurally sound, the Pacemaker incorporates a one-piece stainless steel welded wire, heavy-duty split rings, VMC 3X Perma steel hooks, realistic eye, prism tape insert and the original Samaki-designed colour concepts including slimy mackerel, yellowfin tuna, stripy and pilchard. These lures are available in 140mm and 180mm lengths in two diving depths each, ranging from 2m to 8-10m. They’re dynamite on tuna, mackerel, wahoo, barramundi, kingfish and more. For information and stockists visit the Samaki website, or follow them on Facebook and Instagram. www.samaki.com.au

WILSON’S VENOM STICKBAIT RODS

The 7’11” two-piece Venom Stickbait rods are built on the Venom patented himodulus blank, coupled with Fuji Silicone K-Frame guides to give exceptional casting performance. The softer tip of the Venom Stickbait rods give better action to stickbaits and allows the angler to work the lures through calm and rough conditions perfectly. Tested in the brutal fishery of Wreck Reef, the Venom Stickbait rods accounted for all the target species including Spanish mackerel, giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, red bass and coral trout. Two rods are in the range; the Stickbait 1 is a 30-50lb braid rated rod that can cast stickbaits between 25-100g, and the Stickbait 2 is a heavy rod that is rated for braided lines from 4060lb and can cast larger stickbaits between 40g and 150g. Custom shaped slender grips finish off these exceptional rods, giving the angler more feel and control when the pressure is on. When casting distance is a premium, you can be sure the Venom Stickbaits will deliver it and have the strength to manage any encounter. www.wilsonfishing.com.au

LUNKERHUNT ZMAN PINK FISHING 14 POPPING FROG SHIRT The Lunkerhunt Popping ZMan’s popular fishing shirt is now available in pink. This quality, lightweight shirt has a UPF45 sun protection rating. It has a collar, long sleeves, zip front and is manufactured from dye sublimated, quick dry material, ready for your next big fishing adventure. Additionally, the quality of the manufacture means it won’t fall apart. This shirt is absolutely perfect for keeping the sun off this summer, and at an affordable price too! The initial run of sizes available includes kids sizes 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 14, along with adult sizes XS, S, M, L and XL. These shirts are available to order now from your local tackle store or online from the Tackle Tactics website. Get in now while stocks are available. Price: SRP $49.95 www.tackletactics.com.au

NEW KNELLER TIMBER LURES

Paul Kneller began making lures 24 years ago under the banner of Deception Lures, which he sold in 2004. Now, after opening a tackle shop with his wife Cheryl, and taking a break from lure designing, Paul is back with a renewed passion for lure making. He’s hard at work creating timber lures with incredible detail. One new models is the Chernobyl Shad 55FD, a 55mm fat-bodied all rounder for bass, bream, flathead, EPs, trout, sooties and more. It dives to around 3m, with a great crash dive on retrieve. It weighs 6g but casts surprisingly well, even off a baitcaster outfit. Another model is the Toxic Shock 70F, a 70mm long wakebait. With a subtle stabbing of the rod tip you can make it walk the dog just below the surface, and when paused it quickly floats back to the surface. This retrieve lets you keep it in the strike zone for a long time. Alternatively, you can slow roll it back, bringing the big tail wag into play. The Toxic Shock 70F is a great lure where a more subtle presentation is required, especially in hard fished areas. Weighing 8g, they cast really well off baitcast or spin tackle. w w w. a u s t r a l i a n l u r e s h o p . c o m . a u / knellerlures 106

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PRODUCT GUIDE 13

Frog calls fish in from afar by creating a surface disturbance. The Frog’s concave face catches water, creating a commotion with popping and spitting noises. Once the fish come over for a look, the lure’s lifelike swimming legs convert looks into explosive strikes. Fitted with a strong double hook, the Popping Frog is as weedless as they come, with a super soft body that allows for excellent hook ups and lifelike feel. The Popping Frog’s super-soft hollow body compresses quickly under the slightest amount of pressure. When it does, the sharp, high quality upturned hooks are ready for the hook-set. These lures generate tons of action with minimal movement. They can be worked along edges, through grass, in pockets and on open water. The swimming legs extend on each action and retract on the pause, just like a live frog. These floating lures are available in 40mm (1/4oz) and 55mm (1/2oz) sizes, and come in a wide range of colours. www.ejtodd.com.au

WILSON LURE WRAP

Seeing a need to protect the blanks and guides of rods from lure damage in transit, Wilson Fishing has developed the 26cm x 15cm Wilson Lure Wrap. The Lure Wrap encloses the lure and the rod, stopping the lure from banging around while you are underway. The damage that can be caused to a rod blank, the bindings and the guides can be quite significant if you travel distance in a boat with lures rigged, as almost all of us do. The Wilson Lure Wrap stops this damage by protecting the rod blank from a wildly swinging and swaying lure. Additionally the Lure Wrap reduces the risk of anglers catching themselves on the hooks of rigged lines and allows for better storage of rigged rods, whether in rod lockers or in rod stands. Coming in packs of two, the Wilson Lure Wraps are simple, effective and one of those products that you can’t believe you didn’t think of yourself. www.wilsonfishing.com

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Geecrack – If you don’t already know the brand, you will

The Geecrack Gilling 75SS is a small swimbait that has a enticing action that mimics a baitfish.

came from nowhere to eat the lure. On top of this, the Mustang 50’s castability was excellent for a small lure. Those extra couple of metres can sometimes make all the difference. The BB Mustang weighs 10g and comes in 16 colours. GEECRACK SWING CHATTER I first became aware of the Geecrack brand through the Swing Chatter. I had been searching for a chatterbait that had something other than a 4/0 or 5/0 hook that I could use to target bass. My search had proved to be harder than I expected until I came across Swing Chatter. The 2/0 hook size and smaller profile were what I was looking for. I was surprised at the amount of action/ vibration that these lures have, even on the drop. The first fish I caught on the Swing Chatter hit it on the drop, and the many fish that followed came during the pause in a retrieve. The Swing Chatter leaves you in no doubt that the lure is swimming as it should be. The vibration of the blade as it swims is very apparent not only through the line, but through the rod tip as well. The second great feature was the

These days Aussie anglers are familiar with the quality of Japanese fishing lures. However, what many anglers may not know is that the Japanese products in Aussie stores are only a small sample of what is available in Japan. A brand that comparatively few Aussie anglers know of is Geecrack. Australian wholesaler Dogtooth Distribution is set to launch Geecrack in a big way, showing off the brand’s attention to detail and product diversity, which will undoubtedly make it a favourite in 2017. How do I know? Because I put them to the test. The Swing Chatter has a grub keeper so you can add a soft plastic to increase its profile. In this case it is a Geecrack Bunny Hog.

Although small and stout in size, the BB Mustang packs a punch and proved to be the stand-out lure during the author’s trip. GEECRACK TINY GILLING 75SS The Geecrack Gilling is a slow sinking swimbait with a replaceable plastic tail, and it’s available in 165mm, 125mm and 75mm sizes. I hadn’t had a great deal experience with swimbaits, and was keen to try it out. I could see myself seductively twitching the Gilling in pocket water surrounded by weed beds and structure, and rolling it over weed beds or sinking it next to a laydown, before retrieving it along the length of it – all of which it is ideal for bass. I found that the Tiny Gilling casts like a demon on spin tackle, and using a slow roll the segments of the lure produce a lovely tail beat action. It sits about a foot below the surface and is a true baitfish imitation. The area I fished is full of bony bream,

spangled perch and barred grunter, which are the staple diet for the local bass, golden and silver perch. The Gilling 75SS was a very similar profile to these fish, and bass and silvers climbed all over it. There is no doubt that allowing the lure to slowly sink and giving it a twitch occasionally was a great looking retrieve. Unfortunately, on this trip that’s not what the fish wanted. A slow rolling retrieve achieved the best results, with the fish consistently hooked on the forward treble. The Gilling was also at home cast across flowing water, and it had fish ducking out of their hidey-holes to eat it. The 75SS weighs 10g and is available in 31 colour combinations. GEECRACK BB MUSTANG 50 This squat, 50mm hardbody was the surprise packet of the trip. The BB Mustang is a highly buoyant lure, which on a medium fast retrieve, dives to about 1m. It has two segments, with the second segment aiding the lure’s rolling action. For such a small profile lure it has a wide action, and because it’s so buoyant it’s great to work in and over structure. When I say surprise packet of the trip I don’t mean that I didn’t believe it would catch fish, I just didn’t expect it to be the lure to catch fish when no others did! On more than one occasion, sections of the river seemed devoid of fish. However, when I cast out the BB Mustang the fish

TESTED

you can add a soft plastic of your choice. I caught fish with and without the addition of a plastic, with my plastic of choice being another Geecrack lure – the Beat Craw. Swing Chatters are available in 1/2oz, 3/8oz and 1/4oz sizes and come in 22 colours. Geecrack Beat Craw and Bunny Hog It would be remiss of me not to mention the Geecrack Beat Craw and Bunny Hog soft plastics. They are yabby imitation soft plastics that are very lifelike. The Beat Craw

The Geecrack Swing Chatter is a great option if you are looking for a smaller profile chatterbait. is 3” long and the Bunny Hog is available in two sizes, 5” and 6”. I have used them predominately to increase the profile of my spinnerbaits and chatterbaits. The claws create extra vibration and appeal to draw fish to them. The claws of the Bunny Hog in particular have a lot of movement for their size. This movement would also ensure they would also be very effective used on their own on a jighead. The Beat Craw is available in 17 colours and the Bunny Hog comes in 12 colours. CONCLUSION This is only a small cross-section of the Geecrack lures that will be available in Australia in 2017; there are plenty of other options that Dogtooth Distribution will be

Another chunky bass that had to have a crack at the BB Mustang. profile. Most of the chatterbaits I had come across were bulky to say the least. Not only did they have large hooks, they also had big skirts and big blades – great for targeting our bigger natives but less suited for bass. The Swing Chatter’s skirt, by contrast, is sparse, making it more of a finesse bait. And if you do want to increase the profile of the Swing Chatter, you can. Integrated in the head is a grub keeper, so

bringing in. Lures like the Orenta 70 lipless crankbait, the Daisy Spin deep jig or the Sugari 60 suspending minnow all have a place in any native angler’s tackle box. So remember the name Geecrack the next time you are in your local tackle store, and check out the quality of these lures for yourself. If the store doesn’t have them, tell them they should check them out too! - Peter Jung

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING TESTED

Black Magic Whiting Snatcher and Whiting Whacker

The author with a double hook-up on the Whiting Snatcher paternoster rig. Any Fishing Monthly readers who read my weekly Moreton Bay reports (reports.fishingmonthly.com.au), would know I’m definitely an old school fisherman. A lot of us old schoolers find it hard to change the ways we have always caught fish; it’s a lot easier to stick with the kind of fishing that we know, and to keep using the tackle we have confidence in. Recently I was asked to try out some Black Magic whiting rigs. Now, I have fished for whiting the same way for decades. I have been catching these tasty fish consistently in my local waters for many years, and haven’t changed my approach much at all in that time. I was quite sceptical about trying something new, but I thought it might be interesting just the same. So I said yes, I’d be happy to try them out. Before long a parcel from Black Magic found its way to my doorstep. I opened it up and found some of the recurve circle KL hooks they make for whiting, and also some of their premade whiting rigs. Black Magic makes two different versions of whiting rigs – a paternoster rig and a running rig. Both rigs use fluorocarbon trace and Black Magic’s Japanese KL recurve hooks (a variation on the traditional circle hook). The paternoster rig is called the Whiting Snatcher, and it comes with either pink or green lumo beads for that bit of extra attraction. The running rig is called the Whiting Whacker, and it comes with red

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PRODUCT GUIDE

beads. Both rigs have bright tinsel to add some flash to your bait, with the choice of several different colours. With my new rigs and hooks in hand, I set off to my whiting grounds. PUT TO THE TEST I didn’t take any live bait on my trip. All I brought was the Black Magic rigs, a couple of packets of Berkley Gulp Sandworms, a

hook, and both worked. And yes, as circle/recurve hook fans would expect, all the fish were getting hooked in the side of the mouth. I have to say with this tiny hook I really expected the whiting to swallow it. However, that blurb on the packet about the hook hooking the fish on the side of the mouth was totally correct. It was a surprise to me but I was very happy to be wrong. By the end of the session we had managed over 40 fish, using only eight Berkley Sandworms, the Black Magic whiting rigs, and seven prawns. After this experience I think it’s going to be hard to go back to long-shank red hooks and live worms and many packets of prawns! I figure why would you bother when you can catch that many fish without outlaying all that money on live bait! Even after all those fish we caught, the rigs were in excellent condition. There were a couple of things I would change though. For my specific kind of fishing, which is chasing diver whiting in Moreton Bay, the 15lb trace is too heavy. The packet says the rig is suited for both whiting and small reef fish, which explains the heavier line, but it doesn’t suit the specific fishing I do. I re-rigged the rigs on 10lb line, and the results were significantly better fishing with that light leader and small sinkers. It wasn’t a hassle re-rigging with a different leader; I just used a blood knot and it was fine. I recommend using 8lb or 10lb for this application. Another thing I found was that the paternoster rig was a lot more successful than a running rig. I expected this, having tried running sinker rigs in this area years ago. The problem is weed. When we used running rigs in the old days we were running our hooks through the weed. When we switched to paternoster rigs some years ago, we found the hooks sat nicely above the weed and our catch rates improved significantly. If you’re drifting and you’ve got your line 30ft to the side or back, the first hook is close to the bottom but not right on it, and the second hook is up a bit further again, so you get no weed on your hooks.

All baited up and ready to go. small packet of prawns and a bit of squid. I have to say I was not feeling too confident, but knowing the whiting were there I felt it was time to try these new ways. To my utter surprise, the whiting loved the Black Magic rigs. I tried using a small piece of Gulp Sandworm at the tip of the recurve, and then a small piece of prawn on the

The whiting are happy to come up off the bottom to eat these higher baits, so you don’t have to worry about that. If you’re fishing the surf, however, I’m sure the running sinker rig would be the go. The only other problem I had was that, with my fat fingers, it took me a little longer than usual to get a little bit of bait on the

recurve hooks. I had trouble getting the worms to sit the way I am used to seeing on a hook. Still, it didn’t seem to matter one bit as the fish kept getting hooked. I suspect I just have to accept the idea of the baits sitting in a different way, instead of me wasting time getting them to look the way I’m used to seeing them on a traditional long-shank J hook. RECURVE HOOKS After my first trip I went back out again to try the Black Magic KL hooks with bait. What can I say… they worked, really well!

All the whiting hooked themselves in the corner of the mouth. I tried using both worms and prawns, and found worms to be the best. It’s a bit hard to feed a prawn nicely onto the KL hooks, but the worms go on well. People used to bait fishing for whiting would know that worms can be very expensive, but I found that with these recurve hooks I was able to get away with using a shorter length of worm. On a long-shank J hook I used to use a 1” or 1.5” length of worm, but with the KL recurve hooks I had excellent results using only 0.5” of worm. That was a benefit I didn’t expect. On a subsequent trip I used even smaller pieces – only 1cm long. We ended up catching 50 whiting using only three bloodworms. The KL hooks caught every single fish in the side of the mouth. People who chase other species with recurve/circle hooks would know that you often need to avoid striking, as it can pull the hook straight out of the fish’s mouth. You either wait for the fish to hook itself, or give a slow lift. With these whiting, however, it didn’t matter whether you struck or not. They sucked the worms right in and hooked themselves instantly. In fact, I believe you’re more likely to pull a long-shank J hook out of a whiting’s mouth when you strike, as those hooks lie straight when they get sucked in. All in all, I would definitely recommend giving these hooks and rigs a go – and this is coming from a fisherman who finds change a bit difficult to adapt to. The fact is that they worked. – Spero Kartanos

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2017 FEBRUARY

MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

10-12 Feb

Riverina Classic Catch and Release Darlington Point

Shaun Roche 04 4772 7697

12-Feb

BASS Electric Major #1 Clarrie Hall

www.abt.org.au

18-19 Feb

South Coast Fishing Clubs Inc. Beach comp Kiama

www.nswfca.com.au

18-19 Feb

Mallacoota BREAM Qualifier #1 Mallacoota

www.abt.org.au

22-23 Feb

Gippsland Lakes BREAM Qualifier #2 Gippsland Lakes

www.abt.org.au

Mar 18-19

South Coast Fishing Clubs Inc. Deep Sea comp Berry

www.nswfca.com.au

18-19 Mar

BASS Electric #1 Lenthalls

www.abt.org.au

29-30 Apr

Hawkesbury River BASS Pro Qualifier #1 Hawkesbury River

www.abt.org.au

1-2 Apr

Albany BREAM Qualifier #3 Albany

www.abt.org.au

5-6 Apr

Blackwood BREAM Qualifier #4 Blackwood

www.abt.org.au

8-9 Apr

BASS Electric #2 Toonumbar

www.abt.org.au

20-May

BASS Electric #3 Hinze Dam

www.abt.org.au

20-21 May

South Coast Fishing Clubs Inc. Rock comp Lakeview

www.nswfca.com.au

20-21 May

Manning River BREAM Qualifier #5 Manning River

www.abt.org.au

3-4 Jun

Cania BASS Pro Qualifier #2 Cania Dam

www.abt.org.au

7-8 Jun

Boondooma BASS Pro Qualifier #3 Boondooma Dam

www.abt.org.au

17-18 Jun

BASS Electric #4 Borumba Dam

www.abt.org.au

5-6 Jul

Lake St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier #4 Lake St Clair

www.abt.org.au

8-9 Jul

Glenbawn BASS Pro Qualifier #5 Glenbawn Dam

www.abt.org.au

15-16 Jul

Richmond River BREAM Qualifier #6 Richmond River

www.abt.org.au

30-Jul

BASS Electric #5 St Clair

www.abt.org.au

13-Aug

BASS Electric Major #2 Moogerah

www.abt.org.au

19-20 Aug

Gold Coast BREAM Qualifier #7 Gold Coast

www.abt.org.au

2-3 Sep

Clarence River BASS Pro Qualifier #6 Clarence River

www.abt.org.au

16-17 Sep

BASS Electric Convention TBA

www.abt.org.au

30 Sep-1 Oct

St Georges Basin BREAM Qualifier #8 St Georges Basin

www.abt.org.au

14-15 Oct

BASS Pro Grand Final Richmond River

www.abt.org.au

30 Oct

BARRA Tour Round #1 (Evening Event) Teemburra

www.abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing nsweditor@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. FEBRUARY 2017

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The 2016 Shimano Reel It In Flathead Challenge The Shimano Reel It In Flathead Challenge has quickly become one of the most anticipated events on the fishing calendar in Victoria and Southern NSW. The 210 anglers that formed the 71 teams this year converged on the coastal town of Mallacoota on 19-20 November for what would be the biggest Flathead Challenge yet. Anglers representing five different states and territories began their road trips early in the week, eager to not only take out the coveted first place but also to enjoy all that Mallacoota has to offer. Many came to have a fun relaxing weekend fishing with mates and like-minded flathead fishos. Despite the scheduled power outage that had homes and businesses without power for large parts of the weekend, Mallacoota was spectacular. It was an unbelievable weekend of glorious sunshine, light winds for most parts of the day

brag mats, as well as jigheads, lures, stickers, buffs and plenty more. The briefing for the main event explained that fishing times would be from 7:30am-4:00pm on both Saturday and Sunday and that a team’s best 10 flathead over the weekend would count to overall points, with two points per 1cm awarded. All fish needed to be photographed alive on the 2016 official brag mat with the team’s keytag clearly visible. SATURDAY Perfect conditions greeted the anglers at Karbethong Boat Ramp early on Saturday morning. Still chewing down bacon and egg rolls and sipping coffee from Cafe 54, the guys and girls were busy launching their boats in anticipation of the day ahead. At 7:30am the teams were off. Many of them spread out through the bottom lake, heading over to the usual haunts like Cemetery Bight and Alan Head, while

first trophy-sized flathead and the boys were beaming. That night at the pub saw hundreds of photos being judged and at the end of day one. Semi-local team from Orbost Voss Motors found themselves with the number one spot. The top five teams heading into Sunday were Voss Motors, Flat Out Fish’n, Burrinjuck Bandits, Dusky Demons and Team G. SUNDAY Again, teams were greeted by perfect conditions with even lighter winds promised for the day early on Sunday morning. Once away, teams headed off into every nook and cranny searching for that fish of a lifetime. Voss Motors, who held the lead heading into day two, were a team of mechanics from Orbost. Although their captain was the only member of the team fishing with lures, all members were pulling their weight and they were the team to beat. ABT and Vic Bream Classic regulars The Smashed

Phillip Dickson with the biggest flatty of the weekend coming in at 86cm. and plenty of fish caught. FRIDAY The pre-fish day saw most teams out on the water trying to locate a few fish. It was also the day of the Kaydo Fishing World Da$h for Ca$h. This event sees the top 10 from the previous years’ Flathead Challenges plus a few invited teams battle it out for almost $4000 in cash. Fishing times were from 7:30am-1:30pm and a team’s best five flathead photographed would decide the winners. Local family team Flat Out Fishin’, consisting of Darren, Tracy, Bowen and Laurel Joiner, took out the Da$h for Ca$h and pocketed $2200 for their troubles. What a great way to start the weekend. Friday Afternoon saw the excitement building as teams started rolling into the Mallacoota Pub for a beer or two and a meal. They picked up their bags of goodies, consisting of their 2016 Flathead Challenge shirts and 110

FEBRUARY 2017

some tried their luck around the channel markers closer to town. These areas all produced fish, but the teams that managed the better fish for the day, fish in the 50-65cm range, were the teams that headed upstream. Areas like Cape Horn through to Gypsy Point accounted for a lot of nice fish. Some teams even went further and headed up the Genoa and Wallagaraugh rivers. These areas saw some solid flathead. Flathead Challenge organizers were out and about to check in on teams and have a casual fish while they waited for the call that someone had landed a decent whopper. Not long after midday, it happened. Phillip Dickson from the Dusky Demons had just caught and photographed a beautiful, well-conditioned fish of 86cm. The officials boat-raced over to film the fish and see the guys from Geelong. To say they were happy was an understatement. This was their

Crabs had a solid day one that saw them in 6th place heading into Sunday. Although they caught plenty of fish in the bottom lake on Saturday, they decided not to play it safe and land more of the same size fish. Instead, they journeyed right up the back past Gypsy Point in search of upgrades. The gamble paid off with three nice upgrades coming in the first hour that would put them right up there. “The old match the hatch method for soft plastics worked. We just threw colours similar to the baitfish we had seen over the past few days,” Mitch King from the team said,. Team G was doing something different to most teams. With 5th place coming into Sunday, the boys were feeling confident with their decision to fish hardbodies over plastics. They continued this game plan heading into day two. With all four team members on the hardbodies in

Winners are grinners. Team G used hardbodies to take home the gold. a variety of deep and shallow divers, the boys fished the upper reaches. While they never landed a big girl, they ended up with a solid bag with 8 of their 10 going over 50cm. That afternoon saw the pub packed again while the photos were judged. With over $20,000 worth of prizes up for grabs, from some of the biggest brands in the industry, anticipation was high. It was the boys that went outside the square who took the biggest prize of all. Team G, with a total of 1052 points from their best 10 fish of the weekend, scooped up the prize pool and took home almost $10,000 worth of gear, including a Shimano Stella and TCurve each, a $2000 boat wrap from Form a Sign Wraps and some great gear from Tonic eyewear, Compleat Angler and Lowrance. They were more than stoked. Team G fished hard and had a lot of fun over the weekend, showing great humility in their win – a great bunch of guys. Other sponsors of the event included BCF, Pro Lure, Pirtek, Nitro Tournament

TOP 10 RESULTS Place................Team...................................... Points 1 .....................Team G...................................... 1052 2 .....................Voss Motors ............................. 1028 3 .....................Smashed Crabs ....................... 1014 4 .....................Burrinjuck Bandits . .................... 994 5 .....................Dusky Demons ........................... 987 6 .....................Flat Out Fish’n ............................ 982 7 .....................The Crusty Crab ......................... 972 8 .....................CKR . .......................................... 961 9 .....................Bobzac ....................................... 957 10 ....................My Cods...................................... 953 BIGGEST FLATHEAD Day...................Angler...........................Length (cm) One...................Phillip Dickson............................... 86 Two...................Kevin Clarke............................... 74.5 Rods, Kaydo Fishing World, Jigman, PFD Australia, Nautica Bar and Restaurant, Beachcomber Caravan Parks, Pelican Pete’s, and of course, The Mallacoota Hotel. Voss Motors and The Smashed Crabs rounded out the top three teams. Interestingly, the top three teams for the weekend all had four team members, so perhaps that sacrificed room in the boat for an extra angler was worth it to have the extra lure out there. The weekend was a

great success and also raised considerable money for Beyond Blue. Teams are already looking forward to the next event in Mallacoota and the inaugural Reel It In Lake Tyers Flathead Challenge on March 25-26. For all details of upcoming Flathead Challenges, including the Australia wide RFC Series where you can fish anywhere you want for your five best flathead, visit www. reelitinflatheadchallenge. com. – Scott Wakefield

Releasing these big girls carefully is not only law, but it’s just as satisfying as catching them.

Cod come out to play for a cracker Cod Classic! If you were going to order some weather conditions, be it for a wedding, funeral or fishing competition, you would order the absolute perfect conditions served up to the masses for the recent 2016 Yamaha Cod Classic. Near on 2500 fishers descended on Lake Mulwala and the Murray River to enjoy what was labelled as ‘the perfect event.’ Everything went to plan without a hitch, and the fish came to play as well.

informative event briefing, the drawing of the first boating package took place. Brent Sheather of Young was the lucky winner and celebrated accordingly with his travelling fishing party! At the close of registrations Saturday morning, 2492 eager anglers (2204 adults and 288 juniors) had nominated. With new rules in place in regards to fish measuring and verification, it was going to be a case of wait and see what was caught for

They couldn’t all be monsters, but many competitors had fun catching good numbers of fish on the lake. Photo courtesy of Stephen Booth.

into Sunday. The word had spread that a 135cm monster had been caught, but unfortunately that was a small mistake from the measuring master who had read the tape measure wrong. Thanks to Lance’s honesty, this small mistake was pointed out and the event continued as usual. Saturday night’s crowd was a blockbuster, with conditions being perfect once again. Boats, beer and banter made for a super evening at Lonsdale Reserve, the event’s HQ. Sunday morning saw anglers greeted with perfect conditions once again. Headaches and hangovers put pay to a lot of well-laid plans, but the door was still open for someone to pip the leaders. Unfortunately this was not to be, and Saturday’s leaders remained at the top of each section. Lance Veivers took the chocolates for his 103.5cm beast, while Josh Hughes came out on top in the juniors with a healthy 88cm Murray cod. The winners in the senior and junior ‘Yella’ sections were 58 and 54cm respectively, and a monster carp of 85cm took out the longest carp prize.

RESULTS Longest cod (adult)................................. Lance Veivers............................. 103.5cm Longest cod (junior)................................ Josh Hughes................................... 88cm Longest yella (adult)............................... Mark Ikstrums.................................. 58cm Longest yella (junior)............................... Jonathon Svilar................................ 54cm Longest carp (open section)................... Peter Ohlsen.................................... 85cm With the main marquee being set up two days earlier than usual, the pressure was off to have everything ready by 2pm on Friday when the gates opened. The usual steady crowd flocked in to enjoy the fishing and outdoors expo for the afternoon. Numbers swelled into the evening with huge crowds present for the evening’s activities. There had been bigger event numbers in the past, but never before had so many chose to attend the night’s festivities due to the great weather. After an

the day. Rules stipulated that anglers had to photograph and release their fish upon capture and then return their photos for verification at day’s end. Saturday evening saw masses converge on the verification tables, cameras and phones in hand, all wanting to show and recount their day’s captures. There was no better set of photos than those produced by Lance Veivers from Queensland. Lance had landed himself a beautiful 103.5cm cod that saw him the one to catch going

Interestingly, cod numbers were the second highest in the history of the event, only finishing behind last year’s total. There were 522 legal size cod verified, while 426 yellas were captured and 275 returned to collect points. Again, it goes to prove that Lake Mulwala is the home of the Murray cod. AUSTRALIAN CANOE AND KAYAK COD FISHING CHAMPIONSHIPS Thanks to Capacity Sports, the Native Watercraft Australian Canoe and Kayak

Cod Fishing Championships entered its sixth year with 70 yakkers taking to the water via paddle or pedal. Tony Moriatis had a good day on the water landing a 75cm cod, long enough to help him claim the title of 2016 Australian Canoe and Kayak Cod Fishing Champion. The lucky winner of the major boat raffle was Rod Hume of Griffith. One of the most pleasing aspects of the event was a phone call from NSW Fisheries, who complimented all anglers on their compliance with all fishing rules. They also noted they did not see one dead fish and decided to leave and head to the Murrumbidgee River in search of those trying to flout the law. COD CLASSIC GOLF CHAPIONSHIPS To round out the weekend, the 12th Cod Classic Golf Championships took place at the magnificent Black Bull course. Some of the rules were if you do not hit it you don’t count it, if you can retrieve it within 10 seconds from the tee you can have it again, you could choose to have one kick and one throw somewhere within your round and all sledging is fair while having your shot, and this all made for an interesting day. Under the Handicap Equalisation System, Dave Silva was the eventual winner with a 91-43-48! This left Dean Turner wondering how he could manage to have a super 73 off the stick (handicap 4) and still manage to be 21 shots off the pace! On a sad note, great friend of many Cod Classic competitors and long time participant, George Jovanovic passed away on the Saturday evening of the event after his battle with a nasty illness. George’s family have mentioned he may have passed earlier but were sure he was holding on to see another Cod Classic. George Jovanovic, competitor 1352, rest in peace.

Mulwala really is the home of the Murray cod. Photo courtesy of Stephen Booth. Thanks to the support from the many sponsors, donors and volunteers. Your assistance is appreciated and the event could not

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Central Vic Lure Casters Native fish tournament anglers will be spoilt for choice in 2017 with the Central VIC Lure Casters adding a Pro series to their calendar. There will be four rounds with the first event being held at Lake Eppalock Holiday Park on 25-26 February. The tournaments are two angler teams events, where anglers will compete for a cash prize pool comprised of 80% of the entry fees. The cost is $250.00 per

team and the prize money goes to the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place getters. Fish must be caught either using lure or fly with no trolling. The best five golden perch and best five Murray cod count towards your bag. Additional bonus points are added for any extra fish caught of the target species. For more information on the Pro Series and Super Series events, contact David ‘Roundy’ Nelson on 0418 378 944 or via email on roundy@

cvlcss.com. There is also plenty of information on their Facebook pages, Central Vic

do without it. Everyone looks forward to another successful event in 2017. – Tony Bennett, 2016 Cod Classic Event Director

ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

Pro Series and Central Vic Lure Casters Super Series. – Central Vic Lure Casters BENT MINNOWS

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SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228 FEBRUARY 2017

111

Trades, Services, Charter MARINE MECHANICS SYDNEY

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www.fishin.com.au 0425 230 964 Blue Bottle Fishing 0409 333 380 or www.bluebottlefishing.com Mo Tackle (02) 6652 4611 or www.motackle.com.au Specialty Fishing Products www.specialtyfishing.com.au Adrenalin Flies www.adrenalinflies.com.au Techni Ice www.techniice.com J Roc Tackle www.jroctackle.com.au Jayro Tackle www.jayrotackle.com.au Dubbo Marine and Watersports (02) 6882 2853

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This section in NSW Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching.

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory ILLAWARRA COAST

QUEENSLAND

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2017 2017 2017 Local Time

SYDNEY SOUTH WALES WALES SYDNEY (FORT (FORT DENISON) SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – – NEW NEW SOUTH WALES JANUARY JANUARY JANUARY

LAT LONG 151° 13’ 13’ LAT 33° 33° 52’ 52’ LAT 33° 52’ LONG 151° Times Waters Times and and Heights Heights of of High High and and Low Low Waters Times and Heights FEBRUARY MARCH FEBRUARY MARCH FEBRUARY MARCH

Time m Time m m m Time m m 0540 0.47 0.50 0540 0.47 0.47 0.50 0540 0.50 1159 1.78 1.78 1159 1.76 1.76 1159 1.76 1.78 1831 0.33 0.34 0.34 MO 1831 0.33 0.33 MO 1831 0.34 MO 1.37 1.37 1.37 0041 0.52 0041 1.42 1.42 0.52 0041 1.42 0.52 0628 1.74 0628 0.55 0.55 1.74 0628 0.55 1.74 0.35 1241 1.63 1.63 0.35 TU TU 1241 1241 1.63 0.35 TU 1912 1912 0.42 0.42 1912 0.42

Time Time Time 0000 0000 0000 0551 0551 0551 1208 WE 1208 WE 1208 WE 1834 1834 1834 0047 0047 0047 0643 0643 0643 TH 1256 TH 1256 1256 TH 1919 1919 1919

m m m 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.45 0.45 0.45 1.71 1.71 1.71 0.32 0.32 0.32 1.51 1.51 1.51 0.49 0.49 0.49 1.61 1.61 1.61 0.37 0.37 0.37

0127 0127 1.39 1.39 0025 1.37 1.37 0127 1.39 0025 1.37 18 3330025 0717 0603 0.55 18 0717 0.62 0.62 0603 0.55 18 0717 0.62 0603 0.55 TU 1323 1.49 1.49 1225 1.69 1.69 WE WE 1323 TU1225

0140 0140 33 0140 0741 0741 0741 FR 1349 FR 1349

1.52 1.52 1.52 0.53 0.53 0.53 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.43 0.43 0.43 1.53 1.53 1.53 0.56 0.56 0.56 1.39 1.39 1.39 0.48 0.48 0.48 1.56 1.56 1.56 0.56 0.56 0.56 1.32 1.32 1.32 0.51 0.51 0.51 1.62 1.62 1.62 0.51 0.51 0.51 1.30 1.30 1.30 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.70 1.70 1.70 0.42 0.42 0.42 1.33 1.33 1.33

Time Time Time 0432 0432 0432 1101 1101 1101 1738 SU 1738 SU1738 SU 2339 2339 2339 0516 0516 0516 1142 1142 1142 MO 1819 MO1819 1819 MO

111 222

16 16 16 17 17 17

1.49 1.69 WE 1323 TU 1225 1952 1902 1952 0.50 0.50 1902 0.37 0.37 1952 0.50 1902 0.37 0215 1.37 0114 1.38 0215 1.37 1.37 0114 1.38 1.38 0215 0114 0811 0656 0811 0.69 0.69 0656 0.58 0.58 0811 0.69 0656 0.58 1409 1.37 1312 1.62 TH WE 1409 1.37 1312 1.62 TH WE 1409 1.37 1.62 WE 1312 1950 2035 0.56 0.56 1950 0.39 0.39 TH 2035 2035 0.56 1950 0.39 0207 0307 0207 1.41 1.41 0307 1.37 1.37 0207 1.41 0307 1.37 0755 0913 0913 0.73 0.73 0755 0.61 0.61 0755 0.61 0913 0.73 1503 TH 1503 1.27 1.27 1406 1.53 1.53 FR TH1406 FR TH 1406 2042 0.42 2123 0.60 2123 1.27 0.60 2042 1.53 0.42 FR 1503 2042 0.42 2123 0.60 0306 0402 0306 1.45 1.45 0402 1.39 1.39 0306 0402 0902 0.62 1022 0.73 0902 1.45 0.62 1022 1.39 0.73 0902 1022 1.46 1608 1.21 1509 0.62 1.46 SA 1608 0.73 1.21 FR FR1509 SA FR 1509 2138 0.43 2217 0.62 2138 1.46 0.43 SA 1608 2217 1.21 0.62 2138 0.43 2217 0.62 0407 0500 0407 1.52 1.52 0500 1.43 1.43 0407 0500 1017 0.59 1133 0.70 1017 1.52 0.59 1133 1.43 0.70 1017 1133 1.40 1.19 1620 0.59 1.40 SU 1716 0.70 1.19 SA SA1620 SU 1716 1620 1.40 1716 1.19 SA 2237 2237 0.43 0.43 SU 2313 2313 0.62 0.62 2237 0.43 2313 0.62 0509 0555 0509 1.62 1.62 0555 1.49 1.49 0509 0555 1134 1.62 0.52 1235 1.49 0.63 1134 0.52 1235 0.63 1732 0.52 1.39 MO 1820 0.63 1.21 1732 1.39 1820 1.21 SU1134 MO 1235 SU SU 1732 2336 1.39 0.41 MO 1820 1.21 2336 0.41 2336 0.41 0609 1.73 1.73 0005 0.60 0.60 0609 0005 0609 0005 1244 1.73 0.41 0644 0.60 1.56 1244 0.41 0644 1.56 1841 0.41 1.40 TU 1326 1.56 0.55 1841 1.40 1326 0.55 MO1244 TU 0644 MO MO 1841 1.40 TU 1326 1913 0.55 1.25 1913 1.25 1913 1.25 0033 0.39 0.39 0052 0.57 0.57 0033 0052 0033 0052 0705 0.39 1.84 0728 0.57 1.63 0705 1.84 0728 1.63 1345 1.84 0.30 WE 1409 1.63 0.47 1345 0.30 1409 0.47 TU0705 WE 0728 TU TU 1345 1942 0.30 1.43 WE 1409 1958 0.47 1.29 1942 1.43 1958 1.29 1942 1.43 1958 1.29 0129 0.36 0.36 0135 0.53 0.53 0129 0135 0129 0135 0800 0.36 1.93 0808 0.53 1.69 0800 1.93 0808 1.69 1441 1.93 0.22 TH 1446 1.69 0.40 WE0800 TH 0808 1441 0.22 1446 0.40 WE 2038 0.22 1.46 TH 1446 2038 0.40 1.34 WE 1441 2038 1.46 2038 1.34 2038 1.46 2038 1.34 0215 0.49 0.49 0221 0.35 0.35 0215 0221 0215 0221 0846 0.49 1.75 0852 0.35 1.98 0846 1.75 0852 1.98 1523 1.75 0.35 1531 1.98 0.16 FR FR 0846 TH0852 1523 0.35 1531 0.16 TH 2116 0.35 1.38 2130 0.16 1.47 FR 1523 TH 1531 2116 1.38 2130 1.47 2116 1.38 2130 1.47 0313 0.34 0.34 0255 0.45 0.45 0313 0255 0313 0255 0942 0.34 1.99 0925 0.45 1.80 0942 1.99 0925 1.80 1620 1.99 0.16 SA 1559 1.80 0.30 FR0942 SA 0925 1620 0.16 1559 0.30 FR 2220 0.16 1.48 SA 1559 2155 0.30 1.42 FR 1620 2220 1.48 2155 1.42 2220 1.48 2155 1.42 0402 0.36 0.36 0335 0.43 0.43 0402 0335 1030 0.36 1.96 1003 0.43 1.82 0402 0335 1030 1.96 1003 1.82 1706 1.96 0.19 SU 1003 1635 1.82 0.28 1030 SA 1706 0.19 1635 0.28 SA SU 2309 1.47 2234 1.45 0.19 1635 0.28 SA 1706 SU 2309 1.47 2234 1.45 2309 1.47 2234 1.45 0452 0.41 0.41 0417 0.42 0.42 0452 0417 1115 0.41 1.87 1043 0.42 1.82 0452 0417 1115 1.87 1043 1.82 1749 0.25 1714 0.27 1115 1.87 1043 1.82 SU MO 0.25 MO 1714 0.27 SU 1749 2355 0.25 1.44 MO 1714 2316 0.27 1.48 SU 1749 2355 1.44 2316 1.48 2355 1.44 2316 1.48 0502 0.42 0.42 0502 1125 1.78 1.78 0502 0.42 1125 1753 0.28 1125 1.78 TU TU 1753 0.28 TU 1753 0.28

444

19 19 19

555

20 20 20

666

21 21 21

777

22 22 22

888

23 23 23

999

10 10 10

24 24 24 25 25 25

FR 1349 2009 2009 2009 0237 0237 0237 0848 0848 0848 1451 SA 1451 SA SA 1451 2107 2107 2107 0340 0340 0340 1006 1006 1006 SU 1606 SU 1606 SU 1606 2212 2212 2212 0447 0447 0447 1126 1126 1126 1725 MO MO 1725 MO 1725 2318 2318 2318 0553 0553 0553 1237 1237 1237 1836 TU TU 1836 1836 TU

55 66 77

0021 0021 88 0021 0654 0654 1338 1338 WE 0654 WE

WE 1338 1936 1936 1936 0119 0119 0119 0748 0748 1430 1430 TH 0748 TH TH 1430 2029 2029 2029 0212 0212 0212 0839 0839 1516 1516 FR 0839 FR FR 1516 2115 2115 2115 0301 0301 0301 0926 0926 1559 SA 0926 1559 SA 2200 SA 1559 2200 2200 0348 0348 0348 1010 1010 1639 SU 1010 1639 SU 2243 SU 1639 2243 2243 0432 0432 0432 1052 1052 1715 MO 1052 1715 MO 2323 MO 1715 2323 2323 0516 0516 1131 0516 1131 1751 1131 TU 1751 TU TU 1751

10 10

11 11 11

26 26 26

11 11

12 12 12

27 27 27

12 12

13 13 13

28 28 28

13 13

14 14 14

29 29 29

14 14

15 15 15

30 30 30

0002 0002 15 0600 0002 0600 15 1209 0600 WE WE 1209 1825

31 31 31

0.47 0.47 0.47 1.78 1.78 1.78 0.33 0.33 0.33 1.38 1.38 1.38 0.42 0.42 0.42 1.86 1.86 1.86 0.26 0.26 0.26 1.44 1.44 1.44 0.38 0.38 0.38 1.90 1.90 1.90 0.22 0.22 0.22 1.49 1.49 1.49 0.36 0.36 0.36 1.90 1.90 1.90 0.22 0.22 0.22 1.51 1.51 1.51 0.36 0.36 0.36 1.86 1.86 1.86 0.25 0.25 0.25 1.52 1.52 1.52 0.39 0.39 0.39 1.78 1.78 1.78 0.30 0.30 0.30 1.51 1.51 1.51 0.44 0.44 1.68 0.44 1.68 0.37 1.68 0.37 0.37

1.49 1.49 0.51 1.49 0.51 1.57 0.51 1.57 0.45 WE 1209 1825 1.57 0.45 1825 0.45

Time Time Time 0042 0042 0042 0644 0644 0644 1246 1246 1246 1859 1859 1859 0123 0123 0123 0731 0731 0731 1328 1328 1328 1937 1937 1937

m m m 1.47 1.47 1.47 0.57 0.57 0.57 1.45 1.45 1.45 0.52 0.52 0.52 1.44 1.44 1.44 0.64 0.64 0.64 1.34 1.34 1.34 0.58 0.58 0.58

0209 0209 0209 18 0828 0828 18 0828 SA 1417 SA 1417

1.42 1.42 1.42 0.69 0.69 0.69 1.25 1.25 1.25 0.64 0.64 0.64 1.40 1.40 1.40 0.71 0.71 0.71 1.18 1.18 1.18 0.68 0.68 0.68 1.41 1.41 0.70 0.70 1.16 1.16 0.70 0.70 1.44 1.44 0.65 0.65 1.18 1.18 0.67 0.67 1.51 1.51 0.57 0.57 1.24 1.24

16 16 TH

TH TH

17 17 FR

FR FR

SA 1417 2023 2023 2023 0303 0303 0303 0933 0933 0933 1520 SU 1520 SU SU 1520 2120 2120 2120 0405 0405 1048 1636 MO 1048 MO 1636 2227 2227 0509 0509 1157 1749 TU 1157 TU 1749 2330 2330 0607 0607 1252 1846 WE 1252 WE 1846

19 19 20 20 21 21

22 22

0025 0025 23 0656 23 1337 TH 0656

TH 1337 1932 1932 0112 0112 0740 1416 FR 0740 FR 1416 2013 2013 0155 0155 0820 1453 SA 0820 SA 1453 2051 2051 0236 0236 0900 1530 SU 0900 1530 SU 2130 SU 1530 2130 2130 0319 0319 0319 0941 0941 1606 MO 0941 1606 MO 2210 MO 1606 2210 2210 0403 0403 0403 1024 1024 1645 TU 1024 1645 TU 2252 TU 1645 2252 2252

24 24

25 25

26 26 27 27 28 28

0.62 0.62 1.58 1.58 0.49 0.49 1.31 1.31 0.56 0.56 1.66 1.66 0.41 0.41 1.38 1.38 0.49 0.49 1.74 1.74 0.33 0.33 1.46 1.46 0.42 0.42 1.80 1.80 0.28 0.28 0.28 1.53 1.53 1.53 0.37 0.37 0.37 1.83 1.83 1.83 0.24 0.24 0.24 1.59 1.59 1.59 0.34 0.34 0.34 1.82 1.82 1.82 0.24 0.24 0.24 1.64 1.64 1.64

Time Time Time 0533 0533 0533 1139 1139 1139 1739 TH 1739 TH TH 1739 2359 2359 2359 0615 0615 0615 1216 1216 1216 1812 FR 1812 FR FR 1812

m m m 0.49 0.49 0.49 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.57 1.57 1.57 0.54 0.54 0.54 1.41 1.41 1.41 0.56 0.56 0.56

1.67 1.67 1.67 0.40 0.40 0.40 1.57 1.57 1.57 0.40 0.40 0.40 1.65 1.65 1.65 0.46 0.46 0.46 1.44 1.44 1.44 0.49 0.49 0.49

0036 0036 0036 18 0700 0700 18 0700 SA 1257 SA 1257

1.54 1.54 1.54 0.59 0.59 0.59 1.33 1.33 1.33 0.63 0.63 0.63 1.50 1.50 1.50 0.64 0.64 0.64 1.25 1.25 1.25 0.69 0.69 0.69

1.62 1.62 0.51 0.51 1.33 1.33 0.56 0.56 1.61 1.61 0.52 0.52 1.27 1.27 0.60 0.60 1.62 1.62 0.50 0.50 1.28 1.28 0.60 0.60 1.66 1.66 0.44 0.44 1.34 1.34

20 20

Time Time Time 0451 0451 0451 1108 1108 1108 1725 1725 1725 2337 2337 2337 0541 0541 0541 1154 1154 1154 1807 1807 1807

m m m 0.33 0.33 0.33 1.77 1.77 1.77 0.26 0.26 0.26 1.66 1.66 1.66 0.35 0.35 0.35 1.68 1.68 1.68 0.32 0.32 0.32

0024 0024 33 0024 0635 0635 0635 FR 1245 FR 1245

WE WE WE

TH TH TH

1245 FR 1853 1853 1853 0115 0115 0115 0735 0735 0735 1340 SA 1340 SA 1340 SA 1944 1944 1944 0213 0213 0845 0845 SU 1445 1445 SU 2044 2044 0319 0319 1002 1002 MO 1604 1604 MO 2155 2155 0430 0430 1119 1119 TU 1725 1725 TU 2309 2309 0541 0541 1227 1227 WE 1832 WE 1832

55 66

77 88

0015 99 0015 0642 0642 TH 1324

1324 TH 1928 1928 0113 0113 0735 0735 FR 1411 1411 FR 2015 2015 0203 0203 0823 0823 SA 1453 SA 1453 1453 SA 2057 2057 2057 0250 0250 0250 0907 0907 0907 SU 1530 SU 1530 1530 SU 2136 2136 2136 0333 0333 0333 0947 0947 0947 MO 1605 MO 1605 1605 MO 2214 2214 2214 0414 0414 1026 0414 1026 1638 TU 1638 TU 1026 1638 TU 2249 2249 2249 0454 0454 1102 0454 1102 1709 1102 WE 1709 WE 2324 WE 1709 2324 2324

10 10 11 11

12 12 13 13 14 14

15 15

0.55 0.55 1.72 1.72 0.37 0.37 1.41 1.41 0.48 0.48 1.77 1.77 0.32 0.32 1.49 1.49 0.43 0.43 1.79 1.79 0.30 0.30 0.30 1.54 1.54 1.54 0.40 0.40 0.40 1.78 1.78 1.78 0.31 0.31 0.31 1.58 1.58 1.58 0.39 0.39 0.39 1.73 1.73 1.73 0.33 0.33 0.33 1.60 1.60 1.60 0.41 0.41 1.67 0.41 1.67 0.38 1.67 0.38 1.60 0.38 1.60 1.60 0.44 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 1.59

16 16

17 17

1257 SA 1847 1847 1847 0118 0118 0118 0751 0751 0751 1345 SU 1345 SU 1345 SU 1931 1931 1931 0208 0208 0208 0852 0852 0852 1445 MO 1445 MO 1445 MO 2029 2029 2029 0309 0309 0309 1001 1001 1001 1558 TU 1558 TU 1558 TU 2139 2139 2139 0417 0417 0417 1111 1111 1111 1713 WE 1713 WE 1713 WE 2251 2251 2251 0522 0522 0522 1208 1208 1208 1813 TH TH 1813 1813 TH 2353 2353 2353 0617 0617 0617 1256 1256 1900 1900 FR FR 1256 FR 1900

19 19

21 21 22 22

23 23

24 24

0045 0045 0045 25 0704 0704 25 1337 1337 SA SA 0704

1337 SA 1942 1942 1942 0131 0131 0131 0748 0748 0748 SU 1415 SU 1415 1415 SU 2021 2021 2021 0216 0216 0216 0832 0832 0832 MO 1454 MO 1454 1454 MO 2102 2102 2102 0302 0302 0302 0916 0916 0916 TU 1533 TU 1533 1533 TU 2144 2144 2144 0350 0350 1003 0350 1003 1615 WE 1615 WE 1003 1615 WE 2228 2228 2228 0440 0440 1052 0440 1052 1657 1052 TH 1657 TH 2315 TH 1657 2315 2315 0533 0533 1143 0533 1143 1742 FR 1742 FR 1143 FR 1742

26 26 27 27 28 28 29 29

30 30

31 31 31

1.46 1.46 1.46 0.68 0.68 0.68 1.19 1.19 1.19 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.43 1.43 1.43 0.68 0.68 0.68 1.17 1.17 1.17 0.77 0.77 0.77 1.44 1.44 1.44 0.65 0.65 0.65 1.20 1.20 1.20 0.75 0.75 0.75 1.49 1.49 1.49 0.58 0.58 0.58 1.27 1.27 1.27 0.69 0.69 0.69 1.56 1.56 1.56 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.36 1.36 1.36 0.60 0.60 0.60 1.65 1.65 1.65 0.41 0.41 0.41 1.47 1.47 1.47 0.50 0.50 0.50 1.72 1.72 1.72 0.34 0.34 0.34 1.57 1.57 1.57 0.41 0.41 0.41 1.78 1.78 1.78 0.28 0.28 0.28 1.67 1.67 1.67 0.33 0.33 0.33 1.80 1.80 1.80 0.25 0.25 0.25 1.76 1.76 1.76 0.28 0.28 1.78 0.28 1.78 0.26 1.78 0.26 1.82 0.26 1.82 1.82 0.27 0.27 1.73 0.27 1.73 0.30 1.73 0.30 1.84 0.30 1.84 1.84 0.29 0.29 1.63 0.29 1.63 0.37 1.63 0.37 0.37

Time Time Time 0003 0003 0003 0630 0630 0630 1237 SA 1237 SA SA 1237 1830 1830 1830 0056 0056 0056 0632 0632 0632 1237 SU 1237 SU SU 1237 1825 1825 1825 0055 0055 0055 0742 0742 0742 1345 MO 1345 MO 1345 MO 1930 1930 1930 0201 0201 0201 0855 0855 0855 1503 TU 1503 TU 1503 TU 2045 2045 2045

111 222 333

444

0315 0315 1005 555 0315 1005 1005 1618 WE 1618 WE

1618 WE 2200 2200 2200 0424 0424 0424 1107 1107 1107 1719 TH 1719 TH 1719 TH 2306 2306 2306 0524 0524 0524 1159 1159 1159 1810 FR 1810 FR FR 1810

666 777

0003 0003 888 0003 0615 0615 0615 1242 SA SA 1242

1242 SA 1853 1853 1853 0052 0052 0052 0700 0700 1321 1321 SU SU 0700 1321 SU 1932 1932 1932 0136 0136 0136 0742 0742 1355 1355 MO MO 0742 1355 MO 2009 2009 2009 0216 0216 0216 0821 0821 0821 TU 1427 TU 1427 1427 TU 2043 2043 2043 0255 0255 0255 0858 0858 0858 WE 1458 WE 1458 1458 WE 2116 2116 2116 0332 0332 0332 0934 0934 0934 TH 1528 TH 1528 1528 TH 2148 2148 2148 0411 0411 1012 0411 1012 1559 FR 1559 FR 1012 1559 FR 2222 2222 2222 0451 0451 1050 0451 1050 1631 1050 SA 1631 SA 2259 SA 1631 2259 2259

999

10 10 10 11 11 11

12 12 12 13 13 13 14 14 14

15 15 15

Local LocalTime Time APRIL APRIL APRIL

Time mm m Time m Time m m 0533 0.57 0.57 1.83 0533 1.83 0533 0.57 1.83 1132 1.33 1.33 0.34 1132 0.34 1132 1.33 0.34 1709 0.68 1.52 SU 1709 0.68 1.52 SU 0.68 1.52 SU 1709 2338 1.60 0.47 2338 0.47 2338 1.60 1.60 0.47 0622 0.61 1.79 0622 0.61 1.79 0622 0.61 1.79 1219 1.27 1.27 0.40 1219 0.40 1219 1.27 0.40 1752 0.74 0.74 1.41 MO MO 1752 1.41 1.41 MO 1752 0.74 0.57 0.57 0.57 0025 1.55 1.55 1.72 0025 1.72 0025 1.55 1.72 0717 0.65 0.65 0.46 0717 0.46 0717 0.65 0.46 1315 1.23 1.23 1.32 TU TU 1315 1.32 1315 1.23 1.32 TU 1846 0.79 0.65 1846 0.79 0.65 1846 0.79 0.65 1.66 0120 1.50 1.50 1.66 0120 1.66 0120 1.50 0.49 0819 0.66 0.66 0.49 0819 0.49 0819 0.66 1.29 1421 1.22 WE 1.29 1421 1.22 WE 1.29 1421 1.22 WE 0.69 1953 0.82 0.69 1953 0.82 0.69 1953 0.82 1.63 0225 1.49 1.49 1.63 0225 1.63 0225 1.49 0.49 0922 0.63 0.63 0.49 0922 0.49 0922 0.63 1.33 1531 1.26 TH 1531 1.26 1.33 TH 1.33 1531 1.26 TH 0.67 2107 0.80 0.80 0.67 2107 0.67 2107 0.80 1.64 0332 1.51 1.51 1.64 0332 1.64 0332 1.51 0.46 1018 0.58 0.58 0.46 1018 0.46 1018 0.58 1.40 1631 1.34 1.40 FR 1631 1.34 FR 1.40 1631 1.34 FR 2215 0.62 2215 0.74 0.74 0.62 0.62 2215 0.74 1.66 0432 1.56 1.56 1.66 0432 1.66 0432 1.56 0.43 1107 0.50 0.50 0.43 1107 0.43 1107 0.50 1.48 SA 1722 1.45 1.45 1.48 SA 1722 1.48 1722 1.45 SA 2313 2313 0.64 0.64 2313 0.64 0.55 0526 1.63 1.63 0.55 0526 0.55 0526 1.63 1152 1.67 1.67 1152 0.42 0.42 1.67 1152 0.42 0.41 0.41 SU 1806 1.57 1.57 SU 1806 0.41 1.56 1.56 SU 1806 1.57 1.56 0.50 0005 0.50 0005 0.53 0.53 0.50 0005 0.53 1.67 0615 1.67 0615 1.70 1.70 1.67 0615 1.70 0.40 1234 0.36 0.40 MO 1234 0.36 MO 0.40 1234 MO 1.62 1850 1.70 1.62 1850 0.36 1.70 1.62 1850 1.70 0.46 0055 0.42 0.46 0055 0.42 0.46 0055 0.42 1.65 0703 1.65 0703 1.74 1.74 1.65 0703 1.74 0.41 1316 0.31 0.41 TU 1316 0.31 TU 0.41 1316 0.31 TU 1933 1.66 1.66 1933 1.82 1.82 1.66 1933 1.82 0.45 0145 0.45 0145 0.32 0.32 0.45 0145 0.32 1.61 0753 1.61 0753 1.75 1.75 1.61 0753 1.75 0.44 0.44 WE 1400 0.29 0.29 WE 1400 0.44 1400 0.29 1.68 1.68 WE 2018 2018 1.92 1.92 1.68 2018 1.92 0.45 0237 0.45 0237 0.26 0.26 0.45 0237 0.26 1.56 0844 1.56 0844 1.72 1.72 1.56 0844 1.72 0.47 0.47 TH 1445 0.31 0.31 TH 1445 0.47 1445 0.31 1.70 TH 2105 1.70 2105 1.98 1.98 1.70 2105 1.98 0.46 0330 0.46 0330 0.24 0.24 0.46 0330 0.24 1.51 0937 1.51 0937 1.66 1.66 1.51 0937 1.66 0.51 0.51 FR 1531 0.36 0.36 FR 1531 0.51 1531 0.36 1.69 FR 2154 1.69 2154 2.00 2.00 1.69 2154 2.00 0.49 0426 0.49 0426 0.25 0.25 1.45 1032 0.49 0426 0.25 1.45 1032 1.58 1.58 0.56 1621 0.44 1.45 1032 1.58 0.56 SA 1621 0.44 SA 1.68 0.56 1621 0.44 SA 2245 1.68 2245 1.96 1.96 1.68 2245 1.96 0.52 0524 0.30 0.52 0524 0.30 1.39 1130 0.52 0524 0.30 1.39 1130 1.49 1.49 0.62 1714 0.53 1.39 1130 SU 0.62 SU 1714 1.49 0.53 1.64 0.62 1714 0.53 1.64 SU 2340 2340 1.89 1.89 1.64 2340 1.89

Copyright Copyright Commonwealth Commonwealth of of Australia Australia 2015, 2015, Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology   Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2015, Bureau of Meteorology Datumof ofPredictions Predictions is is Lowest Lowest Astronomical Astronomical Tide Tide Datum Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight daylight savings savings time Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or time (UTC (UTC +11:00) +11:00) when when in in effect effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon

16 16 16 17 17 17

18 18 18

19 19 19 20 20 20

21 21 21

22 22 22 23 23 23

24 24 24

25 25 25

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28 28 28

29 29 29 30 30 30

Last LastQuarter Quarter Last Quarter

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.

boats & kayaks

In the skipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat

Inside story...

Waverider Boats are the brainchild of Pat Jones on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. A quality finish is a must, so all Waveriders are built by Aus Ships in Brisbane, under the supervision of naval architects. They are constructed from plate aluminium to best practice standards.

116 Googong natives

Made for...

Steve Farmer provides a checklist to go through when you purchase a secondhand rig.

Waverider Boats, as the name suggests, are made for handling swell, and getting you home safely should conditions get testing. In a Waverider, you really can ride a wave if you need to, because you get lift, grip and stability all working together, so that you can fly home faster without even being aware of the corrections the boat is making.

This month...

Steve Morgan and Michael Fox catch up with Pat Jones from Waverider Boats to test out their 450 off Mooloolaba in Queensland.

Toby Grundy revisits one of his old haunts, and one of the best little places to find big natives under paddle power.

122 Secondhand care

124 Final fitout

Wayne Kampe outlines the final fitout options for when you buy a boat brand new.

124 Stessco Renegade 440 Softride Mark Saxon gives this new rig a good run in his home waters, powered by a Mercury 60hp.

FEBRUARY 2017

115

Googong green and gold CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

I first fished Googong when I was 18 on the recommendation of an old timer who owned what was then one of the few tackle shops in Canberra. He told me stories of enormous trout and sent me out there with some PowerBait. When we arrived, I walked down from the carpark to the first bay where I spotted a large

ramp. Wheelers Outdoors in Queanbeyan is the closest tackle shop and is worth a visit, because you can get some good advice from the owner John and he stocks some excellent lures. It is important to bring a lot of gear with you, as Googong is riddled with snags and the big Murray Cod will often pulverise your lure, bending hooks and sometimes taking chunks of the lure off completely. Googong opens at 8am and closes at 8pm during

Soft plastics are a great lure to use at Googong, especially for the resident yellas. yellowbelly sitting in the shallows. It was by far the biggest golden perch that I had ever seen, so I ditched the PowerBait, switched to a diver and spent the rest of the afternoon casting for natives. I have been fishing Googong ever since for Murray cod, golden perch and redfin, but only recently have I started to discover the excellent angling opportunities for those who are willing to use a kayak on this amazing body of water. FACILITIES Googong Dam is located on the outskirts of Queanbeyan, about thirty minutes from Canberra. There are BBQ facilities and toilets located near the main carpark, as well as a boat

daylight savings, and opens at 8am and closes at 6pm at all other times. It is best not to test the rangers patience by staying out too late. SPECIES Googong holds healthy populations of large golden perch, enormous schools of big redfin and goliath Murray cod. The largest cod caught in the dam that I have heard of is a 128cm specimen caught by local Canberra gun Sam Hancox. Sam has hooked larger fish, but has lost them in the sunken timber. The big trout that were once stocked in the dam are long gone and only a few remain. Even when I was young, these fish were few and far between. It has been

Scott Goodman caught this cod using one of his Fishizzle lures. 116

FEBRUARY 2017

a native fishery for decades and is regularly stocked, so put your efforts into chasing yellas and cod. TECHNIQUES I could spend a long time writing about the number of lures that have and have not worked at Googong, because some days you can go through an entire tacklebox searching for the right lure for the conditions. Googong can be a really hard place to fish, so it pays to try a lot of different things. However, there are a few lures that I use regularly that consistently catch fish. I caught my first yella at Googong using a Squidgy Wriggler 80mm in redrum. I had run out of ideas and was just trying for redfin. I have now caught a fair few goldens with this lure by targeting the gaps in between the timber, allowing the lure to sink and then fast twitching the plastic back to my yak. Lots of twitches and the occasional pause seem to bring them on the bite. Deep divers are another great choice, especially when casting at banks that drop almost vertical into deep water. Redfin, cod and golden perch all hold in these areas and for me,

The author with a solid chunk of Googong green. rolling this lure up the column and parallel to a tree, many anglers connect to some great fish. Spinnerbaits have to be one of the most effective lures to use when fishing heavy cover at Googong, with a lot of fish hitting the lure on the drop as it descends down the snag towards the bottom. If you are finding the fishing tough, switch to a natural coloured lure that imitates a baby redfin or juvenile yella. Bright lures certainly work at Googong and can be deadly, but when

A solid yak is important as Googong is an alpine waterway. the stand-out lure in these circumstances is the Jackall Chubble. This floating diver can be bounced over timber, and at 65mm, appeals to every species in the dam. I incorporate lots of pauses into the retrieve to give shut down fish a good look at the lure. Vibes also work really well with Jackall TN 60s and 70s fished tight to structure producing excellent results for a lot of anglers. Slow rolling vibes is the best way to connect to a fish, and again, these types of lures appeal to all the species in the dam and consistently get the hits where other lures fail. Googong is deep, with some of the better snags sitting at 10m but still close to shore, so a sinking swimbait is an effective lure in these areas. By slow

the fish are shut down, it pays to use lures that ‘match the hatch.’ THE KAYAK Crossing to the other side of Googong can be like crossing a bar. The wind can whip up, creating waves and genuinely dangerous conditions for any boat or kayak angler. This is why Googong is recognised as an alpine waterway, meaning life jackets must be worn at all times. I use a Native Slayer 13, and it handles the chop with ease. I have fished with anglers in Hobies and Wilderness kayaks and these also held up well. A peddle or paddle kayak is fine, provided it has the stability to cope with the waves. Make sure your kayak has plenty of room for water, food and gear, as Googong is

a big dam and if you go right up into Bradleys Inlet or up the back of the dam, it can take a long time to get back depending on which way the wind is blowing. Fishing Googong from a kayak means that you can use stealth to creep up on the fish. Often, large fish will be feeding up on a bank and will become spooked by a boat, but a yak can creep into these areas without upsetting the fish. LOCATIONS If it is your first time to Googong, I would recommend Shannons Inlet, which is only a few kilometres down from the boat ramp and holds good populations of native fish. Target the timber and grassy banks, and always risk a lure or two by casting in between the exposed tips of the trees. Bradleys is opposite the boat ramp and a fair paddle, but is often worth the trip, as there are some decent cod in the area along with plenty of big redfin. There is a lot of timber to explore, as well as overhanging trees and a few rocky banks. TACKLE I usually fish light, but at Googong, you never know if a monster is going to latch on, whether it be a yella or a cod. For this reason, it is important to upsize everything. For cod, I use a Daiwa Air Edge (heavy) rod coupled with a Tatula 100h baitcaster reel. I use 20lb braid and 25lb leader. This is a solid combo that gets the

job done and doesn’t cost a lot either. For yellas and reddies, I use a Daiwa Gen Black Pinster (series 2) coupled with a Daiwa Gen Black 2000 reel. The rod is only 6’4, but because it is tippy and also powerful in the butt, I find I can throw plastics with ease but also heavier vibes and divers. For yellas and reddies, 10lb braid and 12lb leader is the minimum, as the goldens can reach 70cm with the largest from last season coming in at 71cm. TIMING Googong fishes well year round, with early summer being best. However, there is a flurry of activity in late autumn, which is when a lot of the larger cod are caught. Winter also produces big fish, where the hits are fewer but if a fish does hit, you can almost be guaranteed that it will be big. GET DOWN TO GOOGONG Googong is a challenging fishery because of the weather and also because the fish can be fussy. However, it is also one of the best native fisheries around the Canberra region, and on its day offers some of the most exciting angling opportunities to be had from a kayak, because stealth is key to catching these wily natives. Now is the time to fish Googong, as a new township is being built nearby and it won’t be long before it attracts huge numbers of anglers.

Googong is a stunning fishery.

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Huett Marine Centre

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Blakes Marine

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Dave Hill Marine

1 Berry St, Nowra, 2540 02 4423 6137 info@davehillmarine.com.au

Bay Boat Sales

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Hunts Marine

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COWRA

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WHAT’S NEW BOATING SUZUKI JOYSTICK CONTROL SYSTEM

The Suzuki Precision Manoeuvring (SPM) joystick control system provides fully integrated electronic throttle, shift, steering and joystick control for twin and triple-powered boats equipped with Suzuki’s high-performance 4-stroke outboard motors. SPM utilises the Suzuki Precision Control (SPC) drive-by-wire throttle and shift controls, combined with electronic power steering and joystick control systems and is available with DF150TG, DF175TG, DF200AP, DF250AP and DF300AP outboard models. While underway at higher speeds, an advanced electronic helm provides steering via a control module, with steering effort and number of turns lock-to-lock completely customisable based on user preference and driving style. At low speeds, the joystick can be engaged, providing integrated throttle, shift and steering control to manoeuver the boat in practically any direction when pulling up to the dock, trailering or navigating through close quarters. www.suzukimarine.com.au

TORQEEDO CRUISE POD DRIVES

The Torqeedo Cruise 2.0/4.0 FP and 10.0 FP (Fixed Pod) deliver the top performance that German company Torqeedo is renowned for. Despite being virtually silent, the pod’s performance is equivalent of 5, 8 or 20hp. These motors are lightweight with an optional folding propeller. The Cruise 2.0/4.0 FP propels boats up to 4 tonnes at over 11 km/h and runs for around nine hours at slow speed; and the Cruise 10.0 FP propels vessels up to 10 tonnes up to 32km/h at WOT, and runs for over six hours at slow speed (boat dependent). There is minimal noise, direct cooling in the water and an intelligent computer. The lithium batteries are far lighter than lead batteries, delivering increased range and power. The pod versions are corrosion-protected, very robust and safe, thanks to an emergency magnetic kill switch and no need to carry fuel. Tests have found that a hull-mounted pod drive decreases performance by less than 0.1 knot, so drag isn’t an issue. Price: from RRP $5610 www.torqeedo.com

NEW HONDA PORTABLE 3 OUTBOARDS

Honda has launched three new portable outboards: the BF4, BF5 and BF6. With weights starting from just 27kg, combined with a new carrying handle design, they’re very easy to transport and store. The tiller handle can be fully folded to make the unit even more compact. These engines are equipped with a Honda’s decompression mechanism, which makes starting the engines a breeze whatever the temperature of the engine. For boaters who are sick of getting a tingly arm from harsh engine vibrations, there are new rubber engine mounts integrated into the outboard to absorb practically all vibrations across the rpm range. Hidden under the cowl is an additional 1.5L of fuel, providing up to 43 minutes of travel at WOT. The BF5 and BF6 can also be connected to an additional external fuel tank. These engines share the same 1-cylinder, 127cm³ engine block and benefit from Honda’s industry leading 4-stroke technologies. The new models are available in short (15”/38cm) and long (20”/51cm) shaft. marine.honda.com.au 118

FEBRUARY 2017

FUSION RV-FS402 SOUND-PANEL

PRODUCT GUIDE

The Fusion RV-FS402 Sound-Panel is a complete, shallow-mount 200W dual speaker system, designed for easy and versatile installation. Encapsulated in a single enclosure, Sound-Panel has dual 4” speakers, tweeters and a passive radiator, all tuned for premium sound delivery. Available in black or white grilles, as well as four mounting optional accessory brackets, Sound-Panel is suited to any size vessel and is engineered with IP65 environmental protection against the harsh marine environment. “In boat design, proper location of stereo components is often an afterthought,” said Chris Baird, Managing Director of Fusion Entertainment. “Until now, installers would put speakers wherever they had room, usually overhead, resulting in poor sound quality. Our new Sound-Panel’s powerful components allow for a single, easy-to-install unit to provide superior sound quality with minimal space. If you install a TV, you can mount Sound-Panel just underneath it for a true theatre experience. Whether sitting at anchor or [underway], SoundPanel will let you feel every note in your playlist.” www.fusionentertainment.com

LOWRANCE PRICE DROP

Lowrance has announced a price drop across its HDS Gen 3 range of multifunction displays. Buyers can save $300, $400 and $500 on the 7”, 9” and 12” models respectively, regardless of whether purchasing a head unit only or a transducer package. HDS Gen3 combines a fast processor with enhanced built-in fishfinder and chartplotter technologies. CHIRP, StructureScan HD and StructureScan 3D sonar imaging produce a distinct view of fish holding near the bottom and structure. A multi-touch display and full keypad operation offer fingertip access to all features. It’s all designed to be easy to learn, with operations similar to a smartphone or tablet. HDS Gen3 displays network together, so multiple units may be employed at the helm to allow full screen sonar and chart, or additional units on a casting deck. This system also offers full boat integration. The new RRPs for HDS Gen3 when optioned with a TotalScan Transducer are $1699 (HDS-7), $2899 (HDS-9) and $4199 (HDS-12). Other transducer options are also available. www.lowrance.com

YAMAHA F90

Yamaha’s new lightweight F90 4-stroke is equipped with a 4-cylinder, 16-valve in-line SOHC 1.8L engine, with bigger displacement than the previous generation 1.5L engine it replaces. The bigger F90 is nearly 10kg lighter than the old engine, resulting in improved performance and better balance when fitted on hulls in this category. The F90 is based on the F115B’s 4-cylinder power unit. The design allows the F90 to achieve the weight savings of a single camshaft while still achieving the smooth and efficient performance only seen in 16 valve, 4-cylinder engines of this size. The F90 delivers a 10% improvement in fuel economy, and it’s also very smooth and quiet. It shares the same installation mounting holes as other outboards of similar sizes, making for an easy switch from a twostroke or other brands. It’s compatible with Yamaha’s command link digital gauges, and is also NMEA2000 compatible. www.yamaha-motor.com.au

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

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Kayak fun in the sun BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Hopefully you managed to get the kayak on the water over the holiday break and find a fish or two. There were no extreme fishing trips for me over the break. I got the yak in the water to introduce some newbies to the sport, and to spend some time paddling with friends that wouldn’t consider themselves hardcore anglers. These trips reinforced to me that our sport is so much more than just fishing. It’s the adventure, the mateship, interaction with nature, scenery, the serenity. Then on top of all of this, there’s still the fishing.

RUBY’S MORNING ADVENTURE My first adventure was with Miss Ruby, a nineyear-old who has been doing a bit of land-based bait fishing with dad, but never paddled a kayak. Our plan was to paddle about a kilometre, mostly in the shallows, then pull our kayaks up onto a sandbank where we would fish for Ruby’s first flathead. Ruby is a pretty adventurous young lady and took most things in her stride. Anything she was unsure of we worked at slowly and systematically. After wheeling her kayak to the water, it was PFDs on and then we played around in the shallows for fifteen minutes or so, as Ruby learned how to propel the kayak. We turned left,

kayak up onto the beach, so that it was easier to jump out. Then it was into the fishing. We had a few casts with my go-to plastic and then I suggested changing to my wife’s favourite, which worked, of course. I was casting, Ruby was retrieving and hopping the plastic, and then screaming as a flathead grabbed her lure and sped off across the shallows. I reassured her that all was good, to take her time. After a couple of minutes, we had a flathead in the net. It was her first flathead and she chose to keep it for her and her dad to have for dinner. A dozen casts later and it was fish on again. This fish ate the soft plastic as Ruby was lifting it. The strike was brutal, followed by a first run that took some drag and saw a big smile on Ruby’s face as she fought it more confidently. Around 42cm, this one was destined to become fillets for Ruby’s grandparents, who had looked after her over the holidays. The tide turned to run-out and we made the call to paddle the short distance back

Ruby looking cool while she learns the basics. Note that she has her water bottle and PFD. to our prearranged pick up point. The wind picked up as predicted and was blowing against us. Ruby had plenty of stories to tell, we had both had a great time, created some great memories and as Trace Adkins sings, ‘she thinks we’re just fishing.’ ISLAND LUNCH My wife Sheri planned the second adventure. It was to be a few kilometres of paddling

across the Pumicestone Passage for lunch and a swim on the inside of Bribie Island, north of Brisbane. Joining us were our friends Aimee and Toby, who wouldn’t consider themselves hardcore, but they definitely enjoy wetting a line. We had a great day on the water and you can probably think of a spot in your home waters where you can paddle a few kilometres, escape the

Ruby was interested in what her flathead had been eating, so she investigated while filleting. I’d like to share a couple of these adventures and then break down a few aspects that made these missions successful. There’s also a few things you can keep in mind when paddling and fishing with kids, newbies or softcore anglers. With more people getting into the sport and plenty more kayaks sold this Christmas, we have the opportunity to assist these new paddlers and ensure they have a comfortable, safe and productive introduction to the sport we love.

right, paddled backward and managed to avoid crashing into the mangroves before we pushed out a little deeper and allowed the current to guide us in our direction of travel. Along the way we spotted jellyfish, stingrays, birds and I ensured that Ruby was comfortable and tracking okay. As her confidence in her paddling and stability grew, we took more time to enjoy the sights and chat. We then talked about leaning back in the kayak, paddling a little faster and sliding the

Sheri and Toby headed for their island destination. 120

FEBRUARY 2017

Ruby’s first flathead caught on ZMan 3” MinnowZ.

crowds and enjoy lunch, a swim and a fish. We set off and caught the tide, travelling as a group to ensure that we were more visible to boat traffic and stopping at one flat for a quick flick on the way. I managed one flathead that was kept to fillet up for the guys to take home. Then we decided to head for our destination, as the forecast was for strong afternoon winds that would be pushing us home. We pulled the kayaks up on the sand, under the shade of a tree, enjoyed our bread rolls and fruit salad, and then had a swim and a flick while standing waist deep in water. It was relaxing, fishing and chatting with a magnificent backdrop of the Glasshouse Mountains. It’s definitely not all about the fishing. We had a few bites on the soft plastics, almost landed a longtom, fed some of our bread roll to whiting, gar and herring that were swimming around our feet, and spotted a small squid that was netted for closer inspection before being released again. It was a great catch-up and as a bonus, we planned a future lightweight kayak camping adventure further up the Pumicestone Passage. With the wind forecast to blow up with the turn of

A relaxing way to wet a line on a hot day.

the tide, we opted to head for home. As the tide began to run out, the wind kicked up and pushed us in the right direction. It was a good call to leave before the winds became strong, as it became quite rough while we were packing gear and loading kayaks. It had been a great day kayaking, swimming, adventuring and fishing, even without catching loads of fish.

Here’s a few reasons why these missions were successful and a few things to keep in mind when paddling and fishing with kids, newbies and beginner anglers. TIDES WIND AND WEATHER The tide can be your friend. Use the tides to move you to and from your fishing, swimming or camping destination. If anything goes

Just one of the many creatures you can see on a kayak fun fishing trip.

wrong with you or your gear, it’s much easier to journey home with the tide. Keep an eye on websites like Seabreeze and Willy Weather. The last thing you need is to be paddling or fishing with a beginner in poor weather, or battling strong winds, especially on a long paddle home. On both of these adventures, we planned to make the most of the morning weather, used the forecast winds to carry us home and were off the water before the wind reached 20 knots. FISHING We all say ‘a fish is a bonus’ or ‘it’s not all about the fishing.’If you carry this attitude into these adventures, you’re likely to enjoy them more. In fact, if the session does produce a fish, it can actually be more enjoyable than a hardcore fishing session where catching is the primary objective. I prefer not to fish most of the time when guiding kids and newbies. Instead I ensure they’re geared up correctly, casting in the right spots and working the lure effectively. I talk them through all of the little things that we take for granted when fishing. At the end of the day, this will help make them a better angler that we can share future adventures with. KAYAK OR LAND-BASED Just because you’re adventuring in the kayak doesn’t mean you have to fish

we can bring them together for the ultimate kayak fishing experience.

my kayak, allowing them to paddle more freely and be less concerned about losing gear

Ruby had a great morning out and caught a couple of flatties for a feed. PFD AND GEAR Make sure they’re wearing a foam-filled PFD and explain that if they tip the kayak, just float around. You can even have a swim with the kayak and PFD in the shallows and climb in and out of the kayaks a few times before your adventure. I carry the icebox, net, lip grips, fishing rods and other gear on

while their confidence grows. It’s a good idea to talk about clothing when planning your adventure. Your paddle buddy should be dressed for the adventure, location, weather and sun. Make sure you carry plenty of cool drinks and food to avoid hunger, thirst and that angry little monster that can come out of any of

A nice flatty for the table – just add chips!

This is a nice shady point to stop and have lunch.

Ruby’s second flathead. She was confident enough to hold this one.

from the kayak. If you have someone that is new to fishing or new to kayaking, make the most of the paddle and then select a suitable land-based location for fishing. This makes it much easier for you to assist them with it, without having to battle the wind and tide. You can easily focus on one thing at a time and keep things simple. Ruby loved the kayak adventure and now has some fishy tales to tell. Both the paddling experience and fishing experience were positive, without the complication of combining the two. As she becomes more experienced at both,

us when confronted with a lack of either. A handful of lollies stashed in a ziplock

bag (remember any special dietary requirements) has been the key to reigniting the enthusiasm, renewing the focus and subduing the monster on many adventures. KNOW YOUR LIMITS It’s a good idea to spend some time in the shallows like Ruby and I did, learning to control and manoeuvre the kayak and gain some confidence. This also allows you to quickly assess their abilities so that you can alter your adventure as required. Well, that’s a quick look at a few things that have helped make my experiences with kids and beginners more successful. It can be extremely rewarding to see a beginner flourish into a capable paddler, a new angler catch the first of a species and also to share these adventures and experiences with others. Be a good guide, be prepared, be patient and who knows – you could be embarking on a journey with your future paddling and fishing buddy, sharing adventures and making memories. See you on the water.

This looks like a good spot for a fish and swim. FEBRUARY 2017

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Health check for a pre-loved rig AYR

Steve Farmer

Most of us have bought a pre-loved or secondhand trailer boat outfit at some stage – or are planning to. Dollar-wise, they can be great value and are often the only option, especially if you’re buying your first boat. Another bonus is that if you manage to find a rig that suits your fishing style, then a lot of the time-consuming customisation will already have been done – you can hit the water straight away and fish the way you like. Seems so simple, right? Not always. While you can expect everything to be perfect and ready to go if you buy new, there are no guarantees with a secondhand outfit and it’s worth spending a bit of time checking

probably don’t know a lot about that boat you just bought. Sure, you checked it out as best you could in the time available and if it hadn’t looked good you wouldn’t have handed over the cash, but you probably don’t know much about the history of the rig or how it was maintained by the previous owner. Like me, you probably don’t know if there’s grease in the bearings until you actually check. So, I suggest you forget any plans about an immediate maiden voyage and give your rig a health check before it hits the water. The checks I suggest below are what I have done to my boating outfits in the past. I am not a qualified marine mechanic, so please use this list as a guide only. If you aren’t comfortable doing some of

The maiden voyage should be fun and hassle-free.

It pays to check your running gear. This hub is missing a wheel stud and the bearing grease is contaminated by water.

Wheel nuts There’s not much point in having a spare wheel if you can’t change it on the side of the road. Make sure you have a wheel spanner to fit the nuts and a jack suitable for jacking up the rig. Remove the nuts one at a time and wire brush the threads if they are rusty. Spray the threads with WD40 or a similar product to minimise corrosion and then replace them firmly. Bearings Check the seals and grease and look for water contamination. Jack up each wheel and check for excessive play in the

place or bare wires that need a couple of wraps of electrical tape. Check wires and bulb holders for corrosion or tarnishing. If they are in doubtful condition, consider changing them to new LED tail lights. Winch A bit of lubrication can make a big difference when retrieving your rig. Grease or oil the gearing, shafts and handle sparingly. Check the wire winch rope for broken, protruding strands. They can cause hand injuries. If your winch has a webbing strap, check it for fraying or damage.

This is what can happen to near perfect-looking tyres that are more than six years old. over your new purchase before hitting the water, or the road. I learnt the importance of this many years ago when I bought a pre-loved 4.8m tinny. When I got it home I knocked the grease caps off the hubs and couldn’t believe my eyes. One bearing was almost devoid of grease – plenty of rust but not much lube. How it didn’t fail on the 80km delivery trip I don’t know. The reality is you

them yourself, then find an expert to do the job for you. Some points might seem pedantic, but there are also sure to be other important checks that I have missed. By the way, this isn’t just going to cost you time. Dollars are bound to be involved, so I hope you’ve got a few left over from the purchase. So, let’s get started – the sooner it’s all ticked off, the sooner you can confidently hit the water.

Make sure all your trailer lights are working before hitting the road.

This roller definitely hasn’t been doing its job.

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THE TRAILER Tyres Good rubber is essential, especially if your rig is large and heavy or you plan to do a lot of highway kilometres. Look for excessive tread wear and cracks in the walls, and check their age. Tyres have a life of five or six years – any older than that and they risk shedding their tread on a long, hot drive, as I found out the hard way. Tyres are expensive, but definitely worth replacing if at all doubtful. And don’t forget the spare. If you don’t have a spare, get one as soon as possible.

bearing. Spin the wheel and listen for any rumbles from a dry or rough bearing. If doubtful, remove, clean and re-grease the bearings. Replace any marked, pitted or rusty bearings. Rollers You’ll probably have to launch the boat before you can properly check the rollers. Replace any worn, broken or split rollers and bent shafts, and ensure they’re all spinning freely. Ensure all rollers and balance boards or side rollers are adjusted properly. This can make launching and retrieval much easier. Tail lights Working tail lights are essential. Plug them into the tow vehicle and make sure they are all working. Look for dull lamps, cracked lenses, loose wires that need cable-tying into

Ensure the hook is in good order and that a safety chain is connecting your boat to the trailer. Jockey wheel A jockey wheel is a big benefit, even on smaller boats and regular lubrication will ensure they are in good working order. Replace broken parts such as wheels or handles. Tie-down Strap Check the strap for damage and the tensioning handles for easy operation. Lightly lubricate the handles if necessary. Wear pads where the strap passes over the gunwales will save the strap from fraying, but may need regular replacement. Number Plate/rego sticker Ensure the number plate is in good condition and lit by the tail light and the trailer rego sticker is current.

THE BOAT AND GEAR The Hull Replace any tattered rego number stickers and make sure the boat registration sticker is on and is current. Check the drain plugs are in good condition and buy a spare

good idea. Batteries Ask your battery retailer to test and check the age of your batteries. Replace them if your battery expert recommends doing so. If they are okay, check electrolyte level and

Check the gauge on your fire extinguisher. This one needs replacing.

Check the dates on EPIRBs and flares. EPIRBs must be registered in your name.

Inspect the switchboard for corrosion or loose wires and label each circuit so you can find it in an emergency. or two. If you have a tinny with a removable floor, lift it out and clean out the inside of the hull to reduce the chances of unseen corrosion. Navigation Lights Navigation, anchor and other lights should be tested. Check for cracks in lenses and corrosion of metal parts. Carrying spare fuses and globes is a

then clean up the terminals. Fully charge batteries prior to use. Switchboard If you have a switchboard, ensure it is in good overall condition and that all switches and fuses work. Check for corrosion or loose connections. Ensure you know what each switch does and label them if necessary. Carry

Ensure the bilge pump is not restricted by rubbish in the bilge.

Test the bilge pump at home rather than when you need it most.

Inflatable lifejackets must be serviced annually, so check the date. spare fuses for each circuit. Electrical Equipment Power up electrical equipment such as sounders and radios at home as a preliminary check, but give them a proper check as soon as possible after getting on the water. Bilge Pump Fill the boat with enough water to cover the bilge pump and switch it on to test. Ensure the pump is not blocked by any rubbish in the bilges and that it is pumping a good flow and runs freely and smoothly. Do not run the pump dry. THE SAFETY GEAR Make sure you have all the safety gear required for the waters in which you are travelling. EPIRBs and flares have expiry dates, which must be checked. Carry out the test operation on the EPIRB. Ensure they are in good general condition. Familiarise yourself with the operation of the EPIRB and flares. The EPIRB must be registered in your name. Lifejackets should be in good condition with no tears, frays or excessive fading. Inflatable lifejackets need to be serviced every year, so check the service date. Ensure the floatation rating of the lifejackets matches the size of your crew. Check the pressure dial on the top of your fire extinguisher to ensure it is still serviceable. Ensure the pin is still in place. Invert the extinguisher and shake it for a few minutes to free up the powder that may have become packed in the

bottom of the cylinder. THE OUTBOARD The outboard is probably the most important part of your rig once you’re on the water and unfortunately, it’s unlikely you will know the service history of your secondhand outboard. I’m definitely not an outboard mechanic and would probably book it into the local marine dealer for a service. That way you’ll know what state your outboard is in. If you’re a confident DIYer, I would suggest changing the oil in the gearbox (checking for signs of water contamination), changing the water pump impellor, also remove, grease

and replace the propeller and replace the spark plugs. You should also drain or replace any filters, check fuel hoses and connections for hardening or cracking and discard any fuel if you aren’t sure of how old it is. Ensure the outboard is clamped firmly to the transom and is secured with a safety chain. Finally, give the motor a run on the ear muffs or in a drum. IT’S ALL WORTH IT It seems like a lot to do before even hitting the

water, but many of the points above should only take a few minutes each. The reward is that you are more likely to enjoy a hassle-free maiden voyage, which is a good look in the eyes of your fishing mates, and especially important if your children or a hesitant first mate are along for the shakedown cruise. Most of all, you’ll know you’ve done all you can to ensure your new rig is safe and well-maintained and ready for a bit of boating and fishing fun.

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123

Consider your options for a final boat fit out BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

So you’ve got your own boat. As it’s coming from the factory, there are options aplenty. Customisation of features is something that

or otherwise), extra seats with accompanying spigots, drink holders, berley buckets, custom wraps, a bimini, storage bins, rod lockers, rod holders, rod racks, cleats and rails, cockpit lighting, deck wash and side pockets. Even extra compartments

That’s a decent live well. Optioning for one that large would be great. a lot of makers are putting across the table these days. The options can be highly attractive too, with factory spec sheets showing such goodies as live wells for bait and catch (plumbed

radio is a smart investment in safety. Fish finders and other nav aids are pretty much standard these days and as even small tinnies are seen sporting high end sounder/ plotters, somewhere to mount a unit is essential. There’s lot of money tied up in that list of options, so where does it start and end? Starting is easy: ending is the problem in my view. SORTING IT OUT: GLASS FIRST The size of the boat and its construction will have a major bearing on features. While it might seem easier to add extras to an alloy craft than a glass one, a lot of quality glassmakers are incorporating useful options as well, to maintain sales in today’s very competitive market.

A catch well of those proportions isn’t going to be cheap. If you’re confident about your offshore fishing, the outlay makes a lot of sense.

within cast decks are negotiable these days. Mandatory of course, are transducer brackets and a pod up front on which to mount an electric motor. In boats likely to be ranging far and wide, a

There’s a pack of good options here. Deck wash, rod holders in side pockets and a decent bait station are all handy in a fishing rig.

Setting up the sounder in just the right spot is always important in a smaller alloy rig. Quintrex got it right with this one.

Optional rocket launcher style rod holders are great, but it’s better to ensure rods are still within easy reach. 124

FEBRUARY 2017

Starting with a glass boat, it makes sense to have side pockets within the cockpit work area, rod racks or rod holders horizontally mounted along at least one cockpit side wall. If there’s an option to have rod tips tucked up within the side deck up front and out of harm’s way, it’s worth looking at. Rod lockers aren’t always offered, as many prefer to have easily accessible rods. Live bait wells are a great selling point in any boat and can usually be set into a transom corner. Ask the question, ‘Are we really going to fish with live bait?’ If it’s not a priority, then save your money. A catch well large enough to keep the day’s prize in is a must, but it pays to find out if it can be drained and cleaned after use, to ensure fishy smells are finalized. A berley bucket is always handy in any boat – all it takes is a mounting point set up at the factory and it’s up to the crew to see if they want the berley bucket along on a trip. Cockpit lighting is useful. While not everyone

fishes at night, some boaters have it installed to sort things out in the boat at night, if lighting is poor where the craft is stored. Cleats are handy in any craft, and if the pocket is deep enough, pop up style cleats are a great asset. Totally unobtrusive until required, they’re worth the extra money involved. Forward seating is offered in walkaround or centre console glass rigs. If a storage compartment is offered under that seat, so much the better. A deck wash is handy in any larger boat and well worth the money, even it it’s just to clean up at the end of fishing. Rod holders are a huge asset in any larger boat, but beware of rocket launcher style rod holders that might

A set of rod holders like these will be an asset in a fishing craft.

Even a smaller live well such as this one can be useful in a rig where live baiting is part of the fishing fun.

put rods right up on top of a hard top or other framework and make them hard to access. A well constructed bait station that isn’t cockpit intrusive and equipped with inbuilt rod holders is very good value, as a rod can be placed in the holder while terminal tackle is worked on. Electronic aids and a radio are standard in any larger rig. My only suggestion regarding the sounder/plotter is to purchase the very best you can afford, as it’s a mighty investment in fishing pleasure. With a

larger craft, which glass rigs tend to be, the depth of the pocket is always the decider for the extent of the options list. The overriding factor is necessity. EXTRAS FOR AN ALLOY RIG Alloy craft start at smaller sizes than glass ones. Moving away from small tinnies, where options can be limited to things such as a factory installed flat floor, bow mount thruster plate, paint or rails, extras are certainly available for rigs over 4m. From the outset it makes sense to consider some of the pros and cons of the options I’ve already mentioned. They can also apply to alloy rigs, especially larger ones. A popular one for alloy craft is variable seating, which means that extra seat spigots are installed in places where they might be useful to distribute weight, for extra crew, or perhaps assist in the style of fishing. If the boat

A U S T R A L I A

Margay 2016

This side pocket is compromised by the plumbing. catch wells are useful assets if suited to the fishing style, and if they’re large enough to be worthwhile. Unfortunately, some catch wells are too small to be

and bass sized catch well is useless. Plumbing to live catch wells is vital, especially for competition anglers. It’s worth the extra dollars to have it set up from the outset.

Upright rod racks are a useful option in a console craft and ensure optimisation of space. has a cast deck up front and a seat spigot is optional up there, it might be better to have a spigot installed for a smaller bicycle style seat, rather than a full sized one that takes up more room. Carpet flooring is a big seller in alloy craft, especially hookless carpet. Ticking the box for this stuff is very wise. Many times I’ve let an Owner treble touch my standard carpet flooring and had to use pliers to extract it – a waste of time while my wife is catching fish. Rod lockers seem to be offered a fair bit in larger alloy craft. In my view, it’s a toss up between these somewhat bulky items and standard horizontal side mounted racks. It comes down to available cockpit space – if it’s not sufficient then horizontal racks are fine. Vertical ones also useful when set up on consoles. Side pockets are handy so long as they don’t intrude too far into the cockpit and gobble up work area. Live wells and live

useful. Have a look at one already installed in the sort of boat under consideration, to see if it’s large enough to do the job. Are you targeting mackerel? Then a bream

Anchor wells are a source of complexity. If the well is not drained, then a wet anchor warp might cause issues in time. If there’s no lid on the well, consider if the

anchor rope will bounce out under way in rough, going by the shape of the anchor well. Additional compartments for fuel (tote) tanks are a possible source of annoyance. Some manufacturers insist on making them so confined that a cast deck hatch over the top of a full tote tank just won’t close properly. Measure the area to ensure the tote tank will fit, especially if the compartment has been set up for either equipment or tote tank storage. Somewhere to mount the sounder in a smaller alloy rig is a priority. If a side mini console type mounting point is available, go for it. SUMMING UP The main issue with any optioning up of a rig is not to overdo things. Cluttering a rig with more seats, things that overly intrude or take up space, or items that will seldom ever be put to use is simply wasting money. Manufactures hugely boost their profits from the extras, as a look at an options price listing will rapidly confirm, so it makes sense to consider most of the likely fishing scenarios and then assess how a range of selected options might best assist that fishing.

$49,990

• 17’7” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)

Pantera II 2016

$74,990

• 19’1” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 200 hp Mercury Optimax • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 698cxi HD Si or Lowrance HDS 7 GEN2)

Yar-Craft 1785BT 2016

$59,990

• 17’5” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 75 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)

Sabre FTD 2016

$59,990

• 18’1” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 698cxi HD Si or Lowrance HDS 7 GEN2)

A drop down rear seat is a great option to provide extra room in a fishing cockpit. Note the deck wash there as well.

We Build Dreams... It’s a Family Tradition

A U S T R A L I A

Phone: 0410 173 060 basscataustralia@gmail.com FEBRUARY 2017

125

Waverider 450 tiller – more than meets the eye

FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

The Sunshine Coast’s Pat Jones has been fascinated by boats his whole life. You may know him from his successful product, the Kapten Boat Collar, which turns your rock-n-rolling tinnie into a safe and stable fishing platform. He’s also YouTube famous for his surfing a tinnie with a Boat Collar on the bar at the Mooloolah River (search ‘Kapten surfing’ on YouTube) and getting some serious ‘tinnie-air’. His Waverider hull concept, however, came from his desire to build in the features of a Boat Collar into a tinnie itself. Therefore, the Waverider hull – with large, full length, reverse chines – was born. The 4.5m version is the smallest in the Waverider range and it suited to tiller applications up to 50hp. And if you were to read no further in this test, let me outline the three standout features of this rig, which is Pat’s own fishing machine. 126

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Firstly, of course, is the stability. The reverse chines that generate the stable attitude in the water are 15cm wide at the transom and maintain that width the whole way as they wrap around to the bow – just like the Boat Collar – creating a step-out at the bow. FEATURES • Level flotation • Storage under seats, under front deck and side pockets. • 6 rod holders • Large anchor well • Transom splash boards PERFORMANCE RPM.....................km/h 800.............................4 1000...........................5 2000...........................9 3000......................... 12 4000.........................29 5000.........................39 5150..........................42 5500.........................50 The wide gunwales allow nimble anglers – like Fishing monthly’s own Michael Fox – to easily walk

around the boat at that level, illustrating the ability of this hull. Remember, too, that the beam of this boat is less than 2m. Other manufacturers generate stability by disproportionately increasing beam, which can create ride and trailering problems. Secondly is the build quality. The entire hull is cut from 4mm aluminium sheet and foam filled for level, upright flotation. Apart from the peace-of-mind that the flotation generates, you can hear the solidity of this hull as you drive through a moderate chop. It lands softly and feels solid. No rattles or flexing. Thirdly, there’s the ease of use. Rarely do you see a 4.5m tinnie with a fully customised aluminium trailer. And by that, I mean no adjustable bits. The trailer for this Waverider has all of the skids welded into the correct place and apart from the running gear, there are no moving parts. Gone are the days when it sounds like there’s a flock of budgies following you down the road on the way to the ramp. With the hull recessed between the wheel arches,

the hull sits low enough to drive on and off on even the shallow, cruddy ramps that

suits Pat and his fishing style, but alternative rod storage and holder configurations are

SPECIFICATIONS Length................................................................4.5m Beam................................................................1.97m Chine beam.....................................................1.70m Chine width......................................................15cm Height..............................................................0.70m Hull weight......................................................380kg Height on trailer..............................................1.45m Width on trailer...............................................2.26m Capacity....................................................4 persons Max hp...................................................................50 Material.................................. 4mm plate alloy 5083 Fuel......................................................................45L we are used to in Queensland. Believe it or not, that can be a game changer for some purchasers – the ability to keep the partner, fishing buddy or kids dry in areas with minimal facilities is a real plus. There’s a dozen captioned images here showing you through the rig, but if you scan the QR codes hereby with your smartphone you can see the video of the full boat test and Pat’s tour of the boat. We know that from a fishing point of view, this layout won’t suit all anglers. It

available – you just need to start the conversation with the builder. As tested, the rig,

powered by the frugal Suzuki 40, weighs in a $32,900, but consider in your purchase the fact that there’s a custombuilt ally trailer and the build quality in the hull and you can see where the money goes. For more information, visit www.waveriderboats. com.au or call Pat on 0467 506 131. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

VIDEO

Scan the QR code to see the full boat test with Steve Morgan and Pat Jones.

Scan to watch an in-depth walk through of the 4.5 Waverider with Pat Jones.

The 40hp Suzuki 4-stroke in this setup won’t break any speed records, but it’s super quiet, super efficient and easy to drive with electric start and power trim and tilt.

You can see the chines working here – pushing water down and away from the hull.

This is about as simple and comfortable as it gets in a tiller boat. Padded seats with plenty of storage room and the ability to drive left or right-handed. Yep – some people do it the ‘other’ way.

Pat values his cockpit space and has set his rod holders up the bow and out of his way. Other anglers will prefer alternative storage options. Most are possible in a plate alloy boat.

At the heart of the Waverider 450 is the wide reverse chines that mimic the effectiveness of the Kapten Boat Collar – Pat Jones’ other enterprise.

The Waverider sits low in between the guards to make the drive on/ off process as smooth as possible. Teflon skids are maintenance free and have the added bonus of not sounding like there’s a flock of budgies following you down the road while driving to the ramp.

The under seat storage is half foamfilled. The whole boat floats upright, with four on board, if full of water. If you ever need it, you’ll be happy that it does.

It’s neat when the trailer is custom made for the boat. An aluminium frame and Teflon skids make launch and retrieval ridiculously easy. Big thumbs-up from the tester. FEBRUARY 2017

127

Stessco Renegade 440 with Mercury 60hp THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

When the staff at Fishing Monthly asked me to do boat reviews with the crew from Hastings Marine at Port Macquarie, I jumped at the opportunity to look at what they had to offer. When I contacted Hastings Marine and found out that one of these boats was the new Stessco 440 Renegade Softride, I was a little excited to say the least. Often on the water in a guiding capacity with my boat Castaway, most weeks I don’t get the opportunity to play with new boats. My immediate thoughts were to hop in the car, head to Hastings River Drive and talk to John Morton at the shop to check this baby out. At the boat yard, I got my first look at the Stessco. First impressions are always important and this boat with its metallic grey colour matched with the black 60hp Command Thrust Mercury was definitely was an eye-catcher. The test boat was fitted with a Garmin EchoMAP 75sv sounder on the console. On the bow was the new forward facing 128

FEBRUARY 2017

Panoptix live sonar from Garmin, which has and adjustable transducer and is fitted to the very neat MotorGuide X5 trolling motor. The Panoptix live is a very interesting piece of equipment, and when John asked me to bring some rods along for the test run, I was ready to hit the Hastings River! ON THE WATER Putting the Renegade 440 side console through its paces was a breeze. Fitted with hydraulic steering and Active Trim and Tilt on the Mercury, it was very neat and easy to manage. Getting used to the Active Tilt, which is the motor trimming itself, felt strange at first, but didn’t take long to get used to. This can still be done manually via the control switch. The conditions on the day of the test were calm and glassy. The ride was spot on and the Mercury 60hp got the boat up on the plane easily with two people on

board. Mercury’s Command Thrust in their 40-60hp 4-stroke means it has a taller heavy-duty gear case. Larger gear shafts make it approximately 33% larger than your standard outboard gear case, so the prop sits deeper in the water. With the Mercury Vengeance stainless prop, this gives you a lot more thrust. The Renegade sits high in the water and would handle the summer northeasterly wind chop very easily. Turning in tight situations was easy and we put it through a few tight manoeuvres, such as figure of eights at speed, without problems. The Renegade 440 fitted with the 60hp Mercury was impressive for speed and handling and we had it to a top speed of 30 knots with the two of us on the boat. LAYOUT AND FISHABILITY The layout is quite effective and simple. The front casting platform is a

SPECIFICATIONS Overall length....................................................4.4m Length on trailer...............................................5.1m Beam.....................................................................2m Depth.............................................................0.975m Max hp...................................................................60 Bottom thickness.............................................3mm Side thickness...................................................3mm Max people..............................................................5

sweet size with a roomy and effective plumbed live well underneath. Forward of this is the battery storage hatch which had one battery for running the electric motor, but two would fit if you were thinking 24 volt. At the stern of the boat, there is a smaller casting deck section, which can be easily fished from, if you were taking a third person. There is also a bait well for those livie sessions and four welded upright rod holders just for the occasion. The console is neat and houses the Garmin sounder. Another feature on the dash is the Mercury Vessel View 4, which gives system scan, fuel, speed and economy read outs, plus the Smart Tow feature – a very user friendly piece of equipment. The dash also houses a selector switch panel for navigation lights, bilge pump and live well. Everything on this console is where it should be and the storage under the console is ample. Having the deluxe seats and chrome steering wheel gave the deck and console a classy appearance. On the passenger side is a fully welded pocket, which housed the fire extinguisher and would be great for all those pieces of equipment

we use regularly. CONCLUSION The Renegade was a dream to launch and retrieve and easily handled by one person, barring health restrictions. The Stessco EZY deluxe trailer handles the boat with ease and was very smooth on and off. After spending a morning on the Stessco Renegade 440, I found it very

and I was amazed watching the fish darting around when hooked. I’ll be spending more time with one of these units. This package as tested was $36,500 and very well priced. The price differs on what you want on board, so for more information on this boat contact Hastings Marine on 02 6583 5511 or email sales@hastingsmarine.com.

TEST BOAT FEATURES MotorGuide X5 trolling motor 2 Garmin EchoMAP 75sv sounders Garmin Panoptix forward facing live sonar Mercury Active Trim Hydraulic steering Chrome steering wheel Metallic paint Welded rod holders Mercury 60hp Command Thrust Mercury Vengeance stainless steel prop Deluxe seats Deluxe Stessco EZY load trailer Mercury Vessel View 4 Gauge *Price as tested was $36,500 impressive, well thought out boat for serious estuary, river and impoundment anglers. It has a maximum person rating of five, but for serious fishing activities two to three would be max. We fished and John pulled a couple of bream from the local canals, which we saw on the Garmin Panoptix live sonar. This sonar system shows fish moving through the beam

au. You can also visit www. hastingsmarine.com.au. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/ trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

From the rear, the Mercury 60hp 4-stroke with Command Thrust pushes the boat to a handy maximum speed of 30 knots or 56km/h. This rig has a generous deck space and big front casting platform. Check out the comfort of those Relaxn Deluxe seats.

The large anchor well comes standard with the Renegade. There’s room for more than just an anchor and rope!

Situated up the front of the casting deck is the Garmin Panoptix forward facing live sonar.

The console has been well thought out and looks very classy fitted with Garmin sounder and the Vessel View 4, with a throttle control and Mercury’s Active Tilt and Trim. This console was a pleasure to sit behind.

Stessco’s Ezy Load deluxe trailer was a breeze to launch and retrieve from, and looked very neat.

The fully plumbed livewell is a must on any sportfishing vessel. This one would keep any bream fisho happy!

The back casting area with a live bait well and battery storage unit underneath for main powerplant. Those are some great seats.

The storage compartment on the starboard side – great for a fire extinguisher and other necessary items. FEBRUARY 2017

129

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