NSW Fishing Monthly July 2018

HOT WINTER BITES REVEALED

Boating & Kayaking • • •

Flats fishing from a float tube Anchoring tactics Yakking at Copeton

NEW FIND THE LOGO COMPETITION SEE INSIDE

Features • •

Awesome Aussie salmon Exploring Iluka

Tried & Tested • • •

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July 2018, Vol. 23 No. 12

Contents BYRON COAST The Tweed 28 Ballina 30 Yamba 32 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 34 Nambucca 36 South West Rocks 37 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 38 Forster 39 Harrington-Taree 41 HUNTER COAST Port Stephens 42 Hunter Coast 43 Erina 44 Swansea 46 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 12 Sydney North 14 Pittwater 16 Sydney Harbour 17 Botany Bay 18 Sydney South 20 Sydney Rock and Beach 21 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 48 Nowra 49 BATEMANS COAST Narooma 51 Merimbula 52 Bermagui 58

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From the Editor’s Desk...

It’s been a busy time at the Fishing Monthly offices in the lead up to this magazine going to print and we are excited to be launching a new magazine in an environment when most publishers are a bit negative about their future.

West Australia Fishing Monthly will deliver its first issue in September this year and although that’s not particularly relevant to you, it does show that this format is popular and there’s a need for it in parts of Australia that don’t have it yet.

You may not know that all Fishing Monthly titles come out of the head office in South East Queensland.

From there, we assemble the teams of contributors who provide the up-todate information that lets you know what’s biting and where.

West Australia will be the same. We have some

great guys on the ground over there to get the work done and we will present our unique mix of reports and predictions to motivate the readers to get out there and into ‘em.

Welcome to the family, West Australia!

PRIZE WINNERS DRAWN There was another amazing response to the Gamakatsu Find the Logo competition for the last 6 months. We’ve drawn the winners and they are published in here. Like always, we filmed the draw and published it on our Fishing Monthly Magazines Facebook page. Head over and give it a

Like if you want to be notified when these things happen.

Congratulations to the winners, who shared in $1750 worth of Atomic and Gamakatsu gear.

The next version of the comp? Look for the Daiwa logo in these pages.

DIGITAL PLATFORM AVAILABLE Although 99% of you consume your Fishing Monthly in the printed form, there is a digital version available for those who like a paperless environment. It’s on www.issuu.com and there’s detailed instructions in the magazine on how to do it if

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you want to give it a crack.

Best thing about the digital version? You get to read it about two hours after it gets submitted to the printers. And that’s about a week and a half before the printed version hits the newsstands.

LURE SHOW A SELLOUT Even though the Lure Show was in Queensland last month, at the time of printing it was a sellout (from the exhibitor side), so this popular fishing tackle event was growing quickly.

A real grass roots event with local manufacturers who put together their unique lures for cash sale on the weekend.

There’s nothing like it anywhere else that I’ve seen.

For me, the take home message is that there’s still a great market for locally produced products – lures, magazines – we know you love ‘em all!

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SALMON

Sensational sportfishing for Aussie salmon FEATURE

Joel Edwards

As we approach the coldest part of the year here in New South Wales, there’s an abundance of hot angling opportunities to be excited about.

of sensational light tackle sportfish. I mean, what’s not to love? They are dogged fighters, willing lure and fly takers, and are striking in appearance. Their acrobatic performance above the surface is matched with lineburning, drag-scorching runs that will empty your

very end of the fight.

These Aussie battlers can be found right down the coast, from Tweed Heads through to Port Philip Bay in Victoria and even in Tasmania, so there’s literally miles of coastline where salmon can be encountered.

Up close and personal with a light tackle surface thug, which was taken on a Zerek Poparazzi.

The author with his personal best East Coast Australian salmon, pulling the scales down to just over 10lb. It was taken on a Zerek Trail Weaver in less than 1m of water.

In this article I’ll be focussing on one of our cool water sportfishing targets.

Arripis trutta or Australian salmon are the epitome

reel quick smart. Their erratic directional changes will keep you on your toes as well; Aussie salmon give their absolute all until the

A perfect example of a winter Australian salmon fooled by a surf candy fly tied by Greg Finney.

These speedsters are always on the move, and a yearly migration is a huge part of the salmon’s lifecycle. They follow those comfortable, ‘feel good’ conditions up and down our coastline in search of various food sources, including tiny pelagic baitfish, krill, squid and pilchards. Salmon can be often found in large schools, herding small baitfish into nervous, quivering balls of anxiety, shadowed by the ever-present flocks of sea birds. Salmon are regularly accompanied by tailor, which are a welcome by-catch.

WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YA? ‘Sambos’ turn up in the strangest places at times, but they do have some

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regular hangouts where they like to loiter and harass those poor little baitfish.

Focussing your pursuit around river mouths, beach gutters/holes, estuarine lakes and headland washes will have you well on your way to tangling with these powerful opponents.

In my local hangout on the Central Coast of New South Wales, we experience an influx of Australian salmon schools that have to be seen to be believed.

Football field-sized schools can be found moving in and out of Swansea channel, which is the narrow entrance to Lake Macquarie.

These beautifully marked fish usually first start showing their faces around the large full moon tides of the month of May, and can usually be found in the area right through until the middle of spring.

HOW DO I FOOL THEM? Australian salmon can have some serious mood swings when they are feeding. Sometimes they can be downright ferocious feeders, eating literally everything you throw at them. You can see them competing for the lure or fly, pushing each other out of the way to inhale the bait. It’s incredible to experience a hot salmon bite like this, and it’s not uncommon to break double figures in a short timeframe. Topwater lures, soft plastics, metal slices,

flies, hardbodied minnows – they’ll eat it all.

A word of warning though: you have to strike while the iron is hot. Sambos are the masters of the shut

fixated on a certain baitfish.

At times like these the salmon are very hard to tempt. In super clear, shallow water you can regularly have the privilege of watching these

A selection of the author’s favourite baits, which cover the entire water column. You should always pack a variety of baits to cover every situation. down! They can turn off like a light switch for a variety of reasons, such as angling pressure, tidal movement, barometric pressure or being

JJ’S TOP 3 TIPS 1. Vary your retrieve speed to find out exactly what they want.

2. Extend your leader or trace length a little bit more for salmon. The extra length gives you more stretch and increases the odds of the hooks staying in the mouth of these acrobats.

3. Always keep an eye on bird activity. These feathered friends are our eyes in the sky, and at times this is the key to the salmon’s whereabouts.

fussy buggers refuse every lure or fly you drag past their pompous little noses.

In times like this, only the most subtle approach will work. If you want to turn refusals into follows and then into strikes, you should choose a super light fluorocarbon leader of 4lb or less, scale down your lure size and profile, and (most importantly) slow down your retrieve speed.

This is the epitome of finesse fishing, and it can

SALMON be the only tactic that will unlock those stubborn jaws.

Now that you’re using trout tackle to interest these bruisers, remember to fish with a nice, light touch. Salmon will lunge with zero warning and peel line on even the most well adjusted drag setting.

Without a calm, soft hand they will easily break your fine lines with their sudden directional changes and powerful lunges.

So lighten up your approach when these guys are having a sook for whatever reason, and I assure you – success won’t be far away.

WHAT DO THEY EAT? Now that we’ve established where salmon can be found, let’s take a look at which baits will tempt them.

Headland hoppin’ When in search of sambos from the rocks, I’ve found that a fast

Start them young! Salmon are a perfect way to introduce sportfishing to young kids. Brook and Max were stoked with their double hook-up.

moving metal slice, such as a SureCatch Knight, is irresistible to a hungry salmon pod. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon are ideal times to go for a wander. A long cast followed by a quick retrieve as soon as the lure enters the water is super productive.

You get the feeling they’re hitting the slice on instinct, rather than following it for a long time to decide whether it looks edible.

Salmon are not afraid to launch themselves out of the water, and have evolved to be the masters of aerial head shakes, often throwing the hooks and earning their premature freedom.

I like to combat this by swapping out the standard treble hooks on my metals and retrofitting the bait with opposing single hooks.

Spending a little more time tinkering with your hook set-up can keep the hooks in those cunning acrobats a little better.

This technique is equally as productive from the sand when the salmon are patrolling the beach gutters and holes.

Beach combing A nothe r re a lly productive way to target Australian salmon is to hit the beach, find a nice gutter, and send out a bait. The sambos can be regularly

The author’s better half Shannon looking mighty proud of herself after taming this topwater beast. found mooching close to shore feeding and resting in the turbulent water the beach offers.

This is a great place to dust off the favourite Alvey side caster, 12ft rod (I use Snyder Glas), soak a bait, sit back and relax. Australian salmon are very much an opportunistic species, and

can be super susceptible to a well-presented flesh bait.

The top salmon bait in New South Wales waters is the humble pilchard.

Whether you rig it on ganged hooks or a two-hook snelled rig, it’s a great way to come into contact with these awesome sportfish.

To page 10

JULY 2018

9

SALMON From page 9

In the estuary These bullish Aussie battlers often sneak into the calmer waters of our

rivers and coastal lakes in search of the plentiful tiny baitfish that call these diverse waters home. When chasing these predators in

Brett Howie with a brace of winter salmon taken on lightly weighted soft plastics.

Even Queenslanders can fool them!

the calmer waters, we really need to scale down the size of the lures we use. A lot of the time the hatch you are matching is quite small, and this is where the finesse approach comes into its own; presenting your bait on light lines will maximize the natural manner in which your bait moves. Finesse fishing also increases the sport, which is what salmon are all about! An Aussie salmon on bream tackle is too much fun.

If you’re a braid and fluoro fisho, just go light on both and go for a little bit of a longer, softer tip rod. This will help you no end during the fight to combat those trademark lunges I spoke of earlier.

If you’re a mono or fluoro straight through kind of guy, you’re already at an advantage because the line itself will provide you with a better amount of shock absorption thanks to its natural stretch. Mono lines will also help with your lure presentation when throwing topwater offerings because the line floats, so isn’t working counter intuitively against your surface bait.

Soft plastics rigged weedless or on a light jighead work very well in the estuary, as do small metal slugs rigged with

Cris ‘Fresh’ Van Namen was rapt to score a hot session on his local salmon population. A fast twitched topwater did the damage. single hooks. Both baits can be fished at varying depths and with speeds, and both can be found in most sizes that will match pretty much any baitfish.

Armed with this information, it’s now time for you to get out there and target salmon, and maximize your sessions over the cooler months.

You’ll have a lot of fun tangling with these very underrated sportfish.

Pow – right in the kisser! A surf candy eating brute smiles for the camera. A 6wt fly outfit is top notch fun to subdue an angry sambo.

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Mulling over your options in the Hawkesbury THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

Water temperatures have remained quite stable throughout autumn, with the lack of rain and sunny

10°C up towards Lower Portland and Windsor.

The fish are still willing and the overall quality of fish certainly makes up for the lack of numbers. Big bream, luderick, meter plus mulloway and some decent flathead will call the lower

For those willing to put the effort in, try West Head and Barrenjoey Headland. You will find success by either anchoring and berleying up, or locating schools on the sounder and dropping a bait jig into them. Yellowtail are the most common baitfish

There are still a few flathead to be found in winter. Work smaller 3” lures along the bases of the rock walls or on sun drenched flats late in the day for best success.

Justin fished hard for eight hours before this 110cm mulloway clunked his lure. Persistence is free, but not all anglers possess it! days, but will drop right off this month with a good frost or two, reaching lows of 14°C around Broken Bay. It may get as low as

reaches home over the next few months. Lures are my go-to for most predatory species in winter time, as live bait gets harder to source.

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but sweep and bullseyes can interfere with proceedings, and these also make good live baits. Most large predators can’t refuse a wellplaced struggling live bait.

Southern calamari also make exceptional live and dead baits and can be found in the same areas as the above-mentioned baitfish collecting areas. Larger sized jigs from 2.5 to 3.5 in orange, pink and natural colours have been working well. A squid spike rigged with fresh bait is a handy

asset and can be left in a rod holder a couple of turns up from the bottom with the drag set to around a kilo.

Some stud bream are calling the washes around Broken Bay home and are best targeted using a bread berley and lightly-weighted baits of peeled prawn or bread on 8-10lb fluorocarbon and small strong hooks.

Other species like drummer, luderick and silver trevally can get in on the action and the odd bust off will occur on this light gear.

You can lure fish in the same areas, but lure losses are a common occurrence in the reefy and kelp ridden terrain.

Floating crankbaits can be cast and cranked down

through the strike zone and paused to float over any obstructions. Alternately, a very lightly-weighted soft plastic can be wafted around in the white water with the odd twitch to entice a bite, which can be detected in your slack braided line.

In the river proper, the resident bream will be holding deep on the rock walls in 6-10m of water.

Make parallel casts with small vibes and curl-tails grub soft plastics, and once fish have been located it pays to keep it in the zone. The bites can seem timid at times, and a smear of your favourite scent can be beneficial some days.

Estuary perch are a common by-catch when

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Another metre long mulloway falling for a small soft plastic lure.

A day spent with the author to learn the art of fishing with lures for mulloway and other species is time well invested!

looking for bream and mulloway around reefs and rock walls at this time of year, just be mindful that it is the closed season and they should be returned to the water immediately if caught.

Mulloway are still about and I find lure fishing to be most productive. Fishing the tide changes with soft plastics, soft vibes and jointed swimbaits will account for some great mulloway up to and over the magic meter mark. Due to the drier than normal conditions, they are still quite spread through the lower half of the system, so anglers will need to cover lots of ground to find the best concentrations of fish each trip. Live baiting will still take fish, but the effort required to initially source bait is time consuming and sometimes unproductive with the low water temperatures at this time of year.

The hairtail have been making regular appearances in catches when fishing in Cowan, Smiths and Coal and Candle Creeks. Set your whole pilchard or live baits at different depths, add a bit of berley and wait for the action to start.

Casting a 100mm shallowrunning hardbody around the adjacent area can also turn these fish on, especially when they are being fussy with taking baits. A slow roll with the odd pause and jerk should see you in the action. When seeking a likely spot, I always sound around and make sure there is bait in the general area, and if none is found move to another likely point or bay and repeat the process until good concentrations are found. Find the bait and you will find the fish.

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There’s plenty to get excited about offshore SYDNEY NORTH

Paul O’Hagan

While over the last few weeks the mahimahi have been on fire, with some excellent catches recorded, the cold currents will ensure we have seen the last of these great sport fish as they move on in search of warmer waters.

fishing at night when the seas permit.

Jigging in and around the Twelve Mile Reef has become very popular, and although it’s vey hard work, those who put in the time and effort can come up trumps.

Drifting over some of the inshore reefs has been very productive, with flathead between the reefs and good quality snapper

is always a resident pack that will hang around the reefs and headlands.

Fishing in the harbour can be very productive for some and frustrating for others while fishing from the land or in a boat.

In and around Old Mans Hat there is always a gathering of boats taking bonito, tailor and winter kings on live yellowtail and fresh squid. Putting a bit of time and effort in to pick up some yellowtail from around the artificial reef or a few squid from some of the known spots can make the difference, as the fish can be a bit particular in what they will take, but it is hard for them to resist a well-presented live bait.

With good numbers of squid available being taken on size 1.8-2.5 jigs, live baiting for mulloway comes to mind inside the harbour and up around the Roseville bridge. A fresh live squid is hard for a mulloway to resist if it is in their area.

Winter kings will be biting in July.

For our rock fishers, there is still the opportunity to pick up a kingfish or some bonito while tossing metals and stickbaits, while

chopped up and fed into the wash, which will hopefully draw in some fish.

Safety while fishing on the rocks cannot be stressed

Drifting offshore should produce good bags of flathead.

On the upside, we have had a few yellowfin tuna peaking around the 50kg mark for some anglers, while others are picking up striped and blue marlin on the troll.

For the anglers using the electric reels around Browns Mountain, there is always a good feed of gemfish available and the swordfish are also there for those

being taken with plastics and strip baits.

As well as the snapper and flathead, there is still a good number of bonito and tailor on the go and giving anglers the opportunity to pick up a nice mixed bag of fish.

A lot of the kingfish have moved further out to the warmer waters, but there

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Strip baits and soft plastics have been best for the inshore snapper.

Seaforth area has become a go-to spot, with some anglers bagging out on good size winter bream and trevally with small baits under a float .

Beaches have good quantities of whiting being taken on Freshwater close to the rocks, and with the nearby Curl Curl holding a good rip in the middle of the beach, there have been some good flathead and tailor on the prowl.

Dee Why Beach has given up mulloway for some anglers and become a nightmare for others, as they sit there watching their baits into the early hours of the morning, braving the cold nights and the wind.

It can be time well spent if you can pick up one of these prized fish.

There has been some great results for those fishing Collaroy Beach, with large tailor and trevally taking pilchards on gang hooks as the sun goes down.

others are concentrating on black drummer, snapper and trevally. There is one key factor when fishing for these species, and that is laying down a good trail of berley of bread and/or pilchards

highly enough, as there is still new anglers turning up to fish with no foot protection or any other safety devices, not knowing what the swell or tides are doing or how dangerous it can be.

For those who want to fish on the rocks, it is a good idea to visit your local tackle shop and talk to some of the staff and get some good information and safety tips before making the effort to try what’s known as one of the most dangerous sports there is. There’s casualties every year up and down our coast line.

Narrabeen Lake was opened to the ocean for a few weeks, letting a vast array of fish travel into the system and flushing all the stale water out, with some fishers reporting that they had taken legal-sized snapper on numerous occasions along with fresh run tailor.

When the lake is opened to the sea, fishing with light spin gear can be very productive, with whiting taking worms while drifting in the shallows and flathead taking small surface lures and plastics in the early morning and into the evening.

As the lake is now closed again, anglers await the next time it breaks out to the ocean.

As always stay safe and enjoy the fishing.

Jigging over reefs will usually bring a few kingfish over the gunwale.

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Winter fishing has started off well PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

The last month saw some great fishing and if the water temperature holds, we should see kingfish coming over the gunnels this month as well.

We had a temperature drop last month from a balmy 21°C to the 17°C we have now. With the drop the summer rat kingfish have pretty much disappeared. The kings that we are left with are around the 70cm mark and some metre fish have been finding the moorings on a couple of occasions.

At this time of the year the best baits to tempt kings are small live cuttlefish. For some reason kingies will swim past yellowtail and squid to smash one. These aggressive ink machines do make a mess on your boat, but when kingfish are found the mess becomes worth it.

I wish I could tell you

Another victim of fresh cuttlefish on a downrigger.

where the kingies will be over the next month, but they are moving around so much they could be anywhere.

My suggestion is to try amongst the moorings along Pittwater – Careel Bay is usually a good winter spot to try. The run from Longnose Point to Sinclair Point is also a good downrigging area. As usual, covering ground with the right baits is necessary to find them.

Find balled up baitfish and you will generally find a kingfish or two.

Cuttlefish are hard to catch because they rarely venture more than a metre off the bottom. When they do get hooked up on a squid jig, they spin like a helicopter blade. During this spinning activity they normally manage to dislodge the spikes and spray everything black.

Try the rocky and weedy areas and be prepared to lose a jig if you hook Australia.

The oysters and barnacles on the rocks make short work of light leaders. The places to try are right along the shoreline from Towlers Bay through to Mackerel Beach.

Catching squid at the moment is a bit of a task but if you persist there are a few big squid around the Palm Beach weed beds. There have been a few caught with hoods of 40cm+. Other areas to try are Careel Bay, Mackerel Beach and around Barrenjoey Headland.

The squid jig colours are your natural browns, greens and blue. The better size at the moment is 2.5 and remember to swipe some scent or paste just above the spikes.

Out on Broken Bay we have been catching flounder, flathead and bream. On the surface we have been catching tailor and bonito.

There has also been the odd

The kingfish have been solid so far this winter. hairtail hooked while drifting and using pilchards.

The hairtail have been large with one that was lost at the side of the boat going well over 2m. It won’t be long before they are discovered in one of the bays of Cowan Creek.

If you want to brave the cold evenings, a few areas to try would be Jerusalem Bay, Smiths Creek, Illawong Bay and Waratah Bay. To give yourself the best chance when targeting these toothy chrome bars, find the schools of baitfish before sending down your anchor. Use berley to attract the baitfish and once they are situated around your boat, the predators will be close by.

Along our coast we should still see kingfish haunting the close-in reefs and for those who start before the sun rises there should be a few snapper caught while drifting baits down a berley trail.

The deeper reefs should see snapper as well as morwong, teraglin and

flathead being caught. The key has been to start in water depths of around 30m and work your way out to deeper reefs if unsuccessful.

Remember to find baitfish schools first before deploying any lines instead of using pot luck as a guide.

The lack of current on the odd day has dictated the move further offshore as well. The better bait to use has been fish. Pilchards, yakka fillets and bonito have all been used with good results. Take a handful of prawns with you as well, as the mowies love them.

Squid, as long as it is freshly caught, is a sure way to tempt the kings and snapper.

As you can see, even though it’s a bit colder during the mornings, it’s still worth getting out on the water. I hope this report helps and sees you exploring our wonderful part of the coast.

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

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JULY 2018

Our friend John has shown up SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

With water temperatures well down, it’s time to turn our attention to some of the more traditional winter species.

For me, no other fish conjures up an image of the Sydney Harbour’s winter fishery more than the John dory, and they have shown up in good numbers this season.

Luderick, another winter icon, can also be relied on to save a shutdown day when the water chills off.

a long leader of 1.5-2m to ensure that your bait can keep itself above the murky silt. Pin your bait near the tail below the lateral line if you are going to fish them on the bottom, as this allows your bait to keep its head up and out of the mud. Alternatively, suspend your bait off the bottom by letting your sinker first hit the bottom and them raise it up about a meter. Be prepared to hook both dory and mulloway as by-catch using this method.

Dory are caught rarely, and most of the few that are caught are taken accidentally.

The main reasons for this is

scoffs it. Usually the angler will assume that the dory has taken the bream bait, but those who dispatch and dress their dory immediately will discover the truth.

I suppose all of this has led to the belief that dory are only an incidental catch, or even that they are an uncommon species. They are actually quite common in their season, and from about May through to September there’s no reason you shouldn’t average at least one every time you go out. Just like mulloway or whiting, they are common enough to make them a feasible

Dory may not be the best fighter, but they make up for it with their eating qualities.

While smaller flathead are most active in the warm water, early winter is prime time for lunker lizards. A lot of these bigger fish will be breeding females, so please consider limiting your take.

There are three things to look for if you want to target the big fish – mud bottom, deep water (40ft plus) and big concentrations of baitfish. These attributes tend to be found in the mid to upper reaches of the harbour at this time of year. There are two ways to target them, either big soft plastic lures or large live baits. The larger shad or paddle-tail plastics in the 4-6” size with 3/8-3/4oz jigheads tend to be the best.

The most important aspect to this style of fishing is to ensure that your lures are staying in touch with the bottom all the way back to the boat.

Large live baits are very effective for the flathead.

Mullet, yellowtail and slimies are the best, but they will eat almost any small fish. The mud in the prime areas can be deep, so use

that the number of anglers venturing out at this time of year are dramatically reduced and the few that do bother don’t specifically target them.

Dory are almost exclusively taken on live bait, but very occasionally one will be fooled by a pilchard aimed at tailor or even more occasionally, a cut bait aimed at bream or trevally.

A fair percentage of these incidentally caught dory are taken after they inhale an undersized bream or reddy that have themselves been hooked on a bream line.

Most bream fishos usually fish three or four lines, one in the hand and three in the holders. A small reddy picks up one of the baits on the set line and goes unnoticed or gets left there for a time while other chores are attended to. In the meantime, the dory that has been lurching around the area, attracted to the boat by the swarms of baitfish that have been attracted by the bream berley, zeros in on the struggling reddy and

big favourite, as are under water structures.

As with most species, the turns of the tide seem to spark a feeding window, with high being the favourite and low not far behind. The new and the full moon are good times, although I’m not sure whether this is related to the moon phase or the fact that the turn of the highs around these phases occur early morning and late afternoon.

Probably the latter.

A rapidly falling or a stable high barometer is also favourable. The biggest problem you will face is timing your day off with all the above-mentioned factors.

Baits must be alive.

If you chose to use live yellowtail or slimies, which I might add aren’t great for dory, then make sure you trim the tails to slow them down to dory speed. More natural pray are the slower reef dwelling species like mados and sweep.

How you fish these baits is just as important as where and when you fish them.

Dory will pick a bait up off the bottom, but they much prefer it if it is suspended a meter or so above the bottom. I find it much easier to set the depth without the bait on the hook. Once you have set the depth, put the rod in the holder, pull the line up by hand and place the live bait on the hook. This way, although the bait will swim frantically for a few minutes, when it finally settles down you will know that it will be at the right depth. You cannot set the depth accurately with a frantic bait charging all over the place.

Flatties are primarily just a mouth with fins, so don’t be afraid to use big baits.

The rig is very basic. A 40g bean sinker is placed free running on the main line stopped by a swivel.

Then, a 10kg trace, about a meter long is finished off with a 4/0-6/0 Mustad Big Red chemically sharpened hook.

You can get away with ordinary tackle with dory, as they really aren’t the toughest fighter, but keep in mind that whenever you have a live bait out you risk hooking a kingy or mulloway.

Finally, shore-based fishers are well in with a shot at dory. Jetties provide shade and swarms of baitfish, and fishing straight off the rod tip amongst the pylons or a little further out under a bobby cork often produces more dory than the boats fishing out wider!

If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney Harbour with Craig Mcgill please call 0412918127, visit www.fishaboutsydney.com.au or go to ‘Fishabout Sydney Harbour’ on Facebook.

proposition, but to do so they must be specifically targeted.

In Sydney Harbour, they will be found in deep water.

They spend most of their time offshore in very deep water, so when they come inshore they also feel more comfortable in the relatively deep locations. Around 20ft is a good starting point. They aren’t the most energetic fish in the sea, so strong currents are unfavourable. The still deep bays and the eddies of the lower harbour, Middle Harbour and particularly North Harbour are good spots to start looking.

A final requirement on habitat is clear saline water, so the upper reaches are usually unsuitable, except possibly after long periods without rain.

With that whopping great eye, the dory could possibly be nocturnal, but I’ve never chased them at night, so I can’t say for sure. One thing I do know is that they love a bit of shade and the low light conditions of early morning and late afternoon.

Jetties and moorings are a JULY 2018

17

Tactics for targeting a good feed this month BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

The footy, rugby, AFL and soccer seasons are in full swing and so is the winter fishing. Anglers venturing out have a chance to get amongst a few tailor, salmon, bonito, silver trevally, luderick, drummer, snapper, sand flathead, bream, large dusky flathead, sweep, morwong and pike. I find that the key to my fishing is that I make sure that I have a few things in place before I venture out.

I know what species I am going to target, I have decided whether to use either bait or lures, I know what the tides are and my gear is in tiptop condition. Once I have made sure that all is prepared I will then decide on a couple of spots to go.

Sure, many of you would put picking your spots first, but I don’t feel it’s all about the spots that you go. It’s about being prepared and knowing about the species of fish that you are going to target.

Many of you would have your favourite spots that you

BREAM

You couldn’t get the smile off Melissa Murray’s face after she caught and released her PB bream of 46cm. already go to and would have worked out when the best time to fish those spots are and what tackle, bait and tides that you need to fish them.

Here are some different techniques that I use for the various fish species that you can target this July.

For tailor, try very slow trolling pilchards and garfish that have been rigged on a set of gangs. This is an effective

way of targeting these fish. I wrap some solder around the shaft of the first hook. This acts as a keel and stops the bait from spinning.

For salmon it doesn’t matter whether you cast your pilchards or garfish (rigged on a set of ganged hooks) from the beach, off the rocks or out of your boat; I find that the slower that you wind in the bait, the more takes it will get.

Luderick respond well to

Melissa Murray sent in a report of how she caught her PB bream of 46cm while they were fishing in the Georges River at the Moons. Melissa was using pilchard tails on the run-in tide and within a few hours they had enough for a feed. They also caught a lone trevally and a blue swimmer crab. Melissa released the big bream and hopes to catch it again in a few years when it’s 50cm.

Scotty Lyons reported that the bay will have plenty of trevally about at the Sticks, Towra Wide, the end of the third runway and the Drums. He also suggests that you try trolling for salmon and tailor in Yarra Bay and down along Brighton.

Flathead on half pilchards and 4-5” paddle-tail plastics would be the go.

On the other hand, John from Fergos Tackle World at Taren Point suggests that you try the 5.5cm Jackson Bottom Magic lure and Adam from Fishin.com

ST A O C T S EA 8 1 0 2 S SERIE

sisting n o c s rie am se nd Final e r B m Tea lus Gra p s d n 4 rou

Dusky flathead can be caught throughout the year on lures like the ZMan soft plastics.

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a steady stream of berley and one of the best berleys is a combination of white bread, chopped up green weed and cabbage.

Drummer are found in the wash off the rocks.

will only need to cover the bend of the hook.

When fishing for silver trevally, use prawns and peel them.

‘Blow-holes’ indicate that bream have been feeding over shallow banks and within the intertidal zone. These are depressions in the sand or mud, surrounded by displaced sediment giving a crater effect and usually exhibiting a colour change, which is due to the next layer of sediment being exposed.

When chasing dusky flathead from the shore, avoid walking into the water when you get there. Start casting a few metres from the water, as flathead will at times lie in wait in just a few centimetres of water.

If you are going to venture out during July you could try for bream off the rocks at the southern end of Maroubra Beach and Kurnell. You can find trevally at the oil wharf and the Drums on a run-out tide, and luderick on the wall at the

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Keeping your running sinker size to a minimum will allow the bait to float as naturally as possible in the wash.

Estuary leatherjackets have very small mouths and a set of teeth that would put a parrot to shame. Use small gaped hooks (no. 8-12) with a long shank. The bait size

entrance to the Cooks River.

Troll for salmon and tailor in Yarra Bay, and drummer in the washes off Sutherland Point. Leatherjackets will be at the base of the marker poles and buoys at the end of the third runway and dusky flathead at the Moons in the Georges River.

at Miranda suggests the 10.5cm Pro Lure Fish Tail in mangrove gold.

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

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A few anglers have set themselves up on the rising tide along the beach near Dolls Point for bream, whiting and flathead.

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North and South West arms and anywhere that you can find a bit of reef.

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Andrew Humphries with his best-ever silver trevally. It took a 2” Gulp Shrimp on a 1/28oz TT HWS jighead while working the edge of the shore along the entrance to Yowie Bay. If you’re going to bait fish in the Port Hacking, make sure that you have a tub of berley with you. The berley may consist of a concoction that you have made up or just be as simple as a few chicken or dog pellets and bread. The trick when using berley is to attract the fish to your baits, not feed them.

The next essential thing that you need when fishing here is for the current to not flow too hard. You don’t want the berley to be taken too far away from where you’re fishing. If the current is racing, try using a berley cage and lower it to near the bottom.

Sometimes I put dry chicken or dog pellets in a paper bag and lower it to the bottom with the help of a heavy sinker. Once it’s down where I need it, I just pull the string up sharply and the paper bag bursts and the berley comes out. It’s just a matter of pulling up the bag and disposing of it in the rubbish bag.

Places with some deeper water are worth trying. Try Yowie and Gymea bays, the drop-off on the northern side of the flats at Lilli Pilli,

Slow trolling lures or bait in the Port Hacking is another great option during July as there should be a few tailor and salmon about with a couple of frigates and bonito mixed in.

One of my favourite baits in the Port Hacking is the pink nipper. Everything that swims loves them. You could either pump them yourself or buy them from Macs Bait

A 67cm dusky that took a liking to a live poddy mullet.

Bar at Blakehurst, or a bait and tackle shop near you.

They can be a very soft bait, so I always make sure I put at least 2-3 half hitches around the tail before I cast it out.

If you have the time and you don’t mind fishing off the beach, get yourself a few beach worms and chase bream, dart and trevally off the beaches that stretch from Boat Harbour in the north to Wanda in the south.

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JULY 2018

The rocks at Boat Harbour would be worth a shot for luderick, drummer, trevally and bream on a rising tide. Further south the rocks at North Garie, Wattamolla and Stanwell Park would also be worth a shot.

Even further south I would try the point at Coalcliff, as you can now get easy access due to the construction work on the toilet block and baths being finished. Remember to take care while fishing off the rocks and keep an eye on the swell.

There will also be a few squid about, so don’t forget to take a few squid jigs. If you want to try for them, you could try Gunnamatta and Gymea Baths or Wallys Wharf. If you’re fishing from a boat, work your way along any of the rocky shoreline that can be found in the Port Hacking River.

Ever tried fishing for mullet or garfish? They’re great to catch, great to use for bait and great to eat.

You don’t need a lot of tackle – just a few no. 10-14 hooks, a few spit shots and a couple of small quill floats or bobby corks.

Whether you are fishing from the shore or out of a boat, try berleying with breadcrumbs and very small pieces of prawn or some homemade pudding for bait.

My pudding consists of sausage mince, flour, garlic

John Taylford from Fergo’s Tackle World at Taren Point with a silver trevally that took a Jackson Bottom Magic. Photo courtesy of John Taylford.

Pro-Cure scent and a small amount of water. This is mixed up into a consistency that is like Play Dough.

Even though there are still a few blue swimmer crabs about, I don’t tend to target them during the cooler months of the year, as they don’t tend to have much meat inside them.

Remember when targeting crabs in the Port Hacking that you are not allowed to use any type of net or crab trap. For more info, check out www.dpi. nsw.gov.au/fishing/closures/ location-closures/porthacking. So, to catch them you will need to use either a hand-line or rod and reel to hook them and then you can land them with a landing net.

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

Get stuck into those hard-fighting trevally SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

We are being invaded by the trevally! They are off the ocean rocks, some of the ocean beaches and in big numbers in the estuaries like Sydney Harbour.

Getting into this hardfighting species requires different methods depending on whether you’re fishing from the rocks, from the beach or in calm water estuary

weigh a lot.

Rock spots near the corners of a beach yield good numbers of trevally and many other species, but you’ll want to become acquainted before going to the more high energy wave areas. Check the weather and tides; research and patience is very important before going near the ocean rocks.

That’s not all though, because you can’t rely on the swell size from weather apps to be 100% correct. Common sense will tell you when it’s

You can still catch whiting in winter, just not as many as you would in the warmer months. spots. Very often you’ll catch another species in amongst a bag of trevally, and in some cases several species.

Let’s start off with the trevally off the rocks. First and foremost is your safety gear – you want it sorted before you go anywhere near ocean rocks. You’ll need either steel spike boots, stretch-on spikes (which go over your sneakers), surf boots or your boots that have worn down spikes. Never wear thongs, gum boots and never ever waders! The stretch on steel spikes (snow spikes) can be used.

It’s not mandatory to wear a lifejacket (except in the Randwick Council area), but I recommend wearing one anyway. A PFD 50 should be sufficient, as it will keep even a largish person afloat.

It’s also a good idea to wear only light clothing, preferably made from nylon, which will not weigh you down if you end up in the ocean. Unless you’re at one of the safer rock spots, avoid woollen and heavy cotton clothing. Heavy clothing will soak up a lot of water and

too rough. If in doubt, go to a plan B, e.g. beach or estuary fishing. Otherwise, seriously consider taking up a guiding trip with me. I will teach you all the safety aspects so you can avoid a bad situation. For me, I feel safer on the rocks than driving on our roads. Drivers can be unpredictable, but ocean waves are predictable if you know how to read them. It would take a lot more space than I have here to explain rock fishing safety and preventative methods.

Perhaps a future article…

TREVALLY So back to where the trevally are. A deep water ledge of 4m+ is a good start, with white water to spread your berley. All you need for berley is chopped up pilchard and soggy bread in a bucket. Good baits are banana, larger Hawkesbury or endeavour prawns peeled, or half pilchards. A light 4-6kg outfit with a rod size of 3.2m or more will get you on to these succulent fish.

There are bream, luderick, rock blackfish and at times the odd salmon and small king thrown in as well.

Good locations include The Hat below the Quarantine wall at Manly, the main ledge, and Little Bluey at the end of Bower Street, Manly. Fish the ledges to the south of the car park facing Bluefish Point, North Curl Curl ledges, and Mona Vale pool ledge.

Approximately 70m east of there are some of the spots where the trevally and other species mentioned are caught. There are luderick in good numbers at all of these spots except North Curl Curl at selected areas.

You can also catch trevally from some of the ocean beaches. You can fish with a paternoster rig, or a basic sinker to a swivel, then a length of fluorocarbon or mono leader of 4-6kg. Beach worms, pink nippers, half pillies, peeled prawns and even trevally fillet will work.

Fishing near structure will improve your chances, especially if you’re fishing in 2.5m+. What I mean by structure is a corner of a beach near rocks, a storm water pipe or rocks on the beach. Structure will improve your chances not just for trevally, but for bream, tarwhine and even some beach luderick, which can be caught nearby. The spots to try are Mona Vale Beach, Collaroy pipe, and Dee Why’s southern beach corner near the boulders.

WHITING Whiting are still on the cards, although they are in smaller numbers. The ones you’ll catch at this time of the year are the resident fish which did not travel. Some are good quality fish up to 35cm+. Try South Steyne Manly in front of the Corso area, Dee Why southern corner section between Dee Why Parade to Howard Ave section of beach, and Palm Beach south of Ocean Road to the southern corner; all

Mark was rapt with his bream and trevally caught in the harbour in Manly. The bite started just on dusk and continued well into the night. Consistently berleying with bread, pillies and fishing a light 3kg leader was important, as they were timid. of these locations hold some whiting at this time of year.

SALMON July is one of the peak months for Aussie salmon, and I recommend using a 10ft spin outfit with 3-5kg braid. Surf poppers, ganged pillies and small metals like the 45g Coltsniper are working. The metals are a great way to search for this species from gutter to gutter, and I use a variety of colours, such as gold/ yellow, green or blue.

If you have not caught a salmon you’re missing out on a hard-fighting species that is readily available on our ocean beaches. My first beach fish (and my largest fish when I was just taking up fishing as a teenager) was a salmon. I hooked it at night just as the moon was rising.

It jumped in front of the moon, and it was a surreal experience. It weighed about 2.5kg and on the light 4kg mono and light Alvey outfit it put up a battle that I still fondly remember.

A great spot to try for salmon is Curl Curl Beach.

This high energy wave beach has been a great salmon producer of late. There are some sand flathead up to 45cm mixed in for anglers using whole ganged pillies or even a fish bait like fresh yellowtail fillets. Don’t be surprised if you get into the trevally as well, especially towards the southern corner of the beach.

OTHER SPECIES In Sydney Harbour, North Harbour’s Forty Baskets swimming pool has trevally, bream and the odd

Stephen Bullen caught this hefty 85cm dusky flathead from Narrabeen Lagoon on a dead poddy mullet. The fish was released soon after this photo.

John dory if you bottom fish with a live yellowtail. There are also some luderick right next to the swimming pool nets.

Middle harbour off Balmoral Wharf is a good place to try for big leatherjackets, bream, luderick and of course trevally. The odd John dory is caught there as well, along with a few tailor on dusk and after dark. You will need to sieve through what you catch though, as some of the tailor are undersized. Lately most have been around that 33-36cm size bracket.

The stone wall on the northeast side of the Spit bridge has a few good size luderick to 700g. Hair weed is essential for bait, and sand/weed finely chopped in the berley is best. Cabbage weed works OK, but this far down the estuary hair weed is generally the go.

Fish approximately 3m deep under the float, and fish as light a sinker weight as possible. A long-handled landing net is recommended from here as you could be up to 2m or more off the water, especially at low tide.

Some bream are caught here as well so it’s worth a fish for them while you’re there. You can also pick up some tailor in the evening, especially near the bridge lights on the southwest side of the bridge.

• 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.

JULY 2018

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The lowdown on leaders: choosing the right one PART 2 NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

Leaders are an oftenoverlooked part of our sport, but they provide a vital link between angler and fish.

Last month in this column, I explained why it’s essential to add a leader of nylon or fluorocarbon whenever using multifilament, gelspun polyethylene (braided or fused) main lines. To

in the past about what I call the ‘finesse conundrum.’

Put simply, this states that the lighter and finer you go with your gear selection, the more fish you’ll hook. But as you go lighter, you’ll also lose more fish. Eventually, a point is reached where most or even all of the fish you hook will probably get away. This conundrum is a phenomenon that definitely applies to leader selection.

Basically, using thick, tough, hard-wearing leaders made from wire or some other very strong material

Bream are a great example of a species that responds better to lighter, finer leaders, but how light can you go before you begin to lose unacceptable numbers of fish? It’s a balancing act. briefly recap, there are three compelling reasons for this: firstly, braid is prone to abrasion under pressure from fish teeth and other sharp surfaces; secondly, being opaque, braid is arguably more visible to fish than clear nylon or fluorocarbon; thirdly, the stretch inherent in a nylon or fluorocarbon leader adds a handy shock absorber or spring, which can be a bonus, especially in the closing stages of battle, when there’s only a short length of line between angler and fish.

If we accept that the use of leaders is essential when running braided main lines, how do we pick the optimum leader set-up for each fishing scenario? How long should that leader be, what should it be made from, and how is it best connected to our main line?

I’ve written many times

would greatly reduce your chances of being chewed, rubbed or bitten off by a hooked fish. The use of such heavy and obvious leaders will also dramatically decrease the number of bites or strikes you get in most situations. For example, a shop-bought wire trace tied to the end of your main line may seem like a convenient option, meaning you’ll never be chewed or bitten off by another flathead or tailor.

But in many practical fishing situations using a thick wire trace will result in almost zero bites, especially from highly desirable target fish.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a very long, very fine leader of transparent, low-gloss nylon or fluorocarbon will definitely increase your strike rate, but might not provide the insurance and abrasion resistance necessary to stay connected to any decent fish you hook. Because of this conundrum, leader selection represents a constant balancing act between strength and durability at one end of the scale and subterfuge or subtlety at the other end.

Suffice to say that you’ll need selection of clear, non-coloured leader materials (nylon, fluorocarbon or both) in a range of thicknesses and rated breaking strains to

Murray cod have small, fine ‘scouring pad’ teeth that would easily wear through finer braided lines under load, making the use of a leader almost mandatory. match the various styles of lure fishing you undertake, particularly if you opt to go with GSP main lines.

For most of the common forms of freshwater, estuary, beach, rock and inshore fishing undertaken around the country, leader materials from 2-35 or 40kg breaking strain will easily cover all the possible bases, but if your tastes run to bluewater game fishing, you’ll need a few spools of heavier material, perhaps up to 200kg, especially if marlin are on

the menu. Obviously, if you chase sharks, big mackerel, wahoo and other toothy critters, you’ll want some wire in your leader kit, too.

around a rod length is a very good starting point for most styles of fishing with either baits or lures, and this obviously means you’ll need

Barramundi are a species that demands the use of relatively heavy, abrasion-resistant leaders. Most barra anglers choose 25-35kg nylon or fluorocarbon leaders on these fish, and anything lighter than 20kg represents a real gamble on bigger fish.

Line to leader connections need to be compact and smooth enough to allow unhindered casting. There are several very good knots for this purpose. The author likes the FG, Slim Beauty and (in lighter lines) the Double Uni, but you should pick one or two that work for you.

As a very rough guide, 2-4kg (4-8lb) nylon or fluorocarbon will cover most of your needs on trout, redfin, bream, whiting and the various other smaller targets. A 3-8kg leader is a good starting point for bass, golden perch, flathead and so on, while 8-18kg covers your bases on snapper, mulloway, jacks, Murray cod and the like.

If you target barra and big threadfin salmon, add some 18-35kg leader material to your collection.

As for leader dimensions,

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to use a knot to connect your leader to your braid, rather than a swivel or ring.

There are plenty of proven connections for this purpose including the Double Uni, FG, Slim Beauty, Albright and several others.

Learn one or two strong connections thoroughly and practice them until you’re proficient enough to really trust your knots.

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JULY 2018

23

Iluka’s got the lot!

BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

When I first visited Iluka the massive sea walls on the mighty Clarence River were still being constructed. Rail lines were carrying huge natural rocks dug from a quarry, as well as man-made behemoth blocks out on the

the main bitumen road leading from the Pacific Highway (around 30 minutes south of the town of Woodburn and just north of the bridge on the Clarence if you’re heading north from Grafton) into Iluka was improved and the rough tracks to main fishing spots had been sealed. There were also decent parking areas and even toilets and picnic tables to enjoy for family groups as well.

tide is out the Shark Bay rocks offer a wide variety of fish from bream to black drummer, mulloway and tailor. There’s also excellent beach fishing right at, or adjoining, the neat picnic area for whiting, dart and bream as well.

WOODY HEAD A little further along the road towards town is the Bundjalung National Park Woody Head Camping area.

It doesn’t get much better than this: a small swell and low tide at the Bluff. will be required to access the area, obtainable at the park’s office.

There are numerous rock fishing hot spots at Woody Head suited to both high and low tide, with the safest

favourite all rounder, and it’s quite common to see a dozen or more rods in action on the rocks of a calm afternoon or early morning.

During my recent visit I again employed a sliding

on the southern side. A road leads into the car park and this is a very popular beach fishing hot spot, as a hole often forms just south of the rocks. Tailor and mulloway are the main targets.

If you have a trailer boat, the ramp at Woody Head presents few problems. The tuna proudly displayed by the young couple were taken from a 4.2m boat! evolving structure, where they were carefully placed for maximum effect. My mate and I would walk out on the gravel and stones between rows of railway sleepers to cast a line, then plod back under the weight of a big mulloway or bag of tailor.

Getting to most of the Iluka fishing areas in those days was tricky, as we had to negotiate rough potholed and sometimes boggy tracks, but

LAND-BASED OR LAUNCH THE BOAT? Basically, there’s the mega attraction of the massive Clarence River, plus great bluewater fishing to be enjoyed as well, but as many anglers simply like to fish from the shore we will look at land-based fishing first.

All of these land-based areas are well-signed, easily reached by motor vehicle or on foot, and can produce excellent fishing on the day

This is my all time, long time, favourite camping area, and if you like camping in a peaceful, ocean side, very clean and well-grassed camping area with ample facilities for young and old, this is the one for you!

If you like to do a bit of rock or beach fishing, or launch the boat into the South Pacific in suitable conditions, or maybe survey a few kangaroos nibbling around the camp sites while

Sunrise is tailor time at Iluka, and here the author is working rocks at the Bluff. access always dependant upon calm sea conditions.

The main targets will be bream, tailor, mulloway, luderick and snapper, but anglers do catch some quality flathead and whiting right in the small bay near the boat ramp or out front of the picnic tables and BBQ units.

Low tide seems to be the

bobby cork rig from the rocks and caught bream, dart, tailor and a decent Australian salmon. Over several sessions I did not have one snag.

BACK BEACH The next shore fishing locality is the Back Beach area, which adjoins the main Woody Head rock platform

FRASERS REEF A few kilometres south of Woody Head, a signed turn-off on the left leads to Frasers Reef, which is a rocks and beach area. From the car park and picnic area there’s a small walk to the beach and a 5-minute walk to the nearby small rocky island, with the main Frasers Reef

The north wall on the Clarence is a magnificent structure and there are numerous places from which to fish. our efforts were likely to be rewarded. Fishing pressure was very light but like all shore-based angling, sea conditions governed results.

A love of Iluka evolved that has stood the test of time, and not having enjoyed even a look at this fabulous fishing area for a few years I spent a some days there last month to check things out.

I was pleased to note that 24

JULY 2018

when conditions are right.

By that I mean not too rough or boisterous!

Once you’re off the highway and heading to Ikula, the first hot spot is accessed via the well-signed Shark Bay picnic area. The beach there offers pipis and worms for bait, and you can drive the 4x4 for many kilometres north to look for a likely beach gutter. If the

a scrub turkey or two are quarrelling over a bread crust, then this is most definitely for you!

The entire Woody Head camping area is unpowered, so there won’t be anything drowning out the gentle ambience of the waves caressing the rocks at night.

The campgrounds are within the Bundjalung National Park and a permit

A look at the small island at Frasers Reef. Easily reached at low tide, it’s a great place for the rock angler. That headland in the background is the Bluff.

headland just to the north.

Both of these spots offer excellent rock fishing for all the usual suspects, with tailor and bream predominating at this time of year. The main

there’s ample parking and lots of fishing area to enjoy on virtually any part of this low rock platform, which can see the rod bending to anything from a luderick

MAIN BEACH AND THE SEA WALL There are several golden kilometres of sand between the Clarence north wall and the Bluff, and fish-holding

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Spinners work just as well on tailor at Iluka as elsewhere.

Frasers Reef headland is fairly high and offers some shelter from incoming waves.

It’s a great spot to spy on a whale as well.

THE BLUFF No visit to Iluka would be complete without a look

to a mulloway or even a blue groper.

It’s also a favourite spot for tailor anglers, with several attractive white water and wash areas holding these scrappers, particularly at low tide.

gutters will likely see rods in action of an early morning or evening. The main northern sea wall is a massive structure extending for a considerable distance into deep water. This is a good place to snag a mulloway on

CALL YOUR LOCAL DEALER TODAY Beach anglers will find there’s some fabulous beach to fish north of the Iluka Bluff. at the main Bluff area.

The view from the top is well worth the climb, and as this area is outside the Bundjalung National Park boundary, a permit won’t be necessary to access it. Again

A very attractive beach stretches between the Bluff and Frasers Reef to the north, and there are worms on hand plus a series of gutters that hold whiting and dart year round.

The author with a bream from the rocks.

In the wash and suds they are a far easier proposition than in calm conditions.

a big lure or live bait as well as a feed of tailor or bream, especially in or behind the area adjoining the wall where the waves are breaking. Sea walls usually require serious lifting of fish, and a long gaff can be an invaluable asset if you’re targeting big ones.

It’s interesting to see that in summer many anglers float out a livey or fresh cut bait under a balloon to give the tuna and mackerel a try.

Winter is mulloway time and when a big fresh is staining the mighty Clarence River, a big lure on strong tackle can reap rewards.

The river side of the big wall, just where waves are breaking, is also an excellent fishing spot when the river is a bit discoloured, and this is when bream are usually very active. Again, it pays to find a place where the lower rock area is easily accessed.

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From page 25

fleet, and there are several accessible areas of wall. Some of it will be easier to walk on than other sections, and these will allow anglers to cast a bait or lure into the Clarence or alternatively, sections of the harbour. It’s sheltered water fishing, with bream and luderick the favourites at this time of year. The fish are certainly there, it’s merely a matter of finding a section of wall that suits the angler.

TAKE THE TRAILER BOAT My advice is that if you can, you should. There are

several launching ramps into the Clarence at Iluka and the river walls are famous for bream and luderick during the day, and mulloway at night, with flathead around shallower areas.

Blue water anglers can either head out of the Clarence River or alternatively launch at Woody Heads ramp and head out from there. Excellent snapper fishing is par for the course in this neck of the woods, and trolling can also bring rewards.

Shark Bay, adjoining Woody Heads to the north and west, is a renowned area for

spotty mackerel in summer and autumn. Fish to 6kg+ are often taken. As an aside, my wife and I caught our first spotty mackerel on fly in Shark Bay on our recent trip!

wave action. Dry rocks should be OK, wet ones should only be accessed with great care, and while carefully watching the incoming swells.

A rising tide means that

firma. I like plastic sandals, but neoprene dive boots are very good as well.

WHERE TO STAY AT ILUKA Although Iluka is still a small township, there are houses and other places to rent in the area. Visitors that enjoy camping are also pretty well catered for.

Heading off the highway there are two caravan parks at the Woombah locality, these being the Bimbimbi

Riverside Tourist Park and the The Anchorage just to the west of the town centre, with the Iluka Clarence Head park to the east, en route to the sea wall and Main Beach area. All offer excellent accommodation and a couple of them are pet friendly as well.

In all, Iluka offers not only great fishing but a degree of unspoilt ambience that is sadly missing in our modern way of life. It’s

The author is giving a fish some hurry up from the rocks. Note the sea conditions; when it’s calm it’s very easy to fish.

Denise Kampe with a Woody Head bream on the bobby cork rig. It’s a great asset when rock fishing.

ROCK FISHING TACTICS Before looking at places to stay in the Iluka area, it might be smart to have a think about rock fishing if it’s not something that you have previously undertaken.

All rock fishing depends upon being able to access the chosen spot in safety, so it pays to survey the scene for a while and keep an eye on

dry rocks will soon likely become wet slippery rocks, and if you are there at that time you will be wet as well!

While the opposite occurs when the tide is ebbing, it’s still good practice to be alert for rogue waves. They usually come in sets of three, so be warned. Proper footwear is important too, and there needs to be plenty of tread to maintain a good grip on terra

If you like camping close to the ocean where there are plenty of tables and BBQs, Woody Head is hard to beat.

Riverside and Woombah Woods parks, which are handy to the adjoining section of the Clarence.

Next would be Woody Heads, then in Iluka township proper there’s the Iluka

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News

Improving fish habitats through local projects The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has awarded $644,000 in grants to recreational angling clubs, community groups, landholders and local councils for 29 unique fish habitat projects, under the Habitat Action Grants Program.

The range of successful projects cover many iconic coastal and inland fishing spots in NSW with over $1.4 million committed as in-kind support from the successful applicants.

DPI Senior Fisheries Manager Kylie Russell said the grants will see major improvements to local creeks, riverbanks, wetlands and provide better access for fish, which will improve fish habitats and ultimately produce more fish.

“It’s not only the fish that will benefit from these works – valuable agricultural grazing land will be protected and water quality in our rivers improved,” she said. “This will have flow-on benefits to local communities and tourism through improved recreational fishing opportunities.”

The program was highly competitive with 59 new applications submitted,

Under the Habitat Action Grants Program, river banks will be replanted with trees, shrubs and sedges. Image courtesy of NSW DPI. seeing strong support from local recreational anglers for the applications.

Successful projects will be carried out right across NSW including Bellingen, Buronga, Bredbo, Cambewarra, Coonabarabran, Coraki, Cowra, Dubbo, Durrumbul, Emu Plains, Grafton, Jerseyville, Kyogle, Lismore, Macksville, Murrundi, Muswellbrook, Nimbin, Old Bar, Pooncarie, Urunga, Raymond Terrace, Tamworth, Tintenbar, Wilberforce and Yeoval.

The projects will: • Install 243 woody habitats (snags);

• Install over 7km of riparian fencing to manage stock access; • Revegetate over 15km of riparian zone, planting at least 15,300 trees, shrubs and sedges; • Control over 88km of invasive riverbank weeds; • Reinstate 52km of fish habitat by addressing seven fish passage barriers; • Implement at least 2.7km of bank erosion control; and • Improve management of 133 hectares of wetland habitat.

“Funding for these grants was provided through the Recreational Fishing Trusts, where all money raised by the NSW Recreational

Fishing Fee are placed into the Recreational Fishing Trusts,” Ms Russell said.

A full list of successful projects can be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/hag.

WOMAN IN BAKERY LOSES DOUGH AFTER ABALONE RAID A woman has been fined more than $18,000 after a raid on her Kiama bakery saw her convicted of illegal possession of abalone.

Fisheries officers from the NSW DPI Statewide Operations and Investigations Group conducted surveillance of illegal abalone selling and subsequently raided the bakery suspected of receiving black market abalone.

NSW DPI Director Fisheries Compliance, Patrick Tully said the officers seized 120 abalone (95 of which were undersize) from the 42-year-old woman who was charged with possessing more than the possession limit of abalone in circumstances of aggravation; and possession of prohibited size abalone in circumstances of aggravation.

The woman pleaded guilty in Port Kembla Local Court in April and was fined $8000 for each offence.

The court also imposed an additional monetary penalty of $2028, valued at twice the monetary value of the abalone.

Fisheries officers seized 120 abalone (95 of which were undersize) from a 42-year-old woman in Kiama. Image courtesy of NSW DPI.

A male co-defendant alleged to have illegally supplied the abalone is set to appear in court again this month.

“NSW DPI has produced a brochure to remind people and food retailers that possessing and/or trading in abalone can result in heavy fines, imprisonment and food safety concerns,” Mr Tully said. “Eventually we want to have this brochure translated into a range of languages.”

Mr John Smythe from the Abalone Association of NSW said the association supports the ongoing work of the DPI to protect abalone stocks and the production of the multilingual advisory material.

“Illegal marketing and harvesting of undersized abalone depletes the state’s abalone resources, impacts the health and safety of consumers, and harms the livelihood of legitimate operators,” Mr Smythe said.

Anyone with information on suspected illegal fishing activity is urged to contact their local DPI Fisheries office, call Fishers Watch on 1800 043 536, or log onto www.dpi.nsw.gov. au/fishing/compliance/ report-illegal-activity.

– NSWDPI Fisheries

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Winter westerlies are making the nights cool THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

It’s been a late season offshore this year, but the winter species are finally starting to feed up and make their presence felt on close reefs.

With the 0.5-2 knots of current on most close reefs, this has allowed anglers to fish deeper reefs and it also opens up a lot of different styles, with finesse fishing techniques working best.

Lightly-weighted plastics, smaller micro jigs, octa jigs and drift baits are working well off Tweed at the moment.

Mulloway are sitting in most holes in the river and around the river mouth.

Bream and trevally are really starting to thicken up in packs around most rock walls, wrecks, submerged structure and bridges.

Chopper tailor are starting to run in the rivers, and working light presentations in current lines has been working really well.

Tailor, mulloway, bream and flathead are sitting in most beach gutters along the Tweed Coast.

OFFSHORE It’s snapper time! With the easing of the currents, anglers are spoilt for choice.

Using a 15, 20 or 30lb set up with 1/4oz jigheads on close reefs, and up to 3/4oz jigheads around the 24 and 36 fathom reefs are working best. Medium-sized 5-7” plastics are working best, with pearls and bright colors such as nuclear chicken producing results around sunrise and sunset. Natural colors such as pumpkin seed, bloodworm and blue pearls are working well once the sun is up and starts penetrating the water column.

Jigging with 20-200g micro and octa jigs is working well on the 24s and deeper. Style is everything with the flutter jigs. A smooth action with double and triple lifts off the bottom, before allowing it to flutter back to the bottom is key.

Staying in contact with your jigs is crucial. Lighter main braid will allow you to get to the bottom quicker and fluorocarbon leaders will

Guy Hutchins was pleased with this nice pearly. protect your jigs from the rough bottom. Use a 15lb and 20lb, or 20lb and 30lb braid and main line combination for close reefs and 30lb and 40lb or 40lb and 60lb combo for bigger jigs and deeper depths.

Drift baiting is one of the best and most productive ways to catch fish on close reefs, but judging the current and depth is crucial to selecting sinker size. Once you find your sinker size, there are a few different rigs you can run. Some ideas for rigs are: sinker straight to the hook, or swivel to leader to sinker and then hook, or swivel to leader to sinker to swivel to leader and then hook. Double snelled or stinger rigs work well for larger baits.

Most of the mixed pan-size fish that get caught are on just sinker to hook and a half pilchard. Remember you want your bait to look as natural as possible.

Kingfish, cobia and mulloway have moved onto close reefs and isolated wrecks and bommies. Live baits such as yakkas, mullet, tailor and pike are your best baits. Finding bait with arches sitting around them is crucial. Slow trolling live baits is working well too.

Some packs of tuna have been sighted around close reefs, and high-speed metals, jet heads and trolled hardbodies are working well.

Find the working mutton birds and you will find the tuna.

There has been some squid around Fidos, Five Mile, Cook Island and Kingscliff, and fishing heavy

jigs and drifting bait spikes will work well out there.

ESTUARY This month is all about the mulloway in the rivers.

Soaking live baits such as pike, mullet and tailor of a night is still catching the better fish in the river. A few schoolies are being caught on plastics and vibes and blades this month as well.

Big hardbodies are working well around the river mouth.

Try the various holes in Tweed, the rock walls in the river mouth, around the bridges and isolated rocks in at least 4m of water for best results. Anywhere that holds bait in deep water is good.

Bream are getting real thick, so packs of bream are being found throughout the whole system. Drift baits and small artificial presentations are working well. A good selection of bait is a must when targeting bream. Baits like yabbies, crabs, worms, prawns, mullet gut and pilchards will see the fussiest feeders biting. Berley should trigger them into a bit of a feeding frenzy. You want your berley to be really thin, so they don’t fill up on it.

Trevally are getting pretty thick at the river mouth and around the bridges that hold good schools of bait this month. Lures are working really well for these speedsters. Blades, vibes, tiny micro jigs, hardbodies and small metals are catching some good fish. Try Boyds, Barneys, Jack Evans Anchorage, the wreck near the red marker, and around Green Bank Island rock walls for a bit of trev action.

Chopper tailor are sitting

in current lines throughout the river. Run-in tides are fishing better for these toothy critters. Small metals, blades and small plastics are working. We used to make metals out of butter knives; the blade of the knife makes a great size and shape lure for targeting choppers in the river! A little shaping and a couple of holes in each end and a slight bend in the blade is all you need. St Vinnies has heaps of these knives for about 10c each.

Some good flatties are available up in the skinny water. Plastics are still faring best for these fish.

Winter or diver whiting are sitting in the deeper channels and holes around the Tweed. Drifting bloodworm and beach worms is working best, but it can be hard to get past the bream in some holes.

gutters will hold any fish in front of you and will bring any fish from down the beach to you. This will also bring up all the beach worms in front of you, which is what most species are feeding on in these gutters and will add to your berley. But be prepared to wait.

Tailor are starting to run up the coast and are best targeted from the headlands and rock walls with metals at dusk and dawn. Metals from 20-80g are working best. I like to run single hooks on most of my tailor metals. Since doing so my landing rate has increased tenfold. Try Snapper Rocks, the Tweed rock walls, Fingal Headland, The Causeway, Kingy rock wall and Black Rock at dusk and dawn for best results.

Soaking a ganged up

Matt Krause caught this solid kingy.

BEACHES Most beaches and headlands are really starting to fire up. Westerlies and no swell has seen great conditions on the beaches this month. The mulloway, tailor, bream and flathead have moved into most gutters up the coast.

The mulloway in particular are sitting in the deeper gutters, headlands and rock walls waiting for the mullet and tailor to run up the coast and into the gutters.

Soaking a large live bait of a night, a whole beach worm, ganged pilchard, a couple of white bait or large strip bait, should put you in the right area for a big mulloway.

Berleying into these draining

whole pilchard of a night in the deeper gutters is also producing. The smaller gutters have been producing some great bream, dart, flathead and whiting.

Targeting these smaller gutters on the last of the run-out with light gear and small plastics is very fun and you would be surprised what actually sits in the skinny gutters. It’s always handy to have a few worms or a bag of white bait with you just in case they aren’t interested in lures, and this should see you still get a nice feed.

I like to start at one end of a beach gutter and work from one side of the gutter to the other. Don’t be scared to cast right up

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in the back bank and into the skinny water, and work your lures and baits off the sand banks and into the drop offs. Most fish will sit in this area waiting for prey to drop in front of their faces. A well-placed bait won’t last long.

Light spin gear is perfect for these skinny gutters and because you’re not fighting fish in waves, you don’t need your big beach rod to fish them. In fact, a 6-10lb main line with a 2-8kg 7ft spin rod with 6-15lb leader allows you to use 1/6-1/2oz once jigheads. Thread some 2.5-5” plastics on these jigheads and you’re ready to fish these skinny gutters!

You might want to increase how often you re-scent your plastics. The sand will quickly steal the scent off your plastics. When fishing the river, I normally re-scent every 10-20 casts.

In these skinny gutters, I re-scent ever 5-8 casts.

NEXT MONTH Most anglers will still be on the hunt for big snapper and mixed reefies over the next month. The first few days after the full moon will fish better than before. The reason is that they spawn on close reefs on the full moon, so a few days before the full moon they will slow their feeding down and start really filling their gut cavities with roe and milt. But after the spawn on the full moon they are starving and will have a longer bite period.

As the schools of tailor and mullet run up the coast and over our close reefs, the mulloway, cobia and kings will hunt these packs and schools on the close reefs.

Fishing live baits over the next month will produce some beasts. The mulloway will start to sit more and more in the deeper holes in the rivers, beaches and headlands.

The tailor will come through in packs, so timing is crucial. Having a beach set-up in the car with a small box of lures means you are always ready for them.

We should see nice conditions in most systems, but it will vary, as some very chilly nights and crispy mornings will be a feature, so remember your warm gear.

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Ballina’s local fishing action really picking up BALLINA

Joe Allan

The fishing has been red-hot lately, with the action coming thick and fast.

As the water temperature has gradually gotten cooler, the snapper have been coming in more consistently and have been getting better in size.

The best areas are the close in reefs in approximately 10-15m of water. Floating cut baits like squid and blue pilchards with the current is very productive if you want to soak some bait. If you’re into throwing lures and plastics, try 60-80mm lipless crankbaits around 1/2oz in weight. On the soft plastics side of things, try 4” plastics in a variety of colours. The

1/2oz jigheads are good, but you should go lighter if the current will allow, and this should be paired with a 4/0 hook. If the current’s running harder you might need to go heavier.

Spotty mackerel are starting to drop off the bite but the Spanish are really starting to come on. If the water clarity stays pretty clean, this will happen

Nigel Skyring caught this nice school mulloway from Ballina on a 3” Atomic Prong.

Will Posthuma with a late season Spaniard caught off Ballina.

quicker. Try trolling any shallow diving lures over 100mm, or if you’re into cast and retrieve, stickbaits are a must in your tackle box.

The tailor are really biting well now, with catches becoming more consistent

over the last month. The gutters along Seven Mile Beach are worth a throw, and the best thing about this time of year along this beach is the stud bream that you can come across. They’re beautiful in condition and

taste amazing. Remember, a big bream is a very old fish, so only keep what you’re going to eat in the next few days.

The cooler westerlies can bring on the blackfish or luderick, so if this cold

n o e b o t t Wan f o r e v o C the ? y l h t n o M Fishing Do you love your monthly issue of Fishing Monthly?

Do you think it’s about time you were on the cover?

Well, we think that too, and are offering you the chance to do just that. The June, July and August issues of Queensland, NSW and Victoria/Tasmania FMs will all feature readers’ pics on the front covers.

And there’s no reason why it can’t be you...

Entry is simple. Email us your cover-worthy pic. Remember, though, that it needs to be the right composition and resolution to work. After that, it just needs to get through the Grumpy Old Men committee (Steve Morgan and Matt Drinkall) and then BOOM, you’re the latest cover model.

Be creative - we like images that aren’t just ‘person holding fish’.

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Other parameters of which you need to take note: Portrait format (photo must be taller than it is wide).

Leave enough room for a magazine masthead at the top of of the image.

Leave enough room for the bottom banner and bar code area.

Shoot in the highest resolution your camera can take.

Use fill-in flash to help remove any shadows under caps or biminis.

Live fish look way better than dead ones.

Any fish must be legally captured (within season/size limits).

Head not too high in the shot to allow for Masthead Portrait format

And then email your image to: frontcovercomp@fishingmonthly.com.au with a description of the what/when/where/how of the capture.

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JULY 2018

snap keeps on going for a while, don’t be afraid to try for these guys a little earlier than you normally would.

The flathead will start to become patchy in the river along the Ballina town stretch, while the bream will really start to fire in the

deeper drop offs. The top of the tide is the pick to chase the big sea run specimens that come in to spawn. Try throwing blades and plastics off the end of the south wall, as well as hardbodied lures such as crankbaits over the porpoise wall.

The winter whiting will be kicking off over the next few weeks. Try the bigger tides over the sand flats along the town stretch, the area out the front of the Oyster Farm in North Creek and possibly up as far as Pimlico Island if the water stays clear.

Christian Booker with a flathead caught in the Richmond on a sand flat.

Christian Booker with a solid snapper caught off Evans Head on an Atomic 5” Fat Grub.

The size of the mulloway being pulled out of the river lately is nothing short of amazing. There are some beasts caught at night time, mostly on live mullet in the deeper holes or shallow diving 200mm hardbodies off the walls. Hold on, because these things are beasts!

The largest saltwater fishing competition in NSW

is taking place in Evans Head this month. The Evans Head Fishing Classic has been running for more than 20 years and is being held from 7-14 July.

There will be a food alley, displays from sponsors and a live fish tank to display some of the catches from the event.

There really is something

in this competition for everyone in the family including a cadet category that runs over the weekend of 8-9 July. If you’d like more information please email ehfc@fishingcomps. com.au or head to www. fishingcomps.com.au/ ehc/faqs/.

Until next month, tight lines.

JULY 2018

31

Snap into the chilly season YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Winter is well and truly here and with it hopefully some calmer weather conditions. Autumn had some of the most unsettled conditions I think I have seen in 10 years, with constant southerly wind

in the estuary, and there is no better place at this time of the year than here.

The estuary will be full to the brim with, you guessed it, bream! These fish build up in huge numbers this month in preparation for the spawn. Spawning usually takes place on the full moon, which will be 28th of this month, but the

is a recreational fishing haven. Night fishing is my preference for bream, but you will have no trouble getting good fish all day.

The luderick or blackfish also spawn around this time and have shown up early this year with large olive coloured ocean running fish being caught in May. It’s looking like it’s going to be a good season for them again this year. Green weed and cabbage from the rocks are the usual fare, but the hard to get black weed will be the undoing of these guys. Take

plenty of berley with you to keep them at your feet.

I’ve fished a bit up near Turkey Island, just downstream from Palmers Island Caravan Park lately, just drifting the drop-offs from the sandbars and taking some beautiful flounder and dusky flathead. Flounder are not a rare capture here but some sessions are producing double figures of these tasty fish. Green prawns appear to be their preferred tucker while the flatty are loving the white bait. I’ve been fishing the

Jenny took this great snapper on a shallow reef.

Derek was very pleased with this lovely pearly. and swell making it hard to get out to the fish.

So we welcome the cold weather, colder water and hungry fish.

I have mentioned many times that I hate the cold, but I really love the fishing in winter, both offshore and

weeks leading up to this will be great fishing. The usual hotspots like the Middle Wall, Turkeys Nest and Collis Wall will all hold fish. The professional fishers trap most of these areas, but not the east end of the Middle Wall, as this

A fantastic snapper for 15-year-old Hamish.

bottom of the tide as well, just trying to be there for the last hour of run-out, and the quick drift with fast moving baits is just nailing them. There’s still a few better-than-average whiting mixed in there as well.

With the mullet running hard this month, mulloway will be haunting the south breakwall in good numbers.

Obviously matching the bait by using a live mullet will be the best way of hooking up, but they will take almost anything that swims when they are feeding heavily.

There is a million different lures and plastics out there for you to try. I really like the good old Bill’s Bugs Jewie lure. It’s been taking fish for the last 20 years and is still one of the best on the

market. If hardbodies aren’t for you, then ZMan 7” Jerk ShadZ in scented pearl will soon have you hooked up.

Offshore this month we are chasing snapper, and big snapper at that. These beautiful pink fish will be in real close early over the kelp beds and gravel. Some of the best grounds will be from Shelly Headland to Red Cliff in the south as well as the front of Woody Head Reef to the north. You will only need to be in 10m of water to be taking big fish, but in saying that, expect to get busted off a bit. These fish hit hard and run harder in the shallows and appear to know every piece of kelp or sharp rock personally, making landing them an extra challenge. If you fish

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too heavy, you don’t get the same amount of hook-ups, but if you fish too light, you’ll struggle to land them.

There will be a middle ground there somewhere.

This year the large pearl perch and Venus

tuskfish have been in great numbers on the southern reef in around 35-42m of water. But we have been catching the odd pearly to over 50cm in 10m. A lot of these fish will start to move out to the deeper

and pigfish mixed in with a few wild samsonfish, amberjack and kings to keep your arms stretched for a while.

Snapper on the wide ground will like a bit of structure to hang close to, but the pearl perch seem to be happily spread out over what appears to be relatively flat, uninteresting bottom covered in wire weed. You will know you’re in the right spot when you find a crusty looking thing that resembles a rusted wire spring attached to your sinker when you come up. awn too Don’t a Prmove Blafardeaway, b sarea “Yam just keep drifting this ” and the fish will trickle into the icebox all day.

The deeper water north and south will be a real chance of a feed of trag.

These fish will have some company, with mulloway and better than average snapper late in the morning to early afternoon. Try to find fish in 45-55m with bait shoals close by, and small livies will be the undoing of any finicky trag or mulloway.

If you’re heading this way and need some advice on what’s happening or would like to join me on a fishing charter or whale watch trip, call into our shop at Yamba Marina when you arrive and we will be more than happy to help you out.

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Silver and red in all corners COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

It’s been a struggle to choose what to write about this month, because there is so much going on in just about every sector of Coffs Coast fishing.

Obviously the bass and trout fishing can be omitted as it is closed season for those species, although there have been numerous by-catch bass caught by estuary anglers. Although bass aren’t usually the target, they do provide a surprise, and a great fight for some.

Remember, though, all bass must be released immediately without harm during the winter no-take period.

In any case, there are plenty of targets for estuary anglers. For starters, the bream are quite prolific throughout all reaches of the local estuaries. The lower sections offer the best opportunity for really good bream angling. The rock walls, rocky dropoffs and weed beds are harbouring great numbers of good-size bream. Some

finesse and stealth will be required when the water is clear though. Light line lure fishing is the best option for a fun and productive bream session. Ecogear

The other option for bream is to go loud and stinky. Some smelly berley, bread and sand all mixed together and consistently thrown around some

The snapper are close to shore and are an easy target for smaller trailer boats on the right day. Jason O’Brien got this red on the ever-reliable Berkley Gulp Nemesis.

Aqua Bream Prawns, Cranka Crabs and the trusty wriggle tail grubs are proven performers. The key is to spend most of your retrieve not retrieving.

‘Low and slow’, or even better, ‘low and still’ should be the mantra for anglers chasing these curious but cautious fish.

structure with a bit of current flowing over/through it can be very effective at attracting big bream. Keep the berley fine; if you get too coarse you will feed them instead of just attracting them. Drifting a bait into that stream of berley, whether it be a piece of bread, a cube of fish or a whole whitebait, will

certainly catch you some fish. If you’ve chosen your location well it should catch you big fish too.

The other two of the ‘silver three’ have been plentiful in the local rivers too. Mulloway have been regular catches throughout the estuaries, although it’s far upstream, or the lower rock walls, which produce most of the better fish. Tailor have also been plentiful in these same areas. Soft plastics, diving hardbodies and stickbaits have been working the best for both mulloway and tailor.

The mulloway and tailor have been the coverall species over the last month or so. They’re active in the upper and lower estuaries, river mouths, headlands, rock walls and beaches.

The classic beach worm or squid strip off the beach gutters have accounted for many good size mulloway and tailor off the beaches.

Big slab baits and whole fish have also been working, but mostly in the dark, or lowlight periods. Soft plastics, stickbaits and hardbody lures have done most of the catching off the headlands. School-size fish in the 3-6kg range account for the majority of captures, but there have been regular catches of 10kg+ mulloway, and reportedly just as many lost monsters.

The snapper have moved right in around the headlands, so fishing nice and tight in the headland washes could see you net a snapper, tailor or mulloway.

OFFSHORE The shallow water snapper fishing is in fine form. Congregating in and around the near-shore reefs in late autumn, the snapper should be in full swing by this month. Many fish equals more

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Macca McEwan with the 1.1kg bream that clinched him the win in the latest Bream SkinZ event on the Nambucca River. competition for food, which equals more fun for anglers. If you can find the bait, and the milling schools of predators, then almost any of the regular snapper techniques – and even some of the irregular ones – will get you onto some fish. Bottom bouncing, float lining pilchards, soft plastics, slow jigs, and (my favourite) spinnerbaits and chatterbaits, will all produce results this month.

Of course, you need to make sure you find the fish on your sounder first.

The key while finding the fish is to not spook them while you’re searching. It’s not often that stealth plays such a big part in offshore fishing, but in the shallow snapper grounds your boat noise can really hinder your fishing results. You should slow your boat down well away from the prospective mark, idle very slowly over the area or, even better, use your electric motor so you can search for gathered bait

and snapper sitting high in the water column.

This is also a situation where the kayakers have a distinct advantage. If you can find those bait balls and remain undetected, you will often find you can pick off numbers of fish while hovering over the school, with the rest continuing to happily feed underneath you.

Pearl perch and kingfish are always on the card on these inshore reefs too, and in slightly deeper water the samsonfish have been active as well. The last few stragglers of the summer season have only just been leaving, and with warm water continuing to flow past our coast we can expect to see them still popping up around the place to keep you on your toes.

No matter what sector you choose to fish this month, estuary, beach, headlands or offshore, you should be up for some quality winter fishing.

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Chill out on the rocks in the cool weather and often times they’re laying in only inches of water surrounded by baitfish. A long cast with an imitation of those baitfish will usually get slammed.

One bunch of fish that can spice up these slow winter sessions where retrieves can take minutes and bites are super subtle is the trevally clan, and you can be zoned in on hopping your lure ever so slowly keeping in contact with the bottom and then all of a sudden your line goes slack. On the next hop you finally manage to come up tight and set

NAMBUCCA

Riley Wilson

It’s July and the chill has arrived! It’s a great sight to rise early on a day off and see frosty fields on the way to the boat ramp. What isn’t such a great feeling is your toes and fingers going on strike and refusing to do even the most simple tasks.

Besides all that it means one thing, you are out of bed and going fishing!

That’s half the battle won.

OFFSHORE This time of year sees lots of anglers looking to inshore snapper as their target species, providing the weather plays the game, which it does more often than not thankfully. Heading north from the heads at Nambucca can see you into plenty of shallow reef, which is real snapper country. But with all that reef and kelp, the big reds don’t have to go far to dust you up, so

Tailor numbers are up! So get yourself down on the stones and start casting. stepping up a little in the gear can help.

Many locals fish light with their plastics, which is

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great fun, but be prepared to lose a few. Plastic choices as always can be confusing, but a trend is to either rig heavy with a curl tail or squid imitation and essentially bottom bounced on a drift, or the typical casting ahead of the drift and retrieving the slack line while hopping the lure all the way down to the depths. My favourite for the latter is a jerk shad style plastic, as they have the least resistance and sink fast while still using a lighter weight jighead.

When heading offshore from Nambucca, always consider avoiding the river mouth and using the beach ramp at Shelley Beach, as it’s a much safer option, however it can have nasty days.

ESTUARY In the river, the upstream sections above Macksville has been getting clearer and the resident fish species are pretty wary of anything intruding into their domain.

Stealth is a good option here, and we all know a few little sneaky tactics to be

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stealthy. Things like electric motors on low settings, stepping gently on the floor of the boat and keeping the torch off the water will all help. But some of the tactics you may not know are using a slightly longer rod and lighter line to get that bait or lure that little bit further from the boat. This is particularly effective for bream in shallow water.

Going deep can also aid in your stealth factor, and using your sounder to locate deep fish can be a little challenging at first, but once you catch a few fish off a showing on your sounder you will be hooked!

Deep fish are usually a lot more comfortable and are generally a little harder to spook, but getting down to them can be hard, especially in current or wind.

There is a fine line between using too heavy a lure to get down there and making it look like it is swimming naturally without half a house brick attached to it.

Even though the water is clear, this hasn’t really stopped the flathead biting,

Peter Wilson took this nice tailor home for dinner.

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the hook, before your reel spool reaches warp speed!

If you’re lucky, everything holds and the telltale ‘thump-thump’ through your rod tip alerts you to the culprit, and a deep-bodied flash of silver confirms it’s a mini GT, big eye, or brassy.

They really are great fun in between flathead.

• If you are fishing on the Nambucca or just want some great gear and the best advice, drop in and see Riley or Rob at the Boatshed Cafe and say hi they will be happy to help with all your fishing needs.

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Quality fish just keep coming SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

Funnily enough after a fairly slow pelagic season this year the fishing really turned on as it began to get cold, with some of the better Spanish and spotted mackerel being caught in late May and early June.

challenging to say the least, especially when early starts are involved. For those who remain keen, there is still a vast array of species and forms of fishing available to get you through to the warmer months.

Rock anglers are currently experiencing a good run of mulloway, and there are plenty along the beaches as well. These fish have mainly been good size schoolies,

Larger paddle-tail soft plastics like the Lunker City Shaker 6”, Berkley PowerBait Ripple Shads or even whole live or dead baits are consistently catching the bigger fish.

Big tailor are also in abundance this winter, especially when spinning the washes during the low light periods of dawn and dusk.

Bream, drummer and groper are just a few of many other species that can be targeted off the headlands. The best time to chase the above species is directly after periods of larger swell when the waves loosen up all the food from the rocks that these fish feed on.

Kingfish are starting to show up in good numbers around the headlands, Fish Rock and Black Rock.

Some awesome snapper have been coming in from the closer grounds out to about 30m from Grassy Head right down to Point Plomer. Micro jigs and soft plastics have been super productive on these fish and the by-catch is endless when fishing in this way.

Bottom fishing is very productive out in the 60-80m

regions right now. Pearl perch, trag, Venus tuskfish and snapper are all on the cards when fishing at this depth.

Mac and yellowfin tuna are still around the place, along with some straggling longtails.

Trolling lures from spot to spot is always worthwhile at this time of year, and there is always a chance of a lingering mackerel too.

As with the rocks and beaches, the Macleay River has also been loaded with mulloway. While some of the fish are smaller in the river, it is still definitely a place where you could catch the fish of a lifetime. Live baiting is probably the best method to snare a big mulloway in the river. The phrase ‘bigger is better’ is definitely relevant when talking about live baiting in the river, as these bigger baits keep the bream at bay and also cut out the chances of catching the resident undersized schoolies. Just remember, if you’re using a fish for live bait there are legal sizes for certain species. Don’t get caught out!

Marty Nichols took this school mulloway, which is a typical size for this time of year.

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Carew Dickinson with a monster snapper that went 11.5kg and 98.5cm. Unfortunately this fish could not be revived and was kept for the table.

This has changed now however, as winter has finally decided to show its true colours in the Macleay Valley.

While day time temperatures have been fairly mild, there have been plenty of sub zero mornings in Kempsey and further upriver into the mountains, making the winter westerly winds as cold as ice.

Finding motivation during these colder months is always

however there are always a few monsters hanging around. The annual mullet migration always brings good results when targeting these large predators as they lay in wait for these spawning fish to arrive.

Most rocky outcrops, inshore reefs and headlands along our coastline have been absolutely loaded with mulloway for months now.

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The port’s winter season is in full swing!

THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

Those early morning light westerlies may be cold when heading out into the deep blue, but think how quickly you’ll warm up when the rod buckles and 11kg of prime Mid North Coast snapper takes your lure!

Just ask Carew Dickinson who recently caught such a fish on a large

Gulp plastic – an awesome fish. There have been a lot more reds caught and mostly very good quality.

July should continue to produce from Point Plomer to the north of port, then all the way to the south Laurieton Grounds. Plastics have accounted for a fair few of the snapper being caught.

Live bait is another option and can double your chances as Ron Keating found out with a very respectable 8.5kg snapper, which he caught recently on a live slimy that

was set in a rod holder while flicking lures.

Beach fishing has been excellent over the last month with very good tailor fishing on most beaches and headlands. The beach fishos have also been into the bream and a few mulloway, so check out your locations and find a formation that you would like to fish. The beaches that are consistent recently have been North Beach, Lighthouse and Camden Haven. I personally like to go for a drive and find a little beach that has my favoured conditions. You might get lucky and have it all to yourself; there are a few gems around the Port Macquarie region.

The Hasting River has been fishing very well and most anglers are finding a feed. Flathead have been

Lisa and James with some nice bream caught fishing deep on the walls.

Leatherjackets have also been plentiful, so if using soft plastics take plenty or use vibes. For those who like

have been very consistent down the front of both the Hastings and Camden Haven rivers with reasonably-sized

Carew Dickinson with a cracking 11kg snapper.

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Ron joined the author for some flatties on fly action. around in numbers and are predominately legal-size to 45cm. These fish have been climbing all over plastics, but occasionally a bigger specimen has been getting in on the act. Bream numbers have been excellent as expected at this time of the year with the deeper sections of the Hastings firing. Both the walls and coal wall are go-to areas with bait or lures.

a feed of jackets a small long shank hook with a peeled prawn and enough weight to get you down to them should see a feed acquired. Tailor

fish and good quantities continuing to be present.

There has been plenty of baitfish from the mouth of the Hastings coming up to

Settlement Point, so this area has been the prime area for most fish.

Mulloway haven’t fired up yet as expected, but a few fish are still being caught from the walls and this month should see some better ones present down the mouth as well as upriver. The Maria River arm remains difficult as often happens after flooding – it takes a lot longer than the Hastings to clear. Fish are there but you need to work for them. A recent report from a contact at the Hatch section of the Maria said that night fishing has been OK, with a few mulloway. He also stated the last one he hooked was taken by a very angry bull shark!

Luderick anglers are also starting to get their winter season underway with more of these popular species coming to the cleaning tables; now is the time to get your float gear out. This last month has still been good for the crabbers with a good amount of mud crabs. Maybe this will quieten down this month; I’m not sure but if it’s like last season, crabs can be on the menu all year.

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Debbie with a solid bream that ate her plastic.

Rug up and rig up!

FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

There always seems to be a species that saves the winter months from becoming a complete loss, in the lake or offshore.

It’s almost like the lake has gone to sleep with the lower sand flats like

There are blackfish and bream drifting around the leases and weed flats and the flathead are better targeted up the rivers.

I don’t like saying it, but, in winter, bait is better.

If you are after a feed of bream or blackfish, a trickle of berley is worth using too. There are heaps of leatherjackets in and around the structure of leases and

can spend lunch or dinner picking the meat off the bone and be very satisfied.

There has been some monster silver trevally in and around the lower end of the lake. They will sneak out from under the racks to steal your lure or bait and the size of them gives you little hope of landing one, but that few seconds of full drag singing is fun.

Once the sun goes down it will get cold. If you’re not prepared it can be miserable fishing after dark.

There are always bream somewhere in the lake. Bait is better through the winter months, but lures will still work. a desert in an old western movie. The only thing moving is tumbling weed rolled along by the tide.

If you intend to fish the lake, your expectations shouldn’t be too high.

lease poles that can fill out a winter bag and while many turn their noses up at jackets, they are easily cleaned and taste great.

Cooked in a shallow pan of olive oil and butter you

Another transient visitor at this time of year is big tailor that have stitched me up on more than one occasion. The fish are in the 1-2kg size range, so if you want to target them, try the

front of Godwin Island up to Hell Gate on a rising tide.

The tailor are patrolling the deeper channels and sending sprays of baitfish across the water. Even if you don’t actively seek them, it may pay to have a rod rigged with a chrome slice that can be quickly tossed in the area of commotion.

The flatties have gone very quiet at the bottom end of the lake. If you want flathead, focus around the islands in the lake or up the rivers, as that is where the flathead retreat to after a summer of spawning.

Drift fishing with bait is the easiest way to find the flathead, otherwise you should concentrate your lure casting efforts over the shallow flats at the mouth of the Walamba River.

The pig fishing seems to improve with each trip, and the average fish is around the 2.5kg mark. A

word of warning, if you intend to use cooked prawns for bait please re-boil them after purchase for at least four minutes. I spoke to biosecurity last week and they are discouraging people from using cooked prawns bought from the supermarket due to their proximity to uncooked prawns in the display case. White spot virus is a significant threat to local prawn and crab populations, so we need to do what we can to mitigate the possibility of it entering our waterways. If you want to use green prawns for bait, the only suppliers should be tackle shops and reputable bait suppliers.

Bream are starting to show up in good numbers and sizes, with a smattering of blackfish to boot. Up until a month ago there was still a lot of mullet holding in the lake without

moving onto the beaches, and I suspect some bream and blackies were holed up with them.

Offshore the possibility of a few decent snapper is the encouragement required to get up early on a cold winter’s day and hit the bar (entry bar, not the pub). The fish I’ve seen have been great and many have been caught on plastics like 7” Gulp and ZMan Jerk shads.

Of course, squid baits will take the snapper as well as a mix of other reef fish like pearl perch and trag.

It gets incredibly cold after dark, but if you’re up to it, a beach fish for mulloway will warm things up. Whether it is from the breakwalls or the beach, it is a good time to kill some hours while the mullet are out and about. Whether it is lures or bait, the change of tide is the time to concentrate your efforts.

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Weather conditions have varied considerably leading into winter. There have been some beautiful days when the sun has shone and the breezes were mild and other days when the southerlies roared, the rain poured and it was very unpleasant to be out fishing.

The freshwater parts of the Manning haven’t received a lot of rain and the water levels are pretty low, but there is enough run in the river to keep the fish in good water. The mullet run is just about finished and only scattered schools of fish are coming up the coast.

It couldn’t be described as one of the better runs of recent years.

ESTUARY The fishing in the Manning has been great over the past month with good catches of bream, flathead, luderick and mulloway being taken. The bream are gathering along the river wall at Harrington prior to heading out to sea to go north on their spawning run.

Mullet strips, mullet gut, yabbies and prawns will all take fish. If you fish from a boat then live crabs or plastic crabs fished in close to the

Some Harrington break wall luderick caught

by Aaron Billingsley on green weed.

Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle.

while soft plastic lures have accounted for many fish of 3.5-10kg.

BEACH AND ROCK Despite the rough conditions, tailor, bream and whiting have been bagged

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There have been good catches of bream in the river over the past month. rocks will get fish.

There have been some bream caught that have weighed 1.3kg or a bit better.

The luderick are taking green weed fished under a float during the day and live yabbies at night. There are some big travelling fish to be caught. The flathead aren’t as numerous as in previous months but fish to 4kg have been landed in the backwater at Harrington. Upriver areas of the Manning are producing more fish on soft plastics and hardbodied lures.

Mulloway have been unbelievably plentiful over the dark of the moon. Small baitfish have been schooling along the wall and chopper tailor have been targeting these fish, so the mulloway have been feeding on baitfish and tailor. Live baits have taken the larger fish around the 20kg+ size

from Crowdy Beach. The tailor are taking small metal lures and pilchard baits while the bream and whiting are eating beach worms and pipis. The southern end of Crowdy Beach is the spot to fish for bream and whiting.

Some good pigs to 2kg have been caught from the rocks at Crowdy Head on prawns and cunjevoi.

OFFSHORE The outside boys have experienced extra good fishing when the seas were safe. Snapper, trag, Spanish mackerel, kingfish, mac tuna and flathead have all been boated over the last few weeks. The northern grounds have fished best for snapper, trag, Spanish mackerel and mac tuna while the kingfish have come from the wide grounds.

July is the middle of the bream season at Harrington and excellent bags of fish can be caught from the wall at the mouth of the Manning.

Apart from the local fish, travelling schools of bream move into the lower part of the estuary to feed for a few days before they continue their journey north. You can tell the travelling bream from the resident ones as the travellers are a whiter colour and have a clear band across the nose. Mullet strips, mullet gut, yabbies and prawns will all take fish.

Live or plastic crabs jigged in near the rocks will also take plenty of fish.

Brendan Pieschel with a Manning River mulloway caught on a Samaki Vibelicious.

Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle.

JULY 2018

41

Fantastic winter fishing for all PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

While we may be in the depths of winter, the fishing in Port Stephens is still excellent regardless

of whether you’re fishing offshore, on the rocks, the beach or estuary.

ESTUARY In the estuary, luderick are in full swing and stacked up along the Nelson Bay and Anchorage

rock walls as well as the Little Beach and the Torpedo Tubes. Fresh baits and berley is a big part of successful luderick fishing.

While weed can be hard to source, cabbage is readily available from the ocean

Groper are a very pretty fish at all sizes, and so much fun to target around the rocks!

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rocks on low tide, just be sure to check the swells before gathering.

Big bream well over the 1kg mark are in numbers from the rock walls and just about every piece of structure between Tea Gardens and the Karuah River be it oyster racks, pylons, rock bars or rocky shorelines should hold them. Unweighted baits such as nippers will be lethal on the bream in these areas, with soft plastics and small hardbodied lures also working a treat.

Squid are in healthy numbers through the moorings at Shoal Bay, as well as the weed beds along Jimmys Beach, with 2.5 size jigs in natural colours working best.

Mulloway are still a good option through the winter months, with the Karuah Bridges and Oyster Cove all proven producers around the tide changes. Soft vibe lures from 70-100mm or large paddle-tail plastics on 3/8oz jigheads are ideal for mulloway through these areas.

BEACHES The odd school of salmon has been moving along the beaches with Fingal Bay, Samuari and Stockton beaches. The best way to chase them is with metal lures in the 30-60g range and to look for and cast at the schools as they move along the beaches.

Tailor have also been chewing on first and last light from Box Beach

Anyone looking for a few squid either for the table or as bait should get busy this month.

ROCKS Winter is the most productive time to be fishing the ocean rocks. Luderick have been thick from areas such as Boulder Bay, Fingal and Box Beach Headland Their bigger, tougher cousins the rock blackfish, or drummer as they are otherwise known, are also now in there prime month. Fresh cunjevoi or

your best chance of getting connected to one.

Big winter squid will be taking up residency in most of the calm protected bays, and can be easily caught casting a 3.0 size squid jigs early morning or late afternoon.

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Big bream will be hanging around close to structure. and Fingal Spit, with metal lures again in the 30-60g range working best, or alternatively a gar or pilchard on gangs.

Live worms fished in the gutters on high tide should see good catches of bream from most of the ocean beaches as well as the odd school mulloway.

large peeled prawns fished around the turbulent white water from Rocky Point through to Tommaree should yield good results on drummer and quality winter bream.

Another winter favourite of mine, the blue groper, will also be a popular target this month, with crab baits

has been catching good fish to 8kg for his clients, and I know of several other fish close to the 20lb mark caught already.

If you want to target reds this month, try fishing the shallow reefs in less the 30m of water during low light periods, using either plastic lures or unweighted baits down a berley trail.

Working out your 2018 winter plan of attack HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

At this time of year there are so many different species and methods to fish, it’s sometimes hard to work out the best plan of attack. You do need to be a little specific with what you are targeting if you want to

maximise your catch rates.

The harbour has been firing with plenty of solid bream taking both baits and lures. We should also see the usual run of larger mulloway this month through to next month. To target these big silver slabs, working the walls along Stockton and Nobbys or around any structure in the form of

A solid morwong caught by Katie Newton recently off one of the many inshore reef locations along our coastline.

jetties and wharves. Many anglers find mulloway to be elusive creatures, but plenty of patience and fishing the tide changes will often see you come up with the goods.

Live baits such as yakkas, slimies or mullet are working well, but a 30cm tailor is also a great bait, especially with the amount of choppers around at this time of the year. Using large soft plastics or rolling hardbodies is also very productive.

Some quality fish are coming off the beaches, including sand flathead, solid bream, cracking tailor and truckloads of salmon.

Swansea Channel on the run-in tide has been on fire in recent weeks, with some quality greenbacks and the odd rat king amongst the vast numbers of Australian salmon. Watch for birds working the surface or bait busting up and, if you’re fishing from a boat, be sure not to drive through the action. You should stop well away, and cast metal slices into the frenzy; with repeated casts you can cover a lot of water. Allow the lure to sink a couple of metres as you will often find the larger fish are a little deeper.

For those fishing landbased, try pilchards on gang hooks unweighted or fished under a float with a glow stick, so you can follow the action as it happens.

Tony King and Col Deviegne with a nice pair of yellowfin tuna.

Luderick are in full swing, with reports coming in of good bags coming from the harbour break walls, Port Stephens areas and the various haunts around Lake Macquarie like Swansea Channel, Lucys break wall and along the stretch of channel near the old marina site at Pelican.

Weed is still a little scarce, so if you find any don’t tell too many people or it will disappear quickly.

Offshore reports are mainly coming in from the inshore reefs with some pan-sized reds, trag, kings, morwong and flatties. Locations such as North Reef, Merewether, Dudley, The Farm or Texas are worth the trip

if conditions permit. You’ll often get a nice bag of long-finned perch in the deeper waters, as these very tasty fish congregate in large numbers.

A few yellowfin tuna are about as well, for those anglers able to get out wide of the shelf.

Rock fishing is another great option with drummer being among a variety of species like snapper, tailor, luderick and bream. Pigs are tough little devils that test rods, reels and line to their limits, so be sure everything is up to scratch before you go.

Freshwater fishers have been more than satisfied with bass numbers lately.

St Clair and Glenbawn

are ticking the boxes for those up to the challenge of mid-winter impoundment fishing. Productive lures include 60-75mm jerkbaits like Double Clutches, and the many other suspending lures slow rolled off the banks and weed beds.

Metal blades attached to a beetle spin or even a basic spinnerbait can also work well.

Feel free to email me (shannic4121@bigpond. com) photos of fish you’ve recently caught in the Newcastle area, with details such as angler’s name, approximate location (e.g. beach, harbour) and what you used to catch it (bait or lure) and it could appear in the next edition.

FISHING NEWS

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There’s nothing better than exploring the outdoors and venturing off the beaten track, but I know from first hand experience that an off-road adventure doesn’t come without its risks.

That’s why it’s important to be knowledgeable and prepared for all of the potential bumps mother nature may throw your way.

PREP FOR EMERGENCIES When embarking on your 4WD adventure, don’t forget to pack the necessities so that you are prepared for anything unexpected that comes your way, in particular: a shovel, air compressor and recovery tracks such as Maxtrax. While not many would think to keep a shovel in the boot, when you’re off-roading, there’s nothing better to keep on hand. Be sure to invest in a good quality shovel with a sturdy handle that won’t break when you need it the most. The one from RhinoRack is particularly good.

Installing a winch and having recovery tracks is a

great investment – they’re exactly what you’ll need when you’re stuck in a tricky situation. But you haven’t already invested in a winch, using recovery tracks with sand or leaves works well to create traction where there is none, giving your tyres something to grip onto.

LOW PRESSURES To prevent the need to put that shovel to work or whipping out the bog boards, an air compressor will allow you to adjust your tyre pressure to the terrain you’ll be conquering. Very low

pressures of 20psi and under will provide more contact with the ground for increased grip, and will reduce the risk of punctures when driving over rocky surfaces. On sand, a lower tyre pressure allows you to remain on top of the sand instead of sinking into it.

KNOW YOUR GEARS Knowing your driving gears and their different uses is important when off-roading. 4H (high-range), is suitable for the easier unsealed tracks, but once you reach more difficult terrains

Having a winch and recovery tracks is a wise investment.

When you’re off-roading you should always have a shovel handy, so you can easily grab it if you get bogged. and steep inclines you’ll want to use 4L (low-range).

HANDS ON THE WHEEL How you hold your steering wheel makes all the difference to protect your hands and ensure you have control over your vehicle.

Because your wheels will find gaps in the rocky terrain, your steering column is likely to be wrenched away from you without warning – so if your grasp is too tight, you could seriously injure yourself. With a loose grip on the steering wheel, your wheels will be able to find the ruts and gaps in the road. And when bogged, your steering wheel could turn suddenly, so making sure your thumb is always

on top will avoid a trip to the emergency room!

TEST THE WATERS When you’re approaching unfamiliar terrain, especially rivers or creeks, check the depth on foot or using a stick to avoid nasty surprises.

Always check the current and make sure the water is moving at a safe speed. Try to avoid driving in bodies of water that are higher than half the height of your wheels to prevent your engine from flooding. If your tyres get caught, don’t panic and continue to drive slowly so your vehicle can get a better grip.

Always remember to remain calm if things don’t go as planned. If you stall,

try to rock the car forward on its own gear in order to get out of the water. This is where that trusty winch and mate can come in handy!

Be tame in your off-roading endeavours – don’t try to plough through the road or show off by driving faster than the conditions allow.

There’s no sense in being overconfident as things can go wrong very quickly.

Remain calm and drive with caution.

Have fun out there on the open road, and be safe!

- Jase Andrews Tune in to Channel One every Saturday at 6pm to see Jase tackle the Territory in All 4 Adventure.

JULY 2018

43

Rocking out in the cool weather ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

We have certainly had some fantastic weather on the coast in the last month, and although it’s been chilly in the mornings there has still been some great fishing.

I’ve been mostly lure fishing from the rocks and it’s been great fun. Bream have been plentiful, and most fish have been taking deep diving hardbodies, although we are only casting the lures into the really shallow, washy areas. The steep diving angle

of the lures seems to really cut down on snags, and the lure that seems to work best for us is the Saku Deep Crank in a colour called ‘pearl shrimp’. It just seems to work when others don’t.

Blackfish should start to really fire from now on, as they will be starting to feed in much shallower water.

Now is when you will begin to see them tailing in large groups as the tide rises, and you can either catch them on weed baits set shallow under a float or you can fly fish for them, which can be so much fun when the fish are hungry. Nearly all the

rock platforms have healthy populations of these fish, so they are not hard to access and are a great option for that quick fishing session.

Offshore it’s an awesome time of the year for bottom fishing, and when the currents are just

back can draw bites when all else fails. Some local fishers are really starting to get some awesome results using micro jigs on lighter tackle, and species like pearl perch, mulloway, snapper and kingfish love them, so they are well worth trying

Tight to a good fish in the wash! predators with them. Both salmon and tailor are on the cards, and usually just casting a metal lure out will get plenty of bites, but a whole pilchard on gangs also does the trick. For

those willing to brave the cold nights, it’s still worth casting some livebaits out for a big mulloway, because this is quite often the best time of year for the bigger class of fish.

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Even flathead can turn up when spinning the washes. right anglers can experience some red-hot kingfish bites along the 100m line off Broken Bay and Terrigal area. Most people are using 200-300g jigs to reach bottom, although sometimes when the current permits, fluttering down an 85g metal and cranking it

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along with the usual bait fishing techniques.

Beaches have still been fishing well, and there has been some huge bait schools starting to show.

Sometimes you’ll see the massive black patches of bait in the water and there is almost always

Glenn Allen with a cracker ocean bream taken on a crankbait.

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A saltmarsh at low and high tide. The results of the Hunter and Clarence rivers study could affect habitat repair initiatives in other areas.

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Rug up and get amongst the fish on Lake Mac SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

Chilly winter mornings are greeting anglers here on Lake Macquarie, but fortunately the days are generally mild so there’s no excuse to stay off the water. The good news for those who do get rugged up to go fishing is that there’s plenty on offer.

Whether you prefer fishing the calm waters of Lake Macquarie or you’re happiest fishing the wide grounds over the shelf, there’s something on offer for everyone at the moment.

BREAM The lake itself is producing some of the best numbers of bream that I’ve seen for some time, and they are sizable fish too.

The bream are not only found around their deep water haunts, but are firing on the flats as well when the tides and weather match.

A good breeze, preferably

from the south, is just what our flats need to fire up, and they certainly are firing at times. The most successful anglers have been the ones throwing a range of shallow diving hardbodies. Still, if you prefer slow working soft plastics in the bays in areas such as Chain Valley Bay and Bonnells Bay, don’t be worried because you too will be in for some action, with some good numbers of fish on offer.

MULLOWAY Mulloway are continuing to fire throughout the lake, and they are on the chew all the way from the most southern reaches right up to the top end of Lake Macquarie.

ZMan soft plastics continue to be a very effective plastic offering for anglers chasing mulloway. Fish profile plastics around 4-5” are ideal, and although most fish are under the 1m mark it’s nice to see a few over the magic mark showing up here and there.

Another good thing is that many of these fish are

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Plenty of salmon have now moved into the lake, and flyfishing is a very satisfying way to tangle with a few. being caught during the warmer daylight hours.

Let’s be honest – sitting out on the lake for a long, dark, cold night during winter is not many people’s idea of fun, so to be able to catch such great fish on those mild winter days is sensational.

The key for anglers who are wanting to catch a few Lake Mac mulloway is to really concentrate on working the main deep water channels that feed into the lake, and head either north or south. Both are very productive options.

It’s also important to work the whole water column.

Some days I find my fish come from the deep with my plastics worked close to the bottom, and other days I find it’s better to ease up on the jighead weight and concentrate on the top half of the water column.

SQUID One possible reason for the continued great run of mulloway throughout the lake may very well be the big numbers of squid right through the system. It’s usually quite easy to pop out for a quick session and score double digit numbers of lovely squid, and they’re perfect for either the freshest of baits or some beautiful calamari. We have found that a great technique is to simply leave a small 2.5” squid jig drifting out the back of the back of the boat while you’re up front flicking lures, and you will often find that the squid will hook themselves. It can be that easy.

SALMON Salmon numbers are also on the rise, with more and more fish moving into the lake and more and more boats out there chasing them. It can make for some of the hottest fishing you’ll

ever experience, with blistering runs and aerial displays that really get the heart racing. True, they’re not the greatest eating fish, but who cares! The fact that they are such a hard fighting sportfish, great fun to chase and available in the calm waters of the lake, mean they can provide the family with hours of fun.

OFFSHORE Offshore fishing continues to produce an amazing run of tiger sharks for the crews chasing these toothy critters. Strong currents are still pushing along out wide to 3 knots, making it difficult to get a bait down deep for much else at times. Still, the shark crews aren’t

the tuna front at this stage.

There is still time for a few fish to show up though, and anglers are certainly hoping that’s the case. A few boats recently spent the day working the stretch of Norah Head canyons, some 30nm+ offshore. Even though the weather gods were smiling, and things looked promising with nice water, there was no action on the tuna front.

With reports starting to come through of a few fish down Bermagui way we are hoping they will make their way up to our part of the world again this season.

Anglers looking for a feed from the deep are in luck. Although you certainly need to work for it out there, the results can be sensational. Some very nice kingfish have been coming from some of the wider marks. Deep set live baits are always a good option.

Live squid is a prime bait to send down, but if you don’t have any squid you can still get good results on live yakkas.

Deepwater jigging is also producing a few fish for those die-hard anglers who are willing to put the effort into mastering this technique. It’s certainly not

Mick Pavlic with another solid bag of Lake Macquarie bream.

There are some great fish around at the moment.

The Salts Bay area is a prime location, and small metal lures, small soft plastics or flies are all productive methods that work on their day. On some days the fish can be quite picky, while on other days they will hit anything that they can. Just be sure to have a mix of tackle on hand, and get out there and enjoy it. Remember that it’s not uncommon to pull the odd nice kingfish from these salmon schools as well, so be prepared.

complaining with their recent results, that’s for sure. LMGFC recently held their all-nighter event, and the champion shark crew aboard club boat Redemption didn’t disappoint, with another cracking pair of solid tiger sharks. Several other club boats scored solid fish as well, with tigers to over 400kg coming to the weigh bridge, making the event another great success.

Unfortunately, things are not looking so great on

for everyone, and it’s not easy work that’s for sure, but this style of deep water jigging can produce some great results for those in the know. If you’re thinking about having a go, I suggest you do your research, watch a few YouTube clips, or speak to staff at your local tackle shop. You’ll get an idea of the methods and tackle used, and you can then pick your day to get out there and put it into practice. Hopefully you too will find a few fish for your efforts.

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Find yourself a smelly floater this month ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

So you thought last month it was a bit of a struggle to scratch up a few fish, well this month is a carbon copy of last month with a twist, it’s even tougher!

The days are still short, cold and windy, but there are a few descent options available for the committed angler willing to put in some effort.

The beaches, although cold, are one of the better options, with the bigger high tides still early in the evenings creating a great opportunity to target the big mulloway that hunt along the back of the break. These fish will be chasing the few

Daybreak is always the best time to fish, particularly for winter reds. options they have for a feed during winter. Being hungry they can let down their guard and grab baits they would usually swim past when the food supply was more abundant during the warmer months.

Even on evenings when the wind is howling from the west and the waves are going away from the beach, you have a good chance of scoring a good fish as they seem to cruise even closer to shore, as there isn’t any white water for cover so they just move down the beach staying in very close.

For the most part they will be looking for the tailor and bream that are about in good numbers at the moment. Even if you are not after the bigger mulloway, and let’s face it, you get more consistent action chasing the smaller fish, there are plenty of them about at the moment. Throw in a few thumper salmon and it can be worth a bit of evening chill.

Most beaches with the deeper gutters are worth a look even if there is no swell.

Fresh mackerel or yellowtail will do the job for bait, with pilchards a good backup, but it has been hard to get decent pilchards for some time now.

Even better when that first tailor hits the sand, just fillet it and use strips of it for bait for excellent results.

Many of the tailor will be 1kg+ fish, with some up to 3kg on the cards. There will also be quite a few bream pushing 1kg and salmon up to 5kg.

The other scenario is when the wind is howling from the south east and the surf is massive. Make sure you get down to the beach early, but leave the rods at home and see if any cuttlefish

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have gathered along the coastline move in to feast on the floaters and make a natural berley trail of small bits of flesh that trickle down through the water column as they tear off larger pieces and gorge themselves.

The snapper naturally follow this trail to the surface and at times grab the floater and try to drag it back under, their tails in turn throwing

spray into the air, which can be seen from a great distance and can look like feeding tuna.

The albatross back right off when there is a snapper in attendance and it is always a good sight when 2-3 albatoss are sitting off a floater not keen to move in and take the chance of a big red biting their feet.

This is where the gung-ho attack angler who races at speed from floater to floater catches nothing, as stealth is required from a great distance to get into casting range silently, before landing a chunk of fresh unweighted cuttlefish within a metre of the target and letting it slowly sink down to the feeding fish.

You often don’t have to wait long, as the snapper

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usually grab it in the first few metres and they hit it like a freight train. It’s not uncommon to score more than one fish on any given cuttlefish. There is also plenty of by-catch, with a surprising number of groper, which follow the cuttlefish to the surface. Kingfish, trevally, tailor, salmon and the odd bream are all encountered, as well as a few sharks.

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have been washed ashore. The cuttlefish is exceptional bait for all species at this time of the year, not just on the beach!

On the stones it is the same setup. With the westerly winds, come calm seas and quite a few options, but when the east coast lows move in and the sea is massive, don’t go anywhere near the rocks to fish. There will be the few sheltered areas, but again, they are for the experienced anglers and should never be treated as safe.

When calm, the deeper ledges will allow you a chance at a few groper on crabs, or you could work the limited white water for drummer with peeled prawns with very little weight to let them move about the wash naturally. This bait will also score any bream and trevally in the area, and some really good catches can be made this month moving between wash zones using this technique.

A few salmon will be cruising the deeper waters and ganged pilchards are a good standby for these and you might even pin a few stray bonito still hanging about.

The estuaries are very quiet, but if you are desperate there will be a few bream in the feeder streams and around the rocky areas of the lake islands and the weed bed edges, but you will have to fish very light for ordinary results.

Offshore will be the domain of the snapper this month as they move in to feed on the cuttlefish that expire after spawning. It’s an annual thing that all the snapper fishers eagerly await that only lasts for about six weeks, but as they say, it’s fun while it lasts.

All the inshore reefs from Wollongong north will have hundreds of cuttlefish clustered over them jostling for the best spots to make little cuttlefish, and when they are finished many will die and pop to the surface. Many others will just get smashed by big snapper, groper, kingfish, mulloway, sharks and dolphins and they too will usually end up on the surface minus a few bits due to the buoyancy of their internal skeletal shell.

This is where the fun begins, as the albatross that

There are always a few trevally about to steal your baits at this time of the year.

This is all fun, but don’t think you will score fish on every cuttlefish. Catching 3-4 a morning is a good result, so for better catches, pick your favourite reef, put down the anchor before daylight and hit the berley and use floating strips of cuttlefish for bait. There will be plenty of snapper about, you just have to be patient.

There will be a few bream in the bays and quieter sheltered areas along the coast, and a few salmon and tailor about the headlands.

The flathead have gone a bit quiet, with the water now that much cooler, but there are still a few about to add to any snapper, trevally, pigfish, mowies and the odd samson fish caught drifting the sand and edges of the reefs.

Further offshore, if we get lucky the southern bluefin will swing past this part of the coast as they travel. Last season they moved through quickly to sit out off Sydney for a week or so before moving off again, so only a few lucky enough to be in the right place picked up a couple as they moved through our neck of the woods, and they were a long way out. This year hopefully they come a bit closer and hang around for a little longer.

Good luck and stay warm!

Take heart: we are on the downhill run now!

NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

It’s July and we’re pretty much over the hump – it’s a downhill run to

great sense of anticipation, and rather than sitting back and relaxing you are usually on the edge watching the rod tips by the light of the moon, waiting for any sort of movement that may resemble a nervous bait or

run of bait and food off the shallow sand flats into the deeper water where they sit and wait.

For the daytime fishers throwing plastics and blades, the flatties have still been feeding, but the bites have been intermittent.

Spending several hours on the water should see you bag a few.

Just over the peninsula, Jervis Bay is doing its usual winter thing. Squid are in good numbers but are getting a hard time from the leatherjackets. These piranha-like critters really have become a problem for squiders over the past ten years. Before then I can never remember it being too much of a problem. Seeing a squid hooked and then almost completely eaten by the time you get it to the boat by jackets is a little unnerving and makes you wonder what would happen if you fell in and were bleeding a bit… I don’t want to find out, thank you very much!

With the snapper in so close, it’s a good time to get the kids used to offshore fishing. offerings and frustrating anglers. Those casting 7” plastics around the headlands and trolling small skirts and feathered lures around Middle Ground are taking smaller fish around legal size.

Bottom fishers just offshore are still getting

is hooked, the other two jigs flash around and rather than winding in the fish straight away, it’s worth waiting a minute of two, as more often than not a second and sometimes third fish will get hooked. It’s a great way to catch a feed and also get the kids used to offshore fishing.

The beaches have had quite a stir up, with consistent southerly

weather systems battering our beaches. The gutters are changing daily, making it hard to pinpoint your desired spot for an after work expedition. However, if you put in the time and find your gutter, the mulloway are there!

Enjoy the downhill run into spring, but don’t wish winter away too quick!

There is always some great fishing to be had in our area.

Flathead fishing in the basin should be a good option this month. spring and summer from here! But I honestly don’t mind winter if the wind stays away. There are less people on the water and at the boat ramps the still, foggy and glassy mornings on the river, bay and basin are somewhat mesmerizing and there are still plenty of fish for the hardcore anglers out braving the cold.

St Georges Basin in July has always been one of my favourite places to fish.

Sitting out in the middle of the basin anchored up in a small tinny with the only sound being that of a slight chop hitting the bow of the boat is where it’s at for me. A couple of rods baited with fresh strip baits and a larger bait out for the larger predators gives you a

bight from your adversary.

It really is a lucky dip of what you can catch in these circumstances, but you’re always hoping for the best in the way of a mulloway or big red.

There have been plenty of snapper being caught in the basin this season and July should see some good ones come aboard. The drop off on the southwest side of outer island is one spot worth trying for snapper, with big tailor also patrolling this edge under the cover of darkness ambushing smaller fish as they cruise into the shallower water looking for a feed.

Closer to the entrance where Sussex Inlet flows into the basin is another popular spot for the reds as the run-in tide brings a fresh

SPECIALISED SERVICES GROUP Gavin McCallum with a nice red caught in close after a big blow.

There has been a late run of mid-sized bonito around the mouth of the bay, and the rocks and the washes are producing some good winter reds and black drummer.

The big kings have been cruising around, most turning their noses up at bait

good numbers of flatties and pan-sized reds, with the snapper snatcher rig producing double and in some cases triple hook-ups!

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JULY 2018

Turn a quiet session into a productive one NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

July can be a tough month to fish around Narooma and its surrounds but if the hard yards are put in, some exceptional fishing can still be on offer.

The local estuaries will continue to produce even with the water a cool 14-15°C. What you have to do is fish a little lighter with either bait

plastics hopped close to the bottom.

Expect a few of the bites to be soft, especially from the flathead. They are a little doughy at present.

If you’re fishing with bait then fresh slabs of tailor will work well as will striped tuna strips. Fished on a light running sinker rig. If the top of the system is quiet, try the channels in the lower sections. It has fished well on a draining tide for bream and

Big black bream find it hard to resist a Deep Diving Chubby on the slightly deeper mud flats. or soft plastics. Remember to fish a little slower and only use the freshest of baits.

The fish will still be there, but these little adjustments can greatly improve you’re chances and turn a quiet day into a very productive day.

The main basin in Wagonga Inlet is loaded with whitebait at present.

The majority of schools are from the power lines upstream into the 4knot area with salmon, tailor and some very big trevally making their presence felt. The fish are quite concentrated once you locate them; you’ll mainly find them under the bait schools or on the edges of them. When the pelagic species are having a feed the scraps are acting as a berley trail.

This in turn gets the rest of the species active with trevally and some big fish to 50cm playing the game.

You can expect a few flatties and bream under these same schools and you’re always in with a chance at a mulloway when these conditions occur.

I’d be using no more than a 7g jighead with grub-style

luderick, so it’s worth a look.

On the beaches the fishing has been fantastic and definitely better than last month with the increased swell we’ve received over recent weeks. This has really helped with almost all beaches holding a few decent gutters – some of them very deep and close to shore. Up at Dalmeny, Brou Beach has been a standout with salmon, tailor, bream, gummy sharks and the odd mulloway all succumbing to anglers’ efforts, which is great to see.

I know of several mulloway caught on the recent moon with the best at 14kg, which is a solid fish.

The lucky angler was only targeting tailor, so being hooked up for 30 minutes and finally landing this beast was a great solo effort and one he will remember for a very long time. There have been a few others captured too, so a late night on the beach might just be worth the effort I reckon.

On the smaller side bream numbers have been good with the mouth of the estuaries seeming to be fishing better.

Both the mouth of Tuross

Lake to the north on the southern side of the entrance and the mouth of Mummaga Lake are the go-to places, and the flooding tide is best.

Try using a mixture of soft and flesh baits, as every day it seems their preference is different.

I’d be using live beach worms, pipi and striped tuna strips with a little berley to help things along. Off the rocks the pelagics like salmon and tailor have also been good with the Golf course rocks and Mystery Bay to the south also producing the goods. Anglers using a mixture of sliced chromed lures and pilchards on ganged hooks are doing quite well. There’s still the odd bonito around, but I expect them to disappear once that water temperature drops a little further.

This cold water brings drummer and luderick to the fore. Both species have been excellent. The southern breakwall at the bar entrance and the northern side of the Golfie Rocks around the corner are both holding plenty of fish. The better baits have been crab and cabbage, though a few switched-on anglers are getting plenty of luderick on green-weed flies.

I know some will be sceptical, but it’s true. It’s extremely productive and easy to do as you can fish them like normal under a float. Try it – you may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Offshore the pelagic action at Montague Island is a little up and down. Some

Some thumping big salmon are making both Wagonga Inlet and the Tuross Lake system home. days the kings are good, then the next it’s like a desert.

When they have had a chew the kings are averaging 3-4kg with jigs and squid being the better options to target them.

It wouldn’t surprise me to see a few greenback kings this month, especially around and inside the Fowl House Reef.

Over the last few Julys this has happened with a couple fish nudging 25kg and better – quality fish for sure.

If they do turn up, try trolling live slimy mackerel as

an option. This can work, but a lot will depend on how many seals are around. If they’re a problem, casting large poppers or bigger soft plastic stickbaits might be the go, especially if the fish are on the surface smashing bait. A little further offshore there have been a few yellowfin tuna caught and recently there were reports of SBT down south off Eden, so it won’t be long before they’re on Narooma’s doorstep.

It will all depend on weather, so let’s hope the

weather gods do the right thing so sportfishers can get out there and get amongst it.

Those after a feed of bottom fish will do well with flathead plentiful in 40-45m of water.

Try off Dalmeny and Potato Point, as both these areas have been extremely good. If you head a little further east off the point then snapper come into their own. They have been plentiful for weeks now and I can’t see any reason why that will change in the short time.

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A decent variety biting MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

CREATE YOUR ADVENTURES

485 SCORPION

Those venturing offshore after a feed of bottom fish are in luck with multiple species chewing at present. Snapper, morwong sand and tiger flathead and some decentsized gummy sharks have all played the game these past few weeks and I can’t see why that would change anytime soon.

Recently the local club had their annual snapper competition and it was a massive success with just about everyone getting amongst the snapper. The reds weren’t huge, with the best around 3.3kg, but there were plenty of fish to be caught around 2kg.

I know of one boat getting 17 legal snapper for the session, which is solid fishing; throw in a few flatties and a gummy or two and it’s nothing short of exceptional.

The fish were spread out, but the better areas seem to be down south off Haycock Point in 25-30m. Other reefs that fished well included Long Point, Turingal and close in off Tura Head. All these areas should still fish well this month, and Lennards Island is another spot worth a look.

Winter time means bream time as Dazza found out.

Inshore the beach goers are having loads of fun on salmon and tailor with the beaches north of Merimbula fishing extremely well. We had a local angler come in store recently with a glowing report off Tura Beach, which comprised of 22 salmon and three big tailor in a few hours – exceptional fishing in my books. The salmon averaged 1kg or so but on the right tackle they’re still a stack of fun. A few different techniques are working; a paternoster rig rigged with a bait/popper combination with half salted pilchards is the gun bait to use.

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Another pig bream that couldn’t resist a hardbody fished slow amongst the snags.

This 44cm fish ate an Ecogear SX40.

Further offshore the water has cooled considerably with 18-19°C the norm now. It’s not all bad news though, with a few yellowfin tuna and albacore getting caught wide of Bermagui. These fish should push south, and don’t be surprised to see SBT over coming weeks.

There getting a few down wide off Eden when the weather allows, so all looks solid for a bumper tuna season.

to 30g has also been good on these mid-sized fish and if a thumper comes along, you’re in for some serious fun. If you’re after gummy sharks or mulloway then you’re in luck. Both these species have been around with a few of the gummies nudging 12kg – nice fish and great in the pan. I’d be fishing either Middle Beach or North Tura with fresh slab baits for the sharks or big bunches of live beach worms, which mulloway

find hard to resist.

Off the stones the action is mixed depending on what you’re targeting. The bread and butter species like drummer and luderick have come into their own over recent weeks with the water temperatures dropping and solid wash available on most headlands. Using a float with cabbage weed or fresh prawns will catch you a feed; use a little berley here but not too much.

You can expect a few bream and trevally on the prawns and Short Point is the pick of the headlands to fish. There’s still plenty of pelagic action happening off Tura Head – mainly salmon and the odd smaller kingfish. A lot depends on conditions for the results anglers are getting. Both lures and ganged pilchards have produced results, although the bait guys seem to have the edge at present.

In the estuaries Pambula Lake has really fired up this week. The main basin has seen plenty of the action, with one local getting some awesome results. He got a mixed bag of no less than nine legal species for the day, which is pretty remarkable considering he caught them on a mixture of bait and soft plastics. Bream, whiting, luderick, salmon, tailor, flounder, trevally, flathead and mullet made up his bag with a few of the bream nudging the 1kg mark. The key was to fish very light leaders in the crystal clear water and fish light jigheads and sinkers.

Casting towards the ribbon weed edges in the basin in 3-4m of water with a little berley was all that was required. With fishing like that it’s time to wet a line. In Merimbula Lake the lower sections in the channel are still firing for jumbo-sized trevally. Fish to 55cm have been common and on bream gear they put up a struggle. Anglers using smaller softies on light jigheads on the draining tide have fared best.

The lake species will be thriving this winter BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

It’s southern bluefin tuna season along our coastline and now is the best time to get a dose of the blues.

Sadly they are not all that easy to find, but when you do it may be on for young and old.

It’s always a challenge finding fish, especially at present with those big southern bluefin tuna out over the Continental Shelf.

Read the signs like the quality of the water, where the bird life is concentrated, even the fish themselves that come to the surface feeding on schools of sauries or other baitfish. Learning this part of the game contributes to the

Alfonsin are a very tasty deep water fish.

hunt of these fish, which is something I like almost as much as catching the fish themselves.

Fish well over the 100kg mark are common with most fish averaging around 80kg.

The best areas are out over the Continental Shelf over 1000 fathoms and beyond to the sea mount. Picking days with the dominant big winter highs will see slight seas where a lot of anglers have been travelling in parties of two or more boats, not only to find where the fish are concentrating but also for safety reasons when travelling large distances to sea.

Mixing in with the bluefin have been a few reasonable albacore, the odd yellowfin and striped tuna. You can be assured that wherever there are tuna there are likely to be mako sharks and there have been some exceptionally large ones around.

For the bottom fishos there is plenty of action to be had on most reefs.

Morwong (both rubber lip and jackass) and snapper are the dominant catches.

Mixing in with them are a few pigfish, ocean perch and leatherjackets. Closer to shore out from most beaches there are plenty of sand flathead to be found. With the calm conditions it has allowed anglers with the gear to pursue deep water fish out on the Twelve-Mile Reef and over the Continental Shelf.

Luderick are a winter specialty around the bridges of Bermagui.

The Twelve-Mile has seen some nice Tassie trumpeter, plenty of perch and some exceptionally large tiger flathead, while out in the real deep water, hapuka, blue-eye trevalla, alfonsin and gemfish have been making up the bulk of the catch.

Back on shore off the stones it’s drummer season, with plenty of lovely big black drummer, quite a lot of luderick and the odd silver trevally and bream taking a liking to cunjevoi floating around in the suds. Those wishing to work a lure or

float a pilchard off the stones should encounter reasonable numbers of salmon and the odd decent tailor.

These salmon schools are persisting along the coastline providing good angling on the rocks and for those fishing the beaches or trolling along the shores.

There are also a few bream off the beaches. On the full moon when the deeper gutters are formed gummy sharks and mulloway are an option. In the estuaries things are pretty quiet with an already exceptionally cold winter. The mainstays

around Bermagui at present are luderick around the rock walls, the harbour and the bridges at both Bermagui and Wallaga Lake.

Some of those salmon schools have moved into the estuaries providing an unexpected catch, especially in Wallaga Lake where also schools of tailor are feeding on white bait within the lake system itself. Don’t expect anything sensational in the estuaries in the near future, as they are only going to getting colder until the spring months start to warm them.

Wondrous winter options TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Out on the Tathra Wharf there is enough activity to keep anglers amused, and again those salmon and tailor are passing through consistently, allowing

anglers to target them not only on the wharf, but also the rocks nearby.

There is plenty of trevally and yellowtail hanging around the pylons, while closer to the shore towards the rocks has had luderick to be found for anglers using weed baits.

Good long casts with a heavy sinkers out into the

bay have resulted in some nice bags of legal sand flathead.

Wintertime around the wharf and surrounding rocks usually sees many good bag of sea garfish. With the use of a little berley, especially a tuna-based mix, you should be able to bring the fish within range of anglers using

Bream are one of the better winter options in the Tathra area.

a small float and a little piece of prawn as bait.

Out on the main rocky platforms there are plenty of black drummer to be found, which are taking a liking to both cunjevoi and cabbage weed baits floating in the wash. There are some luderick mixed in with them, the odd silver drummer, trevally and bream. Those wishing to take the time to find a few red crabs may also find themselves connected to some of the large blue groper in the area.

Out at sea snapper are the flavour of the month, with the reefs to the north and south all producing fish. Drifting is the preferred method and while fishing for snapper you can expect pearl perch, morwong, leatherjackets and others.

Those anglers anchoring up and berleying over the shallower reefs have been finding much larger snapper, with a lot of the fish to 5kg being captured.

Closer to shore the sand flathead will be the mainstay, where the odd gummy shark and red gurnard will also contribute to the bag.

South Coast oysters are the best in the country.

Further out to sea the reefs just inside the continental shelf in about 80m of water have been producing some excellent Tassie trumpeter, some large tiger flathead, plenty of morwong and perch. Those wishing to venture further to sea with some decent game gear will have an excellent chase of scoring some southern bluefin tuna.

Sadly it is already been a dry winter, with drought-like conditions across the region, and this has a bearing on the estuary fishing. A lot of the systems like the Bega River are now closed to the ocean, which in turn makes for difficult fishing with no

tidal flow. Areas of interest would be the deeper rock walls where estuary perch are likely to concentrate, as it is breeding season where these fish school up.

Often they go off the bite, however if you persist and get a couple to chew, you may well turn a fish or two into many.

Wapengo Lake north of Tathra never closes to the ocean and with quite a large entrance, this allows schools of passing salmon a refuge from bad weather, providing great winter angling. By the wa,y Wapengo produces some of the best oysters in Australia, so give them a try while you’re there!

JULY 2018

53

No complaints about rain MALLACOOTA

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The colder weather has seen the visitors to the area head off to the north chasing the warmer weather. This has left the town quiet once again and things won’t pick up until spring arrives.

Finally we have received some much-needed rain. We had only one day of rain over the past five months with just over 50mm of rain and a lot more is needed to break the drought. The entrance area is choked with sand and the whole system needs a really good flush to drag all the sand out to sea. If it is opened at the wrong place or with not enough water behind it, things will look even worse in years to come.

The fishing offshore is still providing anglers with some good catches of sand flathead. Good numbers of fish are being caught out around Gabo Island.

There have been reports of snapper being caught on the reefs both to the east and west of Bastion Point too.

With the town this quiet and the water cooling right down, few boats will be venturing offshore over the coming months. A few boats are still making the long haul out to the broadbill fishing grounds and from all reports it seems as though there has been a lot of effort put in for not much action.

Fishing the local beaches has seen the salmon fishing firing up. With the water temperature dropping more fish will show up over the winter period.

The water temperature in the lake is down to around 16°C. This has slowed the fishing right down for the flathead. The odd fish can still be caught, but catching a feed is a lot harder. Some good-size silver trevally are in the lake and if you can find the fish, you will have a ball. One group of anglers stayed on the action for the best part of a morning catching these hard-fighting fish.

Some big tailor are in the lake; these fish can be caught on poppers or big hardbodied lures. The bigger lures are the go. Giving them more plastic to chew on makes it harder for them to bite you off.

The black bream are firing up with the water cooling off and at this point there hasn’t been enough rain to have the slightest impact on the fishing. The

The tailor are getting bigger and popper fishing is the way to get amongst the action. fish can be found anywhere where you can find the whitebait and a variety of blades and soft plastics have been working well.

One thing to be aware of when cleaning fish at the boat ramp is the pelicans over the winter months. They get a lot more aggressive than they

are over the summer months; with fewer fish being caught and fewer anglers about they will near rip the fish out of your hands.

Eden needs some rain events to fire up again At this time of year you can expect some of the best weather conditions for heading out wide and fishing, so it’s fingers crossed for a good run of fish. Fish are still being caught in the local estuaries, but the flathead are starting to slow down as the water cools. Good

EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Eden received a drop of much-needed rain – not much, but just enough to get the rivers that had stopped running flowing again. Prior to that they were only a series of pools. As far as the fishing is concerned a lot more is needed to fire things up.

Recent big seas have created some good gutters for the beach fishing, and the water is still warm enough for good catches of yellowfin bream and sand whiting with salmon also being caught. As the water cools the fishing for salmon will only improve.

Good-size tailor are also being encountered and fish to around 2kg are common. As usual the problem with these bigger fish is they bite you off, so you sould use a wire trace.

Then the problem can be that they won’t bite at all.

I’m sure I’m not the only

The winter weather is seeing the bream come on the bite. one who has experienced this. Those heading outside chasing a feed of fish haven’t been disappointed. Flathead (sandies and tigers) are being caught in good numbers and

the best bait is an oily, tough piece of skin. That way it’s possible to catch a heap of fish and only bait up once.

The inshore reefs have also been fishing well with

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numbers of silver trevally are about and the fishing for them always improves over the winter months.

Yellowfin bream and sand whiting are still being caught and the front sections of the rivers are the best option. The black bream can be found further upstream.

plenty of snapper being caught. Fish to 2kg can be expected with the bigger models up to around 5kg.

Fresh baits of squid and cuttlefish are catching fish along with whole pilchards.

When fishing the reefs you can expect to encounter nannygai and morwong with the odd kingfish also being caught.

Those pesky green leatherjackets are also about.

If they show up, move. It’s impossible to catch anything else when they are about and you will lose hooks, sinkers – the lot. Out along the shelf the marlin have slowed down with reports of a few yellowfin tuna being caught. These have been big fish around 40kg+ and with the water cooling the fishing should improve and albacore tuna should also show up.

Dennis Gibbs landed this monster 95cm flatty from the shore in the Hawkesbury.

Cooking

Thai green curry with fresh snapper fillets SYDNEY

Andrew Humphries

This recipe will make more than the required amount. You can keep the excess paste for up

to a week in the fridge or freeze for up to three months. If you don’t feel like making the curry paste, a store-bought green curry paste will suffice instead.

To make the curry paste

blend all ingredients in a blender or pound them with a mortar and pestle until you form a smooth paste.

This curry paste does have quite a bit of bite, so if you don’t like too much spice, take out some of the green

chillies and add some extra coconut cream.

To prepare the snapper, trim out the bones down the centre of the fillet, salt the skin side to give it a nice crispy skin and lightly score it to prevent

the fillets curling up.

Depending on the size of the snapper you can trim the belly up and cook that in with the curry sauce.

To prepare the curry fry off 2 tbsp of curry paste until fragrant then add the

coconut cream. Simmer for three minutes and add in all your vegetables then cook for five minutes. If there are any extra snapper trimmings, place them in the curry and allow them to cook for four minutes.

INGREDIENTS Ingredients for curry paste 10 fresh green chillies 2 stalks sweet thai basil 3 tbsp chopped shallots 2 tbsp minced garlic 1 tbsp chopped ginger 1tbsp lemon grass chopped 1tsp shrimp paste 1tsp chopped kaffir lime leaves 1tsp fresh coriander root 1tsp turmeric

2

5

Ingredients for curry 300g snapper fillets 270ml coconut cream 2 tbsp fish sauce 2-3 tsp sugar 1/2 bunch broccolini cut into 3-4cm pieces 1 zucchini quartered then sliced 3/4 cup snow peas 1 cup cooked rice

Prepare the snapper fillets.

Sauté the curry paste until fragrant in a warm frying pan and then add the coconut cream.

1

A freshly caught whole snapper perfect for the curry. If you’re purchasing from your local fish market, check for clear eyes and bright red gills for an indicator of freshness.

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4

6

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The prepared ingredients, from left to right: chilli and coriander for garnish, fresh lime, the prepared green curry paste and coconut milk, and the snapper fillets.

Sear the snapper fillets in a hot pan with a little oil skin-side down first.

Flip the fish after about four minutes and then take it off the heat to finish cooking.

Fresh green vegetables to go in the curry – brocollini, zucchini and snow peas.

To serve, place half a cup of cooked rice in a bowl, add the curry sauce and vegetables next to the rice and then place the snapper fillets on top. Enjoy your Thai green snapper curry and rice!

JULY 2018

55

WHAT’S NEW FISHING STRIKE PRO GUPPIE

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Accounting for numerous Tournament wins and huge fish as well as filling up collector’s cabinets, one of the things you notice first about the Guppie is the artwork.

Up until now, these colours have only been available on hand painted wooden lures produced by Joe Peterson. Strike Pro/CWC in partnership with Peterson are bringing these unique colours to the market for the first time.

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Strike Pro has even replicated the 3D eyes that TrueGlide are famous for!

The Guppies body profile allows the lure to produce an amazing body roll and it slides from side to side. The Guppie also features an innovative cork screw at the tail, allowing the angler to fish with either a curltail or paddletail soft plastic tail. www.jurofishing.com

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Vigilante have announced their latest innovation: the Power Down Jacket, for both men and women. Airy-light and yet completely warm, this jacket ensures minimal bulk and maximum heat retention for an ideal body climate.

Vigilante has ensured the perfect active weight for any pursuit with the technically woven stitchless quilted down, which ensures a perfectly balanced warmth to weight-ratio. The absence of stitching holes prevents both wind and down leakage, so if you’re somewhere with especially icy winds, the Power Down Jacket will keep you warm. Raining too? This jacket boasts a Durable Water Repellency coating, to help keep you dry. It also has an active fit, designed to hug you in the all right places, and down fill spandex cuffs for heat insulation.

The Power Down Jacket is tough thanks to the durable high denier fabric, preventing abrasion and tearing for longevity of use.

When you’re back home, simply pack the Power Down Jacket into Vigilante’s smallest stuff sack yet.

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NEW GULP MANTIS SHRIMP COLOURS

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The Berkley Gulp Mantis Shrimp was created and designed to look like a shrimp.

It has a slender body, feelers at the front, and tiny legs that wriggle in the current or when moved. Now, these great plastics have some new colours in the range!

This lifelike Mantis Shrimp can be rigged and fished with any technique you choose.

Fish them on the bottom with short sharp jerks to imitate a fleeing prawn, rig them weedless for fishing structure, or even unweighted over sand flats and weed-beds!

Gulp! releases 400 times more scent than plastic baits, expanding the strike zone so you catch more fish. Made from 100% natural ingredients, Gulp! is environmentally and fish friendly.

The Mantis Shrimp comes in six natural and high-vis colours, natural, new penny, pearl white, molting, pearl white chartreuse and glow, all of which hungry shrimp-eating predators will love!

Price: RRP $13.99 www.berkley-fishing.com.au 56

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PRODUCT GUIDE

SHIMANO BACKBONE 4 ELITE RODS Shimano’s Backbone Elite rods have proven hugely popular with the offshore game fishing community, delivering a range of line class options at really good prices. The 2018 line-up has just been given a well-deserved tweak!

There are eight rods in all; a 10kg stick with fixed guides and a roller tip, and three 15kg options in a selection of fixed guides, fixed guides with a roller tip, or fully rollered. The same choices are available in 24kg, and finally there’s a serious 37kg weapon with a roller tip.

Of single-piece construction and 1.7m (5’ 7”) in length, the Backbone Elite blanks now utilise Shimano’s legendary TC3 material, which is the same threeply graphite weave the early Tiagra Game Series rods were built on.

The cosmetic has also been upgraded to a traditional game fishing colour scheme of black, gold and silver, making these rods an even sweeter pairing with Shimano’s TLD and Tyrnos lever drag reels. www.shimanofish.com.au

MUSTAD JIG WALLETS

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Jig fishing anglers will love the smaller Mustad Jig Wallet, a jig wallet designed to accommodate enough jigs for a day on the water.

The Jig Wallet S contains storage pockets that are constructed from tough mesh to allow the jigs to breath and dry, yet remain safe in transport and use. There are 22 jig slots for smaller jigs up to 15cm and two large mesh areas to stare things like pre-tied rigs and leader..

The Mustad Jig Wallet S forms part of the Slow Jigging System that includes a range of assist hooks, stainless steel accessories and now 2 jig wallets.

If you’re into fishing jigs and you’re having trouble storing them, then the Mustad XL Jig Wallet gives you the answer you’ve been looking for.

MB021 Mustad Small Jig Wallet (22 jig slots) 330x180x20mm www.wilsonfishing.com

FIN-NOR PRIMAL

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The new Fin-Nor Primal lever drag fishing reel sets a new standard for lightweight and heavy-duty overhead fishing reels.

Designed specifically for tackling big saltwater fish on the latest braided lines, the Primal weighs less than 400g and offers a modern ultra-light alternative to traditional overhead designs. The Fin-Nor Primal will be a hit with anglers using modern jigging techniques and those seeking a powerful overhead reel that is comfortable to use all day long.

The Fin-Nor Primal is available in two sizes. The Primal PR10 narrow spool has a line capacity of 415yd/30lb braid, while the Primal PR12 wide spool has a capacity of 440yd/50lb braid. Both sizes are available in a low gear ratio of 5.8:1 for cranking power or a high gear ratio of 7.3:1 for a quick haul.

Inshore and offshore anglers will finally get their hands on a powerful braid-friendly overhead reel that is exceptionally light and easy to use and perfect for targeting trophy pelagic and reef fish. www.finnorfishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING LIVETARGET HOLLOW 7 BODY MULLET Lures are becoming increasingly lifelike, and they don’t come much more lifelike than this! The LIVETARGET Hollow Body Mullet features one of the most a realistic profiles and life-like colour patterns available anywhere.

Its versatile swimming action makes it exceptionally easy to use. The angler can ‘walk-the-dog’ with ease, or simply skip it across the surface to generate a tantalizing bubble trail for any following predators.

The hollow body snag-proof design enables it to be fished through mangrove cover, skipped under branches and fished through the weed. It can be put into places where other presentations just can’t be put!

It is equipped with an extra-strong forged hook for powerful penetration and durability. An anglers can also add a treble hook to the belly pin to enhance hook-ups in open water.

These great lures are available in three sizes, 95mm and 3/8oz, 115mm and 1/2oz and 135mm and 5/8oz, as well as a range of colours. www.ejtodd.com.au

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OKUMA AZORES BLUE

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The new upgraded Okuma Azores Blue spinning reel offers anglers a true heavyduty saltwater reel and big fish stopper that won’t break the bank.

Designed specifically for saltwater fishing, with proven power features and a patented interior design, the Azores Blue is much more durable, strong and smoother than other reels in its class. Features include 6HPB + 1RB corrosion resistant stainless steel bearings, more than 10 times more resistant to saltwater than standard stainless steel bearings, dual anti-reverse system for maximum security, CRC: Corrosion-resistant coating process and HDGII: Corrosion-resistant, high density gearing.

Dual Force Drag, a system designed for maximum high-end drag pressure, efficiency and overall smoothness, providing maximum drag pressures well above many equivalent size reels, including those in a much higher price brackets.

All of these features and more combine to create a true affordable, saltwater reel that is capable of handling trophy sized saltwater fish. www.okuma.com.au

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DAIWA J-BRAID GRAND

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Daiwa’s J-Braid goes to another level with the release of the premium braid in the line-up, the new J-Braid Grand.

A premium 8-strand PE, J-Braid Grand is made from an advanced new raw material (IZANAS) and is J-Braid’s strongest, most abrasion-resistant line ever.

Four times more abrasion resistant than other lines, J-Braid Grand has a short pitch fibre construction that significantly reduces line damage and failure to dramatically increase line abrasion resistance and line strength consistency. Like all true premium Japanese 8-strand PE lines, J-Braid Grand maintains a true round profile for optimum line performance through the guides and on and off the reel.

Made in Japan and available in sizes ranging from 6lb (0.6PE) to 150lb (PE16) and in multi and island blue colours, J-Braid Grand is the smoothest and best performing J-Braid they have ever made. www.daiwafishing.com.au

RAPALA X-RAP PETO

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The X-Rap Peto combines Rapala’s fish-catching X-Rap construction with a beautifully colour-matched soft tail to create a seamless hybrid bait, suitable for all manor of big angry predators in Australia.

With its slow sink rate and perfectly horizontal fall, the X-Rap Peto is the ideal lure choice for targeting big Murray cod and barramundi. The tail kicks with a wide action on a simple cast and retrieve technique, but you could also try a ‘jerk and pause’ retrieve, allowing the bait to slowly swim into the depths.

The soft tail is firmly secured to the body with a 6-point stainless plate, but there is a spare tail included. Fitted with VMC Coastal Black hooks, an ABS Body with soft PVC Tail, these amazing baits will last you many big fish encounters.

Available in eight fish catching colours, the X-Peto is 20cm long and weighs in at 83g. www.rapala.com.au

SFT TAKUMI

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SWL Distributions is proud to bring Super Fishing Tackle to Australia. SFT is an exciting range of lures and fishing tackle where quality and toughness go hand in hand.

SFT lures are built to withstand the toughest offshore species, with a range suited for the offshore anglers chasing GTs, Tuna, kingfish, billfish and more. They also do a finesse range for those targeting bass, bream, flathead, mulloway and may more, with a great range of hardboardies and plastics.

One of the most diverse lures in the range is the sinking Takumi, which comes in range of sizes and weights.

The SFT Takumi range comes fully wired through and with super sharp Owner Cultiva trebles straight out the pack. They have a tight wobble high speed and a more natural look when retrieved slowly and a free rolling fall on the pause that looks amazing.

Whether it be trolling or casting, the SFT Takumi range is a genuine fish producer! www.swldistributions.com.au

SAMURAI PREMIUM 12 SERIES BLANKS The raw materials for Samurai rod blanks are sourced from only high quality graphite suppliers, with each batch tested to ensure it meets our standards. Each individual blank is cut, rolled and baked to a precise Samurai recipe to ensure that every blank they produce is of the best quality with an action that suits its intended purpose.

Samurai’s focus is solely on creating the ultimate fishing rod blanks unequalled in technology and design and they have released a new Premium Series of task specific blanks covering travel, land-based and light jigging.

Samurai is continually evolving and introducing new blanks and expanding the range available, and the last six months have seen the largest expansion yet.

Samurai now has over 70 blanks available in Australia and can now even find blanks suited to a very specific type of fishing.

Make sure you check out the new Premium Series, there’s bound to be a blank for you! www.samurairods.com.au

Please email contributions to: nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au JULY 2018

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING LIMITED EDITION SAURY

NEW 60G 13 LAZER

JM Gillies is celebrating its 90th Anniversary this year, and to mark the occasion they have been releasing special limited edition versions of some of their most popular lures.

The latest lure to get the special 90th Anniversary treatment is the Saury. Limited edition, hand carved Saury lures are now available from participating stores for a limited time. Each lure has been personally signed and numbered by legendary indigenous lure expert Lance Butler.

Lance spends thousands of hours on the water every year, fine tuning and developing some of the most innovative and spcialised lures in the world. His range has some of the best colours and designs available, and all lures are constructed from the highest quality materials and fittings. In addition, they are all are vigorously tested to ensure they perform perfectly, fish after fish. www.jmgillies.com.au

OTTERBOX DEFENDER SERIES

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When you’re about to head out on your next big fishing adventure, a damaged smartphone is something you don’t want to worry about.

However, with OtterBox Defender Series, you can fish with the confidence of knowing your phone is protected from a barrage of wear and tear.

The rugged Defender Series is built tough, ensuring your smartphone is well protected against scrapes, drops and dings. Built to last, it blocks out dust, dirt and grime and comes with OtterBox Certified Drop+ Protection, meaning it has been put through more than 238 hours of testing across 24 different tests.

Each case features an attachable, practical holster that clips to most belts and straps, meaning your phone can be with you on every adventure. It even doubles as a kickstand in case you need help capturing that all-important photo or video of your antics.

Price: from SRP $74.95 www.ottocasestore.com.au

HOBIE LIVEWELL V2

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The new Lazer 60g is a must-have lure in every serious angler’s tackle box.

This new size Lazer was designed for beach and rock fishers who like to cast long in search of the likes of tailor and Australian salmon.

Lazer Lures have been proudly making lures in Australia since 1978. All Lazers are fitted with quality stainless steel ring and VMC hooks. The colour range is extensive, with 19 proven colours, and there are multiple models for a host of applications.

Collectively these lures have accounted for a wide variety of species, including bass, barracuda, bonito, flathead, jewfish, kingfish, mackerel, pike, perch, queenfish, salmon, tailor, trevally, tuna, wahoo and more.

Visit the website for further information or look them up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/lazerlures. www.lazerlures.com

DAIWA LEXA WN

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Strong, unyielding and designed for battle, the legendary Lexa baitcaster has received an overhaul for 2018, with new ultra-comfortable, ultra-stylish Winn grips elevating the Lexa WN to a new level of comfort, power and performance.

Featuring the rock solid construction that has made the Lexa name famous, the new WN version features many of Daiwa’s best designs and technologies including UTD (10kg) Infinite Anti Reverse, Dual Stopper, and Magforce cast control braking system.

Comfort and control is ensured with the Lexa’s new eye-catching, ergonomically designed Winn Grips. They provide a tacky, sure grip to maintain maximum contact between angler and reel, regardless of temperature or moisture levels.

A 6.3:1 retrieve ratio, seven ball bearings, and a well balanced 298g body weight further enhance the reel’s in-hand performance and combine with the Lexa’s solid construction to make it one of the most refined, yet rugged, large baitcasters available. www.daiwafishing.com.au

NEW BOOKS FROM 15 AFN

The newly redesigned Hobie Livewell V2 sports a fresh colour scheme, modern lines and more built-in features than ever before. This livewell is plug-and-play with most Hobie kayaks, and includes all the same built-in functionality of the Livewell XL. There are several upgrades over the original livewell, including a sealed marine switch for on/off control. Also included is a high output pump that circulates aerated water to keep bait alive, and the battery and charger are included as well.

Another feature is the adjustable downspout for water level control and drainage, and it holds up to 30L of water.

Other standard features include removable tank partitions to provide a rounded surface for keeping live bait healthy and out of hard-to-reach places; three vertical rod holders with pre-marked locations for adding more; and heavy-duty straps to secure the Livewell V2 to the cargo area.

Price: SRP $539 www.hobie.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

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To maximize fishing success, every angler needs to record their catches and the conditions on the day, to put together all the pieces of the fishing puzzle. When a journal also contains useful technical information, it’s even more valuable.

The latest Anglers Journal & Almanac has solar and lunar peak fish activity and feeding times, the tides for each state with local variations, basic knots and rigs, selected fish weight from length conversion tables, basic boating regulations, and lure colour selection charts based on depth and the prevailing conditions. It also has plenty of pages to record catches and trip details.

Another new book is the Complete Book of Fishing Knots, by The Fishing Show hosts Bill Classon and Nigel Webster. It covers all the knots anglers need, from the basic knots through to some of the more advanced.

Whether you’re a novice or a more seasoned angler, there’s something in it for you. Superbly illustrated by Trevor Hawkins, the knots are easy to follow and master. As they say, if your knot holds you’ll catch the fish!

Price: SRP $12.99 (Almanac), $16.99 (Knots) www.afn.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

Mako prescription sunglasses: I can see clearly now As we grow towards middle age certain changes become apparent in our everyday lives. Groaning when we bend down, being irritable about new technology and the lack of ability to see things clearly when close to us becomes part of everyday life. History has not been kind to baby booming anglers; as our sight diminishes the fishing industry moves towards finer braided lines and clearer fluorocarbon leaders to increase our frustration. For me, the continual swapping from sunglasses to reading glasses has proven to be a real pain in the backside.

Mako sunglasses recently came to my rescue, with the delivery of a new pair of Mako multifocal prescription sunglasses.

Mako have faithfully reproduced their stunning glass G2H5 polarised rose lens in my corrective prescription, and then fitted the lenses to the Mako frame of my choice. Being a multifocal lens, I can look through the top section of the lens

The lens has a hydrophobic coating, so when you’re bringing a thrashing fish aboard you won’t have to wipe splashes off your lens. glass prescription multifocal lens readily available in Australia. In addition to this, the green mirror is internal to ensure maximum durability of the lens surface.

Mako use the latest digital freeform lens-grinding technology in their manufacturing processes, and the prescription accuracy and ease of use of these lenses is second to none. Wrap sunglass curves can distort prescription lenses of lesser technical specifications, but not so with these Mako lenses as they offer super-clear vision at all focal lengths. The smudge-free hydrophobic coating is a winner too, as any water

to see distant objects clearly while the lower zone gives sharp vision to closer reading and knot tying focal lengths.

In fact, most prescriptions – whether multifocal, long sighted or short sighted – can be produced in Mako frame and lens combinations to suit every wearer and outdoor activity.

My chosen lens colour, the rose G2H5, was selected for its high contrast capabilities which allow me to see subtle differences in below water structure and individual fish at greater depth. There is no doubt that my stream craft when trout fishing is greatly improved wearing

the Mako lenses, as the layout of the river becomes obvious. My lure then spends more time in the strike zone, spelling trouble for the resident brown and rainbow trout. It’s the same story on Port Phillip Bay, where the location of weed beds and sand patches mean the difference between a good and bad day on the calamari and whiting.

The G2H5 lenses are ground in Italy using a high density glass which produces a super thin lens to reduce the weight of the sunglasses. We anglers love the scratch-resistant properties of glass lenses, and the Mako G2H5 is the only

TESTED

that splashes on the lens simply beads up and drains off. That means no more wiping with dirty hands or shirts, actually making more smudges on the lenses than you started with!

Please pay attention to the fit of the frame during your selection process, and try to leave a small amount of airflow around your face. Glass lenses have many great advantages, however they do tend to fog a little more than acrylic lenses and the airflow will eliminate this problem.

If you want to order a pair of prescription Makos, remember that some frames are less suitable than others.

Wrap prescription lens design requires careful design calculations to keep the lens thickness low, and prescription accuracy over the entire lens surface. It requires significantly more expertise than standard reading glasses! Enquire about the ability of your chosen retailer to deliver these designs before committing your purchase, and always reserve the right to seek further advice. We all deserve the best vision solution available.

From trout in a stream to tuna on the shelf, I have found my Mako multifocal sunglasses an irreplaceable part of my fishing day.

David is a qualified Optical Dispenser & Mechanic with over 35 years industry experience currently managing Karingal Optical, a large Optometry Practice in Frankston. A keen angler and diver, he spends large amounts of time on and around the water in between consulting to his customers with their prescription and sunglass requirements. - David Glennie

The author’s streamcraft has been improved thanks to the Mako lenses.

JULY 2018

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Quality trout prowling the edges ALPINE LAKES

Anthony Bentley

Lake Jindabyne is starting to fish well, with more fish starting to come around the edges. It is very low at the moment, at 64%

around the weed beds in the lakes.

There have been some really good reports from Tantangara in recent weeks.

Flyfishers are doing well with slow drawn nymphs and Hamill’s Killer patterns, and lure anglers

are a few big dogs cruising around as well.

Lake fishing is only going to get better as the weather cools. The dropping water temperatures will encourage more of the bigger fish to come around to the edges looking for a feed.

There will still be opportunities to catch trout and salmon over the coming month. and dropping, while Lake Eucumbene is 31% and steady, and Tantangara 27% and steady. There are good reports of shrimp

are catching plenty on Tassie Devils. Both the browns and rainbows are averaging around 2-3lb and are very healthy, and there

When it comes to the time of day, early in the morning is the least productive time, which is good because it’s bitterly

cold and unpleasant. As the day warms up the fishing improves, as the fish come out looking for a feed closer to the edges, where some small hatches may occur over the winter months.

FISHING IN JULY There will still be opportunities to catch trout and salmon over the coming month. The broodstock Atlantic salmon and brook trout in particular should still be very catchable over the next month or so.

Now that it’s the closed season for trout and salmon in the rivers, anglers are obviously restricted to the dams for a while. In winter you can fish Lake Eucumbene, Lake Jindabyne, Rainbow Lake and Island Bend Pondage; everything else freezes over.

The go-to flies at the moment include Hamills Killers, Craig’s Night Time, Mick Hall’s MH53 Clear Water Shrimp, Woolly Buggers, hair and copper nymphs and pheasant tail nymphs. If you prefer lure fishing, try small Celtas around the edges, or use small vibes. Good colours for both spinners and vibes are silvers and greens. You can also get good results using Tassie Devils in rowleys riot.

High Country Outfitters has the largest range of flyfishing gear in the Snowy Mountains, with something for every skill level and budget.

Brands include Sage, Rio, Redington, Scott, Simms, Patagonia, Loop, TFO, Vision, Hardy, Riverworks, Scientific Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders, boots, vests and outdoor apparel.

For all the latest information on what’s

Eucumbene water levels are very low, and the brown trout are waiting for some rain to head up to the spawning grounds. Browns are the main catch at the moment, and most fish caught in the lake are in great condition. Plenty of fish are being caught on scrub worms and brighter coloured minnow lures. This one was caught on chartreuse Rapala CD5 minnow. biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne. You can also

call them on 02 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

Andy Queck with a nice brook trout caught walking the bank casting Bullet Five-0 Minnows at Waste Point.

n Trout Hatchery e d a G

Jindabyne has had a big run of brook trout captures. Brook trout love colder water and the recent cooler temperatures have them feeding around the abundant weed beds around the lake. They are in full spawning mode and hungry. This fish was caught at Waste Point on a Five-0 Bullet Minnow.

Gaden Trout Hatchery

Gaden Trout Hatchery See how premier sport fish are bred and raised!

Closed Anzac, Christmas, Boxing day.

Guided tours 10 am and 2 pm.

Self-guided tours on selected days.

Small admission fee.

Gaden Rd (off Kosciuszko Rd) Jindabyne. 02 6451 3400 www.dpi.nsw.gov.au 60

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

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Open 10 am–4 pm daily.

Dropping water temperatures will encourage more fish to move into the shallows.

The winds of big Murray cod are a-Blowering WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

The heart of winter is here and if July is going to be anything like they predict, you’ll want to rug right up!

The weather is expected to be cold and dry, which means clear skies and massive frosts.

This makes fishing tough and sometimes unenjoyable, but it won’t stop the keenest of Murray cod anglers, as this can be one of the best months for monster cod. The big lakes and dams around the state are home to cod that can reach up to and over 100lb and if that’s your dream, now’s the time to target them.

BLOWERING DAM Close to home is Blowering Dam, a location that I write about in almost every report and if you follow along each month you’re sure to know about the size of the cod that call it home.

Some of these fish are well over 50 years old and are fairly intelligent.

Tricking them into biting can almost be a task that’s too hard, and with the hours and weather conditions we battle, sometimes we question if it is worth it?

You might wonder why some people push themselves with no sleep and in minus temperatures just to maybe catch one. Trust me, it’s worth it! And if you want to be one of these people, the middle of winter is the time to give it a crack.

Prepping for your trip If you’re planning a trip to any dam like Blowering, make sure you pack warm winter clothes.

My recommendation is to

There is something special about these monster fish! It makes the hours of casting well and truly worthwhile. get yourself a set of snow or ski gear, including a jacket and pants. It might sound like overkill, but the wind that blows off the Snowy Mountains is freezing and this is the best gear for keeping you warm. Good quality thermals is another layer you should have to keep your core warm. Some other items to pack include gloves, beanies, jumpers, trackies, warm socks, slippers (or ugg boots) and a full spare set of clothes in case you end up in the water.

Best lures Like you have already gathered, the fishing will be tough and the main reason you’d be fishing in July is to catch big fish, so you want to use big lures.

The first type of lures you want to have on hand is

some big soft plastics, and some good options are Fury, Westin Shad Teez 22cm, Powerbait Ripple Shads and Gotcha Shads. They can be used all night and day and work really well.

Rig them on a 5/8 or 3/4oz jighead and use a treble hook as the stinger.

The stinger can be snelled to jigging braid and embedded into the plastic. Details of this rigging style on the Social Fishing website.

Swimbaits are your next sub-surface option to have on hand. Westin Tommy the Trout 15 and 25cm, Westin Barry the Bass, Westin Percy the Perch, Bunji Swimbaits and King Hit Swimbaits all work well. Use these early in the morning on first light.

The Mud Guts Big Guts 1.5oz is one of the best

spinnerbaits to have on hand and works great when casting tight to structure and timber. They’re a great option for casting during

the night and can also be trolled.

If you’re looking for a big lure to troll, you can’t go past the 120 and 150mm AC Invader in both the 30 and 40ft bibs.

Last of all make sure you have some massive surface lures! The Gobsmacked Leviathans and Cranknsteins in the 175mm model, the King Hit 200mm paddler, Bunji Sub Boofa 200mm and the new AC Paddler and Wakebaits are well worth throwing.

Gear selection If you’re keen on cod fishing and want the correct gear for the job, get yourself a big cod setup! Swimbaits rods are almost a must these days for the huge lures, as they are able to cast them a long distance. Anything over 30lb and 7ft in length is perfect. I use the Abu Garcia Veritas and Villain in the extra heavy size.

Match these with a quality swimbait reel like the Abu Garcia Toro Beast or Max Toro. They are great quality reels that are built to handle the job! Use 50

or 60lb braid with a 40-50lb fluorocarbon leader.

Techniques and areas to fish I covered the best areas to target in the June report and they are basically the same for this month as well. Early in the morning and during the night you should fish in shallow, around 1-4m of water, and cast surface lures, plastics or and spinnerbaits.

Look for flat banks with slight drop offs and snags.

Once the sun rises on a clear day, back out into deeper water and fish from 4-8m with heavier lures like plastics, swimbaits and spinnerbaits. Target steeper banks with rocky patches and timber if you can find them.

This month’s report was slightly different to the usual, as I’ve only touched on Blowering Dam. Fishing everywhere else in the region is slow at the moment and I wanted to share some tips with you on landing that fish of a lifetime from Blowering Dam. Rug up, cast away and hold on!

Taking big fish ashore for a photo while keeping them wet the whole time is a good way to ensure their survival.

CODGER TOPWATER

CODGER LURES Codger lures are designed by Graham Saunders.

He has recently expanded his range into the topwater market with the Codger Topwater.

These super strong, clacking surface lures come fitted with Double Rear Split rings and use VMC 3X Tough Trebles. A must have for any serious cod topwater angler.

Releasing a 120cm plus giant back to the depths of Blowering!

CONTACT GRAHAM SAUNDERS – 0407 544 965 Email: goulburn.lures@bigpond.com JULY 2018

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Downsizing can prove fruitful NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

July can produce some pretty miserable weather along the New England Ranges, with freezing cold nights and dry chilly days, although the fishing can definitely be worth braving the conditions for.

As mentioned in my last report, this time of year usually sees the bigger fish sitting shallower or higher in the water column, as the baitfish like to feed in the warmer water. This is where

working surface or shallow diving sub-surface lures becomes a better option, as they are already being worked higher in the water column where the big fish are feeding.

The closer the lure is to the fish, and the longer it is there, the better the chance it will get bit. These methods have been effective lately on a few recent trips out to Copeton Dam. On one trip reently there were five Murray cod landed between a mate and I on swimbaits and chatterbaits. Working the lures high in the water

column was the key, and we missed a few more as well.

This time of year doesn’t necessitate throwing the biggest lure in the tackle box either, as matching the hatch is a major factor. Downsizing lures at this time of year has caught my three biggest

fishing well lately as well.

There have been many reports of good-sized Murray cod and yellowbelly being caught on a range of lures and baits throughout the dam. Working around 15ft and less during low light periods and out to 30-40ft

The 114mm Megabass Vatalion swimbait looks insignificant inside this bucket mouth.

This chunky 103cm gorge cod ate a 150mm Cod King Lures chatterbait. Another victim to a downsized lure!

This is what braving the cold in the New England Ranges is all about – 113cm of swimbait-eating Copeton cod!

swimbait fish to date in Copeton Dam. If you’re planning to visit Copeton, be careful if you are unfamiliar with the dam, as lower water levels have old banks protruding that you can not always see while underway.

Pindari Dam has been

as the sun comes up is a good start. Blades or vibes are always a favourite for the Pindari natives, but with plenty of big baitfish getting around the dam in recent years upsizing to a bigger chatterbait or swimbait can be very effective as well.

The dry cold days are

taking a toll on the local rivers, and with little rains predicted over winter, they could be like that for a while.

The Severn River has still been fishing well both below and above the dam, but the conditions are not the best on either end. Your best chance of finding and catching fish would be to have a whole different range of lures in the tackle box, as the river can change dramatically from pool to pool, sometimes being clear, muddy or even

covered in duckweed. It is much the same as the impoundments, so it’s just a matter of putting yourself in the right place at the right time and there should be some healthy winter fish to be caught.

The Beardy River is currently closed as it is a listed trout stream.

Good luck to all getting out and braving the cold this month.

Tight lines and frozen guides!

The best time of the year for Copeton cod COPETON DAM

David Allen manager@copeton.com.au

We are in the heart of big fish time a Copeton, and July will usually see some of our coldest weather of the year with overnight temperatures dropping to as low as -5 or -6°C. It seems the colder it gets, the better the cod like it.

July will often see some of the largest fish of the year caught.

In the early part of this season we didn’t see the amount of surface action that we have in past years, maybe due to the above-average temperatures in May and early June. As a result of

Jacob with his PB cod. this swimbaits and chatterbaits have been the go-to lures up until now. That should change as we see the increase in surface activity this month.

We are coming into the

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best time of year for all the fishers out there that want to tick a big Murray cod off their bucket list. Now is the time to be planning a trip to Copeton, so earn a few brownie points around the house, then organise a few days off around the middle of the month for the new moon on 13 June.

You will give yourself the best chance of catching that fish of a lifetime, especially if the weather gods are kind and you can combine a slow moving high and a rising barometer around this dark moon period.

With your time off organised and accommodation booked, all that is left to do is sort the tackle. You can just bring everything but there are some things that we find are well worth paying attention to. Lure sizes have increased, so the general trend is to use specialist rods designed

to throw baits up to 8oz or 200g+. These are generally referred to as ‘swimbait rods’ and are available from most manufacturers.

Combine this with a 300-400 size high quality baitcasting reel and a tough 30-60lb braid main line joined to a leader of 40-60lb then you are ready to play with the big boys. You have come to Copeton to catch and release the fish of your dreams, so here are some tips on tackle setup that may help.

LURES You are chasing a fish that will eat anything from a shrimp to a duck so never consider a lure too big.

TERMINALS Cod have a very big mouth but can be hard to hook, particularly on surface lures.

We have found that refitting lures with strong chemically sharpened hooks and giving thought to increasing hook exposure, mainly upsizing trebles and double or triple split rings, is helping to increase conversion rate.

LINES Cod fishing is all about the strike; nothing moves water like a big green fish, but they’re not going to pull a lot of string and make your drag smoke. In saying that, they do have some real low-down grunt. Forget about your superthin braid – use something tough in the 30-60lb range.

Just touching granite rock

will shred all but the most abrasion- resistant braid.

LEADERS Cod have a mouth full of little holding teeth and no sharp gill plates, so the fish itself is not that hard on leader material. I like to use leader in the 30-60lb range. For

job. Keep in mind that it may take two to lift her into the boat. Be prepared, have the camera ready, get your photos and get your fish back in the water as quickly as possible.

There is nothing better than watching your dream fish swim away strongly.

Dave at 73 years young with his first cod going 101cm. surface fishing I use mono. For subsurface I use fluorocarbon.

I use about a rod length of leader attached with a FG knot.

LANDING If you’re fishing from a boat, a release in the water is always going to be best for the fish, otherwise the biggest landing net you can find with fish-friendly mesh will do the

• Copeton Dam is one of the best lakes in NSW to catch a trophy Murray cod.

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

Attention turns to alpine lakes for a trout fix LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

The fair wind it blows icy cold, so much so that old Toby dog is reluctant to leave his kennel – never seen that before.

He doesn’t take much coaxing though. With

Casting metal spoons out across the waves that pitch and fall in this icy wind would have to be one of my favourite techniques.

The spoon’s weight obviously helps with casting in such conditions.

Metal vibes are also quite good. They offer a totally different action and fall, so are a good switch up if the

cruising along.

The upper reaches of Lake Wallace are out of bounds, something that might change in future years with the closing of the power station.

Pipeline Point is as far as anglers can access, but it does offer some great fishing for rainbow trout as they move from the main

Brown trout react aggressively towards larger offerings at this time of year.

This one and a few more like it were caught on a lure over 100mm in length.

Interestingly, most were hooked on the top or the side of the head. a quick call he’s on his way, ready for another adventure with the boss.

This time it’s a rainbow coloured mission on some local waters, hopefully gleaming and just a minute from home. Lake Wallace near my hometown of Wallerawang has been kind to me over the years and if I was to look back through old diaries I’ll bet that quite a few rainbows would have been caught in July.

spoons aren’t working.

Brighter colours are a big attractant at this time of year for rainbow trout, so don’t hold back, especially when it comes to the spoons.

Big long slender minnow-style lures also have their place, especially if winds are favourable.

Make downwind casts off points along a leading frothy bubble trail – the kind that rainbows just love

parts of the lake around the corner and into shallower waters upstream.

DON’T FORGET THE BROWNS Mother nature rarely puts all her eggs in one basket.

Brown trout definitely run or spawn earlier than rainbow trout but this month will still have a few poking around in the upper reaches of Lake Lyell that can be tempted with similar tactics. I would possibly lean a little more

towards the large minnowstyle lures for the brown trout though; they just seem to get the trout arced up a little more.

I touched on the use of much larger lures for brown trout at this time of year in last month’s column, a point that was rammed home to me on a recent trip to Eucumbene Dam. One of my go-to lures was over 100mm in length – a large Rapala deep diving minnow that was twitched and paused at depth on the troll (drive the lure, not the boat). I’m very keen to use this tactic on home waters.

ICY COLD COD I’ve had many questions from anglers in regards to fishing for winter cod in impoundments recently. I’ve said you need to be dressed for success, and a mate of mine summed it up in a few short words just recently on a cod mission, “Once you’re cold, you’re done.” Those are five words that need to register in your noggin well before you hit warp speed in the boat…

The don’t feel it, in fact I reckon they love it. The colder, the better, especially for bigger fish. I’m no scientist but one look at that body and it just screams insulation. This puts them at a distinct advantage over any other critter swimming in freshwater.

Why is it that they choose to feed more often than not at the coldest possible time in a 24-hour cycle in winter?

It’s because at this time they have the biggest possible advantage. Think about the make-up of a carp, bony bream, redfin, yellowbelly or silver perch; they all have a relatively thin, speedy aerodynamic profile and nowhere near the insulation

factor and mass of a big cod.

I think that insulation and mass in winter wins out, or at the very least levels the playing field.

Other factors are at play too. Sickly critters, the old and weak on their last fins – so to speak – will most probably be gasping their last breaths in the wee cold hours of the morning, so they’re perfect, easy feeding for any top order predator.

Obviously low light has a role to play as well.

That rising glow to the east

silhouettes prey, making an attack from underneath the ultimate approach angle, so it’s well suited to the camouflage patterns that the cod are cloaked in.

These are just a few observations and thoughts from the last few seasons.

I have a few more, but will leave them for other times…

To give you a hint, most of them relate to digestion after a meal and being comfortable.

Hope to see you on the water soon. Until then, tight lines.

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Cod in smaller rivers seem to feel the initial cold shock of a quick temperature change much more than their lake dwelling cousins. How long it takes them to adjust is anyone’s guess, but Steve had to work extra hard for this one.

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

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

Dam April May June Blowering 44 47 52 Brogo 100 91 86 Burrendong 39 37 36 Burrinjuck 40 40 40 Carcoar 59 55 55 Chaffey 68 65 62 Clarrie Hall n/a n/a n/a Copeton 29 27 27 Dartmouth 88 88 88 Eucumbene 31 28 24 Glenbawn 75 72 69 Glenlyon 55 58 50

Dam April May June Glennies Creek 71 70 69 Hume 36 31 37 Jindabyne 56 45 37 Keepit 13 13 13 Lostock 100 100 100 Oberon 65 62 60 Pindari 60 59 59 Split Rock 16 6 15 Tantangara 21 22 22 Toonumbar 100 100 100 Windamere 42 42 41 Wyangala 68 65 63

(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.)

JULY 2018

63

Natives on the chew in the cold CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

I’m a member of a couple of local Canberra fishing pages on Facebook and a recent post caught my eye.

One visitor to Canberra popped up on one of these pages asking for advice on how best to connect with a native fish in the cooler months, and was promptly told by several anglers that local fishos don’t hit the lakes during winter and leave these areas to ‘the

kids’ until spring.

These comments genuinely surprised me, as the majority of anglers who I know fish right through winter with some specifically targeting the local lakes!

These anglers relish the cooler conditions, because the fish caught during July and August are always much bigger and it is possible to walk away with a new PB during a very short session.

I had one such session recently. With 30 minutes to spare, I went for a quick flick at Lake Burley Griffin.

The author landed this chunky Burley Griffin cod while casting a small vibe.

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the points being one of the highlights. These fish are easily found using a sounder and it is as simple as slow rolling a vibe through the school to connect with a good fish.

There are also golden perch and Murray cod hanging around these schools waiting for a straggler to make a mistake, and it is sometimes possible to hook one of these fish while casting for reds. I landed an 80cm cod while targeting big schooling reds and it was a great fight on light spin gear.

Golden perch are also holding in 1-3m of water around the overhanging willows near the entrance to the Molonglo. These fish can be targeted using soft plastics in the 65mm80mm range, but are also responding well to small spinnerbaits slow rolled underneath the overhangs.

Rod De Groot with a solid Googong golden. casting a Jackall Doozer.

The lake does fish well during the cooler months, especially after rain, and is always worth a cast with a surface lure around the edges behind the skatepark.

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Just on dusk I hooked a solid golden perch, which came in at 51cm. I few casts later, I hooked and lost a much bigger specimen and caught a few reddies along the way. This kind of session is the norm through winter, especially around low light periods.

Perhaps it is about motivation, as it can be hard to leave the warmth of the house for a freezing cold Canberra lake. Maybe anglers convince themselves that the fish aren’t biting, but I can promise that they are there, bite well in the cold and are much bigger than the majority of fish encountered during spring and summer.

This is because the water is well oxygenated and the smaller bait does become lethargic and therefore easier to hunt.

So my message this month is don’t give up, keep fishing and you’ll be sure to land something big.

Winter fishing isn’t just for ‘the kids’.

LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is firing. This superb winter fishery has provided some memorable fishing, with large redfin schooled up and hitting lures around

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Good size goldens can be caught on foot by those working overhanging trees.

Lake Tuggeranong has been a bit hit and miss of late. The redfin are still on the bite and are responding well to a variety of lures ranging from small soft plastics through to beetle spins and vibes. The fish are holding around the dam wall and there are some schools of smaller reds sitting deep near the bridge.

A few solid cod have also been caught, including one 78cm fish that was landed at the dam wall by an angler

produced some good golden perch fishing of late for those using kayaks. The fish are responding well to small spinnerbaits slow rolled around the edges of the weed near the middle of the pond and plastics rigged weedless and jigged near ‘blue chair’. The fishing should only get better and better until spring arrives when the weed makes its usual, unwanted return.

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JULY 2018

Jason Naumann is a resident big red specialist.

hatch by using something with a bit of orange in it.

Gordon Pond is producing for anglers targeting redfin near the dam wall. These fish are hitting anything that moves, but are particularly easy to catch using small soft plastics and small deep divers. Natural colours seem to work best on the resident reds, but if you’re after a golden perch, try something a bit brighter and cast parallel to the reedlined banks.

The Murrumbidgee River has not been fishing well. The lack of rain has meant that a lot of pools have become stagnant and are very shallow. However, there have been a few quality cod caught, with Nathan Gough’s 107cm fish proving the highlight over the last few weeks. If after a cod, focus on the last of the running water and try swimbaits.

These lures seem to produce when all others fail.

SURROUNDS Googong Dam is fishing well for golden perch and Murray cod. The fish have been responding well to spinnerbaits and vibes, as well as medium-sized swimbaits like the Jackall Gantia. That said, there has been a lot of illegal activity on the dam of late, which has inevitably led to talk of closing the waterway. If a select few continue to flaunt the rules by fishing the dam wall, water skiing and using petrol motors, Googong will close and this would be a sad end as it is one of the best native fisheries within easy drive of Canberra.

Burrinjuck is hit and miss. Some local Canberra anglers have visited the dam over the past few weeks and caught some good fish with Wayne Siow’s 95cm fish a real stand out.

However, many anglers have also returned fishless.

The anglers who have had success were using large plastics fished slow at around the 5-6m mark with ‘the bluff’ proving a good hunting ground.

Cold, rain and snow – but don’t let that stop you!

CANBERRA

Bryan Pratt

The lead up to winter was split in half, with one half suited more to native fish and one for trout. It was balmy at first, then

and significant snowfalls in the mountains.

LOCAL LAKES Local lakes were clear enough for lure fishing and some nice golden perch and Murray cod were taken on medium-sized deep divers and larger patterns, mostly

most productive technique has been fishing from the shore with live yabbies.

A couple of cod were caught also by slow trolling yabbies over rocky country adjacent to dam walls, either by drifting with the wind or by using a low speed electric

Trout at spawning time develop characteristic crimson patterning on the cheeks and along the lateral line, which disappears when spawning is completed.

Spawning brown trout form a self-sustaining population in some Snowy Mountains lakes and some streams and stocking of additional hatchery-raised fish, as distinct from the rainbow population, is not required. Big populations of fish build up in lakes near river mouths prior to making a spawning run. interrupted by a sudden switch from autumn to winter by a massive cold blast from Antarctica, with heavy rain throughout the catchment

late in the afternoon. Lake Burley Griffin was the best for goldens, with the best fish measuring 61cm. The best cod weighed 22kg and came from Lake Tuggeranong. The

that suggested they were feeding on bait balls of small redfin. As the weather cooled, native fish went off the bite in Canberra’s shallow lakes, but continued to bite in the deeper and stratified waters of Googong Reservoir.

BURRINJUCK WORTHWHILE Burrinjuck continued to fish steadily, with golden perch taking scrubworms,

COLD WEATHER IMPACT The cold weather, heavy rain and snowfalls, with minus temperatures throughout the high country triggered a sudden mass movement of fish from Jindabyne and Eucumbene into the rivers, attracting anglers from all over. It was amazing how fast the word went round and the river banks were soon crowded

of the fish reported looked to be in prime condition, but the run did not last long.

Trout in rivers are now off limits, so confine you trout fishing to lakes for the next few months.

FISH EDIBILITY Arguments still rage about whether fish on a spawning run should be killed for the table. Some say it is counterproductive to kill fish that are about to lay eggs,

motor. Fish that were killed and cleaned commonly had stomachs filled with carp or redfin.

Native fish were some sometimes found in locations

Argument rages over whether spawn-run trout should be killed for the table. They are palatable in the early stages but later develop poorflavoured and soft-textured flesh most people consider inedible.

An upstream section of a trout spawning stream, placid now but soon to become a frenzy of trout spawning activity.

yabbies and shrimps among the flooded trees and some good Murray cod taking lures at any time of the day. The biggest and best of the cod have been taken on the largest lures, especially wakebaits early in the morning.

as anglers vied for the prime locations to get at the fish heading upstream on what would eventually be their run to the spawning beds upstream.

Lots of fish were caught, mostly on the traditional Glo Bug and nymph rigs, and all

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Others argue that spawn-run fish have poor taste and soft unattractive flesh and are not worth eating so killing them is a waste. The argument continues.

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Jerkbaiting for joy HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

Winter fishing patterns should be hopefully in full swing this month. The build up to winter was very slow this year, and we hadn’t had any long periods of cold weather, with very mild days with no frosts in late May and early June.

The water temperature has been slow getting down as low as usual, but I don’t really see this mild winter so far, but this should change in July. There were some long-range forecasts for the

lower sections of Australia to receive some winter rains, and I can only hope we pick up some of the edges of these systems moving through and fill the lakes.

The bass bag limit in the river systems is still zero this month, so the lakes are where you want to be.

Generally the fishing in both lakes is excellent this month, with mass amounts of fish still feeding up.

ST CLAIR Lake St Clair weed has slowly bounced back from summer and autumn’s dropping water levels. These weed beds should be nice and thick by now and towering

near to the surface. The larger fish seem to hold in the weed beds, as they provide perfect cover for ambushing prey.

Compared to their deeper siblings, these fish are almost golden to black or bronze, and perfectly camouflaged to their shallow water environment. Even though they have this enormous area of cover to hide in and can get out the sun, they can be very temperamental about when they bite.

Low light is always the best for getting these fish eat a lure. Early morning, late afternoon and overcast or even windy conditions will make these fish comfortable

Glenn Ellis with a 48cm Lostock bass caught on a jerkbait.

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JULY 2018

enough to be moving around freely in the weed feeding.

Picking an area to start can sometimes be confusing when almost the lake’s entire edge is covered by weed.

Look for points and bays, even rock and timber as well – just something that will give the weed an uneven edge and holes. In these areas, the fish will congregate and even school in the weed.

Multiple casts to the same area can catch several fish as they move around looking for food. A jerkbait in the 50-80mm range is an excellent choice to start out with, as it looks like an injured baitfish darting around. The bass and golden perch cannot seem to resist a jerkbait aggressively worked along the weed and paused in their face.

If a jerkbait is not getting eaten, your next reliable choice is a jighead-rigged plastic. I like to try a lightlyweighted minnow, stickbait or fluke style plastics first.

Similar to a jerkbait’s action of darting around, these can be fished deeper, as they are designed sink down. I start with a 1/16oz jighead for over the top of the weed beds, which I can also sink

Jack Maunder with a nice bass caught shallow over some weed. into holes. Then I go to a 1/12oz or 1/8oz head to fish down the face of the weed.

There’s nothing fancy about the retrieve, just a standard 2-3 little twitches up with the rod tip before letting the plastic fall on a semi slack line. Plastics fished with this retrieve will always get eaten on the drop.

If the stickbait isn’t getting eaten, a paddle-tail or grub is your next best option. These styles will work on a straight slow wind retrieve and an 1/8, 1/6 or 1/4oz jighead is the best option. Use the lighter 1/8 and 1/6oz for fishing over the weed beds and the 1/4oz for fishing down the face and along the weed edge.

Sliders, ZMan Slim Swimz or GrubZ, Berkley Gulp Grubs or Power Bait T-tails, Keitech Easy Shiners or Swing Impacts are just some brands to try. I’ve seen just about every 2-3” paddle-tail or grub work on any given day. Try giving your plastics little twitches in your slow roll to imitate a baitfish is trying to escape, as this can turn lookers into biters.

Obviously, there are no hard or fast rules, so just stick with whatever plastics and retrieve you feel most confident with. If the bites

are not coming, try and focus on where you are putting your lure and what retrieve you’re employing, rather than specifics brand or colors.

Moving out wider from the weed there should be some schools hanging around. Anywhere from 20-60ft you can find them stacked up off points or humps. A paddle-tail or grub plastic, ice jig or even a small blade should catch you some fish. Typically the school fish are smaller than the weed dwellers, but these can provide a lot of fun with their willingness to eat a lure. A fish a cast can happen this month on these schooled fish.

GLENBAWN Lake Glenbawn’s weed is all but gone due to the dropping levels. There were some shallower sections up past The Narrows into the 8-knot zone that were just hanging on. These are always worth a look in low light to intercept any shallow water feeding fish.

The water flowing into the back of the lake cooled down first this year from a light snow fall on Barrington Tops. This water running in naturally stirs up the water clarity up the back of the

lake, and this can cause less weed to grow up there compared to the front half that is clearer with better light penetration.

A jerkbait or plastic worked shallow around main points and edges will catch you some seriously chunky bass this month. Glenbawn banks are a lot deeper than St Clair, so once the sun gets up a 1/4-3/8oz jighead is better suited for fishing a plastic.

Slow roll your plastic out off the edges down to around 20ft of water or where you can see them sitting on the sounder. Twitching plastics up like a flathead retrieve and letting them fall back to the bottom under a tight line works as well, commonly the plastic will always get eaten on the drop.

Out wider some fish should be schooling as well.

Off points or near sunken timber lines are good places to look in 30-60ft of water.

The back of the lake in the 8-knot zone can get see some really big schools of fish this month. Anywhere off the rock walls or next to the old riverbed can see the sounder near blacked out with fish. Plastics, ice jigs and small blades will be the best option to get these fish to bite.

FISHING NEWS

Fuel tank closures As part of a program of infrastructure upgrades and safety improvements across Reflections inland holiday parks, fuel facilities for guests will not be available at the following park locations from today: 1. Lake Keepit (Keepit) 2. Cudgegong River (Yarrabin) 3. Lake Burrendong (Mumbil) 4. Grabine Lakeside (Bigga) 5. Burrinjuck Waters (Burrinjuck) 6. Wyangala Waters (Wyangala Dam)

To ensure visitor safety, it is not permitted to carry fuel into the parks for vehicles and/or boats which needs to be decanted. Guests are asked to fill their vehicles and boats at the nearest service stations. Guests travelling to Mookerawa Waters in Stuart Town will also be unable to carry fuel into the park. The closure and upgrade of fuel facilities is the next step in the group’s inland park revitalisation program which provides a 10-year roadmap for the redevelopment and structure of these precious community assets. Priority projects for

these parks have included bush fire management, park emergency management plans, installation of water treatment plants, as well as sewer and electrical upgrades.

Providing memorable and safe guest experiences is a focus of Reflections Holiday Parks, and this important service will be restored as soon as the new infrastructure has been put into place. Guests will be advised of alternative fuel suppliers and when new facilities are in place within the parks. – Reflections Holiday Parks

Try your luck on some trophies BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Winter is now in full swing and the local redfin populations at Blowering and Burrinjuck dams will start to attempt their

as you don’t have to find structure to find these fish, you just need to find a female and where there is a female there is sure to be 50 or more males in very close proximity. Almost all lures dropped in front of these fish will get eaten either out of hunger or aggression as they

Redfin can still be caught from the bank in our lakes this month, but you will need to find some deep water for success, as these fish are schooling up in the 30-60ft range. spawning efforts. Now is easily the best time of the year to try and catch not only great numbers of redfin but also the big trophy-sized models that we all want to catch.

REDFIN The majority of fish are still feeding, but they are also being competitive with each other for best positions beside the biggest and healthiest females and this makes them very active. This is good news for anglers,

attempt to try to keep the opposition away.

Jigging is easily the best way to take advantage of these schooled redfin, but it is possible to reach these deep holding fish from the bank as well.

If you are bank bound then the best place to fish is around any steep points or large drop offs. Bait off these points will do the job, but best results will come from repeat casting with soft plastics rigged on fairly

heavy jigheads between 1/4-5/8oz. Aternatively, try spinners, lipless crankbaits, vibes or blades.

Those with a boat can find schools with a good sounder or by trolling small extra deep diving lures. Once a school is located, jigging with ice jigs, soft plastics, blades, vibes or lipless crankbaits is the best way to get big numbers. On a good day jigging in the right areas, it is not uncommon to catch well over a hundred fish.

JOUNAMA DAM This smallish dam is renowned for its sensational trophy-sized trout and redfin, but over the last ten or so seasons the native numbers have picked up so much that they are now a viable target themselves.

Golden perch to well over 5kg and 60cm in length are now thriving in

this lake, as are the stocked Murray cod.

LAKE TROUT With the trout season now closed in the creeks and rivers, anglers wanting a trout fix will have to hit the lakes. This is not a bad thing, as winter is probably the best time of the year to be targeting them in the lakes anyway. The majority of brown trout will be back from their annual spawn run and they will be very hungry and keen to hit anything that swims too close to them.

Bait anglers should be able to pick up fish on worms, grubs or PowerBait and there is no need to cast too far, as most hungry fish will be patrolling the shallows for food. Remember this, and keep your bait close to the edges and you should hook a heap of fish.

Lure anglers will also do

Jounama Dam is not just a trout and redfin fishery anymore. Thanks to some great stocking efforts from fisheries, it is now home to a great population of golden perch and Murray cod like this one.

Our trout lakes should all fish well this month and will be worth rugging up and putting in the hard yards for. very well this month and smallhard bodies under 5cm in length will be your best bet, but bright spinners, soft plastics and blades will also account for plenty of fish this month as well.

Fly anglers will find it hard to beat stripping medium to large wet flies like Mrs Simpsons, Woolly Buggers, Hamills Killers, Tom Jones, Golden Humungas or any other generalist wet fly. It also pays to have a small nymph trailing for those more finicky fish. Start with a slow figure-of-eight retrieve and if this is not working, really get those flies working with some fairly quick strips to get those fish excited and wanting to chase them down.

Flyfishing this way generates

some smashing strikes and is great fun when fishing with light gear.

The best lakes to hit this month for your trout fix are Jounama Dam, Tantangara Dam, Talbingo Dam, Three Mile Dam, Paddys River Dam and Lake Eucumbene.

No matter what lake you decide to hit this month, it will be very cold, so rug up before you go and take a spare set of clothes just in case. If you are dressed appropriately, you don’t really feel the cold and can enjoy your day fishing, but if you are not warm enough it can make for a very long day on the water or make you cut your trip short, so at this time of the year it pays to over dress rather than under dress.

Fishing will slow down, but cod are still biting continuing decrease of the water temperature.

Reports of golden perch have slowed right down and can be expected to continue to fall.

With there being fewer anglers on the water and the fishing becoming slower,

MILDURA

Rob Oswin

Over the last month there have been consistent reports of fish being caught, but reports of fish being caught on bait have been slowly down considerably.

Fishing with lures has remained the best approach to catching perch and cod. Smaller cod and even cod up to the magic metre are still being caught, mostly on hardbody lures. Lighter colours such as light greens, pinks and yellows have been much more effective than darker colours lately.

With the cold weather having set in there have been fewer and fewer people on the river, which has been great for anglers who have been out, giving them an empty river to fish. The fishing for cod has been good due to the cod attacking lures of just about any size. There have been plenty of fish being

it’s a great time to ensure everyone who is on and around the river is being safe, as fewer people around means more room for fishing, but also less chance of others being in the area in the case of an accident on the river.

Now is also an excellent

time to catch up on boat and gear maintenance and to top up on any lost or damaged tackle and lures.

Remember to stay safe. There isn’t much better than sitting around the fire after a long day on the river.

Your Trusted Local Supplier for:

Smaller cod and even cod up to the magic metre are still being caught, mostly on hardbody lures. caught anywhere from Wentworth right through to Red Cliffs with the Merbein Common producing some excellent fishing. There have even been some reports of catfish being caught around the willow

trees around Gol Gol. The fishing can be expected to slow down rapidly over the next month. This comes after the annual event of the bardi moths flying and with the added effect of the

Also supplying: • waterski equipment • wakeboards • kneeboards • tubes • life jackets • clothing • fishing gear

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Anglers need to rug up as fish continue to bite over the past month for large golden perch and a few smaller cod. Anglers fishing small yabbies close to the timber are reporting good catches of perch up to 48cm and Murray cod to 65cm.

A few carp have also been caught but they seem to have

ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

A sprinkle of rain and a few foggy mornings have teeth chattering on those pre-dawn fishing adventures. The first of the cool weather is upon us and from a fishing prospective it’s time to rug up and keep warm. Locally the fishing continues to be quite productive with both Murray cod and golden perch continuing to bite on bait and lures.

In the Murray River above and below the road bridge at Swan Hill Murray cod to 90cm have been landed on trolled lures. It’s a similar story downstream

also been landed at these locations with all the cod being well undersized fish.

Local reports at Mildura have seen the golden perch bite slow a little, but some good-sized fish are still available for anglers casting and trolling lures. Anglers

numerous rock bars upstream of the Wentworth lock.

Further down along the Murray River several reports of very large cod have started to filter through from around Waikerie with cod up to 130cm caught on trolled hardbodied lures. Very good

The author with a great Murray cod caught from the Darling River on a Goodoo Bait lure. around Wood Wood and Tooleybuc where Murray cod continue to bite on lures and bait. The Murray River at these locations has fished

really well this season and looks set to continue well into the cooler months.

The Wakool River has been fishing exceptionally

Brian Pilon with a Murray cod, which he caught trolling on the Murray River.

StumpJumper lures have been the go-to lure over the past month and Ryan Pilon wasn’t disappointed with the results.

slowed a little since the water temperature dropped.

Back to the Murray River, Boundary Bend has had a steady run of golden perch to 45cm and Murray cod to 75cm caught on bait.

Scrub worms, small yabbies and grubs are working best.

Robinvale, Euston and Wemen are all producing golden perch on bait and lures. A few small cod have

bobbing small yabbies and shrimp are also catching perch to 47cm. In the Murray River at Wentworth several Murray cod to 90cm have been caught trolling larger lures. This is great news as few cod of this size have been caught since the black water. These fish have no doubt made their way back out of the Darling River and into the Murray to once more take up residence on the

numbers of large golden perch are also being caught at this location.

In the Darling River Murray cod up to and over a metre in length have been landed on lures and bait both above and below Pooncarie.

With a few good fish still keen to bite on both bait and lures it might be time to rug up and head out on the water.

Dream fishing for angry natives in the drawdown YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

It’s always an exciting time in and around Lake Mulwala during a drawdown and we’re currently in the middle of it. Be it fishing, fossicking or sightseeing, it’s something not to be missed. The primary reason for a drawdown is to kill off the lake’s invasive weed Egeria densa with prolonged exposure to frosts.

Along with this, it allows maintenance work to numerous other infrastructure around the lake.

For the fishers, it’s a great opportunity to get out and look at things from a fish’s perspective with water levels being dropped around 4.5m (14ft). To see the amazing timber structure that lies on the lake’s bed gives you a new perspective 68

JULY 2018

on how to fish this iconic lake for the best results.

To say one technique will always outperform another will bring you unstuck. One day it’s trolled hardbodies, the next spinnerbaits, and the

next swimbaits. The most common denominator during this time is that you need to be using lures that can be worked shallower than usual, with water depths ranging from 1.5-4m on average.

The most popular areas are tight to the edges and drop-offs in the Murray River.

Boat launching remains limited with the Yacht Club ramp at the end of River Road being the best and

Barb Hewat along with grandsons Archie and Jack with her 110cm monster Murray cod.

safest option at present. This ramp remains accessible regardless of lake level as it launches you directly into the Murray River that runs through the lake. While on water, take care; there are many snags just under the water line and they will not move!

Numerous do-gooders suggest the lake should be shut to fishing during this time, because it’s too easy and like ‘shooting fish in a barrel.’ That can’t be further from the truth. Sure, when the cod are on capture rates are strong but suggesting that to the many who have gone fishless here over the past few days and they will say you are a fool. What is turning them on and off at the moment is anybody’s guess.

Looking back, during the earlier stages of the drawdown fishing was super.

Numerous cod measuring well in excess of the magical metre mark were reported with a 126cm beast being the best of the lot. To give

everybody a mention who’s achieved this feat would take forever.

As the flats become exposed, the water dirtied and temperatures dropped, things slowed to a complete halt for a few days. Lately I’m hearing of a few captures that give some optimism for the near future.

On a bright note, Fisheries reported that during two days of solid patrolling the lake over a hectically busy weekend, they only saw five cod of legal size that were being kept. From the hundreds fishing, it’s very rewarding to see that most anglers nowadays are practicing catch and release.

As the fishing slows down, organisation for the 2018-19 fishing competition season ramps up. If you are keen to get your name added to the Golden Dollars, Cod Classic, Dash 4 Cash, His and Hers Partners Classic or Cod Nationals mailing lists, shoot me an email at codclassic@bigpond.com.

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Yellas are feeding hard ORANGE

Michael Collison thegurusgear@gmail.com

The fishing in recent weeks has been really good since the cold set in. The cooler weather held off for a while, but now that it’s here the fish are feeding hard. With the cold water temperatures the yellowbelly aren’t moving

around too much, and the best way to target them at the moment is to use soft plastics around the trees.

I recently competed in the AYC Windamere Classic, and the way we went about catching the yellas in the comp was with plastics around submerged trees. We found that the best soft bait on the day was a black Gulp 3” Minnow Grub. We generally

fished it between 3m-4m, and occasionally further down to 11m. We found a tree that the fish were sitting at, around 3-4m down, and they were easy to catch. However, the average size was smaller at around 1.8kg to 2.8kg.

We were after bigger fish, and found the big girls sitting at around 11m. Most of the fish were 4kg+, but they were very hard to catch and to get to.

A typical cold start for a winter fish.

After moving up and down the leader board over the weekend, we ended up with 3rd spot out of 60 boats, so we were really happy with that. In total, over 400 yellowbelly were weighed in and released, so as a whole this dam is fishing really well for this time of the year. If

you’re willing to brave the cold, you’re in with a good chance of catching some giant footballs.

• For all your tackle needs, as well as caravans, camper trailers and marine and outdoor equipment, drop into Canobolas Caravan & Marine

Centre. You can find them on 166-172 Bathurst Road, Orange, call them on 02 6361 3014 or visit their website at www.canobolasmarine.com. au. Canobolas is the local supplier for Jayco, Quintrex, XFI, Skicraft, Mercury, Evinrude and more.

ALBACORE BLUEFIN TUNA ESCOLAR FATTY TUNA FRESHWATER EEL HALIBUT JELLYFISH MACKEREL MONKFISH HORSE MACKEREL RED SNAPPER STRIPED JACK SQUID SARDINE URCHIN The winners at the AYC Windamere Classic. Over 400 TAMAGO YELLOWFIN TUNA yellowbelly were weighed in over the weekend.

YELLOWTAIL

You can’t help but be happy with a solid football yella like this one.

18

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2 PRIZES N I 24th 000 , 0 $2 OV E R

Registration from Friday 24th August, 8am at the Park For further information contact Grabine Lakeside State Park find us on facebook/ Grabine Freshwater Fishing Tournament

(02) 4835 2345

grabinefishing@gmail.com

70

JULY 2018

The Grabine Classic is proudly supported by:

AL

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS FISH THAT ARE USED FOR SUSHI

ALBACORE BLUEFIN TUNA ESCOLAR FATTY TUNA FRESHWATER EEL HALIBUT JELLYFISH MACKEREL MONKFISH

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Valley Hill Rocketeer Slicer

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack.

SEND ENTRIES TO: NSW Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

NSW JULY 2018

Phone (day):

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

The Rocketeer Slicer from Japanese tackle giant Valley Hill is a real feat of Japanese design and engineering.

The Rocketeer Slicer has a unique metal plate at the nose of the jig, which lets you secure line in two places, and ensures a superior swimming action even through debris. In addition, its tail system lets you cast more effectively into the wind.

The Rocketeer Slicer is available in two sizes (3.0 and 3.5) and 13 different colour combinations. It has proven to be highly effective on Australian squid. www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Bob Jordan from Botany, who was last month’s winner of the Find-aWord Competition!

Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize.

Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for May is N Langley of Macquarie Fields, who won a Halco giveaway valued at $300.

All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Roweth of Millthorpe, G Sanson of Melrose Park, K Thompson of Ermington, R Jones of Werris Creek, W Farlow of Angourie, R Moore of Wingham, B Schnitzer of Cooma, D Chandler of Theodore, R Kresevic of Canley Vale, M MacMurray of Eglinton, K Chubb of Caringbah, M Williams of Millthorpe, M Ryall of Singleton, C Cooper of Boorowa, B Hall of Balgownie, D Armstrong of Oberon, L Jeffs of Gateshead, G Mitchell of Bellbird.

Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

MAJOR FIND THE PRIZE

Congratulations to the following readers, who won the Gamakatsu Major Prize draws: 1st J Paul of Inverell, who won a $1000 of Frogleys Offshore products; 2nd F Heiniger of Woombye, who won a $500 of Frogleys Offshore products; 3rd D Skewes of Bli Bli, won a $200 of Frogleys Offshore products.

Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Sweetlip

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for May were: 10, 12, 16, 21, 26, 30, 35, 38, 42, 45, 48, 53, 70, 85, 95. – NSWFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for May were: J Gowan of Werombi, M Klumper of Nambucca Heads, Z Mehmet of Ingleburn, M King of Bellbird, J Coates of Gwandalan, O Ross of Albion Park Rail, B Bailey of Ulladulla, G Wade of Empire Bay, D Turner of Kincumber, P Skinner of Tuross Head, L Robley of Noraville, C Portelli of Colyton, B Vincent of Nambucca Heads, D Sullivan of Aberdeen, D Spinks of Scone, R Derrick of Barraba, R Durie of Holt, M Dunford of Young, B Jordan of Botany, C Wood of Penrith, J Wilson of Boronia, D Harvey of Strathpine, S

Answer:

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR

Brought to you by

2018

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

7-8 Jul

ABT BASS Pro Round 4

Lake Boondooma

www.abt.org.au

11-12 Jul

ABT BASS Pro Round 5

Cania Dam

23 Jul

Round 3 WSBB East Coast Bream Series

Hawkesbury

29 Jul

ABT BASS Electric Series Round 4

Lake Macdonald

11-12 Aug

ABT BREAM Series Round 8

Lake Macquarie

24-26 Aug

Grabine Freshwater Tournament

www.grabinefishing.com.au

25-26 Aug

ABT BASS Electric Series Grand Final

www.abt.org.au

Wivenhoe Dam

8-9 Sep

ABT BASS Pro Round 6

Clarence River

15-16 Sep

Round 6 Hobie Kayak Bream Series

Central Coast

22-23 Sep

ABT BASS Pro Grand Final

Lake Somerset

23 Sep

Round 4 WSBB East Coast Bream Series

Lake Macquarie

13-14 Oct

ABT BREAM Series Round 9

South West Rocks

20-21 Oct

ABT BASS Australian Open

Lake Glenbawn

28 Oct

GF WSBB East Coast Bream Series

Parramatta River

3-4 Nov

Round 8 Hobie Kayak Bream Series

Lake Macquarie

19 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 1

Kinchant Dam (evening event)

20 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 2

Teemburra Dam (evening event)

21 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 3

Peter Faust (Night Championship)

23-24 Nov

ABT BARRA Tour Round 4

Peter Faust (evening event)

30 Nov-2 Dec

ABT BREAM Series Grand Final

Marlo

www.abt.org.au

www.wsbb.com.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.hobiefishing.com.au

www.abt.org.au

www.wsbb.com.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.wsbb.com.au

www.hobiefishing.com.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

www.abt.org.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours.

Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name.

72

JULY 2018

TTs R6 Hobie Kayak Bream Series The Hobie Road Show headed north for the TT Lures Round 6 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series

Congratulations must go to Jamie McKeown from Pimpama in Queensland for his win in Round 6 at the

second and final session, with a two day combined 6/6 bag of bream weighing in at 4.09kg.

The top three placed anglers were Jamie McKeown, Steve Crawley and Andrew Hancox.

10, returning to the site of the 2016 Australian Championship on the spectacular Gold Coast.

Gold Coast in Queensland.

McKeown moved from a very close 2nd place on day one to take the win in the

The runner up was Steve Crawley from Queensland with his 3.85kg 6/6 bag of bream, and 3rd place was

Steve Crawley won the Atomic Big Bream cheque with his 1.15kg kicker fish.

taken out by Andrew Hancox from New South Wales with a 6/6 3.82kg bag over the two sessions.

The Atomic Big Bream winner was Steve Crawley with a solid 1.15kg.

Jamie said it was painted Cranka Crabs that scored him the win.

“These were definitely the winning lures for me over the weekend,” he said.

“I usually use olive or brown but I noticed a few weeks back what colour the crabs were on the bridges around the Gold Coast, so I had a go at replicating them. I would start each morning with olive RESULTS Place Angler 1 Jamie McKeown 2 Steve Crawley 3 Andrew Hancox 4 Simon Morley 5 Warren Cossell 6 Scott Sandilands 7 Jack Gammie 8 Michael Maas 9 Scott Marcinkowski 10 Guy Struthers and when the bite slowed I changed to the painted crabs.

It kept the bite constant throughout the two days when it seemed to almost shut down for the other competitors fishing close by.

“I’m not certain whether it was the fact that the colour was very similar to what the bream eat there or the fact that it was different from what the fish had seen all weekend, but it worked. The

Jamie McKeown’s winning Cranka Crabs. The top crab is olive, and the others are custom painted. other add on that kept me in the strike zone longer was a 10g weight glued to the bottom of the 65mm crabs.”

State QLD QLD NSW NSW QLD QLD NSW QLD NSW QLD

September. The location is the beautiful Brisbane Waters near Gosford, which is possibly a new favourite

Division Total Prize Open 4.09 kg “$1,500.00” Open 3.85kg $890.00 Open 3.82kg $540.00 Open 3.76kg $360.00 Open 3.54kg $270.00 Open 3.50kg Youth 3.43kg Open 3.35kg Open 3.34kg Open 3.28kg

The next event is the Cranka Lures Round 7, to be held on the Central Coast of NSW from 15-16

bream fishery on the Hobie tour. For more information visit www.hobiefishing.com. au. - HKBS

Hobie Bream St Georges Basin Lowrance Round 5 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 10 at St Georges

tournament – weighing in at 1.41kg. It was caught on Day Two of the event.

www.fishin.com.au ONLINE TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES ZMAN GRUBZ

The top three: Andrew Hancox, Andrew Death and Kris Hickson.

Jack Gammie took out the Youth division.

Basin in New South Wales was won by Andrew Hancox from New South Wales.

Andrew Death (NSW) finished second and Kris Hickson (NSW) was third.

Warren Forbes from New South Wales caught the Atomic Big Bream – the biggest bream of the

RESULTS Place Angler 1 Andrew Hancox 2 Andew Death 3 Kris Hickson 4 David Shanahan 5 Pete Cook 6 Jason Reid 7 Mitchell Maddison 8 Grant Kime 9 Jack Gammie 10 Michael Walker

NSW angler Jack Gammie took out the Youth division, finishing with

CRANKA CRABS

a bag of 3.75kg for the two-day event. This also placed him 7th overall. - FM BENT MINNOWS

State Division NSW Open NSW Open NSW Open VIC Open NSW Open NSW Open NSW NSW Open NSW Youth NSW Open

Total 4.55kg 4.51kg 4.26kg 4.18kg 4.18kg 3.84kg 3.83kg 3.76kg 3.75 kg 3.62kg

Prize “$2,560.00” “$1,330.00” $860.00 $400.00 $330.00 $300.00 $270.00 $230.00 $200.00 $170.00

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73

Morgan moves in at Mandurah

STORM

Queenslander and Fishing Monthly Magazines publisher Steve Morgan travelled west to the Mandurah BREAM event with winning the furthest thing from his mind. As it happened, a reduced arena and a shutdown of the bite meant that he rode the weight of a solitary 1.2kg black bream on day two of the event to victory.

Mandurah is a unique black bream fishery. With a massive estuary called Peel Inlet looking amazing (but barren of black bream), the fishing usually happens in the local Mandurah canals, which have fewer but bigger fish, or the Murray/Serpentine rivers, which hale many more smaller bream.

On day one of the event, calm weather meant that the entire arena was open to fish, and local gun, Jayden

Steve Morgan secured his 11th ABT BREAM win and his second in Western Australia with the close-fought Mandurah victory. a 1.20kg Mandurah canal fatty to the scales and moving from 4th to 1st in

a finish more fitting of a Bradbury than a Morgan.

“When I realised how

Morgan described the victory as a Steve Bradbury finish, with the anglers in front of him all failing to weigh a bream on the wind-reduced Sunday arena.

Webb, bagged a solid 5-fish limit for 2.88kg up the Murray River to have daylight between him and the rest of the field.

With a strong wind warning on the Sunday, the tournament was completed in a reducedboundary arena, which left the door open in the trying conditions.

Getting only one bite all day, Morgan landed the fish that mattered, presenting

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

74

JULY 2018

Scan the QR code to see the winners’ interview.

WINNING TACKLE Rod: Daiwa Mebaru 7’8” MX 78MML (released August 18) Reel: Daiwa Exist 2500LT Line: Yamatoyo Spinning Fluoro (4lb) Lure: Z-Man 2.5” Slim SwimZ in motor oil Jighead: JA’s Jigs 1/32oz round head with #4 Owner hook.

tough the fishing was in the strong winds on the Sunday, I thought that a big bite would make a real difference, but I didn’t think that I was going to be the one who got it,” Morgan said after the presentation.

He caught all of his weigh-in fish on one outfit. It was a Daiwa 7’9” Mebaru rod paired with a new Daiwa Exist LT 2500 reel. Spooled with 4lb Yamatoyo Spinning Fluoro, Morgan used this rig to cast, pitch and skip a motor oil coloured ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ in and around docks and pontoons. It was rigged on a JA Jigs Round Head 1/32oz head with a #4 Owner hook, made by Albany’s Jim Allen.

“I actually rigged the little swimbait on that hook because I was out of anything bigger,” Morgan explained, “but when I did it, it looked awesome in the water with the body rolling from side to side. And as an added bonus, it skip-cast amazingly.

“Since, I’ve found that plenty of black bream guys use small hooks like that because it helps with the hookups on blacks.”

Morgan fished the lower Murray on day one for a 4/5, 1.85kg bag before adding the 1.2kg brute on day two.

TOP 10 BOATERS Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Angler Fish Weight Payout Steve Morgan, QLD 5/10 3.05kg $2,000 + $200 Pro option Jayden Webb, WA 5/10 2.88kg $1,100 Cam Whittam, Vic 4/10 2.58kg $800 Shane Owens, WA 5/10 2.19kg $725 + $250 1st Mercury Greg Cooper, WA 5/10 2.09kg $150 2nd Mercury Mark Crompton, NSW 3/10 1.90kg Paul Burton, WA 3/10 1.86kg $100 3rd Mercury Paul Siemaszko, WA 4/10 1.85kg Warren Carter, Vic 3/10 1.44kg Matthew Jeffery, WA 2/10 1.28kg For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Webb Narrowly Misses Maiden Win Native West Australian Jayden Webb is a perennial contender on the Mandurah arena and wasn’t rattled when the event was relocated to Mandurah from Perth because of bridgeworks cutting the arena in half.

Webb grew up fishing the Murray River, holidaying on Yunderup Island since birth, so he had a solid plan on day one of the event that

he executed to perfection.

“I fished man-made structure early and deep, snaggy banks later on in the day,” Webb said, “I’d have a couple of casts to the structure with an OSP Dunk first, and after that, I’d throw in an Ecogearaqua Bream Prawn rigged weightless on a Gamakatsu worm hook.”

The pattern proved productive for Webb, who

DUFFRODS BIG BAG Mike Hodges’ day one bag secured the Duffrods Big Bag prize for his first day’s efforts. His five biggest of his dozen legal bream for the day went 2.95kg.

DAIWA J-BRAID BIG BREAM ACT’s Stuart Walker boxed a cracking 1.38kg bream from the Murray River to take home $500 and a Daiwa J-Braid pack. It was fooled by a ZMan motor oil coloured grub fished along a laydown snag.

landed around a dozen legal bream on the first day and justified the 100 minute drive from the start line through the various slow-zones.

“I landed basically everything that I hooked on the Saturday, and you can’t ask for any more than that,” he said.

Webb used identical outfits for both techniques: Shimano gear consisting of Zodias rods, Twinpower 1000 reels, Mission Complete 14lb braided line and Ocea 6lb leaders.

It was a heartbreaking day on the Sunday to land a bream only a few millimetres short of legal length, and a single Sunday fish of any legal size would have secured him the win.

“It’s great to get the national circuit over here to WA and fish against the eastern anglers,” he concluded.

BREAM SERIES

Perth’s Jayden Webb landed a dozen bream on the Saturday to head into day two with the lead. His fish came in the Murray River on a mixture of OSP Dunks and Ecogearaqua Bream Prawns.

2.5” Slim SwimZ in motor oil Scan the QR code to see day one highlights.

Scan the QR code to see day two highlights.

Canberra’s Stuart Walker landed this stunning 1.38kg Murray River bream on the first day to take the $500 Daiwa J-Braid Big Bream from the back of the boat.

Magic Mike’s Second 2018 Non-Boater Win Eastern non-boaters filled the podium in the Non-Boater division, with Victorian Mike Hodges taking the trophy.

Fishing with Jayden Webb on the Saturday, the best five of his nine legal bream landed on the

first day weighed in at a tournament-best 2.95kg, gaining him the Duffrods Big Bag and what turned out to be an insurmountable lead for the event.

Improvising in a baitfishrich environment, Hodges distilled his presentation

down to a Squidgy Flickbait rigged on a Gamakatsu Wide Gape #4 hook, which was weighted with a 0.4 BB Split Shot (which weighs about 1/40oz).

Hodges’ preferred outfit was 7ft 1-3kg Nitro Vapour rod, matched to a Fin-Nor

Affinity 2.0, which he loaded with 6lb Berkley Nanofil, with a 3m FC Rock 5lb leader.

“The key to the presentation was to keep

the bait just moving along the bottom. Then you’d feel the fish nipping at it and eventually one would eat it properly,” Mike said.

“I’ve been carrying these baits around for years but they were exactly what the fish wanted this weekend,” he concluded.

TOP 9 NON BOATERS Place Angler 1 Michael Hodges, Vic 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Fish 5/10

Weight 2.95kg

Payout $200 Hobie +Costa + Prize Pack + $300 Pro option Stuart Walker, ACT 3/10 2.78kg $100 Hobie + $500 + Prize Pack James Morgan, ACT 3/10 1.36kg $75 Hobie + Prize Pack Graeme Kovacevic, WA 2/10 1.22kg Prize Pack Michael Sammut, WA 2/10 0.83kg Prize Pack Brendan McNamara, Vic 1/10 0.63kg Prize Pack Andy Mitchell, WA 1/10 0.62kg Prize Pack Chris Hill, WA 1/10 0.56kg Prize Pack Don Johnson, WA 1/10 0.32kg Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Victorian Michael Hodges collected his second non-Boater trophy of 2018 on the back of a cracking first-day bag of 5/5 for 2.95kg.

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Allwood’s first ABT Qualifier win

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Queenslander Terry Allwood wasn’t that confident fishing jerkbaits for Australian bass coming into the Hunter Valley swing of the Rapala BASS Pro Tour, but by the end of the Deps Qualifier at Lake St Clair, he’d accumulated a pile more experience and a $3,000 winner’s cheque to help him add to his collection of suspending hardbodies.

Weighing a 12/12, 10.88kg limit over the three sessions, Allwood rode the early morning jerkbait bite followed by a later-inthe-day plastic pattern to a 300g victory over fellow Queenslander, Matt Johnson.

It was his first and only ABT Qualifier win after a recent Grand Final victory at Bjelke-Petersen Dam. The Atomic sponsored angler used a slew of his supporter’s gear to catch his bass, including Samurai 181 (3-6lb) rods coupled with Daiwa Certate 2004 and Luvias 2004 reels

Being a clear water impoundment, St Clair’s bass are a magnificent golden colour.

In ABT BASS’s unique shared weight format, boaters and non-boaters combine to compile a limit of four bass per session. Terry Allwood and Matt Flynn combined perfectly to weigh big bags and take their respective trophies.

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

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spooled with Unitika Light Jigging DLX 10lb braid and Unitika 6lb Nightgame FC Rock leaders.

His go-to plastic was an Atomic Plazo 2.5” Paddle Tail (avocado glitter colour and cut down to about 2”) with a 1/6oz Seekerz jighead (#1 hook) while the jerkbait preference was a clear 61mm Jackall Squirrel with an orange back and yellow head.

The outfits remained the same regardless of whether he was throwing the plastic or hardbody.

“I fished the Falbrook arm and had an amazing practice,” Allwood admitted, “there were fish everywhere and they were basically receptive to everything. At around 10am the bite slowed down a little and I made my way into the main basin fishing any shade pockets I could find and the fish kept coming.”

And that’s how the tournament-winning plan was formed.

Allwood noted that the jerkbait fish tended to be bigger, while the plastic eating fish were smaller and more plentiful.

“I suppose that if I was to identify if I was doing

anything different, it’d be that I tried to fish the jerkbait gently and quietly. Rather than trying to rip the lure hard, I’d rather swim it down and gently twitch and pause it. That was getting better results for me,” he said.

“Also with the plastics, I tried to sink them into pockets in the weeds. You’d feel a little tick in the line, you’d strike and they’d be on,” Terry continued.

And there’s no arguing with the results.

“Anglers are always happy when they are catching fish and the lake didn’t disappoint during the event, with a bite as good as any we’d seen in recent times resulting in lots of limits to the weighmaster,” he concluded.

WINNING TACKLE Rod: Samurai 181 3-6lb Reel: Daiwa Certate 2004 Line: Unitika Light Jigging DLX 10lb Leader: Unitika Nightgame FC Rock 6lb Jerkbait: Jackall Squirrel 61 Plastic: Atomic Plazo 2.5” Paddle Tail (avocado glitter) with 1/6oz Seekerz #1 jighead

TOP 10 BOATERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg) Payout

Terry Allwood 12/12 10.88kg $3,000 Matt Johnson 12/12 10.58kg $1,500 Graham Ford 12/12 10.40kg $1,000 Kristoffer Hickson 12/12 10.37kg $900 Matthew Langford 12/12 10.10kg $800 Simon Marchant 12/12 9.89kg $700 Brian Everingham 12/12 9.60kg $600 Mark Lennox 12/12 9.35kg Troy Danes 12/12 9.31kg $250 Evinrude Bonus Glenn Hayter 12/12 9.27kg For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Johnson makes it a Queensland double Camping with Terry Allwood, it seems as though the Queensland camp pooled knowledge to defeat the local anglers on their home turf.

“I fished one of the arms and Terry fished the other,” Matt Johnson said, “and our techniques were very similar.”

Johnson used a 61mm Jackall Squirrel in albino chartreuse and lime squash colours to catch his quality fish at the expense of number of bites.

“My co-anglers were happy to throw plastics and that suited me just fine,” Johnson said, “they could keep the bag ticking over

GARMIN BIG BASS Again, the Garmin Big Bass came from the back of the boat, with non-boater Caine Goward winning $500 for landing a magnificent 1.44kg St Clair bass on a Keitech Easy Shiner.

DUFFRODS BIG BAG Kris Hickson saved the best until last on St Clair, weighing the Duffrods Big Bag with Matthew Flynn on the last session. Their 4.20kg limit was one of only two bags that topped the 4kg mark all weekend.

while I chased kicker fish.

It was only when it calmed right off on the Sunday that I threw a plastic too.”

Johnson’s kit consisted of a BarraBass P704 made on a North Fork blank, a 25 sized Quantum reel, 10lb Siglon PE-8 braid and 10lb Siglon V-Hard leader.

When he fished a plastic, it was a Keitech 3” Swing Impact in Baby Ayu colour on a 1/6oz TT jighead.

Unlike others, Johnson only used short pauses with his jerkbait.

“For me, the bass would hit the suspending lure on the first second of the pause, so I tended to work my bait a little faster then everyone else,” Matt said, proving that if you fish with confidence, the bass will respond.

BASS PR O

Matt Johnson followed up a forgettable Glenbawn performance with a nearperfect campaign on Lake St Clair - mainly using jerkbaits in the clear water.

Atomic Plazo 2.5” Paddle Tail in avocado glitter

Sink and slow wind

Non-boater Caine Goward won $500 for landing a magnificent 1.44kg St Clair bass on a Keitech Easy Shiner.

Flynn Follows up BASS Electric Convention win Proving that his 2017 BASS Electric Convention win wasn’t a fluke, Lismore’s Matt Flynn added a non-boater trophy to the cabinet. Confident in the jerkbait bite, he

added fish to the will with a Jackall Squirrel in Suji colour and on a Keitech soft plastic.

“I’d use small, fast rips and long pauses to get the reaction,” Flynn said, “and I mean long pauses. It was

common for a bass to eat the bait after it was suspending for over five seconds.”

Learning to bass fish in lakes, Flynn’s learning curve was steep on St Clair.

He wasn’t really confident throwing a plastic, but

caught plenty of fish on a 2” Keitech Easy Shiner.

Flynn’s gear consisted of a Shimano Rarenium 2500 reel, NS Hurricane 4-10lb rod, 10lb Sunline

braid and 8lb Sunline FC Rock leader.

“I drew Terry Allwood and Kris Hickson, so when you’re fishing with guys like that and throwing back

800g fish for upgrades you are going to have a good time,” he said.

It seems as though the trophy and prizes were just a bonus.

TOP 10 NON BOATERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg) Payout

Matthew Flynn 12/12 11.78kg Bassman prize Pack Caine Goward 12/12 10.73kg Hobie Polarizes sunnies + $500 Lochie Rutherford 12/12 10.40kg Hobie Polarizes sunnies Dylan Byron 11/12 10.11kg Tonic sunnies Scott McIntyre 12/12 9.56kg Samurai Reaction rod Paul Mazaroli 12/12 9.55kg Prize pack David Hedges 12/12 9.46kg Prize pack Cole Hutchinson 12/12 9.30kg Prize pack Brendan Pieschel 12/12 9.16kg Prize pack Joe Smith 12/12 8.91kg Prize pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Non-Boater Matt Flynn drew Kris Kickson on one of the days and enjoyed a fantastic jerkbait bite.

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Danes Tops Glenbawn at the top

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Blue Mountains resident, 40 year old Troy Danes lives four hours from Glenbawn, but fished it like a seasoned local on his way to a dominant win at the biggest ABT BASS event held in recent years. Taking $3750 home for his efforts, it was a two-pronged approach that gained Danes the trophy and he plied his trade in the upper reaches of the lake on both tournament days.

“I fished the colour change right up the top of the dam where the water went from clear to algae coloured,” Danes said. “On the first day it was where the colour change started and on the Sunday it was right up the top of the lake.”

Danes’ key baits included an Ecooda 65mm jerkbait and a Keitech 2” Easy Shiner plastic bait rigged on a 1/6 or 1/8oz TT jighead that he’d painted with his daughter’s nail polish to match the colour.

Troy diligently worked the very top of the lake and took home $3,500 as well as the $250 Evinrude Bonus. he rigged the plastics on 8lb leader.

“The strike zone was definitely where the flat would drop into the old creekbed and we could fish

GARMIN BIG BASS Non-boater Dylan Byron took home the $500 Garmin Big Bass after presenting a 1.28kg specimen to the weighmaster. It ate a muscadine coloured Slider Crappie Grub on a 1/6oz TT jighead hopped in around 12ft of water at ‘the Boot.’ There was some quality air-rooting when it hit the net.

Leading the event on the Saturday meant Troy copped a lot of media attention on the Sunday from Peter Phelps.

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

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“On the Saturday, the jerkbait yielded quality fish while the plastic delivered numbers,” Troy continued, “ and it was amazing how long you could let the jerkbait sit before they ate it. It could sit stationary for 10 seconds before getting hammered.”

The Sunday, however, was when the teamwork came into play.

“I’d rip and fish the jerkbait fast – probably too fast – but when I ripped the hard lure hard, it’d stir up the bass and Collin, my non-boater, would clean them up on the plastic. It really was Who Shares Wins,” Danes said.

Troy used very similar outfits to fish the different baits – 1-4kg Duffrods Broken Bones with Shimano Stradic Ci4 reels that were spooled with 6lb Sunline PE-4. With the jerkbaits, he fished a 10lb V-Hard leader, whereas

the trees on this breakline.

I’d wind the Ecooda down to this point and then twitch it and let it sit,” Troy concluded.

As well as the winner’s cheque, Danes also added the $250 cash Evinrude Bonus to his payday for being the highest placed angler running an Evinrude.

Dylan Byron earned the Garmin Big Bass from the back of the boat.

DUFFRODS BIG BAG Greg Beattie started and finished the qualifier with a bang. Indeed, his final session 4.37kg was the Duffrods Big Bag of the event. We don’t know what happened in the Session 2 donut, but it definitely cost him a shot at the win.

TOP 10 BOATERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg) Payout

Troy Danes 12/12 11.96 $3,500 + $250 Evinrude Bonus Tom Slater 12/12 11.43 $2,000 Kristoffer Hickson 12/12 10.63 $1150 Mitchell Cone 12/12 10.57 $900 Glenn Hayter 12/12 10.28 $800 Scott Hutchison 12/12 10.19 $700 Grant Clements 11/12 12.01 $600 Greg Beattie 8/12 8.01 $600 Grant Manusu 10/12 7.76 $600 Paul Aldous 9/12 7.74 For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

Slater swims skirted jigs for second New NSW resident and ex-Queenslander Tom Slater obviously feels quite at home at Lake Glenbawn with his second-placed performance continuing a string of high placings at the Hunter Valley venue.

Each morning Slater started in ‘the Narrows’ – a section of the lake about halfway to the 8knot zone.

Targeting shallow rocky points with scattered weed and small shrubs, Slater used a Daiwa Double Clutch 75SP in a new colour called lemon sight special, which will be released as part of a new range of Double Clutch lures in August this year.

“The first morning myself and my non-boating partner Alan Clarke put two nice fish in the boat using the Double Clutches. We then looked to fill out our limit using small soft plastics before heading to weigh-in around the middle of the time zone.”

“The afternoon sessions were where I was really confident,” explained Slater.

“I keyed into a really good skirted jig bite fishing as shallow as 30cm out to about 10ft. The fish were up shallow, holding on standing and fallen timber and I targeted them with a Pro’s Factory 3/8oz Motion

Ecooda Jerkbait 65mm Pearl Shrimp

Jig with a 3” craw trailer.”

His rod of choice was a prototype Daiwa rod, which he is designing as part of a new range, which will be released later this year. “My jig rod I’m working on is 7’2” in length, rated 10-17lb and medium power – it’s the perfect Australian jig rod for fishing these lakes and rivers using a skirted jig.”

Slater paired his prototype rod with a Daiwa Steez A baitcast reel in 8.1:1 ratio, which he notes is essential for fishing a skirted jig. His line of choice was the new Daiwa J-Braid Grand in 20lb and a Daiwa J-Thread FC fluorocarbon leader in 12lb.

BASS PR O

Tom Slater’s infatuation with skirted jigs paid off with a solid second place in the Hunter Valley lake.

Keitech Easy Shiner 2” Lime Chartreuse

The highest placed Evinrude owner at each ABT BASS Pro event gets a $250 bonus.

Khouri SwimZ to maiden ABT non-boater win Topping the non-boater division, Sydney’s Tony Khouri was a popular winner. Sharing a boat with Troy Danes and Mitchell Cone, Tony’s primary weapon was a cut-down ZMan Slim SwimZ plastic in motor oil colour that he’d trim to about 1.5” long.

Tony’s just as adept at using this bait on the Costa BREAM Tour as he is using it on the Rapala BASS Circuit.

Rigging it on a Dam Deep 1/8oz jighead, Tony fished it across upper

lake breaklines on the first day, catching fish where the water dropped into the old creek bed. On the second day, fishing mid-lake with Mitchell Cone, he would slow roll it deeper in the water column.

Khouri fished the baits on a couple of Daiwa Battler Water Zombies – one with an Exist 2500 and the other fitted with a Shimano Stella 2500. Both were spooled with Sunline Castaway 10lb and terminated with Toray and Sunline Invisible fluorocarbon leaders between 4lb and 6lb.

“It was great to fish as a team in this BASS format,” Khouri recounted after the event, “The afternoon session ended with a bang and we were frantically upgrading bass after bass in the last few minutes.”

A participant in ABT’s BREAM and BASS events, it was only a matter of time until Tony topped the non-boaters and added the trophy to his pool room.

“The ABT format is a great way to accelerate your learning curve and I encourage anyone who is interested to sign up.”

Tony Khouri was stoked with his breakthrough ABT win.

TOP 10 NON BOATERS Place Angler 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Fish

Weight (kg) Payout

Tony Khouri 12/12 11.68 Bassman Prize Pack Collin Robinson 12/12 10.85 Hobie Polarized Prize Pack Matthew Flynn 12/12 9.89 Hobie Polarized Prize Pack Dylan Byron 10/12 9.72 Samaki Zing Rod Bill Rose 11/12 9.65 Tonic Sunnies Orton Marchant 10/12 8.67 Prize Pack Alan Clarke 9/12 8.03 Prize Pack Scott Chard 9/12 7.76 Prize Pack Tim Steenhuis 8/12 7.68 Prize Pack Tani Konsul 8/10 7.24 Prize Pack For full result listings, see www.abt.org.au

The Boater and Non-Boater Champions fished together on the Saturday.

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Whispers from the golden age of fishing SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

We recently had the opportunity to analyse 18 species in Bundaberg using a range of datasets from Fisheries Boat Ramp Surveys, to Commercial and Recreational Collected data. We have done this for other centres in the Great Barrier Reef, but in this particular case, Bundaberg was where I learned to fish and spent the majority of my time fishing growing up.

I also knew that my father (Bill Sawynok) kept diaries of that time, so I had a unique chance to compare results then and now. It’s not an ‘apples for apples’ comparison after I factored in the lower technology – we only had a paper sounder and then only at the end of our time there, all navigation even in 1984 was off landmarks and the lures were as basic as they came. Even as a thought experiment it makes for a fascinating comparison.

First – a word on paper diaries vs. app-based diaries.

PAPER – WHAT’S THAT? Two remarkable things happened when I worked through dad’s diaries – beyond the careering journey down memory lane. Let’s say that the nostalgia factor on this article was dialled up to 100. First, I got some fascinating insights into how my father solved problems.

Second, the moment I mentioned I was looking at diaries others were more than willing to give me a look at their journals and that led to me finally grasping the difference between paper and apps.

Paper diaries are reflective. Whether it be in

Some things haven’t changed in 40 years. words, or intricate drawings and diagrams, the fisher is recording the details that were important during the day. In the case of the diaries I selected, there was an eight-year time span and in that time while the recording process remained the same – techniques that were new and explored in detail in 1976 were mundane and routine by 1984.

In other words, in the narrative of a fishing life – there is a clear progression.

I did jokingly comment to dad at one point that he didn’t think ahead because reading diaries written in pencil can provide challenges 40 years on. His response that he never read them and never expected anyone to was very telling.

Paradoxically, recording information on paper is not about recording at all; its real purpose is encoding in memory. By writing or drawing out the critical details of the day, the mind has the chance to sort out precisely what is essential and either commit learnings to memory or start looking for answers to unsolved problems.

That’s why dad has

never reread his diaries – he learned the lessons and committed them to memory.

If you want to get super nerdy, there is an excellent paper that covers the use of diaries in research – journals. sagepub.com/doi/full/10.117 7/160940691101000308.

APP-BASED DIARIES – I AIN’T GOT TIME TO WRITE It might seem odd that someone who designs apps and data collection methods might talk them down, but I am about to. There are two types of apps in the fishing diary space. The first is simple note-based apps, like Evernote, that are typed diaries. While it’s not quite the same as paper, I have no doubt these kinds of apps do the same job – the process of organising the day in your head and typing it up helps the mind sort out what is essential and what needs addressing.

There is the second kind though that automates much of the collection of data (such as wind, temperature, tide, etc.). These kinds of apps are what I call outsourcing apps – you don’t have time to gather that data, so you let the machine do it for you. By

Bill Sawynok’s first tagged fish in the diary.

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outsourcing your memory to the app, you are permanently deleting information from your brain that you would consider on review and that means that lessons based on distorted data. In other words, the immediate learnings committed to memory will be incomplete or downright wrong. The advantage of app-based diaries (if combined with proper data analysis tools) however is that you can see patterns in your activity and the fish that may well not be as obvious when reviewing day by day.

WHICH ONE IS BETTER? I have spent two years pondering this question, and at this point, I am inclined to tip my hand to either paper diaries or typed diaries.

I say this because the quality of analysis in apps is pretty flaky because they don’t capture enough data and aren’t very good with statistics anyway – not that fishers are frequently statisticians. Sit down now, Nicholas Moore – there are always exceptions.

No app can outperform the human fishing brain, yet.

With that out of the way, what did I learn from my trip down memory lane?

MY SAMPLE I chose my sample for this exercise quite carefully selecting three years: 1976, 1980 and 1984. 1976 was our first year in Bundaberg, so this is the period dad was assessing and learning as much as he could about the fishery. 1984 is our last year in Bundaberg, so in choosing the three years I am looking at the beginning, middle and end of his (and by proxy my) fishing life in the town.

One fascinating part of the review of the diaries was the discovery that I wasn’t dealing with a single fisher, but three. In the space of 8 years, Dad had evolved so much that his outlook on the world changed radically.

Each of the three years captures not only changes in fishing style, but the

complete reworking of his fishing philosophy. Bill walked into Bundaberg with very practical concerns and left as a man seeking a much higher purpose. More on that later.

1976 It seems odd to me now that dad started out focused exclusively on putting fish on the table. The focus on fish wasn’t a culinary choice; this was his duty to provide for his family. In this time, while we weren’t poor, interest rates were high, and fish was an essential part of supplementing the weekly meal. In 1976 often the cost of fishing was lower than the price of steak. To be fair, there is only so much you can do with mince.

During this period his concerns were all practical and more than once he expressed deep frustration

The majority of the fishing during this time was with bait and self-sourced bait at that. Rubbish fish (like grinner) were filleted or put back live. Lures were part of the equation, Dad had used lures since the 1950s, but it’s pretty clear that results were the priority. Lures came out when the pressure was off or trolled in areas where baits would be wasted or impractical. Hardbodies and spoons dominated the tackle box.

1980 In 1979 ANSA (Australian National Sportfishing Association) came to town and dad was one of the early members.

ANSA provided him with two essential elements that he didn’t have when he first moved to Bundaberg.

First and foremost, ANSA provided an opportunity for

Bill (1976) with a typical mackerel of the time.

Mackerel were the mainstay in the family diet. when he didn’t bring home fish in the sense of letting people down. Oddly, this is as close as you get to dad engaging with the family, for he is a private man, as was his father and while he wouldn’t express his feelings verbally, his diaries give away his keen sense of duty to his family. He did feel that fishing and earning a salary was an essential contribution to the family wellbeing.

Old fashioned sentiments? In these days, yes. So much more is expected of men in relationships and for the better but maybe we undervalue sacrificing personal needs for the wellbeing of the family.

Fishing wasn’t fun; it was a job.

fellowship that I don’t think he had experienced before.

Here was a group of people that loved fishing as much as he did and would fish as often as he did, each sharing notes, competing and challenging one another in days where the internet and YouTube weren’t even a dream. A generation of fishers grew up together, not just figuratively but as fishers. This bond would shape them as a group, and it’s impossible to understate the way that fishing clubs – when the fishing tackle was only beginning to come of age – were in the golden era of fishing.

The second way in which ANSA changed the equation for dad was the

way it gave fishing meaning.

For the first time dad valued fish beyond food. During this year fishing became fun; he set goals, joined in competitions and celebrated fish that scored highly in the line class system. More and more he focused on lures, with smaller homemade hardbodies and poppers, Mister Twisters and a much broader array of the Halco

his first fish – PA0001 – a mackerel tuna of all things.

Depressingly, the records of this time were maintained

by Fisheries and lost, but fortunately he kept a second record of the event in his diary; otherwise, this moment would be lost forever.

1984 By 1984 Bill had well and truly taken to tagging, and almost every trip saw fish

Bill with an ANSA record blue threadfin. slices. Even baits got the lure touch with various squids and skirts added to get the attention of mackerel on the troll. I think this period was when dad found passion in his fishing. The genuine thrill of fishing had taken him and I was swept up by FIGURE 1 Location Zero-Trips TOWNS 45% CAIRNS 41% HINCH 41% ROCK 37% FRASER 37% GOLDCOAST 35% KAR 35% SCOAST 34% BUND 33% MACKAY 30% BOWEN 30% WEIPA 29% AYR 29% BRIS 29% WHITSUNDAY 24% GLAD 17% STATE AVERAGE 33% his enthusiasm. I think this time was the most fun for me growing up.

The other exciting prequel moment that happened in 1980 was after a visit to Rockhampton to tag some fish; he tagged

released with a new piece of jewellery. Sports tackle was still in fashion, and ANSA masters fishing remained a primary objective. On the other hand, keeping fish was now a secondary concern, except where seasonal species were available such as school mackerel or staples like flathead. Lures were now the norm; bait was used when lures didn’t deliver results. Soft plastics – newer versions of the Mister Twisters and Vibrotails – were the estuary go-to for almost all species.

His journey would come full circle at the end of the year. The family moved to Rockhampton, and with the move, Bill would take over managing the state tagging program from Queensland Fisheries. Twelve months later the sports tackle would progressively be replaced with heavy gear intended to minimise fish play time and maximise survival from tagging. Four years into life in ANSA he had achieved near all he wanted to as research would replace sports fishing. Fishing would still be fun, but now he had a higher purpose – collecting data and learning as much as

FIGURE 2 Category Trips Number zero-trips Percentage zero-trips possible about the fishery.

Another change would come with the move north – his broad list of target species under ANSA was replaced by a singular focus on barramundi in the Fitzroy.

The man that had come to Bundaberg with a mission to feed his family would leave with a passion for tag and release and improving fish stocks. Eight years in Bundaberg shaped not just his fishing skills, but his fishing worldview.

ZERO-TRIPS ARE ‘PROBLEMATIC’ I want to say that I hate the word ‘problematic.’

Saying something is problematic is like saying I have no idea where the problem is but it might be somewhere over there. Zerotrips do sort of fit into the category of waving your finger wildly in the general direction of zero. In the case of the diaries, there were four clear reasons for a zero-trip: • Sometimes no fish were sighted – it happens to the best of us.

• Sometimes unimportant by-catch was caught but not considered worth noting the specifics.

• Sometimes fish were hooked and dropped, busted off or lost at the boat.

• Sometimes fish were intentionally lost, that is trips with a known target using tackle that will be hard to stop the fish on. In one instance two zero trips were noted with the footnote “Yellowtail King 9, Sawynoks 0.”

Only one of these options indicates no interaction with fish.

Fish lost due to tackle was a common outcome in 1980-84 when we were often fishing sports tackle, 1-3kg nylon. For this reason, in the diary entries for 1980 and 1984 in particular the actual catches are underrepresentative as there were a number of fish lost due to the use of highly challenging tackle. I haven’t included these fish in the tally because it’s impossible to know how often that happens in the modern data sets.

ZERO IS A VERY INTERESTING NUMBER One of the things I have learned through the years is that zero-trips are one of the best measures of fishing ability and, by proxy, the condition of the fishery. In mediocre times, the best fishers still find fish; they don’t find as many, but they rarely see zero. Equally, in times where zero-trips are low in the general fishing population, conditions are pretty good. Quick caveat – here I am referring to a widely accessible fishery

Local Visitor 934 553 328 157 35.1% 28.4% over time.

In this case, I am using zero as a straight measure regardless of the number of fishers, so I’m not looking at the total effort, just how often fishing trips were successful in finding fish.

Figure 4 has the ratio of zero trips comparing dad in the 1970s and 80s and surveys in 2016-17. Dad’s exact zero-trip rate (i.e., when he encountered no fish) was steady in 1980-1984 around 2%. The increasing zero-trip rate is related to the rising level of difficulty in the tackle and thus greater risks he was taking. The ANSA points system is a risk-reward system and the primary explanation for the discrepancy. Once tagging became his focus, Bill went the opposite direction, taking the risk out in favour of reducing stress on fish.

Visitors to the area spend more time in productive offshore regions, which improves their success rates.

However for this exercise, I am comparing with the past, so I am interested in the 35.1% figure, which is significantly higher than Dad’s worst year of 14%.

For reasonable comparison, I am excluding locals.

LOOKING AT CATCH DATA There are a lot of intriguing numbers in the catch data. First, the data reflects my intuitive reading of the diaries. The kept rate in 1976 for both inshore and offshore was over 90% but by 1984 that had dropped to 45-58% respectively, which is a significant drop in 8 years. Many things changed in that time; fish became more of a good to have than an essential. Dad was targeting fish for specific goals as well, so the species focus changed a lot. Fast forward to today, and you are lucky if Bill keeps a single fish in a year.

Percentage of zero-trips reported.

Looking at the 2017 result, which is a better sample than 2016, the 33% is a figure that also needs some exploring. Here are the statewide results for zero-trips for 2017 based on boat ramp surveys. The total number of flights is just below 19,000, which is an excellent sample. To be honest, the result of this table is an article all of its own, but in context, Bundaberg’s zero-trip rate is middle of the

Another interesting observation – the ratio of offshore trips went up a lot in 1984; this is reflective of the catch rate being better than in the estuary – 1984 was a good year offshore. Fishers do follow the fish. The drop in targeting of bread and butter estuary species in 1980 lines up with the focus on ANSA masters fish and competitions where species like bream didn’t offer much in the way of points.

FIGURE 3 Year Percentage estuary trips Avg number of fishers Estuary catch rate (fish/fisher/day) Offshore catch rate (fish/fisher/day) Percentage kept estuary Percentage kept offshore Percentage bream/whiting/ javelin/flathead Percentage mackerel/tuna No estuary species No offshore species road for the major centres across the state (Fig. 1).

That is only part of the story, Bundaberg region has a reasonable number of visitors, especially to 1770 and Round Hill. When you view the results for locals vs. visitors you get Figure 2.

So what gives? Why are visitors having more success than the locals?

1976-1984 would have been picked up in boat ramp surveys on time of day at least. So what gives? Offshore targeting of mackerel didn’t require traveling too far, nor large boats. It’s a mystery.

IS BUNDABERG BETTER OR WORSE NOW? Of course, the main point of reflection is to compare past with the present. There are going to be all manner of not like for like, not enough science arguments that come up, so I am going to fall back on what my gut says on balance of evidence. In other words – this is my opinion.

On that front, people make decisions without science all the time. The accuracy of judgment is down to the accuracy of availability of evidence, and in my experience, there is enough evidence to take a good stab at it.

Straight up my view is the fishery has degraded quite a bit since the 1976 starting point. In 1976 dad had no idea of the area, no GPS, no echo sounder and by modern standards primitive gear.

His background – fishing the Murray River and trout streams of Victoria provided limited preparation. All that taken into account, his catch rate of 3.95 fish/fisher/day in the estuary, which often included family, as the other fishers meant that conditions were pretty good.

Offshore is a little more complicated because catch rates seem pretty good.

That said, the much lower proportion of offshore trips than in the past and the absence of mackerel and tuna says that things have definitely changed and again I would say not for the better. It’s possible that Fisheries surveys are missing mackerel, but that seems very unlikely to me.

I keep falling back to fishers follow the fish. The next question now is why?

That answer is likely to be a

1976 45% 2.8 3.95 1.02 91% 92%

1980 1984 2016 59% 23% 80% 2.5 1.8 2.2 2.85 2.59 1.1 1.08 2.96 1.8 82% 58% 22.1% 90% 45% 59.5%

2017 63% 2.1 1.6 1.32 33.3% 46.2%

78.8% 60% 19 13

27.3% 84% 19 8

90.4% 2.2% 23 19

The figure that stands out the most to me though is the way mackerel/tuna only made up 2.2% of the reported catch in 2017.

Mackerel and tuna were both staples in the Bundaberg fishery and widely targeted, as evidenced in many diary entries noting other fishers’ success. Most of the offshore trips taken

47.4% 73% 10 15

89.7% 0.0% 14 9

complicated mix of factors, and there is nothing I have in the datasets I see that answers it outright.

The most crucial question is what do we do about it? I don’t think Bundaberg is unique. I think many fishers are asking the same question – how do we get back to where we once belonged?

JULY 2018

81

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2018 2018 2018 Local Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) – NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY(FORT (FORT DENISON) NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY DENISON) – –NEW WALES LAT 33° 52’ LONG 151°SOUTH 13’ JANUARY MAY Time JANUARY Time m

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

Time m m Time m m Time Time 0213 0.53 0141 0.34 0812 1.96 0846 1.72 0242 0.32 0309 0.42 0213 0.53 0141 0.34 1451 0.19 1525 0.39 0844 1.60 0909 1.52 0812 1.96 0846 1.72 TU MO 2116 1.33 2049 1.48 TU 1436 0.41 1459 0.51 1451 0.19 1525 0.39 WE MOTU 21011.33 1.99 21241.48 1.80 2116 2049 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 0333 0.29 0351 0.45 0233 0.32 0250 0.51 1544 0.12 WE 1559 0.37 0936 1.55 0950 1.45 0904 2.04 0922 1.75 TU 2144 1.50WETH 2152 1.35 1522 0.45 1532 0.57 1544 0.12 1559 0.37 WE TU 21491.35 2.00 21591.50 1.77 2144 2152 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 0427 0.29 0432 0.49 0326 0.32 0327 0.50 1636 0.09 1633 0.35 1031 1.38 1031 1.50 0956 2.07 0958 1.76 WE TH 2238 1.50 THFR 2229 1.36 1606 0.63 1613 0.51 1636 0.09 1633 0.35 WETH 22351.50 1.73 22401.36 1.98 2238 2229 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 0524 0.32 0515 0.53 0419 0.34 0404 0.50 1728 0.12 1708 0.36 1130 1.44 1113 1.33 1047 2.05 1033 1.75 TH FR 2331 1.48 FRSA 2305 1.36 1706 0.58 1642 0.69 1728 0.12 1708 0.36 THFR 23341.36 1.91 23131.48 1.67 2331 2305 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 0625 0.37 0600 0.58 0514 0.38 0444 0.51 1818 0.18 1743 0.37 1231 1.40 1158 1.28 1139 1.97 1109 1.72 FR SA 2345 1.37 1806 0.65 17230.18 0.75 SASU 1818 1743 0.37 FRSA 2355 1.61 2345 1.37 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 0033 1.83 0650 0.62 0025 1.46 0524 0.53 1230 1.84 SU 1819 0.39 0729 0.41 1249 1.25 0609 0.45 1146 1.68 SA 1909 0.27SU 13380.39 1.39 1813 0.81 1230 1.84 1819 MO SASU 1914 0.70 1909 0.27 0120 1.44 0026 1.38 0706 0.52 0608 0.56 0044 1.55 0138 1.74 0120 1.44 0026 1.38 1321 1.69 MO 1226 1.61 0832 0.44 0745 0.65 0706 0.52 0608 0.56 SU 1858 0.42 2000 0.36MOTU 1446 1.41 1349 1.24 1321 1.69 1226 1.61 MO SU 20270.42 0.71 19140.36 0.85 1858 2000 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 0246 1.67 0143 1.50 0215 1.42 0111 1.39 1415 1.53 1310 1.53 0930 0.46 0845 0.65 0806 0.60 0658 0.60 MO TU 2049 0.45 TU 1941 0.45 1550 1.46 1455 1.26 1415 1.53 1310 1.53 WE MOTU 21400.45 0.70 20250.45 0.85 2049 1941 0201 1.41 0313 1.42 0352 1.62 0248 1.48 0754 0.63 0913 0.66 0201 1.41 0313 1.42 1400 1.45 1513 1.39 WE 1024 0.47 0941 0.62 0754 0.63 0913 0.66 TU 1646 1.54 1557 1.32 2029 0.48 2140 0.52WETH 1400 1.45 1513 1.39 WE TU 22480.48 0.65 21350.52 0.82 2029 2140 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 0452 1.59 0352 1.49 1023 0.68 0900 0.64 0411 1.43 0257 1.44 1615 1.29 1501 1.37 1113 0.47 1030 0.58 1023 0.68 0900 0.64 WE TH 1737 1.63 1648 1.40 2124 0.50 2230 0.56 THFR 1615 1.29 1501 1.37 WETH 23490.50 0.59 22380.56 0.76 2124 2230 0508 1.47 0358 1.51 0545 1.55 0446 1.53 1133 0.67 1016 0.61 0508 1.47 0358 1.51 1156 0.48 1114 0.53 1720 1.23 1615 1.32 1133 0.67 1016 0.61 TH FR 1822 1.70 1732 1.50 2320 0.58 FRSA 2225 0.50 1720 1.23 1615 1.32 THFR 23310.58 0.67 2320 2225 0.50 0600 1.52 0501 1.60 0535 1.56 0042 0.54 1237 0.62 1133 0.53 0600 1.52 0501 1.60 1153 0.47 0635 1.52 1820 1.22 1731 1.32 1237 0.62 1133 0.53 FR SA 18131.22 1.62 SASU 1236 0.49 2329 0.47 1820 1731 1.32 FRSA 19040.47 1.76 2329 0009 0.58 0603 1.71 0019 0.57 0129 0.49 0647 1.57 1244 0.42 0009 0.58 0603 1.71 0621 1.60 0720 1.49 1329 0.56 SU 1841 1.35 0647 1.57 1244 0.42 SA 1232 0.43 13131.35 0.51 1913 1.24SU 1329 0.56 1841 MO SASU 18531.24 1.73 1943 1.80 1913 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 0106 0.47 0211 0.47 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 0053 0.56 0029 0.43 0706 1.62 0803 1.45 1411 0.49 MO 1345 0.29 0730 1.63 0702 1.83 SU 1311 0.40 1348 0.54 1958 1.27MOTU 1943 1.41 1411 0.49 1345 0.29 MO SU 19331.27 1.84 20191.41 1.82 1958 1943 0134 0.55 0127 0.38 0153 0.38 0251 0.46 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 0134 0.55 0127 0.38 0754 1.62 0845 1.42 1449 0.44 1440 0.19 0810 1.68 0758 1.94 MO TU 1352 0.39 1423 0.58 2038 1.30 TU 2038 1.47 1449 0.44 1440 0.19 WE MOTU 20161.30 1.93 20551.47 1.82 2038 2038 0221 0.33 0330 0.47 0851 2.01 0221 0.33 0925 1.38 1530 0.12 0851 2.01 WE 1458 0.61 2130 1.52 1530 0.12 WETH 21301.52 1.80 2130

Time m m Time m m Time Time 0311 0.46 0315 0.30 0943 2.04 0936 1.75 0416 0.22 0409 0.48 0311 0.46 0315 0.30 1618 0.11 FR 1605 0.34 1020 1.49 1005 1.35 0943 2.04 0936 1.75 TH 2203 1.44 2220 1.54FRSA 1559 0.47 1533 0.65 1618 0.11 1605 0.34 THFR 22281.44 2.04 22051.54 1.77 2203 2220 0348 0.44 0407 0.30 1032 2.00 1012 1.75 0513 0.25 0448 0.51 0348 0.44 0407 0.30 1705 0.14 SA 1638 0.33 1118 1.47 1046 1.33 1032 2.00 1012 1.75 FR 2310 1.55SASU 2239 1.47 1655 0.53 1612 0.69 1705 0.14 1638 0.33 FRSA 23211.47 1.96 22431.55 1.72 2310 2239 0427 0.44 0459 0.33 1047 1.72 1120 1.91 0610 0.30 0530 0.54 0427 0.44 0459 0.33 1712 0.34 1750 0.21 SU 1130 1.30 1217 1.45 1047 1.72 1120 1.91 SA 2316 1.50 2358 1.54SUMO 1654 0.73 1755 0.59 1712 0.34 1750 0.21 SASU 23231.54 1.67 2316 1.50 2358 0508 0.45 0550 0.39 1126 1.67 1207 1.77 0018 1.85 0615 0.57 0508 0.45 0550 0.39 1746 0.36 1833 0.30 MO 0707 0.36 1217 1.29 1126 1.67 1207 1.77 SU 2357 1.51 1318 1.44 17410.30 0.78MOTU 1746 0.36 1833 MO SU 19001.51 0.64 2357 0553 0.48 0045 1.51 1206 1.60 0643 0.48 0007 1.61 0117 1.72 0553 0.48 0045 1.51 1824 0.40 1254 1.61 TU 0703 0.60 0803 0.42 1206 1.60 0643 0.48 MO 1916 0.41TUWE 1310 1.28 14200.40 1.46 1824 1254 1.61 MOTU 18350.41 0.81 2009 0.68 1916 0040 1.52 0134 1.48 0642 0.51 0738 0.57 0058 1.55 0220 1.60 0040 1.52 0134 1.48 1250 1.51 1341 1.45 WE 0755 0.60 0858 0.47 0642 0.51 0738 0.57 TU 1905 0.45 1959 0.50WETH 1407 1.31 1520 1.50 1250 1.51 1341 1.45 WE TU 19380.50 0.83 21210.45 0.69 1905 1959 0128 1.53 0226 1.45 0838 0.64 0738 0.55 0324 1.50 0155 1.50 0128 1.53 0226 1.45 1431 1.31 TH 1342 1.41 0845 0.59 0948 0.50 0838 0.64 0738 0.55 WE 2045 0.58THFR 1952 0.51 1505 1.36 1617 1.56 1431 1.31 1342 1.41 WETH 20460.58 0.82 22310.51 0.67 2045 1952 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 0426 1.43 0257 1.48 0320 1.43 0223 1.53 1531 1.21 FR 1445 1.32 1036 0.53 0935 0.56 0945 0.69 0845 0.58 TH 2136 0.64FRSA 2050 0.56 1709 1.62 1559 1.44 1531 1.21 1445 1.32 THFR 23340.56 0.62 21540.64 0.76 2136 2050 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 0522 1.39 0357 1.48 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 0419 1.44 0327 1.55 1643 1.16 SA 1602 1.26 1120 0.54 1021 0.52 1057 0.69 1002 0.57 FR 1756 1.68 1647 1.55 2235 0.67SASU 2200 0.58 1643 1.16 1602 1.26 FRSA 22560.67 0.68 2235 2200 0.58 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 0453 1.49 0029 0.57 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 0519 1.46 0437 1.61 1752 1.17 SU 1724 1.28 1106 0.48 0613 1.36 1205 0.65 1122 0.51 SA 1734 1.67 1201 0.55 2334 0.66SUMO 2312 0.56 1752 1.17 1724 1.28 SASU 23520.66 0.57 18390.56 1.73 2334 2312 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 0547 1.51 0114 0.52 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 0615 1.51 0546 1.70 1150 0.44 0700 1.35 1851 1.21 MO 1835 1.34 1300 0.59 1232 0.41 SU 18191.21 1.80MOTU 12411.34 0.56 1851 1835 MO SU 1918 1.76 0028 0.63 0018 0.49 0155 0.48 0045 0.45 0702 1.57 0648 1.80 0028 0.63 0018 0.49 0742 1.35 0640 1.53 1346 0.52 TU 1331 0.30 0702 1.57 0648 1.80 MO 1318 0.57 1236 0.42 1938 1.26TUWE 1933 1.43 1346 0.52 1331 0.30 MOTU 19551.43 1.79 19061.26 1.92 1938 1933 0114 0.59 0118 0.42 0137 0.35 0232 0.46 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 0114 0.59 0118 0.42 0733 1.54 0822 1.35 1425 0.45 WE 1424 0.22 0745 1.63 0745 1.89 TU 1323 0.40 1355 0.58 2018 1.32WETH 2026 1.51 1425 0.45 1424 0.22 WE TU 19541.32 2.01 20301.51 1.80 2018 2026 0155 0.54 0229 0.27 0308 0.44 0824 1.68 0155 0.54 0828 1.54 0901 1.35 1500 0.40 0824 1.68 WE 1413 0.41 2054 1.36 FR 1431 0.59 1500 0.40 WETH 20441.36 2.07 2105 1.79 2054 0233 0.50 0322 0.22 0345 0.44 0900 1.72 0233 0.50 0924 1.52 0940 1.34 1533 0.36 0900 1.72 TH 1504 0.43 2129 1.40 SA 1509 0.61 1533 0.36 THFR 21341.40 2.08 2141 1.77 2129

m Time m m Time m m Time Time 0214 0.51 0213 0.34 0837 1.94 0832 1.69 0452 0.18 0422 0.45 0214 0.51 0213 0.34 1511 0.17 FR 1459 0.37 1059 1.51 1019 1.33 0837 1.94 0832 1.69 TH 2100 1.50 2114 1.58FRMO 1642 0.43 1547 0.63 1511 0.17 1459 0.37 THSU 2304 1.93 22171.58 1.74 2100 1.50 2114 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 0544 0.24 0500 0.47 0304 0.30 0251 0.45 1555 0.17 SA 1531 0.34 1153 1.50 1100 1.32 0926 1.94 0909 1.72 FR 2200 1.62SATU 2135 1.57 1739 0.49 1629 0.66 1555 0.17 1531 0.34 FRMO 2357 1.79 22551.62 1.69 2200 2135 1.57 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 0635 0.33 0540 0.50 0354 0.29 0330 0.41 1636 0.21 SU 1604 0.33 1144 1.32 1248 1.49 1014 1.89 0946 1.72 SA 2244 1.64SUWE 2211 1.62 1714 0.69 1841 0.57 1636 0.21 1604 0.33 SATU 23351.64 1.62 2244 2211 1.62 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 0051 1.62 0621 0.52 0443 0.32 0411 0.39 1716 0.29 MO 1638 0.34 0726 0.42 1230 1.33 1059 1.79 1026 1.70 SU 2327 1.63MOTH 2249 1.66 1345 1.48 1803 0.73 1716 0.29 1638 0.34 SUWE 1946 0.63 2327 1.63 2249 1.66 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 0020 1.55 0149 1.47 0531 0.38 0455 0.39 1754 0.38 TU 1715 0.37 0706 0.53 0815 0.49 1143 1.66 1107 1.64 MO 2330 1.69 13210.38 1.35 TUFR 1445 1.50 1754 1715 0.37 MOTH 1900 0.75 2058 0.67 2330 1.69 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 0111 1.48 0252 1.34 0009 1.60 0542 0.41 1225 1.52 WE 1754 0.43 0753 0.54 0906 0.55 0619 0.46 1151 1.57 TU 1830 0.48WESA 1415 1.39 1543 1.52 1225 1.52 1754 0.43 TUFR 20040.48 0.76 2210 0.66 1830 0052 1.56 0015 1.69 0709 0.55 0634 0.44 0209 1.43 0357 1.27 0052 1.56 0015 1.69 1308 1.38 TH 1240 1.47 0842 0.53 0957 0.58 0709 0.55 0634 0.44 WE 1837 0.50 1907 0.57THSU 1511 1.47 1638 1.56 1308 1.38 1240 1.47 WESA 21150.57 0.72 2316 0.63 1837 0.50 1907 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 0313 1.39 0500 1.24 0136 1.51 0103 1.67 1356 1.27 FR 1335 1.37 0933 0.51 1046 0.59 0803 0.62 0732 0.49 TH 1948 0.66FRMO 1928 0.58 1605 1.56 1729 1.61 1356 1.27 1335 1.37 THSU 22250.66 0.64 1948 1928 0.58 0200 1.64 0226 1.46 0419 1.39 0011 0.57 0841 0.52 0904 0.67 0200 1.64 0226 1.46 1443 1.29 1453 1.18 SA 1025 0.49 0554 1.24 0841 0.52 0904 0.67 FR 1700 1.68 1132 0.58 2030 0.64 2040 0.72SATU 1443 1.29 1453 1.18 FRMO 23300.72 0.53 1814 1.65 2030 0.64 2040 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 0522 1.41 0056 0.51 1014 0.69 0958 0.52 0324 1.43 0306 1.62 1604 1.15 SU 1602 1117 0.45 0641 1.27 1014 0.69 0958 0.52 SA 1752 1.81 1216 0.57 2146 0.67 2146 0.75SUWE 1604 1.15 1602 1.27 SATU 1854 1.69 2146 0.67 2146 0.75 0430 1.43 0420 1.64 0028 0.40 0134 0.46 1123 0.66 1112 0.48 0430 1.43 0420 1.64 0622 1.44 0723 1.29 1721 1.17 MO 1722 1.31 1123 0.66 1112 0.48 SU 1210 0.41 1256 0.55 2257 0.75MOTH 2303 0.63 1721 1.17 1722 1.31 SUWE 18440.75 1.93 1931 1.73 2257 2303 0.63 0533 1.47 0531 1.69 0123 0.28 0210 0.42 1222 0.61 1217 0.41 0533 1.47 0531 1.69 0719 1.47 0801 1.32 1824 1.22 TU 1827 1.40 1222 0.61 1217 0.41 MO 13021.22 0.38 TUFR 1334 0.53 1824 1827 1.40 MOTH 1936 2.03 2008 1.75 0000 0.70 0011 0.55 0216 0.19 0245 0.39 0628 1.52 0634 1.76 0000 0.70 0011 0.55 0815 1.49 0838 1.34 1311 0.54 WE 1313 0.34 0628 1.52 0634 1.76 TU 1357 0.36 1412 0.52 1912 1.29WESA 1921 1.50 1311 0.54 1313 0.34 TUFR 20291.29 2.09 2043 1.76 1912 1921 1.50 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0309 0.14 0318 0.38 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 0051 0.64 0111 0.47 0910 1.51 0915 1.35 1351 0.48 TH 1400 0.29 0715 1.59 0729 1.81 WE 1450 0.36 1449 0.52 1951 1.37THSU 2009 1.59 1351 0.48 1400 0.29 WESA 21201.37 2.09 2117 1.75 1951 2009 1.59 0134 0.57 0204 0.39 0400 0.14 0352 0.38 0755 1.65 0819 1.83 0134 0.57 0204 0.39 1004 1.51 0951 1.36 1426 0.42 FR 1445 0.27 0755 1.65 0819 1.83 TH 1545 0.38 1528 0.53 2027 1.44FRMO 2053 1.66 1426 0.42 1445 0.27 THSU 22121.44 2.04 2153 1.72 2027 2053 1.66 0254 0.35 0427 0.39 0906 1.80 0254 0.35 1030 1.37 1525 0.28 0906 1.80 SA 1607 0.55 2135 1.71 1525 0.28 SATU 2229 1.67 2135 1.71

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

25 2525

10 1010

11 1111

26 2626

27 2727

12 1212

13 13 13

28 2828

14 14 14 15 15 15

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

10 10 10

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

25 2525

10 1010

11 11 11

26 2626

12 12 12

Local Time Local Time APRIL AUGUST Time TimeAPRIL m

m Timem m Timem m Time Time 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 0555 0.34 0502 0.41 0212 0.40 0241 0.34 1428 0.36 1502 0.33 1213 1.53 1109 1.38 MO 0819 1.68 0851 1.74 SU 2043 1.79 2115 1.73 1818 0.50 1650 0.58MO TH 1428 0.36 1502 0.33 SUWE 2307 1.60 2043 1.79 2115 1.73 0327 0.36 0256 0.36 0934 1.65 0903 1.65 0023 1.48 0540 0.44 0327 0.36 0256 0.36 1538 0.40 1505 0.38 0640 0.44 1152 1.39 TU 0934 1.65 0903 1.65 MO 2155 1.73 2124 1.84 1305 1.50 1737 0.61TU FR 1538 0.40 1505 0.38 MO TH 1920 2348 1.52 2155 1.73 2124 1.840.58 0412 0.41 0344 0.34 1016 1.54 0950 1.60 0619 0.46 0116 1.33 0412 0.41 0344 0.34 1613 0.48 1545 0.42 0727 0.53 1239 1.40 WE 1016 1.54 0950 1.60 TU 2233 1.70 2208 1.86 1400 1.47 1830 0.65WE SA 1613 0.48 1545 0.42 TU FR 2030 2233 1.70 2208 1.860.63 0456 0.47 0434 0.35 1058 1.44 1041 1.53 0036 1.43 0218 1.21 0456 0.47 0434 0.35 1645 0.56 1630 0.48 0704 0.49 TH 0818 0.60 1058 1.44 1041 1.53 WE 2311 1.65 2255 1.85 1330 1.43TH SU 1500 1.47 1645 0.56 1630 0.48 WE SA 1933 0.66 2143 2311 1.65 2255 1.850.64 0542 0.54 0530 0.39 1135 1.44 1140 1.34 0328 1.15 0133 1.35 0542 0.54 0530 0.39 1718 0.56 1720 0.65 0915 0.63 0755 0.51 FR 1135 1.44 1140 1.34 TH 2346 1.80 2350 1.59 1600 1.48 1429 1.48FRMO 1718 0.56 1720 0.65 THSU 2250 2046 0.64 2346 1.800.61 2350 1.59 0631 0.60 0630 0.43 1226 1.26 1235 1.37 0436 1.15 0243 1.29 0631 0.60 0630 0.43 1800 0.72 1815 0.64 1014 0.64 0852 0.52 SA 1226 1.26 1235 1.37 FR 1657 1530 1.56SA TU 1800 0.72 1815 0.641.51 FRMO 2345 0.55 2203 0.57 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 0726 0.65 0739 0.47 0534 1.18 0357 1.28 0035 1.53 0045 1.75 1320 1.21 1345 1.32 1108 0.61 0954 0.50 SU 0726 0.65 0739 0.47 SA 1851 0.78 1921 0.70 1746 1.56 1632 1.67SUWE 1320 1.21 1345 1.32 SA TU 2314 0.46 1851 0.78 1921 0.70 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 0829 0.67 0850 0.48 0030 0.49 0508 1.31 0130 1.48 0152 1.70 1428 1.18 1501 1.33 1056 0.46 MO 0621 1.23 0829 0.67 0850 0.48 SU 1958 0.82 2038 0.71 1731 1.79MO TH 1156 0.57 1428 1.18 1501 1.33 SUWE 1830 1958 0.82 2038 0.711.61 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 0109 0.43 0015 0.33 0934 0.66 0956 0.46 0235 1.45 0305 1.67 1542 1.21 1612 1.39 0701 1.29 0611 1.37 TU 0934 0.66 0956 0.46 MO 1238 0.52 1154 0.40TU FR 2114 0.82 2154 0.68 1542 1.21 1612 1.39 MO TH 1828 1.91 1908 2114 0.82 2154 0.681.66 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 0144 0.38 0110 0.21 1034 0.62 1055 0.43 0345 1.46 0415 1.68 1645 1.27 1711 1.48 0738 1.33 0707 1.44 WE 1034 0.62 1055 0.43 TU 1317 0.48 1250 0.34WE SA 2222 0.78 2301 0.61 1645 1.27 1711 1.48 TU FR 1944 1921 2.00 2222 0.78 2301 0.611.69 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 0200 0.13 0215 0.34 1124 0.57 1145 0.40 0445 1.50 0515 1.70 0800 1.49 TH 0813 1.37 1735 1.35 1801 1.58 1124 0.57 1145 0.40 WE 1345 0.29TH SU 1354 2319 0.70 1735 1.35 1801 1.580.45 WE SA 2013 2.04 2019 1.71 2319 0.70 0534 1.56 0001 0.53 0250 0.09 0248 0.32 1205 0.51 0609 1.70 0534 1.56 0001 0.53 0852 1.54 FR 0847 1.41 1815 1.44 1230 0.38 1205 0.51 0609 1.70 TH 1438 0.27FRMO 1431 0.43 1847 1.67 1815 1.44 1230 0.38 THSU 2104 2.03 2053 1847 1.671.70 0006 0.62 0054 0.47 0338 0.10 0319 0.32 0617 1.61 0658 1.68 0006 0.62 0054 0.47 0943 1.56 SA 0922 1.43 1243 0.45 1312 0.39 0617 1.61 0658 1.68 FR 1531 0.28SA TU 1509 0.43 1852 1.53 1930 1.74 1243 0.45 1312 0.39 FRMO 2154 1.95 2129 1852 1.53 1930 1.741.67 0048 0.54 0142 0.43 0425 0.15 0352 0.33 0658 1.65 0744 1.64 0048 0.54 0142 0.43 1032 1.57 SU 0958 1.46 1317 0.40 1349 0.41 0658 1.65 0744 1.64 SA 1626 0.33SUWE 1549 0.44 1928 1.62 2009 1.78 1317 0.40 1349 0.41 SA TU 2243 1.82 2204 1928 1.62 2009 1.781.62 0130 0.46 0227 0.41 0510 0.23 0426 0.35 0738 1.68 0827 1.58 0130 0.46 0227 0.41 1122 1.55 MO 1036 1.48 1351 0.37 1425 0.46 0738 1.68 0827 1.58 SU 1720 0.41MO TH 1632 0.46 2004 1.71 2047 1.80 1351 0.37 1425 0.46 SUWE 2332 1.66 2244 2004 1.71 2047 1.801.54

1 11

16 1616

2 22

17 1717

3 33

18 1818

4 44

19 1919

5 55

20 2020

6 66

21 2121

7 77

22 2222

8 88

23 2323

9 99

24 2424

25 2525

10 1010

25 2525

11 1111

26 2626

11 1111

26 2626

27 2727

12 1212

27 2727

12 1212

27 2727

13 1313

28 2828

13 1313

28 2828

13 1313

28 2828

29 2929

14 1414

29

14 1414

29 2929

14 1414

29 2929

30 3030

15 1515

30

15 1515

30 3030

15 1515

30 3030

31 3131

31 3131

31 0500 1117

0.39 1.49 FR 1719 0.50 2326 1.45

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2016, Bureau of Meteorology Copyright Commonwealth Australia 2016, Bureau Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of of Australia 2016, Bureau of of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of are Predictions is Lowesttime Astronomical Tideor daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times in local standard (UTC +10:00) Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

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boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Stessco is an Australian owned and operated family business. With a love of fishing and boating, Stessco has built a wide-ranging network of dealerships, with the goal of providing customers with dependable, value-for-money aluminium boats. Stessco prides itself on the wide variety of options available which can be added to the already wide range of different vessels.

Made for...

Anglers who are after a reliable tinny that can be customised to suit their individual requirements and fishing style.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan takes the Stessco Sunseeker 620 with 150hp Yamaha 4-stroke for a spin. You can check it out on page 92.

86 Copeton codding for the kayakers We all know how good Copeton is as a cod fishery, but Toby Grundy is about to prove that it’s not just for the boaties!

88 Float tube basics

Justin Willmer, in his mission to explore all different ways to get on the water, climbs into a float tube for the first time.

90 Anchor up!

Wayne Kampe provides a few tips to make anchoring up a more easy and manageable task.

94 Horizon 515 Northerner

Wayne Kampe takes a ride in this marvellous rig powered by a Yamaha 115hp on the Gold Coast.

WHAT’S NEW BOATING SIMRAD SOFTWARE 1 UPDATE

NEW MERCURY OUTBOARDS

Simrad has released a software update for NSS evo3, NSS evo2, NSO evo2 and GO Series displays that includes sonar enhancements, C-MAP charting improvements and touchscreen control of MotorGuide Xi5 trolling motors.

At the heart of the release is FishReveal.

Unlike traditional CHIRP Sonar views that provide strong fish targets but lack refined structure detail, or DownScan that provides photo-like images of bottom and structure but shows fish as tiny dots, FishReveal Smart Target Viewing combines the best data from both, eliminating the need for split-screen viewing and interpretation.

Exclusive to NSS evo3 displays, Enhanced Sonar Imaging delivers industry-leading clarity and range, with near-photographic images to each side and below your boat. SideScan, DownScan Imaging and StructureScan 3D now produces richer images with enhanced detail and better contrast.

Additionally, C-MAP charts just got a major upgrade in readability, and you can now control the Xi5 trolling motor from the touchscreen of your Simrad display (Xi5 control excludes GO7 displays). www.simrad-yachting.com

Mercury has released multiple new V-8 4.6L outboards: 250 and 300hp Verado; 250 and 300hp FourStroke; and 200, 225, 250 and 300hp Pro XS. There’s also a new V-6 3.4L model – 175hp Pro XS. The new 250 and 300hp V-8 Verados provide exhilarating performance across the rpm range. The 300 is up to 20% quicker and over 3km/h faster than the closest competitor, while still providing up to 8% better fuel economy.

The new 250 and 300hp V-8 FourStrokes deliver powerful performance while remaining quiet, efficient, reliable and strong. The new V-8 powerhead generates plenty of torque, with the 300hp FourStroke delivering up to 9% more torque than the nearest competitor at 3500-4500rpm. It boasts class-leading 4.6L displacement yet is the lightest in its class.

These outboards are also very versatile, with Digital Throttle Shift (DTS) controls and the choice between hydraulic or power steering.

The new 175hp V-6 (along with the 200, 225, 250 and 300hp V-8 Pro XS outboards) boasts ample torque and superior acceleration.

Adaptive Speed Control maintains the driver’s desired rpm regardless of load or condition. www.mercurymarine.com.au

LEWMAR HX1 WINDLASS

FUSION PANEL-STEREO

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Lewmar has launched a new range of stylish, strong and reliable horizontal windlasses that utilise a superior in-line motor and epicyclical gearbox within a strong aluminium chassis and a polymer cover. Designed to provide years of trouble-free use, the Lewmar Horizontal Anchor Windlass HX1 gives you two gypsy options to choose from: one to suit 6mm, 7mm and ¼” chain; and the other option to suit 8mm chain.

Features include: motor range of 500W and 800W in 12V; high efficiency epicyclical gearbox; sealed waterproof unit which requires minimum maintenance; anodised aluminium chassis with polymer cover; IP67 rated as standard; and proven polymer gypsy (quieter compared to metal gypsies). As well as featuring reliable and durable construction, these new windlasses are also backed by a 3-year warranty for added peace of mind.

Price: from SRP $1987 www.bla.com.au

WHITTLEY FLEETMASTER

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Whittley is celebrating 65 years of building high-quality boats, and to mark this milestone they are releasing two limited edition heritage cruisers: the Fleetmaster 23 and Fleetmaster 26.

The 7.6m Fleetmaster 23 soft top sports cruiser has a standard double berth, fridge, sink, stove, toilet and a large moulded rear platform. The variable deadrise provides the perfect balance between ride and stability. The BMT package is priced from MRRP $99,990*, which includes a high quality Mackay Trailer, Volvo Penta V6 200 SX and a long list of standard equipment.

The hard top 8.5m Fleetmaster 26 has a full length hard top and large sliding sunroof.

The large cabin features a stand up head and well-appointed galley, with room for four adults and a sliding cabin door. The BMT package, with a Mackay Trailer and Volvo V6 200 SX, is priced from MRRP $149,990*. Both models are under the legally trailerable beam of 2.5m. (*Excludes pre-delivery charges, safety equipment, respirations and freight). www.whittleymarinegroup.com.au 86

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PRODUCT GUIDE

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Fusion’s Panel-Stereo combines all the elements required for excellent audio reproduction: Class D amplification, Fusion Digital Signal Processing (DSP), dual 3” speakers, and a passive base radiator all inside a single tuned enclosure.

It offers AM/FM, USB, AUX and Bluetooth streaming, and exceptional sound reproduction from a single product. You can control the audio via Bluetooth from compatible Apple or Android devices, or from a compatible Garmin watch.

Designed for surface mounting with the optional 43mm surface mounting spacer, Panel-Stereo can be installed onto any flat surface with no mounting cut-out required. It’s ideal for installation in shallow wall cavities, with only a single cut-out, and both flush and flat options are available.

It has an IP65 water and dust resistance rating, and requires only 12V DC power, ground and AM/FM connections, so the setup is quick and easy. www.fusionentertainment.com

YAMAHA V8 425 XTO

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Yamaha has announced the August launch of the new V8 425 XTO (Extreme Offshore) outboard.

This massive 425hp V8 engine delivers extreme power and thrust, combined with a fully integrated power and control system. Powered by a big bore, 5.6L, naturally aspirated engine, the V8 425 XTO has been engineered to drive large props for maximum thrust.

Yamaha has developed the first ever fourstroke direct fuel injection powerhead, delivering the highest compression ratio of any outboard.

Other features include an oversized gearcase, hardened gears, a robust, offshore wide-span bracket and engine mounts, and proven plasma fusion technology for increased durability and lighter weight.

Running a large 90 amp power generation system, the V8 425 XTO delivers more than enough punch to run a large array of electrical devices. There’s also an in-water gear lubricant change-out system, which allows the outboard to be serviced while the boat is on the water.

The multi-part cowling system by allows easy access to key parts. www.yamaha-motor.com.au

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Catching cod at Copeton… from the kayak!

CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Copeton Dam is one of the most exciting waterways that I have fished from a kayak. Though it was incredibly daunting when I first arrived because of its

Holiday Park sits at the entrance to the dam and it is here that anglers can organise accommodation, get a coffee, grab some supplies (including some nice lures) and get the low-down on where the fish are biting.

There are plenty of camping and picnic

grow to enormous size and hit topwater sometimes all through the day.

TECHNIQUES Copeton is no longer a secret. Every year through winter the place gets overrun with cod fishos after that oncein-a-lifetime encounter with a 1.2m fish. Gone are the days

Copeton can be a daunting place to kayak. Try deeper water at dusk.

Adam Townsend has well and truly figured out Copeton from a yak. sheer size, I found it to be a really easy place to cruise around because I broke up the dam into sections and fished a different area each day in search of giant green fish.

spots scattered around the holiday park along with BBQ facilities, showers and toilets. It’s possible to launch a kayak almost anywhere around the park, which makes moving from

when Jamie Flett (Mudeye Lures) would walk the banks of the dam on the new moon and catch big cod cast after cast. In fact, sometimes the dam gets so busy that anglers struggle to raise a fish.

a bay, drifting in and then casting surface lures as close to the bank as possible and then working the lure back to your position. Because a kayak is all about stealth, I use surface lures to match.

A lot of boat anglers cast large, heavy wooden lures which can be effective, but I figure you might match the lure type to the craft you are fishing on. The Dragonsaurus from Mimix is perfect for yak fishing as it’s light but still has a large profile while also moving quietly through the water.

The Jackall Gantia is another good choice, especially when slow rolled and then paused near the edges of isolated, sunken foliage.

If you decide to fish during the day, spinnerbaits and buzzbaits worked slowly around the rocky ledges will produce a bite and if all else fails, try a large vibe like a Jackall Doozer around the

fish it with a stable craft. I will say that the Native does make a bit of noise compared to a paddle yak but nowhere near the noise of a boat.

LOCATIONS Fish every bay you can find. The fish sit right up on

Tatula baitcaster and ran 30lb braid and 40lb leader.

TIMING Copeton fishes well year-round (it’s open through close season) but is particularly productive in winter when the cod push

Pedal or paddle kayaks are fine as long as they have some size to them. the banks during winter so they can chase the spangled perch around the shallows. If a bank is nice and bare and the perch are jumping, cast your arm off. Sometimes it

up into the shallows. Peak times seem to be around the long weekends and there are several topwater competitions that run through winter, so check in

Larger specimens bite best at dawn and dusk.

Outlined below is everything I learned from fishing the dam and a few tips to hopefully help you connect with a Murray cod.

FACILITIES Copeton is located about 30 minutes’ drive from Inverell in NSW. Reflections

spot to spot a very easy process if you decide you’ve had enough of paddling/ pedalling.

SPECIES There are golden perch and spangled perch in the dam, but everyone visits Copeton for the cod, which

Using a kayak adds a stealth factor that isn’t possible with a boat. It is very easy to drift quietly into a bay with a yak and cast at fish that have not been spooked by an approaching outboard.

I would recommend launching at the edge or

The cod will push right up in winter.

There are plenty of places to pull up and launch.

points along the foreshore of the holiday park.

THE KAYAK We took a pedal kayak and paddle kayak to Copeton. Both performed well as they were both of considerable size with the standout being my Native Slayer 13. Copeton is a large waterway and the chop on a windy day can be pretty full-on so it’s important to

can take a lot of casts but it is in these areas where the bigger fish love to sit and eat.

TACKLE I used my Daiwa Air Edge ‘Cover Game Master’ 7’2 baitcast rod (heavy) for Copeton and found it was more than enough. I tried to use a larger swimbait rod for my kayak cod fishing but found it too cumbersome. I matched the rod to my Daiwa

with the holiday park before you book a trip.

CONCLUSION Copeton Dam is an amazing fishery and a stunning location filled with monster cod. Now is the time to fish the dam and you will find that in a kayak you will have the edge, because you will be able to sneak up on boat-wary fish and maybe land that fish of a lifetime.

JULY 2018

87

Fishing flats from a float tube BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

Over the years my love of fishing has seen me flicking baits and lures from a myriad of watercraft, from boats and kayaks, to SUPs, an Argo and even using cheap inflatable toy boats

pressured waterways. After finally getting my hands on one, many years later, a busy life, moving house and having a range of other watercraft at my disposal saw the float tube shelved.

A couple of minutes with a manual air pump, inflating the two separate air chambers, and the float tube was alive and ready for action

compartment I stowed a small Cooper poly anchor and a length of rope, enabling me to anchor, should the wind or tide push me quicker than required or if I wanted to focus more in one area. The other storage compartment held a dry bag with some lures, scent, leader, snacks and my phone, along with a couple of bottles of water.

alongside me, I stowed a couple of light spin rods, suitable for targeting bream and flathead, at 6’6” in length, with 20 size reels, 8lb braid, 10lb leader and rigged with 2.5” paddle-tail plastics on 1/4oz jigheads.

Once in the seat a mesh apron attaches via a pole that fits into a front slot in each pontoon, across in front of the angler, along with Velcro that attaches to each side storage pocket. This mesh apron is an excellent work area in front of the angler, complete with a printed ruler for measuring your fish.

I had no idea what to expect when I slid the float tube into the water, but was pleasantly surprised with

The float tube is buoyant, stable and confortable. things a little frustrating, so I opted to deploy the little Cooper anchor and tie the anchor rope to the ‘D’ ring on the front of one side. With a ‘D’ ring on either side at the front of the pontoons, I could

high tide there wasn’t as much water on the flat as I would have liked. Combine this with some offshore wind creating crystal clear water and the flat felt like a desert. A lack of bait, feeding

The seat is comfortable, buoyant and adjustable. to access the less accessible side of a creek. Recently, while gearing up for a SUP (stand up paddle) session, I was sorting a few items in the shed and noticed another watercraft folded neatly and stowed on the top of some shelving.

– a simple and well-designed craft featuring two inflatable pontoons with a folding seat suspended between them, all encased in a heavy-duty nylon material. The pontoons come to a point at the front, much like the shape of a boat hull, for better tracking and

This craft is powered via a pair of flippers, strapped over wading shoes, however I opted to carry a kayak paddle that tucked in neatly inside one armrest. My thought was that a kayak paddle may be a simple and effective way of propelling the craft,

Lounge chair fishing – game on! the ease of boarding, the stability of the craft and its manoeuvrability. I used the flippers for travelling across the flat, venturing about a hundred metres along a mangrove edge and then used the tide to drift back across the broken weed beds and sand flats. The wind made

effectively anchor to face in toward the mangroves or out across the flats slightly, while still facing up current, enabling me to swim my lures back naturally with the current.

Unfortunately I hadn’t done my research well enough and with a smaller

activity and I wasn’t feeling it. I’ve learnt the hard way in the past after hours of flogging the same water or casting the same lure – trust your gut and change things up if you’re not feeling it.

A couple of hundred metres away was a drain that funnelled the water from this

Left: One side pocket loaded with a couple of drinks and dry bag of tackle, scent, snacks, leader and phone. Right: The second side storage pocket loaded with a small Cooper anchor and length of rope.

Purchased years earlier at the right price, being a display model, my float tube had never actually been christened.

It was time. As a fishing-mad teenager I had always been fascinated by float tubes and the associated imagery of anglers with these inflatable boats on their backs venturing into the wild, drifting streams, prospecting pools and accessing low 88

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speed. There is a mesh floor in the bow, behind the seat, where I stowed a bucket with lid in case I wanted to keep a feed, along with a mesh storage pocket on the back of the seat for stowing a landing net or other accessories.

The pontoons act as arm rests for the angler and there is a zip and Velcro side storage pocket on each pontoon that is easily accessed and secure. In one

especially if I felt a little uneasy using my legs as bull shark bait. Float tubes are generally used in freshwater, either fishing around the edges of impoundments or drifting streams with the current, making simple position adjustments with the flippers. As my first adventure was the saltwater flats, I thought the paddle was a worthy addition.

Inside the other armrest,

A handful of float tube bream on a ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ.

flat into the main channel on the dropping tide and I picked up the paddle to begin the next leg of my journey.

The paddle was a great option and I could paddle faster backward, using the boat hull shape of the pontoons, however I wasn’t in a hurry and paddling facing forward made it easier to use a traditional paddle stroke, track where I was going and keep an eye out for bait activity and feeding fish. What I quickly realised though was that I had been high and dry in my float tube seat and by paddling in the direction I was facing I invited waves of winter water into my lap. The water

by one for the bucket to take home for dinner and then another that I released.

With the sun getting lower in the sky and the winter chill arriving it was time to head for home.

I paddled into the shallows, spun the craft around backward and used my feet to push the float

fly off with my rocket pack…

Soon I was home. After a quick wash the float tube was stored to dry.

I look forward to exploring my local bass creeks and impoundments in the float tube soon as well as a few more select adventures in the salt. My first adventure taught me that the float tube is

The author getting his flippers on for powering the craft. drains it is much easier to bring your lure back with the current. The current lays the weed over toward you, meaning the lure fouls less often and when it does a quick shake or rip will often free it and your retrieve continues. Flathead also lay facing up into the drain as

The next hit was a yellowtail pike and I decided to slide it into my bucket for dinner as I thought I should be able to rustle up half a dozen before heading home.

I smiled a little as I thought of a mate of mine saying ‘why do you eat the bait?’

I am happy enough to let

Backpack boat – let the adventure begin.

The mesh apron makes landing and handling fish much simpler. drained away quickly when I stopped paddling however my thoughts were that in choppier conditions the seat would be a little damper.

I found what I was looking for when I reached the drain, slightly deeper water that was stirred up a little more from the water flowing off the flats. My bull shark paranoia kicked in and I opted to rest my feet up

that direction. The hits are generally immediate and aggressive as the bream are actively feeding and don’t need much convincing that the little paddle-tail is a fleeing baitfish. All of the bream were released and I moved further into the sandy section of the drain, casting to the weed edges in search of a flathead for dinner.

When fishing weedy Unclipping the shoulder straps to stow them in the side pocket.

A second rod stowed inside the other armrest. on the pontoons, using the paddle to adjust position.

It was a little surreal as I felt like I was chilling in a lounge chair while fishing.

Comfortable, extremely stable and with the paddle resting across my lap, I could easily dip one blade to adjust my slow drift angle or pick it up and adjust position.

Watching and listening for bait movement, before casting to the activity, I quickly landed four bream.

It’s amazing how many bream I have caught in recent times by spotting or hearing them actively feeding and then casting in

it funnels bait off the flat and into their strike zone. It wasn’t long before I hooked up to a reasonable flathead, fought it to the side of the float tube and then shook it off as I fumbled for the net. This reinforced the need to be organised and so I repositioned the net where it was easy to grab should another opportunity arise.

Yellowtail pike are readily available in the author’s local in winter and they’re not bad eating... for bait.

the bream, cod, trevally and other species go, along with plenty of flathead, instead eating mullet, gar, yellowtail pike and other ‘bait’ species that are readily available.

Yellowtail pike are plentiful in my area through winter and their oily flesh is perfect for smoking, fish cakes or even just panko crumbed and served with vegetables or salad.

I switched my retrieve to a slow roll with a few twitches and soon had nine pike in the bucket for a feed.

Back to the flathead focus – the slight breeze was holding me still against the tide, allowing me to paddle into position and cast straight up the sandy drain. I allowed the plastic to sink to the bottom and then retrieved it with the standard two hops and a pause, retrieving the slack as the plastic sank back to the bottom. With a tap followed by a solid hook set, I had a small flathead in the mesh apron, unhooked and released. This was followed

tube right up into inches of water, unclipped my flippers and stood up. My first float tube mission had been a success; it was so buoyant and so simple to board and exit. Once up on the grass I clipped and strapped everything in place, clipped on my shoulder straps and loaded the float tube onto my back like a backpack. It was light, comfortable and sat securely on my back as I easily walked the 800m or so back home.

I got a few weird looks and comments like ‘Now that’s an easy boat to use’ and ‘Cool boat, mate,’ along with a couple of chats… One bloke thought I was going to

comfortable, stable and perfect for calm water adventures.

It is ideal for transporting on your back between pools or when accessing hard-to-reach sections of water, although it is slow on the water, so you would be better carrying it closer to where you want to fish or using flowing streams or tides to assist you in covering distances. Keep your kit light and simple, spend a few short trips getting to know your craft and the float tube could be your next inexpensive watercraft that allows you to access new water and make the most of short windows of available time. Any fish, anywhere, on any craft and I’m there.

The paddle stowed inside one armrest.

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89

Anchoring tactics that will score more fish BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Setting up a boat for a specific fishing style is a personal thing, yet it can greatly influence success at the end of the day. And it’s an odd thing about a boat’s setup that the things in plain view are often most used while other equipment can be entirely out of sight and just as important in the grand scheme of things.

lines of our finny friends below there’s vibration and noise being transmitted for a considerable distance and this can put fish off their tucker in that area.

Don’t believe me? Put the face mask on and dive over the side when the electric is on Anchor Lock; the hum and resonance will surprise you. Anchoring is the way to go when stealth fishing and I rely on it heavily for a lot of my fishing, particularly for impoundment work on barra.

SOUNDERS Fortunately, the days of

especially useful adjunct along mangrove banks in estuaries where fallen timber can grab an anchor and refuse to let it go. If serious timber or other snags are visible down there, it might be a wise move to think twice about committing a valuable anchor and the amount of time and effort involved in trying to retrieve it if things go pear-shaped.

SILENCE THAT CHAIN If you’re fishing over straight sand or a mud bottom, you’ll need to use your anchor with some chain.

Fishing from the TABS back in 2012 the author used the concrete pick and float set up to good effect on the dam’s barra. anglers, however, understand that 2m of chain is hardly sufficient to bed an anchor rapidly when trying to hold just off a specific spot or a hard earned GPS mark that is going to contribute to filling

the fish box.

Instead, 4m of chain works far better and that goes for reef anchors as well as they also need chain to bed properly and quickly. There’s no questioning that a sloppy

as it’s very easy to retrieve some and retie.

WHICH ANCHOR FOR YOU? First and foremost the chosen anchor must fit easily into the anchor well

Quiet anchoring tactics saw this fat barra taken on fly by the author.

Let’s look at an overlooked item – the good old anchor. When a boat is purchased there’s an anchor with it; most times the buyer won’t even look at the anchor. Great – it’s in the locker there and there’s plenty of rope! But there are anchors and anchors, with quite a few different styles on the shelf for today’s boating enthusiasts.

Most times small boat owners won’t be too concerned with anchors for holding them securely onto reef bottom in deep water, as we leave that sort of fishing to the big guys with their big boats. That said, a reef anchor needs to be strongly made to ensure it holds bottom securely. If it’s too light a construction the tines will easily bend and the boat will drift.

IS THERE A NEED TO ANCHOR? But let’s look at this anchoring business in another light! With all the emphasis on electric motors and their ability to hold the boat exactly on a GPS ordained position is there actually a need to anchor up? For a short time, likely not, but with the electric humming away above the lateral 90

JULY 2018

dropping the pick and hoping for the right outcome when the end of fishing indicates it’s time to pull it up seem to be behind us. Most craft these days have sounders and it’s not at all uncommon to see a 12ft tinny set up with a $3000 sounder, so bottom definition has gone from guesswork to an applied science.

Consequently it’s not hard to assess what sort of bottom is below – an

Chain? Doesn’t that stuff rattle and clatter and scare every fish for 50m all round?

It can, yes, but this situation is like a lot of others in the boating world – we manage it.

Remember there needs to be a minimum of 2m of chain linking an anchor and rope in order to bed the anchor as quickly as possible so it can take hold and position the boat as required. Experienced

The author’s homemade weed anchor is on the left, a conventional plough anchor central, and a Sarca on the right.

Dam weed beds like this are great platforms to fish from but not good places to drop a standard pattern of anchor.

anchor set can make a lot of noise but the canny angler will get everything ready for the drop, including lifting the pick and chain from the well as smoothly as possible then bunching up the chain on an old bit of carpet or similar sound deadening material to ensure it doesn’t rattle off the decks or clink excessively as it goes over the side. Feeding it out gently on the drop is the smart move.

A tactic that ensures the boat is going to be as near as possible to a chosen spot when the pick digs in is to run up current a couple of times and let the boat drift back in order to estimate the correct length of drop in regard to the time of drift. In the end it’s better to have too much rope out than too little,

up front. This is sometimes tricky as some manufacturers seem hell bent on minimizing anchor well sizes, seemingly forgetting that an anchor needs to go into and then come out of an anchor well as freely as possible.

Most anchor work involves someone up front either reaching down to get the pick out of its nest of rope, or alternatively straining to retrieve it. Naturally, sea conditions aren’t always kind enough to make either scenario pleasant, but it has to be done. So whatever anchor you choose, ensure it will fit into the anchor well before cash or card come into play.

Commonly used small boat anchors for soft bottom work these days are undoubtedly the long-

standing plough (or Coastal) style anchor, the Sand And Reef Combination Anchor (or Sarca) or maybe a Delta.

The Sarca and Delta styles have a reputation for bedding down, digging in. and holding fast virtually as soon as contact is made with the bottom. The Sarca style also features a long slot within the main shaft so that the shackle connecting anchor and chain can slide forward or

Like plough anchors, the other styles mentioned come in different sizes for larger or smaller craft and their compact size and lack of protruding sections also made them easy to store in the anchor well as an additional bonus to their ease of use. Remember, though, that plough anchors need to be fed over the side quite correctly, main flukes down and ready to grip, and

a fair amount of chain and recommend the thickness of anchor warp to go with the size of your boat.

THE WEEDLESS ANCHOR Interestingly, there will be times when all the anchors I’ve mentioned will be quite unsatisfactory for the fishing, and chain won’t be required. Anchoring in dense weed on the lakes is what I’m on about. With a bit

There are several styles of anchor here, selection should come down to the style of fishing in mind and, most importantly, the ease of fitting it in the boat’s anchor well.

A selection of anchors at a chandlery. Selecting the right one for the job can certainly be made easier with some consultation with the staff.

Silence is golden, especially for catching beautiful barra.

of breeze blowing and just a small drift as the anchor beds, there’s big trouble when that conventional style pick needs to come up. Leaning over the side, trying to get the mess of mud and weed off before the anchor is lifted aboard is no kind of fun, and very time consuming.

The Kampes do a lot of flyfishing for big fat impoundment barra. These fish seem to like our flies a lot and one of our favourite methods –and one many anglers rely on – is to anchor up on the edge of a dense weed bed so that the stern of the boat is just at the outer edge. That way we can get our flies right where barra prowl looking for a feed on the drop off point.

Once a barra is hooked the boat needs to be out of there pronto or the fish will likely be weed-buried in a flash. To expedite this process the boat end of the anchor rope has a loop plus a float on it so it can be quickly slipped free of the boat to be collected later. With the electric motor on full power the charging barra is coaxed, dragged, guided, (you name it, we do it all) away from the weed bed where the 10wt fly rod can do it’s job.

The anchor used in this scenario can’t be purchased. I made it. It’s a plastic container filled with quick set concrete with a galvanised eye bolt set into the top of it. This anchor holds our boat steady as a rock, so long as the wind isn’t too strong (then we just tie to

boarding without wading out too far in this cold weather, a steady pull inwards will see the concrete special slipping free, which means the boat can be drawn ashore without much drama.

If you are a fellow small boat owner, I hope those couple of tips might well make a serious difference to a fishing trip. The problem with boats is that we never seem to use them enough, but there’s no doubt that smart anchoring tactics can help fill the ice box.

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allowed to land and then bed in carefully as well. A bit of dragging is possible before all slack starts to be taken up.

Ultimately, your choice of anchor is up to you and for good advice I’d suggest visiting a marine dealer and having a conversation regarding the main boating plans prior to purchase.

Most will advise the use of

for the homemade anchor; it’s handy as a back anchor at times when I’m leaving the boat floating close to the shore, say in an impoundment or maybe on a beach on a short term basis. The front of the boat is anchored ashore with the rear being roped to the concrete special; this allows the craft to float freely without continually pounding on the bank with each incoming wave, which is annoying. When I want to retrieve the boat for

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backwards depending upon the direction of strain or pull.

With the boat at anchor the load is transferred to the back of the Sarca’s shank; when it’s time to move the act of driving the craft forward will cause the shackle to slide towards the front of the Sarca and simply lift the fluke from the bottom as the tension is transferred.

a tree) and keeps it right there until we need to move.

Once lifted there’s usually only minimal weed clinging to it which is quite easily removed due to the smooth surfaces all round. If I dropped any other anchor into that weed I’d waste a lot of good fishing time removing the stuff and likely end up with muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger from the exertion.

A HANDY BACK ANCHOR I’ve found another use

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Stessco Sunseeker 620 with Yamaha F150hp - SC

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PERFORMANCE RPM......Speed.(km/h)...... Economy.(km/L) 1000 .......................7.2 ........................... 2.3 2000.................... 12.0 ........................... 1.6 3000.................... 26.4 ........................... 1.8 3500 .................... 36.6 ........................... 1.9 4000.................... 44.2 ........................... 1.8 5000.....................57.8 ........................... 1.5 6000.................... 71.5 ........................... 1.1 92

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Main: Stessco’s Sunseeker 620 features a new, fibreglass hard top that provides plenty of shade or cover from the rain, as on the test day on the Noosa River.

Above: With a beam of 2.48m, the Sunseeker provides a massive platform for virtually any on-water activity.

It’ll cost you nearly twice as much at the pump to keep this rig at wide-open throttle all day. Your choice.

Stessco Standard structural warranty on their premium boats is 2 years, if it is purchased on a Stessco trailer or Stessco trailer by Dunbier, then their structural warranty is increased to 5 years/60 months.

“We’re very happy with the way we build our packages, so five years of warranty isn’t a worry for us,” said Stessco’s Adrian Beil. Indeed, if you shop around, you’ll find very few rigs with that after-sales coverage. Combine that with Yamaha’s four-year warranty and there’s plenty

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Stessco’s 2018 Media Event on the Noosa River was held in between rainsqualls. As it happened, those were ideal conditions in which to test out a cabin boat.

After all, that’s exactly what cabin boats offer – a space out of the weather, be it sun or rain, and a massive platform to fish with several of your mates.

And I’ll be upfront here – one of the most attractive parts of this Stessco/Yamaha package is the price. These Sunseeker packages start from the mid $50K. As tested, this unit priced up at around $65,000. You get a lot of boat for your bucks.

Stesscos are made in Brisbane and have only recently outsourced their trailer supply out of their factory. The 620 is a new release and the biggest model in the Sunseeker range (the others are 490,

of trouble-free boating ahead for the owners of this package.

We were pretty impressed with the massive cockpit area in this boat, the high cabin and the dimensions of the fibreglass hard top. The new windscreen design of the modern Sunseekers is also on point.

The hard top does need a little extra support and the guys in the factory are already on it.

If you want to see this rig in action, check out the video review of this boat by scanning the QR code hereby or by searching for it on the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube channel. Subscribe

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s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

520, 550 and 580). The hull is aluminium bottom and sides with a fibreglass cabin bolted on top to go with the fibreglass hard top. It gives the hull a smooth look up top but the resilience and light weight of a tinnie down below.

The test boat was headed to Whitsunday Marine for a northern customer, so it was ordered with the new fibreglass hard top option to keep the tropical sun out, but this iteration of the Sunseeker hull will be suitable for all Australian environments from Port Phillip Bay through to the Great Barrier Reef.

Powered by Yamaha’s bulletproof F150 4-stroke outboard, the Sunseeker delivered remarkably good fuel economy. At best cruising speed (3500rpm) it yielded just under 2km/L burned. With a 145L fuel tank, this gives a theoretical range of over 250km – plenty for any day trips you’ll do.

Drop the hammers and you’ll get over 70km/h, but at the expense of economy.

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while you’re there for notifications about all of our video boat and tackle tests.

For more information, check out stessco.com. au or email sales@ stessco.com.au.

SPECIFICATIONS Length.overall .. 6.55m Beam................. 2.48m Depth ................ 1.48m Hull.weight ....... 750kg Weight.(on trailer). 1550kg Bottom ................ 4mm Sides ................... 4mm Maximum.hp ........ 175 Fuel.capacity ...... 145L Capacity .. Six persons

The test day on the Noosa River was both raining and hot – standard Queensland weather in autumn.

Left: Under the hard top, the layout is pretty simple with lots of cockpit room to fish you and several of your mates.

Right: With a fold-down boarding ladder that gets you on the duckboard, it’s easy to get in when the boat is parked stern-on to the shore. The transom door also helps.

A pair of comfortable seats are mounted on bases that have some clever storage underneath. The helm is simple and made of moulded fibreglass.

Now there’s some cockpit space to work with.

This underfloor kill tank will hold plenty of fish on ice until you can get back to fillet them.

A freshwater deck wash is a real luxury and rare in a boat in this price range.

Yamaha’s F150 is an ideal match for this rig and delivers nearly 2km/L at optimum cruising speeds. Theoretical range is over 250km on the standard 145L tank.

It doesn’t need to be tackle stored in here. Anything that doesn’t like salt spray will be happier in here than in the side pockets.

Pop up through here from the cabin to stow and deploy the anchor. Unlike Victorians, Queenslanders haven’t really discovered anchor winches… yet.

If you’re a side-pocket lover, the Stessco isn’t for you. There are a couple of small spaces to store your frequently used gear.

There’s no denying that the bait station is sturdy. This one holds a couple of rods as well.

Preparing to disembark, the hull draws very little water at rest and allows you to get up close and personal with the shore.

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Horizon 515 Northerner with Yamaha F115hp

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Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

If there’s a better place in South East Queensland to review a boat than the Southport Broadwater, I’m yet to find it. The launching is easy thanks to several sheltered ramps, the scenery is quite picture perfect, and there are a variety of conditions ranging from the near calm of the Broadwater to the open ocean just through the Seaway entrance to test a craft’s mettle.

AN ENTIRELY NEW BOAT I’m grateful for Scott James of Horizon Boats for arranging my time with his new 515 Northerner and he pointed out that this year there’s an entirely new craft in the Northerner range with 4mm bottom sheets, 3mm

Main: A great place for a boat review; a great looking boat, and check out that classy wrap! Above: The 515 Northerner’s excellent hull design ensures there’s minimal lean in a hard turn to port. family fun days as well as serious ‘set the alarm for 4am’ angling pursuits.

The new Horizon 515 Northerner combined virtually everything that makes alloy mid-sized craft

PERFORMANCE Rpm........ Speed.(km/h).......... Economy.(L/h) 1000 ......................... 7.4 ............................ 2.4 1500 .......................10.6 ............................ 3.5 2000....................... 11.8 ............................ 5.6 3000.......................36.2 ............................ 9.1 4000.......................41.3 ............................. 7.0 5000.......................53.3 ............................ 8.6 WOT .......................62.5 .......................... 40.1 side sheets, a new transom and a massive front storage area, just to name some of the additional features.

The entire Northerner range – craft from 4.155.40m – all focus on fishability and a large degree of user-friendliness that carries over to laidback 94

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so popular. It’s strongly built and offers a compact, easily towable size involving versatility in both storage and mobility while the economical side console layout always provides as much work room as possible for a given size of craft. Two anglers fishing up front and

another two aft would be entirely feasible in quiet conditions.

The rail and windscreen equipped console was a lesson in practicality as it offered mid-shelf storage, foot room within the base plus a large area up top to set up even a very large sounder as well as multi-function gauges for the Yamaha 115 on the stylish new Horizon Fast Back Transom, which is 700mm high – same as the sides. Offshore runs on good days – why not?

Bolster-style console seating is a bonus for the skipper and mate, but another additional two seating positions provide options with balance and fishing space.

Up front an elevated deck sat watch over a massive hatch, concealing a 110L ice box, with adjoining side storage compartments also handy. Not to be

overlooked, of course, was the big under-floor storage aft, which doubled as a catch well. All the floor areas were carpeted, naturally, and an electric motor pad

and cockpit side pockets completed the picture.

Decent freeboard is a big feature of the Northerner and it’s certainly a feature that adds to overall versatility.

Confidence in sea conditions is a great asset in any craft and the easy, soft ride of the 515 Northerner – whether in the calm of the Broadwater or out towards the end of the Seaway walls – was a bonus.

SMOOTH YAMAHA 115 In my view the 115hp Yamaha 4-stroke on the transom certainly contributed a lot to that particular boating experience. Whisper-quiet at idle, the 1.8L engine easily shot the rig onto the plane at 15.6km/h (2700rpm) and ran her up to almost 62.5km/h at full throttle. Top speed doesn’t tell the whole story; at one point we had five folk (maximum) aboard her yet the 515 cruised smoothly at

4800rpm/47.3km/h.

In a nutshell, the 515 Northerner is a very competent fishing package and combines plenty of work area, excellent storage, comfortable seating and great sea keeping and handling. Best of all was an overall feeling of comfort while underway or walking around the hull to note its steady attitude in the water.

SPECIFICATIONS Hull.length...........5.15m Beam ...................2.40m Depth ...................1.23m Bottom ..................4mm Sides......................3mm Weight.hull ..........480kg Min.hp ...................90hp Max.hp ................ 115hp Hole.Shot 4.80 seconds Number.of.people..Five

The Northerner’s freeboard certainly shines through in this image, as does the fact there’s room for additional anglers to work as well.

The Northerner’s name is well recognized but the 515’s eye catching design represents an entirely new boat.

Under the Northerner’s 40cm high front casting platform there’s a generous hatch which conceals a 110L ice box.

A full height transom allows the 515 Northerner’s lucky owner to enjoy a huge range of fishing activities, all enhanced by a wide work area.

A dedicated fishing craft needs a live well and the Northerner’s is a beauty at 75L capacity .

A boat with off shore capability deserves a large anchor well so just check out the size of the 115 Northerner’s!

A carpeted cockpit aft offers plenty of room for a couple of anglers to work in comfort.

The Northerner’s under floor storage is complemented by the big catch well in the cockpit area.

At 1.8L capacity the 115 Yamaha certainly made easy work of powering the solid Northerner’s hull.

This image gives a complete look at the easy, uncomplicated work area of the Northerner. Note the close spaced side ribs for extra rigidity, the additional seat spigots to provide flexibility in seating.

Bolster seating of this quality is a rare feature in a mid sized sports boat and certainly represents a bonus to skipper and mate.

Seeing is believing; there’s a 110L ice box set under the northerner’s front deck area.

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