New South Wales Fishing Monthly - June 2014 by Fishing Monthly

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A Black Magic 5/0 Snapper Snatcher ‘pinky’ was used by Bogues Jones to catch this 10kg murray cod. Bogues was fishing at Gunbower, VIC.

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June 2014, Vol. 19 No. 10

Contents 06

From the Editor’s Desk... You’ll notice the front cover of this issue sports the first winner of the Front Cover Competition – Scott Whitfield emailed us this amazing image of a Murray cod that he landed at Pindari Dam in the state’s north. Congratulations, Scott! As well as being plastered over an issue of NSW Fishing Monthly, we’ll send Scott a framed copy of the cover that’ll take pride of place in his pool room for a long time to come. Good news for you, though, is that it’s not too late to sneak into contention before we close the doors. We’re running Readers’ Covers for this issue and the next two after it (July and August), so get snapping and send those entries in. The details are on the ad on page 69 of this issue.

NEW BOTANY BAY WRITER Also this month, we welcome a Gabe Quercigrosse as our new Botany Bay reporter. A lot of you may know Gabe from Gabe’s Boating and Fishing Centre stores at Narellan and Sylvania. And those that do, will know that he’s right up to speed on what’s happening and when in his local waters, so we’re thrilled to capture some of this experience and document it in NSWFM’s pages to help you plan your trips better. There’s been a bit of a gap after Scotty Lyons finished reporting in the area, but we reckon that Gabe will fill his boots admirably. COMPETITIONS GALORE You’ll probably notice that there’s a lot of competitions going on in these pages.

The response to the Find the C-Hooks comp was nothing short of amazing, with literally thousands of entries landing in the PO Box in the promotion’s duration. Finding the Specialty Fishing Products logo is also proving ridiculously popular, but there’s opportunities in these pages to win a Power Pole Micro Anchor (by Hobie), iPads (from Ecogear and Marukyu) and of course the Hawk Fishing products in the Find-a-Word, which must be one of the longest running competitions in magazine history – fishing or otherwise. Get involved – I talked with all of the Major prize winners of the C-Point comp and several of them “never won anything in their lives”. And if that sounds like you, it won’t change if you don’t enter.

AFTA TRADE SHOW COMING UP At the end of this month, we’ll be at the AFTA Trade Show again on the Gold Coast, bringing you the latest tackle that’s about to hit our shores. The written pieces will be readable in the What’s New section in the following months, but if you’re after a more immediate fix, then make sure you keep up with the constant stream of product videos that we produce at the show. If you keep an eye on (and Like) the Fishing Monthly Magazines Facebook page, there’ll be constant links to the YouTube channel. Most videos are up within 24 hours of being filmed. It’s as close as you’ll get to being there (considering that the show is closed to the general public). Until then, tight lines and enjoy the start of the Winter season.

BYRON COAST The Tweed The Richmond The Clarence

8 10 12

COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour Coffs Game South West Rocks

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MACQUARIE COAST Port Macquarie 18 Harrington 20 Forster 22 HUNTER COAST Hunter Coast 26 Swansea 27 Central Coast 28 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 30 Sydney North 32 Pittwater 34 Sydney Harbour 36 Botany Bay 37 Sydney Rocks 38 Sydney South 40 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 42 Nowra 44 BATEMANS COAST Batemans Bay 53 Narooma 54 Merimbula 55 Bermagui 56 EDEN COAST Eden 56 Tathra 57 Mallacoota 57

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FRESHWATER Canberra 60 Batlow 61 Jindabyne 62 Lithgow-Oberon 63 Maitland 64 Tamworth 66 Moama 67 Yarrawonga 68 Wagga Wagga 68 Robinvale 70 REGULAR FEATURES 4WD and Camping 80 Back to Basics 45 Boating 74 Dam Levels 67 Fun Page 59 Kayak 50 Tides 86 Trade Directory 82 Tournaments 71 What’s New Fishing 46 What’s New Boating 74

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Scott Whitfield wins the first of the Readers’ Covers with this great Pindari cod pic.

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SPECIAL FEATURES Lake Cathie 6 Ecogearaqua 35 Big Jig Rig 80 JUNE 2014

Lake Cathie: A whiting lure angler’s gem LAKE CATHIE

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

Lake Cathie (pronounced ‘cat-eye’), a small town with a population of 2000 people, is located approximately 15 minutes south of Port Macquarie on the mid north coast

accommodation and a local supermarket centre, takeaway food stores, fuel plus a bowling club that boasts the biggest bowls ball in Australia. FISHING OPTIONS The Lake itself boasts a great whiting fishery and you can catch these fish throughout the system pretty easily at times. It also boasts

Ryan with a whiting caught on a Castaway estuary charter. of NSW. Lake Cathie is often thought of as being a relaxing, laid-back holiday destination, and that’s true. However, the other thing Cathie has is one of the best whiting fisheries I have ever fished. THE LAKE AND AREA Lake Cathie is actually the second biggest saltwater marsh area in NSW. Also, Cathie is in a situation where it is open and then closed to the sea on a regularly changing basis, and when the lake is open this shallow waterway is pristine. The town has great

a great prawn run, and is one of the few places around Port Macquarie you can actually go and scoop a feed of prawns. The anglers who use dragnets also can get amongst some good hauls but it is preferable if the lake mouth is closed for this style of prawning, as tidal flow can be hard to drag with or against. Flathead can be found throughout Lake Cathie as well, and some great fish are landed each year while there are plenty of 36-45cm fish to keep you interested while you’re waiting to hook

Andrew with a mixed bag of fish all taken on poppers from the kayak. 6

JUNE 2014

a big girl. In summer you may find it difficult to fish the eastern side of bridge as this area is a picnicker’s delight and a great place for a BBQ and a swim on those warmer days. However, after dark when the crowd has diluted around the road bridge you can sometimes get mulloway, estuary cod (protected so please release), whiting and bream. The favourite bait here after dark is live prawns – if you scoop some and can then part with them! Beachworms and pink nippers are also favourites of the night time brigade. Cathie Beach down to Middle Rock Beach are both worth a shot if you’re keen on doing some beach fishing. The target list is bream, whiting and mulloway, and sometimes you can have some great sport on the salmon (that’s mainly in the cooler months though). For the offshore anglers, out the front of Cathie features some of the best snapper fishing you will ever see. There are many patches of reef from 10m to 40m, and a well worked plastic

A leisurely paddle or pedal around the edges of Lake Cathie can produce great flathead on small minnow lures. will catch these if you know the retrieve. Long casts and a splashy continuous bloop across the surface will be something you need to put into practice. There are many lures that work but a few that stand out are the Bassday Sugapen (pissy prawn

Casting poppers from the shoreline is a great way to spend a couple of hours catching whiting. accounts for a lot of serious fish here each season. If you’re heading offshore, Port Macquarie is a bit closer but Laurieton to the south is your other option. Just remember both entrances have bars and need to be monitored before heading out. Watch the weather, know the forecast and if in doubt, don’t go out! LAKE TACTICS AND LURES Because Lake Cathie is mainly a shallow lake it’s ideal for roof toppers, but for me kayaks in this water seriously rock. I run two Hobie kayaks through my charter operation and these were put together specifically for this system. Yes, I can get my boat in and when lake is closed I do. However, with many spots ankle-deep, kayaking makes better sense and is a much stealthier approach in these shallow waters. My main target is whiting on poppers, and you

colour) the Atomic Hardz Pop, and the ever trusty River2Sea Bubble Pop in white and transparent. Bushy and Starlo’s Stiffy poppers work a treat as well. One thing I believe with poppers is this: if a popper has a tow point in the middle of the cup face, it will create a better action. It will not bury your lure under the water while retrieving, as lures with the higher or lower points do. The walk-the-dog style lures and Sugapens are extremely effective on calmer water. If it is windy I tend to use poppers, but if you only have one style stick with it you will catch fish here. There are a couple of launch areas. One is the ramp on the north-western side of bridge and the other is the Perch Hole which is just north of Cathie. Driving to Port Macquarie you will see the sign on the side of Ocean

Drive, and this is where I usually launch the kayaks as you can head up or down here and be straight into the fish. Flathead can be caught in several ways, all stock standard methods. Plastics are fine here and account for plenty of fish but in

Remember, they only have to dive a few feet to get amongst the fish. I use plenty of these style lures but a Lake Cathie special is the Damiki Saemi. They would have to be my favourite for this style of fishing, having accounted

Anyone would be happy with a feed like this taken in a couple of hour’s poppering! this system I like to troll a couple of minnow style hardbodies behind my kayak, approximately 30ft behind.

for many flatties, bream and whiting. Interestingly I have found in Cathie the minnow styles far out-fish

The author with a couple of whiting taken on the Sugapen.

A nice bag of whiting using SAX scent smeared on the poppers.

the chubby style lures, whilst in the Hastings River at Port Macquarie I find the reverse to be true. I’m not sure why that would be, but charter and personal results over the years definitely point to this. EQUIPMENT For this style of fishing a 7’, 1-3kg graphite rod, matched with a 1000 or similar size threadline, loaded with 2-3kg braid will get the job done. One thing I do tend to use are shorter and slightly heavier leaders for my popping. I like a leader of approximately 80cm and 12lb breaking strain. I just think I can track my poppers straighter and bloop them better for my style of retrieve

The deadly Sugapen, one of the author’s favourite lures for Lake Cathie. with this leader set-up. Other gear I carry includes braid scissors, small pliers for removing stubborn hooks, a measuring ruler, a spool of leader, Sax scent and a camera. I also like to keep some ice in the live well of the yak, as this keeps any fish I may want for dinner in tip top condition. Also essential is sunscreen, a wide brimmed hat and polarised sunnies. I wear Makos; I like that they really let me see the whiting following my lures,

Casey with a whiting caught on a Castaway estuary charter.

adding to the excitement of the session. TIME AND TIDE Over the seasons I have found half tide up to half down to be the best for whiting when the system is open. However when closed, you can fish anytime with surface lures. When the lake is closed (depending on how long for) it will limit the use of trolling diving minnows as the lake bed tends to get a thick weed on it. You will still catch fish but will

be consistently removing weed. The better option is plastics, rigged weedless as the flathead still bite in these conditions. If you are travelling up the mid north coast and would like to spend a day or two in some quiet water I think Lake Cathie would suit you very well, especially if you’re a yak fisher. The great scenery, combined with plenty of flats to fish and easy access, make it a truly special waterway.

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JUNE 2014

Frosty weather flathead THE TWEED

David Solano

June, and it’s getting cold. Heck, it is cold. The time is 4.30am and I’ve just finished getting dressed. Last weekend I was able to wear my normal fishing clothes (normally one layer) but this morning I’ve got three sets of thermals on, my normal fishing gear

headed down to the boat for a quick discussion on where we would fish and what lures we would use. After much talk and a sausage roll we decided to take two rods each, one with a soft plastic and the other with a hardbody. I chose an Atomic Hardz shallow diver in the muddy prawn colour and a Gulp Shrimp in the speckled pink colour. Ric used a Diawa Double Clutch deep diver

Richard Creighton with a flathead that was released. and two heavy jackets over that and I’m feeling nice and toasty. My mate Richard Creighton is on his way down with his Bull Shark (boat) and today our plan is to hit all our flathead spots with the aim of a few legals for lunch. Ric turned up right on time at daybreak, a good mate. He put the boat in at Kennedy Drive boat ramp by himself then headed around to my place to pick me up as I live right on the water. I grabbed my gear, made two coffees and

and a Zman Curly TailZ in the motor oil colour. We decided to start down near Seagulls, actually right next to Seagulls as there’s a lot of weed and sand there and it’s normally a pretty awesome place to find lizards. Straight away we were smiling, as we were getting a lot of fish. However, a legal flathead is 40cm and do you think we could get one over 40? We did eventually but it took at least 30 fish before we landed a 46cm flatty. I lost count of the number of 38cm fish we caught. I kept

looking at their mouths to see if we’d already caught them before, as that’s happened to me in the past, but there were no tell tale signs. Clearly the place is full of miniature flatties. Sometimes that can mean there could be a big female around somewhere and we tried very hard to find her but to no avail. We could only get that one legal fish which we kept alive in the live well, eventually letting him go but he will never know how lucky he was! If we had caught three more of his brothers he would have been lunch. While we were fishing I noticed two old salts in a little tinny fishing for luderick in the middle of the river. I’d never seen

Richard rugged up heading out for the right spot five hours with hundreds of casts all for one legal fish. It was a great morning

include down the end of Dry Dock Road at the rock wall near the boat ramp, and

Dave with a healthy Tweed bream. this before as all the rock walls around the bridges are the usual haunts for the black bream hunters. Then I noticed they were nailing fish after fish. I said to Ric, “Mate, we’re chasing the wrong fish!” Ric shook his head. “Nah, luderick fishing is like lawn bowls, we’ll do it when we get older, then we can reminisce about all this stuff we’re doing now.” It sounded like a pretty good retirement plan. Getting back to the flathead hunt, we tried the banks, mangroves, spent

even so, as it’s not all about catching your limit. It’s cool to hang out with your best mate, talking about life, work and stuff while secretly trying to cast a bit better and catch more fish than him. WHAT’S BITING OK, so what’s biting in the river? Well I can tell you there are a lot of little flathead around Seagulls and if those chaps were getting luderick where I saw them (i.e. the middle of river) I think those fish should start showing up at all the usual spots. These

also at the maritime cadet school and around Boyds Bay Bridge, particularly on the south side. How you catch these fish? I don’t know. I’d try to learn, but apparently I have to wait till I’m older. I’d give Cobaki Lakes a try for flathead and you don’t have to have a boat to fish this area; if you Google it you can see that you can walk a good section of this part of the river almost right up to the back of the airport. Lastly, bream and tailor are being landed in numbers off Fingal around both rock walls at the river mouth. Jack Evans Boat Harbour is always worth a cast as well. Oh, and at honey hole, it doesn’t look fishable but tie on a heavy sinker and try behind the hospital as some queenies have been caught there recently.

Dave was happy to catch this nice little mulloway.

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Westerlies kick start fishing BALLINA

Tristan Sloan

With a very mild autumn the chilling westerly winds that arrived at end of last month sent many local anglers scurrying to pull out the winter beanies and

tracksuits. I got the shock of my life when I rose early one morning to chase some mackerel off the rocks to discover it was 6ºC outside. This was several mornings after I had arrived back from a trout fishing trip to the North Island of New Zealand, and I had to rub

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my eyes several times to convince myself that I still wasn’t in the land of the Long White Cloud. The temperature definitely felt the same! While theses winter temperatures may require anglers to put on a few extra layers it don’t stop the fishing from hotting up. Old salts refer to this time of the year as the ‘travelling season’ as several species all congregate to spawn in the lower reaches of the estuaries and off the rocks and beaches. This predominantly includes mullet, blackfish and bream in the Richmond River and off the rocky headlands and beaches, as well as tailor migrating towards Fraser Island to spawn and big knobby headed snapper as they head towards the inshore reefs. SNAPPER Targeting these spawning snapper has to be one of my favourite forms of fishing as I am not a big fan of bottom fishing with heavy leads and winching up snapper from deep water. Using a 6-8kg spin stick on a fast tapered 7’ graphite rod really allows you to get the best out of these great sportfish. Strangely enough, while throwing soft plastics like the popular 7” Berkley Gulp is a

popular technique, it seems to have decreased in effectiveness over the last few years on the local snapper population – especially the bigger older fish. We’ve gone back to basics these last few seasons and our regular technique now is to anchor up on a prominent pinnacle or around bait schools and floatline fresh baits down a berley trail. We regularly use pilchards in the berley trail but prefer fresh squid or a piece of slimy mackerel at the end of our hooks. The trick is to weight the bait so it floats at the same speed as the pilchard berley, so the snapper don’t smell a rat. We still prefer to use braided line for this type of fishing as the smaller diameter helps with the sink rate in strong current. To fool the wary snapper we simply use a long trace, generally at least 3m of 6-10kg fluorocarbon. Constant berleying is an integral part of this method’s success as you aim to draw fish out from structure and across the reef to your bait. This means arriving at your chosen location close to dawn and preferably berleying for at least an hour and a half before calling it quits. While you may get a fish as soon as you throw a bait in the water, it often

Daniel Sloan with a squid caught school jewfish from the beach. takes quite a bit of time for the berley to work, especially if the water is dirty or if there is a bit of current running. It also pays to have a big live bait sitting on the bottom as well as this often results in the form of a decent mulloway or cobia. he effectiveness of this technique means that if used correctly you will see some thumping big snapper landed this winter. Please bear in mind that these fish are breeding future of the species so keep the smaller ones and let the

big breeders go with just a photo to prove the capture to your mates. OTHER SPECIES As well as species intent on spawning, this month also sees a last ditch effort of our tropical estuary and offshore pelagic species feeding up big before either shutting down over winter or migrating towards warmer waters. For boaties this means not discounting mackerel, especially if the water manages to hover around the 23ºC mark for the

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next few weeks. If you can get your hands on a big chopper tailor you very likely will be rewarded with a big mackerel as this is the time of year when the average size is 15-20kg. We should also see an increase in mangrove jack activity over the next month. While the water in the river remains fairly warm mangrove jacks and to a lesser extent trevally will throw caution to the wind and feed voraciously before the cold water really arrives. That’s not to say there

won’t be a few monster jacks pulled from the south wall by anglers fishing live mullet for mulloway this winter, but now is the time to really get out and try to catch a few on lures before they develop a case of winter lockjaw. Speaking of mulloway, while there have been a few small fish caught in the river the last month they haven’t really entered the system yet. The mullet are certainly starting to build up in the lower reaches but not in the numbers

Matt Bowie with a fat silver drummer caught on a popper, you don’t see that very often.

that will attract the big jewfish yet. It seems to take time for the big models to travel from the offshore reefs and headlands into the river, and while they will be a viable option next month this coming month I like to target them from the beaches, intercepting them as they travel into the river. For my money you can’t beat a strip of fresh squid on two 8/0s as dead bait or a live tailor if you can get it. I generally pick up some fresh squid from the local co-op the morning before a fishing trip and plan to arrive at my chosen gutter about an hour before sunset to try to secure a few live tailor. These are normally kept alive in a large wading pool and even if I don’t get any I’m not too concerned as fresh squid is still an excellent bait, especially if you can smear the ink sac all over your squid strips. This acts as berley and sometimes the bait is taken as soon as it hits the water. I tend to look for a gutter that preferably runs out to sea instead of running parallel to the shore. These gutters act as a big fish highway and under the cover of darkness and a big high tide mulloway will travel through them to feed on beachworms on the sandbanks on either side of the gutter, and any unfortunate fish that they can find. Bearing this in mind always cast your baits to the shallow water on the side

of the gutter as this is where the baitfish, and hence jewfish, will be found. You often just seem to catch sharks and rays if you fish the deepest sections.

doesn’t need to be the case. There are still plenty of fish to be caught, especially some of the thumping big aggressive bream at this time of year. A

even manage to snag a school jewfish on one of those herring fished live on a long trace to fool those wary fish during the daytime.

Patrick Sloan with a typical winter snapper from Lennox Head. THE COMING MONTHS Before I sign off this month I want to encourage you to take your children out fishing over the coming months. Summer often sees scores of young children pumping nippers and fishing for whiting and flathead in the Richmond River but they tend to drastically thin out over winter. With a bit of rugging up and careful planning this

trip in the Richmond River armed with a herring jig can keep the kids occupied and having fun for hours. A lightly weighted herring fillet in a bread and tuna oil berley trail was the undoing of countless big bream for me when I was younger, and it still works today. As an added bonus, if the bite is slow the kids can keep themselves entertained jigging herring and you might

Good children-friendly spots from the bank include the RSL Jetty, Riverside Park and the section just up from the swimming pool. Bring some snacks, drinks and rod holders in case the kids get bored, and remember to convince your better half that you’re not technically going fishing, you just want to spend time with the kids. Good luck, and until next time tight lines.

JUNE 2014

Magnificent mulloway THE CLARENCE

Josh Anderson

Outside the snapper have just started to come on. A few good snapper are being taken bottom bashing with baits, 5-7” plastics and jigs as well. Good spots to try include up towards Black Rock off Evans Head and off Shelly Headland and Brooms Head. There have still been a few mackerel about but they’re starting to slow down

a fair bit, and they’re out a bit wider rather than in close. Guys out wide are getting them either trolling hardbodied divers like Rapala Magnums here and there. There’s the odd tuna about as well but they’re slowing down. Off the headlands locals have been getting a fair few mulloway and some good size tailor. There are plenty of blackfish and drummer on the headlands too. The Iluka break wall and Yamba break wall are both very popular

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few mulloway and tailor at the moment. Yamba Point on Yamba side and also on Iluka side off The Bluff and off Woody Head are top spots as well. For the mulloway the best bait has been live mullet, and lurefishers have been throwing bigger jew lures like Bill’s Bugs and the locallymade Leavey Lures. Guys using live mullet have been rigging them on a size 8/0 or 10/0 hook pinned through the back, with a 50-60lb leader. If you’re after tailor it’s recommended to use a 30lb mainline to a short piece of wire trace, with a pilling rigged on 4/0 gangs. A fair few tailor are also being taken on chrome slugs and poppers. The most popular poppers at the moment are Halco Roostas and Cotton Cordell Pencil Poppers.

Mark Pirie caught this 16kg mulloway off the Yamba break wall on a Leavey Lure in the colour whitey. well on blades and Some of the most bream lures at the are Yamba Prawn

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drop we should start to see some bigger snapper, and the action overall should start to pick up a lot more. To get all your fishing gear drop into Yamba Bait & Tackle and say hello to Mick Leavey, Josh Anderson and the crew. They stock a wide range including the popular Leavey Lures which Tony makes himself. You can give the friendly team a call on (02) 6646 1514, or drop into the premises at 3/8 Yamba St, Yamba. You can also look up ‘Yamba Bait & Tackle’ on Facebook and join the hundreds of people following the page to see the latest developments, special offers and photos.

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of the tackle shops have been stocking. Crabs are slowing down now as it gets colder, particularly the mud crabs, but there’s still a fair bit of movement with the blue swimmers. We’re coming to the end of prawn season in the river but there haven’t been all that many anyway. THE MONTH AHEAD As the mullet run goes on a bit more the mulloway will get more active, and as it gets colder we should start to get bigger bream featuring in captures. The blackfish should also start to come on a lot more as the season progresses. As the temperatures offshore

WOOLI DEEP SEA TOURS The author with a 15kg mulloway caught off the Yamba break wall on an Ando Lure in the mullet colour.

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In the river there are some solid bream and still some good size flathead, along with plenty of blackfish. The bream have been biting

TTs Switchblades, 2” Gulp Shrimps and Squidgy Critters. Blackfish are being caught on basic green and black weed, which most

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Jetty Boating moves Jetty Boating Coffs Harbour is now operating from 40 Hi Tech Drive, Toormina. “This is a temporary move whilst we build our own Jetty Boating premises at 22 Hi tech Drive Toormina, which we envisage (pending weather and council) should be complete mid September 2014,” said Karen Goodwin from Jetty Boating Coffs Harbour. “Whilst having to make two moves is not ideal, and our boat display at 40 Hi Tech drive will be restricted, we will continue

to operate with two service bays, outboard motor sales, boat sales and general chandlery items. “In our attempt to have a smooth transition with emails and phones, we ask that all emails be forwarded to info@jettyboating.com. au. The phone number will remain the same, the fax number will also remain the same and be diverted to the above email address. The email address jettyboat@westnet.com.au is no longer in use. “We look forward to continued dealings with our valued customers.” - JBCH

Young George Forrester caught this 81cm Murray cod on his dad’s rod while dad was off collecting firewood. Sweet move, Junior, it looks around 15 pounds!

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Last chance for bass COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley worleybirdfilms@hotmail.com

The month of June has a lot packed into the first week here in Coffs. Firstly, by the time you read this you’ll likely have a couple of days to catch your last bass for the season. June 1 is the start of the bass

no-take season to give them some wiggle room to spawn in. Most of the bass will have moved down towards the brackish stretches of all the local rivers and creeks to spawn. Although the closure doesn’t prohibit you from targeting bass, just keeping any, it’s generally thought best to leave them alone to make sure they can have a

successful spawning season. Bass may often become bycatch when bream fishing in the upper estuaries this time of year, so if you do hook a bass make sure that it is released as healthy as possible. Trout anglers in NSW also have limited time to get their fishing done before the trout closed season begins. Unlike the bass closure,

This season has probably been one of the best spotty mackerel seasons for a long time. Catching schooled up spotties on stickbaits and metals was almost common over the last couple of months.

Dougy Worthing with one of the many late season Spaniards caught this year.

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trout waters are completely closed to all fishing during the closed season which runs from the June long weekend until the long weekend in October. The trout fishing has not been the best over summer but it has improved dramatically with the rain and cooler weather over the last two months. If you’ve got the time, the last week before the closure may be the best trout fishing all season. You will need to be prepared for the cold though, as the region has experienced some severe chills this month already. SNAPPER Just to make sure that the saltwater anglers don’t feel left out, the long weekend will also see Coffs Harbour again host the Dave Irvine Memorial Snapper Classic. When this issue goes to print you will still have a few days to register and/or get some pre-fishing done. This event is always great fun and is a top way to get geared up and ready for a snappery winter. For those traveling to the competition or locals who can’t get around to a pre-fish there shouldn’t be too much mystery to the snapper fishing this month. Over the last month the snapper have been hanging fairly close inshore in very shallow reef and rubble. The washes around the headlands and islands will fish well but the pick will likely be the shallow pinnacles rising from shallow reef. If you’re fishing the Snapper Classic don’t be surprised if you get some very speedy bycatch. By the looks of the previous month there will likely be mackerel and longtail tuna still hanging around the inshore reefs. Using slower soft plastics worked down close to the bottom will reduce the chances of hooking any toothy critters on your light snapper gear, but if you’re after that rush then a soft

plastic jerkshad retrieved as fast as possible around the bait schools will likely tempt a mackerel or two. Trolling hardbodies and live baits will be the most likely method of hooking a late season mackerel though. Aside from the Snapper Classic there should be continued great snapper fishing close inshore. This time of year is a great time to get offshore on your kayak and enjoy sensational fishing only a few minutes’ paddle from shore. Sawtell, Diggers beach and Arrawarra are excellent launch sites with nearby snapper grounds. Ensure you pick the right conditions and remember to go with an experienced

a live bait has the potential to attract good kingfish and the bigger snapper. Over the last month many anglers have still been able to target the mackerel with live baits as well as lures such as stickbaits when the fish are schooled up around bait. The mackerel will follow the warmer water out of here shortly though and the main targets will again be snapper and kingfish. MULLOWAY AND TAILOR Although it’s cooling down, the mulloway fishing should be heating up, especially in respect to size. The beaches and headlands should start to

Jon Gapes is sure to be out there trying to get some more bass like this before the start of June. paddler if it’s your first time. Trolling a hardbody lure and soft plastic fishing are both excellent ways to target snapper from the kayak. For the boat anglers it’s a great time to use a little less fuel and fish the inshore reefs. Plastics and cut baits will work well for the snapper and

produce a few more larger mulloway as well as some good tailor. Both species have been increasing over the last month. Each of these rain events makes the local creek and river mouths great mulloway attractants so keep your gear ready for those times.

Tide change the key when conditions are good Pe l i c a n Pa r k COFFS GAME

Glen Booth

The Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club held its fourth Heavy Tackle Challenge recently, with 20 boats fishing under near perfect conditions. The water colour and temperature, so often the key to good offshore fishing, was more than adequate, and the current had eased up appreciably so it was possible to work a known hotspot without vanishing down the coast. Another ‘tournament with a difference’, this one is about team rather than individual honours, and puts the emphasis on blue marlin fishing off the Coffs coast. Consequently, the minimum line class is 24kg, with bonus points for the right species suitably tagged and photographed boatside. A sensible minimum weight of 200kg means the unedifying situation of numerous sub-weight marlin being hung is avoided, with points deductions for any that fail to make the grade. As it was, no blues

were weighed. Day one saw boats spread out from the North Solitary Canyons to the Nambucca Canyons looking for bait, temperature breaks, and billfish. Hemingway was first

on the board with a black marlin and then a yellowfin tuna tag. A flurry of hook-ups followed on the tide change, with Wicked Weasel recording the first blue of the tournament. This was followed by

successful blue marlin tags to Sweet One II and Foreign Exchange. And then it went deathly quiet, pretty much for the rest of the day, although there was increased activity Continued page 16

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marlin activity. Sweet One kicked clear of the rest of the pack with five quick mahi mahi tags just after start fishing, followed by a blue marlin tag and another that jumped off. Magnum weren’t going down without a fight though, and quickly tagged two blues to put them right up there, helped by

From page 15

approaching the next tide change, which was too close to stop fishing to really be capitalised on. By day two it became obvious that running long distances hadn’t worked, so the fleet concentrated its efforts between the North Canyons and the Central Coffs canyons. Again, the tide change was the key to

a wahoo capture from the day before. Some other gamefish came into play on the Sunday too, with Better Than Vegas decking a couple of yellowfin over 38kg, bending a hook on another, and Black and Blue raising two spearfish that didn’t stay connected. The Sweet One crew of Cameron Sweeting,

Rob Lang won the SW Fish Mounts Leukaemia Foundation raffle, which raised $860 for the charity.

Champion team Sweet One II: Terry Dunphy, Mark Mikkelsen and Cameron Sweeting, with club president, James McGinty. No putting that Tyrnos back into stock, TD!

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Lynette Robb tagged the first blue of the SIGFC Heavy Tackle Challenge.

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Mark Mikkelsen and Terry Dunphy ran out eventual winners, with Magnum second and Wicked Weasel third on a countback. The winners generously donated their Calcutta winnings of $2640 to the Leukaemia Foundation (the SIGFC’s designated charity), while the SW Fish Mounts raffle of a black marlin cast raised another $860 for this worthy cause. Some innovative cash incentives this year included $1000 to encourage early entries, and 25% of the Calcutta pool went to a random boat draw, so even if you didn’t catch a fish there was a chance of going home with something to show for the weekend’s work. In total, there were six blues and two blacks tagged, one yellowfin tuna tagged and two weighed, one wahoo tagged and one weighed, and 16 mahi mahi tagged. Next year’s event is on 28-29 March 2015, and details will be posted on the club’s website www. solitaryislandsgame fishingclub.com in due course.

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Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

Winter is here already and the first days of June mark the start of the closed season for bass to allow them to spawn. For the next three months we are not permitted to have any bass in our possession, so any caught must be returned to the water as soon as possible unharmed. During these months it is best that bass are not targeted at all as the stress that capture creates can disrupt their breeding cycle. Light tackle lure anglers need fear not though as during winter the Macleay River presents us with other species which can be targeted using similar methods. School sized mulloway and big bream will be located throughout the lower Macleay, and deep diving minnows and soft plastics are the prime way to target them. For bait fishers, live herring and mullet are the go-to baits for the river at this time of year and are readily available to be captured on bait jigs and in traps.

With the mullet run in full swing, mulloway catches are on the rise. Rock hoppers are getting amongst some solid fish, mostly around the low light periods of the day. Drummer, bream and tailor have also been in the mix from the rocks and will only get better as the year progresses. The run of longtail tuna has been exceptional this year and looks like it may continue a little longer with most headlands being the scene of the explosive antics of these fish on a daily basis. The water has been alive with small whitebait and garfish and the longtails have been taking full advantage of the fact. Sharks have been a bit of a problem as always at this time of year. It pays to fish a bit heavier than usual as drawn out battles will normally end in your fish getting eaten at the side of the boat. Offshore, cobia and wahoo are still making the odd appearance on the inshore grounds. Kingfish are in numbers around Fish Rock and Black Rock, although they haven’t always been playing the game. Bottom fishing is starting to fire up as the water cools

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www.southwestrockstourist.com.au A solid wahoo to top off James Lainey’s pelagic season. down. Pearl perch, snapper and teraglin are all on the cards however, the infamous schools of leatherjackets are

One of a few longtails that escaped the sharks whilst filming Big Fish Small Boats.

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in the 60m plus region. If leatherjackets are your thing, a wire rig will make a feed light work. Deep dropping out on the wider grounds is producing the goods. John dory have showed up early and are of good size and also in good numbers. If you come across one, chances are it will not be the only one you catch. Provided you can get the conditions right with not too much current out wide, there’s a number of quality table fish species on offer. Kingfish, cod and pearl perch have all been coming in from this region on a regular basis. Bream are an option on the beaches provided you can locate a good gutter. Live worms and mullet strips are a favourite bait for this time of year. Tailor numbers are good around low light times, with plenty of mulloway into the night.

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Braving the elements PORT MACQUARIE

David Poulton pmbc@drsm.com.au

Winter is upon us and many are now shelving their fishing gear and looking for different pursuits. However, for we dedicated anglers it’s a time to rug up and get amongst the winter action. There are plenty of different options on offer for those who brave the elements and enjoy some winter fishing. BEACHES Beach angling will hit its straps with recent weather creating some decent gutters on some of our top fishing beaches. There are three stand-out beaches as key locations: North Beach, Lighthouse Beach and Dunbogan Beach. The primary targets this month will be bream, tailor and mulloway. If you’re chasing tailor you will find fishing metal slabs is always the best place to start. Alternatively, if you

like to bait fish then whole pilchards rigged on ganged hooks is also an excellent option. First and last light of the day are the optimum times. Don’t be surprised if you come across a few Australian salmon, which at this time of year can well and truly test your gear. Bream and mulloway will be an option for most of the day and into the night. With the northern ends of the beaches being the best locations. The prime baits will be beach worms, fished as light as possible. With the amount of school size mulloway around during autumn some XL models will more than likely be on the cards this month. ESTUARIES The estuaries have been a mixed pallet of fish lately, with plenty of options on offer for those hitting the water. With the cooler months upon us, options will narrow with the lower reaches being the focus for most anglers. Bream and luderick are beginning to school, with

bream getting ready to go to sea and luderick moving into our systems on the run-in tide. Those chasing large bream won’t do any better than fishing the coal walls on dusk and after dark, with strip and cut baits the best option for getting larger fish. It’s important to note that larger fish will take larger baits. And, as always, if there is an option to fish lighter then do so. I light to start with either nothing or something very small, the size of a pea. I then work it out from there in regards to the strength of the current and how deep my bait needs to get.

Catches of bream like this one will be common place along our rock walls this month.

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The best locations this month will be along Settlement Point Road on the Hastings River and the south wall on the Camden Haven River. Fishing the inside

of the wall on the Camden Haven can be a great spot, especially on the run-in tide, as the water back eddies and is a top feeding spot. Don’t discount throwing a bait along Pilots Beach either. This month it will have very few swimmers and fish will take their place and hunt schooling baitfish. Lure fishing can be tough this month, but a few

techniques will increase your chances. This month bream will be lurking in the oyster leases and the oyster scrap heap areas adjacent to leases. Plastics rigged unweighted or on hidden weights wafted over these areas will be hard to resist by bream and flathead. Big Bay on the Hastings River and upstream of the Dunbogan Bridge on the Camden Haven will be top spots. An important tip is to check your drag and make sure it’s up to pulling bream clear of the structure which is deadly to light line and leaders. Fishing deep is another good technique that can prove successful this month. Personally I’d rather swim with tiger sharks! However, when you need a fish it’s an option that even I will revert to. Deadsticking plastics on the bottom along the rock walls is always a positive option. Using your sounder to locate schools and changes in water depth is paramount to making the most of deepwater fishing. Bream, flathead and mulloway will be the primary targets. And it’s simple really – just use the smaller plastics for bream and larger 4-5” plastics for flathead and mulloway. Another deepwater technique that I do enjoy is parallel fishing. This technique involves casting deep diving hardbody lures parallel to the rock wall. An option that is possible from the bank, but better from a boat or kayak. I like to nose the boat into the wall and

cast as far along as I can with a deep diver, like a Jackal Chubby or Bassday Sugar Deep. Then I use a slow retrieve with little pauses and twitches to get the attention of fish. Twitches and shakes of the lure will entice fish sitting deeper to come and investigate. A suspending lure will give you better coverage in the strike zone. Sometimes I like to add small pieces of lead tape to my deep divers to give them a suspending quality. OFFSHORE Offshore action this month will see many anglers focus change from pelagic species to bottom dwellers like snapper, pearl perch and teraglin. Some will also choose to jig for kingfish. Early this bottombouncing season has seen some quality snapper already coming from off Point Plommer. This month snapper and pearl perch should be readily available off Port Macquarie with a good starting point being the North Canyon (31.26.350 153.15.355) or the South Canyon (31.29.350 153.15.500). Those not wanting to go this far offshore will do OK on the inner reefs off Nobbys and Lighthouse. Being winter definitely shouldn’t be an excuse to shelve the gear. It should be an opportunity to fish quieter waters and enjoy some good fishing opportunities in the Greater Port Macquarie Area. Remember to get out and enjoy yourself, take care and only take what you need, not your limit.

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Bream on the bite Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

There is no doubt that this year has produced some marvellous fishing in the Manning area. The flathead were as good as they have been for many years, and many small fish were taken on plastics which indicates that next year will be a bolter for flathead catches. The mullet started to ‘run’ on Anzac Day and it was great to see so many schools of fish moving about in the mouth of the estuary. At the present time I have no idea how many fish came down the Manning but it would have to be one of the best runs of mullet for years. Bream and luderick tend to move after the mullet have started their journey north and they could be as good numbers as in many years past. Tailor have turned up in numbers with plenty of fish in the 2-5kg range. ESTUARY Bream are the main species to target in the lower parts of the estuary. They have schooled up

and are moving up and down the rock walls at the mouth of the river. The best catches are being recorded at night using mullet strips for bait but mullet gut, yabbies, prawns and bonito strips will all take fish. The bream are varied in size with fish from just legal to over a kilo being caught. Some school size mulloway of around 6kg have been taken on live bait and soft plastics. No big fish have been caught in the Manning but other locations to the south and north of us have recorded fish of 15-20kg. There are some luderick in the system but the numbers should increase over the next few weeks when schools of fish start moving up the coast. As well as some thumper whiting of around 650g and plenty of flounder have been caught on bait in the lower part of the estuary. BEACH AND ROCK It has been tailor, tailor, tailor on the beaches, and very little else for the last couple of weeks. However, that should all change when the bream start moving. Some of the rock fishing

locals have been scoring much better sized tailor from around the rocks. Morning and evening sessions have produced plenty of good fish of 2kg and better. The end of the sea wall and the beach either side of the wall have fished well for school jew to 3kg on worms and bonito baits. OFFSHORE Outside catches have varied greatly from day to day. Teraglin have been on the bite on the southern grounds with some fish going 5kg. Snapper have been patchy with few big fish coming in and most bags being plate sized fish. Mahi mahi have stayed on the bite on live bait around the FAD. Some nice fish have been landed. There are a few tuna up to 15kg roaming around along the tide lines and they can be taken on trolled lures. Bonito are also plentiful and can be caught on lures as well. BREAM In the Manning May, June and July are the top bream months and this year looks like being a beauty. It can sometimes be a bit cold on the wall

Longtail tuna are showing up at Crowdy Head. This one went 13kg.

SA022

HARRINGTON-TAREE

at night but if you rug up well you should be able to bring a bag of fish home. Mullet strips, mullet gut, yabbies, prawns and tailor pieces will all take fish. It is best to fish with a

good strong mono line of 10kg breaking strain or even a bit better to combat the oysters and barnacles that cover the rocks. A 1/0 or 2/0 hook will suffice. A good torch

is necessary but keep the beam away from the water so as not to frighten the fish. Remember to fish the couple of hours either side of high or low water for best results.

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David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

The bite of winter weather has made its presence felt and has thinned the crowds

on the lake and nearby coastal rocks, which is a bonus for those who have the motivation to get up and out there. The bream and blackfish schools are still pretty thick around the leases near the

The quality of the pigs so far has been BIG. This fish is on the upper limits of a keeper at 2.8kg. Bigger fish can be a little tough and certainly not the same quality as the legal to 2kg fish.

bridge, though the bulk of the fish have moved out onto the coastal fringe with the mullet. I suspect there will be a good run of blackfish and bream from Seal Rocks to Crowdy Head this year if the early indications are anything to go by. Pick a couple of headland spots like southern One Mile, Burgess Beach and Elizabeth Beach and work the washes until you hit the mother lode. Pigs are getting their act together and I have to admit that the few times I have targeted them in the last month the quality has been good. The only problem has been that a lot of the fish have been over 3kg and outside of my table target size of 1.5-2kg. The big fish are good to catch in the broken, reefy country but most have been released because they are too big for my needs (larger fish have poorer eating qualities). Not a bad problem to have. I’m sure the pigs will only get better as the water and the weather chills down a bit more. The cost of the imported cooked prawns is ridiculous and I’ve taken to using green Australian king prawns ($2.50kg cheaper) or just a quality loaf of bread – crusts for berley and body for bait. Spinning the rocks will

There are plenty of big pigs around and the water was cold when this photo was taken. There will be a full wetsuit next time. produce a mix of tailor and salmon with the obvious lure choice being metal slice types like Raiders – for no other reason than you can get a good distance cast with the metal lures and the fish do like them. If you feel like something a bit different, try throwing a stickbait. They work extremely well when the tailor and salmon are close into the rocks, hunting under the washes. There is still a good chance of a mack tuna and bonito, especially Watson’s leaping bonito, getting involved with the spinning activities. They all make excellent flesh baits

for bream on an evening rising tide. Tailor and bream are good targets from the beaches with some formations still holding quality fish. It has been a while since I’ve seen good gutter formations on our beaches but I think the migration of sand into a lot of my rock fishing spots is a penalty. We need a big, scouring southeasterly swell to drag the sand back off the rocks and the potholes so we can enjoy the winter, night time run of blackfish. Surprisingly there are a few silver trevally getting along the beaches, generally at the rocky ends, and while

they do seem a little early they are a welcome fight for lucky anglers. OFFSHORE The offshore scene has been hot and cold with plenty of mahi mahi around the traps and the FAD while the marlin have slowed, with fruitless hours of trolling becoming the norm. There have been a few boats trolling off Pacific Palms but I haven’t heard of too much joy. Large cobia and tuna have the ability to break the boredom so try trolling a live slimy at the back of the boat wash. Longtail and mac tuna have been blowing up along

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JUNE 2014

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the rocky headlands and with them, heaps of sharks that are only too willing to hammer

fish in distress. Goo Baker landed a 15kg longtail from Charlottes on a live bait and

Seamo’s daughter Emma seems happy with the net job on this 1kg bream. A Cranka Crab between the rack rails can create a few hairy moments, but it all worked out in the end.

there have been plenty more reports of land-based captures filtering through. A slow troll past the headland points with livies wouldn’t be a bad idea at the moment. The cleaning tables at the Forster ramp have seen some good flathead bags along with the odd snapper and pearl perch. The talk is that it has been tough bouncing the bottom but that will certainly improve from this month until we hit leatherjacket season in September/October, then all bets are off. LAKE Winter is definitely the big bream time in the lower lake. Some of the crusty river resident fish, with a reluctance to spawn, are flushed out of the tributaries by the cold water and take up station on the leases. The benefit of the lower leases is there are always some good fish in the area. They may be late spawners getting ready to leave, early spawners coming back in or ambivalent fish that may or may not run – either way it’s a bounty for those anglers willing to put in some time of an evening. The cool water is generally very clear and the fish are spooky. Of an evening try drifting bread or live yabbies back between the rack or along the outside edges of wash boards and see if you can clean up on big bream.

One lure that has had a great deal of demand and hype attributed to it is the Cranka Crab and I have been using it to great effect of an evening. I have been drifting my Crabs down to the bottom and then dead sticking them until the line stops or I feel the pluck of a fish. Bream love them and BIG porcupine puffers crunch them... but that’s the price you pay I guess. So before the weather turns bitterly cold there’s lots to do and catch so I suggest you get out and do it. It’s only going to get colder from here!

Dave Scarlett with an evening caught blackfish. They tend to cut loose of a night and will eat bread, prawns and yabbies. They binge eat to put on condition before heading out on the coast to graze the weed from the rocks.

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Flatties down deep in June PORT STEPHENS

Billy Gillon

While the water may be cooling the fishing action certainly isn’t and all it may take is a change of technique or target species to start turning things your way. When the water cools flathead generally head into the deeper waters of the bay and bigger lizards are a much more common catch. Soft plastics about 4-5” long fished on the bottom is a

good start. Make sure you apply plenty of pauses in your retrieve as a lot of the time the strike will come when your lure is falling to the bottom. Mulloway should be a common catch this month on the wrecks inside the bay. The Karuah River bridge is another great spot. Hayden Gillon bagged his first ever jewies a few weeks back at the Wreck near Corlette. He was using half pilchards and small strips of squid in broad daylight. Small live slimy

mackerel are the ideal bait and are best fished about 1m from the bottom. BAY This month we should start to see better numbers of luderick caught in the bay. The co-op break wall is one of the top luderick spots in the bay and when they are on it produces great fishing. Big bream should also be a great target in the bay this month. For a real challenge chuck a 100mm Squidgy Wriggler on an ultralightweight jighead. Although

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this can be a very frustrating way to fish it is extremely rewarding when you rip that bream from tight, oysterencrusted cover on light line. IN THE WASHES There should still be some good tailor fishing around Tomaree, Little Island and most washes this month. If you’re fishing from a boat, trolling diving lures like Halco Laser Pros is great way to cover ground and catch plenty of fish. If you’re shore-based, casting diving lures and small metal lures is a great place to start. Tailor also find it very hard to resist an unweighted pilchard on ganged hooks cast and slowly retrieved. There should be some nice drummer hunting in the washes over the next few months. Unweighted baits such as peeled prawns, cunjevoi and squid work well. A bit of bread berley should get the fish schooling up in the wash, and once you catch one drummer keep persisting in that area as they usually school up in numbers. You also have to be very quick to pull them from cover as these things have a lot of power for a small fish and you can wind up losing a lot of rigs and find yourself spending more time tying rigs rather than fishing. OFFSHORE For me June marks the time to store away the game reels and break out the snapper rods and reels. Closer reefs should be holding snapper of some size. Drifting around The Sisters, Cod Rock and North Rock with 5” soft plastics should cover some ground and help you to locate where the fish are holding. For the bait fishers, floating half or whole slimies down a steady berley trail around any heavy looking reef gives you a good chance. The bigger reds tend to travel around the edges of the beach.

As the water cools salmon will move into our wash zones.

Flathead find it hard to turn down soft plastics. Bonito are usually a bit hit-and-miss in June, and most of the kingfish start to head out to the wider jigging grounds. Allmark Mountain is a great spot when kingies

are on the wider reefs and it also produces the odd tuna. It’s a long way out though so it pays to do a bit of research before making the 28nm trip out.

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Nigel Krueger sent in this photo of a 40kg Nile perch that took a Rapala Magnum 30 slow trolled around the deep points in lake Victoria in Africa.   The fight lasted for around 30 minutes with some heart stopping jumps and runs.

A super drenching HUNTER COAST

Gary Earl earlybird13@optusnet.com.au

As I write this we have had some rain that was so heavy you couldn’t talk to someone standing a foot away. It has flushed out the Hunter river and at the time of writing it looks more like caramel soup than river water.

Those anglers who have braved the weather have caught some nice fish, especially offshore and around the mouth of the river itself. Tailor still seem to be the number one target of an afternoon. Following close behind, inshore salmon have showed up as was expected. Bream have been flushed out of the system, and running along the beaches

and holding over the close inshore reefs, I was a little amazed at the amount of marlin and mahi mahi that were still being caught over the past six weeks. I was sure they would disappear, and the way the current was running uphill more of the winter fish would show up. Some have – trevally, blue morwong, nannygai, teraglin and kingfish. We

Young Logan Jones with a smile from ear to ear with a great bream. The bream was very clean and may have only visited the river for a quick feed.

A nice size blue morwong hitting the surface from North Reef off Newcastle. It snatched a floating prawn that was targeting bream which have moved out from the river.

W L E N DE O M

can expect leatherjackets and more groper from here on out though. Further offshore jewfish and snapper are being taken, not in huge numbers but enough to make the effort worthwhile. Try the dumping grounds out from Newcastle hospital. They seem to be best drifted with pilchards. Kingfish closer out to the reefs in depths around 80-100ft are showing up, as are the big hoodlums that are on the edge of the

continental shelf. If you can get out there, some blue-eye cod have been pulled from the sea mounts off Port Stephens and the southern canyons off Swansea. A few boats reported getting only half fish back to the surface as tiger sharks are around. If you’re inclined with heavy gear and a good back you can play with these monsters for a while. ROCKS Off the rocks we’re seeing more and more drummer, groper and

morwong. Leatherjackets and squid are about in the calm, kelpy bays also. Hopefully the leatherjackets don’t turn up in plague proportions like they did with the silver sweep last year. On a lighter note, we had a few chuckles at a local small private fishing competition not long back. The score board had all sorts of species written up on it for the weekend. Of course drummer was up there, and I Continued page 27

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No excuse for staying home SWANSEA

Jason Scerri jayro@hotmail.com.au

What a lovely time of year it is! I can stand up on my front cast deck for hours at a time and not get dehydrated or sunburnt and still catch a few good fish. There is plenty on offer for locals this month with some great catches about. Water temps are now very cold and the ambient temps are also crisp, but if you’re rugged up there is no excuse for not getting out and getting into a

great summer for them and the cooler months are still fishing really well. Live bait anglers are certainly getting their slice of the action, and most of the jews are coming in daylight hours at the moment as it’s generally just too cold for an all-nighter. And let’s be honest – if you can catch them during the day then why sit out there all night long? Live squid are proving particularly effective but slab baits such as mullet and tailor are also producing. For those like myself who love to target these fish on lures, you’re also in for a treat. Plenty are falling

the deeper sections of the lake, with the 8-11m mark a great place to start. You will come across some cracking flathead while you’re at it. Bream numbers are also good with the usual places around Chain Valley Bay proving a good option. Slowly worked blades and 2-3” soft plastics in the deeper section are scoring bream to 40cm. Bait fishers are also doing very well on the bream in various locations throughout the lake. A good berley trail is a big help but remember not to overdo it on the berley as you just want to get them

Local lure angler Derek Crosdale with another fine Lake Mac mulloway on light gear. few. It’s a great time of year for it because the crowds are down. There are fewer water skiers as well which means the fish are a lot less spooked. Overall, there are some good options available for all anglers whether you’re working the Lake or heading to the offshore grounds. THE LAKE We’re continuing to see some fantastic catches of quality mulloway and it just keeps getting better. It was a From page 26

got a silver drummer which are usually much bigger than their black cousins. It weighed 6kg clear, but on going to weigh it they knocked it back as it was too big and probably unbeatable in the small comp. They were only excepting black drummer. I wasn’t about to give up that easily. Because I crab a lot I had a black waterproof permanent marker on the boat so I went back and coloured the fish in and presented it again, much to the amusement of the judges and the crowd. I was still knocked back even though it was now a black drummer! Unfortunately the comp was washed out by

to large soft plastics during the day with good numbers of fish from 70cm-110cm not uncommon. Natural colours are working great and we are finding that large paddle tails and large grubs are the best of the offerings. Remember these fish are solid ones and a good jighead is critical. We are having great results on the new Impact Tackle range of jigheads. During these cooler months it is important to work

feeding, you don’t want them to be full. Salmon should be about in big numbers this month and will often be found right throughout the lake. They can be a frustrating catch for many anglers but there is no denying they are a great sportfish. For those wanting a new challenge this year maybe consider targeting these speeders on fly gear. I know a few anglers who now do it and they have a blast with them each year.

Saturday afternoon, and I learned this weekend that a lot of caravan parks and large families have small competitions like this one all up the coast. They’re invite only and not too serious weekends. It’s a great way to get all the family and friends together over a whole weekend for a catch up, it’s not hurting anyone and some club members miss their own outings to attend their family do. Yep, we anglers are a funny mob. Back to the serious stuff. I have read that a lot of members of rock and boat fishing parties aren’t getting their lifejackets serviced and looked after, and sometimes not wearing them at all. In recent

weeks a few anglers have disappeared off the rocks, so please, please, please wear a PFD. They don’t cost a fortunate these days. Even if you don’t think of your own safety, think of the loved ones you are leaving behind for the sake of saving a measly $60. THE MONTH AHEAD This month I would be waiting for the river to clear, trying off the rocks in calm weather with prawns and pilchards or chrome lures for the salmon and tailor. Berley with bread and sand for the luderick and drummer that should be scooting through the washes and don’t be surprised if you hook some nice bream. Happy fishing.

ROCK AND BEACHES Some very good tailor are being caught at the moment. Pilchards are by far the most popular bait and for good reason: they work! There are also bream being pulled from these same areas and smaller pilchard cubes and peeled prawns seem to be working well on them. We have seen some great bags being landed this winter which is good to see. Those rock and beach anglers who love throwing lures are having a great time spinning up tailor and salmon. These hard fighting fish are providing plenty of action, and a fresh tailor is a very tasty one as well. OFFSHORE The offshore reefs have some hot kingfish action at the moment. The die-hards love to jig these schools with 100-300g jigs and this is a very productive (and exhausting) way of scoring some quality fish to over 10kg. Live baits such as live yakkas are also getting good results and are scoring some of the better fish that are being caught. As for jig colours, they vary each trip. Some trips it’s pink and the next it might be green so be sure to have a few different colours on board. The southern reefs out from Terrigal are again the go-to areas. The Perch Ground and Texas for example offer some very good kingfish country and they’re well worth the trip out there when conditions allow. You may come across schools of pesky leatherjackets at times, and if this happens I suggest swapping the expensive jigs for a small wire trace and some bait and get yourself and crew a good feed of fresh leatherjackets. You won’t be disappointed. Game fishers don’t have a huge variety on offer this month but there is certainly enough to justify a trip. Shark anglers have the best chance at the moment as there are some great fish out wide over the shelf and off the canyons. Remember these anglers work very hard at their sport so if you’re out wide and spot a shark boat please do the right thing and stay clear of their berley trail. Some yellowfin tuna (YFT) are also on offer. Generally the best approach is to troll a spread of skirted game lures including a jethead or two and once you find the fish, stop trolling and starting cubing with pilchards and float out a live bait. If you don’t have any livies, cubes of pilchard are still very effective. We have jethead lures and pilchard blocks at great prices this month at Jayro Tackle, 396 Pacific Hwy Belmont for those anglers wanting to get into a few yellowfin tuna. Pop in and say g’day if you’re around.

Dom Perrone doing what he loves doing, deep water soft plastic fishing for big flathead. This one went 71cm and fell to a Damiki 5” Armour Shad.

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Changing tactics for June CENTRAL COAST

Glenn Ellis-Helmers

For many anglers this is not exactly a favourite time of year. On the other hand, there are plenty, myself included, who look forward to changing tactics, chasing a few different species and enjoying our waterways without the crowds. Having said that, in some places around the central coast it can actually get a bit crowded and I’m mainly talking about the blackfish hot spots. As I mentioned last month, The Entrance is one of our main areas where these fish can be caught in reasonable quantities from the shore

and from a boat. Brisbane Waters doesn’t really have an equivalent, rather the hot spots are more spread around through Woy Woy, Davistown, Empire Bay and up at the Gosford end in Narara and Erina creeks. The Tuggerah system also has a lot more green weed present around the foreshores, so even if you fish Brisbane Waters it can be worth spending an hour or two gathering some Tuggerah weed to then use closer to home. Some nice bream and flathead have been caught in both waterways in recent weeks and, providing the weather remains stable, these fish should still be easy enough to catch this month. Some bigger tailor and a few mulloway have

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also been poking around, and the tailor at least should be with us in the calm water right through the colder months. Apart from the tailor, just remember to use the very best baits or slow your lures right down as the water continues to cool. Many of us really enjoy the influx of salmon during winter as well. It’s clear that some people would rather not see them turn up in big numbers, but if you’re into light line lure casting it’s hard to find a better inshore species to chase during the cooler months. No bream or flathead is going to get the drag squealing as much as a big sambo, and if you

end of winter, but for now there will definitely be a few along the beaches and rocks, plus some that enter our estuaries. Plenty of bream and tailor should also still be available on our beaches this month. Whiting, dart and flathead should be thinning out, but if you’re prepared to fish at night this can still be a good month for jewfish too. ROCKS Rock fishing is normally very reliable in June and those salmon will probably be one of the main species you’ll hook if casting whole pillies on ganged hooks or spinning with chrome or white lures.

It shouldn’t be a problem catching a few bream almost anywhere around the central coast this month.

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The author with a school jewfish caught by slow trolling a big deep diver. June can still be a good month for mulloway from Brisbane Waters or the beach.

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some kingfish, bonito and frigate mackerel could also still be possible. OFFSHORE Anglers visiting the central coast with intentions of heading offshore should be aware that the boat ramp at Norah Head is off limits for the rest of the year. While this may sound bad, the good news is that the launching facilities here are being given a major makeover, with brand new ramps and a rock wall. As work there progresses I will provide some updates. In the meantime, launch from Terrigal, Broken Bay or Swansea. Close inshore this month there should be a range of species from trevally and bream to snapper and tailor. Further out wide it will be largely about snapper and kingfish. June is still a good month

strike them on a good day it’s possible to hook into one after another. Beaches such as Birdie, Budgewoi, North Entrance and Wamberal, along with others along the central coast can all be real salmon hot spots, as the gutters turn black with big mobs of them. This may not happen for a while yet, as they peak more towards the

This small snapper was caught near the Rip Bridge on a deep jigged Gulp. There are supposed to be much bigger ones down there. Early and late in the day tailor should be active around the washy points and broken reef, along 28

JUNE 2014

with bream, blackfish and drummer. If the water hasn’t turned too cold and there’s bait around then

for offshore fishing, but sometimes those westerly winds will kick in, making it hard to head very far out.

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enhancing the capacity for commercial aquaculture research and teaching. Dr Symon Dworjanyn, a researcher at the National Marine Science Centre, said it was now the best aquarium system in NSW and one of the best places to do aquaculture and

controlled laboratories and aquaculture brood stock tanks,” Dr Dworjanyn said. He said the NMSC was in a unique location, providing access to open water in an area where the tropical and temperate currents meet. “In this area you can

Mangrove jack in the broodstock tanks at the National Marine Science Centre. A $2 million project to upgrade the aquarium system and add new aquaculture brood stock tanks was completed at the NMSC earlier this year,

marine ecology research in the world. “We now have 30,000L of sea water an hour flowing through our aquarium system, with temperature

go from kelp forests to coral reefs – that is quite unusual and probably one of the few places in the world that you can do that,” he said. “That enables us

to undertake research on everything from seaweeds to fish. We have a strong focus on aquaculture, which we also teach here at the NMSC. “We are testing whether it is feasible to produce mangrove jack fingerlings to enhance recreational fishing. We are also developing new opportunities for pond-grown mulloway, as an alternative to prawn farming. We have successfully helped convert a prawn farm on Palmers Island and are now exploring new ways of processing the fish. “Aquaculture is a booming industry, worth $1.1 billion across Australia and accounts for about half of our seafood production. We have real potential here on the North Coast to play a significant role in that industry.” Dr Dworjanyn said the combination of ecological and aquaculture research and industry connections provided excellent opportunities for students undertaking undergraduate and postgraduate marine studies at the NMSC. – Southern Cross University

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Do you love your monthly issue of Fishing Monthly? Do you think it’s about time you were on the cover of it? Well, we think that too and are offering readers 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 (of Steve Booth and Steve Morgan) and then BOOM, you’re the latest cover model.

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

Other parameters of which you need to take note: Portrait format (turn camera on its side). Leave enough room for a magazine masthead at the top of the image. 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 showing focus area

And then email your image to: frontcovercomp@fishingmonthly.com.au with a description of the what/when/where/how of the capture. Be sure to include your details, too, because we’ll post out a framed copy of the winning covers to the entrant.

THAT will be going straight to the Pool Room, we bet.

For full terms and conditions, please refer to www.fishingmonthly.com.au/frontcovercomp JUNE 2014

Action set to continue THE HAWKSBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

It may be getting colder on terra firma but the water temps are more

stable and comfortable than you might think, and this has shown in catches of late. The action should continue this month. BREAM Bream made a great appearance through May

with some real thumpers amongst them. Rock walls, reef and cockle beds were producing the best using blades, grub tail and critter style soft plastics and this should continue through June. Small, non-aggressive

Bream have been taking soft plastics and blades around the rock walls and cockle beds.

A mixed bag of bream and flathead kept Anthony and Max busy. They used a combination of soft plastics and blades to secure this great feed.

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movements of the lure seem to provoke more strikes and the addition of a bite stimulant can be advantageous during some sessions. The best lure colours are bloodworm, pumpkin seed in brown and green, motor oil and translucent whites for the soft plastics. When it comes to blades, use gold, silver or olive colours. Use a rod length of fluorocarbon leader from 6-10lb attached to light no-stretch braid to achieve the best results. Those who prefer to fool their bream on baits will also find fluorocarbon to be great addition to the tackle box. It is fine in diameter and quite resistant to abrasion and presents a near invisible trace to your hook and bait. Fresh and live baits will get the better fish to bite, with fresh frozen a close second. Berley is a must when at anchor to keep the fish within striking range. FLATHEAD The dusky flathead are still active on the warmer sunny days, with the lower reaches producing more consistency for numbers and size. Soft plastics and blades are working equally well. The key is making regular contact with the bottom where these fish feel comfortable lying in ambush for the next unsuspecting morsel to swim past. Run-out tides are normally the most reliable but as the water cools in the estuary this pattern can

invert, with the warmer incoming tide providing the better fishing as we get deeper into winter. If the bites are few and far between try slowing your approach by reducing jighead weight or adding a curl tail or paddle tail plastic to give your lure more hang time on the drop. Small adjustments can turn a day around when it comes to lure fishing. MULLOWAY Mulloway have been biting well over the last month and June should be no different. Live baits and big cut baits both take their share of fish but I prefer live baits as they can bring fish in from some distance with the nervous vibrations they emit. Herring and mullet will get hard to source this month so it may be worthwhile heading to West Head or into Cowan

for jewfish vary greatly from system to system but on the Hawkesbury our fish have a distinct liking for smaller lures that represent common local bait species. These include herring, poddy mullet, juvenile tailor, one arm bandits and of course school prawns. The average size of these species ranges from 3” to 6”, and this should give you a good indication of the size of the lure you should present to these fish. Keep an eye out for any mulloway sporting a yellow external tag near the dorsal fin as we have been placing numerous tags supplied by ANSA in a joint operation with NSW DPI Fisheries. If you are lucky enough to recapture one we would love for you to release the fish after taking down the current length, rough location and the tag

of length, location and tag number. For more info check out www.fisheries. nsw.gov.au. HAIRTAIL Hairtail should be active in Cowan and its creeks from now on. There have been a few captures in late May and this should only get better this month. Picking a location that has ample bait in the vicinity and deep water of 15-20m has worked well for me over the years. Get a decent berley trail going and secure a few live yakkas and set them at different depths from the surface to a couple of meters from the bottom. Glow sticks work well but aren’t necessary, and the same applies with wire. A set of ganged hooks in a fillet of yakka or pilchard attached to 20lb fluorocarbon should be adequate.

Nick Wilson landed this 12.5kg mulloway on Good Friday using live bait. to try to secure some live yellowtail. When the live bait starts to get hard to source I switch back to soft plastics. Lures

number. Obviously you are allowed to retain the fish for consumption if you prefer, and the guys would greatly appreciate the same details

Lastly, don’t forget the thermos and some warm clothes as it gets quite cold in the deep set valleys of Cowan.

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Element of surprise SYDNEY NORTH

Darren Thomas

With the middle of the year around the corner and the cold season just beginning, we still haven’t had the need to break out the cold weather kit to chase the winter species. Sydney is still holding warm water temperatures at the moment, with some water as warm as 23ºC.

It’s May as I write this article and the number of mahi mahi (dolphinfish) reports I am receiving is ridiculous. Most fish are being caught around the FADs offshore, with all methods working and some big numbers of fish holding in these areas. Phil Hanks and I went out to the Broken Bay FAD (21 nautical miles east of Palm Beach) and we saw our first mahi jump 800m from the buoy. Closer

Phil Hanks with a mahi mahi. A stealthy approach is often the best way to get quality dollies.

in, ‘private’ FADs and fish traps are also holding fish, so be sure to work over any floating structure you find in the warmer waters. Most anglers I observe at the FADs immediately begin trolling. However, I am a big fan of using the element of surprise. Pick your drift and sink some larger livies (like big slimies, cowanyoung or even a bonito) down to the better fish. This technique will allow you to target the biggest fish in the school if you remain stealthy. Big baits keep the smaller fish away, and while you may encounter the occasional fish who will try to eat its own body weight, this technique will give you the best chance of nailing a monster. If you choose to go with average sized baits first, you probably won’t get through the average sized models because these fish are eating everything. For those anglers looking for triple hook ups, here’s your opportunity. Put out a spread of small skirts and don’t stop the boats till they’re all loaded. Every year the conditions seem so different

This squid season is shaping up to be a cracker, with good size squid being caught at many local spots. from the previous year in terms of seasonal change and the optimal times to target preferred species. Well, here’s a new one – in Sydney we can now target spangled emperor inside the harbour and offshore with regular success. Here in the shop we are receiving four to six reports a month. Mark Walters has caught three spangles at Seaforth in two trips. While outside the harbour, Warringah anglers and the Long Reef pirate crew members have

been landing this species regularly while chasing snapper and teraglin. For all you squid freaks out there the season is shaping up to be a cracker. We have some awesome large squid moving into our local spots. Some truly sizable models are being caught at Balmoral wharf, The Spit, South Curl Curl, and Little Manly Point. Make sure you use a decent sized jig for these larger model squid, as the small jigs don’t hold them as well.

Our beaches are playing host to some good sized bream and salmon at the moment. Narrabeen, Dee Why and Manly are producing consistent reports. Dave Meagher has been fishing Manly with beach worms and landing some good fish – bream to 38cm, salmon to 60cm C and flathead to 67cm. Some dusky whaler sharks have been taking hooked M fish from a few anglers after Y dark, so take some heavier gear and get into them. CM

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It’s rags or riches PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Once again the last month has seen sporadic fishing. There doesn’t seem to have been any pattern to the fishing. One day the kingfish were biting their heads off along Pittwater and the next day the place was like a desert. With this in mind when fishing Pittwater and Broken Bay, you should have three or four plans and roll with whatever is biting. Those mornings when there is surface activity there are kingfish, frigates and tailor to be caught. If the school is approached quietly a few can normally be enticed to chase or hit 6” white Slug-Gos or small poppers. The schools aren’t on the surface for very long so have a rod prepared so you can cast straight to the bust-ups on arrival without losing any time. Most of the decent kingfish that have been captured recently have been towards the mouth of the river. The fish seem to be moving along the river with the run-out tide and areas such as The Motor, Mackerel Beach, Soldiers Point and West Head

are all worth trying on the last of the run-out tide. If you find some of these frustrating large kings and they don’t want to eat live squid, slimy mackerel, yellowtail, soft plastics or lures, try sending down a handful of pillie cubes or prawns. It doesn’t always work but it’s worth a try if all else fails. The Supermarket area has small kingfish about and squid strips are working well for those wanting to drift or downrig the area. There are big kingfish in this area and they are often seen but with the area being hit morning, noon and afternoon they have wised up to those who anchor and berley. For your best chance at a big king from this area, downrig live squid and don’t be scared to use a big one. Squid have been spread out along Pittwater with no real best area. The usual areas of Palm Beach weed beds, The Basin, Mackerel Beach, Careel Bay and West Head are all seeing squid being caught. There are a few thumpers amongst them with most of the larger ones coming from just inside Barrenjoey Headland. The best colours have been orange or on the hardbodied jigs the flashy pilchard colour

is working a treat. The better size has been 2.5g but have a small 2.0g one handy in case you find them in the shallows. As mentioned earlier you should spread your efforts and try to catch a few different species to see what’s biting. Drifting Pittwater’s steep sandy or muddy drop-offs will put you in with a chance at a flathead or two. They are still about but not in great numbers. Use soft plastics around the weed fringes to yield a few fish but be prepared to lose some tails to leatherjackets and pike. The rewards always outweigh the loss of tails though. Another area to try is Broken Bay reefs. Reefs such as Flint and Steel, Lion Island and Juno Point are just a few areas that will see you in with a chance to catch a mulloway, trevally, bream or tailor. Choose the period two hours before the change of the tide right through until two hours after the change. This period sees the tide slow and this seems to be when most bottom dwellers become active. Remember if you are going to berley make sure you are berleying back towards structure and your bigger set lines are amongst the offerings. If you are going to try for a

Blake and Dillon loved catching squid at Mackerel Beach. They do squirt ink, don’t they boys! few bread and butter species, only use enough weight to get it to the bottom and change the sinkers as the tides back off. REEF AND OFFSHORE The offshore fishing for pelagic species has still been the easiest way to get amongst some fish. The FADs at Broken Bay and Terrigal have quite a few mahi mahi (dolphinfish) around them but most are still small. There are some 85cm models being caught but with aggressive starving mutton birds around the FADs it’s been better to use diving hardbodied lures rather than live yellowtail or mackerel. If you are after bigger

dollies the wider grounds near the shelf are seeing prominent current lines and temperature breaks. Troll along these breaks and the dollies are being found often. The other species to look out for has been striped tuna schools as there have been yellowfin to 15kg being caught amongst them. Standard Christmas tree lures are working, and pink or lumo green seem to be their favourites. Closer to shore the reefs off Broken Bay seem to be pretty quiet. If you travel down to the Narrabeen area and hit the broken grounds in 60m to 80m of water there

are small snapper, morwong, trevally and the odd flathead being caught. There still seems to be the odd patch of leatherjackets about and these appear on the sounder like a fine dust along the bottom. For this reason it is better to sound out some baitfish that are balled up near the bottom before starting a drift. I hope this report sees you out on the water wherever possible to enjoy our wonderful part of the coast. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www.estuaryfishing charters.com.au

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Testing Booth

Ecogearaqua Bream Prawns FMG

Steve Morgan s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Fishing Monthly is proud of the fact that these “Testing Booth” articles are only completed after the author had had a thorough test of the product. I can definitely say that I’ve put my time in using Ecogearaqua and feel confident that I can give you some tips on how to get the best from it when you put some on. FACT BOX Ecogearaqua is sold in re-sealable packs of 8 baits. There’s 8 colours in the range which consists on 40mm and 50mm sizes. In my experience the 40mm version is best for jig head rigging and the 50 is best used for unweighted presentations.

BACKGROUND Ecogearaqua is a Japanese made ‘bio-bait’ – a manufactured, bio-degradable ‘bait’ that’s shaped and meant to be fished like a soft plastic lure. A bio-bait usually dries out when left in the open air. If you leave any of these baits on a jig head overnight, you’ll come back to a shriveled, hard little miniature of your bait the next day.

One thing I’ll guarantee is that if you turn up to a bream tournament and start asking questions about Berkley Gulp!, Strike Pro Reaction Baits and Ecogearaqua, you’ll start a debate about whether these manufactured ‘bio-baits’ are actually a ‘lure’ or a ‘bait’ as in the ‘bait fishing’ context of the word. A lot of research goes into bio-baits from big tackle manufacturers and the results are obvious. Bream have no problems picking these offerings up off the bottom and eating them based on their inherent taste. Some anglers argue that it shouldn’t be allowed in a lure-fishing tournament because you can catch a fish by simply casting it out and leaving it sit there. Obviously, those who argue that have never fished a topwater or stickbait and have had one of these eaten on a slack line after the cast. In reality, though, fishing a bio-bait isn’t the panacea that it may seem. You still need to fish them in the right areas and usually attract the attention of the bream before they’ll even swim over to look at it. If anything a bream will hold on to a bio-bait longer than a plastic bait, giving you a better opportunity to set the single hook into the fishes’ mouth. Bio-baits need to be looked after once the packet is opened. At the very least, you need to re-seal the original pack with the ‘juice’ that came with them to prevent the baits drying out. Plenty of anglers choose to consolidate their opened bio-baits in a

waterproof container filled with additional solvents. Ecogearaqua offers tubs and solvents as part of their product line and should be available from the same tackle stores that stock the Ecogearaqua product. THE BREAM PRAWN The Bream Prawn is one particular shape of Ecogearaqua that’s available in the Australian market. Available in two sizes (40mm and 50mm), it vaguely resembles an estuary prawn to look at. I believe that the action of the lure much more resembles the swimming action of a prawn rather than the bait looking like one. It won the AFTA Best Soft Lure award in 2011. In their natural environment, prawns tend to swim horizontally and

rigging. Both allow an Ecogearaqua to glide naturally through the water and sink relatively horizontally after you lift it off the bottom. ‘Weightless’ rigging tends to work well while targeting structure or sight casting free swimming fish. It also skip-casts exceptionally well, so you’ll end up thinking you’re a casting genius as the baits skips into corners and under ledges that you wouldn’t reach with other boats. This style of presentation works well with a braid and light leader combination. As the bait free-falls, you need to watch the line for evidence of a fish taking the presentation and the line-leader join offers an excellent strike-indicator. A variation on this technique involves fishing the Aqua like a topwater – cast and immediately start a medium retrieve – swimming the Aqua along the surface. If you see a fish following or get to the point of the retrieve where you

Specialised containers and solvents are available to keep your baits in top condition. rigging these baits so that they do the same will have you catching plenty of bream. This can be achieved easily with either a weightless or a HWS

can’t see the bottom under the lure, stop and let the lure freefall. Following bream have difficulty resisting the presentation – especially once

This quality black bream scoffed an unweighted Bream Prawn in a foot of water. This product won the... they get close to the Aqua and get a taste of the scent. With both HWS and weightless, wormhook rigging, it’s pretty important to strike hard enough to set the hook into the mouth. When you come up tight on a big strike, it’s a great, visual experience. THE JIGHEAD RETRIEVE An Ecogearaqua rigged on a jighead tends to ‘glide’ quite well. The guys I’ve fished with that catch the most on Ecogearaqua usually replace a ‘hop’ off the bottom with a long lift and draw, feeling for takes as the bait ‘swims’ back to the bottom on a tight line with your rod still high in the air. In this prawn genre, you can really see the difference between the Ecogearaqua and regular plastic baits. I’ll use a much different retrieve for the Ecogearaqua than a plastic bait. Let me explain. If you fed a hungry bream a plastic bait and a bio-bait, the fish would eventually spit the plastic bait out. Therefore, when

fishing a plastic bait, it’s quite important to detect the bite early and set the hooks before this happens. On the other hand, as the bream is more likely to hold onto and eat an Ecogearaqua, I can fish the same area with straight through fluorocarbon line. The bream is more likely to eat, rather than grab the bait, which puts the hook in exactly the right position for a more solid hookup. Naturally, the chances of tearing the hook free on the stretchier fluorocarbon are much smaller. And in my experience that’s exactly how it plays out. Braid will give you a quicker, but less reliable hookup. Fluorocarbon will give you a slower hookup but much less chance of it falling out. You need to workout what gives you and your angling style the best results. But the most important thing to remember is to ‘glide’ the bait and not ‘hop’ it. Ecogearaqua smells good to the fish and they eat it. Give them the chance to.

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There’s a hair in there SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

This season generally seems to be running late and a glance at satellite water temp image shows 23ºC water still off Eden on the south coast. My bet is that that we are going to have good, mixed species fishing well into the early months of winter. We have already started to pick up some early winter species like hairtail and dory but there is no shortage of warm water fish still in numbers. Samson, amberjack and kings are going strong at the moment. We have experienced good king bites well into June before so I wouldn’t put the heavy gear away just yet. MULLOWAY This season has also been one of the best in many years for school jew and they are no stranger to cooler waters, especially if we get a strong mullet run. Good mulloway are being taken throughout middle harbour and the mid reaches of the harbour. Don’t discount shallow water, especially at night when there are high concentrations of mullet, like

You won’t see many hairtail this big, especially in the harbour.

A great harbour flattie taken within sight of the Opera House. you might find at the weir at Lane Cove River (or creek junctions like the ones above Roseville Bridge). Blues and Balls heads in the harbour and Seaforth bluff,

Killarney Point and Pickering Point in Middle Harbour would be great places to sit with live squid on the turn of the high tide. Bridges at night are top

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mulloway spots. Mulloway are an open water ambush predator, which means that they use dirty or dark water to hide in. This differs from structure-oriented predators like flathead, who bury in the sand, or bass, who hide in snags or weed beds. Lights on a road bridge throw light onto the water next to the bridge and cast a shadow off the bridge under it. This sets up three ideal situations for mulloway to feed. The light water attract bait like squid and mullet, while the shadow gives the mulloway a place to hide and mount their attack, and the pylons create a pressure wave for the mulloway to rest in while they are not attacking. The scenario goes like this: bait swarms in the light water, while the mulloway hide in the dark water and every now and then burst into the light water to grab a feed. Both the mulloway and the bait always face into the current and the bait at night is generally on the surface. From all this we can see that the best way to catch mulloway around a bridge at night is with surface lures/ poppers on the side of the bridge that the current is flowing onto and right along the line where the bridge casts a shadow on the water. HAIRTAIL Hairtail outside of Cowan creek are a complete enigma and totally unpredictable. We have had good runs of them in the harbour over the last few seasons but up until then we hadn’t seen one for 20 years. The Cowan run of fish is strictly winter but the harbour fish have been around Christmas except for a huge one we caught in late April. They are generally associated with cold water but I have seen them as far north as Cairns and heard of them in PNG. They are good fun to catch and great to eat but there is no point in targeting them in the harbour because they are so random. They like live baits but will also eat squid strips and pillies. KINGFISH Numbers of smaller kingfish have started to thin out and move around, but based on previous years’

experience they will still be available for a while. The compensation for fewer fish will be an increase in average size. Tactics need to change now, along with the kingies’ holding positions. You will still get them around places like the Wedding Cakes and other navigation markers

north and south head and the deeper channel markers like Neilson Park, Clifton Gardens and Rose Bay. FLATHEAD There are some great flatties around at the moment. This is one species that seems to have really benefited from the removal of the pros from the harbour. Fish in the

Top: The air temps might have dropped but the water is still warm and should keep producing kings for a few more weeks. Bottom: The early winter months are prime time for mulloway. but they have become fussy, requiring a bit of berley and smaller, lightly weighted baits. Their interest in lures is slowing down as well. There are more fish concentrated around the heads and Sow and Pigs Reef as they commence their migration out to sea. The best bait is still squid but make good use of the prime baits like the heads and guts, and cut the tubes into smaller strips. Baits should be presented on lighter gear, lighter leaders, less sinker, smaller hooks and down a cube trail. Live gar work pretty well at this time of year as well. If you want to target the larger kings use whole, live squid around the Spit bridge,

80cm range are becoming quite common. The big fish do prefer the deeper water locations of either sand or mud bottom. They will take big plastics worked across the bottom on 3/8-1/2oz jigheads but really love big baits. Live baits are the best but we also pick up quite a few on our large squid baits aimed at mulloway. Good spots are Clarke Island, Fairlight and Quarantine points, and the deep water in middle harbour and around the spit bridge. • If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney harbour with Craig McGill please call 0412 918 127 or email craig@ fishabout.com.au.

High powered Watts action BOTANY BAY

Gabe Quercigrosse gabeandgabe@bigpond.com

Watts Reef is where all the action has been happening in recent weeks. It hasn’t been uncommon to go out on this reef and catch big bluenose bream to 1.5kg. It does rough up in any sort of weather, but it’s easy to get to and the fishing has been really good. The best time to fish has been on the run-up tide, and the best bait has been live nippers. Locals have been picking up nice bonito to 4kg lately. The gun method has been to slowly troll 4” white skirted pushers about 100m from the rocks on the southern side of Botany Bay, around Tabbigai and Yena Gorge. As well as being excellent bait, bonito are actually quite good to eat – especially if they’re brined and then smoked with a hickory mixture. Also in the bay the big whiting appear to have gone and have been replaced with the smaller trumpeter whiting (winter whiting) but there are still some good fish around. Good hauls have been taken on Silver Beach off Kurnell on the incoming tide using live blood worms. Blue swimmer crabs are still around and can be netted out the front of Quibray Bay, The Patches and The Logs. They’re pretty big as well. Now is your last chance to enjoy good crabbing until the water temps warm up a bit. At the moment the water is around 17-18ºC but that will drop over the coming month. If you’d like to tangle with a trevally, look no further than Molineaux Point. Look for the number 157 stamped on the wall, because that’s where you’ll find the big schools of trevally. Berley up with wheat, bran and bread marinaded with pilchard juice. This combination works extremely well. I recommend using 4kg line with a 00 split shot sinker and size 1 Mustad 92247 hook. It’s a bait keeper hook with two barbs to hold the bait securely. Casting live nippers or live prawns into the berley trail will produce good bags of trevally. The eastern side of the new runway has been a hotspot lately. It’s a great place to get away from the westerlies because it’s nice and sheltered. It’s blessed with a fair amount of depths so you get the various species that frequent that type of water. The fact that it’s only a few hundred metres from the foreshore’s boat ramp makes it a very popular spot, and it’s very

productive for flathead and bream. It also has good surface fishing for tailor. The kingfish appear to have pretty much gone. The few stray fish that have been caught have come from the artificial reefs in Yarra Bay and Congwong Bay. The good news is that some big tailor are hanging around, and a lot of anglers have been having good success using live yellowtail. The tailor have been going berserk over the yellowtail, cutting them in half and even jumping out of the water in their efforts to eat them. On the southern side of the bay from Towra Deep and Towra Close

for school mulloway in the 5-7kg class. They’ve been taken both on hardbodies and soft plastics on the slack water. We’re at the time of year when the Georges River is going through the change. The fishing has been very ordinary of late, requiring a fair bit of effort to get results. Luderick are being taken in good numbers from Jannali Reserve and from Bonnets Bay and Thompson Bay. The fish haven’t been huge but at around the 30cm mark they’re still decent fish. Green weed is at a premium though, and is hard to find. At Chipping Norton Lake plenty of mullet are being

Some quality whiting caught by the author on the George’s River. the annual bream run is on in earnest. Fish up to 35cm are being taken on both tides using nippers or bloodworms as bait. When it comes to flatties, the bay hasn’t been that good this year. Only a few scattered catches have been reported, mostly from along the Brighton shoreline at the Novatel. COOKS AND GEORGES RIVER Anglers have been doing pretty well on the northern break wall fishing in the afternoons on the outgoing tide. They have been using pilly tails as bait with the best time being an hour or two before the low tide. Tailor and mulloway have been taken early in the morning and late in the afternoon on livies. Further up the river, the Princes Highway bridge at Tempe has been rewarding

taken from the reclamation wall, and they’re showing a preference for dough. Luderick are being caught from Floyd Park, and a few muddies have been taken from Two Pipes Bend. The stretch between Como Beach and Jewfish Point has been yielding good catches of flathead, as well as whiting at night and the odd school jew in the deeper water. Around the bridges I recently counted seven boats under Captain Cook Bridge, all fishing for school jewfish. The best I heard of was 10.7kg and that was caught on a squid bait taken from Bare Island. Tom Uglys Bridge has been yielding mulloway as well, albeit smaller than at Captain Cook Bridge. Most have been caught on the first two hours of the run-up tide on the western side of the bridge. THE MONTH AHEAD The period from the end of April to the end of June is a great time to fish the bay. After that the water gets cold and the fish get torpid. Every year as soon as the westerlies hit, the fish go off the bite – so don’t miss your chance to go fishing in June. We can expect mulloway to move up the river chasing the schools of mullet in June and July, travelling all the way to Liverpool Weir. The best bait will be locally sourced poddy mullet, and you can gather these from the Picnic Point boat ramp with a spotlight. Big bluenose whiting will become available during June and they will be found in the deeper parts of the estuary in the Georges River. You’ll find them on the edges of the sand banks where the bottom drops off into the deeper channel. You’ll need plenty of blood

Andrew Martin with a 4kg Australian salmon. worms, and you can expect to catch some quality fish up to 45cm. If you’re after bream you’ll find them around the bridge pylons. Check out the Captain Cook, Tom Uglys, Como and East Hill bridges. The top baits are live nippers and pungent dead baits like chicken gut and mullet gut. Trevally will be in much greater numbers and size in June. Salmon around 2-3kg will also push their way into the river, and will take floating live baits or anything shiny. They’re

great sport if you’re using 2.5-3kg line. All in all, over the next month the fish will be fewer in number but the bigger average size will make up for this. For all your fishing needs, as well as the latest info on what’s biting, drop into Gabe’s Boating and Fishing at Narellan (4/1A Somerset Ave), or Silvania (268/264-276 Princes Hwy). You can also call them on (02) 4647 8755 or (02) 9522 5100 respectively, or visit the website at www.gbaf.com.au.

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A month of surprises SYDNEY ROCKS

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com

As we head into ‘proper’ winter conditions, the water temp is still OK for a few sub-temperate species like mulloway and kings for the next few weeks at least. Whenever the air temperature is

consistently cool, the rock and beach anglers seem to be deterred from fishing for these species. Some of the largest kings are marauding the close-in reefs and deepwater headlands this month feeding on the migration of mullet and tailor heading up the coast. If you’d like to tangle with a large king you’ll want a sturdy 3m+

rod with minimum of 24kg mono or braid. Get a sizable live mullet or tailor of up to 0.75kg or so. A larger bait of up to 1.3kg is OK but you will generally miss out on the smaller kings of between 10-15kg. A weighted torpedo float is a good option, not so much for flotation but to indicate where the livebait is heading so you can avoid getting

L-R: Troy Williams, Keanen Wood, John Fazekas and Mitch Wood. Mitch lost a monster king that nearly spooled him on 24kg before cutting him off!

Patrick, Oliver Snr and Oliver Jnr Kovarik. Soon after this photo was taken there were a few more big whiting to 41cm caught by the trio.

JUNE 2014

in the way of other anglers who fish the same deepwater ledges. Large livebaits do a lot of swimming so it pays to know that your livebait is not crossing other anglers’ lines. If you can spin up the best live bait for a whopper king – frigate mackerel – you will soon realize how much water a live bait can cover. When it comes to other baits, a live large squid is very hard to beat. You can also use XL salted or unsalted sea gars, and large

poppers also work well. Try the Inner Ovens at South Whale Headland, North and South Curl Curl, Bluefish point and The Hat. The rock blackfish are on lately with some great bags on the northern suburb rocks. Clients have caught some great fish to near 3kg with some reports of even larger fish by the locals. Most of the pigs are in the 0.751.4kg size range. They’re beautiful tucker around that weight. I encourage releasing the big pigs

because they are generally the breeders, and their flesh is tougher anyway when they’re 3kg+ (according to Fisheries research a 3.5kg fish can be over 50 years old). Fresh white slice bread has been accounting for some good fish, and it can be a fun, visual experience. When berleying up with bread you get some floating bits that drift around, and it’s exhilarating watching luderick, bream and especially big pigs belting the bread on the surface.

Peeled large prawns like the Endeavour or banana prawns are working great. When you can get them the wild tiger or king prawns work just as well, but are generally cost a bit more. A small foam float about the width of a 20¢ piece and about 2cm long is OK for most float situations or a running sinker straight to a double or triple strength No. 1 to 2/0 Mustad hook. Some locations that are producing are Barrenjoey Head on the northern face, Bangally Head from the main ledge to St Michaels cave, Long Reef from Snapper Rock to the Island, and Little Bluey south of Shelly Headland from the beginning of the ledge to the third square ledge. Remember that these ledges should not be fished if the waves are steep and large, and take into account that you may be entering during the lower part of the tide and exiting during the higher part of the tide. On the sandstone ledges of Sydney always wear your steel spike boots, cleats or stretch on spikes. The beaches have some great whiting with some nice bream mixed in. Manly Beach has been a good producer with some fish up to 41cm. I had a few good outings in a row with whiting from 34-41cm but

they seem to have moved on. Chances are they will reappear though. There are patches of fish from 28-35cm, and you should move around and fish light sinkers so your bait doesn’t look unusual to the whiting when your bait is drifting. Some of the trips I conduct involve not just a whiting fish but a whiting/ beach worming option. Observing a client getting

a slimy worm of about 2m long. They are nowhere near as common as the stumpy worm, which is generally a lot thicker, but generally about half the length. Clients often catch their first beach worm on the first outing by using their fingers, which is harder than using pliers. Using your fingers is far less damaging to the worm so it will live a lot longer. Other beaches that are

Blake Robertson with his first legal fish – a beautiful 35cm beach bream. Note the rocks in the corner; often a great haunt for this species. so engrossed in catching these fascinating creatures is great to see. It never ceases to amaze me to speak to local revellers and surfers who don’t have a clue that there are beach worms available! I recently caught

producing are Curl Curl, Dee Why towards the northern end, Bungan Beach, Newport and Mid Palm Beach. Often when you have time out to go for a fish the high tides are either towards the very late morning or

early arvo, or the seas may appear to be too large for your favourite spot. In both these cases fishing the low tide period has produced some great bags of whiting recently and during a sizable swell of up to 2m. Find a fairly deep low tide gutter/ hole and surprise yourself. That will allow you to catch more fish and discard the common misconception that it has to be either fairly early morning or an early evening high tide. Some good reports of mulloway to 10kg are coming off our beaches. June can be a good month for them, providing the water temp doesn’t drop too much. Generally the water temp drop is attributed to a westerly and clear calm conditions. The mulloway’s food sauce is still available in the surf. Small dart, mullet and whiting will keep them interested, so have a crack at them. I like to use live bait like yellowtail or mullet; catching them is often far easier than catching slimy mackerel or even squid. Obviously the fresh squid option is always worth pursuing when you can get them. Until next month remember to rug up, be organized and enjoy the month of June. It has options that will surprise you!

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Stay home or fish? SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Now that it has turned really cold, a thought occurs to many anglers: “Do I stay at home or do I go for a fish?” “Go for a fish” is my choice. During the winter months you tend to find

fewer anglers getting out on the water, and for me this is a great time to get out for a fish. The question is do I go out chasing bream in the estuaries or off the beach and rocks? Maybe I should go and target luderick over the weed beds in the Port Hacking or along those rock walls near Soily Point in the Georges River. What

about chasing salmon, tailor and bonito off the rocks at Kurnell or Bare Island? Or should I just go and anchor up on a run-out tide off the oil wharf in Botany Bay and berley up silver trevally, bream and snapper? Decisions, decisions… but the solution is easy. I will do them all! THREE-DAY TRIP Just recently I had a

Paul ‘The Cook’ finds that fishing as light as the conditions will allow will reduce snags, and can also catch a trevally or two.

The magic stuff: bread, smashed up pilchards and prawns. What fish could resist it?

window of three days to get out and chase a few fish out of the estuary and off the rocks, so here’s an insight into what pre-planning I went through and how we went over those three days. After looking over the weather forecast for the three days we decided to chase bream and silver trevally in Botany Bay, with the possibility of getting a few squid. The second day would be devoted to chasing

luderick on a falling tide in the Port Hacking and then the third day would be chasing salmon, tailor, bonito, bream, trevally and drummer off the rocks in the Royal National Park. In the few weeks leading up to the three days I restocked the tackle boxes in the boat with sinkers, swivels and hooks. Made a visit to the local tackle shop and stocked up on a few kilo packets of

Hawkesbury River prawns, a few blocks of pilchards and some whitebait. I also went to Coles and brought a couple of kilos of uncooked tiger prawns. I also took time out to visit the local bread shop to grab a couple of bags of bread for berley. Next I made sure that I had topped up the Alvey reels with some extra line, organized my Alvey shoulder bag, safety

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Face June with a smile ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

Not a lot of anglers face up to June with a smile. June is cold, windy and for the most part pretty miserable – and it doesn’t get much better for many weeks. However, those dedicated jewie anglers know that on the big evening tides this month the trophy fish will be working their way along the beaches in hunting mode. Fish 25kg and better will be the target, and you won’t hear much about the captures as they are usually kept ‘hush hush’. That’s unless a lucky once-ayear angler scores one and tells everybody where and how. This usually attracts a crowd to the beach for a week or so before the cold chases them home again and the die-hards get back to quietly plying their trade.

Most beaches with a good gutter are worth a throw when these big tides are about, with some better than others, but that is the art of big fish. You have to be out there regularly to find the ones that will be producing consistently that season. Good starting points are Bombo in the south, Windang, Coniston and north ‘Gong on the northern side of Puckeys. Corrimal, Thirroul and Stanwell Park are all good for a look in the north, but any beach with a good deep gutter is worth a throw. If we get some heavy rain and the creeks break through the beach and run to sea, bringing all the good things creeks have into the surf, that’s another good place to try. It may not be as good as it could be this month because we had them all empty in March /April but it is always worth a look when this happens. Fresh bait is always

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best and it can be hard to get this month. However, you can usually get your hands on some blackfish and mulloway love it – so if squid, mackerel and yellowtail are hard to get, try the blackfish. You could get a surprise. Bream are on the move this month along the beaches as well. They can give your jewie baits a bit of a hiding so take a light outfit with you to grab a feed of bream, because we all know you will not get big jewies every trip. You might as well make the most of the bream while they are there, and some of them are very good fish of over a kilo that go alright on light gear. Salmon are also thick, but when aren’t they these days! They are fun to catch and aren’t too bad on the chew if you prepare them in the right way. Some good tailor are also about and they make excellent mulloway baits too, either alive or slabbed. Some are pretty big with the odd fish getting up to 3kg. As the saying goes, big live baits produce big fish and a 3kg tailor is easy pickings for a 20kg jew. You don’t have to cast it out either, you just let it swim about in the gutter and if there is a big mulloway around it will find it. If it doesn’t get eaten, nothing is lost because you can let it go or take it home for breakfast. If you are really keen and have a masochistic streak, you could get some beach worms and chase whiting. It’s not really the season and they are very hard to find, but there is the odd school about and when you do find them they are real trophy fish. It’s something to think about for those anglers with a bit of time on their hands. You will get a few salmon and bream on the worms to occupy you between whiting.

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A protected species but as you can see they have beautiful markings and seem to be making a comeback.

Trevally will become common place in the berley trails this month and don’t mind plastics either. OFF THE ROCKS As the water gets cold and rough the drummer come out to play, because these are the conditions they were made for. Kiama, Bass Point and Bellambi are good spots to start but just about every point and headland will have drummer at this time and they don’t need deep water as they will be in the rough foamy stuff with a bit of cover about. A bobby cork will minimise snags when fishing the rough stuff and indicate bites, so it is a good way to fish. Bream will be about too, particularly in the sheltered bays and inlets after a bit of a blow, as will the odd snapper towards the end of the month. Throw in a bit of bread and tuna oil berley and you could get a few trevally interested as well. The deeper ledges will have a snapper or two hanging about along with more drummer. A groper might also be on the cards on a windy westerly morning when the sea is calm if you can get a few crabs. Continued page 43

Little fellas like this are patchy but the big fish can show up any time.

From page 42

More salmon will be patrolling the deeper ledges too so a ganged pilchard cast and slowly retrieved will do the trick. A lazy pillie under a bobby cork will get them too. ESTUARIES In the estuaries it is a bit quiet except for a few bream in the lake on the eastern weed beds or in the deeper holes around the bridge at night. Minnamurra is much the same with a few From page 40

footwear, spray jackets and rods. I also pre-rigged my luderick rods so I could start fishing as soon as I had anchored up. Day one we anchored up on the western side of the oil wharf off Silver Beach at Kurnell on the start of the run-out tide.

stray trevally making an appearance to keep you on your toes. OFFSHORE Offshore the end of the month will herald the return of the snapper and cuttlefish, but just the early ones before they really get going next month. You can drop the pick over your chosen reef and berley or drift around working soft plastics over bait schools, as seems to be the norm these days. A lot of smaller fish

seem to be caught this month before the bigger ones arrive in July. Any big fish taken this month will usually be in the deeper water out over 30m before they start to move in on the cuttlefish. Trevally are also on the rise as the water cools, and they don’t mind a bit of berley either so you will probably get more trevally than snapper in the trail on most days. They are great fun on light gear and they come right up to the back

of the boat so you can watch them take the bait. Further offshore there have been reports of a few yellowfin tuna on but they are very patchy so far, with schoolies up to 30kg moving along the shelf taking small trolled skirts. With a bit of luck it will be like last season with large schools of ‘fin to 80kg all along the coast in 100 plus fathoms. Almost like the good old days. Albacore shouldn’t be too far away but as always

Point where we managed to get a few squid as well. I have found over the years the trick to successfully fishing Botany Bay is to be prepared to move out a bit to find the fish and make sure that you have a small, but steady stream of berley going out the back of the boat. If you can’t get hold

some berley with moist sand, chopped up weed and cabbage and a little bit of bread mixed in. Even though we had a perfect run-out tide, boy – did we have to work hard to get a few fish! The places we tried were the Ballast Heap, the entrance to Little Turriel Bay, Yowie and

day) and stored them in the bottom section of the fridge. We still had leftover pilchards, prawns and whitebait as well. Day three had us up early so that we could arrive at our chosen rock platform near Bundeena as the sun was coming up. Upon arriving the first thing I did was check out the water and wave conditions while my mate mixed up the berley. Once we decided it was safe to start fishing the berley was the first thing to enter the water. It took about 20 minutes before the first fish started to come up the berley trail and then it was a reasonable procession of silver trevally, bream, salmon, tailor and the odd six-spined leatherjacket and groper. At the end of the morning’s session we had no bread, pilchards and squid left so it made it much easier on the walk back to the car. Now I do realize you may not be able to get to fish for three days in a row, but you should still plan and prepare for your outing a few days before you go. Do this, and June will see you out there fishing a lot more even though it may be cold. If you would like some more information on where to go for a fish, all you need to do is send an email to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au and I will get back to you.

Before Scott ‘The Hook’ gets going he usually has to have a cuppa. It wasn’t long before the berley trail of bread started to do its job and a few silver trevally, bream and undersized snapper started to come in. We also tried fishing the end of the third runway, Monoliex Point, the drums and Sutherland

of some bream you could always try using chicken layer pellets or mashed up old pilchards. Day two had us chasing luderick in the Port Hacking. We made a quick trip to gather some weed and cabbage off the rocks at Cronulla, and made up

Gymea Bays, the Fisheries Point and Bundeena. On the way back to the ramp at Yowie Bay we did manage to pick up a few more squid for bait while fishing off the rocks. We vacuum sealed our squid (along with those caught the previous

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they are at the whims of the currents, just like the bluefin. Will the schools move up the coast this year producing massive fish over the 100kg mark? Let’s hope so, but remember the weather can turn foul very quickly and it is a long way home in a small boat. Closer in there are heaps of salmon around the islands and the deeper headlands taking whole pilchards on ganged hooks cast into the washes and slowly retrieved. A few nice tailor are around too, and the bream will be there picking your pillies to bits. Small cubes of pillie will bring them undone. The odd king might get into the action as well but it will only be a stray, as they have been quiet of late. Pillies cast into the wash catch all number of fish, with odd ones like the once-common black cod

being one of these. Being a protected species they must be returned to the water unharmed but they seem to be making a recovery as I caught another one recently. They grow to 50kg+ but the ones I have caught were only in the 5kg range. An interesting bycatch just the same. The bottom bouncers will do it a bit tough over the coming weeks as the flatties shut down with the arrival of the cooler water, but there should be a few around in the early weeks mixed with those demonic leatherjackets that seem to like cutting you off rather than eating the bait. The bonus of the cooler water is there will be a few nice small to medium snapper around the gravel and reefs along with a few mowies and some smaller samsonfish, so all is not lost.

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Yes, it’s tuna time NOWRA

Wes Murphy wesmurphy@bigpond.com

As we enter the colder months it’s time to prepare ourselves for the onslaught of large barrels hitting the decks in the form of bluefin and yellowfin tuna, with

some albacore to keep things interesting. Get the heavy gear ready, go buy boxes of pillies and start heading wide. When I’m targeting these beasts I like to run the boat out to the shelf until we find a change in temperature, then send a spread of lures out consisting of a mixture of

Rapala X-Raps, Sea Striker cedar plugs and skirted lures and troll until we hook up on any of the above mentioned species. Kingfish can still be found lurking around the usual haunts in and around Jervis Bay with reports of fish up to 80cm hanging out at middle ground, willing to eat fresh or dead squid

Nathan with feisty little king caught on light gear.

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towed slowly around the mark. It’s great fun on light gear. Snapper have been on the chew too, with good numbers of big bumpies out at the banks in the north and Stoney to the south of Jervis Bay. In the bay itself, top produces for snapper still include middle ground and plantation. They’re taking plastics such as Gulp 7” Jerkshads and fresh bait in the form of squid which is readily available throughout the bay. Just look for the sand patches in 3-5m of water and keep a watch out for the plethora of leatherjackets. St Georges Basin has see the return of the

Gav with a nice tuna from last year’s season. big tailor and with their return, we see the guys who know how to catch these monsters busting out their downriggers to tow 2-3” hardbodies down deep to attract the bite of a big fish. It’s always a good option at this time of year to bust out your blades to target the artificial reefs in the Basin that were put there by the Department of Primary Industries in 2007. Their co-ordinates can be found at www.dpi.nsw.gov. au/fisheries/recreational/ saltwater/artificial-reefs. June marks the closed

season for both bass and estuary perch, with a ban on possession of fish. There is still much confusion around the rules of catching them during this time, but DPI advises it is still OK to target these fish just not keep. However as mentioned in last month’s edition, most anglers will switch their focus to different species so the bass and EPs can do their thing. Continuing with the Shoalhaven River, mulloway are still around in numbers with most people targeting them around the

moorings at Greenwell Point and the canal. I have also witnessed some locals having great success just east of the bridge at the reef. I have also heard an unconfirmed report of a marlin being caught at the entrance to the river, a highly unusual event if it turns out to be true! Flathead are still around, with most coming from the straight in front of Broughton Creek down to the blue silos. Get out there and hook up. Tight lines and good times!

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JUNE 2014

The Australian Fish Names committee have put an end to consumer confusion and concerns around purchasing shark species with the announcement of the new group name ‘flake’. The new group name Flake now means that only two shark species, gummy shark (Mustelus antarcticus) and rig (Mustelus lenticulatus) can be sold or marketed in Australia as flake. It is very important to note the name flake only applies to the flesh sold in the Australian marketplace. The whole animal will continue to be referred to its specific fish name gummy shark and rig. The decision took over 12 months, and included

three months of extensive public consultation where over 200 comments and submissions were received; many raising valid points and issues. The Fish Names Committee met in March to discuss and consider the submissions received based on merits to make the decision to amend the Fish Name Standard on the use of Flake. Roy Palmer, Fish Names Committee Chair said, “the decision was not made lightly. Flake has been the name used in retail or more commonly in fish and chip shops, since about 1920 especially in Southern Australian states. “However, flake is also term that has been abused for a long time, to the detriment of both consumers

and industry. The committee estimates that as many as 100 different species are sold each year in Australia under the catch-all term ‘flake’. “From a food safety and traceability point of view, this is an untenable situation,” Mr Palmer added. “In this day and age, consumers want to know what they are buying.”

The committee acknowledges that this solution will not universally be applauded, but limiting its use and putting some rules around it is a positive step for consumers. For more information on fish names visit www.fishnames. com.au. - FRDC

They’re sinkers, not anchors! NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.me

Correct sinker selection can be critical to success in many forms of fishing. Starlo explains why, and stresses the importance of lightening up wherever possible. Sinkers are weights made from lead, lead-alloys or other heavy materials. Most sinkers include either a hole or channel through the middle, or an eyelet or ring on the end to hold the line. Shot or split shot are generally smaller versions with a slot or split on one side, allowing the line to be inserted before the shot is squeezed shut to grip the line (and please use pliers for this task, not your teeth!). We add sinkers or shot to our fishing lines and terminal rigs for a number of important reasons. The most obvious uses for sinkers are to provide additional weight to aid in casting, to carry a rigged line and bait (or lure) down towards the bottom and then hold our rig at a

Lots of charter operations wrap their heavy snapperstyle leads or bombs in tape or rubber tubing to reduce damage to boat fittings as these projectiles swing around. In very deep water you may need a hefty sinker like this one to get your bait to the bottom.

A cunjevoi bait rigged on a 1/0 hook for drummer, with the relatively small ball sinker running freely on the line right down to the knot. This is a killer rig! desired level in the water column, and also to balance or ballast a float so that its movement clearly indicates bites without scaring away timidly nibbling fish. In almost all fishing scenarios, it’s really, really important to avoid thinking of sinkers as mini anchors! Too many anglers still incorrectly believe that a sinker is designed to hold their rig and bait firmly

in one place (usually right on the seabed) and to keep their line nice and tight, so that bites can be easily felt. The fact is, most bites are registered just as readily when the line is slightly slack, and far fewer fish will shy away from a bait that’s allowed to move a bit and waft about in a natural way, at the whim of the current and tide. In nearly every fishing

scenario you might care to nominate, the smallest sinker you can practically use under the prevailing conditions (depth, current and required casting distance) is far and away the best choice for the job at hand. In other words, this is one area of life where smaller is almost always better! The actual shape and design of the sinker you choose is generally much less important than its weight. A sinker’s shape merely allows you to finetune your rig. However, a couple of shapes are designed for quite specialised functions and can definitely improve the performance of your rigs in these specific situations. For most of our day-to-day fishing needs ball, bean, bug and barrel sinkers are ideal. The performance of each of these common styles of sinker is so similar that you can pick whichever shape appeals the most to you on a personal level. They’ll all do the job admirably. As well as these common sinkers, the following two styles have useful applications in certain forms of fishing: Snapper lead: This type of sinker (also known as a bomb sinker) is designed to sink fast, straight and without spinning, or to travel through the air with little wind resistance, making the snapper lead

extremely suited to deepwater bottom fishing or long-distance, shorebased casting. Star and helmet sinkers: These are designed to have excellent grip on sandy sea beds, especially when strong cross currents are flowing, making these styles useful for surf fishing, especially on rougher days. Other specialist sinkers that were quite popular in years gone by seem to have less relevance to modern angling and have slowly faded from use. Spoon sinkers, for example, have largely gone out of favour with modern anglers, despite the fact that this design is quite useful for use over snaggy bottoms, simply because the sinker rides up over obstructions when retrieved quickly. Other unusual designs such as the channel sinker or so-called ‘picker’s doom’ have also declined in popularity, and are mostly only found in museum collections or pictured in old books these days.

Sinkers have a role to play in lure fishing, too. Note the ball sinker rigged in the leader loop knot on this weedless soft plastic, used to tempt a good barra.

A ball sinker running freely right down to the hook is a really useful and simple rig and will account for far more desirable captures than this unwanted kelpfish. Rather than focussing too much on obscure sinker shapes, concentrate instead on reducing your sinker

weight whenever and wherever you can. Your catch rate will definitely improve as a result. In future instalments,

we’ll look at rigging, and the relative merits of running versus fixed sinker rigs. Until then… lighten up!

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JUNE 2014

What’s new fishing Powered by

DUO REALIS ROZANTE 63SP

The Realis Rozante 63SP is one of the latest models to be added to the expanding range of quality lures from Japanese manufacturer DUO. The Rozante is essentially a smaller version of the popular 120SP. At 63mm in size the Rozante is perfect for bream, bass and trout, and it comes in a host of colours. Action wise, the first thing you notice when throwing the Rozante is how wide the action is. This bait has an incredibly wide wobble, and this becomes even more pronounced with action imparted from the rod tip. With a few downward stabs of the rod tip you can get the Rozante to dart side to side with heaps of lateral movement, which is key for triggering reaction strikes from nearby fish. Try twitching the Rozante around a weed edge for bass or around shallow structure for southern black bream. Price: RRP $24.95 www.swldistributions.com.au

LOW-LIGHT TONIC NEON

Australian company Tonic Polarised Eyewear has released a Neon lens formulated for bright, reflection-free vision in lowlight conditions. The ideal ‘winter lens’, it’s available in Tonic’s Rush and Shimmer styles. Neon has been developed by Tonic founder Doug Phillips for sight fishing in shadows, fog, and dawn and dusk. Doug said people were amazed by Neon’s ability to seemingly act as a light source. “People say Neon lenses actually light up what they look at, and yet the coatings also set a new standard for reducing glare and increasing colour separation,” he said. “[You get] a clear view of the fish when the ambient light is limited but there’s still glare to be cut through. “Our unique VistaView lens gives distortionfree viewing at any angle, and our scratch resistant UltraOptic lenses are 30% lighter. “Combined with our MultiCut fullspectrum anti-reflective coating and lightweight frames, this delivers fatigue-free vision in even the fiercest glare.” Price: RRP $259 www.toniceyewear.com.au

ZEREK THANNATUS RODS

The new Zerek Thannatus is not only a beautiful looking rod but is perfect for lure fishing. The new Xtreme Control Quattro X Loop blank technology delivers a very strong yet durable blank, with a sensitive tip for a lovely feel and finesse. The intelligent technology of the rods is paired with beautiful craftsmanship using a custom painted colour, Maziora Andromeda, which gives the rod a motor oil type slick finish over a smoke coloured Quattro X Loop blank. The Fuji reel seat and the carbon fibre butt cap adds to the custom feel and unique character. Only the best components have been used, with the Fuji K-Guides giving trouble-free casting. Every Zerek Thannatus rod comes in a custom neoprene feel protective rod bag. Available models (all two-piece) are: RZTH532C (5’3”, 10-17lb line rating, 1/4-5/8oz lure weight); RZTH562C (5’6”, 10-20lb, 3/8-1oz); RZTH602C (6’, 8-14lb, 3/8-3/4oz); RZTH602S (6’, 6-12lb, 1/2-1/2oz); RZTH702S (7’, 10-20lb, 3/8-1oz. Price: from RRP $210 www.wilsonfishing.com

DAIWA COMMANDER SPIN

Daiwa’s Commander spin series rods feature Daiwa’s legendary HVF blank technology. Refined and rugged, these blanks have maximum graphite density, are incredibly sensitive and are light and responsive. Megatop and V Joint technology combine with HVF to make the Commander’s design and function second to none. The AGS (Air Guide System) guides have a unique graphite frame that’s more sensitive, lighter, and stronger than metal, and more rigid than any other guide. This means faster casts, increased casting distance and accuracy, decreased rod vibration, and increased sensitivity. Light, refined and offering unparalleled comfort, the new Commander series features Daiwa surround reel seats made famous by the Black Label range. Daiwa’s cork grips and Air Foam grips come together to deliver lightness, style and comfort. There are seven models, ranging from the Bayonet Division (198cm, 1.5 section, 0.5-4g casting weight, 1-2kg line rating) to the Hell Kat (218cm, 1.5 section, 7-21g, 4-8kg). Price: Too new www.daiwafishing.com.au

STORM IN A PACK-UP-CUP

Pioneers of the outdoor dining world, Light My Fire, have pushed the envelope yet again with their latest flourish of creativity. The Pack-up-Cup is a set to sit alongside other LMF classics like the Spork, and the FireKnife as an essential bit of kit for outdoor lovers. Light My Fire operates by a simple ethos: ‘Think wild, eat civilised’, and the Pack-up-Cup is the embodiment of this. However, it isn’t limited to outdoor use alone; A Pack-up-Cup is just as handy in the office as it is on the boat or at the campsite. A hard plastic lid and grip section will spare you of any spills, while a collapsible rubber body is a highly effective space saver when packing light is a priority. The Pack-up-Cup is also dishwasher and microwave friendly, and comes in a variety of colours, so your entire family can discover the joys of collapsible cup living! Price: RRP: $9.95 www.outdooragencies.com.au

SHIMANO CURADO I BAITCASTER

The latest Curado release, the I series, sees this evergreen reel tricked up even further. X-Ship is a big inclusion. Supporting the pinion gear at both ends with two of the five SA-RB bearings the reel comes with, a bigger drive gear and increased gearing efficiency results in ultra light rotation of the swept aluminium handle — even when hooked up. Another new feature is the Stable Spool Design or S3D, whereby balanced and uniformly thin wall construction throughout significantly reduces spool vibration. This delivers an incredibly smooth feeling when casting or retrieving. An Escape Hatch sideplate grants easy access to the SVS Infinity Braking System for making adjustments when lure sizes and fishing conditions change. The Cross Carbon drag, easily adjustable via the aluminium star drag wheel, remains smooth under a range of settings, and can be pushed as high as 5.5kg, which is a lot of

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129 nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

What’s new fishing Powered by stopping power for a small baitcaster. There is a choice of high or performance gearing in right or left-hand wind. Price: RRP $229 www.shimanofish.com.au

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OKUMA OZMODO

TONIC BLUE MIRROR

NEW ZMAN COLOURS

SUFIX NANOBRAID

The baitholder pattern is a freshwater standard, but also is incredibly popular in saltwater for estuary species such as bream. Thanks to the use of high quality steel (like all Gamakatsu hooks) the Gamakatsu Baitholder is pin sharp due to the unique chemical sharpening process. Key to its success is the addition of two barbs on the shank, which secure baits to the hook making for a realistic presentation. Traditionally available only in a bronze finish, the new black nickel finish pictured will increase this hook pattern’s durability in saltwater use. Gamakatsu Baitholder Black hooks are available in 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1 and 1/0 to 4/0 in pre-packs, 25 packs and 50 boxes. Price: from $7.25 www.gamakatsu.com.au

The Megabass Gaus 20X and 30X saltwater spinning reels are perfect for estuary to light offshore use for bream, flathead, kingfish and snapper and other reef species. They also excel at other types of fishing courtesy of their high compression carbon composite body, offering unparalleled rigidity with an ultra light feel. Both sizes feature the magnetic fluid shield system used in the Lin258HM which not only keeps the gear unit clean, but also eliminates the contact points between the body and rotor resulting in an ultra-smooth wind in all conditions. The rotor is made of X Graphite composite which increases the rotation response of the reel, spreads the load evenly and adds to the sensitivity. The design elements include a light spool and ergonomic handles for all-day comfort. The M drag system pumps out a massive amount of pressure, with the 30X capable of producing 7kg of drag. Both reels include a high powered gear system. Price: RRP $736 for 20X and $854 for 30X www.megabass.com.au

GAMAKATSU BAITHOLDER BLACK

MEGABASS GAUS SW

Designed to combat Australia’s harsh saltwater conditions, the Ozmodo steps out with a full aluminium gearing system that is incredibly strong and exceptionally lightweight. With ABEC5 spool bearings making up the bearing system, the Ozmodo delivers lasting power and performance. The low-profile design of the reel and soft touch handle grips make the Ozmodo extremely ergonomic as it sits comfortably in the angler’s hand. As a result of this, the angler’s casting accuracy and lure control is increased considerably when pitching lures close into snags. As with all Okuma reels, the Ozmodo comes complete with a Lifetime Guarantee. Price: from RRP $259.95 www.okuma.com.au

The ZMan 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ features a large curl tail and baitfish body, with belly slot for weedless rigging or adding scent. It appeals to a range of species, from flathead to bass and jewies to big snapper. It is constructed from ElaZtech, which has 10X Tough construction, is super-soft and flexible, and has built-in buoyancy that sees its tail raised and wafting when on the bottom. There are two new additions to the 4” StreakZ Curly TailZ range: mood ring and pinfish. Mood ring has a dark violet back and translucent, pearlescent purple belly with micro glitter. Pinfish is a superrealistic baitfish imitation with a pumpkin back and translucent, pearlescent belly, both of which contain black fleck and blue, green and gold glitter. Both of these new colours have been a big hit in the 3” MinnowZ and will be just as deadly in the Curly TailZ. Curly TailZ are available in 16 colours, with five per pack. Price: SRP $8.95 www.z-man.com.au

Tonic Polarised Eyewear, the new leader in high quality fishing sunglasses, has released a special Blue Mirror Limited Edition. Available in Tonic’s popular Evo and Shimmer frame styles, the Limited Edition is a stylish solution for high-glare conditions. The Blue Mirror lenses were developed for Australian anglers and outdoor enthusiasts, and share their high-tech optics with all of Tonic’s growing range of lightweight polarised optical glass lenses. To create Tonic, founder Doug Phillips adopted Japan’s two big optical breakthroughs of the past decade: unprecedented wrap-around clarity and exceptionally lightweight glass lenses. VistaView gives distortion-free viewing at any angle, and the scratch resistant UltraOptic lenses are 30% lighter than other glass lenses. Tonic polarised sunglasses are now available in eight wraparound styles, including the Evo and Rush with ClikStrap removable and adjustable safety strap. Prescription lenses are also available. Price: $259 for glass, $149 for polycarbonate www.toniceyewear.com.au

Get ready for the new level of Nano line feel and performance with Sufix NanoBraid. By utilising their innovative Wide Angle Braiding Technology, Sufix has been able to produce a tighter braiding weave that is super strong and silky smooth. Four densely braided Dyneema fibres have combined expertly to deliver a high pitchcount that produces consistent quality, a uniform diameter and increased abrasion resistance, significantly enhancing the line’s performance and longevity. Sufix NanoBraid is up to 3x stronger than other lines in its category and features superior knot and shock strength. The silky soft feel of NanoBraid line is extremely sensitive, enabling the angler to detect the slightest of bites, whilst its ultrathin diameter promotes pinpoint casts and remains silent as it runs through the guides. Sufix NanoBraid is available in pink in

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129 nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

What’s new fishing Powered by breaking strains of 6lb, 7lb, 8lb, 11lb and 16lb, and comes in 125 yard spools. Price: from RRP $39.95 www.rapala.com.au

COMMANDER BAITCASTER

The new Commander series features Daiwa’s legendary HVF graphite blank technology. HVF (High Volume Fibre) combines precise resin control with unidirectional graphite fibre to produce a blank that is incredibly sensitive, light and responsive. AGS (Air Guide System) features a unique graphite frame that’s more sensitive, lighter, and stronger than metal, and more rigid than any other guide ever made. AGS allows for faster casts, greater distance, increased accuracy, decreased rod vibration and a massive increase in sensitivity. The Commander series carries the pedigree of the Zillion name, utilizing their low profile, indestructible reel seat design. Daiwa’s cork grips and Air Foam grips offer comfort, lightness and unmatchable style. There are three models. The Tough Ombre is ideal for throwing spinnerbaits and dishing out discipline close to cover for barra, bass, sooties and cod. The Wild Cat is suited to small to medium sized hardbodies, and the Liberator is an all-rounder that’s equally at home liberating bass as it is dominating barra. Price: Too new www.daiwafishing.com.au

BEARDY’S SHRIMP

Beardy’s Lures are the brainchild of Daniel Beard. His new Beardy’s Shrimp is a handmade timber lure he produces in Beaconsfield, Melbourne, Victoria. This very distinctive looking lure is a must have for any native freshwater angler and wouldn’t be out of place in the salt as well. Designed around the characteristics of a real prawn, the Shrimp is 70mm long and runs at 2m+. Its coffee colour has proven to be deadly on cod and yellowbelly, especially in discoloured water. The lure is very buoyant and is a favourite of people who enjoy casting and retrieving lures around snags and structure. For more information the Beardy’s range or to order some lures, contact Daniel Beard on 0448 907 091 or look up Beardy’s Lures on Facebook. Price: $15 www.facebook.com/pages/Beardys-Lures

FISH ARROW SPINE HOOK

The Spine Hook from Decoy Fishing Arrow was born as a new way of rigging the flash J plastics. It is the reaction of this ultimate rig that can turn finicky fish into feeding fish. Simply twitching the rod tip causes an unpredictable spiral fall to imitate a baitfish dying! The Fish Arrow Spine Hook comes in two sizes (hook size 2 and 3) and there are five hooks per pack. Price: RRP $6.99 www.searingtackle.com.au

SHIMANO EXAGE MONO

Shimano Exage monofilament is an extra strong, high quality Japanese line, which is perfect for many Aussie fishing conditions and species as well. A clear blue in colour, it features low memory so it lies on reel spools neatly, and exhibits high knot strength. It is perfect for anything from fine line breaming with bait, float fishing for blackfish, but also more robust situations such as floater fishing for snapper and other offshore species where using a tough, supple line is an advantage. Exage is available in 6, 8, 12, 16, 20, 30 and 35lb breaking strains on handy 300m spools. Price: from RRP $34.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

LOX HYBRID TECHNOLOGY

Following extensive research and development, renowned rod manufacturer Lox has developed a revolutionary new carbon wrap process that delivers dramatic performance gains. It’s called Hybrid Wrap Technology. The secret is the manual wrapping of alternate densities and shapes of pre-preg within the blank, producing a blank with a noticeably different texture and pattern. “The process is very labour intensive, and it’s doubtful that any factory outside the Lox plant has either the experience or the technicians required to produce the Hybrid wrap,” said Ran Feng from Australian distributor Viva. “Lox Hybrid jigging blanks have a similar circumference to our opposition’s bream sticks! The identifying characteristics of the Hybrid wrap are extraordinarily small cross sections and unparalleled strength to weight ratios. “Just as carbon rods were a quantum shift from glass rods, Lox Hybrid rods are a quantum shift from carbon.” Keep an eye out for these new rods at your favourite tackle store. Price: Varies www.vivafishing.com.au

HELPFUL POINTERS

Two of the latest lures from Lucky Craft are the LL Pointer 180 and LL Pointer 200. The 180 is a jointed sinking jerkbait with excellent swimming action. This 180mm, 52g lure combines a nice, slender profile with an excellent swimming action. The line tie is on the lure’s nose but pointed downward at a 45º angle, which produces a slightly more erratic swimming action and a more nose-down posture in the water. Fitted with quality SW hooks, it comes in five colours. The 200 is weighted so it falls horizontally with a wiggling vibration that produces an excellent flash to attract fish from deep water. Count it down and fish it throughout the water column. With a few jerks, it will produce an excellent side-toside slashing and gliding action. The LL Pointer 200 fitted with XOS hooks and is ideal for mackerel, barramundi, mulloway and kingfish. It comes in eight colours. Price: approx. $40 www.ejtodd.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129 nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

What’s new fishing Powered by

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NEW FROM C’ULTIVA

Two of the latest releases from C’ultiva are the SSF-41 Short Assist and JD-22 Jigger Light Assist. Ideal for light and micro jigging, the SSF-41 Short assist allows anglers to rig micro jigs with a short assist rig. Forged for strength with spade end to reduce hook weight SSF-41 short assists feature a needle point for excellent hook up rates. It’s available in sizes 1, 1/0, and 2/0. C’ultiva has also developed a range of ultra light and ultra strong twin assist rigs developed for light jigging. JD-22 Light Jigger assist rigs are forged with spade end and feature TAFF-WIRE construction. TAFF-WIRE helps create hooks that are smaller in diameter, yet stronger and harder than ever before. TAFF-WIRE hooks are stronger per wire diameter than any hook on the market. JD-22 Light Jigger assist rigs are available in sizes 1/0, 2/0, 3/0, 4/0 and 5/0. Price: Varies www.owner-fishing.com.au

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Big lures catch big fish, so Lucky Craft and Skeet Reese have teamed up to create the Lucky Craft SKT Magnum for what Skeet calls, “crankbait fishing on steroids”! These lures are fitted with a precisely designed bib to produce less pull, so you can burn them back to the boat all day without wearing out your arm. The tight wobbling action draws reaction bites around mid-depth rock piles, ledges, and points. Non-rattling, the big profile of the Lucky Craft SKT Magnum is easy for predators to locate in stained or muddy waters. It’s ideally suited for casting or trolling for cod and big barra. There are two models, the MR (110mm, 56g, floating, dives 15ft) and the DR (120mm, 91g, floating, dives 25ft). Both are made in Japan and come in four colours. Scan the QR code hereabouts to see an interview with distributor Bryan Todd on these and other new Lucky Craft lures. Price: approx. $40 www.ejtodd.com.au

SKT MAGNUM

EVAKOOL PLATINUM

Evakool celebrates its 20th Anniversary with the launch of its new range of 12V upright fridge-freezers. Platinum fridge-freezers maintain freezer temperatures of up to -15ºC in ambient temperatures in excess of 45ºC. That level of performance has earned the Platinum series the maximum climate class rating of Tropical +. Powered by a 12V compressor, with insulated walls up to 100mm thick, these fridge-freezers have been designed to withstand the rigours of off-road travelling and are suited for most camper and mobile home applications. They offer operational efficiency and are ideal for homes and rural properties relying on 12V and solar generated power. The Platinum range is available in

four sizes and boasts stylish, modern designed cabinets with separate fridge and freezer compartments. There’s also a two-year warranty. Price: RRP $1399-$1999 www.evakool.com

FLASHING GANG HOOKS

ALVEY ROD HOLDERS

HEADLOCKZ HD NOW IN 4/0

Designed in Australia and the first of its kind, Flashing Gang Hooks combine innovation and design to create a unique hook system that is sure to attract any fish’s attention. Flashing Gang Hooks combine the traditional ganged hooks with tied flashing material. The flashing material grabs the fish’s eye as it glitters in the water, while the smell of the bait ensures the fish bites. Any fish that likes a ganged pilly will love the Flashing Gang Hooks; the flash plus the smell delivers a two-punch combo that gets results. Price: RRP $7.50 www.elkatfishing.com.au

Carrying rods in a bull bar style rod holder can be distracting to the driver of the vehicle. The new Alvey Rod Holders are different. They attach to the ends of your cross bar roof rack system and keep your rod and reel combos rigged ready to fish on the side of the vehicle. The rod holders can be fitted to roof rack crossbars in minutes. The wider holder goes on the back crossbar and the smaller holder goes on the front crossbar. They’re also handy for transporting pipes or long timber lengths. “This is the way that my dad used to carry his rigged rods up the beach. It was a great way to do it then and nothing has changed today,” said Bruce Alvey. Two styles are available, one to suit the heavy-duty crossbar and one to suit the sports style crossbar. To see a video of the racks scan the QR code hereabouts or search for ‘Alvey Roof Rack Carrier’ on YouTube. Price: RRP $59.25 per pair www.alvey.com.au

TT Lures HeadlockZ HD Jigheads are renowned for their brutally strong, Mustad chemically sharpened, black nickel hook and unique locking grub keeper. This grub keeper has been designed to lock all soft plastic brands, including the 10X Tough ZMan plastics, securely in place. Now the AFTA award winning TT Lures HeadlockZ HD jigheads are available in a 4/0 hook size. The 4/0 will be a perfect fit for many 3”-5” soft plastics, and the addition to the range was again driven by angler requests. The 4/0 HeadlockZ HD is available in 1/8, 1/6, 1/4, 3/8 and 1/2oz, to cover everything from estuary to shallow reef and pelagic species. There are five jigheads per pack. Price: SRP $8.95 www.ttlures.com.au

Please send contributions to: The Editor, Fishing Monthly Group PO BOX 3172 LOGANHOLME, QLD. 4129 nicole@fishingmonthly.com.au

DIY kayak wheels AYR

Steve Farmer

Fishing kayaks seem to be getting larger, more extensively fitted out and, as a result, heavier, these days. Craft, which were once thought of as portable and minimalistic, are now decked out with all the bells and whistles and, combined with their unwieldy bulk, they can be a struggle to move singlehanded. Unless you own a basic, ultra lightweight yak, chances are you won’t be carrying your fishing machine very far unassisted. Assistance can be in the form of another angler (fine if you are fishing with a mate every time you hit the water) or in the form of a set of kayak wheels. This accessory is almost essential for the larger kayaks and can make child’s play of shifting your boat from the shed to the car or from the car to the water.

Before you begin construction of your kayak wheels consider where the wheels will best fit under the kayak. Ideally you’ll want a slightly bow-heavy rig for ease of movement, so the position of the wheels is important. Of course, with this type of trolley wheel assembly the position of your wheels is limited to the position of your scupper holes. When determining the best position for your wheels remember to include any standard load you may carry. For example, if you carry an icebox in the rear cargo bay you may have to move your wheels further astern to obtain the balance you want. Fortunately the load most fishing kayakers carry is minimal and shouldn’t be a problem. I began construction of my yak wheels by cutting two pieces of 30mm 2 hardwood at around 40cm long. These were for the legs, which would fit through the scupper holes in

was able to achieve a loose fit. This was to allow the legs to easily fit into the scupper holes. You may have to vary the size of the timber or the amount of rounding required to suit the size of your scupper holes. Don’t make them fit too neatly or you’ll have trouble fitting the completed wheels. Loose, but not excessively sloppy, is the go. With the two legs fitted into the scupper holes of the upturned kayak, measure the distance between their outside edges. The loose fit of the legs will result in a range of measurements, but try to settle on an average so that the final product will slip easily into place without being tight in the scupper holes. Add another 30mm to this measurement as excess to be trimmed when the legs are eventually fitted and screwed together. This measurement is the width of the gussets you will now cut from 10mm plywood. The height of the gusset should be around

the closer the wheels are to the stern the more weight you will have to lift when you move the yak. The next step is to assemble the undercarriage by screwing the two gussets

drop easily into the scupper holes. Once you’re happy with the positioning of the legs, screw the gussets to the second leg, remove the clamp and cut off the excess plywood that is overhanging.

they wouldn’t interfere with the load-carrying ability of the Prowler. The next consideration was the wheels and this is potentially the most expensive part of the accessory. Fortunately I had an old golf bag trolley amongst my junk…I mean treasures…and I was able to rob the wheels off that. Actually the wheels were ideal as kayak trolley wheels. They were plastic or nylon (meaning they wouldn’t corrode in the salty environment) and they were flat, around 75mm wide and 240mm in diameter (meaning they should travel fairly well across soft sand). They were designed to run on a 1/2” axle in simple nylon bushes, meaning they should be maintenance-free. I made the axles from

the cargo bay of the kayak. This length allowed around 5cm excess on both ends for later trimming to the exact, desired length. I chose hardwood rather than pine for the strength it provided. The 30mm2 timber was actually a little oversize for the scupper holes, but by rounding the edges on the top 15cm of the hardwood with a file and sandpaper, I

12cm, depending on the height you want your kayak to be above the ground when it’s sitting on the trolley. Too high and it may be unstable and too low and the kayak may drag on the ground. The ideal height will depend on where the wheels are fitted – close to the stern with minimal rear overhang means the trolley height can be less. Just remember that

to one of the legs, flush with the outside edge. The position of the gusset on the leg should be such that the leg just protrudes out the top of the scupper hole when the gusset is resting on the hull. You can then slide the second leg between the two gussets and G-clamp it in position. The clamp allows you to make minor adjustments until the legs

I then transferred the shape of the hull to the gussets and used a jigsaw to cut a curved section out of the top of the gussets. This allowed the kayak to sit snugly in the undercarriage, making it more stable both at rest and on the move. The final bit of woodwork on the undercarriage was to cut the legs off flush with the floor of the cargo bay so

1/2” diameter stainless steel round rod, threaded on one end where it passed through the hardwood legs. You may be able to buy a long, 1/2” stainless steel bolt with sufficiently long threaded and unthreaded sections to make the axle. Failing that you’ll have to buy the rod and have the thread cut at your local engineering workshop.

The kayak wheels fit into the rear cargo bay of my Prowler 13.

Top Left: A stainless steel split pin attaches the wheels to the axles. Top Right: The axles are bolted to the timber legs with a stainless steel Nyloc nut. Bottom Left: The axles for the golf bag trolley wheels were made from 1/2” stainless steel round and attached through the timber legs of the undercarriage. Bottom Right: The legs are cut flush with the floor of the cargo bay. Note the clearance between the hardwood leg and the scupper hole. There are plenty of commercial models available that range from $50-$160, but I reckoned I had enough bits and pieces lying about in the shed (stuff my wife refers to as ‘junk’! Can you believe?) to knock up a set of wheels at next to no cost. The design I will detail below is suitable only for sit-on-top kayaks with vertical scupper holes through the hull. 50

JUNE 2014

The completed kayak trolley. The curved section cut out of the top of the gussets fits the shape of the kayak hull. A stainless steel nut and a flat washer were fitted onto the threaded section, which was then passed through a 1/2” hole drilled in the hardwood leg. A stainless steel washer and a Nyloc locking nut then secured the

and the edges filed smooth. With the wheels finished I fitted them to the Prowler 13 and took it for a test run around the backyard. They performed perfectly, allowing me to almost effortlessly move the kayak,

With the rear mounted trolley the kayak is slightly bow heavy, but still easy to move around.

water without holding up other ramp users. With the initial test run complete I disassembled the wheel trolley, glued (with epoxy glue) and re-screwed the gussets and painted all timberwork for both

protection and looks. My kayak wheels have proven themselves over the past three or four years. They are lightweight, cheap, simple, easy to build, maintenance-free and very

effective. They are also just small enough to fit into the rear cargo bay of the Prowler, avoiding the need for me to run them back to the car when I get the yak to the water’s edge.

If you’ve got a sit-on-top kayak and a shed full of ‘junk’ you too could take the struggle out of your day on the water by building your own kayak wheels at next to no cost.

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The kayak is rolled onto its beam and the trolley is slotted into the scupper holes. axle to the leg before the excess threaded section was hacksawed off just clear of the locking nut. The wheel was then fitted to the axle, followed by a flat washer. Next a 3mm hole was drilled through the axle to take a split pin that held the wheel in place. Finally any excess shaft was cut off

especially on the concrete driveway. I have since put them through the ultimate test across soft sand and they performed better than I had expected. If I’m launching at a boat ramp the wheels allow me to park well clear of the ramp, unload the kayak from the roof cradle and then trundle it effortlessly to the

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What’s hiding in the Clyde BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

The following report was compiled by Rodney Stokman in Anthony’s absence. As you read this we should be experiencing cooler winter waters, especially inshore. We could see it stay reasonably warm out beyond the shelf like last year though. Inshore will cool down to 14-15ºC at the coldest but the offshore water may stay quite warm. Last year marlin were caught in June and a massive blue was weighed in at Bermi in August. Don’t be surprised if we see this again this year. The estuaries are fishing well and the Clyde has been keeping anglers more than happy. Joel Taylor cracked his PB mulloway weighing in at 25kg. Wade Eaton and Ray Smith have been terrorising the place as usual and have been having good catches of mulloway during the day on hard and soft bodied vibes, and at night on fresh squid. Customers have been coming into the shop with good reports of bream and stories of plenty of 40cm and larger ones being caught. Coming into the colder months the bream will tend to be more lethargic and up the back reaches you can still get onto some black bream. Just go down on your leader and keep your presentation in front of them until you get a hit. Other than that you can always count on the flathead to play. The beaches have been quiet on the salmon and tailor front with some odd catches here and there. Moruya Wall had a good run of decent size tailor when that cold

My father and Al bagged out on whiting on their last visit to the beach and we could still see some catches through June. However, we expect that should ease and we should see salmon and tailor make more of an appearance. That means it’s time to put the worms down, get out the pilchards and whip a 30-60g metal through the surf on some lighter gear for some crash tackles. Rock fishing is rocking. Snapper are still in close and will probably remain that way as the cuttlefish are making their way in, and snapper love cuttlefish. Squid and white plastics work well at this time of year. Squid are on as I type. We have nearly sold out of plain white squid jigs. Pick up some squid jigs and get out for the afternoon and into sunset for some calamari for dinner. Who doesn’t love that? Finally some decent kingfish have made an appearance but they’re still a bit hot and cold. Some of the boys fishing for snapper in close on light gear have been getting dusted in the shallows and landing a few in places like Durras. Moruya, which has had a good couple of years, has fired up a couple of times and Montague Island has had some even better days. Ulladulla has turned on a bit and Jervis Bay has seemed to be the most consistent. Still, they haven’t really been that thick as of yet. FAD-IQUETTE The stand-out species at the end of summer and throughout autumn was the mahi mahi (dolphinfish). The FADs up and down the coast held large numbers and plenty of fish mostly around 80-90cm. Lots of rats

Andrew Grover and daughter with a 85cm flathead released back into the system. water pushed through, but to make up for their absence there’s been an abundance of whiting. Old school dudes like Al Perry have been saying it’s the best whiting run they have seen in a while.

amongst them but also a few bulls as well. Sad story though. The FAD has been removed. They seem to arrive too late and get pulled too early. Hands up who wants FADs

all year round? Tuna are a fish too. I think it is important to talk about FAD etiquette now that we can look back on how it all went down and how we should approach next year. I admit, I have been guilty of rushing out to a FAD with only lures in tow. Two other boats arrived just before and were setting up for a session with livies. I thought I would do a couple of quick passes, try my luck and move on and let them set up camp. This didn’t make the guys very happy and for good reason, but karma got me back. When I returned with livies. I picked up a quick two dollies before another boat came and did what I did earlier, and the fish shut down immediately. The problem with motoring past with lures is that it can push the fish down if they are a bit shy. There are days they are on the bite big time, and at such times motoring by with lures out the back can produce fish, pass after pass. However, if the fish have been holding there for a few days or more and have been getting a lot of traffic they tend to get pushed down by the engines motoring by. The lesson is, if you arrive at a FAD and people are quietly drifting by and catching fish with livies and you don’t have any livies or bait, go get some. The best approach is to find the direction of drift and park well away from the FAD and drift by it. Berley can be very helpful in raising fish and livies are always going to be your best option. Other options include jigging, casting plastics or hard bodies. This can be a lot of fun on light gear. Just don’t be the person dragging lures through half a dozen boats drifting quietly, because nobody will catch fish. The other thing to remember is once you do a drift by the FAD and you are some distance away from it, don’t be surprised if you hook up. When things are going smoothly, people are quiet and there’s berley in the water, the fish can be up and on the bite for some distance around the FAD. However, when you feel you have drifted out of the action just start your engine and motor quietly out and well around the FAD and start the drift again. All in all, if you slow down, take your time and be quiet, everybody will catch fish instead of nobody. TUNA Winter is here, heaters are on and ‘tuna’ is now becoming the word on anglers’ lips. Small schools of yellowfin tuna are getting

around. They’re elusive little buggers though… good luck catching them! Some 8-10kg models have been busting up inshore bait schools, but they move fast and only have eyes for the bait they’re feeding on. To be in with a chance of catching them you have to match that hatch and get something in front of them. Otherwise your time would be better spent targeting snapper. June is the time we start seeing some good yellowfin show up. One or two 50kg+ models were caught each week last year. That’s not a lot, but they are out there and you have to be also if you want to see one. Get out and enjoy the beautiful South Coast scenery, and if you hook up that’s even better. As usual, deep diving lures and mixed skirts are the go. Favourites are Rapala X-Raps, Halcos and the new Live Targets. Put out a few skirt sizes and colours if you’re not sure what they are taking. I personally love a medium size pink one, and lumo is also a consistent colour. Next month we will be talking bluefin! I’m looking forward to that. Until then, get out there and enjoy

WIN

Brendon Sweeney with a Clyde River bream. what’s on offer. For more up-to-theminute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat Angler Batemans

Bay and have a chat to Anthony or one of the other friendly staff. They’re located at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay (02 4472 2559).

A POWER-POLE MICRO ANCHOR FROM

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If you miss an issue of the magazine you can find previous issues archived digitally for free at www.issuu.com JUNE 2014

Waterways wake up NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Narooma has experienced some interesting weather of late, much like the rest of the South Coast, but thankfully it has stabilised now so anglers can get out there and enjoy. OFFSHORE The offshore scene is red-hot at the moment with sportfishing crews getting amongst the action when conditions have allowed. Marlin numbers are still excellent even though it’s late in the season, with crews getting up to six shots a day. There’s a mixture of beaks with blacks and stripes, but the majority seem to be stripes around that 90-110kg bracket. I’ve heard a few reports of bigger blues further east

of the shelf but they have won their freedom. Most fish have come from the 70-fathom line around the traps to the shelf, with the Tuross canyons holding fish too. With the water still a balmy 23ºC these beakies may stay around to early June. A lot will depend on water temperatures and the like but with the water still warm north of us anything is possible. Trolling skirted pushers seems to be the preferred method to target the beaks. You get to cover a lot of ground and when you locate the bait etc. it’s all systems go. There have been some solid mahi mahi (dolphinfish) to 18kg caught too when trolling so the water is pretty good quality. l think this late season marlin action might continue. The last few

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seasons there have been fish caught in June and this season looks the same. What is exciting is that it’s also tuna time. If the marlin bite slows it will do so quickly meaning the water temp will drop, and that should mean jumbo yellowfin tuna. May and June has always been big fish time for as long as l can remember, but with the seasons seemingly getting later that could now go into July. That’s all good news for the tuna crews. There’s already been a smattering of yellowfin caught by the trolling brigade so it may pay to troll some smaller skirted pushers and bibbed minnows for the yellowfin. If you do locate them, revert to cubes and berley and try to hold them behind the boat. This doesn’t always work but when it does it’s memorable. You can expect albacore as well and if sharks are your choice there will be some decent makos following the tuna schools. At Montague Island the kings have been excellent; it’s the best action scene this season with almost all fish legal and in quantities. Local charter operators are happy lads at present with bag limits reached on the majority of trips. That’s great for the punters, with loads of fun and a great feed for the pan. The kings have responded best to live bait, especially the bigger models upwards of 90cm, though jigs and squid fished on flasher rigs have also worked. I expect this action to continue as long as the current keeps pushing south and the water remains a good colour and doesn’t turn over. June should also see a

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Peter Steward with a couple of solid black bream caught on plastics. In all, 21 bream were caught and released that morning. few hoodlums make their presence felt, with kings to 20kg and bigger possible. These brutes are usually around the Fowlhouse Reef chasing sauris so they can be hard to entice, but if you do connect with one be ready. A few yellowfin tuna might make Montague home also, so anchoring or drifting the northern end of the island with cubes/berley might be an option. ESTUARIES In the estuaries the water has finally cleared and it has helped the fishing immensely. Wagonga inlet has woken up with the main channel east of the bridge excellent for bream, trevally and blackfish. The bait brigade has fared best here with striped tuna cubes and fresh prawns ideal for the bream and trevally, with nippers and green weed perfect for the blackfish. Anchoring up on the draining tide is the go. A little berley will help but don’t overdo it. In the main basin tailor numbers are on the increase, with fish to 2kg being caught. The bigger fish are holding deeper so trolling deeper bibbed minnows has worked a treat. You will get the chopper sized fish on the surface casting shiners or softies, and the birds will tell you where they are. If you’re after a mulloway now is the time to target one. With the tailor about, casting bigger plastics around the tailor school fringes should see a fish or two encountered. You also have a great chance at a big dusky flathead, as there have been some cracking fish to 90cm caught recently. Up at Tuross it has taken a little longer to clear, especially in the river section, but it’s all systems go now. There are good

bream and estuary perch around the snags upstream of the main highway bridge, and smaller hardbodies with a rattle have worked well. Softies fished deep into the timber have also been getting results. You will find that the EPs will move towards the front of the system over the coming weeks (don’t forget that the closed season starts on June 1).

ROCK AND BEACH On the ocean beaches and rocks it’s business as usual with a few solid bream coming from the sand. Both Brou and Coila have produced good bream on worms so it’s worth a look. What is good to see is the increase in salmon. Last month they were hard to find but they have really turned up now. Casting shiners will work; you get

Glen Taylor with a solid 70cm dusky flathead he caught with wife Nadia while holidaying in Narooma. The lower reaches are holding plenty of flatties. A few crocs are still being captured but you do have to work for them. There are a few salmon and tailor entering the system too so if all else fails some fun can be had with them.

to cover a lot of ground and find the fish, not them finding you. Expect blackfish, drummer and groper from Blackfellows headland using cut crab and cunjevoi. A little berley used sparsely will help catch rates also.

Some consistency! MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

The Merimbula region has experienced all seasons over the last month or so, with drenching rains, huge seas and warm sunny days making it hard to decide which actual season we are in. Now the weather has stabilized somewhat, anglers look forward to more consistent conditions to go smack a few fish. OFFSHORE Fishing offshore when conditions have allowed has been nothing short of excellent. The game crews have been having awesome results on marlin with

coming weeks. Last season there were still a few caught up to mid June but a lot will depend on water temperatures. If it hangs around 20ºC marlin are still possible but any lower and it’s all over until December. The bonus here though if the temperature does drop is that we can expect yellowfin tuna to 80kg and bigger to make their presence felt. June/July is a great time for a jumbo with anglers fishing a cube/ berley trail doing well. There have been a few smaller yellowfin caught when anglers have been trolling for marlin, with the best I’ve heard of going 62kg; not a monster but still a solid fish. I’d be

a little sporadic with some good fish off Long Reef. The trolling brigade has fared best with kings to 7kg plus solid numbers of bonito, especially when trolling closer to shore. Those anglers fishing the bottom have been getting a awesome feed, especially snapper. The reds have been consistent for months now and winter is arguably the best time to target the bigger fish along the far South Coast. Some local anglers have been getting their bags within a few hours, mostly drifting with fresh squid, cuttlefish and tuna strips. Most reefs are holding fish with Long Reef, Horseshoe and Whitecliffs all producing.

Tom and John Williams with some cracking yellowfin bream caught on softies fishing the flats. All fish were released in great condition and were some of 30 legal fish caught for the day. three to four shots a day the norm. Most marlin are stripes around the 90-100kg mark, though the odd better black upwards of 150kg have also been captured. The water is still warm at around 22ºC but I do expect the beakie action to slow somewhat over

concentrating my efforts from the 70-fathom line and further east, looking for temperature breaks, bait activity and birds. lf you locate all three at once then you’re certainly in the right area. Closer to shore the kings have been OK though

ESTUARIES In the estuaries it’s firing up nicely after all the heavy rains of last month. The water has cleared considerably with both Pambula and Merimbula fishing well. I’ve been guiding a lot at Pambula with 40-50 fish a

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Youngsters Jessie (11) and Brock (9) with snapper, flathead and flounder caught on a recent trip. The boys and their dad Brad had a great week’s fishing around the region. day the norm. We’ve been using smaller soft plastics and blades with bream, flathead, trevally, whiting, blackfish, flounder and the odd salmon making up the majority of bags each day. Fishing the ribbon weed edges in 3-4m of water is the go. If you can locate the whitebait schools around the same area the action will be fast and furious. At Merimbula there are some very decent pinky snapper being caught. I had a mate send me a photo of a 54cm red taken out of there, and that’s a good fish for offshore let alone in the estuary. The fish was caught in the top lake, and they got quite a few others around the 40cm mark so there are plenty to be caught. This month will see the bigger tailor enter the system, with the top lake again the place to go. The diving birds will be a dead giveaway as to their location, with trolled deeper diving hardbodies and metal shiners catching the majority of fish. I’d suggest using a 20cm piece of tie-able wire to your leader to avoid chop-offs. ROCK AND BEACH On the beaches the salmon numbers have

certainly increased. They had been hard to find but with the heavy swells of late they are back in force. Almost any beach with a half-decent gutter will produce, with a bait/ popper combination rigged on a paternoster rig the go-to method.

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JUNE 2014

Last hope for gamefish BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

With the start of winter June usually heralds the last hope of securing a big gamefish. As past seasons have shown, when warm water lingers it is quite possible for summer species to keep patrolling our waters, providing the food source is there.

several striped marlin in a day. Sauries are another baitfish that occur at this time of year, providing a food source for a variety of tunas, kingfish and sharks. Often observed scattered across the surface when a predator is in pursuit, this is an opportunity for anglers trolling lures or live baits (such as slimies) to increase their chances of finding a good fish. Yellowfin tuna are the

Kingfish make their presence felt in winter. Marlin are one species that have been targeted in June, when schools of slimy mackerel are prevalent around the Twelve Mile Reef and those water temps are around 20ºC. It is quite possible to encounter

most sought-after catch at present, often encountered in berley trails laced with pilchards, mackerel or striped tuna cubes stripped back in the trail. These fish are generally encountered further out over the

continental shelf, where other species like albacore or southern bluefin might show up along with some very big mako sharks. Often these days out wide in early winter can be extremely calm, so if the gamefish are quiet try dropping some baits down deep into the abyss and, with the aid of electric reels, grind out some lovely tablefish like blue eye trevalla, ling, ghost cod, hapuka and many more interesting deep water giants. Closer to shore, kingfish and bonito like to patrol areas like Montague Island, the reefs just east of Bermagui or down south towards Goalen Head. These fish have their eyes set on those sauries or pilchards that occur at this time of year. Trolling is a good option when the fish are up on the surface or, with the aid of one of the many good spin sticks available, casting poppers across schools of these fish will provide some excellent visual angling. With favourable weather conditions available most forms of reef fishing are on offer from the deep water reefs like the Twelve Mile through to Six and Four Mile Reefs or down south off Bunga or Goalen Head. Most of your usual species like snapper, morwong, perches, and trumpeter or pigfish are the regulars with others also on offer. The tiger flathead may be a little sparse but the sandies more than make up for their absence with plenty on offer closer to shore. This is a wonderful time of your weather-wise with crisp, cool mornings

High flying salmon, how can you beat it! giving way to some lovely calm warm winter days. This allows anglers to grab a handful of metal lures, a nice spin stick and go walk the beaches with the mind set on schools of Australian salmon patrolling the shoreline.

This is great visual angling, and it’s one of my favourite forms of fishing basically at our doorstep. Sadly winter means cold water in the estuaries making for difficult angling. What species we do have on offer are often reluctant to feed so

the window of opportunity is limited. Species on offer in our area are the likes of luderick, best targeted with either green or cabbage weed, silver trevally or some yellowfin bream in the shallows towards the entrances on a rising tide.

Luderick are a popular winter target for many anglers.

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Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Finally the area has received good rains. The rivers and creeks are all flowing well after months of low water levels, and this should be good for the fishing in the months to come. The beaches are still fishing well, with the water temperature around 18ºC. Bream and whiting are still being caught, with a high tide in the morning or evening the best time to wet a line. Fresh bait is the go; beach worms, prawns and the like should get you a few fish. The salmon are also

about and they will only get thicker as the water cools down. You can expect these fish to turn up along any of the local beaches or headlands. Well, it’s yellowfin tuna time so what’s needed is some good weather to allow the boats to get out there and see what’s going on. Recent weeks have seen a big easterly roll making boating unpleasant. Southern bluefin tuna could turn up anytime over the next month… fingers crossed! Reports of kingfish down around Greencape will have the boats making the long trek as the fishing down there is usually well worth it. All the usual inshore species are been caught – snapper, morwong,

flathead and so on – but at times the leatherjackets have plagued anglers, biting through lines, stealing hooks, sinkers and anything that moves. Fishing in the rivers has still been good. The recent rains dropped the water temperature but the dirty water brought the flathead on the bite. The water has started to clear now, and around this time the bigger sized tailor start putting in an appearance. Sand whiting are still being caught on nippers and worms, with the entrance area on the last of the run-out tide the best time to wet a line. The oyster-covered rocks and oyster leases are fishing well for both black and yellowfin bream.

Go looking for Winter species TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Tathra at this time of year is… well, it is simply beautiful! Although the fishing isn’t mind-blowing, there is plenty to be found if you go looking for it.

these baits are luderick, zebra fish or trevally and bream (more on the cunjevoi). Or for those interested in some faster action, surface fish like salmon, kingfish, bonito or tailor like to patrol the shore in search of the many baitfish like pilchards or yellowtail that pass here. Anglers can float baits out or use some of the

preferably laced with tuna oil, and a little bit of prawn bait floated out. The beaches are producing plenty of salmon, with Tathra Main Beach and Bournda Beach south being the best. These can be targeted with either lure or bait and you don’t have to fish early or late at this time because with the cool weather these fish are happy feeding in the middle of the day. Turning your thoughts inshore, the Bega River is one estuary along the coast that seemingly fishes well in the cooler months. Estuary perch are one species pursued at the moment, with anglers using the aid of a depth sounder in

the deeper sections locating schools of EPs holding deep then annoying the hell out of them with a variety of lures until a response is achieved. Often once you hook one fish others will soon follow. Black bream are another species to focus on, however a different approach is needed. Think structure whether it is obvious timber, rocky shoreline or gravel located in the shallows, often midstream. Both soft plastics and hardbodied lures work well, while if you are sighting fish and not gaining a response you may have to try baits such as nippers, squirt worms or prawns. Another estuary worth a

look is land locked Wallagoot Lake south. This lake opened in recent floods a few years ago, allowing fresh fish stocks to enter. Small snapper are often among the visitors, and once they become trapped they grow to a reasonable size, providing interesting angling. Tailor also get trapped and often reach double figures. Offshore is another good place to be, with excellent weather conditions allowing boaties access to the many grounds. If it is flatties you are after there are plenty of sandies

Tailor can be found in land-locked Wallagoot Lake. A good place to start is one of the many rocky headlands, where you’ll find a variety of species on offer. Black drummer are one fish that attracts anglers to this area, with these hard pulling fish only too willing to take a piece of cunjevoi or floated cabbage weed. Also taking a liking to

latest spin gear to drum up some action. If you are not that able to clamber around on the stones, try going to the local wharf where most of the fish already mentioned are available plus more. Garfish is one of them and is a winter special. All you need is a little berley,

Good bream can be found in the Bega River around structure.

A tasty mixed bag from the shallow flats destined for the dinner table.

on offer up and down the coast in around 30m of water. Those wishing to fish the reefs are enjoying plenty of snapper action, with the reefs to the north being most productive. Those with larger vessels who can reach the outer waters out over the Continental Shelf have been using electric reels to reap the rewards of those delicious deepwater delicacies like ling, hapuka, trevalla, cod or perch. And by the way, while you are out there you’ll find tuna of various species on offer.

Full-on flatty fun

Good numbers of flounder are in the lake and they love to eat blades. eating fish they are! Silver trevally are in the lake, turning up anywhere

R E V A L LY . S N A P P E R . E S G.T TU A

. WH AD

Regular visitors Greg and Lachy fished with me for three days and had some great fishing for flathead. At the end of the three days they would have landed over 220 flathead,

a variety of lures. Flounder are in the lake, and there are some good sized specimens in the mix. They are been caught regularly enough by anglers tossing blades and vibes, and what a great

Lachy with a flathead caught on a Impact Tackle blade.

PE R RY

With the Anzac Day weekend over the town is starting to look a lot quieter. This is a good thing as the fishery is under constant pressure with many anglers staying for long periods and keeping plenty of fish. (There are no total possession limits in Victoria as there are in other states, can you believe it?) The boat ramp is coming ahead with completion due around November ready for the Christmas period. The past month has seen some boats heading offshore fishing. The bar crossing is shallow as one boat found out, running straight into the sandbank then ending up upside down. Good fishing has been had with sand flathead and gummy shark being caught. Big schools of baitfish are about with kingfish in amongst the bait. Big schools of salmon are also about and it won’t be long before they are thick on all the local beaches. In the lake the water is just starting to clear up after the recent rains.

the majority of which were between 35cm and 38cm. Only one fish was over the slot size (55cm). I have been letting go any fish over 40cm as these fish need a helping hand to live long enough to get above the slot limit. It was great to see Greg and Lachy release all their fish. The bream are still being caught by the bait fishermen and they have started to fire up a bit, taking

. BASS . JEWFISH . F LA

captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The sandbar at the entrance has slowed down the flow, resulting in the lake taking longer to clear up. The entrance area has fished well for the bait fishers; fresh baits such as nippers and worms have worked well for the yellowfin bream. Blackfish have also been caught, with a group of guys fishing with floats and green weed for bait getting amongst the fish.

EAM . BR

Kevin Gleed

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JUNE 2014

Rain brings change in activity CANBERRA

Bryan Pratt

Rain throughout the Canberra-Monaro catchment typically triggers major changes in activity amongst trout and native fish and anglers this month. TROUT ON THE MOVE This is spawning time for brown trout; rainbow trout will have to wait until August. At this time of the year the browns develop their bright crimson regalia and migrate in big numbers to the lower reaches of significant rivers such as the Thredbo and Eucumbene, then move upstream to the spawning

grounds in June and July. The massing of fish attracts large numbers of anglers who see this an opportunity to take what will probably be their largest trout of the year. The rules for these rivers are simple. The season closes on the Monday of the Queen’s Birthday weekend and from 1 May until the closure only one fish, which must be over 50cm in length, can be taken each day. Not that many people want to kill any of the fish anyway, because at this time of the year they are soft-bodied, milky, flabby specimens with poor palatability. Most anglers prefer to catch their trophy fish, take the obligatory photographs, then

release it to complete its spawning ritual. Gear in these streams is limited to lure and fly only; no bait fishing is allowed. Lures in common use consist of minnows, Tasmanian Devils, Wonder spoons and any other models which get down deep to where the fish typically lie. Rigs of Glo Bugs with trailing nymphs, weighted with split shot, are very popular and account for some large fish each year. Fly anglers also use the Glo Bug rig, often resorting to sink-tip or sinking fly lines to get down to the fish. Many of the target fish are clearly visible in the clear water and the technique is to cast upstream then

put on condition, others are late spawners taking their time to move to the rivers. They are best targeted down deep, with lead core line or downrigger, using spoons, minnows and Tasmanian Devils. Fly anglers usually fish wet, using small weighted nymphs or large patterns such as Mrs Simpson, Hamills Killer or Craigs Nightime. Bait fishers could do well with scrub worms, PowerBait and especially bardi grubs. Rainbows, too, would normally be active, but as we have reported previously they are mysteriously in short supply this year. Deep trollers, fly anglers with sink-tip or sinking line and bait fishers with scrub worms or PowerBait might get a fish but from recent evidence the pickings could be slim. NATIVES FEEDING HEAVILY Native fish in rivers and lakes typically feed heavily at this time of the year, trying to put on condition for the coming winter. Burrinjuck has been the prime location and the current hot fishing should continue for at least another month. Murray cod have been the big attraction, with good fish coming from the Main Basin, high upstream in the

Trout develop vivid crimson colouration at spawning time, are unpalatable to eat and should be returned to the water after capture. Yass River Arm and amongst the flooded trees and rocky cliffs in the Murrumbidgee Arm. The best lures have been spinnerbaits and extra large deep divers but a pleasing number also have been taken on surface lures, especially the Halco Nightwalker, Taylor Made Cod Walloper, Kingfisher

Golden perch are feeding actively to put on condition before winter arrives. Burrinjuck Reservoir is the current hotspot.

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manoeuvre the fly to the fish’s mouth and make a firm hook-up. A word of warning. Fishing amongst crowds of anxious anglers is not everybody’s cup of tea. There are daily battles for the best fishing spots, constant friction between and among fly and lure anglers, as well as tangles and bust-offs. The weather is cold, usually well below freezing and diesel commonly freezes in the car tank, immobilising the angler until late in the day. Some anglers take great delight in fishing under these conditions for that one trophy fish of the year, while others don’t see the appeal and prefer to fish elsewhere or not fish at all. It’s all a matter of personal choice. MOUNTAIN LAKES There will be some interesting fishing in the big lakes Jindabyne and Eucumbene this month. Despite the big migration to the spawning grounds there are still some good browns to be taken. Some are early spawners which have finished their sexual activity and returned to the lakes, feeding actively to

Despite the big migration of brown trout to the spawning grounds some nice fish are still available in the lakes at this time of the year.

Mantis, Koolabung Cod Walker and the new Stumpjumper Flipper. A pleasing proportion of the fish have been over the magic metre mark, presumably reflecting the increasing popularity of catch and release fishing. Golden perch have been especially active, at all times of the day. They have been taken in many different locations in the reservoir but the prime locations have been amongst the flooded trees in the Murrumbidgee Arm. Scrubby and Little Scrubby have been especially productive. The best baits have been live shrimps caught on site, small live yabbies and lightly weighted scrub worms. The best lures have included Jackalls, Atomic Fat Grubs, Burrinjuck Specials and various other bibless minnows. WHERE TO FOR MURRAY CRAYS NSW Fisheries is seeking comment from anglers on the future of fishing for Murray River crayfish. Currently they can be fished for only between 1 June and 31 August. There is a bag limit of two per day with four in possession and they must be at least 10cm along the carapace but no longer than 12cm. In recent years there has been a dramatic drop in population because of habitat destruction and overfishing. To gather information and opinions on future management Fisheries have released a Species Impact Statement and Ministerial Order, which can be viewed at www.dpi.nsw. gov.au/fisheries or www. haveyoursay.nsw.gov.au.

Last running water trout fix BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

With just over a week left in the trout season, most anglers will be hitting the trout streams and rivers hard until the season closes officially at midnight on June 9. It’s not just the looming deadline making anglers fish the running water, either. The fact that most trout are in full spawn mode or are getting very close means there can be some spectacular fishing to be had at the end of the season, and with so many big fish moving out of the lakes and into the creeks and rivers that feed them, your next cast could hook

with an aggressive swipe, resulting in a hook-up. I find CD7 and F7 Rapala lures in either brown or rainbow trout colours are easily the best lures for getting that sort of reaction strike from the trout, but it doesn’t hurt to throw a bigger lure or a lure that is orange or pink in colour as this can sometimes get the fish going at this time of the year. Fly anglers can also get in on the action with large wets striped through some runs and deeper pools. Additionally, the spawning means there will be eggs around so there will be fish feeding heavily on them – and any fly that looks even remotely like an egg will generally get sucked up by any nearby feeding

TROUT LAKES If you would prefer to get away from the often crowded creeks and rivers at this time of year, you can still do well in the lakes. Some of the larger fish in the lake might be still upstream trying to spawn but some will have not made it yet. A few may have even returned already, and they will be keen for a good feed, that’s for sure! On top of still having a chance of a trophy in the lakes at this time of the year there will also be stacks of smaller fish about to keep you entertained all day. With the temperatures at this time of the year being just about perfect for trout, these fish will often feed freely all day long. Due to the water temp also

Now is the time to get your last running water trout fix. Most trout will be holding tight to the bottom during the last few weeks of the season so make sure your bait, lure or fly gets down to where the fish are. a trophy-size fish. Taking this into consideration, it’s easy to see why so many anglers salivate at the thought of the last month or so of the trout season. Lure angling can work really well late in the season and it often pays to increase the size of your lure as well to really get that competitive nature of the trout going. Often this late in the season the trout aren’t thinking about eating. Instead, they’re concentrating on spawning almost entirely, and trout attempting to spawn are very aggressive and will fiercely drive off any nearby competitors in hope of holding that prime position. For that reason, using a large lure that could represent a challenge will often be met

fish. I often use two flies below an indicator, one with an egg imitation like a Glo-Bug or similar and the other with a red Copper John gold bead nymph. I find with this rig if there aren’t too many eggs about the fish will happily take the nymph, but if there are enough eggs around for the fish to be looking for them as a food source, you have that base covered with the Glo-Bug or other similar egg imitation. It is important to note that the fish will be holding tight to the bottom so make sure your dropper is long enough to get your flies down there and that your flies are weighted enough to keep you down there. Do all this and you should hook a few nice fish to close the season.

dropping right into their comfort zone, they will spend most of their time up around the surface, making them much easier to target no matter what your preferred technique is. Being bank-based at this time of the year is often the best option as trout will be cruising around in the cool shallows all day, looking for any easy meals. Fly anglers should do well slow stripping medium to large wets like Mrs Simpsons, Hamills Killers and Woolly Buggers. In conjunction with that, it often pays to have a small bead head nymph on as well until you find what the fish are preferring on the day. Lure anglers will also do well this month, and casting and retrieving lures

while walking the bank just doesn’t get much better than at this time of the year. Once you work out what lure is working best it’s simply a matter of walking along, casting ahead of where you’re going and seeking out any active fish. On a good day you won’t get far as the action can get insane, but at other times you may need to cover half a kilometre of shoreline before you find an active fish or several active fish. Just like the running water, it is hard to beat the larger lure models like the CD and F7s but smaller 5cm lures will also do the job, as will spinners like Rooster Tails, Cocktails, Feather Tails and Mepps Bugs. Soft plastics also work really well on the trout and are deadly up in the extreme shallows where anything with too much vibration or flash will often scare fish. There are many models that work but my absolute favourites are the Ecogear Grass Minnows and Power Shads in any natural colour, but especially the rainbow trout colour. Bait anglers also do well at this time of the year. There are plenty of hungry trout about and not that much food on offer, so most well-presented baits will get eaten. Garden worms, wood grubs and dough baits like PowerBait will be all you need. Rig any of these baits (or a combination of them) on light line no heavier then 6lb with the smallest of sinkers, or no sinker at all if possible, and you are virtually guaranteed success. It is also worth noting that even though there will be fish all over the lakes the biggest concentrations of trout at this time of the year will be around the mouths of the feeder creeks and rivers. If you can access these parts of the lakes I believe the time and effort required to get there will be well and truly worth it.

There will still be a few trophy fish in the lakes this month. Fish will be active and holding in shallow water almost all day long, so make long casts with natural lures that won’t spook the fish. This is an Ecogear Power Shad in rainbow trout colour.

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JUNE 2014

Last chance trout JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

June is here and so is winter. The start to the snow season is not far off, which means so is the close of the river fishing until the October long weekend. The June Queens

Birthday holiday weekend is the last chance that you have to target the early spawning trout in the Thredbo River. For those that do come to fish the river, it is a very busy weekend and a lot depends on the rain and weather as to how the trout will behave. If we get a fair bit of rain leading up to the closing

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JUNE 2014

MAIL ORDER

weekend then the fishing will be great, if we don’t, the fishing will be hard on the rivers. My suggestion is to fish the lake instead as the trout fishing on the lakes has been great over recent months. Anyhow let’s have a look at what will happen over the month in more depth. Boat trolling over the last month has been good with plenty of hard fighting rainbow trout in excellent condition, giving the lake trollers a lot of fun and I would expect this pattern to continue. We might even see some of those big Atlantic salmon caught over the coming month or two and, if you are lucky enough, the brook trout should also come on the bite. In winter, the trout are more aggressive and are more likely to take a bigger lure. Jointed Rapalas, similar to the ones we spin in the lake edges, are worth a try and the bigger the lure the better. We quite often troll 9cm and 11cm lures for the bigger fish. StumpJumpers in gold colours to represent the little gold fish in the lake are also great and even a 7cm gold Rapala will do a similar job. Try these and other gold coloured lures off lead core lines if conditions are bright and try trolling over the weed beds for the best results, as this is where the goldfish love to hide. Other lures to use in the middle of the day are Tasmanian Devils in pink number 55 or orange number 56 colours. These are aggressive colours in winter and the trout will strike these hard. Also keep in mind a number Y36 yellow wing for the sunnier days and Tassie Devil holographic or say a number 48 or Y48 are always worthwhile early and late in the day. There are still plenty of big fish at Creel Bay and it is not too difficult to fish given there is so much more water this year. You can downrig some very big brown trout using bigger minnow lures. If you don’t have a downrigger then try putting the big Rapala onto your lead core line and put four colours of lead into the water and then another 20m of 20lb Dacron backing. This will get you down to where the bigger browns are holding out, but remember troll slowly at about 2km/h. Use your fish finder to see where the trout are holding and keep on working them. Most of the bigger fish are going to be down near the bottom of areas like Waste Point and Creel Bay where the Thredbo River runs into the lake. Bigger minnow lures are

Rob Wandl from Davidson NSW loves his rainbow trout that was also caught on a Willys Special. the secret at the moment so use big Rapalas, even up to 13cm. The orange tiger Rapala is also a great aggressive colour and a slow trolled orange minnow spin is also worth a try. The other good areas to troll are in the shallow bays like Hatchery Bay and Hayshed Bay. Sids Bay at East Jindabyne is also a favourite as it is weedy with lots of food for trout. Bait fishing is productive with all the extra water this year. The bigger trout will be cruising the bays and inlets for a feed. You can fish all day during winter but don’t fish too deep as the fish often feed in close to the shore. Bait fishing with scrub worms or artificial bait works well in winter, so long as you don’t mind sitting back and waiting; this method works any time day or night. Artificial salmon eggs have been very good for catching some bigger trout at the moment. Both the worms and artificial baits are fished off the bottom with a running

hooks and big bits of bait. Gamakatsu do a fine wire hook called a single egg hook and these are great for power bait. You can use a size 8 or 10 hook for trout in winter. Over the next few months, the areas to catch a trout on bait are Wollondibby Inlet and Creel Bay at Waste Point and Stinky Bay nearer to town. Just remember the lake is weedy, but that’s where the fish like to hang out. Unlike summer, you can spin all day in winter, however on sunny still days choose the deeper drop-off where the fish will cruise looking for something to eat. I find that in winter smaller 7g Tasmanian Devils best for the deeper water on still days and the 13g Tassies on the windy days. Another lure that has been worth a throw is the 3” StumpJumper. Pink is a great colour in winter. Orange minnow spins are also great off the bank. Jointed Rapalas with a little bit of orange on the

JUNE ROUNDUP – THE BEST OF THE BEST! Best method: . ... Bait fishing with scrubbies teamed up with artificial baits. Best depth:......... Bottom fishing. Best lake lure:..... Tasmanian Devil in pink 55 or Rapala Brook and Perch patterns. Best lake area:.... East Jindabyne pumping station and The Claypits. Best fly method:.Black Woolley Buggers on the lake. Best river:........... Rivers all closed to fishing until October. sinker. Remember to fish light and keep the bail arm open to let the trout run with the bait. Grease the line with musilin to reduce friction if the trout are running and dropping baits. Artificial baits are great in winter and you only need to just use a small ball of artificial bait, just a little bigger than a pea, and a small size 12 hook will catch more fish than big

tummy is another lure that will get the trout to take notice and if you work these jointed minnows like a wounded fish you will get a lot more strikes. You can also spin with small bladed spinners, like number 1 or 2 Celtas and Vibrax spinners, in the shallow weedy bays on the lake. I like gold colours or reds. Soft plastics are also

worth a try and the Strike Tigers in vodkar and orange and princess pink colours are good. The Tasmanian Trout Frogs are also going great. Overall, soft plastics for trout would have to work the best in winter. Flicking them out and working them slowly through the snags and above weed beds when the lake is low is the best way to catch trout. Like bream fishing down the coast, blades are working well on trout in the rivers and the lakes, so well worth a try. Some of the better blades are TT Switchblade Golden Boy, Strike Pro Cyber Vibe 35 BLG and Cyber Vibe 50JU009 (some of these look like our lake goldfish and the trout love to eat the little goldfish). Flyfishing is June and July on Lake Jindabyne would have to be the hardest and coldest months for flyfishing. The best fishing usually occurs when the browns start to return from spawning, however this year with some of the browns and rainbows spawning as early as last March we might find that the flyfishing will be better this year. With the higher lake levels and fish hanging about the bays, the better areas are Creel Bay, Hayshed and Hatchery Bay, Mill Creek Inlet, The Claypits, and The Snowy Arm. Well rug up and enjoy your trip to the Snowys, and if coming down for a snow trip, don’t forget your fishing rod! • If you would like a bit more information on what trout fishing is available on Lake Jindabyne in winter, please call into my shop at Discovery Holiday Parks Jindabyne next to the Shell servo 02 64 561551. All the best with the fishing over the next couple of months and remember I operate for guided tours right throughout winter.

Zip, zero, zilch at Easter LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

You can feel the chill in the air, and chances are you felt it last month as well. Around here, especially at higher altitudes, we get our first frosts before Easter so if you were out and about you probably felt it. How quiet was the fishing! I

fished Carcoar dam near Blayney over the Easter break, and to say it was quiet would be the year’s biggest understatement. There were three of us fishing most of the time out of the boat, and normally you’d count on catching at least a few redfin. Well, we fished reasonably hard for two days for zip, zero, zilch! We could see the fish on the sounder, we dropped

to 3.5lb nylon mimicry line (it’s like spider web thin) increased our leader lengths and threw everything at them bar the kitchen sink. We turned sounders off, we drifted over schools with no electric, we even took it in turns one drop at a time so we didn’t bombard the school. We went scent free. We added scent. We moved off them and cast back, we used micro plastics and hand-

Good cod structure doesn’t always stick out like this, especially underwater in an impoundment. Know your sounder and trust it.

Windamere Dam is underutilized as a cod fishery. The early winter months may just be the time to target a good one.

tied feathered jigs. I even dug out a floating plastic worm and fished it Carolina style slowly just off the bottom. When I went to throw this rig out the boys were like, “if that doesn’t catch a fish we are going home,” it looked that good. However, the only consistent action (if you can call it that) was with small ice jigs and the 3.5lb leader… isolated loose groups of four or five fish, a few taps. It was the toughest bite I have ever come across. Remember we are talking redfin here!

After a trip like that, some anglers would say, “I’m never going back.” Not me though. I was like, “man, when the fish put the feedbag back on I want to be there because I know they ate zilch for at least two days!” THOMPSONS CREEK DAM The month of June is a great time of year to fish TCD (Thompsons Creek Dam). Big browns are pre-spawn hungry and very active. They throw caution to the wind in a lot of instances and move into places and at times that they

wouldn’t normally dare. I think a lot of this has also got to do with yabbies becoming scarce (with colder water temperatures the yabbies literally go underground). Yabbies are a huge source of food for brown trout and when they disappear off the menu it must be a bit of a shock. Make the best of this time as it could be a real chance to score a trophy fish of a lifetime. Lake Lyell is also a great option for some good brown trout action. Casting lures Continued page 64

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JUNE 2014

Invisible changes to your trip. Fortunately this month is kind to sleep in as the best bite seems to be from around 10am through to late afternoon. This appears to be when the water temperature is increasing but more importantly when the barometer is at its highest for the day. Although the numbers of bass or goldens caught might not be high in numbers, they are usually very good in quality. I have found over the 24 years I have been fishing Glenbawn and St Clair that in winter the fishing can be in either deep water, or in shallow areas adjacent to cover and changes in structure. The influences that determine where the bass will be are less obvious than you might imagine. The more obvious changes you notice when you are launching your boat are that the water temperature has dropped, there’s less aquatic vegetation and often very clear water. The change you can’t see is the hydrological

MAITLAND

Dave McLean djfmclean@bigpond.com

Now that the rivers are closed for bass fishing and the trout season also closes this month you will have to concentrate on fishing the dams to get your bass fix. This is the beginning of the winter months so timing your trips for best rewards is very important because the days are short and the water temperature in the dams is dropping to around 15-16°C. This month we also usually see the very cold westerlies hit, which chill off the surface layers along with the anglers. Fishing on the lakes in June can quite often be very slow so it can help your results if you pay a lot of attention to weather pattern, in particular the barometer and the wind. The ideal situation is to have a constant or rising barometer of around 1020hpa and light wind four to five days prior

change, which has a very significant effect on the fish behaviour, and can often be overlooked-the stratification of the water column. In previous months there is a definite thermocline, usually down around 5m, but it can be quite thick and go down to around 15m, especially at Glenbawn. This is where the favoured dissolved oxygen levels are present for both the bass and their food sources. In winter, the thermocline ceases to exist and the lakes become isothermal, sometimes called a ‘rollover’, which makes the entire water column roughly the same temperature. This means that the entire top 15-20m now has the correct dissolved oxygen to support the fish and bait, so we have to target our fish over a much wider spectrum. The bass will roam throughout this depth, following their chosen food source. In Glenbawn that’s hardiheads and firetail gudgeons, whilst in St Clair it is mainly just the gudgeons. These schools

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of bait can easily be seen on a good sounder; they look similar to dark clouds, feeding on the large number of rotifers ad copepods. On a sounder shot you will often see the bass holding under these dork clouds and are very active. Once these deeper fish are located, it can be quite slow and painful to get them to bite but with the various finesse techniques From page 63

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and baits from the bank is possibly one of the better ways to target these fish. Soft plastics get the nod from me. Despite yabbies disappearing off the menu, I tend to lean towards a good yabby imitation. I suppose it’s a bit like having your favourite food at home being taken off the menu, then suddenly spotting it in the kitchen a couple of weeks later. You’d jump the kitchen table to get to it! Just be careful with leader choice with these fish they get quiet toothy at this time of year. Go as small as you dare, and fluorocarbon is a good choice. COD OPTIONS Wyangala has fished well since December. The

now available, patience can bring rewards. Some of the techniques available are trolling deep lures, jigging lipless crankbaits, ice jigs, blades, plastics and bait. LAKE ST CLAIR At Lake St Clair, where the water temp is just touching 15°C, the fishing has been very tough. On some days it can yield you a few fish while on other days it’s frustratingly quiet.

I have found that the Fallbrook reach can be the better arm to fish if the westerlies have been blowing as it offers better protection and usually the water is a touch warmer. Up the back of the Fallbrook there are a few trees to target with bait or jigs for goldens and bass along with the odd catfish. Trolling along the old river channel from Richards

numbers of fish will drop away considerably but I am expecting some real big ones to hit the deck. They will come to those anglers who target these bigger fish, and they will come to those anglers who put the time in. They will come to those anglers who, no matter what, stick to a big fish plan. Sure – feel free to make adjustments but always have in mind big fish. By this I mean target good structure, keep it real with the gear, and don’t be discouraged if you don’t succeed right away. It may take you two or three trips but when that big one hits the deck you won’t care about the fishless sessions that preceded it. Fishless sessions aren’t

failures, they’re just part of the process. Keep Windamere in mind this month. Not many people fish it for cod specifically, but stocking numbers have been good in previous years and you can’t help but think what three or four days of trying might turn up. There are specific pieces of structure such as wood and rock for casting, and you can make repeated trolling runs on steep rocky banks, change lures, change depths, watch your sounder like a hawk. Good quality sounders don’t lie. If you see a good fish and don’t get any action, come back later and try a different approach. Hope to see you on the water soon. Until then, tight lines.

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JUNE 2014

Thomsons Creek Dam brown trout can be quite toothy and large at this time of year. Keep this in mind when you select your leader.

main basin in amongst the timber. Some of my best quality catches of golden perch have come this month, mainly from up the back of the dam down around 5-7m on lures and lipless crankbaits. If trolling is your option you cannot go past the Feralcatts in purple or black. If you’re fishing the

through the timber and then out into the deeper areas where you let the lure run across the top of the sunken timber. You will need a very good leader and strong jigs for this as you need to have a fairly tight drag. Some good plastics to use are Z-man 2.5” GrubZ, Gulps and Sliders cut down. Up off the Dogleg and

feeding on gudgeons this month so ice jigs and slow rolled plastics are the go in dark patterns. I have found that if deep jigging plastics on those really cold days a good idea is to pre-heat them in warm water on the boat as it will give them more action and softness. Another warning about the westerlies on this dam

Bass at St Clair holding on the bottom near the creek. Reach down to around Redhead Corner with deep Stucky, Marz or Feralcatt lures is a very good option. Working the deeper banks with beetle spins and blades is also worth a try, letting them sink down to the bottom. Off Redhead Corner and also Andrews Point out in 12-15m there are usually some deep bass holding and they are best targeted using ice jigs or plastics. Up the Carrowbrook arm trolling can also be a good option using deep lures, especially from Wilkinson Cove up to the Footcrossing and also from Perkins Point

across to Loder point and up into Walker Bay. These areas can also be very productive deep jigging in the 10m areas with plastics and ice jigs. On the Broadwater, Gindigah Point and around Reedy Cove are good areas to cast lipless cranks and spinnerbaits if there has been a lot of wind leading up to your trip. This is also another area to try ‘long lining’ deep lures, such as Chubbys and Stuckys out in 5-7m with the bright colour patterns. Down around the Island and Connell Inlet can also hold deep bass in 15m

and these are usually best targeted using plastics and ice jigs, with my favourite the Jackall black. Another spot to troll is along Thunderbolts Run, especially if those westerlies have been around. Remember that this dam can get very rough easily when those winds hit. LAKE GLENBAWN Lake Glenbawn can be a hot or cold fishery this month, and a lot depends on those winds. Over recent weeks the bass have been coming from both the back of the dam up near the Panhandle deep jigging and also down around the

A St Clair bass caught ‘long lining’ a deep Jackall Chubby. main basin, the timbered banks are the best option, working right from the bank

around the Panhandle there are usually schools of bass down deep. They are usually

in winter – they can get very strong and cold and usually hit at about 11am.

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Shallow water success TAMWORTH

Adam Mears adam.mears@hotmail.com

Those early morning starts in winter can feel like such a drag. The temperature outside is bitterly cold and the tingling sensation in your fingers subsides only with thermos in hand. However, if last year is anything to go by the large Murray cod from our region will be lurking around in all

the likely locations this winter. They favour the shallower margins of our rivers and dams, trying to warm themselves and pouncing on what they hope to be an easy meal. All your favourite summer locations will still hold good fish, but look for slightly different locations. We generally see our native fish as cunning, calculated, stealthy hunters and for the most part this is true, but in winter the cold changes the cod’s primary food sources.

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The once abundant shrimp and yabbies have gone into hibernation, forcing the cod to feed on larger prey. It’s not uncommon to see these fish feeding around shallow weed beds, rounding up nervous groups of juvenile carp. You can also sound them up in mid water in our dams, hunting schools of bony bream or redfin perch in the type of formation coastal anglers would compare to mulloway chasing poddy mullet or snapper chasing pilchards or slimies on the inner reefs. With all this variation in feeding, it pays to look at each season differently to bring out the best results in your fishing, whether it be on your home waters or traveling further afield. What might work in one location might not work so well elsewhere. DAMS Lake Keepit has been holding steady over the last month but the fishing has tapered off slightly. Cool weather generally makes golden perch lethargic but what the fish lack in numbers they make up for in size. I tend to focus my efforts around this time on the shallow margins of the dam. Taylors Square is a known local area renowned for producing fish when the going is tough, so shallow diving minnows from about 1.8m to 3m are my preferred winter depths for the golden perch and smaller cod. Heading around the edges of the dams in 25ft of water looking for bait schools on the sounder will have you in the game for those big green brutes that fill our minds before each and every outing. Split Rock Dam has been very quiet for some time but I would expect some rather large fish to come from this picturesque dam this month. The sheer rock walls and quarry areas should hold some good fish but persistence will be the key to finding those large goodoo. Bait fishers will do well, and baits of wood grubs and worms are a favourite for the majority of anglers. RIVERS The June long weekend will see the closing of the NSW trout season in all rivers and streams, so make sure you get out there and chase a few of these beautiful, hard-fighting imports before it’s too late. Late season normally means the trout are getting ready to breed so bright colours of orange/pink/ red are likely to produce. The fish are also not shy so sometimes a larger lure

Gentlemen’s hours during winter often produce good golden perch. This one fell to a Balista Juggernaut. will grab the attention of the larger bucks or pre-spawning females. Lures like the 70mm Balista Trigger have accounted for some great fish around the country in recent times. If you are new to the sport or an old school troutie from way back, the Mepps range of spinners are a great starting point and should not be overlooked. Fly fishers will do well with the Glo-Bug patterns or big nymph patterns. Fish them around reeds, runs and weed beds. Remember the fish will be schooling up so where you find one there’s a good chance it’s not alone, so keep casting. Bait fishing these areas with worms, corn, mudeyes or packet mix baits will also take quality fish but the key is to fish light lines of 6lb or less with a small sinker and a size 8-10 hook to finish up the rig. The Peel and Naomi systems have been fishing well and should continue

to do so this month. The diehard cod fishermen will be putting in extra efforts this month in the hope of catching that 1m+ fish that is a pinnacle in outback fishing circles. Large diving lures and spinnerbaits will be the mainstay but don’t discount surface lures as those shallow runs will hold some surprisingly

large fish. I can’t count how many times I have caught good fish close to home in areas people write off as too shallow or fished out. Fish hard, fish smart and never give up because it could be that one last cast that can turn a bad day into a great year. I’ll see you out there on a river somewhere.

Top: Hit the shallows after dark for surface feeding cod. You might be pleasantly surprised. Bottom: John Feebrey is all smiles as he lands another Lake Keepit yellowbelly.

Upsize your lures YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

What are ya waiting for? With only a short while before the genuine winter sets in, it’s time to rug up and have a crack at landing a cool water cod! Traditionalists say that native fishing is no good during the cooler months. I disagree. Sure, things slow down a bit but reward for effort can come in the form of a bigger cod if you persist. Trolling 100mm+ sized lures is your best option. Your traditional painted sticks such as ACs, Custom Crafts, Stumpy’s, Humpty’s or Codgers are always a safe bet with the Kuttafurra, Gidgee and Koolabung being the new highly sought after pieces of timber! Looking back, April proved a great month for those who put in the time trolling the shallower water with either spinnerbaits or hardbodied lures. Large numbers of cod were taken with the majority being in the 50-80cm bracket. The Easter period was very productive for the many anglers who visited our

region, with many coming in store with a smile on their dial and wanting to recount their recent captures. The best fish reported for the month went to Kail Lee who hooked into a 113cm beast while casting chatterbaits in the lake. A great effort for a young fella who is keen on the cod. I personally saw a ‘first’ when I took good friend Anthony Pavlou out for a flick. Genuine first cast Pav hooked up to a 61cm fish which made for a good afternoon’s fishing. Recounting the story a day or two later I was informed that local young fella Jordan Urquhart went one better the day before, landing a 64cm on his first cast and then backed it up two casts later with a 73cm off the same snag. Graham ‘Flipper’ Jarvis and Steve ‘Wolfman’ Hogan were another pair to have great results during their pre-fish for the Nationals, picking up good numbers of cod trolling LED Balistas in the 3-5m depth range. Mid-April saw the running of the Mulwala Classic Invitational fishing tournament. A total of 120 keen anglers converged to

watch Roger Miles prove once again that he is the undisputed king when it comes to fishing this region. For sheer numbers of quality fish Roger (Lake Mulwala’s No. 1 guide) had everybody covered with a 91cm fish that landed him the Biggest Fish title. Mick Massier had a great weekend boating 10 cod of varying sizes, which was enough to see him take out the Champion Angler title. Roger backed up his good form with partner Derek Blow to take home the dash for cash also. The new organising team led by Michael Bressan should be credited for the job they did and are sure to improve further in years to come. Unfortunately, at time of writing, water levels below the weir are extremely low making navigation extremely tricky and dangerous. There have been some reasonable numbers of fish reported, especially golden perch, but there is no indication yet as to when levels will return to their normal heights. Cray season rules and regulations changed last year so it is important you are up to speed on them. The 2014 season opens on June

‘Flipper’ Jarvis and ‘Wolfman’ Hogan with Wolfman’s 62cm Balista reward. 1 but it’s anybody’s guess if the Murray will have any water back in it by then. If you’re heading out I urge you to be safe, especially if you are boating at night in shallow waters. You also need observe the complete new range of bag, size and

possession limits in place. You can find all the info on the DPI Fisheries website. If you’re visiting Yarrawonga/Mulwala I urge you to call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the shop with the big green cod out the front (opposite

the Post Office) in Mulwala and say g’day. We are your largest Murray cod specific shop in the region and specialize in all things ‘green’! For any info on upcoming events or fishing reports give us a call on 03 5744 3133.

Cold weather sorts out the keen anglers MOAMA

Ian Page

As we enter into June with the cooler weather, the really keen anglers come out to play. Now that anglers have the rivers to themselves, they can troll deep diving lures in around

Torrumbarry Weir. Good judges tell me the bigger the lure, the bigger the fish, which is often the case this time of year. Oargee 25+ or the bigger Custom Crafted lures or something similar will give you every chance of landing that dream fish. Reports from the Gunbower Creek show that while numbers this year

a running sinker rig with approximately 18” runner. Don’t underestimate your possible catch as a few anglers of late are telling me they have been smashed off, so make sure your gear is up to scratch and check your drag is set correctly when you start. Many anglers loose that first

with both spinnerbaits and lures, especially when the levels remain constant for a few days. It’s a great option with a small boat to work your way along the bank casting between trees; with patience you will be rewarded. The Campaspe is seeing some redfin caught on worms in the deeper holes and always provides a good

day out for land-based anglers. Those willing to walk the banks and cast lures must be prepared for the odd cod or perch. Some of my regulars are fishing the many irrigation channels that are in our area and with scrub worms they are continually getting a feed of redfin, which most people agree is high on the list of our freshwater fish.

Even though it is the start of winter, there is still plenty of variety as to how and where we can explore our waterways and enjoy a great day angling. • For the latest fishing and boating information in the Echuca/Moama region, drop into Boats and More’s Echuca store at 76 Northern Hwy or give them a call on (03) 5482 1992.

DAM LEVELS

Dam

A 65cm yellowbelly caught on an Oargee near Torrumbarry by Dan Gillingham. It was released shortly afterwards. the banks of the mighty Murray; without our wakeboard friends! There have been some great cod caught between Deep Creek and

seem to be down a little the quality is excellent. Both cod and yellowbelly are being caught on lures and bait. The best bait is scrub worms or grubs on

fish because they are not prepared or expecting an early strike. The Goulburn River has seen some good lure fishing around the snags

% Full

Dam

% Full

Blowering............................. 48

Glennies Creek....................... 88

Brogo................................ 100

Hume.................................. 38

Burrendong........................... 18

Jindabyne............................. 71

Burrinjuck............................. 54

Keepit.................................. 18

Carcoar................................ 27

Lostock................................ 94

Chaffey................................ 40

Oberon................................. 66

Clarrie Hall..........................N/A

Pindari................................. 17

Copeton............................... 33

Split Rock............................. 21

Dartmouth............................. 89

Tantangara............................ 31

Eucumbene........................... 36

Toonumbar.......................... 100

Glenbawn............................. 91

Windamere........................... 50

Glenlyon............................... 38

Wyangala............................. 45

(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.) JUNE 2014

No such thing as bad weather WAGGA WAGGA

Scott McAuliffe

measure favourably on the brag mat. Repeated casts at the same piece of structure or multiple trolling runs

Cold snaps can hit the mountains at any time so it pays to be prepared for this kind of weather. The big fish are coming out to play now that the water temperature has dropped significantly. There have been more than a few fish over the magical metre mark landed over the past few weeks. Spinnerbaits and hardbodies seem to be the most reliable method at the moment, which isn’t unusual throughout the colder months as the Murray cod won’t be interested in expending too much effort in their search for food. The trick to winter fishing is patience. Most days will deliver only one or two fish at the most, but these winter fish generally

along a likely looking bank will deliver the best results. Big lures are must – 120mm+ hardbodies and big Colorado blade spinnerbaits will deliver the best results. Stick with purples, reds and blacks when it comes to colours and you should put yourself in a position to land a monster. EUCUMEBENE By the time this magazine comes out there’ll be a just over a week left until the rivers and streams close and the brown trout spawn run gets into full swing. The numbers of fish heading up the Eucumbene river will be almost matched by the number of anglers

fishing the river. It’s not the most enjoyable type of fishing, but the fact that there is a good chance of tipping the scales past the 10lb mark is probably what draws so many anglers. I always head up to the area for a couple of nights before the season close, but I can really only handle one or two sessions on the river. In my opinion the crowds and predictable fishing detract from why many of us choose to fish in the first place. If you are planning on heading up for a day or two before the season close your best option will be running a twin nymph rig regardless of whether

you’re on the long wand or spin drifting. Glo-bugs will also work but in my experience they run a close second to nymphs and can be outstanding from day to day. They just aren’t consistent enough when compared to a simple black or brown seal’s fur nymph. If you are fishing the fly rod you will more than likely need some extra weight to get your flies down to the bottom. Think tungsten bead heads or small split shot. The lake still fishes well throughout this time and one of my favourite techniques is to fish the Providence flats from a boat as there is always a heap of quality fish roaming the shallows.

This brown fell victim to the author’s most reliable soft plastic, the black and gold Berkley T-tail.

This small brown was picked up spin drifting the Eucumbene River at Denison campground. Weekdays are a better option when fishing the spawn run as angler numbers can be lower than on weekends – but not always!

The other option from a lake perspective would be trolling the Frying Pan and Buckenderra arms with aggressive coloured lures. From reports that have been coming in there has been some great trolling in this area. The majority of fish have been well conditioned rainbows. I’ve said it before, but there is no need to be deterred by the cold weather at this time of year! Kit yourself out with some quality alpine style clothing and you can enjoy this brilliant fishery right throughout the depths of winter. As the saying goes, ‘There’s no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing’.

Nature’s a-changin’ MILDURA

John Menhennett goobyfish@hotmail.com

Mother Nature can provide many clues relating to the change of seasons, and anglers need to be aware of these. The changes in air and water temperature and wild life movements should also signify a change in anglers’ approach in order to land that fish of a lifetime. In fishing terms, winter is considered a good time to start lure fishing for Murray Cod and a window into what is considered the best cod fishing periods. Most anglers will have their own ideas when it comes to interpreting this change. For many of the die-hard fishos out there, the start of June is the unofficial cod opening. However, autumn has been unusually warm around Mildura and water temperatures have been higher than normal. 68

JUNE 2014

Coming off the back of a very hot summer, the cod have started to move in good numbers but haven’t started to fire in the usual spots as yet. Nevertheless, this should change very soon. Murray cod fishing can be a bit of hard work over the cooler periods, but those anglers putting in the long hours and those willing to work out where the fish are holding will reap the benefits. A few nice Murray cod have been caught on large lures upstream and downstream of Mildura lately, with quite a few well over the magical metre mark. A few smaller models coming in at around 70-80cm have also been caught in the clearer waters we are experiencing at the moment. Most of these cod have been caught using 120mm Koolabung Codzillas and King Mongs in various colours. Good news is that cod are starting to move into the shallows as some of the cod caught lately have been in around 3-4m of water.

Considering the size of the baitfish that cod are feeding on, upsizing lures is a must. Most of the cod caught lately have been achieved on large, trolled lures. Trolling speeds have also been up from the norm indicating that the fish are starting to come on the chew. Some nice yellas have been caught recently on larger trolled lures in the Murray. Most of the fish have been holding close to timber and a slow trolling speed seems to be doing the damage. Some of the creeks outside the main river have also been fishing well for big yellas. Fort Courage has been fishing well for yellas also both on lures and bait. As the cooler weather rolls in, anglers will swap their trolling gear for casting rods and lures as the cod move tight into snags and into the shallows. Anglers will be casting from June through to end of close season with a few dedicated trollers doing it their way. Casting large spinnerbaits into the timber

John Menhennett with a nice river yellowbelly. These fish will start to slow down in the cooler weather and Murray cod action will heat up. will be one of the go-to techniques. More water is due to make its way down the system, which may dirty things up for a while,

once again making fishing difficult in the main river. It’s not only the Murray cod that are the main attraction around Mildura during the winter.

It is also the beautiful river scenery, warm red-gum fires of an evening and foggy mornings that make fishing in the Murray an absolute pleasure.

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Oh my cod, great bite ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

‘Oh my cod’ is the best way to describe the fishing this past month with some of the best action I have seen in many years. Through the Easter period we were treated to some excellent angling where numerous giant cod were landed along the Murray River. Golden perch were also about in good numbers and size as they belted lures and snavelled baits at pace. For the bait fisho shrimp remained an easy catch and several of these pinned on a hooked and bobbed amongst the snags was a sure thing on the goldens. Carp have been ever present and annoying but the kids thinned their numbers over Easter and not one face remained without a grin. Grubs and large yabbies accounted for several good sized cod from the bank as many anglers fished into the night by the warmth of the fire. The ringing bells were the first indication the bait had been taken and it was often a scramble to see who

might make the rod first. While the bait fishing has been very good it’s the excellent water clarity that has seen lure-caught fish serge ahead. Several large Murray cod including a 136cm model landed by Tim Polis from Shepparton have seen many anglers dust off the lures and head for the river. Robinvale still remains a little quiet on the cod scene with several fish to 8kg on lures and bait. A popular ski spot during the holidays, so I suspect the serious anglers to hit this area as the river traffic drops away. It will be very interesting to see what turns up over the coming month. Wemen has been very popular with anglers both casting and trolling lures. Several nice Murray cod of 20kg+ have been reported in this area as well as some good sized golden perch. The 120mm shallow running Codzilla, a favourite lure at this location, is reportedly doing the damage. With the river looking as good as ever I suspect we are in for some excellent fishing over the coming months. As the weather continues

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to cool and the water temperature drops away, casting to the riverside snags will begin to show some serious cod to those with the patience. Large Codman Spinnerbaits and DTs with trailers and stinger hooks are just the shot for this style of fishing, as are some of the larger hardbodied lures. You don’t hunt bear with an air rifle so don’t come under gunned to smash big cod. We run 50lb braid and 60lb leader and still get dusted by the occasional unstoppable green bulldozer. Make no mistake there are still plenty of giant cod still lurking in the Murray River. I hope the next report has even more action and if that’s the case we might need to tie our lures on behind a tree for fear of being savaged before they even hit the water.

Clayton Groves and Ray Austin with a ripper cod caught deep trolling on the Murray. countless things you don’t. In fact it would not surprise me if the cod themselves were confused as to what they

Just one of five 1m+ cod caught in a single session. Working out why the bite was so hot is what cod fishing is all about.

can imagine. Just recently I experienced another that will not quickly be forgotten. Fishing with good mates Gus Storer and Gareth Lynch we hit the water at first light. The river was dropping but the water clarity was good so we opted to troll lures. Straight up I find a falling river is not ideal for cod fishing as like many other factors it seems to shut them down. Add to this a drop in barometric pressure as a small front made its way through and you might think the odds were stacked against. The morning started slow with just a couple of golden perch showing interest in the lures. After lunch the sky started to clear and a notable lift in pressure gave us

of the boat had Storers rod loaded to the cork and losing line. Another 1m+ cod was lifted aboard and paraded for the camera. Over the next few hours no less than 9 cod were landed with 5 all up measuring more that a metre in length. All these fish were landed in a stretch of river no more than 200m in length with several other large fish hooked and dropped. As an angler, the questions begin to flow. Why so many fish on a falling river that in the past has produced poor results? How many fish were stacked into that 200m stretch of river and why were they there? As I said earlier Murray cod are a fish that can push you to

WORKING OUT THE SMALL THINGS ‘They were on yesterday’, are the words that every cod addict will have heard on more than one occasion. So where are they today and what has changed the lines that they so often follow? Those obsessed with catching these fish will understand that’s just cod fishing, and for all you think you know about these fish there are

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should and should not do on any given day! Murray cod are a fish that can push you to the brink of no return and just as equally pull you back in an instant. They are a hard fish to follow, but are still followed by many! I have been lucky enough in my time fishing for Murray cod to have experienced some of the hottest cod bites you

renewed hope that we might still land a cod. We were starting to think it might never happen when one of the lures was smashed hard and the rod loaded to a cod that stretched over a metre. Photographed and released the lures were sent back out and the electric motor was kicked into gear sending the lures to depth. A grunt from the far corner

the brink of no return and just as equally pull you back in an instant. In my life I have been privy to hot bites like this on many occasions some I understand and other I don’t. But what I do know of these fish is that the smallest of things is so often what makes the biggest difference. In cod fishing you just have to work out what that small thing is.

Hickson tops Forster Hobie event Australia’s number 1 ranked teams angler, Taree’s Kris Hickson, proved that the type of craft is not important when it comes to ability to extract big bream from this prolific waterway. In compiling his 6/6, 3.37kg limit, Kris had a long pedal, heading 7.5km out to the racks up in the dirtier water behind Wallis Island. “I figured if I fished a few weed beds and points on the way there and back, two hours each way with the forecast conditions should be a safe bet,” he said. After a quiet start things picked up in the racks and he had three in the bag by 10:30am. A quick paddle to another set of racks on limited time scored him a 31cm upgrade. “At the start of the paddle back I had a 25.5cm, 26.5cm and 31cm fork in the well which I thought

was far from good enough,” he said, “so I paddled pretty hard to make sure I had time to fish a couple of poles and a flat on the way back. The pole produced a 27cm and 27.5cm and the flat a 28.5cm fish, giving me a much more respectable bag.” The conditions on day two made the run to the

racks more difficult, with shifting winds making for a headwind traveling in each direction. After a hard slog getting there and a slow start, Kris decided to switch to hardbodies for better results. “As soon as I switched it was on!” he said. “The first few fish were undersize but after that a

The top three from Forster: Kris Hickson (1st), Stewart Dunn (2nd) and Josh Carpenter (3rd).

Stewart Dunn used his diminished fishing time and increasing bag weight on day two to finish second.

27cm and 29cm fish were in the well to make up the bag with one upgrade. Then I got another 31cm in the bank to move on a little guy and the southerly hit with force, leaving me to head for home and the fish chewing.” A last ditch effort on the same flat as the afternoon before paid off, producing a 28.5cm upgrade and a similar bag to day one. Back at the weigh-in it was mixed results all round as the top few stumbled and some of the mid fielders weighed some reasonable bags. “I was hopeful that I had enough to keep me in

the top five but it never even crossed my mind that I’d finish first until Browny told me that the weigh in was over and I was on top of the list,” Kris said. “I was pretty stoked to say the least. “Big thanks to all the competitors and officials and my personal sponsors Hobie, TT Lures, Daiwa, Blueye Sunglasses and Manning River Marine and also thanks to James from Barclays Marine for taking time out to run the BBQ.” DUNN BAGS SECOND On day one, event runner-up Stewart Dunn had a long pedal out to the paddocks at the front of the system. He was taking a risk, reducing his fishing time by over four hours to get there and back. “ I really needed to be on my way back at 11 or 11.30 to safely make it and time my run for the next day,” he said. “At 11 o’clock I had zero bream in my Hobie live well. I hadn’t seen many fish but the ones I saw were good sized. I was hitting one last area on my way out of the paddock, casting OSP Do-live craws tight into the vertical posts around the leases, when one came tight at 11:02. At 11:04 it happened again and at 11:08 I had bagged out.” Relieved that his risk had paid off, he eventually decided to do the long haul back to the paddocks but then changed things up, switching to a Squidgy Lobby to punch casts in to the wind more easily on day two. “The day started well

Kris Hickson’s consistency was the key to his win at Forster. and within three casts I had a squeaker in the well,” he said. “When I got to the second set of leases I caught a few good fish straight away. I was expecting a great session but to my surprise that was about it for me. The rest of the session saw pulled

round and I think I was super lucky to climb up to second place on day two. A massive thanks goes out to Andrew Death for his info from his pre-fish a month earlier. Without his advice I would have fished the flats with surface and cranks and caught smaller fish. Also

RESULT Place 1 2 3 4 5 6 6 8 9 9

Angler Kris Hickson Stewart Dunn Josh Carpenter David Hedge Michael Maas Jim Halliday Daniel Brown Brodie Quaas Scott Baker Stephen Maas

Fish 6 6 6 6 5 6 5 6 5 6

Weight (kg) 3.37 3.05 2.91 2.89 2.74 2.68 2.68 2.61 2.52 2.52

Winning ways Rolling 2.5″ Bloodworm Zman GrubZ across the top of the racks with most fish eating the lure on the roll, and rolling hardbodies down the edge of the racks. hooks or uninterested bream just swimming the other way. “It was a really close

a big thanks to Lox rods, and to Hobie/Daiwa and ABT for a very well run event.” – ABT

Berkley win Taree The Gamakatsu Team Series Mid Round 2 in Taree, sponsored by MajorCraft, produced some great fish. The fish were holding upriver, making the top end start a favourite for anglers. Taree produced a crowd again with heaps of people there to support the anglers. The visitors also managed to get into the prize action with a pair of Mako glasses and a Samurai Inflict rod being given away from a rock-paper-scissors fight off between everyone there. Thanks to the sponsors Mako and Samurai for making this possible. It was a close finish again with only 170g between first and third, but at the end it was a late upgrade from Team Berkley/C’ultiva that got them over the line

with a 3.08kg bag of solid fish. Vaughn Lewis and Todd Riches fished the Pampooloh flat to get their bag with cranks on the flats. Using Abu Vanguard and Pflueger Patriarch reels, they used the tried and tested long cast and slow rolling cranks to secure the bag. After this they made a change to the Tinonee snags and edges to get the upgrade fish they were after. Here they used Gulp Crabby camo 1/40oz lures with a dead stick technique, with the long pauses producing the tentative bite from the bigger fish. In second place was Team ProCraft, with Darren Seckold and Kyle Branch weighing in at 2.93, also fishing upriver within 5km from the start. They fished the edges, rolling a mixture of Atomic Shads in muddy prawn and Chubbies in

brown sugi. Using a outfit of 1-3kg rods, 2000 sized reels and 3lb leader they managed to get a kicker fish of 860g to secure second place. Coming in third, Team Gamakatsu/MajorCraft started at the mouth. They found it hard to get fish initially, and decided to make the important move upriver. They fished near the highway bridge on the large flat, throwing Atomic Cranks and slow rolling over the weed beds and rocks. Catching a heap of fish they found it important to keep going, getting small upgrades to eventually amass a 2.91kg bag that earned them third place. We thank the series sponsor Gamakatsu and the naming round sponsor Mako. For a full list of sponsors and any upcoming tournaments go to www.fishingcomps. com.au/gts. – GTS

Vaughn Lewis and Todd Riches from Team Berkley/C’ultiva with some of the fish that earned them first place. RESULT Place Team 1 Berkley/C’ultiva 2 ProCraft 3 MajorCraft 4 Carpet Court/Cranka Lures 5 Fillet & Release

Anglers Fish Weight Vaughn Lewis, Todd Riches 5 3.08 Darren Seckold, Kyle Branch 5 2.93 Cohen Morante, Bradley Morante 5 2.91 Mike Nelson, Grant Manusu 5 2.7 Tony Thorley, John Thorley 5 2.67

Big Bream: Berkley/C’ultiva (0.86kg) JUNE 2014

Pfleuger win Forster The Hobie Fishing Round 4 event was held at Forster this year. Always a bream mecca, pics of cracking fish were texted to and fro on the Friday as anglers pre-fished in great conditions. Conditions for the Sunday were forecast to be mixed but one thing was certain – the wind would blow a dog off its chain. Starting calmly, the breeze and overcast conditions seemed perfect for breamin’ but the blow came soon enough. Competitors did their best to keep out of the worst of the wind and in with the fish, and many

boats ended up finding productive patches in the rivers feeding into the lake. Despite the challenges, 46 out of 65 teams returned with a bag of five fish but it was the team that made the longer run to the back of the lake that secured the fish needed for victory. Ross Cannizarro and Alan Loftus of Team Pflueger Evinrude have seen their fair share of success over the years but a BETS win always goes down well, and it was a consistent bag of quality fish from the back of the lake that brought about another. Fishing Berkley

3Bs in mongrel colour and Gulp Shrimps in green camo colour, the pair fished a current line sitting along the windblown flats and found quality fish where ever baitfish could be seen. Despite the loss of a good upgrade, the quality of fish carried the bag to 4.81kg and the team to another BETS victory, earning a cool $3200 and a Hobie Prize Pack in the process. Fish of the day was a 1.46kg cracker snared by Grant Manusu of Team Carpet Court/Cranka that earned him an Austackle Lure Pack valued at $250. The team also won a paid

Alan Loftus and Ross Cannizzaro took out first place with a 4.81kg bag. first away entry courtesy of Austackle. The pace is definitely

picking up as we head to the pointy end of the season. It’s Lake Macquarie

RESULT Place Team 1 Pflueger Evinrude 2 Carpet Court/Cranka 2 Bears Concreting 4 4BRIMIN 5 Berkley 2

Anglers Alan Loftus, Ross Cannizzaro Mike Nelson, Grant Manusu Kevin Tommerup, Mitch Martin Brad Williams, Tracey Wright Michael Milburn, David Peterson

Fish 5 5 5 5 5

Weight 4.81 4.38 4.38 4.09 3.96

Prize $3200 + Hobie Prize Packs $2200 + Hobie Prize Packs $1200 + 2 x $150 Tackle Power vouchers $800 + Lowrance $1500 voucher $600 + Lowrance $1500 voucher

Big Bream: Carpet Court/Cranka (1.46kg), BRIMIN (1.3kg), Bears Concreting (1.28kg)

next for the breamers and Lowrance Round 5 on June 8th, Lake St Clair for the bassers in July for Coleman Round 2. Both will provide results that will begin to shape the respective grand finals and we’ll see who will be in a position to vie for one of the 20 highly prized places. Keep an eye on the website (www. betsbream.com.au) and the BETS Facebook page for updates. - BETS

Asakura/Abu win BETS Bass event at Glenbawn The Austackle Round 1 event on beautiful Glenbawn Dam was the first in the series of three BETS bass events to be held over the year. Glenbawn Dam had been running hot and cold in the weeks leading up to the tournament, with the weekend prior being an absolute fishfest, with good numbers of good sized fish caught all over the dam. The event weekend started with the news that last week’s hot was this week’s cold. Many prefishing anglers struggled for even a touch despite conditions being on the money. Session 1 was slightly more productive than expected however,

with a good sprinkling of bag numbers and weights across the field. One bag stood head and shoulders above the rest however, and

2 saw the majority of the boats head to the back of the dam in search of active schooling fish. It was very much a hit and miss affair.

and had their fish by 8am. Using a mix of Gulp Minnow Grubs in black and Jackal ice jigs, Troy and Ryan repeated the form of

Session 1. They ended up with an even bigger bag of 5.78kg, securing an opening win. With a 1.88kg thumper bass earning Ryan

a $250 Austackle Lure Pack for Big Bass, the team walked away with $1800 for a solid effort in trying conditions. - BETS

RESULT Place 1 2 3 4 5

Team Asakura/Abu Garcia Toray/Berkley Just Add Water Team Bing Lee Duffrods/Lowrance

Anglers Troy Danes, Ryan Jones Steve Kanowski, Craig Simmons Rob Baldock, Cameron Ley Jorg Van Husen, Don Hughes Greg Beattie, Mick Pasco

Fish 8 8 8 6 6

Weight (kg) 10.98 8.68 8.29 7.33 7.14

Prize $1800 $1200 $900 $300 + 2 x Abu Vanguard rods $200 + 2 x Abu Revo S

Big Bass: Asakura/Abu Garcia (1.88kg), Duffrods/Lowrance (1.71kg), Team Bing Lee (1.54kg) that was amassed by Troy Danes and Ryan Jones of Team Asakura/Abu Garcia. They set an overnight lead of some 800g with a 5.20kg bag of bass. Cool and cloudy conditions for Session

Boats with three or four fish were just metres from teams struggling for a touch, and while the sounders showed plenty of bass the live wells were hard to fill. The leading team, however, had their spot

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A total bag of 10.98kg secured the win for Troy Danes and Ryan Jones of Team Asakura/Abu Garcia.

SBS Sydney Harbour a success Round 4 of the Southern Bream Series (SBS) run by the Basin Lure and Fly Anglers Inc and sponsored by Lowrance, was held on Sunday 11 May on Sydney Harbour. A total

competed and showed their continued support for this great series, and to all the mothers out there who gave their sons and hubbies a leave pass on Mother’s Day.

and all but one kayaker weighed in fish. The final winner in the Boating section was Team Triton Boats/ Sunline/Ecogear (Michael Colotouros and Daniel

Michael Colotouros and Daniel Bonacorso amassed a 4.210kg bag to take out Round 4 of the series. of 54 boating teams 20 kayak anglers attended. We would like to say a big thank you to all those who

The Harbour really turned on a great day with lovely weather and lots of fish. Every boating team

Bonacorso) with a 5/5 bag totalling 4.210kg. Second went to the ever consistent Team Pro Lure

Australia (Nathan Leicht and Anthony Kalsow) with a 5/5 bag totalling 3.550kg, and third went to Team Gamakatsu/ Samuri Reaction Rods (Codie Stewart and Shaun Stewart) with a 5/5 bag totalling 3.435kg. Fourth went to Team BCF/ Up The Creek (Tom McLean and Mark Taylor) with a 5/5 bag totalling 3.420kg and in fifth place was Team 13 Fishing with Jay Rook and Brendon McNeil, whose 5/5 bag weighed 3.405kg. In the Boating section there were 239 fish caught for a combined weight of 119.530kg for 108 anglers. The Hobie Big Bream prize was taken out by Michael Colotouros with a very nice 1.290kg fish. The Kayak section was won by Team Pro Lure Australia - Luke Kay with a bag of 3/3 totalling 2.425kg. Second place went to Team Shorty - Andrew Hancox with a bag of 3/3 totalling 1.860kg, and third went to Team Gladiator Tackle Carl Dubois with a bag of 3/3 totalling 1.795kg. In the Kayak section there were 49 fish caught for

The Big Bream winner in the Kayak division was Luke Kay with a .985kg fish. a combined weight of 23.940kg for 20 anglers. The BCF Big Bream prize was taken out by Luke Kay with a .985kg fish. We would like to thank all the competitors and sponsors Lowrance, Fishing World, Shimano, Tonic Eyewear, Searing Tackle/ Damiki, Custom Lure Art,

Skeeter Boats/Power Pole, Hobie Fishing, Compleat Angler Nowra, BCF, Totally Immersed Watersports, Lox Rods and STG Graphics. Round 5 is a two-day event and will be held on Saturday 21-22 June at Mallacoota. For more information visit w w w. b a s i n l u r e a n d f l y. org.au. - BLFA

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

June 7-8

Greenback Tailor Competition John O’Donnel - 0400 042 192

Cabarita www.greenback.org.au

Jun 8

BETS Bream R5 Chris Gates - 0413 795 382

Lake Macquarie www.betsbream.com.au

Jun 14-15

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series ABT - (07) 3387 0888

Georges River www.bream.com.au

Jun 15

Gamakatsu TS R3 Mid + Kayak GTS - 0459 401 612

Forster fishingcomps.com.au/gts

Jul 4-11

Evans Head Fishing Classic EHFCC - 0448 881 414

Evans Head www.evansheadfishingclassic.com.au

Jul 6

BETS Bream R6 Chris Gates - 0413 795 382

Sydney Harbour www.betsbream.com.au

Jul 14-15

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series ABT - (07) 3387 0888

Georges River www.bream.com.au

Jul 26-27

ABT BREAM Series ABT - (07) 3387 0888

Clarence River www.bream.com.au

Aug 10

Gamakatsu Bream Round + Kayak GTS - 0459 401 612

South West Rocks fishingcomps.com.au/gts

Aug 10

Gamakatsu Bream North Round + Kayak GTS - 0459 401 612

Ballina fishingcomps.com.au/gts

Sep 13-14

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BREAM Series ABT - (07) 3387 0888

Forster www.bream.com.au

Sep 14

Daiwa-Hobie Kayak BASS Series ABT - (07) 3387 0888

Toonumbar Dam www.australianbass.com.au

Sep 27-28

Jackall Yellowbelly Championships Series Bruce Anderson - 0419 011 333

Pindari www.yellowbellychampionships.com

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing nsweditor@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. JUNE 2014

What’s new boating Marine, an official sponsor,” said AVCG National Commodore Ray Campbell. “We look forward to the community support through donations to the Club Marine MAYDAY campaign. Donations can be made at www.mycause.com.au/events/ mayday. All donations over $2 are fully tax deductible.” The Club Marine AVCG MAYDAY Appeal will continue throughout May and June to raise awareness about the organisation, recruit volunteers and raise funds towards operations through its flotillas in six states and territories. – Club Marine

Catch a deal with Lowrance

Starting from May 1, Lowrance customers will receive a free 83/200 skimmer and StructureScan transducer with all HDS Gen2 Touch models, and a free 83/200 skimmer transducer and StructureScan kit with HDS-8 and HDS-10 Gen2 models (HDS-7 Gen2 units come with a free 83/200 skimmer transducer only). This is up to $900 RRP of extras free. HDS Gen2 units include extensive mapping options including Insight Genesis personalised map options, are GoFree Wireless ready, offer optional video camera input (HDS-9 and 12 Touch models only), built-in awardwinning Broadband Sounder, and builtin StructureScan for Touch models (StructureScan support for non-touch models). All Lowrance products are covered by the Lowrance Advantage Service program. The offer is available in Australia from participating independent stores, and runs from May 1 until August 31, 2014. To find your nearest dealer visit www. lowrance.com. - Lowrance

Fuel-saving Enertia props

Developed by Mercury to maximise fuel economy at cruising speeds, the new Enertia ECO propellers have shown in testing to cut fuel use by 10%. Available in three pitches (19, 21, and 23), all Enertia ECO propellers have a 16” diameter, compared to normal propeller designs which decrease in diameter as the pitch increases. Enertia ECO propellers have a higher degree of progressive rake, up to 65% more, which means the blade area ratio can be increased, which is ideal for cruising fuel efficiency. This additional rake and maximum diameter results in additional bow lift, decreasing the wetted area, and ultimately reducing the boat’s drag. An added benefit of the reduced drag is improved holeshot and top speed performance, with the ECOs matching the performance of four-blade props. Enertia ECO propellers are made from Mercury’s patented X7 alloy, which is 30% stronger and four times more durable than standard stainless steel. – MM

Talon Electric Anchor Spike

The Minn Kota Talon quickly and quietly stops and positions your boat in depths down to 12ft. Operating from the boat’s existing battery setup, the Talon vertically deploys its three stage telescopic spike with the wireless remote and

without the fish-spooking noise of a traditional anchor. When not in use, the lightweight Talon can be taken off the boat thanks to its standard release bracket, or folded away for garaging with the optional tilt bracket. Its electromechanical, cable-driven design is easy to install with minimal wiring and rigging. Made of marine-grade extruded anodised aluminium, the Talon can withstand a harsh saltwater environment, and the indestructible spike, made with fibreglass reinforced composite material, is guaranteed for life. An auto up/down feature means just a quick press of a button is all you need for automatic deployment and retraction, and each unit comes with two wireless remotes. The 12ft Talon deploys in three stages, giving ultimate anchoring depth whilst keeping the overall height of the Talon to 145cm on the transom. Built in suspension allows the boat to move up and down without affecting the anchor. Available in blue/black or black/black, the Talon has a RRP of $3549. For more info scan the QR code on this page or visit www. minnkota.com.au. - BLA

Avenger Sports

New to the Sea Jay range is the Avenger Sports side console series. Available in both painted and non-painted versions, it features plate 3mm bottom and sides (aside from the 4.25 model, which has 3.0mm bottom and 2.5mm sides). There are six Avengers available: the 4.25, 4.4, 4.55, 4.85, 5.0 and 5.35. Fitted with plenty of storage, these boats have front and rear casting platforms with hatches built in. An electric motor plate is fitted off the front gunwale, together with a bowsprit and roller on the front deck. A sounder mount and switch panel plate is fitted, and there are heaps of rod holders. There are two full upholstered folding seats with five socket positions. The 4.4 and 4.55 models have 65L under floor tanks, the 4.85 is fitted with a 85L tank, the 5.0 a 100L, and the 5.35 a 120L tank. The Sure Trac hull has an external keel for easy tracking. For more information visit www.seajayboats.com.au. – Sea Jay

Humminbird Onix

The new Onix series GPS/fishfinders feature high end, super high resolution multi-functional displays. The touchscreens have a gesture based interface called Cross Touch, which allows you to perform functions by making swiping gestures, like you would with a smartphone or tablet. The displays are ultra sharp XGA LCD. Both the 8SI (8.4” screen) and 10SI (10.4” screen) models have Down Imaging, Side Imaging, and DualBeam PLUS with Switchfire Sonar. They have DSP (Digital Signal Processing) DualBeam PLUS sonar w/SwitchFire Sporting up to 8000W PTP power output. GPS Chartplotting with Humminbird TriFuel Cartography gives you access to world background maps from Navionics, C-MAP and Humminbird Autochart. ‘Combo’ in the title ensures that it’s equipped with an internal precision GPS antenna and capable of operating as a chartplotter for maximum versatility. Unit cover is included. To view a video outlining the features of the new Onix, scan the QR code hereabouts. - BLA

What’s new boating

Humminbird ION Series

Humminbird ION Series MultiFunction Displays offer a multitude of modular technological possibilities. From Humminbird’s complete arsenal of leading-edge sonar to their highdefinition radar and full slate of cartography solutions, the choice is yours. The ION10 Multi-Touch dominates the competition with high-speed ethernet networking, wireless connectivity and full NMEA 0183/2000 support. From black box sonar and powerful radar to AutoPilot integration and even IP cameras, you can assemble the ultimate angling system. You can take command of your display like never before with Cross Touch, exclusive to the ION and ONIX Series. Everything you can do with the touchscreen, you can also do with the touchpad—so rough conditions will never compromise your control. There’s also a browser built-in so you can surf the web, monitor weather and stay connected—from the dock, offshore waters and everywhere in between thanks to the exclusive Humminbird Internet Browser, standard on the ION Series. To find out more about the ION10 and ION12 visit humminbird.com.au. - BLA

Lone Star G31000SD

Lone Star Marine’s new G3-1000SD winch boasts 3200kg of holding power for vessels to 8m. This compact unit (featuring a 250mm drum) has been designed for larger boats with a smaller mounting area. It offers a fast drop and retrieve rate of up to 130ft per minute on the smaller frame, without any loss of working load. The capacity is 70m of 10mm rope or 90m of 8mm rope plus 7m of 8mm short link chain. The 1000SD (small drum) still has all the great features LSM is known for – robust construction (more stainless steel and less alloy), application rated purpose built motors featuring the highest Lab Tested IP ratings, and Lifetime Warranty against damage due to water ingress, as well as a 3 Year Unconditional Warranty on all components. It weighs 23kg and features 6mm and 7mm SS construction throughout. The RRP is $1399 including fitting hardware and deck roller. Check out www.lonestarmarine.com.au for your nearest retailer. – LSM

Mercury Verado 200hp Pro

The new Verado 200hp Pro FourStroke delivers the incredible acceleration and top speed of all the Mercury Pro series outboards along with the quiet and smooth operation of the Mercury Verado. The 200hp Pro is built on the reliable sixcylinder Verado platform. It also features Mercury Marine’s 4.8” Verado gearcase with a smaller hydrodynamic profile, to ensure top performance. This gearcase is available exclusively in right-hand rotation on 20-inch (L) and 25-inch (XL) driveshafts. Delivering an outstanding hole shot, amazing torque and punchy mid-range acceleration, the 200hp Pro’s supercharge technology allows precise, programmable control over the fuel and air intake. As well, the

Verado 200hp Pro FourStroke comes standard with the Advanced Mid Section (AMS), Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS) and electro-hydraulic power steering. The Verado 200hp Pro is backed by Mercury Marine’s 3+2=5 year warranty and a 3-year corrosion warranty. - MM

Lowrance Elite

Lowrance has announced the next-generation of Elite fishfinder/ chartplotters, the Elite-7 and Elite-5 CHIRP series. The new affordable series adds CHIRP sonar to its builtin Broadband Sounder and DownScan Imaging fishfinder technologies. CHIRP sonar produces greater sensitivity, improved target resolution and superior noise rejection. The Elite CHIRP line-up includes 5” and widescreen 7” fishfinder/chartplotter models as well as standalone fishfinders with CHIRP sonar performance using affordable Lowrance HDI Skimmer transducer options — including the capabilities to produce low, medium and high CHIRP sonar ranges and display two user-selected ranges simultaneously. All models are protected by a oneyear limited warranty and the Lowrance Advantage Service program. Retail prices range from $599 to $999 for the Elite-5x and Elite-7x CHIRP fishfinder, and $1099 to $1329 for the Elite-5 and Elite-7 CHIRP fishfinder/chartplotter models bundled with Navionics Gold cartography. For a full list of specs log onto www.lowrance. com. – Lowrance

White Verado 300

In addition to standard Phantom Black, Mercury Marine will now offer 300hp Verado outboards in two shades of white – Cold Fusion and Warm Fusion. Of course, boat owners have always had the ability to customise their engine or boat, but now they have the choice of buying a factory manufactured colour, which is a much better option. Mercury’s advanced Paint System is engineered and designed specifically for the marine environment. Multiple base and clear coatings provide a long-lasting finish in even the harshest of marine environments. This means that white Verados, just like the blacks, enjoy Mercury’s outstanding 3+2=5 year warranty for recreational use. These new white Verado 300hp models are initially special factory order only models and attract a price premium to the current standard model. The white option is available for all 300hp Verado outboards variants, except for the Pro FourStroke and CCT models. To find out more visit www. mercurymarine.com.au. – Club Marine

Club Marine helps AVCG

Club Marine, Australia’s largest provider of recreational boat insurance, is now an official sponsor of the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard (AVCG). In addition to its overall sponsorship of the national marine rescue organisation, Club Marine has also thrown its support behind the AVCG’s forthcoming ‘MAYDAY’ campaign. “We are proud to be partnering with Club

The Ultimate Test BUNDABERG

Mark Ward barra09@live.com.au

Bundaberg based Sea Jay boats have long had the reputation of being bulletproof, but when Jason and Simon from All 4 Adventure decided to do the entire top end of Australia by both vehicle and boat, even these boys were impressed with the durability of the Sea Jay 6.8 Pursuit.

There is no better way to test the Pursuit than to send it over the top of Oz from Cooktown to Broome. The top of Oz isn’t renowned for huge seas, but that’s not what this hull is all about anyway. Their goal is to get to where no one else has been and get back safely and trouble free. Having spent some time in Torres Strait and the Top End myself, the ocean currents collide and the ground swell can see beautiful clear, calm days

SPECIFICATIONS Length.....................................................7.1m overall Beam.................................................................. 2.49 Deadrise...................................................19 degrees Weight................................................Dry weight hull only 1290kg Towing weight........................ Boat, motor and trailer fuelled can be up to 2500kg Sides.................................................................. 4mm Bottom............................................................... 5mm Transom............................................................. 5mm Max. power...................................................... 230hp Power as tested............................................... 225hp

produce seas that resemble a washing machine. They were conditions that were perfect for putting the 6.8 Sea Jay Pursuit to the ultimate test. Sea Jay also built the trailer that was used to haul the hull over some of the most inhospitable terrain in the country, another testament to the engineering expertise of the manufacturer. I’m not allowed to say too much about the upcoming fifth season of All 4 Adventure but you won’t want to miss it. It will be broadcast on 7 TWO, or you check out the series which will be available on DVD. CONSTRUCTION AND LAYOUT Not a lot has been changed from the standard 6.8 Pursuit, which proves that every customer who buys the Pursuit is getting one very tough and reliable hull. The main change was replacing the standard 360L tank with a massive 500L one. This was at the

Jason and Simon from All 4 Adventure were impressed with the durability of the Sea Jay 6.8 Pursuit. for both family and fishing. Its flared hull, sporty looks and eye-catching graphics give this hull plenty of appeal, and when I first spotted it sitting on that over-engineered trailer, it was one hell of a good looking machine. If I didn’t have a wife and bank manager to answer to, I would have taken this one

so rod storage won’t be an issue. The gunwales were also that nice height to allow some stability when bottom bashing or landing a fish, with added stability from the side pockets that allow you to get your feet underneath. While not a true walk-around, getting around the cabin to the bow is a relatively simple affair.

moderate chop. This is the upper end of the power range for the hull but big savings can be had by optioning for a 175hp outboard. Yes, a 175 will come at the expense of being a little sluggish out of the hole at full loads, but it will still plane and perform very well. This is a big, heavy

Left: The anchor well is big enough to allow for a good sized anchor as well as the option to fit a winch and tube for a reef pick. Top right: The dash is well laid out, with everything easily visible and close to hand. Top left: The cabin is roomy enough for overnight trips, and the comfortable bucket seats are great for long trips.

Top: The big, heavy hull has a very sharp entry point to the bow with a 19º deadrise. Midship, the hull is still running over 30º of deadrise. Bottom: A great option for anglers is this bait board with live bait tank and rocket launcher. Batteries are stored underneath. 76

JUNE 2014

expense of some freshwater storage but when you’re in the middle of nowhere, fuel and water are both vital. Also added to the Sea Jay were two big Waeco fridge/freezers and solar panels on the roof. All this is sitting on a beefed up trailer but the rest of it is all standard Pursuit. The build is 5mm plate bottom and transom with 4mm sides. It’s a very sexy looking half cabin setup that can certainly be used for overnight trips but is more suited to day trips

home with me. While the Pursuit is designed to get you there, once you arrive, it’s nice to know that it doubles nicely as a very versatile fishing boat. There is plenty of open deck space, full length storage under the gunwales, one of the best bait boards in the business which has its own live bait tank and a neat little hard top that houses everything from deck lighting to speakers. With the rocket launcher, gunwales and bait board, I counted 20 rod holders

The anchor well is big enough to allow for a good sized anchor as well as the option to fit a winch and tube for a reef pick. Little luxuries such as a toilet and freshwater washdown are all available but overall, the fishability of the Pursuit is excellent for everything from trolling to bottom bashing. RIDE AND HANDLING The 225 Honda proved more than adequate at launching the hull out of the hole and pushing the Pursuit through some

hull that has a very sharp entry point to the bow and finished with a 19º deadrise. Midship, the hull is still running over 30º of deadrise which, when combined with design and weight, makes the Pursuit a dream to operate in a swell. We had a nice swell rolling in on the morning of the review and were able to set a good cruise speed and see how well the Pursuit handled the swell. I didn’t go home disappointed. It’s like comparing a La-Z-Boy recliner to a park bench.

I missed out on getting accurate speeds due to too much playing around in the swell, but it’s hard to concentrate on numbers when you’re having that much fun. In smooth water, top speed is an impressive 70kph and cruising on around 400 revs still achieves just under 50kph. However, ploughing through chop dramatically slows a boat down so sorry about just a couple of ballpark figures here. As mentioned, the only changes made to the

All 4 Adventure Sea Jay are the long-range tanks, two fridges and the solar panels. The rest of the hull is standard, including hydraulic steering, bucket seats, transom door and boarding platform, scuppers as well as all standard electronics such as lights and bilges. The only extras that I think are a must for anglers include the bait board with live bait tank and rocket launcher. A kill tank is another option. The standard tank is 360L and the kill tank will

The hard top houses everything from deck lighting to speakers and rocket launchers. The boat has 20 rod holders in total.

There are two big Waeco fridge/freezers under the seats, powered with the help of solar panels on the roof.

reduce that slightly so it’s a case of weighing up your priorities. The dry weight of the hull is almost 1300kg so loaded with outboard you will be well in excess of two tonnes. This is no problem on the water, giving the Pursuit its stability and lovely soft ride, but add a trailer and towing weights can be as high as 2500kg. This rules out the family sedan but all the large 4x4s and utilities will do the job easily. All in all, the Sea Jay

Pursuit is a very neat, extremely well built half cab that doubles nicely as a serious fishing boat or a weekend escape with the family. And just in case you were wondering, it is very capable of taking a couple of mad anglers across the top of Oz and back. Prices start from under $90,000, with the test boat coming in at $110,000. Check out this season’s All 4 Adventure as well as a short clip of the Pursuit in action on the Fishing Monthly website.

There is plenty of storage space in the Sea Jay 6.8 Pursuit, and the gunwales are a good height.

Why choose Brand X, when you can have a Quintrex?

DROP TO YOUR LOCAL equal. QUINTREX DEALER! Not IN all tinnies are created At Quintrex we are driven to build the perfect boat for any and all SYDNEY (SOUTH) HUNTS MARINE

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FORSTER something no other GRAHAM boats canBARCLAY offer…our MARINE high level 129 The Lake Way 2428

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No matter where you are, or what you need, a MCGRATHS HILL dealer is nearby TR MARINEWORLD qualified Quintrex to help you out. 4 Curtis Rd, McGraths Hill 2756 02·4577 3522 After all, only someone who really knows boats can give you the best advice on boats! PORT MACQUARIE MID COAST MARINE 75 Hastings River Dr Port Macquarie 2444

Visit our website and see the amazing02·6583 range 1492 of tinnies that maintain an incredible resaleMARINE value. WOLLONGONG HUNT’S

Not all tinnies are created equal. At Quintrex we are driven to build the perfect boat for any and all conditions. Our range is unequalled for choice and versatility. And each ‘Quinnie Tinnie’ comes with something no other boats can offer…our high level of workmanship, our great no-worries warranty and a dealer network unrivalled in Australia.

Visit our website and see the amazing range of tinnies that maintain an incredible resale value.

No matter where you are, or what you need, a qualified Quintrex dealer is nearby to help you out. After all, only someone who really knows boats can give you the best advice on boats!

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To see the full new Quintrex range visit quintrex.com.au

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BATEMANS BAY 2 Sharons Rd Batemans Bay 2536

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BALLINA 67 Endeavour Close Ballina 2478

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HUNTS MARINE 02·4472 2612

JETTY BOATING 02·6651 4002

INSINC MARINE 02·4324 4300

MARINELAND 02·6686 2669 JUNE 2014

TABS Bullshark 430 BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

In last month’s issue I outlined our reasons for moving to a slightly larger TABS Bullshark powered by a 40 Evinrude E-Tec. This would replace the very handy 4.2 Bullshark/25 E-Tec combination that had given us great fishing everywhere from waters around Coolangatta to those of the Cape. This was a big upgrade in many respects. True, the hull was only 100mm longer but the engine upgrade was very significant as we anticipated having up to four people aboard from time to time. Engine ratings for the 430 Bullshark are 25-50hp so the 40 seemed the logical choice. A sounder upgrade was

its predecessor. Of course, there is a 17kg difference in engine weight on the transom which doubtlessly contributes to ride quality. 40HP EVINRUDE E-TEC The 40hp E-Tec has amazed me with both its smoothness and sheer grunt. Starting first revolution of the engine once the key is turned, the 863cc twin (the 50 and 60 E-Tecs share the same block) planes the rig at 12.6km/h with two aboard. Three aboard still sees the rig planing at the same speed; it seems there’s no replacement for displacement! Speed runs also proved the worth of the big block engine. With two people aboard with a combined weight of 160kg, the HDS7 recorded 54.8km/h. With an extra passenger (a big bloke) aboard, combined passenger weight was

it just doesn’t consume the stuff. Fuel use is also very favourable so long as I don’t opt to go flat chat everywhere; 45km/h is a great cruising speed. LOWRANCE HDS7 The Lowrance HDS7 Gen2 Touch Screen unit is one of the best investments in fishing pleasure I’ve ever made. Tutored by Tech Fishing’s Nick Whyte I quickly grasped the features that make it so different from my previous Lowrance units where I relied solely on sonar imaging to find features and fish. Structure Scan side imaging does take some practice and time on the water to become accustomed to, but once you’ve mastered the system and have become familiar with identifying fish, it’s an awesome fishing tool. The HDS7 also provides the option of total sonar

Almost ready for the stringers ,the 4300’s hull takes shape.. Build quality of this order ensures that the craft retains a long working life. a no brainer. I’d had a great run with the Lowrance unit in the previous rig so I opted for Lowrance again. This time it was the HDS7 to be mounted on the RAM bracket attached to the Bullshark’s mini console. Other items of significance were the Minn Kota 65 Riptide i-Pilot with its very useful Spot Lock and other features, a set of Korr internal lights plus a six LED Korr spotlight mounted under the electric motor bracket for confident boating in Borumba and other dams at night. GPS systems are good but I’ve got a fixation about actually seeing what’s there as well. It was a big upgrade but time on the water has proven it was the right choice. I believe wholeheartedly that the hull, despite only the 100mm difference in length, is softer riding than 78

JUNE 2014

290kg but the GPS still recorded 49.6km/h. Another satisfactory facet of the 40 E-Tec is the seeming lack of expensive XD100 oil consumption. At the modest speeds I prefer

imaging if you require it. Screens can be customised. I’ve utilised a Lowrance screen option to set up one half of the screen to sonar scan, the other to Structure Scan. I also have the same

It’s all about the ride, the 4300 Bullshark making easy work of chop in the Jumpinpin area. set up with the addition of a GPS track in a top corner so if I see something that warrants investigation by means of fly, lure or plastic it’s dead simple to whip back to the spot and see what’s doing. Fishing the Brisbane River lately has seen the Structure Scan in use virtually all the time, with some pretty satisfying results on threadies, snapper and mulloway. LOWRANCE SONIC HUB Topping the HDS7 cake is some delicious icing: a Lowrance Sonic Hub unit. I can listen to any of 200 of my favourite songs via a USB connection. With its many options for sound, including good old-fashioned radio or iPod, the Sonic Hub is a very versatile option for some light entertainment when fishing. IPILOT, ILOVE The Minn Kota iPilot with its hand control unit has also been a big winner for us. In situations where it’s necessary to keep the boat steady on a given spot, or to maintain a predetermined but slow course – perhaps to keep us above a school of fish when there’s wind or current at play – the iPilot has been a huge asset. I also purchased an additional foot control for times when it’s vital to keep

Immense stability is one of the strengths of the Bullshark’s design.

Top: Our 4300 Bullshark on her maiden voyage; destination Baffle Creek. Bottom: Whiting time at Jumpinpin with wife Denise onto a fat fish. both hands and mind on the rod when a fish is playing up. I’ve seen some really frustrated anglers who lost fish through concentrating on a hand control unit instead of their line. PROS AND CONS Those are the big pluses in the package but, because all boats have compromises you need to be happy to live with, there must be some minuses as well. In truth, about the only thing that tended to annoy me (at least at first) was the 40’s longer tiller arm in comparison to that of the 25. It extends a lot further beside my seat. Realistically though, the 40 E-Tec has a lot of torque and it’s necessary to have a longer tiller arm for

proper control. Nor is there any fault with the seat: it’s a well padded Relaxyn job with a strong back rest. It’s also in the correct position to both maximise cockpit space and be ideally placed to cater for longer, or shorter, tiller arms. However, in order to turn sharply to port I need to lift the 40’s tiller arm vertically upwards (which it does easily enough) and the somewhat reduced leverage makes it harder to turn. At any rate I’m accustomed to it so these days it’s no biggie. In all, the new Bullshark has proven a very satisfactory package for our style of fishing whether it’s fly, lure or bait.

STA13434Dealer1-2_STA11838NewCamp 18/07/12 10:37 AM Page 1

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL DEALER FOR MORE INFORMATION.

SYDNEY

BLAKES MARINE

HUETT MARINE CENTRE 1131 Pacific Hwy, Cowan Phone (02) 9456 1444 info@huettmarine.com.au www.huettmarine.com.au

STACER’S EVO ADVANCE HULL. A DIVINE RIDE.

1 Railway Rd North, Mulgrave Phone (02) 4577 6699 sales@blakesmarine.com.au www.blakesmarine.com.au

ALBURY/WODONGA

BORDER MARINE CENTRE 474 Wagga Road, Lavington Phone (02) 6040 9999 bordermarine@westnet.com.au www.bordermarinecentre.com.au

ILUKA

ILUKA BOATSHED AND MARINA 2 A Charles Street, Iluka Phone (02) 6646 6106 ilukaboatshed@bigpond.com www.ilukaboatshed.com

CENTRAL COAST

IN TUNE MARINE 425 The Entrance Rd, Long Jetty Phone (02) 4333 3444 stacerboats1@aol.com www.intunemarine.com.au

MACQUARIE COAST

CAMDEN HAVEN MARINE 537 Ocean Dr, North Haven Phone (02) 6559 9344 enquiries@havenmarine.com.au www.camdenhavenmarine.com.au

SYDNEY

NEKEN MARINE 83-85 Darley St, Mona Vale Phone (02) 9979 9649 info@neken.com.au www.neken.com.au

LAKE MAQUARIE

COAST TO COAST BOATING 1 Mayfair Close, Morrisset Phone (02) 4970 5541 mel@coasttocoastboating.com.au www.coasttocoastboating.com

THE ILLAWARRA

SUNSET MOTORS & MARINE 240 Shellharbour Rd, Warilla Phone (02) 4297 2888 sunsetmotors@bigpond.com www.sunsetmotorsandmarine.com.au

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DISCO MARINE 160 North St, Grafton Phone (02) 6643 1199 sales@discomarine.com.au www.discomarine.com.au

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Big jig rig BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

Deepwater jigging has been very popular with offshore anglers for many years now. Whilst there are many well-made assist hook rigs available to anglers, being able to make your own allows you greater control over hook style and rigging method. After showing you how to make an assist hook rig for micro jigs back in the February issue, several anglers asked me about rigs for their larger offshore jigs. While the finished product looks similar, the knot, hooks and assist cord used to make rigs for these larger jigs is quite different. Being able to make your own assist hook rigs allows you customise rigs for certain styles of jigs and for targeting particular species in a variety of terrains. In more heavily structured areas, such as when jigging wrecks, a single hook rig is often utilised. For general use however, anglers often use a twin hook assist rig but there are many opinions and theories on which is best for certain situations. The rigging technique explained here is very simple yet exceptionally strong and has been used by jigging anglers for many years after initially being developed by the Japanese, who are at the leading edge and pioneers of deepwater jigging. Let’s look at what you will need to make your own assist rigs. MATERIALS There are several different styles of hooks that anglers commonly use for making their own assist rigs. Some of the more commonly used hooks are Mustad Hoodlum, Owner SJ-41 and SJ-51, Shogun Assassin, Decoy JS-1 and numerous others. Shout make two awesome hooks, the Ijika and Kudako, but these are a little

In the tag end above the overhand knot, tie another overhand knot right in the end of the assist cord and pull this knot tight. 80

JUNE 2014

harder to locate on the local scene. Many anglers favour one hook pattern over others but the general consensus is always to use a hook size that is slightly wider than the jig is at the point at which it will hang. Assist cord comes in numerous sizes but most rigs are made with breaking strains between 200lb and 350lb. Shogun assist cord in 200lb and 250lb is probably the easiest to locate and is relatively inexpensive. Varivas also have a great product which ranges from size #20 (100lb) to #80 (330lb). I have used the Varivas #50 (240lb) and #60 (260lb) on my jigs for many years now and find these breaking strains suit most jigs I use from 170gmto 400g. Additionally for your assist rig you will need solid rings and some split rings. You’re best off having the breaking strain of your solid ring quite a degree heavier than that of the assist cord you are using. It is better for the assist cord to break before the ring does. If the assist cord breaks you lose the fish, whereas when the ring breaks you lose both the fish and your jig. The main sizes of Owner solid rings that you will use are the #6.5 (300lb), 7.5 (450lb) and #9 (900lb). If you’re using assist cord around 200lb then use a solid ring of 300lb or greater. The breaking strain of the split ring is less important as it only attaches the jig to the rig and doesn’t take any major strain when you have your leader attached to the solid ring. However, a decent quality ring with a relatively high breaking strain is still advised. I commonly use Decoy or Owner rings in size #7 to #9 for attaching my assist rigs. Most good tackle stores will have these materials on hand or will be able to source them for you as they are readily available through Australian agents.

Here is everything you need to make your own big jig rigs.

For most jigs I generally start with around 20cm of assist cord when making a double hook (often called a butterfly) rig. Pass the cord through the eye of the hook and then tie a simple overhand knot around the main portion with the tag end, which should be a few centimetres long at this stage.

Tighten the first overhand knot so that the overhand knot in the tag end is locked against it as shown.

Tech Tricks

Generally the solid ring is attached at this stage. However, if the eye of your hook passes through your solid ring then you could attach it later. We will attach the solid ring now by passing the cord through the eye and do a simple clove hitch around the ring.

Pull the main portion of cord tightly so the knot slides down and the remaining loop closes tight around the hook eye and locks in place.

Repeat Step 1 on the second hook by passing the cord through the hook eye and then do an overhand knot around the main section of cord.

Repeat Step 2 and put the secondary overhand knot in the tag end.

Use a pair of quality split ring pliers to attach the split ring to the eyelet at the top of the jig.

Pull the knot tight as in steps 3 and 4. Grab the bend of each hook with a finger off each hand, or pliers, and pull as tight as you can to really lock each knot tight. Adding a little heat shrink around the eye of each hook will make your rig look neat and more professional and will decrease wear and fatigue around the knot. You can adjust the comparative length of each hook but I generally have mine like this with the top hook straight below the solid ring.

Attach the solid ring of your assist rig onto the split ring. Tie your leader to the solid ring using a uni knot. When hooked up you will be connected directly to the fish via the hook rig and the jig will hang free with minimal stress on the split ring.

When making a single hook rig just use the same knot to connect the solid ring as you used to connect the assist cord to the hook.

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Jasper Koen of Yass caught this 46cm yellowbelly while bobbing shrimp in the trees behind Wade Island, Burrinjuck Dam, over Easter 2014.

Hyundai iX35 revised BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Regarded as one of the best selling SUVs in our country, the iX35 is one of Hyundai’s more popular offerings. Introduced nearly three years ago, this compact yet roomy SUV quickly gained a steady following from buyers who liked the styling, the high driving position and the overall roominess that goes hand in glove with a medium sized SUV. WORTHWHILE CHANGES The initial model sold well, with just a few grumbles from owners about the suspension which was on the harder side of firm. The good news is that the Series II iX35 is going to ride noticeably better thanks to retuned suspension. Exterior changes involve new projector-style headlights, new wheels and the inclusion of roof rails. Under the bonnet there are engine changes, with upgrades offering more power without much detriment to economy. On the interior of the iX35, changed upholstery on base models is offered while more upmarket models are kitted with metal highlights to break up the otherwise uninteresting dash layout. There’s also a larger touch screen and reversing camera on high-end models. Overall, though, the Hyundai’s cabin layout is still very good and ideal for even longer journeys by four adults (or three youngsters plus Mum and Dad) thanks to ample head and leg room, and comfortable seats that you actually sit in rather than on. And with plenty of storage areas it’s easy to relax after shedding a few odds and ends. Bluetooth phone and

audio are standard, and the audio system with its touch screen had six speakers plus steering wheel controls. USB auto input with iPod compatibility is standard, as is an aux input jack. And let’s not forget the all-important SUV road stance, where the higher seating and ground clearance give you a ‘commanding’ driving experience. There’s also the bonus of wide

is standard and the buyer has the choice of manual or auto in base grades or all auto for those more wellappointed models. Ride comfort is the big thing to note. With changes to suspension settings, the resulting improvement sees far less body roll, and quicker settling after impact with bad surfaces. It’s been reported that Hyundai trialled over a dozen different suspension

Frontal styling of this year’s iX35 is slightly changed but still very easy on the eye.

Top: There’s no walnut trim in the dash but it’s well laid out, easily monitored and quite functional. Above: There’s 465L of load space here, even more with one or both of the rear seats down. opening doors, which allow easy entry and exit for those of us who aren’t quite as young as we used to be. RIDE COMFORT The iX35 still remains a brilliantly practical vehicle in many respects. Power operation for most functions

settings, both front and rear, prior to arriving at the current version. It’s still somewhat firm but definitely an improvement. Steering has also been improved with less turns lock to lock than previously and far more response to

New headlights, different wheels and roof bars: Hyundai has added small styling touches to make a good thing even better.

Top: Seats that you actually sit in rather than on are a welcome feature of the iX35. Above: Rear seat passengers enjoy ample leg and head room in the iX35, plus ease of entry through quite wide doors. boot. Again, full marks to Hyundai. ENGINE CHOICES Engine choices are a three way proposition. The four-cylinder 2.0L (122 kW and 197 Nm) and 2.4L (136kW and 240Nm) petrol units both now have direct fuel injection while the brilliant 2.0L diesel (135 kW and 392 Nm of torque) remains still the best engine by far given its tremendous strength. Note that only the base 2.0 petrol can be purchased with a manual gearbox. Reviewed was the base Active four-cylinder petrol, a 2WD with auto transmission. Base model it might have been but it still came with a lot of features,

including the highest 5-star ANCAP crash rating. Note that every iX35 variant has six air bags, along with EBD, Electronic Stability Control, Traction Control, Down Hill Brake Control and Hill Start Assist. Parking beepers are standard across the range as well. Whether on the highway or in traffic, the ix35 was a very smooth and easy car to drive. The six-speed auto unit linked smoothly with the wheel-activated cruise control and maintained the selected speed with great accuracy. (Which doesn’t always happen, just quietly.) ON THE ROAD At speed on the highway the petrol cruised very smoothly, with always plenty

of power in reserve for overtaking or maintaining easy going up a range. Dropping a gear on a steep hill does see a little engine buzz intruding but it’s usually only momentarily until you select the next gear. What was apparent was some tyre and wind noise but doubtlessly the next model released will see that situation changed. The ride was as sharp as a pin with even quite hard cornering seeing the Hyundai staying right on line. Fuel consumption was 8.7L per 100km, a little above Hyundai’s claimed 8.4L per 100km. One thing I did notice was some shortcomings with rear visibility, being somewhat obscured by the rear quarter glass windows which made over-shoulder glances when changing lines somewhat difficult – ditto reversing into a tight area. Unfortunately, a rear view camera is not standard on the base model. The iX35’s cargo area is generous at 465L standard, and with the option of lowering one of the rear seats which have a 60:40 split, the excellent load space only gets better. For those who want to tow a small boat, the iX35 is rated for a 750kg unbraked trailer, or a 1500kg braked trailer. SUMMING UP When it comes to the new iX35, I believe there is a lot to like about this car. It’s obvious that Hyundai is endeavouring to keeping apace of rivals in this very tight segment of the SUV market, and sales results will speak for themselves. The Active 2WD auto would come home for around the $26,990 mark plus on-road costs. Note that a five-year unlimited warranty was pioneered by Hyundai and continues today. Capped price service is also offered. JUNE 2014

TIDE PREDICTIONS FOR SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) JUNE – 2014 EASTERN STANDARD TIME TIDE PREDICTIONS FOR SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) JUNE – 2014 SUNDAY

EASTERN STANDARD TIME MONDAY

1 1

0442 0.48

0.5m 0

TUESDAY

2 2

0521 0.51

3 3

0602 0.55

86 8

0344 1.39 1000 0.56 12 1634181.520 2251 1.39 0.69 0344 1000 0.56 1634 1.52 2251 0.69

96 9

0441 1.39 1046 0.53 12 1720181.630 2346 1.39 0.59 0441 1046 0.53 1720 1.63 2346 0.59

106 10

0.5m 0

0353 0.21 0955 1.51 12 1535180.420 2204 0.21 2.02 0353 0955 1.51 1535 0.42 2204 2.02

166 16

12 18 0 0445 0.22 1049 1.50 12 1630180.460 2256 0.22 1.95 0445 1049 1.50 1630 0.46 2256 1.95

156 15

0.5m 0

226 22

0.5m 0

296 29

0.5m 0

1043 1.34 SUNDAY

1.5m

WEDNESDAY THURSDAY

1612 2238 0442 1043 1612 2238

0.66 1.72 0.48 1.34 0.66 1.72

1125 1.32 MONDAY 1654 2317 0521 1125 1654 2317

0.70 1.66 0.51 1.32 0.70 1.66

4 4

0000 1.58

0534 1.41 1131 0.50 12 1805181.740

116 11

12 18 0 0036 0.49 0626 1.44 12 1215180.460 1850 0.49 1.85 0036 0626 1.44 1215 0.46 1850 1.85

FRIDAY

5 5

0047 1.51

6 6

0143 1.45 0.59 1449 1.37 2042 1.45 0.80 0143 0824 0.59 1449 1.37 2042 0.80

126 12

0125 0.38 0716 1.47 12 1302180.430 1936 0.38 1.94 0125 0716 1.47 1302 0.43 1936 1.94

12 18 0 0047 1.72 0728 0.37 12 1343181.510 1937 1.72 0.61 0047 0728 0.37 1343 1.51 1937 0.61

1209 1.30 WEDNESDAY 0646 0.57 THURSDAY 0734 0.59 TUESDAY 1740 0602 1209 1740

0.74 0.55 1.30 0.74

1259 1832 0000 0646 1259 1832

1.31 0.78 1.58 0.57 1.31 0.78

SATURDAY

1353 1933 0047 0734 1353 1933

1.32 0.81 1.51 0.59 1.32 0.81

7 7

0243 1.41

136 13

0213 0.30 0808 1.49 12 1351180.410 2024 0.30 2.01 0213 0808 1.49 1351 0.41 2024 2.01

146 14

12 18 0 0302 0.24 0900 1.50 12 1442180.410 2114 0.24 2.04 0302 0900 1.50 1442 0.41 2114 2.04

12 18 0 0149 1.59 0822 0.42 12 1445181.540 2050 1.59 0.64 0149 0822 0.42 1445 1.54 2050 0.64

0824 FRIDAY

0913 0.59 SATURDAY 1544 2149 0243 0913 1544 2149

1.43 0.76 1.41 0.59 1.43 0.76

1.0m 1.5m 0.5m 1.0m

1.5m

0534 1.41 1131 0.50 1805 1.74

1.0m 1.5m 0.5m 1.0m

1.5m

NSW tides 6

176 17

12 18 0 0539 0.26 1145 1.50 12 1729180.510 2350 0.26 1.85 0539 1145 1.50 1729 0.51 2350 1.85

186 18

12 18 0 0633 0.31 1244 1.50 12 1830180.570 0633 0.31 1244 1.50 1830 0.57

196 19

206 20

216 21

12 18 0 0255 1.48 0916 0.47 12 1545181.590 2203 1.48 0.63 0255 0916 0.47 1545 1.59 2203 0.63

1.0m 1.5m 0.5m 1.0m

1.5m

0400 1.41 1008 0.50 12 1642181.650 2312 1.41 0.59 0400 1008 0.50 1642 1.65 2312 0.59

236 23

12 18 0 0503 1.37 1059 0.52 12 1734181.700 0503 1.37 1059 0.52 1734 1.70

246 24

12 18 0 0012 0.54 0600 1.35 12 1145180.530 1822 0.54 1.75 0012 0600 1.35 1145 0.53 1822 1.75

256 25

12 18 0 0101 0.49 0650 1.35 12 1230180.530 1906 0.49 1.78 0101 0650 1.35 1230 0.53 1906 1.78

266 26

12 18 0 0145 0.45 0735 1.35 12 1312180.540 1945 0.45 1.80 0145 0735 1.35 1312 0.54 1945 1.80

276 27

12 18 0 0224 0.43 0817 1.35 12 1351180.550 2023 0.43 1.81 0224 0817 1.35 1351 0.55 2023 1.81

286 28

12 18 0 0300 0.42 0857 1.36 12 1430180.560 2100 0.42 1.79 0300 0857 1.36 1430 0.56 2100 1.79

1.0m 1.5m 0.5m 1.0m

1.5m

0336 0.42 0935 1.35 12 1507180.570 2135 0.42 1.77 0336 0935 1.35 1507 0.57 2135 1.77

306 30

12 18 0 0412 0.43 1013 1.35 12 1545180.600 2211 0.43 1.72 0412 1013 1.35 1545 0.60 2211 1.72

1.0m 1.5m 0.5m 1.0m 12

 Copyright: Commonwealth of Australia 2012, Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532) 0 Disclaimer: 6 12 18These 0 tide 6 predictions 12 18 are 0 supplied in good faith and believed to be correct. No warranty is given in respect to errors, omissions, or suitability for any purpose.  Copyright: Commonwealth of Australia 2012, Bureau of Meteorology (ABN 92 637 533 532) Disclaimer: These tide predictions are supplied in good faith and believed to be correct. No warranty is given in respect to errors, omissions, or suitability for any purpose.

Tidal information is provided courtesy of the Sydney Ports Corporation. Copyright in the Tidal Predictions is owned by the Bureau of Meteorology. Users of these tables should be aware that the heights shown in this publication are predictions only and that the actual water level height may vary due to meteorological conditions (including barometric pressure, wind effect and storm surges) and seasonal variations. Sydney Ports Corporation is not responsible for the average time differences for other locations.

Central Coast Central Coast Boat World 19 Lake St Budgewoi Phone: (02) 4399 3568 | Fax: (02) 4399 3568 Website: www.centralcoastboatworld.com.au Cowra Cowra Marine Centre 29 Grenfell St Cowra Phone: (02) 6342 2904 | Fax: (02) 6341 1217 Website: www.cowramarine.com.au Newcastle Tomo’s Marine 96 Marks Point Rd, Marks Point Phone: (02) 4945 3202 Website: www.tomosmarine.com.au

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The Torque of the Town. The 150hp Mercury FourStroke. We could continue to talk up its strengths. Instead it has spoken for itself. And now, Australia’s leading marine reviewers can’t stop talking about it. Clearly the most compact and durable, lowest weight and highest displacement 150hp FourStroke outboard the world has ever seen. Visit www.mercurymarine.com.au

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Image courtesy of Shane Chalker, www.shanechalkerphotography.com