New South Wales Fishing Monthly June 2019 by Fishing Monthly

WINTER CHOICES: HIDE INDOORS OR CATCH BIG FISH?

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Features Fighting fish from a boat M ore monster mulloway T here’s something about Yamba

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Boating & Kayaking • • • •

Saved by stinkers S torage in small boats M onster Copeton cod S tessco Skipper 449 with Yamaha F50hp June, 2019 Fishing Monthly G R O U P

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June 2019, Vol. 24 No. 11

Contents 8

BYRON COAST The Tweed 30 Ballina 31 Yamba 32 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 34 Nambucca 36 South West Rocks 37 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 38 Forster 40 Harrington-Taree 44 HUNTER COAST Port Stephens 45 Swansea 46 Erina 47 Hunter Coast 48 SYDNEY Sydney 13 Sydney North 17 The Hawkesbury 16 Sydney South 18 Botany Bay 20 Pittwater 22 Sydney Rock and Beach 24 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 52 Nowra 53 BATEMANS COAST

From the Editor’s Desk... This magazine hits the press on election day and in the lead-up, it looked like a close race. The major parties’ policies came down to this – LNP keeping the status-quo on federal marine parks, and Labor (read: Tony Burke) hell bent on tying up your access to more areas. It was a bit of a shame that plenty of anglers swallowed the spin that the ALP put on it, making out that it was a great thing for recreational fishing. Remember that the industry has been fighting for a workable solution for years, and there will be plenty of face-palm moments if all of that ground is lost. We do know that the whole fishing and boating industry was very ready for the politics to be over and to get back to business. People not spending money in the lead-up to

elections is a real thing. The uncertainty created makes people defer purchases and there are plenty of boat yard and tackle shops waiting for the post-election catch-up. And we are sure that you’re over the bombardment of political ads as well! Personally, I was amazed by the amount of money that was spent on social media and digital advertising. Millions of dollars were exported overseas (with bugger all tax paid on it) right there. With our monthly publication cycle, we see zero dollars in political advertising. I’ll claim that we’re trying to provide you a sanctuary from it, but it would be nice to get a tiny piece of the pie! BOAT TEST FRENZY It’s been a busy year for the boat test team at Fishing Monthly. We have racked up over 30 tests already

this year for the magazines, and the appetite for them isn’t slowing down any time soon. Over the upcoming months these boat tests will all be published in these pages, but in the meantime, there’s a great way to get a sneak peek of what we’ve been up to. By subscribing to the Fishing Monthly Magazines YouTube Channel (and then clicking the little bell) you’ll be sent notifications of when our video boat tests are released. These are often up and running only days after the test, rather than months. SUPER SUBSCRIPTION OFFER ON THE WAY And a heads-up for next month, we’ll have a great subscription offer that can be accessed from all readers in Australia. Keep an eye on the July magazine for more details.

SEND US YOUR READER PICS! Want to be famous for more than 30 minutes? We know that social media fame is fleeting, but Fishing Monthly fame lasts all month! We regularly publish reader pics in these pages – just send your images to jthomas@ fishingmonthly.com.au along with the catch details and we’ll do our best to get you in. As the cover says, we’re the Recreational Fisherman’s Voice, so make sure that you use it!

Batemans Bay 54 Merimbula 56 Narooma 57 EDEN COAST Bermagui 58 Mallacoota 58 Tathra 59 FRESHWATER

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Fishing Monthly’s own Peter Jung had a blast catching flathead during a memorable holiday in Yamba.

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Yamba just keeps getting better and better FMG

Rupe Instagram: @rupeisfishing

I was talking to my wife recently about how I’d love to start taking our three young daughters to Yamba more often. Rambling about why I love the place so much, I realised it has now ticked over 30 years that I’ve been visiting this beautiful coastal paradise, and yet I’m still keen to spend more time there!

I’m sure the affordability of its accommodation options, many of those holiday periods were spent on the banks of the mighty Clarence River in Yamba. A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY Originally established in the 1830s as a timber harvesting town, it wasn’t long before people were living off the land and the water too, with excellent seafood and sugar cane growing conditions. In

the population was about half of what it is now, and it certainly felt that way. Perhaps I’m remembering through rose-coloured glasses, or amber liquid coloured glasses as I slurp my Great Northern and type this out… Despite the growth in population, Yamba still doesn’t feel too busy or over-run by tourists, or taken over by big business. It’s still a sleepy town full of anglers, surfers, cane farmers and their families.

Lovers Point is perfectly positioned to put you close enough to schools of tailor, mackerel and tuna as they swim past, as well as species like groper, mulloway, sea gar and luderick that live there on a more permanent basis. to catch! The underwater population may not have doubled in the last 30 years, but it’s still really healthy and always changing. The Clarence River itself is almost 400km of sprawling waterway, and it’s home to some of the

most exciting and desirable fresh and saltwater species you could ever hope to encounter. It runs into the Pacific Ocean quite powerfully between the rock walls that now stand guard over the towns of Iluka and Yamba.

The amount of water that flows in and out of this place with each change of tide is truly something to behold. Catching fish in and around Yamba can be as simple or as complex as you see fit. Everybody from

The main street of Yamba. It’s got everything you need without being overrun by big business. Growing up on the western side of the Great Divide with a dad that had a fishing rod in my hand at almost every available opportunity meant that plenty of long weekends and school holidays were spent on the coast, where we could both chase new species, in new locations, utilising new methods. Because it was only a 3 hour-ish drive from my old home town of Glen Innes, its sleepy nature, and

2019, commercial fishing and sugar cane are still very strong industries in the region – even if the gantry wall where the trawlers rest between trips is a little emptier these days than during the 90s. If you were to drive into Yamba tomorrow, the council sign will tell you its population has grown to over 6000 people now, but this was certainly not the case when I was a pup in the late 1980s. Back then

Because of the mild climate and predominantly flat residential areas, it’s also become a hotspot for retirees, so as long as you don’t cut in line at the chemist you shouldn’t have too much trouble from the locals. Perhaps more important than the population of people, especially for this exercise in a magazine titled Fishing Monthly, the rivers and offshore remain chock full of fish for you and I

If rock fishing is your thing, there are plenty of places to wet a line without venturing too far from the town centre.

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the weekend warrior family with a couple of packets of servo prawns, a quiver of Big-W combos and a

whiting, mangrove jack and luderick are abundantly available to boaters, kayakers and land-based

my experience they are only too happy to pass on their extensive knowledge and offer quality advice.

The famous Angourie Blue Pool is a great spot to cool off. dream, right through to the ABT Tournament anglers who happily lost thousands of dollars of Cranka Crabs

anglers on the river year round. Although there are certainly particular seasons when you are more likely to

Bream, whiting and a host of other species are available year round. in one weekend can have a super time catching big fish in the Clarence Basin. If you’ve spent any time reading Fishing Monthly’s regular local area report

catch a certain type of fish than others. If you’re hoping to nail a new PB of one of those species, my recommendation would be

They also stock all the big brands between them, so if you’re needing a top-up on gear, support the guys who will put you onto the fish! PRIME LOCATIONS While the whole area is full of fish, there are some easy to find and access areas that would be great places for you to start. I’ll list a couple of spots for each type of fishing to get you started, but don’t be afraid to just have a drive around and look at the water. If it looks fishy, it probably is! The upside of these spots? People have been fishing them for years and they keep producing. The downside – they’re so well known that it can sometimes become a little crowded, so you might have to move on to plan B or C to

While you’re in Angourie, take the family for a walk along the shore and explore the rock pools. for Yamba you will have seen the almost endless list of species you are likely to encounter, either in the river itself or offshore if you venture outside the bar. Eternal favourites like bream, flathead, mulloway,

to plan ahead, call one of the excellent tackle stores in town and let the experts walk you through. All of them are owned and run by local people who have their ears to the ground and toes in the water, and from

find some space to fish and relax, especially during peak tourist times. BEACH FISHING If you’re keen to hit the sand with your favourite Alvey and 10 feet of To page 10

JUNE 2019

From page 9

fibreglass in hand, then boy oh boy does Yamba have some options for you! Expansive beaches to the south of the township running right down to Angourie and beyond offer endless gutters and drains that consistently produce all the usual suspects, but

mouth almost directly behind the main street on the northern end of Hickey Island. This is perhaps the most kid-friendly option too, so keep that in mind if you’ve got little tackers wanting to tag along. If you’re using bait, always try to catch your own if you can. Beachworms,

for some links in that food chain is that there’s a bigger, toothier link waiting to eat you! The walls and ledges are home to so many schools of baitfish and crustacean species, it’s inevitable that the big boys want to hang around there too. This is where your advantage as an angler comes in. You can fish with bait or lures and you don’t have to move too far. With so much water movement each day at the lower reaches of the Clarence, you can find a nice safe spot to stand and wait for the fish to come to you. If you’re a land-based rock angler I’d recommend hitting Lovers Point (if the swell allows) or fishing either the gantry wall or the spot known as the T-Piece. If you need some help getting to those points, either take my earlier suggestion and hit the tackle shops once you get to town or jump on

The Middle Wall sees plenty of boat traffic each day. Some people stay and fish while others motor past and out the bar in search of snapper, pearlies and other tasty treats. your electric motor batteries are charged or you’ve got a decent anchor. If you’re a lure fisher,

CLARENCE RIVER BY LAND As you’d expect, the bulk of the river as you

A nice flathead taken working big soft plastics along the Iluka side of the Middle Wall. especially big mulloway, tailor and salmon. Casting big lures at Shelley Beach on first light was always atop the old man’s list of things to do on our regular pilgrimages, and remains so even though he lives there permanently now! If the swell is too big or the wind is wreaking havoc outside the dunes, you can still get sand between your toes and catch a sensational bag of fish by heading to the appropriately named Whiting Beach, which is tucked just inside the river

yabbies and pipis will serve you well. If you can’t get those, mullet strips and pilchards work too. ROCK FISHING Whether you want to stand on a naturally occurring bit of rock or one that was placed there with a crane, the good news is that Yamba has plenty of both, and they’ve been there so long that they’ve become fish magnets. Natural and artificial rocky structures offer the whole food chain an opportunity. The trouble

Where the river meets the sea. There are plenty of fish to be caught on both sides of the wall. to Google Earth and make yourself familiar that way. If you have access to a boat or kayak, head to one of the many boat ramps around town and take yourself towards Middle Wall. There is a lot of water movement around Middle Wall though, so make sure

The Pacific Hotel sits overlooking Yamba’s main beach and surf club. 10

JUNE 2019

have a selection of metal slugs, soft plastics and shallow-mid diving hardbodies. If bait is your caper, it’s hard to find a fish that won’t eat fresh caught rock crabs. Just watch your fingers when collecting, and have band-aids in your backpack just in case.

head upstream is lined by thick clusters of mangroves, but there are still some relatively easy spots to access where you can find a mixed bag of fish. You’ll need to pay a little more attention to tides if this is your chosen method of attack, but you

can almost always find a nice pocket of land to stand on. There’s usually somewhere close by to source bait, whether that be yabbies or worms, which for me are as good as you can get for this type of fishing. If you keep a sharp eye out you will spot a few of the more popular spots as you leave the Pacific Highway and take the short drive into the town itself, but in case you don’t, check out the Oyster Channel bridge, Romiaka Channel and a couple of nice little openings on Micalo Road for starters. All of these places are generally teeming with fish and are nice flat areas to fish from. These are the type of areas where you’re likely to have a session of a lifetime throwing Sugapens and Bent Minnows at big whiting, or find yourself hooked up and in a dog fight with a flathead the size of a garden shovel, like the one Peter Jung is holding on this month’s cover. Hang on tight and try not to blow it! One final bit of advice when fishing around mangroves: don’t forget the Aerogard.

Whiting Beach is just a short walk from the main street.

CLARENCE RIVER BY KAYAK When I first started visiting and fishing around Yamba, kayaks were almost

estuary in plenty of places in a boat, it just doesn’t compare to being able to pull the car over on the side of the river and be paddling

There are plenty of spots around town to wet a line, whether you’re an experienced campaigner or just starting and too small to hold the rod by yourself. non-existent. The closest thing you might have seen was an old fibreglass Canadian style canoe, but they looked more out of place than a vegan at Casino Beef Week. Fast forward to 2019 and kayaks are everywhere! There’s even a Hobie shop just down the road (or up the river) at Maclean. There are many factors behind this – affordability, manoeuvrability, and huge advances in comfort and stability are just a few. Even though you can access the

and fishing in minutes, away from the crowds and without having to wait while some peanut makes 29 attempts to get his trailer straight on the boat ramp. Add the stealth factor for a kayak into the equation, and you’re well on your way to landing a monster mulloway, flathead or whatever else you might be chasing. If you do decide to launch further upstream, try around Oyster Channel or Romiaka around Thorny Island. There’s plenty of water for you to explore

without blowing out your arms or legs paddling/ pedalling before you get a cast in. Endless drains and sand flats will put you in prime position to have your rod bent in no time. CLARENCE RIVER BY BOAT If you have a boat, or access to a boat, you’re going to have a good time! With so many options on how to fish and where, your biggest battle might be deciding where to start. As you head upstream from the mouth you’re presented with almost endless opportunities to catch fish. You can troll lures along the walls, throw plastics into draining gutters, work topwater lures across expansive flats for whiting or pull up and drop an anchor among one of the many islands you’ll find along the way. My tip here is to drop the boat in early in the morning, fish from Freeburn Island up to Harwood around Ulgundahi Island. There’s so much water up that way that no matter how you like to fish, you’ll find something to accommodate your style. Stay as long as you can or until the fish stop biting, then pull the tinny up to the famous Yamba Tavern and grab yourself a feed and a coldie. As the saying goes – that’s livin’! BIG BLUE If the river or fishing from the rocks/beach don’t tickle your fancy, don’t fret. The offshore fishing here is off its head too! Year round you’ll find fantastic snapper and pearl perch fishing without having to venture too far off the coastline. Depending on the season and the current, you’re also likely to come across mackerel, mahimahi, wahoo, trag, mulloway and even the occasional gummy shark.

Yamba’s marina has all the services you’d expect and is home to the largest bream the author has ever laid eyes on, it’s just a shame you can’t fish there. My uncle runs a fleet of charter boats out of Yamba and I’m often amazed at the numbers, size and variety of fish that come aboard his boats and make appearances on Facebook and on the

There’s not an awful lot of natural reef directly out the front of Yamba but there’s plenty of weed or kelp beds to keep the predators local, and if you do want to find bigger patches of reef it’s

especially by North Coast NSW standards, but they all have their moments and no fish is worth losing a boat or your life for. A good quality fishfinder with a GPS component is

Throwing topwater lures like this Bassday Sugapen across the weed beds that sit just off Whiting Beach can be a very productive way to spend a lazy afternoon in the sun while the kids play in the gently lapping waves.

pages of Fishing Monthly. not too far to steam to Evans Most of the anglers on the Head to the north or Brooms charters are novices and they Head and Minnie Waters to still b slay. a Prawn Bla e the south. s” As always, pick your “Ya mJust imagine what dan angler with YOUR skill level times to cross the bar. It’s could do. Mind. Blown. not a particularly nasty one,

worth every penny when heading offshore. If you ask nicely, the guys in the tackle shops will even give you some worthwhile marks, and don’t be afraid to troll To page 12

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

“IN THE MAIN STREET”

8 Yamba St, Yamba

02 6646 1514 • OPEN 7 DAYS

• Stocking all major brands • Experienced local knowledge • Tournament bream gear in stock • Snorkelling gear in stock

One of Yamba’s boat ramps. There’s plenty of parking and it’s conveniently located near the BP service station and the Fisherman’s Co-op, so even if you doughnut, you can still take home a feed of fresh fish.

Drop in to see Mick & Kelly

JUNE 2019

From page 11

hardbody lures and skirts on your way between spots either, as there are plenty of pelagics to tangle with. CRABS Some of my absolute fondest memories of childhood trips to Yamba were when we would stay at the Grafton District Anglers Club clubhouse. It’s right on the water with its own

area with an old washing copper built into the brick work specifically for cooking crabs, and boy didn’t we get some use out of that. It’s been a little while since I’ve put pots in around Yamba but my pop always used to say (and my dad and uncles all still say to this day) you only catch crabs in months with ‘R’ in them. So whether

make sure your traps are correctly marked. IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE TO DO IN YAMBA? Yes. If you’ve got friends and family who aren’t that into fishing but you still want to make the trip to Yamba, there’s plenty to keep them occupied while you chase a monster flathead or trophy Spanish mackerel. There are patrolled beaches, heaps of bushwalking, the Pacific Hotel (which might have the best view from any pub ever), a great selection of local boutique shops and plenty of fresh food options. The surf is pretty special at times too, with big, clean waves that seem to run for days. During the colder months – May through

Oyster Channel Bridge is a popular place to wet a line. There are a few spots you can access from the shore but it’s a lot easier to fish from a boat. October – there’s a huge migration of humpback whales that goes right past

Known as the T-Piece, this small collection of rocks is a hotspot for bream and luderick, particularly in the cooler months. boat ramp and is right next door to the BP and Co-Op fish and chip shop. The Chinese takeaway joint is also right across the road (try the duck). The reason I always liked that spot is there were generally other families staying in the other units with kids my age, but also because there’s a huge BBQ

Warregah Island

you’re after muddies, blue swimmers or any other type of crab, maybe keep that rule in mind when booking your trip. They are no different from crabs anywhere else when it comes to how to catch them and what they’ll come after as bait. Just be sure to know your NSW regulations for crabs and

Yamba and a lot closer to shore than you might think. We’ve been walking along the beach or sitting at the front of the aforementioned Pacific Hotel and seen a pod of them come past and put on a show with acrobat moves. You can even book a whale-watching cruise that will pick you up from the tavern if you want to get up close and personal. My favourite non-fishing thing to do in Yamba though, is to take the short drive to Angourie and visit the Blue Pool. It’s a spring-water fed swimming hole that’s a stone’s throw from the ocean, and there’s a café just up the road with the

best bacon and egg rolls you’ve ever tasted. THE WRAP-UP So, after 30 years of visiting Yamba, I still love staying and fishing there and it’s an even bigger treat to be able to take my wife and kids with me these days. The weather is great, the water is clean, the fish are hungry and it’s still quiet enough to really relax and re-charge the batteries without breaking the bank or having thousands of people on top of you. It’s just so full of potential even if you’re not a hardcore angler or you’re just looking for an affordable family escape. Highly recommended.

With endless amounts of baitfish around, any predator you land is going to be in great condition.

Chatsworth Island

Iluka

4 Harwood Island

Palmers Island

Ashby Island

Romiaka Island

Palmers Island

When you’ve had a big day on the water, it’s worth pulling into the Yamba Shores Tavern for a feed and an ale. You’ve earned it!

5 7 3 Yamba

LEGEND: 8

1. Ulgundahi Island 2. Thorny Island 3. Oyster Channel Bridge

MacLean

4. Freeburn Island

James Creek

5. Yamba Shores Tavern

Yaegl

6. Township and Marina

Palmers Channel

Middle Wall

8. Whiting Beach 9. Lover’s Point Angourie

JUNE 2019

10. Angourie Blue Pool

An abundance of bait SYDNEY

Paul Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Hagan

This season Sydney Harbour has seen the best run of fish in recent years, with higher than usual quantities of kingfish and pelagics roaming around the harbour in search of food. For a lot of anglers it has been a

results, with some fish topping the 130cm mark and plenty around the metre mark. With slimy mackerel and squid being the baits of choice, there are days when they will not touch some of these offerings, preferring to hit large plastics and stickbaits on the surface. When fishing the harbour, a good preparation is necessary if you want to

market is a flock of seagulls hovering over the water, as they know where the fish are. Drifting through the sandy areas of the harbour with strip baits or plastics has been an excellent way to pick up a good feed of flathead, with north harbour being one of the better spots at the moment, and there is always the chance of picking up a mulloway.

Mel Palagiano with a squid that was converted into a solid kingfish. Not a bad upgrade from a squid! Manly Beach can produce a mixed bag depending the time of day and what bait is being used. For flathead, soft plastics and strip baits fished on the run-out tide has been very successful in picking up a nice feed. Whiting are still an early morning species

gear past the leatherjackets. Browns Mountain has been fishing consistently with good numbers of gemfish and cod being taken along with some nice pearl perch. Mahimahi on the FADs have been very scarce this year, but with good

big blue marlin out beyond Browns Mountain. For some boat anglers there have been good reports of numbers of striped marlin hitting the lures, but holding onto them seems to be a bit of a problem for some anglers.

With the abundance of bait in the harbour, Andrew Pannifex proves the kingfish are feeding up and taking just about anything. great opportunity for them to pick up one of the hardest fighting fish there is around, while fishing from boats or from some of their favourite land-based spots and for beginners the thrill of fighting a kingfish will usually have them hooked for life. With a large amount of baitfish concentrating in the harbour and an abundance of squid, the fish have been putting on weight and there have been some excellent

have a chance of picking up a few good fish. To give yourself the best chance, an early start is essential and preferably just before the sun rises as this is one of the best times to get some live bait into the tank. Most boats are fitted with modern sounders but there are still a lot that do not have that luxury, and to locate fish the best way is to troll live baits or divers around the headlands. One of the cheapest sounders on the

Outside of the harbour, the headlands and rock platforms are still producing a range of fish including kingfish, which have been taken on live baits, with lots of bonito and tailor eager to pick up metal slices in the early hours of the morning and just before the sun sets. On the beaches there are good reports of whiting, salmon and tailor, with Manly, Narrabeen and Curl Curl being the best of them at the moment.

Left: Greg Osborne with a spangled emperor caught off the rocks. Right: Nathan McManus with a nice samsonfish. Even at this size they can pull some string!

Jordan Thliveries with a good kingfish. Now is a great time to get amongst these hard fighting fish. during the top of the tide using worms, whereas the evening is when the larger predators come out to hunt along with all manner of sharks and stingrays on the prowl, taking any bait that is within their reach. Narrabeen has been producing some nice bream and flathead up near the entrance to the lagoon. In the evening there are tailor and salmon taken on pilchards and strip baits on the incoming tide. Reef fishing is improving with some good-sized snapper being taken off Long Reef in 30-50m of water using floating baits in a good berley trail. Fishing with live yellowtail is your best bet for kingfish, which are on the move at the moment. Further out around the 12-mile reef the kings are in full swing, taking jigs and live baits if you can get your

conditions and the right water temperature over the last while, the fish are being taken in larger numbers. With recent gamefishing competitions being held there are some better reports coming in that some of our marlin have turned up to play. The game season has been very quiet over the last while, so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good to hear of some anglers picking up

While marlin are a target for most anglers there have been some yellowfin tuna on the take, along with some very large mahimahi taken by some anglers while trolling for the larger gamefish. Hopefully this will improve and give the game boys something for the season. As always, stay safe and enjoy the fishing!

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Score some magic mulloway There’s no doubt when it comes to fishing the estuary the mulloway is the ultimate prize, especially those trophysized fish over 20kg. While there are many different habitats inside an estuary that can produce mulloway, the best areas for these big fish are the deep holes and channels that are scattered throughout most systems. These deep-water estuary environments can be 15-40m depending on what

places creates eddies where baitfish will congregate. The tides affect these areas, with some areas becoming virtually unfishable outside of tide changes. This is why all planned fishing sessions in these parts needs to revolve around tide changes with around an hour before to an hour after being the prime time. Fishing times can be longer or shorter depending on tide variances, as neap tides give you more fishing time and spring tides much less.

for this, which is still only relatively new but already has a cult following for mulloway due to its lethal conversion rate, is the 8/0 Black Magic KLT pattern. The good thing about these hooks is the hook-up rate doesn’t change whether you’re getting harassed by small school class mulloway or hooked-up to a 30kg monster. For squid I use another the Black Magic C-Point suicide pattern in 6/0-8/0, depending on bait size. While the paternoster rig is popular for this type of

of the rod. Reels can be either spin or over head suited to hold around 300m of 30lb braid. Mulloway are not typically dirty fighters, especially when fishing straight up and down in deep water, so there is no need to go any heavier then 30lb braid. I’ve been using the Black Magic rainbow braid for both my personal and charter boat work and I find it to be the best stuff I’ve come across. It’s colour coded, which lets you know exactly where your bait is situated in the water column. While most of the time the rule of thumb is to drop your bait down to hit the bottom and then wind up a metre or two, sometimes you will spot markings on your sounder higher up in the water column. These can often be feeding mulloway attacking bait balls and this is where the colour coded line can come in handy, as you know exactly how much you’ve dropped down or wound up.

A deep water estuary mulloway about to be brought onboard.

Three large mulloway show up well on the sounder, so it pays to have a look around in various spots before you commit to fishing there. estuary system you’re fishing. They are the darkest, quietest places in the system, which has a lot to do with why mulloway often lurk in them, especially during daylight hours. They offer not only refuge from the disco going on above but also a place holding plenty of food. This is particularly the case on those holes with steep sudden drops, as the tidal flow going over the top of these

Because of depth and tidal flow, lure fishing in theses parts can be difficult, so the best way is to drift right on the slack water period tea-bagging large plastics on 1oz jigheads. However, the best way to fish here is to live bait using slimy mackerel, yellowtail, pike tailor or freshly caught whole squid. For live baiting, a single large circle hook pinned just behind the fish’s shoulder will give the best hook-up rate. By far the best circle

fishing, I prefer a heavy duty swivel with a large no. 8 barrel sinker above it. Between the swivel and the hook I run a short length of 40lb Black Magic fluorocarbon leader. I find with the abrasion resistance this leader has I don’t need to go heavier, even on jumbo class mulloway. For mulloway outfits, I would go with something around 7ft rated to around 15kg with a forgiving tip that quickly locks up in the bottom two thirds

The KLT hook has a good hook-up rate for deep water mulloway.

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The month for mulloway THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

June marks the start of winter and although based on the unseasonably warm water through April and May, I’d say

Hawkesbury River or Sydney Harbour Specialised Charters!

June will still produce some quality catches from the Hawkesbury. Easter produced some stunning weather with foggy mornings, giving way to the glassed out blue sky conditions and mid-twenties air temps for weeks on end. I had a

Big Fish Light Line!

great time guiding through autumn, getting my clients onto some stunning fish in the stable weather, setting new boat records and getting a bunch of firsts and new personal bests. The standout capture was a monster 170cm mulloway caught by regular customer Joe Messina. It was fooled by a live yakka on a snelled pair of 4/0 Gamakatsu octopus hooks with 30lb trace. Joe managed to knock this fish over in 25 minutes on 30lb tackle and chose to release his trophy fish for another lucky angler to have the chance to catch this fish of a lifetime.

Joe Messina’s monster 170cm mulloway caught on Sydney Sportfishing Adventures, which was carefully released after a quick photo. Mulloway will be high on the hit list this month, with lures the standout

to make the run north to spawn, especially if we receive a good dump of rain. They are still a viable target from Spencer to Broken Bay through the cooler months, but anglers will have to fish deeper with small soft plastics and blades. I find the fish hang in the 6-8m mark,

while presenting lightly weighted baits. Prawns or strips of flesh such as salted bonito or slimy will work well down the trail on light line (weight should only be added if necessary). I like to use a 1/0 bait keeper or 2/0 octopus pattern hook and 10lb fluorocarbon leader.

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Royce, 14yo, with his new PB mulloway caught on a live bait 10 minutes before the tide change.

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technique as live baits become hard to come by. You will still find yakkas at West Head, the moorings in and around Cowan Creek and schooled deep along Barrenjoey Headland. Tailor can be trolled for from the washes or found busting up under diving birds. Pike and squid can be found on the ribbon grass beds at Mackerel and Palm beaches. All of these make great live baits for big mulloway as they feed up for winter. Bream have been widespread lately but they should start to school up in the lower reaches and start

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Big bream are a welcome by-catch while throwing lures for mulloway in June. which can test your patience. Adding scent to your offering will help with short strikes from lethargic fish. Alternatively, those who prefer fishing with bait can set up along one of the many rock walls around Broken Bay and put out a steady stream of berley

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Flathead will still be about for those casting lures around the whitebait schools in Broken Bay.

These same areas should be starting to hold some good schools of luderick, and I love nothing more than cocking a float and drifting it along some structure for these hard-fighting powerhouses. I prefer using cabbage weed in the lower reaches, which is abundant on most east facing rocky shores. Flathead will still be biting around the lower reaches from Gunderman to Broken Bay. The better bite will be around Broken Bay with the warmer water and the abundant whitebait schools that show up at this time of year. Keep an eye out for diving terns (even just a single bird as they love a feed of whitebait too). They will lead you straight to an area holding the bait, and once found it’s just a matter of searching the general area with a soft vibe, blade or my preferred lure – a 3” minnow on a 1/8oz to ¼oz jighead in order to locate an active patch of flatties. There will usually be a few tailor hanging in these same areas as well as small mulloway and the occasional bream.

Tucking into a winter smorgasbord of species OFFSHORE Although there are still tuna around offshore, the main crowd has been targeting the delicious deep-water ooglies, which are available

SYDNEY NORTH

Alex Qasabian

While the current begins to slow and temperatures drop on our shores it provides anglers with a new smorgasbord of species – especially some of our tastiest! The ever so popular sport of squid fishing is going off like a frog in a sock. At this time of year the squid, especially the main target of southern calamari, are all big and aggressive. With the size of these animals you usually do not need to waste time and effort with small jigs, as I like to use at least 2.5” jigs and go up to the biggest available when I go off the stones working deeper areas. Snapper season means the quality reds start to roll into the reefs and while the guys inshore are doing well, some of our harbour charter operators and customers have seen some of the best reds caught inside in a long time (see the picture from Craig Mcgill inside Middle Harbour). We have had a few encounters with some big angry kings at this time of year so don’t be surprised

Yellowfin tuna are on offer for those who want to venture wide, this one caught from boat Malekula. when a fat king eats your bait intended for a red! There have also been some

Ross Hutton with a solid blue eye trevalla. These fish are fantastic eating and are worth the effort of dropping jigs into the depths.

lovely pan-size snapper off our stones, and along with the squid mentioned earlier you could also expect to run into a rampaging tailor or salmon. I find fishing the washes with a lightly weighted pilchard/squid gives me the best chance to run into snapper, tailor, salmon or even winter king and bonito. Some of the more adventurous anglers will throw plastics, and they do work for those willing to put in the time and effort! DRUMMER AND BLACKFISH This is the perfect time to start targeting the hard-fighting drummer and blackfish too as they start to make a bit more of a generous appearance. Targeting blackfish on weed flies was a huge hit for the shop last year. Using a fly takes the pain out of finding quality green weed, and it always adds to the excitement when you trick a fish into eating an artificial presentation. You can either fish the weed fly under a float or with a traditional fly outfit; both approaches have been producing results. R emembe r that cleats are recommended and lifejackets are now compulsory, with many anglers reporting that they have been warned by Fisheries to wear a lifejacket. Anglers are now required to wear PFDs on all northern beaches and eastern suburb beaches.

on our underwater sea mounts. Browns Mountain has been producing a healthy amount of blue eye cod, gemfish and bass grouper. Squid and flesh baits are dynamite,

but for the daring there is the opportunity to jig up some of these fish from the huge depths, which is much more enjoyable than watching a rod tip bounce!

Quality snapper caught by a young angler from Middle Harbour.

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Fresh bait and berley is key SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the past few months the Port Hacking has been very clear, making it harder to fish than usual. Hopefully we’ll have a bit of rain to stir things up for the month.

In saying that there are plenty of fish about in the southern Sydney area. You just have to work a bit harder during June to put a bag together. This means you need to make sure that your gear has been serviced, lines have been checked, hooks are not rusty, frozen baits are in prime condition and you have checked out

the tides and weather for your next trip. Inside the Port Hacking River there will be luderick schooling up along the edge of the weed beds at the entrance to North-West Arm, the fish trap upstream of Swallow Rock Drive, Lilly Pilly baths, Deer Park and the old Fisheries corner. You will need to make sure that

If you are into targeting bream with lures, try using black Pro Lures and Atomics in shallow, mid and deep diving depth sizes over the flats and along the rocky edges.

JUNE 2019

you berley and have fresh weed to get the best results. The rocky shorelines and reefs that are found throughout the area will be holding plenty of yellowfin, six-spined and very small chinaman-leatherjackets. The best rig that I have found is the single hook paternoster and a rod that either has a very fast or slow taper. This will allow you to feel the bites much more easily. The hook size should be from a size 6 to 10 and the bait should only be enough to fit in the bend of the hook. If you’re after a few bream I would try working the rocky shorelines, shallow weed beds and pontoons with black hardbodied lures. Or you could try lightly weighted soft plastics like the ZMan 2.5” GrubZ or Berkley 2” Shrimps. As for the speed of the hardbodied lures, I would wind them as slow as possible and with the plastics I would fish them like when you are using baits. The deeper areas in Gymea, Yowie, Burraneer and Gunnamatta would be worth a shot for snapper. Use your sounder to locate the bait schools, then anchor

Snapper are schooling up over the close and wide reefs from Kurnell to Stanwell Park. It’s just a matter of getting good conditions to fish offshore. up and have a slow berley trail of smashed up pilchards going out the back. Then use half pilchards on 2/0 to 4/0 circle hooks with a number 2 or 3 ball sinker. Cast out and set the rod in the rod holder

and wait for the snapper to take off with it. There should be a few larger whiting patrolling the drop-offs and sand flats. Beach worms and pink nippers would be the best

baits. You could also try using small strips of freshly caught squid. The fishing off the beaches in Bate Bay should be producing dart, bream, whiting, tailor and the odd salmon or two. You could also try Marley, Wattamolla and Garie Beaches in the Royal National Park on a rising tide. At night I would try for tailor and mulloway off Stanwell Park Beach –

would be worth a shot off the north end of Garie Beach, South Era, Burning Palms, the southern end of Stanwell Park and the rock platform at Coal Cliff. The best baits would be peeled prawns, half pilchards, bread, cunje, squid and tuna. Berley will be a must to get the best results. Just recently I got the chance to fish for a couple of hours off the rocks at

months you will need to beef up your gear, as there are plenty of drummer that feed in the area. While I was there, I checked out a few other anglers who were fishing off the front of the point. They had managed a couple of small salmon and tailor on whole ganged pilchards. There was one other angler who was trying to get a few squid for kingfish bait, but

Luderick will be schooling up off the rocks and inside the Port Hacking. Getting the weed may be the hardest part of achieving a successful outing. especially either side of the full or new moon. Offshore the close reefs would be worth a shot for snapper, morwong, pigfish, sweep and trevally. If you don’t like anchoring up try drifting while using a double hook paternoster rig with half pillies, squid or large prawns for bait. The washes from Jibbon and down to the Sea Cliff Bridge would be worth trolling for tailor, salmon, bonito and the odd kingfish. Rapala CD 7’s and 9’s would be worth a shot or you could try using sinking stickbaits. Drummer, luderick, t r e v a l l y, bream, leatherjackets and tailor

the southern end of Coalcliff Point. My timing was pretty good as the seas had not yet come and it was raining. I started off fishing the southern end of the beach, as there was a small amount of white water foaming up in the corner. Bream, drummer and a wrasse took peeled prawns. I was using my Alvey side cast on a Bruce Alvey Special rod, and the rig that I was using was a small number one ball sinker that slid down onto the top of the bait. You could try using a paternoster rig with pink nippers, peeled prawns, cunje, abalone or chicken gut on a rising and falling tide. During the winter

was not having any luck. He did manage to get bitten off by a big tailor. As this is a very low rock platform you will need to take real care when fishing off here. This is an extremely dangerous spot to fish in moderate to heavy seas. It would be much better to fish from the beach in front of the surf club as there is a reef there that holds bream and drummer during autumn. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

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power-pole.com.au I had the chance to get Bill Lyons out on the Port Hacking for a session on bream and trevally while using peeled Hawkesbury River prawns and berleying with chicken pellets.

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Making the most of the variety in the bay BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Over the last ten years of fishing in Botany Bay I have noticed that there are times when the fishing can be very hard during June and the following few months. This is when you have to start going that extra mile to get yourself a feed of fish. It may mean that you will have to add that bit

extra smell to your berley. For example, I mainly use dried chicken pellets; try adding a few smashed up old pilchards or prawns that you have in your freezer. Downsizing your hook could be the way to go when is comes to targeting bream and trevally and if you are not using fluorocarbon leader you should give it ago. Or try anchoring instead of drifting all the time. If you don’t know how to anchor check ‘Anchoring

Bream will be around in numbers in the bay, beaches and rocks. Just remember to move around if you first don’t find them.

Even though squid are a year-round option you could try getting a few that you could store in your freezer for later in the year.

Basics’ from Pure Fishing on YouTube – I did this a few years back on a variety of anchoring techniques. If you find that all of the above hasn’t worked you should try moving about a bit. It may only be a move of 50m or so. If you only fish from the shore and your usual spots are not producing, again try moving about. This is where I will only have a shoulder bag with a tackle box with filled small plastics, a pair of pliers, a knife, spool of leader and some bait. The three main species that you will find fairly active during June will be bream, squid and trevally. Sure, you can often catch tailor, salmon, whiting, leatherjackets and the odd kingfish or two. But if I was going to fish in the bay from a boat or off the shore, I

would target squid, bream and trevally. Places to try would be the end of the first and third runways, trevally alley, the NSW Fisheries marks in

Yarra Bay, the outside marker of Bare Island, Sutherland Point, the groynes along Silver Beach and Dolls Point, the patches and Towra wide. For the shore-based angler you could try Frenchman’s beach, the entrance to the Cooks River, the beach from Brighton to Dolls Point, Silver Beach at Kurnell and the Captain Cooks Bridge. Further up the Georges River bream, mullet, flathead, flounder and garfish can be caught at Lugarno, Picnic Point, The Georges River State Park, Cattle Duffers and at the base of the Milperra Bridge. Try using pink nippers, tubeworms, peeled prawns and strips of mullet and chicken breast for bait. On the northern side of the bay the rocks have been producing drummer, luderick, trevally and bream on a rising tide. The rocks off Kurnell are worth a shot for bream, trevally, snapper, drummer, luderick, tailor and salmon. Remember to berley and fish as light as the conditions will allow. If you prefer to fish off the beaches you could try Bondi for whiting, bream

and tailor, Tamarama for whiting, Bronte for whiting and bream, Coogee and Maroubra for whiting, bream, salmon and tailor, Maroubra and Coogee on the north side of the bay for whiting, bream and a few dart. Beach and tubeworms, half pilchards, squid, mullet and pink nippers would be the pick of the baits. A few reports have been coming in from those fishing offshore of snapper, morwong, leatherjackets, sweep, trevally, blue spot and tiger flathead, which have all been caught in 30m off Wedding Cake Island, Maroubra and Cape Banks. Pilchards, strips of squid and mullet are getting the best results. Try trolling the washes for tailor, salmon, bonito and the odd kingfish with metals and deep diving lures. You could also try slow trolling dead or live squid at 3-5 knots. Don’t forget to keep those reports and photos coming in! If you have anything to report or have a picture of your latest catch just email it to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Robert Kneeshaw with a nice kingy that was caught while working the patches off Towra with soft plastics.

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Daniel Hutchinson with cracking longtail caught on a recent outing. Image courtesy of Shannon Malone.

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These runabouts have been fitted with a long list of standard features including 3mm topsides, rubber gunnels and fully welded side decks. Boaters can also option up with a functional flat panel dash with a lip and a step through recess for ease of access. Step through dash and flat dash standard on 429 and 449 seamasters. Walkthrough standard on 469 and above. Take this model as it comes, or option up with a re-designed transom door and Roswell wake towers to allow for a range of activities such as skiing and tube riding. If you are one for simple pleasures however, the 539 Wild Rising is also ideal for fishing and cruising. Roswell waketower only available on 589 and 619 wildrider.

Disclaimer: *Repayment amount shown is the weekly equivalent of a monthly instalment of (A) $161.00 (B) $95.00 (C) $210.00 to purchase a (A) Stacer 499 Crossfire S.C + Yamaha F75, Avenger Sports (B) Stacer 429 Sea Master + F40 Yamaha (C) Stacer 539 Wild Rider + F115 Yamaha at a drive away price of (A) $37,880 (B) $22,174 (C) $49,625. It is indicative only and is calculated based on an interest rate of 10.15% p.a. (comparison rate 10.72% p.a.), and 60 monthly instalments and an application fee of $395 after a 20% deposit is paid. Interest rate used is based on an average individual credit rating and meeting mandatory credit criteria. Repayments and interest rate may vary depending on your individual circumstances, financial position, credit rating, information provided, loan amount and loan term. Offer available to private buyers only while stocks last. Comparison rate is based on a 5 year secured fixed rate consumer loan of $30,000. WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Credit criteria, fees, charges, terms and conditions apply. Yamaha Motor Finance Australia Pty. Ltd. ABN 29 101 928 670. Australian Credit Licence 394553.

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Winter’s not so bad PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

With the colder water and weather moving in, quite often water sports and catching fish seem to be the last thing on people’s

minds. But those who are prepared to chuck on an extra jumper, grab some wet weather gear and get out on the ocean will reap the rewards, which are there for those willing to try. Along Pittwater, Broken Bay, Cowan Creek and the Hawkesbury River we

see an increase in the cold water species such as tailor, salmon and trevally – all of which can be seen feeding on the surface at different times. First light is often the best time to find the species happily feeding around the Broken Bay area. Tailor will feed on a multitude of baits

When the school is found, it’s found for everyone.

Benn with his first ever mulloway. What a beast!

as well as lures, but quite often the most effective lure is your plain metal lures in the 10-15g sizes. When tailor and salmon are feeding on the surface it’s best to use a stealthy approach and approach the working school of fish from up wind so you cast with the wind. With motors turned off, more often than not the school of fish will

work their way toward you and make it easy to catch a lot more fish. It can be hard to drag your focus away from the surface feeding frenzy, and pause for a minute to try something different. For those of you who are willing to drop baits or let your lures sink towards the bottom, there are other fish to be caught as well.

Around the schools of salmon and tailor at this time of year, we often find other species deeper in the water column. Not only are there sharks but sometimes you will run into mulloway, a decent king, flathead or bream. The bottom dwelling species are there for the easy feed of the injured baitfish that will float down the water

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column towards the bottom. If you are going to try to pick up some bottom dwelling species don’t forget your humble pilchard, as it will quite often surprise you in what will eat it. Back in Pittwater, at the mouth of the river, there will be some flounder, bream and flathead, which are often caught while drifting. Although if you anchor towards Shark Rock and set out a berley trail on the run out tide quite a few fish can be encountered. On the opposite side of Pittwater towards West Head we have our bait grounds where we catch yellowtail and

efforts will be rewarded while downrigging. Each winter we see big kingfish cruising around the edges of the weed beds in the shallows, and this will be the best place to start when downrigging for kings in winter. For those wanting to target some squid they are big at this time of the year. Some of these larger squid will surprise you as they grow quite large in a very short period of time and are quite aggressive. We are quite often told that they are very fast growers and reach their maximum size in only one or two years. We do see quite a lot of these larger

a fluoro colour of orange or fluoro pink to see if your luck changes. The better sizes to use are the 2.5g jigs. Along our coasts and the deeper water reefs there are some decent fish to tangle with. If you can start before the sun rises, anchor up and berley, snapper will normally respond very well and put a few smiles on faces. The shallower grounds will be harder to fish as the sun gets higher in the sky. Floating baits amongst the berley trail will also see other fish being caught such as tailor, salmon, bream, bonito and kingfish. The deeper water reefs

Kingfish like this one are still around Broken Bay, taking anything from plastics to live squid. slimy mackerel as well as squid. These bait grounds will attract predators and are another great area to throw out the anchor, berley up and use light line to tangle with some big winter bream. For those of you that are like me and love chasing kingfish, the season doesn’t have to end. Each year we are left with some big kingfish in Pittwater during winter but they do require a fair bit of patience to tangle with them. Not only do you have to have some patience but you also have to gather the correct baits to entice a strike from a kingfish. The better baits to use at this time of year are small live cuttlefish. These little ink machines are generally caught amongst the rocky areas along Pittwater. Small squid jigs of 2g or less are required, and you must keep the jigs close towards the bottom to have any chance of catching them. Locating these little kingfish candies can be quite a task but your

squid come from the areas such as Mackerel Beach, Careel Bay and Towlers Bay. To target these larger squid you only need 15 or 20 minutes in each area to see if they are around as they are very aggressive predators when they get to the larger sizes. The ribbon weed beds are the most popular areas with squid along Pittwater but if you can poke your head around the corner at Barrenjoey Headland on the ocean side, good numbers of squid can be caught amongst the kelp. When fishing the ocean side of Barrenjoey Headland use a twisted paternoster rig with two squid jigs attached and you will be surprised how often you will bring them in at two at a time. Experiment with the colours of the jigs, but the natural type of colours will often work the best at this time of year, such as browns, greens, and blue. If you have done a few drifts and have not been able to locate any, try

will not only have all the above species but you can also catch teraglin and trevally. The better baits have been your humble pilchard in recent times, but fresh caught squid will also see quite a few fish being caught. Over the sand in depths of around 70m, bluespot flathead have been a great way to get some extra fish before heading home. These bucket mouth bottom dwellers will take a variety of baits and are a lot of fun to catch when using 120g micro jigs or soft plastics with heavy jigheads. As you can see, even though the weather is a little bit colder than we all would prefer, it’s certainly worthwhile getting out on the water and enjoying our wonderful part of the coast. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www.estuaryfishingcharters. com.au JUNE 2019

Locals bagging bonus big bream by-catch SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

I was speaking to a client recently who said that now is rock blackfish time, and that he would like to target them. I mentioned that it’s true to an extent that winter is the prime time, but explained that you can certainly catch them at other times of the year. Back in the days when I was a club competition angler,

Lures like the Rapala Skitterpop in the CH and HP colours are working well, and another great popper is the Jet Popper. These are medium size poppers, and get better results than the bigger 180mm+ size poppers which don’t catch as many smaller pelagics or kings. The 180mm Pop Pro is better if you’re specifically targeting larger kings, and there are even larger poppers and stickbaits that work well too. The deeper headlands like The Hat and Bluefish

Peeled prawns, preferably larger ones like Endeavour or banana prawns, are better for a few reasons. You can use the bait as part of the casting weight, you will find that they last longer because they are a firmer prawn when peeled. When you’re using white sliced bread baits, it’s important to also use bread berley. Wet the bread in a bucket, let it soak for a couple of minutes, and then get your hands in there and start mushing up the bread. You want a well-presented bread bait which matches the berley. For bream and snapper you can add fish baits, such as like half to three quarter pilchards, fish fillet like tailor, or tuna species cut into strips when wash fishing. Take into account that you will rarely catch rock blackfish on fish baits; you are more targeting snapper, bream and trevally with these baits.

fishing with your gang hook rig and whole pilchard, you will often run into sizeable bream. Catching them on ganged hooks can be more challenging than using a half pilchard on a 2/0 Mustad 92247, which will still catch legal fish and not be too small for a 1kg bream. When you get those more subtle type bites, get rid of the gang hooks and tie on the 2/0 hook mentioned above. You may be pleasantly surprised. Most anglers don’t target whiting at this time of year, but I have caught great bags even in July of these super delectable fish. As it is drawing towards the last month and a half or so of the whiting run, I like to fish some selected beaches. The super crowded but consistent whiting and bream beach, Manly, is a good place to start. Fish from the volleyball court to past the Corso area.

A nice king spun up on a sea gar. You can see the gang hooks for the garfish. Expect kings this month and even next month. The outfit is Daiwa PE-6 Saltist Hyper 2-piece rod, 6500BG reel and 50lb J-Braid.

Southern calamari are running, and some are even larger than this one. This squid took a Daiwa Emeraldas Nude in size 3.5. I would fish for species that were perceived to be out of season. Other anglers at the weigh-in were amazed that I was catching rock blackfish in January, and kings in July. My point is, in June you don’t have to stop fishing for kings off the rocks or in the deeper estuaries, or snapper off the rocks. This month can be a cracker month for these species. Just keep a close eye on the water temperature, and keep an eye on the comparisons like the temperature in the harbour compared to the ocean rocks. The air temperature may be freezing, but that doesn’t always mean the water temperature is too cold for your quarry. ROCK FISHING Fishing the ocean rocks of late has resulted in a few kings, salmon and chunky tailor for anglers spinning lures and gars. Live baiting for kings is working well too, with the medium size live yellowtail working the best if you’re using live bait suspended under a float a few metres. Take into account that you will get more king bites from smaller fish in that 60-75cm range. 24

JUNE 2019

Point, both at Manly, as well as North Curl Curl and North Whale Southeast point are all producing kings, salmon and tailor. It’s big bream time! We’ve been having some outings with stonker size bream to 1.3kg, getting multiple big fish a session. Try

fishing the deeper headlands, shallower rock flats which flood at high tide, and beach to rock corners, as they are all producing quality bream. While breaming in the washes, some anglers are also picking up snapper to 40cm. Little Bluey at Manly, North Curl Curl, and Long Reef on the mid to high tide period (fish the shallow rock flats that are flooded up to only waist deep or slightly more). If you don’t mind a lengthy walk, try Barrenjoey Headland. The point is approximately half an hour or so from the car park, and you can add another 20 minutes from the front point to the north-northwest section of the headland. The rock blackfish and luderick fishing is also

quite good at Barrenjoey. Take into account that it is a dangerous headland to fish in a swell above 1m, and very exposed. You can also fish North Whale rocks, Mona Vale headland (only in flat conditions), North Narrabeen headland (only in flat conditions) and of course Long Reef. Long Reef also produces quite good pig fishing. You can fish here in a sizeable swell, just be prepared to get really wet. You can expect a variety of fish when fishing for this species. Bream, trevally, luderick and at times groper will pick up your prawn bait. When using bread for bait you will not catch groper as a by-catch, as they almost exclusively feed on crustaceans.

On this outing, several big bream to 43cm were caught. Billy Zhang released all of his big fish and only kept bream under 30cm. Good on him for doing that.

The first fishing trip ever for Adriana Adamo, and what better way to start than with a beach fishing session. BEACH FISHING We’ve had great run of sizeable tailor of late. Although there is a run around dawn and dusk, you may have to fish well after dark for the better fish. On some of the beaches the run during the twilight periods are often in that chopper size, from half to three quarters of a kilo. In the evening, well in to the dark period, the tailor are averaging well over 1kg on some of the beaches. The later evening high tides are producing the better quality tailor, but if the seas are flat enough you can fish to the half run-out in the deeper gutters. Salmon up to 65cm are also picking up the ganged pilchard baits and surf poppers. And as a bonus, when you’re tailor/salmon

Another good beach is Dee Why, the last 300m of beach from just north of the surf club to the rock corner approximately 80m southeast of the stormwater pipe. Also definitely worth a go is South Palm Beach, from the nicknamed Black Rocks to the swimming pool section of beach. June is still a good month for mulloway as well. The dusky and bronze whaler sharks are in fewer numbers. Some of the best locations are Manly/Queenscliff, Dee Why and North Narrabeen. • For rock and beach guided fishing or tuition in the northern Sydney region, visit www.bellissimocharters. com.au, email alex@ bellissimocharters.com.au or call Alex Bellissimo on 0408 283 616.

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Tech Tricks

Catch some tailor with your ganged flasher rig BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

With the tailor season well and truly upon us, I thought I would show you how simple it is to make your own ganged hook flasher rigs. This combination of bait, and artificial material to give it some more action and appeal, goes back a long way. I remember watching Mal Florence videos back in the ‘70s and ‘80s where he would drop baits on

a bucktail jig over the reef. Mal was one of the pioneers of sportfishing in this country at the time and fished baits like this because it gave the bait some increased appeal and movement. Additionally, it gave him a better chance of landing a big coral trout or cod after the pickers had been attacking the bait profusely and decimated it. Addition of materials to the hook helps the bait look more lifelike because flash material wafts and reflects light enticingly. The splash of

colour also helps the bait to be noticed and initially makes it standout in the marine environment. Many materials even have glow in the dark or UV properties that help it standout in low light conditions or enhance the lifelike appeal under natural UV light. For anglers targeting tailor on ganged hook flasher rigs, the addition of the material also doubles your chances. If you miss the strike and your pilchard is ripped off the hooks, you still have a chance of hooking it or its mates as

you crank in your baitless rig. The ganged hook flasher rig now acts like

a lure or fly and tailor will slash at it as it goes through the water. Let’s

have a look at making some tricked up tailor rigs for yourself.

Hooks for your ganged rigs can be a personal choice, however, I like the VMC 9255 (as used here), Tru Turn 711 and the Gamakatsu Straight-Eye ganging hooks. There are quite a few other options including the Mustad 4202D and 4200D and VMC 8755. I have found the Shogun Rolling Swivels to be reliable and readily available, although you may prefer to use another type or brand. Your main concerns should be that it is strong enough for the task and has an eyelet large enough to go over the shank yet small enough so it can’t pass over the hook barb. Check out the chart for some hook to swivel size recommendations.

You will not need a lot of materials to complete this task. Some thread (preferably flat-waxed nylon) and bobbin will make the task a lot easier. Side cutters or similar will be required to open the hook eyes and scissors plus a selection of streamer materials. Some form of fly tying head cement or other glue is desirable to increase longevity for these rigs. Hooks and relevant sized swivels will depend on the bait choice and preference.

If you visit your local fly tying supplier you will notice a huge array of flash and streamer materials available. While most of these look enticing, not all are desirable for this application. Many are too crinkled, tangling easily and subsequently meshing with the hook points or tangling around the leader. Slightly stiffer, straight materials such as Krystal Flash, Fish Scale, Streamer Hair, Flashabou and Firetail are some of the better options. Firetail is by far the toughest and stiffest of these and is made locally by Platypus Lines. 26

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Use your sidecutters to open the hook eye by positioning the jaws over the gap where the eye turns back around to meet the shank. Squeeze down firmly with your pliers and then lever your hand outwards to pry open the eye just enough so that the swivel can be put onto the shank.

For a basic three-hook ganged-rig, open the eye of all three hooks and place a swivel on the shank of only two of them. When making longer rigs all hooks will have a swivel on them except one, which will be the tail hook in the rig.

Tech Tricks

Having a fly vice to hold your hook will make the task easier, however, you can hold it by hand with a pair of locking pliers or in a vice. For this rig we will attach the flash to the leading hook (one of the ones with a swivel on it). Attach the thread with a basic knot or by overwrapping the tag end roughly halfway along the shank. Cut a dozen or more strands of Krystal Flash that are roughly as long as two of your hooks and affix at this point with a series of thread wraps. Having a bobbin will aid in this task but is not essential. Do a couple of half hitches of thread around the hook shank with the thread.

Your completed rig will look somewhat like this. The combination of material type and the colour of it is not imperative â&#x20AC;&#x201C; you can assemble any combination that you like. As flash materials give the impression of volume, you do not need to use a massive amount to create great effect.

Next, cut a portion of another material. This time I am using a pink glow-in-the-dark Flashabou and will cut a good portion around three hook lengths long. Having the strands staggered in length will create greater movement in the fibres. Other colours can be added if you like, you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to limit it to two.

Another option when making these rigs is to use a shorter length and decorate every hook or every second hook. This is a better option in turbulent water as it eliminates tangling of the material around the leader or hook points.

Do several half hitches of thread around the hook shank and then trim away the remaining tag end. I finish the tie in point by adding some head cement (a fly tying adhesive) but you can coat the thread in any decent glue that prevents the whole lot unwrapping if one strand of thread gets nicked by a tooth.

Then assemble your rig by linking the hooks with the swivels. Use a sturdy pair of pliers to close the eyes of the two lower hooks over the swivels and also the front hook where the leader will be tied.

When inserted into the bait, the ganged hook flasher rig really adds some appeal. Popular offerings for those chasing tailor will include pilchards, garfish and bonito strips and all can be fished on the ganged hook flasher rig. While these rigs are not imperative for success, they can be an advantage in many situations. Many anglers swear by their effectiveness. JUNE 2019

Knot knowledge 102 NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

The two most important keys to successful fishing are a strong knot and a sharp hook. Here’s how to make sure every knot you tie is as secure as you can possibly make it. Last month in this column, I stressed the importance of tying strong, reliable knots, and explained that most knot failures occur for two reasons. Firstly, knots will let go if they slip under load. Secondly, those critical connections can fail if one strand of line cuts across another within the knot. In this concluding instalment of my two part examination of good knot tying practices, I want to focus on what makes a strong knot, and set out some simple knot tying habits that should dramatically reduce your incidence of mystery bust-offs and lost fish. Any good knot — whether it’s tied in a multifilament line like braid, or a single strand such as nylon or fluorocarbon — must have sufficient turns or wraps to prevent slippage, and also to help spread the strain. The very best connections work like mini shock absorbers

When you’re hooked up tight to a strong fish, the last thing you need to be worrying about is the integrity of your knots!

Crimps may be a better option than knots in really heavy leaders. There are plenty of good knots for attaching hooks, lures and other items of tackle to both braided and single filament lines. Most tend to fall into one of two distinct knot ‘families’ or systems, being based on either the Blood Knot or the Uni Knot (also called a Clinch Knot in some literature). These two core systems are well covered on the internet and in most

into the realm of specialised connections. This is where knots like the Albright, Slim Beauty, Duck Nose and FG really come into their own. Again, you’ll find all of these demonstrated on-line if you simply type their names into a search engine. Regardless of the knots you choose to use, it’s important to practice them and to have absolute

Even relatively small fish will quickly show up poor knots — especially hard fighters like this skipjack or striped tuna. or springs. Reliable knots also steer well clear of incorporating single strands crossing each other at acute angles, especially at that part of the knot where load levels will peak under strain (this is why an overhand or Granny Knot is so weak). It’s fascinating to watch any knot under extreme load through a magnifying lens. Even well tied-knots tend to slip or creep marginally as they tighten and elongate under intense strain. The best connections tend to be those that change appearance the least under stress. Those are usually knots with multiple turns or wraps that have been correctly tightened and firmly snugged down before use. 28

JUNE 2019

how-to books. Both basic knots also form the basis of strong connections for joining two strands of line together, especially when those strands are fairly similar in thickness (the Full Blood and the Double Uni). Things become a little more complex when joining lines with radically different diameters and characteristics, as is often the case when connecting nylon or fluorocarbon monofilament leaders to braided main lines. Throw in the need for such critical connections to belt smoothly in a out through a set of rod runners hundreds of times a day (often at high speed or under load) and it’s obvious that we’re moving

confidence in all your connections. It’s also vital to follow a handful of simple rules whenever tying knots. RULE 1 Thoroughly lubricate every knot before pulling it tight. You can use water, various oils or other lubricants, but good old-fashioned saliva is just as effective, and always handy! Simply lick or spit on the turns of line as you draw the knot tight. This greatly reduces friction as the knot tightens, saving the line from potential damage. RULE 2 Give yourself plenty of line to work with. Trying to tie a knot with a limited length of line or leader cramps your style and can lead to skipping wraps or turns, as well as ending up with a tag that’s too short and may slip during the tightening/testing phase… or on a fish! RULE 3 Tighten the knot with slow, steady pressure (after lubricating it with saliva, of course). Make sure all of the turns and wraps snug down firmly and neatly. With some knots, it can pay to pull on the tag end as well as the main line, but the greatest pressure should always be applied to the main line. RULE 4 Once the knot is snugged down, give it a serious test by

Every knot needs to be well tied and properly tightened when you hook a decent fish. The author pulled this snapper from reefy offshore waters on a Lucanus octa-jig. really pulling on it. If a knot’s going to fail, now’s the time to find out! Only after this testing process should you

When you’re deep-dropping heavy, complicated and expensive rigs beyond the edge of the continental shelf, you need to know that all your knots are trustworthy!

trim the tag end of the knot. Even then, leave at least a couple of millimetres of tag for safety on most knots (this may not be practical on linejoining connections). RULE 5 Every now and then, test one of your knots to destruction. In other words, keep pulling until it breaks! Doing this teaches us a lot about the real strength (or weakness) of our knots. Destruction testing of different knots is an interesting and highly illuminating activity for a rainy or blown-out day, and it’s something not enough anglers do. If you use proven knots, are able to tie them well under all conditions and follow the five simple rules above, I guarantee you’ll have less ‘one that got away’ stories to tell in future years. Tight lines (and knots)!

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Slowing currents bring new species up the coast THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

As the currents come to a grinding halt, the gentle giants are slowly make their way up the coast, and this means one thing, snapper time!

even trolled deep diving small hardbodies will see good hauls of mixed reefies. I recommend a downrigger for trolling hardbodies, and you want to run your lures about 1-3m off bottom. It just depends on the ground you’re trolling and how much it varies.

Andy Dutton holds up young Sonny Dutton’s monster Tweed flathead. It was nearly as big as Sonny! Lots of mixed reefies are moving in on close reefs to feed up on the schools of bait. Cobia are slowly trailing behind the migrating whales, often feeding on the afterbirth of new born calves, scraps from the feeding whales, faecal matter and any small fish that lose their way. Mulloway will start sitting on close reefs, isolated wrecks and bommies, and they are also schooling up in the rivers. Rock walls and deep holes are the go for a nice soapy. Bream are really starting to school up and chew, and the flathead are starting to push up into the skinny water as the cooler waters grace our part of the world. Tailor are starting to run along the beaches and are shadowing the sea mullet on their runs up the coast to their spawning grounds off Fraser Island. OFFSHORE The currents have slowed, the water temperatures have dropped, and whales are starting to swim past our coast. With these gentle giants come the large snapper and mixed reefies. Fishing close reefs out to the 50 fathoms and fishing them with plastics, mirco jigs, drift baits, paternoster rigs, live baits and

All the various tactics are catching fish this month, just be sure to work the right style for the depth you’re fishing. The more finesse the better, and the more finesse you go, the more hook ups you will tend to get. When fishing light, watch out for the larger models, as they will brick you pretty quick. I like to run 1/4-1oz jigheads on plastics on any reefs out to the 36s. For jigs, I like 20-160g slow pitch style jigs on those same reefs, and a small pea sinker for live and

drift baits if bait fishing. Again it all depends on current, wind and depth. Kingies are starting to show up and wreak havoc for anglers. Unweighted live baits and trolled live baits are fishing very well, but remember to bring the heavy gear or you will be faced with disappointment. Packs of tuna are starting to get the bait moving around, so if you want tuna, look for birds diving, bait showering and barrel tuna flying. Metals, stickbaits, poppers and skirts are getting good results. ESTUARY The cooler water is starting to spill into our estuaries and the winter species are following it. Mulloway are starting to school up on most rockwalls around the river mouths and in the deeper holes. Working blades, vibes, plastics, hardbodies and live baits down to these schooling fish will tempt even the fussiest fish into a reaction bite. Live baits of a night in these same areas will work really well. Live pike are the choice for most anglers and are irresistible to most mulloway. The flathead are starting to push up into the skinny water and are in good numbers. Bouncing 2-5” plastics off the bottom in 0.5-3m of water with 1/16-1/4oz jigheads, depending on wind, depth and current, is the preferred method. I like to give them 2-4 jigs before letting them fall back down to the bottom. As the first jig normally kicks the sand up and lifts it into the water column, the second,

third and fourth jigs will get it darting left and right, while also lifting it in the water column. Always allow for your plastics to reach the bottom again. The general rule is 1-3 seconds to fall. Again, this depends on the weight and buoyancy of the plastics you’re using. Blades, vibes, trolled hardbodies, drifted yabbies and whitebait are also catching a few nice flathead. The bream are schooling up and are nearly in plague proportions around the rock walls, holes, filleting stations, jetties, docks, pontoons, trawlers and boat ramps. Basically, anywhere there is any structure and food, the bream will be there. Baits such as mullet gut, mullet strips, whitebait, half pilchards, prawns, yabbies, chicken strips, chicken gut, worms, bread and hot chips are all killer on bream. Most small artificals work well too, but running 4-8lb leaders is a must to get some of these finicky biters to engage. Try crab lures, small plastics, chubby hardbodies, stickbaits, Bent Minnow styles and vibes work well. The odd tailor is starting to show up in the rivers now. At this time of the year they love to sit in current lines and around submerged rocks. Small metals and plastics are getting results, but so is drifting unweighted baits. Smallish 60mm hardbodies trolled over rocks is also deadly on these toothy terrors. BEACHES The beach gutters, headlands and rock walls are

Brandon Wakefield with a giant Tweed flathead taken at night.

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all starting to produce tailor. Dusk and dawn are your best bets at the moment, with metals, stickbaits, poppers, shallow divers and ganged pillies all producing, but the windows are really small. Being on the right rock or in the right gutter is crucial. A few mulloway are starting to push into those deeper gutters to feed up on the annual run of mullet. Live bait such as a mullet, pike, tailor or whole beachworm is the go for a big beach mulloway this month. Fishing the low tide gutters with small plastics and metals is also producing a few nice fish such as, tailor, bream,

Marlee McAndrew managed to find this big sand whiting on a warmer winter day. flathead, whiting and the odd dart. If the artificials aren’t working, try casting a white bait or a half pilly onto the back breakers and allow it to slowly drop into the gutter and you should get results. If bait fishing, try cubing up some pillies then using your foot to grind it into the sand in front of you. This will get a small berley trail washing into the gutter, and this will hold the fish in front of you. If fishing barefoot, keep moving your feet after you crush the pilly, as the beachworms will probably try and have a chew on your toe! Most of the Tweed’s southern beaches have beachworms and pipis, you just need to work the right beach for the right baits, and this means searching. I like to go down a full day before fishing a gutter and see what’s

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there. Once I have done all that I then look at the weather to see if dusk and dawn coincides with a tide change, desirable moon phase or weather pattern. Once all these things are weighed up and sussed out, your catch rates will sky rocket. If that fails, any time is a great time to go fishing! FRESHWATER It’s currently closed season on the bass in rivers, however the bass are schooling up in the dams and impoundments this month. Find the schools and drop your jigspins, spinnerbaits and mirco jigs on their heads for best results. Small 20g jigs, especially slow pitch jigs, are working really

well on schooled up fish in 8-15m of water. Working tree lines will be your best bet for a big fat impoundment bass. As winter tightens its grip on the Tweed, winter species will come into their own. Specialising your tactics to suit the species you are targeting will increase your catch rates. Do the research on what techniques work best on what species you want. If you would like any additional info on anything fishy, the latest techniques and tactics, or just up to date weekly fishing and weather reports, head over to my Facebook page ‘Fishing Fun Gold Coast’ and drop me a line. I’ll be glad to answer any questions. Send us your pictures and we will post them up and add them to the weekly reports! Have fun, stay safe and tight lines!

Shift your focus BALLINA

580

Joe Allan

The fishing offshore from Ballina and Evans has been pretty good lately, although we are coming into a transition period with the warmer water of summer cooling off and the winter currents coming in. There have been decent catches of snapper off the close in reefs like Riordons and also up towards Lennox Point. When the tide isn’t pumping, try fishing with really light jighead rigged soft plastics up on the top of Riordons Reef. A 1/6-1/4oz jighead isn’t too light. The snapper will come off the bottom and hit the plastic on the drop most of the time. As

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Nicole Bower found this cracker flame tail snapper off Evans Head. rigged on three-hook gang rig in 4/0 for best results. If you’re into throwing slugs, try something around 20, 30 or 40g, depending on the size of the swell and run in the tide. The last half hour before the sun sets in the evening

more active. The deeper holes along the town stretch and past the ferry will provide the best chance for a big mulloway, with live mullet being the best bait on either of the slack tides. Most of the bream are still hugging the rock walls,

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Rick Jones shows off a beautiful bar cod caught way out wide. late as May, there were still some good mackerel caught both trolling live baits and also larger hardbody lures, but they have most likely all gone now. The beaches north and south of Ballina have been fishing well over the last month, with good reports of tailor, whiting, bream and dart being caught. Try fresh baits like blue pilchards

is really the perfect time to be trying this, and there have been quality numbers caught in this short period. The flathead have been pushing up past the ferry and into the lower reaches of Emigrant Creek, although this time of year isn’t the time the big girls come out to play. You will get some nice fish as by-catch, however, as the mulloway start to become

Harrison Clements scored some quality bass from the upper reaches of the Richmond River before the bass season closed.

but the odd one is out on some of the sand flats during the run-in tides. There do seem to be some good quality fish among them, and with the water starting to drop in temperature, the big snowies, as they’re known around here, can’t be far off. Fresh prawns and nippers can be really productive for these guys, and can be fun for kids. You are always pretty much guaranteed to catch some nice fish with fresh baits and quality hooks. If you’re into lure fishing, give small crankbaits a go and get them tight into the rocks. With light line, these fish can give you some stick and provide some great sport. The run-in tide has also produced some luderick along the walls on cabbage during the incoming tide and peeled prawns or yabbies on the run-out. If you can find any weed flies it’s worth giving them a crack too, either under a float or fished on a very light weight like you would float an unweighted soft plastic down a wall. A lot of old timers will swear by long soft rods for this type of fishing, which are tried and tested. Don’t be afraid to give your normal bream rods a go though; they don’t have the same reach when landing a fish on the rock, but they still work just fine.

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Some fantastic offshore fishing in winter YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Winter has arrived once again, and with it comes those cold mornings with

the predominant southwest wind blowing off the top of the frosts up in the tablelands. The cold and I are not good friends. I hate being cold, but winter fishing is

just so good that it almost takes your mind off the fact that you can’t feel eight out of your 10 fingers. It’s time to target snapper this month, and an early start in the very shallow water is

Andrew Symons from Emmaville with a big 16.2kg wahoo.

the preferred approach for us. The southern grounds all the way from One-Man to Brooms Head are where you will find some nice fish. Around 8-12m of water on the edge of the kelp will be a good start, and if the breeze is light you should drift over the ground with two or three floaters out the back on very light drags. A lot of the time the cold morning wind will be fairly stiff for the first hour or so of daylight, so anchor on the edge and berley hard with the floaters following the berley down. You will be amazed at what you will catch in this shallow water. Obviously snapper are the target species, but trag, pearl perch, Moses perch, Maori cod and even some squid will all hit your floaters. I usually move wider as the sun gets higher in the sky, using the theory that the light penetrating the water puts the fish off or they move into deeper water to feed. As I’ve mentioned before, I have mates who fish these shallows all day and continually catch fish, so the older I get the longer I spend in there. Moving to the 40m-deep section of the reef as the wind drops away and temperature rises will quite often result in a lot of pearlies this month. I do like to drift fish for these guys using the good old paternoster rig with mullet fillet or squid baits, always having that floater out the back.

Brett with a couple of good bream. down just one at a time while bottom fishing. They don’t last long, with the really big trag taking them in between the mulloway strikes. Wide offshore this month will be red hot. Anything from 45 to 50 fathoms will be pearl perch heaven for those anglers who are prepared to travel out. This month I like the wide ground to the north of Yamba; there is a fair bit of reef up there and it gives

up in numbers for their winter spawn. The famous Middle Wall is as good a spot as anywhere this month. If you can get a spot near the tide gauge on the Iluka side of the wall you are in with more than a slight chance of catching a bag of these hardfighting and tasty fish. Flathead will be around in the shallower parts of the river in June. The entrance to Lake Wooloweyah,

Fishing Monthly’s own Peter Jung hasn’t been fishing Yamba long, but his tricks for the Pine River in Brisbane have translated perfectly to the lower Clarence.

The late mackerel run worked out well for the kids onboard.

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The north ground from Black Rock up into South Evans reef will still have all the fish mentioned above, but will have the added bonus of a big mulloway this month. Last June we had the best run of mulloway we’ve ever recorded on our charter boats from the South Evans Reef. Many days we bagged out on nice fish between 12-16kg. We would anchor over the shoals of yellowtail and slimies that sit high off the bottom, jigging fresh ones up and sending them back

you more opportunities to move around to find a bigger patch of fish. The fish do show well on the sounder even in this depth, as they will be there in reasonable numbers. Quite often a drift will start with everyone on snapper. Then, as everybody drops again, it’s all pearlies and then blue morwong and pigfish. Not that any of that is a problem of course! ESTUARY In the estuary this month there should be plenty of luderick (blackfish) building

Romiaka Channel, Turkey Island and even upstream in the Broadwater should all produce good fish. With the colder weather a lot of these fish will move into the shallows, sunning their backs, so casting plastics up in the shallow water and working them off the edge will be worth a go. Alternatively, slow trolling small bibbed lures like the Zerek Tango Shad on the edge of the channel as slow as you can go will bring them unstuck.

Bream (like the luderick) will be building in numbers ready for the winter spawn this month. I’ve mentioned this before but I love night fishing for these guys on the Middle

Wall. There are some nights when you stop fishing because your hands are too sore to take another fish off the line! Getting there in the daylight and setting up is important, because you

Geoff with a double of pearlies from the 50 fathom line.

Father and son Brian and Trevor from Dalby with a pair of mulloway from the northern grounds.

need to be in the spot while it’s still light and have all the lights you need for the night fish turned on, so there is no change as it gets dark. Try to resist the urge to fish before it is dark and you will cut out all the rubbish fish. Remember to put a teaspoon

of berley over for every bait you put over and you will have a blast. If you are heading here this winter, call into my shop, Marina Boat & Tackle, at the marina and let’s get you set up with gear, bait and advice.

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Jasper Morgan with his very first fish, a nice bream from Yamba.

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Get some variety on your plate this month! COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

It’s always nice to get a feed of fish on a winter’s night, and having some variety on the plate is even better. June is often one of the best months for mixed bags, whether you’re fishing offshore, on the beaches or in the local estuaries. On the beaches and break walls there has been some quality fishing, and mild days and light winds

who have been getting the very large mulloway. Large squid baits, slab baits and live baits (if you can get one out there), have enticed some very good mulloway onto the hook over recent weeks. We can expect that to continue throughout June. There’s usually not much difference in capture rates between those beaches closer to town and the more secluded beaches that are harder to access, so if you can only get out around town there’s still the possibility of good fishing. Park Beach,

but given the conditions over the last few months there are plenty of gutters that you can pick from on the closer beaches mentioned. Around the reefy locations, headlands and break walls the large mulloway hardbodies are a good option if you’re chasing a larger challenge, or possibly just a larger fillet. ESTUARIES The local estuaries will be offering plenty of options over this month, with the winter bream in full swing throughout the length of

season. Having said that, most anglers never keep bass anyway. Up on these upstream snags it will be the artificials that will do the job on most occasions. Small diving hardbodies and soft plastics that mimic whitebait have been producing the goods in recent weeks, along with shrimp imitations. Live poddy mullet are also a good option if you want to park and wait it out at a good looking snag. As a bonus, there are still trevally and mangrove jack around that you may pick up with a live bait or lure as well. Lower down in the estuary the lure fishing has been pretty consistent, with anglers picking up

The warm water off the coast has kept the yellowfin and mahimahi easily accessible. Jordan Voglsinger picked this yellowfin up while trolling some outside marks. bream, flathead, whiting and mulloway. The whiting will be a little harder to tempt on the surface this month, however, as we

move further into the cooler time of year. Nippers will also offer a great bait option for all four of these species. Whiting and bream in

Don Cummings in disbelief at the bonus mojo that came with his new boat. The lures were in the water for just five minutes when this wahoo hit. have made for many great beach days. The gutters have been consistently producing bream, tailor and mulloway. Flicking some plastics around the gutter edges is becoming more popular and has been producing many fish, but it’s the bait anglers

Boambee, Sawtell and Korora often produce quality mulloway, bream and tailor. They’re a great option if you are chasing a feed close to home. Of course, if you head to more secluded locations you have a better chance of having your choice of gutters,

each system. There will also be bass mingling with the bream in the brackish stretches, and they often end up as by-catch for the bream anglers. Bass are definitely not a plate option this month as we are currently in the middle of the no-take

Meg Lees pulled this spotty out from amongst the crowds at one of the ‘on’ marks.

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particular simply can’t go past a good nipper. The flathead and school mulloway will also be active in the areas where yabby banks drop off into deeper water, or butt up against other structures in the water such as oyster leases, rock walls and seagrass. OFFSHORE The last couple of months have been productive ones for offshore anglers. For starters, the mackerel have been in full swing, and there have also been some good wahoo and yellowfin tuna caught on the

near shore reefs, along with snapper and mulloway. Most of the action is still on the humble slimy mackerel, but stickbaits have also been doing well in the top locations. Almost anywhere there is reef and bait there have been mackerel, and these speedsters have shown up in particularly good numbers in some locations, sometimes leading to very large crowds at those spots on some days. Bundagen and Sawtell are two of the spots that copped more than their fair share of pressure

during the periods where those locations were firing. All of this fishing pressure should be a lot more spread out this month however,

LAST DAYS BEFORE TROUT CLOSURE Finally, the June long weekend marks the end of the trout season so you’ll need to

Although not a target for most, mac tuna, striped tuna and bonito can still be fun on light gear. They can cause chaos onboard, with double and triple hook-ups common. Slowly over this next month or so, the attention will turn back to these red beasts as the mackerel move away to wherever they go.

You know the spotties are on when you can break out the fly gear for a bash.

now that many anglers are beginning to shift their focus to other target species besides mackerel.

get in quickly to get a trip or two in before the close. This closure is different from the Australian bass

closure. After the trout closed season begins, anglers are not allowed to fish at all along any of the gazetted streams, so make sure you have read all the details written up at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing. So whether you are

heading offshore to chase the last of the mackerel for the season, or you’re planning to get out to have one last spray at the trout up on the plateau, I hope you find the fish you’re looking for this month.

JUNE 2019

Early bird gets the fish NAMBUCCA

Riley Wilson

June traditionally sees the lengthening sleep-ins as it can be too cold to get out of bed some mornings. But as they say, the early bird catches the worm. Getting out amongst the action early can benefit you in many ways. This time of year we normally see some good tailor fishing and I reckon getting up early for them is paramount – watching the sunrise while pelting a metal slug towards the horizon is a great way to spend the morning and not to mention get a great feed. Lately the tailor have been biting well and I can only imagine it will get better with the rougher weather that can occur in June. After dark on the V-wall can see some good tailor and salmon come

areas from Shelly Beach over to Wellington Rock will be more your style. There is a range of lures

see some good tides for night fishing, which is great news for those of us heading onto the sand. A good rising

Fishing in the brackish section of rivers you will still have a chance at the occasional jack. that will promote a strike but most commonly used are the metal slugs in the 40-85g range, and in the right conditions a cup faced popper at about 150mm can really entice a big tailor

tide with a variety of fresh bait will see you in with a good shot. Fishing in the river has still seen some excellent flathead and bream up in the brackish sections. They

Flathead have been more prominent upriver. through hunting baitfish, and a good old pilly will be on the menu for sure! If that’s not your thing and lures are a better option then getting up and being on the headland while looking for washy

or even a kingfish. The local beaches have been starting to see some of these bigger predators too, with nice tailor, mulloway and bream. The winter months will

Bream will always provide some fun for lure fishers, and winter is a great time to be flicking lures. 36

JUNE 2019

are in good numbers and are more than willing to hit small plastics, soft vibes and metal blades. The way these fish adapt to their environment is amazing. We all know flathead are masters of camouflage and when they head into the deeper darker upstream sections they turn a dark chocolate brown to blend in with the mud banks and rocks rather than sand downstream – I suspect their darker colour also helps with heat absorption. Next month usually sees the start of the luderick run, with anglers scrambling for the right weed or floats to perfectly complement their favourite rig. Drummer and groper will be on the menu also, and I might even find some tailor. Until then, happy fishing and be safe. • If you are fishing on the Nambucca or just want some great gear and the best advice, drop in and see Riley or Rob at the Boatshed Cafe and say hi they will be happy to help with all your fishing needs.

Catches are improving off the beaches SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Paul Martin

On the whole, conditions have been favourable over the past month. This, combined with the extended run of warmer currents, has resulted in mackerel being caught right through late autumn. Off Scotts Head and just a little north of Grassy Head continues to be a hot spot for spotted mackerel, with the odd bigger Spanish turning up due to the good supply of slimies about at the end of the season. Our incredible wahoo run was a cracker this year, with good fish still being caught late into May. Longtail and yellowfin tuna have also been in healthy numbers from Nambucca to Hat and Hungry heads. Fishing the reefs off

South West Rocks has been productive, with plenty of pan-size snapper, venus tuskfish and pearl perch out a little wider, along with trag and some nice mulloway. Fish Rock has been home to some brute kingfish amongst the rats, with regular reports of bust-ups around the rock itself. This time of the year brings the big greenback tailor close to the rocks, so picking your day, trolling or casting slugs, pilchards or garfish, I am sure you will be rewarded with one of these fantastic fish. I know you need to careful what you wish for, but our river system needs some good rain. The water clarity is crystal clear and this can make the fishing pretty tough. One positive of this though is that the kingfish are coming in with the rising tide and feeding along the break walls. It’s one

thing to know they’re there, and quite another thing to entice them to your bait or lure. One very lucky angler who was fishing for bream with a 95mm Bassday Sugapen hooked a 65cm king and landed it on his bream gear! Better numbers of blackfish are coming into the

be there waiting to ambush any prey coming out. Around Clybucca you will find bream in the oyster racks, with a few flathead and school mulloway in the deeper holes late in the afternoon. The Jerseyville Bridge around the pylons has been another productive location

for bream and flathead in the more discoloured water. Beach fishing is improving, with some nice tailor and bream coming out of the surf. There has been the odd late season whiting and dart caught out of the gutters as well. On Lighthouse (Smoky) Beach, kingfish are coming in close, with some good fish taken on the bigger tides. On the northern corner, flathead are being caught in the calmer water. North Smoky and Gap Beach also have a few tailor and nice bream coming in. Rock hoppers are getting drummer off the ledges, with some quality greenback tailor, bream and a few smaller

kingfish off the Gaol, while down off the lighthouse there have been fair numbers of longtail tuna. Further down to Hat Head and Hungry Head there are reports of one or two Spanish off the ledges down south. • For the very latest information on what’s biting and where, drop into Rocks Marine Bait & Tackle at 25 Memorial Ave, South West Rocks. You can also find more info at rocksmarinebaitandtackle. com.au, or look them up on Facebook. The owners are retiring, so if you’ve always dreamed of owning a tackle store, now is your chance!

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Brave the cold mornings THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

Those chilly mornings are certainly worth it at this time of year as some of the best fishing can be had, you just have to get up and get into them. I find a big bonus in June is the fact that a lot of anglers have called it a day until the weather returns to a more comfortable zone. However if you get

through the early morning blast, the mid north coast weather can be quite pleasant and the fish certainly don’t care. Hastings River has been fishing alright, but you will want a plan of attack when heading out otherwise you may find it a bit tough. Look at the tides when planning

popular with shore-based anglers using bait such as nippers, prawns and fish strips. Lure anglers will be fishing these same walls through the day with vibes and plastics. Tides and times that I mostly like for bream are the two hours before high and the start of the run out.

around town, just look for all the orange stems floating in the water around the jetties and rock walls, it’s a great way to spend a few hours on a winter’s day and grab yourself a nice feed. OFFSHORE Offshore fishing for snapper this month is a great option with plenty

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JUNE 2019

your day. I like a run out to the bottom for my flatties. Flathead have still been around the edges, and with the slightly warmer water

It will be worth throwing around some bigger hardbody lures during a night session, and the tide changes are definitely worth

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Young Ben with his first bream on a lure. Bream fishing will be in full swing this month.

Bass guru James Jackson with an end of season bass to keep him going until September. up on the flats you can still get yourself a few. I tend to work my plastics a lot slower in the cooler water temps and find wrigglers very good on them when they are a bit slow. Bream fishing should be in full swing, with the sea walls of Port Macquarie and Camden Haven very

looking at. Mullet will run out to sea of a nighttime and get very active around the tide change. Some serious mulloway will be caught during this period. Luderick anglers love the next few months and we should see the fishing really heat up. It will not be hard to find the hotspots

the patch fishing with soft plastics in the 5-7” range, vibes or one of the slow jigs. If you prefer bait then fresh squid, cut flesh bait or livies should also get you amongst some action. Drift over your patch until you start landing sand flatties, then either drive back around and do it again or

move on to your next patch. If you find bait on your sounder then it is worth giving the spot extra effort. On recent offshore

guys and have a day on the water you will not forget. BEACH FISHING The wonderful world of the winter beach anglers

being caught plus some good tailor action south of Port. Be sure to do your homework; check out the beach formations, talk to

Mark with a great bream from upriver on a soft plastic. charters the crews have caught some nice mulloway, pearl perch and snapper, so if you don’t have a vessel you can head out with these

starts this month with tailor, salmon, bream and mulloway all prime targets. There are reports of a few mulloway already

the local tackle store guys, look at tides to suit and get out there and give the beach a try – the rewards can be well worth it!

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Adam scored this good flathead fishing the shallow flats.

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VISIT WWW.STESSCO.COM.AU Shirona Thompson with a nice bream from Berowra Creek, caught on a Pro Lure crank in tiger shrimp colour. JUNE 2019

Get prepped for the winter bite FORSTER

Luke Austin

I love June! While the variety of target species may have dwindled a

favourite inshore reef system to tangle with some big snapper. Fishing shallow reefs at first light on a crisp winter’s morning nearly always produces a great bag of

getting back to the ramp nice and early, just as the rest of the family are getting out of bed! The other option, once the inshore bite slows, is to work your way out onto

berley. The technique is quite simple: find a bit of a hole with a good amount of whitewater washing about, toss some bread, prawn shells or chook pellets in to get the fish going and then throw into the wash a #1-1/0 heavy gauge hook with a small sinker above it baited with peeled prawns (not farmed/ imported), cunjevoi, crab or dough and hold on! Tailor are a great prospect in June. There will be plenty of fish right along our coastline and well up into the estuaries this month. Early mornings on 7 Mile Beach throwing metals or pilchards is about as good as it gets and should see you land a good bag of fish. Most fish at this time of the year are between 35-55cm, however now is the time that the bigger fish tend to hang about so don’t be surprised if you come across the odd 80cm model. The same

Quality mulloway are a winter favourite for a lot of anglers. minnows such as the Keitech Easy Shiner matched up to a small jighead no heavier than 1/16oz, generally 1/24oz. Luderick also school up in the lower sections of the system over the cooler months. Now is the

Local gun Jed Redman with a nice kingfish. Now through to October is a good time to tangle with the larger models. little in recent weeks, the fishing that is on offer this month is amazing. When I think of fishing in June I think of getting up in the dark and putting on layer upon layer of clothing, gloves, beanies and ugg boots in preparation for a very chilly run to our

quality reds up to around 4kg, along with one or two much bigger models (which often can’t be turned!). The action comes hard and fast when you’re shallow water snapper fishing and you will often get a fish a cast for an hour or so before the bite shuts down, which sees you

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the deeper reefs and top the icebox up with a few extra reef fish. Teraglin, pearl perch, pigfish and snapper are all on offer. For those wanting to stretch their arms, sounding out the better lumps in 65-140m gives you a shot at the local yellowtail kingfish. Moving deeper again, June offers perfect conditions to do some deep water fishing for bar cod, nannygai, gemfish and possibly even a Bass groper. For the rock hoppers, this month is all about hunting the holes and washes for some very traditional ‘bread and butter’ species. Black drummer, bream and luderick are all on offer and can generally be tempted fairly easily with a bit of

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Shallow water reds are too much fun! gutters that are holding good numbers of tailor will often be holding the odd mulloway, so fishing big slab baits into the evening on a rising tide may well be worthwhile. In our estuaries, the water is yet to cool completely and it is normally gin clear. The lower reaches of the system from the break walls up to Wallis Island are holding huge numbers of bream as they carry out their annual spawning. Winter bream fishing can be a bit of a challenge due to the very clear water, however once you find the right bait/lure combination the fishing can be red hot. Therefore, now is the time to chase that bream of a lifetime. I generally fish around the top of the tide and concentrate my efforts on the break walls while fishing land-based or the oyster leases in the middle of the lake such as the area referred to as ‘the Paddocks’. There are a lot of small baitfish about at the moment and I like to imitate these by using 3”

prime time to be targeting big ocean run of bronzies and it is often this time of the year that you will see

anglers standing shoulder to shoulder along the break walls to take advantage of these quality fish. Weed can be a little frustrating to find so if you can source your weed elsewhere it may be a wise idea, otherwise you can use cabbage or even artificial weed flies (indeed some anglers won’t use anything but synthetic baits now!). The mouth of Wallis Lake really starts to fire during June and will only get better over the next few months. June through until October gives you the best shot at tangling with a monster yellowtail kingfish. While the fish are there all year, these cooler months see the bigger models, up to 130cm+, start to turn up as they prepare to spawn in September/October. Tempting the big guys isn’t always easy. Good quality live baits and good timing are key along with a good measure of sheer luck! The beauty of fishing the mouth of the estuary is that your by-catch often consists of large mulloway or even snapper!

Bream fishing is set to fire this month with a great deal of baitfish getting around.

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Bream are prolific HARRINGTON-TAREE

Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

A few of the joys of winter are the cooler temperatures and the variety of fish to be caught. Bream and tailor are the most prolific fish around at this time of year. The bream are schooling along the retaining wall at the mouth of the river and also on the beaches in our area. Fishing from the wall is fairly easy if you use the correct gear. An 11-13ft rod combined with a reel capable of holding at least 200m of 12kg line will allow

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will find that tailor around the 1-1.5kg mark are fairly common catches. THE RIVER The Manning is a great river to fish in winter. Mullet are just starting to school up in the lower parts of the river before heading out to sea and moving further north. The flathead have moved upriver, and the best catches have been made where the freshwater flows into the saltwater. The Lansdowne and the Manning up near Wingham have produced good bags of fish. With the mullet still in the river, mulloway and

LUDERICK Luderick will be feeding along the river wall this month, and will take green weed in the daytime and fresh yabbies at night. The period around high tide is the best time to fish. OFFSHORE Outside anglers are catching bonito, mac tuna, longtail tuna, spotty mackerel and mahimahi by trolling and using live bait. Snapper and flathead have been boated by those anglers who have been fishing deeper. In winter you will get the most consistent results targeting snapper and mulloway on the close reefs using live slimy mackerel.

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Bream and whiting have made up a lot of the catch in the river. Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait and Tackle.

an angler to accommodate the occasional surprise mulloway that picks up the yabby or mullet. The 12kg line will allow the angler to drag the bream around the rocks covered with barnacles without cutting the line. If a bream does happen to get in the rocks and has to be forcibly removed, then the line near the hook that has been damaged by the barnacles will have to be removed and the hook re-tied. Still, it’s not much of a penalty to pay for a nice bream. Tailor should be starting to put a bit of size on by this time of year, which is great. During early winter you

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sharks come into the estuary looking for a nice feed. FISHING ON THE BEACHES On the beaches, chopper tailor and bream have been bagged in recent weeks. The big mulloway have also appeared at Crowdy and Diamond Head, waiting for the mullet to try to get past on their way north. By the time winter has properly set in, the mullet and the big schools of mulloway will have moved on, but there will still be some residual mulloway in the area. These fish will be feeding on the tailor that school on the beaches and around the headlands.

WHAT’S HAPPENING THIS MONTH June gives anglers plenty of options when it comes to deciding which species to target. In the estuary there are luderick, bream, small tailor and mulloway are the fish to target. Meanwhile on the beach and around the headlands you can get good results targeting the likes of tailor, bream and mulloway. Another good thing about this time of year is that the cooler weather gives the angler the chance to fish slack water in the middle of the day without risking sunburn – something that is definitely a problem for most of the year.

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Matthew Galvin and Ian Feeney had fun catching snapper and mulloway on their holidays. Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait and Tackle.

It’s time to change up tactics PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

June brings with it a sudden change in target species, with many of the fish that were around in good numbers just a few weeks ago now gone until next season. While they will be missed, there is plenty to look forward to, as new fishing options become available.

before through to two hours afterwards. June is probably the best month to target bream in the bay. Terrific numbers will be found schooling up around rock walls from the the entrance to the Myall to Soldiers Point. Using an electric motor to silently move around theses areas while casting small lightlyweighted plastics or shallow diving crankbaits will usually get the best results.

If you’re after a feed of squid or just want them for bait, the weed beds through Shoal Bay moorings are going to be your best bet, with quality jigs around 2.5 sizes in natural colours doing the most damage. BEACHES Beaches are fishing well, especially in the corners that meet rocky coastline, with this type of country producing quality bream and also a few whiting too.

especially down the southern end. ROCKS It’s a great time of year for the rocks, with plenty of luderick gathering in the sheltered bays from Fingal Island down to Boat Harbour. Their big cousins the rock blackfish (black drummer) will also be out to play as winter sets in, with the best way to hook into a few being to fish the wash zones with large peeled prawns or cunjevoi. Tailor will be a consistent target through the winter months from the stones, with any point or headland on first or last light worth a crack. Throwing metals around the 40g mark or spinning with a whole pilchards or garfish rigged on a gang hook are the two preferred methods. Those sheltered rocky kelp-lined bays will also be holding some monster squid at this time of year, with plenty of 30cm hood models available. Size 3.0 jigs in pinks and oranges are my personal favourite for these. OFFSHORE Wintertime outside the heads in Port Stephens is all

It’s a fantastic time to catch snapper, with some big models around, especially at low light. Inside the estuary, flathead will become much harder to find this month, as will whiting and pelagics like longtail tuna, bonito and frigate mackerel. Luderick, however, will kick into gear from now on, with the rock walls around Nelson Bay and the anchorage marinas the two most productive areas to fish. Try to focus your efforts around the tide changes when targeting luderick, with the prime time around one hour

Alternatively, anchor up and cast lightly-weighted baits such as peeled prawns or live nippers down a berley trail. Mulloway are lurking in the deeper water around Soldiers Point as well as the two Karuah River bridges. Schools of tailor are smashing baitfish on the run-out tide and can appear anywhere in the lower half of the bay. Look for birds working, then cast and retrieve small metals around 10-15g underneath them.

Australian salmon should start to appear in schools and provide great fun on light gear. Try to spot schools moving through in the surf and cast medium size metals around 20-40g at them. Doing the same thing early in the morning and later in the afternoon should also produce a few tailor, especially around Fingal, Samuari and Hawks Nest. Stockton is well worth a crack this month for mulloway after dark,

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SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

It really has quietened off around here in the past month or so, which I must say is fantastic. I know the warmer months and the tourism is great for many local businesses so this is a little selfish, but how good is the peace and quiet during the cooler months? So good! The other good news is that the fishing has not quietened off at all. Whether you’re chasing a feed from offshore reefs or you’re flicking lures around Lake Macquarie, there is plenty of action. I’ll kick off this month’s report focusing on the sensational run of pelagic fish around Moon Island and along the coastline. It’s a smorgasbord out there some days with a great variety of fish on offer. Some days the salmon show up in numbers and the next day it might be schools of bonito. A few techniques are producing the results, but anglers who are competent at throwing the

throwing very small metal lures and lightly weighted soft plastics. I have also found trolling a variety of

Mick Pavlic showing again how it’s done. He has been scoring some fantastic catches lately and he loves a feed of fresh bonito.

diving lures along the rock washes heading south past Catherine Hill Bay to be productive and great fun. Heading further east, those crews with a seaworthy boat and the right gear can load up the icebox with some sensational table fish at this time of year. The offshore areas of broken reef are producing some great fish, with everything from mulloway, snapper and kingfish through to some lovely john dory being encountered. You can mix up your offerings with some anglers opting for a paternoster rig with a bait on one hook and a plastic on the second. But by far live baits have been the number one option, so loading up on some quality live squid, slimies or yakkas will be a smart move. On the gamefishing front, things have dropped off somewhat but the anticipation at this time of year is always high. Many gamefishing crews have their ears on and are monitoring social media for any reports of YFT or SBT, and the first sign of confirmed reports/fish will see big numbers of boats heading wide offshore to

The author’s daughter Bella enjoying a day chasing a few Lake Mac squid. chase these great fish. We generally don’t get a long run of them and at times we don’t see them at

all, but if fortunate enough and if we get a good season there can be some red hot To page 47

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Quality over quantity ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

It’s been a bit on the quiet side for Brisbane Waters and it sure is unusual for this time of year. A few fish are still getting around on the bite, although you may have to put that extra bit of effort in.

Flathead have been about but not in big numbers, although the ones you do get have been really nice fish up in the 60-75cm range. The best technique has been to fish your lures a lot slower than usual and use much smaller hops across the bottom so the fish don’t have far to travel to bite, as they get really

Although few and far between, the flathead that are caught are of good size. From page 46

days of solid tuna that many crews swear on at this time of year and for the coming months. These fish are never in close off our part of the coast so it’s important crews have a seaworthy boat, loads of fuel and a spread of quality skirted game lures. More than likely the bite will be east of Norah Head Canyons and then anywhere south towards Sydney’s Browns Mountain. Every year can be different but that’s a good starting point for many. For those anglers with no desire to hit the offshore grounds, don’t despair as the lake is fishing quite well for this time of year. Squid

remain about the lake in good numbers and I’ve had some great trips recently grabbing a few fresh squid for some great feeds of salt and pepper squid. These squid are also ideal live bait size for anglers wanting to target a Lake Mac mulloway and there is no better bait than a live squid for them. A few flathead are starting to show up now as the water temps have cooled right off. The fish are in the deeper water most days and we are not seeing many in the shallows and I wouldn’t expect to for the next few months. Deep water jigging 4-6” soft plastics in a variety of colours is a great method for targeting these winter flathead and there are some real crocs

lazy as the water cools. Bream have been biting quite well recently with some really big fish showing up. The bait anglers have been catching them off the edges of some of the oyster leases using a variety of baits. The lure anglers have also been doing well around the leases and also around any bait schools that you find on your sounder. Blackfish should be coming on this month and most wharfs with a bit of current flow will be worth a shot, just use a mix of sand and green weed to help entice them to feed. My friend and I hooked a couple of nice giant herring in Brisbane Waters recently – it’s awesome to see these northern visitors in our estuary, I can’t say I have heard of many caught in there in recent years. The rockfishing has been really quiet on the tail end of this season, with mainly a few bonito and the odd small kingfish being caught. Although we did see a few nice longtail and northern bluefin tuna being caught on lures and live bait around Terrigal and Avoca, unfortunately the bite only lasted a few days. Blackfish, drummer and Australian salmon will become the main targets in the next few months along the rocks.

Gamefishing has still been worth a go with a few striped marlin and the odd blue marlin getting around. It’s been great to hear that some really nice-sized yellowfin tuna have been seen south. Hopefully, if the currents permit, those fish will move our way shortly! Hope to see you on the water.

out there. The good news is there are also plenty of those table size fish for a feed, which means anglers are generally more than happy to put the big girls back. The bream are also about with some real good fish in the mix. We have scored some good fish working a few bays in the 2-3m mark with small blade style lures and small 2.5” soft plastics doing the trick. The key at this time of year is to slow your retrieve right down. I mean right down. I have days where I am flicking a soft plastic around and literally leave it for 10 seconds before hopping it along and these slow, long pauses are often the undoing of many

bream. This can make the difference between going home having scored a few good fish to going home with the dreaded donut. Something else noticed throughout May is the presence of a large seal in the lake. Now maybe I’m just looking for excuses for those days I fail to produce a few but we have certainly seen a pattern emerge where we may have scored a few fish in a particular area and then the next trip if the pesky seal happens to be in the same area the fish are totally shut down. So I suggest if Mr Seal is hanging about just give it a wide berth to enjoy itself and go hit up another spot. Let’s be honest, there are plenty of locations worth a shot in our great lake.

A quality bream caught on a Vibelicious Thumpertail. There have been a few good models getting around.

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A Brisbane Waters giant herring was a surprise, but definitely a welcomed catch!

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Getting warmed up while fighting mulloway HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

Although the temperatures at this time of year are freezing of a night, the daytime temperatures are a little more bearable – provided the wind chill isn’t freezing your ears off. Still, most keen anglers are determined to get their fix, and go regardless of the thermometer. That’s fine as long as you dress for the cold, as there’s nothing worse than freezing, especially when you find the fish are on the bite. It’s easy to wear that extra layer of clothing and take it off if you don’t need it. LUDERICK Luderick were a little late showing up this season, but nevertheless there have been some good reports filtering through with some quality bags landed. The usual haunts along the rock walls around the harbour have been producing, as well as a few other locations like Lucys Breakwall at Swansea Heads, and (if you don’t mind a drive) the breakwater at Nelson Bay is another popular spot. Just be aware that luderick anglers take their hobby very seriously and some guys have fished the same location or rock for many years and if you happen to be standing on that rock, they will let you know. The best bait is, of course, green weed if you’re lucky enough to find some, but if you do, remember not to tell anyone as it will definitely not be there the next time you go to gather some! An

Graham Alley with a silver slab caught off the sand on a recent outing. alternative is to use weed flies, which often out-fish the natural weed bait. They are a great option as they cost around $4-$5 each but save you a lot of running around when the weed is hard to find, and you don’t have to keep re-baiting your hook. SALMON If you’re after something to occupy the kids there are plenty of Australian salmon in Swansea Channel, mostly active on the run-in tide. Whether it’s off the rock wall along the channel or

from a boat, these fish will entertain the youngsters until their arms are aching. You can get great results on soft plastics, and I have done well on 3” PowerBaits in casper clear. However, any white paddle-tail or flick bait from 3-9” can produce the goods. At times, even a 12” plastic will catch one of these hoodlums. I know you probably think that a salmon wouldn’t eat a lure that big, but believe me there are times when they won’t touch anything else. There

are also big greenback tailor amongst the salmon schools that will happily eat large soft plastics. BREAM Some great bream are being caught at the moment, often in the same locations as luderick as they will travel amongst the schools together. Berley will certainly bring them in, along with other species like tailor and flathead. At this time of year the oily type baits are the best ones to use, such as mullet fillets and gut, stripy tuna, mackerel fillets or bonito. Cut your bait into 1cm wide strips and pin it once or twice on a baitholder, suicide or circle hook. FLATHEAD A lot of the flathead at this time of year are in the deeper water. Working soft vibes is probably the best method to entice them to eat, but any of the oily type baits are also effective for those anglers who are not into the lure scene. BEACHES The beaches have been fishing well in recent weeks, with the main targets being bream, salmon and some cracking tailor. The best time to chase tailor is either early in the morning or at last light in the evening. Fishing the beach in winter is a great approach for those anglers who have limited options, or who are trying to get their angling fix without too much time and effort. When the westerly winds are behind you and conditions are calm, it’s a little easier to fish lighter and work those gutters that are normally pounded by breaking waves. When conditions are calm it’s

A solid mullet landed by Cindy Parker recently upriver near Branxton. It measured 50cm and was her PB. possible to fish with a 7-8ft rod casting metal slugs or plastics with ease. For those who prefer bait fishing, the best baits are beach or tubeworms in live or frozen, pilchards, mullet fillets or prawns. Mulloway are another species to target if you’re up for the chilly nights at this time of year. You can get pretty cold standing there, but once you hook-up to a decent silver unicorn the temperature won’t be an issue. Chasing it up and down the sand will more than warm you up and take your mind off the frigid conditions. Stockton Beach has been consistently producing quality winter specimens. OFFSHORE Offshore at this time of year for a lot of anglers often means deepwater jigging for kingfish. Alternatively,

live slimies or yakkas will produce the goods. There also plenty of long-finned perch around. These fish are very nice eating, and there’s usually an abundance of them once you locate them. Places like the Farm (both inner and outer), Texas down south and many of the other locations off Newie and Swansea can produce. Either knife jigs or micro jigs are the best to use, depending on how much current there is. The best baits for perch are IQF pillies or strips of squid. Out wide for anyone venturing beyond the shelf, this time of year will often see some nice yellowfin tuna and albacore boated. You can catch them either by trolling skirts and high speed minnows, or cubing with pilchards.

FISHING NEWS

Sharks are hooked on SMART drumlines The NSW Government has reported that its SMART drumlines have snagged scores of sharks

at beaches across Sydney, Newcastle and the South and North Coast. Minister for Agriculture Adam

Traditional drumlines consist of an anchor, a baited hook and two floats. SMART drumlines also have a bite triggering magnet and a GPS transmitter. Images courtesy of NSW DPI.

JUNE 2019

Marshall said the SMART drumline trials helped reduce the risk of shark incidents at NSW beaches. “We have had some great results from SMART drumlines along our NSW coastline this summer, which has helped us learn more about shark movements and the effectiveness of this technology,” Mr Marshall said. The devices allow target sharks to be caught, tagged and released out at sea, with experts then tracking their movements and alerting authorities when a shark is near. “In Sydney alone we managed to intercept 14 sharks over a 90-day period, while on the South Coast 16 species were caught, including six white and five tiger sharks,” Mr Marshall said. “This technology

not only prevents shark encounters but also allows scientists to monitor the tagged sharks and learn more about their behaviour. “After the shark is tagged, they are relocated and released approximately 1km offshore. Our shark tagging

program is now estimated to be the largest in the world. SMART drumlines complement the shark nets that are in place at Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle beaches from 1 September to 30 April each year.” The DPI will now analyse

the results of the trials before making a decision about the next step. Other shark mitigation measures include aerial surveillance, tagging and shark meshing. The SMART Drumline trial on the North Coast is ongoing. – NSW DPI

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Using your boat as an effective fish fighting tool Drifting deep structure

Obstruction free water

ll fi sh th is y wa

Current

Fish holding area

ift

Bottom structure

ste

Wind eA

I find myself in and how I deal with them. These scenarios may not relate directly to how you fish in your backyard but I hope that you can take something from this that will help you out. DRIFT FISHING FOR DEEP REEF DWELLERS What I call deep fishing on my local grounds is water around 35-45m in depth. I appreciate that some of you will consider these depths to be at the shallow end of the scale, but for me that’s as deep as I go. When I am fishing this country I pretty much never anchor up. For one, it’s too hard to get the boat to hang up properly above a small piece of structure, but the main reason is that I need the boat ready to manoeuvre instantly once an angler has hooked-up to a substantial fish. If I was on anchor, even with a quick release system, the time it takes to get the boat mobile would be too slow and the fish would win its freedom. For the same reason I don’t use drogues (sea anchors) to help control the drifts, as the time it takes to get them out of the water is also too slow and will result in lost fish. Typical targets in this water are black jewfish, golden snapper, nannygai and coral trout. These are all dirty fighters that once hooked will do everything in their power to make it back into their snaggy homes and we all know that once they get there it’s game over. When I am engaging in this style of fishing I start my drifts up wind or up current from the fish holding area and allow enough room and time for the anglers onboard to get their lines down to the bottom before reaching the designated hotspot. I always drift with the stern facing into the sea and

There are quite a few aspects of our sport where we can do things in a certain way to give ourselves the biggest chance possible to get that fish of a lifetime. The correct use of our mode of transport on the water is one such way that we can all give ourselves a better chance to catch more and bigger fish. It doesn’t matter whether you fish from a kayak, a 60ft luxury game boat or something in between, whatever your chosen fishing platform is, your vessel an important fish fighting tool. Just like any tool that’s used in any trade it has to be used correctly to be effective. Too many people out there use their boat just as a means of transport to get to the fish when it can be used for so much more. In this article I am going to talk to you about some different scenarios that I encounter on a regular basis and how I use my boat Reel Addiction to give everyone onboard their best chance to get that special fish. I can tell you that if I didn’t use my boat to fight fish with, my catch rates would be significantly less than what they are, especially in regards to trophy-sized fish of just about any species. Before I rattle on too much about what and what not to do in particular situations, I’ll explain some of the fundamental reasons why we need to use our boat to help us out. One of the first things that comes to mind is to assist the hooked-up angler to maintain that ever important constant hook pressure. Quite often mid-fight I’ll have a big fish turn and start swimming at angle towards the boat,

making it necessary to get the boat into gear pronto and do whatever that is required to keep the line tight. Just about any of the pelagic species will try and pull this trick on you at some point in time and if you’re not ready for it, that big fish that you so wanted may go begging. Another reason is simply to create and maintain effective line angles in order to keep the hooks set into a fish and to keep fight times to a minimum. The longer the fight the greater the chance there is for something to go wrong. Also, if targeting fish intended for release, the longer the fight the less chance that the fish will swim away again in a healthy manner. A primary reason to use our boat (and this is something that I do a lot of) is to keep a fish away from structure. Structure doesn’t just mean a bit of reef or rocks, it may be other boats fishing nearby, flotsam, moorings, jetties or pretty much anything either in or on the water that may bring a premature and unhappy ending to a fight. Using your boat can also help you stay in contact with a rampaging fish. When targeting big pelagics on light line, and this is something that I am passionate about, it’s common for a good fish to rip a couple of hundred metres of line off a spool in a single run. While I don’t like to have a big green fish too close to the boat, I don’t really want them on the horizon either. In this situation more often than not it can be prudent to get the boat into gear and get after the fish in order to remain in contact with it. There are a few reasons why we need to use ours boats, now let’s get on with how to use them. The following are some common situations that

Mick Underwood

Se c

WHITSUNDAYS

bump the engine astern and alter the helm as required to stay vertically above the angler’s offering. It’s a full time job and you need to remain attentive here. Don’t try this style of fishing by keeping your bow into the sea – it simply won’t work. It’s too hard to remain vertically above the anglers lines, you’ll wind up with lines going underneath the boat at all sorts of crazy angles and you have the added risk of one of them

becoming wrapped around your prop, so keep your stern to the sea. Once above the fish holding area and a lucky angler sinks their hooks into a good one, that’s when the fun starts and it’s time to use your ace card (your boat). When an angler hooks a fish that they can’t turn upwards straight away you need to use the boat to turn the fish’s head for them and manoeuvre the

fish away from its home. Your actions on the helm need to be instant and quite often aggressive. Always be aware as you go through a drift what direction you need to pull a fish in order to make it to obstruction free water. As soon as you put the boat into gear to start pulling a fish give the order for all other anglers onboard to get their lines out of the water as soon as possible. Lines that are

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As boat rises hook pressure increases As boat falls hook pressure decreases

applied together the results can be stunning. There is no real rocket science to this one, it doesn’t matter whether you’re casting or trolling, keep your boat on the open water side of any structure that you are targeting. As with the deeper fishing, be ready to manoeuvre your vessel to open water in an instant as the majority of the time the fights with these shallow water reef dwellers are either won or lost in the first few seconds. If you hesitate or are indecisive in what your actions should be, then wave the fish and an expensive lure goodbye. One of the most notorious fighters that I deal with working around the edges of shallow reefs is the giant trevally. I have lost count of how many of these guys that I have lost over recent years due to them swimming behind the nearest bommie and cutting us off. This is one fish where your boat handling has to be instant and decisive. With giant trevally in particular, even when you do everything right you still won’t win them all, they are the epitome of a gutter brawler and will not come boat side without using every dirty trick that they can. Sometimes we don’t have the luxury of being able to

keep the boat in open water in order to be able to pull a fish in that direction. There are a lot of scenarios that require us to have the boat right up in the shallows and in these situations we need to use a different style of boat handling technique. For myself, common shallow water drifting scenarios include sight casting on the flats or drifting shallow weedy country in search of coral trout hiding in the weed. For anglers drifting shallow weedy country for bream and flathead, you could use the same method. When targeting trout and other structure dwellers up in the shallows in can be important to not let the boat get too far away from the fish. The further the fish is from the boat, the better chance it has to find something to hide under. For this reason I normally always cast downwind/down current during a drift, so that when a fish is hooked-up the boat is already moving in the direction of the fish, which gives me a chance to get on top of the thing fairly quickly. It can still be necessary to manoeuvre your boat up in these shallow areas in order to dictate good angles to the fish and keep it out of the prickles. When going through

Working reef edges

Pull the fish out here

Bommies Open water

Hook up Fish holding area

Troll line

Fringing reef

these shallow drifts keep visually scanning the entire local area so that you are aware of where any clear obstruction free water is. So that when you need to use your boat you already have it in your head where you need to get that fish to. Don’t be too aggressive when pulling a fish up on the flats, use a little finesse. Start carrying on with your boat up on the flats and you run the risk of doing some expensive prop and/or gearbox damage and by causing too much calamity you’ll just shut the place down. To sum the shallow stuff up, be aware of what’s where in your local environment, try not to let structure dwellers get too far away from you and don’t make too much of a racket. CHASING DOWN THAT MONSTER FISH IN OPEN WATER This is a really tough one to cover as there is an endless list of variables involved. Including but not limited to: the size and style of boat being used, the weather and the sea state, the tackle being used, the ability of the angler and of course, whatever is connected to the end of the line. Please remember that out on the wild blue, no two fights will be the same and as a boat handler we have to learn to quickly read the variables, make decisions on how we’re going to deal with them, and then act accordingly on those decisions in order to catch the fish. When chasing down big fish in open water I personally believe there is no substitute for experience and as you gain experience mistakes will be made. As long as we learn from our mistakes it doesn’t really matter too much, it’s just part of the learning process. Kind of like learning to ride a bike, you’ll end up with grazed knees and a bruised ego a few times along the way. To try and minimise this, I’ll point out a few errors that are commonly made and how best to avoid them. GETTING LINE BACK ON A FISH You’ve spent an hour or two steaming out to your wide grounds, got your gear in the water, hooked-up on a beauty and now it’s out on the horizon somewhere and you’ve got to get it back. Don’t try and get the line back too fast. Keep your heart rate down and take your time. There is no point in manoeuvring your boat towards a fish faster than the angler can wind the line back onto the reel. As with any angling situation, remain focussed on keeping good constant hook pressure to your fish. Unless you happen to be on the helm of a twinscrew purpose designed and built gamefisher that has been built to back down on fish by manoeuvring astern, don’t do it. Even if the fish

Drifting the flats and other shallow areas Weed & bommies

Reef and weed

Pu thi ll fis sw h ay

left in the water will only cause problems. If you’re using forward gear and pushing ahead to pull a fish, then be aware of where the other angler’s lines are in relation to your prop until they are clear of the water. For this reason, where it’s possible I like to pull a fish by going astern so that I can keep everyone’s lines away from the machinery. When pulling a fish away from structure don’t stop too soon. The distances that you have to pull will vary from fish to fish, just make sure that you get them away from any structure before backing the power down. You will almost certainly lose line during this process, this is largely unimportant as long as you’re getting the fish away from the prickles. Line can always be wound back onto a reel, a big fish can’t normally be pulled out of a wreck. CASTING/TROLLING FRINGING REEFS AND OTHER SHALLOW STRUCTURE This is another form of sportfishing that I derive a lot of enjoyment from and when a combination of good rod handling and boat handling techniques are

Casting direction

Obstruction free water

Direction of drift

has been hooked-up over the stern by trolling, wait until the other lines and teasers have been removed from the water before starting to work on the fish. Most of us fish from vessels that are designed to manoeuvre ahead, so once the dust has settled a bit, position the hooked-up angler on your boat suitably so that you can use forward gear and move ahead to start taking line back on a fish. FINISHING THE DEAL When fishing offshore one of the biggest mistakes is to wind up in a position where you’re fighting a big fish vertically under the boat. When coming up to the closing stages of a fight on a good fish don’t let the thing get underneath you, do whatever is necessary with your boat to keep the fish out beside the boat, behind it, out in front, wherever, just not underneath you. For one, once you get to this stage of the fight on a good fish the angler will be suffering from some degree of fatigue and their ability to maintain good angling technique will possibly be starting to wane. Forcing a tired angler to try and start vertically lifting what could be several hundred pounds of fish with maxed out drag pressures is opening the doors for something to go wrong. Another reason to avoid this situation is hook pressure. When fishing out wide in offshore waters, unless you’ve lucked it out and are fishing on the best day of the year, there will be some amount of wave and swell action causing the boat to rise and fall. With a fish vertically under the boat, every time the boat rises to the crest of a wave this increases the pressure to a hook, and when the boat falls off the top of a

Wind current

wave and drops down into a trough this decreases the pressure to a hook, working it loose and this also opens up the doors for an unhappy ending. A few years back when on the closing stages of a fight with an estimated 950lb+ Atlantic blue marlin, we had a capable young angler in the chair and he had done a great job of getting the fight to this point. This was the biggest fish that we had seen that season and the excitement levels onboard were at fever point. The boat was rising and falling sharply as we were in a patch of nasty wind against tide swell. The drag on the Tiagra 130 was at sunset while we were trying to get the last few metres of line off this fish, which was pulling vertically down straight under the rod tip. I was standing at the transom, leader gloves on and just itching to get a double wrap on the 700lb leader. I could see the top of leader, it was just beneath the surface of the water. We were so close I could almost taste the success and then it happened, the hooks pulled and everything went limp. If I had got my hands on that leader it would have beaten my best blue on leader by at least 150lb and been one of the pinnacles of my angling career. Instead, due to using the wrong angles through poor boat handling, that fish is now permanently etched in my mind for all the wrong reasons. Don’t let this happen to you. This article by no means covers every aspect of how we can utilise our fishing wagons to help tilt the odds in our favour (I could write a set of encyclopaedias on this). But I hope that what I have mentioned here helps all of you budding skippers out and that the next monster that you get on a line makes it to the side of the boat. Good luck. JUNE 2019

Shorter, colder days ahead ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

June is a tough month on the south coast but there is one thing to look forward to and that is around 22 June we have the shortest day. After that the days get

temperatures have stayed warmer this year, so there is still a good chance there will still be a mahimahi or two on the FADs and a few kings still about and active. All that can change with a big blow but let’s remain positive, as it happened two seasons ago and this one looks to be much the same

and May with some solid fish being caught. Although they were very patchy, with fish being caught one day then dozens of boats hitting the same area for nothing the next day. Another positive is the cold water will also bring the southern bluefin, something to look forward

Mick Rolling getting amongst kings on the old solid glass Butterworth rod and an old Daiwa reel. longer bringing summer a bit closer with every passing hour. Optimistic I know, but we have to have something to look forward to. The old saying goes, “as the days get longer, the cold gets stronger,” will ring true, because we have a lot of cold weather in front of us before it gets warmer. Luckily the offshore water

but it won’t last forever. So, it is worth a look for your last taste of hot water fishing. If the currents are friendly we may score a few yellowfin tuna. They love sitting on the cold side of the temperature breaks, so as the warm water retreats a few tuna are on the cards. They were well offshore in 1000fathoms or more during April

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to in the weeks to come. Hopefully a big school will move up the coast again this year and be close enough to chase safely. The kings have been around most of the usual spots such as the islands and Bass Point with the islands now home to a breeding seal colony at Gap Island, which is one of the

closer reefs this month but they are not in numbers, so a good berley trail and some fresh bait will get best results. You can drift around with plastics and you will score a fish or two but you will put in a lot of boring hours as well. In saying that, they will be around in good numbers in five weeks or so as the cuttlefish move in over the close shallow reefs to spawn, but for the moment you have to be content with a few early arrivals and the local fish. Trevally will get involved with a good berley trail too along with a few late samsonfish. Bream are another option in the harbours and bays with a little rock and sand mixed together on the bottom, and are best on calm days. Berley is a must as is a bit of stealth. Charging in at high speed and dropping the anchor and chain will not help your cause as most fish are in less than 3m of water and get spooked very easily. A hessian bag full of sand dropped will keep you in place and keep quiet at the same time, then apply your berley, little and often just to get them on the boil. You will be surprised how many trevally will show up along with the odd snapper, salmon, tailor and even flathead getting in on the action. For the bottom bouncers, it will be a struggle with the favoured

There’s not many reds just yet and this size is about average. Next month will see that change. numbers of leatherjackets over the reefs. On the beaches it is cold and the best times are late in the evenings and early mornings. Big mulloway will be moving along the deeper gutters during the hours of darkness but you have to put in the hours, as for any big fish. Fresh bait is a must and they often show up on those freezing evenings when the westerlies are blowing and the surf is dead flat. To keep you warm, there will also be plenty of big tailor, salmon and bream about to bang away at your well prepared mulloway baits and occasionally get hooked. If you chase these smaller fish with lighter gear then you can get busy on them and take your chances on any big mulloway that may grab your bait. During the daylight hours there are some quality whiting taking beachworms. They are few in numbers but solid in size

Mick with a nice late season kingy. better kingfish spots. You often don’t get a real good crack at them as the seals steal your live baits all the time and if you do manage to hook a few fish they tax them in seconds. If that is the case, it’s time to move to another option. A few snapper will start to move in on the

flathead slowing right down, but there are still a few about and they are mostly good fish of 45cm+. Mowies have picked up in numbers over the past few weeks as have the pigfish, small snapper and trevally. If all else fails, drop down to small long shank hooks and chase the ample

and catching beachworms in the middle of winter is the challenge here. The rocks are worth a look with the winter species taking over and a few warmer water fish still hanging about just to keep things interesting. Drummer and blackfish are taking cabbage, weed

and green weed fished under a float off all the ocean rocks with a bit of wash. A bit of weed cut up and mixed with sand thrown in for berley will help move things along, or you could use bread with an onion bag of bread tied to the rocks and let the ocean berley for you. Both methods will be effective. Bream and trevally will respond to the bread berley as well as pilchard pieces, which will bring them undone when you are finished playing with the drummer. On the deeper ledges there is still a good chance of a longtail or bigger mac tuna grabbing a live yellowtail or slimy mackerel. Bonito are about too, along with increasing numbers of salmon and some nice tailor in the deeper washes grabbing pilchards. Throw in a few rat kings and the odd bigger fish or even a decent snapper or two if you fish the bottom, as there is still a bit of life left for the rock hoppers yet. The estuaries are a struggle in winter. With the flathead all tucked away and the whiting keeping a low profile, you will have to rely on bream and blackfish. The blackfish are the best bet with plenty in the lake’s main channel along the weed beds. Green weed will be hard to find but worth it if you can get some. Around the bridge is a great spot and is usually standing room only, as most of the old weed beds are now gone due to the increased tidal flows from the break walls keeping the entrance wide open. There are some up around the island and worth a look if you have a boat just to keep away from the crowds. A lot of bream will be gathering along the edges of the weed beds in the lake around Primbee and Berkley. They do cop a flogging from the pros making them very touchy but they are about the only option. Minnamurra has blackfish as well in good numbers around the bridges and weed beds. Good luck and keep warm.

Winter bite heating up NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

As we come into the month of June and hit the halfway point of the year, I take a look back at the season so far and hope that the next six months are as fish

a south coast winter. We can always hope, especially after the extended summer weather we had. The cold, rain and wind usually sort out the weekend family fishos from the diehards at this time of year, as they enjoy a little peace and what they call tranquillity, which others

snapper, big bream and big mulloway, so let’s get into it! Some nice trevally have turned up offshore and are being caught on cube baits as well as small metal lures. Let them sink and retrieve at a medium to fast pace, something around the 50g mark on medium spin tackle of 4-6kg would suffice for

Jai Goodwin with one of those Basin reds, which are on offer through the winter months.

Jai Goodwin with a lovely St Georges Basin bream. producing as the first six. A run of stable weather would be nice as we hit this halfway point but that may be a little too much to ask coming into

would call madness fishing in those conditions. But that said, these dedicated fishos do get some amazing catches throughout the winter months. It’s a great time for big

most fish. Although, if one of those lurking kingfish decide to eat your lure you may be in for a bit more than you bargained for, and another lure!

Wal Balzin proves that snapper like this can be caught all year round just off our coast when the conditions are right.

There have been a few slightly better than average (for our area anyway) samsonfish around as well, which are great sport and great eating. There are some good reds in the mix of things also, making a day out on the big blue well worth the trip with plenty of fun to be had and fish brought home for dinner. If you are launching from the Murray boat ramp there are plenty of squid on offer on the way back in or when the weather turns nasty to add to your seafood banquet. Green or orange jigs are working well in the 2.5-3.0 sizes, with the Yamashita Warm Jackets pretty much the pick of them these days. In St Georges Basin, snapper too are on the chew so those who don’t have a large enough boat or don’t like heading offshore can still tangle with some fantastic specimens and bring home a lovely table fish. One of the most effective ways to target them in the Basin is setting a berley trail and floating back small cube baits of pillies or strips of fresh stripey tuna. Don’t worry if the reds don’t play ball, there will be plenty of by-catch to keep you amused and hopefully see you take home a feed. If you are a shore-based angler in the Basin, there are plenty of options around. The old wharf at the end of Island Point Road is a big fish producer with fresh prawns or stripey, especially

into the evening. Big bream and flatties will almost certainly move in to feed as the sun falls. In the Shoalhaven, Broughton Creek is worth a look for those big winter bream, as too is the wharf just upstream from the entrance on Bolong Road. The last hour of the run-in tide seems to produce good results for the bream and

Mark Corbin with a better than average South Coast samsonfish on a picturesque morning.

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when it turns a long cast with soft plastics upstream and bounced down the far sandbank will snag you a few nice flatties and maybe a mulloway with larger lures. June can be cold and blustery so rug up, don the thermals and hit the water when you can; there are plenty of options for every type of fisho. Stay safe and as always happy fishing!

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Anticipation of the bluefin arrival BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

So tell us June, what day will the bluefin tuna arrive? That is the question that has everybody on the edge of their seats while at work as they start thinking which days to take off. This month an illness is going to take over, a fishing illness. The bluefin tuna run is

arrive around July and be off our coast for a month or so, even though they could have been a bit earlier and stayed a bit later, as records suggest from long liners. But it seemed for rec boats we had a month and as the years went on it seems as though the season has gone from a month to now several months. Good currents can also play a part in this. Last year the bluefin

waters east of Tasmania or east of Bass Strait. There can be anything up to 30–40 vessels and they are never there at any other time of the year, only from May to August and my guess is that they are there for the tuna. So when I see a mass of them move down and congregate together in an area that is in line with the tuna migration, I know that there is movement in

Jack Martin found some quality inshore reds. one of the most anticipated events on the NSW South Coast. It’s a time of year that has you glued to charts and weather forecast, looking at locations and windows in the weather. Social media is also buzzing with reports as the fish travel up the coast. It looks as though the season for them is getting longer and longer as numbers look more and more healthy. About 6–8 years ago it seemed as though the bluefin would

arrived at the beginning of June for rec boats and finished around the end of September. The year before they were off Batemans at the end of June, and the year before the start of July, so it suggests that the run is starting earlier and finishing later. I keep my eyes on the movements of international fleets that commercially fish at this time of the year. Usually around May they will move down to the

So let’s put a date on this and call for another start at the beginning of June. Yellowfin were steady last year and with some nice fish already being caught this year, let’s hope that trend continues this year. Albacore were also in good numbers last year and it was probably the best showing of tuna we have seen in a long time. Closer to shore we have seen some longtail tuna pushing down over April and May as they do every year. But with today’s technology and drones we are now seeing actual footage from the sky of them swimming up and down the coast. It’s amazing to see and even more amazing when you see them swimming up our estuaries such as the Wagonga Inlet in Narooma, filmed by a drone. Deep dropping with electric reels seems to be as common as chasing tuna or snapper fishing these days and why not, there are so many areas off our coast for this style of fishing. Fishos are happy to spend more on the gear, and hence we are selling a lot of the Shimano Beastmaster electrics. Swordfish is another target species at this time of year and the fishery further

Bream are still an option, just harder to tempt. Georgia Poyner finding success with a shallow running Atomic Hardz Crank. in reasonable numbers. Snapper and drummer have been a good by-catch, with grouper and big healthy bream also coming to the party as Jono Bunn found out. When he doesn’t nail the target species (being drummer) he instead walks away with some cracking land-based snapper, grouper and bream. Fishing from the

slow down as it approaches the slowest months of the year: August, September and October. It’s probably the best time of year to take a holiday if you don’t like the cold. But if you don’t mind the four seasons, then the south coast definitely has that and if you can get out for some bluefin on a sunny day, you’ll find yourself in

the camp and those fishing boats have been down there fishing since April this year, which suggests movement in the camp is early. So, with the currents looking favourable again this year and with the large commercial fleet already working the area down there, I’m thinking another early June start. It’s usually when the long liners from our coast unload at Eden or Bermagui that it is confirmed they have arrived.

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south. Mallacoota and Lakes Entrance way seems to hold a mass of squid amongst some interesting country, which makes it the place to visit. Off Batemans area it has been a night time affair with a bit of success. Inshore and off the stones is very consistent throughout winter if you are chasing snapper and drummer. We had an early strong start to the snapper at the end of summer and they have continued to be

stones doesn’t get any better than that. Beaches have been on fire with some large schools of large salmon and now with the mullet run there should be some big mulloway chasing them. It’s a great time of the year for spinning metals late in the arvo or chasing a mulloway. The estuary is still a good option for chasing mulloway, but it does start to get a bit cold from here on. The estuary will start to

a T-shirt in no time as they can give you a good work out. If you are fishing from the stones or beaches, then thermals are still the best invention ever for these cooler months. • Come into Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and stock up on JB Lures, Jet Lures, Neo fluorocarbon, jap snaps, wax thread, needles, tag poles and tag flags. We got the lot to ensure you have the best on the water this winter.

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Action despite frigid conditions MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

The local reefs have really picked up over the last few weeks, which is great to see. Snapper is the word, with heaps of reds succumbing to a wide range of techniques, and most fish are averaging around the 1.5kg mark. There’s been the odd bigger fish to 3kg, but that could change with June, which is usually a better month for bigger snapper. Almost all reefs are producing the goods, although

moving around until you locate feeding fish has been the key to more consistent results. Concentrating you’re efforts on the gravel (not the hard stuff) and this will certainly increase catch rates. The snapper are responding well to whole pilchards rigged on either paternoster or running sinker rigs, with squid, cuttlefish and striped tuna strips also working. Anchoring up and berleying has been both popular and effective when there’s current. It’s paramount that there’s some sort of

movement to get the reds to bite. A few anglers using micro jigs are also getting fish, but the green toads and leatherjackets are abundant at the minute and it’s proving expensive, losing $15 jigs one after the other. Hopefully they will move on shortly. Out wider game fishers’ only real chance of success is yellowfin tuna and southern bluefin tuna (SBT). Every June we get our fare share of both and going by early indications, we might just get a solid season on these speedsters. Reports from

Salmon are abundant in the Pambula River as Jessica found out.

down south are encouraging on the bluefin front, with long liners to the north getting good numbers of yellowfin. When they turn up, trolling will be effective, as will a berley/cube trail, and it won’t hurt to have a few live slimy mackerel in the live bait tank. Closer to shore the beaches continue to fire and I can’t see any reason why this will change. The ever-reliable salmon are in huge numbers at present, with any beach with a decent gutter formation producing fish. They are responding to a wide range of techniques with both bait and lure anglers doing well. I know of several visiting crews that have got upwards of 20 salmon per session, mainly on bigger chromes up to 75g. A few of these fish were around the 70cm mark, so that’s 3kg or better and great fun on any tackle. With the salmon schools, expect bigger tailor with fish upwards of 3kg possible. Better beaches to try are Haycock, Tura, North Tura and Merimbula Main, although Haycock has definitely been the stand-out of late. In the estuaries the action has slowed down, but that’s to be expected with the colder water. There are still plenty

There’s still a few nice kingfish getting caught off the Merimbula wharf, and this one caught by Jarvis went 65cm and ate a live yellowtail. of fish to catch, but what you target at this time of year and how you go about it will certainly determine how much success you will have. It’s a great time for chasing trevally and bream in the channels, with anglers using small soft plastics faring best. Having some sort of tidal movement is paramount here, and casting at 45° upstream and letting your offering come down with the

tide will see good results. In between the weed patches there’s still a few solid dusky flathead to be caught using the same above method with a 4” plastic the way to get the better quality fish. The top Lake in Merimbula is loaded with tailor. The feisty little fighters are good on the smoker if looked after correctly and easy to catch. Look for the To page 57

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Enjoy the quieter waterways With winter here the Narooma area slows up somewhat, with far less visiting anglers hitting our shorelines. What they don’t realise is that the fishing is still pretty good, although you may have to vary your techniques depending on what you’re targeting. The local estuaries have been pretty good of late and I expect that to continue this month. Wagonga Inlet has been the pick, with flathead to 80cm and bigger being caught mainly by anglers fishing bigger soft plastics and soft vibes in the deeper water, which seems to be the key when the water temperature cools off. Try fishing around the ribbon weed margins in 6-8m of water and fish you’re offerings slow, and this will certainly increase catch rates. These bigger flatties are lazy, so if you’re confident a big girl is laying along a bank, give it some time and pepper the bank at different angles with your lure. A lot of anglers will fish a bank too fast and move on to another area quickly. Many times I’ve put a lure in the same area with no success, but after the fourth or fifth time come up trumps with a solid fish, so patience is key, and fish every bit of water where you are. If the above isn’t for you, there’s plenty of tailor and salmon in the main basin. The place is loaded with whitebait, so look out for diving birds and at your sounder constantly, and you should be rewarded no end with metal shiners working a treat. Don’t be surprised to get mulloway and some decent snapper under the whitebait schools, especially if the pelagics have been feeding. It’s like a mobile berley trail. Further downstream the main channel is loaded with trevally and a few yellowfin bream are From page 56

entering the system again after doing their thing on the beaches. Fishers using a mixture of softies and fresh bait like nippers will catch a good feed. There should be plenty of blackfish available as well, with the southern breakwall inside near the entrance the place to fish on the flooding tide. Using a sand/weed berley mix with fresh weed is the go. I know several locals have been having a ball here of late. The beaches continue to fire for salmon on most beaches, with any half decent gutter producing. The sambos are averaging 2kg, with the odd thumper to 5kg, and at that size they are great opponents on any tackle. A range of

techniques are working, and anglers casting metal slugs on light tackle are having truck loads of fun, with more traditional methods like a paternoster rig with a bait/popper combination also working well. In fact there’s that many salmon there, whatever you do should get you results. Mixed in with the salmon are some solid tailor, with a few bream close in just past the shore dump. If you’re after the bream, pipi and beachworms will be great baits, with pilchards and blue bait for the pelagic species. Better beaches to try include Jamos, Blackfellows or Coila just north of Tuross or closer to town Narooma main down the south end has been excellent.

serious fun. You can expect a few trevally and tailor at the same time. Off the stones the bread and butter species have put a smile on most rockhoppers’ faces. Blackfish, drummer, groper, bream and a few good snapper have all had a chew, and I can’t see that changing at all this month. Drummer numbers and size will continue to increase as we head further into winter. Lightly-weighted baits fished in the washes will account for the bigger fish. Better baits to try for them are whole crabs, cunjevoi, bread and prawns if you can get fresh ones. Use

a little berley sparsely, just enough to get them interested, and hang on. Better ledges are Tura Head, Short Point and inside Merimbula Bay on the northern side near the wharf. The latter spot fishes particularly well with a southerly swell, but care does need to be taken. The main wharf is also seeing plenty of pelagic action. There’s been plenty of kings, and they’re not big fish, but a lot of them are being caught by anglers fishing smaller yellowtail as bait. These guys are nearly an all year proposition these days, and I expect to see bigger fish these coming weeks.

Jarvis Boland, 11yo, with a solid land-based flatty he caught and then released in a local estuary. sporadic and hard to find at times. When you locate them you will get an excellent feed, and they seem to be very concentrated at present, so finding them is the key for great results. Better areas to try include SW corner at Montague, and the reefs north of Narooma around Potato Point. Some of the local crews have done extremely well fishing deeper, with water depths of 55-60m being ideal. The leatherjackets and green toads have been a nuisance, and if you come across them move on, or it will

become quite expensive replacing gear. Off the rocks it’s been steady without being red-hot. There’s plenty of salmon to be caught, with a few tailor as well, but the bonito were almost a no show this season. There were a few caught, but overall it was pretty tough. If you’re after a feed, then the drummer fishing will really pick up with the colder water. Try the golf course rocks in town or Dalmeny Headland to the north. Cabbage and cooked prawns are the better baits to use.

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working birds and you will soon be in business. Casting smaller shiners around 20-30g is ideal with whitebait schools everywhere at the minute, and there’s still the odd smaller kingfish mixed in with the tailor schools. I know it sounds silly, but they are still there! Over at Pambula, the lower sections in the river towards the entrance have plenty of salmon feeding on very small bait. You have to fish the smallest of metal shiners to catch them, but when you get the right lure size you’re in for some

Eden Boland is only 9yo, but had no trouble catching this great tailor while spinning the shoreline with metal shiners all by herself. It was around the 50cm mark.

Outside sportfishers targeting the pelagic species like albacore and yellowfin tuna are feeling a tad excited, as some solid models have already turned up. The best yellowfin I’ve heard of lately went 61kg, with quite a lot more seen jumping around chasing bait. As we head further into winter I’m expecting more yellowfin to turn up. The long liners have caught quite a few, so hopefully the trailer boat crews can get out there and amongst them. This month should also see more SBT caught, with reports further south very promising, with fish wide of Eden being caught. These were schoolies in the 40-45kg range, but there will be some brutes mixed in with them. The fish are wide, so having the right weather will be a key to success. Better methods to use for both tuna species would be a cube/berley trail, although trolling bibbed minnows and skirted pushers will produce the goods as well. We quite often troll first, locate the fish, then revert to a berley/ cube trail. You do need to be organised, but if you get them up behind the boat you can hold them there for hours. At Montague Island there’s still a few kings to be had, and live bait seems to be the best way to tempt one, although a lot will depend over coming weeks with tide, current and water temperature if they hang around or not. Last season some better kings upwards of 10kg were caught in winter, so let’s hope this season is the same. Those after the bread and butter species like snapper, morwong and flathead are doing well on most trips, but they have been a little

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Towns go back to sleep after a busy autumn MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

A busy Easter period is behind us, and with winter here the town has gone back to its sleepy self. Visiting anglers have still had a ball, with both the lake and offshore providing plenty of action

for those prepared to move around and find the fish. Good weather conditions with little or no swell have allowed boats to head offshore on most days over the past month. Those chasing a feed of flathead, both sandies and tigers, have been getting a bag of fish in short time, with the tigers coming from out around the 65m mark

A metre-plus mulloway that took a liking to a soft plastic meant for a flathead.

and the sandies anywhere in closer. The key has been to keep moving until a patch of fish is found, and then stay on the fish to score a good feed. A few good size snapper have also been caught, with the best fishing up towards the border. Some good catches of gummy shark have been reported, and once again some anglers are finding the fish while others are missing out. Plenty of schools of baitfish such as slimy mackerel are about, and this has seen a few kingfish caught, along with a variety of sharks. The coming months should see the southern bluefin tuna moving by this part of the coast, and if the weather allows boats will head out and there should be tuna reports very soon. The fishing on the local beaches for salmon has been pretty ordinary and won’t really fire up until the water temperature cools down. Having said that, some good catches of salmon have been reported from the beaches in the Eden area. Some good fish have been caught fishing the beach around the lake entrance at Mallacoota, with beachworm the pick of the bait, and big yellowfin bream the main target. Over the past month the fishing in the lake has been quite good for a variety

With the water cooling, black bream have been on the bite in both the Top and Bottom lake. of species. Since the lake has been opened, there has been some yellowfin bream and sand whiting moving into the lake. The snapper have remained in the lake, as they are not aware the system is open to the ocean, so don’t be surprised if it closes over the coming months. This is a poor entrance and it is looking like it will close over again soon. A number of mulloway have been caught over the past month, and these fish

have been in the system for some time and are of a good size, with fish over a meter in length. Dusky flathead are still being taken in all the local estuaries, with soft plastics and fresh bait catching fish. Silver trevally and tailor are in all the local estuaries, with some of the tailor up over the 70cm mark. The snapper in the bottom lake are of a good size, with some over 36cm. They are been caught on a

variety of lures and fresh prawn a good choice of bait. Black and yellowfin bream are being caught, and the bigger bream seem to be the yellowfin bream, with numbers of the smaller black bream rounding out the catches. You need to keep on the move to catch fish. When navigating, keep an eye out, as the lake level is low and you don’t want to run into any obstacles that are now only just under the surface.

Searching for warm water is now easier BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Searching for the warm water is not as difficult as it used to be with web sites like BOM’s Blue Link, showing temperatures, current and direction, and it is quite possible to go straight to the better temperatures where it may be still possible to find some summer or autumn species still lingering around. June is a month where water temperatures dictate the fishing. It is still quite possible to target marlin if the water is warm, and with them lots of yellowfin and albacore tuna. If the water could be cold there’s likely going to be nothing at all. I have caught marlin in late June by specifically targeting them on the Twelve Mile Reef. There was lots of bait there and water temperatures were holding around 20°C, although I reckon that year was an exception. You are 58

JUNE 2019

Nothing beats the majestic colours of a lit up striped marlin highlighted by the clear cool winter water. more likely to encounter marlin (if any) with a live bait under a balloon while fishing for tuna. Yellowfin, albacore and the occasional southern bluefin tuna can be prolific at this time of year, and the best way to encounter them is by berleying. It would be interesting from the air to see all the oil slicks trailing from the back of boats as anglers

look to entice the tuna with cubes of mackerel, striped tuna, pilchards and live baits. When fish get thick at the back of the boat, anglers can choose their line class to suit, and sometimes the albacore are in such numbers it is quite impossible to get through them to hook the larger yellowfin. Sharks are an added bonus while tuna fishing, as

they just love fresh stripies and albacore, and makos especially are partial to the scent of tuna oil and blood, which will attract these blue missiles right up to the back of the boat. So have a trace handy and get ready to hang on, they’re great fun! If nothing is happening, you can also try trolling up your berley trail, with both diving and surface lures, for

there may be fish in the area that are not responding to the cubes, but the action of the lures may entice them to strike. It may also be the case that there is no fish within your location, so a spread of lures run out the back may be the way to go. Other forms of offshore fishing are likely to be good, with the winter kings that often visit Montague Island being of a large size. Fish up to 20Kg will smash sauries off the surface, showing no fear of the boats that surround them. Surface poppers trolled or cast will work, as will rubber saury imitations or slow trolled live mackerel. Mixed in with the kings are bonito that will supply plenty of entertainment for anglers as they await the kings to come on the chew. For the reef fishers, this is probably the best time to target snapper, whether you drift or anchor and berley. Many of our close to shore reefs will hold snapper, with the best areas down south to Goalen Head. Try anywhere from about 10m through to as deep as the currents will

allow. Vary the types of baits you use and the depths you use them at. Baits used can vary from pilchards, yellowtail, strips of tuna and mackerel through to whole small mackerel. Make sure to fish them at various levels in the water column to see what is more productive. Morwong, trevally, flathead and a host of other species will also appear in the trails, so have some light gear on board to raise the excitement level. Just by drifting, bottom fishing anglers should expect an array of different species, with those who fish the deeper Twelve Mile Reef hoping to encounter those lovely Tassie trumpeters. With the water cooling, estuary fishing is now at its best on the incoming tides, and the higher the better. Yellowfin bream are the main prize currently, and are targeted in many ways. Lure fishing is effective with small scented soft plastics, although I feel for best results, berley the channels To page 59

Find the reef find the fish TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

There may not be a lot of reefy ground that is undiscovered these days, however, it may be new grounds to you. Finding new reefs and fishing them for the first time can be quite exciting. With June comes calm weather and that means conditions are conducive to offshore boating, allowing anglers access to all fishing grounds, especially the wider deep reefs. Along our coastline, 70-fathoms is usually only 1.5-3km inside the Continental Shelf. Associated with this depth are numerous reefs and out off Tathra is no exception. The Twelve Mile reef out of Bermagui is in this depth and is known for its catches of large, delicious table fish. Tathra based anglers have recently discovered their own grounds east of the Kianinny Bay boat ramp with some surprising results. These anglers found these grounds studying their sounders while marlin fishing, and then they went back in the cooler months and fished them with great results. They captured an array of different species that included some very nice ocean perch, morwong, big tiger flathead, the odd snapper, and trumpeter along with many other species. Finding these reefs is a matter of working the 70-fathom line until you see a lump on the sounder, then drift over it using relatively large baits. You may have to move around a bit until you find them, but it is worth it when you do. Be warned when fishing this depth, it is a lot of hard work and you need good quality gear loaded up with braided line, with electric reels a bonus. If it’s yellowfin you want, Tathra Canyons is generally one of the best areas. Troll the From page 58

with striped tuna as the tide rises over the flats. It’s now a great time to chase blackfish (luderick)

Bream and luderick are turning up in numbers as the weather cools. area at first to see if you can raise the tuna on lures, and then start your berley trails while fishing with cubes and live baits. Sharks may come up these trails, so it may be necessary to have a trace handy or already have a bait out under a balloon. Makos will be your most regular visitor, however, expect to see some blues, whalers and at this time of year the odd thresher. Most of the other offshore bottom fishing is also good, with a variety of reef fish gracing anglers’ bags on the close to shore reefs. Out from Bournda Beach in around 30m of water, sand flathead are a regular catch with fish up to 60cm in length. It is a great time for the family to fish the wharf for a mixture of species. Silver trevally are a favourite at the moment with anglers rising to the occasion and trying to keep them away from the pylons. Slimy mackerel and yellowtail are also on the short list and providing plenty of entertainment. Large sea gars (garfish) are an added bonus, captured with a float and small pieces of prawn off the surface, while of an evening and into the night schools of tailor will be patrolling. On the rocks below the pub and also towards the entrance of Kianinny Bay, rock blackfish (drummer) are at their best. Fish of an evening when the shadows fall over the water or at first light

of a morning. All you need is a simple rig consisting of a no. 2 hook with a small ball sinker run straight to it using baits like cunjevo. Leatherjacket, bream and trevally will also respond to this method. Schools of salmon have been frequenting the main beach towards the entrance of the Bega River, keeping anglers on their toes. Traditional methods of using a paternoster rig with strips of fish or whole pilchards are producing well. Another proven tactic is fishing lures and using long raking casts, allowing your metal pilchard style lure to sink slightly, before a very fast retrieve. The strike may sometimes indicate you have hooked weed, but when line starts peeling off the spool you know you’re in for a good time. In the river black bream are definitely on the chew with lures being the way to go. All through the system around rock walls, sunken logs and just about any form of structure is likely to hold these top quality sportfish. Lures used to target these fish may vary as much as the fishos that chase them. Personally, I still like small hardbodied lures but there is no doubt that those scented soft plastics work well. So, use what you’re confident with. Expect to encounter some quality estuary perch as they move throughout the system at this time of year.

in the traditional way, with either green or cabbage weed. The main areas to target are near the boat ramp at the bridge, around the bridge

itself, all the rock walls surrounding the harbour and through to the rocks at the entrance to the harbour, with the outgoing tides best. These blackfish along with some very nice drummer are in good numbers around the Blue Pool area and are being caught regularly on cabbage weed or cunjevoi and are of a very good size. There are some nice salmon along the coast, which are being caught in a variety of ways. Trolling Horseshoe Bay and adjacent rocks is one method, while casting lures from both the beach and rocks are another. Bait fishing will always come into its own with these fish, and a variety other species can be taken along side them.

With Bermagui a stone’s throw in the background, big winter kings often visit Horseshoe Bay.

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485 SUNRUNNER • Length Overall 5.00m • Length Bow to Transom 4.90m • Beam 2.40m • Depth 1.23m • Bottom Sheet 3mm • Side Sheet 3mm • Transom Long Shaft • Weight (boat only) 392kg • Horsepower Rec. 60hp • Horsepower Max 90hp • Max Transom Weight 178kg

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JUNE 2019

NSW Tides

2019 2019 Local Time

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

Time

LAT 33° 51’ S LONG 151° 14’ E Times and Heights of High and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY JUNE JULY MAY Time m Time m Time Time m Time m Time m

m 0541 0546 1208 1.54 1209 0.53 TU 1759 1.52 WE 1825 2358

1 1

Time m 0441 1.47 1.57 1.70 0.67 0.58 0559 1100 0.38 1.28 1.33 1215 WE 1652 1.77 0.53 TH 1836 2300 SA 0.50

16 16

1 1 0039 0631 FR

0536 0633 1.63 0.44 0.64 0.52 0051 17 2 1208 1310 2 1857 1.67 1.56 17 1.30 0651 TH 1800

0026 0628 WE TH 1244 1900

3 3 0106 0707 TH

FR 1315 1933

4 4 0145 0745 FR

SA 1347 2008

5 5 0225 0825 SA

SU 1421 2044

6 6 0306 0907 SU

MO 1458 2122

7 7

0351 0953 MO TU 1537 2204

8 8

0439 1042 TU WE 1620 2249

9 9

0531 1135 WE TH 1709 2340

10 10 0630 1235 TH FR 1806

0.50 1.61 0044 0.57 0720 1.58 1400 0.48 1947 1.69 0127 0.51 0803 1.57 1445 0.47 2032 1.76 0207 0.46 0844 1.55 1523 0.48 2114 1.82 0245 0.43 0920 1.52 1600 0.50 2152 1.86 0323 0.42 0957 1.48 1635 0.54 2230 1.86 0400 0.43 1031 1.43 1710 0.59 2306 1.85 0437 0.45 1107 1.37 1745 0.65 2344 1.81 0516 0.48 1143 1.34 1821 0.71 0024

FR 1258 1922 0.51 1.69 0144 0.47 0742 FR SA 1340 1.30 2006 0.52 1.73 0233 0.42 0831 SA SU 1420 1.31 2048 0.52 1.76 0321 0.39 0919 SU MO 1500 1.32 2130 0.52 1.77 0408 0.37 1006 MO TU 1539 1.32 2211 0.53 1.77 0454 0.37 1053 TU WE 1618 1.32 2251 0.54 1.75 0541 0.38 1139 WE TH 1700 1.32 2331 0.56 1.72 0629 0.41 1228 TH FR 1745 1.31

18 18

19 19 20 20 21 21 22 22

23 23 24 24 0.59

25 1.67 0016 25 0.44 0718 FR

SA 1321 1840 1.31 0.62 0107 1.60 0810 SA SU 1420 0.47 1945 1.31 0.66 0206 1.53 0902 SU MO 1519 0.50 2055 1.32 0.70 0310 1.44 0951 MO TU 1614 0.53 2202 1.34 0.73 0408 1.37 1036 TU WE 1700 0.54 2302 1.39 0.72 0500 1.31 1116 WE TH 1742 0.55 2354

1.75 11 0559 26 11 0037 0735 0.49 26 FR 1220 1.33 SA 1342 1900 1913 0.74 0107 0143 0645 1.71 0841 0.48 SA 1300 1.36 SU 1454 1940 2029 0.74 0156 0254 0736 1.69 0943 0.46 SU 1345 1.44 MO 1600 2024 2145 0.69 0247 0401 0836 1.70 1038 0.42 MO 1439 1.55 TU 1657 2113 2253 0.61 0344 0502 0945 1.70 1128 1542 TU 0.39 1.67 WE 1748 2205 2355 0.52

12 12

13 13 14 14 15 15

27 27 28 28 29 29

30 30 31 31 0547 1154 TH FR 1820

Time

1230 1859

1.57 0.58 0123 1.30 0715 SA 0.39 0.50 SU 1308 2355 1.86 1937 0630 1.69 0.39 0.45 0206 1309 1.62 1.34 0800 1902 SU 0.42 MO 1347 1.91 2017 0048 0.46 0.36 1.82 0251 0722 1.55 0.33 0848 1403 MO 0.48 1.39 TU 1430 1959 2101 1.92 0141 0.40 0.37 1.93 0339 0814 1.48 0.22 0939 1455 TU 0.54 1.45 WE 1516 2052 1.90 2147 0233 0.36 0.41 2.02 0430 0905 1.41 0.14 1032 1545 WE 0.61 1.49 TH 1606 2145 2236 1.85 0326 0.32 0.46 2.07 0523 0956 1.35 0.10 1128 1635 TH 0.68 1.52 FR 1700 2236 1.78 2329 0419 0.32 0.52 2.05 0620 1047 1.30 0.12 1227 1724 FR 0.75 1.53 SA 1800 2328 1.70 0514 0.34 0.58 1.98 0026 1138 1.27 0.17 0719 1813 SA 0.80 SU 1330 1905 0020 1.53 1.62 0.39 0128 0610 0.62 1.85 0818 1229 SU 1.26 0.26 MO 1434 1901 0.85 2017 0114 1.52 1.55 0.47 0233 0708 0.64 1.68 0914 1321 MO 1.27 0.36 TU 1536 1950 0.87 2131 0210 1.51 1.50 0.54 0340 0812 0.63 1.51 1007 1416 TU 1.32 0.45 WE 1632 2041 2242 0.86 0308 1.50 1.47 0.61 0442 0921 0.61 1.36 1056 1518 WE 1.39 0.53 TH 1725 2134 2346 0.82 0410 1.51 1.46 0.63 0540 1037 0.59 1.25 1143 1628 TH 1.47 0.59 FR 1815 2230 0.75 0511 1.54 1.47 0.61 0044 1152 0.56 1.21 0634 1740 FR 1.57 0.61 SA 1227 2327 1900 0.68 0608 1.58 1.48 0.57 1256 0.53 1.21 1843 1.66

2 2

3 3 4 4 5 5

6 6 7 7 8 8

m 0020 0.59 0700 1.49 1346 0.51 1935 1.76 0108 0.51 0745 1.49 1428 0.50 2018 1.85 0151 0.44 0824 1.49 1503 0.50 2056 1.92 0230 0.38 0901 1.47 1537 0.51 2131 1.96 0306 0.35 0936 1.45 1610 0.53 2205 1.97 0343 0.35 1010 1.43 1642 0.57 2239 1.95 0419 0.36 1044 1.40 1713 0.61 2314 1.90 0457 0.39 1118 1.39 1745 0.66 2349

Time m 0603 1.69 0.61 0.43 0.43 1.62 0135 1250 1.45 1.32 0.51 0725 SA 1848 SU 1309 0.51 MO 1.24 1944 1.89 0030 0.50 0.59 0.41 1.81 1.66 0222 0702 1.41 0.31 0.46 0814 SU 1346 0.55 1.41 MO 1350 1945 TU 1.28 2026 1.89 0128 0.41 0.56 0.40 1.93 1.70 0305 0757 1.38 0.20 0.41 0859 MO 1438 0.58 1.50 TU 1430 2038 WE 1.32 2105 1.88 0222 0.33 0.53 0.42 2.01 1.73 0347 0849 1.36 0.13 0.39 0943 TU 1527 0.62 1.57 WE 1510 2128 TH 1.35 2144 1.84 0.51 0315 0.28 0.45 2.04 1.74 0428 0941 1.33 0.10 0.37 1025 WE 1614 0.66 1.62 TH 1549 2216 FR 1.38 2221 1.78 0.50 0408 0.26 0.49 2.01 1.74 0508 1030 1.31 0.13 0.37 1107 TH 1659 0.70 1.65 FR 1630 2305 SA 1.39 2300 1.71 0.50 0501 0.28 0.53 1.91 1.71 0549 1120 1.30 0.20 0.38 1151 FR 1744 0.74 1.65 SA 1714 2354 SU 1.40 2340 1.64 0.51 0556 0.33 0.56 1.76 1.67 0631 1210 1.29 0.31 0.41 1238 SA 1828 SU 1802 0.78 MO 1.41

1 1 0101 0651 FR

16 16 17 17

10 10

18 18

11 11 12 12 13 13 14 14

0600 1209 TH 1750

m 0537 0.47 1230 1.41 1827 0.49 2358 1.88 0633 0.37 1320 1.43 1916 0.47 1.97 0051 0.30 0720 1.44 1400 0.46 1958 2.02 0135 0.25 0800 1.45 1435 0.46 2033 2.04 0215 0.23 0837 1.46 1507 0.47 2106 2.01 0250 0.25 0912 1.46 1538 0.50 2138 1.93 0326 0.29 0945 1.46 1608 0.55 2210

m Time m 0432 1.60 1.51 0.41 0.52 0.60 0207 1124 1.33 1.27 1.19 0757 SA 1730 0.55 0.63 TU 1329 2310 TH 0.69 2005 1.82 0542 1.70 1.55 0.39 0.41 0.54 0245 1230 1.33 1.37 1.26 0838 SU 1836 FR WE 1408 0.56 2043 1.81 0017 0.54 0.65 0.40 1.81 1.60 0322 0644 1.34 0.30 0.49 0917 MO 1325 0.57 1.48 SA TH 1446 1930 1.32 2119 1.79 0116 0.43 0.59 0.41 1.90 1.64 0358 0739 1.34 0.22 0.44 0955 TU 1415 0.58 1.59 FR 1525 2020 SU 1.38 2154 1.75 0212 0.34 0.54 0.43 1.95 1.68 0433 0831 1.33 0.17 0.41 1033 WE 1501 0.61 1.68 MO SA 1603 2108 1.43 2230 1.69 0.50 0304 0.27 0.46 1.95 1.70 0509 0922 1.33 0.17 0.39 1113 TH 1545 0.64 1.75 TU SU 1645 2154 1.47 2306 1.62 0.47 0357 0.25 0.49 1.88 1.70 0545 1012 1.33 0.22 0.38 1154 FR 1629 0.68 1.78 WE MO 1730 2240 1.50 2345 1.54 0448 0.27 0.46 0.52 1.77 1.67 0625 1100 1.34 0.30 0.39 1240 SA 1710 0.72 1.78 TU 1821 2326 TH 1.53

16 16

0011 0654 FR 1308 1854

1.63 0.42 0109 1.58 0747 SA 1.31 0.43 TU 1408 1912 2004 0.81 0134 1.59 1.49 0.51 0212 0753 0.60 1.41 0841 1353 SU 1.34 0.54 WE 1508 1958 2119 0.83 0229 1.55 1.43 0.59 0318 0900 0.59 1.27 0934 1452 MO 1.40 0.64 TH 1607 2048 0.81 2233 0329 1.51 1.39 0.64 0425 1013 0.59 1.18 1026 1603 TU 1.48 0.70 FR 1703 2149 2340 0.76 0434 1.50 1.37 0.64 0527 1127 0.57 1.16 1115 1720 WE 1.57 0.72 SA 1755 2256 0.67

0.58 1.38 0.48 0.57 SU 1151 0.52 2328 1.85 1826 1.78

9 9

10 10 11 11

12 12

13 13

1.48 2243 0.59 0439 1.69 1054 0.40 1708 1.51 2317 0.63 0518 1.56 1130 0.45 1740 1.55 2354 0.64 0601 1.45 1208 0.49 1814 1.61 0.61 0034 1.37 0648 0.52 1251 1.68 1852 0.55 0120 1.34 0744 0.53 1343 1.74 1939

0215

15 15

1357 2028

2 2 0307 0908 TU

17 17

1450 2118

3 3 0356 1000 WE

18 18

19 19

1544 2209

4 4 0444 1051 TH

20 20

1640 2300

5 5 0532 1145 FR

21 21

1738 2352

6 6 0621 1239 SA 1841

m 0026 0.19 0645 1.45 1321 0.36 1928 2.04 0113 0.14 0728 1.50 1357 0.33 2003 2.05 0153 0.13 0806 1.53 1430 0.34 2036 2.00 0230 0.16 0842 1.54 1500 0.37 2107 1.89 0307 0.22 0916 1.55 1530 0.43 2140 1.73 0344 0.31 0952 1.55 1600 0.50 2213

m Time m 0524 1.78 0.72 0.36 0.33 1.55 0253 1159 1.36 1.58 0.53 0850 TU 1812 FR 1428 0.49 1.38 2054 1.72 0.65 0005 0.47 0.36 1.83 1.59 0325 0619 1.38 0.28 0.48 0924 WE 1246 0.49 1.70 SA 1504 1900 1.45 2128 1.69 0.58 0100 0.38 0.37 1.84 1.63 0357 0712 1.39 0.27 0.45 0959 TH 1331 0.50 1.79 SU 1542 1945 1.52 2201 1.64 0.53 0154 0.32 0.40 1.80 1.64 0429 0802 1.40 0.29 0.43 1035 FR 1414 0.53 1.86 MO 1621 2030 1.58 2236 1.57 0245 0.30 0.48 0.43 1.72 1.64 0501 0851 1.41 0.35 0.42 1113 SA 1455 0.57 1.88 TU 1704 2114 1.64 2314 1.48 0.46 0335 0.32 0.47 1.62 1.62 0535 0940 1.41 0.44 0.43 1154 SU 1534 0.62 1.87 WE 1751 2157 1.68 2355 1.39 0426 0.37 0.45 0.52 1.50 1.58 0614 1029 1.41 0.53 0.46 1240 MO 1614 0.65 1.82 TH 1846 2240 1.71

16 16

17 17

18 18 19 19 20 20

21 21

0323 1.56 7 22 7 0930 0.40 22 1531

22 22

0048 0712 SU 1337 1950

8 8

0.47 0542 0.33 1.45 1.63 1.63 0030 1149 0.55 0.41 0.41 0707 SU 1751 WE 1330 1.37 FR 1.55 1920 0.75 0.49 0011 1.74 1.37 0.42 1.57 0121 0635 0.57 1.47 0.45 0753 MO 1239 1.40 0.53 SA TH 1423 1831 1.56 2028 0.75 0058 1.68 0.52 1.30 0.51 1.49 0221 0732 0.58 1.33 0.50 0843 TU 1330 1.46 0.64 SU FR 1518 1914 2141 0.72 0147 1.60 1.56 1.26 0.59 0.56 0329 0834 0.58 1.23 1.40 0935 WE 1428 1.54 0.74 MO SA 1614 2003 0.56 2249 0.63 1.55 0244 1.53 1.26 0.64 0.60 0436 0941 0.56 1.17 1.31 1029 TH 1536 1.65 0.80 TU SU 1707 2105 0.62 2348 0.52 1.54 0348 1.49 1.29 0.65 0.62 0537 1048 0.52 1.18 1.24 1121 FR 1652 1.77 0.81 WE MO 1758 2219 0.67

24 24

0150 0804 MO 1438 2107

9 9 0259 0900 TU

25 25

1541 2224

10 10 0412 0958 WE

26 26

1642 2331

11 11 0518 1054 TH

27 27

1736

1.55 2148 0.56 0404 1.40 1009 0.49 1605 1.56 2226 0.59 0448 1.28 1052 0.55 1642 1.57 2307 0.58 0538 1.22 1141 0.59 1724 1.61 2355 0.53 0635 1.21 1237 0.59 1815 1.65 0050

0.45 0516 0.44 1.29 1.39 1.52 0044 1116 0.57 0.63 0.50 0657 TU 1653 1.43 1.75 FR 1331 2323 1.72 1951 0.67 0609 0.52 0.48 1.22 1.30 1.45 0144 1206 0.60 0.72 0.56 0749 WE 1734 SA 1430 1.46 1.71 2108 0.65 0.51 0008 1.66 1.18 0.59 1.37 0258 0704 0.61 1.24 0.62 0852 TH 1300 1.52 0.80 SU 1534 1822 1.68 2222 0.57 0058 1.58 0.54 1.19 0.64 1.30 0415 0802 0.58 1.21 0.69 0959 FR 1401 1.62 0.85 MO 1637 1921 2326 0.45 1.65 0157 1.51 1.25 0.66 0.56 0521 0901 0.52 1.23 1.26 1101 SA 1510 1.74 0.87 TU 1735 2033 0.73

23 23 24 24

25 25

26 26

0.48 12 0742 27 12 0025 0614 1.24 27 FR 1345

28 28

1145 1920 0.57 1824 1.68 0158 0109 0856 0.43 0700 1.27 SA 1503 1232 2039 0.55 1906 1.71 0312 0146 1005 0.39 0739 1.31 SU 1618 1314 2158 0.52 1945 1.73 1.48 0422 0.37 0.63 0221 1105 1.23 0815 1719 MO 1.34 0.50 TH 1351 2305 0.78 2020 1.74 1.51 0.58 1.30

13 13

1.63

WE 1158 0.73 1829 1.66 0.48 0110 1.35 0710 MO TH 1252 0.68 1920 1.72 0.41 0158 1.46 0759 TU FR 1345 0.58 2011

29 29

0.40 30 1149 15 0.60 0041 30 1.22 0633 1758 SA 1.35 15

30 30

31 31

31 0244 0847

1.55

0456

0.46 TU 1214 2329 0.68 1848 1.89 0556 0130 1240 0.28 0726 1847 SU 1.40 WE 1305 0.41 1938 1.98

0303 1.48 0.64 1.28 0.43 0.84 2146 1.87 0406 1.49 0.20 0.61 1048 1.43 1.35 1705 0.34 0.78 2249 1.96 0500 1.51 0.12 0.57 1131 1.52 1.44 1747 0.26 0.71 2342 2.01

0.32 28 0958 0.54 0020 28 1.34 1.27 0618 SU 1613

14 14

0.49 14 0850 29 14 0037 0623 1.32 29 TH 1447 0.54 SU 1202 2038 1842 1.78 0319 0125 1008 0.44 0713 1609 FR 1.32 0.55 MO 1247 2154 1925 1.81

Time

1 1 0219 0817 MO

0401 1.82 8 23 8 1019 0.34 23 1638

MO 1329 1900 1.41 0.58 0114 1.52 0804 MO TU 1424 0.48 2004 1.42 0.63 0211 1.43 0852 TU WE 1518 0.53 2114 1.43 0.66 0313 1.34 0940 WE TH 1610 0.57 2220 1.45 0.67 0413 1.27 1024 TH FR 1658 0.60 2320 1.49 0.64 0508 1.37 1.23 1108 0.55 SA 1742 1.67 0.60

0500 1.57

1651 2316

7 7

23 23

0.48 0.56 0013 15 15 1144 1.48 30 1741 1.25 0600

1555 2224

6 6 0508 1113 WE

22 22

28 28

1501 2133

5 5 0415 1018 TU

21 21

27 27

1411 2044

4 4 0326 0925 MO

20 20

26 26

1322 1956

3 3 0236 0832 SU

19 19

25 25

1236 1910

2 2 0148 0742 SA

0536 0.54 0043 1.57 1.82 1.60 0024 9 24 1153 0652 9 1818 0.41 24 0.58 0.44 0717 SU 1300 1.40 0.69 0029 1.74 0619 0.43 1230 1.45 1854 0.70 0111 1.67 0707 0.44 1313 1.52 1932 0.67 0159 1.61 0802 0.45 1402 1.61 2018 0.62 0253 1.56 0909 0.45 1505 1.70 2115 0.55 0355 1.52 1028 0.46 1621 1.79 2220

Time

Local Time APRIL AUGUST Time Time m

0.07 1.59 SA 1438 0.22 2100 1.99

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Moon Phase Symbols New Moon First Quarter Full Moon Last Quarter New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. 60

JUNE 2019

WHAT’S NEW FISHING LUMICA UFO DEEPWATER LIGHTS 1 Lumica Japan are the developers and inventors of the chemical light stick, and have now developed an excellent range of LED Deepwater Lights for anglers targeting fish at great depths. The UFO version is the top-of-the-range model in Lumica’s leading contingent of Deepwater Lights. The UFO is depth tested to an impressive 1200m and is pressure rated to 85kg. The UFO comes in three different versions. The first version is the Multi, which offers five different light functions. Simply turning it at the base can change it from green to blue to red to multi-strobe, in two different flash functions. The UV and Blue models offer three different light functions so you can change your colour schemes or strobe functions to your own desired effect on each of the models. The UFO requires 1 x AA alkaline battery. The Deepwater Lights will be highly effective for anglers targeting swordfish, hapuka, trevalla, Tasmanian trumpeter and all deepwater species, helping to attract their attention and bring them to your baits. www.jurofishing.com

DAIWA BAITCASTER 2 BLITZ Baitcaster fans are in for treat, with three new pint-sized, hyper performance baitcasters from Daiwa: the new Steez CT SV TW, Morethan PE TW, and Alphas CT SV. The Steez and Alphas CT SV models introduce a new 70 size model to the line-ups, with the Steez featuring an Air Metal frame and gear side plate, Digigear, Zero Adjuster, Magforce Z, UTD, Swept Handle, ratcheted star drag, T-Wing, and SV G1 Duraluminium speed shaft spool. It weighs only 150g. The Alphas has finesse fishing written all over it, and weighs just 170g. It has an alloy frame, Magforce Air brake system, clicking star drag, 80mm Swept Handle, and a machined G1 aircraft grade Duraluminium spool, making it suitable for fresh and saltwater angling. The new Morethan 1000-size model provides a more compact offering with no reduction in strength, due its new low-profile alloy body and the addition of Hyper Digigear. It features Daiwa’s latest technology, including Hyper Digigear, T-Wing, Magforce Z, ATD, Air Rotation, and CRBB and MagSealed bearings, this reel punches well above its weight. It is the perfect choice for cod and barra anglers seeking a compact reel that won’t let them down. www.daiwafishing.com.au

WILDFISH WAIST BELT

The new Wildfish Waist Belt, distributed by JM Gillies, keeps all your frequently used gear in easy reach. This cleverly designed waist belt features zippered main and front compartments, which hold your boxes and small accessories. There is also an open front pocket for easy access. Leader loops are fitted so you can quickly and easily access your leader, and there are side pockets for added storage. For maximum comfort during a day’s fishing walking the banks, rocks, surf or flats, there’s an adjustable padded waist strap and handle. Other products in the Wildfish range include fly packs (each pack suited to different species or locations), waders (available in thigh and chest styles in seven sizes), stainless steel smokers, and smoker dust (available in apple,

PRODUCT GUIDE hickory, peach, sheoak and wine flavours). You can find more information on the range at the JM Gillies website, or for the latest news, catch photos and competitions, check them out on Facebook. www.jmgillies.com.au

HALCO WIRE TRACES

The Fin-Nor Offshore Spinning Reel is built for frontline battles with the toughest fish in the sea. Equipped with hardware and features that enable anglers to perform at the highest level in the most challenging environments, the Fin-Nor Offshore is the workhorse reel that fishing guides and dedicated anglers depend on. The Fin-Nor Offshore is packed with fishstopping features. From the tough aluminium body, side plate, rotor, and spool, to the stainless steel drive and pinion gear, these hardwearing reels redefine durability. Armed with an extra-strong bail wire, metal handle, four double-shielded stainless steel ball bearings, and an incredible 11-disc stainless and carbon fibre drag system, the Fin-Nor Offshore is built to stop serious fish. Whether you’re chasing mulloway and snapper from the rocks, dropping baits on reefs, or trolling for tuna and mackerel, the FinNor Offshore is built to help anglers across the globe land the trophy fish of a lifetime. www.finnorfishing.com.au

BAD OLD BLOKE SHIRTS

Halco’s new Single Strand Wire Traces are based around American Fishing Wires premium American-made stainless steel, pre-straightened wire. These new traces come in two lengths and three different breaking strains, giving you plenty of options for a quick, easy trace that you can count on at short notice. There are short 25cm traces for all your shore and boat-based casting needs and longer 50cm traces that should get the trolling crew in the water quickly and with a minimum of fuss, should the toothy brigade turn up. Available in breaking strains of 58lb, 86lb and 105lb, these packs of five individual traces also feature a premium rolling swivel at one end, and Halco’s popular cross lock snaps at the other. They are all beautifully finished with tight and precise haywire twist connections. For more information check out the new Single Strand Wire video on Halco’s YouTube channel. www.halcotackle.com

FIN-NOR OFFSHORE SPINNING REEL

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

4 5

BOB (Bad Old Bloke) is an Australian brand, designed and printed in Australia, and with every purchase you’ll be donating to mental health initiatives. BOB came about through mates enjoying their spare time, knowing a place that brings them happiness away from the day to day grind. As a Bad Old Bloke you know what its like, work, life, everything but then you get those moments doing what you really love – fishing, boating, camping, surfing, or working on your car or bike. They say we get grumpier as we get older, but at BOB we just think its about getting less time doing what makes us really happy. We are all about reclaiming those times and letting everyone know our passion. www.bobbadoldbloke.com.au

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JUNE 2019

PRODUCT GUIDE

TD SOL/TD BLACK COMPACT

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

BLACK MAGIC RATTLE SNACK

SHIMANO STELLA SWC 2019

BIWAA SUBMISSION

The new TD Sol and TD Black Compact (2500S-C) spin reels are the two newest members to join the Daiwa TD reel line-up. These reels feature the LT (Light Tough) Concept, and a rap sheet of technologies that include Long Cast ABS spool, Zaion body, ATD drag, Air Bail, MagSeal, Perfect Line Stopper, aluminium Air Handle, and Air Rotor. What sets the two new TD Compact models apart from the other reels in their range is their new compact size. Light and strong, and designed with the finesse angler in mind, they feature a solid 1000 size body matched with a shallow capacity, 2500 size spool. A 5kg finesse drag further enhances their light tackle capability, while their LT Concept design ensures power, strength and precision for years to come. A welcome addition to the TD Sol and TD Black families, the shallow spool, finesse LT Compact models are destined to become a hit with Aussie light tackle anglers. For more information visit the Daiwa Australia website. www.daiwafishing.com.au

Black Magic’s continual growth and development in freshwater lures sees yet another original addition to their already strong line-up of freshwater lure options. As the name suggests, the ‘Rattle Snack’ rattles with its built in, harmonically tuned tungsten rattle. With six proven colours to suit australian fishing conditions it is sure to become a favourite for those who appreciate consistent results. There are two weights available, 7g and 14g. These lures have quality hardware ensure your target species is landed, not lost, and an aggressive shape which ensures a very enticing swimming action. Whether you are trolling from a boat or casting to your favourite lie in a river, estuary canal or lake, Black Magic’s new Rattle Snack’s superior action and harmonics will deliver results. These new lures are available now from leading tackle stores throughout Australia. www.blackmagictackle.com

LUMICA PUNI IKA SQUID X-WING

For 2019, the Stella SWC has been released with upgrades across four models – 8000HG, 8000PG, 10000PG and 14000XG. Infinity drive has been introduced to complement the existing X-Ship system to deliver light and powerful winding. Handle rotation torque is reduced by 30% when compared to the conventional system, so winding, even under extreme load, is now even easier. The Heat Sink Drag in the 10000 and 14000 sizes enhances the existing X-Tough Drag and Rigid Support Drag system, for consistent and smooth drag pressure. The X-Protect seal and labyrinth structure repels water intrusion throughout the reel. This now features in the line roller, making this mechanism ten times more durable than the previous model. The 8000 size weighs 50g less than the previous model, and its new rotor has reduced rotational inertia by 23%, making winding effortless. Features still built-in from the previous Stella SWB include Hagane Body, Hagane Gear, X-Rigid Rotor, AR-C spool, EI Surface Treatment, and 13+1 SA-RB bearings and 25kg of drag power. The HG models are designed for both casting and jigging, whereas PG is geared for jigging applications and XG for saltwater casting. Price: SRP $1559.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

The Lumica Puni Ika X-Wing Squid is an ultra-realistic soft plastic squid, designed, developed and made in Japan. The X-Wing 90 features an ultra-tough 10X material that is strong and stretchy. One of the X-Wing’s key features is that it has a secondary slot that allows the angler to insert a Kemihotaru 25mm light inside the body to allow the squid to glow for added attraction. The X-Wing has a rigging slot to make rigging a breeze, and it can be rigged with a lead weighted system with a treble, Carolina or Texas rigged with a worm hook or on a weighted jighead. The X-Wing is 90mm in length, is scent impregnated and comes with three pieces per packet. The X-Wing has a tantalising action that any predatory fish that feed on squid, cuttlefish or octopus find irresistible and appealing. To find out more visit the Juro website. www.jurofishing.com

BLACK MAGIC JIGGING ROD

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

BROUGHT TO YOU BY

The popular Black Magic Light Jigging 173 rod has been upgraded this season, and it is now called the Light Jigging Rod 173-2. The new version features an extended butt section for more comfort and support. High performance was a paramount objective in the design of this one-piece rod. It has been manufactured with the best Fuji componentry and is rated to 8-18kg with a maximum drag of 6kg and a maximum jig weight of 160g, the Light Jigging 173-2 rod is ready for action. Plus, for every rod sold, Black Magic will make a donation to ‘Legasea – Fish For The People’ to help rebuild our fisheries for the benefit of all. Ask to see them at your local Black Magic stockist today, or head to the Black Magic website to find out more. You can also find more information, news and catch photos on their Facebook page (www. facebook.com/blackmagictackle), check them out on Instagram (@blackmagictackle) or subscribe to the Black Magic YouTube channel. www.blackmagictackle.com

The Submission from Biwaa is a lure for anglers who want the highest quality soft baits. The unique design of the Biwaa SubMission, with its thick boot tail, gives it a lazy, tail kicking action, regardless of how it is rigged. The addition of 3D eyes, along with hand painted and lifelike colour schemes, give Biwaa products the most natural looking finish available. These natural colorings, when paired with the SubMissions enticing tail action, make for an extremely effective combination, catching fish in even the clearest of water. The Biwaa SubMission is available unrigged in the following sizes: 4” (four per pack), 5” (three per pack) and 8” (two per pack). There is also a rigged 8” SubMission with a super strong wire through harness (one per pack). The Submission is available in six proven colours – pearl white, aurora gold, gold perch, roach, hitch and sexy shad. www.ejtodd.com.au

WHAT’S NEW FISHING SAMAKI WINGMAN

Samaki brings you your newest wingman – the guy you want by your side for all your fishing adventures… the jig that has got your back! Wingman’s unique rear grooves create an erratic action when dropped. This, combined with its enlarged attractive eye, entices the most elusive bites from a huge variety of reef and pelagic species such as kingfish, amberjack, samsonfish, tuna and coral trout. It comes in six fish-catching colours (including rainbow stylin, glow ‘n silver, lemon splice and the all-natural pilly), and is available in seven different weights, ranging from 20g to 200g. The Wingman also offers the highest UV properties, enticing the most elusive of fish to attack. This centre balanced jig comes pre-rigged with a premium assist hook and Japanese Kevlar. For more information and stockists visit the Samaki website, or like them on Facebook and Instagram. Price: from SRP $7.95 www.samaki.com.au

WESTIN SALTY THE 14 SHRIMP

The Westin Salty the Shrimp R ‘N R (Rigged ‘N Ready) looks incredibly lifelike, and the reason is because it’s made from a 3D scan of a live shrimp. The Salty’s fluttering legs, natural whiskers and multi-jointed tail section all seem to move independently as this slow-sinking lure makes it way down in the water. This is a versatile lure, working on a range of saltwater and freshwater predators. You can cast and retrieve it close to the bottom with the occasional rod twitch to get it dancing, and pretty soon some hungry predators will come to investigate. This lure has a soft body with an internal weight, with an ultra-sharp and strong Japanese style sea fishing hook. To maximise attraction there’s a glass/steel rattle stick inside for great acoustics. Other features include natural feelers, optimized flexibility, multi-jointed for an enticing, lively action, internal mesh for maximum durability, and hand-painted detailing. The Salty the Shrimp R ‘N R comes in two sizes, 7.5cm (9g) and 10cm (18g), in a selection of proven colours, and comes in a pack of three. www.jmlaa.com

SEA TO SUMMIT SIGMA POT

Engineered with premium marine grade stainless steel, the SigmaPot range from Sea To Summit is strong, lightweight and offers a durable, abrasion-resistant and easy-to-clean cooking surface for your outdoor camp kitchen needs. Designed for compact packing and convenient handling, the SigmaPot’s unique patent-pending Pivot-Lock handle rotates horizontally, locking in place for a secure and ergonomic grip when in use, and folds away keeping the lid locked to the pot for low-profile storage. The compact nesting SigmaPots are compatible with Sea To Summit’s SigmaPans, DeltaLight range of camp dinnerware, and AlphaPots and AlphaPans. Features include: premium grade stainless steel cooking surface; patent-pending PivotLock handle with ergonomic silicone grip for secure easy operation; large internal radius to allow easy cleaning (and matches the Delta cutlery profile); graded volumetric scale for accurate measurement; and a textured base for stability on camp stoves. Price: SRP $59.99-$79.99 www.seatosummitdistribution.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

YAMASHITA EGI OH K

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The new Yamashita Egi Oh K glow and keimura (UV glow) colours have arrived in Australia. The Egi Oh K jigs include the patented warm jacket technology, which turns light into heat, plus the following industryleading features: Hydro Fin (unique to the market and acts as a stabiliser to reduce movement when sinking); pentagon hydro body (also unique to the market, its 5-sided body with flat bottom aids stability); tin sinker (made from environmentally-friendly tin, its tuning holes give the angler the ability to tune weight and sink rate); and G-Flash (a reflective lateral line which is also included in the larger Egi Oh GX jigs, and which creates increased flash and squid appeal). These new jigs also feature Hydro Eyes, which lie flat against the body and help to give the jig a smooth darting action. Their UV glow pupil and glow edge are unique to the market, and create an additional appeal to attract squid. To maximise hook-up rates, the double crown hooks have been tuned with the rear crown opened slightly wider. For more information on the Egi Oh K, or to find your nearest stockist, visit the EJ Todd website or look up ‘Yamashita Australia’ on Facebook. www.ejtodd.com.au

SOLAR MOTION SENSOR LIGHT

The Solar Motion Sensor light from Perfect Image is a very useful item to pack when you next go camping. We all know what it’s like to trip over guy ropes in the dark, and with the Motion Sensor light you don’t have to keep a light going all the time. This unit turns on automatically at dusk with 5% lighting, and the unit remains on at 5% until its radar sensor detects movement. When that happens, the Sensor light will switch to 100% light, making it easy for you to find your tent, or to find your way out at night. The Solar Motion Sensor light measures 100mm x 138mm x 69mm, and the operating distance is 5-7m at an angle of 180°. It is powered by a lithium battery (DC 3.2VDC 1500 mAh). www.pii.net.au

SAMAKI DIGITAL GT SHIRT

Sporting an aggressive GT attacking a stickbait, the Digital GT Shirt is different from a lot of other shirts in the Samaki range. It features bold geometric shapes in blues and greys, setting it apart from all the other fishing shirts on the market. The lightweight fabric is perfect for all outdoor elements, protecting you from the harsh sun with Samaki’s UV50+ resistant technology. The soft touch 100% polyester material is comfortable on the body, plus it has the added feature of being breathable, keeping you cool and dry. Samaki designs are brought to you by Australian anglers who love to design Australian species. Digital GT shirts are available in adult, youth and kids sizes from a size 2 through to a 5XL, allowing the whole family to get in on the action and out onto the water. Price: SRP $59.95 (adults), $49.95 (kids) www.samaki.com.au

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JUNE 2019

The fresh is firing CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

During late April and early May, the topic in fishing circles here in the ACT revolved around the recent closures of Pratt’s Tacklebox in Belconnen and the Angler’s Art

at shops like Pratt’s. The misinformation revolving around fishing here in the capital is at its zenith and it is problematic to say the least. Hopefully we see a new tackle shop open soon by an owner who can see the potential here and the enormous gap in the market. This, along with the

Jason Naumann caught this outstanding Burley Griffin golden using a micro jig. in Phillip. These iconic Canberra tackle shops were owned and operated by Bryan Pratt who sadly passed away earlier in the year. His wife Doris stepped in to manage the shops but unfortunately, she had to shut the doors to both shops after so many memorable years and to the dismay of so many fishos. When I first started writing about fishing in Canberra (over 10 years ago) there were over a dozen local lure makers, four excellent tackle shops along with the Canberra Fisherman’s club and a series of tournaments which ran throughout the year. Now, there is only one fishing shop still standing and all but one lure maker has quit the business. There is now a distinct lack of local knowledge available to young anglers who have to search high and low, often through mountains of social media dross to uncover what was once readily accessible

excellent work of the still standing ACT Fisherman’s Club, should negate some of, problems that arise when anglers receive most of their

hanging off the points at Barrenjoey Peninsula that can be targeted by jigging ZX blades just above the fish. Some larger golden perch have been buzzing around these schools looking for food so it pays to have a larger offering like a Jackall Doozer handy, and when a larger fish appears on the sounder, simply jig the lure on the spot. A number of larger redfin have also been caught recently by anglers targeting the entrance to the Molongolo River, but also by anglers slow rolling plastics around the jetties. Carp have also been responding well to dark wriggler style plastics fished around the overhanging willow branches at Weston Park. Lake Ginninderra is producing small to medium sized redfin, with the rock wall near the college being the pick of the spots. This shallow flat often yields during this time of year with carp also on offer for anglers using soft plastics and flies fished using a hop and pause technique. The golden perch have

Surface whiting in winter! It can happen. fishing information from online sources. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is Canberra’s premier winter fishery and continues to produce the goods while other lakes and ponds are going quiet. There are plenty of small to medium sized schooling golden perch

been quiet but a couple of lucky anglers have had success by using shallow divers and targeting the weed beds, which line the shore towards the bridge. This area is always my first stop when fishing the lake in winter, especially during overcast days. Like the golden perch, the cod have been quiet but it

The author with a spinnerbait munching cod. 64

JUNE 2019

Jonathan Chen has been getting amongst the cold water Canberra cod. is worth casting a spinnerbait out from the dam wall at dawn and dusk as the cod are there and may be tempted by the right offering. Lake Tuggeranong is finally starting to settle after months of problems due to an enormous blue green algae outbreak. I have caught a few average sized redfin while slow retrieving Jackall TN 50s around the pylons underneath the bridge and the rock wall opposite the town centre. For those using a boat, there is a neat drop-off about 15m or so from the dam wall. There are some nice golden perch sitting on the bottom in this location and they can be targeted using deep water jigging. If you’re after a Murray cod, try surface lures at dawn or dusk in the bay behind the skate park. Some great cod have been caught here over the last few years during the cooler months. The Murrumbidgee River is a bit of a mixed bag at present. Some anglers have enjoyed great success targeting the fast water using surface lures, while others fishing the slower pools with swimbaits have found it tough going. That said, some large fish have been caught by a few local guns fishing with spinnerbaits along the ledges and employing a speedy retrieve. This is

an unorthodox technique for cod, especially in the cooler months, but it can pay off big time. The river will probably remain a tricky proposition until the cod closure.

in the middle. The Dragon Bellyfish has been the pick of the plastics with the fish favouring natural colours like bloodworm. On the way back from one of my bass trips, I stopped

Troy Erland with a schooling Burley Griffin golden. SURROUNDS The impoundment fishing at the South Coast has been surprisingly good with plenty of bass still on the bite despite the cold. I fished a few dams in recent weeks and have landed a couple of slabs by fishing plastics slow and deep around the points and out

in at Durras Lake and found the whiting well and truly on the bite. This shallow water fishery offers outstanding surface fishing even in the heart of winter, especially on cloudy, windy days. The Bassday Sugapen accounted for most of the fish, and a fast retrieve produced the bigger specimens.

The bass dams down the South Coast are still producing good fish.

Time to tune in for June cod ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

June has hit hard, just like a big Murray cod. The consistently cool days and cold nights are well and truly here, but don’t worry, just because the weather is cooler, it doesn’t mean the fish are completely shut down.

hard on you, not only with the fishing but physically as well, and it’s for this reason that I offer you a very important tip. It’s such a simple tip, but so important. Keeping yourself warm and protected from the elements ensures you stay well and keeps you comfortable while fishing for that elusive big Murray cod. If you’re shivering and feeling

the year, but especially during the cooler months, please ensure that you are wearing a life jacket if the area you are in instructs you to do so, or if you are by yourself. These save lives, and it’s so important to ensure you’re safety before you even start fishing. Water at this time of year can be freezing, and even the best of swimmers will struggle in

lure brands and styles on the market that it can be difficult to know where to start. One thing to double check on all lures you purchase is the quality of hooks and split rings. If you feel as though they are not heavy duty enough to withstand to a big winter Murray cod, change them. There’s no worse feeling than having a big fish come off due to an issue with hardware that could have been simply avoided! Taking pointers from fellow anglers is a great way to learn about new techniques and styles, but everyone is different and if the style and technique you are using is letting you have fun on the water, by all means continue doing so, as that’s what it’s all about! With these big lures being the ideal big cod presentations, it’s important to fish them correctly to get the best results. For example, pick lures for the depth and structure type you’re fishing. Winter fishing is slow fishing, and the fishes’ metabolism has

Yellas are always a chance when river fishing, however they will slow right down this month. slowed right down, so work your lures slowly and take your time. Most importantly, enjoy yourself on the water! I’m a strong believer that if

you work hard enough for something you really want, you’ll get it. Good luck to all this month.

Using bigger lures this month will pay dividends if anglers persist. There’s no lie or sugar coating that these last few months of the Murray cod season do require a considerable amount of time, energy, effort and most importantly, patience. You’re not always going to go out and smash a big cod every trip, even in the prime months when cod fishing is running hot. This time of year can be

miserable while fishing, you’re not fully engaged in what you’re doing, and you’re certainly not having as much fun! Many people may read this and think nothing of it, but it can be very handy to just remember to pack that extra jumper or long pants, as you never know when you might want them! Another thing to add, if you’re boating at anytime of

these freezing temperatures, especially with lots of clothing. With all that said, it’s time to put the spotlight onto these cod! Don’t be afraid to go really big at this time of year. Big lures such as JD Eddy Pythons, Mega StumpJumpers, Kuttafurra Long Johns, Jackall Gigantarels and 4-bladed spinnerbaits are suitable for big cod. There are so many

Smaller cod will still get in on the action when targeting larger models.

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JUNE 2019

There are plenty of decent-sized trout about! BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

The extremely cold weather associated with the Batlow area during the winter

with trophy-sized fish. The fish numbers aren’t as high as the warmer months but when there is a chance of the next fish being the biggest you’ve ever landed then I reckon it’s worth putting in the extra effort.

I normally break my day up by targeting the redfin schools early and, once they go quiet, I head out in search of a big native or trout. Jigging for redfin is the main technique I employ when fishing large lakes

Big trout and happy anglers is what June is all about. The ever-reliable Sso Mino did the job on this beast of a Tumut River rainbow. months helps to keep crowd numbers down on the lakes and rivers. Keen anglers that do rug up and persist during the coldest months of the year are often rewarded

In saying that, there are still cricket scores of fish to be caught but you will have to target the redfin to get the good numbers. When fishing Blowering Dam,

this month. Most consistent results come from the use of ice jigs, although blade style lures, rubber vibes and soft plastics will also account for some good fish

Trout will be easy to catch this month, so limit the amount you keep to help with spawning success for next season. and on a consistent basis. Drop your lure to the bottom, then hop it along the bottom is all that is required to get consistent action. TROUT If you haven’t already fished one of the trout

streams or the Tumut River this season I strongly recommend you get out before the season closes. The fishing has been sensational all season thanks to the last couple of seasons’ high flows making

for perfect spawning conditions and massive natural recruitment. To put it simply, the creeks and the Tumut River are teething with fit and healthy trout at the moment. To page 67

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The bigger fish season is now in session! LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

Crisp, cloud free nights bring about a plummet in air temperatures. By morning the frost is about, and the crinkle and crunch of a foot fall is cold comfort to the stinging you feel on your ears. Warming them up with pre-heated hands helps, but it’s really only a temporary

target brown trout at sizes you will have not seen all season, they are far from a pushover though. Pre-spawn aggression in brown trout is a time for big lures like minnows up to 100mm in length and even bigger if you are game, especially in a lake environment. Fly fishing is best when trout are present on the creek spawning reds, and repeat presentations with Glo-Bugs

Blind casting rocky points with large brightlycoloured minnows, soft plastics or spoons is probaby the best method. Lake Lyell is a little different. Boat access changes the game, and having access to a depth sounder definitely increases the odds. Just knowing that a concentration of fish is in the area does wonders for your confidence, even if you are not catching them straight away.

Old ‘Jack Frost’ is all about. It’s cold, but for those prepared it’s one of the better times of year to target a big Murray cod. Frozen rod guides and level winds on baitcasters, fingers and toes that you can no longer feel, ears that sting and words muttered to your mate that make no sense at all

a relatively easy deal, and this could not be further from the truth. In earlier years I didn’t always post in the best interests of newcomers to the winter cod impoundment

There is nothing quite like rolling up your sleeves (or down in this case), pulling your beanie down over your ears, donning your gloves, convincing a

Brown trout can be super aggressive towards other fish at this time of year, especially in the backed up waters of local lakes. measure – it’s best to find that beanie stuffed away in the fishing bag! The long weekend in June is the last chance anglers get to chase trout in the rivers and streams in the district. Some anglers will have chosen to walk away weeks ago, leaving the trout to do their thing, while other anglers will go right to the end. Waters such as the Fish, the Duckmaloi and Campbells rivers will have small spawning populations, with many kilometres between reds. Water flows and temperatures will determine when, if and how far they move. If the stars align it can be an opportunity to From page 66

Some trout will have already laid their eggs and some will be very close to doing so which can mean the fish are quite easy to catch. The ones that have already spawned will be hungry and willing to hit just about anything retrieved or drifted pasted them and those that haven’t spawned will be in an aggressive and competitive mood, which also makes for easy to catch fish. Bear this in mind while catching these (at times) easily catchable fish and try to limit the amount you take. They are trying to spawn, which is only going to make fishing even better for next season.

and a trailing nymph just cannot be done with the same precision using any other method of angling. TROUT LAKES FOR BIG FISH As mentioned earlier, bigger lures definitely attract an aggressive response with both species of trout at this time of year. It generally starts with browns earlier on in winter then it’s the rainbows a bit later on. In TCD (Thompsons Creek Dam) the male pre-spawn rainbow trout will cruise shallow rocky margins under low light conditions looking for a fight. They move quickly, so you really need to be on your game, especially if you see them first.

A boat travelling or drifting overhead, even in relatively deep water, can shut down or change how the fish bite, especially if there’s a number of boats. Sometimes it’s best to leave them and come back later to try from the bank, or to try fishing the edges instead. Sometimes in shallower water you will see bow waves or jumping trout, and theses are prime targets for a bigger presentation. FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE When talking about the brave, I’m talking about those brave souls who target Murray cod in our lakes and rivers over winter… it’s definitely not something for the fainthearted.

The Tumut River has fished really well since the lower flows started in early

April with most anglers being rewarded with double figure fish scores. Fly fishing has

Fly fishing with weighted Glo-Bugs and nymphs will be hard to beat this month.

Big cod don’t muck about, so gear prep is important. Make sure your lure’s hardware is up to task. A glove is also a must to avoid injuries such as this. are par for the course when chasing the fish of dreams. Nothing good comes easy in my books, and the harder it is and the longer it takes, the more it means to me. It would be easy under the current guise of social media posts to think that it’s

arena. It’s something that I am very conscious of these days, that the journey is so much more important. Shortcuts are available in this day and age, but they are a shallow means of selfgratification that in a very short time you will regret.

mate and just giving it a red-hot crack… believe me, there is so much more to discover and reveal when it comes to these winter impoundment cod. Hope to see you on the water soon, until then, tight lines!

been great with plenty willing to rise for a well presented dry fly but this will all change this month and indicator nymphing will be the most rewarding fly fishing technique. Anglers have also been getting in on the action with cast and retrieved lures. Rooster tails, bling spins and shallow running hardbodies like Rapalas and Sso Minos to name but a few have all been working well. With some lures out-performing others, it is a challenge for the angler to work out which lure is the one for any given day. Colour choice with lures can also be important but as the Tumut River is almost always running crystal clear it pays to stick with the natural

coloured lures, occasionally the bright flashy lures will outperform the naturals so, as I said, swap and change lures until you find what they want on the day. OTHER TROUT OPTIONS Once the season closes in the creeks and rivers, trout anglers will have to fish the lakes to get their fix until the season reopens in October. Nearby trout options include Blowering Dam, Jounama Dam, Talbingo Dam and Tantangara Dam to name a few. Jounama and Tantangara dams are my first choice if you’re restricted to fishing from the bank, but Talbingo Dam can offer easy trout

fishing all winter if you own a boat. Blowering Dam also holds a small population of large trout and there has been quite a few encountered already through the autumn months, so don’t disregard Blowering as a trout fishery during the cooler months. As always anyone wanting more up to date fishing info or tips are welcome to contact me through my email address or by following me on Facebook or Instagram. Quite a few anglers already do this and I am always more than happy to help out any way that I can, so don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. JUNE 2019

Wealth of fishing options this winter in Wagga WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

It’s the time of year where only the truly dedicated (or those who cannot feel the cold) venture out onto the water. Those who are keen to push through the cold reap the rewards of the giant Murray cod that switch on during these cooler months – with June being the beginning of winter. BLOWERING DAM With big winter cod being the target at the top of the list for most anglers, it seems fitting to start with the mighty Blowering Dam. The first thing you need to

Mornings have been the prime time to fish along the Murrumbidgee River. Best Areas There are three key structure types to look for in Blowering: flat grassy banks, rocky banks, and big logs and timber. In winter my favourite places to fish are the flat grassy banks as this is where the giant cod live. They will move into these areas to feed on carp and trout. By far the best places to fish in Blowering on those cold winter mornings. Rocky banks and areas with big logs will also hold good quality fish. Best Lures When chasing Blowering cod you always need a mix of lures depending on where you are fishing. I have been using large paddle-tail soft plastics to great success. They work well on the flat grassy

banks and on rocky banks. For colours, anything that resembles a carp, rainbow trout or redfin is going to produce. When fishing heavy timber, I always have some large spinnerbaits ready, as they are the most snag resistant lure by a long shot. They ride the timber so well that they are a must to be able to fish this kind of water efficiently. My go-to is anything in the 1.5-2oz range with a willow blade in natural colours. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee River is a place you want to visit this winter as it’s looking to be the best winter

water if you wish to use a boat. Downstream of the weir all the way to Hay and above Wagga will be very low and only accessible by small watercrafts. The best technique is to cast spinnerbaits and hardbodies tight to all the structure. If you’re using a spinnerbait, make sure you allow it to sink to the bottom and ensure you retrieve it all the way back to the boat. The water will be clear, so make sure you keep your distance from the structure. If you find large fallen trees with the branches extended out into the middle of the river make sure you work these over with hardbodies and fish them right along the length

The bigger fish will start to show themselves along the Murrumbidgee River, as Bailey Steed shows. season in the last five years. The dam levels are lower than they have been for quite a few years and with very little rain predicted the river should run low, which means

of the log. Lure fishing will by far out-fish bait fishing at this time of year, as majority of the fish will be dormant with only the bigger fish

The Ignite Cod Fury in redfin colour was the undoing of this solid Blowering cod. know if you’ve never tried targeting giant fish in winter is, persistence! Time on the water is key! We are targeting the biggest fish in the waterway, and they are extremely intelligent and very hard to fool. Plus, the water is cold, which means they are lethargic, and so it may take thousands of casts to find that one hungry fish. Once you understand this and are ready to put in the hard yards you’ve passed the biggest obstacle that stops most anglers. Best Time First light is by far the key time with that very first hour of light being the best. This window is very short, and you want to be in the best location and working hard during this time. Surface fishing at first light and fishing shallow are my preferred methods, as the fish will be moving out of the shallows and back into 68

JUNE 2019

deeper water. Overcast days and fishing throughout the night will also produce results. Clear, sunny and calm days are usually extremely tough.

Shay Thomas with a golden perch caught on a hardbody in tight against the willow roots.

This giant cod inhaled the redfin coloured Ignite Cod Fury right on first light.

With the water so low in the Murrumbidgee River, a lot of areas are only accessible by smaller watercraft.

clear and stable levels and therefore good fishing! The low water levels mean the river will run slower, allowing you to fish some of the biggest logs in the system with a range of lures. Anywhere west of Wagga all the way to Berembed Weir will be the most accessible

seeking food. For those who are looking for a bit of inspiration and are keen to brave the cold in search of that ‘fix’ then Blowering Dam and the Murrumbidgee River are your best chance of fishing success. Good luck!

Big cod back on menu ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

The Murray River at Swan Hill has continued to produce some very big Murray cod over the past month on both bait and lures. Numerous cod over the metre mark have been landed mostly on lures between the old abattoirs and the Pental Island caravan park. Trolling

regulator where anglers have been catching golden perch on bait and lures. Shrimp has been the best bait and small tubby lures have worked well in a range of different colours. The Wakool River at Stoney Crossing has seen some good-sized perch to 49cm landed on baits of shrimp and worms. Other notable catches in this area included several Murray cod up to 93cm on trolled lures. At Boundary Bend

silver perch caught in this section of river as well. It seems silver perch numbers are on the comeback trail, with most bait anglers noticing an increase in their numbers. Remember that they are a protected species, and all silver perch must be returned to the river. In the Murray River at Mildura the buzz of big cod continues to grow, with several recent metre plus captures. Local tackle shop proprietor Kym Sykes said

Having beached itself on the previous cast to get at the lure, this large cod managed to finally find the hooks of the Bassman topwater bait it obviously had to have.

Hamilton angler Andrew Stubbs with a ripper golden perch taken on a StumpJumper lure. has been the most productive method and a mix of different coloured lures have all accounted for fish. A run of superb fishing weather over the Easter holiday period had plenty of anglers wetting a line and enjoying the great fishing on offer. Other spots close to Swan Hill that have been productive this past month include the Kangaroo Lake

anglers have reported good numbers of golden perch mostly on bait. Several Murray cod have also been landed on cheese, worms and yabbies. Downstream to Robinvale and Wemen good numbers of golden perch have been taken on bait to 50cm and a few small Murray cod to 60cm have also kept anglers busy. There have been some good-sized

A good-sized silver perch caught on a diving minnow lure. These fish seem to be on the increase in many areas, which is great news.

there have been at least five Murray cod over the metre mark caught this past month. The biggest fish was a massive 126cm monster fish caught on the cast using a diving lure. The next biggest was a 111cm model, and proof enough that there are still some goodsized Murray cod hiding in the river at Mildura. Sykes also said good numbers of golden perch have been landed in the Murray River on vibe style lures and baits of scrubworms. Silver perch are biting well locally, too, and as usual some very large carp have been taken. Besides the great catches of good-sized Murray cod along the river there have been a few other unusual stories, including one angler at Swan Hill caught by fisheries for keeping fish over the slot limit. When fisheries approached the angler in question he quickly snuck to the waterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s edge and threw the 93cm cod back in the river hoping it might sink from view. He was caught red handed, as the cod floated and he was rightfully fined the sum of $484. Other stories from the river have been as strange as they come. Over the past month good fishing mate Clinton Hann has been

catching good numbers of golden perch and the occasional cod from one of his favourite spots. He says on most outings he is catching at least six goodsized perch on lures from the one stretch of water. On his last trip out try as he might the perch that were usually lined up to smash his lure were all but absent. Cast after cast went untouched and just as he was about to pack it in he noticed some ripples towards the narrow end of the river next to a snag. On closer inspection he was surprised to see a Murray cod around a metre long finning next to the log. He changed the small lure for a large surface walker and put a cast several metres past the fish so as not to spook it. He kicked the lure into gear and it began paddling on a direct course

with the giant cod. Honing in it was only about 5ft away and the cod took off cruising just under the surface away from the lure. Now focused on the retreating cod an almighty explosion of water almost frightened Hann from his boots as another monster cod obviously hidden deeper detonated on the lure, only to miss the trebles. He recast the lure in the hopes it might return and slowly winding it full distance was disappointed in no response. Just as the lure was lifted clear from the surface the water erupted to a scene similar of that fitting a David Attenborough documentary. The giant cod had rushed the lure at the last moment skidding more than half its body length clear of the water up the mud covered bank almost becoming stuck. It flailed about sending mud

and water in Hanns direction who was now standing jaw dropped in disbelief of what was happening. The bulky fish turned and wiggled its way back into the depths before disappearing. Hann thought that surely it would not return, but a cast was sent mid-stream, as anything could happen after seeing that. Not halfway to the bank the lure was engulfed in an explosion of white water, and this time the hooks hit home! Hann said the large cod did not put up much of a fight and when you consider the energy it had already expended in the first two assaults, you can understand why! Hann went on to say he had seen many great things while out on the water fishing, but nothing as good as watching that giant cod all but beach itself trying to catch the lure.

DAM LEVELS Dam............................... % Full

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

Dam Mar Apr May Blowering 26 25 27 Brogo 97 100 101 Burrendong 7 7 6 Burrinjuck 31 30 30 Carcoar 26 23 22 Chaffey 29 26 25 Clarrie Hall 93 93 97 Copeton 12 11 11 Dartmouth 63 62 63 Eucumbene 26 25 25 Glenbawn 55 53 52 Glenlyon 12 11 9

Dam Mar Apr May Glennies Creek 57 55 55 Hume 23 17 15 Jindabyne 80 80 77 Keepit 1 1 1 Lostock 84 89 87 Oberon 43 42 41 Pindari 6 6 6 Split Rock 3 2 3 Tantangara 38 29 21 Toonumbar 75 73 72 Windamere 34 33 33 Wyangala 33 32 30

(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 2019

Bladerunner – adding some flash to flies CANBERRA

Richard Barnsley

It had been a long day flipping hardbodies for trout in the black, featureless lake. Nothing was moving and the water surface had seldom been broken by the rings of a rising trout. Later in desperation, I tied on a small spinnerbait that I found in the back vest pocket, as the impoundment apparently had a small population of yellow belly. Fifteen minutes later a violent hit shook the rod tip and I set the hook. Following

a short but protracted battle I eased a hefty rainbow jack into the net. To this day I don’t think I’ve ever caught another trout on a conventional spinnerbait – makes you think though! Back in the early 1980s, when I first started saltwater fly fishing, the Clouser Minnow was pretty much the go-to pattern. The design served me well on everything from bream, flathead and tailor to tuna and barra. It was several years later that I stumbled across a fly named Cowen’s Coyote. Henry Cowen essentially added a spinner blade to the front of a Clouser and upped the

Buying pre-made armatures and removing the metal blades is a good idea. Then you can customise with the wing material of your choice.

strike rate. The Coyote was a pattern that excelled in deep or dirty water where the combination of the thumping blade and the flash increased its detection and subsequent strike rates. Unfortunately with the bead eyes and the spinner blade they were and still are a bugger to cast. In recent times I’ve started playing with the addition of ‘blades’ to other fly patterns and the results are encouraging. One of my favourite cod flies is the ‘Bounty Hunter’, which is basically an oversize Woolly Bugger coupled with a Coyote-style spinner blade. In the cod gorges of the upper Namoi River I’ve had consistent success with this pattern. Cast against the rock walls or snag piles and allowed to slowly sink it is often hit on the drop. The blades add to the sonic signature as well as providing the added luminescence of the flash. On deep retrieves the sparkle effect is diminished and short, abrupt strips punch out a fish attracting vibration. The addition of blades to fly patterns is relatively simple. Choose appropriate hook sizes and also blades.

The Bounty Hunter is a proven cod killer. Blades may be metal or plastic and are fitted via a split ring to a small barrel swivel, which is slid up the hook shank, star tying the pattern to the rear of the hanging blade. It is important that the swivel is allowed a little room on the shank so that it can spin freely. If the swivel is tied in place the entire fly will rotate during the retrieve. It is also wise to tie these larger and decorated patterns to the leader with a loop knot, which allows freedom for the imitation to move. Another alternative to simply tying on a blade is to build a fly rod spinnerbait. Now before the purists

synthetic material. Choices may consist of chenille, sparkle flash or even rubber leg material. I draw a bunch halfway through the blade swivel and then double it over. A few tight wraps of tying thread hold the ‘blade’ in place. Now I clip a pattern of choice onto the lower section of the armature. I prefer not to weight the actual fly too heavily, as this can restrict movement. Rather, I’ll pinch a couple of split shot onto the lower wire arm and allow the fly pattern to hang freely. Some tiers have created their own armatures by tying a stiff piece of heavy mono or wire onto a hook. This has

rocks, submerged structure and steep banks are preferred locations. I like to cast tight against such fish attracting areas and only strip through the immediate strike zone then cast again. Generally these are not patterns for drifting or lengthy retrieves. Spinner blade fly patterns really are targeted for ambush predators. Bass, bream on rock walls and flathead are prime candidates for these imitations and tactics. Up north you wouldn’t go wrong designing and flipping styles at barra and mangrove jacks. The limitations is achieving a balance between rod and line weights and fly pattern castability.

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go mental let me say that anything I tie that will outwit a fish is a legitimate pattern. There are definitely days when my buttons are pushed by targeting tough trout with tiny dries. But there are also moments at the bench when creativity takes over. I tie medium bass and trout spinnerbaits on small armatures and remove the metal blade. To reduce weight and improve cast ability I add a ‘blade’ of

the ‘blade’ running off the extension off the hook itself. My attempts have left the pattern ungainly in the water with a tendency to rotate. I believe the traditional style where the tie in point is mid-way between the ’blade’ and the hook, and it results in flies that track better on the retrieve. The best way to fish these fly rod spinnerbaits is to target areas where the target zone is tight. Mid-stream

Agitate and vary the pace and length of strips. Try to visualise what the fly is doing underwater. This can be hard to keep up the enthusiasm on a long, fishless day, but work such presentations hard for maximum effect. Adding metal, plastic or ‘material’ blades to a fly pattern is an innovative way to spice up your traditional offerings. Experiment to achieve balance and the right combination of flash!

Snowy region is waiting for that winter rain or lure slowly fished along the bottom should get some good results. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will see some good fishing and the lakes start to fire. Good winter flies and lures for lake fishing are Hamills Killer, Mrs Simpson, Wooly Buggers in black and green, and some standard nymph patterns. Lures to use are smaller hardbody vibes between 5-13g in brown and silver. Remember that only one fish over 50cm is permitted from trout spawning streams and rivers, and a bag limit of two fish only. Hopefully next month the reports will be much better and will give us a better idea on how the winter fishing will continue.

SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Anthony Bentley

Winter has finally arrived in the high country and the snow is just around the corner. With a few sporadic rainfalls over the past few weeks the annual brown trout run has seen some very good fish move into the river, though for a short period each time. With the lack of any real consistent rainfall in the foreseeable future, it will pay to keep an eye on the weather and plan your fishing to coincide with what rain we do get. Due to the lack of rain this season the fish still seem to be a little uncomfortable in lower water conditions and appear to drop back into the lake as the water subsides. The higher rivers and streams are still fishing all right and with our weather outlook these streams should provide us with some dry fly fishing right up to the close of river season. Although if we do get some snow, looking below the surface will be the most productive method Small mayfly and caddis patterns around #14-#16, hare and copper, Glo-Bugs, PTNs, and smaller black

BOATING FISHING CAMPING HUNTING

Smaller hardbody vibes and dry flies have been the best methods for targeting trout. Photo courtesy of Steve Williamson’s Trout Fishing Adventures. nymphs are the go-to flies. When Glo-Bugging it is important to make sure that your flies are rolling

along the riverbed to maximise results. The Mowamba River has finally started to fish

better than it did throughout autumn and will be worth a look until the end of June, with some dry fly and nymphing opportunities. The low flows and hot heat of summer really affected this piece of water and it’s good to see some fish eating freely. Fishing a dry fly with a nymph dropper will be the better tactic for fishing there. Lake Jindabyne and Eucumbene have still been very hit or miss lately with most fish still being caught down deep around the 30-40ft mark. With the colder weather we will start seeing some larger fish starting to move into the edges looking for a feed. Most of the larger fish being caught in both lakes have been eating yabbies, so a good yabby pattern fly

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Hopefully some winter rain turns the fishing on and makes catches like this common throughout June. Photo courtesy of Steve Williamson’s Trout Fishing Adventures.

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Mix it up to find results HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

As I write this article, I sit here thinking about previous editions and how my predictions were slightly out. In the Hunter Valley the main driving force on how the fish react is temperature and rainfall.

clarity, creates oxygen and provides areas for bait to hide and reproduce in. Without weed a whole lake will change, the predatory fish will change on what they eat and adapt to their environment. Much to my surprise, unlike previous years the weed beds have survived over the summer heat and

season and while fishing for bass in the rivers is not banned, the bag limit is zero. Some anglers prefer not to target them and let them do their business for the future stocks. Winter is a great time of year to make your way to the impoundments. Even though the dam bass don’t breed, they feed up in readiness for spawning

The author nailed this fish throwing the most versatile lure in winter, a jighead rigged soft plastic.

Dom Jordan with a shallow water bass caught early in the morning on a jerkbait. Temperature has been consistent but we have been missing the rain. Without the rain the lake levels drop and the weed beds don’t usually keep up. Without weed you take out a crucial link in a freshwater lakes ecosystem. Weed helps filter the water

drawdowns. All the lakes are still hanging in there. Some fish are still not holding weight and are quite skinny. Though June winter fishing is shaping up to be a lot better than previous years of drought. The rivers and creeks are under the bass closed

Aberdeen Fishing & Outdoors

making dams an ideal place to fish this winter. The local lakes will all fish very simular this time of year. The water will be cold and should be 16ºC or lower. Smelt, gudgeons, minnows, fry, or general baitfish are the main source of food for the fish this time of year. Using smaller, less aggressive sized lures that represent a baitfish are ideal. A jerkbait is a great shallow water structure

The twitches are its final efforts to keep swimming and as you pause this when the fish take advantage and demolish your lure. A jerkbait is a great searching bait to work out if the fish in the area are active and up feeding shallow. A jighead rigged paddle tail or grub is going to be your follow up lure after a jerkbait. Plastics really dominate over the cooler months and will be your main producer. Rig them to a 1/16oz head and work them shallow over cover right the way through down to a 3/8oz and fish them deeper. They are the most versatile lure you

plastic dyes like ‘Spike It’ to give your natural colours some added spice. Though you should be more focused on where and what you’re doing with your plastic than what colour it is. When casting to an edge concentrate on keeping your plastic close to the structure by following the contour all the way back to the boat. If you’re lucky they might be up high and eating throughout the water column, but the closer you can be to the weed, rock or timber, the more fish you will catch. Dropping your plastic down to fish on the sounder will work as well. The lakes

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www.aberdeenfishingandoutdoors.com.au 72

JUNE 2019

lure. Anywhere that you can see some cover whether it is weed, rock or timber, chances are there will be fish close by. The darting around erratic action of a jerkbait worked nice and close to the cover with 2-3 good hard twitches and a pause will work. This action drives the fish crazy, imitating small baitfish or shrimp dying.

can throw as you can fish them anywhere in the water column the fish are. Little twitches in your retrieve gives the plastic a move realistic action as all baitfish dart around. Keep the colours nice and basic. Sunny days I like to use natural greens and browns and in low light or overcast days I like whites and chartreuse. You can use

have plenty of fish in them and your sounder should be constantly seeing fish come through. Slow roll, burn, twitch or hop your plastic in front of these fish if the ones on the edge are not biting. An ice jig is an effective lure for getting deep water fish to bite in the winter months. Moulded from lead with wings on the tails

these quickly sink down in front of the fish’s face. Small sharp hops send them darting around in circles looking like an escaping baitfish. Mix up your retrieves, as they may want it slightly different. Constant hopping or ‘hop - pause - hop’ and even sharp hops then dead sticking will work. I like to stay mobile with ice jig fishing, always slowly moving around looking for active fish. Sometimes if it is tough, staying put and waiting for the fish to bite is the only way. A nice and small profile and not too heavy are the keys, so look at an ice jig under 60mm long. A skirted jig is still an option over the cooler months. While the fish may not be primarily eating yabbies, they are still cannot help themselves with an easy meal when presented right in front of them. Jig fishing over winter generally means slowing down and targeting specific cover. Lay downs and standing timber in shallow water or rocky points and drop offs in deeper water. Think slow and precise when working your jig. Trailers should be small and not have a lot of action. Scent can also help turn lookers into biters over the cooler months. A 1/4oz blade or smaller is another option over the winter months. Small in size with a tight vibration, these can catch fish when the others fail. Try these when a paddle-tail or grub isn’t getting eaten. Hopping them tight to the bottom or slow rolling them through schools always seems to be able to extract a couple of fish.

Work hard for big cod NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

If XOS Murray cod and getting out of you’re comfort zones are things you appreciate than the next two months are for you, especially if you are dedicated enough to be able to handle sub-zero temperatures and long fishless hours on the water.

better your chances, as it tricks them into thinking it is lifelike. It pretty much comes down to patience. A handful of my biggest ever cod have come from these techniques around this time of year, during both day and night time hours. Surface lures this time of year can be a very exciting method, but also somewhat a little bit disappointing at the same time, as hook up

in consecutive casts, but maybe I was just very lucky and in the right spot at the right time, which is usually all it takes. Copeton Dam has been fishing well of late with a little bit of rain falling at the start of May, which seemed to stir the natives up a bit. Both the AYC Cod Classic and the AYC Yellowbelly Championships were held last month and there were

The author’s personal best 126cm cod taken off the surface at Copeton. work a lure as effectively as normal. However if you venture for a walk further from the ramps or have access to a boat, there are steeper rocky banks that are accessible where fish are holding up, which makes them that little bit easier to catch. Fishing smaller lures like rattling vibes, beetle spins or even soft plastics will give you a good chance at catching the variety of fish that Pindari Dam has to offer such as

silver perch, yellowbelly and Murray cod. The Severn River has dropped in water levels in recent weeks and the weed beds are starting to show again, although they are weeds that are known to suck the oxygen out of the water. It is not all a bad problem, as they also provide good cover for predatory fish like Murray cod and if you can work your lure along the top of or even beside the weeds then you are in with a very

good chance at catching a fish waiting for a meal to come by. There have been no reports of fish catches in the Beardy River of late although the river looks in decent condition. I dare say it would only be a matter of spending time on the water. Good luck to all anglers braving the cold this winter and fingers crossed for some more rainfalls in the meantime to replenish the local rivers and impoundments.

Check out this Megabass Garuda munching Murray cod. Garudas can be used as a wakebait on the surface or swimbait below the surface. As most dedicated Murray cod anglers know, winter is known for bringing out the bigger Murray cod that are feeding up on large meals before they head into the spawning season at the end of the winter months. My two favourite fishing techniques during winter are slowly working swimbaits and surface lures, the keyword there is ‘slowly’. I find the slower you can work your bait, the

rates can be poor. However if you do get lucky and hook one, it could very much be that ‘fish of a lifetime’. I remember two seasons back when I landed my personal best fish of 126cm, I had missed at least 12-15 decent cod in a row on surface lures before I hooked and landed it, including missing a really big cod only the cast before. In Copeton Dam it is very unlikely for a big cod to come back for a lure twice

some quality Murray cod and yellowbelly caught across both rounds. Pindari Dam has been quiet on the fishing front compared to this time last year and considering the water levels are very low, it is not hard to imagine why. There have still been some healthy fish being caught, although with the soft muddy bottom at the moment it makes it a little bit harder to soak a bait or

IAL YEAR C N A IN F F O END GER

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A healthy Murray cod taken off the surface. This is an effective and fun way to target big cod. JUNE 2019

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS COD SPECIES

ROCK CORAL ESTUARY MURRAY TROUT SLEEPY MARY RIVER MAORI BARRAMUNDI POTATO

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

FLAGTAIL TOMATO STRAWBERRY PEACOCK LEOPARD CHINAMAN BAR BLACKTIP EIGHTBAR BLOOMFIELD RIVER

Name: Address:

P/Code:

The first correct entry at the end of each month will win the prize pack. SEND ENTRIES TO: NSW Find-a-word Competition, PO box 3172, Loganholme Qld 4129

NSW JUNE 2019

Phone (day):

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

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

SPOT THE

10 DIFFERENCES

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

ORIGINAL

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to, Jan Jeffs who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition! Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for April is M Kelly of Berkeley, who won an E.J. Todd Prize Pack to the value of $300. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

T Bovis of Cherrybrook, D Miller of Cobar, J Wicks of Cootamundra, K Chubb of Caringbah South, C Rush of Gloucester, C Engelbrecht of Wagga Wagga, I Errey of Leeton, K Burge of Salamanda Bay, E Richards of Blacktown, D Peterson of Goulburn, J Coates of Gwandalan, N Simpson of Nambucca Heads, R Waters of Temora, S McSwan of Barrington, F Seal of Junee, A Bird of Singleton,

B Horn of Hawks Nest, D Moon of Raymond Terrace, D Conroy of Page, C Glenn of Gwynneville, T Maroney of Gunnedah, D Martin of Nowra, G Baker of Port Macquarie, J Paul of Inverell, K Clark of Thornton, B Ahlsen of Georgetown, R Jones of Werris Creek, J Page of Wingham, M Claydon of Karuah. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE GAMAKATSU LOGO

JUNE 2019

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Bonito

The answers to Find the Gamakatsu Logo for April were: 8, 12, 16, 20, 25, 26, 30, 34, 41, 45, 55, 75, 87, 93, 97. – NSWFM The Find the Gamakatsu Logo prize winners for April were: T Griffin of Bathurst, T Hodges of Ballina, I Necic of Glenfield, J Gowan of Werombi, G Sanson of Melrose Park, H Webber of Newport, Z Mosessen of Wanniassa, I Dando of Tuggerawong, G Hall of Grenfell, J Sabo of Penrith, C Muldoon of Tomago,

Answer:

Cooking

Seafood chowder with crusty bread SYDNEY

Andrew Humphries

Heat pot and add 2 tsp oil, sautĂŠ the brown onion,

garlic and celery till onion is soft. Add 100g butter and once melted add in the 100g flour and cook for 2 minutes on low heat, stirring regularly.

Next add in the 1 cup white wine and 2 cups of the fish stock and stir. You will notice that the mix will become quite thick. Keep stirring while adding the last

INGREDIENTS 250g salmon diced 1cm

4 cups fish stock

100g green prawn meat

100g butter

250g marinara mix

100g flour

1 cup potato diced

200mL cream

1 stick celery fine diced

2 tsp oil

1 tsp garlic crushed

Smoked paprika to taste

1/2 brown onion fine diced

2 sprigs dill chopped

2 cups of stock. Now add in the potatoes and simmer for 5-10 mins until potatoes are soft, stirring regularly. Check seasoning and season to your

taste with salt and pepper and a sprinkle of smoked paprika Now turn down heat to low and add in cream and dill stir through, then add in seafood and gently stir. Cook

for a further 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly, and check seasoning again and add in more seasoning if needed. Serve chowder with crusty bread and enjoy!

1 Finely chopped capers, pickled gherkin and dill.

1 cup white wine

2 The marinara mix with the salmon and prawns added.

4 After adding the butter and flour.

6 Cooking the seafood in the chowder.

3 SautĂŠing the diced onion, celery and garlic.

5 The chowder base after the white wine, stock, potatoes and cream has been added.

7 Tasty seafood chowder and crusty bread, ready to be served.

JUNE 2019

Trades, Services, Charter COFFS COAST

HOLIDAY RENTAL MACLEAY VALLEY COAST

CRESCENT HEAD HOLIDAY RENTALS

SYDNEY

Freshest Fishing Tours 0421 405 221 Coffs Coast Sport Fishing 0434 517 683 Trial Bay Fishing Charters, 0427 256 556

Penrith Marine (02) 4731 6250 Cohoe Marine Products (Sydney) (02) 9519 3575 Blakes Marine (02) 4577 6699 Watersports Marine (02) 9676 1400 Marina Bayside (02) 9524 0044 Shannons Outboards (02) 9482 2638 TR Marine World (02) 4577 3522

www.southwestrocksfishingadventures.com.au

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

www.crescentheadholidayrentals.com.au

Email: holiday@crescentheadrealestate.com.au 6 MAIN ST, CRESCENT HEAD NSW 2440

Phone: 02 6566 0500

Crescent Head Holiday Rentals (02) 6566 0500

PORT & REEF SFISHING GAME ERS

CHART

CANBERRA/ACT H2O Marine (02) 6280 0555 Aussie Boat Sales ACT & NSW 0433 531 226

TWEED/BYRON COAST u Mid week packages from $420 p/p* u Weekend packages from $320 p/p*

*Minimum 6 people

On board our fully equiped 38ft Randell TRIFECTA Contact: David Hayman (Stumpee) Mobile: 0411 096 717 info@swrcharters.com.au

SYDNEY

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

MACQUARIE COAST Graham Barclay Marine (02) 6554 5866 Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333

Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters (02) 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351 Sydney Sportfishing Adventures 0405 196 253

HUNTER COAST Wangi Point Lakeside Holiday Park (02) 4975 1889

QUEENSLAND

Blacksmiths Holiday Park (02) 4971 2858

Mikat Cruises Fishing Charters Swains & Coral Sea 0427 125 727

CENTRAL COAST

MIKAT CRUISES

Central Coast Holiday Parks 1800 241 342

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

FRESHWATER Burrinjuck Waters State Park (02) 6227 8114 Grabine Lakeside State Park (02) 4835 2345 Alpine Tourist Park (02) 6454 2438 www.alpinetouristpark.com.au

THE FISHING EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME!

Milani Trout Cottages (02) 6775 5735 www.milanitroutcottages.com

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

Wyangala Waters State Park (02) 6345 0877 Chifley Dam Cabins 1800 68 1000

FISH TAXIDERMY Fish Taxidermist 0428 544 841

CHARTER BOATS

SATELLITE TV INSTALLED

Dave Gaden’s Yamba • Deep Sea

REEL TIME FISHING CHARTERS

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

www.mikat.com.au FISHING GUIDES PORT STEPHENS Fish Port Stephens Estuary Charters 0434 370 687

MACQUARIE COAST

Salt Away 1800 091 172 www.salt-away.com.au

SYDNEY The Boat Pimpers (Sydney) (02) 9792 7799

EDEN COAST

OPEN 7 DAYS

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

Reel Time Fishing Charters Yamba 0428 231 962

MODIFICATIONS & REPAIRS // BOAT & TRAILER

ILLAWARRA COAST

MARINA BOAT & TACKLE, YAMBA MARINA

CLARENCE COAST

Minn Repairs & Servicing Call Troy 0412 605 080 – W: minnrepairs.com minnrepairsservicing E: minnrepairs@gmail.com

Bay & Basin Sportsfishing 0413 610 832

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

Now Agents For

• All electric motor brands • Australia wide freight • Quick turn around • Authorised Minn Kota/Watersnake repairer

Castaway Estuary Charters 0427 239 650

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

EASY PARKING

MINN REPAIRS & SERVICING

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

KAYAK DEALERS The Life Aquatic - Mona Vale – (02) 9979 1590 Australian Bass Angler - Penrith – (02) 4721 0455 Hunts Marine - Yallah – (02) 4284 0444 Bunyips Great Outdoors - Lismore – (02) 6622 1137 Maclean Outdoors - MacLean – (02) 6645 1120 Wetspot Watersports -Fyshwick – (02) 6239 1323 Graham Barclay Marine – Forster – (02) 6554 5866 Hunter Water Sports - Belmont – (02) 4947 7899 Totally Immersed Watersports - Nowra (02) 4421 5936 Hunts Marine - Batemans Bay – (02) 4472 2612 Compleat Angler – Merimbula – (02) 6495 3985

MARINE MECHANICS COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour Marine (02) 6652 4722 North Coast Boating Centre (02) 6655 7700 Jetty Boating (02) 6651 4002

$449 USD (includes shipping)

www.hydrowaveaustralia.com

Boat Wrap Specialist www.xfactorsigns.com

This section in NSW Fishing Monthly consolidates the trades and services in your area that are relevant to your fishing and boating. Whether you’re a local looking for more options or a travelling angler fishing around the state, this guide will direct you to reputable businesses in the area you’re searching. 76

JUNE 2019

“

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory

ba Prawn BBAIT lades & TACKLE “Yam ” CLARENCE

YAMBA BAIT & TACKLE “Yamba’s Leading Tackle Shop” “IN THE MAIN STREET” Shop 3, 8 Yamba St, Yamba

02 6646 1514

ONLINE TACKLE PRODUCTS

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

OPEN 7 DAYS

•

A U S T R A L I A

ZX BLADES

Margay 2017

ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

“The Home of Leavey Lures” • Stocking all Major Brands • Experienced Local Knowledge • Tournament Bream Gear in Stock • Snorkelling gear in stock

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

Drop in to see Mick & Kelly

• • • •

Marina Boat and Tackle (02) 6646 1994 Yamba Bait & Tackle (02) 6646 1514

COFFS COAST Compleat Angler Kempsey (02) 6562 5307

0425 230 964 – info@fishin.com.au

$49,990

17’7” • Single axle Basscat trailer 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)

Pantera II 2017

SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228

MOTackle & Outdoors (02) 6652 4611 or www.motackle.com.au Rocks Marine Bait & Tackle South West Rocks (02) 6566 6726

www.fishin.com.au 0425 230 964 Blue Bottle Fishing 0409 333 380 or www.bluebottlefishing.com

MACQUARIE COAST

MOTackle & Outdoors (02) 6652 4611 or www.motackle.com.au

Ned Kelly Bait n Tackle Port Macquarie (02) 6583 8318

Adrenalin Flies www.adrenalinflies.com.au

Graham Barclay Marine (02) 6554 5866

Anglers Warehouse www.anglerswarehouse.com.au

Manning River Marine Taree (02) 6552 2333

SAMPLE AD - BUSINESS NAME This is where your copy will appear. You will have approximately 30 words within a 5x2 ad size.

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FRESHWATER Aberdeen Fishing & Outdoors (02) 6543 7111 Dubbo Marine and Watersports (02) 6882 2853 Loomzys Fish and Fix (Forbes) (02) 6851 1425

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MANNING RIVER MARINE 13 Victoria Street, TAREE (02) 6552 2333 jim@manningrivermarine.com.au www.mercurydealertaree.com ABERDEEN FISHING & OUTDOORS 69 New England Hwy, ABERDEEN (02) 6543 7111 aberdeentackle@gmail.com www.aberdeenfishingandoutdoors.com.au

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17’5” • Single axle Basscat trailer 75 hp Mercury 4 stroke 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) 2 x sounders (Humminbird 597cxi HD Di or Lowrance HDS 5)

fishingmonthly.redbubble.com

We Build Dreams... It’s a Family Tradition A U S T R A L I A

Phone: 0410 173 060 basscataustralia@gmail.com

Advertisers wanting to be involved in this directory can call (07) 3387 0800 or email ads@fishingmonthly.com.au JUNE 2019

Let us build it and see if they will come “Let’s build it and see if they will come,” was the vision behind the GoFish Nagambie dream when Gerry Ryan first mentioned the idea to Daryl Herbert. The rest is history. Fishos arrived by the thousands, boats filled the waterways and many fish were caught.

An impressive 1,150 fish were caught, including a monster cod. “I’ve spoken to the guy who caught the fish, it’s so exciting,” remarked GoFish ambassador Paul Worsteling. Jaclyn Symes, Minister for Regional Development Victoria came along to the

GoFish Nagambie winner Clint Alvey with his monster 109.96cm cod.

CEO of Jayco, Gerry Ryan presented the prizes on the day. “The best thing has been the excitement amongst the anglers, it’s incredible to see an event of this scale in regional Victoria, it’s the best!” said GoFish ambassador Rhys Creed. The event had a distinct festival vibe that all who attended enjoyed. Organisers were stoked at the success of the event and are already looking forward to next year’s event.

festival hub to join in on the festivities. “The Victorian Government is proud to have worked with the organisers and the community to bring GoFish to Nagambie, and along with the visitors and economic boost and fun that it has generated, this is an event we are very proud of!” The GoFish Nagambie tournament has come to a

close, and there are stories of huge fish, stories of the one that got away, stories of no fish but the most impressive story was about the monster fish that measured in at 109.96cm. You could taste the anticipation before they announced the winner of the open cod category, the winner of the life-changing prize pool of $80,000 cash. Clint Alvey took home this impressive prize and it was welldeserved after the monster fish he managed to land. CEO of Jayco, Gerry Ryan at one point took

to the stage and said, “Nagambie is one of the best kept secrets, with waterways that are second

to none, and I hope you all come back next year. We might have it a little earlier when it’s a bit warmer.”

More than 2,000 fishers, 1,000 boats and an eager fishing community came together for the benefit of the community, the benefit of the environment and for a whole lot of fun. There were fish caught, there were friendships made and plenty of stories to be told. An amazing $15,000 was raised for MS Victoria through the raffle of a Stacer 420 boat. Brian Forbes is now the proud owner of that boat. “The GoFish Nagambie tournament 2019 has been an absolute success, even better than what we could ever have imagined,” Paul Worsteling said. “We built it, and they came. My advice is to get your tickets early, as next year this comp is going to go off!” – GoFish Nagambie

OPEN CATEGORY WINNERS Species Murray cod Golden perch Redfin

Winner Clint Alvey Nathan Birch Dean Cummings

Fish Size (cm) 109.96 60.73 39.65

Prize $80,000 $20,000 $5,000

Clint Alvey took home a life-changing $80,000 for landing the biggest cod of the competition.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

JUNE

JULY

8-9 June

Lions Pottsville Beach Greenback comp Pottsville

lionsgreenback.com

15-16 June

Family Bassin Round 4 Lostock Dam

Wayne Tiggermann 0412 634 288 or sanja@hwy.com.au

22-23 June

ABT BASS Round 3 Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

22-23 June

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 7 Gold Coast

hobiefishing.com.au

30 Jun

ABT BASS Electric Round 3 Maroon Dam

abt.org.au

6-7 July

ABT BREAM Round 6 Bribie Island

abt.org.au

13-14 July

ABT BASS Round 4 Cania Dam

abt.org.au

13-19 July

Evans Head Fishing Classic Evans Head

fishingcomps.com.au

21 July

East Coast Bream Series Round 4 Hawkesbury

www.wsbb.com.au or 0403 085 696

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. 78

JUNE 2019

Evans Head Fishing Classic returns in July On the back of the successful 2018 Evans Heads Fishing Classic, Australian Fishing Tournaments (AFT) is returning and will once again be managing

accommodation blocks to fit into the event schedule. The 2019 EHFC will run from the evening of 13 July to the main prize draws on 19 July. The

young guns how to improve their fishing. They are free to anyone, not just competitors. Champions, competitors and all attendees will be in the running for a total prize pool of over $100,000. All six-day competitors have the chance to win one of two boat/motor/trailer packages sponsored by Quintrex/ Evinrude E-Tec. There is also a host of other prizes from Lowrance electronics, Samurai rods, Wilson, Hobie kayaks, Frogleys Offshore and others.

The EHFC will be held on the river banks outside Club Evans, who are also strong supporters, as are many other businesses in the local community. Make sure you check out the website and support those who support your passion. To enter or find out more, visit www. evansheadfishingclassic. com.au. For further information, call Australian Fishing Tournaments on (02) 6681 3988 or visit www. evansheadfishingclassic. com.au.

As always, there will be a stack of prizes up for grabs.

The competition is a great showcase for the amazing fishing in this part of the world. this world-class fishing competition. The Evans Head Fishing Classic (EHFC) is synonymous with family holiday fun and is now well

competition fishing zones allow fishing from Byron to Yamba, and this covers both estuary and offshore. For AFT and entrants, this delivers a contingency for

Everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sure to have a great time at this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s comp. into its twenties. It also makes a significant contribution to the local economy in the process. Due to competitor demand, this year sees the event move to a six-day event, enabling the local weekly

bad weather conditions and provides multiple fishing options. On the Sunday, come down with the little ones for the Cadet Competition. There are also fishing clinics to help teach the JUNE 2019

Round 1 of ECBS a huge success It was a beautiful morning and all boats motored in single file up to the start of the basin for round one of the 2019 East Coast Bream Series. Locals that watched the start were amazed the sight of the boats in a long procession. A total of 48 teams started in this event.

fish stayed on the bite. All but one team ended up weighing fish. BASS N CHIPS TAKE FIRST Damien Skeen and Matthew Starr headed down to the basin for a quick pre-fish a week prior to the comp. Their first couple of locations held

and overcast conditions – Damo commented that the conditions were near perfect! Their first cast each yielded some by-catch of

Damien boated. The slow flow of quality bream and snapper continued for the next couple of hours, gradually upgrading fish.

The team from Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures slid into second place, missing first place by only 40g.

Team FG Blades had a good day on the water and earned third place for their efforts.

Team Bass n Chips took home $2000 for their efforts. As soon as they hit the basin it was foot down to get to the fishing spots. There was a low tide at 6:30am, which meant fishing the run in tide all day. The morning was absolutely sensational, with great weather and a slight ripple on water, and it appeared that fish were cooperating. Mid-morning the wind came up and made the water much harder to fish, but reports were that

numbers of bream, but no real size, and after a couple more locations didn’t yield much, they moved further east to some old hunting grounds, and soon found some numbers and quality. Once Damien’s chunky 35cm fork length hit the deck, their starting point for the comp to follow was sealed. Comp morning arrived, and they were greeted with little to no wind early

snapper and tarwhine, but were soon followed by their first two legal bream hitting the deck and into the live well. The bite continued and they had their bag by just after 8am, including a 34cm fork length fish

The team used a mix of Berkeley Gulp soft plastics (including 3” Nemesis, Pulse Worms and the ever faithful 2” Shrimp in camo) matched with #2 Nitro jigheads ranging from 1/32-1/12oz and fished on

4lb FC Rock Bream Special leader, concentrating in depths ranging from 3-6m. The bite noticeably tapered mid-morning, and as the breeze strengthened, they deployed the drogue to slow their drift and stay in contact with the lightlyweighted plastics. They stuck to their plan, and the decision to grind out the day in one location instead of running and gunning had paid off. They were still rewarded every so

www.fishin.com.au TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

ZX BLADES ZMAN GRUBZ CRANKA CRABS

Team Bass n Chips landed some quality bream like this one to take out first place.

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

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

JUNE 2019

RESULTS Place Team Fish 1 Bassnchips 5/5 2 Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures 5/5 3 FG Blades 5/5 4 Snagged 5/5 5 Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano 5/5 6 Zeikel/Raymarine Aus 5/5 7 Arguru 5/5 8 Bream Attack 5/5 9 Flickin 4 Five 5/5

Total Weight (kg) 3.77 kg 3.73kg 3.49kg 3.4kg 3.26 kg 3.1 kg 3.06 kg 3.0 kg 3.0 kg

Prize $2000.00 $1400.00 $900.00 $500.00 $250 $250 $250 $250

often with another upgrade, including a 32cm fork length fish on their last drift of the day. With the drogue in and gear stowed, they headed back across the no longer smooth basin to the weigh-in. Their bag of 3.77kg was enough to take out 1st place by a meagre 40g, and team BASS n CHIPS had finally chalked up their first win on St Georges Basin (after being bridesmaid a number of times in the past at this venue). HUNTS MARINE/ HURRICANE LURES SLIDES IN SECOND Troy Parsens and Ryan Jamieson of team Hunts Marine/Hurricane Lures had a fun day fishing the competitions. They found a few spots holding fish on Saturday’s pre-fish and had a plan in mind. The glassed out conditions didn’t affect the fishing, with both Ryan and Troy catching fish in the shallows early. They had their bag of five by 8:00am and steadily upgraded their fish through the day. They stuck to fishing weed and sand flats between 4-9ft using Hurricane Fat 37 Shallows, a new Hurricane soft plastic minnow made out of Flexitech called the Sprat 75, and Juro Firebaits. Their bag went 3.73kg, which earned them 2nd place. The team thanked their sponsor Hunts Marine Wollongong for always having the Top Ender tournament ready and to Peter Nord from Hurricane lures for keeping them supplied with quality bream lures. For full results go to www.wsbb.com.au.

Podium sharing at ECBS Lake Mac round 50 teams participated in round two of 2019’s East Coast Bream Series on a mild and glorious day at Wangi Wangi in Lake Macquarie.

High tide was at 6:00am and low at 10:30am, which meant teams would be fishing the run-out early and the run-in later on. This round was very

close, with a tie for first and fourth place. BRIMN COMPLEAT ANGLER NOWRA/ COSTA TIE FIRST Grant Kime and Stuart

Walker finally cracked a win at round two of the East Coast Bream Series on Lake Macquarie. They tied with Team Shimano

SHIMANO/ LOWRANCE/CRANKA SHARE PODIUM Mark Healey and Des Owens of team Shimano/

the fish came on the chew. Fishing a combination of topwater presentations and lightly-weighted Squidgy Bio Tough plastics, they

More winners means more smiles! Lawrence’s Mark Healy and Desmond Owens for first place. Team Brimn ended up fishing in about 8ft of water with pearl watermelon Bass

Lowrance/Cranka started off fishing flats for the first hour or so, only picking up a few small fish. The decision was made to move to the southern parts

started to nail a few better models. Although they couldn’t land the kicker fish they needed, a solid bag of 34-35cm fork length was

Team Brimn Compleat Angler Nowra/Costa’s Grant Kime and Stuart Walker worked hard for their bag that tied first with Team Shaimano/Lowrance/Cranka.

Another successful round of the ECBS completed and a stack of happy anglers to show for it! Minnows, Juros, Yakamito Blades and ZMan GrubZ. Kime used Daiwa Exceler LT 2500 reels on Abu Garcia Salty Sage rods, and Walker used Daiwa Silver Wolf combos. The team thanked WSBB for a great competition, and a great weekend spent with other likeminded fishers.

Mark Healy and Des Owens didn’t quite have the podium to themselves, but this 4.2kg, equal first placing earning bag was impressive none the less. RESULTS Place Team Fish

Total Weight (kg)

Prize

1 1 3 4 4 6 7 8

4.2kg 4.2kg 3.84kg 3.79kg 3.79kg 3.68kg 3.53kg 3.48kg

$1900 $1900 $800 $250 Shimano pack $250 Shimano pack $250 Shimano pack $250 Shimano pack $250 Shimano pack

Brimn Compleat Angler Nowra/Costa Shimano/Lowrance/Cranka Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano McBarron Construction Team Abu Garcia/Evinrude Breamn Snagged Bass n chips

5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5 5/5

of Lake Macquarie and fish the edges. It wasn’t until around lunchtime when the wind picked up that

enough to weigh 4.2kg and share first place For full results go to www.wsbb.com.au.

Sliding into third place behind the two first place getting teams was team Compleat Angler Batemans Bay/Shimano’s Jason Mayberry and Terry Parmenter. JUNE 2019

Hobie Bream Series goes to Sydney for third round Last weekend the first capped event was contested on the Georges River and Botany Bay in Sydney. A total of 65 competitors from all around Australia arrived early at the event site on a miserable, wet, and dark Saturday morning for Cranka Round 3 of Hobie Kayak Bream Series 11.

with WSW winds building and peaking at around 11am at 18 knots, then down to 12 kts by the end of the day. Some anglers headed up towards Como bridge and the back areas of the system, but a lot more anglers than on day one headed east towards the Tom Uglys and the Captain Cook bridge pylons, Kogarah Bay and

KAY’S KOGARAH BAY PAY DAY Luke Kay (NSW) put on an amazing performance on the weekend to take home the Cranka Lures Round 3, with 2.58kg on day one, which he followed up with 3.05kg on day two. Over the two days Kay weighed in six fish for 5.63kg, averaging an impressive

Even though the sun wasn’t up, the boat hulls were producing the most fish on day one.

“We’ve had about 250mm of rain here in the past couple of weeks, and the big fish have come

big 30s got the

kicker to go with the that I got upstream. I a good bag in there on edges. I was throwing

Kris Hickson with a cracker bream.

Luke Kay took out the tournament, winning $1840. The field in this year’s catch and release tournament pedalled off from the Power-Pole startling line at first light, just before 7am in wet and windy conditions. On day one, the fish at the back end of the system were smaller than those caught at the front, and at the back, when anglers found larger fish, they had difficulty pulling them out of the schools that contained large numbers of hungry, mid-sized bream. Most of the big fish came from the front bridge pylons, the bays and man-made structure on the northern side, towards the front of the arena. A total of 149 fish were weighed, averaging 560g, with a total weight of 82.77kg. Only six anglers didn’t manage to catch a fish on the first day of the Cranka round. Johny Zaniol (NSW), led the field at the close of the first session. He had fished between both sides of Kogarah Bay, shallow cranking and bringing home 2.90kg. He was also the Atomic Big Bream leader at 1.33kg. On day two conditions improved with the rain moving out to sea, and high cloud persisted and it was quiet and cool. There was a light breeze when anglers pedalled off as the sun rose, 82

JUNE 2019

Woolaware Bay. A small group headed further on to the grass flats near Elephants Truck, where Chris Purnell had won the tournament in Series 10.  On day two 146 fish were weighed at 81.07kg, with

938g. Kay took home $1840, supplied by Life Aquatic in Mona Vale. “On day one I started with a ProLure Live Yabbie in pearl green on a 1/28oz jighead, and targeted boat hulls, vertical structure and

“The boat hulls were even better on day two with the sun up, but I didn’t spend a lot of time there. I spent most of my time on the mud flats at the back of Kogarah Bay. That’s where the big fish came. “I had the same game plan as day one. The great part about day one was that not many people went in there (Kogarah Bay). I’d only fished about 10% of

Runner-up Glenn Allen weighed in a 4.65kg bag. a total two-day bag for the tournament of 295 bream at 163.84kg. Only one angler had reluctantly chewed (choked) on a double donut by the end of the Cranka round.

pontoons,” Kay said. “Then I threw the ProLure D36 in violet shrimp, mainly at the flats, rocky edges, and some pontoons. I got that big fish on day one on the D36 throwing at a pontoon.

the available structure on the Saturday and I probably only fished another 10% on the Sunday. So, of that whole area, I probably only fished about 20% of the structure available.

down to get ready to pre spawn. I thought I’d catch more fish on poles, but I didn’t. At the back of the bay there are a couple of canals that run out into the bay itself. They run directly into the middle, and the fish could be found there, and they wanted to stay there. They will probably stay there for the next couple of months, I’d say. “I’ve been fishing this event for eight years, and I’ve had heaps of top fives, but to finally win is a really good feeling. I spent most of today fishing with Glenn Allen, up the back, and we had a ball, sharing ideas.” Kay’s outfits were a Daiwa HLZ Segaki 6’10” and Daiwa Saltist Short Bite Special 6’10”, matched with a Daiwa Certate 2500 spooled with 4lb Berkley braid and 4lb Rock FC leader. The lure was a ProLure D36 in violet shrimp ALLEN’S LOLLY BAG Regular top ten finisher Glenn Allen (NSW) finished second. Allen’s day one bag weighed in at 2.05kg, and his day two bag was 2.60kg. His biggest individual fish in his six fish two-day bag of 4.65kg, weighed 1.10kg and he pocketed $960 for two days of fun on the Georges River. “I went upstream on pre-fish and caught a heap of fish,” Allen said. “I went up there on day one, but I couldn’t get anything bigger than 30cm, so I went down to Kogarah where you can normally get the odd big fish. I was hoping to get a

Samaki Boom Baits in bloodworm and crabbies. I pretty much left the hulls and another good spot alone. “On day two I left the hulls until later when the tide had gone out, and I got some good fish off them. However, most of the bigger fish came off the flat on a little brown Gladiator Vibe.” Allen’s outfit was a Samaki Archer rod matched to an Ecooda reel spooled with 4lb braid and 4lb and 6lb Leader. His lures were Samaki Boom Baits in bloodworm, and Gladiator Vibe in brown. MORTGAGE CORP MONSTER MOVER The Mortgage Corp Monster Mover prize went to Epineha Cribb from NSW. He donuted on day one, but weighed in a nice 2.02kg bag on day two to take home the Monster Mover prize. ATOMIC BIG BREAM Johny Zaniol scored a 1.33kg fish on day one that looked likely to be a winner. However, Luke Kay had the right combination of location, tackle and tactics on day two, to bring home a kicker fish weighing in at 1.57kg, and took home the $100 cash prize. DIVISIONS The division winners were: Youth – Cullen Di Mattina (NSW), six for 3.37kg  ; Masters – Gary Hanson (VIC), six for 3.99kg ; Grand Masters – Tom McLean (NSW), three for 1.93kg;  and First Timers – Blake Partington (NSW) six for 3.28kg.

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

Stessco is an Australian owned and operated family business. With a love of fishing and boating, Stessco has built a wide-ranging network of dealerships, with the goal of providing customers with dependable, value-for-money aluminium boats. Stessco prides itself on the wide variety of options available which can be added to the already wide range of different vessels.

Made for...

Anglers who are after a reliable tinny that can be customised to suit their individual requirements and fishing style.

84 Saved by stinkers

Kayak fishing is all about making the most of what you get, as Justin Willmer explains.

86 Small craft storage Wayne Kampe looks at storage in small boats, and why this is an important consideration.

91 Kayaks at Copeton Dayne Taylor takes on some of the big guns on this famous piece of Murray cod water!

This month...

Fishing Monthly’s Bob Thornton tests out Stessco’s Skipper 449 with a Yamaha F50hp. Check it out on page 88!

JUNE 2019

Saved by the stinkers BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

I’ve always been a big believer in the saying ‘no run, no fun’ when it comes to fishing, so when I was recently confronted with

just seem disinterested, with no drive to actively hunt or feed. These tides with little flow are sometimes welcomed in different areas, such as when chasing barra in some areas up north or targeting structure in deep water, however in my local estuary and river systems it

With the wind forecast to blow up, the plan was to get on the water early. those tides that seem to just sit there all day, with a low high tide, high low tide and very little tidal movement, I had to come up with a plan. To make matters worse, my wife’s grandmother was visiting from interstate and the pressure was on to put together a couple of packs of fish for her to take home for a feed. I had tried all sorts of rigs and techniques to get the fish to feed on these tides in the past, and they

can definitely make for a lot of casts and a slow bite. After lots of trial and error on these types of tides, I have now learnt to grab my confidence lures, fish the techniques that I know produce, hit a few favourite spots and just work hard, stay alert to bait and activity in the area and persist. So, on this particular morning I ignored my own advice, rigged up a whole bunch of weedless, experimental presentations and headed

off across a section of flats that I rarely even fish on the good tides… and you can probably guess the result. After an hour of nothing I was still working an area that wasn’t feeling fishy, on a tide that was realistically too low, with lures that I wasn’t confident in. It’s important to make the call and change things up if it’s not working, so I changed to a few of my go-to lures, turned the kayak around and spent about thirty minutes pedalling against the tide to the area of flats that I had originally intended to fish… before coming up with my great alternative plan. Luckily the tide wasn’t running hard and that was about the only positive for a kayak angler, as I could physically make the move to this area. When I arrived on the flat I had already lost some of the small high tide, so I looked for deeper areas on the flat, where the water depth dropped from about 2ft to around 3ft. This additional foot of water is all that it takes to give fish the confidence to hold on the flat and feed. I also focussed on areas where there was weed and rubble that would hold food, rather than the flat open areas of sand. First cast and I was on to what I hoped was a nice bream, however after a few fast changes of direction and some crazy head shakes I realised it was a small trevally. We had recently had a couple of sessions on this flat, landing plenty of these trevally and I was still yet to identify them officially. They were great fun on light gear, as most trevally are, and a cool looking fish, however they had a slime coat on them that was quite smelly, so my wife and I had nicknamed them stinkers. “Oh no, not another stinker” was the call as we chased bream on the flats during

Not the most highly regarded table fish, but a feed for the author’s visitor. 84

JUNE 2019

After a false start to the morning these trevally were a welcome rod bender. a previous session and she landed seven in a row. Today though, I was grateful for the stinkers and after an hour and a half without a bump I now had

lost, it was time to get back to the job at hand and fish for a feed for nan. I’m not sure if these trevally were edible or legal to keep, however it didn’t really matter, as my

catching a bream or flathead on the channel drop off. Here I set up a slow drift along the edge, allowing me to cast a few metres onto the flat and then retrieve fairly

The trevally put up a good fight on light gear. Note how shallow the water is. a bent rod and a smile on my face. I was casting and slow rolling a 2.5” paddletail plastic on a 1/8oz 1/0 jighead. The hits were fierce and the runs had the drag singing. After an hour or so and eight landed and a few

wife and I never keep any trevally for the table as they are too cool a fish and too much fun to take out of the system, when they could be left for a kid to catch one day. I moved to the edge of the flat in the hope of

quickly for the first couple of metres to avoid fouling in the weed. I then allowed the plastic to fall down the drop off. After a couple more stinkers, I hooked a different breed of stinker, a yellowtail pike. The difference with

Another flathead to finish the session.

these slimy, smelly and oily fish is that I knew they are okay eating, especially in the smoker. They are quite messy to handle and fillet,

on the tough conditions. It was this little flatty’s unlucky day and he joined nan’s yellowtail pike in the icebox.

A decent size yellowtail pike went into the icebox for nan. with their slime and scales left everywhere, however this one went into the icebox for nan. I was beginning to curse the tides when I had a solid hit and then that familiar run of a bream surging across the flats. Eventually

Seeing that yellowtail pike in the icebox made me decide to head to an area where I knew there would be more pike holding on a weed flat. They would be feeding regardless of the tide and I was confident that I could attract a few bites

be all that’s needed when the bite is tough. After paddling to the area that I was going to fish, I stopped to see whether I was going to drift with the slow tide or the breeze and then set up a drift across the weed flat. When targeting yellowtail pike it’s just a matter of getting the retrieve right and it can vary depending on water depth and how aggressively they are feeding. After a few straight winds and follows without strikes, I included a few pauses and shakes of the rod tip. Fish on! Then the fish were shaking the plastic and I was losing more than I was catching. I changed strategy and as soon as the fish was hooked, I didn’t give them an inch, keeping the pressure on to the point of skipping the smaller ones across the surface. This kept the hook in and ensured the fish made it to the kayak. I released a few smaller fish and kept the ones that were worth filleting, adding a dozen to the icebox. The stinkers had saved the day, with the trevally providing plenty of action on the flat and the pike making up a nice feed for nan. This would give her one pack of flathead and a couple of packs of yellowtail pike, to go with a few packs of crab that were already in the freezer. Not a bad seafood feast for someone that lives in regional NSW! The wind was forecast to blow up and it didn’t disappoint, as it now had

Fish on! Although maybe not the desired species, a bent rod means a smile on the face. tail and 3/8oz 3/0 jighead and cast toward the edge of the weed, working the plastic down the channel edge and into water that was a few metres deep. With the slow current I would have normally used a 1/4oz jighead, however the heavier jighead made it easier to get the casting distance and stay in contact with the plastic in the wind. The first cast settled on the bottom and was eaten immediately by a bar-tailed flathead, that was probably just legal but quickly returned to the water, as they are less common in the area that I fish. Two casts later and the plastic was eaten in more aggressive fashion by what felt like a reasonable flathead. A few solid runs on the light gear and plenty of headshakes and I had a mid-40s flathead in the net. Not a monster, but a good meal size fish for nan’s icebox. With the wind now gusting hard, my session was over. Despite the poor tides and false start, I had managed to hunt and gather a feed for our interstate visitor. I

had a couple flathead meals and couple of yellowtail pike meals to go with her crab and squid caught earlier. It had been the stinkers that had made the session enjoyable

forget those species that we loved to catch as kids, whether it be for fun, for bait or as a feed. They still put a bend in the rod, can be great fun to target and they

The ZMan 2.5” Slim SwimZ are a good all rounder in the estuaries. by providing the most action though, with a couple of dozen trevally and yellowtail pike landed over a few hours. When the tides aren’t great or the bite isn’t going to plan in your area, don’t

are often readily available. You never know, you too could find yourself having a much more enjoyable and action-packed session thanks to the stinkers. See you on the water.

One of the stinkers landed fishing the shallow flats. I had the fish close enough to the kayak to watch it shake the jighead and swim away… yep, they weren’t going to make it easy for me. Soon after, a cast into a sandy patch was soon rewarded with a solid take and the headshakes of a flathead. When I slid the net under this fish there was a sense of relief, along with a sense of achievement based

on the little 2.5” paddle tail. Many anglers consider species like yellowtail pike, mullet, gar and salmon to be nothing more than bait or a less desirable species to target. It’s important to remember though that these species are also often more prolific, can be good eating if looked after and prepared correctly and they also put a bend in your rod, which can

become stronger than the weak tide, pushing me away from my final destination. It was time to head for home, with just one last spot to have a few casts before putting the kayak back on its trolley and calling it a day. Upon reaching the last spot I positioned the kayak a cast distance from the bank, grabbed the rod that was rigged with a 3” paddle-

It doesn’t take much water depth to hold a flathead. JUNE 2019

Success with small craft storage BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Safe storage of priority items and tackle is one of the major challenges that owners of small fishing craft face. While it’s generally accepted that

equipment first, then those items we need for our own comfort, which includes apparel and tucker, and then the all-important fishing gear. What about the catch? We can’t just throw our fish into the engine well aft, so keeping fish fresh is a necessity. With safety first, it’s easy to assess that life

certainly take care of fish coming home. Then we come to fishing gear. The last thing any sensible angler wants is for valuable rods and reels to be bouncing about on the floor as a boat navigates choppy conditions, so some means of securing tackle in transit must be prioritised.

Even though things were pretty rough, the author and his wife managed to keep valuable fly rods safe. Note the sheep skin cushioning for those long runs, and the green tub to contain fly line while casting. storage space within small craft – say under 5m – is always going to be a test of ingenuity, most anglers seem to enjoy the challenge

jackets need to be kept as accessible as possible, so they must be within easy reach at all times. Personal comfort items are of a lesser

There’s some useful storage here, but some rubber padding glued on the bottom and sides would make it that bit better. of getting their boat set up to their satisfaction. WHAT DO YOU NEED? Let’s consider what needs to be stored in that small trailer boat. My view is that it comes down to safety

priority and can be tucked away where they won’t affect the fishing work area; soft bags will take care of clothes, a waterproof box for the tucker, and an insulated fish bag will

THE LARGER THE BOAT THE BETTER THE STORAGE Obviously, if the boat has come off a tandem trailer there will be a lot of really useful storage space on hand. Larger boats are like that, but inevitably even the largest storage areas will eventually be taken up with gear. Storage under seats, within a cabin, or in cockpit length side pockets are a blessing while some larger craft even have storage racks for rods or gaffs built into T tops over the helm area. No question: bigger is better for storage but it is not always a feasible option. Small craft owners just need to get more creative. Trying to store everything in a small boat is going to involve some compromises, and it comes down to doing the best with what’s on hand to make things work.

This roomy looking alloy craft features lots of work room and flexible seating. There is even room for a set of rod holders to be horizontally mounted to port just under the gunwale deck. 86

JUNE 2019

SETTING UP THE TINNY We all are familiar with the common little 3.65m tinny, the 12ft. I used to use a craft this size to fish freshwater impoundments and the ‘Pin estuary. The only storage within this handy little outboard craft was the under deck area up front that I’d set up with an off floor shelf plus a marine ply floor bulwark adjacent this shelf area. The allowed necessary safety gear to be stored under the fore deck while the anchor and rope were down lower at floor level. This worked and nothing ever moved from its designated place, no matter how rough the water was. We’d travel fair distances within Monduran Dam looking for big barra, so cushions were always on hand to ease the discomfort of sitting on hard metal during long trips. Next came the issue of rod storage, which was challenging given that we were doing a lot of fly fishing with 3m fly rods. The little tinny had no rod holders or rod racks of any kind, so I installed a basic set of horizontal rod holders with the aft one set-up on the rear thwart to port and another set-up on the front seat also to port. It looked a bit rough, but the system worked and was able to safely hold spin and fly rods while powering along to a chosen fishing spot. Everything else was packed in tackle boxes or other containers with lids, with fish to be eaten going into an insulated and iced down fish bag. Fish from the ‘Pin or bass dams were easily stored, larger barra posed real problems so we usually let them go after some lens time. If it rained some things got wet, when the boat was unattended on its trailer everything of value was removed for safe keeping, but our systems worked and we enjoyed fishing out of that little craft immensely. YOUR CHALLENGES For most small boat owners there are similar solutions that can assist with storage. Side and centre console rigs can usually be set up with a series of upright rod holders up front or along the sides of the console to carry rods while on the water. Never carry rods there when the boat is being towed behind the car. If there is sufficient uncluttered room along interior sides of the craft, budget style rod holders can be installed. Take care not to go screwing things through the side of the boat unnecessarily; you can do this by using appropriately sized self-tappers. If you do need to bolt right through the side, simply put plenty of silicon on the job.

There’s the potential to set up a set of side mounted rod holders here, as those well-spaced ribs would be an ideal spot to mount them. Many boats can also be set up with the flexible rod holders spaced out on corresponding flat surfaces, so that rods are safely stored while on the water. A rod holder set

These days a lot of smaller craft are set-up with side pockets and while these are often too small to be useful for rod storage, they can assist by holding a gaff, folded landing nets, wallets of plastics or

A typical smaller side pocket, best suited for smaller items that might need to be kept handy. horizontally on the lid of an aft compartment, another set-up on the front deck or on a seat will see a couple of rods stored easily and within reach. If the craft is tiller steered, set them up away from the skipper’s helm area.

other tackle that might need to be kept close by. DOWN SIZE THOSE TACKLE BOXES Tackle boxes need to be of just the right size to readily accommodate the tackle for the trip. When fishing from a

Very long rod lockers come in handy on small craft.

small craft you simply don’t have the luxury of taking everything that might or might not be of use. Anglers do tend to specialise these days, so it’s not unusual to see a couple of smaller boxes, maybe a roll or two of plastics plus matching jigheads stored within a small craft as it leaves the ramp. Compact tackle is good tackle that does not obstruct fishing room. If you get a new tackle box, it might be wise to gently

turn the hose on it at home to simulate light rain and see how the box shapes up. Some will leak and it can be very annoying to open a tackle box and see valuable chemically sharpened hooks sitting in water that’s discoloured by their corrosion. SOFTEN UP THOSE METAL COMPARTMENTS Lastly, quite a few of today’s alloy boats are set-up with some storage, with punt style rigs with

their handy up front hatch covered compartments coming immediately to mind. Unfortunately, bare metal compartments are not very tackle friendly, so it’s wise to visit a cheap shop and secure a few metres of soft rubber matting to line these compartments. Contact cement will keep the soft liners in place and it’s surprising just how efficient this system is in both keeping the noise down and valuable items undamaged.

Innovation wins again, the owner of this craft has worked out a perfect way to store that rod.

One of the things that make bow rider crafts so attractive is the great storage under the front seating.

LAST THOUGHTS Storage in small craft can present a few challenges but it is quite satisfying finding innovative ways to create storage space. Just remember that some parts of the boat must stay as they are. I recently saw a small tinny with a battery sitting mid thwart where a big hole had been cut in the top of the middle seat to accommodate the battery. Exchanging in-built flotation for a sure method of sinking the craft in the event of a mishap is definitely taking storage just a bit too far!

When rod tips are going to contact hard and unyielding surfaces, a section of soft material prevents damage.

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Stessco Skipper 449 with Yamaha F50hp 4-stroke - SC

TENT -

RE ONLINE MO

it on one of the Stessco trailers built by Dunbier, the warranty is extended to two years. Obviously, the Stessco guys recommend sitting these boats on these purpose-built trailers, and anyone who’s owned a boat for a long time will preach the benefits of having a trailer that’s actually built for the vessel it supports. WALKTHROUGH Before we dropped this rig in the water and pounded it through some Pumicestone Passage chop, I did the usual preliminary walkthrough to see

SPECIFICATIONS Length..................................................... 4620mm Beam ...................................................... 2100mm Depth ........................................................ 925mm Bottom Sides ............................................... 3mm Top Sides ...................................................... 3mm Max hp .............................................................. 50 Max transom weight...................................165kg Transom Height............................................... 20” Max people......................................................... 4 Base boat hull weight .................................308kg 88

JUNE 2019

what we were looking at. Even though I am someone who fishes very specifically, this general boating and fishing rig really impressed me with little pieces of convenience that would add up to a more comfortable day on the water. The transom was an open design, meaning access to tanks, fuel filters and batteries would be very easy, but despite being open it stayed very dry, even in the lumpy conditions we experienced later on. The enormous splash well also helped to keep everything dry and comfortable for those sitting at the back of the boat. There was a mountain of workspace behind the cockpit, which would be perfect for restless kids (or adults) waiting for their next bite, and a drop-in style bench seat in the rear of the work space is a great piece of ingenuity. A user can go from seating two people to four people comfortabley by just dropping this apparatus in; of course without it there is even more storage space

behind the cockpit! The high windscreen ensured the ride was incredibly dry, and neatly mounted electronics kept everything simple and clean. The soft top bimini is just another way to make it more comfortable for those on-board, without complicating the design in

DE FOR EX

Main: The smooth, dry ride was a huge plus in the Skipper, especially with a little chop around. Above: The F50hp delivered excellent economy and Yamaha’s trademark quietness.

Stessco have always been a dominant name in the boating scene in Australia, and it’s easy to see why. Their range of hulls alone makes them stand out from the pack, and their application-specific designs really endear them to anglers. What tends to be forgotten about is the fantastic range of runabouts for general boating and fishing that Stessco also produces, and when powered by a reliable engine and sat on a trailer from a trusted brand, they’re perfect for entry-level boaters. On this blustery autumn day in South East Queensland, we met up with The team from Stessco and Will Lee from Yamaha to test out a few boats, and here we will examine the 449 Skipper, powered by a Yamaha F50hp. SOME INFO The 449 is the second largest of the four boats in the Skipper series, and being a ‘standard’ or ‘entrylevel’ boat within the Stessco range, it comes with a 12 month structural warranty. If the buyer chooses to sit

any way, and definitely a plus when relaxing on a boat in the skin cancer capital of the world! ON THE WATER Climbing into the boat was easy, and users of all ages and abilities will appreciate having the luxury to enter this boat from both the rear by the platform via a ladder on the transom or by the split windscreen over the front. On the water this boat performed exactly as promised: a dry and comfortable ride, with the smooth purr of a 4-stroke at the rear. Even in 10-15 knot southeasterly winds the ride never got uncomfortable, even with four adults aboard, three of whom were holding expensive camera gear! As the performance statistics show, the economy you can get from the Yamaha’s F50hp is nothing short of exceptional, but as with most boats, WOT isn’t the best way to save on fuel. The sweet spot of 4,500rpm delivered great economy at 3.9km/L, and a comfortable speed of 37km/h,

Bob Thornton

CON

AN THE

BRISBANE

which would get you across any dam or bay in no time. Needless to say, this rig could get offshore on the right day if fitted out correctly, however this boat is much more at home in sheltered waters like dams, bays, rivers and creeks. There are better boats for offshore fishing in the Stessco range. FINAL THOUGHTS As I mentioned before, I look for boats designed for a specific purpose, but despite this bias, I really appreciated how simple and easy to use everything in this boat was. Any entry-level boater would be looking for a boat/motor/ trailer package that is simple, comfortable and user-friendly, and the Skipper 449 ticks all these boxes. With a price around the mid-$20K mark, this is another reason why the Skipper is the perfect way to get into boating. For mor info about any boats in the Stessco range, visit www.stessco.com.au, or find them on Facebook or Instagram at ‘Stessco’.

Simple, but not unattractive. The 449 is a great-looking boat that isn’t going to strain your bank account too much.

The 449 manages to provide an incredible amount of storage space without heaps of hatches, while still managing to keep everything dry for the most part.

The Yamaha F50hp is as economic as it is attractive.

A basic sounder mounted in a simple fashion was very much in tune with the rest of the boat.

A simple anchor well up the front is accessible, and uncomplicated, just like everything else in the boat.

The drop-in style bench seat was a great feature for this simple rig, and means it can go from seating two to four people very easily.

The 449 had no worries getting onto the plane, and even with four aboard and equipment, you could still cruise economically to your fishing/relaxation spot.

The battery box in the rear corner stayed dry, but was also within easy reach should anything need attention while out on the water.

Having the right trailer for the job can only be a good thing, and in this case, it doubles the structural warranty!

Once again, a simple transom makes for easy maintenance and entry to the boat without compromising the finish of the boat. JUNE 2019

WHAT’S NEW BOATING RAYMARINE LIGHTHOUSE UPDATE 1

RAILBLAZA TRACWEDGE

New LightHouse Annapolis 3.9 operating system unlocks new features and functionality for Raymarine MFDs. As with every Raymarine LightHouse operating system update, downloads are free and easy at http://www.raymarine. com/multifunction-displays/lighthouse3/. ClearCruise Augmented Reality (AR) is now supported on FLIR M132 and M232 thermal camera systems. Day or night, AR shows you valuable identification data for navigation aids, AIS contacts and waypoints. The AR display even updates automatically to work with the pan and digital zoom capabilities of the M232 for true 360° viewing. ClearCruise AR is only available on Axiom MFDs. The RealBathy feature lets you build detailed bathymetric charts in real-time, and Annapolis 3.9 now supports intuitive pinch-to-zoom touchscreen control as well as touch-and-drag range shift. There’s also Yamaha Command Link Plus Integration. www.raymarine.com

The Railblaza TracWedge enables the easy installation of StarPorts and SidePorts into the gunwale tracks on most aluminium boat brands in Australia under 4m. There is no drilling of holes required, and ports can be moved easily. The TracWedge fits gunwale channels on Quintrex, Stacer, Savage, Stessl, Stessco and Sea Jay open boats. There are two models available, the StarPort (#03-4127-11) and SidePort (#03-4126-11). They receive all Railblaza accessories, including rod holders, drink holders, navigation lights, fish finders and baitboards. It keeps your boat tidy and free of clutter, and are easily moved to a new position along the gunwale. For more information on these and other boat/kayak mounting products, visit the Railblaza website. www.railblaza.com

ROKK WIRELESS CHARGER

Scanstrut has released the world’s first 12/24V waterproof wireless charger range – the ROKK Wireless. The IPX6 waterproof 12/24V Qi certified waterproof wireless charging range enables charging for the outdoor environment, without the need for phone charging cables. Designed from the ground up, this is the world’s first waterproof wireless charge system created specifically for use on board, with the unique technology housed in an IPX6, fully encapsulated and sealed unit. Working directly with 12/24V systems, ROKK Wireless is ideal for life on the move and is perfect for boats and caravans. It’s easy to install anywhere you need your phone, either indoors or outdoors. No more wires. Exceeding the latest and highest standards of the Qi wireless protocol, ROKK Wireless is independently certified to deliver ultra-safe charging anywhere on board. www.scanstrut.com

NEW FUSION AMPLIFIERS

Fusion has released two new additions to its industry-leading range of marine audio entertainment products, the Signature Series 6-channel and 8-channel class-D marine amplifiers. These new 6-channel 1500W and 8-channel 2000 W amplifiers deliver an impressive power rating and are designed to suit all audio installation requirements. These powerful amplifiers are built with Class-D amplification for higher efficiency and output, a rigid aluminium heat sink, a subsonic filter, variable low and high pass crossover filters, and are 2 Ohm stereo stable and include variable bass boost, behind a stainless-steel front panel with a mirror finish. Ensuring low current draw from the battery while delivering increased power, the efficient design makes it suit any boating environment. Carrying Fusion’s True-Marine accreditation, these amplifiers are protected by a 3-year warranty. Fusion has also laughed a high quality, corrosion-resistant range of RCA cables and connectors. www.fusionentertainment.com 90

JUNE 2019

MASTERVOLT MAC PLUS SERIES

PRODUCT GUIDE

Charging the service batteries on your boat can be challenging. Recharging tends to take a long time and batteries may not receive a full charge. Smart alternators and start/stop systems make the problem even worse. Traditionally, a service battery is linked to the starter battery by means of a charge relay. The starter battery is located close to the alternator and receives most of the charge current. However, the service battery is usually further away. Long cables cause voltage drop, leading to slow charging, failing appliances and reduced battery life. Modern engines have smart alternators which provide a variable voltage; after a brief charging period, voltage is reduced and the charging stops. Furthermore, the energy produced by regenerative braking leads to voltage peaks. Service batteries coupled in the traditional way will receive hardly any charge and may be damaged by the peak voltages. Mastervolt Mac Plus DC-DC chargers, available in 12V or 24V, monitor the service battery and compensate the voltage loss. The 3-step charge method ensures a quick and safe charge. Moreover, by stabilising the charge voltage, the service battery and sensitive equipment are protected. Price: SRP $1079 www.bla.com.au

HUTCHWILCO 170N PFD

The new Hutchwilco 170N inflatable lifejacket (#BASC0170) features ARS technology (Advanced Roll Over System) with a 170N asymmetric bladder for superior self-righting and head-up support. The new higher spec version of the inflatable which has a 170N interlock bladder partnered with a UML Pro-Sensor indicator inflator mechanism. It has a indicator window to show you that your jacket is good to go. The 170N lifejacket somes with stainless steel adjustment system and D ring. The outer cover has a soft neoprene neck for more comfort, plus a mesh back for improved fit and comfort, and an integral crotch strap with stowage pouch. It also features a spray hood in both models, a burst zip closure and quality 50mm webbing. One size fits most adults, and it comes in navy/black. Price: SRP $149 www.hutchwilco.co.nz

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Chasing monster Murray cod in Copeton Dam URUNGA

Dayne Taylor

Copeton Dam is located on the Gwydir River, around 35km southwest of Inverell on the northwest tablelands of New South Wales. At full capacity the lake spreads out over 46km2, with the purpose to supply water for farmland irrigation, stock and household water needs in the Gwydir Valley. This dam is a popular inland sport and recreation

of fishing tackle on-site. Being part of the Reflection holiday park group means the facilities are in tip-top condition and are always well maintained. To book, call (02) 6723 6269 or jump online and book via their website at reflectionsholidayparks. com.au. When it comes to supplies, such as food, fishing tackle and camping gear, the closest town that will tick all those boxes is Inverell, only a short 20-minute drive away. Inverell is a relatively

grand scheme of things, but it does mean the fish are more concentrated in a smaller body of water. Does this make them easier to catch? Definitely not! The dam has a healthy population of Murray cod, golden perch (yellowbelly), silver perch and catfish. Copeton has a ridiculous amount of fish habitat, even at the low levels currently being experienced. You can expect to see rocks and boulders up to 10m across, as well as standing and fallen

The author enjoys flicking lures at structure at daybreak. smaller cod, such as jointed swimbaits and glidebaits are a great option. Brands such as Jackall, Westin, Megabass, Zerek, DEPS and Evergreen all have fantastic ranges suited to this style of fishing. Another couple of favourites to use in the cooler months when the fish are hungry and cruising the shallows in the low light conditions are topwater crawlers and wakebaits. These lures imitate snakes or lizards

vibes all work well. Glenn and Sue from Bassman have designed an extra-large range of spinnerbaits and mumblers with the sole purpose of trophy natives in mind, so they are well worth having a look at before you head on your mega cod quest. With all the artificial lures you intend to use at Copeton, I strongly recommend upgrading some of the terminal tackle such as split rings and sometimes

intended action of your lures. There is sometimes a fine line between a swimbait that will and won’t swim and it often comes down to one treble size. When fishing Copeton from a kayak, be sure to take care when handling these large fish. The last thing you want to do is end up in the freezing cold water trying to land or handle a fish. Sometimes it’s easiest to swim a well-hooked cod to the closest bank for a

A selection of topwater, swimbaits and spinnerbaits used in an early morning session on Copeton. destination, offering yearround attractions for watersports and fishing enthusiasts, nature lovers, bushwalkers, campers and picnickers. ACCOMMODATION, FOOD AND SUPPLIES There are a number of options available if you wish to stay at the dam. The Reflections Copeton Waters Holiday Park is located on Copeton Dam Rd, and offers ample amounts of unpowered waterside camping, perfect for a campfire. There are also powered sites and comfortable air-conditioned, self-contained cabins, which are ideal for winter. There is great kiosk that does a fantastic burger and chips along with a small selection

large country town, and you will find plenty of grocery stores, take-away and fast food restaurants. And then there’s the infamous Inverell Fishing and Hunting Outdoors store. If there isn’t an Australian-made Murray cod lure in there for every occasion, I will happily eat my hat. They stock a great range of lures, rods and reels suited to all our native fish, and are only too happy to give you some pointers on techniques and some likely lure selections and locations on the dam to give you a head start. FISHING AND KAYAKING Currently the dam is sitting at around 10%-12%, which is fairly low in the

SEASON

dead timber, and weed beds covering areas sometimes up to a few acres, all making for some spectacular scenery and fish-holding structure. Naturally there is an established food chain at Copeton, and because the Murray cod are the largest of the species they sit at the top. They are followed by the golden perch, silver perch and catfish, then the redfin and bobby cod, yabbies and so on. LURE RECOMMENDATIONS For that prized, gigantic trophy Murray cod that Copeton is well known for, you can’t beat an extra-large lure. Mimicking the natural food source with big baits that replicate a redfin perch, trout, or even a golden perch or

IS HERE!

Every Saturday 4.30pm on

An early morning Copeton Dam cod for Dan Aylward. that may have fallen in the water, or even big moths, bats or birds. And you can’t beat that explosion a cod creates on a topwater lure, especially when they hit while you’re least expecting it! The final lure types that I recommend are vibration/reaction style baits. Spinnerbaits, chatterbaits and

even trebles. It is such a heart breaking moment when you have spent days casting and finally get that big bite, then feel a split ring let go or a treble straighten mid fight (yes I’m speaking from past experiences). On the other hand, make sure you don’t overdo it to the point where you impede the

photo and un-hooking. The temperatures in winter fall well below zero and you will often have your guides and reels ice up and even freeze over while fishing late nights and early mornings. Remember to stay warm, take care, and enjoy your Copeton Dam fishing adventure!

OUTDOOR & FISHING SHOW

Listen on 5am-6am Every Saturday JUNE 2019

UNBEATABLE 150hp FourStroke

The Mercury 150hp FourStroke is the largest displacement and lowest weight outboard in its class. The perfect partner for powering trailer boats.

UNEXPECTEDLY COMPACT MERCURY

HONDA

YAMAHA

DISPLACEMENT COMPARISON SUZUKI

3000

2500

3000cc

206kg 217kg

2867cc

2000

223kg

2670cc 2354cc

232kg MERCURY

THE MERCURY 150HP FOURSTROKE COMES IN AT AN INCREDIBLY LIGHT 206KG* MAKING IT THE LIGHTEST IN ITS HORSEPOWER CLASS.

YAMAHA

HONDA

THE MERCURY 150HP FOURSTROKE IS THE LARGEST DISPLACEMENT, HELPING OUT GUN OTHER 4-STROKES IN THE CATEGORY.

*Based on Mercury’s 150hp (L) model. Information based on all manufacturers’ claimed horsepower and weight figures.

mercurymarine.com.au

SUZUKI