New South Wales Fishing Monthly October 2019 by Fishing Monthly

10 PAGES OF THE BEST PRODUCTS FROM AFTA 2019!

Features Running water trout tactics 2019 AFTA tackle award winners • How to be a citizen scientist •

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NEW FIND THE LOGO COMPETITION SEE INSIDE

Tried & Tested

Boating & Kayaking • • •

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Gearing up for SUP camping Yakking around Nambucca Heads The inside word on buying a used boat

Sea Jay 468 Navigator with Yamaha F70hp October, 2019 Fishing Monthly G R O U P

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October 2019, Vol. 25 No. 3

Contents

From the Editor’s Desk...

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OUR OUR COVER COVER Wayne Dubois caught this stunning brook trout on an Sso Mino sinking hardbody. A Ross Virt image. TO SUBSCRIBE SEE PAGE 39 FIND THE DAIWA LOGO COMPETITION PAGE 37 New South Wales Fishing Monthly magazine goes on sale the first week of each month (latest sale date 7th of the month).

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NEW SOUTH WALES FISHING MONTHLY

local tackle store to order product they had seen. Naturally, the most common answers to ‘the best thing about the show’ were the interactive displays: the barra filled Supertank, the lure swimming tank and the stands of the major brands. Nothing surprising there – we know that it’s fun to see a lure swim and a fish eat it, as well as have a go on a fishing simulator. So if you came, thank you for doing so. For those who missed it, whack it in the diary for next year. I’m pretty sure the tackle industry actually likes your company even if they were a little scared to go on that first date!

The response was overwhelmingly positive. For $10, you got to come and see the vast array of tackle on display from over 60 companies that service the Australian fishing retail industry. Fishing Monthly conducted some exit surveys, and we want to thank everyone who took a minute or two to answer some questions. Your responses will help mould what the public day will be in future. It was encouraging that 98% of visitors thought it was great value for money, even though retail selling wasn’t allowed, and a similar percentage of visitors were off to their

amongst its competitors. Some categories have only a handful of entries while others have plenty. There were over 40 hardbodied lures in the Hard Body category alone! We have published winners and runners up and these products are worth a look. We’re sure you’ll see them in your local tackle store in the coming months. PUBLIC DAY A GREAT SUCCESS It’s taken us a long time to get the public a day to access the AFTA Trade Show, but on the last Saturday of the show, you guys got to do just that – see all of the gear that tackle stores see before it comes out in the stores.

NEW GEAR FROM AFTA READY FOR SUMMER With the timing this year, the AFTA Trade Show was held just after we went to print with the September issues, which meant we weren’t able to bring you the latest and award winning products until this issue. The awards are voted on by retailers. Each store gets to cast a single vote in each division and these are tallied to find a winner. Some categories are closely fought while others have a winner by a country mile – it just depends on how innovative the product is and if it stands out

OCTOBER 2019

AUST

REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 66 Dam Levels 74 Fun Page 97 Tides 77 Trade Directory 90 Tournament News 79 What’s New Fishing 49 What’s New Boating 94 Fly fishing 74 SPECIAL FEATURES Running water trout fishing 8 2019 AFTA tackle awards 48 PARTNER CONTENT Black Magic Masterclass 12 DPI Recreational Fishing News 31

BOATING AND KAYAK

PRO

BYRON COAST The Tweed 28 Ballina 30 Yamba 32 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 34 South West Rocks 36 MACQUARIE COAST The Hastings 38 Forster 40 Harrington-Taree 41 HUNTER COAST Erina 42 Hunter Coast 42 Port Stephens 43 Swansea 44 SYDNEY Sydney 14 Sydney North 16 Botany Bay 18 Sydney South 20 Sydney Rock and Beach 22 Pittwater 24 The Hawkesbury 26 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 59 Nowra 61 BATEMANS COAST Batemans Bay 60 Merimbula 62 Narooma 63 EDEN COAST Bermagui 64 Mallacoota 65 Tathra 65 FRESHWATER Lithgow-Oberon 67 Wagga Wagga 68 Robinvale 69 New England 69 Albury-Wodonga 70 Yarrawonga 70 Hunter Valley 71 Snowy Mountains 71 Canberra 72 Batlow 76

ING TRADE

X-Rap® Peto (“THE BEAST OF FINNLAND”) combines Rapala’s fish-catching X-Rap® construction with a beautiful colour matched soft tail to create a seamless hybrid bait. With its slow sink rate and perfectly horizontal fall, X-Rap® Peto is the ideal choice for large murray cod, barramundi, mulloway and flathead. This angler friendly lure is easy to use, simply cast lure out, let it sink to required depth, begin a constant slow wind and let the tail thump away to attract large predators with its wide action. Or try a jerk & pause allowing the bait to slowly swim into the depths. The soft tail is firmly secured to the body with a 6-point stainless plate. Spare tail included. Fitted with VMC® Coastal Black™ hooks. Model No. XRPT20 XRPT14

Running Depth 0.5-1m 0.5-1m

Length 20cm 14cm

Weight 83g 39g

Buoyancy Slow Sink Slow Sink

Trout

The best running water trout fishing in NSW BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

The long trout closed season in NSW provides great protection for spawning trout, and without it our creeks and rivers would get decimated, because spawning trout are super aggressive and very easy to catch.

down just about anything that swims or drifts by. Add to this the fact that there has been little in the way of food during the coldest and harshest months of the year, and you have hungry trout, spawning urge trout and relaxed or unpressured trout to get stuck into! All this adds up to some of the best and easiest running water trout fishing you will experience all

big stretches of water is an almost guaranteed way to get you good numbers of fish, and the best way to cover lots of water quickly and seek out these active or easy to catch fish is by casting and retrieving lures. Quite often the first person to cast a lure near these fish will catch them, so it pays to cover as much water as possible during the first weeks of the trout season.

are popular with clued-in trout anglers, and I believe that every trout angler’s tackle box should contain some of these. As I mentioned earlier,

something that’s overlooked by many trout anglers, but it’s significant because these fluctuations in flow can get your spinner over-spinning one second and then stop

fish and spook fewer of them with this style of spinner. When you’re trying to match the depth of the water you’re fishing, the flow of the water, trying to match the

You don’t need many lures to be a successful trout angler. A small selection of sinking hardbodies and spinners will cover most of your needs, but it also pays to carry a couple of plastics and floating hardbodies just in case.

The down-and-across technique with sinking hardbodies like the SSO Mino is the go-to technique when targeting trout in full flowing rivers. There is great fishing to be had when the season reopens, and this is due to a number of factors. Depending on the weather, the rainbow trout in particular may be still in that spawn frame of mind, and that alone can make them quite easy to catch. On top of this the trout have had zero angling pressure for months, meaning they will have their guard down and will chase

season long. Now, taking all of these factors into consideration you can see that you’d have to be silly to not be out there getting amongst it as soon as the season opens. There are a few keys to success early in the season, and the most important one is covering as much water as possible to come across these fish. Doing the hard yards and covering

LURES There are many trout lures on the market these days but you really only need a few to be successful, not only at the beginning of the season but all season long. Sinking minnow style hardbodies are the pick of the lot, and are hard to beat due to their realistic nature and their versatility. Lures like the Insanity Tackle SSO Minos and Rapala CD ranges

these fish are looking for anything to eat and will chase down lures from one side of the river to the other. For that reason, any flashy lure is a great option this early in the season as this style of lure can gain the attention of trout from far and wide.

spinning shortly after as it hits a pocket of slack or slacker water. In this normal situation or retrieve when the spinner stops spinning in the slacker water it just looks like a chunk of metal. The trout will often spook because

most prevalent food source or trying to match the fish’s mood on any given day, the abovementioned lures are really all you need. Just bring a selection of natural and bright or contrasting colours and a selection of different sizes and weights, and you’re

Trout fishing certainly does take you to some stunning places.

RINCON

Like the California point break it was named for, the Rincon has a classic West Coast straight bridge, wrapping style lines and edgy curved temples.

GREEN MIRROR: Enhanced vision and contrast for fishing inshore and on flats. • Copper Base • 10% light transmission

OCTOBER 2019

OPTIMAL USE: • Sight fishing in full sun • High contrast

When it comes to selecting a spinner, I strongly advise you to stick with the ones that have some sort of rear teaser like Worden’s Rooster Tails, JM Gillies Cocktails and Insanity Tackle Bling Spins to name a few. The reason for this is because of the unpredictable and often volatile nature of a river, which means you have fluctuating flows throughout any single retrieve. It’s

it looks so unnatural and different from what the fish was chasing. Not only will you not catch that fish on that retrieve, you may never catch it again that day or on that lure. Conversely, a rear teaser spinner in the same situation when it hits the slack water still looks appealing to the fish as the teaser flutters and dances in the current. This means you will catch more

all set for some successful trout luring in our creeks and rivers. You can also get great results on soft plastics in the 1-3” range rigged with the appropriate weight jigheads for the depth and flow of the system you are fishing. Soft plastics are particularly good after the season opening when the fish have all seen a thousand lures, and something super natural

Trout is what is needed to help fool the now wiser fish. The only other lure worth having in your arsenal is a small 2-6cm floating

water, there’s only a few you really need to know. This style of fishing is one of the most popular of all angling techniques around

way. You don’t want to go too fast, but obviously if you are going too slow your lure will not be working. If the water you are fishing

The better option in high flows is to use the downand-across technique. With this technique, cast your lure across and downstream

bank downstream of your position. If possible, try not to wind if you know your lure is working; the only time you need to wind is if

the river continue to work your lure. Once your lure has swung from the other side of the river to the bank

Spinners with rear teasers are far better than those without, and are a must-have for all running water trout anglers. minnow style hardbody. This style of lure is great for fishing shallow weedy creeks and rivers because it can be fished slower than the aforementioned lures, and allowed to float back up when it starts touching the weed or bottom. TECHNIQUES When it comes to retrieve techniques when targeting trout in flowing

the world, and especially here in the land of Oz, because it is so easy. The most common and most proven technique is simply to cast upstream and retrieve your lure just a little bit faster than the flow of the water. The idea is to get your lure just working but also to make it look like it’s coming down the river or creek in a fairly natural

is shallow enough, simply jump in and fish your way upstream, casting ahead of yourself as you go. If the water you are fishing is running high and fast you can still use the upstream technique, but this can be hard work for you casting and winding flat out to keep up with your lure. The fish also have a hard time chasing down the lure.

Sinking minnow-style hardbodies are the pick of the lot when it comes to targeting trout with lures. Every tackle box should be loaded with these. and then take up the slack in your line. You should feel your lure working from the current alone. Allow your lure to swing from one side of the river to back to the

your lure hits a slack pocket of water. If you feel the lure stop working just lift your rod or wind just enough to get your lure working again and then let the flow of

below you, wind it in and repeat – but this time cast slightly further across or slightly closer. Each time you do this your lure will To page 10

OCTOBER 2019

Trout From page 9

track through a different part of the river, and you can effectively fish the entire river this way. When it comes to retrieve strategies for soft plastics, it depends on the style of plastic you are using. Creature style

plastics and small 1-2” curltails can be used the same way as the aforementioned hardbodies, but work best when allowed to drift along the bottom nice and naturally. Match the plastic with just enough weight in your jighead to get it to the bottom but

Small soft plastics also work well in the running water. Match the weight of your jighead to the flow of the river for best results.

also drifting along the bottom naturally. It takes a bit of trial and error to get the right weight, but when you get it right it can almost be like shooting fish in a barrel with this technique.

REGULATIONS The annual trout spawning closure runs from the end of the June long weekend to the start of the October long weekend. This closure allows the trout to breed uninterrupted. The size and bag limits are as follows. Fly and lure only waters These artificial-only waterways include Bobundara Creek, Eucumbene River, Khancoban Creek, Kybeyan River, McLaughlin River, Mowamba River, Swampy Plain River, Thredbo River, Flea Creek, Wildes Meadow Creek, Black Lake, Bell River and Molong Creek. The minimum size of fish in these waters is 25cm, and there is a daily limit of 2 fish (1 or more species), and a possession limit of 4 fish. The Eucumbene and Thredbo rivers are unique in that they have a shorter open season, which runs from the start of the October long weekend to 1 May. After that, the Eucumbene and Thredbo rivers are designated as trout spawning streams, with a different set of regulations, until the season closure. Trout spawning streams Trout taken from the Eucumbene and Thredbo rivers from 1 May to the June long weekend have a minimum legal length of 50cm, a daily limit of 1 fish, and a possession limit of 2. General trout waters General trout streams, dams and all other waters have a minimum size of 25cm, a daily limit of 5, and a possession limit of 10. General trout streams are subject to the annual closed season but it doesn’t apply to general trout dams and other waters. Regulations are subject to change, so check the rules at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing before you fish.

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CONCLUSION As you can see you don’t need many lures to catch trout in flowing water, and the techniques are super easy for this style of fishing. Everything I

mentioned, from lures to techniques, will work all season long, but the best of the running water fishing happens at the beginning of the season. Even though some waterways can be

busy around the opening of the season, it pays to go and get your share of the action. To put it simply, it’s the best running water trout fishing you’ll experience all year.

The hunt for trout can take you to some picturesque locations.

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BLACK MAGIC

MASTER CLASS

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

Fishing unweighted baits for big snapper When it comes to catching snapper in the shallows, one of the most deadly techniques known to anglers is the old unweighted bait down a berley trail trick. Often referred to as floating baits or stray lining, this way of fishing is about as simple as it gets, to the point where many anglers, especially beginners, fall into the trap of thinking it’s not complicated or fancy enough to be effective! Before we get into the nitty gritty, it’s important to have good base knowledge of the areas this type of fishing works best at. As a general rule, reefy, hard-bottomed areas

The author with a couple of solid early morning reds caught on unweighted baits. it’s important to have the right set up for the job. Too heavy and you won’t be able to cast, but too light

and you will be blown away by the majority of the bigger fish you hook. It’s important to find an outfit that falls right in the middle of too light or too heavy category. I’ve found this to be a rod around 7ft rated at 8-12kg, matched with a 4000-size reel. On this I spool up with 20lb Black Magic Rainbow Braid, which has tremendous knot strength and casts like a dream. I like to run a 2m length of 20-30lb Black Magic Fluorocarbon leader for a trace. Then it’s just a matter of tying on your hook on and you’re ready to catch some reds! On some occasions when the current is running, you may need to add a smaller pea sized sinker to your rig, but only do it if you need to. I always use Black Magic C-Points for snapper fishing

in 5/0-8/0 depending on bait sizes. These hooks are super strong and sharp and have never let me down. For small to medium sized-squid I prefer to rig whole on a snell rig with two 6/0s while larger squid with 20cm plus hoods are best too cut into heads and strips to suit a single hook. The same goes for other top snapper baits like pilchards, garfish, fillets of slimy mackerel and bonito. Now that you know when where and what to do, there’s still a couple of things you can do to improve your success. Berley is a big one of these that no doubt will catch you more snapper. Before each trip, I like to mash up a few blocks of pilchards into a 20L bucket along with a packet or two of chicken pellets and a few capfuls of tuna oil.

Hooked up and in the closing stages of a battle with a big snapper. from 5-30m would be the first thing I would be looking for. Theses reefs can be the size of a house, or in some cases cover several square kilometres. Smaller isolated reefs are always high potential areas and a good place to start looking, as they take much of the guesswork out of the equation. Baitfish love to congregate around these areas and snapper generally aren’t too far away. On larger reef systems it takes a bit more experience to find where is going to fish best. Before you fish these places, have a sound around and look for features on the larger reef that will attract and concentrate baitfish. Things like bommies, gutters or drop offs are prime examples of what to look for before picking 12

OCTOBER 2019

the best of these, and your judgement should be based on the amount of baitfish holding there. Once you’ve found a spot, the next most important thing is to fish it during the prime time. About 90% of snapper caught in the shallows will come from the first two hours of the morning and the last two hours of the afternoon, as this is when snapper will move in and hunt in the shallows. Outside of this window you’re better off chasing snapper on the deeper reefs using paternoster or ledger style rigs such as the deadly Black Magic Snapper Snatchers and Snapper Snacks. This is something I will go into in an upcoming Masterclass, but for now, back to the shallow water stuff. Once you know where you are going to fish and when you are going be there, it’s time to think

about your equipment. You’ll be casting unweighted baits, but you’ll still require distance, so

Larger baits like this whole squid are better snelled.

The author took this better quality fish around the 7kg mark.

When you first arrive at the spot you are going to fish, the first thing you should do is throw in a dozen or so handfuls into the water to get things going. After this, one or two is all that’s required every ten minutes or so. If there’s any snapper around, it won’t take long and they will start stiffing out the berley. Sometimes they can be so revved up by it that your bait has barley had time to sink and your reel is screaming. I usually fish two rods if I’m by myself. One I cast out as far as I can and place in gear in the rod holder and the other I hold onto, ready to strike. That’s all there is to it, so why not get out and give it a crack it?

QUALITY TACKLE...

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Cowan Wise, Cowan Wise, 28lb snapper, WA, ® 28lb snapper, WA, C Point 6/0 hook ® 6/0 hook C Point & 80lb Tough Trace. & 80lb Tough Trace.

Peter Flor, 27lb snapper, Gold Coast QLD. ® 27lb snapper, Gold Coast QLD. Peter Flor, KL 8/0 ‘Original’ rig using squid for bait. Snatcher ® Snatcher 8/0rigs ‘Original’ rig10 using squid for bait. “I’ve used KL these for over years”. “I’ve used these rigs for over 10 years”.

Paul Lennon, Port Stephens NSW, Paul Lennon, Port Stephens NSW, & 30lb Tough Fluorocarbon. C Point® 6/0 hooks C Point® 6/0 hooks & 30lb Tough Fluorocarbon.

Cameron Thomas, Tasman Bay NZ, ® 5/0 Cameron Thomas, Tasman Bay NZ,‘Chartreuse’, 20lb snapper, Snapper Snack ® 5/0 ‘Chartreuse’, 20lb snapper, Snapper Snack “These rigs are insane! On one day 8 out of 10 “These arecaught insane!on On one day 8 out of 10 snapperrigs were this rig”. snapper were caught on this rig”.

TURN THE TURN ON ON THE THE BITE BITE WITH WITH THE “THE ULTIMATE COMBINATION COMBINATION SNAPPER OF LURE & RIG” SNAPPER SNACK SNACK “THE ULTIMATE OF LURE & RIG” ® ®

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Springtime is king time SYDNEY

Paul O’Hagan

The fishing around Sydney so far this year has been exceptional and hopefully

Harbour Reserve has been a good way to pick up flathead or bream along the sandy areas in the morning on the run-in tide. Around The Spit bridge, there are still plenty of squid

John O’Connor took this average size kingfish on a livebait. this will continue as we work our way through spring and into summer. Kingfish have been consistent for anglers right through the harbour and in big numbers, allowing anglers to pick up a fish or two on most days in safe waters even if the swell is pumping outside the heads. A lack of rain in the Sydney area has the water very clear and there have been times when some anglers have dropped down in leader size and had a lot of good results… until they picked up one of the larger fish and they had to battle to try and land the fish on silly string! As well as kingfish there have been a lot of salmon and tailor close to the shore, giving land-based anglers the opportunity to pick up a fish or two while casting small metals and hardbodied lures at the passing schools of fish. Fishing with soft plastics around Clontarf and North

for those using small squid jigs under the lights and the boat moorings. Outside the harbour and along the rock ledges, fishing

in the wash has been very popular for those chasing luderick and drummer and a good day can be had with just a handful of weed from the rocks or some bread and prawns floated down in a berley trail. For those chasing snapper off the rocks, there have been some good fish taken up to 50cm while fishing fresh squid and cuttlefish north of Curl Curl and up around the Palm Beach area in the morning and evening, when the conditions are safe to fish. Another spot to try for a snapper would be Long Reef Point, as a few good fish have been taken recently by those anglers throwing a good long cast into the fish holding areas. Reef fishing around Long Reef has been very good, with big numbers of snapper being taken on soft plastics in the 5-7” range, and for those anglers down rigging with live squid or yellowtail there are a lot of

David Turner caught and tagged this kingfish in the Harbour. small rat kings and a few of the bigger ones too. Slowly drifting between the reefs or fishing at anchor towards Narrabeen has been turning up good numbers of flathead on baits as well as on soft plastics, and in some cases there has been a mulloway or two picked up. Further out towards the peak and the Twelve Mile Reef, kingfish have been the target on a good day. The results have been very mixed, with one spot fishing well one day and then the next day all is quiet and the only thing holding on the reef are leatherjackets. For those anglers chasing tuna it has been very frustrating, with some anglers having good results on large yellowfin towards The Canyons while others have put in a lot of hours and countless dollars into their fuel tanks without getting a result. The bluefin tuna that everyone was expecting to turn up in the middle of July did not arrive, but depending on currents they could still turn up spring, or not at all, so here’s hoping they will make their way along the Sydney Coast and give anglers something to look forward to. Beach fishing for mulloway this year has been very disappointing, with

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not a lot of reports of fish being taken. Some of the beaches like Narrabeen and Palm have had a few fish that were just legal, with the occasional bigger fish, but for the rest of the beaches there were very few reports

in the evening you can fish for tailor and salmon. Narrabeen Lake has been attracting a lot of anglers in front of the caravan park, with anglers using weed and cabbage to pick up some nice luderick. Further out

Katherine Staunton had a great time landing this medium-sized scrapper. of any fish being caught. Whiting have been very consistent from Dee Why and Curl Curl, and Manly has had a lot of good reports of some bigger fish being taken in the evening as the sun goes down. Bream and flathead have been taken in good numbers in the middle of the day at Palm Beach for those fishing strip baits, and

among the shallow sand banks, whiting and bream are always looking for a feed. At the back end of the lake, flathead are on the move and using small diving minnows or vibes should see a take or two, with the evening being the best time if you want to pick up a big one. As always, stay safe and enjoy the fishing.

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It’s time to lock in the dates and cast your way to $500K at GoFish Nagambie in 2020! You could be like this guy who won $80k, or this guy who won a great boat, this girl who won a camper, and this lady who didn’t even have to wet a line to win hers. GoFish Nagambie represents everything you love about fishing, amplified, and all the best parts of the tournament and festival will be returning for 2020. The $500,000 guaranteed prize pool is back. The Camp Ground is back. The festival is back. The mateship, the camaraderie and family fun are all back!

Here’s what you need to know so far. • The 2020 event will be held earlier in the year, on 2-5 April, to give you the best chance of catching fish. • There will be two age categories: Junior (ages 5 to 15), and Open (16+ years) • Entries are still capped at 1,000 boats. GET IN FAST. WE SOLD OUT LAST YEAR! Participant numbers are capped at 5,000. • You can fish from your boat, kayak, canoe, PWC and from the bank. • This is a catch, measure, release tournament chasing Murray Cod, Golden Perch and Redfin, as well as Carp (not to be released) • The app is being revamped. Our team is improving usability and out-of-coverage usage, and we will hold more test tournaments in the lead-up to iron out any

issues and give registered GoFish Nagambie competitors the opportunity to win in advance of the comp. • The festival was a true highlight of the event, elevating oFish Nagambie from a standard fishing competition to a true fishing festival. This star attraction will return in 2020, nsuring that you don’t have to compete to have an amazing time. • The Camp Ground will be back with camp fires and gas cooking facilities this year. Did somebody say toasted marshmallows? HECK YES! We bet you’re all wondering what the guaranteed $500K prize pool will be. Well, you’ll have to wait because we aren’t about to reveal everything yet – just watch this space! To be the first to hear prize releases, entry details and juicy event news, sign up to our e-news at www.gofishnagambie. com.au. We’ll send you fishing reports, fishing tips and other great fishing articles.

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Chasing the brutes throughout October SYDNEY NORTH

Hayden Webber

The past month has been providing some excellent king fishing for bait and lure users.

and busting up has been a great tactic for those wanting to lure fish all year round. Small 10-20g metals and minnow-shaped soft plastics have been working the best amongst the mess of feeding fish. You will

some of the smaller school rats weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been getting over the past few months. SALMON There have still been a lot of salmon feeding alongside kingfish, and some huge schools have been

The author landed this lovely little black drummer from the rocks in the Northern Beaches area. This chunky Middle Harbour king was caught aboard Craig McGill Fishabout Charters. While slow trolling with live yakkas and squid has been super effective inside, finding the birds working

find that coming into spring a lot of bigger kingfish will start turning up and will be giving you more pull than

sitting around the Northern Beaches headlands feeding on bait schools. Some schools have been coming

close into the beaches and providing some extra sport for the beach anglers chasing salmon. You will find a simple gang hooked pilchard or fresh squid should work a treat along the beaches for salmon.

DRUMMER Drummer numbers should still be high this month, with plenty being taken on fresh prawns, bread and sea cabbage. The washy pools around most headlands have been holding some good

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OCTOBER 2019

size drummer, with most fish caught on a simple float rig with a small hook. Berley is a must for getting drummer on the chew. Some old bread and a bit of sea cabbage mixed with some sand will ensure

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that the berley mix will sink far enough to reach the drummer sitting down low. Even a few silver drummer have been pulled out recently, with some good-sized fish amongst them. Although silver

this month, with some of the biggest snapper we’ve seen in years turning up in catches recently. Soft plastics fished deep will be an effective method if you’re lure fishing for

drop in and chat to the expert staff at Fishing Station, located on 50 Darley St, Mona Vale. They stock an excellent range of tackle and bait, and are open every day

Silver drummer have also turned up alongside black drummer catches. drummer aren’t as good on the table as their relative, the black drummer, they are great fun on the end of a line! SNAPPER We can expect some solid snapper coming into

them, while big salted strip baits could be the answer for catching that monster snapper if you’re using bait. • For all the latest info on what’s biting and where,

except for Christmas Day and New Years Day. You can contact the team on 02 8094 9197, or see regular news and product updates at www.facebook.com/ fishingstationaustralia.

FISHING NEWS

$20m Basin research program A $20 million research program to increase knowledge around the Murray Darling basin will help better inform water and environmental management decisions to improve outcomes for communities. Minister for Water Resources David Littleproud said water scientist Professor Rob

Vertessy would lead the program. Professor Vertessy led an independent review for the Government into the mass fish deaths in the lower Darling River last summer. In his final report, Professor Vertessy recommended increased investment in applied research to inform the needs of the basin plan. “Better information will only lead to better outcomes

in the Basin,” Minister Littleproud said. “The research will improve our understanding of how things such as hydrology and climate change impact the environment, and the livelihoods of people in the Basin.” The Murray-Darling Basin Authority will administer the program. – Dept Water Resources

Lucas Panagakis had a great day fishing around The Spit bridge in Sydney with his mate Stanley and landed some nice fish, including this 40cm snapper. OCTOBER 2019

The early bird beats the angling crowd BOTANY BAY

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Rain may put a slight dampener on a day’s fishing, but hopefully we’ll get some this month because we do need it. Some rain would stir things up a bit in Botany Bay and the Georges and Woronora rivers, as the water has been very clear over the past two months. Reports have been coming in of the usual fish species for this time of year. Silver trevally and

when anchoring up. While the numbers of luderick and pan-sized snapper may start to decrease in the bay, you will find that bream will start to school up at places like the end of the runways, the entrance to the Cooks River, Dolls Point, wide off Towra Point and around the drums in the middle of the bay. The size of the trevally in the bay over the last couple of months has been down, but they should start to increase in length and weight during this month and the next. All you

Hopefully by now kingfish numbers will have started to increase, and hopefully the size will have increased as well. If you are anchored up fishing for bream, trevally, whiting and flathead, I would suggest that you have a couple of extra rods set ready for the kingfish, salmon, tailor and bonito that may come into the berley trail for a look. Set one rod with a whole pilchard on a set of four ganged hooks, and the other one could have a live yellowtail or a squid head suspended underneath a bobby cork. Make sure that

Henry Head and along the foreshore from Dolls Point to Brighton. There is a good possibility that there will be schools of tailor and salmon feeding in these spots, and you always

and the old ferry road for the land-based anglers, and Kangaroo Point and Lugarno for the boaties. I can’t stress enough that when you are fishing at anchor, you need to make sure that you have a small

chasing dart, bream and whiting off the beaches. If you are going to give these fish a shot, I would suggest that you get there early to get a spot or alternatively go an hour or so before the sun sets. Pink nippers,

During this month you will see an increase in numbers of Port Jackson sharks.

Bream will start to be more plentiful throughout the bay and rivers this month. Skinned fillets of yellowtail, peeled prawns and nippers will help to get a few in your bag. leatherjackets will still about at Bare Island, Henry Head, Sutherland Point, Trevally Alley and the end of the third runway. What you will find is that the boat numbers will increase during the week, as anglers tend to get out on the water when the weather warms up. On the weekends these spots can become very crowded, so care does need to be taken

have to do is anchor up, lay out a berley trail of bread, chicken pellets and smashed-up old pilchards and you are well on your way to getting a few. The only two rigs I use when bait fishing in the bay and rivers is the running ball sinker down onto the bait and the running ball sinker down onto a swivel, with a leader of between 1-2m in length.

you don’t have the drag up too tight as I have seen many an outfit disappear over the side. A few years back I actually caught one of those outfits! If you don’t like anchoring up, I would try trolling a couple of hardbodied lures or skirts around the edge of the shoreline in Yarra Bay, past the outside of the drums, Sutherland Point,

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have a chance of hooking a kingfish or bonito. October heralds the increase in the numbers of whiting throughout the bay and up the rivers. I prefer to use live beach and/or tube worms for whiting. Macs Bait Bar at Blakehurst usually has beachworms for sale at the start of October, and it saves me from having to catch my own. If you don’t want to buy or catch worms, you can try using fresh strips of squid or trevally that has been skinned. Both the Georges and Woronora rivers should start to fire up flathead, whiting and bream at places like Bald Face Point

and steady stream of berley going out the back of the boat. I try to keep it simple by just using handfuls of dry chicken pellets. Old prawn heads, fish frames and smashed up pilchards do a great job as well, provided that you don’t mind getting a bit messy. If you can get yourself some fresh green weed, luderick will still be about in numbers in both rivers. If you don’t know where to go, just keep your eyes peeled as you drift along the edges of the mangroves and rocks walls for feeding luderick. October will also see an increase in the numbers of anglers who will be

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beachworms and tube worms would be my first choices. Good backup options include peeled prawns, strips of fresh squid or soft plastics. If anyone is looking for a feed of flathead, you could try drifting off Maroubra and Bondi beaches in that 30-40m depth. A double hook paternoster rig baited up with strips of fresh fish or pilchards should have you going home with a few. Don’t forget to keep those posts and photos coming in. Remember that the posts don’t have to be too detailed. Send them to gbrown1@ iprimus.com.au.

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Fishing action should be beginning to ramp up SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

Much the same as Botany Bay, the Port Hacking River has been extremely clear over the past couple of months. Hopefully a bit more rain will change that.

If not, you will need to downsize the breaking strain of your leaders, and if you haven’t tried using fluorocarbon leader before you should give it ago. It will make a difference to your bite rate. Flathead numbers and size will be on the increase in the Port this month. One

thing that I don’t do a lot of in the Port Hacking River is drift for them, unless I am targeting squid in the main channel and I have a spare rod with either a strip of fresh mullet or half a pillie on. I find dusky flathead tend to congregate in certain areas in the Port, and it’s better to anchor upcurrent of those

Whiting catches will start to increase in the Port Hacking River and off the beaches this month, so dust off that whiting gear.

A lonely angler waiting for a bite at Gymea Bay Baths. As the action increases during October, so will the angler numbers.

spots and lay out a berley trail and bring them to you. The type of areas to look for are: • along the side of rocks walls when there is a bit of current running; • at the edge of drop-offs as the current runs over the top of them;

• areas that have broken shell, oysters and rubble; • in and along the edges of a line of mangroves; • over the flats where there are patches of sand mixed in with the weed; • on the bend of the river and close to marker poles; and • around the concrete

mooring blocks. If you know the Port Hacking you will know where I am talking about, and if you target flathead in any other waterway throughout Australia you can also keep a look out for these places. By now the bream, whiting and silver trevally

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numbers should have started to increase. There will also be more tailor, salmon, bonito and kingfish in the Port. This will be due to the increase in what I call the ‘Port Hacking pilchard’. They seem to be a cross between a pilchard and a herring, and when you hold onto them they shed most of their scales and die very quickly. If you can keep them alive they are a great bait, but if they do die that’s OK, as they make good dead baits too. It may be a bit early for kingfish to show up in the Port Hacking, but I would keep an eye out for those tell-tale swirls as they get stuck into small whitebait. In and around the boats that are on swing moorings would be a good place to start looking. Another thing that’s worth a shot is trolling a couple of skirted lures or

deep diving hardbodies in and through those swing moorings. Make sure you don’t have the lures out too far behind the boat. Nothing is better than a feed of leatherjackets, and because they are always around in the Port Hacking in numbers you should give them a go. The areas where I target them are much the same as the places I fish for flathead. The rig is very simple: a sinker on the bottom of a paternoster rig and a one hook leader above. I don’t bother with putting on a swivel, and I use small pieces of peeled prawn, squid and pilchard. BEACHES The fishing should start to fire up off the beaches in Bate Bay and the Royal National Park for bream, whiting and dart. Pink nippers, whitebait, pilchards, beachworms and tube worms are the pick of

the baits. Tailor, salmon and mulloway would be worth a shot on those overcast days and during the night. Butterflied yellowtail and salted slimy mackerel are the favourite baits, or you could always try strips of mullet. Stanwell Park and Garie Beach should be worth a look this month. Look for those deep gutters. OFFSHORE The offshore reefs north and south of the entrance are worth a drift for morwong, snapper, tarwhine, trevally, pigfish and kingfish. ROCKS The rocks will still be producing luderick, drummer, bream and trevally on the rising tide. Don’t forget to keeps those reports and photos coming in, and remember that you don’t have to be too detailed. Send them to gbrown1@iprimus.com.au.

FISHING NEWS

Fines for abusing officers NSW DPI Director powers of search and seizure Fisheries Compliance, and they are very skilled at Patrick Tully, said that finding illegal catch.” abuse of fisheries officers In other court results, will not be tolerated. Mr on the NSW south coast a Tully said the warning commercial abalone diver was follows a number of convicted and fined $4,000 at convictions of fishers who Bega Local Court for illegally have been unhappy after possessing 10 Eastern Rock being caught doing the Lobsters and contravening wrong thing. his commercial fishing “A man was recently endorsement. fined $950 after being “Fisheries officers convicted in Wentworth conducted a snap inspection Court for illegally fishing of the man’s boat at Tathra and abusing a fisheries when they found the lobsters officer at Frenchmans concealed in the bow,” Mr Creek, Wentworth,” Mr Tully said. Tully said. “In another “In another matter, a instance, a Tweed Heads Sydney man was found in seafood shop manager who possession of 11 prohibited verbally abused a fisheries size yellowtail kingfish in officer at the premises an esky on the shoreline of was convicted at Tweed Botany Bay. He was convicted Heads Local Court earlier of exceeding the bag limit and this month for abusing the possessing prohibited size fish, officer and failing to provide and fined $4,400 and ordered information. The woman to pay the department’s costs was fined and ordered to pay of $1,510.” the department’s professional Another man was costs, totalling $7,080. convicted in Manly Local “Trying to conceal illegal Court when fisheries catch is pointless, as fisheries officers found 25 prohibited NEW RELEASE officers have wide-ranging sized kingfish in waters

offshore from Sydney Heads on Christmas Eve 2018. The Guildford man claimed he had only one kingfish on board, which he presented for inspection, however a search of the boat resulted in 25 prohibited size kingfish totalling 41kg, concealed under a false panel. “The court was very stern about the man’s Christmas caper, convicting and fining him $2,500 for possession of prohibited size fish, plus the department’s costs of $1210,” Mr Tully said. “He was also convicted for exceeding the bag limit and given a Community Service Order, requiring him to enter in a period of good behaviour for 12 months.” The Court prohibited the man from fishing for six months. If he is found to be fishing during that period, he faces jail time. Suspected illegal fishing can be reported to the Fishers Watch phone line on 1800 043 536 or at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/ fishing. – NSW DPI

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Great increases in fish sizes and numbers SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

This month we can expect significant changes in the fishing, with catch rates improving as the month progresses. Both beach and rock fishing are on the improve, and the estuaries are also activating with the warmth and longer days. Having said this, the water temperature will still be cool most days. It’s also worth noting that it is still the transition period between the summer and winter species.

OCEAN BEACHES There will be a migration of whiting this month, with fish exceeding 40cm. Some days you can catch several 40cm+ fish in a single outing. Estuaries that open to the ocean (e.g. Narrabeen Lagoon) are an example of migration movements of whiting and other species into the estuaries at this time of year. With North Narrabeen Beach, you have a section of beach from the ‘Pines’ at Octavia St to the lagoon entrance. Several hundred metres of beach is fished, and on some days there’ll be dozens of anglers taking

advantage of the whiting run. In amongst the whiting are sizeable tarwhine, bream and also trevally at times. If you fish in the dark for whiting you may even catch a school mulloway, as October is also good for this species. This month you can also encounter the largest salmon of the year. Fish from 3-4kg and even larger harrass the baitfish

With the run of whiting on most Sydney beaches, it is definitely worth a go for a mulloway. With the migration of whiting there is also a migration of mulloway happening on our inshore reefs. Some of the mulloway that are sleeping/resting during the day will travel in the evening into the beach zone to eat the abundant food.

A mixed bag of snapper, bream, kings, and trevally caught while wash fishing off the ocean rocks.

Rob Marich with a couple of snapper and a tarwhine caught distance casting.

migrating in the east coast current. Any fish under 25cm had better get out of the way of these predators! They are often in large numbers as well. When you are on your whiting trip, take a spin outfit, a 10ft fast-action rod, 3-5kg braid, 15-20lb fluoro leader and a handful of 25-45g metals. While you’re fishing for whiting, if you notice a dark large patch/mass moving into your gutter it will probably be a tight pack of Aussie salmon. Having a spin outfit on standby will pay dividends. Fishing the entire length of Narrabeen Beach is worth a crack for whiting. For some reason, most whiting anglers fish the northern section. However, I recommend fishing the south Narrabeen surf life saving club area, as it produces quite well and has fewer anglers.

Samantha Miller with a quality whiting. This month one of the prime beaches is North Narrabeen near the lake entrance. 22

OCTOBER 2019

Narrabeen Lagoon and Sydney Harbour are good places to catch live bait, although it may still be too early to catch mullet. If that’s the case, you can go to the many local jetties and wharfs in the harbour or Pittwater for yellowtail, which make a great live bait. It’s also good to take a spare rod rigged with a squid jig, as mulloway love squid. My pick of the beaches for whiting, bream and tarwhine are Manly, Dee Why, south and north Narrabeen, and Bungan Beach. For the mulloway you can try Dee Why, North Narrabeen, and mid to north Palm Beach. OCEAN ROCKS If you’re up for a challenge you can fish for the big pigs (rock blackfish) that are around this month. There is a mix of small and large fish, including some medicine ball size fish weighing 3kg+. Using peeled endeavour, banana, king or wild tiger prawn or white bread baits should score a big pig. You can also try big cabbage weed baits. If you examine the stomach contents of a pig, around 95% is a variation of weeds such as red, brown, pink, kelp and (their favourite) green weed. Usually the only way they can get a feed of green weed is when some is torn off the rocks by wave action. The exception is some areas where they can feed over a sunken ledge/boulder when the tide and swell conditions allow them to feed on green weed. Around the spring period the green weed flourishes, so it makes sense to fish with cabbage weed baits. Please note that the rock blackfish breeding season occurs in spring, so if you keep all the big pigs you catch on the day it’s not good for our future stocks. Their growth

slows right down when they reach around 45cm, and if you land a prize 60cm fish it could be over 40 years old. In any case, the larger fish are normally quite chewy, so it’s best to just enjoy them for the sport and return them to the water to breed. It’s possible that their toxin levels would be higher than a 30-45cm pig too. Luderick are on the chew as well. You can try The Hat below the Quarantine wall at Manly, South Curl Curl, Long Reef, Warriewood Gutter and boulders, and Mona Vale pool just to name a few. October is a good month for snapper, and their numbers will increase as the month progresses. Try fishing the sudsy white water, preferably in a water depth of 5m+. Snapper respond well to berley, and having a 10-20L bucket to mix your berley is an asset. The basic ingredients are bread, pilchard cubes, prawn heads and shells chopped up with some water. Saturate your bread and then pull up your sleeves and get mashing. The best way to berley is to deploy small amounts consistently, rather than throwing in large amounts. For bait, you can use half pilchards and large prawns (such as king or endeavour prawns) to match your berley, and fish the wash zone with light ball sinkers with

will suffice. An occy skirt above the head adds extra attraction. There are so many varieties of poppers, hard and soft stickbaits and metals to use for these fish. I have found that the 130mm Saltiga Dorado Pencil, the Williamson Popper Pro 130mm and the Jet Popper work well and aren’t overpriced. Typical baits like whole squid or live baits work well when suspended under a float from 2-8m, depending on the depth of the ledge. For kingfish and snapper, you should preferably fish the deeper water headlands. Bluefish’s east and northeast faces, and south and north Curl Curl produce great fish ever year. South and north Whale Rocks are normally the go-to places for a king on the northern suburbs’ rocks of Sydney. Please note that it’s mandatory to wear a rock fishing approved lifejacket off the ocean rocks within the Randwick council and Northern Beaches council areas. I have noticed an increase in Fisheries patrols along the rock ledges. You should also make sure that you have your fishing licence on you. Steel spike boots or stretch-on spikes and a hi-vis raincoat are good safety measures.

Dean Corkery with one of several snapper he caught while wash fishing. 2/0-3/0 2x strong hooks. The by-catch includes trevally, tarwhine and bream. A traditional method to fish for snapper is distance casting with 3-5oz snapper sinkers onto the sand just past the reef edge, and it’s a very successful way to fish for this quite prolific rock species. October is a good time to catch a king, because they are migrating and may be in good numbers. Salted or unsalted sea gars rigged up on a two hook snell or a set of 5/0-7/0 ganged hooks

If you’re new to rock fishing, it’s good to get expert advice to give you the knowledge and skills to do it yourself. As a fulltime rock and beach fishing instructor, I can show you how to fish safely and catch your favourite species. • 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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Fantastic spring fishing PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Winter is finally over and we can all start looking forward to some warm weather! Even though we

have had to put jumpers on to survive the chilly mornings, the fishing on occasions has been red-hot. Hopefully next month should see some great fishing as well, with a lot more bait and predators coming into

Pittwater and Broken Bay. There has also been some great fishing offshore, with a lot of jigging being done and some great kingfish showing up on the offshore reefs. Fishing along Pittwater has seen schools of tailor and salmon busting up on the

These fantastic kids had a ball chasing flathead.

The Bowring boys having a ball chasing the surface feeding schools.

surface throughout Broken Bay and Pittwater during the mornings. Getting amongst the activity it has been as simple as getting upwind of the working surface schools and casting metal lures to the edges of the melee. The better size lures to use have been 10-15g, and all patterns seem to work. Some of the tailor have been over 50cm, so don’t be surprised if you get bitten off occasionally. Most of the time though, voracious salmon have been beating

tailor to anything that is moving through the water. Over the next month we should also start to see some other fish showing up on the surface, as long as the water temperature increases to 18°C or above. The species I’m talking about is of course my favourite: those hardfighting kingies. When they do finally show up they can be quite finicky, as they are chasing very small baitfish, which are very hard to match in size and colour. Quite often when the

kingies become difficult to catch while milling on the surface, we try other avenues to get a hook-up. That generally means using small live squid or small yellowtail on the downriggers. It can be quite frustrating and tiring casting lures of all descriptions at the surfaceworking schools with little to no result, but if you have a chasing fish while you are downrigging, you have a better chance of catching it. The downriggers present the fish with an alternative

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option, and this can be the difference between a successful day or a day of doughnuts. Another bait that can work when kings are being difficult on the surface is a head cut off a live squid cast into the melee. Allow it to sink with the bail arm open, and once line starts peeling off the reel you know you are on. Areas to target salmon and tailor at the moment seem to be towards the mouth of the Hawkesbury River, Pittwater and on Broken Bay towards Lion Island through to Patonga. These working schools are quite evident thanks to the working seagulls and other seabirds. Remember to use a stealth approach. as it won’t be long before the fish start shying away from boats and boat noise. Position your boat upwind or up-tide of the working schools, turn your motor off and drift back towards them. Quite often if you have the motor turned off the fish will come to you. Don’t forget that with all the surface activity there are usually fish working down deeper. With this in mind, it makes sense to place a couple of baits to target the species that lurk on the bottom. Baits of choice would be fish baits such as

pilchards, whitebait or small live yellowtail, or fillets of freshly caught baitfish. Species that you

flathead and bream are all worthwhile targets. Catching squid in Pittwater at the moment is

Kingies stretch your arms and leave you with a smile. catch around and under these working schools vary from year to year, but kingfish, mulloway,

taking a little longer than one would hope, but with persistence some smaller squid can be found. The

smaller squid seem to be in Careel Bay, The Basin and the western side of Pittwater. With the squid being a such small size, 1.8g lures seem to be doing the damage after the 2g lures attract them because of their aggressive nature. The colours don’t seem to matter too much at the moment, although we are having more success with the natural type of colours in the browns, gold and greens. It has been important to use a lure that is slow sinking and sinks horizontally. Don’t forget to put on a bit of scent such as Halco paste towards the business end of the jigs. There are kingfish still in Pittwater but they can be hard to tempt, so once again patience has been required. Your best chance is on the incoming tide as the warmer water pushes in. Once again, covering ground is the key, along with keeping a good eye out for any surface activity. Flathead have been out in Broken Bay in good numbers, and the usual drifts between the Patonga and Lion Island should see you go home with a great feed. There are also some flounder willing to eat prawns that are presented correctly, as well as the odd bream and trevally when towards Flint and Steel reef. As usual, the better

baits to use while drifting are prawns, pilchards or fish strips. I’m not sure why, but at the moment squid is being left alone and is attracting only smaller unwanted species. I am sure this will change over the coming month though, so it’s worthwhile having a few squid ready just in case. OFFSHORE Offshore, we have been catching some snapper when fishing the closer reefs by drifting with well-presented baits. There have also been morwong, flathead, nannygai and tailor to keep us busy. The deeper reefs such as the Texas grounds have seen a good bite from decent kingfish. This area is in deep water, and on many occasions I see excited anglers with a bag full of 250-300g jigs wear themselves out within an hour. My suggestion is to catch live baits before getting out there, and as you tire out from winding up jigs you can always switch over to live baits fished down deep. When you are fishing offshore, please make sure all of the appropriate safety equipment is on the boat and that everyone knows where and how to use it. Some of these grounds can be like a floating carpark, and if you’re not used to fishing these areas please don’t destroy other

people’s fishing by being too close. Recently I took a group of mates offshore to the Texas grounds to find no one fishing our area. Within half an hour we had 10 boats all fishing within 10-15m of us drifting. This is poor form shown by these anglers. There is no reason why they can’t give decent distances and even drift down the same trail behind us, and then everyone gets a chance instead of tangling up with other boats while they’re trying to bring in fish as well. If you are new to jigging and fishing in this deep water for kingfish, my suggestion to you is to find your own patch of baitfish that is generally mid-water before deploying any baits or jigs. I hope this report sees you getting excited and grabbing your fishing gear to head out and enjoy our wonderful part of the coast. Our business Harbour & Estuary Fishing Charters is up for sale. If you have dreamt of becoming a fishing charter operator, here is your chance to fulfil your dream! Contact me on 0410 633 351 to either book a charter or ask about the sale of the business. Serious enquiries only. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone 02 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

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Conditions shaping up for trophy mulloway THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

With anticipation levels high for the season ahead, this month really is the build-up period to set the benchmark for the rest of the season. High on anglers’ lists in the Hawkesbury would have to be the Australian bass and their aggressive surface feeding antics. These fish will be pushing up into the sweetwater looking to

ambush hapless baitfish and unlucky insects that fall onto the surface. There’s nothing better than packing a small tub with a selection of surface plugs and shallow divers and footing it down to your local haunt for an after-work flick. This will be made all the more easier with the start of daylight savings, which coincides with the first Sunday of this month. Just pray for a bit of rain to help the bass to find their way up through the rapids. If bass don’t do it for you then maybe kingfish,

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harass the baitfish and test anglers’ skills. The bait can be quite small this early in the season. For this reason I’d suggest some small 2” soft plastic minnows and a few of the smallest metal slugs such as 3, 5 and 7g models, just in case the

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in Berowra and Pittwater, sitting high under moored boat hulls and on the rock walls and reefs up to and beyond Wisemans Ferry. For most of these situations you can’t go past a 2” grub on a 1-2g jighead with a smear of scent.

eyes peeled for gulls and terns, as they will be your best bet to find actively feeding schools up on the surface. If the fish on the surface aren’t responding to what you are presenting, try sinking your offering beneath the melee for a shot at a trevally or bream, and occasionally a better kingfish or mulloway. Upstream from all of this commotion we’ll see bream pushing into the arteries of the system seeking out favourable ground to forage. The oyster leases in Berowra and Marra Marra Creek have had a few nice fish for

majority of anglers vying for their share, but the thinking angler will search out some ground of their own to fill their bag away from the crowds. Bait fishing with fresh Hawkesbury prawns accounts for mixed bags

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fish turn their noses up at bigger, more conventional selections. Major points and reefs will hold their fair share of these species but keep your

It’s very rewarding guiding clients onto their first metre-plus mulloway on a soft plastic. Brenden chose to release this awesome fish after a quick pic.

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bonito, tailor and Aussie salmon will. They have been in good numbers on the headlands and will be starting to filter into the harbours and bays to

Southern calamari offer great sport and give the angler the hard choice of whether to use it as food or bait. those anglers with accurate casts and quick reflexes to extract the bream before they find cover. Other places to encounter bream this month will be on the abundant flats

spread throughout the main river and its tributaries and are a reasonable proposition from Cliftonville back downstream. Well-known spots like Dads Corner and the Windsock will have the

of bream, flathead and school mulloway in the aforementioned spots. Employ a running sinker rig with a no. 1 bait keeper or wide gape shiner hook, and just enough lead to hold bottom for best results. A handful of berley every couple of minutes has been the trick to get the fish around the boat and feeding aggressively. With the influx of school prawns and baitfish, things are shaping up well on the mulloway front. These fish will be encountered up to Lower Portland this month due to the continued dry conditions. Staying mobile and searching out new ground can help to locate these elusive fish in the often turbid water in the upper brackish reaches at this time of the season, due to the increase in tidal flow and boat traffic. Soft plastics and vibes offer an advantage over bait in that you don’t need to source them first thing in the morning – that’s if you’re organised! You can present fish with just about any type of lure these days, be it a prawn, worm, or a baitfish. Add a little bit of angler input and you have a deadly offering that will fool all but the most fastidious fish.

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Anglers blessed with options THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

With spring finishing up and summer on its way, Tweed anglers are blessed with the best of both worlds.

Offshore anglers can chase snapper until the sun’s up before trolling for a mackerel, or heading out wide for pelagics like mahimahi and billfish. In the estuaries, the flathead and mulloway are

overlapping with jacks and whiting, and everything is feeding up on all the bait and fry in the system. The beaches are still fishing well, with a lot of tailor

to fish well again. The local dams are still yielding solid bass around the lilies and trees. OFFSHORE With the water warming and the currents starting to pick

Nick Dillon with a barrel of a bar cod from the deep grounds off Tweed.

A lovely 70cm flathead from the FFGC winter species comp for Mark Hill.

Lee Jordon took this keg of a yellowfin in 100m of water.

and mulloway still working the gutters and headlands. The bass are starting to wake up and come on the bite. The Tweed hinterland and back creeks are also starting

up on most reefs, the bigger snapper are schooling up on the very close reefs at night to spawn. The key bite times for snapper and other reefies are around dusk and dawn.

Drift baits are still fishing best, but 20-40g micro and octo jigs, and 5-7” plastics are working really well, producing models in the high 80cm range. Most 80cm+ snaps in close are being marked on the sounder as solitary fish, so find those single arches next to bait to find the bigger snapper and mixed reefies in close. There’s still a few cobia and mulloway sitting next to bait on close reefs of a night. Live baits are the go for a big black or a grey ghost. A few Spaniard are hanging around Nine Mile, Five Mile and South reefs, and there’s the odd one at the Mud Hole too. Find the slimies or yakkas and you will find the

Spaniards. Trolled gar, slimies and yakkas are working well, however floating out a pilchard, unweighted live bait, or bait under a float is also good. The pelagics are slowly starting to show up, but be prepared to cover some ground to find the fish. The 36s and further out the shelf are fishing well, with blacks, mahimahi and yellowfin all being caught. There are still some good packs of tuna coming through, and metals, trolled hardbodies and skirts will prove best. Find the birds working to find the tuna. If you’re after livies, there’s plenty of activity at Kirra, Point Danger, Snapper

Where do my fishing licence fees go? Funds raised from the NSW recreational fishing licence are placed into special trusts, and spent on projects to improve recreational fishing. Committees of anglers provide recommendations on expenditure from the trusts: ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■

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Rocks, Snapper Bait Grounds, 10-Minute Reef, Yellow Marker, Kingy Reef and Hastings Bommie. ESTUARY Estuary anglers are having a field day with the blending of the species. Mulloway are still in most holes in the system and around the rock walls, still feeding up on bait and fry as the jacks start to wake from their slumber and join the mulloway feeding fest. Mulloway are still fishing best around the change of tide at dusk, dawn and of a night, taking blades, 15-40g micro jigs, 20-30g soft vibes and 3-5” soft plastic paddle-tails, jerk shads and grub profiles. What you use should depend on the day and what bait is in that hole.

chances. Tide, wind, depth, structure, bait, the right profile lures, moon, warm weather and a high barometric pressure are all things to consider. They say ‘1020 fish aplenty’, but anything around 1016hpa and above is good. Flathead are dominating the skinny water and adjacent holes. Working the flats and drop-offs on the last three hours of the run-out is producing some monster flatties. They are really hungry this month. Casting 2-5” plastics is still the most efficient way to catch the bigger models. The colour, profile and tail action you select should depend on the conditions and the bait type around on the day, however most plastics have been working well lately.

This mulloway was taken from the kayak using 8lb line. Jacks are only just waking up, so smaller profile lures and smaller live baits are working in the middle of the day or when the water is at its warmest. Try to time the last of the run-out in the middle of the day, as this is usually when the water temperatures are highest. Rocks, trees, bridges, drains, pontoons in canals and mangroves in back creeks are places to target with 45-110mm hardbodies. Bleeding mullet and gold/ black are great colours. You can also get results on 3-5” plastic grubs and paddle-tails, jointed swimbaits, stickbaits, poppers and vibes. Soaking a small strip bait such as bullock heart, steak, chicken, tuna, mullet, pike or yakka, or a live bait such as a herring, mullet, biddy or gar while casting your lures around will double your chances. Fishing with bait will often result in a better class of fish. The bite windows are very small with jacks at this time of year. Try to line as many things up as possible to improve your

Adding scent can double your catch rate, and there are lots of good ones on the market. I use Pro-Cure, and re-apply it every 10 casts or so. Bream are still in good numbers in the estuaries. Find the structure and pepper it with your lures and baits for a bit of light line bream action. A few anglers have been pulling some great luderick from the walls and rocks, so dust off those old 9-10 footers and the blackfish floats, because they are on the chew. Stringy weed on the start of the run-out is fishing best, but cabbage weed is still working too. There are some good patches of cabbage weed on most rocks around Tweed, Kingy, Fingal, Snapper and even the rock walls. Just head down at low tide to score some. To catch some luderick, try Dry Dock, Tick Gates, Blue Hole, Tweed north wall, Kingy south wall, Kingy bridge, Hasting Point, Cuderga Creek bridge and Bruswick rock walls. There are still a few tailor and trevally working

the rock walls, current lines and deeper holes on the run-in tides. Metals, blades, vibes, hardbodies, plastics and some surface lures are working very well. The crabs are moving again this month, but a lot are empty from their hibernation. You may have to search for the fuller ones. The back creeks and brackish waters are producing the best crabs this month. Find a tree in the water, a steep bank or a rocky hole upriver and you’re in with a chance. ROCKS AND BEACHES There have been some solid tailor, mulloway, flathead, bream and trevally working the gutters, rock walls and headlands. The odd reefy is getting around some headlands and rock walls like Snapper, Fingal, Kingy, Hastings and Brunswick. Strip baits and half pillies are working best around dusk and dawn, and even at night. Good tailor have been spun off the rocks at first light. Look to the rock walls for the best spin action. Good quality 30-80g metals have been fishing the best. SWEETWATER Bass are waking up, and the creeks at dusk and dawn are producing the best surface action. Find the concentrations of insects and you will score the better fish. Surface lures such as cicada imitations will be the go with all the insects around. Fishing around the lilies and trees with hardbodies, vibes, jigspins, spinnerbaits, spoons and jigs will score many fish in Clarrie Hall Dam. NEXT MONTH With the warmer ocean temperatures pushing in, the current will pick up offshore even more, which should kickstart the pelagics to come in closer to feed up on bait. With good schools of slimies and flying fish this year, we should get good numbers of mackerel, billfish, mahimahi and wahoo. Only time will tell, but the early signs are good. The reefies will start moving out to deeper water as the currents pick up. The jacks will start their domination of the estuary as they start to wake up and feed up on bait. Flathead will continue to work the flats until the water gets too warm for them, so get in now while they’re available. Blackfish will continue to work the rock walls, and tailor and trevally will continue to work along rock walls, current lines and in some holes. Bream will still be thick around the structure, and fishing with baits will be the go. Spinning metals at dusk and dawn will still be your best bet for a tailor on the rocks and beaches. And finally, bass will really start to wake from their wintery slumber, so start looking to your surface lures for a bit of topwater fun! OCTOBER 2019

Bag a Ballina bass BALLINA

Joe Allan

With the Aussie bass season now open and in full swing, this is my favourite time to get out and chase these feisty fish. They will be on the move to the upper reaches of the creeks and river arms, but don’t overlook the main river stretches. Fish are always

hungry at this time of year so try big spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits. As the weather warms up and bugs start to get out, the surface action will heat up. However, this probably won’t happen for a little while yet. When the cicadas start to sing, any surface crawlers should work well. The lower reaches of the Richmond River should see some mud crabs fire up as

the warmer weather entices them in. Emigrant and North creeks are the spots to start looking for these tasty specimens. Use your blackfish frames and any mullet frames left over from bait fishing trips. If you’re after a feed of flathead, now is a great time to get amongst them. The deep water right in front of the Porpoise Wall, the channel in front of the RSL Club and This flathead took a liking to an Atomic Hardz Crank 38mm in ghost brown shad.

Damon Andrews landed a pair of bass around Coraki.

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the deep hole upriver from the Burns Point Ferry are some good places to start looking. Big, bright soft plastics with tails that disperse a good amount of water are key to catching these fish. Whiting should start to come on the bite over the flats around the town stretch of the river this month. Try targeting the shallow flats as the water moves up with the incoming tide with surface lures. This time of year is perfect for a good feed of whiting! OFFSHORE If you’re heading offshore, try getting far out to the edge of the shelf to chase some blue-eye trevalla and bar cod. Use big strong circle hooks to bait cuttlefish with the backbone cut out. Remember that an electric reel is a must. The close-in reefs will still produce good snapper, although towards the end of the month they will start to move out to the 32-fathoms. This is where to look when the tide allows you to fish it. The northeast winds starting over the next few months will make it harder to fish the deeper reefs. As the water warms, cobia and mahimahi should

start to move in on the close reefs. Getting some live baits such as yakkas and slimy mackerel and throwing these around the FADs is always a good start. BEACHES The beaches have been fishing well, with dart

starting to come on the bite. Metal lures are a great profile to use for them. You may still get the odd tailor off the beach but these will start to become scarcer. The odd big searun bream and flathead can be caught in the gutters as by-catch.

Grant Clements with some estuary perch caught upriver from Wardell.

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Christian Booker caught this pearl perch off Ballina on a Major Craft jig.

Recreational Fishing Update Flattie Genetics Revealed!

Mystery Trevally Identified

stock up to 40 eastern impoundments with 350,000 juvenile bass, ensuring we all enjoy great fishing opportunities for this hugely popular native species. DPI’s Native Fish Stocking Program is a fantastic example of your licence fees at work!

New Reefs For Newcastle and Wollongong

DPI has recently completed a study of dusky flathead in NSW to establish the genetic structure of the species along the coast. With the help of anglers, fin clip samples were collected from 236 fish from eight estuaries between the Clarence River and Tuross. In collaboration with the University of Sunshine Coast, DPI researchers found duskies comprise a single population within NSW, with evidence of mixing of fish from different estuaries. The findings of the study will now greatly assist with broodstock collection for future planned stocking of this highly popular recreational sportfish. DPI would like to thank the small team of keen fishos involved in collecting tissue samples from the St Georges Basin and Tuross Recreational Fishing Havens. Great work, guys!

Tagged Spaniard Recaptured!

This amazing looking trevally was caught by angler Coen Amon while chasing bream and flatties on lures in the Nambucca River, on the NSW North Coast. Commonly misidentified as a bluefin trevally or a gold spot trevally, it’s actually a thicklip trevally, also known as a false bluefin trevally, island trevally or yellow spotted trevally. According to the Australian Museum, there have been reports of this species as far south as Montague Island. However, it’s far more common in the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific and northern Australia. Thicklip trevally are commonly seen in the Coral Sea and around Lord Howe Island. This species is identifiable due to the several yellow mid body spots and its electric blue dorsal, anal and caudal fins. Maximum size is about 70cm and six kilos. A very cool fish! Have you had a weird or surprising catch in NSW waters recently? If so, send info and images to us at fisheries.info@dpi.nsw.gov.au and we’ll post on the most unusual examples on our Facebook page.

Big Boost To Bass Stocking!

Yet another Spanish mackerel tagged by keen father and son team Vic and Zane Levett has gone on to be recaptured. Zane (pictured) caught the fish off Scotts Head, south of Nambucca Heads on the NSW Mid North Coast, on 16 March 2019. Estimated at 12.5kg in weight and measuring in at 120cm, the fish was quickly brought aboard to be measured, tagged and released. On 9 August 2019 the fish was recaptured by angler Kaspar Lengias fishing off North Stradbroke Island, in south-east Queensland. Upon recapture, the fish was measured at 125cm and 14.5kg in weight. It spent 146 days at liberty and was caught more than 205 nautical miles (about 380km) from its original release location. This recapture further highlights that if the correct handling techniques are implemented, mackerel species can be suitable for catch and release. Food for thought as mackerel season approaches …

Over the past two stocking seasons NSW DPI has been releasing Australian bass into Glenmore Loch, near Penrith in western Sydney, as part of the Native Fish Stocking Program. Over this time DPI staff have been monitoring the success of fish releases at different life cycle stages after hatching. In 2017 bass fry were released at 90 days after hatching (25mm) compared to 2018 when released at 55 days after hatching (15mm). Recent monitoring has been successful with catches of bass revealing both size classes. The successful release of both size classes will now allow DPI staff to continue stocking earlier and to maximise production in the hatchery at Port Stephens. This will allow for greater numbers of bass to be released with obvious benefits to recreational fishing throughout NSW. As well as continuing to stock at Glenmore Loch, DPI will this season

Artificial reef towers have been successfully deployed by DPI south of Newcastle and off Wollongong. The steel reef complexes have already been colonised by vast shoals of baitfish so the the larger predatory fish such as snapper, mulloway and kingfish shouldn’t be far behind! GPS co-ordinates for both new reefs, as well as for the other reefs in NSW’s rapidly expanding network of artificial reefs, are available at the DPI website or via our free FishSmart app. More reefs are planned for the Tweed, Batemans Bay and Jervis Bay – stay tuned for more info!

Mulloway Moves Northwards

A solid estuary mulloway tagged by keen angler Ryan Thompson has gone on to be recaptured! Ryan landed the fish on ultra-light tackle at the mouth of the Bellinger River, south of Coffs Harbour on the NSW Mid North Coast, on 27 June, 2018. The fish measured in at 101cm and 9.5kg before Ryan tagged and released it in excellent condition. Moving forward to 18 August 2019, angler Russell Baxter recaptured the mulloway while fishing offshore of the Iluka Bluff in about 40m of water. Dave Gaden, the owner and skipper of Reel Time Fishing Charters, noticed the tag despite a large amount of growth. The recaptured mulloway measured 112cm total length and 12.6kg in weight, highlighting an impressive growth rate. The fish spent 417 days a liberty and was caught more than 80 nautical miles from its original release location. These types of recaptures continue to show that mulloway can be an excellent catch and release option if they are handled with care and returned to the water as quickly as possible. Stay tuned to the DPI Fisheries Facebook page for more tagging news!

www.dpi.nsw.gov.au

Reefies ramping up in October YAMBA

Dave Gaden

Spring is the time of year to head wide if the weather lets you. In our part of the world, the 50-fathom line is around 15-19nm east. This can be a bit daunting to some but the

amongst these will be my favourite, the trophy pigfish. Samsonfish, yellowtail kings, blue morwong and huge trag will all be possible by-catch. I like to drift this wide ground using a three hook paternoster rig with 6/0 circle hooks and up to 16oz sinker. You won’t need much

John caught this vibrant Venus tuskfish. There will be plenty around this month. and third fish hook up! It’s a long way to wind up so the more productive each drop is, the better. Bait out here isn’t as

important as in other places but I like to use three different baits on each drop: pillies on top, squid in the middle and mullet fillet on the bottom. I’m

Russell Baxter scored a quality mulloway in 40m+ of water north of the Yamba bar. rewards can make it well worth the trip. For the past three years, the 50-fathom line has fired well during October and I can’t see a reason why it won’t do the same this year. Even in this depth, fish are relatively easy to find on a basic sounder. Snapper will show up in small patches over any higher ground. Pearl perch will be scattered over the flatter ground where there is wire weed present and mixed in

heavier than 50lb braid and 60-80lb leader. There is always a current pushing down from the north out here. Depending on how strong it is and how fast you are drifting, I quite often fish with the bail arm of the reel open so I can let the line run through my fingers and leave the bait to sit still on the bottom. When you get good at this, you can actually feel the first fish hook up and hold him tight until the second

Eddie Kell from Ulmarra with a solid pearly from the wide grounds.

Go wide for a feed of quality reef fish. sure you could fish only mullet and catch just as many. On the inshore reef, south around Brooms Head will hold good snapper in around the 30m mark. Floaters will be the main attack method for larger fish. Adjust the sinker weight to the speed of the drift; I find it’s about right when I have 100m of line out as the bait hits the bottom. My rig is very simple with two 6/0 Mustad Demon hooks snooded about 5cm apart, two glow beads sitting hard on the top hook and a glow bean sinker on top. I rarely use heavier than 30lb fluoro leader (approx. 1.2m long) as I find I don’t get as many takes with the heavier leader. You will need to have a few bottom rigs down while you are float

baiting. The last couple of years have had some amazing pearl perch, Maori cod, Moses perch and Venus tuskfish taken on the bottom while we were targeting snapper on floaters. The northern reef from Black Rock to Evans Head will be alive with trag and plate size snapper this month. If you fish the 30m mark from the east side of South Evans bommie to 3km north in line with Kaos bommie, you will be in the hot zone. You may lose some gear at this reef but you will catch quality table fish. It’s not as productive as the southern reef around Brooms Head but you can still get the odd 10kg fish if you keep the floaters out. As the sun gets high, move due east to around 42m of

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water and look for the shoals of baitfish over the high bits of reef. Bait is supplied on these mulloway grounds – just jig up some yakkas or slimies and drop them down. Russell Baxter from Armidale landed an impressive 112cm mulloway that had been tagged. Clay from NSW Fisheries provided me with the tag details, which are in the following factbox. TAGGED MULLOWAY Tagged Date 27/06/2018 Location Bellinger River Length 101cm Weight 9.5kg Captured Date 18/08/2019 Location north of Yamba bar Length 112cm Weight 12.5kg Time 417 days Distance 80nm In the estuary, I like to chase sand whiting. These tasty little guys really start to build up in numbers this month and are as good to catch as they are to eat. Spend the low tide pumping as many yabbies as you can and then fish from one hour before high tide to the first two of run-out. I find the fish hold in the deeper part

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This is what a good whiting session can look like in October. FISHING NEWS

New fishing rules in Qld NSW anglers looking to go fishing in QLD will need to abide by the state’s new fisheries regulations, which came into effect in September. Changes for recreational fishers include: • Annual seasonal closures for snapper and pearl perch from 15 July – 15 August. • Boat limits, with the operator of the boat responsible for ensuring no more than two times the possession limit for nine priority black market species – mud crab, prawns, snapper, black jew, barramundi, Spanish mackerel, shark, tropical rock lobster, sea cucumber – is on board. For example,

the personal in-possession limit of mud crab will be 7 and the boat limit will be 14. The boat limit does not apply to charter boats. • General possession limit of 20 fish, excluding bait. • Reducing mud crab limit from 10 to 7. There are also changes for commercial fishers, including new total allowable commercial catch limits of 42 tonnes for snapper and 15 tonnes for pearl perch (previously there was no limit). There will also be small area closures to protect juvenile prawns in South East Queensland. QLD Minister for Fisheries Mark Furner said the changes were part of the

State Government’s plan to protect fish for the future. “Some of our fish stocks like scallops, snapper and pearl perch are at risk, with stock levels under the nationally recommended 20% biomass level,” Mr Furner said. “If we do nothing now, we will have to take more drastic steps like they are proposing in South Australia, with the closure of the snapper season for three years. “Introducing catch limits for at risk species and continuing to crack down on illegal fishing will help us rebuild numbers.” For more information visit fisheries.qld.gov.au. – QLD Fisheries

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Estuaries are moving into summer mode especially after a season like last year that, although still a dry year, had small, well-timed rain events that bookended the spawning run. This allowed the bass reasonable passage up and down the river, and many fish seemed to make the journey in 2018. This winter, going on the numbers of bass being caught in the brackish stretches of our rivers, it looks as though many bass may have piked out on the spawning run. This means that even early in the season

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Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

October is the month where you can choose your season. Offshore, the fish are mostly still in winter mode, the estuaries are heading well towards summer fishing patterns, and the freshwater fishing is somewhere in between. Up on the plateau, the trout streams will be open to fishing from 5 October. We have had a very dry winter, so it will be interesting to see how the trout are coping in the mountain streams. Not only does the lack of rain mean the creeks are low, but it will also be impacting the insect life and other food sources for the trout. That may mean that there have been casualties, but it may also mean that competition for food is high. Hungry fish are usually easier to catch. The bigger fish will have stationed themselves in the prime holes and locations where there’s higher inflow and therefore more chance of food. Trout might not be overly fussy if there’s a lack

followed by small hardbodies during the day. It’s worth reminding eager bass anglers that the Nymboida and Mann rivers are completely closed to any kind of fishing until November. These rivers are closed each year for the eastern freshwater cod spawning season, to protect the breeding fish from accidental capture. Bass anglers are always super keen to get out for a big bass adventure but with hefty penalties applicable, you’ll

flathead, but small diving hardbodies trolled behind the kayak or boat is also a very quick and easy way to get a feed. Whiting have also begun to come on in the lower estuaries and trevally and jacks have been quite active even this early in the season. Off the beaches and the rocks, mulloway and tailor have been quite easy to find. School mulloway between 2-5kg have been the most common size, while the tailor have averaged between

Dayne Taylor getting the pre-fish scoop for the Urunga Flathead Tournament next month. of food, but this time of year egg patterns and streamers are most likely to work well for the fly anglers. Small wriggle tail grubs, creature bait plastics and bream crankbaits should provide some good options for the spin anglers.

Further downstream, the bass waters will be in a similar situation. Suffering from a lack of rain, many of the bass may have decided not to run downstream for the spawning season. This seems to be something we see in really dry years,

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Pearl perch have been mixing it with the snapper on the reefs. Jason O’Brien had his plastic inhaled by this solid fish during a recent snapper session. we should see bass well upstream and in the larger holes, hopefully feeling quite competitive about the food situation. The Bellinger, Kalang and Nambucca rivers have shown their potential already, with some anglers finding eager bass on almost any lure. It’s not likely we’ll all find that situation, but surface crawlers at night are likely the most productive,

have to leave these waters until next month or it could end up being some very expensive bass fishing. Our local estuaries have already shown strong signs of summer and this will hopefully continue as weather heats up. Flathead have been very active from the mouths right up into the brackish water. Soft plastics are still the top tactic for

1-2kg, however there have been some larger 3-4kg tailor around. Metals, hardbodies and stickbaits have all been successful for tailor, while soft plastics and hardbodies have produced the goods for mulloway anglers. Of course, worms, squid and pilchards have also produced fish for beach and rock anglers. As mentioned above, the offshore fishing is destined to

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remain in winter mode for a couple of months yet. Snapper have been quite easy to find (if you can squeeze your boat in between all the whales). Large

inshore washes. They tend to be significantly more timid once the sun is up, so if you can get on the ball early and be fishing well before sun

really matter whether you’re fishing a headland, inshore reef or outer island, the hour or two before sun up is by far the best chance of a good

Those warm and steamy evenings are becoming more common and even though there’s no sign of cicadas yet, you know that’s all the author will be throwing. jerk shads have been bringing plenty of fish to the boat in the shallow waters, while slow jigs have been very successful on the deeper reefs. Kingfish have remained around the islands and

up, you will have a much better chance at a good king. Stickbaits, jigs and live baits have been ‘the goods’ recently. Stickbaits are far better in the lower light of dusk and dawn. It doesn’t

size kingfish taking your offering. With many options and a choice between fishing seasons, I hope you’re able to make your decision and find the fish where you choose.

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Many welcome catches taken off the beach SOUTH WEST ROCKS

Paul Martin

With a trickle of warm water and some northern currents starting to run through, we are all excited to see what comes down with it. Off Grassy and Scotts Head, fair numbers of snapper have been caught. There have been no world beaters amongst them, but the coming months should give up some better knobbies. We are coming out of one of the best pearl perch seasons I have seen

for years, and there’s still the odd fish being caught. Tuskies are also in fair numbers along the coast with a few trag in the mix. This is the time of year when you can have great success with plastics, such as 7” jerk shads from ZMan or Gulp rigged on a 3/4oz 6/0 jighead slowly worked through the water column. Early morning is your best bet. Out on the wider grounds, the leatherjackets have moved on so you can have a crack at quality fish in about 90m. Fisheries have assured me our FAD will be back out there in the

same location in the first week October. Off the Gaol marks like the Dot and Rocks there are a few snapper, morwong

fire the kings up. There have been a few snapper caught around Black Rock, and this location can be productive at night.

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Charlie Wright with a 1.2kg Macleay bream. and the odd mulloway and kingfish. Off the 100m+ line, there have been some cod along with other deepwater species. We should start to see a few cobia making their way through, typically between the Gaol and Black Rock. Green Island and Fish Rock are fishing OK for kingfish but the numbers have slowed over the last month. Fishers tell me the current has picked up down there, so that should

THE RIVER We are starting to see some better flathead numbers in the river. Warmer weather will bring the lizards to life and ready

There are good channels on your way up to Stuarts Point that are holding flathead and whiting, you just need to watch the channel markers. Bream are in good numbers off the breakwalls and jetties, while the oyster racks are producing some cracker bream late in the afternoon. Herring are just starting to show up around the jetties and ramps, and they are great bait for the lizards and big bream. Mulloway numbers have been improving for anglers fishing the darker hours. Live bait is the go, like mullet, pike and yakkas if you can get them. Bigger scented plastics will also work, and we have had success with the 20cm Biwaa SubMission lure in white. Luderick were being caught right up to the end of September, with the most success coming on synthetic weed flies. Early season bass have been good, with some nice fish upriver past Kempsey and Green Hills. The weir around Belmore is also producing some big bass. Smithtown Bridge is fishing well for schoolies, bream and some good flathead. If the fish aren’t biting, it’s handy to have a backup plan such as lunch at the pub, which is pretty good. OFF THE ROCKS Rock hoppers are champing at the bit waiting for the season change that

and the Lighthouse. Fishos chasing drummer have had nothing to cheer about yet but some quality tailor have been pulled out, along with plenty of bream and tarwhine. BEACHES Smoky Beach has been hard to fish; a constant sideways sweep has been making it impossible to keep your bait out there unless you walk the beach with it. Tailor, bream and whiting have been caught but it’s a long beach to find a gutter or two. Gap Beach has been the highlight through the month with good bream, dart and whiting caught during the morning and afternoon. The fish story of the year comes from half a dozen boys from Mudgee on holidays, fishing Gap Beach as part of their fishing competition to honour a mate that passed away. Matt Cowden was fishing with a standard beach rod, two hooks and a worm. Matt hooked up to what he thought was a mulloway, and after a 1-hour fight Nathan Moore and Mick Brennen jumped into the breaker wash and grabbed the tail of an exhausted 24.5kg kingfish. I think the boys will be back next year! • 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

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to actively feed. Fishing jerkbaits over the shallows will get you a flathead or two, and in water around 1m we have had great success with the Daiwa Double Clutch 95 and 75.

will bring on longtail tuna and cobia. September saw some nice kings landed off the Lighthouse and the ledges around Hat Head. One or two mulloway were reported between the Gaol

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MAIL MAILENTRIES ENTRIESTO: TO: MAIL ENTRIES TO: NSWFM DAIWA NSWFMFind Findthe the DAIWALogo LogoCompetition, Competition, NSWFM Find the DAIWA Logo Competition, PO BOX 3172, Loganholme QLD PO BOX BOX 3172, LoganholmeQLD QLD 4129 4129 PO 3172, Loganholme 4129 Entries mustbe bereceived receivedbyby 30TH DATE 20192019 Entries must 31st OCTOBER, Entries must be received by 30TH DATE 2019 Original entriesonly. only.No Nophotocopies. photocopies. Original entries Original entries only. No photocopies.

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Spring flatty fest has begun THE HASTINGS

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

The Hastings river has been fishing well for numerous species. One species that gives anglers so much entertainment is the old favourite dusky flathead, and these fish are abundant throughout the system. Flathead have been caught from the shallows of Pelican Island, down the front and way up the Wilson and Maria river arms, around Rawdon Island all the way through Wauchope. This good flatty fishing has been with us all through winter and should continue this month, so let’s look at some methods to catch these fish. It isn’t overly hard, but there’s a few tricks and techniques that can deliver you better results. Targeting your average size fish from legal up to 60cm has been not too difficult, and by using one of the many

This bream was taken along a rock wall by David Hedge. 5-8cm soft plastic grubs on the market and matching these with a 1/6-1/4oz jighead, you should be in the money. This rig can be fished quite successfully in the shallows

and also in the slightly deeper edges of 3-4m. By using this setup you can still encounter the odd bigger specimen, but

pylons. They are a fish that can turn up in most spots so if you’re not catching them in the shallow water, keep moving around. Other methods that work well are suspending hardbodied lures, which can be great fun, and if you want to just chase the bigger crocs, using big surface lures and swimbaits in the shallows will be for you. I will talk about these methods in upcoming reports. This month, surface fishing can really fire up, with bream and whiting both good targets using skittering prawn imitation lures. For the bait fishers, gathering some nippers and then drifting the flats either in front of Limeburners Creek or at Pelican Island should be worthwhile. For the land-based angler, a wade in knee-deep water from Settlement Point near the boatshed to Pelican Island is simple enough.

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Steve took this nice flathead on a 3” grub. The causeways in the canals are a good place to target trevally, bream, kingfish, mangrove jack and school mulloway. Soft plastics, surface lures and vibes are all useful lures to toss around

and if you see the bait getting harassed, put a few casts in! The rock walls continue to be spots to try, with a few mulloway being caught in the dark plus bream and luderick through the day.

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Kim with a daytime hardbody-crunching mulloway. it also makes bream a regular by-catch. The techniques can be varied, from casting out and retrieving with a double hop and pause method or a slow roll across the bottom. Flatties find a curl-tail moving in the current irresistible, but sometimes you still may need to locate where they are positioned. Shallow weed beds are standout spots, especially when prawns are in the system, but you can find them in many other spots like amongst the plentiful oyster racks, rocky zones, and around

While on the subject of land-based spots, Blackmans Point is a great place to pump nippers and a very good area to use them as well. Some good bags of flathead and whiting are caught here, but other places where you can get your nippers are in the back channel. Access can be gained between the canal bridges and some good fishing can be found here at times.

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Lorali was happy with her first ever bream on a lure.

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An exciting month for fishing the beaches FORSTER

Luke Austin

As we slip into the middle month of spring, we begin to get the occasional taste of all those things that we love about summer. In our estuaries, flathead have been very consistent all year but have now really started to thicken up.

great prospect and it’s some of the most fun you can have fishing! A local fisho had a sneaky throw down around the Fisherman’s Co-op recently using a 4” soft plastic, and in a dozen casts managed to land three very nice fish, the smallest going 64cm! If you do decide to hit the flats, you will be surprised by how active the sand whiting are. Even though the water

Fishing the entrance to the lake can be very rewarding in October. The fishery at this time of year is typified by huge concentrations of fish in the 20-50cm range and it’s not uncommon to hear of ‘fish a cast’ sessions where the fish are eager to smash just about anything that is thrown their way. Fishing surface lures for lizards in October is a

temperatures remain a little cool, the sand flats heat up during the day and kick the fish into gear. There’s nothing that a big whiting loves more than to hit a 120mm surface lure intended for a flathead! The trumpeter or winter whiting season is in full swing, with most of the

deeper channels stacked up with loads of fish. Chasing these tasty little treats is very straightforward. All you need is a small hook and sinker (most anglers prefer to use a two-hook paternoster set up) baited with worm, yabby, peeled prawn, squid or even Gulp soft bait. Then, it’s just a matter of drifting along any of the main channels/dropoffs until you find the fish. Alternatively you can just drive about until you find the flotilla of boats that will be sitting right on top of the schools. If you do choose to chase these fish, please take only what you need and make sure you can identify the different whiting species so you don’t keep undersized sand whiting by mistake. Luderick have been awesome this season. The southern breakwall has been on fire for months, and continues to produce some cracking bags of fish. The fish have definitely spread out though, and they have also been fairly consistent up through Breckenridge Channel and up along Wallis Island. October is an exciting time along our beaches; the days are warming up and the water is following suit slowly. This month is a great time to have a go at chasing a trophy tailor. Although the numbers of fish are generally down a little, you can expect to find a few cracking fish. It’s nothing to hear of a few 4kg+ fish caught every few days at this time of year. As the water begins to warm towards the end of the month, these bigger fish will move on and be replaced with tiny little choppers that we will have all summer. With the warmer water we will see some nice sand whiting return to the beach towards the end of the month,

It’s warm enough now to hit the sand with the family. and it’s a great excuse to hit the sand and sharpen up those beachworm pulling skills. Not only do beachworms make great bait, they are also super fun to chase with the family! With a few barracouta still hanging about, heading

offshore for a fish this month may be a little frustrating. Still, the fishing has been very consistent if you can get past the toothy critters, so I would suggest just moving about until you find a reef free of them or keep your efforts

limited to the shallows (under 25m or so). The deeper reefs have been holding the odd smaller snapper along with some very nice teraglin (trag) and the occasional pearl perch. Fishing the inshore reefs

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Bass will become more active as the temperature warms up. a solid kingfish or mulloway. Mulloway and kingfish will be lined up along our rock walls in good numbers this month. October is typically the time to land an extra-large kingfish as they should have

targeted easily from a boat or off the break walls using live baits, dead baits or just about any lure you can think of. Just make sure you are fishing at least 50lb line on a nice heavy rod/reel combo, or

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Fun from the shore HARRINGTON-TAREE

Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

What a month it has been! We have experienced some of the most savage weather we’ve had for years, with strong southerlies, roaring westerlies as well as winds from all points in between. The only thing missing has been a good drenching of rain. While a bit of rain has fallen on the coastal areas, the upper reaches of the

me a full moon and a high tide at around 8 o’clock in October for the best chance to land a big mulloway from the beach.” Dal was pretty right, as he made a practice of fishing Crowdy Beach on the full moon in October and often had the good fortune to carry a big mulloway a couple of miles back to the car. There were no 4WDs around in those days. The Manning River has continued to produce excellent catches of fish

Catching tailor off the beach is a good way to spend an afternoon. Photo courtesy of Harrington Bait & Tackle. Manning received very little in the way of rainfall. The Manning is barely moving and the prospects for our Freshwater Championships look fairly bleak. Still, despite all the problems we have been experiencing there is still hope for October. My departed fishing friend Dal Evenden always said, “Give

over the past month despite the winds. Bream are still biting from the river wall and the Manning Point spur wall, and anglers have been catching their limits. Just about any bait will catch fish, but mullet strips give the best results. Luderick are still on the bite from the rock walls and upstream near the weed beds

and rock formations on green weed. Flathead are still being caught but not in the numbers of past weeks. The river wall has produced kingfish up to 22kg and mulloway from 12-26kg, all on live bait. The beaches have fished extremely poorly, with very few reports coming in. A few catches of tailor have been reported from the rocks on lures when conditions have allowed. Some small pigs and blue groper have made up the total of fish from the rocks. During calm weather windows the boaties have recorded good catches. Snapper to 9kg have come from the northern grounds as well as plenty of smaller fish and some nice pearl perch. Flathead continue to be taken on the drift, while jackets and mahimahi have been boated in deeper water. FISHING THIS MONTH October is a great month for fishing, whether it is in the estuary, on the beach or outside. There is always the chance of a mulloway from the beach while the chopper tailor can be taken on lures and pilchards. Drummer should have spawned by then, and will be on the bite on cunje and prawn baits from the rocks. In the river, bream will have moved upstream and luderick will still be biting on green weed in the lower part of the estuary. Kingfish and mulloway will still be patrolling the river wall in the early morning and late evening for those anglers who like a fight.

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Getting the most out of daylight savings time HUNTER COAST

Shannon Malone

As we head into October, the one thing I look forward to every year is daylight saving. How good is it to be able to knock off work and be home by 3-4pm, hook up the boat, grab a few rods and head to the nearest ramp for a decent session

seriously, it doesn’t get much better than skinny water fishing and nailing a few bream, whiting and flathead off the surface. Whether you’re using lures such as 50mm poppers or 75mm stickbaits right through to unweighted or weedless soft plastics, there’s a thousand different formulas to choose from. We will also see the start of the prawn run,

River on a Berkley Gulp Crabby in camo colour, rigged on a 1/8oz jighead fished on 6lb braid and 6lb leader. He was fishing a deep, oyster-covered rock wall, and did well to get the fish to the boat on 6lb gear with all those oysters about. You can catch some decent mulloway off the beaches on live mullet and tailor, or big slabs of tailor. Stockton is still yielding some solid fish, along with some big tailor and bream. Be prepared for the odd shark as there have been a few small bulls and whalers about. Early last month some of you may have

of them is that there’s every chance of hooking a pair of these beasts. One can often be a handful let alone two of them, and it rarely ends well – especially when there’s structure about like jetty pylons or buoys. Nevertheless, it’s great to see these fish in the harbour in big numbers. Tailor have also been on the agenda, and I’ve seen some cracking fish amongst them. There have been plenty of 0.8-1kg fish, along with a few big greenbacks and massive schools of undersized choppers. If you can get a bait below the choppers you will find the larger fish. Ganged pillies,

choices for all anglers to get their bag either off the beach, rocks, break walls or the harbour. There are a few whiting around too, and that will also increase with the prawns moving about.

has been providing anglers with some nice fish, and this will continue. I can see that it’s going to be a popular bait gathering facility, and it should also yield plenty of quality

A pair of bream taken while fishing around the oysters. This 51cm EP was caught in the Hunter River by Cameron Meredith on 6lb gear. before dark! Whether it’s gathering bait for a future outing or hooking into a few flatties for tea, it’s amazing how much can be achieved in a 4-5 hour stint. And even if you stay an hour or so after the sun goes down, there’s ample time to land some excellent quality fish using various methods. The surface action will also start to ramp up over the coming weeks and

which normally commences seven to 10 days after the full moon cycle and runs for around a week. I’ve been seeing some solid bags of bream continually coming in over the last few months, and one local fisherman, Cameron Meredith, has been getting into some real stonkers up to 47cm. He also recently landed an estuary perch measuring in at 51cm to the tip, caught in the Hunter

Another fine specimen measuring 47cm caught by Cameron Meredith recently. seen the videos on social media showing schools of metre-long kings inside the harbour that would have got a lot of guys itching to have a crack at them. The only thing about casting a big popper or stickbait with two or three trebles into a school

plastics, metal slices and deep diving minnows will produce a feed. Remember to bleed your tailor immediately and put them an ice slurry, which will keep them in top condition for the table. There are multiple

OFFSHORE The snapper catches are continuing, along with some great kings on the inshore reefs and further out around the farm. The FADs should have been deployed in September again for another season, and by mid to late October they should be holding fish, allowing for a few weeks after deployment for the algae growth to start building on them, which starts the whole cycle of life going. The new artificial reef

species like snapper, kings, mulloway, the odd perch, bonito and of course mahimahi. These fish, in turn, will draw in larger pelagics and sharks. There are a few bonito about at the moment, and it’s always good to knock the fillets off them and salt them down to use at a later date. We should also start to see the beginning of the heavy tackle season off our coastline, and here’s hoping that the fish gods are on our side and provide plenty of action this season.

The yellowfin are making their presence felt ERINA

Aaron Donaldson

Brisbane Waters is springing to life as water temperatures begin to rise. Big flathead are the main target at this time of year, as these big breeding duskies are starting to feed and

regain their condition after a long winter of hibernation. Both shallow water and deep water can produce dusky flathead, and anywhere from Box Head to Gosford can produce fish at times. You really have to try a spot for 20 minutes, and if there’s no action just keep on the move until you

can locate some fish. Try using larger 6-10” plastics if you are after that bigger fish. You’ll get fewer bites than you would with smaller plastics, but when you do get a bite you can bet it will be a solid fish. Bream should be starting to look up in the system now. When the water temp rises above 20°C the

Luke Bell with a solid yellowfin tuna. 42

OCTOBER 2019

prawns start to show, so it’s well worth throwing a few surface lures around the shallows this month. The bream will also start to show up in numbers around the oyster leases, so that’s a good place to find a few fish in the next few months. Rock fishing has been quite good recently. There are heaps of blackfish and drummer around Terrigal and Avoca, with both weed and bread baits working well. There have been some huge patches of salmon moving up and down the coast, with plenty of sharks following them too. These fish can prove hard to tempt as they are spawning, but if you get enough casts through them eventually one will jump on. The beaches have been fishing well for both salmon and tailor. Terrigal and Wamberal beaches are a good start and they are easy to access. It has been great to see the yellowfin show up in numbers out the front in recent weeks. Local boat

Asalt Weapon skippered by Luke Bell was on the bite, and had a great day landing two marlin and five yellowfin in one red hot session. The boys hooked

most of the fish on Samaki Pacemakers. Let’s hope the fish hang around until the start of the marlin season. All the best, and see you on the water.

Glenn Allen getting into the bream in the local washes.

The big flathead are kicking it up a notch PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

With winter well and truly in the rear-view mirror, you can feel the weather and water getting warmer on almost a daily basis. This is going to greatly improve the fishing inside the estuary, as well as the beaches and offshore. Inside the bay the luderick are still biting along the Nelson Bay rock and anchorage rock walls. Make the most of them though, as they will taper off

of the bay around the likes of Tilligerry Creek, Oyster Cove, Karuah and Tahlee. You’ll find that 80-100mm plastics and medium sized shallow-diving hardbodies worked over the flats will easily out-fish baits when it comes to flathead. Plenty of squid are being caught over the weed beds along Jimmys Beach and Shoal Bay, with 2.5 sized jigs the best size. Shoal Bay has been holding plenty of cuttlefish too, with smaller jigs around 1.8-2.0 working best for these.

squid baits or, even better, a live whiting or tailor. ROCKS Off the stones, there are still a few drummer around the whitewater but again, this is a species that will taper off the further into October we get. There have been good squid holding in the bays and coves from Fingal down to Boat Harbour, with larger jigs around 3.0 size the best to use here. We might see a few early season bonito show up this month and best places to find

Big dusky flathead like this one will become more active this month. reefs, with fish to 5kg coming from Uralla, Vee, 21 Sandbo and Gibber reefs. The edges of all these reefs are also very productive places to get a feed of sand flathead, especially with baited up Snapper Snatcher style rigs. Inshore around the islands and shallower reefs has also fishing well for reds, with Fingal through to Seal Rocks producing for both lure and bait fishos.

Dean with two quality early morning reds. pretty quickly as November approaches. Bream will also still be frequenting the rock walls, and the nighttime tide changes are the most productive times to get stuck into them. Use unweighted baits like large peeled prawns or live nippers and a bit of berley for the best results. Plenty more bream are scattered through the structure, with anywhere from Tea Gardens to Tahlee worth a shot using small lightly-weighted plastics or shallow diving crankbaits. Flathead will really jump up a gear this month, especially in the back half

BEACHES Some good whiting are starting to show up along Stockton, Fingal and Hawks Nest beaches, and catches will only get better as summer approaches. Live worms and long shank hooks are by far the best way to target whiting, and you will also pick up plenty of welcome by-catch in way of bream, flathead, salmon and even the odd mulloway doing so. Speaking of mulloway, there have been some quality ones caught along Stockton and Hawks Nest beaches of late. Your best bet to catch one is to stick around after dark and use larger fillet or

these will be Tomaree, Sunny Corner or the points around Fingal Island if you’re keen for a walk. Spinners from 20-40g or stickbait style lures will work best and if you don’t find any bonnies, there’s always the chance of tailor, salmon or a king when fishing this way. OFFSHORE It would be a good option to head out to Allmark before the current starts to run too hard and chase a few kings and bottom species. The same applies if you want to try for a bar cod or two – get out there now while you can. Snapper have been fishing well on the deeper

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Going flat chat on the flathead in October SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

Spring is producing as we would expect. The lake is fishing reasonably well at the moment, but to be completely honest it’s not

but my latest trip saw me fishing them in a screaming northwesterly wind. It was tough fishing with such strong winds and it was difficult to stay tight, but the number and size of bream I caught was a good sign. At times I had 2-3 bream fighting to hit the lure first,

seem to make too much difference, although they certainly didn’t mind the all black with red eye offering I was throwing. Salmon continue to be a popular target for many, with loads of boats working the salmon schools throughout Salts Bay. When there are

Rod Austin posing for a pic with a solid tagged flathead before its release. exactly red-hot fishing in comparison to previous seasons, although there are still some good fish. I’ve had a few sessions on the flats lately just to see how they were going. As a rule I prefer to hit them during a southerly blow,

even right up close to the boat until they would spook. I did find they had no interest in longer, slim profile hardbody lures. As soon as I changed over to a shorter, Chubby-style hardbody with a little wobble action the bite turned on. Colour didn’t

not too many boats about I’ve found trolling hardbody lures are producing the goods, but if that’s not your thing, then going with the drift and throwing around small 2-3” soft plastics on lightly-weighted jigheads is proving equally effective.

A few solid tailor have been caught in the salmon schools as well, which are a welcome catch for anglers who enjoy a feed a fresh Lake Macquarie tailor. For anglers interested in chasing trophy size flathead, I had an interesting conversation with Rod Austin recently. Rod is involved in the flathead tagging program that’s in place. Some very interesting statistics are coming from the research. Over 280 flathead are now tagged that were 70cm or over, and of those there have been 20 recaptures. Some really handy information can be obtained by programs such as this one, and it was great to hear that even one of the released fish that was bleeding after suffering hook damage was recaptured some 400 days later. It certainly goes to show the importance of releasing some of our catches and looking after this fishery we have. As we move into the last of the cooler months and temperatures start rising, we can expect to see the first of the kingfish to return to the lake for their summer run that we get each year. Some years are better than others, but fingers crossed there are

a few good ones about again this season. If scoring a solid king or two from the lake is on your wish list this season, I strongly suggest you put the effort into learning how to catch squid first. They are the number one bait for kingfish in the lake, and if you’re serious about catching a solid king then get serious about catching your live squid first. Soft plastics also score a few good fish each year, as do a variety

Drop in to see your local

of lures including poppers, but live squid is best when it comes to catching kings. The offshore scene has not been too bad this winter/ spring period. There has been an incredible run of YFT off the East Coast, with some absolutely sensational catches reported all up and down the coast, from Queensland all the way south to the NSW/Victoria boarder. The impressive thing is not only the numbers

Mid 50s flathead like this are the perfect size for a feed, and the author loves cooking up a feed of fresh fish for the family.

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of these YFT, but the size of them as well. Loads of them over the 50kg mark and there is just something very impressive about the sight of those big sickle fins coming up from the depths to the waiting gaffs. The art of deep dropping is one that is certainly gaining popularity these days all over the world, and with the aid of tackle advancements including electric reels and braided lines being better than ever before, more and more anglers are exploring new grounds and coming up with some sensational catches. I know a few of the shark crews have gradually been marking spots throughout the summer season and then returned over these cooler months to deep drop them and see what’s down there. Many have returned with eskies full of quality table fish from the depths. Live baits and large squid are all great offerings, and the rewards can certainly be worth it, with blue eye trevalla, kingfish, gemfish, perch and large john dory all on offer. This style of fishing can be done with conventional tackle, but don’t kid yourself, it is not easy going and with anything but a quality electric reel it’s a hard slog. These anglers will be putting the deep drop gear away as we head into summer and hopefully a bumper game fishing season. It’s still too early in the season to be

fishing for marlin with any real confidence, but they are out there and the currents are looking favourable, so it is worth a shot. At this early stage of the season I’d be concentrating my efforts wide at the moment. Areas such as the Continental Shelf and the Norah Head Canyons

As always, it’s a long way out there, so take the necessary precautions. Two bilge pumps, sufficient fuel, then a little extra fuel for good measure and plenty of food and water should be a given. A quality VHF radio that you know works from out there is vital.

A chunky Lake Mac salmon caught by Mick Pavlic. Salmon are still about in good numbers, and they are a sensational sportfish on fly gear. would be my pick and I’d be working a spread of skirted game lures ranging from say 12-13” in close off the corners and 8-10” lures off the rigger positions. There is also more than a good chance of a stray tuna or early season big mahimahi, so it’s well worth the early season effort.

Remember to log on with Marine Rescue, and for a little extra security another boat tagging along for some company is a great thing and will give you some peace of mind. As long as you have all that covered, you can get out there and enjoy the season ahead.

TOURNAMENT NEWS

Teralba Junior Fishing Tournament The Teralba Lakesiders Fishing Club is holding a catch and release Junior Fishing Tournament at Lake Macquarie on Sunday 2 November, 2019. There is also a fishing tips session on Friday 1 November from

5-6pm with expert angler Jason Nunn. Every angler will receive a hat and brag mat, and has the chance to win a $200 prize pack. The first 40 registrations receive a bonus head sock courtesy of Michael Guest. Entry is free and there are

loads of prizes, so get a team together from your school or fishing club. You can have up to four anglers in a team. To enter contact Michele on dangeranger@optusnet.com. au or Ian on ian.guy@westnet. com.au. Entries close on 25 October. - TLFC

This is one of two trout cod that Allen Delaney caught on a kayaking trip on the Murrumbidgee. It took an Adusta Various Chatter Weight. OCTOBER 2019

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News

Great Swordfish Race The first data from the Great Swordfish Race is in! A satellite tag deployed in a swordfish off Sydney earlier this year has popped off, providing us with valuable insights into the fish’s amazing oceanic travels. The 30kg fish was tagged at the end of April by keen anglers Chris Cleaver and Ryan Camlin and popped off near the Dampier Ridge, to the west of Lord Howe Island, at the end of July. From the data received, it appears as if the tag just pulled out the fish early. This is a common occurrence with this type of tag and it’s still provided us with a wealth of interesting information. For example, data from a satellite tag deployed on a swordfish off Sydney earlier this year is providing us insights into its secret life in the inky blackness of the ocean depths. The depth data chart pictured on this page shows that the swordy carried out the normal diurnal pattern of

deep (150-300m+) before the normal dive pattern to 500m+ resumes. The graph also reveals that the surface water temperatures were relatively high at around 24°C when the fish was first tagged off Sydney, and then they steadily drop off to around 19°C when the tag popped off west of Lord Howe Island.

This depth data chart shows the swordfish diving deep during the day and rising close to the surface at night. The satellite tag has provided interesting data on the fish’s migration patterns. After it was tagged by Chris and Ryan, the fish travelled south towards the southeast corner of Australia before it meandered eastwards

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A 30kg swordfish about to be released after being tagged with a satellite tag. diving deep during the day (around 400-600m+) and rising near to the surface at night. This activity is typical of swordfish and is likely linked to the movement of bait throughout the water column. There appears to be some change to the tagged fish’s behaviour around the end of May, where the daytime dives don’t go as

tracks for due to the diving behaviour that sees them spend most of their life in the dark,” Sean said. “The tracking model relies on determining dawn and dusk times from the tag to estimate latitude, and from there work out the noon time to estimate longitude. With swordfish spending much of

and then headed on a more northerly bearing. This track has been shared with Dr Sean Tracey of IMAS, who has previously carried out research on swordfish tagged off Tasmania and is currently studying fish tagged off Victoria. “It’s worth noting that swordfish are notoriously difficult to generate good

their time in low light, this is particularly challenging. That is part of the reason that there are some jumps in the track and at times, the error balloons get bigger and may even throw up a couple of probable locations. “That said, you can clearly see that the fish travelled south, remaining fairly close to the shelf break, before turning around somewhere adjacent to the southeast corner of Australia and heading up towards Lord Howe. This was a reasonably common northerly migration path taken by the fish that were tagged off Tasmania.” The fish’s movements show that it shares a very similar location to another swordfish tagged in May this year by Steve Taranto off Lakes Entrance in Victorian waters (using a tag issued by IMAS’s Dr Sean Tracey). The two fish appeared to stay in the general area for a number of days before the NSW sword headed east and the Victorian sword headed slightly west before its tag popped off. This data raises a lot of interesting questions, the answers of which we can as yet only speculate about… As our Great Swordfish Race progresses and we hopefully tag more of these ‘gladiators of the sea’, we should be able to discover more about these enigmatic gamefish. Stay tuned! Meantime, more info on NSW’s Great Swordfish Race, including short videos showing the tagged Sydney sword’s movements and its interactions with the fish tagged in Victoria, is available on the DPI website. Just go to www. dpi.nsw.gov.au and search for ‘Great Swordfish Race’. This is your recreational fishing licence at work! – NSW DPI OCTOBER 2019

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2019 AFTA Tackle Trade Show

AFTA FISHING TACKLE WRAP UP : 15TH - 17TH AUGUST 2019 The biggest event on the Australian tackle industry’s calendar is without a doubt the AFTA Tackle Trade Show. The biggest brand names in the tackle industry descend on the Gold Coast each year, mingling with innovative up-and-coming enterprises hoping to be the next big thing. It’s a time when new products are unveiled and new fishing trends begin, and for the first time this year the public got to experience it first-hand. Like all trade shows, the AFTA show has never been open to the general public, but AFTA decided it was time for a change. It was decided that the final day of the show should be a Public Day, so that any angler could see the latest and greatest gear from their favourite brands. No one in the trade was sure how popular this experiment would be, but the 2019 Public Day turned out to be a great success. Due to its popularity, it's likely that AFTA will run it again in 2020. If you missed the 2019 Public Day, there are a number of reasons to check it out next year.

• Unlike a boat show, the AFTA Show is purely for tackle and outdoor products, which means that brands can exhibit a much larger range of gear; • Exhibitors have pro staff and tackle designers on-hand to chat and answer your questions; • Because the event is used by many companies to unveil their new releases, it’s the perfect place to be if you love seeing the latest gear; • Well-known fishing personalities attend each year, so you might have the chance to meet your favourite presenter or tournament pro; • There are interactive attractions for both adults and children to enjoy, including fishing simulators, the Supertank and personalising your own lure; and • There’s a variety of free branded merchandise to bring home in your sample bag. The fact that the average visitor stuck around for 3-4 hours is testament to how much fun the day was! BEST NEW PRODUCTS For members of the tackle trade, one

of the most exciting things about the show is the Best of Show Awards. Each year the exhibitors enter their new releases in the Best Of Show, and the retailers and media then judge the products based on criteria such as innovation, quality and practicality. There are 20 categories, covering tackle, accessories and apparel, and the competition is fierce – especially in the rod, reel and lure categories. Tackle retailers are always hungry for

something different, so those product entries that are particularly ingenious or unique are often the ones that come out on top. You can see the evidence of this in some of the most popular entries this year, which included a spider, a lure tray full of spikes, a rod butt with interchangeable tips, a hard rod tube that conveniently folds out flat, a waterproof bag sealed with magnets, and an octopus that releases its own ink. Read on to see which products were voted the best of 2019!

WHAT IS AFTA? The Australian Fishing Trade Association does a lot of important work behind the scenes that most anglers don’t know about. As well as supporting its wholesale and retail members, it also lobbies governments to protect angler access. In today’s political climate, our fishing rights are increasingly under threat, and for this reason it’s vital to maintain pressure on governments to protect our right to fish. If you work in the tackle, boating or outdoor trade and would like to know more about AFTA, visit www.afta.net.au.

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Humminbird Mega 360 Imaging

Yeti Rambler R12 Bottle

Humminbird MEGA 360 Imaging sweeps up to 125ft (38m) in every direction around your boat to deliver incredibly clear images of structure, bottom and fish, even while you’re sitting still, allowing you to make more accurate casts. This new release brings Humminbird’s unmatched coverage of 360 Imaging technology into the megahertz range for nextlevel detail. Like underwater radar, the MEGA 360 Imaging beam rotates, giving you a 360° view of the water that’s constantly updating, with your boat at the centre. Fish won’t ever see you coming, allowing you to cast and hook fish before they even know you’re there. MEGA 360 Imaging is compatible with Solix Series and Helix Series fishfinders equipped with MEGA Imaging+. In addition to superior detail and coverage, Humminbird provides built-in mapping, impressive screen resolution, intuitive control and more. For a full list of features, plus photos and videos, visit the BLA website. www.bla.com.au

On-the-go coffee enthusiasts, meet the ultimate drinking vessel for filling up and hitting the road. While this 12oz (354mL) bottle is conveniently light and fits in standard cup holders, it holds more than enough coffee to jump-start your day, whether you’re gearing up for an early morning trip or need an energy boost before a full day on the water. Even better, this Rambler is topped with a unique, 360°, 100% leakproof HotShot Cap that lives up to its name by letting you sip from any side while locking in piping-hot temperatures for hours on end. With just a half twist and a click, you can sip from any side and enjoy that perfect, piping-hot temp. And as an added bonus, you can put the Hot Shot Cap on any of Yeti’s Rambler Bottles, because it’s compatible with all of them (although not the Tumblers). The 1” thick lid keeps the heat in, and it’s also shatter resistant and dishwasher safe. Price: SRP $39.95 au.yeti.com

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CLOTHING ACCESSORY WINNER

Yeti Rambler R12 Bottle

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Gorilla Grip Rhinoflex A5 Cut Gloves

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Atomic Casting Gloves

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Atomic Casting Gloves

For many fishing applications, to light tasks and heavy-duty work, the Gorilla Grip patented gloves are the go-to for anglers and tinkerers alike. With maximum durability, dexterity and a trusted neverslip grip, Gorilla Grip guarantees superior grip every time. On the boat or at the cleaning table, Gorilla Grips A5 Cut gloves are a must for every tackle box, and landing big fish by hand or cutting through tough hides can be done with complete safety. This glove features a highly breathable, flexible design with an ANSI level 5 industrial cut protection rating featuring proprietary polymer technology on the palm that pulls moisture away from the surface and provides maximum grip in wet and oily conditions. The formfitting design, breathable nylon shell, fitted elastic cuff, patented non-slip technology and stain resistant finish make these gloves the ultimate clothing accessories for a range of fishing applications. www.jmgillies.com.au

So many of us like to work hard, and play hard, especially when it comes to fishing. It’s for this reason that anglers like to take care of their hands, especially since most of us aren’t battle-hardened warriors with leather hands! The Atomic Casting Gloves offer your hands protection at a reasonable price for thousands and thousands of casts, meaning you can fish hard and not have to pay the price for it! Atomic Casting Gloves are designed for anglers by anglers, and offer more than just protection from heavy tackle. The fingered gloves also offer great sun protection and make for safer fish handling when dealing with spiky and toothy predators. The gloves come in standard Australian sizing. Your hands are a valuable fishing tool, so why not give them the best protection you can? www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

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Daiwa Tatula 150/702MHB

Abu Garcia’s Salty Stage KR-X Jigging rod and Light Jigging Reel have slid in as runner up in the Best Combo category, and this truly is a match made in heaven for those who like this bare-knuckled form of fishy fun! The KR-X Jigging rods have been designed using the latest in jigging technology fresh from Japan and come packed with highquality components and special features, including a crisp 80% carbon + 20% glass construction, cork and EVA slit handle, butt joint, Fuji reel seat, Fuji K-Guide Alconite guides and X-Wrap blank design. They come in medium, medium light, and medium heavy (PE 2.0-3.0, PE 1.0-4.0 and PE 2.0-4.0) in 6’3”, 6’3” and 7’0” respectively. The Salty Stage Light Jigging reel is its perfect match, and features 7.3:1 gear ratio, Powerstack Drag System, Oversize Powerknob handle, 8 bearings system including two salt shielded bearings, Infini Brake system and Duraclutch. With a maximum drag of 14kg and a weight of 254g, this reel will sit beautifully on any of the three KR-X Jigging rods. www.purefishing.com.au

Taking out the Best Combo category at the 2019 AFTA show was Daiwa’s Tatula 702MHB rod and Tatula 150 reel combo. The iconic Tatula series of rods has been upgraded with new components, new actions and enhanced performance, making them Daiwa’s best Tatula rods ever. The 702MHB is one of 11 models (eight baitcast and three swimbait models), and features an SVF blank with 3DX carbon, Fuji’s brand-new LKW frame guides, Fuji PLS Palming Support reel seat and Spiral Palming grip. The Tatula 150 is a fantastic casting reel, and is tailor made for those looking for a midsized workhorse. It features an aluminium frame and gear side plate, Daiwa’s famous Digigear gear system, TWS, Magforce Z, UTD drag, 100mm Swept Handle and large paddle knobs. The 150 comes in 5.4:1, 6.3:1 and 7.3:1 gear ratios. These two combine to make a perfect casting set-up for fresh and saltwater predators that has the ultimate balance between price and performance. Price: from RRP $249.99 (rod) and RRP $289 (reel) www.daiwafishing.com.au

Abu Garcia Salty Stage Light Jigging Low Profile / KRX

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Abu Garcia Salty Stage Light Jigging Low Profile / KRX

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Rio DC Flats Line

Based in Plymouth in the far South West of England, the team at Snowbee are spoilt for choice with their fly fishing options, and understand the need for quality products. Snowbee’s XS-Plus Thistledown weight forward floating line is no exception, and the addition of the new 5-7wt model will be welcomed by the fly fishing community. Following the success of the 2-5wt model, the introduction of the 5-7wt was a no-brainer. The Thistledown is a unique flyline, and is the ultimate in fly fishing finesse, and perfect for small stream trout fishing. Sometimes however, the trout aren’t always small, which is where the new 5-7wt comes into play. The new and improved braided core means a finer and stronger core, and a more supple line over all, which also means less memory issues than before. The XS-Plus is 90ft long, and comes in olive and buckskin colours, which blend in beautifully to the countryside of a trout stream. www.ejtodd.com.au

Rio is known for producing a wide selection of flylines for anglers of all abilities in all conditions, and Rio’s Direct Core Flats Pro is one of their specialty flylines. Whether fishing flats for bones and permit, peppering the mangroves or jacks and barra, sinking flies for schooled bass of presenting small dries to finicky stream trout, it’s important to have the right flyline, and Rio always have you covered. The DC Flats Pro flyline is built with sophisticated tapers and the latest technology for the modern flats angler, and has easy annealing, and a low-memory core that lays perfectly straight on the water, which is perfect when trying to convince that trophy permit or bonefish to eat your fly! The DC Flats Pro comes in 7, 8, 9 and 10wt in floating, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12wt in intermediate, and 8, 9 and 10wt in sink tip. www.jmgillies.com.au

BEST FLY LINE RUNNER UP

Snobee XS-Plus Thistledown 5-7

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Sage Trout 4/5/6

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Alvey Saltwater Fly Reel

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Alvey Saltwater Fly Reel

The new Sage Trout 4/5/6 mixes classic aesthetics with modern performance. Drawing inspiration from the historic Sage 500 series reels, the Modern Classics collection introduces reels designed for the angler longing for a nod to the past. This reel has a romantic appeal to designs and colours that reflect a classic feel of old yet packed with performance features that will assure you’ll never lose that fish of a lifetime. While honouring their heritage with a fullframe design, narrow profile, and classic styling, the backbone of the Trout is Sage’s proven One Revolution, Sealed Carbon System (SCS) drag. The 4/5/6 is the heart of the series, which will balance perfectly with the majority of all-around trout rods. The Trout 4/5/6 also features a large and concave arbor for fast line pick-up and greater strength and capacity, easy conversion from left to right-hand retrieve, and a Neoprene and embroidered ballistic nylon reel case. If you want to fish with a classic Sage design but have all the benefits of their modern cutting edge technology, the Sage Trout is the perfect reel for you. www.jmgillies.com.au

Alvey Saltwater Fly Reels are renowned for their performance, catching small marlin, swordfish, tuna and more with their smooth, powerful drag. Uniquely, these reels don’t require the hours of maintenance most other fly reels do. A rinse in saltwater while fishing will keep you going, and when you get home you just give it a rinse out in a bucket of fresh water, put a couple of drops of oil on the moving parts, and you’re ready for the next trip. The reel features a strong metal foot, stainless steel line guides, and metal pins in the clutch housing that protect the metal clutch washers from overheating and damaging the spool. The fixed handle plate makes handling a big fish a lot safer, allowing the spool to turn backwards under clutch pressure. Alvey Managing Director Bruce Alvey says their customers have had great success with this reel, and the new version is even stronger and lighter, with the use of carbon and titanium to ensure this reel keeps on catching large fish. It will be released in the coming months, so keep an eye out for it at your favourite tackle store. www.alvey.com.au

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BEST FLY ROD RUNNER UP

Sage Trout LL Series

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Sage Trout LL Series

TryCD AllFly

With a delicate touch and medium action, the Trout LL family has been designed with the trout angler and dry flies in mind. Through blank taper optimisation and specialised length offerings, the Trout LL is perfected for wade fishing, closer casts, small flies, and light tippets. A relatively supple tip maximizes light tippet protection and gives way to a smooth, easy-loading mid-section that increases feel and feedback throughout the casting stroke. When the hatch is on, the Trout LL is an angler’s best friend. Drawing inspiration from historic Sage rods of the past, the Trout LL is a nod toward tradition with a classic appearance and a smooth casting taper, yet adds modern performance features in accuracy and loop control through the backbone of Konnetic HD blank material. The Trout LL series is available in a combination of classic dry fly line weights and lengths 7’9” though 9’0” while beautiful wood inserts and premium componentry add an elegant touch to these high performance rods. www.jmgillies.com.au

A complete Allfly set lets you fish most freshwater fly fishing conditions with one package. When waterway conditions change, anglers need to change rods, which is frustrating to do with a conventional rod tube. The Allfly makes the process much easier. The first step is to start with the universal Allfly base, and then you attach the 3-piece TryCD rod that suits your fishing needs – either the 5/6 or the 7/8. There’s also the option to include the 1ft Extender, to extend the rod from 9ft to 10ft. Allfly rods are made using the best Japanese high-modulus materials. Each blank is handmade with precise amounts of laser-cut 40T carbon and constructed in a unique helix formation. The blanks are light, crisp and very strong. The rods come in a unique case that folds out horizontally, and it has soft holders to push the pieces onto, so they don’t touch each other. This case makes it much quicker and easier to access your rods, as you don’t have to slowly feed the sections into a tube. www.trycd.com / www.facebook.com/ Trycd

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Bluewater Speed Skirt

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The Bluewater series was developed for the hard-core saltwater and game anglers. Every model in the Bluewater series has been rigorously tested and engineered to ensure that they are up to the task of doing battle with some of the oceans largest predators. The new Bluewater Speed Skirt fits into that way of thinking perfectly! The Bluewater Speed Skirts are a highspeed trolling skirt, and as such they are capable of being trolled at speeds of up to 18 knots. With their tolerance to such high speeds, they are absolutely perfect for species such as wahoo, tuna and other high speed pelagics that don’t mind a fast chase! The Speed Skirts come in four great colours, including purple black, lumo green, lumo, an pink. At 240mm and 115g they are a perfect snack size for many offshore predators, and the realistic pattern on the head and skirt itself will fool any hungry offshore predator into striking! www.jmgillies.com.au

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Following on from the runaway success of the Ultimate Squid, Chasebaits has released a 300mm version. The upsized model has the same ultrarealistic, rolling wing action as the smaller 150mm and 200mm versions, and boasts an incredibly durable TPE construction (10X strong). It can be slow trolled or jigged to great effect on large reef fish, kingfish, tuna and more. Chasebaits recommends matching the 300mm Ultimate Squid with the Ultimate Squid

Rig, whose weight range now covers everything from 3/4oz right through to 9oz. The Ultimate Squid Rig is custom made to suit the Squid perfectly, balancing it so that the wings give off that true squid action. These custom jigheads have offset twin assist hooks and a flash blade (which can be swapped out for a treble or extra assist hook). The heavier models have 9/0 hooks, and the attachment snap is rated to 82kg. Other features include custom 3D squid eyes, custom scent, contracting tentacles and extended candles that flutter with any movement. Price: SRP $19.95 www.chasebaits.com.au

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Mustad 6.5” Pliers

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The Mustad Titanium Plier is Mustad’s newest plier that fits into the elite level Black Line of tools. Built with rugged performance for the toughest conditions, these pliers exude excellence at every turn, especially when chasing trophy fish. With high-quality titanium, an ergonomic design and carbon inserts that support the heavy-duty construction, the pliers allow you to get a strong grip on anything you encounter, and will be a handy addition. On the side of the pliers there is a scissor-style clipper to cut lines without the need to change tools, giving anglers a more complete plier that will serve them for years both on and off the water. Each set of 6.5” Titanium Pliers comes with a premium moulded leather sheath with a lanyard attached, so you will always have your pliers safe and secure when on the water. www.wilsonfishing.com

Black Magic Equalizer Twin Pin Pro

Mustad 6.5” Pliers

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The best just got better, with Black Magic’s new Equalizer Twin Pin Pro. Whether you’re using a bent butt or straight butt rod, it gives you maximum leverage and no restrictions. As the name suggests, the patent pending Twin Pin Pro has two pins, one in the traditional recessed position, and a new pin in the front of the rod bucket. This gives you maximum leverage whether you’re using a straight butt or a bent butt rod, without the need for an adaptor. Simply choose the best pin for your style of rod, and you are fishing without restrictions. To make it even easier to battle that dream fish, you can match the Twin Pin Pro with ever-popular Equalizer harness. The lightweight harness/webbing can be worn all day, then you simply slip on the gimbal in seconds when the fish strikes. It allows you to apply greater pressure on the fish without increasing strain on your back, arms and legs, and it’s also lighter and less bulky than other harnesses, without sacrificing strength. www.blackmagictackle.com

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Venom Ocean Gladiator

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Venom Ocean Gladiator

Daiwa Spartan S74-4/5

The team at Venom Rods has designed a series of rods to take on the biggest predators in the ocean – the Ocean Gladiator series. Within the range are four rods: a 15kg slick butt stroker, 24kg slick butt stroker, 37kg slick butt stroker and a 60kg bent butt stand up rod for when things are getting serious! All rods in the range feature ALPS Zirconium guides that are constructed from SS316 anti-rust stainless in a one-stamp finish to increase strength and reduce weight. The rods also make use of the ALPS CAH reel seat, a reel seat that is built from marine grade aluminium and presents with a locking centre hood and a newly designed hexagon locking nut for the ultimate in reel security. Of course, the Venom Ocean Gladiator series is built on the high modulus Venom blank, a blank that provides incredible lightness and unparalleled strength. This ensures that while fighting a fish, the angler is not unnecessarily fatigued from fighting the weight of the outfit and can concentrate on using the strength in the Venom blank to dictate terms to the most stubborn of fish. www.wilsonfishing.com

The Spartan rod series brings X45 Cobrashield technology to offshore saltwater rods for the first time, delivering a range of technique specific actions that outcast, outperform ad outclass all others. X45 Cobrashield is 25% more efficient than standard X45 technology, significantly reducing blank twist and distortion. With increased torsional stiffness, Spartan is able to resist blank twist during casting and jigging. The Spartan series also features HVF Nanoplus graphite blanks, 3DX carbon to increase lifting power and V-Joint to increase joint strength. Equipped with Fuji stainless steel SiC guides and reel seats, this battler is offshore ready! There’s 13 rods in the range (10 spin, 3 overhead), and it was the S74-4/6 model that was runner up for Best Game Fishing Rod at the 2019 AFTA show. This model is perfect for many lure casting and jigging scenarios offshore, from GT popping, stickbaiting on reef flats, and even jigging. This model is 224cm long, has a heavy action, breaks down at the butt, and will cast weights from 50-100g! www.daiwafishing.com.au

Daiwa Spartan S74-4/5

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Barambah Lures Bony Shad

The Smuggler is a water blooping, rattling walker with a very life-like swimming bird action. This new lure has a long tail to simulate tail feathers, a matching head feather, and colours to imitate the most common birds that big fish feed on. As The Smuggler walks, its wings splash and make a very noticeable blooping noise while the wide body action attracts the attention of nearby fish. Designer Grainger Mayfield said the lure took a long time to perfect. “A good walker must have perfect balance and sit well in the water,” he explained, “and the challenge was to combine those qualities with a lifelike bird shape. The Smuggler definitely isn’t your typical rattling walker; we’ve designed it to provide maximum attraction, including a blooping noise that predators can’t resist.” The Smuggler is available now in 65mm and 90mm sizes, and has ultra-strong BKK hooks and an extremely robust body. It comes in six colours, including budgie, black cockatoo and sparrow. To see it in action search for ‘Chasebaits Smuggler’ on YouTube. Price: SRP $26.95 www.chasebaits.com.au

RUNNER UP Barambah Lures Bony Shad

The swimbait craze is still well and truly alive in Australia, and Barambah Lures have continues to push the envelope for innovation and originality! The Barambah Lures Bony Shad is no exception, and is the perfect bait to imitate a bony bream or other herring found in many fresh and saltwater bodies around Australia. The Bony Shad is irresistible on the sink, the lift and the slow wind, making it incredibly versatile, and not just a bait for specific conditions. The Barambah Lures’ original Interchangeable Weight System allows the angler to change up the weight (35 or 48g) and therefore the sink rate of this incredibly life-like swimbait, making it easy to adapt to different situations. At a length of 120mm, or 4.7”, this is the perfect snack size for a hungry Murray cod, barramundi, mulloway, or other big predator that enjoys a decent meal, and it has the hardware to handle it! The six eye-catching lures make it easy to match the baitfish in a variety of areas all over the country. This is an Aussie swimbait for Aussie fish! www.barambahlures.com

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To meet the demands of anglers and the hard-fighting species they target, the pull strength of the new Ocea 8 is up to 25% greater than the previous Ocea EX8 for the same diameter. A premium quality braided line manufactured in Japan, the new Ocea 8 has been designed to match Shimano’s flagship Stella SW and Ocea Jigger series. This line uses Shimano’s exclusive Izansas X-Filament Fibres and ‘Tough Cross’ braiding technology, so it is more manageable in the water and on a reel, and also has increased abrasion resistance. Shimano Exclusive Heat Sink Coating also means any heat build-up from guide friction and drag pressure is evenly distributed to maintain line performance. Ocea 8 is multi-coloured, and available in eight breaking strains from PE 1.5 (30lb) through to PE 10 (139lb), in 300m spools from 30-41lb, 400m spools from 58-137lb) and 500m in 139lb. Price RRP from $139 www.shimanofish.com.au

FINS Fighter PRT Braid RA

When going after big game fish, there’s no replacement for quality, and having quality braid will put you in a much better position to land that fish of a lifetime. Daiwa’s new Saltiga 12 Braid UVF (Ultra Volume Fibre) brings quality to the table and covers just about every casting and jigging situation you can think of, coming in poundages from 13-130lb. Made from UVF and Evo silicone, Saltiga 12 is the ultimate high-density braid, exhibiting supreme abrasion residence and superior strength. A reduced diameter provides an ultra-

smooth surface for less friction/resistance on the guides and spool rim, allowing for longer, smoother casting, less noise, minimal water penetration and incredible sensitivity. Saltiga 12 is the ultimate heavy duty jigging and casting line for big game fish. It’s colour-coded in 10, 5 and 1m increments to allow you full line control, and come in 200m spools from 13-31lb, 300m spools from 36-130lb, ad 44m spools from 100-118lb. Price: RRP from $99 www.daiwafishing.com.au

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Daiwa Saltiga 12 EX UVF PE+Si,

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FINS Fighter PRT Braid differs from the original PRT in that they have improved the resin system that is applied, as well as the method to apply it. This results in a rounder, more abrasion resistant product that has a better strength to weight ratio than the original PRT. Fighter PRT is also somewhat firmer than its predecessor, without being stiff, and this allows for better performance in regards to casting distance and reduces the chances of rod tip wrapping. Features include 100% Spectre Fibre, high strength durability and is a 4-carrier braid. This line is ideal for all tough, predatory fish. Fighter PRT Braid comes in poundages from 10-60lb, in spools of 150yrds (1060lb), 300yrds (20-60lb), 600yrds (20-60lb), 1200yrds (20-60lbs) and 4000yrds (20-60lb). www.jmgillies.com.au

FINS Fighter PRT Braid

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Barambah Lure Fastening System

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Mustad InkVader

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Matt Fraser from Barambah Lures is well known for his timber lures, but he recently made the crossover to production ABS hardbody Lures, all featuring the new Lure Fastening System. “I couldn’t keep up with demand in timber lures,” he explained. “So I went to production lures that are more affordable and can incorporate a heap of innovative features.” Using a built-in stainless steel threaded nut and screw, the Lure Fastening System allows bibs, weights and claws to be easily attached or changed, to quickly adjust a lure’s action, buoyancy or appearance. Topwater lures can be changed from a paddler to a wakebait. The divers can be changed from shallow to deep, and the soft claws of the Hectic Yabbie can be swapped out if damaged, or to change claw colours. The swimbaits have a hidden weight chamber, so you can adjust buoyancy, giving them a depth range from 2-30ft plus! All this is done using a phillips head screwdriver, which comes supplied in the pack. There are nine hardbait models in a range of proven colours. Price: from $34.95 www.barambahlures.com

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The 2019 AFTA show was once again oozing with originality and innovation, but Mustad have really taken it to the next level with the amazing new InkVader! The Mustad InkVader is a revolutionary TPE octopus soft bait that is built to look and move like a live octopus. The InkVader even squirts non-toxic and soluble scented ink from tablets that can be added to the head cavity! Whether you’re bouncing the lure off the bottom, slow trolling or slow pitch jigging this lure, the InkVader is the closest thing you’ll ever get to the real thing. The deception is real! The InkVader comes pre-rigged with wickedly sharp Mustad Assist hooks that are forged for extra strength and feature a needlesharp point for ease of penetration. Available in three sizes and 10 weight configurations from 60g through to 340g, the InkVader comes to the market in nine brilliantly natural colours that represent real octopus from around the world! www.wilsonfishing.com

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Skypoint Link-Micro Camera

Yeti Tundra Haul

The Link-Micro from Spypoint is the easiest-to-use, most affordable, and smallest cellular trail camera available on the market. It’s the answer for everyone who said cellular trail camera technology was too expensive and too complicated. The Link-Micro is a photo-mode only camera, with multi-shot mode capabilities. Given its small size, there is no menu screen for setup, all camera settings are managed in the Spypoint app, where you can also view images. A simple, three-step process activates the Link-Micro using the free app. The app also allows the user to change settings, monitor camera status, and view images from virtually anywhere in the world. The Spypoint Link-Micro uses the 4G network, has a trigger speed of 0.5s, and has a flash range of 80ft. It’s powered by eight AA batteries (not included) and is compatible with the 12V battery kit and the range extending antenna. It’s also backed by Spypoint’s ‘Know you’re covered’ 2-year warranty. For a full list of specifications visit www.spypoint.com. www.jmgillies.com.au

In response to customer demand, Yeti has released a new cooler on wheels, the Tundra Haul, which Yeti says is the toughest cooler on two wheels. The NeverFlat Wheels feature a solid, single-piece tyre construction that is impact- and puncture-resistant. The StrongArm Handle is a durable welded aluminium arm with comfortable grips. The curved design tracks left or right for heel-friendly towing. With rotomoulded construction, this cooler is armoured to the core and virtually indestructible. It has Permafrost Insulation, consisting of pressure-injected commercial-grade polyurethane foam in the walls and lid, so your ice lasts longer. Other features include heavy-duty rubber T-Rex lid latches, robust NeverFail hinge system, and recessed LipGrip handles moulded into the side of the cooler. It measures around 28.5 x 18.5 x 19.5” (72 x 47 x 50cm) and is available in three colours – white, tan and blue. Price: SRP $599.95 au.yeti.com

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Yeti Tundra Haul

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Daiwa 19 Certate LT 5000 ARK

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Shimano Stradic FL 2500 HG

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Daiwa 19 Certate LT 5000 ARK

Shimano Stradic FL 2500 HG

The release of the 19 Certate LT combines Daiwa’s most advanced technologies an designs and elevates those traits to a whole new level, with their Light & Tough (LT) concept, reducing reel size while at the same time increasing strength and power. Made in Japan, the foundation of the 19 Certate LT is its aluminium MQ Monocoque body, which eliminates the need for a side plate and allows for a more rigid body and larger gears, for improved winding power and torque. The new super-sized, ultra-strong machine-cut forged Tough Digigear is 2mm larger in diameter than its closest competitor and rotation efficiency is up to 15%, creating an effortless feel when retrieving. Additional feature like a super-rigid stainless steel main shaft, Log Cast Abs spool, Magseal, ATD drag, One-piece Air Bail, new Drag Knob, Perfect Line Stopper, machined Aluminium Air Handle, and Air Rotor make the 19 Certate LT Daiwa’s most advanced Certate ever. Price: RRP from $629 www.daiwafishing.com.au

The new Stradic FL will carry forward most of the Shimano technologies that have made the Stradic series so strong, durable and uncompromising. The Micromodule Gear II ensures that the gears can align and perform with minimal resistance, and SilentDrive technology educes the smallest of clearance gaps and tolerances within the gearing system. The Hagane Gear has been upgraded for added strength and smoothness. On top of all this, X-Protect has also been added to the Stradic FL. The internal labyrinth-type structure gives the reel a superior level of water-resistant performance without impeding the rotation or lightness of the reel. The new Long Stroke Spool has been incorporated to improve casting distance, giving you the ability to cover more water when fishing. The 1000, 2500 and 4000 models have felt washer drags whilst the C3000 and C5000 models have upgraded cross carbon drags. With 6+1 ARC ball bearings, the new Stradic is sure to impress anyone who picks it up. Price: SRP $339.95-$389.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

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Shimano Terez Spin 69MH

TD Commander is a name forged from the beginning of the ‘Team Daiwa’ movement in Japan. The new TD Commander rod series debuts brand new Daiwa X45 Cobrashield technology, bringing this series to the forefront of Australian angling and rod design. X45 Cobrashield takes everything to the next level, and is 25% more efficient than standard X45 technology, significantly reducing blank twist and distortion. Featuring HVF Nanoplus blanks, TD Commander rods feel like nothing in the hand. 3DX further stiffens up the base of the rods near the handle, eliminating unwanted flex. Daiwa’s newest and most advanced Air Sensor reel seats are made from a lightweight carbon infused resin, and represent the pinnacle of reel seat design.Daiwa’s innovative AGS and Fuji TiSic guide train is unique and unparalleled in performance. Titanium framed Fuji SiC guides on the lower section of the rod with AGS guides above, control the line out through the tip, and deliver unmatched sensitivity. Price: RRP from $499 www.daiwfishing.com.au

The legend continues, the new Terez series of rods built on Spiral-X and Hi-Power X blanks are the ultimate saltwater enforcer. This is the most advanced Terez Shimano has built to date. The Terez series of rods has built up tough as nails reputation amongst Aussie anglers. For 2019, the Terez series has been upgraded by the engineers at Shimano and now features the exclusive Spiral-X and Hi-Power X blank technology. Extremely lightweight and powerful, the 23-model line-up features models based on the original Terez series, with additional models based on the actions of the TCurve and Deep Jig models. Shaped EVA grips and custom Shimano reel seats have been incorporated and the blanks are fitted with Fuji BKW Alconite framed guides to ensure durability and performance in saltwater conditions. If you’re serious about offshore fishing, be sure to check out this range of awardwinning and proven saltwater rods from Shimano. Price: RRP from $319.95 www.shimanofish.com.au

Daiwa TD Commander 742 LXS

Shimano Terez Spin 69MH

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Daiwa TD Commander 742 LXS

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Zerek Weedless Fish Trap

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The Phantom Spider looks as good as it fishes. Just like the rest of the Lunkerhunt range, it is incredibly lifelike and a proven performer. It features a hollow body weedless design and walking legs that stride, glide, and twitch as the spider is worked across the water surface. The Phantom Spider features a self-righting ballast in its sternum to ensure a consistent natural action that aligns with the realism of the design. It comes in six colours, which are modelled on real spider patterns, and is sure to draw some curiosity from opportunistic predators. At a length of 2 inches (main torso) and a weigh of 1/4oz, this bait can be comfortably cast on light tackle and is a great snack for bass, bream, trout, sooties and jungle perch. Make sure you grab one and see what all the hype is about! www.ejtodd.com.au

Lunkerhunt Phantom Spider

The Zerek Weedless Fish Trap is a brilliant adaptation to the already amazingly successful Fish Trap! This lure features all the same swimming characteristics as the Fish Trap, but has been uniquely designed to give a weedless presentation. The features include a replaceable single worm hook that is positioned point down to provide exceptional hooking in the bottom jaw, a built-in hook trap to keep the worm hook in place while fishing, the innovative and Zerek-owned crush slits that expose the hook point when fish strike and a construction from the tough TPE material that gives strength and movement to the lure! This means you can fish this lure in exactly the same places and in exactly the same way as you fish your existing Fish Traps, but you can now explore the most snag-ridden places for the most wary and cautious fish that are usually the largest! It means the days of worrying where the snags are in case you lose your lure are finished, and it means that the Fish Trap is still many steps ahead of the competition. 13 colours will be initially available and the

Zerek Weedless Fish Trap

weedless Fish Trap will be available only in the 95mm version for the time being. Brilliance rarely strikes more than once, but here it is! www.wilsonfishing.com

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Spotters Zane Carbon

Costa Del Mar Rinconcito

The award-winning Spotters Zane is built for performance and style. This is one model that can take you from fishing to fashion in no time at all. The lightweight frame coupled with Spotters’ signature Crown glass lens options combine to create the ultimate pair of sunglasses for both males and females. The Zane is currently available in the following lenses: Photochromic Halide, Photochromic Carbon Grey, Ice (blue mirror), Nexus (green mirror) and CR-39 Grey. Photochromic Carbon Grey is a new option in Spotters’ photochromic range, which includes four lenses that automatically go lighter or darker in response to a combination of UV, general light and temperature. To browse the Spotters range or find your nearest stockist, head to www. spotters.com.au. You can also look them up on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ SpottersSunglasses), follow them on Instagram (@spotterssunglasses) or check them out on YouTube (SpottersTV). www.spotters.com.au

Almost 30 years ago, a group of anglers in Florida had a goal: to design a pair of sunglasses to help them better See What’s Out There. Costa Del Mar have come a long way since those days, but the fact is, their passion hasn’t changed at all. They’re still in Florida, and still happiest when the sun is up and they’re fishing out on the water, just like Australian – and they’re still obsessed with making the best lenses on the planet. Now Costa would like to introduce the little brother to Costa’s Rincon frame, Rinconcito blends West Coast style lines and edgy curved temples. This medium style, named for the iconic Southern California right point break, features bio-resin construction, polarized 100% UV Protection Lenses, integral spring hinges, and Hydrolite nose and temple pads. As anglers, we devote our lives to chasing the most remote places that bring us to life. That’s why Costa developed the best sunglasses in the world to help us reach these soughtafter locales. Because Costas are more than sunglasses, they’re the badge of the explorer. www.rapala.com.au

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Spotters Zane Carbon

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BEST TACKLE MANAGEMENT RUNNER UP

Plano Edge Stowaway 500

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Plano Edge Stowaway 500

Wilson Tackle Backpack

Plano have once again stolen the show for tackle management, with their new Edge Master series, and specifically the Crankbait SM taking out top honours. This amazing new concept will change the way people think about lure storage. The Edge Master series has all the same features as the Professional series, along with tackle specific designs. The Edge Master Terminal has unique liftout trays for weights, hooks and small parts. The Crankbait SM and XL have silicone fingers hat protect lures, hooks and finishes. This is the concept that stole the Show at AFTA 2019, and helped them to take out the Best Tackle Management category at the show. These are available in both shallow and deep models. The Jig and Spinnerbait models feature adjustable, removable dividers and side moulded handles. For ultimate protection and longevity for your expensive lures, there’s nothing better than the Edge Master series from Plano! www.jmgillies.com.au

Designed specifically for fishing, the Wilson Digital Camo Backpack offers a host of features to anglers that will make their day fishing just that little bit easier. At the heart of the new system is the side access to the internal cargo area. The side access allows anglers to easily keep the backpack over one shoulder while accessing the internal cargo area. This is great as there is no longer any need to completely remove the backpack while you’re on the water fishing. Other features that excite in this backpack include three tackle trays inside the main cargo area. There are two standard large trays and one large tray that has no dividers for bigger lures such as swimbaits and surface lures. Combined these boxes allow a mountain of tackle to be taken with you. An external sunglass holder and a retractable tool lanyard are also included to make life as simple as it can be on the water. There are also four external zippered pockets for accessories such as leader, fishing gloves and more, as well as two Velcro secured tool holders and a massive front flap with even more storage for things such as plastics, spare hooks and more. The Wilson Digital Camo Backpack really is a complete tackle kit and while it can easily be used while hiking and fishing, this backpack will also serve as a complete kit for your boat or when you’re jumping on someone else’s boat. www.wilsonfishing.com

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WINNER Halco Single Strand Wire Traces

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energy leakage. It’s fully adaptable to all marine batteries, and installation is easy and Yeti SideKick Dry can be completed in less than 15 minutes. ANBI also provides a theft deterrent waterproof gear case by virtually immobilising the vehicle when The SideKick Dry is designed to keep activated. This can result in significant your most important items accessible, savings on insurance premiums. secure, and 100% dry. This waterproof The ANBI Switch is designed and gear case is the worry-free way to carry manufactured in Australia, is anti-corrosive, your keys, wallet and phone safe. and exceeds international standards for salt Some waterproof cases can be fiddly to and sea spray. open and close, but not the SideKick Dry. Its Price: SRP $39.99 Hydroshield Closure uses powerful magnets www.afn.com.au to create a 100% waterproof shield, and it opens and closes quickly and easily. Its tough-as-nails DryHide Shell uses similar materials and construction as high RUNNER UP TIED performance whitewater rafts. It’s completely Scotty Kayak Fishing waterproof and resistant to puncture and UV Starter Pack rays, ensuring Mother Nature won’t touch your valuables, and the RF-welded seams Scotty is recognised as one of the world’s leading manufacturers of rod holder repel any sign of wetness. The SideKick Dry Gear Case Measures mounts. With innovative designs and 18.1cm x 29.8cm x 8.3cm, and is available many versatile mounting options, you’ll in three colours. It’s designed to be secured be able to find the exact combination to any model Yeti Hopper Two, Hopper Flip, you’re looking for. Hopper BackFlip, Camino Carryall or Panga Scotty also caters to beginners. The Kayak Fishing Starter Pack includes a 282 Backpack using the HitchPoint Grid. Baitcaster Spinning Rod Holder with Gear Price: SRP $69.94 Head and Track-Holds a baitcaster reel au.yeti.com securely in the cushioned cradle. RUNNER UP TIED 438 Gear Head Track Adapter-slide the Gear Head into any of our 440 series ANBI Battery Switch track, just twist the gear head clockwise to Even when your ignition key is off, there securely lock. are still components that draw current 440-4 4” Low Profile Track-top load and continue to drain your battery. That’s design allows for quick and easy setup. why it’s common to find it flat when you 311 Drink Holder-fits cans, coffee mugs to go to start a boat or ride-on mower and insulated sleeves mean you can enjoy a after it has been sitting for an extended refreshment while out in the kayak. period. This is both inconvenient and 136 Paddle Clip-holds your paddle, net, costly, as a completely flat dead battery gaff and boat hook. 455 Baitboard and can often become damaged if left Accessory Tray-Exterior tray walls lets you cut bait and prep lures. Also included are uncharged for too long. The ANBI Battery Switch is a simple, your Stainless steel fasteners. high quality, robust solution to solve this If you’re thinking of getting into kayak problem. The Switch eliminates drainage of fishing, make sure you check out the Scotty stored power by isolating the battery from Kayak Fishing Starter pack! power-hungry components, and general www.jmgillies.com.au

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BEST WATERSPORT / DIVING PRODUCT CATEGORY

BEST TERMINAL TACKLE RUNNER UP

Halco Single Strand Wire Traces

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ING TRADE

The spring fishing action is on the up and up ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

October is transition time when those cold incessant westerlies slowly turn to northeasters, and only light ones at that. You get a lot of good days on the water, and as a bonus the fishing is on the up and up. The reefs with a bit of good structure or drop-offs are good places to start, with a bit of variety starting to show as well.

down to the Banks, which will hold masses of kings to 20kg+ over the next couple of months. Why the kings don’t gather like this anymore over our local reefs but still do at the Banks is anyone’s guess. Many more great sharp reefs and drops may be the reason, and good current helps too. Mixed with the snapper and kings are some solid trevally that don’t mind chewing on knife jigs and plastics, and a few samsonfish will be in the mix as well. That fish you’ve

good shake. The smaller fish are good on the plate but the bigger ones should only be taken on if you have solid shark experience. They don’t call them blue dynamite for nothing. In closer the same method will score a few reds as well, with smaller fish hanging about the shallower reefs and bommies, particularly in the evenings. A lot of tailor are being picked up just on dark, along with a few smaller kingfish. Most of the kingies are under legal size, and they can be a nuisance as they still

A standard spring king with Port Kembla in the background. Good reefs in the Illawarra are hard to come by these days, as the anchors and huge chains from the massive coal and iron ore ships that lay off the coast destroy the bottom every time there is a wind change of direction. They drag over the bottom, obliterating everything in their path, and over the decades they have pretty much levelled the ocean floor off the coast. Fortunately, places like Bandit and Wollongong reef still have some drops and edges, and so still attract fish, but almost all the other smaller reefs I used to fish are much less pronounced and in some places flattened. Kings will start to gather this month around any pronounced structure, so working an area with your sounder and dropping jigs and live baits down to the fish will be a good option. Patches of bait are worth dropping to as well, with big plastics an option as there will be some decent snapper over the reefs this month as well. Even areas that seem barren are worth a working over if you can find a tight patch of bait in mid water or close to the bottom. You may not mark any snapper but there is an odds-on chance that they will not be far away. They are usually good fish too in the 2-5kg range, and in this deeper water of 30-60m you will need a fair size jighead to get down to where they live. The kings are usually all of legal length or better at this time of year, with fish to 8kg fairly common. The bigger fish will be heading

hooked that’s fighting like a ripping big snapper may turn out to only be an average samson, as they go pretty hard and punch well above their weight. If you find an area with some bait and a few fish, try putting the anchor down and laying out a bit of a berley trail. There is usually less current around at this time of the year, and your lightly weighted baits will get right down to the fish. Small makos often cruise into the berley trails

fight hard and waste time only to be released. Further offshore there should still be a few yellowfin tuna about after a fabulous winter run of big fish up to 80kg. October has always been a good month for fin. It’s a shame they are only a random occurrence at the whim of the currents these days, and they are so far out, generally beyond the reach of most small boats. Some small boat anglers still take it on though, and I saw one guy in a 4.8m tinnie had gone

It’s that time again when the whales head back south, with little ones in tow. Keep an eye out for them. at this time of year, and the schools of gemfish are still hanging about. The inshore bottom bouncers are starting to get amongst the flathead over most of the sand patches now that the water has warmed a little and there are a few baitfish about. A feed is pretty much guaranteed each trip, but the barracouta have been a bit of a problem, snipping off a bit of gear. Over the reefs and gravel there are patches of small snapper and mowies with the usual pigfish, trevally and samsonfish thrown in just to keep you guessing. The best is yet to come over the coming months and it will improve every week from here on in. Just remember too that the whales will be heading back south for the summer and they will have calves with them so keep an eye out as you don’t want to hit one. On the beaches a few early whiting have started to show up but don’t go rushing

There are some yellowfin about in different sizes. There are small ones like this, and ones that will eat this for breakfast. Literally. in October, with a range of sizes from little babies of only a few kilos to the average fish of 20-30kg – and there’s always the chance that a big mamma will show up as well. Makos are beautiful to watch in the water as they come right to the boat, and more often than not give the berley pot a

65km offshore and scored a solid tuna. Good luck to him, but if the weather turns you are in a world of pain and all alone. Is it really worth it? There are some solid albacore about if the fin don’t play, and there is always the option of deep dropping over the canyons. There is much less current

out just yet and expect a bucket full. They are very patchy and few in number, but if you enjoy a challenge then this is for you, and beach worms are a musthave bait. Salmon and tailor are still the go-to species and are showing up on most beaches – just look for a good gutter on the top of the

tide in the late afternoon or early morning. A few bream are mixing it with them, so if the guts keep getting eaten out of your pillies try a smaller bait on a single hook. That should sort them out. The odd flathead has even popped up in catches, and they will only get more numerous as the weeks go by. A few school mulloway and the odd larger fish are about but their movements have been pretty random, with no clue as to where they will show up next. Usually you can track a school as they move along the beaches, but not lately. You have to just pick a good gutter, put in the time and hope. The estuaries are in wake-up mode as the shallows start to warm and the small fish and prawns shake off the winter blues only to be eaten by larger predators. Flathead are

starting to show, and if we get a bit of a run of prawns on the next dark they should really get going, along with a few better whiting and bream. Live prawns are worth chasing as they get nailed by everything that swims in the lake, but if you are not that keen then prawnstyle plastics will get a good reception too. The drop-off and over at Tallawarra and even Berkeley are worth a look, and like everything else they will get better as we head into summer. Live prawns fished unweighted in the snags of the feeder streams will find some big bream. You have a choice to make here – use line heavier than 3kg and get hardly any bites, or use light 2kg line and get the bites before being busted off in the snags. You win some and you lose some; it’s a trade-off and a whole lot of fun!

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Right now is a great time for chasing snapper BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

Hello sunshine! Goodbye grey skies! We are in full spring mode now, and that’s when everything starts waking up. The currents start pushing down, bringing all sorts of life and feed. The fish are frisky and spawning, the

in school numbers, and they are fun on lighter gear. It’s still a bit early for marlin, and the FADs are not deployed until November, so hopefully offshore has a few tuna poking around. If they are slow you can stop for a deep drop if the conditions are suitable. A lot of people are also trying out sword fishing and it’s still an OK time of year to test rigs

plastic or micro-jig! That’s what makes it so much fun – there are so many options these days and so many depths, which changes your approach. I personally

bridge, T-wharf to the rock wall up to the cleaning tables was on fire last spring. The mulloway are spawning at this time of the year and the locals keep it low key, and

should keep powering on from now into summer. As the estuaries start coming alive, it’s not too long before people start going upstream in hope of some bass action. Last year was a slow season on bass as the drought seemed to have affected things a bit. This year might be looking similar, as we haven’t seen much rain as of yet.

throughout spring before they really kick into gear over summer. All in all, it’s a great time to go fishing. The cold days are easing, the warmth is building and there’s an explosion of life in our waters. You have to get out in that! • For more up-to-the-minute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat

Rob Frawley was happy with this nice snapper.

Georgia Poyner can catch bream in her sleep. estuary starts to liven up, and the humans start to thaw out as well, especially our friends over the mountain from Canberra. It’s an exciting time. The fishing offshore is unpredictable at this time of year. We have had some years where albacore ran hot and cold, and the odd yellowfin tuna has shown up. As we approach November these fish can be small but

out and practice the art so you are even more ready for next year. One of the highlights this month is the snapper fishing. I love October and November for chasing these fish, and you can try for these magnificent red beauties in the shallows to 5km offshore out in 60-120m depths. You can pick them up anywhere really, you just have to find them, and then tie on a bait,

love micro-jigging, and that trend is evolving more and more, with many different styles and alterations to your jigs. We have stocked some new arrivals from Catch, including a tough strip of curly plastic that can be attached to your micro-jig, jighead or hardbody to give it a different look and action. While a lot of fishos are chasing snapper offshore, the stones are still not out of the question, and it’s been shown that they will bite all through summer from the rocks. Fresh baits and lures will do the trick. One of the most soughtafter land-based species on everyone’s radars right now is the mulloway! Springtime is when these guys are going mental. Last year was a bite we won’t forget for a long time, and we are hoping for the same to happen this spring. From the Clyde River

it’s usually just a few visitors and the same crew that are out there constantly. A lot of fishos caught a few on bait and then tested themselves on lures. Before too long everyone was catching them on Chasebait Squids, Fish Arrow Flash-J Shads, Gulp Jerkshads, Squidgy Fish and ZMan Jerk ShadZ. The mulloway might be the headliner in the estuary this spring, but it’s not the only target species that starts lighting up. The big girl flathead are very hungry after winter, and they will chase presentations that are as big as you can throw at them. Tie on 7” Jerkshads or big Slug-Gos and attach a trailer hook for those short bites, and fish them slow for a chance of one of those 80cm+ crocodiles that are prolific at this time of year. Cool water bream have been very good lately, and

Marli Dunn with the kind of quality flathead that you can catch in springtime. The beaches are becoming a good place to be as it warms up, and the chance of whiting will start to increase. You usually get a little flurry of them

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Top days to catch a feed NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

A couple of months of consistent cold fronts hitting the southeast of our country is enough to send

themselves well to kayak fishos. Tallowa Dam up in the valley is one dam that can really fire up after a few days of warm spring weather, so definitely keep that in mind. In amongst the cold front marathon of late there have

Lani Martyn with a nice shallow water Jervis Bay snapper that her dad caught on soft plastics on a recent trip. any keen fisho to the nut house! It makes for some pretty miserable fishing conditions. Thankfully that’s now in the past, and we can say goodbye to those horrid westerlies and look forward to some nice October weather! Warmer water, warmer days and hungry fish is good enough reason to get out of bed early for a quick flick before work. The bass season will soon be in full swing, and I know plenty of fishos who are looking forward to it – me included! There are so many locations close to Nowra where you can catch these magnificent native Australian sportfish from a boat, canoe/kayak or even on foot. So do your homework and check out your local creeks and rivers, as you may just have some exciting sportfishing right on your doorstep and not even know it. A little kayak will give you a lot more options for the bass, as there are a couple of dams within a stone’s throw of Nowra that have been pretty well stocked over the years, and which lend

been a few top notch days where anglers have been able to get out onto Jervis Bay and catch themselves a feed. There have been some sand flathead around the mouth

which makes for a fun day out on the water. If you’re lucky enough, you may also score a nice snapper, which seem to be hanging in close at the moment. With a mixed bag like that, you’re set for a pretty damn good feed of fresh south coast seafood, not to mention a nice day out on the water and away from the hustle and bustle. You just can’t buy that sort of peace and quiet (well technically you can but I can’t afford an island in the Pacific!) If you’re going to chase the reds and haven’t done it yet with soft plastics, I would strongly recommend getting yourself into your local tackle shop and setting yourself up with a nice light combo and lures to suit. The majority of the better fish I have seen in the past few seasons have all come on soft plastic lures, especially fish from the bay! The rocks have seen a few more rat and just legal kings show up of late, giving the metal tossers some fun. The outside ledges of JB north to Kiama are worth an early morning spin before the sun gets too high in the sky.

N O I P R O 485 SC

The rock ledges around Kiama are fairly well known for spinning for kings. They’re fun fish at any size on the right tackle. of the bay, but unfortunately there have been a lot of throwbacks in amongst the legal size ones. Still, you’re in with a reasonable chance of picking up a couple of legal flatties and a few squid,

Early season bass are a sucker for a popper fly, especially the little guys.

As well as just spinning high speed for the kings, micro-jigging in close proximity to the bottom is also working. Just be careful not to hang your lures up in the kelp and rocks, as it becomes expensive after a while. The Shoalhaven River and The Basin are now coming into prime time for the big flatties to start biting. October through to December is the best time to score a big girl in the 90cm class. There must also be a few metre-long fish kicking around now, as the past seasons have seen plenty in the high 90s caught. Surely they must grow a little! Enjoy your October long weekend fishos, and remember that the madness of Christmas school holidays is just around the corner!

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OCTOBER 2019

Luring rain to the lakes MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson

The last few weeks we have seen Mother Nature at its best with sharks, minke whales and dolphins all patrolling the beach breaks and tons of pilchards present.

has been fishing well for salmon. Anglers casting metal shiners have fared best, with plenty of fish around that 2kg mark. There’s been a few tailor mixed in with the odd rat kingfish and some solid trevally. Bait fishing with light strips of tuna fillet has worked well. Using a little berley will help and if

as they re-enter the estuary for the oncoming spring period. Live beachworms and pipis have been the better baits, but if fishing after dark, cut pilchards have worked a treat. In the estuaries, the water has been crystal clear and still very cold, around 13-14°C. We are in desperate need of rain,

Chris caught and released this thumping 47cm estuary perch. There was a dead whale washed up on the rocks at Tathra, which was very unfortunate, but these things happen. The whale actually attracted plenty of great whites with a few 12-13 footers visible from drones. These whites were very close to shore, in only 6ft of water at times, so swimming or diving should be off the table until the whale is removed and they move on. The sharks were also very visible from Tathra Wharf, with council closing the wharf for a few days. It’s back open now, which is good news, because there’s plenty of salmon to be caught and anglers have been itching to start fishing again on the historic wharf. At Merimbula, the main wharf in Merimbula Bay

you catch a slimy mackerel or yellowtail, put it out live under a bobby cork or balloon. I know several anglers have seen big kings down deeper over recent weeks so they’re possible and definitely worth a try. On the beaches, the usual suspects have been playing the game with salmon, tailor and bream all chewing at times. Bream numbers have been rising and beaches close to estuary entrances have fished best, with the southern part of Merimbula Main Beach near the Pambula River mouth a standout. Several groups I know who have fished this area have caught 15-20 bream in a session with some big whiting mixed in too. Every October seems to be the same, with this area really firing up both species

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A solid five fish bream bag just under 5kg was caught within 15 minutes of Merimbula. southern reefs seem to be better at the moment. Haycock has been the best, with Lennards Island a little further south also worth a look. Fresh squid and pilchards have been the gun baits to use and for lures, pink micro jigs have done the trick. Further offshore, there’s been a few SBT about but

they are very wide of the shelf. Some good albacore have come from the 100-fathom line with fish up to 18kg caught. I haven’t heard of any yellowfin but with anglers catching plenty north of Batemans Bay, hopefully the currents will do the right thing so these speedsters show up on our doorstep.

John Williams from Melbourne caught a few bream fishing a local estuary. The fish were released in great condition.

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as all the local estuaries are overdue for a decent flush out. I hope it happens sooner rather than later, as it will only improve the fishing in the long run. Merimbula Lake has been performing okay. The main basin upstream is the place to go, as the lower sections in the channels downstream have been pretty tough lately. You will get a few trevally and blackfish if you work for them, but if you give it a few more weeks it should start to turn. You’re better off concentrating in the top lake where tailor, trevally and some decent snapper have been caught. The draining tide seems to be fishing better, with smaller soft plastic grubs the go if fished slowly. A few of the reds are nudging 45cm, which is decent for the lake. With tailor, the tide changes are fishing best regardless of the time of day. They fire up for 20-30 minutes then go deep again, so being there around those times should improve catch rates. Offshore, the water has been cold and the snapper excellent. Locals have been having a ball, with fish up to 3kg common. A mixture of bait, soft plastics and metal micro jigs has worked, with every day being different. Most reefs are holding a few fish, though the

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Washing in waves of fish NAROOMA

Stuart Hindson

It’s been a very windy past few weeks along the coast with some decent swell crunching the beaches and salmon firing up in plague proportions at times. Not all beaches are holding fish but when you find a deeper gutter that has been gauged out recently, you’re in for some serious fun. The sambos are not huge, averaging 1.5-2kg, but they’re still great fun on the right tackle. Quite a lot of anglers have been targeting salmon on soft plastics in the washes with great success. Metal lures are another way to have some fun on this underrated sportfish while allowing you to cover some ground. Those fishos using traditional paternoster rigs with a bait/popper combination have done well too. The better beaches to try are Narooma Main, Tilba and Brou. Just north of Tuross, Coila has a decent gutter at present, with bluebait, pilchards and beachworms the preferred baits. On the stones, the usual

bread and butter species like blackfish, drummer and bream should keep the rock hoppers happy, as October is a good month to target them. The inside southern wall of the Narooma bar entrance has been a hotspot for blackfish anglers, with bag limits reached in a few hours on the right tides. For best results, fish a flooding tide with only the freshest of green weed. This species can be hard to catch consistently sometimes so it pays to look at the older generation that fishes in this area and study them. Their experience is endless and most of the folk there are more than willing to share a secret or two with you! If you’re after pelagics, salmon, tailor and the odd bonito are all possible at the golf course rocks in town and down at Mystery Bay to the south of Narooma. Casting metal lures or ganged pilchards slow rolled should see a fish or two. With the bigger swell of late, there’s plenty of whitewater but care must be taken in these conditions, especially if fishing alone. Those after snapper and other bottom eaters are in

luck, as the heavier seas of late have really turned them on. I know a few locals are doing extremely well off Potato Point, as so often is the case since it’s this region’s hotspot for reds. There’s so much awesome looking ground up there, with reefs and gravel beds from 20-60m all producing at times. The fish don’t leave the general area – they might move around a bit and can be tricky to locate, but once you do it’s all systems go. Fresh bait like squid, cuttlefish and tuna strips will work, with anglers casting softies when currents allow getting amongst the fish. You can expect morwong, trevally, pigfish, John Dory and heaps of sand/tiger flatheads just off the hard ground on the gravel and sand edges. At Montague Island, it’s been an excellent couple of weeks for the kings, averaging 65-75cm. They’re not firing everyday but more days than not they’re active, which is awesome to see. Some big greenbacks have been seen on the surface but getting them to bite can be hard. If you cast a bait into the middle of them, you will get a fish and a few around that 12-14kg mark

have been caught. Further offshore, there’s still a few SBT and yellowfin about and the yellowfin fishing from North Batemans Bay has been exceptional. It’s great to see 70-80kg fish being caught again and I suspect the Island might see a few yellowfin caught this month just like the old days. In Wagonga Inlet, the main channel has been holding good quantities of bream, trevally and flathead, with huge schools of mullet towards the entrance. Every day on the flooding tide, anglers have been having a ball on mullet near the 8-knot sign on the eastern side of the channel near the main wharf. Bread and dough is all you need for fish up to 1kg. With cooler water still in the system, bigger trevally have kept anglers happy in the fast water as well. Small plastics up to 80mm should do the trick, with natural colours performing best. If using bait, live nippers, fresh local prawns, striped tuna cubes and worms will suffice. The main basin should continue to fish well. Tailor numbers have been increasing, with bigger fish up to 3kg common.

Matt Collins caught this solid flathead. In October, flatties like this and bigger can be expected in our southern estuaries. Casting smaller metal lures at working birds will do the job, and dropping a big soft plastic beneath the tailor schools could see you rewarded with a mulloway as well. You will go through a few plastics with this method, but if you connect to a bronzed brute it will be all worth it. Up at Tuross, things have slowed down but there are still some quality fish available. Flathead will start to move upstream this month so try the river with smaller soft plastics and fresh bait.

Fishing the shallower banks will work well as the water cools off. Down the front of the system, blackfish and bream should be abundant, with mullet schools also active. Anchor up and berley with fresh bait like peeled prawns or squirt worms for best results. A few mulloway should be lurking around the mullet schools and bigger soft plastics are the best way to tempt one. Try a bigger soft vibe around the tide changes, with the falling tide a personal favourite.

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Treat yourself to tigers BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

The freshness of spring is in the air, with warmer weather and new life all around us and the anticipation of what a new season is going to produce. One species of fish high on the target list is flathead, which can be caught from the shore or out of a boat, from rivers, lakes or the bright briny blue of the ocean. At the top of the list is

the colourful tiger flathead, and with plenty to be caught this time of year, where do you start and how can you find them? The deeper you fish, the bigger the fish. Start in around 50m of water in places like the inside of the Four Mile Reef, further out in 60m towards the bottom end of the Six Mile Reef or for the real big ones, out in 100-140m around the Twelve Mile Reef. Starting on the fringes of these structures will also account for plenty of tasty

reef fish like pigfish, which seem to be increasing in numbers. Plenty of jackass, blue morwong and snapper have been mixed in, while out wider Tassie trumpeters have been showing on the Twelve Mile Reef. If you are going out wide, try some deep water trench fishing for blue trevalla, hapuku, cod, gemfish, perch or the other oddballs that call the deep home. If it’s not happening for you, while you are out there you might as well catch a gamefish or two. Makos are an option while

Strip baits and berley trails produce good fish such as this quality bream.

Flathead are an attractive fish wherever you find them, like this dusky that was caught in a berley trail.

at rest, so use a berley trail (preferably of striped tuna) and you may just encounter one of the best gamefish out there. The reason you should use stripies for berley is that they have started to show along with albacore, yellowfin and the odd bigeye tuna. These fish have been taken on the troll with a variety of skirted surface lures or diving minnows. The edge of the shelf is a

good place to start working out wider to the Canyons, keeping an eye out for birds. Always expect the unexpected, as marlin have been caught at this time of year before. Keep an eye on the water charts for the warmer areas as the season progresses. Stripies can be taken into the estuaries as well, where they can be used as berley for many species such as bream, flathead or trevally. One of the best ways to use

stripies is to take off the fillets and salt them, with the frames put through the berley bucket. If you find some good structure and use the tide to disperse it, some very large dusky flathead can be captured this way. The Brogo Bass Bash is on again this year during the weekend of 6-8 December. Contact the FSCBSA by email at fscbsa_brogobassbash@ hotmail.com if you would like more information.

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“It’s the little things you don’t see that make a difference” 64

OCTOBER 2019

Targeting structure TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

For us anglers there is one defining element regardless of what kind of fishing you do, from bluewater ocean fishing through to beaches, rocks, rivers, lakes or dams. That element is structure. Out on the bluewater it may be as simple as some flotsam on the surface like a log, or a defining peak on sunken reefs, an exposed rock along a beach or a bommie off a rocky headland, while in

the lakes, dams or rivers it can be surprisingly simple to locate in the form of sunken timber, rock bars, sand bars or weed beds – and the Bega River system has it all. There is plenty of fish habitat in the form of timber debris, exposed rock bars, and numerous deep channels or holes now along the Bega River course, so there are plenty of areas for anglers to target. With all these feeding areas exposed, the fish are making the most of it, as are other aquatic life forms. Squirt worm and nipper beds are a form of

structure that provides food for fish, along with plenty of shrimp around weed or rocky outcrops. Whether you’re a lure angler or you like dangling a bait, the Bega River is producing excellent captures, with bream, estuary perch and flathead being top of the list. Most of these species are being taken in the upper shallow margins where the water is warmer, with the early part of the day producing the best action. There are other species also being encountered, with tailor in the deeper reaches along with an occasional

Multiple hook-ups! Check out the fishy structure in the background.

Trevally are attracted to structure. mulloway, whiting and mullet over the sand flats, while luderick are hanging around the deep rock areas. Most of the surrounding estuaries to the north are also experiencing similar fishing, so get out and enjoy! From the rocks and beaches there are some passing schools of salmon for anglers to target. Mixing with them are some excellent tailor and the odd mulloway. Using bait is likely to produce some nice bream or whiting during the day, or a gummy or whaler shark at night. There are plenty of drummer and luderick to be taken from the rocks behind the pub, with cunjevoi and green weed being the best baits. Silver trevally are a great fish to tangle with, and there are plenty to be found

around Tathra Wharf to keep the kids or adults entertained through the holidays. Mixed in with these fish are plenty of yellowtail and some nice garfish. If you cast long with a reasonable sinker you may pick up a flatty from the sand, and those passing schools of salmon can provide more exciting action. Out to sea there are plenty of flathead around. Most beaches north or south of Kianinny boat ramp will produce nice captures of sand flathead with some nice red gurnard thrown in. Out in the deeper water anywhere from 50m out you will encounter those lovely tiger flatties that are improving in numbers, and will do so for the next few months. A lot of anglers around Tathra know the benefits of using berley on

the inshore reefs for snapper with plenty around at present. Close to home, White Rock south is easily accessed and is a good producer, while north out from Aragunnu or Goalen Head is excellent for those drifting over the deeper reefs. It has anglers not only mixing with snapper but capturing excellent morwong, perch, leatherjackets and a mix of other species. Quite a few anglers have now geared up for deepwater assaults on those canyon-dwelling species out over the Continental Shelf. With the aid of electric reels, these fishos are bringing up some excellent tablefish in the from of hapuka, Tassie trumpeter, blue eye trevalla, ling and gemfish, which are all great eating.

Fish are firing up MALLACOOTA/EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

Previous months have seen little rain falling in the Mallacoota Eden area. The lakes and rivers need a good flush out to fire up the spring fishing. The town has been

quiet with windy cold weather, but visitors always return to fish when the weather improves. Very little offshore fishing has been done over the past month. With strong winds came big seas, making for unpleasant fishing conditions, and cold water temperatures shut down most species.

Plenty of good eating size flathead have been taken on blades and soft plastics.

When the weather has allowed, snapper, morwong and a few flathead have been caught offshore at Eden. As the water temperature warms, the fishing will liven up. Salmon have been on all local beaches in numbers and plenty of gutters have held fish. Both lures and bait have caught fish with the best action coming on the top of the tide. Aside from salmon and the odd tailor, the cold water has lacked the variety of fish that will arrive once the water warms. The better the entrance to the ocean, the better the recruitment of fish for better fishing over the summer months, so hopefully the estuaries will get a good flush out soon. The past month has seen some good fishing for black bream, with fish caught from the Top Lake through to Gypsy Point. Anglers fishing with lures have caught plenty of fish, and fresh prawn has worked well for those using bait. Spring is always a good time to fish for black bream. As the saying goes: ‘when wattle is blooming, bream are moving’.

Black bream have been caught in the Top Lake, around Gypsy Point and upstream. Dusky flathead have started to liven up as spring progresses. Some have been caught over the past month but not in great numbers. Locating and getting them to bite has not been easy in colder conditions. Silver trevally have been in good numbers visiting all

the estuaries in the area. They love soft plastic lures, and bait fishers have done the job on live bait, with nippers and worms a good choice. Some good size pinky snapper have been caught in the Bottom Lake. Usually these fish would

have left the system when it was opened to the ocean, but as it’s such a poor entrance they probably were unaware the system opened. With spring here and summer on its way, the fishing is only going to improve. OCTOBER 2019

Become a citizen scientist NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.fishotopia.com

‘Citizen science’ is one of the latest buzz phrases to sweep the fishing world. It describes a worthwhile trend that a lot more of us need to embrace. Citizen science. Have you ever encountered that

best be defined as: “the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by members of the general public, typically as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists”. In other words, it means people like you and me pitching in to help the boffins with their research by gathering information, monitoring various

population dynamics and post-capture survival rates of various marine species. I’ve tagged a reasonable number of fish myself over the years and I’ve always been thrilled to hear of one being recaptured, knowing that the data generated adds to our pool of knowledge. Recently, for example, I was delighted when a big dusky flathead I’d tagged

Tournaments like the annual DIMSC snapper event held out of Coffs Harbour, NSW, require competitors to carefully measure, record and release their fish, thus helping to gather valuable data. term? If not, I suspect you’ll be hearing more about it over the coming months and years. I was first introduced to this concept some years ago by the publisher of this magazine, Steve Morgan. Morgo explained that he believed citizen science may grow to become the strongest argument available to us as anglers when it comes to justifying our activities in the face of increasing criticism from anti-fishing forces. In particular, Steve was thinking about things like competitions or tournament angling and the practice of catch-and-release. In some parts of the world, these activities are becoming increasingly unpopular and losing their ‘social licence’ or public support. Linking them to the collection of valuable scientific information is one way of countering that sort of disapproval. Citizen science is

phenomena, reporting wildlife encounters and so on. Usually, this is unpaid voluntary work that can help to greatly expand the effectiveness of scientific research efforts, and it has plenty of relevance to fishing. The longest running and most significant fishingrelated citizen science project in Australia is the highly successful NSW DPI Game Fish Tagging Program. This impressive research initiative began 46 years ago, in 1973, and is today the largest and oldest continually functioning saltwater tagging program of its kind anywhere on earth. Close to half a million fish have been tagged with NSW Game Fish Program tags by recreational anglers and others across those 46 years, and well over 8,000 tag recoveries have been recorded, providing valuable data on the migration, growth,

OCTOBER 2019

The author was rapt when this flathead he tagged was recaptured a few months later and once again released. Citizen science at work! involvement in citizen science may be one of our best defences against those who seek to shut us down. Direct involvement in valid scientific research is a powerful justification for

Nation-wide competitions like the annual Pirtek Challenge can help to collect important data on recreational fishing activities. in my local estuary on the Far South Coast of NSW was recaptured a few months later, quite a bit further upstream in the same system. Not only had it survived (despite

Save the date for the NRFC! 66

being deeply hooked and bleeding when I landed it), it had also grown a couple of centimetres and put on weight. This kind of positive feedback and irrefutable scientific data is invaluable. Apart from anything else, it provides excellent ammunition for arguments we may have with those who claim that catch-and-release fishing doesn’t work and that “they all die, anyway”. The evidence consistently indicates otherwise. But citizen science in the angling world isn’t only about tagging. Creel or catch surveys, the keeping of logbooks, and the collection of tissue samples or fish frames also provide valuable scientific data, as do organised competitions that collate detailed figures on catch-per-unit-effort and other statistics. In addition, there are organisations such as Redmap that collect, log and map citizen sightings of marine life around Australia to help build a better picture of distribution patterns, stock levels and any localised anomalies (www.redmap.org.au). As valuable as the science generated by all of these citizen-backed

programs is, I agree with Steve Morgan that the credibility they lend to our on-water activities might ultimately prove to be even more important. As antifishing pressures increase,

continuing to fish, and — in the long run — perhaps the only socially acceptable defence of things like catch-and-release or competition fishing. Fortunately, Australian anglers have some wonderful citizen scientist champions in the form of people like Dr Julian Pepperell (the father of the NSW Game Fish Tagging Program), Bill and Stefan Sawynok (Track My Fish, Infofish and the Crystal Bowl) and, of course, Steve Morgan himself through his Fishing Monthly Group titles and ABT competition circuits. These guys and

others like them understand the immense benefits of getting grass roots fishers directly involved in hands-on scientific programs. Their efforts may well help to ‘future proof’ our sport, at least for the next few decades. It’s fitting recognition of the key role citizen science plays in our world that the next biennial National Recreational Fishing Conference (set down for 10 and 11 December this year in Hobart) will be devoted entirely to this subject. I’m looking forward to attending, and I’d strongly urge anyone else who’s passionate about recreational fishing to get along to it if they possibly can. Besides, December is a great month for wetting a line in the Apple Isle, so you can bet I’ll be taking my fishing gear! You can find out more about the Conference by scanning the QR code on this page, going to www. arff.net.au/nrfc/ or visiting the ARFF (Australian Recreational Fishing Foundation) page on Facebook. I hope to see you at this important event! VIDEO

Scan this QR code to find out more about the National Recreational Fishing Conference in Hobart this December.

No cod? No problem – yellas are on the chew LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

In the Central Tablelands/ Central West at this time of year there are just so many options. Cod of course are the exception

lures on the edges when it’s warm and sunny. Actually, at this time of year you can literally pick and choose your technique depending on the weather, and go out and be quite successful with them all. Pre-spawn aggression levels of yellas, particularly

females around the edges, and sometimes they turn up in the weirdest places. If you look closely at the outer gill plates on your caught fish at this time of year you will see wear and scuff marks on each side. This is from basically going gill to gill, jostling each

Good snow falls occurred in late winter, providing a helpful lift to subsoil moisture profiles up high. Hopefully some follow-up rain will bring about some good flows in the creeks and rivers in time for the trout opening season this October long weekend.

Windamere Dam and golden perch will be on everybody’s hit list this month. Fishing pressure can definitely affect how the fishery reacts, so why not try something different like a skirted jig? with the season closed, but just about every other species is well and truly catchable at the moment. The trout season opens on the long weekend in October in the rivers and creeks out around Oberon. It has been a very dry winter, apart from some good snow falls in August (up to 25cm), which has provided a wetter soil profile coming into spring. Hopefully by the time this goes to print some good follow-up rain will boost run off and get things really happening. Early in the season is a great time to walk the rivers and creeks casting small lures for trout. The fish are super keen, as they haven’t seen a lure for months. Fly fishing too is a great option, and the best part is that an early start is not required, especially for dry fly fishing. The sun’s warming rays often required to generate insect hatches, which the trout can feed on feverishly. MELLOW YELLOW Golden perch should well and truly be on the bite in places such as Windamere, Wyangala and Burrendong. A mixture of techniques is required to keep the ball rolling – everything from bobbing yabbies and shrimp in the trees when it’s cold and windy, to casting hardbody metal and plastic vibe-style

the smaller males, has a lot to do with this; the bigger females can be a little harder to catch. If you are catching the smaller males, chances are a bigger female will be close by, and sometimes it’s just a matter of hanging in there until she bites. The smaller males tend to push and bully each other along with the

other out of the way. I’ve witnessed it on a handful of occasions over the years, and it’s absolutely fascinating to watch. Fishing pressure is definitely something to keep in mind if things are slow, and you can change your approach to maximise your chances. Be mindful of boat noise, try lighter leaders and line, opt for a

smaller presentation, or a bigger one – think a little bit left of centre. Try fishing places that you wouldn’t normally fish, or places that you think nobody else would. It’s surprising the difference this can make. REDFIN AND BASS Redfin and bass coexist along with trout in Lake Lyell. It’s a funny mix, and the month of October gives you a real chance of catching all three in the very same depth of water – sometimes on the very same lure. There are differences in behaviour that that can be exploited. I cannot for the life of me remember

catching a redfin at night. There is definitely a very small bite window right on dark where the bigger redfin will chew (in itself a great tip), but then it’s like the switch gets turned off. Bass and trout, on the other hand, can sometimes be just getting going as the light fades, so that is one way of limiting your small sized redfin catch. Bass and trout are a little bit harder to separate at this time of year. They are both quite pelagic in nature, and

they both will feed on the surface, sometimes eating the very same surface lures and flies. If I was to stick my neck out though, bass definitely have a hankering for a larger offering. Having said all that, catching a big specimen in either camp would have most of us smiling all the way back to the boat ramp or car. Hope to see you on the water. Until then, tight lines.

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Trout promises golden October for anglers WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

Spring is in full swing and with the constant warmer temperatures comes increased fish activity. If

option is to target the root balls of standing sapling trees that can be found in clusters around the edge of the lake. The fish will be schooling up and feeding in these areas. Other possibilities

Rainbow trout are great to target as the water warms up. This fish took a Rapala CD5.

Mumblers are the go-to lure with active fish in warmer water. you’re more of a casual fisho and aren’t keen on cold winters and super hot summers, this month is for you! The main target on our radar for October is golden perch and trout, with the latter season opening on the October long weekend. BLOWERING DAM Golden perch By this time of year the golden perch bite will have started. We had a warm end to winter, which will have triggered some solid feeding patterns from perch. They don’t follow dates like us; they follow the temperature, so every

the dam around the wall and island will be the best option for chasing cod at this time of year. Fishing during the night will also yield results, but with such fine weather it’s worth fishing during the day. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The river has started to kick into gear now. The flows will be starting to rise and the fish will be active. Make sure to use smaller lures such as diving hardbodies and spinnerbaits to minimise your chances

metal blades, lipless crankbaits and even small spinnerbaits around the standing trees are the best options. If you can, try to fish areas with wind, as this will switch the fish on and they will feed better in these conditions compared to a flat and glassed out lake. Camping along the lake’s foreshores and bait fishing overnight with yabbies is a great alternative.

Fishing close to bankside structure like this is perfect for catching golden perch at this time of year.

The river should be full of quality golden perch like this one during spring. Murray cod If you love chasing cod, don’t put down your rod! They will be feeding extremely well, especially with the rising water temperature. Cod are right

in the middle of their breeding patterns and will be aggressive, so using loud lures should trigger some solid bites from them. Spinnerbaits and mumblers around 1-1.5oz work well fished down the rocky banks. My go-to is the Mud Guts Mumbler Pro 1oz, which I find perfect for large and smaller cod. Downsizing plastics to 150-180mm will ensure a better hook-up rate than larger lures. This is because the smaller fish will be active and a majority of the hits will be from fish under 80cm. The bottom end of

Adam Smith with a decent Tumut River brown trout taken on an FTL spinner.

Jack Flanagan landed this solid spring cod from Blowering Dam. year they will bite at different times. If we have warmer weather earlier in the season, they will be feeding earlier. With fish well and truly feeding, you’ll want to head out right at the start of this month. Your best 68

OCTOBER 2019

of catching cod. My top two lure choices for this month would be the Mud Guts Mini Guts 3/8oz and AC Invader 70mm. The best areas to fish are close to the roots of trees littered along the banks, spindly timber and willow trees. Fishing the afternoon will be best and there will be a bite window during the last hour of light. TUMUT RIVER Trout season opens in rivers and streams on the morning of Saturday

include fishing along the creek beds in the back of bays and on the flat banks early and late in the day. You can start working the rocky banks, although they usually fish better as we head into November. Casting soft plastics,

Baily Steed caught this beautiful rainbow trout from the Tumut River.

5 October. I always get excited for this date as it means the next few months ahead are going to be action-packed. This first weekend will be busy with anglers up and down the river, but it’s still worth fishing, as those trout haven’t seen a lure for three months. Warmer weather means more food and more active fish. The river still won’t be high yet, so it should be relatively easy to fish by walking the banks with lures. I’d be using spinners, soft plastics, and fly at this time of year. There are so many options this month. It’s the best time to get out on the water and enjoy the great weather!

You have to work if you want to get the fish NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

It’s that time of year again where the wattle has bloomed, the water is warming, and yabbies, shrimp and small baitfish are abundant and fully thriving again after a very cold and sluggish winter. It’s going to be interesting to see how the spring perch fishing will play out across the New England tablelands, as the last 12 months have been pretty tough with very little rainfall, as well as some very hot and dry days. This time last year Copeton Dam was around the 24% mark which at the time seemed pretty low, but with the dam now around 8%, it makes 24% seem like a lot of water. Although the Murray cod closed season is in effect in all NSW rivers and most impoundments, Copeton and Blowering dam further south are open

Redfin are a quality fish to target during the cod closed season. to targeting Murray cod all year round. They have been producing some quality fish of late but like always, it is

the guys who spend more time on the water that are getting the best results. Slow trolling swimbaits

is not the most overly exciting way to catch a big Murray cod, but while the conditions have been pretty

tough, it has been one of the more productive methods in Copeton Dam for anglers who still want to catch a big cod. The longer the bait is in front of the fish, the more chance it has of getting bitten, and trolling definitely keeps the bait in the water for longer. If you’re after golden perch, you can’t go past a yabby or shrimp imitation such as a small blade or lipless crankbait at this time of year, especially if you’re using a fishfinder. In past seasons while there has been a bit of an inflow into Copeton, looking for creeks or any type of water running into the dam has been the best way to find active perch and Murray cod in the warmer months. However, this year the fish still seem to be sitting out deeper and away from the shallow, warmer edges of the dam. Once you have found a school of fish, it comes down to a patience game of just working that lure in front of the fish’s

face until they bite. At this time of year I like to either slowly hop the lure down rock faces and across the bottom, or even ‘dead stick’ the lure in front of the perch (both golden and silver). Pindari Dam has dropped from around 58% at this time last year to a mere 5% this season. This has made for an extremely tough bite but, just like Copeton, if you spend a bit of time on the water you are in with a chance. I like to fish for perch here the same way that I fish Copeton, although Pindari has a lot more structure so you can lose a lot more lures in the process. The Beardy River is currently closed for the annual 3-month trout breeding season but it will re-open this October long weekend. There have been no reports of any golden perch catches in the Severn River of late. Good luck to all getting out on the water this month, and tight lines!

Bring on the spring fishing ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

With the Murray cod season closed in our local waters, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on the season as a whole. Swan Hill remained the hot spot for big Murray cod, with numerous captures reported over the metre mark. It seems anglers have once again taken to lures, as the majority of the larger fish were caught trolling or on the cast. Of course, some large cod were also landed on bait, with a vast array of edibles tempting bites. While chicken and cheese have been accepted cod baits for a few seasons now, it seems the humble dim-sim is fast becoming the cod bait of choice.

How you get them to stay on the hook is anyone’s guess but cod are definitely keen on them. A few big cod were landed late in the season around Mildura and Wentworth, once again mostly on

lures. Several of these fish surpassed the 110cm mark, which is great news for those keen to target larger cod. An all-round improvement on cod captures in local waters sets the bar for next season, where hopefully these larger

a hook are sure to tempt a fish or two. It’s a similar story downstream around Mildura and Wentworth, with most lure and bait anglers managing at least a few good perch.

There are few holes of this size left on the Darling and most won’t last through the summer.

This cod was partial to a StumpJumper lure.

fish will continue to show up. The warm spring weather has set the tune for the annual golden perch bite. Around Swan Hill, the lakes are starting to produce some good-sized golden perch on bait and lures. While the Murray River at this location has been a little slow, they will no doubt show in better numbers as the water temperature climbs. The Murray River at Robinvale and Wemen has seen some good catches of larger perch on bait and lures. Shrimp have started to move in the warming water and a few of these pinned on

DARLING ALL BUT DOOMED The Darling River has unfortunately gone from bad to worse, as mismanagement and the prolonged drought have all but sealed the fate of this once mighty river and its fish. In many places, it’s doubtful any of the cod will last the summer as the temperature climbs and the water disappears. It’s worth noting that there is talk of relocating some of these stranded cod but only time will tell with this proposal. How has it come to this, yet there has not been a royal

Perch have started biting on bait and lures. This one took a Tubby Native Minnow. commission? The Darling is just the first of the catchments to fall. With no guarantee of rain and big irrigators going full speed ahead with what water we have, the whole basin is staring down the barrel of a collapse. It’s already started and most are oblivious to the impacts to come. The Menindee Lakes are the breeding grounds for an estimated 80% of golden perch numbers in the lower Murray. That is all but gone, and it’s unknown where any future stocks of golden perch

could come from. One of the strongest breeding populations of Murray cod in the Basin was in the Darling below the Menindee Lakes. That too is all but cooked. The roll-on effects of this are huge yet slip by unseen until it’s too late. From the outside looking in, it seems water managers are set to have us fishing for our native fish in impoundments, while the basin itself is turned into nothing more than an irrigation ditch. OCTOBER 2019

Focus shifts as weather warms YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

Native fishing opportunities that exist in and around Lake Mulwala throughout September and into early October are very limited. Traditionally, mid to late October sees the yellas fire up in the shallower backwaters around the top end of the lake and in the Murray River itself up to Bundalong. Other good returns of yellas can be found by searching out the numerous backwaters and lagoons that are accessible above Bundalong that come off both the Ovens and Murray rivers. All anglers must keep in mind that until 30 November inclusive, the targeting of Murray cod is not permitted, and the crays are off limits until next June. The Murray River below Yarrawonga

downstream through the Cobram area to the Tocumwal traffic bridge it totally closed to all forms of fishing from until 30 November inclusive. Looking back, August reports were constant, as the new age ‘cool water cod catchers’ continually plied their trade, albeit in some pretty ordinary conditions. To see them rugged up to the nines with thermals, gloves and beanies questions their sanity, but capture returns proved otherwise. Conservatively, we would have received reports of 20 or more metre fish for the month, with a few common denominators with them. Most came from 1-2m of water, with the majority being taken on swimbaits. Chicken fillets returned some monsters too, and chicken seems to be becoming as popular as the good old bardi grub, worm or yabby. Plenty deserve a mention for their efforts, but I’ll just

mention a few. Young Hudson ‘Chicken Man’ Crothers is lucky enough to live on the lake and has a rod in his hand at every opportunity. Hudson’s missed a couple of big’uns over time, but was lucky enough to land 105 and 110cm fish in consecutive days! Chris Burbidge, Clarke Wilson and Joel Crosby, a trio of kayak based boys, made the regular visit to Mulwala averaging at least one metre model per trip. The boys landed a couple each, with Joel finishing off the season with a 115cm beast. Yarrawonga locals, Steve and Tanya Cannon hit the water at every opportunity. Traditionally Steve catches more fish while Tanya is an expert on the net. That all changed one cold August morning when Tanya’s Gantarel was slammed by a beautiful looking Murray Cod that measured 111cm. It’s always a tradition to award the title of ‘Lake

Mulwala Fisherman Of The Year’ once a season has ended. This year the undoubted winner is Mick Massier. Mick’s the most passionate cod fisho who has been fishing here for years. The joke has been that he’s never caught a decent cod but has seen plenty of others bring them aboard on his boat. Finally the curse was lifted late last year, and Mick hasn’t looked back. With around 10 metre fish for the season plus many others to his credit, along with strong showings and several wins in Mulwala based tournaments, Mick is the undoubted overall champion for 2018-19 season. A couple of names spring to mind when looking for a new season ‘champion’, and I reckon it will be a battle between Mick and Hudson Crothers and Nick Gamble. Keep an eye out for them next season! Coming up on 19 October is the popular Golden Do$$ars fishing competition, an event

Tanya Cannon with her beautiful 111cm Murray cod taken before the season closed. designed to specifically target golden perch. Entry forms are now available for this and the Cod Classic. Again the Cod Classic promises to be huge with an amazing prize pool that includes 10 boating packages!

• For more information on either of these events or how the lake is fishing in general, call in and see us at Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, the official Cod Classic shop, Mulwala or Yarrawonga. Call 0439 441 667.

Golden lake fishing has arrived ALBURY/WODONGA

Connor Heir

We have been welcomed with sunny spring days, making for absolutely perfect conditions. Calm lakes, green views and blue skies are just a few of the gifts we have been blessed with to get us out fishing. For many freshwater anglers, October through to November is their favourite time to be on the water chasing golden perch and I’m with them. Light line, spin gear or finesse baitcasters loading up onto spring pigs is definitely one of the most addictive fishing options there is in the freshwater game. Whether you’re new or familiar with the sport, we can all agree that it gets the adrenaline kicking and the heart pumping. This month, I will be

focusing on lakes, as I have the Hume Dam at my back door. I’ll be hanging up my walking shoes this month and giving the four-stroke a run for some lake pig searching! Warmer days raise the water temperatures in lakes,

area that holds golden perch and then getting them to eat your chosen lure/bait can still be challenging. Many anglers target golden perch differently, so it’s up to the individual to figure out what works for them. I’m

There’s no need for a boat – if you’re a keen angler, you can score a fistful of gold with just your two feet. making fish metabolisms speed up after being so shut down during the cooler months. This ultimately means that targeting them becomes much easier, but finding an

big on changing things up with goldens. Small details can mean the world of difference, and I don’t just mean your lure or bait choice. One thing I’ve picked up

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on after chasing golden perch in dams and lakes is that line class can be so important. When I first started lure fishing, especially for golden perch, I thought 20lb all round was the perfect line class in all fisheries. After trial and error, I have found that going lighter can play a key role in your success catching these fish. You can absolutely still catch golden perch using heavier gear and this is proven time and time again during cod season, where I have seen golden perch smack lures bigger than themselves. They are fish, so, of course, they must eat. However, I have found landing numbers of golden perch can come down to line class and I would recommend between 6-10lb. The reason why lighter line is key varies. The three factors I keep in mind are: firstly, to ensure maximum action from lures, such as small vibes, blades and soft plastics. Secondly, lighter line often can be less visible, making a difference in areas that cop a bit of pressure. Finally, it gives you a better handle on what’s going on at the end of the line. Lure choice is another important factor. In my last article I touched on lure size, which is important to keep in mind during cod closed season. Having smaller lures is often a good way to avoid catching cod and in turn, get better results catching golden perch. My lure recommendations are never limited to certain brands or styles. I always suggest you choose what you feel confident with because confidence is key to fishing,

No matter your technique, spring pigs make for great freshwater fishing. regardless of the type. For good results in golden perch fishing, make sure you have a variety of soft plastics, vibes, blades, small hardbodies and beetle spin clips, as all are good ammunition. Whether you’re hopping vibes, flicking plastics or trolling deep banks, changing it up to match the hatch of what they are feeding on is a great way to figure out what’s best. Some days they will only smack natural presentation, whereas on other days bright ‘out there’ lures can be hot cakes. An easy and effective way to start can be to have two rods set up with totally different styles/colours on. Throwing both will help you nail what they really want. On some days, it could even be both! Finding where golden perch are in big lakes is the first step to catching them. Using a fish finder can be a massive help, however without that, fishing absolutely everywhere is the best way to find them. Rocky points and

tight messy structure are my two favourites, and depth also plays its part. They are a schooling fish so once you do find some, most of the time there are more there. One thing to keep an eye out for as it warms up is that once you hook a golden perch and bring it to the side of the boat, have the net ready to scoop up more than one fish, as often more will follow the hooked fish up! What’s better than one fish? Two fish or more! The techniques to catching golden perch are numerous and if you don’t have the luxury of being able to fish from a boat, don’t lose hope. You can still find golden perch walking the banks, and I’ve done so time and time again. I recommend doing some research on the fishery before you go out and as I always say, just fish hard and enjoy it and eventually it will swing your way. Effort equals results and it’s a great time of year to be fishing.

Reaction bite is on in the fresh! HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

If I were to pick the best month of the year to hit the freshwater in the Hunter Valley, this would be it. The water is warming and the fishing is firing up! October is one of those months where the fish become so aggressive they will eat a huge variety of baits and lures. With great fishing and weather, it’s the perfect month to be on the water. At the time of writing this, the drought still hasn’t let up. Every month as I reflect back, it feels like de ja vu. There have been slight glimmers of weather fronts moving through with chances of heavy rainfalls, but unfortunately most systems have amounted to no rain or completely miss inland NSW. I’m always hopeful we are not far away from some consistent rain. As dry as it is, the local lakes are hanging in there while maintaining flows in the lower rivers. RIVER The river fishing starts to really pick up this month. The bass have begun their migration upstream and are ready to feed up after the spawn. The warming water has them hunting from the surface to the bottom. There really is no one lure to catch

them this month. It will all depend on the structure, time of day and the section of river. Surface fishing will start to really pick up this month. For thick cover and overhanging trees, you can’t beat a weedless frog. The places you can put these lures gives them a big advantage over typical trebled topwater baits. The ability to skip cast under cover into the shade will see you catch fish that others miss out on. On the sub-surface side, reliable moving baits like a spinnerbait, chatterbait or crankbait start to catch a lot of fish in spring. The idea is to fish them once the sun is up, targeting cover and bumping them over structure. Slowing down and fishing a weedless soft plastic or a skirted jig will produce when the moving

style baits aren’t producing. I like to keep things simple when fishing rivers. I stick to these basic lure groups and slowly working through them to see what the fish want. IMPOUNDMENTS Unless we have dramatic rainfall in the next month or so, the local impoundments will be on the decline. This however shouldn’t deter you from enjoying the great fishing to be had on all of them. The water should be around 18-22°C this month, depending on the number of hot days we get. These temperature ranges coming into spring have the fish on the move, looking for their next big meal. Shallow water structure like weed, timber and rock are going to be hotspots in low

Trolling with the kids will keep them entertained. Drew Armstrong was rapt with his first ever bass.

light conditions. The fish will happily move to the shallows to look for food. Larger vibrating reaction-style lures work well in these conditions. Natural coloured spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, crankbaits or lipless crankbaits all have their place this month. Bumping them off timber and rock or ripping them out of weed will trigger a reaction bite. Once the reaction bite dies off, slowing down and moving deep should continue to keep them biting. The fish will be eating whatever crustacean is common in their waterway, whether that’s yabbies, crayfish or shrimp, so your lure choice should be based on that. A slow retrieve along the bottom is the best way to mimic these food sources. Skirted jigs are great as they can be dragged through thick cover without getting hung up, and their life-like looks have them catching fish other lures won’t. A 3/8-1/2oz skirted jig with a craw trailer is ideal for fishing shallow water towards the edge. The 1/2-3/4oz jigs are better for deep water. Slow and steady across the bottom with pauses and hopping them over structure works really well at this time of year. A small 1/4-3/8oz blade with assist hooks on the rear will cover water a little quicker than a skirted jig.

Ian Jackson’s first skirted jig fish made him very happy. A sharp hop off the bottom before letting it fall back under a tight line is a deadly retrieve. The swinging assist hooks off the rear help when sinking these back to the bottom. Fishing these around structure, the assist hooks will not get caught up as often as trebles. These offer the reaction style vibration, but still allow you to slow down and fish the area thoroughly. October is also a great month for trollers, as the fish are actively targeting lures with a strong vibration. Running a couple of 4-8m deep divers is the best approach, allowing you to cover varying depths.

Trolling along tree lines and creek bed drop-offs not far from the main river bed will have you around fish. The dropping levels will drive some fish off the edges and have them suspend during the heat of the day. These fish are perfect for trollers to target, as your lure is constantly in the strike zone and on the move for active fish. These deeper suspended fish can also be caught by slow rolled blades, tail spinners and spinnerbaits. Their heavy weight allows for long casts and the lure can track down deep the whole way back to the boat.

Successful spring strategies in the Snowies SNOWY MOUNTAINS

Anthony Bentley

Even though spring has sprung, you shouldn’t put away the winter woollies just yet! The next few weeks should see some very mixed conditions, with snow falling at times and sunshine and t-shirts at others. Lake Jindabyne and Eucumbene have both been fishing reasonably well over the past couple of weeks and the fishing is only going to get better as the weather gets warmer. Fish have been moving into the edges in search of food. The warmer conditions are starting to produce some good insect hatches of midge and early season mayflies, which is very encouraging to see. The sunnier days will be the most productive fishing. Polaroiding is the method of choice for fly and lure fishers. A slow and careful walk around the edges of the lake can put you onto some very active fish cruising the shallows in search of something to eat. Look out for slow moving shadows along the foreshore. The fish

are usually quite close to shore, so be careful not to spook the fish with a hasty approach. A carefully placed cast with either a small celta style lure or a black or brown unweighted nymph into the path of an unsuspecting trout should get you into the action. Overcast and windier days can be a lot of fun, albeit a little uncomfortable. Casting larger flies and lures into deeper water and working them off the bottom is a very effective way of finding fish when you can’t see any. Rivers should be open for trout season this month and with the amount of snow

up in the mountains, some good snowmelt should see us into summer if we don’t get any decent rainfalls. The hatchery has seen some good numbers of browns and rainbows in the traps. The Gaden Hatchery staff have put some ex-brood rainbows into Eucumbene and Jindabyne recently, adding to the release of some very large Atlantic salmon in Lake Jindabyne. These are fantastic opportunities to catch trophy fish with some of these fish in excess of 12lb. Keep things simple this time of year with fly and lure selection; natural colors will

often work best. Remember that presentation is the key to success and that you will pretty much only get one shot at fish in the shallows, so make it count! • High Country Outfitters has the largest range of fly fishing gear in the Snowy Mountains, with something

for every skill level and budget. Brands include Sage, Rio, Redington, Scott, Simms, Patagonia, Loop, TFO, Vision, Hardy, Riverworks, Scientific Anglers, Airflo and McLean nets. There’s also a big range of flies from Manic, Stu Tripney, Mick Hall and Pisces, as well as waders,

boots, vests and outdoor apparel. For all the latest information on what’s biting and where, drop into the store at Nuggets Crossing Shopping Centre, Jindabyne. You can also call them on (02) 6456 2989, like them on Facebook or check out their website at highfly.com.au.

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Red and gold prizes on offer CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

Canberra anglers are, in my opinion, some of luckiest in the country due to the plethora of fishing

options available in the capital and close by. Burrinjuck Dam is one such example, as it is located only an hour or so from the ACT and the ‘flats’ fishing through spring has to be experienced to be believed.

Throughout early September and into October, the golden perch in Burrinjuck get moving after a long winter and head close to the shoreline in search of food. I find that the fish move into shallow bays, often pushing

The Molonglo entrance is worth a look for reddies during October.

the bait into about a metre of water. I focus my attention on these areas and fish a small blade rigged with assist hooks with a short hop-and-pause retrieve to get the yellas interested. If you aren’t that experienced with blades, Burrinjuck is a great place to try them out before heading back to Canberra and applying the same techniques on the resident goldens in Lake Burley Griffin and Lake Ginninderra. It is not uncommon to catch 5-6 fish in a quick morning session, so if you find the local lakes a little on the slow side this month, head to Burrinjuck, find a shallow bay and try fishing blades along the flats. LOCAL LAKES Lake Burley Griffin is producing good numbers of small to medium sized redfin for anglers using a variety of lures, from small shallow divers through to grub style plastics and blades. There have also been some larger redfin caught by anglers slow rolling paddle-tail plastics near the entrance to the Molonglo River. This is one of my first stops when fishing the lake through spring, especially during early morning and late

This hungry golden couldn’t resist a ZX blade jigged over a flat. afternoon when the rowing traffic is a little slower. I like this spot because the reds are usually quickly onto a plastic and there is always a chance of a hungry golden having a crack. The concrete rock wall that leads up to the hospice (and the entrance to the Molonglo) is also a great place to have a cast for a carp. These fish will readily take a grub style plastic, especially in darker colours. Also, there have been some good fish landed at Black Mountain Peninsula despite the heavy

boat and foot traffic. This place tends to get completely flogged through spring, and it always surprises me that both sides of the peninsula continue to produce good fishing. In fact, several large goldens have been caught by anglers slow lifting lipless crankbaits off the bottom along the steep side of the peninsula. Lake Ginninderra is really starting to fire up and those fishing from boats and kayaks have reaped the rewards. Several anglers have landed some great

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OCTOBER 2019

golden perch over the last few weeks by targeting the edges of the weed near Diddams Close and just off the reed edges near the college. There have also been plenty of large redfin caught by anglers jigging small blades

As always, the carp fishing has been exceptional, with bait and lure fishos enjoying sessions where 10-15 carp come to the net. I had a good chat with two young fishos a week or so ago who were bait fishing

the prowl, and these fish are easily targeted using blades and vibes slow rolled parallel to the bank. These fish are also hitting the surface. However, it is the stud golden perch that warrant special mention. A number

Troy Erland with a chunky yellow flats feeder. out in the middle of the lake. Although the weed issue in the lake makes fishing from the shore hard going, Lake G is well worth a crack from land, especially if using a paddle-tail plastic rigged weedless. Motor oil remains my favourite colour when fishing weedless plastics from the bank, as this colour perfectly imitates the colour of the bait swimming around the edges in the lead up to the bridge. Lake Tuggeranong has been hit-and-miss, but when it is on, there is no better reddy fishery in Canberra. During some recent cloudy, rainy days, a number of anglers fished small surface lures and ran up cricket scores of small reds. Poppers were the pick of the lures, with most of the reddies hitting the lure on the pause. Further, there is a great drop-off towards the dam wall that can be fished effectively from boat or kayak, and it is here where a few lucky anglers have landed some nice golden perch of late.

under the bridge. They had an enormous pile of carp stacked in a wheelbarrow and were taking the fish home to fertilise their respective gardens.

of anglers over recent weeks have caught big numbers of yellas well over the 60cm mark, with some fish nudging 70cm. Most of

The bigger goldens are starting to come online as the water warms up. SURROUNDS Googong is quickly overtaking Lake Burley Griffin as Canberraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s premier native fishery. There are roving packs of redfin on

the fish caught have been fooled by lipless crankbaits, but beetle spins slow rolled near the points have also produced a couple of golden footballs.

Paddle-tail plastics always get a response during spring. OCTOBER 2019

A look at heads and tails CANBERRA

Richard Barnsley

Surface fishing is without a doubt once of the most exciting forms of fishing. Whether seeing the nose of a brown trout slide out of the creek to inhale your hopper pattern, or nearly losing your rod to the explosive smash of a popper munching cod or barramundi, these are moments that will linger in your mind long after the sun dips below the horizon. Popper fishing generally calls for less finesse than the dry fly and suitable offerings are easy to tie. This month

tails patterns retain less water and hence weight, making them easier to cast. The hollow or cup faced head generally traps more air when pulled under the water – increasing bubble trails, giving more ‘bloop’! The middle pattern has a synthetic tail and solid head. Synthetics retain even less water and are much limper than deer hair. This feature is excellent for spooky fish in clear water. Generally such tail materials hang down from the head when the fly is at rest. A subtle strip imparts a ‘kick’ action to the tail, which is difficult to achieve with stiffer materials. This can trigger a bite from cautious targets. Solid

head to use when you need to ‘wake ’em up’. Often they fish best when coupled with an intermediate line. This accentuates the dip and dive action. The bulkier tail is also an advantage, as it increases the sonic output of the pattern. Slider style heads and slim bodies are an excellent choice when searching shallows. The slider head will react subtly to gentle short strips. Situations where this is an advantage is when prospecting above standing weed beds. Fish can sit in the weed cover, but very close to the surface. A noisy, active style popper head may only put fish down. The second photo

Pic. 2. This image shows the different shapes for popper heads, which determines the action of the fly. I’ll run down on the basics of popper design, how to tie effective patterns efficiently and a few tips on how to fish them. The first photo (Pic. 1.) shows the three basic popper patterns. The upper imitation has a deer hair tail and hollow head. Slim

heads are useful in rough water or for sustained sessions. They also wear better to repeated strikes. The lower pattern has a slider style head. The nose shape of these allows them to dive under the surface on the strip and then resurface. This is a terrific style of

(Pic. 2.) is another angle of the popper heads and re-enforces the variations available. Generally I like to tie a variety of tail patterns and carry a variety of foam heads. Depending on conditions I can mix and match styles and colours out on the stream

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

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

Dam Jul Aug Sep Blowering 44 49 55 Brogo 97 91 78 Burrendong 5 5 5 Burrinjuck 31 32 33 Carcoar 21 20 21 Chaffey 23 22 21 Clarrie Hall 100 100 96 Copeton 9 9 9 Dartmouth 62 60 58 Eucumbene 24 25 27 Glenbawn 51 50 49 Glenlyon 9 9 8

Dam Jul Aug Sep Glennies Creek 52 51 49 Hume 25 37 42 Jindabyne 69 67 67 Keepit 1 1 1 Lostock 84 80 72 Oberon 38 36 35 Pindari 5 5 5 Split Rock 2 2 2 Tantangara 20 22 27 Toonumbar 67 63 55 Windamere 32 32 31 Wyangala 26 25 23

(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.) 74

OCTOBER 2019

Pic. 1. Some different popper head and tail combinations. Each has its use in specific situations. with a limited number of patterned hooks. The third photo (Pic. 3.) shows a couple of tail options. Bearing in mind my comments on the action of differing tail materials, the lower tail collar of rubber skirt material is awesome for twitching poppers. The legs are a terrific enticer and on occasions I’ve removed the foam head and fished the skirt sub surface. New England cod love them! The other tail can also be fished as a large streamer and also demonstrates the diversity of the adaptable foam head and body system. The fourth photo (Pic. 4.) demonstrates the difference between tail dimensions. The upper bulky tail can assist in floatation, however to achieve more of a ‘walkthe-dog’ action, I prefer a slimmer tail. Consider the areas and conditions you fish and tie a variety of tail configurations so you can adapt. Popper tactics may vary greatly given the target species and conditions. New comers often perceive the role of the popper as being a surface crunching, bell ringing dinner advertisement, and indeed at times this is the way to fish them – with vigorous, long strips and plenty of surface disruption. However, poppers can

also be a subtle enticer. If conditions are right, such as early morning bream in the half-light along the oyster rack, they’re already awaiting prey. Overly aggressive retrieves may well spook them, but a small bodied, slider headed offering sneaking along the margin of open water and cover is a wonderful tactic.

crash, bloop and generally create havoc, so a slow, wiggling strip retrieve perfectly imitates these winged invertebrates. Another point to consider is that poppers will definitely draw fish well out of cover. I’ll often cast tight into the sticks and give a couple of solid strips to wake them up.

Pic. 3. Even tail material can have an effect on the popper’s action. Equally so at certain times of the year, New England gorge cod are locked onto cicadas, as are brackish water bream in summer. Struggling cicadas don’t

Pic. 4. Thicker or more sparse tails can really affect the popper’s action.

Once a metre or so clear of cover a gentle but sustained retrieve is often too much for predators to ignore. Fish the popper right to the bank and often you get a hit close to your feet. The mix and match style of popper tying gives the angler options. It reduces the number of flies we need to carry and allows infinite combinations of colour, body action as well as head style. Popper flies and popper tactics have come a long way from the ‘strip and bloop’ habits of popper pioneers. Think about the conditions and your target species, then go ahead and create your own design. Adapt your retrieves and fish them hard. Life’s too short not to catch a fish or three on a homemade popper!

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No better time to chase a bag at Blowering BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

If for some ungodly reason you could only fish Blowering Dam one month a year, then I think most anglers would choose October, as it is one of the few months of

redfin, hybrid carp and Murray cod hitting their offerings. This can make for some very exciting fishing at times. If you’re after that trophy golden perch of a lifetime then this month is probably the best chance you’re going to get all year. These oversized football shaped golden perch that

pros find themselves getting super excited. Most of the big golden perch will be attempting to do their spawning thing this month, which makes them fairly aggressive and more susceptible to lures than bait. The reason for this is that they don’t eat that much while they attempt to spawn but males will smash

This is what it is all about in our impoundments this month – giant golden perch!

The trout season reopens in our creeks and rivers this month, so dust the light gear off and go get amongst them! the year that just about every species in the dam fires. Mixed bags of fish are common and you can never anticipate what species of fish is going to hit your lure, bait or fly next. Although golden perch are the main target species at this time of year, anglers often find trout,

Blowering Dam is famous for tend to be quite aggressive in October and it is not uncommon to have several other fish follow your hooked fish. These sorts of encounters will thrill anyone, but when you see several trophy-sized fish while landing one of a similar size even seasoned

other males to try and keep the best position behind a female so any lure that resembles another golden perch tends to get hit out of aggression. The use of bait will still catch fish when they decide to have a feed, but this doesn’t happen that often in October so stick to lures for your best chances

of hooking into a few giant golden perch. This month it’s best to target the golden perch at first and last light, but you can still have good results through the middle of the day, especially if it is overcast or windy. Night sessions have also proved rewarding over the years. On slow days in between targeting the golden perch population I like to break the day up by going and targeting the redfin schools. At this time of year some small schools can be found up in the shallows, but the majority, especially the big ones, will still be sitting out in fairly deep water. These schools are best targeted with jigs, plastics, vibes or lipless crankbaits. If the redfin are

fairly quiet, I generally go back to targeting golden perch, but if the redfin are going off, which is more often the case, I find it hard to drag myself away from them to go back to targeting golden perch. It always pays to have a backup plan in case your target species won’t play the game, and having redfin as a backup plan makes good sense, as these fish bite more freely than any other freshwater fish species. I have had days at Blowering Dam where we targeted golden perch for most of the day for no reward, then decided to give the redfin a quick hit before leaving and this has seen us rewarded with lots of fish many, many times.

TROUT STREAMS AND RIVERS On 5 October we will see the opening of the new trout season in our creeks and rivers. It has been a long wait for those who only fish the running water, and a lot of these anglers will be out daily getting their trout fix. There is some incredible trout fishing to be had this early in the season. Refer to my feature article in this magazine about how to make the most of the beginning of the trout season! So as you can see, there are plenty of options for anglers in the greater Batlow area this month, so get out there and make the most of what is sure to be a great month of fishing.

Leigh and her husband Doug had a rough fishing trip to northern NSW that involved a trip to the emergency room. But, Leigh catching this cracking 55cm rainbow on a Celta certainly turned things around.

Redfin are a great backup plan for when your target species isn’t biting. 76

OCTOBER 2019

2019 2019 Local Time

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

LAT 33° 51’ S LONG 151° 14’ E Times and Heights of High and Low Waters Times and Heights of High and Low Waters MARCH FEBRUARY JANUARY SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER Time m Time m Time Time m Time m Time m

Time

1 1 0329 0936 TU

SU 1531 2150

2 2

0414 1025 WE MO 1627 2241

3 3 0500 1115 TH

TU 1725 2333

4 4

0545 1207 FR WE 1827

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

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

1 1 0341 0959 FR

16 16

17 17

6 6

0130 0725 SU FR 1403 2051

7 7 0243 0826 MO

SA 1509 2206

8 8

0400 0932 TU SU 1615 2311

9 9

0506 1036 WE MO 1714

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

1615 2222

2 2

18 18

0424 1045 SA 1711 2315

3 3 0508 1134 SU

19 19

0207 1.41 20 5 5 0844 0.46 20 1523

0029 0632 SA TH 1302 1935

Time

1324 2025

1529 2233

1638 2333

0541 1111 FR 1739

10 10

11 11 0042 0639 FR

11 11 0139 0745 MO

WE 1217 1844

12 12 0117 0715 SA TH 1258 1920

13 13 0149 0749 SU FR 1335 1955

14 14 0219 0821 MO SA 1410 2028

15 15 0249 0853 TU SU 1446 2100

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

26 26 1.31

0210 1.51

0103 0710 SU 1258 1913

1339 1950

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

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

28 28

29 29 30 30

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

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

20 20 21 21

22 22 23 23

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

13 13

14 14 15 15

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

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

25 25 26 26

27 27 28 28 29

31 0450 1117

m 0537 0.52 1230 1.76 1827 0.37 2358

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

0049 0618 SA 1251 1946

3 3 0146 0709 SU 1342 2046

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

6 6 7 7

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

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

18 18

19 19

20 20 21 21

22 22

0401 0.49 23 8 8 1019 1.38 23 1638

9 9

10 10 11 11

12 12 13 13

0.24 1.87 0.18 1.58 0.32 1.87 0.22 1.47

0.42 1.83 TH 1755 0.29 2356 1.36

14 14 0336 1002 TH TH 1633 2232

15 15 0413 1042 FR FR 1717 2317

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

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

24 24 25 25

26 26

27 27 28 28

29 29

30 30 31 SU

Time

1 1 0024 0547 MO

16 16

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

17 17

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

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

1849

5 5

8 8

24 24

1 1 0533 1203 FR

16 16

5 5 0111 0646 TU

7 7 0437 1001 TH

23 23

Time

4 4

0010 0554 MO 1227 1915

6 6 0322 0849 WE

22 22

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

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

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

21 21

1810

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

Local Time APRIL DECEMBER Time Time m

1218 1911

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

2 2

3 3

4 4 5 5 6 6

7 7

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

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

16 16

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

17 17

18 18 19 19

20 20

21 21

22 22

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

9 9

10 10 11 11

12 12 13 13 14 14 15 15

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

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

24 24

25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28

29 29

30 30

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

31 0035 0602

1.27 0.65 TU 1227 1.62 1913 0.48

 Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2018, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times are in local standard time (UTC +10:00) or daylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon New Moon First Quarter Last Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions. OCTOBER 2019

Why we should turn fishing into a sport I find the term ‘sportfishing’ confusing. Why? After all, ‘sportfishing’ comes with rules, scoring systems and all the basic trappings of a sport, why would you not call it a sport? Rules are of course an important part of sport, they define the boundaries and responsibilities of those involved. There is a key missing ingredient though to fishing transcending to being a true sport and that is the regulations. Regulations differ from rules in that they act to define the objectives of the sport, including the pathways into the sport, progression, responsibilities of administrators and umpires and how events become part of the sporting environment. Regulations also define important limitations on key elements such as scoring and equipment and seek to provide a balance between skill, luck and technology. Fishing has overall done a good job and the rules but has been far less successful at the regulations. In the heyday of the club scene there was progress made with national affiliations, rules that provided the foundation for competition as well as state championships that were hard fought and meaningful. At it’s peak the Australian National Sportfishing Association (ANSA) embodied the push to take fishing seriously while recognising the need to balance that with conservation of the resource. It was a powerful combination that defined a generation of fishers. The club structure provided much of the same regulatory structure of other sports. Unfortunately, as time wore on the thing that had been the strength of ANSA, its passionate base of volunteer members became its greatest weakness as the baby boomers aged, lost their competitive drive and slowly drifted away. ANSA is still an important part of the fishing scene and is a foundation member of ARFF but as a base for competition it only enjoys a stronghold in a single state and is a shadow of its glorious heyday. The Game Fishing Association of Australia (GFAA) is even older, hailing back to 1938. GFAA is based on the rules developed by the International Game Fishing Association and has probably enjoyed a lesser decline due to its niche of game fishing, a high octane form of fishing that requires big investments and even bigger fish to match. Australia currently holds 538 world records through the IGFA, a good many of them by GFAA members, many standing for decades. While taking big fish has become 78

OCTOBER 2019

less acceptable to the wider community there is little doubt that the skill and tenacity required to master a massive shark or marlin should be recognised amongst the greatest sporting feats. After all, strip away the trappings of modern technology, drop a person in their territory and let’s see who takes home who for dinner. That is not to say that I am an advocate for the mass slaughter of big fish in the name of sport, but the reality is that the game fishing community have fished responsibly for decades and the hugely successful fish tagging program based in NSW stands as testimony. I am not going to admonish someone who has secured victory in the battle of man over beast and bought his prize home for all to see. Nature loves a winner. Rightly so, it’s not called survival of the fittest for nothing. During the decline of the club scene a new set of tournaments sprung up based on the American BASS rules. This new competitive format revolved around live weigh-ins and limited bags as an ethical alternative to the traditional weigh-in. This format combines all the flash of fish on the podium while ensuring they all get to fight another day, provided they are handled with care. The biggest exponent of this new format the Australian Bass Tournaments (ABT) became the dominant format in the post ANSA/ club universe, hoovering up competition fishers with a combination of showmanship, press coverage and rules unencumbered by decades of amendments. With its ‘who shares wins’ philosophy ABT in particular defined itself to stand out in a fishing world dominated by secrecy. The GFC however seemed to mark another point of change but may also just be a generational shift as well. As the 2000s rolled on into the 2010s though the competition market started to fracture more and more as the dominant monoliths of the industry gave way to a myriad of one-off events and series, each seeking to differentiate itself in the market. With the decline of the of the bigger players, out went standards and now we are faced with an ever-increasing array of competition formats, driving the fishing pastime further and further from being a true sport. If there’s one thing ABT should have bought forward, but only did in a limited way, it’s competitor profiles. Despite a decade of data, there is still far less real data available on fishers performance than their should be. With each new arena, you would think a decade of data would see nominated favourites, yet at best favouritism is defined

by a loose combination of scuttlebutt on performances during the year intersecting with the collective memory of who won in the past. There are few real metrics to guide us. ANSA and GFAA run a set of state and national records that stretch back decades and form the closest thing fishing has to Cricinfo, but if there is one area the fishing lets down a sports tragic like me it’s definitely in the stats department. One of the things that defines modern sports is the multitude of measures used to define and separate competitors. This comes at two levels, information to the public that seeks to best describe the performances of players and the even more detailed layer the forms the tactical foundation of the modern sports team. Mathematicians have had a field day in the past decade, commanding ever more luscious salaries as the data pumping devices that track athletes demand ever more nuanced analysis. We are no longer in the game of gaining percentage performance improvements, we are in the era of a matrix of performance indicators, from personal history to elite performance markers that now defines a players role. Fishing has taken an abominably long time to define the most basic of metrics. Sure, most fishers would have a sense of what they need to do in terms of bags, but short of time on the water, there are no real tools to assess let alone define a performance. That might not seem like much of a problem, but when it comes to accessibility to a wider world you need the language of maths to make sense of things. How good is Steve Smith? While the likes of Warney and company can wax lyrical about the poetry of his shot making, it’s two numbers that truly define him as a player. First is one of the most beautifully flawed numbers this side of pi, Don Bradman’s batting average of 99.94, a single boundary short of perfection, but probably more memorable due to its imperfection. The second is Smith’s current average of 64.81, the second best in the history of test cricket. If Bradman’s figure is forever marked by his inability play one ball, it’s still the mark by which all others are measured. It’s not how good you are that defines you, but how others are measured against you. Why make the transistion to a sport? First up I should address the key reason why being a sport is even important at all and here is a simple reason – it’s time to complete what the clubs started. The disadvantage of

the current system, first and foremost, is it entrenches the unfairness of fishing. To be competitive in any circuit is hard work, but fishing conspires in many ways to make that even worse, from home ground advantages to differences in equipment, to points systems. Moreover, the diversity of systems makes assessment of performance impossible. What defines a true sport? ‘Sport’ seeks to minimise the differences in the environment and equipment such that the skill and ability of the competitor is maximised. If you equalise the playing variables, all the unfairness accumulates in the heady mix of genetics, brains and brawn that is the competitor. All sport is unfair, we just want it to be unfair because one team or person is better than the others, not because they had better equipment or because the rules suit their fishing method. A few years back swimming tried out an exercise with flirting with unfairness beyond muscle and sinew with disastrous effect. A number of companies started a technological war producing swimsuits that resulted in drastic improvements in times, sending long-standing world records tumbling. Needless to say, it didn’t last. Unlike most sports there is no clean progression. There is no joining the E grade team and working your way up the ladder. There is no weekend tournament series leading to a final. For parents who don’t fish, there is no easy way to get their kids into the sport where they can learn skills, receive training and learn the tactical and time management side of competing. Everyone has to learn on the run. In other words, where most sports have an organised ecosystem that supports players, in fishing you are on your own. While I admire the strength of character this leads to, in reality this is the greatest limiter in terms of growth in the ‘sport’. WHAT DOES FISHING AS A SPORT LOOK LIKE I have spent a lot of time analysing data on competition different systems to get a sense of how they all work, and their relative merits as a sport. The traditional measure of fishers is the biggest fish, but I think catch rates are every bit as important particularly if you are aiming to build an audience. Cricket compressed its format more than once to limit the resources, increase the risks and maximise the rewards from taking risks. This in turn created more excitement for the audience. I have used fish/minute as a yardstick for events for some time and increasingly discussed using time as a key part of the format by limiting more and more the time

available. Reducing the time, increases the risk taking which in turn increases the innovation and excitement. This is a lesson fishing could learn. Is there an existing system that works, or do we start again? The objective is to equalise the outcomes as much as possible and statistically the bag system is the one that equalises outcomes the most, because the bag acts as a limiter on the best fishers. Bags of five work best because this acts both as a target and separator. As a target, a five bag takes some skill to obtain while motiving fishers to keep fishing for upgrades. I did an analysis of the ABT data around three years ago, which established that the combination of ‘who shares wins’ and bag limits have all but eliminated the home field advantage for boaters. While the same can’t be said for non-boaters, that is an artefact of the way non-boaters typically only compete in events in locations nearer to where they live. The five bag is also a good indicator of the quality of the fishing arena, in general the greater the proportion of fishers complete their bag, the better the arena. In other words the five bag provides data that is relatable to the lay person on more than one measure. As such, I think that the ABT is the closest series we have as a sport, not least because it uses weight, not length as a foundation. While I know that length is considered the modern measure, especially with the ever-growing importance of catch and release fishing, weight is still an easier measure for non-fishers to follow. We run a number of length-weight events on the Track My Fish app, so there is no impediment to using weight as a measure. I’m an advocate for the mix of live weigh-in and app or photo-based entries. Both offer different experiences to fishers and audience alike, but with a common measurement system both can be deployed allowing fishers flexibility in competing all the while ensuring consistent standards are enforced. WHAT SPECIES? Every fisher is going to have a favourite species or an opinion on targets, but in this case I am just looking at equalisation. Which species have the potential to sustain a large organised sports version of fishing? Here my main consideration is access in terms of location, universal spread and craft (eg kayaks). I have three species on my list, bream, bass and barramundi. Bream are a logical choice, because they are found in one form or another in almost all locations. Bass are an inland/impoundment

alternative, while barramundi are key competition species across the northern half of Australia and cover areas where bream are not as common or widely targeted. All three are relatively hardy and with good handling have excellent survival rates on release. EVENING THE PLAYING FIELD There are some things that definitely need to be clearly defined, such as tackle and technology standards. Bass boats with big motors have a huge advantage, especially in barra comps where mobility is key. Similarly, expensive sidescan units can reduce the time taken to locate fish by a significant measure and provide an edge over other competitors. This has to be addressed, but I don’t think that banning technology will work. Ultimately, a handicap system will probably be required with some objective data collected on how much of a real difference these technologies make. In this case I don’t think that a weight-based handicap is appropriate so much as a time penalty. Most of these innovations provide time/ efficiency benefits and thus a time penalty in the form of a later start or earlier finish would compensate for that. In other words you want the fast motor and best electronics, you get less time to fish and then if you can make up the time – good on you. BRINGING IT TOGETHER This is the trickiest but most necessary step. The transition to a sport doesn’t require the creation of new events, so much as the myriad of existing events to aggregate under a national platform, rules set and regulations, much as cricket, soccer and other sports have. This aggregation would need to provide a national register of competitors and a national tracking process so that competitors can easily carry their results with them. This is a big challenge when egos are involved. One of the key elements of that aggregation would be a national body with five key responsibilities – tracking and managing competitors, establishing formal recognition for fishing as a sport, providing state and national championships, coaching and athlete recognition, developing a sponsorship funding base and of course promoting the new sports option. Of course, this is a lot of work, but I think it’s about time fishing takes itself seriously enough to go through the growing pains that come with offering a true sport option. It won’t come without compromise, but most sports that have made that leap have never looked back.

Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic on again The Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic, at Lake Hume is on again on 26-27 October this year. The event has been moved back in the month to hopefully allow for slightly warmer water to bring the golden perch on. This year’s major prize is again a Quintrex boat with Mercury outboard package on a trailer, along with other great prizes for the various prize categories. All competitors who enter the Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic will go into the draw for the boat. The event is a catch, photo and release competition only. This has been well received by the competitors and will continue for the foreseeable future. Rules for the catch, photo, and release are available on the event website. Held on Lake Hume, the event is open to all ages. Both lure and bait are allowed. The centre for all non-fishing activities is the Lake Hume Tourist Park. The boundaries for the event are the confines of Lake Hume from the Wymah Ferry on the Murray Arm and Tallangatta on the Mitta arm.

There are four categories for fish. Golden perch (catch and release only), trout, redfin and carp. Angler categories are seniors and junior male and female. The champion team will go to the team with the greatest combined length of golden perch caught over the two days. Each team can have a maximum of four members. The Elk’s Hunting and Fishing champion angler is open to all anglers and based on the combined length of golden perch caught over the two days by an individual angler. Champion angler is for all angler categories. Anglers may only present a maximum of five golden perch per day for the event. Pre-entry for the 2019 classic is $70 for adults and $25 for juniors. Entry on the day is $75 for seniors and $30 for juniors. To be a junior, you must be under 16 on 25 October 2019. Entry includes a meal on Saturday night and a sausage sizzle on the Sunday at presentation. All competitors receive a Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic stubby

holder and an information pack. Early bird entries close on 11 October. The prize for this year’s early bird entry is $500 of fishing and camping goods. Registration at the event is from 4pm-8.30pm on Friday 25 October and from 5am-10am on Saturday 26 October sharp. A lure wall will be running as usual, simply place a lure on the wall for a chance to win the entire wall. Lures can be new or used, but only entire packs of soft plastics will be accepted if you choose to donate them. Various raffles will be available over the weekend. Competitors are reminded that golden perch must be 30cm or over, the minimum legal length in Victoria. Redfin and trout must be 30cm or over to be eligible for measuring. There is no size limit on carp. Sponsor’s draws will be held on Saturday evening commencing at approximately 8pm, with plenty of great prizes to be won. Competitors simply need to present their registration card in order to collect their prize. The main presentation will be

held on the Sunday after all results are compiled, usually around 1pm. For more information,

visit the event web site at www.lakehumeclassic.com. au or find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/

Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic Lake Hume. – Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic

Golden perch will be the main target species at the Leigh Martin Marine Mercury Classic.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2019

OCTOBER

NOVEMBER

DECEMBER

5-6 Oct

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 10 St Georges Basin

hobiefishing.com.au

12-13 Oct

ABT BASS Electric Australian Open Wyaralong Dam, QLD

abt.org.au

19-20 Oct

ABT BREAM Round 8 Port Stephens

abt.org.au

23-24 Oct

ABT BASS Grand Final Lake St Clair

abt.org.au

26-27 Oct

ABT BASS Australian Open Glenbawn Dam

abt.org.au

3 Nov

East Coast Bream Series Grand Final Sussex Inlet

www.wsbb.com.au or 0403 085 696

3 Nov Teralba Lakesiders Fishing Club C & R Junior Tournament, Teralba

Michele or Ian dangeranger@optusnet.com.au or ian.guy@westnet.com.au

16-17 Nov

Family Bassin Grand Final Lake St Clair

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

29 Nov-1 Dec

ABT BREAM Grand Final Gold Coast

abt.org.au

7-8 Dec

Hobie Kayak Bream Series Round 11 Marlo

hobiefishing.com.au

Add your tournament or competition to this list by emailing jthomas@fishingmonthly.com.au or calling 07 3387 0800 in office hours. Just supply a date, venue, tournament name and a telephone number and contact name. OCTOBER 2019

Taylor terrorises bream at brand new arena As a company, Shimano is known for its green credentials. There are many versions of its Green Procurement Policy, which means that all of their raw ingredients and suppliers of raw ingredients aren’t using substances that are dangerous – for staff, customers or the environment. Its company mission is “to promote health and happiness through the enjoyment of nature and the world around us.” It was a no-brainer then for Shimano, through their brand Squidgies, to sign up to be the naming sponsor of the first ever ABT BREAM event to be run on the ABT Tournament Series app. As such, 28 of Australia’s keenest bream anglers tackled a new ABT bream arena to not only fight it out for thousands of dollars worth of cash and prizes, but also to contribute towards the community monitoring of the area’s bream populations. Every bream caught was recorded – whether they were yellowfin or pikey – by taking a photo on the official ABT ruler and weights were

TRISTAN TAYLOR’S WINNING TACKLE Rod: Reel: Line: Lure:

Triston Taylor complied a great winning bag of mostly pikey bream and as it turns out, he likes these dark, brutish battlers… really likes them! calculated with length-weight curves for each species. The photos were then used by the Gladstone Healthy Harbours Partnership to help monitor the disease status of the specimens caught. With an aim of 300 bream for the event, anglers took advantage of the excellent fishing in the arena to tally nearly 500 fish through the app. Over 350 of these were on the tournament days, with the others caught on the practice day.

The result? Happy anglers, happy scientists and an arena that promises to be one of ABT’s best in coming years. Brisbane breamer Tristan Taylor is having quite a year on tour. After a couple of third place finishes at the start of the season on the Victorian leg, Taylor committed to ‘having a go’ at the Angler of the Year (AOY) title and hasn’t looked back. His win at Gladstone was his second in two starts and he would have never dreamed

that his two Victorian third placings would end up being the worst of his five events that count towards his final point score. Mathematically, Charlie Saykao could have won AOY with an unlikely combination of finishes, but Taylor slammed the door on his first national AOY title with only 7/8 qualifying rounds completed. Both of his bags were dominated by dark, pikey bream, which he tempted

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Tristan Taylor 2 Peter Cashman 3 Steve Morgan 4 Denis Metzdorf 5 Charlie Saykao 6 Wally Fahey 7 Alan Lister 8 Michael Thompson 9 Stephen Wilson 10 Craig Templar

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10 5.76 $1500 + $500 (Big Bream) 10 5.1 $750 10 4.67 $500 + $500 Mercury Bonus 10 4.54 $300 Mercury Bonus 10 4.01 $200 Mercury Bonus 10 3.36 Shimano Outfit (Smallest Fish) 8 2.7 8 2.61 Shimano Outfit (Pre-fish Champion) 7 2.59 10 2.42

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

OCTOBER 2019

Samurai Reaction 201 2500 Megabass reel 6lb Unitika braid with 6lb leader Ecogearaqua Bream Prawn in white rigged weightless, 2.5” ZMan GrubZ in motor oil rigged on Atomic Seekerz jighead

using two different patterns. His main deal involved casting a 2.5” motor-oil coloured ZMan GrubZ, rigged on an Atomic Seekerz jighead, into the current-licked rock banks in clear water in Gladstone Harbour proper. With hook-ups happening within close proximity of the snaggy shore, fights were brutal, short and not all of them ended in Taylor’s favour. Rotating between a milk run of suitable spots, Taylor easily completed his virtual bag, logging a limit in less than two hours. It was a couple of kicker fish that distanced him from the rest of the field on the first day though. Fishing a ferry dock in the northern harbour, one of the few pieces of artificial structure allowed in the complex arena, Taylor mined a couple of great bream, including the Daiwa J-Braid Big Bream of 1.1kg, by casting an unweighted Ecogearaqua at the floating structure.

And he did it with an audience. The highlights video (scan QR Code hereby) shows the excitement of fishing with excited onlookers. An Atomic sponsored angler, Taylor coupled his favourite Samurai Reaction rod with a 2500 size Megabass reel spooled with Unitika braid and 6lb leader to win more of the fights than he lost. Leaving day one with a 500g lead on the rest of the field, he was confident that he could replicate the numbers, if not the size of his day one bag. With a strengthening nor’westerly wind on day two, many anglers struggled in open areas of the arena. Taylor wasn’t immune to the tightening of weights. His 2kg class bag was a little over half his first day haul, yet it was ample to take the win, $2,000 in prize money and have his name etched in the record books as the first breamer to win an app-only bream qualifier.

Scan the QR code to see the Tristan Taylor interview.

Scan the QR code to see the Stuart Walker interview.

BREAM Series presented by

Cashman cheques in at Gladstone Peter Cashman was another B r i sba ne breamer who cashed in at Gladstone. Cashman wasn’t deterred by the thought of a challenge, and spent time on Google Earth and re-watched AFC Series 10 to gain an insight to the new arena. Following a pre-fish day laden with by-catch and some promising action on the bream in the Calliope River, Cashman decided to head straight back there. Throughout the tournament, Cashman mostly used a rotation of ZMan plastics rigged on light jigheads to fish the structure in the Calliope River, and chose to fish these on his GLoomis DSR820 and Daiwa 2000 Sol set-ups spooled with 10lb Sunline Castaway braid and 6lb FC Rock leader. With a steady procession of by-catch

The second place boater Peter Cashman sifted through a lot of by-catch to put together a quality bag in Gladstone’s huge arena. and a mixture of yellowfin and pikey bream gracing his deck, Cashman was able to slowly put together respectable bags on both days, but struggled as Taylor did on day two with

the windy conditions. Cashman’s by-catch included Moses perch, estuary cod, javelin fish and trevally. It seems catching a fish wasn’t the challenge: it was just

catching the target species that proved difficult. An issue with Cashman’s day one non-boater Andrew Williams’ app saw him entering all fish caught that day, which he believes gave him good karma for day two! The big new arena meant he could focus his attention on several areas at different tidal stages, and he stuck religiously to the game plan he put together on pre-fish. With his rotation of ZMan soft plastics, he found myself mostly using heavier than usual jigheads to stay in touch with the lure in the strong winds, which plagued anglers for the whole tournament but got worse on day two. Cashman noted that he lost a lot of jigheads due to the rocky terrain he spent most of his time fishing, and a fair few bust-offs left him wondering what could have

Walker walks it in yet again Stuart Walker is to bream fishing tournaments what the All Blacks are to world rugby: virtually unbeatable, bullying and speaks with a New Zealand accent. Jokes aside, the diminutive and incessantly polite Walker is arguably the most dominant angler ABT has seen in any species at any time. His Gladstone win from the back of the boat sealed his 5th consecutive non-boater AOY title, a feat that’ll be ridiculously difficult to surpass in the foreseeable future. Like Taylor, he made it mathematically impossible for the rest of the field with an event to spare. Armed with his trademark tackle, his command of a ZMan GrubZ on a TT jighead is bordering legendary and there’s more than a quiet fist-pump when a boater draws him in the sharedweight Grand Final each year. Walker spent the two

tournament days fishing opposite sides of the mouth of the Calliope River. On day one he amassed 2.31kg, enough to slot him into third place. On the Sunday though, he switched gears and added another half-kilo to that tally, registering 2.80kg for his top five fish and sealing a splendid victory by just under 2kg. Walker has showed off

his winning combo in many interviews. The Daiwa Silverwolf 2-4kg rod and matching reel, loaded with 6lb 8-strand Daiwa braid and leader is a constant companion in a winner’s interview (scan the QR Code to watch his). Walker’s main advice for non-boaters who want to attain his consistency? Persistence.

“You never know when that bite window will be. I caught all of my weight in half an hour when the fish were on [in the] morning and you don’t do that when your line is in or you’re mucking around re-rigging,” he offered. It’s sage advice from the best there is on the rear deck. Additionally, Walker

been. With this in mind, he took solace in the probability that many of these may have been the angry tropical by-catch species that also plagued other anglers for the tournament. Cashman added three important fish to the bag on other techniques, which include crankbaiting with a Jackall Chubby, finesse fishing with a Gulp Shrimp and working over the top of snags with an O.S.P. Bent Minnow.

BREAM SERIES

With full bags both days, Cashman was able to amass a solid 10/10 fish limit of 5.10kg, and slid nicely into second place.

DAIWA J BRAID BIG BREAM

Taylor added $500 and a swag of Daiwa J-Braid to his kit with a 36.5cm, 1.1kg pikey. It ate a weightless rigged white Ecogearaqua, which was sight cast to the brute. Originally thinking it was a blubberlip, he quickly upped the ante when he realised it was a monster pikey! See the day one highlights video for the full capture. won a Squidgies rod and Shimano Nasci reel/ Kairiki braid combo by also amassing the smallest limit of bream for the weekend, which could be

Scan the QR code to see the Day 1 highlights.

calculated through his use of the app! His 5/5 for 0.56kg (derived from the app curves) bookended a commanding weekend of breamin’.

Scan the QR code to see the Day 2 highlights.

Stuart Walker (left) seems to be absolutely unstoppable, even at a venue where he has no previous tournament experience! Him and his boating counterpart Tristan Taylor (right) have had a stellar tournament season.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

10 9 7 10 5 7 10 9 7 9

Stuart Walker Jordan Armstrong Brendan Mcnamara Travis Ryan Andrew Williams Richard Wootten Sam Peck Tani Konsul Justin Reeves Glen Sturrock

5.11 3.32 3.01 2.84 2.74 2.62 2.57 2.21 2.12 1.86

$200 Hobie Bonus + Shimano Outfit (Smallest Bag) $100 Hobie Bonus $75 Hobie Bonus

It wasn’t all pikey bream at the Gladstone event, with some quality yellowfin also logged into the app. OCTOBER 2019

Copper captures win at Cania Matt Johnson has proved once again that he is a SEQ Impoundment specialist, taking yet another win in the Sufix ABT BASS Pro series. Matt is a resident Ipswich Police Officer, but fishes Cania Dam often despite it being over five hours drive away. He says it’s one of his favourite dams to fish. In the pre-fish, Johnson had some spots in mind that he had fished in a tournament only two weeks before. He set out to look at some weed edges he had caught fish from, and upon catching a good fish straight up, he decided to leave those areas for comp day. He went in search of some back up spots on the flats just inside the timber, where he also found fish, just not the size he felt would win comp. On day one, Johnson and his non-boater went straight to that weed edge. He picked up where he left off two weeks earlier, catching his five fish really quickly fishing a 67mm Jackall Squirrel jerkbait by ripping and pausing the lure along the weed face.

WINNING TACKLE Rod Reels Lure Line

Matt Johnson (right) is very much at home fishing in the weedy and timbered waters of Cania Dam. It was on the pause that he would get bit. He was only happy with one of them, which left him wondering if his jerkbait pattern from two weeks ago may have changed. He then set off to a flat just inside the trees and sat in 20-25ft, where he found a nice patch of fish. He manly used an Imakatsu IK 800, which is

a super deep crankbait, and by making a big cast, he could rip the lure down on the first couple of turns, then just slow roll it back through the suspended fish. This technique can be deadly in SEQ dams at this time of year, and proved to be this day, with Johnson upgrading eight times. He made it to the scales

with five bass for 6.39kg. On day two the weather had changed and was a lot colder, and Matt said that was that reason he didn’t go back to the flat that produced on the previous day. Matt is a jerkbait addict and knew the bigger fish would be sitting back in the weed. With that in mind, he set out in search

Lew’s Super Duty Custom Cast Rod 7’11 Medium, Barrabass 7’ custom spin Lew’s BB1 Pro Spool bait cast, Lew’s Custom spin 2000 Jackall Squirrel 61, 67 and 79mm, Imakatsu IK-800 R2 Sunline Siglon 10lb and 12lb, 12lb Sunline V-Hard Leader

of shallow weedy banks that he had not seen other boats on. He and his non-boater Dylan Byron dropped a fish each early, and they both knew how costly that was, as on this day they knew they wouldn’t get many opportunities. From here, Matt just put his head down and worked his butt off, rotating his three key baits, being the 61, 67 and 79mm Jackall Squirrels. He fished them by working them down the weed edges in no more than 8ft of water. Matt only got five more bites, but by making them stick he filled his limit of five fish, finishing with

Scan the QR code to see Matt Johnson Interview. 6.54kg and total weight of 12.93kg. This proved enough to take the win at the 2019 Sufix BASS Pro Bass Cat Boats round at Cania Dam.

BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 Matt Johnson 2 Matthew Langford 3 Graham Ford 4 David Nelson 5 Jonathan Bale 6 Adrian Melchior 7 Greg Mitchell 8 Jake Schwerin 9 Keeghan Painter 10 Brett Hyde

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize Money 10/10 12.93 $2,500 10/10 11.86 $1,500 10/10 11.42 $1,250 + $250 Evinrude Bonus 10/10 10.88 $1000 10/10 10.61 $800 10/10 10.60 $650 10/10 10.00 $600 10/10 9.99 10/10 9.96 9/10 9.46

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

OCTOBER 2019

Cania is a great fishery that offers big bass like this that respond to a variety of techniques, as these two winners proved!

Bass Pro Series presented by

Langford guides himself to runner up Matt Langford lives in the South Burnett region, which isn’t far from Cania, and he also is a fishing charter operator and occasionally takes clients onto this wonderful lake, so you could say he knows this body of water pretty well! On day one Langford went up the back of the dam where he knew of some shags were nesting, targeting the area below with a topwater lure on one rod and jerkbait on another. He went to work on what he knew would be a short window of fish feeding under the nests. He picked up a good fish on a popper, followed by another on a Daiwa Double Clutch, and with that second fish the bite was done. He headed to some weed edges that are part of his milk run, fishing a Nories Laydown Minnow

(deep) and a Jackall Squirrel 61mm jerkbait, casting his lure tight to the weed and even ripping it free, and this was triggering bites. Doing this he landed a further six fish, and dropping a big one in the process. All up he ended up having a great first day, weighing five bass for 6.93kg and was sitting in first place overnight. On the second day Matty gave his good mate Mick Johnson his shag trees and went straight to fishing the weed edges the same way he had on day one. Day two, however, was totally different, and while his non-boater Luke Gilbert caught a nice fish early, no other fish came from this area, Matty had not even had a bite! His hope was starting to fade by the minute, and it wasn’t until about 10am that he headed out to the flats in

Matty Langford used his experience guiding on the lake to secure second place. You could say he knows the dam pretty well! search of schooled fish. He found a decent school, and so had a few other boats,

but most simply couldn’t get them to eat. His mate Barry

Reynolds was non-boating next to him, and gave him a pack of assist hooks that

hat some tinsel and fur on them, and told Matty to put them on a spoon. Matty did so, and began casting the new tricked up spoon, sinking it to the bottom and slowly hopping it before stating a slow retrieve. Almost immediately, he pulled up tight to a fish! Before too long, he and his non-boater were upgrading. Unfortunately they weren’t the size he needed to keep first place, with a weight of 4.93kg and total of 11.86kg, which had him finishing second by just over a kilo.

‘Pylon’ stands firm to take non-boater win Dylan ‘Pylon’ Byron hails from the Sunshine Coast and loves his bass fishing, and is also the 2018 ABT Non-Boater Angler of the Year, so he is a handy non-boater to have aboard in the shared weight system. The first day saw Byron paired with Dayne Price, and their first area was The Quay. They chose to fish in anywhere from 20-40ft with spoons. The pair would make long casts and let the spoons sink to the bottom, varying retrieves between hopping, burning or slow winding back to the boat. Catching a limit there after a while, the bite slowed and they moved over to a spot near the dam wall where they found suspended fish in around 30ft of water. With the fish holding anywhere from 20-15ft, once again casting spoons through them they found these were much better-sized fish and upgraded their whole limit of five bass, coming to the scales with a solid day one

He spent the rest of the day, as he said, watching a guy in the zone showing him a jerkbait masterclass, but was a gun with the net. They

came back with five fish for 6.54kg, giving him a total weight of 12.01kg and his first win of the 2019 Suffix BASS Pro series.

GARMIN BIG BASS Steve Kanowski took out the $500 Garmin big Bass with a 1.81kg Cania monster caught on a ZipBaits Trick Shad 70 SP 509 blue gill.

Non-boating powerhouse Dylan Byron managed a great win in his respective division, contributing to his boaters’ efforts throughout the tournament. bag of 5.47kg For day two Dylan was heading out with Matt Johnson and they went

straight to some shallow weed edges fishing jerkbaits, twitching and pausing them down the weed face. While

Dylan did hook a good fish early, unfortunately it buried him in the weeds and he lost it.

NON-BOATER RESULTS Place Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Dylan Byron James Hickson Geoff Newby David Simmons Matthew Gilbert Bill Rose Troy Lowe Trent Blake Jacob Luck John Francis

Total Fish Total Weight (kg) Prize 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10 10/10

12.01 11.84 11.71 11.14 10.71 10.34 9.77 9.72 9.59 9.33

Bassman Prize Pack + Sufix Bonus Fishtec Prize Pack Tackle Tactics Prize Pack Sufix Prize Pack Daiwa Prize Pack Sunline Prize Pack Keitech Prize Pack Lucky Craft Prize Pack Ecogear Prize Pack Shimano Prize Pack

Scan the QR code to see highlights from Cania. OCTOBER 2019

Venom decides to stay and play at BARRA Open From inception to presentation, the Venom Rods BARRA Australian Open, which was held on a rebounding Lake Awoonga in September, is sure to be the genesis of the next generation in BARRA events for ABT. Barra are caught, measured on the official measuring mat and the scoreboard calculates a weight based on Queensland DPI lengthweight curves generated over samples of thousands of impoundment fish. Featuring full live scoreboard coverage, an uncluttered mid-week format and a near 200% payback percentage, the 14 teams competing all knew they were a part of something special. VICTORY FOR VENOM Troy Dixon and Adam Meredith of Team Venom were able to secure victory for this first ever ABT BARRA Open, and they were part of the process from the start. It took Venom Rods, a brand of the Brisbane-based tackle manufacturer and importer Wilson Fishing, about five minutes to secure the naming rights to this event after it was tabled as a way to incorporate the rebounding southern barra dam fisheries. The idea was conceived while driving back from the 2018 Zerek BARRA Tour – an event also underwritten by Wilson Fishing. “Kord says that we want it, don’t talk to anyone else,”

Team Venom’s Troy Dixon and Adam Meredith look to be struggling under the weight of that winner’s trophy, or maybe they’re just excited to have won $5000 for going barra fishing – that’s one spicy meatball! said Wilson’s marketing manager Stephen Booth, just minutes after the initial phone call. The decision ended up more beneficial than initially envisaged. “We were hoping for 20 boats in the inaugural BARRA Open,” said ABT Director Steve Morgan, “but with the level of coverage this event offered, 10-100 boats would have the same result – a fascinating event to watch from the sidelines.” Another phenomenon in ABT events is the intervention of karma. We see it time and time again where a naming sponsor or their sponsored angler goes on and wins their pet event. It happens multiple times

every year, and the BARRA Open was no exception. Team Venom took an early lead after the first day and never relinquished it, as conditions remained challenging for all competitors over the three days. The team didn’t register a full five-fish limit for any of the three days, yet they were consistent and landed enough big barra bites to get the job done by a 10kg margin. Traditionally, barramundi like stable weather, and the week leading up to the event had constant warm days, firing up the barra. The open featured strong, fluctuating winds, a cold snap and a

barra bite that was feastor-famine for most of the competitors. This really brought the cream to the

explained. “There were laydowns everywhere and there were places where we literally couldn’t get the boat into if we had to chase a fish.” The gully they fished on the western side of the main basin had large amounts of standing and fallen timber. Team Venom used a variety of lures to tempt their barra, but refined them to a lightlyweighted and weedless paddle-tailed soft plastic presentation to achieve maximum fishability in their chosen area. Adam Meredith preferred a baitcast presentation, favouring a Daiwa Zillion HD baitcaster loaded with 30lb Sufix 832 braided line and a 50lb Wilsons FC leader on a Venom 2-4kg, 6’3” baitcast rod. On this, he cast a Keitech Fat Swing Impact (4.8” in gold flash minnow) and a Castaic Jerky J (5” in ayu).

while proudly displaying the perennial trophy at his workplace, Brisbane’s Tackle Warehouse. “We tried the rig with and without the blade, and blade-on definitely got us more bites.” Dicko, however, preferred a threadline outfit, using a Venom VS8 rod (7’ long) and 4000 ATC spinning reel loaded with 30lb Zerek HiBraid and 40lb Wilson FC leader. A couple of colours of the SureCatch 11cm HollowFish worked best for him, with both the chartreuse and pearl/ white rigged on the same weedless Owner J Flashy Swimmer set-up. “We landed two barra for every one we lost, so the ratio could have been much worse in the area we were fishing,” Dicko said. “We’d get to the spot and tie up to one tree at the front, one tree at the back and do our best to get the fish

The anglers met at the Tackle World in Gladstone for the briefing before the first session.

Brett Turner and Brett Bliesner of team Bretts World managed to land barra on all three days of the tournament and just snuck into third place.

top, and while some teams opted to run and gun their milk run of potential spots, others chose to stay and play in one area that they thought held fish. This was Troy and Adam’s plan for all three days of competition. “We found a couple of places where we caught fish in practice, but the one we chose for the tournament was dead set nasty,” Dicko

“I really think that the 5/0 Owner Flashy Swimmer worm hook with the 1/4oz weight helped us hook the fish,” Adam said,

out when they stitched us up. We didn’t want to keep going in there and spooking the fish, because I think that hurt our pattern.”

VENOM BARRA AUSTRALIAN OPEN RESULTS Place Team 1 VENOM 2 SUNCOAST MARINE ELECTRICAL 3 BRETTS WORLD 4 DOBYNS/SUNLINE 5 HAPPY ROCK SOFTIES 6 JOINT EFFORT 7 EXTREME SECRET SPOT 8 GET-A-GRIP 9 LOWRANCE LIKELY LADS 10 SILVER ROLL HOLE 84

OCTOBER 2019

Total Fish 11/15 9/15 4/15 8/15 4/15 3/15 5/15 4/15 1/15 2/15

Total Weight (kg) 37.57 27.35 21.68 21.36 16.7 16.07 14.6 11.33 6.14 6.08

Adam Meredith holds up one of the barra Team Venom managed to get out of the gnarly country on display in the background.

Woods’ second day cost a title shot The runners-up at the event were Rob and Tommy Woods from Suncoast Marine Electrical. Rob and Tommy employed the opposite strategy from Team Venom – running and gunning half a dozen spots in rotation during each session to amass their fish. Tapping into the aforementioned sponsorkarma, the pair had a pair of 7’ Venom spin rods on board that they paired with 5000 size ATC reels to help

deliver their jerkbaits to the strike zone. The preferred bait was a 79mm Jackall Squirrel Hank Tune in a variety of natural colours. They ran them on 30lb Sufix braid and 40lb Wilson FC leaders. “We went through at least half a tank of fuel per session running our spots, and we hit them at different times and conditions to try to pin down the best pattern,” Rob said. Indeed, when they hit the right place at the right

time it was a bonanza. They logged nine fish on the first day and a sole fish on the second. That second day eventually took them out of contention for the win, but they were still happy with $1,000 cash and a pair of Venom baitcast rods for their second place showing. MORE TO COME The Venom BARRA Australian Open promises to be a rising star in the east coast barra tournament calendar. There was an amazing amount of interest in the format, and the event reached tens of thousands of people via the website and through social media. Expect to see it on ABT’s calendar again in 2020 – the dates will be released at the end of 2019!

Father and son duo, Rob and Tommy Wood of team Suncoast Marine Electrical, are no strangers to barra fishing and managed good bags on day one and three to secure second place.

Tommy Wood demonstrates that Awoonga is well and truly on the way to once again becoming the premier impoundment barra fishery in Queensland – small fish will one day be big fish, and they grow fast in dams!

Troy Dixon simply loves barra, big or small, especially when they help him and his teammate win $5000 and a big heavy trophy! OCTOBER 2019

Eighth Hobie Worlds another huge success On Friday 26 July, 2019, on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, Andrew Death (pronounced Deeth) from New South Wales, Australia, was crowned the 2019 Hobie Fishing World Champion. Death was the seventh angler to claim the world title after Scott Baker (AUS) 2011, Marty Mood (USA) 2012, Richard Somerton (AUS) 2013, Steve Lessard (USA) 2014 and 2016, Xiaohong Ma (CHN) 2015 and Salah el Barbouchi (GER) 2018. For the tournament, 43 anglers had qualified and travelled to Australia from

14, which were provided brand new and decked out by the Hobie Asia Pacific factory located a lure’s throw from the waters of Jervis Bay in New South Wales, 1000km south of the event location. All kayaks were equipped with a MirageDrive 180 (forward and reverse) pedal system, Lowrance Hook2 7” Triple Shot sounders and a Power-Pole Micro anchor, as well as other accessories including the Hobie V2 Livewell, which recirculated fresh saltwater to keep the fish healthy. The fishing arena

had planned their trips to arrive early, and to adjust to the new species by fishing in alternative systems to the championship arena where a pre-fish ban was not in place. To the delight of competitors across the arena, not only were there plenty of bream about but also anglers from all continents were catching fish! Another surprise to competitors was how awesome the fish were to catch on light tackle. The first angler to pull a fish on board in the event was Joe Komyati (USA). As he held a nice 35cm yellowfin

Hobie Worlds 8 was a great event, with smiles and camaraderie all around.

The trawlers provided some great bream fishing and gave up many legal bream for the competitors. 16 countries to compete in Hobie Fishing Worlds 8 presented by Daiwa. Most international anglers had not previously fished for the target species, yellowfin bream. They were given two pre-fish days to acclimatise themselves to the arena and to the species. All had researched bream, the techniques, and the lures and tackle required to bring home the three fish they aimed for each day. The championship was a catch, weigh and release tournament. Anglers brought their fish back in Hobie V2 Livewells for a live weigh-in at the event site. The fish were placed on scales, their weights recorded and then the fish were released to swim away. Each angler competed in exactly the same type of kayak, a Hobie Pro Angler

basked in amazing weather throughout the world championship, with mid-winter temperature maximums ranging from 22-26°C. Light breezes persisted daily and there was no rain in sight. Never in eight championships has a Worlds seen such perfect conditions. After registration and the mandatory briefing on Sunday afternoon, competitors and their guests partied on, cruising around the affluent mansions that line one of the world’s largest artificial canal systems. PRE-FISH The next morning, 43 excited anglers pedalled off from the Power-Pole Starting Line on Lowrance Pre-Fish day one, which was the first chance for many international anglers to fish in Australian waters. Others

bream in his hands he commented, “It’s my first bream ever. I watched some videos the Australian Hobie guys put up, and I used what they told me to use, and it definitely worked!” Power-Pole Pre-Fish day two saw a similar pattern, with anglers getting a taste of alternative locations. The Sundale Bridge pylons were hit hard by up to 15 international anglers, but they did not have a lot of success because their timing was wrong and the tide was not suited for that type of strategy. Nevertheless, many persisted in the area, a mistake a few would continue to make over the championship days. The big story, however, was at the line-up of trawlers, which were closer to the event site. As their decks were washed down, prawns fell off into

BIG BREAM WINNERS Day Angler Country Weight Day 1........... Felix Frey.............................. Sweden............................. 1.06 kg Day 2........... Lars Lundberg...................... Sweden............................. 0.91 kg Day 3........... Richard Benson.................... Australia............................ 1.01 kg 86

OCTOBER 2019

the surrounding water, attracting plenty of goodsized hungry bream. Like a flock of seagulls, more than a quarter of the competitors headed straight there from the start. Despite being hit hard the day before, the location held up with some quick bites. Nate Gloria (USA) was onto his first bream in just a few casts. That first fish was in his Hobie Livewell just on twenty minutes after the start, fifteen of which were spent travelling to the location. Most of the people that hit the trawler fleet were sensible enough to leave the area after half an hour, not wanting to sting the honey hole,

anticipation, as anglers prepared for the start of the world championship. The sun rose and reflected off the high-rise buildings around the Gold Coast, as the world’s best kayak anglers massed for the official start. As anglers respectfully stood in their Hobie PA14 kayaks, the Australian National Anthem was played. A countdown began and off the fleet blasted – Worlds 8 was on! The action at the start was fast and furious, with a lot of barging and contact around the turning buoys. The intensity was well up from the two pre-fish days and shouts echoed across the water as the field

much closer to the start an Australian had already bagged two. Many of the anglers from across the world who had never previously targeted bream did quite well, with just two days of pre-fish to learn to adapt to the new species and the unfamiliar light tackle. Seven anglers from outside of Australia managed to get a full bag of three bream, while all of the Australian team had full bags. Seven unfortunate anglers battled it out for the Lowrance Donut Award for catching no fish. A heavy concentration of Chinese and Brazilian anglers got amongst the donuts. Most of those anglers caught bream

Simon Morley, Andrew Death and Jack Gammie (L to R) display some of their better fish for the tournament. however some persisted for too long. Fortunately, they caught no fish, so the damage to the bite during the championship days was minimal. DAY ONE Well before daylight on Wednesday 24 July, the vibe around the event site was one of excitement and

split evenly to the north and south. Once again, the trawler fleet was the early target for 10-12 anglers. Finn Sloth (DEN) was among that group, and twenty minutes in he became the first international angler to land a yellowfin bream in the championship, while

but disappointingly they were under the competition legal length of 26cm. The dubious honour and first recipient of the award was Patrice Gotti from France. Gotti had caught plenty of fish, but they just didn’t measure up to size. There were a number of large bream caught

weighing over a kilo, and it was just a matter of grams that separated them. In the final countdown, the largest fish landed weighed in at 1.06kg and was caught by Felix Frey from Sweden. Frey, a pike specialist, was thrilled to receive the Power-Pole Big Bream trophy, which was presented to him at the Hobie Kayak Europe Dinner that evening after the haunting sounds of the didgeridoo had reverberated around the room. At the close of the day one session, Jack Gammie (AUS) led the championship on 2.16kg, followed by Andrew Death (AUS) on 2.08kg and Edi Brader (AUT) on 1.99kg. Australians Tyson Hayes, Richard Somerton (2013 world champion), Simon Morley and Kris Hickson made up the next places. Two USA anglers followed, Nate Gloria in 8th and Tyson Peterson in 9th, with Danish angler Finn Sloth

second day of the world championship. With late threatening winds predicted to blow from the south, the majority of anglers headed in a southerly direction, while only a small group of nine or ten pedalled to the north. Fortunately, the wind didn’t blow up as forecasted. Like each day prior, a group of ten plus anglers headed for the trawlers where two fish were caught by Nate Gloria (USA) and Eric Seddiqi (USA), once again within 20 minutes of the start. The rest of the anglers had little luck, most leaving within 15-20 minutes. By mid-morning a large slice of competitors had fish. Anglers who had struggled the day before, such as France’s Patrice Gotti, had more luck on day two, while four others in the same area still had no fish, including 2015 world champion Xiaohong Ma from China.

Winner Andrew Death explains how he secured his winning bag. (3rd in China in 2015) in 10th place. Overall, 37 anglers brought a total of 84 fish back to the scales on day one of the world championship. Their accumulated weight was 44.35kg at an average of 530g, which is an impressive average for the species in any waterway. DAY TWO As the sun rose on Thursday, competitors once again took off in superb conditions for the

At the end of the day, it was another impressive performance by the Australians. However, the Americans showed a great ability to adapt to the new species, making up a quarter of the top twenty. Nate Gloria flew the highest flag for the USA, sitting in 6th place, equal with 2013 world champion Richard Somerton (AUS). Gloria bagged 1.78kg on day one and 1.77kg on day two, giving him a two-day

total weight of 3.55kg. Edi Brader from Austria, who sat in third position at the close of day one, dropped back a place but remained the best-placed European. Brader had a day two bag of 1.59kg, giving him a total of 3.58kg. Finn Sloth (DEN), the next best European, was in 11th place followed by Felix Frey (SWE) back in 19th. Lars Lundberg became the second Swede to catch the Power-Pole Big Bream, which weighed 910g. The Chinese were having a difficult time adapting to the new species. Lai Wang, their highest placed competitor, was in 16th, while the remainder of the team sat among the bottom ten anglers. Rafael Renzetti led the Brazilians in 23rd, with the rest of the team languishing close to the bottom. Tim Percy (CAN) received the Lowrance Donut Dough Award to rousing cheers and hugs of jubilation, at the Power-Pole dinner that evening. To the delight of all in the room, the idea of a police officer winning a donut award set off the USA team into raptures. It was a great moment. Once again, the class acts were by the Australians, with eight in the top ten. Jack Gammie increased his lead from the previous day with another 2.02kg, giving him a leading bag total of 4.18kg. Andrew Death maintained his second place, with 1.86kg for 3.94kg overall, 249g behind Gammie. Simon Morley (AUS) moved up into third place, knocking Austrian Edi Brader back a position. Morley added 1.97kg for a total of 3.79kg, 150g behind Death, and 399g short of Gammie. 90 fish were caught on the day, weighing in at 44.02kg at an average of 489g, slightly down from day one. The field was tight at the top and anyone in the top ten could take out the championship if luck went their way. The final day of the Worlds was set to be intense and full of excitement. DAY THREE When the action started on day three, reports kept coming in that Death and Morley were going head to head on the same reef to the north of the event site.

Their reels were screaming and each bagged out around the same time. On the turn of the tide, they both began to upgrade fish after fish after fish. In the meantime, Edi Brader was one short of a bag and fishing well to the south under the skyscrapers around Surfers Paradise, where he had

Gloria was on 1.77kg for the day and sitting on a total of 5.32kg. Simon Morley handed over his bag to the tournament director and it was placed on the scales, weighing 1.97kg for a total of 5.75kg. Nate Gloria was 430g short (almost a whole fish). Morley took the lead, but what a brilliant performance by Gloria.

Kris Hickson shares some wisdom on camera at day three of the event. been quietly bagging out over the two previous days of competition. The leader on the first two days and the favourite to maintain his lead, Jack Gammie, also went south, much further than Brader, and was hard to find among the canals along the Nerang River. Then, a report came through late in the day that Gammie only had an average size bag. Nobody had sighted Gloria from the USA or Somerton from Australia. The weigh-in was going to be insane! At 2:30pm, anglers began walking up on stage to the scales and the lead changed continually. When Gloria got up, he hit the lead with a day three bag weighing 1.77kg and the USA contingent went bananas. Gloria remained on stage at the top of the table, with just three anglers to follow – Morley, then Death and finally Gammie. Could this be a huge upset? The Americans watching online and at the event site were hoping so.

RESULTS Place Angler Country Total Fish Total Weight (kg) 1..................Andrew Death......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.79 2..................Simon Morley......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.75 3..................Jack Gammie......................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.61 4..................Nate Gloria..........................USA................................... 9/9....................................5.32 5..................Richard Somerton...............Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.30 6..................Tyson Hayes........................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.28 7..................David Shanahan..................Australia............................ 9/9....................................5.03 8..................Tyson Peterson....................USA................................... 9/9....................................4.87 9..................Kris Hickson........................Australia............................ 9/9....................................4.87 10.................Richard Benson...................Australia............................ 9/9....................................4.78

Up stepped Death with his bag, needing 1.81kg to take out Morley. The scales rolled over, settled and stopped. At 1.85kg, he was just 40g more than Simon Morley. Death became the new leader. Morley stepped off the stage and Death stayed, hoping his 5.79kg was enough. He nervously waited while a tense Jack Gammie was interviewed in front of the live audience and those watching the broadcast. Gammie walked up the steps with a nervous smile and handed his bag to tournament director

Steve Fields. Fields played with Death and Gammie’s emotions for a few seconds, building the intensity of the moment before Death called out, “Just put it on!” and the audience laughed. Gammie only needed 1.62kg to win the championship. Andrew Death (AUS), who had sat in second on both previous days, was now the current leader and waited in anticipation. Gammie’s bag went on the scales, and boom! It weighed 1.43kg and was 150g short! Andrew Death fistpumped the air and turned away in disbelief of his unforeseen fortune – the new 2019 Hobie Fishing World Champion was shocked! A disappointed Jack Gammie dropped to a commendable third after a brilliant performance, and Simon Morley took a well-deserved second. Australia had its third 1st-2nd-3rd from three world championships held in the country. Richard Benson (AUS) caught the Power-Pole Big Bream for the day, Marco Pasquini (ITA) won the Donut Dough Award, and Felix Frey won a PowerPole Micro Anchor for the biggest fish of the championship. An incredible 265 bream were brought to the scales during the three days of the championship. They weighed a total of 133.32kg, at an average weight of 500g, and every single one of them got to swim away to live another day. Andrew Death (The Reaper) became the new Hobie Fishing World Champion. It was a great performance by a humble winner. With another fantastic Hobie Worlds done, anglers are now super excited for HFW9. We can’t wait! – Hobie Cat Australasia

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2019 Cod Classic 20th Anniversary Special Never before has there been as much excitement in the lead up to a fishing competition as that shown in the lead up to this year’s 20th Anniversary Yamaha Cod Classic! The Cod Classic celebrates the opening to cod season and is an iconic event on the Australian fishing calendar not to be missed. On 6, 7 and 8 December will see the twin towns of Yarrawonga

and Mulwala come alive, with 3000+ fishers expected to descend on Lake Mulwala, the home of the Murray cod! The event will have an amazing prize pool that tallies in excess of $150,000, including 10 boating packages. Amazingly, after the completion of this year’s event a staggering total of 120 boating packages will have been given away through the

history of the Cod Classic. Other prizes include the chance to spend 30 seconds in a cash grab machine, a list of major goods too long to mention, along with 1000+ minor lucky door prizes, and the majority of competitors will be going home with a smile on their face. Designed for the family with all levels of fishing skills catered for, everybody has a chance of winning one of the

Kevin Brooks with the sort of cod this amazing event is known for.

many great prizes on offer, whether fishing from boat or bank, using either bait or lures. The majority of prizes are randomly drawn, with you not even having to catch a fish to be a winner! Those who are lucky enough to register either a legal size Murray cod or 45cm+ golden perch go into additional draws to win extra great prizes. Pre-sale entry fee for adults is $95, or $100 on weekend, and $50 for juniors. Entry includes four meals, souvenir stubby holder, a free ticket in major boat raffle, Wilson Slickback lure and Bassman spinnerbait (for the kids), entry into thousands of lucky door prize draws and the promise of a great weekend. Being ran in conjunction with the Cod Classic is the Native Watercraft Australian Canoe & Kayak Cod Fishing Championships. Entering its ninth year, this event caters for the new breed of anglers who choose to fish from either a canoe or kayak. The Fishing & Outdoors Expo will be a main feature, with the chance to grab a bargain not to be missed. Other popular parts of the competition include iconic entertainer Flathead Fred for the juniors, Venom Rods

Monsters like this 105cm model caught by Hudson Crothers will be on everyone’s target list going into the weekend. Cod Talk with Rod ‘Codmac’ Mackenzie, and the Samurai Rods Australian Pro Casting Championships. You would be crazy to miss this iconic event held at the home of the Murray cod, Lake Mulwala. Sharpen your hooks, pack the boat, grab your swag and baton down the hatches as the 2019 Yamaha Cod Classic is going to be huge! See you all in Yarrawonga/Mulwala for the

chance to catch a legend! For more information, check out www.codclassic. com.au, call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski, now at two locations, 74 Melbourne St Mulwala (Opposite Post Office) and 61 Belmore St Yarrawonga (Between Rivers and One Zac) the official Cod Classic stores, or call Tony Bennett 0439 441 667. –Yamaha Cod Classic

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Fifth Annual Greg Whitehead Fishing Challenge The fifth annual Greg Whitehead Fishing Challenge has been run and won at Burrinjuck Dam. The event, created by Stuart Cattanach in honour of his best friend Greg who sadly died of brain cancer, raises money

given a brag mat and tag along with a pile of free goodies from Rapala, Fishing Monthly and the tournament organisers. Anglers were instructed to place their catch on the brag mat with the tag, take a quick picture of the fish and

prize pool including a fully decked-out Quintrex 390 Explorer Outback and huge Shimano prize packs, competition was fierce from the outset. Most anglers raced to the Murrumbidgee arm in search of cod while others chose to stick it out

Vlad, Jason and Jay of Territory Anglers took out first place in the teams category. for the Brain Cancer Foundation and is fast becoming one of the most important charity fishing competitions in NSW. The competition attracts over 400 anglers and a huge variety of sponsors, from Shimano and Rapala

then release the fish. The photo could then be taken back to the marshalling station at the end of the day, where the catch would be recorded. Teams were allowed to enter one Murray cod, four golden perch and three redfin as a combined

The prizes on offer were amazing! through to Spotters, Fishing Monthly, Harden Electrical and Cooling, Harden Tyre Service and JML Anglers Alliance. The 3-day competition started at 12pm on the Friday, when anglers were

length to be in the running for the team prizes while there were also prizes on offer for the longest cod, golden perch, redfin and carp in the men’s, women’s and junior categories. With an impressive

in the main basin and knock over the redfin and golden perch categories. I ended up sticking around the main basin with Matt Cools and Chris Troth. We scored two solid golden perch during the afternoon session and lost another three while working blades and vibes on the flats. On arrival back to the boat ramp, we discovered that most anglers had struggled despite the superb conditions but there were a couple of decent cod caught along with some large yellas. Anglers were on the water at 6am on Saturday with most again racing to the Murrumbidgee arm. Adam Rolls was one angler who figured out the cod early, with his first cast of the day yielding a 95cm specimen which inhaled a Rapala X-Rap Peto. Adam then switched to light spin gear and spent the rest of the competition chasing yellas and redfin to get maximum points in the team section. One team which stood out

on both the first and second day was team Territory Anglers. Jason Naumann, Vladimir Nikolic and Jay Allen are known in Canberra

Judd’s six custom-designed Whitehead Lures raising over $6000. Some anglers made it onto the water at 6am Sunday

Harden and who is still, five years on, sorely missed by so many. It is his memory, and their desire to help find a cure for a fatal disease,

Matt Cools got stuck into the yellas. for their exceptional golden perch catch rate, even in the heart of winter, and it was no different during the competition. All three anglers enjoyed incredible success, especially on the Saturday simply by using their sounder and jigging lures on top of aggressive yellas. After the Saturday session, most anglers went to the marshalling tent to get a rundown of the day’s events and talk through hits and misses. There was a palpable

for the final session but most remained indoors, preferring to nurse a sore head. There were not a lot of fish caught in the final session and by the time the last boats came in at 10am, the counting was already well underway. In the end the Territory Anglers took out first place followed by The Party Boat in second and Mulwala Spinnerbaits in third. Adam Roll’s cod proved unbeatable and he took out first place in the individual cod category,

that lies at the core of the event – and because the competition is underpinned by this nobility, it attracts many anglers to compete from across NSW and the ACT. Both Stuart and Leanne deserve the highest praise and gratitude for organising another outstanding event, and they have raised $32,506.55 for brain cancer research for 2019. Since 2015, the event has raised $121,077.81, which is incredible. All

Shannon Cattanach caught some nice fish using vibes.

A number of anglers caught good fish early on the Friday. This solid specimen was caught by Patrik Bergman.

sense of community on the Saturday night as young fishos mixed with seasoned pros by the fire barrels, and lure makers like James Judd of Gobsmacked talked through his latest and greatest inventions. There was also an auction on Saturday night at the marshal station to raise even more money for brain cancer research, with James

while Narelle Tait won longest yella. The Quintrex was won by Jack Cooper. In the end though, The Greg Whitehead Memorial Challenge is about so much more than prizes and great fishing. This event was created by Stuart and Leanne Cattanach in honour of their friend Greg who was a fishing icon in

anglers who attended would also like to thank Scott and Amanda Chesworth. Sadly Greg’s daughter also lost her battle with cancer earlier this year, but I am sure that both Kiera and Greg are watching from afar. We are all looking forward to the next Whitehead in 2020, and hope to see you there. – Toby Grundy OCTOBER 2019

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

BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

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

HUNTER COAST Port Stephens Tackle World (02) 4984 2144

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

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

OCTOBER 2019

boats & kayaks

In the skipperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s seat

Inside story...

Sea Jay Aluminium Boats has been family owned and operated for over 25 years, and the name has become renowned for strength, quality workmanship and customization with the angler in mind. Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fishing in fresh or salt, inshore or offshore, Sea Jay will provide you with a model to suit your boating and fishing needs.

Made for...

Sea Jay specialises in boats for sports anglers, offering a stable fishing platform and plenty of storage.

This month...

Editor Steve Morgan takes the Sea Jay 468 Navigator with Yamaha F70hp for a spin in Moreton Bay. Check it out on page 98!

92 Preparing for an SUP camping trip Justin Willmer details the preparations and considerations that go into a SUP-based camping adventure!

95 Nosing around Nambucca Heads

Dayne Taylor checks out the kayak fishing opportunities in this beautiful little coastal town.

96 Inside information on pre-loved rigs Wayne Kampe takes you through what to look for on the inside of a used boat before you decide to buy it.

OCTOBER 2019

Gearing up for SUP camping BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

After a couple of years of paddling and fishing from the SUP (stand-up paddle board) I have landed

it and make sure that she was confident with the paddling and control, stand-up paddling, fishing and then the camping adventure when she was ready. We weren’t just looking for any SUP though – we needed enough width,

and in turn its payload capacity, ease of paddling, speed, tracking and so on. You may be able to test paddle or hire the board you are interested in, otherwise check the reviews on the board to find its strengths and weaknesses.

model. However, this model will better suit her once she is more confident. Her board is 3.8m long, 71cm wide, weighs just 15.5kg and has a payload of 125kg. It is designed for touring, traveling longer distances, and hence it tracks well, and has a rounded nose and rails to glide through the water with minimal resistance. It is much like her kayak in that it is longer and narrower for speed and tracking, while also being lighter for both carrying and manoeuvrability. Time for a test run! I loaded the gear onto my board, which was on wheels, while Sheri attached her carry strap and carried her board over the road. So

Ready for dinner. Everything packs inside the bowl and plate for each kit.

Speed and glide on the left, payload and increased stability on the right. a bunch of quality fish, including bream, grunter, flathead and trevally. I’ve also had a great time on the water exploring, observing

length and buoyancy to handle longer adventures with additional gear on board, along with decent speed and tracking to

The SUP I paddle is designed for fishing. It’s 3.6m long, 80cm wide and 20cm thick, weighing just over 20kg, while supporting a payload of almost 160kg. It is a brilliant craft, easily floating myself and my gear, with a dry deck and a single fin to ensure it tracks well. Unfortunately the brand is currently unavailable in Australia and I purchased the last available board from the store that brought them into the country. Still, I’m sure you will be able to find a suitable model out there, and there are even some quality inflatable models available that have a large capacity. In the end we had a tip-off from a mate that there was a board like mine in a second-hand store. Sheri and I visited the shop, made an offer and scored a bargain that included what looked like a brand new travel bag and paddle. It was the same brand as mine, in a similar colour design, however in a different

Tentative first steps but it didn’t take long for Sheri to have sit down paddle confidence. far so good. We slid the boards into the water and Sheri put one foot onto her board and sat onto the icebox, which we have strapped to the board for when you feel like sit down paddling or chilling and fishing. By the time I was on my board Sheri was on her way, sit down paddling. Instantly I could see how fast her board was through the water, as I was flat out catching up with her for a photo. Our plan was a simple paddle from home, along the waterfront, out around a mangrove island and back,

First attempt at standing up, and still dry.

Sheri is kayak confident and the SUP is the next challenge. wildlife from the elevated position, and sneaking into shallow pockets of water and flats that are not accessible for boats. My wife Sheri showed some interest in getting a SUP for herself and before we knew it we were planning not only to fish from the SUPs but to load our ultralight camping gear and actually go on an overnight or multi-day camping and fishing adventure from them. First though, we had to find a suitable SUP, get Sheri onto 92

OCTOBER 2019

cover the distances we were planning. As the sport has grown in popularity there are more and more options available, and the boards have become more affordable. It’s important to select a board that suits your needs, and this may be recreational paddling, surfing, touring, fishing or even racing. Do some research and find out what suits your requirements, remembering to take into account the length, width and thickness of the board

a bit over a kilometre. This would be a good test for both Sheri and her craft, because we would need to paddle into, across and with the breeze. Along the way we chatted, took some photos, saw a few fish and a big school of stingrays, while only throwing a few casts due to the wind. Sheri attempted standing up a few times, however it was mainly sit down paddling as she got a feel for the SUP. Her verdict at the end? Great fun – and she felt as stable as on the kayak when seated. Our next mission will be on a day without the wind

In this shot you can clearly see the different board shapes.

and we’ll focus on standing up and fishing from the SUP. Who knows, we may even christen it with a fish. Then will come our SUP camping and fishing adventure, so stay tuned. In the meantime though we have been planning and sorting our SUP camping kit, as outlined below. STORAGE When it comes to storing gear on the SUP we will use iceboxes strapped to the board, a 35L on my board and a 20L on Sheri’s board. One box will be used for food, stored in plastic clip lock containers, and any freshly caught fish. The

other box will be used to store items that need to be kept secure. Anything that needs to be kept dry can be stored in dry bags and then inside other containers. Plastic water drums with a larger opening and screw top lid with a rubber seal are ideal for strapping to the back of the icebox to carry a tent, bedding, lighting,

consider the pack size and fit size, temperature rating and whether or not you require a hood. You will also find small colour tags or swatches to let you know the colour of the bag and an ‘L’ or ‘R’ or ‘Left’ or ‘Right’ to let you know which side the zip is on. If you select a hooded bag then it is especially important which

Time on the water builds confidence. Relax and move with the board.

Cooking made light and simple, including a fire steel knife for lighting the stove. cooking, safety and other gear. With an icebox and drum on each SUP it’s easy to split the gear to minimise the weight being carried on each. To balance the weight on the SUP, a dry bag containing clothes and other items can be strapped under the webbing toward the front of the board, however it is likely to get wet, so ensure that the dry bag is waterproof and in good order. We will load more onto my kayak as it has the larger payload. SHELTER Modern materials have reduced the 2-person hiking tent to less than 2kg in weight, and compact enough to fit easily in a water drum or medium size dry bag with other gear. When selecting a tent consider erected and packed dimensions, weight, configuration, waterproof rating, the climate and environment that you will be camping in, bug screens and ventilation. There may also be additional features that may be important to you, such as internal storage pockets and a gear hammock inside the top of the tent. One configuration option that some lightweight campers prefer is a door on either side that allows each person to exit the tent without climbing over or waking up the other. BEDDING We will use ultralight air beds and air pumps from Sea to Summit, as their air beds pack down to fit in your hand and yet inflate to provide both comfort and insulation. Adding one of their ultralight fitted sheets is a good idea as it adds further insulation, while reducing noise and slippage when your sleeping bag meets your air mattress. When selecting a lightweight sleeping bag,

side the zip is on as you may wish to select a zip that is on the side that will make zipping easy, across your chest with your dominant hand. You may also want the zip to open on the side where you enter and exit the tent, and most importantly if you are zipping two compatible sleeping bags together to

also carry a small battery area lantern that can be used to light an area when cooking, chilling out where you can’t have a fire and for use inside the tent. COOKING There are a variety of lightweight cooking options, including hexamine tablet stoves, methylated spirit stoves and more. We will be using a micro butane cooker that runs on a canister as this is quick, easy and instant heat, that can be regulated and a number of canisters carried as required. To light this stove we carry a Swedish fire steel that can be

FOOD When it comes to food, some people choose to eat survival style with dehydrated meals, while

bacon and egg breakfast, and a dehydrated meal each to test over the journey. WATER We always calculate

water bottle on the deck between our feet for easy access when on the move, and the remainder stored in containers in the iceboxes, drums, dry bags and other storage. TOILET AND SHOWER The elephant in the room… there will need to be a plan in terms of toilet and shower, so we will be carrying a compact folding shovel, small container of wood shavings and a toilet roll in a small dry bag. When it comes to showering we are only doing a one nighter, and could probably get away without one or with a container of wipes. However, we will include a micro shower bag and warm water on our butane cooker, so that we can freshen up before bed and feel good for the next day of paddling and fishing our way home.

The SUP has produced some nice fish over a couple of years. others go all out and carry meat, vegetables and other foods you would normally prepare at home. We will opt for simple meals, and will carry wraps to which we will add some basic salad and hopefully some fresh fish, sauce and seasoning, or our back-up tin of tuna. We will also carry a selection of snacks,

the amount of water that we will need, and then carry more. One tip when it comes to transporting water for any type of camping is to split your water into multiple containers to avoid one single large water container being punctured, lost or contaminated. We generally keep one doublewalled, vacuum-insulated

The camping gear will all fit in a water drum that’s bungy strapped behind the icebox. make a double then you will need one right and one left hand zip bag otherwise one person will have a hood on their face! LIGHTING When it comes to lighting, we will each carry a quality, lightweight and powerful headlamp, opting for battery over rechargeable so that we can include spare batteries in our kit. We will

used to throw a spark, even when wet, along with a tin of tinder that can be used with the fire steel to light a fire if required. A small pot and fry pan are included in our cooking kit, along with ultralight tongs, cutlery, plate, bowl, cups and paper towel. Also included will be a small container of oil and a spice box.

Cruising and making the most of a section of water sheltered by the island.

SAFETY Always remember: safety first. Carry a first-aid kit to suit the number of paddlers, the time away, distance from help and the environment that you are going into. We always carry phones in dry bags, a powerbank for charging them and an EPIRB or PLB in case of emergency. I also carry a MacGyver kit that includes zip ties, tape, waterproof matches, survival blanket and a stack of other bits and pieces. Do some research on lightweight safety gear and you will find some really cool kit available. So that’s it from us, the new SUP has been tested and given the thumbs up, and the camping trip is in the planning stages. It will probably take one or two more paddles, with a bit of SUP fishing, before we are ready to roll. Hopefully you get some time out on the water soon, and make sure you stay tuned for the next stage of Sheri’s SUP journey. See you on the water. OCTOBER 2019

WHAT’S NEW BOATING HIRE OUT YOUR BOAT

National trailerboat hire company has bought into tech start-up Book My Boat. This Airbnb-style marketplace connects boat owners with prospective boat hire customers. Boab Boats managing director Anthony Gelfius said it was an exciting time for the company, which operates a number of franchises around Australia. “Our experience in the boat hire industry and our extensive franchise network really complements the offerings of Book My Boat,” Gelfius said. “This partnership allows our franchise operators to generate some additional income operating as regional dealers for Book My Boat.” As an online peer-to-peer marketplace, Book My Boat allows people with suitablyregistered boats to list them for hire on days when they’re not using them. Listing a boat on www.bookmyboat.com.au is free, and the platform provides comprehensive insurance to cover both parties during the rental period. While Book My Boat’s core business is providing an online marketplace, it also provides support services to boat owners wishing to commercially register their underutilised boats for recreational use through ‘hire and drive’ registration. bookmyboat.com.au

KOMS ELECTRIC MOTOR LOCK

Secure your Minn Kota electric motor and prevent it from theft with the high quality KOMS Electric Motor Lock from Kovix. This lock features a plastic cap to provide maximum water and dust resistance, and a 5.5mm cylinder locking pin secures the quick release mounting base, shielding it from cutting and hammering. It has a stainless steel body for durability, and can also be used with the Kovix Hitch Pin. Kovix also makes locks for outboards, as well as a range of alarmed locks (trailers, cables, bolt locks and padlocks). For more information visit the Kovix Australia website. Price: SRP: $34.95 www.kovixaustralia.com.au

EVOLUTION COASTAL 3 CLASSIC The Evolution 360 rod holder is the brainchild of angler Jim McQuade. One day he was bottom fishing in 70m of water with his rod in a plastic flush-mount rod holder, and the direction of the current created an awkward bend of the rod. The direction the line was running was also not ideal. Jim realised that a rotating rod holder would solve his problem, and the rest is history. The first models released were the 30°, 15° and 0°, all rated to 60kg/135lb tackle. They cover most fishing needs for a regular straight stock rod and curve butt rod to allow finetuning of a position for trolling under outriggers or live bait and bottom fishing. Now Evolution has added the Coastal Classic fixed rod holders to the range, with the same quality as the rotating models. The footprint is the same, so you can easily change the configuration. Evolution rod holders are installed the same way as any other flush-mount rod holder. They’re made of marine-grade 316 stainless steel, and are backed by a 5-year warranty. Price: SRP $107-$236 explodingfish.com.au 94

OCTOBER 2019

YELLOWFIN FHT 5800

PRODUCT GUIDE

The new Yellowfin Plate Folding Hard Top is easy to fit in most garages, and comes in 5800, 6200 and 6500 versions. The FHT can be changed on the fly. If unruly weather hits, put the clears up. When it’s sunny, put the top up. Lastly, fold the FHT and windscreen down and the highest point will be just 212cm. The captain and navigator chairs are large, comfortable and placed on top of an aluminium tackle box storage, sealed storage box or esky. There is a wide walkthrough from the cockpit to the cabin, and the dash has plenty of space for controls and a fishfinder up to 16” fishfinder, which is large enough to see from anywhere in the cockpit. Serious anglers will choose the Platinum Pack and fit their boats up with a berley bucket, transom cutting board, deck wash, cabin cushions and more. The durable Offshore HD hull delivers a soft, stable and dry ride. The 5800, 6200 and 6500 FHT have fuel capacities of 190L, 240L and 260L respectively, and a maximum hp of 140, 175 and 200 respectively. www.yellowfinplateboats.com.au

244CM GLOMEX VHF 5 ANTENNA The RA1225HP 244cm Classic HighPerformance VHF Antenna from Glomex Marine Antennas features innovative engineering and robust construction that provide years of trouble-free service. It’s backed by a limited lifetime warranty. With a frequency range of 156/162 MHz, the RA1225HP collinear-phased antenna has a gain average of 6dB, maximum input power of 100W and 50 ohms impedance. Vertically polarized to minimize signal reflection on the water, it’s ideal for inland, coastal and offshore vessels. The internal elements are made of spiral copper wires inserted into brass radiator tubes. This is what provides its superior range, clarity and power to enhance the radio’s overall performance. Weighing only 742g, the double-thick fibreglass tube has a smooth polyurethane finish with five layers of anti-yellowing paint. The 25mm ferrule on the RA1225HP is cast 316 stainless steel with an integrated feedthru. It comes with 6m of RG-8X low loss, twin screen coax cable with a pre-wired FME connector and PL-259 adapter for simple connection. www.glomex.it

NAVIONICS SONARCHART

4 5

Navionics Australia has announced that all Platinum+ Australian Charts now include SonarChart Shading. SonarChart shading is included across the Platinum+ XL and XL3 chart range, and enhances the satellite overlay layer with new shading created by high definition contour data. The new feature displays seafloor structures in varying shades of blue, making ideal fishing locations visible at a glance. Users can now clearly see channels, dropoffs and other underwater structures over a wide area, while using the chart on a broad selection of compatible plotters. Platinum+ charts also incorporate many other exclusive features for greater situational awareness, including panoramic photos of marinas and ports, 3D view and satellite overlay layer. For more information on Sonar Chart Shading visit the Navionics Australia website. www.navionics.com.au

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

Nosing around Nambucca Heads URUNGA

Dayne Taylor

If you are an avid social media user and kayak fishing tragic like me, you are probably already a member of the Kayak Fishing NSW Facebook group, or know someone who is! Well, this month

array of fishing potential, in particular loads of kayakaccessible waters. Being a reasonably large town that was known to be halfway between Sydney and Brisbane on the Pacific Highway, there’s a number of large motels, motor inns and so forth, some of which even have water access to the main

cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs in the vicinity. You will be very spoilt for choice. We called into the local fishing tackle store called Nambucca Boatshed and Tackle, and found that they have a great variety of both lures and traditional bait and tackle, as well as plenty of rods, reels and terminal

there are many branches and arms that venture off towards Tailors Arm and Scotts Head in the South. The tops of these arms and main river are home to some feisty north coast Australian bass. Obviously the skinny streams are best suited to smaller paddle craft, due to their ability to be lifted over fallen timber and rapids. However, there are also some great large stretches of bass water in the top of Warrel Creek, Tailors Arm and towards Bowraville that are suited to larger peddle craft and the like. As for the lower tidal stretches, you have a whole heap of different species to choose from. We’ll start with everyone’s number one target on the north coast, the mighty mangrove jack. The

This bass took a 3” grub cast in tight to structure. Photo courtesy of Kane Fairchild (@motackle.com.au)

with. The jacks live along the reefy rock walls and around larger artificial and natural snags like bridge

A great eating size whiting destined for the table. the page’s admins and its 6100 members have decided to host one of their annual ‘infamous’ social meets on the gorgeous Nambucca River, which lies at the bottom of the valley, eventually entering the Pacific Ocean at Nambucca Heads on the mid north coast. I caught up with a couple of the brains trust, admins Ken Gerke and Dave Barwise, at the location of this meet. My goal was to scope out the area and shed some light on the location for all anglers visiting Nambucca Heads with a kayak in tow!

river. However, it was the holiday parks in closer to the town centre that caught our eye. We ended up choosing the Foreshore Caravan Park because it has camping, caravan and camper trailer sites and even self-contained cabins, with an ample amount of clean facilities and activities the whole family can enjoy. If you are planning on joining the Kayak Fishing NSW group (KFNSW) at their social meet (18-20 Oct), just mention to the park owners that you are part of the group to take advantage of the group rates and priority

products to get you by if you forgot something, or need to grab a few more of those lures that are working well at the time. The guys in the tackle store are also good for a bit of insider info on what’s currently biting and where. You can expect to see all the popular brands like Berkley, Bassday, Atomic, Gamakatsu and so on. In addition to this, a day trip up to Coffs Harbour to visit MO Tackle and Outdoors could be on the cards. Let’s face it – it would be silly to be so close and not call in to the world’s largest tackle shop in person!

Ken Gerke with a nice size flathead he released. Nambucca River definitely has plenty of jacks calling it home. Paddle-tail soft plastics around 4” in length, jerkbaits in similar sizes and topwater stickbaits are all great lures to target them

pylons and pontoons, jetties and floating oyster leases, as well as fallen timber. A live mullet or strip of dead bait are also great options to bring one of these great fighting fish undone.

Like all east coast estuaries, the Nambucca has plenty of bread and butter species such as flathead, whiting, luderick and bream all through the system, as well as good numbers of mulloway and juvenile giant trevally to test your light tackle. The deeper tidal training walls and any of the bridge pylons are great starting points for the silver ghosts of the river, and you are always in with a chance of some great by-catch in these areas. There is a section of river a few kilometres long that has both sides of the bank lined with floating and fixed oyster leases. These make for some sensational sessions targeting bream, and you can accumulate cricket score numbers at times. Lures like the ZMan GrubZ, Ecogearaqua Bream Prawns and of course, Cranka Crabs are all high on the menu. I hope this helps you on your next trip to Nambucca, and remember that everyone is welcome to join in at the Kayak Fishing NSW social meet on 18-20 October. See you there!

Dave Barwise enjoys some oyster lease bream fishing. ACCOMMODATION AND SUPPLIES Nambucca Heads is located on the mid north coast, approximately 30 minutes south of Coffs Harbour and roughly one hour north of Port Macquarie. This peaceful coastal town offers a huge

spots when booking. The town has multiple large grocery stores, as well as some great local fresh fruit, vegetable and butcher shops to choose from if you are looking to cook up a storm on your stay. Otherwise you can choose to dine out at the many

FISHING AND KAYAKING The Nambucca River stretches west through Macksville and is saltwater tidal all the way to just before the town of Bowraville, where the water changes from brackish to full fresh. Along the way

There is structure like this for miles lining both sides of the river. OCTOBER 2019

The inside of a used boat BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Last month I opened a discussion on the purchase of a used boat. Buying a pre-loved boat can make a lot of sense when life’s timing just does not suit the acquisition of a shiny brand new one. A used craft is definitely better than life without a boat! For the record, my first brand new boat did not come home until I had owned about four used ones, and to

Things look good here: everything is neat, clean and tidy. allowing for some normal signs of usage such as a few scuff marks here and there on a fibreglass rig, or a scratch or two on an alloy craft. If modifications are evident, you need to ascertain their origin or the

standard without too many marks, scratches or other signs of wear and tear, the chances of the rest of the boat being similarly well cared for are certainly looking good. Conversely, if fittings are tarnished, corroded, or generally looking shabby, you can tell that the owner hasn’t given the boat much TLC. When it comes to upholstery, it’s OK to cut it a little slack. The fact of the matter is that most boat seating does live a hard life. The seats get wet with saltwater, they can be easily overlooked in a clean up, and if they’re put away salted they can become damp in wet weather. A bit of stitching coming apart is no big deal. However, whole sections coming apart are a different matter – that’s sheer neglect.

When we see the transom area looking like this there’s probably not much point in checking out the interior! be fair I had quite a good run from those pre-loved boats. That is because I took time to consider exactly what I was buying before parting with my money, and you should do the same. COME ABOARD! In the previous issue I centred the discussion on the exterior of a boat, along with

environment than any road, whether it’s smooth bitumen or gut busting gravel. While misuse of a watercraft might be somewhat difficult to detect, neglect is often obvious to those who know what to look for. The clues will be there, the trick is to recognize them. More on that later.

These seats are fairly worn and the battery case has some corrosion, but the engine looks like it hasn’t been on the transom for long. Be sure to check that it’s within the rated horsepower specs.

There are quite a few under floor compartments set up in this rig. It’s a good idea to inspect them to see if they’re free of debris. the all-important trailer, but now it’s time to have a look around inside the rig. When you cast a critical eye over the interior, you will glean some information as to what sort of life the boat has had. Remember first off that used boats are not like used cars, as a boat’s working life involves a far more hostile 96

OCTOBER 2019

MODIFICATIONS First of all, consider the brand of the boat under consideration. Is it a well known brand, built by a company that enjoys a good reputation for seaworthiness, ride and easy handling? If so, things to consider here might be whether the rig is in original ex-factory layout,

reason they were done. An engine replacement can be regarded as par for the course, but you should ensure that any new engine does not exceed factory specs. The maker’s plate in the boat will confirm the maximum horsepower it is built for. If this is exceeded, it can have very serious ramifications regarding ease of use, handling and, in a worse case scenario, it can void insurance claims. LOOK FOR THE SIGNS Metal and other fittings on any boat can reveal a lot. Boat fittings start life in a brilliant shiny condition but will usually only stay that way if they are cared for. Naturally, if fittings and other items within a boat are of a general high

Half cabin boats have seating up front and storage below them, so it’s a good idea to lift up a seat top to have a look at the storage compartment beneath. This might provide some clues regarding how the boat has been treated. There’s no doubt that a clean, mildew free, storage area is a good sign. Dash instruments, if fitted, should have clear, uncrazed and uncracked faces and must work as intended, and an engine start up might reveal some information in this regard. If the boat has a steering wheel, it should turn freely without any binding. Hydraulic steering systems are common on larger boats, and if one is fitted you

With small open boats, what you see is exactly what you get. should look for any signs of hydraulic oil residue on either the hydraulic arm at the engine or up near the steering wheel. It’s not a bad idea to lift any flooring, if possible, to have a glance at what’s happening under it. Sinkers, swivels or other tackle in the bottom of a tinny are sure warning signs that the owner hasn’t looked after the boat as well as they could have, and these items are also an invitation for electrolysis to occur. Bilge areas in any boat are also places where things can accumulate or gather to cause mischief at a later time. Giving consideration to bilge areas in a boat might also involve assessing how accessible that bilge is as regards to cleaning and maintenance of a pump. THE BIG PICTURE Open, tiller-steer boats, especially tinnies or dingies, are very much an open book: what you see is what you get. In an entirely open boat there’s not much to hide apart from what’s under any flooring or areas which have a cover over them. Most of the potential issues I’ve already discussed will be easily assessed in an open boat.

In different styles of craft, such as half cabins, runabouts or centre consoles, you need to go a step further and suss out the available storage, particularly storage compartments. You should be looking for ease of access and overall convenience, and also think about what items you’ll want to store, how well they will fit and whether they will get wet. TEST DRIVE Putting a boat in the water for a test run is something that a dealer would hardly hesitate to do: a private seller perhaps not so readily so the usual thing is to pay a deposit to show bona fides interest and good faith. Distance from a ramp is the key and my view is that if a ramp is handy an owner should at least offer to put the rig in the water for a test run. As a buyer it pays to be reasonable here but the more money changing hands the more essential it is to be sure that all is well with the boat. And naturally, once aboard it’s very easy to assess ride and handling and have the opportunity to sit in the skipper’s seat and review the driving position. All going well, that used boat might just be the one for you.

It’s OK for seats to have a bit of wear, as they usually do it pretty tough in boats, but these seats are in pretty poor shape. This can indicate that the boat had a hard life.

FUN PAGE AND COMPETITIONS COOK YOUR CATCH

PAN FRY BATTER CRUMB SMOKE FILLET WHOLE STEAM BROIL TRAY BAKE CURE

DTD - REAL FISH OITA

SEAR SKEWER POACH ROAST SOUS VIDE MARINATE CHARGRILL DEEPFRY PICKLE BARBEQUE

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 OCTOBER 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 Ian Christie, who was last month’s winner of the Find-aWord Competition! Monthly winners receive a Fishing Monthly prize pack. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE

The subscriber prize winner for August is C Boege of Isabella Plains, who won an E.J. Todd prize pack valued at $300. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Monash, R Jorgensen of Batlow, K Whillock of Dapto, M Beckett of Woollamra, A Todoroski of Epping, P Dobsun of Glenmore Park, D Kell of Wooli, R Chown of Glendenning, E Howarth of Cowra, J Fielder of Goolgowi, N Bennett of Orange, P Lyneham of Fern Bay, C West of Dapto, D Martin of Nowra, J Cupitt of Sanctuary Point, L Cupitt of Goulburn, R Hodges of Ballina, C Portelli of

Colyton, I Necic of Glenfield, B Gardner of Hughes, E Murta of Taylor, E Richards of Blacktown, N Webster of Richmond, C Carter of Richmond, Z Mehmet of Ingleburn, R Durie of Holt, R Weaver of Adelong, D Culshaw of Banyo, K Chubb of Caringbah South, U Rincon of Freshwater, R Bland of Forster, G Sanson of Melrose Park, S Cameron of Tyndale. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

LAST MONTH’S ANSWERS

FIND THE DAIWA LOGO

GUESS THE FISH?

This month’s Guess the Fish Answer: Australian Herring

The answers to Find the Daiwa Logo for August were: 8, 10, 18, 23, 27, 32, 38, 41, 44, 68, 73, 78, 86, 102, 107. – NSWFM The Find the Daiwa Logo prize winners for August were: B Keogh of Bathurst, J Bonadei of Queanbeyan, W Forbes of Nambucca Heads, A Allan of Dubbo, G Newman of Menai, C Sheedy of Sanctuary Point, B Wharton of Billywillinga, P Bak of

Answer: OCTOBER 2019

Sea Jay 468 Navigator with Yamaha F70hp 4-stroke - SC

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The price, however, is what will raise the eyebrows of plenty of anglers looking to get into the bluewater. As tested, this painted Navigator and the 70 Yammy came in at $28,990. Packages start from around $26,000.

PERFORMANCE

Main: The Sea Jay 4.68 Navigator is a simple and versatile centre console that’s powered by one of Yamaha’s most popular 4-strokes – the reliable and economical F70. Above: A glamour day on Moreton Bay was great for photo taking but not that hot for testing the rough water ability of this rig. narrow centre console, there is a mountain of useable space in this boat. Whether this is used to hold crab pots, camping gear or a couple of your fishing mates (or all

SPECIFICATIONS Length......................................................4.68m Bottom.sheet ............................................3mm Side.sheet..................................................3mm Beam........................................................2.24m Depth ....................................................... 1.14m Floor.ribs ....................................................... 11 Capacity ............................................ 5 persons Weight.(hull)............................................. 352kg Max.HP ..........................................................75 Similarly, the Navigator Centre Console that we got to take for a ride is just that – a great platform for those of you who like a mix of river and bay fishing, as well as being able to duck offshore on good days. With a single level floor throughout the boat and a

s.morgan@fishingmonthly.com.au

Queensland boat builder Sea Jay’s heartland is the Queensland coast, and they have built their reputation on simple, no-fuss boats that won’t let you down. Their dealer network has been handpicked to suit the product, and they all understand the value of simple, good looking boats that you can use as a platform to set up exactly as you need to for your fishing style. Recently, we tested a Sea Jay Ranger that was fitted out to suit the modern fisherman’s lurecasting fascination. It was loaded with all of the electronics and accessories that was needed to turn a great hull into a great fishing rig.

K-Series 13” pitch propeller, the Yamaha F70 revved out to 6,400rpm where it hit 58km/h and travelled 2.5km/L of unleaded burned. Drop that down to 4,300rpm and the efficiency peaked markedly. 37km/h at a rate of 3.1km/L

Steve Morgan

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three) is up to you. For me, the three things you need in a centre console are somewhere to hang on, easy access around the console and as little as possible to get in the way when you’re casting at the fish, no matter where you are in the boat. The Navigator ticks all

three of these boxes, with the narrow console with plenty of grab rails and a small console footprint with nothing above a standing driver’s head height. With no front casting deck, it’s likely buyers would look at other boats in the Sea Jay range to satisfy their need to throw artificials. In that light, the anchor well and well access become important. In the Navigator, you can lean right against the bulkhead wall to exercise your anchoring muscles. The negative of the low floor, however, is a lack of underfloor storage space. There’s a bit of dry storage under the seat base, but apart from that you’ll need to pack your gear in its own, independent dry storage if it can’t take a salty bath. Not that this is a wet boat, it’s just an open boat, and you will find situations where spray from a quartering sea will blow across the bow.

As a matter of fact, we tested this boat the same day as we did the Ranger, and it was the more comfortable of the two when it came to punching back into a reasonable northwester after a calm morning. Spinning a Yamaha

RPM.......... Speed.(km/h)........ Economy.(km/L) 700 ............................... 3 ............................. n/a 1000 ............................. 5 ............................. 3.6 2000............................10 ............................. 3.0 3000............................14 ............................. 2.1 4000........................... 31 ............................. 2.6 4300 ........................... 37 ............................. 3.7 5000........................... 43 ............................. 3.1 6000........................... 55 ............................. 2.4 6400 ........................... 58 ............................. 2.5 is pretty bloody good in anyone’s language. With no underfloor fuel, a standard 25L remote tank would get you around 75km of range. Drop one of these each side and there’s plenty of gas for a full day on the water.

Jump onto the Sea Jay boats website to find out more information or to locate your nearest dealer to view their impressive range of boats and do your own onwater tests. www. seajayboats.com.au.

Two up, this is a great rig for expanding your range past what your basic tinny would do, and the price of the package makes that goal more achievable.

Top: The Navigator isn’t particularly steep in the transom deadrise, meaning you’re more likely to have to ease it over the waves rather than punch through them to get the best ride. Below: There’s room for small sounders and gauges flush mounted in-dash, however bigger electronics are best kept on a bracket on the top of the dash.

Top: The traditional anchor well up front is made from rotomoulded plastic with some basic storage underneath. Below: There’s definitely room for more than a pair of Crocs thongs up here. What a fashion statement!

There’s a whole lot of space to fish in this boat, with the pathway around the console unencumbered. I can imagine battles with northern bluefin lapping this rig.

There’s nothing groundbreaking about the console design, though there are plenty of places to grab on. Being narrow, it offers the driver some protection, but the passengers are all on their own.

There’s storage under the simple seat and lots of room in the rear cockpit to load gear or fish from.

Top: A large splash well for the motor runs to the full transom height, and you won’t bang your Yammy cowling on it, even trimmed up all the way. Left and Right: There’s storage under the simple seat and lots of room in the rear cockpit and side pockets to load gear or fish from.

Painted navy/grey, this is pretty much the dream boat for a lower-budget angler wanting to get out further than their basic tinny will allow. OCTOBER 2019

E L B A T A E B UN

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