NSW Fishing Monthly March 2017 by Fishing Monthly

COMMON FISHING MISTAKES – HOW MANY DO YOU MAKE?

Boating and Kayaking

Unload your boat trailer at home • DIY outboard lock •

Tried and tested

Mahindra XUV500 • Atomic Arrowz Rods • Quintrex F481 Hornet • Tricked up Cross Country 4.5 •

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Features

Common fishing mistakes • Bottom bouncing for yellowbelly • Pirtek Challenge guide

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March 2017, Vol. 22 No. 8

Contents

From the Editor’s Desk...

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Wayne Dubois with a quality golden perch.

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SINCE 1994

ION

NEW SOUTH WALES FISHING MONTHLY

First, it’s got to be a portraitoriented image, i.e. taller than it is wide. That means you turn the camera on its side (don’t use your phone). This is non-negotiable. We won’t just ‘add some sky’ to make your photo the right shape. We’ll just choose someone else’s pic that’s been shot correctly. That’s how we roll! Secondly, the fish should be fresh from the water. You won’t make the cut with a ‘back at home with the Hills Hoist in the background’ or the ‘driveway of death’ shot. Fish look best when they’re fresh from the water. Plus, you’re normally pretty

share of the cover shots, but several times over the last few years we’ve run the ‘Front Cover Competition’ for all of the Fishing Monthly titles. The response has been fantastic, so we’re running it again! Email us your pics and you might just end up on the cover after all. We’ll also send you a blockmounted cover as a trophy of your achievement, to hang on your wall. BUT… there are a few basic things you have to get right before you enter. Here are a few hints to make sure that you get have the best chance of making it.

excited that you’ve caught it, so take the pic then. Thirdly, be creative. Regular shots of a person holding a fish are good, but a more creative shot is even better. Nail one of these and you’ll stand out from the pack. And finally, make sure that you take the image in the highest resolution you can, and then email it to us. Sending it to us via Facebook doesn’t cut it – the resolution of the image gets torn down to bugger-all and we can’t use it. There’s a dedicated email address for the entries: frontcovercomp@ fishingmonthly.com.au And that’s about it – shoot away and send us your best shots. We’ll run them for three consecutive covers later in the year. Never assume that it’s too late to enter – we once picked a winner in the same week we went to print. Good luck!

GET ON THE COVER! By far the most frequent question that we are asked at shows, via email and on our social media pages is this: how do I get on the cover of Fishing Monthly? There’s not many anglers who don’t want it. You know you do. You can show off your great catch to an audience much broader than your friends on Facebook or Instagram AND there’s a keepsake at the end of it! I’d like a dollar for every front cover that’s framed and on the wall of the pool rooms around Australia. Come to think of it, if a pool room owner bought the magazine we probably did make a dollar from it! A decade ago at the Brisbane Boat Show, we ran a booth that did just that – put readers on a customised cover of FM for $20. It was very popular, if labour intensive. Of course, the Fishing Monthly writers get a lion’s

MARCH 2017

AUST

REGULAR FEATURES Back to Basics 34 Dam Levels 64 Fun Page 56 Tides 84 Trade Directory 82 Tournaments 78 What’s New Fishing 60 What’s New Boating 88 SPECIAL FEATURES Bottom bouncing for yellowbelly 8 Mahindra XUV500 SUV review 28 DIY outboard lock 32 Common fishing mistakes 58 Unload your boat trailer at home 86 Quintrex F481 Hornet 92 Tricked up Cross Country 4.5 94

BOATING AND KAYAK

PRO

BYRON COAST The Tweed 22 Tweed Inshore 23 Ballina 24 Iluka 25 Yamba 26 COFFS COAST Coffs Harbour 35 Coffs Game 36 South West Rocks 37 MACQUARIE COAST Port Macquarie 38 Forster 40 Harrington-Taree 42 HUNTER COAST Hunter Coast 43 Port Stephens 44 Swansea 45 Central Coast 46 SYDNEY The Hawkesbury 12 Sydney North 14 Pittwater 15 Sydney Harbour 16 Sydney rock and beach 17 Botany Bay 18 Sydney South 20 ILLAWARRA COAST Illawarra 47 Nowra 50 BATEMANS COAST Narooma 51 Merimbula 52 Batemans Bay 53 EDEN COAST Bermagui 54 Tathra 55 Eden 57 Mallacoota 57 FRESHWATER Robinvale 64 Yarrawonga 65 Mildura 65 Jindabyne 66 Canberra 68 Wagga Wagga 69 Lithgow-Oberon 70 Batlow 71 Tamworth 72 Hunter Valley 73 Copeton Dam 74 New England 74

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Tim Dobinson fought this amazing 1104lb black marlin stand up on 80lb tackle with the Black Magic Equalizer Tim TimDobinson Dobinson fought foughtthis this amazing amazing 1104lb 1104lb black black marlin marlin Gimbal and Harness Set. He was fishing Erskine stand standup upon on80lb 80lbtackle tacklewith withthe theBlack BlackMagic MagicEqualizer Equalizer Reef off Cooktown (northSet. of Cairns). Gimbal Gimbal and and Harness Harness Set. He He was was fishing fishing Erskine Erskine Reef Reefoff offCooktown Cooktown(north (northofofCairns). Cairns).

Golden Perch

Bottom bouncing for goldens BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

Golden perch might not have the prowess and cult following that their bigger cousins the Murray cod have, but they are way more common, regularly encountered, targeted more, caught more and most importantly, they are more widely spread around the country.

been missing out on a heap of fun. Golden perch fishing has become very popular all over the country. This is largely due to the tournament scene where golden perch now make up the most targeted species in freshwater tournament fishing – something many bass anglers said would never happen. My love of golden perch started way before the tournament scene came alon,g but once it did I went

angler. One of the standout things I noticed about golden perch was that when it came to feeding, they really only liked to hit and eat bait like yabbies or worms as they were sinking to the bottom, either as you put a yabby in or when it would kick and then free fall back to the bottom. Around 90% of the time, if the bait got their attention but didn’t get eaten or hit on the drop, they would hover right over the top of it for

baitfish were left alone until the goldens became really hungry again. It was with these observations in mind that I sought out the right lures and then employed some retrieval strategies to help replicate what I observed and catch more golden perch in the big water. What I wanted from the lures and the way I worked them was to try and replicate either a fleeing yabby or shrimp or a dying baitfish. Whichever of these they take it for, it is a natural instinct of predatory fish like golden perch to eat anything that is dying or fleeing, whether the fish is full or not. I have caught countless fish over the years that are that full they have food items hanging out of their mouths and they still tried to eat my lure, due to exploiting these fishes’ natural instinct.

On a good day using the hopping technique you will get good solid hook-ups like this. On other days, it’s all about striking to set the hooks.

A light spin rod is all you need for this type of fishing. If you are fishing around a lot of timber, a heavier spin rod or light baitcast set-up might save you a few bust-offs. I’m all about the adrenalin rush of sportfishing and promote and practice catch and release with all the natives that I catch. These magnificent and often prolific little natives go great on the plate as well. More often, this is why most people target them. Add to this the fact that golden perch are a schooling fish and when the right strategy or technique is used on the right day, you can catch massive numbers. Days with 50+ fish are more than possible. It’s easy to see that if you don’t already specifically target them, then you have

and fished a bunch of these competitions. I was lucky enough to have won a lot of them. Here’s a heap of helpful hints, tips and tricks that helped me to win as well as land crazy numbers of these golden delights. These tactics should help you be more confident and catch golden perch more regularly, no matter where you fish around the country. OBSERVATIONS Having had several golden perch in a massive aquarium at home for many years, I took great interest in their habits and moods to help me become a better

up to ten seconds then they would quickly lose interest. This alone is one of the main reasons that hopping lures works so well. I made another key observation of my pet golden perch when I added baitfish of any description to the tank. I did my own tests and would make sure my goldens were as full as possible before the release of my baitfish, but even when full, the goldens knew if any of the released baitfish were wounded or dying. These would be devoured as soon as they were released into the tank. The fit and healthy

Early in the season, in dirty water and when searching large areas, it’s hard to beat a good rattling lipless crankbait. 8

MARCH 2017

The author caught this beast of a golden perch from a bed of thick weed. Without the assist hooks on the Slap Walker this capture wouldn’t have been possible. LOCATING THEM Having a good quality sounder can save you time locating, but it is not essential for success. I have never owned and still don’t own a good quality sounder but I never struggle to catch golden perch. I go off the topography of the land above the water and reflect on my own experiences and observations to help me to choose the right area. I then find the fish with my lures. These days if you have a good quality sounder and you know how to read it you don’t have to go off the method that I use. You can just sound around until you find fish then employ the techniques I’m about to explain.

TECHNIQUE The technique of hopping lures for golden perch or any predatory species can be as simple or as difficult as you like. If the fish are really on, a simple 50-100cm lift and drop that replicates a dying or fleeing baitfish, yabby or shrimp will catch fish, whether you keep in touch with your lure or not. On tough days there are a few things you need to do right to get fish to the boat. Honestly, if you don’t get it just right, you won’t catch fish. If you get it right, often on those ‘tough days’ anglers around you can be catching nothing while you catch a fish almost every cast. Searching for golden perch on any new day or a

new session, I start by sitting my boat in about 30-35ft of water. I cast to the bank and hop my lure back out to right under the boat to try and find where the most fish are holding. Some days they spread out from the bank all the way to 35ft of water, whereas on other days they will be concentrated at one particular depth. I have found that year round the fish sitting close to the bank are quite active and are there for a reason – to feed. They actually seek out anything that looks like food, so the first few hops from the bank I like to make quite aggressive. Big and high hops get any active fish’s attention that hasn’t already seen it on the initial drop. I generally only let the lure sit for a split second on those first few hops and then as I get further out from the bank I start to pause the lure just a little bit longer between each hop. The fish that are holding in deeper water are often a little less active and can take a little more work to get them to bite. So after the first few large hops close to the edge, it pays to make your hops smaller and less aggressive the further you get from the bank until you get the lure directly under your boat. Don’t give up on it once it’s under the boat, whether you can see fish on the sounder or not. Quite often after 20 or more small, gentle hops under the boat, a golden perch that was following or showing interest won’t handle the hopping lure in its face anymore. Whether you are employing aggressive large hops or small gentle hops, the most important thing of all when using this strategy is staying in touch with your lure at all times, especially

on the drop or as the lures fall back to the bottom after a hop. This is when most of the hits happen. When you feel that hit, which can be as obvious as a jerk of the rod if there is no slack in your line or like a subtle pluck or flick of your line if there is slack, you must strike to set the hook. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly a fish like golden perch can smash and then reject a lure, so I must emphasise the importance of staying in touch with your lure at all times. In super windy conditions it may be difficult to detect bites with light lures. It pays to go to a heavier lure in this situation so that you can feel and strike on those hits. GO PARALLEL On most days and most stages of the day, golden perch will be sitting predominantly in one main depth. If you are lucky, you will notice this on your flash sounder. You can also work this out while fishing and after a few fish are landed, especially if they are all caught at roughly the same depth. If you find you are catching them all at one particular depth, it makes no sense to have your boat positioned in deep water or shallow water. By doing this and casting to or away from the bank, your lure will only be in the zone for a few hops. That doesn’t give you that much time to elicit a strike. Say you find that the fish

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Using the right techniques will help you put the net under more and more of these footballs. and skirted jigs are the only lures you will ever need for this type of fishing. I could go on about each of these lures for hours, but I will narrow it down to exactly what I use the most and have in my tackle box. Blades and rubber vibes are the greatest lures by far for hopping as they are silent, sink quickly and

and Mega vibes. These 45mm 13g vibes replicate the fleeing and dying action we want. Goldens just can’t get enough of them. With vibe sizes and weights, pick the right lure for the right depth or the right wind conditions. Early in the season, when the water clarity is poor or when you are searching large areas of active fish, a rattling

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Catching good numbers of fish like this will make anyone smile. are sitting in 15ft of water, position your boat to sit in 15ft of water and make casts parallel to the bank in that depth, not to close or too far from the bank. By doing this, you’ll be hopping your lure in the strike zone for the entire retrieve, giving you the absolute maximum chance of getting a fish to have a go at your lure. LURES Rubber vibes, blades, lipless crankbaits, plastics

are easy to stay in touch with when fishing deep. I recommend ZX style blades, as these work and look the most realistic out of the blade styles on the market. Rubber vibes are possibly even better, due to the rubber. These feel much more realistic to the fish and they will often keep hitting your rubber vibes until you finally hook them or they manage to hook themselves. I use Insanity Tackle Mini

lipless crankbait can outfish silent lures. The hopping action with the extra rattle can draw fish in from much further than a silent lure, and can be beneficial. The plastics and skirted jigs are standouts when fishing late in the season, when fishing highly pressured waters and when fishing in super clear water. There are so many of each on the market. As long as you

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To page 10

MARCH 2017

Golden Perch From page 9

keep your presentation under 4” and preferably around 2”, you will catch plenty of golden perch hopping these lures. RODS It is up to the individual which rod and reel setup to use. I like to use my trout spin gear for this type of fishing, and light baitcast gear can also be used. If the fish are being a bit tight-lipped, I will run a 6lb fluorocarbon leader. If I’m fishing around timber, I will opt for 14lb fluorocarbon leader, and I find this is more than enough to handle even the most oversized golden perch you are ever likely to come across.

HANG TIME When the fishing gets super tough, it’s all about the hang time. Fish mostly hit your lure as it is sinking back to the bottom, so it makes sense to try and make this part of the retrieve last the longest. The way I do this is by slowing the sink rate of the lure between hops as much as I can while still making it look natural. After a hop, with your rod as the controller, you need to hold your lure up just a little bit to slow the sink rate. You have to find a happy medium as you still want it to fall naturally, but you are trying to make this last just a tiny bit longer than it would if

A rubber vibe rigged with a swinging single assist hook. If you are fishing places like Windamere Dam in NSW, which is full of weed and slime, you’ll need a bunch of these.

you just let it free fall under its own weight. Big golden perch are a bit slow and this extra half a second or so of hang time can give them the time they need to suck down your lure. It can be the difference between catching plenty and catching none. SCENT I don’t use attractants and scents very often, but when working lures slowly like this, it can be of great benefit. I don’t believe it helps at all when searching and moving over large areas, but when hopping an area you know has fish, something as simple as adding some attractant can make all the difference. ASSIST HOOKS Swinging and fixed assist hooks are a great tool to help you get more bites when hopping lures in weedy or slimy areas. Lakes like Windamere Dam in NSW are a perfect example. There is a lot of debate over the pros and cons of rigging your lures with assists. If you cast a double treble lure into weed or slime it gets fouled up. Not only will you not catch a fish with weed all over your lure, but you’ll scare any fish that are in the vicinity. The same lure cast in the same areas with assists might not have the hook-up rate of the double treble, but you get fouled up far less. You’ll get

The techniques and tips in this article work on a host of freshwater and saltwater species. more hits and therefore more fish, due to your lure being more fishable than it is with double trebles. One other pro for the assists is that once a fish is hooked you will lose far less fish than a lure rigged with double trebles. CONCLUSION These strategies and tips

are sensational year-round techniques that work on golden perch and also work well on pretty much every predatory fish that swims in fresh and salt water. The super slow hang time technique is worth practicing, as once you master this, you’ll find that even on the toughest of

days you will still be able to boat some fish. This tiny one percenter surprisingly can make 100% difference in your catch rate. I employed this technique while targeting barramundi for the first time at Hazelwood Pondage and landed nine fish. I lost just as many on the jump and had dozens of other hits while the people I was fishing with and those all around me where catching nothing. The other anglers were using the exact same lures as me, fishing the same areas and were trying to use the same hopping technique, but none of them were slowing that sink rate down. This tiny thing was what made all the difference on this highlypressured waterway. Golden perch are an underrated fish that were considered just a springtime species. Now that anglers have clued onto some great strategies to catch them and use more sporting gear when targeting them, they have turned into a year-round sportfishing proposition. If you happen to struggle with this species, I hope this article has given you some tools to put into your box of tricks to help you next time you’re out on the water in hunt of some gold.

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What we can expect for autumn THE HAWKESBURY

Dan Selby dan@sydneysportfishing.com.au

For a lot of anglers and fish, this month marks the start of fruitful times ahead before the onset of winter and slimmer pickings. During autumn the days noticeably get shorter and this triggers most forms of life, whether piscatorial or terrestrial, to start preparations for the cold winter ahead. Essentially, it sparks a surge in feeding activity, which in turn means more bites for anglers as the fish become quite competitive for the

available food supplies. Bream are quite common throughout autumn and some impressive fish can throw caution to the wind, eating lures and baits with gusto. With the water temperatures still high due to the lack of rain and stable air temperatures, surface fishing on the flats will be viable for a couple of months yet. Berowra, Cowan and Pittwater are the favoured places that have good flats with weed beds, which seem to be the key ingredients to finding the flats-feeding bream. Other techniques that will work this month include casting lightly-weighted and well-presented baits of

prawn, nippers, fish fillets or marinated chicken, small soft plastic grubs, minnows and creature baits at natural and artificial structures of rock walls, pontoons, jetties, boat hulls and reefs. Anchoring and berley work well for bait fishing. An active approach like drifting with the aid of an electric motor to cast your lures to likely fish-holding structures is a tried and proven way of covering ground and working out the pattern for any particular day. Kingfish have been nothing short of hard work

beast from early March last year. Time spent catching squid, yakkas, mullet, herring or legal tailor is well worth it when that fish of a lifetime engulfs your wellpresented bait on the tide change. Picking suitable locations away from busy boat traffic areas is a must in Sydney. Use your sounder to find drop-offs, reefs, wrecks, holes or schools of fish/bait. This is crucial to getting success in the mighty Hawkesbury. Bass and estuary perch will be thinking about

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for me this season, but some nice fish have come to the net for my clients. It has taken a lot of effort every session to locate the fish and get them to feed on what we have to offer. One day it’s micro-jigs and the next it’s live yakkas. Either way, it pays to be mobile and flexible with your approach to these fussy feeders this season. Hopefully they will fire up with the falling water temperatures over the next month or two, and we can get some awesome inshore action on these guys. Pittwater and the headlands have been the most reliable places. A few reports of quality kings have come from Cowan Creek too. Mulloway are back on my agenda after having my summer break from them. Live baiting will be the best method to find a few this month. If last season is one to go by, we could be in for some real quality fish like my client Adrian’s 140cm

schooling up over the next month or two, but this is usually dependent on rainfall. Rain is the lifeblood of the river and can be the trigger for many things like migrations and spawning.

This is very true for the bass, as they reside in small creeks and streams that can become landlocked during low flows and droughts. They only allow fish to migrate when there is decent rain and water levels to allow safe passage through rapids. Surface lures like paddlers, fizzers and walkthe-dog style stickbaits are working well on the tidal water bass. Around Ebenezer and Sackville anglers will no doubt be taking fish in the sweetwater creeks, up

Estuary perch are great sportfish in the tributaries of the Hawkesbury. Small soft plastics cast on light spin tackle around back eddies and deeper bends can produce some awesome sessions during autumn.

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in the Nepean Gorge and everywhere in between. If they are reluctant to take a surface offering, try a sub-surface lure like a spinnerbait or shallow crankbait to tempt them. Bass are a great fish for an introduction to lure fishing for most, and a lot of anglers will attest to them being their first lure capture. They are very accessible along the whole East Coast with minimal tackle and gear required to tangle with a few Aussie battlers.

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The warm water pelagic run is set to continue SYDNEY NORTH

Darren Thomas

The arrival of the warmer water off Sydney was later than usual this season. This often means it will stay around a month or two longer, as will the fish that arrived with it. Solid bait schools are roaming the offshore currents with plenty of predators in tow. There have been good reports of striped marlin lately. Additionally, mahimahi of all sizes are readily taking baits and lures. Our inshore reefs and many local headlands are holding kings and snapper. Great battles have been fought from the stones and from boat fishos casting stickbaits and poppers. Emerson Spina fished for striped marlin off Sydney Heads around the 70 fathom mark and got a 50kg+ model which took a liking to a small trolled skirted lure in a three-rod spread. Emerson said there was plenty of bait and lots of bird activity in the area, with a water temp of only 23°C. The peninsula’s charter operators have been busy. Mahimahi and kingfish are

popular targets at this time of year, and you won’t find a better time to get out and get amongst the fish. Nick Danes landed some great ones recently and Oceanhunter skipper Vic Levett reports there are black marlin around

the 40 fathom line. Decent numbers of kingfish are on our local inshore reefs, plenty of big squid have moved in and snapper are also being taken down deep. The harbour has schools of tailor and salmon on the

Emerson Spina with a Sydney striped marlin.

move now, with mac tuna and bonito captures also being recorded. Good flathead are taking soft plastic vibes around the drop-offs at Clontarf and the Spit, while Grotto Point is providing whiting on the flats. Kingfish are working the east coast headlands, taking poppers and live baits. The harbour hairtail are thinning out now, and it may be some time before we see another three-month bite like the one just witnessed on the northside. After fishing the harbour for most of my life, you could count the number of hairtail captures I’ve heard of on one hand. It’s a terrific time of year to get anglers of all ages out for a fish, particularly the beginners like Fletcher , who recently caught his first leatherjacket on his new Spiderman combo. The rocks are providing successful platforms to fish baits and spin lures from for the topwater species heading south. Kevin Harbord recently landed a good king from the stones while live baiting. Hardly a day is going by at the moment when we don’t hear of a good session being had. Some locations along North Head have been closed due to rock falls. I

Fletcher Webb with a ripper leatherjacket. contacted the National Parks and Wildlife Service and was assured that these closures are only temporary, and will be lifted once any works required have been completed. The beaches are picking up now as the warmer ocean currents move south. Manly, Dee Why, South Curly, Narra and Palmy have all had good schools of salmon and tailor beyond the breakers, and long casting metal slugs is a popular technique. Fishing from the beach near the rocks at Manly

and Dee Why has even seen a few rat kings hooked on slugs. Some 30lb braid and a 9’0” graphite rod is terrific for covering the cast distance with a 60-70g lure, and will put you well over the back of the suds. Whiting are holding on most beaches, with dawn and dusk the best times to get some on beachworms. Be prepared to move up and down the beach as these schools are moving with the tides. The run-out tide has been a good time to get out chasing them.

Hoping for more consistent weather in March SYDNEY

Paul O’Hagan

The beaches and Narrabeen Lake are still firing quite well for flathead and whiting. Locals have been getting great catches of whiting to 30cm on worms and small surface lures. Most of the flatties are being taken on soft and hard vibes, but one of the boys prefers to

use live prawns. He’s been catching bream, flathead and whiting. A few mulloway are on the beaches, along with salmon and tailor. The salmon and tailor have been taking king worms, squid, sliced baitfish and whole pilchards. Around the headlands there have been lots of bonito caught by people throwing small metals into the schools. Tailor are taking them as well. Within 5km of Sydney

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Heads, lots of small black marlin have been chasing baitfish. The water temp has been hot, causing the baitfish to move closer to shore and the predators to follow them. HAWKESBURY FISHING CHARTERS Ron Osmon from Hawkesbury Fishing Charters says the fishing has been fairly quiet for mulloway. However, there are a few good fish getting around for anglers who put in the time. Squid is the most popular bait, although Ron’s most recent catch was a 12kg specimen caught on a butterflied tailor. There are heaps of small kings in Pittwater. The average size is 60cm, with a few up to 75cm, all taking live squid. The flatties are fairly quiet,

but you can still get some good size fish if you work for them. There have been a few in Brisbane Waters and a few in the Hawkesbury, but Pittwater has been the best. Ron has been using soft plastics around the drop-offs and where the weed meets the sand. The crabbing down the Hawkesbury has been hit and miss. You can deploy six traps one day and get 10 crabs, and the next you’ll get only two. Mac tuna and frigate mackerel can be found all through Pittwater, down around Cottage Point, at the mouth of Brisbane Waters and down the Hawkesbury. Just drive around, and if you see a couple of splashes out of the corner of your eye, hang around and the fish will

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Stuart Reid from Fishabout Tours with a kingfish from the Harbour.

A 12kg Hawkesbury mulloway caught on Hawkesbury Fishing Charters. come up. The best lures are 5g chrome lures, but up to 7g should do. A few salmon and tailor are mixed in. If you want Ron to put you onto the fish, give him a call on 0407 661 397 or visit www.hawkesbury fishingcharters.com.au. FISHABOUT TOURS Fishabout Tours’ Stuart Reid says there have been lots of kingies taking slimies and squid. You can get them from any of the reefs north of the harbour, as well as the deep holes at the heads. There’s been a big run of hairtail in the quieter bays in the harbour, and they have smashing all kinds of bait. The occasional big mulloway has been showing up in the deeper holes up the harbour. No particular time

or tide has been working the best. Stuart recently got a big one at noon in the middle of the tide. A few marlin are still around, and a bit wider the mahimahi have been popping up anywhere from 5-15 miles out at the FADs and fish traps. The secret is to carry a variety of baits. Stuart says March will be a good month because the weather should become consistent and the currents will hopefully flow northsouth. If the water temps are consistent, the offshore fishing should be better. March should also see big kingfish outside the heads. If you’d like to fish with Stuart, phone 0438 440 406 or visit www.fishabout.com.au.

Strange summer season is over, autumn arrives PITTWATER

Peter Le Blang plfishfingers@bigpond.com

Over the last month, fishing along our part of the coast has been somewhat sporadic. Still, for those that have been willing to drag themselves away from home and spend a day on the water there have been a few fish to catch. It hasn’t been a normal summer this year. Funnily enough, I think we are going to have a great time catching fish during autumn. At the moment on Pittwater and Broken Bay there are plenty of baitfish showing and the predators are starting to come on the chew. First thing in the morning is the best time to get amongst the fish feeding on the surface. There have been bonito, tailor and the odd kingfish to play with while casting lures. The better lures to use have been 10-15g metal slices, but you’ll have a ball using small poppers. A lot of the surface activity has been happening in Broken Bay. Working seagulls and terns show the areas that should be targeted. Please

remember to respect other fishers around you and give each other room so that everyone can have some fun. When you are fishing around the surface schools of fish, turn off your motor and drift with the wind towards the surface activity. The surface activity is not only happening in Broken Bay. Pittwater has had its fair share as well. Catching kingfish along Pittwater is becoming easier with the water temperature starting to drop. Over the previous months we have had unbelievable water temperatures of 26°C along Pittwater, which has been too warm for a decent kingfish bite. Kingfish now become active in the usual haunts and are starting to fire up. There has been the odd kingfish caught at the Supermarket and Kingfish Highway, but there are also kings around Scotland Island. The better baits, as usual, are squid. It doesn’t have to be alive, just freshly caught. It has been better to use live squid to find the kingies. Once a couple have been caught, cutting up the fresh squid and using strips

has also worked well. It’s all about covering ground with the freshest bait you can muster up. Squid can be caught at Careel Bay, Mackerel Beach, the Basin, Palm Beach weed beds and Barrenjoey Head. The better size of jigs to use has been 2-2.5g. Fluoro colours are catching their fair share. The hardbodied flashy pilchard coloured squid jigs are also working a treat. Don’t forget to put a swipe of scent just above the spikes on the jig to help tempt those timid squid that can show up from time to time.

For those that like dragging bait on the bottom, finally some flathead, bream, trevally and even the odd mulloway are showing up. Once again, covering ground and having fresh bait seem to be the keys to finding decent fish. The northern end of Scotland Island on the drop-off is an area where decent flathead are being caught. Prawns, fish strips, pilchards and whitebait are all worth using, providing they’re fresh. Careel Bay and the drop-off at Palm Beach are also worth trying. These steep drop-offs and weed edges are always worth

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casting a few soft plastics around while drifting. If you want to anchor and berley, try Flint and Steel Reef near the change of the tide. This area is best fished at the edge of the reef and not in the middle of the reef. Use the tide to take your berley to the reef and fish in your berley trail. Please check the weather forecasts before fishing this area, especially in a small vessel. The conditions change very quickly and can become dangerous almost in the blink of an eye. Along our coast we are starting the see some big kings in along the headlands and close-in reefs. Most of the decent fish that have been encountered have been caught using live slimy mackerel or yellowtail while covering ground using downriggers. While you cover ground with the downriggers, it’s also worth it to have a mate cast around a surface lure from the side of the boat. Doing this can drag in other fish from further away. If they don’t eat your lure on the way back to the boat, there is always the live bait you are dragging around there to tempt them. Reef fishing along the coast has still been a little bit

tricky. If you are prepared to scope out a reef and find baitfish before deploying your anchor or drifting through, it has been easier to catch a feed. The closer reefs have some snapper showing before the sun rises and there are also flathead, trevally and morwong on the reefs in 40-60m of water. The best bait has been squid strips, and pillies are still catching decent fish as well. If you are lucky enough to run into a patch of slimy mackerel or yellowtail, filleted strips of these baitfish are working a treat. Even though we have been plagued with mixed up water temperatures, there are still a few fish to be caught. It is really a matter of having a few different plans to try with appropriate baits. Spend time on the water covering ground. When a decent bite has been found, stay with it. I hope this report sees you grabbing some rods, the kids and a few lures to enjoy our wonderful part of the coast. • Peter Le Blang operates Harbour and Estuary Fishing Charters, phone (02) 9999 2574 or 0410 633 351, visit www. estuaryfishingcharters.com.au

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Sussing out the cycle for our favourite fish SYDNEY HARBOUR

Craig McGill craig@fishabouttours.com.au

One of the outstanding features of this season is the massive horde of baitfish in the harbour. On some days, at some of the well-known fishing spots in the Middle and North harbours, sounder ‘blackouts’ have been common. A blackout is when your entire sounder screen is filled with baitfish – that is, the entire water column, from top to bottom. To give you an idea of the magnitude of some of these schools, we have seen blackouts in 60ft of water over the area of a quarter acre. Baitfish were traditionally targeted by some of the harbour’s commercial fishers, particularly in North Harbour and Rose Bay. The fact that the pros no longer fish in the harbour would account for some of the extra baitfish we are currently experiencing. Overall, this year’s abundance is probably simply due to seasonal fluctuations. Baitfish biomass reacts very quickly to favourable conditions like increased nutrient loads and warm water. They are boom and bust fish. If you spend a while fishing the harbour, you’ll soon become aware that it’s a pelagic paradise. In various combinations and quantities over the years you will see hordes of bonito, salmon, tailor, cowanyoung, yellowtail and kings feeding on the surface. They are just the

common ones. We also get visits from Watsons leaping bonito, frigates, mack tuna, striped tuna, spotted mackerel and even the occasional northern bluefin. You will see most of these feeding on the surface. That doesn’t mean that they don’t also feed deep where you can’t see them on occasions. Then there are all the other fish that are also partial to baitfish. School mulloway give them a hammering at times, as do flatties, bream, amberjack, samsonfish and a multitude of predatory bottom huggers. Sea birds and penguins also eat their share. I can’t help wondering how many baitfish the harbour holds and how much all the predators combined must consume. A recent experiment conducted by honours student Chris Lawson in conjunction with Fisheries and SIMS gives some hint. Chris’ study run in Chowder Bay estimates that over 56,000 baby tailor come into Sydney Harbour every year and that they eat 77t of baitfish and prawns. In fact, they eat 10t of prawn alone, which is double the recorded commercial take when trawling was happening in the harbour. Tailor, in my experience, are nowhere near as abundant in the harbour as they were 30 years ago. My theory, backed by some biologists, is that they have been out-competed and displaced by salmon primarily and kingfish to a lesser degree. Both species have seen a huge increase in mass since commercial restrictions

were placed on them. So, if a relatively small mass of baby tailor is eating 77t of baitfish, could you imagine what the dramatically larger mass of salmon are chewing through? If that figure boggles the mind, then factor in all the other above mentioned species. I would think a guess of 1000t would fall short. Chris’ experiment also got me thinking about the nature of marine studies in general, and please don’t interpret my comments as criticism of his study. The short term of many recent studies provides a snap shot of the current situation, which can be very useful for short-term management. I’ve seen recent studies by both qualified and unqualified (called citizen science) people, aimed at long-term management solutions that fall short of the mark. Chris’ study may have given a very different result if conducted 30 years ago. In this case, the decrease in tailor numbers is probably due to another Fisheries management strategy aimed at boosting a competitive species. Other factors that dramatically affect a species’ abundance often don’t get considered. The El Niño and La Niña cycles have a huge impact on fish cycles

and abundance. El Niño events can occur as often as every three years, but sometimes as rarely as every seven years. To see the full effects of the cycles on fish stocks, a study would need to run for at least 10 years and preferably longer. Another major factor is nutrient loads, which have a bigger impact on some species than others. These can vary due to things like upwellings, floods and even something as obscure as a dust storm fertilizing the ocean with iron. As mentioned, baitfish are a classic example of a boom-bust fish, as are bonito. The impact of baitfish mass through the food chain should not be underestimated. Nutrient loads vary considerably over the decades and, once again, a two or three year study is too short to determine the longterm average of their impacts. In my experience of 35 years on the harbour, bonito boom and bust in 3-4 year cycles. When they’re booming, they are in near plague proportions. When they bust, you can go two years without seeing one. Anything less than a 10-year study of harbour bonito will not give you an accurate indication of their long-term presence or impact. Another example,

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Check out this stonker of a hairtail – you could play jump rope with that thing. without trying to come to any conclusions as to why, is the hairtail. I’d heard stories about hairtail in the harbour, in good numbers, from the old boys. Clifton Gardens and North Harbour were the hotspots. For the first 20 years of my guiding career, I never encountered a single hairtail in the harbour. Then, all of a sudden, in they came. We have now had five years of good, regular hairtail fishing. It would be easy to conclude, in the 20-year absence, that they had been ‘fished out’ – and many did. The same went for the ‘quiet’ years on bonito. If you want an accurate picture of harbour hairtail cycles, you might need an 80-year study. The harbour fishing has improved considerably with kingfish, mulloway and hairtail being the main features. There are stacks of school mulloway, the best run in years, hanging around the reefs and structure in the lower reaches. Their preference if for fresh squid, particularly the heads and guts, but fillets of mullet or tailor will work too. They are best targeted around the turn of the tides, mainly the high and preferably around dawn and dusk. Spots worth a

look are North Harbour, Bottle and Glass Point and VB Reef in Middle Harbour. Kings have been in good numbers and, as with mulloway, fresh squid is their weakness. February to April is the peak time for them, especially if you are looking for decent kings. Just keep in mind that kings over a metre are quite common now, so make sure your tackle is up to speed. Hairtail have been showing up all through the harbour. The hotspots are North Harbour, lower lane Cove River and Vaucluse Bay. They are being caught in broad daylight in water temperatures of 23°C, which is in stark contrast to the midnight mid-winter sessions usually associated with them. They are not too fussy on bait, as pillies, yellowtail fillets and strips of squid are doing the trick. Fish unweighted baits that sink slowly and use a bit of berley. They are also being taken on unweighted SP lures worked slowly through mid-depths. • If you are interested in doing a guided fishing trip on Sydney harbour with Craig McGill please call 0412 918 127 or email craig@fishabout.com.au.

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Love it or lose it! Antisocial behaviour by some fishers on Sydney’s ferry wharves is seriously jeopardizing future access for all fishers to these popular fishing spots. While most anglers fishing the wharves do so responsibly, a minority continue to do the wrong thing. There has been a recent upsurge in public complaints about excessive noise late at night upsetting nearby residents as well as litter and anti-social behaviour. In order to ensure continued angling access to these facilities, it is vital all fishers do the right thing

now. Failure to do so will likely result in loss of access. If you enjoy fishing from Sydney’s ferry wharves, make sure you are considerate of nearby residents and keep your noise down, especially after 10pm. Vessels and passengers have priority, so clear your lines and move aside when ferries approach. Please be respectful to passengers and do not block access. Dispose of all litter, bait and unwanted tackle responsibly. Clean up any fishing mess before you leave. Follow recreational fishing rules. NSW DPI is launching an education campaign this month advising anglers of the need for responsible fishing at the ferry wharf network.

Help maintain your access to Sydney ferry wharves network by doing the right thing. Encourage your fishing mates to behave responsibly. Report

suspicious fishing activity to the Fishers Watch Phoneline on 1800 043 536 and contact NSW Police to report any anti-social behaviour. – DPI

Many anglers enjoy fishing in these popular spots, so no one wants to lose them.

Honing your fishing skills SYD ROCK & BEACH

Alex Bellissimo alex@bellissimocharters.com.au

We whinge about it being too hot and soon some will be whinging that it’s too cold. Successful anglers take it as it is. When weather conditions and tides are not perfect, they will still be out fishing. Fishing is an accumulation of knowledge over the years. It is a process of elimination – working out what you are doing wrong and correcting it as much as possible. Make 2017 the year that you’re going to go out of your way to improve your fishing skills. FISHING OFF THE ROCKS Off the ocean rocks the kingfish are on one day and off the next. Small fish from 50cm kings to the occasional unstoppable beast are what you will encounter. It’s always great to have a crack at a king with light tackle. Light outfits in the 8-15kg bracket are fine in the right sea conditions. One spot that you might get away with

this is South Curl Curl’s Flat Rock, where there are fewer obstacles than other rock spots. Don’t be complacent and think that the big kings will be easy to land, as they can still find a boulder, ledge or gutter to run you through and cut you off. Fishing with 24kg+ gear is more practical for most situations or even 37kg outfits. The mac and frigate tuna will be making a showing this month. There might even be a showing of northern bluefin tuna that turn up some years. Generally they’re just migrating, so you might only get a quick showing of this species. Bonito should continue, with 1-2kg fish around recently. Quality tailor are on from evening to dawn during flat conditions. Sometimes they’re continuing into the morning, but this is rare. For both bonito and tailor, ganged WA or SA pilchards with a very light ball sinker or even unweighted are working well when slowly spun. Spin with metals like 45-65g Snipers or Bishops. The Daiwa Overthere Skipping lure is a great lure as well. If you can

afford it, some whole pillies and halves berleyed up in your wash are producing and holding fish. You might find that you’ll attract a few kings using this method, so I’d suggest using 10-12kg braid or mono just in case. Some ocean rock spot picks are North Whale Headland (you have to get there early to score poll position), the ledge at North Whale Rocks approximately

up. A few of the beaches are already producing good tailor. Newport Beach and Warriewood have had some reasonable reports. Start early around 4:30am, and continue until just around sunrise for best results. A dusk until after dark fish will also produce results if you aren’t keen on an early morning start. You will want to fish the half run into the full tides around the new

10yo Zac and dad Darren Ottawa with a good bream caught on a shallow rock platform in less than 1m of water. Bream forage there in search of crustaceans, small fish and more.

Peter Conroy with a great Sydney Harbour king. When the sea conditions are too rough for the ocean rocks, the calm water option is a rewarding choice.

Mary Do with her best ocean rockfish to date – a brown groper.

50-100m from the northern corner of the beach, The Ovens at South Whale Headland, North and South Curl Curl ledges, Bluefish Point and the eastern front at Manly. THE RUN OF TAILOR CONTINUES The run of tailor off the beaches has been quite good of late and will continue to produce larger fish especially towards the end of March. Expect the run of 500-750g fish to continue with a 1kg class of fish due to show

and full moon periods. Use ganged pillies or small sea gars (if you can get them) as these are the most natural food source for tailor. Alternatives such as mullet, tailor and yellowtail fillets will also work well. Spin your medium action metals at a medium pace (around walking speed) through the gutters at different depths from the surface and down deeper under the white water to find where they are feeding best. Vary your metal size from 25-65g and your

colours. Gold/yellow, blue or green strip can make a difference, so change your colours and lure sizes. The best of the whiting and bream run is yet to come. March can be a very good month for this. During the really flat days when the swell is less a metre, I like to fish light. A 2-4kg Live Fibre 10’6” rod with a BG 2500 or 500 Alvey and 2.7kg mono or braid is great fun. A fluorocarbon leader around 2kg will encourage those timid whiting and bream to bite when there is good water clarity. I also recommend an 11ft Mag Bream two-piece and the 550 Alvey or BG 3000 reel from Daiwa. A 4kg line option is preferred when seas are above 1m. Don’t get caught out, make sure you have both outfits just in case. Typically live beach worms are frequently used bait for the whiting and bream, but if you can purchase some blood worms, your chance of success will improve. Fish fillets like mullet, tailor and slimey mackerel are great for bream. Use a slither of a fillet that will cover a 1/0 Mustard 92554, 540 or 92247. HEADING TO THE HARBOUR The quieter and safer waters of North, Middle and Sydney harbours are producing a vast array of species. Kings, tailor, mac tuna, frigate tuna, bream, whiting, flathead and leatherjacket are on the

chew. The back of North Harbour on the flats have whiting, bream and flathead for the wading angler. It’s worth a spin for a king on the big low tides casting into the deep water near the marina. Middle Harbour has Middle Head, the deepwater drop off in the main section off the beach is great for bream, mulloway and the occasional king at Clontarf. It offers nice, easy access and safe location for families and more advanced anglers alike. Live baits like yellowtail, silver biddies, live mullet and, of course, fresh squid will work well here. Cast out on the sandy bottom on a paternoster or under a float and walk with the current if necessary. Repeat the drift if float fishing. Bottom fishing with a semi or stationary rig can be an easier alternative. This month is the beginning of the mass migration for some species. You can often find fish in good numbers. Please take into account that this is also time when many of these species are spawning, so only take what you need and release the rest after a quick photo. • 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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Best possies to grab a March mixed bag BOTANY BAY

Gabe Quercigrosse gabeandgabe@bigpond.com

As predicted last month, plenty of blue swimmers have been taken, with many anglers catching bag limits of these delicious crustaceans. The contours of weed patches in approximately 3m of water have been ideal and the outgoing tide is the best option.

While you are waiting to pull your pots in the boat, give the flatties a go. Two areas have produced stacks of duskies during the past two weeks with excellent specimens taken. The bell buoy area at Kurnell has been the number one drift in the bay. The trick is to stick with deeper waters. As soon as you move into shallower territory, you will be pestered by small cockney bream. For the readers that don’t know the bell buoy, it is the last

The Georges River has been fishing super with plenty of good-sized prawns scooped. This year has been an exceptional one with the dark period providing bucket loads. Areas such as Lake Gilla, Warna Beach, Coolum Beach, the beach stretch between Alfords Point Bridge and Mickeys Point and inside Carss Park are all providing the spoils. One favourite spot of mine is Bald Face Point, where you can get away

and the first of the run up. Big whiting, school mulloway and flathead can be taken here. The preferred baits are bloodworms or nippers. This possie can be fished either from the land or by boat. If on foot, it is reached by driving to the end of Stuart Street off the intersection of King George Road and the Princess Highway at Blakehurst. This road leads to a small reserve and it is an easy walk to the water. Directly opposite Bald Face is the ‘Dark Hole’ or the ‘Ace of Clubs’ – strictly a boat possie – and a terrific spot in a southerly blow. Other recent catches include decent school mulloway from the newly renovated ‘T Wharf’ on Rabaul Street at Georges Hall. I have had the privilege of witnessing fish to 6kg taken on live yellowtail from here. It’s easily accessible to foot traffic and showing great promise. The Milperra Bridge to the M5 Freeway continues to provide excellent catches of bream and whiting at night, with some elbow-slappers boated in excess of 45cm.

Anthony with a cracker of a mahimahi from the ‘Gong. The run-up tide seems to be best and bloodworms are the dynamite bait. The trick is to cast close to the mangroves and let the bait drift close to the shoreline.

quarters of the way along it. I found that the best method is to move around until you find the fish. Often big bream and mulloway are taken here on cockle bait in slack water.

Ollie got this great mixed bag up at the Hawkesbury. We have found that at first light the crabs have been more cooperative, averaging two per witches hat, but as soon the water temperature rises they quickly go off the boil. Just outside the boat moorings on Towra Beach and the logs to the patchy areas west of Quibray Bay have been the pick of the places. Also give Sandringham Bay a try, as this location has been quite the achiever.

floating structure moored off Kurnell and is a distinctive red colour, and has the added sound of bells when there is a bit of swell running. The other area I would suggest is between the goal posts approximately 300m northwest of the Kurnell Oil Wharf, easily recognised by the narrow distance between them. Flathead, flounder, whiting and bream can all be taken with the added bonus of sand octopus.

from the crowds and catch good fish. This location held the record for the biggest bream caught on rod and line for many years at 7lb, 12oz by Kevin Negus, but this has been surpassed. In this location, the main current of the river swings right into the shore and there are a variety of fish available. It’s also sharky, so keep out of the water. The tide rushes through so restrict fishing to the last of the run-out tide

Ollie has been catching kingfish on the troll in Botany Bay.

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Another hotspot has been Botany Bay. Good reports of bream catches have been filtering through from the Le Combe cockle beds with fish around the 40cm mark common. This is a large area of mussel beds about 600m west of the old runway and around three

My best mulloway of 10.7kg came out of this area. Both runways continue to fire for trumpeter whiting, flathead and flounder. The best method has been to drift with a big sinker and short leader and bounce the bait on the bottom. Brighton Wide hasn’t been too bad with the

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At Towra recently Peter and Gabe caught 10 blue swimmer crabs and three octopuses.

Michael landed this lovely dusky amongst a catch of crabs, whiting and bream from Towra. usual array of fish taken. Fish the rising tide and line up President Towers with the old runway. Other areas that have been providing good catches include the artificial reefs in Congwong Bay and the Drums. The artificial reefs that run from Kurnell to Kyeemagh are often neglected and are the medium of top catches. This area was dredged for the Desalination Plant at Kurnell and covers a vast area. The reef in front of the no wash zone around the New Brighton Golf Course has also been firing. Good mulloway to 6kg have been landed on Squidgies in gary glitter, killer tomato and white lighting. It is imperative to fish at first light before the boat traffic ruins your day. Webster Creek is another

location that is well worth trying. This small rivulet is adjacent to Deepwater Motor Boat Club, and it has been fishing superbly for big bream using live nippers. The high tide mark is the best option here. Moving downstream, I’m told that Como Bridge hasn’t been great owing to the amount of boat traffic, including rowers who frequent this stretch of the river. You’re better off leaving this for night time fishing during the week on the low tide. Towra continues to deliver the goods and is hard to go past without throwing a line. Towra Point around 100m north of the beach is a well-patronised area with plenty of weed and sand corridors and a vastly undulated stretch of water. As long as the tide runs

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you’re in with a big chance to catch anything. Towra Deep and Towra Wide in the middle of the river behind the red channel marker have also been fishing well for most species. See the chimneys of the oil refinery at Kurnell and the bottom drop to 58m and you’re on it. I’m told by very reliable information that the wide reefs have not been fishing well, so it may pay to overlook the 12-Mile, South Eastern, Hargreaves and the Peak. Stick closer to shore where good size morwong and snapper have been taken. Coogee Island or the Wedding Cake has kings, trevally and pan-size snapper. You must berley well, and it’s best off the northern end. The Trag Ground, straight off Cuzcos Street Maroubra is a very hard reef and, as the name

implies, produces teraglin at night. It’s only 25m deep and a fairly safe possie. I’m told Saxon, on the northern end of Maroubra Beach, has been red-hot on the edge of the reef and productive for reds, trags and tailor. Another spot that is well worth trying is the Tank mark off Maroubra. This stretch is often bypassed by fishers heading for the game grounds wider out. For the small boat brigade, there’s rich pickings. The Tank is a hard reef and is big mulloway and snapper

territory. The current runs hard there, and the depth ranges from 50-75m. I use as marks the first oil tank at the Kurnell refinery sitting in the valley at Cape Banks, with the western mark being the Maroubra Church steeple over the stormwater outlet at the northern end of Maroubra Beach (S 33 57 610 – E 151 17 780). The ever-reliable bluespot flathead are still on the chew on the 40m mark between Botany Heads. On the freshwater scene, the Nepean has been fishing really well in recent weeks,

with plenty of bags taken on surface lures. Land-based, the foot bridge at Elderslie, Menangle Weir and the Maulden cement works have been the pick of the spots. Boaties have been doing well at Douglas Park, the Grove Bridge, Cobbity Weir and Theresa Park. Soft Shell Tiemco Cicadas in brown or black have been working a treat, and spinnerbaits have also been catching their share. The Wingecarribee River just below Berrima has redfin and big carp aplenty for anglers using live worms.

This 16kg mahimahi was caught by Rocky off Belambi. There will be lots of tasty fillets for dinner!

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March is still a hot month for fishing action SYDNEY SOUTH

Gary Brown gbrown1@iprimus.com.au

The weather may have started to cool down a bit from those scorching hot days in the latter part of January and in the early weeks of February, but the fishing will still be hot in Southern Sydney.

Salmon, tailor and mulloway have been coming in off the beaches from Wanda to Boat Harbour in the north during the early hours of the morning. The best baits have been whole pilchards and fresh squid. Marley, Garie and Wattamolla beaches in the Royal National Park will be worth a shot during the day for bream and dart.

Just remember to check the opening and closing times of the gates at these beaches, as they do change throughout the year. Further south you could try Stanwell Park and Coalcliff beaches for bream, dart and the odd salmon and tailor. Beach worms and blood worms work for the bream and dart, and whole pilchards are the most

Lachie Dubois showing his father Carl how it’s done.

effective bait for the tailor and salmon. Around Botany Bay and the middle to lower half of the Port Hacking you will be able to chase bream, tailor, Australian salmon, kingfish, dusky flathead, whiting and mulloway. Further upstream in the Georges River you should mainly concentrate on dusky flathead, bream, mulloway and the odd luderick or two. If you are targeting trevally in Botany Bay, I find that silver trevally tend to prefer to feed more actively in the cleaner waters rather than discoloured and muddy waters. It doesn’t seem to matter whether it’s the run-up or run-out tide. To stay with this cleaner water, I pull up the anchor about three to four times and move my position during the run-out. If there has been a lot of rain and the water is very discoloured, you will need to chase the cleaner water to have the best chance of success. This can mean that instead of pulling up anchor and moving about three or four times on the run-out tide, I sometimes have to move up to seven times just to stay with the cleaner water. On

Lachie Dubois with his biggest-ever silver trevally that was caught while fishing the flats in Gunnamatta Bay. the start of the run-out tide I might start near the drop-off at Towra Point, then move to the sticks, the deep water at the Drums, Trevally Alley, Bare Island and then finish off at Henry Head.

If you are after a few dusky flathead, I would try drifting along the shoreline from the entrance to the Cooks River to Dolls Point. The best baits would be whitebait, half pilchards,

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pink nippers and blood worms. You could also try pieces of chicken fillet. For the land-based anglers, try both sides of the bridges at Taren Point, Blakehurst, Como and Alfords Point. Bream, dusky flathead and plenty of small tailor are about. In the Georges River, you could try either side of the old punt at Lugarno, the Moons, the Georges River State Park (parking here costs money), the M5 bridge and Cattle Duffers. Bream, whiting, flathead, mud crabs, flounder and the odd mulloway can be caught here. Try using a strip of mullet or tuna, or use whole or half pilchards. In the Port Hacking, there are plenty of trevally, bream and whiting. The two main rigs that I use when chasing any of these species are a small running ball sinker down on the top of the bait, and a running sinker (no. 2-4) onto a swivel and a fluorocarbon leader of approximately 1-1.5m in length. If you target bream and flathead and the water is a bit discoloured, change the types of baits you use. As

many of you know, I love using peeled Hawkesbury River prawns, but I find that when there is a fair amount of fresh in the water, the peeled prawns will go soft and also turn very pale. They lose their natural texture, smell and looks. This is the time when I don’t peel my prawns, but leave them whole. To help keep them on the hook, I do a couple of half hitches around the tail. Other baits that I prefer to use are chicken and mullet gut that has been soaked in a small amount of tuna oil, chicken strips marinated in Parmesan cheese and strips of fresh tuna and mullet. When I chase bream and flathead with hardbodied lures, blades and soft plastics when the water is discoloured, I slow down the speed that I work the artificials. Additionally, I always apply a spray scent or gel. Try and think the same as you would when using bait. I sometimes cast out a blade and just let it sit on the bottom, only to have a fish pick it up and swim off with it. Whenever I bait fish from the shore or out of a

boat, I always berley with whole chicken, dog pellets, mashed-up white bread or pilchard cubes. When it comes to fishing in dirty water, I put a small amount of water into a bucket, drop in the chicken pellets and white bread and let them soak for a while. I will then add mashed-up pilchards to the mix. Once this is all mixed up together I will then make them into small balls. This size is somewhere between a tennis ball and a golf ball. You will need to get the mix to the right consistency, so it doesn’t ooze through your finger or break up. It’s then just a matter of throwing out a couple of balls every five minutes. Don’t let March go by without getting out for a fish. If you have some pictures of fish that you have caught and you would like to get them in the NSWFM magazine, all you need to do is send them to me at gbrown1@iprimus.com.au with what you caught it on and where you caught it. For example, you may have caught a dusky flathead on a ZMan soft plastic wide off Towra Point.

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MARCH 2017

The hottest places to throw some fish a line THE TWEED

Anthony Coughran

The warm currents and southerly winds have finally arrived. With water temperatures between 26-28°C pushing right down the East Coast, the arrival of the pelagic species into our area has begun. Plenty of rain has seen the rivers flushed, dams cleaned up and freshwater streams and creeks flowing. This means that most systems will be firing in the next month.

OFFSHORE Pelagics have shown up in good numbers and will thicken as the month goes on. Spotty mackerel, Spanish mackerel, summer snapper, spangled emperor and golden snapper are all on the close reefs. South Reef, Fidos, Cook, the 5-Mile and Kingy Reef are all producing fish this month. Drift lining works best for these species on the close shallow reefs. Spanish mackerel, GTs, kingfish, cobia and wahoo are being caught around the 9-Mile, 5-Mile and the 24s.

Trolling lures, live baits, stickbaits and troll baits is working best. Look for black marlin, mahimahi, wahoo and tuna around the FAD, 24s, 36s, 50s and current line between 50-80m of water. Trolling skirted lures has caught quality fish recently. ESTUARY Jacks are still the talk of the town, with a few specimens reaching over the 60cm mark caught this month. Live bait is still doing all the damage on these brutes. Plastics and hardbody lures tossed around pontoons, pylons, rock walls, mangrove structure and irrigation channels are still producing fish. Try Cobaki Bridge and wall, Boyds Bay Bridge, Chindrah Rock Wall, the Oxley Cove walls,

getting a feed. For a bit more fun, try poppers, walk-the-dog lures and small plastics over skinny water. Stay in about 2-4ft of water while hunting these ghosts. Any deeper and they struggle to see your lure. There are still GTs and big-eyes hanging around the river mouth, Jack Evans, Boyds Bay Bridge and Barneys Point Bridge. Mulloway are along Chindrah Rock Wall and in the hole at the Piggery. Muddies are moving around with the warm water and rain. Try Duroby Creek, Bilambil Creek, Cobaki Broadwater, Stots Island and Rous River. BEACH We don’t have the best conditions for beach fishing right now with all the blue bottle jellyfish hitting the

Dave McIntosh caught this decent summer snapper while drift lining on close reefs.

ASK YOUR LOCAL TACKLE SHOP FOR .... • CRAB • GOLD PRAWN • WASABI • ABALONE • BLOODWORM

Tumbulgum Bridge and the Condong Sugar Mill. Whiting are on the chew and some elbow-slappers have been taken over the last month. Drifting channels, sand bars and weed edges with yabbies and beach worms is still the most effective way of

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wahoo and billfish. Trolling current lines in 50-80m of water is your best bet for a speedster. Trolling live and dead baits will be the best for mackerel. Always have a light metal rod set and ready to throw at bait schools, as you’ll get a lot of by-catches this way and it’s a lot of fun. Jacks are still around in large numbers in the river. Live baits around bridges and pylons of a night will be your best bet for a big red dog. If you want some fun, try bouncing plastics along the rock walls. You will know when one will hit you. Whiting and flathead will still be in good numbers. Get up on top of the sand banks – you can never be in too little water for them. Poppers, plastics, worms and yabbies are fantastic.

Hot weather and crabs go hand in hand. Heaps of crabs are moving around. With the water temperature up and the recent rain, it’s perfect crabbing conditions, so get your pots out and grab yourself a feed. Remember to have your pots clearly marked and with a marked float. Do the right thing and only check your own pots. Huge fines can apply. Rains have done wonders for the freshwater systems. Clarrie Hall Dam looks good, with flowing water all the way downstream to the weir. The dam will keep fishing really well over the next month. Targeting drains, waterfalls, weirs and runoffs while the rain is around is a great way of catching a few fat bass. I wish you the best of luck. Stay safe and tight lines.

Dan Le Mura with a pretty little mahimahi caught trolling skirted lures.

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Jimmy Mitchell with a lovely Spanish mackerel.

beaches. We’ve seen pipis and beach worms go deep into the sand. Fish are hanging out the back of the gutters more to avoid the stingers. Try the headlands and groins to get out past the stingers. Dart, mulloway, flathead and whiting are still around and you just need to get out to them. FRESHWATER The fresh has been on fire lately. The recent rain gave the system a good flush with all the rivers and creeks flowing again. Bass have been smacking surface lures with explosive reaction bites. Cicadas and winged cicadas are best for targeting these little brutes. Deep diving hardbodied lures, jig spins, walk-the-dog lures, plastics and bugs are all fishing well once the sun is up. Look for runoff, drains, spillways and waterfalls for the best action. SUMMARY FOR THE NEXT MONTH Most of the focus for the next month will be on the mackerel, mahimahi,

Oliver Miles caught this solid whiting on a yabby in Cobaki Broadwater.

Still time for a jack assault THE TWEED INSHORE

Tim Latter

March really is a great time for fishing on the Tweed River and its tributaries. The change of season brings about a crossover period in target species, so you can really be spoilt for choice. The water temperatures will still remain quite high, so your summer species like mangrove jack and whiting will continue for most lure

fishers this month. You could expect a good surface bite on the jacks over the next few weeks, just hit your usual spots in low light periods and be sure to get tight to cover on your first cast, as you often only have one chance with the bigger specimens. Local angler Brock Perry has had a stellar jack season on surface lures. Lucky Craft G-Splash and ZMan Trick SwimZ have been his go-to lures. Adopting new techniques and the art of

stealth has seen him braining this sometimes frustrating species. Once jack fishing has you hooked, it will be sure to keep you awake the night before an early session, pondering what it might be. Preparation is key this late in the season, so leave nothing to chance. Hitting the water early has its benefits, as the water’s surface temperature will be slightly cooler than previous months and the days will begin to shorten. This is

Hitting the holes around bridges could score you some schoolies this month.

prime time for chasing the big flathead that will be moving throughout the system. All luring techniques have their day, but hopping plastics on the drop-offs toward the bottom of the tide, trolling the flooded flats at the top, or ripping blades and vibes in the deeper holes mid-tide should get you some fresh fillets. Just remember to put all those big girls back! Later in the month, the big tides of the new moon are looking good to start chasing school mulloway. Try the bridges on the tide change at night. Soft plastics, vibes or live baits are the way to go, and the deeper holes in the mid to upper reaches will be well worth a look as well, especially if it has been dry. Before too long we will be donning hoodies and beanies chasing tailor and bream which, as rewarding as that can be, doesn’t quite cut the mustard in comparison to our more temperate species. • Get out there and make the most of it this month, be safe and courteous on the water and be sure to drop in to Anglers Warehouse for the best range and best prices in town, or visit the website at www. anglerswarehouse.com.au

Local angler Steele Jameson joins the 60 club with a beast wrangled from the timber.

Brock Perry scoring in the clear water. Fluorocarbon Topshot and stealth helped get this prized fish on the deck.

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This is one of the strongest hooks Gamakatsu make, perfect for the larger pelagic fish MARCH 2017

Beef up your gear for the bigguns BALLINA

Joe Allan

The Richmond River has been fishing well over last month. The freshwater has stirred up most of the species in the lower reaches of the river. The very long hot days and humid evenings have really got the surface fishing going gang-busters. If you want to chase bream, try the Pimlico Island flats. If you’re after a feed of whiting, try the flats across from the town centre around the RSL club or the weed beds around North Creek. Make sure you have something

rigged for a decent flatty, as you will come across some good fish and be able to sight cast to them in the shallows. The mud crabs have been firing, with good catches reported along the mid sections of the river. Try baits such as mullet and luderick frames. The bigger tides seem to bring the best numbers on. The rock walls along the town stretch and up Emigrant Creek are producing some good numbers of quality bream on light crankbaits. Rock crab in the Atomic Crank 38 is the standout. You will come across a few of our red friends, the mighty mangrove jack, so

be prepared to either beef up your gear or go back to the tackle shop with your wallet. They say if you’re not losing lures, you’re not catching and having fun. There are some good numbers of bream getting caught off the beaches. The dart and tailor have been a little quiet. Try the gutters around Boundary Creek along South Ballina for some big flathead. Blades, slugs and heavy soft plastics will do the trick if you can’t get fresh bait. Offshore there have been some quality snapper on the 32s, as well as some goodsize trag. The mahimahi have still been very consistent

Lucy Fitzgibbon with a whiting from Mobbs Bay.

off the FADS and since mid-December, numbers of mackerel have not been as everyone would have liked. Mackerel have been all over the place. One day they’re at Black Head and the next at Riordans Reef. The upper reaches of the river have been hit and miss for Aussie bass. The big influx of fresh from the Tatham Arm has dirtied up the junction at Coraki. Chatterbaits, spinnerbaits and dark coloured loud crankbaits around the drains and creek mouths are your best bet for finding some good fish. The fish will start to get active again once the water starts to clear up.

Troy with a great mulloway close in to Ballina.

Nicki and James with a pair of cracker mahimahi that were kept for the table.

Luke with a sweet mahimahi.

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Good fishing despite the winds ILUKA

Ross Deakin

We have experienced a fantastic holiday period with awesome weather. Maybe it was a little too hot on some days, but nonetheless we had great fishing conditions. The

spotty macks have been playing the ‘now you see me, now you don’t,’ but that is pretty normal with the water temperature all over the place, due to northerly/ southerly changes. Anglers have been using techniques such as trolling pink squid lures, live bait, pilchards and spinning around

the Woody Head to Shark Bay area. We have weighed in fish in the 3-4kg category. There have been some very nice cobia caught such as a 20kg fish taken off the Bluff Headland. Snapper and trag are being caught around the usual hotspots from Woody Head to Black Rock. The Clarence has seen some great fishing, even though we still need that rain. Whiting in good sizes and numbers are being taken in and around the sand flats. We weighed in a few decent fish over Christmas and January up to 420g caught by Michael Hogan from Gravilia using

yabbies. The open beaches have also seen very nice size whiting, bream and dart. There are plenty of chopper tailor in the river at the moment and some really nice size greenbacks off the beaches and headlands, such as Chris Tom’s magnificent 5.75kg fish caught at Woody Head back in January using a popper. There have been a few nice mulloway caught as well. Wazza Bell from Brisbane weighed in a 23.5kg fish caught at Iluka Beach using fresh mullet. Spanish macks and longtails won’t be far away! Happy fishing everyone.

The ever-reliable snapper are still on the chew.

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MARCH 2017

Start of autumn but still basically summer YAMBA

Dave Gaden

For most, March is the start of autumn, but in reality it’s still well and truly summer on the north coast of New South Wales. February is by far our hottest month of the year and that flows on for us for the whole month of March. With such a late start for the pelagics this year, here and all the way north to the Sunshine Coast, we can conceivably expect that this month should be the hottest bite for the year. Spotted mackerel are the most commonly targeted surface fish around this part of the world. They’re great fun to catch, easy to clean and pretty good on the plate wn Shark PraThe BladBay basawell. m a es to Y “ Woody Head area is by ”far the most popular place for

recreational fishers to target these fish, with the ease of launching right into the bay, literally metres from the fish. South of Yamba, the north end of Angourie Reef to Freeburn Rock (the bommie) is a little less busy, but no less frantic with fish. Spend a few hours after first light trolling pink squid well behind the boat. I like to set them 25 seconds back at around 9-10 knots, so they are right at the end of the boat’s bubble trail. Look for the bait schools on your sounder that have been pushed to the surface. After you have found them trolling, set a couple of pillies out on light wires with a float and drift over the area. It won’t take long to get a bag limit of five nice fish each, and that’s a lot of mackerel to eat. Along with the spotties, March will produce big

northern longtail tuna, mahimahi, yellowfin and Spanish mackerel. Be prepared with some heavier gear if the big boys happen to make an appearance. The wider grounds this time of the year are a real pig in the bag prospect. Fish will be there – that’s an absolute certainty, but you can travel 20 nautical miles to sea to find the current doing 4 knots downhill and

Whiting seem to be getting thicker the more they are caught. It’s like you take one out and two come to its funeral. They move about in the system a lot, so it pays to keep your finger on the pulse a bit. Check with your favourite tackle shop on where their punters are getting them before just launching out to the old faithful spot. This summer has

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Adrian with a huge lobster, just before release. Believe it or not, they have a maximum size limit and this lobster was nearly double that. it wouldn’t matter if you had a fridge on for a sinker, you are going to struggle. If you are planning to go wide, check some of the websites for a current forecast first. They are far from accurate, but if it’s red on the map, stay in close. The south grounds from Red Cliff to Brooms Head will be good fishing for plate-size pearl perch and venus tuskfish this month. Drifting in around 40m of water with good flesh baits is the most productive way of getting a feed. Mostly the pearlies will be in a gutter in the reef rather than on a pinnacle, so look for an area where there is a metre or two drop in the reef and you will find fish holding tight to the edge. The Clarence River has been fishing really well all over summer. I can’t see this changing for March, as it’s not really a change of season here. Crabs (both sand and muddies) have been in great numbers. If the normal February rains are enough, the fresh will push them all down towards the mouth – easy access for us.

produced some great flathead. Lots of people have come into the shop, who have never caught anything worthwhile, and weighed in big flathead. Average fish have been around the 50-60cm range and anglers are catching four or five at a time. My best advice for March is to find a deep hole close to the middle wall or Freeburn Island and

Eddie Kell with a thumper pearl perch.

live bait with a herring or poddy mullet. The surprise with this type of fishing is that every now and then the flathead has been bullied out of the deep hole by a mulloway. Isn’t it terrible to go to all that trouble to set up for nice flatties and have to catch mulloway instead... As a rule, if the mulloway are there you get one or two and then they will spook. It’s better than none. On the subject of mulloway, under Oyster Channel Bridge two days either side of the full moon in the middle of the month should produce good fish. There will be some great bream there as well. The preferred bait is the humble herring. Fortunately, in the hour before sunset they are usually around the bridge pylons in huge numbers. Have a good live bait tank and fill it up. The big bream (and odd mangrove jack) will feast on them, but the mulloway will almost be a certainty if you stick it out. On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my wonderful customers, both at my shop, Marina Boat & Tackle and on my charter boats. The Christmas/ January holiday season was the best ever. I don’t think I had ever been so busy or met so many great people. Have some good fishing for this month and, as always, if you are heading our way call into the shop and we will try and steer you in the right direction.

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Mahindra XUV500 SUV review BRISBANE

A U S T R A L I A

Margay 2016

$49,990

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

Pantera II 2016

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Mahindra have a pretty tough proving ground for their line of heavy duty 4x4 utes and SUV people movers – India, where the vehicles are manufactured. Before we have an in-depth look at Mahindra’s sevenseater XUV500 all-wheel drive, here’s some interesting background. Mahindra is a huge maker of machinery and motor vehicles. Their plant at Chakan, 100km from Mumbai, India, has a capacity for turnout of a staggering 500,000 units per year. That’s a lot of vehicles by any maker’s standard! The XUV500 has been around for a while, originally with some quirky styling and held back by an unloved manual gearbox. Last year the bar was lifted to make the vehicle far more attractive to buyers. New front and rear styling smoothed away some

Boat towing is never an effort with this all-wheel drive and its 2.5t braked trailer capability. monitoring. Three glove compartments are a feature with one big enough to hold a laptop and there were also aircon vents for second and third row passengers, which sure would have been handy

$74,990

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Yar-Craft 1785BT 2016 The reversing camera lets you know if you can expect to hit something, like this tree.

$59,990

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

Sabre FTD 2016

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• 18’1” • Single axle Basscat trailer • 115 hp Mercury 4 stroke • 24v electric motor (Minn Kota or Motor Guide) • 2 x sounders (Humminbird 698cxi HD Si or Lowrance HDS 7 GEN2)

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of its outlandish look while a very smooth Japanesemade 6-speed Aisin gearbox took care of gear shifts effortlessly, as these Aisin units – adopted by many auto manufacturers these days – always do. Mahindra have equipped their 2016 all-wheel drive W8 model – as reviewed – with corner projecting headlights, an upgraded suspension, 17” alloy wheels and auto lights. The highlights on the dash include a 7” touch screen, reversing camera with dynamic assistance (this shows intended and extended track while reversing) a multimedia setup with GPS, Bluetooth audio and iPod connectivity, a great radio, hands-free calling and voice recognition plus a climatecontrol cold box in the centre console. There are seven leather seats, three Isofix restraints for youngsters and 702L of cargo area with the third-row seats down. Unique for this class of vehicle, it also has tyre pressure and temperature

this summer! Cruise control and electric windows? Of course. Obviously, some serious upgrading’s been undertaken and the resulting changes are the buyer’s advantage.

ADDITIONAL FEATURES AND PERFORMANCE In essence, the XUV500 has the same 2700mm wheelbase as a Mazda CX5, and with second row seats also folded there’s a massive 1512L of cargo area, which is larger than the Mazda’s. Another selling point is the 2.5t (braked trailer) tow capacity. Equipped with a not-at-all silent and willingto-go 2.2L turbo diesel engine outputting 103kW of power, 330Nm of torque, the four-cylinder 16-valve oil burner – thanks also to the slick Aisin gearbox – the Mahindra was solidly powerful. The tacho was still not touching the 2,000rpm mark at 110kph on the M1. Obviously the Europeansourced four-cylinder diesel engine is not going to be very stressed in any normal driving situation given that 100kph required a measly 1600rpm. The gearbox, incidentally, loved to hang in fourth or fifth gear to save

fuel and made upshifts from around 1500rpm but will rev to 4000rpm if the pedal is on the metal. If you floor it, the acceleration is strong enough to easily fall foul of a pay-asyou-go radar detection unit, so it’s wise to pay attention to the speedo if giving the engine a try out on a straight. The diesel is claimed to offer 8L/100km and I actually bettered this at 7.9L/100km with a mix of city and country work. Based on those figures, a 70L fuel tank should see a good cruising range. The XUV500’s ride and handling were quite acceptable although hard cornering will reveal that the AWD Mahindra has some understeer. It also has some interesting vibration from the engine/transmission at times. Mind you, the roughness on most of our roads make this vibration hard to detect! I did a run up to Maryborough and back on the M1 and found that the Mahindra acquitted itself very well all round; it was absolutely no effort to drive

While the Mahindra’s styling is different to many other SUVs, features such as ample ground clearance, a very large cargo area and wide doors for ease of entry are all on hand for a prospective buyer to consider.

Audio, phone service and cruise control are all wheel-mounted on the Mahindra. There’s ample room for the driver and passenger on the comfortable leather seats. and easily kept us moving briskly among traffic. It overtook without effort and best of all I noticed that the leather seats were still comfortable after almost four hours behind the steering wheel. Full marks to Mahindra there. SAFETY Safety has not been overlooked and the Mahindra offers Bi-Xenon headlights, stability control, ABS with electronic brake force distribution, hill hold and hill descent control. Front and side air bags are standard. The overall ride was smooth thanks to Macpherson

struts up front and a multilink setup in the rear. Even a buzz down a corrugated gravel road section around Kenilworth didn’t change the cabin ambience to any great degree. SURPRISING INTERIOR ROOM Picking up the Mahindra XUV500, I was surprised how easy it was to get into all the seats. A deep floor, wide doors and high roofline make access to any of the vehicle’s three rows quite easy. Front and second-row passengers will find this a great strength of the Mahindra, which had as much (if not more) leg and

headroom as competitors. With the third row of seats upright, luggage space is virtually nil except for an umbrella or two. With these seats down there’s a massive luggage space, which can be enlarged even more with one or both of the second row seats down. Inside there’s plenty of rugged black material on the doors, the dash area and any areas subject to wear and tear. Silver highlights offset the somewhat bland internal finish with some extra touches around both the tacho and speedo dials. The dash is highlighted by the

multi-function touch screen, which has an interesting faux-wood background and it really does have a multifunction capability. Virtually everything is there from navigation to engine status to distance of fuel remaining. I particularly liked the manner in which the reversing camera showed the proposed course for the driver, in relation to any obstacles. Parking sensors front and rear did their bit here as well. Another Mahindra feature of note was the eight strong LED interior lights. Even the tailgate area had brilliant lighting. This feature would be handy on some of

my camping escapades. SUMMING UP There’s no denying that the Mahindra XUV500 is a different sort of vehicle in many respects. It offers a mix of useful features that make it a good city or suburban work horse through the week, just as suited to hooking up the boat, caravan, or camper on the weekend. I had no trouble towing my boat at all. Around town the 11.2m turning circle, big windows and reversing camera are going to be muchappreciated. With motor cars, the more you pay, the more you get. That’s in finish, performance, maker’s

prestige. For it’s modest price, the XUV500 offers a lot, given its relative newness on our market in present feature level. The vehicle comes with three years, a 100,000km warranty plus three years roadside assist. Mahindra have priced the XUV500 at around the $35K mark, but wait – there’s more! During March or until stocks run out, a 4WD six-speed auto will go out the door for $29,900. The six-speed AWD, as reviewed, will go for $32,990. Contact Mahindra Queensland for a dealer on www.mahindra. com.au or phone on (07) 3213 1211.

Second row passengers enjoy plenty of head and legroom in this SUV.

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Product Profile

One million downloaded for new Deeper app The Deeper app is approaching 1 million downloads, making it the No.1 fishfinder app on Googleplay and the App Store. It’s free to download, and you don’t need a Deeper smart sonar to use it. There are some fantastic functions that work without a Deeper Smart Sonar, such as Trip Planning for solunar forecast calendar, up-to-date weather forecasting, free downloadable maps where you can personalise your maps with your favourite fishing spots, and Fishing Notes, which allows you to keep a detailed record of every catch and location. On top of these, there’s also some cool extras, like Catch Sharing, where you can use camera mode to snap every catch and share on social media, and Deeper Test Drive to see how Deeper smart sonars work with the in-app simulation. You can also use the app with a Deeper Smart Sonar and take your smart angling to the next level, with some of the most ingenious settings. Control Your Sonar allows you to select narrow or wide beam scanning and adjust the sensitivity. You can

choose from three different modes (shore, boat and ice), manage fish and depth alarms, add or remove fish icons and depth. Manage Your Data allows you to review your sonar activity history and store all the readings with unlimited

data storage in the app. Finally, Map Every Site You Fish allows you to create and store incredible bathymetric (depth contour) maps on your app. Download the Deeper app today and start fishing smarter. – Deeper

https://goo.gl/OpEFqQ. For more information regarding recreational fishing rules and closures go to www.dpi.nsw. gov.au/fishing/recreational/ resources.

You can report suspected illegal fishing activity by calling Fishers Watch on 1800 043 536 or online at www.dpi. nsw.gov.au. Another way to keep abreast of the latest regulations is to download the FishSmart NSW app . It gives recreational fishers 24/7 access to up-to-date information on where and how to fish, as well as bag and size limits, spearfishing information, fishing safety and useful guides for reporting illegal fishing. Users can also view the location of FADs, artificial reefs and RFAs and real time maps of Marine Parks. A number of useful guides can also be downloaded on fishing.

FISHING FILL-ITS

How old is your dusky flathead? DPI researchers have produced a graph allowing anglers to estimate the age of the dusky flathead that they catch. The graph is split into 5cm length classes, with the most common age for each size class highlighted. The shaded area is the spread of ages for each size class. For example, a flathead of between 50-54cm is most likely to be four years old, but could be a minimum of one or a maximum of seven years old. Th variation is mainly due to the different growth of the sexes, as female flathead grow much faster than males after two

years of age. Females also reach much larger sizes than males. The maximum size for female duskies is about 100cm, while for males it’s just 60cm. The oldest female flatty so far recorded in NSW was 16 years old (and 88.5cm); the largest was 98.5cm (and 13 years old). The oldest and largest male was just 11 years old and only 61.5cm. The data has come from over 5000 duskies collected from NSW waters over the years from the Clarence south to Wallaga Lake. Next time you catch a nice dusky flathead, use the graph to estimate its age. You might be surprised at

the results! COSTLY COCKLE-UP In other news, collecting cockles has cost three recreational fishers fines totalling $1900 after they were found in joint possession of 485 cockles taken from the closed waters of Woolooware Bay, near Taren Point. The waters of Woolooware Bay are closed to the taking of any species of shellfish at any time, and the recreational possession limit of cockles in NSW is 50 per person. In an unrelated incident, three recreational fishers were fined $2000 after being observed collecting shellfish

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from the Sanctuary Zone in the Towra Point Aquatic Reserve. Fisheries Officers apprehended the men on the water at Molineaux Point, and a search of the vessel found 463 cockles concealed under a panel in the bow of the vessel. On-the-spot fines up to $500 can be issued for the separate offences of exceeding bag limits, fishing in closed waters and masters of vessels failing to prevent fisheries offences, with the maximum penalties being $22,000 or six months in prison. There are various closures regarding collecting animals and plants throughout the Sydney region, and more information is available at

Tech Tricks

Build yourself a fast, effective outboard lock BRISBANE

Gordon Macdonald masterbaitertackle@hotmail.com

These days theft is very common. Fishing gear, crab pots and even entire boats and trailers regularly go missing. While some thieves go to lengths to secure what they want, most only take

something if it is quick and easy to take off with. Although battery-powered angle grinders and other cutting devices can sever even the toughest locks, they’ll generally attract some attention. It’s the quick grab and getaway that needs nipping in the bud. Putting hitch locks on your trailer, keyed locks on your boat hatches

and not leaving anything to chance will generally be enough to stop most dishonest individuals. Small outboards are commonly only held on by two screw mechanisms with a flat paddle on each end to allow hand tightening (and loosening) for easy attachment and removal. Many boaters overlook the need to secure their

outboards to their craft. Most smaller outboards weighing less than 35kg are easy fodder for thieves. Padlocking the two nylon paddles together will offer some protection, but a single hit with a hammer or other heavy object will snap one of the paddles to allow quick removal. Numerous outboard locks are available and cost $70-150.

Recently I bought a 3.95m vee-nosed tinny for a bit of crabbing, prawning and freshwater fishing. On the transom was a 2-year-old Yamaha 25. I considered purchasing an outboard lock for it. After seeing the expense for such a simple device, I decided on a DIY project. I had all the basic tools required and was lucky to secure some aluminium

offcuts from a mate. You can also get a metre of suitable box aluminium from Bunnings for around $10, which would make three brackets. Additionally, you could use tube alloy or even stainless steel. Providing it fits lengthways over the paddles on your outboard’s securing screws, it’s suitable. Let’s look at how to make this device.

You’ll need an angle grinder with a cutting disk, safety glasses, a drill with a couple of drill bits (the largest would be 13mm), a G-clamp or two, ruler, marker pen, a file and a piece of aluminium or stainless tube or box around 2530cm long, depending on the distance apart your tightening lugs are. You’ll also need a quality longnose padlock. I have used one that shares a key with padlocks on my spare tyre and tow hitch.

Measure the diameter of the screw on your outboard securing lugs. The majority have a 13mm slot in them, but it’s best to check.

Use the ruler to mark a straight line down the tube from each side of the 13mm hole to indicate where the slot will be cut. The portion in the centre marked with the ‘X’s will be waste material.

With both lugs on your outboard screws facing inwards, slide the tube over until it’s fully on. Mark the spot just to the side of the screw on the open end of the slot where the padlock will go. I like to have the bulk of the padlock resting between the transom and the bracket. Drill through both sides of the aluminium at this position with a hole larger than the diameter of your padlock bolt. Use your file to remove any rough metal shavings.

Use a G-clamp or two to secure the aluminium to the bench. I used a Flexovit 100x1.0x16.0mm Ultra-Fast Cut Reinforced CutOff Wheel, which was less than $2 at Bunnings. Ensure the blade is securely in your grinder and don a pair of safety glasses. Start your cut from the top of the material and score just inside the line by moving the angle grinder backwards and forwards until you are all the way through.

On your tubing, measure in about 30mm from one end and then find the centre. This is the position where you will drill a hole to start the lengthways slot. Using a small drill bit (5mm or less), drill through the aluminium (just through one side of the tube) at this central position. Next, use an 8-10mm drill bit to create a larger hole. Your final hole will need to be roughly 13mm wide, unless your outboard securing screws are a different size. I had a 12mm bit and rocked the bit sideways in the hole to make it slightly larger.

Work along each side of the designated slot, just inside the marked line, until you have cut up each side and can remove the waste section. Go gently with the angle grinder and work in a backwards and forwards motion to avoid the blade biting and gripping, which could snap the blade or make the angle grinder buck out of the slot. For maximum control, use two hands on the grinder. While it’s still clamped to the bench, use your flat hand file to neaten up the slot, both inside the tube and out.

This is how your lock should now look. I used 30mm square tube and found these end plugs at Bunnings for around $1 each, which neatened up this DIY project. Your padlock will need a long throat to fit through the 30mm bar and still close. The better quality the padlock, the harder it is to cut. You can opt for a stainless steel marine padlock, but most normal padlocks will work fine with the occasional dosing of lubricant.

When slid over the outboard securing lugs and locked, this is how your DIY outboard lock will look. Once in position, the other end cap can be tapped in. You can add a little loom tube to the top of the slot to eliminate any rattling. This lock will stop 99% of dishonest individuals.

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Bay Boat Sales

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Hunts Marine

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COWRA

All Service Motors

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Avoiding the ramp rage NSW STH COAST

Steve Starling www.starlofishing.com

When it comes to boat launching and recovery, prior preparation prevents poor performance! Most boaties have a collection of stories detailing incidences of poor boat ramp etiquette. Sadly, many of us have also seen a few examples of ramp rage in our time. I know a few wags who’ll actually get out of bed and drive to their local

involves those misguided folks who back their rigs down the launching ramp first, then stop to undo tie-down straps, remove trailer lights and outboard rests, fit bungs, organise ropes, tilt motors, dress their kids in life vests and even load gear from the vehicle into the boat. This is all extremely poor form, and incredibly frustrating for others waiting patiently in line to launch or recover their own boats. If the perpetrator has also managed to reverse so poorly that his or her

Don’t get me wrong, I understand that everyone has to learn the ropes. None of us are born with the necessary knowledge to do this stuff. But the application of a little common sense and some pre-match practice goes a long way towards alleviating game day disasters. If you’re new to boating, and particularly to backing trailers in the tight confines of boat launching areas, pick a quiet time mid-week (or on a weekend when the weather is too poor for most people to want to go

Even single-handed boat launching and recovery shouldn’t be too hard, especially if you have a prior plan. Of course, a good drive-on trailer helps, too! and so on that you’ll need for the day is securely stowed in the vessel, before you back down onto the ramp. This is also the place and time to undo all those tie-downs, remove motor rests, screw in the bungs (you weren’t going to forget that, were you?) and tilt the motor up off its travelling rest. Naturally, don’t disconnect anything critical that might allow your boat to slide off the trailer mid-ramp! Don’t be afraid to kick the starter over and briefly fire up the motor. Two or three seconds of dry running won’t hurt it, and if the battery is flatter than a pancake (or you’ve inadvertently activated the kill switch), you want to know now, before you hit the water.

Make sure you have a length of rope (it’s called a “line” in nautical parlance) attached firmly to the vessel’s bow cleat. Remember, it’s usually best to leave the winch cable and any last turnbuckles or other fastening at the bow of the vessel connected at this stage. As mentioned, you don’t want the boat sliding off the trailer halfway down the ramp – it’s highly embarrassing and potentially expensive! Check to make sure these final points of attachment are only finger tight and, if they’re not, loosen them now with a pair of pliers. Removing them when it’s time to push the boat off should take seconds, not

minutes. Scrambling in a tool box searching for those pliers at the foot of the ramp simply isn’t a good look. With practice, preparation and a positive plan, everything should proceed smoothly, and your time on the ramp will be minimised. But things can and will occasionally go wrong — for you and others. If and when they do, don’t be afraid to ask for help, or to step in and offer it to those who are obviously in need. Remember: we were all beginners once! Ramp rage doesn’t have to be an integral part of the boating experience, especially if we all pull together and apply a bit of that sadly uncommon quality known as common sense.

Busy boat ramps can and do create stressful situations. ramp (without a boat in tow) on extra busy mornings just to watch these inevitable dramas unfold. This caper beats reality TV shows hands down for levels of sheer human conflict. Easter Sunday, Boxing Day and Australia Day are sure bets for some good old fashioned ramp rage, but any long weekend with a good weather forecast is likely to produce its share of riveting performances for the morbidly voyeuristic. The most common misdemeanour witnessed

semi-jack-knifed trailer and vehicle now occupies two or more lanes of the ramp, the crime is magnified. Words are likely to be exchanged. Sometimes it escalates beyond words. The obvious reasons for increased tension over the holiday periods relate not only to a dramatic surge in traffic volume, but also to the fact that a lot more novice boaties tend to hit the water at these times. The combination of pressure, stress and inexperience leads to trouble.

out fishing), head to the ramp and practise, practise, practise! In particular, learn to rely on your internal and external mirrors when backing a trailer, rather than constantly stretching your neck and turning your head like a paranoid ostrich. Work out a routine. Most launching ramps feature preparation bays where you can park and do all those last minute things before backing down to the water. Use this space to ensure all the fuel, safety gear, fishing tackle, spare clothing, food, water

Tournaments and competitions see lots of boats launched in very narrow time windows. Cooperation and a little patience go a long way toward alleviating stress. 34

MARCH 2017

Boaties milling around waiting to launch or recover their rigs naturally get annoyed when they see folks blocking up ramps for extended periods.

Even with a hire boat, you should have a plan and a pre-launch routine firmly in mind, well before you hit the ramp.

The slow March out of summer COFFS HARBOUR

Stephen Worley info@tdsimages.com.au

This month signifies the start of a slow march out of summer. This march is so slow that March tends not to involve any slow fishing at all. Even though

launch 10ft in the air with your lure in its mouth. This month the stickbaits will be mostly aimed at mackerel. There are some large cobia around that have been popping up to add some variety. There have been mahimahi up for grabs in any water over 24°C, but if you want to catch

some of these you will need to find the structure. The FAD, the wave buoy and the fish traps are what you’re searching for. If the warm water has reached the islands though, you should find the mahimahi around the washes and underwater pinnacles. The snapper are always

Jason O’Brien showing off the other contender in the ‘brightest colour scheme on the water competition.’ I think the orange shirt and beard combo still wins though. it’s technically autumn, the fishing is still as hot as it gets. This month generally sees the peak of the offshore action. The mackerel are in full swing and can be found from the inshore reefs and out to the islands. Spanish mackerel tend to move around with the warm water as the current moves in and out. Spotted mackerel, by contrast, have been staying close to shore, even during the colder side of the temperature fluctuations. Stickbaits continue to grow as one of the more popular lures for targeting these fish. Using your sounder to find the bait and mackerel schools enables you to set up your boat to drift silently through the school rather than trolling around under motor with a live bait. Stickbaits are easy to cast long distances and can be worked reasonably fast, so you can cover the water all around the boat. The other advantage of stickbaits is that you can retrieve them in a variety of ways. You can opt to retrieve them on or near the surface, or let them sink down under the bait schools and work them up. On top of this, stickbaiting catches fish of many different species, and the hits can be extremely aggressive. There aren’t many more exhilarating experiences than watching a mackerel

Stickbaits have become the go-to technique for mackerel. Using double or single hooks instead of trebles can give you a much better hook set on these toothy critters.

active on the Coffs Coast and this last month has been no different. There have been mostly smaller fish closer inshore, with many of the larger fish coming from reefs further offshore in 50-90ft of water. Plastics and slow jigs have been bringing most of the results. ESTUARIES In the estuaries the mangrove jacks have been dominating the story for many anglers. The hot muggy mornings and evenings have produced plenty of jack action. Jerkbaits and surface lures have been undoing most fish. The live baits still get good fish but you are pretty committed to a snag once you drop your live bait in. Throwing lures around allows you to have a more active session. FRESHWATER The hot weather has also been affecting the fishing up on the Dorrigo Plateau. The heat this summer has created some very tough conditions in the trout streams. The effect of the heat has been reduced slightly by the rain that we’ve had. These trying conditions can be used to narrow down your target areas for trout fishing. The tree-lined sections of the smaller streams are fishing the best up on top of the range, and there have been good trout caught well down into the major river systems. The heat has not had any detrimental effect on the bass fishing, and the sticky summer evenings have been producing a lot of surface action in the local freshwater creeks and rivers. Even the slower Orara River has been producing reasonable bass as well as the odd accidental eastern cod. As we slowly march away from summer, I hope your fishing stays as hot as the weather.

Jason O’Brien a bit more stealthily dressed for a successful night time bass mission.

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Will March bring the blues? COFFS GAME

Glen Booth

Yes, it’s more of the same as far as game fishing along the Coffs coast goes. And yes, local game fishos are all heartily sick of it! Weather windows remain few and far between, and we’re still battling to get a full day in before the nor’easter starts to pump. Wind from this direction is a fact of life on the mid north coast during summer, but hell’s bells, this has been a near constant feature since early September. The early summer push of black marlin thinned out pretty quickly in close, but there’s always a chance of another bunch materialising in March, so it’s not necessarily game over yet. The odd bigger specimen might be poking around

with them as well, which represent a real challenge on lighter tackle. There are blues along and over the shelf, but accessing them is hard work. Best plan of attack is get well north from the outset, then come home with the wind. The water is blue, has reached 29°C on some gauges, and the current is running at up to 4 knots at times, so it’s a fast trip back south when the boat is turned round. Don’t overshoot! If a wave-tossed ocean doesn’t excite you, there have been some reasonable mackerel about in close, with a beast of a Spanish in excess of 30kg coming from South Solitary, and smaller ones (including spotties) at other known haunts. Slimy mackerel, which are so often the key to a good day out, have kept

everyone guessing on a day-to-day basis. While readily available, sometimes they’re real horses, making the standard two-hook mackerel rig somewhat inadequate as the stinger only comes halfway down the back. Slimy mackerel make great marlin baits at this size, but they aren’t so good for the razor gang. The other drawback is that the smaller spotties sometimes find it difficult to chop through them, resulting in a lot of zippy missed bites. Unfortunately, Coffs has had a pool of manky, albeit warm, water trapped on the coast for too long now, and that has made the mackerel action a bit here and there. It hasn’t helped concentrate the juvenile black marlin either. It’s good to the north and south, but not so great out the front. What we need is some decent southerly

weather to disperse the murky stuff and fire the place up. Anything but these incessant nor’easters… SOLITARY ISLANDS TOURNAMENT The Solitary Islands Game Fishing Club will again be conducting its Heavy Tackle Challenge out of Coffs Harbour on March 25-26. A heavy tackle event, the minimum line class is 24kg, with the specific aim of targeting blue marlin, which if correctly identified (and photographed) receive bonus points over blacks and stripes. For further details contact club President Clayton Livingston on 0428 651 814 or go to the club’s website at www.solitaryislands gamefishingclub.com. We’re long overdue for a long run of settled weather and great fishing folks, so hope to see you here.

Sam French checks out the dimensions of his blue marlin, caught aboard Foreign Exchange.

FISHING FILL-ITS

Soon it will be curtains for carby 2-strokes timetable, which phases out motors that produce high pollution, has now been announced. The final bill will now be passed Photo: Justin Gilligan

standards for non-road spark ignition engines and equipment rated at 19kW and below. The Outboard Emissions Standards

Planning a trip to the Coffs Coast? Th ere

’s pl e

nty to

d n a see

! o d

The Solitary Islands Marine Park is renowned for its excellent fishing, diving, snorkelling, surfing and many other family activities. Spanning 75km of coastline from Muttonbird Island at Coffs Harbour to Plover Island at Sandon, the Marine Park is over 71,000 hectares in size. The five Solitary Islands and surrounding reefs are a key feature of the Park. In the Solitary Islands Marine Park there is over 550 species of reef fish, 100 species of coral and 600 species of mollusc. Marine parks are multiple use and a zoning plan is in place to manage this natural asset.

Prior to visiting the Solitary Islands Marine Park pick up a Zoning Summary and User Guide from the local marine park office at 32 Marina Drive, Coffs Harbour Jetty

For further information call 02 6691 0600 www.marine.nsw.gov.au 36

MARCH 2017

and regulations in place by August. Importers will then have up to nine months to plan for final shipments to arrive. Private owners will not be affected. “The final date for carby 2-stroke imports is 30 June 2018,” said Gary Fooks, Chair of the Blue Sky Alliance. “Stockpiling will be actively discouraged. Importers and dealers will be able to sell non-compliant engines for 12 months after imports stop. After 1 July 2019, any carby outboards in stock at dealers or importers must be destroyed or re-exported.” Mr Fooks said that dealers who embrace the changes, and move buyers toward clean engines, will be better off.

come fishing at

Photo: Nicola Johnstone

In late 2015, Environment ministers endorsed the National Clean Air Agreement introducing emission

G1S7 N I OKfor 20 O B now

“Dealers will be tempted to stockpile old technology outboards but that’s a gamble which may not work out,” Fooks said. “A handful of buyers may snap up the last 2-strokes but many more will invest in compliant engines with solid resale values and assured spare parts availability.” Very few exceptions will be made for non-compliant engines. “With a carby 8hp 2-stroke pushing out 59% more emissions per hour than a 150hp 4-stroke, exemptions were never viable,” Mr Fooks explained. “To be fair, the new emissions standards will also target mowers, generators, chainsaws and brushcutters – all below 25hp. Exemptions will be

granted only when no clean alternative is viable.” A review of evaporative standards had been scheduled, but it has now been pushed back two years. Evap standards in the USA require low permeation fuel lines and a carbon canister on the vent line. The Australian standards will be based on the USA EPA rules, but to make it easier for importers, outboards with certification in the USA, EU, Canadian and California (CARB) will pass. For more information on the National Clean Air Agreement, and how it affects boaters, visit www.environment.gov. au/protection/air-quality. - Marine Council

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Brent Kirk kempsey@compleatangler.com.au

The early season pelagic run was a lot quieter this year than it has been in the last few seasons, although there is still plenty of time and good water to hit our shores, so don’t put away the gear just yet. The juvenile black marlin that we usually encounter on our close grounds in large numbers have only been a smattering of fish so far this season. The word from up north is much of the same. Mackerel catches have been sporadic. A lot of this can be put down to the strong northeasterly winds that have been lashing our shores for months on end making it hard for anyone to consistently target these fish. Good numbers of cobia are being found around the headlands and bait reefs of

the area. Slow trolling bonito around any area holding bait will put you in with a good chance at enticing a cobia. Don’t be scared to use a really big bait. Bonito have been relatively easy to find in the washes and around the shallow bait reefs. Slimy mackerel have been finicky at times and the majority are being found out in the deeper water rather than in the bay. As we move into March, the winds should settle down a little and allow better access to the vast array of species that are offshore at this time of year. Yellowfin tuna are starting to show up wide of Fish Rock and their bluefin cousins won’t be far away. Once tuna show up in numbers, you can rest assured that big Spanish mackerel and wahoo will never be too far away. The current has been a bit stopstart lately and on the slack days some quality snapper,

pearl perch and mulloway have been caught from the depths. Beach fishing is improving now with good catches of whiting, bream and flathead starting to come in on a fairly regular basis. Some massive shovelnose sharks have been patrolling the gutters, especially after dark, making things interesting for unsuspecting anglers. There have been a few stories going around of people thinking they had the

solid flathead as they prey on the small baitfish and prawns that inhabit this environment. Trevally have been holding in the upper tidal reaches of the local creeks and rivers. Some of these fish have been fairly solid and will put up a good show for themselves, especially when targeted on light gear. Grub-tailed soft plastics, soft vibes and surface lures like Bassday Sugapens in 70 and 95mm will do the job nicely, all you need to do is locate

Sam Redman with a solid trevally taken from the upper tidal limit.

ROCKS Marine

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Marty Nicholls found a good hole full of bass.

mulloway of a lifetime only to be drawn into a long battle with the notorious ‘Hat Head flathead.’ The lower reaches of the Macleay River have been home to reasonable numbers of whiting, especially up on the sand flats. Some absolute crackers have been caught this year on lures and bait alike. Flathead have been found along the drop-offs and weed bank edges. Bouncing larger lightly weighted soft plastics over this weed has been the undoing of some

the baitfish schools and you will usually be able to draw out an explosive strike fairly quickly. The upper reaches of the river are in dire need of some decent rain. Recent isolated falls have improved the flow a little. More falls throughout the catchment would make things even better. The bigger, deeper holes have some amazing bass in them, so if you can find an area free of weed you will be up for an awesome session.

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Golden Lure Tournament was a golden success PORT MACQUARIE

Mark Saxon castawayestuarycharters@bigpond.com

The Port Macquarie Game Fishing Club’s thirty-third annual Golden Lure will go down as one of the most

successful tournaments to date. More than two hundred anglers and 47 game boats all made Port Macquarie their home for a week. The marina was packed with boats from up and down the coast. The fishing was good with 128 marlin, one

sailfish, 31 mahimahi, one yellowfin and 28 sharks, all tagged and released. Well done to all on a tremendous comp. There was plenty of action on the water for

some vessels with Calypso 3 taking out the award for Most Tagged and Released with 13 marlin. The Most Blue Marlin Tagged went to a recount and was taken out by Doghouse just pipping

Bream are still hitting surface lures, and the Pro Lure SF62 Pencil has been a go-to lure for them. White Dog – sounds like a real dogfight! Another great part of the Golden Lure week is the Tammy and Richard Kirby

Julie McGuire with a tagged and released mahimahi.

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Ladies and Junior Day. All proceeds go to the Port Macquarie Oncology unit and there were some great captures during this event.

Alex with his biggest flatty, a whopping 80cm.

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MARCH 2017

Zac Danby fished aboard Chicka and caught a 135kg blue marlin to take out Junior Champion. Patrick Lawler from Cruel Intentions was the Junior Tag and Release winner for the day.

Kerry Anne Thompson aboard Milo got Adult Lady Capture and Hannah Wykes from Reel Trouble took out the Ladies Tag and Release. It was a great effort from all the anglers

Kate Shelton with one of four black marlin that she tagged aboard Blackout.

who took part in this day. Great job, skippers. Overall, it was a great event with lots of marlin and plenty of blacks caught on lures and liveys. Port Macquarie GFC would like to thank all sponsors and participating anglers who make this event a must on the gamefishing calendar. WHAT’S BITING On the local fishing front, in the more laidback atmosphere of the rivers, fishing has been quite exceptional. Flathead have been on the chew and they are some crackers as well. Most edges have been holding a few in the 30-50cm range. The odd bigger girl has been getting in on the act as well. As I always say to my clients, be prepared for a big girl. Make sure your leader to your lure is spot on every cast, even if you are only pulling smaller flatties. That bigger fish will be the one that finds any chafing in your leader! Bass fishing has always been good at this time of year in the Maria and Wilson rivers. Surface fishing will still be our main form of attack. Tiemco soft shell cicadas have been outstanding again this year. Presentation will be important, so casting tight into the structure will be

Kate with another black marlin from her big day. required. The results will speak for themselves! Mulloway fishing in the rivers should also be worth a try this month, so get your vibes and bigger plastics ready and make March a month to remember. Enjoy March and its fishing. Remember, if you get a great fish pic, send an emailed copy to castawayestuarycharters@ bigpond.com.

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. ..Warm offshore waters produce the goods

nr h?

morwong and pigfish from the reefs. Close inshore, trolling will produce plenty of bonito and the odd mac tuna that are great as a cut bait over the reef and hard ground areas. While most anglers are tight-lipped about where they caught their fish, one group let slip that they had been fishing just off Black Head. The DPI will have their FAD (fish aggregating device) deployed until June when they retrieve it to prevent interference with the whale migration. Until then, and particularly this month, the device will be a fish magnet for

FORSTER

David Seaman dseamo@bigpond.com

nhe.n..

March is a month where anything could happen. The offshore fishery is still under a blanket of warm water and the odd spotted and Spanish mackerel turn up along with the small black and striped marlin. The weather settles a bit too, with plenty of opportunity to get out onto the shelf and surrounding reefs. Mixed bags of trag, nannygai, snapper and flathead are supported by

wor ont.h.?. b a the Lathke Leaorke or

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baitfish, mahimahi, kingfish and the larger predators like sharks. The FAD is located at 32° 13.211’ 152° 40.680’ approximately 16.5km from Cape Hawke headland. Shane Crockett of Forster Sport and Game Fishing Charters has been accommodating all manner of clients from game to reef bouncing for the table with a great deal of success. The lake and rivers are at their best over the next few months, with flathead and bream pushing up into the freshwater wherever they can. The surface action is at its peak, with bream going

LakeaLankceean OLcaekeO n a ovtoohue n a hW c yehcbahoyc hyyotcuh coheaoahsenvO ? h? canyou chaynchhaovoesebowthen

Dart can become a pest, but targeting them on lures is a worthwhile challenge.

W n have both? you caStreet 15 Wallarah Watkins Road

crazy for popper or cicada pattern lures. Fishing the snags with soft plastics or crab Swansea Wangi Wangi Crescent Street 30 Gommera Street Street 15 Wallarah Street Watkins Road still catch the style will 24 Paley Crescent 24 Paley 30 Gommera 15 Wallarah Watkins Road lures BelmontBlacksmiths South Blacksmiths Swansea Wangi Wangi A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores Belmont South Swansea Wangi Wangi bream, but also doubles your Located on a peninsular Juststroll a shortfrom stroll from quiet and A spacious tree filled park Nestled between the shores Located onLocated a peninsular surrounded a short on a peninsular Just a shortJust stroll from A spaciousthe tree filled park Nestled between the shores surrounded the Lake, with the quiet andand patrolled on the shores of the Lake. of Lake Macquarie and on the shores of the Lake. ofthebyLake Macquarie surrounded the Lake, with quiet and patrolled on the shores beach. of the Lake. of Lake Macquarie and by the Lake, by with waterfront Blacksmiths waterfront accommodationpatrolled Blacksmiths beach. 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done of an evening with yabby or flesh baits drifted along the same sort of structure and racks that you would fish lures during the day. Anchoring up from a lease and drifting your baits along the edge, especially in The Paddock, is ideal if you are looking for a feed. Don’t discount flathead and whiting if you are lucky enough to have some fresh or live prawns in and around The Paddock area. For those with small boats, kayaks or canoes, the upper section of the Wallingat and Coolongolook rivers are fishing well for bream on surface and you won’t see too many people up that way. Pulling a feed of mud crabs shouldn’t be too

much of a drama either. Blue swimmers in the main lake have been consistent, as most of the illegal poaching has eased with end of school holidays. Set your pots on the drop offs near the weed beds and you should be right. Where there is slight current, even better. Fishing the rocks you will see a few school mulloway from areas like Elizabeth Beach or North end of Blueys. There are a few pigs moving around with plenty of dart, the odd trevally and chopper tailor. Early morning spin sessions can product some rat kings, mac tuna and bonito, as well as schools of tailor that

vary from chopper to kilo models. The shallow broken reef headlands like Diamond Beach and Black Head have a variety of species including pigs, bream and some good sized leatherjackets, so finding a feed from the rocks should be an easy thing to do. One guy I saw at Janies Corner was fishing the beach with ganged pilchards and he had struck a patch of decent flathead. All four fish were in the 50cm range, and he told me the whiting have been big where he targets them with live beach worms. So there is no excuse not to find a fish or two this month, it’s just a matter of what you want to target.

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The mullet are on the move HARRINGTON-TAREE

Ian Pereira ianpereira@aapt.net.au

The past month has been dominated by two weather changes. The first is the cold water that moved onto the coast and put the fish off the bite and the second is the lack of rain in the upper reaches of the Manning. The Manning above the falls is barely moving and the river is very low. The springs have opened which has seen around a 6” rise in the water level. At least there is some clear water on the top of the stream. Most of the river is clogged up by weed and a good fresh surge is needed to clean out the fresh water part of the Manning. Downstream in the estuarine part of the river the water is very salty and flathead and bream can be found up above Wingham. The cold water has been replaced with water of 22°C and the ocean fish are back on the bite. ESTUARY Some good-sized fish have been landed since the warmer water pushed up the river. A 44cm whiting, a 73cm flathead and an 82cm mulloway were all caught the

week I wrote this report. The mulloway took a soft plastic lure fished from the wall. The best catches of whiting are coming from the sand spit in the mouth of the river. Flathead are taking soft plastic lures, hard bodied lures and all types of bait. The southern arm of the Manning at Old Bar is also producing good catches of flathead. BEACH AND ROCKS Fishing has improved over the past month, with bream being caught on the

southern end of Crowdy beach on worms. Tailor and salmon are present, but not in great numbers. They tend to move around a lot and can be hard to find. There are plenty of small sharks on Crowdy Beach and as dusk approaches they take any baits intended for tailor or mulloway. You will find that 30cm of 40kg wire will allow most of these pests to be landed. OFFSHORE Now that the water has warmed there are some fish

It’s always fun to catch bream off the surface.

back on the bite. Mahi mahi are plentiful around the FAD but are small. Much larger fish can be taken from around the wave rider. Snapper and trag have been caught on the northern grounds while flathead are biting well off the mouth of the Manning. Out wide, the current is very fast and it is too hard to get bait to the bottom. Slimy mackerel can be found in big schools around the close in reefs. March is the time when the mullet school up in the lower reaches of the river. They will usually run around ANZAC Day if they are on time. This year should be a bumper year for mullet, as I have never seen as many fish as there are in the river now. Plenty of mullet means plenty of mulloway and plenty of sharks. A live mullet or a fresh slab floated around a school of fish will soon get the attention of a big predator. When fishing the river a line of 20kg and a 10 hook will handle most fish. There will always be the one that finds a rock or a snag to break the line on but most times they will be boated. On the beach, fishing with worms, squid heads or small flesh baits 10kg line and a 4/0 or 6/0 hook will suffice.

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Dodged a bullet with Hunter River diesel spill HUNTER COAST

Gary Earl earlybird13@optusnet.com.au

This summer the searing heat has been nearly unbearable. Waters that have seen some problems have made for hard fishing in our river systems. Luckily offshore, beach and rock fishing has saved us on the days we couldn’t get out on the rivers. I’m not going to pull any punches this month. The truth is we just aren’t looking after our waterways in this area of the coast lately. The Hunter River has seen a diesel spill in the tidal mid region around Raymond Terrace from a council yard. Luckily this was found sooner than later and

being a government entity, not a lot will happen. If you consider these two events and what the Williamtown RAAF Base has done to Tilligerry Creek in Port Stephens, you can see we aren’t drawing up a good plan on how we use and store contaminants, especially when they’re close to waterways. There needs to be a change or we could say goodbye to the great fishing we have in this area. I’ve had my spat now. The saviours for us are the other areas that we are blessed with. The beaches have been the best place to be. This month it won’t be much different. Big sand whiting, tailor, flathead, bream, mulloway and scatters of salmon have kept anglers busy. Most of the fish have

Salmon are becoming a year-round fish on the Hunter Coast. They love lures and are great to watch jumping around in the surf. was boomed off with water traps. It still affected the area though, and the rainbow of diesel that was going down tide wasn’t a place you wanted to be to take fish of any species. If this spill had happened at the end of April, the bass population would’ve been in serious trouble. That is the month that most of our big fish move through this area down further to spawn, so we dodged a bullet there. Then we found out the Williams River above the weir has had a blue-green algae bloom, so it’s off limits to some of our really good bass fishing. This could be from the intense heat and little water flow, or drains water polluted by cattle that somehow entered the main river system. What has a bee in my bonnet is why large stores of fuel can be so close to our rivers in the first place. If a privately-owned company had done this, that business would have been fined severely, but

been taken on fresh bait gathered on the spot. Worms, pipis and ghost crabs are easy to get on the beach and have been working a lot better than pre-frozen packet bait. Most anglers I have spoken to are starting to pull into the reputable tackle shops, or the fishing co-op itself. They are keeping fresh mullet, garfish, yellowtail, mackerel, prawns and brined pilchards and they are using

them with better results. I can see why this is necessary. Sometimes I cringe at the freezer-burnt offerings that are in the freezers at service stations. It’s a similar story at the bait vending machines that sit in the sun all day. As 40°C is common here at times, you have to ask yourself what sort of bait these machines will dispense. My experience with them hasn’t been good. Nothing can beat live caught or fresh bait that hasn’t been frozen umpteen times. The best time on the beach to soak a bait has been late afternoon as the tide rises. The gutters have been stocked with decent tailor as well as bream. Many anglers forget that a casting session with a lure can reap benefits on the beach for a multitude of fish. The old days of just setting up a bait on a rod in a beach tube holder are far past. You can wander down the beach from your set lines, cast and hook flathead with slower retrieves of a lure and get onto tailor that are nosing around, but not touching the baits you have out. On faster lures that cut through the water, chrome lures are the best. The reflection of them twisting through the waves can be seen by fish a long way away. Even stickbaits in numerous sizes can be thrown into the suds. Small red lures will hook whiting and flathead, as the fish on the beach know the worm-red colour in this environment. Experimenting is what fishing is about and it keeps you busy. While you are waiting for a baited rod to go off, other methods can see you take fish you would’ve missed. There is no end to the ways you can fish. On the rocks, the fishing has been pretty good. Spinning with heavy chrome lures has been taking tailor and bonito. Bait fishing has caught nice bream in the washed areas and green weed has worked on luderick that are way out of season. The numbers of luderick are so high that they are in some areas all year round now. Small kingfish and school sharks have been a nuisance to the live bait land-based game fishos looking for other large species. The lengths these

hardcore fishers go to to get a tuna or huge kings from the rocks is mind blowing, carrying in kiddies’ swimming pools, huge gaffs, 3-4 rods and backpacks that weigh up to 30kg. It’s usually a team effort to land fish like this and it’s a way to meet other anglers and gather knowledge from their experiences. You’re never too old to learn something new from a fisher that’s sharing a ledge with you. I know some anglers have showed me tricks over the years to make my day more efficient and pleasant. With the amount of people who’ve drowned in New South Wales since New Years, we need to be very careful rock fishing and around our waterways. Try to fish with a friend and not alone – safety in numbers is a good call. Outside on the big blue pond, the fishing has been touch and go. Reports have been scarce, but this could be due to the heatwaves we have been experiencing lately. Snapper and squire have been in schools that have been on and off on the Dumping Grounds, the Marbles and the Mudhole. School mulloway have been travelling with them and those reef areas have been holding mulloway

An array of squid jigs. Razorbacks with the extra prongs on the back work very well. up to about 8-10kg. This size has been the norm lately and most fish have been taken on fresh bonito, squid and slimy mackerel fillets. Smaller prawn baits have been the best for the numbers of morwong that are over the reefs. On late afternoons the surface fish have been showing up. Schools of tailor have been travelling through hugging the coast, so the closer reefs have been better spots to be for them. Large squid have also been caught on the close reefs. Those few extra spikes on the back of the jigs are just magic and it’s as simple as dropping a jig to the bottom and lifting it a few feet up. Let the rocking of the boat in the swell do the fishing. You just

have to watch it bend and you know you have hooked up. Huge squid have come from the reefs of late. Crabbing has been good in the lower Hunter, with both arms producing blue swimmers. Now until April is the prime crabbing time on this part of the coast, and all the months with the letter ‘r’ in them are the best (September to April). Sometimes, if the current stays nice and warm, the rivers will be warm enough for another month to be added to that season. Mullet and luderick scraps are by far the best baits for them in pots or dillies, but butcher’s off-cuts or tins of cat food punctured and tied into traps are a good backup.

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March is the most exciting month offshore! PORT STEPHENS

Paul Lennon

It’s that time of year again when the fishing becomes that red-hot in Port Stephens that the biggest problem we have is deciding just what species to target! The options are vast, offering everything from big mulloway inside the estuary to longtail tuna off the stones to inshore black marlin. INSIDE Inside the bay you will find plenty of flathead spread throughout the lower end of

the system with soft plastics, vibes and hardbodies, as well as the old fashion slow-rolled ganged pilchard all doing the job. The best areas to find them are in the corners of most of the estuary beaches that meet rocky headlands and shorelines, as well as at the mouths of feeder creeks, bays and around edges of shallow structure. The oyster racks and rock bars around Soldiers Point through to Tahlee have been holding some cracking bream, which are hitting surface lures as well as hardbodied minnows and 2-3” plastics.

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If you like your bait fishing, you can also get stuck into a few bream through these same areas by sending a unweighted nipper or prawn down a berly trail on the high tide. Whiting have shown no signs of slowing down yet, with Jimmys Beach, Shoal Bay, and Nelson Bay Beaches all producing numbers on early morning or late afternoon high tides. Live worms are the key to whiting in these areas, as well as light leaders between 2-4lb. There should be plenty of mulloway inside the estuary this month, with the Nelson Bay Rockwall, Anchorage and the deep water around Soldiers Point all worth a shot. As always, fresh squid or a live bait will no doubt be your best chance of success when chasing mulloway, especially when fished around the tide changes. BEACHES Whiting are still prevalent on the ocean beaches, with those anglers using live worms and fishing the gutters on the tides having

A Port Stephens inshore black marlin makes a last ditch effort to escape! plenty of success. Dawn and dusk periods are producing a few quality tailor along Fingal Spit, Box Beach and Samurai, with metal spinners or ganged up garfish the best thing to catch them on. It’s one of the best months of the year to catch a mulloway on the beach, so stick around

OFFSHORE It’s probably the most exciting month of the year to be fishing offshore in Port Stephens. The inshore black marlin fishery that Port Stephens is famous for is at its peak, with double figure number days not out of the question. At the same time, the marlin fishing on the shelf can be just as impressive, with big numbers of stripes showing up as well as a few blacks and odd big blue. In close around the islands, snapper are

there to be caught during dawn and dusk periods with soft plastics and unweighted baits. The 21, Vee and Gibber reefs are reportedly holding good numbers of Trag. Small mahimahi to 5kg have been active around the Port Stephens FAD, with trolled diving minnows proving the most effective way to extract a them. Its also always worth putting a live bait out when fishing around the FAD, as the odd bigger mahimahi or marlin are always on the cards.

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after dark with some fresh squid or cut baits and you’ll be in with a real shot. OFF THE STONES Off the stones, longtail tuna will start to turn it on as they move down the coast smashing up schools of slimy mackerel, yellowtail and garfish. While spinning one up on 60-80g metals or a stickbait is always a possibility, the most popular and effective way to get connected to one of these torpedos is by suspending a live bait under a cigar float. The elusive and prized Port Stephens cobia is another potential capture at this time of year while employing the same methods as used for the longtails.

Big flathead are becoming more active as we move into the cooler months.

Fired up fishing in the searing heat waves SWANSEA

Jason Scerri coloratolures@hotmail.com

It’s been a very hot summer here in our region this year. We’ve seen many days in the 40°C zone. We have also seen some very nice warm water. The fishing has been pretty hot as well, which is great to see. We are coming into a great month – March generally has productive fishing for many forms of the sport. The winds have been pretty terrible up until now, so we are hoping that will change for the remaining month or two of the warm period of the year. Lake Macquarie has been very productive this summer and it should continue to be for the next month or two with the current run of fish. We are seeing good catches of whiting in the lake. Whiting are always a welcome fish in the esky, as they are tasty and a great light tackle sportfish. Most of these fish are coming from Salts Bay and the flats around the sand islands. Bait anglers are scoring a few on live worms while lure anglers are getting into some

good numbers on topwater lures such as poppers and walk-the-dog style lures. Shallow diving hardbody lures thrown for bream are accounting for many of these tasty fish. Speaking of bream fishing, it has been sensational to say the least. Some days are seeing double-digit numbers in one hour sessions. Most fish are quite good and a few thumpers are in the mix. The shallow flats and lake edges are producing the goods. A mix of small soft plastics and variety of hardbody lures are all working well and scoring good results. If the weather is very still, fish slightly deeper. The fish will often be too spooked in the shallows if it’s calm. With the recent wind, that hasn’t been a problem for most. Kingfish numbers seem down a little this year. It’s possible that people are keeping things under wraps, but I haven’t seen or heard many solid reports on the kingfish front. On the other hand, mulloway are still around in very good numbers. Bait fishers are seeing results on live squid and lure anglers are getting the silver ghosts on soft plastics regularly. Smaller plastics in the 3-5”

range are more productive. Deeper waters are the go if you’re after a mulloway or three. They are around all hours of the day. With the summer crowds on the lake, early morning and late afternoons have been far more productive of late, and this will be the same pattern for the next month or two. Flathead continue to please anglers looking for table fish. Belmont Bay and other northern locations in the lake seem to be producing the better numbers. The flathead are falling to a variety of baits – prawns and pilchard pieces are the pick of them. We’ve also been getting a few on the bream gear as by-catch, which can get a little expensive when you’re running very light leaders on your bream lures. Offshore fishing has been patchy. We’re still hopeful that this will change and that the next hot bite is just around the corner. The fish are out there and being caught, just not in the numbers we have seen in the past year or two. That can change any day now. Persistence is the key and those crews putting in the hours out on the big blue are getting the results.

Black and striped marlin are being caught in 50-70 fathoms. Skirted trolling lures around 6-10” do the most damage. As is often the case each year, we are seeing very healthy mahimahi coming in as by-catch from the marlin anglers. No one ever complains about a nice mahimahi as by-catch. They are one of the tastiest fish in the ocean and a great sportfish that often put on a good aerial display. Shark crews continue to see huge fish. More than a few have been brought into the weight station this season that have pulled the scales down well over 200kg, with a few over 400kg. There are long days and bumpy conditions for these dedicated shark crews, but the wait is often worth it. The better fish are out wide and come from out over the continental shelf, around the Norah Canyons region. Anglers offshore chasing a feed are also being rewarded for their efforts. Some days are seeing legal mahimahi coming from the Fisheries FADs. There are a few methods that work on these fish. If one isn’t working, try the next until you crack the code. I will

often come into the FAD with a couple of small 5” lures trolled out the back and will do a wide lap around the FAD. If there are no other boats there, I’ll get close. If there are boats there, respect them and hang a little wider. If this method fails to produce, I do a few drifts

past the FAD with a running ball sinker setup and a half pilchard or less on a 2/0 hook. If this also fails, I’ll do a few more drifts working the same area with a variety of soft plastics from 3-6” in a variety of colours. If that doesn’t work either, they’re not on the chew, so it’s time for your plan B.

Jason Hodges with a very respectable bream. It’s not bad at all for his first bream on a hardbody lure.

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Jamie Robley jrobley@iprimus.com.au

Over the coming weeks we’ll be noticing a sharp decline in daylight hours, with mornings just starting to become a bit cooler. While this reminds us that autumn

has arrived, it also signals a month of great fishing ahead. I wouldn’t be alone in saying autumn is my favourite season. Firstly, that rotten humidity is on the way out, so spending some time outdoors becomes more comfortable. Persistent summer northeasterlies are also on the decline at this time

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of year, making way for those crisp southwesterly morning breezes. This means it’s a lot better for offshore fishing, especially when launching at Norah Head and Terrigal. Without getting hammered by northeasterlies, small boats can also stay out longer and get stuck into the good fishing that’s on offer. During March, we’ve normally got a consistent run of inshore pelagic species, dominated by bonito and kingfish. As we move further into the season, the average size of kingfish is likely to step up a notch, with more models between 5-10kg likely. While there’s always a chance of pinning these hardfighting fish with lures, by far the best approach is slow trolling a live squid adjacent to bommies, major headlands and obvious places like Bird Island for example.

case in the coming weeks. Bronze whalers also showed up in force last March and they’ve already been pestering anglers this year. If you’re prepared for them, with a wire trace, they do put up a great fight and aren’t bad to eat when promptly bled, skinned and cut into smaller chunks. Many anglers will probably be keen to pin a mulloway though, and the good news is a few have been around lately. Bream numbers normally start to increase along our beaches from now on and they’ll become more common as ocean water temperatures begin to fall next month. At the moment though, bream are certainly worth targeting in the gutters close to shore. Whiting, tarwhine and flathead also like to cruise just behind the shore dump, looking for dislodged food items like pipis, crabs and worms. A pipi or worm bait

If weather and sea conditions are favourable, bonito are a great fish to target from our deep water rock ledges this month. best month of the year to do it. Rock fishing has a lot to offer right now, with pretty much all species available and willing to take a bait or lure. My old favourites the bonito should hopefully be in good numbers around South Avoca,

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The author with an average bream from Tuggerah Lake that snatched a small vibe worked through the shallows. Plenty of bream like this are on offer during March. If squid are hard to come by, the next best thing is a big garfish, followed by others like pike or yakkas. If all else fails, don’t neglect fish that we normally wouldn’t consider as bait, like mado, sweep or even a legal bream. Kings will definitely scoff down such offerings, if they’re alive and in front of their face. Aside from larger beasties like marlin out wide, March is also a time when the occasional beaky turns up right in close, so if you’re chasing kings or bonito on light tackle, it’s not a bad idea to have a heavier lever drag outfit rigged up and ready. Cobia are another fish that has a habit of taking local anglers by surprise around this time of year. Beach fishing has generally been good in recent weeks, although at times a tad hit and miss due to some poor beach formations, wind and a few patches of bad weather. This time last year, we had a good run of tailor along some beaches and I enjoyed some of the best tailor fishing I’ve seen in many years. Fingers crossed this will also be the

will interest any of these fish, but when using fish flesh baits like pillies or strips of tailor or mullet, bream and flathead are more likely to be hooked. If you enjoy this lighter style of beach fishing, this is about the

Terrigal, Wybung Head and Snapper Point, with the main platform under Norah Head lighthouse also being good at times. Overall, if the weather and winds are favourable, casting

metal lures or whole pillies for bonnies should be good. The main thing that can get in the way are big seas, and at this time of year it’s not uncommon for an east coast low or ex tropical cyclone to push big swell along our stretch of coastline. Keep a close eye on weather and sea forecasts before planning a rock fishing trip this month. Brisbane Waters and Tuggerah Lakes have been fishing reasonably well in recent weeks and unless it floods, the good times will continue. It’s largely about bream and flathead, with lots of bream being around in the lakes right now. Unfortunately, I haven’t encountered as many larger bream over the past few months as I have during the previous few summer and autumn periods. Having said that, bigger bream do tend to show up more through autumn and even the average or smaller models become fatter as they feed up in preparation for their annual spawning activities. All in all, there’s a lot of great fishing to be had this month. If one species isn’t cooperating, it’s a simple matter of changing tactics and trying your luck for something else.

Bird Island is a major piece of structure that’s likely to attract quality kingfish this month. The Bull at Norah Head and Lion Island at Broken Bay are similar in that decent kings can be caught by slow trolling livebaits around them.

March mixed bag mayhem ILLAWARRA

Greg Clarke clarkey1@westnet.com.au

With so many options available, where do you start? You could fish in a puddle on the side of the road this month and catch fish. The offshore scene is firing on all cylinders from the surf zone to beyond the shelf, so there’s something for everyone. Salmon, frigate mackerel, bonito, mack tuna, kingfish and trevally are gathering in schools all along the coast, chasing down the baitfish. The birds often give away their presence, as do the slashing splashes on the surface as they go about their business of getting fat. They are great fun on light tackle and you also get a feed or plenty of bait, depending on what grabs your lure. For the best results, very small metal lures cast into the schools and retrieved at speed are about all you will need. As always, keep a few live

there are spotties about and you’ll get a second chance. Rainbow runners are another visitor that come down on the current, with fish up to several kilos showing every year. Even a few amberjack could be thrown into the mix. Other regulars that hug the coastline are the longtails. They’re caught less often. More come through than you realise and they are usually right behind the surf, close to the headlands. They’re a better option for the land-based anglers and some are caught each year. This far south there are usually bigger fish and they will be more prevalent next month. Further offshore there are still a few marlin over the close reefs like Bandit and Wollongong and the Hump up north. Slow trolled live slimy mackerel is the number one bait. A by-catch of big kings is on the cards as well. Further out, the FADs are still holding some decent mahimahi. You will have to be early to beat the boats, as they

A few mack tuna will be around. These fish are great fun on light line and make awesome bait. baits in the tank to cast into the schools. There are usually a few bigger fish hanging around, picking off the less cautious smaller pelagics. It’s kingfish time, so these will be the usual culprits when your livey is smashed. There are fish in all the usual spots like Bellambi, the islands, Bass Point and Rangoon. They can pop up anywhere where there are other fish feeding on the small baitfish. The good thing is that with the warm water that has been pushing down the coast since January, there are plenty of northern visitors willing to smash a live bait and some surprising captures. Every year at this time there are a few cobia picked up with the kings. Some are just little tackers while others are better fish of 15kg or more. Other predators are about too in the form of Spanish mackerel and spotties. The first thing you will notice if these are about is you will have lost your hook and didn’t feel a thing. This means it’s time to put on a bit of wire. You may have missed your chance and it’s possible you won’t see another. Sometimes

go off the bite pretty quickly once there is a bit of traffic. They would probably stay on for longer if it wasn’t for the greedy maniacs who blast back to the FAD under full throttle putting the fish down. If they just took their time and used stealth, the fish would stay active for so much longer, thus giving them more fish. With the dollies about there will always be an apex predator in the area. A big livie drifted a bit away from the crowd will pull the marlin or sharks that are about. Further afield it is blue marlin time on the shelf and beyond. Solid fish are taken

in March every year. Trolling lures has always been the style of choice. Using the sounder to find bait and dropping large mackerel down deep with weights works quite well. You just cover a lot less ground and concentrate your effort on the bait schools, which is where the fish usually are anyway. If trolling, put a smaller lure or two out, as there will be a few yellowfin tuna of varying sizes getting about in the deep water this month and a few wahoo if the hot water keeps pushing down. If there is little current, bottom fishing around the Kiama Canyons will produce blue-eye trevalla and even a hapuka or two. Back in close there are plenty of nice snapper over the inshore reefs and they will get better as the month progresses. Plastics are working in water depths of 15m and deeper. Late afternoon fishing in the shallows (water under 10m) with berley is scoring fish as well. A few teraglin have been spotted at the ramps, so there are probably more being caught and kept quiet. Samsonfish, trevally, mowies and even a few stray pearl perch have come in. The flathead are still biting well over the sand patches and they are good quality fish too. On the beaches it is first class fishing with everything on the boil. There’s also the odd surprise. Salmon are the standby beach fish every month and they are extra thick this month. They can be a nuisance, because they eat just about every bait thrown at them and there have been some ripper fish among them as well. Whiting are on every beach along the coast this month. For consistent results, fresh beach worms are a must, which brings in to play just about every other species that visits the gutters and sand flats. Dart have come down with the warm water and if there are a few about the gutter you are fishing, they can really eat into your worm supply quickly. Bream are on all beaches in good numbers, along with quite a few flathead. Plastics cast in the gutters are picking up flatties as well, along with the odd school mulloway in the deeper holes

Most seasons, the odd spotty will show up. Sometimes there’s a heap if you find the right spot.

at the corners of the beaches on the top of the tide. As darkness approaches the big tailor come out to play. Some of the northern beaches like Coledale and Stanwell Park and southern beaches like Minnamurra and Bombo are throwing up fish better than 3kg. If you are brave, put them back out alive, as there are some bigger mulloway getting about this month. You’ll probably have a better chance of scoring a big whaler shark. I even heard of a nice snapper and a few trevally coming from one beach as well, so it’s all happening.

March often provides northern visitors like this cobia. the end of the month. All the headlands and harbours are holding fish if you can get good weed. For a bit of fun, the frigate mackerel will be zipping in and out of the harbours this month. When they do it gets crowded.

You never know what will turn up if the water is right – even sailfish are around. On the rocks things are progressing nicely with plenty of surface action on the deeper ledges. Bonito, salmon, frigates, rat kings and small mackerel tuna are chopping around the headlands and breakwalls. Live baits are picking up a few better kings. For the best results, a live frigate spun up in the early hours and sent back out will be your best bet for nailing a big king. All the southern rock ledges will produce, as well as Coalcliff in the north and Honeycomb with the breakwalls at the port worth a look. Live yakkas and slimies will get lots of salmon and even the longtails that will be travelling through later in the month. Drummer, bream and trevally are available all along the coast for the bait fishos, with a snapper or two on the cards on the deeper ledges during the evenings. Big blackfish will start to move along the coast towards

With everyone casting at once when they come in, there are some monumental tangles. It’s really fun to watch and a few fish get caught too. If you look about, there are sneaky, less crowded spots to catch them as well. If you prefer something a little more sedate, the lake has been producing some really good flathead this year with some fish almost hitting 80cm. For as long as I can remember, a flathead of better than 60cm in the lake was something to cheer about. With so many nets strung through its waters annually, they rarely stand a chance. This year they have been numerous and large. Whiting are in the warmer shallows down near the entrance, and beach or squirt worms are the best baits. A few big blackfish will pick up the worms as well as they move to the entrance to head to sea. Bream are in the feeder streams as well as around the rocky shorelines and the bridge pylons in the evenings. Live prawns are the gun bait. Throw in a mulloway or two in the main channel and a few trevally for some variety. Minnamurra is much the same with flathead, whiting, bream and blackfish all along its length. The bridge pylons are particularly attractive to the bream this month and you may even pick up a little jack if using live baits.

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John offers both flyfishing and conventional tackle charters in both fresh- and saltwater. affair with barra began. In the early ‘80s he produced his first fishing video with Rod Harrison, and produced some truly memorable programs with him and many others, including Malcolm Florence. Stories ranged from chasing black bass in PNG to fishing with Lefty Kreh in remote parts of Northern Australia. The next project was Wildfish, one of Australia’s first prime-time fishing shows. This was produced, filmed and edited by John, and presented by Peter Morse. It was the highest rating programme on SBS at that time, even beating Seinfeld, one of the most popular shows in the mid-‘80s. John is undoubtedly one of the finest fishing videographers around, making you feel like you’re right there in amongst it all. Straight after Wildfish, Andrew Ettingshausen head hunted John as Director of Photography for Escape with ET. John worked with ET until 2004, when he began The Fishing DVD. By this stage, there was plenty

DVD, containing lots of individual stories – a fishing magazine you could watch! They were available through tackle shops, newsagents and online. The Fishing DVD later became known as Fishing DownUnder, and its content also became available for download. Fishing DownUnder #42, which was released in February 2016, was the last DVD in the series. However, all Fishing DownUnder DVDs, as well as Wildfish and Harro’s

DVDs, are still available at FishingDownUnder.TV. After 12 years of being constantly away filming Fishing DownUnder, it was time for John to reduce his workload. He has moved to Hervey Bay to be closer to good fishing, and has gone into a new venture: guiding. Three decades of filming with the best fishing guides has given John a comprehensive education in charter fishing, and his expertise in saltwater flyfishing is extensive. Depending on the time of year, you can catch longtail tuna, golden trevally, snapper, tropical reef species, barra and threadfin salmon. There are some great freshwater options nearby too. John tailors his charters to each individual, and is happy to show novices the basics, or take out experienced anglers. He is a passionate fly angler, so if you want some basic instruction on the water, he’s happy to help. John will be also be doing trips to the Capricorn Coast and Fitzroy River area. There’s some great flats fishing for fly anglers (and a fairly consistent permit spot), river fishing for threadfin salmon and barra, and pelagics. If you’d like to spend a day or two fishing with John, visit GuidedFishing DownUnder.com. – Peta Walter Haenke

John films Peter Morse on Christmas Island. MARCH 2017

Changing techniques for South Coast success NOWRA

Johnny Nolan straydog1974@gmail.com

A long hot summer was just what the doctor ordered! There was plenty of sunshine, warm water and awesome fishing experiences shared by tourists and locals. Offshore there were some big mahimahi caught and some good marlin bites. In close around the rocks, the rat kingfish, mac tuna and frigates kept things interesting and gave anglers plenty of fun. The main talk of the town was, once again, the prawn run off Lake Wollumbulla out near Culburra, which was epic. There were so many people and so many prawns – big ones! It was a shame to

still see so many anglers doing the wrong thing - no license, too many prawns and too small or big net depending on whether you were scooping or dragging. During February the lake has still been open to the sea and the prawns have been running on the dark with the run out tide. Here’s hoping we get another shot in the March dark. LUDERICK ON FLY Summer is almost officially gone for another year, which means we can start to enjoy some milder weather as we come into my favourite time of the year - autumn. Autumn is an amazing time on the south coast of NSW. You get still mornings, light winds during the day and glorious clear sky nights that make for some of the best conditions of the year

for fishing. Now I just hope the weather gods are listening because that’s my order for this year (also, we don’t want any of those early westerlies that we got last year please!) On the fishing scene it’s been pretty good all-round. Catching luderick on artificial flies seems

and why not? It sure beats scrounging around drains or scuffling over slippery rocks to try and collect your bait. If you’re still one of the non-believers I encourage you to give the flies a go, you might be pleasantly surprised! If you find it’s not your thing you won’t have lost much at only $4.99

Plenty of people and plenty of prawns at Lake Wollumbulla. to have taken the fishing world by storm, just like the snapper on soft plastics and the whiting on poppers crazes did a few years back. Now even the diehard weed exclusive luderick anglers are bending in their stubborn ways and succumbing to this new style of chasing these tricky adversaries. With weed not getting any easier to collect it looks like it is a trend that is here to stay,

Drag nets are legal in this lake providing they meet DPI regulations and the users are licensed. They’re a quick and efficient way to catch yourself a feed.

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a pop. I have customers who came into the shop who have been luderick fishing for 40 odd years that I never thought would try fly, and are now sold on them. MICRO JIGGING FOR SNAPPER With the awesome weather I know we are going to have in autumn, there will be plenty of opportunities for anglers to

Gavin McCallum with a pair of mahimahi caught off a floating pallet. They managed around 20 fish over 1m but only kept what was needed for a feed. get out and chase snapper on both baits and plastics. They were a little quiet through January and February but have started to show in recent weeks in some of the shallow water locations around the Bay and off Crooky and Culburra. The go to lure for snapper is still the good old Gulp Jerkshad or Nemesis in the larger sizes matched with the

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Damo Monerhan with a nice size mahimahi caught from a floating pallet north of the banks.

appropriate head size for the water you’re fishing. Micro jigging for snapper is slowly becoming more popular in our waters but we are slow learners down this way and can be a bit set in our ways. I’m no expert on this form of fishing and I can only go off the stories I’ve heard and the photos I’ve seen, but there’s a handful of guys in our area who have embraced this technique with some pretty cool results. It might be something to try next time you hit the water. They’re relatively inexpensive at around $7 to $10 a jig, which is about what you’d pay for a pack of Gulps. FLATHEAD ON THE MENU If you’re after a feed of flathead you’ll find plenty either offshore if that’s your thing or in the river and the Basin if you’re a calm water angler. Now that Squidgy prawns are back in good stocks you shouldn’t have any trouble picking up a few lizards for a feed in either of these locations, with reports of plenty being caught. If you throw around the smaller Wriggler Prawn your chances of nailing one of those big basin bream will also increase.

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Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Narooma is blessed with the amount of different world-class estuaries that sit on its doorsteps. The beauty is if one of them isn’t firing, there’s always another nearby that is. That’s the case at the moment. Wagonga Inlet is a little slow, but the estuaries within a 30-minute drive either north or south are fishing exceptionally.

103cm dusky flathead come from there, caught on a live poddy by local gun angler Pam. This fish was measured then released, which was great to see. Congratulations Pam on a great capture. Fish have been found throughout the system and the lower reaches are the go for mulloway. The river section and bays like Coopers are fishing well for surface lure enthusiasts. A few locals are cleaning up on luderick. Use the freshest weed for consistent results. Other lakes like Mummuga, Corunna and

up the coast around Dalmeny (Brou Beach). A couple of nights on the beach with the big gear might be worth a go. You can expect a few gummy sharks too when targeting the mulloway. The Narooma Breakwall has been fishing consistently for bream, smaller snapper and luderick. Fishing the ebb or flood tide on the inside of the northern breakwall has been the best to target these species. Fresh tuna fillets, prawns and cabbage for the blackfish are the preferred baits. The golf course rocks

A bruising 1.6kg black bream caught and released when the weather was less than perfect.

It’s always a good feeling releasing mulloway. Tuross Lake is a favourite for me and many other anglers. The diversity of species you can target using a variety of different techniques is second to none. That’s been proven once again in the last few weeks. The place is on fire with mulloway, monster flathead, bream, whiting and a host of other species all chewing. I had a recent guide there and managed two mulloway of 95 and 83cm for a few hours in the morning, and a dozen or so flatties. The rest of the day was spent chasing whiting and bream on surface and that was exceptional. I’ve also seen a massive

Tilba have been excellent for flathead and bream. Casting smaller soft plastics or blades has worked a treat. I expect all these systems to continue to fish well. The beaches have been a little quiet for salmon and tailor, but the whiting and bream have made up for it. Live beach worms and pipis are doing the damage. Light lines are required for constant results. A little bit of berley won’t hurt here. Crushed pipi shells are a favourite of mine mixed with a little tuna oil. I have heard a rumour or two that some decent mulloway are being caught

should be holding some nice kingies. Live yellowtail or ganged pillies do the trick. There has been some good catches of bonito off these same rocks. Spinning with 40-50g slices will get the desired results. Bream, blackfish are still being caught in the washes. Cabbage and cunjevoi are good baits. I heard a visiting tourist lost a small black marlin off the rocks south at Mystery Bay a week or so back. He was live baiting small yellowtail for kings when the marlin hooked up. He estimated it at 50kg, but unfortunately the leader wore through after a short battle.

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At Montague Island the kingfish have decided to wake up. Good numbers of kings have been caught. Both live baits and jigs are working. Squid fished on a flasher rig gets school-sized fish. The kings are solid fish and the majority are 4-6kg with the odd 12-14kg fish falling to live bait. The northern end of the island has been good. Remember the Sanctuary zones in place. The Fowl House Reef on the western side of the island has produced fish too. It’s not uncommon for these bigger fish to be on the surface around the Fowl House Reef chasing sauris. They can become quite hard to catch when they’re like this, but persistence will pay off. The best method I have found when this happens is to slow troll large, live slimy mackerel. The water is quite shallow through this reef section, so heavier stand-up tackle is required to stop them from reefing you. The seals can be a problem. however, the hard work may just be worth it. The reefs have been fishing well for months now

and this should continue. Snapper, morwong, sand and tiger flathead and smaller kingfish have been around and in good numbers. Although the fish aren’t big, the numbers are certainly making up for it. There have been reports of gummy sharks north of Narooma, and Brou and Potato Point are the best places to try. Fresh striped tuna or squid are ideal baits for the gummies. Out wider, the gamefishing is in full swing. Marlin are the predominant species being targeted. There’s been a solid mixture of black and striped marlin with some crews getting black marlin on their way

to Montague Island. This doesn’t surprise me with the quality of water and bait present in close. The water is a balmy 24°C straight off the bar with countless schools of striped tuna just past the beach breaks. It makes sense that anglers have hooked them and the crews that have trolled skirted pushers have faired best. The shelf has been the place to fish for the stripes with the Kink being a hotspot. Both trolling and switch baiting has worked a treat and I know of a few solid yellowfin tuna to 50kg that fell victim to the trolling brigade, which is great to see.

Estuary perch and prawns go hand-in-hand. This 35cm fish spat out this prawn and a few others after capture.

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MARCH 2017

Most species are playing the game in March MERIMBULA

Stuart Hindson stuart@ausfishing.com.au

Merimbula has finally seen some hot weather hit its shores. It took a while to get here and with it the fishing has really picked up, especially in the estuaries. Both the Merimbula and Pambula estuary systems have fired up nicely with the warm water of late. Merimbula has been a standout with an array of species playing the game. We had a session there with clients a few days back and it was awesome. Snapper, flatties, bream, tailor, trevally and whiting scoffed our lures. Most fish fell to softies, but I saw anglers getting good flatties on live poddies as well. All of our fish came from reasonably shallow water and 2-4m was ideal. Some of the flatties are upwards of 80cm, which are solid fish. The odd mulloway has been caught by anglers using live bait after dark. This action will continue throughout March and should only get better. Pambula Lake is still producing the goods and most fishos are getting nice fish.

Captures of 15-20+ fish are the norm and fishing the out going tide is the go. The main basin has been productive. Concentrate on fishing the edges of the channels with plastics and blades for the best results. There have been some solid flatties towards the entrance. Soft plastics around 70mm are ideal. The flats in the upper section of the lake have been excellent for bream and whiting on surface lures. Fishing the first three hours of the draining tide has seen better results than the flooding tide. The local beaches continue to fire and most beaches hold good

concentrations of salmon. North Tura Beach has been the place to fish with common catches of a dozen fish to 2kg. The northern end of the beach towards Bournda Island has a deep gutter at present. Fishing this section very early in the morning on a rising tide has been effective. Surf poppers are working well in a variety of colours. Laser lures and whole pilchards are also producing. Tailor numbers should improve this month, with the rocky foreshore near the Island itself fishing better for bream. Cut crabs and pipis are both great baits for

Whiting, summer and surface lures – it just works!

bream and whiting like live beach worms. Lighter outfits come into their own when targeting these bread and butter species and running sinker rigs are ideal. Don’t be afraid to use a little berley here, but don’t overdo it or the pickers will set in. Those fishing outside for the eating species like snapper, morwong, pigfish and flathead are doing well with most reefs holding fish. There seem to be better results on the deeper reefs like Horseshoe to the south of Merimbula. Here you can expect kingfish. Jigs, live bait and squid all work at times. It can be a little hit and miss, but when they’re chewing it’s as good as anywhere. Both Long Point and White Cliffs are worth a look. The latter is a decent drive north. The action has been fast and furious on the marlin front. Most crews get a couple of shots per day. Striped marlin are the predominant species being caught. Most fish are 80-100kg with the odd bigger fish. The 70-fathom line has produced a lot of the marlin. The extra distance to the shelf isn’t needed on many occasions.

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Pete Steward with the type of bream that Pambula has been producing. Over the next few weeks, more black and blue marlin should turn up as both these species are being caught north of Merimbula and in good numbers. Trolling skirted pushers has been the most productive method for the marlin and switch-baiting live baits should also work. There have been a few yellowfin tuna caught. Fish to 40kg are quite common. These speedsters are certainly a

welcome by-catch and great on the plate. On the rocks bonito numbers have increased dramatically over recent weeks. These little speedsters are awesome fun on light gel spun tackle and 20-30g shiners. If you want to use heavier gear, whole ganged pilchards will also work. The better ledge to fish is Tura Head and the north end of the ledge is where the deeper water is.

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Best time of the year to get out on the water BATEMANS BAY

Anthony Stokman

March is one of the better times of the year for stability. The crowds are here and steady, the weather starts to stabilize and we experience perfect days with perfect sunsets. Although it took until the end of January for the marlin to kick in as predicted, February was going to be the month that they started to stick their beaks into gear. This worked out perfect for Batemans Bay’s Tollgate Classic which was cancelled in January due to weather and then moved to mid February when the marlin were biting their heads off. The move of the 2017 Tollgate Classic to February is going to be permanent. It sits well with the area and when the fish are at their best. This March we should see plenty of marlin off our coastline. It will be well worth the day on the shelf, especially if we start to see some stability in the weather, which let us down a little during January and February with it being a bit windy at times. The stability also means plenty of opportunity to deep drop for blue-eye trevalla, harpuka, gemfish, ling and the ever-consistent ocean perch. Rohan Griffo has been onto some nice blue-eye, and Dave Scott has pulled up some mammoth ling. Get out there if you have an electric reel, because it’s fishing well. The main event last year off the south coast was the daytime swordfish. After last year’s efforts and lessons, we should see an attempt by many other anglers at this pinnacle of fishing. We held successful talk nights on swordfish at the Compleat Angler stores up and down the coast last year, and we’re well stocked with what you need to catch them. Inshore reefs have seen a better snapper bite of late and that should be consistent

over the March period if you are willing to comb the depths and I’m talking 80-100m. It’s good to flick a few plastics in the shallows during dawn and the early hours as you start to move out. Once the day moves on, so should you, as there are some nice school fish out in those depths if you are ready to move around a bit to find them. What are always moving around? Kingfish. There’s still no real place they are holding off the Batemans Bay Coast. We are getting schools off Grasshopper and Wasp islands, passing by Yellow Rock, Black Rock, Pretty Point, Jimmys and Burri. They’re not holding anywhere any longer than a day or two. A few have been caught off Broulee and Moruya but not in good numbers or sizes. The best way to get onto these guys is to troll these areas with lures, slow troll livies with a downrigger or rubber band a big snapper lead to your swivel to get your bait down and cruise your boat with it just in gear travelling about 2 knots. If you fail on the snapper and kingfish and still want a feed, flathead have been very reliable. Squid are also great to eat and have been in large numbers. There are masses of small squid from Broulee to Congo and larger ones have been found from Depot to Murramarang Boat Ramp. With this much squid around you can see why the snapper are on. Now we just need the kings to come around. Off the stones you have a higher chance of nailing snapper. Last year there were more snapper caught landbased than there were kingies. A few kingies have been caught off Snapper Point and Pretty Point, but the snapper look to outdo them again this summer. A few anglers have been running around catching crabs and snapping 10-15kg rated rods on grouper lately. Jono

Bunn has been in search of a big blue and has succeeded with a couple of recent captures and a few snapper and mowies. His best grouper so far went just under 10kg. Live crabs are the most reliable bait for grouper and a lot of other species such as snapper and big bream will happily take to them as well. On our beaches we have seen a good consistent run of whiting up to 40cm. Tuross, Broulee, Durras and Bawley areas are all good places to visit if you want to increase your chances of whiting. These places are probably good due to the presence of beach worms that are in these areas and nippers, which are another great bait for whiting and can be caught on our sand flats. If you don’t get onto some live bait buy some beach worms or the Marukyu plastic worms. Along with our summer run of whiting, there have been occasional salmon, tailor, flathead and plenty of bream. Of a night and late evening we have had a good little run of mulloway and plenty of sharks on the beaches. There were a lot of bronze whalers around in the last few summers and this March you’ll have no problem finding them around that 1m range while night fishing the beaches. They haven’t been fussy either – squid or pillies will do. If you’re struggling with the bread and butter species like flatties and bream, switch to garfish or octopus if that tickles you. The estuaries are always alive at this time of the year and we have had a lot of customers struggle with the typical species that they are use to. The estuaries beaches and ocean have been full of garfish. We are noticing plenty of octopuses, plenty of perch still hanging around, big flounder, mud crabs and a good run of blue swimmers. If you aren’t having luck chasing the usual flattie or bream, come in and

we will help you try another direction that can yield good results, and you’ll have fun doing something different. Further upstream the bass are still biting their heads off, and Tim Stalewart and Raymondo Smith have spent most of their summer up there throwing Tiemco Soft

Shell Cicadas, Kokoda Bats and AusSpin spinnerbaits at them with great success. They have been doing night sessions casting into the middle and wrestling eels as they have been getting smashed by big bass. March is probably the best time of the year. Get out there

and get on it! • For more up-to-the-minute information on what’s biting where, drop into Compleat Angler Batemans Bay and have a chat to Anthony or one of the other friendly staff. They’re located at 65A Orient St, Batemans Bay (02 4472 2559).

Shantel and her brother Cody have been having a ball on the bass. MARCH 2017

Just waiting for the currents to bring the marlin BERMAGUI

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

Last year January saw an extremely good current settle off our East Coast. This current swirled and eddied off Bermagui

for some time, bringing with it the baitfish and predator fish like marlin. This produced some of the best game angling for many years. This year the currents have been streamlining down the coast at a great rate of knots, not allowing the fish

Espriatrters

BERMAGUI SOUTH COAST NSW

Marlin, Tuna, h, Kingfis h s Reef Fi

to settle in any one area for any period of time. This makes difficult angling. If we get one of these eddying currents forming off our coast in March, it may well just bring the marlin fishing we have all been waiting for. The water temperatures are right for marlin and so is the autumn weather. We should have good temperatures with little wind at times. The Twelve-Mile Reef is the area to go with schools of baitfish attracting the larger predators. Marlin are the main target and stripes, blacks and blues are in the area. Once the bait

comes to the surface, things can get quite frantic. Pods of stripes harassing them with the blacks and blues shadowing a little deeper waiting for their opportunity. Other species like tuna, mahimahi and sharks will also be in close proximity looking for an easy meal, so don’t be surprised if you find one of them taking a liking to a lure or bait intended for a stick face. If it’s a big blue you are looking for, try running a good spread of lures and head wide to the canyons. Montague Island has provided well on the kingies

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This stud bream was seen chasing prawns in the shallows and a well-placed bait was its undoing.

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MARCH 2017

all season and is proceeding to do so. Most of the fish to date have been taken jigging while a few better fish have succumbed to live baits. Lately the fish seem to be better in size and also have some other friends joining them. Bonito are now a common catch around the island, as are frigate mackerel. These make a good bait off the north end of the island, for not all the marlin are on the Twelve-Mile Reef. With all these good conditions, it has brought a lot of fun close to shore. From the stones it’s possible to find a few different pelagics on the move. Kingies will patrol along the rocks with bonito, tailor, frigate mackerel

Very hot currents along our coast will see sailfish once again mixing with the marlin. and salmon. These fish are only too eager to chew on a well-presented lure offering great action from the shore. The best time to do this is sunrise before the wind gets up. Add a little berley while you’re there and you may find you have plenty of bream, trevally or drummer to keep you entertained while you wait for those passing pelagic schools. The adjacent beaches are also producing well with whiting, bream, mullet, tailor, mulloway, sharks and salmon. Berleying during the day, preferably with striped tuna or mackerel, will have the desired result for most species, while late evening and well into the night may have some larger species lurking. Mulloway and gummy sharks are the preferred targets at night.

This flatty was taken at first light and spat out lots of prawns on its way to the net.

Combine this with the lead up to or off the full moon to improve your chances. With the ocean still in mind, usually when one form of fishing is good so are others. Not to be outdone, the reef and bottom fishing is very good. Close to shore, flathead have been in good numbers all season and still are. Larger tigers appear the further you go to sea. Most reef structures play host to an assortment of species. Snapper and morwong are targeted most. Longfin sea perch, nannygai and trumpeter are targets on the Twelve-Mile. Out over the shelf, with the aid of electronic reels, blue-eyed trevalla, hapuka, gemfish and ling are great options to put some excellent-tasting fish on the table. The estuaries are an easy place to spend a day. We are blessed with some truly beautiful scenery along with some excellent fishing. The lakes that remain closed to the ocean are a bit sad right now while those that are open have had some brilliant fishing. Bream have entered these systems that are open and are excellent angling on baits such as tuna, nippers or worms. Live prawns, if you can acquire them, are also excellent and will attract other species. Speaking of prawns, they’re not only good bait, they are also great chewing for us humans. With a lot of the lakes closed to the ocean, the prawns are land-locked and easier to catch.

Prawns in abundance TATHRA

Darren Redman djsxstreamfishing@bigpond.com

This season has seen an abundance of prawns in the Tathra area, which not only has the fish fired up, but humans as well. We’re cashing in on the good stocks both for food and for bait. Wallagoot Lake south of Tathra has great numbers of prawns in it, so you shouldn’t have any trouble gaining a feed on the dark of the moon. The Bega River is closed to the ocean, however it also has a good amount of prawns in it, which in turn are providing some excellent angling. Anglers going out before daylight to acquire some live prawns are getting excellent results as the sun rises on species like bream, whiting,

flathead and especially some super-size estuary perch around the rocky areas. Whiting have been the highlight on the beaches, with the north end of Tathra Beach producing fish up to 45cm in length and plenty of them. Those bream are also present not only on this beach, but the surrounding beaches too. They’re accompanied by schools of salmon, mullet, tailor, a few gummy sharks and more recently, some nice mulloway! Around the wharf, there is plenty of action from small to large pelagics in the form of frigate mackerel, bonito and salmon, through to hammerhead sharks and a chance of a stray marlin on a live bait. Those frigates make great baits for those larger predators, and a quick turnaround can see them out under a balloon. Most of these larger predators

are also an option from the nearby rocky platforms, and for the land-based anglers you would not have a better chance at a big fish. For those who are not into these larger fish, there are plenty of smaller species to keep you entertained. Trevally, slimy mackerel and yellowtail are the main targets off the wharf, while closer to the rocks you will find schools of garfish and some lovely luderick. Offshore, things are pretty hot too, and for those who like light tackle sportfishing, there is plenty to be had. Trolling close to shore will produce those smaller pelagics, with a variety of lures both skirted or diving producing. Once schools have been located, cast lures may do the trick, providing good action. Try to get those early starts for the best results. Out wide, for those who

Check out this whiting chasing prawns at first light in the shallows! want to mix it with some heavy weights, marlin are now at their best. There are plenty of baitfish around, and you can be sure there will be a black, striped and blue marlin not too far behind. Lures may be the best way to cover the water to find

the them, and this may also produce other species like tuna, kingfish and mahimahi. On the bottom around the reefs, snapper are starting to show and should increase in numbers in the following months, and there are plenty of morwong mixed in.

Off the reefs in some of the deeper water, plenty of tiger flathead are still around as they have been all season. What this area is also famous for is its sand flatties, and at the moment, out from most beaches it has never been easier to acquire a nice feed.

Wrasse are a by-catch around broken reef adjacent to the beach, and they’re a lot of fun.

Gotcha! Garfish this season have been very plentiful.

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FIND-A-WORD COMPETITION WORDS THAT ARE ALSO FISH

ANGLER

FLOUNDER

SLEEPER

BANJO

GHOUL

SKATE

BASS

MULLET

SMELT

CHAR

PIKE

SOLE

COBBLER

POACHER

SWEEPER

DAB

RAY

TANG

DRUMMER

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TAILOR

DISCUS

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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

FINS SCALES & TALES by A. Both

NSW MARCH 2017

Phone (day):

Dynabait worms are an all-natural, freeze-dried bait. Just soak them in water, and within minutes they’re ready to go! As soon as they hit the water, they release a potent mix of hormones and enzymes that fish can’t resist. These worms are dynamite on bream, whiting, bass, flathead, blackfish, cod, yellowbelly, trevally and many more! Dynabait Bloodworms, Tubeworms and Sandworms are available at all good tackle stores.

FIND-A-WORD

Congratulations to Ken Bryne from Bateau Bay, who was last month’s winner of the Find-a-Word Competition! Monthly winners receive a sponsor prize. Prize delivery can take 8 weeks. – NSWFM

BARRA COUNTRY by Brett Currie

SUBSCRIBER PRIZE BITE ME by Trisha Mason

The subscriber prize winner for January was D McCauley of Bargo, who won an GME GX750 VHF Marine Radio valued at $329srp. All subscribers are entered in the monthly subscriber prize draws. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

FIND THE DX POINT LOGO

GEORGE & NEV by Michael Hardy

The answers to Find the DX Point hook for January were: 8, 15, 20, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 43, 52, 57, 70, 78, 92, 102. – NSWFM The Find the DX Point logo prize winners for January were: R Derrick of Barraba, C Carter of Richmond, K Yarnold of Tuncurry, O Hurrell of Kellyville, D Miller of Cobar, J Coates of Gwandalan, M Crowhurst of Budgewoi, R Chown of Glendenning, C Snowden of North St Marys, N Webster of Bilpin, M Thompson of Hillvue, M Sinclair of Lalor Park, N King of Villawood, R Deane of Avalon Beach, J Wilson of Boronia , B Bell of wodonga, R Jones of Toronto, D Spinks of Scone, B Stokes of Morwell, B Mannering of Leumeah, D Osborne of Perthville, J Morrison of Forbes, J Smith of Kelso, P Lyneham of Fern Bay, P Bak of Monash, J Vagg of Tuross Head, T Gardner of Corrimac, Z Mosessen of Wanniassa, J Cupitt of Sanctuary Point, V Dimento of Caringbah, C Wood of Penrith, J Cross of Mondrook, A Hepper of Iluka, J MacDonald of Petersham, R Crossman of Cunningham Downs, R Grace of Nambucca Heads, A Rombo of Banora Point, M Hughes of Uralla, S Cook of Seven Hills, K Beckhouse of Wyee Point. Prize delivery takes up to 8 weeks. – NSWFM

Local anglers enjoying the peace and quiet EDEN

Kevin Gleed captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

The town has quietened down after a hectic holiday break. The end of the school holidays sees many visitors leaving and another few months of warm weather. Plenty more visitors to the area will enjoy the quieter times along with the good

fishing this area can offer. Good fishing has been abundant over the past month with plenty of opportunities for boats to get offshore and chase a feed of fish. Early starts made the fishing pleasant before the summer northeasterly winds got blowing. Good catches of tiger flathead and sand flathead kept anglers happy along with the pinky snapper

coming from the inshore reefs. A few gummy sharks have also been caught. The water temperature has been extra warm with 22°C along all the beaches, which is great for swimming! A few kingfish have been caught. The best action has been well to the south and the coming months should see the fishing improve as the water cools, bringing the bait and fish back up the coast. Fishing

Some big whiting have been turning up. This one was caught on a Hurricane Blade.

Big black bream are about, but catching them isn’t easy.

from the local beaches has been good with plenty of sand whiting and yellowfin bream. There are plenty of good deep gutters on all the local beaches. Salmon have been turning up from time to time, but aren’t as common as they were a few months back. Anglers are catching fish from the local headlands with drummer and yellowfin bream as well as decent

luderick. Early morning is the best time to be drifting a bait for a snapper. The estuaries have been fishing well. Sand whiting and yellowfin bream are around the entrance with live bait and fresh bait (worms, nippers and prawns) catching some good bags of fish. Fishing for flathead has been good with soft plastic lures catching good bags

of fish. Prawn imitation lures have also worked well. There have been a few prawns in all the local estuaries. There have been some mulloway to report, so no doubt there will be a few around over the next full moon period. With little rain over the past month, the water is clear and the next few months will see some good fishing with not too many people about.

Great conditions offshore and excellent fishing beds. Fantastic flounder have also been caught from the top lake. Black bream and flathead are available in the top lake and further upstream towards Gypsy Point. Over the past month, decent mulloway IN

REVA G.T

L LY . S N A P P E R

. EST U

. WH AD

have been caught in the same area. Those chasing a feed of prawns have had to work hard and put in the time to get a feed. They are there, but they are few and far between. Up in the fresh, bass have been caught by those

PE R RY

has been quiet, due to very little surf action. When there has been some rougher surf conditions, some awesome salmon can be caught and the fishing has been good off the breakwall. The bottom lake has been fishing really well over the summer period. There weren’t too many days that I wasn’t out there fishing with clients, and the fishing we had was excellent. There’s plenty of flathead along with some great bream and whiting. The fish were all caught on lures and were great fun. Good catches of bream were made by those fishing with bait, and the best bait has been the local blood cockles fished in the shallows in the same area as the cockle

BASS . JEWFISH . AM . FLA

captainkev@wildernessfishingtours.com

With great weather and no surf visitors, locals have enjoyed great offshore fishing conditions with only the odd day too windy for comfortable fishing. And with the great conditions has come some excellent fishing. Good catches of big tiger flathead have been common with fish caught at around the 60m mark at a number of locations. In a bit closer, there have also been good bags of sand flathead caught. It’s pretty hard to beat a good feed of offshore flathead! Plenty of gummy sharks

have also been caught. The fish have been the legal size with only the odd big fish caught around the same areas as the tiger flathead. A few school sharks and mako sharks have been caught by those fishing with big baits in a berley trail. The beach was closed on a number of occasions after the sighting of white pointers swimming not far offshore. A few kingfish have been caught with the best fishing coming from further down the coast towards Marlo. With the flat seas, it has been no problem launching at the Bastion Boat Ramp. Take care around low tide, as the harbour is very shallow. Fishing the beaches

E . BR

Kevin Gleed

MALLACOOTA

prepared to put in the effort. Dawn and dusk are the best times. My fishing package deals usually become popular in the coming months. If you’re interested, give me a buzz.

FISH WITH A LOCAL AT

MALLACOOTA

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MARCH 2017

Common fishing mistakes made by all anglers PART 1 BRISBANE

Sean Thompson

Fishing can be a wonderfully relaxing experience and a great escape from the pressures of everyday life. But it can also be frustrating at times – leaving you wondering why the fish aren’t biting or how that big one got away! Like most things in life, the greatest lessons as an angler can come from your mistakes. Sometimes you might realise your mistake at the time; as you study your

LOCATION, LOCATION! These buzz words from real estate agents are equally as relevant to anglers when choosing the right type of fishing area or structure in which to target fish. In simple terms, this means you can’t catch fish where there aren’t any! So let’s look at some of the mistakes I see holidaymakers or unsuspecting anglers make when choosing a place to fish. Beach formations Probably the biggest and most common mistake I see on the beach is concentrations of anglers fishing close to

as a headland or sand dune and study the water. Look for changes in water colour (the darker the water, the deeper it is), waves forming but not breaking in a gutter and sand banks where waves will break on a sandbar and spill whitewater over the deeper water of a gutter, hole or channel. Look too for entrances to gutters, which are like a channel from the deeper inshore water or gutter to the open sea. These are known by swimmers as a rip as it is running water from the beach back out to sea. Jetties and wharfs Jetties and wharfs are popular locations for both

Many anglers will fish from pontoons and jetties and cast well away from the structure. They don’t realise that most fish in the area will be using the jetty or pontoon as cover!

Beach fishing is all about reading the water. There’s a lot of barren, fishless water between the good pockets, so make sure you familiarise yourself with what to look for. frayed line, broken hook or the tell-tale piggy tail at the end of your line where the hook use to be. At other times, it might not be until you look back through your fishing diary to understand how the wind, water colour, time of day or tidal conditions were different to the last time that you fished at that spot and had much greater success. Sometimes however, the biggest fishing mistakes can be those that you just aren’t aware that you are making. This three-part series discusses a range of the biggest fishing mistakes that anglers, both novice and experienced, can make every day. These mistakes can be anything from fishing the wrong place, time or tide to poorly presenting your bait or lure or simply having the wrong tackle. It then outlines what you can do to help avoid these mistakes in future. I trust that after reading this you will be better informed and better prepared to avoid these fishing mistakes in the future. This month we’ll be looking at the when and the where. 58

MARCH 2017

the nearest walkway, car park or swimming flags. That is, people are choosing spots based on convenience rather than anything else. Such spots can be barren, featureless water with few or any fish attracting features. These locations are usually also filled with swimmers due to the same reasons of convenience, and so any fish that might happen to be swimming past are spooked by swimmers in the water. Consequentially and unfortunately, many of these casual anglers will therefore associate the beach with having no fish. Worse still, they may blame the tackle shop for supplying them with the wrong gear, bait or lures, when in reality they were simply fishing the wrong water. Understanding beach formations is not rocket science, and once you learn the basics, your results off the beach can change quickly and dramatically, provided you have all the other basics (such as tackle choice) right as well. Learn to ‘read the beach’ by getting up on a high vantage point, such

young and elderly anglers and can be quite productive at the right time with the right tackle and techniques. Fish like bream, luderick, trevally and drummer will feed directly below these structures on the oysters and weed growth on the supporting pillars. These areas also attract baitfish, which in turn attract bigger fish. Unfortunately though, I see a lot of anglers making

the mistake of casting heavily weighted baits as far as they can into the distance into deep, yet often featureless water. A better option is to tighten your drag and position your baits under the structure and/or around the supporting pillars. As the fish are often sitting mid-water here, you should use very lightly-weighted or even unweighted baits around the change of tide periods when the tidal run slows. A berley pot is also a good option. You can also cast lightlyweighted soft plastics or vibes into these areas. If you want to chase bigger fish like tailor, salmon, bonito and kingfish from these platforms, once again, don’t throw a big heavilyweighted bait into the distance. You might get the odd fish, but a more natural presentation is to use a live bait or a pilchard, which is either lightly-weighted or under a float. The best time to do so is during the faster, middle of the tide period, particularly when there is an offshore breeze, that is when the wind is blowing against

your back or off the shore. Rockwalls A common complaint I hear from anglers fishing rockwalls is they always get snagged. This is caused from fishing the mid-tide phase and having their line pushed sideways and into the rocks. A better option from a rockwall is to fish the end of the wall (if it is safe to do so), casting your line straight off the end into water which is clear of snags. Otherwise, if there is room to do so (i.e. between other anglers) a good option is to cast your line in the up-current direction of the tide and walk along with it until it starts to swing around and into the wall or you run out of room. This is a popular technique with luderick anglers using floats in winter. Another option is to cast baits like unweighted or very lightlyweighted pilchards upcurrent and slowly retrieve it back to you, speeding up the retrieve as it approaches the rockwall. Freshwater lakes Camping and fishing at freshwater lakes has become increasingly popular in recent times, particularly

If fishing in a lake or impoundment, it pays to get away from access points, which are often barren and devoid of any structure. Time of day is also very important in the lakes.

with restocking efforts of native species. The problem is too many people assume catching a fish should be as easy as throwing your line in at any convenient spot. This might be at the end of the track in or where the grassiest bank is for a camping spot or picnic. The problem is such locations are usually flat or very gently sloping banks, areas which are not conductive to fishing due to their lack of serious structure. Shore-based anglers at freshwater lakes are far better off seeking out areas around submerged trees, boulders or rocks; steep inclines near dam walls; or entrances to the lake from rivers and creeks. Further, during periods of low water levels in the dams, anglers should take photos of good structure like riverbeds or the type of features described above while they are high and dry, so that when they are covered with water again, you have a very good idea of the areas you are fishing. For boat anglers, this is the advantage of side scan imaging on your sounder as you can look for and take screenshots of such locations for further reference. TIME AND TIDE After fishing location, anglers choice of time and tide to go fishing can be among the biggest fishing mistakes they can make. Unfortunately, I see a number of anglers fishing at midday on a glassy day for species that mostly feed actively around dawn and dusk. Likewise, casual anglers will often head for cover at any sign of rain rather than take advantage of the low light conditions, which will often bring the fish on the bite, even during the day. Another common mistake is fishing locations at the wrong tide. Anglers

may well be armed with information from the local tackle shop or local fishing reports that everything from whiting to barramundi are on the bite with photos to prove it. They might also go to the trouble of finding out the best baits, lures and rigs that the fish are taking and stock up accordingly. They might even be lucky enough to extract information on where the fish are biting. Unfortunately though, this can be of little benefit if they don’t understand or ask at what stage of the tide the fish are biting at these particular locations.

For example, as the high tide pushes well up mangrove-lined creeks and covers food-rich estuary flats, predators from flathead to barramundi, as well as foragers such as whiting and bream will feed in these areas. Conversely, on a falling tide, foragers and baitfish will move off the flats into deeper water with the predators waiting in ambush for them at the entrance to drains, creek mouths and drop-offs. Therefore, anglers who fish the shallow flats at low tide and deep water at high tide might wonder about the advice they were

given, rather than realising they were fishing those locations at the wrong stages of the tide. Even experienced anglers can fall into the trap of fishing at the wrong time. As I wrote in my article on the best fishing times and tides in the July 2016 edition of QFM, some anglers believe the answer to this question is just a case of buying an Angler’s Almanac or checking the Maori tide charts and going fishing at the best predicted times. But what if it has rained for two weeks solid, or it’s blowing a gale, or there are 40 boats

Fishing the end of rock walls or where they come to a point is a great way to avoid snagging up and catching more fish. sitting on your secret spot? Can you seriously expect to catch fish then just because a chart tells you that you can? Anglers should not expect cut-and-dried results when they go fishing. That’s not to say fishing results are just arbitrary, and tides, times and moons don’t matter – they do. It is just that other factors are at play. To maximise your chance of fishing success, you need

Anglers fishing rock walls will often complain they get snagged. However, they make the mistake of fishing at mid tide, when the strong current will push their rig onto the adjacent rocks.

to weigh up a whole range of information, and then be able to adapt your plans if all doesn’t go to plan. This includes understanding the best time of year for your target species; choosing the right tides for your species; being aware of the effects of wind, weather and water colour and temperature; and generally taking notice of other factors like boat traffic, commercial fishing pressure

and the availability of bait fish in the location. KNOWLEDGE IS POWER By taking note of the factors mentioned and applying this information to you fishing, you should see you results start to improve. Next month we will look into some of the other common mistakes that anglers can make unknowingly. Stay tuned!

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WHAT’S NEW FISHING CUSTOMISE YOUR LURES!

JigSkinz are a shrinkable and inexpensive covering designed to help protect the paint on your new lures, or to rejuvenate your old favourites after they have lost their paint. This product can also revamp an old lure that hasn’t caught a fish yet. JigSkinz work by slipping the new skin over your old lure and placing it in hot water. The moment your lure hits the hot water, the skin shrinks tightly over your lure and you are done! You now have a new lure in your favourite colour. JigSkinz are suitable for a huge range of lure types, including poppers, stickbaits, slugs and slices, knife jigs, micro jigs, blades, jigheads, lipless crankbaits, bibbed minnows and skirted pusher heads. J.M. Gillies are currently stocking six packs with various colours and patterns, plus a clear skin to help protect your new lures. Patterns include: flying fish, mackerel, mullet, sardine, perch, holographic colours, lumo and more. Visit the JM Gillies website for more info and pics. www.jmgillies.com.au

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ZERO TOLERANCE KNIVES

Zero Tolerance is a brand that has been setting the standard since storming onto the scene in 2006. Designed to meet the exacting needs of the military, law enforcement, firefighters and emergency medical professionals, Zero Tolerance folding knives are premium-quality, professional knives that owners can always depend on. Built using only premium materials, these knives are second to none in operation, comfort and reliability. One of the latest models to hit our shores is the 0456, the result of a collaboration between Zero Tolerance and Belarusian custom knife maker Dmitry Sinkevich. The CTS-204P blade steel is wear and corrosion resistant, and takes an exceptional edge. The 0456 opens with ZT’s KVT ball-bearing system for a quick, easy blade release. A titanium frame lock, with a hardened steel lockbar insert, secures the blade open during use. This knife’s top cutting capabilities and excellent edge-holding performance make it the perfect tool to take with you on any adventure. www.frogleysoffshore.com.au

AUSTACKLE BIG SPRITZ

Austackle’s Spritz just got bigger and stronger! This unique surface lure now comes in a 118mm version that weighs in at 27g. It’s easy to hurl, and has plenty of presence in the water to excite hard hitters like Murray cod, tuna, kingfish, barramundi, mangrove jack, trevally and more. The strength upgrade is achieved with one-piece internal wire linking the hooks to the tow points, and topped with upgraded 2X VMC hooks and rings. Other features include dual tow points to give the angler ultimate control over the lure action; a keel on the pivot point to enhance the walk-the-dog action; and large cut-away pockets on the face to spray water for an explosive bloop. Price: SRP $18 www.austackle.com

DAIWA AIRPORTABLE 3 EXTRA HEAVY

NEW DAIWA APPAREL

MARCH 2017

1 2

The Wilson Wall Hanging Rod Holder is a simple and effective way to keep your rods neat and tidy whether at home or on the road. With this design, a tough canvas-like material is used to create a sturdy wall hanging rod holder that will store up to six rods, rigged or unrigged. This way, your rods can be ready to go the night before or just stored in a clean, organised fashion. Secure Velcro straps keep the rods in place while the base cups are formed from tough plastic that is coated in the heavyduty material. The Hanging Rod Holder is 130cm x 63cm and doesn’t take up too much space. Three hanging hooks are provided and all seams are ribbed and stitched to ensure these vital areas stay strong for years. This is one investment for your rods that is bound to last. www.wilsonfishing.com.au

Looking to hop on a plane to chase barra, or even further afield to chase black bass? Daiwa’s Black Label V2 Airportable Extra Heavy Models are for you. These multi-piece, high quality rods feature Daiwa’s latest technologies. Light, responsive, and crisp in action, the HVF graphite blank performance is enhanced courtesy of X45, 3DX and Bias Wrap Construction blank technologies. X45 and Bias Wrap allows a small diameter blank to be made, and lighter, more dynamic rod. These rods are finished off with the best components like Daiwa’s Air beam reel seats, triple A grade cork and Fuji SIC guides that are ultra strong, and maximise rod performance and sensitivity. All this comes packed in a heavy-duty case. The 61SH-3 model is 6’1” long, can cast weights up to 200g, and is rated to PE 3-6. The 64H/RF is 6’4” long, casts weight up to 140g, and is rated to PE 3-5. www.daiwafishing.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

Look sharp and chart a course for style with Daiwa’s brand new T-shirt and polo shirt designs. Made from 100% cotton, these breathable shirts are set to impress both on and off the water. The new Daiwa T-Shirts are short-sleeve and are emblazoned with Daiwa D-Vec and Vector embroidered logos. They are available in four colours – blue, grey, black and khaki – and sizes range from small to XXL. The Daiwa Polo Shirts are also shortsleeve and feature Daiwa D-Vec and Vector embroidered logos. The polos are available in green, blue, red and black, and sizes range from small to XXL. Daiwa’s quality fishing apparel is available for purchase online at www. daiwafishing.com.au. The range includes long-sleeve fishing and sun shirts, hoodies, vests, long-sleeve T-shirts, jackets, leather and mesh finger gloves, caps, hats, headsocks and more. Price: SRP $29.99-$39.99 www.daiwafishing.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE 7

WHAT’S NEW FISHING DEPS BUZZJET

The award-winning Buzzjet has taken the world by storm. While this Japanese surface lure is suited to all freshwater situations, it is particularly deadly at night, attracting freshwater predators with its unique swimming action and water displacement system. A cross between a classic propeller bait and a shallow running crankbait, the Buzzjet draws attention with its internal ball bearing rattling system, and through the use of its tail propeller, which causes the lure to omit a massive wake. A weight transfer system augments castability, and all you need to do to catch fish is cast it out and reel steadily with a slow retrieve. You can also walk the dog or jerk the rod tip to make the Buzzjet dive. The Buzzjet measures 96mm and weighs 30g, and there’s an extensive range of colours. Ideally suited to bass, it has also landed EPs, yellowbelly and Murray cod. Price: SRP $40 www.dogtoothdistribution.com.au

PFLUEGER LITHIUM 8 GRAPHITE RODS Lure anglers looking for optimal performance will appreciate the Pflueger Lithium rod series from Pflueger. F65 Flex System high modulus carbon blanks with Carbon Inertia Tip (CIT) combine with Fuji Alconite K guides and hybrid cork/EVA grip system to deliver a rod range specifically designed for Australian lure anglers. The F65 Flex System provides greater stiffness, flex and strength, and the CIT (Carbon Inertia Tip) delivers extra casting distance. There are eight spin and two baitcasting models aimed at plastics and hardbody fishing, from ultra light 6’11”/1-3kg and 6’9”/2-5kg flick sticks and a 7”/3-6kg flathead slayer, through to a 7’0”/48kg model ideal for techniques such as snapper on plastics. The 5’4”/2-5kg model is perfectly suited to tight spaces such as creek fishing for bass, jungle perch and sooties. For the traveling fisho, a 3-piece, 7’0”/2-4kg model fits nicely in the suitcase or car boot. Baitcast anglers can select from two models, 5’6”/4-8kg and 6’7”/3-6kg. Price: SRP $159.95 www.pflueger.com.au

LEGIO AUREA BRUTUS

The Legio Aurea Brutus, distributed in Australia by Weflikin Lures, is a multipurpose swimming soft jerkbait. The Brutus is the ultimate T-tail swimbait. When retrieved, the extremely advanced design of the lure mimics the swimming motion of a little fleeing prey. The original ‘long joint’ provides a never seen before ‘boomerang action’ in the water, allowing it to dart and glide like no other bait in its class. Raised 3D details and textured scale patterns make this an incredibly lifelike lure. The Legio Aurea Brutus features easy weedless rigging via a belly slot, and it suitable for catching barramundi, mulloway, flathead and mangrove jack. The Brutus is injected with a high content of squid scent and is made from super soft plastic, an exclusive LegioAurea polymer project. It comes in a length of 120mm with five pieces per packet. For more information look up Weflickin Lures on Facebook, or visit their website. www.weflikinlures.com.au

BFG 5 TRAY FRONT 10 LOADER The Bigfish Gear Front Loader is a real tackle bag. It’s big and juicy enough to carry a large array of tackle and accessories for anglers of all skill sets. This handy bag has five adjustable tackle trays measuring 355 x 220 x 45mm in the front loader. There’s also a padded adjustable tray for your reels or camera in the top. You can slip your pliers, scissors and fish grips in the plier/ scissor slips under the side flaps, and you can even fit another two full tackle trays in the side pockets if you want. In all, this box can accommodate seven full tackle trays. There’s also a couple of vented compartments for wet gear and more. Other features include: two carry handles; carry strap and padded, adjustable shoulder strap; large Velcro side pockets; tube holder; jig pouch and more. The overall dimensions are 430 high x 520 wide x 270 deep. Price: SRP $119.95 www.bigfishgear.com

SAMAKI STAINLESS 11 STEEL PLIERS Samaki’s new Stainless Steel Pliers range from a fine split ring plier of 150mm in length to a long-nose reef plier with bent nose feature, to allow you an easy roll of the wrist for hook removal. These models complement Samaki’s very popular multi-purpose plier with gang hook features. The team at Samaki has invested time and energy in research and development to create rust-resistant pliers, using a blend of surgical stainless steel and nickel. These reliable pliers are strong and feature enhanced ergonomic handles for comfort in the palm, grippy teeth for grasping those slippery hooks, and fine yet strong features for split ring use or gang hook applications. The full range now includes a 150mm and 215mm Long Nose Plier; a 150mm fine and 180mm medium Split Ring plier; 290mm Bent Long Nose Reef Plier; and an 11” Multi Purpose Plier with gang hook opener. www.samaki.com.au

RIGGED 3.5” EZ SHRIMPZ

The lifelike ZMan 3.5” Rigged EZ ShrimpZ comes pre-rigged with a unique jighead that locks inside the plastic, so it’s ready to fish straight out of the packet. The jighead is built on a quality, Mustad UltraPoint hook and features a segmented weight system. It begins at around 1/4oz, and by cutting off segments of the weight the EZ ShrimpZ can be made lighter for shallow water applications, such as fishing drains and mangrove edges. The segmented body creates a lifelike kick and glide, and the thin legs and antennae provide added realism and lifelike movement. There’s also an unrigged version that rigs well on a TT Lures 3/0 HeadlockZ jighead, or weedless on a 3/0 TT Lures ChicnlockZ, ChinlockZ SWS or SnakelockZ jighead. The EZ ShrimpZ has already proven effective on a wide range of species, including barra, jacks, mulloway, flathead, bass and snapper. It comes in eight colours. Price: SRP $17.95 (twin pack) www.tackletactics.com.au

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

WHAT’S NEW FISHING R2S CHASEBAITS FORK BAIT

Last year River2Sea released a new brand of soft plastic lures called Chasebaits, and one of the stand-outs is the Fork Bait. Available in 3”, 5” and 7” models, the Fork Bait is streamlined, super soft and supple. This allows the lure to swim straight, and with any twitching of the rod the lure comes alive. It can bend back on itself and whip the tail in all directions. It looks just like a wounded fish trying to get away. The Fork Bait is perfect for jigging in deep water, bouncing along the bottom or casting and retrieving for sportfish. It’s currently available in nine unique, two-tone colours, All Chasebaits have injected salted and scent for ultimate luring performance, and have eyes for added attraction. These soft baits are made from a very soft and supple PVC plastic for maximum action, and are stronger than you’d expect. There are three other models in the range – the Curly Bait, Paddle Bait and Dagger Bait. www.river2sea.com.au

SHIMANO ULTEGRA FB

Shimano has released the longawaited Ultegra FB series of reels. At their core is Shimano’s Hagane Gear, a cold forged piece of metal crafted with micron accuracy for incredible smoothness and longevity. X-Ship provides robust gear engagement under heavy loads. All models feature 5+1 shielded A-RB bearings. The drag output ranges from 3-11kg, and target species range from finesse trout fishing to chasing pelagics. Another feature is Core Protect. A hydrophobic spray is applied to the roller clutch, the body and the line roller, forming an invisible barrier to water entry and corrosion. Special seals and protective plates provide an additional barrier. A rigid XGT-7 body forms the reel’s outer shell and provides added strength and durability. An aluminium screw in handle design provides added stability and removes unwanted play. The cold forged aluminium spool and improved rotor design provide extra weight reduction, and the G Free Body makes this reel comfortable for all-day use. www.shimanofish.com.au

PRODUCT GUIDE

SHAKESPEARE WILD 16 SERIES Shakespeare has introduced a range of species-specific combos called the Wild Series. With lengths and actions to suit bream, flathead, whiting and snapper, the Wild Series combos deliver excellent quality, giving you every chance to enjoy your time on the water. Each species is named on the rod so the guesswork is taken out, leaving you to focus on the fishing. There are also Jungle Spin and Travel Spin outfits for those adventurous anglers. Wild Series outfits feature IM6 graphite rods with a hybrid cork/EVA grip system matched with a three bearing spin reel with aluminium spool and handle. The models are: 1-3kg Bream CBO (2.06m/6’10”, 2-piece, 1-3kg, U/L action, 30SZ size), 2-5kg Flathead CBO (2.10m/7’0”, 2-piece, 2-5kg, L, 30SZ), 1-4kg Whiting CBO (2.15m/7’2”, 2-piece, 1-4kg, UL, 30SZ), 4-7kg Snapper CBO (2.10m/7’0”, 2-piece, 4-7kg, M, 40SZ), 2-6kg Jungle Spin CBO (1.75m/5’10”, 2-piece, 2-6kg, LM, 40SZ), and 2-5kg Travel Spin CBO (1.95m/6’6”, 3-piece, 2-5kg, LM, 30SZ). Price: SRP $99.95 www.shakespeare.com.au

STORM 360GT SEARCHBAIT

Designed for anglers of all skill levels, Storm’s 360GT Searchbait is designed to be useful in every fishing scenario, whether it’s being fished fast or slow, deep or shallow. The idea of a searchbait is to have a lure that you can cover water with to work out where the fish are. This paddle-tail plastic swimbait comes pre-assembled with a unique ABS moulded jighead featuring internal rattles and weighting. The precise placement of weight allows the bait to exhibit a more pronounced body roll and tail kick than a traditional soft plastic with a lead jighead. The 360GT comes in ten colours and three sizes. There’s a baby 3.5” size suitable for freshwater species like bass, a 4.5” size that’s set to be dynamite on trophy flathead, and a giant 5.5” bait for large predators like mulloway, snapper and barra. Available in packs of three, the 360GT Searchbait is priced at under $10 and will be available from February. www.stormlures.com

BLACK MAGIC SOFT SAMAKI NEON FISH 15 HEAD LURES 18 GRIP Black Magic has released two new

additions to its game lure range. Both of these lures feature Black Magic’s new ‘soft head’ technology. It is commonly believed that if a marlin misses the lure on its first strike, it’s is far more likely to make a second strike if the lure head is made of a softer material, rather than a harder resin. The first of the new lures is the 270mm long Soft Slammer. It has been modelled on the legendary Grand Slammer range, which is responsible for many large fish and numerous records. The second Soft Head lure is the Soft Pusher, which measures 300mm. With its reverse tapered head, it has a pronounced wiggle action in the water, making it attractive to a wide variety of pelagic species. Both lures come in five striking colours and are available either rigged or unrigged. www.blackmagictackle.com 62

MARCH 2017

Samaki has launched into the tooling market for the first time, delivering functional, practical and solid tools for anglers. The new Samaki Fish Gripper is bright and easily accessible in the bottom of your tackle bag, with a white body and neon accents. You’ll never again lose sight of your grip while bringing fish aboard. With key features being its tight locking mechanism, heart-shaped lip grip and floating ability, the Samaki Neon Fish Grip will hold your catch tight. Even with a struggle or flip of the tail, your grip’s locking jaw will hold and the lanyard will keep your connection secure. Samaki Fish Grips are 8” long, weigh 68g and are made with stainless pins for endurance. Available in one size with three awesome colours, these beauties will be waiting for you at your closest Samaki stockist. For more information and stockist locations visit the Samaki website, or check them out on Instagram and Facebook. www.samaki.com.au

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PRODUCT GUIDE

WHAT’S NEW FISHING

The final verdict has come in: Atomic Arrowz hit the target

RE ONLINE MO

CA N T H E Q R

NTENT

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FOR EXTR

Being handed the newest gear on the market to test is not my favourite part of working at Fishing Monthly, but it’s right up there. This week started with a phone call from my old mate Jay, national sales manager at Frogleys Offshore in Ballina. He had some exciting news that their latest range of rods – the Atomic Arrowz series had landed and was being distributed to stores by the thousands as we spoke. We’d been able to have a play with the samples of these rods at the AFTA trade show on the Gold Coast in August of last year, and had eagerly been awaiting their release to the market place. The Atomic Arrowz range features four series of rods specifically designed and tuned for the Aussie market by the team at Frogleys. They consist of Bream Specialty, Estuary, Barra and Offshore and are made to cater for both lure and bait anglers with 14 rods in total. Each rod comes equipped with the new Fuji deep pressed ‘O’ ring stainless steel guides, and Fuji reel seat. All but the barra models come with hyper-sensitive EVA grips front and rear. The barra models are loaded with cork at the rear and EVA on the foregrip. Knowing the Atomic Arrowz were coming out of the MajorCraft factory, renowned for producing quality and value for money in fishing rods, I was more than happy to put my hand up to put them through their paces.

TESTED

This trevally put a solid bend in the Bream Surface model that Steve was using. right through to my fingertips. As with any new rod I’ve used, it took a few casts, maybe 20-30 to dial in my range and start to cast accurately. Distance isn’t a problem – I could’ve launched that Sugapen to South Stradbroke Island with the right breeze. I only managed a couple of fish for the morning on the heavier stick, and none of them were big enough to stress the rod to its limits, but the ones that did eat were handled with ease thanks to the lovely taper and responsive blank. In summary, although our testing period

for these was much shorter than we’d usually like to have – by about 3 months – I would happily have any number of the Atomic Arrows series in my quiver of rods. Although they are labelled as being built for specific purposes, these two rods alone could cover a lot of bases in my usual fishing pursuits for under $200 RRP each! If you’d like to know more about these rods please give our Tackle Junkie on the Fishing Monthly Magazines Facebook page video a watch and then head into your local tackle store to put a bend in one for yourself. – Rob Gaden

These Atomic Arrowz look pretty fly on the deck of a bass boat! The test for us what exactly how much quality could we expect out of a couple of rods that retail for around the $189 mark. Having used rods from the $50 special bin right up to some that retail for $700+, I dind’t know what to expect. We were blessed with a Bream Surface AAS-70BS – which we matched to a Daiwa Emeralds 2506 and an Estuary AAS-70ML, which we saddled with a Daiwa Luvias 3012. These are the rods we figured to be two of the more versatile rods in the range. Bream, jacks and trevally were the targets of the day and the lures of choice were Bassday Sugapens in both the 70mm and 95mm versions, the smaller being fitted with the new Trick Bitz assist hooks, which make it easier for those slurping silver terrors of the canals to latch on to. Steve Morgan grabbed the Bream Surface rod as he almost loves bream as much as life itself, while I worked the heavier combo tight to structure looking for a red

dog or estuary dwelling trevor. A couple of a casts into the session and Steve had a nice little trevally on and was bending the Bream Surface model to the foregrip. It was mentioned on the way to the ramp, “I wonder if we can break these things?” We tried – as you’ll see in the accompanying video – but couldn’t. A scattering of fish continued to eat the tricked up Sugapen and hit the deck throughout the morning. Each presenting a different challenge, but all conquered without fuss by the equal parts power and precision demonstrated by these rods. For me, the first thing I noticed about the rods was they look awesome. Quality workmanship in the build is obvious and the lightweight of the blank also stands out. You could fling lures or plastics all day on this thing and not get tired. The transfer of lure action through the braid to the rod is also noticeable. Every zig and zag of the head of the Sugapen came

Bream aren’t quite a match for the Estuary model, which would be more suited to mangrove jacks or larger trevally.

MARCH 2017

Short of a cod fishery ROBINVALE

Rod Mackenzie codmac@bigpond.net.au

We’re more than two months into the cod season and local captures along the Murray River can be counted on a single hand. Three small Murray cod have been caught so far and two of them were landed in the Wentworth Weir pool. I’m sure as the months roll on, other cod captures will come to light. Perhaps even a few big fish will show as they make their way back out of the lower Darling River and other pockets

of water that have given sanctuary. The smaller gilled species seemed to have survived in higher numbers with perch and carp a viable target on bait and lures. It’s great that some smaller cod survived the black water event. I can’t help but think on what has been lost. Imagine being a millionaire and having had your fortune taken away, only to find 50 cents and have others tell you how wonderful it is you still have something left. Those are hollow words and mere loose change when you consider the wealth of green fish stocks that overflowed

the vaults 12 months ago. Water clarity in the local Murray has been good and anglers are picking up a few decent perch in the pool water above Robinvale on lures. Bait is also producing a few perch, catfish and as many carp as can be pulled from the river. Yabbies are non-existent in the local Murray around Robinvale and have been absent from these waters like the crays after the 2010-11 black water event. Good numbers of yabbies have been running below Wentworth in the Murray River, if you’re chasing a feed. Heaps of large carp are also being angled out of the

A few solid golden perch have been landed while trolling for cod in the Murray River. This one bit off more than it could chew when it tried on one of the new 170mm StumpJumpers.

Carp numbers have boomed along the Murray and it’s nothing to catch twenty or more each time you lift a yabby net.

DAM LEVELS brought to you by

Murray River on a variety of baits. While they may not be great on the table, they are fun on the line. I will stay on the carp for a moment and touch on one of my all-time pet hates of local fishing. Why is it anglers feel the need to leave piles of these dead fish at almost every popular location you visit on the river? Be it a camping spot or boat ramp, the stench of decaying fish during the warmer months is nauseating to say the least. A few weeks back I dropped into the Swan Hill Riverside Park for a feed of fish and chips on the steps with my daughter only to be confronted by the same stench of dead fish I regularly see a little further out of town. Several large carp were drying in the sun alongside the steps with a

hive of flies buzzing amidst the stink. There is a simple answer to this problem. Under current NSW legislation, it is not illegal to return carp into the same waters they are caught from. I simply choose to liberate mine dead after they have been dispatched humanely. Victoria is different – while it is currently illegal to release live carp, they have no problem with carp being returned dead. In both cases, they provide a valuable food source for any number of animals from pelicans and whistling kites to shrimp, yabbies and even small fishes. It’s far better in the water than rotting on the banks at popular river locations. The fishing around Swan Hill has been a little better with most anglers landing cod in the Murray

River on bait and lures. Several cod to 90cm have been trolled on lures up towards the Pental Island area. Some good perch have also been landed at this location according to local tackle proprietor Jim Credlin. The Kerang Lakes have fished well this past month with good numbers of golden perch and redfin falling to bait and lures. Lake Charm has been the pick for redfin catches with solid bags landed on blades and vibes. Shrimp and local white bait bobbed on the drift have also worked well. All up, the best cod fishing in our areas has come from the Swan Hill region. Another month might tell a different story. Until then, we can only wait and hope and rebuild our greenfish fortune, one wonderful fish at a time.

w w w. b a r g a i n b o a t b i t s. c o m . a u

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

Dec. Jan. Feb. Blowering 96 92 81 Brogo 100 92 78 Burrendong 113 104 93 Burrinjuck 96 95 79 Carcoar 99 99 97 Chaffey 167 168 168 Clarrie Hall 100 100 100 Copeton 58 55 49 Dartmouth 77 78 78 Eucumbene 49 44 44 Glenbawn 94 92 91 Glenlyon 70 69 65

Dec. Jan. Feb. Glennies Creek 87 85 83 Hume 96 90 82 Jindabyne 76 75 70 Keepit 98 86 69 Lostock 98 91 84 Oberon 99 97 95 Pindari 99 100 91 Split Rock 31 30 30 Tantangara 44 21 16 Toonumbar 90 89 85 Windamere 52 52 51 Wyangala 97 95 92

(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.) 64

MARCH 2017

Piles of dead carp next to boat ramps and camping spots are the fault of unthinking anglers.

Lake Mulwala means top fishing YARRAWONGA

Tony Bennett codclassic@bigpond.com

After a year or two of not being fussed either way if I was fishing, the boom in surface action and the results that go with it have me back on the horse again! Lake Mulwala continues to be the number one location for any halfkeen cod angler, especially those keyed into what it takes to get one off the top. Prior planning and keeping a keen eye on the internet or specific phone apps will have you hitting the lake at prime time. Lately we are averaging about two good nights per week with little wind, so make good use of them. Other factors to take into consideration are wind direction and sunup/ sundown times. When it comes to lure choice, anything that makes some sort of splash, popping, paddling or blooping action will be fine. Depending on the areas you fish, lure size has a bit to do with the quality of cod returned. I have seen

many monsters landed on smaller lures and small fish on big lures. Wakebaits and swimbaits have also reached a point of being impossible to keep on the shelf. They’re now tricking many a cod that has wised up to other styles of top water fishing. In saying that, the surface action is great. Your traditional lake methods of trolling and casting lures are now entering prime time over the next few months. For every fish we hear of taken off the top, there will be many more caught down below. January was a massive month in regards to visiting and local anglers spending plenty of time out on the lake and below the weir on the river. Reports were frequent with numerous great captures recorded. Without fear of wanting to leave out somebody who deserves a mention, I will roll off a few of the bigger ones. Braidy Lewis accounted for a fit 107cm beast on a Bassman spinnerbait in the upper reaches of the lake. This was off the back of a great night’s surface action where

Darcy Scherger

Around the Mildura region the fishing has been red hot. Golden perch have been providing much enjoyment for local anglers, especially lure fishers around the region. The golden perch seem to be schooling up in large schools of 30-40 fish around solid old structure usually found submerged at this time of the year. Golden perch have been going into feeding frenzies in these areas with reports of triple hook-ups on lures being cast into likely looking spots with the correct retrieval technique for the day. The hardest part about these areas is finding the fish. Then it’s staying on the spot and in the hit zone while your lure is in the water. Anglers have found these areas and managed to situate the boat in the correct location, so every cast that hits the timber has produced solid numbers of golden perch and fish every single cast for short half-hour bursts. Many anglers started using extremely light gear to catch these fish on lures, which made it challenging to pull them away from timber. This is extremely good fun and rewarding. Local angler Gareth Collinson was interviewed about the current fishing

situation and he said, “Jackall TN60 and 70s have seemed to have work the best with a very slow retrieve to nearly the point where you can not reel any slower. Hit the snag every cast and you will be smashed by a hungry golden perch.” Gareth Collinson tried

Carp trapping Common carp move from rivers into wetlands to spawn, making them vulnerable to trapping. Researchers have trialled a trap designed to separate carp from native fish entering wetlands by exploiting their different jumping and pushing behaviours. While some carp avoided the trap, most

were trapped and most of those were successfully isolated by jumping or pushing. The trap was most efficient when the carp were ready to spawn. You can read more of this study by Conallin and others in Fisheries Management and Ecology: http://dx.doi. org/10.1111/fme.12184. – Fish Habitat Network

Marshall Elliot with his 104cm cod taken off the surface. he managed 80cm and 104cm on the new Codger surface lure. Jamie Stewart was another to come up tight on a couple of beauties with a 107cm and 90cm hoovering down his cast Koolabung Wake Snake and

All that glitters is golden MILDURA

FISHING FILL-ITS

many varieties of lures on large timber. If trolling was more your thing than casting, small Oar-Gees are also a favourite for the golden perch. It’s definitely worth packing up the boat and heading out for a cast to get your rod bent.

Gareth Collinson looking fly with his golden capture.

Cod Cracker respectively. Shane and Chris ‘Pizza Man’ Huggard ventured up above Bundalong and caught a massive 110cm on Shane’s cast spinnerbait – a great reward for a couple of good fellas. I was lucky enough to have Marshall Elliott aboard when his surface lure was engulfed by a beautiful 104cm cod. The hit followed by the fight and then the pure excitement and enjoyment of catching a ‘biggun’ off the top was something to behold. Below the weir, the fishing has been great with most kids catching plenty of small stuff on bait. Worms, cheese and yabbies have been the most productive. I took a couple of youngsters down for a bit of fun. In two hours we landed no less than 20 fish with two legal cod and a 53.5cm yella thrown in for good measure. With the competition season upon us, there’s some fun coming up soon. The His & Hers Partners Classic is 4 March and a great day for understanding couples to share time together in the boat. To round out the competition season is the Cod Nationals, 16-19 March, which is four days of serious tournament fishing for the dedicated green fish angler. • If you’re visiting town, call into Lake Mulwala Fish Camp & Ski – the shop with the big green cod out the front, opposite the post office in Mulwala. Check out our new store located between Rivers and One Zac in the main street, Yarrawonga, and say G’day. We’re Yarrawonga and Mulwala’s fishing specialists and know all things green! For any information on the upcoming events or fishing reports, give us a call on 0439 441667.

A carp trapping cage uses natural behaviour to trap the carp. Photo courtesy of Finterest.

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Early bird catches the trout JINDABYNE

Steve Williamson swtrout@airlan.com.au

I think most areas had record temperatures over the last couple of months, and I can guarantee I have never worn shorts for so many days in the last 30

years of living in the Snowy Mountains! I’m actually looking forward to cooler days and cold nights, which will stir the trout into action once again. As we head into the first month of Autumn, we start thinking about the brown

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

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

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

trout spawning run and this months temperatures and rainfall will dictate whether it will be an early or late spawning season this year. If the trout run early like they did last season, it will be an interesting river fishing season, but we might have to wait a few more weeks yet to see just what happens. With the warmer weather of the last couple of months, there have been plenty of yabbies in the lake this year, which have helped the brown trout to put on some serious condition, so you might see some record fish caught this year. We all love catching big brown trout! For the boat trollers, Lake Jindabyne’s normal downrigging season was late, and so I expect there will be plenty of deep trolling for the rest of March. The best way to start off the day’s trolling this month will be by trying surface lines with lures to about 2m at first light, maybe with a lead core line at three colours to take the lures to 4-5m as a backup. If you have been out a while and there are no bites, don’t persist, get out your downriggers and starting at

35ft with a lure dropback of 4m, you should start to see some fish. As the day brightens further, maybe go to 45ft by mid morning and drop the lure back to 9-10m or even more for the best fishing. On cloudy or rainy days you can surface fish until about 9am before going deeper. The Tasmanian Devil 111 Yellow Wing ‘Willy’s Special’ or a black and orange devil are the best deep lures at the moment, with Tasmanian Devil number Y36 also doing okay on the surface and off leadcore lines early. My black one side and orange the other side Tasmanian Devil has been very good also for downrigging or off the surface early. Some of the better trolling areas this month will be deep water off Lion and Cub Islands or the deeper water off Hatchery Bay and Hayshed Bay. Sids Bay through to Rushes Bay will fish well early in the day for big brown trout, but the first hour of light will be the time to be there. If you like to spin the lake with lures, then you need to be on the water very early before the trout head into deeper cooler water. Working a minnow lure around the edges of the shallow bays in about 4m of water will be the best way to pick up a bigger fish. But be early! Later in the morning, look for deep drop-offs and allow the lure to sink deep and work the lure slowly back to the surface. The best colour lures have been in either natural brown trout and rainbow trout patterns and gold. Bays like Creel, Hatchery and the Snowy Arm all fish well. As the sun rises, change to a Tassie and cast further out over drop-offs. The best areas have been down at the South Arm or near Banjo Patterson Park, but as the month progresses, Waste Point and the Snowy Arm will start to fire. Spinning on the Thredbo River has been much better fishing this year, and with the higher water we are also seeing bigger fish. Small minnows in the sinking variety like the Bullet Lures are better in the faster water, with Celtas working better in the shallow water.

Scott Newman with a 1.3kg brown caught at Kalkite. Other lures to try have been Gillies Bendbacks and Feathertails, but you could also try soft plastics! The Strike Tiger range of soft plastics have taken the trout fishing scene by storm with their excellent range, with the nymphs being perfect for rivers and streams. Over this month, the best lake bait fishing will be with scrub worms off the bottom, teamed up with some artificial bait. Tiger worms under a float are good, and another bait worth suspending under a float is the old faithful grasshopper, which is a bait you don’t often hear about much these days, but they work a treat and there are plenty about at the moment. You might need some kids with a butterfly net to help you collect the bait though! The best bait fishing areas are Creel Bay, Hatchery Bay and Curiosity Rocks in the deeper water. For lake fly anglers at the moment, the best fishing has been early morning and there have been a few wind lanes about, and if you see the ducks and sea gulls on the water, this is a tell-tale sign that they’re eating insects on the surface. Some of the best lake fly fishing is during the coming months as the water cools, and this year with so much weed around the edges of the lake, we should see some big fish caught. Try any of the streamer patterns such

as black Woolly Buggers and Williamson’s Gold Fish. Olive green nymphs and shrimp patterns are also worth a try. The South Arm, Creel Bay and especially Sids Bay are all great. On the rivers, the best fly fishing is in the evenings and there should still be plenty of evening rises and fantastic dry fly fishing for a few weeks yet. The Alpine streams are still looking good, and plenty of small fish are being caught on dry fly. Fly selection is not too critical in these streams, but placement is, or else you just scare all the fish. Try a small Hopper pattern, Royal Wulff, Royal Humpy or a caddis moth in these areas. The area on the lower Mowambah near the weir on the Dalgety Road is a great spot to have a look for small stream trout. Until next month, hope you catch the big one. • If you would like some personal guiding, I will be available over the coming months for fly-fishing tuition and lake trolling trips. Lessons can be booked from 2 hours’ duration, and trolling trips from 3 hours to a full day. If you want to know more about the latest in fishing conditions, just give me a call on (0264) 561 551 or check out my website at www.swtroutfishing.com. au. You can also see our daily Facebook updates at https://www.facebook. com/LJTFA.

MARCH ROUNDUP – THE BEST OF THE BEST! Best method Lake trolling – leadlines early, then downriggers. Best lake lure Tasmanian Devil Steve Williamson’s Lime Green Yellow Wing or number 111 Willy’s Special. Best lake area Deep water off Lion and Cub islands. Best fly method dry fly – hopper patterns and Yellow Humpies. Best River Thredbo River. Best River lures Bullet Minnows or Strike Tiger Nymphs. 66

MARCH 2017

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Good trout catches around the mountain rivers CANBERRA

Bryan Pratt

Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pleasing to be able to report good catches of trout in the big mountain rivers at this time of year. Normally by now, stream levels have dropped significantly and the majority of the fish have retreated to the relative safety of the deeper water in the big reservoirs, namely Tantangara, Eucumbene and Jindabyne.

This year, however, continuing rain and good runoff from snowmelt have combined to maintain a good water flow in the streams. Fish have stayed there to enjoy conditions and the abundant food supply. In recent weeks, anglers have reported pleasing catches of browns and rainbows on fly in the Thredbo, Eucumbene and Murrumbidgee rivers, which are the main feeder streams for the reservoirs. One angler found nice browns in the Thredbo when

Thumping big browns like this have been taking tiny size 16 and 18 chironomid flies late in the afternoon and evening at Lake Eucumbene, proving once again that you can catch large fish on the tiniest of hooks.

there was a sudden fall of ants hatching in mid-air. He had the exact match for the ant in his fly box and it was readily taken by fish in the 28-40cm range. At one stage he was hooking a fish a cast, which just goes to show how important it is to have the right fly pattern available when conditions demand. There were two good reports on consecutive days in the Eucumbene River. One angler fishing chironomids and various small dries came across a patch of goodsized rainbows upstream from Denison and landed numerous fish in a threehour session. Another angler fishing well upstream in the river above Kiandra found browns to 45cm in gentle flowing water and tumbling rapids. He caught them on Red Tag flies and described it as some of the best fishing he has ever had. In the Murrumbidgee River upstream from Tantangara there were plenty of smallish fish to about 30cm, taking dries and nymph droppers in the middle of the day, despite the hot and bright conditions. Anglers might be surprised to know that there is still a lot of snow on the Main Range in the Snowy

Small rainbows have provided a lot of fun on fly in the Monaro streams, especially small creeks where there is abundant food available to tempt the fish into staying instead of migrating downstream to the larger lake environments.

Continuing rain and snowmelt have combined to maintain good flows in the feeder streams to Tantangara, Jindabyne and Eucumbene. The fishing has been uncharacteristically good for this time of year. Mountains. As that thaws it will help maintain good water levels in the big rivers, hopefully for weeks and months to come. That means we can continue to enjoy what is uncharacteristically good stream fishing at this time of year. BIG LAKES SUCCESSFUL Fishing has been good in the big lakes. Flyfishers have landed decent fish on chironomids and Woolly Buggers, mostly in the mid to late afternoon. On some days fishing has been curtailed by the easterly breeze, which puts the fish down. On other days the good fishing has continued until late in the evening. Most of the larger fish have been browns. Good-sized rainbows are still hard to find. Trollers have done well, especially with lead core line. Tasmanian Devils, Rapala and StrikePro minnows and goldfish-patterned Shad Alives have been working well. The Shad Alives have also been effective on larger browns searching the rocky shoreline in Jindabyne for fair-dinkum goldfish.

Bait fishers have caught mixed bags using scrub worms, wood grubs, PowerBait and mudeyes. The best fishing has been in the early morning and at dusk. Anglers are reminded that baited rods left in overnight constitute set lines, and the gear can be confiscated and the owners prosecuted. NATIVES ERRATIC Golden perch and Murray cod have shown various bursts of activity but persistent anglers

have done pretty well in Canberraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s urban lakes, Burrinjuck and Wyangala. Cod have responded well to extra-large lures, especially Timberflash, Jackpot, Kong, Akame and StumpJumper lures, as well as Koolabung surface lures. A surprising number of anglers fishing for redfin with small hardbodied lures and soft plastics report being wiped out by golden perch or cod, which had obviously been eyeing off the redfin schools.

Redfin have been active in local lakes. Anglers using small to medium-sized lures have been wiped out by golden perch and Murray cod that are eyeing off the schools of redfin.

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Water temps dropping and fish switching on WAGGA WAGGA

Rhys Creed

Summer is slowly on the wind down and the days will begin to cool off. March is a brilliant time to be out fishing because the days are more comfortable with high 20s and low 30s. Even better, the water

temperature begins to drop and the fish switch on! TUMUT RIVER Over the summer months I didn’t talk much about the Tumut River, because this river is part of the Snowy Hydro and is used as a channel to distribute water to irrigators. As we all know, summer is when water is needed for farmers

and therefore the Tumut is running super high and fast, making it difficult to fish and also dangerous. Usually during mid to late march the flows start to drop back and it becomes fishable again. During summer the river is running above 1.2m (from the river gauge in Tumut) and this is much too high to fish. If Wading a shallow stone bar with the fly rod as a mean storm rolls over the hills.

Jack caught this early morning rainbow on a spinner with yellow and gold spots.

A Tumut River rainbow that took a PowerBait T Tail Minnow fished across the rapids.

A beautifully coloured Tumut rainbow.

it drops below 0.5m then it becomes fishable. You can find the river height readings on the NSW Water Info website or app. Spin, fly and bait will all be great options for targeting the large trout in the river. The best locations to fish are just above and below a rapid, because when the water runs over the stones it picks up speed and dislodges food. This makes the perfect ambush location for trout. Casting small spinners, shallow running hardbodies and even small soft plastics will be the best option. Bait drifting a few worms is a proven fish catching technique, and all you need is a small hook, a split shot 30cm up your line and a few garden worms. Stand at the top of the rapid, cast across at a 45° angle, engage your reel and let the worms swing across the rapids. This is a simple but effective technique. BLOWERING DAM As always, this dam has its magic moments, but they never come without hard work. The summer months produced some brilliant

captures from the dam with numerous cod recorded over the metre mark. The dam will continue to fish well during March but it will be hard work. Between March and May every year the boat activity dies down on the lake because anglers are trying to get their yearly river fix in while the waters are low. Now is definitely the perfect time to be on the water if you want to avoid the boat activity. Trolling and casting with large lures during the dark is still the best method. The cod will feed early and late. They’ll still slow right down during the middle of the day. Once the days get shorter in April, the cod will start to switch on during the day. MURRUMBIDGEE RIVER The Murrumbidgee River will now be our go-to location from about mid-March through until winter! As the water height starts to drop, the snags will become exposed and the fishing will be nothing short of amazing. Later this month

it will be well worth a trip to the river, whether you’re a bait or lure angler. Casting tight in against timber with both spinnerbaits and hardbodies, either from a boat or walking the bank, will be the best approach. Try to fish early and late in the day when the shade is still covering the water, because this is when you will catch the most fish. The Murrumbidgee River from Wagga Wagga all the way out to Hay will fish well. What

makes me really excited this year is the major flooding that this section of river saw last spring. This means the fish had a bumper breeding season and would have also fed up really well. The fish should be extremely healthy, well-conditioned and super hard fighting! If you are reading this in early March, make sure you save a week towards the end of the month and start fishing a river or creek near you. The action is going to be hot!

The FX Fury has become one of the top Murray cod lures, with another Blowering slab to its name.

Adam Smith with a Murrumbidgee golden taken on a Mud Guts spinnerbait.

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Stability is restored and big fish are active LITHGOW/OBERON

Glen Stewart stewie72@bigpond.com

Predictability is tough in fishing; sayings like “you should have been here yesterday” are quite common. I’ve got no doubt we have all been on both sides of this quote more than once.

Variables and scenarios in Mother Nature and fishing are like one big puzzle with trillions of pieces, pieces that constantly change colour and shape. Seconds and minutes can literally make the difference between pieces fitting together. We anglers rarely get it exactly right. There are always a few pieces missing, or ones

Impoundment bass are creatures of habit when conditions are stable, and slow rolling spinnerbaits in and around structure as light fades is about as consistent as it gets for this time of year.

that didn’t quite fit, even on the good days. DAMS The good news is that March around these parts, at least in my experience, is one time of year where the pieces are a little easier to find and fit together. The weather, which is a major factor in what fish do and how they go about their business, is possibly at its most stable in March. Water temperatures have peaked and are just starting drop back down with the cooler nights. The hurly-burly comings and goings of other water users on lakes such as Wyangala, Lyell and Burrendong have begun to wane, breeding cycles for all species are all well and truly done and dusted, and even with just these few factors taken into account, you can see that things are starting to level out. One factor that can throw a spanner in the works is the water level. Drawdown for irrigation of crops below Wyangala and Burrendong can have water dropping fast

Local incidental captures of big cod do occur from time to time. This one grabbed quite a bit of attention, and rightly so… what a great fish for Richard! need to be taken into account before fishing, depending on the species, water temperature, turbidity and flows. All of these factors have a major effect on how and where the fish will be and their willingness to bite. They can be very unstable environments, especially if flows are changing from

happily in open runs and riffles, slurping insects off the top as they drift lazily overhead. Sideways attacks on nymphs underwater are done with speed and little hesitation. This is truly a blessing for those with a long wand in hand. The hierarchy of lower snags has been well and

CHIFLEY DAM

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Trout in our streams and rivers that have spent the summer’s heat under willows and undercut banks should start to venture out into riffles and runs, taking station and waiting for your well-presented dry or nymph.

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at this time of year. It can affect where and how baitfish and predators interact or position themselves, and is something to be aware of. RIVERS Fluctuations and flow releases from lakes and dams into rivers below like the Lachlan and Macquarie

week to week. On the other hand, the upstream creeks and rivers higher in the catchments are a lot more predictable and stable. During summer, trout spent the hot days hiding under willows and undercut banks, only to venture out when light levels and temperatures allowed. Now, with temperatures dropping, they can sit

truly sorted; big cod take prime daytime position and attack anything that comes close, and as light levels decrease they venture out on patrol. Casts no longer need to be right on the money. It’s like a calling all corners shot on the pool table – all pockets are in play. Bigger is better for cod as this month rolls into April

and May. By that time of year all the smaller lizards have grown into bigger lizards, smaller ducks and coots have become bigger ducks and coots, smaller carp and redfin have grown into bigger carp and redfin... you get the picture. Nothing is sacred when those mottled green monsters are out on patrol. NOTABLE CAPTURE Incidental notable captures take place from time to time in the local angling community, and one that grabbed some attention a month or so back was a rather large cod caught by Richard Gear in Ben Chifley Dam near Bathurst. Richard and his partner Nadine from Oberon are well known and are as keen as they come, putting in long hours in many of the local impoundments. It was great to see their efforts rewarded with such a great fish. Incidental captures of cod do occur in Ben Chifley dam from time to time, with random maulings of lures targeted at redfin, like with as was the case with this capture. The light gear and spiderweb thin line meant cool heads were needed. Well done guys! Hope to see you on the water soon, until then, tight lines!

Stable riverine environments can be a little hard to find in March below large impoundments. Higher catchments can be a little more predictable. 70

MARCH 2017

Anglers reddy to finish off the summer heat BATLOW

Wayne Dubois waynedubois@westnet.com.au

It’s been a few years since I’ve been able to report that redfin in Blowering Dam are well and truly on the chew. There have been thousands of these tasty critters about lately and although the majority of

to get your lures down to the desired depth, like you would if you used a floating lure. Another great little trick for increasing your redfin catch rate is to add a small 1-2” soft plastic or a flashy salt water fly to your main line about a metre or so above your chosen trolling lure. This technique also gives you a great chance of getting a few hook-ups. When

GOLDEN PERCH Targeting golden perch at Blowering Dam at this time of the year can be quite difficult, particularly during the day. High daytime temperatures push the golden perch into deep water or snags until it cools down late in the day. When the sun goes down, it’s a totally different game. Most fish are rested from a day of sulking in the deep and are

The rainbow trout coloured Bling Spin has been a standout lure for the author’s other half this season, and not just on the trout. Redfin are being caught on them as well. these fish are fairly small, there are still plenty of big ones out there. And there’s the odd trophy-sized one to keep spirits and expectation levels high. A lot of these redfin are getting caught by trolling with small hardbodies. Anglers who try something different and try that little bit harder are getting the best results. Trolling suspending hardbodies with a constant stop-start technique is arguably the best way to target the bigger, wiser redfin at Blowering Dam, or anywhere for that matter. Constantly stopping the lure for up to ten seconds at a time can be a big redfin’s undoing. They just can’t let an easy meal sit there for too long, or those pesky schools of little redfin will get in and eat it first, which is why this strategy works so well and has for decades. The added bonus of using this technique is that when you hook a fish, you can simply leave the other rods to troll in their positions, which gives you a good chance of multiple hook-ups. More often than not, one hooked fish can turn the rest of the school into a feeding frenzy. Lures sitting there in the strike zone get hit, even though the boat and lures haven’t moved. If they don’t hit a lure just sitting there, they’ll often hit the other lures as soon as you start trolling again. There’s no need to troll 50m or more

you do get two on the one rod, it can make for some interesting battles, especially when they’re both over 40cm. Pulling up after locating a good school and casting to them with lipless crankbaits, soft plastics, blades, vibes, ice jigs or metal spinners is another great way of getting some good numbers of fish under your belt.

out free swimming just about everywhere, particularly in the shallow margins of the dam in search of a good feed. More and more anglers have clued onto this and have started focusing their fishing efforts on night sessions. These night time feeders can be caught a number of ways. The most common technique is trolling small

to medium sized hardbodies and lipless crankbaits. The best technique is to cast with lipless crankbaits, rubber vibes, blades or soft plastics. If you can’t fish at night and have to fish during the day, seek out cool, deep water that has structure of some description. A golden perch’s favourite structure during the warmer months seems to be standing timber, as this provides shade throughout the day. Fish in these areas are best targeted by jigging with either bait or lures. Slow rolling soft plastics up the sides of standing timber that is either adjacent to a drop off or in 5-15m of water will put you in with a good chance of landing a golden perch. TROUT STREAMS The trout fishing in our streams just seems to get better and better this season with absolutely insane numbers about this year. I’m lucky enough to have many great streams with in cooee of my home. Most years I catch a couple thousand trout on average. This year’s tallies are going to wipe those stats right off the wall. My other half and I encountered over 1000 trout for the season, way back in early January.

The redfin fishing is back at Blowering Dam, and double hook-ups are back on the cards. These two tasty morsels were part of a monster bag caught on Insanity Tackle Mini vibes recently. We have been slaying them on everything we have chucked or waved at them, as has everyone else who has put the effort in to get to those more remote areas, where it seems to be almost a fish a cast. My other half’s number one lures have been the Insanity Tackle Bling Spins. All colours have been catching fish and she just changes colours depending on the clarity of the water, but it’s hard to beat the rainbow trout colour for obvious reasons.

I’ve had some amazing sessions as well. Most of my trout stream fishing these days is done with fly rod in hand. Since the beginning of the season, trout have all been willing to rise for drys all day long, and the ones that haven’t have happily taken the nymph dropper that I run on a regular basis. If you haven’t been out trout fishing yet this season, I hope this article has encouraged you to dust off your gear and go.

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Rivers flowing and hot fish are easy-going TAMWORTH

Adam Mears adam.mears@hotmail.com

The searing heat has plagued us all summer. Mercury rising above 38°C has been a regular occurrence. While this is draining on anglers, I have some great news despite the heat. The afternoon

storms have kept the rivers flowing nicely and looking very healthy. I don’t think I have seen so many quality fish come from the Peel and Namoi systems since before my fishing journey started. Articles from Dave ‘Hodgie’ Hodge and videos from Dean McFarlane and Michael Poulos always showcased how good our

region fishes, but now even more so. Although the rivers look great, I don’t think we are in for any relief this month as far as the heat goes. That may not be a bad thing. The warm temperatures will keep insect activity booming and surface strikes continuing this month. One thing I’ve discovered recently is that carp will take surface

The author with a solid honeyhole munching Murray cod.

Hayley McDonald shows that you don’t need to be remote to catch a fish. This one came from the side of the road.

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offerings. I know what you’re thinking – ‘he’s talking fly fishing,’ right? Wrong! I have been experimenting with tiny walk-the-dog lures in the 40mm range, painting them white or picking clear shrimp patterns and have had a reasonable amount of success. Small rod tip movement is required just after landing, followed by dead-sticking the lure. This seems to be the gun technique. I challenge you to go out and give it a whirl. It’s highly addictive. They will take a surface fly as well as small ant imitations and floating bread flies work well. CHAFFEY DAM Chaffey Dam is still sitting nice and high with plenty of fish hiding in the snags. Anglers hit the water to catch the ‘fish of the day’ in the beautiful Peel Valley. The dam is bursting with boats and campers armed with rods keen to throw around their lucky lure to hook up to a fish. Yellowbelly are cruising the steep rocky banks striking Jackalls and sipping soft plastics. Carp are swallowing worms and they’re more than willing to take flies cast from the banks. Also, if you have a sense of adventure, grab your kayak and paddle up the river arm of the dam through the submerged trees to hook up

to some fish. Great goldens and silver perch are loving all the new vegetation and the view is spectacular, so you won’t be disappointed. PEEL RIVER With recent rain, the river is flowing pretty well. Fish the back eddies or the slack side of a snag if chasing goodoo (Murray cod) or golden perch in and around our township of Tamworth. Spinnerbaits are working a treat, with colours imitating the natural colours of our native fish putting a bend in plenty of rods around our region. Bait fishers can’t go past bardi grubs for cod and large yabbies are a close second. Tinned corn and bread have also been satisfying the tastebuds of carp in our

When it’s hot, sometimes it’s best to leave them in the water for a quick pic. This Murray cod fell for a Full Moon Spinnerbait.

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waterways. It’s a great way to spend a few hours, not only catching a few fish but by removing carp from our waterways – you’re doing a good deed for the environment. Topwater fishing is still as popular as ever. Head torches are in overdrive as anglers stalk the banks on the hunt for the metre cod. It can pay to upsize lures in March. Subtle lures and other large swimbaits are perfect as are large top water soft plastics like the 6” ZMan Pop Frogs. Nothing gets the heart racing and blood pumping like a surface boof signalling the start to a great day of fishing ahead. Be ready and fish hard.

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Water cools and fish feed HUNTER VALLEY

Peter Phelps

Autumn is finally upon us after some hot summer roastings. It’s been one of the hottest on record and the dam levels have suffered. March’s weather should be fairly predictable, with consecutive glassed out days and hopefully some steady rain coming. Unfortunately, those hot days can still hang around until the end of the month. The surface water

a jig spinner or beetle spin rigged on a blade, or even a lipless crankbait works wonders at this time of year, producing sheer numbers of fish. Concentrating on bottom contact and working your lure through the scattered fish is key to catching them. If you are having no success on these shallower fish, try moving out into 40ft and deeper. There should be scattered fish out here that will eat a vertical slowed rolled grub. Tree hopping is a good way of locating deep

timber. Golden perch love hanging off these submerged trees and this is also a deadly way of catching them as well as bass. Lake Glenbawn’s lure fishing can be hot and cold this month. There will be still a prominent deep bite going on. The main food source in the Hunter Valley’s lakes are small baitfish, whether it’s smelt, gudgeons or minnows. This is why a plastic is such a great lure for targeting these fish. Matching the hatch is important, so you’ll want a plastic that’s 2-3” long in

The author with something you don’t see every day: a yellowbelly that ate a buzzbait! temperatures will still be warm in the local lakes, so most of the fish will be deep. Lure fishing around the full moon is renowned for being tough at this time of year, but can be quite productive for the bait fishers. The Lake St Clair weed beds will have hopefully held up from the dropping water levels and hot temperatures. This weed will still hold plenty of fish, but getting these fish to bite is another thing. Low light is always the key when targeting shallow water fish. Early morning or late evening and overcast days will be the best. They will be keyed onto the smaller baitfish in the lake. Small plastics, jerkbaits, crankbaits and topwater will be the key producers. Once that sun gets up, its time to move slighter deeper. Outside the weed beds in 15-30ft, there should be plenty of fish. Generally smaller than their weed dwelling siblings, there will be enough to keep you interested. A slow rolled grub cast parallel to the weed works well and fools the larger of the fish in the schools. Mix it up with a hopped 1/4oz, this duel approach can be deadly. If you’re after numbers,

fish. The limited amount of trees in St Clair can concentrate the fish around them. The tree gives you a visual target to go towards without having to spend time sounding around for fish. Moving from tree to tree and dropping your grub down 5-6 times around the whole tree will let you know if any fish are relating to

a natural colour. Paddle-tail and grub style plastics are very lifelike and work well on timid fish. Again, the vertical presentation will work best for fish between 30-80 feet deep. If you are finding the fishing a little tough with the plastic, try going to something with a more aggressive action to draw

a reaction strike. Burning or hopping blades and tail-spinners may work, alternatively, you could try hopping an ice jig in their face. The fish should be starting to spread throughout the lake, so you could find them anywhere from the dam walls to well up in the 8 knot zone. If you are at the lake early enough, its always worthwhile fishing surface for the first few hours. Try working lures quickly and covering ground to look for active fish. If you can find any weed that has lasted the summer heat and dropping water levels, these are good spots to slow down. Pick apart the holes and edges of the weed. Small poppers work well, as their action will not move them far from the structure and create enough noise to bring them out of the weed. One good pop after it lands and before pausing and then shaking the popper on the spot so it just vibrates on the surface looking like an insect can bring good results. The bait fishing in both lakes will be at its finest at this time of year. Tying up to trees in around 30-40 feet of water is good place to start. Live shrimp just hooked through the end of the tail is a great bait if you can get hold of some. Lightly-weighted with just a swivel or a small ball sinker of a couple of grams and a no. 4-6 circle hook is the great setup. Slowly sink the shrimp down the trunk and with a loose drag, let the fish eat the shrimp, before winding the drag up applying gentle pressure. The circle hook stops them hooking themselves deep. The Hunter region’s rivers and creeks are desperately in need of some

Dave Diggins was rewarded after fishing into the night with some nice bass on topwater. rain. Some of the upper reaches and smaller creeks have stopped flowing with reports of dead fish in certain spots. March is a time where the bass should be spread out throughout the system. Some fish will be moving downstream and some will still be higher in the upper districts. As with most river fishing situations in the daylight hours, casting close to structure is key. Small deep diving crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs,

beetle spins and blades work well in stained water. The vibration helps the fish locate the lure. If the water is clear, try a plastic paddletails, swimbaits or grubs. In low light circumstances, surface will still catch a lot of fish this month. Paddlers, walkers, poppers and wake baits work in the more open water. Use weedless frogs or buzz baits if the fish are in tighter to cover, as these presentations can be worked right in the thick of it.

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Presentation is key for results COPETON DAM

David Allen manager@copeton.com.au

Summer is now behind us and we move into autumn. The heat goes out of the days and the nights begin to cool. March can be one of the best times to visit Copeton Waters Holiday Park for many reasons, including the fishing.

and the dam level should stabilise after two months of constantly dropping. This will also help to increase fish activity. March often sees long periods of stable weather and can be one of our driest months of the year, so there is no better time to camp at Copeton. There are no crowds and the fish are on the bite – life is good. Speaking of fishing, the summer was a little slow due

presentations with the most realistic offerings you can find will bring results. Bait would be the obvious answer and craybobs, shrimp and wood grubs are some of the best offerings. It pays to think about how you present these baits so they look natural. Shrimp flick around mid-water and aren’t anchored to the bottom with a big chunk of lead. Try little or no weight and slowly work your bait through the branches of trees or across and through fish on the flats. Craybobs can also

be presented very naturally by pinning them through the tail on an appropriate size hook. Fish them with no weight, keep in touch with your bait and slowly move it across the bottom with small drags or hops. For artificial lures, the most natural presentations will be achieved with lures like soft plastics and swimbaits. These ultra-realistic lures can be presented to the fish so they have time to inspect and believe that they are a live baitfish.

Bailey Clark caught this awesome 60cm cod on cheese and a worm. During March the water surface temperature will start to drop and this can trigger a rise in fish activity. By now, the irrigators will have finished watering for the year

to the constantly dropping water level. Anglers needed to fish a bit smarter. In most cases, this can be as simple as slowing down. With most tough bites, slower

Steve Hamilton with his first metre plus fish for the year – 113cm on New Year’s Day.

Jack Farrawell, age eight with a 50cm+ yella. I had the opportunity to watch a big yella’s reaction to a top end swimbait the other day. As I retrieved a Jackall Chibitarel in very clear water I noticed movement behind the lure. I stopped the slow roll retrieve and a big yellowbelly appeared behind and underneath the lure. I let the lure sit for thirty seconds or so then I gave the lure a little twitch, just enough to make it turn. The fish moved closer, but stayed under the lure, fins erect, eyes swivelling. I let the lure sit again. The next twitch was too much for this big yella – his gills flared and the lure disappeared in a microsecond.

To have this fish commit to the lure after I watched it from only a few centimetres away, for over a minute, confirms to me how convincing swimbaits can be. It was a real lesson for me and gave me the confidence to slow my presentations right down. My advice now is when you think you are going slow enough, slow down some more. • Copeton Dam is one of the best lakes in NSW to catch a trophy Murray cod. Dave runs the Copeton Waters Holiday Park and is a great source of up to date, local information on what’s biting. Contact the park on (02) 6723 6269 for information and accommodation bookings.

Low light and shade for yellowbelly and cod NEW ENGLAND RIVERS

Adam Townsend

The summer months have come to an end leaving a tough month of fishing behind. Local dams have been fishing very inconsistently, although the fish that have been caught all seem to be in very good condition. For some anglers, Copeton Dam has been the place to be in recent weeks, even with the unstable levels and high water temperatures. In saying that, the anglers that

have been catching fish have either been doing big hours on the water or spending most their time and efforts on the low light hours. In the latest report I had mentioned the dam had been dropping at least 1% every few days and not much has changed since then. Although the area has seen some big storms recently, giving the dam an inflow of up to 3000ML a day at some stages, the dam has dropped a further 6%. Wakebaits, paddlers and large spinnerbaits have been accounting for some big cod, while good numbers of

yellowbelly have been caught on vibes and chatterbaits. There have even been a few by-catch golden perch taken off the surface as well. Pindari Dam is dropping fairly quickly for irrigation after the summer heat and was recently sitting at the 91% mark, after being at full capacity. Fishing has been a lot slower than this time last year, although there are still good fish being caught around the dam. With the warmer water temperature looking for cooler water is key. Locating grass bottomed areas around the dam and slowly hopping blades or

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lipless crankbaits is always a trusty method when chasing Pindari goldens, especially while the dam is still high and there are submerged rocks and trees everywhere. Soaking a bait under the shade of a bimini is also a good way of finding those fish sitting in the cooler water column. The dam is also abundant with silver perch, eel-tailed catfish and Murray cod that are commonly caught on those techniques. The Severn River is running high and dirty after many recent summer storms, but the fish are still willing to play the game. Throwing larger profile lures has been the better option lately. It could be the bigger silhouette or just covering more water – whatever the reason, it’s just been working. Throwing surface lures has also been a perfect

A Kingfisher surface lure was the undoing of this monster cod. option in the dirty water, as it’s more the sound than the appearance that’s enticing the bite. I recently managed a very nice cod falling just a few centimetres short of the magic metre mark using

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This awesome Copeton Dam cod was caught on a Westin Monster Vibe 65g spinnerbait.

this technique – catching a metre cod is something I hope to do before the season is out. The Beardies is still at a general flow and is also a bit discoloured after recent rains. There have been good numbers of perch caught. It can be very touch and go at times, so having a variety of different lures will increase your chances if finding fish proves too difficult. Good luck to all of you out on the water in following weeks. Remember, if you plan to release your catch, take proper care. Fish caught in warmer water can sometimes be harder to release.

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Finding out the world’s best fisher SUNTAG

Stefan Sawynok

I am that kid that who collected newspaper clippings and kept a book of statistics on my favourite cricketers. I am that guy that thinks that Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis and The Signal and the Noise by Nate Silver are riveting, action-packed novels, especially when they talk numbers. Numbers can tell us important things about what is happening in the world. More importantly, numbers cause more arguments than just about anything short of politics and religion. In choosing the challenge for my first article of the year, I set out to find the world’s best Fisher. I wanted to use official numbers as much as possible, no matter how hard that might be. Portentously, it was a lot harder than I imagined.

Elite series in the US, IGFA World Records, UK Angling Championships and the Suntag Frequent Taggers list. The one that I think is missing would be Television series. Guys like Jeremy Wade, Robson Green and even Starlo would fit into that category, but data collection is a lot more of a challenge. There is also youtube where guys like Jon B show off their skills on a daily basis. At some future time, I might book some binge-watching fishing time to see if it’s possible to get a ranking. BASSMASTER ELITE There will always be arguments over whether fishing is a sport or a recreational pastime. The main issue with regarding fishing as a sport is the lack of an official peak body or rules system. The BASSMaster series (and series such as the ABT) are probably as close as we get to an official sport. Certainly, the numbers justify it. Some fast facts, just looking at the field for the 2017 series: • $97 million in

Kevin VanDam has the highest $/pound ratio. demonstrated clearly that he performed better than anyone else. Here it gets a little tricky, because while there is lots of data on outcomes on the BASSMaster site, there isn’t anything on their individual performance indicators. To give an analogy, it’s like trying to say Bradman

Steven M. Wozniak and the countries he has active All-Tackle Records. To ensure consistency, I set some basic criteria:An event/organisation had to be long term (stretching back at least a generation), they had to be recognised internationally (if not followed internationally), they had to have accessible data (preferably a larger set), they had to be different in what they measured (and how), there had to be a balance of fresh and saltwater fishing and techniques in the mix and the selected fisher had to be still actively fishing. Of course, the first point of argument will be in the selections, but that in many ways is what I aim to achieve. I think that rivalries and tribalism in sport are a healthy sign for a sport. Whether you agree with them or not, I can assure you that what follows is some mindblowing numbers. I chose to review the Bassmaster 76

MARCH 2017

combined winnings • 110 anglers • 12.9k events completed between them (average 110 events per competitor) • 180 tonnes of bass weighed in collective careers (average 1.6 tonnes per competitor) • Combined 269 1st places, 267 2nd places, 227 3rd places in collective careers If that gets you thinking about giving up your day job, have a chat with Carl Jocumsen first on how hard it is to make it. Nonetheless, have a drool over at www. bassmaster.com. So here are a couple of tables that gave me a head start on selecting the best fisher. Looking at both, there is clear daylight between Kevin VanDam and everyone else. Sometimes though, big numbers lie. It’s easy to go, “well he won the most, so he is the best.” What I wanted was a figure that

was the best batman by just looking at total runs. Without the 99.96 average, we have no context. However, in keeping with my rules of working it out on stuff that is available to the public, I tried looking at the data in different ways, but one stood out as it was a measure of fishing performance. When you look at the $/pound registered ratio, you can see why Kevin is the best. Kevin is $140/ pound ahead of his nearest long-term rival Skeet Reese. (Am I alone in thinking American names are bloody awesome? – probably). What that shows is that Kevin is the best converter in the field. In what is arguably the highest-pressure circuit on the planet, he is better than anyone at finding the fish that matter on the scoreboard. IGFA WORLD RECORDS The IGFA data was by far the hardest, as it required days of manual compiling of stats to get a picture that would be meaningful. It’s

easy to say for example, who caught the biggest fish ever – job done but that is very simplistic. If you want to check out IGFA World records yourself, you will need to be a member, but that is easy enough. You can sign up online as an e-member for $15, and I thoroughly recommend it, as IGFA are one of the biggest fishing advocacies in the world. Check them out at www.igfa.org. • There are around 5876 active line class and 1593 All-Tackle Records. • The earliest reported fish is 1865 (a yellow perch) though that may be a typo on the part of the data entry team. • The largest fish reported is a great white shark weighing in at 1208kg (I hope they had a bigger boat). • The largest freshwater fish recorded is a sturgeon weighing in at 212kg. • Records have been recorded in 102 countries for line class and 92 countries for All Tackle. • 68% of Line Class Records

Meredith J. McCord with a solid red drum.

are >10kg, but that drops to 58% for All Tackle. • 18% of All-Tackle Records are <1kg (showing you don’t have to catch massive fish to get a world record). One note, I am only looking at active, not expired records. That would be nearly impossible to do without access to the backend database. As a quick diversion (at the risk of upsetting my editor), to clarify the world record scene, if you believe that all the big fish disappeared years ago, guess again. Converse to expectation, the rate of world records is increasing. The rate at which world records are reported has doubled since 1950. In fact, the rate of growth in the past 20 years is 10 times that of 1950-1996. There are several reasons based on my examination of the data: • The single biggest is the Internet. The internet has allowed IGFA to reach a larger audience of fishers. It has also encouraged more fishers to wander thus presenting a lot more opportunities. • The increased focus on All Tackle and All Tackle Length Only has provided new opportunities. All Tackle is responsible for almost all the growth of IGFA records in Asia. • Brazil and Japan have become players as world record destinations (on inspection, US fishers are visiting South America much more often). • The US, while stable for many years has had a spike in the number of freshwater line class Onto the discussion of the best IGFA fisher, it’s hard to ignore a 1.2t great white, and frankly, any fish of size is an amazing feat of endurance. To make a proper equivalence though with other systems repeatability is more important. There are two candidates based on the number of world records held.

• Meredith J. McCord with 85 active Line Class and fly fishing records. • Steven M. Wozniak with 86 active All-Tackle records So how to separate the two? • Meredith has 29 species in four countries, with an average weight of 3.28kg in her active records. A broader look though shows she has 81 fly, 53 line class and 37 species (including lapsed records). • Steven has 86 species in 19 countries, with an average weight of 1.40kg. Steve has 134 All Tackle and All Tackle Length Only including lapsed records and 5 Line Class. Steven has a great blog which can be found at www.1000fish.wordpress. com where he documents his path to catching 1000 species, a feat he completed in 2010, and he is still going. Meredith also has a website, w w w. m e r e d i t h m c c o r d . com, which is a lot more professional, and she has been around way too many parts of the world as well. Steven’s record is impeccable but so is Meredith’s. Both are amazing ambassadors for fishing, so while I think that the extension material makes me lean to Steve, the reality is that would be unfair as my criteria are just looking at official records. Rather than try and split them, I feel it’s appropriate to include both as the current top of the IGFA pile. UK ANGLING CHAMPIONSHIPS To compare the UK Angling Championships to the BASSMaster series is to compare test cricket to twenty20. One invokes images of tea and cucumber sandwiches, the other fireworks and cheerleaders. The UK Angling Championships harks back to a time when fishing was a ‘gentlemen’s sport’. It’s rules feel like something from another era, with an older, peg based system where fishers are allotted a fishing location with very specific tackle requirements. I will confess to being a fan of the UK Championship

IGFA World Records by year achieved. and used to follow the Tight Lines podcast religiously. There’s almost no technology, the variables are evened out. It’s a battle of skill and luck, not bank balance. Check out some serious old school at www.ukangling championship.co.uk. Like the BASSMaster series, the UK Angling Championship gets a television audience, so it’s worthy of comparison. Unfortunately, for a series that is covered on television, it has the worst published data of the group I compared, so it’s much harder to provide context. Results are available for the last five years, which is the extent of the data set I analysed. • Last year’s winner, Andy Power, managed a total bag of 210.558lb (94.75kg). • 194 individual competitors between 2012 and 2016. • The top 20 competitors in that time have managed 66 1sts, 54 2nds and 48 3rds between them in that time. • The objective is to get the least points, even though points are calculated on total bag. • Matches are broken into 10 sections of 8 anglers, points are allocated 1-10 based on final position in section (largest catch = 1). Can you imagine getting excited to see carp on TV? There have been four two-time winners, with one fisher, Jon Arthur, winning three times. Looking at the last five years though, Jon slips down the rankings. The list below shows the rankings based on placings. As with the BASSMaster

series, I wanted something to demonstrate ranking on something other than results. In this case, I used the average points per event combined with the average position round by round. I would prefer to have weight data, but unfortunately, there was only one year with weight data. Even so, it’s clear that Andy Power is a cut above the rest and my pick for the best of the UK Angling Championships. SUNTAG FREQUENT TAGGERS In looking for an Australian entry into the list, there were a few systems to choose from. I ruled out the GFA, ABT and Barra Nationals, as they are too close to existing entries I had already examined. The two systems that caught my attention were the ANSA Masters system and Suntag’s tagging records. Of the two, Suntag has the richer set of data that is easier to compare on an international level and has more consistent data over time. The ANSA Masters system has waned in popularity, making it harder to assess active fishers. Having said that, I will be doing a much more complete index that will include the ANSA Masters, ABT and Barra Tournaments in the coming months. None the less, the numbers make Suntag worthy of consideration, especially the underwhelmingly titled ‘Frequent Tagger Club.’ It should be called the 1% Club. There are a lot of stats available on fish and fishers

at www.suntag.org.au. • 9,943 people have tagged a fish. • 682k fish tagged since 1984. • 283k collective recorded fishing days. • 1427 species reported (not all tagged). • 16k ‘trophy fish’ recorded. • Only 130 people (1.3%) of all taggers have achieved the Frequent Tagger award. • The top 5 taggers have

a challenging proposition. On the one hand, we have Michael Dohnt who has tagged 25,000 fish, then there is Daniel Powell, the youngest person to 10,000 or Barry Oxford, just short of the first person to tag 10,000 of a singles species. In fact, any of the top 10 could be considered to be pretty amazing fishers. The easy choice, as I

number of species tagged, number of locations, career catch rate, career number of trophy fish per day, number of TAAs (Tagging Achievement Awards per species) and number of TEAs (Tagging Excellence Awards per species). I scored each of the top 10 taggers on a scale of 1-100 for each, where 100 means you are top in that category. On that basis, Daniel Powell comes out on top a cumulative 467-426. The big difference for Mick Dohnt is his documented ability to find trophy fish is way below Daniels. The other consideration here is that Michael is in his 70s now, and his health prevents him from fishing most of the time, and Daniel is at the peak of his fishing ability. On that basis, Daniel must get the nod as the Suntag fisher. SELECTING THE WORLD’S BEST FISHER I have to stress that this is

The last five years of rankings based on placings. Andy Power has won two whole seasons in the last five years. tagged 65,068 fish, collectively the frequent taggers have tagged 327,000 fish (or 47.94% of all fish tagged). The only non-gamefish tagging program that is even close is Tag Louisiana with 263k fish tagged. In other words, Suntag is a genuine world-class program. Picking the best tagger is

have said earlier, is simply to go with the one with the biggest numbers. With more than 20,000 fishing hours clocked up, Michael Dohnt would be a worthy choice. None the less, I wanted to look at more than one statistic to be sure. I decided I had a lot more performance data to work with to create an index that included:

the first round of an evolving process. No doubt there are many, many amazing fishers around the world that are not measured or measured by different systems. I will be continuing to add systems and even expand the pool within the examined systems with the results going out via Crystal-bowl and the Track To page 78

Dan Powell takes top honours in the author’s opinion out of the top 10 Frequent Tagger statistics. MARCH 2017

From page 77

My Fish Report Youtube site. Having said that, what’s the fun in providing an answer that nobody is going to argue with. Here is my ranking, 5 to 1 and reasoning. Note, in making these judgements I did look at their online profiles and include as much additional information as I could. As much as I am a data nerd, separating the best takes more than looking at numbers. 5. ANDY POWER In a future expanded list, I think Andy would fit down a bit lower. That is not to undersell his skill and ability to perform under pressure. Andy represents the best of a very traditional form of fishing, one that I think we should value as much as the BASSMaster series.

The thing I think that goes against Andy in a wider context is range of skills on show. He has mastered one set of skills in familiar conditions. Wins away in international conditions or different systems would lift him on my list. 4. DAN POWELL I have known Dan for a long while, I think he does deserve being considered world-class. On the big positive side Dan has recently mastered tripletail and permit, which are international species. On the minus side, he hasn’t been measured in international conditions. To go to the next level, I think Dan would need to be tested in overseas conditions under another system such as the IGFA. 3. KEVIN VANDAM I have lost quite a bit of sleep trying to determine positions 1-3. Kevin has his own Wikipedia page, which is rare for a fisherman and his own website that

proclaims him the #1 angler in the world (www. kevinvandam.com) and given his performances in what is the world’s toughest circuit, there is no doubt in my mind that as an athlete/ sportsman, he is the #1 sportsfisher in the world. One thing holds me back from pushing him to the very top. The most important organ in fishing is the brain. I have done a lot of work with Neuroscientists in understanding how the fishing brain works, but in simple terms, Kevin’s brain is organised better than anyone in that environment. In making the call on him being the #1 in the world though, I had to look at the experiences of an Australian angler Carl Jocumsen. Carl has done the swap of environments and documented the challenges of growing up in one environment and competing in another. Fish exist in a lot more than one environment.

The best fishing brain must be adaptable, pliable and able to solve problems in many environments, not rigid and patterned to a particular set of conditions as Kevin’s is. Kevin is a champion athlete, but like Andy, I would need proof that he can master many environments before I could say he is the world’s best. Sorry, Kevin. 2. MEREDITH J. MCCORD I love to court controversy. Meredith is not just a fisher, but she hunts and is a Triathlete of note, demonstrating that she has skills in more than one area. She has fished in 29 countries in many different environments. She has mastered fly fishing, which in my book is the toughest of all fishing skills to master. I did debate pushing Kevin higher than Meredith, but in the end, she has gone wider and performed under pressure in more than one disciple. Adaptability is the

single most important skill in fishing and Meredith has it in spades. Accordingly, I feel comfortable now with her as my pick for number 2. 1. STEVEN M. WOZNIAK I don’t know whether Steven should get a medal or a straightjacket, and I am leaning towards the latter. 1000 species and beyond is a truly special fishing achievement, that’s a 1% of 1% club. My acid test for a anglers would be if they were taken to an alien planet in life and death conditions with no food and forced to live off only the fish they catch, could they do it. I have no doubt Stephen could. It may seem unfair to rank someone who gets to go to all those places, to see so many fish, an opportunity, so few get. As I said above, the ability to problem solve is the mark of the best fishing brain. The fact that Steven has managed the journey at all is a testament

to his problem solving, adaptability, endurance and dedication to being the best fisher he can be. The fact he has documented the journey as evidence is the icing on the cake. He is a clear pick for best fisher in the world. This is the beginning rather than the end of my journey in looking at the world’s best fishers. I took the time over the Christmas break to think about my focus personal researchwise, and this jumped out at me. I want to spend this year discovering and celebrating fishing and all it can be. So over to you dear reader. Do you agree or disagree? How would you rank people and what fishing systems should I look at that I haven’t thought of? Next month, I am going to get under the hood of the ABT (fingers crossed) and look at what the raw data tells us about fish and champion fishers. By the end, I hope to add another system to my index.

TOURNAMENT CALENDAR 2017 MARCH

APRIL

MAY

JUNE

JULY

18-19 Mar

South Coast Fishing Clubs Inc. Deep Sea comp Berry

www.nswfca.com.au

18-19 Mar

BASS Electric #1 Lenthalls

www.abt.org.au

29-30 Apr

Hawkesbury River BASS Pro Qualifier #1 Hawkesbury River

www.abt.org.au

1-2 Apr

Albany BREAM Qualifier #3 Albany

www.abt.org.au

5-6 Apr

Blackwood BREAM Qualifier #4 Blackwood

www.abt.org.au

8-9 Apr

BASS Electric #2 Toonumbar

www.abt.org.au

20-May

BASS Electric #3 Hinze Dam

www.abt.org.au

20-21 May

South Coast Fishing Clubs Inc. Rock comp Lakeview

www.nswfca.com.au

20-21 May

Manning River BREAM Qualifier #5 Manning River

www.abt.org.au

3-4 Jun

Cania BASS Pro Qualifier #2 Cania Dam

www.abt.org.au

7-8 Jun

Boondooma BASS Pro Qualifier #3 Boondooma Dam

www.abt.org.au

17-18 Jun

BASS Electric #4 Borumba Dam

www.abt.org.au

5-6 Jul

Lake St Clair BASS Pro Qualifier #4 Lake St Clair

www.abt.org.au

8-9 Jul

Glenbawn BASS Pro Qualifier #5 Glenbawn Dam

www.abt.org.au

15-16 Jul

Richmond River BREAM Qualifier #6 Richmond River

www.abt.org.au

30-Jul

BASS Electric #5 St Clair

www.abt.org.au

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

MARCH 2017

Somerton takes the lead in Hobie Round One Daiwa Australia Round One was a tough start to the season for all 75 anglers competing in Hobie Kayak Bream Series 9, which was contested over the 22-23 January weekend, at Marlo in Victoria. A favourite on the Hobie Fishing calendar, Marlo has a reputation of delivering big fish, and once again, while the total catch numbers were down, the big black bream were there, just a lot tougher to catch. Full bags were

SOMERTON HITS THE SURFACE Having previously won the 2014 Hobie Kayak Fishing World Championship with a combined bag of fish from Victoria’s Bemm River and Marlo, this 2017 Daiwa Round One victory was Richard Somerton’s first standalone tournament win at Marlo since he began competing in the Hobie Bream Series. The current number two in the world, Somerton

Across the two days, 145 fish were caught weighing over 100kg in total. scarce on both days with only four anglers catching six legals over the two days of the series opener. Sitting in third place on day one, Richard Somerton from Melbourne snatched the top of the leaderboard from fellow Victorian, Bogdan Zisu. At the final weigh-in, he had a day one bag of three fish for 2.27kg and a day two bag of three fish for 2.22kg, giving him a total tournament-winning weight of six fish for 4.49kg. Second place finisher, Tony Pettie from Victoria, moved up from his day one fourth place position to finish with six for 4.20kg. Stephen Majera from Victoria rounded out the podium placings with five for 4.16kg. The total bream caught for the weekend numbered 145 – 65 from day one and 80 for day two. These fish weighed a total of 100.2kg.

pedalled a long way to reach a secret location that he has shared with only one or two others. Somerton can travel extremely fast in his Hobie Pro Angler 14 and it still took him around an hour and twenty minutes to reach his preferred destination for the first round of the season. “We (Scott Lovig and Somerton) travelled all of the way up to PS Curlip at the Brodribb River Boat Ramp, then up past the bridge to a secret location. You can get an average bag out of the place, but you’re usually not in the running when you fish up there, mostly ending up in mid-field. We knew the place was going to win a competition one day, it just needed a really tough comp and this was that weekend.” “It was a very late start on Saturday, due to bad weather, but when we reached our spot I was able to turn a few bites into a bag.

The bream were hard to entice over the weekend, but anglers persisted.

After the long haul back I was surprised to find I was in third position and within range of the day one leader. It was a tough day out there, but I really like it when it’s tough.” On day two, with the usual 7am to 2:30pm session time announced at the briefing, Somerton chose to lose nearly three hours of line in the water, and set off for the same location as day one. “When I finally arrived, the bite was a little better than the day before. I targeted the surface bite with Cranka Shallow Minnows and I managed to get my bag of three reasonable bream in pretty good time”. “I was quite surprised how tough it was for everyone out there. I thought I might be in with a slim chance of getting near the top, but it was a really big surprise to take out my first win at Marlo.” The first prize payout was $2130 and a sponsor prize pack valued at over $400. Somerton’s rod was a 7ft 1-4kg Duffrods Hystix and the reel was a Daiwa Certate 2010 matched with Daiwa Tournament Braid 8lb and Sunline FC 6lb leader. The Cranka Shallow

On day one Pettie ended up with three fish for 2.17kg and also bagged out on day two with three fish weighing in at 2.03kg. He was one of the only four anglers to get full bags on both days. “I got my first fish yesterday along the west bank of the channel near the first island about a kilometre for the start, but to get my other fish on Saturday, I went up between the second and third islands to a spot where I also got my bag today (day two). I pretty much got all of my fish within a 500m radius and I was pretty happy bagging out on both days, because I knew everyone was struggling out there.” The second place prize payout was $1110 plus a sponsor prize pack valued at over $300. ATOMIC BIG BREAM Chris Burbidge from Ferntree Gully in Victoria, who also represented Australia at Hobie Fishing Worlds 6 finishing 8th in the world, caught the first $100 Atomic Big Bream of the 2017 season. The monster fish could possibly end up being the largest bream of the whole series, weighing a massive 1.72kg.

The Hobie Kayak Bream Series again proving that kayak fishing can be a whole lot of fun. Minnow in rusty gold was the winning lure. PETTIE POWERS TO SECOND Along with Richard Somerton, Tony Pettie recently competed in the Hobie Fishing World Championship in Louisiana, USA, finishing as the third highest placed Aussie in 10th position on the leaderboard. On the weekend he was looking forward to returning to a familiar waterway and a favourite target species. “I’m just the bridesmaid once again. It was pretty tough out there, but that’s fishing. One day it’s blowing its guts out and the next day it’s beautiful and the sun is shining. You’ve got to be able to plug through all conditions whatever they are and get the fish when you need them.”

The round was a tough series opener for all anglers. Like most, Burbidge struggled throughout most of day two until he cast at a tree, caught on a pole and came up tight with a heap of weight. The Atomic Big Black took him almost five minutes to land in his Hobie Pro Angler 14 kayak. The monster had three huge attempts to make a run back towards its cover before Burbidge was able to win the Marlo battle against the brute. Lucky Craft Tango in a ghost shrimp pattern was the winning lure. MORTGAGE CORP MONSTER MOVER The Mortgage Corp Monster Mover picnic hamper and backpack went to Nathan Prezioso from Victoria who moved up from equal 36th place on the

Richard Somerton took out first place, once again, by peddling a great distance to a secret winning spot. Lowrance Leaderboard at the close of day one, finishing in 11th place with a three fish bag of 2.72kg. UP NEXT! On 25-26February, Hobie Kayak Bream Series 9 returns to Bemm River in Victoria, an undisputed favourite on the Hobie calendar. It is going to be a dynamite weekend of fishing in the Atomic Round

Two. Last year, a record 105 anglers descended on the tiny bream fishing mecca in East Gippsland and Steve Fields from Hobie Fishing has promised to throw in an extra $1000 to the prize pool if entries go over 100 for the second year running. Atomic Round Two entries for Bemm are open. It’s going to be massive, so enter now! - Hobie Kayak Bream

www.fishin.com.au ONLINE TOURNAMENT TACKLE STORE

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BENT MINNOWS

JACKALL CHUBBY

FREE EXPRESS SHIPPING

0425 230 964 – info@fishin.com.au SHOP 18, 29 KIORA RD MIRANDA NSW 2228 MARCH 2017

Pirtek Fishing Challenge

Get set for 2017 Pirtek Fishing Challenge The Pirtek Challenge is coming round again, and this year, it’s bigger and better than ever before! Australia’s biggest fishing competition, The Pirtek Challenge is open to anglers across the whole of Australia. It’s an opportunity to get out on the water with some mates, have an awesome day of fishing, and be in with a chance to win a share of $176,000 worth of cash and prizes! We want to give our readers the best possible start to this year, and we’ve got all the information you need to get started and have a cracker day on the water. THE CAUSE Each year the Pirtek Challenge is held to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Foundation. Prostate cancer is currently the most commonly diagnosed cancer in Australia, and is the third most common cause of cancer death. These are

sobering statistics, but we can work to lessen the damage by opening up the conversation about prostate cancer with loved ones and mates, which can lead to earlier detection of cancer and fewer fatalities. The importance of supporting the research and work of the Prostate Cancer Foundation cannot be overstated. In time, we’d love to see these statistics change, and this is possible with research. What better way to support such an important cause then a fantastic day out on the water? Registration is affordable at $25 per angler so you can get the whole family involved for an outdoors fishing bonanza. PRIZES GALORE Fishing will commence at 6am and finish at 6pm on Sunday 19 March, 2017. Prizes are up to $4000 in cash, as well as the chance to win a Stacer 449 Tiller Steer powered by Evinrude E-tec 60hp plus trailer valued at $25,000, a $2,300

Humminbird Helix 10 DI GPS package, a $2000 Berkley and Abu Garcia Pack, and a $1500 BCF spending spree. That’s enough to get us motivated! All you need to do is catch a target species, photograph and release that fish, and upload the picture of your biggest fish of the day. It’s that simple! Check out www. pirtekfishingchallenge. com.au for all further terms and conditions and more information about the challenge. –FMG YOUR CHALLENGE • Enter the challenge via the website and be sure to read the terms and conditions. • After you have registered, a limited edition Fishing Challenge cap and Fishing Challenge brag mat will be posted to you. • The list of target species will be available via the website www.pirtekfishingchallenge.com.au at 1200 hours AEDST on Sunday, 26 February 2017. • On Saturday, 18 March 2017 (after 6.00 pm) you will be sent via email a repeat list of the target species plus your angler number. You can also log on to the website to download this information. • Fishing will commence at 6.00 am and finish at 6.00 pm on Sunday, 19 March 2017. • All lines must be out of the water at 6.00 pm on Sunday, 19 March 2017. • When you catch your target species simply lay the live fish with the nose in line with the “0” (zero) measurement on the Pirtek bragmat. • Photograph the fish so the entire length can be seen in the photograph along with your angler number. • Check out the Photographing Your Fish page for information on how to correctly photograph your catch. • Remember to write your angler number clearly in the white box provided on the brag mat. • Check your photograph to ensure the whole fish is in the photograph and the nose end of the fish is in line with the “0” (zero) measurement and the overall length along with the angler number is clearly visible.

• If you do not receive your brag mat before Sunday 19 March, you may measure and photograph your fish using last year’s brag mat, a fisheries measuring sticker, another competitors mat (with your Angler Number), or a generic brag mat (BCF sell them). • If you are not happy with the photograph, simply take another one. • Quickly release the fish and try to catch a bigger one. • Only a fish caught by the registered angler can be entered. • Any photograph that shows a fish not alive or damaged will not be accepted. • Any photograph which has undergone digital manipulation, i.e., photoshop, will be disqualified. • You can only upload one photograph per angler to the website. This needs to be your biggest fish. • Follow the directions on the website to upload your photograph. • The upload needs to be complete by 7.00 am AEDT, Monday, 20 March 2017. • Any photographs uploaded after this time will not be accepted. • If your photograph is damaged, blurry or the overall measurement of your fish is not clearly seen with your angler number the photograph will be disallowed. • Check the website on Saturday, 25 March, 2017 to see if you’re a winner. The National Fishing Challenge committee’s decision will be final and no correspondence entered into.

BASS

Tactics: Bass in rivers have a preference for structure, however close to their spawning season in winter, they will school up in open water around the tidal reaches. Bass aggregations will vary in dams depending on what food sources are available. If there is a lot of structure around the edges and the food source in predominately insects, small fish and shrimps, the bass will feed in shallow water. If there are bony bream or other schooling baitfish present, the bass will usually school up in deep water. Fishing where the bass are with lures or bait that mimics what food source is available will catch you more bass. Rigs: Light braided line around 4-6lb with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader around 10-14lb is preferred for lure fishing. The same line classes are perfect for bait fishing, with unweighted, weighted and floated rigs working, depending on how deep and where the fish are holding. Bait: Baits of grasshopper, cricket, worms, yabby, and particularly live shrimp are successful. Lures: Bass take a variety of lures from surface lures, diving lures, lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, soft plastics, jigs and even flies. Match your lures to suit where and how the bass are feeding. 80

MARCH 2017

COASTAL

Size Range: Up to 65cm, common from 30-40cm.

Pirtek Fishing Challenge

TAILOR

FLATHEAD

Lures: Most lures work y well on flathead. Lures such as soft plastics, vibes, lipless crankbaits and hardbodied lure all take flathead.

Lures: Tailor are highly predatory and will chase down most offerings if they’re hungry. Metals, hardbodies, topwaters and soft plastics will work well, however tailor will make short work of plastics with their razor sharp teeth.

WHITING

BREAM COASTAL

Bait: As mentioned, almost anything found or bought should catch bream, including white bread, which is an under-used favourite.

Tactics: Whiting love clear and shallow water where they grub around for yabbies, worms and other tasty tidbits. By targeting these areas with your baits or lures, you’ll encounter plenty of whiting, as well as other interesting by-catch.

Lures: Small hardbodied divers, smaller than your little finger, cast around rocky shores and worked with a slow, steady retrieve are hard to beat. When fish go deeper, tiny soft plastics with according jighead size is a sure-fire way to pin a bream.

Tactics: Rainbow trout are an opportunistic predator in streams, meaning they will investigate anything that comes into their domain. Rainbows can sometimes be very fussy, particularly when there is a specific hatch of insects or baitfish in the area. Drifting baits, or casting small lures and flies is a good tactics in rivers. In dams and lakes they can form huge school in deep water, and this is when they can be caught trolling lures. Bait: Baits of worms, crickets, grasshoppers, mudeyes and shrimps can all be successful. Lures: Small spinners, soft plastics and hardbodies are for trout in shallow water, and winged lures trolled off a downrigger are fantastic for when trout are schooling deep.

GOLDEN PERCH Size Range: Up to 75cm, commonly caught at 25-50cm. Tactics: Golden perch are predators that like a moving target. This makes lures and live baits popular, however they also love to hunt down worms and grubs set on the bottom. Lures cast around fallen timber in rivers and standing timber in lakes are all successful, especially around first and last light. Rigs: Running sinker rig and a paternoster rig are both good options with 20lb braided main line to 20lb leader. The same line weights can be used for lure fishing. Bait: Baits of yabby, live shrimp, worms and even smelly dead baits are successful. Lures: Lures like Australian-made hardbodied lures, spinnerbaits and lipless crankbaits all do damage on yellowbelly.

GREAT DIVIDING RANGE

Size Range: Up to 1m, common from 30-50cm.

Bait: Worms and yabbies (nippers) are two baits that are rarely met with failure. Lures: Small hardbodies, plastics, and more recently, surface lures have all taken plenty of whiting in the last decade. Often, the bigger whiting will be the ones that take lures.

CARP Size Range: Up to 1m, but more commonly encountered at 30-60cm. Tactics: Carp feed by smell and taste and are therefore attracted to things that give off scent, making smelly baits effective. Carp will also get up into shallow water and grub along the bottom looking for aquatic insects, and this is where fly anglers can have some fun. Rigs: A medium running sinker rig, paternoster rig or float rig with 6-20lb braided line onto a 10-20lb leader, lighter in clear water free of snags. Bait: Baits as varied as scrubworms, corn, bread, dough, shrimp and grubs are all attractive to carp and the use of berley will increase your success rate dramatically. Lures: Carp rarely take lures, but will sometimes be taken on lures as by-catch, occasionally confusing surface lures for berries. Fly anglers can target carp in shallow water by sight fishing with small nymphs.

MURRAY COD MURRAY DARLING BASIN

RAINBOW TROUT

Rigs: A running sinker rig with a long leader, tiny long shank hook is enough to fool a whiting, even in shallow water. Light braided line around 4lb with a 2-4lb leader is an excellent balance for the anglers throwing lures at wily whiting.

COASTAL

Size Range: Up to 50cm, more common from 20-40cm.

Size Range: Up to 50cm, common from 25-35cm.

Rigs: Bait: Running sinker onto a #1 or 1/0 hook will work for the bait anglers. For the lure brigade, 2-6lb braided line connected to 6-10lb fluorocarbon or monofilament leader is perfect.

COASTAL

Bait: Flathead will eat anything they can fit in their mouth, whether it’s live, dead, big or small.

Baits: Live baits of herring, mullet work well for larger tailor, but dead baits of pilchard, garfish also work well, particularly in the surf.

Tactics: Bream can be found in every saltwater river, creek and coastal lake in the state. Bream love structure – especially rock – and if you find crud-encrusted rocks in the intertidal zone, you can be sure that bream hang around it at some time of the day. Keep the gear light when bream fishing, as they can be spooked by heavy weights and lines. If you want to catch a bream on a lure, make sure that it’s small – smaller than your middle finger. They’ll eat nearly every bait you can find or buy

Rigs: A running sinker rig with 6lb braid with a 15lb leader is sufficient for bait fishing. The same goes for lure fishing, but try to attach your lures with a loop knot where possible.

Size Range: Up to 1.8m, common from 40-80cm.

Tactics: Murray cod are a structure-loving, long-lived, hyper aggressive and territorial species. Therefore, lures or baits fished or cast around big snag complexes repetitively usually get a response eventually. Rigs: A running sinker rig is all you need to connect with a cod if you’re bait fishing, and 20-30lb should be your minimum line weights for both your mainline and leader. The same goes for lure trolling and casting. Baits: No bait fishing allowed. Murray cod can only qualify if caught on lure or fly. Lures: Murray Cod will eat a variety of surface lures, hardbodies, lipless crankbaits and spinnerbaits. As with bait, lures should be big and annoying to achieve the best results.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

Rigs: For lure fishing, light braided line around 6-10lb with a fluorocarbon or monofilament leader from 12-20lb will suffice, however expect a few bite-offs. Running sinker rigs, paternoster rigs and ganged bait rigs all work for tailor, it just depends on what bait type you’re using.

Tactics: Flathead are classic ambush predators that use camouflage to their advantage. Drop offs, weed edges, hard rock and mud edges are all favourite haunts of flathead. Flathead feed hard when there is tidal movement.

MURRAY DARLING BASIN

Tactics: Tailor are a migratory pelagic species that can be found in rivers and estuaries, coastal lakes and bays, but are at their best in the surf and off oceanic rocks. Beach angler often target tailor in and around the surf gutters, and those fishing rocky headlands can often expect a few tailor too. Tailor will take live and dead baits, even quite large ones, and will readily chase down fast-wound lures.

Size Range: Up to 1.1m, commonly caught 30-65cm.

COASTAL

Size Range: Up to 110cm, common to 40cm.

MARCH 2017

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

Boats & Guided Fishing Tours Directory MACLEAY VALLEY COAST

HUNTER COAST

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ILLAWARRA COAST

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Sea Lady Charters 0411 024 402 Silver Star Fishing Charters (02) 4421 7462 or 0412 977 000 Shell Harbour Fishing Charters 0425 216 370

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CENTRAL COAST

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Central Coast Holiday Parks 1800 241 342

Esprit Fishing Charters 0418 634 524 Freedom Charters Eden (02) 6496 1209 or www.freedomcharters.com.au

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2017 2017 Local Local Time Time

SYDNEY (FORT DENISON) NEW SOUTH WALES SYDNEY DENISON) – – SOUTH SYDNEY (FORT (FORT – NEW NEW SOUTH WALES WALES LATDENISON) 33° 52’ LONG 151° 13’ JANUARY JANUARY Time Time JANUARY m

Time Time 0432 0432 1101 0432 1101 1738 1101 1738 2339 1738 2339 2339 0516 0516 1142 0516 1142 1819 1142 1819 1819

m m 0.50 0.50 1.78 0.50 1.78 0.34 1.78 0.34 1.37 0.34 1.37 1.37 0.52 0.52 1.74 0.52 1.74 0.35 1.74 0.35 0.35

0025 33 0025 0603 0025 0603 1225 TU 1225 TU 0603

1.37 1.37 0.55 1.37 0.55 1.69 0.55 1.69 0.37 1.69 0.37 0.37 1.38 1.38 0.58 1.38 0.58 1.62 0.58 1.62 0.39 1.62 0.39 0.39 1.41 1.41 0.61 1.41 0.61 1.53 0.61 1.53 0.42 1.53 0.42 0.42 1.45 1.45 0.62 1.45 0.62 1.46 0.62 1.46 0.43 1.46 0.43 0.43 1.52 1.52 0.59 1.52 0.59 1.40 0.59 1.40 0.43 1.40 0.43 0.43 1.62 1.62 0.52 1.62 0.52 1.39 0.52 1.39 0.41 1.39 0.41 0.41 1.73 1.73 0.41 1.73 0.41 1.40 0.41 1.40 1.40

SU SU SU

22 MO MO MO

1902 TU 1225 1902 1902 0114 0114 0656 0114 0656 1312 WE 1312 WE 0656 1950 WE 1312 1950 1950 0207 0207 0755 0207 0755 1406 TH 1406 TH 0755 2042 TH 1406 2042 2042 0306 0306 0902 0306 0902 1509 FR 1509 FR 0902 2138 FR 1509 2138 2138 0407 0407 1017 0407 1017 1620 SA 1620 SA 1017 2237 SA 1620 2237 2237 0509 0509 1134 0509 1134 1732 SU 1732 SU 1134 2336 SU 1732 2336 2336 0609 0609 1244 0609 1244 1841 MO 1841 MO 1244 MO 1841

66 77

88 99

0033 0033 10 0705 0033 0705 10 1345 TU 1345 TU 0705

1942 TU 1345 1942 1942 0129 0129 0800 0129 0800 1441 WE 1441 WE 0800 2038 WE 1441 2038 2038 0221 0221 0852 0221 0852 1531 TH 1531 TH 0852 2130 TH 1531 2130 2130 0313 0313 0942 0313 0942 1620 FR 1620 FR 0942 2220 FR 1620 2220 2220 0402 0402 1030 0402 1030 1706 SA 1706 SA 1030 2309 SA 1706 2309 2309 0452 0452 1115 0452 1115 1749 SU 1749 SU 1115 2355 SU 1749 2355 2355

11 11 12 12 13 13

14 14 15 15

0.39 0.39 1.84 0.39 1.84 0.30 1.84 0.30 1.43 0.30 1.43 1.43 0.36 0.36 1.93 0.36 1.93 0.22 1.93 0.22 1.46 0.22 1.46 1.46 0.35 0.35 1.98 0.35 1.98 0.16 1.98 0.16 1.47 0.16 1.47 1.47 0.34 0.34 1.99 0.34 1.99 0.16 1.99 0.16 1.48 0.16 1.48 1.48 0.36 0.36 1.96 0.36 1.96 0.19 1.96 0.19 1.47 0.19 1.47 1.47 0.41 0.41 1.87 0.41 1.87 0.25 1.87 0.25 1.44 0.25 1.44 1.44

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

Time Time 0540 0540 1159 0540 1159 1831 MO 1831 MO 1159 MO 1831

m m 0.47 0.47 1.76 0.47 1.76 0.33 1.76 0.33 0.33

0041 0041 17 0628 0041 0628 17 1241 TU 1241 TU 0628

1.42 1.42 0.55 1.42 0.55 1.63 0.55 1.63 0.42 1.63 0.42 0.42 1.39 1.39 0.62 1.39 0.62 1.49 0.62 1.49 0.50 1.49 0.50 0.50 1.37 1.37 0.69 1.37 0.69 1.37 0.69 1.37 0.56 1.37 0.56 0.56 1.37 1.37 0.73 1.37 0.73 1.27 0.73 1.27 0.60 1.27 0.60 0.60 1.39 1.39 0.73 1.39 0.73 1.21 0.73 1.21 0.62 1.21 0.62 0.62 1.43 1.43 0.70 1.43 0.70 1.19 0.70 1.19 0.62 1.19 0.62 0.62 1.49 1.49 0.63 1.49 0.63 1.21 0.63 1.21 1.21

16 16

1912 TU 1241 1912 1912 0127 0127 0717 0127 0717 1323 WE 1323 WE 0717 1952 WE 1323 1952 1952 0215 0215 0811 0215 0811 1409 TH 1409 TH 0811 2035 TH 1409 2035 2035 0307 0307 0913 0307 0913 1503 FR 1503 FR 0913 2123 FR 1503 2123 2123 0402 0402 1022 0402 1022 1608 SA 1608 SA 1022 2217 SA 1608 2217 2217 0500 0500 1133 0500 1133 1716 SU 1716 SU 1133 2313 SU 1716 2313 2313 0555 0555 1235 0555 1235 1820 MO 1820 MO 1235 MO 1820

18 18 19 19 20 20 21 21

22 22 23 23

0005 0005 24 0644 0005 0644 24 1326 TU 1326 TU 0644

1913 TU 1326 1913 1913 0052 0052 0728 0052 0728 1409 WE 1409 WE 0728 1958 WE 1409 1958 1958 0135 0135 0808 0135 0808 1446 TH 1446 TH 0808 2038 TH 1446 2038 2038 0215 0215 0846 0215 0846 1523 FR 1523 FR 0846 2116 FR 1523 2116 2116 0255 0255 0925 0255 0925 1559 SA 1559 SA 0925 2155 SA 1559 2155 2155 0335 0335 1003 0335 1003 1635 SU 1635 SU 1003 2234 SU 1635 2234 2234 0417 0417 1043 0417 1043 1714 MO 1714 MO 1043 2316 MO 1714 2316 2316 0502 0502 1125 0502 1125 1753 TU 1753 TU 1125 TU 1753

25 25 26 26

27 27 28 28 29 29

30 30 31 31

0.60 0.60 1.56 0.60 1.56 0.55 1.56 0.55 1.25 0.55 1.25 1.25 0.57 0.57 1.63 0.57 1.63 0.47 1.63 0.47 1.29 0.47 1.29 1.29 0.53 0.53 1.69 0.53 1.69 0.40 1.69 0.40 1.34 0.40 1.34 1.34 0.49 0.49 1.75 0.49 1.75 0.35 1.75 0.35 1.38 0.35 1.38 1.38 0.45 0.45 1.80 0.45 1.80 0.30 1.80 0.30 1.42 0.30 1.42 1.42 0.43 0.43 1.82 0.43 1.82 0.28 1.82 0.28 1.45 0.28 1.45 1.45 0.42 0.42 1.82 0.42 1.82 0.27 1.82 0.27 1.48 0.27 1.48 1.48 0.42 0.42 1.78 0.42 1.78 0.28 1.78 0.28 0.28

WE WE WE

TH TH TH

33 FR FR FR

SA SA SA

SU SU SU

MO MO MO

TU TU TU

88 WE WE WE

99 TH TH TH

10 10 FR FR FR

11 11 SA SA SA

12 12 SU SU SU

13 13 MO MO MO

14 14 TU TU TU

Time Time 0000 0000 0551 0000 0551 1208 0551 1208 1834 1208 1834 1834 0047 0047 0643 0047 0643 1256 0643 1256 1919 1256 1919 1919 0140 0140 0741 0140 0741 1349 0741 1349 2009 1349 2009 2009 0237 0237 0848 0237 0848 1451 0848 1451 2107 1451 2107 2107 0340 0340 1006 0340 1006 1606 1006 1606 2212 1606 2212 2212 0447 0447 1126 0447 1126 1725 1126 1725 2318 1725 2318 2318 0553 0553 1237 0553 1237 1836 1237 1836 1836

m m 1.50 1.50 0.45 1.50 0.45 1.71 0.45 1.71 0.32 1.71 0.32 0.32 1.51 1.51 0.49 1.51 0.49 1.61 0.49 1.61 0.37 1.61 0.37 0.37 1.52 1.52 0.53 1.52 0.53 1.50 0.53 1.50 0.43 1.50 0.43 0.43 1.53 1.53 0.56 1.53 0.56 1.39 0.56 1.39 0.48 1.39 0.48 0.48 1.56 1.56 0.56 1.56 0.56 1.32 0.56 1.32 0.51 1.32 0.51 0.51 1.62 1.62 0.51 1.62 0.51 1.30 0.51 1.30 0.50 1.30 0.50 0.50 1.70 1.70 0.42 1.70 0.42 1.33 0.42 1.33 1.33

0021 0021 0654 0021 0654 1338 0654 1338 1936 1338 1936 1936 0119 0119 0748 0119 0748 1430 0748 1430 2029 1430 2029 2029 0212 0212 0839 0212 0839 1516 0839 1516 2115 1516 2115 2115 0301 0301 0926 0301 0926 1559 0926 1559 2200 1559 2200 2200 0348 0348 1010 0348 1010 1639 1010 1639 2243 1639 2243 2243 0432 0432 1052 0432 1052 1715 1052 1715 2323 1715 2323 2323 0516 0516 1131 0516 1131 1751 1131 1751 1751

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

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

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

Time Time 0042 0042 0644 0042 0644 1246 0644 1246 1859 1246 1859 1859 0123 0123 0731 0123 0731 1328 0731 1328 1937 1328 1937 1937 0209 0209 0828 0209 0828 1417 0828 1417 2023 1417 2023 2023 0303 0303 0933 0303 0933 1520 0933 1520 2120 1520 2120 2120 0405 0405 1048 0405 1048 1636 1048 1636 2227 1636 2227 2227 0509 0509 1157 0509 1157 1749 1157 1749 2330 1749 2330 2330 0607 0607 1252 0607 1252 1846 1252 1846 1846

m m 1.47 1.47 0.57 1.47 0.57 1.45 0.57 1.45 0.52 1.45 0.52 0.52 1.44 1.44 0.64 1.44 0.64 1.34 0.64 1.34 0.58 1.34 0.58 0.58 1.42 1.42 0.69 1.42 0.69 1.25 0.69 1.25 0.64 1.25 0.64 0.64 1.40 1.40 0.71 1.40 0.71 1.18 0.71 1.18 0.68 1.18 0.68 0.68 1.41 1.41 0.70 1.41 0.70 1.16 0.70 1.16 0.70 1.16 0.70 0.70 1.44 1.44 0.65 1.44 0.65 1.18 0.65 1.18 0.67 1.18 0.67 0.67 1.51 1.51 0.57 1.51 0.57 1.24 0.57 1.24 1.24

0025 0025 23 0656 0025 0656 23 1337 TH 1337 TH 0656

0.62 0.62 1.58 0.62 1.58 0.49 1.58 0.49 1.31 0.49 1.31 1.31 0.56 0.56 1.66 0.56 1.66 0.41 1.66 0.41 1.38 0.41 1.38 1.38 0.49 0.49 1.74 0.49 1.74 0.33 1.74 0.33 1.46 0.33 1.46 1.46 0.42 0.42 1.80 0.42 1.80 0.28 1.80 0.28 1.53 0.28 1.53 1.53 0.37 0.37 1.83 0.37 1.83 0.24 1.83 0.24 1.59 0.24 1.59 1.59 0.34 0.34 1.82 0.34 1.82 0.24 1.82 0.24 1.64 0.24 1.64 1.64

16 16 TH TH TH

17 17 FR FR FR

18 18 SA SA SA

19 19 SU SU SU

20 20 MO MO MO

21 21 TU TU TU

22 22 WE WE WE

1932 TH 1337 1932 1932 0112 0112 0740 0112 0740 1416 FR 1416 FR 0740 2013 FR 1416 2013 2013 0155 0155 0820 0155 0820 1453 SA 1453 SA 0820 2051 SA 1453 2051 2051 0236 0236 0900 0236 0900 1530 SU 1530 SU 0900 2130 SU 1530 2130 2130 0319 0319 0941 0319 0941 1606 MO 1606 MO 0941 2210 MO 1606 2210 2210 0403 0403 1024 0403 1024 1645 TU 1645 TU 1024 2252 TU 1645 2252 2252

24 24

25 25 26 26 27 27

28 28

Time Time 0451 0451 1108 0451 1108 1725 1108 1725 2337 1725 2337 2337 0541 0541 1154 0541 1154 1807 1154 1807 1807

m m 0.33 0.33 1.77 0.33 1.77 0.26 1.77 0.26 1.66 0.26 1.66 1.66 0.35 0.35 1.68 0.35 1.68 0.32 1.68 0.32 0.32

0024 33 0024 0635 0024 0635 1245 FR 1245 FR 0635

1.67 1.67 0.40 1.67 0.40 1.57 0.40 1.57 0.40 1.57 0.40 0.40 1.65 1.65 0.46 1.65 0.46 1.44 0.46 1.44 0.49 1.44 0.49 0.49 1.62 1.62 0.51 1.62 0.51 1.33 0.51 1.33 0.56 1.33 0.56 0.56 1.61 1.61 0.52 1.61 0.52 1.27 0.52 1.27 0.60 1.27 0.60 0.60 1.62 1.62 0.50 1.62 0.50 1.28 0.50 1.28 0.60 1.28 0.60 0.60 1.66 1.66 0.44 1.66 0.44 1.34 0.44 1.34 1.34

WE WE WE

TH TH TH

1853 FR 1245 1853 1853 0115 0115 0735 0115 0735 1340 SA 1340 SA 0735 1944 SA 1340 1944 1944 0213 0213 0845 0213 0845 1445 SU 1445 SU 0845 2044 SU 1445 2044 2044 0319 0319 1002 0319 1002 1604 MO 1604 MO 1002 2155 MO 1604 2155 2155 0430 0430 1119 0430 1119 1725 TU 1725 TU 1119 2309 TU 1725 2309 2309 0541 0541 1227 0541 1227 1832 WE 1832 WE 1227 WE 1832

55 66 77

0015 99 0015 0642 0015 0642 1324 TH 1324 TH 0642

1928 TH 1324 1928 1928 0113 0113 0735 0113 0735 1411 FR 1411 FR 0735 2015 FR 1411 2015 2015 0203 0203 0823 0203 0823 1453 SA 1453 SA 0823 2057 SA 1453 2057 2057 0250 0250 0907 0250 0907 1530 SU 1530 SU 0907 2136 SU 1530 2136 2136 0333 0333 0947 0333 0947 1605 MO 1605 MO 0947 2214 MO 1605 2214 2214 0414 0414 1026 0414 1026 1638 TU 1638 TU 1026 2249 TU 1638 2249 2249 0454 0454 1102 0454 1102 1709 WE 1709 WE 1102 2324 WE 1709 2324 2324

10 10

11 11

12 12 13 13

14 14

15 15

0.55 0.55 1.72 0.55 1.72 0.37 1.72 0.37 1.41 0.37 1.41 1.41 0.48 0.48 1.77 0.48 1.77 0.32 1.77 0.32 1.49 0.32 1.49 1.49 0.43 0.43 1.79 0.43 1.79 0.30 1.79 0.30 1.54 0.30 1.54 1.54 0.40 0.40 1.78 0.40 1.78 0.31 1.78 0.31 1.58 0.31 1.58 1.58 0.39 0.39 1.73 0.39 1.73 0.33 1.73 0.33 1.60 0.33 1.60 1.60 0.41 0.41 1.67 0.41 1.67 0.38 1.67 0.38 1.60 0.38 1.60 1.60 0.44 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 0.44 1.59 1.59

Time Time 0533 0533 1139 0533 1139 1739 1139 1739 2359 1739 2359 2359 0615 0615 1216 0615 1216 1812 1216 1812 1812

m m m 0.49 0.49 1.50 0.49 1.50 0.50 1.50 0.50 1.57 0.50 1.57 1.57 0.54 0.54 1.41 0.54 1.41 0.56 1.41 0.56 0.56

0036 0036 18 0700 0036 0700 18 1257 SA 1257 SA 0700

1.54 1.54 0.59 1.54 0.59 1.33 0.59 1.33 0.63 1.33 0.63 0.63 1.50 1.50 0.64 1.50 0.64 1.25 0.64 1.25 0.69 1.25 0.69 0.69 1.46 1.46 0.68 1.46 0.68 1.19 0.68 1.19 0.75 1.19 0.75 0.75 1.43 1.43 0.68 1.43 0.68 1.17 0.68 1.17 0.77 1.17 0.77 0.77 1.44 1.44 0.65 1.44 0.65 1.20 0.65 1.20 0.75 1.20 0.75 0.75 1.49 1.49 0.58 1.49 0.58 1.27 0.58 1.27 0.69 1.27 0.69 0.69 1.56 1.56 0.50 1.56 0.50 1.36 0.50 1.36 1.36

16 16 TH TH TH

17 17 FR FR FR

1847 SA 1257 1847 1847 0118 0118 0751 0118 0751 1345 SU 1345 SU 0751 1931 SU 1345 1931 1931 0208 0208 0852 0208 0852 1445 MO 1445 MO 0852 2029 MO 1445 2029 2029 0309 0309 1001 0309 1001 1558 TU 1558 TU 1001 2139 TU 1558 2139 2139 0417 0417 1111 0417 1111 1713 WE 1713 WE 1111 2251 WE 1713 2251 2251 0522 0522 1208 0522 1208 1813 TH 1813 TH 1208 2353 TH 1813 2353 2353 0617 0617 1256 0617 1256 1900 FR 1900 FR 1256 FR 1900

19 19 20 20 21 21

22 22

23 23 24 24

0045 0045 25 0704 0045 0704 25 1337 SA 1337 SA 0704

1942 SA 1337 1942 1942 0131 0131 0748 0131 0748 1415 SU 1415 SU 0748 2021 SU 1415 2021 2021 0216 0216 0832 0216 0832 1454 MO 1454 MO 0832 2102 MO 1454 2102 2102 0302 0302 0916 0302 0916 1533 TU 1533 TU 0916 2144 TU 1533 2144 2144 0350 0350 1003 0350 1003 1615 WE 1615 WE 1003 2228 WE 1615 2228 2228 0440 0440 1052 0440 1052 1657 TH 1657 TH 1052 2315 TH 1657 2315 2315 0533 0533 1143 0533 1143 1742 FR 1742 FR 1143 FR 1742

26 26 27 27 28 28

29 29

30 30 31 31

0.60 0.60 1.65 0.60 1.65 0.41 1.65 0.41 1.47 0.41 1.47 1.47 0.50 0.50 1.72 0.50 1.72 0.34 1.72 0.34 1.57 0.34 1.57 1.57 0.41 0.41 1.78 0.41 1.78 0.28 1.78 0.28 1.67 0.28 1.67 1.67 0.33 0.33 1.80 0.33 1.80 0.25 1.80 0.25 1.76 0.25 1.76 1.76 0.28 0.28 1.78 0.28 1.78 0.26 1.78 0.26 1.82 0.26 1.82 1.82 0.27 0.27 1.73 0.27 1.73 0.30 1.73 0.30 1.84 0.30 1.84 1.84 0.29 0.29 1.63 0.29 1.63 0.37 1.63 0.37 0.37

Local Time APRIL APRIL APRIL Time m

Time Time Time 0003 0003 0630 0003 0630 1237 0630 1237 1830 1237 1830 1830 0056 0056 0632 0056 0632 1237 0632 1237 1825 1237 1825 1825 0055 0055 0742 0055 0742 1345 0742 1345 1930 1345 1930 1930 0201 0201 0855 0201 0855 1503 0855 1503 2045 1503 2045 2045 0315 0315 1005 0315 1005 1618 1005 1618 2200 1618 2200 2200 0424 0424 1107 0424 1107 1719 1107 1719 2306 1719 2306 2306 0524 0524 1159 0524 1159 1810 1159 1810 1810

m m 1.83 1.83 0.34 1.83 0.34 1.52 0.34 1.52 0.47 1.52 0.47 0.47 1.79 1.79 0.40 1.79 0.40 1.41 0.40 1.41 0.57 1.41 0.57 0.57 1.72 1.72 0.46 1.72 0.46 1.32 0.46 1.32 0.65 1.32 0.65 0.65 1.66 1.66 0.49 1.66 0.49 1.29 0.49 1.29 0.69 1.29 0.69 0.69 1.63 1.63 0.49 1.63 0.49 1.33 0.49 1.33 0.67 1.33 0.67 0.67 1.64 1.64 0.46 1.64 0.46 1.40 0.46 1.40 0.62 1.40 0.62 0.62 1.66 1.66 0.43 1.66 0.43 1.48 0.43 1.48 1.48

0003 88 0003 0615 0003 0615 1242 SA 1242 SA 0615

0.55 0.55 1.67 0.55 1.67 0.41 1.67 0.41 1.56 0.41 1.56 1.56 0.50 0.50 1.67 0.50 1.67 0.40 1.67 0.40 1.62 0.40 1.62 1.62 0.46 0.46 1.65 0.46 1.65 0.41 1.65 0.41 1.66 0.41 1.66 1.66 0.45 0.45 1.61 0.45 1.61 0.44 1.61 0.44 1.68 0.44 1.68 1.68 0.45 0.45 1.56 0.45 1.56 0.47 1.56 0.47 1.70 0.47 1.70 1.70 0.46 0.46 1.51 0.46 1.51 0.51 1.51 0.51 1.69 0.51 1.69 1.69 0.49 0.49 1.45 0.49 1.45 0.56 1.45 0.56 1.68 0.56 1.68 1.68 0.52 0.52 1.39 0.52 1.39 0.62 1.39 0.62 1.64 0.62 1.64 1.64

SA SA SA

SU SU SU

33 MO MO MO

TU TU TU

WE WE WE

TH TH TH

FR FR FR

1853 SA 1242 1853 1853 0052 0052 0700 0052 0700 1321 SU 1321 SU 0700 1932 SU 1321 1932 1932 0136 0136 0742 0136 0742 1355 MO 1355 MO 0742 2009 MO 1355 2009 2009 0216 0216 0821 0216 0821 1427 TU 1427 TU 0821 2043 TU 1427 2043 2043 0255 0255 0858 0255 0858 1458 WE 1458 WE 0858 2116 WE 1458 2116 2116 0332 0332 0934 0332 0934 1528 TH 1528 TH 0934 2148 TH 1528 2148 2148 0411 0411 1012 0411 1012 1559 FR 1559 FR 1012 2222 FR 1559 2222 2222 0451 0451 1050 0451 1050 1631 SA 1631 SA 1050 2259 SA 1631 2259 2259

10 10 11 11 12 12 13 13

14 14 15 15

  Copyright Copyright Commonwealth Commonwealth of of Australia Australia 2015, 2015, Bureau Bureau of of Meteorology Meteorology  Copyright Commonwealth of Australia 2015, Bureau of Meteorology Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tide Datum of Predictions is Lowest Astronomical Tidedaylight savings time (UTC +11:00) when in effect Times Times are are in in local local standard standard time time (UTC (UTC +10:00) +10:00) or 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 First Moon Full New Moon Moon First Quarter Quarter Moon Phase Phase Symbols Symbols Full Moon Moon New Moon First Quarter Moon Phase Symbols Full Moon

Time Time 0533 0533 1132 0533 1132 1709 1132 1709 2338 1709 2338 2338 0622 0622 1219 0622 1219 1752 1219 1752 1752

m m m 0.57 0.57 1.33 0.57 1.33 0.68 1.33 0.68 1.60 0.68 1.60 1.60 0.61 0.61 1.27 0.61 1.27 0.74 1.27 0.74 0.74

0025 0025 18 0717 0025 0717 18 1315 TU 1315 TU 0717

1.55 1.55 0.65 1.55 0.65 1.23 0.65 1.23 0.79 1.23 0.79 0.79 1.50 1.50 0.66 1.50 0.66 1.22 0.66 1.22 0.82 1.22 0.82 0.82 1.49 1.49 0.63 1.49 0.63 1.26 0.63 1.26 0.80 1.26 0.80 0.80 1.51 1.51 0.58 1.51 0.58 1.34 0.58 1.34 0.74 1.34 0.74 0.74 1.56 1.56 0.50 1.56 0.50 1.45 0.50 1.45 0.64 1.45 0.64 0.64 1.63 1.63 0.42 1.63 0.42 1.57 0.42 1.57 1.57

16 16 SU SU SU

17 17 MO MO MO

1846 TU 1315 1846 1846 0120 0120 0819 0120 0819 1421 WE 1421 WE 0819 1953 WE 1421 1953 1953 0225 0225 0922 0225 0922 1531 TH 1531 TH 0922 2107 TH 1531 2107 2107 0332 0332 1018 0332 1018 1631 FR 1631 FR 1018 2215 FR 1631 2215 2215 0432 0432 1107 0432 1107 1722 SA 1722 SA 1107 2313 SA 1722 2313 2313 0526 0526 1152 0526 1152 1806 SU 1806 SU 1152 SU 1806

19 19 20 20

21 21

22 22 23 23

0005 0005 24 0615 0005 0615 24 1234 MO 1234 MO 0615 1850 MO 1234 1850 1850 0055 0055 0703 0055 0703 1316 TU 1316 TU 0703 1933 TU 1316 1933 1933 0145 0145 0753 0145 0753 1400 WE 1400 WE 0753 2018 WE 1400 2018 2018 0237 0237 0844 0237 0844 1445 TH 1445 TH 0844 2105 TH 1445 2105 2105 0330 0330 0937 0330 0937 1531 FR 1531 FR 0937 2154 FR 1531 2154 2154 0426 0426 1032 0426 1032 1621 SA 1621 SA 1032 2245 SA 1621 2245 2245 0524 0524 1130 0524 1130 1714 SU 1714 SU 1130 2340 SU 1714 2340 2340

25 25 26 26 27 27

28 28

29 29 30 30

0.53 0.53 1.70 0.53 1.70 0.36 1.70 0.36 1.70 0.36 1.70 1.70 0.42 0.42 1.74 0.42 1.74 0.31 1.74 0.31 1.82 0.31 1.82 1.82 0.32 0.32 1.75 0.32 1.75 0.29 1.75 0.29 1.92 0.29 1.92 1.92 0.26 0.26 1.72 0.26 1.72 0.31 1.72 0.31 1.98 0.31 1.98 1.98 0.24 0.24 1.66 0.24 1.66 0.36 1.66 0.36 2.00 0.36 2.00 2.00 0.25 0.25 1.58 0.25 1.58 0.44 1.58 0.44 1.96 0.44 1.96 1.96 0.30 0.30 1.49 0.30 1.49 0.53 1.49 0.53 1.89 0.53 1.89 1.89

Last Last Quarter Quarter Last Quarter

Tide predictions for Sydney (Fort Denison) have been formatted by the National Tidal Centre, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Copyright reserved. All material is supplied in good faith and is believed to be correct. It is supplied on the condition that no warranty is given in relation thereto, that no responsibility or liability for errors or omissions is, or will be, accepted and that the recipient will hold MHL and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Australia free from all such responsibility or liability and from all loss or damage incurred as a consequence of any error or omission. Predictions should not be used for navigational purposes. Use of these tide predictions will be deemed to include acceptance of the above conditions.

boats & kayaks

In the skipper’s seat

Inside story...

CrossXCountry Boats are purpose-built fibreglass fishing boats that range in size from 3.7-4.75m in length, and have been around since 2009. These boats are tailor made to Aussie conditons by qualified shipwrights and self-confessed habitual anglers. They’re constantly trying to improve existing products and services, and are always looking to the future in design and development.

Made for...

CrossXCountry Boats are made to be lighter, quieter, safer and stronger than their competitors, and are endorsed by some of Australia’s top fishing and travelling journalists.

This month...

Wayne Kampe revisits the previously tested 4.5 Island Hopper, this time choosing to test out the fully kitted out version!

86 Unloading the boat trailer at home

Wayne Kampe provides some steps to make this fairly arduous task a whole lot easier.

89 Brogo’s bumper bass Toby Grundy, true to form, visits another beautiful waterway, this time pulling up at the beautiful and secluded Brogo Dam on the South Coast.

90 Kayak storage solutions

Justin Willmer looks at some simple ways to store your tackle in the kayak.

92 Quintrex F481 Hornet Wayne Kampe catches up with Paul from Brisbane Yamaha to give this fastmoving beast of a rig a run.

MARCH 2017

Taking the boat off the trailer at home in five steps BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Boats are meant to go on and off trailers – at the ramp, that is. And while the boat is in the water, it’s pretty easy to give the trusty trailer a once over to see that all is well. While a quick check is fine, there can be circumstances that will require more detailed work

number required depending upon the length of the hull and it’s shape. Generally speaking, the boat needs to be supported firstly at the stern as it’s coming down off the trailer, and then on the sides as the trailer is moved from under it. I used six tyres in the example shown with my 4.3 Bullshark. The same number of tyres worked just as well with the 5.5 Galeforce when we replaced the brake system. Ever tried

you frustration later. The outboard needs to be tilted up as far up as possible and a tyre placed at the transom area for the skeg to sit on. Before doing anything further, consider the general area where the boat is being removed from the trailer. It’s important to be able to bring the trailer back in perfect alignment with the hull when the boat needs to come back on it, so there has to be enough space for the car to be reversed

The job ready to go – tyres can be moved in exactly where the hull will touch the ground. controlling the amount of slack in the winch cable for the duration of the exercise. Providing slack in the winch line by disengaging the winch pawl, pulling out

of winch cable provided governs the rearwards movement of the boat. Once the boat is moving backwards in small controlled stages, it’s time to start working out

even further so that the stern dips down off the trailer to see the hull resting correctly on them and extending nicely skywards on the back of the trailer.

Protect those transducers. These ones are safely up out of the way. on the trailer and might see the boat off the trailer for quite a while, in closer proximity to tools and materials. Cleaning up and then re-painting a trailer, which I did when my boat returned from Weipa on each occasion, is a prime example of the necessity for a boat and trailer to part company. In this article, you’ll see just how easy it is to remove and then return the boat to its trailer. Note that the trailer will remain connected to the car until the boat is totally off it and on a bed of tyres. Old car tyres are never hard to find with the

replacing a brake system with the boat on the trailer? Forget it! Also, removing the boat from the trailer is best as a two-person project to make things easier. STEP 1 Tyres sorted, the next job is to move the transducer/s out of harm’s way. If, like myself, you have gone to some trouble to get the transducer just right on the back of your alloy craft, you might like to tape a straight edge under the hull, showing just how the transducer’s aligned and then photograph it for later reference, before moving it out of the way. This saves

straight back to the boat with trailer at the ready. Alternatively, the trailer needs to be lined up straight and then the car connected to the trailer. In practice, later, you will see why this is stressed as important. STEP 2 With transducers taken care of, the next task is to sit three tyres under the transom area ensuring that the transducer will not make contact with them as the boat is coming off the trailer, which is a totally manual exercise. A push will start to move the boat backwards. Move it only a small amount at a time by

At this point, the hull and tyres need to be placed exactly right, so go slow. 86

MARCH 2017

With a good trailer, the boat won’t take much effort to shift back. Denise is moving it fairly easily. Note the controlled amount of slack in the winch cable. a bit of cable, then again engaging the pawl is the way to go. Control is everything; you don’t want the boat slipping back quickly or jarring down hard. Take heart, it’s very easy to control that rear movement as the amount

where the tyres need to be to support the hull. A bit more movement – under careful winch control – will make it pretty clear where the hull is going to come down to the ground. With the tyres carefully aligned, the hull can be moved backwards

STEP 3 This next bit involves both a car driver and a winch supervisor. The car driver will be moving the vehicle very carefully forward a few centimetres at a time, to move the trailer out from under the

With careful placement, the transducers are out of harm’s way.

boat while the winch is also strategically disengaged to provide slack at all times, otherwise the poor old boat will be dragged forward. Again, make sure the placement of tyres is correct when it’s obvious that the boat is coming off the trailer. You can easily halt everything and take a look at where things are going. The winch operator will be able to make this assessment and this is why I advocate moving the

car forward just a small amount at a time while the winch cable is carefully disengaged to provide slack. By proceeding slowly, and with care, the boat will come off that trailer without even a jar or bump, and (I might add) with some satisfaction for the participants! Congratulations, you have the boat off the trailer and you can work on it at leisure. Work completed, we need to get it back. That’s the next step.

STEP 4 The only tricky bit here is to get the trailer absolutely square on to the tow hook of the boat before doing anything else. I usually do this with the trailer disconnected. Once the trailer is perfectly in alignment, bring the car back to the trailer and connect it. If the trailer is out of perfect alignment, the boat will come up in a badly misaligned manner. In the water, it will swing to correct itself. Sitting hard on the tyres, it can’t do this.

The car is driven forward very slowly as the tyres for the sides of the hull are aligned. Then the job’s done and the trailer is ready for any work.

Perfect! The hull is moving up onto the trailer as the trailer and car are reversing back.

Things soon go pear-shaped once the car moves forward. It starts with the boat moving to an edge of the first roller and gets progressively worse. Don’t go there! With the winch connected and someone on the winch to watch state of play, use it to pull the boat up as the car is carefully and slowly reversed to the point where the trailer is just engaging the hull. STEP 5 Now comes the best bit and it’s a process that works

quite easily. As the transom is perched hard on the three rear tyres, the boat won’t move backwards. The car will when the winch is used. How? Rather than reversing the car, which might cause an issue with power, the car is left out of gear and with hand brake off. With each winch handle revolution, the trailer and car move backwards quite easily to see the boat rising as the trailer goes under it. The trick is to keep winding that winch handle. You won’t

need to check things like when the boat was coming off, so long as the boat is going onto the trailer as straight as it should be. While it might sound involved, it’s not. I have done this with the 5.5 fibreglass Galey at least three times and the Bullshark just as many times. There has never been a drama. Once the boat is horizontal on the trailer, it comes forward very readily and the exercise is complete.

CREATE YOUR ADVENTURES

438 STRYKER XPF For more information visit www.horizonboats.com.au or call your nearest dealer

Abbys Auto & Marine 290-292 Princes Highway South Nowra NSW 2541 Phone 02 4422 5150

Independent Outboards 59 Holbeche Road Arndell Park NSW 2148 Phone 02 9672 1922

Posties Caravans Boats Small Engines 24 Brissett Street Inverell NSW 2360 Phone 02 6722 5020

Aussie Boat Sales NSW 27 Beach Road Batemans Bay NSW 2536 Phone 0433 531 226

Belmont Affordable Boats 400 Pacific Highway Belmont NSW 2280 Phone 02 4947 0055

Michael Parker Marine 4 Erica Court Albury NSW 2640 Phone 0418 578 805

Waves Overseas 128-134 Parramatta Road Croydon NSW 2132 Phone 02 9745 5555

Aussie Boat Sales ACT Unit 9 Vicars Court Mitchell 2911 ACT Phone 0433 531 226 MARCH 2017

WHAT’S NEW BOATING MERCURY 75-115HP FOURSTROKE OFFER 1

Boasting less weight and high displacement, Mercury FourStrokes generate abundant torque and immediate power, so they accelerate better, get boats onto a plane faster, and provide optimal fuel efficiency at cruising speed. These engines are quieter and smoother than the competition, with up to 50% less vibration and 50% less noise, and are all available in Command Thrust format. With a larger gearcase and gearcase torpedo, combined with a bigger-diameter prop, Command Thrust outboards provide greater leverage and control, lifting a heavy boat onto a plane more easily and holding it there without effort at lower speeds. The 115hp FourStroke is also available in counterrotating format. Until 21 April, 2017, anyone purchasing a Mercury 75-115hp FourStroke from a participating Mercury dealer will receive a VesselView 502 multi-function touchscreen display upgrade from the standard VesselView 4, and Mercury Active Trim – the industry’s only GPS based automated trim system, valued at $1541. www.mercurymarine.com.au

GMR FANTOM 18 AND 24

New for 2017 are the GMR Fantom 18 and 24 radar from industry giant Garmin. These new solid-state pulse compression radomes offer MotionScope Doppler technology and 40W of power – the highest in the industry for its kind. Available in an 18” or 24” footprint, they bring Garmin’s award-winning Fantom technology to a smaller size and lower price point, making them an attractive option for boats where open-array radar isn’t an option. With its pulse compression technology, the Fantom 18 and Fantom 24 provide high resolution while maximising energy to enhance target detection. The Fantom 18 features a 5.2° beam width, while the Fantom 24 offers a narrower 3.7° width. Both Fantom radomes offer excellent range performance from 6m to 48nm. Price: SRP $2999-$3999 www.garmin.com

ENHANCED I-PILOT SPOT-LOCK

Minn Kota has made significant enhancements to the ground-breaking Spot-Lock electronic GPS anchor. “We’ve reinvented Spot-Lock to make it the most accurate electronic GPS anchor ever,” said Shaun Clancy, Minn Kota Brand Manager. “Anglers will immediately notice that the reinvented Spot-Lock holds the boat in position with unmatched precision and consistency. When fishing, even in strong wind and current, it’s easy just to Spot-Lock to land fish, change baits, or even take a photo or two. The updated Spot-Lock feature will make boat positioning easier and more precise than ever.” The new Spot-Lock also features ‘Jog Mode’, which allows anglers to move their current Spot-Lock position 5ft to the left or right, forward or backward, with the simple push of a button. The enhanced Spot-Lock feature comes standard on the new i-Pilot and i-Pilot Link systems, factory-installed on a wide variety of new Bluetooth-enabled bow-mount trolling motors including Ulterra, Terrova and PowerDrive, as well as Riptide Ulterra, Riptide Terrova and Riptide PowerDrive. www.bla.com.au 88

MARCH 2017

PRODUCT GUIDE

NEW DIAMOND DECK 4 COLOURS

Diamond Deck marine-grade, selfadhesive EVA foam decking is ideal for anyone who’s tired of having a slippery, hot boat – or who’s tired of trying to keep their marine carpet clean. Originally available only in white, black and grey, Diamond Deck now comes in three new colours – blue, maroon and marble grey. Diamond Deck easily bonds to aluminium, fibreglass, steel, wood, gelcoat, flowcoat, painted surfaces and even checker plate with minimal preparation. It comes ready to apply with a peel and stick, self-adhesive backing sheet. It reduces glare, heat, noise, shock and fatigue for those on board, and it won’t come unstuck in even the harshest of elements. It’s also easy to clean and dries quickly. Diamond Deck is 5mm thick, which is enough to cushion the ride when applied to tinny seats. It comes in easy-to-use sheets in various sizes, all of which can be cut to shape with scissors or a cutting knife. Custom cutting is also available. www.diamonddeck.com.au

DYSON V6 CAR + BOAT

Boat and car cleaning can feel like a major hassle, with tight gaps, tricky angles and awkward spaces. The Dyson V6 Car + Boat vacuum makes the job easy. It comes complete with a set of specialised cleaning tools, each designed for specific cleaning uses, to deal with all types of dirt, in every nook and cranny. The Dyson’s cord-free format transforms easily to tackle dirt and debris all over your car or boat – even in the most difficult spots. The extension hose attachment lets you vacuum out enclosed spaces like hatches or foot wells. Combined with the stubborn dirt tool, the extension hose removes even ground-in dirt. The Dyson In car charger connects to a standard 12V accessory socket for charging your cord-free machine on the move, or when there’s no mains socket to hand. Price: SRP $449 www.dyson.com.au

LOWRANCE HDS CARBON

Lowrance HDS Carbon multi-function displays (12”, 9” and 7”) feature StructureScan 3D with SideScan and DownScan Imaging, dual channel CHIRP sonar, StructureMap, Broadband Radar and SiriusXM Weather Chart Overlay. The HDS Carbon’s dual-core processor allows anglers to switch between applications and simultaneously view independent sonar feeds with ease, and the SolarMAX HD screen provides great visibility at almost any angle. Along with integrated wireless connectivity that lets you download updates and map purchases directly, HDS Carbon features Bluetooth control of multiple Power-Pole shallow water anchors and Bluetooth audio streaming from SonicHub2. Anglers can navigate with ease using proven Lowrance navigation technology, built-in C-MAP Insight mapping with enhanced coverage of coastal and inland waters, a 10Hz internal GPS antenna, and a multitude of mapping options accessible from the unit’s dual microSD card slots or via wireless download. HDS Carbon supports radar, SmartSteer control of Motorguide Xi5 trolling motors and Lowrance Outboard pilot, and full engine data integration with Mercury VesselView Link. Price: SRP $1599-$4699 www.lowrance.com

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

SCAN THE QR CODE!

There is bumper bass fishing at Brogo Dam CANBERRA

Toby Grundy

A few years ago, I decided to try and catch bass. I was determined to pursue these bronze battlers, because of a few fishing articles I read over the winter months. Pros would recount tales of run ins with 50cm brawlers that left their arms cramped. That’s how I found Brogo Dam.

information on where the fish are biting, or places to stop and picnic. There are also toilets and a BBQ area. The boat ramp is well maintained and launching the kayak is very easy, as you can drive your vehicle right down to the water’s edge. Though Brogo rarely gets rough, it’s important to wear a life jacket just in case. Be aware that power boats are allowed on this waterway and do travel quite quickly.

constant changing meant my lure was not in the water enough and the techniques I used were mostly related to slow rolling my lure along the snags. Now I recommend using and sticking with 4-5 lures. Each one should work a different part of the water column. I take a 40mm Tiemco Soft Shell Cicada to cover the surface fishing, a Jackall D Cherry to cover the first 2-3m under the surface,

a good strike rather than a weak tap. By far the best colour to use in the dam is motor oil. This perfectly matches the colours of a baby bass/ small baitfish, which the bigger bass feed on throughout the year. THE KAYAK The best thing about Brogo is that the water is usually calm, meaning you can fish it with a variety a different kayaks, even those that are not necessarily very stable. A paddle yak makes it easier to cover a lot of ground. In fact, with a paddle yak, it’s possible to fish almost all of the dam in one day. I fished the dam in my Native Kayak 13 Slayer and it handled the dam with ease. We also used a Hobie Outback and it was an excellent choice as well. That said, all you need is a kayak that can carry a days’ worth of food and water to have a great time on the dam. LOCATIONS If starting from the boat ramp, head over the dam

The future of the dam is bright, thanks to consistent stocking. the fish aren’t biting near the edge of the weed, try some of the rock walls down the end of the dam. There are some big fish holding in these areas and they will come up from deep to hit surface lures. Brogo can be tough going, so if you have a sounder, you can paddle around and find a school of smaller fish and drop your lures on their heads. Make

Brogo can be fished from a variety of kayaks and the scenery is beautiful.

Keep using the same four to five lures – they’re all you need. I thought it was an ideal choice with its proximity to Canberra and the amount of fish stocked there. I was wrong. On my first visit, I caught no fish, didn’t have a bite and spent most of my time their searching what I thought were good spots in vain. In December, I tried my luck again. This time, I slowly started to figure out this beautiful fishery. FACILITIES Brogo Dam in located near the town of Bega in NSW, which is close to Tathra and Merimbula. Bega is a large town and has all the usual amenities including a shopping mall, supermarkets, petrol stations, cafes and restaurants. It’s a good place to stop in and get some supplies. There’s nothing in or around Brogo Dam. However, there is a ranger station at the dam where you can get

SPECIES Brogo Dam is chock full of bass ranging from very small fish through to 50cm thumpers. There are also eels in the dam. TECHNIQUES The first time I fished the dam, I cast almost every lure in my tackle box and that was a mistake. The

and then I use a Squidgy Wriggler 80mm with a 1/8oz jighead to fish the deeper sections along with a small spinnerbait. At dawn and dusk, I position my kayak a few metres away from the large weed beds, which sit out from the exposed reeds that line the banks of Brogo. I cast my surface lure on top of the weed bed and pause it once it reaches the edge of the weed. Often bass will hit it just as the cicada imitation swims out from cover. If that doesn’t work, I usually head to the various rock walls around the dam and fish with my small diver (slow roll) and then follow it up with a soft plastic (twitch then pause as it sinks). I find that sometimes switching lures after a follow will result in

The fish at Brogo are in great condition.

The rock walls at the back of dam hold big fish. wall and cast surface lures over the large weedbeds. If this doesn’t work, drop a soft plastic through the gaps in the weed. Often you’ll get a hit on the drop. If you find

sure your yak isn’t positioned directly over the school, as it can spook the fish. TACKLE I use a Daiwa Harrier 1-3kg spin rod matched

to a 1003 Daiwa Certate. I spooled the reel with 6lb and I use 6lb leader. This is a light stick and with only 2kg of drag, things can get crazy. It’s a lot of fun. If you’re new to bass fishing, I would recommend using a heavier outfit. If you’ve already caught a few, go light and use the yak to your advantage. TIMING Brogo fishes well from early November through to March with a late flurry in April. During these times you can get good surface action and the fish are really active. Avoiding the dam in late winter/early spring as the fish are really shut down and are rarely tempted by lures. CONCLUSION Brogo Dam is not as difficult as I first thought. Though it can be tricky, if you stick to a handful of lures and work each section of a snag, you are bound to have success and could even hook up to a trophy fish. It’s a family friendly dam and a great place to introduce kids to kayaking. The scenery is stunning. It’s the perfect place for light tackle sportfishing.

Troy Erland with a solid Brogo bass. MARCH 2017

Kayak tackle storage solutions BRISBANE

Justin Willmer Find me on Facebook at Yaks On

When you’re fishing from the cockpit of a kayak, you need to be organised and

kayak designs allow tackle trays to be stored within easy reach. Other tackle storage solutions that are built into kayaks include bucket hatches, moulded pockets, mesh pockets and even drink holders.

with your gear while it inside the hull. By gluing or riveting an attachment point to the inside of the hatch lid, you can then leash the dry bag to the lid so that it doesn’t slide out of reach inside the hull.

Tackle stored behind the seat and in the side pockets means a clear cockpit area for pedalling and fishing. this includes mounting and storing everything within easy reach, while also considering the weight capacity of your chosen craft. This also applies to fishing tackle. Many boat anglers gain notoriety among their mates as that guy that brings ten rods and five tackle boxes of gear when they head out fishing. As kayak anglers, we don’t have the luxury of taking all of the tackle that we own with us, so we need to refine our arsenal. Let’s have a quick look at tackle selection and tackle storage for kayak anglers. STORAGE Some kayak anglers are lucky enough to have their tackle storage requirements solved for them by the kayak designers. Some

Whether you’re storing terminal tackle or lures, you can use the storage options supplied as part of the kayak design and its fit-out, or add your own additional storage options to suit your needs. BUCKET HATCH A common storage option on kayaks is the centre bucket hatch. These are also sold separately and can be fitted at a later date. A simple twist of the hatch to remove the lid and you have access to your tackle. The downside of these hatches is that they are often small and only hold a couple of packets of plastics and a small tray. A trick is to remove the bucket, if this is an option, load in an empty dry bag and then load the dry bag

Moulded and mesh pockets are great for storing tackle and mesh pockets can be retrofitted. 90

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Now you can open the lid and easily access the dry bag and its contents. Sea to Summit make a range of dry bags that are white on the inside, making it much easier to locate the items you’re looking for. MOULDED POCKETS If your kayak has moulded pockets as part of its design, these can be ideal for storing smaller tackle trays. If the trays need securing, a bungee paddle holder can be fitted to lock them in place. MESH POCKETS Quite a few kayak brands use mesh pockets as part of their fit out and also offer them as a spare part. These mesh pockets can be retrofitted to other kayak brands and even in multiple locations within easy reach. Mesh pockets are lightweight, don’t hold water and have a degree of flexibility for what can be stored in them. They are perfect for small tackle trays, lip grips, other tools, scent and sunscreen. DRINK HOLDERS I prefer to keep my water bottles out of the sun,

A dry bag inside the centre hatch loaded for an adventure. Note the white lining for ease of locating items. under or beside my seat or in the Evakool icebox in the rear well, so I use my built-in drink holder for tackle storage. Before I paddle out, I load my scent and a few favourite lures into the drink holder, including a few different jighead weights to suit varying stages of the tide. Often I have all that I need for a session in just this handful of lures and don’t even need to go digging for other lure options. SOFT PLASTICS WALLETS Along with these fitted

When the toothy critters are around, pack a bit more tackle.

options there are also more portable options such as dry bags, dry boxes and soft plastic wallets. These are a great option for storing soft plastics, allowing you to carry a dozen or so packets and you can quickly and easily flick through to select the model and colour you’re looking for. They often come with a carry handle, making them easy to leash to the kayak. It’s important to remember that if they have a zip you will need to give them a spray with silicone spray or wipe the zip with some reel oil to minimise corrosion and the chance of the zip seizing. TACKLE TRAYS Tackle Trays are the most popular option for storing terminal tackle, jigheads, blades, hardbodies and many other lure types. There is a range of waterproof options available featuring a silicone gasket in the lid, and these are excellent for the kayak. They also feature a plastic tag for hanging them in stores that can be used for leashing them to your kayak. The downside is that there is only a limited range of waterproof models available and the configuration won’t suit all anglers and applications. There are stacks of tray options available, including shallow trays, deep trays,

Leash it or lose it. These Boga Grips are leashed and then stored in the mesh side pocket.

double-sided trays, trays with adjustable dividers, fixed dividers and more. The downside is that they’re not waterproof. One option for kayak anglers is to store them in a dry bag. I have recently started using

in a dry bag to keep it secure and away from the elements. The dry bag has an attachment point where it can be leashed to the kayak and I can even throw it behind my seat out of the way, retrieving it with the

larger trays makes it easier to see what’s running low and make yourself a shopping list to top up this base station when required. It’s then simply a matter of topping up the smaller tray or two that you carry

It’s worth having a few weedless options in your kit, just in case with you in the kayak from this tackle base station. I never return used items to these larger trays. That way I avoid rusting out bulk items, instead rinsing the used items in fresh water

the packets that I wish to take on a particular adventure. I will often carry two packets of my go-to for that adventure and then it’s important to have a mix of colours in a few of your favourite models.

is common on windy days and run out tides, and finally a fluoro pink or chartreuse colour just in case the others aren’t firing. Finally I have my retractable line snips

Sheri with her tackle bag attached behind her seat.

Waterproof trays are another handy option for kayak tackle storage.

A simple solution in smaller kayaks is a dry bag in front of your feet. a double-sided tray and the great advantage is that it’s about the same thickness as a single-sided tray but with twice the number of compartments. Although you can’t store bulk lots of items, you can keep a lot more items separated and organised for a kayak session. This allows me to carry a range of jigheads as well as a selection of blades, hardbodies and even some rigged plastics all in the one tray, while ensuring I have a couple of compartments loaded with my go-to jighead size. DRY BAGS With one soft plastic wallet and one doublesided tackle tray I have everything I need for a day on the water, stored

leash when required. Dry bags come in a wide range of sizes and if you leave some air in the dry bag when you roll it closed, it will float should anything go wrong and it ends up in the water. TACKLE SELECTION Over time you will refine your kit to suit your particular adventure and I have larger trays at home where I store the bulk items that I often use, including favourite blade colours and jighead sizes. Rather than carting these to the water every trip, often exposing them to the saltwater and overloading the kayak, these trays are left at home. Leaving the part number and description from the product packaging in the compartments of these

and hanging them on the side of a small plastic tub to dry for future use. Again, when it comes to soft plastics I have a container that holds bulk plastics at home and I grab

Time on the water has shown me that it’s worth carrying a lighter, natural colour for clear water and bright days, a darker silhouette colour for when the water dirties up, which

Double-sided tackle tray, soft plastics wallet and a dry bag – tackle storage sorted.

attached to my shirt or ‘D’ ring on my pants, lip grips, fish ruler and landing net leashed to my kayak and a couple of different flavours of scent handy, either in my drink holder or pocket. When you’re setting up your yak, take note of where you can store and secure your tackle within easy reach, remembering the option to retrofit mesh pockets and bucket hatches, along with the option of a leashed-on dry bag loaded with a tackle tray and soft plastics wallet. Try to make a plan based on the location you’re fishing, target species, tides and other variables to assist you in refining the tackle you carry with you, while also covering the possibilities that may arise in your chosen location, such as a few weedless options in case there’s weed around, a variety of lures to cover different water depths and a couple of larger or smaller profile lures to suit the bite on the day. Fish on! MARCH 2017

Quick Quintrex F481 Hornet is a sure winner

BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

Quintrex offer so many fantastic boats that it can be difficult to nominate a particular rig most suited to a specific task. If there’s a need for a rig that will double as a competition craft fully ready to hit the starter line, or ready to be used by sports anglers to test their skills wherever the opportunity presents (in estuaries rivers or impoundments), the four person F481 Hornet Trophy will fit the bill nicely. It’s 5m in length with a 2.1m beam and a feisty 90hp Yamaha four-stroke on the transom. There’s a veritable nest of Hornets, from the 400 to the 500. There are several models to choose from and every one of these punt style craft are well designed. The F481 Trophy has virtually every internal feature serious anglers might need, from a large plumbed catch well, which can be made even larger, through to an optional 3m long rod locker to port with tips well and truly protected under the front deck. There’s also floor storage under both forward and aft decks, flexibility in seating, a neat side console and a host of other features as well. EASY LAUNCH SYSTEM Launching from the Bribie Channel, the craft was easily released from its dedicated alloy Quintrex trailer, via the Quinnie Catch and Release easy hitch up and launch system. A couple of seconds saw the stem post’s securing 92

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shackle and the trailer’s retrieval cable released. From that point, all it took was for Paul (from Brisbane Yamaha) to start the engine, pop it into gear, nudge forward the Hornet’s bow and the Catch and Release let go – brilliant! No more wet feet on a cold morning – I liked it! FOUR-STROKE ON THE TRANSOM There was plenty of sting in the Hornet’s tail too. The reviewed Trophy, supplied by Brisbane Yamaha Burpengary, was powered by an EFI 90hp Yamaha four-stroke engine –

with the rig’s plumbed live well underneath, easily accessed by a wide hatch. FEATURES TO SUIT THE TOURNAMENT ANGLER The Quinnie’s neat side console was set up with top shelf Yamaha LAN gauges linked to the F90 astern, switches and a Humminbird 899 sounder plotter. The small wind deflector on top of the console hinged forward to reveal a decent storage area, suitable for cold drinks or lunch. Up front, large under floor

SPECIFICATIONS Length..............................................................5.01m Beam................................................................2.10m Length on trailer.............................................6.30m Side height......................................................0.93m Construction............ bottom 3mm, sides 2mm alloy Weight hull.......................................................420kg Engines........................................................ 60-90hp Engine fitted...................... 90hp Yamaha four-stroke Fuel......................................................................77L the maximum horsepower for the craft. It was as nippy as it was quiet. Warming it up prior to speed runs made sense, as the engine was totally new. I assessed the Hornet Trophy’s potential as the Yamaha hummed gently astern. The 90hp saw the rig going places quickly and frugally. If four people were aboard, the maximum power ensured easy performance. I noticed a couple of steps on the rear platform and a ladder to port. Rails and rod holders adorned the aft gunwale area as well. Behind the skipper and mate’s pedestal bucket seating was a carpeted rear cast platform

lockers were set within the forward casting platform’s framework. A general storage area was behind it, paired with heavy duty framed compartments for deep cycle batteries. The rig’s anchor was also tucked out of the way up front, but ready for use. The reviewed rig came with a single battery to power the Minn Kota motor and it’s very handy I Pilot Link that connected with the Humminbird 899SI sounder plotter set into the console. Seating was flexible – a seat spigot was also installed up front upon the casting platform, which featured hookless carpet to match the

rest of the rig. If this sounds pretty good, you’re right – it was good. Let’s not overlook the very neat dark blue wrap adorning the Hornet’s sides. It’s a popular addition, and it’s pretty rare to see a competition style rig leave a trailer a wrap lately. While the correct mix of fishing features is important for this style of craft, there’s much more to the Quintrex Hornet than what readily meets the eye. Sticking your head into a hatch reveals that welding in tucked away areas is just as well executed as that in clear view. This indicates the sort of high standards Quintrex demand of their alloy work. In truth, fit and finish was everything it should be and topping off the package were good looks, good performance and great ride and handling. PLENTY OF CHOP ON THE WATER In many respects, it was an excellent morning to give the Hornet some sea time, as a nasty southerly chop pushed up the outgoing tide in the Bribie Passage shortly after we launched. It created just the sort of conditions that estuary or dam anglers have to contend with from time to time, despite their earnest wish for better. The solid Hornet took the chop in it’s stride with little fuss. It’s Fighter series hull features a sharp entry with plenty of flare above it, linked to a multi-straked bottom section and a 12° vee. Experience has shown me that most boats can be driven easily enough in less than ideal conditions, at the right speed. This experience comes

from time on the water – once you have it, you know what you’re doing. Sometimes that ‘right speed’ is surprisingly quick and other times there’s a need to slow down. It all depends on the hull and engine combination. I found the 481 Hornet Trophy readily fell into the faster boat category, given it’s excellent hull design. It was really no surprise to see the rig simply skip over wind chop at 28.4kph and 3000rpm, with very little impact or fuss. The Humminbird recorded 4000rpm at 40.8kph, and a quick burst to 5000rpm moved the ground speed measurement to 51.3kph. With the 1.6L Yamaha four-stroke 90hp properly run in, there’d be no question about speeds in excess of 65kph, once the revs hit the 6000 mark. When cruising at 3500rpm or 35kph, the engine was hardly audible, taking it very easy. SUMMING UP The Quintrex 481 Hornet Trophy and 90hp Yamaha four-stroke package is no chore whatsoever. It’s a sportfishing craft with huge

potential for anglers who want to enjoy tournaments or simply make the best of light tackle work in calmer waters. It’s designed to travel comfortably, make things easy for up to four anglers and provide immense stability at rest – the punt styling ensures this. Quintrex have been building quality alloy craft for a long time and the Hornet’s a show piece of their expertise. Call Jetty Boating on 02 6651 4002 or email jettyboat@westnet.com.au for more information. The rig can be bought with options such as the sounder, rod lockers rear ladder and more. A basic rig with sounder and suitable engine is available from $32,415. and you can decide what’s needed for your specific requirements. • Quoted performance figures have been supplied by the writer in good faith. Performance of individual boat/motor/trailer packages may differ due to variations in engine installations, propellers, hull configurations, options, hull loading and trailer specifications.

Top: The Quintrex Hornet Trophy is a rig with ample freeboard, a nice forward casting platform and great style. Above: The bow of the Hornet’s Fighter series hull cuts through chop easily.

With Paul from Brisbane Yamaha at the helm, the Hornet had plenty of pace with comfort to match, thanks to the hull’s great design.

The 90hp Yamaha was a great match to the Hornet’s solid hull mass. At cruise speeds the engine seemed to be doing it very easy.

At rest but ready to go – this is a beautiful looking boat that’s tough enough to hold four people with no fuss.

The Hornet’s main storage area up front was designed to swallow up a lot of equipment. Think of the tackle boxes that would go in there!

A dash layout can’t get much simpler than that of the Hornet Trophy, and there’s a soft-feel, sportsstyle wheel for the skipper to enjoy as well.

The Hornet Trophy can easily run up onto a bank if necessary.

A look in the battery hatch up front revealed neat welding, so this rig is polished. The components of the Quintrex Catch/ Release system are easily assessed.

This rig is glammed up with hookless carpet – a must for a serious fishing rig these days.

Six well-formed strakes per side keep the Quintrex on track and provide plenty of stability under way or at rest.

The Quinnie’s optional rod locker would be a certainty on most buyers’ lists, as they store and protect rods very well. MARCH 2017

Features galore in the Cross Country 4.5 Lapstrake

BRISBANE

Wayne Kampe wkff@aapt.net.au

A few issues back we featured the 4.5m Cross Country Island Hopper as a car topper. With roof racks taking the place of a trailer and weight savings essential, the rig tipped the scales at a mere 135kg. Considering the overall need to conserve weight, the craft was well set up with various compartments and features. I also mentioned that there were many options available for the 4.5 Cross Country owner. To prove that statement, this review sees the 4.5 tarted up with a host of features including a fridge/freezer, under floor fuel tank, deck wash, console and canopy. Power has been upgraded to a 60hp Suzuki 4-stroke with hydraulic steering. There’s even a custom trailer for the craft as well. CUSTOM TRAILER Cross Country have their alloy trailers custom made locally to suit individual craft, with rollers exactly where they’re needed. Sets of skids are there to make loading and unloading as easy as possible. Fibreglass craft, particularly ones with large strakes under their hulls, benefit from having trailers set up to conform with hull dimensions – the extruded glass Cross Country Lapstrake style hull, with its ballast tunnel over a central planing plank, was suited perfectly to its trailer. The craft slipped off like a greased eel and just as easily winched later in the day. 94

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NO ISSUE MAXIMUM ENGINE POWER Aboard the 4.5 Cross Country, I took stock of the features. They were so numerous that I resorted to a digital recorder so I didn’t overlook an important item or two. First off was the 4-stroke Suzuki 60. With engines rated

passing craft, which confirmed to me just how good these Cross Country punt style craft can handle chop with such little perceived impact, with their well designed entry sections and prominent bottom strakes. This rig could handle! With hydraulic steering, which made wheel input a fingertip

SPECIFICATIONS Length................................................................4.5m Beam..................................................................1.8m Weight hull....................................................... 135kg Deadrise.............................................................. 14° Engines........................................................ 30-60hp Engine fitted............................60hp Suzuki 4-stroke Fuel......................................................................70L Persons................................................................Six Towing Family...........6 cylinder or big 4 SUV/sedan from 30-60hp, the owner of the reviewed rig opted for maximum power, which made for easy boating. At the helm, tucked in behind the craft’s side console and comfortable on the skipper’s pedestal seat, there was no feeling that the light-weight Cross Country hull was over-powered. Wellpowered is a better term with the Suzuki near silent at idle. It hummed easily onto a plane at a mere 12.8km/h and 2600rpm with two aboard. Cranking up to 3000rpm saw 19.6km/h on the handheld GPS, 4000rpm saw 38.3km/h, 5000rpm 46.7km/h and 6000rpm 62.4km/h. Admittedly, power came in spades – all it took was a push on the throttle to see the rig leaping forward, but it was still very smooth and user-friendly. Travelling at good speed gave me the opportunity to jump a bit of serious wash from

exercise, the Cross Country could virtually turn on it’s own length at 30km/h. Zipping up mangrove creeks to check the crab pots at high tide would be a cinch. OPTIONS FROM STEM TO STERN As mentioned, this particular rig was set up with ample options. A Kingfisher canopy was installed, along with a deck wash, a bait tank aft, a 70L underfloor fuel tank, an easy access compartment for bilge pump and fuel filter under the transom area, a cast deck and a couple of other features about the side console craft worth mentioning as well. A cavernous rod locker was set to port in the cockpit, and while taking up a fair amount of room, it was designed to be sat on, or even walked on. This was a handy feature. Atop the console (on the ever useful RAM bracket) a Garmin 955Sv unit took

pride of place. It was not only highly visible, but it created a bit of a windbreak as well! Instruments for the outboard and a Garmin radio were also handy, as was a spin out hatch on the port upper section of the console, which effectively offered completely dry storage for personal items in need of protection from the elements. Grab handles and a vertical rod rack were also installed on the console, which was large enough to do the job, but by no means intrusive. Features on the extra large casting deck up front, which sported a non-skid SeaDek that covered other horizontal contact surfaces, were unusual. Two large compartments were tucked under the deck’s friction hinged hatches, which will stay open exactly where you want them. The first

To provide continuous power for the deep cycle battery, up front cabling connected it to the engine battery astern with a 12V DC charger, so the Suzuki could keep both units topped up. The Eutectic fridge/freezer system can be bypassed if not required on the day. Most importantly, there’s inbuilt switching to prevent the refrigeration system robbing power from the engine battery. SUMMING UP As a fishing craft, the 4.5 Cross Country trailer rig would fulfil a host of requirements. With it’s 640mm high sides, there’s ample sea keeping capability for a rig of this modest size. Combined with the high degree of stability from the well designed hull and it’s under floor floodable ballast system, this rig is suited

While rated for up to six persons, the best fishing would likely be with 3-4 anglers aboard. Extra seating is an option, naturally. In overviewing the 4.5 Cross Country Trailer with 60 Suzuki 4-stroke, I was impressed with the way the team at Cross Country had combined useful features to make it a very handy fishing rig. The finish was very good all around, with strong 25cm wide decks atop gunwales a highlight, along with the extensive use of the SeaDek material to provide an attractive but functional surface to work from. With refrigeration system, big sounder, the max powered 60 Suzuki and other features, like a 55lb electric outboard, registration numbers and a half wrap to bring on the bling, the reviewed craft would come

Top: The Cross Country could really turn! John Hall put the craft through its paces. Above: The Cross Country’s lapstrake construction is beautiful. The well shaped bow reduced impact when crossing pressure waves and wash from other craft in the Bribie Passage. housed a 120amp deep cycle 12V battery to power both an electric motor and a Eutectic refrigeration unit that serviced the adjacent inbuilt 190L refrigeration compartment.

to virtually any kind of rod and reel work within rivers, impoundments, estuaries or the bay in decent conditions – and crabbing. Lets not forget the crabbing!

home for $54,000. A start up trailer package with engine would be around $29,900. Cross Country Boats can be contacted on 0410 090 317, or (07) 5499 3155.

Fully optioned and ready to go – one thing easily noted about the 4.5 Cross Country Trailer rig is the massive amount of fishing room.

Although maximum power for the 4.5m craft, the 60hp Suzuki was ideal in every respect, and certainly sits neatly on the Cross Country’s transom.

A custom made trailer is a bonus with this craft. The large rubber wheels ensure correct alignment of the hull and trailer.

Cavernous rod lockers were set up within the port section of the Cross Country’s cockpit.

Some of the major features are here, including the canopy, full-length rod lockers to port (with twin catches) and the big sounder atop the console.

A smart design there – a spin out hatch allowing access to storage within the craft’s side console.

The Cross Country sported a sensibly sized side console that provided room for instruments, radio and sounder, but hardly restricted the fishing room.

Cross Country Boats love that SeaDek material. You will too once you see how good it feels under foot.

There’s still room to store spare clothing, PFDs and the like, in the under deck compartment, even with a forward deep cycle battery and Eutectic refrigeration unit.

An overview of the rig under way shows the degree of freeboard that makes this 4.5m hull suited to estuary or bay work. MARCH 2017

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